A/N: Hi, guys! I just wanted to thank everyone for all the faves, alerts, and reviews! I really appreciate it! :D I'll answer reviews at the end of the chapter. Okay, the awakening of our protagonists' personas are going to happen in this chapter! Are you excited? I hope you are, it took me forever to write that scene! It's was a bit of a challenge trying to figure out a way to have both of their personas awaken, when there was only one evoker! So, I hope I did an OK job. Also, I recommend that you listen to the P3 soundtrack while you read, it makes it feel as if you're playing the game! Well, please read and review!

Early Morning

Thursday

April 9, 2009

"Hey! Minato-kun, wake up!" Minako yells as she bangs on said boy's door. "Open the door!" She brings her fist down again, and nearly smacks the boy when he suddenly pulls the door open.

He raises an eye-brow, "What's up?" He asks.

Minako stares in shock, "How can you be so calm! Don't you remember what happened last night?" She leans in, "The Velvet Room, remember?" She says in a hushed tone.

"Yeah," Minato drawls out, "I remember. And?"

"And... don't you think it's weird? How the heck did we end up in that place?"

"Do you have that key Igor gave us?" He asks, and the girl shakes her head. "I don't either. So, maybe it was just a dream."

Minako tilts her head, "Well, maybe. But, it's kinda weird that we both had the same dream... Well, I guess we'll just leave it at that. No use trying to figure it out."

"Right. Now, we should get going before we're late." The two leave the dorm together, and enter the monorail.

When they exit the monorail, and make their way towards the school, Junpei meets up with them. The boy is smiling like a child on Christmas morning, "What's up, guys! Man, today is the perfect day!" He says cheerfully. "The sky is blue, we're young, what more could we ask for!"

"Whoa, Junpei. You're really happy this morning! Did something happen?" Minako asks, smiling at his excited behavior.

Junpei nods, "Dudes, listen to this... oh, wait! I'm not supposed to say anything... Sorry."

"He's a weirdo." Minato whispers to Minako, who agrees. "Totally." She says with a nod.

"H-Hey! You guys are talking 'bout me, huh?" A frown appears on Junpei's face, before it's replaced with another grin. "Awh, I'm too happy to be mad!" He exclaims. The bell soon rings, and the three head to class.

Morning

Classic Lit. - Mr. Ekoda

"Ahem," A teacher standing at the front of the class clears his throat, "I'm Mr. Ekoda. I'll be teaching you Classic Literature. I'll be teaching you about good old Japan all year. Some people say Classic Lit isn't relative to everyday life, but oh how they're wrong!" He says, though the students aren't listening.

Minato turns towards Minako's seat, only to see the girl sleeping on her note-book, out cold.

He sweat-drops, 'She probably didn't get any sleep because she was too busy thinking about the Velvet Room...' He thinks to himself, before turning his attention back to Ekoda.

"Hey, are you all listening to me? Wake up, children! Now, open your textbooks. First on our syllabus is 'Ise Monogatari,' the origin of Japanese literature. It's a very interesting story. You youngsters might call it, 'da bomb.'"

"Oh man, is this guy for real?" Junpei mutters to Minato, as the class begins to groan.

"Err, anyway..." Ekoda continues, and soon, the school day is over.

After School

"Minako, wake up." Minato says as he shakes the girl by the shoulders. "We've got to go back to the dorm."

The girl moans, and begins to stir. "Ugh... Minato-kun?"

"Yeah. You were out cold the whole day. Here," He holds out his hand to her. She was still groggy, and he didn't want her to fall if she tried to stand up on her own.

Minako takes his hand, "Thanks."

"Ooh! Holding hands, are we?" A voice behind them says, causing the two teens to blush and quickly drop their hands.

"Shut up, Junpei!" The ruby-eyed girl says, as she crosses her arms.

"What are you still doing here?" Minato asks the capped boy. It had taken him forever to wake up Minako, he thought Junpei would have been home by now.

"Well, I wanted to walk home with you guys!" He says with a smile.

