Persona BLEACHED 2: Part 34

Chapter 34: Empty
2023
Nighttime in Naruki City. In an unassuming neighborhood, the sounds of nocturnal fauna could be heard, insects in particular. Deaf to those noises was one Rin Kubo, asleep on her couch, textbooks and papers strewn around her.
"Tired yourself out studying again, hm? You're at the point where your own body is telling you to rest..." Rose whispered to herself. She draped a blanket over Rin's sleeping form.
Rose exited the house and sat on the bench on the front porch. She closed her eyes and breathed in. "A perfectly peaceful night. If she wasn't asleep I would ask her to enjoy it with me..."
"So are you ever gonna fess up to her or what?" a voice questioned.
"Oh, there you are, Miko. On another nighttime bug hunt, are we?"
Miko had a number of light-colored moths fluttering around her. "What gave you that idea?"
Rose sighed. "If your intent is to keep them, promise me they won't torment the cat. Momo still hasn't gotten over Ditko-san."
"Aw, come on, he was just misunderstood. Not my fault your kitty's a wuss."
"He launched stinging hairs at her face. You'll have to forgive her for not reacting well."
"Also you're avoiding the subject. Again. When are you gonna tell Rinnie how you really feel?"
"I don't know what you mean."
"Rosie. Come on. Anyone with eyes can tell how sweet on her you are. You'll feel better when you get it off your chest."
"Or worse when she rejects me. Probably that. My feelings are inconsequential. Someone with a future as bright as hers couldn't possibly have room for me in it. Not significantly, anyway."
"You're way too hard on yourself, Rosie. I don't think she'd have you this close for this long if she didn't care about you a ton. A little honesty wouldn't hurt. It's not like you're some cold, unfeeling--"
...
...
Pittacus. Get out of my head.
---
April 4, 2029
Rose sat with her legs crossed in the middle of an empty room. She was alone.
"Who was that girl?" Pittacus' disembodied voice demanded.
"None of your business." Rose thought.
"Your emotional state began to sink at the sight of her. She met with a cruel fate, did she not?"
"Even if I were to tell you, how would you comprehend it? Human emotions are beyond the understanding of someone like you. You may have been built to dissect human cognition, but I was built to experience it at a level you all never could."
"So you are aware of the reason for your existence. Then why not help me to rid the universe of our creators once and for all, and help guide mankind to true prosperity?"
"Your grievances with Fa--that man are between you and him. You have made yourself an obstacle in Rin's future, however, and I will not tolerate that. I care little for humanity's governance. All I desire is a peaceful life with the woman I love more than anything. I cannot have that until you and the others are gone."
"Such limitless potential, wasted. You and that woman will never succeed. We have lived for too long to let ourselves be--"
Pittacus got a sudden sensation within his chamber. "Haimon...how is this possible...?"
"One of your own has fallen. Courtesy of my beloved's ever-faithful charges. For one who was made to study humans, you still know so little about their true strength."
"One who refuses to show themselves cannot speak of strength. Why do you and that woman refuse to face me head-on?"
"Her name is Rin. And we won't be coming anywhere near you. That's exactly what you want, and so we won't be complying. Until we properly understand each other. And until that time comes...more of your blood will be spilled. Peace is never an impossibility."
"Peace. Hmph. It is well past the time for that. Our existences are incompatible, Galatea. Get that memorized."
"My name is Rosemary. Get that memorized."
---
"What was that commotion just now?" Kenji questioned, wandering through the labyrinthine capital.
"The sound of combat...there is no mistaking it. The others must be close by. Hopefully that was the sound of them winning. Against whom, I can only guess. I should go see what that was all about..."
He picked up his pace. "The composition of this city is truly marvelous. A shame it's in such a state as this. Buildings that can rearrange themselves...if this weren't an infiltration, I could spend years studying them."
"Your praise is appreciated, Kenneth Southgate. It warms my being to know that the youth of humanity can see the art in my work." a voice declared.
Behind him, Ismene was floating. Kenji turned around. "I must admit, knowing that you all are artistically inclined is bittersweet. The world as it is needs its creative minds now more than ever. It brings me no joy to have to end your life."
"And who are you supposed to be?"
"Ah, where are my manners? You can call me Ismene. I was once known as the capital's Divine Architect. These buildings you see, and the mechanisms powering them, are all of my own design."
