HEY BOYS, it's your man Diego, back at it again with another chapter. Now, it's been a while, and I've been getting a little distracted by a bunch of minor bullcrap, so I'll do you a favor and truncate this intro right now. Enjoy.


Makoto Yuki thought he was going to die. It didn't look like there was any way out of this situation. While him, Yukari, and the eight other students upstairs had been able to fend off the monsters with just their weapons for a short time, it didn't take long for them to be ambushed from further upstairs. As such, they were forced to retreat to the first floor, where it seemed that the situation wasn't getting better. Any bit of hope that the party seemed to have after the death of the large monster was dashed immediately by the arrival of a strange masked army. And now they were being rushed by them ruthlessly on both sides.

With the charge command given, Yu and Mitsuru had placed themselves in front of the door, using their Evokers to bring out their Personas. Izanagi and Penthesilea swiped at the army with their weapons, and Yu and Mitsuru did the same with their own, but it seemed that these ground troops weren't just normal lackeys. Some of them in the back were casting magic, keeping many of the other Persona users ducking for cover. Their power made it far too risky to let them near the members unable to summon Personas. While some of them were incapacitated Yu and Mitsuru's attacks, about ten found their way past them and inside the dorm, where they began making their way to the students without Evokers, some of whom were still trying to hold off the Shadows coming down the stairs. Five troops went to the right, where Ryuji, Anne, and Sho were fighting the Shadows and five went to the left where the remainder of the students were positioned. Akira, Goro, and Yukari spread out, Akira covering the left, Goro and Yukari on the right.

"Shit!" Akihiko said, rushing to the left side of the back of the room with his Evoker raised, "Polydeuces! Zio!"

His Persona appeared and fired a bolt at lightning at the troops on the left, hitting one.

"Robin Hood!" cried Goro, summoning the archer, who fired a powerful shot at a troop, before drawing his hilt and turning on what looked to be a laser sword, and cutting down another.

"Arsene!" Akira cried, "Eiha!" prompting the red Persona to fire a blast of dark energy at another foot soldier on the left side.

Despite their efforts however, there were still three soldiers on each side that slipped by, ready to attack the relatively defenseless students, and there were still more trying to get in. On the left, one of them had reached their targets, and was raising his staff to attack Ryuji from behind. On the other side, all three were about to cast Maragi spells on the other students.

Suddenly, from behind Ryuji's attacker, Morgana jumped onto his head, tired of having to hide. He was clawing and biting the hooded man to the best of his ability.

"Leave him alone, bastard!" Morgana yelled through his biting.

This voice got Ryuji and Anne to turn around, now ignoring the Shadows. Sho on the other hand, kept fighting, doing quite well despite his lack of a Persona.

"Morgana?!" Ryuji screamed, "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Damn cat!" one of the other troops said, raising his own staff, "Get the hell off!"

Swinging it, the staff hit Morgana's side, sending him flying into the wall and falling to the ground.

"Don't you dare touch him!" Ryuji said, now swinging his hammer at the ambushed soldier, hitting him right in the gut. The troop was sent tumbling down the stairs, with the other two watching.

"Cocky brat!" one of them said, turning back to the three and casting a spell, "Magna-!"

He was interrupted by Anne's whip lashing him in the face, sending him down right after his partner. The third one was also sent flying by Ryuji, who was now growling in anger.

"You like that?!" he shouted.

"Shut up!" Sho said, barely breaking a sweat fighting the Shadows alone, "If you're gonna talk, talk! If you're gonna fight, fight! Pick one and get on it!"

"Now's not the time for petty arguments!" Anne said, "Get over yourself!"

"If you two are just gonna keep babbling, then I'll take these assholes on alone!" Sho retorted.

"Don't count me out," Akihiko said, running up beside Sho, "You're not going at this alone.

"You've got that right!" said Mako, who had followed Akihiko.

"Whatever!" Sho yelled, not missing a beat, "Just don't get in my way like those two!"

"Rrgh…" Ryuji muttered, "Prick…" He charged toward the door to attack the other stragglers who had gotten through. "I'll show you!" he said.

"Ryuji, wait!" Akihiko called as a Shadow prepared to take a swipe at him. A Shadow which was dealt with by Mako's Orpheus bashing it to death. Hearing this take place, Akihiko turned back, looking at the remains of his attacker before turning to Mako.

"Eyes up front!" she said with a grin, before going back to fighting the Shadows.

Akihiko knew she was right, they had a job to do. He raised his Evoker.


[Cue OP]


Chapter VII: The First Shots

At the same time, the hooded soldiers about to cast Maragi on the other students near the back door. were interrupted by one of them getting hit by the broad side of a large axe. The owner of said axe then extended her other fist from a chain to punch another hooded man from a distance. The third one, distracted by this turn of events, was unable to avoid a heavy kick to his head from another attacker.

"Nice move Labrys!" Chie said.

"You too Chie!" Labrys replied.

It was now apparent that despite their ability to cast magic, the hooded soldiers were still quite susceptible to a good-old fashioned beating.

"What the hell?" Yukari said, "What happened to your arm?!"

"I'll explain later," Labrys said "Now get everyone out of here!"

"What?" Chie said, "But we can still help-"

"Just go!" Labrys said, "I was made to fight long before I had a Persona!"

"We're not leaving you!" Yosuke said, "What kind of friends would we be, doing that?"

Labrys glared at Yosuke.

"I can't babysit you all," she said, "It was already risky keeping you out here, but now it's for sure. You guys've gotta go!"

"Are you absolutely certain?" Yusuke said.

