Author's Notes: Well... I'm kinda depressed. I really can never get over what this game does... Well... Never mind that for now. Gotta start from the beginning. Speaking of which, we finally get to see the Personas. Took long enough.

~9 APRIL 2009~

Hamuko awoke with a daze. That was some dream, she thought as she got ready for the day. She quickly grabbed her bag but noticed a strange blue key sitting on her nightstand. "Huh?" She picked it up and remembered the strange room she visited in her sleep. The girl absently put the Velvet Key into her pocket and looked at the clock. "I need to wake nii-san!"

Downstairs, Minato toyed with his Velvet Key. He let out a long yawn as he looped the key around the same lanyard he hung his MP3 player. I suppose I shouldn't lose this.

He reached for his schoolbag but paused when he heard someone furiously running down the hall. He slowly made his way to the door and opened it to see his younger sister stare at him with surprise.

"Oh, you're already up?"

"Mm," he said as a greeting, not quite ready to be talking just yet.

Hamuko noticed the key hanging from his neck. "Oh! So you really were there with me!"

"Hm?" The older twin looked down at what she was pointing to. "Oh…"

Worried that her brother was still tired, she put a hand to his forehead. "Are you alright? You're not sick, are you?"

"Just sleepy," he reassured her. "Before going to bed, I saw…" The boy shook his head as he didn't want Hamuko involved with his peculiar hobbies, especially if it would land him in trouble. "Never mind. Let's go."

Although curious, the younger girl didn't question him any further and followed after him. "Okay, but about that dream… What did you think of that?"

"Same as the contract." Once downstairs, Minato went over to the counter island and reached for the bananas. He tossed one to his sister and quickly peeled one for himself.

"Yeah, I thought so." Hamuko deftly caught the fruit and opened the front door to leave. "Do you think this dorm might actually be haunted?" she joked.

Minato gave her a small smirk. "It could just be us," he shrugged.

Hamuko lightly laughed at his rather dark joke as the two walked toward the station. Once they reached the front gate, a voice behind them called out to them.

"What's up!?" Junpei ran towards them with a big smile on his face. "Man, today is the perfect day! The sky is blue… We're young… What more could we ask for!?"

Hamuko laughed. "You're full of energy."

"Of course!" Junpei leaned towards them. "Dude, listen to this… Oh, wait!" He seemed to remember something. "I'm not supposed to say anything! Sorry, man." He chuckled to himself.

"Whatever." Minato rolled his eyes but he noticed a dark cloud following Junpei. "I think you need rest," the blue-haired boy said, a slight frown of worry forming on his face.

"Dude, I'm not sick!" Junpei put an arm around Minato's shoulder. "Forget the ol' Junpei…! This is the REAL me! You should cheer up, too. After all, you've got ME as a friend."

Hamuko laughed at the two as Minato threw the capped boy's arm off of him. "Come on. We can't be late."

Class was uneventful, as usual. Minato and Junpei slept through Classic Literature and Ekoda was none the wiser as the two boys missed the entire lesson. Yukari shook her head at the two simpletons while Hamuko kept her laughter to herself.

After class, the twins made their way to the shoe lockers. Yukari looked up from her locker and smiled. "Oh hey! Are you guys heading back to the dorm?"

Minato nodded as he changed his shoes. Hamuko returned the brunette's smile. "Why don't we walk together?"

"Good idea! Have you two been to Paulownia Mall yet? I could show you around before we head back."

The blue-haired boy shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever." He should be fine with the extra walking since he pretty much slept through the entire school day.

"Great, let's go!"

The twins stared at the new area around them. Hamuko eagerly went towards the fountain in the middle of the mall and urged her brother to come closer. "This is so cool!"

Yukari nodded. "A lot of Gekkoukan students come here after school. There's a karaoke box and a CD shop," she pointed at the various stores. "Oh, and a really great café, too!"

Minato perked up at the mention of coffee. Café Chagall, huh? He stared at the small business before he noticed the closed store next door. "Escapade?"

Yukari turned to see what he was looking at. "There's also a nightclub, but that's kinda not for us yet."

"Since we're here, why not try out that café?" Hamuko suggested.

