Chapter 29

Disclaimer: I only own the OC


I gaped at Sho, or to be more accurate, Minazuki for a few minutes before managing to regain my composure. The red haired youth looked at me calmly for the duration, an amused glint shining in his eyes. After taking a few deep breathes, I closed my mouth and addressed Minazuki.

"Where's Sho? As far as I know, he's been working for your return since your disappearance, so I kinda want to see his face now just to see him idiotically happy for once." The red haired youth sighed once before answering.

"Well… Unfortunately Sho is not here at the moment. The attack from Grandmaster has somewhat… unsettled him and his consciousness is still deep in shock. The last time something like this happened I was the personality in charge, and thus I took the brunt of the hit. This time, however… Well, you know what happened." Minazuki grimaced, his face full of guilt. I frowned.

"Okay… So why are you in charge now? I thought you were so weakened that you cannot even regularly communicate with Sho, only dropping a few one-liners right before he draws on the power of Hi-no-Katgusuchi." The red haired youth chuckled to himself before answering.

"Well, the answer to that requires a somewhat more extensive information on how I was created…" Minazuki paused for a second, as if in contemplation, before continuing. "Well, I suppose you are the closest thing to a friend that Sho has, and if anyone were to have a somewhat comprehensive knowledge of how the dynamics between the two of us work, it might as well be you. Once I'm gone again, you'd be the only one at his side."

"Wha-?" I opened my mouth to ask what he meant by the last part of his sentence, but Minazuki lifted a hand and I closed my mouth, waiting for the red haired youth to elaborate.

"All would be explained in time. As you most likely have deduced by now, my existence as a second personality to Sho is not the result of MPD, or any other mental anomaly that is defined by your psychologists. My existence stems from this." Pulling his hospital shirt down, I raised an eyebrow as I saw a blood red crystal, roughly the size of a fist, embedded in his solar plexus.

"That's…. I've seen stuff like this, but never this extensive…" I muttered. All the members of Strega had operation scars on their solar plexus, exactly where the crystal now protruded from Minazuki's chest. If you pressed down there, you can even feel the edges of the crystal shard. But despite all that, the crystal was still implanted within their bodies, not sticking out halfway. Minazuki smiled understandingly.

"Yes, shocking isn't it? Sho almost ripped it out in a fit of shock and fear right after the surgery. His expression after I talked to him for the first time, telling him not to remove the Plume of Dusk, was priceless." Minazuki chuckled at the memory before his face fell again. "My point is, my existence as an alternate personality for Sho was the result of lingering shock of the operation. When it comes down to it, I should be the personality of Tsukuyomi and in a much more subservient position in comparison to Sho's personality. But of course, things did not happen that way. Sho was too young when I first appeared, and I, being a personality born from a full Plume of Dusk, was too strong. No altercation happened between us, but Sho perceived me as a guardian angel of sorts and automatically granted me an abundance of power, a role which I welcomed and relished.

"After Hi-no-Katgusuchi's possession, it was as though a reset button was pressed. I was acting as a buffer between Sho and Hi-no-Katgusuchi, and the vast amount of power rushing though me placed me in a recessive state, returning full power over the physical body back to Sho. I believe some residue of this power is responsible for Sho's ability to infuse himself with the powers of Hi-no-Katgusuchi. However, since Sho has always communicated with me as equal personalities, he has almost no idea to communicate with a Persona." Minazuki let out a strained smile, and I can see deep sadness and isolation hidden in his eyes.

"I can see what he's doing and hear what he's saying, yet no matter how much I try I can't get him to be able to hear me. I discovered recently that by infusing Sho with Hi-no-Katgutsuchi's powers, I can briefly make him hear me for a sentence or two before I get completely preoccupied with regulating the massive flow of energy to prevent his body from breaking down. But that's it." Minazuki leant back, letting out a sad sigh. "Right now I'm in control of this body because Grandmaster's attack has rendered Sho comatose for a week or so. But once Sho recovers, he's regaining control because he's the natural owner of this body after all, and that's the way it should be."

"So you'll be with us for a week or so?" I asked, still trying to completely digest all of what Minazuki told me. The red haired youth nodded silently. I smiled at his sad expression. "What are you so down for? You got your deal out right?"

"What?" Minazuki stared at me for a moment with shock. I smirked.

