She had the perfect view from this place. Port Island, the mainland, the ports, the old industrial zone—In her Sense and on the monitors surrounding her, all of Iwatodai was visible to Juno's eyes.

So where were they, then?

Where could they possibly have gone to leave her sight?

Shiranui, Feng, and Kamiya had disappeared in a heartbeat, leaving only a hole in a wall in their wake.

With no small amount of frustration and resignation, she relinquished her Sense and returned...

She sat in a comfortable leather chair, in the command center of the Headquarters' sixteenth floor. It was built to be the ideal place for a navigator to work their craft and aid the Operatives out on the field. Soundproofed, well-lit, and featuring large windows facing out towards the city, along with screens connected to CCTV cameras.

A loud buzz of static resonated in her ears. Fuuka Yamagishi stared at the monitors before her, all screens displaying a single message—

[SIGNAL LOST]

She sighed and turned her seat around. "It's no use," she said with a somber shake of her head. "Wherever they are, I can't find them, even with Juno."

"I see…" Mitsuru simply nodded at that, and her expression quickly changed from one of concern to stoic authority. Mitsuru—No, director Kirijō—spoke with a brief and to-the-point tone. "Get into contact with Kotone and organize a search-and-rescue party immediately."

Fuuka nodded. "Right away, ma'am. I'll also—"

"No need to call, I'm already here," a third voice cut in, accompanied by the click and clack of heels against the floor. A young woman approached, accompanied by a pale and skittish looking boy whom Fuuka vaguely recognized.

Her eyes were a bright red, and she wore her auburn hair loosely, allowing it to fall over her shoulders and down her back, decorated only by a set of thin white pins. Kotone Shiomi came to a halt and gave them both a sheepish smile. "Sorry I'm late. I woulda come sooner, but I had to pick up Shimura-kun," she said, gesturing to the boy beside her.

For some reason, Fuuka felt a nagging sensation tickling at the back of her mind at the sight of him.

"Kotone," the director greeted with a nod. "I assume you're already aware of the situation?"

Kotone nodded back. "A Shadow appeared in the First Layer and made off with three trainees, right?"

"Two provisional operatives and a civilian," the director corrected. "Regardless, it's good that you're here. I need you to assemble a team and recover them post-haste."

"Understood, ma'am."

Fuuka then realized what had been bothering her. "Excuse me," she spoke up, "I have to ask; Shimura-kun, aren't you supposed to be in school?"

The director quirked a brow at that and turned her gaze towards the boy. "That is a rather good question. I believe I ordered that everyone stay put." She looked back at Kotone with a rather frosty expression. "Shiomi… you wouldn't happen to have brought this boy out of the school, would you?"

"A-actually, I was sick this morning, ma'am," the boy stammered out. "S-so, I couldn't make it to school. Um, Shiomi-san came by and picked me up just a little while ago."

"If there's a Shadow roaming around the Surface, it'd be dangerous to just leave these kids on their own, ya know?" Kotone explained. She then added, "besides, I want Shimura-kun to navigate for us."

There was a brief silence following her declaration. The director sighed and pinched her nose. "Shiomi… you want to take an ill, untrained civilian into the Shadow World, is that what you're saying?"

Shimura took a step forward, fiercely shaking his head. "I-I'm fine now…! Please, ma'am, I- I can do this! I can help!"

"I hate to say this, ma'am, but he's right," Fuuka added with a sigh. "Even with Juno, I can't find a single thing. But Shimura-kun was able to find traces of the Shadow that attacked on Friday, wasn't he? If there's even a chance that he could help us… I think we should take it."

It was an unorthodox suggestion, yes, but not exactly unprecedented by any stretch of the imagination. After all, the Shadow Operatives had been built upon unconventional, impulsive choices.

The director didn't respond outwardly; she simply shut her eyes and folded her arms. After several long seconds of deep thought, she finally answered with a nod. "Very well. Make your preparations and head out immediately, Shiomi. We cannot afford to waste a single moment."

