Mitsuru gave me the silent treatment the whole way home. She's not really all that talkative, but you could tell she was pissed.

Uncle Amos said that he couldn't remember the guy's name, but he was a decent guy. Some scientist my dad went to University with.

So, I decided to ask Tanaka when I got to work.

"Hayate's best man?" Tanaka said to me as I handed him my report. "Haven't got a clue, but one of the guys in Finance might know…" Tanaka rubbed his forehead distractedly. Something else was on his mind..

"Hey, are you alright?" I asked him.

"Huh? Oh, sure." Tanaka told me. "It's just that I can't concentrate." Tanaka grunted. "I just get so worked up when I picture that assholes face!"

"Who's this you're talking about?" I asked calmly, helping myself to a seat.

"Oh… sorry…" Tanaka calmed down. "One of my employees… I guess I should have seen it coming…"

Tanaka turned to face me, hands held together like they were praying. "There was a young man who was working for me. Good kid, came from a great university… but this month, he didn't make his sales quota, so I docked his pay."

"That common?" I asked the boss.

"It's in the contract." He replied. "Doesn't happen often, but it's not rare. The kid's manager told him that. But for some reason, after that, his self confidence just went down the drain. Then… he just stopped coming to work."

"How long ago did he stop coming?" I asked.

"Earlier this week. He's been getting worse since the start of the month."

So this started two weeks ago then… "Do you have his address?" I asked him. "I'll go talk to him, see if I can get his back up to scratch."

"You're not paid to do that." Tanaka reminded me.

I grinned and shrugged. "Yeah, but if you're losing money because a good employee is falling behind, I'd try to fix the problem so he can start making me money again."

Tanaka smiled. "You think you can do that, kid?"

I nodded. "Do it all the time." I said. "In fact, I did it just now."

Confused. "What do you…?" Tanaka realised the mood he was in. "…Hey, you are good. Alright then."

He printed the young man's details from the database. "Here you go. There'll be a nice bonus if you manage it."

SMASH

Thou shalt have our blessing when thou createst a Persona of the Devil Arcana.

"Thanks." I said, taking the sheet away from him. "I'll get right on it."

I looked at the sheet as I left. Naoya Toudou, huh?

I knocked on the guy's door. "Hello?" I asked. "Toudou-san?"

A young man with black hair opened the door. Emperor. Whoa, he looked like crap. He didn't seem that happy to let me in. "Um, My name is Orpheus Mikazuchi, may I come in?"

"What do you want?" he asked.

Okay, change tactics. I switched to Take Mikazuchi. The guy immediately opened the door wider. "Sorry, I'm just not feeling that good." he said. "Come in."

"Thank you." I walked into the room. Man, this place is a mess; he really did fall down bad. He closed the door behind him with a smile on his face. Eh? How the hell did he cheer up so fast?

"Philemon still up to his old tricks then?" he asked, walking over to the fridge.

I blinked. "Err… who?"

"Philemon." He said, tossing me a beer. "You know, the butterfly guy?" I put down the can as he walked over opening his own. "Gives you the power of Persona?" He hinted, jumping onto the couch.

Wait, what?

"You know about Persona?" I asked, raised eyebrow.

"Sure do!" Naoya laughed. "Man, seeing you change Arcana took me back… I've got the Wild Card too."

"Seriously!" I sat down on the opposite couch. "I thought I was the only one!"

"Really?" He sat up. "There were a bunch of us back in the day!"

"No way!" I gaped. From how Mitsuru and Akihiko had gone on about it, the Wild Card was supposed to be unheard of.

"Yeah!" he said, laughing. "You the only Persona user this time round then?"

I shook my head. "No, there are a few others, but I'm the only Wild Card."

"Man, that must be rough." Naoya shook his head. "I mean, doesn't give you much to work with, right? You only get a couple of slots as it is."

...Slots? "Err… what?"

"You know." Naoya circled his hand around in front of him. "I mean, you only have a Death Persona, an Emperor, maybe one or two more, right?"

