Chapter 5: Strega and Sable
It was a whole week before Michael regained consciousness. During that week Marcus and the others had made great progress in Tartarus. They had gone up twenty floors, and had gained a great deal of strength in the process. Eros had begun to display the ability to unleash a variety of elements, which meant he could be effective against a various enemies. Erato finally began using offensive abilities, which was a great help. Kala-nemi, who had been incredibly strong before, had grown even stronger. Matt and Milton had been very friendly, even helping in Tartarus, but when the subject of their past came up, they invariably told who ever asked to wait and ask Michael when he woke up. So when he did finally awake, every one was eager to hear the whole story. Michael didn't seem surprised to wake up in a hospital, nor was he surprised that so many people were interested in their story. He said that he knew that something like this would have happened eventually, and so he had prepared himself for it. He told them that before he told them the truth, anyone who wasn't willing to know how they had suffered should leave. No one left. "Alright, you've all set your minds, and don't care about the obstacles you'll face. Good, you just might be able to handle this then. I trust that at the very least you, Ms. Kirijo, know something about your great grandfather's actions, and Strega?"
"Yes, I know what he did to those poor souls, and I will never forget."
"Hmph, how about the rest of you?" Mitsuru had filled Marcus, Fu, and Mika in on Strega after their encounter with Takaya, so none of them were in the dark. "They were the result of some experiment right?"
"Yes, and so were we. The difference was, in Strega they just wanted to make Persona users, with us they wanted to make Persona users with powers far beyond those of a normal person. They called that project Sable. I, Matt, and Milton were the only ones subjected to it, and that is something to be thankful for. Actually Milton was an accident. He was originally in Strega, but it turned out he already had a Persona, so what happened was the Persona they put into him fused with his own Persona, making it amazingly powerful, so powerful that it changed his body. His hands and hair, as you can see. It also gave him the ability to become a variation of his Persona. Matt had it the worst out of all of us. He was forced to go through major surgeries to implant wiring into his arms. The wires absorbed and channeled his Personas power, amplifying his strength and speed. He was also subjected to psychological torments that would have killed a normal person."
"But I came out of it the least damaged, you on the other hand…"
"No, I'll get to that. Matt was lucky, he had a strong religious side, and we figure that helped him keep his mind intact, even thought it couldn't do the same for his body. Milton had it easy compared to us, but that doesn't mean he was pampered. He was a fluke, a mistake, an accident, and they weren't about to destroy such an interesting misstep. They were careful with him, gentle almost."
"Ha, yeah right! They had me running ten miles every day. Picture that, a five year old running those ten miles, non-stop."
"But you must admit you didn't have it as bad as Matt or I."
"No doubt there, especially you man. They really messed you up big time. Matt would have been as bad as you if not for the religious thing."
"I tried to give you guys' faith but you refused."
"We were kids Matt, what did you expect?"
"Quiet, both of you. I would like to finish the story before the Dark Hour. As Milton said, I was the most heavily effected. Not physically, but mentally. I assume you've heard of sensory deprivation?" They all nodded. "Well, imagine spending a year or two of your life without seeing, hearing, feeling, or moving. Absolute oblivion, just you and your thoughts, except I wasn't alone, when I gained my Shadow form, I also gained an unwelcome guest. I hadn't been aware of him until I was alone with him. A small portion of my mind had changed, and gained a will of its own. In there he grew, became louder, and took more of my mind, until he became a full fledged personality. That's right; I have split personality disorder, two minds in one body. Normally I can keep him repressed, I'm still the stronger of us, but when I am greatly injured, or otherwise distracted, he has a chance to take over, and he's not one to waste such a chance."
"So that night…?"
"Yes, he was in control, you have my apologies. It is very hard for me to take control back, so Milton and Matt usually have to help by knocking him out. That's where Milton's Persona form comes in. It can be quite handy in fighting it out with a human-Shadow hybrid. Matt could do the job too, but he has to be more careful, I'm willing to bet he's told you that if he isn't careful, he can level a building. To be honest, so could Milton, but it's hard for Milton to lose control."
"What about you, what happens if you can't get back in control, and they can't help?"
"Let's put it this way," Milton interrupted, "you could kiss this whole city goodbye, every one and every thing in it, gone in one day, at most."
