Long chapter... Maybe the final one... Who knows?

Before I go on, here is a rant : Persona 3... Dancing all night... What the fuck...?

Next thing, we'll have Hitler and Nyarlathotep dancing in persona 2 dancing all night.

This game was about death and nihilism...FFS!

Whatever...

Lightlyy : Nope, your name is perfectly okay, that was just my attempt at making a joke, no worries. I can't make this darker than FM because the theme is still about bonds and friendship which doesn't make the atmosphere as suffocating but I'll try haha. If you don't mind me asking, which story do you like better, FM or this? Sorry for the loaded question but since the two are kinda similar, I ask mutual readers. Also no problem, I love communicating with readers, thanks a lot for your support!

Sherry : It's chill dude, you can like Ryoji... I just hope that you don't start hating Minato because that would be a problem. :P love both of them if possible lol. Thanks for the review!

Cherry : He didn't beat the reaper, just managed to stun him and get the button. :PP who knows, Ryoji still has 40 minutes to do whatever he wants. Thanks for the review.

Guest : Who knows? Read and find out. Hahaha, this story is long but hopefully it didn't drag on... Cheers for the review.

For those who read fallen messiah... this will be nothing new... for the others... well... grab a tissue box and a pillow.

Ryoji pulled Minato up and sniffed his body, smiling slightly because Minato smelt... completely human. "You lost your Wild Card too, didn't you?"

Minato was still silent, having trouble coping with the fact that Ryoji had EATEN most of his right cheek. Eaten as in swallowed before his very eyes.

"HAHAHAH!" Ryoji laughed coldly, pushing forward till the point where their foreheads were touching. "You smell disgusting." he spat and slammed the back of his head against the wall, hard enough to cause a visible dent.

Minato crashed down face first with blood leaking out of the wound on the back of his head. "Ugh!" he tried getting up until Ryoji stopped him in his tracks and kicked him hard against the wall, making the blunet scream out blood.

"Pathetic!" Ryoji scowled, repeatedly stomping onto his face and stomach, targeting the old wounds to give him more pain. "Makes me sick I spend most of time with a sack of shit like you."

Minato endured the blows and kept staring at his friends who were still blank and lifeless. They didn't bat an eye when Ryoji ate half of his face off. "G-Guys-!" the next kick finally broke him of the trance as Ryoji jammed his boot into the gash on his stomach, eliciting a harsh yell of pain from Minato.

"Get up," Ryoji took a few steps backwards, cracking his neck repeatedly as he waited for the wild card to get up. "I said. GET. UP!"

Minato held the wall for support and got up, staring at Ryoji with hate and contempt. "How could you...?"

"You arrived early and I had to stop," Ryoji replied. "Otherwise, I would have killed your precious Hamuko right here and now. Rather, I would have broken her to the point where she would have begged me to kill her."

"You-!"

"Isn't that right!?" Ryoji roared, dropping the frail teenager to the ground with a fist to the side of his head. "Your precious Hamuko, the bitch that you chose over me!"

"Ugh," Minato shook his head and stood up again, with a little more effort and Ryoji allowed him. The appraiser wasn't done playing with his prey just yet.

"You chose her over me," Ryoji continued. "ME! I have your worthless life so many times and this is how you repay me!?"

Minato coughed out blood, wobbling on his feet. "She gave me life..."

"You had no life, you never have!" Ryoji spat back. "Your life was over the moment I crashed your cars and killed your parents."

"Grrr!" Minato growled.

"What, weakling!?" Ryoji thundered back, pulling him forward by his collar. "Are you going to do something about it!?"

Minato held his gaze and for the first time ever, he didn't give a crap about Ryoji had done for him. He had crossed the line by doing this to his friends and Hamuko.

Ryoji on the other hand was a little annoyed that Minato was able to stare at him without flinching. "Who does he think he is...?" the shadow growled to himself, curling his hand into a fist.

"Gack!" Minato's vision blackened when Ryoji slammed his fist to the side of his stomach, knuckles digging into the old wound. Minato dropped to a knee but got back up, swinging a sloppy strike which struck Ryoji on the side of his face.

Ryoji glanced at fist on the side of his face and then at Minato.

"Heh..."

Minato was almost about to pull back.

Ryoji opened his mouth.

Bite.

Minato recoiled in horror, shouting at the top of his lungs as Ryoji chewed on the flesh in his mouth. Minato couldn't pull back in time and Ryoji bit a good chunk of flesh off of his hand, just enough to expose the bone. The appraiser licked the blood off his lips and strolled forward.

"Do you really believe you can beat me?" Ryoji scoffed. "I did in 5 minutes what you couldn't do in 5 months."

Minato looked up at him and bit his lip. That was true, he had failed to kill Takaya numerous times while Ryoji had done it effortlessly and within minutes.

"I'm stronger than you. Taller than you. More focused. More brutal than you ever were," Ryoji said. "The only thing that you have over me is stupidity and this battle confirms that."

Minato looked up at him again. He was right yet again. Ryoji was much, much better than him in almost every way.

