AN: Looking over this chapter, boy was it in a rough state. Still, I've edited it to make the fight a bit better - at least, naming/changing attacks for Kazuya, replacing 'Cleave' with Sword Slice, and overall just polishing the chapter.

Took me forever to realise that Foolish Whisper is multi-target, while the single-target Silence spell is Makajam. Oops...


Chapter 7: Fire of God


|Other World - Outside FSDC|19:21 pm|

Amara was pale with fright. They had been spotted, and they did not sound friendly. This would be the first encounter with an inhabitant of this world - one that wasn't a monster, at least. Yet were they looking to kill, like the dark beings?

"Who's there?" Serena asked, looking around. "I don't even see anybody!"

"Up there!" Nathan said, pointing at the roof of a small building. On the roof was a tall young man, of Japanese descent, with long straight black hair and black eyes. Wearing an elaborate outfit consisting of a black and white shirt, orange pants and shoes, and a long cape of black, white and orange stripes, he was clutching two sharp daggers in his hands.

"Hiyah!"

The man jumped down from the building. Despite the height, he managed to make a smooth landing. He looked at the three, who in turn stared at him with hesistation. No one budged an inch.

"You did quite well. Your Personas have a lot of potential, I think. They'd make a wonderful addition to the Ornatu Legion." he said.

"Ornatu Legion? What's that? Actually, who are you?" Amara asked, confused. She, Nathan and Serena kept their weapons ready. To say this world felt off was an understatement. And this man's words did nothing to ease her doubts. Rather, they added another layer to them. More terms she did not know.

The man seemed just as perplexed as she did. He stared at her, flabbergasted, until he spoke. "What? You have to be joking. You don't know what the Ornatu Legion is? How could you possibly not know? There's no way you could have missed us. We've been around for ten years!"

Nathan shrugged, and there was a long and awkward moment of silence. Amara wanted to tell this man that she had only come here twice in two days, and no one had turned up to explain what an 'Ornatu Legion' was. Things were bizarre enough as they were.

"Um...aren't you going to tell us now?" Serena asked, giving the man a dirty look.

"Fine. I'll tell you what the Ornatu Legion is, you ignoramuses. Ornatu Legion is the militia Aeternus put together to combat the Shadows. Each one of them can use a Persona, parts of a human psyche with the power to harm those strange creatures. However, most of them have artificial ones, which are competent, but ultimately lacking. At present, five of us can use natural ones. Those are me, the other three of the Holy Cross, and the Commander. Now do you understand? Honestly..." the man, impatient, got more and more annoyed with every word he uttered.

"Wait, did you say Aeternus?" Serena asked. "Didn't they -"

"Serena, no!" Nathan shouted. "Don't tell him!"

"Don't tell me what?" the man asked, annoyed. "You three are an unusual bunch. Yet, our orders must be obeyed. Every day since we were discovered, we've been on strict orders to locate new Persona users, so we can add to our ranks. If I let you go, they'll kill me. So if you refuse to accompany me, I'm placing you all under arrest! I'll show the Commander what the Holy Cross can do!"

"No way!" Amara shouted. "I don't trust you! We're not joining your Legion!"

"Fine then, I'll just have to take you by force. No one refuses the orders of Kazuya Miyazaki and gets away with it!"

'Kazuya', surrounded by a blue aura, looked very mad. His initial confident, refined demeanor had been switched with irritation. With a fierce cry, called out his Persona.

"Uriel!"

This Persona, an angel, bore large blue wings. Also, he was fitted with green armour on his hands and legs. Wearing a long green cape and with golden armour covering his chest, he brandished a long spear that was far more intricate than Setanta's. His short blonde spiky hair blowing in the wind, his purple eyes shining bright, he descended to the ground, ready to fight.

"No way am I losing to an angel! Once was enough!" Amara blinked. What's she talking about? Oh, some video game. Probably. "C'mon, guys!" Serena screamed, as Hathor, Artemis and Setanta were called upon, and got ready to fight. "Aqua!" Once more, Artemis struck her foe with a blast of water energy.

"Argh!" Kazuya was in deep pain, and pure rage flared in his eyes. "You got lucky! Damn water magic!"

Serena shrugged, and got ready to cast another spell. "No! No way am I letting you get away with that! You should just be quiet. Makajam!"

