Arc IV: Emptiness of Days Gone By

Disaster was averted this time, but all is not over.

Yet, even in absolute chaos, humans strive to live.

As long as they have something to live for, something to hope for…

They can bear the pain of life.

After all, he who has a 'why' to live can bear any 'how'.

And even if one loses a 'why', one can always find a new one.

That is why I will never abandon humanity, for deep down,

They will never abandon living.

Chapter 36: Grand Strike

|Dan and Blaine's House|9:00 am|

"Oh...morning." Dan said, as Blaine came downstairs. "Another evening with the lovely Miss Crossman?"

"Yup!" Blaine said. Dan just shrugged, and went back to reading his newspaper. Yet he was on the finance section, which Dan usually found boring unless it involved the bus company he worked for. Blaine frowned "So, doing anything tonight?"

"Nope, not really." Dan said. Blaine was a little surprised - Dan didn't often get like this. Was he jealous? Dan hadn't been on the dating scene at all for two years, and none of their neighbours were exactly eye candy.

"Come on, man! We could go to The Mole, or something!" Blaine said.

"I don't feel like it." Dan said.

"Holy shit. You're sayin' no to beer? What's bugging ya?" Blaine asked.

"Nothing. Go hang out with Lucy or something." Dan said. "I'm working all day, anyway."

"Fine, whatever. No need to get cranky!" Blaine said, leaving the house. Maybe Dan was just being gloomy about Matthew again, but whatever, he wasn't going to let that get him down. After helping to save Karen and Roger last night, he felt pretty good about himself.

"Heh...I've turned into a goody two-shoes."

|Lucy and Shirley's Apartment|9:10 am|

"It's 9:10 and you're playing the piano already?!" Lucy asked, still in her pajamas, as Shirley started playing an enchanting, mysterious tune.

"Of course! I have to keep practising." Shirley said. "Anyway, I was expecting you to be home later last night. What happened?"

"Um, Blaine said something about some guy coming over to check the washing machine." Lucy said.

"Oh well, there's always next time. Hey, I had the weirdest dream last night. I was in this really grimy bar, playing the piano, and tons of guys were hassling me, and I felt like crying!" Shirley said.

"Why would a bar like that have a piano?" Lucy asked.

"Hell if I know. Anyway, this guy starts beating up this dude who was bothering me, and he tries to talk to me. He seemed nice enough, but I just ignored him. What do you think it means?" Shirley asked.

"Maybe you're secretly into girls?" Lucy asked.

"Lucy!" Shirley said, laughing. "No, that's not it at all! Thing is, I remember the song I was playing. The one I learned when we first met!"

"Oh? I forgot how it went. Play it to me!" Lucy asked. Shirley began playing, and for a while, Lucy felt like an eleven year old again. The girl who never wanted to leave, always be with Shirley. A decade later, and here she was again.

"Well, since it's a Saturday, I'm going shopping! Stereotypical girl behaviour incoming!" Lucy said. "What are you gonna do today?"

"I have to go to the Richmond's this afternoon. They still think their daughter can play the piano, even though she thought Beethoven was a vegetable!" Shirley said, shaking her head. "Still, they always pay me extra so I can't complain!"

"Yeah, true." Lucy said. As she went to get breakfast, she couldn't help but wonder. What did Blaine do most nights? She knew he liked driving his motorcycle around, but something told it that wasn't it…

|Nathan and Priscilla's House|14:00 pm|

Priscilla was out of the house for some groceries, so Nathan was all by himself. Lying down just made him think about last night...and Josephine. He still had no proof that what she said was true, but he couldn't leave things like this. Perhaps looking through the old photo albums his father gave him would help.

Nathan started looking through the oldest one he could find - and he smiled. The sight of him as a newborn baby, in his mother's arms and next to his proud father, warmed his heart. The rest of the photos were of him as a young boy, before he ever met Priscilla or thought about working for his father. Even then, he was a brave boy…he always went down the longest slide at the park, when kids older than him hesitated.

When he got to the end of the album - photos from his 10th birthday, where his father gave him a small suit that matched his own - he saw a folded piece of paper. "What's this?" Nathan asked. Concerned, he opened it, and read it.

