Chapter 3

-Tuesday, August 6th, 2013-

"…and then I beat the shit out of it."

"Dude," Emile says as he leans back in his seat. "Why can't my dreams be as badass as that?!"

First thing I said to Emile as I entered first period was what I experienced the night before. Of course, I left out a few details, mainly about Anna and how I almost died for real. Even with that information cut out, Emile still seems riled up.

I shrug at his remark. "Maybe I'm just cooler."

"Oh, c'mon, that's not fair," Emile scoffs.

"I'm kidding, man," I say with a laugh.

The teacher, Mrs. Evans, walks into the room as the bell rings.

"Alright everyone; take your seats, please," she asks of us. "It'll take me a while to learn your names, so I'm going to have to do roll call the hard way again. Just let me know if I butcher your last name."

The class chuckles slightly at her remark, and thankfully, my story kept Emile awake long enough to hear his name called. Mrs. Evans has us open our books to read an excerpt from Uncle Tom's Cabin, a story about slavery written by a woman sometime around the American Civil War period. She begins asking questions after we're done reading it, one of them directed to Emile.

"Why was the publishing of this book so important?"

"…shit, dude, I didn't actually read any of this!" Emile curses under his breath. "Help me out here!" He stalls for time by saying, "Um…" out loud.

"It helped the public realize how bad slavery was," I say to him. He relays the answer back to Mrs. Evans.

"Correct," she applauds. "But next time, try answering it on your own. I'm not stupid."

The other students laugh again.

"Dammit…" Emile dejectedly says to himself.

As class ends, I stop Emile before he runs off to his next class. "Hey, we gonna hang out this week or what?"

"Oh, right…" he says. He almost seems apologetic. "There's something going on at home, so I can't tonight. I might be able to tomorrow."

I nod in agreement. "That's fine. See you in math, then."

Emile nods and heads down the hall, leaving me with my music.

{~}

"Welcome home!" Aunt Joanne says as I walk through the door. "Hey, I was just about to go to the mall for some clothes. You wanna come with me?"

I could use a new video game…

(You've got your priorities straight, huh?)

Shut up.

Oh, did I not mention? Ixion's been talking to me virtually all day. Apparently, Personas have influence even outside of dreams; I can have entire conversations with the guy. This is taking self-reflection to an entirely different level.

"Yeah, sure," I say as I place my backpack on the floor by the stairs.

"Lemme just change out of my work clothes first," she says.

Roughly twenty minutes later, we arrive at the outlet mall. Aunt Joanne heads for a clothing store, while I tell her I'm going to look around for a bit.

"Alright," she says. "Don't get lost."

"No promises," I call back as I walk down the pathway.

Not many people from school are here today, which is to be expected of a Tuesday. The sky is still covered in a blanket of clouds and the ground is wet from fresh rain. It hadn't rained since noon, but the air still feels thick with moisture. Some people are walking around with their umbrellas out. I quietly laugh at them, considering that it isn't actually raining. Not yet, anyway.

I walk into the game store, and a bell goes off letting the employees know I'm here. Music from a popular series is playing over the loudspeakers, and a couple kids are sitting by the front door trading data between their portable games. The three employees behind the counter, despite hearing the bell, are deep in conversation. I examine the racks of console games, checking out the back covers and price tags.

"You hear about that radio host?" a male employee asks the other two.

"Yeah, I did. Isn't she dead?" another one responds, this one a girl.

"What? No," the first employee says. "Why would she be dead?"

"Because the doctors treating her said her pulse is weaker every time they check on her," the third worker, another male, says. "It's like she's just fading away."

The female shivers. "That's just creepy…what caused it?"

"They have no idea," guy one tells her.

(Hey, kid.)

I jump at hearing Ixion's voice again. He's got a tendency to talk with no warning at all. If he keeps doing this in public, I'll end up looking like a complete psychopath.

Geez…what do you want?

(Look up.)

…what am I supposed to be looking at?

(Window. Across the street.)

I follow his directions, eventually finding the antique store across the parking lot. Next to it is the sub shop Emile worked at, but between them…

Putting the game case in my hand back on its shelf, I exit the store and approach the alleyway. Placed in between the two stores is a glowing blue door decorated with gold markings, one that isn't connected to any buildings whatsoever.

What is that?

After a quick look around, it seems as if nobody else notices the door. Either that or they're choosing to ignore it. Finding the former more likely, I walk closer to it. It's just far enough into the alley that nobody would see me if I go inside unless they were purposefully stalking me.

Something inside my left pocket begins to radiate heat, almost to the point of discomfort. I reach in and pull out the Velvet Key. Realizing what this means, my heart begins to pound.

