It's been a month and I am so ready for this, haha. Oh yeah, the family has grew! Thanks for PlutoAn, BlueDragon2908, Redthorn13, and Alexus Maya, following and/or favoriting! I really appreciate it!
Everything remains the same, by the way.
AIGIS GENDER POLL
MALE 1 FEMALE 3
Come on guys lets get some RANK UPS! And plot!
[April 20, 2009; Monday; Dark Hour]
XXI
I looked at the stairs with a dull glimpse. I was not ready for climbing, much less moving. Man, what I would do to just sleep.
In fact, why am I even doing this again? Like, seriously, I don't gain jack shit. There's no reason for me to carry the whole world on my shoulders.
"Please do not say that Master Minato." Came Orpheus' worried voice.
But what's the point, I had questioned him. Why must I risk my life for things like this?
"..." He was silent for a moment before saying, "Thou shalt know at the end of this journey, I promise."
And nothing more was said as I climbed the stairs in a sluggish manner. When we reached the very top, I pushed the huge doors into the dungeon. I gulped dryly, looking behind me, before looking forward again and stepping into the darkness. When I opened my eyes again, I was surrounded by tall walls dripping with a red substance and were painted with a mysterious green.
My stomach churned slightly, I knew for sure that this place was dangerous. I felt nauseous and I really wanted to get out of this place. But I forced the bile down and stood up straight. I looked over to my side to see Junpei, grinning. Seemingly unaffected by Tartarus. Huh, maybe it's just me.
"This is it, huh?" I could see the grin from the corner of my eyes. I shifted my eyes to the other side to see Yukari with an unsure stare.
"I hope I don't get lost." I rolled my eyes at her, out of all the things you worry about, it's getting lost; not dying to your death just, lost.
I slightly jumped as I heard a static near my waist. I looked at my side to see the transmitter Mitsuru had given us and picked it up. I pressed the button and her voice came out of the small black transmitter.
"Can you all hear me?" She asked, however, a bit of feedback erupted as soon as she said that.
"Yeah, we can hear you, just a bit feedback." I replied quietly. Junpei, however, was astonished by the transmitter for some odd reason.
"Whoa! Is that you sempai?" He grinned and I rolled my eyes. "Wait, can you see us?"
I could practically feel her nod as she responded, "Yes, it's my Persona's ability. I'd like to join you, however, Tartarus' structure changes everyday and someone has to keep track of the place. So I am here to assist you for the time being."
"Well, that makes me feel a lot better." Yukari rolled her eyes, arms crossed. I looked at her with a hard stare, and she looked at me as well; an eyebrow raised, "What?" She asked. I shook my head and returned my attention to the transmitter.
"Now, based on your location..." Mitsuru muttered; "You may expect another encounter with the enemies at any moment. They shouldn't be too tough though." She quickly added, "Still, proceed with caution. Remember, practice makes perfect." They she cut the line off. I looked at the others as their expressions varied from excited to not so much.
"Right! Sounds simple enough, let's kill some Shadows!" He wooed and I nodded, going back to look at Yukari.
"Got it." Though, I heard what she said afterward, most likely to herself. "Why does she always have to be like that..?" I rolled my eyes, and seemed to find my voice to say my thoughts.
"Then asked yourself, why do you have to be such a bitch?" I asked her, she stammered for a bit; her face flushed. Junpei reached for a high-five, but I denied him one. "Now's not the time Junpei." Was my response as I directed them further.
After a few minutes walking around and obtaining several items that could be of importance, we finally caught a Shadow walking about. Mitsuru chimed in;
"I detect a Shadow, go and move in towards it and strike before it comes after you!" She cut off there, and I looked over to the other two, they gave me a thumbs up; signaling that they were ready to go.
"Alright, let's get this over with..." I mumbled to myself as I used the sword in my hand to strike.
We surrounded the Shadows, and up close I noticed that they were the same as the ones before. I gripped the handle of my weapon, still angry about their comrades for attempting to stab through my legs. Although, this was only one, so we're good for the moment.
Before I do anything however...
"Hey Junpei! Yukari!" I hollered at them, they too, screamed equally loud as they asked me what did I want. "Do you guys want to take orders from me, or just do things by yourselves?" Hey, it was a very important question.
"I'd like to get a hang of things first!" Yukari was the first to answer. However, I know there was one part of her who didn't want to take orders from me because our previous conversation. It was totally worth it though.
"I'm goin' solo man!" Junpei said after. I nodded to the both of them understanding why they chose to go by their own. Though, I do hope they don't die because they did the wrong move or whatever. Then I heard Mitsuru coming from the transmitter again.
"Takeba has informed me about your power, but nevertheless you have minimal combat experience. Would you like me to explain the basics of battle?" I pressed my lips together before saying;
"No thank you. I think I already got it."
I heard her laugh on the other line as she said; "Like a pro." She coughed and proceeded with her serious voice, "Then I want you to defeat the enemy before you." Then she cut off once again, leaving me to myself and two of my classmates who looked anxious on trying to beat up the Shadow.
