Ch. 2- Dark Reflections

Time of Day: ?
Weather: Foggy
Place: The Velvet Room

"Welcome to the Velvet Room, Sora," Igor greets.

"Only those who are bound by a contract may enter here," Margaret says. "You have awakened to your power most brilliantly," She's complimenting me, but her tone of voice sound cold, uncaring even. She has a pretty face, but her cold personality kinda scares me.

"Please take this with you," Igor says. On the table in front of him, a blue light appears. Out of it, a small key materializes. It's shaped like Izanagi's Keyblade, except its guard is a lustrous sapphire, and the blade itself is a flawless bronze. It levitates toward me, and I grab it without thought.

"This is the Contractor's Key," Margaret informs me. "From this night forth, you are our esteemed guest in the Velvet Room."

"You have just recently evoked your own Persona, Izanagi," Igor recalls. "But the true form of your Persona is that of the Wild Card."

"Compared to that of others, it is very special," Margaret tells me. "It is like the number zero. Empty, yet holding infinite potential within itself."

Igor grins and looks at me with his bloodshot eyes. Creepy. "I look forward to travelling the road of your destiny together to see where your awakened power of the Wild Card will take you."

I look at the small key in my hand, and firmly grasp it.

Everything around me starts to fade into mist.

April 14, 2015
Time of Day: ?
Weather: Foggy
Place: ?

"Yuffie! Yuffie, wake up!" I shake her unconscious body.

She grunts a little and her eyes slowly open. "Oh thank god, you're alive!" Roxas says.

"Woah..." Yuffie rubs her eyes. "I had the freakiest dream, where there were monsters and… I wasn't dreaming… Was I?" Roxas and I shake our heads no. "Then where'd the monsters go?"

I grin and point at myself. "You can thank this guy!"

"Are you serious?" Yuffie gets back up on her feet, and pats any dirt off of her.

"We wouldn't be alive if it weren't for him!" Roxas says. "What the hell was that thing?"

"I think it was called a Persona… I'm not really sure what it really is though," I say. "What I do know is that we seriously need to get out of this place before mor uglies come after us!"

"I'd love to do that, but we have no idea where we are!" Yuffie says.

"Maybe if we find that weird duck thing, we can find our way out," Roxas suggests.

After what seemed to be hours of walking, we finally find the stained glass platform we first arrived at. Thank god that duck was there too.

"An exit?" he asks.

"Well it seems like you know this place better than we do, so-"

"First, tell me what happened to those Heartless!" Roxas is cut off by the duck's question.

"You mean those monsters back there?" I ask. "I beat them. What'd you do, provoke 'em or something?" The duck jumps and smacks me in the head with a wand. "Owwwwww… What'd I say?"

"How rude of you! I've had it up to here with those bozo Heartless and people coming in here and riling them up!" He raises his wand, and a double door appears next to us. "Now scram! Beat it! I'm a busy duck!" He waddles behind us, and starts pushing us toward the door.

"H-Hey wait, we still got some question for you!" Roxas says, but the Duck continues to push us. Once we finally fall through the door of the frame, my body just keeps on falling, and falling, and falling…

Time of Day: Afternoon
Weather: Sunny
Place: Moogle Co.

When I open my eyes, the three of us are back in Moogle Co. "W-We're back!"

"Thank god!" Yuffie cheers, and Roxas goes in for a hug with Yuffie, but she shoves him away.

Roxas laughs. "Holy crap, we're alive!"

I laugh, but then I notice something on a wall nearby us. On closer inspection, it's extremely similar to the torn up poster we saw in the other world. "Hey, look at this. It's like that torn up poster in the other world."

"Yeah, that's Misuzu Hiiragi. They're saying her hubby had an affair with Ms. Yamano."

"You mean that woman they found dead?" I ask. Yuffie nods her head.

"Who cares? It's not like she'd have anything to do with that room." Roxas gets up from the ground.

"Imagine if she and that room are connected to Yamano's death…" I suggest.

"Don't go there, man," Roxas complains. "I want to forget about that place as fast as I can!"

"C'mon Rox, grow some balls." I laugh. "Who knows, maybe we could find out who killed her and get a reward!"

"How are the cops gonna believe that we jumped inside a mirror?" Yuffie asks.

"Hey, it was just a suggestion."

"Anyway, I don't feel too hot. I gotta go."

"See ya, I hope you feel better. What about you Roxas?" I ask.

"I'm going to go find a bathroom."

April 15, 2015
Time of Day: Noon
Weather: Rainy
Place: Destiny High- Gymnasium

I hate school assemblies. They're boring and half the time they talk about either a fundraiser or something I don't care about. It doesn't help that Yuffie told me the principal says all the announcements. His dry, boring voice doesn't make it any better.

