Chapter 35: Enigma
|Lecture Hall A24|20:40 pm|
"Agilao!" Amara cried, but Nihane just stood there as the flames struck him. He didn't appear hurt at all. "What...?!"
"My, my my! Can't you understand what's right in front of you? Your precious fire can't burn me!" Nihane said. "Feel free to try the rest of your puny elemental arsenal, though!"
Nathan attempted Garula, but this had just as little effect. Blaine and Serena used their Zionga and Aques magic, but Nihane managed to shrug them off. "Um...Seraphina, please! Help us!"
"I...I can't do it! I'm so sorry! Hecate cannot pierce through the veil of darkness shrouding his Persona!" Seraphina said.
"How cute. Yet, you seem to forget that I'm the one in control here." Nihane said, holding up his sword. "This must be so infuriating to watch, right? Let's make this battle much more fascinating! Bufudyne!"
Bufudyne? No, that can't be...dyne? Does that mean...it's stronger?!
Just as Amara feared, an ice blast struck her. The pain was intolerable. She had never been targeted by such a terrifyingly powerful attack in her entire life. She fell to the ground instantly, screaming as she went down. Her body shivered with the cold, and pain pulsed throughout her body.
"Argh! No...it...hurts..."
"So none of you have advanced to Dyne magic yet? So sad..." Nihane said. "You're next, Commander. Aquadyne!" This was power Amara had never seen before. Blaine was utterly defeated by the blast of water, and with it, so was any hope of victory.
"Shit. I can't do a damn thing..."
"It's about time you realised this, you fool. You, and the other you! Neither of you ever stood a chance! Now then, Agnethe Junior. Your turn! Ziodyne!" Fierce electricity blasted poor Serena. She was helpless, her screams drowned out by the roar of the lightning.
"Kyle..." Serena said, as she fell to the ground.
"Serena!" Kyle shouted. "Nihane, you bastard! How could you!?"
"Oh, you two would like to go together? Alright, mutual suicide it is! Garudyne!" An incredible tornado trapped Kyle, and hit him with full force. He fell out of his wheelchair, whimpering.
Nathan looked around at the others, but they were astonished at what they had just seen. None of them could stand against the incredible power Nihane wielded. He turned to Priscilla, horrified, but couldn't speak. This was the first time ever that he was up against an obstacle he couldn't surpass.
"How unfortunate. If no one's going to volunteer, I might as well select someone. Nathan Albion, you should feel honoured! Magnadyne!" A violent volley of stones toppled Nathan over, the pain so severe he couldn't even let out a sound.
One by one, the others were dispatched with just one spell from Nihane. The last to fall were Aimee, who was conquered by a Zandyne spell, and Zao, who was quickly dispatched by a swing of Male Janus' scythe.
"ARGH!" Zao crashed into the wall. He didn't want to admit it, but he was powerless before Nihane. "Amara, Aimee, I'm sorry..."
Nihane burst out laughing, his cruel laughter echoing throughout the lecture room. "See what happens when you challenge me? Your precious teamwork and friendship wasn't good enough! Now you can join the others who failed, and become part of the new world."
"No..." Amara tried to say, but could only whisper. Her entire body was aching - she couldn't feel her legs, even. "Dad...Mom..."
"Oh, so you think of your loved ones in your last mortal moments? Wonderful! Before you go, let me show you something." Nihane took something out of his pocket - a golden ankh necklace, the exact same one as Amara had. "Your other self must have dropped this at some point. I think it'll make a nice trophy, don't you agree?"
"Don't...touch it..."
"Why waste your energy talking? The final curtain falls, Amara. The world was always going to change, and there was nothing you and your friends could do. An alternate reality holds no threat to us, either. Now then, let's see how this looks on me!" Nihane took the necklace, and put it around his neck. His twisted delight was cut short, however, when he suddenly clutched his head in pain. "Huh?!"
"What's going on?" Nathan asked. Amara felt a strange sense of pity, for the man who had just effortlessly defeated her and her comrades.
This is messed up! He's got a guilty conscience? Now?
"No...that's not...my name is Nihane...Kronos! ARGH!" Nihane collapsed, shaking, holding his head in agony. Amara, her pain fading, crawled over to him. "Get...get away...my name is not...I am no longer...STOP! I said STOP!"
