A/N: Hey readers, time for the next chapter. I'm hoping there's at least a few Persona fans here that will be able to appreciate the game references I put into it. And for those of you that haven't played Persona, I hope this will convince you to try the series out.

Also, I decided to use some creative liberty and make up a couple of Personas for Ren and Helios to use. Hope you like them.

EDIT: I found out I was wrong about who the Persona Carmen was based off of. This has been corrected. Thanks to Game Lord for pointing it out.

I am Thou, Thou Art I: Chapter 2

Ren slowly opened his eyes. Looking around him, he could see that he was in some form of void space. There didn't seem to be anything in the area. None of his friends seemed to be around either.

'Alicia's uncle said we'd first have to choose what Persona game our summoning method will be based on if I remember correctly.' Ren thought. As if reading the teen's mind, a window appeared in front of him. It provided him a list of the Persona game series, letting him pick which to go with. He had agreed with his friends which one he'd already be going with so he selected Persona 5. He had to admit, he couldn't help but feel a bit of the same excitement Hyde had shown. Persona had always been a favorite series of his. When this game did come out he'd definitely have to give it a try.

As the window disappeared, Ren felt his vision grow foggy. He brought his hand to his head, feeling like he was experiencing a headache.

"I am thou, thou art I."

The words rang in Ren's ears. It was a common phrase used in the game, one every true Persona fan knew of. Even though his head was aching, he couldn't help but feel a little excited. Because he knew what those words meant.

Appearing in front of him as if out of thin air was a large wolf. It had bristling emerald fur and piercing yellow eyes.

"I am the wolf of ruin, Fenrir." Ren could tell it was the wolf speaking to him. "Shall you walk the path of loneliness, or will you form a pack. Either way, from here on, I shall reside in your heart."

Just like that, the wolf in front of his evaporated into thin air and then flowed into him. This was it. His Persona.

'The wolf of ruin Fenrir, huh?' Ren thought. Persona's were usually based on one's own insecurities and pain. 'I really was a lone wolf in the past, wasn't I? Always keeping to myself. Not caring if the rest of the world around me died all of a sudden. But not anymore.' A small smile came to his face. 'Now I have friends that are always by my side. People I treasure with all my heart. But thank you Fenrir. Thank you for reminding me what not to return to.'

Putting away his thoughts on his past for a moment, Ren had to appreciate the game's ability to delve deep into one's subconscious to analyze a player's insecurities. He knew it was possible for big MMOs like Alfheim, one such example being the quest he and his friends had gone on to obtain Ragnarok. But for a simple-styled game like this? It was certainly impressive and not what he was expecting.

Ren suddenly found his entire body glowing as it became engulfed in azure flames. They left as soon as they came however and he was now dressed entirely different. He had on a thief-style outfit, complete with a mask covering the top half of his face that resembled that of a wolf.

"This is so awesome!" Ren said excitedly. He felt relief that Alicia wasn't with him right now to see him geeking out like this. But he couldn't help it. This was every Persona fan's dream.

The next thing Ren knew, his vision went white. When he could see again, he found himself in a long dark corridor. There was a light at the end so he ran towards it. When he arrived, he found himself in another odd place. It was a cylindrical room with multiple glowing portals around positioned in a circular fashion.

"Yo Ren! You're here too huh?" Ren turned and saw Helios wave over to him. He was in a thief outfit like him, though his mask resembled that of a samurai.

"Hey." Ren greeted with a wave as he walked over to his friend. "So… thoughts so far?"

"This game is amazing! I just got my Persona and it already feels like this is the best Persona game I've ever played!"

"So what is your Persona anyway?" Ren asked.

A smirk came to Hyde's face. "Check it out." He brought his hand to his mask. "I've always wanted to do this… Persona!" With a yank, he ripped the mask off his face and his Persona appeared, hovering over him.

A warrior clad in shining armor with a brilliant shining cape materialized behind Helios. The look upon his face was one of confidence to the point of arrogance with a golden sword and a long lance behind his back. On the left hip was a roll of glowing chains that shined with an unearthly glow.

"Might I introduce my other self, Gilgamesh!" Helios shouted with a bow to his Persona. "Truly, only the best is deserved of someone like me who has lived through hell and back. A reminder of what I have yet to become."