The other two agreed and after they finished, Minato took one last look around the mall to memorize its layout. It didn't take long for him to notice the strange alleyway located next to the police station. Huh? He turned towards the girls to ask Yukari if there was anything there, but she was already occupied with talking to Hamuko about the coffee.

Not wanting to bother them, Minato decided to check it out for himself. He stood next to the police bulletin and was about to enter the alleyway himself when a lady's voice caught his attention. "Young man?"

Minato turned to face the suspicious voice but saw it was a strange woman carrying a crystal ball, motioning him to come over. A fortune teller? He decided to humor the lady and approached her. "Yes?"

"Hmm…" The lady studied him carefully. "I feel a strange aura around you… In my mind, I see visions… People's past, present, and future… For most people, I see clearly, and far ahead… But you are different… Your future is filled with both blinding light and stagnant shadow… I can see but a small portion… What lies beyond that is shrouded in mystery. What a peculiar fate you carry… Now, young man… Bearer of light and shadow… If you wish to know more about the near future… come and talk to me… I will share my limited visions with you… Now, tell me… Would you like to know your fortune?"

Minato contemplated his answer for a moment. Before he could answer though, Hamuko's voice called out to him. "Minato!"

The fortune teller looked towards the red-eyed girl. "Ah… she is the same as you…"

Confused, the younger twin cast her brother a quizzical expression. "What does she mean?"

Yukari, following Hamuko, came over too to see if anything was wrong. "What's the holdup, Minato?"

"Perhaps it is too soon," the fortune teller said as she stood up from the fountain. She looked towards Minato once more. "If you are ever curious about what lies before you, I will be waiting… At Club Escapade… You're welcome anytime."

"I'll keep that in mind," Minato said, crossing his arms.

As soon as the lady was gone, Yukari eyed the boy dubiously. "You don't really believe in all that fortune telling stuff, do you?"

"Who knows?" The boy shrugged.

"What did she say to you?" Hamuko asked him.

He noticed the worry in his sister's eyes, but noticed a faint cloud of smoke growing behind her. He blinked his eyes but saw that the shadow had once again disappeared. "Nothing much," Minato lied. "Let's go."

"Yeah, it's starting to get late," Yukari pointed out.

He let the girls lead the way and stared at the two of them worriedly. Are these shadows I'm seeing what the lady meant? Something big is going to happen soon. I can feel it…

Yukari was grateful for the coffee she had earlier in the afternoon. All of this monitoring was beginning to get tiring. And with one of the cameras disabled, she had to be completely focused on the remaining screen so Ikutsuki could make certain whether or not the twins would be able to remain in the dorm. Still, something about watching someone sleep didn't bode well with the brunette.

Ikutsuki didn't seem to notice her discomfort as he stood behind her. "…How is she?"

Mitsuru appeared unfazed by the job too. "…The same as last night."

"Hmm… Very interesting. Even those who have the potential tend to be unstable at first… Memory loss… Disorientation… But, both subjects are rather unique. They haven't exhibited any of the common symptoms."

"But… we're treating them like guinea pigs," Yukari noted, the knot in her stomach tightening a bit.

"I understand your concern, but it's imperative that we recruit new members. I heard they're both in your class. Wouldn't you be more comfortable with working with someone from the same grade? A female classmate, at that," he said pointing to Hamuko.

"Yeah, I guess." Yukari looked down though. "But, still…"

She was quickly pulled away from those thoughts as an emergency call came in. She watched as Mitsuru quickly answered. "Command room. Is that you, Akihiko?"

Akihiko-senpai? Yukari immediately readied herself for danger.

A male voice came from the speaker, out of breath. "You're not gonna believe this…! This thing is huge! Unfortunately, I don't have time to talk… It's chasing me… I wanted to let you guys know. I'm almost there."

"Does that mean," Yukari stood up in surprise, "he's bringing that thing here!?"

Mitsuru followed suit and turned towards Ikutsuki. "Mr. Chairman! Let's suspend our observation for now. We'll prepare for battle!"

Ikutsuki nodded. "R-right! Be careful!"

The two girls hurried downstairs and made it in time to see a white-haired senior enter the dorm. He slammed the door behind him before collapsing to his knee and grabbing his arm. "Agh…!"