What the hell is this? Nihane's gone even more crazy...
Amara looked at Nihane, still shaking and screaming. He kept muttering something, but all Amara could make out was 'Nihane'. At one point his mouth moved, but all Amara heard was some strange white noise. She did not intend to do so, yet she reached out and touched Nihane's head. This caused him to open his eyes and look at her. The arrogant, evil orange eyes were gone, and sorrowful deep blue eyes were there, but they were starting to fade back to orange.
"It's okay." Amara suddenly said. What? Why am I saying that to him? Just then, she saw Nihane stand up, and disappear. Soon, all she could see was a white light, and she heard something landing on the ground.
|Empty Space|
It felt like she was floating in a sea of white light for eternity. Finally, she saw images flash by her eyes, far too quickly to make any of them out. It was like a slideshow someone had set to an insane speed. Amara couldn't feel a thing. She couldn't even see her own body as she tried to move it.
What's going on? Why am I seeing this?
Amara couldn't see any of the others around. Finally, the images stopped. She felt solid ground beneath her feet, and the scene came into view. She was in a canteen for some kind of organisation, where a number of employees were eating lunch. It seemed a bit more formal than the one at Motion Publishing, due to the suits most of the workers were wearing. Just then, one man came in the area. It was Archibald Ebert, wearing a white coat.
Him? What is he doing here? I didn't end up in Aeternus HQ, did I?
Archibald walked straight past her, and instead of ordering food, he walked over to a table where one young man was sitting. He was wearing a much plainer outfit consisting of a white and red t-shirt with a black cross over it, and black trousers, but it was Nihane Kronos.
"Ah, there you are. I've been looking for you. Aren't you eating with anyone else?" Archibald said.
"N-No, sir." Nihane said, shaking his head. "Mister Ebert, correct?"
"Yes. But there's no need to be so formal. Call me Archie." Archibald said. He smiled, whilst Nihane looked up at him in wonder. "You're the new boy I've been hearing about. Sounds like you've put a lot of effort into your first week. I'm impressed."
"It's nothing noteworthy. You could do what I do in your sleep." Nihane said, focusing on eating.
"Don't put yourself down so much, lad. I'm serious. May I sit here?" Nihane simply nodded, and Archibald sat down. "Now then, %&$*#".
What the hell was that? Archibald must have said Nihane's real name, but it came out as a horrifying distorted noise. Can anyone else see this? Serena? Nathan? Blaine? Zao? Someone, help me!
"Yes, um, Archie?"
"Lately, I've been planning a top secret project. It's something far beyond the scope of our day to day activities here. However, I can't do it all by myself. So, ^%$&*, I'd like to offer you a place on my team." Archibald said, with a gentle look in his eyes. Why can't I hear his real name?
"Me? Work directly with you? But I'm still new -"
"That doesn't matter. I think this would be good for you. I've seen the way you isolate yourself. Being alone isn't any fun, is it? Trust me, working with me and anyone else willing will do you wonders." Archibald said. "Well?"
"Um...alright then." Nihane said, and they shook hands. "When do we start?"
"Oh, I'll let you know about that. I've got a good feeling about this project's success. However, this will have to remain secret for now. Do you understand?" Archibald said. Nihane nodded, with a very small smile on his pale face.
Amara suddenly realised - she was in Nihane's memory. And this shy, quiet young man would become her enemy.
Just then, the area started to turn white again, and she was floating once more.
|Lecture Hall A24|20:55 pm|
"What...what's happening?" Amara shouted, as she saw the lecture hall again. Nihane was gone, and her other self's Ankh was lying on the floor. She was lying on the floor, and as she got to her knees, she saw the relieved faces of all the others. Serena hugged Blaine, cheering with relief, and he ruffled her hair, equally at ease. Nathan smiled, and held Priscilla's hand. But the most elated person of all was Zao, who's face broke out into one of his big smiles - one that was pure happiness.
"Amara! Thank god you're alright!" Zao said, dashing over. He hugged her close, rather tight, and she had to prod him sharply to get him to lighten his grip. "Sorry. You totally zoned out, and you were totally quiet! I thought...you might...you know..."
