Here's the next chapter! I hope you all enjoy!
Seth felt like he was regaining consciousness and found himself in what appeared to be an ascending elevator with blue furnishings, including a table and a couple of chairs on each side.
"Welcome to the Velvet Room."
Seth noticed he was sitting in one of the chairs, his right arm still missing, and sitting across from him was a creepy-looking old man with crazy eyes and a long nose with a girl and a young man standing by each side. Both the girl and man had glowing yellow eyes and wore what appeared to be blue and black uniforms like they were the elevator's attendants.
"Where… where am I?" Seth asked. "Am I dead?"
"You are fast asleep in the real world." The man with the long nose said. "My name is Igor. I am delighted to make your acquaintance." He then motioned his hands toward the young man and girl. "This is Theodore and Elizabeth. They are residents here, like myself."
"It's an honor to meet you." Theodore politely bowed to Seth.
"Pleased to meet you." Elizabeth greeted.
"But that still doesn't answer my first question." Seth said.
"This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter." Igor replied. "I find your presence here quite curious. You are not the guest we were expecting."
"What are you talking about?" Seth asked. "Was there someone else that's supposed to be here?"
"Perhaps this will clarify things." Igor motioned his hands and a series of cards spread out on the table. He flipped over one of the cards to show a tarot card with another underneath it. "It seems your original Arcana was that of the Sun, but a recent change in your psyche has awakened you to the power of the Fool."
Seth didn't quite understand what he was talking about.
"He's referring to fortune telling." Theodore said. "Each Persona is aligned with a particular Arcana and their users tend to have the same one."
"Normally, only those who have entered a contract can enter the Velvet Room." Elizabeth said. "Shall we kick him out?"
Seth thought about everything he took in for a moment and processed all the information given.
"… I'm willing to sign a contract." Seth said. "But I just have one question before I do. This 'change in my psyche'… Will this new power allow me to protect my friends?"
"The only catch of this contract is that you must assume all responsibility for the choices that you make." Igor said. "Whatever you do with this newfound power is up to you."
"Then I'll gladly sign." Seth said before realizing his missing arm. "Please pardon me if my signature is awful. I usually write with my right hand."
With a snap of his fingers, Igor summoned a slip of paper and a pen that Seth grabbed with his left hand and to the best of his ability inscribed his signature on the bottom of the contract. It was sloppy, but Igor accepted it regardless.
"Hold on to this." Igor said.
A blue key appeared in front of Seth and he picked it out of the air.
"So what exactly is this 'power of the Fool'?" Seth asked.
"The Fool, or the wild card, is like the number 0." Igor stated. "Empty, yet filled with infinite possibilities."
"In other words, you have the ability to summon multiple Personae." Theodore said.
"Theo, don't interrupt the Master!" Elizabeth snapped at him.
"This power grows stronger as you develop your emotional ties with others." Igor continued. "The stronger those ties, the more powerful your Persona ability."
Seth looked down at his left hand and clenched it tightly.
"Until we meet again. Farewell."
Everything started to fade and Seth felt like he was losing consciousness again.
April 11, 2009, Saturday, After School
Seth was beginning to regain consciousness, but his vision was incredibly blurry and he could make out a few voices in the room.
"He's been out of it for nearly three days now."
"Maybe he'll never wake up."
"Emi, don't say things like that!"
As Seth's vision started to clear up, he saw that he was in a hospital room with Homura, Daichi, Nobuo and Emi, the last of whom was standing by the corner. When they all saw that he was awake, the first three all gave wide open smiles of joy.
"You're awake!" Homura nearly tackled Seth into a hug.
"Gah! My arm!" Seth exclaimed in pain before noticing something. "… My arm…"
Seth looked down to see that his right arm was reattached to his body and held by a cast.
"Lucky bastard." Daichi grumbled as he saw Homura hugging Seth, but then smiled. "But seriously, I'm glad you're okay."