Dear Reginald Percival Albion (what a mouthful!),

I'm having a grand time in Palermo. Thank you kindly for the gift. I bought you something special already, and I can't wait to show you. It's been wonderful with my sister and her children. My nieces are so full of life, and their father is a perfect gentlemen. Rather like you, actually.

I've acquired a healthy glow, if my sister is to be believed. You always said I could use some colour in my face, so when I come back, you better notice the difference.

Normally, I'd just write a postcard, but for you I wanted to do something special. So I'm writing you a letter. I haven't written a letter since my darling Arthur died, actually. It's quite emotional. My sister's wondering what I'm crying about. If she knew I was in love with a married man, she would kill me.

Yes, I said it. I love you, Reginald. I know you said you can't go public with it, but please consider it. You and me could be very happy together, and your son would understand eventually. He's not a child, he'd come to terms with it. And even if he didn't, don't worry. Do what you feel. That's what I'm doing.

Remember when I left for my flight, you kissed me as if it were for the last time? You'd think I was never coming back! Don't worry, I will be there by your side once again. You've become the reason I get out of bed in the morning, after all.

With all my love, Josephine Johnson

"Oh god. No...No!" Nathan screamed. "Dad, why?! Why this woman?" He read and reread the letter, hoping this was all some kind of mistake. Yet, it wasn't. Josephine really did have an affair. With his own father.

Nathan knew he had to confront his father - after all, the Josephine in this world died a decade ago. The other Josephine could not be trusted, either. He was about to call his father when he hesitated. For the first time he could remember, he was scared. What if his father never spoke to him again?

As he put the phone down, Nathan felt sick. Both for reading that letter, and for not having the guts to demand the truth from his dad. "Why…why her?!"

"I'm home!" Priscilla said, coming in with her bags. "What are you to?"

"Oh, just looking at some old photos!" Nathan said, quickly hiding the letter in his pocket. "Need a hand?"

"Sure! Thanks darling!" Priscilla said, smiling. "Oh yes, you are still going to ask your friends about that barbecue, right?"

"Definitely. Come on, let's see what you bought this time. There better not be any nougat!" Nathan said, with a weary smile. As he and Priscilla were in the kitchen, he felt more and more angry. How could his father betray his wife, and his son?

Nathan decided he would never make the same mistake. He would be Priscilla's, and only Priscilla's, for as long as he could.

|Serena's House|17:30 pm|

"Uh huh. Whatever. Bye." Serena said, hanging up. Her parents were apparently having a great time, but she honestly couldn't care less. They probably were glad to be away from her. Well, good for them. Serena could do whatever she pleased until they came home. Even then, they probably wouldn't care, even if she ran a drug cartel.

She opened the curtains in the living room, and looked around. Lately, she'd been expecting Nina to show up. She was still alive, after all. Yet instead of coming home, she was busy in the other world trying to correct her own mistakes.

"Why…why didn't you tell me?" Serena said to herself. "If you had, then maybe I wouldn't have been so mad. I might have understood. But…" Her whole family kept this terrible secret from her, ever since she was born. Was she really just an afterthought?

"Yeah, I know. I'm the geeky girl with her head in the clouds. I couldn't be as smart as you." Serena said. "But…"

Just then, the phone rang. "WHAT?!" Serena screamed down the receiver.

"Holy Fusroda, what's the matter?" It was Kyle. "Careful, you nearly burst my eardrum!"

"Oh! I'm sorry, I thought it was my parents calling again! How are you?" Serena said.

"Great! We're at the airport, on our way home! I got you something fun…you'll love it, trust me!" Kyle said, cheerfully. "Crap, the flight's delayed!"

"Oh? That sucks!" Serena said. "Well, at least we have time to spare!"

"Yeah, but these calls are so expensive! My mom keeps glaring at me! Anyway, you'll never guess what we saw yesterday. One of those street performers who looked like they were levitating! I still can't figure out how he did that!" Kyle said. Serena soon forgot all about her parents and Nina as she listened to Kyle, laughing at his mishap with the beret and the duck.

|Crystal Palace Bowling Park|19:00 pm|

Amara arrived at the bowling park rather later. Zao was waiting for her, pretending to be asleep. Stella was there too. She was very amused by the way she was grinning at Zao's fake snoring, and was struggling to contain her laughter.