"Well, we now know why you disappeared, and how Sho can find you again. Granted, it won't be an easy path for either of you, but if something is easy to accomplish, it probably isn't even worth the meagre effort placed into it." Standing up from my bed, I noted with pleasant surprise that there wasn't any physical restraints placed upon me. I walked over to Minazuki's bed and offered an open hand to the red haired youth.

"I can't promise any results, but I can promise that I'll at least tell Sho the nature of his disconnection with you, and try to help him figure out how to communicate with you on a normal basis. After all, I do consider him as a brother-in-arms, perhaps more literally than most people who use that term." Minazuki looked at my outstretched hand for a minute or two before reaching out and clasping it. The red haired youth smiled at me, this time without sadness.

"Thank you. From both of us." I smiled as we shook hands. Releasing Minazuki's hand, I surveyed the hospital room in which we were staying. My eyes lit up at the sight of a large wide screen TV in the room.

"Do you know what happened?" I asked. Why on earth would they have one of those in a hospital room for Persona users?

"No." Minazuki answered briskly. "I woke up on this bed, and Sho's memories ended at Grandmaster's attack."

"Uh-huh…" Muttering absent-mindedly, I brushed my hand along the surface of the TV, watching a stream of light ripples flash across the screen. "I wonder…."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, at least not right now. But then again, it is your choice." A familiar voice rang up. I spun around and saw Elizabeth standing nonchalantly at the corner of the room. How long was she standing there?!

Taking a deep breath to hide my bewilderment, I greeted Elizabeth:

"Hello Elizabeth. How was your day?" The elevator attendant raised an eyebrow.

"Quite nice thank you. And yours?"

"Just starting. I was also wondering whether you can shed some light on what happened after I passed out back in the TV world. Where are we, and what happened to the Shadow Ops?" Elizabeth smiled as she drew a chair towards her and sat down elegantly.

"The Shadow Operatives are recovering right now. We're in a Kirijo-owned hospital where there's staff who are familiar with Shadow related injuries." Elizabeth flipped through her grimoire absentmindedly. "The reason why neither you nor Minazuki are restrained is because none of the staff know that you're both the Shadow Operative's enemies, and you are still recorded on the books as a former Shadow Operative Auxiliary force member."

"The only reason why nobody would know that the two of us are the Shadow Ops' enemies is because nobody is able or willing to tell them." I sat down on my own bed, crossing my arms. "Which then begs the question, what happened to the Shadow Ops? Are you telling me that they were wiped out?" My fingers dug into my arms as I clenched my fists, knuckles whitening.

"No, they're not dead. But they got very lucky." Elizabeth answered quickly, and I frowned. "The Grandmaster casted a very clever spell and induced what is known as Apathy Syndrome upon them. I believe you are familiar with the concept?" My eyes widened with shock as I nodded slowly.

"Yes, quite. That was basically our favorite way of completing kill contracts back when Strega was active. So you say that Grandmaster can induce Apathy Syndrome upon others on will?" By the Gods… No wonder the Shadow Operatives fell like reeds…

"At least the spell was supposed to." Elizabeth replied as she crossed her legs, flipping quickly through the leather bound grimoire. "Luckily for all of us, the spell doesn't seem to be in full power, so I expect the Shadow Operatives to fully recover in three days' time." I let out a sigh and leant back in my bed.

"You… Now I know why your clothes look so familiar…" Minazuki spoke up. "Are you affiliated with the Velvet Room?" Elizabeth looked up, a hint of surprise in her eyes. I frowned and looked at Elizabeth and then Minazuki.

This is the first time I saw her get caught speechless… What in the world, Minazuki…?

"How do you know of that name?" Regaining her composure, Elizabeth asked, gently yet firmly. Minazuki shrugged slightly before replying:

"They contacted us shortly before the P1- Climax, offering us a contract in exchange for their services. I refused, since they did not seem trustworthy."

"I am offended that you would think any resident of the Room as untrustworthy!" Elizabeth exclaimed, looking indignant. "We as residents of the Velvet Room have provided aid to humanity many times around, serving to strengthen Wild Cards throughout the ages!"

"Yes, you provided support to humanity and strengthened Wild Cards. At that time we were planning to wipe out humanity, who had the Wild Cards as their most powerful protectors. I believe in that case there would be ample cause for me to distrust the Velvet Room." Minazuki gazed calmly at Elizabeth, who giggled sheepishly and fell silent. The red haired youth smirked and continued.

