Journey of Fire and Ash

Disclaimer: I do not own Persona or Grimgar.

~ Siren Mines ~

"Guys...come back." Haruhiro muttered. His breathing was becoming labored now, the very act of his chest expanding bringing a painful lance to, well, everything.

In his desperation to slow down the freak Kobold known as Deathpatch he threw himself recklessly into his foe while begging his teammates to run. They complied, still filled with too much fear to argue with him. In the end, the flight response instinct prevailed and they fled after a much needed seconding from Ranta (of all people).

First task accomplished.

The second task, however, was significantly harder to achieve. Sadly his enemy didn't even consider him worth more than a few moments of its time. Every single thing he tried to distract the beast was either ignored or casually brushed away. He knew what this was. Deathpatch probably understood what he was trying to do, and it wasn't entirely stupid, having fought numerous Volunteer Soldiers who were either unlucky enough to encounter him or too overconfident for their own good.

When taunts and yells failed, Haruhiro launched what few throwing knives he had left. Once again, Deathpatch continued his steady pace in the direction his team had fled, mostly likely the level's ladder, while releasing what passed for a chuckle among his misbegotten kind when the knives hit. It was then that the last ounce of self-preservation within Haruhiro broke. If he didn't do something soon the beast would reach the ladder and then...

The brown haired boy gripped his knife, inhaled once to steady his nerves and charged towards his target. He did not yell. Haruhiro was a Thief. He was, by nature, a quiet person and any primeval instinct to yell was beaten out of him by Master Barbara during their training sessions (with a smile on her face, of course).

Haruhiro initiated [Backstab], the preferred attack of all thieves. He closed the distance rapidly, with the surroundings becoming a blur. Haruhiro sank his blade into Deathpatch's flesh to the hilt. But the beast was too large, his special attribute not even needing to activate. It didn't even seem to cause it too much pain.

But it noticed him now.

With a savage swing, it backhanded him several paces away. Once it saw he was down it gave a petulant snort and turned once more towards the level's exit.

Summon us...

Haruhiro thought someone was whispering in his ear, but dismissed it. The others had already left and the sentence made no sense whatsoever. He wasn't a mage like Shihoru.

With a groan Haruhiro forced himself up. His class wasn't meant to fight or even take hits for that matter. The young Thief was rising on willpower alone. His vision blurred with pain, as fought to stay conscious. And then he saw it...

As he watched Deathpatch's back recede in the distance there was a glowing spot on his back, a vulnerable point. He'd seen this before when they were fighting Goblins, but it happened only occasionally, which is why he supposed it did not appear a while ago when he first attacked the mutant Kobold. Haruhiro had told Master Barbara about it and while the veteran Thief acknowledged its existence, she warned him not to rely on it due to its finicky nature. However, it was not just the appearance of the "spot" that gave him hope, but rather a line.

It was a glowing line that stretched from the "spot" to his dagger. When his arm wavered to his weakened state the line didn't break, instead it curved as if refusing to let his blade stray from the "spot". Those two were what gave him strength. The glowing line and the "spot" was his hope.

There...

The voice whispered once again.

Strike...

Haruhiro charged. Once again the creature ignored him. Once again his blade sank into its flesh.

But this time Deathpatch died.

It thrashed violently, loosing a pained roar before it finally keeled over. During the time it took for Deathpatch to die Haruhiro was further pummeled by hits from its elbows, feet and he even thought he was slammed into a wall. All this time the boy twisted the knife knowing that every moment of pain for Deathpatch was a moment bought for his friends.

As Haruhiro collapsed on Deathpatch's furry chest, he smiled. It was dead, it wasn't breathing.

He killed it, but Deathpatch also killed him.

He could feel his strength, his life, leaving him, like water in cupped palms. This world, the world they woke up to wasn't fair. He killed the enemy, and yet he was...

"Will I become like the others?" He wondered as he remembered that state of Mary's former teammates. His last thoughts as he blacked out were on the team's newest Priest, hoping that she and the others would at least come back to purify his zombified corpse...

~ Unknown Place ~*

Haruhiro blinked as he regained his focus. He was in a carriage. He could tell because he could hear the clacking of horse hooves from the outside, only he could not see because of a thick fog kept out by windows.

