Chapter 31: Freedom of Chaos
"No - No freaking way!" Amara shouted. Zao had a Persona, just like her. The power she had been desperate to hide from him...was now his. It was just like when she activated her own power - at death's door, the supreme power of his Persona awakened. So his was called Rashnu - it actually resembled him slightly.
"Zao, calm down! Leave that Shadow to us!" Serena said.
"Hehe..." Zao said, standing up. Despite being in grave danger a moment ago, he now had some spark burning away in him. "Sorry, girly! I'm not letting you guys have all the fun! Amara, to think you were hiding this all along! Now it's my time to shine!" Zao said. "Rashnu, use your special ultra attack, or whatever the heck you've got! Go go GO!" Rashnu, sword in hand, impaled the Shadow, causing some damage.
"This seems like a rather mediocre Shadow." Nathan said. "So this won't take long! Garula!" Setanta's winds hit the Hanged Man Shadow, causing it to yell bizarre chants.
"Whoa! What the heck is that language? Esperanto?" Zao asked, confused.
"Must be Shadow speak for 'motherfucker'." Blaine said, with a sinister smile. "You already had enough? We're just getting started, buddy boy!" Tlaloc pounded the Shadow repeatedly, finishing with one powerful swing that sent it crashing into a monitor, breaking it.
"Wait for ME, guys! I can do magic spells as well, am I right? Come on then - Super Magic Fireball Blast, or something!" Zao was astonished at what happened next - an Agi spell hit the Shadow, sending it to the floor.
"Okay Zao, you're doing fine!" Amara said, and she gave Zao a thumbs up. "I'll finish this one! Agilao!" Hathor's fire attack was much stronger, and it burnt the Shadow to ashes. "Phew."
"Woohoo!" Zao said, hugging Amara, whilst jumping up and down. His sheer excitement was making her dizzy already. "You were so badass, you know? Like, you chanted a magic word like "Agheelayoh" and fires came out!"
"Zao, this is not a joke. How did you get in here, anyway?" Nathan asked.
"I was going to surprise Amara by showing up at her place, but then I saw her meeting the others in front of that old warehouse. I didn't hear what you were saying, but you went inside, and I was wondering what happened." Zao said.
"So you followed us instead of waiting?" Serena said. "Men are so impatient!"
"Hey!" Nathan and Blaine said, pretending to be hurt.
"Oh crap! I forgot to lock the door!" Amara said. "I didn't think it'd matter. No one goes in there except us."
"Amara! If you keep doing that, you could unleash huge demons into the world! It'll take more than an all-nighter online to beat them!" Serena shouted.
"Well, anyway, I couldn't see you inside that weird building. Just a bunch of broken computers and...a weird glowing door thingy. So I went through, and I felt really weird. Like something was trying to break free from my body!" Zao said. "But after using Rashnu, I feel great!"
"Yeah, I felt that way when Artemis appeared. Looks like you're stuck with us, Mr Yuria!" Serena said. "Zao joined the party, right?"
"Of course! This calls for a party! So what is this world all about, anyway?" Zao asked, scratching his head.
"Well, that'll take quite a lot of explaining to do. But we'll tell you the full story." Nathan said. "I just hope you'll listen to what we have to say - it's not rocket science, but it's a little convoluted."
"Come with us, man. As of now, you're our student, and we're the masters!" Blaine said, patting Zao on the head. "Do well, and I'll buy you a beer!"
"What is it with you and alcohol?" Serena asked.
"It's a man thing." Blaine said. "We buy drinks for our friends. So welcome aboard, Zao."
Zao smiled, and the team left the room.
|Corridor|20:25 pm|
Amara and the others had spent over half an hour describing their quest to fight Shadows ever since Amara first stepped into the other world. Having to talk about the past was painful, especially the incident at the cathedral. Zao couldn't quite believe his ears. A world just like the one he knew, that had been ravaged by mysterious creatures for a decade. And the city was trapped, forced to deal with cruel hardship. As they spoke, his eyes grew wider with horror, as he struggled to comprehend the situation he was in.
