Author's Notes: One of the longest chapters I have. The longest one is another operation chapter, but I'll get to it when I get to it. For now though, it's time for pretty much the highlight of the game for me. Saving Fuuka... Yeah, I'm super biased but to each their own.

~7 JUNE 2009~

Minato sat at his desk and took out a clean sheet of paper. He carefully set his first thought map to the side and studied his list of questions. He tapped his pencil on his desk for a few minutes before he found a suitable place to start.

Okay, time to go over the information Shinjiro-senpai gave us. According to him, the victims of the 'ghost' were girls who visited the back alley during the night, badmouthing Yamagishi. This answers the question of the rumors regarding Yamagishi. The definition of 'weak' I will now use will refer to Yamagishi being the victim of bullying. She is 'weak' because she could not stand up to them. The more specific terms of 'weak-willed' or 'weak-hearted' come to mind, but again, I do not know Yamagishi so I cannot say they're accurate. Plus, it's rather rude to base a person's character off of some rumors, so I will refrain for now.

Another factoid Shinjiro-senpai shared was that the 'ghost' is the vengeful spirit of Yamagishi. He said for himself that Yamagishi 'may be dead' but I refuse to believe that. The days before her disappearance, I would have noticed a Reaper. In fact, the only Reaper I noticed was on…

Minato's face went white as he shook his head. He scanned his first sheet a few times to see if anything could contradict with his current line of thinking.

No, 'Makoto' is the only Reaper I saw with certainty. But there's no way she could be Fuuka Yamagishi…! She could be… But she can't…! No, it's possible… Stop, it's impossible…!

The blue-haired boy slammed a fist down onto his desk and forced himself to clear his mind. "Don't let your personal feelings get in the way," he scolded himself. "The truth is right in front of you. The only challenge is to not turn away from it." He took a deep breath as he took out a red pen and marked his first diagram before continuing with his second thought map.

Let's add another assumption. Let's say 'Makoto' is indeed Yamagishi-san. This coincides with the fact that during the last week, I did not see her at school. Yamagishi-san's attendance records show that she did attend classes that Friday after we spoke, but on the Saturday the first victim was found, she was not present. I did not see Yamagishi-san at all on Friday, but did see the first victim.

That's right… I saw only the first victim on that Friday. Shinjiro-senpai didn't give an exact time on when Yamagishi-san disappeared, but something must have happened to her between the time I last saw her on Thursday and that next Saturday when the first victim was found. This narrows it down to Friday. Most likely the incident occurred during the afternoon. I can say this with certainty because of a couple of reasons. One: Yamagishi-san's attendance record shows she was indeed in class on Friday. Two: the first victim deliberately returned to campus that night. But why would the victim return?

If I assume this is related to Yamagishi-san's bullying, the victim must have done something Yamagishi-san earlier that day that warranted her to return. Did she need to get rid of evidence? Or was it something else? I suppose I don't know enough to elucidate this situation so I must stop this line of reasoning for now.

Instead, I must focus on a very important question. Where is Fuuka Yamagishi now? Someone with the Potential should be easy for Kirijo-senpai to track, but Yamagishi-san hasn't awakened to her Persona. Kirijo-senpai's powers are also not fully developed in regards for searching outside of Tartarus so it would be impossible for me to ask her to search for Yamagishi-san. Nobody has seen the missing girl for over a week. She must be somewhere, even if it is a difficult place to get to, but the only place that comes to mind is Tartarus.

Minato looked outside his window towards the high school. The foreboding Reaper Cloud over it cast a shadow over the building despite it being a bright Sunday afternoon.

But the incident occurred during the day. Friday afternoon… There's no way a person would be trapped in Tartarus then. This only leaves the other possible explanation and that would be that Yamagishi-san is…

Minato's pencil snapped in half. "She's not dead!" He threw the broken utensil away and slammed both his fists ionto his desk. "She can't be dead!" He let out a frustrated yell as he pushed himself away from his desk. The blue-haired boy collapsed face down onto his bed, slightly shifting to his side before curling into a fetal position.

Outside in the hall, Hamuko thought back to the younger boy she met that day. "So Ken-kun goes to Gekkoukan Elementary?" She handed Junpei some coins.

Junpei nodded. "Yeah. Yuka-tan and I talk to him a lot considering he spends a lot of time by himself at the shrine." Minato's violent outburst made Junpei look down the hall as he put a coin into the vending machine. "Huh?" He turned to Hamuko as he tossed her a can of Mad Bull. "Is something wrong with your brother?"

She thanked the capped boy as she frowned at her brother's closed door. "He must have figured something out."

"That's great, right?" Junpei smiled.

Hamuko shook her head. "I don't think he liked what he discovered."

"O-oh," Junpei's smirk wavered. "Hey, I'm going to go out. You want me to order takeout for you and your brother?"

"Yeah, that sounds great. Thanks, Junpei."

The capped boy tugged on his cap before heading downstairs. Hamuko watched him for a while before going down the hall. She carefully knocked on her brother's door. "Nii-san?"

There was no answer and Hamuko carefully opened the door. He never kept it locked considering she was his daily alarm clock. She held her breath as she let herself in, but noticed her brother had his back turned towards her.

After closing the door, she quietly walked up to him before sitting at his side. She placed a hand on his arm. "Nii-san?"

"Shinjiro-senpai is probably right," Minato muttered, mainly to himself. "Fuuka Yamagishi is probably dead."

Hamuko glared at her brother's defeatist attitude. "You don't know that for certain."

"I know the probability is high," Minato responded, angry fear filling his voice. "Go check out my notes for yourself if you don't believe me."

Hamuko picked up the papers on his desk. It was a bit difficult to make out considering he tended to write extremely quickly whenever his thoughts were in a frenzy, but she studied the flow charts as best as she could. "So you think your 'nameless friend' is Fuuka…" Sad worry entered the girl's red eyes. "Is that why you're so upset?"

"It looks like I ended up killing her," the older brother lifelessly said. "I should have never tried to recruit her into SEES. I should have noticed how the girls in her classroom were treating her." He rolled into a tighter ball as his voice cracked, "I should never have tried to reach out to her."