"So this guy tries to hit on Namine, right?" Yuffie whispers

"Mhmm."

"I step in because he clearly didn't understand Namine was uninterested."

"Yup."

"So then when I tell him to leave he called me a- Sora, are you even listening to me?" Yuffie asks.

"Hm? Yeah." I look up from my phone. "Some clueless jackass was hitting on Namine, right?"

Yuffie sighs. "Anyway, when I told him to leave, he called me a bitch!"

"Where is Namine anyway?"

"It's busy at the inn, so she has to help there."

"An inn?"

"Are you serious?" Yuffie asks. "Haven't you passed by a large traditional looking building by the beach?"

"Yeah, why? That's the inn?"

"Yup, it's pretty much the pride and joy of the islands."

"So, what'd I miss?" Roxas whispers as he sits down next to us.

"Whatever the principal said, listening to it won't do you jackshit," I deadpan.

Roxas snickers. "Wow, you just got here, and you already know the ropes. I'm impressed. Anyway, have you guys seen Larxene anywhere?"

"Nah, man. Sorry 'bout that," I tell him

"I wonder where she is… We were supposed to meet-"

"Can it, will you?!" Vexen scolds from the side. "The principal has one last thing to say."

The principal clears his throat. "I'm afraid to be the bearer of bad news today, But Larxene Konishi from Class 3-2 was found dead this morning." Wait, what?

I turn toward Roxas and he's in shock. The bright demeanor he had earlier had vanished, leaving Yuffie and us with what seemed to be an empty shell. People around us are gasping, or barely paying attention.

Place: Destiny High- Library

"Her body was tied up somewhere just like that Yamano lady!" a male student whispers to the person next to him.

"This time it was by the Amagi Inn!" a female student gossips to her friend.

"Like, are you kidding me?" her friend replies.

Thanks for making the job of comforting Roxas much easier, jackasses. Go gossip in your somewhere else, Yuffie and I are trying to help our friend out here.

"Roxas, just block it out," I advise him. "Let's just head somewhere-"

"Hey, did you guys check the Midnight Reflection last night?" he asks.

"What does that have to do with anything right now?" Yuffie asks, her tone a bit more reserved than usual.

Roxas faces us with bloodshot eyes. "Just hear me out this one time, okay?" Yuffie and I nod. "Last night, I just had to watch it again. I think the girl on the mirror was Larxene. You've heard the rumors of people saying that they saw Larxene too, right?"

"Yeah, so?" I ask. "I don't see… Oh wait, you're not talking about Ms. Yamano, are you?" I ask.

"Someone said they saw Yamano on the Reflection, and then she died afterwards. Then the same exact thing happened to Larxene!"

"Roxas, are you saying that whoever shows up on the Reflection dies?!" Yuffie has a shocked look on her face.

"What if Larxene went into that world?" Roxas asks, his pale face turning from sad to determined. "We have to go back inside and check!"

"Are you serious?" Yuffie asks.

"If you don't want to, fine. I'll go by myself."

"I'm coming with you," I tell him.

"Sora, are you mental?" Yuffie asks.

"Who else is going to protect him in case those Heartless or whatever that weird duck called them attack again?" Roxas smiles at me. "We'll go after school. There are mirrors here, but who knows where we'll end up. Our safest bet is to go inside a mirror at Moogle Co, and hope we'll be back in the same place."

Time of Day: ?
Weather: Foggy
Place: Mirror World

"Owww…" Roxas grunts.

"We really need to work on our landings…" I get up from the ground, and scan the area. Even with these glasses on, I can't see much, just what's in front of me.

"What're you palookas doin' back here?!" The duck comes running toward us.

"You again! I knew we'd find you if we went through the same way!" Roxas says.

The duck puts its hand on it beak. "Hmm, you two are some very suspicious folk… Have you been shoving people into this world?!"

"Hey, watch it! There's no way we'd ever kill someone!" Roxas defends.

"Wait, does that mean people have been thrown in here before?" I ask. The duck nods his head up and down. "Maybe that's how Larxene and Yamano died."

The duck points at me. "And you're the guys who did it, ain't ya?! Come clean!"

"How do we know you're not the one who dragged Larxene here?" Roxas grabs the duck's large zipper around its waist and starts unzipping it. "Now take off that ridiculous costume and-" Roxas screams as the upper body of the duck falls off. It's lower body literally starts running like a headless chicken. Err, headless duck, I guess. Its upper body isn't moving, and its eyes are pure white. Creepy.

"W-Why the hell is that thing empty?" Roxas asks.

After getting a quick laugh at my friend's expense, I grab the upper body and zip it back up with the lower one. "Geez, thanks for that!" the duck says.