Mitsuru was immediately at his side. "Akihiko!" She placed her rapier down and looked the boy over for any wounds.

"I'm alright," the boy reassured her before looking up at Yukari. "Get ready to be surprised… It'll be here any second."

"This is no time to joke around!" Mitsuru scolded him.

Ikutsuki was coming down the stairs too and was relieved to see the boy safe. "It's one of them, Akihiko?"

"Yes," the boy nodded, "but not an ordinary one—" A slam on the door interrupted him.

Yukari couldn't help but let out a scream. "What the…!? You've gotta be kidding me!"

Assessing the situation, Mitsuru quickly took charge. "Mr. Chairman, please head for the command room! Takeba, go upstairs and wake them up! Then, escape out the back."

The junior looked at the older girl with worry and surprise. "But, what about you two?"

The redhead prepared her rapier. "We'll stop it here." She looked towards Akihiko as he got up. "You led it to us, Akihiko, so I'm afraid you'll have to fight."

"Like I had a choice!" He turned to their junior. "What are you waiting for, Yukari? Go!"

Snapped out of her worry, Yukari turned towards the stairs. "I-I'm going!"

Minato stared at the bright full moon outside. Usually, it was a welcome sight, but tonight, the blue-haired boy felt an unsettling dread build within him. What is up with today? Why can't I shake this feeling that something bad is going to happen?

A white blur darted through the streets and Minato quickly focused on it. It was the same white-haired boy from a few days ago! The blue-haired boy's frown grew.

That must be Sanada, he deduced as the boy was running down the street towards the dormitory building. Huh!? Minato's eyes grew wide when he noticed the large cloud following Akihiko. Unlike the previous shadowy figures, this one took on the shape of a cloaked beast. The Reaper!? It was half complete compared to the ones Minato normally saw, but there was no mistaking that deathly figure following the senior.

It was then that the junior noticed a massive black blob coming after the senior. The older boy took out a gun and placed it against his head. Minato eyes grew wide as a massive blonde being emerged from nowhere, forcing the cloaked Reaper to disappear. The blue-haired junior wanted to watch some more but he could hear someone running down the stairs before the front door slammed shut. In that moment, Minato quickly retreated deeper into his room and searched for something to defend himself with.

"Come on," Minato let out a frustrated sigh as he tore through his boxes. "Where is it!?" He dug through all of his junk and finally saw what he was looking for. "Yes!"

Minato grabbed the polished black rod sticking up from the box and quickly pulled it free. He expertly unsheathed the sword and swung it a few times, before deeming it would have to do for now.

It's only supposed to be decorative, but I've no choice, he thought as he exited his room to wake up his sister.

He glanced towards the stairs and saw Yukari running down the hall to greet him. "Oh, good! You're up!" Once Minato reached her, she handed him a gun. "Take this, and let's go!"

Although questions began swimming in the boy's head, he nodded and led the way to his sister's room. First to the door, he began pounding his fist against it urgently. "Hamuko! Get up!"

Yukari caught up and fumbled with a set of keys. "Wake up!" She finally found the key she was looking for. "Sorry, I'm coming in!"

Hamuko groggily sat up in bed as she watched her brother and friend burst into her room. "What's wrong?" She was answered by the building violently shaking.

Minato impatiently grabbed his sister by the arm and pulled her along beside him. "Come on!" He cast a glance towards Yukari. "What's going on?"

Yukari gave the two an apologetic look as she looked down the hall. "I don't have time to explain. We have to get out of here, now!"

Finally aware of the danger, Hamuko shook sleep from her mind. "Okay!"

Minato exited the room first, and Yukari pointed him to where to go. "Hurry! Downstairs! We'll leave through the back door!" As Hamuko followed, Yukari stopped her. "Wait!" Minato turned towards the girl impatiently and noticed Yukari was carrying a rather cumbersome pole. "Take this, just in case."

"A naginata?" Hamuko tested its weight as Minato raised an eyebrow at such a bothersome implement. He was reminded of their frantic situation as Yukari passed him.

"Okay, let's go! Follow me!"