I stared blankly. "On me?" I asked. "I've got Fool, Sun, Temperance, Justice, Magician, Hierophant, Strength, and Chariot."

He stared. "That many?"

"Um, yeah?" I was a bit confused. "I've also used Priestess, Fortune, Devil, Lovers, Hanged Man, Devil, Moon, and Hermit"

Naoya stared at my with an expression that said everything. I call it 'Holy Crap!'.

Not to be confused with the expressions 'Holy Shit!', and 'WTF?'.

"How many Persona can you hold at a time?" he asked.

"At this point?" I asked. "Ten. You?"

"Shit, and with that many Arcana..." Naoya whispered. "I can only hold four at a time, and that only start with one at first."

Then the penny dropped in my head.

"How many Arcana can you use?" I asked him.

"Four." He said. "I'm best with Emperor, but apart from that I've only got Star, Sword and Judgement."

"Woah, you serious?" I asked.

"Yeah…" he nodded. Now I knew what Pharos meant by comparing the sea to deep space. "How many did Igor say that you'd get?" he asked me.

I thought for a moment. Igor had mentioned it at some point. "I think it was… two hundred or so? Something like that?"

Naoya dropped his can of beer. "You are freaking kidding me, aren't you?"

"No, why? How many did you get?"

"Damn…" He put his head in his hands. "I was the strongest of us all… I could use the most Personae, and yet…" He sighed and leaned back. "Damn… I could only use thirty four…"

Woah. I've probably used that many already. "You serious?"

"Yeah, the others got around thirty at most…" He seemed crushed. "Two hundred Persona… We probably only had a hundred or so between us!"

Damn, I'm more powerful than I thought… "So, if you guys have Persona, then why don't you help fight the Shadows in Tartarus?" I asked.

"Tartarus?" he asked. "The hell's that? Sounds like toothpaste."

"That's what Junpei said." I laughed. "Tartarus is that huge tower that appears during the Dark Hour?"

"Dark Hour?"

"You know, that hour at midnight when the world turns green, everyone turns to coffins, and you have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

"Nope." Naoya admitted. "We fought Shadows at hospitals, graveyards, alleyways, wherever Nyarlathotep sent his Shadow Sides."

"Ah." So not all Persona Users had access to the dark hour. "How do you summon without Evokers then?"

"Like this." he grinned, a blue burning card appeared in his hand as he opened it. "PERSONA!" He shouted, throwing the card into the corner of the room. In blue flames appeared a green guy in white spandex, holding a small staff and had a fancy hat. "That's Amon-Ra." He said. "That's my ultimate Persona."

"Woah." I said as the Persona disappeared. "We have to use these."

I pulled my spare Evoker out of my bag, deciding to have one on me at all times. I put it to my head and changed Persona.

"Hey, wait a second!" Naoya shouted as I pulled the trigger.

BLAM

Orpheus appeared, floating next to me. First time I've intentionally summoned a Persona outside the Dark Hour, but if he can do it, so can I.

"That's my initial Persona." I explained to Naoya. "Don't know why we have to shoot ourselves in the head with these things, but, we do."

"Nice…" Naoya whistled, nodding his head as Orpheus vanished. "So, basically, you fight Shadows by shooting yourself in the head, in a tower that appears in a time no one knows about because they all turn to coffins?"

"Yep." I said, pocketing the Evoker.

He whistled appreciatively. "Man. Makes our adventure about deities manipulating humans because they were bored sound believable."

Wait, that reminds me… "You ever hear about the Reaper?"

His eyes shot wide. "That thing's still out there?"

"I killed it last night." I explained.

He shook his head. "He'll be back."

"I know." I said. "Sorry if I'm rushing things, I just wanna get some answers."

"Shoot." He said, grabbing my unopened beer.

"You ever do Social Links?" I asked.

"Never heard of them." he shrugged. "What are they?"

"Bonds with people you make that strengthen the power of our Personas of the same Arcana as them."

"We never had as many Arcana as you do, so that's probably why."

