Shattered Justice (A Persona Quest)

You look up at the sky again. It is, as always, the shade of green that you've only ever associated with the Dark Hour, and the things that hide within it. Even with all the streetlights gone, you've never really been able to see the stars in this time... it's like the green in the sky simply drowned them all out.

The moon, however... you've always been able to see the moon, so long as it was there to be seen. It shines almost ominously, the brightest source of light in the Hour when you aren't safely at home, and sometimes even then. It's not like you have much reason to turn the lights on.

"Is the moon supposed to be this big?" You ask, looking up at it. Most of the time, it takes up a reasonable portion of the sky. But right now, it looks to be about the same size as a car, maybe a little bigger.

Even in the Dark Hour, you don't think that's entirely normal.
Of course, I'm not sure what the last time was that normal applied to either of us, at least according to regular people. I don't actually think it ever happened.
"Well, it is a full moon tonight," Yukari-san points out, looking up. "But... yeah, I guess it's bigger than it is the rest of the night." That's not exactly what you meant. Actually, she somehow managed to pick up those things in exactly the wrong order. But you don't have it in you to correct her, particularly when she's about to lead you into battle and it could be dangerous to undermine her confidence.

"Maybe it has something to do with..." Makoto-san begins, before trailing off. "...Never mind."

What could he be thinking about?

"It's kinda creepy, isn't it?" Junpei-san muses. He's not actually looking at it. You aren't sure whether that bit works toward his point or not. "I mean, how do we know it's not just gonna fall on us, or anything?"
Could we not think about that? Just for a little bit longer?
"...I think you've been playing too many video games," Akihiko-san responds, eventually, being probably the first one to actually think up a response to that.

Makoto-san gives the moon another glance. "I don't know... It'd make as much sense as what that kid said..."

"Kid?" He doesn't mean you, right? It's not like you've spoken to him that often, and you've tried to be as clear with him as you possibly could. And while he's been talking to Maiko, you can't imagine she'd say anything that would be all that confusing to him... unless she was asking for a demonstration or something.

He also hasn't spoken to Akira at all. That much, at least, is probably just coincidence.

Makoto-san just shrugs. Which isn't helpful in the slightest. "It's... probably my imagination." Okay, you should probably find this concerning, but you're already concerned with Makoto-san in general. So it's just another thing that you should maybe look into one day.

Thinking about it, you have a lot more of those than you think most people would. That's probably not a good sign.

---

The problem you had to go out for, it turns out, is an extremely large Shadow that has decided to board a monorail. You're not going to ask why a Shadow would be on the monorail. You aren't sure there's a reason that Shadows do anything.
I feel like I should be insulted...
But, well, it's there. "I can't help but wonder if this is some kind of trap," Mitsuru-san states, leaning against her bike and not actually looking in the direction of your target. You guess there are benefits to how she extends her range. "It's not something Shadows normally do, but... I've never sensed anything like this before."

That's probably a bad sign. She hasn't elaborated at all, but you don't need it to realize that something is probably going to go wrong.

If only because the times when you've gone out to fight Shadows have tended to spiral out of control very quickly... Even your one attempt at training higher up the tower ended up being hijacked by Shadow Morgana.

"Well, we're not going to find out just sitting around here," Junpei-san points out. Which is true, but you'd been sort of hoping to put off having to fight for a bit. Or that, you know, you'd actually have a plan when you did. A plan would be really nice right now.

"That doesn't mean we have to jump right into it, either," Yukari-san shoots back. "Though, we... might not have a choice. Is there any way to get close to it without getting on the train?"

"Not that would be feasible in under an hour." You aren't sure which part of that sentence scares you more. "If we don't defeat the Shadow, chances are that all of the passengers will end up joining the ranks of the Lost. The public's reaction to that would likely be severe."

"So we're going to have to do this. Great." Yukari-san sighs, before checking to make sure all of her arrows are still there. You wouldn't say that the rest of you fall into formation- as a group, you are nowhere near disciplined enough for that, but you still find yourself taking a place near...


[ ] The back of the line.

[ ] By Yukari-san's side.

Sticking close to Yukari-san is, you figure, a good way of making sure you'll be able to keep fighting through. While she's the one to cover wind magic, you're pretty sure at this point that she'd rather support everyone else.

Being at the front of the group probably doesn't help her too much with that, but there is something to be said for the ability to shoot down a Shadow before it can get within attacking distance.

So you stay near her, as she leads everyone towards the open door in front of you. It's almost definitely a trap, the train isn't even all the way inside the station, and the lights, for whatever reason, are on.
Number one sign that Shadows are involved, right there. Still, could be worse. It could be a television.
You have no idea of the technology behind the vehicle you're boarding, but everything you've ever observed about the Dark Hour tells you that those lights should not be on.

Makoto-san stands on Yukari-san's other side, fiddling with his headphones. You don't know why he brought them along, you're positive he spent the past few hours napping, but the wire is twisted so totally between his fingers that he'll probably need a few seconds to untangle himself once you get into a fight.

And it goes without saying, at this point, that a fight is definitely going to happen.

Junpei-san tries to stay close as well, sword already prepared to go charging into action. Something important is probably going to end up on fire by the end of all this.
If we're lucky, it'll just be the Shadows.
This, of course, means Akihiko-san will probably be the last one of you to face an enemy, unless some more decide to come in right behind you, but he'll have Koromaru to assist him, so it should be fine.

Honestly, though, the Shadows you should be focusing on are the ones that get within stabbing distance. After all, if there's a big one up ahead, preserving magic for when you fight it will be important, right?

As soon as you finish that thought, the ground lurches beneath your feet, and you have to use your spear to keep yourself from falling over.

...Or, well, you try to use it to keep yourself from falling over. It worked up until roughly two-thirds of its weight abruptly vanished and sent you tumbling to the floor. But you did try.

It takes a few moments to realize that, yes, you're definitely moving forward. The doors, of course, have shut behind you, not that you were expecting to be able to make your escape through that route either way.

That's also about when Shadows start dripping down from the ceiling. Because of course they do.


[ ] Stab them!

[ ] Blast them!

[ ] Just run right past them!