(A/N: If you haven't yet, I highly recommend you guys to read the pre-fight analysis first, in the previous chapter. That said, here's the first half of the final fight!)
Wiz: Alright, the true king has been crowned, and the battle for everyone's souls has begun! Let's settle this debate once and for all!
Boomstick: It's time... FOR A DEATH BATTLE!!!!
****
In Between Dreams and Reality...
The youth groaned, as his eyes flickered open. Feeling himself lying on the ground, he bade his muscles to move, and slowly shuffled back to his feet... and the first thing that greeted his eyes was a vast expanse of nothing but blue.
Yet, as foreign as this place was, it all felt familiar to him. It was almost akin to a certain room he used to visit, albeit completely empty...
Where... was this place...?
Suddenly, the youth's head filled with a searing pain, as he fell to his knees, seething. Something was drumming in his conscious... Something powerful, and familiar...
Finally, the pain made the youth let out a short scream that pierced through the empty space, and reached the ears of no one.
No one...
No one...
No one...
...No one...
...No one...?
...No one...?
...
...
...
...
"Welcome back, my guest... to the Velvet Room."
(Cue The Poem for Everyone's Souls - Persona 5 OST)
Suddenly the pain left the youth's head. What...
As his vision cleared, the young man of short black hair shuffled back to his feet, looking straight ahead at the new occupant of the room...
Room?
Yes, he was now in a room, one that vaguely resembled a prison cell. A room that he had once visited... the hub of his former adventure.
And the man sitting behind the wooden desk was the one who had guided him all throughout his adventure.
No. His rehabilitation.
"Ah!" started the long-nosed old man. "It seems you've finally regained yourself... my former guest, Ren Amamiya."
The youth, who had just been addressed as 'Ren Amamiya', spoke. "Igor... What... am I doing in this place...?"
Just then, another figure had piped up near the man Ren had addressed as 'Igor'. She was a short young woman of dignified stature, swathed in a blue uniform and a head of blond hair. She was someone Ren had known, and she was a comfort to the eyes much like his other confidants.
"Welcome back, my Trickster," Lavenza started. "It's been long."
To this, Ren only gave a small smile, one that let Lavenza know that he was happy to be graced by her presence once again.
But that smile soon faded as Lavenza's own smile dropped, hinting that she was thinking of something serious...
Ren then turned to Igor, whose fingers were dancing on the table as he eyed his former guest. "Tell me, Igor," he began. "What am I doing here? Why am I here? The Metaverse is gone. I defeated the god of control, and the world is safe. So why?"
Igor gave a light chuckle. "Yes, that is true," he replied. "You have proven yourself via finishing your rehabilitation, and saving your world. However... it appears the Fates do not wish for your trial to finish just yet."
"What do you mean?" asked Ren. Igor had always been one for riddles and playful wording, but this one in particular genuinely puzzled him.
"The Master means," Lavenza started, with a look on her face that bore gentleness at the face of urgency, "that there has been an unexplained event that has been throwing the multiverse itself into disarray. An event... that involves bringing two warriors from differing worlds together, to host some wicked tournament that involves them fighting to the death."
Ren turned to Igor, who simply motioned for Lavenza to continue.
The attendant cleared her throat. "The last battle that took place shook and destroyed an entire multiverse... Though that multiverse was reset, the memory of that titanic battle still remains, somewhere. The Master is one of the few people to retain it in his mind."
"Battles? That threaten the multiverse?" questioned Ren. "And just what do I have to do with any of this?"
Lavenza's expression turned serious, as she looked into Ren's eyes. "Very well... But I hope you like long stories..."
****
Cafe Leblanc, the following day...
(Cue Beneath the Mask -Rainy Mood- - Persona 5 OST)
"...people fighting to the death? Like, for real?"
As soon as Ren had brought up his encounter with Igor and Lavenza in the Velvet Room - the one where he had been told about individuals from differing worlds being forced to fight to the death - he had been met with several questions from his peers. They were concerned for his well-being, yes, and Ren knew that if he was going to bring this matter up to anyone, they would be the first ones to know.
Ren Amamiya and the Phantom Thieves - the ragtag band of brigands that had risen up to purge the world of its various injustices by changing the hearts of the worst of the worst - were currently gathered at the cafe where their leader had once lived in during his rehabilitation. And the Thieves were just as crisp and eager to help as they had been throughout the entire year Ren had been on probation.
The rough-mouthed, yet gold-hearted delinquent, Ryuji Sakamoto. The confident model, Ann Takamaki. The serene yet focused artisan, Yusuke Kitagawa. The determined council president, Makoto Niijima. The young, tech-oriented geek, Futaba Sakura. The dignified heiress, Haru Okumura. And of course, one of Ren's most trusted guides, the talking cat Morgana. The Thieves were there, gathered in their concerned demeanors.
"Dude? What's the matter?" asked Ryuji. At this, Ren was instantly brought back to reality, facing his teammates as he scratched his head.
"Nothing. It's just... this is a pretty worrying discovery," responded Ren. "Igor and Lavenza told me that some weird force is pulling people from other worlds and forcing them to fight each other. Or even making them fight within their own worlds."
"Making people from different worlds fight..." Ann droned. "What kind of twisted god would do that?"
"Apparently, someone who wants to draw us out," replied Morgana, as he scooted over towards Ren's side. "Because why would Ren be talking to Master Igor again, when the Metaverse is gone?"
"Indeed," Yusuke piped up. "We were the ones who saw to the Metaverse's destruction. So why would it show up now? Ren, do you propose that someone must have been responsible for this, and that this is somehow connected to the mysterious force who keeps bringing two warriors together?"
"Hang on, we don't know that for sure yet," interjected Makoto. "We can just go off of what Ren's been telling us."
"So wait, let me recap," Futaba asked. "There's this mysterious force that's been bringing two different people together to fight to the death, and apparently it's the cause of the Metaverse appearing again? Am I getting this right?"
Ren nodded. Yet to his teammates' sudden concern... with Futaba's words, their leader's expression seemed to darken. Like he knew something more than what he had been telling them. Like Igor had told him of something grim. Of course, they instinctively made to ask questions, but stopped themselves. As Ren's brows furrowed, his teammates seemed to fall silent.
Still... the mere thought of some wicked god playing tricks, threatening the worlds, the thought that his own world was in danger... Of course, this upset the leader of the Phantom Thieves. Why the hell would someone go through such lengths? Was it a trick of the fates? Or was it for the sole purpose of providing entertainment to a wicked cast of deities? Either way, the confusion was getting to Ren, so much that he was beginning to clutch his head as if he was in pain, and a scream of confusion was building up in his throat-
"Ren...?" asked the gentle voice of Haru. "What's wrong?"
Upon hearing the voice of his confidant, Ren began to relax his breathing, as his fist un-clenched. After a few moments, the young man had collected himself. "Sorry, Haru..." he said. "I just got lost in thought. That wasn't like me."
Before his teammates could interject, Ren straightened himself. "Igor... He gave me a few of the otherworldly fights that happened earlier to see."
Ren whipped out his phone, and after fiddling with it for a bit, he immediately showed it to his friends. And what they saw...
(Cue Premonition - BlazBlue Song Accord #2 with Continuum Shift II)
A young boy with a massive sword locked in combat with a boy with a key-shaped blade...
A red-coated gunslinger fending off a swordsman coated in a sheet of metal...
A young man with white-hair - another Persona-user like himself? - locked in combat with a muscular young man with a specter, fighting in what appeared to be the rural town of Inaba...
Two warriors in military outfits hurling ice at each other...
A duel between two eternally angry men collapsing the galaxy that they were fighting in...
Battles of all sorts were flashing on Ren's phone screen, and sure enough, they ended with the defeated's violent death. It seemed that those warriors had special powers, or were picked due to their potential, and they were being hurled at what could be described as cockfights of the gods.
"This... is really something," said Ann. "What kind of force would do this...?"
"What could be so important about these battles?" asked Yusuke. "Are they connected somehow... to the Metaverse returning?"
"No, it can't be just that," replied Makoto. "If anything like the Metaverse is involved, there's gotta be some sort of connection to us, or even one of us..."
It was then that Ren's expression turned grim. There was a truth that he knew - and it appeared that the time was ripe for him to reveal it.
Everyone's attention turned to Ren, their visages full of concern. "What... What is it, Ren?"
"I understand..." Ren spoke at last. "Why Igor came to me in my dreams, why he told me about these conflicts..."