"I know how you'll answer," Ryoji spat. "You have bonds and love on your side while I don't. Fool, a God like me has no need for petty attachments."

"Petty?" Minato parroted.

"Petty," Ryoji snapped. "Have they ever done anything for you? Makes me sick I held off torturing them for so long, only because of you!"

"You're jealous-" Minato stopped mid-sentence as Ryoji grabbed his head and easily slammed him back to the ground.

"Fucking fool!" Ryoji snapped, stomping onto his face and drilling his boot against Minato's cheek as a sign of superiority. "I know you'd say that!"

Minato tried to squirm away but Ryoji held him in pace, remorselessly grinding his boot against his gaping wounds. "Where are your bonds now? Why aren't they helping you!?"

Minato pushed his foot offand crawled away, trying to fight the pain but the appraiser followed him, stalking forward, looming over the crawling blunet.

"No, you don't..." Ryoji swore, clenching his hand into a fist which he promotly slammed down on Minato's back, drawing out another painful scream that Ryoji blocked by clasping his mouth shut.

Ryoji picked Minato up and bit Minato on his shoulder, increasing the grip around his mouth to block the screams as he dug his teeth deep in, gnawing and tearing off the flesh from his bones. Minato bit him on his hand in desperation but Ryoji barely felt in and only released the hold around Minato after he had torn off a good chunk of his shoulder.

Minato gritted his teeth, not believing that Ryoji was actually eating his flesh, by now, he had chewed on his cheek, hand and shoulder. He was literally swallowing his flesh like food...

Ryoji crouched down next to him and chuckled. "You don't taste half bad."

"Shit," Minato held a hand to stop the blood from leaking out of his shoulder.

"After I'm done with you, I'll be sure to taste your friends," the black haired teen said with another psychotic smile, eyes widened in madness and bloodlust. "Especially Hamuko, thought I doubt that bitch tastes any good-"

Minato lost it and turned around, aiming a kick for his face but Ryoji easily blocked it by cupping his ankle. "Bad move," he smirked, slamming his kneecap against the ground, occasioning a crack sound which made Minato shiver.

Minato dug his hands into the ground but Ryoji easily ripped him away and picked him up like a toy, repeatedly slamming him against the ground, over and over again with no restrain. He laughed and giggled during, liking the cracking sounds coming from his body.

Ryoji cracked his head against the pavement and finally tossed him down, standing over Minato who was panting hard, having trouble seeing because his vision blurred every time he tried to focus.

Ryoji shook his head and easily pushed him down as he tried to get back up. "Pathetic..." he whispered, flipping Minato over with his boot before he stomped, almost carved a hole into his chest with another stomp. "To think we spend all the time together... Makes me sick!"

Minato tried removing the foot from his chest but Ryoji pressed down, knocking the breath away. "Makes me sick as well..." he growled, looking over to his friends who looked dead as ever...

"I was okay with you," Ryoji said. "I actually liked you, Minato. We... We used to share a common bond."

"Ugh..." Minato coughed out blood, disgust evident on his face.

"We relished death and chaos. We used to strike fear in the heats of mortals!" Ryoji scowled as he remembered. "We were Gods!" he shouted and then fell silent.

"Haaah..." Ryoji breathed out and looked down at the blunet who was struggling to hold his disgust, much to the ire of the appraiser. "That is... Until you committed the most unpardonable of all sins."

"..."

"You became one one of them!" Ryoji pointed at the puppets on the wall. "You spat in my face! You spat in our bond, you son of a bitch!"

"Don't point at them," Minato warned, gritting his teeth. "Don't you dare..."

"I see nothing in your eyes," Ryoji said with another shake of his head. "All I see now is an insect that I can destroy anytime I desire."

"You'll never destroy what I stand for," Minato shot back.

"Fool!" Ryoji bacedk up slightly and stomped on the side of his skull, causing spinal fluid to leak out of his ears. "You have nothing now. You aren't a wild card. You aren't a persona user!"

"..."

"The only reason you got those gifts was because of me!" Ryoji reminded. "I took care of you. I befriended you. I gave you power and without me, you are nothing."

"Bullshit!" Minato shouted back.

Ryoji picked him up by his head and stared into his soul. "Until you kiss my feet and befriend me, you're nothing."

Minato hissed, barely able to form the words but he stared back at him and said. "Until you take my life from me, you're nothing!"

"Take your life?" Ryoji grinned, sticking his tongue out to clean some of the blood which had splattered onto his face. "That is so easy, Minato. I've done that so many times... And you don't deserve that."

"I'm going to break you," Ryoji swore. "Flesh burns and bones shatter but to crush a man's spirit is the most cruelest death of all."

"Go to hell!" Minato shouted at the top of his heart, a few tears leaking out of his eye.

Ryoji touched his face, scooping the mixture of blood, sweat and tears on his fingers. He licked it off and stuck his tongue out again, tilting his head to the side because he couldn't wait to get more of it. "Fitting words, Minato."

Minato closed his eyes because the look in Ryoji's eyes had changed, which meant play time was over.

