Author's Notes: One of the longest chapters I have. The longest one is another operation chapter, but I'll get to it when I get to it. For now though, it's time for pretty much the highlight of the game for me. Saving Fuuka... Yeah, I'm super biased but to each their own.

~7 JUNE 2009~

Minato sat at his desk and took out a clean sheet of paper. He carefully set his first thought map to the side and studied his list of questions. He tapped his pencil on his desk for a few minutes before he found a suitable place to start.

Okay, time to go over the information Shinjiro-senpai gave us. According to him, the victims of the 'ghost' were girls who visited the back alley during the night, badmouthing Yamagishi. This answers the question of the rumors regarding Yamagishi. The definition of 'weak' I will now use will refer to Yamagishi being the victim of bullying. She is 'weak' because she could not stand up to them. The more specific terms of 'weak-willed' or 'weak-hearted' come to mind, but again, I do not know Yamagishi so I cannot say they're accurate. Plus, it's rather rude to base a person's character off of some rumors, so I will refrain for now.

Another factoid Shinjiro-senpai shared was that the 'ghost' is the vengeful spirit of Yamagishi. He said for himself that Yamagishi 'may be dead' but I refuse to believe that. The days before her disappearance, I would have noticed a Reaper. In fact, the only Reaper I noticed was on…

Minato's face went white as he shook his head. He scanned his first sheet a few times to see if anything could contradict with his current line of thinking.

No, 'Makoto' is the only Reaper I saw with certainty. But there's no way she could be Fuuka Yamagishi…! She could be… But she can't…! No, it's possible… Stop, it's impossible…!

The blue-haired boy slammed a fist down onto his desk and forced himself to clear his mind. "Don't let your personal feelings get in the way," he scolded himself. "The truth is right in front of you. The only challenge is to not turn away from it." He took a deep breath as he took out a red pen and marked his first diagram before continuing with his second thought map.

Let's add another assumption. Let's say 'Makoto' is indeed Yamagishi-san. This coincides with the fact that during the last week, I did not see her at school. Yamagishi-san's attendance records show that she did attend classes that Friday after we spoke, but on the Saturday the first victim was found, she was not present. I did not see Yamagishi-san at all on Friday, but did see the first victim.

That's right… I saw only the first victim on that Friday. Shinjiro-senpai didn't give an exact time on when Yamagishi-san disappeared, but something must have happened to her between the time I last saw her on Thursday and that next Saturday when the first victim was found. This narrows it down to Friday. Most likely the incident occurred during the afternoon. I can say this with certainty because of a couple of reasons. One: Yamagishi-san's attendance record shows she was indeed in class on Friday. Two: the first victim deliberately returned to campus that night. But why would the victim return?

If I assume this is related to Yamagishi-san's bullying, the victim must have done something Yamagishi-san earlier that day that warranted her to return. Did she need to get rid of evidence? Or was it something else? I suppose I don't know enough to elucidate this situation so I must stop this line of reasoning for now.

Instead, I must focus on a very important question. Where is Fuuka Yamagishi now? Someone with the Potential should be easy for Kirijo-senpai to track, but Yamagishi-san hasn't awakened to her Persona. Kirijo-senpai's powers are also not fully developed in regards for searching outside of Tartarus so it would be impossible for me to ask her to search for Yamagishi-san. Nobody has seen the missing girl for over a week. She must be somewhere, even if it is a difficult place to get to, but the only place that comes to mind is Tartarus.

Minato looked outside his window towards the high school. The foreboding Reaper Cloud over it cast a shadow over the building despite it being a bright Sunday afternoon.

But the incident occurred during the day. Friday afternoon… There's no way a person would be trapped in Tartarus then. This only leaves the other possible explanation and that would be that Yamagishi-san is…

Minato's pencil snapped in half. "She's not dead!" He threw the broken utensil away and slammed both his fists ionto his desk. "She can't be dead!" He let out a frustrated yell as he pushed himself away from his desk. The blue-haired boy collapsed face down onto his bed, slightly shifting to his side before curling into a fetal position.

Outside in the hall, Hamuko thought back to the younger boy she met that day. "So Ken-kun goes to Gekkoukan Elementary?" She handed Junpei some coins.

Junpei nodded. "Yeah. Yuka-tan and I talk to him a lot considering he spends a lot of time by himself at the shrine." Minato's violent outburst made Junpei look down the hall as he put a coin into the vending machine. "Huh?" He turned to Hamuko as he tossed her a can of Mad Bull. "Is something wrong with your brother?"

She thanked the capped boy as she frowned at her brother's closed door. "He must have figured something out."

"That's great, right?" Junpei smiled.

Hamuko shook her head. "I don't think he liked what he discovered."

"O-oh," Junpei's smirk wavered. "Hey, I'm going to go out. You want me to order takeout for you and your brother?"

"Yeah, that sounds great. Thanks, Junpei."

The capped boy tugged on his cap before heading downstairs. Hamuko watched him for a while before going down the hall. She carefully knocked on her brother's door. "Nii-san?"

There was no answer and Hamuko carefully opened the door. He never kept it locked considering she was his daily alarm clock. She held her breath as she let herself in, but noticed her brother had his back turned towards her.

After closing the door, she quietly walked up to him before sitting at his side. She placed a hand on his arm. "Nii-san?"

"Shinjiro-senpai is probably right," Minato muttered, mainly to himself. "Fuuka Yamagishi is probably dead."

Hamuko glared at her brother's defeatist attitude. "You don't know that for certain."

"I know the probability is high," Minato responded, angry fear filling his voice. "Go check out my notes for yourself if you don't believe me."

Hamuko picked up the papers on his desk. It was a bit difficult to make out considering he tended to write extremely quickly whenever his thoughts were in a frenzy, but she studied the flow charts as best as she could. "So you think your 'nameless friend' is Fuuka…" Sad worry entered the girl's red eyes. "Is that why you're so upset?"

"It looks like I ended up killing her," the older brother lifelessly said. "I should have never tried to recruit her into SEES. I should have noticed how the girls in her classroom were treating her." He rolled into a tighter ball as his voice cracked, "I should never have tried to reach out to her."

"Nii-san…" Hamuko returned to his side and knelt down. She placed a comforting hand on his head and smoothed his hair. "It isn't your fault…"

Minato bitterly laughed. "I practically handed her to the Reaper, Hamuko. She's gone…"

"I think there's still a chance," Hamuko muttered, pressing her forehead against her brother's back. Minato didn't respond so she continued. "It's a high probability she's dead, but that means there's a small chance she's still alive. In fact, I'm sure she's alive."

Minato stared at his knees before asking, "Is that your instinct talking?"

The girl shook her head. "It's me believing, nii-san."

"Believing, huh?" The older twin was rather dubious. "You're willing to make a gamble against me on this belief?"

"Yup," Hamuko smirked as she stood up. "Besides, if she were dead, don't you think I'd be able to see her?"

"Don't make jokes like that," Minato said, rolling over to face her.

"Says the boy who thinks she's dead," Hamuko crossed her arms and challenged her brother.

"We'll see then," the boy stared out his window. "Tomorrow."

"Alright then," the girl nodded. "By the way, the loser has to pay Junpei back for tonight's dinner."

"Wait, what?"

~8 JUNE 2009~

The four juniors hurried to the Faculty Office to meet with Ekoda but were surprised when they saw a certain senior already there. Yukari looked to the older student oddly. "Oh, Mitsuru-senpai. Why are you here?"

"Same reason as you," she nodded to the juniors before turning towards the man beside her. "Mr. Ekoda, I'm here to ask you about a student named Fuuka Yamagishi…"

A girl with brown hair looked to the group with wide eyes. "No! I-I never thought it'd turn out like this… Fuuka…"

Yukari stared at her for a moment before realizing something. "Wait… You're that girl…"

Minato cut the junior off as his Hellhound instincts immediately took over. "What the hell did you do to Yamagishi-san?"

Beside him, Mitsuru nodded as she took a more level-headed approach to questioning the suspicious girl sitting before them. "You will explain yourself to us."