"Dude, did ya get an answer?" Ryuji asked. "Is it something badass?"
"Ryuji!" hissed Morgana.
"Igor said something about us being the 'key'," continued Ren. "That we're connected to this whole thing somehow."
Futaba put a hand on her chin, though her concerned gaze never left her leader. "You're on to something," she said. "What if we were chosen to actually be in that tournament? I mean, that's the most plausible explanation as to why we're connected to this whole thing, and why Igor chose to inform Ren first!"
Ren's expression didn't return to its usual calm. "That would be right, Futaba," he said grimly. "We're up against someone. And Igor gave me his name. Perhaps we can use that to find out just what - or who - the hell is behind all these clashes. Igor wants us to be the ones to put a stop to all this..."
Everyone's eyes widened at this, as their faces were alight with excitement. "Well, then let's hear it!" whooped Ryuji, standing up excitedly.
"Wait, hang on," said Makoto. "We don't know for sure if we can access the Metaverse, or if it's really around anymore. Even with a name, what would we do?"
"I agree," chimed in Yusuke. "We don't have much to work with besides a name. However, it's better than nothing as a point to start."
Everyone nodded in agreement, prompting Ren to clear his throat.
"Alright," Ren began. "Supposedly, the name of the one we have to challenge is..."
****
...
...?
Ren's ears perked up.
When did the cafe suddenly turn windy, and when did the air turn fresh?
And more importantly...
...when did the cafe suddenly turn into a giant, majestic city?
(cue Scala ad Caelum - Kingdom Hearts III OST)
"Hey, guys..." Ryuji's voice reached Ren's ears. The delinquent's attention was not in the city... but in the flashy attire he was now suddenly wearing. "You seeing this?"
Everyone turned to look at Ryuji... and their eyes promptly widened. Sakamoto was no longer in his casual wear, but was now wearing his flashy attire from his time as a Phantom Thief. Leather jacket, knee-padded pants, combat boots... Even the mask was there.
"Skull?" questioned Ann. "How are you wearing your Phantom Thief gear?"
"That's not important!" replied Ryuji. "The important question is, how are you all in your Phantom Thief gear?!"
The Phantom Thieves cocked their heads to the side in confusion, then looked at themselves... to see that every single one of them were, indeed, dressed in their flashy Phantom Thief attire. Even Ren himself was dressed in his adventure gear - a dark tailcoat, a gold-accented waistcoat, black pants, brownish-black shoes, and red gloves.
Out of all of them, though, Morgana was the most confused. Instead of taking the form of a black cat, he now was a bipedal feline humanoid, black-and-white and possessing a comically large head and eyes. "I don't know about you guys," he stated, pointing to himself, "but this shouldn't be possible!"
Once everyone deduced that this was not a trance state, Ren scratched his head in wonder, as he eyed the ancient-looking buildings in front of him as Morgana began to examine the city on his own. "Is this... the Metaverse?"
"No, I don't think it is," replied Futaba. "Or at least, this isn't the Metaverse we're familiar with."
Ann examined the tall clock tower with unmoving hands in the distance, and commented, "This city sure looks ancient. Maybe getting transported to the Metaverse is a good answer?"
"I propose we take a stroll around the city and investigate," Yusuke suggested. "We never know what horrors lurk in here."
Everyone gave a nod in agreement, and began to trudge forth, their boots clacking against the cobbled floor. They gave everything a look - buildings, fruit stalls, balconies, wooden wagons, anything that might give them a hint. So far, nothing useful was turning up. The search continued for thirty agonizing minutes, with the Phantom Thieves coming up short on any clues...
Still, the ragtag band of brigands never lost hope. Pointing to a series of characters printed on a paper glued to a wall, Morgana looked closer...
...and suddenly, his demeanor turned grim.
Of course, this was noticed immediately by the Thieves. "What's wrong, Mona?" asked Futaba. "Everything alright?"
"This place... It's all coming back to me..." Morgana began. "This writing can only exist in one place. And it's here. What Master Igor was saying... it was true."
"What?" asked Ryuji. "What is it, Mona?!"
"Master Igor says... that this place is the nexus from which all other worlds spring," Morgana explained. "Once a seat of power for only the strongest. No one has ever been here..."
"A seat of power for the strongest..." Yusuke repeated. "What is this place called, or what did Igor refer to it as?"
Morgana turned to face his comrades, his expression determined and unwavering. "This place... is Scala ad Caelum."
Scala ad Caelum, the nexus from which all worlds spring. Just what mysteries lay in this ancient, majestic city?
"Scala ad Caelum..." Haru repeated, as if reciting an old children's fairy tale. "I've heard stories about such a place when I was a kid, but I never imagined I'd be standing right inside it..."
Morgana stroked his white chin. "Why would Master Igor take us here, though? Does this place have some sort of connection to Joker's challenger?"
"I don't know," replied Ren. "But if this is really the origin point of all worlds, then maybe we can find the force responsible for the tournament. Let's continue searching."
With that, the Thieves began to walk further into the town, in search of answers. Now that they knew the name of this city, perhaps they would get a lead on their challenger, and whoever was behind these clashes in the first place...
.
.
.
.
.
"Uh... dude?" asked Ryuji.
Ren turned to his partner-in-crime. "Hm?"
"Much as I hate to break our focus here... where'd Mona go?"
Instantly Ren searched for his feline companion among his teammates. After looking around him... he saw that Morgana had indeed disappeared. Gone, like dust in the wind.
(Cue Scala Ad Caelum Battle Theme - Kingdom Hearts III OST)
"Wh-what the hell?!" questioned Ryuji. "Come on out, Mona! This isn't fun-"
To everyone's shock, Ryuji also vanished. Instantly Ren's visage turned to one of panic. "Ryuji!!"
Ann, her face filled with desperation, searched about for her friend. "Ryuji, where did you g-"
Ann Takamaki disappeared.
At this point, panic had filled the beings of the Phantom Thieves. Each of their members were disappearing one by one, and they had no idea why.
"Guys, don't panic," Makoto said, though she was internally in panic herself. "We've gotta figure out why this is hap-"
Makoto Niijima, poofed.
Yusuke clenched his teeth, visibly infuriated by this. "Whoever's doing this, show yourself! Come on out here and fight, you cowa-"
Yusuke Kitagawa, gone.
Futaba could hide her panic no longer. "Joker, what... what the hell is happeni-"
Futaba Sakura, whisked away.
It was at this point that Ren's own calm visage shattered away. Fury and confusion were in his system. Why were his teammates, his trusted friends, vanishing one by one? What did this world have in store?! Why would this happen?! Why would-
"R-Ren...?"
Ren turned to the only remaining member of the Phantom Thieves. Haru was shaking in her boots, rooted to the spot and trembling. She was looking into Ren's eyes, searching for answers. And answers, Ren could not provide.
As she began to fade, Ren's system filled with adrenaline. He rushed towards Haru, determined to save her from her fate. "HARU!"
But he would be too late. Haru would share the fate of her friends.
But not before Ren was able to grab her hand, if for a single millisecond.
Ren felt his knees weaken, as he finally gave in, clutching his head as he screamed in anger and despair. His Phantom Thieves... his most trusted companions... his very best friends... gone... and he had been powerless to stop it.
Footfalls.
This was enough to make Ren snap out of his trance, and look at the source. It was a young man, with wild black hair, dressed in a short-sleeved leather jacket. Judging from his stature, the man appeared to be in his twenties, and the look on his face appeared to be one of responsibility.
Ren was the first one to speak. Immediately covering up his anger with the firm demeanor of a leader, he asked, "Who are you?"
The young man's composure was unchanged, as he said his response. "Just someone who was sent over to this place."
Ren guessed that asking about his friends wasn't quite the best course of action at this point, especially to a stranger he had just met, but he needed to know what had happened to them. If they had truly disappeared. Immediately Ren asked the young man, "My friends... Do you know what happened to them?"
The young man cocked his head to the side. "Friends...? What are you talking about?"
Ren wasn't sure that he could trust such an answer as this, but there seemed to be no indication that this man was lying.
Before he could ask another question, his phone rang, and as he answered... his heart was immediately filled with relief.
"Joker! Joker, are you there?!" came the voice of Futaba Sakura, very much alive. Ren was glad that she was safe...
...only for that gladness to be immediately replaced with worry as Futaba began to speak.
"We're in trouble!" Oracle breathed. "Everyone's alive, but we've all been separated! I'm with Makoto right now... and we're in big trouble!"
"Trouble? How?" asked Ren.
