The Heat of Battle
May. 1st, 2019 08:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nyanderenekoWord Count: 2,244
Summary: He’s always been daring and reckless, while she’s nothing but an overly cautious mess—but together they complement each other perfectly.
*Author’s Note*: The first of my fics for my personal May Writing Challenge! I’d like to keep up with posting something every single day, but of course life is life and I never know what’s going to happen down the line, so. I’ll do what I can, but I’m proud for even having this to post, after all the P5R news my Ren love was reinvigorated a bit lol. I hope you enjoy!
In the heat of battle, anything goes. She was more than smart enough to know that. She’d experienced skirmish after skirmish against creatures that were only meant to exist in nightmares…perhaps that was what this place was after all. Just one huge nightmare realm of decay, deceit, and despair. It certainly housed its fair share of all those things, a seemingly endless maze of darkness that chronicled the dastardliest sides of humanity. That’s why it fell on their shoulders to keep the extent of that shadiness in check and ensure that those who stored an excess of discord in their hearts would be purged of both their sickness and their wrongdoings. Saving the unassuming masses by stealing the maliciousness in their hearts…that was the core of everything they stood for.
As much as she enjoyed the work they did, and the opportunity to carry it out in the first place, there were still things about this place that sent uncomfortable chills down her spine. Maybe that was a good thing, though, since getting too comfortable with this place couldn’t possibly be beneficial. It would only be a sign of the further warping of her mind, the complacency of her psyche as it bent to the will of this twisted dimension. The whole reason she and any of the others had Personas in the first place was to thwart that kind of infection from taking root, simultaneously providing them with the power to dislodge the blooming pollution that enveloped those who had so foolishly and recklessly nurtured it within themselves.
“Look out!” A frantic voice rang out, directing the warning at everyone unfortunate enough to be in the line of fire—four individuals that were courageously facing the brunt of the assault.
Panther and Noir had been available this evening to tackle some of the group’s pending jobs in the Metaverse. Accompanying them as usual were Joker, Witch, and Mona, who conducted their business as a trio fairly regularly now. With Navi absent for this particular stint of requests, the role of support and healing fell squarely on Witch’s shoulders. It wasn’t a role she resented; in fact, it was the kind of thing she much preferred to do. Keeping herself as far away from the enemy as possibly, putting a reasonable amount of distance between them as the offensive line relentlessly traded blows with the targets. It was a sort of formula at this point, the method of their cooperation playing out like a script after the years they’d spent honing their abilities and strategies as a team.
Conducting her duty from the sidelines, Witch sent out wave after wave of both buffing and healing aids as swiftly as she could. Her Persona, Morgan, had proven to be especially gifted with such skills, allowing her user to make the most of them. It was well known that Personas were meant to be reflections of their user’s psyche, and Witch concluded early on that her innate desire to avoid conflict and provide support in its stead had influenced Morgan’s medicinal inclinations. She knew that probably seemed obvious to the others, too, but having another healer couldn’t be such a bad thing. More often than not her presence enabled her teammates to exert themselves beyond their usual limits, giving them an advantage they were happy to exploit to the fullest.
So far, the battle had lasted much longer than any of them had anticipated going in. Backing out was impossible, since they’d been steadily whittling down the enemies’ strength for quite a while now. Retreat would mean they’d have to return and deal with the same situation with the exact same advantages and limitations they currently had on their hands. If things were proving to be this hard this time around, none of them wanted to face the possibility of having to tackle it all again from scratch.
A row of formidable beasts stood before them, although all of them were recognizable as foes the Thieves had dealt with before. Personas ravaged the Shadows with their signature strikes, their wielders dodging and racing around, doing their best to avoid incurring any injury themselves. Milady and Carmen’s imposing presences were impressive to behold as always, their powers on full display as they dominated the lowly, grotesque looking monsters that were too stubborn, too arrogant to back down. Exchanges like this had become commonplace, just another part of the routine that the Phantom Thieves followed in their day to day duties.
Zorro sliced away with his brutally precise rapier, deftly trading and deflecting blows in a flurry of lethal swipes. But the thing that caught Witch’s attention the most was the ever captivating Arsene. Floating on grand ebony wings and fighting with long, piercing claws, it was hard to believe anything wouldn’t back down in the face of such a threat. Well, she supposed plenty of the monsters that resided here were equally as daunting and menacing and could outmatch him in size and strength with ease. But what really set him above the rest was the fortitude and will of his host, the Phantom Thieves brazen leader that barreled through any obstacle standing in his path regardless of how intimidating or difficult it appeared.
