Hello there, P-1 crazies! It is me, the General Teddie, has spoken! Yes... P-1 Special has just started! Ok, so... Ivy and Ivy beat my Joker, Pechy Comet beat my "Sensei", those politic rebels bear-sted their fakes that I made, and my Aigis and Metis has lost to the System and the Jump hero- wait... you're telling me that those Aigis and Metis replaced that Stark man!? How!? That means... CXA wanted him!? Yikes! Bear-ly, bear-y shitty of them to go all out before I can thrive! No, we! Oh, my beloved Hortus are doing alright! Anyways, coming on P-1 Special... and don't tell that thanatological bitch or the Velvet Room! It will threaten our sponsor: Darkbolts!
See ya, crazies! Now let's go back to...
-*static*
Location: Tartarus
"Not again..." A high-schooler of high status and level, in red hair, has been confused. "What's the-!?"
Two of her future selves, seemingly identical to each other, each wearing a white fur coat on top of a black bodysuit. All the are wielding a rapier each.
"Oh wait... it's me from the past!"
"Oh wait... it's me from the past!"
The high-schooler couldn't help but sigh again as her future selves respond in stereo. Knowing P-1, the two selves want to fight over their past self. Turns out, one of them are fake. Unfortunately for the high-schooler, the two are in perfectly unison to the point of confusion on her part.
"Look! It's 2012! But why should you bother me from 2009?"
"What?! You're a fake, bothering with my past!"
"I'm the real one! The heir to the Kirijo Group!"
Mitsuru Kijiro (桐条美鶴). The 2009 high-schooler had to witness the two 2012 adults arguing. But one 2012!Mitsuru is a fake - an engineered Shadow.
"No! You look like an evil queen, not her!" A 2012!Mitsuru refuted.
"Oh my god..." 2009!Mitsuru facepalmed.
"I execute Shadows and protect people. You execute people!" The other 2012!Mitsuru rebuked.
"Then try this, evil queen!" That 2012!Mitsuru refuted. "Tell me all about my past traumas!"
2009!Mitsuru explained a lot of details about Tartarus and the Dark Hour from SEES, due to her guilt over her family's involvement with creating them. Her grandfather's goal of triggering the Fall caused a majority of the problems that SEES must overcome, and Mitsuru felt back then she alone bears the burden of restoring her family's honor. (*1)
"Why do you know that!?" 2012!Mitsuru #A got it.
"Why do you know that!?" 2012!Mitsuru #B got it.
"You're me." 2009!Mitsuru noted.
Both 2012!Mitsurus are shocked.
"I got it. Now... how about we try to summon our Personas?" 2009!Mitsuru suggested. "Persona!"
Artemisia, Mitsuru's evolved Persona. 2009!Mitsuru still have it, since she has already gotten back her will to fight and move forward (*1) some time prior.
"Are you sure that it is safe to use my Persona right now?" 2012!Mitsuru #A questioned.
"Heh! You're giving up before even trying?" 2012!Mitsuru #B scoffed. "And you still dare calling yourself the real queen? Without the will and heart, how can you summon you're Persona anymore? Persona!"
2012!Mitsuru #B used her Evoker - a pistol to summon Personas - on her head, summoning Artemisia, just like 2009!Mitsuru just did.
"So this really is just like P-1 Climax..." 2012!Mitsuru #A got it. "Persona!"
2012!Mitsuru #A shot herself with the Evoker, summoning Artemisia.
"Stop you are plagiarizing me and the Kirijo technologies?" 2012!Mitsuru #B scoffed.
"What? You're the one that's plagiarizing!" 2012!Mitsuru #A complained.
2009!Mitsuru had enough of the confusion. She is prepared to freeze her future self/selves altogether, and see what happens.
"Is that Ms. Kirijo- wait!"
"Huh?" 2009!Mitsuru noticed.
It's Toshiro Kasukabe and Eri "Erina" Natsuhara. From 20XX (technically 2017 in their time after Yaldabaoth tried 2016, but still... *2), and now they came from what was left of Nakabachi Kingdom.
2009!Mitsuru and her Artemisia reared, prepared for if Toshiro and Erina were actually victorious fakes coming to hunt her and the teams.
"Woah woah woah!" Erina braked.
"Is that Ms. Kirijo? But... why?" Toshiro noticed. "You... look young than my time- wait..."
"Huh? Wait... aren't you Kasukabe?" 2009!Mitsuru noticed. "You look a little bit old. Are you from the future?"
"We're the real ones. We recently defeated our fakes. Please calm down." Erina sighed.
"I'm from year 2009." 209!Mitsuru revealed. "I'm from the past. The other me, too are from the past, year 2012."
"We're from 20XX... ugh... that's not 2009 or 2012." Toshiro noted. "It's been years."
"Not the first time I've been involved in time paradoxes." (*3) 2009!Mitsuru commented. "Also, I'm already having a hard time telling which of these two is which."
"An imposter among you?" Toshiro noticed.
"Kasukabe-san, so you..." 2012!Mitsuru #A noticed.
"You know I am the real Mitsuru, right?" 2012!Mitsuru #B noticed.
"Yikes. Two fighting over their... past?" Erina is baffled.
"I have learned from my past." 2012!Mitsuru #A claimed.
"My will since few years ago helped me become the real queen I am now!" 2012!Mitsuru #B claimed.
"Oh wait! How about..." Erina got it.
Erina then whispered to Toshiro. "Let's bluff by claiming that both are fake."
Then Toshiro shouted: "You're both fake!"
"That's what it comes down to in the end, right?" 2009!Mitsuru reassured, asserting the three's certain intellect each.
"You're listening to them!?" 2012!Mitsuru #A is baffled.
"Would that be bad?" 2009!Mitsuru asked.
"Yes, it would!" 2012!Mitsuru #B replied. "To assume that there's no real deal is a messy thought to begin with, most of the time."
More squabble from 2012!Mitsuru(s), much to the couple's chargin. Thankfully, 2009!Mitsuru got an idea. Cue whisper on the couple.
And suddenly, the remnants of Kirijo technologies seemingly out of nowhere, turning the place into a literal makeshift gameshow.
"People of Japan, welcome!" 2009!Mitsuru declared. "It's time for: S.E.E.S.' best trivia!"
"This is a bit too silly on your part." 2012!Mitsuru #A is disappointed.
"Question #1: how many blocks is the Tartarus tower?" 2009!Mitsuru asked.
"So... let's divide the tower-" 2012!Mitsuru #A went for an analysis.
"It's six blocks." 2012!Mitsuru #B answered.
Ding! Correct!
"Bitch! I can't believe I'm swearing! It's my turn to answer, not yours!" 2012!Mitsuru #A complained.
"Correct! Now, onto question #2:" 2009!Mitsuru continued. "Dark Hour is a hour every night. What hour is it?"
"The 25th!" 2012!Mitsuru #A answered in anxiety.
Ding!
"Correct! Now for question #3:" 2009!Mitsuru continued. "What's the real name of the Great Seal?"
"It's... it's... Makoto Yuuki." 2012!Mitsuru #B recalled.
Ding!
"Correct! Number four!" 2009!Mitsuru continued. "Tartarus has 264 floors. (*4) What's the sum of all its divisors?"
"Why bring up a number so exact, it's arbitrary to the nature of the tower?" 2012!Mitsuru #A complained. "It's like an endless climb-"
"It's simple. That's 720!" 2012!Mitsuru #B answered.
Ding!
"Correct again! And..." 2009!Mitsuru declared.
The high-schooler and the rebel couple pointed their fingers at the #B. "You're the culprit!"
And 2012!Mitsuru #A became ashamed earlier, because of... stuffs. The #B was smug and was able to answer more correctly... but with the smugness that accumulated in the eyes of Erina.
"What!? How are you blaming me!?" 2012!Mitsuru #B is baffled. "The divisors are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 11, 12, 22, 24, 33, 44, 66, 88, 132, 264. Sum it all up, and it's 720!"
"Ah-ah-ah... You don't get it." Erina refuted. "It seems that unlike the real deal, you don't think that Tartarus the tower was like an endless climb. You took it too far, just to answer!"
"Therefore... you're the fake!" 2009!Mitsuru declared.
Yes, the real Mitsuru wouldn't pay mind to how many floors the tower has. She has focused on saving people from hostile Shadows; that's the anti-Shadow thing that Mitsuru helped start with. (*1)
"Tch... So she was just a brat refusing to do the job from the get go." 2012!Mitsuru #B grinned. "Seems she's not focused enough on being the queen that she 'was'."
"You seek to root on the Fall, to the point of calculating the tower just to spite me." 2012!Mitsuru #A got it.
"I'm glad I figured how to save my future!" 2009!Mitsuru hugged her real future self, who refused to answer the tower number on the ground of its nature.
"Oh..." 2012!Mitsuru flustered.
"Don't be shocked. We know of the tower now, and it just helped us all!" Erina reassured.
"How long are you gonna keep this up, peasants!?" The fake Mitsuru complained. "It is not the end! At least not for me!"
The fake transformed into herself but with yellow glowing eyes, revealing herself to be Shadow Mitsuru. "Do you feel uneasy unless you're sticking your nose in everything? Or do you just have that little faith in your companions?"
"What?" Both real Mitsurus are shocked.
"Now... Bring on the ring!" Shadow Mitsuru declared.
Cue the ring, with the outside being calcified, trapping everyone here in.
"W-w-woah!" Erina is shocked.
"How could ever understand the thought process of the elite if you still can't shake away your foolishness?" Shadow Mitsuru mocked her counterparts.
