Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

King of Beasts Productions Present:

Ultimax: Episode Minato: A Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Fanfiction

Chapter 2: Believe it or Don't

"Everyday, Young Life! Junes!"

From the moment Minato entered the department store, the theme song began blaring out from the speakers. Considering that it was currently shrouded in the red fog, this made the atmosphere quite eerie.

"I'm probably going to hate this song by the time I'm done here." The blue-haired man sighed as he warily wondered the store, his senses on overdrive as he sought anything that looked like a threat. While this kind of situation was the norm for an Agent of the Sentinels, he was still irked at how close to home this hit.

"None of this makes sense." Minato thought as he scanned the area. "The Dark Hour and Tartarus should've ended the moment I became the Seal and prevented the Fall. How did it return?"

He would look around for a few moments when he heard a loud boom from somewhere in the vicinity. He immediately whipped towards the direction of the noise: The foodcourt. No doubt, a battle already erupted.

"And considering this is the Dark Hour, I wouldn't doubt that the two fighting are Persona Users." Minato drew the correct conclusion as he began sprinting towards the scene.

What he saw was a bizarre scene; A young girl with long, jet black hair in a red-tinted school uniform could only watch as two combatants duked it out inside an invisible force field. The first fighter was another young girl, her school uniform complementing her slender frame, her brunette locks tied in twin-tails. One look at her gold tinted eyes and that sadistic grin was enough to tell Minato that she was a Shadow. Her weapon of choice seemed to be a mic stand The other was a tall, lanky man around his age, wearing a light blue baseball uniform and swinging around a bat in his defense. In the background, two Personas were engaged in battle; one was an ebony skinned woman with strange headpiece on in a white flowing dress while the other was a winged figure clad in red and gold.

The former was Rise Kujikawa, School Idol and Member of the Investigation Team. At least, a doppleganger of her anyway.

Despite the difference in looks, Minato recognized the latter almost immediately.

"Great..." His eyes widened in recognition. "Of all people I run into here." Again, that reluctance to see his old team returns. Why that is, though, is a tale that would have to wait another day.

"No, now's not the time. I have to help." It took only a moment for him to refocus and start sprinting towards the fight. "Junpei!"

"Huh?" The SEES veteran was distracted by the shout for but a moment, turning to see the man who was essentially his best friend running towards him. The one everyone thought was gone.

"No way..." He could only stare, his eyes widened in disbelief. "Minato?"

That momentary distraction created an opening for his opponent to exploit. One second later, a well placed smack to the chin took him off his feet.

"Hey! I'm your opponent, remember?" The Shadow sneered at him with disdain while twirling her microphone.

"Owowow..." Junpei scratched his head, his backside sore from falling on it, before getting back on his feet and glancing at his old friend. "What the hell, dude?! How did you break out of being the Seal? What happened to the Seal? Will the Fall-"

"I understand that you have a lot of questions, but you'll have to take a rain check on that." Minato, having reached the edge of the ring, pointed at the Shadow, who attempted to take advantage of his distraction once more.

"Oh right. That." Junpei noted blankly when he saw his opponent's Persona charge up energy from the floating orbs. He grinned, getting all fired up and ready to continue the fight "Alright! Let's go, Trismegestus!" With reckless abandon did he rush back into the fray. Minato could only shake his head at the sight.

"Just as hot-blooded as I remember." He muttered with a smile.

"Uhm..."

Minato turned from the resuming fight to see the red-clad school girl, confused by the sudden turn of events. He recognized her immediately, as she was also a member of the Investigation Team. "Yukiko Amagi, am I correct?"

"Yes, that's right." She confirmed with a nod. "Are you also a member of Mitsuru-san's group?"

"I'm not a member, but I am Mitsuru-senpai's old friend." The blue-haired Persona wielder gave her a kind smile. "Don't worry, I'm here to help."

"Look out!"

Minato whipped his head in time to see several kunai flying towards his direction. Thinking quickly, he stood in front of Yukiko, drew his Sword of Galatine, and began parrying each bladed projectile with relative ease.

