Jump 11: Persona - Pursuing My True Self: I'll Face Myself

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMEbmXaIGgI

The sight was a strange one, teens frantically scrambling to prepare for a meeting at a bus stop. Made stranger by the fact that Karen was carrying a sword with no regard for subtlety and Alice was flying through the skies on her staff. When they all met it was clear nobody needed to be brought up to speed. Their eyes had been glued to their phones as they hurried to the meeting point.  When everyone had made it, Leo addressed the group.

“So what do we do about this?”

“Whatever we do, we need to decide quickly. Who knows what could emerge from the shadows while we’re standing here?”

“Nothing that comes out of the shadows is going to challenge us. We need to focus on saving our idiot of a leader who couldn’t even follow his own advice.”

“But Psyche’s right about needing to act quickly.”

“I’ve never seen that look in his eyes before. If he has to fight alone he will lose.”

“We can’t let that happen! Let’s go help him right now.”

“Calm down mama bear. You heard what the Shadow said. It knows everything the real King does. If we act carelessly we’ll all die.”

Flyer’s words caused the group to fall silent, but their phones wouldn’t let it last. Their attention was brought back to the live feed from King’s camera.

“You’ve been holding that pose for a while now. Can’t muster up the courage to approach me? Guess I’ll make the first move then!”

The Shadow raised its hand and called down a bolt of lightning on King’s position. He raised his own hand to absorb it, but jumped away at the last moment instead, eliciting a fit of laughter from the Shadow.

“And here I thought you’d fall for it. Guess even in your pathetic state there’s still some perceptiveness left. How about you dance for me like the jester you’ve become!”

There was a rumbling of thunder coming from the top of the cavern as a torrent of lightning strikes rained around King. He jumped, ducked, dodged and even punched some of the away with his electrically coated gauntlets. The lightning seemed to have no end and King screamed in frustration as he hit another bolt away. He closed the gap between himself and the Shadow, but found only empty space where it should have been.

“Looking for me? Did you honestly think I wouldn't be ready for some instant movement?”

The shadow taunted King as another bolt of lightning went directly for his head. King took the hit directly, his magic barrier protecting him from the brunt of it. He stumbled back from the impact, but pointed a hand towards the Shadow and fired off fifteen arrows of light. The Shadow made no attempts to dodge and took the hits directly, causing a cloud of dust to form. The Shadow stepped out from the dust, not a scratch on him.

“Did you forget that I am you? You got magic cancel so magic wouldn’t become a problem. But you want to see something cool? Undetriginta spiritus lucis. Sagitta Magica, Series Lucis (29 spirits of light. Magic Arrows, Series of 29 Light Arrows).”

“You guys even put in subtitles?”

“It seemed like a good idea at the time! I don’t understand Latin anyway, so it works out.”

The arrows of light flew towards King and each hit him square in the chest, knocking him back.

“How…?”

“That’s my little secret isn’t it? Maybe if you were anything like an actual king you’d have a chance at figuring it out. In the meantime, have another. Veniant spiritus aerialis fulgurientes! Cum fulguriationis flet tempestas austrina… Iovis Tempestas Fulguriens! (Come, spirits of air and lightning! Let the Southern Storm Blow With Lightning. Jupiter's Lightning Storm!)”

“Tch. Veniant spiritus aerialis fulgurientes! Cum fulguriationis flet tempestas austrina. Iovis Tempestas Fulguriens!”

The two storms clashed in the center of the cavern, streaks of lightning and wisps of wind ricocheting from them.

“Good, good. I’d be upset if you couldn’t counter cast fast enough. Although if you had kept up with your magic you could have cast a stronger spell. Kings can’t afford to be lazy.”

There was an exposition from the clashing storm and when the dust settled, the shadow had transformed. It was a form very recognizable to King, one he hadn’t used much in a long time.

“Didn’t expect me to turn into a Navi did you? Just because you don’t know how to use your powers properly doesn’t mean I can’t. Here’s an ability you could have used on numerous occasions.”

The Shadow jumped high into the air before shouting

“Chaos Nightmare!”