"By the way, neither of us are used to displays of altruism. Think about it, two cosmic entities, showing up with an offer of power with limitless potential, and the only price you have to pay is be responsible? Can you blame us for being suspicious? With Hi-no-Katgusuchi, I at least knew what he was planning. I could not claim the same with the Velvet Room." I shrugged and turned back to Elizabeth.

"Hey, he has a point. If I was suddenly confronted with that situation, I would refuse as well. The concept is just so alien that we can't really wrap our heads around it…" The elevator attendant pouted and sniffed, and then pointed her nose up.

"Well in that regard I would say that the two of you have done quite a marvelous job in choosing the… what was the term? Ah, yes, 'cosmic entity'. You two have done quite a marvelous job in choosing which cosmic entity to serve. Your choices seem to have benefitted you both greatly, no?" I winced, and then chuckled sheepishly while looking at Sho.

"Oh boy, we got owned, didn't we?" I joked at the red haired youth. Minazuki chuckled, shaking his head. Glancing down, he raised an eyebrow, noticing my knuckles which had gone white as I clenched my fist tight, but he didn't comment on it. I turned back to Elizabeth, smiling. "Yeah, you're right. On the topic of cosmic entities, do you know what happened to Grandmaster?"

"He's not dead, if that's what you are wondering. He managed to evade my attack, and I have an ominous feeling that the next we meet, I would not be able to fend him off as easily." Elizabeth said with a grim expression. I frowned and crossed my arms. "But you don't need to worry about him, at least not until the Shadow Operatives recover. If my suspicions are correct, he would be limiting his actions to a very specific area within the Sea of Consciousness, and won't be roaming around anytime soon."

"Your 'suspicions'? Mind sharing them?" I inquired. Elizabeth smiled and stood up from her seat.

"Unfortunately, this is not the time. I will share the details of it with you someday, but not now." She raised an eyebrow at my expression. "Don't be so alarmed. The reason I am not informing you now is because I want the Shadow Operatives to be awake and conscious when I present my suspicions on Grandmaster. I believe it would be much more efficient that way, without requiring me to repeat myself."

"Now, I know that you've just woken up Caius, and I think you would need a bit of rest for what is to come." Elizabeth turned around and started heading towards the door. "By the way, all your belongings are stored in this closet, just in case you were wondering."

"Elizabeth." I called out to the elevator attendant. She paused, looking at me inquiringly. "I kind of need to know… Are you still affiliated with the Velvet Room?"

"Why do you ask?" I smiled slightly at her question.

"It's just good to know who you're working with, so you don't accidently make plans that harm your friends." Elizabeth nodded.

"To answer your question, no, I am no longer affiliated with the Velvet Room, although we're still on very good terms." The elevator attendant smiled, almost nostalgically. "It kind of hard to not be on good terms with a place where so many pleasant memories dwell. The fact that both my siblings still work there doesn't hurt either. Does that answer your question?"

"Yes. Thank you Elizabeth…. For everything." Elizabeth nodded, smiling cheerfully as she left the room. I got under the covers and laid down on my bed, feeling tired once more.

I guess that is to be expected, seeing what happened right before I collapsed…

"What's your take on all this Minazuki?" I asked wearily. A small chuckle came from the red-haired youth's direction.

"What does it matter at this point? We can only take the best choice offered to us. If Sho's memories are correct, that's exactly why you decided to serve Grandmaster, right? Because refusing a request from such a powerful being would be almost suicidal?" A chuckle broke out from my lips, which gradually evolved into a full-on laugh.

"Hahahahaha… You've got that right. In the end, we are nothing but gladiators in the arena of the Gods." I sighed, feeling myself slowly drifting off into unconsciousness. "I just wish, with this hand I am dealt, I can do something worthy of applause within my time on stage…"

As I muttered incoherently, I slowly drifted into blissful sleep…


"Tch…" I grimaced and shifted in my bed, half asleep as a light shined on me. Opening my eyes, I blinked a few times groggily before looking around for the sourced of the light. Finding it, my eyes widened and my breath caught in my throat.

"What in the world…" I muttered. The TV in the room was on, showing a blank background in what seems like a broken down laboratory. In the middle of the picture a familiar figure sat on top of a broken operating table, his back towards the screen, his hood pulled up. Glancing towards Minazuki's bed, I saw the sleeping figure of the red-haired youth.

