Persona EG LTE | Mythril Moth Creations

Today's Horoscope (Virgo): Don't try to shoulder the burdens of the world by yourself. Relying on others is not a sign of weakness.

After School

As soon as classes end for the day, I head towards the nurse's office. On the way, however, I duck into the boys' restroom. Checking that the coast is clear, I tap the Velvet Room app on my phone...

"Welcome to the Velvet Room. I've been expecting you."

Igor sits at the table, Zecora at his side. I have a seat across from them; Igor spreads a series of cards out on the table which represent the five Personas I have so far. "Hmm," he says. "I'm honestly surprised you've come as far as you have, young customer. You haven't even begun to explore the vast depths of your soul..." He looks up at me with a creepy smile. "Are you aware that the strength of the Personas you can call forth is connected to the strength of your bonds with others? Lately, you've been quite busy...your connections to the people in your life have grown remarkably strong in such a short time.

"Ordinarily, I leave it to those with whom I create contracts to manage the growth of their inner self and the discovery of new Personas," Igor continues, "but in your case...I believe I will make an exception. I am going to fuse a set of new Personas for you, based on the strength of the bonds you have created. These Personas will reflect the power of your friendships...use them wisely, and you may yet survive what lies in store for you."

I watch as the five cards before Igor begin circling on the table, arranging themselves along points on a glowing diagram. Then, before my eyes, the cards begin rapidly multiplying...

"Some of your connections to others...you've already awakened the strongest possible Persona for," Igor says. "As for the rest...before you are the results of my special service. These Personas represent the bonds you share with those you have chosen to surround yourself with. Use them well..."

In a rush of light and sound, I'm back in the restroom. My mind is reeling.

Squaring my shoulders, I head to the nurse's office, where Twilight, Pinkie, and Cadance await. "Sorry to keep you waiting," I say.

"Huh? You didn't keep us waiting," Pinkie says. "We just got here!"

Oh... that's right...

Time doesn't pass when I'm in the Velvet Room...I don't think...

There's a locked steamer trunk standing in the corner, partially obscured by a divider. "Is that our stuff?" I ask.

Cadance nods. "I've got some new surprises for you and Twilight," she says. She locks the door to the office, then unlocks the trunk. First, she pulls out our regular backpacks, which she hands out. Then, she pulls out a sheathed sword attached to a leather baldric. She hands this to Twilight.

Twilight unsheathes it, studying it curiously. "It's a little heavier than the other one," she says, stepping away from us and testing its grip. "Longer, too."

"That's supposed to be made from the highest-quality steel on the market," Cadance says. "I imported it from Horcelona."

"Ooh, nice," I say.

"Thanks, Cadance," Twilight says.

"Now, for Flash..." Cadance struggles to pull a large, flat box out of the trunk. I rush over to help her. Together, we lay it on a bed, where I open it.

"Whoa."

I reach in and pull out a heavy black double-bladed battleaxe. The handle is fairly short, about two and a half feet long; the black blade has a shape strongly reminiscent of the trademarked and copyrighted logo of Batguy. Inside the box, there's also a leather harness; I set down the axe and pull out the harness, strapping it on before carefully stowing the axe.

"Is it going to be too heavy?" Cadance asks.

I shrug. "I'll get used to it."

"Thanks for the new weapons, Cadance," Twilight says.

"You're welcome." Cadance looks at Pinkie. "I'm sorry I don't have anything new for you."

"That's okay," Pinkie says. "I'm good with what I've got."

"Well...shall we begin?"

Zodiac

You don't give up, do you?

Wasn't almost dying enough?

What's it going to take to get you idiots to stay away?

If you try to interfere with Sagittarius on Saturday, I'm going to kill all of you. Just let Rainbow Dash die. She's not worth it.

"Well someone had their bitch flakes today," Pinkie says.

"Strange that she'd just flat out say Rainbow Dash is the next target," Twilight says.

Why shouldn't I? It's obvious you've figured it out by now.

"Why are you doing this?" Cadance demands. "What's the reason?"

That's my business. Not yours.

Didn't you come here to "train"? Better get to it.

I want you to at least be worth the effort of killing.

Or you could do me a huge favor and just die right now.

Pinkie sighs. "You know, I...don't like it when people tell me they want me to die..."

"Yeah," I agree. "Let's...let's just do what we came to do so we can go shopping." I grin. "I've got some new surprises of my own to show you..."

Cadance unlocks the door, then summons Aphrodite. //Hmm...there's a lot more Shadows than usual, and some of them are pretty strong...be careful, kids...//

With our weapons at the ready, the three of us step out into the hall.

The first Shadows we encounter do their best to stay out of range of our attacks, hurling bolts of fire and ice at us. "Time to go to work," I say, stowing my axe and tapping my phone. "Let's start with...LEGION!"

The Persona that appears is a massive ball of red, twisted, distorted flesh. Hideous faces, stunted limbs, and odd, inhuman tendrils cover the floating, freakish mass, which gibbers, screams, cries, and moans.

"Legion, of the Fool Arcana, representing the many voices made one..."

"Oh my gosh that's really gross!" Pinkie says.

Rampage

Legion launches itself into the mass of Shadows hovering ahead of us, slamming into each of them repeatedly, resembling a grotesque, squishy pinball made of mulched-up mutants. The Shadows fall out of the air; Pinkie and Twilight make short work of them.

The next Shadow we encounter seems to be made of fire. We can't get close to it. Bursts of flame snap out at us, driving us back.

"JINN!"

A wispy blue genie appears between us and the fire Shadow. As its flames lick out at us, Jinn absorbs them all; the fatigue I've felt since summoning Legion begins to ebb.

