A/N: This chapter has it all! Plot development! Action! Minako still being casual about fighting a hydra!

... I think I've milked the Minako vs hydra fight for long enough. Though, pretty soon, Minako will have bigger fish to fry *maniacal laughter*

Funny how snow storms give me insomnia. Aside from randomly getting insomnia every other week or so. But hey, that just means that I'll be spending more time working on this fic!

Reviews:

sociallinksora: I never really thought about it like that, but you've got a good point there. Though, if you know about P3, you'd know that the Thanatos Minako currently has isn't exactly a Persona. What exactly Thanatos is is a bit of a spoiler, though the circumstances behind Minako "obtaining" Thanatos is an even bigger spoiler considering its gonna be a "The Journey of Two" exclusive. Unfortunately, that won't be spelled out until Jan 31st. I'll be leaving plenty of clues as to what's going on but it won't be until the Nyx Fight that everything will be brought out into the open. I'm glad you're having fun with this fic. I'm having fun writing it, I just hope I'll be able to finish it :S.


4/21 Iwatodai Dorm (Early Evening)


"Minnaaaa! GET DOWN HERE!"

Minako blinked away the small amount of tiredness left in her eyes from her small nap. The meeting that occurred last night was interesting in a few ways.

Snniff… I'm so proud of you… I taught you so well…

These are pretty interesting. I'm going to have to take a closer look at these cameras when I get a chance.

"MINA!"

Minako placed the small cameras back into her desk before throwing back on her school jacket. She'd fallen asleep right after coming back from school so she left her room looking completely disheveled. Leaving the girls' floor and walking downstairs to the lounge barefooted, Minako arrived with the full attention of Hamono, Yutono, and Akiri on her.

"What? I was napping"

Hamono reacted in what was obviously mock surprise; rushing in front of Yutono and Akiri, "Quickly! Hide all the men! And possibly the women too! We must keep them safe from being ensnared in Mina's beauty!"

To his own credit, Yutono managed to not bash his friend's face in and settled for a tired sigh. Akiri chuckled a bit before speaking, "Alright, kids, now that we're all here there's someone I'd like to introduce to you all. So I'd like you all to meet…" Akiri turned to look towards the door along with everyone else.

Your friend 'Yutono' is still staring at Eurydice…

"What in the world is taking you so long?" Akiri was clearly done with waiting as she flung the doors to the dorm open and walked out.

"Hey! I've got a lot of possessions!"

Yutono visibly paled before turning to the doors of the dorm, "Is… that who I think it is?"

To the chagrin of Yutono, the delight of Hamono, and the complete disinterest of Minako, Jackie herself walked through the front doors pushing a trolley full of suitcases.

"Hehhe… Wassup?"

"No no nononono… You have got to be joking with me. What in the world is she doing here?" Yutono was clearly not pleased with Jackie's arrival.

"This is Jackie Iori, from Class 2-F; though it seems you already know that… She'll be staying here from now on"

"Don't tell me… SHE has the potential?"

"That's right; I found her a few days ago at a local convenience when I was out and about. I explained the situation to her and she agreed to join us"

"And you managed to do all that without being torn apart by Kirijo-sempai how exactly…?"

Every looked over at Minako who had spoken for the second time after arriving before slowly turning back to Akiri. She'd paled slightly and looked away after noticing all the attention on her. Hamono could have sworn he heard brief mutterings of "… how did I forget…" and "… he'd kill me…" but at that point Jackie spoke up.

"Yeah, she found me on the floor surrounded by coffins and bawling my eyes out. Pretty embarrassing, huh? Akiri-sempai said that that was normal at first though; freaking out, disorientation, memory loss. Any of you have those issues?"

"Sounds about right for me" Yutono responded.

"If I'm remembering correctly, I was fine. Though I was with Mina when it first happened, so maybe that had something to do with it" Hamono piped in.

"I don't remember first experiencing that time… It's been too long" Minako muttered the last of her response out.

"Right…, so how long have you all been active?" Jackie attempted to change the conversation.

"A few months for me" Yutono offered with a shrug.

"It was the night that Mina and I arrived here in Iwatodai. So, that'd be about two weeks total but only a little over half a week conscious"

"Wait! So you being at the hospital for a week was because of those monsters?" Jackie looked at Hamono with concern, but the undertones of excitement were obvious.

