The sound of rapid beeping in his head slowly built into a crescendo that threatened to split his head open if he didn't address it soon. Despite his incoming headache, he refused to open his eyes. He needed sleep. He felt as if he'd been awake for days, and he'd be damned if this infuriating noise would prevent him from achieving REM sleep. Unfortunately, the beeping eventually grew to such a loud volume that he couldn't ignore it any longer.

"I'm up!" He groaned angrily, opening his eyes to take in his surroundings. It was the Dark Hour, as evidenced by the sickly green color the air took on. That meant that it had only been about an hour since he'd left the meeting and fallen 'asleep'. In addition to this already upsetting fact, the insufferable beeping was still resonating shrilly in his head.

He pursed his lips and counted to 5, attempting to stamp down the irrational anger that built every time he'd been woken up unnaturally. When that inevitably failed to calm him, however, he sat up and yelled at the top of his lungs, "I said I was up already, dammit! Fuuka, turn that thing off before I come up there and break the damn thing!"

At once, the beeping shut off, and a terrified voice resonated throughout his head. "S-Sorry to wake you, senpai! I-It's just… T-There's s-something urgent going on up here, so please m-meet us on the 4th floor…"

Hearing Fuuka's terrified voice in his head calmed his anger immediately. She was just doing her job, so to speak, so taking his anger out on her was pointless and rude. He sighed and said, "Sorry I yelled, Fuuka. I know it's not your fault. Forgive me?"

"…It's ok, Senpai. I forgive you."

He smiled and said in a sing-song tone, "I don't know if you mean that… I might have to give you a hug when I get up there…"

A small laugh echoed throughout his brain. "I'll never turn down a free hug."

"Ok, then. It's a deal."

"Deal." As Minato flipped his covers off, her familiar presence entered his brain again. "Hey, can I ask you a favor? Can you… get Junpei up for me?"

"Uh, sure," Minato said as he pulled on his shirt, "But why? Are you two doing ok?"

"Uh…I don't know…" She replied with an uncertain tone.

He cringed. "Ok, never mind, forget I asked. That's your business." He sighed and nodded. "I'll get him up for you, no problem."

A wave of gratitude came through the link. "Thanks, senpai. I appreciate it."

"Yeah, yeah, now get out of my head. I'm changing."

Before the link closed with a snap, he felt a wave of embarrassment flow through, causing him to chuckle. "Nice to know something's still normal with the world."

"Yeah, but that's just an idle fantasy, huh? Nothing's ever going to be normal for you again."

His smile slid off of his face as that fact sunk in. Pharos was right. As he went over the dream he'd experienced, Minato found himself wishing that it was just that; a dream. He so dearly wanted it to be some kind of sick fabrication from his overactive subconscious.

Unfortunately, as he thought back on everything he'd been told, the less he felt he could deny it. He couldn't afford to deny it, despite every instinct in his body screaming at him to dig his head in the sand and hide. He couldn't hide, because if he did, the world was doomed…

Earlier, in the Velvet Room…

A snort of amusement escaped Minato as he said, "'The Velvet Room?' You say that like I'm supposed to know what that is."

"I suppose not." Philemon said, tilting his head in acknowledgement. "The Velvet Room is a special place. It skirts the boundaries of mind and matter, dream and reality." A small grin appeared on the masked man's face. "You know, your appearance here is rather auspicious. Only rare individuals have ever been invited here before, and it is even rarer for one who hasn't yet signed a contract."

"Well, if you don't mind my asking," Minato said as he looked around the room, taking in the opulent décor, "What is the point of this room if no one ever sees it?"

"This is my domain," Philemon said matter-of factly. "I have power here, and as such, it is a great place for my Chosen to receive guidance and assistance, when needed."

"Chosen?" Minato snorted in amusement. "You make it sound like you're some kind of god, choosing people to spread your word or something like that."

Philemon gave him a knowing smile. "Yes… something like that… Ah!" He shook his head in self-reproach. "Where are my manners? Would you care to take a seat?"

He nodded, then walked over and sat next to Pharos, who gave him a wide smile. Minato returned it and settled in next to him. Philemon mirrored him, settling into his own seat. "Hey, Pharos," Minato said curiously, "why didn't you tell me about this place before? I mean, aside from the obvious reason of that it would have sounded crazy and insane…"

Pharos snorted amusedly and looked at Philemon pointedly. "Contractual obligations. The old man here didn't want you to know about this place until I was done with my contract."

"What?" Minato said confusedly.

"It's a long story." Minato gave him a piercing look, and the boy sighed in exasperation. "…When you refused my contract on that first night, I started to wander around inside your subconscious, looking for a purpose or something profound like that. If I'm honest, I was just lost, figuratively and literally." He gave Minato a small grin. "Your subconscious is huge, by the way. Anyways, long story short, I ended up in here, the old man here offered to help me find out who I was, but at a price; my signature on a contract."

"Wait… You actually signed a contract that a mysterious stranger you met in a strange and unknown place offered you?" Minato chuckled. "And you questioned my life choices…"

"Yeah, that's right, rub it in. I see the irony now." Pharos said, smiling. "You were no help at all by the way, since you were busy spending all that time you could've helped me drooling into a pillow." He shrugged. "Luckily, that doesn't matter now, as my contract is at an end as of right… now."