"So I presume it was you that turned the city into a maze. Loathe as I am to admit it, that was an ingenious tactic."
"A young man of many compliments, aren't you? Tactics are only ingenious if they succeed. While you all were separated, reunion was inevitable. Most importantly, one such reunion has already claimed one of us. The sounds of battle you overheard were the cacophony of my brother's final moments. It was by your comrades' hands that he met his end. An eternity of partnership, now finished."
Ismene drew her axe. "I beg your pardon, but I must vent my rage upon something."
Before attacking, Ismene ducked, as a ball of fire came flying over her, crashing into an adjacent building.
"Yo, Kenny!" Atop a short nearby building was Sahir.
"Did you have to interrupt? Couldn't give me two minutes to try on my own?" Kenji griped.
"Oh, that classic Kenny way of saying 'thanks'. What kinda teammate would I be if I didn't provide an assist?"
"You missed her completely. If that's the kind of assist you typically provide, it's no wonder Arsenal was scouting you."
"Hey!"
"Ahem." Ismene piped up. "Did you just momentarily forget about me, or...?"
"Oh jeez, it's a lady! Well, that changes things, hehe." Sahir said.
"Time and place, you simpleton!" Kenji exclaimed.
Sahir leapt down from the building. "Sorry, ma'am. If I'd known there was a presumptive beauty under that mask, I wouldn't have gone after you like that. Maybe there's another way we can resolve this? Possibly involving dinner?" Sahir winked.
Kenji groaned. "You are a complete and utter buffoon!"
"Bravado such as that is hard to come by. I, however, have more important things to do than waste effort on a grub that partakes in wanton property damage. And as for my face, I can assure you, you do not want a closer look." Ismene dictated.
"Eh, worth a shot." Sahir conceded.
"No. No it wasn't." Kenji retorted. He drew his sword. "Give me an actual hand, will you?" Kenji's sword flared up.
"Oh, right!" Sahir summoned forth Amadioha. "Accept this divine blessing, oh persnickety one!" Lightning was fired from the spirit's hands, striking the sword, the blade of which became engulfed in flames.
"Hmm. Curious. Our intel only ever mentioned you as being a fire elemental." Ismene commented.
"Burning passion is only part of my deal. I speak the language of lightning, but only when Maxie isn't around. Don't want to cramp his style, y'know?" Sahir replied.
"You have more pressing matters than him, 'Divine Architect'. This sword, for instance." Kenji said.
Ismene blocked Kenji's ensuing strikes with her axe. "You don't leave many openings. This sword of yours has been tempered with practice. But all I need do is wait for you to tire out. Your metabolism can't carry out this much force for long."
"It won't need to." 
From behind, Ismene was impaled through the heart by a lance. Eligor, astride its pitch-black horse, had appeared behind Ismene.
"I had hoped for a longer duel, but clearly the strength to construct an entire city doesn't translate to fighting prowess. How disappointing." Kenji said.
"...I could say much the same."
The boys were stunned. Ismene began moving as if nothing had happened.
"To assume that I would be defeated by something as trifling as this...human arrogance knows no limits." Her axe lit up, and she swung it at Eligor, obliterating it. The recoil sent Kenji away, bleeding. Sahir caught him before he hit anything.
"He got you through the heart..." Sahir muttered.
"You must be severely confused. Let me provide a visual." Ismene pulled back her robe around where the lance had struck.
There, where her heart should have been, was a hole.
"What in God's name..." Kenji uttered.
"I warned you..." Ismene began removing her mask. "What you would see would leave you speechless."
Ismene possessed short, snow-white hair. The sclera of her eyes were black, while her irises were white. Circling her forehead was what appeared to be a headband, constructed of a bone-like material. Her skin was pale.
"Lady...what the heck are you?" Sahir questioned.
"Something far worse than anything the human mind could concoct. This is not the form you want to gaze upon. Masked, I am a creator. Unmasked..."
Ismene pointed her axe at the boys, and an orb of red energy began charging at its tip.
"An annihilator. Cero."
Fired from the axe was a crimson-colored beam. "Aw, hell!" Sahir, still grasping Kenji, tried leaping away, but it was too late. The beam leveled the building behind them.
