Chapter Text
“Cheers!”
The unified celebration rings out across a rooftop dining area. Fairy lights hung from decorative wooden lattices light everything underneath. The flora crawling up those same lattices provides a pleasant smell to the already clear air, a benefit to being in the countryside in March. A speaker system near the exit plays pop music at an audible volume for all without blocking conversation.
The building housing all of this is not very far from Inaba. It is also currently reserved for the party between two established groups. On one side of the massive center table sits the Investigation Team, unsurprisingly locked in debate over who gets what in terms of the food in front of them. On the other, the Shadow Operatives and their reserve members unwind after a long stretch of work-filled days.
Kanji, Teddie, and Chie play rock-paper-scissors to dole out the last of the meat buns while Yukiko and Naoto take the opportunity to grab some tempura under the others’ noses. Rise makes a show out of trying to feed Yu, who is having trouble weighing his own hunger against how embarrassing it would be to give in. Yosuke tries to swat her away to no avail.
Fuuka watches all of this, unable to contain her giggles as she pets Koromaru in her lap. Yukari and Junpei are both slamming Ken with complaints about their jobs, and though the boy tries to look to Akihiko for an out, he is too busy showing Labrys some travel pictures on his phone. Aigis is ever vigilant, ensuring that Mitsuru actually takes the time to sit down instead of trying to facilitate things as she is known to do.
“Man, we really have everyone here together for this,” Yosuke says. “How’d you pull this off, Mitsuru-san?”
“Oh, I can’t take any credit. This was all Aigis and Labrys’s doing,” she replies. “Unbeknownst to me, they’ve been pouring over all of our schedules as of late to make sure we could have this meetup in relative peace. Those two can be quite crafty when the situation calls for it.”
Aigis nods to herself. “Finally, my stealth abilities rival that of man’s greatest form: the ninja.”
“Ninjas?” Kanji asks.
Yukari shakes her head. “Please do not get her started…”
The party continues on as the sun begins to dip below the horizon. There was a time when all of them would be more comfortable sticking to their respective teams during a gathering, but after so many ordeals together and the occasional hangouts shared, they had no trouble feeling like a single group when it came to having fun.
At some point, a karaoke session sweeps through the group, putting many of those gathered onto the small, raised platform normally used for speeches. Though the performances given vary greatly in terms of skill, they are each enjoyable in their own way.
Mitsuru’s smile only fades once her cell phone begins to vibrate in her pocket. She pulls it out, narrowing her eyes at the screen once she reads the caller ID.
Akihiko takes notice of her expression and asks, “What’s with the look?”
“I specifically requested all calls to be contained to headquarters while I was away today. If I’m receiving one now…”
“Then it might be something serious,” Yukari finishes. “Yeah, you better take it.”
Mitsuru quickly excuses herself to find a quiet corner of the rooftop. Yukari and Akihiko watch her the entire time she talks, and eventually everyone else notices the three being occupied. Karaoke slowly winds down until Mitsuru finally comes back to the group, grimacing with every step.
“Based on that face you’re making, I’m guessing that wasn’t a pleasant call,” says Yukari.
“I do not wish to cause alarm during our peaceful gathering. However…” Mitsuru pauses before taking a breath. “Shadow activity has been detected.”
Her words take immediate effect. Half of the partygoers are out of their seats now, while the others all have pained looks on their faces.
“Detected where?” Akihiko asks.
“According to the preliminary scans, in a small town known as Yamichi.”
“Yamichi?” Yukiko repeats. She faces the others from Inaba. “Does that sound familiar to the rest of you, too?”
“Now that you mention it, kinda,” says Kanji. “Dunno why, though.”
“It certainly isn’t somewhere I’ve been,” Naoto says, “but yes, I do believe I have heard the name before.”
“What is this place?” Teddie asks.
“I think it’s a rather small town up north,” says Fuuka. When her friends send some odd looks her way, she adds, “I…spent a lot of time in college looking at maps.”
“Yamichi is indeed a small town located northeast of our current location,” Aigis says. “As of two thousand and eighteen, its total population is estimated at around twenty-one thousand. Additionally, a majority of the more developed areas are wards for commercial businesses. There is a large shift towards converting old buildings into offices to house masses of workers.”
“Uh, nice history lesson, Ai-chan, but what’s that got to do with Shadows?” Junpei asks.
Koromaru chimes in with a bark.
“Koromaru-san says, ‘perhaps the Shadows are seeking new employment opportunities.’”
“There is no way he said that!”
“Regardless of how that town is involved, I do not like the situation we’ve been presented with,” Mitsuru says. “The odds of something Shadow-related happening on the one day we all choose to gather are too small to simply be coincidence. I almost feel as if we’re being summoned in some way.”
Yukari sighs. “I was afraid you were going to say that. Well, at least I won’t be doing this mission in my Featherman outfit.”
“Aw, but you looked so cool!” Ken says.