"This is true," Philemon said with a nod. With a flourish of his hands, a leather folio appeared on the desk in front of them. It opened, revealing a piece of paper with elegant, embossed writing making out 3 short sentences.

It said, 'I chooseth this path of my own free will. I will seek a true companion in order to determine my true nature. However, my true nature will be determined by my will, and my will alone.' Pharos' signature stood out on the dotted line along the bottom.

"I recognize your contract as fulfilled," Philemon said, and with another flourish, the paper evaporated into a mist of light.

Pharos stood up and breathed in deeply. "Well, now that's done, should I leave you two alone to discuss things, old man?"

"Yes, please. Thank you, Pharos."

"Alright then." As he was turning to leave, Pharos put his hand on Minato's shoulder and leaned in. "I promised you answers, so I hope this helps. Good luck." He then walked over to the glowing blue door, and turned the handle. A bright flash of light blinded them momentarily, signaling Pharos' departure. Minato blanched as he watched the door close on its own.

This wasn't exactly what I was expecting when he said I'd get some answers… but I guess beggars can't be choosers, huh?

"Now," Philemon said, clearing his throat, "Onto why you're here, Minato. I assume that you've heard the truth about your guest's unique nature by now?"

Minato nodded and said, "He told me he was a part of Death incarnate, but I'm not sure if I'm supposed to take that literally or not."

"It is true that he is a part of Death," Philemon said lightly. "Although, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that Death is a part of him now. You see, Pharos has done something extraordinary, and wholly unheard of for someone like him…" Philemon leaned forward slightly and a smile played across his lips. "He's changed."

"So?" Minato said with a confused look on his face. "People do that all the time."

"Yes, people do." Philemon said with a smirk. "However, creatures like Pharos are special. He's just like the Shadows that you fight, a concept made manifest; In this case, the concept he represents is Death."

He shook his head. "You see, a concept like Death only exists by virtue of its own nature. Without that nature, what purpose does it serve? Why does it exist? Above all else in its existence, it cannot deny that nature, or else it would cease to exist!"

At this, Philemon smiled. "Pharos however, has done exactly that; He is a concept who has denied the very nature of his own existence and chose to become something more."

"How do you know that for sure?" Minato said warily. "He could be lying to you that he has changed. He certainly lied to me about what he was."

"The contract," Philemon said triumphantly. "By signing it, he proved that he has free will and is bound by his nature no longer. What his nature was, from that point onward, was his to decide. I merely helped him to see that fact."

Minato's jaw dropped in amazement. He glanced at where the boy had been sitting. "How?" He said as his gaze returned to his host, "How is such a thing possible?"

"That…" Philemon said as his face broke out into a huge grin, "…is a fantastic question. How, indeed? I do not know for sure, but I have a theory." He leaned forward, his eyes boring into Minato's. "I believe that it is possible… because of you."

Minato stared at him for a few seconds before snorting in disbelief. "I'm flattered and all, but that seems like a bad theory to me."

"Nonetheless," Philemon said, his face unchanging, "That is the conclusion I have come to."

"Come on!" Minato said skeptically. "I mean, why the hell would you think that? What evidence do you have?"

"Well, my dear young detective," Philemon said, leaning back into his chair, "My evidence comes from an experience I had 17 years ago. Specifically, on the day that you were born."

At Minato's look of confusion, his hands pulled apart, and a small ball of light appeared in his hands. It exploded a second later, causing a flash of light that blinded him for a moment. When his vision returned, he was standing in space, with nothing but stars everywhere he looked. It was amazing. Millions upon millions of stars surrounded him, creating a patchwork tapestry of light and darkness.

He gaped all around him at this amazing sight. "Wow… I know a few people who would kill to see something like this."

"Impressed?" Philemon said, suddenly appearing in front of him with a small grin on his face. "Not many ever get to see this place, less than even the Velvet Room."

"Uh, I think everyone can see this place, Philemon." Minato said with a hint of sarcasm. "They just have to look up at night."

"Oh, we aren't in space, Minato." Philemon said lightly. "All around you, is the collective unconscious of humanity, 17 years in the past." He shrugged. "Specifically, the exact date is April 24th, 1992, approximately one second before you were born."

Minato's jaw dropped for what felt like the thousandth time tonight, causing Philemon to laugh heartily. Ignoring the warm laughter from his host, Minato began spinning around, taking in the sights with a new perspective.

"How are we here?" Minato said after a minute, awed.

"I brought us here. As part of my duties, I look after this place. It is called the Sea of Souls." Philemon said as he gestured around him. "This is the place where the soul comes from when a person is born, and where it returns when that person dies. Humanity as a whole is represented by this place; a record of everything you have ever done, and ever will do as a species."

"You mean everyone's fate is recorded here?" Minato said curiously.

"Well, 'Fate' is such an ugly word," Philemon said with a sigh. "This place records all possibilities at once, and saves those that actually happen, if that makes sense. Every conceivable future for every person in the world ever has been recorded here. Every action that has been taken has had an effect on this place and the souls that reside here."

"Wow." Minato said, impressed. "That's a lot of data to collate."

"You have no idea." Philemon said, snorting in amusement. "Either way, I know this place like the back of my hand. It is my job to do so. As such, over the millennia, I have seen every soul that has ever existed or will exist in this world, from now until the end of time..."

