Chapter 4
Wednesday – September 3 – early morning
"Alright, see you later, Steph." Philip said as they parted ways. He was about to walk straight until he heard a familiar voice.
"Hey man!" He turned around to see Vinnie walking up to him. "You know dat girl?" He asked.
"Yeah, she's my guardian's daughter." Philip replied.
"Hey, uh… Thanks for savin' me yesterday. You learned about my past and ya still helped me." Vinnie said.
"It was nothing." Philip said, scratching his head.
"Anyway, remember what that rabbit girl said? People are dyin' from this illness. The doctors can't do shit, so we're da only ones that can do somethin' about it."
"You're right. It has to be us." Philip said.
"Haha, can't do it without ya, dude." Vinnie said smiling.
The two fist bumped each other. Time froze.
Am I thou
Thou art I
Thou hast established a new bond
Thou shall be blessed when creating Personas of the Magician arcana
Time went back to normal.
"What's your number? I'll call ya when I wanna hang out."
The two exchanged numbers.
"Hey, do you hear sirens?" Philip asked.
"Yeah, they're comin' this way."
An ambulance went flying by them.
"That ambulance came from the direction of the school!" Vinnie exclaimed.
The two ran towards the school.
When they arrived at school, they went to the front office. "Excuse me ma'am. We saw an ambulance coming past us. Did something happen?" He asked the lady at the desk.
"You must be Philip Wheeler, the new student from room 13. Since it involves your class, I guess I can tell you. Mary from your class had an attack and collapsed.
Philip gasped.
"Dat name sounds familiar…" Vinnie said, putting his fingers on his chin.
"She's Natalie's friend!" Philip said.
"Oh, her!"
The two hurried out and raced to the classroom.
The two went in to see custodians cleaning up vomit and blood. It wasn't exactly a pretty sight.
"Do you think…?" Vinnie asked.
"I don't know. I just hope it isn't what we think it is…" Philip trailed off.
"Please stay out of the room until they cleaned up." Miss Greenwood said, walking behind them.
"What happened?" Philip asked her.
"We're not sure yet. I always knew something was wrong with her. I should've done something earlier…" She said.
"Don't blame yourself, ma'am." Philip said.
"Thank you, but I'm her teacher. I'm supposed to help my students. Anyway, class is cancelled until they cleaned up in there." She said, walking away.
September 3 – morning - room 13
It took them about ten minutes to clean up the mess and class resumed.
"Now everyone, turn your books to page 18, we're going to cover-" Miss Greenwood's lesson was interrupted as the principal's voice showed up on the intercom.
"Everyone, I'm afraid I have a horrible announcement for you all. 11th grader of room 13 Mary Rodriguez collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. And I'm also afraid to say we have worse news. Mary has passed away. Today, we will cancel classes. Please go home and be with your families."
"No…" Miss Greenwood collapsed to her knees.
"Mary!" Natalie screamed, running out of the room.
"You gotta be kidding…" Philip muttered.
The two met up by the lockers outside.
"God fucking dammit!" Vinnie exclaimed, punching a locker. "We vowed we weren't gonna have another victim!"
"We should've noticed something was wrong with her, but it already too late by the time we awoke to our Personas." Philip said.
"The rabbit should've at least told us who it was!" Vinnie said.
"What about a rabbit?" A female voice said behind them.
They turned around to see Natalie, her ruby all puffy.
"N-Nothing!" Vinnie stammered.
"Don't nothing me!" Natalie exclaimed. "I heard you guys talking about Mary, and about how you knew something was wrong with her! You know something! Tell me!"
"Should we tell her?" Vinnie asked.
"This was her best friend. She has the right to know." Philip said. Vinnie nodded. "You may not believe me, but…"
Philip and Vinnie explained everything to her. "So her Shadow killed her at the abandoned hospital!?"
"Told you you wouldn't believe me." Philip deadpanned.
"No, I believe you. You seem like a guy who wouldn't lie." Natalie said. "If so, then I'll make it pay!"
"It's dangerous in there, dumbass!" Vinnie said.
"Fine! If you're not going to go there, I'll avenge her myself!" Natalie ran away.
"We better stop her!" Philip exclaimed, Vinnie nodding.
The two chased Natalie out of the school. They were about to catch up to her until a red light appeared and they had to wait until they were allowed to cross.
Five minutes later they arrived at the abandoned hospital.
"Where is she!?" Vinnie asked.
"She probably already entered the Shadow world." Philip said.
The two managed to pull the doors open and entered the portal.
Thankfully, this time they didn't get separated.
"I wonder where that rabbit girl is…" Vinnie said.
"I have a name, you know." A female voice said. Alice walked up to them. "Philly!" Alice then proceeded to glomp him.
"Why aren't you glad to see me?" Vinnie asked, a little jealous.
"Because you're a vulgar jerk that abuses rabbits!" Alice said.
"You little…!"
"We're not here to fight!" Philip exclaimed, gently pushing Alice off of him. "We're here get someone out of here. D id you sense a girl come in here?"