“None of the Shadow Operatives reserve members are obligated to go,” Mitsuru says. “For all we know, this could be as simple as a small outbreak. We have seen seemingly innocuous areas spawn Shadows before.”
“Yeah, but what if it’s another big thing like the Grand Prix?” Junpei asks. “We were late to the rescue last time – no way we’re letting that happen again.”
“Junpei’s right.” Yukari shivers. “Can’t believe those words came out of my mouth…”
“Hey!”
“We’ll stand with you, Mitsuru-san,” says Ken. “If it is just a minor issue, then let’s take care of it before it grows into a larger one.”
Mitsuru smiles and nods. “I am blessed with such loyal allies. Very well. We’ll do this together. As for the Investigation Team…”
“Before you finish, I think we should be honest and express our decision to come along,” says Yu. “Like Amada-kun said, even if this isn’t a big deal, we want to help resolve it quickly. And in the event that it is something like the Grand Prix, we could never stay on the sidelines.”
“We can fight!” Chie exclaims. “Don’t worry about us slowing you guys down.”
Yukiko bows her head. “Please allow us to accompany you.”
“Believe me, I had no intention of telling any of you to sit this one out,” Mitsuru says. “If I had, you likely would have all followed the moment we set out. Am I right?”
“Yep!” Teddie says. “We don’t follow instructions well at all!”
Yosuke elbows him. “Don’t say that about the rest of us. But he’s not wrong. We wouldn’t feel good leaving all of it to you guys when we can help.”
“I thought not,” says Mitsuru. “In that case, let’s all take care of preparations so that we can properly investigate this strange occurrence. Narukami, am I correct in assuming you have preferred weaponry available to you?”
He nods. “Yeah, don’t worry about us. I’ll just have to make a quick trip into Inaba and we’ll be good to go. Yosuke, Chie, want to come help?”
“Got you covered, partner!”
“Let’s roll!”
“Then I’ll begin making calls for our other supplies and transport,” Mitsuru says. “Sit tight, everyone.”
Yu leads his small group to the deck of parked cars several floors below them. Normally he would insist on driving instead of Chie, but they are in a hurry, so he slides wordlessly into the passenger seat of her car once she whips out her keys with a little too much enthusiasm.
The car barely rumbles to life before Chie zips out towards the open road, squeezing between all the vehicles around with mere inches of room available to her. Yosuke grips the door handle to his left once the car stops bumping from the shift in terrain.
“You know, for someone who wanted to be a cop once, you sure don’t follow traffic laws very well.”
“This is an emergency! Besides, you just have to make sure to slow it down once you’re around other people. You see anybody else on these empty roads?”
“Definitely not what they teach you in driving school…” Yosuke shakes his head and leans forward towards Yu. “Hey, what are you thinking this is? Something small like Mitsuru-san says? Or…?”
“I honestly have no idea,” he replies. “She’s right about the timing being concerning. I mean, why now if not because we’re all together? Either this is intentional, or fate just treats us differently than most people.”
“I could see either. We really don’t have much to go on, huh?”
“When’s that ever stopped us?” Chie asks. “We barely had anything on the murders when we found the TV World, and that turned out okay. We’ll handle this, too – no sweat!”
“Ever the optimist,” says Yosuke. “Guess you’ve got a point, though. Let’s get our weapons and hurry back to the others. We can’t let the Shadow Ops show us up this time around.”
The process of gathering everyone’s usual gear doesn’t take long once they get to Inaba. It had been a practical decision to store everything in Yu’s old room in the Dojima household, so all they have to do upon reaching it is move everything to Chie’s car.
The most amount of time is spent assuring Dojima himself that they’ll be perfectly fine on this latest mission of theirs. Even though he doesn’t entirely buy that, he has long since agreed to let them handle their own business.
The trio is sent on their way with a special request from Nanako for a souvenir from their destination, just like how she asked for one during their vacation in Tokyo three months ago. Yu promises to find something, but anything they come across on this trip will likely not be something suitable for a thirteen-year-old.
Chie’s hotshot driving gets them back to the others in practically no time. When they arrive, Mitsuru is in the middle of explaining that everyone gathered will be meeting up with some of the Shadow Operative staff members at a Kirijo owned facility further north. They’ll be bringing over the rest of their necessary equipment, it seems.
The large group is split amongst several cars as they all head for the meeting point. Chatting over the long drive is a nice distraction for a bit, but no one can fully set aside their nerves about the situation.
The Kirijo owned building ends up looking like any other rented office space aside from the heavy security presence out front. Mitsuru gets them all in without issue, and from there, the real gearing up sequence begins.
The Investigation Team is finished much faster than the Shadow Operatives, and it becomes clear why when they all reappear after venturing into a room at the back of the facility.
Each of them is sporting black battle attire that complements their normal looks almost perfectly. Yukari’s padded jacket leaves just enough space for her pink blouse. Ken wears his in a similar manner, though he does roll the sleeves up on both the jacket and his white button-up underneath. Junpei goes for the opposite look, wearing his jacket around his waist and leaving his baseball jersey out in the open.
