While I tried to make mostly original Personas, some of them are in-game. However, I mostly changed them for my own purposes.

All of the below characters are of my own creation.

Chapter 2

Allies and Enemies

Jason looked around at the shelves as he realized he was back where he came from. He was standing, with the book still in his hands. As he moved to close it, he noticed something had changed.

He flipped to the next page, and found text had appeared on the page. As he read, he realized that the text was describing his actions after he read the first words. It was as if the story had been written as he acted.

Putting the book back, he looked at his watch, and saw that only a half an hour had passed since he went in. "It had to have been longer than that."

Jason grabbed his back pack, and with one last glance at the book, he left the library, and headed home.

Jason opened the door, and was greeted by his mother, Melissa. "How was your day, honey?"

Deciding to keep quiet, Jason simply said, "Nothing major. Just went to the library."

Dropping his backpack, Jason headed for his room, and grabbed his phone.

Calling Kevin, Jason kept his voice low so his mother wouldn't hear. "Kevin, it's Jason."

"Why are you whispering? You find some dirty magazine in the library?"

Jason shook his head. There were times where he wished Kevin could be serious. "Look, it's important, Kev. Meet me behind the library tomorrow morning."

Jason heard Kevin sigh. "Again with the library? Fine, but this had better be important to get me out there on a Saturday."

"Trust me. You won't forget this." With a farewell, Jason hung up and rubbed his face with his hands. Kevin would never believe him. But what Igor had told him was too important. He had to tell his best friend.

He just hoped Kevin didn't think he was insane.

Kevin sat and listened as Jason told him an elaborate story of what happened after school the day before.

When he finished, Kevin raised an eyebrow. "You ever consider a career in fiction, cause that's one heck of a story."

Jason grunted, and ran his hand though his brown hair. "I'm being serious, Kevin. It happened."

"Right. So you got pulled into a book, chased by shadows, summoned a warrior from a card, had a conversation with a butterfly, and met a strange man in an office. Did I miss anything?"

"You missed where the book began to record what happened to me. And if you come in with me, I can prove it to you."

Kevin shook his head. "Personally, I think you're nutty as a fruitcake, but I'm willing to play along for now. But if you try anything weird, I will knock your ass out."

But as they got up and walked to the front door, neither of them noticed the person in the bushes, who was listening to every word.

Kevin followed Jason tentatively as they walked through the shelves, arguing with himself.

On one hand, Jason's story was just so strange that it defied believability. But on the other hand, it wasn't like him to make up such a wild story, and present it as true.

Finally, Jason came to a stop, and pulled a book off the shelf. He handed it to Kevin, and silently nodded for him to read it.

As he opened it, he skipped to the first page, and nearly dropped it as he saw that Jason's name was indeed in the book. As he read on, it went almost word for word as Jason had described it.

"One last thing." Jason's voice broke the silence. "Go to the front page, and read the text." Jason put his hand on Kevin's shoulder.

Kevin flipped to the first page, and read the words. "'I am thou, and thou art I. Thou art the one who opens the door.'"

"Here comes the rush."

A feeling overwhelmed Kevin, and he blacked out.

A few minutes later, the stranger from the bushes walked up to the two of them, still standing and holding the book.

Curious, he put his hand on the book, and read the words on the page.

Kevin came awake as Jason was shaking his shoulder. "Can't you see I'm trying to sleep, man?"

"This ain't the place to sleep, Kev. We've got to get moving before the Shadows find us."

Remembering where they were, Kevin groaned, and slowly opened his eyes to see Jason kneeling beside him, holding a sword. "Where'd you get that?"

"From Sigurd, my Persona. It's called Gram, the sword of the Volsungs." Then he pointed at something on Kevin's other side. "And it appears you've got a gift, too."

Confused, Kevin looked over and saw a bow and a quiver of arrows lying next to him. How did, whoever, know I'm an archer? Sitting up, Kevin picked up an arrow and studied the arrowhead.

He saw a slight purple tint on the tip. "I think these are poisonous. Remind me to not prick myself on these."

A rare smirk emerged on Jason's face. "Well, just keep it in your quiver and you should be fine."

Kevin raised an eyebrow. "If that weren't so funny, I'd hit you for that. But in the future, leave the jokes to me."

Kevin grabbed the quiver and put it around him, and grabbed the bow. "So, where to from here?"

"Now we go hunting."

"Sigurd, Cleave!" Jason crushed the card, and Sigurd appeared, slashing the Shadows with his sword.

As Kevin turned, a Shadow came up behind Jason, who wasn't reacting. "Jason, duck!" He pulled out an arrow, notched it, and sent it flying as Jason dropped out of the way. The Shadow dispersed as the arrow struck.

"Thanks, Kev-"

Kevin went to retrieve his arrow, and as he looked up, he saw a huge white fist slam into Jason, who hit a shelf and crumbled.

As fast as he could, Kevin pulled an arrow and sent it flying. But the fighter Shadow simply grabbed the arrow and crushed it. "This cannot be good."