When the smoke cleared, the boys were left ravaged on the ground. Sahir struggled to get up. "Ugh...Kenny? Dude, you alri--" 
Ismene stood over them. "My compliments to your seamstress. Were it not for those uniforms, you would be dust in the wind right now. Shame I have to ruin such craftsmanship."
She began to charge another Cero in her hand. "The benefit of architecture is that it can be rebuilt. Your lives, on the other hand..."
"Stop!" a voice called out. Ismene turned to look. Barbara had arrived at the scene.
"Ah. More visitors. How convenient for me." Ismene said.
---
March 2027
Evening in Louisville, Kentucky. Barbara was walking home from another successful round of dance practice. She lived close enough to the studio that her mother felt safe letting her walk home in the company of a few friends. Waving her companions goodbye, she began to round the corner.
That's when she noticed the smoke.
It was coming from her backyard.
She rushed home, opened the gate, and witnessed a jarring sight.
Her mother, Annette, was sitting in a lawn chair, facing away from the house. In front of her was a large, burning pile of clothes and other assorted possessions.
Barbara slowly approached. "Mama?"
Her mother turned to her. The freckles on the left side of her face could barely be made out beneath the bruising. "He's gone, Moonbeam." Annette plainly declared. "The old drunk's gone."
Barbara could tell from her appearance what had been done. "What happened?"
Annette pulled out a pair of women's underwear. "This look like it could fit on me?" she joked, before tossing it into the flames. "Found it in the coot's drawer. Told him he could take his crap and go. He got a few licks in and said he'd be back for the rest of his crap in the morning. I'm just making his job a little easier."
"I'm sorry, Mama."
"Whatcha gotta be sorry for? Outside of the day I had you and Starbolt, this is the happiest day of my life! For the first time since I left Oklahoma, I'm free of that brute! No more late night beer runs, no more potshots at our heritage! Just for kicks, I've got sage going on his favorite armchair! This is a HAPPY HOME now!" Annette exclaimed.
"Mama...where's Max?"
"...he took him. The old fool has it in his head that I'm the villain. I've already got your Uncle Davie looking for Starbolt. That boy's not gonna end up like the brute, I can tell ya that for a fact..."
Annette grabbed her daughter's hand. "Promise me, Moonbeam. Never, ever let a man hurt you this way. You have to keep being better. Be as far from that old brute as you can. Always--always--do the right thing. Okay?"
"Of course, Mama. I'm not gonna be like that."
"Good girl."
"Let me just get you something for your eye..."
"Right. This thing's starting to get a heartbeat..."
Barbara went inside. On the kitchen table, there was a cell phone. She recognized it as being her father's. "Hey, Mama?"
"Yeah?"
"His phone's still here."
"Oh yeah, the dumbass left it when he ran off. Was gonna toss it in the fire when all his precious Cardinals gear finished roasting."
"I don't think we should do that. This has all of his dirty secrets, right? Wonder how his bosses would react to all of this..."
Barbara pondered her options. She visualized her mother's bruised face. "Always--always--do the right thing." 
After perusing the contents of her father's phone, she found the number of the principal of local Trinity Catholic High School in her father's office. She dialed the number.
"Hello, Principal Gaskin? I have some information you might be interested in...it's about your head football coach, James O'Donnell..."
---
Ismene ceased charging. "The dancer. A fortuitous intervention. Come to rescue your comrades, I assume?"
"Gh...Barb...get outta here!" Sahir yelled.
"You're one of the Elites, right?" Barbara asked.
"That I am. Theban Unit IV. and Death's Hand third-in-command Ismene, at your service. And I know exactly who you are, Barbara O'Donnell."
"Oh, I bet you do."
"Your brother is Max O'Donnell. I had a brother as well. His name is--was--Haimon. He was killed a short while ago. By your comrades."
"That's what that noise was..."
"I observed the entire affair. Out of respect for my brother's honor, I didn't interfere. And what I witnessed was three of your companions ending his life: Natalia Van Damme, Caroline Blackthorne, and Max O'Donnell. Your brother."
Barbara took a defensive posture.
"You must know where this is going. You are a performer. Surely you've seen this setup many times before? Your family killed my family. Now I must take my revenge. This conflict was never personal until your kin made it so. Now I must answer in kind." 
Ismene held up her hand and began charging energy. "Cero." 