"Whoa." Michael took over again. "I didn't say it was something to joke about. We were made to be weapons."
"Just like me." Aigis had been silent for a long time, and when she spoke almost everyone jumped. "You are like me, made to fight Shadows."
"Wrong, not to fight Shadows, but to fight anything they wanted us to, even humans."
"I don't understand."
"Do you want to know why so few survived the Strega project? It was because of ME. They forced me to change, let him take over, and then set us loose on them. They gave them a sporting chance, the place they set us all loose was a maze, and they had Evokers, but the poor kids still didn't have a chance. HE ripped them limb form limb. I couldn't stop him, I was just a child, but I still feel the guilt, I can still see their blood on my hands."
"Michael, get off the subject. No one needs to hear it, and you don't need to relive it."
"Yeah, and I don't need my stomach doing cartwheels."
"Alright, the short story is they put us through that for almost ten years. Then fate, or something like that, gave us a hand. I'm gonna assume you know about the explosion. What you don't know is that three ten year olds escaped. For the next ten years those boys lived off the streets. Then Nyx came. Matt has told me about your little escapade five years ago, and it explains a few things, like why our Personas' strength jumped through the roof. That reminds me, you don't know my Persona yet, do you?"
"No."
"Very well, Matt, my Evoker if you please." Matt quickly handed over the Evoker. As it changed hands Marcus got his first good look at it. It looked much older than any of the others he had seen, and was painted pitch black. Michael moved like a clam professional, putting the muzzle to his temple a firing without hesitation. Next to his bed appeared what looked like a very large, metal cocoon. After a moment a section of metal on the front opened, revealing blank darkness around two blood red eyes. "This is Havoc, don't let his meager appearance fool you, he is quite powerful." Havoc then faded away, his job done. Marcus was dumbfounded by all the information he had just received. It was difficult for him to comprehend what those three had been through. Their entire lives had been nothing but struggle and hardship. Compared with that, Marcus had led a charmed life. Before anyone could protest, Michael was on his feet, pulling I.V. tubes from his arms. Everyone except Marcus, Matt, and Milton freaked out, tried to convince him to stay in bed, but Michael laughed, not a warm, happy laugh, but an artificial, forced laugh. "I've wasted too much time as it is, I need to be on my feet, training. From what Matt has told me the Shadows are stronger than ever, so you'll need our help. I can't force them to help you, but I offer my services, should they be required. First and foremost, however, I will need some cloths, as my old ones are badly damaged, and I don't plan on fighting in a hospital gown."
"Come on, Mike, it'd be fun to see a Shadow in a dress." Milton immediately regretted his words, as he was awarded a kick in the shin from Mika. "Thank you, Ms. Arai. You have saved me the trouble."
"Not a problem."
"Now could someone point me in the direction of the nearest cloths store?"
"I can do better," said Mitsuru, "I have a car out front that will take you where ever it is you need to go. And to help you find things, take Marcus and Mika with you."
"Thank you very much." Michael said quiet enough that the groan Marcus had meant only for he became audible to everyone. Mika looked ready to rip his head off, and all Marcus could do was grin sheepishly. Less than an hour latter two high school juniors and a twenty-something man in a hospital gown arrived at the local mall. 'It had to be here,' Marcus fumed silently to himself, 'I know people here; I am never gonna live this down!' As the trio entered a clothing store, it dawned on Marcus that Michael may not have any money, but was quickly relaxed as Michael, from some unknown pocket in the gown, drew an old and tattered wallet. He wasted no time in tracking down, paying for, and putting on a new set of cloths. He chose a pair of blue jeans, a white shirt, a black tie, and a long, black trench coat. When he came out of the changing room he looked like a businessman, even more so because during his stay the hospital had given him a hair cut and removed his beard. It was also the first time Marcus noticed that he wore glasses. Marcus suddenly felt that Michael was actually a cool adult, one he could be seen hanging out with and not feel weird. Michael, despite living in the area for so many years, knew little about the mall. He was most intrigued by a closed down night-club called Escapade. Marcus didn't know much about it, but Mika had become good friends with Yukari and had learned from her that it used to be a very popular place. It didn't take Michael long to get tired of the mindless wandering and suggest that they return to the dorms. As the car pulled away after dropping Marcus off at his dorm, Marcus wondered why Michael had been so interested in that club, but his train of thought was cut of as he entered the dorm, and was immediately inundated with questions from Akihiko, Junpei, and Ken, who had apparently been waiting for him. They wanted Marcus' take on Michael, if he could be trusted. Marcus didn't see why not, and blew off all the other questions on his way up to bed; it had been an exhausting day.