"Jinn, of the Magician Arcana, representing the fulfillment of desires and the cost of obtaining that which you seek..."

Magarula

Jinn exhales a powerful gust of wind, which blows the fire Shadow away into nothingness.

After we battle several weak Shadows, we run into a huge, armored tank with a Shadow mask on the turret. "Oh, COME ON!" Pinkie yells.

//It's weak to electricity!// Cadance says. //Just zap it and don't let it attack you!//

Zio

Twilight summons Athena. Her electric attack stuns the tank, which shudders as it tries to lock onto us.

I slide the Emperor Arcana card onto my Persona app. "TAKE-MIKAZUCHI!"

A red-skinned figure dressed in white and holding a sword appears.

"Take-Mikazuchi, of the Emperor Arcana, representing the insurmountable power of thunder..."

Zionga

Take-Mikazuchi's eyes glow white-hot, and a massive thunderbolt slams into the tank. Pieces of its armor break off and fly away as thick black smoke pours out of the turret. A second thunderbolt causes the entire tank to explode, its fragments dissolving into black mist.

"How many of those do you have?!" Pinkie gasps.

I smile grimly. "I'm just getting warmed up..."

"I haven't seen you use any of those before," Twilight says.

"They're new and improved." More Shadows appear. "ANZU!"

Magaru

A creature that looks like a reversed griffon—the body of an eagle and the head of a lion—appears, roaring and unleashing a wind attack that rips the Shadows to shreds.

"Anzu, of the Hierophant Arcana, the chimera that predates the modern griffon..."

"Hey! Save some for us!" Pinkie yells.

A dozen Shadows surround us.

"O-on second thought...help yourself," Pinkie says.

"UNDINE!"

Mabufula

A beautiful woman made entirely of water appears, rippling serenely. She unleashes a spreading wave of ice which freezes the Shadows solid.

"Undine, of the Lovers Arcana...the flawless beauty who can never truly feel unless she marries a mortal man..."

Working together, Twilight and Pinkie make short work of them, Twilight skewering them with her saber while Pinkie's whip shatters them with precision strikes.

A samurai Shadow charges around a corner, nearly taking Twilight's head off; only Pinkie's quick reflexes save her. As the girls go down in a tangle of limbs, I summon my next new Persona. "ANGEL!"

A beautiful female angel with pale white skin and long golden hair, blindfolded and with her torso bound in strategically-placed leather straps and chains, appears.

"Angel, of the Justice Arcana, sent by God to watch over His children..."

Hama

Angel snaps her fingers. A pure, white light shines from beneath the samurai Shadow. In a flash, it simply ceases to exist.

"Wow, that one was really kinky," Pinkie says.

"Flaaaaaaash..." Twilight growls. I look back at her. Her left eye is twitching.

More samurai Shadows appear, surrounding us. "KURAMA TENGU!"

A muscular blue-skinned demon with huge wings appears.

"Kurama Tengu, of the Hermit Arcana, the patron of exorcism and bringer of good luck..."

Mahama

A ring of pure white light encompasses all the samurai Shadows. Most of them wink out of existence in blinding white flashes. The stragglers are felled by Euphrosyne and Athena.

"FINALLY we're getting in this fight," Pinkie complains.

//Flash, aren't you overexerting yourself?//

"I don't...mind this pain at all!" I grunt.

"Flash..." Twilight says softly.

"BRING IT ON!" I yell. My body is in agony, but I can't stop...I need to use this new strength...all of it!

Wave after wave of Shadows appear. One by one, I call forth my new Personas to deal with them.

"CU CHULAINN!"

"Cu Chulainn, of the Tower Arcana, the carrier of the sacred spear..."

"GARUDA!"

"Garuda, of the Star Arcana, the immortal vassal of Vishnu..."

"GIRIMEHKALA!"

"Girimehkala, of the Moon Arcana, the giant whose baleful gaze spreads misfortune..."

"QUETZALCOATL!"

"Quetzalcoatl, of the Sun Arcana, the great feathered serpent..."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Evening

"Flash?"

I look around. I'm in the nurse's office. Twilight, Cadance, and Pinkie are standing worriedly over me. Twilight's been crying.

"What...what happened...?"

"YOU IDIOT!" Twilight screeches, grabbing me by the shirt and slapping me. "You scared the hell out of me!"

"Twilight? What...?"

"You...kinda went a teensy bit out of control in Zodiac," Pinkie says. I look at her and notice that her hair is flat and limp and her eyes are full of worry. "You just...you just kept summoning all those Personas, one right after another...you wouldn't stop...and then you just...passed out."

"We dragged you back here," Twilight says. "We had to fight without you...you were out cold..."

"But...the Shadows didn't...really put up much of a fight after you fell," Pinkie says. "I think you scared them as much as you scared us...they just kinda..."

Twilight grabs my collar with both hands and twists it, burying her face in my chest. "Don't you EVER do that again," she sobs. "Don't..."

I wrap my arms around her awkwardly. "I...I'm sorry," I say. "I don't...I don't know..."

What happened?

I...can't remember...

Everything's a black haze...

"I want to go home and sleep," I say.

Twilight sniffles and nods. "Yeah. Let's...let's take you home and let you sleep..."

Twilight and Pinkie help me out to Cadance's SUV. Once we're at the dorm, Twilight half-carries me upstairs. The others are giving us worried, concerned looks, but I'm too exhausted, mentally and physically, to worry about that right now.

Let Twilight and Pinkie deal with that...

I need rest...

The last thing I remember before I fall asleep is Twilight looking into my face with worry, confusion, and fear.