"Huh?" Serena shouted, but suddenly, Uriel cast a strange spell. A strange mist of green surrounded Serena's body, and Artemis suddenly disappeared. "Wait, what happened?" Serena shouted, but she realised something odd. She couldn't cast her spell. Each time she tried, it was as if something was blocking the way.

"Kazuya! What did you do?" Amara shouted.

"Can't you tell? I made your friend quiet down for a while. They do say silence is golden, after all." Kazuya boasted. With supersonic speed, he dashed at Serena, and attacked with his knives.

"Ow!" Serena cried. "Damn. Guys, hold on! I'll try and break this seal!" With an incredible velocity, Serena attacked Kazuya with her whip again and again. "Take this, dirtbag!"

"Dirtbag?" Nathan shrugged, and made Setanta strike Kazuya with his spear. "Don't think you can outmatch us!"

"Don't make me laugh! How long have you had your power? A day? Let me show you how unskilled you really are!" Uriel, with a triumphant twirl of his spear, blasted Amara with Heat Flash - a spell that was like Agi, but it seemed to have electricity within its flames. However, it still did not harm Amara much.

"Ha!" Amara's fire resistance had proven useful once again. "I can take the heat, alright! That all you got, Kaz?"

"You did not just call me that. Let the light take you! Hama!" Uriel sent a series of white cards around Amara, who stared in confusion. The cards glowed, and there was a brilliant flash of light, but nothing happened. "Dammit, it didn't work!" Amara couldn't help but burst out laughing. "You got lucky! That could have taken you out!"

"Give it up! Take this!" Amara began attacking Kazuya with her sword, whilst Nathan dodged another Heat Flash. "Hathor, cut him in half!" Hathor's staff transformed into a sword again, and with a powerful slash she struck Kazuya.

"Damn, I can't break the spell..." Serena said, trying to attack Kazuya. He dodged every strike, and attacked her with a Zio spell - which caused her a lot of pain. "Oww! No way!"

"Looks like I found your Achille's heel. If only the Commander were here to see this! He's put me down too many times..." Kazuya blocked Amara's slash, and had Uriel use Holy Pierce - a strong spear thrust move. It had enough force to send her back several feet. "No way am I losing to you amateurs!"

However, the moment he said this, he was knocked to the ground. Nathan had struck him from behind, and he immediately followed with a Garu spell.

"If we're such amateurs, you shouldn't turn your back to any of us." Nathan said, with a smug grin.

"S-Shut up!" Kazuya shouted, but this distraction was enough for Amara to prepare another Sword Slice attack. "Ugh, you…"

"Well done, Amara! This fellow's on the ropes now!" Nathan shouted, after he withstood a Zio spell. Hathor raised her transformed sword, whilst Setanta called upon an Aeir Sosa to surround Hathor.

"Wind Cutter!"

Hathor, with her sword now charged with intense winds, slashed Kazuya with great strength.

"Argh!" Kazuya collapsed. Uriel was looking rather fatigued as well. "Damn you! I'm not giving up yet!"

"Face it, this show is over! Aqua!" Serena eagerly struck Kazuya with Aqua once again. With a pitiful groan, Kazuya dismissed Uriel, and slumped onto the ground.

"Urgh...I don't get you guys. You're obviously new at this, but at the same time, you beat me." Kazuya moaned, amazed. "If only you'd join the Ornatu Legion, you could be like the Holy Cross...maybe better."

"We just defeated you! Aren't we already better?" Amara was beaming. During the battle, she had thought it might be too hard to defeat him, but now she had pulled through. Of course, she couldn't have done it alone. "So, tell us. What happened ten years ago?"

"What? How could anyone not know that? You must have been around then, surely! Everyone remembers when the Shadows attacked! Aeternus developed technology to help fight them! If it wasn't for them, we'd all be Shadow meat by now!" Kazuya said. "You guys are twisted! You'll regret getting on my nerves, you three!" Catching his breath, he stood up, clutching a wound on his chest.

"Oh will we?" Nathan asked. "Is that a threat?"

"Obviously. Next time, I'll make you join us. The Holy Cross won't forget this. Oh, and just a piece of advice. Don't ever try and fight the Commander. Ever!" With all his energy, he jumped back onto the roof and ran off into the distance.

