"Yeah, so this is the creepiest thing I've ever seen," Sonny says.
Alex cannot disagree. Where before had existed a town, now is a gaping town of rust-red veins strangling the familiar. They pulse and cling to the walls, the signs - scrawled upon with a collection of unsettling gibberish - everything.
"So," Sasha says. "This is weird."
Sonny shakes her head and notices something "Hey guys"
Alex steps up and peers over. It whats left of Diffy's lab.
" Isn't that Diffy's lab?" Sasha asks.
Sonny nods, turning serious. " It is" her eyes narrow. "And so is..." She trails off.
" Ok lets find out what we can"
The three friends walk through the town, weapons drawn, and hearts set on their task.
"She's mine, she's mine, she's mine, she's mine." he chants.
Beneath the rat-colored girders, burrowed into the ruins of the lab, he paces.
Eyes aflame in gold, an angry smile on its face, hands running around themselves again and again, the shadow of Jackson Stewart pushes itself along.
"She's mine, she's mine, she's mine."
A bus rockets past, but the shadow ignores it. Its light bathes him as if in blood, the dark silhouettes of the shadows aboard play across his body like withered tendrils seeking purchase.
"She's mine, she's mine, she's mine."
As faint as its words are, they echo through the tunnel and become a booming mantra, reverberating through the thing's skull, the approximation it has of a brain. They are all it can think, all it can do. And then there is a moment, where a new thought, unbidden, escapes its lips.
"And if I can't have her, no one can."
And from the black that surrounds it, a voice calls out, "That's a selfish way of looking at it."
It halts. The voice had come from above, and the shadow lifts its golden gaze to the girders. "Who said that?" It screams. "Who said that?"
A new voice replies, "That be us, asshole."
"And we've got a few bones to pick with you." This from a third voice.
"No," he says, his head jerks from side to side. "No, no, no, no."
"Who the hell is this guy?"
"Shut up! She's mine, goddammit! She belongs to me! She's my property!"
The shadow of Jackson watches them appear. The three had their weapons are drawn and aimed down at him.
Alex smirks. "I'd say that this could go well for you, or poorly, but that would be a lie. It's just gonna go poorly."
The shadow throws back its head and begins to cackle. "Don't make me fucking laugh! You think these little weapons of yours are really going to change anything? Do anything? That's not how the world works. That's not how life works! The weak and stupid get eaten by the strong! The only choice they have is to feast those even weaker and dumber than they are!"
"Geez," Sonny says? The shadow screams and digs its fingers into its stomach. Black ooze boils forth and congeals upon the ground. Jackson screeches once, and collapses into the obsidian bile.
"The hell?" Sasha asks, jumping clear of the puddle. "Now what?"
"He's transforming!" Alex shouts as the pool rises into a shape.
The black bile twists and bursts into an impish demon, purple bangs hanging low over its face, mouth split in a too-wide grin full of razor teeth. Sharp claws bleed out of its hands, and several metallic gray swirls pepper its pink body.
The monster snarls and hurls itself at Alex, and she leaps back with a cry of, "Apollo!"
Her Persona rises up, and the creature cascades into a garden of the black and red tendrils, screaming as they puncture his skin. As he falls back, Alex aims her gun and fires, and the bullets hit the creature's face, but it only growls and pries itself free of Apollo's hold. It tilts its head back and roars, and a wave of something spits into the air around it and crashes into Alex.
She grunts as she's thrown back, and lands in a roll.
"Alex!" Sonny shouts, then narrows her eyes at the shadow. "You jackass!" Behind her, Kayuga blooms, and a fresh wave of fire lances out and envelops the shadow.
It groans, and Alex flips back to her feet. "Helios!" Sasha yells and fires another bout of lightning into the thing.
The monster drops to its knees, hands smashing into the dust. "No," it whispers. "No! I don't have anything else!" It pushes itself into the air and opens its palms wide, unleashing its claws. "I WON'T LET YOU TAKE HER FROM ME!" It falls towards Sonny who stares, wide-eyed
"Move!" Sasha shouts, and slams into her side, pushing her out of the way as the thing falls on her. The monster digs its claws into her shoulders, and Sasha screams. She brings her shotgun up and fires point blank into the thing's stomach. "Get off, asshole!"