"Right." I nodded. "Next Question, you ever go the Velvet Room?"

"Yeah, the nightclub Igor works at, right?"

"Same here, though it was a lift earlier." That raised his eyebrows as he drank. "You ever hear of Elizabeth, Margaret, or Theodore?"

"Nope. You ever hear of Philemon?"

"Fair point. Elizabeth, Margaret and Theodore are Igor's assistants, though Margaret only fills in when the others aren't around."

"Philemon is Igor's boss." Naoya shrugged.

The hell! "Igor has a boss?"

"Well, might not anymore." he said once he thought about it. "I thought that he'd died after we killed Nyarlathotep."

"I'll ask Igor next time I see him." I said. "So, were you told that you had one year to save the future by a blue butterfly?"

"No, but Philemon liked to turn himself into a blue butterfly when he visited this world."

"I'll definitely ask Igor what happened to him then." I replied. "Last question."

"Go on."

"You coming back to work any time soon?" I asked.

He sat up. "How did you know about that?"

I smiled. "Tanaka's one of my Social Links." I explained. "I'm his financial advisor."

"Bit young for a college graduate aren't you?"

"Still in high school" I replied. "I'm just damned good at what I do." I stood up. "I'll tell him that you'll be back in on Monday, okay?"

"Sure." Naoya replied, scratching his chin. "He's gonna dock my pay again, isn't he?"

"Not if you can meet your quota within two weeks." I told him, seeing myself out. "Later."

CRACK

Hm, that can't be good.

Crack crack…

Time's stopped, but no Social Link voices.

Crackcrack… crackcrackcrackcrackcrack… SMASH

That's better BUT IT IS WINDY!

An Arcana card appeared in front of me, only without a number or a picture.

No, wait, there is a picture, it's a bullet hole in a glass window against a black background.

THOU ART I

GAH that's loud!

AND I ART THOU

This feels wrong… it's like it goes against all the other power I've gained... and yet it seems almost... fitting?

THOU HAST UNLEASHED THE POWER OF THE HOLLOW ARCANA

The Hollow Arcana? The power of nothing, of emptiness? That explains the picture of broken glass.

THOU HAST OUR BLESSING, SHOULD THOU CHOOSEST TO SHARE OUR MADNESS

Time started again, and I was afraid. And curious. Very, very curious.

"I am very impressed, young man." Igor told me with a smile. "You are the first Wild Card to gain that power."

"Well what the hell is it?" I asked.

I was in the Velvet Room interrogating Igor. He wasn't giving me much.

"Who can say?" he chuckled. "I myself know very little about that particular Arcana." Igor smiled wider. "But you must admit it does look very familiar."

Familiar? Actually, yeah. Sometimes when I'm in Shuffle Time I get to Double Up, and that card appears. First time I got that card, I lost all the other cards from that Shuffle Time. "Wait, does this mean I'm gonna lose my Personas?" I asked him. "Or my Social Links?"

"Relax." Igor calmed me. "I can assure you that that will not be the case. However, I cannot say for certain what abilities the Hollow Arcana entails." I calmed down, taking a swig of his drink. I hope he doesn't backwash.

Woah, that's not beer. The rooms already spinning slightly. Probably some eldritch whisky.

"You can keep that." Igor told me with a smile. "Now, is there anything else you would like to ask me?"

"Yeah actually." I said, shaking myself back into sobriety. "Who is Philemon, and what happened to him?"

"Philemon was my master in previous times." Igor answered. "However, though he has completed his mission, there are still Wild Cards, like yourself, in need my assistance. So," Igor shrugged. "He is now my master only in name."

"I see." I mentioned "And what about the previous Wild Cards?"

"They were only granted the power to change Persona within certain Arcana." He said. "There has never been a Wild Card before you who could use as many Arcana as you, now that you have found the Hollow Arcana."

"Naoya said that he could use the Sword." I pointed out. "That's one of the minor Arcana, right?"

"Indeed." Igor chuckled. "You may even find yourself able to call upon the power of those Arcana, thus proving my estimation of your power incorrect, yet again."

