Chapter 2: Trapped

When I awoke, I was on a hard floor surrounded by a crowd. I felt the rough cement on my hands as I stood up. "Where am I…?" I asked, but no one answered. They were intently focusing on something straight ahead. There was a little boy with black hair in striped black and white pajamas on sitting on a fountain of blood. I was a few yards away from him through the crowd.

"Ah, finally, your hero is awake…You're late. I've been waiting a long time for you. In any case, let's begin, shall we?" He said in a child-like voice.

"My name is Suzuki Shinichi and I welcome you players to my world."

"Is that a GM?"

"Why is a kid there?"

"Why were we teleported here?"

There were whispers like these all around.

His world? Then…he is with the developers, tItan; a child?

I could swear he was staring at me with those bright blue eyes of his. Suzuki Shinichi? I haven't heard that name before…Is he famous? In any case, I forced my mind to move again.

"I think you all might have noticed by now that you can't log out nor can you see a HUD. The fact that you cannot log out is not a bug; it is merely a part of Persona 3 Online."

"Part…of the game?" A female voice muttered with slight cracks in her voice.

The boy talked over her.

"Until you reach the top of Tartarus," He pointed towards a tower glowing bright green in the distance. "You won't be able to log out of the game."

"Tartarus? What's that? Sounds like toothpaste!" That voice sounded oddly familiar.

What was that glowing thing in the background. A castle? A tower?

"…also, destroying or the taking apart of the Sony Virtual Station is strictly forbidden. If it is attempted…"

The crowd was deadly silent. The silence of thousands, possibly a million people was overwhelming. The child's next words came slowly and fear inducing.

"The signal sensors in the VS will give off a strong electromagnetic pulse, destroying your brain and rendering your body completely useless. It will stop all human functions almost instantly."

Silence again. This was different however; the silence was almost as if the mass of people stopped breathing.

Destroy our brains.

That meant death.

What he just said was, as soon as the headset is removed or turned off will kill us, almost instantly.

People in the crowd were not panicking but were muttering as if they were confused.

"That's bullshit! I know damn well that it can't kill us! Give us the damn log out button already!" A familiar rough voice shouted.

It's not 'bullshit'. The VS headset contains a large, powerful battery that, with enough output, could destroy a human's brain.

"Well…to be specific, disconnection from electricity for ten minutes, being cut off from P3O for more than two hours, or an attempt to open or destroy the Virtual Station headset. If any of these happen, the brain annihilation sequence will be initiated. These conditions have been made known to the government and the public through mass media in the real world. On that note, there have been numerous cases where family or friends have disregarded the caution and endeavored to remove the virtual station headset. The result…"

The child's voice took a breath. His gaze shifted back onto me as his eyes grew to be a lighter shade of blue.

"…431 Players have already met the death screen of this game, and the real world, for all eternity. But not just from the removing of the VS, but also because of that incident that you've just seen."

A female's scream came from west of my position. People stood with their mouths open dumbfounded or with a fear-induced smile. They looked as though they began to believe it.

In my heart, I tried to deny it; what Suzuki Shinichi said, but I know that it is possible. I denied it but my body was not like my heart. My knees began to buckle. My neck and hands began to moisture.

The male northwest of me fell over onto his back with a lifeless expression.

Four hundred and thirty one players have already met…

That sentence kept playing in my head. If that many have died, would more die?

"…I don't believe this…Nobody, buy what he's selling...," The fallen character said in a strained voice. "This is just the opening to this game…right? Stop jerking us around and let us out…this must be the opening event to this game…right?" His voice shook violently.

As if he was trying to destroy our dreams, the child spoke again, this time in a whisper that sounded as if it was transferred directly into our heads.

"Don't worry though, players. Your bodies should be doing just fine. At the moment, all TV, radio, and internet media are reporting the situation; including the demises that occurred. The danger of the Virtual Station headset being removed should have left. In a few minutes, using the week I am providing, your bodies should be transferred to hospitals and taken care of from then on. So just take our time, reach the top of Tartarus, and beat the game."

"What…?" I unknowingly spoke.

"From now on, Persona 3 Online is not a game. It is your new reality. At this point, any form of revival items and reincarnation spells will not work. The instant your health reaches zero, your character will die and be gone forever. And concurrently…"

I knew what he would say.

