Persona:Triple-A Chronicles 4
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 IV: A rather peculiar job
So much for unpaid overtime...
Capital Federal, Buenos Aires, Argentina
March 22nd/23rd, 2007 (*)
Dark Hour
(*) I put 22nd/23rd because i still don't know if the Dark Hour is part of one day or the other, or neither. Until i find out, i'll just treat it as an hour between days.
My arms and legs weren't numb anymore. The pain in my shoulder was gone. Now i wasn't afraid, and i wasn't alone either. I finally had awakened my power.
The shadow hesitated for a moment, then its wheels roared and charged towards me. But Ëargirith got quickly in the way. I jumped to dodge the attack. Ëargirith jumped, high enough to dodge the shadow, inmediately stepped on the shadow's body, and using its momentum, it threw to the wall. An amazing counterstrike... what i would have done... actually what i had tried to do, and failed to do.
The shadow inmediately got up. A big red "`-´" was flashing in its head-monitor. It raised its gigantic fist again.
- Watch out! it's coming for you this time!
It jumped and smashed Ëargirith. But he took the hit.
- Way cool...
I had said that for two reasons. Because Ëargirith had stopped the shadow's gigantic fist, and because it had showed his arms. They were covered in hard, pointy scales, and had four fingers with giant, sharp claws. Dragon arms.
Ëargirith gripped the shadow's arm, the blue gem in its eyes shined out, and he ripped it off like if it was made of paper.
An electric-toned shriek of pain, anger and fear pierced the air. On the shadow's monitor, a yellow "O.O" had appeared. The ripped arm fell to the floor, and as with the other shadow, it inmediately melted to the ground, leaving only the Xbox and Ps3 controllers. Hurt, at a disadvantage and facing a fatal end, the shadow inmediately looked at the exit. I tried to say something, warn Ëargirith, but before i could say anything, it had dissappeared with a steering wheel sound.
Ëargirith inmediately hid his arms again under his blue cape, and looked at me, and i looked back... then he saw my wound, and got his face close to it. He whispered something, his gem shined once again, and the wound closed down.
I tried once again to say something... "thank you", "we got him", "you're awesome"... but he just looked at me, and dissappeared too. The battle was over.
I took back the orange juice carton, that had mysteriously survived all the cleaving, then sat on the couch. I allowed myself a break of around ten minutes. I only had really fought during twenty minutes or so, but i felt like i had been fighting for two days in a row. Whatever was that Ëargirith had made, it had healed me, but it definitely had drained my energy in return.
Ëargirith... so that was my power... the power that was needed to fight shadows. It was he who had been talking to me all the time, during the Dark Hour, helping me, reminding me to remain calm and stand my ground... I thought for a moment about taking the evoker and shooting myself again, to ask him some questions, to know who he was, or at least to thank him... but it was too late already. I needed to get out of the break room. I didn't want to defend myself against security for destroying half of it...
I went quickly to the bathroom, but as soon as i opened the water tap, red water started to pour out. It looked like also the normal water turned into blood... still i didn't stay long enough to check. In my right shoulder, where the shadow had wounded me, my shirt was torn apart. I couldn't appear in front of everyone like that. I went to my locker to get a towel, but all i found inside was a big bag. It had a paper next to it.
"I'm pretty sure you will need this. if you can, also take a shower."
I opened the bag, and laughed. It contained the same exact clothes that i had brought that day. Larrondo really didn't miss anything.
I put my old clothes on the bag and dressed up with the new ones. In the very same moment i was fastening the last button of my shirt, the Dark Hour came to an end. I went back to the first floor (the lockers were in the second one) and while i was hearing my two colleagues swear to the security guard that they hadn't done anything with the break room to leave it in such a mess, i knocked on Mary's door, and opened it. She was sitting on her chair, and though she was trying to remain serious, i could somehow see that she was happy to see me in one piece.
- Welcome back. Did the clothes fit?
- Yeah... so that's why you called me at home to ask what i was going to wear...
- Well, i just didn't want you to scare more people already. Couldn't you clean up also?
- No, i was kinda busy... long story.
- Why don't you tell us?
I looked around. The last voice that has spoken was the voice of a male adult. But there was no one else but Larrondo and i on the room. She laughed.
- I got someone on the telephone speaker. Andy, meet professor Ken Uehara, current scientist of the Kirijo Group. They're the ones that warned us of the Dark Hour.
- Pleased to meet you, Andy.
- Likewise, sir.
- Now, why don't you tell us a bit about your experience with the Shadows?
It took me about an hour to tell everything, though all the battle had taken a bit less than twenty minutes. I guess i just couldn't help myself to tell every single detail. Mary was really following every word that i said, and when i told the part when the bigger shadow wounded me, she startled quite a bit. The person that was in the phone didn't say a word until i finished.
- Impressive. We still hadn't any report of thief shadows, and much less shadows that use things to build themselves... simply impressive...
Mary and me remained silent for some time, while Uehara kept going. Fortunately he noted it. He cleared his throat.
- Well, i must first say, you have had a tremendous amount of luck, specially on your first day experiencing the Dark Hour. Hadn't you been trapped in that elevator, the shadows would have preyed on you, and even if in some rare case you could defeat the first one, the second one would have definitely ended your life. Without the Evoker, you wouldn't have a chance to summon your persona.
- I'm glad i did it too, sir. But that shadow is still out there, probably rebuilding itself already...
