"GYAaaaa!" Yukari screamed and collapsed onto her bed. Emotions and quick visions flashing through her throbbing head. That girl… Lily!

- 4/7/2009

"Liam. Are you ready for school?" Mitsuru Kirijo knocked on my door. I opened the door, fully dressed and with my school bag draped around my neck. "A-ah, good." She flushed slightly, almost unnoticeably. "Takeba and your sister are waiting for you down stairs." She then hurried off. A thought struck me; Igor had said others would be trying to do the same… what if all of SEES were being given a second chance? Or could he have meant STREGA?

"Sup dude." a voice rang from between mine and Lily's seats. Lily sat strait up instantly to look at the perpetrator. "Haha, you look like a dear in headlights." A grinning boy with a goatee was laughing at her. She sighed, a bit relieved that it wasn't a teacher. And I chuckled; this is exactly what happened last time.

"Hey there, and who might you be?" I smiled friendlily at him, pretending not to know who he was.

"Me?" He replied. As if there were some one else in the class room I could be talking to. "I'm Junpei Iori. Nice to meet ya. I transferred here when I was in 6th grade. I know how tough it is bein' the new kid… So~ I thought I'd check up on you two, make sure you weren't freaking out on your guys' first day."

"Hey, What a coincidence that we'd all be in the same home room, huh?" Yukari came over to join the conversation. But she seemed a little… on edge, like she was hiding something. Did she remember? She definitely wasn't this reserved before.

"Yeah!" Lily beamed and stood up from her desk, clutching her pink journal to her chest. "It's so amazing to have a friend!"

"A friend? Oh… you mean me." She seemed pleased by this. "Yeah, I… I'm glad we ended up in the same class, too."

"Um, hello?" Junpei butted back in. "Did you forget I'm in this class too? C'mon, lemme in on the fun!" He whined. "By the way, do you guys know each other? I head you three came to school together this morning. A couple of cuties like you, walking side by side… the whole school was buzzing about you." Lily and I both sighed. Rumors were always so much trouble.

"Ugh… Could you just cut it out? I hate dealing with rumors like that. I mean I'm used to it, but they just got here, you know? Don't you feel bad, spreading rumors like that?" Takeba seemed a little pissed. "… Well, I gotta go take care of some archery team stuff. Don't try anything funny, you got that, Junpei?" She walked off in a slight huff and Junpei's blue eye's followed her until she was out of ear shot.

"What is she, your nanny…?" He groaned. Then look to Lily; "Well, just to clear things up, I seriously didn't come over here to hit on you or anything. If you ever have a problem, you can tell your ol' pal Junpei about it!" He had an extremely charismatic and trust worthy glint in his eyes as he smiled at both of us. Lily laughed. "What? I say something funny?" Junpei and I both looked at her like she was crazy. She didn't laugh like this last time… why was she laughing now?

"Oh, no. It's just… I ... haha.. like you … teehee… You're cool" she calmed herself down enough to look him in the eyes. "I'm Lily Ame by the way, and this is my twin brother; Liam."

"Heh, I guess. Well, cool. I'll be seeing you around, then, Lily-tan. Laters Liam-kun!"

- 4/8/2009

"So, these are our new guests…" The bastard Ikutski met us back at the dorms.. "Good evening. My name is Shuji Ikutski. I'm the Chairman of the Board for your school."

"Oh! It's so nice to meet you Ikyoo… Ikun… ii.." Lily glared at her feet, stumbling over her terrible accent. "Ikuu-"

""Ikutski"… Hard to say isn't it?" He laughed heartedly. "That's why I don't like introducing myself. Even I get tongue-tied sometimes… I apologize about the confusion regarding your accommodations. However, it may take a while longer before you receive the proper room assignment."

"Oh, I don't mind, really. I actually kinda like it here." She looked over to Yukari and blushed a little. "I've only met Yukari-san and Takeba-sempai, but they're really nice."

"Well that's great to hear! But now, it there anything you'd like to ask?"

"Oh… Um, Who else lives here?"

"There are only five students in this dorm: you both, Yukari here, Mitsuru, and a senior named Akihiko Sanada. I hope you all get along. Do you have another question?"

Lily looked to me and I shook my head. "Ah, no!" She grinned back at the sophisticated-looking gentle man.

"Then, I hope you have a successful school year. Now if you'll excuse me… You must be tired from all the excitement. You should go to bed early. As they say, "The early bird catches the book worm"! …Please forgive the bad pun." He chucked, and Yukari sighed.

"Bookworm… early bird catches the… book-Oh! I get it!" Lily laughed brightly. Yukari and I both sighed deeply.