"Geez, it's like that thing made your ego even bigger Helios." a new voice said. Both Ren and Helios turned to see Alice walking out of another corridor. She was also dressed in a thief outfit and her mask was shaped with a heart. "And here I didn't even think that was possible."

"Psh, as if a novice to the world of Persona like yourself could understand." Helios scoffed. "So what's your Persona? Please tell me it's Mara."

Alice didn't understand the reference her friend was making, but Ren did as he smacked Helios across the head. "Dude, don't say something disgusting like that."

Alice reached for the mask she was wearing and took it off. Appearing above her was her Persona, a beautiful female with long blonde hair and two white horns sticking out from her forehead. "This is my Persona. Ishtar."

"So a Persona from the Lovers Arcana, eh?" Helios noted as he nudged Ren. "Well you must certainly enjoy that, buddy."

Alice watched as Ren once again smacked his friend across the head. "Lovers Arcana? What does that mean?"

"Persona's are split up into Arcanas, much like tarot cards." Ren explained. "Yours is from the Lovers Arcana."

"And does that mean anything?"

"Well some Arcanas are known for having Personas with certain kinds of skills, but for the most part no."

"Hmm…" Alice looked up at her Persona. She wasn't really sure what to make of all this, but she had to admit this had been pretty cool so far. "So now we just have to wait for the others."

"Yo guys! Check this out!" all heads turned to a corridor as Dagger ran out of it. Out of all of them, they had to admit the thief outfit suited Dagger the best. "Pretty sweet, right?"

"Yeah, babe! Rocking the thief style like a champ!" Hyde grinned.

"Hehe, and that's not all." Dagger said as she reached for her mask. "Check this out!" With a large amount of force, she yanked the mask off herself and a Persona appeared behind her.

Ren and Helios both gasped at the Persona they saw. It had curly black hair and a rosy red dress. Two small figures with heart shaped heads and tuxedos on were at her side, as if they were her slaves.

"That's… Carmen..." Helios gasped. His face soon turned into a prideful grin. "Way to go babe!"

"So this is a powerful Persona I take it?" Dagger asked.

"It was a Persona used by one of the main characters in Persona 5, Ann Takamaki." Ren explained to her. "It's based off a character from a novel that used her beauty to charm men into falling for her."

"A famous fatale, huh?" Dagger asked. "Well it only makes sense for such a master of charm to be with me, doesn't it?"

The group of four talked for another few minutes before both Mai and Himiko arrived on the scene. Going with the theme, they too were dressed as thieves. They showed off their Personas to their friends, Kikuri-Hime for Himiko, and Fortuna for Mai.

"So is anyone gonna tell me what's up with these weird outfits?" Mai asked. "I thought we play as the heroes of the story? Why are we dressed like thieves?"

"We're not just any thieves, squirt." Helios said with a grin.

"We're Phantom Thieves." Ren said, equally geeking out with his friend.

The others stared at Ren and Helios in awkward silence. Dagger was the first to break the silence. "That's a lame sounding name."

"You shut your mouth woman!" Helios exclaimed, causing everyone to widen their eyes, including himself when he realized who he had just said that too. The glare his girlfriend sent his way sent shivers down his spine. "I-I mean… It's cooler than you think… sweetie."

Dagger turned around with a dissatisfied "Hmph". While Helios tried to apologize to his girlfriend, Himiko said something that was on all of their minds. "So what's with these doors here? Where do they go?"

As if to answer the girl's question, a window appeared in front of all of them.

I see you've all obtained your Personas. I'm sure you're all wondering what to do next. As your other friends said, they went with the world of Persona 4. What I neglected to inform them all of however, was that players must go through a bit of an ordeal before awakening their Personas if they choose that option. For a bit of practice with fighting using a Persona, I've allowed you all access to them through the doors you all see. You may go to each of your friends and assist them in awakening their Personas. Good luck.

- Kaito Tsuki

They all looked at the message from Alice and Mai's uncle. Ren and Helios looked at each other, having an idea what this "ordeal" was.

"You don't think…" Ren asked.

Helios answered with a nod. "Probably."

"What's going on?" Alice asked, wondering what the two of them were talking about.

