Persona - Chaos Butterfly 14.1

Chapter 14: I'm yourself, You're myself. (Part one)

Teddie was flabbergasted. "H-how can this be? I thought people like Sensei don't have Shadows…"

The two Shadows snickered.

"What a stupid bear," Shadow Minato said. "The three Wild Cards are human. Of course they have Shadows dwelling within them."

"Yeah, but we're just better at hiding it," Shadow Minako added, letting out a creepy giggle.

"If Izanami is gone, then why are you here?" Naoto questioned. "There's no way that you two could have awakened without her help." The others murmured and nodded their agreement.

At that, the Shadows burst out laughing. "You guys don't get it, do you?" Shadow Minako giggled. "While it is true that Izanami is no longer here, the both of us have always existed. Even when Aigis gained our power after we became the Great Seal, did you really think we disappeared? Thanks to her retaining that power for us, we were able to return." Her smile sent shivers down everyone's spines.

"We are Shadows, the true self. What part of that statement don't you dumbasses understand?" Shadow Minato taunted. "Think about it this way…why would we need help awakening if that was already done three years ago? Ask Akihiko-senpai and Mitsuru-senpai…they saw the whole thing." He smirked at Yukari. "Oh yeah, so were you, right Yukari-chan?"

Akihiko and Mitsuru flinched.

"You mean back in April of 2009, during the full moon…" Yukari trailed off, eyes wide. She then frowned, looking rather angry. "You're lying! There's no way you can be them!"

"No, they're not lying," Souji said, holding out an arm to silence every one. "One thing Shadows can't do is lie, no matter how horrible the truth might seem." He gazed at the two Shadows in the form of his surrogate siblings. "There's no mistaking it…those two are Orpheus and Eurydice, reverted back to their Shadow forms."

The Investigation Team looked at Souji with disbelief. "How can you be sure, Sensei?" Teddie asked.

"A Shadow and a Persona are the same thing…two sides of the same coin," Souji answered, not taking his eyes off them. "The only difference is that a Persona can be controlled."

"But that's impossible," Junpei said in disbelief. "We kicked your asses in the Abyss of Time. Why are you guys still here?"

"Good guess, Souji-kun," Shadow Minato applauded. "But I'm not surprised you managed to see right through us. You've always been the observant one."

"As for Junpei's question, what you defeated back then was a physical manifestation of SEES' grief that took our form after we died," Minako answered with a sneer. "We on the other hand are the negative emotions those two have been keeping pent up for so long. Did you guys enjoy the little memory trip inside their heads?"

A soft moan could be heard when the twins started to stir. Slowly, they got to their feet. When they got their bearings straight and looked at their surroundings, they were shocked to see their own look-alikes.

"So you two are awake now. This is great! Now we can properly finish what we started!" Shadow Minako cheered, clapping her hands. The others cringed; it was rather disturbing to see a Shadow acting so much like its master, slightly on the childish side.

Souji stepped forward and brandished his sword, not taking his eyes off the Shadows in case they did something unexpected. Yukari and Shinjiro rushed to their beloved's sides, checking to see if they're alright.

"Wh-who…what are they?" Minato questioned, feeling uneasy.

"Why, I'm hurt that you don't recognize me," his Shadow said, feigning shock. "I am you, and you are me. The same goes for Minako here."

Minako looked confused. "You…are me?"

"Of course I'm you, silly," her Shadow counterpart giggled. "I know everything there is to know about you. Your thoughts, your dreams, your fears…" She snickered when Minako instinctively gripped Shinjiro's arm. "That's right. You're scared of being left alone again. It wasn't sunshine and rainbows when you were stuck as the Great Seal. All you could do was gaze at your friends below… living their lives while you had to hold back Erebus for all of eternity."

"I…I chose that of my own free will!" Minako tried to sound brave, but the fear in her eyes was prominent. Shinjiro wrapped his arms around her, trying to calm her shaking body.

"Of course you did," Shadow Minato said. "But admit it…you were scared as hell at your sudden return. Did ya tell Souji that when he found you in the middle of the street during the Dark Hour?"

