A/N: Welcome to this Adaptation of Persona Q set in the world of P4:IDBH! I wanted to do Q chronological to P4 and then add my own twists to make it an entertaining read and a more exciting ride for you. I certainly hope you enjoy it.

I have planned to do this fic as well as IDBH, but updates may be a little slow for both. I still think I can burn the candle at both ends. (If Harpo Marx could do it, so can I!)

Just as a note, this story takes place between Chapters 174 and 176 (175 was a filler Chapter) of Persona 4:I Don't Belong Here.

Special Thanks to my betas, DualSelf and SmileRen for their assistance amongst this Prologue and Chapter 1.

Disclaimer: I own Charles Waldo, Reiko Setsuka, Siobhan Murphy, magmon1000 owns James Bond Sykes, Chris Sykes, and Abagail Sykes. SmileRen owns Amiko Tosaka.

Prologue
October 30, 2011

Yasogami High School

"Oh what a tangled web we weave, when we practice to deceive…" as the saying goes. And as far as webs go, this one was a real tangle.

…

But then he liked it that way.

As the Old One moved about the halls of Yasogami High School, far beneath (Quite literally) the notice of any individual there, he observed those with power he had sensed.

Power he could use to his advantage.

First he sensed the Children from the Other Side, Teddie and Teddye. He was amused at their laughable attempts to play human when they were nothing of the kind. While the female was quite attractive and smart, The Old One concluded that he only needed the male for his purposes. Naïve and Innocent. That was the best way to go. The female could see through him sooner and so the Old One did not wish to have his web disturbed too soon.

The Old One thus let the Female and her lover Abigail Sykes go. Abigail was a strong and smart woman. A keen fighter. It was a shame he had to let her go, especially because he had a role for her to play in this web… But she and Teddye were a package deal now, and so since he could not have one and forgo the other, he would choose foregoing both.

Christopher Steen Sykes was, on the other hand, the perfect replacement. Not only was he good fighter and field medic, he was most malleable due to mental conditioning he had been put through in the past by a representative of the Scarlet Room. The Old One laughed at the games that the Scarlet and Velvet Rooms played. Playing War and Truce was a futile game. History proved that many times.

And the Old One always paid attention to History…

Still, Christopher Sykes would be a valuable pawn in case the Old One's plan was discovered or disturbed. The best way to cause a web to remain is for the fly to thrash about in futility. And the Old One had made sure that the Elder Sykes brother's programming was altered to serve him, and not Those Who Reside in Scarlet.

Then there was the younger Sykes boy, James Bond Sykes. He was also a fighter, and while he was intelligent, he was no threat to the Old One. His obsession with fighting and pro wrestling would have been his downfall had he not received recent news that Death would be in his future. This amused the Old One as there were three choices a fighter with such a dark, grim future is faced with. Either they would recklessly fight and thus cause their own death, they would be overly cautious, or they would proceed as if it weren't true and try to live their life as if it were "business as usual". But perhaps there would be a way to entice young James… Dangle a carrot…

And then there was, in her fortune-telling booth at this nauseating farce called a Cultural Festival, One of Those Who Wielded Power from the Velvet Room, Margaret. The one who broke the news to James. The Old One made sure that the threads he was slowly spinning would confound her, as she was one of two truest threats to him…but they were necessary threats, she and one other…But the web of confusion he was spinning that would keep them guessing. Sometimes the Spider needsed to be the Fly…

Then there were other Children. Like the Two Sykes and the "Bear", they knew not the power that they wielded. They could use their power to dominate and control souls. They could gain themselves riches and power that many could barely dream of.

First was the Girl Detective, Shirogane Naoto. The Old One did not consider her a threat as while she was intelligent, her discomfiture with her gender and her desperation to prove that she was as good as the previous four generations of her family, (As well as her conflicted emotions in regards to James Bond Sykes…She stated did not have time for romance and yet her mind wandered back to it.) Thus, she was in a web of her own making…And it was no hard task for the Old One to assimilate her web to his.

Then there was Kujikawa Rise, the Idol who wanted to renounce all that made her emerge as who she was today. Her reluctance to truly leave it behind as well her longing to return to the stage that she had once been so eager to leave. While she was the one who could be counted on for detection of Shadows…those beings these Children wasted their potential on…the Old One smiled as he had ensured he would make sure this empty-headed girl would follow the trail he'd set for her.