"I'm sorry, Zao. I'm sorry I worried you...I'll be fine now. Where did Nihane go?" Amara asked, as she got to her feet.
"Weirdest thing. He was screaming, holding his head in pain, and then he just vanished. What a wimp! He couldn't finish what he started!" Dan said, adjusting his cap. "Damn, that was painful..."
"I'm so glad we're safe...but the Divine Spark's still coming." Priscilla said, with a sense of panic in her voice.
"I never imagined Nihane would be so powerful." Aimee said. "Hold on." Irene appeared, and restored everyone to full health. "Dan, could you help Kyle?"
"Sure thing." Dan lifted Kyle back into his wheelchair, much to the latter's embarrassment.
"I feel like a baby..." Kyle said. "Thanks though." Dan chuckled, messing up Kyle's hair - more than it already was.
"Oh yes, I remember now. Karen and Roger went upstairs to find Archibald and Josephine!" Aimee said, alarmed
"That's right! I was so busy thinking about Nihane, I forgot! Crap..." Amara said. She bit her lip, nervous. "Seraphina, do you know what floor they're on?"
"The rooftop garden." Seraphina said. "We must make haste. The Divine Spark will begin very soon! And you know by now it will have no mercy on even the most innocent of souls!"
|Normal World - Nova Albion - Roger's House|21:04 pm|
After a wonderful evening, Roger had invited Karen to his home. It was in Amber Road, a residential area of Nova Albion known for it's large sprawling houses and a famous tennis court that bore the same name. The whole time they were walking, they held hands - just like when they were young.
"My goodness!" Karen said as they entered the grand house. No corners were cut in the furnishing of this place. Roger had gone all out on the quality and fabric of the black and gold furniture, particularly the mural of a countryside by the stairwell. "You weren't joking. This place is magnificent!"
"Thank you. Even I can't believe I managed to live in such a place. Yet it's lonely, coming home after a long day at work, with no one else here. Usually I just have a nap... At least I have enough room for my film collection." Roger said. "There's one I think you'll really like. Shall we?"
"You just try stopping me!" Karen said.
Later, the two of them were in the lounge, ready to watch one of the many DVDs Roger had collected over the years. Most of them were classic movies, live recordings of plays, operas, etc. The room was equipped with a massive HD TV, with a surround sound system.
"So which one are we going look at?" Karen asked, lying back on the plush sofa.
"This one, my dear." Roger said, holding up one titled Solar Ray. "You remember this one, right? It was your birthday, and I wanted to surprise you, so I saved up for the tickets.!"
"That's right! I put it out of my mind, but...I remember seeing those tickets. This play...is this why the mall is so called?" Karen asked.
"Yup. That night was one of the best we ever shared together, and it was such a fantastic performance. Remember, Raymond and Claudette meet under the setting sun after he comes back from war, fourteen years after he left?" Roger said, gazing fondly into Karen's eyes.
"Sounds just like us." Karen said. She moved closed to Roger on the large sofa, and held his hand. "Except you'd need to lose some weight to fight in a war!" Roger laughed, as Karen tickled his stomach. "It shouldn't have taken us so long. I just didn't think you'd be happy with me."
"Believe me, I am. Come on, let's enjoy tonight - it was worth waiting for." Roger said. "And this is just puppy fat! Seriously!" As they watched the film, they sat as close as they could. Karen never wanted to be apart from Roger again...
"Roger, there's still so much I want to say -"
"It's alright. Just relax. We've got all the time we need now."
|Tachibana University - Rooftop Garden|21:11 pm|
The garden area was the most scenic of Tachibana's campus, with beautiful views of the area as well as some amazing flowers. There were plenty of statues around, all of them famous alumni from the university's past. In the centre of the garden was a model of some ancient castle, which used to stand where Tachibana was today. The sky was cloudy, and there was a gentle breeze.
"There they are!" Serena said, pointing to the far end of the verdant garden.
Karen and Roger were embroiled in intense conflict, striking with all the power they could muster. Water in both its liquid and solid forms was on full display, neither managing to overpower the other. Josephine was watching from one side, and Archibald was from the other.
"Now, Roger. Finish her, quickly! Use the Hama technique you've learned!" Archibald shouted.
