Description[]
This What If Death Battle will feature Ken Amada and Koromaru from Persona 3, as well as Ruby Rose and Zwei from RWBY. (Off Season Fight)
As the youngest members of their respective teams, these prodigies certainly have a lot to prove if they want to live up to their heroic expectations and avenge the deaths of their mothers...
Interlude[]
Theodore: Aaaaahhhh, look at the little doggies! They're so adorable!
Luther: Theo? I thought you were more of a cat person? *cough* You know, the superior race?
Theodore: There is nothing wrong with loving both species, right?
Rena: Yeah, but these pets are even better when they know how to kick some serious ass! (But I've gotta say, cats can be real assholes once you get to know them.)
Alice: It's all the more fitting when they happen to belong to two of the youngest combatants we've seen on our show by far.
Nova: Does age really matter when you're strong enough to wield a weapon that's at least twice your size if not bigger? There's a damn good reason that these prodigies were allowed to slay monsters alongside the best of the best!
Luther: Introducing Ken Amada and Koromaru, the pretentious tenderfoot duo!
Theodore: Let's not forget Ruby Rose and Zwei, aka little red riding hood and her even smaller wolf!
Nova: I wouldn't exactly call either of these dogs wolves by any stretch...
Alice: You know us well enough by now, and it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills, to find out who would win...
Everyone: A DEATH BATTLE!
Ken & Koromaru[]
Luther: You've really gotta wonder what the education system's been coming to when a ten year old elementary student is more mature than a many of the high school students I've come to know...
Alice: We're talking about the same world where a dog can safely swing around a knife in its mouth and a cat can freely transform into a bus, so would you really call that much of a stretch?
Luther: Don't you go bashing the pussymobile now!
Nova: That has to be the worst name ever. Of all time.
Theodore: Well as far as Ken Amada is concerned, such a monstrosity won't even be around for another seven years, give or take a few arduous delays.
Alice: Zing!
Rena: Now at first glance, you'd never expect such a pipsqueak of a kid to have any sort of tragic backstory but... his mom was brutally murdered by an unknown Persona user on October 4th, forever scarring the boy and forcing him into a lifelong mission of revenge.
Luther: What is this, Persona 3 or Kill Bill?
Nova: Ken's abrupt orphaning happened to attract the attention of one Shuji Ikutsuki, who thought it would be a BRILLIANT idea to bunk the kid into a high school dorm!
Theodore: And instead of offering the poor boy a safe haven away from the terrors of the Dark Hour and some much needed therapy, this ten year old was basically drafted into the ranks of SEES, an organization dedicated to the complete opposite of what I just said!
Alice: Really now, Ikutsuki's willing to draft just about anybody into SEES, especially when he allowed a damn dog to join the team shortly afterwards. I don;t know if he's trying to be politically correct or just plain desperate.
Luther: Enter Koromaru, a Shiba Inu who is most certainly more than meets the eye.
Rena: Don't let his size fool you, cause Koromaru is a real beast in combat! Having lost his old master in a tragic accident on June 20th, this little doggie spent a good six months protecting his owner's Shrine in his place.
Nova: But Koromaru's life was changed forever when a lone Shadow mistakenly trespassed on his territory, which was promptly murdered by the dog in due time.
Theodore: Despite taking heavy injuries in the process, he was safely rescued and nursed back to health by the members of SEES, where you guessed it, Koromaru was saddled into risking his life against even more Shadows!
Luther: Now hold on a minute! If the cast of Persona 3 summon their Personas by shooting themselves in the head (which just happens to include Ken too, as screwed up as that imagery is) then how the hell could they get a dog to hold an Evoker straight?
Alice: Oh that's easy, Ikutsuki just made him a specialized doggie suit with a unique Evoker built directly into the collar.
Rena: Alright, that makes sense... But what the hell are those wings for?! It's not like they let Koro-chan fly or anything!
Nova: At... least they look cool?
Theodore: Despite seeming like the black sheep of the group, Ken and Koromaru more than capable of holding their own in battle, and have developed a rather close bond with one another as a result.
Nova: Ken himself wields an oversized spear into battle to make up for his lack of height. That's not exactly the best argument when the weapon in question is like twice your size, but it does allow Ken to safely attack his enemies from a respectable distance.
Alice: Koromaru on the other hand, is practically Ken's mirror image when it comes to his fighting style. As the most agile member of the group, Koromaru wields a small knife in his mouth to capitalize on his natural speed, easily weaving in and out of range of his targets.
Rena: But how does he swing that blade around so much without accidentally dropping it? It's not like he's got any hands to allow a sturdy grip.
Alice: Hard work and determination.
Nova: Yeah, Ken's proven himself well enough, but holy shit, those shorts need to go!
...
Nova: Why are you all staring at me like that?
Luther: I... I had no idea you were into shotacon, Novs...
Nova: What?! Hell no! That's not what I-
Theodore: Although judging by precocious crush and potential relationship between ken and the Female Protagonist, I'm starting to see why-
Nova: *groans of increasing discomfort*
Alice: It's okay, Nova. We all have our deep dark secrets somewhere. It's always nice to let the truth out.
Rena: I don't get it. What's everyone so dismayed over?
Nova: Let's just hurry up and start talking about Personas.
Theodore: Right, because for all their great prowess with weaponry, Ken and Koromaru's respective Personas are what truly allow them to stand out amongst the party!
Luther: Ken's Persona is Nemesis, a... What do you even call that? And what's with the big gear stabbing it through the head?
Alice: Mythologically speaking, she's the daughter of Persona 3's final bosses.