"We seem to be still in Scala ad Caelum, but we haven't found a sign of each other yet!" replied Futaba. "We're being attacked by this weird armored guy with a key-shaped sword! Makoto's holding her own, but we haven't found the others! Where are you?!"
"I'm still here," Ren replied. "Some weird guy has turned up. He looks eerily like the guy Igor described as my challenger..." At this, Ren seemed to notice the strange young man's eyes widening, if by a tiny margin. He was entirely sure that he had lowered his voice enough so that only Futaba could hear him, but somehow the young man had heard him.
"Your challenger?" questioned Futaba. "Then maybe this world separated us because it wanted you to fight that guy alone! This is bad..."
"Enough about that!" said Ren. "Don't worry about me. You and Makoto find the others!"
"But Joker, you're-"
"Trust me!" Ren affirmed.
A brief silence. Then...
"Alright," Futaba replied. "But you'd better keep yourself safe, Joker!"
"I will," Ren replied as he heard Makoto evoking the name of her Persona while fending off a foe of sorts. "Over and out!"
As soon as the line hung up, Ren turned to face the oddly-dressed young man, who immediately began with a question. "Could you be... Ren Amamiya?"
The Phantom Thief's eyes widened at this. He was beginning to not like where this was going...
"How do you know my name?" Ren demanded.
"I've been sent to this world... to fight a battle," the young man revealed. "To be honest, I don't know why I'm here... but I'm supposed to fight you if I want a chance to become existent again."
Ren's eyes narrowed. So this was his challenger. What Igor described to him fit the bill. A lost prince, looking for a final chance at life...
The Phantom Thief needed to affirm this, however. "Tell me," Ren asked, "what's your name?"
The young man only gave a small scoff, as he stretched out his hand. "My name?"
In a flash of bright light, a peculiar sword had appeared in his hand, one that appeared to have an odd engine for a guard. His blue eyes pierced into Ren's black irises as he prepared himself, with the Phantom Thief steeling himself in response.
"Call me Noctis."
(cue Invidia - Final Fantasy XV OST)
"Noctis..." Ren droned, as he eyed his opponent. The lost prince of a faraway kingdom, seeking to reclaim his throne... If Igor was correct, this man wielded the power of every king in his land, and their spirits guided him in every step of his journey. Ren surmised that the strength of this man would be phenomenal... He had to take extra care if he wanted to finish his mission.
"So," Noctis said. "You're Ren Amamiya, huh? He who shall save the souls of humanity."
Ren adjusted his mask. "That would be right," he replied. "And you're Noctis Lucis Caelum. The chosen king."
Noctis scoffed in amusement, as he aimed his sword at Ren. "I have no idea why I was brought here," he began. "I don't know why I'm even still around. But today is the day I find out. I'm sorry we had to meet like this, Ren... but I'm getting my answers, whatever it takes."
"I never wished for this to happen either, Noctis," Ren replied, as he fished out a sharp dagger from his pockets and aimed it at the prince like a rapier. "But I was brought here for a reason. And if I have to fight you to achieve my goal, then so be it. Don't hold back!"
"I'm not planning to," Noctis said. "I'd also say the same thing to you."
Gripping the hilt of his sword with both hands, Noctis closed his eyes. He would walk tall... he would overcome this newest challenge, whatever it took. If it meant getting his answers.
As the bell on the distant clock tower tolled, Ren Amamiya and Noctis Lucis Caelum eyed each other, determination burning within them. This was going to be a clash for everyone's souls... and to the victor would go the spoils.
It was time for battle. Whoever would win, whoever would lose... they would walk tall.
It all happened in an instant. Before Ren could even move a muscle - before he could even perceive it - Noctis had vanished entirely. Where had he gone, and what was he planning?
The Phantom Thief's question would be answered a split-second later as the crown prince of Lucis appeared in front of him in a brief flash, swinging his sword, aptly named the Engine Blade, at him. Ren was quick enough to raise his dagger in defense, but the suddenness of Noctis's strike guaranteed that the Phantom Thief would be blown a few feet back as Noctis's sword collided with his dagger in a shower of sparks.
Ren's princely opponent did not let up, airdashing towards his opponent whilst dismissing his weapon. As Noctis moved his weapon arm to swing, the Engine Blade reappeared in his hand in a bright flash, nearly catching Ren off-guard and forcing him to stagger as he put up his short blade to defend. His limbs flowing like a river, the crown prince of Lucis swung and swung again, his blows too agile for Ren to properly defend against. And though the Engine Blade met Ren's dagger everytime, the pressure that Noctis was applying was proving to overwhelm the Phantom Thief.
Only a timely backflip down the stairs they were standing on was able to save Ren from a decapitating strike from the Engine Blade. Gritting his teeth, the Phantom Thief surmised that taking this guy on in close combat probably wasn't the best idea. So he went for the next best option...
Noctis was forced to raise the flat of the Engine Blade as a bullet suddenly flew his way. And while it was able to slice the oncoming bullet in half, it was enough to stop the prince in his tracks. Putting down his blade and leveling it to an idle position, Noctis saw that a pistol was now in Ren's hand, a small line of smoke still pouring from the barrel.
Quick-thinking, Ren immediately rolled to the side as Noctis dashed towards him, Engine Blade raised. The Phantom Thief sidestepped Noctis's overhead swing, leaving the prince's blade to pulverize a stack of wooden crates. Joker quickly capitalized on this opening, shooting at Noctis... but the prince of Lucis was able to quickly deflect the pair of bullets that would have pierced his right shoulder. Before Ren knew it, Noctis vanished once more...
...and thus, the Phantom Thief could not do anything as an uppercut strike from Noctis's Engine Blade sent him cannoning into the air. With precise accuracy, Noctis hurled his sword at the flying Ren, and once more zoomed - no, warped - towards him, nailing the brigand with a mighty overhead swing of the Engine Blade. Ren gasped out as he was sent cannoning towards a balcony, his impact actually cratering the ground.
Eyes widening, Ren was barely able to roll to the side as Noctis dove in after him, blade set to skewer the Phantom Thief in the heart, and was able to perform a backflip that let him evade a blow that would otherwise have split his skull in half, and landed on the roof.
Briefly eyeing the prince, Ren furrowed his brows. This guy was strong - right now, Noctis was proving to be his better in terms of melee combat, and engaging a teleporting man with nothing but a pistol was turning out to be a bad idea. It was time, perhaps, that Ren took a gamble. He wasn't sure if this would work, but he had to try - he would give Noctis a glimpse of his true power...
His gloved hand quickly flew to his mask, as Noctis airdashed towards him, Engine Blade prepared to strike...
"Persona!"
And what the Engine Blade met... wasn't Ren's flesh.
Looking up... Noctis was surprised to see a new figure take center stage, in a brilliant blaze of bright blue. It appeared to be a dignified gentleman (if one ignored its monstrous face, of course) swathed in a blood-red coat and a dark fedora. Its hands and feet terminated in sharp, menacing claws. It had a pair of crow's wings on its back, one of which was being used to stave off Noctis's blade. And sure enough, power was pouring through this new being - Ren Amamiya's very own Persona.
Arsene, the Pillager of Twilight, had arrived.
Putting a clawed hand forth, Arsene quickly blasted Noctis right in the face with a wave of dark energy, sending the prince of Lucis flying back towards the edge of the balcony. Noctis let out an oof as he smashed against the metal railing, his impact threatening to break it with sheer force. Of course, this wasn't nearly enough to do Noctis in, as evidenced by the prince being able to leap up and recover, resummoning the Engine Blade to his hand.
Noctis dusted himself off with his free hand as he witnessed Arsene glowering over him, in a defensive stance beside his master. Its menacing gait would be more than enough to scare anyone... but not him. He had seen scarier things than this and most certainly did not flinch. Still, he had to admit... that dark blast actually hurt.
Ren, on his part, stood by his Persona's side, mildly surprised himself. He feared that due to the nature of this world, his powers would not work - then again, if whoever was behind all this had transported him here in his Phantom Thief attire, and made his weapons functional, then surely they would have given him his power, if they were so desperate to make him fight. Plus, he could have sworn he heard Makoto being able to summon her Persona...
Ren immediately went back to focus on his foe. Dramatically pointing a gloved hand forward, Ren commanded Arsene to strike, the Persona raising its massive clawed hands and swinging them down, in a bid to Cleave Noctis. The prince of Lucis was quick enough to react accordingly, raising the flat of the Engine Blade to defend against the strike, but the force of Arsene's Cleaving attack was sufficient to root the prince to the spot, if by a single second.
