"I think we should be stopping this," You say, as Morgana and his Shadow continue to argue about the Phantom Thieves of Hearts and how important they are. "But I can't bring myself to do anything. What about you guys?"
"I'm sort of worried I'd shoot the wrong one..." Takeba-san admits. "I mean, they
look different enough, but... I don't know. Maybe I'm just making excuses."
"I don't really know what I could do," Akihiko-san states. "Sure, I could knock one of them out, maybe, but would that even
fix anything?"
You have to admit he has a point. Right now, fixing things would probably rely on the right words more than anything, and you have no idea what those are. You never talked to Morgana much about his old friends before. It never seemed important.
"Then again, I guess not caring about them isn't the worst thing in the world," The Shadow continues. If this is how normal people's Shadows act, then you're glad you and Nemi aren't normal. You wouldn't want to have to deal with this all the time.
"After all, that makes the fact that you couldn't save them hurt less, doesn't it?"
"C-couldn't save...?" Morgana sounds to be a mix between confused and terrified at the moment, and really, you don't blame him. "What... what
happened to them!?"
"Oh, it's all your fault, you know. You're the one who got them into this business to start with. You knew there were risks involved." This doesn't clarify anything. Somehow, you don't think he's too worried about that.
"It's the thing you didn't think of the risks for that caused this, even if it should have been obvious. After all... If someone has more sides to them than you can count, how do you know which is the real one?"
Did something happen with his Wild Card? But... we already know what Akira's like.
You have no idea what he's talking about. But, then, you're not the target audience here.
The one he's actually talking to is shaking all over, now, refusing to look his other self in the eye. "But... Crow was gone! Oracle confirmed it!"
"...I wasn't talking about Akechi." Okay, if you weren't getting a bad feeling before... You see Koromaru straining to move forward, even though you both know he could take a step forward and move just fine.
Maybe there
actually is something holding you in place. Something more than just a probably-supernatural hesitance, anyway.
"But he's the only one who-
No. He wouldn't."
"And why not? We've been here for a while, you've seen his real self. We don't know how long he had a Persona for, but... does he seem like the sort of person who would want to rebel?"
"He did it
before, didn't he!? Why are you saying this about him!? Stop lying!"
"Shadows don't lie." You don't think you've ever heard those words used purely to
hurt before.
"Especially not to themselves. But, then, I never got around to actually saying it, did I? So let's get this out of the way now. I am thou. And thou art I. And I'm telling you that you can't trust anyone! Crow, Joker, Ken, Yoshino... does it make a difference in the end? Everyone just ends up betraying us! And the first two didn't even realize how little you cared. If they did, imagine what they'd have done! You need to stay away from them, or it'll just get worse!"
"Shut up!" The regular cat yowls. "You can't tell me who to be friends with! You're not me!" And then he freezes. "Um... can I get a take back on that?"
Somehow, I don't think that's how it works.
The Shadow's eyes narrow.
"Not a chance."
Whatever force of questionable existence was holding you back before vanishes as a powerful gust of wind blows through the room with the Shadow at the center, throwing the Morgana you're used to back at your group. The Shadow himself vanishes into a red and black cloud, before emerging in a different, more monstrous shape.
He's still recognizably feline, of course. He still has his black fur, and his golden eyes. But that's about where the similarities end.
For a start, he's a lot larger now, standing easily as tall as the previous Shadow you fought, with a tail longer than Takeba-san is tall. He stands on two legs, his forepaws being tied together by a rope the same color as the scarf he was wearing earlier. The only white marks you can see on his body are his tail-tip and an I on his forehead. His arms and legs are covered in some kind of steel armor, with his feet having metal boots with blades coming out of the back in the shape of wings.
Adding in the visible claws and fangs... and he's probably the most menacing creature you've ever seen.
"I am a Shadow, the true self. If there's nobody in this world that can be trusted, then I'll tear down every hope they have!" Something tells you you're not getting out of this without a fight.
Ken's HP: 45/45
Ken's SP: 75/75
Nihil Spear Power: 34
Nihil Spear Accuracy: 91
[ ] ...Things tend not to handle being stabbed too well, right?
[ ] ...Does he still have his lightning weakness?
[ ] Bless spells! You're good at those!
[ ] ...Maybe you should focus on keeping the others fit for battle...
[ ] ...Is
your Morgana all right? Maybe you should focus on defending him.
