2025-08-23: The Godfather
- Log: 2025-08-23 The Godfather
- Cast: Junya Kaneshiro, Ren Amamiya, Yusuke Kitagawa, Ryuji Sakamoto, Myunghon Yeo, Ann Takamaki, Yukari Takeba, Shinjiro Aragaki, Akari Hoshi, Haru Okumura, So-young Park, Shinobu Shimizu, Mio Kazama, Makoto Niijima, Umie Akabane, Julian Marlowe
- Where: Junya Kaneshiro's Palace in Another Shibuya, Tokyo
- OOC Date: August 23, 2025
- IC Date: June 30, 2012
- Summary: It's showtime. The Phantoms set out to steal Junya Kaneshiro's Treasure and change his heart; alerted to this by their calling cards, Rumormonger Merry and their companions join in on the fight. But someone eerie is watching the whole while...
======================= IC News And Rumors =======================
Message: 7/5 Posted Author "Calling Cards in Shibuya" Fri Aug 22 Ren Amamiya
Cards have appeared all over Shibuya overnight--on buildings, on cars, on traffic lights, everywhere. Absolutely anyone can pick one up and see that both sides are colored in black and red concentric circles. The front is marked with a logo of a top hat over a domino mask with the left eye trailing flames. The cut-and-paste English words TAKE YouR hEaRT underline it.
https://i.etsystatic.com/23433282/r/il/b7c143/2525950082/il_fullxfull.2525950082_7jhg.jpg
On the other side, it's marked with more cut-and-paste letters, this time in Japanese. Here, it reads:
"Sir Junya Kaneshiro, the money-devouring sinner of gluttony: You indulge in scamming others with horrendous methods that target minors exclusively. What is more, you aim to arrogantly gobble up the lives of others by seizing their property for your own. We have decided to make you confess all your crimes with your own mouth. We will take your distorted desires without fail. From: The Phantoms, Thieves of Hearts."
Is something exciting about to happen?
==================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Junya Kaneshiro has posed.
The calling card was sent. All across Shibuya, calling cards named Junya Kaneshiro and his crimes -- and the Phantom Thieves vowed to do what the police, to date, have been unable to do. By the time they were finished with him, he would confess his crimes with his own mouth.
His Yakuza's preparations for them were for naught. Oh, yes, they secured his headquarters; goons with guns, special purchases of weapons from the Triads and Russians, hired help from allied clans, and a hurried effort to get cameras around the perimeter.
But Kaneshiro has no concept of what a Palace is, much less how to protect it.
The difference between this and Madarame's Palace, though, is that more of the supernatural community knew what to look for. Because Kaneshiro's psyche knows to expect them. Word spread through the rumor networks -- Baofu saw to it that the Dark Side of Sumaru was lit up -- about how the Shadows are prowling and on high alert, about wailing sirens, and flashing red safety lights.
But a thorough exploration lets everyone get o the center easily. Dodging Shadows, sneaking along, and hopping from safe room to safe room, until they get to the central of the lock room. The room's curving walls are unlocked. The central room elevator is opened.
It leads downward, to a cavernous room. It is all white and stark, though the roof cannot be seen. It is, in every word, a vault -- and it's empty, at first, save for the Phantom Thieves... with, of all things, some sot of bus.
For a moment, all is still.
BGM: Persona 5 - Life Will Change - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVkZWcs_-CI
But then a man's voice cuts through. "Should have known you'd show up," Junya Kaneshiro says. His voice has the slight reverb of a Shadow -- and he steps out of a door that opens on the wall nearby. His Shadow's skin is purple, his hair combed neatly, and with a pencil mustache. Eerie golden eyes look over everyone.
And he adjusts his white suit coat. He looks, first, at Joker -- then at Queen. "You should know how the world works. Take from the person who wants it all... and they'll find more to take from you. And you--"
He turns, looking towards Rumormonger Merry. His golden gaze hardens. "You couldn't know when to stay down, could you? It's a dog eat dog world -- and you'd know all about eating dogs, eh?"
Kaneshiro claps his hands together. "You break into my bank, you owe me -- AND THE DEBT'S COME DUE!"
The entire wall behind him slides open. There is a metallic stomp, that shakes the floor; then another, and another, as a massive robot steps out. It is round, save for the head and ears and eyes, and four stubby legs. It looks like a piggybank.
Kaneshiro leaps up, landing top it -- and then ducks inside a hatch. "Piggytron! TAKE 'EM OUT!"
He snaps his fingers -- just before closing the hatch -- and the mouth of Piggytron opens. A machinegun inside opens fire, pouring out a blast of rounds across Phantom Thieves, Merry's companions, and everyone else who has come to oppose him.
AS: Junya Kaneshiro has readied for combat as Junya 'Bael' Kaneshiro and Piggytron! He is now fully healed! Ready for 15 opponents! AS: Persona! Junya Kaneshiro has used the Almighty skill Kill Reward Up on Junya Kaneshiro! ARCANA: Pressure: Junya Kaneshiro gains 1 Limit!
AS: Take! Junya Kaneshiro takes 0 Almighty damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Kill Reward Up. AS: Atk_Up added! AS: Persona! Junya Kaneshiro has used the Almighty skill Guard Reward Up on Junya Kaneshiro! AS: Take! Junya Kaneshiro takes 0 Almighty damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Guard Reward Up. AS: Def_Up added! AS: Persona! Junya Kaneshiro has used the Pierce skill Snap on Haru Okumura, Ann Takamaki, Yusuke Kitagawa, and Ryuji Sakamoto! AS: Persona! Junya Kaneshiro has used the Pierce skill Snap on Myunghon Yeo, Mio Kazama, So-young Park, and Shinobu Shimizu! AS: Persona! Junya Kaneshiro has used the Pierce skill Snap on Makoto Niijima, Ren Amamiya, Yukari Takeba, and Umie Akabane! AS: Persona! Junya Kaneshiro has used the Pierce skill Snap on Shinjiro Aragaki, Akari Hoshi, and Julian Marlowe! AS: Avoid Worst! Yukari Takeba takes 86 Pierce damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Snap. AS: Block Best! Shinobu Shimizu takes 75 Pierce damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Snap. AS: Avoid Worst! Ren Amamiya takes 83 Pierce damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Snap. AS: Block Best! Mio Kazama takes 78 Pierce damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Snap. AS: Avoid Neutral! Umie Akabane takes 117 Pierce damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Snap. Critical Hit! AS: Block Neutral! Akari Hoshi takes 73 Pierce damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Snap. AS: Avoid Neutral! Julian Marlowe takes 77 Pierce damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Snap. AS: Block Best! Shinjiro Aragaki takes 66 Pierce damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Snap. AS: Avoid Neutral! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 68 Pierce damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Snap. AS: Avoid Neutral! Ann Takamaki takes 96 Pierce damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Snap. AS: Avoid Worst! So-young Park takes 101 Pierce damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Snap. AS: Avoid Neutral! Haru Okumura takes 137 Pierce damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Snap. Critical Hit! AS: Avoid Best! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 69 Pierce damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Snap.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Myahaaaa!! Treasure, Treasure~! <3"
So calls an excitable, high-pitched voice through the inside of the vault that is the heart of Kaneshiro's Palace. For anyone who wasn't already there, it's hard to tell exactly where it's coming from, though. The Phantoms are loading up the last of a set of giant golden bars into the back of a black van (truck? bus??) that seems to be... wiggling?? The voice sounds almost cat-like, but... there is no cat to be seen anywhere on the premises. It's just that vehicle and six people in costume.
Maybe more importantly, the leader of the Phantom Thieves turns to the team as he dusts off his red-gloved hands, black coat flapping in his wake. "That's all of it. Let's get out of here before any security shows up," Joker says. "There's not enough space, so some of us are gonna have to ride on top. I'll be the first to volunteer. Queen, can you handle driving?"
He moves to hop up the back of the bus with its strange blue eye-like headlights and leave it to one of his companions to enter through the back door and shut it to secure the gold bars--is that a tail? (will anyone even notice the tail with all that glittering gold?)--but before that can happen, a crowd of Persona Users run in... and, more troublingly, a familiar man's voice sounds as the Shadow of Junya Kaneshiro emerges from a door on the wall.
Joker shoots him a thunderous look from over his shoulder, hand still raised. He doesn't respond verbally, but his eyes narrow at the Shadow's implicit threats and insults, not just at him and Queen and their friends, but at Rumormonger Merry.
Joker turns to face him. A dagger that wasn't there a moment ago now twirls in his right hand. "Get ready to fight. Make sure to protect our ride," he orders the others. ("Our ride," because he's not about to tip the card that is the Monabus.)
Shadow Kaneshiro STOMPS. Not just a door but the entire back wall opens up, revealing a massive mechanic piggy bank. Shadow Kaneshiro leaps up to its top and hops down into a hatch on its back. (The coin deposit?) The mouth of the giant robot opens, revealing the barrel of a machine gun. "Scatter!!" Joker calls, just before shoving at the Monabus. It's not exactly a big forward motion, but it is a forward motion--and backwards for him.
The Monabus VROOMs a short distance out of the way of the bullets--but it (he) needs a proper driver to go any further than that. There's no joining in on the fight at this point, nor is he getting away on his own--not that Mona wants to abandon his companions, however much he would insist he doesn't care. (He can at least refuse a driver, so there's no allowing for someone else to get inside him and drive him away. Catbus is sapient and has free will!)
For his part, Joker moves into evasive maneuvers. He doesn't get riddled with bullets, and that's always a good thing, but a couple of them are very close calls, tearing into his coat and leaving behind streaks of blood. He lands with teeth grit, but eyes fiery behind his domino mask. Using his momentum to whirl around, Joker is followed by both the long flaps of his black coat and blue fire that streaks around his body from his mask. His red glove shadows his face from view as he calls, "Arsène!!"
A tall, spindly figure in red and black emerges above Joker, hands clawed, knives for feet, and a chimney pipe of a top hat upon their masked head. Their face is an LED display of a demonic grin, and those teeth pull ever wider as they fix that wicked glee upon the Piggytron. It might be far, far bigger than any of them, but that evil smile promises pain nonetheless--a pain that everyone here will no doubt compound on.
AS: Persona! Ren Amamiya has used the Almighty skill Evil Smile on Junya Kaneshiro! ARCANA: Ruin: Ren Amamiya gains 1 Limit!
AS: Avoid Worst! Myunghon Yeo takes 106 Pierce damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Snap. Weak! Minato Arisato has arrived from Historia: The White Chronicle.
AS: Take! Junya Kaneshiro takes 0 Almighty damage from Ren Amamiya's Evil Smile.
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
The vault at the core of Kaneshiro's palace - impossibly deep within its guts, for a thing that flies - is big enough to house all the wealth in Japan. No... even bigger. Does Kaneshiro's naked hunger for money know no bounds?
Yusuke Kitagawa privately suspects it may be so.
The last bar of gold is loaded into the back of Mona, and Fox climbs aboard to close the large van doors from within, before moving to the passenger seat and waiting for Queen to take the wheel. Unfortunately...
... They have been discovered. Not just by the Ruler; but by the party of other Persona Users that must represent the opposition to Kaneshiro's interests in Sumaru, by the way they're lead by Rumourmonger Merry.
Shadow Kaneshiro mouths off at them all, and Fox glowers as he resorts to crude bigotry. "The refuge of the small-minded," he retorts, levelling his rifle at the corpulent Shadow from the Monabus passenger-side window. Before he can squeeze the trigger, though, the Ruler reveals his trump card:
A giant, fully-armed and operational...
...piggy bank? Really? Of all the cliches, this is most - wait no go back don't get distracted by the design it's fully armed and firing -
Mona's tires scream and Fox is slammed against the seat as the catbus peels out away from the gatling fire, breath expelled from his lungs. Shaking his head to clear it, he grunts. "No way out but through." He taps on the door twice, and Mona obligingly opens it for him.
"With haste, if you please, Goemon!" Fox calls out as he darts from the vehicle's seat towards his comrades, as the painted ronin takes form over his shoulder, swinging his arm wide to wreathe himself, Joker, Queen and Ann in accelerating wind.
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
Ryuji/Skull stretches after loading up the Monabus, looking over at Joker after a job well done. "Ride on top of the van?! Hell yeah! Me! Me! That sounds awesome!" He really doesn't think this through as he is about to jump onto the Monabus. Like he is just gonna effortlessly ride a speeding vehicle while making cool poses.
Then a bunch of other Persona users show up, prompting Skull to blink as he looks first at them and then toward the voice of the guy they were about to rob.
"Great. Never is that easy, is it?" Skull deploys a rather intimidating bent pipe, ready to crack the Mafioso's shadow over the head if he gets too close. "Ya jus' don't know when to quit, do ya?"
Then the piggybank shows up, prompting a snicker from Skull. "Seriously, You really think that...oh, F-" Ryuji's mind barely processes the machine gun as he attempts to get out of it's firing range by diving out of the way.
Some of the gunfire strikes Skull's back, battering him. Luckily the leather gear is think but those wounds are going to smart in the morning. Skull grumbles as he starts to get his barrings.
"OH YOU JUST MADE A -BIG- MISTAKE, ASSHOLE!" Skull gets back up, getting up in a slouching stance as he pats the pipe on his shoulder, raising his open hand and snapping his fingers. Within a split second, a skeleton in pirate garb manifests aboard it's flying ship, pointing its canon toward the Piggytron. "Lets light 'em up, CAPTAIN KIDD!" The pirate Persona moves like it's making a silent scream as it readies itself for combat.
Skull points his pipe, sending his Persona to rampage on Kaneshiro's stupid mecha pig.
AS: Persona! Ryuji Sakamoto has used the Strike skill Rampage on Junya Kaneshiro! 3 Hits! AS: Block Best! Junya Kaneshiro takes 20 Strike damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Rampage. AS: Block Worst! Junya Kaneshiro takes 29 Strike damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Rampage. AS: Block Neutral! Junya Kaneshiro takes 43 Strike damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Rampage. Critical Hit! AS: Persona! Yusuke Kitagawa has used the Almighty skill Masukukaja on Yusuke Kitagawa, Ren Amamiya, Makoto Niijima, and Ann Takamaki! AS: Take! Ren Amamiya takes 0 Almighty damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Masukukaja. AS: Spd_Up added! AS: Block Worst! Makoto Niijima takes 100 Pierce damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Snap. AS: Take! Makoto Niijima takes 0 Almighty damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Masukukaja. AS: Spd_Up added!
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
A WHILE AGO
"N-no. Don't. Don't touch me," Myunghon peels out of the chiropractic chair and backs away as Dr. Tomi's hand glows with an awesome power. Its golden grip is telling him to realign their bones!
"You'll be all right! I'm from the U.S.A., you know! There, they call me..."
"I don't care if they call you Gold Finger!" Myunghon shouts in distress. Damnit, why did the most circulating rumour in Hirasaka of effective healing have to be THIS GUY? They're not letting him touch them, no way! It's too scary! They're out!!
And thus...
Rumour: Did you know that Your Pet Is Number Wan has a miracle treatment for pets? From cats and dogs to pet iguanas, they do it all!!
JUST BEFORE NOW
The door to the vet office slams open and Dr. Shimamura jolts. "Yeo-san? At least knock before entering..." they sigh, as the Shiba Inu they're treating perks up with curious interest, silent and stoic. "They're a friend. It's all right, Pochi."
Pochi and Shimamura watch as Myunghon stumbles onto some of the medical racks on the side, still on their smartphone. "Yeo-san, what are you doing? You're bleeding again."
"I need your staples," Myunghon begs. "No, sorry, Umie, that wasn't to you. Do you need me to bring a mask for you? I'll be there. I'll send a text out to everyone else, but send one just in case--"
"Wan," Pochi barks gently, wagging his tail.
"I know, Pochi," Myunghon is disappointed in themself. "I'll medicate responsibly next time."
NOW
Myunghon Yeo, Rumourmonger Merry, tadaima sanjou!!
...
It turns out using vet staples to stitch up your wounds isn't the most efficient or adequate form of healthcare, and they haven't been able to replace their shirt, but WHO CARES? Maybe Kaneshiro will think the blood means they're already on death's door and understimate them.
The Bus is unexpected, but Myunghon's learnt to compartmentalise surprises into a secure part of their own Palace that's probably just one guy screaming into a soundproof room if someone ever infiltrated their room. Rumourmonger Merry looks towards the assembled Phantoms as Kaneshiro levels threats at them too, and then back at Junya -- the gleam in those golden eyes is unmistakably like the day they and Umie sensed the distortion.
"Sorry, Kaneshiro. You nearly had a perfect plan, but you didn't realise the perfect flaw in it--"
The wall slide down, and Piggytron, a massive robot that is UNBELIEVABLY ROUND and has piggy-bank features, starts opening up on them with machinegun fire ROUNDS. Did you know bullet rounds are also largely round, and also Myunghon's organs are kind of round and don't like bullets in them??
There's a gurgle of blood as Joker calls for them to scatter and they race and roll to one side and try to largely avoid the brunt of machinegun fire, but they're not managing a complete escape. They look to Joker, then back at Kaneshiro.
"You messed with the wrong people. Not only did you draw the Phantoms' ire, you messed with Hirasaka. And you know what...?"
Merry reaches up and snaps their fingers. Even bloodied, there's a grin on their lips.
"Hirasaka doesn't take threats lightly. Everyone! Support the Phantoms, and take Kaneshiro down! It's time!"
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
"Ugh, M-Mona -- stop -- wiggling so much!! These bars are already heavy enough without you bouncing around like that! And it's so weird too!!"
These are the complaints of FEARSOME FEMME FATALE! PANTHER! as the catsuit-clad cognitive criminal carts their karat-crammed catch into their cat-slash-carriage.
(sorry Mona. Alliteration demands certain conceits)
It's been slow going work. Ann's thoughts upon discovering just what Kaneshiro's Treasure actually was could be summarized in those timeless words of, "I'm shocked! Shocked!! ... Welllll, not that shocked." followed by "W-wait, we have to carry all this?! No way!"
But it was way. It was seriously. Way.
And so, the last egregious brick of gold shoved into Mona's trunk (she tries not to think about it), Panther places her hands on her hips, and frowns. "Seriously. First going full facehugger on me, now this? We need to have a serious talk on how you react to Treasures, Mona."
But that talk's not today. Time, after all, is of the essence.
"Right. Let's get out of here, ASAP. I've got you topside, Joker!" Panther prepares to move -- except.
Except--
"Wh--"
They're not alone.
"A-again, really?!"
This is Panther's startled exclamation as she turns only to be faced with - well - everyone who has successfully pushed down to the very bottom of this ostentatious, overwrought vault. The shock is a kneejerk reaction, but if she's being real with herself, this isn't a surprise either -- considering what happened last time they were here, it's something they were, on some level, expecting.
"joker" she whispers to their leader and the others. "i think we're gonna need some smoke bombs..."
At least there isn't any security, this time--
Should have known you'd show up.
Dammit.
Ann wheels around -- but there's no surprise this time. Just the narrow-eyed stare of righteous indignation is what she offers Junya's money-grubbing Shadow. She stares down the purple-hued banker, whip flaring to life, blue flames flickering at her mask.
You don't know when to stay down, the Shadow directs at one of the others behind them. Ann's jaw sets to a steeled brace. It's not for her -- but she answers it all the same with the crack of her whip.
"And YOU never know when enough is enough! I'm so tired of people like you! What happens when the person who wants it all loses everything because of it?"
Pink lips peel back.
"Guess we're going to find that out, huh?! Everyone, watch out! These Shadows don't go down without a f-- wh-what the heck is that--?!"
This time?
This time, Panther is legitimately surprised.
The other two times they dealt with Palace Rulers, the Shadows themselves transformed into some hideous kind of monster. This time --
Maybe it's fitting, Junya Kaneshiro gets something to do his work for him. But A PIGGY BANK OF MASS DESTRUCTION?!
"Oh crap--!"
Ann tries to dive. She only manages to avoid -some- of the fire, the rest pelting her and the bulwark of her semi-manifested Persona. As the mysterious catbus squeals to safety, Ann goes tumbling with a bounce across the bank floors -- and then lands in a three-pointed crouch, blue gaze snapping up with a knife-sharp glare.
No more complaining. No more surprises. Just--
"Dance, Carmen!"
--Just Carmen, manifesting with the yank of a scarlet mask, bending over to take a long draw of her cigar and blow that Piggytron a kiss--
--exhaling out noxious fumes of weakening smoke in the process.
AS: Take! Ann Takamaki takes 0 Almighty damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Masukukaja. AS: Spd_Up added! AS: Persona! Ann Takamaki has used the Almighty skill Tarunda on Junya Kaneshiro! ARCANA: Pressure: Ann Takamaki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Take! Junya Kaneshiro takes 0 Almighty damage from Ann Takamaki's Tarunda. AS: Atk_Dn added!
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
Yukari Takeba is running- "EXCUSE ME!" -a little late. She'd never run through a train station like this, turning this way and that to rush past the crowd in one of the busiest stations in the world, bumping into someone, "SORRY! EMERGENCY!"
It's especially awkward with her Yumibukuro and bag over a shoulder, as she then takes out her phone, trying to send a mail to Merry to let her know she was almost there. "No signal!? What do you mean no signal in TOKYO?" She says, as the flip phone hung up on sending, and the crosswalk changed.
Hightailing it across at a gait which caused several older folks to mutter about how rude this generation was, as she ran to Shibuya Central Street, "No-no-NO!" They weren't there at the meet up spot. The reason why there was no signal became obvious.
"Now what do I do?!" She said, as she hitched up the bag on her shoulder, and moved off to the side, pinching her eyes shut in distress. But as she opened them... she saw a person glaring at her from the crosswalk, suddenly catching up... "All that hurry and for I can't pay I can't pay please"
Soul Phrase (Instrumental) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp7ydrD0wes
"Huh?" Looking down the way, she looks at a person sitting down on the street, at first upright, then laying on their side, twitching as if in a seizure.
no more no more I can't
Her hand felt inside of her bag as if in a daze, wandering along the street, a flyer brushes past her face, but it flickers and becomes a yen bill flying like a sakura petal... she eventually found the secret pocket she'd sown in, and her hand touched the grip.
An add flashed between something for big-bang burger, and suddenly it was that purple sneering face, with a mustache, mouth opening as if to guffaw silently. But she could swear she heard it, ringing into her ears like the buzzing of a flies white noise.
Wordlessly she took the grip of the Evoker, the cold object she'd resisted so many times in the past, and put it to her forehead. "... Please help."
You pull the trigger.
And the world around you changes.
"I- that actually worked!?"
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
When she catches up to Merry and the others, perhaps a surprise to Merry, did she have a phone app- "Sorry! I'll explain later!" As they descend to the depths of the vault-
-=-=-
"Wha-!?" As she first witnesses the Phantoms near a bunch of Gold Bars, she asks, "Was this all really just a bank robbery!?"
Are the Phantom Thieves really just in fact, thieves!?
Of course, she can't know what 'The Treasure' is, so all she has to go on is the fact that the Phantoms are there, beside enormous Gold Bars.
Yukari isn't sure how much a Gold Bar is worth but she's pretty sure a single one would have someone fully settled for several lifetimes.
And then Kaneshiro steps out, addressing the Phantoms - but then also, Merry, "You... hey! What is wrong with you!? You can't just say that!"
Merry gives an impassioned speech about how one shouldn't mess with the people of Hirasaka, but Yukari looks awkward during it since - okay well, she is helping Hirasaka! It's just... her reason is different.
But then he claps his hands, and Yukari nervously begins to pace backwards as the bank doors open, "What- what is this!?"
...
A robot stomps out shaped like a Piggy Bank and "You have GOT to be kidding me!" And as she thinks of the Tartarus Guardians like the Rampage Drive... she takes her bow up in her hand, "Suddennnnllyyy I wish I was back in Tartarus." She says nervously, as she keeps stepping back. "How do we even fight something like that?"
But then her fear gets caught up in the fact that- the fact... that- "You call it PIGGYTRON!? What kind of name even is that?"
No respect from this generation, I tell you.
Machine gun fire suddenly sprays towards them, and Yukari bites back a shriek, as Io appears in order to catch some of the fire for her, shattering immediately.
Alright... game face on, Yukari places her Evoker against her head, and- "Come, Io!" And the fey visage, seated or perhaps chained to the coffin of a bull's skull arises again, as life-giving energy spreads out, scattering along towards Merry, Umie, So-Young and... The Beauty Thief!?
Well even bank robbers don't deserve to die. And she seemed, nice enough!
AS: Persona! Yukari Takeba has used the Recovery skill Media on Haru Okumura, So-young Park, Myunghon Yeo, and Umie Akabane! ARCANA: Support: Yukari Takeba gains 1 Limit!
AS: Take! So-young Park takes 79 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Media. AS: Take! Haru Okumura takes 79 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Media.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
The Cardboard Dragon has arrived at Kaneshiro's Palace. Breaking through obstacle after obstacle. They make it down to the bottom of the vault... Shinjiro is still reeling from yesterday, but he had to be here.
For Myunghon.
Shinjiro has a proper metal-headed battleaxe today, supplied by the efforts of the Hirasaka Squad. He steps forward, holding it over one shoulder, as...
Kaneshiro insults Myunghon in a way he understands (eat dogs... is this related to their previous job and 'crimes' as part of it? Does he know the full extent...?) and unleashes a giant piggybank robot.
HIs reaction is simple.
"What the actual fuck?"
The Piggytron's machine gun blasts out. Shinjiro starts running forward, swinging the axe up to deflect as many of the bullets as possible, even as he's riddled by a few of them, his coat and Persona-User aura protecting him even as he is forced to grit his teeth and stop at one point for sheer blocking so he doesn't get forced back.
Instead of striking with the axe, though, he takes a breath.
He said last night he was active. Is this the capstone of that? The culminating 'this is different'?
Yeah.
"Castor. Let's get to work." He says with a slick removal of the Evoker, tossing it up to his temple. With a click of the trigger, there's no recoil of his head despite the sheer force of the blue energy that pierces out.
"We won't take this lying down, Kaneshiro. Time for a bloody charge."
In a painful display of red, an aura builds around him, straining his body in exchange for great power being tossed over him, as he roars out at Kaneshiro.
He's preparing. The Cardboard Dragon knows this... they may need to set him up later if they want him to do what he does best: break things.
AS: Persona! Shinjiro Aragaki has used the Almighty skill Bloody Charge on Shinjiro Aragaki! ARCANA: Pressure: Shinjiro Aragaki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Shinjiro Aragaki regains 20 HP from Regenerate! AS: Take! Shinjiro Aragaki takes 0 Almighty damage from Shinjiro Aragaki's Bloody Charge. AS: Atk_Up, Crt_Up, and Def_Up added! AS: Take! Myunghon Yeo takes 79 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Media. AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 79 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Media.
<Pose Tracker> Akari Hoshi has posed.
