Author's notes: Hello everybody, my apologies for the wait but this chapter was hard to write. My thanks to all who reviewed, its always fun to get encouragement. Now here's answers to some guestions:

Alstitch and drmonicblood: Sorry, but no schedule for me. I write when I write and upload it when its ready. Bunch of updates was only because that was everything I had written in two months.

Thepingman: No I did not replace Aigis, she will join SEES pretty much at the same time as in canon.

End notes.

Many thanks to Nitewind for betaing!

Chapter 2 S.E.E.S.

14.3.2009
Hakuno's POV, Paulownia Mall

As we leave the Paulownia Mall police station, I can't help but voice my thoughts.

"So, why exactly do we have to buy our equipment from Officer Kurosawa? "

"Mitsuru explained it to me when I joined but that was years ago, so I don't remember it anymore," Akihiko Sanada shrugs, "but I trust her judgement."

"Very well then. Is that all I should know?" I inquire and look around the Paulownia Mall Fountain Square. Akihiko sits on a bench next to the water fountain and leans back. He's probably tired, he had woken up before me and gone out for a run before escorting me here on Mitsuru's order to show me the supplier of S.E.E.S. a policeman dealing some equipment under the desk. I take a seat next to him.

"Well, there is the Shinshoudo Antiques over there," Akihiko points at a store nearby, "but it's closed for now. The owner is aware of Personas and sells some specialized gear, although it tends to be expensive."

"Specialized gear?" I ask with a frown. Shouldn't the Kirijo Group be taking care of that? Are they really sponsoring S.E.E.S. when we have to buy everything from others?

"Mainly spell gems, you know, those jewels that can be used as one-off spells in a pinch?" Akihiko explains and I indeed remember reading something about those. They were essentially grenades that unleashed a spell when they went off. Naturally, they were only usable by Persona users.

"Sometimes Shadows drop them, but its easier to buy them from Shinshoudo, especially if you want certain elements, like this Garu gem," Akihiko takes a small, coin sized green stone from his pocket and offers it to me.

"Do you always carry one on you?" I ask Akihiko while taking the offered gem. According to the dossier I read, he was more of a physical fighter with a bit of a one-track mind. Having a backup weapon like this didn't really fit his style.

"Mitsuru's orders. I like to patrol alone every now and then, so Mitsuru wanted me to always keep one on my person in case I run into a Shadow that is a bad matchup for Polydeuces."

"That seems reasonable. I take it Mitsuru carries some too?"

"Of course. We have a small stash of these in the Command Room safe. But didn't Mitsuru go over these with you yesterday? I'm surprised she didn't give you one to carry already." Mitsuru did give me the tour of the dorm yesterday, but I don't think there was talk about these–oh wait. She did mention that there were weapons in the command room. She probably meant these.

"She did mention there were weapons in the Command room, though not what they were. Maybe she thought I was already armed enough?" I raise my right hand and wiggle the fingers experimentally. With just a thought I could lock the pointer finger to form a classic finger gun, except that I could shoot real bullets from a small magazine in my wrist. It was barely half a dozen shots in this concealed mode, but I had extended magazines prepared in my room for combat operations.

"Probably. Or she just forgot, what with her excitement about your joining and examining you Persona."

"She didn't really seem that excited to me," I frown while handing him back the gem.

"Mitsuru's a bit hard to read when you don't know her. Also when you do know her, but when she practically shoved the updated report on your Persona in my face this morning, I dared to make a guess," Akihiko smiles jokingly and pockets the gem, "I take it the only real news was that it had a resistance to fire and that its Arcana was the Empress?"

"No, I don't think there was more information besides that." The Dark Hour yesterday had been a… tense affair for me. The moment the Hour began, Mitsuru had pulled a gun and shot herself in the temple without an ounce of hesitation.

Honestly, the only reason I didn't just lock up in a shock over the almost enthusiasm she performed the summoning with was that the appearance of Penthesilea triggered a reflex I didn't know I had developed.

I am sure I didn't consciously activate the Evoker program then.

Anyway, almost the moment the nearly three meter tall armored Persona had appeared, Saber had taken a position between me and her. As if we were facing an enemy Master and Servant again.

I'm… not really sure what I should think about the fact that it felt comforting. I mean, having Saber around was always comforting, even if she couldn't talk and was a lot more subdued than she was in Moon Cell. But somehow having her stand between me and a danger was even more so… But I don't want to feel comfortable when facing an enemy. And Mitsuru wasn't even an enemy.

Luckily, the redhead hadn't noticed anything weird in my reaction and focused on examining Saber, giving extra attention to the Aestus Estus. She had been curious about the Noble Phantasm, as the ability to have the sword burst into flames was unique at the moment. The closest thing to it was how Akihiko's Polydeuces channeled magic through his prosthetic arm, well spike.

