Hello, and welcome to another chapter of Persona Zeroes! Eh, I got bored and I don't feel like doing any of my other fics. Now, the whole Character Profile thing is still up so if you have an idea for an OC, PM me or put it into the reviews. Okay, are we set? Let's go!
Load Game… Start!
Chapter 2: Being Myself
(The Fool has joined the Velvet Room)
Igor: Welcome to the Velvet Room. How will we be of service?
The Fool: Just a quick question. What the hell just happened? I was talking to my sister and then… what does it mean?
Julie: You have established a special bond with your sister. You can now create and use Personas of the Devil Arcana.
The Fool: And that's good because…
Igor: You have the Fool Arcana. The number zero. Empty, yet filled with infinite possibilities. Because of that, you have the power of the Wild Card, the ability to use multiple Personas. As you strengthen your bonds, you strengthen the Persona of that Arcana.
The Fool: Wait, I have to… interact with people?
Julie: Yes, why? Is that a problem?
The Fool: …
(The Fool has left the Velvet Room)
'This is gonna suck.' Osore thought as Heru took out her guitar, 'And this is not going to work at all.'
"Osore, this is for your own good." Heru said as she tuned her guitar,
"H-H-How i-is-i-is f-f-f-fo-forming a sc-sc-s-school b-b-band g-g-go-going to h-h-h-help?" Osore asked, nervously staring at the bass in his hands. It was a week since Heru unlocked her Persona and they've been trying to figure out how they were supposed to use them. Right now, they were just running around, blind, with no idea what to do. Anyway, right now, Heru managed to convince a teacher to let them use an empty room after school for a club they were forming. Osore wondered how she managed but he learned it was best not to ask,
"One, we need to make friends and fast. I don't want a repeat of that dark place again." Heru explained as she played a note, "Two, I always wanted to play in a band but I was too busy taking care of you to really go out and find one or make one myself until today. And three, this will force social interaction with our bandmates and you need that interaction. I don't want you to be a scaredy cat forever. We made a promise."
"Y-Y-Y-Yeah, bu-but-" Osore paused as he remembered what Igor had said about Social Links and thought about it. He didn't really fully understand what Igor had told him, but all he knew was that he needed friends to strengthen his Personas. Despite the fact that he had zero social skills. He sighed in defeat. This was gonna blow, "F-F-Fine…"
"Sweet! Now, who do we want in our band?" Heru muttered to herself, "And what do we call ourselves?" They thought about for a few seconds before Heru got fed up with it, "Oh, whatever, we can work on it tomorrow, right? Come on, let's pack it up. We're gonna be late for the train."
"O-Okay." Osore muttered before gathering up his stuff. On the way to the train station, he started thinking about how they were supposed to get more people into their band. If they were really going to do this, Osore wasn't planning on slacking. Not after that night with their Personas, "Don't be afraid, Osore." He whispered to himself before looking up at the setting sun, "Be brave for once in your life."
(The Next Day)
"So this is one of Kirijo's Anti-Suicide programs, huh? A freaking phone?" Heru muttered to herself. It was strange. When she and Osore arrived at school, they were given smartphones for free by representatives of Kirijo Group. They had told them (while Osore was hiding behind his sister) that by giving students something that will help manage their lives, it could reduce suicide rates by a significant amount. Heru couldn't help but find it strange, but it made sense to her and free stuff was free stuff, "Not that I'm complaining. Hey, what do you think about these thing, Osore?" No response, "Osore?" Heru turned her head to see her sibling staring at the phone, "Uh… bro?"
"H-H-Hey, d-d-d-do y-yo-y-you h-h-ha-have s-s-something c-c-called V-V-V-VelvetRoom on y-y-yours?" Osore asked. Heru raised one of her eyebrows and looked at Osore's phone,
"I don't have an app called that. Why do you ask?" Heru replied. Osore sighed before shutting off his phone,
"N-Nothing." He murmured before noticing that there was a crowd blocking their way to class, "Oh no…"
"Oh my god, this guy…" Heru groaned. Emerging from the crowd of girls, covered in lipstick and claw marks was their classmate, his platinum blonde hair messy, and his pale skin unblemished and having an expression that said 'Yes, I am the reincarnation of Johnny Depp' was Kiken'na Koibito. The Dangerous Lover.
No one knew why he was called the Dangerous Lover, but the ladies loved him so it really didn't matter.
"Oh, the Subete Siblings. Nice to meet you on such a fine morning. I see you've gotten yourselves the phones being given out by Kirijo." Koibito said as he walked up to the siblings, "Why don't we all hang out some time? I'll give you my number." Osore whimpered as Koibito approached them,
"How about no." Heru answered coldly. It was only a week but by the end of that week, it was firmly established that Heru & Koibito weren't going to be friends any time soon, "We're a little too busy not giving a crap about you."