A giant sphere of dark energy, crackling with electricity, formed in the Shadow’s left hand and he threw it viciously at King. King could do nothing but put his hand up, and catch the destructive bald of energy. Channeling his own lightning to counter that which was already in the sphere, King struggled to hold back the mass of dark energy. The ground beneath him started to give as he was pushed downwards from the force. The Shadow cackled at King’s apparent helplessness. Not wanting to give up, King made a risky move. Taking his left hand off of the sphere, he drew the Seven Star Sword and was suddenly above the sphere. It displayed a myriad of electrical slash marks before collapsing in on itself and exploding. Landing and dropping down to one knee, King was breathing heavily. There was a flash from behind him as the Shadow prepared the next phase of his assault.

“Delta-Ray Edge!”

Circling King, the Shadow slashed at King with its sword eight times in the blink of an eye, before standing in front of him with its back turned. A square pyramid of light appeared around King before the brunt of the attacks hit all at once.

“Combine that move with our ability to cut things at will and only the toughest of opponents can walk away unscathed.”

King screamed in pain as the Delta-Ray Edge dealt damage to his body. Very nearly falling completely to the ground.

“Still not dead yet? Must be those magic barriers. How about I just get rid of those?”

The Shadow took to the air again and descended upon King with an outstretched hand.

“Earth Breaker!”

King raised the Seven Star Sword to block most of the damage, but felt his magical defenses shatter.

“And now, Zeta Punch!”

In an instant, a flurry of disembodied fists pummeled King and sent him flying into one of the cavern’s walls, leaving a crater in it.

“We haven’t even gotten into the Navi Cross forms yet! You can’t be finished now can you? Did you know you could swap between them in a fight after the Battle Network jump? I mean you never used them so who knows right?”

King could only fall from the wall, barely able to catch himself and stay standing. He coughed up blood for the first time he could remember.

“I can’t watch anymore of this. I’m going in there.”

“We still don’t know for sure if that’s the right move to make.”

“This isn’t about making the right moves like this is a game of chess! Our leader is going to die if we don’t do something about this. I’m going, and I don’t care if any of you come with.”

Alice left the group with those words and ran to the shrine.

“To think I’ve been with him the longest and she’s the one that acts first. What are we doing guys? This is the first time he’s ever truly needed us and we’ve just been standing here watching.”

“I hate it when that brat has a point. He needs us. All of us.”

“He can get mad at us later, right now he needs our support. We can’t let Alice handle this alone. Let’s go!”

With a communal cry of confirmation, the six of them ran to the shrine as well. Alice was struggling to open the doors to the shrine to no avail.

“Don’t just stand there! Help me open this already!”

As they began attempting to pry the doors open…

“Face it already, you can’t beat me. You can’t match up to the parts of yourself you’ve struggled so hard to keep at bay. Just admit it and give up!”

King stabbed the Seven Star Sword into the wall to keep his balance and glared at his Shadow.

“Still thinking of a way to beat me? Even if you figured out how to counter yourself, there’s a reason why you can never win this fight. Come out my Persona, Kufu!”

What appeared to be an apparition of an Egyptian pharaoh materialized above the Shadow.

“This, is what you lack. The self-awareness and acceptance of the truth. What kind of competent king can’t even face himself?”

King’s grip on his sword tightened.

“You’re unfit for the title you’re desperately trying to lay claim to, unfit for the power you wield, and unfit for those that choose to follow you! The dirt beneath your feet holds more right to be king than you!”

“Shut up…”

“Oh? Finally starting to talk back? What did you say though? It’s hard to hear an ant when you’re so high above him.”

“SHUT-UP!”

The doors to the shrine finally opened and the others came pouring in.

“Oh, they’ve made it for the best part.”

“YOU, YOU’RE NOT ME! YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME! YOU CAN’T BE ME!”

“Those are the words I’ve been waiting to hear!”

The Shadow became surrounded by darkness and begun to transform into a monstrous version of itself. Looking more like a werewolf with gigantic claws, the Shadow laughed as King collapsed to the floor after denying it.

“And now I’ve all the power I could ask for! It was worth letting you live so I could attain my true form. Now I’ve no use for you, die!”

The Shadow used instant movement to get to where King’s unconscious body was and stab its claws in him. The Shadow looked around confused that he only hit the ground. Looking behind him, he saw King on Karen’s back.

“Ah, I forgot you all were still here. While only two of you have any real skill, this is going to be a pain. Luckily, I’m still the Overlord of Bel. Belial, Belzaboul, come forth!”

Two of the other Bels arose from the shadows of the cavern and bowed to the Shadow.

“Take care of the common ones. Once I’ve disposed of the fake Overlord, they’ll all disappear.”

