Author's notes: Yeah, I think I got slower instead of faster. I know I've mentioned this on my profile, but I'll say it again here: I will finish this story. I can't guarantee any kind of posting schedule, but I can at least guarantee that I've never forgotten about nor dropped this story.

Unmasked

A month passed, a very, very long month. There were no signs of Shadows or anything weird that I could see around the school, and Nobody and Kishin couldn't find anything on their side, either. Kafei said that maybe it meant that whoever was behind this had given up, but I couldn't believe that.

It felt like the calm before the storm to me.

Maybe I was just being paranoid about the whole thing, but after the attack on the school, I couldn't call this just some weird coincidence or even some weird hallucination. I'd been caught off guard once. If I had anything to say about it, I'd never be caught off guard again.

There had to be a reason I had the power to manifest Dark. There had to be.

With no other options, I started keeping an eye on Sheik, but even that came up empty. The only unusual thing I could find at all was the strange Evoker that he kept close. Several times during that month, I found myself wanting to ask him what he thought about the device and his Persona, but I still wasn't sure I could trust him. Yes, I'd considered him a friend, but at the same time, where had that Evoker come from in the first place? Someone somewhere had created a device that could call forth a Persona, and Sheik just happened to find it? That seemed too outlandish to be true.

The rumors about the Midnight Channel came and went, and then they came back again. I wasn't sure if I wanted people to remember the Midnight Channel or to forget it - after all, that Channel was how I discovered Dark Link. What would happen if someone awakened their Persona but then denied it, or worse, tried to abuse it?

At the same time, what could I say? If I tried to tell people it was dangerous, some would tune in just because a teacher said not to do it, and other people would think I'd lost my mind.

There was a laugh in my head. People are good at missing the obvious.

"I know," I replied under my breath.

And you are good at dwelling on things. Give it a rest already; you're not getting anywhere.

I stirred my drink with my straw, listening to the sound the ice as it rattled in the glass. "What else can I do? We're supposed to be looking for answers and preparing for battle. I'm not sure I've done either one."

Oh, no, you're not preparing at all. After all, it's not like you spend most of your evenings pushing your limits on how long you can keep me manifested - oh, wait, you do. I do like playing with fire, though, so feel free to keep doing that part.

I sighed. "And you constantly nag me to take a break, so here I am." Maybe I should've called Kafei, but no. If we were both here, we'd end up talking about what's been happening. Not that being alone kept me from thinking about it.

Yes. Take a break. Quit worrying about how a gathering of people could be a target for Shadows and all of that. You supposedly wanted to look around here, and all you're doing is staring into space.

'Here' was the patio of one of the downtown cafes. Today was the spring street fair. Normally, I'd wander around and take in the sights, maybe play some of their games, but this year I just couldn't focus. "I'm worried."

Yeah, I get it. At the same time, look. You're stronger than you were at the school, so if some Shadows do decide to show up, then we'll just roast them all. Personally, if I was looking for somewhere to attack, this wouldn't be it. There are way too many people, plus how many of these people have cameras? It's not worth it.

He had a point. If Shadows showed up here, thousands of people might see them. One thing I had figured out was that whoever was behind this was being stealthy about it. Shadows seemed almost made for that.

I sighed again and turned in my chair, looking out at the people wandering up and down the street on the other side of the patio railing. After a moment, I pulled my phone out and dialed Kafei. Maybe we would end up brainstorming again, but maybe not.

He didn't answer. "Hi, it's Link," I tell his voice mail. "It's nothing important; I was just wondering if you were up to the street fair. Talk to you later."

So much for that idea. I stuck my phone back in my pocket and went back to watching the people. It was a nice change of pace; for once, I was watching people just to watch them. I was still wary, but with all the voices and music and just general sound, I didn't have my ears straining to hear faint noises that might be there.

Did you see that?

"See what?"

That kid...