Souji was confused, but he maintained his stance. "Aniki, what is he talking about?"

"What am I talking about? I'm talking about how the Seal is weakening the longer we remain in this world. If we don't return to it, then the world will end…" Shadow Minato answered, his smirk changed to a sad frown. "Even with all this power, I…what is my purpose then?" Shadow Minako also turned somber.

"We were freed for a reason. There's no way we're going to give up!" Minato shot back. Yukari was supporting him since he didn't have enough strength to stand upright.

"Aniki is right. We'd do anything to protect our family and friends, even if it means doing it all over again!" Minako added, not missing the pained look in Shinjiro's eyes.

The black smoke swirling around the Shadows' bodies became thicker. The Investigation Team immediately went into battle mode, readying their weapons. Normally they wouldn't interfere with a Shadow and it owner's revelations, hoping they could sort it out, but it always ended up with a fight. The rest of SEES also followed.

'This isn't good,' Souji thought. 'Their emotions are starting to become unstable. The Great Seal is a touchy subject…and their Shadows are making the situation worse. Come on, think! What would make their Shadows say these things?' A sudden thought hit him; a Shadow represents the inverse of the person's arcana. Being a Wild Card means that the twins and himself have multiple arcanas, but their dominant ones were the Fool, the Judgment and the World. 'According to the book I read about tarot reading, the inverse Fool represents foolishness, losing the path in one's life, or decisions that will end in doom. Could that be related to the Great Seal? They thought that that was all they were good for?'

"My dear master, that's a blunt faced lie and you know it," Shadow Minako pouted, becoming childlike once more. "Your memories showed that you didn't have any regrets sacrificing yourselves to protect everyone, but is that really true? Nothing else could be done about the Great Seal, as it is our fate to stay there forever." And just like that she turned sad again.

Minako closed her eyes and covered her ears, looking like she was about to cry.

"How selfish can you be…" Shadow Minato said, looking rather angry. "Both of you don't want to go back. Even if it is for the greater good, you guys are too scared to lose the lives you had, the ones you love. So you became the Seal in order to show off your powers. That was it, wasn't it? The realities are out of balance because of you!"

Minato was on his knees, holding his head. "No…no! We wanted to protect everyone! We didn't mean to cause anyone any heartache…"

Souji continued to process the information. 'The inverse Judgment represents the inability to move forward. That could be why the memories shown were the most painful parts of their past. And the inverse World…the refusal to accept the truth. I guess deep, deep down, Aniki and Aneki thought that this chaos that we're going through is their fault. But it isn't! They were definitely freed for a reason!' He wanted to so badly to slice the Shadows and force them back, but he knew it doesn't work that way.

"These people aren't your friends," Shadow Minato continued his rant. "What did they ever do to help you, when you guys were suffering in silence? Nothing!!!"

"SHUT UP!!!" Minako screamed. "Leave them out of this. They have nothing to do with it!" Hysterical sobs escaped her throat as she fell on her knees.

Shinjiro tried his best to console her, but nothing he said was working as her sobs got harder.

"Minato-kun, please get a hold of yourself," Yukari said softly, rubbing his back. "If this continues, those things will go berserk."

Shadow Minako laughed like a maniac. "Berserk? Berserk?! You're so clueless Yukari-chan. None you could even understand the loneliness we felt when we were in SEES, or comprehend the pain of getting bashed by Erebus day after day when we were trapped as the Great Seal! And Shinjiro…you don't deserve me because you were the entire reason for my heartache!"

Yukari gasped and covered her mouth, while Shinjiro looked like he'd been shot. He momentarily loosened his grip on Minako.

"No…that's not true!" Minako screamed, shaking her head violently.

"We never thought like that!" Minato yelled.

Souji had enough, and turned around to face them. "Aniki, Aneki, stop it! Stop it…please…" His eyes began to water. "I understand your pain and loneliness…all of it, because I went through it myself. Of all the people in this room, I understand that the most. Not just because of our Wild Card ability, but because you guys are my family. I wouldn't judge you if you had all these emotions pent up inside, because I have felt it too. So please…don't deny it anymore…I'm here for you."