Ren explained to them. "Well in Persona 4, all of the main characters awoke to their Persona while inside another world. That world showed their "true heart" in a sense. Basically it reveals the things deep within a person's self that they don't want to admit."

"So that's what Kirito and the others are going through right now?" Mai asked.

Ren nodded his head. "I think that's a safe bet."

Helios looked at the doors, counting five in total. "Well there's five places to go. Who's tackling what?"

"There's no way to tell which door leads to who, so let's all just pick one and go." Alice suggested.

"I'll go with Mai then." Himiko offered. "There's six of us here after all."

The friends all nodded their heads and went towards a door. They each reached for the knobs simultaneously.

"Good luck guys." Ren said as he turned the knob and opened his door, transporting himself to someplace new.

Once the light from walking through the door dimmed down, Alice found herself in a dark and gloomy place. The sky was grey and the land was dried up and dead. Small buildings were scattered around the area.

'This is the reflection of somebody's heart?' Alice thought to herself in disbelief. She saw shackles sticking up from the ground. 'This place looks like a slavery camp. Who's heart could this possibly be reflecting?'

Alice walked around the slavery camp for a short bit. As she scanned the area, she caught sight of one of her friends. Her long chestnut hair made it easy to tell who it was.

"Asuna!" Alice called out, running over to her friend. "I found you!"

"Alice?" Asuna questioned as she saw her friend come over. "What are you doing here? And what is this place?"

"Ren and Helios gave me a quick description before I came here." Alice explained. "Apparently choosing the option you and the others did caused you to have to go through some sort of trial before you can get your Persona."

"And what does that have to do with the slavery camp we're in?"

"Apparently, it's a world based around something you're repressing. Something deep in your heart." Alice told her. "At least that's what Ren and Helios said."

Asuna looked around the area. "But I have no clue what that would be, especially anything related to this."

"My, my, what do we have here? A lookalike of my beautiful queen."

Both girls quickly turned their heads towards the direction of the sudden voice that had spoken up. Slowly, a figure began to walk into view. Asuna couldn't tell who it was at first, but their image gradually became clearer. The person's garments consisted of a fancy looking robe, along with a crown sitting on their head. In their hands was a long whip. Asuna trembled in fear as she looked at the person.

Standing across from Asuna and Alice was none other than Sugou Nobuyuki.

'What's he doing here?!' Asuna thought to herself. 'He's supposed to be dead!'

"It must be my lucky day." Sugou said with a disgusting grin. "I get to have another beautiful trophy, one that is a mirror image of my wife."

Asuna gasped as she heard this. "Your what?!"

As if on cue, another person appeared at Sugou's side. She was dressed with a beautiful white wedding dress and a tiara sitting on top of her head. Looking at her face, Alice and Asuna couldn't deny the fact that she looked like Asuna in every way.

"What am I doing over there?" Asuna asked, unable to comprehend what was going on.

"Don't you remember?" Sugou asked. "You agreed to be my beautiful queen. You married me in order to appease your parents, and get out of that cage you were trapped in. And look how wonderfully it all turned out."

"This is insane!" Asuna screamed. "I never would have agreed to this!"

"Oh is that so?" Sugou smirked. "You should be more honest with yourself. This world is a reflection of your heart. You should know it better than anyone. That a small part of you thought this might be the best option for your life."

"Shut up!" Asuna yelled, falling to her knees. "You're lying! You have to be lying!"

"You wanted out of that cage in Alfheim." Sugou said. "It was horrible, being locked away every single day. And there was no telling if or when you'd be freed from it. And then there was your mother's disapproval. Perhaps by agreeing to marry me, she'd finally be happy with you for once."

"I would never have agreed to marry a worthless piece of scum like you!" Asuna screamed, covering her ears to try and block it all out.

The fake Asuna walked a few steps forward to her real self. "You know it is true. I am you, and you are me."

"BE QUIET! I AM NOTHING LIKE YOU, YOU FAKE!"

Sugou smirked as he looked at Asuna. "I suppose I'll have to take you kicking and screaming then. I can't wait to rip those clothes off you and take my time discovering everything your body has to offer." A black aura surrounded both Sugou and the fake Asuna, turning into a dense cloud that hid the two from view. As it disappeared, Asuna and Alice were greeted with a brand new and horrifying sight.

