Persona BLEACHED 2: Part 43

Chapter 43: God, Shattered
April 6, 2029
"...the time is nigh. Retribution comes. For this sin I have birthed." Miyatsuko mused, looking out the window.
"Always so profound. Are you sure this is how you wish to go out?" Kaya asked.
"None of what has happened would have occurred without my own hubris. Dimitrios and the others payed for what is ultimately my own sin. It is far past time for me to offer my life as payment." He paused. "I know that any apology would mean little..."
"It would. So don't offer one. I've spent the better part of eternity despising you for this mess you made. The only solace I take is that I kept Rose from the fate that befell the others. So if you expect me to weep over something you should've done eons ago, you really don't know anything at all."
"Noted. I never expected any sort of sympathy. Farewell, Kaya. Don't dally around here for long. You have a wedding to prepare for, after all." Miyatsuko vanished.
"Hmph. Patronizing sycophant."
---
Exhaustion.
The students, every one of them, were panting, scratched and bleeding.
"Pathetic. All that trottin' around through my crib and ya still can't keep up." Kerberos groaned. "I brought this form out for nothing. At this rate I'll sooner die of boredom."
"You're right...this is pointless...there's nothing we can do..." Kitty muttered.
"Hey, don't start giving up now!" Kibō said.
"It's hopeless...we were doomed from the beginning..." Kitty had a hand behind her back, and started making signals. "We have no way of beating you, oh dreaded Kerberos..."
"Now now, what's with the defeatist attitude? I mean, if you're gonna butter me up, I don't mind so much..." Kerberos smirked. She shrugged, holdinh out her scythe.
Suddenly, it came flying out of her hand.
It landed in the arms of Natalia. "For a master deceiver, you sure are gullible."
"Wha--hey! That's my piece, scaredy cat! Give it back!" Kerberos lunged forward.
"Gah! Uh, tag, you're it!" Natalia tossed it over to Kenji.
"What makes you think I want this?!" Kenji lobbed it at Sahir.
"What makes you think I want it?!" Sahir griped.
"Oh, just hand it over!" Kitty grabbed it.
"Blasted idiots! What do ya think this is?!" Kerberos shouted.
"I dunno. I thought this was all a game to you. We're just playing along."
"Damn brats. No bother. I'll just clear ya all in one go!" The light flashed on Kerberos' jewel. At that moment, crimson-colored meteorites began to fall.
Barbara gathered water, shielding the group from the falling rocks.
"Stubborn rats! Why do you keep trying?! Know when you're beat!"
A large meteorite materialized, and came crashing down.
Kitty emerged from beneath the shield, and charged the scythe with energy. She swung at the meteorite, destroying it.
"Why are you persisting with this shite, kitten? You're fightin' me off for what? That mudball down there, with those demon people? You kill me now, you're ensuring more pain. More war, more disease, more political types shitting on the common folk and lyin' through their teeth. That's the world you wanna save? Who do you think you're helpin'?" More meteorites formed. "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOIN' THIS FOR?!"
As the meteorites came down, Kitty leapt onto them, propelling herself upward. She leapt over Kerberos, and onto her back. 
"You want to know who I'm doing this for? I'm doing this for the people I care about. I'm doing it for myself. You had your world taken away. Doesn't mean you can just take ours away. You'd just be starting this whole tragedy over again. Even someone as twisted as you cared about someone once." Kitty dictated.
"Yeah, I did. And that's why I've gotta take my revenge. The ones he killed have to have their payback!"
"And what about the ones you've killed?! Nobody here has anything to do with what happened billions of years ago! Nothing can justify all the misery you've caused. The only way that everything can be evened out..."
On her spell list, Kitty picked the last one: "Ultima". The scythe became charged with distorted energy. She prepared to swing.
"...IS ME ENDING YOURS."
She swung the scythe, and it struck Kerberos dead center, right below the jewel. The bladed edge sat right beneath it. Kitty began to pull, trying to pry it off. Energy crackled as she did so.
"GRRRAAAAAAAAAAA! KNOCK THAT SHIT OFF, YOU STUPID CUNT! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FUCK YOU'RE DOING! IT DON'T GOTTA BE LIKE THIS, YOU DON'T HAVE TO--"
"No. I do."
The jewel became dislodged.
"I. Have had enough. Of your BULLSHIT!"
Kitty gave one final heave, and the jewel came flying off. It hit the ground in front of the students.
Kerberos' wings withered away. She fell to the ground. The surrounding environment began to fizzle out.
The group found themselves back in Akihabara, in front of the train station. "We're back home...does that mean..." Kibō pondered.
"You guys!" Tenko, with the rest of Rin's friends, shouted.
All around the city, the demonic beasts began to crumble away. The sky returned to its normal azure hue.
