Infinitely Zero
Chapter IX: Memories of the City
"...Brockton Bay residents Sophia Hess, Taylor Hebert, and Emma Barnes are still missing after the attack on Winslow High School that occurred last week. Why the attack occurred is still unknown, however from the witnesses of what happened we know for sure that it was caused by an unknown parahuman who had insect control. We can only send our condolences to the family of these three and hope that our local Protectorate branch will find these three. In other news, our local forecast suggests we are going to continue to have lingering showers throughout the week..."
Who cares…? Turning off the TV, I sat there in my living room in silence, the only noise being the sound of raindrops hitting the still didn't have any leads on where she was then...I suppose hoping that someone else could fix my mistake was too much. Reaching into my pocket, I grabbed the blackened key and held it up in the air. I did have something I could do...so why was I sitting here feeling useless?
A ringing noise turned my attention towards my phone on the table. Placing the key down onto the couch, I grabbed the phone and answered it.
"Who is it?"
"The rain won't stop till Friday."
"What?"
"April 8th is your chance to start making things right. Talk to your helper for more info."
Before I could think to ask what this person was talking about they hung up with a resounding click. Who had just called me? The voice was feminine, but it was no voice that I had ever heard before. Looking towards the key, it seemed to be shining with red glare. It was time for me to get some answers to the many questions that lingered in my mind. Standing up, I could feel the key hum as I walked over to one of the doors in my apartment. Putting the key in the keyhole, I opened the door and walked through as world shifted before my eyes.
As I tried to blink the stars out of my eyes from the sudden shift, I could hear fast paced jazz music playing in the background. As my sight cleared up, I saw that I was once more in the Dark Room. However, it was notably larger and there was one new add-on there. A full-scale bar, drinks lined the walls behind it and it looked rather professional if I had to say. Behind it was a woman who wore a black pantsuit, but the notable thing was the white hair and piercing yellow eyes.
"I see that you've met one of my lovely assistants." Chaos took that moment to walk past me and casually go over to the woman. Rubbing a hand against her face with the back of his hand a grin stretched across his face. "Well then, introduce yourself."
"My name is Ellie, it is nice to make your acquaintance Makoto. My services are currently unavailable, but I will be the one to fuse your Personas if required." She gives a short, almost mechanical bow as a smile comes over her face. It's painfully fake. I give a nod of my head as I track Chaos moving across the room and flopping down onto a couch, the grin still prevalent on his face.
"So, I see you've finally decided to stop here, huh? I guess you managed to...finish your business in your school. Rather surprising wasn't it? Who'd of thought that your friend would manifest a Shadow? I didn't even think humans of this planet were able to do that, so what happened to her?"
"She's gone."
"...What did you say?"
"I said she's gone."
"How the hell…" He goes quiet for a minute as he gnashes his teeth in anger, however after a few moments the usual grin returns to his face. "Oh...something unusual happened then. It seems an...associate of mine has decided that he doesn't like my current actions and is taking drastic measures in response to me offering you my help. However, what he doesn't realize is that what he's doing currently is a great way to piss me off."
I didn't really care for who had caused this, it wasn't really my business. What I did care about however was getting Taylor back, turning her back to normal more specifically. She got drawn into something that she shouldn't have and I felt like it was my responsibility to fix this mess. So that just meant one thing…
"So what do I have to do then?" I spoke resolutely.
"Nothing much to be done currently, in terms of hiding there's probably none better than him. If the bastard doesn't want the girl to be found, then she won't be found unless he want us to...or so he would think." Stretching out his arm, he opened his palm and in seconds two small dark wispy like orbs formed overtop his hand. "Ya see, this right here is the culmination of the power brought forth from the bond you share with Taylor and that PRT woman. This power is unique in the way it's made and if enough of it is brought together we'd be able to get to wherever she is and kick that bastard's ass."
"So...is this the power of the Reversed Arcanas?"
"Yes! I see you're not nearly as slow as you look. Acquiring more Reversed Social Links will allow me to shape the necessary tool to get your friend back. As for how you're going to get these social links, only thing I can say is be yourself. You're a trouble magnet just like some stereotypical JRPG hero and you're bound to find the people you need to find eventually. We have time if nothing else. Now, will you be needing something else?"
"Yes, do you know what the significance behind April 8th is? I was told by someone that the rain wouldn't stop till then, and that it was my chance to "start making things right"."
"Hell if I know, there shouldn't be any relevance behind that day but who knows? People on this planet actually have some pretty useful abilities so maybe they foresaw something happening. My powers are many, but even I can't see the future." There was annoyance in his voice as he muttered that last part. "I'll look into it, but it'll be a little while before I have anything conclusive. Now, anything else?"
Shaking my head as a sign of no, I felt the world twist and whirl as the world before my eyes distorted. If Chaos thought this was a fun way to get out of this place, I would need to talk to him about how nausea-inducing this process is.
"Time marches on and all that meaningless crap, I'll see you whenever."
And with those last words, I found myself standing outside my house in the rain, the door I had used the blackened key on still open and the key itself in my hand. The rain that fell onto me felt cool, even as it slowly drenched the clothes I was wearing. I had answers to some of my questions, now I had some thinking to do on my next move. Chaos wasn't telling me the full truth of the situation, my Intelligence allowing me to see that there was much more to this situation than what he revealed. Into each life some rain must fall, I suppose.