Nonetheless, I had spent the rest of the Hour showing off Saber's powers and twitching nervously inside every time Penthesilea was called upon. The queen of Amazons would have been an intimidating sight even without the size difference, but it had been mainly my own reflexes from the Grail War acting up.

At least Mitsuru hadn't noticed anything weird in my behavior.

"I knew it," Akihiko's answer pulls me back to reality, "Well, I'm going to go and continue my training soon. What are you going to do?"

"I'm just going to familiarize myself with the city a little, maybe do some shopping. I don't think Mitsuru had any need for me today?"

"No. Takeba's class is still on a skiing trip for the next week so there is no hurry on that front. We might go for a Shadow hunt tonight to see how you fight but the day should be free. I'll see you later then," Akihiko waves me goodbye and heads for the mall's exit. I wave back and soon I'm left all alone in the mall.

Well, there are some early shoppers going around but no one I know.

Actually, you could almost say there is nothing I know. Intellectually I know what a mall is, but being here just feels weird. There are so many shops and with such different focuses.

The only point of familiarity I have for something like this is the Tsukumihara Commissary, and there is really no comparison with the two. The Commissary was a single cafeteria style counter with a single NPC waiting that sold literally anything from swords to music boxes. Even more if you were skilled enough to hack the stock like Rin.

The Paulownia Mall is… about the size of Tsukumihara Academy itself. Maybe larger.

And all this is dedicated to shopping, be it buying items or services.

The sheer scale felt overwhelming, but also kind of intriguing.

Tsukumihara Commissary was a simulation, its wares were just physical representations of programs. While everything there was perfect, it had a subtle flavor of wrongness, a sense of artificiality. Saber remarked on it a few times, although her experiences in shopping were probably far from normal. I, naturally, had no experience at all.

But that is about to change.

I pat the pockets of my Kirijo Group company jacket to check that my wallet is still there. It's time to get some real clothes and furnish that storage space of a room of mine.

Mitsuru's POV, Iwatodai Dorm

Today had gone terribly slowly. I had tried to distract myself with work and while I did get a good chunk of it done, I caught myself constantly checking the clock for time.

It was irritating.

I even considered taking a quick drive around the port city on my motorcycle, but managed to hold back the urge by focusing on Takeba's files. I'm starting to get a read on her character, I'm pretty sure that if she has the Potential for a Persona, I can tailor her an offer she cannot refuse. But I placed that offer on reserve now, it won't be relevant for a while as the next few days will focus on our new addition.

The 7th generation Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon Praetor and her Persona, Saber.

While Praetor's-I mean Hakuno's, abilities were well established and recorded, her diminutive Persona's abilities were more unknown territory. I had scanned it last night during the Dark Hour to find out more.

To my, expected, disappointment very little new information had been revealed.

Saber was a physical Persona that belonged in the Empress Arcana, much like my Penthesilea. Unlike mine though, Saber was resistant to fire-type attacks and didn't have weaknesses.

Combined with its high physical power, it really was the ideal frontline fighter I have envisioned.

But the real test would be tonight. We would see if Hakuno could really accompany her Persona to the frontlines without maiming herself. It will be difficult if she has to be repaired after every battle, even if the damage is minimal. That in mind, Ikutsuki spoke of getting some replacement limbs and emergency repair kits in the Dorm. Hakuno has a tutorial program for maintenance and repair, so she can instruct us on repairing her during the Dark Hour, but as neither I nor Akihiko are engineers, we should leave that to emergency situations only. Ikutsuki could also do repairs on her during the Dark Hour, but I doubt he would be comfortable entering Tartarus, even if it was just the entrance.

Not that we would go much further in either, at least not today. We had gone in a few floors with Shinjiro before, but that was after we had developed good teamwork skills and even then all those operations had been tense affairs.

So, tonight we would restrict ourselves to only the first floor and, depending on time, do a patrol around the city. It would be a good test run.

Checking the clock one more time, I pick up the sports bag carrying my equipment and head downstairs. Knowing Akihiko, he was already there and itching for a fight. Hakuno on the other hand… as a machine I expect her to be punctual, but her character had already surprised me. According to Akihiko she had planned to spend the day shopping, and I've heard some stories about normal high school girl's shopping trips.

On the other hand, how do those stories relate to a half-a-month old combat gynoid? I really can't imagine her fussing over dresses or such. But she does have an eye for art… maybe I shouldn't think this too much. If she can't keep the appointed time, I will have to ensure she will in the future. Simple as that.

Both Hakuno and Akihiko are already waiting in the Dorm lobby. Akihiko is wearing his usual clothes, with a police armored vest bought from Officer Kurosawa under his shirt. It wasn't the best armor for fighting Shadows, but it has been enough for these few years. With the inclusion of Hakuno though we might be conducting more combat operations, so upgrading our equipment might be a good idea. Hakuno, on the other hand, has donned the Gekkoukan High School uniform for some reason.