"Yeah… Yutono, Mina, and I were attacked a week ago on the dorm's roof. I wasn't injured, just exhausted"

Jackie turned her attention to Yutono, who sighed at her expecting look, "I was fine too, it was just so late when I got back from the hospital that it'd have been ridiculous for me to go to class the next day. Before you ask, Mitsuo-sempai was absent because he had a bunch of paperwork to do and had to visit a lab or something"

Jackie finally turned her attention to Minako, "I got injured a bit by a hydra that was blocking the path to the hospital, that's all"

Before Jackie could form a proper response, Akiri found her voice again, "Alright, if you've all swapped stories enough, we finally have enough people to go there"

"You wouldn't be talking about Tartarus, would you?" Yutono seemed a little put-off by his sempai's words.

"That's right; we'll be meeting up down here at 11:30. Until then, you're free to do what you have to do" Akiri spoke before turning away and walking up the stairs.

"Soo…." Everyone's attention returned to Jackie, "Who wants to help me move all my things to my room?"

"We'd be happy to help!" Hamono enthusiastically replied.

The luggage had been distributed amongst the four teens before Jackie spoke again, "Heheh… Yuticchi, Hamicchi, and Minako-kun all in my room at the same time… Who knows what might happen?~"

Minako and Yutono immediately froze, looked at each other, nodded, threw their luggage cases back onto the trolley, and walked over to the lounge while talking between themselves.

"You're a moron, Jackie-chan; you know that right?" Hamono scolded Jackie, but didn't drop the luggage he was carrying.

"Aw, come on! I was joking… mostly. And, hey! Don't call me that!"

"… You know, I never thanked you for helping me"

Minako gave Yutono a questioning look before he continued, "With my Persona; you know, that night on the roof. Though, I'm not too sure what I could do; I certainly can't cook like you can"

Hamono, about to begin walking up the stairs, froze. Running back to the lounge and pulling Minako into a headlock, he questioned his twin, "Mina… Did you cook something while I was in the hospital? And you didn't think of letting me have any?"


Port Island outside of Gekkoukan High School (Near Midnight)


"What are we doing here? Why are we at school?" Jackie questioned out loud as the members of SEES stood outside the school gates.

"You'll see" Akiri answered before checking his phone, "It's almost midnight"

At the stroke of midnight, the world twisted as green moon light barely illuminated Gekkoukan High School.

At least, what was Gekkoukan High School. The entire structure groaned before shooting up, up, and up into the sky; forming a tower that went through the cloud-line, beautiful in a sick and twisted way that only the Dark Hour could produce.

The two newest members looked at the tower in muted shock, while Minako slightly grimaced at the sight.

"This is Tartarus" Mitsuo broke the silence this time, "A labyrinth that forms only during the Dark Hour"

"Tartarus? What happened to our school?!"

"Relax Jackie; when the Dark Hour ends, everything goes back to normal"

"Still" Hamono spoke up, "Jackie's got a point; do you know why our school turns into a tower?"

Mitsuo looked down slightly before responding, "… No"

"Regardless" Akiri cut in, "You can think of Tartarus as a Shadow nest; they all seem to come from here. Pretty interesting, huh?"

"Akiri, you'll be staying with me at the entrance, right?" Mitsuo looked at Akiri with a terrifying smile while standing beside the bike he'd rode there.

"Yeah, yeah"

Minako let out a sigh; the gates were open but no one was making a move towards the tower. Grabbing her twin's arm, she walked forwards, "Come on, don't we have a wife of yours to find or something?"

In the back of Hamono's mind, a voice chuckled.


Tartarus (Dark Hour)


After everyone got over the shock of how the inside of the lobby looked, Hamono noticed a familiar looking blue door just to the left of the staircase leading further inward.

Walking over and opening the door transported him to a familiar room with a familiar long-nosed man.

"Hello again, my dear young man" Igor grinned at Hamono, "I see you have begun your journey. What is this tower? And why is it here? Regrettably, you do not have the answers to those questions yet. But I can assure you that you will find them. But in order to find them, you must harness your power"

Hamono nodded silently, figuring that he didn't have any input that would help at the moment.