Gritting his teeth, Noctis swung the Engine Blade outwards, and backflipped as soon as Arsene swiped at him with his claws. Quickly, Noctis warped towards Arsene's direction and struck with a heavy swing, only for the Persona to deflect it with a single, swift swipe. Capitalizing on this opening, Arsene put a free palm forth and blasted at Noctis with Eiha. The crown prince only barely had time to warp away to avoid getting struck by the blast.
Ren seized this as a chance to pitch in. Quickly, he aimed his pistol at Noctis and began firing, only for the crown prince of Lucis to deflect the bullets with his Engine Blade. At this, Noctis taunted, "How many times are you gonna try and shoot me with that thing?"
Ren did not respond. Unbeknownst to the prince, assaulting Noctis with bullets was far from Joker's plan.
As Noctis put the Engine Blade down... he promptly cried out in pain, as an Eiha courtesy of Arsene blasted him full in the face, sending him flying backwards. With great acrobatic skill, the prince of Lucis landed on his feet, brushing his shoulder. Arsene appeared beside Ren once more, and waved its hand. Noctis braced himself for another blast of dark energy...
Nothing came.
Tilting his head to the side in confusion for but a second, Noctis immediately dismissed whatever notion he was forming in his head and rushed towards Ren and his Persona-
!!
Noctis's eyes widened, as he noticed a difference in his movements. What did that menacing thing just do...?
No matter. The prince took another step...
...and found that for some reason, despite him not feeling any weight, moving his leg felt a tad heavier than before.
It only took a second for it to sink in. Ren Amamiya had slowed Noctis's movements!
Gritting his teeth in frustration at this cheap trick, Noctis immediately made to hurl the Engine Blade at Ren, with the full intent of warping to his position and dicing his tall apparition into Swiss cheese-
He would never get that chance, as Arsene surged in and Cleaved him across the torso, sending him flying back and towards the streets below.
CRITICAL!
Ren didn't miss a beat. Using acrobatic skills of his own, the Phantom Thief rushed towards Noctis was, followed by Arsene, and before the prince could recover... Joker went to town on him.
WHAM! SLASH! BOOM! STRIKE!
Noctis could not react as Amamiya struck him everywhere with, well... all that he had on him, and could not warp away in time. To cap off his attack, Ren leapt off of his opponent, and stylishly fixed his red glove...
Noctis cried out in pain as a sudden something struck his body--an invisible force, it seemed. The force of the sudden attack was enough to send the Lucian prince flying back against a building wall. His back turned on his opponent, Ren gave a sly smirk--his All-Out Attack had been a successful one.
Noctis grunted in pain as he shuffled himself back up to his feet, Engine Blade clutched in one hand. Gritting his teeth, the prince decided that if Amamiya was to change strategies, then perhaps it was his time to do so, too.
With a flick of his wrist, the Engine Blade was gone in a flash of light, immediately being replaced with a longer and larger sword, plated in gold and shining in the light of Scala ad Caelum's sun. Twirling the freshly-summoned Apocalypse in his hand, Noctis settled for a battle stance, as Arsene rushed towards his direction. Knowing that his new blade would be too slow to properly parry what was coming next, and that he was still afflicted with that damned slowing spell, Noctis leapt back as Arsene brought down its claw, busting down the wall behind its target. Not wasting a second, Noctis immediately warped towards Arsene... and delivered a mighty two-handed slash at the Persona's face, Sukunda's effects be damned.
The strike had been a tad too swift for Arsene to deflect, forcing the taller Persona to stagger... and for Ren himself to clutch his face, if only slightly, in pain. Still fighting past Sukunda, Noctis, with a slight grunt of effort, swung Apocalypse at Arsene's face once more, this time creating a visible gash across the gentleman thief's face. Deciding not to miss a beat, Noctis continued his assault, striking Arsene everywhere imaginable. Of course, by this time, the Persona had recovered enough to be able to react in time to and deflect the slow weapon's strikes, but the force of the blows was enough to force it to stagger still--and for Ren to feel the weight of Apocalypse on his own palms.
A diving warp-strike from Apocalypse was enough to break Arsene's guard and send the Persona staggering, flying back towards its master. It was then that Ren realized that Arsene had taken quite the amount of damage--a few more hits, and it would be done in, and Ren would be left helpless for a while. He knew his dinky gun and his dagger wouldn't stand a chance against Noctis's greatsword, if their failed clash against the Engine Blade earlier was any indication. To this end, the Wild Card gripped on a freshly-materialized mask...
"Futsunushi!"
Noctis, still afflicted by the negative effects of Sukunda, rushed towards Ren, prepared to bring down his blade on his companion-!
CLANG!
In a blaze of bright blue, a new figure had taken center stage and casually deflected Noctis's greatsword, with nothing but a floating blade. Before the prince of Lucis could properly react, the floating blade slashed outwards, sending him flying back towards the bottom steps on the stairs.
Noctis recovered to his feet, and caught sight of the new figure--the new Persona--that had taken Arsene's place. This new being had the air of a deity about it, and had he not faced down Ardyn, Noctis would have been intimidated by the creature's floating blades and authoritative mien.
Futsunushi, the god of swords, wasted no time. Upon the silent command of its master, the Persona launched one of its floating blades at Noctis, who was barely able to fight past Sukunda and put up the flat of Apocalypse to defend. However, the swiftness of the move and the force of the blade impacting the legendary greatsword was enough to make Noctis stagger back one foot.
Noctis swung Apocalypse in front of his face as another of Futsunushi's floating blades flew at him, prepared to skewer him through the heart. Ren seized this opportunity to assault Noctis and put pressure on the prince, silently commanding Futsunushi to ramp up its assault while he joined in with gunshots of his own.
Noctis grit his teeth, as he saw that the combined assault of Persona and master was whittling away at his defense. With the weight of his blade, he knew he wasn't going to hold up for much longer if he kept up his approach.
With this in mind, Noctis barely leapt back as one of Futsunushi's blades whizzed down upon his head, and landing near some railings, the prince was quick enough to switch out his greatsword for twin shortswords with curved blades--a pair of swords that had once been wielded by a trusty aide to his father.
Twirling Ulric's Kukris and settling to a battle stance, Noctis, contrary to Ren's expectations, rushed headlong towards Futsunushi, warping expertly around its blades and deftly avoiding Ren's bullets. Upon getting close to Ren, Noctis wasted no time and initiated his assault, swinging his twin daggers at the Phantom Thief in a bid to wear him down. With stellar reaction speeds, Amamiya put up his own dagger to defend, and within a matter of seconds, prince and thief were locked in a duel.
...A duel which Ren would find himself to be losing in all of ten seconds. Every time he thought he would land a hit, Noctis would warp away and strike back appropriately. Ren winded back his knife arm and went in for a wide slash, only for Noctis to avoid it entirely and warp back in, slashing Ren across the chest with his daggers and sending him flying upwards.
Warping after his foe, Noctis flicked his wrists and switched back to the Engine Blade, unleashing a deadly three-hit combo on Ren, before materializing Apocalypse and hurling it at the falling Phantom Thief like a meteor. With a war cry, Noctis resummoned the Engine Blade and dove towards his opponent.
Only a timely summoning from Futsunushi was able to save Ren from the full brunt of Noctis's Warp Meteor attack, but while the Persona's inherent resistance to physical strikes did wonders to soften the damage, this didn't necessitate that he would be spared from feeling the full impact of the blow. This resistance, however, gave Ren ample time to retaliate.
As Noctis leapt back and retrieved his weapon, Ren silently commanded Futsunushi to cast the spell 'Charge' on itself. With this command, the Persona's floating blades took on a green glowing aura, and Ren felt a surge of energy enter him.
Of course, this did not go unnoticed by Noctis. The effects of Sukunda having been long since dispelled from him, the prince of Lucis made to hurl the Engine Blade at Ren and his Persona and perform a precise warp-strike...
Unfortunately for him, Ren had beaten him to the draw.
"Brave Blade!"
In a quick flash of light, Futsunushi's floating blades united into one sword, and fell upon Noctis. The prince, his eyes widening, was barely able to deflect the attack with his trusty one-handed sword... but the force of Futsunushi's Brave Blade slamming against his sword seared Noctis's muscles and rooted him to the spot, cratering the cobbled road beneath his feet and creating a massive shockwave that shattered any and all glass and brittle objects in the immediate vicinity.