The fake Asuna no longer looked like a princess and was instead wearing a racy outfit that left little to the imagination. Two devilish wings spread out from her back, making her look similar to a sexy devil. Sugou's appearance had also changed to that of a demon king, with two horns sticking out from his head.

"Go my queen! Capture your look-alike and bring her to me! Feel free to kill the other one."

Alice quickly turned towards her friend. "Asuna we have to-" The rest died on her tongue as she saw Asuna in a state of panic, kneeling on the ground and trembling in fear. Alice quickly moved in-between Asuna and her shadow self in order to protect her. She reached for her mask and yanked it off.

"Persona!"

Azure flames shot up in a pillar behind Alice as her Persona Ishtar appeared. The horned female charged forward and attacked the fake Asuna. It grabbed her and shoved the girl into a building. But the Asuna look-alike wasn't willing to go down so easily. It lashed out a whip and struck Ishtar. At the same time, Alice felt a slight pinch right where her Persona had been hit as her HP fell down slightly.

'How did I get hurt? The attack didn't even hit me.' Alice thought. 'Could it be that I take damage even if it's my Persona that gets hit?'

"Fall back Ishtar!" Alice called out. This new fact meant she'd have to change her strategy. She opened her menu and went to a list of skills her Persona had. 'Let's see here… Mediarama? Maziodyne? What the heck is this? I can't tell what any of these skills do based on the name.' She tapped the skill reading "Maziodyne" and a short description popped up. 'A wide range powerful electric attack. Well that sounds better than nothing.' Alice called out to her Persona. "Maziodyne!"

At Alice's command, Ishtar held a hand up. The sky suddenly became filled with thunder clouds as a series of lightning bolts shot down, hitting the fake Asuna and a large area around her.

"Gah!" the fake cried out in pain. Unfortunately for Alice, it seemed that hadn't been enough to bring her down. "That hurt! Now I'm going to make you pay!" She kicked off the ground and charged at Alice and Ishtar. "I will not let you get in the way of my king!"

Alice quickly jumped to the side, barely avoiding a strike from the enemy in front of her. But a lash from its whip came as she got up and struck her, taking out even more of her HP. The black haired girl winced in pain.

'No items to use. Maybe I have a healing skill?' Alice took a quick look at her skill list for Ishtar and caught sight of a skill. 'Insta-heal. That sounds promising.' She called out the skill, desperate to recover some of her health. "Insta-heal!"

Light poured out from Ishtar and flowed to Alice. She grinned, expecting her HP to recover. But she knew something was wrong when she didn't see her HP rise at all. "What gives?" Alice asked. Looking for an answer, she tapped on the skill to see it's description. "A status healing spell?! That's not what I need!" Not paying attention to the fight, Alice found herself struck again by the fake Asuna's whip.

"Asuna, I could really use some help right now!" Alice called out. But as she looked over at her friend, she could see she was still paralyzed with everything that was going on.

Alice ran to get some distance between her and her opponent. She took cover around the side of a nearby building. "I really wish Ren or Helios were here. They'd know what to do for these kinds of fights." She desperately scrolled through her skills to try and find a healing spell in it. 'Here's one!' She realized as she read the description. "Mediarama!"

A wave of emerald light poured over Alice, this time recovering her HP by a large amount. Alice breathed a sigh of relief as she finally felt she was starting to get the hang of this.

"Ahhhh!"

Alice widened her eyes as she heard Asuna scream. She came out of hiding and gasped as she saw Asuna being dragged over towards Sugou by her fake self.

"That's right. Bring her to me, my queen." Sugou said with a disgusting smirk.

"No! Stop! Let me go!" Asuna begged.

"Ishtar!" Alice called out. Her Persona appeared at her call and charged at Asuna. She slammed into her and knocked the real Asuna out of her grip. Alice quickly ran over and stood protectively over her friend.

"Asuna you have to snap out of it." Alice told her. "What's wrong with you? You're letting all this get to you."

"I… I…" Asuna shivered in fear.

This was bad. If this kept up, the Amu Sphere could end up disconnecting Asuna due to a rapid heart rate. Alice couldn't understand why this was upsetting Asuna so much though. It was obviously a lie, wasn't it.

