Act 6: Clayton Lavistor
Part 1: The Idol and the Idolizer
-Hofu-
CLAYTON: What the hell just happened?! Where are we?!
It all happened so fast. One moment, he was talking with Julie about entering Hofu and the next, she says some strange incantation and it brings them here. The process was completely supernatural, which is something that Clayton often dismissed. However, if that didn't make him a believer in the supernatural, then he must've been one ignorant person to deny everything.
Taking his attention off of Julie, he looked around the area and was haunted by the appeal of this haunting environment. Never had he thought that there would be a sky with a moon as red as the one above him. Were Julie and Ashley really coming here on different nights?
JULIE: We're in Hofu. Ashley and Tara should be here too, if I'm not mistaken.
As if on cue, Ashley and Tara walked up to the two. The moment Clayton laid eyes on Tara, he was curious about her apparel and confused as to why Ashley was carrying a sword in her hands. More importantly, what was she wearing? This was something that Julie took note of as well.
Ashley wasn't wearing any casual attire, but was sporting a cerulean long-sleeved shirt with black cuffs at the wrist and tightened around the waist with a dark blue cloth tied around, skin-tight white pants, short blue boots and black gloves. In honesty, what Ashley was wearing fitted the means of combat. She also noticed Tara carrying an ancient-looking grimoire in her hands. If she's not mistaken, this appeared to be the same grimoire she saw Matthew carrying when she was last in the Velvet Room.
JULIE: Ashley... Where did you get that attire?
She pointed to Tara, who nervously looked away.
ASHLEY: Tara made it for me and she made one for you as well. She said we would want to fight in battle attire since regular clothing can be hazardous in combat.
She then looked back at Julie.
TARA: As I said before, summoning your Persona is tiresome, so you would want to prepare for combat. I've taken liberty in making some combat attire.
That was when she opened the grimoire and turned to a specific page located in the book. Tearing the page out, she threw it directly at Julie as it waved through the wind and spoke an incantation as she did.
TARA: Egnahc reh eritta!
Suddenly, the page spun around her in increasing speed, engulfing Julie in a white light. After a few moments, the light dissipated and Julie looked to see what the spell had done. She was no longer dressed in her jacket and pants, but now sported combat attire that suited to her tastes. She wore a short-sleeved black tribal top with purple seams, skin-tight black pants with a purple cloth-skirt reaching to her knees, cut at right side of her hip to provide leg room, short black boots with purple bottoms, fingerless black gloves with black armbands that reached from the wrist to her elbows and a black choker.
She took the time to measure up her garments, spinning around gracefully and unsheathing the iaito blade inside of her umbrella, which startled Clayton for a second. After a while, she stopped to strike a pose, holding her umbrella with her left hand and her blade with her right, left leg stretched away from her right near the ground. She rose back up and sheathed her blade inside of her umbrella and turned to Tara.
JULIE: I like it! Elegant yet combat-ready!
The smile she flashed at Tara caused the young priestess to nervously rub a lock of her black hair and turn her head directly to the ground. If there's one thing that Julie could say about Tara is that the priestess was rather... shy.
TARA: Well, I've been paying attention to your attire. You have a strange fascination for dark colors. I think an Earthly label for it is... "Gothic"?
Julie shrugged her shoulders and the priestess turned her attention to Clayton, who had obviously been eyeing her ever since coming to this realm.
TARA: Who is he?
Julie turned to Clayton and back to Tara.
JULIE: This is our friend, Clayton. I brought him here because he wants to find Ian and he believes that he may be here.
The priestess turned to Clayton, nodded in agreement with Julie's statement.
CLAYTON: Yeah. I need to find him and I believe he may have come here.
TARA: Okay. But I sense a weak source coming from you, so that means you don't carry a Persona.
Clayton turned back to Julie with a surprised look.
CLAYTON: So you two were right about Personas?
Julie nodded and he turned back to Tara.
CLAYTON: Is he here?
Tara nodded and the three closed in on her, but kept a fair distance away.
TARA: I didn't sense it earlier, but as soon as Ashley arrived, I felt this strong surge of dark energy. The same one I felt in the castle not too long before Ashley confronted her Shadow.
Clayton looked at Ashley with confused eyes, prompting the hazel-eyed young woman to shake her head.
ASHLEY: I rather not talk about it.
The attention directed back to Tara as she explained Ian's sudden summoning into Hofu.
TARA: Anyway, I think I know where this energy is coming from...
She turned away from the group and looked out to the plane, pointing to her left to where the energy was coming from.
TARA: Beyond there is where I felt its power. If possible, your friend may be there and likely came here through summoning. As I said when we met, non-Persona users are unable to come into this world without the assistance of a Persona-user or I and I still don't know who's sending these people in and...
She turned and brought her head to gaze towards the ground, a hint of embarrassment reading in her body expression.
TARA: Well, my tracking abilities are... getting weak. Normally, I can find a strong power source without trouble, but... *sigh* I don't know. I'm not so sure as to how I wish to explain it.
Her right foot began to swerve in circles, creating small dust shots from her foot. Her fingers intertwined in a trembling manner with each other and her two locks of her hair fell over. As she wallowed in her embarrassment, she felt a warm hand graze her shoulder and she looked up to see Julie's affectionate face as a smile bore stronger than the rays of the sun.
JULIE: You shouldn't sell yourself short over your abilities. Whether your powers are getting slightly weaker or not doesn't matter. You've helped us with a lot ever since we came here. If not for you, we wouldn't have found Ashley's Shadow and we wouldn't have known about the Fiends and this realm.