"No way!" Zao said. "This world can't be real. There's no way such a horrible place could exist!"
"Zao, I'm sorry. I didn't want you to know about this, because if you did, it'd make you worry!" Amara said. "It'd have been better if you never found out, trust me."
"I thought it was just me who hid things..." Zao said.
"What do you mean by that?" Amara asked.
"Oh, uh...nothing!" Zao said, smiling again. "But I understand why you couldn't tell me. You can't tell Priscilla, right Nathaniel?"
"It's just Nathan-"
"Yeah yeah, whatever. Serena can't tell her parents, because apparently they suck. Also, Lucy would get worried if she knew what her beloved Blaine was up to!" Zao said, after a moment of thought.
"Please, I didn't even tell my parents how the TV really got broken." Serena said.
"...I'd better not let you near mine." Nathan said.
"Looks like the kid understands. Now that he's got a Persona, he can't really turn back, can he?" Blaine said.
"Yeah, I guess not. I'm a latecomer, but I'm still part of the team. Amara, do you mind? If we're both fighting, we should fight together." Zao said. "And hey, if I can make this world a better place, let me have at it."
"Sounds good. But Zao, listen to us carefully, okay? If you don't take it seriously, you could get in trouble!" Amara said, sternly.
"Gotcha. So, what's going on in this place?" Zao asked. "Some evil overlord and his apprentice plotting sinister schemes?"
"If one of the Ater Vox is here, that might not be so far from the truth." Nathan said. "Let's investigate. The Ornatu Legion could be here -"
Right that second, around ten Ornatu Legion members ran up.
"Right on cue..." Serena said. "It must be destiny."
"Either that, or a security system that functions. Unlike the one in our company's basement." Nathan said, shaking his head.
"Intruders, name yourselves!" One of them said. A young man with spiky silver hair. Next to him was a blonde woman with pigtails and brown eyes.
"Oh god, not her!" Amara said. "That's Colette Harrison!"
"Wait a second. I know one of those people! That's Joe! Joe Kowalski!" Nathan said.
"Sorry, I don't recognise any these losers." Blaine said, shrugging.
"Wow! Did you hear that, guys? I'm popular!" Colette said, with a cheerful look.
"Sounds like I am as well. But under no circumstances are we allowed to let you escape! So here it comes! Tam Lin!" Joe shouted, summoning his Persona. It resembled a knight with long white hair and green armour.
"I'll show you how true style fights! Dis!" Colette yelled, and she summoned a strange female with no hair, with dark blue skin and a black dress.
"Ha, this will be easy! My first real battle! Let's make it one to remember!" Zao yelled. "When you're crying in your hospital beds tonight, remember the name of the guy who put you there! Zao Yuria!"
And so, the battle began. As usual, the Ornatu Legion was almost powerless to stop them. Only Colette and Joe were still standing, clearly the leaders of the squadron. "Goddammit! What now?" Joe shouted. "Archibald will go crazy if we can't win!"
"How do you guys know us, anyway?" Colette asked. "Nice outfit, miss!"
"Thanks. Shame you're stuck in that nasty uniform!" Amara yelled.
"I know right! It's so ugly! Why can't I have something in pink?!" Colette whined. "If only Josephine let me join the guys going to Karen's place! Then I could have had one of their pretty uniforms!"
"Enough chatting! Try this! How about an icicle?" Zao yelled - and to his surprise, Rashnu actually pulled off a Bufu spell, finishing Colette off.
"Work is going to be so awkward tomorrow." Amara said, scratching her head. "Now it's your turn!"
"H-huh?!" Joe cowered, backing away. "No! I need that promotion!"
"You're not getting one no matter who you work for. Try turning up on time!" Nathan shouted, and whacked him silly with his staff, knocking him out.