The three were finally at the rear entrance of the dormitory. Minato took a look around the lounge and noticed the front door was ajar. He could hear yelling outside. That sounds like Kirijo-senpai, he absently thought as Yukari was starting on opening the door.

"Alright, we should be safe now—" A beeping distracted her and the brunette quickly pulled out a communication receiver.

Mitsuru's voice sharply rang out. "Takeba, do you read me!?"

"Y-yes! I hear you!"

"Be careful! There's more than one enemy! The one we're fighting isn't the one Akihiko saw!"

"What!?" Yukari looked around but jumped when the back door shook as something banged against it. "Let's pull back!"

Minato led the way this time as he hurried up the stairs. What the hell are we dealing with here!?

Hamuko let out a yelp as a potted plant on the second floor lounge area fell. "Nii-san!"

"What was that!?" Yukari was surprised too. Before the other two could respond, they heard footsteps beneath them. "It's getting closer! K-keep moving! Hurry!"

Minato looked around the fourth floor, but seeing how hiding wouldn't help, he decided to go to the roof. He didn't bother to think about what to do afterwards as he thought he saw a blob behind them.

Yukari quickly locked the door to the roof behind them and let out a relieved sigh. "The door's locked. I think we're safe for now…" A growl behind the twins made her look towards them and she stiffened. "You gotta be kidding me…! It climbed up the wall!?"

"Hamuko!" The building shook as a masked blob with multiple arms and blades popped its head up to greet them. Minato quickly ran to his sister's side, blade out. He turned to Yukari for some assistance, but noticed she was frozen with fear. "Takeba!"

Yukari suddenly snapped out of it and tried to regain her composure. "That's the thing that attacked this place… We call them Shadows! O-oh yeah… I have to fight…" She reached for the gun beside her. "I… I can summon mine… No problem…" As she pointed the gun to her head, the Shadow swung an arm towards her, knocking the girl down. Her gun slid towards them and Hamuko absently picked it up.

Minato stared at the gun in his own hand and looked to his sister. "Just point it to your head and pull the trigger," he muttered as he recalled the white-haired boy doing the same thing earlier.

The image of the young boy the night before came into his mind. The boy smiled at him. "Go on," he whispered.

Hamuko looked at her brother as if he were crazy, but saw that he was no longer paying attention to her. She watched her brother calmly stand his ground and slowly lift the gun to his head. Hamuko did the same thing and at once, the twins pulled the trigger whilst whispering. "Persona."

A strange feeling enveloped her as a bionic girl with long orange hair appeared before her. Beside the girl was a white-haired bionic boy. Both shared the same red eyes and carried lyres on their backs. The two beings spoke softly to the two twins. "Thou art I, and I am thou. From the sea of thy soul I cometh. I am Orpheus, master of strings…"

"Orpheus…" Hamuko wistfully stared at her version of Orpheus before a shooting pain threatened to split her skull.

Beside her, Minato collapsed to his knees and grabbed his head. "Hrngh!"

Before them, both Orpheus convulsed as something tore them apart from the inside. Darkness erupted out of both Personas and combined to form a massive new Persona. Hamuko helped her brother up as the large beast charged towards the Shadow and ripped it to shreds with its bare hands and teeth. The floating coffins behind the Persona collided into each other as it continued its destruction. Soon, the Shadow was no more. The Persona lifted its head towards the full moon and let out a roar before splitting back into its original forms.

Hamuko reached out for the female Orpheus but she soon vanished. She turned to Minato and he only gave her a tired smile. The two started towards Yukari to help her as the girl tried to stand up. "Is it over…?"

Minato paused as he sensed a presence on the roof with them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a few Shadows darting straight for the unarmed girl. Yukari noticed too and screamed, but before she knew it, the boy had darted in between them with Hamuko giving him support.

The boy calmly put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger once more. "Persona!" The male Orpheus appeared again and slammed his lyre into one while Minato himself skewered another with his sword.

Hamuko gracefully leapt up into the air and brought the blade of her naginata down on the last one. The two smiled at each other at a job well done before both sensed fatigue rushing into their bodies. Hamuko leaned against her brother, but soon he collapsed to the ground with her following after him.