"Nii-san…" Hamuko returned to his side and knelt down. She placed a comforting hand on his head and smoothed his hair. "It isn't your fault…"

Minato bitterly laughed. "I practically handed her to the Reaper, Hamuko. She's gone…"

"I think there's still a chance," Hamuko muttered, pressing her forehead against her brother's back. Minato didn't respond so she continued. "It's a high probability she's dead, but that means there's a small chance she's still alive. In fact, I'm sure she's alive."

Minato stared at his knees before asking, "Is that your instinct talking?"

The girl shook her head. "It's me believing, nii-san."

"Believing, huh?" The older twin was rather dubious. "You're willing to make a gamble against me on this belief?"

"Yup," Hamuko smirked as she stood up. "Besides, if she were dead, don't you think I'd be able to see her?"

"Don't make jokes like that," Minato said, rolling over to face her.

"Says the boy who thinks she's dead," Hamuko crossed her arms and challenged her brother.

"We'll see then," the boy stared out his window. "Tomorrow."

"Alright then," the girl nodded. "By the way, the loser has to pay Junpei back for tonight's dinner."

"Wait, what?"

~8 JUNE 2009~

The four juniors hurried to the Faculty Office to meet with Ekoda but were surprised when they saw a certain senior already there. Yukari looked to the older student oddly. "Oh, Mitsuru-senpai. Why are you here?"

"Same reason as you," she nodded to the juniors before turning towards the man beside her. "Mr. Ekoda, I'm here to ask you about a student named Fuuka Yamagishi…"

A girl with brown hair looked to the group with wide eyes. "No! I-I never thought it'd turn out like this… Fuuka…"

Yukari stared at her for a moment before realizing something. "Wait… You're that girl…"

Minato cut the junior off as his Hellhound instincts immediately took over. "What the hell did you do to Yamagishi-san?"

Beside him, Mitsuru nodded as she took a more level-headed approach to questioning the suspicious girl sitting before them. "You will explain yourself to us."

Mr. Ekoda tried to calm both members of the Student Council. "Hold on, Mitsuru… This isn't an interrogation. Natsuki, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to. You wouldn't want to give her the wrong idea."

"It's already too late for that," Minato glared at the man. "Besides, should you really be getting in our way right now? Your ass is already in hot water."

"Why, you—!?"

"Yuki," Mitsuru glared at the junior and noticed that he didn't flinch as he normally did. "I understand your concerns but Mr. Ekoda is correct about the situation. Arisato, calm your brother."

Hamuko nodded and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Here, I'll take over." After her brother reluctantly stepped aside, the brunette knelt before Natsuki and looked the terrified girl straight in the eyes. Keeping her tone soft and gentle, Hamuko lightly pressed her to speak to them. "It's okay, Natsuki-chan. Just explain to us what you know."

The girl nodded, feeling more at ease. "Fuuka… She… She always looked so frazzled whenever I gave her a hard time… Then, I realized… She's an honor student, but deep inside, she's the same as us. I knew exactly which buttons to push. We were just messin' with her that day, too! May 29th… We took Fuuka to the gym… and locked the door from the outside…"

"What!?" Junpei exclaimed. "You locked her in!?"

Yukari and Minato turned to each other, alarmed that they had just missed what had happened. The blue-haired boy's hands clenched into fists, but he did his best to remain calm as Natsuki continued. "That night, Maki returned to school alone. She was afraid we'd get in trouble if Fuuka committed suicide. But, she never came back… and the next morning…" She trailed off.

Yukari nodded her head as she pieced it together. "She was found lying on the ground by the gate."

"I went to the gym to let Fuuka out, but the door was still locked… So, I opened it and went inside, but she wasn't there… We all freaked out. Starting that night, we all went looking for her. But every night, another one of us went missing… and they each ended up like Maki!"

"I see," Mitsuru frowned as a theory came to her. "By the way, Mr. Ekoda," she turned towards the teacher. "All this time, you've attributed Yamagishi's absences to 'illness'. But in reality, she was missing." Minato haughtily smirked as he had previously informed the redhead of this blatant discrepancy. "You must have been aware of that… What was your intention?"

The teacher nervously looked away. "I was thinking of the students, of course. You children may not understand, but we have to consider the future of everyone affected."

"That's bullshit," Minato spat out in disgust, making the man flinch. "You knew what was going on with Yamagishi-san and you just let it happen—"

"Yuki!" Mitsuru waited as the Hellhound took a few deep breaths before taking care of the matter herself. "You mean, you chose not to report this to the police for the 'good of the class'." She studied the man's nervous ticks as he avoided her gaze.

"It, it was in her best interest. I wouldn't want her records to be stained by something like this. Her parents agree!"

Minato opened his mouth, but Mitsuru quickly preempted his next outburst with a glare. Sensing her cold gaze, Minato simply narrowed his eyes on the man as his fists tightened, causing his knuckles to go white. Glad it worked, Mitsuru continued. "So to protect your career, you ignored your responsibility as a teacher… How despicable…!"

Ekoda gasped as her words stung like a blizzard frost. "I-I didn't… I was just…"

Mitsuru ignored him as she turned back to Natsuki. "About your friends… Did you notice anything unusual before the incidents? Anything at all."

Hamuko gave her another gentle smile. "Don't worry. Ekoda is the one in trouble here, not you. Anything you say can help us find Fuuka."

Natsuki nodded. "They all heard a voice… A creepy voice. Right before each of them went missing. They said it was calling their name."

Junpei shivered. "Oh, man…"

Yukari looked towards their senior. "Senpai, could it be…!?"

Mitsuru took the team privately aside. "It's them… no doubt about it. Until now, there was no way of knowing how or why some people are conscious during the Dark Hour… But, it's the voice; it draws them in. It's not a random phenomenon. This whole thing has made me realize… They're clearly targeting humans. Shadows are the enemy of mankind." Hamuko and Minato looked to each other with a frown but Mitsuru turned her attention back towards Natsuki. "Stay at our dorm tonight; it's the safest place." The girl nodded in response. "If you hear the voice, tell us immediately. And don't leave the room, no matter what. If you can do that much, you should be okay. Don't worry, Yamagishi should be alright as well," her eyes wandered over to Minato. His usual blank but calm expression returned to his face as he nodded to the senior in understanding. Mitsuru addressed the rest of the team. "We'll meet after school in the Student Council Room to discuss tonight's operation."

