Hey guys! I was actually able to get to a computer because of Thanksgiving break. Hope ya'll had a good time on Thanksgiving. Anyway, here's chapter two. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 2: The Fateful Night
MAPOV
"Hey, Minato. Wake up." I could hear Nick's voice.
"5 more minutes," I reply groggily.
"Minato. WAKE UP!"
"5 more minutes!"
"Minato, I'm making pancakes."
I shot my eyes open and turned towards his voice. Those pancakes that Nick made were freaking good. "Really?"
"Well, I would, but we're NOT IN OUR DORM!"
I looked around and I see Nick's point. We were in what looked like a blue elevator. And by blue, I mean that every single thing was blue.
"Why are we here?" I asked.
Nick points in front of him. "Ask him. He's the one who called us. Did you not hear the 'Master Minato Arisato. Master Nicholas Howarth.'"
I look in front of me and jump up a little bit in shock. There is a man sitting on another side of a table and a woman standing behind him. The man had a huge nose (and I mean that nose could have been 2 feet long), bulging eyes, and a black suit. The woman wore a blue elevator attendant uniform and had golden eyes and blonde hair. While the man looked like he was in his 50s, the girl looked like she was barely older than us.
The man just gave a huge smile as he said, "Welcome to the Velvet Room. My name is Igor. I am delighted to make your acquaintance." Then he motioned to the girl behind him. "This is my assistant, Elizabeth. She is a resident here as well."
Pleased to meet you," Elizabeth said. Even though they seemed nice, I couldn't help but be weary.
I look at Nick. He must have been awake longer than I have because he seemed uneasy with the
man, and he mouthed, "Be careful."
Igor must have picked up on our weariness. "Do not be alarmed. We mean no harm. It has been years since we have since had a guest, let alone two."
Well, he's got a point. "If you had wanted to do something, you would have done it by now."
Nick nodded. "We're your guests? What is this place?"
Igor smiled again, and I shivered because it was literally ear to ear. "This place exists between dream and reality. Mind and matter." That doesn't make any sense. "Only those who have signed a contract may enter." He waved his hand over the table and two red folders appeared. As they flipped open, me and Nick realized what they were.
"Those are those contracts we signed!" Nick and I shouted in surprise.
"You both are destined to hone your unique ability, and you will require my help to do so. I only ask one thing in return. I hope you uphold your agreement. Until next time, farewell." I was going to ask about our "ability", but it was too late. The room started to fade away into the darkness as I resumed a peaceful sleep.
4/9/09
The next two days went by fast and were mostly uneventful. Only two things happened. First, Nick convinced Junpei, who wasn't paying attention in class, that Dr. Seuss was Ms. Toriumi's favorite author. That was hilarious. Then we met with the chairman of the school board, Shuji Ikutusuki. He said he came by to meet Nick and I and answer any questions. I asked who lived here, and he said the residents included me, Nick, Yukari, Mitsuru, and another senior, Akihiko Sanada. I was going to asked about the other night, but I was too tired to even think straight. Ikutusuki suggested we go to bed, and left with an awful pun: "The early bird catches that bookworm." After some assurance from Yukari that we would get used to them, we went to our room.
Now, it's the middle of the night of April 9. Me and Nick were sleeping, until something shook the entire building.
"What was that?!" I asked as I shot out of bed.
"I don't know, but dude…the creepy green light is back." Nick was right. The room was bathed in the same green light from a few nights ago. In addition, there was blood oozing down from the ceiling.
"Do you think we should check it out?" I asked Nick.
"Heck yeah." We changed into our school uniform (they were the closest things) and our knives (we both had Kerkshaws). We were about to leave, until we heard a loud bang on our door.
"Wake up! Sorry, but I'm coming in!" Yukari burst into the room. She seemed slightly out of breath and she was holding…Wait, are those…?
"Why do you have swords?" Nick asked before I could.