"Wow. Let me guess. Colette works on the same magazine as Amara, and Joe works for Nathan's company?" Serena asked. "I'm sorry, that must have been painful!"
"Well, not really. Colette goes on and on about her clothes, my clothes, the Pope's clothes so much that sometimes I just want to smack her. And now I did!" Amara said, grinning.
"Joe is such a slacker. It's no wonder he's been passed over for every promotion. Every time, he'll be on the phone to his girlfriend whining about how no one believes in him. Idiot. He'll be fired if he doesn't try harder…" Nathan said, shaking his head.
"Well, now that we're done with that, can we get going? I want to see the rest of this place!" Zao said, grinning. "I hope they have vending machines!"
"Are you stupid? There aren't gonna be - oh, there's one. Damn, I hate being wrong." Blaine said, pointing to one across the hall. "Why do these ones have the Jack Frost logo on them?"
"Who cares! I need my Cielo Mist!" Zao said, running over and taking money out of his wallet. "We could use the energy, you know. I'll get some for everyone!"
"My Zao, ladies and gentlemen!" Amara said, chuckling.
|Gym Area|20:59 pm|
After looking around on the ground floor, the time found a room that had been locked the last time Amara was there. It was to the right of the room Nathan and her found Serena, being attacked by that nightmarish clown Shadow. This room was a giant gymnasium, with lines on the floor that Amara assumed were for some sort of sport.
"Alright! We can shoot some b-ball!" Zao shouted, looking around. "Wait, what kind of gym is this? There's no hoops! Or goals! Or...anything!"
"Wait. Something's wrong." Amara yelled. "I feel something."
"I don't smell anything." Serena said.
"No, not that! Someone's here - argh!" The door slammed shut behind them. Nathan tried to pull it open, but it wouldn't budge. "It's locked...what's going on?"
"Hello, everyone. It's nice you could attend our evening class." a man's voice said. Huh? Haven't I heard that before?
"Who said that?" Serena asked.
"Dunno, but he better get out here before I mop the floor with him!" Zao said. Perhaps this was a show of false confidence, but his attitude was helping Amara stay calm.
Just then, on a monitor that would usually display points for teams, an image of a man appeared. This was a man in his fifties, with untidy hair that was completely white, and blue eyes that were on the cusp of becoming grey. His face bore many wrinkles, some due to old age, the rest possibly from stress. He wore red glasses, the sort an academic might wear.
"Welcome. My name is Archibald Ebert. If we were friends, you might wish to call me Archie. Alas, we are enemies, so you may give me whichever moniker you desire. Ah..." he said, staring at Serena. "You must be Nina's little sister. Nice to see good looks run in the family." Archibald said, smirking.
"Eew! Fat chance, grandpa!" Serena screamed. "Amara, save me!" she yelled, hiding behind Amara.
"...Don't do that again." Amara said, annoyed.
"I'm only joking. I have to say, it was worth it for that reaction. Honestly, I'm not keeping you all here for that. I have a reputation to uphold. Rather, I detected your presence here quite some time ago. Since you weren't making any attempt to hide your entry, it was a matter of time." Archibald said. "Until today, this was a facility for creating Shadows. Yet, the ones in our headquarters are far superior. Thus, we haven't had much use for this place. Before then, Aeternus used it as an extra warehouse."
"So what's changed today? You turning it into a bowling alley?" Blaine said, glaring at Archibald. "Can't say I like the contractor..."
"You're as unpleasant over there as you were over here, I see. Shame...you weren't always so bitter. The power of a Persona is to be embraced, not to be detested." Archibald said. "Unlike Josephine, I didn't feel the need to announce my Persona user to the public. From now on, he will train here, ready to help us build the Eternal Road."
"What?!" Amara shouted. "Is he another Last Soldier?"
