AN: I hope you all enjoyed the prologue arc! Note that this author's note has been written quite sometime after this chapter was first published, and thus there is a lot of plot for new readers to catch up on. Arcs are divided into ten chapters each from this point on, and the first true arc begins with this one. Chapter 16 begins the next arc, and so on.

Unlike some original Persona series fanfics, there is no Social Link system. This is mostly because I wanted to break away from the recent trends of the Persona games (Personas 1 and 2 don't feature this system, but the Major Arcana is still a gameplay element) and give all four of the main characters - Amara, Nathan, Serena, and the fourth you'll get to see very soon - their own lives and friends, rather than just from one character's viewpoint.

Arc I: Conflict Begins

And thus, the two streams were connected.

The trio of ones with the power of masks shall be joined by another.

Yet, the true mysteries of the divided stream remain unanswered.

All I can do is grant those with strength the power of masks.

The final fate of these souls shall be decided by them alone.

The ray of the Sun, the courage of Strength, the Moon's dream, and the Magician's ambition.

They shall all be tested.

Chapter 6: Return to Darkness

|June 8th|Real People Offices|11:48 am|

It was hard for Amara to believe it was just her second day of work, considering what she went through last night. If luck had not been on her side, she could have been killed. To everyone else of the Real People team, this was merely an ordinary day. Yet for Amara, it was heaven just to be surrounded by normality. Alas, she had a gut feeling she'd have to venture into the other world once more.

Stella had been quiet ever since Amara entered the office. The reading of last night was still fresh on Amara's memory. Then, it hit her. Stella was the real deal. It had been a vague reading, but one that without a doubt came true. She then thought about the other two people that were with her the previous night. Nathan had shown bravery even in the face of those ungodly creatures. Serena may have been young, but she fought well regardless. If they were to fight as a team once more, Amara reckoned they could do very well.

"Hey, Amara, me and some of my old friends from college are hitting Silver Web tonight! Wanna come? It's gonna be awesome!" Colette said. She was full of energy today. Come to think of it, she was just as energetic yesterday. Amara briefly considered going with her. Colette seemed fun, even if her favourite topic of conversation was the new handbag she bought at the mall. Alas, she had already made plans with Nathan and Serena, and it would be irresponsible to leave them in the other world alone.

"Sorry, but I've already got plans."

Please don't ask me what my plans are, though. I don't want to have to come up with a cover story on the spot.

"No problem. It is a little last minute, sorry. Then how about you, Stella?" Colette said.

The psychic shook her head. "I'm afraid I'm also busy this evening, but perhaps some other occasion," she said, then she continued to type on her computer at a furious speed. No doubt she was hard at work with more psychic revelations. Colette shrugged and went back to her work as well.

"Don't you think you're making the outlines a little too thick?" Lucy asked, frowning.

"I think it suits the article," Amara said, without even looking up. Lucy muttered something about how 'stubborn' she was, but it didn't matter. At least Lucy didn't have bloodthirsty monsters to worry about.

Amara felt Stella's probing stare a couple of times. Any minute now, she could walk over and ask her about last night. And lying to an actual psychic might not be so wise...but she couldn't just tell her the truth with everyone else around. The last thing she wanted was Karen thinking she was mentally unstable.

"Okay guys, we're coming along with our first issue really well!" Karen said to the team before lunch. "It's too early to sit back and relax now, though. There's still a lot of ground to cover. Everyone, don't get lazy, and if we do this right, we make this a hit!"

"Hey, no need to worry with me on the team! We'll do just fine." Juan said, getting out his lighter. Lucy frowned at him, but Juan was too distracted by Colette's miniskirt to notice. Normally, Amara would have indulged in some gossip about her co-workers, but she just didn't care about that right now.

"Stella, do you feel like having lunch together?" Amara asked. Stella was quiet for a minute, but shook her head and left. "Oh. Okay, never mind."

Is she feeling guilty or something? I just wanted to get to know her a little better.