Tara had prompted to speak out of astonishment by what the goth was saying, but was silenced.
JULIE: Just remember that we're here to help you find and solve this problem. Now the next time we're here, don't speak ill about yourself, okay?
Her smile was warm but stern and Tara could understand. Ever since they met, Tara has been speaking down about herself, especially on what she missed or what she lacked. She didn't wield a Persona and while she was a mage, her powers, at least for now, were only useful for support. She didn't know why her powers had become lacking but she knew she had to take faith in Julie's words. After all, she seemed pleased to know that the priestess was assisting them in this time of turmoil and Tara wanted to make sure that she would help them throughout it all.
Tara's face lightened up and she wore a bright smile on her face.
TARA: Thank you, Grandmaster. That means a lot.
JULIE: You're welcome... and "Grandmaster"?
TARA: Back in Truenia, "Grandmaster" means "one who is respected by skill, duty, ingenuity, authority and admiration". They are also our leaders back home, so you're my "Grandmaster".
JULIE: Well, I thank you, Tara.
The priestess nodded again and turned around. On cue, she signaled the others to follow her as she lead them towards the path to where Ian was.
Eventually, after a short period of travelling, they arrived at the area where Ian was and the moment they set their eyes to the building constructed, an unnerving chill was sent down their spines.
As before, the structure was built similar to a castle, but with some haunting oddities to separate it from the commonality. The entire castle was a dark shade of red with pulses of glowing red light beaming dimly through certain sections, its format resembling to blood vessels. It appeared to be made of brick and held gargoyles at the very top of its structure, their fangs coated in the blood shade of red. The front entrance was open and for a moment, the group felt hesitant about going inside.
ASHLEY: So this is where Ian is?
Tara nodded.
TARA: Yes. Like your castle, his was constructed from the fears of his heart and whatever that fear may be, we will know soon enough.
Clayton looked up at the castle again to give it another good view. The design of the castle left a cruel taste in his mouth and his heartbeat ran fast. If his friend was truly in here, then he needed to save him. However, why would Ian's fear be constructed into this form? For all he know, the castle looked like something that escaped from a horror movie and the thought of processing it caused goosebumps to surface on Clayton's skin.
He shook his head, shaking away the hesitancy in his heart. He had a purpose for coming here with these girls: to find and rescue Ian. He knew that without Ian...
CLAYTON: Come on. We need to find him before we're too late.
And like that, he began to place one foot over the other and march into the castle until Ashley grabbed him by the collar, bringing his march to an abrupt halt.
ASHLEY: Not so fast, hotshot! This castle is probably swarming with Fiends! You don't have a weapon and you cannot summon a Persona like us. If you want to see Ian, you have to stick with us!
She released him and he turned back to her. For a moment, he was about to protest until Julie cut him short in his sentence.
JULIE: Ashley's right. We'll find Ian, but you have to stick with us. If you don't, these Fiends will probably tear you apart. Understood?
He didn't agree with the fact of sticking with the girls for protection. His only priority was to rescue Ian and leave. However, he couldn't argue with them when it came to defense. He didn't have a weapon and he couldn't summon a Persona like the others. The only thing he could do was run or hide if he ever encountered a Fiend. A sigh escaped his lips and he looked back at the castle. Another sigh escaped his lips and he turned back to the two.
CLAYTON: Alright. I'll try and stick with you guys the best I can.
The two nodded and turned back to Tara. She walked past them and Clayton and began to lead the way as they ventured inside the castle.
Once they were inside, the girls readied their weapons, preparing for anything to happen. The inside of the castle was just as frightening as the outside. The walls were painted in red, in which dark shades of red liquid seeped through the cracks and creases of the walls, something even from the ceiling and coming down. Each part of the floor held outlined bodies that fitted a murder scene and several pistols and firearms hung on the walls. The carpet was a divine red, but there was a noticeable squishing sound each time the party took a step, although their shoes remained dry.
ASHLEY: Dear God... this came from Ian? What do you think he's afraid of?
TARA: I don't know, but whatever it is, it's something that he has been doing well in hiding.
Tara was correct. Whatever this fear Ian had, it was certainly a haunting one.
JULIE: I don't see any Fiends.
TARA: Well, I sense them. Be ready, some may attack at anytime.
As soon as those words left from her mouth, a voice rung into the air. Everyone caught hold of the voice and analyzed its sound further. It was whispering, or trying to at least. After a few more seconds, Clayton recognized the voice as his eyes widened in shock.
CLAYTON: Oh my God, it's Ian! He's in here! We have to find him!
And like that, he took off in speed down the hall, unaware of where to go... and this irritated Ashley.
ASHLEY: Clayton! Damn it! I told him to stay with us! We need to go after him!
JULIE: Right!
However, before they could run after him, the blood on the walls began to darken. Piles of black smoke gathered around in clusters and soon enough, the girls stop to witness the Fiends emerge. These Fiends bore the resemblance of monstrous black bats with glowing yellow eyes and red wings. Worse of all, there were swarms!
TARA: Blood Bats! Incoming!
Julie quickly initiated by summoning her Persona.
JULIE: I call upon you, Izanami!
Like that, Izanami was summoned and flew towards the bats in blinding speed. Ashley also began to summon her Persona.
