Shattered Justice (A Persona Quest)

You might not have been in Tartarus very often, but that doesn't mean you don't remember how simple it was to fight the enemies here.

You suppose that someone must have told this to Takeba-san, even if she's less... battle-ready than the rest of you. And it sort of shows, even if her aim with that bow of hers is good enough to knock out certain Shadows before they even realize you're there.

Those that don't die scramble over to attack, and then it's your job to stab them so they stop being a problem. Brutal, but effective. Still, you suspect the main reason you don't have any real injuries to deal with is just luck, plain and simple.
Just... don't tell Yukari-san that. She needs her confidence.
A few Shadows get the idea to try attacking your party from behind. If you weren't already aware that the Shadows here seem to be mostly mindless creatures, this decision would cement it.

Actually, given that Koromaru is keeping his Persona out and immolating anything that gets too close, you're surprised anything is even trying. Shadows might not be greatly intelligent, but you still expected some amount of self-preservation instinct.

Takeba-san finds a better bow for herself on the third floor, as well as a sword. Not that you know anyone who uses that kind of sword- you know Mitsuru-san can use smaller ones, even if she prefers rapiers, but this one's a bit too big for that- but it's there.

...Given that, during the day, this place is supposedly a school, you can't help but wonder just what kinds of things the others are learning.
Given the selection of teachers? Probably nothing near a normal curriculum.
Still, other than that, nothing particularly interesting happens.

And then you reach the fifth floor.

You step into a large room, with green walls that reflect onto the checkered floor, with the occasional puddle of blood leaking out of it. Nowhere near where you could easily step on it, but still there. There are occasional pillars in the room, which is the most in terms of actual features you've seen so far in this tower, and on the other side, there is a hallway, at the end of which is an odd green light.

(There's something on that floor with you,) Mitsuru-san informs you. (Besides the Shadows. It feels almost like the teleporters on the previous floor, but... not quite.)

"That's probably the light up ahead," Takeba-san remarks. This is the most calm she's sounded since getting into the tower- mostly, she's just mumbled directions while fiddling with her arrows.

Then again, right now, everything seems all right. Peaceful.

And then your group takes your first steps into the hallway, and all that shatters.

Three birds, like the one you killed right after the time travel, appear at the end of the hallway, heading straight for you. Takeba-san manages to down one of them from a distance, but misses her second shot.

And then, there they are.

At least you outnumber them.


Ken's HP: 45/45
Ken's SP: 75/75
Nihil Spear Power: 45
Nihil Spear Accuracy: 70


[ ] Attack
-[ ] With Nihil Spear
-[ ] With Card Scalpel

[ ] Skills
-[ ] Cruel Attack

[ ] Spells
-[ ] Zio
-[ ] Kouha

Being a quick draw with an Evoker is not something that comes automatically. It takes time, and practice, and a certain ability to tolerate pointing something that looks like a gun at yourself.

Takeba-san, you can tell, probably isn't going to achieve this for a while. You have, but there are a few mitigating circumstances there.

Such as the fact that you somehow seem to know what you're doing, even when you really have no clue. Consciously, at least.

Wherever it comes from, you're still able to summon Nemesis to blast the nearest Shadow with light, and that seems to be the part that matters most right now.

The impact of the light causes the bird to stagger, a little, but not very much. You're pretty sure that means it resists Bless, but you're not entirely certain just yet. You'll wait until you can see what other magic does to it.

Most likely from Akihiko-san, since he's the one who pulls out his Evoker next, and you think you trust him to know better than to try to punch a bird.

Well. You do now. Back when you first met him, that would probably be different.

Still, he doesn't seem wholly concerned by the presence of the bird Shadows. Given how strong he is, that really shouldn't surprise you. And it doesn't, not really.

It's what comes next that's the shocking part.

"Caesar! Mazio!" Before Akihiko-san's attack, there were three Shadows on the floor.

Now, there are none.

With how much more power he has than the last time you came here- a difference in power you can see, without particularly looking for it, even ignoring the fact that he somehow has a different Persona now- you suppose you could have expected it.

What's the name he called his new Persona by? Caesar? It fits, in your mind, more than Polydeuces ever did. It's a name that doesn't surprise you to hear it one bit, aside from the thought that maybe it's a bit too early for that.

Not that this really means much, considering that, no matter how much there is you don't remember, odds are things didn't go quite this way last time around.

So. Akihiko-san has a new Persona now. Okay. "Huh. When did that happen?" You ask, because it's not like you have to worry about enemies or anything at the moment.

He shrugs. "I'm... not really sure," He admits, which given that it involves something from his own mind, is sort of concerning, even if you don't think he'll ever have to worry about the sort of things that you do. "It just... happened."

(Only Akihiko would be able to somehow have a personal epithany without noticing.) Mitsuru-san speaks what you're pretty sure all of you were thinking. Well. Maybe not Takeba-san. You don't think she's known him long enough for that. (...Then again, all I'm really able to say about it is that, by the time I'd noticed it, it seemed to have been there for some amount of time already.)

Given that you don't actually know when she noticed this, that isn't as helpful as it really should be.

The conversation is interrupted by a bark, as Koromaru pads into the hallway, right in the direction of the green light. "Koro-chan's got the right idea," Takeba-san speaks up. "Come on, let's go check that out."

'That' turns out to be a teleporter like the ones scattered throughout Tartarus, albeit one that resembles the one on the bottom floor more than the ones you've seen between that floor and this one.

As soon as Takeba-san touches it, you hear an incessant beeping noise. Koromaru whines and backs away from it. (Hm? There's something going on at my level. Let's see...)

A few moments later, Mitsuru-san appears in front of your party in a flash of light. She steps out into Tartarus and takes a look around. "I see... so these objects go both ways, rather than simply returning you to the entrance. This should make things much easier."

Given that the alternative is trying to climb this entire tower in one go? Yes. Yes, it will.
Don't even joke about that. Makoto-san's worst. Training idea. Ever.
"Can you take this stuff back to the entrance with you?" Takeba-san asks, handing over all the things you've found and didn't have an immediate use for. "We're going to go on ahead."

Given how simple this fight was with four of you- if you could call it a fight at all, anyway- you sort of agree with her decision. The Dark Hour's nowhere near over yet, there's plenty of time to explore.

Mitsuru-san doesn't seem to have a problem with that, either.

...She does, however, seem annoyed by Takeba-san making her carry the items down. Especially once she sees how many there are.

You think your new leader may have a bit of a hoarding issue...

Still. You're moving on. And your formation has more-or-less collapsed, with nobody really interested in reestablishing it.

Actually, so long as the Shadows don't get significantly more powerful, things should really be fine as they are.


[ ] Focus on the climb, and getting as high as possible.

[ ] Focus on the new loot you can find, now that you're higher up. That's how it works, right?

[ ] Focus on defeating more Shadows. Takeba-san needs combat experience, after all.

[ ] Things should be fine. Talk to your teammates.
-[ ] About what?