Shattered Justice (A Persona Quest)

You stand up. Neither of the assassins have said anything yet, so you assume that either they're trying to sneak past you, or they don't realize you're there quite yet. You're going to hope for the latter.

"Come on," You whisper to the others. "Fuuka-san, put away Lucia for now."

"But the others-"

"Look at the entrance to the mall and tell me you think it's safe." You don't get a response to that. "I didn't think so. Come on, I have an idea." You aren't sure if Shirtless managed to get a new gun yet after Nemi totaled the last one, and you really don't want to find out the hard way.

"W-what's going on?" Rise-san stammers out as you urge her past the fountain and towards the alley where you meet with Lavenza.

It's Mitsuru-san who replies, her voice as cold as ever. "Strega. A group of Persona Users who operate as assassins. Our former club advisor once hired their services in order to... remove... Shinjiro, but made a vital error when he did so." Rise-san gives her an odd look, so she elaborates. "We figured out his plan long before, and we never told anyone that Shinjiro had gotten a lot better at wielding his Persona recently. I wasn't there for the confrontation, but... Shinjiro and Yoshino told me everything I needed to know after the fact." You hadn't realized she'd spoken with Chidori-san.
It makes sense, though. You don't exactly let a former assassin live with you without vetting them first.
"Is this really a good idea?" Fuuka-san asks once you've already squeezed in to a cramped space. "They're probably seen us by now..."

"I'm trying to get backup," You explain, before knocking on the wall. "Lavenza-san? We have a bit of an emergency. Could you please come out?"

Lavenza sticks her head out of the wall, which is sort of more than you'd expected, and also really disconcerting when you can't see the rest of her. "What do you want? This is an important night in the Journeys of Theo's Guests."
Why is she using plurals here, anyway?
"Right. Well, we're not part of that battle... Except maybe technically Fuuka-san? Anyway, a couple of assassins are here, and they're probably going to interfere with the fight?" If they're still after Shinjiro-san... Well, maybe you'll get lucky and they'll be thrown to the Shadow. "If you don't want to directly fight them, you could just... protect Rise-san and Fuuka-san. Rise-san's definitely not a part of this."
Unless, of course, she's their next target, in which case they both die. Preferably on one of Jin's grenades.
You don't think you've ever felt so much hate from your Persona before, but at least it's against a deserving target. He's even being coherent about it! Really, this could be a lot worse.

Lavenza steps fully out of the Velvet Room, dusting off her uniform as she does so. You can't remember the last time you saw her wearing it unmodified. "Do you believe these assassins would be more of a threat to you, or the battle going on nearby?" She asks, ignoring the fact that Rise-san is now leaning against the wall to... well, probably to try and get the world to make sense again.

You wish her luck, but it's probably not going to get her anywhere.

"Well..." You think about it. "Last time we saw them, they were hired to kill Shinjiro-san, and one of their members defected, and both Shinjiro-san and Chidori-san are fighting the big Shadow right now... but also I broke one of the shirtless guy's guns. I'm not sure if it was his only one or not." And, okay, technically it was Nemi who did that, but that doesn't change how likely you are to be a target. "I'm not sure."

She takes a deep breath. "...My master will not be pleased with me if I step forward. There is a high chance that my path will cross with those of Makoto Yuki. But... you believe there is a clear danger?"

"The one who didn't have a gun threw a grenade at me."

She nods. "...All right then." And strolls out into the main area of the mall, to stand right by the fountain of blood.

You get the feeling that this isn't going to be pretty.


[ ] Try and get a good view of what Lavenza does to the assassins.

[ ] ...Rise-san might need some help calming down again.

[ ] Try to have a semi-normal conversation with Mitsuru-san.
-[ ] About what?

You're sure that Lavenza can take care of herself. That's why you called for her, after all. Right now, you're a bit more concerned about Rise-san.

