[center][hr]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/SLW8zWT.png[/img]

[b][color=darkred]Level 2[/color][/b] - (17/20) EXP
[b][color=darkred]Location:[/color][/b] Castle, Out Front
[b][color=darkred]Word Count:[/color][/b] 704

[sub][b][color=darkred]Catch[/color][/b][/sub][/center]
[hr]
[color=darkred]"I got it!"[/color]
[color=lightsalmon]"Pttttph! M-Mina-ko, wa-wa-wa-"[/color]

Junpei was driver to stop them from going into the castle. His programming begged him to swim ashore, to stop those two, kill them if necessary, [i]anything[/i] to stop them from getting across to the bridge. Under normal circumstances, he might be able to complete his directive, but given where he was...
[i]Oomf![/i]
Skidding across the water from a kick to the gut from Thanatos, the driven Junpei was forced back to the middle of the moat. Though summoning her Persona typically was an exhausting experience, Minako's attack (if it could be called that) wasn't actually strong enough to cause the drain debuff to take effect and cause any noticeable self-harm. She had noticed it when Thanatos kicked him away earlier, that her body felt mostly fine despite doing something that would normally hurt. It came from the fact she wasn't actually straining her Persona with a proper attack, just ordering it to kick with whatever energy it required. Though she couldn't piece together why she wasn't feeling the strain of battle herself, it made keeping him at bay a heck of a lot more easy, so Minako shrugged it off as something to think about at a later date.

Sinking below the water, Junpei takes a moment to recover his stamina, the only thing that actually seems to be taking any sort of damage, yet even so, his 3x strength makes this drain negligible at best, leaving him always ready for more. Between Minako's Persona and Linkle's Bwah Blaster, the duo fend off the possessed Jun with ease, locking him into a constant state of swimming, crawling, flying, and sinking. Rinse and repeat. 

The Master of Master's, along with Kirby, appeared at the front of the castle, taking a break from whatever it was that was going on inside. They seemed mostly OK though, which was a big relief, although she couldn't help but get a [i]little[/i] jealous not being healed as Linkle had done. True, Minako was aware she wasn't hurt physically, but by god if she wasn't tired. At least the MoM offered helped with the old motivation. 
His whole explanation of how to make a heart seal seemed silly, but not unfamiliar. Similar to how Tora himself had done it, it was a matter of making a heart with your hands and raising it up above your head. With Junpei only just surfacing to swim over, Minako decided to give it a try. It felt like doing those poses in the photo booths of Iwatodai, only it didn't take pictures of you so your embarrassment can never resurface or be traced. [color=darkred]"Seems easy enough... Like this?"[/color]

Putting her hands to her heart, Minako thought of her past, of her friends. She thought of Junpei, all the happy memories the two of them shared, the laughs, the smiles, the tears. Even the unhappy memories, they filled her heart, creating a vibrant, beautiful pink energy, the strength of which almost at the same level of power as Kirby. As instructed, she raised her arms above her head, creating a beautiful, perfect pink heart, glimmering with power.
... Only for the heart to fracture and explode within moments.
It was strange. The heart went... grey. Like it had become infected by something. Stunned, Minako decided to try another heart, this one just as strong as the previous, yet the outcome even worse. It cracked above her head, shattering into glass, taking on a black and pink hue that felt... broken. [i]One more time, it has to work![/i]

The third heart seemed to... overflow, almost, like the energy inside was too strong, exploding once more into deep crimson dust. Minako didn't understand it at all. It felt right, but whenever that last part came up, she increasingly doubtful. Even committing to her resolve as much as possible didn't help - it just... broke. 
She looked to Kirby and MoM with a confused look on her face. [color=darkred]"Something tells me I can't do the thing..."[/color] Curiously, Minako looked to her friend, Linkle, in case she was capable of producing the fantastical friend heart. Meanwhile, Junpei was getting close to shore, but there was more than enough time to react to him.
[hr]
[@Lugubrious][@Gentlemanvaultboy]