"Your brain will be destroyed by the Virtual Station headset."

I began to smile…It seemed like a reaction of some sort. I was about to laugh but I bit my tongue hard and heard a slight beep above me.

"Also, here's the HUD that would not appear."

I nervously flicked my wrist and used the option summoning motion to view. A blue, horizontal line displayed my health.

81/83, the numbers said. Was it because I bit my tongue?

The moment that reaches zero…I die, not just here, but in the real world as well.

I must have died numerous times in other VRMMORPGs on the first stage or intro.

An RPG is a game where you die; you learn from mistakes and level up. Now you can't. This now brings a new meaning to 'losing your life'.

"Players, there is but one way to be able to log out. You must reach the top of Tartarus. Those who are alive at that point will be logged out of the game. Using the power that you wield known as Personas, defeat the 'shadows' that stand in your way and reach the top."

"Shadows…persona? That thing…" I mumbled.

I see…So, the goal is to reach the top of Tartarus…but then what?

This virtual city known as 'Iwatodai' is a prison for us players now. Our reality.

But…I can't just stomach this. A few days ago, I had Christmas dinner with my mother and my little sister. My sister, Minako said bye to me before she went out…She told me that the game had arrived.

I can't go back? This is my home now?

"Please, open your inventory. There is something in there from me. Please take it." The striped boy said, closing his eyes, tilting his head, and smiling.

I swiped down until it scrolled to the first option in a light shade of blue.

'Items' was the first. I tapped it and it took me to the list.

Medicine x5

Snuff Soul x3

True Self x1

I selected the 'True Self' object and a light blue glass card reflecting my face appeared.

Suddenly, people were engulfed in a blue light similar to when I summoned Orpheus. I was too. The glass card in my hand shattered and swirled around me. It flew upwards and solidified. It became Orpheus. The same happened with others. Beings similar to Orpheus stood above in the air above their summoner. From what I could see, a soldier in a black jacket wielding a naginata- no it is two of them. One was a slight shade of red, however. A three headed dog, an armored female, a round-bellied Goddess, A horse riding one wearing armor. Five Personas, however, looked the same. They were skeletons of some sort. They all rode horses of different color. One did not, however. It looked like one of those matadors from Spain.

"I bet you're wondering why I would do something like this, right?" Suzuki Shinichi asked.

Up into this point, his voice sounded like a child who was excited. It lost all its emotion and sounded slightly older.

"Well, before any of you were born…I used to be known for being in charge of a company which produced a game that made me well known. I was fascinated with the world of that game and wanted to create a world similar to that. Nevertheless, trouble came, and the company went out of business. And so I waited for the future to come, I spent twenty years and finally my dream came to fruition."

After a short pause, the child's voice came back.

"The tutorial for Persona 3 Online has been completed. I wish you all good luck. And so it begins."

The voiced echoed throughout the area we were in. The boy had became a blue card and flew off towards the green moon hanging above us. The sky had become dark blue with visible stars. The BGM of the area we were in played but no one spoke.

East of me was a scream.

Then—all hell broke loose.

"You…gotta be joking dude! You've gotta…be…"

"I've got an interview at the end of January; I can't afford to miss it!"

"My dog…who's going to feed him?!"

People yelled, shouted, and cursed.

We went from game players to prisoners in a span of a few days. We have to accept this as our new reality. This isn't heaven nor hell, this is life as we know it now…

What this Shinichi wanted is what we have to live through. We have to meet his expectations. I can't return to the real world until we beat it. I won't see my mother, sister, or anyone for a while. Then again, my friends abandoned me; so what would I be looking forward to seeing other than my family? I may not even get the chance to. Once I die here, I'll die in the real world. The Virtual Station is the cell, Suzuki Shinichi is the jailor, and we…we are the prisoners.

My mind began to calm itself. I breathed in and out before softly biting my bottom lip. I began to feel fatigue. I turned and looked for the nearest exit and ran through the crowd towards it. Upon reaching it, the game asked me where I would like to go; I picked the dorm.

Why did I even go there? Why was it the first thing on my mind? Either or, I'm safe from a mob of stampeding people. I stared at the tall building and then the roof. It wasn't on fire anymore. I entered the building and ignored the surroundings. I walked up the stairs without a glance at the window. I entered my room, sat on my bed, and muttered to myself:

This is reality.

