Guest: It wasn't the best, but I still liked it. I don't pretend it was deep, you can think what you want man, go ahead. I do ask you this, however, please judge this fic based on it's own merit. But still, thank you for the compliment about Erik and Kae.
Chapter Two
Erik sat in one of the control room chairs, carefully examining the two women in front of him. One was Mitsuru, who he didn't know much about except that she was heavily involved in the school. The second was his friend Kae, who he knew some things about, but not much. The two took him up to the control room just a few days after the incident with the monsters, while the dorm was still being repaired.
"I'm sure you have plenty of questions." Mitsuru began. "And they will be answered."
"Yeah, what the hell happened?" Erik asked, his tone more assertive than usual. He wanted information, and he needed them to think he was more confident.
"To explain that, there's a few more things I need to explain." Mitsuru sighed. "That all occurred in between two days, during a time known as the Dark Hour. During that time, most people will transmogrify into coffins where they're safe. But there are a select few with the potential who do not. These people can eventually summon a Persona, a weapon within themself they can use to fight the creatures within the Dark Hour, Shadows, as we call them."
"So that figure that showed up after I used that thing was a Persona?" Erik asked.
"Correct." Kae answered. "We both have one, so does Akihiko and Yukari."
"Who?"
"Oh, right, you haven't met Takeba yet." Mitsuru mused. "You'll meet her soon, don't worry."
"But anyways, the four of us make up SEES, the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad. Our goal is to kill Shadows and end the Dark Hour." Kae continued. "And we could use all the Persona Users we can get. We prepared an Evoker for you, as well as an armband."
"We would like you to join us, Erik." Mitsuru added. "We could use someone with your skills, and we always need new members."
"I start at a new school for an exchange program and end up joining a secret fighting organization kuinka odottamatonta. I'm in. I guess, seems you don't have medics anyway."
"We're glad to have you on board." Mitsuru said with a smile.
"Glad to join." Erik responded. Joining this wasn't what Erik expected out of school in Japan, but it certainly would keep things interesting. Kae certainly seemed happy for Erik to join, at least he had a friend in this group.
Erk got a call the next day. He was in class when it happened, and everyone knew about this call. He wasn't implemented into an overseas plan yet, so everyone in his class knew he was being called by his father when it happened.
"Hey dad." Erik said into the phone.
"Hello Erik." His father responded. "I am so sorry for calling while you are in class, I have not had time to call recently."
"Well, if you've been busy, I'm more worried about you not getting sleep." Erik grimaced.
"It's only nine at night yesterday here." Erik's father assured him. "Besides, I'm more worried about you, I heard about the gas explosion at your dorm."
"We're all fine, the worst anyone got injured was a broken arm and a bruised rib." Erik explained. "In fact, I'm pretty sure his arm is going to be fine in a month." He definitely wasn't going to mention the Arisatos passing out and the whole thing with Personas.
"That's good to hear." Erik's father responded. "I'm guessing you want to hear how your brothers are?"
"Of course." Erik answered. "Particularly John, have you got a date for him yet?"
"Court's done, he's on probation until the end of July." Erik's father explained. "We'll be able to visit then. Maybe he won't do something horrible then."
"Good to hear! What about Aaro?" Erik responded.
"Aaro got accepted into Harvard Law." Erik's father proudly beamed.
"Looks like he really will be an attorney." Erik happily responded. "It'll definitely be good for John."
"Certainly." Erik's father commented. "Listen, with Aaro being in a wheelchair and you being older than John, I have to ask, do you know what you're going to do to serve?"
"Uh, probably an Army Physician." Erik answered. That was a lie. In reality, he was going to pursue being an EMT. The only reason he couldn't tell his father was tradition. Ever since his grandfather joined the army after leaving Finland to come to the US, it had been a family tradition the oldest able bodied male in the family would join the service. Since Aaro was in a wheelchair after an accident, and John was the youngest (and probably ineligible for a military career) It was up to Erik to keep up the tradition. Except, Erik didn't want to go into the military. After all, it was the military that was the reason why his father wasn't at his own birth, his father was in Kosovo when Erik was born.
"Very good, you do seem to be interested in medicine." Erik's father responded. "I have to go, duty calls."
"Alright, bye dad, love you." Erik informed his father. "Say hi to LC for me!"
"Of course, bye Erik." Erik's father said before ending the call. Erik sighed as he set the phone down. He returned to class without another word.