"Hama...shit!" Blaine said. "Don't do it!"
Roger ignored this counsel, and concentrated deeply. Without mercy, Kanaloa used the powerful light expel technique.
"Argh..." Karen exhaled, falling to the ground with a long thud.
"No!" Amara exclaimed.
"I did it!" Roger wheezed, exhausted. "Archie, was that good enough for ya?"
"It certainly was. Now then, the Divine Spark will commence. But if you want to bring the fourth one closer, you must murder Karen. Her emotions will fuel the new world." Archibald said, grinning evilly. "It's a shame you lost again, Josephine, but you can just sit back and watch me complete the Eternal Road!"
"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that. Emotions are present in the living and the dead, after all." Josephine said. Just then, she summoned Cybele, and her ominous healing energy revived Karen.
"Josephine..." Karen said, holding her chest. "Ugh...please, help me...it hurts!"
"Help you? There are many ways to aid a poor lost soul like you. But I know just the one. Roger dear, feel free to rid me of this woman. She's useless to me now!" Josephine said, chuckling. "That is what you wanted, right, Archie?"
"Very clever, Josephine. Karen lives for one more moment, to see the man she once loved end her life. Those final moments will surely provide enough trauma to fuel the next Divine Spark." Archibald applauded, whilst Roger suddenly looked horrified. Josephine, pleased with herself, kicked Karen. "What's wrong, Roger? This is what you wanted! Cut all ties with your worthless past, and build a new future with me! One where there is no one to control you!"
"I..." Roger looked at his katars, and gulped. Before, he had been fighting Karen with a rather violent streak. Now, he hesitated. "Is this the only way?"
"Of course." Josephine said. She began to tap the ground with her foot, impatiently. "Karen, you were amusing. There really is something fabulous about toying with such a fragile ego. It was exhilarating, the way you believed in me, but now it's over. Don't take it too personally, though."
Karen couldn't say a word. She just stared at Roger, with absolute fear. She opened her mouth, but only a feeble gasp came out.
"Do it, Roger! You're wasting precious time...!" Archibald said.
Roger suddenly glared at his weapons. He averted his gaze from anybody and anything, and turned to the heavens. Staring at the dark cloudy sky, he finally let out a piercing scream - one that could be heard for miles.
"Whoa!" Blaine said, startled. "Roger...?" Serena was also quite stunned, the sheer volume of his scream having hurt her ears.
Archibald was the most bewildered of them all. So much so, that he didn't even notice the enraged man rushing at him, plunging into his skin with his sharpened weapons.
"Argh?!" Archibald cried.
"Archie!" Josephine shouted.
"You fool!" Roger screamed. Archibald finally leapt backward, and the blue gems on his gloves suddenly started to glow. Archibald somehow made energy bursts shoot out from them, but Roger narrowly avoided them.
"Not so tough now, huh?" Roger spat, breathing heavily with anger.
"What the hell is your problem?!" Archibald asked, clutching his wounds. "You indecisive cretin! Clearly, I was wrong about you! You're not worth my time at all!"
"Shut your mouth! I never should have trusted you!" Roger shouted. "Karen, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for everything! I never should have left you all those years ago! I never should have turned my Persona on you!" Amara gasped. "It took me a long time to realise it, but I did miss you."
"Roger...do you really mean that!?" Karen asked, standing up.
"Of course!" Roger said. He smiled at her, although weakly. "It's hard to be strong in this world, I know, but you can't rely on that woman! Karen, come with me. I'll help you find your own strength, I promise!"
Karen gasped, and soon she had a warm, genuine smile on her face. "Roger, it was easier for me to rely on others, even before this happened. But doing what's easy won't get us anywhere. Roger, I love you!"
"It was worth waiting all this time, just to hear those words again. I love you too!" Roger said, and he ran over to Karen. The two of them embraced, all traces of hatred gone. "We should have just fought together from the start. But it's never too late!"
"How nauseating! I don't believe this! If this is how it is going to be...Archibald, aid me! Neither of you will survive!" Josephine said furiously.
"Gladly. Poor pitiful Roger, deluded by the folly of love!" Archibald said, shaking his head. "If you aren't going to release yourself from burden, I will." Thor emerged, and began gathering immense power in his canon. The canon started to be surrounded by sparks, and it fired...