She placed a finger on her forehead, which emitted a blue glow on her finger. She then spun, bringing her glowing hand low to the ground and back up to the air, also swinging her sword at the same pace. She brought her hand to a descent and crouched to the ground with her left leg stretching away from her right, back slightly arched, sword pushed away from her standing straight in her grasp and glowing hand forming a significant symbol with her index and middle finger close together, ring and pinky finger curled and thumb underneath. A glowing blue circle formed beneath Ashley and a rushing wind picked up around her.
ASHLEY: Heed my command, Orithiyia!
The Persona, Orithiyia, was summoned and stood in an elegant posture as Blood Bats came towards them. Ashley got up and pointed towards the bats.
ASHLEY: Mabufu!
As commanded, Orithiyia twirled its rapier, forming a white glyph. Suddenly, the glyph began to shoot out multiple small ice shards, directly at the bats, which caused them to howl in pain and disintegrate.
TARA: I take it those Blood Bats are weak to ice and likely water! But be careful, Ashley, because fire can melt ice!
ASHLEY: Figures!
One of the bats flew straight towards Ashley and she quickly reacted by spinning around, holding her sword behind her back and stabbed the bat. Another one came and she swung her sword in an uppercut manner and sliced the other bat in half.
Meanwhile, Julie commanded Izanami to perform Magaru, summoning multiple winds that hit the bats but did not obliterate them.
IZANAMI: ~I've learned a new skill called Megidola. Try performing it!~
Julie nodded and spoke out her next command.
JULIE: Megidola!
Izanami then summoned white beams of energy at the bats that caused the creatures to stop in their flight. Soon, the light dispersed and it caused the bats to disperse as well. Julie smiled when she saw that the skill had worked. However, there were more. Before Julie could react, Orithiyia had flown towards the next swarm. Stopping once it reached a good height, Orithiyia prepared itself as the swarm flew towards it.
ASHLEY: Marin Karin!
Orithiyia summoned another white glyph and struck at it, causing multiple hearts to fly at the bats. Once the hearts touched the bats, they stopped momentarily and hearts began to flash in their eyes. Interestingly as well, the bats began to fight each other.
ASHLEY: Alright Julie! Now give it to them!
Julie turned back at Ashley, nodding and back at the bats.
JULIE: Megidola!
Izanami casted upon more beams of white energy at the bats and as soon as it connected, the bats were obliterated, clearing their path.
Ashley and Tara ran up to Julie as their Personas descended.
ASHLEY: We need to find Clayton before something happens! I told that little jackass to stay put!
TARA: Don't worry, these Fiends won't attack Clayton! He doesn't have a Persona.
JULIE: Well, whatever the case, we can't leave without him! Move out!
The two nodded under Julie's command and ran down the hall to find their friend.
-Meanwhile-
Clayton was running down an endless hall as it seemed, but that didn't eliminate his determination. He knew Ian was here and he knew he had to save him.
CLAYTON: I'm coming Ian! Just hang in there for a little bit longer!
His legs began to ache and he could feel his lungs tightening as they struggle to gather in oxygen. He didn't care. Ian was his priority for now. No matter what happened, he needed to save his friend. Eventually, luck struck upon him as he caught sight of a wooden-red door and performed one final sprint. As he reached the door, he pushed it open but only to find himself in another room set opposite from how the rest of the castle appeared. Granted the room was a dark shade of red, the only known oddities was that it bore the resemblance to Clayton's room.
There was his bed, TV, rug, closet, everything that Clayton could recognize from his room was present. Why did Ian's castle house Clayton's room?
CLAYTON: This is weird. Ian!
He began shouting out his name, hoping his friend would hear him. When he didn't get a response from the first attempt, he yelled again.
CLAYTON: Ian! Are you in here?!
Still no response. Before he could call out his name again, Ian's voice was heard.
IAN'S VOICE: I'm not like everybody else. I have different... purposes.
A gasp failed to go unnoticed from Clayton's lips and he looked around the room, hoping to find him.
CLAYTON: Ian! Where are you?! We're here to save you!
However, the voice didn't respond to Clayton's statement, but continued speaking, almost as if it wasn't paying not a single amount of attention to Clayton.
IAN'S VOICE: Clayton... He's my friend. More than a friend, he's like a brother to me.
Clayton walked closer and stood at the middle of his bedroom, hoping to find Ian, but had no luck.
CLAYTON: Dammit! He's not here! I have to look somewhere else!
Before he could turn around and walk out of the room, the next thing the voice said caught his attention.
IAN'S VOICE: But... are brothers supposed to be jealous of the other?
He halted in his tracks and looked up at the ceiling in confusion, turning around even.
CLAYTON: What?
IAN'S VOICE: I mean, Clayton is... well, he's everything that I'm not.
He blinked a few times, trying to adjust to what the voice was saying.
IAN'S VOICE: He has a mother and a father, an ordinary house, an ordinary lifestyle and an enjoyable environment. But for me... I don't have that.
CLAYTON: Huh?
IAN'S VOICE: All I have is work, helping my father with his mafia to show him what a "good son" I am, keeping aware of the police and always being interrogated by police. To be honest, I'm jealous of Clayton.
CLAYTON: Wait. He's... jealous of me?
IAN'S VOICE: Plus, Clayton is your ordinary guy, but what I admire most about him is that he's a fireball. He's not afraid to stand up for himself when the odds are against him, he's sociable and outgoing, he's pretty funny and...
There was a pause in the voice's statement and Clayton listened carefully to prepare for whatever the voice had to say. That was when the room around him began to change. Leaks of blood seeped through the walls, some brighter than the other. The effect was haunting, but what the voice said next took Clayton aback.