"Understood, ma'am," Kotone said with a bow. Shimura mirrored the action before following her out the door.

The director heaved a heavy sigh as she turned back towards the screens. "Don't die on me," she whispered.

Thump Thump Thump

The silence was overwhelming.

Thump Thump Thump

Every heartbeat blared into her ears like drums and made her back burn.

This was not the first time Naomi had ever encountered a Shadow, but she couldn't help her terror. She had no idea what to do now—How to move next, what the best course of action was, what to even say… At that moment, any form of strategy was beyond her. All the fear she'd been trying to hide until now suddenly remerged, robbing her of all control over her own body and thoughts, impairing her ability to even breathe or blink.

She could do nothing but stand there, frozen before the enemy as it continued to stare unwaveringly at Kamiya. "KEI," it repeated, taking another step out of the shadowy alley it had emerged from.

Then it took another, and another, and another, steadily picking up its pace. The Shadow leant forward and spread its arms behind itself, putting all its weight into its white leg—

And at that instant the limb's musculature rippled, seemingly compressing into itself.

—The Shadow kicked off with an impossible burst of speed, shooting forward like a cannonball.

Naomi!

That sudden shock was enough to snap Naomi out of her stupor. She moved without thinking, leaping forward to wrap her arms around both Feng's and Kamiya's necks, bringing all three of them onto the concrete.

She felt the displaced air rush through her hair as the Shadow passed just overhead, followed by another distorted noise.

'Barely made it.' There had been more than two blocks of distance between it and them, and in a heartbeat, it had already cleared two thirds of that. If she had hesitated for even an instant, Naomi had no doubt that all their lives would have ended. But she didn't waste any time congratulating herself. She quickly freed her arms and rolled over, with her Evoker already in hand.

But somehow, impossibly, the enemy was nowhere to be seen.

Naomi kipped up into a standing position and quickly looked around. There wasn't a single trace of the Shadow ever being there… Except… on the surface of the building right in front of her, there was a smooth crater. Its circumference was larger than her entire body, and oddly enough she felt as if she'd seen something like it before…

"H-hey, what the hell…?" Feng's trembling voice distracted her from her train of thought. Naomi turned and saw both him and Kamiya shakily getting onto their feet. "Where'd it go?!"

Naomi glanced back at the hole for a brief moment before shaking her head. There was no time to waste on speculation. "We need to go before it shows up again," she said.

Feng nodded immediately, but Kamiya simply stood there, trembling slightly. She frowned and shook his shoulder. "Kamiya, c'mon! We're moving!"

He jerked out of his trance and gave her a shaky nod. "R-right, yeah," the boy said.

The three of them dropped all pretenses and simply ran towards where the nearest access point was supposed to be.

But, almost predictably, they barely managed a few meters before the distortion rang against their ears again.

This time, Naomi saw it appear in her peripheral vision, from the shade of large spire of rebar and asphalt. The Shadow ran alongside them, its single eye focusing directly on her, before ducking out of sight just as quickly as it had come. The distorted noise resonated yet again.

"S-shit—! Not this way!" she said, quickly changing directions mid-stride. Feng and Kamiya followed closely in her wake as she led them into a narrower street. Not even halfway across, the Shadow appeared before them again, diverting them into what might have once been a commercial avenue, surrounded by the distorted remains of various stores.

The Shadow just kept coming, again and again, from several impossible angles.

It didn't take long for Naomi to realize that they were being herded somewhere.

Both she and Feng could keep going for quite a while, but Kamiya was already starting to pant and wheeze. If they kept going at this pace, he'd probably collapse from exhaustion in the middle of the street. She sucked her teeth in both annoyance and desperation, her mind whirling in an attempt to find a way out.

Through there…!

She didn't need to think about it twice. Naomi turned towards a nearby storefront and slammed her shoulder against its door, easily knocking it off its hinges and allowing the three of them inside. The interior of the store was almost completely dark, lit only by the open door. From what products Naomi could see, she assumed that it must have been some sort of grocery store back on the Surface.