"Banchou-kun…" the twins whispered, slowly calming down.

The others were silent, the Investigation Team even more so. They never knew that their fearless leader was suffering just as much as the Arisato twins, despite their close relationship with him. They were starting to wonder just how much he was hiding behind his calm exterior. But their thoughts were cut off when they heard creepy giggles coming from the two Shadows. Black mist swirled around and engulfed them. "Too late," the Shadows sang.

The Persona users could feel the malicious aura they were emitting. "What the…" Yosuke was stunned. "How can this be? Those two haven't completely rejected their Shadows yet!"

"It must be because of their Wild Card abilities, so their Shadows aren't like ours," Naoto said, filling the bullets in her revolver. "We also can't rule out the overwhelming levels of emotional pain those two have gone through. Our problems were considered normal compared to theirs."

"Ikutsuki must have been the trigger, and seeing Souji get hurt must have made them snap," Akihiko said. "That bastard…wait till I get my hands on him…"

"So it is safe to assume that their Shadows are much more dangerous than any of yours," Mitsuru said. "If so, then expect a tough battle."

Minato and Minako felt their strength being drained and fainted. Luckily, Yukari and Shinjiro caught them before they could hit the floor. The five of them were thrown back as a burst of energy exploded from the black mist. Two tall figures started to materialize and take shape, suspended in the air. One of them looked like Orpheus Telos, except that his metallic body was black and his limbs were white. The color of his skin and hair were disgusting shades of grey, making him look extremely ill. He was carrying silver coffins on a chain like Thanatos, and mounted on his back was a rusty lyre with sharp, jagged edges. His eyes were bluish and milky white, crying tears of blood. The other one looked like Eurydice Telos with the exact same discoloration and accessories as her male counterpart.

"We are Shadows, the true self," they echoed in unison. "We're tired of losing everything that means the world to us, so we might as well end the source of the pain…starting with YOU!" The two Shadows glared at Souji, and started to swing the coffins around. When enough momentum was gained, they aimed the attack at the silverette.

"LOOK OUT!!!" their friends cried.

Souji had to act fast before the attack could cause any collateral damage. He threw himself directly in front of the attack and crushed his card. "Ganesha, Tatrakarn!"

The elephant god casted the reflective barrier and Souji expanded it just in time when the coffins made impact. With the barrier activated, the full force of the attack was redirected back to the Shadows. It could have killed them, Souji knew, but the Shadows were seemingly unharmed. Whatever it was, he wasn't about to let them harm his siblings and casted another two Tartrakarns on them for good measure.

"Shit…I never thought that their Shadows were so volatile. And I almost got them to calm down too…" Souji groaned. He didn't have time to dwell on it and got up, gearing himself for battle. "Yukari-san and Shinjiro-san, get Aniki and Aneki to safety. I'm taking both of you out of the fight so that you can protect them." Shinjiro wanted to protest, but Souji gave him a glare so fierce that he was forced to obey. The silverette continued to give out orders. "Ken and Yukiko, you two are our main healers right now. Their attacks are likely to cause a lot of damage, so I don't need you to waste your energy on fighting. We'll fight them as two separate teams; I'll take on Shadow Eurydice and Aigis-san will take on Shadow Orpheus. We have to take them down fast, so don't hold back!"

The others scattered around but stayed close to their assigned sub-group. Fuuka and Rise remained close to Yukari and Shinjiro, scanning the Shadows as quickly as they can.

Souji made his first move.

"Zaou-Gongen, Vorpal Blade!"

Being one of Souji's high level Personas, the Shinto mountain deity's attack slashed Shadow Eurydice with great accuracy. She let out a high-pitched shriek, unsuited for her title as Mistress of Melodies. 'She must have been injured by that reflected attack after all.' Feeling confident, he summoned another Persona. "Surt, Ragnarok!"

"I'll back ya up, parter!" Yosuke said, summoning his card. "Susano-O, Garudyne!"

The giant pillar of magma engulfed Shadow Eurydice, and Yosuke helped amplify its fire power. Koromaru added his own Agidyne to the mix. Shadow Eurydice screamed as she tried to put it out the hell inferno with little success.

