Part 66: 7/7/09

7/7/09

Another month, another operation.



Better than ever!
Now that’s our Aelita-chan!
We’re going to have a quick meeting tonight about the operation.
So, please return to the dorm immediately after school.

And once the Dark Hour came, it wasn’t long before Fuuka found the Shadow.

Video- “Detection”

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> Fuuka has summoned Lucia, her Persona, and is scanning the area…
Any luck, Fuuka?
…Just a moment…
…I found it! I sense a strong presence!
Hey, we were right!
Or so it would seem.
It’s located in Iwatodai… inside a building on Shirakawa Boulevard.
Hmm, Shirakawa Boulevard…
They’ve been finding The Lost in pairs lately… Now I understand why.
In pairs…
……
…Oh, I get it.
> Fuuka dismissed Lucia…

Fuuka was still a bit confused as to what they meant.



I’ve heard about it, but…
That’s where all THOSE hotels are. That explains a lot!
You’ve heard about ‘em, right Fuuka? Where people go to… ya know…
Oh…?
Ugh, you have the dirtiest mind…
Nonsense… They’re no different than ordinary hotels.
The rooms are a bit fancier, that’s all.
Aw man, that’s it?
I don’t know about this… Maybe I shouldn’t go…
You’re just like a little kid, Yuka-tan…
Wh-Whatever!
Fine. Let’s go.
But this time, I want a piece of the action!
Y-You do?
So, who’s gonna take the lead?

Seems like I’m pretty well cemented in my role as leader, which I guess means I’ve been doing well.



I don’t see any reason to change leaders now.
And Yamagishi, I want you to handle support during the operation.
I’ll do my best!
Alright, then I’ll let you decide on the rest of the team. Let’s do this.

Junpei and Yukari haven’t been getting along recently, so I decided he should stay back and keep Fuuka safe while Akihiko and Mitsuru came in with me.

Video- “Hotel Part 1”

Watch if you like the music

The place was crawling with Shadows, but we managed to sneak through and reach the target.



Are you ready?
Ready!

These things just get more and more ridiculous looking.

Video- “The Hierophant”

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This thing’s the boss? Huh… it’s more normal-looking than I expected.
Get ready, everyone! It’s coming!

Anyway we handled it, no problem.



Boss Battle: The Hierophant:
This is an interesting little fight. So, first thing’s first, the Hierophant repels Lightning. It’ll use Zio skills for the most part, but it’s also got a really mean little trick to pull: a unique skill called Prophecy of Ruin. This will Fear your entire party. Back in original P3 this could be a huge problem but with Direct Command just have whoever can act use a Me Patra gem and you’ll be good. As with every Full Moon boss he’s kind of a joke.

That was when things started to go terribly wrong.

Video- “Not Safe For Work”

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You succeeded once again.
I’ll be waiting outside for you.

The door was stuck.



> A strong force seems to be holding it shut.
……!
…Huh!?
I still sense a Shadow in that room!
It’s not the same one you defeated!
But… Where is it hiding?

And that was when I saw the mirror…



> It’s a large mirror.
Hm?
Is it just me, or is there something strange about this mirror?

I don’t remember much about what happened right after that.



> It looks like a hotel room…
> Your head feels foggy…
> You don’t remember why you are here…
(What was I…?)
> It feels like you had something important to do…
> ……?
> You hear the shower running in the bathroom…
Voice in Your Head: Embrace your desire…
> A strange voice rings inside your head…
Voice in Your Head: I am the voice of your inner self…
Enjoy the moment…
That which cannot be felt is merely a dream... The present is all we have.

I wasn’t even totally sure who I was, but I could feel I wasn’t the sort of person who would buy into that crap.



Voice in Your Head: The future is but a fantasy, memory a fabrication…
Let your desire free from your shackles… Such is my wish…
(I can’t give in…)
Voice in Your Head: Pleasure is what you truly want.
You stand before the doorway to bliss.
You cannot deny your instincts… Embrace your desire…
(Not now…)
> Your mind is getting clearer.
> You have regained control of your thoughts…
> The shower in the bathroom has been turned off.
> ……!?
> Someone’s coming out!

I got ahold of myself just in time to stop anything more than an awkward moment from happening.