Luther: She?! How can you even tell?
Rena: I couldn't even begin to explain that, but Nemesis is a fairly versatile Persona that can easily fill any number of roles in combat. It can pierce through foes with Cruel Attack, harness the power of electricity with Zionga, heal wounds with Diarama, and even bring allies back from the brink of death with Recarm!
Nova: But perhaps Nemesis's deadliest asset (literally speaking) is the Hama line of spells, a series of light affiliated magic with a high chance of inflicting instant death. Now Nemesis may have a weakness to darkness, but I highly doubt it's gonna come to play in this fight, unless we somehow implant Caboose's brain into Koromaru's body.
Theodore: Speaking of which, Koro-chan's Persona is Cerberus... That's actually quite fitting since he IS a dog. Now while Nemesis is a well balanced ace, Cerberus is more of an offensive beast that knows how to tear into its foes with its exceptional speed.
Alice: This Persona learns a wide variety of fire spells that can be effective at sorts of different ranges, and he can even turn up the heat to 11 once he learns Fire Amp, a support skill that strengthens the effectiveness of his flames by a whopping fifty percent.
Theodore: Cerberus just happens to be immune to such attacks as well, so fighting fire with fire would not be recommended in this situation.
Rena: Koromaru's pretty fast already, but he can increase his agility even further with Masukukaja, a buffing spell that not only aids Koromaru, but it also shares its effects with Ken. Now that's the power of friendship at work!
Nova: Do you guys remember the Hama spells we've mentioned earlier? Koro-chan here just happens to possess the perfect counter to those with the Mudo line, a series of dark attacks with the exact same effect. Eat one of these directly and you're a goner!
Luther: You'd best reconsider your strategy if you plan on attacking Koromaru directly, because there's a fifty percent chance your attack will backfire with High Counter, a skill you may remember from ol' Shinjiro Aragaki.
Rena: Iiiiiiiit's plot twist time!
Alice: I'm sure everyone here remembers Shinjiro, right? That badass axe wielding guy that left SEES a long time ago but returned in order to aid the team the moment he heard that Ken had joined their ranks?
Rena: The same guy we pit up against Pyrrha "Ashes" Nikos over in the afterlife?
Luther: Too soon, Rena... To soon.
Theodore: In an unbelievably tragic revelation, it turns out that Shinjiro was the Persona user responsible for the death of Ken's mother and as of now, he would become the target of the boy's viscous desire for revenge.
Nova: And what could possibly be a better time to exact that revenge than October 4th, the very anniversary of his mom's death... Which just happened to take place during a Full Moon, while the rest of the party was busy fighting off the Monster of the Week.
Theodore: Indeed, Ken's ultimate goal was to slay his supposed nemesis before taking his own life in the process.
Luther: Now granted, Shinjiro's act of murder was a complete accident, and he was already on the brink of death due to the Persona suppressant drugs he's been taking, which kinda threw a wrench into Ken's scheme.
Rena: Things only got worse when Revolver Jesus showed up and tried to kill the two of them! But don't worry, Shinjiro sacrificed his own life to save Ken, giving the party just enough time to defuse the situation before it got even worse!
Theodore: Perhaps the worst part of this situation is that Ken never would have gone through with this plan if he'd retained his memories from Persona Q...
Alice: On the bright side, Shinjiro's sacrifice was just the inspiration Ken needed to live on, allowing him to tap into greater powers than before!
Rena: Oh yeah, now we're talking! If Ken's Persona evolves into this masterpiece, then surely Koro-chan's Persona's gonna look like a real badass!
Luther: I hate to burst your bubble Rena, but Koromaru's Cerberus doesn't evolve in the first place.
Rena: Are you kidding me?!
Luther: At least Kormaru CAN evolve Cerberus in Persona Q... he just chose not to change its appearance due to his failure to protect his old owner.
Rena: LAAAAAAME!
Theodore: It's not like Koromaru can get much in the way of character development when the only party member capable of understanding him is the local android. (That, and I have the sneaking suspicion he may be the most intelligent member of the team.)
Nova: As for Kala-Nemi, this evolved Persona grants Ken access to a myriad of superior skills that completely outdate his old moveset, as you'd expect from most RPGs. You've got all the natural upgrades to older spells, a way to fully restore the entire party's health at once, and even a nifty little passive skill that doubles the effectiveness of his spears... somehow.
Alice: Very impressive, but that's nothing when compared to the simple, but absolutely ridiculous skill known as Hama Boost. Sure, you may scoff at the mere notion of a fifty percent boost to the success rate of an instant death spell, but...
Luther: Just go ahead and look up the success rate of Hamaon in Persona 3. I dare you.
Theodore: Now if Ken and Koromaru just want to kill their foe outright, they can always combine the powers of LIGHT and DARKNESS... to do this:
https://youtu.be/yr__VjqvI8Q?t=1m32s
Rena: Whoa, what the fuck?! Was that the same Ken we were just talking about?!
Luther: Huh. It looks like someone's been drinking his milk. Seriously, the kid SPIKED from 4'7 to 5'1 in the span of TWO years! He's only one inch shorter than Ruby now!
Alice: So Nova, is this why you've decided to pick up a new husbando? Is this really the type you're after-
Nova: Would you guys just let that go already?
Theodore: Alright, now for all the strength these younglings wield, there never is such a thing as a perfect warrior. Besides the time old weakness of sharing the pain their Personas feel, Ken and Koromaru are pretty much glass cannons as far as their stats are concerned.