"Wait, how is my arm back on my body?" Seth asked.
"My Persona uses Ice skills." Daichi said. "I used that to put your arm on ice until we got to the hospital so they could reattach it. Thankfully the Dark Hour ended just as soon as we got you here."
"I'm impressed, though." Nobuo said. "You took on a Hand of Anarchy and emerged victorious."
"Hey, you're almost talking like a normal person, Nobuo." Seth said.
"I… I usually act like that after reading a comic book." Nobuo nervously rubbed the back of his head.
"We were all worried about you, Seth." Homura said. "Even Emi."
"I was not…" Emi turned away to face the corner she was in. "… But I didn't want him to die."
"… I'll take that as a 'she cares'." Seth said. "… Wait, you said I was out for three days?"
"Yeah." Homura nodded.
"Crap, I better take care of my homework!" Seth was about to get off the bed, but Homura pushed him down.
"The doctor said he doesn't want you to leave until your stitches can be removed." Homura said.
"Schoolwork is more important." Seth said. "Besides, it's only a scratch."
"A scratch?! Your arm came off!" Daichi exclaimed. "Besides, don't most people like it when they're off from school and don't have to do homework?"
"I like to keep on top of things." Seth replied before turning to Homura. "Homura, next time, can you bring over my homework so that I can work on it here? I can do the work on my own, but I'd appreciate it if you could write it down for me."
"Sure." Homura nodded. "By the way, I saw how you defeated that Hand of Anarchy. How did you do that?"
"'That'?" Seth asked as he tried to remember. "Oh, you mean THAT! I can summon multiple Personas now."
Everyone looked at him in surprise.
"Wait, what?!" Nobuo exclaimed.
"Nothing like that's ever happened in a long, long time." Daichi said.
"Well, I guess that settles it." Homura stood up straight. "From now on, you're our group leader, Seth."
Everyone was a little surprised to hear this.
"Huh? W-what?" Seth asked.
"You're quick thinking and abilities allowed us all to survive." Homura stated. "For a while now, I've led our little group, but when I saw you take charge back there it made me realize that you'd make a better leader than me."
"B-but I'm not leader material." Seth said. "I prefer to be the soldier than the commander."
"If you couldn't do it, I wouldn't ask you." Homura said. "Plus, we all agree that you're the best suited to lead us."
"Well… If you insist, then I'll do it." Seth said with an assuring smirk.
"I'm glad to hear it." Homura happily smiled.
"… Tell him about the other night." Emi spoke up.
"Oh, right! I forgot!" Homura replied. "The other night we had Emi search the city for reconnaissance. A giant Shadow appeared and someone tried fighting it, only to get hurt. Why Emi didn't help him is anybody's guess." Homura turned to leer at Emi.
"It wasn't any of my business and I couldn't afford to be seen." Emi said.
"Anyway, he summoned a Persona and the Shadow chased him back to one of the dorms." Homura continued. "The next day while nobody was home, Emi snuck in to gather some information. It turns out a few other Persona users live in that dorm."
"So we could have potential allies?" Seth asked.
"Or we could have potential enemies." Emi said.
"Heiwa gave us strict orders to remain conspicuous, even to other Persona users." Daichi stated.
"Based on what Emi told us, two of the dorm's residents are classmates of yours." Nobuo said.
"Seriously?!" Seth exclaimed.
"Since you've already been acquainted with them, we figured you could get invited to the dorm and see if anyone else lives there." Nobuo said. "Once you're out of the hospital, of course."
"How long will that take?" Seth asked.
"About three weeks." Nobuo answered.
"Three weeks?!"Seth exclaimed. "I can't stay cooped up in this bed for three weeks! Wouldn't it get annoying having Homura writing both our homework?"
"I don't mind." Homura said.
"I still don't like the idea of lying in this bed for three weeks." Seth pouted.
April 12, 2009, Saturday, Daytime
Seth was lying in his bed, watching whatever was on the television at the time since there was nothing else he could do for entertainment.