"Kitty-san!" Sakuya exclaimed. Kitty had fallen to the ground.
"Never ask me...for anything ever again." Kitty deadpanned.
"She's alright." Kenji quipped.
"I don't believe it. You runts actually pulled it off. But where's Red and everyone else?" Shūjo asked.
The jewel shook and crackled. A light shone out of it. Rin, Rose, and Jin appeared, along with a clearly exhausted Ryōma. "Never again. NEVER." he complained.
"Oh shut up. You know you loved it." Jin replied.
"BESTIIIIIE!" Tenko lunged at Rin.
"Wait a minute, Tenko, I'm--ah!" Despite protests, Tenko embraced Rin tightly.
"I'm never letting you out of my sight again, you hear?! That goes for you too!" She wrapped an arm around Rose.
"That really isn't necessa--ah!" Rose exclaimed.
"Well. Guess I know where I'm at on the totem pole." Jin said.
"Stupid!" Tenko punched Jin in the gut.
"Ow! The hell?!"
"I was working my way up the pole, you dummy!" Tenko tightly hugged him.
"Okay, okay ah-ah-ah-ah-ah that's where I got burned--"
"I hate to break up this...touching moment, but there's still one thing that needs sorting." Hiyoko gestured at Kerberos.
On her hands and knees, the Mistress of Evil bore a dejected expression. "Heh. Y'all keep bein' all lovey dovey. I gave ya an out from the tedium. And ya shot me down. A lot of good this little win'll do ya."
Kitty got up. She stood before Kerberos.
"Well, kitten? I'm waitin'. You gonna give me some jokey little quip before ya put me outta my misery? Flex a bit about how wrong I was? Ooh, maybe hold out your hand all sappy-like, like you wanna be mates now. I always love those kinda shit endings. C'mon, give it to me. Either finish me or not. I'll be headin' back to Hell if ya off me. Probably gonna be chained to the bottom or somesuch. Only the best for the ex-master. Might be temporary, anyway. I can always come back--"
"You'll be doing no such thing."
Miyatsuko appeared behind Kerberos.
"Fa--it's you." Rose uttered.
"You rancid pile of shit!" Kerberos yelled. She got up and grabbed Miyatsuko by the collar. "Everything's broken cuz of you! Give it back! All of it!"
"It's too late for that."
"The hell it is! You could just find some other planet and start all over! The world. The people. Robbie. GIVE THEM BACK!"
"My interference with the order of things ends today. What's done is done, Sheila. Would you want Robbie to see you as you are now, having done so many unspeakable things?"
"I'm only this way cuz you fucked everything up! I can't go another minute knowing what was lost! If you're not gonna bring it back, then please...please, I'm beggin' ya...just kill me." Tears began streaming down her face. "You damned us all with that 'Survive' order. I don't want to come back again. I'm fine with goin' away forever. If you do one thing right by us all, just stop this bleedin' torture, already."
"As you wish."
Miyatsuko placed a hand on Kerberos' head. She broke down into particles, and was absorbed into him.
"You all performed beyond my wildest expectations. I never imagined the day would arrive when the evil haunting the world would be put to rest. Ringo. I have you to thank. When I chose you those years ago, I hoped you would end this curse I inflicted on the human race. You, your friends and your charges did what I had thought impossible. I cannot thank you enough for that."
"I did what the world needed me to do. That's all." Rin replied.
"And you, Rose."
"Hmph." Rose looked away.
"I suppose I have no right to say anything, circumstances being what they are."
"No, not really. But, even past all that...I should thank you for one thing. You brought me to Rin. I wouldn't have the life I do now if it weren't for you. For better and for worse. So...thank you. Doctor." 
"Ha. Scornful to the end. You are your mother's child. For better and for worse. Ngh!" Miyatsuko grasped his chest.
"Aw hell, what now?" Jugo asked.
"Tell me it's not gonna be God Mode Kirby, because I am in NO MOOD." Kitty griped.
"No. Not again. Kerberos' time has run out. And after many lifetimes...so has mine." Miyatsuko replied. "Even now, her cells are trying to bond with mine. She will fight and claw to the bitter end. So I must put one final end to it."
"How do you intend to do that? Do you intend to..." Carrie asked.
"All I had wanted...was to save my world. I wanted to stop the deaths of billions, and instead I destroyed trillions. I have lived a lifetime of regrets and mistakes. No matter what my intentions were, the sins I've committed are immeasurable. And they've gone unpaid for long enough. So I will go somewhere far from here, and I will end her suffering...and my own. The souls I destroyed will finally be able to rest."
"So take one more word of advice from an eternal fool: keep being good to one another. Make this world as wonderful as you can make it. Treat every day like the gift it is. Don't let your world suffer the same fate as ours. I've seen it for myself that you have the power to do anything. So please...live."