"Got your back!" Sonny says, closing the distance between the two, as the monster flies into the air, its entrails a black mess and hanging limply from a hole in its stomach. "Oh, gross." She hits Sasha with a Dia, and then keeps moving, she jumps in the air towards the falling enemy, and swings her sword in a bright and brilliant slash through the air.
The monster spits out more black as the force of the strike sends it careening into the ground.
And then, Alex is there. The monster looks up, and through its long, purple hair, sees the muzzle of Alex's pistol pointing right at him. "You had your fun," she says. "But it's time to stop now." She pulls the trigger.
The shadow drops to the dirt, limp, and evaporates into a cloud of ash.
From this, Jackson Stewart, eyes still golden, but absent their glimmer, rises up upon his knees. He looks at the thieves as they close in on him, beseechingly. "Please, you don't understand. That bastard my father Billy Ray, he took everything from me. My life, it felt like he stole my very soul!" He looks down at his hands. "So when she said she liked me, I felt so happy. I thought, if she loved me, if I could be with her, then everything would be okay. The past wouldn't matter. And then she left me, so-"
Sonny huffs. "Whatever happened to you, it doesn't give you the right to intimidate others."
"Yeah," Sasha says, rubbing one of her shoulders. "You can't just lay claim to someone because they used to go out with you. You need to move on, just like everyone else does."
The shadow slowly nods. "I did. Oh, god. I must've scared her so much. I never wanted that. I just wanted her to take me back."
Alex speaks. "You can't ever go back to the past. All you've got is your memories of it. If they're good, cherish them. If they're not, learn."
A faint white light begins to emit out of the man's chest. "You're right," he says. "I will." Then he smiles, warm and calm. "Thank you." Then he is gone. In his place is a small shining orb, and inside that, is a small, framed photo. Alex reaches out and takes it. The frame is elaborate silver, and inside is a photo of Jackson, the women he loves, his sister and father. They are all smiling.
"What's that?" Sonny asks, looking over Alex's shoulder.
"A photo," Alex says. She turns to the others " Come on lets go"
Alex wakes, that night, in the Velvet Room.
She sits. "So," she says to Igor, who cocks its head to the side. "What's this gift you wanted to give me?"
"You no longer wish to know the whys of your situation?" Igor asks.
"Would you answer those questions, if I did ask?" Igor's grin grows. "Right." He stands.
"You recall my words, those about the crafting of Personas?"
Alex thinks, then nods. "Something like that."
"I shall show you what I mean." The desk and its sole occupant shimmers, and then vanishes. Alex blinks at the now empty News desk, Igor's voice booms from behind her. "The power of Persona is the strength of your heart. You possess the Wild Card, and thus are granted the use of multiple Personas. By combining those masks, by breaking them apart and stitching them together, you could craft even more distinct, powerful Personas."
She feels the drifting presence of Elizabeth, floating just before his face. "Our Master presents you with this gift." Alex notices a door opening.
A editing room snap into reality, constructed of white, maggoty wood, with editing computers on the desk.
"Sounding ungrateful there" Philemon says.
"Right. Sorry."
"Think of two of your Personas," Igor says.
Alex does it without a moment's hesitation. Agathion and Andras appear in the film footage before her, hovering there, eyes wide and white. "What's going-"
"Observe."
The two Personas convulse, and the footage becomes one, editing the two personas together.
Alex feels herself lurch. A sharp, stabbing pain races through her abdomen, and just like that, is gone. Another shape takes form.
It is a turtle, green eyed and shelled. From its back, rises a long red tail, that ends with a dragon's face. The thing looks at him, and snarling, says, "I am Genbu. I shall be your new mask." Then it condenses into a blue flame, and snaps across the room and onto Alex's face.
It feels as if ice slushes through her veins. She doubles over. This is not the same as capturing a Persona. This is very different.
"I-" Alex starts. Her mind feels, muddied, like its coated in a sheen of something sticky.
"In this way," Igor continues. "You will craft yourself new powers. New Personas. The stronger your bonds, the stronger these will become." Alex can almost hear the smile in the thing's voice. "From now on, whenever you wish to make use of this gift, merely proceed to this room."
"Your coming trials will be all the more difficult, " Lavenza says. "Perhaps you find this method distasteful, but it is the only way to craft more powerful weapons to use against the enemies you will face."
Alex retreats and sits back down. As ending news theme plays. "And now we have reached the end," Igor says. He's back at the news desk once more. He smiles over at Alex. "We'll see you soon, Trickster."