Amara went outside to find a good place for lunch, both wishing six o'clock would come faster and would never come.

|Nova Albion - Albion Inc.|12:30 pm|

Five centuries ago, Motus Island was just a newly discovered island, with untapped potential. Word of the territory reached a noble family from London, and together with other members of the upper classes, they sailed to the island and built a settlement. This small gathering of houses would soon grow into a true gathering of the elite, bearing the name of the family who made it all possible - Nova Albion.

The family became known for not only their distinctive red hair, but their wise and prosperous leadership. Yet eventually, the settlements on the island would be unified into a tremendous city, and the family's role became nothing more than a title. In this new era, they lacked a purpose, despite retaining respect from the people of the city. It would take until the 19th century for them to rise to prominence again. The matriach of the family at the time had grown fond of machinery and took to tinkering with any gadget she could come across. One thing lead to another, and Albion Inc. was born. Their growth during the 20th century propelled them into international success, and thus the family thrived once more. Their aim was to provide the best technology for the people.

The man currently in charge of the corporation was the workaholic Reginal Percival Albion. He took great pride in his career, and besides his stint as President, he was also a caring and encouraging father. Nathan, his only son, was his pride and joy, and he was proud to call himself an Albion. He loved his family's history, and wanted to carry on his father's legacy someday. Normally, he would have been happy to work at the family business, especially with his girlfriend, his beloved Priscilla Lancaster. Yet, after last night's debacle, he could not help but think...someone at the company might be behind this. And as his father's son, it was his duty to protect the business.

"Darling, It's time for lunch. You look like you could take a break." Priscilla said as she popped into Nathan's office. "It's already been a long day. Joe keeps begging me to put in a good word for that promotion. He's a lovely man, but his work ethic just isn't good enough for me to recommend him for the role."

"Quite right. He can't just waltz in here half an hour late and expect to climb the ranks. Anyway, I'll have a ham and cheese sandwich - wait a minute, what am I doing? I should be buying you lunch. Allow me." Nathan said, giving Priscilla kiss on the cheek.

She laughed. "This is why I love you, Nathan. You just seemed preoccupied, stuck in here typing away, so I figured you didn't want to take a break today. It's no trouble, honestly." Priscilla said. "That aside, are you feeling alright? Last night was terrifying. But still, I'm grateful you found my handbag."

"It's nothing, honestly. I just didn't want you to lose it. After all, I got it for you last Christmas, remember? It was just before we were under the mistletoe." Nathan said, smiling.

"You are such a charmer..." Priscilla said. "But that's also what I love about you. They all say the Albion men are perfect gentlemen, as well as true romantics! Looks like it's true!"

"There's another thing they say about us men. We have special ladies at our side. I think that's quite true, too." Nathan said, with a warm smile.

"Okay, stop it. You'll make me blush." Priscilla said. "Oh, what are you doing, anyway?" She had a quick look at Nathan's computer. "Virtual reality? What's all that about?"

"Um...it's not important. I just heard a rumour from some guys in the Accounting Department, about some virtual reality game somewhere on our servers. So I had to check it out. Nonsense, right? It's probably about as accurate as the one about me and the diving board." Nathan said.

"Oh yeah, they still talk about that sometimes. It's probably nothing. Or maybe it's Joe being his usual self. He's a nice guy, but he should get his finger out of his ear. Or something. Anyway, I'll get you some coffee and that panini. And since you're out tonight with some friends, I'm going out with Tara! I haven't heard from her in a little while. Okay, a few days, but still. Be back soon!"

"Okay. See you later!" Nathan said, giving Priscilla a kiss on her cheek. She giggled, and with a spring in her step, she left. Nathan turned back to the computer, practically bashing the keys. Nothing relevant showed up, making him both relieved and worried. A return to the other side was inevitable, and Amara and Serena would be endangered. This was another thing Nathan could not stand. Yet he knew going in alone would be just foolish. Biting his lip, he continued to search the company records.

|Legarte - Lucille Valley High School|15:45 pm|

"Class dismissed," said Mr Darling, the Literature teacher.