He waved his hand again, and another bright light appeared in between the two of them. It sat still for a second… then exploded in a flash of light, blinding him again. Minato began rubbing his eyes heavily a moment later, trying to get his vision to clear.

"Goddamnit, warn me before you do things like that!" He snarled at Philemon as his vision started to clear. He opened his eyes, the world snapping back into focus. "I could go… blind…"

His vision had finally cleared enough to show what the flash had done, and honestly, it was terrifying.

Minato couldn't just point to one cluster and say that it had definitely changed, but he just… knew. The stars, or rather, souls, around him had all unmistakably changed in response to the flash. If this was humanity's collective unconscious, that couldn't be a good thing.

"What the hell was that flash and what did it do?" He said warily.

Philemon smiled brightly. "That flash… was the moment of your birth, Minato. As for what it did…" He gestured around him at the unmistakably different Sea. "You can see the effects."

Minato's heart sank. He did all this? "W-What? How?"

The masked man waved his hands again, and Minato found himself back in the Velvet Room, still seated. Philemon sat back in his chair, enmeshing his hands together.

"As I said before, I have seen every soul that has existed or ever will exist. Every single one… save for yours."

"What!?" Minato exclaimed, pushing his chair back as he leapt to his feet. "H-How is that possible?"

"I wish I knew." Philemon said with a shrug. "You literally exploded into existence. I have no idea how you even came to exist, and, for me to say that is... worrying."

"No kidding." Minato swallowed nervously. "When someone tells you that they don't know who you are, it's usually seen as an innocent thing. There's usually no sinister connotation behind it, so there's no worry. But when an omnipotent being that has lived for millennia tells you that he doesn't know who you are… That's when it's time to start worrying."

"Quite," Philemon said, chuckling.

Minato's jaw began to tremble. If his birth had done that…"Does that mean that my very existence is dangerous?"

"I don't know. The changes to the Sea have been all encompassing, but I am the only one who could even notice the changes." Philemon said, causing Minato's heart to sink even further. "I can, however, tell you the implications that such a wide change presents."

He looked gravely at the blue-haired boy and said, "It means that when you were born, things that shouldn't have been possible before could occur, purely because of your existence. Anything that you do changes the Sea's entire structure, and as such, changes the entire course of humanity. You can change what has not been changed in millennia. As such, every person in the world has had, and will continue to have their future changed by you."

He tilted his head in thought. "It is as if you are like the number zero: A void of endless emptiness, absorbing and consuming all futures in your path… but filled with infinite potential, creating a new set of possibilities out of the old…"

Minato looked down at his feet. He felt sick. After all, it wasn't every day that you got told that you basically bulldozed everyone's future just by being born.

"So why am I here, if I'm so dangerous?" He said with a noticeable tremor in his tone. "Shouldn't you want me dead in case I accidentally break or change something important?"

"No, Minato," Philemon said with a sympathetic grimace, "I do not want you dead, and could not harm you even if I did. It is not my place to interfere. My nature forbids it."

He sighed. "Either way, do not take what I said earlier the wrong way. You have a unique soul, one that is brand new to this world; whatever you do will have a ripple effect across all of humanity because of that. The Sea will change no matter what you do." He gave Minato a small smile. "What change there is, however, can only be decided by you. Only those you purposefully interact with will be affected."

Philemon's smile disappeared and his face became stoic. "This fact, in turn, brings us to the reason why I've brought you here."

Minato's gaze shot back up to the masked man sitting in front of him. "Why?"

Philemon sat forward and meshed his hands together. "I've chosen you to help me stop a grave threat to Humanity's future."

"What?!" Minato said shrilly, barely able to keep himself from yelling. "What do you mean?"

"The Sea of Souls has begun darkening." Philemon continued gravely. "This means that the possible futures of every single person in the world are being stripped away, and beginning to coalesce into one definite future, one definitive conclusion for every person on the planet. Needless to say, this is not good." He looked Minato straight in the eyes. "I want you to stop this, by any means necessary. Your ability to change the Sea's outcomes makes you the only one who can accomplish this task."

He gaped at Philemon for a good minute before his brain reengaged. He felt anger bubbling up in his chest. He didn't ask for this! He didn't ask to be chosen! Besides, he was already dealing with something life-threatening. He didn't need this on top of it. "In case you haven't noticed," Minato said bitterly, "I'm already dealing with a grave threat to humanity. It's called the Dark Hour, and that's the battle I chose to fight. It wasn't chosen for me. Get someone else to do your dirty work." With that said, he turned to leave.

"Yes, admittedly, the Dark Hour is a threat," Philemon said patiently from behind him, "But it is only one part, one aspect, of a much larger threat. The very same threat I wish for you to stop."

His heart felt like it sank into his shoes. How could this possibly get any worse?

You really want to tempt fate like that, Minato?

After a moment of contemplation, Minato turned back around. "…Go on," He said.

"I am afraid that you and your friends have been dragged into something much greater than you believed, my friend," Philemon said heavily. "Everything that you have experienced so far… Tartarus, the Dark Hour, the Full Moon Shadows… All of them, pieces of a plan to cover the world in darkness, resulting in the total extinction of Humanity."

"What?" Minato exclaimed incredulously. "That's insane! Who would want to do that? Why?"