She leaned against a sundry shelf, taking deep breaths as a sudden feeling of exhaustion fell over her. The stinging sensation on her back lessened, but did not fade, becoming a constant presence on the back of her mind.

It wasn't ideal, but it was much better than being overwhelmed by the pain.

"Oh shit…" Feng said, as he slumped down on the floor next to her. "Holy shit… You… You think we lost it?"

Naomi shook her head. "We should be so lucky…" She then glanced towards Kamiya. To say that he looked terrible would have been an understatement; The transfer student was soaked in sweat and taking deep, shuddering gasps as he pressed his head against a wall, his entire body shuddering.

"Kamiya…"

Now that she had a moment to consider his position, she realized that it must have been a hell of a day for him. She could barely imagine how badly having all these shocks, back to back, could affect a normal person.

Naomi would have felt bad for him, if not for the elephant in the room.

"—Why's the Shadow after you?"

For a split second, the boy froze completely. Then slowly, he raised his head, gray eyes coming into focus as he looked back at her. "W-what're you talking about?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Don't try to play dumb. The Shadow was looking right at you, it said your name." She walked over to him, forcing him to back up against the wall as she stared him in the eyes. "Don't lie to me, Kamiya—Why is this Shadow after you?"

He tried to keep up the eye contact, but quickly balked and glanced away. "I… I saw it once. Back in my hometown…"

"That how your arm got broken?" she asked, gesturing towards his left arm.

Kamiya nodded and idly began tapping at his cast. "Y'know, for the longest time, I wasn't even sure if that was real, or if I was just going crazy…"

"Hold up," Feng cut in, "where are you from Kamiya?"

"Me? I'm from Toyono, a town near Osaka."

"Osaka…?" he echoed, furrowing his brow."—Wait, are you saying the Shadow followed you from Osaka to here?"

That gave them pause. She met Feng's eyes, and saw that he too felt the confusion and fear.

"That's…" Naomi couldn't formulate a proper response to that. Having a Shadow pursue a person wasn't unheard of, but...the sheer level of tenacity to track someone over such a distance, through what was apparently a long period of time? As far as she knew, that was unprecedented.

Kamiya spoke up. "Then… did they know about this?"

"They?"

"Kiyomi-sensei," he clarified, "and that director person he was talking about. The way you guys are going about this, it sounds like they knew the, uh… Shadow was coming, and wanted to get me out of the way."

'Could that be it?' Naomi pondered on that for a moment, before finally shaking her head, lips pursed in thought. If the director's goal was to keep Kamiya safe, it would have been much more effective to simply assign actual Operatives to protect him. Or perhaps even sent out a strike team to intercept the Shadow before it became a threat on the Surface, if they already knew it was incoming. A myriad different things could have been done, but instead they'd sent out two provisional operatives with vague instructions to safeguard a civilian.

And this, in and of itself, was practically a suicide mission.

"This doesn't make any sense… why put us in danger? Why not tell us you were being targeted?" The entire scenario was so damn incongruous with itself it almost made her head hurt just trying to think about it.

Before the conversation could continue, the distorted noise echoed once more outside, distressingly close to their hiding spot.

Almost simultaneously, they pressed themselves against the walls and remained completely motionless, not even daring to breathe.

Tense moments passed, punctuated by the loud stomping the Shadow produced as it walked just outside the door. Slowly but steadily, the footsteps reduced in volume and faded away.

Naomi released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Her hands felt clammy, her shoulders trembled, the damned scar wouldn't stop burning—!

Believer…

A soothing warmth caressed her mind. Naomi sighed, allowing herself to be calmed. "We've wasted enough time here," she said. "Kamiya, Feng, I've got a plan. It's… not the best, but it's all we've got to work with."

Slowly, they nodded for her to continue.

"First of all, did you notice how the Shadow moved?"

"Well, yeah," Feng said, "it was fast as hell. The thing was pretty much flying all over the place."

