Persona: Spirits In Pixels – Chapter Two
A Broken Sister
Hey there guys! First off, sorry for the long update! Now, as you may have guessed, and knew, the winning answer in the last poll was Rise...sorry Naoto fans! Anyway, I've got no announcements to make so...Let's GT-R-DONE!
07/29 - Late Night
The rushing sounds of the speeding train finally started to fade away as Yu's subconscious began to flow into a peaceful slumber. Although he lost all feeling in his limbs and nerves as he started to doze off, the sensation of sitting down still remained. Even the sounds didn't stop, but they weren't from the train. Yu, even though in his sleep, listened intently to the sounds. It sounded like it came from a car. "Mm...Huh?" He muttered exhaustedly.
His tired and droopy eyes opened slowly, revealing the strange familiar features that were presented before him. He looked around, finding that he was in some sort of room inside, what he thought was a limo. Everything around him radiated light and dark shades of blue, navy and cyan, especially the furniture on which he sat on. Outside the clean windows was a thick mist that shone a magnificent light from the front of the car as it drove further and further. But the first thing he noticed when he opened his eyes into a squint, was the two figures that sat opposite him.
07/29 - Afternoon - The Velvet Room
He didn't need to observe them to know that they were familiar, only to remember perfectly who they are. The first was a small frail man who sat hunched with his arms supporting his chin as his hands were clasped together in a gentleman's manner. He had white hair that only grew around his bald scalp and his eyes were widened, revealing the bloodshot tirelessness around his pupils. The tuxedo that he wore seemed crumpled and messy, but it was very clean all the same. He owned a long nose that would resemble a parrot's beak and even though his smile seemed wicked at first glance, Yu remembered that he was the gentleman who assisted him throughout his last mystery. "Igor?" Yu asked him, getting a warm smile as a response.
Yu turned his head towards the other figure. She was a slender young lady, whose face always looked beautiful despite the tireless assistance she did for Yu last time he came to this place. She had long blonde hair that curled from behind her head and it was all held together by a blue hairband that snuggled perfectly into her soft hair. She wore a purplish-blue coat that had large ringed buttons stitched into it as well as a belt of the same colour that wrapped around her stomach comfortably. She wore black tights that covered every inch of her legs along with a pair of purple high heels that pointed slightly at the toes. On her lap was a large tome containing countless numbers of pages. These features were all observed in a quick glance especially the bright red lipstick that she wore on her small lips. Yu remembered her name perfectly. "Margaret..." He called her name in disbelief.
Margaret was just as surprised as Yu was, leaning her body forwards slightly to get a closer look of him. "What...?" She questioned, baffled by the sight of Yu. Strangely, she felt happy that he returned, but she didn't want to believe it. She turned to Igor who still had a warm smile on his face.
"Welcome to the Velvet Room." Igor welcomed Yu for a second time. "Well, this is most surprising...or rather, intriguing." Hearing those words from Igor made Yu more confused as to why he has entered the Velvet Room. "As you may have guessed, you are currently in a dream. Have you remembered to keep your key safe?" He asked Yu.
Yu reached into his back pocket, pulling out something that he hadn't taken notice of, for a while. It was a key that radiated the same colour as the furniture in a enigmatic glow. The Velvet Key. "I guess I have..." Yu said to Igor, wondering as to how the key appeared in his pocket.
"Sir..." Margaret got Igor's attention. "How is this possible? Our assistance with him is done, the contract has been fulfilled..." She explained to him, just as confused as Yu was.
Igor gave a chuckle of interest. "This unexpected visit only means that a gap has extended his fate. The contract has yet to completed." Yu overheard everything and started to speak up. "Igor, what's going on? What do you mean by an 'extended fate'?" Yu asked, leaning forward in his seat. Igor turned to him.
"It means that there is another 'turning point' in your future. The truth that you have recently discovered is only one of the many truths that are concealed throughout your life." He explained to him. Margaret then turned to him, putting on a serious face. She seemed to have understood it all.
"You are the first case we've ever had to obtain this destiny. Though there is no telling what the truths will bring." Margaret said, as if she met Yu for the first time.