"There you are Mitsuru. Got everything ready?" Akihiko greets me with a question.

"Naturally," I nod at him, before turning to Hakuno, "That's an odd choice for a fighting wear, Kishinami. Is there some reason for it?"

"Oh, this?" Hakuno beamed, "I have several of these and decided to use one for now." That didn't really answer my question, and I almost say that aloud, but I then decide to just let it be. The clothes didn't hamper her movement, and the pockets would be useful for carrying stuff like spell gems, which reminds me...

"By the way, I have some spell gems for you here. Akihiko told me you talked about them today." I pull a small pouch from my bag and throw it to the gynoid. She fumblingly catches it, before opening it, picking up some gems, and inspecting them carefully.

"Green is Garu. Red is Agi and blue is Bufu. We don't have Zio gems at the moment. Pick some in case we run into something your Saber can't cut."

"I am sure Saber can protect me from anything, but it is a good idea to prepare for the worst," Hakuno declares with confidence and picks several gems from the bag, mainly Bufu's and some Garu's. As expected from a tactically minded warrior, she picked elements she can't produce herself, though she takes a bit more than I expected.

Wait, there was something about that in her files right? That she didn't hesitate to use items if an opportunity presented itself?

"Use them sparingly, we don't have too many of them," I remind her just to be on the safe side. She nods before giving the deflated pouch bag back to me.

"I won't waste them."

"Good. Akihiko, what about our other items?"

"Packed right here: First aid kits, painkillers…" he glances at Hakuno, "toolbox, and some refreshments. I take it you are not going to take your bike?"

"Yes. Not only can Hakuno can substitute most of the equipment it has, it would also be reckless to send just the two of you in. The first floors we will be exploring are the ones we have most information about, so we probably won't run into unknown Shadows that I would need to scan," I explain, "then, if everyone is ready, we should get going, so we can catch the late night train to the Port Island," I declare and move to the door.

"Heh, It's been too long since our last excursion," Akihiko smiles and throws his own bag over his shoulder before following me. Hakuno too picks up a small bag containing mainly extra magazines for her gun.

Tartarus

The Tartarus entrance was as it always was a grand, but empty hall with the exception of the strange defunct machine in the corner and the grand staircase leading to the clock themed door to the first floor of the dark tower. A blue velvet carpet covers the path from the door and up the stairs.

A picture forms in my mind, a picture of a man in a dark suit falling on his knees, screaming and holding his head as a Shadow appears from nowhere devour him.

I brush the memory off with practiced ease. It doesn't matter now. Persona users like us are immune.

Hakuno, on the other hand, seems a bit nervous, though oddly enough the alert manner she scans (maybe literally) the surroundings seems well practiced and natural. I guess that's because this is literally what she was built for. I have to admit I did have some doubts concerning that, what with her weird behavior. Well, weird for a humanoid tactical weapon.

Like how she wanted to summon her Persona so 'she could see Tartarus' growing.'

I, of course, prohibited her from doing that, as it would be waste of energy to summon her Persona just for a needless thing like that. I mean, in the end Saber is a part of her psyche, not a separate entity. To me and Akihiko, that is obvious. We can feel it every time we summon them, how they are a part of us. Is it different for an artificial person like her? Ah, I shouldn't wonder about things like that now.

Akihiko has already donned his brass knuckles and is stretching excitedly. Preparing for a fight. He shouldn't be looking forward to this so much, but that's just how he is. I have to remember to keep an eye out for him in case he does something reckless.

"Final checks everybody," I remind Hakuno and Akihiko, while checking my own equipment. Rapier is fine and ready, Evoker is loose enough to be easily retrieved but secured enough to not fall off during motion, and my backpack is secured, with the pouch containing the rest of our gems in easy reach.

The single Trafuri gem is in my pocket, where I can use it immediately if that one Shadow approaches. I pointedly ignore the chills traversing my back when the memory of that presence crosses my mind.

Speaking of which, should I warn Hakuno about it?

I'm not sure how it would affect her… As an ASW, would she get scared of a Shadow as strong as Death? Or would she accept it as just another enemy? I can't read her that well…

Probably would be best to not mention it. It appears rarely, so it isn't relevant for now. I'll inform her later, when we are not in Tartarus.

Soon, we are all ready to go in. I've pulled my rapier, though I haven't taken any stance yet and Akihiko has finished his warm up. Hakuno has inserted an extended magazine in her right forearm, just before the wrist. She also has a satchel for more magazines resting against her left hip.

We are ready to ascend.