"Sora, does anything faze you?" Roxas asks.

"What? I just thought it was funny." I laugh.

"Okay, since you guys said you aren't the culprits, prove it to me!" He stands up and crosses his arms. "You two have to help me find the guy who did this! I just want to live here in peace, and who's ever throwing people in here is disrupting the Heartless! So would you mind helping me out?"

"Why would we-"

"Sure," I interrupt Roxas. "Why not?"

"Are you serious Sora?" Roxas has a look of confusion on his face.

"Well for one thing, I kinda feel bad for him. Another thing is that who knows, this could be interesting."

Roxas sighs. "Okay, fine. But you better help us you nutty duck."

"By the way, my name is Donald. Donald Duck." Donald extends his hand, and I shake it.

"Pleased to meet your acquaintance, Donald!"

"Woah, you really can see clearly with these things on!" Roxas says as he ogles through his glasses. They have rectangular shaped lenses and have black and white check designs on them. "Hey, this kinda look like the shopping district."

Donald stops walking and looks around. "I last saw a person here. She had blonde hair and weird antenna looking hair."

"That sounds exactly like Larxene!" Roxas' face brightens.

"She disappeared into that store up there." Donald points and a small old looking store down the street.

"That her family's liquor store!" Roxas says.

Random, unintelligible whisper-like sounds resonate in the direction of the store. "You guys hear that too?" I ask.

"I wish that damn Moogle Co. would go under!"

"Oh, I heard that Mr. Konishi's daughter is work there!"

"How could she, with her family's business suffering like it is?"

"What a troublesome and ignorant child."

Roxas grits his teeth and clenches his fists. "Who's saying that? Shut the hell up!" Roxas starts running to the shop.

"Roxas, wait! It could be dangerous!" Donald and I chase after him.

Donald and I run inside the small store. Walls everywhere are covered in different types of liquor, enough to even put the Velvet Room to shame. Although the strong smell of whiskey begs to differ.

"Larxene, how many times do I have to tell you?" a deep booming voice echos. "Our family owns this liquor store, aren't you ashamed of yourself? How could you get a job at Moogle Co?"

"Is that her dad's voice?" Roxas asks. "How are we hearing this? Wait..." By Roxas' feet is the torn up ticket he gave to Larxene. "Why is this torn up?"

"I never had the chance to say it…" Larxene's voice resonates around the store. "I wasn't able to tell Roxas… That he was a pain in the ass. I was only nice to him because he was the store manager's son, but he took it all the wrong way and got enthusiastic."

"What? Why would she…" Roxas' face is pale.

"Who cares about Moogle Co anyways? The store, this town, I wish everyone would just disappear!"

Roxas grits his teeth. "Shut it! Larxene doesn't sound anything like that!"

Laughing rings from the shadows in front of us. "It's so sad," a familiar, yet eerie voice says. "I feel so sorry for myself!" Myself? "It's actually funny when you think about it, considering I'm the one who thinks everyone and everything is a pain in the ass!" From the shadows comes out…

Another Roxas?

He has golden eyes, and a dark smirk on his face. "Ain't it right, me?"

"There are two of Roxas?" I say.

"What the? Who the heck are you?" Roxas asks.

Roxas' double sighs and put his hand on his face. "I'm you, idiot. Can't you tell, or are you just as dimwitted as everyone calls you?"

"Shut up!" Roxas retorts. "Where's Larxene?"

Other Roxas laughs. "You're actually concerned about her? I'm pretty sure we both know that the only reason you came was because it sounded fun! What else is there to do in the sticks?"

"That's… Not true." Roxas struggles with his words.

"Who knows? Maybe in the end, you could have been the hero! The one to go inside the mirror and save the princess!" Other Roxas laughs. "All you needed was an excuse, and Larxene's death was the perfect one."

"Who the hell do you think you are, saying crap like that!"

"I am your Heartless… The true inner self… And Roxas, I am you."

"I am not you!" Roxas yells.

Roxas' Heartless face fills with disgust. "I dare you to say that again…"

"You're not me!"

Roxas' Heartless starts backing up in the shadows behind him, its golden eyes becoming even brighter as lets out a twisted laugh. "I guess you're right then. You and me are nothing alike!"

Once Roxas' Heartless is consumed by the darkness, a shockwaves sends the three of us flying. Roxas' doppelganger was replaced by a gargantuan Heartless! It seems to be clad in a white bodysuit, as evidenced by the large, silver zipper lining its front. Its simple, round head's only feature is a white Heartless symbol, and around its neck are long, blue moving tentacles.