I figured I would go first, and so I did. I pressed the Evoker to my head and I called out "Orpheus!" He came out at once and used what he called 'Bash', if I remembered correctly. It seemed to do a hefty amount of damage as it destroyed the enemy in one go. The Shadow dissipated and the hallway was quiet once again.
I decided it'd be best that we don't stand in the middle of a dungeon where we could easily be attacked like sitting ducks and got the other two to move forward. Again, we got some items that seemed very important like Medicine. It didn't take long however to see another Shadow and strike it.
As we entered the battle, the Shadow divided into two entities with the same face and name; the Cowardly Maya. I groaned, remembering what happened last time it was this many shadows. However, I realized I had nothing to fear, since after all, I had Yukari and Junpei with me, so it was a fair battle.
Mitsuru seemed to be in an explaining mood as she chimed in once again in the transmitter. "Now's a good time for me to explain the attack properties. Which are heavily important to consider in battle. Do you want to learn more?" I silently groaned, thinking how Mitsuru was like Navi from Zelda or something. Once again I answered, my voice slightly irritated;
"No thank you Mitsuru, I can handle it." That, and I can talk to Orpheus if I'm in a pinch.
"The enemies you're facing have a weakness that you can exploit. Why don't you give it a try?" She then allowed us to do our thing and I pondered what weakness did these blobs have.
I shrugged, blue and red don't get along quite nicely, do they? I lifted the Evoker to my head once again and called "Persona!" Orpheus appeared, however, he strummed his harp instead of banging it; which seemed to symbolize the attack, 'Agi'. The cool thing is, the Shadow burst into flames, and even after it disappeared, the Shadow seemed too weak to even get up.
I grinned, it seems that I can go on as many times as I like as long as the move is "super effective" towards the enemy. So I did multiple spells to send all of the Shadows Knocked Down. Yukari looked over to me and asked; "Here's our chance for an All-Out-Attack!" I wasn't sure what she meant. but I accepted it anyway. Turns out an "All-Out-Attack" meant all of us just going in and attacking the enemies.
Kind of simple if you ask me.
Anyway, after that battle, we continued onward, again, meeting another Shadow and once again striking it. You know, I don't know about you, but I can get used to bashing enemies on the head with a sword.
"Master Minato thou art scaring me." Orpheus said in a cautioned tone.
Relax, I hushed him, Let me have my fun.
"I hope we don't die due to thy's reckless behavior." He immediately replied.
Quiet Orpheus. I sighed, when will he learn to trust me?
"Never, I suppose." I groaned, it sucked sharing a head with a sassy ego.
Mitsuru chimed in just in time to prevent me having one of those weird arguments with a dude whose is living in my head. "Were you able to exploit the enemy's weakness in the last battle?" Yeah. "If you didn't already notice, doing so will also grant you an additional attack." Mm-hm. "Would you like more details."
"Nah, I'm good." I shrugged and she replied;
"Very well. Now, proceed with the battle. Use what you've learned to quickly dispose of the enemy." She then left me to myself and I cracked my neck.
"Let's do this.
Long story short, I defeated them with some fire spells and no one had to do anything but me. Yay. However, the more interesting part came up next. After the battle was done and over with, several cards spun in my face with "Shuffle Time" in bright letters on top. I'm pretty sure no one other than me could see them, since no one really commented on the disco light show in everyone's faces. Huh, maybe this is what Igor was talking about before...
I watch them flip and spin, before ultimately choosing the one that looked like a fairy.
"Hello, hello, hello!" She chirped excitingly. "I art thou, and thou art I! My name is Pixie! Nice ta' meet ya'!" I smiled lightly at her before giving her my index finger to shake. She giggled and said, "Don't hesitate to call me if an ally is hurt, 'kay?" With that, she vanished, but I could hear Orpheus groaning and Pixie's high pitched laughter in my head. I sighed, hoping I made the correct choice in picking her.
With that, we went one towards another fight with another Shadow. This time, however, there was four. Not much of a big deal, but hey, it's four. Meaning it's more dangerous if I miss an attack.
Shit, I just jinxed myself.
"I detect yet another Shadow." Misturu commented, "... Also, how are all of you feeling? If you or another party member is in bad shape, ask Takeba to heal you. Make a habit of checking your status before going into battle." I nodded and she stopped talking to allow us to begin attacking.
I was slightly unsure if I would get the attack, but I summoned Orpheus nevertheless and the Agi spell managed to hit the first enemy. The second enemy however... It was a miss. My and my big fucking mouth, ugh.
Thankfully, it was Junpei's turn next and as he summoned his Persona, I was kind of unnerved of how excited he was to shut himself in the head.
Though, sadly, he only knew 'Cleave' and was not able to knock down an enemy.
What made this worse was that it was the Shadow's turn to attack. Each and every one of them. Thankfully, they pretty much only attacked Yukari.
"Alright enough of this, Agi!" I called out after every single Shadow hit the other teen. Then I managed to get everything knocked down and this time Junpei called the "All-Out-Attack".
"Here's our chance! Let's get 'em." I nodded and signaled everybody to attack all at once. After that came another Shuffle Time, which only had two cards, both which were Personas. I recognized the Pixie, but not the other. So I reached for that.