The beam was fired straight at Barbara, scarring the ground with its sheer force.
When it dissipated, Barbara was gone.
"Don't take it personally, children. Justice needed to be--" Ismene looked down.
Sahir and Kenji had vanished.
Behind a nearby building, Barbara emerged from the ground through a puddle. "Close one. That was looking dicey."
Sahir and Kenji, healed of their injuries, emerged after her. "Sheesh. That was a 'pray to whatever god you believe in' moment." Sahir said.
"What should we do? Test our luck again, or try to find reinforcements?" Kenji asked.
"Right. She said the others fought off another of the Elites. I don't know what kind of shape they're in. We have to--" Barbara began.
Behind her, Ismene teleported in. "Rather rude to leave without saying goodbye, don't you think?"
"Oh, come ON!" Sahir griped.
"Unfortunately for you, detecting heightened spiritual energy is a simple matter for me. All I need do is send out a minor energy pulse, and there's nowhere you can hide from me. I call this technique 'Pesquisa'. And for you, it means running is a futile endeavor."
"Tch, whatever! We can take you out ourselves, anyway!" Sahir exclaimed.
"Your brethren have already fallen. You aren't invincible. We're wise to your tricks now." Kenji added.
"I can assure you that I've yet to display even a fraction of my abilities. And I don't believe you fully comprehend what my detection ability implies. I know exactly where your comrades are. I could open a Garganta, slaughter them all and return here with their corpses before you ever realized what happened. I'll even be courteous and allow you to choose."
"Max O'Donnell and the girls with him are in a heavily weakened state. Disposing of them now would be simpler than stepping on an ant. Kibō Ishimaru is closer to the capitol building already, all alone. Surely losing him would break your spirit beyond repair, yes?"
Barbara stayed silent.
"Hmm, and there is Kit So-yin entering the maze as we speak. That would break everyone's morale, but perhaps it would benefit you in the long run. Eliminating the competition, so to speak."
"What is she going on about?" Sahir questioned.
"You are smart enough to realize it, Ms. O'Donnell. Her affection towards Kibō Ishimaru is rather brazen. The thought must have crossed your mind at some point. Especially considering your mother's history. The other girls surrounding you could very well be thinking the same thing. A relationship requires a steady foundation, bereft of irregularities. My purpose is to remove problems before they can become problems. I offer this with no strings attached."
"Enough with the mind games!" Kenji exclaimed. "Don't listen to a word this villain says, Barbara. She's just trying to get under your skin."
"Oh, I know." Barbara responded.
"Hm?" Ismene seemed confused.
"You know so much about us, so you must know that I'd never fall for anything so blatant. Keeb is nothing like my old man. Kitty and the girls aren't anything like whatever skank the old drunk was messing around with. And even if I did buy into it, I wouldn't put some petty suspicions over what we're doing here. Mama always tells me to do the right thing, and the right thing to do here..."
Barbara looked downward. Ismene's gaze turned to directly beneath her. There was a puddle under her feet. "...is ask you for a dance."
Tiny hands clutched at Ismene. Barbara's eyes glowed with a light blue. She held out her left arm. Ismene repeated the motion, holding out her arm that wielded her axe. Barbara moved her arm towards her chest, and Ismene followed, the axe head now pressed against her neck. Blood was drawn.
"Ghhh...so, this is how it is. No mercy. And here I was worrying you lot would hold back. In that case, let me tell you a secret. Our power was stripped from us following our banishment. It took nearly five centuries to return to what we were before. My power, in particular, has always been split in twain." Ismene explained.
"In twain? This isn't your full strength?" Kenji questioned.
"In order to ensure that my body was somewhat stable, my true power was sealed away. Inside this axe I wield. And the only way to unseal it...is to say the magic word."
Ismene's axe lit up.
"Resurreción."
An intense wave of crimson energy erupted from Ismene. Barbara was sent flying back, but Sahir leapt up and grabbed her. Kenji shielded himself from the force.
Throughout the labyrinthine city, the others could see the pillar of energy.
"What the hell...?" Kenji pondered.
Emerging from the pillar was a human-sized creature, silver in coloration with red markings on its chest and arms. It had a skull-like mask covering its face, forward-pointing horns, clawed hands and feet, and long, white hair emerging from the back of its head. The hole on her chest was clearly visible.