Rena: They can seriously dish out a lot of punishment, but their health and defenses are kinda lacking in comparison.
Theodore: But with the power of bonds and teamwork in mind, is there anything this duo can't accomplish? They've taken part in all sorts of climactic battles against two incarnations of Death, the God of Time, and even an entire game's worth of Persona users!
Ken: I used to think I was best on my own, too... But I'm not like that anymore.
Koromaru: *Barks*
Ruby & Zwei[]
Theodore: You know, as awesome as it would be to live on Remnant, it's actually one of the most tragic world's I've ever seen in hindsight.
Alice: Indeed, the monsters of Grimm are not to be trifled with, not even by the most experienced of huntsmen. If you want proof, just go ahead and ask the late Summer Rose.
Rena: Uh... I don't think you can. She's kinda dead.
Alice: I know, that's what the title "late" actually means.
Luther: Yeah, death's about as cheap as a can of soda around these parts, but it's not all bad, especially when this place's idea of a proper education revolves around absurdly cool weapons and kicking ass!
Nova: Damn, I knew I should have signed up for Beacon instead of my old school. I had this AMAZING idea for an electrical polearm.
Theodore: Isn't that exactly what you have right now?
Nova: Sure, but I would have added a shitton of mechanical arms to it...
Rena: Well, it's actually much easier to get into Beacon than you may expect! Just follow the example of Ruby Rose and make sure one of the school officials sees you beating the crap outta a bunch of bad guys!
Luther: Or you could just forge your school records.
Theodore: Such a dastardly plan... Yet an effective one nonetheless.
Alice: Then again, if you've been training for most of your life under the wing of your badass uncle, you won't even need to cheat your way into high school.
Nova: Did you just make a bird pun-
Alice: That was unintentional and you know it.
Luther: But I've gotta say, Ozpin seemed a little too eager to recruit 15 year old Ruby Rose into such an elite institution for us to call this a mere respect of skill...
Theodore: For those of you who hadn't figured it out by now, Ruby here is the daughter of the afformentioned Summer Rose, motivated by her mother's passing to defend the weak, fight some Grimm, and become a hero in her place!
Rena: Shortly after arriving at Beacon and making friends with a lovable idiot and a stuck up rich girl-
Nova: That really depends on your definition of "friend" according to the fandom.
Theodore: We'd best avoid the series's tangled web of ships if we'd like to avoid the wrath of a thousand white roses...
Alice: Tangled is really selling it short...
Luther: Ruby was actually found worthy of becoming the leader of the newly formed Team RWBY... Which just happened to be named after herself.
Rena: It's gotta be the Scyther Rifle, I'm sure of it.
Alice: You did NOT just call it that.
Nova: I dunno, I'd say Rena really hit the mark with that title!
Theodore: Whatever you'd like to call it, Crescent Rose is one of the most impressive pieces of weaponry I've ever laid eyes on. As Rena's nickname suggests, it's an enormous scythe and a sniper rifle all rolled into one compact beauty.
Luther: Now anyone familiar with how guns work would expect this beast to have a shitton of recoil, and you'd be right. However, Ruby freely implements this drawback into her fighting style to freely adjust her momentum at any given moment.
Theodore: Now using a scythe is quite dangerous on its own speaking from experience, but the level of skill required to use such a hybrid effectively speaks volumes about Ruby's potential!
Nova: Damn, Beacon's academic policies must be pretty lax if they allow their students to lob these Swiss army weapons around all the time!
Alice: No, the students don't carry their weapons around 24/7, but on the flipside, Beacon doesn't seem to give two shits about the students keeping pets within their dorms.
Rena: Ah man, we've really been missing out all these years! You know, my old dormmate would up and kick a puppy off the balcony if someone ever tried to smuggle one into the building!
Theodore: That's... rather enlightening.
Alice: Something tells me that wasn't about your academy's rules...
Nova: So with that in mind, Ruby's dad was generous enough to give Team RWBY a little surprise gift one day, which just happened to come in the form of a metric ton of dog food, a can opener, and a tiny little Corgi that went by the name of Zwei!
Luther: Hold up, he SHIPPED a dog in the mail?! How the hell'd he get past security?! Let alone trap Zwei inside a tube for hours on end?
Nova: That doesn't seem physically possible!
Theodore: That's exactly what Zwei kept barking.
Rena: Aw, who cares about logic when there's a cute little puppy involved? A cute little puppy that can kick some serious ass on top of that!
Nova: I seriously need to know how the hell Taiyang managed to fit a dog inside such a small tube with all those cans...
Theodore: The world may never know... Moving right along, Zwei is not only stronger than his size may indicate, but he's much smarter than the average canine as well, obediently following any sort of order Ruby gives him.
Alice: Hell, he's smarter than a lot of humans I know since he actually knows how to operate a can opener.
Rena: Why would I even NEED a can opener when I can just shred the top of the can with my saw?
Alice: I hereby rest my case.
Luther: If anything, Zwei's about as headstrong as Rena here. Literally! The dog's capable of oneshotting Grimm with a single headbutt!
Theodore: And if you'd like to give him even more firepower, you can follow Professor Hazama's example and turn Zwei into a living fiery cannonball of doom!
Nova: Professor... Hazama?
Theodore: Come now, you have to admit Dr Oobleck looks an awful lot like your insane crush.
Nova: Interesting... I suppose I see a resemblance...
Rena: Did somebody just say Semblance?
Nova: Wha- Aw, dammit! I missed a golden opportunity right there!
