Chapter Four

Saturday, May 14th, 20XX

Damon had returned once again to the strange classroom. He was seated in the only desk in the room, which was a calming purple color, gleaming off of soft velvet. Below him, at the desk in the front of the room, was a strange man in a full tuxedo. His nose was very long, his eyes sunken, and a devious grin was upon his face. Suddenly, as if hit with a flood of memories, Damon came to the realization of where he was. The man was named Igor, and had appeared to him the night before he had received his Persona.

"Welcome back, Mr. Advent." His voice was higher pitched than anticipated, which filled Damon with extreme deja vu. "I sense you're beginning to remember this place."

Damon gave a hesitant nod. "Yes... We've met before." He tried to move his right arm, but winced as pain fired up his arm like needles. Upon closer examination, he was shocked to find his skin purple and damaged, and feeling as though it had been severely burned. "What the hell?" Two fingers were completely broken, making it impossible for him to make a fist. Damon checked his other arm, finding it in a less damaged state, but still a bright red color, as if beaten constantly. "What happened to me?"

Igor seemed to begin to shift and form, as if he was an image breaking up on the television. "We do not have much time, Mr. Advent. The force that controls your life will soon know I am visiting you, and all of my work will be for nothing." Damon swallowed hard, quietly preparing to heed Igor's words. "Your master is the embodiment of evil. A dark god given birth to by the fears of mankind. He is the fear of every human who has ever lived given form. You must not give him what he wants, no matter the case. Otherwise, it is likely you will doom humanity to destruction."

"What do you mean? What does he want?"

Igor began to lose his form more regularly. "Follow what you know is right, Damon. Reform the world, but not in his image." Damon could see a smile form on his face. "I will return in time to guide your further. For the sake of your friends, do not die."

Sunday, May 15th, 20XX

Morning

Damon shot upright, breathing heavily. He was drenched in sweat, and upon trying to gain his bearings, he felt pain fire up his right arm once again. He had been sleeping on a couch in a spacious studio apartment. Large windows let in the skyline of Gaia City, meaning he was high in the sky. Damon threw the blankets off of him and stood up, feeling more pain rocket through his body, nearly taking his breath away. He touched the side of his head, where most of the pain was originating from, and felt bandages wrapped around his head. His right arm too had been tightly bound, and his two broken fingers were splinted together, making it impossible for him to make a fist.

"Welcome back to the world of the living." Damon jumped at the sound of Spencer's voice. He always had a way of doing that. A mug full of coffee was extended towards Damon, which he obliged with a nod. "It's black."

Damon took a sip, and for a moment, he felt revitalized. It was then the realization dawned on him, firing him back down for this momentary high. "Where's Amanda?"

Spencer chuckled. "No need to worry; she ran out to get more bandages. After all, do you really think I could have done that well patching you up?"

Damon blinked a few times. "How long was I out for?" He felt a strong craving somewhat suddenly as his senses returned to him. It had been a while since he smoked.

"You slept an entire day. No joke." Spencer nodded at his couch. "I was worried you were going to be swallowed by the thing like pocket change. You just wouldn't wake up."

Damon let out a sigh, returning to the sofa once again and taking a seat, staring blankly out the window. He took an idle sip of his coffee. "I can't remember anything from last night, Spence." Damon pulled the blanket over him, covering his waist. "All I can remember is wanting to stop him... I don't know what I would do if the two of you ever got hurt."

Spencer took a place beside Damon, giving him a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Dude, I'd be afraid to see what would happen then, too." He also started staring out the window. "You were completely out of control. Unstoppable. You kept moving even though your body should have given in."

"...Afraid..." Damon chimed in, staring down into the rippling abyss of dark coffee he held in his hands. "I was so afraid. Afraid for you, afraid for Amanda..." His hands began shaking lightly. "Did I kill him? I don't remember if I did?"

Spencer shook his head. "No," he said plainly. "His friends showed up at the last minute and saved him. Once they left, you and Amanda both collapsed, and I carried you back here. It was lucky we went so late, too. No one was walking around to ask me why I was hauling around two people over my shoulders."

Damon looked to the far wall, where the television was mounted on the wall, playing the morning news. "Hey, wasn't this facing the TV last time I was here?"

"Oh, yeah," Spencer looked over at the television. "Amanda wanted to make sure you were getting some sunlight. She basically treated you like you were a plant yesterday."

The door to the apartment flew open, and Amanda entered, carefully balancing the door with her backside while shuffling herself and her shopping haul inside. Spencer chuckled. "Speak of the devil."

A keyring was clenched in her teeth, but she spoke through it anyway. "Ah made shure ah got lotsa snacks while I was 'shere." Damon and Spencer watched from over the couch, and when she realized this, she spit out the keyring and ran over, practically throwing herself over the back of the couch to embrace Damon at the neck, pulling him in for a suffocating hug. "You're awake! I can't believe you woke up!" She let go, moving to the side slightly to look at Damon while holding him by the shoulders. "How do you feel? Are you alright? How's your arm?"