The interior of the carriage was large. Very large. The one other notable thing about the interior was that it was dominated by one color: Blue Velvet. Whether it was royal hue of the curtains or or the muted tone of the soft, thick carpet it was always a shade of the color. He gasped in surprise as he noticed a table across the rather large room. Seated behind it was a bald man with very large, pointed nose and sharp ears. His eyes were bulging and his irises were pinpricks as if the man (if you could call him that) was perpetually in a high emotional state. He was dressed in an attire that Haruhiro's subconscious identified but, as with all familiar things since coming to this wretched world, he could not identify.

"Am I dead?" Haruhiro wondered, "Is he a god, come to judge me or merely guide to the afterlife?"

It was probably the latter, it explained the carriage theme. Then, as if alerted to his presence by his thoughts the hunched man spoke.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room," he greeted in a rough but cultured voice, "I am Igor, the Proprietor here. I am delighted to make your acquaintance."

"Please, sit." The bizarre old man offered him the seat in front of the table.

Haruhiro cautiously stepped forward and took the seat. He was partially surprised that while his mind registered the cushion as soft, he couldn't feel it.

"Yeah, definitely dead." He thought sorrowfully.

"It has been so long since we've had a guest," Igor said after Haruhiro sat down, "And you are certainly different from the last few we've had."

"Great," Haruhiro thought sourly, "I'm such a weakling that they didn't really have any real work up until now. Probably ruined their coffee break."

Huh? What was coffee?

There it was again. Him, and the others, using terms he knew but could vaguely remember. Curse this world and the ones who brought him there.

"Am I dead?" Haruhiro asked quietly. He wanted to confirm his earlier suspicions. When those storytellers that often passed by town told of heroic exploits they normally left the details about what happened afterwards. They couldn't know after all, being alive and whatnot.

"No, not all." Igor chuckled, "Our guests are never dead when they enter...or leave the Velvet Room."

Haruhiro let out a tired sigh. He wasn't dead, but if so...

"Where are we then?" He asked. Realizing how poorly worded the question was he amended it quickly, "How did you get me out of the mines?"

"This place exists beyond time and space," Igor replied, "Its purpose, as well as ours, to aid our guests in their journey."

Igor's answer raised more questions than answers for the sleepy-eyed Thief.

"You said 'our'..." Haruhiro began, until he noticed a presence behind a velvet curtain behind Igor.

"Indeed," Igor acknowledged, "I am not the sole resident here. Tell me. What do you see?"

Haruhiro squinted, straining to see behind the semi-opaque curtain.

"A girl." He said finally.

"Good." Igor smiled, "It is as you say. Step forward child."

At his command the girl stepped forward and Haruhiro's eyes widened.

A girl stepped out from behind the curtain, dressed in alternating colors of orange and red. Her coat and knee-length, high-heeled boots were a shade of orange. The girl's auburn hair was let down to her shoulders while a barrette hair clip, shaped like XXII, kept it tucked to one side behind her ear. Red defined the accessories she wore, such as the rings that kept her coat closed. Her eyes as well were a shade of red that looked eerily like fresh blood. It was for these reasons that she stood out prominently in the Velvet Room, like a candle in the night.

Haruhiro spotted other things as well that he thought he should know but couldn't name once again. He identified these things as MP3 player, holster and gun. His treacherous memories once more failed to give him more information on these familiar items but he knew at least that 'gun' was something dangerous.

"This is Minako," Igor introduced the girl, "My assistant-in-training. I have other helpers but sadly, they are preoccupied with their own journeys."

The auburn haired assistant was scrutinizing him now, and he felt a chill in the air, almost like something changed.

"He certainly is different," Minako said in a light tone as she finally completed her analysis, "He heard the call, but didn't answer. I can't even tell if has the ability."

A memory surfaced in Haruhiro's mind unbidden.

"You guys are a mess..." Mary observed on her first day on the team.

Both girl's words stung Haruhiro. Ever since he saw the "spot" of light early in his days as a Thief, he had thought that he had some talent despite Master Barbara's warning on not to rely on it too much. Part of him desperately wanted to catch up to the other trainees, who had earned their badges months ago, since they called him and his team as "The Goblin Slayers". In other words, they killed only the weakest creatures in Grimgar while Renji and Souma's teams killed god-knows-what on a regular basis.

"Now, now child," Igor chided Minako, "All who hear the call have the potential. That is why his case is interesting as he ended up here despite not calling forth his Persona."

"Do forgive her, she is new at her duty," Igor said looking back to his guest, "She has always been like that. So unlike my other assistants, but equally capable for the tasks I require."