Theodore: Ah yes, the Semblance. The obligatory special ability that's unique to every hunter and huntress across Remnant. In Ruby's case, the Superpower Lottery decided to go the simple route and grant her incredible speed!
Alice: It doesn't even matter if Ruby's always lugging a huge scythe around, her Semblance alone makes her one of if not the fastest huntresses in all of Beacon.
Rena: Sure, Ruby has to expend some of her Aura in order to actually use her Semblance, but that's not gonna a damn thing when her enemies can't get a good enough lock on her to land a decent hit!
Nova: Hell, Ruby's SO fast that she can casually turn herself into an unstoppable corkscrew and generate a powerful whirlwind!
Luther: Damn, even Sonic would have to turn his head after that. But what's with the rose petals she always leaves behind in her wake?
Nova: They're not just cosmetic, though I might have a theory-
Alice: Nope. We're not doing this again. It's Time to Say Goodbye to this topic.
Theodore: Ah, I see what you did there!
Rena: Really now, if Ruby makes smart use of her Aura and semblance... Suffice to say she'll be f*cking invincible!
Theodore: I'm afraid not, Rena. There is no such thing as an invincible warrior and it seems I have a few misconceptions to clear up. Yes, Aura does protect its owners from fatal injuries and allows them to enhance their bodies however they see fit, but it doesn't last forever.
Nova: Just think of it as a secondary health bar! You're still gonna feel pain when your Aura is struck, and once it's all gone, your chances of suffering a career ending injury or straight up dying increase dramatically!
Alice: If you want proof, then you need to look no further than a certain redheaded Spartan girl.
Luther: Everything really went to shit at the end of Volume 3, huh?
Rena: Oh let's see, Ruby lost her robotic friend (twice if you go by our canon), Vale was completely screwed over by a Grimm invasion, and her best friend's girlfriend was brutally murdered by a flaming psychopath. Yeah, that's not really her best day ever.
Alice: *cough* And now Lancaster is perfectly free to set sail in her place. *cough*
Nova: The grief of seeing Pyrrha disintegrate into nothing allowed Ruby to tap into her inner Deus Ex Machina and unleash... whatever the hell you call-
Rena: FUS RO DAH!
Alice: ...Yeah, that.
Rena: Man, that really is fun to say!
Luther: So yeah, it turns out Ruby's unnatural eye color happens to be part of some ancient prophecy about silver eyed warriors with some sort of special power that'll make any Grimm shit their nonexistent pants.
Theodore: In Ruby's case, this power manifested in the form of a brilliant flash of light that completely immobilized an enormous dragon! Granted, this was Ruby's first experience with such a destructive power, which kind of made her black out and forget about the event in its entirety.
Alice: Honestly, there's very little information to go on as far as this ability is concerned, but it can be assumed that Ruby can only use this as an absolute last resort.
Rena: Speaking of last resorts, Ruby's not exactly the best improvisor when things start to turn sour. She's not entirely helpless if you can separate her from her scythe, but you know your hand to hand skills need some tuning when a couple of mooks can kick your ass without a fight.
Nova: Ruby's reckless behavior and lackluster defenses have gotten this little huntress into trouble time and time again, but her impressive track record as both a leader and a combatant have certainly made up for those shortcomings.
Luther: Whether it's a horde of Big Bad Wolves, a tenacious nevermore, or an organization of sociopathically stylish crooks, pissing off this Little Red Hood is the last thing you'd ever want to do!
Theodore: It's Little Red RIDING Hood, Luth. We're not talking about that horrendous NES game.
Ruby: Okay, all in favor of becoming the youngest Hunteresses to singlehandedly taking down a corrupt organization that is conspiring against the Kingdom of Vale, say 'Aye'!
Zwei *barks*
Interlude 2[]
Alice: Alright, the combatants are set. Let's end this debate once and for all!
Everyone: It's time for a Tag Team Death Battle!
The Battle[]
Pre Fight[]
Location: Mistral Outskirts
[I can hardly believe it myself, but Team RNJR has finally made it over to Mistral after all these months! Well, Nora's still debating over our group's name, though Jaune and I managed to beat out Team NJRR by a two to one vote! Our little journey took a lot longer than we expected, but at least Haven's within arm's reach now! I... still feel pretty bad about leaving Yang and everyone else behind at Patch, but there's no way I'm gonna turn back now! Not after all the trouble we went through to make it this far!] Ruby Rose excitedly thought to herself, sitting up against a tree as she scribbled down the day's events in her journal.
Indeed, the young huntress has traveled far in search of the answers she sought. Though the fall of night had forced her group to momentarily take shelter, Ruby's heart was brimming with confidence and determination now that she was on the last leg of her adventure. She could hardly even sleep, let alone keep her voice down enough to avoid stirring the rest of the party.
[Uh... what else am I supposed to write? I'm bored, I can't set out by myself, and everyone's too tired to keep me company... Especially Jaune. I know he won't let it show, but he's still worked up over Pyrrha. I just wish there was something I could do to help him out... There's something I really need to say...] It was at this point when Ruby's writings trailed off into a deep, depressing silence...
*Woof!*
"GWAH! What was that?!" Ruby flinched, instinctively pulling her beloved Crescent Rose out of nowhere before making eye contact with a familiar black dog. "ZWEI?! What are you doing here?! How did you even get here?!" The red hooded girl exasperatedly asked, only receiving another happy bark as a response. "It's times like this I wish I could speak dog..." Ruby sighed, wondering just how she was going to explain this situation to her friends. It's not like she could just send Zwei back home after covering so much distance from home.