"Your power is unique. It is like the number zero; unique and limitless but at the same time non-existent. It is called the Wild Card; simply put, you can wield multiple Personae. Your power is currently weak, but it is strengthened through your bonds with others. Ah… I see you already have two such bonds"

A swipe of Igor's hands and two tarot cards floated above the table between the two; the Fool and Death.

"You are indeed an interesting guest; on one hand, this is the beginning of a long journey for you. However, you must understand that with it will come changes. Change is neither good nor bad, only different"

Hamono decided to speak up now, "Should I be concerned that my sister is linked to this 'Death Arcana'?"

Igor brought his hand together and the cards vanished from sight, "Ah… Minako Aristato… So I was right after all. Do not worry, young man, your sister is certainly a very capable young woman. Which reminds me, there are two people I wish to introduce to you"

From behind Igor approached two blue-clad individuals with similar platinum hair and white skin. "My name is Elizabeth" the woman said, "And I am Theodore" the man said.

"These two are my assistants; they will be helping you along your journey"

"Are you truly the twin brother of Minako Aristato?" the woman had apparently dropped her professionalism as she stared at Hamono excitedly.

Thankfully, Theodore interrupted her, "Sister, please refrain from inquiring about that to Master Hamono; you do remember what the Mistress said?"

With the siblings calming down, Igor continued, "Now there is one more individual to show to you, though you've already met" Igor pointed behind Hamono.

He turned around to face the metallic form of Orpheus sitting in a chair similar to his own.

'Tis good to see you from outside your own mind.

Hamono just stared at his Persona in mute shock.

Igor chuckled, "I do believe your comrades may have the answer to the question you want to ask. Speaking of which, they are waiting for you"

And with that, Hamono was forced out of the Velvet Room and back into reality.

And back into Minako's intensive stare. And why did it look like she was leaning back while looking at him?

"You alright there Hamo?"

"Yeah… Just… Uh, internal monologue?"

Everyone stared slightly at the male twin.

"That reminds me; Mitsuo-sempai" The red-head turned fully towards Hamono, "Is it normal if our Personae talk to us?"

Mitsuo chuckled slightly before responding, "As ridiculous as it sounds, yes your Persona will occasionally speak to you. You may also insinuate conversation yourself; as for now, there is no other way to determine a Persona's exact strengths, weaknesses, abilities, etc."

Soooo… Mind introducing yourself?

Thou art I, and I art Thou. I am Orpheus, master of strings. I unfortunately do not resist any forms of damage, and am weak to electricity and darkness. My skills are Bash and Agi.

"Huh, nifty…"

That comment gained Hamono some strange looks, "It seems my Persona's name is Orpheus, no resistances, weak to electricity and darkness, and he's currently got the skills Bash and Agi"

Yutono looked off to the side before speaking, "Io, resists wind, weak to electricity; skills are just Dia and Garu"

Hamono couldn't help but notice when Minako shot Yutono a concerned look.

"And mine's Hermes! He's awesome against fire but sucks against wind. He just knows Cleave right now though" Jackie said, more than a little excited.

Everyone looked over at Minako, who was already in conversation.

Three parts truth….

And one part lies?

She sighed slightly before speaking, "Pharos, nulls fire and darkness, resists ice and electricity, weak to light, no 'active' skills"

"Nulls fire?" Mitsuo spoke up, "I guess that's explains why your clothes were singed but you weren't burned"

"Mina? Is there something you want to tell me?" Hamono was staring at his twin with concern.

Minako, on the other hand, just shrugged, "What? Didn't you hear me before? I fought a hydra; two of the six heads breathed fire… What are you all looking at me for?"

"Alright, kids, the four of you are going inside Tartarus tonight so pay attention" Everyone's attention turned back to Akiri.

"Wait, you're saying that you never planned on coming with us?" Yutono was obviously surprised.

"Relax" Mitsuo spoke up, "You all won't be going too far in tonight. We just want you four to explore the first floor to get some experience fighting"

"Before you all go" Akiri cut in, "We'll be assigning a leader to make any necessary decisions"

Jackie's eyes lit up, "Ohh oh! Pick me!"

Akiri visibly rolled her eyes before ignoring the energetic girl, "Mmm… Hamono-kun, you'll be in charge; if you're alright with that"

"Him? Come on! He doesn't look like a leader!" Jackie was clearly upset about not being picked

"Well, he has fought them before. Although, if we're going by that…" Yutono trailed off after realizing a major conflict.

