Part 55: 09/05/09: In the Shadow of a Shocking Moon

Today's a full moon, so it should be a pretty long one.

An Unpleasant Premonition



...There's a full moon tonight.
We'll be fine.
That's nice to hear...
I was getting worried because it's so soon after summer vacation.

Searching for Results

This Mysterious Feeling



Maybe I should check again...
Nah, on second thought, I better stay put... The operation's tonight.
Now that I think about it...



Dude, that so rocks...
Maybe we really are, like, heroes...
Yeeaahh!!



Oh, that's... uh......

Huh?

A nonspecific amount of time later, unfortunately for whatever Junpei's gotten himself into...

The Voice Someone Calls



Yes...
It's near Paulownia Mall... I think.
You think...?



Perhaps the reason is, and this is a bit crazy here, you're not a very good navigator. For evidence, I wish to present: the entirety of Tartarus.

But, I'm trying to narrow it down...
Is that its power?
I don't know.
We have enough to go on...

Ken runs in, at last. He was not in this scene until just now. Koromaru's been here the whole time, but hidden by people's portraits.

Did you find Iori?



His backpack isn't here, so I don't think he's been home yet.
That idiot... He knows tonight's the night!
I don't sense him anywhere nearby...
Should I take more time to look for him, just in case?



You're all young; sometimes you just get in one of those moods.
Anyway, we should focus on the task at hand.
......
We can't afford to waste any more time. Let's go.



Not that I remember.
Alright.
Why, are you worried?
Whatever...

Mercifully, we just jump right to our destination as per usual.



It came up like once before, but I don't blame you for forgetting that water becoming blood during the Dark Hour is a thing.



Only a faint presence. It seems so close, but... why...!?
Alright, let's split up and search for it. There's no time to lose; hurry!
Wait!



> Fuuka seems to be concentrating intently...



Hear the wind's answer in your ear...
Touch the earth's answer with your fingertips...
Taste the water's answer on your lips...

I wonder if Fuuka even thinks this sounds cool, because it really doesn't.

Hey, is she okay...?
Don't break her concentration.



Some kind of... webbing...?



They were just left there when the island's construction was completed.
Power cables...?
Yes, they run underground in many directions, like a web.
And they're interfering with her ability?
...Thank you, Aigis. I understand now.
Intereference isn't the problem...



They what...!?



...Now it all makes sense.
H-How are we supposed to beat something like that!?
Tch...

Eh, it's fine we can deal with that pretty easily I would think. First we cut the powe... wait it's the Dark Hour. Right, um...

MEANWHILE!

Silence



Familiar Voice: I can't believe how easy it was to sneak up on you. Are the others here just as oblivious?

Dammit... I can't use my power...

Junpei does at least manage to get to his knees and face the door. It's something, I guess!

This isn't funny...
...Chidori.

The pacing of the line here implies this is meant to be a surprise or something, but the past few scenes with Junpei have been pushing the dramatic irony thing really hard so... I really don't get it.





Surely you have the capacity to communicate with them.
Me? Give orders?
If you do as I say... you won't be harmed.
...All you have to do is call off the mission. Easy, right?



You want me to cancel the mission?
You're not one of "them," are you?
Quit wasting time.
......

This seems like less of a problem than it probably should, honestly. Although this entire plan makes it seem like Chidori was being sincere before, even though absolutely everything implied otherwise. Did she... really believe the most blatant lie Junpei has said...?

The Voice Someone Calls



In your notes from previous battles, it said there was a Shadow that took control of the monorail.
Just like that one, this Shadow must have its own body.
Let me see if I can find it...
Even if we know where it is, we might not be able to get to it...



We'll see...
Fuuka...

Crisis



It's close by... in this mall!
In here!?



...It's rectangular, so I assume it's man-made.
Is it some sort of room...?
Wait a minute...
I overheard the manager of Escapade...



That's no surprise...
He said the control panel is located beneath the club.
Maybe we should take a look...



Good job, Yamagishi.

It was more Shinji's deduction that figured out where it is, but whatever.

Alright. Once we're ready, we'll make our move!

End

The Voice Someone Calls



So, uh, there's really not much for us to do right now. We're in Paulownia Mall but we can't leave or shop, obviously, but we can't even go to the back alley to enter the Velvet Room either. All we can do now is pick our party, so we'll do just that. We'll be going with the original team for this one.



And then its into Club Escapade we go! I wonder how this gets turned into a short dungeon for the sake of the Dark Hou--

In the Shadow of a Shocking Moon

That Which Comes From The Darkness



Inevitably, the Fool begins to ask "why." He searches for answers, not out of curiosity, but out of a desire to know why people live. He looks inward and reflects on his actions to understand his own feelings and motivations. During this time, he finds himself in a position of solitude...