"So...Shadows were coming to invade the city, and Aeternus are trying to stop them?" Amara asked, scratching his head. "If Kazuya was telling the truth, then would joining the Ornatu Legion be such a bad idea?"

"No. Think about it. The Shadows don't exist in our world, right? And Aeternus was ruined because of that explosion. Doesn't that mean they're the ones who unleashed Shadows onto the world?" Serena said. Amara and Nathan gasped.

"...Aeternus are the ones responsible? They were going to use Shadows to take over the world...and they did, at least in here? I don't believe it..." Amara said. "How did they find the Shadows? Maybe if we talk to Kazuya, he can tell us more."

"No, I don't think that's feasible." Nathan said. "For one thing, we'd have to explain we're from another dimension. That would be a little hard to believe, don't you think? And if Aeternus really are behind the Shadows, then I doubt they'd be particularly welcoming to us." Amara didn't want to admit it, but he was right. If both cities were ruined by the Shadows, there'd be nowhere for them to be safe.

"We're...not done with this world, are we? This is like a tutorial for us." Serena said, with a grave expression on her face. "I never thought I'd be fighting monsters like this!"

"I understand. This is quite a situation we're dealing with, ladies. For some reason, we were all sent through a bizarre device that let us enter another timeline, and a select few have the power we have." Nathan said, deep in thought. "Our world is fine, thankfully, but why? Was the explosion enough to stop their plans?"

"I guess we just won't get all the answers right away, huh? If only it were that easy, then I could do well on the Geography exam." Serena said, and yawned. "I'm beat…"

"Alright then, we should return home. I think Serena could use the rest." Nathan said. Serena smiled and walked off, whilst Amara glared at Nathan.

"What, and I don't?" Amara said.

"Trust me, examinations are a far more fearsome obstacle than the Shadows!" Nathan said, following Serena. Amara sighed, and stared at the city around her. Was it really up to the three of them to save this world? Why couldn't their other world selves do it? "Our other selves…" Amara said to herself, before running after the other two. If Amara found the other her…what would happen?

|Farawell - Outside the Warehouse|19:45 pm|

"Phew! Good to see the real Farawell again!" Serena said, smiling as the gang left the dingy warehouse. It was a small street, one that did not stand out among the famous views of the city, but it was a welcome sight nevertheless. The group had been stuck in the other world for quite some time, and it was dark now. "You two okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine now!" Amara said, but she didn't have much enthusiasm. After all, she had seen an alternate future of her city. A dark land, barricaded, with only a few chosen ones who could fight the monsters. It was bad enough when she thought it was just a virtual reality game, but now it was like hell. "But what are we gonna do next? If all we do in the other world is beat the Holy Cross again and again, then we won't get anything done!"

"Well..." Nathan said. "I think it would be wise to look into the explosion. I'm not convinced the entirety of the organisation was behind this." Amara and Serena looked at each other, and Nathan groaned. "If I remember correctly, only a select few of their staff were at the event. If the entire organisation were behind it, wouldn't there be some signs? There was quite a intense investigation at the time, so I doubt they'd miss anything paranormal. All that happened after that investigation was Aeternus declaring bankruptcy."

"So...all the equipment to do with the Shadows was at the convention centre. The explosion must have destroyed it all." Serena said.

"Yes. There could be more information available, however. I'll look into it and see what I can find." Nathan said.

"Sounds good, Nathan! We're lucky to have you!" Amara said, giving him a thumbs up. "Now then, I'm going home! See you guys later!"

"Wait, hold on. If we're going to seriously investigate this thing, we should all exchange numbers. Not only if we're going to enter that other world, but if we just want to talk. I suppose a snob can spare a few minutes to listen..." Nathan said, with a sly grin at Amara.

"I thought you let that go!" Amara said, but deep down she knew he was teasing. Ever since she got her new job, things had been crazy, but she had met two new friends. One was a girl still in school, and one was an upper-class guy, but she still liked them. If she got to knew them better, then going to the other world wouldn't be so bad after all. "I...really enjoyed fighting with you guys."

"That's the only part I've liked so far." Nathan said, sincerely. "Take care, then."

After saying goodbye, Amara headed home whilst Serena and Nathan went off. As she was walking, she could have sworn she was being watched, but she simply shrugged it off. Hopefully, Amara could enjoy the weekend ahead. Perhaps she could ask Stella a few questions of her own, though…