Ixquic has broken into the bank before. It was actually easy for her to enter, though she'd had to join up with several others - Umie, Yukari, Remi, Shinobu - to actually make it anywhere past the lobby. ...Easy by some standards, anyway. She told the guard Shadow she wanted to make a deposit and jangled all her gold at them.
But she'd been absent after that. Ixquic wasn't really... coordinating with the group so much as occasionally showing up at the same time.
It turns out, though, that when you advertise *exactly* when the Phantom Thieves are going to strike... well, that counts as coordination, even if you didn't mean to do it and may not have wanted her to show up anyway. Ixquic knows what a calling card means: the Phantom Thieves are ready to go. She doesn't know how they do what they do, but she doesn't need to.
(Akari is a proud member of the Phan-Site, one of the very first sign-ups of the second wave. The only reason she wasn't in the first wave is that she doesn't go to Shujin and the rumours hadn't spread quite to Seven Sisters Middle School yet.)
"HALT, EVILDOER!"
Ixquic *slams* the door to the main vault open. She does this even though it was already open, and she didn't have to push it at all, and also it's an elevator door, which slides; she does it solely to make a dramatic noise so she can stride out of it, red cape fluttering behind her in a breeze that isn't actually there. The gold on her costume glitters in the vault's light like the vault was made *specifically* to highlight gold; a heavy tokusatsu-styled belt, thick bracers, a doubled cloak clasp that supports a pectoral plate resting against her chest.
"The demon lord of real estate and crime! Bandit lord of all Shibuya! Money-devouring sinner of gluttony!" That answers whether Ixquic read one of the calling cards. "I am I, Ixquic, warrior maiden reincarnated from the depths of perpetuity! For all humanity, I will fight!"
"IT'S WHOOP-ASS TIME!"
Ixquic poses dramatically, holding her enormous (gold) sword forward with one hand to point at... at...
"Why is it a piggybank," Ixquic asks Merry and Yukari, who she immediately recognizes, in a much more conversational tone.
Ixquic throws herself forward in a tumbling roll as guns begin to fire. She pops up several yards further in, using the enormously wide flat of her sword like a shield; she's *almost* skinny enough to hide behind it, it's nearly as wide as her torso is. She reaches up toward her helmet with her other hand, touching the visor as if to pull on it -
"Come, my guardian! Quixote!"
Appearing behind Ixquic is a figure. A female figure wearing lightweight armour halfway between plate mail and sci-fi power armour, a bodysuit beneath it; her legs and leg armour blend into the frame of a motorcycle with ROCINANTE emblazoned boldly on the side. She has a lance with a banner for a bike flag, but in her hand is a sword.
Quixote immediately tears toward the Piggytron, whirling and kicking up dust and a shockwave before fading away. Ixquic herself has scrambled further in, distracted by...
She's staring at the Phantom Thieves. If her eyes were visible behind her visor they would have stars in them. "So cool..."
(Ixquic still doesn't know exactly what they're doing or what their plan is. That's fine. They're cool anyway.)
AS: Persona! Akari Hoshi has used the Strike skill Assault Charge on Junya Kaneshiro! 2 Hits! ARCANA: Pressure: Akari Hoshi gains 1 Limit!
<Pose Tracker> Haru Okumura has posed.
It's Noir's first heist with the Phantom Thieves - the calling card has been sent, and they will be taking Junya Kaneshiro's treasure tonight. Haru finds the whole affair quite thrilling, there's a certain rush in getting in there and smashing through the security to get that sweet Treasure before anyone else can.
It was probably the right call to put Queen in charge of driving the Monabus instead, though.
It's not long before they're met by Shadow Kaneshiro himself. He threatens them, talks them down - even throws out bigotry, and Noir's grip over her axe handle tightens. "We've heard enough, Kaneshiro. If it's all give or take to you... we'll start by taking your heart!" She declares. "Milady, to me!" She calls, summoning the same elegantly dressed Persona that was seen before in the previous infiltration. "Piggytron? Why, that's..." Silly? Ridiculous? No matter what it is, Haru doesn't even have time to finish that thought because-
Kaneshiro isn't all talk. Joker calls for them to scatter, and Haru nods in affirmation, jumping to the side. It's mostly effective, but some of the bullets graze her shoulder, and the ones that do are painful, tearing through layers of fabric on her outfit.
She grimaces in pain, but Yukari's spell seems to work its magic. Sometimes, having more Persona users around has its benefits. "Phew... thank you very much!" She calls over. "Now... it's time to fire back." Her tone suddenly turns sharper. Yukari and the others will tell that 'Beauty Thief' is taking things a little more seriously this time.
"Milady, match his firepower!" At her command, there's two rings of gunshots as Milady fires her own machine guns back at 'Piggytron'!
AS: Block Best! Junya Kaneshiro takes 30 Strike damage from Akari Hoshi's Assault Charge. AS: Avoid Neutral! Junya Kaneshiro takes 56 Strike damage from Akari Hoshi's Assault Charge. Critical Hit! AS: Persona! Haru Okumura has used the Pierce skill Double Shot on Junya Kaneshiro! 2 Hits! ARCANA: Pressure: Haru Okumura gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Myunghon Yeo has used the Dark skill Shibaboo on Junya Kaneshiro! ARCANA: Pressure: Myunghon Yeo gains 1 Limit!
AS: Take! Junya Kaneshiro takes 0 Dark damage from Myunghon Yeo's Shibaboo. AS: Poison added! AS: Block Worst! Junya Kaneshiro takes 46 Pierce damage from Haru Okumura's Double Shot. Critical Hit! Block Pierce! AS: Block Neutral! Junya Kaneshiro takes 32 Pierce damage from Haru Okumura's Double Shot. Block Pierce!
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
So-Young Park, professional conductor and composer, musician, informal idol manger, concert organizer and art appreciator. Last seen in Kaneshiro's mindscape positively crackling with the unleashed power of Icarus, as her Persona soared through the skies above them wild and free. So-young never really thought of herself as a particularly stymied person, but maybe the seeds for her Persona were simply sown a long time ago and only now reaped.
She still hasn't quite figured out how she feels about the new understanding that a sufficiently obsessed individual can have their head entered and poked around, if only she has enough of a glimmer of self-awareness that says that this _absolutely_ could have been her at any moment in the last two years and change. But... ...
... ... somehow, the knowledge that you can go _back_ into someone's head the same way takes some of the mystique out of it??? Like, how many of these Palaces are there? Can she just nip into her orchestral director's head and remove the stick from up his ass? Can they just keep hopping into Kaneshiro's head every week like clockwork like it's a work commute and generally make his life hell? When her third trombonist goes on holiday to Hokkaido can she go vacation in her head?
She hasn't voiced these thoughts out loud yet because honestly, they keep swirling around her head and she's pretty certain that her newfound sibling would give her the biggest side-eye yet. On the other hand, that would be very funny, so it's not like she's _not_ going to voice them at some point.
But the rush of anger she feels as Kaneshiro's form steps out brushes them to one side, at least for now. "_So_ sorry we're not those nice polite, submissive Koreans that know their place." His second comments actually stuns her, her eyebrows nearly shooting off her head as something flashes across her eyes.
"Oh, I'll take some real, real pleasure in this--" she growls under her breath, even as the Piggytron looms large and its jaw unhinges open. She doesn't even try to dodge, so much as a rush of blue light summons a sudden fierce wind around her to buffet some of the attack away. The rest of it she takes head on, refusing to buckle down as she stands tall. She looks exactly as she might at the head of her orchestra, if you don't count the whirling wind - her gothic dress billowing around her and her white-black hair as she plants her feet and raises a conductor's baton in one hand as if signalling the start of a epic.
Which she kind of is.
In time with Myunghon's call to action, she sweeps a hand to one side, then flicks her baton under one thumb as she raises it palm upwards, humming something under her breath as she does so. The strange spindly collection of spines and sheets masquerading as a Persona lets out a mechanical screech as it rockets upwards in response.
The sight of Yukari _shooting herself in the head???_ nearly breaks her stride, and Icarus very nearly winks out as her concentration is disrupted - but the show must always go on and she at least seems alright and it's accompanied by a burst of warm light, and maybe this is just another piece of this new life that So-Young has to take in stride. With a stamp of one heeled boot for effect, a sweep forward of her baton sends the arcing winds around Mio, carrying her forwards. "I'm terrible at speeches!" she merrily adds as if it were a stirring speech of its own.
AS: Persona! So-young Park has used the Almighty skill Allegro on Mio Kazama! ARCANA: Support: So-young Park gains 1 Limit!
AS: So-young Park regains 3 SP from Invigorate! AS: So-young Park spends Limit on Shift! Shinjiro Aragaki can use another Weak skill this round! SP +8! Healed 20!
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
The Dark Side of Sumaru is lit up, and so's the Palace, it seems. Whatever it is the Phantom Thieves did with that calling card of theirs, it seems to have had an effect. It might be muscling in on their Thing, a little...
...But they have a bone to pick with Kaneshiro, too. He can't be allowed to get away with what he has planned for Hirasaka Ward - so hopefully, they don't mind a little back-up this time.
Yukari gets a nod from Shinobu. She figures if something kept her up, it must've been important. But now, they've made their way through the Palace once more, past all of its defenses and security, and now, they're in the cavernous vault. She watches the Monabus, briefly surprised that the Phantom Thieves somehow got a vehicle in here.
"...That lot's really full of tricks, huh?" Shinobu comments. She draws her staff - freshly retrieved from the Cardboard Dragon, courtesy of Yua who took it with her follow the fight with the Joker Killer so Shinobu didn't have to be seen with an actual weapon when the authorities arrived - resting it over her shoulders.
"...Hope you don't mind us tagging along for the fun, Phantom Thieves. We won't get in your way." She comments. ...But Kaneshiro has words of his own for the Phantom Thieves, and for Myunghon.
A frown crosses her lips as he speaks, her eyes narrowing - and she slams her staff down onto the ground with a loud 'crack'.
"...God. You're as rotten a bastard on the inside as you are on the outside." She mutters, then shakes her head.
"Nah. Here's what's gonna happen - we're gonna make bacon out of that chrome-plated eyesore of yours... and then we're coming for you." Shinobu states. Piggytron opens fire and Shinobu spins her staff in front of her. She manages to deflect some of the rounds, but she winces as others manage to make it through. Still, it's not enough to take her out.
"Right, boss." Shinobu says, as Myunghon calls out for them to support the Phantoms. "Lachesis!"
No messing around. The shadowy woman materializes over Shinobu - and then she races toward Piggytron, smashing her measuring rod into it.
AS: Persona! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Strike skill Sonic Punch on Junya Kaneshiro!
<Pose Tracker> Mio Kazama has posed.
There are patterns everywhere, for those with eyes to see. One such pattern is the choice of recklessness and violence used to navigate the final passage approach to the core of Kaneshiro's Palace. Why sneak past what you can blackjack? Why disarm what can be broken? Why beguile what you can simply kill? This is the approach employed by Mio Kazama, masquerading as the otherworldly Kijin Myo. Anything that threatens her benefactor, the esteemed Rumourmonger Merry, is brutalized. Excessively, even. Thus, the young lady wearing the cloth of the faithful, whose mask and armour seem to swim and meld with her impossibly styled nun's robes, flanks Myunghon and revels in the rush of power this all gives her.
This context is important, because Kaneshiro's Shadow's attempts to get under Myunghon's skin work on her, instead. The ire that has been pent up ever since their verbal tussle in the Cardboard Dragon has continued to burn like a pallid blue flame.
Mio lifts her head to look at Shadow Kaneshiro through the slits of her lacquered white domino mask, which is more of a helm, the way it seamlessly slides beneath her habit's hood. Her eyes are full and bright, lucid, but swimming with the giddy glee of a bull set free to rampage in a China store, a dog let off the leash amidst a sea of small, soft targets. "Oho?" she sways to and fro, spiked mace held in one hand like a conductor's baton. A serene smile spreads across her face as the Shadow retreats into the belly of his rotund, mechanical terror-weapon. "That's so wonderful of you to climb into a coffin for us! Thank you for saving us the time!" she places both hands to her chest, eyes closed as if this warrants a moment's prayer.
The Piggytron(tm) opens fire with a calamitous roar, hosing the room with machinegun bullets. Mio remains standing still, and her Persona fades into view with a noise not unlike the great, whining roar of a jet engine spooling up for takeoff. The humanoid figure Samson, body black and armour gleaming silver, appears with a howl of incandescent rage as 20mm cannon fire rakes its body. But it does not break. Squashed bullets rain on the floor, joining the brass shower of shell casings.
Mio opens her eyes again with a delirious glee, positively glowing. "Aha~, so these are the infamous Phantom Thieves themselves, Lady Merry? Did you plan this out, too?" she casts a gaze towards the glamorous figures on the other side of the room, similarly masked and costumed. The allure, the appeal, is instant. How dangerous.
"Samson,"
The matte-black figure reaches down and wads a mountain of spent bullets and brass into one hand, metal squeezing and deforming under its touch. It rears back with one arm, the freshly-alloyed globule of metal twisting and turning, growing with bulbous energy into a great, brass pillar.
"Kill."
Mio's Persona hurls the freshly-molded weapon at Piggytron with an Olympic-perfect javelin thrower's form.
AS: Take! Mio Kazama takes 0 Almighty damage from So-young Park's Allegro. AS: Spd_Up added! AS: Tandem! Mio Kazama has used the Earth skill Pillar Strike on Junya Kaneshiro! 2 Hits! AS: Block Best! Junya Kaneshiro takes 39 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Sonic Punch. AS: Haze added! AS: Block Best! Junya Kaneshiro takes 25 Earth damage from Mio Kazama's Pillar Strike. Resist! AS: Block Worst! Junya Kaneshiro takes 37 Earth damage from Mio Kazama's Pillar Strike. Resist!
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
Getting into the vault, honestly, was easier than Queen expected. She expected bigger defenses and higher security, and while the Palace was on high alert, actually getting into the vault itself was comparatively simple.
"On it. You'd better hold on tight." Queen responds, moving to open the driver's door on the Monabus as Joker readies to get on top of it. So now it's all down the getaway, then?
No. It's not that easy. Kaneshiro, the slimy little man trying to pretend he's a big shot emerges. Queen looks at him, without a mote of fear in her eyes anymore. Just disgust. Anger. Hatred.
Like he's something she needs to scrape off the sole of her boot.
"Oh I do." She says, the edge to her voice sharp enough to cut deep. "That means I'll just have to steal your capability to do even that." There it is. That defiant look she had before. The look that screamed she wasn't going to just take from Kaneshiro: The one that said she'll burn everything he ever had or will have to ash. "So what should I do first? Rip off those disgusting, lecherous hands of yours? Or should I pluck out those disgusting eyes?"
She doesn't have much of a chance to do either, however, as the piggytron emerges and opens fire, and Queen isn't able to get her guard up in time, the shot piercing her shoulder and sending her stumbling back as the Monabus gets a small distance away. Well. At least Mona's unharmed, even if those bullets took more out of her than she would have liked.
Indeed, right now, she'd like nothing more than to charge in and start laying waste to that ugly piggy bank with everything she's got but, well...
The rest of the Phantoms have that covered. Fine then. "Johanna!" She calls, and leaps into the air as the motorcycle emerges from nowhere and Makoto lands on it still running, to get her moving, to make her another target as she tries to circle the Piggytron. "This thing has to have a weak point..." She mutters, worrying less about everyone else coming in and more about the enemy before them. As they learned last time, if others show up, it just means they have to pull off a getaway.
AS: Persona! Makoto Niijima has used the Almighty skill Shadow Factorization on Junya Kaneshiro!
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
=====EARLIER=====
"The Phantoms sent their card. Well, cards. I guess they're making sure everyone knows Kaneshiro's next." Umie talks on her phone as she gets ready; Myunghon will hear the sound of a muffled TV in the background. "... Shit... my mask got burned last night. .... Uh..."
There's the sound of newspaper and supplies being shuffled around, on Myunghon's end of the phone.
On Umie's, there is her, dressed in shorts and a tank top, staring at the damned mask on her craft table. The plain black mask, painted on one side with dark red shape over her red eye, was meant to be 'wing-like', but, to Umie's eyes, feels like a blob. She stands in front of the mirror, holding it over the upper half of her face, and, makes a sour expression. ".... Ghhh..."
_It's just a friggin' mask, Umie, stop trying to make everything perfect when you know it's never going to be, it's just so your persona's abilities work, goddamn it_
Also, she's still on the phone! "... Y-yeah, so. Who knows if they'll be doing something tonight or the next, but getting some people together'd be a good idea, eh? Oh, uh--"
Umie then remembers the masks Myunghon *has*, and suddenly, her piddly thing looks *perfect*.
There's sounds of more things shifting. "... No, it's fine. I appreciate the offer. So, uh, I'm getting ready. Meet you at... Benny's. Or wherever."
=====NOW=====
THE MASK WORKS, DESPITE IT BEING IMPERFECT. OKAY, GREAT.
The rest of Umie's outfit is much the same as she's worn before: an oversized grey jacket, sneakers, shorts, and half-gloves that cover her palms, leaving her fingers exposed and ready to feel for the two ends of her kyoketsu-shoge: the bifurcated blade in her right hand, the length of rope and the hoop in the other.
Briefly distracted by the MONABUS, Umie hunches down, getting ready to fight, when--
".... Wait, you weren't trying to grab some for yourself?" Umie asks, point-blank, at Yukari. "I mean..."
_Is that a robot piggybank?!_
As it turns out, Umie really should invest in a proper bullet vest and forget about the DIY street fashion ninja look. "Shit!"
She's just a little too late to scatter, but Yukari's there to heal, at least.
"Make this greedy asshole eat those words," she urges the others with Myunghon. As for her, she'll do what she does best: make life complicated for those on the other side.
"_Badb_!" Umie's jacket floats as Badb emerges, a crouching figure with ghastly pale skin and a long, dark grey red-lined cloak, its hood falling over that ash grey face, save for a smile. The cupid's bow lips curl in smug contentment as Badb extends a wine red gloved nail towards the _robot piggybank_.
AS: Take! Junya Kaneshiro takes 0 Almighty damage from Makoto Niijima's Shadow Factorization. AS: Makoto Niijima's Strength Scan! Junya Kaneshiro resists Earth! AS: Makoto Niijima's Weakness Scan! Junya Kaneshiro is weak against Elec! AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Almighty skill Hooded Smile on Junya Kaneshiro! ARCANA: Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit!
AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate! AS: Myunghon Yeo spends Limit on Shock Noise! Slash_Break applied to Junya Kaneshiro! AS: Take! Junya Kaneshiro takes 0 Almighty damage from Umie Akabane's Hooded Smile. AS: Charm added!
<Pose Tracker> Julian Marlowe has posed.
As those who would topple the Palace ruler start to arrive, someone else joins them - someone who didn't accompany any of them directly. Without any fanfare whatsoever, a masked figure in a crisp suit steps out of the shadows, making very little sound indeed until coming to a stop at Myunghon's side. Vesper, the so-called Supernatural Investigator, has appeared once again. A slight smile is visible below the mask, as he lifts his bowler hat in greeting to the rumormonger.
"Apologies for my unannounced departure, last time, but my investigation of the earlier areas was not yet complete. I was certain you would have things well in hand at that point."
That's it apparently, that's the whole explanation he's going to offer for seemingly abandoning their group during the last infiltration. So after getting in the elevator he just sort of... went back up, last time, apparently?
No, he didn't. He was right there the whole time, watching the ensuing fight. Observing in particular, those who appeared to be the infamous Phantom Thieves. It was a golden opportunity to see the group of masked vigilantes in action - not that he'd judge, of course, being one himself. Though it was certainly fascinating to see a group of them working together, rumored to have a way to handle matters that could not be dealt with in reality.
He did not get to see what that way might have been, that day. But now that they'd sent a calling card, surely, today would be the day that they work whatever magic it is they have. He will be watching, with great interest.
He will also, by virtue of being in the line of fire, get shot at when Kaneshiro makes his appearance, and summons his... giant piggybank robot? "My word--" is all he gets out, before being forced into a dodge, nimbly rolling aside as bullets riddle the spot he once stood. ...Somehow, even throughout that maneuver, his hat remains on his head. Cognition wills it so.
Rising back to his feet, he keeps his address to the yakuza boss brief. "It would appear you have made quite a few powerful enemies, Junya Kaneshiro. Congratulations, you have succeeded in uniting the oppressed against you - while you now stand alone. The only possible outcome here is one which does not favor you!" And the key element to this will be--
"Phantom Thieves!" he yells out with a confident, commanding voice. Even though he has no business speaking for everyone here, he still claims, "We stand with you! Hold steady, we shall overcome this foe as one!"
With a hand to his mask, and a call of 'Persona', Raffles is summoned - the iron-masked humanoid figure wearing elements of a cricket player and a gentleman's outfit raising a diamond-tipped cane to offer a protective aura to as many of the Phantom Thieves as it can muster.
AS: Persona! Julian Marlowe has used the Almighty skill Marakukaja on Ren Amamiya, Ryuji Sakamoto, Yusuke Kitagawa, and Haru Okumura! AS: Take! Ren Amamiya takes 0 Almighty damage from Julian Marlowe's Marakukaja. AS: Def_Up added! AS: Take! Haru Okumura takes 0 Almighty damage from Julian Marlowe's Marakukaja. AS: Def_Up added! AS: Take! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 0 Almighty damage from Julian Marlowe's Marakukaja. AS: Def_Up added! AS: Take! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 0 Almighty damage from Julian Marlowe's Marakukaja. AS: Def_Up added! AS: Take! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 0 Almighty damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Masukukaja. AS: Spd_Up added!
<Pose Tracker> Junya Kaneshiro has posed.
"Get back here!" Shadow Kaneshiro shouts down at the Monabus -- though he doesn't know what (or, really, who) it is. He tenses, though, at the smile on Arsène. Then, though, he has to deal with Captain Kidd.
"Like hell!" he shouts back at Skull, even as Captain Kidd rushes in, smashing at that shiny chrome armor. Several dents are left in it -- but on the whole, it proves quite sturdy.
"That dingy slum would be nothing without me!" Kaneshiro shouts back at Myunghon, his voice crackling with static over the loudspeaker. "I'll make it better--I'll make it mine!"
Ann can feel Kaneshiro's eyes turn to him, even as the monitors on Piggytron crackle with static at her spell. Some of that noxious smoke comes out of its ears. He grunts. "I'm not the one who will lose, today!"
Then, he barks a laugh out. "The only thing wrong is you don't know who's in charge, girl! I can and did say that!"
He laughs -- though it turns into a snarl at Shinjiro's retort to him. And then it flickers to a flat, confused: "What the fuck?"
That would be to Ixquic. Quixote rushes in, tilting at more than a windmill; her kicks slam into that shiny armor, which proves still quite resilient. That armor also holds up against Milady's machineguns, though sparks fly tremendously hire into the air.
"You aren't taking anything from me!" he shouts. "I'M the one who takes!"
His ire turns onto Shinobu. "Shut it!" he yells. "Piggytron is more a match for you, you pack of slum-dwellers! You should be glad I let you live!"
Lachesis's rod slams into the Piggytron; the armor dents again, but it's proving quite strong. Then, he laughs -- even as Samson looses that brass pillar, which slams into and bounces off the armor.
"Piggytron will put you in a coffin!" Kaneshiro shouts back at Mio.
Badb's crimson nail slams into Piggytron. Lightning shoots across it; the screens inside flicker before Kaneshiro. "Gh--!"
Then he snaps at Vesper. "Alone? No shit! The one on top has to be!" he yells. Then, his eyes narrow as he hears Queen's voice. Then, he barks out a laugh again: "You're not gonna rip apart anything," he says. "But I'll put you to use, to PAY WHAT YOU OWE!" he shouts, his cry making the loudspeaker microphone peak. "Even if I have to rip you apart to do it!"
The Piggytron stomps forward, each footfall causing a shockwave to shoot through the metal floor. But then, it stops walking, as it approaches Haru, Panther, Skull, and Fox. Then, thrusters on the bottom of the Piggytron fire. The robot lifts up into the air.
"You know the best part of having so much fucking money?" Kaneshiro shouts. "SKY'S THE LIMIT!"
It rises up some twenty feet -- and then DROPS down. When it does, it causes a massive shockwave -- which threatens to hurl Panther, Skull, Fox, and Haru away from Piggyton.
While Kaneshiro does most of the talking, Piggytron is capable of speaking. A loud, robotic voice -- electronic and tinny -- announces: "CARD DECLINED. INITIATING ASSET RECOVERY SEQUENCE."
Then, bright red dots of light shine on the foreheads of Myunghon, Shinobu, Mio, and So-young. Along Piggytron's back, slits open up -- revealing racks of missiles with flattened, cannister-like warheads, in neat rows. "TARGET LOCKED. FIRING."
The missiles loose, swooping out of the back of Piggytron. It leaves vapor trails behind them, making the robot hard to discern in the cloud of smoke -- and then worse as the missiles crash down, exploding along their targets with fiery blasts.
"You should have thought better before coming here!" Kaneshiro shouts from inside Piggytron. "I dragged myself up from the fucking gutter! I'm not scared of SHIT!"
He slams his fist down onto a console inside the robot; the blow makes it rattle, even over the loudspeaker. "And you should know to be scared of ME! Now get the hell outta here!"
Piggytron's mouh opens. This time, instead of a machinegun, there is a vent. It sprays out a thick, violet gas that rolls in a noxious cloud towards Ren, Yukari, Makoto, and Umie. Just breathing
AS: Persona! Junya Kaneshiro has used the Earth skill Metabolic Wave on Haru Okumura, Ann Takamaki, Ryuji Sakamoto, and Yusuke Kitagawa! AS: Charm results in party damage! Junya Kaneshiro takes 60 damage! ARCANA: Pressure: Junya Kaneshiro gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Junya Kaneshiro has used the Fire skill Missile Party on Myunghon Yeo, Shinobu Shimizu, So-young Park, and Mio Kazama! AS: Persona! Junya Kaneshiro has used the Almighty skill Fear Gas on Ren Amamiya, Yukari Takeba, Makoto Niijima, and Umie Akabane! AS: Weapon! Junya Kaneshiro has used the Pierce skill Hitman-for-Hire on Shinjiro Aragaki! AS: Weapon! Junya Kaneshiro has used the Strike skill Bodyguard-for-Hire on Akari Hoshi! AS: Weapon! Junya Kaneshiro has used the Slash skill Thug-for-Hire on Julian Marlowe! AS: Take! Yukari Takeba takes 0 Almighty damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Fear Gas. AS: Panic added!
<Pose Tracker> Junya Kaneshiro has posed.
Piggytron's mouth opens. This time, instead of a machinegun, there is a vent. It sprays out a thick, violet gas that rolls in a noxious cloud towards Ren, Yukari, Makoto, and Umie. Just breathing it in can send a spike of panic -- a sudden cold sweat -- and an urge to scream -- into someone.
"There sure are a lot of you assholes!" Kaneshiro's voice bellows, tinny and causing the microphone to peak. The loudspeaker can't quite keep up with him. "But you know what? I got EVEN MORE! And when you pay as well as I do, you have plenty of friends!"