"DON'T YOU TALK TO KOIBITO-KUN LIKE THAT!" A girl from the crowd shouted out as the other girls yelled out in agreement,
"He's my classmate! I can speak to him however I want to!" Heru called back before shaking her head, "Speaking of class, tell those girls to get lost. Classes are starting soon."
"That's not what Sapōto-chan says." Koibito said smugly, causing Heru to look confused,
"'Sapōto-chan'? Who the hell is Sapōto?"
"That would be me!"
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Osore screamed out in terror as he almost dropped his phone. On his screen was a 14 year old girl with pink hair, green eyes and wearing a pink blouse and a dark green skirt with pixie wings on her back, "H-HUH!?"
"What. The Hell." Heru said as she stared at Osore's phone screen, "What do these people think we are?"
"I am the Specialized Assistant & Personnel Operator of Tomorrow!" The A.I. introduced herself, "Call me Sapōto-chan! I was created by Kirijo Group to ease the burdens of every day school life and make people happy! I'm completely customizable so don't be afraid to play around with me! I can even be Sapōto-kun! I hope we'll be best friends forever!" This… really creeped out the Subete Siblings and made them wonder what was going through the head of whoever created Sapōto-chan,
"As you can see, Sapōto-chan helps with my busy schedule so how about we try and work out our differences?" Koibito offered. Heru scowled at him,
"How about you get lost and go-"
"O-Okay." Osore replied,
"WHAT!?" Heru & Koibito exclaimed. Both were surprised that Osore did that,
"W-W-We'll t-tr-t-tr-try." Osore said as he held out his hand, "D-D-D-Does su-s-su-s-s-sushi af-a-a-after sc-s-school s-s-s-sound g-g-g-good?"
"S-Sure." Koibito replied as he shook Osore's hand,
"Sushi with Koibito has been scheduled. I'll alert you 30 minutes before you have to go." Osore's Sapōto-chan said,
"Alert! Class is starting in 30 seconds! You better hurry before you're late!" Koibito's Sapōto-chan warned. The crowd of girls dispersed to get their classes before they got in trouble,
"Let's just go." Heru grumbled before she dragged the two boys to class. As Osore was being dragged, he realized something.
Was this a potential Social Link?
(After School)
It was pretty quiet at the sushi place Osore picked as they silently ate their food. All of them wanted to leave, but outside forces were keeping them together. It was really awkward, "So… I heard you guys are forming a Light Music Club or something, right? Do you think I can join?" Koibito spoke up, trying to alleviate the silence,
"If you join, I'll make sure you won't have children." Heru calmly threatened before silence returned,
"I-I-I-I-" Osore tried to say something, but ended up dying in his throat. He was afraid he might make the situation worse or something. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife, 'Oh boy.'
"Look, I don't what you're trying to do, but I don't care." Heru stated, "So, what do you want? You want me to be your girlfriend? Because you really need to work on your act."
"My act?" Koibitio said, looking rather nervous,
"Yeah, your stupid act." Heru said before chuckling, "I mean for God's sake, it's so painfully obvious that your act is so fake!" The word seemed to echo around the place as people started to look at them. Osore sunk down under the table as he felt the looks on them,
'Welp, there goes a Social Link… I think.' Osore thought under the table, trying to forget the stares, 'I don't what I'm doing…'
"Hey, he's gone." Heru told her little brother. Osore poked his head out and saw that Koibito didn't even finish his sushi,
"Wh-w-w-wh-w-where d-d-di-did h-h-h-he g-g-g-go?" Osore asked,
"Dunno. Just ran off." Heru said before she started eating Koibito's sushi. Osore just gave Heru a scolding look, "What? I'm paying, so I may as well eat. Want some?" Osore thought about it before he shrugged and joined her. There was no point in letting food go to waste after all.
(10:00pm)
"T-Th-That wa-w-wa-was pr-p-pre-p-pretty ha-h-har-h-harsh b-b-b-back th-t-th-there, H-H-Heru." Osore said as he shut off his phone and looked for his flashlight,
"Hey, I was only telling the truth." Heru said as she used duct tape to attach her flashlight to the neck of the guitar, "There's something up with him. I know it."
"St-St-S-Still…" Osore said before switching the old batteries in his flashlight for new, fresh ones, "W-W-Whatever. L-L-Let's…" Osore took a deep breath before putting on a determined face, "Let's do this."
"You know the whole Persona thing was a onetime thing." Heru said. They've gone out and tried to summon their Personas but haven't been having much luck. If anyone noticed them, they would've seen two teenagers calling out "Persona!" and trying to crush a key and a marble with their bare hands, and failing completely,
"We have to try." Osore said before they headed out.
(11:59pm)
"Come on, Phobos." Osore grumbled, "Do your… thing… whatever, ugh…"
"Maybe we should just give up." Heru said as she sighed, "We should get to sleep soon. I'm planning to hold auditions for a drummer, a keyboardist, a…" Suddenly, the clock hit midnight as they saw a large black dome appear in the distance. As well as several others, "Oh…"
"Anomalies detected! Number of anomalies detected: Four!"
