Chapter 6
-Wednesday, August 14th, 2013-
What kind of bullshit school is this, giving students a quiz on the second week of school?!
To be fair, the quizzes I've taken in the last few days have been somewhat simple because, clearly, they can't give insanely difficult tests this early in the year. On the other hand, this is physics class. When it comes to difficulty, I can tell they're not going to hold back.
The teacher spaced us out across the room in such a way that we can't cheat as easily, but it still wouldn't take much to glance over at Maria's paper to see what she got. I debate it for a while, taking into account how I could sneak it past the teacher and what Maria would say if she noticed. In the end, though, I decide against it. Too risky.
What's the definition of "velocity"…? Gah, shit, I know this…
(…hmm? What? I wasn't paying attention.)
Shut up, Ixion, I'm concentrating.
The rest of the students all seem equally perplexed. One kid in the back with a messy mop of blonde hair is running his fingers through it, making it even more tangled up than it already was, the glasses kid next to me keeps rubbing the back of his neck and tapping his pencil like he's got a nervous twitch, and a girl up in the front's giving her test an expressionless stare, like she's having a staring contest with the thing. Sadly enough, I think the test is winning.
A, "change in acceleration", B, "change in speed and direction", or C, "the speed of a mass"…
(Really? This is what you're stressing over?)
I didn't get much sleep last night. Cut me some slack.
I scratch a circle around B, hoping it's the right answer. It's the only one that sounds remotely correct, but I still have my doubts. I probably would've been more confident in my answer had I studied.
As the class period draws to a close, I turn in my test, accepting my fate as a total failure. Though I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a sense of accomplishment in powering through it. Maria turns in her test as well and lets out a small sigh as she returns to her seat.
"How'd you do?" I ask her.
"The multiple choice section was really easy, but I don't think I did so well on the math…sheesh…"
She did badly on the math section?! She's in an AP math class!
(Kid, whatever god you've got, you better pray to 'em. You're gonna need it.)
{~}
The rest of the school day goes without a hitch, though I ended up with a little more homework than I would've liked. Occasionally, my mind starts to remind me how much I have on my plate - school, homework, friends to hang out with, Social Links to keep up, Personas, the mysterious Dream World – but I force all these thoughts into the back of my head and only focus on what's going on right this moment. I spot Emile and Ally walking up to me as I messily toss school supplies into my backpack and throw it over my shoulder.
"Holy crap, your backpack is that messy already?" Emile scoffs.
"Yeah, I'm not really all that organized right now," I admit. "My teachers are making me take a lot of notes."
"Take a page from Ally," Emile says as Ally turns around for him to unzip her backpack. He points out the binders, one for each class, and all of them have their papers neat and tidy inside.
"They're all color-coded!" Ally proudly proclaims over her shoulder. "All of 'em have tabs and sections, too!"
I silently applaud the redhead's impressive organizational skills as Emile zips her backpack back up. She hops back around to face me – no, literally, hops – with a massive smile on her face, clearly proud of her handiwork.
"Emile's folders would be a complete mess if I didn't help him out with his stuff!" Ally jokes.
"Yeah, that's…kinda true, actually," Emile says. "You should see my room right now. It's a total pit."
"I've seen his room," Ally says, giving me a stern look. "And he's not kidding."
"I can organize things just fine," I tell them. "I just haven't come up with a system yet."
"Oh, I can help you come up with one if you want!" Ally offers. "None of my organizational systems have failed me in the…" Ally pauses to count on her fingers. "Ten years I've gone to school!"
"If you've got one that'll work for my classes, then lay it on me."
"We can do that when we get to the mall," Emile pipes up. "We're burnin' daylight. Let's go, guys."
The three of us manage to plow through the crowd of kids rushing to get out of this eternal hellhole and soon end up across the street at the outlet mall. The center plaza of the place has a large park for children to play in, though the elementary school doesn't let out until later in the day, so I've noticed high school couples spending what little quiet time they have in the lush grass. The warm sun seeps through the wall of bright white clouds across the sky, creating a setting that's warm but pleasantly cool as well. The birds in the trees lining the streets of the mall chirp their approval of the weather. We all sit in the grass together as Ally pulls out a large spiral notebook full of scribbles and doodles.