He doesn't seem awake… What the hell… I thought the Midnight Channel was limited to Inaba and was ended by Narukami's team!

"Tch… such a shame." The figure on the TV screen muttered to himself. "The Shadows won't get near me anymore… What else is there here…?" The figure stood up, slightly swaying, his head turning as if surveying the broken lab. His hands were drenched with pitch black ichor, and he was holding a barely alive Gigas by the head.

"Well, might as well finish this one off, before he wastes away…" The figure slipped his hands up to the Gigas' throat, and the Shadow attempted to defend itself. Despite its best efforts, the figure managed to slip his hands through its defenses and placed a thumb and index finger on either side of its throat.

"Goodbye…" With a light, cheerful farewell, the figure pinched down hard on the Shadow's throat. The Gigas let out a loud gurgle and collapsed, shadowy ichor spraying out of its throat as it slowly dissipated, leaving the hooded figure standing alone in the middle of the scene.

"Ba-dum…ba-dum…ba-dum…ba-dum…ba-dum…ba-dum…" The figure intoned lightly as he walked around the wreckage, snapping his fingers to the beat. Eventually he stopped and started chuckling. "Even Shadows have a pulse, no? Hahahaha… That's good, that's good…. Oh what am I saying? It's more than good…" Slightly shaking by now, the figure buried his head in his hands and started chuckling insanely.

"Snrk…. Heheheheheheh….. hahahahahaha…..HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-! THIS IS GREAT! THIS IS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE! I LOVE THIS FEELING!" As he crackled madly, the figure turned around to face the screen. I scowled as I saw my own face glaring at me between his fingers, maniac grin on his face and yellow eyes glowing.

"Isn't that right…. me?!" With that final sentence, the image cut to static and fizzled out.

"Tch… that's annoying." Muttering to myself, I walked towards the closet where my belongings were stored. Opening the closet, I smiled slightly at the familiar sight of my clothes and gear. Quickly strapping everything up, I paused as I grasped my evoker.

Without a Persona…. Is it even worth it? I looked at my evoker for a while, tilting the barrel so the light glinted across the word "Strega" etched along the barrel. Taking a deep breath, I twirled the evoker a few times before holstering the evoker. Quickly loading my shotgun, I started walking towards the TV, holstering the shotgun at my hip.

"Where do you think you're going?" The calm voice of Minazuki asked. I paused, and then looked at Minazuki's bed to find the red-haired youth looking at me with clear blue eyes.

Of course, it would be too much to expect that that whole ruckus wouldn't wake him up…

"To retrieve an old friend. Are you going to stop me?" I asked calmly. Minazuki threw off his covers to reveal that he was fully dressed and armed. I raised an eyebrow.

Okay… so he was awake long before that show came up…

"No." As he stood up, Minazuki drew his swords and twirled them around, testing their weight and balance. "I'm going to go with you, just to make sure that you're not going to be killed." I smirked.

"Aww… I'm moved. Now if you wanna come along, better keep up." Turning around, I reached towards the TV screen.

My palm met a solid surface right in front of the TV screen, blocked by a glowing magical circle. I frowned confusedly for a second before understanding dawned upon me.

"Elizabeth…" I swore silently under my breath.

"You called?" A voice rang up behind me. Spinning around, I saw Elizabeth sitting nonchalantly on top of my bed. At my side, Minazuki tensed up, katana at ready. The elevator attendant looked at the youth's blades with an air of amusement. "Put down your blades. I am not here to fight you."

"But you are here to stop us." I stated. Elizabeth let out a tinkling laugh.

"Yes and no. I'm only here to stop one of you." Lifting one hand elegantly, Elizabeth pointed towards Minazuki. "Where you're going, he cannot follow."

"Is there a reason for that?" Minazuki asked tensely. Elizabeth shrugged lightly.

"This Shadow is Caius' deepest darkest problems given life and form. It is only proper that Caius is the one to confront it." The elevator attendant stood up, flipping through her grimoire once more. "Also, I would like a word with you Minazuki. It's mainly concerning the nature of your relationship with the one known as Sho, as well as your relationship with the Velvet Room. I might be able to help you two." Hearing that, Minazuki's eyes lit up, but he then glanced at me, looking conflicted.