"Correct. It's not the most imaginative name, is it? Alas, Josephine created that title. I'm not especially fond of it, but it seems to give the citizens of our city a sense of hope. Of course, I have every faith mine will surpass hers. The public may not know him, but you will hold the esteemed honour of making his acquintance. He's been dying for a real fight, and those Ornatu Legion members fall like insects when he fights against them. I do need to keep some of them alive - test subjects don't grow on trees. Thus, only you lot will help prove his strength. Come out, Roger!" Archibald said.
"Roger?" Serena asked. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me! It's not going to be that Roger, is it?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Amara asked.
Sure enough, a familiar man emerged from the door at the front end. Roger Martin himself had entered, and apart from looking slimmer, he wasn't too different from his other self. Instead of his posh business suits, he had an intimidating hard red jacket with a black collar, and black bracers. He had rather shiny red shoes, and tan leather pants with various belts on the legs.
"So, these are the idiots you were talking about?" Roger said, looking at the screen. Unlike the time Amara saw him at the weekend, he had an arrogant air to him. "This alternate reality crap's real?"
"Yes, Roger. The potential of Shadows is exponentially greater than I once believed. It can connect two dimensions!" Archibald said, with a sinister gleam in his eyes. "It would seems these people are familiar with you in their dimension, as well!"
"Oh, really? So what do I do in this boring world without Shadows, assholes?" Roger asked.
"Boring?! You jerk! Fighting monsters is not as fun as it looks! It is NOT something we do to pass the time!" Serena shouted.
"Uh, well...Roger Martin is the man who took that mall in Legarte and turned it into a roaring success. There's not much else to say, really." Blaine said, shrugging.
"What a joke! That's it? When I left this city for college, I had a plan. I'd be able to make my hometown a better place, one that they'd actually put in those tourist guides. Four years later, the Shadows come, and there's no getting out of the fucking city!" Roger said. "Kanaloa's destroyed now. But it wasn't worth saving, right Archie?"
"Haha! That is absolutely correct. All of those people were inconsequential compared to you. Throw them money, build them better homes, and they'll just waste their newfound fortune on their vices! To truly make a better Kanaloa, one must rebuild it from the ground up. Only the power of Shadows can accomplish that." Archibald said.
"You piece of shit!" Blaine said, hand on his gun. Amara was afraid he'd lash out, but he stood there, quiet. His hand was shaking with rage, however.
"He's right, you dumbass! Everyone's so afraid of the Shadows, but they're too scared to make use of them! The technology Archie produced is freaking amazing, right? With that kind of power, we could rebuild Kanaloa in our sleep! And only those strong enough to use the Shadows can live there!" Roger said, with a twisted smile.
"What?!" Amara yelled. "No, you're wrong! Aeternus are the ones creating the Shadows!"
"I already know that, you stupid girl! It's the city that's to blame. They run and hide, instead of trying to fight! Only those with Personas deserve to live in this world. If only you were on our side, then we could complete that Eternal Road thing so much faster!" Roger said.
"Don't you know? The first part of that destroyed Kanaloa! Not just a cathedral, but the entire area! If you keep this up, everyone could die!" Nathan said.
"I don't care about the stupid people of this city! When I was young, all they did was boss me around. Weak people in power are so stupid. They're too dumb to know how to use that power. I'm not like them. The Eternal Road will change the world, and I won't let you stop me!" Roger hollered, and he took out two punching daggers.
"Easy, dude! Can't we just sit and talk over a glass of Chianti?" Zao asked, somehow still smiling. Roger simply gave him a death glare, unamused.
"Roger, I do not wish for you to kill everyone here. This is just to test your skills. However, feel free to eliminate that blue haired joker." Archibald said, smirking.
"Gladly! C'mon, show me your Personas! The power you've been wasting on trying to save the weak cowards that infest this city!" Roger yelled. "Come forth, Kanaloa!"
Wait, what?! His Persona emerged from blue smoke like everyone else, and it was a blue skinned male, with strange hair that resembled ocean waves with tentacles near the bottom. He wore golden gauntlets, boots and a belt with various blue feathers adorning them, and he wielded a powerful icy blue trident. Several blue jewels were attached to his body, and his right eye was orange, with a scar going over it.