A pack of relieved students eagerly fled the classroom, glad to be done with a rather tedious lecture. However, Serena gave him a warm smile as she left the classroom with her best friend, Kyle McHale. He was already short for his size, and being in a wheelchair, it wasn't difficult to tower over him. His black hair was rather messy, as he rarely saw a point to brushing it, and he had green eyes, which gave him an even more innocent and meek appearance.

"You know, it must suck for Darling that you're the only student who likes that class." Kyle said.

"I feel a little bad for Darling. You're the only student who really loves his class." Kyle said.

"He is a little dreary," Serena said. "but he's a good teacher if you give him a chance. At least he doesn't take his dentures out in the middle of class."

"Those were dark times for Engish Literature, alright. Oh yeah, it's a shame you couldn't make it last night." Kyle said as he and Serena rode the elevator to the ground floor. They were the ones who most frequently used it, due to Kyle's condition, and thus they usually had it to themselves. This suited them just fine, however.

"I'm sorry I couldn't come. My stomach felt really sick, and I just couldn't face it. I'm alright now, though. Don't look so worried!" Serena said, but she couldn't look at Kyle as she said it. She was used to lying to her parents, but to Kyle, the one friend in the world she could count on, it felt like a crime.

"Just glad you're back to normal. Besides, we really need to study for the big Math test. But we always do great in Math, so it'll be a piece of cake. Speaking of which, I'm hungry now..." Kyle said, patting his stomach, as the elevator stopped at the ground floor.

Lucille Valley was an old and somewhat prestigious high school, founded about a hundred years ago. Very few changes had been made since the grand opening in 1910, as the same white marble pillars graced the centre of the lobby, casting long and elegant shadows over the polished blue marble floor. The establishment taught many subjects, both standard ones and some more unusual classes, such as one on Gaelic. Also of note was the large computer lab, filled with advanced software, and the large LCD screen to the left of the entrance that posted the school news for all to see.

Today, most of the students were making their way to the canteen, which Serena absolutely dreaded. The canteen was nice enough, but she hated being cramped at the tables with 'cool' students, the sort that just didn't understand her interests, and she found theirs bland in comparison. And Kyle always found it awkward to get at a table, so he avoided it as much as possible. After entering the spacious library, filled with many old texts and novels, Serena and Kyle made their way to their favourite table near the back.

"Hey, remember this table, Kyle?" Serena asked.

"Yeah, I remember! About two years ago, right?" Kyle said. Serena nodded.

This was the table Serena had met Kyle at two years ago, when she was trying to get a book at the last minute to complete an essay. It was due the next day, and she was panicking like crazy - not because of her teacher, but because she wanted to avoid her parents yelling at her for being a bad student. Whilst she waited for the librarian to check the catalogue, she saw a young boy in a wheelchair with messy black spiked hair and green eyes, hidden beneath a pair of brown rimmed glasses. He reading an old German book, the one the students always read when they had a language exam. He was scrutinizing each page, clearly not understanding a word.

Serena, forgetting about the librarian, went over to him, and began translating it for him with ease. The boy, Kyle McHale, was surprised. Serena and her family had German roots, and thus she was fully fluent in the language. Although quiet at first, he seemed to enjoy her company. Serena practically forced him to hang out with her, and they soon realised they had tons of things in common. Both of them enjoyed plenty of video games, especially MMORPGs (with a talent for trolling obnoxious players), and had a keen interest in the supernatural. For two long years, Serena and Kyle spent most of their free time together. While they had a few other friends in the school, they were always happiest with each other. Every time she heard his wheelchair coming up behind her, she felt her heart skip a beat. This was why lying to him was so hard...she was always honest about him with everything.