"WHAT THE-" Osore screamed out as he looked for the source before pulling out the new smartphone and saw that Sapoto-chan was on the screen with a serious look on her face, "Huh?"
"Wait! Sapōto-chan!? Anomalies? What!?" Heru exclaimed,
"Anomalies are disappearing in one minute!"
"Wait, hold on, what's happening!?" Heru shouted out,
"I don't know but I think we should head over to one of them! I think we can summon our Personas there!" Osore said,
"How do you know?" Heru asked,
"I don't. Now RUN!" And with that, he and Heru dashed towards the nearest black dome,
"30 seconds remaining before anomalies disappear!" Sapōto-chan stated,
"Come on. COME ON!" Osore said to himself as he tried to speed up,
"10 seconds until anomalies disappear!"
"We're not gonna make it!" Heru called out,
"Yes we can!" Osore called back before focusing on the black dome, "We can make it, we can do this!"
"9… 8… 7…"
'We can make it, we can make it…' Osore chanted in his head as just kept running, unable to think of something else,
"6… 5… 4…"
'No…' Osore thought as he started breathing heavily, 'No… don't!'
"Three!"
"No…" Osore said quietly as he started to slow down,
"Two!"
"No…!" Osore growled, not noticing himself glowing green,
"One!"
"STOP!" Osore yelled out. That was the last thing Osore remembered before he blacked out.
(12:00am)
"Ugh…" Osore groaned as he sat up. He didn't have a time to check his surroundings as he was hugged by Heru, "What?"
"O-Osore…" Heru sobbed out as she cried into his shoulder, "D-D-D-D-Don't scare me l-l-l-like that…" That's when Osore noticed that Heru was shaking like a leaf,
"Heru, what's-" Osore cut himself off as he noticed the blood splattered everywhere and everything around them had a green hue. The Subete Siblings held onto each other as they tried to figure out what had happened, "Wh-Wh-Wh-Wha-"
"I don't know. I don't know. You just glowed then the world became green and… oh god…" Heru managed to say while hyperventilating, "Don't let go. Please don't let go…" Osore whimpered and nodded before they awkwardly shuffled their way over to the nearest black dome. It took them quite a while but they made it eventually,
"Reboot complete! Scanning area." The siblings jumped a little when they heard Sapōto-chan before sighing in relief, "Complete. Huh? What? How did this happen?"
"W-What?" Osore said as he pulled out his phone, "What is it?"
"Why is the Dark Hour happening? I thought the Shadow Operatives…" Sapōto-chan muttered to herself before shaking her head noticing the siblings looking at her, "Oh! Persona Users detected! Updating to Navigation Mode."
"Seriously, what the hell is happening?" Heru groaned as Sapōto-chan updated, "I mean, it's not even two weeks…"
"Hi Persona User! I am the Specialized Anti-Shadow Program of Tomorrow! You can still call me Sapōto-chan, but now that I know you wield a Persona, my job is to help you take down the Spacious Cages that cover Ikemasen and provide information on the adversaries you are sure to face." Sapōto-chan said,
"…I am so confused right now." Osore admitted,
"Hold on, you said 'Spacious Cages'." Heru said before looking at the dome, "Do you mean this thing?"
"That's right." Sapōto-chan said, "Spacious Cages are created by someone's overwhelming fear. Non-Persona users cannot see them. If they aren't able to get over their fear within the time limit, or a Shadow attacks them, they commit suicide on the spot."
"A-A-And… h-h-how long i-i-i-is th-t-th-the t-ti-time lim-li-l-limit?" Heru nervously asked,
"Well, Spacious Cages only appear at midnight. Once it's not midnight, it disappears."
"That means…"
"We only have one minute to take down these Cage things." Osore finished as they started sweating profusely,
"I was so close to killing myself." Heru muttered quietly before realizing something, "Wait, so these things are the reason for the high suicide rates?" Heru asked,
"Yes. Though, it looks like the Dark Hour extends it. And it seems one of you were able to trigger it." Sapōto-chan said before muttering to herself, "I should send report on this to the CEO." Osore wanted to ask more questions, like what this 'Dark Hour' was, but decided to hold back. They were wasting time, and they needed to save whoever was in this Spacious Cage,
"Well, let's go." Osore said as he got out his stick and was about step into the Spacious Cage, "If we hurry, we can save all of these people."
"Hold on, before you go. Think about this. Time in Spacious Cages moves much, much slower than out here. One hour in there is five hours out here. I'm afraid that you can only save one person tonight." Sapōto-chan said sadly, "Choose wisely, as the others will not make it to morning."