Junpei was surprised. "T-tonight!?"

"We're going to rescue Yamagishi," Mitsuru nodded. "If my guess is right, she's still inside the school." She dismissed the juniors but had Minato stay behind. "Yuki, I need to speak to you."

The boy glanced at Natsuki and Ekoda. "Can we do it as we walk?"

"Of course," the redhead nodded.

"I know it's about my outbursts," Minato stared straight ahead as he walked beside her. "I'll do my best to control my temper next time."

"See to it that you do. You may lead SEES but you are still a student of Gekkoukan, so you must learn to act your place."

"I understand," Minato frowned to himself.

Satisfied that he learned his lesson, Mitsuru smirked at the boy. "I do have to thank you though. Without your deductions, this would have escaped my notice. Good work as usual, Yuki. Be sure to keep it up."

Minato straightened up and saluted the Student Council President. "Of course, Senpai!"

Yukari did a headcount to make sure all of SEES was present before locking the door behind her. "All set."

Mitsuru nodded in thanks before addressing the entire team. "Tonight, we will infiltrate the campus. Our objective is to rescue Fuuka Yamagishi."

Junpei frowned. "Um, I don't get it… Is Fuuka inside the school somewhere?"

"And why at night?" Yukari added. "At midnight, this place turns into—"

Misturu nodded. "Exactly. That's how Yamagishi wandered into Tartarus."

Minato crossed his arms and Hamuko shot the boy a triumphant smirk. Nobody else noticed though so Yukari continued. "Then, ever since Fuuka got locked in the gym, she's been stuck there…?"

Mitsuru nodded and Junpei began to panic. "But, that was ten days ago! That means…" This time, Minato gave Hamuko a stern frown.

"Not necessarily," Akihiko shook his head. "We can't jump to conclusions. Tartarus only appears during the Dark Hour. So, what about the rest of the day?"

Hamuko nudged her brother as Yukari considered it too. "Now that you mention it…"

"This is only a theory," Akihiko began, "but I think time may function differently with respect to Tartarus. So, even though it's been ten days for us, perhaps only ten hours have passed for her. It's possible she's still alive." The white-haired boy noticed Hamuko's wide smirk as the boy beside her let the information sink in.

Junpei's eyes widened. "Wow, ya think so!? Uh, but the Dark Hour is pretty brutal… We can barely handle an hour; how's she gonna last ten!?"

Minato nudged his sister at this as Yukari became worried. "That's true… And, even if she's still alive, we might not be able to get to her…"

The blue-haired boy let the despair slowly wash over him until Akihiko glared at the archer. "Are you just gonna let her die, then!?" His exclamation made everyone turn towards him. "I have an idea. Let's try to enter Tartarus exactly how Fuuka did. We'll go to the gym, and wait for midnight. That's the quickest way."

"Is that really gonna work…?" Yukari asked dubiously.

Mitsuru frowned at the boxer's suggestion. "Honestly, I have reservations. If something goes wrong, you could all end up lost in Tartarus too. But…"

Akihiko shook his head. "I won't stand by and do nothing if there's a chance we can save her… I'd never forgive myself. If you guys don't want to go, then I'll go by myself."

Yukari looked at him in surprise. "Senpai…?"

Mitsuru nodded her head. "Alright. We're aware of the risks, but we can't just leave her there."

The archer smiled. "I agree. And we won't know until we try."

Junpei smirked at a thought. "Cool, we get to sneak into the school!" He chuckled to himself. "In that case, I know just what to do…"

All of SEES began exiting the Student Council Room but Minato remained in his seat. Hamuko stood in front of him and prodded his forehead. "Come on. Everything will be fine," she tried to convince him. "Just believe."

"Hrm," Minato's frown never disappeared as he tried to muster up whatever faith he had within him to try. Yamagishi-san… Please be alive…

Minato checked everyone's equipment as they gathered in the command room. "Yukari, tighten the string on your bow. Junpei, Hamuko went and got you a new sword. Sanada-senpai, here's some new string for your gloves. Hamuko, where's my whetstone?" After thanking his sister, he sat down and began sharpening his sword.

Mitsuru frowned as she stared at her phone. "Hmm…"

Akihiko looked up from his gloves and looked at her. "What's wrong?"

"I can't get a hold of the Chairman," she replied. Minato paused what he was doing and looked up with a frown.

Yukari shrugged. "I guess we can handle it ourselves."

"There's one problem, though," Mitsuru shook her head. "Without the Chairman's help, I'm not sure how we can get inside the school…"

Junpei smirked as if he saved the day. "No need to worry. I've got it all set to go."

"Set to go…?" Mitsuru looked at the capped boy with confusion. "An explosive?" She chuckled to herself. "Alright, I'll let you handle this."

Akihiko finished lacing his gloves and stood up. "We don't have time to waste. Let's go." The two seniors started off without them.

Hamuko and Yukari looked at Junpei curiously. Yukari finally took the bait and asked, "An explosive? For real?"

"Nah…" Junpei shook his head, slightly confused as to why the senior thought he had access to such a ridiculous method. "All I did was unlock a door…"

Satisfied with his sword's sharpness, Minato stood up and tested his weapon. "Let's hurry up and do this then."

The team stood in the middle of a hallway as they got inside with ease. Junpei's smile seemed to grow wider. "See? We got in no problem. Man, I'm a genius!"

"Is that really something to brag about?" Yukari sighed.

Mitsuru nodded, impressed with the capped boy's forward thinking. "So, you unlocked it earlier… Tres bien!"

"Oui," Akihiko agreed with a smirk before focusing on their operation. "No time for compliments. Let's go."

Yukari turned to Junpei. "What's the big deal, anyway…?"

"Tray Ben…?" The capped boy knit his eyebrows together. "What's that mean? That's not English, is it?"

"She said 'very good'," Minato sighed as he continued without them.

"Yeah, it's French!" Hamuko smiled, following her brother.