"Who's there?!" Minato growled, keeping his stance at the ready.

"Well, well, well! You're as good as you look!" Out of the shadows came a young man with spiky brown hair and headphones around his neck, clad in a black school uniform with sinister grin on his face. Judging from the gold eyes and otherworldly aura, Minato could tell that he too was a Shadow. He also recognized his form immediately.

"Yosuke-kun?" Yukiko stared in disbelief

"No." The Wild Card glared at his opponent. "That's his Shadow."

"Correct!" The Shadow answered back with almost sickening glee. "I was beginning to get bored just watching that oaf's battle! Now I'm finally getting a slice of the action!"

"I take it nothing I say or do will convince you to back down, Shadow-san?" Minato answered back with a cheeky grin, the tone of voice suggesting that he was mocking him

"Nope!" Yosuke's Shadow sneered at him. "NOW BRING IN THE RING!"

On his cue, four red pillars fall from the sky and surround the two, creating a barrier meant to make sure no one gets in or out.

"Well, well, well! Looks like we have a New Challenger!"

Minato whips around for the source of the voice. He sees a television hanging from one of the lamp posts. The face and voice inside belonged to one round, plushy bear mascot. He made no mistake, this was the one who started this all.

"General Teddie..." He muttered.

"Ah, so you know me! Beary good, newcomer!" The thing sneered at him mockingly. "Hmm...you don't look like a Shadow Operative, and you're certainly not with those kids, yet you're a Persona User like the rest. Interesting...well, that means you've been officially entered in the P-1 Climax! As for the rules, it's quite simple," He paused before widening that evil grin. "Only one person leaves the ring."

That sinister aura was quickly replaced by the faux jolly demeanor that General Teddie was using. "With that said, let the battle begin!"

No sooner did the TV turn off that Shadow Yosuke vanish with in the blink of an eye. Minato predicted this and raised his sword to his back. Sure enough, the sound of metal crashing against metal tell him that the block was successful.

The grin on the Shadow's face told Minato that he was far from done. He vanished a second later, following up with a barrage of hit-and-run strikes that Minato was able to defend against.

"Not bad, newbie!" Shadow Yosuke grinned as he created some space after the last blow. "Let's see how you handle this, then! Persona!" Following the Shadow in his next assault was the perfect replica of Yosuke Hanamura's Persona Jiraiya, complete with the mouse ears, the frog-like appearance and the ninja motif.

"Why does everyone call me 'newbie'? It's not like I haven't been fighting Shadows before all this." Minato groaned as he quickly grabbed his Evoker. "Whatever. Persona!"

With the pull of the trigger, his old partner Orpheus emerged from the sea of his soul.

"Woah..." Yukiko could only stare as the Persona, it's face a perfect reflection of it's master, faced Jiraiya and blocked it's kick with it's harp. At that same time, the two Persona wielders were engaged in the exact same scenario.

"Nice try, but an attack that weak won't faze me that easily." Minato smirked as he pushed Shadow Yosuke back effortlessly, his Persona doing the same with his opponent.

"Then howabout this?! Garudyne!" The Shadow, surrounded by a slicing gale, rushed at his opponent spinning like a corkscrew. Minato, having seen this coming, rolled out of the way before getting sliced into ribbons.

"My turn!" He roared as he extended his arm. "Agi!"

His Persona responded in kind, strumming it's harp and causing an explosion that Jiraiya square in the chest once he was left open.

"His uses Agi spells like mine..." Yukiko noted with equal parts interest and awe.

"Agh!" Shadow Yosuke clutched his chest, a searing pain suddenly manifesting on his chest. "You..." He gasped for air, but never lost his eerie grin.

"I gotta admit, you're fast." Minato kept a cool demeanor while assuming a traditional kendo stance, a testament to his training before and after he joined the Sentinels. "However, you're too predictable. If I can see your moves before you can even make them, you have no chance of beating me."

