Author's Notes: I apologize for the long wait for this. I'm also going to do what I should've done in the first place and say that this story is inspired by the entire Persona series. There still aren't any spoilers for that series, however.

Inner Fire

Had it really been a week since we went inside the TV? An entire week and nothing unusual had happened. It was almost enough to chalk it all up as just a strange dream.

But only almost. There was still plenty of evidence proving that it was real: the monocle, Dark's card, and most notable, Dark's near-constant presence. I wasn't sure if something had changed or if I was just paying attention now, but I could tell he was there, watching the world through me. It was a strange feeling. Not really good or bad, just... weird.

Bang!

I jumped, looking around the room. No one else was in here -- of course not; all the students had gone home for the day. Still, I heard something, and I wanted to know what. I barely had time to stand up when I heard a yell. I ducked out into the hallway... and saw several students and something wooden on the floor.

Oh, right. Sheik said he'd have to stay and help one of his classes set up for the open house tomorrow afternoon. I nodded to myself and went back into my classroom, easing the door closed behind me.

It wasn't good to be this jumpy.

Yeah, but don't relax too much. If something does happen, you need to be ready.

"If something happens," I muttered, walking over to sit on my desk. "I haven't seen anything unusual, haven't heard anything unusual... I haven't even heard much about the Midnight Channel! It's just... just..."

Just what?

I reached into my pocket and pulled out Dark Link's card, glaring at it. "If I didn't know better, I'd think I imagined all of it."

And do you know better?

"I don't know, Dark. Do I?" I crushed the card in my hand, feeling the already-familiar gentle tug as it shattered and Dark Link appeared in front of me.

He laughed. "Apparently you do."

"I don't have much of a choice." I replied. "I just don't like this. I feel like I'm in over my head."

"Okay, what would make you feel better?"

"How about an idea what's going on here? I didn't even know Personas existed until a week ago!"

Dark Link laughed, pulling off his mask and setting it on the desk. "Does it matter? You know now, and you also accept my power."

Did I really have much of a choice with that, either? I sighed.

"You worry too much. Do what you can. That's all you can do." He grinned. "It just so happens that 'all you can do' is a lot."

Was that so? "I don't even know what all you can do. I know I can call you to fight for me, but is there more?"

"Depends. I've got a few tricks. You want to know what I can do?"

"It would be nice, yes." It would give me a better idea of something, at least.

He chuckled. "Well, then, let me give you --"

Someone screamed out in the hall. That didn't sound like the startled yells from earlier. This one sounded terrified.

"Get back!"

I ran out into the hall. I was overreacting, right? Someone dropped something, maybe fell...

There was something down the hall, something shadowy and inhuman. It looked almost like a hand with a head coming from the wrist. What kind of creature was that?

"A Shadow..." Dark Link said next to me.

"Here?!"

He growled. "No time for that!"

He was right. If there were Shadows here, in the school... I had to stop them. "Let's go. Hey, over here!"

The strange thing stopped on one finger and turned towards me. "Yeah, you heard me!" I yelled, taking a step towards it. "Come and get me!"

It chittered in a disturbing way and then pulled itself up into the air, pointing at me. Dark Link jumped in front of me as a bolt of lightning shot forward. Even with Dark in the way, it hurt, lancing through me and leaving a very not-right-feeling tingle; I fell to one knee.

"Damned thing," Dark hissed, pulling himself back up and then holding out a hand to pull me to my feet. "If it won't close the distance, we'll have to; let's move!"

"Right."

It didn't take long to get to the end of the hall; Dark Link drew his sword and charged the hand-thing while I took the chance to look around. There were more of the hand-things, pawing at the door to a nearby classroom; I could see a couple of students through the glass, trying to hold the door shut.

Those monsters weren't getting in there, not while I was here. "Hey, you! Here I am, right here!"

The hand-things stopped clawing at the door and turned towards me. Three of them, and that one hit me hard enough... I took a few steps back, and the Shadows followed me. At least I was leading them away from the students. Maybe those students could get out a window or something now that they didn't have to hold the door shut.

I heard a curse behind me as it felt like something slammed into me. I sagged against the wall. What was that...?

"Shit, where'd all these bastards come from?" Dark snarled from next to me; he sounded hurt.

I turned towards him and saw two more of the hand-things coming towards us. Five of them? We were outnumbered, and the way that bolt hit, we needed something that could kill them faster than his sword.

There had to be something, right? One of them was coming closer. There had to be some way to blast it like it blasted us. Some kind of magic or power...

Dark nodded at me. "Trust me."