"As a matter of fact, I did. I was trying to look for her until I sensed you two coming in." Alice said.
"Can you take us to her?" Philip asked.
"Yeah, I'll lead you in the right direction. But before that, I'll give you guys this." She handed then surgical masks.
"What are these for?" Vinnie asked.
"To protect you from being infected. The Shadows have all sorts of diseases. If you have these on, you should be okay."
Philip put on the black one and Vinnie put on blue one.
"But why aren't you putting one on?" Vinnie asked.
"I don't need one. I've lived here for a long time, but never gotten sick. I don't know why, though." She said.
"In any case, we need to find Natalie." Philip said.
"I since her on another floor above us. The staircase is a little ways away. The Shadows shouldn't bother us that much. They're not that strong, but they fight in numbers. So be careful." Alice explained.
"Roger that." Philip replied.
The three ran through the corridors until a Shadow appeared in front of them. It turned into two black bicorns.
"Time I take this baby for a spin." Vinnie said, crackling his neck. "Strike 'em down, Raijin!" The thunder god appeared. It grabbed the taiko on its back, beating on it with its rods bringing a lightning bolt down on one of the bicorns. "And again!" Vinnie commanded, striking down the other. "Bada boom, baby!"
"Looks like You're more useful than I give you credit for, Vinnie." Alice complimented.
"Let's get them while they're down!" Philip ordered the party. The three rushed in with an all out attack, finishing them both.
"Bad ass Persona, man!" Philip said.
"You know it!" Vinnie said, them high fiving.
Vinnie picked up $5 the Shadows dropped. "Looks like they drop cash. If I keep beating up Shadows, I'll be rich!" Vinnie said, his eyes turning into dollar signs.
"I found $100 in a chest." Philip said.
"You serious!?" Vinnie exclaimed.
"Yep." Philip said, showing him the Benjamin Franklin in his pocket.
"You can find all sorts of things in here. That's how I found that medicine I gave you yesterday. I have no idea why these things appear, though." Alice said.
"We should look out for any chests we find. There could be useful items in there." Philip said.
"You're so reliable, Philly!" Alice gushed.
They continued through the hallway until they saw another Shadow.
"It's not looking this way. Let's try to get the jump on it." Alice whispered. The other two nodded. "We'll need something to strike it with, though."
"Good thing I got this." Vinnie said, handing Philip a switchblade.
"Now rip its mask off. That'll disorient it." Alice said.
Philip tiptoed behind the blob. He forcefully grabbed it and used the switchblade to cut off its mask. It ended up turning into a pixie.
"Now strike it down!" Alice ordered.
"W-Wait! Please! Don't kill me!" The pixie said.
"It can talk!?" Vinnie asked.
"Shadows come from humans, so of course they can talk. If you corner or ambush them, they may try to negotiate with you because they don't want to die."
"Alright. Then give me some money." Philip said, brandishing his switchblade at the pixie.
"You'll let me go if I give you something ?" The pixie asked.
"Cough up what you got." Alice demanded.
"Uh, I actually don't have anything on me right now." The pixie said.
"Then we might as well kill you." Alice said.
"Please! Wait! I beg of you! Let me go! I'll do anything!" The pixie pleaded.
"Alright, we'll let you go." Philip said.
"You mean you'll let me go? You're so kind! Wait… I remember now!" The pixie said getting up.
"What's happening?" Alice asked.
"I'm not actually a Shadow. I belong to sea of the soul of humanity. My name is Pixie!" The pixie transformed into a card and disappeared in Philip's hands.
"What the hell happened?" Vinnie asked perplexed.
"That Shadow just became his new Persona. I didn't even know it was possible to have more than one Persona." Alice said. "I knew there was something special about you!" She glomped Philip again.
The three proceeded through the corridors. They didn't have much trouble with the Shadows. All they dealt with were Pixies and those mandrakes. Philip tried to convince one of the mandrakes to become his Persona, but failed to get it. It only gave him a strange looking fruit. He managed to a total of $50 from all the ones they fought. Who needs a job when you can extort Shadows for it, right?
They managed to find the stairs and went up them.
"She's right over there." Alice said, pointing straight.
They found her in the same looking place as Vinnie. Her Shadow was there, too.
"Natalie has one, too?" Vinnie asked.
"I told you already that everyone has a Shadow, dumbass." Alice said.
"Are you all right, Natalie?" Philip asked her.
She didn't say anything.
"Look at that! All eyes are on you again! Guys just totally flock around you and because of your looks. You don't have any other redeeming qualities after all. You're just the airheaded cheerleader that all the girls in school hate you for." Her Shadow taunted.
"T-That's not true!" Natalie exclaimed.
"So you're gonna deny the truth? Well, here's some more truth for you. You act like you want to avenge your friend, but you just came here because you wanted to prove you're not useless!" The Shadow said.
"You don't know anything! You're…"
"Don't say it!" Philip warned.
"You're not me!"
"Hahaha!" The Shadow then transformed into a monster. It turned into a giant dove's body with Natalie's torso and exposed chest. "I am a Shadow! The true self! Lookey here, we got some boys. Why don't we have some fun?" The Shadow said in a seductive voice.