Junpei tugged on his cap. "Lousy seniors and their lousy French…"

They all gathered in Classroom 2-F to reassess their situation. Yukari looked around in their dark classroom with a frown. "Can we turn on the lights…?"

"Aww," Junpei teased. "You scared?"

"No!" the girl's face went red. "Stupei."

"Stop callin' me that!"

"Quiet," Akihiko scolded the two. "It's better if we leave 'em off. They cut the power at night anyway."

"I don't like sneaking around…" Yukari frowned.

Mitsuru dismissed the girl's comment as she came up with a plan. "First, we have to find the key to the gym. Akihiko and I will check the janitor's room. You four check the Faculty Office. After that, we'll meet in the main hallway. Got it?"

"The Faculty Office, huh…?" Junpei smirked. "Hey, maybe we'll find some test questions!" He chuckled at the thought.

"Maybe I should go to the Faculty Office, too," Akihiko frowned. "It sounds interesting."

"Are you planning something unscrupulous under my supervision? If so, then expect to be severely punished…"

Akihiko tensed up and Junpei shook his head frantically. "It-It was a joke! I'd never do something like that!" He nervously laughed.

Beside him, Akihiko tried to reason with her. "Come on, Mitsuru… Lighten up a little."

"Fine," Mitsuru turned towards the exit. "Let's head over to the janitor's room. Iori, you're coming with us."

The three left and Yukari sighed at the capped boy's stupidity. "Alright, let's get this over with."

The two girls carefully snuck downstairs as Minato rolled his eyes. He followed them, careful to keep his footsteps light and silent. This wasn't Tartarus so there was no need to be so cautious. As they reached the lobby, he heard footsteps so lightly descended the last few steps.

"Do you hear that?" Yukari whispered. The footsteps got closer and she grew a bit pale. "Th-there's someone else here…?"

Hamuko pulled her behind a pillar. A flashlight beam just missed Minato as he joined them. He peered around for the guard patrolling the hall and gave the girls a signal that they were in the clear.

Yukari let out a sigh of relief. "It's just a security guard…"

Hamuko looked at her friend with worry. "You're freaking out."

"No, I'm not!" Yukari's face went red. "I'm just a little nervous, that's all! Do you blame me? I mean, we did break into the school in the middle of the night. Wait a minute… That could've been one of the others. Haha, there's nothing to be afraid of, right?" She laughed some more. "Why am I laughing?"

"Let's hurry," Minato grumbled impatiently as he began walking across the lobby.

"I know…" Yukari followed behind him.

"Do you believe in ghosts?" Hamuko smiled, trying to lighten up the atmosphere. "Nii-san and I do."

Yukari slightly tensed up and gave her friend a light glare. "Um, of course not. We already know it's not a ghost. And besides, I'm not THAT afraid of—" Some ringing erupted from nowhere and made the girl scream. She looked down and realized it was coming from her pocket. "M-my cell phone!? Why now!?" She checked the device and groaned. "Figures… It's spam." She sighed as she put her phone away. "Sorry about that. It took me by surprise!"

Minato shook his head and glared at her. "You get scared so easily."

"Whatever," Yukari looked away from him.

Hamuko took a deep breath. "I was surprised too."

"See?" Yukari turned to the boy, glad she wasn't the only one who was surprised.

Minato rolled his eyes as he opened the door to the Faculty Office. Yukari immediately went to the board where the keys were and checked the labels. She absently tossed one to Minato.

"What does it say on this one?" she asked as she checked the other keys.

"Morgue," the boy responded with a straight face.

"What, are you trying to scare me or something? Trust me, you'll pay for that." The archer glared at Minato.

Hamuko chuckled as she took the key from her brother. "It says 'Gym'."

"Really? Let me see!" Yukari checked it for herself. "Yeah, this is it! Mind if we borrow this…?" She tucked it into her pocket. "Okay, let's go. We're supposed to meet them in the main hallway."

As they re-entered the lobby, they saw Mitsuru and the others already waiting for them. "Did you find the key?" the Student Council President asked.

"Sure did," Yukari said, handing it to her.

Junpei smirked at her. "Ya know, I heard a scream that sounded kinda familiar…" The girl ended up blushing and looking away from him. "What, you actually did? I was just kidding…"

"You wanna make somethin' of it!?" Yukari demanded.

"Keep it down," Akihiko scolded the two of them before looking towards Mitsuru.

"We'll divide into teams again. Three of you will enter Tartarus, and two of you will remain outside with me. Once the Dark Hour has begun, I'll determine Yamagishi's position."

"I'll go," Akihiko immediately volunteered. He turned towards the twins. "One of you should come, too. You can take the lead, like always."

Hamuko and Minato looked at each other before the older brother nodded his head. "Alright, I'll go."

Yukari frowned as she raised her hand. "Um, then, I'll be the third—"

"Wait a second…!" Junpei interrupted her. "Remember how I accidentally screwed up on the monorail? Gimme a chance to make up for that!"

"Oh, come on!" Yukari complained. "It's not always about YOU! Besides, you didn't 'accidentally' screw up."

Akihiko nodded at the capped boy. "Alright, Junpei, we'll give you another shot."

"Sweet! Thanks!" He smirked at Minato. "It's just us guys then!"

Akihiko noticed the glum look on Yukari's face. "What's wrong, Yukari? You don't want to stay behind with Mitsuru and Hamuko?"

"Um, n-no, it's fine," the girl quickly replied. She smiled at the red-eyed junior beside her. At least she'd have good company while the boys were gone.

Mitsuru checked her watch. "It's almost time."

Hamuko patiently waited as Mitsuru fiddled with a device on her motorcycle. Maybe I should have been the one to go, she thought as Mitsuru was having trouble adjusting the frequency.

Even Yukari was beginning to get worried as they watched the redhead work. "Um…"

"We still haven't heard back from them," Mitsuru frowned. "The transceiver's sensitivity is set to high, too…"

"O-oh yeah, that girl Natsuki…" Yukari remembered the girl they left behind. "I hope she's okay at the dorm…"

"Unfortunately, no place is completely safe in the Dark Hour. But, we couldn't possibly bring her here, and one of us staying behind was out of the question."