"Go ahead." I smiled. "As Elizabeth said, this Shadow is mine, so it's my mess to clean up." Nodding, Minazuki stepped away from me as I turned and reached out towards the TV screen.

"Wait." I paused again at Elizabeth's voice. Looking back once more, I saw the Elevator attendant standing in the middle of the room, her grimoire lying flat open in her palm, the card of the Death Arcana floating above the pages. "Do you really intend to go in just like this? You'll pass out long before your Shadow confrontation even starts."

"What's the alternative then?"

"There are powers of the Wild Card that neither Narukami nor Aigis have access to, since a soul that was born human is far too fragile to sustain the full power and potential of a Wild Card. But I, on the other hand, was not born human, and thus has a much more powerful soul." As Elizabeth spoke, she lifted her other hand, summoning the glowing tarot card of the Fool into her palm. "That being said, what I'm about to attempt has only been successfully executed by two entities, both of them easily dwarfing me in power. But even so, maybe I can pull off a cheap imitation, especially since you are already a Persona-user…"

As she spoke, Elizabeth guided the Fool card towards the Death card, wherein the two cards started revolving each other. A glowing blue aura started surrounding her, as Elizabeth started to float midair, her hair ruffling through the sheer amount of energy surging through her body. The elevator attendant lowered her head, staring directly at me. I felt an aura of energy focus upon me, and I tensed up in preparation for whatever Elizabeth had planned out.

"Persona…" With a whispered command, Elizabeth snapped her grimoire shut, shattering both cards in the process. At that moment, I felt a surge of energy rush towards me, probing and forcing its way into my mind. It was not painful, as Grandmaster's extraction was, but the sheer rush of power still forced me onto my knees. A grating voice ran through my mind.

'I am thou, and thou art I.

I am Ghoul, consumer of man.

I pledge my loyalty to you.'

"A… Persona?" I muttered to myself. In front of me, Elizabeth took a deep breath before almost collapsing on top of my bed. The elevator attendant smiled tiredly at me and nodded towards my evoker.

"Go on. Take a shot." Frowning to myself, I drew my evoker and pointed the barrel at my chin, taking a deep breath before pulling the trigger.

"Persona." As the spiritual bullet ripped through my mind, a green humanoid form materialized with a feral snarl, leaping from the air, and dematerialized once it hit the floor. I whistled lowly.

"Wow… a new Persona…"

"It was… more tiring… than I anticipated…" Elizabeth said breathlessly. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breathes, regaining her composure. "Also, as you might have noticed, this is only the weakest of Personas within the Death Arcana. It's all that I could've managed."

"And why did you give this to me? I assume that there's going to be some kind of price attached to this?" I asked, eyeing Elizabeth slightly warily. The elevator attendant faced me with an innocent expression.

"What? Can't I just provide a bit of help for a friend?" She asked innocently. I narrowed my eyes slightly.

"Really? You just admittedly depleted most of your energy to bequeath a Persona on me, just because we are friends?" I asked testily. Elizabeth's maintained her innocent expression.

"Yes. What's wrong with that?" I nodded to myself.

"I see…."

Elizabeth's eyes widened in surprise and her breath flew out in a whoosh as I closed the distance between us in a single stride and pulled her into a tight hug. I felt her tense up a bit before relaxing in my embrace.

"Thank you… for everything." I whispered into her ear. I released the embrace and backed up towards the TV. A light blush was dusting Elizabeth's cheeks and she was, for the first time since I knew her, quite visibly flustered.

"I… Ah… of course… you're welcome…" The elevator attendant mumbled. I chuckled in amusement at her embarrassment.

"To think that an Avatar of Power would blush and get flustered like a teenage girl… Hehehe…" Elizabeth pouted, only furthering my mirth. After a few seconds, Minazuki joined in on the laughter, and eventually so did Elizabeth.

"Don't die Caius." Elizabeth jokingly warned me. "I'm not done with you yet. You still have a contract to fulfill."

"And a promise." Minazuki added. "You owe us both too much to just die."

"Huh. You both care about me so much, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside." I replied, rolling my eyes. "Don't worry, I won't die."

Taking one final glance at Elizabeth and Minazuki, I leant into the TV screen, falling through the portal into the TV world once more.


A/N: Woohoo new Chapter! I think I did this okay... I mean, social scenes were never really my thing.

Anyways, please R&R!