"Which kid?" There were a lot around, especially since there was a face-painting booth not far from my seat on the patio.

Damn it; he just went across the street.

"What about him, Dark?"

Dark growled. Nothing. He just looked like Nobody.

"He did?" Why would Nobody be here?

Eh, I'm probably seeing things.

I shrugged. Aside from his mask, Nobody looked like a fairly normal kid. There were probably quite a few who'd pass for him at a quick glance. That had to be it.

I wished I'd brought a book with me; this was the perfect place to relax for a while. After a few minutes, I decided to try Kafei again. Again, all I got was his voicemail, though this time, I didn't bother leaving a message. One was enough. If I left more than one, Kafei might think something was wrong, and I didn't want to worry him.

But it's fine for you to spend most of your day worrying.

"Dark..." I sighed. I wanted to say "it's not like that", but I knew that was a lie. And I just happened to be talking to the one person who knew good and well it was a lie, too.

You can't protect everyone, Link. We've got our limits, even now. Even as stubborn as you are.

"I'll protect as many as I can. There has to be a reason I have this power, Dark. There has to be."

He sighed. And if there's not?

"I'm not letting that stop me." I looked out at the people wandering among the booths. "I'm not giving up."

I know you're not going to. Even if you wanted to, I wouldn't let you.

That didn't surprise me. He was me, after all; of course he was just as stubborn as I was. It was probably a good thing we agreed with each other, or things would be incredibly complicated.

I stirred my drink again just to give my hand something to do while I went back to people-watching.

"Link!" It sounded like a kid; I didn't recognize the voice.

I looked around again, but I didn't see anyone who seemed to be trying to get my attention. Was I hearing things? Maybe I was.

"There you are!" the kid giggled. I turned towards the voice -

- and found myself staring at Nobody's mask. I didn't yell, but I did jump in my seat. "What the?"

"I didn't mean to scare you..."

Was it really Nobody, or was it just some random kid in a similar mask? "Do I know you?"

"Yeah, you do. Don't you - oh, right." He dug in a pocket and then held up a card, a large, glossy card with a picture of Kishin on it, massive sword held ready to strike. "See?"

It was Nobody. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you." He sounded tired. It was weird how he sounded like a normal kid out here; was this his voice? "I want to help."

"You have been helping." I took a drink.

"I don't want to be out of the way anymore. I want to help. I can't help over there, and you know it."

I shook my head. What could I really say? "So you found a way here?"

He nodded. "It took a while to find a way, but I did. Is it always this hot here?"

"Not always. Are you all right?"

He stared at my glass. "I'm thirsty..."

I slid the glass towards him. "Do you want some?" He didn't have a mouth; how could he drink it? "Oh, er, you should leave your mask on while you're here. You're... different."

He didn't answer; he was too busy working the straw under the mask and taking a drink. Now I was glad I hadn't ordered anything alcoholic.

"Does that help?"

He still didn't answer. His mask had worked its way up a little, high enough that when he moved his hand away, I could see his lips. Wait, lips? He didn't have a face!

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he finally said, turning to me and grinning broadly. "This is good." And he reached up and pushed the mask up onto the top of his head.

He had a face, a perfectly normal boyish face. Brown hair, blue eyes, and he looked about twelve or thirteen; but the weirdest part was that he reminded me of all my old school pictures. The resemblance was eerie.

"Is something wrong?"

"You look like you could be my brother."

"Really?" He felt his face, eyes wide. "That's so cool!"

"Do you have any family?" I couldn't believe I hadn't thought to ask earlier. All I could figure was that it wasn't something I thought of in the TV, but out here, especially now that he looked like any other kid...

"No, they didn't want me. Kishin protects me and has as far back as I can remember."

They didn't want me. Why did that make my chest ache a little? "What do you mean, they didn't want you?"

"They left, and no one else wanted me. I'm all alone except for Kishin."

The waitress came by then. I took the chance to get another glass for each of us; Nobody had already nearly emptied the one he had.