Mr. Ekoda tried to calm both members of the Student Council. "Hold on, Mitsuru… This isn't an interrogation. Natsuki, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to. You wouldn't want to give her the wrong idea."

"It's already too late for that," Minato glared at the man. "Besides, should you really be getting in our way right now? Your ass is already in hot water."

"Why, you—!?"

"Yuki," Mitsuru glared at the junior and noticed that he didn't flinch as he normally did. "I understand your concerns but Mr. Ekoda is correct about the situation. Arisato, calm your brother."

Hamuko nodded and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Here, I'll take over." After her brother reluctantly stepped aside, the brunette knelt before Natsuki and looked the terrified girl straight in the eyes. Keeping her tone soft and gentle, Hamuko lightly pressed her to speak to them. "It's okay, Natsuki-chan. Just explain to us what you know."

The girl nodded, feeling more at ease. "Fuuka… She… She always looked so frazzled whenever I gave her a hard time… Then, I realized… She's an honor student, but deep inside, she's the same as us. I knew exactly which buttons to push. We were just messin' with her that day, too! May 29th… We took Fuuka to the gym… and locked the door from the outside…"

"What!?" Junpei exclaimed. "You locked her in!?"

Yukari and Minato turned to each other, alarmed that they had just missed what had happened. The blue-haired boy's hands clenched into fists, but he did his best to remain calm as Natsuki continued. "That night, Maki returned to school alone. She was afraid we'd get in trouble if Fuuka committed suicide. But, she never came back… and the next morning…" She trailed off.

Yukari nodded her head as she pieced it together. "She was found lying on the ground by the gate."

"I went to the gym to let Fuuka out, but the door was still locked… So, I opened it and went inside, but she wasn't there… We all freaked out. Starting that night, we all went looking for her. But every night, another one of us went missing… and they each ended up like Maki!"

"I see," Mitsuru frowned as a theory came to her. "By the way, Mr. Ekoda," she turned towards the teacher. "All this time, you've attributed Yamagishi's absences to 'illness'. But in reality, she was missing." Minato haughtily smirked as he had previously informed the redhead of this blatant discrepancy. "You must have been aware of that… What was your intention?"

The teacher nervously looked away. "I was thinking of the students, of course. You children may not understand, but we have to consider the future of everyone affected."

"That's bullshit," Minato spat out in disgust, making the man flinch. "You knew what was going on with Yamagishi-san and you just let it happen—"

"Yuki!" Mitsuru waited as the Hellhound took a few deep breaths before taking care of the matter herself. "You mean, you chose not to report this to the police for the 'good of the class'." She studied the man's nervous ticks as he avoided her gaze.

"It, it was in her best interest. I wouldn't want her records to be stained by something like this. Her parents agree!"

Minato opened his mouth, but Mitsuru quickly preempted his next outburst with a glare. Sensing her cold gaze, Minato simply narrowed his eyes on the man as his fists tightened, causing his knuckles to go white. Glad it worked, Mitsuru continued. "So to protect your career, you ignored your responsibility as a teacher… How despicable…!"

Ekoda gasped as her words stung like a blizzard frost. "I-I didn't… I was just…"

Mitsuru ignored him as she turned back to Natsuki. "About your friends… Did you notice anything unusual before the incidents? Anything at all."

Hamuko gave her another gentle smile. "Don't worry. Ekoda is the one in trouble here, not you. Anything you say can help us find Fuuka."

Natsuki nodded. "They all heard a voice… A creepy voice. Right before each of them went missing. They said it was calling their name."

Junpei shivered. "Oh, man…"

Yukari looked towards their senior. "Senpai, could it be…!?"

Mitsuru took the team privately aside. "It's them… no doubt about it. Until now, there was no way of knowing how or why some people are conscious during the Dark Hour… But, it's the voice; it draws them in. It's not a random phenomenon. This whole thing has made me realize… They're clearly targeting humans. Shadows are the enemy of mankind." Hamuko and Minato looked to each other with a frown but Mitsuru turned her attention back towards Natsuki. "Stay at our dorm tonight; it's the safest place." The girl nodded in response. "If you hear the voice, tell us immediately. And don't leave the room, no matter what. If you can do that much, you should be okay. Don't worry, Yamagishi should be alright as well," her eyes wandered over to Minato. His usual blank but calm expression returned to his face as he nodded to the senior in understanding. Mitsuru addressed the rest of the team. "We'll meet after school in the Student Council Room to discuss tonight's operation."

Junpei was surprised. "T-tonight!?"

"We're going to rescue Yamagishi," Mitsuru nodded. "If my guess is right, she's still inside the school." She dismissed the juniors but had Minato stay behind. "Yuki, I need to speak to you."

The boy glanced at Natsuki and Ekoda. "Can we do it as we walk?"

"Of course," the redhead nodded.

"I know it's about my outbursts," Minato stared straight ahead as he walked beside her. "I'll do my best to control my temper next time."

"See to it that you do. You may lead SEES but you are still a student of Gekkoukan, so you must learn to act your place."

"I understand," Minato frowned to himself.

Satisfied that he learned his lesson, Mitsuru smirked at the boy. "I do have to thank you though. Without your deductions, this would have escaped my notice. Good work as usual, Yuki. Be sure to keep it up."

Minato straightened up and saluted the Student Council President. "Of course, Senpai!"

Yukari did a headcount to make sure all of SEES was present before locking the door behind her. "All set."

Mitsuru nodded in thanks before addressing the entire team. "Tonight, we will infiltrate the campus. Our objective is to rescue Fuuka Yamagishi."

Junpei frowned. "Um, I don't get it… Is Fuuka inside the school somewhere?"

"And why at night?" Yukari added. "At midnight, this place turns into—"

Misturu nodded. "Exactly. That's how Yamagishi wandered into Tartarus."

Minato crossed his arms and Hamuko shot the boy a triumphant smirk. Nobody else noticed though so Yukari continued. "Then, ever since Fuuka got locked in the gym, she's been stuck there…?"

Mitsuru nodded and Junpei began to panic. "But, that was ten days ago! That means…" This time, Minato gave Hamuko a stern frown.

"Not necessarily," Akihiko shook his head. "We can't jump to conclusions. Tartarus only appears during the Dark Hour. So, what about the rest of the day?"

Hamuko nudged her brother as Yukari considered it too. "Now that you mention it…"

"This is only a theory," Akihiko began, "but I think time may function differently with respect to Tartarus. So, even though it's been ten days for us, perhaps only ten hours have passed for her. It's possible she's still alive." The white-haired boy noticed Hamuko's wide smirk as the boy beside her let the information sink in.

Junpei's eyes widened. "Wow, ya think so!? Uh, but the Dark Hour is pretty brutal… We can barely handle an hour; how's she gonna last ten!?"

Minato nudged his sister at this as Yukari became worried. "That's true… And, even if she's still alive, we might not be able to get to her…"

The blue-haired boy let the despair slowly wash over him until Akihiko glared at the archer. "Are you just gonna let her die, then!?" His exclamation made everyone turn towards him. "I have an idea. Let's try to enter Tartarus exactly how Fuuka did. We'll go to the gym, and wait for midnight. That's the quickest way."

"Is that really gonna work…?" Yukari asked dubiously.

Mitsuru frowned at the boxer's suggestion. "Honestly, I have reservations. If something goes wrong, you could all end up lost in Tartarus too. But…"

Akihiko shook his head. "I won't stand by and do nothing if there's a chance we can save her… I'd never forgive myself. If you guys don't want to go, then I'll go by myself."

Yukari looked at him in surprise. "Senpai…?"

Mitsuru nodded her head. "Alright. We're aware of the risks, but we can't just leave her there."

The archer smiled. "I agree. And we won't know until we try."

Junpei smirked at a thought. "Cool, we get to sneak into the school!" He chuckled to himself. "In that case, I know just what to do…"

All of SEES began exiting the Student Council Room but Minato remained in his seat. Hamuko stood in front of him and prodded his forehead to get his attention. "Come on. Everything will be fine," she tried to convince him. "Just believe."