High in the room above, circular gaps pop open. Inside of each is a Shadow, with three types -- a tall, lean one with a shotgun; a big, hulking one with a baseball bat; a short, slim one carrying a long knife. One with a shotgun jumps down, firing a blast down for Shinjiro.
Ixquic hears one shout -- it's slightly static-filled, as some Shadows and cognitive creations are -- as it descends. "For THE BOSS!" he yells. Huge and hulking, the Shadow swings its massive baseball bat down for Ixquic's head.
Another of them drops down, then hits the wall, and dashes along the last ten feet of wall and bicycle kicks to go flying at Vesper. As he comes in clash, he slashes out with that big, ugly knife.
"You know," Kaneshiro muses towards Myunghon. A dry chuckle escapes his lips; it crackles over the loudspeaker. "Maybe I'll knock down the Cardboard Dragon -- build a nice nightclub for me and my boys to hangout in, while we make Hirasaka work for us!"
AS: Counter Best! Shinjiro Aragaki takes 48 Pierce damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Hitman-for-Hire. AS: COUNTER! Junya Kaneshiro takes 36 Strike damage in return for his attack! AS: Counter Neutral! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 32 Earth damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Metabolic Wave. AS: COUNTER! Junya Kaneshiro takes 7 Earth damage in return for his attack! Resist! AS: Avoid Worst! Ann Takamaki takes 65 Earth damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Metabolic Wave. Critical Hit! AS: Avoid Best! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 8 Earth damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Metabolic Wave. AS: Bind added! AS: Take! Makoto Niijima takes 0 Almighty damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Fear Gas. AS: Panic added! AS: Avoid Worst! Akari Hoshi takes 73 Strike damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Bodyguard-for-Hire. Weak! AS: Avoid Best! Haru Okumura takes 27 Earth damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Metabolic Wave. AS: Bind added! AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Almighty damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Fear Gas. AS: Panic added! AS: Block Best! Shinobu Shimizu takes 25 Fire damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Missile Party. AS: Haze added! AS: Counter Worst! Julian Marlowe takes 40 Slash damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Thug-for-Hire. AS: COUNTER! Junya Kaneshiro takes 18 Slash damage in return for his attack! Weak! AS: Avoid Best! So-young Park takes 32 Fire damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Missile Party. Weak! AS: Counter Neutral! Mio Kazama takes 59 Fire damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Missile Party. Critical Hit! AS: COUNTER! Junya Kaneshiro takes 31 Fire damage in return for his attack! AS: Avoid Worst! Myunghon Yeo takes 28 Fire damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Missile Party. <Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
As Shinjiro charges up, he makes Kaneshiro snarl. But then he says something that can't be forgiven, as a Shadow with a shotgun blasts at Shinjiro.
Shinjiro responds by rushing forward, striking once with his fire-axe at the Shadow's torso, before sliding back from the sheer force of the blast, unable to shrug it off so simply, grimacing from the pain.
"Myunghon, I'll make an opening!"
Shinjiro then, thanks to So-young's conducting, shoots the Evoker again, Castor starting by firing an energy at Kaneshiro's side of the field to weaken his piggybank and Shadows, making them more susceptible to Shinjiro's attacks...
Before he roars, and Shinjiro rushes forward with the axe. Sliding it across the floor, he moves to yank up, trying to *send the Shadow flying at the Piggybank* using his sheer strength to make an opening for Myunghon, while Castor leaps upwards and then moves to stomp down on top of it, a howling Persona's laughter as it moves to try and trample Piggytron underfoot!
"The only thing getting knocked down is you, Kaneshiro. Myunghon! Show him what lies at the end of all our queries!"
AS: Take! Ren Amamiya takes 0 Almighty damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Fear Gas. AS: Panic added! AS: Persona! Shinjiro Aragaki has used the Almighty skill Guard Buster on Junya Kaneshiro! ARCANA: Pressure: Shinjiro Aragaki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Tandem! Shinjiro Aragaki has used the Strike skill Dual Smash on Junya Kaneshiro! 2 Hits! AS: Shinjiro Aragaki regains 20 HP from Regenerate! AS: Shinjiro Aragaki spends Limit on Shift! Myunghon Yeo can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Take! Junya Kaneshiro takes 0 Almighty damage from Shinjiro Aragaki's Guard Buster. AS: Strike_Break added! AS: Counter Worst! Junya Kaneshiro takes 115 Strike damage from Shinjiro Aragaki's Dual Smash. Critical Hit! Weak! AS: COUNTER! Shinjiro Aragaki takes 24 Strike damage in return for his attack! AS: Block Neutral! Junya Kaneshiro takes 83 Strike damage from Shinjiro Aragaki's Dual Smash. Weak!
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"Why would I do that!? I'm not some crook!" She says back towards Umie, seeming a little scandalized, "Besides, how would we even carry it?" She says with a gesture towards the Monabus, "We don't have a..." Pause, looks again, "... why does that bus have EYES?"
"D-Don't mention it!" Yukari says back to Beauty Thief, obviously somewhat rattled. It's not like she's fought a lot of battles like this, she absolutely has. It's just - she's also someone who doesn't take to this life like others do.
An enormous pig robot with machineguns has got her a little spooked. And thus she falls back into what she does, when she's afraid - not just for herself, but the people around her.
She does what she can to keep them from dying. Which may indeed seem strange to So-Young that she does that by shooting herself in the head. She... had problems with it too. If she's being frank, she still has problems with it! Especially knowing now that SEES' method is the weird one!
'I'll make it better--I'll make it mine!'
"And what makes you so great!? You're just some mafia bully trying to push everyone around!"
His greed really does feel like it has few limits. The way he just shouts about having so much money, throwing it around, it makes her mad that people like him even exist. She used to think they existed in the Kirijo Group... throwing money around, in order to make all their problems go away.
Even finding out they're not exactly like that - Kaneshiro seems to be emblematic of her worst nightmares of what she might have found coming back to Tatsumi Port Island years ago.
This time, as Piggytron's mouth opens, Io flies to get in the way of Yukari, but - she fell for it, and the gas sprays over her, as Yukari's pupils dilate, her eyes go wide, and she whimpers, "G-get away from me! I- STAY AWAY!"
As the idea of what might happen if a guy like this beats her is suddenly ALL she can think about. Hands shaking and trembling, she puts Io to her head again, panting, sweating, her fingers feel just as nerveless as they did the first time she held it.
"I can't- I can't I can't I can't-" She chants, breathing rapidly, "I CAN'T!" She cries out, but despite her insistence she can't... her finger spasms on the trigger, and Io raises their arms again, and it's like the healing energy she calls upon is suddenly spreading all over.
Even if she couldn't bring herself to say it out loud, she knows it to a certainty how weak she is - a weak girl who needs to be protected, so she's healing everyone on instinct... to protect her.
AS: Persona! Yukari Takeba has used the Recovery skill Media on Julian Marlowe, Mio Kazama, Shinobu Shimizu, and Akari Hoshi! AS: Yukari Takeba takes 60 damage from Panic! ARCANA: Support: Yukari Takeba gains 1 Limit!
AS: Yukari Takeba: Panic removed! AS: Yukari Takeba spends Limit on Exploit! Yukari Takeba can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Take! Shinobu Shimizu takes 78 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Media. AS: Take! Akari Hoshi takes 78 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Media. AS: Take! Julian Marlowe takes 78 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Media. AS: Persona! Yukari Takeba has used the Recovery skill Media on Ann Takamaki, Yukari Takeba, Ryuji Sakamoto, and Shinjiro Aragaki! ARCANA: Support: Yukari Takeba gains 1 Limit!
AS: Take! Shinjiro Aragaki takes 80 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Media.
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
Just like before, the other Phantoms too -- 'Fox', with that impressive Noh-themed Persona, Goemon, taiko drums and whistling following in its wake. An incredibly artful and elegant form of Persona. Joker's winged gentleman thief is also one that commands attention... Arsène. As in Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief written by Maurice Leblanc. ... why does that sound familiar? No, Lupin is very popular across Japan -- it would make sense that one would draw inspiration from his great works.
The one named 'Skull' is new -- but he's no less energetic, reminding them of Mio on their side, summoning a pirate Persona on a boat! Will they never see new and awe-inspiring heights as to what's possible for an other self? Ann's cry of 'again' might really not be a surprise, but Ann tells Kaneshiro straight that she's tired of people like Kaneshiro... and Carmen floods the world in red and crimson for a moment, weakening smoke choking the Piggytron out. And Haru -- the Beauty Thief -- summons Milady, with a seemingly calm command to match his firepower. And Milady is just happy to oblige.
And Queen -- Queen was the one who left the message last time, scorched onto the ground with her motorcycle. And what a show she makes, leaping up onto Johanna while still in a run. She has the senses of a Navigator too, as she relays the weaknesses of the Piggytron to all involved through her shadow factorisation.
"Incredible. Copy that," Myunghon calls.
These Phantoms are all... really incredible. They can't help have a grin at how awe-inspiring they all are. Maybe... Merry's a fan too.
But Rumourmonger Merry is no less impressed with those on their side too -- the reason they can all do this, that change is possible.
Yukari arrives at just the nick of time, and Myunghon's expression lightens at her. "Takeba-kun! Just in time," they call out, and the young girl from SEES fires with their Evoker -- something that Myunghon still can't quite get used to, just yet -- and Io rises to scatter vital, life-giving energy, closing some of those immediate machinegun wounds. "You're a lifesaver, Takeba-kun."
Shinjiro gathers his power in that same manner as when they fought Sudou just... just earlier today, and Myunghon can feel the sheer strength roiling off off him and Castor in waves. "I'll find an opening so you can go all-out, okay, Shinjiro-ssi?" They're ready this time, so they're not going to get bowled over by a shockwave. It's the little things like this that make them work better in a team.
And then-- the dramtaic words of--
"Ixquic! Welcome to the party!" Myunghon calls. She sure knows how to make an entrance, in all that impressive gold, and cape, and Buster-size sword. (What? It's clearly a Buster sword. Not a Quick or Arts sword.) Ixquic asks why it's a piggybank, and the Rumourmonger can't help but snicker.
"Maybe the cuteness might make us drop our guard?" Myunghon poses a hypothesis to Akari, but they can't dwell on it too long -- and it isn't long before Akari's Persona Quixote... again, makes their eye wide. "Now that's what I call roadworthy, Ixquic. I'm glad we have someone with a motorcycle on our side too!" Thinking of Queen, on the other side.
And So-young. So-young, who awakened not mere days ago and had to face against Strega in her first trial of fire (literally), but came out of it flying, proving to all that you shouldn't fear to fly close to the sun, than keep your head down. "You've gotten the hang of this real quick, nuna," Myunghon encourages.
Shinobu's presence fills them with reassurance -- even if they have to put how much their blood rage rattled them just earlier. Shinobu calls him rotten, and Myunghon nods in affirmation to it -- and... she'll make bacon out of that eyesore, and then-- coming for him!
"No matter how strong that armor is... they'll all have a weak point."
Merry does have a playful pout towards Mio for a moment. "Not a Lady," Myunghon advises. "And as much as I'd like to take credit,
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
"No matter how strong that armor is... they'll all have a weak point."
Merry does have a playful pout towards Mio for a moment. "Not a Lady," Myunghon advises. "And as much as I'd like to take credit, no, the stage has been set by the Phantoms... but it doesn't mean we don't have our important parts to play. Kazama-kun, I'm counting on you today!"
Which Mio does in grand order as Samson just recycles spent bullets and casings as if metallurgy was just a common plaything, forming it into a pillar -- and then hucking it back to the Piggytron. "... amazing," Myunghon can't help but find that creativity powerful and liberating in the Cognitive world.
They converged with Umie along the way too, given she was on the phone with them earlier -- and Myunghon can't help but smile. "The mask still has soul, Akabane-san," they encourage. "There's no harm in it being a work in progress."
It's perhaps a bit unusual to both them and Umie how much Myunghon is riding a high on the awe-inspiring power of their teammates right now -- given how much they were made to feel humiliated and little against the Joker Killer. But having everyone together, like this, makes them feel like they're a part of something greater than just the sum of their parts. It's what makes people strong, when they unionise, come together as a community.
But a familiar figure arrives and-- "Vesper?!" Myunghon looks a little alarmed, but he greets Merry in short order. He gives his explanation... and while Merry has doubts and suspicions, they'll have to do for now. "I understand," they compromise for now. "We're all very glad to have your assistance."
"You should have figured out long ago that money can only buy you yes-men, and while that may superficially look like friends... there's a dangerous, far difference," Myunghon answers. But Kaneshiro has a threat just for them -- and they scowl at that.
"Please, Kaneshiro-oppa! A nightclub? I suppose that's the limit of your imagination, as a two-bit Shibuya Yakuza thug," Myunghon taunts, even though the prospect of their beloved building being at risk still riles them oup. Kaneshiro backs up their threat with fire, however, and Myunghon has to summon Kudlak and guard them with a bubbling cape-surface once more.
They can't just stand in one place and gawk -- and knowing Shinobu, Shinjiro and Mio are all raring to chomp at the proverbial bacon, Myunghon gathers all their power and lets Kudlak rise out of their fluttering Cognitive Coat in a column of ephemeral blue.
"The Phantoms have exposed your weaknesses. There's no escape. Now, witness our power... Criminal Raid!"
Energy fires off, enveloping Akari, Shinobu, Mio and themself with keenness and acuity, making power roil in their arms and weapons both that could positively be called... criminal. And they aren't done yet, either--! Following up on that release of power, they whirl and send another wave of nauseating, sickening energy to filtrate through the Piggytron's armours.
"I can see the gaps in your armour... it won't be long before I've figured you out."
AS: Persona! Myunghon Yeo has used the Dark skill Shibaboo on Junya Kaneshiro! ARCANA: Pressure: Myunghon Yeo gains 1 Limit!
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Queen's the only one with a driver's license, after all, and they can't afford any slip-ups. This isn't a time to rely on driving game technique... or whatever Noir might be hiding behind her sweet smile.
Skull's immediate and unabashed enthusiasm for riding atop the Monabus gets him a grin from Joker. He raises a hand to offer him a fistbump of solidarity--but that's when Shadow Kaneshiro and Rumormonger Merry's merry misfits arrive. It really is never that easy.
He leans in to Panther to whisper back, "Don't worry. Mona's got them ready once we're good to escape." After all, sending out a calling card in the flashy way they did means everyone will know they're coming--enemies and allies alike. If they could just drive off, that would be great--but again, it never is that easy, right?
("S-sorry, Lady Ann..." Monabus meanwhile has murmured (murpurred)--but he doesn't actually stop "myaha~"ing over the Treasure. Some things you just can't help.)
At least Merry makes it clear they and their friends really are on their side--for now--with their rallying cry, one that Ixquic responds to in particularly dramatic fashion with her flashy entrance and speech, and that Vesper chimes in on along with a well-timed Marakukaja. As the defense-boosting magic bolsters him, Joker quirks a half-smirk and gives all of them a sharp nod of acknowledgement and thanks. ...The Phantoms still aren't going to stick around afterwards to chat, but they can at least be grateful.
Accelerating wind sweeps up and around Joker, and he gives Fox a nod of gratitude next. With an enemy that big, they'll need all the advantages they can get. He shoots a quick look at Noir next, newest member of their team that she is, but he needn't have worried; Mona's trained her well. As she and Skull both lay on the firepower, Panther sends forth debilitating smoke at the Piggytron, while Queen calls up her own Persona and starts circling Piggytron to analyze its weaknesses--a very crucial move for all of them.
(Joker also makes note of the other assembled fighters Merry brought in--he recognizes a few from the last fight, even, like Umie, So-young, Shinobu and Yukari--but he naturally pays the closest attention to his team.)
However, with an enemy this big, it's only natural that the assembled Persona Users end up in clusters. Queen might have maneuverability, but as Piggytron goes on the offensive, rising up and slamming down, unleashing missiles, Joker ends up split up from most of the rest of the team, coming to a stop near Umie and Yukari. There, that vent in Piggytron's mouth opens and unleashes a noxious gas...
Gas is a lot harder to avoid. Joker moves, but he can't avoid breathing. As he coughs and raises an arm, it seeps into his body, and he feels panic spike within him. For an instant, fear overwhelms him, reminding him of the cost of failure--much like Shadow Kaneshiro says himself as he reminds Queen of what he'll do to her if they fail. His body shakes--his throat seizes up--but--
Yukari starts screaming in fear, and it helps ground him. It doesn't make the fear go away, but he remembers how that woman met his eyes, begged him for help. It wasn't a mistake. He's dealt with fear like this before. He has to try. He won't just lay down and give up and let rotten men like this have their way.
'I'M the one who takes!' Shadow Kaneshiro snarls. Though he wasn't the one who was addressed, Joker clenches his trembling fists and growls, "Not anymore."
Struggling through the panic, Joker clutches at the one thing he can do: take. "Steal it, Arsène!!" he snarls. The great thief materializes again, this time with a come-hither gesture with a single clawed digit; that gesture seems to sap at Piggytron's speed, slowing the gargantuan piggy bank further.
AS: Persona! Ren Amamiya has used the Almighty skill Sukunda on Junya Kaneshiro! AS: Ren Amamiya takes 60 damage from Panic! ARCANA: Ruin: Ren Amamiya gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Myunghon Yeo has used the Almighty skill Criminal Raid on Akari Hoshi, Shinobu Shimizu, Mio Kazama, and Myunghon Yeo! AS: Take! Myunghon Yeo takes 0 Almighty damage from Myunghon Yeo's Criminal Raid. AS: Atk_Up and Crt_Up added! AS: Take! Shinobu Shimizu takes 0 Almighty damage from Myunghon Yeo's Criminal Raid. AS: Atk_Up and Crt_Up added! AS: Take! Mio Kazama takes 78 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Media. AS: Take! Akari Hoshi takes 0 Almighty damage from Myunghon Yeo's Criminal Raid. AS: Atk_Up and Crt_Up added! AS: Take! Mio Kazama takes 0 Almighty damage from Myunghon Yeo's Criminal Raid. AS: Atk_Up and Crt_Up added! AS: Take! Junya Kaneshiro takes 0 Dark damage from Myunghon Yeo's Shibaboo. AS: Exhaust added!
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
"Heh. You're all talk, pal!" Skull balances the pipe on his shoulder with a wicked grin, watching everyone pile onto Kaneshiro. "Maybe you oughta pack it up before you get your shit rocked!"
"Oh hey, thanks...person I've never seen before!" Skull responds to the Marakukaja and the kind words from the new thief from the other group. He cracks his neck, rolling his head as he feels his body react to the powerful magic.
Then the Piggytron jumps and sends a shockwave toward the Phantom Thieves. Without a care in the world, Skull swings his pipe, attempting to counter the attack as he takes some of the damage, skidding backwards. "Ok, this thing is pretty tough. Guess all that money isn't for show. Joker, you got any idea on how to breach that armor?"
Skull readies himself, snapping his fingers again to summon Captain Kidd behind him. "Only thing that's getting knocked down is your fat ass, Kaneshiro! Captain Kidd! Bring the pain!"
The Piratical persona raises its cannon arm and begins to fire electrical blasts toward Piggytron.
"Hey Fox, Panther...Any of those guys from the other team look familiar? I don't think I know any of them." Skull asks, keeping his attention split between the Phantoms, the other team and the Shadow they are fighting.
AS: Take! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 80 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Media. AS: Persona! Ryuji Sakamoto has used the Elec skill Zio on Junya Kaneshiro! AS: Mio Kazama spends Limit on Shift! Shinobu Shimizu can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Take! Yukari Takeba takes 80 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Media. AS: Take! Junya Kaneshiro takes 0 Almighty damage from Ren Amamiya's Sukunda. AS: Spd_Dn added! AS: Counter Best! Junya Kaneshiro takes 84 Elec damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Zio. Weak! AS: Paralyze added! AS: COUNTER! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 18 Elec damage in return for his attack! Resist!
<Pose Tracker> Haru Okumura has posed.
Honestly, Haru feels for Yukari here. She's been nothing but kind to her, and yet she seems so horrified to be here. It makes Haru wonder why she isn't feeling scared right now, when she so obviously should be - but she makes a note to repay the favour with a shield if things are looking bad. Another masked Persona user provides them with a shield, too, declaring he's with them. Haru isn't familiar, but it is invigorating to see so many people are here supporting them.
Kaneshiro declares that he's the one who takes, and sends Piggytron flying into the air even as he defends himself from her machine gun bullets and everyone else's attacks. As it approaches their group, Noir braces herself - she may be the least experienced member of the Phantom Thieves, but she still knows that means there's something big coming! The shockwave slams down into the party, and Noir jumps, so as when the shockwave sends her flying back, she at least lands on both feet.
However, it still sends her far enough way that she's thoroughly winded by the attack and can't get up close and personal this time. Queen's analysis comes in, though, telling them that Kaneshiro is weak to electricity! Haru can't summon electricity quite like Skull can, but her Psi attacks should be a close enough approximation...
"Understood, Queen! Let's give him a little shock, shall we~" Haru pulls down her hat. "Milady! Furious Psi!" The bewitching beauty of a Persona's gloved fingertips crackle with purple lightning, sending several rapid-fire jolts of psychokinetic to shoot down the Piggytron! "Let's press the advantage~ It's your turn, Queen!" Haru calls to Makoto. This is her debt to settle.
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
The yelling and the gunfire are threatening to overwhelm Fox, who has to take a moment and catch his breath... which means he just has enough time to see the Piggytron Bank launch up into the air - and plummet down.
"Ah."
In a matter of moments, he crouches, and launches himself into a spinning handspring over the shockwave. While he stumbles slightly on landing, he has enough werewithal to see Joker and the others vanishing into the cloud of gas the horrific machine spews on his comrades. Dashing over to the other Phantoms, he makes a gut call, and puts his hand on Queen's shoulder. "Never again, right?" He looks back up at the Piggytron, and points his blade - where was that katana a moment ago? - up at the machine. ... does the metal of its armour look brittle, suddenly, thanks to the actions of the second team of Persona users?
"No matter how far you try to fly, Kaneshiro, you will never escape the stench of your own wickedness, and the hounds will never stop coming for you!" He scans the second group, looking for the right weapons - the older boy in winter gear, with the axe; Umie and her swords; Ixquic and her giant golden blade; and of course, Queen and Skull on their own side. "And your fancy weapon is just a pile of scrap waiting to happen! GOEMON, CUT IT ASUNDER!"
He lunges towards one of the legs and ducks left as his Persona flies out to the right, giant pipe swinging in in concert with his blade before Yusuke pivots to follow up with a third slash!
AS: Haru Okumura spends Limit on Shift! Makoto Niijima can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Yusuke Kitagawa spends Limit on Help Up! Panic removed from Makoto Niijima! AS: Persona! Haru Okumura has used the Elec skill Furious Psi on Junya Kaneshiro! 3 Hits! ARCANA: Pressure: Haru Okumura gains 1 Limit!
AS: Haru Okumura: Bind removed! AS: Block Worst! Junya Kaneshiro takes 24 Elec damage from Haru Okumura's Furious Psi. Weak! AS: Block Best! Junya Kaneshiro takes 20 Elec damage from Haru Okumura's Furious Psi. Weak! AS: Block Neutral! Junya Kaneshiro takes 28 Elec damage from Haru Okumura's Furious Psi. Critical Hit! Weak! AS: Tandem! Yusuke Kitagawa has used the Slash skill Dual Slice on Junya Kaneshiro! 3 Hits! AS: Counter Worst! Junya Kaneshiro takes 38 Slash damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Dual Slice. Critical Hit! AS: COUNTER! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 12 Slash damage in return for his attack! AS: Counter Neutral! Junya Kaneshiro takes 27 Slash damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Dual Slice. AS: COUNTER! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 12 Slash damage in return for his attack! AS: Block Neutral! Junya Kaneshiro takes 30 Slash damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Dual Slice. Critical Hit! AS: Akari Hoshi spends Limit on Exploit! Akari Hoshi can use another Weak skill this round!
<Pose Tracker> Akari Hoshi has posed.
"You heard me!"
Ixquic points her sword at Kaneshiro - well, Piggytron - again. "And you read your calling card! I didn't send it, but I agree with every word! The Phantom thieves are right!" Apparently they have a fan for life. "You - you came to Hirasaka, to take what wasn't yours, just because you could! Because they weren't *like you*! You really are a demon in human disguise!"
The plight of Rumourmonger Merry - Myunghon - touched Akari deeper than she'd ever admit, especially in her role as Ixquic. But deep down, she understands what some of that is like.
So when energy surges to her from Myunghon, Ixquic grins. With her new helmet, her mouth is visible and so so is her grin, and she surges into action!
The action, though, is handling the Shadow that came after her. Ixquic jerks around at the sound of the voice, but she's slow - just a little bit, but 'a little bit' is all you need in a fight, especially when it comes just as she was resummoning Quixote. The motorcycle-centauroid vanishes in a shower of blue-white lights as Ixquic is bowled across the vault, her enormous sword squealing as she tries to use it to brake, leaving a furrow in the floor where the blade bites in.
It's Yukari that saves her, the shower of Media letting Ixquic rise back up. "Owww," she whines, without really meaning to say it out loud at all. She's glad she has a helmet - she bonked her head a couple times in there.
(The unkind would ask: does it really matter? Akari would say that it matters to *her*.)
She grips the edge of the helmet again, and Quixote does reappear. As Ixquic raises her sword, Quixote raises her spear, the banner unfurling: 'Shinjitsu', reality, on one side, and 'Gensou', fantasy, on the other. Two sides of the same coin; two concepts, opposites but impossible to separate.
"So all of us... we'll stop you here! Quixote! Show us your Heroic Dream!"
Energy surges within Ixquic. It's the same energy that Myunghon provided, but it radiates out from Ixquic and Quixote. And she follows it up mere moments later, when Quixote reaches out toward Ixquic -
A lightning bolt blasts out from the motorcycle girl, and Ixquic catches it on her sword, which catches it. Trailing sparks the whole way, Ixquic charges, hefting her sword up - and delivers a mighty slash with enough force that, when it hits the ground, it actually bounces her feet off the ground, because every action needs to have an equal and opposite reaction.
Ixquic drops back down afterwards, snapping her sword dramatically and making her cloak billow again.
Okay she's definitely doing this on purpose.
<Pose Tracker> Mio Kazama has posed.
Mio's elation is evident despite the fear, the pain, and the chaos of violent struggle. Or perhaps... her joy comes -from- all of these things. Finding strength and meaning in one's basest instincts. She flinches as the oh-so-round form of Piggytron paints her forehead with a laser designator moments before a cluster of spiralling missiles come shrieking out, flying for her and her close allies. Samson, on the other hand, representing God knows what horrible part of her psyche, seeks to gain a greater understanding of the missile by applying its face to the warhead and screaming a wordless howl of a challenge. The riotous form of Mio's Persona, and its wielder, briefly disappear inside an expanding cloud of fire and shrapnel. The cloud of flame soon clears as the burly, human phantom clenches both fists and howls louder with delirious rage, banishing the billowing smoke and dust in a spherical puff of force.
