Disclaimer: I don't own the game series, Persona. It belongs to ATLUS. If I did, do you think I would've allowed the ending of Persona 2: Eternal Punishment be that way? Hell no! Tatsuya would've been with Maya, that's for sure. So I don't own it. I am merely a fan who is borrowing its characters, places and such. But I do own the new character that would be introduced later on in the story.

Summary: Tatsuya has gone back to the Other Side, leaving Maya alone. Unbeknownst to them, someone who has been sealed away was released when they had defeated Nyarlathotep. Is it a friend or a foe? One thing is for sure: That person is determined to change the two worlds as well as the fate of those who had fought against the Crawling Chaos.

Dream Weaver

Prologue

"It...can't be...!? It's not possible...!!! This contradiction...I won't accept i--t!!!" Nyarlathotep screamed.


Philemon suddenly appeared in the air with an unconscious Jun in his arms.

"Crawling Chaos, accept your defeat..."

"Philemon!!!" Nyarlathotep snarled, glaring at the floating man.

"They represent the potential of mankind. You, the dark side of the collective unconsciousness, are linked to all humans. THAT is why...they...moved the hearts of the people..." Philemon stated calmly.

---Dark Abyss---

A vast darkness. That was all that you could see. A sudden bright light shone in the middle of all the darkness. It started as a small, faint light.

---REALITY Room---

"All potential is born from chaos...I see...that's right..." Katsuya murmured to himself.

"Hmph..." Nyarlathotep scoffed.

Philemon stared at him calmly. While the others watched him carefully, their guards were still up.

Nyarlathotep laughed. "Muhahaha...!!! What irony!!! THIS is my FATE...!?"

He smirked evilly. "But...remember this...! The masses of idiocy that squirm in the center of the cosmos are you...!!! As long as I you exist...so too shall I...!!!"

"You're too damn stubborn...there's no such thing as a human without shadows..." Baofu snapped. "We'll make you remember that your place is here...just go to Hell and be done with it..."

Maya shot Nyarlathotep with her guns while Tatsuya attacked him with his sword. After one last scream, Nyarlathotep disappeared out of sight.

---Dark Abyss---

The light grew brighter and a crouched figure began to materialize from it.

---REALITY Room---

"It's over..." Ulala sighed in relief.

"No...there's still...one more thing..." Tatsuya said quietly.

The others turned looked at him questioningly.

"The fact remains that I'm the Paradox...if I stay here...then "This Side" will be engulfed by the "Other Side"..." Tatsuya explained soberly.

Baofu and Katsuya let their gaze fall on the floor while Ulala and Maya gasped in shock.

"Tatsuya...you're not..." They both said in unison.

Tatsuya smiled sadly. "I'm going home..."

"Tatsuya...please…don't go! Please don't leave!" Maya cried as she ran towards him. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

"I made a promise to Jun...he kept his word...now it's my turn...the only thing left on the Other Side is our city. We'll rebuild a great world..." Tatsuya smiled sadly as he pried Maya's arms loose.

"Tatsuya...you..." Katsuya said, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"I'm sorry Maya…" Tatsuya apologized; his eyes began to moisten with forming tears.

"But…"

Maya looked up at him, tears falling down her cheeks. He wiped the tears away with his hand as he gave her a weak smile. More tears fell down her cheeks but this time, instead of wiping them away, Tatsuya bent down his head and kissed her on the lips.

He kissed her slowly, letting her feel his love for her. Letting her know his feelings—the feelings that he can never give voice to. More tears fell down Maya's cheeks as she wrapped her arms around his neck, wishing with all her heart for him to never leave her.

'It's not fair…in the past we were separated…are we going to be separated once again…? If so then I wish that…' Maya thought helplessly.

"Am I never going to be able to tell her how I truly feel about her? How much I love her? I know that my sin is unforgivable and this punishment fits me…but…but…isn't it a bit too cruel…? But I can't be selfish again…I just wish that…' Tatsuya thought to himself, agony and despair starting to fill him.

'I wish that we could be together forever!' They thought in unison, unaware that the other was thinking the exact same thing...

---Dark Abyss---

The light suddenly erupted; its intensity was so high that it looked as if it could blind you.

The silhouette of a floating figure hugging its knees with thick chains covering its body and binding it tightly appeared.

The figure slowly opened its eyes. Once its eyes had adjusted to the darkness around it, a slow smile began crept up its face.

The chains shattered and dispersed, as if it was never there to begin with. The figure stretched its body lazily.

With the tips of its lips curled up in a smile, and with its eyes dancing with glee, a soft, low laugh escaped its lips—filling the empty vastness.

"At last…finally…after being locked away for so long…I am free once again…!"