"Hrm," Minato's frown never disappeared as he tried to muster up whatever faith he had within him to try. Yamagishi-san… Please be alive…

Minato checked everyone's equipment as they gathered in the command room. "Yukari, tighten the string on your bow. Junpei, Hamuko went and got you a new sword. Sanada-senpai, here's some new string for your gloves. Hamuko, where's my whetstone?" After thanking his sister, he sat down and began sharpening his sword.

Mitsuru frowned as she stared at her phone. "Hmm…"

Akihiko looked up from his gloves and looked at her. "What's wrong?"

"I can't get a hold of the Chairman," she replied. Minato paused what he was doing and looked up with a frown.

Yukari shrugged. "I guess we can handle it ourselves."

"There's one problem, though," Mitsuru shook her head. "Without the Chairman's help, I'm not sure how we can get inside the school…"

Junpei smirked as if he saved the day. "No need to worry. I've got it all set to go."

"Set to go…?" Mitsuru looked at the capped boy with confusion. "An explosive?" She chuckled to herself. "Alright, I'll let you handle this."

Akihiko finished lacing his gloves and stood up. "We don't have time to waste. Let's go." The two seniors started off without them.

Hamuko and Yukari looked at Junpei curiously. Yukari finally took the bait and asked, "An explosive? For real?"

"Nah…" Junpei shook his head, slightly confused as to why the senior thought he had access to such a ridiculous method. "All I did was unlock a door…"

Satisfied with his sword's sharpness, Minato stood up and tested his weapon. "Let's hurry up and do this then."

The team stood in the middle of a hallway as they got inside with ease. Junpei's smile seemed to grow wider. "See? We got in no problem. Man, I'm a genius!"

"Is that really something to brag about?" Yukari sighed.

Mitsuru nodded, impressed with the capped boy's forward thinking. "So, you unlocked it earlier… Tres bien!"

"Oui," Akihiko agreed with a smirk before focusing on their operation. "No time for compliments. Let's go."

Yukari turned to Junpei. "What's the big deal, anyway…?"

"Tray Ben…?" The capped boy knit his eyebrows together. "What's that mean? That's not English, is it?"

"She said 'very good'," Minato sighed as he continued without them.

"Yeah, it's French!" Hamuko smiled, following her brother.

Junpei tugged on his cap. "Lousy seniors and their lousy French…"

They all gathered in Classroom 2-F to reassess their situation. Yukari looked around in their dark classroom with a frown. "Can we turn on the lights…?"

"Aww," Junpei teased. "You scared?"

"No!" the girl's face went red. "Stupei."

"Stop callin' me that!"

"Quiet," Akihiko scolded the two. "It's better if we leave 'em off. They cut the power at night anyway."

"I don't like sneaking around…" Yukari frowned.

Mitsuru dismissed the girl's comment as she came up with a plan. "First, we have to find the key to the gym. Akihiko and I will check the janitor's room. You four check the Faculty Office. After that, we'll meet in the main hallway. Got it?"

"The Faculty Office, huh…?" Junpei smirked. "Hey, maybe we'll find some test questions!" He chuckled at the thought.

"Maybe I should go to the Faculty Office, too," Akihiko frowned. "It sounds interesting."

Mitsuru sternly crossed her arms. "Are you planning something unscrupulous under my supervision? If so, then expect to be severely punished…"

Akihiko tensed up and Junpei shook his head frantically. "It-It was a joke! I'd never do something like that!" He nervously laughed.

Beside him, Akihiko tried to reason with her. "Come on, Mitsuru… Lighten up a little."

"Fine," Mitsuru turned towards the exit. "Let's head over to the janitor's room. Iori, you're coming with us."

The three left and Yukari sighed at the capped boy's stupidity. "Alright, let's get this over with."

The two girls carefully snuck downstairs as Minato rolled his eyes. He followed them, careful to keep his footsteps light and silent. This wasn't Tartarus so there was no need to be so cautious. As they reached the lobby, he heard footsteps so lightly descended the last few steps.

"Do you hear that?" Yukari whispered. The footsteps got closer and she grew a bit pale. "Th-there's someone else here…?"

Hamuko pulled her behind a pillar. A flashlight beam just missed Minato as he joined them. He peered around for the guard patrolling the hall and gave the girls a signal that they were in the clear.

Yukari let out a sigh of relief. "It's just a security guard…"

Hamuko looked at her friend with worry. "You're freaking out."

"No, I'm not!" Yukari's face went red. "I'm just a little nervous, that's all! Do you blame me? I mean, we did break into the school in the middle of the night. Wait a minute… That could've been one of the others. Haha, there's nothing to be afraid of, right?" She laughed some more. "Why am I laughing?"

"Let's hurry," Minato grumbled impatiently as he began walking across the lobby.

"I know…" Yukari followed behind him.

"Do you believe in ghosts?" Hamuko smiled, trying to lighten up the atmosphere. "Nii-san and I do."

Yukari slightly tensed up and gave her friend a light glare. "Um, of course not. We already know it's not a ghost. And besides, I'm not THAT afraid of—" Some ringing erupted from nowhere and made the girl scream. She looked down and realized it was coming from her pocket. "M-my cell phone!? Why now!?" She checked the device and groaned. "Figures… It's spam." She sighed as she put her phone away. "Sorry about that. It took me by surprise!"

Minato shook his head and glared at her. "You get scared so easily."

"Whatever," Yukari looked away from him.

Hamuko took a deep breath. "I was surprised too."

"See?" Yukari turned to the boy, glad she wasn't the only one who was surprised.

Minato rolled his eyes as he opened the door to the Faculty Office. Yukari immediately went to the board where the keys were and checked the labels. She absently tossed one to Minato.

"What does it say on this one?" she asked as she checked the other keys.

"Morgue," the boy responded with a straight face.

"What, are you trying to scare me or something? Trust me, you'll pay for that." The archer glared at Minato.

Hamuko chuckled as she took the key from her brother. "It says 'Gym'."

"Really? Let me see!" Yukari checked it for herself. "Yeah, this is it! Mind if we borrow this…?" She tucked it into her pocket. "Okay, let's go. We're supposed to meet them in the main hallway."

As they re-entered the lobby, they saw Mitsuru and the others already waiting for them. "Did you find the key?" the Student Council President asked.

"Sure did," Yukari said, handing it to her.

Junpei smirked at her. "Ya know, I heard a scream that sounded kinda familiar…" The girl ended up blushing and looking away from him. "What, you actually did? I was just kidding…"

"You wanna make somethin' of it!?" Yukari demanded.

"Keep it down," Akihiko scolded the two of them before looking towards Mitsuru.

"We'll divide into teams again. Three of you will enter Tartarus, and two of you will remain outside with me. Once the Dark Hour has begun, I'll determine Yamagishi's position."

"I'll go," Akihiko immediately volunteered. He turned towards the twins. "One of you should come, too. You can take the lead, like always."

Hamuko and Minato looked at each other before the older brother nodded his head. "Alright, I'll go."

Yukari frowned as she raised her hand. "Um, then, I'll be the third—"

"Wait a second…!" Junpei interrupted her. "Remember how I accidentally screwed up on the monorail? Gimme a chance to make up for that!"

"Oh, come on!" Yukari complained. "It's not always about YOU! Besides, you didn't 'accidentally' screw up."

Akihiko nodded at the capped boy. "Alright, Junpei, we'll give you another shot."

"Sweet! Thanks!" He smirked at Minato. "It's just us guys then!"

Akihiko noticed the glum look on Yukari's face. "What's wrong, Yukari? You don't want to stay behind with Mitsuru and Hamuko?"

"Um, n-no, it's fine," the girl quickly replied. She smiled at the red-eyed junior beside her. At least she'd have good company while the boys were gone.

Mitsuru checked her watch. "It's almost time."

Hamuko patiently waited as Mitsuru fiddled with a device on her motorcycle. Maybe I should have been the one to go, she thought as Mitsuru was having trouble adjusting the frequency.