"Oh yeah, I just signed to this new Korean MMO." Kyle said. "It's pretty fun, but I spend most of the time grinding..." Serena rolled her eyes at the thought of this. She hated having to grind for levels, finding it an absolute waste of time, while Kyle could focus on levelling his characters for hours. "You should join too! It's free to play now!"

"Maybe another time. Oh, um...oh yeah! I had an idea, actually. You know how I'm always reading, right? Well, why don't I write my own book?" Serena said, forcing a smile. She actually had no real plans to write a book. Yet, perhaps she could use the plot of the other world as a way to tell Kyle the truth. "It's about these people who wind up in another world, and it's ruined by these weird shadowy monsters, and they can summon beings called 'Personas'!"

"...That sounds kind of cool." Kyle said. "C'mon, tell me more." And so, Serena told Kyle the events of last night, as if they were the story she was going to write. If she could keep this up, Kyle would never suspect a thing…provided she didn't mention any names.

"You always had a wild imagination. If you write this thing, I bet it's going to be great. Not that I'm biased or anything, despite being your best friend. You better let me read it when it's done, of course. I'll be like your editor! Anyway, let's hit the books." Kyle said, opening up his textbook. Breathing a sigh of relief, Serena joined Kyle in answering the questions. It would be a while until she had to meet Nathan and Amara again, but until then she wanted to carry on as normal. Anything at this school was better than going through that door device again.

She had always wanted to escape into a fantasy world, but this time she never wanted to return...

|Legarte - Solar Ray Mall|18:30 pm|

The Solar Ray Mall, located in the shopping district of Legarte, was formerly a run-down place filled with closed stores and graffiti. It was called 'Lucre Legarte', despite having ceased to be lucrative whatsoever. Eventually, it could no longer stay open, and so closed its doors for the final time in 2008, It lay empty for quite some time. However, a shrewd businessman saw potential in the building, and after a long and extensive renovation, had the place transformed into the biggest mall in the city, and it was given a brand new name. Unlike its former incarnation, the place was generally packed.

Amara, a frequent shopper here, ran inside, and sat by the large fountain in the centre of the large complex. With shining blue walls and floors, the place had been transformed into a place of beauty. With plenty of exotic plants decorating the ground floor, as well as some sophisticated paintings and lots of mini aquariums, it was a joy just to wander around the place. Yet, today Amara was not here to browse the electronics department. She didn't have the time to even check out Rosa Candida's sale, one that Colette had waxed lyrical about for most of the afternoon.

Soon enough, she saw Serena, and waved.

"Hey!" The student said. "Sorry, I was checking out the used bookstore. I got here really early. Was worried no one else was coming."

"You serious? I'd never pass up a chance to come here! So where's Mr. Albion hiding?" Amara asked, looking behind Serena.

"Right behind you."

Amara leapt with fright, and saw a grinning Nathan walk in front of her.

"Sorry. I couldn't help myself..."

"I thought you were supposed to be the mature, grown-up and responsible one?" Serena said, sighing.

"Yes, but I do have a sense of humour..."

"Whatever. So where are we going? I'm starving!"

"Let's go to Bar Seoul. It'd be nice to try Korean food again, as long as it's not that moving squid dish." Nathan said. "This is my treat, by the way."

And so, the group walked into the trendy looking Korean eaterie, enticed by the smells.

|Bar Seoul|18:30 pm|

"Good choice, Nathan! I love it here." Amara said as they sat down. "I used to come here with my ex-boyfriend. Not since we broke up, though."

I can't avoid the places we used to go to forever. Even if there's a chance he could show up again. I wonder what he'd think if he saw me with these two?

"I haven't eaten here before. I should ask Kyle to come with me next time." Serena said. "Don't worry, he doesn't know anything about last night."

"That's good to hear. Priscilla...can't know the truth either." Nathan said, bitterly grinding his teeth. "I hope this doesn't become a routine. I hate lying to her more than anything else."

Amara nodded, sympathetically.

"I understand that. The people I love are the ones I want to protect most from that other world. But we can talk to each other, at least. That's something, right?"

