Well, this is a little bit more… unique. Hey, UknownHero here and welcome to the first chapter of Persona Zeroes! Yeah, I'm really pushing out these new fics, huh? Anyway, I thought up this idea while playing Persona Q and I've been around the Persona archive and it's just rehashes of Persona 3 or 4, which is starting to get a little boring. So, I asked myself, "Why not make your own?"
So… this is this fic.
This fic will use OCs as the main cast, though previous characters may have cameos.
Okay, let's do this.
New Game… Start!
Chapter 1: First Day Fears
(Igor has joined the Velvet Room)
(Julie has joined the Velvet Room)
Igor: Our new guest is arriving soon, Julie. Make sure he feels welcome.
Julie: Of course, but…
Igor: What is it?
Julie: This… isn't like any of the Velvet Rooms I've seen. Where's… the room part?
Igor: The Velvet Room has many forms, each one unique to each guest. It is a place between consciousness and subconsciousness. It can be anything, but it will always have the same purpose. To serve our guest so they may continue down their path. And this guest will not be like the others, so it will be appropriate for their Velvet Room to be not like the others.
Julie: I know that our next guest will be unique but still… it would be-
(The Fool has joined the Velvet Room)
Igor: Welcome to the Velvet Room.
The Fool: who r u what is this whats happening wait why am i a fool
Igor: Please use proper grammar and spelling in the Velvet Room. My name is Igor. I am delighted to make your acquaintance. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those who are bound by a "contract" may enter. It may be that such a fate awaits you in the near future.
The Fool: I don't remember signing a contract.
Julie: Well, you did at some point.
The Fool: And who are you?
Julie: I am Julie. I will be here whenever you need me. For you to be a guest here… you must be really unique.
The Fool: …How? What? My head hurts…
Julie: Be aware that new roads lie ahead, and from there you will see new faces and create new bonds who will guide you down these roads. Igor and I are thrilled to have you as a guest, and look forward to the journey you are about to embark on.
Igor: We shall discuss details at another time, but for now, farewell.
The Fool: What are you talking about? Why me? Why-
(The Fool has left the Velvet Room)
"BOO!"
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"Hahahahahaha! Man, seven years later and you're still the little scaredy cat I know." His sister laughed out. After recovering from the heart attack, he gave his older sister a quick glare before sighing. Today marked the first day of school in the town they had just moved in about a month ago, Ikemasen. It wasn't big, but they still needed to take the train to school,
'She had to go for the view…' He thought as he sighed as he looked at his big sister, 'We had to live halfway across town just for the view.'
"Aw… you know I was joking right?" His sister said as she rubbed his back, "I love you, little bro."
"Well, if you love me, how about not scaring your little brother out of bed every day." He was going to say, but it got caught in his throat and was only able to make choking sounds, causing his big sister to sigh,
"You really haven't over it, huh?" She muttered. It's been, what? Eight years since then? She sighed again and look at her little brother, "Yeah, eight years."
She sighed again. Almost a decade since that incident. For eight years she has been taking care of him, trying to get him to speak to other people, and generally trying to get him to get over his fear of bugs, heights, other girls, guys with creepy mustaches, other girls, mice, darkness, lamps, books, horror movies, other girls, comedy, milk, other girls…
Okay, to save some time, he had Panophobia/Pantophobia. The fear of everything.
Now, he wasn't afraid of everything… just most things. Hell, the only reason he wasn't suffering a panic attack right now was because he was with his sister. And she will always be by her sibling's side no matter what.
Take now for instance. He was 16, turning 17 next year. She was 18, turning 19 next week. Not even school, her education and the government will separate her from her precious little brother.
Speaking of school, they had arrived at their destination: Ike High.
"Come on, we're here." His big sister said as she grabbed their bags and got him off the train. He was shivering already and they haven't even seen another human being on the train. She sighed. She hoped getting there early would at least calm him down, but it seemed that it was going to be another long day for her.
She smiled at the prospect of that.
(Some time later)
He fidgeted around as he and his sister stood up in front of the class. He tried to focus on something, anything to force the fact that everyone was staring at him from his mind. Like his and his sister's uniform.
They both wore white, short-sleeve dress shirts with messily tied ties around their necks, his tie being much messier that his sister's. They also wore burgundy blazers over them, though he kept his unbuttoned unlike his sister. He focused his mind down to the lower parts of their bodies, with him wearing cream slacks and his sister wearing a black and green plaid skirt with black stockings to go with it. And finally, he finished off with their footwear. He hoped his plain black sneakers didn't violate the dress code while his sister wasn't worried, because it was either part of the dress code or, was more likely, she didn't care as she wore black boots to school.