"Shit…" Osore swore, "Oh shit…"
"Is there any other way?" Heru asked as she tried to stop Osore from experiencing a panic attack,
"We do have Shadow Operatives here but they were always too late to enter the Spacious Cages and save them, and I doubt any of them are nearby." Sapōto-chan explained, "I'm sorry, but the choice is in your hands." Heru growled in frustration as she and Osore looked around. The next nearest Spacious Cage was a few blocks from where they were but the others needed vehicles to get to,
"What do we do…" Heru groaned as she sat down on the ground, "We don't even know who's in these things! How are we gonna choose." Osore started thinking about it before looking up at the Spacious Cage in front of them,
"W-What are w-we-we waiting for?" Osore whispered to himself, "It's either we save someone or we save none."
"So… we're choosing this?" Heru said. Osore nodded as he looked around to find a better weapon than his stick. He managed to find a rusty steel pipe and some cloth to hopefully protect him from getting tetanus. The siblings looked at each other and the other Spacious Cages. There was no going back after this, "R-Ready?"
"Ready." Osore said as he took a deep breath to calm himself down. He took one more look at his older sister, both knowing they were deathly afraid. With one last breath, the stepped into the Cage and fell,
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" They yelled as they fell, but it was less out of fear and more out of adrenaline. Pulling out their Charms, they yelled out the only word in their heads before crushing their charms,
"PERSONA!"
(20 Hours Until "Dark Hour" Ends)
"Thanks Deimos." Heru told her Persona. She nodded before transforming back into a marble. The siblings looked around and saw nothing, "Wow, this place is dark." Heru muttered before getting out her guitar and turning on the flashlight, with Osore doing the same, only to freak out when they saw themselves, warped and distorted, "WHAT THE HELL!?" Heru screamed out as they tried to catch their breath. Once they calmed down, they noticed that it was just a mirror on a wall. In fact, there were a lot of mirrors on the wall. There were so many mirrors that they couldn't even see the wall. But for some reason, it wasn't reflecting the light coming from their flashlights, "What?"
"Look at this…" Osore muttered as shined his light around. It seemed like each mirror was unique, distorting their images in some way, "I-It looks l-li-like…"
"Crap, we're in a maze of mirrors." Heru groaned, "Well, no turning back now." Osore pulled out his phone and turned it on,
"Sapōto-chan, do you t-think you can find o-our guy?" Osore asked,
"Well, from the few we managed to save, we figured out that usually the person is at the center of the Spacious Cage." Sapōto-chan informed, "I suggest you hurry. I don't know how much time you have until the Dark Hour ends. I'll scan for enemies in the area, and I'll do my best to provide information and support. Please, be careful." Osore nodded before putting away his phone. The two had started walking around, not really sure where the center was. It was really creepy with all the mirrors, and Osore was feeling scared, but they kept pushing in hopes of saving the person from him/herself. They were also feeling paranoid, anticipating an encounter with a Shadow,
"How big is this place?" Heru muttered, "And why a mirror maze out of all things? It could've easily been-"
"Alert! Shadows incoming!" Sapōto-chan called out, freaking the siblings out,
"Wah! Where are they!?" Osore shouted out as they frantically searched for them with their flashlights,
"Osore, BEHIND YOU!" Heru yelled out as she started to swing her guitar, "GURENTOU!"
"AH!" Osore yelled in panic as he ducked under Heru's attack, which missed, before they both backed away from the Shadows,
"There are three Shadows here, all unidentified! Naming Shadows. Lying Hablerie and Cowardly Maya recorded in Enemy List. Scanning… complete! Enemies encountered: 1 Lying Hablerie and 2 Cowardly Mayas. They aren't the biggest threats but be careful." Sapōto-chan informed,
"Why is there a giant mouth here!?" Heru whined before she and Osore pulled out their Charms, "Deimos, Agi!" She yelled out as she crushed her Charm and threw the shards into the air. Deimos quickly formed from the shards and shot a fireball, hitting a Cowardly Maya. It seemed to hurt a lot,
"New data stored! This Shadow type is weak to Fire! Turn the heat up!"
"M-My turn!" Osore called out as he charged towards the Shadows, "Buchikamashi!" He yelled out as he hit the Lying Hablerie in the… mouth. It yelled out in extreme pain from the attack. He didn't notice the other Cowardly Maya behind him, getting ready to attack,
"Watch out!" Heru exclaimed before jumping in the way of a Cowardly Maya and blocked the attack, "DON'T MESS WITH MY BROTHER!" She yelled out as she Cleaved through the Shadow, destroying it instantly, "Woo! Who's next!?" Suddenly she heard a Shadow yell out in pain behind her. She turned around and saw that Osore has destroyed the Lying Hablerie, leaving only a weak Cowardly Maya left. It was quickly dispatched by Osore with a quick Buchikamashi, "Thanks." Osore just rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged,
"W-We need to h-hurry." Osore said before the continued to walking through the maze. Heru nodded before following him, playing her guitar along the way.
(6 Hours Until the "Dark Hour" Ends)
"This should help!" Heru called out as she summoned her Persona before playing a quick song on her guitar, "Rakunda!" Osore saw that a Shadow had become vulnerable thanks to Heru's song and quickly took advantage of it and destroyed it,
"All enemies eliminated!" Sapōto-chan informed them. The sibling sighed in relief as they turned their Personas back into their Charms,
"How long have we been here?" Heru said as she stretched her muscles, "Heck, are we even any close to the middle yet, Sapōto-chan?"