"There have been, and always will be, those who believe that death is preferable to what they feel is an insignificant life," Philemon said with a sad tone. "Such people will typically fall into both apathy and despair, seeing life as a prison or cage." Minato flinched involuntarily at this, uncomfortably reminded of his own feelings up until a few months ago.

To his credit, Philemon simply smiled encouragingly at him before continuing. "The question becomes what actions they take after this realization. Most commit suicide unfortunately, either taking their own life in an instant or over a long period of time. Some brave individuals, like yourself, find something that challenges that world view, and it causes them to change for the better."

He sighed wearily. "…A few, however, turn that apathy into a hatred for life of all kinds, seeking to destroy it in any way they can. Murderers, rapists… These unfortunate people then fall under the influence of my erstwhile adversary, Nyarlathotep."

"Wait, you have an adversary?" Minato said, raising his eyebrow.

"Of course," Philemon said lightly, steepling his fingers in front of his nose. "Nature is a constant battle between opposites, and he and I are no different. We have radically different ideas on the nature and future of humanity, and as such, fight over who is right and who is wrong." He shook his head. "Still, that is a story for another time. What matters right now is that my enemy has been manipulating you and your friends through one of his puppets, attempting to get you all to make a terrible mistake."

"What kind of mistake?" Minato asked hesitantly. "We know about the Full-Moon Shadows and how to destroy the Dark Hour..."

Philemon shook his head. "I'm afraid that what you know about the Dark Hour is a lie. The Full-Moon Shadows are not the cause of the Dark Hour. The Dark Hour is an unfortunately permanent change to the fabric of reality… A rip in time itself."

"So… that's it then." Minato said, defeated. "There's no stopping the Dark Hour…"

"I'm afraid it gets worse than that, my friend. Much worse."

"How in the hell is that possible?!" Minato said angrily. "People are dying left and right. Families are being completely ripped apart because of the Dark Hour and the Shadows, and you're telling me that we can't stop it? How in the hell could things possibly get worse than that?"

"My enemy intends for you to kill the 12 Arcana Shadows to reunite them into their true form; the 13th Arcana, also know as Death." He replied gravely.

"…Oh." Minato's knees gave out and he slumped to the floor. "Y-You mean…"

Philemon nodded. "When all 12 Shadows are killed, Death will be reborn, complete and sentient. It will awaken and consume every single mind in the world. Every single person on the planet will end up just like the Lost."

"…Leading to the death of humanity… That's why the Sea is darkening. Everyone's future is leading towards one outcome: Extinction." Minato said, despair creeping into his tone. It really was hopeless, unless…

"Wait!" He said, jumping to his feet. "What if we don't kill the Full-Moon Shadows? What if we just leave them alone?"

Philemon shook his head. "The same effect will still be accomplished, just much slower. I take it you've seen that the Shadows are starting to spread beyond the borders of the city?" Minato thought back to what he'd been told about the Shadows at Yakushima, and then what had happened that very same night. It had worried him at the time, but now seemed terrifying.

"They're spreading…" Minato said, voice barely a whisper.

Philemon nodded gravely. "Unfortunately, The Full-Moon Shadows must be stopped or they will grow powerful enough to spread and consume the world, one human at a time."

"So we're all dead." Minato said sadly, sinking back to the ground. "We just don't know it yet…"

"Not just yet." Philemon said with a small grin on his face. "Your arrival here has changed things considerably, as has Pharos' completed contract." Minato's face rose to look the masked man in the eyes, and the grin grew. "You see, Death was free once before, and it was stopped once before. I know this because, somehow, a tiny fragment of its being latched onto your soul before it disappeared."

"Pharos!" Minato said, standing up slowly. "That's right! He was a part of Death!"

"Not just that. He's a now a part of Death with free will, who has decided to ignore his true nature and assist you." Philemon grinned widely. "If you kill all of the Shadows, then the fragments will have no choice but to return to their original owner. It would then be up to him to determine how to use them."

At this, the sound of a door opening rang through the hall, and a familiar, smug voice said, "You know what, I'll do it… but only if you say please."

Minato couldn't help it. He turned around, rushed to Pharos' side and hugged the boy with all his might. An amused groan of pain came from the boy's wiry frame, and he patted Minato's back lightly until he let go. Minato grinned widely as he pulled away. "Please."

Pharos narrowed his eyes, giving him a mock glare. "I don't know if you meant that one… Say, 'Pretty please.'"

Fighting to keep his face serious, Minato sighed and said, "Pretty please."

"Good…" Pharos said, a grin creeping onto his face. "Now say, 'Pretty please with whipped cream on top.'"

"Oh, shut up!" Minato said, finally bursting into laughter. "You don't even know what whipped cream is!"

"That's true, but I still want you to say it!" Pharos said before laughing himself.

After a few moments of joyous laughter, however, the sound of a throat clearing behind them stifled them and brought their attention back to Philemon. "Gentlemen, as amusing as this is, if the two of you have come to an agreement…?" Philemon waved his hand and a second folio appeared on the table, along with two pens and inkwells. "Perhaps now we could make this official?"

The folio opened, revealing a new piece of paper with the same elegant and stylized writing that the previous contract had. The contract had 4 lines on it and 2 spaces for signatures at the bottom.

"I chooseth this path of my own free will. I will be the light to lead us out of darkness, a beacon to all mankind. I will protect life at any cost, even with my own. I will not bow to temptation, and be true to myself and those around me."