"Oh, really? Okay, then." Minako smiles, and Minato agrees.

The two transfer students decide to walk home with Junpei.

On the way to the station, they pass by a flower shop, which catches Minako's eye. She quickly makes her way over to the shop, dragging the boys with her.

"Welcome to Rafflesia!" The shop owner says with a smile. "Oddly enough, we don't sell Rafflesias here. Trust me, you wouldn't want any..." She says, sticking her tongue out in disgust. "But, we do have roses, and daisies, and other flowers available! Please take a look!"

Minako's eyes brighten up at the mention of roses. "I love roses! They're my favorite!" She says as she quickly scans the stands for the flower.

"Uh, Mina-tan? Could you hurry it up? I don't want the ladies to see me in such a girly place..." Junpei says as he looks cautiously around him.

"Flower shops aren't just for girls, ya know!" Minako says, glaring at the boy. "Boys can like flowers too. In fact, girls like it if guys have a sensitive side to them."

"Really?" Junpei grins and grabs a rose, "Ya think I can score that girl over there by giving her this?" He makes his way to a girl browsing flowers in a corner, before he's pulled back by Minako.

"Are you crazy! You can't give a rose to someone you've never met!"

"Huh? Why not?"

"Because," Minako rolls her eyes, "Roses are a symbol of love, so you only give roses to the girl you love!"

Junpei places the rose back and frowns, "Man, who knew flowers could be so complicated!" He comments to Minato, who's busy listening to his music.

The ruby-eyed girl sighs, "Fine. Since you're in a bad mood, and you obviously prefer to listen to your music, we should just go home." She escorts the boys out of the shop, and they board the monorail.

After saying goodbye to Junpei, the two transfer students head into the dorm, where they retire into their rooms.

Dark Hour

Mitsuru and Yukari are busy watching the monitors, when Ikutsuki enters the room.

"How are they?" The older man asks as he takes a seat.

"The same as last night," Mitsuru replies.

Ikutsuki nods, "Hmm... very interesting. Even those who have the Potential tend to be unstable at first. Memory loss, disorientation... But, these subjects are rather unique. They haven't exhibited any of the common symptoms."

Yukari bits her lip, "But... We're treating them like guinea pigs."

"I understand your concern, but it's imperative that we recruit new members. I heard they're your classmates. Wouldn't you be more comfortable working with people from the same grade?" He asks.

The brunette looks down, "Yeah, I guess. But still..."

All of a sudden, a beeping noise comes from the computers.

Mitsuru pushes a button and leans into a microphone, "Command room... Is that you, Akihiko?" She asks.

Akihiko's voice fills the room, "You're not gonna believe this...! This thing is huge! Unfortunately, I don't have time to talk... It's chasing me. I wanted to let you guys know. I'm almost there." The transmission ends, and Yukari gasps.

"Does that mean... he's bringing that thing here?" She cries, as Mitsuru gets up from her seat, and turns to the Chairman.

"Mr. Chairman! Let's suspend our observation for now. We'll prepare for battle!"

The man nods, "R-right! Be careful!" The three then quickly rush downstairs, just as Akihiko is entering the dorm. The silver-head boy is grabbing his side, and he collapses onto the floor.

"Agh...!" He groans in pain, and Yukari rushes towards him.

"Senpai!" The brunette exclaims.

Akihiko winces, "I'm alright." His expression changes, "Get ready to be surprised... It'll be here any second."

Mitsuru frowns, "This is no time to joke around!"

Ikutsuki steps forward, "It's one of them, Akihiko?"

"Yes, but not an ordinary one-" He's cut off when the building shakes violently.

"Ah!" Yukari jumps in fear, "W-what the...! You've gotta be kidding me!"

"Mr. Chairman, please head for the command room! Takeba, go upstairs and wake them up! Then, escape out the back." Mitsuru orders.

Yukari hesitates, "But, what about you two?"