'But what if it isn't?' The thought hit Alice hard. 'This world is a reflection of her heart. Does that mean she felt this way?' She saw the fake Asuna come at her, but Alice used her Maziodyne spell to keep it at bay. 'She was trapped in a cage in ALO for two months. Anyone could start feeling desperate for freedom after all that.'

Looking at her SP bar, Alice could see it starting to get pretty low. She had to do something and fast. As she contemplated what to do, the fake Asuna hit her with an attack that sent sent her flying into the side of a building.

'Damnit… it's too strong…' Alice thought. She saw Asuna lying on the ground as the fake version of her began to make her way to her. There was only one thing Alice could think of. One last ditch effort.

"Asuna you have to wake up!" Alice shouted. "I know you don't want to admit it, but this is how you felt! You were at the verge of breaking after being Sugou's prisoner for so long!"

"No... " Asuna whimpered. "I'd never…"

"But you still held out! You waited and your faith in Kirito brought you your freedom! You may have been at the breaking point, but you still love Kirito in the end more than anything! You can't let this control you!"

Asuna's eyes widened. "Kirito…"

"You can do it Asuna! Stand up and face this thing like any other enemy you'd fight!"

The fake Asuna showed a cocky smirk as she stood over her real self. "What nonsense. You know in your heart that Kirito got lucky. What would have happened if he didn't show up?"

"Yeah… you're right." Asuna said.

"Huh?"

Asuna slowly rose to her feet and stood up. "I was scared. Terrified. My entire life, I had so much pressure on me. My mother trying to make me into her spitting image. I even went through so many suitor meetings just to try and get her approval. I studied, did everything she asked, and she still didn't give me that kind proud look I always wanted." A tear fell from her eye. "I actually began to think at one point that I should just give into Sugou and then everything would work out. I'd be free from that cage. I'd get my mother's approval." Her expression turned into a fierce glare. "But there's one thing you're wrong about! I'd never love scum like him! The only thing I feel towards him is hate! My heart belongs to one man only and that is Kirito!"

The fake Asuna began to back away. What was going on? She could feel her power fading.

"I didn't want to admit how weak I was. That I was on the verge of breaking." Asuna said. "I was afraid of Krito not loving me anymore if he found out. But still… he would never do that to me! I love him, and he feels the same way!" She walked up to her retreating demonic look-alike. "It makes me want to vomit to say this, but… I am you. And you are me."

Light enveloped the fake Asuna. A satisfied smile could be seen upon her face as she vanished. In her place, a new figure appeared. A woman with long blonde hair and a green and yellow dress. Fairy wings sprouted out from her back.

"I am thou. Thou art I. The strength to face one's heart has been turned into power. From now on, I am at your beck and call. I am Titania, queen of the fairies."

The figure transformed into light and flowed into Asuna. The chestnut haired girl looked at herself. "Is this… my Persona?" A small chuckle escaped from her. Her Persona's name was the very same as the name Sugou had given her while she was captured. "Titania, huh? This game really likes to screw with me, doesn't it?"

"Eek!" Sugou's voice made Asuna turn to him as she saw the man quivering in fear. A fierce glare came to her face.

"You may not be the actual Sugou." Asuna said as she held out her hand and a tarot card appeared. "But I'm still going to enjoy this almost as much as I would if you were the real one." A rapier appeared at her side and she slashed the card in front of her. "Persona!" At her call, her Persona Titania appeared. "Take him out!"

Sugou cried in fear as Titania fired a blast of wind and sent him flying into the air. The fake Sugou crashed down onto the ground with a painful thud. He moaned as his body disintegrated away.

With everything finally over, Asuna fell to her knees, completely wiped out. "This game is crazy. Why would anyone want to go through that?"

"Well they can overcome it if they're strong enough." Alice said, walking to her friend's side. "Just like how you were strong Asuna."

"Thanks." Asuna smiled. "Can you do me a favor and keep what happened here between us? It's a bit embarrassing if anyone found out."

"Scout's honor." Alice told her friend.

A/N: Hope you all liked the chapter. It was my first time writing out a Persona-styled fight so I hope you are all pleased with how it came out. And don't worry about this being a long story. I'm only doing one more character awakening to their Persona, then it'll be some special surprises I have in store.