Minato looked at Pharos expectantly, who shrugged. "I don't know… I just got finished doing the last one."

"Well, we'll both be in the barrel this time," Minato said with a smile. "Misery loves company, right?"

"I thought that you had a psychological aversion to signing things." He replied sarcastically.

"The difference is," Minato said sardonically, "that this time, I actually know what the purpose of this contract is. You didn't want to tell me what yours was for, remember?"

"Right." Pharos chuckled and nodded. "Alright, you've convinced me. Let's do this."

The two of them picked up the pens at the same time, and signed their names on the dotted lines. The contract flashed when the last line was etched into the page, and Philemon smiled. "Thank you both. I am proud to bear witness to this moment."

With a wave of his hand, the folio closed and disappeared, taking the pens and inkwells with it. He gestured for the two of them to sit, and they did so. "Well then, gentlemen," Philemon said with a genial smile. "I believe that I have one last duty to perform for you both before I let you go." He waved a hand again and Minato felt a sudden rush of energy fill him, causing a small, cold pinprick at the back of his head.

Pharos, however, visibly recoiled as if hit. He breathed heavily for a minute, then stared at Philemon with wide eyes. "What did you do?"

"If the two of you are going to work together," Philemon said patiently, "then you need to be able to fight together. I have linked your consciousness, allowing Minato access to your power."

Minato blinked rapidly as he processed this. "So I can summon Pharos at will now? I don't need an Evoker?"

"Not Pharos, but his Persona. Unfortunately, the Evoker is still a necessity." He sighed. "If I merged your consciousness to the point where it was possible without it, both of you would lose yourselves."

"That's unfortunate... Wait, hold the phone," Minato said with a confused look. "When and how the hell did you get a Persona?"

"When I told the Reaper to kiss my ass," Pharos said with a grin. "When I did that, it unlocked for me, and I melted the bastard with it."

"Really?" Minato said, impressed. "You're going to have to tell me what happened up there one of these days…"

"Yeah, yeah, maybe…" Pharos said, waving his hand dismissively. "Anyways, want to see him?" Minato nodded, smiling at Pharos' excitement. Pharos quickly put his hand up to his head like a gun and said, "Persona!"

With a blue flash and the sound of cracking glass, a robotic jackal with glowing red eyes and a half-ring of wings floating behind it suddenly appeared beside Pharos' chair. Its body was painted black and gold, with silver blades protruding like feathers from the Persona's forearm. A long black tail swished from the Persona's backside, and a spear floated in midair next to it, just within arm's reach in case violence was imminent. It had its arms crossed arrogantly as it stared at them.

"Minato, meet Anubis." Pharos said genially.

"I am Anubis, the guardian of the dead," It said, bowing a head towards Minato. "Pleased to meet you, carrier of Jehuty."

"And I, you." Minato said warmly. "You know Jehuty?"

"Unfortunately." The Persona said with a hint of humor, before shimmering out of existence.

Philemon smirked and said, "Bickering again it seems. Those two never change. Anyways, in addition to this ability, I have given Pharos the ability to speak into your mind directly, since I can't expect you to fall asleep in the middle of a battle in order to consult him. He should also be able to observe what you can, and be able to assist in that way as well. After all, two sets of eyes are better than one."

"That seems kinda… creepy." Minato said warily. "What about my privacy?"

Philemon shook his head. "He can only do this while the Dark Hour is in effect, and you have the ability to block him out if necessary, so worry not about privacy."

"Yeah, I'm usually asleep during the day anyways, so don't worry," Pharos said with a smirk. "I'm not going to be able to watch or comment the next time that you and Mitsuru are trying to suck each other's faces off, thank god."

The temperature in the room quickly dropped a degree as Minato glared icy daggers at Pharos, causing the boy to cringe slightly. In the back of Minato's mind, behind his annoyance, he was secretly congratulating himself. Mitsuru would have been proud of that one.

To his credit, Pharos wasn't too rattled, quickly giving a nervous laugh to cover his discomfort. "Relax, Minato. It was a joke!"

Philemon cut in before Minato could reply. "Sad as I am to interrupt this… interesting discussion, my friends, I'm afraid our time together reaches its end. Someone has been trying to wake Minato for around a minute now, and it's getting harder to maintain his connection to the room. As such, I will leave you both with one last piece of advice…"

He leaned forward. "Beware the agents of my enemy, Nyarlathotep. They are the ones who have been using you as pawns, and they are not to be taken lightly. However, they must be dealt with if you are to fulfill your contract. As such, my advice to you is this… Be careful who you trust. Now, farewell."

The room suddenly became hazy as Minato's vision began to darken. He felt his eyes getting heavier and heavier until they closed completely. His grip on the Velvet Room shattered, and he felt everything slip away from him, all except for a mildly annoying beeping in his ears…

"So… What are you going to tell your friends about all this?"

Pharos' voice in his mind broke Minato out of his reverie. He quickly finished dressing and looked at himself in the mirror. Pharos stood right behind his reflection. "I'm not going to tell them a thing right now." He said matter-of-factly.

"What? Why?" Pharos said, confused. "We need to warn them about the Shadows, and the Dark Hour, and-"

"It's not that I don't want to tell them, Pharos. We just don't know who we can trust right now." Minato said in a low whisper. "Someone fed us that intel about the Shadows and the Dark Hour, so that means that someone in the know has to be working with Nyarlatep, or… whatever Philemon said his name was. Anyways, we can't risk tipping off anyone that we know the truth about the Dark Hour, lest whoever they are decides to take the nuclear option and kill everyone involved and start over."