"So," Emile starts. "Have you picked a club to join yet? Some of them open next Monday."
"Oh, crap," I reply. "No, I forgot. I don't even know what there is…"
"Eh, you've got time. The school doesn't force you join one or anything. They're really lax about clubs."
"Are you going to join one?"
"I'm not sure, to be honest. I'm already in swim and I don't wanna overload myself."
"Unlike last year," Ally added. "You tried to do swim, a part-time job, and two different clubs all at once. You got so stressed out that you skipped school a whole bunch just to avoid the work, but then you ended up with such bad grades you almost got kicked out of swim."
"Oh my god, don't remind me," Emile says with a grimace.
The three of us continue to make small talk, bouncing through various topics like hobbies and what school was like before I moved here. A lot of the conversation became about Ally and Emile's childhood memories with each other, leading me to become somewhat of a third wheel, but I don't mind. I feel like I'm learning more about these two by listening in.
Ally eventually takes notice that Emile's been occasionally rubbing his eyes during this entire exchange and shows concern, asking him if he's feeling alright.
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," he says. "I've been having a hard time sleeping lately is all."
I can't quite put my finger on it, but something's telling me he's lying through his teeth.
"What, have you been having weird dreams or something?" Ally jokingly asks.
Oh shit.
Emile seems visibly distressed over the question, fidgeting in place ever so slightly.
"U-uh, yeah, you could say that…" he stammers.
"I've been having some pretty weird dreams lately, too," Ally says with a chuckle. "Like, so, I had this one where I was flying through the clouds, and then another one where Ellie and I were dancing together…"
"That's her little sister," Emile informed me. I nodded as Ally continued.
"And then there was another one where there was this big storm and I was running from something, but I can't remember what happened after that. What I do remember was really vivid, though."
Normally, talking about dreams would be one of my favorite topics; it's so easy to ramble on about them for hours on end. However, considering the recent turn of events, this entire thing is putting a knot in my stomach. Hearing someone talk about weird vivid dreams just isn't sitting right with me.
As if Lady Luck was looking out for me today, Ally's phone vibrates, distracting her from the subject at hand. She picks it up off the grass and scoffs.
"Oh my god, my mom's telling me to come home…" Ally says with extreme annoyance.
"Huh? Why?" I ask.
"I guess she has stuff to do and she can't leave Ellie home alone," Ally responds. "Sorry, guys, I gotta go."
"I can call my mom to pick us up," Emile offers.
"No, no, that's fine. You guys have fun. I can jog home. I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"O-oh, uh…alright, see ya," Emile says, sounding somewhat dejected.
Ally gives the both of us quick bear hugs, promises she'll help me organize my stuff later, and sprints off. By the time she's out of earshot, Emile has gone back to rubbing his eyes again.
"Dude, seriously, what's wrong?" I ask, more stern this time. It's then that I notice something that's odd to explain, but I feel more in-sync with Emile. It's almost as if everything he says and everything he does, I immediately empathize with, like we've been best friends for life.
(Magician,) my Arcana voice quietly states, reminding me of Emile's Arcana.
Nekomata…that's right…the Magician Arcana…
"Nothing, it's just…" Emile looks up at me, and I can assume he feels it, too. Having access to more Personas of more Arcana seems to give me the ability to switch how I think and feel, and switching to the Magician Arcana is providing me with an aura that Emile can trust more than usual.
"It's the Dream World, isn't it?" I say with a somewhat hushed tone.
Emile sighs. "Yeah, it's just stressing me out. We still have no idea why it's there or what we're supposed to do there."
"What makes you think we're supposed to do something?"
"You really think we got our Personas just to dick around? C'mon, I know you feel the same way. We were given these for a reason and we're supposed to use them for something. I just don't know what that something is."
He raises an interesting point. While Emile earned his Persona, he wouldn't have it if I hadn't gotten mine, and mine was just seemingly given to me. It's as if obtaining my Persona has started a chain reaction. But for what, and why?
"I say we just ride it out," I conclude. "No good's gonna come from rushing into this expecting to find answers. We can go in on occasion to train, but let's not do anything stupid while we wait for something to happen."