"Okay class, if you aren't already aware, we have two new transfer whatever whatever, just introduce yourselves." Mr. Taidana of Class 2-1 said lazily before sleeping in his chair,
"You go first." His sister whispered into his ear. He started sweating now as he saw everyone staring at him. Judging him. Picking apart everything from his clean cut dark brown hair and his silver eyes. He could hear his heart beating louder and louder as he tried to say something, anything. Just to get these eyes off him!
'Stop staring. Stop staring!' He thought as he tried to speak, but nothing really came out. Finally, his sister had enough,
"Ugh! My name is Herupā Subete and this nervous wreck is my little brother, Osore! HOPE WE CAN ALL BE FRIENDS!" Herupā shouted out before fixing her glasses and dragging Osore to his seat, which was right next to her, "You really need to learn to stop being afraid of everything." Heru said as she played a little with her chocolate brown hair, which was tied up with a pony tail, "At least learn to speak normally. At least speak to me."
'But I can't.' Osore thought before jumping in his seat when Mr. Taidana before whimpering, causing the class to giggle at him. Osore didn't know how he was going to survive the year.
(After School)
"Well, we managed to stumble through that one, huh?" Heru said as they walked down the street. They had just gotten off the train a few minutes ago and had to walk the rest of the way home. While it would've been nice if their train arrived closer to their home, they were kinda happy that the way home included cutting through the shopping district. They were eating meat buns Osore bought (well, actually Heru bought them but he gave her the money) and were having one of their (in)famous one-sided conversations, "I mean, it has to be the first good first day in a long time. I knew this time I would get this right. Now, to get you over your fears." Osore nodded before noticing how low the sun was. He then started walking faster, "Oh it's getting late. We should hurry."
'Please do.' Osore thought as they picked up the pace. As soon as they got to the apartment, they kicked off their footwear, turned on the lights before separating and doing their own thing. There was one exception to Osore's fear of everything, and that was cooking. Well, it was more like he was afraid, but gathered up his courage and learned how to cook. After Heru's attempt at pie, he decided he was more scared of Heru's cooking ability than a kitchen knife. Anyway, Heru has jumped up on the couch and turned on the TV,
"And that was Chihiro Parker with the weather. In other news, another citizen has committed suicide making it a grand total of 6 suicides this week alone in Ikemasen. Ever since November of last year, suicide rates have been spiking dramatically and all of them seem to be happening at exactly midnight. It is unknown why the sudden spike in suicide rates, and psychologists have been baffled and scratching their heads wondering how this occurred. Multiple Anti-Suicide programs have been launched since, yet none have been successful in reducing rates. Kirijo Group CEO, Mitsuru Kirijo, has released a public statement today about the issue."
"Whoa, I didn't know there were so many suicides here…" Heru muttered as Osore gave her dinner, "Thanks." She said before turning up the volume as a red haired woman appeared on screen,
"All these deaths in Ikemasen over the year have gotten everyone in Japan worried but I assure you that we will be working every day of every hour until these suicides have been dealt with! From this day forth, we will be funding 23 projects that will ensure that suicide rates will be reduced. While I must be obligated to say this may not completely eradicate the problem, I am sure that one day we will!"
"BOO!"
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Osore screamed out as Heru laughed,
"Oh, that never gets old!" She said between laughs while wiping away her tears before noticing that Osore wasn't breathing heavily or clutching his chest.
For the first time in 8 years… he was angry.
"…You. Don't. Care?" Osore said slowly and he clenched his fists, "You… don't care… that… so many people… are… are…"
"Little brother, it was only a little prank. Anyway, it's not like we know these-"
*SLAP!*
He didn't know he had it in him, but it was there. And he had done it. After 8 years of her torment, this was where he drew the line, "You… you…" Osore struggled to speak, tears forming at the edges of his eyes,
"O-Osore…" Heru stuttered as she shakily stood up, "Please, don't-" She tried to reach out to him but he slapped her hand away,
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Osore shouted out before storming out of the apartment and into the night, leaving Heru alone. He wasn't afraid to go out in the middle of the night; his rage overpowered his fear of darkness. By the time he had calmed himself down it was almost midnight, which caused him to panic, "No no no no no…" Osore said as he froze in place. He was alone in the middle of the night, where anything can happen to him. Muggers, hobos, rapists. He needed his sister. No matter how much he hated her at the moment, he still needed her. And with that, he just started running towards the apartment.
