Part 39: Entry Thirty-Four: November 2nd, 2009

Entry Thirty-Four: November 2nd, 2009

Mood: ...
Music: Nothing at all.

Tomorrow is it. We're finally going to bring down the last of the Shadows and end this nightmare for good. And you know what? I'm not going to miss any of this.

None of it.



For instance, I'm definitely not going to miss the Dark Hour...



...or going to Tartarus, because nearly getting killed on a biweekly basis isn't nearly as fun as it sounds. Also, I've already gotten enough money out of this place to pay for my first year of college, so there's that. Normal jobs tend to be a lot safer, anyway.



Anyway, enough whining from me. We continued our climb up Tartarus to prepare for the operation; the last Shadow is bound to be desperate, and we'd need all the help we can get. We ran into new Shadows on the way up, as always; this Death Seeker had some kind of optical illusion going on, so we couldn't see it except as a bunch of floating eyeballs. Kinda gross, not to mention it was a fan of Mudo and the like, so we tried to take them out quickly.



On the other hand, these Flowing Sands are probably the most pathetic Shadows we've run into yet - any physical attacks will knock them down, and All-Out Attacks simply wreck them. I don't think I've seen one get a chance to attack yet.



This Mighty Cyclops could do some serious damage of a variety of elements, but fortunately it was easy enough to knock it down with a fire attack so it wouldn't get a chance to do anything.



Speaking of new stuff, Akihiko got to try out his new Persona for the first time during this expedition. Ceasar's Zio attacks are absolutely brutal, especially since I'd given Akihiko some Electricity-boosting Indra Bracers earlier.



And as long as I'm on the topic of new Personas, a trip to the Velvet Room left me with quite a few as well; my selection had been getting a little outdated, so this was a good thing. Cu Chulainn has a decent mix of physical and Electric attacks, along with Power Charge, which doubles physical attack damage.



Dominion didn't turn out to be useful as anything more than fusion fodder, since I hadn't advanced the Justice link very far.



There's not much to say about Kingu. It does have one extremely useful skill though - Virus Breath, which cuts enemies' health by a quarter. It's surprisingly accurate, and even works on some Guardians.



Kikuri-Hime has a variety of magical skills, making her great in all kinds of situations.



Lakshmi is from the Empress Arcana, one of the two that I still haven't established a Link for yet. She's powerful enough without it, though, having inherited some group support skills and Mediarama.



I also used a Cross Fusion to make Girimehkala. I'm sure he has his high points, but mostly I made him to fulfill one of Elizabeth's requests.





(Nebiros is fucking hardcore. Since we've maxed the Hermit Arcana, he gained all his skills immediately upon Fusion. This means he started with Evil Smile, which inflicts Fear on all enemies, and Ghastly Wail, which instantly kills all Afraid enemies, no questions asked. On top of that, he also has Fear Boost and Stagnant Air, which both increase the chance that Evil Smile will scare enemies. What this basically means is that given three turns it's possible to wipe out any normal Shadows - one for Stagnant Air to weaken the enemies' resistance to Fear, one to scare them all with Evil Smile, and one to finish them with Ghastly Wail. Sure, there's more efficient ways of dealing with them, but this is always a great backup plan.)



(Here's an example of that in action.)



Fuuka kept picking up new abilities as well - her latest one is called Oracle. It does...uh...something; honestly we still haven't figured out what it does. Sometimes it'll heal us, sometimes it'll blast the enemies, sometimes it'll heal or blast both us and the enemies. It's kind of a last resort.



Anyway, after some climbing we made it to the next Guardian...

Tartarus Boss 14 - Hell Knights (These guys are easily the most difficult Tartarus boss in the game. Just watch and you'll understand why.)




Everyone was beat after that, so we headed home for the night.



On Saturday, I went and hung out with Yuko.



Yuko: Repeat after me: "I can win!"
Kids: I can win!!
Yuko: Don't give in to fear!



Yuko: The winner will get to use the playground. They asked me to write a formal challenge for them, but I'm a little worried...not just about the race, but also about my spelling.



Yuko: They'll be fine, right?! After all, they learned from us!




She's right...





...I wouldn't let any older kids beat my pint-sized minions in a race. I've taught them how to gnaw at ankles. They're unstoppable.



The next day was a Sunday, so I went to see Akinari again.





Akinari: So much for the hospital, right? Now I'm just waiting for the end, but I don't feel like I'm the only one being singled out anymore.



Akinari: But once the time comes, it's the same for us all. I'm still a little lonely, but I'm not sad anymore.



He stared into my eyes...




...and I knew he didn't have long.





This might not be our last day together, but...he didn't have much left.





I can't say I didn't cry a little that night...




...though exhaustion from another Tartarus trip might've contributed to that, too. We fought another Guardian while we were there...

Tartarus Boss 15 - Mythical Gigas (This guy likes to use support skills to weaken the team before decimating you with powerful physical attacks. However, with support skills of your own, it's easy to counteract that kind of thing and make him a piece of cake.)




After that, get this: we reached the top of Tartarus! There wasn't a blocked path or anything, it was just...empty. To be honest I'm not even sure it's really the top, which is why I'm not gonna make a big deal about it until we know for sure. I doubt the real top would be so anticlimactic.



Well, except for another Old Document.

I've heard it all. The plan is evil. But there's hope...if people could control the shadows inside them...



This afternoon, I tried to make up with Yukari...



...but she's pretty pissed, so it didn't work out.



I don't think she's happy with the whole Yuko thing...ugh, like I need anything else to worry about.



On the bright side, Fuuka will still hang out with me!



On the not-so-bright side, she keeps trying to make me eat her food.



Fuuka: I think it'll taste better than last time...at least, it can't be any worse, right?



Well, it wasn't squirming, so that was a good sign.




All of a sudden, a stray cat showed up.



Fuuka: He looks hungry, doesn't he? Here, kitty kitty...maybe I should give him some food.



Fuuka gave the cat some of the lunch she'd made...




...and right around then I thanked God I hadn't tried to eat any of it yet.




Fuuka: Ew...this tastes terrible! Hmm, I must've left it out too long...s-sorry, Minato-kun...please don't eat any of this. I don't want you to get sick...



Fuuka: I just want to help everyone, even outside of battle...and there aren't many chances to eat homemade food when you live in the dorm, so I thought it would be nice to make lunch for everyone, but...




Well, as long as I survive it...




...I guess I'm okay with that.





At this point, though, that's still up in the air.



Earlier tonight, we all gathered in the lounge to discuss tomorrow's mission.

Yukari: We've been through a lot this last six months...don't ya think?
Junpei: It was a lot better than doing nothing, right? Besides, we made some new friends.
Ken: ...Yeah, I guess.
Akihiko: 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.



Aigis: I was asleep for much of the time, so I have not been in operation for very long.
Junpei: How about you, Mitsuru-spenai? You started before Akihiko-san, right?
Mitsuru: ...Me? Yes, it was just me at first. Of course, back then SEES didn't exist, and this was just a regular dorm.
Yukari: Did the Chairman recruit you?
Mitsuru: No...



Mitsuru: One time, my father's research team was attacked by Shadows. That's when I awakened to my Persona...when I witnessed the incident.
Yukari: That's what happened...?
Mitsuru: It seems I was the first.



Fuuka: Senpai...
Akihiko: It would've happened to someone eventually...besides, the enemy can't just be ignored.
Mitsuru: ...I suppose that's true.




Seems like everyone's as relieved as I am.





This is it, guys.

The next time I write, it'll all be over.

Coming up in the next entry: The final battle...