"Yeah," Labrys said, a wry smile appearing on her face, "I am."

"Ugh," Yosuke said, "Fine. C'mon guys! Let's get out through the back!"

"Right!" Yukari said, going to open the door, "I'm on it!"

The door was opened within a second, and the group piled in. Except for one. Makoto Yuki couldn't tell why, but he felt that if he ran into the back rooms now, then he would be going against some sort of… fate? Destiny? No. In reality he just didn't want to leave these strange people fighting with strange creatures alone. Not when they seemed to be trying so hard to keep those who couldn't defend themselves safe.

"Yuki-kun!" Yukari said, holding the door open "What are you doing? We have to go!"

"Yuki!" Labrys cried, "Move!"

Instead, Makoto stood still by the bar. Not wanting to retreat, but not knowing how to fight.


By that point, Ryuji was now positioned almost right behind Mitsuru and Yu, picking off the straggling troops with his hammer. It seemed that they were thinning down the numbers, but unfortunately, both Mitsuru and Yu were getting worn out. Naoto and Adachi were trying to pick off troops trying to get in through the windows. Makoto was standing by with her Evoker behind the desk, prepared to heal anyone who needed it.

"*Huff* *Huff*," Mitsuru was running out of breath. Maintaining Penthesilea was taking all of her concentration now. She would have to retreat sooner or later, but they still hadn't gotten anywhere close to attacking the commanders.

"Hmph," the lion-masked man said, "It appears that these lowly ones have some strength after all. No matter. Vulcanus!" He summoned his Persona once more, ready to cast a spell.

Mitsuru had seen this and paused in shock. This man had just summoned his Persona without an Evoker. He was clearly far more experienced with his Persona than any of their members. This situation was getting worse by the second.

"Agilao!" the lion masked man said, his Persona forming a large ball of fire before throwing it straight at Mitsuru.

Her pause was what condemned her. Had she not been so shocked by how casually the leader had summoned his Persona, she might have been able to dodge or block the attack in time. Had Yu not been so occupied with the other stragglers, he may have been able to block it for her. But none of this was the case, and the only saving grace Mitsuru had was that the fireball was not aimed perfectly. In turn, said fireball went soaring straight towards the leader of SEES, before slamming onto her left side and sending her flying back into the dorm, right by Ryuji, who, despite holding off the troops, caught sight of her.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Mitsuru screamed, her left arm being consumed by Vulcanus' fire.

"Makoto!" Ryuji yelled, still trying to fight, "Diarahan!"

Makoto immediately understood, and brought her Evoker to her head, summoning Johanna. Casting it from a distance, she focused on Mitsuru, and with a flourish of green energy, Mitsuru's struggling stopped. Unfortunately, Mitsuru was still incapacitated, the burn having left an incredibly visible scar on her left arm.

"Goddammit!" Ryuji said, hitting another soldier before crouching near Mitsuru and picking up her Evoker.

"I'm going in!" he yelled, now running outside past Narukami, "Don't you dare stop me!"

"Ryuji, wait!" Akira cried from across the room.

"Get Kirijo-san to the back of the room!" Ryuji ordered, "I'll deal with these bastards!"

Ryuji jumped and stepped over the heads of the soldiers before leaping towards the masked commanders and preparing to pull the trigger. He was about to summon Captain Kidd, but knew that he needed more firepower. This was probably gonna hurt like a bitch in the morning, but it was time to push himself to the limit. Now or never.

"SEITEN TAISEI!" he screamed, firing the Evoker, and bringing out his Persona, a punk-aesthetic monkey riding on a cloud. "ZIODYNE!" he cried, firing a large bolt of lightning at the lion masked man as he landed, hitting him dead on.

"RRAGH!" the lion masked man yelled, before crouching on the ground.

"How dare you!" Prince Taurus said, "How dare you attack King Leo so shamefully! EROS!" Bringing out his Persona, a woman covered in black wool and green heart symbols with a bow and arrow, Taurus prepared another magic attack, "Magna!"

All of a sudden, the road beside Taurus erupted from the ground, forming itself into small boulders that quickly went crashing into Ryuji's right leg and shoulder, knocking him down and leaving him sprawled out on the ground.

"ARRRGH!" Ryuji screamed, trying to hold in the pain.

"Does it hurt?" Taurus said, "Well don't worry… It'll all be gone soon!" He brought out Eros once again, preparing to finish Ryuji off, before an arm attached to a chain extended and grabbed Ryuji, pulling him back inside the dorm. Ryuji found himself in the grasp of Labrys, who was now running to the bar at the back of the room, where Akira and Goro were situated next to one another, having taken Mitsuru and Morgana to recuperate, and where Yukari was trying to convince Makoto to leave.

"How's Ryuji-kun?" Goro asked.

"He should be fine," Labrys said, "But he can't fight anymore. How's Mitsuru-san and Morgana?"

"For Kirijo-san, not good," Akira said, "The fire's out, but her arm's badly burned. She's lucky that Makoto managed to heal it so quickly, so it should be okay. Morgana's also badly injured. So we'll also need to get him over to Makoto as soon as possible."

"Well, with that out of the way, what now?" Goro said, "We're surrounded on all sides. If we don't act quick then the dorm is done for."

"I know!" Akira said, "Goddammit!" He was clearly having trouble coming up with a solution. Something which he wasn't used to. They had Akihiko, Anne, Mako, and Sho busy fighting the Shadow horde, Narukami now defending the front door alongside Adachi, who had filled Mitsuru's position with Magatsu-Izanagi, Naoto was still busy sniping, Makoto now taking charge of picking off soldiers slipping through their defense, their other allies were stuck in the back rooms, and they were busy keeping track of the injured. And the opponents still weren't running out of forces. This was hardly a good situation.