"Wait for what to happen? Someone else to go into a coma?" Emile almost seems angry at this point. If I was in this position two weeks ago, I would've messed up and made Emile mad at me. However, having Nekomata makes a slight change in my approach.
"In the best-case scenario, nobody ever goes into a coma again and we don't have to worry about it anymore. But you're right; we were given Personas for a reason. I think that reason is to protect the people that get trapped in that other world, so we really don't have much of a choice but to wait it out."
Emile rubs his eyes again and groans slightly, sounding frustrated.
"Doing nothing but tearing apart Shadows isn't going to get us anywhere," I add. "We need to think and plan this through carefully, and pace ourselves. I have a gut feeling we'll get answers eventually."
A loud heavy sigh escapes Emile's chest. He seems to have calmed down, thankfully.
"Yeah…" Emile says. "Yeah, you're right. We'll stick through this. And if shit goes south, we've got each other's backs."
"Exactly," I say with a smile.
SMASH
Thou art I,
And I am thou.
Thou hast strengthened thy bond
To the Second Rank.
Thou shalt be blessed when thou choosest
to make a Persona of the Magician Arcana…
{~}
Emile and I eventually decide to walk back to our homes, though he splits off sooner since his neighborhood is closer to the school. As I reach my house, I notice that Aunt Joanne's car is in the driveway.
"Hey, Tyson," she welcomes me as I come inside. She's still in her light blue nurse's scrub for some reason.
"Hi," I respond as I put down my backpack. I make a mental note that it seems like she comes home earlier than normal on Wednesdays.
"Where'd you go?"
"Went to the mall with some friends. How was work?"
"Boring," she admitted. "Nothing interesting's been happening lately. Just the usual stuff. Oh, did you happen to check the billboard for jobs?"
"Yeah, but nothing really caught my attention. I might go back to it later when I feel I can handle a job."
"Well, I found something small for you if you want," she says with a smile. "There was a boy your age everyone in the neighborhood hired to mow their lawns, but he moved last week, so some people could use some help. I told them I'd ask you."
"Oh, yeah, sure," I replied. I'm not really keen on the idea of sweating in the hot sun, but I guess money's money.
"I'll let them know, then. The Andersons down the street said if you could help on Friday, they'd pay you."
I agree to take the opportunity, though I know mowing lawns won't be too big of an income. With how much I know I'll have going on in the future, what with Personas and all, taking a lot of small jobs like this might be a better alternative to getting a proper part-time job.
As night falls, I retreat to my room to spend some time on my computer, but not after making another entry in my journal.
"August 14th,2013 – I have four Social Links right now, and I fused my first Persona yesterday. I've found that switching Arcana can be really useful for having good conversations with people. School's somewhat easy so far, and clubs open up on Monday. I have no idea what to join, though. I'll have to give it some thought."
{~}
-Thursday, August 15th, 2013-
"…and we should see heavy thunderstorms this morning by roughly 9:00 AM, and it'll be on and off all afternoon and should last all through the night. Tomorrow, though, we should see the sun out again in all its glory, bringing us a bright end to the weekend."
So far, it's looking like the weatherman could be right today. Thick, gray clouds are moving in across the sky, blotting out the sun and leaving the town in the dark. In fact, Mike already expects the worst; he texted me once he heard about the rain and we agreed to cancel track for the day. Looks like they don't normally meet on rainy afternoons.
I faintly hear the roar of a car engine as Maria and her brothers pull up onto my driveway. I wrap my toaster waffles up in a paper towel as I head out, feeling the light sprinkle of rain on my face.
My mom would always tell me to appreciate the calm before the storm when I was a little kid. The both of us loved rain, don't get me wrong, but for some reason, she would stress that the short time before a rainstorm was the best part. She and I would sit out on the balcony of our apartment, watching the clouds roll in and feeling the rain slowly begin to make its way down to the ground. I could never figure out exactly why she loved watching them make their way into the city, but I assumed it was the tension. You can almost feel the sky bracing itself for the unmatched strength of the coming storm.
Thinking back on it, maybe it was all a motherly metaphor. She could be really deep when she wanted to be.