The walls around fall and shatter into pieces, revealing the fog-blanketed world around us. Roxas' Heartless raises its hand, and swings it toward Roxas, but I quickly push him out of the way.

"PERSONA!" I shatter my arcana, and Izanagi appears in a blue light. He rushes toward the Heartless, and starts bashing him with the Keyblade. The Heartless retaliates by swinging his fists around, but none of its attack connect.

"Roxas, are you okay?" I ask.

"He's nothing like me…" Roxas mumbles.

"But Roxas, that thing came from you!" Donald says.

"No he didn't!" Roxas cries out.

Roxas' Heartless laughs. "You put on a good show of being carefree and happy-go-lucky, but that's only because you don't want to be alone!"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Roxas yells. "Stop lying!" Roxas makes a run for it, only to be knocked back by back Heartless. Izanagi quickly holds a defensive stance in front of us in his attempt to protect us from more danger.

Donald screams as pools of darkness surround the area. "It's attracting more Heartless! Sora, if you don't end this soon, things will get even uglier!"

Izanagi rushes the Heartless, but none of his attacks connects. Roxas' Heartless counters by grabbing him, throwing him on the ground, and pummeling him. Every punch feels like a truck, and my vision is starting to get blurrier.

"I know everything about you! I know how pathetic you really are!" Roxas' Heartless says.

"Why don't you ask Roxas to do it?" a girl's voice echos.

"What, that loser?" another girl's voice says. "That guy think everyone likes him, but it's only because he's the manager's son."

Roxas Heartless laughs. "You knew you were a nuisance, but you played the part of being a dumbass well!"

"SHUT UP!" Roxas yells. His Heartless jumps in front of us, but Izanagi fends him off and knocks him away using the keyblade.

"You asked her out because you were sick of living out in the country! You just wanted to do something fun!"

"You're wrong! Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong!"

"SNAP OUT OF IT ROXAS!" As Izanagi punches the Heartless, I deck Roxas in the face.

"What gives?!" Roxas rubs his face.

"I'm knocking the shit out of you," I tell him. "Anyway, you liked Larxene, right?"

"Yeah… I really liked her…"

"Then isn't that enough to prove that what your Heartless is saying?" I give him my hand.

Roxas grabs my hand and I pick him back up. "I guess… I know I'm not lying about liking her, but I did turn a blind eye to what everyone said about me. Hell, even I think I'm annoying sometimes at how I act. But my feeling for her were real." Roxas looks toward his Heartless battling Izanagi. "That thing's a part of me, right? Now that I think about it, this is probably all of me."

Roxas' Heartless stops its attacks, and grabs its head in pain. "No! Shut up you brat!"

"There's your chance!" Donald says.

"IZANAGI!" Izanagi's keyblade imbues itself with lighting, and he starts slashing the Heartless until it explodes into dark matter. From the dark clouds immerges the human form of Roxas' Heartless on the floor.

Roxas walks up to his double and kneels in front of it. "You're me, aren't you?" Roxas asks.

His Heartless laughs. "And I'm you, dumbass."

Roxas' copy rises into the air in a blue light, and transforms into something completely different. From the blue light comes a large man draped in a large black coat, similar to Izanagi's. His head is a simple silver and has a blue scarf around his neck. His hands have brass knuckles on them, and claws for finger tips.

It turns into a blue card and lands in Roxas' hand. "So this is my Persona?"

"Yup!" I give him a thumbs up. "How does it feel to be part of the Badass Club?"

"Tiring, if you couldn't already tells." He sighs. "You really saved my ass back there. Thanks."

Time of Day: Afternoon
Weather: Rainy
Place: Destiny Islands Streets

"I'm wiped, man," Roxas says.

"Same here," I tell him.

"So Larxene and Ms. Yamano were thrown into that place, right?"

"Yeah, and Donald told us before we left that everyone else faced their Heartless as well. They just didn't accept their own."

"If someone really did throw them in, then we should be the ones to find out who did it!"

"We did make that promise with Donald to help him out."

"You did, anyway. But yeah, maybe together, we can find the culprit ourselves." Roxas extends his hand. "Welp, I'll be counting on you."

I grab his hand and shake it firmly. "Yeah. It's a promise." As Roxas lets of of his hand, the rains becomes weaker, and the afternoon sun appears as the clouds part.

This is going to be a fun year, isn't it?

And Chapter 2 is done! I'd just like to tell anyone new to this story is that this is a recent rewrite of my second chapter of Persona Hearts, same for Chapter 1. When I first started, my writing skills were extremely flawed, and I thought that going back a rewriting some of these chapter would be a good idea.

I'm planning to rewrite up until Chapter 5, because that's when I feel my writing has started to improve.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I certainly hope you enjoy the rest of my story!