Marcus woke slowly the next morning, and was almost late to school. Yukari spent almost ten minutes berating him for being so careless, and would have gone on longer if Fu hadn't pointed out that they were there to learn. At the end of class Yukari told them to return to the school at about ten in the afternoon. When they asked why she only grinned and told them to wait. Marcus was so consumed with what could possibly be going on that he almost broke his leg in P.E. Junpei couldn't stop laughing for the rest of the period, and even Fu had a slight grin on her face, Marcus, however remained grumpy until Mika threatened to dump him if he didn't cheer up. At the end of class they all returned to the dorms to get their things together for what they assumed was going to be a trip to Tartarus. At ten the whole group gathered at the school, but Matt, Milton, and Michael were nowhere to be seen, and none of the adults would reveal why they were here so early. Mitsuru had a large car at the curb, and they all piled in. After a short drive they were back at the mall. As they entered nothing seemed to be different, but then Mitsuru drew their attention to Escapade, which wasn't Escapade any more. The front of the club had been repainted in dark colors, and the sign above the door had been changed to Sable. In front of the door in jeans, a sleeveless shirt, and sunglasses was Matt, looking, quite convincingly, like bouncer. He stood aside and opened the front door with one hand, following them after they entered. Milton was behind a small bar, dressed in a long white jacket with long sleeves to hide his hands, and baggy white pants. When they asked where Michael was he pointed up to a balcony over the bar. Leaning on the railing of the balcony was Michael, dressed in a clean set of the same clothes he had bought the day before. "So," he shouted down as he saw them, "what do you think?"
"When you told me you had plans for this place, I was under the impression that you meant plans that involved fighting Shadows." Mitsuru looked slightly annoyed. "Ah, you seem to think you were misled, when in fact you assumed correctly, and have yet to see this locations true function."
"Which is?"
"Simple, a forward outpost. A base of operations. When you told me that your school was also your home base, I decided that a new location was needed. One with facilities better suited to combat preparations. I have turned this entire building into a giant receiving antenna, which will boost the power of any support Persona used within tenfold. I also have a backroom which will prove excellent for storing any equipment. On top of this, though connections made in a past best left alone, I can procure weapons, armor, and accessories of excellent quality. I also anticipate that much in the way of gossip will travel through here. While most will be trivial, some may put us on the trail of powerful Shadows, and alert us to other strange happenings."
"Alright, you've made your point; I was too hasty in judging this place. So are you ready to go?"
"Certainly, mam."
"Good, I'm interested to see just how strong you are."
"Then I will display my prowess to the best of my ability."
"Hey, Michael, easy on the big words. I think poor Marcus' head is gonna blow." Milton laughed raucously at Matt's remark. "Good one!"
"Aren't they all?"
"Matt," Michael said, "stuff that ego in a box before I stuff you in a box."
"Alright, geez, relax."
"Yeah, relax, you're way too uptight."
"I am not uptight."
"Yes you are."
"Milton, grab the evokers. Matt, get your hammer."
"But I thought you said we could have the night off!"
"From work, not training."