"Later! Right now, we need to go!" Her urgency reminded me about how she acted the night we got to the dorm. Yukari tried to hand us the swords. "Take these." I grabbed the short sword, which was good for thrusting, and Nick took the broadsword, which was used for slashing.
We followed Yukari to the back exit on the first floor. Then we heard Mitsuru's voice come out of nowhere, "Takeba, can you hear me?" They must have a communicator.
Yukari was shocked as she replied, "Y-yes! I can hear you!"
"Be careful! There's more than one enemy! The one we're fighting is not the one Akihiko saw!" Enemy?! More than one?!
"What?!" Yukari, Nick, and I yelled. Then…*BANG!* Something banged on the exit door that cause all of us to jump back three feet. The building started to shake again. "We need another exit!" Yukari yelled.
"The roof!" Minato and I said. Yukari quickly nodded and ran past us to lead us to the roof.
It felt like a horror movie. Running up the stairs…away from something we couldn't see…the whole dorm continuously shaking. Once we got to the roof, Nick and I pushed against the door as Yukari locked it.
"We should be safe up here," Yukari said. We were relieved for just a moment…until we heard a strange noise. We all turned and saw a black hand hanging on the edge of the roof. Six more hands reached up and grabbed on to the edge as well. What the crap?! Another hand, holding a big blue mask, came up and swiveled the mask around. Once the mask was looking…or facing us, four more hands with large daggers appeared. This…thing suddenly shifted its entire body so that it was on the roof. WHAT THE CRAP?!
"What the crap is that thing?!" Me and Nick asked.
"Those beings…we call them Shadows!" Yukari pulled out a gun, which looked familiar, and pressed it against her forehead.
"Wait! Aim at that monster, Yukari!" I couldn't believe it. Why are you about to shoot yourself?! The being, which Yukari had called a Shadow, threw some vortexes of wind at us. Yukari was just about to pull the trigger, but the Shadow threw a dagger at her. Nick was able to jump in front of Yukari and block the dagger with his broadsword, but the impact threw him into her. As a result, Yukari lost her grip on the pistol, which skidded right next to my foot.
As I picked up the pistol, I saw the boy who had given us the contracts. He took his finger and pushed it the side of his head. "Can you…do it?" Was he referring to the gun?
I decided, in the most insane moment of my life, to put the gun to my head and close my eyes. Suddenly, this surge of energy flowed through me, and then a blurry image appeared in my mind. The image started to become clearer and when I could tell what it was, I uttered this word:
"Per…
…so…
…na."
I could hear Nick yell, "No!" as I pulled the trigger. The energy that flowed throughout my body exploded out as the image out of my mind began to materialize. It seemed to be mechanical; it had a faded green body, which look like it had a large speaker on its chest, a black face, and white hair.
I am thou, and thou art I. From the sea of thy soul I come. I am Orpheus, master of strings. The being, Orpheus, took a harp-looking object form its object and swung it at the Shadow. The Shadow blocked the attack and tried to stab the "Persona". Orpheus jumped back and dodged the attack. Another word popped in my head, and I yelled it to Orpheus: "Agi!" Orpheus played a few notes and a fireball flew out from the "harp" at the Shadow. However, the Shadow blocked the attack with its daggers.
Suddenly, I felt a head-splitting pain. I grabbed my head and dropped to my knees. I saw Orpheus shaking, and then two hands popped out of his mouth. The hands ripped Orpheus apart to reveal a new being. This new "Persona" was terrifying; it had a long black coat, a bird-like mask, and a long necklace of coffin. The being drew a sharp sword and attacked the Shadow. It crushed the Shadow, and the only thing left from the fury of punches and slashes were a few puddles of black goo.
The being let out a scream of victory, but then changed back into Orpheus. As Orpheus faded away, because his job was finished, a wave of tiredness rushed over me. It hit my head on the ground and everything went black.
NHPOV
I was scared. Scared of the "Shadow". Scared of Minato's "Persona". Scared of the…thing that came out of Minato's "Persona". But as soon as Minato fell over, I broke free of the fear that was crippling me.