Becoming aware of the Dark Hour isn't a fun process at the best of times. Doing so in a public place must be a lot worse. Add in nearby Shadows, and it's easy to see where there's a problem. And that's not even counting the assassins.
Really, I think it's safe to say that she's just not having a very good night right now.
That makes all of you, aside from maybe Lavenza. Probably even Strega now, with what they have waiting for them. Not that you care much about what happens to them, so long as they don't hurt anybody you care about.

What you do care about is Rise-san, who at this point has lost a lot of the calm your earlier interactions have given her. "Rise-san? Are you all right?"

"A girl just walked out of the wall," She breathes out, clearly not ready to deal with the sort of things that fill your life. "You said there are assassins outside. I'm not- I just wanted to see the mall at night."

You consider pointing out that she could still have left long before midnight, but decide against it. At least she wasn't out walking on the streets or something when the Dark Hour hit.

"I know. It can be... a lot. My friends at school mostly know I'm magic, but I don't really tell them about why. It's... the sort of thing most people wouldn't believe. I should know- I've tried!" Mitsuru-san visibly flinches. You pretend not to notice. It's all in the past, anyway.
If we can forgive Shinjiro-san for losing control, we can forgive Mitsuru-san for trying to protect him.
"So... I just can't tell anyone about all this?"

"I mean, you can, if you trust them..." You aren't sure this is making things any better. "...Actually, if you want to know about people who deal with this sort of thing without fighting all the time, you could visit Mikage-Cho."

She blinks. "...Mikage-Cho?"

At the same time, a cry of "Black Frost!" Comes from the main section of the mall. For now, you choose to ignore it.

You nod. "Yeah, there's a lot of Persona Users there, and... no sign of any sorts of monster. There's even stores marked as being open 25/7, though at least the hotel we stayed at has a curfew, so... Magic's normal, over there." That's what originally convinced you that it wouldn't automatically be a disaster if your friends knew you could use magic. If they can operate without having it be one big secret, then why can't you?

"Mabufudyne!" You hear from outside your little sanctuary. Hopefully Mitsuru-san hasn't run out of excuses for why things might be frozen over.
Not like it's the only bit of collateral damage she'll have to cover up.
Rise-san apparently hears it too, wincing as everything gets just that much colder. "I guess it's not too soon to say that the concert is almost definitely cancelled?"

"Probably not," You smile apologetically. "Sorry you had to come all the way out here for nothing."

She shrugs. "I mean, it's that or I wake up in the middle of the night at some point and not know what's happening..."

"You say that like we know what's happening." Sure, there's rules and stuff that you can figure out, but... there's a lot you aren't entirely sure of, and that you don't actually have to know in order to function.

"I have returned." Lavenza walks up to you, followed by a large, black and purple version of her Jack Frost doll. "I believe the issue has been dealt with, for the time being."

You duck outside to see what she means, and, well...
...All that, and she didn't even have to explode them.
Shirtless and Grenades are frozen, now, in much the same way that Ikutsuki was two months back. The fountain is no longer there anymore, having been shattered by a large spear of ice, leaving blood pooling across the smooth floor. You really, really hope that all of it turns back into water after the Dark Hour is over.

"Yeah, I... don't think they're much of a threat right now." What with the whole 'cryogenic stasis' thing and all.

She nods, looking impassive. "What would you like to do with them now? As it is, I have a few ideas..." She probably has no clue just how tempting that is to you. She could have just taken them, and you wouldn't have complained, but... their fates are in your hands now.

It's up to you what happens to them.


[ ][SHIRTLESS] Let Lavenza do what she wants with him.

[ ][SHIRTLESS] Turn him in to the proper authorities.

[ ][SHIRTLESS] Just leave him here.

[ ][SHIRTLESS] Let him go.
[ ][SHIRTLESS] "Psiodyne."
[ ][GRENADES] Let Lavenza do what she wants with him.

[ ][GRENADES] Turn him in to the proper authorities.

[ ][GRENADES] Just leave him here.

[ ][GRENADES] Let him go.