Maybe now everything will make sense.

Click…

Squeeeeeak…

My vision fades to white as I step inside.

{~}

"Welcome to the Velvet Room…"

…oh no.

It's like I've traveled back in time. The place is exactly as I remember it. The violet colors, the bar, the piano, the old guy, and the blonde lady in a blue trench coat-like dress…actually, that last one's new.

"I see you have awakened to your Persona," Igor points out. "I must congratulate you. It occurred sooner than I anticipated."

"Persona…" I repeat. "What is a Persona?"

"Think of it as a kind of mask," Igor responds with a laugh. "One that you wear in the face of hardships. It is a manifestation of your inner psyche, one powered by the strength of one's own heart."

"So my heart literally has a mind of its own."

Igor chuckles. "That sure is an odd way of putting it. But, in a sense, yes. Ixion was the one who headed your call, I see. Are you aware of his origins? Ixion is a man who had faced many hardships, becoming shunned by the general public. Zeus took pity, however, and offered him refuge on Olympus. When Ixion began lusting for his wife, even going as far as to sleep with a duplicate of her and impregnating her, Zeus banished Ixion to the depths of Tartarus, left to burn."

(Guilty as charged.)

"Hey, Igor…" I speak up, wanting to know some things from him. "Can I ask you a couple questions? These last few days have been…well…"

"Confusing?" Igor finishes the sentence for me. "I understand. This sudden change in your life is expected to raise questions. Ask away. I will answer to the best of my abilities."

"First off, I've been hearing voices in my head when I look at people. It usually just says one word, but I don't know what they mean."

"Ah, yes…I assume you've heard words like, 'Star', 'Tower', or 'Magician'…"

"Yeah, that last one," I tell Igor. "I've heard 'Magician' before. What do those words mean?"

"Have you not heard of the Arcana?" Igor questions.

"The traditional deck of tarot cards holds twenty-two numbered cards, each of them called an 'Arcana'," the lady at the far end of the bar tells me. The way she talks is rather matter-of-fact, making her sound somewhat bored. Her wavy blonde hair reaches her shoulder blades and her eyes are-…holy crap, they're yellow. "Everyone has an Arcana that represents their personality. You, for example, are of the Fool Arcana."

"Oh, gee, thanks."

"You misunderstand," Igor tells me. "The Fool is of great importance. Its number is zero – empty, but full of potential. Being of the Fool Arcana also grants you the ability of the Wild Card."

"Wild Card?"

"Most individuals who are granted or gain the use of a Persona are limited to only one," he says. "However, because you are a Wild Card, you have the rare ability to wield a multitude of Personas at once."

"Every Persona has an Arcana as well," the blonde lady continues. "And this is where Social Links come into play."

"You see, the services I can provide to you, as stated in our contract, include fusing Personas together to create brand new ones. Fused Personas are more powerful than the original ones, but you can make them even stronger by creating bonds. The stronger the bond, the stronger the Persona. This process is known as a 'Social Link'."

"So I have to get closer to people for my own personal gain?" I ask. "That doesn't exactly sound fair. In fact, it makes me sort of an asshole."

"That's one way to look at it," Igor replies. "But a negative attitude such as that will make it more difficult to attain a Social Link. It can only become a true Social Link if you or the individual you are bonding with feels a genuine friendship. However, keep in mind that forging an unbreakable bond with someone is a difficult path to walk, and that you may reach barriers in preventing the furthering of your bond. Thankfully, utilizing the Personas you have at your disposal can make this journey much easier."

"That's just it, I only have Ixion," I state. "I can't fuse Personas or switch to a new one. He's all I've got."

(You say that like it's a bad thing.)

"Do not worry," Igor tells me. "That will take care of itself in the future."

"If you obtain a new Persona or wish to recall a Persona you used in Fusion," the blonde informs me. "You may talk to me. The book I have in my hands is known as the Persona Compendium, which will record the Personas you obtain. They can be registered and recalled for later use."

"Does this all make sense to you?" Igor asks.

"Honestly? No," I reply. "This is all completely crazy and any normal person would think I went batshit if I told them about this. But if you're asking if I understand what you're telling me, then yes, I do."

"Good," Igor says with a smile. "You learn at an exceptional rate."

I glance over to the lady, who I assume to be the assistant Igor mentioned when I came here last time. "That book…I've seen it before, I think."

Her eyes grow wide. "You've seen the Compendium elsewhere?"

"Yeah…" I attempt to recall when I had. It suddenly comes back to me. "Some old guy in a bookstore with a glowing cane gave it to me. In fact, I think I was supposed to bring it to you." I turn to look at Igor. "He said, 'Sorry it took so long'."