"We'll stop it here. You lead it to us, Akihiko, so I'm afraid you'll have to fight." The red-head replies.

Akihiko glares at her, "Like I had a choice!" He then turns to the brunette, "What are you waiting for, Yukari? Go!"

Yukari nods, "I-I'm going!"

xxx

Meanwhile

Minako is awaken by a loud noise, so she gets up to investigate. When she opens the door to her room, she notices that the hallway is completely dark. She can hear voices downstairs, and she was about to go see who it was, when the building shook.

"Ugh!" She cries, falling to her knees. "An earthquake?" She mutters to herself as she carefully gets up. She makes her way to the stairs, and uses the banister to steady herself, in case there was an after-shock.

'I should check on Minato-kun.' She thinks to herself, as she makes her way to his room. When she opens his door, she instantly sees Minato, who looks startled.

"Minato? Are you okay?" She asks the boy.

"Yeah, but what was that?"

"I thought it was an earthquake, but there wasn't any after-shocks."

All of a sudden, Yukari rushes into the room. "Good, you're both here." She sighs in relief, before her expression turns serious, "I don't have time to explain. We have to get out of here, now!"

"That wasn't an earthquake, was it?" Minako asks. The anxiety in Yukari's voice told her that something much more serious was going on.

The girl shakes her head, "Hurry! Downstairs! We'll leave through the back door!" She pauses, "Wait! Take these, just in case." She hands Minato a short sword, and gives Minako a Naginata.

The two teens are surprised, but they take the weapons anyway.

"Okay, let's go!" The three run out of the room, and descend the stairs. On the first floor, Yukari leads them to a back door.

"Alright, we should be safe now..." Yukari is cut off when her transmitter starts beeping.

"Takeba, do you read me?" Mitsuru's voice asks.

"Y-yes! I hear you!"

"Be careful! There's more than one enemy! The one we're fighting isn't the one Akihiko saw!" The transmission ends.

"What!" Yukari exclaims. All of a sudden, something pounds against the door, startling the teens.

"L-let's pull back!" The girl commands, and they head upstairs once again. On the second floor, they stop to calm themselves.

"What are we going to do...? They're downstairs! Do we have no choice but to go up?" Yukari mutters to herself.

"What are we going to do!" She repeats, and the two other teens turn to look at each other. They silently agree that the best thing to do is keep going up, even if they don't know what exactly it is they're running away from. Minato takes lead as he takes the girls up the next two floors.

On the fourth floor, the teens stop when they hear a crash come from downstairs.

"What was that?" It sounded as if something was climbing up the stairs! "It's getting closer!" Yukari yells, "Keeping moving, hurry!"

On the last floor, Yukari walks up to another door. "Oh, yeah! If we go out through here-!" She goes through the door, and the others have no choice but to follow her. They end up on the roof of the dorm.

Yukari turns and locks the door. "I think we're okay for now..." She sighs. However, her relief is short-lived when the building begins to shake again.

As they turn around, they see what looks like hands gripping the edge of the building. A lot of hands, to be exact. A hand holding a blue mask then pops up, and about a dozen swords as well.

The creature then climbs over the edge, and begins to advance towards them. "Those monsters... we call then shadows!" Yukari explains, before she grabs the gun strapped to her thigh, and places it against her forehead.

She breaths in, her finger against the trigger. 'I can do it...!' She thinks to herself, when all of a sudden the creature quickens it's pace, and charges her! Yukari loses her grip on her gun as she's thrown aside. The weapon flies through the air, before it lands next to Minato's feet.

Minato looks down and gazes at the gun, before a face flashes in his mind. It's the face of the boy who made him sign the contract. 'Go on...' The boys says with a smile.

xxx

After defeating their opponent, Mitsuru and Akihiko join the Chairman in the command room. Akihiko is busy at the computer, trying to locate the others. He checks all the cameras, and finally spots them on the roof.

