Chapter Three: Power of Persona

April 9, 2009, Early Morning

Gekkoukan High – Yukari's POV

THURSDAY

I decided to take my time coming to school today, since Arisato-kun doesn't need me to come with him to school anymore. He looks pretty streetwise so I'm not too surprised that he explored a bit the day before. I know that no one really takes the rumor grapevine in Gekkoukan seriously, but since Arisato-kun is a transfer student, he may not be used to rumors like I am. I mean come on, it's the guy's first day of school and there are already rumors about him. We agreed to avoid coming to school together. I don't really mind the rumors because I know that they'll fade soon enough but he might. Besides, he's pretty attractive so I won't be surprised if he has a girlfriend back in Tokyo.

Besides, I can't help but feel awkward around him. The knowledge that we're spying on him at night makes me feel guilty, no matter how the Chairman says it. So I feel quite relieved that I don't have to escort him to school anymore.

April 9, 2009, Early Morning

Gekkoukan High – Minato's POV

I decided against going with Yukari-san again this morning. Yukari-san asked me once if I wanted her to come with me just in case I needed some more time to get used to my new surroundings. But since I explored a bit the day before, I knew the way pretty well. Besides, I still had a weird feeling about the dream last night. I decided to forget about it and head to school.

I entered the school grounds with my duffel bag on my shoulder. "Hey." Junpei said. Apparently, he'd been waiting at the school gates for me. He was wearing pretty much the same thing he wore a few days ago. The only difference was the color of his dress shirt, not even his mega-watt grin faded. "This looks like a perfect day, right, Minato-kun?"

We started walking to our classroom. "Hello to you too, Junpei-kun. You seem pretty happy today. Did you take energy drinks for breakfast? Did something happen?"

Junpei stepped back with mock surprise on his face. "Are you spying on me, man?" Then he laughed. "The day's just perfect that's all. Were happy guys aren't we? In the prime of life and happy?"

"Really?" I asked with sarcasm in my voice.

"Nuh-uh. You aint' gonna get any facts from Junpei the magnanimous!" He said, once we reached the classroom.

Junpei's smile was very contagious. "Do you even know what magnanimous means?" I asked him.

"'Course dude. In the dictionary, the definition says, JUNPEI IORI."

Haha. He's certainly energetic today.

I dropped the pen I took from my bag. I bent down to pick it up and when I did, something fell from my pocket. I turned around to check the object and I was surprised at what I saw. The shining blue-hued key from my dream. The Velvet Key.

I looked around if anyone else saw the expensive-looking key with its expensive-looking gold engravings. But no one even paid attention to it. Before someone noticed me, I picked the key up and sat back on my chair.

"What are you doing, Minato-kun?" Junpei asked me. "You picked your pen up already, so why are you staring at your hand?"

Staring at my hand? Can't he see the freakin' key?

"Didn't you see it?" I asked him, putting the key in my pocket.

"The pen?" Junpei asked, looking at me weirdly. "Uh, it looks good?"

The pen? What does he mean? Can't they see the key? Makes sense, I guess. They didn't see it when it fell. Or maybe I'm just going mad.

"Never mind." I told Junpei as Yukari came in.

Junpei looked from me to Yukari. "You guys live in the same dorm. But you came to school separately?"

"What about it?" Yukari asked, glaring spears at Junpei.

"Ah, whatever." Junpei said. "Whatever floats your boat, right?" He turned to me. But I was still thinking about the key and my dream.

Evening

Minato's Room

Once I took a bath and changed into casual clothes, I sat on my desk and tried to go online. Just my luck when I found out that the internet was still down, so I turned the computer off and looked outside through the window near the desk, it was dark outside. I had a bad feeling about this night. I can tell. Something's coming.

Out of impulse, I took the school uniform I used earlier and changed into it. For some strange reason, I feel comfortable sleeping in uniform. I took a deep breath and lied down on my bed with my hands folded behind my head. I wonder if I'll have that dream again…

Dark Hour

Yukari's POV

"How is he doing?" Ikutsuki asked.

"Same as last night." Mitsuru-senpai replied. "No change whatsoever."

"Hmm. This is certainly unusual…" The Chairman sat on a nearby couch. "Even those who have the potential tend to be unstable at first."

Senpai nodded. "As was the case with Akihiko and Takeba. They experience memory loss, disorientation, generally unstable during the first few nights…"

"How about you senpai?" I asked, wondering if she had any experiences like that.

"I was the same." She replied, looking away. "Arisato is definitely breaking the pattern."