Igor's face contorts in thought. "I see…it would be of utmost importance to bring that book to us next we meet. Please, do not forget to do so."

"If you have any more questions, feel free to return here at any time," the lady says. "Time does not pass here, so you can stay as long as you'd like."

"Right…" I say. I thought this information would make me feel better, but it's just replaced confusion with worry.

"Now, Margaret," Igor says to the lady. "Please, see our guest out. He has a destiny to fulfill." He looks back to me. "'Till we meet again."

{~}

I check my phone's clock. It's been almost an hour, and I've been sitting in the dressing area of a clothing store waiting for my aunt to finish. She just can't pick a dress, it seems.

(Urgh…)

What's wrong with you?

(I'm attached to you, kid. If you have to suffer through this, then so do I.)

Ouch. Sorry.

Ixion doesn't respond. Seems like the both of us are ready to lose it.

"What about this one?"

I look over to see Aunt Joanne showing me another dress. Like the others, it would look perfectly fine on most people, but it isn't exactly something I want to see my aunt wearing.

"Look, just get whatever you want," I tell her. "I'm not a girl. I don't know anything about fashion."

"But does it look alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, it does. Sure."

Aunt Joanne sighs. "You want to go home, don't you?"

I give her a sarcastic 'no shit' look.

"Alright, just gimme five more minutes."

(That's five too many.)

What're you going to do about it? It's not like I can summon you out here.

(That barrier is a pain in the ass.)

Ixion's been saying something about a barrier, one that's preventing me from summoning his card and therefore preventing him from coming out of my head. I'm not really sure what's causing it, but maybe that's another thing I'll have to find out later. On the plus side, I don't really have a reason to bring him out unless I want to commit arson.

True to her word, Aunt Joanne takes us to the checkout and we finally leave. I flop onto the couch the instant we get home and breathe a sigh of relief.

"You're not one for shopping, are you?"

"Not at all," I tell her.

"I'm…I'm sorry..."

I look over to her, slightly shocked. "What're you apologizing for?"

She sighs and takes a seat on the couch. "I haven't been doing a very good job taking care of you. I was gone for two whole days right when you got here, I didn't come get you when it rained, and now I dragged you along on a shopping trip that you didn't even want to go on. I'm sorry, Tyson…"

"What're you talking about?" I ask. She's unusually sullen, as if this is something that's been bugging her for a while. "You've been feeding me, you got me all my school supplies, you brought me dinner last night when I was out cold…and most of all, you took me in."

That last one caught her attention. She quickly looks up at me, now with her own look of shock.

"Out of all my family members, you're the only one that showed me the hospitality that nobody else would. That's all I really needed. The fact that I even have a bed to sleep in makes up for a crappy shopping trip."

She looks at me and gives me a huge smile. "Well, I'm glad you're here. It's nice to have some company again."

I smile in return.

SMASH

Time has stopped dead in its tracks, myself included. The sound of glass smashing echoes through my mind as the picture of a playing card appears before me. The face shows an orange sun, and it's labeled with the Roman numeral of the number twenty. A disembodied voice calls out to me.

Thou art I,
And I am thou.

Thou hast established a new bond,
One that brings freedom ever closer.

Thou shalt be blessed when thou choosest
to make a Persona of the Sun Arcana…

The card fades from my vision and everything returns to normal. Aunt Joanne isn't affected at all and I pretend it never even happened. With all this crazy stuff happening lately, I gotta learn to do that so people don't think I'm nuts.

The Sun Arcana, huh? So that means I have a Social Link now.

(Only a whole twenty-one more to go.)

Bring out the confetti.

After the two of us eat dinner, I head up to my room and boot up my computer. After a few minutes, I now have a cheat sheet made with every Arcana in the tarot deck. Major Arcana, that is. According to Google, there are even more, those ones being listed as the Minor Arcana, but I assume that nobody has those ones as Margaret only mentioned twenty-two. I type "Aunt Joanne" next to "XX - Sun". Hopefully, this'll keep me organized in who I've got Links with.

…Which one was Emile?

(Magician, I think.)

Arcana Number 1…better talk to him tomorrow, then.

{~}

-Wednesday, August 7th, 2013-

The principal starts off the day by reading off some announcements over the intercom, something he doesn't normally do.

"Those who are looking to apply for the track or ultimate frisbee teams should have their forms filled out and turned in by Monday of next week to their respective coaches," he reads. "The first of the extracurricular clubs should be opening up by the 19th of this month. Acquire with their host teachers if you wish to join."

Seems baseball won't happen until spring. Makes sense, I guess. For now, though, I should probably look into one of those other sports. As for clubs, I'll have to find out what they have.

