Act 3: Where Fear Lies
-August 19, 2010: Thursday: Lunctime-
-Rooftop-
CLAYTON: You saw what?
Before Julie were Ashley and Clayton, trying to collect the information they had received from her concerning last night. Of course, Julie never told them about the dream she had, but the figure that she saw was definitely a means of concern. However, the moment she told them about what she had seen, she could understand from the looks on their faces and uneven brow creasing that they were confused.
And quite naturally, Julie's exasperated breathing proved to be a sign of irritation that she would have to repeat what she had said.
JULIE: Okay. Let me say this once again. Last night, I saw a shadow outside of my house in the rain and it vanished once lightning striked. I don't know who it was but it appeared to be a male, probably around our age. He wasn't wearing our uniform but he appeared to be well-dressed. But I feel as though I've seen him before...
Turning back to the two, she hoped that they at least had some glimmer of understanding from they heard. Fortunately, her prayers were answered as they looked at her with curious eyes that separated from confusion.
ASHLEY: That's odd. When was this?
JULIE: Somewhere around midnight I believe. I had just woke up and looked out the window to see him.
A moment of silence fell upon them. Afterwards, Clayton began to speak.
CLAYTON: So it is true...
His off-the-wall sentence urged the girls to turn him with curious looks.
ASHLEY: What's true?
He turned to them and answered.
CLAYTON: Yesterday, I heard these guys talking about seeing things on a rainy or stormy night. They said that whenever it rains, they would see some weird-looking creature passing by but on a stormy night, they would see a person.
Chills blew through Julie's spine when she heard this. Normally, she never believed in urban legends, but if she witnessed something like this that could only exist in legends, then there was no need to dismiss it as a fallacy. But this was the first time that she witnessed a legend such as this one. She never saw any creatures during rainfall, but this was the only time she witnessed the legend at hand.
ASHLEY: Really? That sounds like some silly legend.
CLAYTON: Well, that's what I thought too. "This had to be some silly legend created by some nutjob with a depressive social life", but hearing Julie's testimony, there's no way it could be false.
ASHLEY: I don't know. This all sounds too mysterious to me. How can a creature appear every raining night and a person every storming night?
Clayton shrugged his shoulders.
CLAYTON: Probably a pattern I guess.
No. That wasn't it. Julie thought about what he said and began to analyze further into it. Now that she thought about, what was the meaning for those figures to appear? Her answer would come as she asked her friends the next questions.
JULIE: Hey Clayton. Did any of your friends happen to say anything about seeing someone from the news who was in the animal attack case?
Clayton turned to Julie and placed a finger on his temple as he drifted into thought. Eventually, his eyes widened upon retrieval and he quickly answered her.
CLAYTON: Yeah! One of my friends said that they saw Blaine one night before she was attacked! I think I heard these girls say that they saw Nathan Copeland walking around during a stormy night! But they said they saw him twice in one night and the night after next, they saw creatures.
Eyes widened when hearing his words. Was all of this true? Did these people really see the victims during the nights before their attack? What was the pattern to all of this?
ASHLEY: Wait! From what I'm hearing, it's like there is some sort of pattern. But what does it mean?
Finally, Julie had the answer.
JULIE: It's a warning.
The two turned to her as she explained herself whilst facing them.
JULIE: A warning of who will be next. Think about it, if people said that they've seen silhouettes that bore their resemblance on a stormy night and the next night they're attacked, wouldn't that be more of a warning?
As they caught grasp of what she was implying, they showed faces acknowledgement, but given the case, this was serious.
ASHLEY: You're right. But why silhouettes?
CLAYTON: Do you think there's some paranormal activity going on? Like a ghost or something?
Julie had never thought of that but could it be supernatural activity taking place? Philemon's words came to Julie once again and she was reminded of the Devil Arcana and his words.