"Hamo'd be a better leader than me anyways" Minako cut in, "Besides, I'm not used to working with a group"

"That's part of the reason" Akiri retook the juniors' attention before drawing her Evoker and calmly putting it to the side of her temple, "Can you summon your Persona like he can?"

"O-of course!" Minako managed to not snort at how badly Jackie was at suppressing her fear.

Any amusement she had about the situation was completely drained when she saw the look of pain on Yutono's face.

I know that look a bit too well.

"I think so…"

The attention was back onto Minako, "I don't think I can, but not for the reasons that you'd expect"

"This isn't a situation to be taken lightly, kids. Without your Persona, you're screwed"

"I know that" Hamono noticed that Yutono was a lot surer about that then he was previous statements.

"Alright, now that that's out of the way" Akiri walked over to Mitsuo's bike and removed two heavy steel cases and laid them down on the floor, "You all need to gear up; Yutono, here's your bow"

Yutono took his bow and quiver full of arrows from the largest case; the long, two-handed katana lying next to it was snatched up immediately after he backed up a step.

"For me, it's gotta be a katana!" Jackie's eyes were full of excitement as she got a feel for the weapon's weight, occasionally yelling out references to various samurai anime and manga.

Hamono chuckled slightly at the girl's antics before turning his attention to the other case of weapons, "Oh, this takes me back". Hamono reached down into the case and pulled out a relatively straight scimitar in its sheathing.

"You used a scimitar before?" Akiri looked up at Hamono with a questioning look.

Hamono smiled back, "Yep; you see, the foster home that Mina and I lived in before coming here had a couple composed of a man who was a bit of a Persian history nut. So while Mina was getting forced into learning how to cook by a more traditional Japanese woman, I learned how to handle and care for a couple antique scimitars that the man owned. Never thought knowing that would come in handy one day"

Mitsuo chuckled slightly, "I'm sure Child Services would be ecstatic to hear your story, but I might just end up sending your foster father a thank you letter for preparing you"

Strapping the sword to his back, Hamono turned to his twin, "Hey, Mina! Maybe they've got a frying pan that you can use to fight with~"

Minako couldn't help but smile at the minor insult, "Keep the frying pan, Hamo, you can use it to actually learn how to cook. As for me, I'm already set to go"

The members of SEES looked over to see the bluenette patting her left hip, which held her Evoker in its holster with a black katana in its sheathing wedged between her clothing and the belt holding the holster.

"I've been meaning to ask" Yutono was the first to speak up, "but where exactly do you keep that sword?"

Minako smiled sweetly back, "Magician's secret"


After some final checks and re-checks of given equipment, the four-man team walked up the steps and through the entrance into Tartarus.

(Note: Italicized text here is Mitsuo speaking over microphone)

"Can you all hear me?"

"Whoa?! Sempai, is that you talking?" Jackie was the first to react

"That's right. I'll be providing support to you four from here"

"You can see inside of Tartarus?" Hamono asked curiously

"It's my Persona's ability" Mitsuo sounded quite proud of her Persona, "The structure of Tartarus changes frequently, so outside support is vital. I'm not detecting any Shadows in your immediate vicinity, but that is only for now. Be prepared for anything, and watch each other's backs"

Yutono let out a nervous breath he didn't realize he was holding before muttering under his breath, "Some support…"

"Let's go!" Jackie let out an enthusiastic cry before being pulled back by Hamono, "Hey! What are you doing?"

Hamono rolled his eyes before speaking, "Don't go running off on your own. We're going to want to be smart about this, so let's settle on a formation before we do anything else"

"I'll take the rearguard then" The three other members turned to Minako, "You three need experience, badly"

"Aristato-san has a point; you three need the experience so it is better for her to stay in the back to watch for ambushes. Though, if any abnormally strong Shadows appear, I'll be counting on you to keep the novices safe"

"Hai, Hai, sempai" Minako responded to Mitsuo's request before moving to the back of the group and leaning against a sickly-green colored wall with pools of blood on the floor around it.

"Novices? Is that really how you think of us?"

Minako looked up questioningly at Jackie who looked slightly put-off by their sempai's and her way of speaking, "Yeah, it is. Because last time I checked, you haven't fought a Shadow before. Unless, of course, you went out and fought them on your own"

Jackie now looked fully put-off.