"Are you sure we shouldn't bring out the members without Evokers?" Goro said.

"No!" Akira yelled, "We can't bring them out now! They'll get themselves killed!"

"We can't hold on without extra manpower," Goro continued, "If we want to win this, we need to get them out here!"

"It doesn't matter how strong they are with their weapons," Akira said, "We're up against people who're far more experienced and prepared than us. It's suicide!"

"Even if a few of them die," Goro said, "It's better than just letting us all die."

"I guess you're still the same," Akira said, "You don't care about anyone else but yourself!"

"Say what you want about me," Goro retorted, "But if you're not willing to bring them out, then we're all dead."

"Shut up!" Akira screamed as he suddenly punched Goro in the face. Goro skidded across the floor for a moment before stopping, motionless. It took Akira a moment to process what he had just done. For as much as he hated Goro's guts, this was probably the worst time to have incapacitated him. Especially considering that he appeared to actually be on their side for once. The rest of the group simply stared at him in shock.

"Shit…" Akira said, trying to stay standing, "I can't believe I just did that…"

Everything that had happened that night was happening all at once to Makoto Yuki. He hadn't been given any time to process what he had seen, and all the moments were starting to blend into one another. He knew something needed to happen. He knew that these people needed a miracle at this point. And then suddenly, his eyes laid on something next to the knocked-out Akechi. A gun. The same kind of gun that Yukari had been carrying the day he met her. The same gun that everyone else had been shooting themselves with. The gun that had brought forth strange creatures. It was calling to him. Telling him to pick it up. Telling him to use it.

Makoto apprehensively walked towards Akechi, and when he was finally standing over the boy, crouched, and picked up the gun.

"Kurusu," he said, "I'm going to fight."

"What?" Akira said, struggling to concentrate over the stress.

And in that moment, Makoto Yuki stepped out into the path leading to the front door, and charged towards it.

"FUCK!" Akira yelled, realizing what Makoto was doing. Makoto on the other hand was grinning like a maniac.

"Go on," a familiar voice in his head whispered.

Everything happened in slow motion. Running between Narukami and Adachi. Kurusu running after him. Labrys and Yukari calling his name.

Suddenly, he came to a stop just outside of the dorm, right in front of the horde. Before they could react, he raised the gun to his head. Things were still slowed down. He could hear his heart beating faster than ever before. He could hear his breath accelerating. He felt everyone's attention was on him. But, undeterred, he applied pressure onto the trigger. He felt the fear of death staring him right in the face. But he had never felt so alive.

He smiled.

"Per… so… na!"

With the sound of shattering glass, and a burst of blue energy, Makoto Yuki's Persona was brought to life behind him, discharging its power as it appeared out of thin air. It was a mechanical figure, with a blue torso held together by a sphere linking the bottom and top halves, supporting a lyre on its back. Its white shoulders and forearms were linked by archaic-looking grey sockets, as were its thighs and lower legs. Its dark-grey face was covered by stark-white hair and a red scarf which connected to a hairband on its head. It was hovering behind Makoto, a spiral of what looked to be glass shards surrounding it, and speaking.

"Thou art I… And I am thou… From the sea of thy soul I cometh… I am Orpheus, Master of Strings."

Akira, who had stopped right behind Makoto, was at a loss for words. He knew that this Makoto Yuki guy was a Persona user beforehand, but something about this summoning was just… entrancing.

As Makoto grinned in satisfaction, Orpheus let out an inhuman screeching noise. And then… Pain. Suddenly, Makoto's head had been set upon with an intense sting, and Orpheus began writhing. Suddenly, two hands pulled its head down through its scarf, before taking a hold of its body and ripping it apart. Suddenly, Orpheus had been replaced by something else entirely. It was a large Persona, dressed in white gloves and boots and a black longcoat with a mask over its face, which was in turn covered by what looked to be a skeletal bird mask. Chains draped over its shoulders connected to a semi-circle of coffins floating behind the creature, and around its waist was a belt with a skull and crossbones on the buckle. Letting out guttural roars as the pain receded from Makoto's head, the Persona drew a sword from a sheath on its waist, and lunged forward at the horde of hooded soldiers.

What followed was an absolute massacre. Making sweeping blows with its sword, throwing soldiers around, and hitting them with almighty magic, Makoto's Persona was doing exactly what SEES needed. And doing it far better than they had been up to that point. Everyone in the dorm stopped and stared at the spectacle. It was brutal, almost painful to watch, but they couldn't help but focus on it. Yu, however, having finally gotten a break from fighting the soldiers, quickly realized that this was their chance, and began giving directions, quickly grabbing the room's attention.

"Nijima!" he shouted, turning to Makoto (Nijima), "Get to Morgana and heal him!"

She nodded, and broke into a sprint to the back of the room.

Yu turned to Labrys and Yukari, "Labrys! Takeba! Help push back the Shadows upstairs!"

"Right!" they said, running to the stairs, and joining the fray.

He looked to Naoto, "Naoto! We need you on the offensive with us!"

Naoto nodded and rushed to his side.

Finally, he turned to Akira, "Kurusu! You're with us too!"

Snapping out of his shock, Akira ran over to the door to witness first hand what Makoto's Persona was doing. It was still knocking the soldiers all over the place, and the two masked commanders clearly didn't anticipate this turn of events. They were firing off magic at it, but none of it seemed to have any effect. Now, Yu, Adachi, Akira, and Naoto had a clear shot to them, and they weren't wasting it.