"Jerk." Milton mumbled. "I heard that." Milton cursed under his breath, but Matt shrugged and went to fetch his hammer. Both returned shortly, Matt with hammer in hand, and Milton carrying their evokers and a large revolver. Michael took the revolver and his evoker from Milton, who then gave Matt his. Marcus began to wonder why Milton had no weapon, but then remembered that he fought Shadows bare-handed, his claws made short work of them. After everyone had finished checking their gear, they left for Tartarus. They arrived a few minutes early, and Mitsuru took the time to set up teams. She, Marcus, Mika and Michael would be one group. Ken, Akihiko, Junpei, and Yukari would be the next group. Matt, Milton, Aigis, and Koromaru, the dog Marcus had seen on the night Thanatos was destroyed, would make up the last group. Fuuka and Fu would remain behind in the lobby as usual. Marcus was excited, ready to blast some Shadows, but Mitsuru told him to hang back, and let Michael do most of the work, to test his limits. Marcus was o.k. with that, but he really wanted to be doing the fighting himself. They entered the tower proper, and shortly after, ran across a large group of Shadows. Michael grinned slightly, and then dove right in, unloading his revolver. He plowed through them so quickly Marcus almost felt pity for the creatures. In no time at all they were on the tenth floor. The floor was set up far different than the others. Mitsuru explained that this was a guardian floor. Guardians were select Shadows of above average power, and not to be taken lightly. Marcus grew more excited the more he heard. Mitsuru also pointed out what she called a terminal. In was like the green portals on other floors, but stayed open permanently once opened, and could be jumped to immediately form the first floor, which also had a terminal. Every guardian floor had a terminal, and that made exploration of the tower easier, because it meant that you didn't need to go through all the lower floors just to get back to where you were. Michael absorbed this information with a yawn, and rushed in to face the guardian of the floor. Compared to other Shadows Marcus had seen, this one was massive, but not larger than either the first one he killed with Thanatos, or the one the sleeping man had vaporized. It was human in shape, dressed in ancient samurai armor, and carried a long katana. Michael laughed aloud, and as he did an inky blackness began to extend from his feet, climbing swiftly up his body. At the same time his right arm began to mutate. Michael tosses his heavy coat aside, and was soon completely coated in blackness. His arm finished its change, and two blood red eyes appeared on his face. The large Shadow visibly shuddered, almost as if it was actually afraid. Then, whether in desperation or hate no one knew, the samurai-Shadow attacked with all the strength it could muster. It brought its blade down upon Michael with force enough to cleave steel. Unfortunately for the Shadow, Michael apparently was tougher than steel. He casually caught the sword in his unchanged hand, and easily hefted the Shadow off the ground. The poor creature stubbornly maintained its grip on the other end of the sword, helpless to stop the smaller, but clearly far stronger, being at the other end of the blade. From there, Michael tossed the Shadow, sword and all, high into the air, and just as easily blasted the Shadow with a volley of shots from his right arm-cannon. For a moment it rained black inside the floor on which they stood. Marcus couldn't move, he could barely breathe. Fear gripped his entire body, like a giant's hand, slowly crushing him. Only after the blackness that had coated Michael faded, and his arm returned to its normal state, that Marcus was able to quell his fear and move. Marcus reflected on the episode, and noted that the area had changed during the fight, that it had expanded; grow larger to accommodate their battle. Looking back Marcus noticed that it had always done this, and that he had simply tuned it out. His thoughts were interrupted by a scream over the radio, a scream from a voice reminiscent of Fu's. After the scream Fuuka's voice came over the radio, asking everyone to return immediately. Mika's face had turned white, her eyes wide with shock and fear. Mitsuru's eyes began to dart around, and she gripped her rapier harder. Only Michael remained calm, walking patently to the terminal back to the first floor. But he found his path barred, literally. Thick metal posts had cut them off from heading backwards. Mitsuru was as surprised as the rest of them. The only option left to them was to go forward, and look for another way down. The others were behind them, and so would most likely beat them down, but no one considered it a race. They were forced to go up five more floors before they finally found a one-way terminal back down. On arrival they saw why Fuuka had asked for their return. Takaya and a mysterious woman in black clothing stood at the base of the steps to the main entrance to Tartarus' dungeon. Around them were scattered the unconscious bodies of all of the others. Takaya turned, an almost kind smile on his face, to greet them, but as his eyes fell on Michael they widened with horror, and his jaw fell slack with surprise. "Y-y-you! N-no, i-it can't be, you can't be! How are you still alive!? I saw you die in that fire!"
"You saw a Shadow husk melt away, while I regained myself and fled there, just as you did, Takaya."
"NO! It isn't fair, how dare you live! After all the lives you took, it's only fair that you die! Why can't you just DIE!?"
"Because death is not penance, death is the coward's escape."
"Then it's perfect for you!"
"Sly tongue, but a brain that lags behind, foolish Takaya, I thought I taught you better than that."
"Taught! You taught me nothing!"
"Where are Chidori and Jin, your faithful pets?"
"In hell, were you should be!"
"A sad thing, at least in Chidori's case. She was a kind girl in the beginning, until they sunk their claws into her, and you twisted her mind."