"Ha! Goodbye, Karen - what?!" The canon blast caused a huge blast of light, but when it faded, Karen was still standing. "No!" Roger stood in front of her, and then fell over.
"Oh God! Hang on!" Aimee ran over to a badly injured Roger and a very distressed Karen. "Give me a second! Mediarama!" Irene's healing light restored them to health, much to Karen's relief. "Are you crazy? You could have been killed!"
"I don't care. As long as Karen's okay." Roger said, smiling. "Just like the end of Divine Mercy, remember? Lord Gregory takes the arrow to protect his wife Lady Amelia!"
"To the knee?" Serena asked.
"No, idiot, it was his chest." Roger said. I guess her references fly over his head...
"That was the first play we saw together. I never thought I'd enjoy anything ever again, until you begged me to join you just for that evening. It was so nice... Roger...please don't do that again!" Karen said, her eyes watering.
"Man, that was cool!" Zao cheered. "Up yours, Ater Vox!"
"Enough!" Archibald said. "It makes little difference now, does it? The third Divine Spark approaches. You bunch of fools could never prevent it!"
" Nor can we simply let you walk free. Eleven worthy sacrifices - and Mr Yuria, of course." Josephine said. "Now you will understand just who you are dealing with!" Just then, Nihane appeared in front of them. "Nihane! What's going on?!"
"I can't have the two of you fight here. Not on this stage. Come back to headquarters, now!" Nihane said, looking more serious than usual. "It won't matter if this rabble die today, or later! They'll be drawn to the next Divine Spark anyway. They just can't get their nose out of trouble!" With that, Nihane vanished.
Josephine and Archibald concentrated, and out of immense darkness came a powerful Shadow - a tremendously large book. This unholy tome was black, with blood red pages, and it had a strange red mask on the spine. "Behold, the Demonic Compendium!"
"Uh oh...this isn't good!" Aimee said. "I've never seen this Shadow before...there are those that look like books, but not this size! We've got to be careful!"
"This is goodbye." Archibald said. "Roger, if by chance you survive, I will have no mercy on you. Your dream of a new Kanaloa will never come to fruition!"
"That doesn't matter anymore...not if I have Karen!" Roger said. Archibald sighed, and he and Josephine vanished.
"Oh no...I just remembered something else! There's tons of Ornatu Legion members in this building! I'll need some help in getting them to safety." Aimee said. "Priscilla, Dan, Kyle, Seraphina and Zao, give me a hand!"
"Sure thing!" Zao clapped, expecting a laugh. Aimee gave him a deathly glare, and he shuddered. "Okay, okay, I'm coming. Amara, be careful! We're gonna survive this!" Zao said, waving.
"I know! Take care!" Amara said. Aimee's group ran away, leaving Amara's team to contend with the Shadow. "Let's end this quickly. Karen, you're one of us now!"
"Thank you." Karen said. "Roger, I'll do my best! With or without God!" The Demonic Compendium, which had a strange demon symbol on the cover opened, and two smaller Shadows come from the dark pages. They were odd floating wigs with the same mask as the larger book, with a small book floating in a globe above them. One of them cast Tarukaja on the Demonic Compendium, and the other cast Matarunda on everyone.
"Damn, I feel kind of weak." Amara said. Not willing to give up already, she violently struck one of the Books with her sword, then sent forth an Agilao. "Tarukaja!" This spell cancelled out Tarunda, yet did not add any benefit.
"Guess we have to figure out what works ourselves, huh? Fine! Violent Medley!" Tlaloc unleashed yet another barrage of attacks with his hammer, finishing with one almighty strike. One of the Books was defeated, yet the other was acting strangely.
The Demonic Compendium bashed Karen with it's body, sending her into a crumbling statue. "Karen!" Roger cried.
"I'm okay!" Karen said. "Bufula!" The second Book became encased in ice, and Serena quickly struck it with her whip. Nathan finished it off with a Garula attack. The Demonic Compendium's pages fluttered, and a whirlwind of it's pages hit everyone.
"Ow!" Nathan shouted. "I think I just got a paper cut!"