"Pretty cool, right? My Persona's Kanaloa itself! I'm the only one there that deserves to make a new place, and if you insist on fighting us, you're not welcome there!" Roger shouted. "Hey Archie. You really want me to fight five people at once? That's retarded! Help me out a little!"
"Oh, of course. Allow me to give you some support. Thor!" To the side of Kanaloa, a robotic Persona emerged. Equipped with golden and red robotic gauntlets and boots, he had a strange canon device attached to his left hand, and a strange cape-like adornment that looked like multiple large swords. Thor's eyes were glowing blue lights, and he had a jewelled headband.
"Seriously? His idea of Thor is a freaking robot?" Serena asked. "Where's his hammer?"
"Oh, little Serena, you think a hammer is the only way to bring mass destruction? This canon shall be the hammer of judgment you crave! Unlike Josephine, I'm not foolish enough to enter the combat zone. Let's begin, shall we?" Archibald said, smirking.
"Alright, Archie! Let's do this!" Roger yelled. "Wave Rage!" Several waves of water struck the team, knocking Blaine to the floor. "Ha!"
"Laugh while you can! Agilao!" Amara yelled, hitting him with Hathor's flames. "Zao, stay back!"
"Hell no! Lightning, or something!" Zao yelled, and a small Zio spell struck Roger, doing a fair bit of damage.
"Ugh! You little freak! No one does that to me! Impaling Havoc!" Kanaloa leaped towards Zao, and struck him with his trident multiple times.
"Oww! You're tough. I may not be much good, but the others can beat you any day!" Zao said, smug.
"Good work, Zao. Try this! Zionga - huh?!" Blaine tried to use Zionga, but a strange barrier covered Roger before it could hit. "The hell?"
"Ha! Archie's not letting that happen again! It's your bad luck the shit Persona user got the first shot!" Roger taunted. "Malaques!" Another water attack hit the team, again causing Blaine the most pain.
"Looks like water magic won't work on this guy. Diarama!" Serena said, healing Blaine. "Anything you try, I can just heal up like that!"
"Is that so, madam? Even this?" Archibald said, and Thor fired a fierce ray of lightning from his canon. Serena's screams of pain echoed throughout the hall, as did Archibald's howl of laughter.
"Serena!" Nathan yelled. "This isn't good!"
"Tell me about it. No one knows that weird barrier technique!" Amara said.
"Hehe..." Blaine said, with a mischievous smile.
"No! Not you too!" Roger said, in horror.
"Elec Wall!" Tlaloc used his power to provide Serena with a strong electric barrier, shielding her from further injury by Thor.
"Thanks." Serena said, standing up. "Go to hell!" With indignation, she continuously swung her whip at Roger, but he managed to counter with his weird weapons - katars, apparently.
"Lucky for me, my talents are more than just electric aptitude." Archibald said.
"Aques!" Roger screamed, hitting Blaine with his water spell once again. "Drown, you waste of space!"
"Dammit..." Blaine muttered, struggling to stay standing.
"Hold on! Try a water spell, Rashnu!" Zao shouted. What? Serena just said water wouldn't work on him! Rashnu struck Roger with Aqua, but it had next to no effect. It would appear Rashnu could use any elemental spell, but lacked any affinity for either of them.
"Okay, I've had enough! Weaklings have no place here! So it's time you settle down!" Roger, calling upon the full power of Kanaloa, bombarded Zao with trident attacks. Zao fell down, unable to block either of them.
"Zao!" Amara yelled. "You just messed with the wrong girlfriend, buddy!"
"You insignificant woman...do you expect someone in my position to be frightened by you? You should realise who you're dealing with. Let me teach you. Var Mjolnir!" Archibald roared, and Thor soared towards the ceiling, charged an incredible amount of energy into his cannon, and fired, hitting them with unbelievable force.