Too focused on the events unfolding on the battlefield before her, Witch was oblivious to the danger that suddenly came hurtling towards her from the side. A quick and crafty move, the monster was surely strong enough to down her with just one blow. She wasn’t completely helpless in terms of attack power, but with all the energy she’d spent just keeping her companions on their feet, there wasn’t much left over in terms of offense or defense. She noticed a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye, but her reaction time was nonexistent. If she went down, she was certain the battle would be over in an instant; they may have had a few final tricks up their sleeve, but trying to end things without any backup was looking less and less viable with each passing second.
Fortunately for her, she wasn’t devoid of any backup herself. Joker usually tried to keep an eye on every aspect of the battle as often as he could, managing to direct Arsene to step in in time to prevent any harm from reaching her. She snapped out of her daze and sprinted out of the way, blood roaring in her ears as she observed the visage of the attacker she’d barely evaded. Taking the blow in her stead, both Joker and Arsene were in too tight a spot to dodge any damage themselves. Stupid, she was being so stupid, getting distracted in the midst of dire combat like this. Steeling her determination, she spun around and bathed them in a rejuvenating light courtesy of Morgan. Their wounds instantly began to mend, but there wasn’t even time for a thank you as the duo dove back into the fray.
Screeches and snarls from adversary and ally alike echoed off the walls, combining with the agonizing atmosphere to make things that much more unsettling. None of them could afford to get sidetracked by the setting, though, lest they open themselves up for any more unexpected cheap shots. But the sounds of their exhaustion were starting to become more obvious, and everyone realized that no matter how hard they persevered, eventually their energy and resources were bound to run out. They had to settle this once and for all, with one last ditch effort that relied on the combination of the final remnants of their powers combined.
Pouring the vestiges of her strength into her amplifying abilities, Witch stood back and watched as her four teammates discharged a surge of attack power that shook the ground like an earthquake. If that blast hadn’t been enough to vanquish their opponents, she wasn’t sure if anything else possibly could have. The team managed to stay standing long enough to confirm that the enemy was truly defeated, collapsing to their hands and knees the moment the coast was clear. She hurried to their sides as quickly as her legs allowed, pulling out some of the physical remedies they’d brought along from the real world to supplement the healing power she was feeling completely drained of at the moment.
“Thank you…for saving me…” she was finally able to express these words through heavy breaths, coming to the aid of their selfless leader after she’d finished fixing up the other members of their party. He was usually adamant about the rest of the team receiving treatment before he did, in any and all capacities, and while she admired that kindness of his she also wished he wouldn’t be so gallantly reckless.
“I believe you’re the one that saved us,” he defied through his own shaky gasps, and as much as she wanted to berate him for his insolence, she couldn’t find any drive within herself to go through with it.
“That’s kind of my job.” Her excuse was accompanied by a soft, slightly worried smile. “Are you really feeling alright? You took quite a few heavy hits back there.”
“Nothing I won’t be able to shake off with time,” he reassured, sitting up with a wince. She shifted to cradle him against her lap, carefully running her fingers through his ink black hair.
“You always say things like that. But if you keep pushing yourself like this, eventually that’s not going to cut it anymore.”
Despite the fatigue weighing down his expression, he still fought to put a confident smile on his lips. “Why don’t we cross that bridge when we get to it? There’s still plenty of time until then, and there’s no point in worrying about something that hasn’t happened yet.”
As much as she wanted to believe him, she couldn’t keep her hands from trembling. The person she held in them was so precious, so irreplaceable to her. If he suddenly vanished from her life, it would be as if half of her heart had disappeared with him. His wounds may only be surface level, but she knew there were invisible ones that persisted, ones that he never deserved to receive in the first place. Yes, things were much better now, for all of them. But for Witch, without him, all her progress would be lost. She examined his face and neck and torso again, skimming over the areas to ensure she’d properly dealt with any of his obvious, lingering pains.
