As the twins descended into the lounge early in the morning , they saw every member of SEES in the lounge , with the exception of Ken who was still sleeping . The morning program was interrupted to report the rise of Apathy Syndrome , coupled with the fact that some of the patients froze in the middle of the traffic and nearly caused accidents .
" I've been thinking " Yukari pondered " what would happen if we fail to stop the shadow that appears on the night of a full moon ? "
" the world will end , obviously " Junpei answered
" can I get a smarter answer , please ? " Yukari rolled her eyes
" well ... the closest assumption we can conclude is that the Apathy Syndrome will continue to rise even more " Mitsuru thought
" I have conducted a stimulation of the future in accordance with the continuous rise of Apathy Syndrome " Aigis responded " patients who suffer from Apathy Syndrome are crippling society due to their lack of will to participate in any activity , they consequently do not work , study or contribute to any benefit to society . Moreover , relatives of those patients are forced to care for them as a result of their lack of will to live . I estimate that , within a year of continuous rise , the economy of Japan will plummet and the country may fall into chaos "
" this is scary ! " Fuuka shook her head in dismay
" yeah ... " Junpei nodded " if the economy falls , how will I go to the market and shop for my movie night every Saturday ? "
" the problem is much bigger than that ... does that mean other countries will try to take advantage of it ? " Minato thought " or is this happening in other countries , too ... "
" there's a lot of pressure on us to succeed ... " Yukari sighed
" you don't need to feel discouraged , guys ! " Minako cheered her team up " I mean we've defeated those shadows four times so far , and even though they're getting stronger , so are we . I'd say we got the hang of this shadow exterminating business ! "
" anyway " Mitsuru stood up " it's a full moon tonight , so I suggest you conserve your strength . We'll meet in the computer room at midnight to discuss this "
The Dark Hour has come , and indeed Fuuka managed to detect a strong presence at the north of Iwatodai . She sensed a shadow buried underground in an abandoned facility .
" I conclude the shadow is inside a military base " Aigis noted
" military ... there's a military base in there ? " Akihiko thought
" yes , that is correct "
" Aigis had geographic data downloaded in her memory bank when she was manufactured " the chairman explained " granted , the data hasn't been updated in a while so it's possible that the base is abandoned "
" shouldn't you update that memory ? " Junpei sighed
" oh ! Koro-chan! " Minako cried as she saw the dog behind the chairman " you're alright ! "
She immediately rushed to Koromaru and hugged his fluffy neck , followed by Yukari and Fuuka who were also worried about him . Koromaru was delighted to see them all and seemed especially fond of Minako .
" Why is he wearing a shirt ? " Minato raised an eyebrow in confusion
" it's adorable ! Isn't it ? " Minako replied " especially this collar with wings attached to it ! "
" that collar actually works as an evoker for dogs " the chairman replied
" an evoker for ... wait ! You want him to participate , too ?! " Minato exclaimed
" well you rejected Ken because he was a kid , but I don't see why you would... "
" I'm not rejected Koromaru , not after I saw how fiercely he defended his master's shrine . I'm just thinking that he should start from Tartarus as opposed to a full moon night . What do you guys think "
" he'll be perfect ! " Minako immediately exclaimed
" well if he's gonna motivate you this much , I guess I'll allow it "
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The team arrived at the location . It was indeed a military base , with some equipments still scattered around the field . As they entered the base , Fuuka confirmed that the shadow was indeed somewhere inside the base . Suddenly , Koromaru began growling at the gate from which they came , and as they turned around they saw two guys approaching them , a shirtless guy with tattoos on his shoulders , and a guy holding a laptop case and a grenade in his hands .