"Did you say something about speaking dog? Maybe I could help." A firm, quiet voice called out, much to Ruby's surprise.
"AH! Why do I keep getting jumpscared today?"
"Sorry. I didn't want to startle you like that. I'm Ken Amada, by the way. Have you... lost your way by any chance?" The newcomer politely introduced himself as a medium sized dog adorned in an orange hoodie emerged from the shadows.
"Oh my god is that your dog?! He's SO adorable!" Ruby squealed in delight, earning a scorned growl from her own canine companion. "But not as cute as Zwei of course!"
"Heh heh, yeah this loyal guy's with me. I don't suppose you know your way around this area, do you?" Ken lightly chuckled as he drove the conversation back on topic.
"I'm... kinda new around here." Ruby half lied, not wanting to arouse the boy's suspicion. "Say, what's with the uniform? Do you attend Haven?"
"Haven? I'm afraid not, but I'm on my way there myself. There's something I'll need to investigate." Ken informed, reaching into his pocket to reveal a peculiar photograph. "On that note, do you think you can tell me anything about the people in this photo?"
<Stop Music>
"!!! That's..." Ruby gasped in shock, immediately recognizing the people in the picture.
"I knew it. You were connected to the attack on Vale. You have to tell me everything." Ken demanded with a hint of concern in his voice. At the same time, Koromaru lurched forward, showing a clear interest in his friend's conversation.
"But who are you supposed to be? How do I know you're not working with the White Fang or something worse?" Ruby questioned as Zwei began to growl menacingly at the opposing duo.
"The White Fang?! No, I'm part of a group that's attempting to find the truth-" Ken vainly attempted to explain himself, only to be interrupted by the emergence of Crescent Rose.
"I have no reason to believe your stories, but if you leave now, nobody will need to get hurt!" Ruby demanded, desperate to hide her friend's presence from this mysterious stranger. Zwei eagerly agreed with his owner's sentiment, stepping forth with a fierce gleam in his eyes.
"Dammit! Look, I don't know what your deal is, there's a lot more hinging on this situation than you think! I'm getting my answers, like it or not." Ken voiced as he brandished his signature spear. Koromaru followed suit, gripping a small knife in his teeth with the intent of protecting his companion in the oncoming battle.
"You'll never make me talk! You can BET ON THAT!"
FIGHT![]
Both duos rushed into the fray the moment the fight began, though the sheer size of Ruby's scythe allowed her to score the first attack with a swift horizontal swing. Instead of halting his approach, Ken took the high road, leaping far above the reach of Crescent Rose before crashing back down to earth with the force of a meteor. The young huntress reacted quickly, shifting her weapon into it's sniper mode to block Ken's Vile Assault. Their canine companions on the other hand moved their personal feud off to the side, skillfully parrying one another's attacks with an acrobatic series of flips and lunges.
"Alright, so you're pretty fast." Ken complemented, standing atop Crescent Rose like a modern day ninja.
"I know, righ- What do you think you're doing?!" Ruby gaped in shock when Ken nonchalantly raised a pistol like object to his head.
"Why does this surprise people every time? Kala-Nemi!" The Shadow Operative commanded, summoning an orange mechanical creature that completely dwarfed the two teenagers in terms of size. Ruby was at a loss for words as the newly summoned Persona wrapped its fist in a coat of electricity. Knowing that it would be a horrendous idea to tank such an attack, Ruby immediately pulled the trigger of her scythe, propelling the young girl away and forcing Ken to leap off his ride just before Kala Nemi slammed its arm into the ground with enough force to produce a small crater.
Meanwhile, Zwei was hard pressed to land an attack on his own opponent due to his inherent lack of a weapon. He had no real trouble keeping up with Koromaru's agile flips and slashes, but the two canines could only dance circles around one another in a heated effort to exploit an opening. Having thrown herself a fair distance away from Ken, Ruby immediately took notice of her companion's plight and fired off a few shots at Koromaru's exposed back. Having been equally aware of the situation, Ken quickly blew a whistle to alert his fellow canine as he summoned Kala-Nemi to unleash a violent stream of lightning at his friend's would be sniper.
Koromaru took heed of his friend's warning with zero hesitation, confidently howling into the air as a three headed beast at least three times his size materialized in the path of Ruby's bullets. "Uh oh!" The huntress cried out in a panic as she zipped away from the oncoming Ziodyne, soon to be utterly baffled at the spray of bullets that suddenly spewed towards her former location. "Wait, weren't those mine?" Ruby asked in confusion, having sworn her shots would have at least struck the Cerberus head on. She had little time to mull over the matter when the beast in question blasted a massive fireball in her general direction. This gave Zwei a small opportunity to score a quick scratch on his foe, but a swift warning slash of Koromaru's knife prevented the smaller dog from dealing any more damage.
"Come, Koromaru!" Ken ordered his ally as Ruby sped past Cerberus's Agilao. Koromaru readily obeyed Ken's command, rushing off to his fellow Persona user's side with his Persona in tow. "Now turn up the heat!" Ken continued, prompting Cerberus to bathe the surrounding area in a banquet of flames, completely obscuring the duo from their enemy's vision. All the while, Ken twirled his spear around like a miniature helicopter blade, prompting his own Persona to bring streaks of lightning down on his targets.
"Whoa! That is SO cool!" Ruby gasped in awe at the fiery maelstrom, losing all aggression in her voice as she and Zwei skillfully swept around the crashing thunderbolts. "There's gotta be a way past this... Zwei, get over here!"