"Yeah… I guess so…" Yukari frowned. Mitsuru said nothing else so the archer tried to fill the dead silence. "But, we're all here for Fuuka's sake—"

A crackling voice echoed through the lobby. "Mitsuru, can you hear me?"

The senior immediately answered the boxer. "This is Mitsuru. I've confirmed your position. You're higher up than I expected… You're barely in communication range. Is everyone alright?"

"Don't know… got separ…" Akihiko was suddenly cut off.

"Akihiko! Come in, Akihiko!"

Yukari looked at her worriedly. "Is he out of range? I'm starting to get worried…"

"Are they lost?" Hamuko stood up, concerned for her older brother, but paused when she felt a change in the atmosphere. Huh? She glanced over to the Velvet Room door as the strange sensation was similar to the pull of the mysterious room. She looked around the lobby and paused when she noticed the mysterious boy from before.

He smiled at her and placed a finger to his lips. "Your brother is fine," he reassured her. "It'll just take him a while before he can catch up to everyone, that's all. You should be careful though… There is a more than one ordeal tonight…"

As he faded away, Hamuko's eyes widened as she had forgotten about the Full Moon. She picked up her naginata and seriously looked at Mitsuru. "Senpai? Can you try to scan for a Shadow? A big one, similar to what we faced on the monorail."

Yukari looked at her friend oddly. "Is something wrong?"

"Just a bad feeling I have," Hamuko tried to say with a smile. "Try not to worry about it too much."

Mitsuru nodded as she began a scan. "It may take some time considering I still need to contact Yuki and Iori. Please be patient."

"Of course," Hamuko nodded, hoping a large Shadow wouldn't attack the city tonight.

Minato opened his eyes slowly before sitting up. He got to his feet and picked up his sword. He tried looking around for Akihiko and Junpei but they were nowhere around him. He paused as his eyes landed on a smiling young boy's face. "Are you awake?" The boy circled Minato, checking to make sure the older boy was okay. "This is the first time we've spoken outside of your room," he pointed out.

"Why are you here?" Minato frowned.

The boy chuckled. "I told you, remember? I'm always with you."

Minato couldn't help but smile at that though as the boy's presence somewhat put him at ease. "Where are the others?" Minato curiously asked while looking around them.

"Don't worry," the child reassuringly smiled, "you'll see them soon." The boy stopped and frowned. "But, we don't have much time to talk," he shook his head. "Tonight, there is more than one ordeal you must face… You should hurry," he urgently stared up at the older boy. "She's waiting for you. You guys will need her. You will need her." Minato nodded as he understood the gravity of the situation. "Okay, then… I hope we can speak again." The boy disappeared, leaving Minato to think carefully about his words.

More than one... Does that mean I have to rescue Yamagishi-san and fight a Shadow? Or is it more than one Shadow? No, I should focus. He said Yamagishi-san is waiting for me and I'll… Minato paused as he knit his eyebrows together in confusion over the boy's strange choice of words. "I'll need her?" He was shaken out of his thoughts when his transceiver spewed static.

"Are… you… alri—? Distance… too far. Can't provide—back up. You got s—from Akihi—"

Minato pulled out his communicator. "Senpai? The signal's bad. Can you read me?" He shook the machine for a while before deciding to move on. He nervously traversed the convoluted hallway while doing his best to keep track of his own position. "Shit... Please don't get lost..." He let out a relieved sight when he found the stairs before noticing Mitsuru was trying to contact him again.

"Akihiko and… aren't… this floor…"

Minato quickly pieced together what she was trying to say but paused when a soft voice echoed through the halls. "Who's there…? Are you human?" It was a familiar voice and Minato swore it was someone he recognized, but with the way the walls distorted the echoes and his transceiver constantly pouring static, he couldn't quite place who it belonged to.

"Hello?" The boy called out. "I'm Minato Yuki, a student of Gekkoukan High. Is someone out there?" He waited a few minutes before moving up to the next floor.

"What's y—curruent loca—Reply immed—"

Minato tried to respond, but the transceiver was jammed. It might have barely connected Mitsuru to him, but it looks like it absolutely refused to let him reassure the senior that he was okay. "Come on…" he groaned while adjusting the frequency. "Don't make me take you apart here."

"Where am I…? Why am I here…? Please answer me…"

The boy paused as he called out into Tartarus once again. He was starting to get an idea of who it was calling out to him. "It's okay… You're lost, right, Yamagishi-san? This is a labyrinth of sorts, but don't worry. I'm a bit lost too but I came to save you. Please, are you there?" He waited another five minutes before going up.

As he arrived to the next floor, a voice called out to him. Minato looked up to see Junpei smiling at him. "Hey, here he is! Man, we were worried about you."

"Sorry I took so long," Minato nodded to the two. "I really wasn't sure where to go."

Akihiko shook his head. "I don't think we should enter Tartarus this way again…"

"Agreed," Minato murmured while staring at their broken radios.

"Oh yeah!" Junpei looked to their leader, eyes wide. "Did you hear a voice while you were in here? Uh, kinda like—"

"Who is this…? Are you human?" The voice sounded closer than before and Minato perked his ears.

"Th-that's it!" Junpei exclaimed. "That's the voice! It sounded like it came from behind us." The capped boy and Akihiko turned around to face the hall and Minato slowly lifted his gaze. From behind a corner, a girl popped her head out.

"Y-yuki-kun!" she quietly exclaimed to herself in surprise.

Minato's blue eyes widened. "Yamagishi-san," he gently nodded in greeting. Fuuka noticed the immense relief washing over his face as he tightly gripped the sword he was carrying.

Akihiko carefully stared at the girl. "Are you Fuuka Yamagishi?"

She ran towards them and nodded as Junpei's face brightened. "Wow, you're alive! That's awesome! Never fear, Junpei's here!"

The boxer sighed in relief that they managed to find her. "I'm glad you're okay… Come with us."

"Thank you so much." Fuuka collapsed to her knees, overwhelmed with relief, but she was surprised when someone immediately knelt at her side. Looking up, she noticed it was Minato.

"You must be hungry," the blue-haired boy frowned as he dug through his supplies. "No, wait... Water. You need something to drink..."

Fuuka smiled as she accepted the can of Cielo Mist and Cutlet Sandwich from him. "Thank you, Yuki-kun."