Serena smiled, a little more relaxed. "If it had just been me...It'd be too much to deal with. Having you two in the same boat, it makes me feel a little better."

The waiter then came over, and took their order. Amara noticed he was Caucasian, and thus stood out from the other staff. And he had a more gruff look to him, too. She would have guessed he was in his thirties. Why he was lingering in her mind, she wasn't quite sure. Something seemed familiar about him. The dark chestnut eyes, the unruly brown hair, and his scruffy beard. Yet she honestly had no recollection of meeting his man before, not recently. He hadn't been there the times she came with Karl, so he must have been a fairly new hire.

What is it about this man that's so familiar? Is he just reminding me of someone I've met before? If so, who? This is driving me crazy.

"Hey Nate, did you find anything on the Albion company's network?" Amara asked. Nathan groaned with despair at this nickname.

"Please don't call me that..." He said, blushing. "And no. Nothing at all. There's nothing on our network I shouldn't be able to access. Therefore, our only course of action is to return to the other world and fight the Shadows once more."

The waiter came back just as Nathan said this, and there was an awkward pause. He served them the drinks slowly, and the party of three stared at each other, unsure what to say. Serena, however, appeared to have thought of something.

"We're online gamers. Really competitive ones. The Shadows are our biggest rivals, but this time, they're going down."

The waiter smirked at this, and put down a bowl of complimentary rice crackers. "Sounds good. You better win. Be back soon."

"...I'm sorry. I didn't expect him to return so fast." The Albion scion said, deeply embarrassed.

Amara shook her head. "Relax. Serena was able to save us with her quick thinking. Still, we have to be more careful. If he heard what we were really doing, he'd think we were a bunch of stoners."

The rest of the meal went along well, and after eating some delicious pork, Amara was ready for battle in the other world once more.

|Other World - Strange Building|19:15 pm|

"What do you suppose this place is for, anyway?" Serena asked as they reached the bottom floor. Again, it was deserted, but the building's power was still on.

"No clue..." Amara said. "It could be for any number of evil, sinister experiments. After all, a clown was here last night."

I never liked the circus before. Sure as hell don't want to go to another one now.

"With only us here, it's rather unsettling," Nathan said. "Wait a second. Look!" He pointed at the sleek black monitor above the doors. Previously, it had been completely blank, but now, in a yellow text in Times New Roman, it read:

Welcome to Farawell Shadow Development Centre. Authorised Personnel Only.

"Fa-Farawell?" Amara exclaimed. "We're not in Farawell! This is another world, isn't it?"

"The portal to this world is in Farawell. But this still feels weird." Serena said. "I really hope this is just some game now."

"I don't think it is. I wish it were, but this feels rather real to me. Let's go outside." Nathan said, leading the way. Serena had brought the whip left for her, but she had no idea how to use it so was holding it in a very awkward manner. Slowly, the three of them made it outside and finally took in the building's surroundings.

"Wait, this is..." Amara began saying.

The buildings across the road looked exactly like the ones across the road from the abandoned warehouse. Some of them looked rather run down, but they were the same. There were numerous cars parked on the road, with rather strange black spherical devices instead of exhaust pipes.

"...Farawell!"

"You're right. But how could this be?" Nathan said. "Look! That's the Cathedral!"

Nathan ran ahead, pointing towards the sky, and Serena and Amara followed, reaching the outside of the cathedral. The building was a popular tourist attraction in the real Farawell, being the oldest and largest church of the city. It appeared to be the same, except the windows were much dirtier, and the outside was rather shabby with a total lack of maintenance To top it all off, the door was completely sealed.

"Something else is wrong, too. Look at the benches. The ones back home are red, right? Those ones are brown, like the old benches." Serena said. "They changed the benches back in 2009. I know. I remember these little details..."

"What does this mean?" Amara said. "Hold on a second. If this is Farawell - come with me, guys" Amara, now more scared than ever, ran in the direction of the local cinema. A quiet establishment, she loved it, especially as they carried arty films that no other cinema would carry.