"Okay..." I did, but what did that have to do with -- wait. I understood now. I needed to trust him, needed to believe in my power. "I do."

Fire. I didn't know why that thought popped into my head, but it did. Fire magic, and Dark Link could use it and --

I pointed at the closest Shadow, watching as Dark Link made some strange gesture with his hand out of the corner of my eye. I hoped this worked.

"Agilao!"

The Shadow screamed as a burst of fire exploded against it, dissolving into gray smoke.

"It worked!" Much better than a sword; were these things weak to magic?

Dark laughed as the other Shadows seemed to hesitate. "So, you little bastards don't like fire, do you? All right, then, there's more where that came from!"

It didn't take long to take the other four out, either, though I had a headache by the time we were done. Dark did say he could only manifest through my strength of will. Did that mean his power relied on my willpower too? That would explain my headache; I was running out of strength.

"Do you see any more, Dark?" I hoped the answer was no.

"I don't. I hear something over there, though. We should check it out."

I forced myself to nod; we did. If there were any more Shadows here... I had to stop them before anyone got hurt.

There were noises, chittering and scratching and other things coming from the auditorium. I grit my teeth and grabbed the door handle. I hoped it was just some other students hiding, but the noises weren't human. Still, I had to know what was in there, had to take care of it no matter what it was.

I opened the door.

There were several more Shadows near the stage, and they were all running towards Sheik! I charged down the aisle towards them, hoping I could at least distract the monsters long enough for Sheik to get away. Sheik raised a weird looking gun and pointed it at his head; it looked like a toy or something.

"Sheik!"

"Link, get out of here!"

"No, I'm not leaving you behind!"

"I'll be fine," he said, oddly calm, then he pulled the trigger. There was a sound like glass breaking and a rush of energy, and then a bound and blindfolded figure appeared before him, arching its back.

"Maragilao!"

"Link!"

Everything around me seemed to burst into flames; oh, no, I was close enough it targetted me, too! I threw my arms up, though what could they do against... Wait a minute. I didn't feel like I was on fire, but when I opened my eyes, the flames were all I could see. How was this...?

The flames vanished, as did the Shadows.

Dark Link vaulted over some of the seats, landing in front of me with his shield held ready. "You're just lucky that was fire. Don't do that again."

"Sorry, but I -- Sheik!"

Sheik lowered the weird gun, staring at us in shock. The bound figure -- a woman, I think; it was hard to tell with all the bindings -- shimmered and then faded away. "How is... a Persona?"

Dark Link didn't say anything. He just held his ground -- or he would've, if not for the strange flicker than seemed to pass over him. He groaned and fell to one knee, and I had to close my eyes as pain lanced through my head. What was...?

"How is this possible?"

"How is what possible?" I snapped.

Dark snarled. "I'm going to protect him, no matter what it takes."

"Link, what is this?"

I couldn't focus any more. I fell against one of the seats; I could barely even stand up anymore... "I'm sorry, Dark..." I felt him fade away, his card reappearing in my hand. I pressed the card against my chest, afraid I'd drop it.

Don't apologize. Just be careful.

"Link?" Sheik's voice was close now. "Link, how long... How long have you been able to do that?"

I didn't answer. I couldn't answer. My head felt like something had cracked it open...

"Link, say something!"

"My head..." I managed to force out.

I felt a hand raise my head a little, though I kept my eyes shut. The motion alone was enough to make my headache worse.

"Sit still and catch your breath. You need to rest. How many times did you use your Evoker, Link? Do you remember?"

"Evoker...?" What was he talking about? "What is that?"

Sheik gasped. "Then how'd you summon your Persona?"

"I call him..." What was he even asking me? I called Dark, and he manifested... I'd show Sheik if my head didn't ache so much.

"That isn't possible!" Sheik sighed. "I'm going to go look around; you stay here and rest."

Did I really have much of a choice?

After a few minutes, I did feel better. I was still exhausted and sore, but my head didn't feel broken open anymore.

"Dark?" I asked softly.

Yeah?

"Just making sure you were there."

Of course I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. You feeling any better?

"A bit." I decided to try standing and hauled myself up to my feet. I could stand, good. I was sore, but considering what happened, I was lucky. Still, the first thing I was doing when I got home was a good hot shower. "The fire didn't hurt me."

Nope. Fire can't touch me. And since I'm your power, it can't touch you, either. Just don't get too carried away with it. Power is nothing if you can't manifest it.

"I pushed too hard, didn't I?"