IAN'S VOICE: He's free to choose his own path. And that makes me jealous of him.
CLAYTON: S-Seriously...?
IAN'S VOICE: Sometimes, I wish that I could trade places with him. He talks about how my life seems adventurous and everything, but he doesn't know what it's really like. It's not like Godfather or Scarface. Actually, it's in some resemblance, but life as the son of a gangster is not glamorous. There are people who are plotting on taking my life just to get close to my father and some may even try to kill my father.
CLAYTON: ...
IAN'S VOICE: Clayton doesn't have to worry about that. He has a family who loves him and is not forcing him to do anything. When we were kids, I always enjoyed coming over to his house. Everything was plain and simple, which is something I feel I can be quickly accustomed to. It's one of the reasons I became friends with him. He's the opposite of me and I like that. But I just wish that... I can trade places with him. I hate being envious of him. He's my friend and I shouldn't be jealous. But...
The voice grew silent. Everything that Clayton had spoke of doing ever since coming to Hofu suddenly went dark. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. These were Ian's thoughts that he heard and everything that was said seemed... unusual. Ian was jealous of him?
CLAYTON: Jealous of me? But... why me? Why was he jealous?
CLAYTON'S VOICE: Yeah right! Jealous of me? Ha! Boy isn't that a shocker? Quite frankly, I'm the one jealous of him.
He grew alert by the sound of the voice and alarmed when he learned that it was his voice!
CLAYTON: What the hell?! Who said that?!
Suddenly, the bedroom began to deform and Clayton found himself in a wide area set opposite from the rest of the castle. Then he felt a dark presence forming behind his back and he turned around just in time to bear witness to something unexpected. Standing before Clayton was him! However, there was a dark blue aura radiating around the being and the figure's eyes were a demonic yellow. Its eyes were slightly constricted, hinting that the figure was a crazed individual... a crazed individual wearing Clayton's face and figure.
That was when Julie, Ashley and Tara had arrived and stood astonished to see the other "Clayton".
TARA: There's two of them?!
ASHLEY: It's like mines! When I saw the other me!
JULIE: So that means what we were thinking was true. Each time someone is brought here, they are confronted by their other selves.
Clayton turned back at the three and back at the Shadow, its laughter drawing his full attention. This thing... this phantom of some sort was him? He shook his head in disbelief, which only added to the Shadow's amusement.
SHADOW CLAYTON: Well, since you guys seem to get the understanding, I guess introductions are a no-go! But you must know...
The Shadow directed its attention at Clayton.
SHADOW CLAYTON: I am you and you are me!
CLAYTON: What?! H-How?! How are we the same?!
The Shadow chuckled once more, its sociopathic expression frightening Clayton. The expression of the Shadow was different when Ashley confronted her Shadow. If Julie remembered correctly, Ashley's Shadow appeared calm yet held a sadistic expression, its eyes standing full. However, Clayton's bore a sociopathic expression, which strongly suggested that it was crazed.
SHADOW CLAYTON: Oh come on! Remember? Entering a dark and terrifying realm where Fiends roamed to find your friend? If I recall correctly, your words were to find Ian and rescue him. That's sounds reasonable enough. Besides, Ian is my best friend! Nothing can happen to him! I won't allow anything to happen to that boy! He's such a popular student, captain of the Martial Arts team and he's sooo handsome... and he has an annoying, arrogant little bastard like me running to him to save him because that's what friends do! Or at least that's what I tell myself...
Confusion was read on Clayton's face.
CLAYTON: Huh? He is my friend! I don't leave my friends behind!
The Shadow shook its head, its smile lingering on its face.
SHADOW CLAYTON: Honestly, I'm jealous of him. He's everything that I'm not. He's popular, strong, handsome, intelligent and everything else. As for me? I'm not so smart, unpopular, weak as a bird and apparently by some of the girls at our school, "cute".
The Shadow's face darkened and a menacing frown was stuck on its face.
SHADOW CLAYTON: Hell, I'm much shorter than he is. He's, what, 5'10" and I'm 5'5"? He weighs at least 175 lbs. while I weigh 123 lbs. He's just so perfect, but I'm not! I'm nowhere at his level and act like I do! He's got all the achievements he's made, while the only achievement I can give is being manager for the baseball team! So why should he be jealous of me?! He's perfect, goddamn it!
CLAYTON: H-Hey! Knock it off!
SHADOW CLAYTON: But that's why I need him.
A darkening aura radiated around the room. Julie could tell that the Shadow began to hit Clayton where it hit: his true fear. Clayton's breath grew heavy and his blood began to run cold.
SHADOW CLAYTON: Without him, I'm nothing. I wasn't shit until I met Ian. Back then, no one even responded to a word I said until I met Ian. I may get on some people's nerves, but at least I finally got SOME attention! If not for Ian, I may still be alone.
CLAYTON: ...
SHADOW CLAYTON: Ian is someone I can use for leverage. He's someone that I hold ideally! In a sense, he's my God!
CLAYTON: Shut up...
The Shadow continued to berate and torment Clayton, bringing the boy to his knees in agony of the harsh words.
SHADOW CLAYTON: I worship the ground he walks on and without him, I will be lost! If he were to die now, then what would be the point of living?! I need him alive! I cannot let anything happen to him! It's not a matter of friendship, it's a matter of having a purpose for living! Ian is my true purpose, my only reason as to why I continue to live this miserable hellhole I call a life! I don't want to be alone again! Ashley may even leave me and probably Julie! If not for Ian, I would've never met them!
