Part 27: Entry Twenty-Two: August 7th, 2009

Entry Twenty-Two: August 7th, 2009

Mood: Drained
Music: Atreyu

Hey, guess what? We're still alive! Not only that, but we've finally come across some new information. "Hey guys, if we kill all twelve Shadows, the world will go back to normal!" is good to know, but we've heard over and over again lately.



I guess I better talk about what I mean. Yesterday, we spent the entire day preparing for that night's operation.



When the Dark Hour finally arrived...



...we gathered in the Command Room to get ready.



Fuuka scanned the city, trying to locate the Shadow that we knew would appear that evening...



...and she found it without much trouble.

Akihiko: Now that's more like it.
Fuuka: It's by the deserted hosues in the nothern part of Iwatodai.



Yukari: It must be in some kind of basement...
Aigis: According to my records, there is no structure in the area that matches those criteria. However, in the past there was an underground facility that was used by the military.
Yukari: The military? Is that true?
Ikutsuki: Well, the architectural and geographic data for the area were uploaded into her memory bank. Then again, the information hasn't been updated in a decade.
Aigis: That is correct.
Junpei: Uh, wouldn't it be a good idea to update it...?



Fuuka: There's no way of knowing witout actually going there...
Mitsuru: It seems war's scars may be deeper than we think...the situation is still unclear at this time. Therefore, we will wait until we arrive to determine who should be deployed?
Akihiko: Agreed.
Aigis: Understood.
Mitsuru: Then let's go.



Fuuka lead us to the location where she believed the Shadow was hiding.



Suddenly, we heard a voice behind us...



...and out came two members of that trio I'd kept having visions of.



Takaya: My name is Takaya. This is Jin.



Takaya: We've been keeping an eye on you...from what we hear, you've undertaken a "righteous" battle to save the world. But we've come here tonight to put an end to that dream.



Takaya: Tartarus is towering as beautifully as always...
Junpei: But why the hell would you wanna stop us?!



Jin: If the Shadows and the Dark Hour disappear, then so will our power. And we can't let that happen, now can we?
Mitsuru: Power...?



Takaya: Why don't you use that pretty little head of yours for a change? Only a select few wield the power of a Persona...



Yukari: THAT'S your reason?! Are you crazy?! There's no telling what will happen if we don't do something about the Shadows!
Takaya: What difference does it make...? There will always be disasters,w hether they are caused by Shadows or arise from human folly. No one can predict the future, anyway. But that is all beside the point...



Yukari: You think I LIKE this?!
Takaya: Is it not so? How about the rest of you...? Do you also wish to return to your pathetic, ordinary lives?



Akihiko: ...
Fuuka: I don't enjoy this one single bit.
Jin: You've each got your own reason for fighting. "Justice" is only an excuse.




With that, Jin and Takaya started stalking off, but before they left...




Jin gave the door control a hard kick.



The door slammed shut and locked; we had been trapped inside.



Aigis: We will be alright. Rather than wasting our energy, I suggest we deal with the Shadow first.
Yukari: You're right. If we lose our cool, then they win.
Fuuka: The Shadow's movign! I think it's noticed us!
Mitsuru: Alright, let's concentrate on our original goal. We can look for a way out after we've won. Everyone, prepare for battle.



I decided to take along Aigis, Akihiko, and Yukari, and we headed down into the bunker...



Fuuka warned us that there was something odd about this Shadow, so we stayed on our guard.



We kept going down into the earth for what felt like forever...



I was shocked to find some skeletons laying deep within the bunker as well. One had a diary:

We have done all we can. I have worked until my fingers bled for the sake of my country, as well as my family's future. But still, our task has not been completed. It's such a bitter pill to swallow. Yet even if the sky burns red, we shall not surrender...

History can be a cruel mistress, I suppose.



We kept going, eventually ending up in a weapons depot.



A little further and we ran into another dead body, and beside it we found another diary.

With the few men who remain, we have completed our assignment. I hope that it will be of some use to our allies in the future. I shall lock it tightly. I hope our comrades who aren't here to celebrate this day are looking down and similing at our achievement...to my mother, my wife, and my children - forgive me for leaving this world so early, but this is for all your futures...

Ugh, that's terrible. I still feel bad for those poor men; the diaries also reminded us, though, that we needed to stay strong unless we wanted that to be all that's left of us, too. So we continued on until we finally ran into the Shadow...

Boss - Chariot and Justice (This is either one of the hardest or one of the easiest of the Ordeal bosses, depending on how you approach it. Chariot and Justice start off as a single entity with 3000 HP. After you've shaved off a pretty good chunk of this, it seperates into two entities, giving half of the remaining HP to both of them. You can fight these two normally, but if you kill one, the other will immediately revive it with full health with Samarecarm. Thus, you either have to kill them both at once, kill them while they're united, or lose a battle of attrition when they revive themselves over and over.)

(Bonus Video: Fuck this game even harder! - This is what happens when you fight Chariot and Justice the wrong way.)



After we brought down Chariot and Justice, Mitsuru called back to headquarters with Fuuka's help.



Ikutsuki: Good work. You may return.
Mitsuru: Wait, there's more. Our mission was interrupted by an uninvited guest. He's most likely a Persona-user.
Ikutsuki: A Persona-user?!
Mitsuru: And he wasn't alone. They appeared quietly during the Dark Hour and seemed to be aware of our activities.
Ikutsuki: Hmm...did they say anything that might give us a clue?
Mitsuru: Come to think of it...



Ikutsuki: Strega...? I'll see what I can find out.
Mitsuru: Thank you. I have one final thing to report...I regret to inform you that we fell right into Strega's trap, and now we're locked inside here.
Ikutsuki: Ah, I see. Since the threat has been eliminated, I'll send someone over as soon as I can.
Mitsuru: I'm sorry...we'll be waiting.



About an hour after the Dark Hour was over, some Kirijo Group people came over and let us out. Thankfully they didn't ask many questions.





(We learn Same Target this time, which is helpful against mixed groups of enemies where some are more dangerous than others. Generally speaking, though, it's a poor substitute for Assign Target, which we started with.)



I'm writing this the morning after, just after waking up. I'm still pretty tired, so I'm gonna take it easy for today, but I'll write more next time. Later guys!

Coming up in the next entry: Hey, whatever happened to Psychic Puppy?