"What the fuck!?" Vinnie exclaimed.
"Don't let her appearance distract you. Saving Natty is top priority!" Alice said.
"Do you boys like what you see?" The Shadow said, hitting the boys with a pink beam.
The boys had hearts in their eyes.
"This is bad. They've been charmed. Snap out of it, guys!" Alice exclaimed.
"Please kill that bunny girl, my lovely slaves!" Shadow Natalie commanded.
They turned their sights on Alice. Philip took out his switchblade. He continuesly swiped at her, but she dodged it. "Forgive me, Philly!" Alice said, kicking Philip in the gut out of self defense. Vinnie summoned his Persona. Raijin struck with its rods, but Alice backflipped out of the way.
"You move around a lot, but let's see you dodge this!" Shadow Natalie said. She flapped her wings and summoned a title wave at Alice, hitting her and sending her colliding into a wall next to the real Natalie. "D-Damn, what am I supposed to do?" Alice muttered.
"Now finish her off!" The Shadow commanded. Philip summoned Asclepius and Vinnie summoned Raijin.
I have to do something! Natalie thought to herself.
"Stop!" She exclaimed, getting in front of Alice and putting her arms out protectively.
"What are you doing?" Alice asked.
"You want to kill me, right!? Then leave the bunny girl alone! Isn't she supposed to be your friend!? Please, snap out of it!" Natalie exclaimed.
"What?" Philip said, coming to his senses.
"What have I been doing?" Vinnie asked.
Natalie's voice somehow got through to them and they snapped out of it.
"Thank god! That thing there took control of you two!" Alice said, getting up.
"I'm gonna get you back for this, you fucking bitch!" Vinnie exclaimed. "Zio!" The lightning bolt hitting it in succession.
"Time for payback!" Philip said. "Garu!" The small tornado hitting as well.
"Mad Hatter! Agi!" Alice commanded. Flaming card hitting it.
"How dare you put your hands on me! I'll crush you!" The Shadow exclaimed. It then went airborne.
"What's it doin!?" Vinnie asked.
"I don't know! But it's planning something! Keep your guard up!" Alice said.
"Take this!" The Shadow flew around in circles and it summoned a whirlpool, hitting the Persona users, knocking them all down.
"Now, I'm gonna deal with you!" The Shadow said, getting closer to the real Natalie.
"I guess this is what I deserve. For not helping Mary." She said.
"That's right. It's all your fault." The Shadow said.
"Hey, bird bitch!"
"You talking to me, curly hair?" The Shadow said, looking at Philip.
"Yeah, that's right." He said, staggering to his feet. "Suck on this!" He chucked his switchblade, hitting it right in the eye.
"Curse you!" The Shadow screamed in agony.
"Come, Pixie! Kouha!" The pixie summoned a ball of light, propelling it at the Shadow, causing it great pain. It collapsed on the floor and turned back into its human form.
The Shadow got up to its feet. The real Natalie walked up to it.
"About what you said. You're right. People only like me because of my looks, but Mary was the first one that didn't want to befriend me just because of my looks. I'm a hopeless airhead that's only good at cheerleading. I did come here because I wanted to avenge her, but I also wanted to prove that I'm not some useless airhead. You're me, and I'm you." The Shadow then turned into a woman with a white nightgown with dove wings, pale white skin, and Natalie's long blonde hair. (Yeah, I suck at coming up with original Personas) It then turned into a card and disappeared in her hands.
"Aphrodite…" She then turned around to face the three. "I'm sorry I rushed in here on my own."
"Don't worry about it. If it were my friend, I'd probably do the same." Philip said.
"No worries." Vinnie said.
"So who's the bunny girl?" Natalie asked.
"This is Alice. She's helped us out a lot." Philip said.
"You're so cute! I can't believe you're an actual bunny girl!" Natalie gushed.
Alice blushed.
The four returned to the waiting room.
"So that's what happens when you come here…" Natalie said.
"Yep. By the way, you'll need this." Alice said, handing her a pink surgical mask.
"I saw you guys wearing those. Why?" Natalie asked.
"It protects you from getting sick from the Shadows." Philip said.
"I see… If what you say is true about this place. I don't want another person to die." Natalie said.
"Same here." Vinnie said.
"Yeah, we won't fail again. We need to look find people who are sick and go in here and help them out during after school and weekends." Philip said.
"You sound like a leader, Phil." Vinnie said.
"Not a bad idea." Alice said. "His power to use different Personas is pretty unique. Plus, he has a better head on his shoulders than us."
"If you guys think he should be leader, then we'll go with that. I'm not the captain type." Natalie said.
"And I'm more of an enforcer." Vinnie said.
"Leave to me, then." Philip said.
Time froze.
I am thou
Thou art I
Thy bond has been strengthened
Thou shall be blessed when creating Personas of the Fool arcana
Time returned to normal.
"Let's get out of here. I really need a nap." Natalie said.
The three exited the hospital and went home.
Chapter 4 end