She nodded. "Right. Not only that, but it kept coming at us from places it couldn't possibly have been in. One moment it moves to the left, the next it pops up again to our right… I think it's safe to say that it can teleport."

Feng's eyebrows shot up, almost reaching his hairline. His mouth opened, as if he was about to dismiss the idea as impossible, before quickly twisting into a grimace. "Damn, yeah… That would explain how it was coming out of nowhere. Hell, that even explains how we ended up here in the first place." He trailed off with a sigh, hanging his head and nervously twiddling his fingers. "Well, shit. That really complicates things."

She nodded and folded her arms. "So this is where we stand—The enemy is capable of teleportation, extreme speed, travel across the layers, and God knows what else. Feng, you and I might stand a chance against it, but…" She trailed off with a frown, casting a glance at Kamiya. "Kamiya-kun, I want you to start running as soon as I give the word."

Her statement was met with dual squawks of confusion. Naomi ignored them and continued, "Don't take this the wrong way, but it'll be difficult to for us to fight the Shadow if we have to worry about covering for you. With you gone, we'll be able to focus on it." Naomi tried to make that sound polite, but even she realized that it was just a roundabout way of telling him that he was a burden. "Go to Headquarters—you'll be safe there. Feng and I will stay and take care of it."

Feng spoke up immediately, vigorously waving his arms in denial. "Whoa, whoa, hold on, Naomi! You want to send him out alone? We're in the middle of... hell, who even knows what Layer we're in! The Shadows're gonna rip the guy apart!"

Naomi couldn't help but chuckle at that. "You're not very observant, are you, Feng-kun?" She shook her head with a small smirk. "This Layer's empty. If there were any other Shadows, we would've already run into them. Hell, they would have been right here in this very store."

"Wha…?" She could practically see the gears turning in his head as he digested that information. "But that's not how… That doesn't…!" He trailed off with a groan. "What the hell, man, none of this makes any sense!"

"My thoughts exactly." She sighed. "Look, I know it's not perfect, but… it's all we've got right now." Naomi then turned towards Kamiya. "So, do you think you can do it?"

Kamiya looked like he wanted to argue, but he didn't have the energy for that. None of them did, really. In the end, he just glanced away bashfully and shrugged. "I- I'm… not too good with directions. And besides, I can't run very fast."

Naomi shrugged and tried to make her smile somewhat reassuring. She wasn't really sure she succeeded at that. "That's fine. All you need to do is head towards the biggest building in the skyline. And don't worry about speed—I'll take care of that for you."

This drew a curious look from him, but he didn't raise any further questions.

She turned back to Feng. "Ready?"

He responded with something halfway between a shrug and a nod. "As can be."

"Right, then." Naomi cracked her knuckles, unholstered her Evoker, and stepped out into the light. "Let's get this show on the road."

An eerie silence fell over them as they slowly walked through the empty streets. Both she and Feng kept their Evokers on hand, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. Her eyes constantly darted around, taking in every sight, examining every nook and cranny that could possibly conceal the enemy.

Several minutes passed without incident, and eventually they reached a big, open intersection in what was probably Rue de Gekko, at the very center of Port Island. Naturally, that was when the air warped and the enemy made its presence known.

The Shadow leapt down from a nearby rooftop and landed on its white leg, which rippled and flexed, seemingly absorbing the impact. It tilted its head upon seeing that the three of them hadn't tried to flee from it, and let its eye rove over them all. First Feng, then Naomi, and finally Kamiya. It tilted its head the other way, rolling its shoulders as it repeated his name, almost mockingly. "KEI."

Naomi didn't need to look at him to know that the boy had stiffened up once more. Her hand darted out and clamped around his shoulder. "Focus, Kamiya," she said.

Slowly, her other hand raised, bringing the Evoker to her temple. The steel barrel felt like a cold kiss against her skin, sending goosebumps throughout her whole body, and finally quenching the burning on her back.

Believer… the time has come.