.-

"How are they?" Ikutski entered the 4th floor command room.

Mitsuru and Yukari exchanged worried glances. They were both thinking the same thing… that something was off. Though they both remembered Lily and her death, neither could wholly remember the events in-between, only bits and pieces that were of vague importance. But there was a dangerous, unexplainable feeling whenever they saw Ikutski.

"Hmn? Why do you two seem on edge?"

"Oh! It's nothing!" Yukari waved the suspension away. "And the Ame twins, they're still asleep... So they must both be…" She trailed off.

"As you can see, they've retained their human forms. They're asleep, but they're definitely experiencing the Dark Hour. The only question that remains is whether or not they have the potential. Although, they must. ...If they didn't, they would've preyed on them by now." Eyed the monitors; showing the sleeping twins, in contemplation.

"Scary…" Yukari though aloud.

"In any case, we should monitor them for a few more days." Mitsuru and Yukari nodded in response to Ikutski's suggestion. "…Why do you two seem so stiff tonight?"

"Liam! You are doing excellent so far!" The long nosed man exclaimed. "I was worried you may have trouble adjusting, but I can see you have marvelous self-control."

"Thank you Igor-san." I bowed my head politely to him. "And thank you so much for giving me this second chance.

"It is not I who bestowed this wild card upon you, it was your sister." My eyes widened slightly, and he took it as an invitation to continue speaking. "As you are no doubt aware, at this point a few others have awaked to the memories of their souls. But you are the only one with a clear view. "

"What… do you mean? I'm the only one with a clear view?"

"I mean that the others only have a sense of what has happened. Though some may recall more than others- you are the only one who has it all. For now, anyway… Ah, I wait anxiously to see how this endeavor plays out." He smiled and I was thrust back into my deep sleep- out of the Velvet Room.

3-9-2009

Mitsuru, Yukari, and Ikutski are in the control room again. "...How are they?" Ikutski inquired.

"...The same as last night." Mitsuru replied.

"Hmm... Very interesting." Ikutski scratched his chin with interest. "Even those who have the potential tend to be unstable at first... Memory loss... disorientation... But, these subjects are rather unique. They haven't exhibited any of the common symptoms."

"But... we're treating them like guinea pigs." Yukari voiced her concerns.

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

"Yeah, I guess. But, still..."

There was a beep on the panel.

"Command room. ...Is that you, Akihiko?" Mitsuru responded.

"You're not gonna believe this...! This thing is huge! Unfortunately, I don't have time to talk... It's chasing me... I wanted to let you guys know. I'm almost there." A static-y voice was hard over the speakers.

"Does that mean... he's bringing that thing here!" Yukari jumped out of her chair.

"Mr. Chairman! Let's suspend our observation for now. We'll prepare for battle!" Mitsuru swiftly turned to the tall, sophisticated looking man.

"...R-Right! Be careful!"

In the lounge, the front door swings open and a tall boy with white hair rushes in, slouching against the wall holding his head in one hand and clutching his throbbing ribcage in the other. The smiling image of a girl with bright green eyes and long black hair flashed through his mind, along with so many confused emotions.

"Akihiko!" Mitsuru ran down the stairs to see him.

"Agh...!" He tried to straighten up but failed, falling onto one knee.

"Senpai!" Yukari caught up with the red haired teenager.

"I'm alright. Get ready to be surprised... It'll be here any second." He finally collected himself as the head ache passed and the vision faded to the back of his mind. Who the hell was that girl? And why did he feel the need to save her from something he couldn't fathom?

"This is no time to joke around!" Mitsuru yelled at the white haired boy. Hoping, desperately, that he was kidding when he said it was coming to the dorms.

"It's one of them, Akihiko?" Ikutski finally made it into the lounge.

"Yes, but not an ordinary one—" The ground suddenly shook.

"Ahh! What the...! ...You've gotta be kidding me!" Yukari screamed.

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

"But, what about you two?"

"We'll stop it here. You led it to us, Akihiko, so I'm afraid you'll have to fight."

" Like I had a choice! What are you waiting for, Yukari? Go!" Akihiko got to his feet and entered a fighting stance, befitting of a boxer.

" I-I'm going!"

I awoke to a loud nock on my door and Yukari's voice alarming through it. "Wake up! Sorry, I'm coming in." The door flung open as I jumped up and tried to put my pants on in a flash. I think she caught the top of my boxers for she hesitated a moment before speaking. "I don't have time to explain. We have to get out of here, now!" I nodded and grabbed my shirt, running after her and up the stairs to my sister's room.