And then to top it all off, Myunghon very politely informs her that she has been incorrectly assuming things about Gender this entire time. Under more normal circumstances, Mio would take this onboard with more gravitas. Under the current circumstances,
"Huh? Oh, god damn it! I'm sorry, boss!" she puts both hands to her head, shielded in the moment by her rather macho Persona. "I had no idea! Fuck!" and then, for good measure, she spikes her mace into the ground, hoping that panel of the bank vault she just broke is the part of Kaneshiro's mind that keeps him from pissing himself randomly. She points at Piggytron, accusingly. "This is all your fault! So keep talking a big game, because the only thing you're gonna have to do with the Cardboard Dragon is show up in the memorial we hang there after we bury your ass!"
Mio, apoplectic with energetic fury, clenches her hand into a fist. Samson mimics her movements, the muscular titan raising that arm up and then slamming it into the ground with a brilliant burst of visible force. Even in your Persona Game, you can't escape Demon Fang: a spiked wave of gravitic force roars along the ground towards Piggytron's little legs. The bigger and heavier they are... maybe? Perhaps?
Surprising herself most of all, Mio turns and extends her mace towards... Shinobu? "Hey!" she calls, indicating her with the weapon like a conductor's baton. "Follow me in! Get his ass!!"
Is... is that a leadership quality...?
AS: Persona! Akari Hoshi has used the Recovery skill Heroic Dream on Yukari Takeba, Haru Okumura, Umie Akabane, and Shinobu Shimizu! ARCANA: Pressure: Akari Hoshi gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Mio Kazama has used the Strike skill Unchained Wrath on Junya Kaneshiro! 3 Hits! AS: Tandem! Akari Hoshi has used the Elec skill Crashbrand on Junya Kaneshiro! 2 Hits! AS: Block Neutral! Junya Kaneshiro takes 79 Elec damage from Akari Hoshi's Crashbrand. Critical Hit! Weak! AS: Block Best! Junya Kaneshiro takes 52 Elec damage from Akari Hoshi's Crashbrand. Weak!
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
You call it PIGGYTRON!? What kind of name even is that?
"I know, right??" is Panther's immediate response to Yukari's panicked reply. It's like a one-two punch. Yukari sets it up:
"As if we needed even more evidence this creep was a total loser!"
Ann knocks it down.
Panther, paragon of fashion, knows however: it's all a matter of execution. And while Junya's style - and general behavior as a tentatively-labeled human being - might not be up to -her- standards, it doesn't make the execution of the idea any less dangerous. That thing packs a serious punch. She has no idea about anything to do with the relative power of bullets and what all the differences entail, but jeez.
That thing is like a tank!
And it's so big -- she can -feel- the stubby footfalls shuddering the cold ground beneath her feet as she rises back up onto them, but Ann stays her ground. Expression steeled, body bracing, center of gravity lowering, she readies herself for whatever Junya might have coming. It's a readiness that's only superficially compromised as suddenly -- some shorty barges in with a DRAMATIC ENTRANCE! Referencing their calling card and everything!
And even more people arrive to offer their support, literal and figurative! It emboldens her.
Brings a sharp smile to pink lips.
"Wow," she says, looking Junya's way.
"It must suck, knowing all that money can't even buy you people willing to tolerate your scummy crap, huh?"
But Junya's not taking any of -that-. And one thing that Ann didn't expect--
"Wh-what the hell?? That's no fair--!"
-- was for pigs to fly.
(she is NOT saying that out loud she HAS HER PRIDE)
She tries to move. But outrunning the shockwave of a WHATEVER LOADS OF TONS IT IS SHE'S IN WAY TOO MUCH TROUBLE HERE TO DO MATHS pig orbital dropping on them is a tall order. She springs -- and the gush of winds buffets her, sending her bowling over and threatening to knock into anyone unfortunate enough to get in her way. She doesn't land as gracefully, this time; it's a short tumble and a sudden stop smacking her back against the vault wall, the rude awakening dragging a gasped "g-guh!" from her pained lips.
Blue eyes widen as she hears that mechanical voice.
"Everyone, watch out! It's doing something--"
Too late. Rockets and poison gas buffet the room; Ann coughs out even from this distance as she drags herself back onto her feet, waving away the vestigial plumes of purple in time to see--
Oh no! Hired goons?!
"Gh -- you talk--" she starts out--
"--WAY too much!"
And she -stomps- one stiletto-heeled foot.
Carmen, burning with life, echoes the motion. Only -her- heel jams into the back of one of her faithful, thorn-leashed servant's heads, who is just all too happy to receive the attention.
The heart-headed man's face strikes the bank floor so decisively the impact spits a spray of sparks.
"After all the pain and fear you've put so many people through, like the people of Hirasaka--" Like Queen-- "you could stand to learn how to SHUT. YOUR."
Sparks that greedily gobble the cognitive oxygen of the space between Carmen and Piggytron until they grow up into a big and strong, towering inferno, intent to engulf the metal machine in its fury.
"MOUTH!"
And maybe, if Ann's -real- lucky, turn it into enough of a spitroast to make Junya's Shadow sweat it out inside that tin tyrant shell.
"We ran into them the other day," Panther asides to Skull. "They helped us with the hired goons" hired goons?! "Kaneshiro brought to the Palace. They're on our side! ... Thhhoooough I still think we're gonna need a swift exit before people start asking questions, once we deal with this pig."
Still, though. Even with everything going on... Ann frowns as she directs her Persona's slightly suggestive wrath.
"... I kinda feel a little self-conscious with all these people here though..." she mumbles. Mostly to herself.
AS: Take! Ann Takamaki takes 80 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Media. AS: Persona! Ann Takamaki has used the Fire skill Agilao on Junya Kaneshiro! ARCANA: Pressure: Ann Takamaki gains 1 Limit!
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
"It's quite amazing, isn't it?" So-young replies to Shinobu as she stands tall in the midst of her personal whirlwind, her beaming smile already in place. As everyone else calls out to the Phantom Thieves offering them their support and assistance in this fight, So-young is the one who instead yells: "Have any of you considered theatre? Take one of my cards after this, please!"
--So-young don't just offer the Phantom Thieves a calling card for god's sake your name _appeared_ on the Phan-Site once! So what if the thread got three replies and two of them were 'who??' will you just learn about opsec already--
The conductor is already starting to look a little drunk on her own power, her grin only growing larger as it tinges with a dangerous sort of ire at the man they face. Somehow, nearly dying the last couple of times didn't do much to dampen her enthusiasm. Maybe it's the soaring energy shown by her Persona simply carrying her along in its wake, or maybe it's the fact this still feels like a dream even after watching Myunghon pick bits of shrapnel out of their stomach.
But part of it is also that she's trying to simply pay attention this time in a way she didn't have the mental space to do last time. The raw might of Samson, the dark aura of Kudlak, Lachesis forming above Shinobu, the cupis that Umie summons - they're all _fascinating_ both in their own respect and what they mean for the people summoning them, and So-young can feel her hands eager to do something with the mass of concepts and forms on display. Her baton is weaving the flow of the battle, but she's just as ready to pick up a paintbrush or a pen and scribble out something raw and emotive.
The humming under her breath shifts into something driving and fierce, her baton bobbing in the air in a series of rapid flicks. The air around her eddies just in time as a missile comes rocketing towards her from the Piggytron; its propulsion fights against the buffeting air for a moment before it twists in on itself, and while the ensuing explosion is fed by the gales and rolls over her with a hiss of angry pain, much of it boils away into the whirlwind.
"You think?" she laughs back to Myunghon. "Look at you go, though! Who knew you had a whole army at your back?" She means nothing but well by that comment - she's used to seeing a more cagey and quiet version of her sibling, and getting to see Rumourmonger Merry in full gung-ho swing is certainly a new and novel experience. It helps uncoil some kind of tension that's been building within her stomach, as if she can now rest assured that she hasn't just relegated Myunghon into diving in the way of protecting her over and over and over.
Yukari's panic doesn't exactly bring her up short - but her brow does furrow, and So-young takes two steps in her direction. She's not really the sort of person who would cover someone else, or at least she didn't think she was, but she's currently riding high on injustice and ire, and both of them are rankling a little at the sight she just saw. Shinjiro does the same thing, but he carries himself with a confidence that meant she barely registered it last time around, but this...
"That's enough. Breathe," she says, not unkindly - not super kindly either, she's not great at this, but it's a start as her smile becomes just a little more gentle. As Myunghon leads the charge with the others from the Cardboard Dragon, she's momentarily content to let them drive forward for a moment as she directs the flow of Icarus' wind backwards towards her, the breeze wrapping around Yukari protectively as the movement of her baton softens to a slower wave. "A little stage fright is to be expected unless you're a lunatic like us. Don't believe that bit about imagining the audience naked. Instead, imagine the person you hate most and then, in your mind's eye, punch him _very_ hard in the face."
She winks, and snaps the fingers of her free hand. "Professional tip. Ready to try again?"
AS: Persona! So-young Park has used the Almighty skill Toccata on Yukari Takeba! ARCANA: Support: So-young Park gains 1 Limit!
AS: So-young Park regains 3 SP from Invigorate! AS: Block Neutral! Junya Kaneshiro takes 54 Strike damage from Mio Kazama's Unchained Wrath. AS: Block Best! Junya Kaneshiro takes 58 Strike damage from Mio Kazama's Unchained Wrath. Critical Hit! AS: Block Worst! Junya Kaneshiro takes 59 Strike damage from Mio Kazama's Unchained Wrath. AS: Block Best! Junya Kaneshiro takes 86 Fire damage from Ann Takamaki's Agilao. AS: Haze added!
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"... You think so?" Umie says, to Myunghon's compliment on her mask. "... I'm still... working on it."
It's not like this'll be the final one she'll ever have to do; masks can, and *have* been destroyed.
==SLIGHTLY LATER===
"Vesper-san!" Umie exclaims, trying to keep from seeming *too* happy to see another acquaintance is here to tip the scales. "... You're fashionably late," she says, instead.
Queen informs them of Kaneshiro's weaknesses; Umie nods. "I'll see if I can poke a few more." Though, the 'new' face among the Phantom Thieves seems to have the electricity down. "Huh, nice."
Umie spares a glance to Yukari, giving her a cute smirk. "It's never too late to start strength training--" Pause. ".... damn it, the bus is really cute, though..."
Back to the battle!
Umie backs up as Joker ends up near her and Yukari. "Fancy seeing you here, Detective-s--"
The quip is cut short, as smoke washes over them. Umie coughs, her body freezing up with panic.
.... but, as Joker gains grounding from Yukari, Umie finds grounding in Joker in turn, just as she did the night the Old Maid attacked.
".... It's only a matter of time..." Umie whispers, her throat holding back the scream she wants to release.
She'll scream and more, if she times it right.
"I'll make you take all that misfortune _BACK_." Her voice erupts into a shriek, extending into the rasping call coming from Badb emerging behind her.
AS: Umie Akabane spends Limit on Exploit! Umie Akabane can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Recovery healing from Akari Hoshi's Heroic Dream. AS: Atk_Up and Crt_Up added!
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
"Heh. Yeah. ...They're a classy bunch, I'll give 'em that." Shinobu agrees with So-young with a smirk.
Kaneshiro declares he'll make Hirasaka better - make it his.
"...Yeah, we've seen what you do to places that are yours. I don't think leaving a trail of broken lives behind you is 'better'." Shinobu replies. Lachesis strikes, but Piggytron proves durable.
"Oh, I'm real glad. Come on out and I'll show you just how glad I am." Shinobu says dryly. She doesn't expect him to buy it... as much as she'd like to put a fist in his face.
A light shines on her. A targeting laser...
"Missiles. The hell." Shinobu mutters to herself. She should have expected something like that.
Lachesis comes to her aid, though. She moves to defend, sweeping out her measuring rod to intercept the missiles before they strike. Shinobu can feel the heat, as it consumes her - but Lachesis can weather that better than she can.
"If you came up from the gutter, then you should know what it's like... but you don't give a damn about anyone but yourself. You make me sick." Shinobu replies, distastefully.
Yukari provides healing, but Shinobu can tell that she isn't having a great time of it.
"...Thanks, Takeba but... don't forget yourself, too." Shinobu asides. ...She's trying to help, at least. And at least So-young reminds her to breathe.
A weakpoint, though - Myunghon's right. And thankfully, it seems like Shinjiro might have provided them just that. And from Myunghon themself... Shinobu feels the familiar power of Crime flood into her. She tests her grip on her staff. ...Feels good. She can definitely do this.
"Thanks, boss." She offers with a nod. Mio rushes in, telling her to follow her in, and Shinobu nods.
"Right behind you, Kazama." She says with a smirk, rushing in. "Thanks for the opening, Aragaki. Lachesis - with me!"
The two strike as one, pincering Piggytron from either side. Shinobu lashes out with a furious whirl of her staff. And from the other side, with a wave of her hand Lachesis sends out purifying seals. They stick to where they land - and then, explode in a flash of brilliant light.
AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Final Warning on Junya Kaneshiro! AS: Umie Akabane takes 60 damage from Panic! ARCANA: Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit!
AS: Take! Shinobu Shimizu takes 0 Recovery healing from Akari Hoshi's Heroic Dream. AS: Atk_Up and Crt_Up added! AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Pale Shriek on Junya Kaneshiro! AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate! AS: Counter Neutral! Junya Kaneshiro takes 56 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Final Warning. AS: COUNTER! Umie Akabane takes 8 Dark damage in return for her attack! Resist! AS: Weapon! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Strike skill Spinning Staff on Junya Kaneshiro! 3 Hits! ARCANA: Aggression: Shinobu Shimizu gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Light skill Hama on Junya Kaneshiro! AS: Block Neutral! Junya Kaneshiro takes 110 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Pale Shriek. AS: Block Worst! Junya Kaneshiro takes 33 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Spinning Staff. AS: Block Worst! Junya Kaneshiro takes 33 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Spinning Staff. AS: Block Worst! Junya Kaneshiro takes 50 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Spinning Staff. Critical Hit! AS: Block Best! Junya Kaneshiro takes 92 Light damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Hama. AS: Exhaust added! AS: Ryuji Sakamoto spends Limit on Shift! Yukari Takeba can use another Weak skill this round!
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
Queen gets the data she needs, as she watches the Piggytron attack, and how it responds, and it tells her something useful. "It can resist Earth, so don't bother! Go with Electricity and Psychokinesis attacks where possible! Skull, Noir, you know what to do!"
Indeed, Skull is already casting as Queen makes her call. Maybe it's not perfect timing, but if it works, it works.
Unfortunately, coming around in her circle means she's part of the area with Yukari, Joker and Umie as the fear gas flows over them, as Kaneshiro reminds them what he wants of her. The gas has it's effect, and instead of coming to a smooth halt, Makoto panics, and hits the brakes too hard and skids out, Johanna sliding away from her as she lands roughly to the ground, her body shivering. How...?
A good businessman sticks to his deals and she is some very valuable product.
She feels like she did then, first in the room with the real Kaneshiro, and then as Kaneshiro in this world cast his eyes over her.
Cat got your tongue? You'll fetch better prices if you're a little talkative.
I expect you to bring in steady income. A pretty thing like you...
And we can enhance it with a good marketing plan for selling you off.
I can double the investment by getting that stupid sister of yours to do the same.
Makoto is shaking on the ground now. She wants to run. She wants to hide. She wants to scream for Sae. But that would make it worse. And there's another girl, panicking as badly as she is. She doesn't know her, but she can imagine where she's going too. He's going to...
And then a hand settles on her shoulder. A reminder that she's not alone. A reminder that she has people beside her, and her own resolution. She looks up at Fox, and resolve fills her, pushing away the panic. Noir reminds her that it's her turn. Her debt to settle. Her chance for payback.
"That's right. Never again!" She uses the opportunity Fox has granted her to get to her feet. "Joker, you need to focus! Johanna," She calls, and the motorcycle reappears beside her, and Makoto leans against it. "Energy Drop!" She shouts, as the healing energies of her Persona move to disperse the fear from their leader, before turning her eyes to Kaneshiro and his oversized toy. There's no taunts this time, no cries of defiance. Just a glare, as she revs Johanna's engines. "Freila!" She shouts, as plumes of Nuclear Fire descend on the Piggytron, before looking around.
"Skull! Do me a favour- smash that piggybank open!" She yells, before turning back towards Umie and Yukari. "He's not gonna get his hands on anyone." She murmurs, a little quietly- but just load enough to be hoard before Johanna roars to life again, and Queen starts moving.
AS: Makoto Niijima spends Limit on Shift! Ryuji Sakamoto can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Persona! Makoto Niijima has used the Recovery skill Energy Drop on Ren Amamiya! ARCANA: Support: Makoto Niijima gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Makoto Niijima has used the Fire skill Freila on Junya Kaneshiro! AS: Take! Ren Amamiya takes 0 Recovery healing from Makoto Niijima's Energy Drop. AS: Panic removed! AS: Block Best! Junya Kaneshiro takes 67 Fire damage from Makoto Niijima's Freila. AS: Blast added! AS: Ren Amamiya spends Limit on Shift! Haru Okumura can use another Weak skill this round!
<Pose Tracker> Julian Marlowe has posed.
There isn't much time for pleasantries in the middle of a battle. Vesper contents himself with a nod of acknowledgement to the reactions he catches. Well, aside from Umie, to whom he pleasantly responds, "It's a gentleman's prerogative," to the notion of being 'fashionably late'. For the moment, there's a massive robot with evidently a plethora of weapons at its disposal that needs to be dealt with. And its controller, of course... who touches upon a nerve in his choice of words.
"...He who feels he needs no one is truly a sad individual. Very well then... we'll see where it gets you."
However, it seems he wasn't entirely correct in his assessment. Looks like Kaneshiro does have some backup, Shadows in the form of hired guards. In response, with a flick of his wrist, Vesper's umbrella twirls off his arm, flying up a short distance before it lands neatly in his hand, handle first. His eyes widen slightly, when the one with the knife is the one that ends up coming for him. An umbrella against a bladed weapon seems like a poor match. If only he had--
Purely on instinct, without even thinking about it, Vesper holds onto the other end of the umbrella with his left hand, then pulls with his right. To his own astonishment, he pulls free a hidden blade from inside, finding himself now holding the very sword he wished for. Could that really be... because it's what he wanted?
The fact that he had no idea that was there probably doesn't show in his actions, considering how quickly he raises that blade to clash against the incoming knife. Though it lets him get in a quick stab of his own, the parry was unfortunately less than effective. He bites back the pain in his shoulder... which, surprisingly, doesn't last long, as Yukari's healing energy scatters across the battlefield. "My thanks, young lady!" he calls in her direction, keeping his focus on the battle at hand.
No... not quite. He can't help but keep looking over to the group of Phantom Thieves. Unless he's mistaken in his estimation, they're all so... young. No matter how capable they might be, the Julian below the mask can't help but feel a sense of responsibility. It takes self-control not to directly act upon it.
First things first - the Shadow that attacked him. "Raffles, to me!" he commands, taking up a fencing pose. He goes on the offensive, meeting the opposing blade with his own, flanked by his Persona - who doesn't act until the moment he deflects the blade, and jabs his arm towards the Shadow's gut. Upon his "Now", the Persona raises its ominous right arm, made up of dark tendrils and holding a massive cricket bat, slamming it down as Vesper retreats.
AS: Tandem! Julian Marlowe has used the Strike skill Dual Smash on Junya Kaneshiro! 2 Hits! AS: Julian Marlowe spends Limit on Shift! Umie Akabane can use another Weak skill this round! SP +8! Healed 20! AS: Block Neutral! Junya Kaneshiro takes 38 Strike damage from Julian Marlowe's Dual Smash. AS: Block Worst! Junya Kaneshiro takes 42 Strike damage from Julian Marlowe's Dual Smash. AS: Myunghon Yeo spends Limit on Shift! Shinjiro Aragaki can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Ann Takamaki spends Limit on Shift! Akari Hoshi can use another Weak skill this round! SP +8! Healed 20! <Pose Tracker> Junya Kaneshiro has posed.
Fittingly, perhaps, it is Castor who makes the opening. The Persona rushes in, thrown forth by Shinjiro. The hooves of the Persona slam into the armor, and it crumples and buckles in places, a plate left deformed -- and shooting up sparks.
"Bastard!" Kaneshiro shouts at Shinjiro. But then he laughs at Yukari. "Yeah, that's right! Be scared shitless! You're gonna die here, kid!
His attenton turns back towards Myunghon. He spits, then -- it's audible over the loudspeaker. "Fuck you!" he shouts. "I won't let you talk down to me! And your people aren't--GAH!"
The light that Myunghon sends forth creeps into the cracks in the armor that Shinjiro's attack exposed. His eyes snap to Joker, and he seethes. "We'll see about that, Phantom Thief!"
Even as Piggytron's stomping forward slows at Arsène's beckoning, and there's a frustrated groan over the loudspeaker. And then sparks explode and fly, as Captain Kidd's electricity shoots through Piggytron -- overloading the systems. "We'll see about that, you little shit!"
More electrical energy slams into Piggytron, courtesy of Milady. The blasts of lightning shoot over the surface of the armor and beneath the cracked plates; pops and sparks erupt from it. Goemon and Yusuke rush in after, blade cleaving the armor and pipe smashing dents into it.
"I'll rise above all the filth, kid! That's what it means to be an adult!" Kaneshiro shouts back at Yusuke. "It's time you learned that!"
Ixquic comes rushing forth, lightning alight on her sword. It slams into the chrome armor on Piggytron -- now quite scuffed and damaged -- and electricity breaks across it. "You need to wake up from that dream, you little shit!" Kaneshiro shouts at her. "GAH!"
Then he growls, in response to Mio's taunt. "Like hell!" he shouts. "No two-bit Hirasaka punks are putting me six feet under!"
The ground explodes under Piggytron from Samson's strike -- and the huge robot wobbles to the side, just as Ann's column of fire scorches across it. Then it slams back, righting itself.
"I'm the one who tells people to shut up," Kaneshiro snaps at Ann. "So SHUT UP!"
Umie's shriek rattles Piggytron and Kaneshiro both. He grits his teeth -- then shakes his head, trying to find some clarity. That gives time for Shinobu and Lachesis to fly in together. Shinobu's staff spins and slams, smashing into the armor -- which is no longer so mighty -- and then light explodes, scorching through it.
"That's the only way!" he shouts at Shinobu. "Stop deluding yourself!"
Makoto's blast of nuclear flame scorches Piggytron's side. Flame erupts and licks across the armor, leaving it blackened. And as the smoke clears, Vesper and Raffles strike down the Shadow that hit them -- and it smashes into Piggytron, before winking away in a puff of shadow.
<Pose Tracker> Junya Kaneshiro has posed.
"All right, fuckers! I'm sick of you," Kaneshiro says. "Since you haven't gotten the picture, let me spell it out. I'm gonna BLEED YOU DRY! EVERYTHING YOU HAVE IS MINE!"
Kaneshiro pops out of the top of the Piggytron. The Yakuza's boss eyes dart around -- before settling on Shinobu Shimizu and Joker. Then, he looks towards Umie, So-young, and Yusuke. He barks out a cruel laugh. "You'll do! Time to PAY UP!"
He flicks his wrist -- once, twice, eight times -- and sends out a golden card that flies at each of them. It sticks to them.
Kaneshiro turns his eyes to Makoto, then -- those eerie, blazing golden eyes of a Shadow. But the same cruel eyes, too, of the real man in the world outside. "You dragged them into this. Just like you did your sister--and they're going to pay for it too!"
Then, he ducks down back into the robot.
Piggytron rumbles and shakes again. It shows wear and tear -- armor buckled and cracked, with sparks flying out from the gaps -- but this motion is deliberate. The legs pop inside of its body. The snout and eyes withdraw within it. Then, the gleaming chrome robot suddenly launches forward.
It rolls like a demented, gigantic bowling ball -- and smashes into one wall, causing it to dent inward. Plates pop out, sparks explode and fly from severed wiring in the wall, and Piggytron bounces back. It criss-crosses the room, threatening to crush everyone.
But its path isn't random. It seems set on crushing Shinobu and Joker, in specific. And in this, Kaneshiro's cruelty is revealed: he plans to hurt Merry and Queen directly, too. But there is a moment where Myunghon and Makoto make eye contact. A moment where the same realization passes through both of them.
It is being deliberate in who it attacks... and thus, Kaneshiro's movements can be predicted. If they work together, they can force it to smash into the wall where they want -- and strike it mightily!
But if they don't, the rolling rampage of Piggytron will smash everything and everyone in the room to bits.