****
Meanwhile, somewhere else in Scala ad Caelum...
"Anat!"
The battle had been going on for ages. Makoto Niijima hurriedly evoked the name of her Persona, the summon appearing by her side and staving off the strange armored figure's strike. The armored figure floated back, coating his odd, red-coated key-shaped sword in dark energy, before swooping towards Makoto's companion, Futaba Sakura. Within her Persona, Prometheus, Futaba gulped, as the red Keyblade whooshed towards her Persona...
"Oh no, you don't!" Makoto declared, as she rushed towards the armored figure, leaping up and slugging him across the face, preventing him from reaching Futaba. Gripping her mask, she took it off in a stylish fashion, Anat appearing by her side and blasting the armored figure with a mighty blast of nuclear energy, Freidyne. The blast actually sent the armored figure flying back a few feet. Makoto seized this opportunity to command Anat to heal her, the Persona complying by waving its hand and surrounding her and Futaba with a wave of healing magic.
Makoto turned her attention back to the armored figure... who was now floating away, Keyblade in hand. Still, the council president of Shujin was able to command Anat to strike the figure with a Freidyne before he could fully flee. If the figure had vocal cords, he would have screamed in pain by now. Seizing this chance, Makoto cried out,
"Anat, come!"
With another, mightier blast of nuclear energy, Anat attacked in Makoto's bidding--and this time, this was sufficient to finally finish the man in armor. With not a single noise coming from his vocal cords, the figure collapsed to the ground, his Keyblade disappearing in a shower of sparks. Catching her breath, Makoto recalled Anat, the Persona disappearing back into the depths of her soul.
Prometheus also disappeared, vanishing back into Futaba's soul as the navigator landed on her feet. "That was rough, Queen!" huffed Futaba. "We nearly got done in!"
"I'm fine," replied Makoto. "What matters is that we're safe for now, and that we have to find the others."
As if on cue, a ringing noise was heard. Futaba quickly responded to it. "Mona?! Mona, are you there?!"
"...racle...! We're... n troub... armor... with a giant key and lightsab..." Morgana's voice hissed through Futaba's smartphone. "...with Sku... and Panth... you've gotta help..."
"Alright," Futaba responded. "Tell us where you are now!"
"..re... in Scal... d Cae..." Morgana replied, with the static getting thicker and thicker. "We... your h..."
BZZZZZT
"Damn it, the reception's busted!" Futaba exclaimed.
Makoto turned towards the sky, and spotted four humanoid figures floating in the sky in the distance, all appearing to bear the same suit of armor as the man they were fighting earlier as they dove down, the buildings obscuring their forms once more. "Over there, Futaba!" she said. "Those are the same armored men as the guy we just downed earlier. Try using your Persona to confirm it!"
Futaba didn't respond verbally. Quickly, she summoned Prometheus once more, and made to scan everything she could within their range...
"There they are!" Futaba said, having found Ryuji, Ann, and Morgana. "Let's go!"
Makoto nodded, and dashed towards where she saw the figures. Futaba followed suit, still within Prometheus as it floated beside Makoto.
****
Back at the steps to the town's clock tower...
(cue Beneath the Mask (New Arrangement) - Super Smash Bros. Ultimate OST)
"AGCK!"
After what seemed to be an eternal bladelock, Futsunushi's Brave Blade finally shattered Noctis's guard and struck the prince of Lucis full-on, sending him flying backwards, up the staircase. Not letting up, Ren commanded Futsunushi to ramp up its assault, the Persona complying by flying towards the flying Noctis and unleashing a vicious assault on him with all of its floating blades.
Only a timely summoning of Apocalypse saved Noctis from getting his head brutally split in half by Futsunushi's final strike, but the force didn't fail to smash him back into the ground, his feet cratering the cobbled street. Leaping back to catch his breath, Noctis dismissed Apocalypse, leaving himself unarmed. Confused at this action at first, Ren dismissed whatever questions were forming in his head, as he commanded Futsunushi to strike once more-!
The Phantom Thief's body suddenly clenched up in electrical pain, as a sudden force struck his Persona. Noctis, it seemed, had struck Futsunushi with lightning magic--and it actually packed quite a punch.
It would seem that Ren would have to remedy that. He materialized another mask on his face...
"Odin!"
Noctis, feeling extra lucky, raised his arm, prepared to smite Futsunushi and hopefully its master with an extra-charged blast of Thunder elemancy...
...When his hopes were promptly dashed the moment the spell struck.
For what his magic struck wasn't Futsunushi... but an all new, authoritarian Persona, wreathed in nothing but a white loincloth, wrapped in purple skin, and bearing the mien of a god.
Odin, the allfather of the Norse gods, brushed its shoulder, the sparks from Noctis's failed Thunder spell disappearing from it. Without even an order from its master, the new Persona materialized a mighty spear and brought it down on Noctis. Unable to dodge in time, the prince of Lucis was forced to materialized a new weapon of his own.
CLANG!
Noctis gnashed his teeth, as Odin's spear slammed into the shaft of his own freshly-summoned Flayer lance. Still, with a cry of effort, the Lucian prince swung his lance to the side, prematurely breaking the deadlock and sending the mighty Odin staggering back a foot.
Ren had anticipated this. To prevent Noctis from seizing an opening, he rushed into the fray, swinging his dagger overhead. While the Flayer's long reach allowed Noctis to parry Ren's attack, this had bought Odin enough time to smite Ren's opponent with lightning, the prince being a millisecond too late to warp away from the oncoming Thunder Reign attack. The ensuing explosion from the strike drowned out Noctis's scream of pain.
Still, ignoring the electric pain that coursed through him, Noctis settled to a battle stance, Flayer in hand. In unison, Ren and Odin rushed towards their mutual target, with the Persona raising its massive spear in preparation of skewering its puny foe. Eyes widening, Noctis warped away, before reappearing right above Odin, swinging the Flayer down on its face. The Persona raised its own spear to block, and a second later, both were locked in a duel, with Odin unleashing heavy and powerful swings while Noctis deftly warped around them and retaliated with strikes of his own.
Eventually, however, Noctis was able to apply his greater skill with the spear, as with a precise thrust of the Flayer, he was able to shatter Odin's guard. Before Odin or its master could do any more, Noctis immediately swung the spear in his hand down on the Persona's face, the tip of the lance running down the entire height of Odin. Not letting up, the prince of Lucis let loose an intricate, yet deadly combo with the Flayer, striking too fast for Odin or its master to react.
Having had enough, Ren commanded his Persona to break out of the combo, Odin complying by slamming the blunt tip of its spear to the ground, causing a quake. This forced Noctis to stop attacking, and leap overhead... but also opening him up for a gunshot courtesy of Amamiya.
Having been a millisecond too late to save himself, Noctis seethed as Ren's bullet grazed his right shoulder, threatening to disarm him of his weapon. The crown prince was forced to land on the ground much earlier... and as such, was subjected to a mighty Thunder Reign that once more rooted him to the spot.
Ren didn't let up. Leaping up, he blasted at Noctis with three more bullets, prompting the prince to deflect them with his lance. Odin joined the fray as soon as its master did, swiping at Noctis with its own spear. Noctis tried his best to keep pace with the Phantom Thief and his Persona, but seeing as he was still reeling from Odin's earlier Thunder Reign, he was inevitably overwhelmed by the combined assault.
Deciding to try something new, Ren, as Noctis was knocked back by a spear thrust from Odin, instantly materialized a mask and removed it, as Odin disappeared in a blaze of blue. Recovering to his feet, Noctis saw this as a chance--without hesitation, he warped towards Ren, prepared to skewer him through the head with Flayer and be done with it--
CLANG!
The legendary lance didn't pierce Ren's flesh, nor did it pierce Odin's--mainly because Odin wasn't present anymore.
In the Norse god's place was a new Persona, a green-skinned figure that bore an odd sword and shield and the look of an angry deity. This was Chi You, a legendary warrior figure hailing from China.
The new Persona was quick to act, putting a palm forth and blasting Noctis with what could only be described as psychic energy. The prince of Lucis was quick to regain himself, however, deciding to switch to a new weapon altogether. Still afloat, Noctis flicked his wrist, Flayer disappearing and a new, peculiar handcannon taking its place.
As soon as he landed, Noctis aimed the freshly-summoned Death Penalty at Ren, and pulled the trigger. Joker countered by whipping out his own gun, and soon, both black-clad warriors began a shootout, ducking and weaving around each other's blasts as they traded fire. Occasionally, Chi You would join in with Psycho Blast, but the main battle was between Ren and Noctis, trading shots while weaving around Scala ad Caelum's buildings.