"Damn, this geezer's good!" Nathan said, standing up. "Now I'm pissed. Air Brake!"
"Oh shit - no!" Roger said, but he was too slow to dodge. The debilitating wind struck him, and he staggered around. Everyone started attacking him with his weapons, not giving him any quarter. Zao, however, was still on the floor, whimpering.
"Zionga!" Blaine tried it again, but Thor's Elec Wall just nullified the attack.
"I'm afraid you'll have to get out of the habit of exploiting weaknesses. Not that I'll stop Roger, of course. You know what to do!" Archibald said, nodding. Roger nodded back, and cast another Malaques.
"Oh, goddamit!" Blaine said, falling over again.
"Sorry! Here!" Serena said, but before she could heal him, Thor got her with a Zionga. "Argh!"
"You should leave this to the grown-ups, missy. Kids like you don't have the power to survive in this world!" Roger said.
"Hold on, I'll -" Zao stood up, but a shot from Thor's cannon sent him back down. "Why me?!"
"Right, I've had it with you! You beat up my friends and my boyfriend, you deal with me! Try this! Ruby Ignition!" Hathor unleashed a new spell - a powerful sparkling flame that gave Amara some energy, too.
"Interesting. She combined Agilao with Tarukaja. Natural Persona users are incredible. Roger, you're not going stand for that, are you?" Archibald said. Serena and Blaine got up, and she finally got a chance to use Artemis to heal.
"Hell no. Archie, gimme a hand." Roger said, and Kanaloa faced Thor. Kanaloa imbued his trident with great water energy, and placed it in Thor's canon. "Check this out! Hydro Calamity!" Thor blasted Blaine with his canon, sending water all over the area. Blaine was knocked out instantly, but Nathan dashed forward and beat Roger with his staff violently.
"I will never lose to a man without honour! Know your place!" Nathan shouted, finally casting Garula. Roger couldn't get away from the attack, but struck Nathan with his katars before he got hit. "Phew."
"Blaine!" Serena used Recarm, and Blaine woke up, in agony.
"Ugh, this reminds me why I hate swimming..." Blaine said, holding his head.
"So was that good, Archie?" Roger said, panting for breath. All the fighting had left him exhausted, and he kneeled down, breathing even more heavily
"I suppose you did well for your first true battle. Better than that idiot over there." Archibald said, looking over at a collapsed Zao. "Why don't you take a rest? You'll get a chance to eliminate this band of unruly thugs later."
"Dammit! This is like Karen. They're being used!" Nathan shouted.
"Karen?" Roger said. As he stood up, he no longer had his look of arrogance, but a softer and less intense look. "What are you guys talking about?"
"Karen Marshall!" Amara yelled. "Don't you know? Josephine's Persona user!"
"Archie, why didn't you say anything?!" Roger shouted. "She's not dead?"
"I didn't think it'd be necessary to tell you everything. Yet you seem to know this woman. Interesting. Come to my room, and tell me about this Karen…" Archibald said. "I may have found out something Josephine doesn't know!"
"Wait! Don't go with him! Come with us! We can save Karen, but we need your help!" Amara said.
"Shut up already! I'm going." Roger said, and he went through the door he came through.
"I'll let you go. Here's some friendly advice, however. Try to get that blue haired boy some practice!" Archibald said. "What is his name, anyway?"
"Zao...Yuria. Owwie!" Zao said, still in pain.
"I see. Intriguing. This has been a productive session. Get out of this place, and don't come back. If you do, I may get serious about killing you all." Archibald said, and the monitor switched off.
"Coward! He can't even fight us in person!" Nathan yelled. "Let's just get out of here!"
"Wait, shouldn't we tell Aimee and the others what happened?" Serena said.
"Aimee?" Zao asked. "Who's she?"
"Oh, well..." Amara said. "Aimee Davenport. She's still alive in this world, and she runs that secret base we were telling you about!"