Meanwhile, Aigis ordered a full assault on Shadow Orpheus. "Athena, God's Hand!"

"Psyche, Garudyne!"

"Rokuten Maoh, Ziodyne!"

"Trismegistus, Agidyne!"

Even though the triple magic spells didn't shock the giant Shadow into submission, it managed to injure him just enough to give Mitsuru an opening to cast Mind Charge on herself and release a powerful ice storm, successfully wounding him even further.

As the fire attack and ice blizzard died down, the others watched with bated breath, anxious to know if their opponents had given up. Shadow Eurydice had severe burn wounds and there were shallow cuts on Shadow Orpheus, but that was about it. They laughed and continued to taunt. "We represent the arcana of unlimited potential. Did you really think that your measly attacks can hurt us?" Both of them tied the chains of their coffins to their waist and dismounted their lyres.

Souji cursed in his mind when he heard Rise's voice. "Senpai, both of them have very high resistance to physical and magic attacks, and they nullify Dark and Light," she reported.

"Not only that, their evasion rate, strength, defense and agility are at their maximum," Fuuka added. "Please be careful…I sense that they have a few hidden abilities which will be very troublesome in battle."

"This isn't good…" Souji mumbled to himself. He turned to the others. "Akihiko-san, I'm afraid you're going to have to debuff their stats constantly. Yosuke, be on the lookout if they buffer up and nullify them immediately. They seem to be attacking in sync, so finding an opening for an All-Out Attack is going to be a huge problem," he said, loud enough for the other sub-team to hear.

"If they are the Shadows of Minato-san and Minako-san, then they also have the knowledge of our Personas and their skills," Metis said. "We are at a disadvantage like this."

"So what?" Kanji interjected. "If they know about yours, then we have the upper hand. They don't know much about ours, and I'm sure Souji-senpai have a few Personas which they don't."

"That may be a good idea, Kanji, but we have to do better than that if we want to defeat them before our energy runs out," Souji reminded him. 'And before they kill all of us.'

A strange, hypnotic melody was being played as the Shadows strummed their lyres. It was soothing like a lullaby, yet at the same time aggravating as the rusty strings vibrated, sending the music across the air.

"So…pretty…" Teddie said, swaying back and forth to the music. Junpei and Yosuke's eyes were getting glassy, and a few of the others seem to be in a trance.

Souji's eyes widen when he realized what was going on. "Cover your ears! Don't listen to the music!!!" he bellowed. He quickly reequipped his Persona to one with multiple ailment nullifying skills. Those who weren't yet affected plugged their ears, including Shinjiro and Yukari. After what seemed like an agonizing minute, a loud screech echoed through the small room where the force of it was enough to push them backwards slightly, and silence soon followed.

The silverette's eyes scanned his teammates. Those who covered their ears were fine, but Teddie and Junpei seemed to have been hit with confusion, Akihiko was silenced, and Chie and Koromaru were ailed with fear. "Fuuka-san was right. Their music can cause random ailments, and with that they have complete advantage. This is troublesome indeed," he told the others.

"It will be more troublesome if they can cast Control like Kunino Sagiri," Naoto said. "We can't have anyone stabbing us in the back."

Yukiko knew what she had to do. Since Souji put her on the sidelines, she could better observe those who needed any aid. "Amaterasu, Salvation!"

Those with ailments quickly recovered, able to focus on the fight once more. They sent magical and physical attacks at the Shadows, but whatever the Persona users sent them wasn't having a major effect. Akihiko was trying his best to lower their status, but he was having trouble avoiding the ice attacks aimed at him by Shadow Orpheus. It was nearly impossible to get close and land a direct hit with a short-ranged weapon. The Shadows also have a tendency to switch positions when the team least expected it, causing confusion amongst them.

"Rise, do they have any passive abilities that you can tell?" Souji asked his team's analyzer.

"Give me a sec, Senpai. Even combining Kanzeon's scanning abilities with Juno's, it's gonna take some time for accurate results," she answered.