Ren narrowly avoided a charged shot from Death Penalty, leaping up towards a pointed spire-like roof and landing on his toes. Chi You followed shortly afterward, sporting its massive shield and blocking Noctis's follow-up shots before blasting the prince with a Psycho Blast, prompting him to roll to the side.
This move allowed Ren to blindside Noctis by shooting at his arm, and while the prince was able to avoid the full bullet, the projectile still gashed his right arm, causing the man to seethe in pain, nearly dropping Death Penalty. Seizing this chance, Ren bade Chi You to strike, the Persona complying by batting Noctis into the air with the flat of its sword.
Chi You blasted the airborne Noctis with a Psycho Blast yet again, consuming the Lucian prince entirely and muffling his cry of pain. Ren seized this as an opportunity, leaping off the spire he was standing on and shooting at his foe. This continued for a while, neither Ren nor Chi You relenting from their assault...
WHOOM!
The Psycho Blasts were suddenly blown away by a new force, the resulting shockwave nearly knocking Ren off the roof and creating a cloud of smoke from the residual psychic energy. When the smoke cleared...
...it revealed that Noctis was still alive. Only this time, an aura of power had come about him--and twelve glowing weapons--the Royal Arms--were floating around him, like vigilant sentinels keeping watch over their master. On Noctis's hand was a royally-decorated sword, shining with the light of Lucis itself.
The time for playing around for Noctis had stopped. For he had tapped into the legendary kingly power of the Armiger.
Not wanting to know just what the hell Noctis had under his sleeve, Ren immediately shot at him... only for a glowing blue katana, the Katana of the Warrior, to float in front of Noctis and defend him from the oncoming bullets.
Snapping his fingers, Noctis bade the same katana to fly at Ren. Joker was barely able to summon Chi You back to his side, but with the suddenness of the attack, the Persona staggered. This gave Noctis the cue he needed to charge forward, recalling the Katana and taking up the mighty Sword of the Tall in his free hand. Crossing it with his already held Sword of the Father, Noctis immediately swung at Ren, prompting the Phantom Thief to bring up his dagger to defend.
CLANG!
Joker grit his teeth as Noctis's blades collided against the flat of his dagger, prompting him to retreat with a stylish backflip. The Phantom Thief retaliated by leaping above Noctis and unleashing a storm of bullets from his gun, but the Armiger's defenses kicked in, effortlessly blocking the wave.
Smirking, Noctis readied his weapons, aiming to go to town on Ren. Joker weaved around the strikes, defending with his dagger if he got the chance. Ren even summoned Chi You to join in, but soon enough, Noctis's assault, powered by the spirits of the rulers of Lucis, was beginning to win out.
With a swing of the Sword of the Father, Ren was sent flying into the air. Noctis did not relent, raining the Armiger down upon Joker and preventing him from moving away or evoking his Persona. Gripping the Sword of the Father's hilt with both hands, Noctis dashed towards and swung at Joker, before flicking his wrists and bidding the Lucian weapons to assail the Phantom Thief.
Chi You, this time of its own free will, rushed to the aid of its master, but was unable to raise its shield in time to defend against Noctis's Armiger assault. As a result, the Persona was peppered by the lost Royal Arms, with the Katana of the Warrior piercing it between the eyes and causing it to vanish in a blaze of blue.
His body clenching up in pain because of this, Ren was unable to defend himself as Noctis ax-kicked him towards a certain building's roof, with Joker's impact actually causing the roof to cave in. Not content, Noctis aimed the rest of the Royal Arms at the building and bade them to attack, intent on taking both Joker and the building--
BZZAP!
Noctis clenched up as a sudden lightning bolt struck his entire frame, terminating his planned attack. The Royal Arms remained there, floating around him. Noctis, immediately surmising that that bolt had been summoned by Ren, checked the building below to see what the Phantom Thief had brought to the table.
Sure enough, Ren had brought out a new Persona. This was a beautiful, almost-naked female figure, with a pair of horns atop its head and bearing a look of calmness. This was Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess of fertility.
Ishtar waved its hand, and with this, Ren was engulfed in a green aura of sorts. When the aura dispersed, Ren instantly felt his strength return to him, and his wounds from earlier mended themselves. Diarahan had done its job--it had restored Ren's health back to full.
Smirking, Ren immediately switched masks, Ishtar disappearing and a new Persona taking its place. It was another feminine figure, with blue skin and a pair of demonic horns. This was Cybele, the mother of all Greek deities.
Emerging from the building, Ren immediately ordered Cybele to attack. The Persona complied, putting a palm forth and unleashing a blast of light energy at Noctis. The prince of Lucis was able to put up a massive shield in defense, wielded by a just Queen of Lucis. Still, even as the Shield of the Just protected Noctis from the full brunt of Cybele's Makougaon, it didn't fail to stagger him back a bit.
Ren didn't fail to capitalize on this opportunity. He whipped out a grappling hook of sorts and fired it at Noctis, the hook latching on to the Shield's rim. Before Noctis could get rid of the hook, Ren immediately hauled himself upward towards the prince's direction, with Cybele flying right behind him. Once he was above Noctis, Ren immediately whipped out his handgun, blasting at the Lucian prince thrice. While a timely telekinetic raising of the Sword of the Tall, Noctis was defended from harm, but it had opened him up for a knife-slash across the face by Joker.
The Phantom Thief immediately went on the offensive, striking at Noctis with both knife slashes and pistol shots. The prince of Lucis reflexively brought up the Royal Arms telekinetically, defending against Ren's vicious assault with all of his might.
Eventually the prince slipped up, opening him up for a slash across the face courtesy of Joker. Of course, this did little to blow the prince back, but it did open him up for the Phantom Thief's next move.
Noctis's eyes widened as he heard Ren's declaration of "Persona!"...
...and promptly cried out in pain as he was blasted backwards by a mighty explosion of holy light. Noctis flew backward towards a tall clock tower, his impact cratering the wall behind him. The prince flopped back to the ground, with Ren landing in front of him, knife poised to strike and Cybele floating beside him.
Noctis gritted his teeth, prepared to strike with the Armiger once more...
...when the floating weapons around him suddenly disappeared, shattering away into shards of bright blue. The Sword of the Father was gone as well, replaced with the Engine Blade once more.
"Damn it," Noctis uttered to himself. He had forgotten that Armiger only lasted for a limited time, and he had failed to make the most out of that time.
Exploiting this, Ren immediately ran forward, shooting at Noctis as he went. The prince swiftly brought up his blade and halved the oncoming bullets, and as soon as the Phantom Thief was at his face, he swung the Engine Blade in time to meet Ren's knife, the two weapons clashing in a loud CLANG!
****
Somewhere else in Scala ad Caelum...
"AHH!"
Ann Takamaki cried out as she was knocked back by a red lightsaber-blade striking her in the gut. With reflexes befitting her codename, Panther ignored her pain and flipped back, landing on her feet. Looking up at her assailant, Ann gripped her mask, and evoked, "Persona!"
In a blaze of blue, Ann's Persona, the thin-framed and menacing dominatrix Hecate, appeared, swinging its chains at the armored figure with the lightsaber blades. The figure was quick to defend with his weapons, but that had opened him up for a whip strike courtesy of Ann. The model did not let up, whipping out her trusty submachine gun and pumping the armored figure's guts full of lead. Seizing the chance as soon as the figure staggered, Ann cried out...
"Dance, Hecate!"
Under Ann's command, Hecate raised its twin whips and blasted the armored figure with the ethereal blades with a mighty blast of flame, the explosion muffling any scream of pain he might have had. When the explosion dispersed, the armored figure fell to the ground, his weapons gone, smoke pouring from his tattered armor and robe, and his body completely unmoving.
Ann didn't waste a second as she immediately rushed to the aid of her companions, Ryuji Sakamoto and Morgana. Hecate glided by the side of Ann's companions, as they evoked their Personas to challenge the figures in front of them.
Ryuji's Persona, the wild-natured Seiten Taisei, and Morgana's, the swashbuckling thief Mercurius, appeared behind their masters as they stared down the three armored figures in front of them. One of the figures, wielding an aura of darkness, put his hands forth, blasting Ryuji, Morgana, and Ann with a wave of darkness, only for Mercurius to dissipate it with a massive gale.
