Chapter 7
Before I start, let's do the disclaimer. I'd like you to do it, Shinji.
Shinjiro: Why the hell do you want me to do it?
Me: Please?
Shinjiro: No way.
Me: If you don't do it, I'll tell those guys that hang around Port Island Station that you like to cook. The moment they see you, you'll be laughed right out of there.
Shinjiro: (face palms) Alright, I'll do it. (sigh) Rwanime442 does not own Persona 3. It as well as me are owned by Atlus. But He owns Nagito, who's also co-owned by Immortal Thunder. There, you happy?
Me: Quite
April 19 – early morning – Gekkoukan High room 2-F
Nagito, Yukari, and Junpei were in their seats talking with each other waiting for class to start when Mitsuru came in.
"Good morning, senpai." Nagito greeted, giving her friendly smile, trying not to be nervous around her.
"Good morning to you as well." Mitsuru greeted back. "I'd like all of you to come to the command room on 4th floor when you get back." She said.
"Oh, are we having that talk?" Junpei asked with his trademark grin.
"I'll leave the details for later." She simply said, walking out of the classroom.
"Damn, she didn't waste any time leaving." Junpei said.
"She's probaly busy with student council, unlike us." Yukari said with a frown.
"Ohhh! Yuka-tan, do I sense some hostility?" Junpei asked in a childish tone.
"Do you not like, Mitsuru-senpai, Yukari-chan?" Nagito asked.
"It's not that I don't like her, it just..." Yukari trailed off, leaving the two confused.
"Well, you may not like her, Yuka-tan, but I know someone who does." Junpei said, looking at Nagito.
"W-Wait a second, I d-don't like her!" Nagito said defensively, his face burning red.
"Well your face says otherwise." Junpei chuckled.
"Stop teasing him, Junpei!" Yukari scolded.
"Alright, alright." Junpei said, still chuckling.
April 19, morning, Gekkoukan High class 2-F
Today, class was being taught by Mr. Ekoda, the classic literature teacher. He was supposed to be teaching the class, but pretty much all he did was bitch and moan over and over about people not thinking classic lit is relevant.
April 19, after school, Wild Duck Burger
Since Nagito had some time left, he decided to grab a bite at the Wild Duck Burger. They had a new item called the Mystery Burger. Nagito had decided to try it. The fries sucked like they always did. After eating the crappy fries, he decided to eat the Mystery Burger. He was a little scared to eat something when he didn't know what it was, but he closed his eyes and took a bite. It wasn't dangerous like he thought might have been. In fact, it was pretty good.
April 19, evening, dorm
After arriving back at the dorm, he immediately proceeded to the command room.
"I didn't arrive too late, did I?" Nagito asked, taking a seat next to Junpei.
"No, it's fine. We weren't waiting too long." Ikutsuki reassured. He then cleared it's throat. For a time, Mitsuru and Akihiko were the only Persona-users we had here, but that number recently jumped to five.
So, tonight, starting at 12:00, I would like to commence the exploration of Tatarus."
"Sorry, but I asked this yesterday. What exactly is this Tatarus thing?" Junpei asked.
Yeah, I would like to know, too." Nagito said. The only thing he knew about Tatarus, was that is was some massive tower in Greek mythology.
"You guys haven't seen it?" Yukari asked, leaving both of them confused.
"That's no surprise, since it only appears during the Dark Hour." The bespectacled man explained.
"The Dark Hour, huh..." Junpei said.
"Just like the Shadows. Interesting, and it's the perfect place to train. You can think of it as a shadow nest." Akihiko said with his battle ready smirk.
"Whoah, their nest, huh?" Junpei said.
"Akihiko, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but you won't be exploring with us today." Mitsuru said.
"Yeah, I know..." Akihiko said in disappointment.
"Before we start, I'd like you to come over here." Mitsuru ordered and everyone followed her to a door by one of the bookcases. She took out a key and opened it. There were a bunch of weapons inside.
"When you're fighting Shadows, using your Personas too often will exhaust you. It is imperative that you have a weapon with you. Choose well, Iori." She said.
"Huh? What about the others?" Junpei asked surprised.
"Since I'm in the archery club, I've already got my weapon." Yukari said.
"These are my weapons." Akihiko said, holding out his fists.
"What about Nagito." The cap wearing goof asked.
"I already have a weapon prepared for him." Mitsuru said, handing him a rapier.
"This is the rapier I used when I first started fighting Shadows. I'd like you to hold on to it from now on." She said.
"Thanks, senpai." He said.
"Sweet! Then I know what I want!" Junpei said excitedly, as he pulled out a katana that was as long as him.