Damon smiled, greatly appreciating the warmth of Amanda's body on him. It was a feeling he could never get tired of. "I'm doing okay. My arm is seriously messed up, though." He chuckled. "My head, too."

Amanda let out a relieved sigh. "We moved the couch to let you get sunlight. I made sure you were drinking some water, too." She stood upright, and returned to her groceries, moving them to the kitchen and beginning to unpack them. "I swear, the lady at the drugstore thought I was going to a warzone or something. It was definitely taking everything in her being not to ask me about all the gauze." She looked up as if remembering something. "Oh, and you should probably change. You're still in the same jeans from the other night, and they got kinda ripped up."

Damon realized then he hadn't even checked himself out beyond his bandages. He was wearing one of Spencer's shirt, which was obvious by the fact is was twice his size. "What happened to my shirt? And my hoodie?"

Spencer stood and went to the other end of the apartment, rustled through some things, and returned with the tattered remains of his sweatshirt. The zipper holding it together was completely gone, and both sleeves were completely shredded away, with the right sleeve in particular being entirely gone to the shoulder, whereas the left one was mere shredded after reach the elbow. "It was the first tragedy of the night. Your shirt was destroyed beyond recognition."

Damon nodded. "I see. Damn, I loved this sweatshirt." He stood again, shakily as before, and made his way to the kitchen area, taking a seat on one of the chairs there. "So, what's the plan?"

Taking a seat across from him was Spencer, following him closely. "Plan for what?"

"Well, we're going to have to fight more of them, right?" Damon carefully studied Spencer's face. "You said he had friends come and save him."

Amanda, having finished what she was working on, pulled up a seat at the table as well, sitting to the side of her friends. "Two of them came down, yeah. They went to one of the private school, although I'm not sure which one. It could have been Our Lady of Faith, but it also might have been Terra Nova Academy." She was clutching a styrofoam cup of tea from the chain coffee place that was located right outside of the college apartment complexes. "We only know the Fool's power, and it's certainly frightening."

Damon rubbed his chin, trying to pull up the memories from after he had been thrown into the dumpster. "He could change his powers, right?" Some of the fight was coming back to him, but was marred by huge patches of darkness and fear. "I remember he firing off blasts of wind, but did he switch to a close combat form?"

Amanda nodded once. "He used three Persona, although I believe the third Persona was too powerful for him to handle. He was completely unable to control it, and even took damage from Spencer just hitting him with a pipe."

"Yeah, it was really strange." Spencer motioned to the side of his head. "You took cement to the head, and were completely fine. He took a pipe to the arm, and I can tell you from experience that it broke."

Damon raised an eyebrow. It explained the bandages around his head, that was sure. "What happened to me?"

Amanda clapped her hands together. "I completely forgot that you were busy fighting! You weren't there to hear Howard explain to us about Abyssal Personas." Damon raised an eyebrow of inquiry, which Amanda obliged. "You see, most Personas are summoned and come out of the person using them. Like with Suketarou, if you can remember, he kept summoning demons from his body and they acted outside of him. But with us, I guess our Personas stay in our bodies and give us power directly. It's weird, and I feel like I'm missing some stuff."

"You are."

Howard pulled up a seat at the table, filling in the final side, clad in his same suit as the last time Damon saw him. Everyone at the table stared at him, wide eyed, making him fluster slightly. "Sorry to intrude. I'm actually here to fill Damon in on what he missed, and let you know your next course of action."

"So you're just going to do that now?" Spencer sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You're just going to appear all the time? Everywhere?"

Howard smiled. "Yup! I'm going to guide you three to victory. But first, you need to know the rules of the competition."

Damon gave a cautious nod towards Howard. "Go ahead, then."

"First things first, you don't need to worry about collateral damage. When you enter into combat with another Arcana, you'll instantly be transported to a mirror reality where you can cut loose." His tone was matter of fact and even. "Second things second, you all have heard the name of our Master, and you may now call upon him in battle." Howard winked his blackened eye, making Damon shudder. "Even if you don't think you know, much like your Personas, you already know in the abyss of your soul. If you call him, you will grow extremely powerful, but lose complete control, and likely deal irreparable damage to your body. There's a reason I can't fight, after all." He cleared his throat. "And finally, your enemies are already on the move. You have the opportunity to gain a new teammate, too, coming up, so keep your eyes open. Remember, there are twenty-two of you, meaning someone is left out of their three friends. You will be able to sense a Persona user when you get within a certain range of them, so be prepared to fight."

"Thank you, Howard." Damon smiled at the man. "You support is appreciated."