"There!" He turns to Mitsuru, and they get up. They make their way to the door, but are stopped by Ikutsuki. "Wait!" He calls, and both teens turn back to the screens.

xxx

Back on the roof, Minato hesitantly picks up the gun. He recalls that Yukari pointed the gun at her head, so he does too. His hand is shaking, and he breaks out in a cold sweat, but he manages to place the gun to his head. Behind him, he can hear Minako's soft cries.

He lets out a shaky breath as he utters one word, "Per..so..na." With that said, he pulls the trigger.

The sound of glass shattering is heard, as a vortex of blue surrounds Minato. Minako lifts her arms up to protect herself from the sudden force, as Yukari lifts her head, and watches in surprise.

Above Minato, a creature begins to materialize before their eyes. The creature was pale blue, and to contrast it's snow white hair, it wore a dark red scarf around his neck. It also carried a lyre on it's back.

"Thou art I, and I am thou. From the sea of thy soul, I come. I am Orpheus, master of strings." The creature named Orpheus says, before it lets out a cry.

xxx

"As we suspected..." Mitsuru tells Akihiko and the Chairman, as they watch from the command room.

xxx

Minako couldn't believe her eyes! This thing, it came from Minato! "Minato-kun..." She whispers in awe. However, the blue-haired boy is able to hear it. When he hears her voice, a sharp pain goes off in his head, and he falls to his knees. The gun falls out of his hands as he reaches up to clutch his head in pain.

"Minato...!" Minako yells as she rushes forward. She crouches down next to him, but when she places her hands on his shoulders, she recoils, and she too clutches her head.

'Ugh! W-what is this strange surge of energy I'm getting?' Minako thinks as the pain begins to subside. She then hears something step in front of her. Looking up, she sees Orpheus, who's watching her intently. He removes his eyes from her only once, and that's to look at the gun laying at Minato's feet.

'Does it want me to... use it on myself...?' Minako carefully reaches for the gun and gingerly grabs it. She slowly places against her head, and looks up at Orpheus. He nods, silently urging her on.

She closes her eyes, and takes a deep breath. She then utters the same word she heard Minato say,"Persona..." She pulls the trigger, and the same glass shattering, blue vortex surrounds her.

"She has one too...!" Yukari exclaims, as a female version of Orpheus begins to materialize above Minako. This Orpheus was gold, had long brown hair, and a heart-shaped lyre. She wore a red scarf as well.

'Thou art I, and I am thou.' Minako's Orpheus says, before it turns to it's counter-part.

Both Orpheuses gaze at each other, before Minako's Orpheus merges into Minato's. Minato's persona then lets out another sharp cry, as something begins to emerge from it's head. The entity rips Orpheus apart into shreds. When it's fully visible, it let's out a screech, which sends another wave of pain in the heads' of the two transfer students.

This new entity has coffins chained on him, and he carries a long sword, which it uses as he begins to mercilessly attack the shadow. It crushes the shadow, and violently stabs it, until the it disappears in puff of black smoke. After it defeats the shadow, it reverts back into the two Orpheuses.

xxx

"What on earth was that?" Akihiko asks in astonishment, as both Mitsuru and Ikutsuki are at a loss for words.

xxx

Both Orpheuses return their owners, and disappear within them. All is quiet again, that is, until Yukari breaks the silence.

"Is it over...?" She asks, looking around. She gasps when she spots more shadows advancing towards them. Minato and Minako finally look up and spot them as well, and they quickly jump into action.

The two take their stances, the weapons Yukari gave them earlier, in their hands.

Minato attacks first, and since Minako has the gun, he can only use his sword. He runs up to the enemy, and lands a critical hit on it. "Hah!" He exclaims as he lands the finally blow on it.

The second shadow goes after Minako, and does a slash attack on her.

"Ugh...!" She cries, but quickly shakes it off. She points the gun at her head again, and shoots.

"Orpheus, bash!" She commands, as Orpheus appears and removes the lyre off it's back. It slams the instrument down on the shadow, instantly killing it.