Even Yukari was beginning to get worried as they watched the redhead work. "Um…"

"We still haven't heard back from them," Mitsuru frowned. "The transceiver's sensitivity is set to high, too…"

"O-oh yeah, that girl Natsuki…" Yukari remembered the girl they left behind. "I hope she's okay at the dorm…"

"Unfortunately, no place is completely safe in the Dark Hour. But, we couldn't possibly bring her here, and one of us staying behind was out of the question."

"Yeah… I guess so…" Yukari frowned. Mitsuru said nothing else so the archer tried to fill the dead silence. "But, we're all here for Fuuka's sake—"

A crackling voice echoed through the lobby. "Mitsuru, can you hear me?"

The senior immediately answered the boxer. "This is Mitsuru. I've confirmed your position. You're higher up than I expected… You're barely in communication range. Is everyone alright?"

"Don't know… got separ…" Akihiko was suddenly cut off.

"Akihiko! Come in, Akihiko!"

Yukari looked at her worriedly. "Is he out of range? I'm starting to get worried…"

"Are they lost?" Hamuko stood up, concerned for her older brother, but paused when she felt a change in the atmosphere. Huh? She glanced over to the Velvet Room door as the strange sensation was similar to the pull of the mysterious room. She looked around the lobby and paused when she noticed the mysterious boy from before.

He smiled at her and placed a finger to his lips. "Your brother is fine," he reassured her. "It'll just take him a while before he can catch up to everyone, that's all. You should be careful though… There is a more than one ordeal tonight…"

As he faded away, Hamuko's eyes widened as she had forgotten about the Full Moon. She picked up her naginata and seriously looked at Mitsuru. "Senpai? Can you try to scan for a Shadow? A big one, similar to what we faced on the monorail."

Yukari looked at her friend oddly. "Is something wrong?"

"Just a bad feeling I have," Hamuko tried to say with a smile. "Try not to worry about it too much."

Mitsuru nodded as she began a scan. "It may take some time considering I still need to contact Yuki and Iori. Please be patient."

"Of course," Hamuko nodded, hoping a large Shadow wouldn't attack the city tonight.

Minato opened his eyes slowly before sitting up. He got to his feet and picked up his sword. He tried looking around for Akihiko and Junpei but they were nowhere around him. He paused as his eyes landed on a smiling young boy's face. "Are you awake?" The boy circled Minato, checking to make sure the older teen was okay. "This is the first time we've spoken outside of your room," he pointed out.

"Why are you here?" Minato frowned.

The boy chuckled. "I told you, remember? I'm always with you."

Minato couldn't help but smile at that though as the boy's presence somewhat put him at ease. "Where are the others?" Minato curiously asked while looking around them.

"Don't worry," the child reassuringly smiled, "you'll see them soon." The boy stopped and frowned. "But, we don't have much time to talk," he shook his head. "Tonight, there is more than one ordeal you must face… You should hurry," he urgently stared up at the older boy. "She's waiting for you. You guys will need her. You will need her." Minato nodded as he understood the gravity of the situation. "Okay, then… I hope we can speak again." The boy disappeared, leaving Minato to think carefully about his words.

More than one... Does that mean I have to rescue Yamagishi-san and fight a Shadow? Or is it more than one Shadow? No, I should focus. He said Yamagishi-san is waiting for me and I'll… Minato paused as he knit his eyebrows together in confusion over the boy's strange choice of words. "I'll need her?" He was shaken out of his thoughts when his transceiver began spew static.

"Are… you… alri—? Distance… too far. Can't provide—back up. You got s—from Akihi—"

Minato pulled out his communicator. "Senpai? The signal's bad. Can you read me?" He absently continued down the convoluted hallways as he tried to lock down a secure channel with the senior.

Despite all his efforts though, Mitsuru's voice was barely audible above all the radio noise. "Akihiko and… aren't… this floor…"

The boy frowned to himself as he tried to piece together her message. "Understood, Senpai. I'll try to catch up with them on the next floor then," he calmly tried to communicate to her.

Minato stared at the silent radio for a while longer before putting it away with a sigh. He wasn't sure if his message got through or not, but hopefully Mitsuru would be able to sense he was okay. All that was left for him to focus on now was not getting lost. He lifted his head and started off once more before tensing up as he realized something.

"Where am I?" he asked himself while staring at a dead end. He slowly backed away from the wall and came upon a fork in the hall, but was immediately confused as to which direction he had come from. "Well, crap... I'm lost and I can't reach Kirijo... Sanada and Junpei aren't here either so it's not like I can call out to them for help. What am I supposed to do now?"

He let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. If he was lost, there wasn't much he could do about it except move on. It wasn't safe to remain in one place for too long anyway. After all, it was only a matter of time before that particular Reaper would start its usual hunt. With that in mind, Minato shook off whatever chills were trying to crawl down his spine and started walking down a random hall in the hopes of finding the stairs.

He didn't get far before the hairs on the back of his neck began to prickle though. The usual sensation of eminent danger washed over him as he drew his sword to face the few Shadows he could hear slithering towards him.

Fuuka frowned to herself as she continued wandering down the empty halls of the strange building. When she arrived at a fork, she looked down both directions before deciding the straight path was less dangerous. She let out a heavy sigh as she wondered how much longer she would have to keep walking before she'd find the exit to the labyrinth.

She paused though when she sensed something dangerous a little bit ahead of her. The path she was on led to a sharp turn that opened up into a large room and lifting her gaze from the ground, she flinched when she saw cinders flying from the doorway, illuminating the dark hall. She heard a sound similar to that of shattering glass and it was quickly accompanied by a ferocious roar yelling, "Persona!"

The teal-haired girl's eyes widened as it sounded very human. "Who's there...?" she asked while picking up her pace. "Are you human?"

Around the corner, a rough male voice grunted in surprise. "A person?"

Happy to have come across someone else, Fuuka began running. "Y-yes! I'm—Eek!" When she turned the corner a blob-like creature crashed to the ground before her feet, surprising her. It convulsed a bit before shriveling up into smoke and disappearing from her sight. Although the monster was gone, Fuuka shivered a bit as she cautiously lifted her gaze towards the other figure in the room standing with his back towards her.

"Sorry," the blue-haired boy wearing Gekkoukan uniform apologized while sheathing his sword and turning to face her. "I was hoping to have finished that Shadow off before you..." he trailed off as his blue eyes met the girl's brown ones. "Y-yamagishi-san?" he hesitantly asked in a rather quiet and meek voice.

"That's right," Fuuka nodded and gave him a relieved smile. The two stood in silence before Fuuka noticed the blood spattered on Minato's white blouse. "Oh! Are you hurt, Yuki-san?" she asked as she quickly started towards him.

"Huh?" Minato frowned back at her before noticing she was staring at his shirt. He looked down at his uniform and sighed at the unfortunate mess. "No, I'm fine," he replied while trying to rub out the dried stains from the fabric. "More importantly," he lifted his gaze back towards the girl in concern, "are you okay?"

Minato tensed up as he noticed the girl pause to consider how to answer him. He mentally kicked himself as it it was obvious she wasn't since she had been stuck in this mysterious labyrinth for who knows how long. There were even strange dangerous creatures prowling the halls and even though she had managed to evade them time and time again, she had no way of defending herself if she ever did come face to face with one. Above all, she was exhausted from wandering around looking for an exit so of course, she wasn't okay.

Still, despite all that, Fuuka managed to give him a weak smile. "I'm tired," she managed to reply, "but I should be fine since you're here, Yuki-san. You came to help me, right?"

The serious swordsman stared at her incredulously but felt a wave of relief wash over him. "Yeah," he nodded as he gave her a wan smile of his own. "I did..." His blue eyes began to tear up but he lowered his head so the girl wouldn't have to see him cry. His gaze fell onto his bag and he quickly managed to pull himself together enough to start digging through his supplies and work on their next move. "Alright," he spoke with a level voice. "You've been here for a while, so you're probably hungry and thirsty. Here," he held out a can of Cielo Mist and Cutlet Sandwich to the probably starving girl.