"Will do, Doc. And thanks...for letting us all be here right now. For the mountain of bad that came out of it, a lot of good did too. I prefer to think about the good. If you stick with the bad, then you end up like Kerberos. I don't think anyone wants that. So, y'know. It isn't all bad." Kitty said.
"Hm. A simple way of looking at it, and yet, there's an appeal to it. Ngh...there's no time left. Please continue to live joyously. And Rose...goodbye."
Miyatsuko vanished.
Rose looked away, expressionless.
---
"This is it, Kerberos...no. Sheila."
Miyatsuko floated above the sun.
"I know you can hear me. This will be where it can finally end. You can appreciate the symbolism. You and I will be burning forever. It's only fitting that this is where it can begin. I can feel your presence. Simultaneously begging for the end and lashing out against it. In our own ways, we're both monsters. So I can think of no better conclusion...than a bath in the eternal flames."
"I'll see you in Hell, quack."
"Of that, I have no doubt."
The doctor allowed himself to fall. 
At that moment, billions of years of regret and despair were consumed by the flames, and were no more.
---
"Knock, knock. Y'all have customers." Kitty joked, opening the door to the electronics shop.
"Oh, thank God. I was starting to scout out who I was gonna eat first." Shinji replied.
"Could you not look at me when you're saying that?" Kaido complained.
"Nah, man. He's high on sugar and low on fiber. You'd be killing your teeth." Shūjo said.
"B-Boss! What the hell?!" Kaido griped as Hiyoko giggled.
"Hey, would ya look at that..." Jugo pointed outside. People were walking around. The streets were full. "Like nothing happened at all. Boy are they gonna be confused when they look at their calendars."
"Well you all enjoy your little hug fest. I've got places to be." Ryōma began walking away.
"We'll make sure to call the next time the Earth's in danger, Tsutsugo. You're first on the list for that." Jin joked.
Ryōma stuck up his middle finger. "Bite me, Mirai."
"Was he a pain in the you-know-what the whole time?" Tenko asked.
"Unbearable. But not as cold-hearted as he wants you to believe."
"MY BABYYYYYYY!" Kyoko leapt at Kibō.
"Oh GOD--MMPH!" She squeezed him. "Mom, could you...maybe loosen it up...just a bit?"
"NEVER! I'm not letting you go off ever again! Never ever ever!"
"Kid...you have SO MUCH explaining to do." Kabu chided.
"Maybe when his face stops turning blue..." Max uttered.
"Oh, apple blossom. I think someone wants to say hello." Hana said.
"Gimme." Rin took the very sleepy-looking Shizuka. "Hi, lovebug. Sorry to make you worry. Me and Rose had to...deal with some things."
Shizuka looked up, and took notice of the scars on Rin's arms, along with the change in Rose's eyes. "Did someone hurt you?"
"These are from a long time ago. I hid them because I was ashamed of them. But I'm alright now."
"Hey, sis...your eyes..." Tan uttered.
"Mine turn to gold and yet it's hers that grab your attention?" Rose teased.
"That's not what I mean! I'm just saying something looks...different. Can't put my finger on it."
"I think I can tell." Hana said. "The stress and tumult I would always see in your eyes isn't there anymore. You look...at peace. What exactly happened?"
"What happened? Well..."
Rin thought to the last thing that happened before leaving the underworld.
"You take it easy, Rinnie. You and Rosie keep being good to each other. And keep being good to Shizuka for me. Just remember that whenever you see a centipede crawling around or a moth hanging around a window, that's just me stopping by to say hi. This isn't goodbye. It's 'the next time I see you better be when you're an old granny with tales to tell'. Remember to not be so hard on yourself. Life gets a lot easier that way. Peace out, hive-mates!"
"What you just said. I found my peace."
"Hey, so...that means we won, right? We can all just head back and there won't be hooded cultists or primordial death gods waiting around the corner to snipe us, right?" Kitty asked.
"Uggh, I hope so. This whole adventure's made me miss my bed." Barbara groaned.
"Um, about that." Rin began. "Sorry to burst everyone's bubble, but it's still fairly early in the morning. We've been MIA from work and school for the last three days. I think you know what I'm getting at."
"Seriously? We went through all of that and we've gotta jump right back into school?!" Sahir asked.
"Could we go back to the moon? For like, a field trip or something?" Natalia asked.
"Sorry, everyone. One more day off and we might be in serious hot water. I'll need to come up with a plausible explanation for where we've been."
"Well, I mean...everyone's been gone for the last day or so, right? Maybe it won't be as big of a deal." Carrie suggested.
"Uggggh...this suuuuuuucks." Sahir groaned.
"I'll try to take it easy, today." Rin giggled.