Seiten Taisei was up next, swinging its barbed staff at one of the armored figures wielding a key-shaped sword. The figure was quick to react, parrying the Persona's blow with a downwards slash of his sword, before transforming the weapon into a whip and attempting to ensnare Ryuji. Seiten Taisei was quick to defend its master, catching the improvised whip with its staff.
Morgana, seizing this moment, ran upwards, running up Seiten Taisei's back, crossing its weapon, and leaping towards the armored figure. With a battle cry, the feline thief swung his shortsword at the figure, sending it staggering. Without fail, Morgana seamlessly commanded Mercurius to blast the other armored figure with a mighty Garudyne, before calling out to Ryuji. "Skull, NOW!"
Ryuji smirked at this, as the two figures regained themselves and readied their powers. Before they could make a chance to move, Skull pointed at them dramatically.
"SEITEN TAISEI!!"
Raising its staff into the air, Seiten Taisei unleashed a mighty blast of lightning from the sky, instantly striking the two armored figures before they could react. The force of the Maziodyne strike paralyzed the two armored figures, opening them up for a mighty overhead swing of Seiten Taisei's staff that crushed them into the ground.
At that same moment, a blast of light--no, of nuclear energy--ensued, consuming the three prone armored figures entirely. Ryuji, Morgana, and Ann's eyes widened at this, and as they turned to look at the source, they breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"Queen! Oracle!" Morgana exasperated.
Makoto Niijima and Futaba Sakura ran towards their companions, with only Makoto dispelling her Persona. "Guys, we're glad you're safe!"
"Same," Ann breathed. "But now, we gotta find Yusuke and Haru! It'll be troublesome if they get overwhelmed by those armored guys!"
Futaba took this as her cue. She immediately tapped into some keyboards in an attempt to scan for her remaining missing friends...
"There they are!" Oracle said. "On the very edge of this island!"
"Then we don't have time to waste," Makoto said, as she summoned her Persona and commanded it to heal her and her teammates. As a surge of strength reentered her body, Queen continued, "Come on!"
Nodding, the rest of the Phantom Thieves ran towards the edge of the island, following Makoto as they did.
****
(cue APOCALYPSIS NOCTIS Remix (Hammerhead 2nd Round) - Tekken 7 OST)
With a war cry, Noctis swung his blade harshly to the right, knocking Ren off balance. Instantly switching to Death Penalty, the prince fired off a few rounds at the staggering Phantom Thief. Ren was quick to react, switching masks almost immediately.
"Mother Harlot!"
The rounds of Death Penalty were stopped dead in their tracks by a sudden cold gust of wind, forcing Noctis to cross his arms in an attempt to stop himself from being blown away. When the prince lowered his arms, he saw that Ren had summoned a new figure--a ghastly skull-faced woman in a nightgown, holding a chalice and seated upon a seven-headed beast with ten horns. Ren had evoked the Mother Harlot, the mother of all abominations of Earth.
The new Persona waved its hand, blasting at Noctis with small shards of ice at the rate of machine gun fire. The prince of Lucis countered the shards of ice by shooting at Mother Harlot with Death Penalty, only for Ren to knock the weapon out of his hands by shooting precisely at Noctis's gun hand.
With a frustrated growl, Noctis flicked his wrist in an attempt to summon the Engine Blade once more, only for his attempt to fail as his weapon hand froze over, thanks to the work of Mother Harlot's magic. Gritting his teeth in frustration, Noctis looked up... and saw Ren running towards him, knife in hand. Nearly helpless as his frozen hand had rendered him so, Noctis could not do anything as Joker slammed his boot across his face, sending him sprawling.
Ren did not let up, dashing towards his foe and letting loose a flurry of knife strikes. Noctis was helpless as he was receiving this beatdown, with the final strike sending him flying back towards the stairs. Growling, the prince of Lucis slammed his frozen hand onto the ground, cracking the ice a bit and slowing his fall.
Ren pointed dramatically at Noctis, commanding his Persona to strike. Mother Harlot complied, riding upon its hideous beast and striding towards the prince. Noctis furrowed his brows as Mother Harlot waved its hand, a pentagram of sorts appearing beneath him.
Not wanting to know just what the hell this would do, Noctis rolled out of the way as the symbols on the pentagram started to move. As he recovered to his feet, the prince of Lucis immediately began to think of a way to break the ice surrounding his hand. He didn't want Ren to break it, for doing so would risk breaking his hand--he had seen and felt just how powerful the thief's 'Personas' were. So he had to use something... But what...?
...
...
...
...Lightbulb.
Concentrating, Noctis made mana flow into his frozen hand... and instantly it lit up, and the ice around the hand melted. Soon enough, that hand was enveloped in a plume of flame. Quick-thinking, Noctis immediately hurled that flame at Ren. Caught off guard by the ingenuity of this trick, Amamiya could not do anything as he was struck full-on by Noctis's Firaga elemancy.
Noctis did not let up. Waving his hands, the prince of Lucis unleashed more bolts of flame at Ren, who was forced to summon Mother Harlot to defend against the brunt of the attacks. Ren felt the pain of his Persona as each of Noctis's spells struck it, but was able to act in time and nullify the rest of the spells with a mighty Mabufudyne that dispersed the flames almost immediately.
Quick-thinking, the grounded Noctis immediately switched spells, raining bolt upon bolt of Thundaga at the airborne Ren. Joker was quick to evade the lightning strikes by acrobatically jumping from roof to roof, leaving the spells to decimate the buildings instead. Upon reaching the spire of a particularly tall building, Ren immediately evoked Mother Harlot, the Persona waving its hand as Noctis summoned his Engine Blade and attempted to warp-strike the Phantom Thief. Ren saw that an aura briefly surrounded Noctis before it dispersed.
Suddenly, the prince of Lucis found his movements a tad heavier than they were before. Paying this little heed, Noctis continued his advance, swinging the Engine Blade at Ren...
...who was able to parry it with ease.
Noctis's eyes widened, as Ren retaliated with a backhanded swing of his knife. Before the prince could act again, Joker immediately fired at his face, sending him flying back to the cobbled road below. The prince of Lucis grunted in pain as he slammed against the ground with immense force, cratering the floor as he did so.
Blood running down his lip, Noctis heaved himself up to his feet... only to feel the temperature of the air around him drop instantly. Massive gales of icy wind blew about, preventing the prince of Lucis from moving around properly and forcing him to cross his arms before him. This made him unable to react as a massive shard of ice impaled him through the abdomen before shattering itself, forcing him to a knee.
Noctis grit his teeth in pain as he clutched his stomach wound. He took that time to note how strong that particular spell was. Was this Persona stronger than the rest? Had it boosted itself? Or did it...
Wait. That feeling from earlier, when he had slowed down...
Noctis cursed the winds and nothing else. That sly thief had debilitated him and weakened his defense and speed!
Unfortunately, the prince of Lucis had no time to act on this as another shard of ice gashed him in the side, stabbing straight into an ancient house before shattering. Noctis fell to his knees, his shivering hand nearly dropping the Engine Blade as he did.
Above him, Ren leapt down from the roof as Noctis tried, with all of his willpower, to fight past his wounds and the howling blizzard that Mother Harlot had started. Noctis stood up to his feet, despite being hampered by Debilitate, and rushed towards Ren... blindly.
The prince cried out as with a wave of its hand, Mother Harlot blasted him with a massive tree-shaped shard of ice that struck him from beneath. This move immobilized Noctis, making him drop the Engine Blade.
Ren seized this as a chance. Without wasting a single second, the Phantom Thief struck.
"RAVAGE HIM!"
Mother Harlot complied without fail. It immediately waved its hand, entrapping Noctis in a massive shard of ice and freezing him. To follow, the Persona lifted its hand, raining a profuse amount of ice shards at the frozen prince, the ice trapping him and muffling his shouts of pain. To conclude its vicious attack, Mother Harlot telekinetically lifted Noctis and the ice shard trapping him, and hurled him towards the clock tower. This time, the sheer force of Noctis slamming into the tower weakened the structure's foundations, making it collapse underneath him and bury him in rubble.
(stop music)
Ren heaved a sigh, as Mother Harlot vanished back into the depths of his soul, and clutched his shoulder, the pain of his injuries finally beginning to settle in. He looked at the ruins of the clock tower in front of him, where he had buried his foe. It pained him a bit to have to resort to this, but he had no other choice, if he wanted answers on how he got here in the first place.
...
...
...
...no, Noctis's defeat had been far too easy. He was far from finished, or so Ren surmised. Clutching the hilt of his knife, the Phantom Thief slowly trudged towards the ruins of the clock tower, to ease the growing dread within him that the fight was far from over.