"N-no problem..." Minato awkwardly looked away as she slowly began to eat. He couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh of relief though before looking back up at Akihiko. "I guess this is mission accomplished."

"Yeah," Akihiko nodded as he pulled out his transceiver. "Looks like we made the right decision. I'll see if I can contact Mitsuru."

Fuuka curiously looked around them. "Where are we…? I was at school, and then…"

Junpei tried to come up with a way to explain but decided he and Minato weren't really meant for that job. "Well… It's a long story. We'll explain after we get outta here." He turned back to Akihiko as the boxer shook his communicator.

"Mitsuru, can you hear me?" The senior waited for a response but shook his head in frustration. "No good. All I hear is static." He looked over to Minato. "Can't you fix it?"

"I don't have my tools," Minato responded while standing up. "But I'll see what I can do."

Junpei continued to keep an eye on Fuuka. "Oh yeah, are ya hurt? Have you run into any monsters?"

"So, there ARE strange creatures in here, then," Fuuka mused as the tall junior helped pull her up to her feet. "I've managed to avoid them so far…"

Minato looked up at that while Akihiko was surprised. "Are you serious!? How's that possible!?"

"Umm, it's hard to describe, but… I can sort of tell where they are…"

"Whaddya mean? Are you psychic?" Junpei asked.

Akihiko shook his head at the boy. "She has the same power as Mitsuru… Maybe even stronger… since Mitsuru's Persona is more battle-oriented." He pulled out an extra Evoker he had on him and offered it to the girl. "Hang on to this."

Fuuka gasped as she held the weapon. "B-but, this is…!"

"Think of it as a lucky charm," the senior smirked. "It's not really a gun." He faced down a hall as he took his transceiver back from Minato. "Alright, let's get outta here!"

Junpei followed him, but Minato didn't move. Instead, the blue-haired boy stared at Fuuka and extended out his arm. "You should go ahead of me. I need to stick in the back to watch out for danger."

"R-right," Fuuka nodded to him, uncertain about the gun she held.

Minato sensed her hesitation and gently smiled at her. "It's okay. When you're ready, just point it to your head and pull the trigger." Her eyes widened in surprise but Minato continued while shaking his head. "If you can't, that's fine. I'll be right there you if you need me."

Fuuka noticed him fidgeting with his own holstered gun and nodded. "Th-thank you, Yuki-kun."

The thin swordsman gave her a curt nod before looking towards Junpei and Akihiko. "Now, let's get going."

The four of them wandered around Tartarus for a while before they passed a wide window. Junpei stopped and stared at the full moon outside. "Whoa, check out the moon! I've never seen it so bright."

Akihiko kept moving but nodded at the boy's comment. "Some research indicates that the Shadows are affected by the phases of the moon. Of course, the same can be said for humans."

"That would explain Yuka-tan's mood swings." Junpei paused as he remembered something. "Hey, wasn't it a full moon the night we went to the monorail?"

Akihiko stopped walking. "Was it?"

"I think so," Junpei frowned. "Why?"

Akihiko immediately looked back at Minato who was glaring at the moon. "Hey, did you see the moon the night the dorm was attacked, back in April?"

"It was full," Minato responded, giving away no emotion in his voice.

"Today is the 8th… The monorail incident happened last month around the same time… And the assault on the dorm was a month before that! They were all during a full moon!" Realizing this, Akihiko pulled out his transceiver again. "Mitsuru, are you there!?"

"Akihiko…?" Mitsuru sounded as if she were preoccupied. "Shadows—"

Minato's eyes flashed as he heard the sounds of steel clashing against something hard. Hamuko!?

"Hey, can you hear me?" Akihiko yelled into the device. "Mitsuru, come in!"

"Be careful…" That was all Mitsuru said before the line went dead.

"Mitsuru!?" Akihiko's grey eyes widened in panic. "Mitsuru!"

Fuuka tensed up beside Minato and he saw that she was focusing on something. "Yamagishi-san?"

"What is this thing…?" she asked, a bit frightened. "It's much bigger than the others… and it's attacking someone…"

Akihiko bolted down the hall. "Dammit!"

"What's going on!?" Junpei asked as he stared at the boxer's back.

"It's one of THEM!" Akihiko exclaimed. "If my guess is right, they come every full moon! We have to hurry!"

Minato nodded to Fuuka and the two took off running. The blue-eyed boy tensed up as he stupidly let his guard down. "Hamuko! I'm coming!"

Junpei watched them for a while before following after them. "H-hey! Wait for me!"

Hamuko skid to a stop and frowned as she realized none of her attacks were dong a thing against the two Shadows. She looked expectantly towards the return pad but it still didn't respond. Nii-san, where are you!? She spun to the side and brought her naginata down again but the weapon merely glanced off of the giant Shadow. She let out frustrated groan before making a hasty retreat.

Finally, a green glow appeared and a girl with teal hair came out. "What in the world…!?"

Mitsuru turned towards the junior but her opening resulted in one of the large Shadows grabbing her.

Akihiko returned then and he stared at the enemies in surprise. "There's TWO of em!?" He saw Mitsuru in trouble though and immediately charged forward. "Mitsuru!" He attacked the Shadow but it didn't seem to care much about his strikes.

"Ugh…" Mitsuru weakly lifted her head as she watched him try to save her. "A-Akihiko…"

Yukari fired an arrow but as it bounced off her target, the Shadow quickly knocked the archer aside. She winced as she tried to get back up. "What's going on!? Nothing's working!"

Junpei came back and the Shadow turned towards him as he just entered the battle. "Oh shit! They looked pissed!"

Minato arrived just as Hamuko was knocked to the ground. "Hamuko!" He angrily glared at the Shadow before charging towards it for harming his sister. The boy pulled out his Evoker and Fuuka watched as he unflinchingly pulled the trigger while pointing the weapon to his own head. The girl's brown eyes widened as a boy with white hair appeared to tackle into the monster. "Rargh! Orpheus!" Minato frowned when his Persona's attack glanced off the Shadow, but he managed to get to his sister and pull her out of danger. "Are you okay?"

The red-eyed girl nodded. "You're finally here," she said, relief in her voice.