"Sorry, but I'm just as lost as you two are." Sapōto-chan admitted, "There's so little information I can use and something is messing with a few of my features. I'm sorry I can't be of more help."
"It's alright Sapōto-chan. I think we can handle ourselves." Heru said as she played a note,
"St-Still doesn't fix the fact that we need to hurry." Osore said, trying to recover his breath. They've fought a lot of Shadows and he felt they were walking around in circles. And the mirrors were really making him uncomfortable. All he wanted to do was save the creator of this Spacious Cage and go to sleep, "We're r-running out of time."
"There has to be a shortcut or something…" Heru muttered to herself before looking at one of the mirrors, "Hey, do you think there's anything behind these mirrors?"
"P-Probably." Osore replied, wondering for a second why would Heru ask a question like that, until he realized what his sister was thinking about, "H-Hold on, you're thinking a-about smashing these m-mirrors, aren't you?"
"I was, but I guess-" Osore took a deep breath to calm his nerves, his head telling him to both do it and not do it, before smashing one in with his flashlight, revealing that there was no wall. The wall, in fact, were the mirrors, "Oh. Okay then. Let's go."
'This is a really crappy mirror maze.' Osore thought as they walked through the hole, before they heard the crunching of glass behind them. They froze at the sound before they slowly turned around to see grotesque-looking version Osore and Heru limp towards the originals. The siblings backed away from what seemed to be the distorted versions of them, with each step becoming shakier than the last, before they had their backs against the wall, "Wh-W-W-Wh-What a-a-a-a-are th-t-t-th-these t-t-t-th-things?"
"Give me a second." Sapōto-chan said as she quickly scanned the enemies, "Complete! I'm naming them Mirror Minions. They seem to spawn whenever you smash a mirror, and how many that spawn depends on who's on the mirror at that moment."
"But how do we beat them!?" Heru called out, too scared to move,
"You don't." Sapōto-chan informed them in a worried tone,"They're too strong! Run. NOW!" Osore and Heru looked around and saw that they had backed themselves into a corner, literally. They both started hyperventilating before Heru snapped out of it and got out her guitar,
"RUN!" Heru screamed out before smashing the mirror behind them and running through the hole. Osore jumped at Heru's sudden action before looking at the two Mirror Minions in front of him and two that were just spawning. He decided that maybe he should follow Heru's lead and start smashing. While they screamed in terror, they smashed through mirror that was in their way as they just kept spawning more and more Mirror Minions. Eventually, by the time they had several hundred years of bad luck, an army of twisted versions of themselves after them, "WE'RE GONNA DIE!"
"Calculating years of bad luck…" Sapōto-chan said before wincing, "Oh boy… that is not good."
"NOT THE TIME!" Osore yelled out while crying before seeing a large set of double doors made out of mirrors ahead. The siblings looked at each other before forcing themselves to run faster. Osore made it first and tried to pull the door open, but he wasn't strong enough, "Crap! Phobos! HELP ME!" Osore yelled out as he summoned his Persona. Phobos quickly went to work and pulled the door open without much effort, "IN! IN! IN!"
"AAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!" Heru shouted out before diving through the doors while summoning Deimos, "DEIMOS, SHUT IT!"
"Help her, Phobos!" Osore told his Persona while trying to recover his stamina, "Keep the army of us out!" Phobos & Deimos nodded and quickly shut the door. They both struggled to keep the doors from bursting as the Mirror Minions tried to bash the door down. The sibling laid on the floor, too tired to be worry about the cracks forming on the door. Eventually it stopped as Osore & Heru heard the Mirror Minions walking away, seemingly giving up on their relentless pursuit, "That… was…" Osore managed to say between breaths, "A… bad… idea…"
"Too… tired… to snark…" Heru panted out. After recovering somewhat, they stood up and looked arounf and saw that they were in a dark room with a spotlight in the middle. The person in the spotlight seemed to be crying, "I think we found 'em."
"Are you okay?" Osore said. No response. He and Heru looked at each other and nodded before they both walked forward to comfort the person,
"Hey, it's gonna be okay. Just-" Heru was interrupted when she and Osore walked into a wall. Then they noticed their reflections, "Huh? What?"