JULIE: ~He said that I would encounter a mysterious being with great greed and power. As the Tower Arcana stood, he said great calamity would fall upon us and only I would stop it. Thinking on it now, there have been three attacks so far and one died from it. Not to forget that dream I had and the other one with Igor. Could this be what Philemon was talking about?~
It was a question, but the answer was already there. Of course, Julie had no knowledge of who it was and what their goal was in doing this, but if it connects to her dreams, Philemon's words and the attacks, then she definitely could not ignore this. Thinking on it now, what Philemon said wasn't guidance, it was a warning, a preparation. He knew what would happen and he needed her to stop it. She did not know what he saw in her that made her so special, but whatever it was, she was tasked with the responsibility to do it.
She turned back to her friends as they returned their gaze to her. The moment she spoke, a great sense of authority and wisdom flourished her tone.
JULIE: It's going to rain tonight, right?
Both nod.
JULIE: Alright, then here's the plan. At midnight, we will visit each other and be sure to gather some kind of equipment. I'll bring a camera just in case. If there is something supernatural going on in this town, we need to find it and put an end to it. What I saw last night must've been a warning that someone will be attacked. I don't know where these attacks are going on or why, but we will find out and I need your help.
For a moment, they had to collect everything she had said and once they did, they knew that she was serious.
CLAYTON: Okay. I'll be sure to come. I want to see what's going on around here if it's putting my city in danger. How about you, Ash?
The moment her name was heard, Ashley turned to Clayton and back at Julie with questionable eyes. Julie knew that Ashley was having a hard time believing all of this. Naturally, she couldn't blame her and wouldn't be hurt if she considered the two insane. But what Ashley did next really surprised her.
ASHLEY: Alright. If there is some creature walking around here, I'll bring a practice jian just in case. I'm pretty good in Chinese swordplay, so I'll take care of myself. What about you two?
Both Julie and Clayton didn't think to bring any kind of weapon with them. As a matter of fact, they didn't know of any weapons to bring.
CLAYTON: I don't know. I'm not much of a fighter and I'm not too crazy about weapons, but I'll bring something with me.
JULIE: I'll think of something when I get home.
Ashley nods.
ASHLEY: Alright. Well, it looks like we're ghost hunters, huh?
CLAYTON: Yeah! Call me a kid for saying this but this is kind of exciting! If there is some sort of paranormal phenomena going on, then I want to protect my city no matter what!
ASHLEY: You're a kid!
The three share a hearty laugh and dispersed once they've came to an agreement. Now what was left was to begin to investigation. However, unbeknowst to them, as soon as they left, a mysterious figure with a green cloak emerged from the vents and watched as they left from the rooftop. A sigh escaped its lips as it vanished away in white smoke.
-Rain: Midnight-
The rainfall poured heavy and was almost blinding to sight. There Julie stood on the sidewalk, wearing a black jacket with a long-sleeved purple shirt underneath, black pants, short black boots and purple earrings. She carried a lavender umbrella that she used to protect herself from the rain and had her camera around her neck. She was waiting for her comrades to show.
Eventually, one of them came running towards her view and stopped once they reached her.
ASHLEY: Sorry, I'm late. It wasn't easy trying to sneak out of the house.
JULIE: You and me both. Although I had it easier since my dad took some medication before he went to sleep. But where is Clayton?
The absence of a certain short male caused Julie to bore a questionable look on her face. Why wasn't he here? He was so estatic about wanting to meet and hunt for answers on the attacks, but he wasn't here.
ASHLEY: Clayton? Oh. You see, his dog, Rocky, tends to be on alert if someone or something approaches or leaves the house and whenever Clayton tried to leave, that dog would bark. Of course, he told me that he didn't get caught but with Rocky barking, he won't be able to leave.
JULIE: Well, at least he has a loyal dog.
ASHLEY: Yeah. But anyway, where should we start first?
The talk about Clayton almost made Julie forget their objective. For now, their primary objective was to find out what creatures are attacking the citizens of the city and see if they can prevent another attack from happening.
They began their search by taking a walk around underneath Julie's umbrella. Ashley was slightly taller than Julie, probably by an inch or two inches, but only up-close. For a moment, Julie felt like she was walking beside a giant, though that would be an exaggeration. After all, Julie was 5'3", so Ashley had to be 5'4" or 5'5". Anyway, their walk was quiet and productive. Well, minus productive.