The two Bels rose and turned to face the group, but two of them had already brought the fight to them.

“Like we’ll let that happen.”

“You’re fight is with me, demon.”

Leo turned his hands into the jagged claws of a vampire and begun slashing at Belzaboul, while Bruce unleashed a barrage of blows onto Belial.

“Let ‘em have it guys!”

“Show those Bels they’re 1000 years too old to take us on!”

“Oh, don’t think you’re in the clear just yet.”

The Shadow suddenly appeared in front of Shock and Flyer.

“The weaker ones are always the first to start barking.”

Swiping its claws at the both of them, they were only saved by Karen’s instant movement. She grabbed them and pushed them back, taking the brunt of the attack herself, barely bringing out her sword to stop it from being fatal. Alice had begun an incantation that finished before the Shadow could do anymore damage.

“Veniant spiritus glaciales! Extendantur aeri tundram et glaciem, loci noctis albae! Crystallitatio Tellustris! (Come spirits of ice! Tundra and Glacier, Spread Forth into the Air, in the Realm of White Night! Frozen Earth!)”

Jagged pillars of ice sprung from the ground and nearly pierced the Shadow had it not retreated back.

“Why didn’t you and the mouse go and fight the giant fly? The Lizard can actually take a hit unlike you two.”

“Alice now isn’t the time to be complaining…”

“Stand still mama bear, let me heal you and the idiot. Adeat!”

Calling out her artefact, Alice quickly concentrated on healing Karen and King. The Shadow was not happy about it, and once again closed the gap with instant movement, planning on interrupting the healing process and ending his problems.

“Wind Scythe!”

The Shadow was forced to block an unexpected blast of wind from Psychic. Not being magic, he couldn’t just shrug it off.

“Thunder Blast!”

A ball of concentrated, electrical chi shot from Shocks hands at the already defensive Shadow. Not one to miss an opportunity, it grabbed it with a hand and absorbed it, not noticing Flyer behind it.

“This one’s for Karen!”

The Shadow was grabbed from the waist and suddenly on the receiving end of a suplex, courtesy of Flyer. The Shadow was not pleased by this turn of events and became a being made entirely out of lightning. Flyer quickly let it go and backed off.

“I’ve got this!”

Putting his karate to use, Shock contested the Shadow when it was lightning, keeping it at bay while taking minimal damage in each exchange by redirecting the electrical current into the ground.

“Impressive, but even together, flies are still swatted down because they’re flies.”

“I think we’ll be doing the swatting here.”

A freshly healed Karen sent a barrage of chi infused sword slashes at the Shadow, forcing him to become physical and block them with his own sword.

“You stole my line you brute! Malleus Aquilonis! (Warhammer of the Ice God)”

Alice conjured an enormous mass of ice and slammed it into the Shadow, knocking him back a fair amount of distance.

“I thought the Lord of the Flies was stronger than this! You can’t serve the Overlord being this weak.”

Leo seemed to be winning his battle against Belzaboul, but the Bel tapped his staff on the ground and an ungodly amount of flies appeared from hidden eggs he had placed during Leo’s offensive. With a command, Leo was swarmed and couldn’t be seen from the mass of flies covering his body.

“I would have thought the fire of Sodom would put up more of a fight.”

The words had hardly left Bruce’s mouth before Belial conjured flames all around him, and slowly began to close them in.

“Leo! Bruce! King you have to wake up and get the Bels to stop!”

Psychic frantically shook King’s limp body to no avail. He was still unconscious.

“Why does he decide to take a nap now of all times? Karen-”

“It’s not possible!”

She yelled, blocking the Shadow’s claw swipes.

“Shock you should-”

“My hands are tied!”

He yelled, grounding the lightning the Shadow continuously sent in King’s direction.

“Well Flyer can you-”

“Karen can’t stop him alone!”

She screamed before stopping an arm that would have taken Karen’s head off.

“Are we really all about to die?”

As the gravity of the scene became clear to everyone, despair seemed to be looming in. Karen and Flyer were fighting a losing battle and Shock was nearing his limit on how much lightning he could take before passing out. Psychic was still trying to get King to open his eyes, and Alice couldn’t use any of her strongest spells because her friends were in the line of fire. Before they could all succumb to despair however, a miracle occurred.

With a burst of light, Leo was freed from the swarms of flies, and what appeared to be the same kind of apparition the Shadow manifested earlier was above him. A similar thing occurred with Bruce and the flames. Leo had some sort of Greek king, and Bruce a spear wielding Egyptian.