You did, or I did, one way or another. You hardly ever called me 'til now, and then we had to roast all those Shadows. A chuckle. I'm surprised you're even awake, really.

I started walking up the aisle. It had been quiet ever since Sheik left, so did that mean everything was all right?

Hey, didn't he say to rest? That's not resting, Link.

"I have to know if he's okay."

Uh-huh. Link, let me spell this out. We don't know where Sheik went, we don't know if there are any more of those Shadows running around, you're a good breeze from falling over, and oh, yeah, you couldn't call me right now if you had to.

I grit my teeth. He did have a point, but what if Sheik was hurt? If I could help, I had to try. I went to take another step and instead fell down to my knees.

Okay, I overestimated. One step from falling over.

"I didn't fall over!" I just fell down. I still wasn't going anywhere, though; I knew that much. I was just so tired. "Is it always going to be like this?"

"My hope is that we'll eventually get used to this," Sheik said, easing the door behind him. "I managed to calm everyone down and send them home. It's over, for now."

I managed to pull myself up into a seat. "What's over?"

He sighed and walked over to sit behind me. "I'm not entirely sure."

Did he mean he didn't know what a Shadow was? "And that Evoker thing?"

"About time all of the Midnight Channel rumors started, I found a package on my desk. Inside was an Evoker, instructions on how to use it, and a letter saying I'd been chosen to protect the students from something called Shadows."

Doesn't that just sound convenient.

"I didn't believe it at first, but I tried it and... I have a Persona." Sheik sighed and stared at me. "You have a Persona but no Evoker. How's that possible? How did you even find this out?"

"The Midnight Channel."

"I should have known you'd try it."

"Have you?"

He shook his head. "I thought it was just more school gossip."

"Even after getting your Evoker?" Even after realizing that things weren't the way we thought they were? How could he not look into it?

"I didn't see the point. I was practicing with my Persona."

I sighed. "What does she have to say about that?"

He gave me a worried look. "Are you feeling all right, Link? I thought you were just tired, but now you're worrying me."

He can't hear her. Dark sounded annoyed. That explains why she's bound.

I looked down at the floor. "I am just tired. You don't really understand what a Persona is, do you?"

"I know how to use it. Nothing else matters."

"Things aren't that simple." I sighed. "Those things are called Shadows, for one, and someone is bringing them here to hurt people."

Sheik didn't look like he believed me. "Does it matter? They were here, and I destroyed them."

"You're not the only one who struck them down," I muttered, looking down at Dark's card.

"Look, are you feeling any better? I can drive you home if I --"

I grit my teeth and forced myself up to my feet. "I'm fine, Sheik." He didn't believe me. He didn't even want to listen. "I can get myself home. Don't worry about me."

He didn't say anything as I staggered out of the auditorium, either. I didn't know where the strength to walk came from, but I managed to make it back to my classroom and fall into my chair. I'd get home eventually, but this was a fine spot to just sit and rest.

I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have just walked away like that, but... no. If he didn't want to believe me, I couldn't force him. For now, I'd catch my breath, and then head home and maybe see if I could get inside the TV again and find Nobody. Maybe he or Kishin had an idea for why the Shadows were at the school.

I don't trust Sheik. Be careful what you tell him.

"Why don't you trust him?" I asked softly, pulling my cell phone out of my jacket pocket and flipping it open. Kafei called twice; must've been during the commotion.

I don't trust anyone who can't accept himself.

"What are you talking about?"

Like I said, that's why she's bound. He isn't calling his Persona forth; he's forcing her to do his bidding, regardless of what she might want or might say.

"That's possible?" I gasped as it hit me. "That's what that Evoker thing is for, isn't it? It forces his Persona out even if he can't or won't call it himself..."

I think so. Dark growled. I don't trust him at all.

"I'll keep that in mind," I said. First things first: I needed to let Kafei know I was all right. I dialed his number.

"Where have you been?" Kafei demanded, answering after the first ring.

"It's a long story." And it was. "Where are you?"

"Outside the school; where are you?"

I sighed. I had a feeling he'd come here when I didn't answer. "I'm in my classroom. Just... be careful. There were Shadows here earlier. I'm pretty sure they're all dead, but be careful just the same."

"Will do." I heard keys jingling. "Be there in a couple of minutes."

I leaned back in my chair and sighed, setting my phone on the desk. This was all just crazy. All of it. Shadows in the school and a monster...

"You look like hell, Link."

"Thanks, Kafei," I said softly, still looking up at the ceiling.

"Sorry." He didn't really sound it. "Are you going to be okay? You look like you're about to pass out."