In this world, the cinema was a burnt-out shell. The exterior remained somewhat intact, but the inside filled with nothing but rotting and burnt wood, and doorways blocked by fallen debris. "Oh my god!" Amara shouted. "This can't be!"

"Look!" Serena said, shaking, pointing to a poster on the ruined ticket office. It was incredibly faded, and wearing away at the edges. "This movie came out ten years ago..."

Amara gazed at her surrounded in horror. Something was not right. It wasn't uncommon for posters to stay up for far longer than they were relevant, but not for this place. Angry, she kicked the ticket office.

"Girls, stay calm. We're still able to return to our world, right? We know this is not our world." Nathan said. "Yet what that man said last night is suspicious."

"You mean the stuff about worlds colliding?" Serena said. "Come on, he's just been watching the Sci-Fi channel too much."

"I...have an idea," Nathan said, with a solemn tone to his voice. Staring at the cloudy sky, he shuddered at what he was about to say. "This place is...an alternate future."

"What?" Serena shouted. "It does look like it could be that, but how?"

"I don't know how...something must have happened a long time ago, and we've been living in a world where it didn't happen," Nathan said. "That's about all I can say."

"So something could have happened around ten years ago that turned this city into a Shadow den?" Amara said, grimacing at the thought. "What about the rest of the world?"

"I have no clue. Wait, look up there!" Nathan shouted. In the distance, the three of them could make out high, insurmountable barriers surrounding the entire city. Large metal barriers were blocking the entire city off.

"What the hell happened?" Amara screamed. "What are we supposed to do now?" She just couldn't think straight. To think the other world was her own all along - why didn't she see it coming?

"I said, calm down!" Nathan said. "If we don't keep a cool head, we'll just go crazy. If only we could find others and glean some information, then we'd know what we're dealing with."

"Yeah - holy crap! Shadows!" Serena shouted. Amara gasped. Five masked Shadows, of the same variety she encountered yesterday, had surrounded them. It would seem that no place was truly safe from the Shadows in the world. Yet, with her Persona, it wasn't safe to get on her bad side, either.

"Okay! Hathor!"

The Egyptian goddess came forth and sent forth her bright flames, immolating one Shadow instantly.

"Artemis, protect me!"

The goddess of the hunt arose, and shot the Shadows with a Moonlit Arrow.

"Setanta, vanquish evil!"

The brave warrior leapt up, and called upon shearing winds.

Within seconds, the Shadows were defeated, leaving no trace they had ever existed. These beings didn't seem to exist in a material sense. Yet they were very capable of causing real pain. If this was truly a dark future, then they must have sent many ordinary humans to their deaths.

What if we're the only humans here? No, don't think like that. There must be people here besides us. People that need our help.

"I think we're getting used to this!" Amara said confidently. "Still, we're not going to get far by just killing those weak Shadows over and over again."

"Indeed. Perhaps we should head back now, and think about what to do next. I wouldn't want us to get into more trouble..." Nathan said, as he began to leave the area.

With no other ideas, the two ladies followed him. They soon reached the outside of the 'Farawell Shadow Development Centre'. Just as Nathan was about to step inside, however, a bolt of lightning struck the ground to his immediate left, causing him to yelp with fright.

"What was that?!" Amara screamed, scanning the area. There didn't seem to be a Shadow in sight. All Amara could see was herself and her two allies.

Serena gulped, having come to another realisation.

"That wasn't a Shadow." She said quietly.

Nathan and Amara glanced at each other, and realised exactly what this meant.

"...It's a human?" They both asked. Finally, they heard a voice from above.

"Well, well, well. I finally found new Persona users. It's been far too long."

Characters So Far: This will appear at the first new chapter of each arc

Amara Furaha - Sun - Hathor

Nathan Albion - Strength - Setanta

Serena Agnethe - Moon - Artemis