The battle, from that point on, went about as Joker remembered: he and Mona coordinated to ensure everyone was healed up and buffed up, while Skull and Not-Yet-Named-Panther focused on offense. (Ann, especially so: it seemed that she was especially invigorated by her recent awakening, for she moved as a living pyre.)
Down went the chalice full of girls, to Asmodeus Kamoshida's chagrin. Away went the masked slaves, their chains cut loose.
Even Kamoshida's 'Gold Medal Spike' was successfully defended; thanks to Takemi's medicine, they were able to heal up while conserving energy to attack.
However, the Shadow wasn't going to make it easy on them. (A Persona like Michael or Vishnu would have been
really useful right now, if only to dominate the perverted lech...)
Kamoshida's Shadow cursed, sending away his cognition of Mishima—a worn-down servant, his school uniform ragged and torn—with fury. "
SEND OUT THE NEXT SLAVE! BRING ME A NEW BALL!"
Out came his cognition of Shiho Suzui, wearing a revealing costume that wouldn't have been out of place on a female love interest from a classic sci-fi show. "
Y-Your ball is ready, Kamoshida-sama," weakly cried the scantily-clad cognition.
Ann's eyes went wide with shock. "Shiho-?"
"It's just his cognition of her! It's how he thinks of her!" interrupted Ryuji, his Persona parrying Kamoshida's giant fork.
This seemed to set Ann off even more.
Mona scowled, dodging the strikes from the golden knife. "We need to get the Treasure off of his head!"
Ann, lips curled with disgust, turned towards Joker. "
Toss me!"
Joker had no clue what she was planning; however, he trusted her (even if he didn't know 'this' her). Thus did he switch to Angel, who took hold of Ann's arm and took flight.
"
TIME TO WIN THE GOLD," gloated Asmodeus Kamoshida, ready to spike the ball once more-
"The only thing you deserve to win is
last place!" cried Ann; as Angel tossed her into the air, she lashed out with her whip, its end wrapping around one of the crown's golden arches. As Ann swung down, momentum took care of the rest, as the crown spilled onto the ground.
Asmodeus Kamoshida snarled, writhing in apparent agony. "
NO! MY PRECIOUS!" With a desperate gasp, he raised his wine glass. "
I'VE STILL GOT A QUEEN; I'M STILL A WINNER! SO LONG AS I WIN, I CAN ALWAYS GET MY CROWN BACK!" With gusto, he downed the whole glass, uncaring for the fact that he devoured Ann's cognition in the process. A fiery red aura swirled around him, and his strength rose and
rose. "
RAAAAAAAAGH!"
Okay, enough of this! "Everyone, form up!" ordered Joker, switching to Arsène. "Attack at the same time!" His tone brooked no argument.
Four Personas formed up, and the quartet of Phantom Thieves roared in defiance; bolts of darkness, lightning, fire, and wind rushed forth, blasting into the monster's torso simultaneously.
A horrid cry escaped from the Shadow's throat, his attacked snuffed out before it could even begin: wailing, the Palace Ruler returned to his normal size.
"...is that it?" wondered Skull.
"He has no more power to fight," said Mona, walking over towards the Treasure...only to balk as Kamoshida's Shadow scampered, scooping it up with a terrified grimace. "Hey!"
"There's nowhere for him to run," said Joker, already moving to preemptively block Kamoshida's path. The Shadow impulsively went for the window, only to balk at how high up they were. "That's the view you drove Takamaki-san to face, you know? It's terrifying, isn't it?"
"
Damn it...I was a gold medalist! Everyone listened to me! Everyone did what I asked! Is a little reward for my efforts too much to ask?!" whined the whimpering Shadow. "
Nobody told me to stop! Everyone turned a blind eye! What was I supposed to do?!"
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sjqs3h367sQ
"...this...is Kamoshida, isn't it?" wondered Ann aloud, her tone sounding hollow. "If he were to die here...would the same thing happen in the real world...?"
Joker didn't want to say the truth (if only because he was finding it difficult to spare Kamoshida, but he knew they
should). Before he could speak up, Mona said, "If we take his Treasure, then his desires will be stolen. He'll be left with a guilty conscience, for sure...but if you destroy his Shadow, his mind will shut down in reality." Crossing his arms, the monster cat said, "In the end, it's your call."
Ann stepped forward, her mask vanishing from her face. Behind her, Carmen's hands burned with fire. "That desperation you feel...it's awful, isn't it? It's suffocating...almost makes you want to die,
doesn't it...?"
Kamoshida's Shadow whimpered with genuine fear. "
No, please! I beg you, forgive me! I'm sorry...!"
Ann scowled. "Shut
up. You went on about how much better than everyone else you were, as though your presence was some
gift to society...no matter how much people told you to stop...no matter how much
I told you to stop...but you just kept on taking, and
taking, and
taking!" Carmen unleashed one blast of fire; the Shadow cowered, even as it exploded against the wall. "Was it worth it?!" Stepping up towards Kamoshida, she ripped the crown from his hands, gripping the collar of his cloak and
screaming in his face. "
Was it?!"
"Takamaki-!" yelled Skull, moving to intervene; Joker stuck out his arm, holding him in place. "Dude, what-?"
"Let her have this."
"But what if she kills him?"
"She won't."
Skull marveled at his conviction. "...dude, how can you be sure-?"
"...just trusting my gut," he said.
