Being well enough to go to the arcade the previous day, Zero returned to work on Saturday. You only noticed this because he had asked to see you after his shift. He said he'd been contacted to talk about the kidnapping and that everyone would meet at Yuni's mansion.

In the evening, you met with Zero at the entrance of the building as you promised. He didn't bother greeting you; he waited for you to arrive to his side before he began walking out of the building; instinctively, you followed him.

He led you to a parking lot, even to his car (a black one with brown seats, some average looking model you couldn't name) before actually saying anything. For a while, you wondered if he even knew you were following him. You half expected him to turn around and demand to know what you were doing there.

But when he unlocked his car door, he finally spoke.

"Get in."

His chosen words were forceful, but his tone was completely calm. He was... taking you to Yuni's, right? You asked him to make sure.

"We're both going there, and you don't have a car, correct? It'd be convenient to go in the same vehicle. Unless you'd rather not."

Of course you would! You would take a ride in his car over a bus full of strangers any day. And it's not like you had any real reason to distrust Zero. You gratefully accepted his offer before you opened the passenger door on the right side. You sat on the soft seat next to Zero. After you two simultaneously shut your doors, Zero started the car while you buckled your seat belt. As he put on his, he began talking again.

"Why did you rescue me?"

Your were confused because it was a silly question with an obvious answer; if you hadn't saved him, he'd die. Even if you didn't know Zero, he was everyone's friend; besides, it's not like you were in grave danger, having several Personas at your side. There wasn't any logic behind letting him suffer when there was something you could do.

"I see."

Was he dissatisfied with your answer? His expression never seemed to change; he was always frowning a little.

Zero backed out of the parking lot and paid close attention to cars and pedestrians. He remained silent for several minutes, so you didn't say anything that would bother or distract him while he got on the busy streets. He navigated his way through traffic; he was a skilled driver, or at least a very calm one, which was hard to do in New York. At a stoplight, he finally spoke again.

"So, I have a... Persona now?"

You confirmed it. Wanting to carry on the conversation, you asked him if he was interested in saving anyone else that appears.

"Do you think I would leave them to die?"

You quickly protested, but you assured him that he wasn't going to be forced into helping; you and the others would be able to save people if he was too busy.

"I didn't see much of the battle, but I was alert toward the end; when Yuni left my side for battle, I had regained consciousness. I could hear a few indistinguishable words before the sound of a large impact woke me up. When I opened my eyes, it seemed like your team needed help."

He drove a mile or two, changing a lane to turn onto a one-way street, then turned onto another street a minute later.

"In the television, I forgot that death isn't a solution, it's the end. Even so," he said quietly, "is it wrong to wish for the end of the hopeless?"

It was a difficult question. You didn't think you had a good answer, but you saw his eyebrows lower into an bitter expression, and you wanted to tell him something. You never watched him, nor did you really know anything about his skills, but you told him that you admired his dedication to his job, despite the hardships.

"I became a surgeon so that I could heal people," he said. "So... I wanted to ask if I could join you and the others in using Personas."

You welcomed him to the team.

"Aren't you going to ask the others first?"

You figured they wouldn't mind. Zero would probably get along better with everyone else than Rage did with Yuni sometimes.

He smirked. "I guess I have another job, then."

At a stoplight, your entire world froze; you felt a new bond form between you and Zero. He was finally going to open up to you from that point on.

-.

In the TV room, you were greeted by the rest of your party.

"Yo, Souji," Rage said. "Sorry we didn't call you, we kinda decided this just this morning. We figured Zero could just relay the message. How's it going?"

"Now isn't the time for small talk," Devil Zukin said. Please sit down."

Zukin had her spot on the floor. Rage sat down a distance from her. Akira was next to the couch that Yuni sat on. You chose the edge of the long couch and Zero took the middle section.

"Now, as we've asked everyone thus far," Zukin began, "do you remember anything about the kidnapping?"

Zero looked into space for a moment. "It was Saturday evening. I was getting off work and I was just about to go in my house. Just as I reached in my pocket for my keys, I heard a noise. I fell, I think. I felt engulfed by a wave of black, and I developed a headache so strong that I lost consciousness. Later, I woke in that... place."

"It's the same for everybody so far," Rage complained. "Nobody can remember anything except something about a black hole and being knocked out."

And you still faced the problem of never being warned ahead of time; at least in Inaba, you would see a silhouette of a person before they were kidnapped, but despite the fact that Zukin and the others watched the Midnight Channel whenever it appeared, no one saw any sort of notice. It seemed like an impossible mystery to solve... was there anything the victims had in common?

Well, there was one thing that was different: unlike before, each of the victims knew each other.

"You're right," Rage said. "But... what about the first girl?"

"She spoke to each of us and she was well acquainted with Emi," Zukin noted. "Could it have anything to do with the fact that she went to the arcade with all of us?"

"That may have linked her to our group," Akira agreed. "Should we assume anyone at the arcade could be the next victim?"

You could, but what should you do...? Should you start a wave of panic at the arcade or keep quiet? There was still no way to tell who the next person would be, but at least you could tell everyone to be careful. You assumed that the people at the highest risk were Emi, Alice, and Gus. Even your roommates could be victims for being at the arcade sometimes. You instructed everyone to keep an eye on the others.

"Got it, Zero?" Rage said. "You haven't said anything since you got here."

"I'm listening," he answered. "I can't comment because I have no protests and nothing to contribute."

"Well, are you ready to try going in the TV?"

"Right now?"

"Yeah, you got a Persona, so you're gonna join us, right?"

"… yeah."

"So let's go in right now and practice."

You argued that you and Zero had worked a full shift just over an hour ago, and asked if everyone could wait for another day.

"All right, fine," Rage said, disappointed. "You need a weapon, anyway."

Zero looked confused. "I'm going to fight?"

"You need to defend yourself," Akira told him. "What kind of weapon would you want to use?"

Zero seemed confused. You looked at him observantly in hopes to suggest a weapon for him. You figured he wasn't the offensive type; to be honest, his arms seemed thinner than yours, so a sword was out of the question. You didn't want to give him a gun if he didn't know how to use it. A... fan like Yukiko's, maybe? You would probably offend him if you suggested that...

You remembered that he wore large boots. Would he want to use his feet? Chie seemed to do a good job of that, and Zero's dancer-at-heart skills would probably help his kicking power. You told him about Chie's fighting methods and asked him if he would want to try that.

"I think that could work," Yuni spoke. "He's a great dancer; he could take down people like crazy if he wanted to."

Zero grimaced slightly. "Do I need another reason for people to ask me to dance?"

"Do you wanna be on this team?" Rage said. "C'mon, you have a talent, use it."

"Fine," Zero gave in. "Are we done here?"

"I think so," Yuni answered.

You reminded everyone of the plan to watch out for the others.

(On your way out of the mansion, you saw Alice waiting. Before you could even ask why she was there, she began running up to you with arms spread wide. This was quite out of the blue, but you grinned and began to lift your arms, only to notice that she ran past you and tackled Zero onto the ground. You stood back and watched as they...

... I couldn't post this on April Fools' day without anything stupid like that. :P)