He snorted in amusement. "Besides, what do you think would happen if I stood up during a meeting and said, 'Hey, guys, someone lied to us about the Dark Hour being reversible, and what we're doing is really part of a plan to destroy humanity by using Death itself. Oh, how do I know all this? Well, a millennia-old spirit told me in a dream. So, is that enough evidence for you guys?'" He shook his head in exasperation. "Does that seem believable to you?"

"No… Not when you put it that way."Pharos said, reluctantly. "But you and I can't do this on our own. We need them."

"Agreed," Minato said with a smirk. "Which is why you and I are going to keep our mouths shut until we get some real evidence." He turned to and opened his door, stepped outside, and headed towards Junpei's door, intending to fulfill his promise to Fuuka.

"How in the hell are you going to do that without raising suspicion?"Pharos said skeptically as he walked down the hall.

"I'm not." Minato said under his breath. "Luckily, I just so happen to know one of the best private detectives in the country, who's also a naturally suspicious bastard about the people he works with."

"Oooh… Smart plan. Get the old man involved. Nice! This won't blow up in your face or anything."

"Glad you think so," Minato whispered with a touch of sarcasm. "Now, hush for a second."

As Minato came to a stop in front of Junpei's door, he felt Pharos' presence retreat, offering him the privacy he wanted. He smiled for a second, then rapped his fist on the door. "Junpei? You awake in there?"

He heard a loud groan of pain and a thump come from inside the door. Minato's stomach dropped. He knocked on the door again. "Hey, Junpei? Are you ok?" Another groan of pain responded to him, and Minato's flight or fight response activated. Had someone or something already gotten to him? Not on his watch! "Hey, I'm coming in! Stand back from the door!"

He raised his foot in order to give the door a good kick, but before he could, he heard Junpei croak, "Wait… Don't…"

A second later, the door clicked unlocked and Junpei looked through the crack in the door. He was pale, and looked drained. He was still wearing his school uniform, but it was drenched with sweat. Minato's eyes widened as he took in Junpei's battered state. "Damn, dude… What the hell'd you do? Go 3 rounds with a Full-Moon Shadow?"

"No…" He said, his voice barely a whisper. "I forgot to tell Fuuka about my allergy to soy… and she made soy chicken for dinner…"

"Oh, shit," Minato said, concern etching its way onto his face, "Do we need to get you to the hospital?"

"No!" He croaked loudly, drawing a look of surprise. He shook his head regretfully. "Fuuka already feels terrible… She thinks that I hate her cooking… This would just make her feel worse…"

Minato gaped at him for a moment, then shook his head in amazement. "You know, sometimes you really are Stupei. If you'd explained this to her to begin with, you wouldn't be in this situation." He sighed. "Come on, we got something we have to deal with. We're needed on the 4th floor, but fair warning: I'm not letting you go out like this."

Junpei gave him a disdainful look, obviously disappointed, but Minato didn't budge. "Anaphylactic shock isn't something you want to mess with, Junpei. You're lucky you aren't dead. You're going to the hospital after we figure out what the hell's going on out there, and Fuuka's going with you."

"But-"

"No, Junpei." Minato said warningly. He narrowed his eyes. "Don't make me go get Mitsuru. I know her, and she'll tell you the exact same thing I did, except she won't be nearly as kind about it. I hate hospitals as much as you do, but even I see them as necessary sometimes. Believe me, this is a fight you won't win."

Junpei let out a sigh of defeat after a moment of contemplation. "Ok… I'll be up there soon." he said demurely, closing the door with a sad click.

Minato shook his head in exasperation. Junpei was a piece of work sometimes. Brilliant in battle, confident in spirit… clumsy in everything else. Luckily, Fuuka seemed to balance him out well. His amount of confidence and optimism seemed to inflate her self-esteem, and her patience and grace made up for his shortcomings in everything else.

As he turned and headed up the stairs towards the 4th floor, he felt a cold pinprick at the back of his mind, signaling that Pharos had come back. "He really is an idiot sometimes, huh?"

"Eh, all of us are sometimes, especially around those you care about." Minato said as he stepped onto the 3rd floor, before stopping and smiling. Mitsuru was walking towards him from her room, a small smile on her face. Her hair was rumpled, obviously having just woken up, but in a way that made her seem more graceful and less composed than normal. He felt his heart start to race, arousal shooting through out his system.

"Christ, I haven't seen her like this since Yakushima. Do I really miss sleeping next to her that much?"

"Speaking of idiots…" Pharos said, rudely knocking him out of his impure thoughts.

Purely as an experiment, Minato mentally pictured giving Pharos a slap upside his head, and was pleasantly rewarded with a slight cry of pain from the boy, causing him to chuckle a bit. Mitsuru noticed, and her smile grew a bit wider, causing another jolt of arousal to shoot through him. "Good evening, Minato. What's so funny?"

"Busted…So, what are you going to tell her, Minato? Abusing a voice in your head made you laugh?"

"Oh, uh… Just Junpei. He's apparently got a food allergy to soy," Minato said, ignoring his tenant's glib remark. "So naturally, Fuuka ended up making him some food with soy in it cause he didn't tell her about his allergy, and now he's sick."