" who're these guys ?! " Fuuka cried " Lucia didn't sense any presence before they appear ?! "
" well done " The shirtless man said " we have been watching you for a while , and I have to say that we're impressed . I believe it's about time we meet in person . The name is Takaya , the pleasure is all mine "
" I'm Jin " the guy with the laptop case said " we are known to some as Strega "
" from what we've observed , you've taken upon an allegedly righteous goal of saving the world . However , in your quest you've made it your goal to end the Dark Hour , and we can't allow that "
" you can't allow it ?! " Minako murmured , remembering what Shinjiro had told her a few days ago
" why ? " Yukari yelled at them " why would you try to stop us ?! "
" by ending the Dark Hour , the world will revert to its stable form " Jin said " this means our powers will be no more "
" you're Persona users ?! " Mitsuru was shocked
" we are among the few capable of wielding the magnificent power of Persona . Its fascinating power , its endless potential , the Dark Hour , the Tower Of Demise , they are all frontiers which can only be explored by us . Yet you chose to deny the blessings bestowed upon you and strived to end the Dark Hour , to end everything that makes you special "
" there's no telling what would happen if we don't do something ! " Minako exclaimed
" yeah ! " Junpei added " leave those damn shadows by themselves and they'll wreck havoc in the entire city !!! "
" and ? What difference does that make ? Disasters happen all the time even before the Dark Hour was a thing , and they're always driven by human ignorance and stupidity "
" you're insane !!! " Yukari was furious to hear Takaya's logic
" enough about the world , what about you ? Surely you realize the potential you're harnessing every night , the sense of significance the Dark Hour has given you "
" what significance ?! " Yukari screamed at him " shooting myself in the head ?! Having to live through the thought of suicide every time I need my Persona just for a fleeting sense of security ?!! Having to stand one second before death every night ?!! You think I like this ?!! "
" Yukari .... " Fuuka was saddened by Yukari speaking her thought , even though she knew they all felt it to a certain extent
" what about the rest of you ? Do you all wish to return to your pathetically ordinary lives ?! "
" what did you say ?!! " Junpei grew furious
" yes , we do ! " Minato interrupted him
" you're not honest with yourselves or with each other " Jin yelled at Minato " each of you is just tagging along for their own reason , and your justice is just a facade , you hypocrites ! "
" you didn't crack our ribs to read our hearts so zip it ! " Minato yelled back
" screw this ! " Jin flipped a switch , and the gate started closing before them " have fun in there "
" you think you can just taunt us and get away ?! " Minato pulled his evoker " Eligor ! "
" Hypnos ! Cast Magidoloan ! "
Takaya called his Persona , which was a humanoid creature with wings loosely attached to its back . Hypnos screamed , and a glowing radiance of light struck Eligor which immediately dispersed on the spot . Minato felt a throbbing headache that nearly had him lose consciousness . While SEES tended to their leader , the gate quickly closed before them .
" you weaklings will never live to see the dawn ! " was the last thing Jin said before the gate slammed shut .
" Minato ... are you okay ? " Minako stood by her brother who had mostly regained his consciousness " that was pretty reckless of you "
" I wanted to drag him inside , except I had no idea he was that strong " Minato noticed Koromaru anxiously rubbing himself at his leg and he gave him a weary smile " I'm fine now "
" damn those bastards ! " Junpei punched the metal gate " they're pissing me off ! "
" we must conserve our energy and focus on eliminating the shadow " Aigis suggested
" yeah ... we'll be in trouble if we had to fight them and the shadow "
" on that note , they're not exactly the smartest enemies we could've ended up with " Minako thought , but as she saw everyone staring at her she defensively explained " I mean one of them was strong enough to defeat Minato's Persona in one shot , if they fight us they'd probably be too strong for us , yet they chose to trap us with a shadow instead . I mean ... it's the kind like the cliched villainy where the bad guys are like ' a quick death is too good for you ' and stuff ... "
" nerd " Minato stared at his sister
" you gotta admit I have a point ! " Minako nervously responded
" they probably thought we could easily outnumber them " Akihiko suggested
" yeah , but why trap us with the very shadow they don't want us to destroy ? "
" that's true " Minato realized where his sister was going with her train of thoughts " with our Personas we can dig our way out , even if that would take some time but it's still possible . The only conclusion is that they expect us to lose to the shadow , but there's no reason to believe we will lose after we defeated the previous full moon shadows "
" we can't rely on our enemies being careless " Mitsuru decided " it might be a trap , so I think it would be for the best if Minato was the leader "
" okay , I'll do my best "
Since the beginning , Minato was on edge . He would have preferred that Fuuka stays outside the base ( since he didn't know that Strega was stalking them ) , but with her on the team he had to worry about her safety since she can't fight . Moreover , this military base is more crammed and with less area for maneuvering than Tartarus , so she wouldn't be able to escape an enemy even if she could detect it . Although Fuuka told him she only senses one strong shadow which was likely their target , Minato still insisted that she stays behind and with her he left Junpei and Mitsuru .