The Shadow went to punch him, and Kevin ducked and rolled around it, and pulled another arrow and sent it flying. It hit the Shadow in the back, but only seemed to make it stumble.

Kevin dove for Jason, and grabbed his shoulders. "Jason, wake up, man! I need you, here!"

The Shadow roared, and seemed to glow, and its muscles became larger. Even though he was afraid, Kevin stood in front of Jason and pulled another arrow. "If you want to get to him, you need to go through me."

The Shadow brought up its fist and it almost seemed to fly at Kevin, but he simply closed his eyes and held his ground.

When the impact didn't come, Kevin opened his eyes, and saw a blue card spinning in front of the fist, blocking it.

"Per...so...na." Kevin fired his arrow, piercing the card. With the sound of shattering glass, a man wearing an armored skirt, with a bared chest and short blonde hair stood in front of him. He was holding a bow and quiver, and slightly turned his head, one eye still on the Shadow.

"I am thou, and thou art I. Thou art the one who opens the door. I am Philoctetes, the Greek Archer, and I shall guard those you fight for."

A slow smile spread on Kevin's face. "Alright, then. Double Fang!"

Philoctetes pulled two arrows from his quiver, and fired them, striking the Shadow, and bringing it to its knee.

As it struggled to its feet, purple stains began to spread from the wounds. Philoctetes faded, and Kevin felt a hand on his shoulder. "Looks like you called your Persona, too."

With a roar, the Shadow forced itself to its feet. Jason met Kevin's eyes. "Shall we?"

Kevin flipped out his card, and shot it with an arrow, while Jason crushed his in his hand.

Kevin followed Jason back though the library maze, turning the card over in his hand. The personification of my inner psyche.

"It's a lot to take in, isn't it?"

Kevin looked over at Jason and smirked. "I don't know. I kind of like having a Greek warrior at my beck and call."

Jason just rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Smartass."

"So, what..."

Kevin's question was interrupted by a shout, and the sound of steel a few corners away. With a nod, Jason and Kevin took off toward the sound.

As they came around the final corner, Kevin saw a black boy around their age wearing a hooded sweater. He had a pair of daggers in his hands, and was fighting a Shadow in the form of a samurai.

"We've got to help him!" Kevin shouted, and Jason was already drawing his sword.

As they rushed in, the boy was knocked back with a slash, and his hood fully fell away, revealing his face.

"Isn't that David Robbins? How did he get in here?"

"We can ask him when we save his life. Let's go."

When David had come to, he was lying in a blue library, and had a pair of daggers by his side.

Standing up, David started to wander the shelves, trying to find the ones who came in first. After a while, he thought he heard some shouting and thumping, but was prevented from following by the appearance of the samurai.

The being drew its katana, and without even a warning, attacked him.

Almost on instinct, David drew the daggers and was fighting him off when he heard voices behind him.

"We've got to help him!"

David was distracted by the shout, and the samurai caught him, knocking him to the side.

The two others were suddenly above him, blocking him from the enemy. He forced himself to his feet, and pushed them out of the way. "This is my fight. Leave me alone."

The one with the sword looked at him shocked. "But we can help."

David looked over to meet the other's eyes. "I neither want, nor need, your help. I rely on no one, and I only have myself.."

With those words, a blue card appeared in front of David.

"Isn't that..." The one with the bow asked.

The one with the sword nodded. "It must be. This is something he does himself."

Amazed, David reached for the card. "Per...so...na." Then, with a slash of his dagger, the card shattered like glass.

From the air emerged a muscled warrior wearing the pelt of a wolf. "I am thou, and thou art I. Thou art the one who opens the door. I am Romulus, Wolf-bred, and I serve as your strength."

David felt a strange dark energy enveloping him, and knew how to turn the darkness onto his enemy. "Be consumed by the shadows. Mudo."

A dark circle appeared before the samurai, and with a cry it disappeared into the darkness.

Romulus vanished, and David suddenly felt lightheaded, and collapsed.

As he watched for the top of a shelf, the one who controlled the Shadows watched as the first two helped up the third, and started to take him back to the exit.

"So now there are three." He ran a coin along the fingers of his right hand. "Soon, there shall be enough for me to make my move. Until then, I shall continue to test these neophytes."

Then he reached into his cloak and pulled out a blue card. "But soon, they shall know me, and the true test shall begin."

Now for the new characters:

Name:Kevin Harris

Age:17

Eye/Hair Color:Brown/Blonde

Location:Bronx, Manhattan, NY.

Weapon:Bow and Arrow

Arcana:The Hanged Man(XII)

Persona:Philoctetes, the Greek Archer

Name:David Robbins

Age:16

Eye/Hair Color:Green(R)-Brown(L)/Black

Location:Lower East Side, Manhattan, NY.

Weapon:Daggers

Arcana:The Hermit(IX)

Persona:Romulus, the Wolf-Bred

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