"Keep up the good work work, Koromaru!" Ken complimented the canine while Cerberus's flames continued to pour down on the battlefield. "We've got them on the defensive, now get ready to- WHAT?!" the Shadow Operative cried out in surprise as Zwei burst into the ring of fire with the speed of a burning cannonball, striking Kala-Nemi clean across the chest before Ken could even react, shattering the Persona into a flash of blue light upon contact. Ruby herself followed through shortly afterwards, spiraling through the flames while leaving an intense gust of wind in her wake, completely dissipating the inferno and blowing her opponents clean off their feet.
"Awesome job, Zwei! But the ride's not over yet!" Ruby congratulated as the Corgi readily hopped atop Crescent Rose.
"Ugh, what's she planning now?" Ken thought aloud, skewering a nearby tree with his spear to stop his involuntary flight. The huntress's answer came in the form of her launching Zwei towards Ken with a mighty swing and a pull of the trigger of Crescent Rose. The Shadow Operative quickly dropped down from the tree, a good plan seeing as how Zwei effortlessly smashed through the tree bark, toppling the top half of the structure over as if it were a cheap domino. Having managed to make a clean landing atop a neighboring branch, Koromaru gave a bark of support as a familiar green light suddenly enveloped the two Persona Users. Ken nodded in gratification, ready to turn his attention back to Zwei, who was clearly rushing back towards the battlefield from the opposite side of the tree.
Meanwhile, the familiar ringing of a gunshot directed Koromaru's attention towards Ruby, who had closed in on his tree in an instant before seamlessly cutting through the trunk with her Crescent Rose. The Persona using dog leaped from the tree as it crashed to the ground, but Ruby was more than prepared to catch him on the way down. Rather than take a direct blow from the girl's scythe, Koromaru began to rapidly spin his body around, turning himself into a makeshift propeller capable of parrying every slice the huntress tried to throw at him. In an effort to secure himself a safe landing, Koromaru summoned Cerberus to coat the ground before him in a thick veil of darkness.
"I don't like the looks of this!" Ruby commented as she cautiously escaped the scene with another pull of her weapon's trigger. The girl's intuitions proved to be correct when the field of darkness exploded in a violent burst of energy which would have likely killed her if she stayed put. Still, Ruby knew this was not the time to pat herself on the back, especially since a series of fireballs had just sprung out from the darkness. A challenging grin formed across the girl's face as she rushed forth to cleave through the projectiles with her scythe.
Moments earlier, Ken attempted to preemptively put a wrench in Zwei's strategy by having Kala-Nemi break through the remainder of the tree before the Corgi could use it against him.
"What in the world? Where did he go?" Ken found himself asking as his Persona shattered the remnants of the Trunk, only to find a strange hole in the ground as opposed to his intended target. A faint bark was the only sign he received before Zwei suddenly burst out from the ground, striking Kala-Nemi directly in the chest and uprooting an obscene amount of rocks in multiple directions, forcing Ken to raise his spear in a defensive posture to avoid any extra damage.
The Corgi immediately followed this action up by curling himself into a ball and repeatedly slamming into Ken's Persona much like a certain anthropomorthic hedgehog. "That's it, no more games!" Ken shouted as his Persona abruptly snatched Zwei in its right hand, scoring a fearful whimper from the tiny dog. The Corgi himself was so small, that he could easily fit inside Kala-Nemi's palm, which in turn allowed the Persona to crush the dog with its powerful grip, which served to further increased the volume of Zwei's cries.
"Zwei! Let go of him right now!" Ruby angrily demanded once she took notice of her ally's conundrum.
"Well, why don't you lay down your arms so we can settle this peacefully?" Ken demanded, making sure his Persona retained a firm grip on the Corgi.
"You'll never take me alive!" The young huntress defiantly declared, but Koromaru would not allow her to come to the smaller dog's aid so easily, as he continued to assault the girl on multiple fronts. Between the speedy strikes of Koromaru's knives and the blistering flames of Cerberus, Ruby had little room to breath, and the huntress was quite surprised that her canine opponent could keep the pace even while her semblance was active, presumably due to the green aura that continued to envelope Koromaru's body.
Knowing she had to take a risk to save her friend, Ruby hastily pointed her scythe in the opposite direction, only for her body to spontaneously combust before she could successfully pull the trigger. The explosion itself forcefully threw Crescent Rose out of the huntress's grip, spiraling through the air as it flew out of the ensuing cloud of smoke. Wanting to take advantage of his opponent's disarmed state, Koromaru swiftly leaped towards the smoke with his knife at the ready.
"Hey, do you mind if you give me a lift?" Ruby cheerfully asked, having casually avoided the canine's attack.
A sharp yelp of pain echoed throughout the battlefield as Koromaru was blown away from his position. Ruby followed suit, leaping out in the opposite direction to retrieve her scythe before it could hit the ground. "Here I come!" the huntress yelled out in excitement as she fired off a single shot in midair, propelling herself into Cerberus with the force of a cannonball, instantly breaking the Persona and further injuring Koromaru as a side effect. With Koromaru temporarily removed from the situation, Ruby was free to fire off a spur of sniper rounds at her friend's captor.
(This is bad! My bluff worked too well!) Ken thought to himself, adeptly blocking the bullets as the provoked huntress began to close the distance towards him. "Fine! If you want your dog back so badly, then you can go ahead and catch him!" Ken shouted, signalling Kale-Nemi to chuck the Corgi through the air with the force of a steroid enhanced football player.
"Oh no! Hang on Zwei, I'm coming!" Ruby cried out in a panic, completely reversing her momentum to chase after her airborne companion, who was comically squealing all the way.