"Come to think of it, he just waltzed inside during the night he arrived, right?" I said. "And from my observations, he remembered it pretty well."

"This is certainly most unusual…" Ikutsuki murmured. "I'm getting curious as to how this will turn out…"

That made me feel even more uncomfortable. "… Why do we have to treat him like an experiment?" I shifted uncomfortably.

The Chairman's eyes remained glued to the screen. "Only for a few more nights, Yukari. I know that this makes you feel uncomfortable, but it is of the highest priority to recruit more members. It's getting harder and harder to combat the increasing mass of shadows and the danger they pose to the rest of the city. Besides," Ikutsuki looked at me with a smile. "Wouldn't it be easier to work with someone with the same year as you?"

"I- I suppose." I said.

I didn't really think of it that way. We haven't really had much chance to talk have we? The way he looked while we were in the monorail on his first trip to Gekkoukan, his eyes hardened and he looked intimidating and sad at the same time…

I can tell that he doesn't trust us yet. I hope he loosens up soon.

My thoughts were interrupted by a chime coming from the monitor. Mitsuru-senpai frowned and pushed a key. "Command Room. Akihiko I pres-"

"Yeah, yeah. Listen we don't have time for that." Akihiko sounded out of breath. "Drat, this thing is huge!"

The Chairman and I exchanged alarmed looks and Mitsuru frowned. "Akihiko." She said to the microphone. "What's going on?"

Akihiko panted. "I'm almost there. A big shadow's chasing me. Shoot! That was close…" He remained silent for a moment. "You better get ready! This thing is huge!"

"Wait, does that mean he's bringing that here?!" I panicked, the color fading from my face.

Mitsuru spun around to face me and the chairman. "We'll postpone the observation for now." She said her face tight. "Chairman, stay here."

"O-okay." He said.

Senpai turned to me. "Yukari, come with me."

I nodded and hands shaking, grabbed my gear from the table then I followed Mitsuru out the hall.

By the time the two of us reached the lounge, Akihiko had just closed the door behind him. He slumped to the ground, leaning against the door.

"Akihiko!" Mitsuru-senpai exclaimed. "What happened?!" She hurried to his side.

The boxer was holding his ribs, breathing hard. "Senpai, you're hurt!" I said, seeing the blood starting to stain his shirt.

He waved his other hand and shook his head. "I'm okay." He said, biting his lip. "We have one big customer coming up. And he's hungry."

"This isn't the time to joke, Akihiko!" Mitsuru snapped. "What the heck is going on?!"

Straining to stand, Akihiko-senpai took hold of Mitsuru's hand. "One of them. This one is big. Much bigger and stronger than the others."

As if on cue, a loud thump, like something banging on the wall almost made me jump. Mitsuru-senpai was also startled but she just took her evoker out of its holster and turned to me. "Yukari, take Arisato and head out the back!"

I was relieved that I didn't have to fight that thing, but I was also concerned for my senpais. "W-what about you?"

"We'll do our best to stop it." Mitsuru senpai said. Akihiko, you led it here so you'll have to help me."

"Like I had a choice!" The boxer argued. "What are you waiting for Yukari, go!"

I nodded and ran the flight of stairs heading to the second floor.

Minato's Room

Minato's POV

I was shook awake by a loud thump coming from some side of the building. What the heck was that? I shook my head to chase away any remaining sleepiness. I sat up straight and put my shoes on.

I was even more startled when someone banged my door. Out of impulse, I headed straight for my sword with its sheath on.

"Minato-kun? It's me Yukari!" Her voice was high-pitched and she was breathing hard, as if she was being chased. I decided to let her in, but I held the sword with my right hand. I wasn't taking any chances.

"What's going on?" I asked my voice reasonably calm despite my frazzled nerves.

Yukari wore the gun she pointed at me some 2 days ago on a strap by her legs, ignoring the sword in my right hand. "Good, you're armed. We have to go now! No time to explain." Without waiting for a reply, she grabbed my left hand and ran down the stairs, dragging me with her.

I had no idea what was going on. But judging from Yukari-san's reaction, she knew a lot of what's happening. And if she wanted me to hurry, well, I wasn't one to argue. Though, I'm not sure I approve of running downstairs at this speed…

"We have to get through the back door." Yukari panted. "Our senpais are holding it off but we have to hurry."

"Holding what off?" I asked, once we reached the first floor. I was breathing evenly, in contrast to Yukari's heavy breathing.

"No time to explain." She said. "Come on!" We rounded the corner, heading to the door. "They should have contained it out front. We don't have long to wait before-"

She was interrupted by beeping coming from the headset I now noticed she was wearing. "Takeba!" Mitsuru's voice said. "Do you read me?"