****
Noctis Lucis Caelum could feel it. His consciousness slipping, his being dying... He had failed in this last attempt at life, this last attempt to get a new chance. Perhaps it would have been better if he had accepted his fate... and now seemed a perfect time to do so. The prince shut his eyes, prepared to slumber forever...
.
.
.
.
.
...!
What...?
Noctis's eyes slowly opened. Just what was that sudden surge he had felt? Was it...?
Another jolt. The prince's eyes opened some more.
And then...
"Prince of Lucis... Your fight is not over."
Noctis went alert at this sudden voice. Who was...?
"That is correct... You are the one true king... You have reclaimed your throne."
That voice... Who was that? It didn't sound like anyone familiar.
"You... You who rules over all... You who rules over your kingdom... Now is the chance that you grasp the power of Kings once more. All you have to do... is reach out!"
All of a sudden... Noctis saw that the ice around him had shattered, and was slowly being replaced with... a crystal?
It was then that Noctis remembered. He had slumbered in a crystal all those years back, in a bid to wait and acquire his true power...
Now it was happening, though Noctis had a sense that this would be more instant.
The prince of Lucis shut his eyes once more, as the crystal enveloped him in full...
****
At the edge of an island in Scala ad Caelum...
(cue Scala ad Caelum Battle Theme - Kingdom Hearts III OST)
"Kamu Susano-o!"
A massive shard of ice materialized out of nowhere, impaling an armored figure right in the heart and downing him almost immediately. Yusuke Kitagawa took heavy breaths as he summoned his Persona back to his side. Kamu Susano-o swung its mighty blade at two other armored figures, decapitating them in one fell swoop and tossing their bodies at a pile of other armored bodies, which totaled five.
As this was done, Yusuke immediately rushed to the aid of his companion, Haru Okumura, who was having trouble fending off two armored figures. Fox brought out his katana and swung it at the face of one of the armored figures, who was wielding two large guns.
"Thank you!" Haru huffed, and then she immediately gripped on her mask. "Persona!"
Just then, Haru's Persona, Astarte, appeared in a blaze of blue. After witnessing Astarte blasting the two figures with a blast of psychic energy, Haru immediately pointed forward.
"Astarte, descend!"
Before the two armored figures could so much as make a move, Astarte waved its hand, and promptly blasted them with a much larger blast of psychic energy than before. As the light from the resulting explosion cleared, the two figures dropped to the ground, dead and their weapons out of their grasp.
(stop music)
Haru clutched her shoulder as she fell to her knees, taking heavy breaths. Yusuke ran towards her, helping her up. "Haru, are you all right?" the painter asked in concern.
"Yes... Thank you," huffed Haru. She then heaved another sigh of relief, as she heard footfalls from behind her and Yusuke.
"Fox! Noir!" the voices of the Phantom Thieves rang.
Yusuke slung Haru's arm over his shoulder, as they welcomed their other friends. "You guys...!"
"Oh, I'm so glad you're all safe!" Haru said, as Yusuke and Makoto assisted her to her feet. "When we got separated, we were attacked by these armored men, and I thought... I thought..."
"What are you talking about?' Ryuji whooped in excitement. "You guys totally kicked their asses!"
"Yes, but as you can clearly see, we struggled in doing so," Yusuke replied. "Now, our focus lies on finding Ren--"
Fox's eyes widened, as he saw the next sight before him. The bodies of the armored figures... they were rising.
A dark portal opened right in front of the Phantom Thieves, and out of it emerged an old man with a bald head and a menacing gait. His baleful yellow eyes stared into the Phantom Thieves... and they were instantly filled with a sense of dread.
Morgana felt this dread more than the others, more specifically, as the old man spoke.
"Of all the people to be sent here..."
(cue The Key - Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep OST)
Morgana remembered who the man in front of him was. This was a particularly dangerous man, one who even his Master had tried and failed to stop. This was a man with a dangerous agenda, one that would risk the worlds falling into ruin. This was...
"Master Xehanort...!!"
The old man, who had been addressed as Master Xehanort, gazed at Morgana, his baleful look injecting a familiar sense of fear into the cat.
"If it isn't Igor's creation," Xehanort started. "It has been far too long... although I must say, you and that little group of yours were the last people I expected to arrive here. But no matter."
Morgana's scared face turned into a frown. "What are you doing here, Xehanort?!" he demanded. "What are you plotting?!"
"This place... is the nexus from which all worlds spring," Xehanort said. "This is where my plan shall be enacted... Yes, bringing all those warriors together and making them fight... I never would have foreseen that Kingdom Hearts itself would aid me in my quest."
"Wait..." Futaba droned... and then she gasped. "So bringing us here was your plan too?!"
"It was my plan to make your leader and that spoiled king fight, yes," Xehanort replied. "But it was not of my design that they would fight right here."
Just then, the bodies of the armored figures suddenly rose into the air, and turned into inky black jets, all racing towards Xehanort. The old man opened up his arms, as the black streaks merged with him. Xehanort sighed, as if he was being refreshed by a beverage, before he continued, "But I suppose I should thank you, and that dull, ordinary boy whose friends sent me here. For here, I and my other selves can be one..."
More of the figures raced towards Xehanort, before all thirteen had been absorbed into the man. He gazed at the Phantom Thieves with manic glee as he concluded, "Here, we shall be united... here, in Scala ad Caelum!"
Right there and then, the old man held out his hand, and all of a sudden, a bright light surged from him, forcing the Phantom Thieves to cover their eyes. When the light cleared...
...the Thieves saw that a new weapon had made itself manifest in Xehanort's hand. Its guard appeared to have two of those key-shaped swords crossed together and attached to a shining blade. Upon seeing this weapon, Morgana was filled with intense dread.
"N-No... You can't have!"
"But I have done it, cat," Xehanort said with glee. "Thanks to all those fights--and the clash of the lights and darknesses--I have forged the χ-blade!"
"What are you planning to do with that?!" Morgana demanded.
Xehanort grinned, as he replied, "I know talking shall be wasted on you young rogues, so I shall just demonstrate its power to you firsthand. The power that brings warriors of different worlds together, and the power that shall bring an end to the worlds!"
The Phantom Thieves tensed up, as Xehanort floated into the air, χ-blade in hand as he declared, "There is one sky... One destiny!"
Morgana turned to his teammates. "Come on, guys," he implored. "We know who's causing these fights in the first place. Let's stop him!"
"Like you needed to tell us!" Ryuji replied, gripping on his mask. At that moment, the Phantom Thieves evoked their Personas in unison. They knew who they would fight now--they had to put an end to all this madness. They had to stop Master Xehanort!
(stop music)
****
Back in the main island...
(cue In the Light of the Crystal - Final Fantasy XV OST)
Ren's eyes suddenly widened, as the clock tower's debris dispersed in a violent burst of light. He crossed his arms before him to prevent himself from being blinded, and being struck by debris. And as the light cleared... Ren Amamiya could not believe what he was seeing.
It was Noctis Lucis Caelum--and he was well and alive. Only... he was slightly different.
It appeared that the prince of Lucis had undergone aging. His eyes were more stern, his hair was more refined, and he had grown facial hair. What was more, the blade that was in his hand was not the Engine Blade anymore, but the Sword of the Father--in its full glory.
Noctis Lucis Caelum had reawakened the power of the Lucian bloodline within him.
"Things won't end here, Ren Amamiya," Noctis declared. "I walked tall once... I'll do it again, even if it kills me."
Ren gripped on his knife. "It seems you're not ready to stand down just yet," he said. "But don't you worry about a thing--I'm not about to give up the ghost, either."
"That's more like it," Noctis declared, as he aimed the Sword of the Father at Joker. "If you surrender, you might as well draw your final breath. Come, Phantom Thief! The King challenges you to a final dance--at your full strength!"
Joker bowed, in full respect for his foe. "As you wish, Your Eternal Majesty."
Ren then smirked, as a new mask made itself manifest on his face in a blaze of blue. It seemed that his fight would not end here. If he was going to finish his quest, he would have to fight... to walk tall, as his foe did. As a new fire alit in his eyes, Ren Amamiya ripped off his mask, a blaze of bright blue consuming him as he cried out,
"Persona!"
To be concluded in Part 2...
****
(A/N: So here's the first part of the fight! The reason why I split this battle into two parts is because of its length, and my desire to make it as grand as I possibly can. Anyways, stay tuned for Part 2!)