"Very well then, let's go." Mitsuru ordered. "Mr. Chairman, are you going to stay here?" She asked
"Yeah, I'm going to stay here. As you know, I can't summon a Persona." He said with a frown.
He can't summon a Persona? Then how come he can function during the Dark Hour. I'll have to ask him about that later. Nagito thought to himself.
April 19, evening, Gekkoukan High school gate
The group arrived at the school gate. Why were they there?
"This is the place? Why here?" Junpei asked with disbelief.''
"Just wait a moment, it's almost midnight." Akihiko said, checking his watch. As soon as he said that, the Dark Hour commenced.
All of the sudden, the school started to change shape. It kept rising and morphing until it was an ugly, massive tower. Both Nagito and Junpei watched in both horror and amazement at the transformation.
"This is Tartarus. The labrynth that exists between one day and the next." Mitsuru said, completely unfazed.
"Labrynth? What the hell are you talking about?! What happened to our school?!" Junpei asked, completely shocked.
"I-It'll go back to normal, right?" Nagito was also shocked.
Mitsuru nodded at his question. "Once the Dark Hour passes, everything returns to normal." She said.
"But, why? Why did our school turn into a giant tower?" Junpei asked.
Nagito immediately noticed Mitsuru's expression change. It looked like she had a guilty expression.
"You don't know?" Junpei asked.
"No..." She simply said. Nagito could tell by her tone that she was lying.
"I'm sure it's complicated. Even if she did know, it wouldn't help us." Yukari said.
April 19, Dark Hour – Tartarus lobby
"It's just as cool on the inside." Junpei said with wonder.
"But it sure is creepy." Yukari said.
"The entrance to the labyrnth is at the top of these stairs." Mitsuru said.
"Mitsuru and I have only came in here to take a peep. This will be our first time exploring it. There has to be way to get rid of the Dark Hour in there." Akihiko said with his usual smirk.
"I'm sorry, Akihiko, but you can't go with them." Mitsuru said.
"I know, you don't have to remind me!" He said annoyed.
"You three will go inside to get some battle experience." She said.
"You want us to go in there by ourselves?!" Yukari asked horrified.
"We're not asking you to go very far. And I'll be providing audio backup from here." She said, handing each of three a headset.
"We'll also be appointing a leader to make the necessary decisions." Akihiko said.
A gleam suddenly appeared in Junpei's eyes. "For real? One of us? Oh, me, me, me, me, me, me, pick me!" He said with enthusiasm.
"Nagito, you're in charge." Akihiko said, surprising them both.
"Wait why him?! He doesn't look like a leader! Besides, he freaks out over every little thing!" Junpei protested.
"But he HAS fought them before." Yukari said.
"Yeah, and even though he is normally shy, he defeated them without hesitation." Mitsuru said, coming to his defense.
"A-Alright, I'll do my best." Nagito said.
"Alright, let's go beat some baddies!" Junpei said, turning around from annoyed to enthusiastic.
The other two nodded. Just as Nagito was about to head upstairs, he saw door appear by the lobby entrance. When he noticed the Velvet Key in his pocket glow, he knew what it was.
He walked over to the door and opened it. Just as he thought. It was a door to the Velvet Room.
"I've been expecting you." Igor greeted. "The time has come for you to wield your power. The tower that you are about to venture into... How did come to be? What purpose does it exist? Regrettably, you are unable to answers such questions at the moment. Now that you have returned, I will explain what my true purpose is. You have the power to wield multiple Personas, and to use them accordingly. My duty is to create new Personas by fusing them together. When you defeat an enemy, the seeds of possibility will appear before you as cards. At times, they may be difficult to grasp, but do not fear, seize what you have earned. If you obtain any, do not hesitate to bring them here. The stronger your Social Links are the more powerful they will be."
"What's a Social Link?" Nagito asked.
"Surely, you must know by now. Social Links are the bonds you form with others. They will also greatly help you when the time comes. The more Social Links you have, the stronger your Persona ability will be. Please, do not forget this." Igor said.
"I wont." Nagito replied.
"Good. Now then, I hope to see you again. Farewell." His vision blurred. When it returned, he was standing in front of the door in the lobby.
"Hey, you okay?" Yukari asked.
"H-Huh? Y-Yeah..." He responded.
"You were just standing there. You looked like zombie." Junpei said. I guess I'm the only one who can see it. Nagito thought to himself.
"Sorry..." Nagito said.
"You're like that little league coach who fell asleep during the playoffs. You're supposed to be our leader." Junpei said.
"Hey, cut him some slack. If nothing's wrong, let's go." Yukari said.
The three then proceeded up the stairs into the labrynth.
"Can you all hear me?" Mitsuru's voice on the headset asked.
"Yeah, loud and clear." Nagito replied.
