Jump 11: Persona - The Continuance of Mystery (Trouble Making a Deadline)

(Training Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvESabFZXmo)

“Come on Sora! You’ve got to focus your ki more. What was all of our ki control training for? Leo, you keep overdoing it. Think less in bursts and more in concentrated streams. Bruce, don’t try and match Leo. Do what’s best for you. The best way to use instant movement in combat isn’t going really far in one go. Your opponent will anticipate your exit point and counter accordingly. The best way to do it is through multiple, shorter movements. Shock, your ki output is unstable again. Shoot fifty Thunder Blasts from both of your feet, then try once more. Psyche, you need more enthusiasm. Put all of yourself into this.”

Down by a secluded portion of the Samegawa Flood Plane, Karen’s voice rang out, giving instructions to those she was teaching. Leo and Bruce were able to use instant movement consistently, but not reliably. Sora was still inconsistent, and Shock and Psyche were varying levels of struggling. Alice and King were having a sparring match not too far off.

“Your ki control has gotten a lot better Alice. If you ever can’t use your magic you might be able to beat Bruce with some more training.”

King deflected a flurry of punches from Alice and created some distance between them. To his surprise, Alice was back in his face within a split second, causing him to once more go on the defensive. Catching the fist she was going to use to punch his chest, King threw Alice to the other side of the river, where she landed on her feet unharmed. She froze portions of the river and jumped back to the side King was on before they melted.

“Did you just use instant movement?”

“I had to substitute magic for ki, but yeah, I did.”

“That’s great Alice. Your training is starting to pay off.”

“I’d think that’s obvious Karen. Even though I could be doing something more worth my time… Hey mouse! Think about how you controlled the voltage on those Thunder Blasts and apply it to your ki with instant movement. Seeing you fail so much is pissing me off.”

“I-I see. Thanks Alice.”

“Thank me by getting it down already. Geez… What are you two looking at me like that for?”

“I just never thought I’d see the day.”

“She continues to amaze me with how quickly she’s grown.”

“Nobody gave you permission to act like you’re my father all of a sudden.”

The three of them continued their banter for a little before returning to their training. After another two hours, they all gathered together to end for the day.

“You all are making great strides with this. It shouldn’t be too much longer before everyone can run on water.”

“You can do that? That’s so cool. It’s not as great as flying, but still pretty cool.”

“Just wait until you can do it in the air. That’s where the real fun starts.”

“But wouldn’t that be akin to flying?”

“Not even close. Actual flight isn’t anywhere near as jerky.”

“While I myself rarely find reason to fly, Alice is correct. But when fighting enemies of a higher caliber, it becomes essential. I hope you all can do it by the time we leave.”

(Music change: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojNmIMkTkjk)

A crack of thunder cuts into the conversation as the sun starts to slowly be covered by storm clouds.

“Looks like we should probably call it a day. I don’t want to get caught in the rain.”

“Alright, but you and Psyche have to carve your feet into the ground while you walk since you can’t use instant movement yet.”

“It was inevitable that I would fall behind. I’m not suited for higher class physical activity.”

“If a ten year old runt can learn how to do it I’m not letting you off.”

“Being able to run on any surface I want sounds pretty useful. Bet I’ll be running on the river before you Bruce.”

“I’ll hold you to that bet Leo. Loser treats the other to seven days’ worth of Aiya’s.”

“You’re on!”

“You guys really shouldn’t make everything a competition. You’ll burn yourselves out that way.”

The group walked back to the more well traversed part of the flood plain and found two Yasogami High students they recognized in a heated argument. It wasn’t clear who started it or even what it was about, but they were about to come to blows. Karen and Bruce stepped in between them and gave them a look that brought fear to their hearts. Losing the desire to fight, the two ran off, so as not to incur the wrath of Karen and Bruce any further.

“People have been getting more eager to fight recently, haven’t they? Aren’t those two friends?”

“They might be. Although I wouldn’t be so sure now.”

“We should have just let em fight. It’s not our job to keep the peace.”

“Then what would you call the activities we partake in each night? It certainly seems like we keep the peace in this town.”

“Well, that’s because no one else can fight those things. We don’t have a choice.”