"I think I know what you're going for," Akira said, "But are you sure that we can take care of these guys with just us four?"

"Hope you don't mind me tagging along," a voice said from behind them.

Looking behind them, the attack team saw that Mako, naginata in hand, had joined them.

"What are you-" Akira started.

"I'll tell you later," Mako said, "In the meantime, we've got more important things to worry about."

"She's right," Adachi said, "At this point we've got nothing to lose."

"For once, I agree with Adachi," said Naoto, "It's time for us to strike back."

"If you say so," Akira conceded, "On your mark, Narukami."

The group tensed, once again facing outside, hands on their Evokers and weapons waiting for the right moment to strike.

The horde of soldiers was now down to the tens, and Makoto's Persona was now simply hunting down stragglers individually.

"Damn," Akira said, looking at Makoto, "You're pretty good, Yuki-san."

"Don't flatter me," Makoto replied, "If you're gonna attack, then attack. I can't keep this up much longer."

"Right," Yu said, focused on King Leo and Prince Taurus, "Let's go!"

And with the signal given, all four of them charged towards the masked commanders.


Labrys had decided to go for broke with her robotic nature. There wasn't going to be any hiding it after what had happened tonight, so she figured that she had no business concealing it any further. Running over to the stairs, she opted to attach her axe to her back, and fired up the thrusters.

"Labrys!" Yukari cried, "What are you doing?!"

"Fighting for real," she replied.

With a running start, she jumped into the air and flew up the stairwell, passing over the heads of Akihiko, Anne, Yukari, and Sho. However, before she reached the second floor, she had something to do.

"Anne!" she yelled, "Take this!"

Having grabbed Anne's attention, Labrys dropped an Evoker, Mitsuru's Evoker recovered from Ryuji, which Anne immediately grabbed and brought to her head.

"Carmen!"

With that, the flamboyantly dressed female Persona with two lovestruck assistants in tow was brought forth.

"Agi!" Anne commanded, prompting Carmen to throw a blast of fire at the horde.

Labrys continued to fly to the second floor, and set herself down at the top of the stairs. She had a simple idea to disrupt the horde. And now that she wasn't holding back, she could finally turn the tides.

"Ariadne!"

Labrys' Persona, Ariadne, took the form of a silver-haired mechanical woman. Her shoulders, torso, and legs were covered by metallic plating, and her lower half had was partly covered by flowing white cloth. Labrys had held off on summoning Ariadne without an Evoker so as not to reveal that she was an Anti-Shadow Weapon. Now, that was no longer a concern. With Ariadne at her side, Labrys began attacking the Shadows going down the stairs.

"Weavers's Art: Breaking Wheel!"

Suddenly, Ariadne created a glowing red string, which took the form of several spinning gears that manifested under the Shadows on the stairs. These wheels tore at the Shadows, ripping them apart until there were barely any Shadows left. Using it left Labrys pretty drained, but fortunately, she was more than able to keep up the fight. Now, she just had to prevent more Shadows from coming down to replace the ones she just defeated. Turning to face the other direction, she found that the stream of Shadows coming in from the windows had seemingly stopped from the boy's dorm, and the only Shadows that were attacking seemed to be coming from upstairs. They were getting close. This battle was almost over.

"Labrys!" Anne's voice called from downstairs, "You okay?"

"Yeah!" Labrys responded, "Never better!"

Suddenly, the rest of the group came running upstairs, this time with Makoto Nijima.

"Nijima-san?" Labrys said, "What about the cat?"

"Morgana's over near the other injured parties," Makoto replied, "He'll be fine."

"Shouldn't you have left someone to protect 'em though?" Labrys said.

"Well…" Akihiko said, "Sho's doing that, actually."

Labrys just stared at Akihiko like he had grown an extra head.

"You're pullin' my leg, right?" she pleaded.

"Actually," Anne said, "His excuse was, 'The less time I have to fight with you idiots, the better.'"

Oh, now everything made perfect sense.

"Anyway," Makoto interrupted, "Let's get back to the task at hand."

Nodding, everyone turned to face the staircase to the third floor, and charged. Yukari ended up pulling ahead, and as they rushed into battle, Labrus noticed that Yukari had her Evoker to her head.

"I can't be left behind… IO!"


The five members of the downstairs team, meanwhile, had rushed straight past Makoto (Yuki)'s Persona, and had begun to attack the two commanders. Realizing that King Leo was still injured from Ryuji's attack earlier, Yu opted to attack him first.

"Izanagi!" he cried, raising his evoker to his head and firing. With Izanagi summoned, it sped towards King Leo.

"Vulcanus!" King Leo cried, summoning his own Persona, who caught Izanagi's spear. However, while Vulcanus was able to keep Izanagi at bay, it still had to contend with several other Persona users.

"Sukuna-Hikona!" Naoto cried, summoning her small Persona to her side. It flew to Izanagi's side, and with its laser sword, slashed Vulcanus in the chest. This gave Izanagi the opportunity to regain control of its spear and swing it at Vulcanus once more, this time, uninterrupted. With that slash, Vulcanus disappeared, and King Leo was left vulnerable.

"Damn!" King Leo swore, drawing a sword from his waist, "Have at thee!"

Unfortunately for King Leo, the opposition wasn't intent on playing fair. Adachi, who had been around the back of the pack, raised his revolver, and shot at him. The bullet flew at and landed in King Leo's right shoulder, making him drop the sword.

"AAAAARRRRRGH!" King Leo shrieked, "YOU DAMN BRATS!"