Thou art I. I art thou. I come from the sea of thy soul. Thy desire for strength hath brought me forth. I am Odysseus, Greek king of Ithaca. I lend thee mine strength.

Thou art I. I art thou. I come from the sea of thy soul. Thy desire to aid thine friend regardless of the risk hath brought me forth. I am Anhur, Egyptian God of War. Use mine spear to fell thy foes.

“And the trouble just doesn’t stop does it? Bels! Do your job and defeat them like I ordered you to!”

“This power…Don’t give in to despair just yet everyone! We just need to wake King up and this can end!”

“The battle is not over until we are all dead in our graves! Continue the fight!”

With newfound strength, Bruce and Leo resumed their battles with the Bels.

“No way they just did that! I bet we can do it too if we just try.”

“There’s no way it’s that easy Shock!”

“I can’t expect us to be that lucky now of all times.”

The look on the Shadow’s face is all an outsider would need to see to know that it actually was that easy in the situation they were in. Frantic to not let anyone else awaken, it knocked Flyer away and used the Flash Sheath technique on Karen. When the Shadow turned around, it saw a regal figure, and a holy one in front of Karen, shielding her from the attacks.

Thou art I. I art thou. I come from the sea of they soul. Thy love of thine comrades and will to protect them hath called out to me. I am Cleopatra, last Pharaoh of Egypt before Rome. I lend thee mine wisdom.

Thou art I. I art thou. I come from the sea of thy soul. Thy willingness to wait for thine leader to awake had brought me forth. I am Sophia, Goddess of Wisdom. I lend thee mine knowledge.

“No, no, no! If this keeps up I’ll actually have odds against me. Why did the cannon fodder decide now was the time to start doing something and gain Personas? I should just end this now! How about I just end you all at once?”

Before the Shadow could make any moves, he simultaneously felt the gravity around himself increase and was pushed back by two more awakened Personas. An old man, with numerous clocks and pocket watches hanging from his person, and a triple bodied woman holding torches.

Thou art I. I art thou. I come from the sea of thy soul. Thy determination to fight fate, and carve out thine own destiny hath awakened me. I am Shai, Egyptian God of Fate. Use mine power to change thy destiny.

Thou art I. I art thou. I come from the sea of thy soul. Thy desire to return to a simpler time hath called me forth. I am Hecate, Greek Goddess of Crossroads. Use mine power to lead thyself down the path thy seek.

“Told you guys it was that easy!”

“We may still have a chance after all.”

“You side characters are going above and beyond to piss me off! I’ll just-”

The Shadow was cut off as a wave of fire assaulted its face, unexpectedly cutting through its magic barriers and dealing direct damage. The culprit was Alice, and her own Persona, a woman made entirely out of fire.

Thou art I. I art thou. I come from the sea of thy soul.  Thy willingness to act, even as hope is lost hath awakened me. I am Agneyi, daughter of Agni and Hindu Goddess of Fire. Use mine flames to punish thy foes.

“Think the best mage in the room wouldn’t notice you lost your magic cancel? What are you going to do now that we all have this power?”

The Shadow, simply stared at Alice, before erupting into another bout of laughter. It put some distance between itself and the others and glared at them with murderous intent.

“It seems the games have lasted long enough. Belial, Belzaboul. Stop messing around and cover me. I’m going to wipe them all out at once!”

The Bels silently nodded as they pushed Leo and Bruce back and stood in front of their master.

“Since you’re so gifted at magic you’ll figure out how I’m going to kill all of you first!”

The Shadow covered himself in a barrier of lightning and begun chanting. Alice’s look of newfound confidence quickly faded as she realized what the Shadow planned to do.

“Τό συμβόλαιον διακονητω μοί, βασιλευ Όυρανίωνων! Έπιγενηθήτω αίθαλους κεραυνέ ός Τιτηνας φθείρειν. (Heed the contract and serve me, O King of the Skies! Come forth, Titan-slaying blazing thunder.)”

“We have to stop it now or we’re all dead!”

Alice, Psychic and Shock all tried to use their Persona’s to hit the Shadow with magic, but Belzaboul had his army of flies take the hits instead.

“Iactum Extendentem Circulum praesentum! Captem obiecta a primum ad octo! (Present the Widening Throwing Circle! Capture the objects first to the eighth!)