Was this how Clayton really felt? Is this what he really feared? If Ian were to die today, Julie would not depart Clayton and she's pretty certain that Ashley wouldn't do the same. However, she couldn't deny that this was what Clayton feared, even if Julie and Ashley were to leave him or not.
CLAYTON: Stop it! Stop it!
He brought his head low to the ground, shielding away from the torment... away from his fears. The Shadow walked up to the curled up young boy.
SHADOW CLAYTON: Nothing! Nothing can happen to him! I- I don't want to be alone! I need him! I NEED HIM!
Clayton abruptly brought his head up to the Shadow, got up from the ground and marched toward him, placing his hands on the Shadow's shoulders.
CLAYTON: Dammit! Shut up! Just shut up!
As Clayton shook the Shadow, it brought its head to the ground and Clayton breathed heavily. Suddenly, the Shadow chuckled and brought its head up to face him.
SHADOW CLAYTON: That's my worst fear. Losing a purpose for living and that purpose is Ian. He's a priority. Something needed so you can continue with whatever you wish to do. I've never been high on suicide, but what's the reason for living if my purpose is gone? Right, me?
The Shadow's smile grew wider and Clayton pushed away from it, shaking his head in defiance.
CLAYTON: No. No! Hell no!
The Shadow's aura grew stronger. Julie gasped as she realized what was going to happen and Ashley caught onto it as well.
ASHLEY: Clayton! Wait!
However, her words passed through his ears and with a bellowing loud voice, he denied his Shadow.
CLAYTON: You're not me! You hear me, you bastard?! You are not me!
That was when it began. The Shadow began to laugh, but more than it should and dark energy began to gather slowly around it. Clayton backed away from the being, terrified.
SHADOW CLAYTON: Hahahahahahahahaha! I'm not you, am I?! Is that it?! Hehehehehehehehehehe... AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Smoke gathered on the Shadow, covering its body completely. Suddenly, the Shadow's size and structure grew in length and height, forcing Clayton to run away from the being as he stood beside Tara. Once the smoke dispersed, the Shadow's true form was shown.
The Shadow stood tall, its body colored brown with a few features characteristic to Ian. The Shadow's hair was a slick black with the lower half cut and it wore diamond earrings, along with a silver watch and dressed in Ian's business suit. The Shadow did not have a face and sat on top of a block of stone. What was significant yet disturbing about the Shadow's appeal was the crown of thorns on its head.
SHADOW CLAYTON: I am a Shadow... of your worst nightmare...
Julie turned to Tara.
JULIE: Protect Clayton! Ashley and I will handle this!
Tara nodded and brought Clayton with her to safety.
TARA: Noitcetorp deilf!
A growing green energy field stood as a barrier between the two and the Shadow. The Shadow began to laugh maniacally as the two girls ran towards it.
SHADOW CLAYTON: Well, aren't you girls brave? Not that it matters, anyway, because I'll crush you two!
On cue, the Shadow summoned two rock boulders and hurled them at the girls. They stopped and quickly summoned their Personas, but dodged away from the boulders as quickly as they could.
The Shadow summoned another boulder, this time hurdling at Clayton and Tara. The two held each other in preparation for the strike until Izanami rushed forth and held out its hand, causing a surge of wind energy to pulse through and blow the boulder away, flying over the Shadow's head and hitting the ground with a tremendous thud.
It growled at Izanami and formed a hammer made purely out of rock, preparing to strike the Persona until Ashley reacted.
ASHLEY: Orithiyia!
Orithiyia flew towards the hammer at increasing speed and Ashley gave out its next command.
ASHLEY: Frost link! Now!
The Persona's rapier began to glow and it stopped. In a quick amount of time, Orithiyia brought its sword above its shoulder and swung downwards, causing a sword-shaped ice structure to fly at the hammer. Once the structure connected, the rock began to freeze and shattered. Apparently unaware of the outcome, the Shadow staggered back a bit.
TARA: It's weak to ice!
JULIE: Ashley! Go!
Ashley nodded and sent out her next command. Orithiyia flew towards the Shadow as it was still in its staggered state and held an elegant posture.
ASHLEY: Mabufu!
Orithiyia began to form a circle with its rapier, forming a glyph and multiple ice shards began to fly at the Shadow from the glyph. As Tara predicted, the Shadow proved vulnerable to ice attacks as it cried out in pain. After the skill was complete, Ashley prepared for a next command.
ASHLEY: Frost link!
As done before, Orithiyia formed an ice-sword structure and sent it flying towards the Shadow. Once it connected, the Shadow fell off of the stone and to the ground with a thud twice as tremendous than the boulder's landing.
SHADOW CLAYTON: Alright! No more Mr. Nice Guy!
The Shadow got back up and brought its arms forward.
SHADOW CLAYTON: Let's see you try and use your ice magic on me now!
A white wall structure began to form around the Shadow, eventually disappearing as it began. Ashley paid no heed to it and commanded Orithiyia to perform another ice attack. However, she was caught by surprise when the attack deflected.
ASHLEY: How in the-?! Again!
Orithiyia shot more ice shards at the Shadow, but as before, there was no damage given to the Shadow. After a few more attempts, it was proven that the Shadow was somehow able to resist vulnerability to any and all ice attacks. Ashley gritted her teeth as Oritihiyia descended beside her, clutching at the handle of her sword with frustration. The Shadow chuckled once Ashley's fruitless efforts ceased in execution.
