A/N: Hey guys, something happened with my save for the story and it won't load up my previous chapters. I copied and pasted the acts in the documents on this website, so my acts are not entirely lost, but I can't open them through my documents on the laptop, even though they're saved on a flash drive! It's just one thing after the next... Anyway, I'm not giving up on this story because out of all the others I have written, this is my favorite and I don't want to give up on that. Besides, I have a penchant on giving up on projects when I started on them and I'm working on getting this one finished, even if it takes another year! Hopefully, it won't. Also, I'm on as , so if you can, please follow me! Now onto Act 7! We won't see Ian face his Shadow until Act 8, but stay tuned. Also, Ashley undergoes a change in winter wardrobe and Julie's wardrobe undergoes a slight alteration. Plus, besides Persona 3 Testament, I've been thinking about making another story that's similar to the first Persona game. Not saying I will write it, but it has been on my mind for some time. Of course, this means I will have to think on different Personas, characters, Arcana and storyline. My job in creativity never ceases in work it appears. One last thing to note (I promise this is the last one) is that Tara undergoes a slight change in dialogue. Becoming a fan of Dragon Age myself, I've decided that Tara would speak using some medieval dialect such as "tis", "twas", "thou", and words that end in "eth". Enjoy!

Act 7: The True Fear Begins

-Unknown Black Area-

UNKNOWN FIGURE: It seems our little heroine has managed to save yet another soul and now there are two more who wield the same power as she.

Whatever this figure was, it held a dark and frightening tone of voice that spoke rather calm and collectively. Its appearance was blackened out but it stood at great height, almost monuementous, and under it was an unknown individual who was also blackened out. The creature brought its hands to its face and looked down at its "servant", causing the figure below to tremble.

UNKNOWN FIGURE: How are the plans going? Did they reach this Ian person?

The figure below shook its head fervently, but when it spoke, it spoke in a calm manner.

UNKNOWN SERVANT: No. One of the other Persona-users was given his Persona on the night they had planned to rescue him. However, he instead confronted a Shadow born from him and thus awakened to his Persona. Fortunately for us, they were too exhausted to continue and decided to wait until this night to rescue him.

Once the servant finished speaking, the creature looked up again, seemingly in thought.

UNKNOWN FIGURE: Very well. However, I cannot allow our plans to be jeapordized by some human. Since they will be searching for their friend tonight, how about we make their plans harder?

-August 21, 2010: Saturday: Callisto Mall-

-Morning-

JULIE: So when is Clayton supposed to get here?

ASHLEY: He said 9:00 am, but knowing him, he won't get here till eleven.

Julie and Ashley were sitting at a round table, facing each other from opposite seats as they awaited for their friend's arrival. They've been waiting for him since eight in the morning, but he was almost ten and he still hadn't shown. It was a calm August morning and everyone in the mall wore light jackets or long-sleeve shirts. Julie wore a black lace shawl with long sleeves, a purple top, black pants and short black boots with black bracelets on her wrists. Ashley wore a royal blue jacket that was unzipped to reveal her white tunic with blue jeans, white four-inch slippers and diamond earrings. Both worn their hair in ponytails, with Julie using a black bow to keep hers tied.

ASHLEY: If you weren't such a bright person, I would've labeled you a "Goth".

JULIE: Well, I like black, purple, dark purple, dark blue and et cetera.

ASHLEY: *sigh* Anyway, how do you think Clayton's taking what happened? I mean, we just witnessed his Shadow and his worst fears.

The following comment brought upon a heavy silence to the table as they lingered onto the events that took place last night.

ASHLEY: I knew Ian was important to him, but... for Ian to be a priority? ... I never thought...

Julie could tell that Ashley was in internal conflict with herself. After all, she had history with the two boys, but never knew just how strong Clayton's loyalty to his friend was. The fact that Ian was his only purpose for living was something to think about. She feared staring into her reflection because of how she looked, but began to wonder about Clayton.

JULIE: Ash...

ASHLEY: ... I'm okay. I just need to wrap my head over this for a bit.

JULIE: Well, how do you want to talk to Clayton about this?

The question brought the atmosphere deeper than where it stood and the intensity was thick enough to take notice. Ashley's eyes drifted down on the table, searching for whatever answer she could find, but failed to piece together a correct method of words. A heavy sigh escaped her lips and she brought her eyes back to Julie.