“But what use is protecting the people if we let them hurt each other?”

“Well, I… I guess you’re right.”

“She’s not just dismissing the argument? Maybe I won’t get called ‘lizard’ anymore too.”

“Don’t count on it.”

“A man can dream.”

“What worries me is that the more people have begun to fight each other, the stronger the Shadows seem to get.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, once there weren’t any more disappearances, the police got a sudden influx of reports of violence. While fights, especially among people our age aren’t a new thing, the sudden increase and inclusion of those younger and older than us has me worried. If King’s Shadow is anything to go by, the Shadows we fight on a regular basis are smaller pieces of people’s repressed selves. Hence their lack of power compared to his.”

“So how does this tie in with people becoming more violent recently?”

“If we go by the theory that all Shadows come from people instead of some other world then what happens to those people should affect the shape and strength of the Shadows. This is why there are so many varieties. People going through similar struggles have similar Shadows. If this keeps up it won’t be long before we fight other humanoid Shadows.”

“If you’re right, this is going to be a problem.”

“You guys are worried about some blobs getting a bit tougher? Isn’t all of this training so that we don’t have to worry about that?”

“The training’s not going to matter if the Shadows get stronger faster than we can and close the power gap.”

“My Shadow did mention something about a master before it became my Persona, now that I think about it… We should try finding them-”

Before he could continue, another crack of thunder and a flash of lightning interrupted him.”

“When it isn’t about to rain. Meetup is the same as usual. Hopefully the rain lets up before then.”

The time continues to pass. Scenes of their daily lives and the battles they face for the next two months pass by. Frustration in not finding any leads, increases in the number and severity of violent acts and progress in their combat training. The fast forward stops with the group preparing to split up for another patrol around the town.

“You guys all heard about that riot in the shopping district that happened while we were in school right?”

“The negative emotions created by that are sure to create some powerful Shadows.”

“It’s unforgivable to make such a peaceful town turn against itself. Whoever’s doing this needs to be stopped.”

“There’s not much we can do without information right? It’s like the person behind it isn’t human.”

“But didn’t we find out that things like this have happened before? The cause was always a person.”

“But that doesn’t mean we can rule out the supernatural either. Before we uncovered that information that’s all we could call this. After all, it’s surprising that these “Shadow Operatives” haven’t shown up yet.”

“Maybe they think we can handle it? They also might not have the resources to spare on Inaba right now. There’s no way we could know if something big is happening on the other side of the world involving Shadows.”

“Whenever I try contacting them my messages keep bouncing back. I think they’re just being kept in the dark about this.”

“Not an unlikely scenario Electra. Regardless, we need to be prepared for whatever tonight’s Shadows throw at us.”

“Stay safe everyone. Let’s get going.”

With that, they split up into their usual pairs and set off. Alice was about to mount her staff to fly into the air, but stopped suddenly. Shock watched her confused as she looked around, straining to hear something. Alice closed her eyes and stopped moving for about a minute before sprinting off in a direction.

“Hurry up Shock!”

The confused boy ran after her, trying to keep up. When he caught up the Alice, the two found themselves staring at what looked like the entrance to some amalgamation of the various stores in the shopping district. The door was opened, and Alice was gazing at it intensely.

“We’re going in.”

Before Shock could respond, Alice was already moving towards the door. He made it inside right after her. Then the doors suddenly shut, trapping the two of them.

(Music change: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=So9-st1nt44)

“Don’t bother with the door, it probably won’t open. Let’s go.”

The inside looked like a warped version of the entrance to Daidara Metalworks. The room was more spacious than the real one, and beyond the furnace lie a door not normally there. Standing between Alice and Shock, were numerous Shadows taking the forms of weapons that Diadara must have made at one point. Alice brandished her staff and Shock readied his tonfa.

“We’re breaking through them, alright mouse?”

“You’ve got it Alice.”

Shock channeled his inner electricity and electrified his tonfa before rushing in. He clashed with swords, deflected spears and even had to dodge menacing looking shields. Just when it seemed like he would be overwhelmed, Alice cast a spell.

“Sagitta Magica, series glacialis! (Magic arrows, series of ice arrows!)”