"Maybe you aren't. I was adopted when I was about your age."

"Adopted?"

"Yeah. My parents died in a car wreck, and my aunt and uncle adopted me. I don't really talk about it much."

Nobody just stared at me for a long moment. "Do you think someone would adopt me?"

I wanted to say yes, but how? He didn't have a name, he spent maybe years in that weird other world, and he might not even really be human at all; it was pretty safe to say that legally, he didn't exist. At the same time... someone had to take care of him.

"Maybe so. For now, though, you can stay with me."

"Really?" He grinned broadly. "Okay!"

I hoped I wouldn't regret this. "What are we going to call you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I can't just call you 'Nobody'. We need to get you a name."

He curled up in the chair with the nearly-empty glass. "I used to have a name. I didn't need it when I became Nobody, but I used to have one."

"Do you remember what it was?"

He shook his head, giving me a weird look. "No, I don't. I didn't need it anymore, so I forgot it."

"I see... Well, maybe you'll remember it. And if you don't, I'll help you pick a new one." I had to call him something, after all. I leaned back in my chair. "Do you remember much of what happened before?"

"Nope." He finished the drink and set the glass on the table. "I was lonely. Then Kishin showed up, and he said I could hide behind his face, so I did. But I knew I couldn't hide behind his face here. I didn't think I'd actually get my own!"

The waitress stopped by with our drinks; he grabbed his with a quick laugh and a grin.

"It's so bright here," he said after a bit.

I couldn't hold back a smile. "That's how it is during the day. It'll get dark when night falls."

"Wow..." He was looking out at all the booths and people. How did he even manage to find me in the first place? I didn't know how long he'd been on this side of the TV or how he ended up at the street fair, but what were the odds of two people stumbling onto each other in a crowd this huge? It seemed too unlikely to me.

At the same time, I couldn't bring myself to ask him about it. I'd already had enough questions, and I hadn't even asked all of the important ones. He showed me Kishin's card - did that mean he could call on Kishin the way Kafei and I called on Keaton and Dark? And if he could, could I let him do it? This was dangerous, and Nobody was still very much a kid. I didn't feel right asking a kid to fight.

But can you make him stand back and watch? You wouldn't be very willing to, now would you?

"Shut up," I muttered, rubbing my temples again. "You're not helping."

Dark laughed. I'm making a point.

"Do you have a headache?"

"You could say that."

"Dark, be nice," Nobody said, giving me an odd look.

Maybe I could bring myself to ask him. "Um, little guy," I couldn't call him Nobody, especially now that he had a face and not just a mask... "Can you use that card?"

"This one?" He pulled Kishin's card out and seemed to scrutinize it. "I don't know. What am I supposed to do with it?"

I got out Dark's card and held it so he could see it. "I use mine to call Dark when I need him." Really, I was beginning to think the card wasn't really necessarily; the card seemed to serve more as a focus than anything else.

"Really?" His eyes went wide, and then he stared intently at the card in his hands. "That sounds cool."

I had a feeling I knew what he was considering. "There are a lot of people here; they'd all see if you called him. We probably shouldn't even be talking about this somewhere public."

"You're right..." He looked disappointed. "So what are we going to do now? When can we talk about this?"

I wasn't entirely sure, to be honest.

We ended up wandering the street fair, more for a lack of ideas than anything else. I could've taken Nobody straight home to talk and perhaps see if he could use his card, but... It didn't seem fair to pull him away from all the sights and sounds. He'd spent a long time on the other side of the TV where things were static and dull and lifeless; he might as well have the chance to enjoy this while he could.

"Wow, look at all the people over there!" Nobody said, grabbing my wrist and pointing at one of the booths.

The booth itself was unassuming except for a banner reading "Everyone has one, so what's yours? Secret Confessions, Saturdays at midnight on Channel 26!" Or at least I thought it was unassuming; it was hard to tell with all of the people gathered around it.