"What? Does he need to go to the hospital?" She said concernedly.

"Probably," Minato said as they began walking up to the 4th floor. "He's white as a sheet and looks like he's been vomiting."

"So, wait, you were laughing at him because of that?" She said, her eyes narrowing angrily.

In hindsight, he probably shouldn't have implied that he was laughing at someone else's pain, either metaphysical or physical. It made him sound like a sadist.

"You have no one to blame for this but yourself." Pharos said, sending Minato the mental equivalent of a grin. "You seem to get some kind of sick pleasure causing pain to others, it seems."

"I don't know, you might be right about that," Minato thought conversationally. "Want another example?"

"Ok, shutting up now…"

"I-I wasn't laughing at the fact that he's sick, more at the fact that he didn't tell her that he was allergic to soy before she fed it to him," Minato said defensively. "I mean, I would never laugh at him being in pain. I just think that he was- Well, I can't really call him stupid, cause he's kind of proven that he has brains, but I swear, his attention to detail leaves a lot to be desired."

"I can agree with that. Still," she said with a small reproachful look, "It's not nice to laugh at his discomfort, Minato."

"Yeah, I know, I'm sorry," Minato said, letting out the breath he'd been holding. "Anyways, I'm going to have Fuuka take him to the hospital once we find out what she woke us up for."

She nodded. "Sounds good. Hopefully it's nothing serious. We can't afford to be 2 men down if something serious comes up."

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Mitsuru." Minato said reassuringly as they turned off the stairs and entered the command room. Yukari and Fuuka were already there, surrounding the control console. Fuuka was seated, and had brought up a satellite map of Iwatodai, and was speaking to Akihiko through the console.

"The location I sent you is correct, Senpai. I'm sure of it. I know I sensed a Shadow there a few minutes ago, but it dropped off the map completely," Fuuka said, waving at the two teens as they walked in. "Anyways, I got everyone else up too. Yukari-chan is here, as are Minato-senpai and Mitsuru-senpai."

"Good," Akihiko said lightly. "Well, tell them to get down here as soon as you tell them the news. I'll call back with a report in a moment."

"Hey," Minato whispered to Mitsuru as Fuuka signed off, "Where's the control box for that alarm that woke us up?" She gave him a knowing look at this, and he shrugged. "I'm just curious…"

"You can't destroy the emergency alarm, Arisato," Mitsuru said with an exasperated tone.

"I'm not going to destroy it…" he said innocently as he tried to keep a grin off his face, "…I'm just going to make sure that it doesn't work for the foreseeable future. Those two things aren't always the same, you know."

"Anyways," Fuuka said, pointedly cutting off Mitsuru's snarky reply, "Like Akihiko-senpai said, I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that I sensed a Shadow out in the city. The good news is that it's already been destroyed."

Minato rolled his eyes and gave a mock groan. "It's already destroyed? Come on, Fuuka, you got me out of bed for this?"

"If you prefer," Mitsuru said, turning to face him, "I could send you back to the hospital along with Iori if you're not feeling up to it. You could still be suffering from that concussion and I'm sure that the doctors would be happy to thoroughly examine you again."

Minato narrowed his eyes at her. She was playing with fire now. "You wouldn't dare…" He hissed playfully.

Her mouth turned upward in a triumphant grin. "Try me."

"Wait, Junpei has to go to the hospital?" Fuuka said worriedly, her eyes widening in panic and breaking the two out of their staring contest.

"Smooth, Mitsuru," Minato said sardonically, drawing a glare from said woman. Ignoring her death glare, he turned to Fuuka and said, "He's allergic to soy and he accidentally ingested some earlier tonight."

"Soy? But that's what I put in… Oh my god!" She exclaimed, realization striking her. "I poisoned him?!" Tears started to form in her eyes.

"Hey, you didn't know any better, and it's his fault for not telling you," Minato said calmly. He walked up and wrapped his arms around her in a comforting hug. "He'll be fine. He obviously didn't get exposed to that much or he'd be dead by now. If it'll make you feel better, you can go with him to the hospital."

Before she could respond, a chime sounded from the command console, indicating an incoming message. Fuuka quickly pulled away from Minato, hit the blinking red button with a slap, and said, "Command room. Is that you, Senpai?"

"You guys need to get down here immediately!" Akihiko said in a panicked tone, causing everyone to jump.

"What? Why?" Fuuka said, a concerned look on her face. "Are there more Shadows?"

"No, I found that Persona-user!" Akihiko said hurriedly. "He's wounded, bad! I need Minato or a first aid kit down here now, or he's not going to make it!"

"Persona-user?" Minato and Mitsuru asked simultaneously. "What Persona-user?"

"Right before that Shadow was destroyed, I sensed a Persona that I've never seen before," Fuuka said hurriedly. "That's why I sent Akihiko-senpai down there, to see if it was a new Persona-user. It looks like I was right."

"It appears so. Good work, Yamagishi," Mitsuru said firmly, causing Fuuka to blush slightly. "Very well, everyone. Get the first aid kit and get ready. We move in 2. Akihiko, do what you can to stabilize him until we arrive. We'll be there soon."

"Roger that. Hurry!" Akihiko said before signing off.