SHADOW CLAYTON: Hahaha! Some fighter you are!
The Shadow began to form a boulder stone that wasn't any bigger than the size of a chandelier within the palm of its hand. As soon as it finished forming, it carefully brought it over Ashley's head as she looked up at it in shock. She wished to move before the Shadow could drop it on her, but for some reason, she felt unable to move.
ASHLEY: What?
Suddenly, she fell to her knees, panting for breath with heavy lungs. What was wrong with her?
ASHLEY: Why am I so tired? I didn't even move that much!
Julie made her attempt to run over to her and looked up as she saw the Shadow let out a battle cry and drop the boulder directly on top of Ashley. Still several inches away, Julie felt all was lost as the boulder got closer and Ashley just prepared herself for the worst to happen. Then suddenly, time began to slow and before Julie's eyes she saw the one person she never thought she would see before...
JULIE: Matthew?
The familiar blue-clad young male looked at Julie with a warm smile on his face, compendium in hand as he turned a page.
MATTHEW: As said before, the power of the Wild Card allows you to summon more than one Persona. With each new Social Link you activate, you unlock the ability to use a new Persona.
He turned a few more pages and finally stopped at a blank page. However, the page was recreated with images and writing, in which the main image Julie could see was Ashley. Actually, it wasn't much of an image, but a flashback. This was where she talked to Ashley on the roof of the school and saw the smile on her face. Beside Ashley was a tarot card, which held the Empress Arcana. This was Ashley's Arcana.
MATTHEW: You've set up a new Social Link with Ashley Lewis, which will allow you to unlock Personas of the Empress Arcana.
Then Matthew vanished from her eyes, being replaced with an image of the Empress Arcana. She heard Izanami's voice afterwards.
IZANAMI: ~You can summon a new Persona. I will be with you, but you now have the assistance of other Persona. Good luck.~
With a nod, Julie called back Izanami as the Persona vanished. Performing the same procedure she did before, she could feel a new presence escape from her mind and release into the atmosphere and its name came clear in her mind...
JULIE: Senri! Perform Agi!
Before Julie was not Izanami, but Senri. The being bore an Eastern farmer girl's garment with a blue overall dress with a white long-sleeve gown underneath, red strings laced into the overall at the top, a matching blue farmer's hat, long blonde hair and held pink skin with bare feet. As commanded, Senri spun around playfully and fired a fireball from its left hand, directly at the boulder, cindering the rock that would've crushed Ashley into ashes.
Ashley witnessed this and looked at Julie with astonishment read all over her face. Not that she could blame her, especially since Julie was able to summon not only Izanami, but more Personas. Could she even do that?
The Shadow staggered by the accomplished attempt, grunting aggravatingly.
SHADOW CLAYTON: What the hell?! How are you-?!
The Shadow was at a loss for words for once and Julie proceeded to attack. She pointed to the Shadow and Senri flew to it.
JULIE: Makajam!
The Persona spun around once more, channeling green energy in its hands and covered the Shadow with the same energy. Covered in a green aura, the Shadow attempted to summon more rocks and boulders but was unable to. It tried again, which produced null results.
This greatly infuriated the Shadow.
SHADOW CLAYTON: Why you?! I'll kill you for that, bitch!
Suddenly, the Shadow grabbed a hammer made of stone from its back and attempted to smash Julie with it, only for her to dodge out of the way in time. Ashley had regained stamina and ran over to Julie.
ASHLEY: It's still strong! What do we do now?!
The Shadow roared in anger, swinging its hammer with great fury. Julie then turned over to Clayton, who kneeled to the ground behind Tara's leg. Taking another look at the Shadow, Julie turned around and ran over to the field that Tara casted to protect her and Clayton. Clayton looked up at the British female once her presence was brought to attention.
JULIE: Clayton! You have to face your Shadow! You must admit your fears!
This statement was rewarded with an expression of bewilderment. By then, Ashley had ran over to them, holding her sword outward.
CLAYTON: What are you talking about?! Th-That thing... it's...
JULIE: Clayton...
The tone of her voice was replaced with compassion, interrupting Clayton's sentence. Ashley looked at him too, replacing the combat-ready glance with steady and gentle eyes, finding ability in placing herself in Clayton's situation.
ASHLEY: That thing is you. It's your other half: your replica of your worst fears.
CLAYTON: ...
ASHLEY: Listen, the same thing happened to me, so I know how it feels, but you can't allow it to control you. It's only getting stronger because you're denying your fears.
JULIE: Clayton, I know it's not easy to accept what you are afraid of but it's worth the risk. If you don't accept your fears, you may never be able to save Ian.
That thought haunted him more than anything, but led to wonder. He tried to believe that he was only saving Ian because of a matter of friendship. They've been friends since they were children and Clayton reminisced the first time they met.
-Flashback-
It was a cloudy day and the forecast had said that rainfall was to be expected, but at a much later time. Clayton was only five at the time, taking Rocky, who was a puppy at the time, for a walk. He wore a white shirt with a brown motif at the center, blue shorts and white and brown sneakers. He was walking in the park with Rocky, which wasn't entirely active that day, given the weather reports. His parents told him that Rocky must be walked before the rain settled in.
As for now, the rain hadn't come and Clayton didn't think to bring an umbrella with him, something he had a bad habit of doing.
CLAYTON: Why didn't I bring an umbrella? It might rain!