"Heh! Where's the fun in beating you so soon? I haven't even started yet!" Shadow Yosuke straightened himself out before cackling like a maniac. "More! GIVE ME MORE THRILLS!"

He rushed at Minato again, hurling kunai after kunai before leaping into a jumping strike. The veteran for his part parried each thrown object with little to no effort before thrusting at Shadow Yosuke, only for him to vanish before the blade could dig into his skin.

"Not a bad feint." Minato could only smile, his greatsword beginning to manifest flames courtesy of his Persona. "However, it'll take more than that to surprise me!"

With a spin of his heel, he swung in a half-moon arc reaching behind him, where his opponent happened to be. The surprised Shadow raised his kunai in a desperate attempt to defend, but the momentum behind the swing was too great. Gasping in agony, he flew from the force and was smacked against the ring's wall as a result.

"You sure you want to continue this?" The bluenette asked as he hefted his sword over his shoulder. "I don't think you'll be able to win at this rate."

"I'm...I'm not done!" Shadow Yosuke wiped the blood from his mouth after staggering to his feet. Manifesting his Persona once more, he charged at his foe recklessly, yelling like a madman.

"Very well." Minato sighed before narrowing his eyes as he summoned Orpheus. "I'll end this now."

The Wild Card shifted to the right just as the Shadow jabbed a kunai at him. Shifting his greatsword in a reverse grip, he jammed the hilt into his gut. The impact, while causing his opponent to gasp due to the wind being taken out of him, had enough force to launch him into the air. Orpheus for it's part bashed Jiraiya to the side with it's harp before turning it's attention to the prone Shadow Yosuke.

"This is your end." Minato declared as Orpheus held a huge ball of flame over it's head with both hands. "Maragidyne!"

The Persona launched at it's target. Jiraiya attempted to deflect it, only to get caught in it with Shadow Yosuke. Unfortunately for them, Minato wasn't done. As the globe of flame crashed into the ground, he charged at it with his sword extended, thrusting it into the ball and causing it to implode. Thankfully for Yukiko, the ring was able to contain the blast.

At the epicenter stood Minato and the Shadow, the latter charred and impaled upon the Sword of Galatine.

"The victory goes to me."

With that declaration, the red pillars shatter to signify the battle's end. When Minato looked to his fallen foe, he was shocked to see that the Shadow has begun to melt into a misshapen pile of goo. What shocked him even more was from that pile, what looked like gold grains of sand were carried into the breeze with a shimmering sound.

"Okay, that was weird." Minato noted to himself as he holstered his Evoker and slung his weapon on his back. "Still, my reaction times have gotten better. I'll have to thank Yuuki for those sparring matches."

"That was amazing..." That was pretty much all Yukiko could say as she stared dumbfounded.

"Yeah, this guy was the bee's knees back in the day. Even Mitsuru-senpai was amazed."

Both turned to see Junpei, looking worse for wear but still grinning, waving as he got close to them.

"I take it your fight went well." Minato stated as if making small talk about the weather.

"Yep. She even vanished into goop much like your guy did." The Slugger chuckled "I gotta say, this is gonna have to go my Nightmare Fuel folder. Hell, it'll even make a good edition of 'Junpei's Believe it or Don't!'"

"Please. Please don't." Despite himself, Minato felt like he was back in his highschool days, back when he was a member of SEES. Back when-

He stopped himself there, not wanting to go down that road.

"Anyways, you mind telling me what you're doing here?" Junpei decided to probe further. "I mean, you've been gone for three years, man. The fact that you suddenly show up, in the middle of this mess at that, makes a guy think, y'know?"

"...You're not wrong." Minato was surprised at how perceptive his best friend had become. "I did come here because of this incident. That tower located at the school reminds me too much of Tartarus."

"Yeah. We've had a LOT of good times there, that's for sure." Junpei added, his tone oozing with sarcasm.

"Excuse me," Yukiko was obviously in the dark regarding this. "But what is Tartarus?"

"You're going to have to fill her in, Junpei. She'll need to know all about it if she's to survive."