ASHLEY: ... I don't know. I can't tell him to "pull himself together" because I'm still healing from my encounter with my Shadow. Everything he denied that his Shadow said, I was in that same position.

JULIE: So you believe it would be best if you did not talk to Clayton about it?

ASHLEY: Well, maybe we should ask if he's okay, but taken no further. I think he still needs time to heal. Besides, he just received his Persona.

JULIE: Excellent point.

After the conversation ended, Ashley spotted Clayton's presence approaching them. Julie turned over to see him approach, dressed in the same appareil on the same night when his Shadow attacked. She decided to take the time to observe him, worried that he may still be bruised by the ordeal with the Shadow. However, his entire aura seemed to be... normal. He had a smile on his face, his walk seemed calm and collected and there was no sign of tension in his muscles. He actually appeared to be calm and steady, but Julie could tell that he was beyond repair. Not as if he was damaged enough to resist communication with the outside world, but enough that forceful appearance could be noted.

He approached the table and pulled a chair from the table, taking a seat and looking at the two girls.

CLAYTON: Hey guys. How's it going?

Julie turned to Ashley, who looked visibly gobsmacked by his casual attitude. Of course, Julie had to believe that the hazel-eyed girl sensed the damage inside the young man. For one, Ian was still in Hofu, trapped inside the castle with his life being measured on a libra scale. Lastly, the girls witnessed Clayton's worse fears being shown to them; the fear of no longer living with a purpose. Despite how it seemed, Julie knew that truly, Clayton was afraid of living alone. He and Ian have been friends for the longest time and as she witnessed, Clayton never really had friends until he met Ian.

ASHLEY: Good. How about you?

CLAYTON: I'm good.

The conversation went silent for a short moment before Clayton continued.

CLAYTON: So what's the plan? Are we going into Hofu tonight?

The girls looked at him with bewilderment before they answered. They noticed how serious he was about this and this shocked them a little.

ASHLEY: Y-You're ready to go into Hofu? But you don't have a weapon!

CLAYTON: I've gotten that taken care of. I purchased a mace from a weapon store in the mall.

Ashley's eyes grew wide in shock.

ASHLEY: You actually bought a weapon?! Are you insane?! Did anyone see you?!

He shook his head.

CLAYTON: No. Besides, it's not a real mace. I figured I used a weapon that I could utilize without experience in. You're good with that Chinese blade and Julie fights like a samurai. I figured you guys might want someone with raw strength in your team.

The two turned to look at each other again and turned back to Clayton.

ASHLEY: Okay. If you're that willing to help us, then you're welcome to come along. Besides, we don't have anyone who focuses on raw strength, so your weakness will do.

And through that, the conversation was animated. Offended, Clayton widened his eyes, his mouth opening wide with his jaw practically hitting the floor and all Julie could do was giggle.

CLAYTON: H-Hey! Don't try to play me, Ash! I'm not that weak!

ASHLEY: *giggle* I know you're not, but be careful. I know I don't act like it, but you are my friend, Clayton. If Ian were to be gone today, I wouldn't desert you.

It wasn't her intention to blurt that out and she felt the need to scratch herself for making comment of it. Julie stopped giggling and turned to observe Ashley, who was probably starting to wish she hadn't said that. Looking at Clayton, she was surprised to find him in shock rather than offense. Whether or not if Ashley could see it, Julie knew that Clayton was glad.

A warm smile plastered on her face.

JULIE: She's right, Clayton.

He turned to her with the surprise not leaving his face.

JULIE: We understand how you feel and we know that Ian will always be your best friend, but we will never desert you if Ian was no longer around us. After all, we asked you to come here with us and help rescue him.

The comment hit home for Clayton. She was right, after all. After the confrontation with his Shadow, they stood by his side with promising eyes to rescue Ian. Julie even brought him with them to Hofu, despite not carrying a Persona or a weapon for defense. They truly cared about him and he knew it. Maybe it wasn't the thought of losing Ian that frightened him so much, but the idea that if Ian was gone, he would be alone.

The astonishment on his face was replaced with a warm smile; a smile that showed the appreciation he felt to them and this energy was recognized by the girls.

CLAYTON: ... Thanks. I-I really needed that.

JULIE: You're welcome, Clayton-kun.

CLAYTON: "Clayton-kun"? What's with that?