A pause loomed its silence in the air for a short while before Igor placed five tarot cards on the table that stood in front of him. Without touching them, he shuffled the cards in every random direction, placing them back down onto the table when he was finished. With a gradual swing of his wrist, two of the cards were flipped over and Igor collected his thoughts and words as he looked at those cards with a crooked smile.
"Now, from what I can tell from the cards, the course of your journey will carry you throughout familiar ventures, yet these ventures will delve you deeper towards a new truth, towards something entirely different to your last excursions." Igor said wisely. Yu tried to follow but only returning to his confused state. "Something familiar...will lead me towards something different?" He asked him, putting on a face of full concentration to his hard thinking.
"I'll try and best explain the situation..." Igor said as he lowered his head in deep thought, trying to collect the right words. He lifted his head again. "In other words, the elements will remain the same along your path. It could be the surroundings or the companions you travel with. And then there's the difference..." Igor seemed lost in thought, unable to gather the right sentences. "I'm afraid, it could mean anything...it would be best if you were to uncover the answer yourself." Yu nodded to Igor, sinking in the knowledge, starting to understand little by little about what he was trying to say.
He looked over to Margaret who gave a little chuckle to his limited knowledge. "I'm sure you'll understand it as time runs its course." She said to him, giving him a heartfelt smile to say that she was happy to speak with him again. "It's good to be back." Yu said with a relaxed voice, returning the smile to Margaret.
"I shouldn't keep you here any longer." Igor said as his crooked smile returned to his wrinkled face. "'Til we meet again..." As he bid Yu his farewell, he began to feel drowsy and tired, shutting his eyelids closed and returning to his slumber peacefully.
07/30 - Midnight - The Real World
A long pause filled his subconscious before he heard the rushing movement of the train along the tracks. He slowly opened his eyes, suddenly squinting them from the bright lights that were lined along the ceiling of the train. All he saw out of the windows were nothing but blackness, knowing that the train entered a tunnel. He found the feeling in his nerves and limbs again, feeling his hand entwined in Rise's fingers.
He looked down at her head, seeing it still laid down on his shoulder. She shuffled slightly, keeping her mind immersed in her dreams. "Sen...pai..." She said quietly in her sleep, making Yu chuckle softly in adoration.
Yu looked towards the seats opposite him and found Yosuke, Chie and Kanji also asleep. Yosuke's head was laid on Chie's shoulder and her head was laid on his, only making Yu laugh quietly at the irony of those two sleeping so close together. Kanji took more than one seat to sleep easily on a train, laying his back down on three seats with one of his legs dangling over the edge of them. His foot was dragging along the floor every time the train hits a bump in the tracks.
After watching them relax in their uncomfortable positions, he looked at the others that were also sleeping next to them. On his left was Naoto who was sleeping in a neat lounge position, crossing her arms in her slumber. Her officer's cap was covering her eyes as her head dangled over the edge of the seat.
Next to her was Teddie who was probably sleeping in the most uncomfortable sleeping position so far. Like Kanji, he slept on more than one seat, but the difference was that he was laying on his front with his head laying on the plastic part of the seat. His arms and legs were spread out across the place. One arm and one leg were hanging from the edge of the seats and he started drooling on his other hand. And on top of all that, he snored like the bear he was, nearly making noises louder than the train.
And on Yu's right was Yukiko who was sleeping one seat away from him. She slept like a child, laying in an awkward position on just one seat. Her body was curled up into a ball, as her arms were hidden by her bent legs, snuggling half of her face in the cushion of the seat.
Watching the others sleeping around him, only made him more and more drowsy, yet unable to get another wink of sleep. Feeling refreshed and stiff, Yu looked up towards a small TV that was bolted into the thick plastic on the ceiling. The news was being shown, and a small picture of Minato Arisato appeared clearly in a small corner of the screen, making Yu very curious.
He couldn't the news-presenter's voice over the train, so he carefully slipped out of his seat, trying his best not to wake Rise up. Luckily, he was able to free himself from Rise, knowing that she was a heavy sleeper.
As he walked towards the small TV, he stretched his arms, legs and body to relieve the stiff parts in his muscles. He walked closer and closer to the TV until he could hear the news-presenter perfectly. Yu gave his full attention.