It's connected to all those cables...
...so be careful you don't get shocked!

IX. Arcana Hermit (Portable)

Master of Shadow





As the physical embodiment of the Reversed Hermit, the Arcana Hermit shadow is not super interesting. The Reversed Hermit is an inability to keep to ones self and respect other people's boundaries. It's a reckelss disregard and disrespect towards society in general for that matter, which has only really come up with the Hermit here sorta absorbing the electricity from Club Escapade. Really didn't put much effort into this one, I guess.



The sum total Akihiko's contributions are fairly limited, all told, but he can debuff and that's helpful enough on its own. He can't do much else though.



Mainly because the Hermit drains Electricity. That's, in my eyes, a step back from previous Shadows repelling their own element but it is technically more rude.



So, Chariot had Power Charge last time and Hermit has Mind Charge now. They've finally caught up to the baseline of most Tartarus bosses!



Especially since the Hermit has Ziodyne for their single-target focused attack. Their multi-target one is Mazionga though, so he's not quite on Natural Dancer's level.



...Also it's REALLY easy to have something that nullifies Electricity which sorta makes the Hermit a bit of a jobber, even by Full Moon fight standards.



Along with Mind Charge, the Hermit has a regular Charge as well. This doesn't increase the damage of their next attack...



Instead, it's used to store power for, uh, something.



The next TWO turns, the Hermit just does nothing. They're just building up electricity, during which time you can just wail on 'em without repercussion.



On the third turn after using Charge, Hermit finally gets this attack off.



It DOES do a decent chunk of damage, alright, but mercifully its Shock proc is actively meaningless. At least here; it matters more in Portable if Aigis and/or Yukari are around, of course.



Just in case you somehow missed the very long wind-up time on Giga Spark, Fuuka ever-so-helpfully chimes in to let you know that's going to be a consistent thing.



You might consider repelling the Giga Spark if its a pain, with a Magic Mirror or something, but Hermit drains it so that'd give back upto a realistic max of just over ~1300 of their 3500 HP so I don't recommend it. At least Take-Mikazuchi gives Elec Break when he reaches level 29 if you really want to go that route...

Silence



Oh, and also...
I think I've found Junpei.



The Chairman's there too, so he should be okay. But, let's hurry back just in case.

The Voice Someone Calls



What!? ...You can tell!?



Medea?
...My friend.
Chidori...
That's not important... Why didn't you call off the mission?



Dying is what people fear most...
...isn't it?
Well... I've never actually given anyone orders before...
They wouldn't listen to me anyway...





She... She actually genuinely believed Junpei before... oh wow.

Why...?
...I don't understand.
Hey... Answer me this: was it all just an act?



Now that I think about it, that cut healed pretty quickly...
Haha... I see how it is...
That was...

Crisis



Tch. They're back already!?



Chidori rather notably has an Evoker herself, or is "borrowing" Junpei's. That's... odd, either way.

*gasp* She's a Persona-user!?







Chidori, stop!
No! Give it back!!







The Voice Someone Calls



This is very not new. If anything, it'd be weirder if you COULD find anything before being that close.



The most devious and useful power of all: being more than the equivalent of 4 floors of Tartarus away. Fuuka is objectively bad at finding things. You cannot pretend like she is good and have her be conflicted over not being able to find Strega members, when she can't find a thing that fits a basic, constantly reinforced pattern!

I didn't have the slightest clue she was here...

Aigis walks over to Chidori; Junpei lets go of her and Aigis keeps her held in place instead.



...I'm not... afraid... of dying...
Ch-Chidori...!?
...M-Medea... I'm...
......



We'll let her rest, and save our questions for later.
Chidori...

Silence



"Dangerous," huh...?

> It seems like the trust between you all has grown...

> You learned a new tactic!



This is sorta useful for, uh, Ken and I guess that's it. Since he has Cruel Attack and all. Still more useful than a lot of the others.

> You succeeded in defeating the Shadow this month, too.

> You expect that there will be fewer victims for a while.



...I... really don't know what this is referring to. It cannot be Strega, because we formally met them last full moon. Maybe just Chidori herself, but even that feels like a stretch.

> You wonder what will happen...

> ......

> You are exhausted, so you decide to rest.

End

Oddly brisk and short for a full moon, huh? They've been getting overall shorter and shorter with each one, so I guess it makes sense. It's not really possible for it to get any shorter than this, though.