Another empty-headed individual was her romantic interest, Tatsumi Kanji. The Old One didn't consider him a threat. Loud, Stupid, Reckless, Overemotional. There was no risk of him disturbing anything that the Old One had spun. His play at becoming a man was as laughable as Shirogane's. This boy could never become a man. He needed to accept it. And until he did…he was a punk and a joke.

Then there was the Fool who called herself Arisato Minako. She had fought to save the world and deep down she felt that there was no change by her actions and so she would wonder what the point was. She also felt that she didn't belong in the world. That she was just a "guest star" in someone else's story. The only thing keeping her together was her love for one of the others…but it was a futile feeling. He was keenly aware that she was also in a web of her own with her Shadow slowly trying to regain its former strength. Unlike her cousin Shirogane, the Old One avoided assimilating her web into his, as manipulating her Shadow…giving her the power she needed was dangerous and would upset the web too much and cause him to lose all. So he decided to leave her be…though he would keep watch to see if the Shadow would take advantage…just to amuse him as long as possible before he struck her down.

There was also the other boy who tried to run away from his past but would ultimately fail. Charles Waldo. He had tried to change his nature from an angry, selfish outcast into an earnest, caring individual. He was deluding himself the most. Even when wearing glasses that were made, not only to see the truth, but also out of necessity due to weak eyesight, he was doubly blind. He could love, and care, and fight on principle all he wanted, but it would not change the fact that his web was constantly trying to pull him back to where he used to be. He could not leave his past behind. And there would be the day when he would lose all…and go back to his true nature. Even his best friend, Siobhan Murphy, whose soul was linked to his, could not forestall Waldo's fate

A nature that his paramour, Amagi Yukiko was trying to change in a fruitless and desperate gambit to have the only kind of boyfriend she wanted… A prince or a Samurai. She would achieve that goal. Waldo would fail her, though no fault of his own. The web did not lie. He would fail her and she would still despite his blamelessness curse him and condemn him unto her dying breath. Their web of love would twist and tangle into a web of hate…And so they were of little threat and consequence to the old one.

He dismissed the girl fighter, Satonaka Chie. She was neither as effective as Abigail Sykes nor as elegant as Amagi. She, amusingly, had her own battle in regards to her femininity, though it had followed a different path than that of Shirogane. Satonaka was as reckless as Sykes the Younger and as Loud and impulsive as Tatsumi. While she was fiercely loyal and could be counted on by her friends to be a protector…her embrace of only one fighting style would be ineffective in the end. She may talk a good game…but there is the difference between knowing the path and walking it…

Her romantic partner, Hanamura Yosuke knew this well. He had wanted to be a hero in order to cure his boredom. Then he had insinuated himself into this mystery to avenge the loss of a girl he had loved as much as Satonaka. But he was a fool. He may have been smart, and strong, and loyal, and brave…but he was ironically a bore (as well as a boor) himself, and so he was no challenge.

The truest Challenge, was his best friend, Arisato's lover, and leader of the group, Narukami Yu. He wielded the Wild Card. The Ability to call upon multiple beings that were considered the mask to deal with life's hardships….Personas. The Wild Card, combined with Narukami's bravery, intelligence, and natural leadership, made him the other, most dangerous challenge for the Old One. However, The Old one weaved his web well for Narukami…and knew that it would throw him off his patterns…The Old One just needed to stay cautious…

There were other players as well, the girl Tosaka Amiko, who carried a secret and web all her own, but the Old One waited to see what part she would play and so invited her into his "parlor". There was also the boy and the girl…the ones who carried secrets…secrets the Old One would exploit to gain his most desired prize. And then there were the others that he would cull from the past and the present. The nomadic poet girl, The Twins. The ones who tried to execute Shadows and would end up achieving heartbreak. They had roles to play as well. Roles that would keep the web spinning…

Until the ultimate goal had been achieved.

Looking over his web that he had created, he had smiled and had decided that everything was like…clockwork.

"Soon the bell will ring…and circumstances will change… And I wll achieve what I have desired for many years…"

…

"Oh, what a tangled web we weave…"