Part 160: 11/2/09-11/3/09

11/2/09

Tomorrow’s the day.



Well, tomorrow’s the day.
I’m ready!
Good. I’ll be counting on you!
I’m positive a Shadow will appear tomorrow. Strega may be up to something as well…
Anyway, please be prepared!

We got to talking about the journey to this point.

Video- “Anticipation”

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> Everyone is here…
> …Except for Shinjiro, of course…
…Well, tomorrow will be our last operation.
Yeah…
We’ve been through a lot this last six months…
We did our best.
Yeah… We did what we could…
It was a lot better than doing nothing, right?
Besides, we made some new friends.
…Yeah, I guess.
Well, it’s all been worth it, if you ask me.
It’s been two and a half years since I got this power… and you don’t hear me complaining.
Sanada-san…
Woof!
* chuckle * Don’t forget, we got to meet Koro-chan, too.
In any case… two and a half years is a long time, right, Akihiko-senpai…?
Oh wait… It’s been even longer for Aigis, hasn’t it?
I was asleep for much of the time, so I have not been in operation for very long.
How ‘bout you, Mitsuru-senpai? You started before Akihiko-san, right?

She didn’t give us all the details, but it seems Mitsuru’s been carrying this burden as long as all of us put together.



…Yes, it was just me at first.
Of course, back then, SEES didn’t exist, and this was just a regular dorm.
Did the Chairman recruit you?
No…
I’ve been aware of the Dark Hour since I was a child…
One time, my father’s research team was attacked by Shadows.
That’s when I awakened to my Persona… when I witnessed the incident.
That’s what happened…?
…It seems I was the first.
…If that had never happened, perhaps none of you would have to bear this terrible burden.
Senpai…
It would’ve happened to someone eventually… Besides, the enemy can’t just be ignored.
……
…I suppose that’s true.
> On the eve of the final Shadow, you can feel a quiet passion from your friends…
> You sense the bond between them…

It’s so easy to forget that despite all her money and responsibility Mitsuru’s also got all the same problems as us.



Tomorrow is a big day… so make sure you get your rest.

Anyway I think we’re ready.



I’m going to fight for my mom… and Shinjiro-san.

I mean we have no choice but to be.



Along with the Dark Hour, Tartarus, and everything else…?
But, what my dad did…

This is coming whether we are or not.



I’ll probably just stay home and rest, though…
We’ve got the last operation coming up soon.

And there’s no way we’re going to lose.



Let’s do our best in the last battle.

11/3/09

I’m tired, but you know what? It’s a good kind of tired. Oh, getting ahead of myself.



> The final battle is nearly upon you…
> You decide to stay home today and conserve your strength.

The Dark Hour came as always, and Fuuka quickly found the final enemy.

Video- “The Operation Begins”

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> Fuuka has summoned Juno to look for the Shadow’s location…
I found it. It’s currently at the south end of the Moonlight Bridge.
The 12th and final Shadow.
Hmmm. This is it…
And as we expected, there are two Persona-users nearby…
Strega.
They know this is their last chance. Even though we were expecting this, we should still be careful.
Those bastards…
Hmph. Saves us the trouble of looking for them.
You’ve all done a fine job up to this point.
This will be our last operation. Let’s all come back safely.
Go get ‘em, everyone!
Yeah!
> The final battle is here…
> The last Shadow and Strega await you.

We headed down to the Moonlight Bridge, and sure enough Strega were waiting for us.



You claim you hunt the Shadows to prevent the disaster they bring…
Yet, countless lives are lost each day without their intervention…
……
The power we wield is not itself evil… You cannot deny that.
So why don’t you just admit it? You do not wish to eliminate the Dark Hour…
You are merely deceiving yourselves…
That’s not true.
Look within yourselves and you shall see.
You are indeed foolish children…
Erasing the Dark Hour is the same as erasing yourselves.
Tch. Is even that beyond your comprehension?
As I believed, our goals are irreconcilable.
Jin…
Forget these maggots.
Fate shall decide who will prevail.
…Come.

And there was no way we were going to show any mercy to the bastard that put Shinjiro in the hospital.



Video- “Strega”

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Boss Battle: Takaya and Jin
So our first boss battle of the night is against Strega. Takaya’s Persona is FORTUNE Hypnos, and he uses an assortment of –dyne level magic that can be really damaging but is mainly a threat if it hits a weakness since it’s all single target. Jin’s is HERMIT Moros, and he uses a mix of Mudo, buffs, and a Fire element regular attack. He’s also immune to Fire, so watch for that. There’s not really much to say about this fight honestly, blast the hell out of them with your own –dynes from the MC and anything else you can get from anyone else you bring. They don’t do much of anything that’s multi-target. Don’t worry about spending SP on this, because you’ll get all of it back before the next fight. Oh, and they are chatty and I catch most of what they have to say in the video. The most interesting thing is probably Takaya’s low health one, which is this.



