Minato POV

I approached the dorm, and what do I see? Some guy struggling to get the suitcase up the steps while carrying three bags. Who is this guy anyways? Wonder if he's a new Persona user? If so, Persona users being rare my ass. So they found, what, three in the same month? And I doubt Yukari is a veteran, considering her actions on the roof. But what kind of idiot tries to roll a suitcase up the stairs?

I shake my head and approach him. "You need help with that?" I was originally going to say something rude, but decided against it. If he's going to be a teammate, then I guess I should be on good terms with him.

"Huh? Uh, nope, I got it under control…this thing isn't budging at all," he said, pushing with all his might.

I took the bags he was holding, just to lessen the load. "Carry it up the steps," I say. He blinked before doing that. Soon we heard a voice from the other side.

"Hey! Hurry it up will you?" That was Akihiko's voice. The guy just shouted back.

"Hold your horses! This thing is freakin' heavy!" He opened the door and pushed the suitcase in before panting. I entered behind him and dropped his bags next to him.

"J-Junpei!? Why is he here!?" Yukari all but shouted. Akihiko, Yukari, and Hamuko were standing in front of the door. Now that I think about it, this guy was talking to Hamuko earlier.

"This is Junpei Iori from 2-F," Akihiko said to me. "He'll be staying here from now on."

Yukari seemed to really not be pleased with this. "You have the potential!? For real?"

Junpei just rubbed the back of his head. "Heh, senpai found me at the convenience store surrounded by coffins, crying like a baby. Man that was embarrassing! I don't remember much, but apparently that's normal." Normal?

"What's normal?" I asked.

"Y'know, being confused and stuff," he then put his hand out. "This is all basic Persona textbook stuff, didn't you know?" Why is this guy so cocky?

"Really? That didn't happen to me," Hamuko said, with a small smile on her face.

"Big deal. Happens to everyone else," Junpei responded, though I could see his eye twitch.

"Didn't happen to me either," I say, wondering what Junpei will do.

"…" Junpei looked at Akihiko. "Senpai, did you lie to me?"

Akihiko just looked on passively. "No, those two are just special cases." He looked at all four of us. "Well, are you ready to go to Tartarus?"

Hamuko, Yukari, and I nodded while Junpei just looked clueless. "Tartarus? What's that? Sounds like toothpaste?"

Tartarus, that word rings a bell. Wonder if it also has something to do with mythology. Whatever.

"You'll see," was all Akihiko said before heading up the stairs.

Junpei turned towards us. "Bet you're all stoked, having me here," he said leaning on his suitcase. I am so tempted to push the suitcase.

"H-huh? Uh, yeah, sure," Yukari said.

Hamuko decided to give Junpei the benefit of the doubt. "Glad you're with us Junpei-kun!"

Junpei grinned. "Thank Hamu-tan," he then looked towards me. "I don't think we've met. I'm Junpei Iori!" He held out his hand.

I shook his hand. "Minato Arisato. We'll be counting on you."

And now we were at the school. I cannot wait to get my revenge.

"Why the hell are we here!?" Junpei shouted. I forgot he was here.

"Just wait," Akihiko said. "The Dark Hour is approaching."

And then green, no more lights, blood everywhere, blah, blah, blah. Usual Dark Hour stuff. And then the school transforming into a deformed tower. I looked at the group. Mitsuru and Akihiko were as passive as always, Yukari was just slightly uncomfortable, and Hamuko and Junpei. Their faces were priceless. I wish cell phones worked in the Dark Hour, otherwise I would totally take picture…wait, I don't have a phone. I guess I should go buy one. I'll need a job though.

Mitsuru stepped forwards. "This is Tartarus. A labyrinth of Shadows. We believe we will find the answers to the Dark Hour here."

"Labyrinth? What the hell happened to our school!?" Junpei clearly couldn't handle the idea of a school transforming into a tall, deformed tower.

"It will return to normal once the Dark Hour ends," Mitsuru explained.

"No, why did our school of all places turn into…a huge tower?" Junpei asked. That is a good question. Why our school of all places? There was a silence at Junpei's question. "You don't know?"

Akihiko stepped forward. "No we don't, but that's why we hope to find all the answers in Tartarus."

That is the biggest lie I've ever heard. I am pretty sure Mitsuru is smart enough to realize it isn't a coincidence that a school funded by the Kirijo Group would transform into the Shadow's nest. So clearly they don't want to tell us. Whatever, if it doesn't have anything to do with my memories, it's not really a concern of mine.

And soon we entered to lobby. Junpei, Yukari, and Hamuko were at awe. "Damn, this place looks awesome!"

"For the Shadow's home, this place looks beautiful," Yukari and Junpei were staring at the giant clock while Hamuko was staring at the blue door. The door that so rudely rejected me.