"Seriously?" Blaine said, groaning. "Whatever. Zionga!" A bolt of lightning hit the Compendium, who then cast a Poisma spell on Serena.
"Uh oh! Posumudi!" Serena yelled, curing the poison condition. "Aques!" Water struck the Shadow, and then Roger used his Wave Rage move, adding to the torrential attacks. "Not bad, geezer!"
The Demonic Compendium seemed agitated, and two more Shadows came out of it's pages. This time, they were strange weighing scales, with a mask that had a cross emblem on it. One of then cast Rakukaja on the Compendium, and the other cast Marakukaja on it's enemies.
"This is gonna take a while." Blaine said, firing at one of the Scales. However, his bullet was reflected - thankfully, the power of Persona made his body bullet proof. "Oww!"
"I've seen those Scale things before. You can't attack them with your weapons. Let me try this!" Karen said, casting Mabufula on them. It worked, but the Compendium's higher defence reduced the damage a bit.
"Damn, we're hardly hurting it, and we hardly have any time!" Nathan shouted. "Come, hurt it as much as you can! Zephyr Aria!" Once again, Setanta gallantly commanded a wind of an enchanting melody, which was powerful, but Silence did not stick.
The Demonic Compendium then used a Power Charge, which resulted in some panic. "Oh no…the next hit is going to really hurt!" Karen said. "Take this!" She tried slashing one of the Scales with her sword, but then she realised something. "Josephine told me I could use this spell, but I never had a use for it until now! Tetrakarn!"
The Compendium, ignoring Aeshma casting a barrier on the team, followed through with a Blade of Fury attack - but every attack was reflected back. The Compendium collapsed, but one of the Scales managed to help it recover with a Re Patra spell. "What the heck?" Serena said. "Are we fighting on Very Hard mode?"
"Ruby Ignition!" Amara called out, the shining flames empowering her. This time, the Tarukaja effect took hold. "Alright! How about this? Sundial!" Hathor's staff changed into a sword again, and this time, the sword was glowing bright. Hathor swung it many times, striking the Compendium many a time.
The Compendium, shaking with anger, unleashed a strange wave of energy that sunk into everyone. "Huh?" Amara felt weirdly exhausted, even though she hadn't expended that much energy. "Agilao!" As the flames hit the book, she felt a lot of her energy fading. "I feel weird..."
"Damn, it's that weird Anima Freeze attack. It drains your energy really fast! Come on, girly, heal us!" Roger said. The Compendium bashed him a bit, but he was reluctant to fight back.
"God, why do I have to do all the healing around here? Fine..." Serena said, Artemis ready to go. "Energy Shower!" A soothing shower of light took away the debilitating effect. "It'd help if one of you had healing spells too!"
"Someone's cranky today! Time of the month, I guess." Blaine said. Everyone got back to fighting the Compendium, and eventually defeated the two Scales. The cursed text attempted to summon more Shadows, but couldn't, for some reason.
"Did it run out of magic power or something?" Serena asked. "Wow, that's kind of lame."
"No, look at it's pages!" Roger said, as the Compendium opened again. "We damaged the pages with the Shadow illustrations. It can't summon anymore, but it thinks it still can. That's quite a bad AI glitch."
"Then this battle just got easier! Go, Setanta! Impale him now!" Setanta leapt into the air, striking a rather dramatic pose, and jabbed the Demonic Compendium with his spear.
"Allow me! Dekaja!" Aeshma, twirling her golden mirror in her hand, managed to dispel the stat increases the Shadow had given itself. The Compendium still attempted to summon more minions, but nothing but stagnant air came out of it.
"Let's hurry up and kill this damn thing!" Blaine said. "I'm gonna see Lucy again, and no Shadow's gonna stop me!" Wow. I didn't realise he liked Lucy that much...
Roger used Kanaloa to attack the Compendium with his trident. Instead of attacking, the Compendium still insisted on summoning support. Nothing happened-it had ceased to be a threat.
"Okay, time for another one of our combo attacks!" Amara said. "Ready?"
"Hell yeah! Here we go!" Blaine yelled, and Hathor, Artemis, Setanta and Tlaloc rose into the air, preparing their assault.