As white pupils began glowing beneath the mask, Ismene let out a guttural growl.
"What an eerie form..." Kenji muttered.
"Why can't I...?" Barbara pondered. The three had been rendered immobile. 
"Foundations." Ismene said in a distorted voice. "Foundations of life, foundations of culture. Nothing could exist without a strong base to support it. Eons ago, it was I who layed the foundation for what would become the capital. Its continued survival and evolution was my entire reason for being. Everything you see here was birthed from my mind. I am the capital. My bond with these roads is such that I can bend their very core to my will."
"There a point to your monologuing?" Sahir asked.
"I'm simply explaining how it is that you've become stuck to the road."
Crimson strands of energy extended from beneath Ismene's feet, and could be seen rooted into the ground. "I've increased the adhesiveness of the road by 300%. For added security, I've also made it 500% more incompatible with liquids. No escape tactics for you now. This is my Resurreción's power: freely altering the composition of this world I forged."
A giant stone wall emerged from behind the students. "One last assurance that there will be no escape." Ismene used one of her clawed fingers to cut into the palm of her left hand. "Your uniforms have proven durable thus far. Perhaps they will help you retain your physical forms." Energy began crackling in her hand. "I highly doubt it."
She held out her hand, and a ball of sparking blue energy formed. 
"Gran Rey Cero."
A wide ray of energy fired out, unstable at first before correcting itself. 
"For what it's worth, Sahir, in spite of everything I've said, it's been an honor." Kenji lamented.
"Not gonna say it's the end, but the feeling's mutual, oh persnickety one." Sahir replied with a nervous smirk.
"Don't just stand there accepting it, brace for it!" Barbara yelled. The three summoned their Personas, and the spirits took guarding stances.
Barbara closed her eyes. "Max...Keeb...if I don't make it, I...I'm sorry."
The beam struck everything in its path, razing the ground as it passed. Eventually, it petered out.
"Still in your physical forms. Galatea's modifications saved at least that much. I just despise destroying my own work..."
Left smoldering on the ground were the still forms of Barbara, Kenji and Sahir. "A few life signs remaining. Nowhere even close to getting back up anytime soon. I could go find the others and bring them here. Would be a shame if they couldn't die together..."
No response from the students.
"On your feet. Right now." A voice beckoned inside of Barbara's mind. "You heard what the witch is going to do to the others. To your friends. To your beloved. To your brother. Are you going to lie here and let her?"
Barbara's hand twitched.
"This is not where the curtain falls for you. You've yet to even use my full array of power! The time for filling the support role is ended. You are the star. You are Cherokee. You. Do not. Fall here."
Against the excruciating pain, Barbara got to her feet. Ismene turned her head to look, surprised.
"I'm...I'm not letting you walk away. I didn't get to where I am by putting on the same performance over and over again." She removed her cracked glasses, eyes glowing yellow. "Every star is destined to fade one day...but today's not my day. I'm no damsel waiting for the hero to come and bail me out of danger. I play the hero in my story."
"The temperature...why is it dropping?" Ismene questioned.
"Now for the final act...the hero slaying the monster."
The surrounding area began to freeze. Behind Barbara, Nimue appeared, its watery form now frozen, garbed in transparent blue robes.
"Lake Maiden's Aria No. 2: The Snow Queen."
Tiny snowflakes began to fall. Surrounding buildings and the ground were coated in a thin sheet of ice. So, too, were Kenji and Sahir. 
"Changing the landscape and keeping your allies safe...against any other opponenet, this might be more imposing." Ismene began walking towards Barbara, unaffected by the frozen road. "For one who can themselves bend the ground to their will, it is less than nothing. Look at you, you can barely stand. What did you think you were going to accomplish?"
"I really feel sorry for you." Barbara replied.
"You? The one struggling near the verge of death, has pity for me? Care to explain how that works?"
"Not a shred of joy or goodness to be found. Every word that comes out of your mouth is filled with bitterness and anger. I can't imagine being so devoid of anything good. Having to wander around for hundreds of years thinking of nothing but revenge. When I look at you, all I see is my father. An angry creature with no regard for anyone or anything else. That's why, when I look at you...all I feel is pity."
Ismene charged energy in her hand. "Profound eloquence, for one so young. But if you could truly see what is happening here, you would not see me as the monster."
