As Madran walked on, she slowly saw the tiles on the ground go from scorched and burnt to windswept, cracked, or missing. The background also slowly turned from red and orange colors to green and white colors, which affirmed Madran's suspicions.
"Hey, Plague, you ready?"
"Yep."
The group fought through a few more shadows, and one stood out to Madran a bit more. This was when the exit was within sight, but a zombie had charged at them, which prompted Madran to rip its mask off and start a fight, with her seeing a new shadow and beginning a scan. It appeared to be a tall, muscular man in red armor that completely covered each part of his body and obscured his face. Long black hair came from a tip at the top, and he held two small swords, and was also floating.
"Ok, this new guy's a Rakshasa! He's weak to Garu and Kouha, resists physical attacks, and blocks Agi, Eiha and Mudo."
The Rakshasa quickly utilized a Green Wall on himself, which blocked any incoming wind attacks. Then, Madran Baton Passed to Sheila, who hit the enemy with a Kougaon. This knocked him over, and Madran utilized an All-Out Attack. However, he wasn't killed by it, which got Maya to use a Crescent Mirror, which happened to finish the job.
"Ok, nice job, Rumor! Let's go on."
Madran walked on more, and entered the next room.
"Hey, Margaret, ready?"
"Yes. Plague?"
"Yep."
Margaret activated the orb, and the memory began. Madran saw a much younger Suga, who was a little younger than when Madran met her, sitting on someone's lap. The person was a tall, elegant woman, with long black hair and a very serene face.
"Momma, who are these people?"
The present Suga clapped her mouth and turned away.
"They are very bad and evil people who I'm trying to arrest."
"Ooh, who?"
The young Suga looked over the case file but had some problems reading it.
"Uh... what's Kirijo mean?"
"It's a business. They did some very bad things a few years ago, like experimenting on things they shouldn't of messed with."
"That doesn't sound good..."
"No, not at all."
Young Suga watched her mom work for some more until falling asleep. Then, her mom tucked her into bed, and the memory switched. The young Suga had woken up, and the outside was emitting a weird green glow into Suga's room. Suga looked out of her window, and Madran saw that the moon was green, and blood was put all around the outside of the house. Elizabeth gasped.
"No way... Plague experienced the Dark Hour?"
"I... I thought it was just a recurring nightmare... the green moon... the blood... the coffins..."
Madran saw that her mom, who had been sitting above Suga's bed to make sure she was asleep, had turned into a coffin.
"However, as I went over these dreams with Baofu, I found out one thing after another..."
Several months went past, with Suga waking up each time in the Dark Hour. However, one time, Madran heard footsteps, and the Young Suga whimpered and pulled the covers over her face. Then, a sound like a coffin being opened was heard, and the young Suga went out to investigate, only to see three figures opening a coffin, and Suga's mom tumbling out. The three people vanished.
"Elizabeth, who are these people?"
"The Strega. They were persona-users that were taken down by my clients. They would go around during the Dark Hour and open people's coffins, which would allow them to be attacked by shadows..."
Just then, an ear-piercing shriek came from Suga's mom as two black blobs grabbed her and dragged her elsewhere. The young Suga ran after her, only to find the shadows staring her down. However, just as they went to attack her, a gust burst from Suga and knocked the shadows away, killing them. However, as that happened, young Suga fainted.
"Mom slowly got more and more catatonic, and abandoned her job as a private inspector. She wouldn't do anything without our help, and slowly, more and more people around us also developed the same issues as mom did. However, we moved to Shibuya, and mom only got worse."
Madran looked back at Suga, who looked to be incredibly downcast.
"Goodness, Plague, that's messed up..."
"I know."
The memory then became an older Suga talking to Proctora. She appeared to be almost at Suga's current age, with the spiky hair and whatnot. They negotiated how Suga could help out at the hospital from time to time, and a different voice spoke out, sounding like a slightly distorted version of Suga's.
"I wanted to become a doctor because I could possibly cure mom. Heh! What a stupid ambition that was. All it brought to me was Proctora's bullshit and really got me looking forwards to not going back to that dumb hospital."
The memory ended, and Shadow Suga stood across from Suga.
"I... I didn't want to abandon that ambition! I'm still following it today!"
