Part 18: 5/9/09

5/9/09

Today was the day.



How’s it going? Have you been training in Tartarus?
Of course!
Great, keep it up.
It never hurts to train while you have the chance.
My wounds will heal in no time, and then I’ll be able to join you on the front line.
But, don’t just rely on me.

I left right after school to get ready.



> You wonder if something will happen.
> You should probably head back to the dorm just to be on the safe side.

The Dark Hour came as it always does.

Video- “Problems”

Watch

> Mitsuru is working at the support terminal by herself…

Even on the nights we don’t go to Tartarus, Mitsuru is up trying to detect enemies outside of Tartarus. I don’t know how she does it.



You’re still at it?
Yeah. You never know when the enemy might appear.
But, I thought you couldn’t scan outside of Tartarus?
To be honest, I lack the power…
Maybe this is the best Penthesilea can do in terms of data gathering.
Although, the power of Persona seems to be much broader than I thought.
We’ve even got someone who can switch Personas in the middle of battle.
There’s something special about her ability.
It hasn’t been that long since her awakening, either.
I have to admit, I was surprised too.
But in the end, it’s up to her whether or not she can reach her full potential.

And that was when she detected IT.



It’s a Shadow!
What!? You actually found one!?
Wait, something’s not right. The reading is too big.
We’ve never encountered anything like—
You mean, it’s one of those!?
…It must be.
Well then, this is gonna be fun.
I’ll wake up the others.
Indeed.

I was already preparing when we got the call.



We’re here!
Where is it!? I’ll rip it a new one!
We’ve detected a Shadow outside of Tartarus.
We don’t know for sure, but we think it’s another big one.
We have to defeat any of them we find, as quickly as possible.
Most people don’t know the Dark Hour exists. But, if half the city is destroyed, there will be panic.
That must be avoided at all costs.
In other words, we need to kick some ass, right? Well, count me in!
* sigh * Junpei…

Unfortunately, Akihiko’s still not well enough to join us. We were on our own.



Wha--!? Are you kidding!? I’m going!
You still need to recover. You’ll just be a hindrance.
What!?
They’ll fare better than you, in your current state.
Have faith in them, Akihiko… They’re ready.
……
Dammit…
Relax! I’ve got it covered!
I guess I’ve got no choice…

Junpei did not take it well that they put me in charge again.



Her again…?
We’re counting on you…
Leave it to me!
I know you can do this.
Guess it’s pretty much decided that you’re our leader, huh…?
Even when I’m the only guy in the group…
Whether one is a man or a woman doesn’t factor into it. The responsibility falls to those who have the gift.
And let me add, if you ever say or do anything to condescend to her because she’s a woman…
Oh, no, no no no! It’s not like I look down on her or anything…
You three should hurry and go on ahead. Mitsuru, you need to get ready, right?
Indeed. Let’s rendezvous in front of the station.
Got it.
Alright, let’s go!

We headed down to the train station to wait for Mitsuru, the full moon shining unearthly light down on us.

Video- “Monorail”

Watch

> Mitsuru has yet to arrive…
Where is she?
She’ll be here soon.
There’s a full moon tonight…
But, it looks even creepier during the Dark Hour…

Between her smacking down Junpei earlier and her entrance at the station I’m pretty sure Mitsuru is the most awesome person there is.



> A large motorcycle is parked in front of you…
Sorry to keep you waiting.
A motorcycle…?
Listen carefully.
Tonight, I’ll be providing support from here. Everything else is the same.
The Shadow is currently located inside a monorail, not far from the station.
To get there, you’ll have to walk on the tracks.
Are you serious!? Isn’t that dangerous…?
Don’t worry, no electronic equipment is operable during the Dark Hour, including the monorails.
But, your bike…
It’s special.
Now, if circumstances change, I’ll notify you immediately.
Let’s get started.
We’ll be going now then!
I’ll be expecting a sterling outcome.

Tartarus loomed in the distance.



We found the monorail Mitsuru was talking about pretty quickly.



Can you all hear me?
Yes, I can hear you clearly.
We just got here, but I don’t see anything out of the ordinary…
The readings are definitely coming from that monorail.
Proceed with caution, and stay together.
Got it.
Heheh, my Persona’s just beggin’ to be used!
Well then, let’s head on in!
> Yukari jumped on the foothold leading to the train door and began climbing…
…Don’t look up.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
……
…But, don’t blame me if I happen to catch a glimpse…
Say, Aelita… What do you say we bury Junpei here and leave him behind?

It was pretty tempting, I have to say. There was no sign of the enemy at first, but it was obvious right from the start that this was some kind of trap.



This poor stiff must be a passenger…
!?
> All the doors shut…
What’s wrong? What happened!?
It looks like we’re trapped inside…
It must be the Shadow… It knows you’re there.
Be ready for anything! Proceed with extreme caution!
R-Roger!

Junpei and Yukari were both getting kind of freaked out.



I don’t see any Shadows…
It’s so quiet it’s creepy…

A Shadow appeared from nowhere as we pushed forward.



* gasp *
There it is!
> ……!?
> The Shadow ran into the car ahead…
Hey, get back here!
Wait!
Something’s not right… The enemy is acting strangely.
But, if we don’t go after it, we’re gonna lose it!
Aelita, you’re in command there.
What do you think?

It was obviously a trap, there was no way that dinky little Shadow was the target. But try telling that to Junpei, he didn’t have any idea what we were up against.



I agree.
It would be foolish to blindly chase after it.
…Fine, I’ll go myself.
You guys just stay back and watch me beat it all by myself!
Junpei! Wait!
Watch out! Behind you!!

Junpei running off was just what the Shadows were waiting for, they attacked from behind at that moment.