"No way! What about Karl?" Zao said. "If we could fight together, that'd be even more awesome! Like old times!"
"Her brother is dead. At least, that's the impression I got." Nathan said. Zao's jaw dropped, and he couldn't manage a smile at all. "Listen, you're still exhausted. We'll come back another day, alright? I'll go to the base and tell them what happened. The rest of you can go on home!"
"Fine with me. I need a drink." Blaine said, yawning.
|Office|21:45 pm|
"So you and Karen used to be an item, yes?" Archibald said. "Fourteen years later, and now you both are Last Soldiers."
"Karen...all she did was try to tell me how to run my life. I thought I loved her, but now that I think about it, she was just too weak to live without me. How could she get a Persona?" Roger said, frowning.
"Well, let me show you some footage from the other day." Archibald said, and he started to play a recording of the Last Soldier broadcast. Roger's eyes widened as he saw the timid Karen, and the bombastic Josephine. "Pathetic, isn't it? She thinks God saved her, and she's far too ignorant to realise she is merely Josephine's plaything."
Roger was quiet, scrutinizing the screen. "What a joke. She's just following those who are stronger. Left to herself, she can't do a damn thing!"
"Why, that's harsh. I thought you loved this woman." Archibald said. "It doesn't seem Karen knows about this, though. Josephine's desperate to show me up, but I can turn this completely against her."
"You mean I get to fight Karen?" Roger said.
"Yes. Then you'll finally be free." Archibald said. "I like you, Roger. You can appreciate the freedom the Shadows can give you. Now with your power, you can cut all ties with your past. Eliminate Karen, and we'll be able to do anything we please!"
"Anything?"
"Absolutely anything. The only limiting factor is our imaginations. Now, go and get some sleep. We'll hone your skills for a while, then we can show Josephine your true strength. I doubt Karen will be ready to fight back. Go." Archibald said. Roger slowly left the room, and Archibald looked out his window.
"Oh, Josephine perhaps I will indulge in your game. Just this once. That's all I'll need."
|Farawell - Outside Amara's House|21:46 pm|
"So tomorrow, I get to see Aimee again. I wonder if she'll remember me?" Zao said, as he and Amara walked to her house.
"If you, Karl and her were all friends, then I'm sure she will! Um, if you want us to hang out with him, I don't mind. I just don't want him getting involved in this, too." Amara said.
"Oh...yeah, you're right. He shouldn't know what his sister's doing. You know, after this has happened, we don't have to hide anything, do we?" Zao asked.
"Well, no. But you need to catch up, so we can all fight at the same level. I'll figure something out. Zao, your Persona was pretty cool!" Amara said, smiling.
"I know! Looks like my great sense of fashion carries over to metaphysical creations!" Zao said, happy. "So will you train me? I want to be able to help you, so I do better than I did against that Roger prick!"
"Sure! Consider Amara Furaha your Persona Trainer!" Amara said, and the two of them laughed.
"Sweet. This reminds me of my teenage fantasy. I go to the gym, and I meet a sexy female trainer, and she helps me exercise, then we go to her place, and..." Zao said, winking.
"Zao, you naughty boy! Did you tell anyone about this fantasy?" Amara asked.
"Ha! No way! No one really matched the girl in my fantasy. Well, until you!" Zao said, and he winked again at Amara. "You know, I am kind of tired."
"Me too. Why don't you come upstairs, and I'll get you some coffee?" Amara asked.
"Sure." Zao said, and Amara ran inside, squealing with glee. Zao smiled, and stood there in thought. Today, he had met Karl again, and hoped to hang out just like old times. Yet, he wasn't a little kid anymore. Now, he would be on the battlefield, using Rashnu to kill Shadows. If he was doing this alone, he would never be able to fight them. But Amara was laying her life on the line too. He had to do the same, just like his grandpa in the war.
"Aren't you coming?" Amara asked.
"Sorry! On my way!" Zao said, and he ran upstairs.