"Oh, are you? Last time I saw, you wanted to take up doctoring to cure your mom's apathy, anxiety, depression, epilepsy, et cetera, and your older sister's autism, and you do that under the guise of wanting to help everyone! How selfish of you."
"Are you serious? Last thing I said, I wanted to figure out what mom's disease was, and not everyone's other stupid problems!"
"But... I..."
"But you want? If you had just stayed in Tatsumi Port, and what that kid did there would've cured at least mom's apathy. However, you chose with dad to go to stupid, ratty, yucky Shibuya instead!"
Suga remained silent and wiped a tear from her eye.
"See what happens when you try to choose your 'own path?' It just makes the problem worse! Not only did you cause mom to develop all of these problems, you forced yourself to work with someone who only wanted to use your genius for his own good!"
"Yeah, sure, I thought all of these things. But, now that it's happened, what's the good in complaining about it, and worrying about the past? You might think mom's a lost cause, but I've learned to fight until the bitter end."
"Yeah, and you combat that by looking like some knock-off goth bitch! All you're doing is repeatedly punching yourself in the face until possibly, something comes of it! Why not listen to what dad has to say for a few minutes instead of acting like a bitch to him? Or, maybe you could try to just listen to your teachers instead of starting up discussions that waste everyone's time!"
Shadow Suga laughed.
"The only reason you've gotten so far is because of your pitiful leaning on all of your friends!"
"The only reason we're talking is because I'm trying to save a friend."
"Oh? Save HIM? Aren't you tired of being dragged around so much that you can't even decide on your own how you want things to go? You wanted to be a proud, strong fighter like Madran, but you turned into a stupid support who's constantly overshadowed by Maya! You're stuck with these stupid wind spells, and even making puns about it won't help! Your only use is to prolong everyone's suffering so that they might just eke out a win!"
Suga took a few steps up to her shadow and clenched her fists.
"Now, that's where you're wrong! I'm proud of my ability to keep everyone alive and kicking, and my wind spells are unlike anyone else's! You say I'm overshadowed by Rumor, but her only way to get us back up and alive when we get knocked out is the Recarmdra crap! You say that we're useless, but you just view one side of the whole equation."
"Heh. We'll see, Suga. We'll see..."
Shadow Suga laughed again and vanished. Madran, who recovered from her wide-eyedness, looked at Suga.
"Goodness, I didn't even know..."
"Don't be sorry. It was dad and I who just said that she just had issues. He got really angry when he and I found out just why mom had plummeted."
Elizabeth patted Suga on the shoulder.
"You have my sympathy, Plague. Apathy syndrome was a common problem in Tatsumi Port, which was caused when The Dark Hour began. I feel that someone called that revenge group to attack your house, and they just let your mom get attacked by shadows."
"Hey, Suga, what happened with the stuff about you also meeting me around that time?"
"I was sent to live with relatives while dad was moving stuff."
"Also, the mention about your sister's condition..."
"Yeah. Dad, uh, he didn't let me tell anyone. In fact, he doubted my career choice until the Proctora incident happened."
"Also, Plague?"
"Yeah?"
"I think there is a way to cure your mom of her apathy. However, Margaret and I will need to look into the situation a little more. Everyone who was affected was cured when my clients stopped Nyx, but it seemed your mom was left alone."
"Ugh, yeah, Baofu told me that, which made me feel worse about the whole situation."
"Also, when those shadows attacked your mom, what was that thing that happened?"
"Um, I asked Bubonia, and I guess she randomly reached out to save me. However, if she had awakened right then, she, well, wouldn't of looked like she does right now."
"Hmm. Well, we'd best hurry."
Madran nodded, and went down the path that led to their next fight.
"So, Plague, what did Shadow Suga mean by your sudden interest in becoming a nurse?"
"Well, Rumor, I, when I was younger, made it known that I would try to 'fix' mom and sis. As I aged, that wish was reinforced for my want to also help others, which is what led to me now. She's trying to bring up past guilts, like how I felt selfish just trying to help mom."
"Oh, ok."
"And then, she decided to go off on my disliking of Shibuya. Ugh, she's such a bitch."
"I know, Suga. Hey, look!"
Madran looked at a large set of fans.
"Hmm..."
Suga then suddenly directed a Magarula at the fans, which turned all of them. However, the door after them didn't open, and a shadow dropped down. Once they silenced it, Madran got to looking around the fans.
