Chapter 4: Iris
Almost simultaneously, the three students awoke from their strange shared dream, slowly picking themselves up off the floor, all still in a bit of a daze.
Tatsuya was the first to his feet, instinctively reaching for his lighter, watching as Hanakouji fussed over Eikichi, who was already sputtering incredulously at the others.
"That…that wasn't just a dream was it?" Lisa commented looking at Tatsuya, who shook his head, eyes narrowed in contemplation.
"Hey, that guy in the mask," Eikichi said, inching away from Hanakouji and his friend's smothering attention, "he called our power 'Persona'."
"Yeah…he said we could use it to fix the rumors becoming reality problem, but how exactly are we supposed to do that?" Lisa said, biting her lip. "We have no idea where to begin!"
There was a tense moment of silence when Hanakouji suddenly piped up: "Maybe you guys should play the Joker Game."
Everyone turned their gaze on her, and the chubby girl suddenly felt rather flustered. "Um…Well, you guys know what I'm talking about, right? The game where you call your own cell number and a person called Joker appears to grant you a wish?"
Lisa nodded. "I've heard those rumors going around lately, so it probably already came true, but how would that help?"
"Well," Hanakouji continued in a serious tone, "I've heard that that there's a dark side to this Joker guy's 'generosity'. Most think that since he grants people's wishes for free he's a benevolent spirit, but I've heard something different. Apparently, if you get a wish granted by him, you are obligated to join a secret cult…"
"Secret cult?" Eikichi scowled, "Wait…does this cult or whatever require you to wear a weird-looking mask…?"
Everyone else looked inquiringly at the blue-haired rocker. "Oh, it's just that…well you guys know Club Zodiac here in Hirasaka right?"
Lisa perked up at the mention. "Hai! I know that club! Me, Sheeba and Miho hang there all the time!"
Eikichi smiled back with enthusiasm. "Oh, cool, you know it, huh? Well, it's a pretty popular hangout for us Kasu students, so I'm pretty familiar with it. Lately though, I've been noticing something really weird…" his expression changed into one of concern. "There've been a lot of people going in there wearing these creepy masks…seems like you need them to get into a restricted section of the club…and it seems like every day there's more of them than the day before…"
"Then, most likely, this Joker and his cult have something to do with the rumors becoming reality," Tatsuya said, verbalizing what everyone was thinking.
Hanakoji nodded. "Summoning him with the Joker game is the best bet we have for finding a way to get things back to normal. Be careful though," She warned, "I've also heard that when you summon the Joker, you only have a few moments to say your wish, or you'll get turned into what people have been calling 'shadowmen'."
"And what exactly are shadowmen?" Lisa asked, shaking her head.
"They say you lose your will to do anything, to be anything, and you fade away, eventually being forgotten by everyone who knew you," said Hanakouji sadly, "It sounds bizarre, but with all that's happening, we can't afford to take chances, right?"
"Fanna," Lisa muttered, stepping away from the group, "Then, we should get started."
Lisa and Eikichi's three friends each stood in a corner of the room as Hanakouji instructed them how to play. "Alright, now you're going to move to the corner of the person on your right, one at a time, starting with Lisa-san, until there's only one person in each corner, then dial your own number on your cell, and…I guess we'll just see what happens after that," she concluded.
Once the four were at their places, they each dialed their own cell numbers, and to their surprise, they all heard ringing on the other end.
"Aiyah!" Lisa gasped, "It can't be…"
Just as Lisa had expressed her disbelief, four strange, white-clad figures appeared in front of each game participant, wearing ornate masks reminiscent of a jeering court jester. All were slightly transparent except for the one standing before Lisa, and, at once, they all spoke: "I am Joker. Tell me, what is your dream?"
"Wh-what?" stuttered one of Eikichi's friends, backing away in fright. "This can't be real!" said another.
"NO!" Hanakouji shouted in alarm, "You have to tell him your dream before he turns you into shadowmen!"
The Jokers before Eikichi's three friends chuckled at once. "It seems your trump cards have spoiled…Now your dreams belong to me."
Before anyone could react, the transparent Jokers summoned a skull made of green crystal and held it out towards the one in front of them. An electric stream of light burst from the skull and struck their targets.
"Ken! Shogo! Takeshi!" Eikichi shouted, watching in horror as his friends slowly faded into shadowy transparency.
"Those three were too weak to ever even hope of achieving their dreams," said the Joker in front of Lisa as the others disappeared, "It's best that they forget their dreams existed. Besides, they will serve a far better purpose as ideal energy."
"Ideal energy? What are you talking about? What did you do to my friends?" Eikichi demanded, on the verge of tears.
Joker laughed. "What is it that drives a person the most in life? Dreams. A person needs a dream of their own, whether simply or lofty, to sustain themselves. As such, dreams, I have found, contain a great deal of energy, the sort of which can make my dream a reality."
"Ngh Hoh Yi!" Lisa cried, "Hurting people to get what you want is wrong!"