"Yeah. Loud and clear, senpai!" Yukari said.

A headset? Where- Never mind.

"Be careful! The one were dealing with isn't the one Akihiko saw."

"W-what?" Yukari's face lost some of the color it had regained.

I gripped my sword tighter and fell to a half crouch when we heard loud crashes coming from the other side of the dorm from the door we were just about to go through. I looked to Yukari and saw that she was now pale with fright.

"Something tells me you don't do this too often." I said. Yukari gave no hint that she heard. "I think we should go upstairs."

She nodded, still staring at the door. "Come on." I said, grabbing her hand and rushed to the rooftop.

Rooftop

I pushed the door open as we rushed through and Yukari slammed it shut behind us. We paused for a moment, taking deep breaths. "We should be safe here." Yukari said, once she regained her breath. I straightened and looked around. No evidence of unfriendly elements anywhere. "Okay, can you tell me what's going on now?" I asked Yukari.

"Oh yeah. Sorry, but the full explanation will have to wait." Yukari said. "But the thing that's chasing us right now is-"

She was interrupted by another loud crash.

"Oh no." Yukari's eyes widened. "No, no, no, no, no."

I spun around and faced the edge of the roof. Another loud crash. And another. And another. Slowly, the two of us stepped back as a thin, jet-black hand came into view. The hand was holding a blue mask. It shifted the mask from side to side until it faced me and Yukari, much like a hawk searching for prey. Soon, more hands grabbed the side of the roof. Some holding, very sharp-looking knives. As the black creature climbed up, all I could see were hands glued together at its center. It seemed to be made of hands, with the mask serving as its eyes.

Yukari gasped and I stood frozen in place, thoughts racing. Yukari pulled her gun out of its holster. Thinking that she was going to shoot the monster, I took the sword out of its sheath. I walked a few steps forward, breathing heavily, intending to provide cover for Yukari. I hoisted the silver blade diagonally, its length guarding me, just in case the monster attacked.

I looked back, waiting for Yukari's signal. So I was surprised when she put the gun barrel to her forehead. Probably thinking that death by gun was better than death by creature from the abyss. "Wait! What are you doing?!" I shouted. Lowering my sword to pry the gun from Yukari's hands, the monster saw the opening it was waiting for. It batted me aside with one swipe of one of its hands. Luckily, my sword took most of the damage, but I landed on my left side and sustained a gash on the right.

"Ugh." I pulled myself up to a sitting position. The monster was now only a few feet from where Yukari stood. "Yukari!"

Command Room

Akihiko's POV

Once Mitsuru and I crushed the weakling Maya types downstairs, we ran to the command room. Hoping to find the juniors and the giant Shadow through the many cameras around the dorm. To our dismay we saw the two things we were looking for together on the roof. Yukari had her evoker pressed against her forehead. And Minato lay down a few feet away from Yukari. He had a wound, judging by the way he was holding his sword.

I took advantage of the few moments we had to rest. "Akihiko." Mitsuru said, seeing the scene on the rooftop. "Let's go!"

"Wait!" Ikutsuki said.

"Wait?" I said. "What do you mean? They're gonna die if we don't get there soon!"

Ikutsuki didn't answer me. Instead, he turned back to watch the rooftop. I flinched as I heard Yukari scream. Apparently, she wasn't able to summon her persona so the shadow attacked her with a fire attack. Yukari fell to her knees.

"I'm not going to stay here and watch this!" I yelled. I opened the door and ran to the hall not caring if Mitsuru followed or not.

Rooftop

Minato's POV

"Yukari!" I yelled.

She opened her eyes and looked at me. Her eyes were filled with panic. "I don't want it to end like this." I heard her murmur.

"Don't do it!" I yelled. I tried to stand up, gritting my teeth. I used my sword to brace myself. The monster had no eyes for me. The mask was watching only her. Suddenly, it spread its hands wide and a fireball came out of nowhere and rushed towards Yukari.

I tried to run to her but I was too late. She fell to her knees and the pistol glided and fell at my feet. I picked it up intending to shoot the creature, since my sword was battered. But once I held it, I saw ghost boy mimicking Yukari. "Go on." He urged.

Instead of the panic I should have felt. I felt eerily calm as the monstrosity came closer. I closed my eyes as I heard my heart beating. Slow but strong. I took a deep breath as I put the pistol to the side of my head. What in the world am I doing? The sensible part of me thought. But my body wasn't listening. Another deep breath. I opened my eyes.