Ryoji summoned his scythe and impaled the blade on his left shoulder. He grinned and pushed it on before he slowly brought the blade down, slowly, making sure to leave a hideous scar even after his death.

Minato sucked in a deep breath as the blade traveled down, opening the flesh from his shoulder to his forearm, which Ryoji smashed to pieces with a quick swipe, effectively disabling his entire limb.

"How does it feel, brother?" Ryoji asked with another sick grin, enjoying the pale face and his ragged breaths. "Does it hurt!?"

Minato pulled away with every bit of force he could muster, finally freeing his arm from the scythe but the damage was already done. He stood up and his left arm hung limp, a nasty gash running from his shoulder to his wrist.

"First arm," Ryoji said, channeling a spell into the blade of his scythe. He smirked and pulled the weapon back slightly. "Come on Minato, for your filthy parents."

Minato's anger surged and lunged forward, swinging his fist which Ryoji easily weaved through before he brought his scythe forward and slammed the blade against his stomach, detonating a brutal explosion of dark magic that sent the blunet soaring a good distance away, eventually crashing into a nearby pillar.

"I can kill you at any second but that will too easy," Ryoji said, strolling forward as Minato tried to get up by using the pillar for support. "You deserve severe punishment for your sin."

Minato stopped nursing his broken arm and stood up with his back against the pillar. "..." he spat out the blood in his mouth as Ryoji came forward. "Barely a minute has passed... and I'm already on death's doors..."

"39 minutes till I disappear," Ryoji smirked. "I assure you, I have more than enough time to dispose of you and take care of your friends as well. I always finish what I set out to do."

"..."

"I have done so for centuries," Ryoji said. "Nobody has stopped me, no mortal or God, what makes you any different?"

"Go to hell," Minato repeated, infuriating Ryoji who looked ready to pounce on him.

"You sorely test my patience, Minato," Ryoji hissed through clenched teeth. "But keep going, every taunt that you throw will be used against you..." he jerked his head over at the members of SEES. "And your friends."

"Friends," Ryoji laughed, shaking his head at the stupidity. "You wanted nothing more than to see them dead and yet, here you are, fighting for them, against ME!"

"You weren't there, you don't know shit," Minato fired back, remembering Makoto who had tortured him relentlessly. Ryoji wasn't there to witness what he was going through. "Where were you when Makoto was torturing me, huh!?"

"I was right there, killing him in a few seconds," Ryoji scoffed. "Shame I did that. I should have allowed him to kill you and to rape that red haired bitch. I was so blind back then."

"No matter," the scythe in his hand disappear and Ryoji bolted forward, easily slipping the punch from Minato and catching his arm with both of his hands. He twisted the limb between his own arms, locking his right arm into a tight submission hold. He started twisting on the limb, drawing out a scream from Minato who desperately tried to free himself from the lock but Ryoji wasn't planning on letting go.

"That's it, Minato!" Ryoji demanded, exerting more pressure with a maniacal smile on his face. "Scream out!"

Minato bit his lip to stop the screaming until Ryoji twisted the limb again, leading to a number of cracking sounds as the bones inside started to shatter, cracking slowly which only made the whole thing more painful.

"I want you to bust your lungs out by screaming!"

"GRRR!"

"I said, SCREAM!" Ryoji slammed his elbow against the pillar and then pulled harder on his arm.

"Shit!" Minato cried out, clawing his body to get away. His single eye widened seconds later when he felt another shiver run down his spine. "No..."

Ryoji laughed out loud and gave a final jerk, bending Minato's arm to an unnatural angle, finally breaking his other limb after the slow torture. A loud, snapping sound told Ryoji that his work was done but the appraiser kept the hold on him, only increasing the pressure on his broken arm to make him suffer even more.

Minato started screaming on the top of his lungs, punching and clawing Ryoji to get the hell away. "Let go!" he cried out again, finally making Ryoji release the hold around his broken arm with another sick cackle.

Minato was freed, allowed to catch his breath for a few seconds because Ryoji grabbed his face and slammed his head against the pillar.

"Heh!"

He did it again.

And again.

Again.

Until the pillar was drenched in blood.

Ryoji slammed Minato one final time against the pillar which crumbled, the debris raining down on Minato who laid still against the ground, unable to move his arms. Ryoji had broken both of them in the most brutal way possible and Minato knew was far from done.

"What am I doing here...?" Minato said to himself, glancing over at his friends. What good was this...?

Ryoji pounced on Minato with an unearthly yell. He held him in place with one hand before unloading with brutal strikes with his free hand, repeatedly punching Minato's face over and over again, remorselessly pummeling his already deformed face with no pity or remorse.

"That's it," Ryoji said, dragging his knuckle against his right cheek which he had chewed off earlier. "Keep looking at me bitch. I want to see the light leave your eyes!"

Minato spat out the blood in Ryoji's face but the reaction he got was bizarre.

"HAHAHAHAH!" Ryoji gave another cold, crazed laugh, pulling on his hair as the crimson liquid ran down his face. "Like that, keep trying! Keep trying, you unfortunate son of a bitch!"