Without any more hesitation, the team sprang into action. Minato quickly ran to the armory in the corner and pulled down the emergency first aid kit. Mitsuru sent off a quick message to Kirijo HQ, and Fuuka and Yukari quickly began searching for the fastest route to the Shrine via the command console's satellite imagery. None of them noticed a certain blue-capped teen stumble into the command room until he slid onto the sofa with a groan of exertion.

Junpei was visibly panting, trying to catch his breath, sweat rolling in fat droplets off his forehead. Getting up the stairs had obviously worn him out.

"Junpei-kun!" Fuuka gasped as she took in his condition. "Oh my god!"

"Don't… blame your…self… Fuuka," Junpei said between panting breaths. "Should've…told you… My…fault… Didn't want… you to… hate me any… more…"

"You idiot…" She said lightly as she sat down next to him, pressing a handkerchief to his head. "I don't hate you… I thought you hated me…"

Ignoring their conversation, Minato quickly ran over to Junpei's other side, unzipping the first aid kit and rummaging around inside. After a moment, he located a small, pen-shaped syringe, and a satisfied grin spread across his face. Turning his attention back to his friend, he quickly said, "Fuuka, help him take off his pants."

"W-What?!" She exclaimed, her face becoming bright red. "W-What f-for?!"

"I need to be able to inject this," he explained, holding up the syringe, "into his upper leg. It's epinephrine, should help alleviate the symptoms of anaphylactic shock long enough to get him to the hospital."

"O-Oh… O-Ok!" She said, her gaze going from nervous and embarrassed to firm and determined in an instant. She quickly bent down and unsnapped his belt, also causing him to turn bright red and begin to struggle weakly.

"W-wait!" he croaked energetically, "W-What are you doing, Fuuka? We haven't even kissed yet!"

Despite his protests, Fuuka quickly managed to pull his pants down to his knees, and Minato quickly jabbed him in leg with the syringe. He depressed the plunger, and a second later, Junpei's eyes shot open, energy visibly racing through his body.

"Wow, what the hell was that?!" He exclaimed in awe. "I feel great!"

"It was epinephrine, or pure adrenaline in layman's terms," Minato said with a slight grin. "You still aren't out of the woods yet, but you should be able to make it to the hospital without dying."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Junpei said as he leapt to his feet. "Come on, Fuuka, let's go!"

"What?! But Junpei-kun, your pants!" She said, averting her eyes from his exposed legs.

"What?" He said, before looking down and noticing his pants around his ankles. He looked up, face turning red as he finally realized what was going on. Yukari was averting her eyes, trying and failing to hide her giggles. Mitsuru had her eyes closed and a slight blush on her cheeks, but otherwise gave no outward indication of noticing his predicament. Fuuka looked as if she was a mouse trapped by a cat, her face bright red. Minato just shrugged, as if this were just a normal occurrence.

"Shit!" He said, quickly reaching down and pulling his pants back on. "Ok, nothing to see here."

"Ok, Speedy, you feel up to going to the hospital now?" Minato said with a slight grin. "We need to get going."

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Junpei said with a nod. "I should be able to make it now. Thanks for the shot."

"No problem, just get better soon," Minato said. He turned to Fuuka, giving her a slight encouraging grin. "Keep an eye on him, would you?"

"Of course, senpai," Fuuka said with a nod. "Go help Akihiko, I'll help Junpei."

Minato nodded and turned to Yukari and Mitsuru. "Ready?" They nodded. "Good, now let's go meet our new friend."

"Roger that. Hurry!" Akihiko said into the receiver before closing it and turning to the bleeding figure lying on his side on the ground. He got down on his knees next to the blue haired teen and began putting pressure on where he thought the blood was coming from. The blood had stained the green windbreaker he was wearing a sickly yellow color, making it hard to locate the wound.

The boy moaned in response to his pressure, causing Akihiko to put a comforting hand on his arm. "Relax. My friends will be here soon. We'll get you all fixed up."

"Good." The boy said with a malicious tone as he turned on his side and slid the knife hidden in his hand up through Akihiko's ribs, causing Akihiko to gasp in pain.

Jin leaned in, putting his mouth next to Akihiko's ear. "I can't wait to finally meet them."

.

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Well, here it is. The moment I've been anticipating and dreading in equal parts ever since I started this story. Edit- Akihiko isn't dead. I'm just an asshole trying to psych you guys out. Sorry. D:

This is the point where you should really throw all of your preconceptions about where this story is going out of the window, if you haven't by now. As Philemon said earlier, everything's changed. I know that I'm probably going to catch some flak for this, but trust me, this was necessary. Things are going to get kind of dark in the coming days, but that's the whole point of the story of Persona, isn't it?

Fear not though, there will still be laughter and happiness, shining a small light against the encroaching darkness. In addition, I hope that I can get the next chapter out before the end of next week, so we can get rid of this awful cliffhanger… :D

I hope you all like what has happened with Pharos, despite everything. I'm having a blast writing him as a kind of foil to Minato. I love the kinds of stories that have the character's Personae talk to them, so this is kind of my way of doing so.

As always, please write a review if you like (or hate) the chapter, the story so far, or if you have some criticisms. In addition, please send me a PM if you have any issues, concerns, or questions concerning the story, me, or anything else. I love you all, so please don't stone me until I have the story complete. ;_;

Edit part 2: Better explained how Pharos' connection and his Persona works for future balance.

-Dr. Ninja