So far, all they had come across was rain, lights and more rain. They hadn't found any clues or traces of a creature yet. At the moment, the excitement of this investigation began to diminish slowly.
ASHLEY: 25 minutes of walking up and down these streets and no sign or trace of where a creature may lurk. The production of this investigation is really getting tiresome.
JULIE: How about we go into the city and search there? We may have more opportunities of finding clues of an attack there.
ASHLEY: You're right about that but if we go into the city, it will take us probably all night and our parents may find out that we're not home. I don't think we should take our risks there. Besides, the streets at night in the city are not safe.
JULIE: Is it dangerous there?
ASHLEY: In some parts. This city isn't as clean as you would think. At night, there are thugs who lurk in the alleys and streets in the city and trust me, if you walk amongst their territory, they won't be too happy about it.
JULIE: That I can believe. Back in Inaba, there was this biker gang who would cause trouble and disturbance in the town. I wasn't close enough to hear them, but the kids who have heard of them would tell a story about their behavior. As a matter of fact, my friend, Chie, called me and she said that some kid beat up the entire gang.
Now this was something interesting to hear and it was by far the most interesting thing that happened to Ashley tonight. Still walking, Ashley listened.
ASHLEY: Seriously? How did it happen?
JULIE: Well, Chie really didn't go into details. She mostly gets her info from rumors, but she said that some mean-looking kid had beat up an entire biker gang. She said he's a middle-school student, too.
ASHLEY: For a middle-school kid to take on a biker gang and leave without as much of a scratch, that's damn impressive!
JULIE: Yeah. This was when I was moving from Inaba. A day before I moved, Chie called me about it. I thought it was incredible when I first heard it. To think someone so young would be able to go toe-to-toe with a menacing gang shows a lot of potential for the youth!
The light in Julie's eyes when she said this made Ashley a little confused. Why was Julie so impressed by this story? Of course, for a kid to beat up a gang was incredible, but the fact that he was capable of doing so was almost frightening.
ASHLEY: Glad to see it's so interesting to yo-.
Before Ashley could finish her sentence, Julie put an abrupt halt to their walking. Her eyes were concentrating deeply onto a figure before her and Ashley, though Ashley was oblivious to what she was looking at. As Julie's eyes focused in further, she pulled back with a darkened and unnerved look on her face.
ASHLEY: What is it?
She turned away from Julie to look as well. When she did, she felt her blood run cold and her breath weighing heavily.
ASHLEY: Oh my God...
Before them was the silhouette of a creature, but this was no ordinary creature. The beast stood taller and gruesome compared to anything they had seen before. It had horns on its head, a tail that swayed on its own, sharp claws that appealed as blades and whatever it was, it looked terrifying.
The two backed away slowly upon witnessing its view, with Ashley unsheathing her jian from its scabbard. The sword was merely a practice sword, so its steel was mere plastic, though with enough force could leave scars.
ASHLEY: What is that thing...?!
Julie shook her head.
JULIE: I-I don't know. But I feel...
Without a doubt, Julie could sense some recognition to the creature. Was this the same beast she saw in her dream? Was it responsible for the attacks?
On impulse, the two backed away from it but for some reason, it didn't follow. What was strange was that the creature was facing them, so it had to want to follow them, but it didn't. It just stood there. The two stopped when seeing that it wasn't paying them any mind. What was going on?
ASHLEY: Weird. Why isn't it coming after us?
JULIE: Better question is why isn't it attacking us?
MYSTERIOUS VOICE: Because it's not in your world.
Given the case of the attacks and just witnessing the beast before them, there was no surprise when the two jolted by the voice.
MYSTERIOUS VOICE: Do not be alarmed. I won't harm you.
The voice came from behind and they turned to face it. Before them was a mysterious figure wearing a green cloak, its face covered by the shadow. It approached them slowly and cautiously as Ashley slowly sheathed her sword. As the figure finally approached them, it removed the hood on its head, revealing itself to be a young girl.