"Wild Card, my ass!"

"Nothing comes close to me!"

"You are nothing but another victim!"

"Do you understand, brother!?" Ryoji brought his face closer to Minato who was barely recognizable. "Are you ready to bow?"

Minato spat out blood, unable to talk after the punishment he had taken.

"No?" Ryoji gave another grin, holding his fist. He glanced at his own body and almost giggled at the sight of fresh, hot blood running down his clothes and face, the fact that it was the blood of his brother made the whole thing even more exciting.

Ryoji screeched out loud and went back to punching Minato to his miserable death and this time, he wasn't holding back.

Minato could barely see Ryoji grinning down at him, unloading punch after punch which struck him repeatedly, accurately on his nose which was broken ever since the first strike connected.

Slam.

The massive hemotoma on the side of his face exploded with another strike.

"Ugh..."

Another strike craved the pavement beneath him, burying Minato into the soil.

"That all?" Ryoji asked. "I can see the light leaving your eye..."

Minato stared up at him, not resisting when Ryoji crashed another fist against his chest, burying him deeper into the ground.

"Dammit..."

"Not this way..."

Ryoji channeled darkness into his fist and slammed it down at full force, breaking a number of Minato's ribs before the spell around his fist exploded, the darkness crashing into Minato before exploding upwards like a spiraling tornado which was powerful enough to shatter through the roof.

Minato blinked, life flashing before his eye. "Not this way, dammit..."

How was he even alive...? He had nothing left...

Ryoji stood up from his broken body and hummed, knowing his work was done-

"Haah..."

The appraiser looked down with a frown, looking over the mangled, hideously deformed body of the blunet for any sign of movement.

Minato breathed out, surprising Ryoji.

"What the...?" the God of Death placed his boot against Minato's chest and surely, he was breathing, very faintly but he was alive. "How is he even breathing...?"

Ryoji narrowed his eyes at a small flicker of dark mist seeping out from under body. He summoned his scythe again and slammed the blade into Minato's stomach, making the teenager wince and whimper in pain.

Ryoji casually pushed the blade in deeper, looking over at his limbs which were twisting and turning under the pain and pressure. "Whatever," the black haired teen spat, flinging Minato out of the debris with a simple swipe of his scythe.

Minato rolled across the ground and looked ahead, noticing he was just a few yards away from his friends, from Hamuko.

His arms were completely broken but he could still make an effort to stand and just touch Hamuko-

Slash.

Minato widened his eye and then bit himself on the forearm, looking back to see Ryoji shredding through his right leg, blade going from his thigh to his kneecap...

The blunet ignored that. He just had one objective in mind, crawl his way over to Hamuko-

He crawled just one step and Ryoji dug the scythe into his left leg, giving it the same treatment, only more deeper than last time.

"I like the way you're shivering, Minato," Ryoji said, shattering his kneecap with another evil cackle. "My scythe has sure taken a liking to you... Brother..."

Minato was now disabled, all four of his limbs were broken and mutilated. He panted, knowing that even crawling was nigh impossible now.

Ryoji was expecting him to die but... "Tch!" the God growled, annoyed by the fact that Minato was alive, and still trying to move despite going through hell back and forth.

He saw another flare of dark mist and gritted his teeth.

"Stay down!" Ryoji demanded.

Minato shook his head and started crawling his way forward, trying to push forward using his broken limbs. He was okay with Ryoji taking his life, just not alone...

Ryoji growled, clenching his fist. He stomped just above his hip, sending a painful jolt up his spinal cord.

"Stay down! Do not move!" he demanded.

Minato shuddered, dragging himself along the ground. He locked his lone eye on his friends. "G-Guys..."

The God of Death took a step forward, still not able to believe that the Fool was alive. He had lost his Wild Card, his personas but most importantly, Ryoji wasn't helping him this time so... why, why was he still alive?

Ryoji stabbed the scythe in the middle of Minato's back, pinning him down.

"Ugh," Minato leaked out some tears and still tried moving, trying to ignore the cold steel that went in deeper with every movement he dared to make. "Just a little more-"

"Stay low, you son of a bitch!" Ryoji snapped, pushing the blade in deeper. "Do not move, or else..."

Minato moved again and Ryoji pulled the scythe out, promptly stabbing it in the same place seconds later, widening the gash on his back.

Minato whimpered. Despite having screamed his soul out in the ungodly beating, his friends were still in the same daze, no matter how loud he shouted. "N-No..." he said to himself, shaking his head and slithering right under Ryoji's eyes. "W-Wake up.. just for a few seconds... Please..."

Ryoji casually dragged Minato backwards with his scythe, pulling him back to square one.

Minato wasn't deterred by the setback and kept worming his way towards his friends.

"Stop. Moving," Ryoji warned, pulling the scythe out again.

"..."

"I am warning you,"

Minato shivered, digging his hand into the ground to pull himself forward.

"Or else..."

Minato didn't listen and oddly, Ryoji chuckled, closing his eyes briefly.