He reached for her cheek with a scarlet hand, sitting up just enough to meet her with a reassuring kiss. Gentle, careful, apologetic. He knew how much he meant to her, because she meant the same amount to him. She grasped his hand as he pulled back, face still displaying a comforting smile, obsidian eyes behind his fragile mask glittering with the full extent of the unbridled fondness they shared for one another. If he’d allow it, she’d take every blow for him, protect him from every harm that came his way. But for now, since he insisted, she’d settle for just patching him up in the aftermath and using her talents to prevent things from getting too damaged in the first place.
“She’s right, though,” a feminine voice piped up, and the two turned their heads to see that Noir had knelt to join them. “How will we possibly manage to go on without our irresponsible leader to guide us through his senseless, yet somehow flawlessly successful battle tactics?”
“No one knows how to take a risk better than you,” Panther added, and Mona stepped up to press his paw against Joker’s cheek.
“You may be good, but we need you to stick around more than we need you to win. We can always try again when it comes to a fight, but you don’t have any second chances.”
“This from the cat who has nine lives,” he teased, sitting up fully this time. Before Mona could finish his usual retort about the fact that he wasn’t a real cat, Joker turned his attention back to the other three. “Thank you for worrying about me. But I promise I’m okay. I’ve never felt better now that I have such a masterful healer watching my back.”
Witch’s face lit up with a light blush as she pushed the brim of her hat down to conceal her face, her ears simultaneously flattening in embarrassment. As cute as her bashfulness was, Joker wasn’t done with her just yet. Dipping down so he could see under the brim, he caught her off guard as he swooped in with another, slightly more determined kiss. She would have been self-conscious even if they were alone, but pulling a stunt like this while their friends were watching them like hawks made her face flush as red as a rose. She tried to push him away, but only ended up digging her fingers into the fabric of his uniform, still too shaken by the prospect of losing him to completely release her hold.
“I’m not going anywhere, I promise,” he whispered in her ear, leaving a kiss there as well before trapping her under his arm to nestle her close. She could hear his heart and feel his breathing, even over the haunting sounds that moaned and groaned around them. Despite the setting, she wouldn’t have minded staying here a little longer, as long as it meant she could stay by his side.
Summary: He’s always been daring and reckless, while she’s nothing but an overly cautious mess—but together they complement each other perfectly.
*Author’s Note*: The first of my fics for my personal May Writing Challenge! I’d like to keep up with posting something every single day, but of course life is life and I never know what’s going to happen down the line, so. I’ll do what I can, but I’m proud for even having this to post, after all the P5R news my Ren love was reinvigorated a bit lol. I hope you enjoy!
_____
In the heat of battle, anything goes. She was more than smart enough to know that. She’d experienced skirmish after skirmish against creatures that were only meant to exist in nightmares…perhaps that was what this place was after all. Just one huge nightmare realm of decay, deceit, and despair. It certainly housed its fair share of all those things, a seemingly endless maze of darkness that chronicled the dastardliest sides of humanity. That’s why it fell on their shoulders to keep the extent of that shadiness in check and ensure that those who stored an excess of discord in their hearts would be purged of both their sickness and their wrongdoings. Saving the unassuming masses by stealing the maliciousness in their hearts…that was the core of everything they stood for.
As much as she enjoyed the work they did, and the opportunity to carry it out in the first place, there were still things about this place that sent uncomfortable chills down her spine. Maybe that was a good thing, though, since getting too comfortable with this place couldn’t possibly be beneficial. It would only be a sign of the further warping of her mind, the complacency of her psyche as it bent to the will of this twisted dimension. The whole reason she and any of the others had Personas in the first place was to thwart that kind of infection from taking root, simultaneously providing them with the power to dislodge the blooming pollution that enveloped those who had so foolishly and recklessly nurtured it within themselves.
“Look out!” A frantic voice rang out, directing the warning at everyone unfortunate enough to be in the line of fire—four individuals that were courageously facing the brunt of the assault.
Panther and Noir had been available this evening to tackle some of the group’s pending jobs in the Metaverse. Accompanying them as usual were Joker, Witch, and Mona, who conducted their business as a trio fairly regularly now. With Navi absent for this particular stint of requests, the role of support and healing fell squarely on Witch’s shoulders. It wasn’t a role she resented; in fact, it was the kind of thing she much preferred to do. Keeping herself as far away from the enemy as possibly, putting a reasonable amount of distance between them as the offensive line relentlessly traded blows with the targets. It was a sort of formula at this point, the method of their cooperation playing out like a script after the years they’d spent honing their abilities and strategies as a team.