At this outburst, Joker seemed to bristle. "What did you say…?"
Suddenly, the air seemed to collapse. Tatsuya entire body tensed, sensing an impending threat.
"To hear such a sentiment uttered by someone like you," Joker muttered angrily, "…is ridiculous to the point of being infuriating."
Eikichi ran to Lisa's side, ready to protect her. "What? What do you know? You hurt my friends, and there's no way I'm letting you get away with that!" He looked over his shoulder at Tatsuya. "C'mon dude, help us kick this idot's ass!"
Tatsuya, after helping Hanakouji find a place to hide, moved quickly in front of the other two, glaring at their enemy, whose expression was impossible to read, given that the mask Joker wore covered his entire head. All they could see was the fixed, terrible, Cheshire grin of the mask.
Raising his arm in the air, Joker snickered. The space before him suddenly began to warp and bend as the half-woman, half-bird creatures he had summoned materialized.
"What the-? What the hell are those things?" cried Eikichi in surprise.
Joker chuckled darkly. "As a parting gift to you three, I'm showing you something interesting: real demons." Joker looked carefully at the three, seeming to smirk. "Eikichi Mishina, Lisa Silverman…and you…" He turned to face Tatsuya, "The thief. It's time you died!"
The bird women cackled maniacally, one of them flapping her wings excitedly. "So you're real humans?" she inquired with a sneer. "Wow, compared to us harpies, you guys look pathetically weak!" The harpies cackled once again, charging at the students, intending to rip each one to shreds.
Without wasting a moment, Tatsuya, Lisa and Eikichi called out for their personas, recognizing the rush of emotion and adrenaline as the creatures burst out of their minds in the familiar blue energy.
Tatsuya was the first to react to the words within: "Agi!" he shouted, and his persona ,Vulcanus, obeyed, conjuring up a pillar of fire, striking one of the harpies nearly dead.
Lisa attacked next: "Magna!" She called, her persona, Eros, summoning several small boulders, crushing both harpies and killing the charred one, who cawed horribly as she faded away.
Before the demon could recover from the previous attack, Eikichi swung his arm in the air. "Come here! Radamanthus!" His persona appeared above him, pointing at the harpie as Eikichi yelled, "Aqua!" A powerful jet of water blasted the monster, who cawed as she too faded.
"Hah! See that!" Lisa said confidently, punching the air, "Don't take us so lightly!"
Joker laughed softly. "I see…so you all inherited that power…" He held his arm in their direction. "Pity. It's wasted on you." Suddenly, blue light erupted around Joker as a horrifying, humanoid black and white creature covered in suction cups and having bat-like wings on the back of its calves appeared above him, crying out shrilly as it cast its arms out at the trio, creating a wave of darkness, instantly knocking them all back.
As Tatsuya struggled to get back to his feet, Joker suddenly appeared directly in front of him, grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air. "You fought so bravely, Tatsuya…you and the others can't escape me or your sins."
Eikichi lifted his head, fists on the ground in an effort to pull himself up. "Wh-what the hell are you blabbing about? What 'sins'?"
"Yeah, we've never done anything to you! We don't even know who you are!" If this is about some stupid vendetta or something, then you've got the wrong guys!" Lisa cried angrily, wincing as she stood back up.
Joker looked from Eikichi and Lisa to the boy in his grasp. He stared into Tatsuya's eyes for several moments, Tatsuya glaring back despite laboring to breathe. "You really don't remember…" he muttered, letting go of the boy, who fell hard to the ground.
Tatsuya stood and stepped back quickly, as Joker seemed to grow more and more agitated.
"No, no, no, no, NO!" Joker cried, grabbing his head in frustration, "You don't remember? What's the point of killing you if you don't remember? This will not do…" He calmed down a bit, then removed a yellow flower with large, drooping petals and threw it to Tatsuya's feet. "When your memories of your sins return, I'll be there," He said, then faded away.
Tatsuya bent down and picked up the flower, rather confused at what it meant.
"Hey, that's an iris," Lisa commented, slightly startling Tatsuya. "You know, a long time ago, someone told me that flowers have meanings…I remember this one." She turned her gaze away. "It means 'revenge'.
Oookay then. Sorry for being so lazy, but I hope you liked what you read anyway! For some reason, I struggled a bit with Joker-sama's diologue…That part where he says, "I am Joker…Tell me, wha is your deam?" totally makes me think of a sketchy chick in an alley saying something like, "I'm Tammy. Tell me, what are you into hon...?" XDDDDD I can't stop laughing…
Also, I'll be writing another P2 one-shot, starring a very drunk, very crazy Jun. As well, I'm in the process of writing a P3 oneshot centered around Mitsuru and Junpei. Both of these stories are gonna be stupidly silly like the 'Whey' of Men, so I hope you'll like them too!
Next time, Tatsuya and friends spread rumors, eat disgusting food, and hit the club! Don't miss it!