"Very well!" Ryoji opened his eyes, a demonic shade of red flashing in his irises. It was time to out an end to Minato, once and for all. Every pathetic attempt of his was sickening because it reminded Ryoji of all the time he wasted on such a pathetic creature.

"You asked for this," Ryoji grabbed his ankle and held him in place, looming over him with another slasher smile on his bloodied face. "This is what you get, Minato-"

Minato barely had time to turn back when Ryoji placed everything he had into his right fist and punched Minato on his back at a full force.

Minato screamed out loud as his fist easily tore into his back, carving a hole easily because of the repeated stabbings earlier.

"This is what you get!" Ryoji said, plunging his fist into the hole on Minato's back and this time Minato didn't bother holding back in an effort to resist and defy the God of Death. After the hellacious beating, his nerves finally broke down and the broken teenager screamed at the top of his heart, nigh deliriously because the pain was finally enough to make him crumble.

To turn him into a helpless victim.

"That's right!" Ryoji said in between his screams, grinning sickly as he plunged his fist deeper into Minato's body, breaking through the flesh and bones with ease. "I warned you!"

Minato kept screaming at the top of his heart, eyes closed but still leaking out blood and tears as Ryoji kept torturing him. He wanted to hear more from Minato, he wanted Minato to die by screaming his soul out.

"This is what you get for defying your conqueror," Ryoji said, his shout easily overriding Minato's pained scream.

Minato widened his eye. Conqueror...

"I conquered you, years ago," Ryoji spat, twisting and turning his fist inside of his body. "I've had my hand your throat from the very beginning!"

Minato bit his lip... He was right-

"Scream!"

"GAAAH!" Minato lost the vision in his working eye and his hands started twisting. He screamed out louder, only getting louder as Ryoji pushed his fist in deeper, laughing coldly because he felt himself getting closer to where he wanted.

Ryoji was slow in the torture, dragging it on for more suffering and more screams...

Minato's helpless screaming continued for a few minutes, only increasing in volume by every passing second.

"Huh..."

"Minato..."

The screams were loud and painful enough to made his broken friends shudder, despite all the torture they had gone through.

Hamuko was harshly awakened by the ungodly screeching. He winced in pain and opened her eyes, looking ahead to see where the racket was coming from and when she did, Hamuko went ghostly pale, almost crying out when she saw what was going on.

"Minato!" Hamuko screamed out, looking ahead to see Minato struggling pathetically against the ground, twisting and turning his limbs to get away, get some respite from the pain. In all her years, she had never such a gruesome sight, with Minato shuddering against the ground with Ryoji hovering over him with a maniacal smile, hand lodged into the nasty hole on his back.

"Ryoji!" Hamuko yelled out, unable to see the scene any longer. "Let him go!'

"Heh," Ryoji smirked. "About time you woke up- Check this out, bitch."

Minato started chewing onto the nearby rock to block the scream. He couldn't scream anymore, fearing that his vocal cords would break away. "D-Dammit..." he cried, tears running down his face.

Ryoji pushed in deeper and the rock between his teeth shattered. Minato stopped caring and broke down again, screeching helplessly because his body was shutting down slowly, losing feeling and mobility as Ryoji got closer to the vital parts.

"Ugh,"

His friends, the members of SEES were starting to wake up too. Despite the hell Ryoji unleashed on them, Minato's ungodly screams were starting to break the trance on them.

"What the hell!?" Sho woke up first and gawked at the sight in horror. "Minato!"

"What the fuck!?" Junpei cried out. "Minato!"

"Minato..." Mitsuru widened her eyes.

For the first time ever, they were not concerned that Ryoji was in the same room as them. All they could hear was Minato's scream and all they could see was his deformed figure shuddering helplessly against the ground, tears and sweat pouring down his face.

"Dammit!" Akihiko cursed.

"Minato!" Yukari shouted at the top of her heart. "No, don't!"

Minato's screams only got louder and Ryoji looked up in surprise, not able to believe that his filthy friends had come back to life after hearing his screams. He had tortured them relentlessly, made sure they wouldn't ever get their senses back until Nyx came but here they were...

"Ryoji, don't!" Hamuko pleaded, still trying to break free. "Please don't!"

"Hm?" Ryoji found his smile again, grabbing a hold of Minato's head. "What did you say?"

Minato sucked in a deep breath.

"I beg of you!" Hamuko cried out. "I'll do anything! Don't hurt him anymore!"

"Anything...?" Ryoji smirked, noticing Minato had stopped shuddering and was now barely moving under his grip.

"Please!" Hamuko pleaded. "I'll do anything, don't hurt him!"

"We'll do anything," Mitsuru shouted. "Don't do this to him!"

Ryoji looked down to see Minato was now vomiting out blood and saliva due to the pressure on his body. "Alright, Hamuko..." he looked up at the redhead with another shit eating grin, far more vicious than the ones Minato gave. "I'll leave him alone!"

A malicious shone shone in his eye.

"NO!" Sho shouted, almost pleading. "Don't do it!"

"HAHAHAH!"

"I beg of you, stop it!" Hamuko broke down. "Please STOP-"

Crack.