Hamono sighed before retaking control of the situation, "Jackie-chan, you'll be on the front line with me. Yutono, you'll be in the middle. Mina, try not to fall asleep back there"

Just to spite him, Minako faked falling asleep against the wall before falling into line with the rest of the team.

Hamono unsheathed his scimitar off his back before pointing it forwards cheerfully, "Onwards!"

The group traveled for almost a minute in silence before they made first contact.

"There's a single Shadow just around that corner"

"Right" Hamono signaled for the rest of the group to stop before sneaking up to the corner and poking his head around it quickly, walking back to the group afterwards, "Here's the plan: Jackie and I will take this one. Yutono, I want you to cover us and make sure there isn't a second Shadow lying around"

The rest of the team nodding in affirmative, Hamono returned to the corner and, after waiting for the Shadow to turn its back to him, rushed forward with Jackie right behind him. Aiming for the mask, he raised his scimitar to go for a diagonal cut only for…

"AHHH!"

… Jackie to yell out some kind of girly-war cry. The Shadow, obviously reacting to the loud noise from behind it, spun around causing Hamono's attack to miss its mask, taking off an arm instead. He stumbled past the Shadow, its attention on him allowed Jackie to crush the Cowardly Maya by using her sword more like a club. As it dissolved, one of the nearby walls shuddered and a small compartment opened; another Maya lunging from it. It only got a foot from the wall before it was pinned back into it by an arrow. Fully recovered by then from his stumble, Hamono ran his blade through the Maya's mask, killing it instantly.

"Excellent work! There are some more Shadows up ahead, but they don't appear to have noticed you yet"

"Alright, sempai" Hamono responded before turning to the others, "Nice kill Jackie-chan, and thanks for the assist Yutono"

"Hehe, I told you I know what I'm doing"

"No problem"

Minako snorted slightly after noticing how completely different the two responded to praise. Yutono just raised an eyebrow at her before going over to retrieve his arrow out of the wall. Jackie didn't appear to hear Minako's response.

"For the next group, try to get some practice in summoning your Persona"

"Got it, let's go"

Upon arriving at the next group of Shadows, Hamono once again brought everyone over to strategize.

"Alright, there are three of them this time. I should be able to get the first hit on two of them, so Jackie-chan I want you to finish off the first one I hit and Yutono I want you to kill the second one I hit. By that point, the third Shadow will definitely know that we're here so I'll be counting on you to take it out Mina"

Once again getting the go head, Hamono gave the others a chance to draw their Evokers – and in Mina's case finally put a hand on the hilt of her sword – before rushing out into the open.

"Orpheus!" Hamono shouted as he pulled the trigger, causing the metallic bard to materialize above him and set the first Shadow on fire with a strum of his lyre. Not even bothering to see if Jackie was about to attack or not, he ran to the side and fired again; lighting the other shadow aflame.

"Hermes!" "Io!"

The metallic wings of Hermes formed in front of Jackie before rushing forward and cleaving the still burning shadow in half. The metallic bullhead of Io formed above Yutono before the woman chained within and a strong gust of wind knocked up the shadow into the air as he quickly switched back to his bow and pierced straight through its mask.

The third Shadow turned to retaliate to the sudden attacks, only to walk straight into Minako's sword as she drew it and cut cleanly though the mask in one smooth motion. Two more compartments in the walls shuddered open and two more Mayas lunged at her from opposite directions. Not wasting any momentum, Minako planted her feet before spinning to cut one in half and grab the other right out of the air with her left hand.

Gripping the helpless Maya by its mask hard enough to begin to crack it, Minako held it out at arm's length while it flailed in a useless attempt to get free.

It's not really worth it to kill these things, is it?

Not for you, anyways.

Walking closer to the rest of the group, Minako couldn't help the small, but clearly humored, smile on her face, "Hey Yutono-kun," as he turned to face her, she motioned with the captive Shadow, "Ball"

Tossing the Maya into the air, Yutono instinctively shot an arrow through its mask, finally finishing it off.

Covering Yutono as he retrieved his arrow, the group fell back into formation before searching for more Shadows.


"Nice job out there"

The assault team had encountered and eliminated two more groups of Shadows before Mitsuo had informed them that the floor had been cleared, and that they should be making their way back to the lobby. The Dark Hour didn't last forever after all.