4/18/09 –After School-

My mind felt clogged. As if it was full of things that I'm not aware of yet. What's wrong with the date? Did that much time pass? Damn it Shinichi! I slammed the back of my fist onto my mattress. Using the menu opening motion, I opened my options…no log out button. Oh! Developer notes, that's new.

'Due to the chaos caused during the intro, some players have been made into NPCs. Teenagers have been made into students at Gekkokan High, while adults have been made into NPC adults all over Iwatodai and Tatsumi Port Island. Also, players, your HUD has been updated to show your current level, Persona, and Arcana. I've used this time to make sure that your bodies have been properly placed and secured.'

"Arcana…?" I mumbled.

'The Arcana shows what respective group your Persona belongs to. The Arcana ranges from:

0. The Fool

Magician

Priestess

Empress

Emperor

Hierophant

Lovers

Chariot

Justice

Hermit

Fortune

Strength

Hanged Man

Temperance

Devil

Tower

Star

Moon

Sun

Judgment

World

The Fool is quite the special case. For example, the number zero, the fool represents emptiness. Therefore, the Fool wielders can use more than one persona. Their limit is twelve when they reach a certain level and can use any persona from any Arcana plus their own. They can also acquire the persona of a person that they defeat in battle. In addition, when they defeat a shadow, Persona cards appear which is the means for the Fools to acquire personas. They also can fuse Personas to make new, more powerful Personas in their menu. Fools are rare, however. There are only four out of all the Persona 3 Online players.'

I looked at my health bar. Next to it was my level; level two. On the right of that was my Persona, Orpheus and its Arcana, the Fool.

So…I'm empty? I'm a special case? I can use multiple Persona? I ignored these thoughts and kept reading.

'Personas can also undergo a change. The Virtual Station will pick up a change in moral or mentality that happens in your brain. With that, your persona can change into something either more powerful or weaker depending on what happens. Please keep in mind that the dangers in Tartarus can cause this. Finally, if you do not attend school for a week, you will be expelled, and when you are, you will be transmogrified into an NPC. Any grade lower than a sixty percent will be made into an NPC. Please remember that.' It ended.

I closed the menu and sighed. I still can't believe this…

I walked to my room door to open but it opened by itself.

"Oh~! Yamamoto-kun was it?" It was that Hasegawa girl. Ah, I remember. On the roof, she was hit with that "Agilao" spell. She's still alive? That looked like it hurt.

"Oh. Hasegawa, was it?" I asked even though I knew.

"Wow, no honorific? We're that close? Anyway, I came here to thank you,"

She grabbed my hand and walked me to the bed. We sat.

"I was really scared, you know…You saved my life twice now…How do I pay you back? I don't really know…I'm still scared…we can't go back…I won't ever see my family again…Aren't you scared too?"

She began to cry…What do I do? Should I bring her close or something?

"Yeah…" I whispered as I hugged her.

Her tears dampened the front of my uniform.

"I…I…wanna go home…Yamamoto-kun…thanks for saving me…" She trailed off.

"I wasn't trying to. I wasn't trying to get hit by that hand." I said truthfully.

"You liar…" She tucked her head in more to my chest.

I felt movement of her lips on my chest. Like a smile.

You're the liar. Looking above at her HUD, her Arcana was The Lovers. Does that mean that she's good at deceiving men? A girl with a similar appearance to her has already betrayed my feelings.

"Oh, I see that you've spoken to Yamamoto-san already, Hasegawa-san." A voice came from the entrance of the door. A long blonde-hair, blue-eyed boy stood at the door. His very appearance gave off the words 'nobility' or 'foreigner'.

She pushed off me quick and stared at the noble blonde-haired person at the doorway.

"Ah," She wiped her face with her hand. "Tsukatani-kun, yes, I did."

"No, no, I told you already, call me Hinata, and drop the '-kun',"

He smiled. I looked at his HUD, it said his Persona was Penthesilea of the Empress Arcana. Empress, as in feminine? What language is his Persona? It doesn't sound like English.

"I wanted to talk to you about that event on the roof and the opening tutorial."

"Talk." I said.

"Ah, yes. During that event, a similar or the same creature attacked multiple dorms in the Iwatodai area. All of the dorms managed to defeat the enemy but a fraction of residents were taken down by it…therefore…erased. Hasegawa and Hajime gave me the run-down of what you did, but I wanted to hear from you."