Karen, Leo and Bruce all charged at the Shadow’s position, but we’re met with more opposition from the Bels than they anticipated. The combination of Belial’s flames and Belzaboul’s army of flies and magical prowess prevented them from reaching the Shadow.

“Area Constet! Intus se premant spiritus ad pressuram criticalem! Tribus, Duobus, Modo! Capturam disiungens! (Established Area! Spirits, overwhelm us unto the critical pressure within! In three, two, now! Separation captivity!)”

“King if you don’t wake up now we really will die! Sophia! Dia!”

Calling forth her Persona at will, Flyer tried a healing spell on King, but he still had yet to regain consciousness. She shook him viciously after, but it was still useless.

“Omnes spiritus fulguranoles fortissime emittam! Έκατοντάκις καί χιλιάκις άστραψάτω. (All spirits will send forth most valiantly like lightning! Hurl down lightning one hundred times and even one thousand times!)”

“Damn it this can’t be the end!”

“If we could just push through!”

“I don’t want to go out like this”

“There’s still much I have yet to learn…”

“We can’t do anything!?”

“I guess we couldn’t stop the inevitable…”

“King just wake up damn it!”

“Κιλιαπή Άστραπή! (Thousand Thunderbolts!)”

“Κιλιαπή Άστραπή!”

King’s seven companions had all closed their eyes and awaited the end, but it didn’t come. The lightning that was supposed to obliterate them was countered by King’s casting of the same spell.

“How are you awake!? You already denied me!”

“I may have denied you, but a proper king has to be ready to face anything for his subjects and comrades.”

“King!”

“About damn time.”

“Oh thank goodness.”

“Miracles might be possible after all.”

“I had faith you would come through in the end.”

“Good to see you alive again.”

“We were so worried about you!”

All of them had gathered around King, paying no mind to the fuming Shadow and the Bels it had summoned.

“We’ll talk after I deal with myself.”

“So you’re accepting me now?”

“Not just yet.” King uncharacteristically cracked his knuckles. “I’m going to kick your ass first for trying to hurt my friends.”

“Just try it! Nothing about you has really changed! You stand no chance.”

“Belberith, Mettatron, come forth.”

The strongest Bel, and God’s right hand materialized from the darkness and bowed to the proper Overlord.

“Remind those two who the real King of Bel is.”

Belberith unleashed a barrage of magic on Belial, ending him back to the demon realm in an instant. Mettatron called down a ray of light, filled with holy retribution, upon Belzaboul. The giant fly was seemingly erased from where he stood, his army of flies following suit.

“Return from whence you came, demons.”

Mettron and Belberith vanished, presumably back to their respective worlds.

“So you got rid of the Bels I summoned. What’s it matter if you still can’t beat me by yourself?”

“Karen, I need to borrow this for a bit.”

King took Karen’s blade from her and made a dash for his Shadow. No instant movement, just a normal run. The Shadow scoffed at the display and proceeded to constantly barrage him with slashes from his claws from multiple directions. King held firm and blocked them all before planting his feet and counterattacking before the Shadow could finish swinging its arm. There was a gash in its side but no blood came out. It backed away from King and has a feral look in its eyes. Its claws extended and the Shadow jumped in the air to descend on King.

“Rising Dragon Strike!”

The shadow was taken by surprise as King quickly ascended and slashed the Shadow out of the sky. When the Shadow fell to the ground, he was treated with a flurry of eight different slashes from King before he reappeared in front of it.

“Delta-Ray Edge.”

The same type of square pyramid appeared over the Shadow before the strikes fully hit the Shadow. It screamed in pain but flung a bolt of lightning at King in response. King stuck Karen’s sword into the ground and grabbed the bolt before it could strike him. He redirected it from his body into the sword and by proxy the ground, no worse for wear. The Shadow was finally running out of steam, and was breathing heavily.

“You weren’t even transformed for that!”

“Just because you don’t know how to use my powers, doesn’t mean I can’t.”

The Shadow bellowed with rage, losing the transformation it had gained and becoming King’s double once more. The sinister sword was once more in its hand and it raised it menacingly. Without another word the two began a series of clashes too fast for the normal eye to track anything but the major strikes. While they appeared to be on even footing, closer observation would show the King was slowly losing the upper hand. Strike of lightings, the clang of clashing swords and the feeling of the tension between the two permeated the cavern. King pressed on the offensive and left the tiniest opening in the Shadow’s defenses. Before it could regain them three ice arrow pierced through its torso.