" wait , what ?! " Junpei objected " why can't I join along ! "
" I need you to defend Fuuka should the worst happen , smarty . Your Persona is pretty much the Jack of all trades "
" Jack of ... what ? "
" I thought you realized it by now , Junpei " Minako explained " your Persona can increase your defense , deal all sorts of physical attacks and fire attacks . My brother thinks you should be able to handle yourself against a wide variety of shadows "
" well , if you say so , guess you can't do much without me , huh ? " Junpei liked the idea that his Persona can do all those things
" if the situation grows dire on our side , I might call you back into the front lines so be ready "
" you got it , boss "
" the rest of you are coming along , and stay close "
They advanced into the base , which seemed to stretch underground . The sight of broken and abandoned weapons was haunting , and there were some skeletons scattered around . It seemed that the base was overrun by enemies , and they even found records and journals , giving them more insight about what the soldiers were experiencing at the time .
" can you two stop falling behind ?! " Minato yelled at Yukari and Minako who had found a tattered journal on the ground
" sorry " Yukari followed
" I think you'll find this interesting , bro " Minako started
" we don't have time for a documentary ! Put that junk down and follow along , and stop straying off the team ! "
" muTAOp mrAYyInH UuHu hA hEAm ! " Minako sarcastically imitated her brother's stern voice " you do realize that ... "
Sudddenly , the entire roof above them exploded before collapsing on top of their head . Through the confusion , Minato tried to make out who was by his side and who wasn't .
" Minako ! " Akihiko exclaimed " where's she ?! "
" you don't think ... ! " Yukari stuttered " you don't think she was buried below the crumbling roof ?! "
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The first meeting between Strega and SEES . Anyone else thought of the reason why they trapped us in there ? Well , the game doesn't exactly care to explain which is unfortunate , but when the developers drop the ball , the fans pick it up ! So why did they trap SEES with the very shadow they want to defend ? It might've been apparent now , but the reason for it will be shown in the next part so stay tuned until then .
Also , I didn't like the little screen time Strega was given . Besides +++++++ ++++++++ and +++++++( a spoiler ) , they didn't do much . They just appear and monologue their way through cutscenes before leaving , and they were real cowards in the game , and even when they finally gather their courage to actually fight , they don't put up much of a fight . When I encountered them I was pumped for a brawl and was yelling ' vengeance is mine !!! ' but they lost way too quickly . That's why , as you'll see here , Strega will be more threatening .
I admit I might be writing this too soon , but I want you to keep in mind that Strega here is stronger than Strega in the game , and I even had Takaya oneshot Minato to show my point .
What else did I want to say ? Oh right ! Remember to comment who you want Minato to fall in love with , and if you did , thank you so much . On that note I want to state the obvious : comments on Minato's lover don't stack , so you only need to comment once so I could keep track of your username and your opinion . I'm sorry if the constant remind of this election thing is annoying , but it's because I care of what you all think , and I hope you have a wonderful time reading .
If you liked this part please consider voting , and I will see you in the next part . Stay safe .
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The debate is closed , read the part about the results to find out who won