- I wouldn't think that as such a big problem. The shadows are known to be agressive only to those without the power of Persona. Now that you have awakened your power, most shadows will try to avoid you. Still, there are... other cases, as Miss Larrondo has explained to me.
The door of the office suddenly opened and a security guard's head appeared.
- Miss Larrondo, we have another "Braindead" case! Some guy from the fourth floor!
Mary startled, and inmediately looked at me. I was as shocked as she was. Another "Braindead" case? that meant that while i was fighting those two shadows, another person had become aware of the Dark Hour... and another shadow had preyed on him.
- I'm going to check it out. Andy, please listen to what Uehara has to say. I'll be back in a moment.
She went with the security guard. I remained silent for some more time, asking myself if i could have stopped that case from happening. I remembered all the time i wasted on the break room after i had defeated the Shadows... maybe while i was sitting on the couch, drinking orange juice, someone else was being devoured by another Shadow... i already started to feel...
- Do not feel bad, Andy. There was nothing you could do.
- How do you know? Maybe I...
- I don't. It's simple logic. You were on the second floor. First of all, maybe the other person was attacked during your fight. Second, if he was being attacked after your fight, even if you had started searching for people, there wasn't a chance for you to sweep the entire area and find someone. Third, even if in some rare case you did get to find him, all your energies had been drained out during the fight with the second Shadow. Another fight would have been too risky...
I was somehow out of my older self. I knew what he said was true. In some other time, i would have let it go. Maybe even think that way myself. But...
- Then... why didn't you tell Mary and the other companies' representatives about what to do with the evoker? should i have used it first, maybe i could have defeated it more quickly... or... - I thought about Mary, who could be watching the break room's state in that moment. - without making such a mess...
- Andy, i don't think you understand. I'm not a person that believes in chance. When i say that you were lucky, it means you were Tremendously lucky. This is so far the first report of shadow activity that we have outside of japan. As you can see, most of the persons that we gave the evokers to have never needed them. And if we had told them how to use them, it could have been... terrible.
-Terrible? what do you mean by terrible? wouldn't they just know how to summon their personae?
- No, Andy. Summoning your persona is something that must never be used lightly. The Evoker allows people to force out their persona, but it's not only that. You think that Personas are only faithful servants? Their power can surpass even reality itself! They are majestic beings, and must be treated with the greatest respect. A summoning needs to be done only when it is needed, and only when you have been able to get in communion with your Persona. If someone tries to do so when the Persona is not ready to be summoned yet, the Persona could turn against its summonner, or enter a state of outrage, becoming something much more dangerous than any Shadow, for its summoner and for everyone else.
- I... i tried to thank him, but he got away...
- Well, just thinking about it is enough for your persona to know that you care about him. But ask yourself: Would everyone else that you know do the same?
I got scared of thinking what would my brother do with a Persona...
- You may have a point... Still, even if i couldn't save that person...
- ... that doesn't mean that you will give up on it, right?
I looked back. Mary was on the door. She seemed upset. i didn't know if it was because of the "Braindead" case, or because she had obviously seen what happened to the break room.
- Did you tell him, Uehara?
- No, he's just as you said... curious and just.
- Tell me what?
Larrondo sat back on her chair.
- Remember that i told you that you had an oportunity before you? one that i had been waiting for a long time?
- Yeah, you never told me what was it...
- Well, the preformance of the previous owners of the Evoker told me that i had to wait until you did awaken your power. Now that the professor says that you won't be preyed by other shadows, perhaps you will be able to handle... prevention.
- I... think i know what you mean... but say it anyway.
I did know what they were going to ask. I wanted to do it. I wanted to hear it. Larrondo got up.
- In an average, a "Braindead" case occurs at least every week. Losing our personnel like this is not only bad for the company, but bad for everyone. So far it didn't mattered how much we wanted to stop the cases, for we didn't have anyone with the means to handle the Shadows. But now... we do.
- Your task will be simple, Andy. When the Dark Hour arrives, we want you to search the building for any person sensitive to it. And stop them from falling in the Shadows's hands.
- So i will have to keep everyone alive everyday?
- No, it's not likely. As i'm sure miss Larrondo already told you, if a person doesn't have the potential, it can get eventually aware of the dark hour, but only for one day. Better yet, after that day, he won't remember anything about its experiences. You just have to keep them safe for that hour.
- Of course, being a simple task doesn't mean it will be an easy one. Shadows can be formidable opponents. they can be cunning, tricky, decieving, powerful, and specially evil. and you may have to face more than one at a time. That's why, should you accept, the kijiro group will compensate you for it.
- Well, i'm sure i cannot work for free, can i?
Miss Larrondo and the professor laughed.
- You sure cannot. and for that, we have prepared this contract.
She drew a piece of paper from the cabin and put it in front of me.
- The terms of this new contract are quite simple. You are from now on relocated to station 198 of the third floor, on the exact center of the building. Your position and work shift will remain the same. You will be allowed to be in any part of the facility from the time of 12:00 am to 12:01 am. Each prevented "Braindead" case will be rewarded under variable payment. The professor and his representatives may give you other tasks as you continue this work, but you're allowed to refuse them if you desire so, though each successful task will also be rewarded. You're also available to recruit anyone else that shows the potential, and they will be offered with the same contract. Do you accept these terms?
Once again, i didn't even think about it. Though i remembered some words that i had heard some time ago:
- 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.
I opened my backpack, took my black pen, and signed the contract. I guess what they say it's true... you never imagine what will make you get your first raise.
- End of Chapter IV -