"Nurgh!" She groaned as I dragged her out of bed. "Oppa… You now I prefer girls…" I chuckled at her half-sleep talk and threw her over my shoulder. I wondered if Shinjiro ever knew of her dirty little secret?

"Hurry! Downstairs! We'll leave through the back door!" Yukari began to turn and go back to the stairs when she suddenly spun around to me and Lily again. "Wait! ...Take this, just in case. . I had put Lily down and her eyes widened in awareness as Yukari handed her a scythe and me a naginata."...Okay, let's go!" We all ran down into the main room. The brown haired girl bent over, panting. "Alright, we should be safe now—"

"Takeba, do you read me!" Mitsuru's distorted voice rang from a small back ear peace that Yukari wore in place of her usual yellow studs.

" Y-Yes! I hear you!" The brunette girl squeaked.

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

" What!" As if on cue there were several loud bangs on the back door. "L-Let's pull back!" She gasped and we all moved toward the stair. On the fourth floor there was a loud noise and Yukari screamed. "It's getting closer! K-Keep moving! Hurry!" I held in a chuckle, remembering her fear of ghosts; at this point she was still new to SEES so I guessed she attributed the same fear of ghosts to shadows. Finally we made it to the roof and Yukari sighed as she locked the door behind her. "I think we're okay for now..."

The ground shook again.

We all turned around. A large, multi-limbed creature holding a mask

climbed onto the roof. It spotted us, and pulled out a few blades. I moved forward, readying to attack us.

" Those monsters... We call them Shadows!" Yukari tried to explain as she took out a gun. She held it to her head and I felt Lily squeeze my hand, shocked.

"No!" Lily squeaked, trying to lunge forward and take the gun from the brunette girl. However the shadow beat her to it. The gun spun out and landed at my feet. I smirked and remembered what had happed before. This is just as they had played out originally.

Back in the control rooms Akihiko, Mitsuru, and Ikutski spot the trio on the monitor.

"There!" The white haired boy exclaimed. Him and Mitsuru began to leave, preparing to step in and save them.

"Wait." Ikutski stopped them.

I picked up the gun at my feet. Oh how I missed the feel of an Evoker. I put it up to my temples and Lily looked up at me in horror.

"Persona." I whispered, and pulled the trigger.

Beads of energy started to stream around me, and an odd looking being appeared above me. Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Ikutski look on from the monitors, a shocked expression plastered on their faces.

"Thou art I, and I am thou. From the sea of thy soul I cometh. I am Orpheus, master of strings..." Good old Orpheus.

"As we suspected..." Mitsuru breathed, astonished.

Suddenly Orpheus begins to convulse, until he is ripped apart from the inside as a larger Persona burst from within him. Death. The huge new Persona lunged at the Shadow, and cut its mask in half with a swipe of its blade. As the Shadow began to split apart, the Persona grabbed a tendril of it and squeezed it into nothingness. Death then floated into the air and reverted back to Orpheus.

" ...!" Mitsuru's eyes were wide in disbelief.

"What on earth is that!" Akihiko exclaimed.

Orpheus disappeared and I was left out of breath. My body was not used to summoning a persona, not to mention the seal within me holding death at bay had been broken.

"Liam!" Lily rushed to my side, but she was beat by three lesser shadows that crept up on me.

"Damnit…" I was thrown against the wall.

"LIAM!" Lily screamed, running over to me. On her way she knelt down and picked up the pistol which had been dropped when I was thrown. "PERSONA!" She cried, putting the pistol under her chin and pulling the trigger.

A bright light swept over the area, engulfing everything within a mile radius and vaporizing the shadows. When the light receded Lily stood in the middle of the roof, before collapsing at my feet.

"Are you okay! Come on...! Say something!" Yukari cried running over to us.

"Dia…" Lily whispered. A dim light surrounded my leg and I cringed as I felt bone moving. She then passed out. My vision blurred as well and I was barely aware when the door to the roof swung open.

Mitsuru and a white haired boy ran through the entrence.

" Are you alright!" The boy exclaimed.

" Can you hear me! Please...! Answer me!" Yukari cried frantically.

"Lily, are you completely sure about this? Letting them tamper with fate?" The long nosed man looked at the short demonically angelic girl with a scrutinizing look in his blood shot eyes.

"Yes. I stole their happiness away with me."

"But the price you must pay, is it worth it?"

She nodded with a confident yet sad smile. "Of course it is."

All right! A nice fun, looooong chapter :D Hopefully I'll put Shinjiro in the next one… TwT;; Hehe, sorry he hasn't really been in this much.