"-earlier today, Gekkoukan High School student, Minato Arisato's body has been reported missing as it was not found in its usual place on the patient bed at the Tatsumi Memorial Hospital..." Yu's reaction turned to utter shock as the Autocue was read out by the presenter. "What? How can that...?" He muttered to himself, anxious to know what the presenter was going to say next.
"The Inaba Police have made their decision to postpone the investigation of the cause of the young man's death and undergo their latest investigation of the whereabouts of his body and how it became missing..." Yu listened to the news with all ears, baffled and shocked in disbelief.
"Huh? How...? Why did..." Yu muttered his incomplete questions, unsure of how the phrase them. Before he could get close to an answer, the lights on the train were suddenly shut off, reducing all visible light sources from sight. The whole train was plunged in the darkness of the tunnel, which worried Yu greatly as his sight was completely blackened.
Even the TV's screen was shut off, losing its power along with the lights. Yu took his mind off the subject and decided to get back to his seat, being very careful with his footwork since the train was still running on the tracks at high speed.
But before he could take a couple of steps, the unexpected happened.
Suddenly, the train's brakes were instantly applied, causing sparks to fly under the carriage. And because of the drastic drop in speed, everyone fell out of their seat, only to be woken up and caught by another seat. But in Yu's situation, the giant force swept him off of his feet, causing him to hit the floor from a large distance tumbling along it, until he hit the wall with his back as the train completely came to a halt. All he could do was shout in pain once his head and back collided with a metal wall.
He sat at the wall, taking his time to recover and rubbing the side of his head with a grimacing look on his face. "Senpai!" shouted a shocked Rise, running up to Yu. She knelt down to him, laying one hand on one side of his face and laid the other hand on the hand that was rubbing Yu's head. "Dude are you okay?" Yosuke asked in a great worry. "Yeah...I'm fine guys." Yu reassured them, forcing a smile for them.
Rise took his hand away from his head and gave it a quick kiss, wrapping her arms around him, hoping that it would help him take his mind off the pain. A few more seconds passed in the darkness, and eventually the lights came back on, much dimmer than it was before the incident. A male's voice was then heard from the small speaker that was bolted in a corner of the carriage.
"Apologies for the technical difficulties ladies and gentlemen, the train will be fully functional in a short while. Sorry again for any inconvenience caused."
"Yeah right! Sorry my ass!" Kanji shouted at the speaker with his fist shaking to show his anger. Yu stayed sat down at the wall until the train started moving again, quickly sitting down at the nearest seat with the help of Rise and Yosuke.
"I'm all right now guys, thanks." Yu thanked everyone with a meaningful smile. They all smile back to him before walking to the nearest free seat, closing their eyes, trying to get back to sleep.
Rise sat back down next to Yu, looking at him with a slight worry. "Does it still hurt?" She asked him, putting a hand to his head and trying to find the injury. Once she found it, he grimaced. "Yeah...but I'll be all right." Yu answered with a quiet voice, forcing a wry smile. "Maybe you should lay down for a little while..." She suggested starting to blush a bit.
"I'm really okay..." He said persistently, trying to rub the pain away. Rise only blushed harder, knowing that he didn't realise what she was talking about. "I was trying to make an excuse so you would lay on my lap." Rise said softly to him with rosy cheeks heating her face.
He looked at her, slightly embarrassed at the idea, but still couldn't help but smile. "I suppose I could do with a rest." He said charmingly, turning his body around so he could lay his head down on Rise's lap, wrapping an arm around her waist as he laid his back down. She looked down at him, running her fingers through his smooth hair to comfort him. As his eyelids started to drop again, Rise gave a little giggle of adoration. He felt as if she was his mother comforting him as he began to fall asleep.
Eventually, his subconscious dozed off quickly into his oblivious slumber, only to feel the familiar sensation of sitting down on a sofa once again. As he opened his eyes, the radiant colours of different shades of blue filled the room, causing a mix of feelings to blossom inside Yu, ranging from surprise to confusion. He knew that he has once again entered the Velvet Room.
07/30 - Midnight - The Velvet Room
"Huh? I'm back here?" Yu asked himself, distracted by the colours of the furniture around him. He looked over at the opposite side of the room, finding that Igor wasn't sat in his place anymore. He was nowhere to be found, but Yu did find that Margaret was still sat in the same place as she would do. He then looked at the woman who was sat next to her.