AS: Junya Kaneshiro spends Limit on Exploit! Junya Kaneshiro can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Persona! Junya Kaneshiro has used the Almighty skill Super VIP Form on Shinobu Shimizu! AS: Junya Kaneshiro spends Limit on Exploit! Junya Kaneshiro can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Persona! Junya Kaneshiro has used the Almighty skill Super VIP Form on Ren Amamiya! AS: Junya Kaneshiro spends Limit on Exploit! Junya Kaneshiro can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Persona! Junya Kaneshiro has used the Almighty skill Super VIP Form on So-young Park! AS: Junya Kaneshiro spends Limit on Exploit! Junya Kaneshiro can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Persona! Junya Kaneshiro has used the Almighty skill Super VIP Form on Umie Akabane! AS: Junya Kaneshiro spends Limit on Exploit! Junya Kaneshiro can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Persona! Junya Kaneshiro has used the Almighty skill Super VIP Form on Yusuke Kitagawa! AS: Persona! Junya Kaneshiro has used the Strike skill March of the Piggy on Haru Okumura, Ann Takamaki, Yusuke Kitagawa, and Ryuji Sakamoto! AS: Persona! Junya Kaneshiro has used the Strike skill March of the Piggy on Myunghon Yeo, Mio Kazama, So-young Park, and Shinobu Shimizu! AS: Persona! Junya Kaneshiro has used the Strike skill March of the Piggy on Makoto Niijima, Ren Amamiya, Yukari Takeba, and Umie Akabane! AS: Persona! Junya Kaneshiro has used the Strike skill March of the Piggy on Shinjiro Aragaki, Akari Hoshi, and Julian Marlowe! AS: Take! Yukari Takeba takes 0 Recovery healing from Akari Hoshi's Heroic Dream. AS: Atk_Up and Crt_Up added! AS: Avoid Worst! Myunghon Yeo takes 124 Strike damage from Junya Kaneshiro's March of the Piggy. AS: Take! Yukari Takeba takes 0 Almighty damage from So-young Park's Toccata. AS: Def_Up and Spd_Up added! AS: Take! Haru Okumura takes 0 Recovery healing from Akari Hoshi's Heroic Dream. AS: Atk_Up and Crt_Up added! AS: Avoid Worst! Yukari Takeba takes 119 Strike damage from Junya Kaneshiro's March of the Piggy. Critical Hit! AS: Avoid Worst! Ann Takamaki takes 108 Strike damage from Junya Kaneshiro's March of the Piggy. AS: Avoid Neutral! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 117 Strike damage from Junya Kaneshiro's March of the Piggy. AS: Block Worst! Shinjiro Aragaki takes 81 Strike damage from Junya Kaneshiro's March of the Piggy. AS: Take! So-young Park takes 0 Almighty damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Super VIP Form. AS: Strike_Break added! AS: Avoid Best! So-young Park takes 113 Strike damage from Junya Kaneshiro's March of the Piggy. Weak! AS: Take! Shinobu Shimizu takes 0 Almighty damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Super VIP Form. AS: Strike_Break added! AS: Block Neutral! Shinobu Shimizu takes 176 Strike damage from Junya Kaneshiro's March of the Piggy. Critical Hit! Weak! AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Almighty damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Super VIP Form. AS: Strike_Break added! AS: Avoid Worst! Umie Akabane takes 156 Strike damage from Junya Kaneshiro's March of the Piggy. Weak! AS: Counter Best! Haru Okumura takes 95 Strike damage from Junya Kaneshiro's March of the Piggy. AS: COUNTER! Junya Kaneshiro takes 71 Strike damage in return for his attack! AS: Take! Ren Amamiya takes 0 Almighty damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Super VIP Form. AS: Strike_Break added! AS: Avoid Worst! Ren Amamiya takes 121 Strike damage from Junya Kaneshiro's March of the Piggy. Weak! AS: Block Neutral! Akari Hoshi takes 116 Strike damage from Junya Kaneshiro's March of the Piggy. Weak! Block Strike! AS: Avoid Worst! Julian Marlowe takes 160 Strike damage from Junya Kaneshiro's March of the Piggy. Critical Hit! AS: Block Neutral! Mio Kazama takes 95 Strike damage from Junya Kaneshiro's March of the Piggy. Critical Hit! Resist! AS: Take! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 0 Almighty damage from Junya Kaneshiro's Super VIP Form. AS: Strike_Break added! AS: Avoid Neutral! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 118 Strike damage from Junya Kaneshiro's March of the Piggy. Weak! <Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
When the mysterious girl (Yukari) from the other team sends a heal his way, Skull blinks. "Woah. Who's the babe? Woah, Man I gotta focus!" Still she looks like she is having trouble...using a gun? Was that it? No matter. "HEY! You in pink! You got this! Just pace yourself and it will be alright! Thanks for the support! You can do it!" Skull pumps his arm supportively, waving the bent pipe before turning back to the battle.
"Oh. Yeah... Man, but the babe though...Oh well." Skull responds to Panther, grumbling before he gets back in the game. He would really like to get a little attention from all of this. Still, that is the life of a Phantom Thief.
Skull back stiffens as he hears his codename, looking over his shoulder at Queen. The command brings a smile to his face. "ALRIGHT! That I can do, Queen!" He slouches over, grinning at the Piggytron "'Ere, piggy piggy! Uncle SKULL is gonna put you out of your fuckin' misery." The punk drops his pipe to the ground, dragging it along as he slinks closer and closer to Piggytron and Kaneshiro. He whistles a jaunty tune as he moves closer ever so slowly. "Piggy, piggy, -Piggy-" Skull tilts his head before he break into a run, raising the pipe over his head with both arms.
But the Piggytron surges forward and knocks Skull backwards, lost in the dust of the attack. "SON OF A---"
There is silence for a beat before the punk appears in the dust, eyes gleeming as he swings the pipe violently. Skull surges forward again, breaking into a full run. This time the Phantom Thief attempts to STAB the Piggy Bank robot with the blunt instrument. Regardless of success, Skull pulls the pipe along the body of the robot, attempting to pry off any and all armor.
Then suddenly, Ryuji glares toward whatever sort of camera or viewport Kaneshiro is watching the battle from. "CAPTAIN KIDD!" The Persona explodes into existance, firing electricity point blank.
AS: Weapon! Ryuji Sakamoto has used the Strike skill Breakdown on Junya Kaneshiro! 2 Hits! ARCANA: Aggression: Ryuji Sakamoto gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Ryuji Sakamoto has used the Elec skill Zio on Junya Kaneshiro! AS: Block Neutral! Junya Kaneshiro takes 21 Strike damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Breakdown. AS: Block Best! Junya Kaneshiro takes 32 Strike damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Breakdown. Critical Hit! AS: Block Neutral! Junya Kaneshiro takes 72 Elec damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Zio. Weak!
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
It's hard to concentrate through the panic. Fight or flight keeps demanding that Joker take leave of his senses and either put everything he's got into an attack or get out of here already--so at first, he doesn't even register most things said his way, including Skull's question. (More's the pity for Ixquic's quasi-fangirling and So-young's attempted networking. Umie's quip was just as ill-fated as he's ended up, at least.)
However, as Noir opens full blast on Piggytron with that Furious Psi, joining in with Skull's thunderbolts to what seems like magnificent effect, the obvious thought makes it through:
"Electricity." It's a giant metal pig vault. Which means-- "Skull! Noir! Keep blasting it with Zio and Psi!!"
...It's not a complex strategy, especially considering Queen already announced Piggytron's weaknesses, but it's what he's got right now.
Fortunately, Joker's got something else too: his teammates. Fox's reassuring hand gets Queen her senses back, and she pays it forward with her sharp shout to Joker and, perhaps even more importantly, an Energy Drop. As its power washes over him and the panic recedes, he knows--that's right. Queen's the one who'll suffer the worst if they fail. He shakes his head a little as if to shake off a fog, then gives her a sharp nod of acknowledgement. His shaking subsides; his dark eyes sharpen.
Just in time for Shadow Kaneshiro to flick a golden coin onto him. It's clear this is bad news, but it doesn't come off even when yanked--and soon Piggytron is rampaging through the room.
It turns out it doesn't really much matter if you slow down a giant mech if it can still just squash you. This is especially so when, despite pingponging off the walls, it seems intent on crushing you, specifically.
The plus side is that the commotion of Piggytron's rampage drowns out Joker's screams of pain. At the end, he is on the floor, battered badly; Arsene kept him from being outright flattened to death, but he is clearly doing badly.
However...
Besides teammates, there's another thing Joker's got--and that's other Personas. Blue flame roars in his soul as he calls upon a far brighter spirit--one not so easily daunted, for she danced to make the Sun Goddess laugh--and calls forth--
"Ame-no... Uzume!!"
A jaunty woman in a bright kimono twirls into existence, a mischievous smile on her almost metallic lips. She sways her hips and shimmies her arms, as if to dance alongside Panther's Carmen as she jabs a heel into one of her faithful servants--and healing energy showers down on Joker, Fox, Umie, and Shinobu, the ones who've been hurt the worst so far as far as Joker can tell. (Given that Shinobu was also hyper-targeted, that perhaps only makes sense.)
Joker doesn't feel Vesper's regard in this moment, focused as he is on not dying (though he did notice him and his cognitive costume earlier), but if he is as young as the Supernatural Investigator fears, that apparently doesn't translate to being incapable. Has he even seen someone change Personas like that before?
AS: Counter Worst! Makoto Niijima takes 126 Strike damage from Junya Kaneshiro's March of the Piggy. AS: COUNTER! Junya Kaneshiro takes 44 Strike damage in return for his attack!
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro got an opening... but the Piggytron, as damaged as it is, is threatening his allies. Shinjiro is knocked back by the shadow's rolling smash's shockwave, forcing him to dive out of the way flat onto the ground. As he does so, he uses the fireaxe to rise, before shooting himself once more, causing Castor to send off that horrible energy blast again.
"Sorry, Kaneshiro..." Shinjiro takes a breath, before rushing forward. He hasn't been this confident in a fight in a long time. Being active, knowing that, fighting by allies... he doesn't deserve it.
But that doesn't mean he won't do it here.
"But your account is now closed!"
Also, he's trying a quip. It felt right in the moment but he will likely never do that again, and may be embarassed if someone mentions it. It's fine, he'll be berserkering in later fights anyways probably.
Shinjiro roars as Castor starts running around the room, pacing up with the Piggytron. He's building up speed, before suddenly, he turns and moves to slam straight into the Piggytron's side, trying to do enough force to crack off some more of those plates and allow the others to take it down!
And then, he calls out. "Hey, motor nun! Your turn with the extreme violence!"
AS: Persona! Shinjiro Aragaki has used the Almighty skill Guard Buster on Junya Kaneshiro! ARCANA: Pressure: Shinjiro Aragaki gains 1 Limit! AS: Persona! Shinjiro Aragaki has used the Strike skill Black Spot on Junya Kaneshiro! AS: Shinjiro Aragaki regains 20 HP from Regenerate! AS: Shinjiro Aragaki spends Limit on Shift! Mio Kazama can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Persona! Ren Amamiya has used the Recovery skill Media on Ren Amamiya, Yusuke Kitagawa, Shinobu Shimizu, and Umie Akabane! ARCANA: Support: Ren Amamiya gains 1 Limit!
AS: Take! Shinobu Shimizu takes 66 Recovery healing from Ren Amamiya's Media. AS: Take! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 66 Recovery healing from Ren Amamiya's Media. AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 66 Recovery healing from Ren Amamiya's Media. AS: Yukari Takeba spends Limit on Exploit! Yukari Takeba can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Take! Junya Kaneshiro takes 0 Almighty damage from Shinjiro Aragaki's Guard Buster. AS: Strike_Break added! AS: Counter Neutral! Junya Kaneshiro takes 219 Strike damage from Shinjiro Aragaki's Black Spot. Critical Hit! Weak! AS: COUNTER! Shinjiro Aragaki takes 48 Strike damage in return for his attack! AS: Ren Amamiya spends Limit on Shift! Makoto Niijima can use another Weak skill this round!
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
Yukari might have snapped at Skull for calling her babe, but the fear gas gets her first, still, she will remember that.
'You're gonna die here kid!'
Yukari's eyes grow even wider as he says that, like it's not merely an empty threat now, under the effects of the gas. "No... I..." But Merry says something next that reaches her.
She's a lifesaver?
"Lifesaver... r-right." She focuses on those words of praise, because even if she has a hard time feeling that way about herself, she can understand at least they need her to function as part of a team.
Just like in SEES. So-Young comes over to her, not unkindly, not super kindly either, but her breathing slows further as Icarus' magical wind flows over her- and So-Young talks her down as she looks, embarrassed, "Yeah. Thanks. I'm... okay. Just - don't know what came over me."
And she then looks back towards Merry, as if to say as in reinforcement. "I've got you." She says, straightening up, more calm now, as her breathing begins to still, and while the sweat is on her forehead, she's ready. "Just leave it to me!" She calls out to Julian.
And now that she has her wits about her, Panther's comment now actually registers 'As if we needed more evidence this creep was a total loser.'
"Heh." You know, even if she got embarrassed last time by rising to the bait of 'Chicken' even as Panther was saying not to. It at least gives her some rising confidence on the idea he's not that scary on account of being just every creepy loser she's ever known.
But it also registers that Umie hailed Joker, "Wait, you know this guy?" Yukari looks at Joker more closely. He is a pretty cool looking guy- wait no focus. "..." As her eyes drift back to Umie, wondering about that 'detective' part.
Queen reassures her that he's not gonna get his hands on anyone, while shouting at Skull to break that piggy bank open, "...Is he really that strong?" Yukari's eyes look at Skull, the guy who called her 'babe', like she's maybe a little dubious about that one.
Ixquic though as she's shown their heroic dream, "Oh - hey! Thanks!" (She is NOT going to say Thank you Magical Warrior Ixquic, her dignity would die three deaths.) But it does cause her to take a stronger stance as, "You're sick of us!?"
It reminds her of Niko saying that, her thoughts here. Kaneshiro in the real world - he has so much money and so many resources, he doesn't need powers. "We're sick of people like you thinking they can do whatever they want, whenever they want! I've had enough of guys like you!"
But then Piggytron becomes, "Wha- Oh you have gotta be-" The shockwave of it's impact knocks Yukari aside at high speed, battering her until she hits the ground, stealing the shriek from her mouth. However, she still has the Evoker in her hand, and even on the ground, she puts it to her head.
"I-IO!" And pulls the trigger - as Io appears again, winds rising into a great tempest, before being launched at the side of the great mass, like she's trying to throw it off course to buy them all some time while the others do their thing.
And then she stands, and Io sends that healing magic outwards again, before winds encircle her yet again, and slam down with horrific force at the same spot that Shinji strikes, to try and finish the job of cracking the hole open.
"All I wanna know is ONE THING you creepy fly..." She yells at him, livid from being literally bowled out of the way, "... are you gonna be able to keep talking big, after we DRAG you out of there?"
AS: Persona! Yukari Takeba has used the Wind skill Garula on Junya Kaneshiro! AS: Persona! Yukari Takeba has used the Recovery skill Media on Ren Amamiya, Julian Marlowe, Makoto Niijima, and Ann Takamaki! AS: Persona! Yukari Takeba has used the Wind skill Magaru on Junya Kaneshiro! AS: Block Worst! Junya Kaneshiro takes 146 Wind damage from Yukari Takeba's Garula. AS: Take! Ren Amamiya takes 66 Recovery healing from Ren Amamiya's Media. AS: You have 1 more attack in queue! AS: Take! Ren Amamiya takes 111 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Media. AS: Take! Ann Takamaki takes 111 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Media. AS: Junya Kaneshiro spends Limit on Brace! AS: Block Neutral! Junya Kaneshiro takes 107 Wind damage from Yukari Takeba's Magaru. Critical Hit! AS: Haze added! AS: Take! Makoto Niijima takes 111 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Media. AS: Take! Julian Marlowe takes 111 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Media.
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
"When it counts," comes Queen's response to Yukari's doubts of Skull. "And when he's focused on the target!" She shouts, a not so gentle reminder.
Kaneshiro's stepping up the onslaught, and Queen is finding her anger once again- as Kaneshiro declares that everything she has- including her- is his. That she dragged them all into it. That she dragged Sis into it. Makoto can't help it, and as the Piggytron races toward her, she stands her ground. "Johanna, we're going straight ahead!" She shouts, and guns it back toward the Piggytron, attempting to launch into the air and try and smash into the Piggytron with the bike, but she doesn't make the height, and she and Johanna are sent flying back, another rough, violent skid, leaving burning tire marks on the ground and sparks as the spikes on Queen's armor scrape across the floor. Even as Yukari's Media soaks into her, much needed after the hits she's taken. If she's going to be charging into more attacks like that, she's going to need something a bit stronger.
But she sees something else. A pattern. A pattern that, if she's right, someone else has noticed. "Rakukaja!" She shouts, casting the protective spell on herself, as she prepares to make herself a target, before riding straight towards-
Rumormonger Merry?!
"Get on" Makoto yells as she extends a hand to Myunghon, reaching out to grab them and haul them onto her bike. It might be rough and a little clumsy, but Queen is a good rider. "You've noticed too, right?" She says to her perhaps semi willing passenger.
Queen's path is... surprisingly straight forward, trying to avoid the other persona users. She hopes they get the unsaid message to not get too close.
Unfortunately, this path means that Queen and Merry are headed straight towards a dead end, a big flat wall of whatever the safe is made of.
It's such a juicy target, isn't it?
<Pose Tracker> Haru Okumura has posed.
Kaneshiro threatens that they'll all pay and unleashes Piggytron's ultimate move - to do, well, exactly what a pig does. Roll around. It's fast enough that Noir knows she won't be able to pull off another dodge if she isn't lucky, and she can also tell that he's being deliberate with his cruelty. So she brandishes her axe and charges through Piggytron's assault, taking a heavy hit... but Haru pushes through the pain, keeping herself right in position to give Piggytron a little early payback. "Please... don't spend it all in one place." She smiles, even if it's strained, bringing down her axe on Piggytron.
Finding her balance, she looks around to scout out how everyone else is doing. "Skull. Focus, please~" Noir glares Ryuji's way as he has his eye on Yukari, all with a sweet smile still on her face. And then she turns her own attention to Yukari, who's been struggling. "I'm returning the favour. Let's all make it through this alive! Milady, a Tetrakarn, if you will!" Haru calls, Milady summoning a repelling shield that should keep Yukari safe from the next physical attack.
Now it's her turn. Joker's counting on her, and she and Skull are the best suited for taking on Shadow Kaneshiro. She feels power surging through her thanks to Akari - even if she's a newer member who doesn't quite share the same 'popularity' as the rest of the Phantoms just yet. "Understood, Joker! Even a robotic pig has to squeal eventually~ Milady, come to me! Mapsi!" Milady sends another bolt of psychokinetic energy towards Shadow Kaneshiro, this time, in one steady wave of energy rather than the machine-gun-like rapid fire of her previous attack.
AS: Persona! Makoto Niijima has used the Almighty skill Rakukaja on Makoto Niijima! ARCANA: Support: Makoto Niijima gains 1 Limit!
AS: Take! Makoto Niijima takes 0 Almighty damage from Makoto Niijima's Rakukaja. AS: Def_Up added! AS: Persona! Haru Okumura has used the Almighty skill Tetrakarn on Yukari Takeba! ARCANA: Pressure: Haru Okumura gains 1 Limit!
AS: Take! Yukari Takeba takes 0 Almighty damage from Haru Okumura's Tetrakarn. AS: Reflect_Phys added! AS: Persona! Haru Okumura has used the Elec skill Mapsi on Junya Kaneshiro! AS: Block Neutral! Junya Kaneshiro takes 74 Elec damage from Haru Okumura's Mapsi. Weak! AS: Bind added! Haze removed! Explosion! 50 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Mio Kazama has posed.
In traditional bowling, the pins don't try to dodge and run away. Luckily, here, things are different. Piggytron's ascendence to (im)perfect spherical mode sends Mio scrambling, diving to get away as the titanic metal ball rumbles past at breakneck speed. She rights herself, mace striking the ground like a rather cruel, barbed walking stick. She wipes her mouth with the back of a gloved hand, the gleam of her silvery armour and filigree contrasted against the murky, midnight billow of her robes and hood. The Persona, Samson, cocks its head at an angle as it watches Piggytron ride up the walls, and the phantom's billowing red scarf flaps with exactly the same timing and cadence as Mio's own clothing.
"Tch..." she glances askance. Though it was never directed her way, her keen ears prick up at the sound of Makoto shouting tactical advice to her own crew. She internalizes it and scowls. This is not a good matchup, it turns out. The young lady with the Nun-like trappings finds her gaze lingering over the well-oiled machine of the Phantoms despite the danger all around her. She wonders for a moment--is she simply... wrong, in her approach? An amateur, playing at the same game as professionals?
Another thundering rumble accompanies Piggytron's next pass. It pulls Mio from her reverie. The erratic motion of the machine makes prediction and avoidance difficult, and Mio is only saved on this next moment by her Persona swiftly picking her up and tossing her clear of the path moments before it disappears beneath the giant pig-iron (GET IT???) ball with a lurching crunch. When the dust clears, Samson is nowhere to be found.
"Hey, motor nun! Your turn with the extreme violence!"
Shinjiro's voice snaps Mio from her second instance of being dazed, and luckily for the young man, it means that his companion-in-arms here never bore witness to his embarrassing attempt at quippery. Everything is coming up Shinjiro. Her eyes, briefly lost and bewildered for a moment, soon lock back onto Kaneshiro's metallic lair and once again grow wide with glee as the girl once stunned into scared silence feels a rekindling of the urge to grab hold of the Shadow's throat and squeeze until cartilage, bone, and windpipe snap. Like a cool breeze, a fresh breath, she is alive again.
"Heh... okay. Okay!" Mio briefly runs a hand over the tip of her beaked iron mask, and then gestures with her mace. "Let's tear this tin can to pieces, come strike after my mark!"
Where Samson disappeared, there is a deep hole in the ground. Large enough to fit, oh, say, a ten-foot tall bodybuilder based on a loose interpretation of biblical events. From this hole grows a spiderweb of cracks, and then erupts a geyser of tortured metal shards as the girl's Persona claws its way back to the surface, sea-green and ghostly blue bleeding in roiling arcs from the featureless pits where its eyes should be.
"Just because we live and struggle fairly, while you cheat and steal..." Mio hisses with gleeful rage, as her Persona labours behind her with both hands stuck down that hole. There's a faint rumbling before it hauls free all of the compacted vault plating in one big, misshapen pillar. Once again, the metal melds and melts and twists strangely, intricate corrugations and patterns forming on it.
"Doesn't mean you get to look down on us..." Samson grips the makeshift bat in both arms, swinging it back. Nobody stand behind it, please, you don't know what it's like to try and hit a baseball with a support girder.
"Or that your victory is assured!"
The next time Piggytron's fat butt comes flying at Samson, the muscular menace swings that enormous pillar at it to aim for the fences. Samson! We're going to Koshien... together...!
AS: Persona! Mio Kazama has used the Almighty skill Strike Break on Junya Kaneshiro! AS: Weapon! Mio Kazama has used the Strike skill Home-Run Swing on Junya Kaneshiro! ARCANA: Aggression: Mio Kazama gains 1 Limit!
AS: Mio Kazama: Spd_Up removed! AS: Take! Junya Kaneshiro takes 0 Almighty damage from Mio Kazama's Strike Break. AS: Strike_Break added! AS: Block Neutral! Junya Kaneshiro takes 95 Strike damage from Mio Kazama's Home-Run Swing. Weak!
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
Barbecuing a pig is... dangerously satisfying. Even a robot one.
Especially a robot one.
Watching the tower of flame buffet against pork belly and send it toppling does, at the very least, does wonders to wipe away any lingering self-conscious feelings Ann Takamaki has. "Heh heh," she quietly enthuses with a grin, clenching more tightly onto her whip.
"What are you, twelve?" she spits back at Kaneshiro. "The fact that a tantruming baby like you has so much power... it's just -gross-. You think you can take everything from us?"
Sky blue eyes narrow into fiery slivers of anger.
"The fact that we're here proves there's things you'll never be able to get your grubby little hands on no matter how much you try!"
But Junya still has tricks up his sleeve, proving that even if money can't buy everything, cognitive money -can- buy -a lot of terrifying stuff-. She isn't just going to take the way he's taunting Queen in stride -- but the second Panther starts to move to rebuff him?
PIGGYTRON starts going topsy-turvy rumbly-wumbly again.
"Oh, I seriously hate when it starts to do that--"
Ann's dislike is well-founded: soon enough, the Piggytron has become the world's largest pinball, rocket propulsion giving it the start it needs to just zig-zag bounce-crunch across the battlefield. Panther barely gets out, "GUYS--" before a smear of metal becomes her whole world.
She's experienced a lot of painful things in Palaces. Things that simply would never happen in the real world.
Today, she gets to experience what the phrase 'feel like I've been hit by a runaway train' actually feels like.
It's like she just experienced a tornado blowing past her door. For a while, she just feels nothing, sees nothing, except a white flash, a smear of sounds.
And then it all comes tumbling down into sharp, painful reality.
"GAH"
the first cogent sound she hears is her own, sucking in a sharp, painful gasp of air from where she's laid out on the bank floor like so much detritus. Gloved palms slapping the ground, her vision is full of swimming stars; she shakes her head once with the thrash of platinum twintails, she tries to focus.
The first thing she sees--
"K-Kamen Rider--?"
-- wait no. That's just a very tokusatsu belt.
Ann blinks. Focuses. Wait. That's the one that made that big heroic entrance, right? She even referenced their card...
"... nnh..."
Slowly, Panther pushes herself back onto her feet.
"... Hey, you," she says as she reaches a kneel, still catching her breath. Each one hurts, but she fights through.
"Guys like that?" she says, nodding her head to that big, rampaging ball. "They only throw tantrums like that when they're scared. I think you got under his skin."
She offers a bright, beaming smile. Supportive. Warm. Like the first ray of sunshine breaking through a storm.
"So let's see how much further we can push him, okay?"
It's then that she feels the revitalizing magics courtesy of Yukari's Persona (wait. how is she summoning that thing?? isn't -- why is -- ANN IS SO CONFUSED ABOUT THE WORLD OF PERSONA). And, bolstered and -not- thinking existentially topsy-turvy thoughts, she shoots Ixquic an encouraging wink, turns--
"ROAST THAT PIGGY, CARMEN!"
And uses every ounce of that newfound vitality to -BURN PIGGYTRON SOME MORE-.
She's grinning like a fool as Carmen makes herself known, flicking cigar embers at Junya's rolling deathball as if it was all he deserved.
The ashes, of course, burst into flame upon contact.
"Guys!" she calls out even as she attacks. "What're we gonna do about this thing?!"
She's not sure what she can do to contain this. She's not nearly clever enough to think of a way to trick a murderous rollypolly.
But she have faith in the ones that are.
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
Myunghon's getting a bit more used to how the Phantoms work -- and that they won't stick around and chat after is honestly just good opsec, Joker. Myunghon could probably learn tips about it from you. The job's not done until everyone is safely exfiltrated out. Chatting can wait until they've all reconvened at a rendezvous zone. Team Cardboard Dragon is doing this a little more loose, but their heart's in the right place.
Yukari mentions that the bus has EYES and Myunghon didn't even SPOT that at first and they're going to have nightmares about a much more Limbus-adjacent bus with eyes because they don't spot the Monamobile at this point in time. Yukari starts to panic, shouting that 'she can't', and Myunghon whirls to step by her side. "Takeba-kun! Stay strong-- you are strong!" She manages to summon Io nonetheless for a real on the others.
"I believe in your strength, Takeba-kun," Myunghon reassures, firmly. But she does regain her composure -- 'liefsaver'; even if it might be hard to internalise, Myunghon does mean it sincerely.
It isn't long before Skull, Beauty Thief and Fox push the offensive -- and there's a smirk from Myunghon as Yusuke clues into the trick they've pulled earlier with their Persona to leave such a breach in the armour for a blade to exploit, and Goemon cuts beautifully. "I knew you'd see that weakness, masked swordsman!"
Akari fervently berates Kaneshiro on being a demon, in disguise. That's right... the kind of actions that Kaneshiro have taken would have qualified in Myunghon's mind as 'no longer human'. Akari's righteousness is infectious, in turn, more than they know at the moment. Ixquic and Quixote perform an impressive tandem attack, electricity and sparks accompanying with their slashes, but more than that--
She's showing them her Heroic Dream. This light-haired teen's dream, fortunately, doesn't include jumping off cliffs before fighting spider robots.
"I'm not offended," Myunghon reassures Mio. And they do speak true, right now -- even if it's a mistake, it's an innocent one, and right now, they feel so invulnerable with their allies around them. What was the difference between this and their confrontation with Joker? They still should be very careful.
I'm pretty sure you can just call it 'Majinken' here, Mio. It's Japan, after all. Still, Samson's hadou erupts through the ground in a brilliant burst of gravitic force, and Myunghon leaps out of the way as they encourage: "Keep up the pressure, Kazama-kun!"