"Wha—? Shiranui, what're you doing?!"

From her peripheral vision, she noticed Kamiya's bewildered look. She couldn't really blame him—using an Evoker looked an awful lot like an attempt at suicide.

The eye flicked over her once more, curious, but unconcerned. Unafraid.

It underestimated her.

She should have found that to be insulting, but Naomi could only feel amused;

It didn't understand. So she would just have to show it.

Naomi shut her eyes, and reached out to the one who stood by her side.

"Come to me," she whispered, squeezing the trigger.

Memories that were not her own rushed throughout Naomi's mind.

/"No," she whispered. She hadn't even noticed that her legs had given out until she was halfway to the ground.

Pierre caught her, his arms wrapping around her shoulders, trembling as he tried to hold back his own tears.

Shakily, she managed to ask, "And… and the babe?"

Her brother didn't respond.

"Oh… Catherine…"/

I am Thou, and Thou art I...

/"The girl says she speaks with the Lord."

This drew loud, mocking laughter from the assembled lords, but king Charles' smirk didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Go on, then," he said, raising a hand to command their silence. "What message has he for me?"/

In the Lord's name, I have taken up arms.

/The jeers of the crowd were almost deafening, but she didn't hear them in the slightest.

Jeanne cast her eyes skyward, frantic, searching for any sign.

"Save me!" she cried.

No response came, and the heat intensified./

From deep within Naomi's conscious, she came.

By the grace of his Messengers, have I gained purpose.

She was ethereal in her perfection, like a statue Michelangelo or Rodin would have sculpted themselves. Her skin was as pale as alabaster, and her silver armor gleamed beautifully even under the blue sun's light. Draped over her shoulders was a shimmering cape of blue, white, and red.

I am the Maiden of Orleans.

In her right hand, she held a sabre, sleek and basket-hilted. It was a weapon that had never spilled blood in its entire existence, had never known what it meant to hate. A weapon that, in spite of its very purpose, was wielded in peace.

Her long hair held a bright, platinum tone. Her left eye was a deep blue, while in place of her right eye, a white lily was in full bloom.

I am Jeanne D'Arc.

The saber came forth, pointed directly at the Shadow's eye.

And I shall guide all through the Virtuous Way

For a moment, time seemed to stand completely still. All eyes were focused on Jeanne, watching her with either awe or fear.

Naomi felt a thrill of energy run down her arm and pass on to Kamiya. She squeezed his shoulder to get his attention.

"Go," she said.

Kamiya's eyes turned towards her, staring dumbly at nothing. "Huh…?"

"Did I stutter?! Go!"

That was enough to snap him out of it. Kamiya gave her a nod and took off, too fast for him to handle. His new speed disoriented him briefly, causing him to stumble and nearly fall, but he managed to get out of sight nonetheless.

The boy's escape did not go unnoticed by the Shadow. "HOLD IT!" it roared, putting its weight onto its white leg, preparing to take off after him.

That wouldn't do.

Jeanne's hand flicked in its direction, and a split second later, the air around the Shadow exploded.

The enemy shrieked in agony as the flames seared its flesh, but it still had the presence of mind to drop onto the pavement and roll to put them out. The eye wandered back and forth between Naomi and her Persona, narrowing with rage. "BITCH!"

"You poor thing," she cooed, giving the Shadow a wide, toothy grin. "Didn't your mother ever teach you it's rude to insult women?" Gently, Jeanne touched the ground beside her, raising the saber once more. "Your fight is with us."

"Ah…! Hah…!"

Twisted buildings, wrecked cars, and spikes of concrete. Too-wide, almost agoraphobic streets, and cramped, claustrophobic alleyways. The distorted Port Island disappeared into a mess of blurs. Whatever Shiranui had done to him granted Kei speeds he could never have dreamed of. Each step propelled him forward dozens of meters.

But as amazing as it was, it was also disorienting as all hell, and he had tripped over his own feet more times than he could count, forcing Kei to slow down to a more manageable pace.