"Thank you," Fuuka gratefully accepted the food from him and began unwrapping the sandwich.

As she did so, Minato explained his current plan to her. "We'll start moving after you finish. Our goal will be to find the stairs to the next floor. From there, we'll need to regroup with my two teammates I got separated from. Once we all meet up, we'll be able to search for a return point and get out of this place. Will that be okay with you?" The girl nodded as she hastily tried to work through her sandwich, but this only made Minato frown at her in concern. "H-hey, slow down. You don't have to rush."

Fuuka guiltily frowned to herself as she slowly chewed and swallowed her current bite. "I'm sorry..." she apologized. "It's just... I think I might know where the stairs might be."

"Really?" the boy curiously tilted his head to the side and stared at her. "Are you sure?"

The girl hesitated for a moment before frowning to herself. "Well... it's more of a feeling I have. I'm sorry... That doesn't amount for much, does it?"

"Well, it's better than me getting us hopelessly lost," Minato tried to cheer her up. "Just take it easy," he reassured her with a nod. "We'll follow up on your lead when you're ready."

"But I don't want to make you wait too long for me to finish..."

"How about if I join you then?" he asked while pulling out another sandwich from his bag for himself. "I tend to get hungry too around this time. We might as well make ourselves comfortable," he shrugged as he sat on the ground and leaned back against the wall.

The quiet girl nodded and followed suit, taking a seat at his side. The two ate in comfortable silence but Fuuka kept her gaze fixated on her mysterious savior. She had all sorts of questions she wanted to ask him, but she noticed all of the wary caution in his eyes as the taller boy continuously scanned their surroundings. He seemed a bit aloof at the moment so she was dubious about whether he would give her any answers. Still, there was something about him that seemed welcoming and kind enough for her to try.

"Yuki-san?" she began, causing him to shift his blue eyes towards her. "Where are we?"

Minato stared at her for a minute before he forced himself to look away and reply. "Tartarus," he spoke in a quiet voice. "It's a... labyrinth filled with monsters that's usually inaccessible to normal people."

"So, there ARE strange creatures in here, then," Fuuka mused to herself before frowning in confusion. "But why are we here?" She patiently waited for an answer but noticed Minato simply tense up in response. Although she couldn't fully see his expression, she noticed he had scrunched his face into a pained scowl.

Just what am I supposed to say? The boy questioned himself. I don't even know why I experience the Dark Hour, but can I really tell her that she's here because she got involved with me? Even more, what about that Reaper I introduced her to? Do I just straight up tell her she's going to die and it's all my fault? Minato began shaking in despair but he was quickly pulled out of it when he felt a warm hand on his.

"Please answer me..." Fuuka gently pleaded to him while looking into his eyes.

She's looking at me with such clear eyes, Minato noticed in awe as her simple presence made him relax. It's like... she's not lost at all... Then again, it's not like she can see the—Huh!? His eyes flickered to the faint black mist clinging to her. That smoke again... I saw it on Hamuko and Junpei right before we all got our Personas, didn't I? This feeling I have around her... Is that a part of her innate power? Recalling the strange boy's earlier words, he took a deep breath before finally responding to her question. "You're here," he softly spoke, "because I nee—" He tensed up when he heard something ominous rattling in the distance.

The girl straightened up too as she curiously looked around for the source of the noise. "What's that sound?"

"Shit, it's here," Minato muttered as he swiftly rose to his feet. "We need to get get off this floor now," he urgently told her.

"H-huh?" Fuuka sensed the seriousness in his voice so got up too. "W-why? What is it?"

She never got her answer though because as soon as she was standing, Minato grabbed her hand and started running. The SEES field leader haphazardly sped through the halls in the direction opposite of the approaching Shadow Reaper and randomly chose which turns to take. It didn't take long before Fuuka realized he was operating on sheer panic as she tracked their movements through the convoluted maze.

"W-wait, Yuki-san! Not this way!" she cried as they made a sharp right turn at a four-way intersection.

He didn't seem to hear her though as he continued forward in a straight line. Fuuka sensed the boy wasn't going to be stopping anytime soon and if she allowed him to keep going, they would eventually find themselves at the dead end waiting for them up ahead.

The girl frowned to herself as she pulled her arm back before they could pass the next fork. "Yuki-san!" she called out to him with as much resolve as she could muster. "Please, stop!" She didn't manage to break free from his iron grip, but her sudden jerk did get his attention.

Slowing down, Minato threw a glare over his shoulder as he wondered what was wrong but he immediately stopped when he noticed she seemed to have something important to say. Even more, he could see he was clutching her hand way too tightly for it to have been comfortable so he hastily let go. "O-oh, sorry about that..." He took a quick look at their surroundings and frowned when he sensed the Reaper would be catching up to them soon. "What is it?" he impatiently asked the girl, eager to get moving again.

"We're going the opposite direction of the stairs," Fuuka told him while looking down the hall they came from. "We need to turn back."

"We can't," the boy firmly stated as he spotted the gun-toting Shadow turning the corner to come after them. "That Reaper is way too strong..." And I'm still too weak...

"We'll have to go around it through this way," the girl pointed at the fork's left turn. "This path will loop back to that junction too and we'll be able to reach the stairs then."

"How do you know that?" Minato asked while furrowing his eyebrows and looking at her curiously.

"I-I d-don't..." Fuuka faltered a bit as she suddenly became uncertain with herself. "B-but p-please..." she meekly spoke while lowering her gaze to the floor. "You have to believe me..."

The swordsman darted his eyes back to the Reaper and saw that it was beginning to pick up speed. Deciding to put his trust in the girl's directions, he wordlessly grabbed her hand and followed the path she pointed out to him. After all, his only alternatives were either to face the Shadow head-on or eventually get trapped. At least with her option, they might have a chance.

Fuuka was surprised by his sudden actions, but she did her best to keep up with him. Lifting her head, she noticed he was focused on the path ahead of them. "This leads straight back to that intersection, right? No detours or branches?" he asked between heavy breaths.

"That's right," Fuuka panted in reply. "When we get there, we need to make a right."

"But isn't that the direction we came from?"

"No, it's opposite the one we took," she reassured him.

"Are you sure?" Minato threw an utterly confused glance over his shoulder.

Feeling a bit more confident in herself, she nodded. "I'm positive."

"Alright then," Minato replied as he slowed down enough to make their turn. When they reached the center of the crossroad, Fuuka expected him to glance down the two other directions, but Minato didn't give them much thought as he continued down the hall under her directions. "Where do we go from here?" he asked as soon as they were on the proper path.

"The next left," Fuuka breathlessly spoke.

"Should I slow down for you?" The track runner looked back at her in worry.

The girl shook her head. "It's j-just... a little bit farther..."

Minato frowned to himself as he eased his pace just enough so she wouldn't have to push herself so hard. He immediately brightened when he saw the staircase right where she said it was and quickly let go of her hand. "Go on ahead," he guided her up the first few steps and cautiously glanced towards the hall. "I'll be right behind you," he told her, determined to keep her as safe as possible.

Completely out of breath, Fuuka simply nodded to him in reply before climbing the steps. When the two finally made it to the top, the floor suddenly shifted. Minato carefully pulled the girl out of the way as the stairs they had just climbed was now completely sealed off, preventing the two from returning to the previous floor. Eventually, things settled down to the point they were completely safe and in her immense relief, Fuuka collapsed to her knees.

"W-we made it..." she gasped while trying to catch her breath.

"Thanks to you," Minato nodded as he knelt at her side and held out a fresh water bottle he just dug out of his supply pack. "Take a moment to recover for now. I'll scout ahead a bit."

"B-but what if you get lost?" Fuuka asked him in alarm.

The boy's face went pink as he nervously looked away from her. "I won't go too far," he reassured her. "Besides, I need to see if my missing comrades are around. I'm sure they're worried by now..."

The teal-haired girl frowned as she stood to her feet. "Please let me go with you," she requested in concern.