Panther speaks for Hirasaka as well, and Myunghon can't help but feel a lightness in their heart, even through the rockets and the gas and the pain. The way they deal with that servant -- that's confidence they can learn from her. So-young solicits theatre work from the Phantoms, and Myunghon can't help but have a low chuckle. Even now, So-young's thining about her passions.
So-young points to how energised and inspired they are, seemingly like they're wielding an army behind their back -- "Not an army," Myunghon has to correct their sister. "Family."
"I know so," Myunghon remarks to Umie. "Isn't part of the fun playing with it until you stop at something that really speaks to you?" But the gas starts to seize Umie up too, and there's a moment in which Myunghon calls for her, "Akabane-san!" as they try to give her some cover. Fortunately, Umie seems to double up strong from this -- and affirms that she'll put that misfortune back twice, as Badb, a persona not unlike Kudlak, seeks an eye from an eye from Kaneshiro.
Shinobu speaks of having come up from the gutter... they're not familiar with the Shimizu story, but between how Ayame, Shinobu and Reiko turned out, it's clear it wasn't exactly all roses. Still, they feel confident and glad they and Shinobu met -- because they feel reassured to have her around.
As she coordiantes with Mio and Shinjiro, they can't help but think how good their teamwork's gotten. They're weaving their attacks in one after another, without even needing gui
AS: Persona! Ann Takamaki has used the Fire skill Agi on Junya Kaneshiro! ARCANA: Pressure: Ann Takamaki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Ann Takamaki: Spd_Up removed!
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
As she coordiantes with Mio and Shinjiro, they can't help but think how good their teamwork's gotten. They're weaving their attacks in one after another, without even needing guidance.
A thump has Myunghon turning their head as they notice Queen skidding out on the ground from that same gas. They're far-- but Queen has her allies too. Fox. Noir. ... that's right -- they have absolutely no idea what the circumstances between the Phantoms are, but they are people too. People with their own struggles and hardships... but also bonds and friendships that help each other up when they're in trouble. Queen's plan is to have Skull smash that piggybank open... it's been damaged by their persistent attacks, but can they help with that plan?
"Shinjiro-ssi, Castor can take lead on breaching that armour again, can it not? The Phantoms are readying a similar plan. If we really focus on one section, we'll be able to cause serious damage," Myunghon urges.
It's too early to count Kaneshiro out, though, and they touch on their ethnicity again just for a moment before they interrupt them with the light of their spell. Thank you, Shibaboo. Shibaboo doesn't believe in racism.
The Piggytron rumbles and shakes, and starts to roll like a giant, monstrous bowling ball -- and smashes into one wall, and the next. With its enormous size and weight, it's not going to be so easily stopped, and people are going to be at risk of being flat-out crushed. The path isn't random either, Myunghon notices after only a few moments observing it --
Then their gaze locks in with Queen, who they've ended up close in position in their attempt to escape it. Indeed, perhaps because they both recognise the trajectories involved. There's alarm in their heart as they realise it's going towards Shinobu and Joker. Queen's the one taking initiative, taking the spindly, monochrome rumourmonger along for a ride on her motorcycle. To be on Johanna, gripping for dear life, is exhilirating.
Queen, indeed, confirms that they've seen it, right? "I have. And I know how we can execute," Myunghon answers.
"I need you now... KUDLAK!" Myunghon shouts.
The seemingly living, pitch-black Cognitive Coat LURCHES out from behind their back as if it were the living embodiment of a Bogeyman in the Dark for a moment, the vampiric form of Kudlak embedded in it. Its shape and size is such that Myunghon is small in it, and it lashes forward as it grapples, thin and ribbon-like, onto the Piggytron's legs. Feeling them taut, Myunghon grits their teeth and yanks with all their Cognitive might-- and the spherical Piggytron begins to tip to one side, stopping its movement!
... but that won't be enough.
"And for the angle... it's high, but..." Myunghon expresses, already knowing Queen's already seeing the exact same vector and math in her head. But there's no easy way to get a motorcycle up there. Motorcycle Personae, impressive as they are, don't easily fly. Or... can... they?
"But... we can simply create roads."
Myunghon's grin comes ear to ear, as they spend the last great vestige of their strength to push themself and Kudlak to the limit once more -- and suddenly the whole strech of ink-black Cognitive Coat fabric has formed a taut and flat ramp up... perfect for a motorcycle to accelerate to full velocity! It's a road in thin air.
Their road to victory.
AS: Persona! Myunghon Yeo has used the Dark skill Imperishable Black on Junya Kaneshiro! ARCANA: Pressure: Myunghon Yeo gains 1 Limit!
AS: Block Neutral! Junya Kaneshiro takes 58 Fire damage from Ann Takamaki's Agi. AS: Block Neutral! Junya Kaneshiro takes 40 Dark damage from Myunghon Yeo's Imperishable Black. AS: Bind, Charm, and Poison added!
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
".... I... kind of dragged a friend into Mementos, and he was there," Umie mutters under her breath to Yukari. "It's not like he *said* he was, so I just... made up a name. " As an Umie does.
A golden card sticks to Umie's jacket, courtesy of Kaneshiro; she tries to rip it off in those few moments they have before Kaneshiro comes to collect on that bill.
Like a bowling pin, Umie is violently thrown aside, coughing and clutching her body into a ball in that senseless minute she's forced to spend completely dazed.
She's just getting up as Joker uses that same ability Umie tried to ask him about; switching to something that eases some of her wounds. ".... Thank you," she coughs.
'You dragged them all into this.'
Umie looks over her shoulder at Queen. Her eyelids lower behind her mask, as she considers, remembering the words she said not too long before:
'He's not gonna get his hands on anyone.'
Joker did say something about Kaneshiro going after 'children', but wouldn't it make more sense it was older? "Kaneshiro-san," she starts, then clears her throat to try to project her voice better. "You could learn a lot of things from someone like Ixquic, if you ever paused long enough to listen."
As did Umie, not too long ago.
"An adult shouldn't prey on others just because they *can*." 'Should', because Umie knows full well they do.
Destroying dreams, crushing others underneath your feet just to get ahead...
She remembers Tatsuzou's smile that murky day, when the world became distorted forevermore.
It's only a matter of time
"You're less than a man, Kaneshiro; all your accomplishments are worthless as mud if you can't understand the value of the people around you."
Umie's chin rises slightly, her lips splitting in an open-mouthed smile as her hood falls back to expose flattened ash blonde hair.
"... So be quiet, like a good little piggie..."
She raises her hand, and draws those red-painted nails together in a satisfying snap.
Somewhere, in the next instant, as Badb emerges, she's... just not there, her body cloaked in Badb as she skirts forward amid the attacks of everyone else, letting them be the cover she needs.
The sentence, instead, is continued from another angle, as Umie falls down, drawing the bladed end of her shoge around. "... and come get what's _yours_!!"
AS: Umie Akabane spends Limit on Shock Noise! Crt_Dn applied to Junya Kaneshiro!
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
"That bus is one step off of being nightmare fuel," So-young informs Umie with another bright, toothy smile. She hasn't been properly introduced to many of the Cardboard Dragon-adjacent people, but nor does that seem to stop her in any way treating them as if she's known them for years. "I adore it. It needs to be as unsettling as possible at all times."
Unfortunately So-young is not aware that she has already earned the bus' unceasing and eternal ire by being a mischievous little shit to a young man's pet cat, but such is the life of one who takes every day as if it were a new opportunity to be as much of a force of nature as possible.
"What came over you is panic," So-young points out in the wake of Myunghon's call, backing up - again, she's trying to be kind, but it does come out rather bluntly despite her well-meaning grin. "It's better to accept it happened and work on that. You know, I've got one pianist who panics every time and insists that he does not and I will throw him out of a window soon."
Lifting her head up to thank Myunghon for their own contribution, she grins faintly as her eyebrows raise all over again. What was she expecting, when she first stepped into the Cardboard Dragon? Maybe this is a much kinder answer as to what their mother intended by having the two of them meet - not some machivellian scheme to bring forth her Persona, but something much simpler than that. It's a sentimental thought, and she's not used to giving her mother that kind of level of faith, but she'll let it ride.
Her thoughtful pause comes at a cost as she briefly stops moving with the flow of the battle. Buffeting cognitive winds can't protect her from a simple VIP card flung her way, not least because it's more curious than anything - So-young's defences almost seem to drop to let it through, via no conscious thought of her own, simply so that she can see what happens. She even goes to far as to catch the card, turning it over in her hands as she examines it.
"While I appreciate being given the gold card treatment, you are the absolute _last_--" is as far as she gets, because buffeting winds also cannot help you when a giant rolling ball is coming for you with uncanny precision. So-young actually yelps in surprise, the sheer physicality of the attack breaking her out of her berserk daze and oppressing right through her self-confidence for a moment. She tries to fling herself aside, but for some goddamn reason she came to this fight dressed as a conductress rather than a fighter, and she doesn't really have the range of motion to get out of the way until the giant bowling ball does it for her.
She stumbles back as she somehow manages to stay on her feet, mostly thanks to a subconscious puff of air beneath her when she starts to dizzily pitch sideways - it gives her the time to straighten up, grimacing as she grips her side where she got impacted. She's not bleeding externally, but her body doesn't-- feel right, and she's pretty sure that's going to leave a wicked bruise. A wild part of her wonders if that's her trophy for the day. It hurts less if she can forcibly take some kind of wounded, argumentative pride in it.
Her vision is still blurring, but she can briefly make out the absolutely boggling sight of her sibling being picked up by a leather domme on a flaming motorcycle, and So-young is briefly stunned into a complete stupor. She would never, ever have expected Myunghon to have that kind of game, and she's not sure for a moment whether to be endlessly proud or distinctly jealous. One thing is for sure: as the elder sister she is duty-bound to never forget this moment, and ensure Myunghon never does either.Oh, never mind, she's making a road for the bike. That's... alright then? is about as far as her mind gets for a few moments, because she's still not shaken away the jarring impact of a giant metal ball running into her. She doesn't think she's concussed the way she manages to start shaking off the hit and let her vision resolve into single shapes rather than doubles, but she
AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Almighty skill Soul Break on Junya Kaneshiro! AS: Umie Akabane takes 60 damage from Panic! ARCANA: Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit!
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
Her vision is still blurring, but she can briefly make out the absolutely boggling sight of her sibling being picked up by a leather domme on a flaming motorcycle, and So-young is briefly stunned into a complete stupor. She would never, ever have expected Myunghon to have that kind of game, and she's not sure for a moment whether to be endlessly proud or distinctly jealous. One thing is for sure: as the elder sister she is duty-bound to never forget this moment, and ensure Myunghon never does either.Oh, never mind, she's making a road for the bike. That's... alright then? is about as far as her mind gets for a few moments, because she's still not shaken away the jarring impact of a giant metal ball running into her. She doesn't think she's concussed the way she manages to start shaking off the hit and let her vision resolve into single shapes rather than doubles, but she's absolutely not the authority. Deep breaths, So-Young.
Then things snap back, and she sucks in a breath as a force of will as she refocuses. There's a wild plan happening and damn it if she's going to not stick her nose into it as hard as she can.
With that thought, she whips her head around with a wild grin. "Phantom Thieves, I hope this is not _everything_ you've got! Surely you can put on a better show than this? If you're not quick then we might just wrest the title from you first!" She's kind of crowing the words out, and it's not immediately super clear whether she's trying to encourage them or taunt them or just back to being lost in the adrenaline of the fight, let alone the fact that she's apparently just decided that they're rival teams now? Maybe you shouldn't listen to the musician.
But at least she _is_ helping, because another stamp of her foot preempts both hands raising in tandem only to be brought down with a fierce movement, and Icarus' shriek resounds around the vault as it streaks past and over the top of the Monabus, a gale following in its wake to propel the Thieves forwards. Its turning circle is much too wide to turn on a dime, but that just gives the winged shape time to pick up speed as it pivots around to rocket up Myunghon's road, the wave of air propelling the bike forwards on a favorable wind.
So-young immediately spins on her heel, eyes closed as she does a full twirl to end up pointed towards the Piggytron with her free hand extended. A final snap of her fingers sends the last of the tornado around her suddenly exploding outwards, reforming into a pounding gale that batters against the Piggytron in an attempt to pin it in place.
AS: Tandem! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Seeker in the Dark on Junya Kaneshiro! AS: Umie Akabane: Panic removed! AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate! AS: Persona! So-young Park has used the Almighty skill Sforzando on Makoto Niijima, Haru Okumura, Ann Takamaki, and Ren Amamiya! ARCANA: Support: So-young Park gains 1 Limit!
AS: So-young Park regains 3 SP from Invigorate! AS: So-young Park spends Limit on Exploit! So-young Park can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Take! Ann Takamaki takes 0 Almighty damage from So-young Park's Sforzando. AS: Crt_Up added! AS: So-young Park spends Limit on Psych! AS: Take! Haru Okumura takes 0 Almighty damage from So-young Park's Sforzando. AS: Crt_Up added! AS: Persona! So-young Park has used the Wind skill Rondo on Junya Kaneshiro! 2 Hits! AS: Take! Makoto Niijima takes 0 Almighty damage from So-young Park's Sforzando. AS: Crt_Up added! AS: Take! Junya Kaneshiro takes 0 Almighty damage from Umie Akabane's Soul Break. AS: Take! Ren Amamiya takes 0 Almighty damage from So-young Park's Sforzando. AS: Crt_Up added! AS: Block Neutral! Junya Kaneshiro takes 81 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Seeker in the Dark. Critical Hit! AS: Block Neutral! Junya Kaneshiro takes 36 Wind damage from So-young Park's Rondo. AS: Block Neutral! Junya Kaneshiro takes 36 Wind damage from So-young Park's Rondo.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Myunghon isn't the only one offering her support. Shinobu feels a second flood of power - this time, courtesy of the legendary warrior, Ixquic. She offers her a nod.
"Thanks for the aid. I'll put it to good use." She offers with a nod.
That's the only way, huh.
"...Yeah, guy like you would think that. But here you are, on your own... You've got nobody left to kick over as a stepping stone." Shinobu replies. "What're you gonna do now?"
There's one thing he can do. Cards are thrown out - and one of them sticks to her.
"What the hell? Get this gaudy thing off me!" She protests, and tries to peel it off - and then, Piggytron's legs retract, making it look very much like a giant bowling ball. And it rolls like one, too, at high speeds - straight for her.
"Shit!" Shinobu shouts. She races to get out of the way and Lachesis moves to intervene, measuring rod crossed in front of her protectively. But it smashes through her with some effort, and continues to slam into Shinobu, throwing her to the ground. With a grunt of effort she hauls herself to her feet, using her staff as support. More healing gets sent her way courtesy of Joker, who receives a grateful nod.
"Thanks." She offers him. She looks up, though. The Phantoms' biker has picked up Myunghon - and it seems like the two of them have a plan.
...Honestly, it's pretty clever. The best thing she can do right now is try to help them capitalize on it.
"Hope you don't mind if I hop in on the violence party. Don't want to be left out of the fun... this asshole has it coming." Shinobu comments, as Shinjiro calls out to Mio. "Lachesis, good for another go?"
At her call, the Apportioner returns. She raises her staff and slams it into the ground, sending shockwaves racing through the floor toward Piggytron.
...And Shinobu takes advantage of this, too. The force created by the shockwaves propels her, sending her upward.
Lachesis traces a trail across the measuring rod, fixating on Piggytron. It's fate has already been decided. Lachesis races forward, lashing out with her rod - and then reappears next to Shinobu. She spins, catching Shinobu in mid-air. Shinobu lands on the rod feet-first and is swung toward Piggytron foot-first in a drop kick before slamming her staff down with the momentum of her fall.
<Pose Tracker> Julian Marlowe has posed.
The opposing Shadow dealt with in short order, Vesper sheathes his... umbrella-sword, which appears to be a thing now. Will wonders never cease. Adjusting his tie, he is about to deliver his own quip to the yakuza boss - when the giant robot seems to... reconfigure itself, into a very round shape.
"What on earth?!" is the only thing he manages to get out before Kaneshiro gets the ball rolling, literally. He never would have believed something that large would be able to move that fast, but the proof is in the fact that he gets bowled right over by it before he can move. Skidding across the floor for some distance following that impact, he is quick to sit up again, but evidently quite dazed, going by the way he's holding his head.
"D-damnation," he sputters, shaking his head in an attempt to stop the world from spinning almost as much as that robot somehow managed to do. He can't just keep sitting there, he needs to recover, and quick. He won't be a liability like this. He made a vow, and he's going to see it through.
Gathering his resolve helps him to recover his wits, and Yukari aids him with healing once more, helping him get back to his feet. He looks around to quickly take stock of the situation... in the process, catching a glimpse of Joker summoning a different Persona than before. So, it's true then. He wasn't mistaken when he'd seen that before. There are indisputably some who have the power to summon multiple Personas - among the group from Gekkoukan as well. What a fascinating mystery, to add on top of the others.
It's Queen and Myunghon's plan to deal with this new development that quickly earns all his attention, however. A marvelous display of impromptu teamwork, prompting a hearty laugh from the Supernatural Investigator. "It seems you wrote a check you were unable to cash, Kaneshiro-san!"
And now that it's been driven into a corner... what better way to strike at a giant ball-shaped object than a giant bat? With a wave of his arm, he commands his Persona, "Raffles, you're up! Make this a Six!" With the cricket equivalent of a Home Run invoked, Raffles swings its bat with full force.
AS: Persona! Julian Marlowe has used the Strike skill Skull Cracker on Junya Kaneshiro! ARCANA: Defense: Julian Marlowe gains 1 Limit!
AS: Shinobu Shimizu spends Limit on Exploit! Shinobu Shimizu can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Persona! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Strike skill Swift Strike on Junya Kaneshiro! 3 Hits! AS: So-young Park: Psych removed! AS: So-young Park regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
<Pose Tracker> Akari Hoshi has posed.
There's nothing quasi- about Ixquic's support for the Phantom Thieves! She's allowed to be a fan. A phan, even. Not only are they the coolest things that have happened in Japan in a long time, they're *also* warriors of justice.
Just like her.
And one of them addresses her. She heard her name before, too: Panther. Ixquic bursts into a bright beaming grin. "Let's! I'll work with you, Panther!" Ixquic promises. She *almost* bursts out with a request for an autograph, but is this really the time...?
Wait no she's absolutely going to do that.
"...can I have an autograph after?" Ixquic asks, quietly. "Please? It doesn't have to be a fancy one!" She will treasure it forever (if she gets it) (you never know unless you try!)
"You - villain!" It's one of Ixquic's strongest curses, not deployed without intent, and she's very deliberate in using it against Kaneshiro now as she defends Myunghon. "You think you're so powerful and important! But all you have is money. Nobody cares about you. They only care about your cash, or your power."
"So I'll take away your power, and then you'll have nothing!" Ixquic draws herself up to her full height - she's pretty tall for her age, with the kind of lanky build that suggests a recent growth spurt. She lacks bulk, but she still swings that (golden) sword around like it was weightless. "But me... I'll always have my dream! You can't take that away from me, and I'm never going to give it up. Never!"
Even if Yukari will not thank Magical Warrior Ixquic, she'll still thank regular ol' Ixquic, which is enough for her. "Let's fight together!" she calls back to Yukari. "Someone like this... you can't just let him do whatever he wants! To stomp over - wait, no, to roll over..."
Ixquic looks at Piggytron in confusion as it begins to roll. Not disbelief - Ixquic *believes*, it is both her biggest asset and her greatest flaw. But confusion.
"Uh oh," Ixquic says, and starts running.
The ball is mostly not aimed at her, or at least not *primarily* aimed at her, but does it have to be? It slams into her as she tries to sprint ahead of it, rolls *over* her -
Ixquic is now on the other side of the Piggytron, hanging on for dear life and feeling very, very squashed. "Aaah!" she yells, before: "QUIXOTE!"
Myunghon didn't make the road for Quixote, but that's okay: Ixquic charts her own path. Quixote charges after the sphere, lowering her lance as she does; as Quixote picks up speed, the motorcycle-centaur Persona begins to be limned by a halo of sheer force, and when she drives the lance in -
Well. Ixquic is hoping she punches RIGHT THROUGH. Because as soon as she does, Quixote releases the lance, draws her sword and slashes, a shearing blow to turn the puncture into a carved-open gap. Coincidentally, she does this right beneath Ixquic's feet, so she can have something to dig into instead of hanging on and being about an instant from falling at all times.
AS: Tandem! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Strike skill Measured Fate on Junya Kaneshiro! 3 Hits! AS: Shinobu Shimizu: Haze removed! AS: Persona! Akari Hoshi has used the Pierce skill Giantslayer Lance on Junya Kaneshiro! ARCANA: Pressure: Akari Hoshi gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Akari Hoshi has used the Slash skill Wild Slash on Junya Kaneshiro! AS: Block Best! Junya Kaneshiro takes 27 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Swift Strike. AS: Block Neutral! Junya Kaneshiro takes 30 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Swift Strike. AS: Block Best! Junya Kaneshiro takes 27 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Swift Strike. AS: Block Best! Junya Kaneshiro takes 55 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Measured Fate.
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
Fox affords Queen a sharp nod as she agrees with him, helping her to her feet before moving off to engage Piggytron.
===
The gold card sticking to his outfit is worth a moment's alarm (and private disgust at how it ruins the colour coordination of his Phantom guise) - but only a moment, because much more important and threatening is Piggytron retracting its limbs and pinballing around the vault chamber. Fox tries his best to dive to the side of its charge...
... to say it goes poorly would be an understatement - but he's still conscious. Still in the fight.
Grip tightening around the grip of his sword, Fox pushes himself upright, coughing as he thumps on his chest and wiping blood from his lips. The soothing light falling on him from Joker's changed Persona helps him pull himself all the way back to standing - in time to see the Piggytron get redirected by a masterful display of maneuvering from Queen and Merry so that it smashes into the wall.
He needs no further cue to act, as his mask blazes bright once more and Goemon takes shape again behind him. Rushing forwards, he and his Persona unleash a flurry of vicious slashes aimed to carve the death machine apart.
AS: Block Worst! Junya Kaneshiro takes 83 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Measured Fate. Critical Hit! AS: Block Neutral! Junya Kaneshiro takes 60 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Measured Fate. AS: Junya Kaneshiro is unable to continue fighting! AS: Tandem! Yusuke Kitagawa has used the Slash skill Blade and Brush on Junya Kaneshiro! 3 Hits! AS: Yusuke Kitagawa: Bind removed! AS: Block Best! Junya Kaneshiro takes 56 Strike damage from Julian Marlowe's Skull Cracker. AS: Junya Kaneshiro is unable to continue fighting! AS: Block Worst! Junya Kaneshiro takes 130 Pierce damage from Akari Hoshi's Giantslayer Lance . Block Pierce! AS: Junya Kaneshiro is unable to continue fighting! AS: Block Best! Junya Kaneshiro takes 104 Slash damage from Akari Hoshi's Wild Slash. AS: Junya Kaneshiro is unable to continue fighting! <Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
"You set him up. I'll knock him down. Now hold on tight!"
The piggytron is off balance, but Myunghon's right. It won't be enough. Fortunately...
The road stretches upwards before them, and a manic grin appears on Queen's face. "I like it!" She shouts, and puts Johanna to full throttle, her exhausts flaring with nuclear flame leaving a scorching path in the sky just above Kudlak's road as the path exists for long enough for Johanna to reach the peak of the wall, the top of Kudlak's cognitive cloak. At the height of darkness, Queen pops a wheelie, doing a one eighty as she does so to face back towards Kaneshiro and the Piggytron.
"Hey, Kaneshiro!" She yells, Johanna somehow holding steady as the engine grows louder and the flames grow brighter and brighter, blue, green and white flaring in the sky. Even up here, So-young's winds reaching even up here and making those fires flare even brighter.
"Are you ready? To feel what it is to lose everything, and find yourself back below the gutter, so deep you'll never crawl out?" Another roar, another gout of flames. "Are you ready to receive the weight and anger of every life you've ruined?" Another, even louder, even brighter, even hotter. A heat haze is enveloping Queen, Merry and Johanna. But in the darkness, behind the steel mask, Queen's eyes flash red, with a look of utter disgust.
"It's time to face all the Justice you've escaped! JOHANNA! FULL THROTTLE!"
And Johanna bursts downwards, envoloped in nuclear flame directly towards Kaneshiro and his Piggytron. The flames seem to only drive it faster, forming a blazing wall in front of them, as the motorcycle persona ignores the rules of the real world to go faster than terminal velocity, without it impacting the bike or it's riders, protected by Makoto's rage, as she burns down toward Kaneshiro.
"AND KEEP MY SISTER OUT OF YOUR SHIT EATING MOUTH!"
And on the moment of impact on that unbalanced pig, a nuclear explosion goes off, pushing all the momentum, all the force, all the power into the Piggytron and Kaneshiro, perhaps hot enough to set the metal burning.
Who feels like pork chahsu tonight?
Johanna stands there, in a ring of rapidly cooling molten metal flooring, engines dimming, as the flames fade away, Makoto glaring at whatever remains of their combined power.
JUSTICE HAS PREVAILED.
AS: Junya Kaneshiro has set a trigger! AS: Myunghon Yeo and Makoto Niijima set off Junya Kaneshiro's trigger! 1838 damage! AS: Makoto Niijima spends Limit on Psych! AS: Tandem! Makoto Niijima has used the Fire skill Full Throttle on Junya Kaneshiro! AS: Makoto Niijima: Psych and Spd_Up removed! AS: Block Worst! Junya Kaneshiro takes 44 Slash damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Blade and Brush. Critical Hit! AS: Junya Kaneshiro is unable to continue fighting! AS: Block Worst! Junya Kaneshiro takes 44 Slash damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Blade and Brush. Critical Hit! AS: Junya Kaneshiro is unable to continue fighting! AS: Block Worst! Junya Kaneshiro takes 25 Slash damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Blade and Brush. AS: Junya Kaneshiro is unable to continue fighting! AS: Block Worst! Junya Kaneshiro takes 92 Fire damage from Makoto Niijima's Full Throttle. AS: Junya Kaneshiro is unable to continue fighting!
<Pose Tracker> Junya Kaneshiro has posed.
"AHAHAHAA!"
Kaneshiro roars with laughter as Piggytron rolls forward, through their numbers, and chases after Makoto and Myunghon, now both on Johanna. "Make it convenient for me, why don't you!?"
Myunghon summons forth Kudlak.
The Cognitive Coat shoots out so much shadow, gripping the legs and broken armor of the Piggytron -- and it jerks to one side, just starting to tip. "What--what the fuck are you--"
The strands of the Cognitive Coat stretch taut, as the Piggytron rampages forth.
"Shit--!" Kaneshiro shouts, as the pipe stabs into the Piggytron's battered armor, as it wobbles sharply to one side. Then, Skull sends forth his Persona -- and lightning shoots into one of the cameras on the Piggytron. It shatters apart in a burst of glass and sparks.