He passed underneath an overpass, and the ground ran out beneath him. Kei tumbled forward and fell face-first into a ditch. His ears rang, making his head throb almost unbearably. He raised a hand to his forehead, and found it to be slick with blood.

"Wha… what the hell?" Shakily, Kei brought himself to his feet and climbed out, turning back to examine what exactly he'd fallen into. He stared into a large crater, placed right in the middle of the street, and covered by the shade of the overpass. It was smooth and perfectly circular in diameter, like it had been carved out of the ground with some sort of precise tool.

On a whim, he glanced around the street he was in, and found a multitude of holes much like this one, all poking out of alleys, beneath the shades of buildings, entrances into underground walkways. All of the places from which the Shadow had repeatedly appeared.

His mind made the connection immediately. 'Is this how it's able to teleport?' Or rather, was this what was left behind each time it teleported?

But how did that even work? Did it just carve out a section of the ground each time? Why were they all exclusively in dark spots?

He shook his head, snapping out of it. He didn't have time to waste pondering the monster and its abilities. His eyes darted up towards the skyline, focusing on the large building in the distance.

If he could just make it there, he would be safe.

Intellectually, Kei knew that this was the correct choice—Whatever the hell was going on, whatever that monster was, Feng and Shiranui clearly knew much more about it than he did. It only made sense that he should follow their instructions and let them handle it. All that was left for him to do now was to reach the tower, and the nightmare would be over.

Are...this...

...brother?

...don't...afraid...

Then… why did his body refuse to move? Why did he want to turn the other way and return?

You can...even !

avenge...enemy.

Like a parasite, the intrusive thought burrowed into his mind and refused to leave. And against his better judgement, Kei glanced over his shoulder, back towards where Feng and Shiranui were currently fighting. If he started running now, with this boosted speed, he could...

...Could...

He shook his head again. Just what could he possibly accomplish? Kei didn't have some sort of crazy power like Shiranui. He wasn't strong, or brave, or clever—He was just some scrawny country kid with a broken arm. He'd only get in their way, distract them, possibly even get all three of them killed. There was absolutely nothing he could do.

He turned back towards the tower. There was only one path, and it was clear. Slowly, his body began to cooperate, and with shaky steps, began advancing towards safety.

Again?

That thought stopped him completely.

In his mind's eye, the scenario changed. The distorted afternoon's sky became a moonless night. The hulking corpses of buildings around him became tall trees.

'I am thou,' someone whispered, 'and thou art I.'

The question posed itself before him once more.

Again?

"It… it doesn't matter…" Kei said to no one, trying to dismiss the insane idea. He didn't know neither Feng nor Shiranui. They were just classmates, casual acquaintances. Moreover, it was clear that they could defend themselves. He, on the other hand, didn't even stand a chance. So it only made sense that he should run away…

...Again.

Even from this distance, the sounds of battle—gunshots, roaring explosions, space itself being warped around the monster—echoed clearly.

No…

Kei Kamiya clenched his hand tightly and made his decision.

Persona Compendium:

Jeanne D'arc

XI—Strength

A French heroine, known as 'the Maid of Orleans.' At the age of sixteen, she received a vision from God, and took a stance to save France, playing a pivotal role in ending the Hundred Years' War. However, at the age of nineteen, she was captured and burned at the stake under accusations of witchcraft. This conviction was later overturned, and Jeanne was eventually canonized, becoming a Catholic saint.

This update would have come out a lot sooner, but I got sidetracked ever since this one ginger introduced me to the crack pipe that is Final Fantasy XIV. Thanks a lot, Commander Fuccboivin.

Also, I fucked up super hard and accidentally switched Kotone Shiomi's surname with that of Niko Kiyomi's, class 2-B's teacher. That's all fixed now, but I'm still gonna take the L, since it might have caused some undue confusion.

Also, I'm thinking of doing a bit of house cleaning in this version, maybe split the first chapter into four. Y'know, just the way it was supposed to be in the first place.