He sighed. "This is getting so boring… Can't I at least walk around the hospital? That way I can get fresh air and exercise?"
"Hey, how's it goin'?"
Seth looked toward the door and saw Junpei enter wearing his casual clothes.
"Junpei? What are you doing here?" Seth asked.
"I don't know if it's funny or not that two friends of mine are both in the hospital." Junpei shrugged. "But at least you're awake."
"What are you talking about?" Seth asked.
"Minato's in the hospital, too. He's completely out cold right now, but the doctors say he's alive."
"What happened?"
"Dunno. But I heard you got your arm chopped off."
"Yeah… Wasn't exactly pleasant…"
"I wouldn't think so…"
"To add insult to injury, I'm stuck in this hospital for three weeks."
"At least you don't have to be stuck in classes."
"That's funny because… I'd rather be in school than in this bed. At least I'm doing something other than watching random TV sixteen hours a day with my only reprieves when I have to go to the bathroom. At least you and my other friends coming to visit keep me from getting bored."
"So, how is it to have Hottie Homura coming to your bedside every day?"
"Is that what people call her? That's kind of degrading."
"'Hottie' is a compliment. Besides, you're not the only one getting some attention. Yuka-tan's sitting by Minato's side as we speak. What's your secret?"
"Huh?"
"How do you two get chicks like that? Clearly there's something you're not telling the rest of us guys."
Seth chuckled at Junpei's comment. "I really needed that. Thanks for coming to visit me, Junpei."
"No problem, man."
Seth and Junpei spent the next hour or so just talking about girls before he left home for the night.
April 13, 2009, Monday, After School
While Seth was napping from the boring television program, Homura came into the room with two school bags. At first, she just watched him sleeping with a peaceful look on his face and smiled. After a few seconds she walked over to his bed and gently shook his arm.
"Seeeeth… Wake up…" She quietly whispered to him.
However, he was still napping and Homura walked over to the other side of his bed with a look of slight irritation on her face.
"… Wake up, please!"
She punched Seth in his left arm and he finally woke up.
"DYAH!" Seth exclaimed from being startled.
"Good afternoon, sleepyhead." Homura said with an innocent smile on her face now. "I brought today's homework over for you."
She handed him a few slips of paper and he read them while holding them in his left hand. For the next couple of hours, Seth asked Homura any questions he had about the homework assignments since he couldn't read the books or be there for the lectures.
The sun had almost reached the horizon when Seth and Homura finally finished their homework for the day.
"Phew… Glad that's over with for now." Seth said. "Thanks for all your help. I wouldn't have been able to solve these if weren't for your notes."
"You're welcome." Homura said as she began to pack her things. "Do you mind if I stay a little bit longer? I just want to talk."
"About you-know-what?" Seth asked.
"No, JUST talk." She answered before sitting back in the seat next to Seth's bed. "You mentioned you had a broth… Ah… Ah… Achoo!"
Homura sneezed into her left sleeve.
"Bless you." Seth said.
"Oh no!" Homura gasped.
"What?"
"I sneezed on my left!"
"… So?"
"I'm going to be stricken with bad luck until I sneeze into my left again and then my right!"
"… You're kidding, right?"
"I never kid when it comes to bad luck." Homura showed Seth the omamori she kept tied to her bag. "Quick! Make me sneeze again!"
"Don't you think you're being a bit paranoid?"
"NO!"
Homura grabbed the flowers sitting on the table next to Seth's bed and shoved them into her face. Seth just stared at Homura as she went about her little episode. After several seconds of sniffing the flowers, she stopped and placed them back on the table.
"I'll be right back!" She dashed out of the room.
Seth just continued to stare at the door without any idea of how to respond until she finally came back.
"Phew…" She sighed in relief as she made her way back to the seat next to Seth's bed. "My luck's finally back to normal. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about your little brother. What's he like?"