Secret Confession... Isn't that what that paper said?

Maybe it was; I was too busy thinking back to random conversations I'd overheard my students having when the talk of the Midnight Channel came back. One of the local stations, one that was nothing but static any other time of day, supposed aired a talk show at midnight every Saturday night... I hadn't thought much of it at the time; there were too many people talking about it for it to be the real Midnight Channel, so obviously it was an actual show. It didn't make sense, but it didn't seem dangerous, either.

"Ah, hello; are you familiar with Secret Confessions?" a man asked as Nobody and I approached the crowd.

"No," Nobody said, answering before I could. "What is it?"

"We're a show for those who need to get something off of their chests, so to speak. Our viewers submit their confessions to us - anonymously, of course - and our host reads selected ones on-air and adds his opinion. We're getting more popular, and we're always on the look-out for more secret confessions." The man smiled, but something seemed off about it, like it was a little too forced. "Do either of you have something you'd like to confess?"

"Yeah!" Nobody said. "Can I?"

"Of course you can! Here, all you have to do is write your confession on this form and then put it in the box over there - and don't worry; we don't ask for your name or anything else identifiable, and we're not tracking which one of you submits which form. It's completely anonymous, so confess whatever you feel you should."

"Is it okay, Link?" Nobody asked, turning to look up at me.

I glanced at the man, but he'd already moved on to the next group who approached the booth. "If you want, I guess. I don't know much about it."

"Okay!" Nobody ran up to the table and waited for his form. When he got one, he stared at it for a moment before sliding his mask back on and staring at it some more. What was he doing?

Before I could ask, he ran back over to me, mask still on, waving the paper. "Link, look at this!"

It was a simple form, reading only "my secret confession" above several blank lines. I knew this form. I'd managed to forget about it, but I knew this form.

"Do you see it?"

"See what?"

"The paper! It's the paper from the TV!" He leaned in closer, lowering his voice. "The ones that make the Shadows angry!"

What? I dug my monocle out of my pocket, thankful I'd kept it on me, and slid it on. It was the paper from the TV. Just like the one I'd found the night I met Nobody, what looked like empty space above the words held a strange symbol.

Release the darkness and emerge the pain, Dark said in my head, reading the words that ringed it.

How had I managed to forget this? I shook my head. No, I didn't have any proof that this was anything more than just something weird. Just because the Shadows got angry when the papers appeared didn't mean they were angry because the papers appeared. Right?

Or was I overlooking something painfully obvious?

"What do you think we should do?" I asked softly.

"I don't know. Should we submit a confession, just to see?"

Maybe so. That would be one way to test it out, submit one and see if anything weird happened. "If you want, sure."

Nobody pushed his mask up onto his forehead again and frowned. "I don't have anything to confess, though."

"Then let me; I can find something."

He nodded. "Okay. You write a confession, and I'll go put it in the box."

And just what are you going to confess, huh?

I wasn't entirely sure. It was supposedly anonymous, but how anonymous was it? I pulled a pen out of my pocket and started writing: "I know something only a few people know. I feel guilty for not warning people, because it's dangerous, but at the same time, I don't want them to think that I'm crazy, so I can't tell them."

Then I folded the paper in half and handed it to Nobody. "Here we go, one confession."

Nobody nodded and ran back over to the booth, dropping the paper into the box. I hoped I hadn't just made a big mistake.

"Let's go to my place, little guy. I think I want to get away from the crowds for a while."

Nobody nodded again. "Okay."

"What?" Kafei gasped, staring at Nobody and me with wide eyes. "This is Nobody? But he looks normal! How'd you do that?"

"I don't know how," Nobody replied, looking down at his mask. "I know when I left the other world, I needed to wear Kishin's mask to see. But when I got here, I could drink, so I decided to try taking it off to see what happened." He grinned. "And I have a face!"