"Heh," Adachi chuckled, "Don't lump me in with these kids."

At the same time, Akira and Mako had attacked Prince Taurus, who was struggling to keep his cool in the face of the turning tides.

"DIE! DIE! DIE!" he yelped, using Eros to fire more boulders from the ground. Despite the fact that he was certainly more experienced and had a stronger Persona, his lack of composure made it easy for Arsene and the female Orpheus to dodge or deflect the projectiles.

"Bash him!" Mako shouted, as Orpheus raised its heart-shaped lyre and slammed it into Eros, forcing it to recede.

"Arsene!" Akira ordered, "Get him!"

Arsene closed in on Prince Taurus, leg raised, and once it was right up next to him, kicked the Prince in his side, sending him flying down the street.

While Prince Taurus had gone down without much of a fight, King Leo was still trying to hold on. Once again, he had summoned Vulcanus, but now he was posing a legitimate threat to his opponents. He was now indiscriminately throwing around Agidynes, and it was clear just how much stronger he actually was in terms of raw power. The group was frantically dodging, knowing just how bad one of those fireballs hurt. It seemed at this point that he cared little for self preservation, and was simply trying to kill as many of them as possible.

Suddenly, Vulcanus set its sights on Akira, who had just finished with his ally, enraged by just how terribly things were going, he fired off an Agidyne in his direction

"Watch out!" Mako cried, jumping into the path of the fireball, taking the brunt of the attack. Thankfully, her resistance to fire kept her from sustaining any major injuries.

"GOD DAMMIT!" King Leo screamed, losing his bearings even more "WHY WON'T YOU ALL JUST DIE?!"

Suddenly, something grabbed the back of King Leo's head and raised him up. It was Makoto Yuki's Persona, finally finished with the foot soldiers. Everyone stopped for a moment to stare at its terrifying glory. The Persona then quickly moved over to where Prince Taurus was lying and picked him up in the same way. It brought its arms up, faced the two together, and slammed their faces into one another, shattering the pair's masks, before it dropped them.

"AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGH!"

The Persona let out a final, blood-curdling screech before it abruptly turned back into the male Orpheus and disappeared. And with that, Makoto Yuki collapsed, Mako running over to catch him.

"Ahhh…" she hissed, still in pain from taking King Leo's attack, with Yu rushing over to support her.

"Take it easy," he said, "You can relax now."

Absolute silence filled the street in front of the Iwatodai dorms. What had just happened was nothing short of a miracle. They had won. Completely. Against all odds. And it was all thanks to the mysterious Makoto Yuki. They stood in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Akira and Naoto sat down where they were standing, exhausted from the fight. Yu and Mako sat down on the steps, with Makoto fast asleep. Adachi was the only one to remain upright, but he was still catching his breath. They stayed like this for a few minute before Yu heard a voice behind himself.

"Hey guys…" it groaned, "What's up?"

Turning around, Yu found Ryuji, being supported by Anne's shoulder, with the rest of the team from upstairs. Akira's face had a mask of elated surprise,

"So," Ryuji said, "We win?"

Akira stood up and walked over to him.

"Yeah," he said, a warm smile on his face, "We made it."

"Come on, man…" Ryuji said weakly, "You looked death in the face and won, live a little."

"Yeah," Akira said, backing up and taking a deep breath, "*Hee* *Hoo*,"

For a moment, there was silence again, before suddenly…

"YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAH!" Akira let out a loud victory cry.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," a distorted voice said from behind him, "This is only the beginning."

Everyone's attention shifted to where the voice was coming from, which was right by the unconscious bodies of King Leo and Prince Taurus. There was now a figure in a white uniform with a large black and yellow headdress resembling a jeter's. His face looked as if it was covered in white, black, and purple make-up, with one visible blue eye. He was carrying a large yellow flower.

"Ugh…" King Leo moaned, "You little shits…" He raised his face, revealing a twenty-something year-old man with greenish-blonde hair, a large burn scar on the right side of his face, and an empty socket where his right eye should have been.

Prince Taurus was also trying to get up, showing himself to be a man in his thirties, with black hair and small, drawn-in yellow eyes.

"You have all done well," the jester said, "But rest assured, the ease with which you won tonight is not what you should anticipate going forth."

Realizing that this man was likely the leader of the group, Akira brought his knife up, rushed at him and stabbed, only to be met with his blade hitting thin air. The jester had teleported himself, as well as the rest of his allies, out of Akira's reach.

"Now is not the time," the jester said, "Soon, you will know my power. The power of Joker. But for the time being, you are safe."

Not one to listen to his foes prattle on, Akira charged once more at the strange man, knife raised to stab at his chest, but this time, Akira's arm was caught before the knife reached his foe.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Joker mocked, "What you have seen today is only a fraction of the Masked Circle's true power."

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, and Joker jumped back once more, narrowly dodging a bullet coming his way. The bullet had come from Naoto's revolver, and she was lining up another shot.

"Akira-san!" she said, "Fall back!"

Begrudgingly, Akira jumped back out of Joker's reach, still in a fighting stance.

"Don't worry," Joker said, "You escaped your fate this time, but someday, we will meet again. And we will fight. Let this Iris be my testament."

Joker tossed his yellow flower to Akira's feet, and suddenly, in a burst of black energy, he and his subordinates disappeared. Leaving the group alone, and Akira pissed off.

"WHAT THE HELL?!"


On the roof of the Iwatodai dorms, Naoya Todou was observing the chaos from above. He had been there all night, warding of the Shadows with the mere presence of Seimen Kongou. It had been an ordeal to observer, and he was totally drained from the experience.