"Yeah. Sorry I was late," he frowned, standing up. He was about to attack again, but something caught his attention. "What?"

Natsuki wandered into Tartarus and seemed to be in a daze. Junpei noticed as she passed him. "Hey! Isn't that…!?"

Akihiko stopped punching and watched the girl make her way towards Fuuka. "Why the hell is SHE here!?"

"F-fuuka…" the brunette absently said as she stumbled to her knees.

Hamuko winced as she pulled away from her brother. "You need to get to them," she sternly told her brother as she saw Fuuka hurrying over to Natsuki's side.

"What?" Minato looked at the brunette in surprise, but Hamuko pushed him forward.

"Hurry, Minato!"

The older brother finally understood when he saw Fuuka crossing the lobby just to reach the girl who had been bullying her days before. Right, he though as his grip tightened around his sword, I won't let another person I pulled into the Dark Hour die!

When Fuuka finally made it to Natsuki, she knelt down to check if her classmate was okay. "Moriyama-san?"

"Wait!" Akihiko's eyes widened when he noticed how close to the Shadows the two were. "What are you doing!?"

The girl didn't pay any attention to him though as she tried to get through to Natsuki. "Please, get out of here! It's dangerous!"

Natsuki weakly smiled at her. "I… I wanted to tell you… I'm sorry…"

A Shadow moved towards Fuuka and Minato's eyes widened when he realized he wouldn't be able to make it in time. "Yamagishi-san!"

Fuuka heard him calling her and looked up to see the Shadow looming over her. Although terrified by the sight of it, she remembered the blue-haired boy's words from earlier and lifted up the Evoker.

"Wait!" Akihiko tried to get to her, but he couldn't leave Mitsuru with the Shadow. "That's not a weapon!"

"I know…!" Fuuka remembered how Minato was bravely able to summon that boy to defend Hamuko.

Akihiko watched in horror as the Shadow reeled back, lifting its sword, but Fuuka calmly put the gun to her head and pulled the trigger. A new Persona summoned around her and Natsuki, encasing them in a translucent bubble, just as the strike could connect. The Shadow's attack bounced right off the protective barrier, crashing into its comrade. Both large Shadows toppled to the ground and dropped Mitsuru in the process.

"Mitsuru!" Akihiko caught the falling redhead and dove out of the way of the collapsing Shadows.

"Yamagishi-san!" Minato stood in front of the girl, awed by the new Persona's sudden appearance.

"I am thou, and thou art I," the protective figure introduced herself. "From the sea of thy soul I cometh. I am Lucia, patron saint of the blind..."

"Lucia...?" Minato frowned to himself as he realized now was not the time to get caught up in his random knowledge of historical figures. He turned his back towards Fuuka in order to protect her against the fallen Shadows before focusing his attention on the recovering seniors. "Senpai! Are you okay?"

Mitsuru carefully got up, using Akihiko for support. "I'm alright," she reassured the team. "Be careful… Normal attacks won't work on these Shadows. And all of our instruments have been destroyed…"

"Just stay still!" Akihiko scolded her as he began to treat her wounds. "Besides…" he looked towards Fuuka.

"I can see…" Fuuka's voice echoed through the lobby.

No, that's not it, Minato realized. She's speaking directly into my mind.

"Is that the voice…!?" Mitsuru wondered but she watched as Fuuka focused on the Shadows.

"I… I can sense these monsters' weaknesses, somehow…"

Junpei was surprised by her ability. "For real!?"

"Just as I thought," Akihiko nodded. "Mitsuru, let her take your place."

The redhead nodded. "I get it now. Yamagishi, can you assist the others?"

Fuuka watched as Minato imploringly looked back at her with a fiery blue gaze. She nodded to him in determination as she didn't have to think twice about accepting his unspoken request. "I'll do my best!"

Minato cracked a smirk at that before focusing his attention on the enemies standing before them. "Then let's give it our all!"

"Stay back, Mitsuru!" Akihiko prepared himself for battle. "We'll take care of this!"

Minato quickly gathered the positions of himself, Akihiko, Junpei, and Fuuka. They were completely spread out throughout Tartarus's lobby, but that's fine. After he drew the Shadows away from Lucia, they'd be able to use the spacious area to their advantage. "Yamagishi-san, please watch over us!" he cried out while quickly darting forward towards the Shadows.

"I'll try and find out the enemy's weakness. Just let me know when."

"Understood," Minato nodded as he signaled for Junpei and Akihiko to join him. "Let's go!" He engaged the Shadow closest to him and cast a look towards Fuuka. "Yamagishi-san!"

He didn't even have to say it and the girl began working on uncovering its weaknesses. "This one is weak to fire!"

"Junpei! Light it up!" Minato ordered.

"Roger! Hermes!"

"Come on, Orpheus!"

Fuuka watched as the boy easily called his Persona. She sensed the other Shadow moving though. "Yuki-kun, behind you!"

Thanks to her warning, Minato launched himself to his right, dodging the other Shadow's rigid sword. "Yamagishi-san!"

"That one is weak to strike attacks!"

"Senpai!"

"Already on it!" Akihiko punched the lights out of the Emperor Shadow. He got out of the way as Minato sent Orpheus to bash the Shadow's skull in with his lyre.

"Something's happening!" Fuuka gasped as the two Shadows glowed. "They're changing their weakness!"

"Please scan them again for us, Yamagishi-san," Minato nodded, swinging his sword at the Emperor. He was surprised when the Shadow fell rather easily. "Just scan the Empress!"

"The Empress is weak to lightning!"

Akihiko and Junpei swapped targets. "Junpei!"

"Alright, Senpai!"

Minato remained between the two Shadows, swapping targets every so often to help whoever was dealing with that particular Shadow. With Fuuka constantly supplying them with information, Minato felt victory was close at hand. The battle ended as Akihiko smashed his fist through the Emperor's chest plate and Minato used Forneus to impale the Empress with ice.

Out of breath, Minato collapsed to a knee. He looked over towards Fuuka with concern and saw she was looking around for more enemies. "Are there more of them?"

"Don't worry," Akihiko shook his head. "It's over."