"I? It wasn't I who twisted her mind, no that honor falls to you, my friend!"
"I did no such thing, snake! Watch your words, or I'll rip that forked tongue out of your head!"
"Takaya, I'm bored." Everyone started as the mysterious lady spoke. For the first time Marcus' attention fell on her and not Takaya. She was beautiful. She had a perfect face, skin, body, eyes, everything. But in her eyes was hate, pure, unhindered hate. "Well, feel free to entertain your self, look there are three little worms right over there behind him you can play with."
"But they look so weak, I doubt they'd be any more fun than the others, I want to fight him, because he looks tough."
"I'm sorry but we're not done talking yet…"
"I am." Michael drew his revolver as he spoke, and downed Takaya with one shot to the shoulder, apparently the shock of being shot so suddenly caused his mind to go out for a short while. The girl looked unsurprised, and even smiled at Michael, who smiled back, all the while shifting into his Shadow form. In the blink of an eye they were at each others throats, Michael in full Shadow form, the woman swinging a very long, heavy looking sword in one hand. Their movements were incredibly fast, almost too fast to read. The ladies sword swipes cut through the air with enough speed and power to whip up the dust and dirt around them, but never did they strike their target. Michael was on level footing with the strange woman, their power perfectly balanced, but Michael was playing, wearing her down, except it appeared she was doing the same. Occasionally a bolt of energy would lance out, shattering floor, ceiling, and wall all the same, where ever it struck. Eventually they broke off the fight, skidding across the floor from the force. It was hard to tell how tired Michael was, he had no face to read, but his red eyes were narrowed to slits. The strange woman looked tired, panting from exhaustion, and swearing quietly to herself. Finally she swore aloud, "Damn this pathetic body! If only I wasn't trapped in this thing, I'd have killed him already!"
"Not much you can do about that, is there Nyx?"
"You know me?"
"Longer than I knew, after all, it's your fault my mind is twisted like this, but I guess I should thank you too, without you I wouldn't have this body."
"So you are a Shadow, I thought so, but human senses are so unreliable, I just couldn't be sure." Nyx's tone had changed, as had Michael's. They were no longer enemies, but equals. Two beings trapped between humanity and existence as a Shadow. The main difference was their origin. Michael had started as a human, Nyx, from Marcus what had gleaned from conversations about her, was the mother of all Shadows. Marcus would have attacked her, if he thought it would do any good. It was her fault they were in this shit-storm. If she had just stayed away, the Shadows wouldn't have come back. Everything had gone to hell thanks to her. And Michael was acting almost friendly with her! It burned Marcus' mind to think Michael could act so clam when the cause of so much suffering was standing in front of him. "So when that guy blasted you with that big attack, you were knocked out?"
"Yes, and when I awoke, I was human. You have no idea how unnerving it is to undergo a change like that." The Shadow Michael folded it arms and gave a very sarcastic look, hard to do with just the eyes. "Oh, well I guess you do, but the rest of them don't, not even Takaya."
"Takaya doesn't have many ideas at all; thinking isn't really his strong suit."
"You don't have to tell me that! When I first met him he tried to kill me."
"Nyx, why are you chatting with the man that wants to kill all your kind, you included?" Apparently, Takaya had finally come too, because he was on his feet and talking to Nyx like a father would a small child. "You need to understand, he may be part Shadow, but he is nothing like you! Even as a Shadow you had more mercy and kindness in one iota of your being than he ever had in his entire being! He is a monster, sooner to kill than to befriend. A demon in human clothes, blight on all reality, a sin against every dimension. He is no better than a simple disease, the basest form of life."
"Ouch, Takaya. That would hurt, if I gave more that a shit about your opinion, but I don't, so it doesn't."
"Shut…"
"No, you shut up, you overinflated sack of bullshit! I get sick and tired of this holier than thou attitude of yours, you pompous prick. I swear the world would be so much nicer a place if shit heads like you were killed at birth!"
"Well you had many the opportunities to kill me back in the day, but you showed me mercy!"
"Oh hell no, not me, him. If it had been me, your ass would have been on a pike for all to see. He let you live, probably because he knew how big a pain in my ass you'd become, fucking prick that he is."
"Well tell him thanks for me!"
"Fuck you!", but Michael was talking to no one, because Takaya and Nyx were gone.