"What the hell?" Osore muttered to himself as the siblings looked around, but stopped when they heard crying from right behind them. They turned around and saw the person was behind them now,
"Come on, stop crying. There's no need to worr- d'oh!" Heru exclaimed was they walked into another mirror, "What is with all the mirrors!?" They heard crying from behind them again and turned around only see the person on the ceiling, floor and on every wall in the room. Suddenly, they felt something in this room. It scared them. They held onto each other as they saw the person turn his head around and look at them. Heru & Osore's eyes widened as they recognized the soulless eyes staring back at them,
"K-Koibito." Heru whispered out,
"My name isn't Koibito!" He cried out, "It's Dame Baka. I thought… if I became someone else, I would forget about her." He laughed drily as he looked up, "My first girlfriend, my first love… dumped me for another guy. Called me childish and…" He trailed off before speaking again, "I don't know what I did but it still hurt. When I moved to Ikemasen, I thought it was a new start. Changed my name, changed who I was, I thought I'd be happy. I'm not." He then looked down, almost if he giving in, "Now everyone thinks I'm this Knight in Shining Armour! The guy who can barely ride a bike, spends more time inside than outside, still the same goddamn loser that left Inaba two years ago! The people who love me love the mask more than the person wearing it! And if the mask cracks, boom! Liar forever, easiest target in Ike. The biggest fake in Japan. Whoop-dee-freakin'-do." Heru's eyes widened as she realized what she had done,
"I did this." Heru muttered out,
"H-H-H-Heru? Wh-What?" Osore asked, surprised,
"O-Oh God… I-I MADE THIS CAGE!" Heru exclaimed, "Oh God NO! I made this Cage, Osore!"
"It doesn't matter now." Dame/Koibito said, his soulless eye looked straight at them,
"DON'T SAY IT!" Osore & Heru yelled out,
"I deserve to die." Suddenly, all the mirrors cracked before shattering into thousands of shards. Osore and Heru covered their faces as something started to form in the center of the room, the shards ripping up their clothes and skin. They uncovered their faces just in time to see Dame in a cage before being covered in shards. The siblings dropped their weapons and started backing away as the shards started getting covered in darkness, taking shape of a large man wearing a jester outfit with a broken heart in the middle and a drama mask that hid his face wielding a goofy-looking whip. They would've laughed at it if the atmosphere of the room wasn't suffocating them with fear,
"T-T-T-That's a big Shadow." Sapōto-chan squeaked out, as even she felt the fear dripping from the Shadow,
"Shadow Koalemos…" Osore muttered as he & Heru got out their weapons. They were scared out of their wits, but they stood their ground.
If they couldn't save him, they may as well be dead.
"P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P…" Heru tried to, she really tried, but she couldn't summon her Persona, not after realizing she might be the reason someone committed suicide. She didn't even notice her Charm disappearing, "I-I-I can't. I can't do-"
"HERU!" Osore shouted out before pushing his sister out of the way of the electric whip, taking the attack for her. He felt thousands of volts of electricity run through his body, and it hurt, but at least his sister wasn't in the situation he was in.
Speaking of which, the whip wrapped around him.
"OH GOD NOOOOO!" Osore yelled out in panic as he was being pulled in by Shadow Koalemos. He tried to break out but his muscles were locking up,
"NO! OSORE!" Sapōto-chan shouted out, having been dropped when Osore pushed Heru out of the way, "Heru! Snap out of it! Osore is in danger!"
"I-I can't… oh God, I just can't!" Heru yelled out as tears fell from her eyes, "I killed someone! Damn it, I KILLED SOMEONE!"
"He isn't dead but he will die if you don't so something, and he's taking your brother with him!" The A.I. called out, trying to sound brave, "DO SOMETHING!" Heru tried to breathe as she saw her brother desperately and fruitlessly trying to get out of his bindings and Shadow Koalemos grinning madly underneath his mask. Heru didn't know what to do. Two people were going to die and all she could do was watch.
That is, until she remembered something from earlier and a little secret from when she and Osore were kids.
"HEY!" Heru yelled out, getting the attention of the large Shadow, "Koibito, you wanted to join our band, right!?"
"Y-Yes… but…"
"Bup bup bup! Before you say anything, let me show you what I've got." Heru said with a smile before picking up her guitar. She saw her Charm reappear, 'I don't need you right now Deimos.' She told her Persona before getting her guitar ready, 'For tonight… I'm going solo!' As she started playing her guitar, she smirked as she saw Osore getting out of the grasp of the whip since the Shadow was distracted.
Heru: Uh huh, yeah!
Don't you say that I didn't, didn't
Give you a chance, just didn't listen
Only wanted out, but you just kept that garbage talk, so no blessings
Y'all looking present, I'm already futuristic-cruising
Satisfaction killed me a bit, curiosity brings me back in grooving
"Buchikamashi!" Osore yelled out as he smashed his rusty steel pipe into Shadow Koalemos' face, "What are you doing!?" Heru only smirked before continuing her song while Osore got fought Koibito's Shadow Persona.
Heru: Don't wanna follow order, I oughtta restore that
Told her crossing the border, next corner posing for reporters
Next level explorer with my crew, supporters;
Still conquesting forward with my! Crew!
Just as Heru hit the chorus, she summoned Deimos and got her to join. Osore now knew what his sister was doing. She knew how much he loved music, it was another language to him that only he was able to speak. And she was just guiding him, and by extension his Persona, through the music.