Then Shinjiro rushes in, sending forth Castor. The Persona slams into Piggytron's side -- the armor explodes around the impact zone, and one of the legs jerks out to the side.
"Shut the fuck up!" Kaneshiro shouts at Shinjiro. "I'll kill you!"
Io's winds slam into Piggytron, which is already unstable -- it wobbles sharply to one side. Kaneshiro shakes his head, sharply. "Like hell! You won't lay a finger on me!" he shouts back at Yukari. Then he shouts with surprise; Milady's wave of electricity rips through Piggytron, and one of his monitors explodes in a shower of glass and sparks.
"Shit!"
And this does in fact send Piggytron's fat butt flying at Samson. Samson's pillar swings and collides with the armor, which buckles around it -- and sends it flying away. Samson sends it flying, in fact, towards the blast of flame from Carmen.
Kaneshiro doesn't answer Ann or Mio -- or rather, he does. By screaming. Which, really, counts!
"What the hell do you know!?" he finally manages to snap, as Piggytron comes to a screeching stop, legs sending sparks flying up as it scrapes over the floor. Badb covers Umie, prompting him to call out in wordless shock -- as Umie's shoge slams into the Piggytron's armor, which cracks.
hen So-young has Icarus sends forth the last of the tornado that buoyed the Phantoms a moment before, and it smashes into the battered armor of the Piggytron; it shreds pieces of the armor off it, sending them smashing into the walls of the vault. And, driven into that corner...
Raffles strikes hard into the Piggytron, causing the armor to crumple and smash, before the rolling ball of a robot bounces backward. And gets rammed into by Quixote, who drives his lance into the armor plates -- and shreds several of them off.
"Damn you...!" Kaneshiro shouts. Fox leaps in as he shouts -- and then his sword carves through more of the armor, even as it comes rolling past him. "You're nothing! NONE OF YOU ARE!"
Shinobu and Lachesis rush in again. The measuring rod strikes out, slamming into it -- and Shinobu comes down in that drop kick, thrown by her Persona. The armor buckles -- and the strands of the Cognitive Coat snap tight in that moment.
"No! I'll--"
It proves to be the pivotal one. Before Kaneshiro can send it into reverse, Makoto calls out. Kaneshiro screams in response, as Johanna -- with Queen and Myunghon aboard -- rush forth across Piggytron. Nuclear fire explodes across it, blowing off plates of armor. An eye hurls away here -- an ear slams into the ceiling -- a leg smashes into a nearby wall.
"Fuck, fuck, FUCK!" Kaneshiro cries out, as Johanna skids to a stop.
<Pose Tracker> Junya Kaneshiro has posed.
The Piggytron slams into another wall as a half-strewn apart wreck, smoke and flames rising from it. The hatch on top of it it pops open. Kaneshiro leaps out -- and violet and black light explode off him. His eyes shift, turning into crimson, multifaceted bug-like eyes; a pair of fly-like wings appear on his back and flutter, lifting him up.
"I'll kill you all!" he shouts. "You have this many people!? I BOUGHT more! Right, boys!?"
He looks up at the holes in the room, near the top, where his Shadow army waits -- with guns and knives and bats all drawn. Kaneshiro grins a too-wide grin. "All I gotta do is..."
He throws his arms wide. "MAKE IT RAIN!"
But when he throws his arms wide, it is only a measly two golden coins that fall out. They land, with a clatter -- one rattling at Joker's feet, the other at Vesper's. None reach his men.
And they begin to puff away, into so much shadowy smoke. "No--" Kaneshiro cries out. "No, no, no, NO!"
He sinks down to the ground. He lands directly before Myunghon and Queen. For a moment, he stares -- defiant -- and then he slumps.
Behind him, Piggytron finally explodes -- fire and smoke shooting up, as armor plates and damaged machinery fall down.
Kaneshiro falls to his knees. Light flickers off him. As it does, his wings vanish -- his eyes become human again, with pale golden eyes. He stares forward, before he looks up, weakly, at Queen.
"S-Spare me..." he cries out. "Spare me! I'll--I'll give you anything!"
He looks at Myunghon, then. "C-C'mon! You know how hard it is! You're Korean, for fuck's sake!" he says. "I'll--I'll make sure the Cardboard Dragon stays yours. I'll leave Hirasaka alone! Just..."
He actually wails, falling before them on his knees. "Don't kill me. I'm pathetic... I'm nothing! I'm nothing at all!"
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
BGM: https://youtu.be/LVkZWcs_-CI?si=NemgjYosR2UBH1f9&t=143
As Kaneshiro speaks, Queen steps off Johanna who continues to exist behind her as long as Myunghon is still atop her. She keeps advancing on the disgusting fly, looking down on him.
Ain't it a shame
Like he's scum.
I'm not a figment
Like he's something disgusting that she needs to scrape off her boot.
Of your ailing old mind
Like he's more worthless than the gutter trash he denigrated.
I'll give you anything!
That seems to spark something Queen, and she leans down and grabs Kaneshiro by the lapels, hauling him up to her eye level despite his massive size advantage on her.
I'm just as real as, I'm just as dangerous
"As far as I can tell, the only thing you have left to give is your life."
As you, so know you'll find
A dark, violent rage runs through her. It would be so easy. She could do it quickly, violently. End him. Stop him ever hurting anyone else. It would send a message to his gang too.
Gangs like the one that took her father from her. That cause so much trouble for her sister. That hurt her students. That were going to make her sell her body, like they have countless others.
She could just rip off his arms, like she promised, or start with his disgusting, fly like eyes.
But would that be justice, or simply vengeance?
Makoto then drops Kaneshiro, and kicks him toward the wall.
"The Phantoms don't kill." She says, as much of a reminder to herself as it is to anyone else. That's not what they do. They're better than that. They're better than their targets. That's what makes them Phantom Thieves, and not violent thugs.
"You're going to confess to everything you've done, everything you were going to do, hand over everything about your victims and your underlings to the police. You're going to give back everything you took." Her voice is cold, angry and full of hate. "And you'll find some way to make amends for the people your actions have killed to their families. I'm sure they have conditions too," she says, nodding to Myunghon. "Then you'll spend the rest in jail, where you belong. Understood?"
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
Even if it's not a good matchup, all you have to do... is make it a -good- matchup, Mio! Such is the case when she finds a way with Shinjiro snapping her out of it. Myunghon nearly misses Shinjiro's nice quip -- nearly, but they're going to tease him about it next time, because between Aki's attempt at slam poetry and this, they clearly see the ways in which he and Aki are peas in a pod.
"Excellent, Shinjiro-ssi, Kazama-kun!" Myunghon calls for the both of them. Myunghon can't help but note So-young trying to work someone through what it means to panic, though, wondering if So-young could be a good therapist... ...no, they're a theraMIN, not a theraMAX. They don't share this joke that their brain autocompleted, because their sister would bully them relentlessly about it.
Also don't read anything into it, So-young!! Myunghon's just used to taking 'riding on their coattails' extremely seriously. She's riling up the Phantoms in her own way, and Myunghon can't help but think she feels like if she just took a left and stumbled upon different people, she, too, could've been one of them. There's just -- this *spark* in her that makes them convinced that they've got the Will of Rebellion in them, even if it might not actually turn out to be the case. (It isn't the case, but, you can have rebellion in your heart even if you don't have the proper nouns.)
Myunghon hears Shinobu's call of thanks, and the cheekiness in her voice as she asks if they mind her joining the violence party. "The sun isn't even close to rising, Shinobu-ssi. We've got rounds of it to go!" Myunghon calls, absolutely smitten by the fervour of their teamwork.
Akari comes to Myunghon's defence-- and they can't help but find their choice of curse appealing. She has a salient point too -- to be moneyed is to be cursed at people's interest in you only being about your money or power. But Ixquic's drawing on all her power, and affirms -- that she'll always have that dream.
... so many youths, Hirasaka or otherwise, are trying to pursue their dreams. But -- Myunghon would've been happy if Ixquic drove Quixote up their Cognitive road as well. Perhaps that can be fuel for a dramatic dual tech next time!!
Myunghon finds themself a bit dizzy from sheer expenditure of their energy reserves, but even they can't help but have a full-on grin as they push all their power to keep that road steady as Johanna and Queen both *ROAR* up the dark road, trails of nuclear flame in her wake. And at the top of the road? The engine just roars louder, louder, the flames going hotter, blinding, almost, as Queen taunts and calls for Kaneshiro-- if they weren't so excited about it, they're convinced their bandages might catch fire with how hazy their vision is getting.
But excited they are, as Johanna delivers nuclear judgement at Full Throttle, Myunghon protected by the sheer power of Makoto's rage, blazing wall erupting as they burn down towards the Ruler of this twisted Palace. Makoto delivering the full weight of judgement for all Junya Kaneshiro's crimes, as a judge would deliver her verdict... or in Makoto's case -- how a queen would deliver a solemn decree of justice.
Justice has Prevailed.
"I am in awe," Myunghon expresses with no small amount of respect and admiration. "Thank you. Not just for me -- but for all in Hirasaka who can't be here to defend themselves, Queen."
The combined weight of all their assaults finally scraps the Piggytron, eyes popping off and hitting the ceiling and bits of its armour going ever which way. It's a wreck, and Kaneshiro leaps out, violet and black light exploding off off him. His eyes shifting, Myunghon watches with some interest and disgust as his eyes mutate into bug-like eyes. It's like he's a... fly.
He's still not done. He brought more -- a whole Shadow army awaits. This is bad. But... but...? All he has is a measly two golden coins left. His money ran out. And with it... Myunghon glances, as the Shadowy figures don't make even the slightest move to d
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
He's still not done. He brought more -- a whole Shadow army awaits. This is bad. But... but...? All he has is a measly two golden coins left. His money ran out. And with it... Myunghon glances, as the Shadowy figures don't make even the slightest move to defend him. A relationship that only was ever built on the fragile sands of riches. The Piggytron explodes, and he switches to begging. At Queen. At themself.
He has the audacity to bring up their ethnicity. There's a dangerous light that gleams in their singular eye, their smile a little wrong as their ribbon-like tendrils rise up again. Makoto grabs him by the lapels, and unlike Makoto's rough, brutal motions, Myunghon is genteel, smooth, as one of them coaxes his chin up slightly, as if to accent Queen having her hands on him.
They lean in close. Their voice is luxurious and sweet. Yet poisonous.
Sadistic.
"You don't know what being Zainichi is like. It is just a slur to you, a rock you throw without thought, not caring about where it lands or whose head it makes bleed. I made the Great Surrender happen, as you know, Kaneshiro. Do you want to truly know how *hard* it can be to be one, in your style?"
That tendril goes a little more taut.
"I'll make you *so* toxic no predatory moneylender will ever want to associate with you. You'll be *so* foul no leech of a rental agency will land you a home, even if you beg. Social safety nets will *find* excuses to let you fall through them. Our fetid health systems will turn their nose up and consider you a liability. Yet you'll still have debts crawling like bugs up to your eyesockets, and the sharks will take fingernails... then fingers... then..."
Then ... then they retract that tendril, as light returns to their eye.
"... but I refuse to do it. These are the actions that make one... No Longer Human. This is not Hirasaka's way, either." They turn their head towards Queen, who finds her own resolve -- that it wouldn't be justice, just vengeance. Because Justice has already Prevailed. They look towards the Phantom Thieves. Towards Joker, hoping that he's regained his footing -- they were concerned at how close it got earlier.
"This time, we'll do it..." Myunghon clicks their finger and points towards them all. Makoto's already laying the terms out clear and cold-cut for him. No need to repeat themself. "... the Phantoms' way."
The One in the Black Mask has arrived from Rengedai - Main.
<Pose Tracker> The One in the Black Mask has posed.
A silhouette moves at a sedate pace from security room to security room of the bank, the guards puddles of ichor on the floor. Wanting, no rather /needing/ to see everything.
It watches the Phantom Thieves of Heart, as that Cat Shadow delights in the Treasure, it notes the form it takes, as the cameras shift angle... and then there's a bus.
The cameras shift angle, and it watches each of them in turn load it up on the back of that strange bus with tail and eyes.
A hand lifts, in it, a calling card from Shibuya, the same they left scattered everywhere. The silhouette ruminates upon it - and them.
And then it is gone, leaving the dark room of flickering monitors to it's fate. In reality, it'd be a crime scene. Here, it is merely a foregone conclusion.
...
...
...
The Phantoms don't kill, Queen had said. Nor does the group that Rumormonger Merry brought with them from Hirasaka, Merry themselves believes that to do it makes them no longer human but does that really account for everybody? Well, they would certainly believe so.
His heights are lofty, if the whole vault was a stage, then their perch was the VIP box. A view that treats the entire spectacle as if it were a night at the theater. Their resonance, utterly undetectable.
Until it isn't. And Shadow Kaneshiro is the first to see him, while he's in the midst of 'spilling the beans' and right as he begins to fade. The one in the Black Mask is standing right up there, with a gun pointed directly at him, with his finger already on the trigger.
Kaneshiro knows that gun, he's had it pointed at the back of his neck enough times, the feel of cold gunmetal, a whisper in his ear. He knows, no matter what heights you climb, there's always someone who can put you back there in this place, of feeling pathetic and small.
His other hand raising a finger, waggling from side to side as if to chide him for his loose lips with a feeling like 'Tsk tsk'. Right as he finger exerts more pressure and the trigger is pulled.
Thwip
A bullet silenced by a suppressor strikes the place where his head would have been, because he started fading away into that golden light, a hole in the floor marking proof of the fear that always kept him up. That one day, he would end him.
Follow the bullet's trajectory up to that high angle and you'll see him standing on a pipe, one among many fading into a dark shaft that must lead into the bowels of the 'bank'. A helmed visage, with a glint of red lenses, and sharp avian beak. Black studded belts and clawed gauntlets, one of which is holding a gun with a silencer, in a smoky haze. His Persona isn't out, and yet the feeling to those sensitive enough is overwhelming.
DangerDangerDangerDANGER
It is not the sickening wrongness of the Joker Killer and the Mark, the alien heartbeat that is palpable through the walls of reality. The presence of something else beyond the veil. It is instead something that feels more human...
... and simultaneously less so from the terrible hatred its presence radiates, not merely predator and prey, but the bloodlust of someone who enjoys killing. Enjoys toying with their kills.
The figure looks then at the Phantom Thieves in particular until his eyes find Joker, their leader and land there as if their actions just stole his kill from him.
And even from afar, one might swear they see the curve of a smirk in what little of his face they can actually see, not so much anger but the cold ruthless calculus of substitution. You stole his kill...?
See you soon.
... You'll take their place.
And then, his arm drops to his side, and turns and his presence just vanishes, as if he were never there to begin with, erasing even the lingering scent of gunsmoke.
But the bullet intended for Kaneshiro's head remains in the vault floor.
<Pose Tracker> Junya Kaneshiro has posed.
Junya Kaneshiro slams into the wall with a crunch, at Makoto's quick. He wheezes, gasping, and looks up at her. At Queen, with wide and terrified eyes. There is a moment, though, where he falters. Where he starts to protest.
But Myunghon leans in, and there s danger in their voice. He feels the tightening of that tendril of their Cognitive Coat.
And when it pulls back, he sags before their mercy and their ideals. "I... I'll repent. I'm--I'm sorry. My whole life... I've been nothing but a monster."
His head hangs, his once-prepared hair stringy and hanging in front of his face. "I'll confess."
But then Kaneshiro hears something. He looks back, to see the man in the Black Mask, with a familiar gun pointed at him. His eyes widen -- and then there's the crack-boom of his gun firing. Kaneshiro screams, his eyes squeezing shut.
But he vanishes -- and the bullet passes through where he was. It slams harmlessly into the ground, sparks flying.
The Black Mask vanishes a little after Kaneshiro's Shadow -- to whatever confession the change of heart has wrought from him.
Then, the Palace rumbles. It trembles. It begins to quake. And this, indeed, is known too -- though perhaps only to the Phantom Thieves. When the Treasure is stolen...
...the Palace begins to fall apart. The vault room's floor begins to rip in half -- and one of the walls tears open, revealing the darkened sky of Shibuya in the Metaverse.
It's high time to go!
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
Skull breaths heavily, looking over at Noir with a grin. The look makes me shudder a little but the adrenaline makes him mostly keep his cool. "The hell do you think I'm doin'. I can multitask. Chill." He swings his pipe with one arm, letting the light gleam off it threateningly before pointing it toward the Piggytron.
"Hey Kaneshiro! Open the hell up! I gotta make a withdrawl. 'ey!"
Then the Piggytron goes boom and Kaneshiro comes out and turns into a bawling mess after trying somethings. Skull lowers his pipe and just leans on it. "Well, well. Looks like the money train is derailed at the station, eh? 'Ey Joker. You think we oughta roast this guy? I bet he'd squeal real good." Skull says, not really meaning any of it but wants to twist the metaphorical knife to scare this guy. But he's really begging and that's starting to make this feel like it's not really worth it. "Damn right you're nothin'...Geez man, come on. You're embarrassin'." Skull almost feels sorry for the guy. Almost.
But then a lot happens and it's time to go. Wake up, get up, get out of there!
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
The healing power of Media falls over Joker, but it feels far more effective than it should. A look over at Yukari quickly explains why: she doubled up on the healing, not just on him but on Queen, Panther and Vesper. Yukari may have looked at him and thought he was cool (was that before or after getting run over by a pig?), but here, he shows her something else: a sincere smile.
The extra healing really does help with that.
"Thank you," he tells her. His gaze travels to Umie and Shinobu, who offer him their own gratitude. "And you're welcome."
It's just as well Umie doesn't try again to ask him about his Persona-switching abilities. Now is not the time.
He glances past them at Panther and Ixquic; the latter seems to all but sparkle at the former as she encourages her to work together. Joker's smile broadens. Leave it to Panther to take good care of their phans.
And leave it to Queen--with Merry's help--to absolutely wreck Piggytron, the two of them ramping up a road of darkness to get the air necessary to bash clean into the piggy bank with an explosion of nuclear fire, the epitome of Queen's rage. That gets the biggest, toothiest grin of all.
He laughs a boisterous 'fwahahaha!' at So-young's challenge, clearly more amused than anything. "Is that your idea of encouragement? Sadly, it'll take you a hundred years before you could steal anything from us!" he banters, taking on that more bombastic personality that Umie saw the other night during the Dark Hour, as he tucks his hands into his pockets.
But while Piggytron is down, Kaneshiro's insisting on not losing gracefully. Joker turns a disdainful look his way as he transforms into a fly, of all things. But money can't keep loyalty once it runs out, and when that golden coin clatters at his feet... he turns his boot over it and crushes it until it's nothing but shadow-smoke. Shadow Kaneshiro's groveling doesn't get him any sympathy at all.
That's why Joker smirks at Skull. "Hmmm... I wonder?" But no. It's Queen's turn. He will remember what she said about her sister, but for right now, he says nothing. She deserves to have the final word here. And for all her fury, for all that she hasn't been part of the team for that long comparatively speaking, for all that she pulls Shadow Kaneshiro up and glares at him like she's going to take him apart piece by piece--
The Phantom Thieves don't kill.
--he knows she understands their ideals. He gives her only a slight nod.
As Queen coldly tells Shadow Kaneshiro what he must do, Joker looks to Merry, providing the velvet (coat) to Queen's steel (knuckles). They might say all the things they could do, and he watches them carefully for a number of reasons... but ultimately, they say they won't, and that they'll let The Phantoms handle this. He gives them a slow nod and a slight smile. Shadow Kaneshiro agrees to repent and make amends, and that seems like that... but then there is
dAnGEr
Joker whirls around towards the source of that malevolent, hateful Resonance. "What--?!" Shadow Madarame had asked about if that 'one in the black mask' was with them, and they'd dismissed his words as a loser's last attempt at subterfuge--but there it is, plain as night: someone in a black mask.
They pull the trigger.
"No--!" But, thank god, Shadow Kaneshiro had already been returning to his other self, and is gone by the time the bullet passes through where he was. Joker breathes out a sigh of relief, but snaps back around to--
They're gone.
"..."
His heart is hammering in his chest. Who the hell was that...? This overwhelming dread they left behind... and with his Third Eye, gifted to him by Igor, Joker is sure he saw a smirk under that jagged helmet-mask...
...a smirk that promises death to them instead, now that their intended prey is gone.
For a second or two, Joker's breath stalls in his throat.
Then oh yet that's the Palace rumbling and "Go, go, go!" he barks, splaying a red-gloved hand to everyone else. "The Palace is coming down! Run for the exit!!"
Then he sweeps his arm overhead to his fellow Phantoms over to the Monabus and bolts over to do the same. It's not nearly big enough to give anyone else a ride, especially with the Treasure loaded on, but at least everyone has fair warning.
It'll be a mad sprint to the end, but they'll all make it.
..........Probably.
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
The Piggytron explodes spectacularly. Fox has to fight the urge to bring his hands up to frame the moment, but he'll capture it in his mind's eye nevertheless. Kaneshiro stumbles out of the wreckage, Shadow-body morphing into something more true to his self as, the power of money finally exhausted, he collapses and begs for their mercy. Pitiful.
"You cannot escape the filth that is your nature," Fox says, coldly, as Queen and Myunghon corner their foe. He sees the darkness surging up within Queen, just as it did for him at the end of their confrontation with Madarame, and he almost calls out to her - but just as he did, she masters it - though not without another strike at the Shadow. Fox relaxes, nodding in approval as Queen makes her demands.
Kaneshiro swears to repent, and begins fading into golden light -
- a gunshot rings out -
Fox whirls, an assault rifle appearing in his hands as he aims up towards their onlooker's vantage point. He aims, and sights - and just for a second meets that masked crimson gaze as it sweeps uncaringly across him towards their leader.
Dread floods his body. All the cathartic confidence of his Will of Rebellion deserts him, and he freezes for once, hands shaking on the gun. It only lasts for a moment, yet it feels like an eternity -
- and then the Black-Masked Man is gone, and before Fox can even begin to process that the Palace begins to shake around them.
"The Cognition is collapsing!" He yells, for the benefit of those for whom this is their first toppling of a Palace Ruler. "We need to get out!" He follows Joker to the Monabus, choosing to grab on to the back and hold on for dear life.
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
...can I have an autograph after?
Panther, in the middle of a dramatic pose, knee raised and foot planted on rubble and arm draped over her upraised thigh, whip unspooled in her free hand and masked face decorated with a Dangerously Pleased Grin, suddenly pauses.
"Wait. What??"
And this is the FEARSOME FEMME FATALE (again) Panther -- sputtering in brief disbelief as all that cool mystique shatters in a wide-eyed instant.
"F-for real??"
It's not like Ann is -unused- to autographs. She's gotten a couple requests from her side job. ... They're usually the nicer requests she gets, honestly. But context is important. Someone asking a -Phantom Thief- for an -autograph-.
Are they -- really getting that popular??
... Ann isn't sure how to feel about that. But if nothing else, it's obviously important to Ixquic. She would normally be happy to -- she can't possibly say no to such an adorable request!
But...
"... Errr," she begins, uncertain how to phrase this as she scratches her cheek with a gloved finger. "That might be kinda difficult..."
For a lot of reasons. A big one, of course, being the simple fact that they can't stick around when there are CERTAIN PEOPLE (Yukari) who made it very clear last time they're just WAITING to grill the Phantom Thieves with a thousand prying questions (YUKARI).
... But also, when this fight is won - when, not if - and the Palace Ruler has been pacified, this whole space is going to...
"Um. Hey! How about this?" The whip disappears in a flash. And Ann extends her freed hand out Akari's way.
"You're doing seriously awesome out here, and I just bet we're run into each other again, right?" The masked cat burglar tilts her head, smile eye-shuttingly bright. "So, next time we meet, you'll be the proud owner of Panther's very first autograph!"
And she extends a pinky out to Akari in solemn offering.
"I -swear-."
An offering she would never ever dare break.
Of course, it's only after she's made this very cool and confident (she thinks it is, and that's what counts, darnit!!) offer, that she hears So-Young offer her empowering, goading words and--
"Pffb--wh-what?! S-since when were we keeping score, no fair!"
Ann squeaks
-indignantly-.
Oh, and she was building such great action hero cred--!!
But really, Ann can't help but be Ann. Which is why, as Queen comes screaming out bloody murder with Merry on board (IT'S THE COOLEST THING EVER RIGHT MYUNGHON), Panther is there, loyal teammate at the sidelines, literally bouncing with joy and pumping a fist into the air like the world's most fiery one-woman cheer squad.
"YEAH! YOU SHOW THAT PEST WHO'S BOSS, QUEEN! AND YOU TOO--" wait is it, she could've sworn someone said-- "M-MERRY?!"
oh god she hopes she got that right
"WOO!!"
It doesn't stop her sheer infectious enthusiasm, though, as Makoto makes that last - frightening! thrilling! frilling?! - declaration and between her and Myunghon, sends that Piggytron shattering like a fragile egg chucked against a wall in the most spectacular and dramatic fashion. Was that -- did they just--
"Dual tech!!"
Yeah. -Ann plays games-.
She only flinches a -little- at the disastrous collision -- but soon enough she's racing towards crash site, whip in hand. She's ready, as Kaneshiro crawls out. Braced, as he looks ready to call forth his armada of hired goons--!
"... uh."
Only to stare blankly as he produces exactly two (2) useless coins.
And rapidly, his great army vanishes like it was never there to begin with.
She stands. She stares. And she scowls.
"What did I say?" she asks, flatly.
What happens to the person who wants it all loses everything because of it?
"Time to find out, asshole."
That is the only thing she offers to him. After all, at this point, as he begs and pleads and wrings hands, as the fly in the ointment becomes the sniveling coward hiding behind a wall of gold he always is, seeking mercy he never gave the countless students whose lives he ruined, she knows--
-- this isn't her call to make, anymore.
Her gaze drifts towards Myunghon. Falls on Queen. Lingers.
She stood here at this threshold once before. And she knows, all she wanted to hear in that moment was one simple thing, and it wasn't people telling her no, or that she was better than this, or to doubt her self-restraint OR her anger--
"..."
It was always just to know.
She was the one in control of this moment.
Makoto comes to the decision Ann knew she would. Myunghon... paints a bleak and frightening picture, one that Ann doesn't even remotely wince from. Frankly, she thinks he's earned it. It's like she told Kamoshida: it's not mercy, sparing his life. People like them -deserve- to know the hurt and misery they put others through, because of who or what they were in their sick minds.
They deserve to live, experiencing the ruin they've wrought. It's just... they've found a much more efficient way of doing it.
So when Merry cedes the ultimate decision to them - to Queen...
Phantom Thieves don't kill.
... a small smile touches pink lips.
Ann steps forward as Kaneshiro makes his promise. As he feels the overbearing heaviness of his sins, weighed against their mercy.
She places a tentative hand on Makoto's shoulders.
"Hey," she says slowly. "Let's leave this bastard to stew." That smile becomes a grin.
"Ri"
thwip
"gh"
crack
"t"
DangerdangerDANGER
"?"
