April 16, 2009 -- "Castor and Antigone"

Today in World Cultures (my elective), I got paired on a group project with Setsuna Rossi. The project is a Powerpoint presentation about a holiday or festival from another culture. The partner names were announced just before the bell rang, so I have to wait until next class to discuss the project with her.

I haven't spoken to her since the incident nearly two years ago. What can say to her? Ask if her dad's still missing a half-dozen marbles? I'm surprised she even attends Gekkoukan. I thought she was homeschooled, like she was in junior high.

You see, after Mitsuru recruited me, we found Shinji had potential too. And I told her about my first Dark Hour.

"Why were you out in the middle of the night?" Mitsuru asked.

"Miki insisted," I said. "She wanted to rescue my neighbor, Setsuna Rossi."

Mitsuru looked surprised. "Did you say...Rossi?"

"Yes."

"Go on."

"Not much to say. The moon was yellow. The phones were dead. And Miki summoned a Persona of her own. Alcestis."

"To summon a Persona without an Evoker is rare," Mitsuru mused. "Your sister must have had strong potential. Did Rossi transmogrify?"

"No..." I realized what Mitsuru was getting at. "She has the potential."

"Indeed. The Chairman and I shall send for her tomorrow. Bring Aragaki here at 1800 hours."

The next night, I brought Shinji to the dorm.

Seeing her for the first time since the failed rescue, I didn't notice any visible injuries, but still, she looked uncomfortable hooked up to the monitoring equipment.

"What are those for?" Shinji asked.

"To check her vital signs while we test to see if she can summon a Persona," Mitsuru explained matter-of-factly. "Summoning a Persona for the first time puts a strain on the body. We're just making sure she's safe." Mitsuru handed Setsuna an Evoker.

"What is this?" Setsuna asked, turning the device over in her hands. "There's no ammunition chamber."

"It's not a gun," Ikutsuki-san said reassuringly. "The Evoker fires a beam of psychic energy that coaxes the Persona to come out into the open, and you can control it."

"I understand," Setsuna said, even though she probably didn't."Will it hurt?"

"No. The beam is painless," Ikutsuki-san said. "You might feel some tingling, though."

"Don't be afraid," Mitsuru added. "Your safety is our number one concern. Now raise it to your head and pull the trigger. Take deep breaths."

"All right..." Setsuna said, raising the Evoker to her temple. She hesitated, then closed her eyes and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

A beautiful humanoid figure floated in the air above Setsuna, surrounded by blue light. "I am thou, and thou art I. My name is Antigone, mistress of filial duty. You who are trapped in the walls of fear and guilt, I shall show you the true path."

Setsuna screamed. The monitors began to beep rapidly. Her pulse climbed to 120, her blood pressure increased to 150/90, and she began to hyperventilate. The line on the EKG bounced up in sharp, short spikes.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Setsuna screamed again. "This can't be happening...it can't be happening! NO!" Tears flowed down her face. She signed herself, then again. The Evoker tumbled from her hands and clattered on the wood floor.

The blood pressure reading on the monitor climbed to 200/120.

"Somebody do something!" Shinji yelled. "She'll stroke out!"

Mitsuru took a tranquilizer syringe from a nearby medical kit and stabbed it into Setsuna's shoulder.

Setsuna gasped and clutched her chest. Her breathing slowed until it was back to normal. The monitors stopped beeping. She sank down on the couch, her eyes closing.

The air became still.

I broke the silence. "I honestly thought she was going to die."

"Shit..." Shinji said to no one in particular.

"I expected her emotional reaction to be intense," Ikutsuki-san commented. "But I didn't think it'd be so volatile or self-destructive. But I suppose the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

Shinji looked upset, pissed-off even. "The hell does that mean?!"

"Rossi's mother was a Persona-user," Mitsuru explained. "She was my tutor in the ways of using my Persona."

"She had wonderful potential. Her Persona was of the Fool arcana. She could summon different Personas," Ikutsuki-san added.

"I was always entranced by them," Mitsuru continued. "Her first Persona was Mentor, but there were so many others: Eurinome, Maat, Frigga..."

Ikutsuki-san nodded. "Unfortunately, the research was too much for her to bear. She tried to control a Persona that was too powerful, and it possessed her."

"It was called Ixtab," Mitsuru said. "A Mayan goddess of suicide."

"And this Persona killed her?" I asked. Could Personas really do that? Could Polydeuces turn on me?

Mitsuru looked sad. "She hanged herself in the observatory of Gekkoukan High School."

"That's horrible," I said.

"When will Setsuna wake up?" Shinji asked.

"We don't know," Mitsuru answered. "A Persona-user usually loses consciousness for a few days due to mental and physical exhaustion."

Shinji picked up the Evoker. "I guess I have to shoot myself in the head with this."

"You don't have to," I said. "You can walk out the door." I was a bit scared after seeing what happened to Setsuna.

"Shut up, Aki," Shinji said. "I'm not scared." He waited patiently while Ikutsuki-san hooked him up to the monitors. Then he smiled serenely, and fired the Evoker.

A second bang shattered the night air. Something rose above Shinji, a figure large and dark. It took the shape of a man riding a black horse.

The man, or man-like thing, was the spitting image of Polydeuces.

"I am thou...and thou art I. I am Castor, one of the heroic twins. I will be your strength..."