We were all startled when we heard the sound of metal clanging. We turned to Akihiko and Mitsuru and saw some weapons on the ground. A short sword, a long sword, a naginata, and a bow and quiver.

"Akihiko! I told you to be careful!" Mitsuru exclaimed, glaring at Akihiko who just rubbed the back of his head before facing us.

"Alright, pick a weapon that would be best suited for you," Akihiko said, and soon we were all near the weapons. Yukari immediately took the bow and quiver while Hamuko took the naginata. Junpei picked up the long sword and…started swinging it like a baseball bat. I took the short sword. "Now we're going to appoint a leader."

Junpei stopped swinging his sword and looked at Akihiko. "A leader? Oh, me. Me, me, me. Pick me."

Akihiko looked at Junpei and sighed. He looked at Hamuko and I. "You're in charge."

Hamuko seemed surprised and Junpei, well he didn't like that idea for some reason. "Wait, why her? She doesn't look like a leader! And she's a girl!"

Wow. Someone's sexist. Hamuko glared at Junpei. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Before Junpei could get his ass kicked by Hamuko, Akihiko interrupted. "She kept her cool when the dorm was attacked by shadows, but there's more. Junpei, Yukari, can you two summon your Personas like she could?" Akihiko raised his evoker to her head. "No hesitation once you feel the cold, steel barrel."

Junpei put on a brave face. "O-of course I can!"

Yukari didn't even bother hiding it. "I think so."

"These are Shadows we're dealing with. Without your Persona, you're screwed," Akihiko said.

Junpei gulped while Yukari sighed. "I know that much."

I just noticed Hamuko walk towards that blue door. Wait, did she actually open it!? "How did she open that door?" I wonder aloud. All the members of SEES turned towards me, then to her. I also just noticed the moving…things in the background. It was like Tartarus was alive. Creepy. Yukari and Junpei walked over to Hamuko.

"Yo, are you okay? You look like a zombie," Junpei said.

Hamuko frowned. "I do not look like a zombie."

"But what were you doing, just staring into space?" Yukari asked. "Are you still recovering from the attack?"

"I…just thought I saw something. Just wanted to make sure there was no Shadow around," Hamuko said. Wait, so the others can't see the door?

"You do not have to worry Shiomi," we all turn towards Mitsuru. "Shadows don't appear in the lobby."

"Really? Why?" I ask. Well, I guess if they did I wouldn't be standing here.

"We do not know, but we use it to our advantage," Mitsuru said. "Now then, are you all prepared to enter the tower? Akihiko and I won't be joining you. You all need practise."

We all nod and then enter the clock. I feel so much more confident this time. I don't have some punk's knife, but a sword and a Persona. The others were a bit dizzy. They looked around and were startled when there was no entrance.

"Where's the entrance!?" Junpei shouted. Why the hell would he shout? I was about to answer him when a voice cut into our heads.

"When you enter the clock, you teleport into the true labyrinth." That was Mitsuru's voice.

"Whoa, is that you senpai?" Hamuko asked. Who else did she think it was?

"Yes, it is my Personas ability. I will be providing assistance, such as finding out a Shadows weakness or navigating you through the labyrinth," Mitsuru explained.

"But is outside support really needed?" I asked. I wanted to see what the true potential of the Ice Queen was.

"The labyrinth changes structure every day. Outside support is essential." Well that sucks. We heard her gasp. "Two Shadows are heading your way! What could have attracted them to you?"

"Oh I don't know, how about Mr. Sexist and his shout?" I say. Before anyone could respond, the two Shadows appear from the corner.

I smirk as they're the exact same type of Shadow I fought the last time I was here and the ones that attacked the hospital and dorm. I grip my sword and dash straight towards them. I hear everyone gasp but I know these things well. The first one tried to slash at me, but I dodged and slashed it in half with my sword. The other one had a new trick. It used an ice attack. I quickly rolled out of the way and slashed it in half. "That's that."

I turned back towards my fellow teammates. They were in awe. Heh, I'm pretty awesome, yep.

"That was fantastique Arisato," Mitsuru complimented me in French. Why French, I have no idea.

"Thanks Mitsuru," I say before walking over to the others. "So, let's be a little quieter, shall we?"

Hamuko took the lead and it wasn't long until we encountered another of the same Shadow. "Mitsuru, what are these Shadows called?" I was getting tired of calling them Shadows with claws or black goo monsters with a mask.

"They are called Cowardly Mayas. They are weak to fire. Shiomi, your Persona has an Agi skill."

And I'm going to guess Agi means fire. "Roger senpai!" Hamuko called before pointing the evoker to her head and pulling the trigger. "Orpheus!" Her Persona, Orpheus appeared and an explosion appeared where the Shadow was. Soon there was nothing left of the Shadow.