All the Shadows that were left had an arrow of ice pierce through, and freeze them. Shock quickly shattered all of the Shadows, and the sound of a door unlocking was heard by them both.

“That’s our cue move on. You’re getting better at being a distraction. I might start letting you handle the small fry entirely.”

“I’d prefer we work together when I’m outnumbered like that.”

“It’s not like you can’t take them. Consider it training.”

They moved along to the next room, and dealt with the Shadows there in a similar manner.

“I’m going to be disappointed if this is the strength of all the Shadows in here.”

The following three rooms, while containing Shadows of increasing power, was no match for their combined forces. The sixth room however, wasn’t even a room at all. Instead, it was a replica of the shopping district. Eight figures were standing together by the fake Daidara Metalworks.

“This has got to be some kind of joke.”

(Music change: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChkMHPP8rv0)

“This is no joke, Alice. We are impressed by your abilities, and have deemed you worthy of facing a greater challenge.”

The figures stepped into view and revealed themselves to be Shadows of various shop owners. They all spoke in unison, and had the same piercing yellow eyes that King’s Shadow had. But something about them seemed different.

“You can’t be serious? How did all the shopkeepers get Shadows? They weren’t even missing.”

“Calm down and think for a second. Or is your brain only functional when it comes to technology and Psyche? They’re probably fakes.”

“An astute observation, but one that will not help you.”

The Shadows pointed their hands at Alice and Shock and a gigantic bolt of lightning came at the both of them.

“Agneyi!”

“Shai!”

A wave of electrified fire swallowed the lightning and left the two of them unharmed.

“You just sit back and watch, I’ll handle these weaklings.”

“You’ll soon regret underestimating us.”

“We’ll just have to see about that, won’t we?”

Alice was in front of the Shadows before Shock could blink and had her hand pointed to the ground.

“Crystallitatio Tellustris! (Frozen Earth!)”

Jagged ice pillars jutted from the ground suddenly and impaled two of the Shadows. The other six managing to jump away in time. Two of them charged at Alice, but she had already moved to another location.

“Maragilao!”

Agneyi was summoned once more and covered all of the Shadows in fire, leaving the ones that had been impaled as little more than ash. A strong gust of wind blew Alice off of her feet and into the air, where four bolts of lightning were converging on her. Undaunted by this, she used void instant movement to dodge the strikes and end up above one of the Shadows. She shot a barrage of ice arrows at it and it was frozen solid. Landing on the ground, she tapped the frozen Shadow with her staff and it shattered.

Alice yawned while the remaining five Shadows surrounded her. They had fierce glares on their faces as they pointed their hands at Alice. She was suddenly brought to a knee as a crater formed around her from the sudden increase in gravity. While seeming to finally be given some trouble, the smirk that came to Alice’s face preluded the spell she cast silently.

A sudden avalanche of snow was launched from Alice’s staff to two of the Shadows circled around her, burying them with the thud of such a sudden amount of snow hitting the ground.

“You…”

Alice dusted herself of as she rose from the ground with no real injuries.

“Centum et unus spiritus aeriales, vinculum facti inimicum captent. Sagitta Magica, Aer Capturae. (One hundred one spirits of wind… Make shackles capture my enemies. Magic Arrows, Capturing Wind.)

Wisps of air surrounded the last three Shadows and held them in place, unable to move.

“Pay close attention Shock. This is the level of power you and the others need to strive for in order to catch up to me, Karen and King. Agite, tenebrae abyssi, ensis incendens! Et incendium caliginis umbrae inimicitiae destrunctionis ultionis! Incendant et me et eum, sint solum incendentes! Incendium Gehennae. (Come, darkness of the abyss, burning sword! And the Conflagration of Mist, Shadows, Enmity, Destruction, and Vengeance! Set he and I aflame, burning to our very foundation! Hellfire Conflagration!)”

From her staff emerged a savage storm of fire that engulfed the last Shadows. They were trapped in a tornado of dark flames, being burnt to ashes. Alice looked satisfied and Shock was left stunned and speechless. He didn’t even notice Alice had waled over to him until she stated speaking again.