Plus, he knew she was quickly and quietly debuffing Shadow Koalemos between words.
Heru & Deimos: Like the shining stars light the path whenever it's dark!
You keep on blinkin' at me
You never turn away from me, in this vast gloomy, night sky.
Light the Fire Up in the Night!
The journey that we travel for our prize!
No matter where we go, we will not stop the shining forever!
"Damn it!" Osore swore as Phobos got by the electric whip, causing him to feel his Persona's pain. Dark Magic weren't working and his Bash attacks weren't powerful enough to do some serious damage. But from the looks of it, Shadow Koalemos seemed to not like Deimos' lantern, 'Maybe he doesn't like Fire? But I can't do Fire attacks.' Suddenly, he remembered what he did in the Velvet Room before they went out tonight, 'Here goes nothing.' Osore thought as he went into the sea of his soul before returning Phobos back into the Velvet Room Key.
Heru: View that I see is not flat, more like panorama!
More to it, more of a drama, going gorillas, bananas!
I just wanna have a lot of fun in life
Surviving the riding, I'm driving,
No idle in battle, and I keep it dazzle!
"PERSONA!" Osore shouted out as he threw the shards into the air, but instead of glowing green, it glowed purple as it started to form his chosen Persona, "Ukobach! Scarecrow!" Heru gasped in shock as she saw the Devil Arcana Persona nodding before binding Shadow Koalemos to the ground, "Agi!" Ukobach nodded again and quickly shot a fireball into Koalemos' face. Osore smirked as he saw the noticeable damage on the Shadow Persona, "HERU!"
"Oh! Deimos!" Heru called out. Deimos knew what Heru wanted and charged at Shadow Koalemos, "Gurentou!" Heru shouted out as Deimos hit the Shadow Persona in the face with a flaming axe, "YEAH!" Heru cheered, ignoring the cost of the attack as she kept playing the song,
"I-It looks weak!" Sapōto-chan informed the siblings. The Shadow was trying to get out of its binds, but it was struggling less. It was their chance to get through to Koibito before it was too late,
'You can do this.' Osore thought as he took a deep breath, "Koibito. Dame. Whoever you are, I understand!" Osore called out,
"H-Huh? What? You… what?" Koibito sounded confused, but it was enough to cause the Shadow Persona pain,
"Look! I-I admit, I don't understand your heartbreak, but I do know what it's like to be scared. To imagine what people might say about me." Osore said, "It sucks… it hurts… to know that the world might be laughing at you because people don't wanna see underneath the surface…"
"And Koibito…" Heru spoke up, "I'm… I'm so sorry! I just… oh God… I know what it truly means to be afraid, but it doesn't mean you should kill yourself over it! …I had to learn that the hard way."
"Heru… Osore…" Dame whispered. Osore saw that the Shadow Persona was almost on its last legs and Dame was close to being free from his cage of fear,
"We don't wanna see Koibito!" Osore called out,
"We wanna see our friend and bandmate!" Heru added in,
"Don't be afraid… TO SHOW WHO YOU ARE!" The Subete siblings shouted out. Dame's eyes widened as something clicked within him, something that he should've figured out long ago.
He didn't need to change to fill the void. He only needed his friends and time.
"Wow…" Dame muttered as he phased through his cage and landing on the ground, "I… am so dumb."
"It's not really dumb, Koibito." Heru said as she and Osore helped him up. Osore then went up to his phone and checked for damage,
"Sorry I couldn't help more…" Sapōto-chan said,
"No, you helped a lot." Osore replied while giving her a quick thumbs-up. Sapōto-chan responded by smiling and doing the same before shutting her off. After that, he put it into his pocket and nodded at his new friend. They both knew what they had to do.
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 not alone." Osore, Heru and Dame said before Osore finished off Shadow Koalemos. As the mirror maze collapsed around them, the remains of Shadow Koalemos had transformed and become a necklace with a drama mask as the token,
"Um… okay." Dame muttered as he looked at his Charm, "So… what's happening?"
"Later." Heru said off-handedly before glaring at her brother, "Now, would you mind telling me why you have two different Persona!?"
'This is gonna suck.' Osore thought as he nervously backed away from his angry sis as Dame's Spacious Cage finally collapsed.
(The Next Day)
"Wow, Koibito, you're really gonna admit to everyone that you write FanFiction and that you're basically the biggest geek in the world." Heru stated as she smirked at their new keyboardist. They had discovered last night Dame lived rather close to them, and it was a wonder how they didn't notice. So they were walking to school together, "Dude, your rep is gonna plummet."
"Actually, I really hated being popular." Dame admitted, "The girls really only like Koibito, not me. By the way, are you ever gonna stop calling me that. It's kinda insulting."
"I-I-I-I do-d-d-do-doubt i-i-i-it-it." Osore stuttered out, but managed to chuckle nervously, "On-O-Once sh-s-s-she has a-a-a-a na-n-na-n-name f-f-for y-y-you, she k-k-ke-k-keeps i-i-it."