I whistled. "Nice one Hamuko."

"Tres bien Shiomi."

She smiled at me and I turned towards Yukari and Junpei. Yukari was amazed and Junpei was glaring. Was he jealous or something? We continued until we saw some stairs.

"Do we go up the stairs?" I ask.

"As you progress in the tower, more powerful Shadows will appear. Progress when you feel you are ready."

I turned to Hamuko "Well?"

Hamuko looked at Junpei and Yukari. "They should try and get used to summoning their Personas. Let's stick around here for a bit."

I nodded and we went around another corner. Out of nowhere Mitsuru shouted. "Shadows are attacking from above!" It was too late and soon we were surrounded by three Maya's.

"Persona!" I hear Hamuko yell as Orpheus easily killed one of the Shadows.

"Junpei! Yukari!" I shout. They need to help. I mean, I could easily go and kill the remaining to by myself, but like Hamuko said. They need experience.

"R-right!" Yukari placed the evoker on her forehead and pulled the trigger. "Io!" Her Persona appeared and a blast of wind destroyed the Maya, sending it flying in pieces.

"Wow," I say. I must say, I was not expecting Yukari to have such a strong Persona, especially since that was her first time summoning her Persona, well, in a fight.

"I can do even better!" I turn to Junpei who summoned his Persona. His Persona looked pretty cool. It cleaved the remaining Shadow in half. "Heh, who's the man?"

"That was great you guys!" Hamuko complimented.

"Right? I was awesome!" Junpei cheered and I face palmed. I turned around and, as I expected, saw two more Mayas.

"Way to go Junpei, attracting even more Shadows," I say, gripping my sword.

He didn't seem happy with that comment. "Oh yeah? Well I haven't seen you summon your Persona yet!"

I raised a brow. What was his point? But I guess I should summon my Persona. Though, I'm a bit curious. For some reason, Macaria needed my blood to be exposed with the Dark Hour in order for me to summon her. So, what will happen if my blood isn't exposed? Well, now's a better time than any to find out. I place the evoker to my head, and pull the trigger.

I was very surprised when I saw a male version of Hamuko's Persona appear and blasted the Shadows with Agi.

I just stared in shock as my Persona, Orpheus disappeared.

"Minato-kun, what happened to your other Persona?" Yukari asked. To my knowledge, only Yukari and Akihiko have seen Macaria.

"I…have no idea," I say. I look towards Hamuko. "Can you still summon your Persona?"

Hamuko summoned her Orpheus and there they were, side by side. Her feminine Orpheus and my masculine Orpheus.

"Two people having the same Persona?" Mitsuru says. "This is unheard of. Not to mention you both have more than one."

"Seriously!?" Junpei shouts.

Hamuko and I dismiss our Personas. I don't get it, but all I know is...

"Another Shadow is coming your way!"

I am bringing duct tape the next time we come here and taping it to Junpei's mouth.

This time, Hamuko dashed over to the Maya and twirled the naginata with impressive skill and killed it easily.

We eventually move on to the next floor. Then the next, then the one after. And then the one after the one after. So we are now on floor 5.

"Be careful! I sense 3 powerful Shadows on that floor!"

I also see one of those Access Point things. Yeah, that green thing I touched the last time I was here is called an Access Point. It teleports you to the lobby of Tartarus. Though that one looks a bit different.

"Are those the shadows?" I hear Yukari say. She seemed to have walked a bit ahead. We walked over to her and were surprised to see three huge eagles. They were just staring at us, not making a move.

"Uh, hello?" I say, waving at the Eagles. They didn't react. "What gives?"

"They are Guardians of Tartarus. You will need to defeat them to progress. They are stronger than normal Shadows, be cautious."

Hamuko nodded. "Right, let's go everyone!" We all nodded and rushed towards them. Soon we were all standing an equal distance apart and the three Eagles were in front of us. "Scan senpai!" Hamuko called out. The Shadows were not messing around; one immediately used Garu on Hamuko, who barely dodged.

"Persona!" I shouted, summoning Orpheus. Orpheus was going to bash one of the Eagles but the other Eagle appeared and used a wind attack on Orpheus, making him disappear and making me cringe.

"Those are Venus Eagles! They block Fire, Wind, Light, and Dark! They do not have a weakness!"

Yukari fired an arrow at once but it dodged and used Garu at Yukari, who was only pushed back a bit thanks to her resistance to Garu.

"Hermes!" I see Junpei's Persona charge straight at one of the Eagles but it was immediately hit by a Garu, making it disappear immediately. Yeah, Junpei's weak to wind.

"Apsaras!" I was surprised to see Hamuko summon another Persona. Apsaras froze one of the Eagles in place. The other Eagle was about to break the ice open.