"Good Evening..." Came her soft and lull voice. "I art thou, thou art I... They call me Apsaras, and it is a pleasure to meet you at last, Master Minato." I nodded to her and we shook hands before she ultimately vanished in my chest.
I like her, she's not too loud, nor too sassy for my tastes.
Anyway, we continued onward, looking for Shadows like idiots until we found one and smashed it on the head, watching it divide to other Shadows. Still the Cowardly Mayas... This was slowly getting boring as I anticipated Mitsuru's question with an answer.
"I don't think we need to know anything else. I do believe we have it all under control." She huffed and said;
"Very well. That concludes the basics of battling. However, one last thing. Shadows become stronger the further you advance. If you don't think you can win a battle, then it'll be best to flee the area. Although, there may be a rare occasion in which it would be impossible to flee a battle." She took a breath and added, "This battle is one of those times. Good luck."
Like always, she stopped talking to allows us some leverage. Again, we defeated the Shadows and we started to look got more. Instead, we only saw a staircase and another hallway. Mitsuru's voice came out again in a pondering manner;
"Hm... That's strange, usually they're more Shadows roaming about... Well, at least you know what to expect in battle. Let's go back to the dorm for now. Try to look for something akin to an Access Point and it'll transport you back to the ground floor of Tartarus. Maybe you can even split up since they're no more monsters about. Try to find some hidden treasure of something. As long as you get to the access point." She stopped talking and we all looked at each other.
"Split up?" I asked and the other two nodded.
"Split up." I watched as they moved away and begun walking around the floor on their own. I stretched and cracked some of my aching muscles.
"You okay? Need me to heal you Minato?" I heard Pixie ask in a worried tone. I pondered on it for a bit before asking if she could do so.
I summoned her and sat down as she casted 'Dia' on me. She giggled and sat on my head before saying;
"You know, you should've used someone other than Orpheus in battle." I blinked at her before saying, it quite the stupid tone;
"Really, I can?" She giggled and nodded.
"You just think of someone else, and our "card" will appear before you and smash itself to allow you some leverage and not shoot yourself every time you need a persona. Or you could summon your cards outside of battle and shuffle them to allow the top card in the deck to be the Persona you summon first. It's pretty simple." She smiled and I thanked her for her assistance. She waved "good-bye" as Junpei and Yukari came back. Junpei finding some cash, and Yukari finding the access point.
"Give me that!" Yukari groaned at the goatee-wearing teen. "Here." She shoved the money in my hands. "Out of the three of us, I would think you would be the one to keep track of the money."
Junpei whined, "Hey, no fair!" But he was promptly ignored.
Yukari showed us the way towards the Access Point, although, we came along a problem...
"I don't know how to use it." Yukari sighed, as she looked at us for help. I shrugged and we both looked at Junpei, though, I wished I hadn't.
"Don't worry kiddies, Junpei has got this handled!" I watched in amusement as he circled around the object several times, muttering to himself.
"Aren't we the same age?" I quietly asked Yukari, which she shrugged.
"We don't look like it." She motioned to the goatee and I couldn't help but chuckle. You know, forgetting the fact that Yukari is a huge bitch, she's a pretty cool girl.
Not that she is one. Since she's still a mega bitch.
"Hey! I got it!" Before I could even turn my head we were engulfed in a bright light and everything turned black.
Okay, I thought. What just happened?
"Ah, you're back." The voice came in front of me. I blinked my eyes once or perhaps twice to be greeted by Misturu, Akihiko and the ground floor of Tartatus. "How was it?" She asked me. I shook my head to get a better vision.
"It was no problem. But I don't think I would get used to that Access Point though."
She laughed, "It's good that you've gained some confidence to battle. And don't worry about the Access Point, it'll stop getting blinding after a while."
"Wow..." Junpei breathed, "I never knew I had such power!" He looked at me. "We kicked some major ass out there!" He staggered a bit before groaning, "I'm so beat though."
"That's because you were bouncin' around like a little kid." Yukari sighed at him before rolling her shoulder.
"You look pretty tired yourself though, Yuka-tan." He teased and she rolled her eyes at him.
"I'm still trying to catch my breath actually." She replied, before stretching more on her back instead of her arms.
"That's the effect of the Dark Hour; you'll become fatigued more easily. Don't worry though. you'll get used to it. Although, I am surprised... You did much better than I expected." She looked over to Akihiko; "At this rate, they might catch up to you in no time."
He laughed and I almost fell. "Heh, we'll see about that." He looked over to me and said, "Though, good work today as the leader. Keep up the good work." I flushed and nodded. I heard Apsaras and Pixie giggle while Orpheus stated;
"I know right? Ah, young love..." I asked them to shut up as I noticed the Fool Card and another appear in my face.
Thou art I... And I am Thou...
Thou Shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to make
A Persona of the Fool|STAR Arcana...
As they vanished all I could think of... How much I was screwed since that meant I can't avoid this fucker since to have a bond with him is to, you know, hang out with him.
I'm sorry for such a short Chapter, but I was kind of in a stumped for this. But I hoped you like it nevertheless.
~Ammy