"Koromaru, are you hanging in there? Mediarahan!" Ken chanted, calling forth a brilliant, soothing light that fell over the two Persona users. The hooded canine howled in approval, calling on Cererus once more to envelope his team in another green aura. With the status buff renewed, Koromaru and Cerberus started to chase after the huntress and bar her path with a searing wall of flames. Ruby swept through the flames with relative ease, but her pursuit of Zwei became even more difficult when Ken's Persona joined in the chase with its signature bolts of lightning.
"Oh, come on! These guys just don't let up!" The scythe wielding girl audibly complained as the path before her turned into a veritable obstacle course of doom. "I always knew Zwei was a lightweight, but just how HARD did they toss him?!" Ruby's commentary continued, taking note of the absurd amount of airtime her canine companion had received thus far. He showed no signs of slowing down any time soon, despite what the laws of physics may typically lead you to believe. Quickly growing impatient with the pace of her current objective, Ruby pointed her scythe down to propel herself in the direction of a nearby tree.
(I've only got one shot at this!) The huntress steeled herself as she sped up along the side of the trunk in an effort to give herself the height she needed to reach her dog. Having managed to scale the structure in the blink of an eye, she positioned Crescent Rose in just the right angle to propel herself in Zwei's direction. She knew she didn't have much time to pull off this feat when Koromaru's Cerberus set the base of her tree ablaze with a single motion. Ruby's flight faced yet another delay when she was forced to block the stream of lightning that Ken had just cast in her direction. "Ugh! Don't think you can stop me that easily!" The huntress defiantly shouted as she swung her scythe to the side, redirecting the lightning away from herself...
But what Ruby failed to realize was that she had accidentally sent the Ziodyne in Zwei's direction instead, much to the horror of everyone involved.
"No way!"
Zwei, look out!"
<Stop Music>
"NOOOOOO!" Ruby cried out in vain as the electricity struck the Corgi head on, finally cutting his momentum and forcing him to helplessly tumble down into the forest below, yelping in fear the entire time. not even requiring a call from his master, Koromaru selflessly called on Cerberus to intercept the falling Corgi in an effort to soften what would likely be a hard landing. Ken was quick to take action as well, rushing over to the two canine's sides the moment Zwei made his landing.
"Quick, lay him down on the ground Koromaru!" Ken commanded, immediately noticing that the smaller dog was no longer conscious. All Ruby could do was drop down from the peak of the tree without in silence, watching on as Kala-Nemi attempted to heal her companions injuries with a blank look in her face. She could not speak, run, or even cry out in grief...
"I'm so sorry about this..." Ken instantly apologized as the distraught huntress slowly made her way to his position. "I'm gonna do all I can to keep him stable, but I don't know if-" the Shadow operative hastily explained, but he cut his dialogue short when he heard the slightest trace of a reply from the huntress.
"I.." Ruby muttered under her breath. A flash of silver momentarily appeared before her eyes.
"I'm sorry? I didn't quite pick that up."
"I... I"M TIRED OF LOSING MY FRIENDS!" Ruby screamed at the top of her lungs as a shimmering pair of angelic wings seemed to sprout from her eyes.
"GAH! What in the world?!" Ken exclaimed as he found himself getting blown back by the huntress's sudden spike in power. (Damn! I've never seen anything like this before... But it doesn't look like she has any control over this power!) The Shadow Operative thought to himself, noting that Ruby's grief induced state showed no prejudice in destroying her surroundings. Trees were being uprooted, Zwei was helplessly tumbling into the depths of the forest, and the very world around them was practically bleached in a strange shade of white. Even stranger still was the sudden midair "freezing" of the objects that the huntress had unconsciously controlled. Ruby herself seemed to resemble an apocalyptic angel as she began to ascend from her original position.
"Stay strong, Koromaru!" Ken ordered, sighing in relief at the notion that his own companion had managed to hold his ground, albeit with much difficulty on his behalf. The two Shadow operatives were forced to use their Personas to shield themselves from the intense rays of light, but they knew full well that it would be impossible to hold up their defenses forever. "Go! Pierce the Heavens!" Ken commanded, signaling Koromaru to wrap his knife in a coat of flames before having his Persona hurl the item at Ruby with full force. Ken did the same thing with his spear, enhancing the weapon with a stream of electricity so that Kala-Nemi could strike the out of control huntress at the same time.
The distorted scream that Ruby let out was a sure sign that the Persona user's attack was a success, but she was hardly out of commission yet. It was difficult to determine if the attack had even injured her, but the inky drops of black that poured from the huntress's body were enough of a confirmation in that regard. "AGH! Is there nothing we can do?!" Ken wondered aloud as the ground beneath him began to fall victim to Ruby's powers, steadily forcing a retreat from the young Shadow Operative.
koromaru defiantly howled in response, being sure to deliberately make eye contact with his ally in the process. "Koromaru... Are you sure there's no other way?" Ken asked, clearly hesitant to go through with the plan his friend was brewing up. The only answer Ken received came in the form of a confident nod from his trusted companion. "Alright, then let's do this!" the boy eagerly replied as a pillars of light and darkness began to form around the two Persona's bodies. Koromaru howled in approval before the two combatants finally turned their attention back to Ruby.
"This is for your own good! Baptism of Light & Darkness!" Ken defiantly shouted as a strange ball of energy (which just happened to resemble a disco ball) began to form around the young huntress. It was unknown if Ruby was even aware of her current situation, but the girl was completely silent as her body was quickly swallowed up by the shimmering burst of energy that ensued, resulting in a blinding flash of light that completely obscured the remaining combatant's visions.