I don’t know what those Strega clowns thought they were going to do, but they sure as hell didn’t stop us.

Video- “Enemies”

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Is their power THAT different than ours…?
Different?
For us, it’s not that simple… It has to be forced out.
Didn’t your pal tell you?
So it was you who was giving Shinji those pills.
You guys don’t have the slightest clue what will happen if the Dark Hour disappears, do you?
It won’t matter for normal people, since they don’t remember anything anyway…
But for us—
……?
That’s enough.
Now, then… Ordinarily, we’d withdraw…
…but not tonight.
This body, as ephemeral as it is… It is worthless without my power.
Therefore, only one choice remains… I shall prove my existence here and now!
> Takaya pointed his Evoker at himself again…

I don’t really care what it was that happened to them in the past, because it’s what we do now that matters.



Takaya!
What are you doing!?
Don’t be so reckless!
Jin!?
…Sorry.
But… those are your words, not mine.
> Jin took Tayaka and climbed over the railings of the Moonlight Bridge…
You win… Looks like you’ll get your wish…
Go do what you came for.
Wait!!
Don’t tell me you’re gonna jump…!
I’d rather die than surrender to you!
Take a good look! This is how we live!
> Jin and Takaya disappeared into the blood-red sea below…
> From this height, they’ll surely be…
> ……

So yeah Strega jumped off a bridge, because how they live is to flee from life.



What the hell were they thinking!?
They chose their own fate. Don’t let it faze you.
…The operation has only begun.
Our true adversary is waiting… Focus on that, alright?
The Shadow up ahead is not moving at the moment.
It’ll all be over if you can defeat it.

But I’ll never live my life like that.



I’ll do everything in my power to help you. Just promise me that you’ll be careful!

I’ll fight with all I have for the future we all want.

Video- “The Hanged Man”

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It’s out of your attack range…
Give me a minute… I’ll see what I can find out.

Boss Battle: Hanged Man
The Hanged Man is one of the main beneficiaries of the rebalancing effort ATLUS put into Portable. He works essentially the same way he always has, of course. When he’s in the air he’s untargetable, and will use his turns to summon Mayas and, if allowed, turn them into bombs. We bring him down by destroying the little statues beneath him, which will give us a free All-Out Attack if there’s no Mayas up. Make sure you set things up like this, because he has a LOT more health than he used to and things are about to get pretty beastly. He stays down on the ground a lot longer than he used to, and will start tossing out God’s Hand and Akasha Arts. Tetrakarn/Attack Mirror would really help about now, because he actually hits pretty hard in Portable and you’ll be enduring his bullshit a lot longer. Get any damage you can in on him, and eventually he’ll hang himself again and resummon the statues. Knock him back down, rinse, and repeat. Don’t be afraid to use items, because the game gives you tons of them for this very reason.

Even if the fight against the Shadows is over, the fight for a better tomorrow will go on. But it can wait for another day, because today was our day.

Video- “Victory”

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…Is it over?
Operation completed. Or should I say, “Mission complete.”
Yes… It’s finally over…
Aelita-san.
I believe a celebration is in order.
What will be our victory cheer?
Hip hip hooray!
1… 2… 3… Hip hip hooray!
Hip… hip hooray…?
Hip hip hooray!
Hip hip hooray!

And tomorrow’s looking up, since we’re going to have a party!



* sigh * You don’t waste any time, do you? Well, I suppose I could arrange for it.
Ooh! In that case, how ‘bout sushi!?
Sushi, huh... It’s been a while…
Well, I’ve got dibs on the halibut and sea urchin!
Oh, then I call the fatty tuna.
Um, we’re divvying it up already? In that case, save me the salmon roe.
Hey, wait a minute… You can’t do that!
Ladies prefer cucumber!
What, you too!?
I reserve the shrimp, squid, scallops, and sea eel.
Hey! That’s not fair! You don’t even eat!
You should all be ashamed of yourselves, fighting over sushi.
Woof!
Senpai, please order tamago for me. They say you can tell a chef’s skill by how he prepares eggs.
Um, how old are you again?

Still, I’m kind of sad about just one thing.



For real!? Aw man, it’s great to be alive!
Don’t get too excited, Junpei. You’re getting the leftovers.
What!? But, it was my idea in the first place!
… I guess it’s time to say goodbye to the Dark Hour.
Even though it seemed like a curse, for some reason I’m reluctant to let it go.
Yeah…
We really did it, didn’t we…?
Yes…
We saved the world, even if no one knows it.
…Yeah.

Pharos said he’d come see me one last time. I waited up until the final Dark Hour ended, though, and he never appeared…