Chapter Text
Shinjiro Aragaki has returned to SEES and now the team has decided to celebrate by entering Tartarus once more. They have gotten readings that a new area has opened up. Shinjiro walked up to Minato.
“So you're the one that decides the battle formation,” he said. “I wanna get back into the swing of things as soon as possible. You get what I’m sayin’, right?” At his request, Minato let Shinjiro join the field team along with Mitsuru and Akihiko. He thought it’d be nice to have them relive old memories. They stepped onto the teleporter and went to face whatever lied beyond the barrier.
Once the barrier opened up, they were able to enter the Tziah Block. The area looked like the inside of an ancient ruin. It was much brighter here than in the previous areas.
“Ain’t this place fancy… Doesn’t change the fact that it’s still tacky, though,” Shinjiro scoffed. Minato held back a laugh as the group ventured into the floor. It was the same old routine. Walk around, battle Shadows, find treasure, go to the next floor. Shinjiro quickly showed his experience in battle. His Persona, Castor, may not have had anything in the way of elemental skills, but he more than made up for it with pure strength alone. Shinjiro reflected that as well with the battle axe being his weapon of choice. Even if SEES’s leader wasn’t there when he was part of the founding team, it was good to have him back.
The group made it a few floors up when they got a call from Fuuka, “Everyone, I’m getting a reading of a powerful Shadow! I…I don’t recognize this reading. Please be careful!” Everyone was alarmed by the warning. A Shadow they’ve never faced before? What could it mean?
“A powerful Shadow, huh? And one we’ve never faced?” Akihiko questioned. “Honestly, it sounds like something that could be a nice workout.” Shinjiro barks, “Don’t be stupid! You heard how panicked she sounded? Whatever she detected would probably kill us if we just rushed into battle.” Mitsuru nodded. “I agree. If we see something that could be dangerous, we can’t make any rash decisions. I trust you will make sure we’re safe, Leader?” Minato nodded. “Leave it to me.” With the warning in mind, they continued to roam the floor. It wasn’t long before they saw a Shadow moving around. A lump of black sludge and arms, nothing special.
“We got company. What’s the plan?” Shinjiro asked. Minato answered, “We fight,” and they started to approach the Shadow when it suddenly ran away in a panic. Not from them, but… something else. Before they could ask what, something large ran past them and chased the Shadow down. When they were out of sight, they heard a loud shriek before it was quickly silenced by the sound of something tearing into the Shadow. It almost sounded like claws ripping into flesh. Against better judgement, the group followed the sound of the carnage. As they turned the corner, the thing they heard from the Shadow was the loud hiss of its demise, and they saw the thing that put it down facing away from them.
This thing was enormous. It easily towered over them. Its body structure resembled a human’s. Arms, legs, a head, a torso, but… so many things were wrong about it. The head didn’t belong to a human, but an animal. With sharp, pointy ears and furry cheeks. Its hands touched the floor and are much longer than its legs. Its fingers were sharp claws, stained in black. What remained of the Shadow dripped from the tips of its nails. What was connecting the limbs to the body looked like a pale white, almost like exposed bone. There was a large gaping hole in the middle of its torso, and inside was a broken object they couldn’t identify. On its back were two appendages that curled inwards with strings dangling from them. They almost looked like wings, but the design looked like they would belong to an instrument like a harp or a lyre. The thing had a tail, or a weapon that looked like a tail, with a rusty blade at the end of it.
The monster turned its head around to face the group, but the body didn’t follow it. Almost like how an owl turned its head. It wore a mask that looked similar to a jester’s mask. A bright red bow was tied around its neck. The real creepy part of it was its mouth. A big smile that glowed a bright red. It looked like it was drawn on the creature’s face rather than being part of its body.
The group froze when the monster looked at them, stared at them for a minute… and then its mouth opened, showing two pairs of sharp black fangs. The sound it made was unsettling. A high-pitched chirping noise echoed through the halls. It almost sounded like giggling. Its body finally lined up with its head. The monster got down on all fours and started crawling towards them.
“RUN!” Minato shouted. They ran away from the beast as it chased them down. It was quickly gaining up on them as it tailed them down the decorated halls. Just as the stairs were in sight, the monster closed in on them and grabbed Shinjiro with its enormous hand. They group looked back as the monster held their teammate in its hands like a doll, his arms restrained and unable to swing at the beast.
“Grah! Let go of me, you damn freak!” Shinjiro demanded. The monster didn’t obey, of course, and let out a series of giggles as Shinjiro squirmed in its grasp.
“Shinji!” Akihiko shouted. He whipped out his Evoker and pulled the trigger. “Polydeuces!” His Persona appeared behind him, ready to attack. He struck the monster with Gigantic Fist, being careful not to hit Shinjiro. The beast let out a shriek as it dropped Shinjiro, making him fall to the ground. Minato and Mitsuru ran up to him.
“Aragaki, are you alright?!” Mitsuru fretted. Shinjiro groaned as he got up, “I’m fine. You should worry more about the dumbass over there.” As he said that, the Shadow was now looking over at Akihiko and let out a loud howl before attacking him with its claws. Polydeuces got in the way of its slashes, but Akihiko still felt pain by proxy. Minato pulled out his Evoker and summoned one of his Personas.