"Fine. You're nothing but a frail imitation anyways." 2012!Mitsuru got in. "My resolve is set."
"Very well. Let the time paradox cleanse this monstrosity!" 2009!Mitsuru accompanied.
"This is the P-1. Win, and we go on." 2012!Mitsuru added. "Lose, and we might die."
"I'm ready." 2009!Mitsuru smiled. "To smite those invisible wall of sorts is to win this deathmatch."
"That's right, false queens!" Shadow Mitsuru confirmed. "If you cannot overthrow me... All of you will be dumped to hell, as the queen says!"
"Let us go on." 2012!Mitsuru suggested. "It's my burden."
The Imperious Queen of Executions
MITSURU KIRIJO (Persona: Artemisia)
The Imperious Queen of Executions
MITSURU KIRIJO (Persona: Artemisia)
vs.
The Imperious Queen of Executions
MITSURU KIRIJO (Persona: Artemisia)
The two sides poked each other with their rapiers, aggravating each other into elegant bust (no, not the boobs) and then each attempt at baiting each other's side; while 2009!Mitsuru is weaker than her future self, she's just as capable, much to the fake's annoyance.
With a forceful poke one after another, 2012!Mitsuru managed to pierce her fake's "heart". The fake bleeds black tar that evaporated into little light, accentuating her nature as an engineered Shadow.
2009!Mitsuru stepped back and settled for long-range pressure with her Artemisia, telling her future self to compliment the pressure and mask the relative lack of attacking options. Cue the fake charging her actions for precise slashes, scratching down 2012!Mitsuru's suit and wounding.
2012!Mitsuru flips back and forced the charm with Artemisia, causing Shadow Mitsuru to automatically blushes. Erina laughed at that sight, caught the fake to be even more enraged, and that's when 2009!Mitsuru took back the melee. 2012!Mitsuru did the ranged pressure, so the role is switched and Shadow Mitsuru having to get back to square one.
"Time paradoxes... then how about erasure through murder?" Shadow Mitsuru tried to freeze 2009!Mitsuru.
2009!Mitsuru countered, causing both to freeze. 2012!Mitsuru knocks the fake down, shattering the ice violently while the 2009 thawed out immediately.
Sweep! 2009!Mitsuru hacks the head Shadow Mitsuru, causing Shadow liquid to spurt out. The fake retaliated with a spin to a front kick, knocking 2009 her to the ground. The fake pounced and poked 2012!Mitsuru down, but the charm is causing her to be hazy. Cue a counter through Bufudyne - a big ice blast right on the fake, freezing her.
"Feel the cold... of my will!" 2012!Mitsuru thrusted.
"Great!" 2009!Mitsuru rushed back.
Two rapiers opposite yet tandem, stabbing Shadow Mitsuru where the heart would normally be, shattering her. Coughing up Shadow liquid, the fake went Mabufudyne and put the real two on cold.
"She's getting cold..." 2009!Mitsuru noticed. *cough cough* "Finish her... fast!"
"Finale now!" 2012!Mitsuru, in desperation, initiated...
"It's time for the execution!" Both real Mitsurus flung their fake up in the sky, resisting her cold.
Artemisia and Artemisia put Shadow's Artemisia out, causing Persona Break. Then the two whipped out with pure cold, forcibly freezing the fake off. The result is a falling ice crystal onto Shadow Mitsuru, falling down to the two.
"Kneel before me!" 2009!Mitsuru's eyes glowed red. It's Theurgy time!
"Adieu!" 2012!Mitsuru awakened.
Both Mitsurus then rose their rapiers up together, stabbing the ice crystal. Causing it to explode into a big shockwave of cold all over the place.
"Oof!" The couple covered themselves from the debris.
Shadow Mitsuru shattered into ice, clattering all over the place. The real ones breathed the ice out, as the forced cold has subdued. One last cough from 2009!Mitsuru, as the broken pieces of fake reveals General Teddie's attempts at... mimicking the human anatomy. Shadow-black flesh and radiolaria bones comprised the ludicrous gibs that's splattered from Instant Kill.
"AAAAARRRGGGEEEUGH..." The voice box of Shadow Mitsuru is still speaking, in an odd tone but barely humanly recognized. 'cause it's too late now, trash! The queen have just trapped you into our plan! *screeching twisted laugh from voice box"
The place is back to normal, and Shadow Mitsuru melted down completely and evaporated afterwards. Light came out of the melting pieces. The red fog is still here.
"Oh goodness... So this is my future impersonator...x 2009! Mitsuru is surprised. "It's not only human, but... melts... Gosh."
"Now you think about it... It really is disgusting." 2012!Mitsuru commented.
"So this is not my Shadow... but is instead a..." 2009!Mitsuru is struggling to comprehend what just happened. "A... what? A monster? Monster... of a Shadow..."
"Well, in actuality, General Teddie of P-1 made those fake, engineered Shadows using hostile Shadows of what's apparently all the negatives of humanity and more." Toshiro revealed. "Most of this has been revealed to us by General Teddie himself. General Teddie himself is like the mascot at Yasoinaba but more... brutal, to say the least."
"I get it." 2009!Mitsuru got it. "We're meant to destroy them. Just like other hostile Shadows."
"Talk about two future selves fighting against one another!" Erina picked on it.
"Pretty sure General Teddie is the culprit behind all this." Toshiro guessed. "He seems to be... a god."
2009!Mitsuru then remembered something. "It seems those light from the fakes are floating towards the top of the tower."
"And outside was with smokes of heads." Toshiro recalled.
"And a strange eclipse." Erina added.
"And General Teddie told me to reach to the top of this strange collective tower." 2009!Mitsuru added.
"So what the deal?" Toshiro asked.
"Let's go there." 2012!Mitsuru suggested. "If the others noticed it too, the smart thing to do for them are to try and get to the top."
"I'll lead the way. I have been self-infused with Shadow." Erina suggested. "That's how I'm Erina in the first place. I am Eri Natsuhara, thank you."
"How?" The Mitsurus are confused.
Toshiro explained how he got his Persona as well as how Eri became Erina in the first place. Turns out that after the reunion, Natsuhara's will has been fully reignited, so she fully and wholeheartedly supported Toshiro even as his reputation were ruined. This will allowed her to become the new Erina, with her came being her spear, and while Toshiro kept his Persona, the original Erina. Due to Erina's unique nature, Natsuhara didn't get a dedicated Persona, but is linked to Toshiro once the Metaverse is any indication.
"Oh, nice explanation. Thanks." 2012!Mitsuru thanked.
"Now follow me!" Erina then rushed. The rest followed.
The four moved on and up, aiming to the top.
Location: Junes Food Court, Yasoinaba
"Once again, the town becomes a labyrinth as the clock strikes midnight..." A detective with long blue hair of feminity and... a masculine fit with an uniform to match. "I feel like... Dark Hour... Dark Hour... but how?"
Taking the deep breath first, the detective went to check the whole surroundings, quickly yet thoroughly. Reviewing the whole situation and collecting data on the fly in an attempt to solve the case. They haven't yet know that there's far more to this Dark Hour, not only because it's P-1 once again.
"...No one's here yet. I had thought someone would have come straight to Junes." The detective deduced. "Someone... with a Persona, like me and my friends."
That detective is a Persona user themselves. Dark Hour inert-izes everyone who cannot get to summon their Persona down, leaving only Persona users be able to go anywhere. The detective couldn't contact the reinforcements or rescue group already for four days straight for some strange reason, and now they're such in the midnight again. The only outside thing they got to know right now was the 2025 friends of Pechy Comet that they didn't even know existed at all.
"Calm down..." The detective tried to calm down. "If I start worrying, there'll be no end to it." *deep breath*
Thankfully, the red fog isn't directly toxic.
"Still, it may be best to try not to breathe it in to the extent I can avoid it..." The detective tried to limit their breathing.
"Naoto-kun! You're alive!" An energetic girl in neon-color no-glow has come.
Chie Satonaka (里中千枝) has appeared.
"Chie-senpai! It's me!"
The detective quickly hugged Chie in hearty relief.
"Oh... uh huh, Naoto-kun o Shirogane..."/"ああ...えっと、白鐘直斗くん..."
Naoto Shirogane (白鐘直斗), actually an young girl with intellect of a detective.
"Thank goodness you're safe." Naoto stepped back a bit. "What happened?"
"Firstly, this world is better than ever." Chie spouted... "Secondly, others have got nothing to do with me."
Same cheery tone, different context and content. Even worse, Naoto thought Chie did survived. What if the real Chie died?
"No... once again (*5), you're not Chie-senpai." Naoto rejected her. "I knew it."
"Ahaha, you got me again." (*5) Chie(?) is revealed. "I'm Chie Satonaka. Though I'm a fake one, based on the original, real Chie."
Shadow Chie revealed her actual form and image, being Chie but with glowing golden eyes.
"I see... So you once again failed to hide your true nature." Just as Naoto suspected. "And... what are your intentions?"
Shadow Chie just giggled. "Isn't it obvious? I came to kill you."
"Now... is the culprit who created you the same one who seized Labrys?" Naoto questioned. "Or is it an accomplice of his?"
-*chuckles* "You really are sharp, aren't you, Naoto-kun?" Shadow Chie mocked. "But who cares about anything at all? Persona!"
Tomoe the Persona has come. Naoto isn't as surprised at this anymore, because once again a Persona is directly summoned in real world, unaided. It still creeps the androgynous detective off, because OF COURSE IT'S SHADOW CHIE!