He groaned in frustration and continued his walk. As he continued walking, Rocky suddenly turned loose from his grip, adding more to Clayton's frustration.
CLAYTON: Oh come on! Rocky!
He began running after his dog as it ran across the playground. Given his youth, Clayton didn't waste much oxygen when running but was equally delicate. He panted as he tried to catch up with the pup, who was surprisingly fast to be considered a puppy. Eventually, the dog stopped and Clayton slowed down a little until he saw where the dog stopped at.
He found Rocky walk over to Ian, who was the same age as Clayton during the time. Back then, Ian had a full head of black hair and his skin was lighter than before. He wore a black-collared shirt tucked into black slacks and black dress shoes. Even then, he still had his earrings and his hair was brushed back. He also had softer facial features like Clayton.
As soon as Rocky walked up to him, Ian looked down at the dog and smiled once he saw it, petting his head, which earned satisfied barks. Clayton walked up closer and eventually, grabbed Rocky's leash.
CLAYTON: Rocky! Don't run off like that!
Clayton then turned to Ian with an apologetic smile.
CLAYTON: My bad. Rocky usually doesn't act like that. I hope he didn't bother you.
The boy shook his head and smiled at Clayton.
IAN: It was no trouble at all. Your dog didn't bother me.
CLAYTON: Whew! Well, that's a relief. By the way, I haven't seen you around here, are you new?
He nodded.
IAN: Yes. I'm from New York, but my parents moved here yesterday. I'm just walking around to get a view of the city before I start school. Father's orders.
Clayton nodded and sat beside Ian, his grip on Rocky's leash not loosening as the dog came in closer. Clayton petted his head and looked at Ian.
CLAYTON: What's your name?
Before he could answer, Ian hesitated. Sensing his hesitation, Clayton walked closer to him and sat beside him, extending a hand that caught Ian by surprise, especially by how big Clayton's smile was.
CLAYTON: My name is Clayton Lavistor and I live here. See it's that easy!
The joke prompted the toddler Ian to giggle and he reached in to shake hands with Clayton.
IAN: My name is Ian de Luca.
And with that, a new friendship had begun.
CLAYTON'S THOUGHTS: ~And through that day, we became friends. Years later, things began to change. I met Ashley through Ian and I even met Julie through Ian and after all this time, I thought that he was the perfect guy. ... *sigh* Why am I lying to myself? I am jealous of him. He's an achieving student, has a notorious lifestyle and where am I at? Suburbs, a nuisance to most of the people at school and nowhere near as smart as he is. But...~
What was he afraid by admitting his fears? Clayton knew that without Ian, his life would be incomplete and this thought frightened him. Ian was... everything that he wasn't and Clayton only needed him just for the purpose of feeling important. Maybe that wasn't how friends, especially childhood friends, should treat each other, but Clayton knew that he had to face up to his fears and stop running.
-End of Flashback-
By then, Tara had brought the protection field down and allowed Clayton to walk up to his Shadow with a wave of bravery splashing over him. He could see the anger in the Shadow, the fear and the resentment. This beast was born from his heart and he hated that he allowed it to extend to this level.
CLAYTON: I know you're right.
Suddenly, as the Shadow's rampaging could continue, it stopped and looked down at Clayton.
SHADOW CLAYTON: What?!
CLAYTON: I said you're right!
He said again, but louder this time.
CLAYTON: I am afraid and I admit that I'm nowhere near to Ian's level!
SHADOW CLAYTON: That's right! I need him alive! What good will having a purpose do if he's gone?!
CLAYTON: You're wrong!
The Shadow stopped once again and Clayton was allowed to speak his mind to the Shadow; admitting his fears and accepting himself.
CLAYTON: It wasn't a matter of Ian no longer being my leverage or him dying that scared me, but it was losing a purpose for living. I didn't have many friends growing up and even now, people consider me to be a pain-in-the-ass. I was tired of being alone and when Ian became my friend... it was like I had nothing to fear anymore. I wasn't going to be alone and I had something that would motivate me to live. I may idolize him and be envious of him, but he is my friend and... I accept you!
However, the Shadow responded differently. Similar to how Ashley's Shadow reacted when she accepted it as her, his Shadow did the same, rampaging further with shouts and screams of anger.
SHADOW CLAYTON: NOOOOOOOO!
Now was their chance!
Ashley was exhausted, but seemed able to throw in another attack. She pointed to the Shadow and gave Orithiyia another command.
ASHLEY: Tempest slash!
Orithiyia then flew towards the Shadow and once it got close enough, it slashed the Shadow three times with its rapier. The first time caused the Shadow to drop its rock hammer, the second time caused the Shadow to stagger and the third time caused the Shadow to fall to its back, initiating a tremendous thud once it landed.
ASHLEY: Julie! Now!
Julie nodded and switched out Personas. Now having Izanami again, Julie pointed to the downed Shadow, sending Izanami flying into the air as it awaited its next command.
JULIE: Garula!
And with that, Izanami summoned a cyclone of wind from the ground where the Shadow laid, but this time, the cyclone was stronger. It lifted the Shadow from the ground and sent it speeding up into the ceiling, grunting in pain once it was slammed onto it. As the wind's speed picked up, the Shadow began to break apart and fold, screaming in pain as it knew that its reign of terror was coming to an abrupt end.
SHADOW CLAYTON: Ow! Ah! AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!
The final blast of gust sent the Shadow into obliteration and it returned in its weakened state.