That's because he is! Dark snapped.

"Dark, he can't hear you. You know that," I muttered.

I felt a hand on my forehead. "Kafei..."

He sighed. "I know part of it is being tired, but part of it --"

"Yeah, I'm hurt, I know. Not here." I just wanted to get out of here before something else happened. "Besides, I don't know where Sheik is."

"Sheik's here?"

"Long story short, Sheik has a Persona but something about it is wrong, so I'd rather not talk about it here."

Something warm and soft brushed my cheek; I didn't know why, but it made me feel less achy. "There," Kafei said. "That should help a little. Now let's get you out of here before something else happens."

---

We didn't talk about what happened the rest of the evening. Kafei and I both focused on other things until midnight, and then we hopped through the TV.

"Something is wrong," Kishin said. He and Nobody were waiting for us, one on either side of the entrance. If I hadn't seen his lips moving; I wouldn't have known who was talking.

"Yeah, some more Shadows got out," Kafei replied. "They attacked the school."

"Then that's why all the Shadows were running around earlier. They acted like they were following something, but Kishin and I couldn't find anything."

I took the chance to put on my monocle; I had a feeling I'd need it. "Did you see where they went?"

Nobody grabbed my hand and tugged me forward. "Over here."

There was something on the ground in the distance, something dark and weirdly-shaped, up against one of the strange railings. It looked like a drawing.

Dark Link grabbed my arm and pulled me backwards. "Careful."

"What is this?"

"It just doesn't feel right."

I sighed. It looked like some kind of fancy circle on the ground with a symbol in the center that looked familiar for some reason I couldn't explain. The markings didn't look right for paint, but it definitely wasn't chalk; the symbol looked like it was still damp. "Does anyone know what it is?"

"The Shadows were interested in it," Kishin replied -- at least, I thought it was Kishin. "They all seemed drawn to this particular spot, and then they all vanished. We weren't able to locate them after that point. We haven't seen or heard anything other than ourselves since then."

Keaton paced a circle around it, careful not to touch the marks as he sniffed them.

Kafei knelt next to me. "I don't like this."

"I don't either," I replied.

"I don't sense anything unusual," Keaton said, moving away from the circle before sitting.

I turned to Kishin. "They vanished from here?"

"Yes."

"I bet this is how they got to the school." There wasn't any other explanation; someone called the Shadows to the school for a specific reason. Earlier I could think this was a random thing, but now I was convinced. Someone somewhere was calling them. Someone intelligent was behind this.

"We can't just leave it here," Kafei said, shaking his head. "Today was bad enough, but there's that open house tomorrow. There are going to be a lot of people in that building tomorrow afternoon." He looked down at the symbol, tapping one finger against the cool floor. "We should be there. That way, if something happens..."

I sighed. "Sheik will be there. He has his Evoker, and there may be other people with Evokers, as well."

"Evoker?"

Kishin growled. "A device humans made to force a Persona out. It is a way to call a Persona forth even if the user lacks the will to do so or refuses to accept their Persona."

"Refuses to accept? You mean, if I had fought Dark, I wouldn't be able to call him?" That made sense, in a way. If I was using my strength of will to manifest him, then naturally, if I denied him...

Nobody nodded. "Yeah. A lot of people deny what they are inside. Everyone has a Persona, but not everyone can call it."

"It takes a particular combination of personal acceptance and mental strength for one to become a Persona-user. People like you and Kafei are rare," Kishin added. "Is there anything else you wish to do here? If not, I would recommend we move away from here. Someone was able to pull the Shadows from here; he may be capable of sending something this way, as well. It could be dangerous."

Dark put his hand on my shoulder. "He's right; we should move back."

"So what are we going to do, then?" I asked as we walked back towards the entrance.

"There may be others with Evokers."

"There surely are," Kishin said. "Most I'm aware of don't use them for long. It seems forcing out your Persona isn't something most tolerate for very long." By his voice, he knew something more than that, but he wasn't willing to elaborate.

That was fine. If there was some side-effect of it, maybe it could convince Sheik to stop. He wouldn't listen to me, but could he ignore his own body? Then again, he clearly ignored his own Persona...

"You know Link won't be able to sit back and let people get hurt," Dark said. He sounded proud about that. "So he'll probably be watching tomorrow. He may not have any students involved, but it's not like it would be weird if he was there."

"I'll probably be there, as well," Kafei said. "But we need to be careful, even if something happens. If there are other people using Personas..."

I nodded. "They may not be on our side."

Nobody tugged on my sleeve. "Are you going?"