JULIE: In Japan, we often address our friends and colleagues with Japanese honorifics. There are various kinds, but "kun" is one of them. It's often addressed to a male companion.

CLAYTON: Really? Wow. Now I'm called "Clayton-kun". What about Ashley?

JULIE: Probably Ashley-san. "San" is a common honorific used to address friends back in Japan, whether by formal or informal contexts.

ASHLEY: "Ashley-san". That might take some adaptation.

The conversation continued until the party remembered why they had come to the mall today.

ASHLEY: Okay. So we still need to save Ian from Hofu by tonight. We already know what enemies we will face, but there may be more inside that castle.

CLAYTON: Yeah. What did Tara call those things? "Blood Bats"?

Ashley nods.

ASHLEY: They're weak to ice-magic, so I should be able to handle them without trouble. But Tara did say that by continuously using our Personas, our energy starts to deplete and we become exhausted. After that fight with Clayton's Shadow, it will be risky to fight tired.

JULIE: Agreed. We should incorporate on fighting with our weapons to spare any exhaustion of using our Persona. The last thing we need when possibly facing Ian's Shadow is to be exhausted.

ASHLEY: But there's also the fact that you're able to switch Personas during battle.

Clayton turned to Julie in recognition of the action done last night.

CLAYTON: Yeah, that's right. I thought you and Ashley were able to do that, but from the way Ash and Tara were acknowledging it, it seems that you're the only one who can do that.

This was true and Julie knew why. She held the power of the Wild Card, which allowed her to switch between Personas at will during battle. For now, she was only able to switch between Senri and Izanami, her main Persona and the only Social Link she activated was the Empress, Ashley's Arcana. However, would telling them be a good idea? For one, when Julie asked Tara about Philemon, the mage didn't recognize the name and Julie was pretty certain that this Wild Card ability and Philemon were likely connected. So if Tara didn't know about Philemon, what good would it do to explain Ashley and Clayton? Plus, she didn't know if it would be a good idea to mention the Velvet Room. Igor and Matthew didn't seem to acknowledge, let alone inform her, about the possible consequences if she were to tell anyone about the Velvet Room, but she didn't count out those possible consequences either. For now, she had to play safe and keep the Velvet Room's existence from being spoken.

JULIE: You are right. However, I fear I only hold the ability to switch between Personas of the Empress Arcana, which is your Arcana, Ashley.

ASHLEY: That's right. You told me about that the night I encountered my Shadow. I think you even said that Clayton's Arcana was the Magician.

A question mark was practically floating above Clayton's head as his direction turned to Julie.

CLAYTON: Well, what is your Arcana, Julie?

JULIE: My secondary Arcana is the Fool, which represents innocence, divine inspiration, madness, freedom, spontaneity, inexperience, chaos, and creativity. My main Arcana, however, is the Justice Arcana. It's the Arcana that symbolizes justice, objectivity, rationality, and analysis.

Clayton bore a visibly surprised expression.

CLAYTON: Wow! How do you know all of this?

Julie shrugged her shoulders.

JULIE: Just intelligent on tarot readings.

ASHLEY: Okay. So the plan for tonight is to go into Hofu and and rescue Ian from the castle. We know where he is located, so we won't have much trouble on searching for him.

JULIE: Correct. But there are Fiends who will notice our presence once we enter, especially since Clayton can summon a Persona. Also, we must excersise on limiting our usage of our Personas until we find Ian. If possible, we may face his Shadow.

ASHLEY: And if that happens, Ian may deny his Shadow and it will spawn out of control like ours did. It's best to ensure that save the remainder of our Persona's energy into fighting Ian's Shadow. God knows we will need it. But this also means that we'll have to start training more.

Clayton looked at her with confusion reading his face.

CLAYTON: Why do we have to train? The Fiends we're fighting are pretty weak

This was something that Julie told him before they met at the mall today. She told him that the Fiends they were fighting didn't seem to be strong enough that they needed their Personas and obviously, Clayton took the term to a different meaning.

ASHLEY: We may be fighting Fiends, but what if we face against Fiends much stronger than the ones we're fighting now. There's no telling what could happen to us if we don't better our skills and defenses.

JULIE: Ashley-san's right. We cannot afford the luxury of carelessness, it's too expensive. Not only that, but we need to focus on formation as well. For now, all of us are front-line fighters, especially if Clayton-kun is using a mace. Tara has been acting as our support, so we'll need to keep her in the back.