The team had to constantly keep their guard up as the Shadows constantly played their instruments. When some of them were distracted, Shadow Eurydice would hit them with a shockwave, followed by powerful elemental spells, specifically targeting anyone with a weakness to it. Ken and Yukiko were kept busy healing their teammates, but even they were close to their limit. And they were also slowly running out of supplies, namely Stimulants, Mouth Washes and Dokudami Teas. Fatigue and mental strain from the surrounding fog were catching on too.

Meanwhile, Shinjiro and Yukari were trying their best to wake the twins up, but to no avail. Shinjiro had to summon Pegasus a few times to block any attacks coming their way, while Yukari used her wind magic to cushion any of her friends who were about to collide with the gigantic pillars.

"Senpai, I don't think they have any resistances to Enervation and Exhaustion. Fuuka-senpai said she never even heard of these ailments, so I guess they didn't develop any skills to counter it back in Tartarus," Rise said a bit triumphantly, although there was some tiredness in her voice.

"That does make sense, because the properties of this world are very different from Tartarus," Fuuka added.

Souji smirked. "Thanks for the update, girls. It's time for a strategy change!" As he went through his Persona arsenal, Souji gave the rest of the team new orders. "Yosuke, take over our sub-group and bombard it with any attacks that you can think of. Aigis-san, you do the same. I need you guys to keep them busy while I try to weaken them even further."

Yosuke wasted no time shooting a series of wind spells and physical attacks on Shadow Eurydice, nimbly avoiding her counter-attacks with his acrobatic moves and speed. As he was playing decoy, Mitsuru, Akihiko and Koromaru combined their magic spells and sent it straight to the Shadow when she was too distracted with Yosuke.

"Don't give him any chance to play his lyre! Destroy it if you have to!" Aigis ordered. She boosted her sub-team's speed and accuracy with Masukukaja and proceeded to shoot Shadow Orpheus with her ammo. Naoto kept shooting non-stop, hoping to damage his instrument. Kanji, Metis, Junpei and Chie assaulted him with powered up physical attacks while Teddie conjured ice blocks to hinder his movements.

Souji was waiting for the right opportunity to use his special attack as his tarot card spun on his palm. When the twins' Shadows were close to each other and his teammates some distance away, he crushed it. "Shiki-Ouji, Navas Nebula!"

It took Souji a few tries for the Exhaustion effect to kick in, causing the damage done to increase by 50%. The Investigation Team smirked and doubled their efforts in attacking, followed by SEES. Souji wasn't about to stop there now that he knew what his strongest advantage was.

"Alraune, Old One!"

After just two tries, both Shadows were enervated, their stats dwindled by half. The damage caused by the Persona users were starting to show, but it still wasn't enough to take the Shadows down.

"Damn tough bastards…" Shinjiro muttered under his breath as he watched his teammates fight. "I guess that's to be expected of a Wild Card. They never go down easy."

Yukari summoned Isis and casted Samarecarm on the twins, but it wasn't having an effect. "That's one of my strongest healing spells too. I guess until their Shadows are defeated they'll stay unconscious." She dismissed her Persona and continued to watch over them.

"Why…why won't all of you just disappear!?!" Shadow Eurydice screeched, banging her rusty lyre to the ground, sending large chunks of the floor to Aigis and Metis who were protected by Athena's shield.

"It hurts…" Shadow Orpheus cried, mounting his lyre on his back to use his chain of coffins once more. "The pain of loss…IT HURTS SO MUCH!!!" He started attacking Yosuke and his group, everything about his movements wild and reckless, without any sense of purpose but to destroy.

"Even with their stats halved, they are still very resilient," Fuuka said, starting to sound worried when the dungeon began to rumble. "Guys, I don't think this floor will hold out much longer. They are causing too much destruction. You have to defeat them quick!"

Thinking furiously about how he should weaken the Shadows further, Souji had an idea. Popping a few Soul Drops onto his mouth, he readied his next Persona to be summoned from the sea of his soul. "Trumpeter, Debilitate!"

The archangel of the Last Judgment materialized, blowing his trumpet at the direction of the two Shadows. They started to become slightly weak, movements sluggish. Koromaru and Yosuke took advantage of this and casted Masukukaja on everyone, doubling their speed to avoid getting injured by their opponents. The rest combined their magic and physical attacks to maximize the damage.