Conducting her duty from the sidelines, Witch sent out wave after wave of both buffing and healing aids as swiftly as she could. Her Persona, Morgan, had proven to be especially gifted with such skills, allowing her user to make the most of them. It was well known that Personas were meant to be reflections of their user’s psyche, and Witch concluded early on that her innate desire to avoid conflict and provide support in its stead had influenced Morgan’s medicinal inclinations. She knew that probably seemed obvious to the others, too, but having another healer couldn’t be such a bad thing. More often than not her presence enabled her teammates to exert themselves beyond their usual limits, giving them an advantage they were happy to exploit to the fullest.
So far, the battle had lasted much longer than any of them had anticipated going in. Backing out was impossible, since they’d been steadily whittling down the enemies’ strength for quite a while now. Retreat would mean they’d have to return and deal with the same situation with the exact same advantages and limitations they currently had on their hands. If things were proving to be this hard this time around, none of them wanted to face the possibility of having to tackle it all again from scratch.
A row of formidable beasts stood before them, although all of them were recognizable as foes the Thieves had dealt with before. Personas ravaged the Shadows with their signature strikes, their wielders dodging and racing around, doing their best to avoid incurring any injury themselves. Milady and Carmen’s imposing presences were impressive to behold as always, their powers on full display as they dominated the lowly, grotesque looking monsters that were too stubborn, too arrogant to back down. Exchanges like this had become commonplace, just another part of the routine that the Phantom Thieves followed in their day to day duties.
Zorro sliced away with his brutally precise rapier, deftly trading and deflecting blows in a flurry of lethal swipes. But the thing that caught Witch’s attention the most was the ever captivating Arsene. Floating on grand ebony wings and fighting with long, piercing claws, it was hard to believe anything wouldn’t back down in the face of such a threat. Well, she supposed plenty of the monsters that resided here were equally as daunting and menacing and could outmatch him in size and strength with ease. But what really set him above the rest was the fortitude and will of his host, the Phantom Thieves brazen leader that barreled through any obstacle standing in his path regardless of how intimidating or difficult it appeared.
Too focused on the events unfolding on the battlefield before her, Witch was oblivious to the danger that suddenly came hurtling towards her from the side. A quick and crafty move, the monster was surely strong enough to down her with just one blow. She wasn’t completely helpless in terms of attack power, but with all the energy she’d spent just keeping her companions on their feet, there wasn’t much left over in terms of offense or defense. She noticed a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye, but her reaction time was nonexistent. If she went down, she was certain the battle would be over in an instant; they may have had a few final tricks up their sleeve, but trying to end things without any backup was looking less and less viable with each passing second.
Fortunately for her, she wasn’t devoid of any backup herself. Joker usually tried to keep an eye on every aspect of the battle as often as he could, managing to direct Arsene to step in in time to prevent any harm from reaching her. She snapped out of her daze and sprinted out of the way, blood roaring in her ears as she observed the visage of the attacker she’d barely evaded. Taking the blow in her stead, both Joker and Arsene were in too tight a spot to dodge any damage themselves. Stupid, she was being so stupid, getting distracted in the midst of dire combat like this. Steeling her determination, she spun around and bathed them in a rejuvenating light courtesy of Morgan. Their wounds instantly began to mend, but there wasn’t even time for a thank you as the duo dove back into the fray.
Screeches and snarls from adversary and ally alike echoed off the walls, combining with the agonizing atmosphere to make things that much more unsettling. None of them could afford to get sidetracked by the setting, though, lest they open themselves up for any more unexpected cheap shots. But the sounds of their exhaustion were starting to become more obvious, and everyone realized that no matter how hard they persevered, eventually their energy and resources were bound to run out. They had to settle this once and for all, with one last ditch effort that relied on the combination of the final remnants of their powers combined.
Pouring the vestiges of her strength into her amplifying abilities, Witch stood back and watched as her four teammates discharged a surge of attack power that shook the ground like an earthquake. If that blast hadn’t been enough to vanquish their opponents, she wasn’t sure if anything else possibly could have. The team managed to stay standing long enough to confirm that the enemy was truly defeated, collapsing to their hands and knees the moment the coast was clear. She hurried to their sides as quickly as her legs allowed, pulling out some of the physical remedies they’d brought along from the real world to supplement the healing power she was feeling completely drained of at the moment.