Mitsuru looks almost like royalty with her vest, long gloves, and small cape. Joining her as vest wearers are both Akihiko and Koromaru. Akihiko’s appears more padded than the others, especially over the chest and rib areas. Koromaru’s is a lot thinner and comes with a first-aid kit attached to the back. Fuuka has the unique look of a poncho and fingerless gloves combo, as well as a pair of high-tech headphones that rest on her head.
The only ones not wearing new equipment are Aigis and Labrys, which is to be expected. They likely have already outfitted themselves with any additional weaponry they need for this mission.
Yukiko claps at the sight of them all once they step out into the open. “Ooh, what impressive outfits you all have!”
“Thanks,” Yukari says. She hikes her jacket up her shoulders. “Never thought I’d be back in this again. I like the upgrades, though.”
“Well, we aren’t students anymore,” Akihiko says. “We can afford for these to be a bit more complicated.”
“Each of our Theurgy cartridges have been replenished as well,” says Aigis, “so we are deploying at full strength this time around.”
Mitsuru turns to regard the rest of their gathered group. “Investigation Team, your combat gear is located in the crates just to your left. We’ll set off as soon as you all are changed.”
“Wait, we get outfits too?” Chie asks.
“Of course. I hope they’re to your liking.” As the younger team starts inspecting the crates, Mitsuru adds, “I had them created on the off chance we ever happened to need your assistance again. They should provide adequate protection from whatever strange realm we find ourselves in today.”
Yu sees exactly what she means once he makes contact with his gear. He doesn’t know if it was intentional, but the outfit is fairly similar to his former Yasogami uniform. It’s comprised of a grey compression shirt covered by a high-collared black jacket, with matching pants that fit nicely over his legs.
He turns to get a look at his teammates as they finish outfitting themselves. Yosuke’s got what looks like a pilot’s jumpsuit that’s predominately black with bright orange trim. Chie and Kanji are sporting something closer to combat gear than the others, with hers resembling a reinforced tracksuit and his taking after a lighter form of riot gear. Yukiko’s new haori comes lined with multiple pockets, and Rise seems right at home in her half-black half-pink jumpsuit.
Teddie actually has two sets of gear. The first is a large vest not unlike Koromaru’s that fits over his mascot suit. The second is more of a business suit than anything, but it’s probably safe to assume that it has adequate protection built-in considering Naoto is wearing largely the same thing. The only difference between the two is that Naoto’s suit has the bonus of a gun holster and a side pouch.
Yu doesn’t even have to ask if everyone else is pleased with Mitsuru’s generous gift. Wearing what they do now, the feeling of being totally protected comes easy. He wonders briefly where the measurements for everything came from, but knowing how extensive the Kirijo Group’s resources are, it’s probably for the best not to question it.
Not wanting to waste any more time, the team seventeen Persona-users strong boards a trio of helicopters and heads out to the town of Yamichi. Fuuka spends the whole trip analyzing data from Shadow Operative staff members already on scene, and Yu can see from her expression that this outing likely won’t be as simple as some of them hoped.
Yamichi turns out to be bleak looking even from up high. Just like Aigis said, it’s a town crammed with plain looking buildings on every street corner. Unlike the vibrant landscapes of Inaba or the dazzling cityscape of Iwatodai, Yamichi is only a few steps away from being a ghost town.
That turns out to be even more true once the helicopters touch down to drop everyone off. There’s no activity to be seen anywhere, even though it isn’t that late into the evening yet. As the helicopter blades die down, the silence that settles in is unnerving to all who have to sit in it.
Mitsuru leads them all to the area where the Shadow readings were discovered, an unassuming lakefront with a rotting pier attached. It sits at the edge of town in one of the only natural sections left in the area.
The staff members there greet Mitsuru and inform her of what they’ve found, but it isn’t much. She tells them to have a small base camp set up just outside of town so as to not arouse suspicion if any locals suddenly show up curious about the newcomers.
While the business side of things is being worked out, the rest of them stretch and psych themselves up for whatever fight lies in wait. Though there is still a chance they’ve overprepared for this, experience tells them that they won’t get out of this without a battle.
“I wonder what it is we’re up against…” Labrys says, leaning against her axe.
“Whatever it is, it chose the wrong day to start trouble,” Junpei says. “We’ve got the whole crew here to wreck house!”
Kanji pumps his fist in the air. “Poor bastard never stood a chance!”
“Let’s not be hasty,” says Naoto. “We know from prior experience that simply having everyone together does not guarantee an easy victory. Let’s attain more information so that we can hopefully take the problem out without complicating matters.”
“Well said.” Mitsuru casts a look over at Fuuka, who is still in the middle of pouring through some data on the tablets left behind by Shadow Operative staff. “How are we looking in terms of navigation?”
“This data largely matches what I’ve seen so far. This is the strongest point of activity in the entire town. Our equipment can only do so much, so let me see if I can gain a bit more insight with Juno’s help.”