KO!
"We... we did it." Ken sighed in relief, meticulously wiping his eyes as his surroundings instantly returned to normal and the myriad of objects Ruby had uplifted unceremoniously crashed to the ground. Koromaru was no worse for wear, shaking his body around in an attempt to clean off the dirt that had accumulated over him. Ken was relieved that his own friend was virtually unharmed, but at the same time, he desperately eyed his surroundings looking for the slightest trace of Ruby. He simply refused to believe that the girl was gone until he found a body.
*Arf?* a faint bark suddenly chimed in from the east, directing the Persona user's attention towards the side of the forest. To their mutual surprise, they found themselves laying eyes on an injured, but very much alive Zwei, who had found the sheer strength of will to limp his way out of the depths of the forest.
"Oh thank god, he's still alright..." Ken softly commented as the Corgi steadily limped towards the center of the former battlefield, only to unceremoniously fall over on his side before he could make any notable progress. "Hey, take it easy! You're still recovering!" Ken hastily informed the dog as his Persona materialized to aid the dog with another healing spell. But Zwei refused to comply with the boy's order, instead giving out a panicked bark as he sprinted towards his destination.
"What are you looking for, boy..." Ken asked, but his voice quickly trailed off once he realized what the Corgi was seeking out. Zwei could only voice a sorrowful whimper as he blankly stared at the sizeable pile of ash that littered the center of the field. "Oh no..." Ken whispered, knowing full well what the ashpile before him used to be. Koromaru remained silent, fully understanding the gravity of the situation as he approached the scene with Crescent Rose carefully cradled in his mouth.
He was at a complete loss for words, utterly unable to comfort the desperately barking Zwei, but Ken knew that it would now become his responsibility to ensure that no harm would fall over the smaller dog. Ruby probably would have appreciated that in hindsight.
...
Results[]
Nova: Welp, it looks like Volume 4 just got canned.
Theodore: In the most tragic way imaginable...
Rena: At least we let spared Zwei, right?
Luther: Somehow, I think that makes the situation even more cruel.
Alice: Alright guys, we can save the feels for later. We still have a job to do after all.
Nova: Yeah... So how do we put this?
Rena: For starters, this was a four on two fight! Team Persona not only displays creative uses of their weapons, but their Personas just happen to mesh quite well with one another!
Theodore: Indeed. While I have no doubt that Ruby loves Zwei with all her heart, the strength of the bond between Ken & Koromaru far eclipses them, which handily transitions into a better team dynamic between the two of them!
Luther: And as much as we'd hate to say this, Zwei was unfortunately the weakest combatant of the bunch. Don't get me wrong, he's a durable fighter with some real firepower (hell, he's actually capable of turning Cerberus's flames against Team Persona), but we don't need to delve too deep into his past to determine his overall lack of combat experience and versatility.
Alice: Speaking of versatility, Team Persona's got that in the bag too. Their actual Personas allow them to recover from injuries at a much faster rate, extend their offensive capabilities in all sorts of creative ways, and even amp up their speed to allow them to avoid attacks more consistently.
Rena: Speaking of speed, that's undoubtedly Ruby's greatest weapon, besides the sheer versatility given to her by Crescent Rose.
\Nova: But believe it or not, KOROMARU of all people... er, dogs. He's actually the biggest threat Ruby has to face in this battle! You see, the reason he works so well alongside Ken's support oriented skills is because of his greater focus on pure unadulterated offense!
Luther: Let's see here, he learns a greater variety of fire spells than Ken, with Maragidyne in particular being able to cover a much wider area of effect than Ken's Ziodyne. Plus, if Ruby tries to attack him physically (we're talking scythe swings and bullets here), there's a fifty percent chance her attacks will straight up backfire.
Nova: High Counter is SO frickin' cheap...
Theodore: Alas, I believe it's time we stopped beating around the bush and address the elephant in the room: Team Persona's instant death spells.
Alice: The 40-50% chances of success attached to Hamaon and Mamudoon don't sound like much to begin with, but do you guys want to remember Ken's instant kill in Ultimax? The two of them combine their powers together to create a single disco ball of pure death.
Rena: Damn, that's just overkill... So out of curiosity, what do you think would happen if we just sent Ken into this battle alone?
Nova: Naturally, he would have a harder time, but he DOES have a trump card up his sleeve. As stated before, Hamaon only has a fifty percent chance of succeeding, later on, Ken gains access to Hama Boost, a skill that increased the success rate of Light magic by, drumroll please...
Luther: FIFTY PERCENT!
Rena: So, does anyone wanna guess what happens when you add fifty and fifty together?
Theodore: WAIT, the audience may ask! What about Ruby's Silver Eye powers? Surely THOSE would be enough to turn the tides in her favor!
Alice: Okay sure, the Silver Eyes are undoubtedly powerful, but Ruby has shown no real control over them so far, and they've never even managed to KILL anything either. All they really did was freeze that big dragon in place.
Luther: Team Persona on the other hand? They've tanked plenty of stronger attacks in the past, including what has to be my personal favorite: A ZA WARUDO barrage from the God of Time himself!
Nova: Wrong series, Luth.
Luther: I know, but who the hell could possibly resist the reference? Chronos can stop time and batter people while their-
Alice: Okay, you don't have to explain. We get it.
Nova: Sorry guys, but it looks like Ruby just KEN'T seem to win such a RUFF fight!
Theodore: The victors are Ken Amada & Koromaru!