"Persona?" Haruhiro half-asked, half-muttered.

"You will learn soon enough dear boy," Igor said, "In the meantime, it is customary for our guests to sign a contract."

The long-nosed man swept his hand over the table and a single piece of paper held in place by a red leather pad appeared as the movement completed itself. Beside it was a quill and some ink in a porcelain container.

Haruhiro leaned forward to check the contents and found that there was only a single sentence:

I chooseth this fate of my own free will.

This was all very baffling to Haruhiro. One minute he thought he was dead and now this. The sentence didn't even make any sense. He felt an immense pressure upon reading the single sentence and it wasn't good. He tried asking once more.

"What will happen if I sign this?" he asked, "Will I work for you?"

"No, no." Igor replied, slowly shaking his head, "As I said, our purpose is to aid our guests in their journey. We cannot interfere with the decisions you make nor aid you beyond the Velvet Room."

"In short, our help is limited but essential in your journey." Minako smiled thinly.

"We only ask that you accept responsibility for your actions." Igor said, holding out a hand, "That is all there is to it."

Haruhiro took the quill and prepared to sign the "contract".

He hesitated.

What would he be signing away? His soul? His Life? He was supposed to be dead. He had prepared to sacrifice himself to save his teammates. If he signed this and he went back it would be back to the grind again. Only he or they might not be as lucky.

"It was just luck that you killed Deathpatch." His pessimistic mind whispered treacherously.

However, Igor had said something about those who were guests of the room had potential. Even Minako, in her own way, acknowledged he was different from the rest. It was then that Haruhiro felt something he hadn't felt since Manato died.

Hope.

Hope for a better life. That he and his team could make something here in this world.

He signed the contract.

No sooner had he lifted the quill did Minako snap up the contract and handed it to Igor. Haruhiro hadn't even seen her move. He began to feel a new trepidation towards the red-eyed girl.

"Now then, time marches on in your world." Igor said as he confirmed Haruhiro's signature, "We won't keep you here longer than necessary as we shall meet again soon enough."

"Bye Haruhiro!" Minako flashed an angelic smile that would have made even someone like Renji blush, "I look forward to accompanying you on your journey."

~ Siren Mines ~

"-iro"

"-y aren't you healing him damn it?!"

"I am healing him! I am not sure why he is not res-"

"Haruhiro!"

Haruhiro opened his eyes. His vision was blurred and he could feel something wet and warm on his cheeks.

As his sight cleared he saw Yume crying over him with Mary standing behind her face impassive but eyes heavy with relief. Mogzo had his sword raised in a defensive position, guarding the group while Shihoru was crying with joy on her knees.

"Geez! Took you long enough!" Ranta exclaimed throwing up his arms in exasperation, "This is no time to take a nap!"

"Quiet!" Mary ordered, "Mogzo, carry him. The rest of you prepare to move! We're leaving."

"You came back." Haruhiro whispered.

"Of course you idiot!" Yume

"Yeah, even I felt bad when you cried ou-" Ranta stopped in mid-speech as Mary fixed him with a death glare.

"Thanks..." Haruhiro muttered, "Its good to be back."

Author's note:

*The Velvet Room theme plays

So...here's another thing that I couldn't get out of my mind until I typed it. This is originally intended to be a one-shot of Grimgar and while I normally wouldn't say this, I may continue it if enough people ask. You can say so in the review or a PM. I'll wait a month or so before deciding.

Grimgar certainly is interesting. Its not like Overlord where the characters are overpowered (which is played for laughs, and I like it) or other you've-been-transported-to-another-world stories.

For the Persona fans out there, yes. Its that Minako from P3P. Why is she an attendant? I can answer that in the PM or later chapters if this thing takes off, but the short answer is: Potential. Her appearance here, clothes wise, is a fusion between Margaret and Elizabeth except for the color scheme. As described above, she is like fire in the dark and she also kept her Evoker or at least a manifestation of it.

While Haruhiro didn't summon a Persona here, it was the reason why Igor finds his case so interesting, unlike the other protagonists whose persons were what interested Igor. If you have suggestions on what his persona could be please say so.

As to the carriage...the carriage theme of the Velvet Room was the most appropriate I can think of since in relation to the "Journey" theme of the Person games. There certainly is mystery in Grimgar, with its multiple realms and even has a shadow realm. Hence this fanfic.

So, tell what you think of the one shot and/or if you want this to continue.

Until next time.