Part 2: The Magician
As the Shadow descended to the ground, Clayton walked towards it and stopped as it feet touched the ground. The Shadow looked up at Clayton, its expression weakened with defeat. A smile cover his face and Clayton walked up closer to the Shadow, placing a hand on its shoulder.
CLAYTON: I'm sorry that I didn't see it through. I'm such a damn coward! But... I promise to no longer deny who you are... and you are me.
As with Ashley's Shadow, the Shadow shone a weak but warm smile, its eyes full with enlightenment. Then suddenly, the Shadow's figure began to disintegrate into a blue outline and its figure changed. Once the process was complete, the Shadow was no more and a new entity came into sight.
This entity bore silver battle armor with a silver chest-plate, greaves and shoulder paddings. However, its wrists had rocks that were worn as bands and two blocks of stone replaced his feet. Notably, its eyes and top of the head were covered by a rectangular-shaped stone and it carried a mighty war hammer with a steel blade and wooden handle. After accepting his fears and taken part the Shadow that was born from him, Clayton's resolve awoken into the Persona, Harpocrates.
The Persona's body quickly faded away into a tarot that came floating down from where it stood. The three girls walked up to him to see what the tarot card was... it was the Magician. The Arcana represented action, initiative, self-confidence, manipulation and power to harness one's talents. It was fitting to describe Clayton. The card then vanished from his hands and the following process involved a translucent brown light to encircle his head. He closed his eyes and reopen them as a bright brown light shone in his eyes, reverting back to their natural color.
CLAYTON: Harpocrates... So I wield a Persona, now?
The following answers were met with hugs as the girls almost dog-piled him upon getting his new Persona. Clayton was equally happy, knowing now that he was capable of fighting Fiends and knew that through this power, he would be able to assist the team in their endeavors.
ASHLEY: Alright, Clayton! Now you're one of us!
JULIE: How do you feel?
There was a pause before Clayton could mouth out a response. When he did, he fell to his knees, breathing heavily in exhaustion. This happened to Ashley when she received her Persona.
ASHLEY: This happened to me too. When I received my Persona, I was exhausted.
JULIE: So I was right. When we receive our Personas, we become exhausted. We need to get back.
ASHLEY: Right. Besides, I still feel exhausted for some reason.
As the idea was suggested, Clayton, weakly, rose up from his knees and stood in protest.
CLAYTON: What?! N-No! We can't leave now! We have to find Ian before it's too late!
When he said that, Ashley planned to tell him about his proclamation but was stopped when Julie placed her hand on her shoulder and looked back at Clayton with a stern face.
JULIE: Clayton. I understand how you feel. Ian is a friend of mines as well and I want to see him safe and alive just as much as you do, but we can't continue like this. Ashley's exhausted and you just received your Persona.
Tara nodded.
TARA: Grandmaster's correct. You do not wield a weapon and I don't have any battle attire for you as of now. Plus, each time your Persona is summoned, you begin to feel tired. It comes from using spells and magic and right now, Ashley is too exhausted to continue.
JULIE: If you care about Ian, you will wait before you go.
A hard choice to make but one that Clayton quickly began to understand. As much as he hated it, he knew that he didn't have the energy to go after and rescue his friend and if he did, he would have to fight against Fiends as well since he has a Persona. The following sequences would tire him out and Clayton would be lucky if he managed to reach Ian at this state.
Looking at the back of him, he turned to the girls and nodded.
CLAYTON: Alright. How long does Ian have?
TARA: Until the next time it rains.
ASHLEY: And I just watched the weather report. It won't rain until Monday, so for now, we're good.
JULIE: We'll go tomorrow night if that's fine with you.
Clayton nodded.
CLAYTON: Alright.
ASHLEY: Also, tomorrow's the weekend, so we need to meet at the Callisto Mall and make plans as to how we will rescue him.
Julie nodded.
JULIE: Right. Now let's go home.
After explaining the procedure to Clayton in regards of returning home, he stood by Julie while she stood in the middle and Tara glanced at the three, hands stretched out as she prepared her incantation.
TARA: Dnes eseht eerht ot rieht laudividni semoh!
A white light engulfed them and in moments, they were gone.
A/N: And there is Act 6! So sorry for the long update! School and bullsh** got in the way. However, I must inform you all that these updates will be long so please be patient! I haven't started work on that Persona 3 fan fiction, but I promise that I will! Also, I will be turning 19 this year! Man, I'm getting old... Anyway, in the next act, there won't be any action. As much as I want to finish Ian's confrontation with his Shadow, as a writer, I need to learn to tell a story. So I'm sorry for some of the parts that I rushed and I promise that I will try to make my stories more tale-wise, just with a decent amount of detail if I can. I'm not so good with detail. Much thanks to Shaman94, Guest, Zireks, Samone152 and Sarosha for being faithful reviewers and a review from Zireks has really got me considering on what I'm doing with this story. They mentioned that they enjoyed that P4 reference I made in Act 1 but worried that I may rely on it more. Well, I'm trying to make this story dark, but add a little light for fun. There are some elements of Persona 2 and Persona 3 added into this story, but overall, I'm trying to make it unique. As far as I know, there's not a Persona game that focuses on fear as its theme. But I promise that the jokes I will make will be original and I hope you enjoy the story. With that said, the scene in which Clayton hears Ian's voice references to Persona 4 where Chie was confronted with Yukiko's voice. As I said, Clayton and Ian are practically the equivalent of Chie and Yukiko, but I won't rely on that for much longer just to keep this story fresh! Review!