As I climb into the car next to Maria, I sift through my Personas in my head, trying to see if any of their Arcana matches her own. Unfortunately, none of them do; Ixion is Fool, Apsaras is Temperance, and Pixie and Nekomata are both Magician. I must've spaced out while doing this because I notice Maria's giving me a weird look in my peripheral. Trying to cover up the awkward, I try to make small talk while her brothers bicker between each other.
"Almost wish it wasn't gonna rain today," I tell Maria. "I was supposed to have track today."
"I like the rain," she responds. "I just don't like the thunder. I used to be scared of it as a kid, and I never completely got over it."
I mutter an agreement with her and look for something else to say. Now I'm kicking myself for never picking up a High Priestess Persona. After a few seconds of awkward silence, I remember something.
"Oh, how'd that portrait contest go?"
Maria immediately perks up at the mention of her art.
"I got 2nd place, actually!" she happily exclaims. "So it's gonna be shown at the next county-wide art gallery, and I win a little bit of money for it."
"Wow, that's great," I exclaim. "Nice job!"
"Oh, what a sham," her middle school brother interjects, having overheard our conversation. "Anyone can win something like that. Art's not that hard."
"Yeah, anyone can turn anything into art," her sophomore brother adds from the front seat. "Hell, I could glue a couple cans together and someone could consider it art."
"Didn't someone do that last year?" the eighth grader says.
I can feel my blood boiling as these guys keep talking. What sort of family talks about their younger sister's passion like this? I expected them to encourage her, not shoot her down. I glance over at Maria, who has completely locked up and zoned out.
There goes that conversation.
We finally get to the high school after dropping off her weasel of a little brother and her two eldest brothers speed off to find their friends. I'm tempted to kick a dent in her brother's car when nobody's looking, but I'm not that much of a dick. I notice Maria getting out of the car in somewhat of a rush, so I try to keep up the same pace as her as she's clearly frustrated.
"You okay?" I ask. There's probably a better way to handle this, but may as well start blunt.
"They don't get it," she says, slowing down her walking speed a bit. "They just don't get the thought and care that goes into art. Yeah, there was a pile of cans at the last one, but it was part of a bigger piece about what we can do to recycle. They're so narrow-minded…"
She doesn't sound mad, oddly enough. The tone of her voice sounds more disappointed and broken than anything else, like she's about to crack under the pressure of her brother's words.
"Not everyone's going to understand the meaning of everything," I say, trying to calm her down.
"Yeah, I know, but I at least wish my brothers of all people wouldn't be so mean about it. They could at least keep it to themselves."
"If it makes you feel any better, I really like what you showed me of your art. You deserve the recognition. Besides, that art gallery? It's not there to please your brothers. Their opinion doesn't matter in the end. As long as you're proud of what you've done, that's all that matters."
I'm not entirely sure where that spiel came from, but it seems I drove home the point. Maria sighs, finally flashing a smile again, and nods.
"Yeah…yeah, you're right," she says. "Thank you…"
We walk the last few steps into the school, and, knowing she goes the opposite way, I prepare myself to say goodbye, but she has other plans – she hugs me. It's a small and quick side hug, but one that I don't turn down.
SMASH
Thou art I,
And I am thou.
Thou hast strengthened thy bond
To the Second Rank.
Thou shalt be blessed when thou choosest
to make a Persona of the High Priestess Arcana…
"S-see you later," she says with a shy grin.
(You've got a way with words, kid.)
I guess I do, yeah.
(Don't let that get to your head.)
{~}
As much as I like rain, it has a horrible downside of causing extreme drowsiness. My history teacher is rambling on and on about different stuff relating to the Revolutionary War that I've already learned back in middle school in New York. I slowly find myself becoming less interested by the minute, and I can feel my consciousness slipping through my fingers. In most cases, drowsiness is nothing I can't power through, but the exploration in the Dream World the other night have left me kinda tired and I haven't been able to catch up on the lost time.
Screw this.
I prop my head on my hand somewhat low to the surface of the desk and allow myself to pass out. Thankfully, Ixion's power to send me into the Dream World also means he has the ability to not send me there, so I don't have to go in every time I sleep. Though, it does feel odd having dreams now, all things considered.