"Oh no you don't!" I summon Orpheus and Orpheus bash the Eagle into the wall. I'm going to name these Eagles. The one frozen is Eagle 1. The one Orpheus hit into the wall is Eagle 2. And the one that is charging at me is Eagle 3.

Crap.

I was hit hard and into the wall by the Eagle. The Eagle was going to hit me with a Garu.

"Io!"

In front of me was Yukari's Persona, taking the hit. I stood up and summoned Orpheus again. Orpheus bashed the Shadow down flat into the ground. "Yukari!" I shout.

"I got it!" We both rush towards the Shadow. She fired an arrow into the sky and I jumped and grabbed it then stabbed Eagle 3 with both my sword and the arrow, killing it. Talk about badass!

We look and see the remaining two Shadows attack Hamuko and Junpei. The Eagles both used a simultaneous Garu. I quickly summon Orpheus in front of Hamuko and Yukari summoned Io in front of Junpei. We rush over to them and assume our battle positions. We had an advantage now, four versus two.

"We need to finish this!" Hamuko called out. We all nodded and she summoned her Apsaras and froze Eagle 1. Junpei followed up using Hermes to cleave the Eagle into broken pieces of frozen ichor.

We all covered our ears when the last eagle let out a loud screech. We all looked in wonder as Eagle 2 started to grow in size and glow.

"It is much stronger now! Could it be that losing its allies increased its strength…?"

It used a multi-Garu attack, sending us all flying into the wall except Yukari. She aimed an arrow towards the Shadow but the Shadow deflected it easily and hit her to the side with its wing.

"Dammit," I summon Orpheus who quickly tries to bash the Shadow on the head. The Shadow hits Orpheus into the wall, making it disappear and causing me to fall on my knees. I started gasping for air. I must have used up to much energy. I can't…get…up…

"Arisato! You've exerted too much energy!"

I know that Mitsuru! But I can't do anything about it…I collapse to the ground. All I can do is watch Hamuko and Junpei fight the last Shadow on their own.

Hamuko summoned Apsaras again to freeze the Eagle, but the Eagle broke out quickly before Junpei's Persona could destroy it. The Eagle used the multi-Garu attack and hit Junpei and Hamuko, once again sending them flying, though this time Junpei was unconscious.

I suddenly started to feel rejuvenated. I slowly got up and saw Yukari's Persona, which apparently healed me. "Thanks," is all I say as I rush towards the Eagle, jumping and striking it in its right wing with my sword.

I notice Hamuko was getting exhausted. "Shiomi, you've used too much Spiritual Energy!"

Spiritual Energy? I guess that's magic attacks like Bufu, Garu, and Agi. Hamuko was using Bufu quite a bit, and Agi on our way up here.

If only I could summon Macaria right now. She could finish this quickly. Actually, why don't I summon her? I lightly slash my right palm and held it out as blood started to trickle down my arm.

…

Uh? There should be dark energy and a card for me to crush. Don't tell me Orpheus replaced Macaria!

If that's how it is, then I guess I have to deal with it. I rolled out of the way of another Garu attack and summon Orpheus. Soon Hamuko's Orpheus appears and they both slam the Eagle with their harps.

"Shall we?" I ask, gripping my sword as I stared at the Eagle that was stunned on the ground. Hamuko nodded and we both charged at the Eagle, slashing it to pieces with our weapons. Soon the Eagle was gone.

I look over and see Yukari healing Junpei with her Persona. "That was some fight."

Hamuko walked over to Junpei and Yukari. "No kidding."

"Aww man, you guys killed it without me?" Junpei said, though he was more joking this time.

"You helped too Junpei-kun," Hamuko said smiling. I walked over to the Access Point.

"Shall we leave?" I ask, and without an answer, I touch it and was teleported back to the lobby.

Soon the three were right behind me and we walked over to Akihiko and Mitsuru. "That was very impressive. You got the hang of this rather quickly," Mitsuru said, making Junpei and Hamuko's face light up and Yukari smile a bit. "At this rate, they'll catch up to you quickly Akihiko."

Akihiko grinned and looked at us. "We'll see about that."

And we were all off, leaving towards the dorm. I look down at my right hand, still bleeding since I didn't bother healing the cut. Why couldn't I summon Macaria? Is it because of Orpheus? But that doesn't make sense.

Hamuko and I yawned at the exact same time. We looked at each other and laughed. Today was hectic, and I'm glad that there's no school tomorrow. I also am starting to like Yukari and Junpei. Yukari saved me how many times? And Junpei was, well, Junpei. I know we can count on him to ease the mood. I'm sure that this isn't going to be a happy journey, so we'll need someone like him on our side.