And of course, Shadow Chie acted quicker this time, doing a big strike like she did in P-1 Climax. But Naoto isn't fooled anymore. However, Naoto is now seeing... a glare of the red mysterious eclipse.
"...It seems we're in another level, based on the different landscape." Naoto got up. "What sort of scheme is unfolding now?"
"Ah ah ah, solving that's supposed to be the detective's job." Shadow Chie pointed it out. "If you don't hurry and get ready, you might even get yourself killed."
"So you have no intentions of providing answers." Naoto is disappointed. "Very well... Per-"
"BOO!" General Teddie appeared as a projection.
"Gyaaaaaahhh!" Naoto freaked out.
"Ooooh! Nao-chan is still sharp as ever!" General Teddie commented. "It's so convenient for us that you catch on quick!"
"General Teddie... again?" Naoto is surprised.
"You understand without me having to explain, right?" General Teddie smirked. "Thanks for participating in the P-1 Special!"
"I knew it!" Naoto cut to the chase. "Just like before!"
Naoto recalled what General Teddie did in both the original P-1 Grand Prix and P-1 Climax. Meanwhile...
"Oh, and you can use-" Shadow Chie noted-
"I know, I know." Naoto interrupted the fake. "Even though I shouldn't underestimate-"
"Bring on the ring!" Shadow Chie interrupted back.
The food court got calcified, leaving a flat battlefield.
"It seems I haven't time to waste, so I won't bother holding back..." Naoto prepped. "Persona!"
The small-ish Sukuna-Hikona comes to the stage.
"Great! That's the Naoto-kun people love!" Shadow Chie cheered. "That makes it even more fun annihilating you!"
"I wouldn't be so certain." Naoto declared. "I beat you once. I will beat you again!"
The 2000-IQ Killjoy Detective
NAOTO SHIROGANE (Persona: Sukuna-Hikona)
vs.
The Carnivore Who's Discarded Womanhood (*6)
CHIE SATONAKA (Persona: Tomoe)
Shadow Chie vaguely remembered the P-1 Climax, so she decided to adapt. The fake taunted instead by mocking not only the nickname from P-1, but also tried to verbally prey on Naoto's former mental trauma. But Naoto didn't feel for any of it, and immediately countered with Sukuna-Hikona's barrage followed by her kick. Shadow Chie immediately recovered and landed a heavy combo on the detective... and ended up punching the buxom with Tomoe, which hurted in many ways all at once.
"Damnit!" Naoto is a girl, of course.
She fired off her handgun and then reloaded, taking advantage of the distance. Shadow Chie couldn't be any faster than an actual bullet, so of course she's damaged by it, and Tomoe had to block some. She went for another heavy combo anyways, seeing as this fight shouldn't be dragged on for too long before things get out of control, but is intercepted by Naoto. The fake however managed to Frenzy and so was about to pummel the frail but busty detective. Sukuna-Hikona took the combo meant for Naoto, nearly resulting in Persona Break.
"My goodness!" Naoto dodged.
Shadow Chie targeted Naoto, forcing the detective to shoot the fake. All the bullets are done and there's no longer enough time to reload, Naoto barely evaded Shadow Chie and sidestepped Tomoe's crushing.
"Here it goes!"
Naoto and Sukuna-Hikona has managed to cast both Hamaon (light) and Mudoon (dark), staggering Shadow Chie. This also indirectly led to get Shadow Break.
"Prepare yourself. That's what you get for not knowing your place." An improvised Instant Kill. "Farewell."
Naoto pulled the trigger, headshotting Shadow Chie. That was quick, yet brutal. A Shadow Frenzy combo could've easily killed the detective herself.
"Oh, I lost." Shadow Chie, lying down wriggling with a big hole in her forehead. "Well, I guess that's enough."
"As I said, you cannot win against me." Naoto got up, still exhausted from everything that just ensued. "Our forms can be mimicked, but you could never replicate our inner drive."
Shadow Chie melted down into black and then evaporated into light, while the place went back to what it was before the fight even started. The fake nearly got the chance to freeze the detective and end the fight with a Fatality (*7) right there, but Naoto was able to do the quick decisive action to save her life and win this fight.
Apparently, just like General Teddie would claim, fakes like these are created using a hostile Shadow each. Unbeknownst to the detective, today's Shadow-types are more powerful than ever, may have been able to even Insta-kill and so on. Heck, if it wasn't for Naoto's experience with fighting tournaments, apparently Shadow-types like these would've fooled her, no matter what.
"Huh? What is that...?" Naoto noticed.
The light is going to the same direction, seemingly to the same place as Yasogami High. It's the tower, Tartarus, and yet...
"Not again." Naoto couldn't believe it.
Tartarus is even messier than in P-1 Climax. Furthermore, there's also smokes that's shaped like faces of humans, akin to the Witness, who Naoto couldn't have ever known to have existed at all.
"Is that the hill where Yasogami High is?!" Naoto noticed. "The orbs of light are gathering there!"
Naoto recalled everything. "Is the culprit of this case intending to-"
Cue a kick on the back from a girl in Gekkoukan High tops and Yasogami High skirt, built along with paracausal elements - cold boot, eyes light-gray-blue left and bourbon-glow right, green glowing hair with burning tips, calcified skin, so on - and a voice of legion.
"Aaagh!" Naoto is knocked down, ever though she was paying close attention to everything.
"I must ask that you not needlessly inquire further." The girl warned the detective. "Now is not yet the time."
"Naoto Shirogane."/"白鐘直斗" The girl smirked. "You'll be making your exit here... Die."
Location: Maruki's Palace, Metaverse
"Firstly, this place is back. Then, there's some so-called 'Taken' monsters of Shadows we're glad we survived from!" A former track star complained. "And now this!? This tournament!?"
A four-squad (*8) of thieves, of which the corner track star is a part of, is stuck in the revived Palace, without nobody else on sight.
"This seems to be exactly like TV world incident Risette talked about, from 5 or 6 years ago (*2) (*9)..." A literal cat burglar commented. "Except... this happened the same kind of way a couple of years prior to even that." (*9) "A midnight."
"At least this is Metaverse." A phantom guy has spoken. "Persona!"
Arsene. Turns out, the founding members of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, led by Ren Amamiya (雨宮蓮) himself. The Joker urged the others to summon their Persona for self-defense and assist.
With his experience as a navigator of the Metaverse, Morgana tried to detect anyone in the now-multiversal Metaverse. Unfortunately, nobody seemed to be...
"Shoot... red fog's messing us all!" The cat burglar Morgana complained. "No use. Everything's screwed!"
"Damn... this effing sucks..." The former track star Ryuji Sakamoto (坂本竜司) complained.
"Wait..." Morgana noticed.
There's data in the sky.
"Huh?" The squad looked up.
A blue woman wearing a dress and a hat, all deep blue, and silver hair descends.
"The Velvet..." Ren recognized her.
"Please excuse me my raucous entrance." The woman stepped down. "If I recall correctly, you were previously competing with the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad in a dance competition, no?" (*10)
"Huh?" The squad couldn't remember anything about that. (*10)
"Anyways, you are another attendant of the Velvet Room, right?" Ren raised his hand.
"Oh, pardon me. I am Elizabeth, the wandering elevator attendant who has presently totally abandoned her duties."
Elizabeth of the Velvet Room, yeah? "I once presided over a certain power in a certain power in a certain room, but for opaque reasons, I'm... currently in a wandering journey."
"Do you know Caroline and Justine, eh... no, Lavenza?" Ren asked.
Elizabeth nodded. "Greatestly exactly."
"Uh... why did you abandon your duty as an attendant?" The model Ann Takamaki (高巻杏) questioned.
Elizabeth seemed to have no clue, while the rest just shrugged.
"By the way... What is happening at this place of the parallel universes intersecting-"
"Hey, Miss Elizabeth!" Morgana is baffled. "Any more time paradoxes?" (*3)
"Huh?" Elizabeth noticed. "By the way, I have been observing this realm's state for some time now, and it seems this red fog has completely enveloped it. If left as it is, I do believe that matters will take a turn in the favor of us Velvet attendants."
Morgana is confused by the wordings Elizabeth chose, even accounting on her ditzy shit.
"Is the rest of us Phantoms okay?" Ren is worried.
"My, why are you asking me?" Elizabeth is confused. "When it comes to searching for your friends, I recall that at least one of you are a navigator here."
"I cannot find anything beyond this fog from here." Morgana shook his head, while hiding his suspicion.
"I see... In other words, you're still grieving for your newfound powerlessness, electing to stand here without attempting to search for your friends on your own." Elizabeth scoffed, and then her voice distorted. "What a disappointing turn of events. I have no interest in such an useless squad. Please excuse me."
"I am a navigator!" Morgana complained. "Also, we are not useless!"
"Hm?" Elizabeth's voice is back to normal. "What seems to be the matter? I have already-"
"Why are you sounding different all of the sudden?" Morgana questioned.
Elizabeth is staggered by the question. "How?"
Ren pulled out his handgun, Ryuji pulled out his shotgun, Ann pulled out her SMG, and Morgana pulled out his slingshot.
"Madame Elizabeth of the Velvet Room, s secret sinner of oblivion." The squad caught Elizabeth. "Thus, we will expose you for abandoning your ever-important duty!"
"Please, do not waste your breath as I come at you." Elizabeth's voice became distorted again. "Your fate is in the cards...!"
Elizabeth is engulfed by darkness, and her golden eyes became blood red. (*11) Cue dark aura and armed with a book. "Now."