This dream in particular is just outright bizarre. I'm running the track beside Mike, which seems normal, only the track isn't the one at the school and there are a lot of people behind us. After some time passes, I realize we're commandeering an army instead of running, with Emile in the ranks directly behind me. He's rambling off nonsensical things and it starts to grate my nerves, but that's when I snap awake again. Perfect timing, too; there's only 2 minutes left in the class.
Feeling slightly refreshed from that short nap, I throw my stuff into my bag to get ready to leave.
-wanna go back in tonight-
My phone lights up with that text from Emile just as the bell rings. I quickly snap it away from eyeshot of anyone considering the text could sound really odd out of context.
-Why tonight?- I type.
-i dunno, just wanna. wouldnt hurt-
He's not wrong, but I'm curious as to why he wants to go to the Dream World again so badly. I'm about to turn him down and say that I need a good night's sleep, but then I remember the problem from this morning – my lack of a Persona of the High Priestess Arcana. In fact, I should probably have at least one Persona for all the Social Links I have.
-Yeah, alright.-
{~}
"Dude, does something feel different to you?"
Emile and I have met up in the plaza of the Dream World, only the fog seems a little thinner. I can't pinpoint why, but I feel a little different, too, as if my mind is clearer than it usually is. The endless void past the plaza is dark and cloudy, and what looks like rain is falling from above.
"It must be because it's raining," I suggest. "Plenty of people sleep easier when it's raining, so maybe that affects something."
"Could be," Emile agrees. "I dunno, I just feel tougher tonight."
"Alright, well, I've been really tired the past few days, so let's make this a short training session."
"Me too. Let's do it."
The two of us rush headfirst into the corrupted school, immediately encountering and destroying a familiar Shadow with ease. Shuffle Time appears again, and this time I pick up a small white jester-looking thing with a blue cap and a huge grin who calls himself Jack Frost. Sadly, it's another Magician, but I'll take what I can get. The next group doesn't put up much of a fight, but instead come across as almost annoying. Emile and I are decimating these Shadows without much of a problem.
"Maybe we should go deeper," Emile suggests.
"Why? The Shadows only get stronger the further we go."
"Yeah, I know, that's why I want to. These things aren't going to make us stronger."
(He's right. I'm barely getting any energy at all from taking these out.)
"Ugh, alright, fine. Hurry up, then!"
After making our way down another floor, we find a strange Shadow clot that looks nothing like what we've fought before. This one is covered in a glowing red haze and moves around in an erratic fashion, like it's had way too much caffeine.
"Stop gawking and kill the sucker!" Emile says, firing a bullet into the clot.
"Emile, wait-!"
The mass explodes into a gaseous substance and swirls around in the air, forming into three distinct entities made up of nothing but spurting gas and masquerade masks. They all let out a sharp cry and pose menacingly.
…well, as menacingly as gas can pose.
"Whoa…" Emile says, staring at the Shadows.
"You said you wanted to kill 'em," I say, pushing Emile forward. "Go get 'em, buddy!"
"Oh, come on!" Emile retorts.
He has little time to debate, though. The gassy Shadows rush Emile and cast a fire spell that appears to be way stronger that Ixion's, though Emile takes it like a champ and is barely pushed back at all.
Oh, yeah…his Persona is resistant to Agi.
A helpful little titbit about our Personas is that Emile and I can see in our minds how much "health" we have left before we can't take any more hits. It definitely feels odd and somewhat terrifying being able to see your own mortality, but in the heat of battle, you're sure as hell thankful for it.
I run past Emile and jump up to slice the Shadow, only my sword bounces straight off of its mask, sending me down to the ground in recoil.
"What the hell?!"
"Let me try!" Emile says. "Capaneus!"
Emile shatters the card with the butt of his pistol, calling forth Capaneus to slam his broadsword against the shrieking Shadow. Unfortunately, it has the same effect – the sword bounces right off.
"Alright, what gives?!" Emile yells, as if calling out the world for failing him.
"Don't keep using physical moves," I tell him. "They don't seem to work and they lower your health!"
I summon Pixie and cast Zio, but to my dismay, that doesn't work either. The thunderbolt doesn't affect the Shadow whatsoever. Emile gives the wind skill Garu a shot, which doesn't work either.