How much has truly changed? Even if she suffered more than last time...is the core of her person the same? I have to know...whatever the consequences may be...
"
...you might as well finish me off," moaned Kamoshida, sinking to his knees. "
I'm through...losers don't deserve to live...only winners...and you've won..."
Ann looked down upon Kamoshida; from the side, Joker could she her bared teeth, as though she were truly struggling to make a decision. Finally, to their surprise, she loosed a harrowing cry, screaming at the heavens; in conjunction with this, Carmen shot the last fireball towards the empty throne, incinerating it in a column of flame. "...I wanted revenge so
badly..." With great effort, she turned away, Treasure in hand. "...but I'm not the only one who suffered because of you...and if I were the only one who got payback..." Her mask flashed back into existence. "...it wouldn't be fair to
Shiho...or to
anyone else you've hurt..."
Joker felt his heart swell with pride and affection for the young lady, whose heart still carried such strength within. "You hear that Kamoshida?" he called out. "The Phantom Thieves have taken your heart, just like we promised!" With a dramatic flourish, he pointed his finger at the Shadow. "Now:
atone for your sins, and confess your crimes with your own mouth!"
Kamoshida's Shadow finally gave up the proverbial ghost, returning to his real self.
Then the Palace started collapsing, and there was no time to do anything but run.
"So...tired..." murmured Ann, the fatigue from her Persona's Awakening finally catching up.
"Damn it, this is a
really effin' bad time!" exclaimed Skull.
Joker snapped his fingers. "I've got it. Come, Eligor!" He summoned the horned knight and his mighty steed, their forms towering over them. "Mona, on the head! Skull, in front! Takamaki, with me!" Mona hopped upon the horse's head, while Skull scampered in front of the armored knight; Joker jumped on behind Eligor and hauled Ann up with one arm, having her sit crossways across his lap. With one arm around her torso and another arm around Eligor's, he yelled, "Get us out of here!"
Eligor huffed, accepting the task as the horse neighed.
(There was no time to focus on the Castle collapsing; he needed to make sure his Persona maintained itself...)
(
Do you have the mental fortitude to last...?)
This body may be young...but my mind is sharp as ever, he swore to himself.
My friends did their part...so I have to do mine!
Onward they rode through the falling castle, reaching for the light.
xxxx
"
The destination has been deleted," happily chirped the Metaverse Navigator.
The trio of students sagged against the walls of the alleyway outside Shujin Academy, whilst Morgana calmly groomed himself.
"...ugh...that was awful," groaned Ryuji, glaring daggers at Morgana. "You couldn't have warned us about that, you stupid cat?!"
"Well, how was I supposed to know that stealing his desires was going to cause such a dramatic reaction?!" retorted Morgana.
Ryuji boggled. "...wait, were you
winging it the whole time?!"
"Enough about that," said Akira, pulling out a gold medal. "Looks like this was his Treasure...the source of his desires..." Stuffing it into his bookbag, he asked, "You okay, Takamaki-san?"
Ann, her butt still resting on the ground, shook her head. "I just feel...tired, is all..." Looking up with a pensive expression, she asked, "That world...and our
outfits...what was that all about...?"
"It's kind of a long story," murmured Ryuji, kicking at the ground.
"And it's a secret, in case you weren't aware," cautioned Akira. "But we can talk all about it later, once we've recovered." Holding up his phone, he asked, "Mind trading numbers?"
Shortly after Akira and Ryuji traded numbers with Ann, none other than Shiho Suzui wandered by the alleyway. "
There you are!" she exclaimed, looking at Akira and Ryuji with trepidation before kneeling down beside Ann. "I've been trying to text you, and you weren't answering..."
"...sorry, Shiho," Ann murmured.
Shiho looked up, demanding an explanation as to her current condition without a word. "We had a rather intense run-in with Kamoshida after classes ended," explained Akira. (Technically correct.) "We've been keeping an eye out while she tried to catch her breath."
Ann's friend paled. "Did he-?"
"We made sure he didn't touch her," growled Ryuji. (Also technically correct, to an extent.)
Shiho looked towards the blonde for confirmation. "It's true...they both helped a lot..." Ann grimaced woozily as Shiho helped her to her feet. "We'll talk later...but thank you. Thank you both."
Ryuji looked away, scratching nervously at the back of his head. Akira opted for a joke to ease the tension. "Well, us targets of wanton rumors have to stick together, right?" He shot a playful wink at Shiho. "Even
if a rather wise lady advised us to ignore them."
Shiho blinked, recalling their brief conversation from last Thursday. "...thank you," she said, opting for polite discretion.
As Ryuji watched the two girls walk away, he asked, "Man, I feel antsy...how do we know it worked...?"
"It
had to work," vowed Morgana as he hopped into Akira's bag.
"We have no choice but to wait," said Akira, looking down at his phone. "So...wanna grab a beef bowl before calling it a night?"
Ryuji frowned. "...you promise not to steal my egg again?"
Akira adjusted his glasses. "You promise not to give me extra ginger without asking?"
The two stared intently at each other...only to laugh at the sheer inanity of it all.
(Victory was quite the heady tonic.)
xxxx
/since Kamoshida didn't 'do the deed' with Shiho
//his cognition of her wasn't that of the bunny girl
///think of it along the lines of the 'Slave Leia' outfit from
Return of the Jedi, if you must