Then, it struck midnight.
"No. No. NO!" Osore yelled out, not caring about waking people up. He was vulnerable, afraid and alone. He just wanted to see his sister. Cry into her arms, apologize, just something to help him. Then he froze as he remembered the spiking suicide rates.
Is she… going to…
"DON'T DIE!" Osore yelled out before collapsing onto the concrete beneath him, letting unconsciousness embrace him.
(3 hours later)
When Osore came to, he felt as though he didn't sleep at all. He wasn't tired or anything, it was more like he just closed his eyes for a few seconds. Before he could check the time, he realized he still in the middle of the street and was still pretty far from home. He could hear his heart beat faster as he got up and started running to the apartment building, not noticing the blood splattered around and the entire city gaining a green hue. When he finally arrived however, his heart stopped.
In front of him was a giant black dome where the apartment building should be.
He could feel fear emitting from it. Like, it was crushing his chest just by being near this dome of shadows. He wanted to run away. He wanted to crawl into a corner and cry. He wanted this entire dome to disappear so he could see his big sister again.
But… he didn't.
"I-I…" Osore muttered to himself as he took deep breaths, trying to calm himself down, "I-I can do t-th-this." In the back of his mind, he knew she needed something to protect himself if he was going to enter the thing. So, he looked around and spotted a large branch that had fallen off a tree. He quickly grabbed it and did a few swings. They were… pathetic, to say the least, but at least he could defend himself now. He walked up the dome of darkness and took a shuddering breath. He really didn't want to do this but his sister was in this thing, somewhere. He had to get her.
He was scared, but he wasn't going to let his fear control him.
Osore closed his eyes and stepped into the dome.
And fell.
For a really long time.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Osore yelled as he screamed all the way down before landing roughly on the ground, face first. Osore groaned as he got up and looked around, only to see darkness. He panicked quickly searched his pockets before finding his keys, which had a flashlight keychain on it. He turned it on, and saw that it was just a massive empty room with a light in the middle. The walls were pitch black, the floor was pitch black and in the centre was someone he couldn't recognize from the distance he was at. The light was on this person and the person seemed to be… crying, "Maybe, maybe this guy's one causing this." Osore muttered to himself before checking he still had his stick before heading towards the light.
That's when he first encountered them.
Out of nowhere, three… things popped out in from of him, causing him to back. They looked like black goop with masks on them, and they didn't look like they wanted to talk.
Osore started crawling at the sight of these things. He had no idea how to fight goo! He way too over his head! He knew this was a mistake! He looked up and saw that one of the them were going to attack him.
"Heru… I'm sorry…" Osore whispered before bracing himself.
Then, he heard a voice.
I am thou… and thou art I…
From the sea of thy soul, I come…
"I am thou…" Osore said as he slowly stood up, "And thou art I…" He raised his right arm as something started forming in his fist, "From the sea of my soul, you come…"
I am Phobos…
And I am the one that you should only be afraid of…
"PERSONA!" Osore yelled out before crushing the thing in his fist and throwing it into the air, the shards of the item glowing green before it start forming Osore's Persona.
It was a large, young man with light green skin with a lion with glowing green eyes for a head, wearing a chest plate and greaves, holding a lantern in his left hand and a two-handed sword in his right.
Now, Osore would've probably fainted or wet his pants at the sight of this… thing, but for some reason, he felt safe. Like…
He wasn't afraid anymore.
He looked at the Cowardly Maya and smiled before raising his hand, "Mudo." He said, before Phobos charged at the three monsters. It shot from it's lantern a ball of dark energy at one of them. The Cowardly Maya got hit and was instantly destroyed. The other Cowardly Mayas could only look as one of them were eliminated, but didn't have time as Osore charged in, stick in hand,
"Buchikamashi!" He yelled, ignoring the pain as he bashed a Maya as hard as he could before dodging an attack from the other one. He quickly countered before finishing off. He looked at Phobos and smiled. He guessed he smiled back before transforming back into the item that summoned him. It looked like a key and it had a mask on it. "A key?" Osore muttered to himself before shrugging and putting the key into his pocket, 'Oh well, it lets me get Phobos out and I'm not…' He froze in place as he realized something.
What the hell did he just do?
Well, it didn't matter now. He needed to save his sister. So he just ran as fast as he could, hoping that she was unharmed.
(Some time later)
Osore was still walking towards the light, yet it never seemed to get close. He encountered more of those monsters and he started getting used to having Phobos around and the whole Persona thing, despite not knowing much about it. Although he was still afraid, he started getting used to the darkness around him as long as he had his flashlight on his person.