Thanatos, Elizabeth's main Persona. However, this Elizabeth turned out to be only an engineered Shadow.
"What the-!?" Morgana is shocked. "Joker, Skull, Panther, be careful!"
Thanatos ambushed the squad, knocking them off with a single slash.
"I'm a Shadow... Madness incarnate!" Shadow Elizabeth declared.
"Persona!" The squad shouted.
Arsene, Zorro, Captain Kidd and Carmen blocked Thanatos.
"Heheheh... I'm starting to grow excited." Shadow Elizabeth gleefully exclaimed. "I must say, this is the most exhilarated I've ever been!"
"We will not bow down to you, monster!" Ren flipped back.
"Oh yeah! Try us!" Ryuji pulled out his metal pipe.
"It's time!" Ann pulled out her whip.
"It's showtime!" Ren rushed.
"Now... show me the transformation of the 'potential' within you scums!" Shadow Elizabeth laughed. "Bring on the ring!"
The Phantom Thief of Hearts
REN AMAMIYA (JOKER) (Persona: Arsene)
The Freaky Chivalrous Tactical Burglar
MORGANA (MONA) (Persona: Zorro)
The Shameful Punk-Monkey Pirate
RYUJI SAKAMOTO (SKULL) (Persona: Captain Kidd)
The Horny Dominatrix of Doom
ANN TAKAMAKI (PANTHER) (Persona: Carmen)
vs.
The Lethal Elevator Attendant
ELIZABETH (Persona: Thanatos)
Ann rapid-fired Elizabeth on the throat from slight range, before sweeping with her whip. Elizabeth by forcing Ann into her book and spitting down into damage; Ryuji interrupted with a headshot to the face. Ryuji immediately brute-forced with the metal pipe and then a kick to her groin, but the fake isn't bothered because she's not truly humanlike despite being humanoid herself. Thanatos intercepts Ryuji, but Ren and Morgana dynamic-strikes by the Mona turning into a bus to crash the fake, followed by Joker down-shooting, followed by a grapples. Thanatos caught the grapple, briefly beat-down Joker out of the way. Captain Kidd summoned thunder to Shadow Elizabeth, and Carmen burned the ground down into healing Ann and burning the fake down.
Ann was able to rope down the fake with her whip. "Keep her down!"
Cue Joker bring curse down to Shadow Elizabeth through Arsene. And... All-Out Attack (総攻撃)!
THE SHOW'S OVER
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
FREAKiN' BoRiNG
OMG! We are SO awesome!
"Enough!" Shadow Elizabeth flipped, sicc Thanatos into retaliating. "Megidolaon!"
Cue an anti-elemental (Almighty) explosion covering the battlefield, nearly reaching the invisible walls. This seriously wounded the squad.
"AAARGH!" Ryuji is knocked to an invisible wall.
"Aaaah!" Ann is pretty much crippled.
"Shit..." Ryuji collapsed.
Morgana nearly passed out, while Joker was barely standing up. As a last resort, he tore his mask off.
"Ahahahah..." Shadow Elizabeth laughed. "Now... it is hopeless... because you're against... a false based on a Velvet Room attendant... Rest in pieces, Phantom Thieves!"
"Fuck no!" Ren screamed.
The chains is broken, and Arsene exploded into a light flash that blinded out and annoyed the fake Liz.
"Ugh..." Ann saw it.
"Geez..." Morgana got up.
"Persona! Now!"
Ren has risen Satanael, his massive, evolved Persona, the one with THE fallen angel motif and that one halo (which happened to be the same one Ivy and Ivy saw). Shadow Elizabeth is pissed.
"Cheater! How did you survive!?" The fake had enough. "Megido-"
Joker pulled the trigger- *gunshot*
"Headshot...!" Morgana witnessed the moment.
Shadow Elizabeth's head is drilled off by the Sinful Shell of Satanael.
"Duh." Ren kneeled down in exhausted.
"Truly impressive..." Shadow Elizabeth glitched out physically. "You have indeed... shown me... power... mankind's potent...tial..."
Shadow Elizabeth collapsed, and Thanatos disappeared.
Ann was able to stand up. "Look. You did it again..."
"Joker... you... won..." Morgana is still fuzzied.
"Panther, heal us." Ren rolled out.
Carmen went spamming Dia to heal Ann first, so she could then heal the others. The squad recovered from everything, which also recovered back to before any further calcification as Shadow Elizabeth started the fight.
"Alright, time to..." Morgana looked ahead.
The Tartarus is just there, besides the Palace, visible from afar alongside the heads-all-shaped smokes from some fire around.
"It seems the fog is now thin enough that we can see pretty clearly... about that strange tower." Morgana squinted.
The fog then thickens back. "Nevermind, at least we saw it. Let's go there."
Ren then looked back and glancing at Shadow Elizabeth melting into Vantablack-looking poison.
"I bid you... good... luck..." Then Shadow Elizabeth vaporized into light.
The light particles then went straight to the direction to the tower.
"Yeah. Let's go there." Ren agreed. "Leblanc... Mementos... Maruki... everyone... wait for us!"
Morgana transformed into the bus that crashed Shadow Elizabeth. "The car's ready!"
The entire squad entered as one team, and headed to the Tartarus.
Location: Tartarus
The woman looks like a genderbent Makoto Yuki (結城理).
"No way... Why is Nyx here...?" System is in disbelief.
"Really?" Ivy Comet doubted it.
"Oh, the fakes that you fought?" The woman recalled. "Oh, right. I did tell you about."
"Nyx... why?" System is in doubt.
"Why are you here?" 2025!Pechy asked.
"I had intended to just rest behind the doors..." The woman responded. "But then someone dragged me out, and put me in a seemingly inescapable maze... one urging me to watch my partner kill..."
"Huh? Did General Teddie or Hortus Zankyo pulled you out of the Great Seal?" 2025!Pechy is confused.
"Have you already met both? That's sad." The woman identifying herself as Nyx.
"What were you doing all this time?" Ivy Comet questioned.
"I ask you: what do you think I did in this body?" The woman asked back.
"We need answers first!" Ivy Comet refuted.
"So... they're weaponizing my existence all over realities beyond my life." The woman giggled. "I am Nyx. I am death itself."
"Why are you here, trying to contact to everyone?" 2025!Pechy questioned. "You have to know that it's not only you involved. All of existence is involved. This isn't just the TV world or Metaverse, where only the likes of us are involved."
"The only reason I am even here was because the Great Seal... was hacked, causing me to be dragged down into experiencing the Dark Hour." Nyx revealed. "All of it, just to torture me and him."
"Makoto Yuki?"/"結城理?" System asked.
"So you know about my beloved." Nyx caught on.
"Do you know about the rules?" System continued. "It can now be two-on-two, and so on."
"It used to be one-on-one only." Jumpson commented.
"Either way, if you keep fighting yourself or them or whatever, all on their terms, it'll only make things worse, and all existence will all die, even an undefeatable me!" Nyx argued. "Not just Persona fragments. But emotions and energies, duped and stored with confluxes! Vex confluxes, and this is coming from someone who doesn't even know the Vex existed!"
"Huh!?" The five are shocked.
It's connected. It's not just Persona particles, it's copying energies and emotions, coded borrowed through said fragments into flew to the top of the tower as fights goes on. Heck, maybe even the souls of the real fighters killed so far.
"Did we... just inadvertently... helped the Darkbolts...?" 2025!Pechy is horrified.
"Please, get your act together and rebel against P-1! P-1 the horror! The fighting tournament that went too far behind the scenes!" Nyx pleaded. "You must take the fight out of the harvesting, and must go destroy more Shadows you want, and-"
A quake suddenly appeared - the entire tower creaks with a lots noise. The jarring sound echoes in the depth of the red fog like an animal's growl.
"What's it?" Jumpson looked around.
"It's time up!" Nyx noticed.
"Please save your friends. I will save my beloved..." Nyx then walked away. "Together!"
Nyx passed through an invisible wall which System detected. Ivy Comet tried to rush anyways, but it's knocked by the impact.
"Yikes." Ivy Comet realized.
"I'm sorry, Ivy, but we're fighters, not hostages." Ivy Jolicoeur corrected.
"How much longer are you going to make me wait?" A familiar voice rang from behind. "You better entertain me at the very least."
"Akihiko Sanada!"/"真田明彦!" System noticed.
It was Akihiko Sanada (真田明彦) from year 2012.
"Welcome to the special ring. This place is truly a square jungle..." 2012!Akihiko is speaking with distorted voice. "It sure bring back memories. Yeah, it really take me back..."
"Akihiko! You're finally~ SAAAFFFEEE~" System is so relieved.
Suddenly, Akihiko suddenly whizzed a punch-punch. His fists revealed that Akihiko just acted... wrong, in System's mind - she barely sidestepped, and is shocked to see Akihiko acting so violent. The voice didn't help matters.
"You're fake, dumbass!" Jumpson kicked 2012!Akihiko down.
He just gets up immediately, and transformed into himself but dark and violent, complete with golden eyes.
"Another Shadow-type!?" System is shocked.
"Don't you all long for the tensing of muscles and the clenching of fists?" Shadow Akihiko goaded. "It's only seconds away. Step forward if you want to taste the mat!"
"Do it, System!" 2025!Pechy called System. "He's impersonating one of your subjects!"
"PERSONA!" Shadow Akihiko screamed.
The Invader of Next Possibilities
SYSTEM NO. XX (Persona: ?)
vs.