King continued his assault, increasing the intensity of his blows until another opening came. A combination chi blast knocked the Shadow into the air, only to be slammed down to the ground by an extremely strong gust of wind. Bouncing from the force of the impact, the Shadow was kicked by King towards Flyer, who had begun glowing with a light brown aura. She grabbed the flying Shadow and suplexed it three time in rapid succession before tossing it to Bruce, who was radiating with a dark energy.

“Furious Poké-Death Fist.”

 The Shadow’s eyes widened as he was assaulted by Bruce’s deadly combo. A flurry of punches to the face, a kick to the stomach, and uppercut that sent it skywards followed by Bruce grabbing the Shadow’s leg and slamming it to the ground. Picking the Shadow up, the rest of the attack was obscured by Bruce’s dark aura. Leo grabbed the Shadow and leapt into the air, and positioned it upside down. Spinning rapidly in the air he slammed the Shadow into the ground with a spinning pile driver. The Shadow slowly got up from the ground, battered and beaten, before getting punched by Leo. Then Bruce, then Flyer, followed by Shock. Stumbling back, Karen caught the Shadow before slugging it herself. Psychic, and Alice following suit, knocking the Shadow into King.

“So you’ve beaten me thanks to your friend’s, what of it?”

King turned his Shadow to face him, then held it in an embrace.

“I’m sorry for rejecting you.”

“Stop this! Unhand me now you false king!”

“You must have been frustrated, being pushed back to be forgotten. I am you, and you are me. You’re all the insecurities and regrets I’ve built up over the course of this journey. The fear of losing myself, and the hopelessness of my aspirations.”

“You can’t truly mean that! You still don’t see me as a part of you!”

“I have to take responsibility for all of this. A good king is one that has a firm grasp on his sense of self. I have to know when things are too much for me to handle, and trust in the friends I have to help me through.”

“…”

“I’m sorry.”

“You may have passed the first trial, but I assure you things will only get worse from here. My master will make sure of it.”

The Shadow erupted in a shower of light as the dark influence corrupting it flowed out of the transformed shrine. In its place, was a Persona, standing regally in front of everyone.

Thou art I. I art thou. I come from the sea of thy soul. Thy willingness to accept the burdens of a leader hath freed me from the corruption. I am Kufu, great Pharaoh of Egypt. I offer thee mine strength to lead thy party justly.

King breathed a sigh of relief before being caught in the middle of everyone crowding around him.

“Way to face your demons King.”

“Don’t put us through that again you idiot.”

“You always manage to surprise me with your skills.”

“Please don’t make us worry like this again.”

“No amount of calculating could have predicted that result. How did you figure out what to do?”

“Great fighting. Don’t leave us in suspense for so long next time.”

“Dude that was incredible! Together we can’t be stopped!”

Before he could respond King started to lose his footing and began to fall. Karen grabbed King and kept him upright.

“Tired… Talk tomorrow…”

And with those words King passed out once again.

“He’s not even that hurt this time. What’s his deal?”

“While most of the major wounds were healed earlier he was under considerable mental stress this entire time. I’m not surprised he’s exhausted.”

“Well he can’t go home like this. Someone needs to take him home with them.”

“I think it’s safe to say all the girls are out. Our guardians would probably never let us hear the end of it.”

“And I live alone, with only the essentials for myself. Leo, Bruce or Shock. Which one of you is it going to be?”

“Obviously it’s going to be me. I’ve been with him the longest, so this is something I should do.”

“Now wait just a second. I believe I should be the one to take him in.”

“Oh really now? Why should he go to your house?”

“They can’t be serious right now…”

“They might wake him if they keep this up. Shock I’m carrying him to your house. You live near here right?”

“Yeah, I’ll show you the way.”

“Great. I’m going home then. I just know I’m going to be sore when I get up.”

“Be careful during the trip back. Something may still be lurking out there.”

“We’ll all have to stay on guard. None of us is really in the condition to fight anymore.”

“So you’re calling me an old man now!”

“Perhaps I am! Come at me if you have a problem with it!”

“Except for those two apparently. I hope they stop once they notice we’re gone.”

“Let ‘em sleep in the shrine for all I care.”

As the six of them left the shrine it’s interior gradually shifted back to normal as Bruce and Leo fought like they were in Street Fighter.