Fuuka clasps her hands together and closes her eyes. As she quietly calls, ‘Persona,’ Juno shimmers into being around her. Even though the Investigation Team knows that summoning a Persona outside of Shadow-filled worlds is possible for skilled Persona-users, it’s always amazing to see.
Everyone gets a little antsy while waiting for Fuuka’s preliminary scans to finish, so it’s a great relief when she finally announces that she has some info on what to do next. That relief immediately turns to confusion once she reveals that the Shadow reading isn’t simply located near the water, but is coming from the entire body of water itself. Whatever otherworldly presence has sprung up in this town has actively taken over the lake in front of them.
The group approaches it to peer inside. Aside from not being able to see to the bottom, it looks like any other lake would. The idea that it contains anything Shadow-related would be laughable if Fuuka wasn’t the one informing them of it.
“No matter how I analyze the lake, I keep getting a similar result,” she says. “One that reminds me of the TV World back in Inaba. All signs point to that lake being an entrance to a dimension separate from this one.”
Ken takes another look at the lake. “So we’d…have to go into the water to get there? So weird…”
“Not much weirder than jumping into TVs,” Labrys says.
Curious, Yu approaches and dips a finger under the surface of the water. Despite feeling wet, none of the water actually clings to him. Instead, reaching in feels like pushing through a light film, or some sort of gelatin that hasn’t quite finished solidifying. It isn’t too dissimilar to reaching inside the TVs in Inaba. When he pulls his finger out, it’s as dry as when he stuck it in.
“There’s definitely something weird about it,” he says. “But it doesn’t seem dangerous. If Fuuka-san’s scans are correct, we should be able to get through.”
“Well, in that case, what are we waiting for?” Akihiko asks.
He rolls his shoulder before taking a running leap into the lake. To everyone’s surprise, his entry into the water doesn’t result in any sort of splash. The water barely stirs with small ripples moving across the surface. It’s as if only a pebble was dropped in.
Mitsuru drops her head to mutter, “Why is he like this…”
“I, uh…guess we’re going in,” Kanji says.
Everyone else uses slower movements to enter the water. Passing between it with their whole bodies causes a sensation not unlike entering the TV World, as Fuuka brought up before. There’s a different sort of disorientation from feeling the world flip around, but everyone ends up on their feet before it can set in too heavily. Only a few seconds have passed by the time the group lands on solid ground in this strange new area.
They stand on what appears to be fake grass and dirt due to their abnormal coloring. Both normally natural parts of an environment are too saturated to be the real thing, not to mention how orderly they are arranged. It could pass for an art display, albeit an extremely strange one.
Despite feeling like they dropped in from the sky, the water that served as their entrance sits as a pool just behind them in a small pond much smaller than the previous lake. In totality, this immediate area has the look of an exhibit on nature rather than the real thing.
“We really are still dry,” Yukiko remarks, patting herself down. “How interesting.”
Despite that fact, Yukari shakes herself out. “Ugh, I think I hate that feeling…”
“Let’s keep moving,” Akihiko says. “We won’t learn anything standing around.”
With that in mind, the Persona-users make their way forward past the open area of faux grass and dirt. Waiting for them at the end of a gravel road is a massive building constructed of gray marble. Wide pillars line the front, propping up a hefty overhang that casts shadows over the golden door tucked away further back. It is barely visible past the staircase in front of the building.
“Is this some kinda government building?” Labrys asks.
“Potentially,” Mitsuru says. “Though the appearance falls more in line with the sort of mausoleums you might see in European nations. We’ll have to save any further speculation for once we get inside.”
“What’s a building doing in a lake, though?” asks Junpei as they start to ascend the stairs.
Yosuke answers, “If it’s anything like the TV World, it’s probably just something that popped up here. I doubt it’s based on anything real.”
The golden doors are all the more imposing close up, like the type that would be attached to a vault. Despite their appearance, however, they open with the slightest touch, beckoning the group in with a soft hiss.
Inside is the beginnings of a circular entrance hall. The skeleton of a chandelier hangs high over the reception desk straight ahead. The desk is centered between a dual staircase that extends up to an oddly high second floor. There are more pillars like the ones outside, but none of them reach up to the roof. Everything in the area is either half-finished or in desperate need of repair.
“This feels a lot like the lobby that Tartarus had,” Fuuka remarks. She sets some of the tech she brought onto the reception desk. “We should be mostly safe from Shadows here, so I think I’ll continue to navigate from this location. It’s easier to use my equipment if I’m not moving, and I’ve never been much of a mobile navigator anyway.”
“If you feel confident in this area’s relative safety, then I won’t argue,” Mitsuru says. “Still, I don’t like leaving you alone. Koromaru, will you stay here and watch over Yamagishi for us?”
He barks in response, causing Kanji to coo softly at the back of the group.
“Such a good boy,” he whispers.
Fuuka adds, “If anything happens to separate our overall connection, I’ll relay information primarily to Rise-chan.”
Rise nods. “I’ll be sure to navigate extra hard for the both of us!”