ASHLEY: I forgot about formation. It will help us if we ever come to those kinds of problems later. I cannot even begin to imagine the likeliness of a fatal blow from a Fiend.

CLAYTON: Alright, we got that then. So we stick with the plan? Go into Hofu, find Ian, rescue him and leave, right?

JULIE: Right. But as we stated before, it may not be that easy. We need to train a bit before going in there, which will be now.

-Afternoon-

The trio walked into the abandoned building with despondent eyes as they analyzed the current state of the building. They were stepping into an abandoned shed that held nothing but cobwebs and dirt spots on the walls, ceilings and corners, save for a couple of mice that caused Clayton to lose his masculinity quicker than Ashley losing her composure. Julie was the only one who grabbed the mice and placed them outside of the shed, closing the door behind her so they wouldn't return.

JULIE: Well, this shed isn't perfect, but I believe if we tidy it up a bit, it may do.

CLAYTON: If I may ask, how did you find this place? I was born here and I've never seen this shed before.

JULIE: I was doing a little searching around and I came upon this shed. I figured after your confrontation with your Shadow, we should do some training in here. Plus, this is miles from civilization, so I doubt that anyone would want to find us here.

ASHLEY: I suppose you're right. It's not perfect, but it will suffice for the time being. I just hope we don't see any more mice.

JULIE: Agreed. Considering how piercing Clayton-kun's scream was.

In offense, Clayton turned to the Goth with a reaction that mixed with astonishment. He expected for Ashley to make a smart remarks at him for anything he did or said, but never would he believe that Julie would take use of doing so.

CLAYTON: Wha-?! I-I wasn't screaming! That was my… battle cry!

Julie giggled at Clayton's attempt to reclaim his dignity and Ashley couldn't resist taking part in it as well.

ASHLEY: If screaming like a little girl is your battle cry, then you may not want to use a mace. That could be your weapon.

JULIE: The Battle Cry of Pitifulness and Disappointment!

The two joked and laughed, which Clayton didn't take good pleasure from. A vein started to appear at his temple.

CLAYTON: Haha! Very funny! Now if you don't mind, I'll be training now.

Clayton unstrapped the mace from the holster on his leg and began walking to the opposite side of the shed. The mace he was carrying with made with steel and had small spikes that could do grave damage if enough pressure was applied to the target. Given its structure, it amazed Julie to think that he would be able to carry the weapon without trouble and was impressed by how boldly he walked over to the corner… so impressed that she had to toy with him again.

JULIE: Okay. However, I wonder if that snake will be happy with you walking over to its territory.

And like that, Clayton stopped, the color immediately draining from his body. Ashley struggled to withhold her laughter as Julie continued.

JULIE: I mean, it was big and gray and looked poisonous. I think it can even slither up to your pants and do God knows what. Wouldn't you agree, Ashley-san?

Julie turned over to Ashley, who finally gained her composure and faced her friend.

ASHLEY: Oh yes. Normally, if I saw a snake, I wouldn't go to the same place that it's laying, but Clayton seems to be awfully brave and manly.

JULIE: Yes. I'm true he can that venomous bite like a true man should… like now!

Without an alert to signify the next move, Clayton dropped the mace and sprinted towards the door and out the shed, screaming higher than he did when he saw those mice. As he ran off, the girls roared in laughter, falling on the dusty floor with their stomachs tightening and eyes watering. They continued in this until Clayton returned to the shed, seemingly have regained all of his composure. The girls stood up and watched as Clayton picked the mace up from the floor and turned back to face the two. He looked at them without an expression on his face, but simply nodded and resumed to start his training. Ashley patted Julie on the shoulder before unsheathing her Jian and beginning her training.

With a sigh escaping her lips, Julie walked over to them and slowly began to unsheathe her sword from her umbrella.

A/N: A few notes before I let you guys loose. This chapter marks the beginning of Julie's personality. If you haven't noticed, Julie may appear Gothic, but she is friendly, bright and quite a jokester. She's kind of like Junpei, just not messy. And yes, Clayton is a coward, but he tries to be brave. That's probably his best aspect. Also, Julie uses Japanese honorifics and will be addressing her friends with these honorifics for now on. Lastly, Julie speaks a Northern England British accent. Review and stay tuned for Act 8.