"I don't get it..." Kafei shook his head. "That doesn't make any sense." He sighed. "And I doubt there's anything you can say to make it make any sense, so I guess I'll just go with it. I think, honestly, I'm more interested in how you got out of the TV. Kind of weird to think that's more interesting than how you got a face."

Probably because "how did you get out?" was the easier question to answer, I thought. There wasn't really much else to explain it.

Nobody shook his head. "It's hard to explain. I can show you next time you're in the TV. It'd be faster that way."

"Fair enough. We'll go check that out later tonight. I'm curious how you got here. I thought the only way in was through Link's TV."

"Nope, there are lots of portals. This one's just the one you two use." Nobody took a bite of the candy bar I gave him earlier. "I'm not sure exactly how the portals connect, but I think the connection between here and the TV is weird anyway."

Dark chuckled in the back of my head. I don't think that's the only thing weird about this situation.

"Oh, right!" Nobody jumped up off of the couch and started digging in one of his pockets. "I've got something for you, Kafei. I wanted to give it to you earlier, but I hadn't seen you, so..." He held out something small and round and reflective.

Kafei took it. "A monocle? Is this like the one you gave Link?"

"Yeah! It took me a while to make it, but if you're going to keep going in the TV, you need to be able to see, too." Nobody grinned. "So here's yours. Now you and Keaton can see through the haze."

Kafei slid the monocle on over his right eye and looked around. "I don't see anything different here."

I had to laugh. "There's not much on this side of the TV that you need the monocle to see."

"Do you have one of these, little guy?"

Nobody slid his mask off of where he had it perched atop his head and held it up with a grin. "My mask works the same way."

"At least we'll all be able to see," I said. It was good to know; now I didn't have to worry as much about being ambushed by Shadows hiding in the haze.

Kafei's cellphone rang. He sighed. "Give me a minute; it's Sheik." He ducked out onto my tiny balcony. I couldn't really hear him through the door.

"Link, what night is that confession show?"

"It's..." Oh, damn. "Tonight."

"We should watch it before we go into the TV." Nobody sounded nervous.

I couldn't say I blamed him. "Yeah, you're right. We can try comparing the show with the Shadows and see if we find anything unusual."

He nodded. "Kishin agrees."

Are you sure you're not just curious about whether or not they'll read your little confession? Dark chuckled. I do agree, though. We need to figure out if these confessions really are connected to the Shadows or not.

The more I thought about it, the less sure I was that I wanted to know what connection there was. Something nagged at me, a sinking feeling in my stomach that had been there ever since I wrote that confession. I tried to put that out of my mind, but I couldn't.

Stop dwelling on it. In a couple of hours, one way or another, it'll make more sense.

I wasn't sure I believed him.

"Hey, Link, do you want to talk to Sheik?" Kafei asked, walking back inside. "He's got some questions about the Midnight Channel."

I sighed but took the phone. "Link here; what is it?"

"The figure you summoned on campus that day, the man who made you fireproof... Did you see him on the Midnight Channel?" Sheik sounded like he'd seen a ghost.

"Yes."

"Was he bound when you saw him?"

"No." Dark never had been bound; he never would be if I had anything to say about it.

Sheik sighed heavily. "I watched it last night. The Midnight Channel, I mean. I saw a woman. But when I use this Evoker, all I see is a figure bound in thick cloth and leather. Why is there a difference? Do you know?"

I shook my head, ignoring Dark's angry growl. "From what I've been told, an Evoker forces your Persona to manifest and do your bidding. I don't need to force Dark to do anything. I call on him, so he's not bound."

Sheik was quiet for a while, long enough that I wondered if the phone had dropped the call. Then, finally, "Could you teach me how you do that?"

"What, is your Evoker not enough?"

"I... I'll tell you in person. I'm not comfortable talking about that on the phone. Is it okay if I come over?"

I had to think about that. He wanted help, help I could give, but... could I trust him enough to tell him? I bit my lip.