"You gonna join a team?" I ask Emile, who I once again have to wake up.

"I'm already on the swim team," he says after slapping himself across the face to keep from falling asleep. "They don't let you double up on teams."

"But I can join a club and a sport, right?"

"Yeah, if you wanna have no free time whatsoever."

"Speaking of free time, are we doing something today?"

"O-oh, right, yeah. I'm free today."

"Cool. Wanna walk over to the mall? I can have my aunt take us home after we're done."

"Sounds like a plan."

{~}

Holy crap, I do not understand a single bit of this worksheet…

(I was never taught this…)

I thought Greeks invented math?

(This isn't math, kid. It's modern torture.)

"Hey, Maria…can you help me out with number four?"

"I-I'm still stuck on number two!"

I'm screwed.

{~}

As the last bell for the day rings, I tell Emile to meet me at the front door of the school and we both split to get what we need out of our lockers. For the first time, I notice whose locker neighbors mine, and holy crap, she's hot. She's a good dresser, too; she's in a black shirt and white skirt, plus platform flip-flops and silver stud earrings.

(Empress.)

(…kid, stop staring.)

I quickly avert my eyes before she catches on, but I can't help overhear the conversation between her and another guy as she walks away.

"Oh, c'mon, not again," she says with extreme distain.

"N-no, Rachel, please, hear me out…" the guy pleads.

"I said no. Knock it off."

"Why not? Not even for coffee or something?"

At that point, she just scoffs and pushes past him. I pass by the dejected student as I head for the school's front entrance, finding Emile there patiently waiting.

"Ready man?" he asks.

"Yup. Let's go."

"Oh, Emile…" an unknown voice taunts in a sing-song fashion.

"Dammit," Emile curses under his breath.

I turn to see a cheery-eyed redheaded girl bounding up the hallway, seemingly a sophomore. The right side of her somewhat short hair flips outward and her bangs do the same, but the left side falls straight down. She readjusts the elbow-length sleeves of her blue and red plaid button-up as she reaches us, crossing her arms and leaning on her right leg.

"You going somewhere, huh?" she asks Emile, with a slight sneer in her voice.

(Star.)

"Uh…yeah, I was taking Tyson to the mall. We were gonna hang out." He realizes the two of us haven't met yet and quickly introduces us. "O-oh, right, uh…Tyson, Ally. Ally, Tyson. She's my neighbor."

"Hey," I say with the wave of my hand.

"'Sup!" she replies with a gleaming smile. She looks back to Emile and begins to plead with him. "You told me we'd hang out again soon!"

Emile rubs the back of his head and smirks. "Y-yeah, I know, I did. I'm sorry, but this week's been busy. I thought I'd spend what little free time I had showing Tyson around. He just moved here."

"Well, hey, why can't she tag along?" I suggest. I kind of feel bad for her, considering that, by the sound of things, Emile had already promised to spend some time with her. Plus, she seems like a really cool person.

"W-wait, really?" Emile stammers out. "I didn't think you'd be okay with that."

Meanwhile, Ally's just jumping for joy. Literally. And giggling, too.

"C'mon, let's go!" she yells as she grips my and Emile's wrists and drags us out the door.

"G-geez, Ally, let up a little!" Emile yells back.

{~}

Next thing we know, we're getting dragged into a women's fragrance store and our noses are assailed with burning chemicals and citrus scents. The redhead continuously sprays us and begs us to tell her which one we think is best, to which I answer with hearty coughing caused by the vapors. While Ally has a hard time picking out the bottle she wants, Emile and I sneak out of the store to get some fresh air.

"This is humiliating…" Emile sighs.

"I think some of that singed my nose hairs," I tell him, taking deep breaths of the cold outdoor air. "Does she do this a lot?"

"Frequently enough, yeah," he says. "I love her and all, but she can drive me crazy."

"Love her?" I question. "What, you got a thing for her?"

Emile's face immediately goes red.

"Wh-what? No, what're you talking about? I've known her since we were really young. She's like the little sister I never had. We used to play together all the time and race each other on our scooters…stuff like that."

"They say best friends can turn into relationships, y'know," I tell him mockingly.

He simply scoffs at my remark.

"Yeah…no. I've seen too many of those situations go under. I'm not going to let that blow up in my face and lose a friend over it."

Sad part is, he's right.

"Hey, I gotta piss. Be right back," Emile states as he darts past a few stores and around the corner to the public bathroom. The doors of perfume purgatory open and I take in a deep breath and hold it.

"He dragged you outside, huh?" Ally asks, holding a paper bag with her new perfume.