With no other path in sight than the second floor, everyone says goodbye to Fuuka and Koromaru before ascending the stairs. Just before the doors at the top of them sits a large information panel. It has a digital display of a map, but none of the locations are marked. The only part of the building that appears is the lobby and a notification that the second floor has been accessed.
Progress is slow as the group exercises caution going forward. Though no one has said as much, the lack of enemies and any points of interest have them on alert more than if they had been ambushed right out of the gate. This feels like a joke where the punchline has been long abandoned.
The more parts of the building they pass, the more it all starts to feel like they’re on a self-tour in some museum. There are areas for dioramas, picture frames, and display cases all lined up in each of the visible rooms, but all of them are empty. One display case is even shattered to bits when they come across it. It’s the only thing so far that seems to have been broken outright from something other than overuse.
Ken brushes some dust off the nameplate on a door as he walks past. “All these signs say, ‘work in progress,’ just like everything else. Nothing has a real label from what we’ve seen.”
“Odd,” Naoto says. “It’s almost as if the building itself is under renovation. Or, at the very least, still in the process of construction. Could it be that this dimension manifested prematurely?”
“Hey, that’d make our job easier,” Kanji says. “Gives the enemy less time to prep, right?”
“I would hope so, but…I can’t shake the bad feeling I’m getting.”
“If there is anyone whose gut reactions I trust, it’s you, Shirogane,” says Mitsuru. “Let’s continue to proceed with caution. Just because we have yet to find any trouble doesn’t mean—”
“Hold up,” Akihiko says. “You guys hear that?”
As everyone puts their conversation on pause, the noises Akihiko refers to come through faintly. They can hear distant growling, the sound of metal scraping against a hard surface, and even the startling bang of a gun being fired.
“Sounds like fighting,” says Yu.
When Teddie sniffs the air, the act makes him recoil in disgust. “Uh, guys? Something smells beary bad up ahead…”
“Like, B.O. bad, or Shadow bad?” Junpei asks.
“Obviously the second one,” says Yukari. “Where is it, Teddie?”
“Down this way. Follow me!”
He sprints ahead with his nose held high, so everyone else does their best to keep up. There are some twists and turns on the path, but eventually his squeaky footsteps screech to a halt in the center of a long hallway flanked by railings. Enormous glass windows take up the space of the wall on the right, allowing for a look down into the large room below.
It has the size of a dozen concert halls all merged together, though without any of the clutter. The lack of light coming in through the window hides most of the far-reaching corners of the room. Even in that darkness, one thing stands out: a towering western-style dragon covered in thick ruby red scales and sharp spikes. White fangs catch the light of the flames slipping through them, turning the space that the dragon occupies into a light source of its own.
The dragon isn’t alone, however. Facing off against it is a lone figure dressed in black. Their coattails flutter behind them as they mount the dragon to deliver a quick series of stabs via the small blade in their hand. When the dragon reaches out with a claw to stop any more damage, the fighter disengages with a backflip. Unfortunately for their efforts, the monster looks no worse for wear after the stabbing.
“Who is that?” Chie asks.
“Can’t tell,” Akihiko says. “They’ve got a mask on. And some weird clothes.”
“Not really something you can comment on after last time, senpai,” Yukari mutters.
“Forget the person, what the hell’s a dragon doing here?!” Junpei yells.
“That’s…really not the strangest thing we’ve seen in places like this, Junpei-san,” says Rise.
In any other situation, the fight down below might seem like a choreographed performance. The person in a mask weaves between the dragon’s attacks, dodging flame and claws in equal measure to retaliate with strikes of their own. They still don’t leave any noticeable damage on it, however.
Visibly agitated, the masked fighter backs off and shouts something that doesn’t make it to where everyone is watching from. Alongside a powerful shockwave and a burst of blue fire, an otherworldly being appears behind the masked fighter. Its blood red attire contrasts with the massive, feathery black wings jutting from its back. With one wave of the fighter’s arm, the floating creature sends out a geyser of red and black energy that explodes on contact with the dragon and forces it back. The gathered group only knows one type of entity that behaves like this.
“That person has a Persona!” Ken shouts.
“A strong one too,” Akihiko says. “I could feel the pressure from its summoning all the way up here.”
“But what’s a Persona-user doing out here all by themselves?” asks Yukiko.
“Yamagishi, have you settled in yet?” Mitsuru asks. “Can you tell us anything more about this individual?”
Fuuka’s voice echoes in everyone’s minds. “Nothing very revealing, I’m afraid. Though I can confirm your assumptions about their strength. The power coming from them and their Persona is staggering.”
“Can you make any direct comparisons?” Naoto asks.
“It would be better to see in person, but I estimate their power puts them somewhere just below Narukami-kun. Without taking into account any of his special powers, that is.”
The whole of the Investigation Team tenses at that. It would be one thing for this mystery fighter to match up to them, but to their leader? The idea of anyone coming close to Yu has them thinking of individuals that they have no desire to cross paths with again.