"Oh, right here! You need to create a certain shape with them. Uh, blow them in this order."
Madran pointed a sign out, which showed that Suga would have to write her name with the fans.
"Yikes, that's precise. Um, hang on..."
Suga took a look at the fans. She then talked some with Bubonia, and then directed a wind current at the fans, which wrote her name in a very meticulous fashion. Then, the door opened.
"Ooh, yay! Let's go on."
The group charged on, and ended up spelling Suga's entire name with fans. Then, they got to another door.
"Yep, she's in here."
A shadow then appeared in front of the door.
"Past here lies Suga's shadow... if she feels that she is strong enough to face her, then she will face me first."
Suga stepped up and activated her weapon.
"Hang on just a minute, Fwoosh!"
The shadow turned into that odd wind being that Philemon had put to sleep in Proctora's palace that had blocked their way to the inner lab. Madran quickly scanned and shouted out to Suga.
"Plague, it's Kodama, um, it's weak to Agi and blocks Bufu, so go at it!"
Suga utilized a Garudyne, with her bouncing back a few wind spells from the shadow and dodging a Psiodyne. Kodama then utilized a Tarukaja on itself while Suga healed with a Diarama. Then, after dodging a few more powered-up Psiodynes, Suga attacked with a few more Garudynes and then cut at it with her weapon, which knocked it out.
"Hmm... well done..."
Kodama faded away, and Suga turned back to the group.
"Ok, let's go!"
Madran walked through the door with Suga, and saw that Shadow Suga was standing in the center.
"Oh, it's you again. Hmm, I had a feeling that stationing Kodama there was the wrong choice."
Suga chuckled.
"Honestly, if I were you, I would've placed a shadow that blocks or absorbs wind."
Shadow Suga glared.
"Well, all that's done is done, and you're already here. Did dad teach you that patience is a virtue?"
"Not when your friend is in trouble, and-"
"Oh? That's your only reason for you dragging everyone around in the hopes that you'll get some time away from dad?"
Suga looked like she had been caught in a lie.
"You were so eager to have an entire day with your so-called friends, all the while it seemed like a matter of seconds to dad! Of all the time you've spent, why would you care more about mom?!"
Suga glared at Shadow Suga.
"You're lying!"
Shadow Suga showed a quick memory where Suga was chatting with Bubonia, and said that she was glad to get a few hours away from dad.
"Due to your incompetence as a daughter, you caused mom to have all of those issues and turned dad into some idiot who cares too much about some little weasel! Don't deny this, Suga, you've had all of these thoughts and you know it! How sad, such a sorry life, and what a way to mess with it further!"
"Fine, I admit it!"
Shadow Suga looked shocked.
"I know, I might be a terrible, rebellious little shit, but that doesn't change one thing that shadows seem to never understand. Just because I might be difficult doesn't mean that I don't love them, and appreciate what they do for me! Yeah, my family on my mom's side might be a little fucked up in the way of genetics, and yeah, my original reasons for becoming a nurse were selfish, but whatever! I'm done hearing you whisper all of these stupid ideas in my ear because I'm not the smartest when it comes to decision making, but I certainly know that nobody hates me because of it! So, shut up, you crazy bitch, before I make you!"
Shadow Suga scowled and readied her weapon.
"Heh, you're right about being stupid. Allow me to show you your idiocy with my clade to your face, Suga! And, I'm not the only one in on this... come!"
Suga summoned Reverse Bubonia, who had yellow and orange clothes instead of Bubonia's green and black.
"Choosing your own way brings about many consequences, young one. I shall show you the music that you so eagerly deserve!"
Suga glared at the two enemies.
"Oh, I'm about through with you, me. I'm not about to stop in my tracks just because a part of me says I can't, and I have a special guest to back me up with that!"
Suga summoned Bubonia, who looked from Shadow Suga to Reverse Bubonia.
"Choosing one's own path may bring pain, yes... but, the good outweighs the bad! What would you prefer, a world of the same boring person, or a planet filled to the brim with unique and interesting beings, each with their own story to tell? I shall leave that decision up to you, my friend..."
Madran began a scan while everyone prepared for a fight.
"Ok, she's Suga's shadow! She reflects Garu, resists Agi, and blocks Mudo and Eiha! Let's take this girl out before she causes any more fights!"