The girl was their age, but probably younger and was shorter than the two. She had light blue eyes, milky-white skin and elbow-length black hair that was darker than both Julie's and Ashley's. She wore a green tribal, long-sleeved tunic with gold bracelets, black tights and short green boots. She also wore square-shaped earrings with gold rimmings and emerald gemstones, complimented with a green flower pin that was clipped to the right side of her hair.
Neither have seen this girl before, so they were weary of her presence. Something else to note was this mysterious sensation they got upon her approach. It must've been from her popping up out of the blue, but the two couldn't deny that her presence was... mystical.
MYSTERIOUS VOICE: My name is Tara. I'm not from your world but I've came after feeling the presences of a Persona here.
Julie almost gasped when she said the word "Persona". So that means that Izanami was not a part of her dream too! Of course, Ashley was confused.
ASHLEY: What are you talking about? Where are you from?
However, Tara couldn't help but to keep her eyes locked onto Julie.
TARA: Listen, this world is temporarily suspended in time and the creature you see before you is not in this world.
ASHLEY: What?
TARA: It's kind of difficult to explain. I'll let you know when we arrive in Hofu.
ASHLEY: H-Hofu? What are you talking about? Where is this "Hofu"?
Ignoring her question, Tara walked over to them, standing between the two as she held their hands. She then turned to Julie.
TARA: The power of your Persona is strong, so I need you to do this for us. Say this incantation first, "Thou art I and I am thou...", then call upon your Persona. It will send us to Hofu and there I will explain everything. Just clear your mind and focus on the image of your Persona.
Still, Ashley was confused. What was going on? She looked over at Julie with a confused yet unnerved look on her face.
ASHLEY: What is she talking about?! What Persona?!
However, Julie didn't respond. Turning back to see that the creature had vanished, Julie turned around. Following Tara's guidance, she closed her eyes and cleared her mind from all that was stocked there. An image slowly awakened and Julie could see Izanami in clear view. With a deep breath, Julie began to say the incantation.
JULIE: Thou art I...
The wind picked up speed, a resonating sound ringing through Julie's ears. Her grip on Tara tightened and so did Ashley's.
JULIE: ... And I am thou...
A white light beamed brightly, almost blinding Ashley and furthering on unnerving her. Was this all happening?
ASHLEY: What on earth?!
As the light surrounded their view, Julie finally felt the presence of an entity exiting from her mind, her body being free of all heavy weight.
JULIE: Izanami!
Briefly, the Persona, Izanami, emerged from the consciousness of Julie's mind and surrounded the girls in a brilliant light. Eventually, the light engulfed the three and as soon as the light dissipated, they vanished.
Her hands clenched onto Tara's, Julie could feel a strong rushing wind that was impossible to withstand without support. Slowly, she opened her eyes and found herself along with Tara and Ashley flying through a white space in straight forward motion. As a matter of fact, they weren't even standing!
Julie turned to Ashley to find her eyes still closed, possibly a little afraid of what was going on. She couldn't blame her. However, Julie looked back up and saw a stronger light before them that outshined the space they were in. So bright was it that Julie felt that if they had gotten a little closer, they would probably incinerate by approach more so than touch. However, she braced herself as the light's brilliance grew stronger by the second. Her heartbeat grew quick. Anticipation was formed as small sweat beads in the follicles of her hair.
JULIE: Here goes nothing…
Eventually, they came in contact to the light and all vanished around them. Realizing that she had closed her eyes, Julie slowly opened them and was in shock of what she saw.
A/N: So that's Act 3. We got to meet another member of the team: Tara, a 14 year old priestess with magic powers. For those curious, they have just entered into Hofu. I may have rushed a little when writing this because I wanted to finish the chapter, but I wanted it to end in suspense. So we get a glimpse of a Fiend. A little in-story information that you all must know is that Fiends are not able to attack outside of Hofu. However, their shadows can be seen on a rainy night, hinting that someone will be taken Hofu and likely to be killed by their Shadow. Anyway, in the next act, Ashley faces her Shadow. Stay tuned to see what happens. Review!