Minato stopped moving, stopped shouting and just collapsed against the ground, completely paralyzed from head to toe after the little crack.

"No..." Hamuko whispered, red eyes white as sheet when she realized what Ryoji had done.

Ryoji stood up and towered over Minato's broken, paralyzed frame. "Hm..." he glanced at the hole on his back and smiled, knowing that he stopped Minato for good.

By shattering his spinal cord.

"Minato..." Yukari sobbed, eyeing her friend who was completely still, not even twitching as Ryoji stood over him as the victor.

"No..." Mitsuru said to herself, this was her worst nightmare and she had tried so hard to prevent this. "Why Minato... Why did you come here...?"

"Dammit," Junpei sobbed, knowing that Minato was broken forever and even if he was alive, he would die a very slow and painful death in the same place.

"Minato-kun..." Fuuka sobbed.

"You..." Hamuko growled at Ryoji, wanting to power out and beat the shit out of him but the whole ordeal had taken everything out of her. She couldn't imagine a worse death than this. Minato was... done and no miracle could save him now.

Ryoji knelt down and grabbed a hold of Minato's head, looking him in the eye. "This is for defying your conqueror, stupid boy."

"..." Minato thought back. Ryoji was right, Death was his conqueror, as much as he tried to deny that.

"Don't do this to me again..." Minato pleaded, thinking back to the 10 year long hell he had gone through. "Please don't..."

"If you were strong enough, you would resisted me but you couldn't," Ryoji slammed his head back. He stepped onto his hand crushed it to pieces beneath his boot.

"Don't...!" Minato begged, looking up at Ryoji who grinned at him, liking the fact that Minato had finally known his place and was crying and begging him, just like everyone else.

"You might die here but I know, just know that you'll watch me violate your precious friends," Ryoji said, crushing his other hand before stalking forward, eyes set on his friends who were sobbing nonstop. "Especially, Hamuko..."

Minato could only watch as Ryoji gave him a final smirk and stalked off towards his friends, sights set on Hamuko who was way too horrified to even scream. She just stared at the near lifeless body of Minato, awaiting whatever Ryoji had planned for her.

"No..."

Minato winced, remembering the miles of shit he had to crawl through to get here.

"Don't do this-"

That one night flashed repeatedly before his eyes, the night where had had lost everything, that one night where he had become linked with the monster before him, the memories struck him hard again, forcing more tears to leak out of his eye.

"DON'T KILL ME AGAIN-"

Minato shouted for the last time-

SMASH!

"HUH!" he breathed out, opening his eyes when he felt time stop momentarily. By some miracle, when Minato opened his eye, he saw able to see without his vision blurring.

Everything was black and white.

Everything had stopped.

"What is going on here...?" he wondered, tears still running down his cheeks.

Ryoji had stopped.

His friends were motionless too but he could see all of them were sobbing their hearts out, hell even Sho was barely holding in the tears.

"Well..."

Minato heard the voice and winced at the familiarity.

"Guess you fucked up, eh?"

"Who..." Minato wondered, trying to move but his body was still motionless due to his broken spinal cord. "Show yourself!"

He heard a few footsteps until the stranger came into his view, startling the broken teenager who stared up with wide eyes, not believing who he was looking at.

"No way..." Minato whispered, blinking a few times to get rid of the hallucination but he never went away.

His reflection was still there, standing over him...

"Who are you?" Minato asked, staring at the blue haired boy who looked exactly like him, except for the wounds and bruises. He was completely free of injury and was standing up straight, staring down at the injured blunet with pity and rage.

But his face... on his face was small smirk, slightly twisted but it was confident and just above, Minato could see the bloodlust in his eyes.

He knew exactly who this blue haired guy was...

"Who am I?" the reflection spoke. "You should know who I am."

"That voice," Minato shivered at the cold tone because it brought back bad, BAD memories. "Tch..." he glared at his lookalike. "I know exactly who you are..."

"Don't lie to yourself," his lookalike said, crouching down and looking over his deformed body. "Who am I, tell me..."

"You are nothing!" Minato shouted back, hissing and growling at the other teenager. "You don't exist. You have no past or future. You are nothing and you belonged in my shadows, stay the hell away from me!"

"I am Minato Arisato," the lookalike spoke with a familiar, devious smirk which infuriated Minato. "You can't deny that."

"Shut up!" Minato spat.

"Shut the fuck up!" the lookalike growled back, the rage in his tone silencing Minato.

"Just leave me alone," Minato hissed after a few seconds. "Just go away-"

"NO!" his reflection shouted out loud, a hated scowl forming on his features. "I refuse to go away! I will not waste a second longer and watch my friends, MY Hamuko get slaughtered like she's some animal!"

Minato was silenced by his outburst. He gritted his teeth and moved his head away, refusing to look his old self in the eye. Ryoji had punched him into a mess, no way this was real-

"I've watched on for way too long now," the stranger spoke. "I've watched him take my friends, one by one, while you stood there, shivering and sobbing just like 10 years ago."

Minato bit his lip. "What do you want from me...?"