Suddenly, his phone received a text. Normally, such things were impossible during the Dark Hour, but Philemon's texts and calls were the exception. The text read, "Good work. Keep observing them and reporting back to the Sumaru group. Remember, until January, stay out of their business."

"Damn…" he said, closing his phone and getting up to go, "I feel so useless…"


April 10, 2009

12:05

Sumaru City: Parabellum Bar

Later that night, at Sumaru City's Parabellum Bar, a group of three individuals were all seated in a booth, facing three empty chairs. On the left sat a man in a white suit with slicked-up black hair, to his right was a brown-haired, grey-eyed woman in a black suit, and to her right was a brown-haired, brown-eyed woman with a red hairband also in a black suit. They were currently making small talk, waiting for someone to arrive.

"Damn…" said black-haired man, "This Dark Hour thing is brutal…"

They had just found themselves caught in the Dark Hour, and had to deal with random Shadows attacking them from all sides. Thankfully, they had their COMPS with them, and were able to kill any Shadows that came their way.

"We should probably just be glad that our COMPS work," said a brown-haired, brown-eyed woman in a black suit with a red hairband.

"It's not like those 'Shadow,' things are much of a match for us anyway," said the grey-eyed woman, "We'd probably be perfectly fine without our COMPS."

"What is it that makes the COMPS work during the Dark Hour anyway?" asked the black-hair man.

"Well," said the hairband woman, "They can already summon demons, can't they? Why are we questioning anything about them at this point?"

"Now that I think about it," said the grey-eyed woman, "How are these things powered? We never need to charge them or replace their batteries."

"Once again, probably has something to do with the whole 'demon summoning,' part," the black-haired man said said, "Putting that aside though… Why is Amano so late?"

"She recently had her workload increased," the hairband woman said, "Her camerawoman had to leave for an interview on some kind of reality show recently, and she had to pull double duty for her magazine job."

"I think I've seen that show before…" the gray-eyed woman said, "'Who's Who,' right? Naoya always said that the hostess looked familiar."

"Just how far back do you and Toudou go again, Tamaki?" the hairband woman asked.

"I went to St. Hermelin High with him," Tamaki replied, "He was always just an acquaintance. We talked a bit, and he confided in me about this whole 'Persona,' business, but now it's just exploded…"

"If I didn't know any better," the black-haired man said, "I'd say that Devil Summoning was going out of style. And after it's been around so long too…"

"Yeah!" the hairband woman said, "I don't know if Kyouji or I ever mentioned this, but demons used to be summoned with tubes! You had to actually capture them by force way back when!"

"Which Kyouji?" the black-haired man said, "Me? Or the wandering freeloading spirit? You gotta be specific, Rei."

"Either/Or," Rei said dismissively, "Didn't Tamaki work for the original Kyouji though?"

"For a while, yeah," Tamaki answered, "I always wondered why he wanted me and Tadashi to wear those specific outfits, but then I met you two and it all made sense."

Tamaki, along with her ex-husband Tadashi, used to work for the Kuzunoha Detective Agency in Sumaru City, run by a possessed man named Daisuke Todoroki. She only later found out the complete story of Todoroki's possession from the Kyouji who she now knew. Tamaki and Tadashi often wore suits resembling the ones Kyouji and Rei were currently wearing while under Todoroki's employ.

"Does he just have some sort of attachment to those outfits or something?" Kyouji asked.

"Who knows…?" said Tamaki.

Suddenly, the bar's door opened, and a few familiar figures walked in.

"Hey everyone!" a chipper voice said, "Sorry I'm late! Had to get a friend!"

Looking over to the bar's entrance, the group found a black haired woman in a sarcoline and brown jacket, with pink hearts emblazoned on the chest. A blue tie hung loosely from her neck. Alongside her were a brown-haired man in a grey suit with a red undershirt and sunglasses.

"Maya!" Tamaki got up to hug her old friend, an act reciprocated by Maya, "It's good to see you all again! Thanks for bringing Katsuya!"

Tamaki and Maya had become familiar with each other during an incident several years back involving a malevolent god called Nyarlathotep, and one of his bets with the god Philemon. Her Tatsuya Suou, the brother of her acquaintance Katsuya, had awakened memories of an alternate universe where the world had ended, creating a paradox that threatened to destroy their world. Along with Katsuya, a dancer named Ulala Serizawa, a wiretapper named Kaoru Saga (AKA Baofu), and Kei Nanjo, a veteran Persona user, Maya and Tatsuya embarked on a journey to stop Nyarlathotep's plans. Tamaki hadn't been very involved with Maya's group in a direct sense, but she was familiar enough with the reporter to be called a friend. Eventually, Maya's party had fought their own Shadows and Nyarlathotep directly, and won. Tatsuya then sacrificed his memories of the alternate world in order to correct the paradox, and from there on, everything had gone back to normal. Maya had talked about the experience quite a bit with Tamaki, who, after the events had passed, became part of an organization known as the Kuzunohas, a group of Devil Summoners whose protection of Japan from supernatural threats dated back to the Heian period. Her associates were members of said organization, and they were also privy to this information. Kyouji was one of the four leaders of the clan, as he technically possessed the "Kyouji," title, one of the four titles of the clan's leaders, the others being, "Raidou," "Geiren," and "Yoichi." Each of these titles were handed down based not on genetics, but talent, and each was assigned to different posts around the country. The most famous leader of the clan was the fourteenth Raidou Kuzunoha, a man by the name of Johei, who was lauded with having saved Japan twice on his own. Kyouji technically hadn't earned the role himself, however.