"Knock it off! I'm not that late!"

"Zzz...twenty minutes...zzz..." Zao said, eyes still closed.

"Yeah, well, it takes a while to get ready for a night out!" Amara said, pouting. "So where's Karl?"

"Oh, he went to reserve us an alley. Tonight there's some special deal for two teams to go against each other. That means we'll have to use teamwork!" Stella said. "We must combine our skills and utterly destroy our enemies!"

"You scare me." Amara said.

"Stella gave me a reading, ac" Zao said actually. "She said that tonight, I will help bring two distant souls closer together! You know that that means, right?"

"Zao-"

"That's right! We gotta be nearer!" Zao said, standing as close to Amara as possible. "Ha! The look on your face..."

Amara cracked up, and Stella giggled too.

"I didn't think Zao would be so carefree." Stella said.

"It's why I love him! So how was the speed dating?" Amara asked.

"I ended up not going. It just wasn't my sort of thing! Another night with Colette, and I'd need a bottle of scotch to get through it!" Stella said. "Then a bottle of vodka to put up with Sheila. Lord knows how many men were told to piss off. Oh wait, I know. All of them!" Stella said, disdainfully.

"I'm not surprised! Even Lucy's more bearable than her! Oh, what did you think of Karl?" Amara asked.

"He's nice enough. He wasn't much like Zao. I could tell he was a kind man, but he still bears the scars of the past." Stella said.

"Ha! All we need to do is get some band-aids!" Zao said. "Oh, here he comes! Karl, she's finally here!" Karl walked back outside, and Amara looked away. She used to love it when they met, but now it was just so awkward. Karl was as handsome as ever, and Amara hated herself for thinking that. She had Zao now. She knew she and Karl were finished with. Even so, it was hard to forget how happy they were together.

"Let me guess, she couldn't decide whether to wear the black top or the red one?" Karl said, grinning.

"H-Hey! I just have a lot of old clothes, that's all! It takes forever to sort through them all!" Amara said.

"I'll say! You've got more dirty clothes lying around than the team's locker room." Karl said. "Anyway, I went and got us an alley. You know we're playing as a team, right?"

"Don't worry, guys. Karl knows how to lead his team to victory! We can't lose! Who are we even playing, anyway?" Zao said.

"Just wait and see! Come on!" Karl said, running inside.

"This is why I invited him! When it's a sport of any kind, Karl fights to the bitter end!" Zao said, and he and the others followed. Inside, the guys had to change into the bowling shoes, much to Amara's displeasure. The only pair that was her size were too tight, and a rather garish red.

"Ngh! These don't fit right!" Stella said. "I knew they wouldn't, but -"

"Wow, these are the ones that glow in the dark! Awesome!" Zao said.

"At least he's happy!" Amara said. "Come on, who are we playing?"

"These guys!" Karl said, as four people walked over. It was the Holy Cross! This was the first time Amara had seen them all together in her own world. It was so strange seeing them in casual clothing, without any weapons. In this dimension, the Holy Cross were just four friends who despite their differences, loved hanging out with each other. Just like Amara and the others she had met since June.

"So how do you know these people?" Stella asked.

"Richard's on the team, too, and he was taking his buddies here!" Karl said.

"Against their will! He begged, it was pathetic!" Kazuya said.

"Oh, come on, it'll be much more fun than that karaoke night last week!" Richard said.

"Just because someone almost died doesn't make it a bad night!" Kazuya retorted.

"Just ignore those two. Nice to see you again!" Alastair said, looking at Amara and Stella.

"You know these two?" Richard asked.

"Oh, we work at the same publishing company, but they're at a different magazine." Alastair said.

"Oh! Which is the one that turned you down?" Bianca asked. "If you had just bought some flowers from me, it might have worked!"

"Bianca!" Alastair said. "It doesn't matter now. Anyway, we should introduce ourselves. I'm Alastair! This is Bianca, that's Kazuya, and you know Richard!"

"Yeah! Ever since I joined the team, no opposition can survive our cunning and skill!" Richard said, and he and Karl high fived.

"Well, then I'm Amara. Bianca, remember I bought those flowers from you weeks ago?" Amara said.