"Again?" I asked.

"I never considered the possibility of you finding the Hollow Arcana, for one." he explained. "Nor did I expect you to learn how to steal your Persona's abilities for your own use. You are quite extraordinary, even as a Wild Card."

"Any other firsts that I should know about?" I asked.

"You are also the first Persona user to be able to summon two Personae simultaneously, and the first to harness the power of a Shadow itself."

"I can't use the Shadow blood." I reminded him, then paused, and added, "Yet."

Igor smiled. "But of course." he said. "Now, may I be of any other assistance?" he asked me.

He knows. I don't know how, but he does.

"Not that I can think of." I told Igor, standing to my feet. "Thanks."

"Anytime." He said, smiling. "Farewell."

"Yeah, you too."

"Before you ask, I don't know anything more about that Hollow Arcana than you do." Pharos told me as I left the Velvet Room.

"Thought not." I replied. "Now, was there anything else I was supposed to do here?"

"Visit the Antique shop and play a gig?" Pharos reminded me.

"Oh yeah."

I clearly am going mad if my imaginary friend is managing my calender.

I headed into the antique shop first, since I had a few hours since 'Orpheus' needed to show.

"Hi." I introduced myself to the lady behind the counter. "I'm Minato Arisoto, Mitsuru Kirijo told me to come by?"

She looked at me over her glasses. "You look familiar… any relation to Hayate Arisoto?"

"Yeah." I told her. Wow, my dad was famous. "He was my dad."

"Oh!" She said. "I'm sorry about what happened."

"It's okay." I lied. "So, how did you know him?"

Oh, I was gonna look for my Dad's best man today! Damn, forgot.

Need to make that Pharos's official job.

"We went to University together." She said, smiling. "We weren't taking the same subjects, but we all knew him. Lovely man." She said. "And how can I help you?"

"Erm, I wanted to know about Traesto gems?" I asked.

"Ah yes." she said. "Now, if you bring me gemstones from Tartarus, I can convert them into tools to fight the Shadows with."

Alright then. I grabbed the Tool scroll and pulled out a briefcase. The woman was surprised, but hid it fairly well.

I put the case on the desk and opened it. "Will these do?"

It wasn't filled massively, but there was a decent amount. "I can make a decent amount of tools for you from these." She said "I'll have them delivered to the dorm, I presume?"

"Thanks." I said.

"You're welcome." She said, putting the case under her table, then turning to me with interest. "Are you the young man who can host multiple Personae?"

"Yes." I replied. "Why?"

"Well, I can create special weapons for you from your Persona." she smiled.

…what?

"Yes." she nodded. "If you bring me Nihil Weapons such as this." She placed a black shape that looked kinda like a shortsword, "And one of your Persona, then I can create a powerful weapon for you."

"Okay, but how do you get them out of my head?" I asked.

"By you summoning them, of course!"

Well, I do have the compendium, so I guess I can regain any Persona I lose, but best be safe and use one I don't use much. "Shiisha!" I announced, shooting myself with the Evoker.

The woman pulled out some ghostbuster thing and sucked the Persona into a conical flask, where it turned to a lilac liquid. She then put the flask into some machine which… distilled it?

I honestly hadn't a clue what was going on.

"I'll have the weapon delivered tomorrow." She said. "You can go, this may take some time."

"Wait, no charge?" I asked.

"I'm a scientist." She said. "Just seeing what will happen is payment enough for me."

Wow, thanks. "Thank you." I said, rushing back to the Velvet Room for a drink.

This crept me out slightly, but when I ordered a Shiisha, it was the exact same colour as the Liquefied Persona. Creepy.

Still, I was happy enough as I walked back to the dorm to get changed and pick up my guitar. I'd activated a scary as hell social link, learnt loads more about my power, and met a nice lady who used Ghostbusters equipment to turn Personas into weapons.

All in all, I need a sleep. But, I have a concert to do.

Hey, all rock stars get up on stage drunk, right?

So I'm in a better situation than them anyway.