The Two-Fisted Protein Junkie
AKIHIKO SANADA (Persona: Caesar)
Shadow Akihiko rushed in, punching away a bunch of Persona copies, and sicc Caesar into finishing the decoy Personas while he hurls at the machine. She pulled out...
"Indulgence of Insulation!"/"断裂の免罪符!" A red sword to slice the fake down.
She kicked the fake on the feet and then a combo using the Insulator followed by Izanagi's Ziodyne. Shadow Akihiko them cyclone's and rush back, punching the machine in the face. System just went Azure (蒼の魔道書, Azure Grimoire) and...
"A machine trying to exterminate my shit!" Shadow Akihiko cutted off with a punch. "Fuck it!"
A double-counter, blasting both into distance. Shadow Akihiko is burned and smeared by the Soul Eater Drive, but is otherwise physically good, with the face intact.
"C'mon! Now show me your machinery!" With the help of Caesar, Shadow Akihiko is has been converted with a literal storm, complete with lightning all over his body.
"True Azure."/"蒼炎の書" System used Keystones and Azure Grimoire to access the true Azure - the BlazBlue. "BlazBlue, go!" (*12)
"WRYYYYY!" Shadow Akihiko rushed, Shadow Frenzied and going all out.
A barrage of martial strikes from the fake boxer went onto the machine girl, pummeling her off while the true Azure is still active. Izanagi evolves into Izanagi-no-Okami and crashed Caesar with its super-spear, causing Persona Break while Shadow Akihiko is still beating down.
Cue Myriad Truths igniting the Azure, causing Shadow Akihiko blue combustion. System then decapitated the fake.
"Holy shit!" Jumpson is caught off-guard.
"Alright! We won! But..." Ivy Comet noticed. "Where's that woman?"
More quake.
"Oh no, more shaking!" Ivy Jolicoeur is shocked. "And it's been getting stronger and stronger!"
System recovered from the pummeling and thus the fight. "We don't have much time left. Let's go."
"But what about Persona fragments? The souls and energy?" 2025!Pechy called. "What did Nyx mean?"
"This is just like P-1 and P-1, when Sho Minazuki tried to get Persona stuffs into ending the world, one way or another." System recalled. "This time, it might not be Sho at all. But General Teddie and the Darkbolts are carving up the fights of ours to get their plan running."
"Wait... That includes those balls of light that pop out when we fight against the fakes?" Ivy Jolicoeur recalled.
"Probably." System replied. "They're trying to do something will all our fighting."
"And Darkbolts want infinite revenge." 2025!Pechy recalled. "The CXA was founded in the aftermath of the last war between Redvengers and Darkbolts."
"And the fragments and auras are heading to the top of this tower." System looked up, briefly. "We might find our ultimate victory there."
As Shadow Akihiko melts down, System grabbed into the stuffs. "Yikes... It's radiolaria mixed with Shadows!"
"Now go!" 2025!Pechy rushed.
The five continued the chase to the top. Of course, it's super-maze and extended, so hallways' stretched out.
"Fine! Let's go to closest room!" Jumpson then slammed a doorway on the side.
Location: the Velvet Room
The five is now in the war room.
"Bingo!" System briefly went lovey-dovey.
"Good job, Mr. Jumpson!"
"We need more doors! To check every doors from here on out!" Ivy Comet complained.
"Don't worry, now it's time you use your spatiotemporal powers!" 2025!Pechy cheered. "Come on Ivy, you can do it!"
"Let's sort out the fates!" System cheered.
"B-b-but..." Ivy Comet doesn't know what to do yet.
"What're you doing, Ivy!" Ivy Jolicoeur called. "Hurry up!"
"Oh c'mon!" Ivy Comet facepalmed.
Ivy Comet reluctantly assumed her Unity form, and tried to fix the way out by blasting the other, unopened door on the war room. Unfortunately, it didn't work, and not much progress was made. So instead...
"Oh no!" Ivy Jolicoeur noticed.
A giant blade whooshes right by, forcing System to step back.
"Tch... You dodged." A familiar voice rang from the war room... somehow. "Not too shabby, ."
"Labrys?" System noticed.
"Why don'tcha hurry up in come in? I'm bored outta my frame and I need to murder somebody!"
The five stepped back in, and saw a stairway occupied by... the 5th generation Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, Labrys. Or rather... a Shadow with heterochromia: blood red on the left, yellow on the right, both glowing.
"Is that another Anti-Shadow-" 2025!Pechy recognized Labrys(?).
"Hahaha, like you don't already know." Labrys(?) revealed. "Yeah, I'm a fake Shadow Labrys. So let's see how much of your stuffs I can carve off, 'k?"
"What the hell are you doing!?" Jumpson called Shadow-Shadow Labrys out. "And who are you? Shadow-Shadow?"
-*chuckles* "What do you care?" Shadow-Shadow Labrys scoffed. "Win or lose, you're all gonna die anyways."
"The hell-" Ivy Comet is shocked.
"I got nothin' to tell you." Shadow-Shadow Labrys stepped down. "Now... bring on the ring!"
The five is teleported with Shadow-Shadow Labrys to another Pyramid room. And the fake summoned Asterius, the raging persona of the real Shadow Labrys.
"Damnit... a Shadow self's doppelganger?!" System is baffled.
"A fake Shadow... literally." 2025!Pechy caught on.
The fake detaches the giant rocket-axe from her back and grips it in her metallic, robotic hands.
"I'm a force to be reckoned." Shadow-Shadow Labrys declared. "A special monster, made only to consume and kill... Underestimate me, and you'll end up become nothing but useless corpses."
"Damn it!" Ivy Comet is pissed.
Dreamcatcher Crystal Reincarnate
IVY COMET (Persona: - )
Cross-Dimensional Guardian Angel
IVY JOLICOEUR (Persona: - )
vs.
The Raging Bull of Destruction
SHADOW LABRYS (Persona: Asterius)
"Persona Break first!" Ivy Jolicoeur spotted Asterius.
Shadow-Shadow Labrys swung off the two, trying to get them down dead. Sweeps up, sweep down, and chase, the fake is trying to block and then hack for the kill. It was Ivy Comet that's more often dealing with the strikes, since she's more resilient. Ivy and Ivy both resisted and kept the fake Shadow away with magic blasts. Asterius was near, so...
"Take that!" Ivy Comet threw a sword on Asterius.
Asterius was able to block the sword, but the blade still struck, and with that caused the Persona to stagger. Ivy Comet them took the sword and slashed, leading to one Persona card depleted from the fake's drive.
"Damn it!" Shadow-Shadow Labrys immediately beat down Ivy Jolicoeur and then restored Asterius with a Persona card, which looks like a strange, burning Tarot card.
Asterius then whacked Ivy Comet away, and it's back to square one except the Persona supply got hit.
"Apologies." Ivy Jolicoeur bounced back and fired a volley of dream projectiles on the fake.
"Oh no!" Shadow-Shadow Labrys figured out what's up.
Ivy Comet crippled the fake with a single swing, cutting off the legs. It's Shadow radiolaria alloy!
"What!?" Ivy Comet noticed. "AAAH!"
Shadow-Shadow Labrys swung mid-air, and immediately regenerated at the landing. Ivy Jolicoeur hopped, and immediately impulsed dreams onto the fake, keeping her on check. Ivy Comet rolled and bounced up, quickly reaching Asterius which tried to whack her with its arms, few attempts in a row. The reincarnate successfully blasted the beast, depleting yet another Persona card; in retaliation, the bull slammed the ground and fired red laser all over the place, with the tip exploding into wreaking havoc. Taking advantage of the destruction. Shadow-Shadow Labrys havoc'd at all fronts trying to crippled the angel, who wisely dodged the combo and landed behind the monster.
"Dreamcatcher Warrior Smashing LIGHT!"
Ivy Jolicoeur fried Asterius with a big dream blast, wiping another power of Persona cards. With only 2 full Persona cards left on her drive, Shadow-Shadow Labrys realized that she has been fooled and she had to protect her Persona.
"Oh shit!" The fake rushed to her Persona. "Oh, I'm sorry-"
"Not so fast!" Ivy Comet clashed against the fake.
Asterius went for the bite, grabbing the reincarnate with its jaw. It's them Ivy Jolicoeur burns the Shadow slashing her, while Ivy Comet ended up pressured by the bites and had to reach for the sword. Asterius knew this, and retreated.
"Cooked!" Shadow-Shadow Labrys swung both down and is covered by hell's flame herself. "You don't get to hurt my cute... AAARGH!"
A sweep to knock the two up, and an attempted fatal bludgeon with only one more motion. Ivy and Ivy managed to roll down and pulsed the ground with magic, knocking her away. Asterius returns to fires another laser, as well and knuckles down the floor, slamming the entire battlefield repeatedly.
"Jump!" Both Ivies jumped off the ground hazards.
Ivy Comet ended up stalling the axe. Infuriated, the fake immediately swung a few more times, barely knocking the sword away from the blockage but not the hand.
"Labyrinthos Gate, open!" Instant Kill ready.
Shadow-Shadow Labrys tried to grab Ivy Comet, but Ivy Jolicoeur intercepted and took the fatal risk. Ivy Comet took the chance, and suplex-held the fake.
"No no no nonononono!" Shadow-Shadow Labrys groaned.
Ivy Comet stuck the blade right on the fake robot, compromising her chances and freeing Ivy Jolicoeur, who pushed the robot with the force of dreams empowering her frail muscles, causing the fake to fall into the dark gate herself. This in turn caused Asterius massive agony and enforced pain, forcing a Shadow Break.