"Oh yes, I think I do! Did they go down well?" Bianca asked.

"Yes, my father loved them! You know, one of the things I enjoy painting - and there are a lot - is flowers!" Amara said. Bianca smiled, and the two began discussing various flowers.

Karl and Alastair stared each other down. "So, you're the team leader?" Karl said.

"That's right! And we'll never lose!" Alastair said.

"Don't be so sure! A true sportsman never quits. Right, guys? We, the - wait, we don't even have a team name!" Karl said.

"Oh! Well, then how about the Motus Rebels?" Stella said. "We stand against all our opponents, crushing them with fatal strikes!"

"Can't be that fatal if it takes more than one!" Zao said. Stella glared at him. "But I like it! What about you guys?"

"We're calling ourselves the Holy Cross!" Richard said. "Sounds cool, right?" So Amara would once again face the Holy Cross. Thankfully, no one was likely to die tonight. Although Karl did have a rather competitive streak.

"Precisely. Enough talk. Let's prepare for battle!" Bianca said, and the teams went to their lanes.

"You guys are really getting into this!" Amara said. "You sure we can win?"

"Hey, I know we can! I've been here before many times, and my average is usually 180!" Karl said, smiling. "But even if we lose, as long as we play our best, we can go home proud."

"Ever the sportsman, huh?" Zao said. "Stella, you know who's going to win, right?"

"Indeed I do. I won't tell, of course." Stella said, with a sly grin. "All I can say is that this is going to be fun!"

|Aeternus HQ - Meeting Room|19:00 pm|

Whilst the Ater Vox frequently held meetings, this was a rare occasion where they met at night. Their commitments during the morning made it difficult for all six to be present at once. Finally, by seven o'clock, everyone was free. Nihane was the last to enter as usual, glaring at his desk.

"So what happened yesterday, Nihane? You nearly destroyed those fools, but then you just let them get away!" Nina said. "Are you alright?"

"Quit worrying about me! I'm fine for the moment, but something very unusual happened. My memory is a little fuzzy...but if I'm not mistaken, I was taunting that Amara woman about her other self's necklace. That's where things get a little hazy."

"Archie, you have any ideas?" Carlos asked. "Cause if this happens again, we could be in trouble!"

"I can only speculate, but it's quite possible that both Amaras had a strong emotional attachment to that necklace. Thanks to the power of Shadows and Persona, it may be that those feelings manifested to harm Nihane and allow them to escape." Archibald said.

"I see. Let's put aside that matter for now, and review the Eternal Road situation. A decade ago, Kanaloa was destroyed and thus we built the headquarters there. A fortnight ago, the cathedral is disintegrated, and yesterday Tachibana University was ruined. Thus, we are halfway through." Pierre said.

"Yet, we have no means of knowing when the fourth one will come to pass. Saragel, Legarte & Nova Albion are the three districts left to choose from." Josephine said. "Should we follow the same strategy as before and hunt for new Persona users?"

"Actually, I think we should leave that aside for the time being." Nihane said. "After all, look what has happened with all the Persona users we've come across! The Holy Cross realise the truth and get killed, Roger decides he loves Karen after all, our Commander tries to fight back and dies with the Holy Cross...do we really need more warriors that will dissent and join with the enemy?"

"Good point. Still, we need a plan. Otherwise it could take even longer for the next Divine Spark." Carlos said.

"Then how about this? We keep an eye on where our rebel friends go, and play with their emotions. For example, Nina, you can easily anger your little sister. It's about the only thing you can do well, too!" Nihane said.

"Alright, I will!" Nina said, proud. "I won't let you down, Nihane."

"It looks like I was wrong. You're also good at empty promises! Moving on. Pierre, you immolated Kyle McHale's mother. The handicapped orphan is undoubtably aching for revenge, making you his prime target. I suggest you play that to your advantage." Nihane said.

"Sounds fine to me. Besides, that brat managed to hack into our files! it's about time he learned to respect our privacy." Pierre said.

"Next. Josephine, you easily get on Nathan's nerves. I trust you'll do this at any opportunity, even without my permission?" Nihane said.

"Gladly!" Josephine said. "That handsome man shall become mine! My beauty will far surpass that wretched Priscilla's!"