"I don't know."

"He should," Dark said. "He pushed himself too far earlier. He needs the rest."

Nobody nodded. "You should, then. You need your strength. We'll watch from here."

I sighed. "I don't want to just run off; we haven't been here that long."

"And yet, in that time, we've been able to exchange information," Kishin replied. "That makes it worthwhile. As you said, this could be a sign of more trouble to come. What happened earlier could have been merely a test in preparation for tomorrow. After all, it is safe to say that whoever is calling these Shadows to your world is doing so for the sole purpose of causing as much destruction as possible. You should rest, especially if you pushed too far. Everyone has limits."

"Yeah," Nobody said with a nod. "And if nothing happens, we can talk more tomorrow. You need to sleep now."

That was a plan. I didn't think it was the greatest, but there was so much I didn't know. Were there other people with Evokers? How did Sheik get his in the first place?

Someone pushed me towards the entrance. "Come on, Link; you need to rest."

"Why is everyone so worried about me resting all of a sudden?" I snapped.

Keaton nudged my leg. "If you could see yourself, you'd see why. You look ready to pass out."

Again, I thought darkly. This just wasn't my day. I closed my eyes. "All right, I'm going. One way or another, tomorrow we're going to try and figure this out better."

"Of course." I couldn't tell if it was Kishin or Nobody. "For now, however, we should prepare for battle."

"We?"

"Yes, all of us." There was something he wasn't telling me.

"Fine. Then tonight we rest, and tomorrow we talk."

---

'Tomorrow' turned out to not be worth the fuss. Classes went perfectly normal. I overheard a couple of students laughing about being pranked while setting up for the open house, but that didn't make sense. They all thought it was just someone in a weird costume? How could that be? Those things weren't the least bit human.

But I couldn't prove it. The Shadows were gone, and there weren't even any signs of the battle. The hallway and the auditorium were both somehow completely undamaged, even though there had been fire there not even twenty-four hours before. The floor and walls should've been burnt or scorched or something, but there wasn't the slightest trace of anything.

It was as if it all had just been a joke. But that wasn't possible, was it? No, I knew what I'd seen. There was a reason I was so exhausted today, and it wasn't just not sleeping well.

I leaned against the wall and reached up to rub my temples.

Come on; stop beating yourself up. Whoever's behind this is good at covering his tracks. We'll have to remember that. Besides, right now, this works in our favor, too. Unless you want to have to try and explain little things like how the missing scorch marks got there?

Dark was right. I couldn't exactly tell just anyone about him, after all. I'd sound crazy.

"There you are," Kafei said softly, leaning against the wall next to me. "I didn't see you, so I thought you left."

"I wish I did," I replied. "There's not much point in being here." The open house was almost over now, and nothing out of the ordinary had happened at all. It was almost too normal, really. I didn't like it.

We don't have to like it. We just have to deal with it.

I sighed and shook my head.

"People are already starting to leave. If someone wanted to do as much damage as possible, he's missed his chance."

"Maybe. Attacking tonight may not have ever been the plan. We might be jumping to conclusions." I hated to admit that, but maybe we were. Maybe yesterday was just a test in a location that was supposed to be empty. But test or no, if someone had the power to bring Shadows to this world, why would he want that power and what would he do with it?

I shook my head again. The more I thought about this, the less it made sense. "Sorry."

"It's all right, Link. This whole situation just..." Kafei sighed. "It just sucks."

"Yeah, it does." And there wasn't a single thing we could do about it.

"Let's just go home, okay? It doesn't seem like anything's going to happen here."

I nodded. "We should tell Kishin and Nobody."

"I say tomorrow. Tonight, I say you go rest and really rest. I know you didn't sleep very well last night. I can tell just by looking at you."

In some ways, I wished Kafei didn't know me like he did, but he was right. I barely slept last night. I was too worried about what could've happened tonight. "I said I'd talk to them tonight."

"Okay, then, I'll go let them know you need more rest. They'll understand." He put a hand on my shoulder. "Come on; let's just go."

"All right, I'm going. I just hate feeling so powerless."

"I do, too, but we don't have a choice right now."

Sheik walked past, holding the door open for what seemed to be the last of the students. He didn't seem to notice us. That was fine with me; I doubted he'd believe anything I said after yesterday.

Let's just go before he notices us.

I nodded to Kafei, and we left. Tomorrow, I was going to talk to Nobody, and I was going to check if there were any festivals or similar in the near future. Something was going to happen; I only hoped I could figure it out ahead of time so I could try and stop it.