"What, you're leaving already?" The man immediately noticed Minato walking away, his hands in his pockets like always.

"I can't stay too long. I'm going towards the tower immediately." He said as he kept his pace. "The epicenter of all this is there. This red fog, the Dark Hour...all of this lies at Tartarus. At least, what I think is Tartarus."

"And I won't be able to stop you no matter what?"

"You couldn't if you tried."

"Eh, it was worth a shot." Junpei shrugged with a smile. "Just one more thing: Yuka-tan's here too, so you'll probably run into her. She misses you, you know?"

"...I know." Had he turned back, they would have seen Minato's smile before he vanished into the fog. "Take care of yourself, Junpei."

"You too."


"It's been a while, most Honored Guest."

Minato, already a good distance away from Junes, had begun his walk towards the school when he had heard a familiar voice. He turned towards it's source: a woman, her silver-tinted hair in a bob-cut, her skin pale and translucent, clad in a blue dress and hat while sitting on a park bench.

"Hello, Elizabeth." Minato smiled upon encountering another friendly face. "Shouldn't you be back at the Velvet Room?"

"Now that you mention, I do suppose I should return. My journey is complete seeing as you have been relieved of your great burden by outside forces." The Elevator Attendant placed a finger on her chin in thought. "However, I wish to see more of this world you have saved, experience all it's wonders. As such, with my duties in the capable of hands of my older sister, I continue to neglect my post!"

"...That does sound like you." Minato sighed deeply.

"As much as I want to reminisce, I cannot stay long." Elizabeth suddenly sprung up from where she sat. "Another is on her way here. An outworlder from that group you associate yourself with these days. No doubt, she is here to aid your cause."

"Another Sentinel?"

"Indeed. I wish to assess her powers for myself. It would be a most delightful exercise~!" Before he could say anything, the Whimiscal Elevator Attendant made her exit. "Fare thee well, Minato Arisato. I will be seeing you again soon!"

Just like that, she was gone. Minato pondered on her words as he continued to make his way towards the school. Among the Sentinels, there was one other who had mastered the power of Persona only recently. If this was who he thought it was...

"She'll do fine." He smiled to himself. "Knock'em dead, my cute little student."


At another part of Inaba...

"Geez, way to lay pressure on, Miss Rachel. Just what I need for the first field test." Out of a dark portal emerged another unusual individual: A young girl, just about her early teens, with short blue hair and a double f hairclip. Her attire was what one would see in a Magical Girl show; with her white and blue halter top was accented by the mystical blue gem on the top of her navel. She also wore a blue skirt with white stripes at the hem, a belt, white knee high and blue boots. To top it all off, she wore a white cape over her shoulders to complete the look.

Considering her life so far, she didn't know how to feel regarding being called a "Magical Girl."

"Still, I suppose it does have it perks." The girl sighed before turning towards the massive tower. "So this is where I'm gonna rendezvous with him, huh? It does look a bit intimidating."

With a deep breath, a look of determination is etched on her face as she began hastily making her way there as well.

"Still, I won't back down. Don't worry, Minato-sensei. I'm coming." With those words,Sayaka Miki has entered the board.

End Chapter 2


A/N: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another chapter of Ultimax: Episode Minato! So sorry this took long. Lack of inspiration and real life matters kept me away. Well, now I'm back and I'm here to stay!

For this chapter, we saw Minato back in action, tearing Shadow Yosuke a new one, and run into his old buddy Junpei! Also, in case you guys are wondering: Yes, that is Sayaka Miki from Puella Magi Madoka Magica fame. How did she become a member of the Sentinels you ask? That'll be explained either here, Fate/Zero Hour, or other Zero Hour-verse fics that may show up in the future!

Sayaka: Yey, I guess.

So, if you liked this chapter, please be sure to leave a review after you're done reading! I'd really appreciate it if you do! With that said, that's all I have for you today! Until next time, this the King of Beasts signing off!

Next time on Ultimax: Episode Minato: Your Fate is in the Cards!