“It’s been a while since I got to use magic that close to high ancient. The situation never really calls for it because as you saw, I had to chant to incantation of that one, or the enemy just isn’t worth it. Combat training is fun and all, but I can’t let my magic start to slack.”

“I don’t think those Shadows were really worth it.”

“Oh they weren’t, but I wanted you to realize where my confidence in my abilities comes from. Karen just worries too much and King has to consider everyone since he’s in charge. But the three of us could probably handle anything without too much trouble.”

“So that’s why he wants us to focus on training.”

“Exactly. I guess you can use your brain for normal thought after all. Oh, it’s time for the spell to end.”

True to her word, the tornado of dark fire dissipated and nothing was left of the Shadows. Wisps of dark energy flowed from where the Shadows had been defeated and converged in front of Alice and Shock. The wisps merged to become a clone of Alice, and stared at them with a frown on its face.

(Music change: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQHonpNrMMY)

“It seems our master has underestimated your abilities. Know that displaying so much of your hand shall lead to your downfall.”

“Save the doom talk for someone that gives a damn. Since I kicked your asses how about you tell us who this ‘master’ of yours is.”

“We would not be so foolish as to give you information that could lead to his defeat. But, we are required to tell you this much… Chaos.”

Before Alice could get her next question out of her mouth the Shadow dispersed and the fake shopping district was engulfed in light. Alice and Shock found themselves back where they had entered, only the amalgamated building was no longer there.

“Alice, Shock, you guys are ok.”

Turning around the two of them found Karen pulling them into a hug, and saw the rest of the group behind her.

“Hey let go of me you brute of a woman.”

“I know you don’t mean that, so I’ll only hug you longer.”

Alice rolled her eyes and endured it as the rest of the group made their way over.

“Electra lost the ability to contact you once you entered whatever that was. We rushed over, but couldn’t get in no matter how hard we tried. I’m glad you didn’t find too much trouble in there.”

“I was freaking out so much when I couldn’t talk to you two. I was scared the video feed would drop too.”

“I didn’t even notice you were gone.”

“Alice, stop being mean to my sister. I was wondering why you hadn’t said anything Electra. You normally go crazy whenever someone starts showing their true strength.”

“Shut up Sergei. It’s not like you’ve done anything that cool yet.”

“Now now you two, save it for when you’re both at home. The Shadows are probably gone for the night, but we can never be sure. Let’s finish out patrol and then head home.”

Everyone agreed to this and dispersed once more. As they walked along their route, Shock had something to ask Alice.

“Alice…how did you know that…whatever it was, was there?”

“Remember how King knew where his Shadow was?”

“He said it was calling out to him. But those weren’t your Shadows.”

“I’m not saying it was exactly the same. But those Shadows were taunting me specifically. I think they just chose the wrong target since they were no challenge at all. After I think it over some more I’ll tell everyone tomorrow.”

“Alright…”

The night ended without further incident, and they all returned to their homes to sleep before school. During lunch, they discussed the previous night’s events and the small hint the Shadows gave. Chaos. Not much to go off of, they focused on Alice being called out by the Shadows. The conclusion was that if it happened to anyone else, they were to wait for another team before entering a “dungeon”.

With everything decided, the rest of school day progressed as normal. When classes were over, King decided to take a walk around Inaba instead of going to band practice. During his wanderings, he ended up in the shoping district, with everything appearing to be normal. When he was about to pass by the bookstore, he stopped and caught several books being thrown out of the shop. A customer was arguing with the shop owner about something and stormed off after a few more heated words. When King took the books back to the owner of the shop there was a spark of remembrance in his eyes briefly. King remembered saving him when people were still being kidnapped, but didn’t expect the man to even remotely remember him. The man made up some excuse about King looking like he was in need of some things to read and let him keep them. The customer that stormed out had apparently already paid for them anyway.

With a collection of various works by H.P. Lovecraft now in his possession, King carried them to the floodplain and decided to read one before heading home. Picking one at random, he managed to finish it before it was too late. On the way home, he saw kids fighting at the playground. Putting his things down, he broke of the fight and sent the kids home with a warning not to do it again. When he returned to get his things he noticed there was a book missing from the stack he had received. Not seeing anyone else in the area, he let it be for the time and went home.