“Thank you…for saving me…” she was finally able to express these words through heavy breaths, coming to the aid of their selfless leader after she’d finished fixing up the other members of their party. He was usually adamant about the rest of the team receiving treatment before he did, in any and all capacities, and while she admired that kindness of his she also wished he wouldn’t be so gallantly reckless.
“I believe you’re the one that saved us,” he defied through his own shaky gasps, and as much as she wanted to berate him for his insolence, she couldn’t find any drive within herself to go through with it.
“That’s kind of my job.” Her excuse was accompanied by a soft, slightly worried smile. “Are you really feeling alright? You took quite a few heavy hits back there.”
“Nothing I won’t be able to shake off with time,” he reassured, sitting up with a wince. She shifted to cradle him against her lap, carefully running her fingers through his ink black hair.
“You always say things like that. But if you keep pushing yourself like this, eventually that’s not going to cut it anymore.”
Despite the fatigue weighing down his expression, he still fought to put a confident smile on his lips. “Why don’t we cross that bridge when we get to it? There’s still plenty of time until then, and there’s no point in worrying about something that hasn’t happened yet.”
As much as she wanted to believe him, she couldn’t keep her hands from trembling. The person she held in them was so precious, so irreplaceable to her. If he suddenly vanished from her life, it would be as if half of her heart had disappeared with him. His wounds may only be surface level, but she knew there were invisible ones that persisted, ones that he never deserved to receive in the first place. Yes, things were much better now, for all of them. But for Witch, without him, all her progress would be lost. She examined his face and neck and torso again, skimming over the areas to ensure she’d properly dealt with any of his obvious, lingering pains.
He reached for her cheek with a scarlet hand, sitting up just enough to meet her with a reassuring kiss. Gentle, careful, apologetic. He knew how much he meant to her, because she meant the same amount to him. She grasped his hand as he pulled back, face still displaying a comforting smile, obsidian eyes behind his fragile mask glittering with the full extent of the unbridled fondness they shared for one another. If he’d allow it, she’d take every blow for him, protect him from every harm that came his way. But for now, since he insisted, she’d settle for just patching him up in the aftermath and using her talents to prevent things from getting too damaged in the first place.
“She’s right, though,” a feminine voice piped up, and the two turned their heads to see that Noir had knelt to join them. “How will we possibly manage to go on without our irresponsible leader to guide us through his senseless, yet somehow flawlessly successful battle tactics?”
“No one knows how to take a risk better than you,” Panther added, and Mona stepped up to press his paw against Joker’s cheek.
“You may be good, but we need you to stick around more than we need you to win. We can always try again when it comes to a fight, but you don’t have any second chances.”
“This from the cat who has nine lives,” he teased, sitting up fully this time. Before Mona could finish his usual retort about the fact that he wasn’t a real cat, Joker turned his attention back to the other three. “Thank you for worrying about me. But I promise I’m okay. I’ve never felt better now that I have such a masterful healer watching my back.”
Witch’s face lit up with a light blush as she pushed the brim of her hat down to conceal her face, her ears simultaneously flattening in embarrassment. As cute as her bashfulness was, Joker wasn’t done with her just yet. Dipping down so he could see under the brim, he caught her off guard as he swooped in with another, slightly more determined kiss. She would have been self-conscious even if they were alone, but pulling a stunt like this while their friends were watching them like hawks made her face flush as red as a rose. She tried to push him away, but only ended up digging her fingers into the fabric of his uniform, still too shaken by the prospect of losing him to completely release her hold.
“I’m not going anywhere, I promise,” he whispered in her ear, leaving a kiss there as well before trapping her under his arm to nestle her close. She could hear his heart and feel his breathing, even over the haunting sounds that moaned and groaned around them. Despite the setting, she wouldn’t have minded staying here a little longer, as long as it meant she could stay by his side.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-09-14 01:23 am (UTC)"But the thing that caught Witch’s attention the most was the ever captivating Arsene." oh same lol
Also, reading about your persona exploits is so fun! I love how you wrote everything, the battle scene flowed so well!