The battle ends, and both teens feel a surge of energy inside them. But, as fast as that surge of energy came to them, it disappears, and both began feeling very weak. Their vision begins to get hazy, and they both fall unconscious.

Yukari gasps and rushes towards them. "Are you guys okay?" She asks, and begins to worry when she gets no response from either of them. "Come on, say something!"

Mitsuru and Akihiko come running up to her, "Are they alright?" The silver-head asks, and the brunette shakes her head.

"Can you hear me? Please... answer me!" Yukari tries again, but to no avail.

xxx

When Minato and Minako open their eyes, they find themselves in the Velvet Room again.

'So it wasn't a dream after all...' The blue-haired teen thinks to himself.

Igor smiles at them, "It's so nice to see you two again. You both became unconscious after awakening to your "power." ...It's nothing to worry about, though. So, just relax." He explains.

"By the way... I see that it was Orpheus that heeded both of your callings. That power is called a Persona. It's a manifestation of your psyche."

"Our psyche?" Minako questions, a confused look on her face.

"It may take some time to fully comprehend. A persona is a facet of your personality that surfaces as you react to external stimuli. You can think of it as a mask that protects you as you brave many hardships. That being said, your power is still weak..."

"What do you mean?" Minato asks this time.

"When you use your Persona ability, you must channel your inner strength. In your case, you two are each other's strength."

"Master Minako," Theo speaks up when he sees that the two teens still don't fully understand, "Do you remember that surge of energy you got when touched Master Minato, after he summoned his persona?"

The ruby-eyed girl nods.

"Well, since you are each other's strength, when you two connected, your powers amplified. It strengthened so much, that you both were able to feel the power, even though you had yet to summon your persona."

"Precisely. Alone, you are weak, but together, you make a dangerous combo." Igor says as he folds his hands.

"However, there may be times when you two are unable to merge your powers together. Which is why I will tell you of another way you can strengthen your powers. Your ability will evolve as you develop your Social Links – your emotional ties with others. The stronger your Social Links, the more powerful your Persona ability. Please, remember that."

"Now then... time marches on in your world. I shouldn't keep you here any longer. Next time we meet, you will come here of your own accord. Until then... farewell." The man says, as their vision becomes hazy again.

After School

Sunday

April 19, 2009

Minato stirs in his sleep, before his eyes slowly flutter open. He can feel his mind getting clearer, and he can also feel someone's gaze on him.

Upon opening his eyes, Minato hears someone in the room gasp. He slowly pushes himself up into a sitting position, and his eyes immediately land on Minako. She's laying on the bed across from his.

"You're awake!" She exclaims, a smile on her face. "How do you feel?"

The boy shrugs, "Okay, I guess. But, where are we?"

"A nurse told me that we're in Tatsumi Memorial Hospital. It's supposedly a short walk from the station... Anyway, the nurse also said that Yukari was here this morning, but left when she saw that are conditions hadn't changed. She said that Yukari usually comes to visit after school, so she should be here soon."

As if on cue, Yukari walks in, and instantly smiles when she notices that both had awaken.

"Thank goodness! You two finally came to!" She sighs, "How much sleep did you guys need? It's been a whole week! I was so worried about you two."

Yukari takes a seat on one of the chairs, "The doctor couldn't find anything wrong with either of you. He said you guys were just exhausted... But, you two just kept sleeping and sleeping. You know how worried I was!"

She looks down at her lap, "Um, I'm sorry I couldn't do anything... Even though I was supposed to protect you two, I..." She looks up, "But, your powers... they were amazing."

"What did we do?" Minako asks.

"The power you both used... we call it 'Persona.' And those creatures you defeated are shadows – our enemy. We'll explain everything later, I'm just sorry I didn't tell either of you before."

She gets up and folds her hands behind her back, "I uh, I wanted to tell you both that... I'm sorta like you guys."

"What do you mean?" The blue-haired boy asks her.

"My dad died in an accident when I was little... And my mom and I aren't exactly on good terms. You're both all alone too, right? To be honest, I already know about your guys' past. But, it didn't seem fair, so I wanted you to know about mine."

