Author's note: As I said, the next chapters are going to be more exciting! 'Nuff said.
Chap.3- Return
?=Velvet Room=?
MINATO ARISATO
I was in a vivid blue room that looked like a huge elevator. The Velvet Room.
Igor as usual was sitting in front of me. I was sitting on a chair that had Orpheus' lyre as its backrest. But I didn't see Elizabeth around; she wasn't at her usual spot by Igor's side.
I had no freaking idea why I was there, the last time I checked… I was… I was… dead? Was I dead?
"Don't worry. This is not the afterlife. You're still alive." Igor told me. He told me the same thing before I sealed Nyx. Is it possible that these guys can read minds? Anyway, Igor looked different. He looked kind of … sad.
"You said that last time, Igor. What am I doing here?" I asked him.
Igor didn't answer. It was as if he didn't know why.
"You did send me here… Right?" I said with a bit of hesitation in my voice. All this was making me uneasy. Elizabeth not being here, Igor's roundabout way of talking as if he didn't want me to know something. And trust me. I am not a person who is easily made uncomfortable.
Again, Igor didn't answer.
The only thing I could do was ask.
"Where's Elizabeth, Igor?"
"She has… left. She… I don't know where she is." He finally replied.
"What? I- Is that even possible?" I asked again.
"She said she wanted to find something or someone. Something she couldn't find here." Igor said
…
"I am afraid I cannot offer you guidance for now." He continued.
"Does the contract still abide?" I asked. Remembering what he said after I sealed Nyx. Igor said that their responsibilities were done.
"Yes, of course. Our guests are forever welcome here."
"Be careful, Minato" Igor said as everything faded into the darkness.
June 12, 2010=Iwatodai Dorm=Dark Hour
I opened my eyes. I was in my old dorm room. It was still the same, as if I never left. But. Everything was quiet. Too quiet. I bent my neck right and left then I looked around while sitting on my bed. All of my things were where I left them on March 05. I didn't notice Ryoji was sitting by my bed.
"Hi!" He happily said
"Agh!" I cried. I was startled to see him.
"What on- Ryoji? What in tarnation are you doing here?" I said as I regained my composure.
"Beats me. I was just watching you sleep until now." He said as he shrugged his shoulders.
Watching me sleep? How long has he been here? Why are we even here?
I got off my bed and walked around the dorm. No one was there except Ryoji and me. Do they even still live here? What if…
Again, I thought about how long has it really been? It felt like an eternity to me, but…
I shook my head to dismiss these thoughts. It's not like I can do anything about it…
"Let's look around some more. Who knows what we might find." Ryoji said.
"Reading my mind again, Ryoji? Hmph. Don't you have any respect for my privacy?" I told him
"Of course not. There isn't anything you could hide from me. I am with you all the time" Ryoji said
Now that creeps me out.
"Hahaha! I'm just kidding you dope! There are some parts of you that even I don't know. I am just a part of you." Ryoji said, confusing me even more.
I just stared at them weirdly. I took his advice and looked around some more. We went to the Command Room.
Again, nobody was there except the two of us.
"Where do you suppose everybody is?" Ryoji asked me.
I didn't answer him and looked at the giant computer we used to use for operations. The red dot on the screen was blinking over Iwatodai Strip Mall. One of the screens showed Kala-Nemi, Ken's Persona.
I knew enough about the computer to know that what it meant was that Ken's Persona appeared then it suddenly disappeared. Listening to Fuuka has its benefits.
That meant that Ken was in danger. So probably the other members are over at Iwatodai Strip Mall. I looked at the date when Ken's Persona appeared and suddenly disappeared on the screen as to not get my hopes too high. It said June 12, 2010, 23:50. I also looked at the date and time today it said June 12, 2010, Dark Hour. Merely 10 minutes from now?
"Hello? Am I talking to anybody here?" Ryoji asked me as I stared at the computer screen.
I explained what everything meant to him as I moved around the dorm.
"Wait. Are you even sure that clock is correct?" He asked
"We'll never know for sure if we don't check would we?" I told him
"Well, then that means we have to help… them." Ryoji said
He faltered when he saw me holding Ken's spear.
"You sure you know how to use that?" He asked me skeptically
"Of course. What, you expect me to just hand it over to Ken and watch from the sidelines?" I asked sarcastically.