Minato sighed when he heard the worry in her voice. "Can you keep your distance behind me then? If I get into a fight with an enemy, I don't want you getting involved."

Satisfied with the girl's nod, the swordsman immediately started for the hallway. He kept his hand on the hilt of his blade as he walked, ready to draw his weapon if necessary. He noticed there weren't many Shadows in his way though so he soon grew bored with how uneventful things seemed. Curious as to how Fuuka was faring, he cast a quick glance over his shoulder. He let out a relieved breath to see she was actually keeping up. Then again, it was thanks to her that the two of them had managed to safely escape the previous floor.

"Yamagishi-san?" he called back to her without taking his eyes off the path ahead of him.

"Y-yes?" Fuuka straightened up, surprised he was speaking to her when he seemed so preoccupied with finding his friends.

"On that previous floor," Minato inquisitively began, "how did you know where the stairs were? You said it was a feeling... Did you sense it somehow? Or was it an instinctive guess?"

"Um..." the girl took a moment to think it over for herself. "I think... it's a bit of both?"

"And the entire time you were alone, you never came across the monsters?"

She shook her head. "N-not at all... I was probably just lucky..." she weakly laughed. She stopped though when she noticed the boy in front of her remained in place. "Yuki-san?" she called out to him in concern.

"No, I don't think it was luck," Minato looked over his shoulder towards her. His blue eyes flickered to the invisible ghost of a Reaper stalking his companion and although he was a bit apprehensive, his hand twitched as it began moving towards the holster at his hip. "Can I ask you to do something for me?"

Fuuka straightened up when she finally noticed the gleaming silver gun strapped at the boy's side. "W-what is it?"

"I know this sounds insane..." Minato smoothly pulled out his Evoker and offered it to the girl in front of him. "But can you point this at yourself and pull the trigger?"

"H-huh!?" the teal-haired girl tensed up and stared at him in surprise. "W-what are you asking me to do?"

"Uh..." the boy lowered his gaze to the pistol in his hand. "Maybe I should demonstrate it on myself first..." he mused while pointing the thing at himself as he usually did to summon his Persona.

"W-wait, don't do that!" Fuuka cried out while trying to stop the boy from shooting himself. "You can't..." she trailed off as she sensed something approaching them from further down the hall. "S-something's coming..."

Minato sensed the presence too and quickly turned around to face it. He spotted a wide open space up ahead and began making his way there so he wouldn't have to do battle in the cramped hall. "Stay here while I take care of whatever it is," he sternly ordered the girl to hide behind the wall. The boy swapped his Evoker out for his blade and hid himself near the other entrance to the room in order to ambush whatever enemy was coming towards them. After a quick mental countdown, the SEES swordsman swiftly leapt out and pointed the tip of his sword at his opponent's throat, startling the tall capped boy.

"W-whoa!" Junpei jumped back before blinking at the blue-haired teen. "M-minato!"

"Junpei..." Minato frowned while lowering his weapon.

The other junior ignored him for a moment as he called out over his shoulder and waved to the senior coming towards them. "Hey, here he is!" Junpei smiled. "Man," he shook his head before frowning at their field leader, "we were worried about you."

"Sorry..." the shorter boy turned his head away from the two. "I got lost and couldn't connect to Kirijo-senpai..."

Akihiko nodded in understanding. "I don't think we should enter Tartarus this way again…"

"Hm..." the blue-haired boy grunted in agreement.

"Oh yeah!" Junpei looked to their leader, eyes wide. "Did you hear a voice while you were in here? Uh, kinda like—"

"Yuki-san?" Fuuka called out to the boy when she realized he wasn't caught in battle. "Who is it…? Are they also human?"

"Th-that's it!" Junpei exclaimed. "That's the voice! It sounded like it came from behind you." The capped boy and Akihiko looked past the thin swordsman before them and from behind a corner, a girl popped her head out.

"Oh, yeah..." Minato turned towards her. "It's safe to come out. These were the two I was telling you about."

Akihiko carefully stared at the girl. "Are you Fuuka Yamagishi?"

She ran towards them and nodded.

Junpei's face brightened as he couldn't hide his immense surprise. "Wow, you're alive! That's awesome! Never fear, Junpei's here!"

The boxer sighed in relief that they managed to find her. "I'm glad you're okay… Come with us."

"Thank you so much." Fuuka collapsed to her knees, overwhelmed with relief.

"Sorry, Yamagishi-san..." Minato frowned as he knelt down in front of her to check how she was doing. "I must have pushed you too hard. Would you like another water bottle?" he asked while shuffling through his supplies.

"Wait," Junpei frowned at the usually reserved teenager. "Don't tell me you were the one who found her! Have you been with her this whole time we were looking for you?"

"We just happened to come across each other," Minato shrugged as he had a drink himself since Fuuka declined his offer. "Either way, it's mission accomplished."

"Yeah," Akihiko nodded as he pulled out his transceiver. "Looks like we made the right decision. I'll see if I can contact Mitsuru."

Fuuka curiously looked around them. "Where are we exactly…? I was at school, and then…"

Junpei tried to come up with a way to explain but decided he and Minato weren't really meant for that job. "Well… It's a long story," he stated while mildly glaring at the quiet boy still on the ground. "We'll explain after we get outta here." He turned back to Akihiko as the boxer shook his communicator.

"Mitsuru, can you hear me?" The senior waited for a response but shook his head in frustration. "No good. All I hear is static." He looked over to Minato. "Can't you fix it?"

"I don't have my tools," Minato responded while standing up. "But I'll see what I can do."

Glad the field leader was now preoccupied with other things, Junpei began his own inspection of Fuuka. "Oh yeah, are ya hurt? Have you run into any monsters?"

Fuuka shook her head as the tall junior helped pull her up to her feet. "I've managed to avoid them so far…"

Akihiko stared at her in surprise. "Are you serious!?" the senior exclaimed. "How's that possible!?"

"Umm, it's hard to describe, but…" the girl shrugged, "I can sort of tell where they are…"

"Whaddya mean? Are you psychic?" Junpei asked with a cheeky grin.

"She probably has the same power as Kirijo-senpai," Minato plainly answered as he continued working on the radio. "Maybe even stronger…"

"Yeah," Akihiko nodded in agreement as he crossed his arms, "Since Mitsuru's Persona is more battle-oriented. Oh, here." He pulled out an extra Evoker he had on him and offered it to the girl. "Hang on to this."

Fuuka gasped as she held the weapon. "B-but, this is…!" She looked between the device in her hand and the one strapped to Minato's belt.

"Think of it as a lucky charm," the senior smirked. "It's not really a gun." He didn't explain much else as he looked towards their blue-haired handyman. "You finished yet, Minato?"

"Just about," the younger boy nodded.

The boxer took his transceiver back from Minato and turned towards the direction he just came from. "Alright, let's get outta here!"

"Right behind ya, Senpai!" Junpei gallantly exclaimed before following.

Fuuka expected Minato to do the same, but he didn't move. Instead, the blue-haired boy stared at Fuuka and extended out his arm for her to go first. "You should go ahead of me. I need to stick in the back to watch out for danger."

"R-right," Fuuka nodded to him, uncertain about the gun she held.

Minato sensed her hesitation and gently tried to assuage her hesitation. "Um... I sort of already explained to you how to use it, but whenever you're ready, just point it to your head and pull the trigger." Her eyes widened in surprise but the boy thoughtfully began staring at the new Evoker. "Then again... you've been managing fine this entire time without it..."

"I have?" the girl looked at him questioningly as he lifted his gaze to stare at her. Fuuka shivered as she had never had anyone look at her in such awe before.

Realizing he was gaping at her, Minato quickly averted his gaze. "A-anyway, if using that Evoker makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to. I mean either way," he absently brought a hand up to his own holstered gun and fiddled with the strap, "I'll be right there if you need me."

Fuuka noticed a strange faraway look in his determined eyes and gratefully nodded to the boy offering her his protection. "Th-thank you, Yuki-kun."