It all happens in what feels like an eyeblink. She barely feels the bullet slicing air just in front of her. She doesn't register its existence at all until it's a spiderline fracturing hole in the wall. Her grin is still fading from her lips even as her eyes widen with dawning realization.
Her features pale, her head turns--
just in time to feel HATE in her HEART for in a single second's glimpse of a Black Mask.
And it's gone.
"Wh-- what was THAT?! Wait--!"
The vault trembles. It's like the fracture of that bullet hole went through something load bearing, and now the entire world was coming apart at the seams. But she knows what this is by now.
"Crap! Crap crap crap CRAP! Guys! C'mon!"
She points at. Everyone. Every single person.
"You gotta run! Like, seriously! RUN!"
And with that?
She's -chugging- towards the Monabus with the emphatic pump of her arms.
"Let's goooooooooo!!"
Who...
Who -was- that?
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
Myunghon could perhaps be forgiven for feeling the high of the ride so much that the sudden TWIST in resonance feels like a proverbial knife to their side. Their reactions can't possibly be fast enough, however -- suddenly there's a figure in a Black Mask, standing right up there, a gun pointed directly at Shadow Kaneshiro.
"Wh--" Myunghon's moment of triumph suddenly melts entirely from their mind, as their thoughts suddenly scamper and desperately try to calculate. Who is this person? How were they able to walk up to a room of twenty-something Persona-Users -- amongst which there are no less than THREE Navigators of varying power, two of them who are right beside Shadow Kaneshiro?!
"Stop--!!" Myunghon's call feels like molasses, in tandem with how fast the moment is. And how understated the sound of that silenced gun is. Shadow Kaneshiro was already dissolving away into the Unconscious, having no more power over this Palace. Every single hair on their person is risen; they feel an extreme sense of danger from this person, another unknown variable. A bit of data calculus they can't solve. The worst possible outcome. Are they associated with the NWO, the Joker Killer?!
The feeling of danger is so sickeningly wrong they could just double and throw up, vision starting to double. But no -- it's not the wrongness of the Joker Killer. It's something...
H u M A n
The bloodlust is threatening to overwhelm them, that sensation that unlike Myunghon, they wouldn't hesitate to do exactly what they'd said just moments before. This is the crux of it, isn't it? To think that such actions are 'No Longer Human' is just looking away, Myunghon Yeo. All those sinister little things you described, the bloodlust and sheer exhiliration from the thrill of the kill that you sense from this person...
it's all human
But then the Palace starts to rumble and fall apart. The vault room floor begins to collapse. It's not gonna stay -- they have to get out of here. "Everyone, move! Go, go!" Myunghon calls desperately to their side, to team Cardboard Dragon, as they start to walk as well, but they're flagging, weak, having spent a great amount of energy from their Showtime-esque manouevre with Queen. There's a misstep and they start to drop on one of the collapsing floortiles--!
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"Do you... drag friends into Mementos often?" She asks Umie, as if surprised, "... Weird that that guy just happened to be there." As for the bus? Well Yukari just thinks the bus is super weird. It's like if you put cat ears and a tail on Mitsuru's Motorcycle.
...
No she'd execute them all if she suggested that.
So-Young notes it was panic, and it's better to accept it happened, "Well yeah but... that's..." Embarrassing? She doesn't quite say that, "... I'm working on it." She notes, it's just that she works on it while she's alone in her ROOM - not in front of everybody. That's mortirying.
Merry however cheers her, and Yukari actually gets... bashful!? "Uhhh - I - sure!" She's even blushing some, "...If you say so." It's kind of embarrassing to get cheered in public!? Now she's glad she never in fact joined the Cheer Club, she definitely had offers.
But it's also just difficult for her to believe she's strong. When all the evidence in the world tells her she's weak. After all, she keeps needing people to protect her again and again.
As the Beauty Thief says she returns the favor, she straightens up in surprise, then actually smiles at her, "... Thanks, I'll make sure we do." And it's a promise in her eyes.
Despite everything, whether they're weird bank robbers or Phantom Thieves of Hearts, she still doesn't want anyone to die. And she has to admit, the way they fight is actually kinda cool?
It reflects in her eyes, as Panther's flames 'roast that piggy'. Even as Ixquic tells them to fight together, and- "Let's finish th-" Pause, "Ask for her autograph after the fight! What are you even going to have her sign!?"
It's Merry and Queen that end it, in a combination of their coat joining to make a road, and Queen riding the road- "Whoa..." She takes a stance that feels sheepish, "That was... actually pretty cool."
Right as Kaneshiro summons his Shadows and- can't pay them, and then has the audacity to beg for his life as she approaches as they all do. "All out of money?" Yukari Takeba says softly, with a sort of menace, "What's left then, your sparkling personality?"
She knows what he actually has left. His life. It's the one thing she refuses to take from him, or anyone.
Let it be enough.
She looks in his multifaceted eyes, and says quietly, "You sicken me." She doesn't care if he feels weak, or small. That's what he did to her, huddling behind the bookshelves with Akari - that he could alter the course of her life as easily as breathing, and that there's absolutely nothing he could do about it.
So she doesn't care if it hurts to know how low he's truly fallen. It should.
She listens to Queen and finds they are perhaps shockingly on the same page. Merry though 'no longer human' - their eyes flit to them, as if considering those words. It's hard to say if she agrees or not. She herself can't agree with those who kill.
But does that really make someone inhuman? He agrees to confess at least, to spend his life in prison but... her brow furrows, "Wait but aren't you just-"
A Shadow?
She might have said that, like it mattered, like she didn't think that would actually change matters. He starts to fade, but - what does that even mean!?
Yukari isn't so sensitive, she only looks after she hears the sound of the bullet - like something out of a dramatic TV series, and looks up in alarm, "W-Who's that!?" She swallows... if they had to fight someone else but he leaves-
-she looks at the spot where Kaneshiro once was... "What even just... happened!?" Like she's still trying to make sense of all this, after all, she has no Shadow Neko Ja Nai to explain these things to her.
But then the Palace rumbles, trembles- "UH!? What's going on!?" Tartarus NEVER does this! At least, she's pretty sure it never does.
'The Palace is coming down! Run for the exit!'
"-WHY DID YOU ONLY SAY SOMETHING NOW!?" Yukari stays behind long enough to make sure everyone is up on their feet (SHE MAY SCRUFF IXQUIC IF SHE'S LINGERING), then she runs off at top speed with Merry and their crew.
"I hope the elevators are working-!" Then a sudden realization, "Wait this is like an earthquake, we can't take the elevators! What are we gonna do!?"
<Pose Tracker> Julian Marlowe has posed.
After Raffles vanishes following its final strike, Vesper plants down his umbrella and casually rests both hands on it. His part has been played - now to enjoy the end of the show, as Kaneshiro's intended victims have their say. He may only know what the yakuza boss had in store for one of them, but from what he caught the man himself saying, what he had been intending for 'Queen' couldn't have been any better. It's only fitting that they be the ones to tear down those ambitions.
He does lift his umbrella back up, when after all that, Kaneshiro still seems to be spoiling for a fight. However... he fails to make it rain. When the coin rolls to a stop in front of him, he briefly looks aside, seeking out Joker's eyes. Wondering what might be going through the Phantom Thieves's leader's head in this moment.
Then, he bends down, taking the coin into his hand. Studying it for a short moment, before shaking his head, musing, "In English, the word <cupidity>, avarice, sounds remarkably similar to <stupidity>, foolishness. I believe that's for a reason." He's still putting that coin in his pocket, though.
That leaves the question... what next? Seeing how pitiful this man is without money at his disposal hardly surprises him, but how will his victims react to his plea for mercy? He's not going to intervene, but he does hope that he won't be disappointed. Thankfully...
The Phantoms don't kill. This time, we'll do it the Phantoms' way.
A smile forms on Vesper's lips. That's right. That's the way it should be, in his opinion. He opens his mouth as if to speak--
Only to be interrupted by the sound of a gunshot. He whirls about, cursing under his breath at having failed to spot that presence earlier, and catches a glimpse of that black-masked stranger. His eyes narrow, tensing as he expects to have another fight on their hands... but the figure elects otherwise, vanishing without a trace.
"What the devil?" he questions aloud, with deliberate phrasing.
It appears there's no time to ponder what happened or follow up further on anything else, however, the Phantom Thieves confirming that this is indeed exactly what it seems like. Without another word, he makes himself scarce, soon vanishing from sight once more as abruptly as he appeared.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
As Kaneshiro goes doooooowwwwwwn, and Myunghon and Queen do their spectacular double-team technique, intimidate the shit out of him, and Mio also follows his tag...
Menace appears. Shinjiro's not a navigator but he still feels that killing intent, hackles raising as he becomes tense.
He doesn't move, though. He has more self-preservation than that. So when the Palace starts to collapse...
He's running. He's about to just bail, when he hears Myunghon fall and eat it. He might not be the first one to them, but whether someone else grabs them or not, he rushes to their side, unwilling to leave his fearless leader here alone.
"Myunghon! Good work, but come on!"
They might have 'eaten dogs', and it showed there... but they also aren't that person anymore. They indicated as much... and he believes as much.
"Park! Can your plane thing get us out of here?!" he calls to So-Young, trying to see if they can bail with a power of Icarus or something. Maybe soften their landing?
<Pose Tracker> Haru Okumura has posed.
"My, my," Haru smiles, as So-young challenges them. "It seems our presence is an encouraging thing indeed. I accept your challenge~" The attention is something she's not used to - isn't entirely sure she likes, especially since she hasn't really earned it just yet.
Well, Yukari isn't wrong that they're bank robbers. Just for today at least. But Haru's glad to hear her say that nobody's dying today, and trusts in their resolve to make that happen.
The Piggytron finally goes down, and while Kaneshiro tries to hire more goons, it seems he's run dry and resorts to begging on his knees. "Hehe... that's more like it." She still doesn't know how to feel about the pleasure she takes in downing a powerful enemy! But this is Makoto, and Myunghon's decision. Haru watches intently. Makoto could go for the kill here, but it wouldn't be the Phantom Thieves' justice. It wouldn't be Queen's justice. And it wouldn't be Makoto Nijima's justice.
The tension breaks in her as she hears Ann's remark - and then quickly re-emerges just as quickly with an undeniable presence. "Who...?" Haru's grip over her axe tightens. A Black Mask... despite her Persona revolving around guns, the sound of a gunshot immediately widens her eyes. Somehow she knows - that wasn't magical or just for show. Someone was going to die. And now they're all on their sights.
But that fear is replaced by a different fear - the shaking that marks a collapse. "D-do they all fall apart like this?" She tries to regain her composure. "Yes. Let's run!" She agrees. You can't have a bank heist without getting the hell out of there, and Mona's waiting for them.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
".... I mean, the alternative is to go alone, so~ if you need a tour, all you need to do is ask, Ta-ke-ba-san." Umie gives a cheeky grin at Yukari. "He wasn't just there, besides; he heard us."
That is the sound of a bullshit excuse for something Umie never even considered before.
------NOW-----
"... So he's back to the way he was before, in a way.... like that man in Mementos..." Umie stands back, reflecting on the two times she encountered that man in Mementos; first with that group with Tatsuya, and second, when she first met Joker.
Umie considers, presses a hand to her chin. Her frown is thoughtful. "I see... It's correcting an imbalance in the psyche... Like cutting a tumor. All growth of his self was contributing to this section of him... I doubt he'd ever be able to see past it."
Is that relief, in her voice? Or is she laughing because Joker's laughter can be that contagious when he gets like that?
'It seems so... Something like that'd never work on someone like you, right?'
'It can't work on a distorted soul. All that fear and panic over nothing.'
'But can you really be sure? Can you really trust anyone here? Can you even trust yourself?'
'You can't even use it if you wanted to, Umie-chan. So sleep well; you'll still be yourself tomorrow.'
In the shadow of Mai-chan's sweet words come the poison.
But is it really any better? It's still a part of them--
*thwip*
That's not the real reason her hand begins to shake, gripping the collar of her coat with tightening fingers.
".... ..... What is this..." Umie hisses, her eyes wide as they follow the trajectory of that bullet to that sniper.
This isn't the Mark, but she can't say that aloud. This is something different, another kind of heaviness that she wasn't aware of before. ".... _Who are you_?"
why does she hear delighted laughter
She saw Joker react; Myunghon is similarly pained. ".... So this is all new to you guys too? Not... reassuring, but--"
RUMBLERUMBLE
"Wait, _what_?!" Umie yells. "We have to *run now*?!" At least it's new to the Beauty Thief as well. "Anyone who can't run, get with someone who can!"
She knows she's wearing sneakers, but.... they're _discounted_.
Well, running has been shown to be a skill of Umie's... if Badb's at her side.
<Pose Tracker> Mio Kazama has posed.
For all of Mio's quirks, of which there are many, necessity has made the girl an excellent team-player. Whether it's her competitive hunger, her awareness, the easygoing nature still shining underneath so many layers of hurt and anger, she could really stand to sell herself short a bit less. Myunghon's observations are, as ever, keen. They're a better judge of character than she. The young lady clad in sable and silver remains perched atop a mound of ruin, arm swept across her form as one opening leads to another, to another, and almost two-dozen driven interlopers chain a non-stop juggle combo on Piggytron's fat ass.
And perhaps in this sense of shared struggle there is less of a bloodthirsty reason for the grin on her face, the spark in her eyes, the glee in her tone. Could it be all this time that one so deeply wronged and robbed needed a place to belong?
...
...
...
Silhouetted by the flames licking at the belly of the destroyed machine, Mio gazes at the wretched sight of a grown man bowing down and begging for clemency after betting long on his own short ability. Her form is black as night, a perfect match for the inky morass of her Persona, which stands behind her with both arms lowered by its side. Cords of steely, dreamlike muscle writhe and thump with her heartbeat. Pits of red stare out from her mask. A spiked mace sits on her shoulder, gloved fingers closed around the shaft. In this moment, her heart and the heart of Makoto Nijima beat with one shared purpose: vengeance.
kill him kill him kill him kill him kill him kill him
kill him kill him kill him kill him kill him kill him
It would be so easy while he's begging for his life. One good swing of mace or fist and his head would explode like a rotten----ping!
The thought is interrupted by the sudden plink of metal, a bullet striking the space where Kaneshiro had stood only moments prior. Mio has barely any points in visual calculus, and by the time her gaze has fallen on the empty void where the Black Mask once stood, there is nothing left but a trace of otherworldly malice that mirrors the yawning, abyssal hunger that clawed at the edges of Mio's mind moments prior. And then, the trembling rumble of a world beginning to shake itself apart.
Mio turns away from the wailing, would-be oyabun and stalks away towards her people with a flutter of her cloak-robe-hybrid and runs a hand over the sharp edge of her beaked, iron mask. It's beyond time to go. "Merry-san! Hold still!" her voice is more chipper and full of energy than she would have expected, given what just happened. Her gaze is already on the stumbling Myunghon, her purpose renewed: protect.
<Pose Tracker> Mio Kazama has posed.
"Samson, give me a ride."
The titanic phantom hefts Mio in its pitch-black hands and hucks her free of the collapsing epicentre, the young lady of billowing blacks flying in a low arc that deposits her next to Myunghon. Her boots squeak as she finds her grip and simply picks up the beleaguered rumourmaster in both arms, stronger in this space than she ever would be in the real world. "Good work, bossu." Mio gives Myunghon a sunshiney wink, back to her old, non-murder self. A star briefly appears above her, punctuating the gesture. "But it's time for us to go, and you're in no shape to walk!"
Did you ever want to be carried off like a princess, rumourmaster Merry? Perhaps not in these circumstances, but still, will you take what you can get?
<Pose Tracker> Akari Hoshi has posed.
"Promise!" Ixquic raises her own hand, her own pinkie, toward Panther. "I ... am Ixquic! We'll meet again, I'm sure of it!" A beat. "I love your costumes," she adds, sounding just as excited but in a different way. "The tail hooked on is great, if you're going to be a Panther!"
What is she going to ask her to sign? "Uh," Ixquic says, because she hadn't actually thought that through. This outfit is a real outfit, but it's also not the real outfit *she's wearing* and she is momentarily confused with thoughts of metareality and how it interfaces with actual reality, and also her clothes. "Well I'll bring something next time!!"
Kaneshiro falls. He tries to buy his way out of trouble - but fails. Exactly as Ixquic said, which makes her feel momentarily proud at predicting it... or it would if it hadn't been so obvious to her, and presumably everyone else too!
Ixquic steps away from the ruins of Piggytron, beaming at the others before turning her baleful gaze on Kaneshiro. Well, it's probably baleful. It's hard to tell through her helmet. When Queen and Myunghon lay hands on him - well, she can't bring herself to object. But she listens.
(Did you think Ixquic didn't listen? She's actually really perceptive, and particularly good at finding out things you probably don't want her to. It's just a question of how it gets filtered before she acts on it...)
Ixquic, though, is not historic enough to know about the Great Surrender. They don't cover that in her grade. She's on Myunghon's side, and Makoto's, but...
...is this how the Phantoms change a heart? To fight a Shadow - to not kill - to force it to accept reality, or your own dream? Ixquic files that away for later thought; it's not a conscious decision to work on it, but her active mind already has started. If this is how she too can fight villains...
*thwip*
Ixquic startles away from the bullet as it hits the floor. She automatically traces it back to where it's come from, and something seizes in her chest. She feels the hate, feels the desire to kill. Something in Quixote rages against it.
Something in *Akari* rages against it. Villain! she wants to shriek. Evil-doer!
Her eyes widen behind her visor as she points upward with her sword. Not as an attack, but simply as a way to point. "You!" she yells, even though she has no idea who 'you' is. A man (probably) in a mask with a gun, that's all she knows, and yet...
Ixquic takes one step forward, and the ground quivers. She pauses. She's not exactly heavy enough to shake the ground. She takes another, and it does it again - and this time the wall cracks. "...uh," she says. But she has an idea -
"This way!" she calls to Yukari. "If the elevator's broken... don't use it!" Ixquic starts to run... toward the crack in the wall, passing by Yukari on the way.
So the good news is that Yukari doesn't need to grab her. Ixquic is actually pretty fast; she has long legs and a lot of energy, so while an actual track and fielder can outpace her, she does really well for someone whose primary running training is a combination of gym class and her tendency to go everywhere at top speed.
The bad news is that Ixquic is going to turn that right around.
"Quixote!" Ixquic calls as she runs, and the half-woman, half-motorcycle Persona appears pacing alongside her. Ixquic has only done this for very short distances before, but if any time is the time...
Ixquic literally yanks Yukari up behind her. It's a close fit: Quixote's upper body, then Ixquic, than Yukari. But if Yukari is willing to hang on, she can make it while the three of them accelerate toward the crack in the wall!
"Hold on tight!" Ixquic calls, as Quixote revs her engine, a rumble running through the frame. "...or don't! But - we're going now...!"
The other good news is that Ixquic got in with the Meta-Nav so they don't have to worry about getting off the damn UFO. Akari and Yukari are going to end up at ground level after having fallen for, by their own perception, only a few feet.
But they don't land together... They did
<Pose Tracker> Akari Hoshi has posed.
But they don't land together... They didn't come in from the same part of Shibuya, after all, so when they Emergency Exited, they did not come out together, either.
Akari Hoshi is down an alley several blocks away, having landed very solidly on her rear. She puffs out her cheeks in irritation as she bounds to her feet, dusting herself off and panic-checking to make sure she hasn't just sat on her phone hard enough to crack the screen, pulling it out - a newer smartphone with a couple charms hanging on the case, and a sticker of a shooting star plastered on the back.
(She has not. The protective case is doing its job.)
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
So-young has a good sense of the dramatic, especially when it comes to sound, so as the motorbike soars across the road that Kudlak has formed her arms raise with her baton outstretched. She punctuates the explosion with a sudden vivid gesture, almost punching the air with her baton as she directs a crescendo only she can hear--
And then Kaneshiro pleads to Myunghon in perhaps the worst way he could ever try, and So-Young can only drop her arms and stare in disbelief. Her eyes are hard - not the fierce, sadistic anger of someone who is rightfully upset as Myunghon is - but the cold look of someone who has immediately just disassociated from this person, and decided to simply forget about his existence there and then.
She hasn't had the same life that Myunghon's had. This is painfully obvious even just from the state of their homes - So-young is living it up in Shibuya, Myunghon has a run-down store in Sumaru. So-young has had two years of a frankly extremely privileged job, Myunghon has spent years amidst a shaky family situation that is so uncomfortable So-young has only seen little flashes of it here and there. So-young doesn't have the right or even the experiences to naysay her - if she even wanted to.
It's time she learned, she thinks.
But she's not the sort of person who can just imagine killing someone, either, even in their own mind, and she can't help the frisson of relief that stretches through her when Myunghon relents. Her brain still sparking with the adrenaline of Persona use, she's not sure how she'd react to that without simply bulling entirely past it and not thinking about it.
Which is why it's all the more shocking when someone does pull a gun, and So-young stares up into the rafters. The figure's attention is not on her, but something inside of her crawls at the sensation around him. The conductor trusts in snap judgments over anything else, and here and now she makes the call: screw this guy, whoever he is, wherever he might appear. She swallows, her throat suddenly tight for reasons she can't comprehend.
Then the floor cracks, and her next snap judgment is, roughly, 'oh shit'.
"Stay alive so I can recruit you all for a stage show!" she yells over towards the Thieves with a wild grin, suddenly feeling alive again as the adrenaline surges right back - and to be honest it's less about the Palace breaking apart around them but because of the realization that the Phantom Thieves are just people like they are, if dramatic ones. Joker's taunt makes her grin brightly in return, and she breaks into a positively grin at Noir and Panther's reactions. You can just about see the GREAT??? above her head at getting to flirt and fluster the two young women.
So-young blinks to Shinjiro's question with a complete blank expression of confusion: oh right. This is someone who essentially just Personas (yes, that's a verb) based on raw instinct and spit and vigour and absolutely no regard for any rules. "C-can I???" she blurts in return, her eyes wide.
Snap judgment number 3: screw it!
"Icarus!-- surely you realize just the name alone is foreboding enough?!" she yells to Shinjiro over the sudden burst of blue flame around her. "I'm not stupid enough to ignore the fact that we are essentially tempting fate on the contents of my own head! This seems like a terrible idea! Don't blame me if--" whatever else she was saying is drowned out by a piercing, mechanical cry from the ornthithopter Persona as it swoops towards them. Damn it, she decides. If a motorbike can do it, so can I.
So-young truly has no idea what she's doing, but that's the only thing she knows to be true right now, and she's got to place her boundless self-confidence in _something_. So she leaps at the Persona's back with her hands out to grab for something, the wind suddenly hurtling past her face and her breath ripped away as she somehow manages to find physical purchase. "Grab on!"
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
This is Queen's first change of heart, her first experience with it. Kaneshiro starting to fade into gold isn't what she expected, but she's not prepared to take her eyes off him before he's gone. Still, Myunghon's words give Makoto pause. Those terms she's using... they sure sound like things her dad used to talk about on the phone to his coworkers, before he died.
His coworkers in the Organized Crime Control Bureau of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, Rumormonger Merry. "Wait-"
And then Kaneshiro is suddenly terrified, and Queen isn't sure what suddenly spooks him. Maybe it's Panther coming over to put a hand on her shoulder
And then she feels the bullet fly past her, so very close, headed straight for where Kaneshiro's head was before he vanished. The sound of it comes a moment later, and Queen jumps turning toward the source, hands reaching for the revolver materializing in her hand-
And she stops dead, feeling that sheer wave of hate, near all consuming. What... is that...? She stares up at the threat, but.... she doesn't have another fight in her.
Right yes, Panther is telling them to run, the Black Mask suddenly disappearing in the chaos. No one warned her about the Palace collapsing, Joker!
"Noir, can you take the roof with Joker? We may need firepower if there are obstacles!" She yells, running for the Monabus's driver seat, yanking open the door roughly (sorry Mona) and about to jump in- only to turn and see that Myunghon is lagging behind, and Queen gasps. What's the point of this if they leave someone else Kaneshiro wanted to destroy for his own gain die in the process-
But then Mio and her giant intervene, the woman who, only a second ago, seemed to share Makoto's brief desire to kill. Still... If she's getting out, then that means no one is getting left behind.
"Everyone in? If you have seatbelt, use it, it's going to be a rough ride!"
Queen, literally you and Fox have seatbelts, half the team are on the roof and for whatever reason Morgana doesn't have harness things one can use for hanging out the back of him firing wildly. Way underthought, Mona.
"We're leaving! Gun it, Mona!" She *slams* the accelerator, possibly eliciting a yowl of pain from him. This much gold is definitely going to interfere with handling. Is Mona rear wheel drive? She should have checked first.
And Makoto guns it, straight ahead, full throttle, for the way out of here.
Unfortunately, without Myunghon, well... Mona can't make his own road. And there's no way back, and the customer ramp is long gone.
"EVERYBODY HOLD TIGHT!" Makoto yells-
Because no matter what, they're driving off the edge back into Shibuya.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Shinobu nods back to Joker as he responds to her thanks. She turns her attention back to Piggytron, as she jumps back out of the way... but the fight is just about over. Queen and Myunghon's plan bears fruit. Piggytron crashes into the wall, collapsing into a wreck. A transformed Kaneshiro emerges, claiming to have bought more help... but only two gold coins fall out of his sleeves.
And then, he has the audacity to beg for mercy - to beg for them to spare his life.
A look of utter disgust crosses her face.
"You're begging now?" She mutters, shaking her head. "...You don't deserve it."
The world might be better off if he were gone... but that's not how they do things, as Queen says. Myunghon... Shinobu listens as they outline all the horrible things they could do. Shinobu doesn't change. Ultimately, they refuse - and Shinobu trusts their judgment. Besides - he might be the only one who can fix his mistakes.
"...Don't forget this. You're lucky we've got some cooler heads - you owe your life to them. They weren't here? ...You'd be dead on the ground, and no one would shed a tear." Shinobu states. "You've got one last chance. Don't screw it up."
But then - danger. Even she can feel it. Shinobu whirls, readying her staff defensively as a bullet rings out. It strikes the ground where Kaneshiro's Shadow was - just a moment too late to end his life.
"Shit, a sniper!?" Shinobu hisses, looking up. ...But the presence is gone, and there's no time to try and pursue it - not that she'd want to. The Palace is collapsing.
"...Right! Move it, people!" Shinobu calls out. She scans the area for anyone who might be in need of help. Her eyes land on Myunghon - but thankfully, Shinjiro and Mio are there for them. She breathes a sigh of relief - and then breaks into a run.
"Got it. Incoming, Park!" Shinobu warns. As she runs she draws out her staff, planting it into a crack in the ground and propelling herself upward with a pole vault maneuver to grab onto Icarus as So-young calls upon her Persona.
But before there's any risk of leaving her staff behind - Lachesis appears, grabbing it from where she left it and throwing it back to her before disappearing once more. Shinobu reaches out to catch it.