……?
Whoa!
Wh-What the hell! What’s going on here!?
It’s an enemy trap!
What!?
We have to regroup immediately!
…Oh, a-after I change first…
> Akihiko quickly ran back into the bathroom…
> It seems Akihiko’s mind had been clouded too…
Oh, I can finally reach you!
Can you two hear me?
I hear you.
I’m sorry I couldn’t contact you sooner…
The Shadow was interfering with your thoughts…
And you all got separated…
The enemy is still in the same room. Please regroup and hurry there.
Um… Did something happen?

So yeah we’re not going to speak of this ever again.



……
Um, and about what happened earlier… Could you keep it a secret? Please…

We’d gotten separated from Yukari and Mitsuru in the confusion.

Video- “Hotel Part 2”

Watch for Seven Years of Bad Luck

Its power is blanketing the whole building.
I’m pretty sure it’s in that one room you were in before…
But, it somehow sealed the door, so I don’t think you’ll be able to get in.
I’ll try to find out if there’s a way to break the seal…
Please join the others. They’re on the floor above you.

Anyway I think things must have gotten weird for them too.



I can’t believe there was another one… That was the worst!
Hey, Aelita… Were you guys okay?
How about you guys?
W-We’re fine! Nothing happened!
I got it! It’s the mirrors!
They’re giving off the same energy as the Shadow!
Maybe the seal will vanish if you break the mirrors…
I remember this one mirror we saw on the 3rd floor was different from the others…
When I stood in front of it, I felt kinda strange…

I remembered that weird mirror too, and that our reflections didn’t show up in it. And so we started looking for the mirrors we needed to break.



Most of the mirrors were perfectly normal, I left those alone. It’s bad luck and all. Sure enough, though, we found a weird mirror that didn’t really reflect the room back.



You weakened the seal!
But, there seems to be another mirror on the floor above you.
Please find it…

Sure enough there was another upstairs, which I quickly smashed.



You should be able to fight the Shadow now.

We returned to the room from earlier.



Are you ready?
Ready!

This one was even more grotesque than the last.

Video- “The Lovers”

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How dare you pull shit like that with us… I hope you’re ready to die!
We can defeat it this time! Hang in there, everyone!

With its power reduced, it was no match for us.



Boss Battle: The Lovers
The Lovers is our second boss of the night, and overall very similar to the first in difficulty. It can Charm people with some of its attacks, so make sure you stock up on items to cure that. It’s got a special move it’ll use at low health, Heartbreaker, but honestly the real threat from it is its Maragilao (yes it’s Maragilao now and not Maragion). Or maybe it’ll trip trying to attack someone and you’ll crush it like an ant.

We pulled back to the entrance after our victory.

Video- “Victory”

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I’m glad you’re all safe.
Thanks for your help. The enemy was sly, but you did well.
I did what I could.
And you too, Tolstoy, for withstanding the enemy’s mental assault.
> You managed to survive yet another difficult battle.
> You feel your trust for each other has strengthened…

I think we were all glad to be out of that place.



Alright, let’s call it a night.
> Akihiko and Mitsuru left…
Oh, Yukari.
About that thing you mentioned the other day…
You found out something?
Y-Yeah.
Cool, tell me later.
Alright! We should head back, too.
Fuuka played a big role again in this one, so score another for the second-years!

I’d say we were really starting to come together as a team but Junpei’s freaking out over some fool thing.



Hey, Aelita… What’re you trying so hard for?
> There’s a somewhat sullen tone in Junpei’s voice…
Worried about me?
I wouldn’t say that, but…
Meh, like it really matters…
Dude, what’s the matter with you?
Are you gonna keep sulking because a girl got to be the leader this time, too?
Shut up!
> Junpei trotted off quickly…
What’s up HIS butt?
> ……
> You succeeded in defeating the Shadows this month too.
> You expect that there will be fewer victims for a while.
> But, you are too exhausted to think about it now.
> You decide to rest as soon as you get back to the dorm…

Just too tired to care about Junpei’s crap right now.



…Faster than I expected.
……
That was quite a show.
They’ve been rather busy these last few months, including their frequent forays into the tower.
Their fighting style is positively fascinating…
And it seems they’ve gained new recruits, too.
Well, Jin? Are they are our enemy?
Why don’t we ask our “buddy”? We’ll be seeing him soon.
Yes… That’s an excellent idea.
Considering that he shares our fate, it would be prudent to seek his opinion.
We don’t have much time left…