Tonight's a good night. You, Kafei, Nobody... If he tries to pull something, it'll be one idiot with a bound Persona versus three skilled Persona-users. It'll be a piece of cake to kick his ass if he gets out of line. I say let's see what he seems to have learned. I'm curious as to what blew up in his face.

Was that what happened? Did something go wrong with his Evoker?

"Link? Are you still there?"

"Yeah, I'm here." I looked over at Kafei and Nobody and nodded at them. "Sure, you can come over. Maybe we can clear a few things up."

"Thanks, Link. I'll be there when I can."

I hung up and handed the phone back to Kafei. "I hope that wasn't a mistake."

"It's okay," Nobody said. "Kishin says we can take him if he causes trouble."

Apparently Kishin and Dark thought alike. That was good; it meant Dark wasn't overreacting. "I'd rather not have to attack him," I said, walking back over and sitting on the couch. "I'm just kind of relieved I'm not the only one considering it."

"You're not." Kafei laughs nervously. "I was considering it, too."

I nodded. "At least we all agree about that. If there's anything you want to do to get ready, now's the time to do it."

"Link, can you show me how you call Dark?" Nobody. Damn, I was going to show him how to do that. We didn't have long, but there might be time, and honestly, I'd prefer if he knew how.

Just in case.

I stood in the middle of the room. My apartment wasn't that big, but I wouldn't need that much space just to manifest Dark. We weren't going to be fighting, after all.

"Okay, here's how I do it." I held up my card. "I picture him standing here next to me, and then I break this. You have to focus on what you want to happen, or it won't work." I crushed the card in my hand, and Dark appeared next to me with the all-too-familiar tug at my mind.

"Cool!" Nobody said, jumping up to his feet. "That's so awesome! Is that how you do it, Kafei?"

Kafei nodded. "Pretty much. I don't think you have to break the card, but it gives me something to focus on, and it helps me keep the image in my head."

I nodded at that. The card wasn't necessary, but it was incredibly helpful. At some point, I wanted to try and get away from the card, but that 'some point' wasn't tonight.

Nobody stared at his card for a moment and then nodded his head. He held up his card with both hands, took a deep breath, and then ripped the card in half. And then I couldn't see him any more, because Kishin stood in front of him.

Damn, I knew Kishin was tall, but he's taller than I thought. The room looked smaller with him standing there. I stepped sideways so I could see Nobody; he stared up at Kishin with a broad grin.

Kishin turned to him and smiled gently. "I see you're well."

"Yay, now I can defend myself!" Nobody said, pumping his fist in the air. "This is so cool!"

"There's something amusing about seeing such a massive Persona come from such a little boy," Dark said; his voice said he was smirking.

"Is there?" Kishin replied, turning to Dark. "There's also something amusing about such a dark Persona coming from such a normal man."

I looked away at that. Me, normal? I didn't I was that normal, not really...

"Hey." Dark nudged me. "We're joking, okay? Trust me; Kishin and I get along. I won't have any issues fighting with him."

Kafei shifted on the couch. "What about Keaton?"

"Keaton's better at magic, right?" Dark shrugged. "Keaton can throw spells from behind us. We'll keep things busy. I can't speak for Kishin, but this armor isn't just for show."

Kishin chuckled. "Nor is mine."

There was something we were all forgeting. "If it does come to a fight, we need to be careful. This is an apartment, not a battlefield."

Dark sighed. I hoped that meant he understood - we couldn't use his fire magic. If we did, we ran the risk of setting my apartment on fire. And if my apartment caught fire, it wouldn't take much for the rest of the building to go up with it.

Hopefully things wouldn't come to that. Hopefully Sheik really did just want to talk and wasn't coming to cause trouble...

I took a deep breath and blew it out, releasing my focus as I did. Dark faded away, his card reappearing in my hand. "All we can do now is wait."

Just wait and hope that this wasn't going to be a huge mistake.