She looked almost like Margaret but older and wore slightly different clothes to her. And just like Margaret, her clothes were also of a purplish-blue colour as well as the colour of her hair. The sides of her hair were longer than the length of her fringe, making it seem like a bowl-cut. She wore a cap on her head that slightly resembled a baseball cap and the coat that she wore was sleeveless and almost seemed like a dress along with a turned-up collar. There were five large buttons on her coat that were nearly the same as Margaret's and she wore dark-blue gloves that fit tightly around her fingers and wrists. Instead of tights, she wore knee-high boots that had some patches of black on it.
The woman's head was lowered in guilt and sadness, and it seemed that Margaret was trying to comfort her, putting a hand on her back and rubbing it in a circular motion. "Sister..." Margaret spoke, making Yu more curious as to why her sibling was here. "My attempts were futile Margaret. The miracle was not to be..." said the sister, holding back the choke that ached her throat.
As she turned her head to face Margaret, she caught a glimpse of Yu in the corner of her eye. Her eyes were then fixated on him, making him jump slightly. "Oh...is this your guest?" she asked Margaret, making her eyes narrow before turning to Yu whom she didn't notice coming in. "Sorry I came without saying anything..." apologised Yu, giving a weak smile.
"Oh no, don't apologise...you are in a dream after all, it's not your fault." Margaret assured him, giving a wry smile with weary eyes.
A long pause filled the air with silence before Margaret put on a face of realisation. "I believe I have told you about my sister, Elizabeth..." Margaret introduced her sister. "...though I didn't anticipate her visit to bring back unfortunate news..." Her expression grew less from a neutral look as she looked back at her sister.
"Unfortunate news? What's happened?" Yu asked, leaning forward in his seat. He was willing to listen to her sister's problems whatever they might have been. Elizabeth sighed deeply, turning her head away from him and Margaret.
Margaret knew that she didn't have the courage to tell him with the amount of despair that ached her heart. "Remember what I told you after you fought me? It was Elizabeth who sought out to help that boy escape his fate...to help him regain his soul from the seal..." Margaret explained for Elizabeth.
"Did she?" Yu asked, hoping that it was a success. But he remembered that Elizabeth came back with unfortunate news, lowering his head in thinking that he asked a stupid question.
"You were right to call me foolish sister..." Elizabeth said as her eyes closed. "I was not worthy to enact the miracle...every bit of my power was used only to become a waste." Margaret gasped at her sibling's words. "How could you say such things?" She raised her voice. "I know how you feel, but he used his potential to his will..." Her voice then returned to neutral, sighing afterwards. "You will despise me for saying this...but you should respect his decision."
Yu could only watch the loving feud in pain, unable to find any words. He then thought back to a certain word that Margaret mentioned about the boy. "Forgive me for asking Margaret, but this boy...you mentioned that he used his 'potential'. Do you mean that he also possessed a Persona, and had the access to come to the Velvet Room?" Yu asked, hoping for an answer.
Margaret turned her head towards Yu, nodding her head. "Yes, and like you...he possessed the Wild Card ability...the ability to carry multiple Personae within your psyche." Yu's eyes widened, quickly thinking of another question, which he thought would be painful for Elizabeth to be asked. He got up from his seat and walked over to Elizabeth, crouching down to her height and holding her hands in sympathy. Her head turned to him, but with sad eyes that still looked away.
"You don't have to answer me if you don't want to..." He told her, before asking his question in slight difficulty. "But...who is this boy?" Elizabeth's eyes closed as a tear formed in the corner of one eye, dripping down her cheek after a long pause. She took a deep breath before giving her answer.
"Minato Arisato..." She said very quietly, using the palm of her hand to wipe away her falling tear.
Yu gave an large gasp at the first and last name of the boy in great disbelief. "Minato..." He began with a shaken voice. "He became the seal?" He asked Margaret as he quickly turned his head to her. "That's correct..." She answered him, quickly being interrupted by Elizabeth.
"It was at the time of the Promised Day..." Elizabeth began, offering Yu a seat next to her. He sat down next to her, and started to listen intently. "He confronted the goddess of all Shadows known as Nyx who attempted to bring about 'The Fall', two years ago." The Fall seemed very familiar to Yu as he remembered it from his studies at high school, but didn't seem to recall anything about it happening at that time.