"I wonder why a key out of all things though." Osore said out loud as he pulled it out. Whatever it was, he had a feeling this wasn't going to be a onetime thing,
"O-Osore…" He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Heru calling out for him,
"Heru, I'm here. Where-"
"P-Please… don't leave… I don't wanna be alone…" Osore could now hear her sniffling and crying, "I don't wanna be alone…"
"Herupā!" Osore called out, "Herupā! Big sis! I'm here! Where are you!?"
"O-Osore, don't leave me…" Osore looked and saw that Heru was the one in the spotlight. He was about to run and get her until he noticed something really worrying.
Dark liquid was coming out of Heru's back and was forming the black dome.
"He-Heru, what's that stuff coming from your-"
"O-Osore?" Heru looked up from her fetal position and looked around, "Osore, are you there?"
"I'm here!" Osore called out, finally reaching the spotlight. He was about to touch Heru's shoulder, only to be blow away by some sort of force, "Ow…"
"Who are am I kidding? He's gone…" Heru said as she slumped back, "He's never gonna come back… after all I did…"
"Hm?" Osore groaned as he got up, 'What did you do?'
"I-I flunked my exams just so I c-could be with him at school, I keep scaring him just so he'd stay with me forever, I threatened people who even got near him and all I'm doing is delaying the inevitable!" Heru cried out, "All be-b-because I-I-I don't wanna be alone! I DESERVE TO DIE!" Suddenly, a cage formed around Heru as the ground started to shake,
"Heru…" Osore whispered before a large Shadow started to form around Heru's cage. He slowly started backing away as it took form. It seemed to look like carbon copy of Phobos, except completely black and holding Heru's cage instead of a lantern and wielded an axe instead of a sword. In the back of his mind, he only heard a name, "Shadow Deimos." Osore muttered. He pulled out the key and looked at it before crushing it, "Heru… you're not alone." He said, hoping she could hear him before throwing the shards into the air, "Let's do this Phobos!" He called out as he summoned his Persona, "Mudo!" Phobos nodded before shooting balls of dark energy at it. It didn't even flinch as it tanks it, not even looking worse for wear. He decided to go for broke and hit it with his stick. He rushed up and took a swing at it, only for it to dodge and counter by clawing at him. He braced for the attack, only for Phobos to shield him before the claw reached him, 'I can't beat this thing alone.' Osore thought as he stumbled out of the way of another attack, "Heru! Come on! I know you can hear me!" Osore shouted out, "Help me!"
"I'm going to die alone… I'm going to die alone…" Heru kept chanting out,
"Snap out of it!" Osore yelled out before performing Cleave, but the attack bounced off, "Damn it, what am I supposed to do?" He started hyperventilating as he felt the air starting to suffocate him. The energy emitting from Shadow Deimos was crushing his lungs and it was growing more powerful by the second by the second, "Heru, you aren't alone! Just listen to me!"
"Please… leave me alone…" Osore started to panic. Nothing seemed to be working. Phobos was doing his best to hold off Shadow Deimos but he was starting to lose. He felt weak. He couldn't do anything to save his sister. He… he… he…
He didn't want to be alone.
"…I understand…" Osore said, struggling to get up, "What it means to be alone."
"NO YOU DON'T!" Heru yelled out. Osore quickly braced himself as he was blown away by a force,
"Yes I do!" Osore retorted, now standing up, "The empty feeling left behind... when they're not with you… it hurts." Osore covered his ears as he heard Shadow Deimos yell out in pain, "But you're never alone, you have friends, right?"
"N-No…" Heru admitted, her tone becoming calmer and less frantic. Shadow Deimos screamed out in pain as the darkness started to melt off it. Osore saw that his key was glowing green now, but it was faint,
'I need to make it stronger.' Osore thought as he continued, "Even if I'm not with you, I'll stay by your side. No matter what!" Shadow Deimos' screams were starting to become quieter as it became weaker, "You're not alone, so don't be afraid!"
"I-I'm not alone…" Heru whispered to herself before looking up and seeing her little brother holding out his arm. Her eyes widened before she got up and ran towards him, not caring about the cage as she fazed through it, "OSORE!" Heru called before jumping into his arms,
"Don't be afraid, I'll stay by your side until the end." Osore whispered into her ear. They let go of each other when they heard Shadow Deimos cry out in pain. It looked like it was about to kneel over. Osore had to finish this now, "Let's end this." Osore muttered to himself as he and Heru walked up to the weak Shadow, stick in hand as he listened to the voice inside his head.