"Hmph. You just have to save the day don't you?" He said with fake annoyance
"Oh c'mon. By the time we get there, they might already be done with the job. And in case they aren't, we're there to finish it." I said as we ran outside to face whatever obstacle was in our way.
Iwatodai Strip Mall=Dark Hour
Ryoji and I climbed a nearby building to survey the situation. The SEES members were there just as I expected. A clown-like thing…person? Was in front of a tied up Ken. The rest of the SEES members were lying down on the floor. Beaten.
"What? Oh c'mon! Don't tell me that they got beat up by a weird clown dude." Ryoji said
I remained quiet and continued to watch them. The clown guy was jumping around and laughing. It was really starting to get on my nerves.
"Will that guy stop it already?" Ryoji said. I guess great minds think alike. Or it was just that we really do think alike.
He…It? Jumped around a little more then suddenly faced the fallen SEES members.
"Mwahahaha! It's been fun and thanks for the time! But now… prepare to DIEEE! Mwahaha!" Its voice was even more irritating. Like Kefka's of Dissidia and Dissidia 012.
Honestly. Just existing for that guy is enough, but threatening my friends is another story. Time to get in on the action!
I jumped down and crouched with one hand on the floor and the other on Ken's spear.
"Not on my watch, clown boy." I said cockily.
"What. What? Wheere the heck did you come from?" Clown thing said (from now on, I'll just refer to him as Clown thing) Yep. This guy acts and sounds like Kefka.
I could sense everybody was surprised.
"Fine. Then I'll just have to kill you first then!" Clown thing said
"Heh. Bring it on." Was I getting a bit too cocky? Hahaha I don't care!
"Be careful, Minato! He's stronger than he looks!" Akihiko-senpai shouted
"Hahahaha! Take this!" Clown thing shouted as it attacked me.
I easily dodged it. I may have just risen from the dead, but heck! My reflexes are as good as ever. It attacked me. I dodged. Attack, dodge, attack, dodge… We went on like that for a while.
I smirked and watched Clown thing stomp around in anger.
"Take this!" It said as it attacked me with a fierce Ragnarok.
I didn't have enough time to dodge so I blocked it with my arms. Man! That was hot!
"Kyahahaha! Had enough, boy?" That laugh really gets on my nerves.
I was wondering why it still felt hot. Not even Ragnarok lasted this long. I waved my hands back and forth and ignored the pain. I warily watched the clown circle me for a while. I twisted Ken's spear around. I was planning on using its long reach to my advantage. But I couldn't concentrate well because of my burning hands.
Agh! Everything went black for a while. The clown took this to his advantage and punched me. I wasn't able to avoid, so I took the hit and got down on one knee. My hands were blazing now! I looked at them. My hands were literally on fire!
Everything went black for a while again. Even the clown thing got wary of my blazing hands and kept his distance. Ken's spear was on fire now. The searing pain in my hands was suddenly gone. Might as well use it while I can.
I stood up and attacked the wary clown with Ken's blazing spear. "Graah!"
It narrowly dodged my attack. I attacked again. It was hit but then hit me with a counterattack. Luckily, I managed to block with the spear. Clown thing was burnt in the process.
"Yeowch! You'll pay for that!" The clown said then it punched me in the gut.
"Ugh!" I fell and dropped Ken's flaming spear. As soon as I did, though, the flames went out.
"Haha! Now you are weaponless!" The clown exclaimed. Honestly, doesn't this guy know how to speak without laughing or screaming?
"Not just yet." I told him as I concentrated. This time, I made them go up on my fists instead.
Clown thing was mortified. Well, that's a change to laughing hysterically all the time. It attacked me with Bufudyne. I concentrated and casted a fire attack with my right fist to burn the icy particles. Unfortunately, as this was my first time in doing stuff like this, I missed and the Bufu attack hit me so I faltered for a moment. I ran right up to the clown, luckily managing to avoid all his attacks. It went back a few steps. Wary, maybe even scared of me. It jumped around while casting Bufu spells.
I stood my ground and blocked with my burning hands. When the clown finally got tired, I got close and punched it with a right hook. It fell down and I got on top of it. I pummeled it with flaming punches. Right, left, right, left, right.
Then I held the clown with my left hand, making it squirm in pain and punch my ribs in a in a desperate attempt to make me let go. But I raised my right fist and made the fire grow even bigger.