Souji changed his Persona to Yoshitsune. He planned on using him for his final and strongest physical attack to end this fight.

"Power Charge! Heat Riser!"

The ancient Japanese General appeared, casting a golden light on his master. Souji felt stronger, his senses more alert. "Get out of my way!" he yelled to his friends. "And take cover…I'll end this once and for all!"

Without needing to be told twice, the Investigation Team and SEES scrambled out of range. Shinjiro carried Minako while Junpei helped Yukari with Minato and took them to safety behind a pillar. The rest also took shelter behind the other pillars.

"Yoshitsune…" The Persona nodded, readying his twin katanas "Hassou Tobi!"

A rain of crimsom rays erupted from the ground and flew into the sky, piercing the Shadows at every angle possible. They screamed in pain, an unearthly cry filled with sorrow that vibrated through the air like a melody from Hell. Their lyres and coffins shattered, leaving them defenseless as they fell to the ground in an unceremonious heap. A puddle of blood oozed on the floor as they started to sob, twin streaks of red liquid streaming from their eyes.

The Arisato twins were beginning to stir, and the others finally knew that the Shadows have been defeated. All that was left to do was for them to accept the darkest side of themselves, but that was another thing altogether.

"Aniki, Aneki!" Souji made his way to his siblings, panting hard. Aside from Adachi, that was the toughest battle he had endured. "Are you guys alright? Are you hurt?"

"Just my head…" Minako groaned, being helped to her feet by Shinjiro.

"What happened to the Shadows?" Minato asked groggily, supporting his weight on Yukari.

"About that…" Souji began, looking at them. "I don't need to say this again, but I'm sure you're aware that if you reject them once more they will go berserk and attack us." He suddenly pulled the twins into a hug. "I'm sorry…for not being aware about your pain. As your brother, you guys can tell me anything. You don't have to go through that alone anymore, because I'm not going anywhere." His gaze met that of Shinjiro, Yukari, and the others who were starting to crowd around them. "Correction…WE are not going anywhere," he smiled.

The twins broke away from the hug and approached their Shadows.

"I wanted to deny you guys so bad," Minato began, facing Shadow Orpheus. "But I knew you were telling the truth, every last detail. You were right, all I could focus on when I was the Great Seal was how my friends have moved on, and eventually they'll forget about me. Just because we didn't have any regrets doesn't mean it wasn't painful. If you really are me, then you must have felt the same pain. I'm sorry."

"When Aniki and I were brought back to life, I was so happy that I got to meet everyone that I held dear," Minako admitted to Shadow Eurydice. "But it also scared me that if I was forced to return, I'd lose all that again. That's something that I don't want. I held onto it desperately, even if it meant that I couldn't move on…remaining fixated to the past." She began to cry. "I apologize for causing you, I mean us, so much pain."

From their positions on the floor, the Shadows looked up to their respective masters, and held out a hand. Both twins grasped them and smiled, letting them know that they no longer rejected their existence. The four of them were surrounded by soft blue light as the bulky forms of the Shadows reverted back to Orpheus, the Master of Strings and Eurydice, the Mistress of Melodies. As the Personas returned to the sea of their souls, the twins felt as if a heavy weight was lifted from their chests.

They sighed a bit, a mix of dazement and fatigue settling in and were supported by Yukari and Shinjiro. The twins smiled at their loved ones and embraced them, feeling at peace and safe in their arms. Yukari and Shinjiro readily returned the embrace, smiling relieved that both were safe.

Souji saw the look of content on his sibling's faces. 'I'm glad that they accepted their other self and moved on... I forgot that they have another dominant arcana; Death. The inverse of that represents a mentality of being stuck in the past, unable to mourn any loss and cannot accept any change that comes with the future. I couldn't blame them for that. They've gone through and sacrificed so much, so it's only human to feel that way...' He smiled a bit. 'Hope is really a wonderful thing.'

Taking charge once more, he turned to the gang. "Let's get out of here. Aniki and Aneki are gonna need a lot rest after that ordeal, and so do the rest of us."