Howard grinned. "Don't get attached, Advent. I just don't want to see the hand-picked pieces of my Master get taken off the board in the first match. You will soon meet with your fate, and if you are meant to continue, you will live." He began fading away. "The judgement of forgotten gods is upon you. Will you go softly into that good night? I wonder." And he vanished.

"I guess that answers some of my questions," Damon chuckled, facing towards his friends again. "I guess we're always being watched."

Amanda raised an eyebrow. "Judgement of forgotten gods? What the heck does that mean?"

"To be fair, I feel as though that was far less cryptic than he normally is." Spencer stood up, and walked into a more empty area of the apartment. "I need to show you guys something. I think I got my Persona thing, and I wanted to show you."

The pair stared at him in awe. "Seriously?" asked Damon, who stood up and followed him. "What's your power?"

Spencer shrugged, waiting for Amanda to follow, who did, standing beside Damon. "I'm not really sure, but I got it that night while I was taking you guys home. It gave me the strength to lug you guys all the way here on foot."

"Should we all compare our powers?" Amanda looked between her friends after posing the question. "Won't we destroy your apartment?"

"Good point." Spencer nodded a few times. "Let's take this outside, then."

The trio rode the elevator down the apartment building and exited the door. Damon had commandeered a new hooded sweatshirt, grey this time, and had it drawn over his head, lighting a cigarette the moment they exited the building. They went into the courtyard, a distance from the building, and stood in a wide grassy patch dotted with a few trees and benches. A handful of people were mulling about; one was walking his dog, while a couple chatted on a distant bench. Amanda eyed them cautiously.

"Won't they be able to see us?"

Damon took a place beside her, eyeing the couple she was, and shook his head. "If Howard wasn't lying, we should be free to use our powers anytime without affecting the real world."

Spencer stood opposite them and began opening and closing his fists a few times, taking in short breaths to pump himself up. "Alright..." he grumbled, rolling his neck, "Here goes nothing, then." A red aura began collecting around him, and in that instant, the Damon noticed that the couple seat at the bench had vanished. When he checked over his shoulder, the dogwalker was gone too. He then turned back to Spencer, who muttered the name of his Persona.

"Hadad!"

Instantly, his shirt was blown off, shredding apart into tiny fibers. His muscles had expanded instantly, and his skin seemed to turn into a bright red, almost inflamed color. The two canine teeth from his top row of teeth had grown, too, jutting from under his upper lip, while a pair of gazelle-like antlers grew from his head. When he stopped transforming, he was a mass of red muscle that rippled and bulged constantly, with a pair of antlers up sticking from his forehead. He let out a breath he had been holding, and spoke with a voice that seemed to be overlayed with a much deep one. "What do you think?"

Damon's eyes widened instantly. "Holy shit! That's amazing, Spencer!"

Amanda nodded in agreement. "That is impressive, for sure." She clapped her hands together. "Come, Menhit!" She, unlike Spencer, instantly took her form after a burst of red aura. Her hair appeared like a lion's mane, changing to a bright scarlet color, while the rest of her form remained relatively normal. Damon noted that as she looked at him, her eyes had changed to scarlet as well, and were slitted into cat-like pupils. "From what I remember, I can use magic blasts just like Suketarou was." She held her hand out towards the open part of the grassy field, and suddenly took on an intense focus. "Agilao!" A huge snapped ball of fire lanced from her open palm and shot into the distance, coming to the ground and exploding magnificently.

Spencer chuckled, holding his hand out the same way. "I can do that, too!" He took in a breath, and exhaled, "Frelia!" A humming blue mass of energy launched form his palm, exploding into a small mushroom cloud when it landed some distance away. "I guess it's a different kind of power than yours."

Amanda nodded. "I wonder how many more types of magic there are..." She turned to Damon, and gave him a gentle smile. "We both saw yours, but you said you don't remember it, right? Call your Persona."

Damon sighed, pulling down his hood. He took in a deep breath. "Zagreus!" Like Amanda, his instantly took on his new form, and did not destroy his clothing like his previous usage. Curled ram's horns came from his forehead and wrapped around tightly alongside his temples. His hair grew more jagged and stiff, and his teeth sharpened into shark-like points. Oddly, however, he didn't feel the same as he did then. He couldn't quite put it all together, but he knew something was off.

Amanda opened her mouth to praise him, but before words came from her mouth, a scream sounded in the distance. It was the crying of a little girl.

Author's Note:

I realized this after choosing my setting, but there isn't exactly a way to force in the exposition at this point of where the characters are situated in the world. Like Persona, it is indeed in the real world, but instead of being set in Japan, Gaia City is located on the western coast of the United States. Being an AU, however, this is a much more immigration-heavy city, so think of it as an alternate reality San Francisco, with a higher Asian immigrant population.

Apologies if this was a sudden transition, I just didn't want to lose any readers along the way with poor worldbuilding. Hindsight is 20/20.

Best,

Basement Spaghetti Studio