"Minato!" I rushed over to Minato to make sure he was fine. He still had a pulse, but wouldn't wake up. Those things must have taken toll on him. Not surprisingly; those two beings were strong enough to beat that…Shadow, was it? What were they called? Persona?
"Is it over?" Yukari asked as I grabbed the gun from Minato. I was about to reply, but the puddles of goo left over from the last enemy started to move on their own. Eight new Shadows came out of the goo, each with a blue mask similar to the larger Shadow that had been destroyed. You just had to ask, Yukari.
I put the gun to my head and closed my eyes. I saw an image, which started out hazy but became sharper after a few seconds. I could feel a surge of energy throughout my body.
"Persona!" I pulled the trigger, and a man on a winged horse appeared. The man wore ancient Greek armor, had black hair, and held a spear. The horse was white as snow.
I am thou, and thou art I. I am Bellerphon, rider of Pegasus. Bellerphon charged the closest Shadow and skewered it with his spear. Another tried to attack me, but I slashed at it twice with an X-shaped pattern and the Shadow dissipated.
"AH!" I turned and saw Yukari being attacked by yet another Shadow. I ran over and block the Shadow from wounding Yukari more. I kicked it hard and sent it flying. I wasn't about to let it do more harm.
"I will protect my friends," I said as I turned to face the other six Shadows. Almost immediately after I said this, a card appeared in front of me, covered in light. I soon recognized the card. What was this called? The Word Arcana? I dropped the pistol and reach out to grab it. As soon as I touched it, it broke and disappeared. I felt another huge rush of energy flow through my body as red, white, and blue flames covered my body.
"Nick? What's happening? " I turned around and saw that Yukari was terrified. I also saw the gashes on her legs from the Shadow's claws. I reached out my hand and channeled energy from me to Yukari. After a few seconds, Yukari's wounds were completely healed. She was shocked and relieved, and was about to ask what happen, but I stopped her.
"I'll have to answer that question once I find out myself." Suddenly, Mitsuru and Akihiko broke the door down. When they saw me, they were speechless. "Keep Yukari and Minato safe," I say as I turned back to the Shadows and summoned Bellerphon, without the pistol.
Except this time, it wasn't Bellerphon. A different man in golden armor appeared, instead. He had tan skin, white hair, and green eyes. The armor's design seemed to be older than Bellerphon's armor, but I couldn't tell how old. The new Persona raised a sword into the sky. The sword was long, about 44 inches, made of steel, and the hilt was made with gold and silver inlays. As he raised the sword, the sky turned from green to bronze, then a million swords rained from the sky. Five Shadows were destroyed, and the last one was just somehow slightly injured. I brought my sword back, preparing to slash at the Shadow, and allowed some of my new energy to flow into the sword. As I brought it forward, a beam of red, white, and blue energy shot towards the remaining Shadow and vaporized it instantly.
The new Persona faded away once the Shadows were destroyed. I could feel the energy slip away. Then, I felt my knees buckle, and everything faded to black.
I woke up in a familiar place. What was this place? Oh yeah, this is the Velvet Room. I looked ahead of me and saw Igor and Elizabeth across from the table.
Igor spoke first. "Welcome back. Don't worry, you passed out after you awakened to your power. We have already explained it to Minato, and now we will explain your power to you." Now that he mentions it, Minato isn't here. The chair to my left is empty.
"What is my power?"
"Well, you have two." Igor waved his hand over the table a miniature Bellerphon appeared. "Your first power is that of Persona."
"What is a Persona?"
"Think of it as a façade or a mask used to fight hardships."
"Fight hardships? Do you mean it represents my personality?"
Igor smiled. "Exactly. You have the ability of the Wild Card, which means you can wield multiple Personas. But, your Wild Card is not complete."