Rise takes a few steps back to give Kouzeon some room to form. Her own senses go to work in quantifying the unknown variable currently in battle.
“I hate to say it, but I’m with Fuuka-san on this one,” she states. “Whoever that is down there is definitely strong. But also…”
“Also what?” Chie asks.
“Something about that power feels familiar. Not in a strong way, but…I feel like I’ve sensed something like it at least once before.”
“Well that’s ominous,” Yosuke mutters.
Back in the fight below, the winged Persona shields its summoner from a fire breath attack, allowing them to retaliate with a few loud gunshots into the dragon’s wings. The bullets cause it some clear pain, but they don’t penetrate any of the leathery skin. The dragon spins in place to slam the masked fighter with its tail.
The same exchange happens a few more times. Every small bit of damage inflicted on the dragon is returned tenfold to the human battling it, though they never stay down for long. Their Persona doesn’t use any healing spells, which tells everyone watching that this is simply the fighter’s own resilience on display.
Junpei whistles at the sight. “Whoever they are, they’re pissed. I’ve never seen someone jump back up so quick after getting hit. They want that dragon dead.”
“Which means they’re on our side, right?” Labrys asks. “If this place is supposed to be filled with Shadows, that dragon’s prob’ly somethin’ similar.”
“It wouldn’t be wise to assume their allegiance right off the bat,” says Naoto. “Hating Shadows has not been a disqualifier for being an enemy of ours in the past.”
“We also don’t know what it is they’re actually doing here,” says Mitsuru. “The fact that their arrival predates ours already has me suspicious of their role in all this.”
“Do you think it could be the person who’s behind this?” Yukari asks. “Like, they made this area and now they’re having trouble reining in the Shadows?”
“Wouldn’t someone who could make all this have some better control?” Yosuke asks. “I don’t get why someone would go to the trouble of doing something like this if they couldn’t handle their own creations.”
“Maybe it’s another situation like with Labrys,” says Chie. “Her Shadow made that space in the TV World, but she couldn’t do much about it. Maybe that person down there is dealing with their Shadow?”
Labrys shudders. “For their sake, I really hope they’re not dealing with somethin’ like that alone…”
Aigis whispers a soft, “Sister…”
Any further conversation is cut off by the sound of a howling screech from the dragon below. In several bursts of bloodlike goo, multiple Shadows spawn in around it, circling the masked fighter. These Shadows aren’t like the ones either team watching has dealt with in the past, however. Strangely, they all have the appearance of Personas that Yu or Aigis themselves would use in battle.
The fighter manages to dodge the first few attacks, but the Shadows eventually land a clean hit to their back. When they hit the ground, the damage starts to pile on. Shards of ice descend from the sky beside bolts of lightning and large gusts of wind, and the dragon’s own fireballs pelt the very same spot. Even amidst the noise from the volley of attacks being hurled, human cries of pain can be heard clear as day.
Akihiko grips onto the railing so tightly that his gloves creak. “Answers can come later. If we don’t get down there now, they’re gonna die!”
“Yeah, but we still don’t have a way to get down there,” Junpei says. “I don’t see a door anywhere.”
“Then let’s make our own.” Kanji moves over to an unoccupied window before crushing the small blue card hovering in front of him. “Persona!”
Takeji Zaiten appears with his sword already raised. One heavy slash is enough to shatter the window entirely and take a large chunk of the wall with it. With the new opening granted to them, the group jumps down into the open area and sprints towards the battle. They are met with even more Shadows spawning near their point of entry.
Mitsuru thrusts a hand out towards the other end of the room. “Yukari, see to the masked fighter’s injuries. Amada and Iori will deal with the nearby Shadows before standing guard for you.”
“Got it!”
“Everyone else, prepare for battle! Above all else, ensure that Kujikawa can do her job without being targeted.”
“The Investigation Team will handle these small Shadows,” Yu says, already in the process of leading his team away. “We’ll leave the dragon to the rest of you.”
“Just what I wanted to hear,” says Akihiko, cracking his knuckles. “Aigis, Mitsuru, Labrys, let’s do this quick.”
“Affirmative!”
Aigis unleashes a spray of bullets onto the dragon, causing it to roar in pain before blocking the gunfire with a wing. It turns its attention to her and opens its mouth wide, showing off the mass of flame building in its throat. Mitsuru already has her Evoker primed and ready as the attack is set to be released.
“Oh no you don’t – Artemisia!”
A giant wall of ice intercepts the jet of flame, unyielding even under such intense heat. Mitsuru channels more power into it with another shot from her Evoker, letting the ice spread to envelop the dragon’s front legs. Before it can attempt to free itself, Labrys mounts the icy construct and uses her rockets to skate up to the top.
“Thanks for the ramp, Mitsuru-san!”
She boosts her way off the precipice and raises her axe high. Putting all her force into a downward swing lets her cleave off the dragon’s right wing in one strike. It howls in pain, thrashing against its icy restraints and finally managing to get free out of sheer desperation. The swipe it takes at Labrys misses entirely as she uses the chain in her arm to latch onto the remaining ice and swing out of harm’s way.