Kyouji was actually a former college student named Subaru Itou, who had found himself mixed up in the business of a Devil Summoning detective by the name of Kyouji Kuzunoha. He had unfortunately found himself at the mercy of a deranged serial killer called Sid Davis, and ended up dead. Fortunately for him, and unfortunately for Kyouji, the detective had also been recently killed, and Subaru's soul had found its way into Kyouji's body, allowing him to act against Davis' plans of world domination with new Devil Summoning capabilities. Kyouji's soul on the other hand, was still wandering around jumping from body to body, leaving Subaru to take his name and identity. He had ended up involved with the clan, doing various missions for them thereafter at the behest of its leader, Madame Ginko. For the most part, he had succeeded in becoming the original Kyouji's successor, even if he had caught some flack for showing up late to a particularly dire incident in Amami City a couple years ago. He had met up with Tamaki after she had been assigned to handle the business with the Dark Hour, and she was to be his guide to Sumaru City for the time being.

"It's great to see you too, Tamaki!" replied Maya.

Katsuya on the other hand, took the seat opposite Rei immediately.

"Not that I'm unhappy to see you, Uchida-san," he said, "But I'd like to know why you're here."

"Right," Tamaki said, breaking the hug and sitting down, Maya taking the seat opposite her.

"Now," she said, "These are my associates, Kyouji Kuzunoha and Rei Reiho."

"A pleasure," Kyouji said.

"Nice to meet you," Rei said.

"Maya Amano!" Maya said with a smile.

"Katsuya Suou," said Katsuya.

"With that out of the way," Tamaki said, "Let's cut right to the chase. I believe you're all aware of this, 'Extra Hour,' phenomenon that happens every midnight?"

"Yeah," Katsuya said, "It caught me off guard the first few times. I called Maya and the other Persona users after its first occurance, but we never learned much about it."

"Well," Kyouji continued, "We know it as the 'Dark Hour,' and we also know that its existence is tied to the Kirijo Group."

"Ten years ago, there was an accident at a laboratory run by the Kirijo Group on Tatsumi Port Island," Rei said, "Ever since, the Dark Hour has been present. It started as a localized phenomenon on the Island, but it's expanded to the entirety of Japan ever since."

"And how exactly did you find this out?" Katsuya said, apprehensively, "I doubt that the Kirijo Group publicly announced that they added a whole other hour to the day while we weren't paying attention."

"Nanjo," answered Tamaki, "His group is heavily affiliated with the Kirijo Group, so he was able to dig up some information on it." She noticed confused looks on Rei and Kyouji's faces, "Oh, Kei Nanjo was a friend of Naoya's back in high school too, and he also worked with these two for a time."

"Wow," Rei said in awe, "I knew that you had connections with his family, but I didn't know you were friendly with Kei Nanjo himself!"

"Anyway," Kyouji said, "During the Dark Hour, Shadows are able to run rampant in non-corporeal forms made of a collective negativity, as opposed to the doppelganger Shadows that you're familiar with. Normally, people stay inside coffins during the Dark Hour, and can't remember it. But these Shadows attack anyone unfortunate enough to be outside their coffins. There are two reasons why one would be outside a coffin. One being that it happened by chance, or two being that they're a Devil or Persona summoner."

"But wait," Maya said, "If people keep getting attacked by the Shadows, wouldn't unexplained deaths be on the rise, big time?"

"See, that's where things get bad," Rei said, "If Shadows attack someone during the Dark Hour, they'll likely end up with something called, 'Apathy Syndrome,' leaving them in a vegetative state."

"So in other words," Katsuya said, "The longer the Dark Hour goes on, the more people are left as vegetables, and the more people have to spend time and money on keeping them alive."

"Exactly," Kyouji said, "The police have been unable to deal with them, as the amount of people who have natural Persona-summoning potential is slim. But we didn't just come here to tell you that and leave." Kyouji then brought up a large case from his side, "Now, according to what you have told us about the 'Other Side,' there are four other people who lived in Sumaru City who had the ability to summon Personas. Tatsuya Suou, Eikichi Mishina, Lisa Silverman, and Jun Kashihara, correct?"

"Yeah…" Maya said, "Though we've been trying to avoid contact with them to avoid spiking any potential memories."

"Well, regardless," Kyouji said, opening the case, "I need you to get them together."

Inside the case were four gun-shaped objects. Katsuya and Maya stared in shock.

"Guys," Maya said, "Is this a present? Because even if I still used those things I doubt I could use four of them at once. What do you want me to do? Stick the other two on my heels?"

"They're not real guns," said Tamaki, "These are Evokers, methods by which non-experienced Persona users with potential can summon Personas during the Dark Hour, and potentially the normal world. We need you to find and develop the talents of the other four, and gather any other Persona users you know by the beginning of January 2010. Do whatever you need to avoid reminding them of the 'Other Side.'"

"Wait, hold up," Maya said, closing the case, "Two questions. One: Where did you get these? And Two: What's this about January?"

"Well," Tamaki said, "For number one, Nanjo also helped out with that."

"Also, I assume you've met a being named Philemon?" Rei said, "Because he recently contacted a friend of ours. He told him, 'There will be a war in January. Stay your involvement with the Dark Hour's mystery until then. In the meantime, gather allies. When the time comes, come to Tatsumi Port Island, and knock at the door of the Iwatodai Dormitory.'"

"Philemon?!" Maya said, "What's his involvement in this?!"

"We have no idea," Kyouji said, "All we know is that you need to get as many people on our side as possible before then. This is bigger than just Tatsumi Port Island. Just a minute ago, our ally Naoya sent us of a couple of pictures with people matching the descriptions of the deceased Tatsuya Sudo and Ginji Sasaki."