Minako sat on the couch, her legs swinging as Mitsuru began her explanation of everything. The Dark Hour, Shadows, Persona, everything. Everyone else in the dorm, save for her, her brother, and Iksutsuki were all wearing red armbands that read SEES, and Minako was certain she knew what was next.
"You two have tremendous power, and it shouldn't go to waste." Mitsuru said as the girl with the synthetic arm set a briefcase down on the table. Clicking it open revealed what Minako assumed would be inside, a pair of armbands and a pair of silver handguns.
"We prepared armbands and evokers for you, with reason." The girl, who was called Maeda, explained. "We would like you to offer us your strength."
"I would love to help but only if-" Minako began, turning to face Minato, puppy dog eyes prepared.
"Okay." Minato stated.
"What? Just like that?" Yukari marveled. Well, that saved a lot of begging.
"We're glad to have you with us." Mitsuru proudly stated.
"Now hold on!" Yukari began. "Are you sure? Just like that?"
"Yeah, It's something to do right?" Minako teased.
"I honestly don't care, I'm only this because Minkao would breath down my neck if I said no." Minato sighed.
"Let it go, Yukari." Maeda siad with a pat on Yukari's back. "It's all up to them. If they want to join that fast, they can."
"Speaking of people joining, I'm sure you're wondering where Reed is." Mitsuru stated. "Well, he's helping our newest member move in."
"Oh, who is he?" Minako asked.
"Dun, duh duh dun!" a voice boomed before the doors were kicked open. "Junpei Iori has arrived!"
"Oh god not him." Yukari groaned.
"Oh yeah, it's him!" Minako chuckled mischievously. Another person dragged a pair of suitcases and a bag behind him. It was the American kid who she helped to the dorm on the first day, Erik.
"They're your bags, Junpei, could you have at least taken one!?" Erik groaned.
"You said 'anything I can do to help' so you're taking the bags." Junpei excused his laziness with.
"Yeah, well, you could at least take the suitcase full of h-" Erik began before getting a hand over his mouth.
"Haha what a kidder." Junpei nervously chuckled. "So! What's next!"
"Well, we have more than enough people to finally explore Tartarus." Mitsuru began.
"What's that? Sounds like toothpaste." Junpei asked.
"Seriously?" Yukari spat. "Do you know anything about Greek Mythology?" To be fair, not even Minako knew what Tartarus was and she was well versed in mythology.
"Tartarus is the prison of the damned in Greek Mythology." Maeda explained. "It's the closest thing to hell in their mythology. It's a prison for the titans and those who violate Xenia, that being hospitality."
"Thank you, Maeda." Mitsuru stated. "Now then let us go to Tartarus."
Kae was certainly excited to see the team's reactions to Tartarus shooting into the sky. It was quite a shock to her and Yukari when they first saw it, and she knew it would be more of the same with Junpei, Erik, and the Arisatos.
"So it's the Greek version of hell huh?" Junpei giggled. "No wonder it's at school."
"Ten, nine, eight." Kae began before the Dark Hour started. Once it began, a tower shot into the sky, it's shape, design, and even presence defying all known laws of nature, as it was a space occupying the space of another at the same time, well, kind of. As expected, Junpei was shocked, Minako was grinning wildly, Erik was taken aback by the sudden arrival of the tower, and Minato bore no expression whatsoever.
"THAT'S Tartarus?" Junpei marveled. Erik just nodded.
"I suppose so." Erik responded. The team made their way inside, standing at a set of stairs leading to a massive clock-like gateway. Mitsuru set up equipment as she briefed the team.
"Right now, we're just searching the first two floors." Mitsuru began. "Minato, you will take Junpei and Yukari. Minako, you will be in charge of Erik and Kae."
"Understood." Kae stated.
"Woah woah, time out." Junpei began. "Why is Minako incharge of a team? Why don;t I get to be in charge?"
"Because Minako's Persona is far stronger than yours." Mitsuru explained. "Does that answer your question?"
"Well I just-" Junpei began before Erik interrupted him.
"Junpei, you are my friend. But respectfully, the best thing to do in this situation is to shut the fuck up." Erik explained. "Got it?"
"Well It's not because Minako is a girl, it's just that-" Junpei tried to explain before being cut off.
"Take my advice." Erik hissed. Junpei shut up after that. Kae made a mental note, keep Junpei and Erik together as much as possible. Kae took a deep breath, psyching herself up before entering Tartarus. She inspected her baton and her arm before entering the tower. For the most part, it was just helping Minako and Minato learn the ropes of leading in tartarus.
"That's a lot of them." Minako marveled as a small horde of Shadows approached. "Think we can take them?"