Your fears are my fears.
Your problems are my problems.
As underneath it all, we're all cowards.
And the first step in conquering your fear…
"Is to realize you're never alone in this world." Osore & Heru finished off before Osore finished it off with Buchikamashi. Suddenly, something started to form in front of Heru as light started to pour into the place. When it finished forming, Heru realized it was it was a marble as Osore took out the key. They saw Shadows closing in to their position in an attempt to keep the dome up. Osore and Heru looked at each other before crushing their items.
"PERSONA!" And with that, they unleashed Phobos & Deimos.
Brother & sister.
The Fool & the Devil.
(The Next Day)
"…Thank you." Heru said as they walked to the train station. They had both fallen unconscious when the dome fell after they had fought off the monsters. When they woke up, they found themselves in the apartment. They hoped it was a dream, but that shattered when they saw that the key and marble had turned in necklaces for them. They were silent the entire time they got themselves ready, just processing what had happened last night. It was crazy really, but the silence was driving Herupā nuts, "For… stuff, I guess."
"I-I-It's f-f-f-fine." Osore stuttered out. Heru giggled at little at his speech pattern,
"Well, it's a definite improvement. Maybe we can work on full sentences next time."
"Y-You n-ne-n-never g-g-go-go through w-w-wi-wit-w-with i-it t-th-t-though." Osore muttered,
"Well now I am!" Heru proudly declared, "From this day forth, your big sis gonna make a man outta you!"
'That's gonna go well…' Osore thought as they stepped onto the train, "P-Promise?" Osore asked as he held out his hand,
"Oh, it is so a promise." Heru replied as they shook hands.
*SHATTER!*
I am thou… and thou art I…
Thou hast established a new bond…
It brings thee closer to overcoming the obstacles that block your way…
Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas
of the Devil Arcana.
Osore looked at the key hidden underneath his dress shirt and he knew what he had to do next.
But first, he really needed a phone.
Save Game… Quit!
(Character Profiles)
Name: Osore N. Subete
Gender: Male
Age: 16
Arcana: Fool
Initial Persona: Phobos (A young, light green man with the head of a lion, clad in armour and holding a lantern in his left and a two-handed sword on his right.)
Weapon & Light: One-handed weapons and various light sources (Starts with keychain flashlight)
Skilled In: Dark & Bash/Cut
Afraid of: Various
Charm: Velvet Room Key
Profile: After an unfortunate incident, Osore N. Subete has been afraid of practically everything. From bugs to heights, he spent 8 years too afraid to even talk. But when his back is against the wall, he will get over his fears to help his friends and fight to save people. If he ever gains any friends, that is…
Name: Herupā N. Subete
Relation to The Fool: Older Sibling
Gender: Female
Age: 19
Arcana: Devil
Initial Persona: Deimos (A young woman with similarities to Phobos but has a head of a lioness and wields an axe instead.)
Weapon & Light: Guitars and a flashlight
Skilled In: Fire & Cut
Afraid of: Being alone for the rest of her life
Charm: Marble
Profile: After an unfortunate incident 8 years ago, Herupā N. Subete (or Heru) has been taking care of her little brother ever since. Fearing that once Osore gets over his fears and leaves, she actively pulls pranks on him and scares him in order to keep him around for longer, but knows some day she will be alone. She even deliberately sabotaged her grades in order to be closer to her sibling. After getting over her fear, she aims to cure Osore of his crippling phobia.
(Terms)
VelvetRoomDotExe: Osore's version of the Velvet Room, it allows him to access the Velvet Room at anytime, anywhere from his laptop or phone. VelvetRoomDotExe is a chat room, allowing Osore to communicate with Igor and his resident, Julie, as well as fuse and manage his Personas and check out the Compendium. To others, it looks like he's playing a game or texting a friend. It still requires a key to access it though.
Charms: How the Osore and Herupā summon their Personas. These charms represent the users' biggest fear. By crushing it and throwing it into the wind, it shows that they've conquered their phobia and they are willing to face it and turn it into strength, drawing out their Persona from the sea of their soul. The exception is Osore's charm, which is powered by his overwhelming fear of everything, but is able to draw out his Persona because he doesn't let his fears get in the way of his destiny.
Whew! Done! This probably sucks but whatever. But, I'm stuck on other characters. If you're interested, send me a Character Profile either wither through PM or reviews. All submissions will be taken under consideration. See ya whenever!
UknownHero signing off, my friends!