Thebel Block, 3rd person view

The previous members of S.E.E.S. had all agreed that Thebel block had always had a very ominous atmosphere. The dark green lighting combined with the checkered floor and stark bare walls, with the occasional splotches of blood everywhere, were straight from the horror movies. However, they had all gotten used to it during the occasional operations they had conducted in there, while Hakuno had long ago become too jaded to care. Especially when she remembered that the 'blood' was probably just transmogrified water.

But it still looked ominous.

Since today's excursion was aimed at learning Hakuno's capabilities and possible synergy with the team, Mitsuru had had her take the point, although with her sensors extended so she would get a warning in advance before encountering anything.

Mitsuru was keeping the rear, making sure they weren't ambushed from behind.

Akihiko was in the middle, ready to dash where he was needed at the first sign of an enemy.

They moved carefully through the corridors, with Hakuno carefully checking the corners with her gun before they moved forward. It was slow, but it was also very safe.

Akihiko didn't like it.

"We're moving too slow. We won't even get to the end of the first floor at this rate," he whispered to Mitsuru.

"We could move faster if I summoned Saber," Hakuno protested, not taking her eyes off the dark hallway before her.

"Summoning your Persona at every corner would be pointless. While you won't get tired like a human would, I know constantly re-summoning will deplete your batteries," Mitsuru rebuked. While she too wasn't happy at the slow pace, she thought it was acceptable in order to keep the small team safe.

"You overestimate the drain. I can keep Saber around for almost half an hour before dismissing her to recover my willpower."

"That may be true when you're just at the lab doing some testing. Using a Persona in combat is exhausting, we've been doing this for years and we can do only short bursts."

"Give her a chance Mitsuru. She's built for this," Akihiko tried to support Hakuno, causing her to wince, not that the two humans behind her noticed it.

"She can keep Saber summoned after the first battle, if she thinks she can," Mitsuru relented, returning to watching the shadows. Hakuno cheered internally at that, happy that she could finally summon her friend again. Akihiko knew it would be the best he could get and focused on staying ready.

Hakuno felt a bit nostalgic. Here she was again, stalking through unknown corridors with the occasional monster tucked in. Except that this time she wasn't facing Enemy Programs but Shadows. And this time, she was expected to fight the enemy herself, with a gun.

It would be a novel experience.

Once it happened that is. And even then, she planned on sicking Saber at the things as soon as possible.

As she approached another crossroad, Hakuno opened her mouth and let loose a low-frequency sonar wave. It wasn't very strong, it's radius was barely near ten meters, but it could give her an estimate of what was behind the corner. Soon, lines representing the walls appeared in the unexplored part of her minimap display as a deciphering program processed the results of the sonar.

Besides walls, the echolocation also painted three figures in the middle of the hallway on her right.

Shadows.

Hakuno raised her left hand to signal the others about their presence. She could practically feel Akihiko's attention focus on her. Not wanting to speak and possibly warn the Shadows of their presence, Hakuno raised three fingers in her offhand and gestured to the right with her finger gun. Then she glanced once more at the minimap to verify that the three were the only ones in the intersection, and summoned Saber.

With a crack of glass, the red clad woman appeared and took a battle stance in front of Hakuno.

Then, Saber charged the corner, Hakuno hot on her heels.

And it was over in an instant.

The Shadows had been clustered enough for Saber to cleave two of them apart with a single overhand chop of Aestus Estus, the red and black blade splitting their masked heads easily. The third one fared hardly any better as Saber smoothly turned on her leading foot to deliver a crushing axe kick into the Shadows blue mask.

It also flashed Hakuno momentarily, but it was a kind of a moot point considering her transparent dress and that Hakuno was focused on the underwhelming enemy.

The Shadows were already disintegrating when Akihiko turned the corner.

"Whoa," he exclaimed as he watched the puddle like bodies of the Cowardly Mayas disappear.

"That was easier than I expected," Hakuno admitted, staring at the one Saber had crushed under her armored boot.

"What happened?" Mitsuru asked as she ran onto the scene.

"Looks like Saber packs a little more punch than we expected," Akihiko admitted, watching the smallest Persona he had ever seen return to its mistress' side, "she crushed three Cowardly Mayas with just two moves!"

"Three?" Mitsuru asked, a bit taken back by the feat. Sure, Cowardly Mayas were the weakest Shadows she had seen, everyone in S.E.E.S. could fight them without trouble, but that was still extremely fast, especially without magic and in their first fight with Shadows.

Praetor really is a weapon, no matter her eccentrities.

With this kind of power exploring Tartarus will be a lot easier… Mitsuru thought with a grin, but we should test them more. Wonder if we could find one of those beetle shaped Shadows, they were pretty tough.

"As promised earlier, I will be keeping Saber around for now," Hakuno declared and looked at Mitsuru, who just nodded.

"Do as you will, but you will dismiss her before you tire out."

"Can I take the point now? I think her combat ability is proven enough," Akihiko interjected. He still hadn't gotten to fight anything!