Bellerphon disappeared and twenty one cards appeared on the table. The designs looked familiar to the World Arcana, but they all had a unique design. "Normally, as a Wild Card, you can use all twenty one Arcanca. However, your abilities are limited to fourteen." Seven of the cards disappeared, leaving, as Igor said, only fourteen. He then proceeded to name the Arcana left:
"You can bond with the Fool, Empress, Emporer, Lovers, Chariot, Hermit, Strength, Hanged Man, Death, Tower, Star, Justice, Judgment, and Aeon Arcana."
"Wait, bond with the Arcana?" I asked.
Igor nodded as he replied, "With this power, it is weak. You must make Social Links: bonds with friends that cannot be broken. There lies the true power of these Arcana."
Then I remembered the night of April 7. "Have I already started a Social Link?" Igor smiled that trademark smile.
"Yes, which leads us to the topic of your second power."
"Due to the rarity of this power, I would like to explain it to him, Igor." A deep and ancient sounding voice through the Velvet Room, which made me jump out of my chair and onto my feet. I jump again when I heard a door behind me open. I turned and saw a man wearing a black suit, a golden tie, and what appeared to be a blue butterfly mask. But as he walked closer, it looked like the mask was infused into his face. I was about to freak out, but then I saw, out of the corner of my eye, Igor and Elizabeth bowing in respect.
"It is nice to meet you again, Master Philemon," they said.
"Thank you, Igor and Elizabeth. You always make me feel welcome." Then he turned to me and stretched out his hand. "My name is Philemon, observer of events."
I was reluctant at first, but then I saw that his smile was full of warmth. "Nick Howarth. Nice to meet you." I grabbed his hand in a firm handshake.
"A well-mannered Wild Card. This is going to be interesting." Philemon let go of my hand and looked to the table. The Arcana that were on the table disappeared and were replaced with two images. The first was the World Arcana, and the second was a three dimensional image of me covered in red, white, and blue flames.
"You have received a very special gift: the powers of the World Arcana. This one of the most powerful forces that a mortal can wield . It represents fulfillment, wholeness, and harmony. As you progress your Social Link of the World Arcana, you will awaken to more heightened senses and abilities."
"Heightened senses? Abilities?"
"You have already noticed a few. Increased speed, strength, and powerful blasts of energy. Also, a power of healing. This ability is currently conditional. It will change depending on you cause."
"My cause? Like wanting to protect Minato and Yukari?" I asked.
Philemon nodded. "You also have another power right now. You can tell whether people have a Persona or has the potential to use a Persona."
"That can be usefully."
"Yes, but you can unlock so much more. You could see the past or anywhere in the present. You could freeze time. You could even change the fabric of reality itself."
That blew my mind. Especially 'change the fabric of reality.' I could make the world how I want it? I thought that this could be awesome. But, than I thought about something else. What would happen if I did alter reality? What would I change beside that one specific thing? "Should I really be able to use those kinds of powers, Philemon? I can think of a million ways I can screw up with that much power."
Philemon smiled as he put his hand on my shoulder. Unlike Igor's smile, which was kind of creepy, Philemon's smile was full of warmth and kindness. "This is why I can trust you with this power. You thought about the consequences as well as the benefits. You will be fine. Besides, if you need any help, just call me."
"Ok…wait. How am I supposed to call you?" I asked.
"You'll find you when you need to ask. Now you are about to wake up." Just as he said it, my vision began to fade. Philemon took something out of his pocket and gave it to me "You'll be needing this when you want to come back here…Oh, tell Orpheus and Bellerphon 'hello' for me when you see them." I was going to ask why, but my vision went black as I left the Velvet Room.
Oh my gosh! This felt like a really long chapter. I just wanted to stick both Minato's and my perspective in the same chapter because it involved that night. Anyway, please review and vote on my poll. Thank you! See you next time!
Edit(11/25/12): Hey Everyone! Quick little addition. I now have a Facebook page for 13TheAce! I would love for ya'll to check it out, so here is the web address: #!/13theace?fref=ts. Hope you enjoy and support the page!