"It was back in '99. There was a big explosion in the area. Supposedly, my dad died in the blast, but nobody really knows what happened. He was working in a lab run by the Kirijo Group. So, I'm hoping that if I stick around long enough, I'll find out something. That's why I'm going to Gekkoukan High, and why I was there when this happened to you two."

"Of course, I panicked and wasn't much help. It was my first time fighting them, too." She frowns, "I'm sorry, none of you would have to go through all this if I wasn't such a coward..."

"It's not your fault." The two transfers students says simultaneously.

"Thanks, but still... And here I am telling you all this the minute you're both awake. While I was waiting, I thought to myself, 'I've been hiding so many things from them. As soon as they wake up, I'll tell them the truth.'" She smiles.

"So, thanks for listening. I've been wanting to share that story with someone for a long time. And now, I've told two people!" She gathers her things, "Alright, I'm gonna get going. I'll let the others know you both woke up. Bye!" Yukari waves, before she exits the room.

Minako bites her lip, "Um, Minato-kun? W-what did she mean by we're both all alone?"

The boy turns to her, "Oh, I never told you, huh? My parents... died when I was little. I have no family here, so I'm basically alone..."

The ruby-eyed girls frowns, "I-I'm sorry... I can relate, though. My parents passed away when I was just a kid too. And I don't have relatives either..."

A moment of silence passes between them, before Minako snaps her fingers, earning the boy's attention.

"Hey! Since we're both alone, why don't we be alone together? Err, actually, if we're together, then that means we wouldn't be alone anymore... Ah, you get my point!" She rubs the back of her head and smiles, "I guess what I'm trying to say is, would you like to be friends?"

Minato stares at her for a moment, before a small smile forms on his lips. "Sure, I'd like that..." He admits.

"R-really? Great! Then, I guess we're friends now!" She exclaims happily.

All of a sudden, a surge of energy begins to develop inside the two teens. When it passes, Minato looks up, "Did you feel that too?" He asks the girl, who nods.

"Yeah... Do you think that was what Igor was trying to tell us? About our power being stronger when we're together?"

The boy nods, "I think so..."

"Ya think every bond we make is going to give us a rush of energy like this?"

"Yeah. Igor said so himself, the stronger our social links are, the more powerful our persona ability."

"Hmm..." Minako hums, "You know, a lot has happened to us since we transferred here. Just thinking about everything makes my head hurt!" She rubs her temples, "I think I'm going to go back to sleep. You should too. We'll most likely be back on our feet by tomorrow morning, and we'll have to go back to school. We missed so much, we'll need all the rest we can get!"

She lays her head down on her pillow, "G'night!" She tells him, as she covers herself with her blankets.

"Night." Minato says, as he takes her advice, and falls back to sleep.

A/N: So yeah, I decided to make them both have Orpheus as their persona. I didn't want to change it. Also, that rush of energy that they got when they decided to be friends, that was the forming of their bond. Kinda like a social link, but since there's no arcana for them... I just made it where their bond strengthens their ability, they're stronger together. Everything will make since later, I promise!

~Review Replies~

Randomizedthoughts: Hi, thanks for the review! ^^ Uh-huh, I plan to write this story till the end! I hope you stick around! :D And I also hope you liked this chapter!

Kaizer23: Hello, thank you for the kind review! I'm really glad you liked the previous chapter, and I really do hope you like this one as well. Yeah, I've since a lot of Fan fictions where they made them relatives as well. I believe they look better as a couple, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion! Well, thanks again! :D

caramelmilktea: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked the last chapter. I made sure that I paid extra attention to my grammar, so I hope it's better this time! I also went back and edited the previous chapter. Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

Grey Soul: Hi, thanks for the review and for the alert! Yeah, I admit that I did kinda rush the beginning, sorry! ^^; I hope this chapter is better, and I also hope that the Magician shadow event was up to par with your expectations! Thanks again! :D