"This just isn't fair!" Emile whines as the Shadow slams him with another fire blast. Since it's bigger than the ones Ixion casts, I assume it's Agilao instead of the standard Agi.
Shuffling through my Personas, I start to panic. If these Shadows are unaffected by Physical, Wind, Fire, and Electric, the only thing I have left to try is this Ice spell from Jack Frost. We may both be able to resist Agilao, but if we can't hit those things at all…
Calm down, Tyson… I think to myself. You've got this…
The card of the jester floats down in front of me, and I slice clean through it with my blade.
"Jack Frost! Bufu!"
The tiny little capped demon appears, does a backflip, and floats there as he waves his arms, throwing crystalline energy in the direction of one of the Shadows.
A decently-sized block of ice encases the gas cloud and shatters, causing the sickening sound of a Shadow taking a hit to ring out through the hallway.
"Oh thank god!" Emile sighs in relief.
As the first Shadow falls to the ground in pain, I take the chance to cast Bufu another two times on each of the Shadows. Using all that mental energy in one go causes me to space out for a short moment.
"What're we waiting for?! We have an opening!" Emile yells, calling me back to attention.
"No, don't storm them!" I say, remembering the previous attempts at physical attacks.
"Oh, bummer…"
I cast Bufu a few more times to finish off the clouds, mentally thanking Jack Frost for coming to my assistance. Feeling somewhat drained from using that spell so many times, I lean against the wall to take a breather.
"You alright man?" Emile asks. "You wanna go back?"
I look inside myself again to check on my mental health. It's really not all that low; I'm just not used to this feeling.
"No, I'm fine," I tell him. "Let's go a little further."
We go down one more floor to the school, running into the familiar door to the school's pool. As we approach it, Emile becomes visibly disturbed.
"What is it?" I ask him.
"I can get past the creepy posters," he says. "But I'm not sure if I can go back in there…"
I notice an inky blackness coming from underneath the door, curling up against it like it's begging to be let out.
"I feel like we need to go in there at some point, though…"
"Yeah, I know, just…not today."
Accepting his reasoning, I agree to wander this floor a bit instead of going through the door. We find these Shadows to be tougher, but not so tough that we have any noticeable issues. I rush up to a tiara-wearing Shadow, feeling a pleasurable tug in my gut as I swing at it with my blade, somehow knowing exactly where to hit it for the best damage. The slice hits it so violently that it collapses to the ground with a wet thwacking sound.
Critical hit!
(Seriously, where do all these terms keep coming from?)
I summon Ixion to attack another Shadow, feeling a buzz in the back of my skull as I yell out his name. Ixion slices at the Shadow, causing the same effect with this Shadow as it did with the other one.
Critical…hit…?
The third masked Shadow goes in to headbutt Emile before I can defend him. He doesn't react fast enough and he gets rammed straight in the stomach, only his health doesn't go down nearly as much as I expected it would. I cover him by hitting the Shadow with a Zio from Pixie, yet again feeling the buzz in my skull.
The hell is going on…?!
"They're all down! Let's get 'em!"
We rush the fallen Shadows, beating them into a literal pulp. Black and red sludge covers us from head to toe at this point. Luckily, this stuff doesn't end up on our clothes in the real world. Otherwise, I'd have a really hard time explaining that.
"How'd you do that?" Emile asked. "Those attacks looked like they really hurt!"
"I don't know…" I told him in all honesty. "It's like I just got lucky and kept landing critical hits."
(Will someone please explain to me what that means?!)
It's then that I notice Emile's health isn't nearly as low as mine. Somehow, he's been taking hits like an armored tank.
"And what about you?" I ask him.
"What about me?"
"How have you barely taken any damage from this? I'm freakin' exhausted!"
Emile looks perplexed for a minute. It seems like he's as confused as I am. Suddenly, his face perks up.
"The rain!" he proclaims.
"The hell does that mean?"
"Earlier, when we came in here! We both mentioned we felt different and you said it might be the rain." He grins and clenches his fist. "It's like the rain gives us stat boosts or something!"
(For the love of-…)
Thinking on it for a moment, I realize he's probably right. In the grand scheme of things, it's definitely not the least plausible thing I've heard. In fact, those gassy Shadows that we hadn't seen before could've been caused by the rain, too.