"You really think so? That Priscilla is quite a doll, if I say so myself." Archibald said. "Now then. By ruthlessly antagonising our enemies, the Fourth Divine Spark will come?"

"I can't say for sure it'll happen. However...have I ever been wrong, old man? No, I didn't think so. So we do this. If it doesn't work, we'll come up with another plan. I doubt we'll need to do that, however." Nihane said. "Dismissed. Continue your regular duties for tonight."

As everyone left, Nihane stood up and looked out the window. The meeting room was located on the penultimate floor of the headquarters, and thus Nihane could see the vast cityscape before him. At one point, he had found pride in living here. That was gone, though. Soon enough, a new reality would replace the current one.

"That girl...she may have seen some of my memories."

|Crystal Palace Bowling Park|20:45 pm|

"Come on, come on - YES!" Zao said, as he threw the ball.

"Zao, you only threw the ball!" Stella said. Zao hadn't been doing well, and thus the Motus Rebels were rather behind the Holy Cross. Still, there was still time to make up points, but Amara had her doubts.

"Just you wait! I'll get a strike for sure - oh." Zao watched as his ball rolled into the gutter, not knocking down a single pin. "Not again! Damn."

"Not quite the pro bowler you thought you were, huh?" Amara said, giggling.

"Well, it's been so long! I keep screwing up! And I have to throw again!" Zao said. "Man, I didn't think it'd be so hard!"

"Zao, quit whining!" Karl said. "You're not focusing on the pins, which is why you keep missing. Just take your time, and aim for the centre. Imagine the ball hitting them as you throw. I know you can do this. Try again, okay?"

"Alright, I'll give it a shot!" Zao said. "Then here goes nothing! Behold, Zao's last stand!" After hesitating for a little while, Zao finally threw the ball. It seemed to roll towards the pins for an eternity, but it finally reached the pins, knocking them all down.

"YES! Well done!" Karl said, giving Zao a quick hug. "See, all you needed was a little focus!"

"Yup! Thanks, man! Stella, you're up!" Zao said. "You're still not going to tell us who'll win, are you?"

"Absolutely not! I want to keep the suspense, so stay on your toes!" Stella said.

One Hour Later

Both teams were on their last frame, and the scores were mostly even, thanks to Kazuya having some bad luck late on. The last players, Bianca and Zao, would decide the victor.

"Looks like it's all on me! Cool!" Zao said.

"Hey Karl, how about a bet to make things more interesting?" Richard said. "You know I've got Benjamin Gaultherias' boots, right?"

"The ones he used in the World Cup? Yeah, you showed me when I came round once. You mean, I get them if we win?" Karl said, excited.

"If you win. That depends on how lucky your fisherman friend is." Kazuya said, smug.

"Okay! And if I win, I'll - crap, I don't have any good stuff like that." Karl said, shrugging.

"What about that signed photograph of the Farawell Force team from 1969?" Zao said.

"Zao, that was a secret! Fine! We'll bet over our soccer memorabilia!" Karl said. Then, he looked at Zao, with a very serious look in his eyes. "Okay, since you blabbed, you can't lose. If you do, I'll make sure you can't even fish a minnow..."

"I'm dead." Zao said, shuddering.

"Come on, Zao, you'll do fine. Remember, as long as we play our best, we can go home proud." Amara said. Wow, I can't believe we're getting this tense about a bowling match. Bianca threw her last shot, and picked up a 8-2 Spare. Could Zao beat that?

Zao stepped forward, and picked the heaviest ball he could find. Karl looked worried, since the weight of the ball almost toppled Zao over. Yet, Zao endured, and threw the ball as hard as he could.

"Come on, come on!" Karl said, watching with baited breath.

"Miss, miss, miss!" Richard chanted, tense. Amara gave him the dirtiest look she could manage, and he immediately shut up.

Everyone watched, as the ball finally collided with the pins. Five of them fell down, but…the other five were wobbling, and one by one, all of them fell down.

"YES!" Zao leapt up and down. "This is the greatest moment of my life!"

"You would say that, Zao!" Amara said, chuckling. "But you've got one more throw to go! If you get another strike, we can win! And I can change shoes again!"