"Thanks sempai, just… give me a minute here" Hamono could feel the exhaustion in places on his body he didn't think could get sore.

"Hehe, what's the matter Hamicchi? Can't last with the best of us?" Jackie gave the team leader a cheeky grin, though no one missed the sharp intake of breathe that she took after her verbal jab. "Though, now that you mention it, I am beat"

"That's 'cause you were running around like a kid in a candy store back there"

"And you don't look any better, Yuticchi"

"I am still trying to catch my breath, actually"

"…What?" Everyone stared at Minako who was only visibly breathing; and not hard at that.

"Looks like you weren't lying about your experience" Akiri shot her a challenging smirk, "You've got endurance, I'll give you that. We'll have to have a competition sometime"

"Sure, when it wouldn't get you killed" Akiri finally noticed Mitsuo staring daggers into her back and visibly gulped.

"Wait, you've fought Shadows before?"

Dead silence.

"You moron! Why do you think our sempai had no issue sending us up there alone?" Yutono effectively shattered said silence.

"We never openly stated it, so that's my mistake for forgetting to mention it" Mitsuo spoke before looking over at Minako. Getting a nod from her was permission enough, "By her own count, Aristato-san here has been fighting Shadows for around three years. So while she might be new to fighting on a team, in terms of solo experience, she's on par with Akiri here; or maybe even her"

Minako chuckled slightly as she heard Mitsuo mumble the last of her statement.

Oh, I know who they're talking about. That makes some things make more sense.

Who would have thought our favorite allergic-to-smiling friend was, at least, affiliated with SEES.

"You flatter me too much sempai"

Hamono heard the sound of glass shattering as time stopped and the Fool Tarot card floated in front of him, notifying him of the increase.

Yay Mister! We're getting closer to your friends!

He had to suppress a laugh at how energetic his new Persona, Pixie, was being. He didn't get a chance to use her, since he got her right after they finished off the last group of Shadows. He'd have to talk with Igor about how this whole multiple Persona thing actually worked.

"So what kind of training do you do to get that kind of stamina?"

Minako chuckled as Akiri questioned her, completely ignoring Mitsuo's anger in favor of curiosity, "I find that not talking saves me a good bit of energy to use"


A/N: So, originally my plan for this chapter was to have it encompass what's above and then go on until the 25th.

Then I noticed that this chapter was already over 4k words and I figured that I could cut it short where I did. So, for the next chapter, expect some social linking, guardian battles, and Reaper fight?

And now for something that I completely forgot to do when it actually made sense to do:

Explaining Abnormals!

Alright, so for now, I'll be referring to the non-cannon 'Shadows' that will be showing up in this fic (example A: the Hydra during the Magician Full Moon) as Abnormals. If anyone has any better idea for a name to 'class' these guy, please PM or leave a review. If I get a better name for them then the one I have, that name will be used in this fic. Now, SEES won't be classifying these Shadows until the Emperor/Empress Full Moon, so you all have some time think of any ideas.

So without further to do, this was/is my thought process behind the hydra that Minako fought during the First Full Moon.

First and foremost, the hydra was of the Magician Arcana; which is "known" for its fire-oriented Persona. It also represents action, immaturity, etc. So for the hydra, the two heads that breathed fire were obviously a nod to the Arcana's orientation, the two heads that physically attacks as a nod to the action part of it, and the last head that did nothing until the very last part of the fight was a nod to the "fatal flaw" of the Magician, which is arrogance. For the spike-shooter head, I'll be completely honest in saying that that was put in so that the hydra was able to do something. Minako's got a complete immunity to fire (doesn't completely extend to her clothes, though, so getting bathed in flames would still do something) and has both the speed and reaction time to dodge the physical attacking heads. So I thought of the idea of a spike-shooting head. It worked out pretty well considering that it not only made the Minako vs hydra fight not look like a curb stop, but also started the running joke of Minako not caring about being injured.

Let me know if you guys want to see these kinds of "explanations" after every "Abnormal" appearance.

Oh, and if anyone reading this is worried that Minako is just flat-out being overpowered, I've left several hints already about a "fatal flaw" that Minako has. It'll be more clear in the next chapter, but its not impossible to guess what the problem is going to be with what's already out.