"Well, in that case," I say, twirling my sword in my hand. "Let's kick some ass!"
Emile and I continue to tear down Shadow after Shadow, hitting them with everything we've got. We get plenty of openings thanks to my tendency for perfect hits, and Emile's just absorbing blows like nobody's business. Occasionally, I switch to Apsaras and use Dia to make sure the both of us are healthy.
After a while, I find my mental energy has been utterly drained. I rely on sword swings for a while to compensate, but both of us quickly realize that if I can't heal either of us because of my low energy, either we'll outright pass out from using too many physical spells or we'll get killed.
"I'm done, man," I tell him, feeling faint. "We gotta go."
"Heh, buzzkill," he mockingly tells me.
We both turn for the stairs, but something feels horribly wrong. I'm about to blame it on how drained I feel, but when Emile hesitates to look around the room, I know it's not just me. The hallway has gotten incredibly dark, and the walls have begun to pulsate with red veins, almost like the school's a beating heart. Fog similar to what's normally in the plaza has covered the floor, only it's much thicker and it's a sickly black color. The atmosphere in the Dream World has always felt suffocating, but this feels different. It's a claustrophobic, panicky feeling, like the room's going to shrink in on us and crush us.
Clink…clink…
The sound of rustling chains sends chills up my spine. Emile's eyes go wide, and the both of us slowly turn around to the source of the sound.
A floating cloaked figure with a singular glowing eye under its hood rounds the corner, slowly inching its way toward us. Rusty chains dangle from the figure, causing metallic sounds to bounce around the room. Dark fog seeps from the torn holes in its cloak, and it holds two absolutely massive revolvers, one in each hand.
One look at the thing, and I can immediately tell we're going to die.
"Holy shit…" Emile whispers.
(Tyson…) Ixion says with a level of fear in his voice that I have never heard.
I'm utterly speechless in the presence of this horrifying creature. I only spring into action when its cold eye glances directly at me, piercing my very soul.
"RUN!" I yell to Emile.
"Don't have to tell me twice!" he quips as the two of us barrel down the hallway as fast as our pubescent legs can possibly take us. We've both opted to store our weapons in our Subspace; they'd only slow us down. A loud gunshot sounds out, and the wall beside us erupts in a blast of fire and rubble rains down on top of us.
How could it miss with that…?!
The thick fog causes me to nearly trip over my own foot, but thankfully I recover quickly. As we round the hallway, we can see the staircase that would normally lead to the science section of the school, only this one will guarantee us survival.
"The stairs! Go for the stairs!" I command Emile as I push him in their general direction. Another gunshot causes the floor just behind us to explode with a blast of freezing cold energy.
"It's gaining on us!" Emile screams.
Just as the clinking of chains starts to get too close for even less comfort, we finally make it to the stairs and sprint to safety. A quick scan of this floor shows no signs of abnormality, and the cloaked figure has stopped at the base of the stairs, staring at us with its eye of death.
"This isn't the place to rest," I tell Emile, trying to help him slow his breathing. He nods as we both head for the stairs to the next floor and then the exit, ignoring the Shadows on the way there. Being in the plaza has never felt this great.
Emile hunches over and grabs his knees, and attempts to calm down with deep breaths. I just flat-out throw myself onto the ground, my chest heaving. My physical health is low, my mental health is even lower, and my level of tolerance for this miserable place is rock-bottom.
"I'm…I…" Emile tries to talk in between breaths. "I'm going…I'm going home…"
I try to say something, but nothing comes out. I opt to wave at him and nod instead. Using Capaneus, he disappears into the fog to go back to his bed.
{~}
"No time passes here, right?" I ask.
"You would be correct," Igor replies with a wide smile.
I take a drink of the pop while sitting at the Velvet Room bar and lay my head down on the counter.
"I just…I need a moment…"
"I can tell your Spiritual Energy is remarkably low, my young guest…it would be wise to sleep."
"Spiritual…what?"
Igor chuckles, which is honestly the last thing I want to hear right now.
"I believe previous guests would refer to it as 'Spirit Points', or 'SP', for short. You are aware that if a Persona exerts physical energy that you will lose energy as well, but what's less apparent is your mental connection to your Persona."