"He's only two years younger than me and… How do I put it? You know how I'm incredibly friendly and a social butterfly?"
"Yeah."
"He's the opposite of that. He can't stand people other than me and our parents. But he's really a sweetheart. I just hope he can find himself a girlfriend that can help bring him out of his shell."
"Sounds like you're quite the sweetheart, yourself." Homura realized what she had just said and blushed. "Uh, don't… take that the wrong way. What about your parents?"
"They're both in the U.S. Marines. It's not often my brother and I get to see them."
"I'm sorry to hear that. I don't get to see my parents often either."
"Work?"
"Yep. My father's a professional sumo wrestler and my mother's his agent."
"Um… I wasn't expecting that. Any brothers or sisters?"
She shook her head. "I'm an only child. It must be nice to have a brother or sister." She then looked at the clock. "I should get going now. I'll come back tomorrow after school so we can talk more."
Homura left the hospital room and Seth grabbed the television remote with his left hand.
"Guess it's back to boring old television for now." He said to himself. "Oh well. At least this is when the entertaining programming comes on."
April 29, 2009, Wednesday, Early Morning
Seth was finally leaving the hospital after three weeks without the use of his right arm, all the stitches removed. He decided to head to school so he could get back into the groove of his normal routine and took the train to Gekkoukan campus. When he finally arrived on campus, he saw that the entire place was empty.
"… Where the hell is everybody?" Seth wondered.
Light the fire up in the night!
Seth heard his phone go off and answered it.
"Hello?"
"Seth, where are you?" Homura's voice asked over the phone. "We're at the hospital right now, but they said you left a little while ago."
"Why are you at the hospital?" Seth asked. "Shouldn't you be in school?"
"… Are you on campus right now?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Give me the phone."
He could hear Emi's voice asking Homura to hand her the phone and after a bit of arguing, a voice finally came through.
"It's Showa Day." Emi said. "There's no school today, you moron."
Seth just remained silent, looked at the school again and blankly stared into space.
"… Crap… Anyway, what were you guys thinking about doing today?"
"Emi, could you please give me back my phone?" Homura's voice asked from the other end. "We were thinking about going to Screen Shot to catch a movie. You want to meet us there, Seth?"
"Sure. Can you give me directions from the school?"
April 29, 2009, Wednesday, Morning
Seth was making his way to the movie theater 'Screen Shot' and finally arrived at Port Island Station. Just as he walking down the steps, he passed by a beautiful red-haired woman walking in the opposite direction and looked back at her until she was out of sight.
"Hey, Seth!"
Seth looked down the steps to see Homura, Daichi, Nobuo and Emi all grouped together by a movie theater and waving at him. Seth finally reached them and nervously scratched the back of his head.
"Sorry about that." Seth said. "I'm still not familiar with all the Japanese holidays."
"Did she catch your eye, Seth?" Daichi asked with a smug grin.
"Huh?" Seth raised an eyebrow.
"You just passed by Mitsuru Kirijo, arguably the hottest lady in our school, aside from Homura maybe." Daichi said.
Homura felt a little insulted by Daichi's comment.
"She's also the student council president and a senior." Nobuo added.
"Kirijo…" Seth mumbled. "Wait! Kirijo as in the Kirijo Group?!"
"She's the daughter of the current leader." Homura said.
"I didn't know we had someone that big in our school!" Seth exclaimed.
"Of course you didn't…" Emi mumbled.
"Crap, our movie's about to start!" Daichi panicked and went into Screen Shot.
The others followed suit and went inside with him.
A/N: There's the chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it! As for the current Social Link stats, here they are.
Heiwa (Fool) – Rank 1
Junpei (Magician) – Rank 1
Homura (Lovers) – Rank 1
By the way, I hope you enjoyed my little references to Monty Python and Persona Q. And Minato is going to get Elizabeth while Seth gets Theo. Stay tuned for next time!