"AAAAARRRGH!" Shadow-Shadow Labrys were bounced off of explosion from the gate due to her being the fallen, subverting the Instant Kill.
Asterius is lost, and the fake has no Persona cards left, and immediately...
"Return!" Ivy and Ivy didn't hesitate to give their respective magic right onto the fake. "To!"
"No!" The fake agonized.
"Your!" Ivy and Ivy unloaded magic to end Shadow-Shadow Labrys. "DARKNESS!"
Cue a dream explosion engulfing most of the ring, forcing Jumpson to cover for the rest. The splattered-self Shadow-Shadow Labrys laughed like a maniac before melting and then evaporating into Persona fragments... and radiolaria vapor.
"Persona fragments... and... no, RADIOLARIA VAPOR!?" System is shocked.
"It's fine for now. We just need to hurry on ahead." 2025!Pechy reassured. "We don't have much time left."
"Yeah, but..." System got up. "How... how did these... engineered Shadows even came to be?"
"Hm? What's this all about?" Ivy Comet asked.
"About what the culprits' after." System recalled. "Think about it. Tartarus. TV world. Metaverse. The Shadows can be found all over there, from pretty much the start. So why would..."
"I get it. Of course they're after the fragments! But then again..." Jumpson called. "How?! Why also the souls and energy and all the radiolaria!?"
"Once again, using Shadows to create the fakes... this time, they're mixing it with... radiolaria?" Ivy Comet pieces it. "And why go through all the trouble, not only fragments and radiolaria, but our souls, our energies and our being?"
"The must be a reason General Teddie and friends are working with Darkbolts in particular..." 2025!Pechy suspected.
"Some reason why it cannot just be something like, I don't know... the Zero Point?" System suspected.
After everything so far, the Starstorm splinted has a lot of missing informations and clues so far.
Location: Junes Food Court
Naoto gasped at the easy paracausal skills (both in- and out-of-universe) Hortus possesses, bleeding from some wounds and exhausted from the shit. It didn't help the strange girl kicked the detective on the back. Naoto recognized the mixed uniform the strange girl wears...
"You dodged and you crouched." Hortus with a Stasis katana, disappointed by the apparent weakness of the detective overall. "Such a struggle you put up... You're wasting our time."
"Who... are you...?" Naoto got up.
"I am Hortus. Hortus Zankyo..." Hortus smirked. "I, the Second Knife, Teddie and the Darkbolts will destroy you all, those extras, all gods, and this entire continuity."
"Ngh...? So... you're the ones..." Naoto is struggling to keep herself. "...who stole our home and..."
"Yes. The great Darkbolts caught them off guard, just as I did with you here now." Hortus recalled. "They kept you and your allies at bay, so we could enact our Midnight Frenzy... the P-1 Special. Though your intuition is impressive for a human. For you to discern our plan in mere minutes..."
"It's an absurd scheme..." Naoto can't believe it. "What are you trying to summon with that tower... again...?!"
"Don't get us wrong." Hortus dismissed. "That in itself is not our objective, let alone Darkbolts'. All we want... no, we need... is to grant a last dream wish."
"A... wish...?" Naoto heard it. "Whose...?"
"If you know, you're beyond saving." Hortus dismissed again.
"You're just like Sho Minazuki..." Naoto recalled. "Just like him, you're using innocent people as hostages, and like him, you've prepared fake versions of us to fight."
Hortus still dismissed.
"Like Sho Minazuki, you set this entire scenario up so we wouldn't ever think twice about fighting!" Naoto deduced.
"Again, your intuition is impressive. Fitting for the 'Ace' detective." Hortus commented, again. "By forcing you all to fight in this red fog of P-1, we are 'carving off' souls, energies, and bits of your respective beings, such as your Personas."
Oh shit! I said too much! It's time! Suddenly Hortus felt uncomfortable.
A Sideways Rift has just appeared.
"I enjoyed your time with you." Hortus bowed. "If the opportunity arises again and your survives, I'd like to speak with you further."
A Sideways Rift appeared, with the strange girl backflipping back way to get distance and make way for the "guests of honor".
"HRAAAAAAAAGH!"
An apparent student council president from Yasogami High, in metal and going with a guillotine-like rocket axe, down to the ground. Having come from the rift, she struck down the ground in between the detective and the strange girl.
"L-Labrys!?" Naoto is shocked. "You're alive! I never thought-"
"Don't worry, Naoto-kun, I gotcha!" The real Labrys, the 5th generation Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon.
"Labrys, don't let your guard down!" Naoto warned Labrys. "Apparently the Darkbolts exist, and they attacked innocent people to plunged this world down!"
"Darkbolts?" Labrys noticed.
"Our guests of honor have arrived." Hortus smirked. "We've been waiting for you, Shadow Operatives and real Investigation Team."
More guests came from the rift and dived to the spot.
"Who're you... Why're you doin' all this!?" Labrys spotted the strange girl from the Second Knife reign.
"'Who am I'... hm?"
"Answer me!"
"But first... let me see the rest of you."
"Dropping in! Koromaru!" One of the more guests have called.
As the rift closes, the guys and girls have landed down, safely.
"Whew, that was close." An energetic girl coating green cheesed. "But now that pretty much everyone's here, then... we're here to tear this corrupted reality down!"
"Naoto Shirogane!"/"白鐘直斗!" A boy with a light spear approached the detective. "Are you all okay?"
"Chie... Shadow Operatives..." Naoto got her heart warmed. "You're all still alive! Thanks goodness!"
Yukari Takeba (岳羽ゆかり). Ken Amada (天田乾) and Koromaru (虎狼丸). Aigis and Metis - somehow got separated in the process of the midnight and had to be fighting alongside each other. Yu Narukami (鳴上悠). Yosuke Hanamura (花村陽介). The real Chie Satonaka (里中千枝). Yukiko Amagi (天城雪子). Kanji Tatsumi (巽完二). Rise Kujikawa (久慈川りせ). The original Teddie (クマ). And finally... Marie.
"Chie-senpai! It's you! I'm here!" Naoto, having fought the fake Chie, called the real deal.
"Wait... you fought a fake me?" Chie is surprised.
"Labrys, I'm trusting this Investigation Team with you!" Yukari entrusted Labrys to the Investigation Team and Marie.
"Gotcha!" Labrys defended the Investigation Team. "Your don't hafta worry about a thing now!"
"There's no escape, you out-of-context maniac!" Marie, with the Persona cards in her hand, called Hortus out."
"So you're one of our new enemies..." Ken pointed against Hortus. "You won't escape now."
Everyone fanned out to surround the strange girl, readying themselves for combat, and without dropping their guard.
"Alright. Now who are you?" Naoto finished reloading.
"The players have finally gathered." Hortus grinned. "It's nice to meet you. I am Hortus Zankyo, of the Prismatic Fleet. Welcome... to Dark Metaverse."
Dark Metaverse (異世界の影).
"I wanted to meet you all, especially the ones opposing the reign that is the last dream wish." Hortus continued. "You know what you're getting into, after all."
"Really!?" Yosuke is baffled.
"Darkbolts?" Yu have no idea what the Darkbolts are.
"Who knows? This is a glorified P-1." Ken refuted. "I don't really care, either."
"I have no intention of fighting you now. I only wanted to meet you all in person." Hortus stepped back. "I'll be heading back home now... Take your wasted time here."
A bunch of dancers taking the appearance of the Operatives here and the Investigation Team - dancing fits on (*13) - and with the Shadow voice each.
"Don't get the wrong idea." Said that Narukami.
"That's my dancing stuffs!" Yu recognized the outfit, and more. "In fact, that's ours!" (*13)
"Huh?" Yukari is confused. Turns out she couldn't remember the Club Velvet (*10) at all.
"I looked too casual in something I can't even recall..." Ken, neither. (*10) "But why this?"
The other Koromaru is identical to the 2009 stuff though.
"Huh?" Aigis noticed the dress and headphone-like band on the other Aigis. "And what's this? You? Me?"
That dance dress of Aigis and Metis are indeed in main colors (both black and white) - also, Aigis' blue trim, against Metis' red. Notably, that other Metis' visor also appears to be a stylized and elaborate headset that's also equally collapsible, just like the visor on the actual Shadow, in place of other Aigis' headphone-like.
"It really look like me..." Metis couldn't believe it.
"What the...?" Marie is shocked. "What's going on?"
Koromaru growls.
"Don't be deceived!" Naoto warned everyone. "That's imitations of us! They're back!"
"Ha... Don't you remember the Club Velvet, disco miss?" The other Yukari smirked. (*10) "After the shit that was Mikuratana-no-Kami (*13) was done for, those jealous attendants of that Velvet Room decided to host a cross-time dancing competition, summoning you to the Club Velvet!"
Yukari, Ken and Aigis are baffled by the call-back. As for Metis and Koromaru, while they were never able to participate (Koromaru didn't come, while Metis only existed after the death of Makoto Yuuki in January 31st, 2010), they too are unnerved by the appearance... of the fakes. And of course, the real deal all knew of the P-1 fakes now, as said fakes reveals themselves through Shadow surge, showing off their Golden eyes.
"It seems we'll be facing you in this dancing form." Shadow Ken smirked.
"I hate to waste time, so let's simply begin now." Shadow Naoto snapped. "Bring on the ring!"
Cue the food court getting calcified, leaving only a large area for everyone to fight. The Shadow Operatives couldn't dodge this time, so they're all stuck with the Investigation Team. Labrys still stands to defend the team under the Operatives' command.