"I'll be providing backup from here on out." She said.
"How? Can you see inside here or something?" Junpei asked.
"It's my Persona's ability. The layout of the labrynth changes from day to day. That's why outside support is imperative."
"Well that makes me feel a whole lot better." Yukari said sarcastically.
"Expect to counter enemies at any moment. They shouldn't be too tough for you, but proceed with caution." She ordered.
"Right!" Junpei replied with a grin.
"Right." Yukari replied as well. "Why is she always like that?"
I can tell she doesn't like Mitsuru-senpai. I wonder why. Nagito thought to himself.
While the three were running through the labrynth, they ran into three Shadows. They looked like slimes and they had blue masks with the roman numeral "I" on them. Nagito recognized these Shadows, they were the same ones that attacked the dorm the other night.
"I got this! Hermes!" Junpei yelled, putting his Evoker to his head and pulling trigger. His Persona appeared before him. He was a masked warrior with bladed wings. Nagito thought his Persona looked pretty cool.
"Go get em'!" He ordered. Hermes flew at the shadows and sliced them in half with his bladed wings. He didn't get them all, though. One of them dodged and used its slimy fingers to scratch Junpei, sending him skidding back.
"Junpei! You alright?!" Nagito asked concerned.
"Yeah, don't worry about me! You're gonna pay that, bastard!" Junpei unsheathed the katana on his back and charged at the Shadow. With great power, he sliced the Shadow clean in half.
"Yeah, take that you SOB!" Junpei said victoriously. His victory was short lived as three more Shadows appeared. They looked like crowns with tentacles, and they were heading straight towards Yukari. "Stay away, you creeps!" Yukari aimed her bow at the oncoming Shadows. She shot an arrow at one of them, piercing its mask and it dissipated. The other two aimed their sharp tentacles at her, charging at her. "Kya!"
"Yukari-chan!" Nagito pushed her out of the way, and the Shadows's tentactles stabbed into his stomach.
"No! Nagito-kun!" Yukari loaded two arrows into her bow and killed the other two Shadows.
Nagito fell to the ground, clutching his bleeding stomach.
"Hey! You alright, man?!" Junpei asked, panicked.
"I-I'm alright..." Nagito said.
"No, you're not! Let me help you! Io!" Yukari put the Evoker to her head and pulled trigger. Her persona appeared before her. It looked like woman with her feet chained down to something. "Please, heal him!" She ordered. A green light enveloped him and Nagito felt his pain disappearing and his wound healing.
"Thanks, Yukari-chan." He said with a grateful smile.
"Now, we're even." Yukari said with a smile of her own.
Three more Shadows appeared. They looked identical to the blobs they fought earlier except they wore red masks with the Roman numeral "VI" engraved on them. They were headed towards Nagito. "Orpheus!" He summoned his Persona. "Agi!" He ordered. He played a melody on his harp, launching a fire ball at two of them, burning them to ashes. The third one tried scratching at him, but he rolled out of the way. He charged at the Shadow with rapier and stabbed it into its masks, killing it.
After killing the Shadows, a bunch of cards appeared in Nagito's face. One of the cards had a picture with a woman on it. She had blue skin and was wearing a dancing suit. He chose that card and obtained a new Persona.
"I don't detect any more Shadows. There's an access point just around the corner. You can use it to return to the lobby." Mitsuru said on the headset.
The group found the access point and returned to the lobby.
"Welcome back. So how was it?" Mitsuru said.
"This gonna take some time to get used to." Nagito said.
"That may be so, but you did great." She said, which made Nagito blush.
"That was awesome! I never knew I had that kind of power. We kicked some ass! But damn, I'm beat." Junpei said.
"That's because you were bouncing around like a little kid." Yukari deadpanned.
"You look pretty tired yourself, Yuka-tan." He responded.
"That's effect of the Dark Hour. You'll become fatigued more easily. Don't worry though, you'll adapt. You three performed better than I expected. At this rate, they'll catch up to you in no time, Akihiko." Mitsuru said.
"Heh, we'll see about that." Akihiko said with an amused smile.
"Alright, let's return to the dorm." Mitsuru ordered.
Suddenly, time froze.
Thou art I
And I am thou
Thou hast strengthed thy bond
Thou shall be blessed when creating Personas of the Fool arcana.
Time then flowed to normal.
The group then exited Tartarus and returned to the dorm
Chapter 7 end
Social Links:
Fool: SEES (2/10)
Empress: Mitsuru Kirijo (1/10)
Personas:
Orpheus
arcana: fool
skills: Agi, Bash, Gurentou, Tarunda
(NEW!) Apsaras
arcana: priestess
skills: Bufu, Rakunda, Posumudi