"Either way, welcome to…" Heru trailed off as she realized something, "Crap, we still don't have a stupid name for our stupid band!"
"How about Dame & the-"
"No." Heru quickly shot it down, making Dame feel as though he was shot in the heart, "I want something unique, or at least something meaningful." They thought about a good name before one of them spoke up,
"H-H-H-How a-ab-a-ab-a-a-about... P-P-Per-P…" The words died in Osore throat as he was fighting with himself. Did he really want to call the band that or something different? Osore sighed before stopping and searching his bag for the necessary supplies,
"Huh? What are you?" Just as Dame said that, Osore had written down his suggestion on a piece of paper and gave it to them.
"Persona… Zeroes?" Heru read out loud before looking at her brother, "Really?"
"Well, it is unique and meaningful to us." Dame pointed out. Heru thought about it before shrugging,
"Meh, I've got nothing better so it's the Persona Zeroes it is!" Heru declared, "And since you made up the name, my dear little brother, you're the leader of the band now!"
"HUH!?" Osore exclaimed as he jumped back in shock,
"Plus, Osore can change Personas! I suggest we make him the leader of taking care of the Spacious Cages as well!" Osore's Sapōto-chan suggested. Dame's Sapōto-chan and Heru's Sapōto-kun were unaware that their owners were Persona users, as they were left behind that night,
'YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DESIGNED TO RELIEVE BURDENS! NOT MAKE THEM!' Osore shouted at his Sapōto-chan,
"So it's agreed! Osore, you're our leader for now on!" Heru said while giving her sibling a smile, "Make me proud little bro."
"Don't worry, man, I'll help you if you want me to. You helped me after all." Dame offered,
"I helped too!" Heru grumbled,
"Whatever. So, let's do this thing together, dude." Dame said as he held out his hand. Osore smiled awkwardly but nodded and shook his hand anyway.
*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 Magician Arcana.
'Social Link done.' Osore thought before fainting on the spot with a grin, rewarding himself for staying conscious while dealing with the fact that he was probably going to doom them all in the near future for so long.
(Meanwhile…)
She stepped off the train and looked at the town in front of her. This place seemed peaceful and quiet, but to her it was a giant crime scene. The crime, however, wasn't really a crime scene. Japan always had a high suicide rate thanks to the pressure of society and other factors, but Ikemasen was a special case. People have been treating this problem as though it was a disease, something that can be cured by a drug or medicine.
But this was not the case today.
No, this problem was a mystery, and it was a mystery she needed to solve before it was too late. And she was going to solve this case no matter what.
Naoto Shirogane didn't earn the name Detective Prince for giving up after all.
(Also meanwhile…)
"This is… interesting…" Mitsuru muttered to herself before taking out her phone and quickly called her most trusted allies, "Guys, you all need to go to Ikemasen. There's something there we need to see." Mitsuru paused to listen to her friends' responses, "Yes, this might involve Shadows but I think there's something more to this than Shadows." Mitsuru said as she looked at the report in front of her, with a photo of Ikemasen, that was taken from a helicopter, showing the town being covered in a black dome. It was accompanied by a date and time.
It was taken last night, at exactly midnight.
Save Game… Quit!
(Character Profile)
Name: Dame Baka (Kiken'na Koibito)
Relation to The Fool: Partner/Classmate
Gender: Male
Age: 16
Arcana: Magician
Initial Persona: Koalemos (An large man with a drama mask on his face wearing in a jester costume with a broken love heart on his chest wielding a goofy-looking whip)
Weapon & Light: Whips and smartphone light
Skilled In: Elec & Stab
Afraid of: Forever being the hopeless fool and not being seen as himself
Charm: Drama Mask
Profile: Moving to Ike after his girlfriend ended up with another due to him being "too childish" (and other brutal words), he hoped taking on a new name and personality will allow him to get over his heartbreak, and ended up being popular and a ladies' man. But he was still unhappy. He fears that he will never be seen as himself if he keeps the façade up and if he doesn't, he will end up being forever named a liar and a fool.
(Terms)
Spacious Cage: A dark dome that surrounds someone whose fear is starting to overwhelm them. If not taken down in one minute, the person in the middle commits suicide the moment the Cage drops. A Persona User with the Fool Arcana can actually extend the time by willingly creating their own Spacious Cage, which is made out of their own fears. Appearing as if it is the Dark Hour, it essentially extends that one minute into 24 hours before the person of interest becomes overwhelmed by their fears. However, the person attempting to create a Spacious Cage must be basically afraid of everything, yet have the willpower to keep their fears from overwhelming them. Note: A Spacious Cage willingly created by a Fool will not have Shadows in it. Non-Persona Users cannot see Spacious Cages or even enter one. If they are in the area where a Spacious Cage is being created, the Spacious Cage will form around them, basically keeping them safe. The origins of the Spacious Cages are currently unknown.
Whew! Done! See ya all later!
UknownHero signing off, my friends!