"What, again?" Zao said. "Uh oh. Karl will kill me if I mess up now!"

"No I won't, Zao! Eternal torture is much more enjoyable!" Karl said. Zao laughed, but Amara gulped. "Do it! Win me those boots! I'm not giving up that photo!"

"Alright. Then here we go!" Zao said, and throwing a lighter ball this time, he knocked all the pins down.

"Okay, now this is the greatest moment of my life!" Zao said. "The Motus Rebels have overthrown the Holy Cross, and beat the system!"

"See? If I had told you we'd win from the start, this wouldn't have been anywhere near as exciting!" Stella said, smiling.

"Good work, everyone." Karl said. "So, Richard, you know the deal!"

"Damn. I'll give you the boots tomorrow, but at least let me look at the photo!" Richard said. "I want to see if they really do have those porno moustaches!"

"Remember when Alastair tried growing a moustache?" Bianca said. "With his hair colour, I could barely even see it!"

"Hey, that was just so I'd look more mature. If only it had worked!"

"You should try some sideburns, like mine!" Richard said. "After all, I'm the one that got the most attention at the speed dating last night!"

"You two seriously went speed dating?" Karl said. "That doesn't seem very romantic!"

"That's what I said. I dunno, none of the 'babes' were any good. There was one who told me to piss off the moment I told her what I did, so we spent five minutes just sitting there. Then the next girl spent the entire time talking about her damn pink dress with the red sequins." Alastair said, sighing. "None of them wanted to talk about food at all."

"Now I'm really glad I didn't go." Stella said. Amara could just imagine Colette going on and on about her dress to every single man there, all of them dashing to get to the next woman.

"That was a lot of fun. You guys were fun to play against!" Kazuya said. "We should do this again!"

"Yes! It was nice to meet you all!" Bianca said. "You and Richard have a match on Monday, right? Good luck!"

"Thanks. You guys take care!" Karl said, and after both teams shook hands, the Holy Cross left.

"Well, that was pretty good. Some tense moments, but Zao came through for us!" Stella said.

"Yeah! So, do I get my victory kiss?" Zao said, grinning as usual. Karl looked a bit uncomfortable, but said nothing.

"Oh, you don't need to win to get one of those!" Amara said, and she gave Zao a huge kiss on the lips.

"This greatest day just got even greater!" Zao said. He looked pretty pleased with himself. "Sorry, guys, but I have to go home now. I'm going fishing with grandpa tomorrow morning…at five!"

"The early bird catches the worm! Or rather, uses the worm as bait." Karl said. "Let's call it a night, then!"

|Outside Crystal Palace Bowling Park|22:00 pm|

After yet another kiss from Amara, Zao left. Stella went home too, claiming it would be beneficial to get an early night. Thus, Amara was left alone with Karl...

She had never been more afraid. Up until now, they had been fine, just enjoying the game. Yet, she only just realised. Karl couldn't have been happy, watching his friend kiss his ex-girlfriend.

"Thanks for letting me come." Karl said. "Trust me, I wouldn't have come if you had said no. I've let you down too much before…"

"Karl, it's alright. It's just after all that happened, it's kind of strange being around you again." Amara said.

"I know." Karl said. "But after talking with Zao, I think I understand why I acted that way. Even after all this time, he's still the same. I'm happy he's with you."

"Thank you. We can do this again, right?" Amara said.

"Of course. Knowing Zao, he'll want the three of us to hang out all the time. It's so hard to say no to him!"

"I know what you mean!" Amara said. "I need to go home, myself. Don't worry, I put most of the pencils back in the case!"

"Good! Last thing you need is to trod on them again. Remember that time I did that? It was the most colourful acupuncture I'd ever seen!" Karl said, laughing. "Take care."

Amara went home, and breathed a sigh of relief. With any luck, she and Karl could just be friends, and have fun just like they did tonight. Maybe Stella would join them, too. Or perhaps Serena, Blaine, or Nathan could join in the fun? Just then, she got a text message from Zao. It was simply an ASCII rendering of a fish.

Amara went to bed smiling that night. Tonight, she didn't even think about any of the Divine Sparks or the Ater Vox, but rather how lucky she was to have Zao.