After reassuring myself the door had closed, I'm free to open my mouth again.

"Less, 'he dragged me out' and more, 'I ran out with him'." I smirk to let her know I'm joking. She seems to get the idea.

"Tell ya what; I'll let you guys pick the next place to go," she offers. "How about the comic store?"

"There's a comic store here?!" I react in surprise. I had no clue there was a comic book store, but I'm glad I know now.

Ally laughs and motions for me to follow her.

"We have to wait for Emile, though," I point out. "He went to the bathroom."

"O-oh, right," she responds. "How long has he been?"

"Couple minutes, maybe?" I say with a shrug. After a little more waiting in silence, we decide to go to the bathrooms to see what's keeping him. As we reach the alleyway, a familiar voice comes from around the corner.

"Joe, cut it out!"

Ally lightly taps my arm. She suddenly seems really worried.

"Is that Emile?"

"I think so…should we go check on him?"

She flashes a stern look of disgust.

"That's the boy's bathroom! I'm not going in there!"

"Ugh," I respond. "Fine. Wait here."

I walk into the bathroom and I'm greeted with Emile flying past me and slamming into the wall.

"What the hell?!" I call out. I look over to Emile's assailant and get into a defensive fighting stance.

Holy crap, he's huge…

(I didn't know someone's voice could crack in their head.)

"You wanna start somethin' too?" the bully, Joe, says to taunt me.

"I didn't even start anything…" Emile groans.

I help Emile to his feet while ignoring the verbal abuse coming from the other kid. Eventually getting fed up with the guy, I yell, "Oh, shut up already!" before dragging Emile out of the bathroom.

Ally runs to her friend, clearly worried. "Oh my god! Are you okay?!"

I realize he's more beat up than I thought. He has no visible cuts, but his lower chin looks bruised and he seems to be in a daze. He almost can't walk in a straight line.

"I'm fine," Emile insists. "Just let me sit down."

The two of us guide him to a nearby bench and Ally sits beside him. He slumps to the side with his head on her shoulder and groans. She looks at me with a worried expression.

(That kid can't take a punch, can he? I hope you're more resilient.)

Ignoring Ixion, I turn to Emile and ask him what happened.

"Went into the bathroom. He called me Emily and a fag. I called him out on it. He punched me. Usual routine."

Usual…?!

(Hmm. That big fella must single out the whole 'feminine name' thing and prey on that.)

What an asshole.

I look at the faces of my friends, seeing Emile ready to pass out and Ally trying to calm him down, but with little success.

Beating up my friends? Not in my book.

I turn around and march back into the bathroom, seeing Joe washing his hands. Before he can react, I've grabbed his shoulder and pulled back. Using my foot as a pivot against his own foot, I let gravity do the rest and carry him to the ground. I slam my heel into his face to reaffirm his newfound situation and turn back to leave.

"Grow up, you miserable sack of shit," I say to him as he rolls on the floor, groaning.

"What happened in there?" Ally asks as I come back out of the bathroom. "I heard a thud…"

"Knocked him on his ass," I confirm.

"You…you what?" Emile stammers, awestruck.

"Nobody calls my friends stuff like that and gets away with it. There's a special circle in Hell for those people."

The bruised boy just smiles and I take it as a 'thanks'.

SMASH

Thou art I,
And I am thou.

Thou hast established a new bond,
One that brings freedom ever closer.

Thou shalt be blessed when thou choosest
to make a Persona of the Magician Arcana…

I text Aunt Joanne to have her come pick us up. Emile's in no shape to walk around, so the comic store will have to wait. My aunt pulls up in her van next to us and we escort Emile inside, and, as expected, she freaks out over his current state.

"What happened to him?!" she wails.

"He got into a fight," I tell her. "Don't worry. It's taken care of."

The slight hint of malice in my voice throws her off guard and almost seems to scare her a bit. She doesn't ask any more questions for the rest of the ride, save for asking Ally where the two of them live. Ally and I help Emile out of the car and into his house when we pull up to it, and luckily for him his parents don't seem to be home. Maybe he can hide his injury somehow.

"Text me if you need anything, alright?" Ally tells him.

"Alright," Emile responds with a grin. "Thanks."

She hugs him tightly and sends him inside.

"I can walk home from here," Ally informs me. As I walk back to the car, Ally stops me. "Hey, um…thank you. For…y'know."

"Anything for a friend," I say with a smile.

She smiles in return and hugs me as well before making the walk back to her place.

…no Social Link?

(Guess not.)

Maybe she's just a hugger.

I return to the van and realize how tired I am. For a small fight, that took a lot out of me. To no surprise, Aunt Joanne and I are silent from then on for the rest of the day.