The thin swordsman gave her a curt nod before looking towards Junpei and Akihiko. "Now, let's get going."

The four of them wandered around Tartarus for a while before they passed a wide window. Junpei stopped and stared at the full moon outside. "Whoa, check out the moon! I've never seen it so bright."

Akihiko kept moving but nodded at the boy's comment. "Some research indicates that the Shadows are affected by the phases of the moon. Of course, the same can be said for humans."

"That would explain Yuka-tan's mood swings." Junpei paused as he remembered something. "Hey, wasn't it a full moon the night we went to the monorail?"

Akihiko stopped walking. "Was it?"

"I think so," Junpei frowned. "Why?"

Akihiko immediately looked back at Minato who was glaring at the moon. "Hey, did you see the moon the night the dorm was attacked, back in April?"

"It was full," Minato responded, giving away no emotion in his voice.

"Today is the 8th… The monorail incident happened last month around the same time… And the assault on the dorm was a month before that! They were all during a full moon!" Realizing this, Akihiko pulled out his transceiver again. "Mitsuru, are you there!?"

"Akihiko…?" Mitsuru sounded as if she were preoccupied. "Shadows—"

Minato's eyes flashed as he heard the sounds of steel clashing against something hard. Hamuko!?

"Hey, can you hear me?" Akihiko yelled into the device. "Mitsuru, come in!"

"Be careful…" That was all Mitsuru said before the line went dead.

"Mitsuru!?" Akihiko's grey eyes widened in panic. "Mitsuru!"

Fuuka tensed up beside Minato and he saw that she was focusing on something. "Yamagishi-san?"

"What is this thing…?" she asked, a bit frightened. "It's much bigger than the others… and it's attacking someone…"

Akihiko bolted down the hall. "Dammit!"

"What's going on!?" Junpei asked as he stared at the boxer's back.

"It's one of THEM!" Akihiko exclaimed. "If my guess is right, they come every full moon! We have to hurry!"

Minato nodded to Fuuka and the two took off running. The blue-eyed boy tensed up as he had stupidly let his guard down. "Hamuko! I'm coming!"

Junpei watched them for a while before following after them. "H-hey! Wait for me!"

Hamuko skid to a stop and frowned as she realized none of her attacks were dong a thing against the two Shadows. She looked expectantly towards the return pad but it still didn't respond. Nii-san, where are you!? She spun to the side and brought her naginata down again but the weapon merely glanced off of the giant Shadow. She let out frustrated groan before making a hasty retreat.

Finally, a green glow appeared and a girl with teal hair came out. "What in the world…!?"

Mitsuru turned towards the junior but her opening resulted in one of the large Shadows grabbing her.

Akihiko returned then and he stared at the enemies in surprise. "There's TWO of em!?" He saw Mitsuru in trouble though and immediately charged forward. "Mitsuru!" He attacked the Shadow but it didn't seem to care much about his strikes.

"Ugh…" Mitsuru weakly lifted her head as she watched him try to save her. "A-Akihiko…"

Yukari fired an arrow but as it bounced off her target, the Shadow quickly knocked the archer aside. She winced as she tried to get back up. "What's going on!? Nothing's working!"

Junpei came back and the Shadow turned towards him as he just entered the battle. "Oh shit! They looked pissed!"

Minato arrived just as Hamuko was knocked to the ground. "Hamuko!" He angrily glared at the Shadow before charging towards it for harming his sister. The boy pulled out his Evoker and Fuuka watched as he unflinchingly pulled the trigger while pointing the weapon to his own head. The girl's brown eyes widened as a boy with white hair appeared to tackle into the monster. "Rargh! Orpheus!" Minato frowned when his Persona's attack glanced off the Shadow, but he managed to get to his sister and pull her out of danger. "Are you okay?"

The red-eyed girl nodded. "You're finally here," she said, relief in her voice.

"Yeah. Sorry I was late," he frowned, standing up. He was about to attack again, but something caught his attention. "What?"

Natsuki wandered into Tartarus and seemed to be in a daze. Junpei noticed as she passed him. "Hey! Isn't that…!?"

Akihiko stopped punching and watched the girl make her way towards Fuuka. "Why the hell is SHE here!?"

"F-fuuka…" the brunette absently said as she stumbled to her knees.

Hamuko winced as she pulled away from her brother. "You need to get to them," she sternly told him as she saw Fuuka hurrying over to Natsuki's side.

"What?" Minato looked at the brunette in surprise, but Hamuko pushed him forward.

"Hurry, Minato!"

The older brother finally understood when he saw Fuuka crossing the lobby just to reach the girl who had been bullying her days before. Right, he though as his grip tightened around his sword, I won't let another person I pulled into the Dark Hour die!

When Fuuka finally made it to Natsuki, she knelt down to check if her classmate was okay. "Moriyama-san?"

"Wait!" Akihiko's eyes widened when he noticed how close to the Shadows the two were. "What are you doing!?"

The girl didn't pay any attention to him though as she tried to get through to Natsuki. "Please, get out of here! It's dangerous!"

Natsuki weakly smiled at her. "I… I wanted to tell you… I'm sorry…"

A Shadow moved towards Fuuka and Minato's eyes widened when he realized he wouldn't be able to make it in time. "Yamagishi-san!"

Fuuka heard him calling her and looked up to see the Shadow looming over her. Although terrified by the sight of it, she remembered the blue-haired boy's words from earlier and lifted up the Evoker.

"Wait!" Akihiko tried to get to her, but he couldn't leave Mitsuru with the Shadow. "That's not a weapon!"

"I know…!" Fuuka remembered how Minato was bravely able to summon that boy to defend Hamuko.

Akihiko watched in horror as the Shadow reeled back, lifting its sword, but Fuuka calmly put the gun to her head and pulled the trigger. A new Persona summoned around her and Natsuki, encasing them in a translucent bubble, just as the strike could connect. The Shadow's attack bounced right off the protective barrier, crashing into its comrade. Both large Shadows toppled to the ground and dropped Mitsuru in the process.

"Mitsuru!" Akihiko caught the falling redhead and dove out of the way of the collapsing Shadows.

"Yamagishi-san!" Minato stood in front of the girl, awed by the new Persona's sudden appearance.

"I am thou, and thou art I," the protective figure introduced herself. "From the sea of thy soul I cometh. I am Lucia, patron saint of the blind..."

"Lucia...?" Minato frowned to himself as he realized now was not the time to get caught up in his random knowledge of historical figures. He turned his back towards Fuuka in order to protect her against the fallen Shadows before focusing his attention on the recovering seniors. "Senpai! Are you okay?"

Mitsuru carefully got up, using Akihiko for support. "I'm alright," she reassured the team. "Be careful… Normal attacks won't work on these Shadows. And all of our instruments have been destroyed…"

"Just stay still!" Akihiko scolded her as he began to treat her wounds. "Besides…" he looked towards Fuuka.

"I can see…" Fuuka's voice echoed through the lobby.

No, that's not it, Minato realized. She's speaking directly into my mind.

"Is that the voice…!?" Mitsuru wondered but she watched as Fuuka focused on the Shadows.

"I… I can sense these monsters' weaknesses, somehow…"

Junpei was surprised by her ability. "For real!?"

"Just as I thought," Akihiko nodded. "Mitsuru, let her take your place."

The redhead nodded. "I get it now. Yamagishi, can you assist the others?"

Fuuka watched as Minato imploringly looked back at her with a fiery blue gaze. She nodded to him in determination as she didn't have to think twice about accepting his unspoken request. "I'll do my best!"

Minato cracked a smirk at that before focusing his attention on the enemies standing before them. "Then let's give it our all!"

"Stay back, Mitsuru!" Akihiko prepared himself for battle. "We'll take care of this!"

Minato quickly gathered the positions of himself, Akihiko, Junpei, and Fuuka. They were completely spread out throughout Tartarus's lobby, but that's fine. After he drew the Shadows away from Lucia, they'd be able to use the spacious area to their advantage. "Yamagishi-san, please watch over us!" he cried out while quickly darting forward towards the Shadows.