Yukari quickly got to her feet and checked on the two. "Are you okay!? Come on! Say something!"

Hamuko was barely conscious as she heard the door to the roof open. A new voice reached her ears. "Are you alright!?"

Yukari shook Minato's tired body. "Can you hear me!? Please…! Answer me!"

Hamuko couldn't keep herself awake any longer. She wanted to make sure her brother was okay, but her body wouldn't listen. She let her eyes close and felt herself be whisked away.

When Hamuko next opened her eyes, she found herself sitting in chair, placed in the middle of a moving elevator. To her right, she noticed Minato was also coming to. "Nii-san!" she called out.

Minato's eyes immediately opened. He looked around and noticed Igor patiently waiting for them. Hamuko turned to look at the resident and saw the long-nosed man smiling.

"It's so nice to see you again. You became unconscious after awakening to your 'power'. It's nothing to worry about, though. So, just relax." Surprisingly, both twins were able to do just that. "By the way… I see that it was Orpheus that heeded your calls. That power is called a Persona… It is the manifestation of your psyche."

Hamuko was confused. "Persona?"

Beside her, Minato made a face. "My psyche?"

Igor solemnly nodded his head. "It may take some time to fully comprehend. A Persona is a facet of your personality that surfaces as you react to external stimuli… You can think of it as a mask that protects you as you brave many hardships."

"A mask?" Hamuko felt as though she was grasping the basics of it. Orpheus was a part of her and her brother's souls. And that thing that erupted from Orpheus, maybe that was a part of their souls too, but her head was still clouded from exhaustion to follow that line of thought through.

As though he could read her thoughts, Igor continued. "That being said, your power is still weak…" Hamuko nodded as that other Persona must have been too powerful for the twins to currently handle.

Minato frowned. "Whaddya mean 'weak'?"

Igor only smiled at the boy as if he were waiting for such a question. "When you use your Persona ability, you must channel your inner strength. The ability evolves as you develop your Social Link—your emotional ties with others. The stronger your Social Links, the more powerful your Persona ability." Minato's frown deepened. "Please remember that." The twins felt themselves being pulled away from the Velvet room. "Now, then… time marches on in your world. I shouldn't keep you here any longer. Next time we meet, you will come here of your own accord. Until then… Farewell."

~B*O*N*U*S~S*C*E*N*E~

"Because of your recklessness, our numbers have been reduced to just me and Takeba." Mitsuru was livid as she scolded the white-haired boy before her.

Akihiko tried to shrug it off as the redhead examined his arm. "I had to do something! You saw the size of that Shadow!"

"Yes, but you were unable to finish it off. That fell onto Yuki and Arisato and look what became of them because of it."

The boxer smirked. "Yeah, they're tough. Their first Shadow and they pulled it off with flying colors."

"This isn't a game, Akihiko," Mitsuru glared at him.

The ice in her tone made Akihiko flinch. "Sorry…" He looked away from the redhead. "At least we got away with the barest of injuries."

"I wouldn't say that," Mitsuru sighed as she lightly squeezed Akihiko's arm.

The boy cried out in pain. "Easy!"

"Maybe you'll take this as a lesson for next time." Mitsuru picked up her rapier and left the command room, leaving Akihiko pouting by himself.

Akihiko tested his injured arm but winced from the pain. "This'll set me back a few weeks worth of training. Oh well, better stock up on some more protein!"

Final Notes: Not a very eventful bonus scene. I didn't really know what to put since I'm kind of limited in what the game gave me at this point. Oh well... Minor Mitsuru and Akihiko shipping ahoy. I did the best I could with the awakening scene and the way I wrote it made the most sense to me when it came to both Orpheus suddenly transforming. It's almost time for the game to properly start... I can't believe how long it's taking just for the introductory exposition to finish itself. Oh yeah, I cut out the command room scenes between Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Ikutsuki. Again, I felt it was unimportant and I really don't like cutting back and forth between scenes when it's not necessary. We know Minato and Hamuko are special. We also know something is strange with them. So obviously, that crazy Persona that erupted from them is going to be important later. I don't need Akihiko and Mitsuru pointing that out... Or maybe I'm just being lazy. Eh... Whatever.