Fuuka’s voice comes to them in that moment. “Since Rise-chan is busy navigating for her team, allow me to guide you all. While I’m not detecting any weaknesses on your opponent, it seems to have no resistances to Physical or Electric attacks.”
“Roger that, Fuuka-san,” Aigis says. When she calls for Athena, the Persona bathes Akihiko in an orange-gold light. “Your strength has been enhanced, Akihiko-san!”
“Thanks for that,” he replies. “I’ll put it to good use!”
Akihiko sprints at the dragon with his body low and fists raised. It tries to hit him with small bits of fire, but the boxer is quick enough on his feet to avoid them. When he gets right under the dragon’s head, he puts his Evoker to his head and fires. Caesar appears in an instant, lowering his sword for Akihiko to climb on top of. The Persona heaves its other self upwards, allowing Akihiko to perform a boosted full-body uppercut right into the dragon’s jaw. The sound of giant teeth cracking rings out like a thunderclap in the small room.
Even as the dragon reels, the Shadow Operatives don’t let up. Akihiko’s upwards trajectory is redirected by Labrys as she grabs onto him midair and flings him onto the dragon’s nose. Akihiko gets a few quick jabs in, but finds the monster’s hide much tougher than it looked from afar. He settles for a parting shot of a Ziodyne once he notices the heat coming from below his feet. Another ice ramp from Mitsuru serves as his exit strategy, one that goes off cleanly thanks to cover fire from Aigis.
With Akihiko back on the ground, the quartet of Shadow Operatives stand side by side again. Their joint attacks have clearly done damage based on how haggard the dragon looks now, but it continues to stand tall in the face of their strength. A quick burst of flame forces them all to take a collective jump back.
Akihiko wipes the sweat from his brow. “Damn, this guy’s tough. We got any other plans besides hitting it even harder?”
“Nothin’ wrong with that,” Labrys replies.
“Everyone,” Fuuka calls out, “take a look at the glowing part of the dragon’s neck!”
The point Fuuka is referring to is a faint light pouring from a cavity slightly above the dragon’s chest. The opening is jagged and misshapen in a way that suggests it isn’t natural to the creature.
“I think that area can be exploited as a weak point! If you are able to hit it with enough force, the dragon should finally be defeated.”
“A weak point at a time like this?” Mitsuru asks. “Come to think of it, that other Persona-user seemed hellbent on attacking a single spot repeatedly. It’s likely this opportunity was brought about by their hard work.”
Mitsuru directs her eyes to the right of her where the masked fighter is being treated. There still isn’t anything to suggest their allegiance one way or the other, but she can’t ignore such a clear resolve, nor does she have any intentions of allowing a life to be lost in front of her while she can help it. She turns back to her allies with her rapier raised high.
“We won’t let that work go to waste. Aigis, prepare an attack strong enough to put this beast down. We’ll cover you.”
The android nods and positions herself right across from the dragon’s weak point, about sixty meters back. Her motors and gears begin to whir intensely, not quite with the speed necessary to activate her Orgia Mode, but enough to push past her normal operational limits. She hasn’t spent such long stints in Kirijo Group labs for nothing. The obstacle before them would fall at this process’s completion.
The three fighting with her attempt to distract the monster with various spells in their arsenal, but it disperses most of them with a flap of its wing. It keeps up the rapid movement, forcing its attackers back with heavy gusts of wind. None of them are hurt badly by the force, but they are sent sprawling back past Aigis, who is still in the process of preparing her attack.
Her mechanical eyes widen as the dragon sets its sights on her. With her comrades recovering a short distance away, and the Investigation Team beating back the other Shadows encroaching upon them, there is no one to block the stream of flame it is readying.
Out of options, Aigis closes her eyes and braces for the damage. Strong though the dragon might be, one burst of flame will not send her to her knees. She will simply withstand it and attack right back, for the sake of her friends, and for the sake of a fellow Persona-user she does not even know. As has been her directive since two thousand and nine, all life is to be protected, and she will be the shield to do so.
What Aigis constantly finds herself forgetting, however, is that she is not a solitary shield. She is one propped up by the support of her allies, which is exactly what saves her in this moment.
Before the dragon can attack, a gleaming silver object speeds by and embeds itself in the beast’s left eye. An arrow, Aigis realizes once its motion has ceased. The dragon directs its lone good eye towards the group in the back where Yukari is lowering her bow with a smug grin.
“Still got it.”
“Don’t think we’re out of the fight just because we’re over here,” Junpei shouts, putting his Evoker to his head. “Back ‘em up, Trismegistus!”
Ken matches the action and calls out, “Kala-Nemi!”
Both Personas zip over to the battlefield, dodging the sloppy stream of fire the dragon lets out. They tag-team to grab the dragon’s wing and pin it to the ground. Partially blinded and with its mobility hindered, the beast shrieks. Its pain only increases as it becomes stunned by the combination of Caesar’s lightning and Artemisia’s ice. Labrys forgoes any spells and simply slams her axe into the ground right behind Aigis.