Madran utilized an Assault Dive on Shadow Suga, and Suga shot her with her syringe gun, which inflicted her with poison. Shadow Suga then utilized a Patra to remove the poison and then attacked with a Wind Wall on Suga, which removed her ability to reflect Garu.
"Ok, we're looking to be pretty good wind targets now! Keep up the attack!"
Chicory utilized a Rising Slash on Shadow Suga, with Maya attacking with a Diamond Dust. Shadow Suga then utilized a Diarama on herself and attacked the group with a Magarula, but Maya reflected it.
"Well, she forgot about Artemis!"
Madran and Maya then combined attacks to utilize a Freezer Burn, which hit Reverse Bubonia head-on. Then, Margaret utilized a Wind Wall on Madran, which protected her from any wind attacks. After that, Chicory directed another Rising Slash at Shadow Suga, followed up by a Kougaon from Sheila. Then, Margaret and Elizabeth utilized a combined Debilitate on Shadow Suga, which severely disadvantaged her. Shadow Suga then attacked with Maya with her gun, which knocked her over and inflicted her with a dizzy effect. Then, she utilized a Magarula again on the team, followed up by utilizing another Diarama on herself.
"Ok, this is getting annoying! We need some healing, and Rumor's down!"
Suga utilized a Mediarama, with Maya getting back up. However, she was still dizzy, so when she tried to utilize a Diamond Dust, Artemis sloppily shot the icicles all over the room and not at Shadow Suga. However, Suga then utilized an Energy Shower on Maya and Madran Baton Passed to her, which allowed Maya to successfully use a Diamond Dust on Reverse Bubonia. Then, Sheila turned back to Margaret and Elizabeth.
"Hey, what bless moves do you guys have?"
"Yes."
"Elizabeth, that isn't answering my question."
"We can both summon various Mitamas that can utilize Kougaons."
"Ok, then, let's do it! Um... go, Unparalleled Shine!"
Sheila, Margaret, and Elizabeth directed the newly-made Unparalleled Shine at Shadow Suga, which created a massive stream of white and yellow light that circled around Shadow Suga and plummeted into the ground above her and Reverse Bubonia, which made a massive pillar of light, similar to the normal Kougaon. This caused massive damage to Shadow Suga, with not even a healing spell from her being able to undo the damage. Then, Madran and the rest continued up the attack, only stopping when Shadow Suga hit the group with an ailment or knocked someone over.
"Ok, guys, we're getting close!"
Shadow Suga glared at Madran.
"Hmph, or so you thought! Reverse Bubonia!"
Shadow Suga utilized what appeared to be a darker Garudyne, which knocked Madran over. Then, she utilized the same attack on Sheila, which also knocked her over. Maya then utilized a Mediarahan and blocked a Magarula, with Chicory shielding Madran and directed a Rising Slash at Shadow Suga. Then, Suga caught Reverse Bubonia off guard by slashing at her with her weapon multiple times and then shooting her with her weapon, which knocked both the persona and shadow over. Madran and Sheila then got back up.
"Ok, nice one, Plague! All-Out Attack, guys!"
Madran directed an All-Out Attack at Shadow Suga, which dealt massive damage to her. Then, she scanned her again, and nodded.
"Yep, we're done!"
Suga walked up to Shadow Suga and Reverse Bubonia with her persona trailing behind.
"Ok, look, you were right about many things, and I have a lot to work on."
"I know this..."
"I'm not about to give up because everyone views me as some bitch or whatever, though. I live my life how I want to, and not how everyone else feels I should."
Shadow Suga sat up and nodded.
"So, you do accept it, and with open arms. Thank you..."
Shadow Suga and Reverse Bubonia vanished into a white orb, and both went into their corresponding human and persona. Bubonia then struck a pose.
"Night and day have merged to one! Now, with our newfound power, our rule over our fate shall be ever stronger."
Bubonia went back into Suga, and she turned back to Madran.
"Well, everyone, I guess I have nothing more to hide."
"Don't worry, Plague. Let's hurry on now."
Suga nodded, and went with Madran and the rest to the next area, where either Sheila's or Chicory's shadow would be waiting for their arrival.
END OF CHAPTER 72
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That's all for this chapter! So, who do you think will be next? It may be obvious, but you'll need to find out next time. I hope that you all enjoyed! I'll see all of you guys next time. Bye!