"I'll try and find out the enemy's weakness. Just let me know when."

"Understood," Minato nodded as he signaled for Junpei and Akihiko to join him. "Let's go!" He engaged the Shadow closest to him and cast a look towards Fuuka. "Yamagishi-san!"

He didn't even have to say it and the girl began working on uncovering its weaknesses. "This one is weak to fire!"

"Junpei! Light it up!" Minato ordered.

"Roger! Hermes!"

"Come on, Orpheus!"

Fuuka watched as the boy easily called his Persona. She sensed the other Shadow moving though. "Yuki-kun, behind you!"

Thanks to her warning, Minato launched himself to his right, dodging the other Shadow's rigid sword. "Yamagishi-san!"

"That one is weak to strike attacks!"

"Senpai!"

"Already on it!" Akihiko punched the lights out of the Emperor Shadow. He got out of the way as Minato sent Orpheus to bash the Shadow's skull in with his lyre.

"Something's happening!" Fuuka gasped as the two Shadows glowed. "They're changing their weakness!"

"Please scan them again for us, Yamagishi-san," Minato nodded, swinging his sword at the Emperor. He was surprised when the Shadow fell rather easily. "Just scan the Empress!"

"The Empress is weak to lightning!"

Akihiko and Junpei swapped targets. "Junpei!"

"Alright, Senpai!"

Minato remained between the two Shadows, swapping targets every so often to help whoever was dealing with that particular Shadow. With Fuuka constantly supplying them with information, Minato felt victory was close at hand. The battle ended as Akihiko smashed his fist through the Emperor's chest plate and Minato used Forneus to impale the Empress with ice.

Out of breath, Minato collapsed to a knee. He looked over towards Fuuka with concern and saw she was looking around for more enemies. "Are there more of them?"

"Don't worry," Akihiko shook his head. "It's over."

Natsuki stared at Fuuka with wide eyes as the protective bubble around them disappeared. "Fuuka… You…"

"A-are you alright…?" The girl knelt down beside her. She vaguely sensed Minato approaching their side.

"Yeah…" Natsuki shakily nodded her head.

"Thank goodness…" Fuuka smiled at the brunette before collapsing. Minato quickly caught the girl and gently let her rest against him.

"Yamagishi-san?" He looked down at her and noticed she was still smiling gently as she slept.

"Fuuka!?" Natsuki stared at the girl worriedly.

"It's alright," Mitsuru reassured the two. "She's just exhausted."

Natsuki began tearing up. "Fuuka… Fuuka, I…"

Minato looked up at her gently. "It's okay, Moriyama," he spoke softly. "She's fine. You're both safe now."

Akihiko turned away to give them some space but gave Mitsuru a serious frown. "Where did these two Shadows come from?"

Hamuko and Yukari quickly returned to Mitsuru's side as the redhead answered. "From somewhere outside of Tartarus, just like before… If Arisato hadn't asked for a scan, the three of us would have been in worse condition."

"I see…" Akihiko looked back at Minato before turning towards Hamuko. "So you two already knew about those Full Moon Shadows?"

Hamuko shook her head. "We knew about the Full Moon, but I didn't expect there to be two." Akihiko nodded as this was the first time two came at once.

Yukari looked over to the crying Natsuki and the Hellhound who was trying to console her. Junpei was even going over to help him. Yukari smiled as the two boys did their best but as she realized something, she looked over to the older students in concern. "Um, what are we gonna do about Natsuki? She saw the Dark Hour, and the Shadows…"

"Don't worry," Akihiko shook his head. "She's not like us, so she won't remember any of it. The good news is, she didn't fall victim to the Shadows, even though she obviously heard their call. She should be safe from now on."

"But, that means she'll forget Fuuka saved her life, right?" Yukari frowned. "That doesn't seem fair…"

"Actually," Mitsuru smirked, looking up at the crying girl. "I don't think it'll matter."

Minato smiled softly at the sleeping girl. "Yamagishi-san really is too kind. She'll forgive you. She saved us, after all," he pointed out to Natsuki.

Natsuki nodded her head as she wiped up her tears. "I'm sorry, Fuuka… I'm so sorry…"

"Yeah," Hamuko agreed with the senior. "I think she's learned her lesson." She smiled too as her gaze shifted from Natsuki to Minato. The guilt and fear that had plagued him for the past few days seemed to have totally vanished thanks to their successful rescue.

She closed her eyes as a white light flashed before her, telling her their Fool Arcana Social Link had become more powerful. With everything settled, she walked over to her brother's side and helped him lift the sleeping Fuuka into his arms. Mitsuru had Akihiko and Junpei assist with Natsuki and soon, they were all ready to leave Tartarus. This still didn't mean their work was finished however. Although all of SEES had a long and arduous night, there was still much to be done to make sure both girls they rescued were completely safe from the dangers of the Dark Hour.

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

"It's the Hellhound!" A boy quickly escaped from the room as Junpei peered into the neighboring classroom.

Minato was busy writing up another citation with the same bored expression on his face. Junpei smirked as he backed out of the doorframe and returned to their classroom. Hamuko was eating lunch with Yukari and waved to him as he approached them. "Junpei! What's with that smile?"

"Your brother's got half the school afraid of him."

"No kidding," Yukari laughed. "You know, there were rumors that Mitsuru-senpai used to be a part of the Disciplinary Committee and she was the same."

"Really?" Hamuko bounced in her seat from curiosity. "Did her gaze fill the students with the dread of Death too? Did the flames of Hell wrap around her as she stalked the halls looking for her next victim?"

"You make me sound like I want to deal with troublemakers," Minato sighed as he suddenly plopped down beside Junpei. "What're we talking about?"

Junpei smirked at the boy. "Mitsuru-senpai's Disciplinary Committee days. I think that was two years ago since last year she was VP. I remember those rumors."

"Oh, was she like me?" Minato took a sip of water from a water bottle. "Did the entire school burn with dread with just her presence alone?"

Yukari shook her head. "No… It was more like ice followed her path and froze the hearts of any student in her way."

"Oh," Hamuko understood with a smile. "Like an Empress of Ice! I can totally see that."

"Her 'executions' are actually pretty infamous, actually," Yukari frowned.

Minato sputtered a bit and some water went down the wrong way. He coughed violently and tried to calm down. "Executions?" His face went pale and he started to shake.

"Nii-san? Are you okay?" Hamuko placed a hand on his forehead.

"Y-yeah! Hey, try not to give Kirijo-senpai trouble, okay?" Minato stood up and shivered. "The vendor is serving hot tea, right? I'll be right back."

"What's the deal with him?" Junpei raised an eyebrow at the blue-haired boy as he left. "I've seen him tear the first-years apart by just looking at them."

"Maybe Mitsuru-senpai's executions aren't just a rumor?" Hamuko shrugged.

At that point, Akihiko came in. "Hey, has anyone seen Minato? He asked me for the list of names in the Boxing Team."

"He's downstairs, but I can pass it on to him, Senpai," Hamuko smiled.

Junpei smiled at the opportunity to ask Akihiko something. "Hey, Senpai. You've known Mitsuru-senpai for a long time, right?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," the older boy frowned. "Why?"

"We were wondering if you've ever seen Mitsuru-senpai's Execution before," Hamuko innocently answered.

The older boy froze up. "Um… An Execution…? S-sorry, but I'm late for something… Maybe ask your brother. The vendor's selling hot tea today, right?"

The three juniors looked to each other oddly. Mitsuru's wrath was something to be feared after all if she could get the rowdy boxer and difficult junior to listen to her.

Final Notes: The Empress and Emperor Shadows... They're definitely the easiest bosses in the entire game. I didn't even know about Paradigm Shift until a while ago because I always killed them before they could use it. You know, I love annoying the hell out of Yukari when going to look for the key. I stop by every bathroom and check every door. It's not like I'm gonna get penalized for it. And Minato probably has bladder and/or bowel problems... That's the only way I can explain why he tends to become 'Great' after using the bathroom...