Persona Triple-A Chronicles 2

by ~Andyus

A suffocating darkness that no one saw...

A scaled arm hidden under the sea...

An armored justicar whose sword pierces evil...

This and many other things were the ones that marked my life in an outstanding way...

Someone once said "Time is given once, and never again." I realized sometime ago that he was wrong. In the night, time lies hidden… available only to those gifted to hunt, cursed to be hunted… This is the story of three persons, two chosen to have a dire fate, one made to have it…

Part II: A darker position

They tried to explain, but they only made me more confused...

Velvet Room

Unknown location & time.

Awakening in a blue giant elevator decorated in a victorian way with a long nosed old man and a pretty yellow eyed girl should have disturbed me in some way. But once again my thoughts stopped themselves. I had just passed out after a one hour blackout that had left me trapped in an elevator with some kind of monster trying to break in. If i was going to have a psychological episode, i could as well play along.

- Ah, interesting... it seems this guest experienced the Dark Hour in an early manner... and should i say, it was... ironic that it happened in an elevator. - Said the long nosed man, and chuckled. It had a weird kind of voice... soiunding like planning or hiding something. Still what he said didn't sound funny to me.

- You... said Velvet room? Who are you two?

- Oh, forgive my lack of manners. My name is Igor. I am delighted to make your acquaintance. And this is my assistant, Elizabeth. She is a resident of the Velvet Room, just as I am.

- Pleased to meet you. - Said the girl, barely moving her lips.

- I... I'm Andy Bordoni. The pleasure is mine. - I said, trying to keep my cool as much as possible. Still i couldn't stop myself to ask:

- How did I get here? I was at work...

- This place exist, between dream and reality, mind and matter. You gained the ability to enter when the possibility to be bound by a contract appeared in your destiny. And it seems that possibility will appear in your inmediate future...

- A contract? what kind of contract?

- Oh, a very important one, surely...It will not only affect your destiny directly, but the ones of many others as well... And it is our duty to advice you and provide you with our assistance, to prevent that dire consequences stain your future.

- d... dire consequences? what do you mean by that? what's going to happen?

- I cannot provide you with many more details. You have still to awaken the power that will aid you in your quest. We will provide you with more information afterwards.

- H-Hold on... awaken my power? what power?

Igor's smile became slightly wider.

- If i recall correctly, you have already seen it, in the elevator's mirror...

I suddenly remembered it. The reflection in the mirror, the light of the blue gem in his face... the words that encouraged me...

- But we have taken too much of your time already. Until next time, Andy... Andy... Andy...

- Andy? Andy! ANDY!

I opened my eyes. I wasn't in the victorian room anymore. I recognized what was around me. Two of my colleagues, and the scenery of the clinic on the first floor.

The one on my left side was Mayra Colonel, my supervisor. She is a good-looking black haired girl, though a bit too short. She had a worried look upon her. The other was Tom Barr, a fellow agent that had joined around a month ago on mp3. His round, pale, brown-haired face seemed happy that i was all right.

- You finally wake up! we were already thinking on getting you to the hospital if you kept like that any longer... What happened to you?

- I... how long was i like this?

- Almost three hours. Your shift is almost over. What happened, Andy? did the elevator break or something?

- No, it didn't, or, well, i don't think so... there was a blackout... i got trapped in it.

- A blackout? there hasn't been any blackouts in the last 5 months.

- There... wasn't any? but everything went dark, the elevator stopped... i was stuck in it for almost an hour...

May and Tom looked at each other. Even in the state i was i recognized the look that someone gives when they think something isn't right.

- Andy... You were in that elevator for less than a minute. Security saw you entering it at 11:59 and getting out on the second floor, it was just midnight. You got some kind of shock that made you pass out... you must have imagined things.

I looked at her, waiting for a common "gotcha!", but May's look was too serious to be joking. What did they mean, less than a minute? I definitely had been there for at least an hour... Still, she was right on something... I could have imagined it... that would explain why no one else heard him... Could it have something to do with that "Dark Hour" the pointy nosed man was talking about? I was starting to get really confused when the clinic door opened. It was the security guard that saw me get out of the elevator.

- Oh good, you're awake. Come on, Bordoni. Larrondo wants to see you.

May and Tom looked at each other, then they looked at me... They were both pale, and i could fell i was as well... Mary Ann Larrondo was the company's president. I only had seen her once, when she said welcome to the group of workers in which i was included... she didn't seem happy in that moment... i was sure she wasn't going to be any happier when an elevator was beat up and i was found half dead inside of it... Still, as always i had to keep my cool. I didn't know what she was goind to do, but it would surely be worse if i was nervous or anxious. I got up, took my washed shirt and followed the guard.

He took me back to the second floor. But instead of going into the site again, he took me to a black door that read Larrondo's name and occupation. He opened the door and there she was, sitting in a luxurious dark red leather chair. She looked incredibly tall and majestic. Her long, black hair fell perfectly equal over the wooden table she was placing the elbows in. Her black dress and black eyes created a perfect image... but still she was dead serious... i didn't allow myself even to smile.

- Close the door, Andy, and lock it.

I did. the last thing i saw on the outside was the worried look in the security guard's eyes.

- Today, when i came to this office, i thought this was going to be a boring, routine day... Well, Bordoni, you just proved me wrong. You caused a big ruckus tonight... fainting in the middle of the building, the emergency hatch of the elevator, broken down... I didn't know if i should 've taken something like that as a sign of stress, as one of rebellion...

- With all due respect... president... i still don't know myself what happened to me... You have to believe me, i would never do such a thing purposely. I enjoy this job very much... I would never compromise myself or my colleagues...

Larrondo looked at me, and i felt that she was digging through my skull, trying to see if i was just a prankster, or if i really needed help... And she remained like that for around ten seconds. Then, to my surprise... she smiled.

- So you really don't know anything... but you definitely experienced it. You have the signs.

- E... Experienced it? what did i experience?

- Evidently... The Dark Hour.

I couldn't contain myself. As i opened my eyes and my jaw dropped, a recent memory made its way to my head:

- Ah, interesting... it seems this guest experienced the Dark Hour in an early manner... and should i say, it was... ironic that it happened in an elevator.

- Now, Now... that's not a face that a good employee should do, Bordoni.

I retuned to my senses and also returned my facial expressions back to normal.

- You're not here to be fired today, Andy, nor to be punished. You're here because an opportunity stands before you. Though i reckon you may not have much of a choice in it... I have been waiting for it myself for a long time.

- But, miss president, what have you been waiting for? what is the Dark Hour that you just mentioned?

- Not so fast. Before i tell you, you have to swear right now: This conversation will never leave this room. Do you understand?

I didn't even think. I knew that something had happened to me. I wanted to find out what was it.

- Yes, ma'am. I swear it.

- End of Chapter II -