Part 114: 9/5/09

9/5/09

Another month, another ordeal.



…There’s a full moon tonight.
Leave it to me!
That’s nice to hear…
I was getting worried because it’s so soon after summer vacation.

When the Dark Hour came, Junpei was nowhere to be found.

Video- “Lost”

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Maybe I should check again…
Nah, on second thought, I better stay put… The operation’s tonight.
Now that I think about it…
…we’re fighting to protect her, too.
Dude, that so rocks…
Maybe we really are, like, heroes…
…Yeeaahh!!
Don’t move!
Huh?
Wait, that voice…
…Whoa!

I feel bad that we all just thought he’d flaked out now that I know what happened.



> Fuuka summoned Lucia and is searching for the Shadow’s presence…
> The others are here waiting for her to finish, except Ken, who has left to look for Junpei…
Tonight marks the 6th full moon… Do you detect a Shadow?
Yes…
It’s near Paulownia Mall… I think.
For some reason, I can’t quite pinpoint its location…
But, I’m trying to narrow it down…
Is that its power?
I don’t know.
We have enough to go on…
> Ken came into the room…
Did you find Iori?
I can’t find him anywhere.
His backpack isn’t here, so I don’t think he’s been home yet.
That idiot… He knows tonight’s the night!

But we just didn’t have time to look for him.



Should I take more time to look for him, just in case?
No, it’s okay.
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.
It’s go time!
Wait… Did he say anything earlier?
> Shinjiro came to talk to you after everyone left…
Not that I remember.
Alright.
> Shinjiro left with somewhat of a frown…

The mall is really… something during the Dark Hour.

Video- “Found”

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> Fuuka is searching for the Shadow’s location…
Detect anything?
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!
Please, give me a moment! This is my responsibility…!
> Fuuka seems to be concentrating intently…
Tell me, Lucia… What is this thing that deceives me…?
Hear the wind’s answer in your ear…
Touch the earth’s answer with your fingertips…
Taste the water’s answer on your lips…
Hey, is she okay…?
Don’t break her concentration.

Fuuka’s power is really something, I have no idea how it works but it’s really amazing.



…Some kind of… webbing…?
Perhaps it has something to do with the old power cables underground.
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.
Interference isn’t the problem…
…The cables themselves have been possessed by the Shadow!
They what…!?
So… it’s underneath this whole area!?
…Now it all makes sense.
H-How are we supposed to beat something like that!?
Tch…

It was a serious problem.



Ugh…
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…
This isn’t funny…
…Chidori.
I want you to do something for me.
I have new orders for you to give to your friends…
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?
And not just the one tonight… All of them.
You want me to cancel the mission?
You’re not one of “them,” are you?
Quit wasting time.
……

Fortunately Fuuka managed to come up with an answer to our problem.



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…
……
> Fuuka began to concentrate…
Fuuka…
Even if we know where it is, we might not be able to get to it…
There may still be a way to reach the structure the buried cables feed into…
We’ll see…
* gasp * * gasp * …I found it.
It’s close by… in this mall!
In here!?
It’s inside a small chamber underground.
…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…
He was saying that the power’s been acting up lately…
There was a power outage because of it that forced him to cancel some big, important event.
That’s no surprise…

Shinjiro managed to fill in the last blanks.



Maybe we should take a look…
…That’s it!
Good job, Yamagishi.
Alright. Once we’re ready, we’ll make our move!

I got a team together, and we headed down to the dance floor. We had a date with a big, ugly Shadow.

Video- “The Hermit”

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That’s the source!
It’s connected to all those cables…
…so be careful you don’t get shocked!

Boss Battle: Hermit
First time in a while we’ve fought a Shadow that’s all alone. He’ll start with his main gimmick.



The Shadow has a lot of electricity charged up…
Please be careful!

So yeah, every so often he’ll Charge up, after which point he’ll spend two turns “emitting an odd light.” Then, on his next turn, this comes:



Apparently, it has to charge up before using that one attack.
Please be careful whenever you see the enemy charging!

This guy is made way easier by Portable thanks to one big thing, Defend. We can even safely bring Yukari and Aigis in (even if I wasn’t totally cheating and having Aigis using Thunder Gloves) because with them Defending the Giga Spark won’t hit their weakness. It still hurts like a bastard though, so make sure you have Mediarama. He might have Mazionga, but he doesn’t really use it much and it’s not worth worrying that much about. Just drag him down while he’s glowing and Defend when he’s about to blow everyone up. Sorta like this:



I’m just glad the Chairman wasn’t around to inflict electricity puns on us. Anyway, with it dead Fuuka was able to get a better fix on Junpei.

Video- “Chidori”

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Oh, and also…
I think I’ve found Junpei.
He’s back at the dorm, but something seems strange…
The Chairman’s there too, so he should be okay. But, let’s hurry back just in case.

At least now all that weird stuff Junpei was going on about makes sense.



What!? …You can tell!?
Yes… Through Medea’s eyes.
Medea?
…My friend.
Chidori…
That’s not important… Why didn’t you call off the mission?
Is it worth your life?
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…
Ya see… I’m not really the one in charge…
So you were lying earlier?
Why…?
…I don’t understand.
Hey… Answer me this: was it all just an act?
…Us meeting, your wound, the picture… Were you just setting me up?
Now that I think about it, that cut healed pretty quickly…
Haha… I see how it is…
That was…

So I guess Junpei’s been going out with a member of Strega we hadn’t seen without realizing it? Or something? I mean I’m not going to ASK him straight up, that would be pretty awkward and not really my business.



Tch. They’re back already!?
* gasp She’s a Persona-user!?
Medea, come…
> Chidori pointed a gun that seemed to be an Evoker at herself…
Chidori, stop!
Ahh!
> Junpei tackled Chidori, causing her to drop her Evoker…
Senpai, get her gun!
No! Give it back!!
Sorry, but we can’t let you use this.
Hm!? When did she…!?
> Ikutsuki arrived…
> Despite being inside the dorm all along, he didn’t seem to have noticed anything until now…
Aigis, restrain her.
Understood.
Medea!!
> Aigis restrained Chidori…
I… I didn’t sense her up until this very moment… This is my only power and yet…

I’m kind of glad we didn’t find out what her Persona does, because there’s something really weird about her.



I didn’t have the slightest clue she was here…
Are you a member of the group that goes by the name Strega? I have a number of questions for you.
…I’m not… afraid… of dying…
Ch-Chidori…!?
…M-Medea… I’m…
……
Clearly, she’s emotionally unstable.
We’ll let her rest, and save our questions for later.
Chidori…
> You succeeded in defeating the Shadow this month too.
> You expect that there will be fewer victims for a while.
> But now, a new adversary has emerged…
> You wonder what will happen…
> ……
> You are exhausted, so you decide to rest.

I understand they’re going to hold her in the hospital for now, I guess it’s helpful that the Kirijo Group basically runs this whole island even if it’s also pretty creepy sometimes.