Natsuki stared at Fuuka with wide eyes as the protective bubble around them disappeared. "Fuuka… You…"

"A-are you alright…?" The girl knelt down beside her. She vaguely sensed Minato approaching their side.

"Yeah…" Natsuki shakily nodded her head.

"Thank goodness…" Fuuka smiled at the brunette before collapsing. Minato quickly caught the girl and gently let her rest against him.

"Yamagishi-san?" He looked down at her and noticed she was still smiling gently as she slept.

"Fuuka!?" Natsuki stared at the girl worriedly.

"It's alright," Mitsuru reassured the two. "She's just exhausted."

Natsuki began tearing up. "Fuuka… Fuuka, I…"

Minato looked up at her gently. "It's okay, Moriyama," he spoke softly. "She's fine. You're both safe now."

Akihiko turned away to give them some space but gave Mitsuru a serious frown. "Where did these two Shadows come from?"

Hamuko and Yukari quickly returned to Mitsuru's side as the redhead answered. "From somewhere outside of Tartarus, just like before… If Arisato hadn't asked for a scan, the three of us would have been in worse condition."

"I see…" Akihiko looked back at Minato before turning towards Hamuko. "So you two already knew about those Full Moon Shadows?"

Hamuko shook her head. "We knew about the Full Moon, but I didn't expect there to be two." Akihiko nodded as this was the first time two came at once.

Yukari looked over to the crying Natsuki and the Hellhound who was trying to console her. Junpei was even going over to help him. Yukari smiled as the two boys did their best but as she realized something, she looked over to the older students in concern. "Um, what are we gonna do about Natsuki? She saw the Dark Hour, and the Shadows…"

"Don't worry," Akihiko shook his head. "She's not like us, so she won't remember any of it. The good news is, she didn't fall victim to the Shadows, even though she obviously heard their call. She should be safe from now on."

"But, that means she'll forget Fuuka saved her life, right?" Yukari frowned. "That doesn't seem fair…"

"Actually," Mitsuru smirked, looking up at the crying girl. "I don't think it'll matter."

Minato smiled softly at the sleeping girl. "Yamagishi-san really is too kind. She'll forgive you. She saved us, after all," he pointed out to Natsuki.

Natsuki nodded her head as she wiped up her tears. "I'm sorry, Fuuka… I'm so sorry…"

"Yeah," Hamuko agreed with the senior. "I think she's learned her lesson." She smiled too as her gaze shifted from Natsuki to Minato. The guilt and fear that had plagued him for the past few days seemed to have totally vanished thanks to their successful rescue.

She closed her eyes as a white light flashed before her, telling her their Fool Arcana Social Link had become more powerful. With everything settled, she walked over to her brother's side and helped him lift the sleeping Fuuka into his arms. Mitsuru had Akihiko and Junpei assist with Natsuki and soon, they were all ready to leave Tartarus. This still didn't mean their work was finished however. Although all of SEES had a long and arduous night, there was still much to be done to make sure both girls they rescued were completely safe from the dangers of the Dark Hour.

~B*O*N*U*S~S*C*E*N*E~

"It's the Hellhound!" A boy quickly escaped from the room as Junpei peered into the neighboring classroom.

Minato was busy writing up another citation with the same bored expression on his face. Junpei smirked as he backed out of the doorframe and returned to their classroom. Hamuko was eating lunch with Yukari and waved to him as he approached them. "Junpei! What's with that smile?"

"Your brother's got half the school afraid of him."

"No kidding," Yukari laughed. "You know, there were rumors that Mitsuru-senpai used to be a part of the Disciplinary Committee and she was the same."

"Really?" Hamuko bounced in her seat from curiosity. "Did her gaze fill the students with the dread of Death too? Did the flames of Hell wrap around her as she stalked the halls looking for her next victim?"

"You make me sound like I want to deal with troublemakers," Minato sighed as he suddenly plopped down beside Junpei. "What're we talking about?"

Junpei smirked at the boy. "Mitsuru-senpai's Disciplinary Committee days. I think that was two years ago since last year she was VP. I remember those rumors."

"Oh, was she like me?" Minato took a sip of water from a water bottle. "Did the entire school burn with dread with just her presence alone?"

Yukari shook her head. "No… It was more like ice followed her path and froze the hearts of any student in her way."

"Oh," Hamuko understood with a smile. "Like an Empress of Ice! I can totally see that."

"Her 'executions' are actually pretty infamous, actually," Yukari frowned.

Minato sputtered a bit and some water went down the wrong way. He coughed violently and tried to calm down. "Executions?" His face went pale and he started to shake.

"Nii-san? Are you okay?" Hamuko placed a hand on his forehead.

"Y-yeah! Hey, try not to give Kirijo-senpai trouble, okay?" Minato stood up and shivered. "The vendor is serving hot tea, right? I'll be right back."

"What's the deal with him?" Junpei raised an eyebrow at the blue-haired boy as he left. "I've seen him tear the first-years apart by just looking at them."

"Maybe Mitsuru-senpai's executions aren't just a rumor?" Hamuko shrugged.

At that point, Akihiko came in. "Hey, has anyone seen Minato? He asked me for the list of names in the Boxing Team."

"He's downstairs, but I can pass it on to him, Senpai," Hamuko smiled.

Junpei smiled at the opportunity to ask Akihiko something. "Hey, Senpai. You've known Mitsuru-senpai for a long time, right?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," the older boy frowned. "Why?"

"We were wondering if you've ever seen Mitsuru-senpai's Execution before," Hamuko innocently answered.

The older boy froze up. "Um… An Execution…? S-sorry, but I'm late for something… Maybe ask your brother. The vendor's selling hot tea today, right?"

The three juniors looked to each other oddly. Mitsuru's wrath was something to be feared after all if she could get the rowdy boxer and difficult junior to listen to her.

Final Notes: The Empress and Emperor Shadows... They're definitely the easiest bosses in the entire game. I didn't even know about Paradigm Shift until a while ago because I always killed them before they could use it. You know, I love annoying the hell out of Yukari when going to look for the key. I stop by every bathroom and check every door. It's not like I'm gonna get penalized for it. And Minato probably has bladder and/or bowel problems... That's the only way I can explain why he tends to become 'Great' after using the bathroom...