Searing flames struck the Demonic Record, then a tremendous bolt of lightning hit it. The Shadow was desperately trying to recover, but the next few attacks were too much. A wave of divine water crashed into it, then a brilliant gale of wind hit it. "Solution IV!" A final golden burst of energy, in the shape of the Roman numeral IV, finished the book off. The pages flew out and vanished, and the rest dissolved into an eerie black liquid.
"Okay, since we won, we need a good book pun to wrap things up." Blaine said. "How about...this book is overdue?"
"No way! How about 'We sure sent a shiver down it's spine'?" Serena said, giggling.
"This is torture." Nathan said. "Absolute torture."
"You know how librarians stamp books, right? We could have said "You forgot to put a stamp on it!" and killed it with a huge stomp!" Amara said. "Huh? Huh?" No one laughed. "Aww, come on!"
"I think you've been spending too much time with Zao, missy." Nathan said, bemused.
"You four certainly seem to have...fun together." Karen said. "Amara, just how did you meet these people?"
"That's a long story." Amara said, dismissing Hathor. "It all started the day I started working for you. Some guy in a black cloak told me to follow him, and...I don't know why, but I did. So I ended up in here, and met Nathan and Serena. Blaine showed up a few days later, and…things just kept going from there!"
"The others are coming back, right?" Roger said. "I doubt we can run fast enough to get away from this Divine Spark thing."
"Just be patient." Nathan said. "I believe in them. Priscilla's strong enough to do what's right."
|Tachibana University - Ground Floor|21:20 pm|
"Everyone is on the ground floor. They didn't manage to progress any further." Seraphina said. "Which might sound simple, except for one little detail. There's over two hundred people here, and we have less than half an hour!"
"That's not much time!" Zao said. "We'd better get our asses moving!"
"Not so fast."
It was the other Archibald, and the other Nina was with him. "Aimee, your Traesto spell isn't strong enough to take all of these people outside, and if your destination is that base, you will never fit all of them there."
"Then what are we supposed to do?" Aimee shouted. "We have to save them!"
"I agree. Listen to me carefully. We can do it. We don't have Personas, but we have some power in this world. The after effects of experimenting with Shadows, perhaps. Bring as many people as you can to the main entrance, and me and Nina will take them to the Legarte Harbour." Archibald said.
"Do it, now! We weren't able to do anything a fornight ago. This is the only way we can make up for our mistakes!" Nina said. Priscilla nodded, and ran off.
"Man, carrying all those people is going to be murder on my back!" Dan said, dashing off as well. With a lot of running back and forth, the team finally had four hundred unconscious Ornatu Legion members in the entrance.
"Well done, everyone. Now just sit back and watch." Nina and Archibald chanted, and they used a Traesto spell - but on a far grander scale than Aimee's. She watched in envy as all the young soldiers disappeared. "They should be alright now." Nina said. "Your friends have defeated the Shadow, but the Divine Spark begins soon - " The ground started shaking, and cracks appeared in the ground and walls.
"Whoa!" Zao said. Archibald and Nina abruptly disappeared. "Those guys are weird, huh? At least they're on our side!"
"Less chatting! Get back to the roof!" Dan yelled, and the six of them ran (or in Kyle's case, flew up on his wheelchair) all the way back to the roof.
|Rooftop Garden|21:38|
"Thank god, I wasn't sure if you were going to make it!" Nathan said, as Priscilla came up to him.
"It's alright, we won this time. We'll live to see another day." Priscilla said, smiling.
"This is it! Let's go!" Aimee said, as purple auras started to shroud the entire area. However, before she could cast Traesto via Irene, something else did it for her. And they were sent in front of the university, out of harm's way...
|Takanawa - Outside Tachibana University|21:50|
The incredible amount of energy rushing up from the ground, the building falling apart...it all happened so fast. Eventually, the ground stopped shaking, but Amara knew this wasn't the end. A black and purple aurora, just like before, burst from the ground. It enveloped the entire University area, making horrifying hissing sounds. Then, there was nothing but a dark crater.
"Just like before..." Nathan said, in awe. "I'm just glad no one died."
"Yes. Archibald and Nina helped us...it seems strange, being grateful to them." Aimee said, looking at Serena. "Your sister isn't so bad after all, it seems. We have to thank her later."