I was about to end it when, he suddenly cried. "Aaah! No! No! No! No! No! Please stop! I'm sorry! Just let me go."
Upon hearing this, I got wary. I let the flames in my fists fade away, and put my right fist down, but I still held the clown with my left. I wasn't going to put my guard down entirely.
"Who and what are you?" I seriously asked the clown
The clown's eyes darted left and right, its mouth was set in a firm line betraying the attempted bravado it tried to assume.
"Answer me!" I said
"Please! No! I-I can't tell you! If I do they'll just kill me!" The clown said
"Who? Who'll kill you? And why were you attacking my friends?" I said
"No! No! I can't tell you!" The clown was hysterical with what seemed to be fear. "Please! Just let me go! They just ordered me! I'm sorry!"
Ordered… It seems to be an organized group we're dealing with here… And why did they try to attack my friends?
Then suddenly, the atmosphere changed, and unlike the Dark Hour, it wasn't a noticeable one. It just felt odd… sinister.
"Oh no! No! No! They're here!" The clown said
"Be quiet!" I said
Then I heard a flapping sound overhead. I looked up and caught a brief glimpse of something dark.
"Minato! Look out!" I heard Yukari's voice cry out
Then someone (or thing) that looked like an assassin fell from above holding a kunai in one hand.
"Step away from the clown." The assassin said while threateningly waving the knife back and forth.
"Gyaaah! NO! NO! Please!" The clown cried
I looked from the ridiculous clown to the assassin.
"Who are you?" I said still not moving from my position but ready for whatever may happen.
"That is none of your concern. I repeat, move away from the clown. Or else." The assassin waved the kunai again to make sure that I get his point.
I stood up.
"I don't think so." I said
The assassin attacked. He moved like the wind, running towards me, knife extended. The kunai touched the very tip of my hair as I ducked to avoid the deadly blade. The assassin turned and ran to stab me with the kunai. Luckily, I held his wrists just in time to stop him, but the assassin was strong. Then, I spotted Ken's spear lying very near to where I was struggling to prevent the knife from impaling me.
I concentrated to make my fists go on fire again. The assassin cried out and immediately stepped back once he got burned by my hands. He ran towards me again for another attempt at impaling me. I reached out for Ken's spear. He jumped with the kunai diving straight down towards me.
…
I raised the spear and held tight. I saw the assassin's eyes as he figured out his big mistake.
My hands protested with the effort it took to keep the spear raised as it got much heavier. Then… then, I suddenly felt horrible pain on my arm. Not the kind of pain from the strain of holding something heavy, but the kind of pain that comes with very deep wounds. The assassin! He managed to stab me with the knife even while impaled by Ken's spear.
"Aagh!" I cried out in pain as let go of the heavy spear and kneeled on the floor. I tried to remove the kunai from my arm but as soon as I did, it… vanished into thin air. I didn't give much thought to it because of the pain in my arm.
I looked over to the assassin. The assassin was standing up (Not an easy thing to do if you have a spear sticking out your stomach) and removed the spear. To my surprise, the hole in his stomach vanished as it healed. He walked over to where I was kneeling and looked at me. "You should have just stepped away." He said
Then, he held his hand out and in there the kunai rematerialized. He and I looked ahead when we heard the sound of falling garbage cans and a distinct "Ow!" which could only belong to the clown.
The assassin vanished from where he stood and went to the clown, held it tight, then disappeared again. Ninja style.
My vision blurred as I tried to stand up. But fell back to the ground again. Then, I felt hands holding me up. I saw that these were the hands of Junpei and Akihiko.
"How did… you guys… get free?" I groggily said.
"While you were fighting, I set them free." Ryoji said
"Hmmm… Ah… That's good." I said
"Whoa." Junpei said as he and Akihiko caught me as my feet failed to keep me up.
"He's losing a lot of blood. Takeba, try to heal him. Aigis, how long do we have until the Dark Hour ends?" Mitsuru said
"We have approximately only 10 mins. until the Dark Hour ends." Aigis said
"Hang in there dude…" Junpei's voice faded away as my vision blurred and everything went black.
Author's Note: I would like to say thanks to Prince Noctis for giving me a few suggestions. Thanks! And for all of you people out there in this crazy world of ours, I would like to ask you to please bear with my mistakes (please point them out if you will.) and suggest ideas if you want. I'll do my best to accommodate you. Till the next update. Au revoir!
Pesonaddict07