"You know what I want," the shadow replied. "You've been at war against me for far too long, it has exhausted you as much it has me... Let it go."

"I will never let it go!" Minato fired back. "You are nothing but a blood thirsty murderer and I want nothing to do with you. I will fight against you till my last breath."

"Stop resisting," the lookalike replied, jerking his head over to Ryoji who was frozen in place. "You know what he is going to do..."

"I'd rather lose everything than to have anything to do with you!"

The shadow pulled back and chuckled bitterly, shaking his head as he stared at Minato who was having trouble believing his own words. "What did I just say...?"

"Ryoji has taken everyone we care about," the shadow spoke, a little softer than before. "Our parents, our friends and Hamuko..."

"..."

"They're at the mercy of Ryoji, they can't even die in peace,"

Minato glanced up and stared at Ryoji who had his back turned, still frozen in place, still black and white, much like everyone else.

"I thought the least we could is put our differences aside. We owe that to our friends, to Hamuko..." the lookalike continued. "To our parents."

Minato gritted his teeth.

"We lost our childhood, Minato!" his shadow spoke, glaring at Ryoji's back with festering hatred. "And now, he's here again, trying to take away everything that WE'VE worked for!"

"Don't tell me you are going to allow that to happen,"

"..."

"You can deny me all you want but you know, deep down, I am a part of you. I am the proof that you were the one who conquered, and not him."

Minato looked back at him. "I did...?"

"It's time we put an end to our war," the shadow said. "I'm not evil... They changed me... and you know that."

"You.." Minato tried getting up but collapsed again.

"I'm just repeating what Hamuko said to everyone," the other blunet chuckled. "I am not that bad... Just give me a chance..."

"..."

"Just accept me already!" the shadow demanded. "I am not going to watch from the sidelines any longer. Ryoji needs to pay, for all that he has done!"

"..."

"HEY!"

"Tch..."

"HEY!"

Minato bit his lip.

"Just let me in already!" the shadow demanded.

"Even you can't stop Ryoji..." Minato finally said, looking at him. "He's beyond you and me..."

"Maybe..." his lookalike replied, reaching out to touch Minato and soon as he grabbed a hold of his wrist, Minato felt a familiar surge of energy that rushed up and smashed into the sea of his soul which opened up almost immediately on his touch. "Separately,that is."

"What did you...?" Minato said as his shadow helped him stand, easily holding him up.

"Look at them," his lookalike replied, pointing over at the members of SEES who were horror-struck and mortified after seeing him like that. "You have yet to tap into the powers of your Wild Card..."

Minato looked over to his friends, noticing the color was returning to them slowly. He stared on in amazement, looking over their tear stained faces and their mangled bodies. Ryoji had a hand in that but he knew they had cried and bled for him.

"We, us, you and me, formed bonds with each and everyone of them,"

"We did..." Minato replied.

"Now is the time to tap into those bonds,"

Minato slowly raised his hand and reached out to them, closing his eyes and remembering the times he had spent with them, despite the influence of Ryoji.

"They are calling out to you..."

"Minato!"

"Get up!"

"Don't leave me with these idiots, dammit!"

"They are..." Minato confirmed. "I can hear them..."

"Are you going to let them down?"

"No..."

"Are you going to let Hamuko down?"

"No..."

"Are you going to spit in the memory of our parents?"

"Fuck no!" Minato spat, finally glaring at Ryoji with bloodlust surging in his eye.

SMASH!

Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the World Arcana.

Minato pulled back slightly, staring up at the card of the powerful arcana floating in his palm. "The World Arcana..." he breathed out, finally gaining some mobility in his body as a warm wave of energy passed down his battered frame, healing his previous wounds.

Minato looked over at his shadow who was grinning at him, twisted and hungry as usual but this time, Minato didn't shy away and grinned back at him.

"Are you going to accept me now?" his shadow asked for final time, tilting his head to the side.

"Yes," Minato replied, taking the outstretched hand with his own accord. "And I will surpass you."

"Heh," the lookalike smirked, silver eyes flashing gold momentarily until his body broke into mist, swirling around Minato who took in the familiar, evil power with a small smirk of his own.

He grinned at the card in his palm and chuckled.

"Well then... Time for a miracle..."

He crushed the card.

SMASH!

And time resumed...

...

Ryoji was just about ready to summon his scythe and impale Hamuko to start the torture but a strong surge of energy behind him made him stop, making him frown iin annoyance. There was no way...

"Minato..." Hamuko sucked in a deep breath.

"Minato..." the other persona users spoke in unison.

"What...?" Ryoji growled. No way, he had finished Minato once and for all-

Ryoji whipped around and widened his eyes at the sight of cyclone spiraling around in the middle of the room, in the exact same place as Minato. "What the..!?" he growled. Where the hell did it come from!?

"Come out!" Ryoji stomped hard on the ground, beyond pissed with the persistent blue vermin.

"I'm back bitches..." a cold but familiar voice came from within the towering cyclone.

"Minato!" Hamuko couldn't help but scream at the top of her lungs, a wave of warmth spreading over her heart when she heard his cold but oh so familiar voice again.