By the time we’d defeated them, Junpei was way ahead of us.



We have no choice.
You have to go after him, or you’ll be picked off one by one.
Dammit, Stupei! What are you thinking!?
From what I can tell, he’s only a few cars ahead.
Okay, we’ll catch up to—

And it seemed the Shadows weren’t going to give us time to think things through.



We smashed through them, but every fight just let Junpei get farther ahead of us and closer to an enemy he had no chance against.



* sigh *
He should know it’s too dangerous to go alone…
Don’t you think he’s acting weird? Did you say something to upset him, Aelita?
Well, we can ask him once we’ve caught up to him!

He was fighting a bunch of Shadows when we finally did catch him.



Shoot! He’s surrounded!? We’ve gotta help him!

He tried to tell us he had everything under control while a group of Shadows was getting ready to pound him flat.



…I’ve got it under control!
Take this, you freak of nature!
> Junpei is surrounded by Shadows…!
> You need to help him…!

He even seemed kind of mad that we’d come to help him.



…So, are you alright?
O-Of course I am…
I was doin’ just fine…
Excuse me!?
Be careful, you three!
I don’t detect any movement, but stay alert!

It turned out none of us were fine, because the monorail started moving.



It seems the monorail is under the enemy’s control…
Whaddya mean, “it seems”!?
Uh… This doesn’t look good.
…If we can’t stop that thing, it’ll crash into another train!
WHAT!?
Oh, God! What are we gonna do!?
Calm down and listen.
I sense a strong presence in the front car. That must be the one we’re after.
You’ll have to defeat it to stop the train!

The enemy attacked again, it seemed the smaller Shadows were trying to slow us down.



What kind of messed-up ride is this!?

We pushed through them as fast as we could, there was no time to wait around.



You don’t have much time! Run!

As we approached the front, the train began to pick up speed.



We’re gaining speed!

Still, they couldn’t stop us from reaching our goal.



Got it!

Sure enough, it was another one of THEM.

Video- “Priestess”

Watch

There it is…!
What the hell!?
…Is this the friggin’ boss!
We’re in the front car; it’s gotta be!
Hurry!

And this time we wouldn’t have some horrible monster to help.



Boss Battle: The Priestess
Our first story boss fight, and a pretty easy one overall even on Hard (which doesn’t seem to have given her more health, it just makes her do more damage). She’s immune to Ice and mainly uses Bufu skills. She’s also able to Summon smaller Shadows to help her. Focus your attacks on her, the extra Shadows are just there to waste your time (though if you can kill them quickly it’s worth it because if you land a critical you do get to Down her and make an All-Out Attack). You are on the clock but as long as you’ve got a decent amount of time this is no real threat.

But even when we defeated it, the train kept rolling.

Video- “Victory”

Watch

…Hey! Why’re we still moving!?
We’re going too fast! We have to put on the brakes or else…!
What are you waiting for!? There’s a train up ahead!
Dammit! I don’t know how to stop this thing!
Leave it to me!
Kyaaah!!

So I hit the brakes. Totally intentionally. Not at all a total guess, and I wasn’t at all completely terrified. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.



I-I think so…
Is everybody alright!?
Uh, y-yeah, we’re okay.
Ha, haha… My knees are shaking…
Dude… I’m like drenched in sweat…
Hey, are you okay, Aelita-tan?
That was a breeze.
Seriously? Yeesh, you’re a real tomboy…
I’m so glad you’re safe…
I’m sorry I couldn’t do more on my end.
I don’t detect any more Shadows. You guys did a great job, so come on home.
But, how did you know which one was the brake?

Okay, maybe an educated guess.



I don’t think this is the kinda thing women’s intuition helps with…
Ah, whatever.
Wanna grab a bite to eat? I’m freakin’ hungry!
Uhhh, hate to break it to you, Junpei, but girls usually don’t get hungry in the middle of the night…
……
I wouldn’t mind stopping by a corner store, though.
> Your team won a difficult battle.
> It seems the level of trust between you all has grown.

Still, it all turned out okay.



> SEES’s determination in battle has been enhanced…
> Party members can now perform a double team attack during battle!

Feinne’s Fourth Wall Lectures:
From now on, we can get follow-up attacks after knocking down an enemy. These work a lot like they did in Persona 4, though each character doesn’t have their own version. Regardless of who we team up with, we get a free critical on a random standing enemy.

I guess we had the thing beaten before the Chairman even showed up.



Akihiko here.
This is Mitsuru. We’ve successfully completed the operation.
The monorail didn’t sustain any noticeable damage.
Thank you, Mitsuru.
When I heard they’d hijacked a monorail, I feared the worst. Well done.
Now, I don’t have to worry about tomorrow’s headlines.
The team did a great job.
They’re learning quickly.
But, what are the Shadows up to?
Taking over a monorail… This is getting out of hand.
I’ll be looking into the matter.
Does this mean… It’s begun?
Hmmm… Let’s not jump to any conclusions.
For now, we should study their behavior for patterns or clues.
We cannot afford to always wait for them to make the first move.

Mitsuru’s being kind of hard on herself, though I’m not sure what else she could have done.



Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re doing fine.
More importantly…
Do you have anything to drink, Akihiko?
Huh…?
Why do you look so tired, Ikutsuki-san?
Wait… Don’t tell me that bicycle outside is yours!
Boy, am I gonna be sore tomorrow!

It seems the warning I’d gotten was accurate. I don’t quite know what to make of it, and I’m too tired to worry right now. I need to get some sleep. I’ll think about it later.



> It seems as if the prediction came true.
> You wonder what it means…
> ……
> You are too exhausted to make any sense of it right now.
> You decide to rest as soon as you get back to the dorm…