“Saki Mitama!” he shouted. The golden Persona appeared and used Diarama to heal Akihiko. The other team members looked at the beast as it grinned widely at them. Shinjiro sighed, “So we’re doing this, huh? Let’s try not to screw this up.” They surround the Shadow as it howled once again. It powered itself up with Heat Riser and Shinjiro had the same idea with Bloody Charge. Mitsuru sent out Penthesila and used Bufula on the Shadow. The attack landed, but it was barely phased by it.
“What? That barely did a thing,” Mitsuru gasped. Minato triggered his Evoker again and sent out a different Persona.
“Black Frost!” He called and the selected Persona came out. “Agidyne!” Black Frost attacked with a big burst of fire, but much like before, it barely even noticed. That’s when they heard Fuuka.
“Everyone, I scanned the enemy and… it’s unbelievable,” she shuddered. “Elemental attacks won’t help us here. It reflects Light and Dark attacks and resists the rest!” Everyone looked at the monster when she explained its resistances. As if it understood them, the beast giggled at their shocked faces.
“Elemental skills are no good, but physical attacks will still work, right?” Akihiko asked. Fuuka answered, “Well… yes, but this Shadow is extremely powerful. Try and get out of there as soon as you can!” Akihiko brought out Polydeuces again and used Gigantic Fist on the beast. That attack got its attention. It looked at Akihiko with a wide grin before it used Bufudyne to knock him down. Before anyone else could react, it attacked again. This time, it targeted Mitsuru with Agidyne, knocking her down as well. The monster then looked over to Minato and seemed to remember the Persona he used last as it used Kougaon on him.
“Damn it,” Akihiko groaned. “Fuuka was right… This thing is strong.” Shinjiro looked at his teammates and then at the Shadow. Three team members have all been knocked down, making him the only one standing. He was next. Even though Castor had no weaknesses, that monster will still hit like a truck. He braced for impact, waiting for an attack… But it never came. Instead, the Shadow slashed at Minato with its bladed tail. Shinjiro was surprised.
“What? You didn’t even look at me,” Shinjiro questioned before grabbing his Evoker. “Whatever. They said physical attacks are best, right? Works for me. Cast-” Before he could finish, the Shadow’s head turned towards him. Without warning, its head detached from its body and floated towards Shinjiro. Its body then moved on its own until it reunited with the head. Now it was so close to his face, he could practically smell its breath. It opened its mouth and whispered something that left Shinjiro frozen in shock.
“Sh-Shinji… what are you doing?!” Akihiko yelled. “It’ll kill you if you just stand there!” The Shadow moved its arms towards him, clearly planning to grab him again. Shinjiro snapped out of his trance and summoned Castor to use Fatal End before the Shadow could touch him. It hit hard thanks to Bloody Charge beforehand, but the Shadow didn’t seem to mind it. In fact, it laughed after it was hit. Shinjiro felt like he was being mocked. Minato finally got up to his feet and noticed that his Theurgy was ready. He triggered his Evoker and brought out the Jack Brothers. Jack-o’-Lantern and Jack Frost appeared and performed their usual comedy routine. The Almighty attack and bright lights knocked down the Shadow.
“It’s down. What now, Leader?” Shinjiro asked. Minato hurried over to Mitsuru while the monster was still down.
“We leave,” he answered. He helped Mitsuru up and had her lean on him. “You take Akihiko. I got Mitsuru.” Shinjiro put away his axe and pulled his old friend up. They noticed the beast starting to regain its bearings and they hurried up the stairs as fast as they could.
Once they stepped onto the next floor, the pathway back down the stairs closed behind them, leaving the Shadow down there. Mitsuru and Akihiko snapped out of their dizziness.
“Are you two alright?” Minato asked with a hint of worry. Mitsuru let go of him and regained her balance.
“We’re alright. Thank you,” Mitsuru replied. Akihiko, however, was not particularly pleased with Shinjiro and confronted him once he got his own balance back.
“Why did you hesitate?” he questioned. “That Shadow was seconds away from attacking you and you just stood there until the last moment. What happened?” Shinjiro glanced over to him. He didn’t seem interested in answering. Akihiko didn’t like that and he was about to grab him by the collar before Mitsuru stopped him. Minato walked up to Shinjiro.
“Is something bothering you?” he asked. Shinjiro glanced down at him and let out a huge sigh before answering.
“Look, call me crazy, but that thing got up all in my face, and…” he trailed off before continuing. “I think it said my name.” Everyone looked at him in surprise at what he said. Minato looked around the area and saw that it’s structured like a straight hallway. That usually meant that a powerful Shadow is up ahead and a teleporter would be here. He looked to his right, and sure enough, one was there.
“Let’s save this conversation for another time,” he suggested. “For now, let’s head back to the entrance and regroup. I think we could all use rest.” The rest of the group silently agreed and made their way back to the entrance.
A few minutes have gone by, and the Shadow has gotten back on its feet. It looked around the area to see that nobody was there anymore. It then looked up at the stairs where the group had fled. Its smile grew wide and it made a sound that was close to a whisper.
S h i n j i r o