---REALITY Room---

Tatsuya slowly pulled away, breaking the kiss. He stared at Maya's puffy eyes and before giving her a smile. Maya gasped and her eyes widened as she stared at his smiling face. Surely…surely she had imagined the glistening, unshed tears on his eyes?

"We are connected by this ocean. We can...meet again..." Tatsuya whispered softly as he buried his head on her hair.

"But I don't want that! I don't want the Tatsuya of "This Side"! I want you! T-take me with you! Please take me with you, Tatsuya!" Maya begged, desperately clutching his shirt.

Tatsuya heaved a sigh, his arms tightening around her. "I love you…Maya…and I will always love you…always…"

Maya gasped again as she felt lightheaded and her sight slowly began to get blurred.

Her thoughts that were still dwelling on Tatsuya being, 'Tatsuya…together…forever…always…'

She faintly heard Tatsuya's voice telling her, "I'm sorry Maya…we'll see each other once again…one day…I promise…so until then…please be happy…and wait for me…"

"Yes…it's a promise…" She whispered weakly before she slowly closed her eyes and lost her consciousness.

Tatsuya smiled at her warmly as he caught her unconscious body and gently laid it on the floor. He took a few steps away from her, his eyes never straying from her unconscious face. When he was safely away from her, an invisible energy began to envelope him.

"Tatsuya...there's one thing I forgot to tell you..." Baofu said calmly. "There are good things even when you become an adult...just a few..."

Tatsuya smiled. "Yeah...I know..."

He looked from the now smiling Baofu, to an openly crying Ulala until his gaze landed on his brother, Katsuya.

"Everyone…please take care of Maya for me…"

The Tatsuya from the "Other Side" separated from the Tatsuya of "This Side's" body. He was floating in the air, a sad smile on his lips.

"Tatsuya...!" Katsuya shouted.

"Tatsuya...!" Ulala cried.

"Take care of yourselves…especially Maya…until we meet again my friends…" The Tatsuya from the "Other Side" said before he vanished and the Tatsuya from "This Side" fell on the floor, unconscious.

They stared at the unconscious boy on the floor, with Ulala crying on Baofu's shoulder.

"I'll carry Amano," Baofu offered.

Katsuya nodded gratefully and he slowly walked towards his brother's unconscious form. He bent down on one knee and gathered his little brother in his arms before standing up and facing his companions.

"Let's go back," Katsuya said quietly.

Baofu nodded and walked towards Maya, gingerly picking her up and walking back to his waiting comrades.

"I had sent Jun back. If you want, I can also send you back…" Philemon offered.

The three adults nodded solemnly. They would never forget what they had gone through together. They would never forget the pains they had experienced.

And they will never forget the burdens "he" had carried alone, his agony and sufferings as well as the sacrifices "he" had to endure on his own. And most especially, they would never forget his bravery and heroism—for he had saved not just them, but all of mankind.

Without a word, Philemon transported them back to their own reality, their own city. The city that Tatsuya had saved for the price of his own happiness.

---Dark Abyss---

"Hmm…interesting…" A smile appeared on the pale features.

"This should be fun."

Author's notes:

Hello everyone. It's me again. With another story. I'm sorry. I love this game too much. I hate the ending though. Believe it or not, I cried at the ending. Tears of frustration and sadness. So you can just imagine how hard it was for me to type this. It still saddens me, especially the fact that the available fanfics about this game is very limited. So I decided to write one. You should try the game, it's quite good. The effects and bonuses on the game are quite nice. Oh, and this story is based on the sequel to "Persona 2: Innocent Sin". I haven't played Innocent Sin yet; only the Japanese version is available since they didn't produce an American version of it. I wish they had, but it's not ATLUS's fault. I have read the translation script though. The story is wonderful, the plot amazing, it's really a shame I might never be able to play it. (sighs) Oh well, at least I have the "Persona 2: Eternal Punishment" game CD to console me. Life is so not fair!

Anyway, please leave a review so that I'll be able to know that there are people who are reading this story. I would really appreciate it. This is the prologue of the story, more like the recap really. I changed the lines a little, added a few of my own to fit the story's plot. Oh and this is a Tatsuya/Maya pairing. I just love those two. Hmm…what else? Oh, can you guess if that chained figure is a friend or a foe? Okay, before that, what is its gender? I shall wait for your guesses so please send them. Oh yeah, I edited this, plus the plot has been changed a bit. I read it again and my jaw dropped when I saw my grammar errors. You can rest assured that on the next chapters, I'll read whatever I type before I post it. (sweat drops) I was just too excited! Anyway, until next time! Jan ne, Buh-bye!