"What?!" Katsuya said, now standing, "You're lying!"

"Believe it or don't," Kyouji smugly replied, "But it's the truth. Something's going on, and we need to prepare."

The table went silent. No one dared speak. The turn of events was so strange that even those who had come to inform Maya and Katsuya about it were at a loss for words now. The silence was only broken when Katsuya accepted the case.

"We'll try our best…" Katsuya said begrudgingly, "But even if we can't get those four to help, we'll still find the others for you."

"I'll do my best too," Maya followed up, "I guess I did miss Tatsuya a bit anyway."

"Maya," Katsuya said, "I know you want to see him again, but you have to be cautious about it. Otherwise…"

"C'mon, Katsuya!" Maya said, recovering from her earlier unease, and giving Katsuya a pat on the back, "Keep positive! As long as there's a chance, there's always a reason to keep going!"

"Glad to hear it," Tamaki said, "Rei and Kyouji will stay here at the Hotel Pleiades to help you out with training and gathering your friends. I'll be rendezvousing with Naoya over at Tatsumi Port Island in a couple days."

"Alright," Maya said, "Sounds like a plan! Now let's catch up!"

"Yeah," Tamaki chuckled, "It's been too long, hasn't it?"

"I suppose work has been a bit busy lately…" Katsuya admitted.

And so, the group of Persona users and Devil Summoners talked well into next morning. Rejoicing and hangovers ensued.


April 10, 2009

?

Makoto Yuki's Velvet Room

After Makoto Yuki had spent his energy fighting off the masked assailants, he had collapsed in fatigue. Almost immediately afterwards, he had found himself inside the Velvet Room once again, with Igor and Elizabeth in the same places as last time.

"It's so nice to see you again," Igor spoke, "You became unconscious after awakening to your "power." It's nothing to worry about though, so just relax."

Something about the way Igor said that unnerved Makoto, but he continued listening.

"By the way," Igor resumed, "I see that it was Orpheus that heeded your calling. That power is called Persona… It is a manifestation of your psyche."

"A Persona?" Makoto questioned.

"It is a facet of your personality that surfaces as you react to external stimuli…" Igor responded, "You can think of it as a mask that protects you as you brave many hardships. That being said, your power is still weak."

"Whaddaya mean 'weak'?" Makoto said, kind of offended.

"When you use your Persona ability, you must channel your inner strength," Igor replied, "The ability evolves as you develop your Social Links—your emotional ties with others.

The stronger your Social Links, the more powerful your Persona ability. Please remember that. Now, then… Time marches on in your world. I shouldn't keep you here any longer. When next we meet, you will come here of your own accord. And this time, you won't be alone. Until then… Farewell."

There was that phrase again. 'This time.' What the hell was this old man talking about? Once again, Makoto failed to get an answer, as he had drifted into yet another bout of unconsciousness.


ED: Itsudatte Communication

Normal=Visual

Italics=Lyrics

*Instrumental*

As the music starts, the scene shows an alarm clock ringing, followed by someone putting on their school uniform, breakfast being cooked, the calendar being marked, the Iwatodai Dorm doors opening as several people exit in a hurry.

sotto yorisou kata kagiri aru jikan taisetsu ni

The scene changes to show the three teams running to school, seemingly late for classes, each of them showing a varying degree of urgency.

ugoku hako no naka de hazumaseta mune no oto

The various members are seen attending their classes, some of them like Yu, Yukiko, Makoto (Nijima), Mitsuru, etc are paying attention to the lessons, while others like Akira, Junpei, Yosuke, Ryuji, etc don't seem to be paying attention, some even dozing off.

negaigoto wa nani kana? minna kanaete kureru

The scene changes to show the group having a meal in Hagakure, some of them are eating at a sedated pace, while others, like Teddie, are stuffing their faces with bowl after bowl.

subete o tsutsunda midoriiro shita hikaru hoshi

The scene changes to show a clock as it ticks slowly and hits midnight.

junbi dekita yo

The scene shows the three teams standing before Tartarus, determined looks in their eyes.

tooku totemo tooku aruite kita yo ne issho ni

The teams are seen fighting through several waves of shadows, working hand in hand to take out Shadow after Shadow

kokoro kikasete mite subarashii kono mainichi ni

The scene changes to show Fuuka, Rise, and Futaba all working together to scan the area, while the combat members are having healing spells casted on them as they take a break.

tooi sekai ni hora kitai to mirai mo aru kara

The scene changes to show the teams looking out of one of the balconies of Tartarus, having defeated another large Shadow

namida nagasanaide yorimichi mo tama ni wa ii ne

The final scene shows all of them lying together in a sunny field, fast asleep with content looks on their faces.


Oh, God. That was exhausting. Hey there guys, it's me, Diego. Now, I was initially planning to make this chapter even longer than it already was, but considering how I've also been working on Chapter 8 and playing like a million different games at once (SMTIV:A, P3:FES, Trails of Cold Steel, TMS#FE, and Pokken Tournament just to name a few) I've been kind of slammed. Regardless, I think you can now get a pretty good idea of what I'm trying to do here. The battle was really fun to write, and it makes me look forward to writing some of the fights I have planned in the future.

Kyouji's name in this was just me taking whatever Japanese first and last names popped into my head at the moment and throwing them in. He'll be called Kyouji just for convenience's sake, but that doesn't mean that we won't see Kyouji prime later down the line.

Anyway, I don't have much else to say. So, bye.