Sho raised his head up and grinned. "Surprise surprise motherfucker, the king is back!"

"Come out, Minato!" Ryoji howled, voice shifting into something demonic out of hatred. "I've had enough of you!"

Minato held out his hands and the cyclone exploded, making the other shut their eyes but Ryoji stood still, fists clenched because he was at the absolute limit now. Minato had annoyed him for far too long now.

The gold and dark mist dissipated in seconds and Minato stepped forward, puffing the mist out of his mouth like smoke and rolling his shoulders to get the blood running. He stopped after taking a few steps, just a few yards away from Ryoji who was a little surprised.

"What happened to his wounds...?" Ryoji said. He could still see a number of bruises on his body and yet, he was standing up straight, without having to hunch over. "What is going on here..?" the only time Minato recovered from life threatening wounds was when he allowed it and yet, despite been separated with no connection between the two, Minato was standing, his broken limbs healed to the point that he was able to move around.

Minato paid no attention to Ryoji and stared at his friends who were now sobbing out of happiness, not believing that their leader had returned and was standing on his own two feet.

He next looked at Hamuko who was on the verge of sobbing herself. "I missed you..." she whispered, looking at the cocky and confident shit eating grin on his face. "You took way too long..."

Minato cracked his neck, back and forth to get the blood flowing up there.

"Explain," Ryoji demanded.

"Shut the fuck up you little bitch," Minato replied, cracking his fingers next, one by one, on each hand.

"Watch your mouth," Ryoji warned. "You don't want me to kill you again, do you?"

Minato blew his fringe up, finally shocking Ryoji who gawked at his other eye which was fully healed.

"What's the matter, are you surprised oh mighty God of Death?" Minato chuckled.

"Impressive," Ryoji complimented. "I seriously did not expect this."

Minato's smile faded. He cleaned his face with the back of his sleeve and glanced at filth. "You're the only one, beside Hamuko... Who has made me cry, sweat and bleed..."

"Heh," Ryoji smirked. "I will gladly do it again, brother."

"I'm sure I'll sweat and bleed again," Minato clicked his tongue. "But make no mistake, I am not going to cry over a son of a bitch like you."

Minato pulled out his evoker and tossed it far away. "It'll be just like 10 years ago..." he said, raising his head up to glare at Ryoji. "There will be no personas, no spells, no gimmicks, just you and me..."

"The result will be the same," Ryoji said, taking his stance. He still had a lot of time to brutalize Minato and have him grovel at his feet. "With or without your precious personas..."

"It's just you and me," Minato said. "I dare you, try to conquer me again."

Ryoji laughed.

"It won't be easy this time because I am not a kid anymore," Minato took a step forward, the same psychotic smile forming on his already bloodied face. "So come, I may be rusty and beat up but I have more enough to beat the shit outta you."

"HAHAHAHAH!" Ryoji laughed. "You are still just a mortal. I don't care about the miracles you pull out of your ass, the result will be the same, you, next to my feet."

"We'll see about that, little boy," Minato sneered, visibly agitating Ryoji.

"Guys..." Minato took his eyes off Ryoji and glanced at his team mates who were finally looking a little a relaxed because their leader had returned. "This is for you..."

Ryoji screeched out loud again, trying to evoke the fear in their hearts, especially in the heart of Minato.

Minato brushed off the buffeting winds coming from the explosions of dark energy and smiled at his friends.

"Just for you," he smiled at Hamuko at the very end and then looked ahead to face Ryoji. "There is nothing to fear."

"Death is not to be feared..."

"Grrr..."

"I'll show you," Minato whispered. "Look closely."

Ryoji was taken a back when Minato looked up and started laughing at the top of his lungs, in the same haunting way as before, his insane laughter echoing in the dungeon. He was surprised but only for a few moments before he started enjoying the laugh, finding it cute and amusing.

"It's been so long now... Can't wait to satiate..." the blunet grinned, staring at Ryoji who held his gaze and grinned back at him.

"My bloodlust..."

Achoo! 102 f fever and I still wrote this. Hhahaha... I'm such a nice guy... right, right... No? :T Okay.

He's back, nuff said. I've kept this side safe in case people badly wanted him back and well, they did.

How did this happen? I direct you to one line from the game which hopefully solves most of the question... ehem...

Junpei : You harnessed it's power and made it your own.

Nuff said. No, he did not freeze time, it was another near death experience which is kinda symbolic because of the link between them. If you have more questions then ask away and yes, I've been watching a lot of DBZ, thought it fit.

and...

well... I kinda feel bad... I'm aware a lot of shippers read this and had to sit through his massacre. I kinda had to write this because from the start, I've portrayed Ryoji to be a brutal, OP force of nature...

So... Sorry...

Hopefully you enjoyed the CHAPTER and don't hate me by the end.

I thank you for the support. Seriously thanks a lot, each and everyone of you. I'll see you soon. Have a good day/night. Do let me know what you think... hopefully nothing bad/hateful. Hopefully this hits 1000 reviews by this chapter.

Bye!