"No, but it's an excellent opportunity to display something to you." Mitsuru explained over her mind message ability Kae could never comprehend. "Maeda, if you will?"
"Of course." Kae said with a smirk as she shut her baton closed. "Activating Shadow Breaker."
"Maeda's arm isn't just for show." Mitsuru explained as the arm opened and sparks danced off of it. "It was designed specifically for fighting Shadows, especially large groups. We call it the Shadow Breaker. What she is demonstrating right now is it's stun ability. Using this, she can electrocute a large group of Shadows, temporarily stunning stronger ones, and killing weaker ones." The arm was fully charged, sparks dancing off alongside bolts of electricity.
"Let me show you how it works." Kae quipped before slamming her first into one of the Shadows. The shadow was launched back when the electricity in her arm burst into the Shadow, engulfing it in a ball of pure electricity. More bolts shot into the other Shadows, turning them into piles of ash before they disappeared.
"Impressed?" Kae asked. Minako had a look of wonder on her face, while Erik was, no pun intended, shocked.
"Holy shit…" Erik murmured.
"It's powerful, but it has its drawbacks." Mitsuru continued. "Care to explain, Maeda?"
"Of course." Kae began. "It draws on a lot of power, so I'll have to let it charge for a bit before attacking, leaving me vulnerable. It also has to vent heat before it can charge again." as if on cue, the arm's vents opened and steam spewed out from it.
"Is that legal?" Erik asked. "Is it a weapon?"
"It's legal, don't worry." Mitsuru answered. "Head back for now, the second floor is cleared out."
"Yeah for sure. I need time to process this." Erik murmured.
"This is gonna be fun." Minako said with an almost creepy chuckle.
Minako noticed Erik sorting through some medical supplies when she got back from school the next day. Erik was sitting in front of a large red bag, pulling out gauze, bandages, a pair of scissors, and all kinds of other medical mumbo jumbo. Minako approached, leaning on the couch Erik was sitting on.
"So, whatcha doin?" Minako asked.
"I'm taking inventory of what medical equipment I have." Erik explained as he wrote down 'Burn Ointment - 50 doses' in japanese. "Mostly so I have a record of what I do and don't have. Mitsuru offered to pay for replacements for anything I use in battle so I'm taking full advantage of that."
"So you know first aid?" Minako asked.
"I'm more on an EMT level." Erik explained.
"Oh nice." Minako mused. "What's it like being an EMT?"
"Well, you get to say shit like 'We haven't dropped anyone, today at least' while on a call so that's fun." Erik chuckled.
"Say, why don't you teach me some first aid?" Minako asked. "It might be helpful."
"Sure, lesson one: hold a rag on the bleeding until it stops." Erik stated. "Kidding, it's more complicated than that. I'll tell you what, I'm still waiting on my training gear to arrive, so when that comes, I'll teach you basic emergency medical training."
"Deal." Minako stated, putting out her hand.
"Alrighty, can't wait to teach you!" Erik said with a smile as he shook Minako's hand.
I am thou… and thou art I…
Thou hast established a new bond…
Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Emperor Arcana
A/N: There we are! Chapter 2! I hope you enjoyed this, I went through some serious trial and error figuring out what to do for this. Originally, I wanted a scene with Erik revealing to Junpei that he already knew that he was a member of SEES in a comedic tone but I decided against it (mostly because I can't write comedy). Moving onto more important things, The Shadow Breaker. It was part of my original vision for Kae, as I imagined her fighting kinda like Nero in gameplay I saw of DMC5, combining her main weapon (batons, in this case) and abilities from her arm. Story wise, it was created when she joined SEES to help her fight shadows more effectively and it wont be used much. If it was gameplay, it would unlock abilities overtime, such as a flame ability, increased physical, etc. It would require two turns to charge, leaving Kae vulnerable, and would need three turns after the attack to cool off, leaving her only able to use her baton, as she uses her left arm to use the evoker. Now, Social Links. Kae won't have one but she will have an arc, kinda like the guys for Minato. As for Erik, he will have one with Minako, mostly about him coming clean to his father about not wanting to join the military, a deep personal issue for him. Originally, I was going to have him be Tower as his best days are everyone else's worst, but it made no sense. The story is mostly going to focus on Erik and Kae's relationship, as well as individual character moments for them. If you want though, I can include bonuses at the end of some chapters after Minako and Erik's SL reaches rank 8 for ship between them. Until next time, I hope you enjoyed and have a wonderful day!