"What's going on!?" Yukari looked around. "Wait... what the!? Where's the culprits!?"
"Oh, this feel so good..." Shadow Kanji go bloom. "We can't wait to... DESTROY YOU~!"
Hortus' presence is completely gone... vanished into red fog.
"Damnit, punks!" Kanji complained. "Yukiko-senpai, do something!"
"Not you again..." Naoto looked at Shadow Chie, can't believe that she's going to fight yet another fake Chie. "Fake Chie-senpai..."
"Boo hoo! Now, as you know, we'll be your opponents." Shadow Yosuke smirked. "Don't worry. More Investigation Team would be a pain in the ass..."
"HAHAHAHAHA!" Shadow Aigis laughed. "You have to defeat us all, or you'll die in the ring!" *psychotic laughter*
"More invisible walls." Naoto knocked the walls.
"This is just like all the previous editions of P-1 Grand Prix..." Labrys commented. "Except all of existence is roped into it. Apparently."
"Yes. The entire, greater omniverse is participating now." Shadow Chie confirmed. "All known survivors have to fight, no matter what."
The word "omniverse" suddenly reminded the real ones of their alliances with the CXA. Labrys, in particular, is reminded of a legend involving a cybernetically-enhanced daughter of a cowherd and a weaver, known by the name of "Hoshimatsu" (星祭)... (*14)
"Hellooooo! General Teddie is back!" General Teddie appeared as a projection. "Long time no see, Labby-chan and friends!"
"Not again!" Labrys, the Investigation Team and Marie are shocked.
"Oh, don't look so shocked." General Teddie cheesed. "Let's see if I can guess what you were thinking."
"No. I have my Shadow." Labrys refuted. "Shadow!"
Labrys blinked, and so her one true Shadow rises from the black box and took over, immediately jumpscaring General Teddie.
"That's not the real Teddie." Shadow Labrys figured it out. "Also, why did ya send my fakes to try and get me and her killed!?"
"Not the impostor again!" Teddie complained.
"You there! Silence in the peanut gallery!" General Teddie refuted. "How dare you call my bonafides into question!? I'll have you know I look beariffic!"
"So do ours!" Yosuke rebuked back.
"Agreed, Yosuke!" Teddie agreed. "In fact, I'm more beariffic than you are, old impostor!"
"Hmph! This is your last chance to push your luck like that!" General Teddie had enough. "Nobody leaves until you win this fight fair and square! Soooo, are you all okay with that? Are you gonna move on and go all out? Hurry up and decide how you're gonna enter the ring!"
"Will you shut up!?" Yukari complained. "Fine, let's do this. I'll go in and-"
"Stop!" Naoto shouted.
"Huh?" Yukari is surprised.
"You can't let him provoke you." Naoto warned Yukari. "The culprits' aim is to make us fight against our doubles, thereby carving off our Personas and stuffs!"
"Just as I suspected." Yu confirmed.
"Well... since innocent people are being trapped within the tower on the hill, how about try to avoid combat with our imitations and go rescue everyone, including the captives, ourselves?" Marie suggested. "Can't fall for the trap again."
"O-Okay...!" Yukari stepped back. "Let's try this-"
"Shut up! Are you withdrawing from P-1!?" Shadow Marie is pissed. "If you withdraw, you automatically loses. And if you lose, you disappear with me! Me! The fog! Ahahahaha!"
"Our friendship is our doomsday weapons for good. Not our combat." Rise declared. "Isn't that right, everyone?"
"What about it is your 'friendship'?" Shadow Naoto dismissed. "For it seems to me that you're moving on from your own time, and cowardly leaving others alone as we speak."
"You clearly have no understanding of the bond between people." Naoto refuted.
"...Yeah, what she said and we know." Labrys agreed, her right eye going back to normal to accompany her Shadow. "Nobody ditched us. Yukari-san believes in me. Shadow Operatives believe in me. The Investigation Team believes in each other. We believes in the bond of people! So we're gonna make sure to knock ya outta the park together!"
"That's right. If even a monster like me can bond with people..." Shadow Labrys smirked.
"Oh c'mon!" The fake Labrys complained. "Yasogami's Steel Council President and The Raging Bull of Destruction... you pushed yourself too far this time!"
"Fuck off, Sister Complex Kingpin of Steel!" Shadow Yu is pissed. "You're going to die here!"
"Captain Ressentiment, I'm you?" Shadow Yosuke scoffed. "Hell no, I'm me!"
"Spunky Dragon With Deadly Legs, wrong! So wrong!" Shadow Chie mocked her counterpart. "It is I, The Carnivore Who's Discarded Womanhood (*6), will do. Not you, pathetic bitch!"
"O, The Unconquerable Snow Black!" Shadow Yukiko chuckled. "You should just...CAST everything away! To HELL with being tied down!"
"It's about time you were honest with yourself, The Bloodcurdling Beefcake Emperor!" Shadow Kanji flexed. "Why don't you come over to our side and feel good with me? Or do you want to be rejected and get killed?"
"Here I am! Risette's ready to WREAK HAVOC!" Shadow Rise declared. "Feast your eyes on The Scandalous Superstar Idol! Kyahahaha!"
"How foolish, The Beast in Heat." Shadow Teddie dismissed. "It would've been easier had you just averted your eyes. You're alway empty."
"What's the matter, 2000-IQ Killjoy Detective?" Shadow Naoto smirked. "Let's see you use those quick wits you're so proud of!"
"You just like chasing after dreams, The Unsightly Pink Sniper." Shadow Yukari mocked her counterpart. "But you're still empty inside. After all, your justice is just a facade."
"How pitiful you are, The Pretentious Tenderfoot Duo!" Shadow Ken laughed, while Shadow Koromaru barked.
"Ken-ken, Yuki-chan! They're all mocking us!" Teddie is baffled.
"How about you just become one with the fog and die off, disappear from all memories, The Antisocial Poet of the Hollow Forest!" Shadow Marie laughed.
"I'm The Heartless Armed Angel..." Aigis recalled. "Damn..."
"Menace of Repressed Humanity... Ha... Sister, ha... haha... Hahahaha!" Shadow Metis sadistically cringed, while clinging on Shadow Aigis... dangerously affectionately, to the psychotic weapon that said fake Aigis are.
"Menace...!" Metis is shocked. "Did you call me... a menace? Evil?"
"I thought you were dangerous, but turns out you're Ai-chan's Shadow, a repressed self of her... after the end of..." Yukari recalled. (*15)
"See? Human are bastards and monstrous! Ah..." Shadow Metis just proved herself to be just as crazy and insane as Shadow Aigis. "Now you die, the broken!" *visor on*
"How dare you make fun of my humanity!" Aigis is pissed.
"You all crossed the line!" Metis put on her visor in rage. "We'll destroy you!"
"You fucking false punks, we're so gonna renovate your ass!" Kanji pulled out the chair he was using.
"This is your evil!" Yukari threw the Pink Argus helmet (*16) on her fake and then immediately pulled out her bow.
"Why are you getting us cancelled for no reason!?" Rise angrily refuted.
"You've crossed the line!" Yosuke complained. "First, you once again shoved bad memories onto us! And then you mocked us with those same, cringe and stupid names! And now you want us all dead!?"
"We cannot die in vain." Yu unsheathed his katana. "Everyone!"
"Ok, Persona!" The real deal summoned their respective Personas.
Cue a massive brawl between the two sides. It was brutal, with each initial a trade of blows of devastating scale, making great use of Personas involved. The fake Labrys is shown with Ariadne, and so didn't fare as well as the others' fake as the real Labrys and her Shadow are in outright sync, leading to on-demand on the fly activation of both Ariadne and Asterius. However, all Shadow-types easily managed to put up a fight, leading to the real deal bleeding and threatening to Persona-Break them all, encouraging combat vigilantism. Yukiko is burned and decides to get her Persona, Konohana-Sakuya, not wishing to risk Persona Break and die anymore.
"Please... evolve!" Yukiko pleaded.
"My goodness, Yuki-chan!" Teddie while clashing against his fake.
"Great. No choice, or else we die!" Yu agreed. "Persona, forevermore!"
"Theurgia!" Yukari evaded, and then loaded a Theurgy cartridge into her Evoker.
Ken did the same as well, while Koromaru was loaded with Theurgy thanks to Ken. Shadow Ken is pissed.
"Theurgy ready." Aigis reported.
Bang! Evokers activated them, and turned their eyes glowing red. At the same time, the Investigation Team's Personas all evolved: Izanagi-no-Okami, Susano-o, Suzuka Gongen, Amaterasu, Dairoku Tenmaou, Kouzeon, Kamui and Yamato-Takeru. Marie becomes the veil-wearing, left-eye glowing Kusumi-no-Okami, while Labrys ended up with both Ariadne and Asterius at the same time.
And so, the real deal all unleashed themselves and brutally finished their respective fakes. The battlefield exploded as a result, and the ring is broken, forcing the food court back to normal.
"What a fantastic battle!" Shadow Naoto is the only Shadow-type here left with her head in one piece at all. "We must have gathered a good many Persona fragments just from that alone, haha..."
The injured party got up, and all the Shadow-types - in pieces from the final beat-down, all over the place - quickly melted down and then evaporated into light. Everyone healed themselves to get them back to shape, and everything's back to prior from the brawl.
"So... we ended up fightin' these things together..." Labrys is operating perfectly. "But once again..."
"There was no getting around it." Naoto confirmed.
Naoto then quickly explained the situation to everyone. "Besides, the mysterious Darkbolts are still at large."