"Per…so…na."

And pulled the trigger.

Blue shards exploded out of the side of my head. More shards came out as an unseen wind blew my jacket around me. I was hardly aware of Yukari coming to her senses. The shards coalesced to form an apparition behind me. "Thou art I" It said, with a voice similar to mine.

"And I am thou. From the sea of thy soul I come forth." It was inhumanly proportioned, some of its limbs were made of mechanical parts. And instead of a mouth, it had a speaker at the middle of its silver-blue body. It also had a huge white harp at its back. "I am Orpheus. The master of strings." It said in a voice like mine.

I felt so full of power. I felt like I could do anything. Suddenly, I shivered involuntarily. I doubled over, I felt like my head was exploding. "Aaaaaargh!" I cried out, Orpheus howling in concert with me.

Rooftop

Akihiko's POV

I rushed through the door as I heard Minato scream. He was doubled over, clutching his head. There was something behind him, his newly summoned Persona, I assume. The Persona was howling along with its master, a terrible sound of agony.

I rushed over to where Yukari sat and helped her up. Yukari and I drew back as Minato screamed.

"What the?"

Something else was clawing its way out of his Persona. That something tore free of the previous Persona's remains. Casting aside the tattered remnants of the first Persona, it bared itself to the moonlight. It was skeletal in form, with a long black cloak around it. But its most noticeable features were: the metal beak-like head, the coffin-like wings (wing-like coffins?) chained together on its back, and its massive sword.

It launched itself upon the Shadow. The silver samurai sword in one hand, it brutally sliced the Shadow up into tiny pieces. Almost as soon as it attacked, the encounter was over. The Reaper-like creature took one of the hands it sliced and crushed it with one hand. The Reaper-like creature roared, daring anything to come near it.

Grunting, sweat dripping from his face, Minato stood up. I was so caught up in watching the destruction of the shadow that I didn't notice that he'd stopped screaming. The creature turned to Minato. Then, it turned to us.

Minato's POV

Stupid thing. Thinking it could threaten me and get away with it. Who dares to stand up to me? WHO DARES!?

"Rgh." I was so full of rage. I wanted to destroy. Destroy. My head was pounding but I didn't care. That thing with the hands was nothing. Compared to me, that was as insignificant as an ant. "Argh." What is this? More who defy me? Yukari? And someone else… must be the senior that Chairman mentioned.

My feet swayed beneath me. Do they dare defy me? Why am I thinking like this? That. That thing, Thanatos, is thinking these thoughts… why am I feeling them? Why am I hearing them? "They will PAY!" Thanatos roared.

"NO!" I yelled. "Stop." I said my vision blurring.

Akihiko's POV

The Reaper-like creature roared.

"No!" Minato yelled, getting in its path. "Stop." He clutched his head, his breath becoming ragged. "Stop…"

The creature roared again and flew straight to us, skirting around Minato. I stepped back and put my evoker to my head. "Polydeuces!"

My persona, Polydeuces stood in the creature's way. I pushed my palm out, aiming a Zio towards the creature. It slashed its sword through the spell and charged straight through my Persona. Polydeuces stood no chance against it. I clutched my abdomen as I felt the pain and doubled over.

"Senpai!" Yukari yelled.

The door burst open as Mitsuru barged in. "Penthesilea!" She yelled. Mitsuru sent her Persona to me and Yukari. Penthesilea grabbed us and took us inside the dorm.

"Be careful." I told Mitsuru. "It's very strong, Polydeuces stood no chance."

"Where's Arisato?" She asked.

"Still outside." Yukari answered.

The creature stood in the middle of the roof, waiting. Penthesilea summoned some ice and sent to the creature. The creature flew and avoided the attack. It roared and raised its sword.

"Thanatos!" Minato yelled. The reaper-like creature stopped and looked at Minato.

Minato grunted and pushed his palm out. The creature roared at the junior. Minato panted as the Reaper-like creature glowed and roared. It glowed with a soft blue light, unseen wind billowed its cloak. Soon, a soft blue card floated in place of the creature. The card broke into tiny pieces and faded. Penthesilea rushed forward to grab Minato as the junior's knees buckled.

Yukari and I rushed out and walked to the middle of the roof.

"What the heck… was… that?" Asked the exhausted Minato.

"You can rest easy for now, Minato." Mitsuru said, her voice unusually soft. "Don't worry, everything will be alright."

Author's Note: Uh, not much change in this revised version. I tried to make the scenes easier to understand here and fixed a few grammatical errors. If anybody finds any errors of any kind somewhere, please review! :D