"Using element skills makes me tired…" I deduce, cutting Igor off. "Dammit, that should've been obvious…"
"Do not fret over a lack of knowing," Igor says. "It is natural to be unsure of things, even if they are right under your nose."
…is that a pun? I feel like that's a pun.
I take a deep breath. Igor's right. I need to go back to my bed and sleep this off. Plus, the Shadow blood is starting to get sticky.
I finish off my cup, register my Personas with Margaret, thank the both of them for the hospitality, and head back into the real world.
{~}
-Friday, August 16th, 2013-
I have never felt this tired in my life. I swear, every bone in my body cracks as I stretch in my bed. I force myself to stand up, feeling the adventure the night before start to take its toll on my body. Not even a piping-hot shower wakes me up, and it usually does. Of course, saying I'm tired because I almost died last night isn't an excuse I can throw around, so I suck it up and head for school with Maria and her asshole brothers.
Seems Emile is as tired as I am, too. Sitting in 7th period math, we barely say a word to each other, but the looks on our faces tell each other all we need to know. In fact, halfway through the lesson, Emile passes right out. Any other day I'd wake him up, but today, I'll let it slide. After the teacher finishes the lesson and passes out homework, I take a small nap myself until the bell rings.
"Are…you two okay?" Ally says to us as we literally stumble out of class.
"Mm-mm…" Emile says, shaking his head.
"Tired…" I say, slightly more awake after the power nap, but not by much. "We were up late."
"How late?" she asks.
"Too late," I say. I don't mean to be vague and short with her, but that's all I have the energy to do.
"Well, maybe you should nap when you get home?"
"Good idea; I'm leaving, bye," Emile says quickly after gathering the energy to speak. He hobbles off without even giving Ally a hug like he normally does.
"I wish I could," I admit to the confused sophomore. "I have to go mow someone's lawn today."
"Making that sweet cash-money, huh?" Ally says with a laugh.
All I can do is nod in response.
Ally frowns slightly and reaches into her backpack, pulling out a bottle of soda.
"Here, take this. I didn't open it yet. Maybe it'll keep you up."
I gladly accept her offer and thank her, giving her a light hug before heading for the bus.
"Go to bed early today!" she calls out after me.
"No promises," I wearily call back.
SMASH
Wait, hold on, what?
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 Star Arcana…
O-oh…sick.
{~}
Thankfully, I feel slightly more awake after chugging down the pop. When I get home, I find a note left by Aunt Joanne telling me which house to go to and how to start up her lawnmower. Looking at the thing, I can tell it hasn't been used in years. My suspicions are confirmed when I can't even get the damn thing to start. Pulling out some old tools, I go to work on the machine, trying to get it to properly turn on. After what feels like hours but was probably only a half hour, I finally get the engine roaring with life. Feeling proud of myself for working through this tough spot, I wheel the mower to the Anderson's house with renewed vigor.
Greeting the father of the house with a handshake, I explain who I am and he recalls the conversation he had with Aunt Joanne. Pleased, he recommends I start with the left half of his yard.
"I find it easier to start there," he tells me. "It's the bigger side, so once you get that over with, the rest is a breeze."
I spend the afternoon chugging away at the lawn, only taking a short break for some lemonade the mother offered me. Looking at the lawn as I finish, I find it to not be the best, but the father insists I did well and pays me for my work. I thank him, and trek the lawnmower and myself back up to my house, feeling accomplished for a job well done.
Maybe I could apply for that bike mechanic job after all…
{~}
-The next morning…-
Vrrrrt…
Vrrrrt…
I groan as I roll over in my bed. It's Saturday morning, and I finally have a chance to sleep, and someone's calling me? This is some sick joke, right?
Vrrrrt…
Oh my god, shut UP!
I snatch the phone from my nightstand and accept the call without checking to see who it is.
"What?"
A familiar voice speaks to me from the other end of the line, sounding stressed, panicked, and worried all at the same time.
"Tyson, dude, you're not gonna believe this," Emile says, almost on the brink of snapping.
"What is it, Emile? I need to sleep."
"It's Ally," he says. "She's in the hospital…she's in a coma…"