"Once again, everything's set up perfectly. Even better set than P-1 Climax." Yu commented.
"Nngh!" Naoto suddenly collapsed.
Even with the spells, the paracausality resumed the full pain from before the brawl, leading to Naoto falling down.
"Naoto-kun!" Labrys and the rest of the Investigation Team girls except Rise noticed.
"Thank goodness. Our lives are once again saved." Naoto thanked.
"C'mon, no need to thank." Labrys responded. "I told ya all we're in here together. But what about Mitsuru and others, and then some?"
And so, while Naoto recovers, everyone recapped everything that happened from the day they completely lost contact with the CXA, all the way up until this point. The red fog and the tournament were also brought up. They're here to infiltrate the Tartarus and save the rest of Shadow Operatives, all of the Phantom Thieves (due to chronological mayhem leading to P-1 Special) and everything.
"Just like I thought, though those fake us were tough as hell." Labrys commented. "How in the world did they come back?"
"The imitations seem to be crafted from Shadows... and now radiolaria, a substance we don't really know of." Naoto added.
"According to the data from a future game known as 'Destiny', it's Vex radiolaria, microscopic silica-based organisms that make up the biological component of Vex constructs. Massive concentrations of radiolaria are often found on planets transformed into machine worlds." Rise got the notes. "Anyways... about that and the rift-"
"Let's hurry. There's actually something I couldn't tell Yukari-san earlier." Naoto got up, having recovered from Hortus' strike. "It's like the young man Minazuki again. The culprits are gathering Persona fragments and more from us in an attempt to summon something hideous."
Marie and Labrys are mildly surprised.
"Indeed. They'll use the tower looming on the hill, just as Tartarus was used when Mitsuru-san and her friends were in highschool." Naoto continued. "I don't know what I'm particular they intend to bring forth. But there's no denying that their aim is something along those lines... or worse."
"Really...!? Oh yeah..." Labrys got it. "I actually felt somethin' odd about these strange ones myself."
"Odd? In what way?"
"Well, when I physically got close to each of 'em, such as Hortus, I felt somethin' strange." Labrys recalled. "It was exactly like the feelin' I get from those Plumes of Dusk we have as cores."
"Does that mean they hoarded the Plumes of Dusk for themselves!?" Kanji raised his hand.
"Not exactly... It wasn't that they had one in each of them, it was more like it was synced up with each heart." Labrys commented. "It felt just like ours do."
Meanwhile, the Persona fragments are flying up to the top of the tower.
"Us Persona users kick ass!" Kanji exclaimed.
"Oh yeah! Let get going!" Teddie rushed.
"Let's get rendezvous with others!" Naoto followed.
"Everyone, follow us!" Yu rushed.
Everyone went to the tower.
Note: Everyone, this chapter being more Persona-centric but still with overarching storyline of "Tales of four Pechies", so there's Pechy, Ivy and Ivy, System, and Jumpson, all continuing on their chase to the top. And this is where the maternal being comes in: Nyx is here. Nyx, appearing as a genderbent Makoto Yuuki, now being forced into experiencing the Dark Hour herself. The Darkbolts did it, and the team of five wants Nyx to join them. But Shadow Akihiko interfered, Nyx ran away, and the team had to fight some. Also, I like to imagine System summoning stuff for her two beat down her enemies (i.e. if anyone from Trope Pantheon mess with her, they die and respawns straight to the hospital).
Being Persona-centric means it's time for more perspective of the Persona users. Naoto Shirogane back in the Junes Food Court - now consumed by the Corridors of Time - having to relive the P-1 through fighting a fake Chie. Mitsuru Kirijo finally returned to cross-time mishap from Persona Q games, this time featuring her future self instead! So 2009!Mitsuru had to get help from Toshiro Kasukabe and Eri Natsuhara from 2017 (20XX in-game) to spot the fake amongst the two 2012 Mitsurus, before executing the fake via a fight. The now-Taken Maruki's Palace is back, and the founders of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts (Ren Amamiya, Morgana, Ryuji Sakamoto, and Ann Takamaki) had to fight the fake version of Elizabeth of the Velvet Room herself, and I didn't forget how powerful Elizabeth is: Shadow Elizabeth resorting to Megidolaon nearly killed all four, and Joker (Ren Amamiya) had to resort to use Satanael (his evolved Persona) to finish off the fake attendant. And finally, after beating the fake Chie, Hortus arrives and then the Investigation Team and the Shadow Operatives' auxiliary and then some dropped down from the rift to get real and approach the tower, so all their Shadow-types (not Hortus though; Shadow Marie is finally here, after previously being cut from Ultimax) were sent as dancers to kill the real deal. Believe me, that brawl is brutal: the real deal had to resort to ultimate Personas, transformations and Theurgies to finish the fakes off alive.
And speaking of dancers (and Shadow Elizabeth speaking): all the Persona-Dancing spinoffs are Canon, as does the Persona Q games. This helps with the writing of 2009!Mitsuru deciding who is 2012!Mitsuru and who is Shadow Mitsuru, as well as the mentions of dance competition (and Mikuratana-no-Kami). But only the Investigation Team remembered the dancing days, and neither the Shadow Operatives (formerly Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad) nor the Phantom Thieves, because the Velvet Room attendants erased their memories of the whole ordeal after the dance competition ended! So while the S.E.E.S./Operatives and the Thieves are confused, the Investigation Team did remember, recall and recognized the dancing stuffs - not that the Shadow-types are going to dance around anyways, at least not in duty.
In addition to the 2025 friends, there's also Persona fragments and energies (and souls of the defeated dead) flowing to the top of the tower. All the heroes and allies did kinda get to figure these out, though only Pechy's team knows about those captive friends; the Persona users surviving the food court got the radiolaria info from the Destiny games, which can only be in Persona 5 time (2016-) onwards. Without the timey-wimey prelude leading to P-1 Special to spawn the games and any PS4 (or PS5, because backward compatibility), they wouldn't be able to know about Vex radiolaria at all.
And finally, the nicknames stood. Notably, Chie has two P-1 names: "The Carnivore Who's Discarded Womanhood", and "Spunky Dragon with Deadly Legs". Chie hated the former name, so the game rolled with the latter; now fake Chies in general took the lost name and made it basically theirs, as they're based on Shadow Chie and thus is like her (i.e. Shadow) but nastier and completely hostile. The nicknames are also involved prior to the ring brawl, and the name "Menace of Repressed Humanity" shook Metis, because while she was initially rude (and slightly felt entitled) to the S.E.E.S., she wasn't inherently evil at all, being Aigis' repressed emotions made manifest. Shadow Metis' characterizations is built upon both that fact and the nicknames, even mentioning a literal trope (Human Are Bastards) and showing similar psychotic tendencies of Shadow Aigis. The fake Metis is surely to fake Aigis as the originals really are such (Metis being Aigis' Shadow self of sorts). Thank you for attending my TED talk, now please- Absolute Rainbow! You have no right to talk shit about my fakes! General Teddie, can't you just SHUT UP!?
Be sure to promote the entire crossover project as well! Confused? Here's how you can do it: share the project and the fanfiction to social media, TV Tropes pages, appropriate forums and conversations, and get everyone to know and help! (No drama please!)
Until next time...
Cross-trivia:
(*1) - See Persona 3 (2006, 2024).
(*2) - Persona 5 (2016) being delayed caused Atlus to scrub the 2016 date from the game, turning it into 20XX (hence the games' years are listed as 20XX). However, the main game (both 2016 base and 2019's Royal) matches 2016 and 2017 dates, and so on through (the Phantom Thieves of Hearts were active from early 2016 to near November 2017 at the very least).
(*3) - See Persona Q games.
(*4) - Based on Persona 3 Reload (2024). Before that release, the Tartarus was 263 floors. (Not to mention the different distribution of the floors) 263 is a prime number, by the way.
(*5) - It's Naoto vs. Chie once again, with the same location and same case. See Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (ペルソナ4 ジ・アルティマックス ウルトラス―プレックスホールド, 2013).
(*6) - Reused from the Persona 4 Arena duology because the real Chie hated the name. The normal nickname is "Spunky Dragon With Deadly Legs".
(*7) - Mortal Kombat.
(*8) - Fortnite.
(*9) - Persona 4 (2008) takes place in early 2011- summer 2012. Persona 3 (2006, 2024) however is Makoto's transfer year (2009-2010) and also when Makoto sacrificed himself to become the Great Seal.
(*10) - See Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight (ペルソナ３ ダンシング・ムーンナイト) and Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight (ペルソナ５ ダンシング・スターナイト) (both: 2018).
(*11) - Pre-P4 chronologically, Shadows in true human forms may have red eyes. Since Persona 4 (2008, takes place in 2011), it's standardized to golden.
(*12) - The Azure (蒼), also known as the Azure Flamed Grimoire (蒼炎の書) and the true BlazBlue (2008-), is a mysterious power that lies at the deepest part of the Boundary and has the ability to grant anyone's desires. Its mysterious and almighty nature have caused many to lust after it; the pursuit of it has caused multiple wars, the creation of new worlds, and the deaths of thousands.
(*13) - References to Persona 4: Dancing All Night (ペルソナ４ ダンシングオールナイト, 2015).
(*14) - From Beyond the Edge and sequel, Successor of Anti-Life.
(*15) - See "Episode Aigis" of Persona 3 (2006, 2024).
(*16) - Phoenix Ranger Featherman (不死鳥戦隊フェザーマン) series from Persona series (1996-). Specifically, Yukari is the actor for Pink Argus from Victory (Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (2013)).