Elizabeth continued. "Along with his companions, who also possessed a Persona, he defeated the Appriser who was the one responsible for calling Nyx to the earth. He returned to the Velvet Room when Nyx began to rain her destruction, where we were able to give him the power of the Universe Arcana using the bonds that he had forged with others." Yu's jaw slightly dropped as he was told about the Universe Arcana for the first time.
"As he returned to the battle, he was the only one who could withstand the force of Nyx' power as everyone, including his companions, were forced to the ground. He took to the skies and entered the heart of Nyx where he contained her, using the power that we bestowed upon him to perform the miracle, to save humanity from the desires of wishing for The Fall." Elizabeth's voice started to shake as she came closer to the end. "Unfortunately...to perform that miracle, a price had to be paid..." Yu knew that Elizabeth was getting uncomfortable, so he stopped her.
"To save humanity, he risked his soul to become a seal..." Yu pieced together. Margaret then added. "To bar Nyx away from the world and from the primordial god, Erebus." His head shot towards Margaret, wanting to know who this god was. "Erebus?" He asked her.
"Erebus is the god of darkness, who was born of human malice. In other words, he was created by the humans' wishes for The Fall to come." Margaret finished, turning back to Elizabeth as she began to speak again.
"And the seal...his soul has ever since been attacked by Erebus, day by day." She added as more tears formed in her weary eyes. She tried to hold back her tears the best she could, sinking her head into her hands.
Yu put a hand on her back, rubbing it to comfort her. The feelings she showed reminded him of when he felt the same way when Nanako was on the brink of death. He gathered up his courage to retell that story to her.
"Elizabeth, I know how you feel, I really do." He began, taking a deep breath. "I nearly lost my cousin before. And when her heart suddenly stopped, she lied lifeless in front of my eyes. All I wanted to do was cry. I was so devastated and so traumatised. But as time passed, her heartbeat came back and that, to me, was a miracle." He paused for a short while before getting to his point.
"What I'm trying to say, is that if you can believe it, even the most seemingly impossible of things can made possible. If you believe in Minato, and if the circle of friends around him did the same, the miracle is sure to happen." Listening to the surprisingly wise words of Yu made Elizabeth's tears eventually subside. She looked at him with a weak smile, which quickly faded away.
"Yu...his missing body..." Elizabeth started. Yu nodded confidently as he was ready to listen to what she had to say. "I ask of you...please find the whereabouts of his corpse..." She requested desperately, which only made Yu more determined. "Of course." He replied without hesitation. The true smile then appeared on her face.
"You remind me so much of him..." She said with a choked tone. Yu sensed her faint happiness as he smiled back at her.
He then looked at Margaret who seemed to put on a face of worry, looking away from the two with closed eyes. "Margaret...are you okay?" Yu asked her, slightly confused as to why she is feeling this way. She gave no answer, only orders.
"...My apologies for keeping you here so long. You should be getting back now." Margaret's expression turned to serious as her tone was changed slightly. Yu shrugged it off and walked back to the seat he originally sat in.
"Keep your chin up Elizabeth." Yu reassured her with a heartfelt smile. He then turned to Margaret. "Will I be back soon?" He asked her, wondering if his next visit will come as swiftly as his current visit. "That's up to you. The next time you come here will be of your own accord." Margaret mimicked her master's words. "...farewell." She bid her goodbye to Yu, returning her worried look.
The exhausted feeling again made Yu's subconscious feel drowsy as his eyelids dropped. Elizabeth's request was the only thing that revolved around his mind as he made his way back to the world of reality, echoing the words she told him repetitively inside his head.
Igor's words then suddenly sprung to mind.
"The course of your journey will carry you throughout familiar ventures, yet these ventures will delve you deeper towards a new truth, towards something entirely different to your last excursions."
"Why do I get the feeling...that what Igor said...has something to do with Minato?" Yu spoke in his thoughts.
The feeling continued to grasp his heart tightly, unable to shake it, even when the thunderous noises of the train started to batter his track of thought.
Again, so sorry for the long update, this chapter was REALLY difficult to write! Oh well, keep reading and reviewing...and get crazy for the next chapter! CYA!