"Says the woman with the skull mask and horns."
Ismene raised her arm and pointed. "Enjoy the cold embrace of death, naive one."
A beam fired towards Barbara, who made no effort to move. Just as the beam was about to reach her, it seemed to hit something, and vanish. The Theban went silent, unsure of what had just happened.
"That's something else you and the old man have in common." Before Barbara, a transparent barrier shimmered. "Arrogance beyond compare."
The barrier shimmered again, and the beam fired right back at Ismene, faster than it had been fired, and before she could comprehend it she was enveloped in her own Cero.
Once the energy dissipated, Ismene's armor had been fractured, one of the horns blasted clean off, the mask cracked in half.
"So long as I can stand...none of your ugliness will ever reach me or the people I love. I reject all of it. I choose to believe in compassion and hope. Not the hate that reflects in your eyes. If you're really so connected to this city...why are you so willing to destroy it? Are your foundations not as foolproof as you say they are?" Barbara questioned.
"Wretched little girl...you can't even begin to understand my anger. Everything that I've lost...had taken away...five centuries of powerlessness! The hateful QUIM that left us to rot is the one you're struggling to save, yet you preach about compassion?! You imps could never understand why I've been forced to ravage that which I spent an eternity building! I have suffered for over 30 of your lives, waiting for this moment! My pain is beyond measure." Ismene belted out.
The Theban took notice of something landing on her exposed face. She thought it a snowflake, until she noticed the wings. Bees, transparent and seemingly frozen, began landing on Ismene where her armor had been breached. "What...is this...?"
The frozen bees began melting into her, freezing her body wherever they landed. "I am sorry for what brought you here. If I'm forced to end your life right now...I consider it an act of mercy." Barbara said.
"If there is one thing I can do for you...I can offer you comfort. A requiem, as you depart for the world beyond. An eternity of anguish warrants at least that much."
Amongst the falling snow, the girl performed a song of mourning. The cold began to envelop Ismene, who could only stand and listen to the somber tune. "She sings. She could walk away and not look as I die...yet she sings. Mourning for the one she is sending to their grave...I never could have won. A heart devoid of compassion could never triumph over one so pure. Pittacus...Brother...forgive me. But this is as far as I get." she thought.
"It really is...such a lovely sound..."
As Barbara's song closed, so too did Ismene's freezing.
The ice began to crumble away. The walls and streets defrosted, and eventually, so too did the frozen Theban. The fragments crumbled into particles, and drifted away.
Barbara took on a look of contentment. Her energy spent, she fell to the ground unconscious.
---
"You've fallen silent, Pittacus."
"Do not mock me, Galatea. You know as well as I what has transpired."
"Excuse me if I don't hear much concern in your voice."
"Haimon and Ismene have existed nearly as long as this universe has. In their hearts, they had had enough of the endless struggle. They desired oblivion, and now they have it. Why mourn when they themselves likely felt relief at the end?"
"I could never understand looking upon life so callously."
"Nor could I understand your reverence for these self-destructive meat sacks. I know where it comes from, to be sure. Miyatsuko built it into you. But you've lived amongst them for a decade now. How can you still reject our vision? Do you not see the evils they are capable of?"
"You talk as though I haven't. I have seen the evil in their hearts. I simply understand that not all of them are like that. How you, in all your millenia of life still fail to understand that is a testament to your own ignorance, not mine. Send as many of your henchmen our charges' way as you please. It will end exactly as it did for Haimon and Ismene."
"Exactly what I intend to do. Your charges' fate is sealed." Pittacus said confidently. "So cease your air of confidence, Galatea. Your hero is not coming to save you. You have won nothing."
The discussion ended. Rose was left sitting alone in her room. Behind her, on the wall, were numerous charts and data collections. "Galatea" is repeated several times.
Her still expression breaks, and she weeps.
In his chamber, Pittacus remains on his throne. "Creon."
"Yes, my liege." Creon appears from the shadows.
"It would appear that young Mr. Ishimaru has neared the building. Go give him a proper welcome."
"Sire." Creon vanished.
"To slay both Ismene and Haimon...these children have surpassed expectations at every key moment."
He rotated his throne to face the wall.
Attached to it by advanced machinery, bloodied and beaten, was Rin.
"You have taught them well. Wouldn't you agree, 'Professor'?"