"Maybe." Serena said, frowning.
"I kept my promise." Priscilla said.
"Huh?" Nathan asked.
"Oh...when we were on our way here, I made a promise to Nathan. I wouldn't let anyone else get killed, no matter how hard it would be." Then, Priscilla turned to Seraphina. "Don't tell me if I'll keep that promise. I want to see for myself."
"Lady Priscilla...you've grown stronger. If you ever feel lonely, come to my room. With some tea, of course." Seraphina said, smiling.
"Everyone, thank you for coming. If you hadn't, we would have died." Karen said. "I can't go back to Saragel now, can I?"
"Yeah, and if I head back to that place in Farawell I'll get my ass handed to me. I need to think about what to do next." Roger said.
"Wait, why don't you come to our base? It's not very big, though." Aimee said.
"Well, we'll stay there for tonight. Is that okay, Roger?" Karen asked.
"As long as you're with me, I could go anywhere." Roger said. The two of them held hands, smiling together.
"Well then, let's party!" Zao said, punching the air. "In celebration of a happy couple not getting killed!"
"Zao, you would celebrate anything. But that's what I like about you." Amara said, playfully tickling Zao.
"Party, huh? I'm kinda tired. I could use a drink, though. I've only had four tonight." Blaine said.
"Four drinks in two hours? How...lovely." Nathan said, amazed.
|Secret Base|22:17|
Roger and Karen went to bed, tired from tonight's showdown. Priscilla offered them her room, leaving her to sleep on the couch.
"So Amara, what happened to you earlier? Nihane was having a seizure or something, then you touched him and he vanished, then you went all silent!" Blaine said.
"It's hard to explain...but I think I saw one of his memories. It must have been about twelve years ago. Nihane was by himself, eating in the cafeteria, and Archibald came up to him. He wanted Nihane's help on some top secret project." Amara said. "Now that I think of it, when Nihane said yes, I felt happy for some reason..."
"I have a feeling that your mother's keepsake had something to do with it. Remember, he would have killed us all had he not put it on." Seraphina said. "Even I have no idea what happened. Did you catch his real name?"
"No - that's the weirdest part! Whenever Archibald said Nihane's name, all I could hear was some kind of noise. When Nihane was having that breakdown, or whatever, I could have sworn I heard the same noise, and his eyes were blue!" Amara said. "And I wanted to tell him things would be okay. I don't know why! I hate him. Everything that's happened is HIS fault! The other me, my father, the Holy Cross, everything!" Amara clenched her fists, angry…how could she feel sympathy for Nihane? Sure, she might have felt sorry for the man she saw in that memory, but...
"There's too many things we don't know about this. Don't stress yourself out…" Dan said. "It could always be a trap. Maybe he never intended to kill us at all."
"Nihane Kronos...all we have to go on is one letter. E." Aimee said. "There are so many names beginning with E, though! Ethan, Edward, Edmond, Elijah, Edgar, Edwin..."
"Yeah, we get the picture!" Amara said. "Aeternus folded ages ago, so we can't look through their records anymore."
"Even if we could, we don't have a sensible reason." Nathan said, shaking his head. "Don't worry about Nihane. He's our enemy.! We have to get strong enough to face him!"
"You're right. It's just going to keep bothering me, I can tell." Amara said. "I need to get some sleep. Goodnight, everyone."
|Amara's Apartment|23:20 pm|
Amara took a long time to get to sleep. Many things were on her mind. Mundane troubles like bowling tomorrow night with Karl and Zao, then more serious things. Roger and Karen, Nihane's real name…and the Divine Sparks. The idea of them all coming alive terrified her. The power each of them had was unlike anything a Persona could achieve. If all six of them were activated, what would happen to that world? ...Or this one?
Checking her phone messages, the only ones of note were Colette talking about her 'omg gorgeous new shoes! 3', Michelle (a friend from college) asking how her new job was going, her father asking if she was coming home on Sunday, and something about claiming compensation for her 'serious accident'.
"God, life outside fighting Shadows is boring." Amara said to herself. Hopefully she could ease up on going to the other world, though. After replying to her father and her college friend, she went to bed, with a vision of a long and entertaining summer ahead.