Capitulum IV: Luella
I fell to my knees. "You what...?" Uttered I.
"She... she's dead isn't she? Isn't she!?" Spoke she, disconcertedly.
"I don't know! I don't know..." I shook my head in fright.
The girl kneeled, joined her hands together and looked up at the sky. "I'm sorry, Fuuka! Please don't hate me! Please leave me alone!"
"It's not her... It's not Fuuka's voice."
"Of course it is! It has to be! What else could it be!?" Said she, agitatedly.
"It's yourself..."
"What?"
"It's yourself! It's your Persona..."
"What are you saying?" She repeated angrily: "What are you saying!?"
I stood up and retrieved the Evoker from the belt beneath my shirt. "Look at me." I pointed it to my head.
She shrieked in fear. "You're crazy...!"
"Look at me!" Yelled I. I pulled the trigger.
A distorted image appeared before me. The humanoid silhouette was displayed in a corrupt, shattered state, probably seeming more monstrous than it really was.
The girl's mouth stood agape. After a couple seconds, Orpheus's image vanished but she remained in a shocked state.
"Get it together!" Hollered I. Her frightened pupils trembled as they stared at me. "You have one, too." Said I, calmer.
I stood there waiting until she recovered. Eventually she calmed down and stood up with difficulty. I decided not to help her, or move at all. I wouldn't be able to stop her if she ran away and told someone what just happened. So I remained frozen in place.
"Is there anyone else?" Asked she.
"Yes, there are many others." Answered I.
She sighed. "All right. Tell me about it. Tell me how to save Fuuka."
"...I think she got lost in this place we call Tartarus... If so, it's possible to go in and rescue her."
"Then let's do it." Said she, determinedly.
I pursed my lips. "Tartarus is a very dangerous place, if we're not careful we may end up just like Fuuka."
"Then we'll be careful. I'll follow your lead." She smirked.
I rolled my eyes. "We could go to the dorm and tell the others about it." Started I.
"No!" Said she, firmly. "You promised. No one must know."
"The others could help."
"No!" Repeated she. "We're gonna do this. Only we."
"What if we're not strong enough?" Asked I.
"Then we'll die trying! You can't break your word."
"Of course I can." Muttered I. "But I won't." I added in haste.
"So?" Uttered she, impatiently.
I looked to my right, racking my brain thinking of a plan. "Let's hide." Uttered I.
-/-
"Why the fuck are we hiding in the broom closet?" Uttered Natsuki.
"Shh. Just a bit longer!" Whispered I, while checking through the interior window.
"Minako... can I see your gun?"
"Not now!"
"Won't my Persona appear if I shoot myself with it?"
"That's not how it works."
She frowned. "I think we can leave now, I mean, it's a quarter past eleven."
"All right, but let's be quiet."
"She can't have gone that far from the gym... I think. For now, we'll just have to wait. In the meantime, you should try invoking your Persona."
"All right." She extended her hand expectantly.
"I said, that's not how it works. You must first mentally visualise your Persona before you even touch an Evoker."
She narrowed her eyes and pouted before saying: "I have no idea how my Persona looks like."
"Hmm... An extension of the self... I guess it would look like you...?"
"What? But you don't look like yours at all, besides, wasn't that a man?"
Realisation hit me amidst my half-chuckle. "I guess... it's not about appearance. It's more like your mental image of yourself."
She seemed to mull over my advice, then said: "I hope it's a girl... I hope it's a pretty girl."
I sighed, vexed. Then I heard a noise.
"What was that?" Said Natsuki, startled.
"Sounds like steps. C'mon!" I grabbed her by the arm and hurried towards the storage closet.
Once inside I turned the knob to lock the door.
"There was no one here the other day..." Whispered Natsuki.
"But now there is!" Said I, irritated. "Who could it be?"
The steps seemed to be gradually coming closer. I crouched down and placed my index finger before my lips in a signal for Natsuki to stay as still as possible. The closet slowly grew more illuminated as the steps neared us. 'Whoever's out there has a torch.' Reasoned I. 'Please don't look through the window, please don't look through the window, please don't look through the window.' I repeated mentally in prayer.
A noise right behind me, on the door. They tried to turn the knob, but it was locked.
"Anyone in there?" A male voice. I held my breath. "Natsuki?" Uttered the man. "Minako?" He called my name. 'Why?' "I know you're in there, it's me, open the door!"
'What the fuck are you saying?' I screamed internally.
"Minako, there's a tracker inside the Evoker!" Uttered he.
'What?' "What?" Shouted I. I stood up briskly and opened the door.
"Akihiko!"
"Hey." Said he, non-chalantly.
"Minako!" Uttered Natsuki.
"You heard him. It seems I was being tracked."
"It's for your own good. Anyway, I know what's going on."
"There's nothing going on." Said Natsuki, firmly.
"Save it for the authorities, Moriyama, your comrades ratted on you, exposed your true identity, you should be ashamed!"
"No! That was not my intention! I never meant to hurt Fuuka this way!" Natsuki fell to the ground.
"Natsuki..."
"We need to leave now, the Dark Hour is close at hand." Said Akihiko.
"What about Fuuka? We need to save Fuuka!" Natsuki grew agitated.
"Fuuka Yamagishi..." Akihiko scoffed. "That one's already a lost cause."
Natsuki's lips trembled in rage as she slowly got back on her feet. "How dare you! You won't stop me!" She leapt to her right and purposely bumped into me, throwing me down and snatching away my Evoker, then she broke into sprint towards the staircase.
"Hey, hold it!" Yelled Akihiko. "Damn it!" He chased after her into the school.
"Ouch..." Groaned I, as I got up. I looked at my wristwatch. 11:51. 'He won't make it in time. And now I don't have an Evoker anymore. I could just leave the school. I'd be safe, but... But Fuuka...' My palm formed a fist as I thought about running away. I saw Natsuki's weeping expression in my mind and I felt a sadness beyond my imagining digging a hole through my heart. 'No... No, I can't... I can't break my word.'