“Did’ja see what Akihiko-san did earlier with his Persona?” she asks. “Bet’cha our version’ll take this thing out.”
Aigis allows herself a smile. “I would agree.”
As her internal gears click sharply and cease their whirring, Aigis leaps backwards until she is balanced on the blade of Labrys’s axe. The older android goes through several full rotations before hurling her sister right at the immobilized dragon. Turbocharged with her own internal energy, Aigis rips through the weak point like a bullet, causing one last loud roar from the dragon before it collapses onto its side.
Aigis stops her momentum in time to see the monster vanishing in clumps of black smoke. As it fades, so do the leftover Shadows harassing the Investigation Team. It seems that there wasn’t an end to them outside of taking down their summoner.
When Aigis gets back to Mitsuru and the others, their wounds are already being mended by some recovery items in Akihiko’s pouches. She shares a brief high five with Labrys for their combination technique.
Mitsuru’s question asking if everyone is alright is finally audible without the sounds of combat getting in the way. The eerie silence from before quickly settles in.
“All good on our end, Mitsuru-san,” calls Chie.
“Just taking care of some healing,” adds Yu. “We’ll be right there.”
“Man, our masked fighter really wore that dragon out,” Akihiko says. “It only lasted two rounds.”
“We are fortunate we could get away without using many resources to defeat it,” says Mitsuru. “Speaking of, we should see to the injured party themself.”
Mitsuru’s small group makes the short trip over to where the rest of their comrades are watching over the aforementioned fighter. Up close, it becomes obvious that he is a young man, barely on the cusp of adulthood. His wild black hair further obscures the sleek white mask on his face.
For Mitsuru, something about his elaborate black coat and bright red gloves pulls at a small memory in her mind. She can’t begin to think of where she would have seen it, though.
She pushes the thought aside to ask, “Yukari, how is he?”
“Still alive, just sleeping. I think he passed out because he overused his Persona during the fight. And there are a lot of injuries that Isis couldn’t fix up with healing spells.”
“Injuries from somethin’ other than the dragon?” Labrys asks. “Like what?”
“There might be more enemies further in,” says Akihiko. “We don’t know how much of this place this guy has seen.”
Mitsuru hums in response. “Well, he isn’t exactly available to talk right now, so that leaves us without solid answers. Yet another mystery to add to the list…”
“Lucky for you, that’s our specialty,” Yosuke says, walking onto the scene with the rest of the Investigation Team. “We’ll figure this all out eventually, don’t worry. Though we don’t exactly have a ton of clues to—”
Yosuke’s words are cut off by a shriek from Rise that makes everyone jolt in place.
“Woah!” Junpei yells. “What’s the matter?”
Rise shoves her way to the masked individual’s side and drops down, raising his head and shoulders so that they rest on her instead of the ground.
“Ren!”
That name does nothing for the Shadow Operatives. The Investigation Team members, however, all crowd around as soon as Rise shouts it.
“Ren?” Yosuke crouches to get a better look. “Holy sh*t, you’re right!”
“I didn’t notice with the mask,” Yukiko says. “It really is him…”
“Wait, you guys know him?” Akihiko asks.
Chie nods quickly. “Yeah! He’s a friend from home; we go way back.” She leans over Ren and places a hand on his cheek. “Ren, hey, can you hear us?”
“What’s Ren-Ren even doing here?!” Teddie asks. “And in that crazy outfit?!”
“We likely won’t find out until he wakes up to tell us himself,” says Yu. “For now, we should get him somewhere safe to recover. Mitsuru-san, can we put this investigation on pause?”
“Of course. We’ll regroup in the real world for now.”
“Thank you. Team, let’s get Ren situated so we can move him.”
“Step back, I’ll get him,” Kanji says.
Chie moves as well. “We’ll help.”
Kanji crouches down so that Yu and Chie can hoist Ren onto his back. They make sure to walk closely as Kanji begins the trip towards an exit across from their forced point of entry. Yukiko and Rise gather up the few loose belongings scattered around where Ren went down before following. The others crowd around them on the way out in a fierce ring of protection.
The Shadow Operatives watch them all go, each of them a bit baffled by the change in atmosphere. Their victory in combat doesn’t seem like much of a win now with half of their group so stressed out.
“I really wasn’t expecting everyone from Inaba to find a friend in here,” says Ken.
“Not to mention one with a Persona,” Akihiko says. “You ever heard of this ‘Ren’ guy, Labrys?”
“Nope. They never brought him up to me. I’m pretty sure I would’ve remembered somethin’ like that.”
“Whoever he is, those guys really care about him,” Yukari says. “I hope he’ll be alright.”
“We’ll have to ensure he gets the best care possible,” says Mitsuru. “Come, let’s return to reality and catch our breaths. Something tells me we are in for a long night.”