"I put a gun to my head and shot it. That thing that came out of me was my Persona, Orpheus." I said.

"Where did you receive such a tool?"

"The gun? She had it."

"And where did you find it, Hasegawa?" Hinata asked her.

"In the level before the roof, there's a room with a giant monitor. In the middle of the room was a table. It had three suitcases; all of them had the same gun inside." She said, looking away from the door to the mirror next to it.

"I see. I believe we found this "Tartarus" place that that Suzuki person spoke of. I think we should conduct an investigation, bringing along Yamamoto-san."

"Where?" Hasegawa asked.

"During the tutorial, I was not warped right away; I was at the school known as "Gekkokan". The school turned into a massive green tower that leaked some red liquid from high places." He spoke. He paused, swallowed the excess saliva in his mouth and spoke again.

"You managed to beat that creature while we were all powerless. We think you would be a good leader."

"Who is this we? I don't know any of you people here. I didn't ask to be stuck in this game. I just only wanted to play this to curve my boredom." I said, my voice deepening.

"…That's the same for all of us, Yahikkun." A voice said above me. Hajime.

He's right. Maybe, with this power I could…Maybe with them…I could mean something to someone again. "Fine, I'll do it. Hey, don't call me that."

"I like that name, Yahikkun." Hasegawa said.

"It's Yamamoto Yahiko." I said.

"Shima Hajime, nice to meet you." He said.

"Hasegawa Nanami, nice to meetcha!" She said.

"My name is Tsukatani Hinata, it is a pleasure."

"Well, I think we should get to know the rest of the people left in the dorm since people from other dorms can't come in contact with ours." Hajime said.

"Why can't we?" I asked.

"The quick-travel system sends you to the dorm that you came from. If we leave the dorm right now and walk a certain distance, you reach an invisible wall. Options will show asking you where you want to go. Such as, paulownia mall (the place where that kid was), the school, a strip mall, a train station, and a shrine."

"I see. Think rationally, you all," I said rudely. "First, we should hold an assembly for those who aren't NPCs in the dorm. We should also attend school so we don't become NPCs. The day after tomorrow, we should go to Tartarus. I suspect people might've gone already. How does it work, though? Well, we'll see."

In the top left corner of my HUD, After School shifted to evening. Outside, the sky darkened. "It's getting late, huh? I should go start making dinner." Hinata said before walking off. "Dude, wait for me!" Hajime said as he jumped off the top bunk. His health went down from 97 to 95. Nanami and I were alone.

"Thanks again, Yamamoto-kun." She said sweetly.

I stared into her big green eyes. My eyes were reflected in them.

She leaned in, closer, closer, ever closer. She placed her right hand on top of my left.

I stared blankly, unknowing what she was attempting to do. Her lips inched closer, I inched back. I put my hand in front of her face.

"Stop messing around. It's over now, so get out." I said rudely.

"Aw~! You're no fun, Yahikkun!" She said femininely.

She stood up and walked towards the door. Before she exited, I could swear that I saw a smile on her face. Not a happy smile but a smile that looked like it was plotting something.

What the hell was wrong with that girl? I thought to myself. As I lay on the bed, I kept hearing a weird noise in my midsection. The scent of cooked fish permeated the dorm.

Dammit.

4/19/09 Evening

"Hey, everyone who's stuck in this game, make your way to the fourth floor and sit down and wait!" A rough voice said outside of the room.

The NPCs did not react to the voice but players did. People of various appearances stepped in and took a seat. They had a different look than the people who were forced to be NPCs. Their faces had actual emotion and smoother movements. Around twenty five players were in the room. Seats were taken up in the room so some had to stand.

"Let us begin this meeting. First, we ask that everyone must participate with us in order for us to beat the game. If you do not want to, you may leave right now." Hinata said.

At that point, around seven or so players had walked out with similar expressions on their face.

"Any more? None? Okay, now let us begin. We are the Persona users of the S.E.E.S. dorm. I want to build members so we go to Tartarus." Hinata continued.

"What's Tartarus?" A preppy sounding girl asked.

"Considering that this game was released under the genre of 'RPG', we can assume that it is this game's dungeon." Hinata answered.

"Where's Tartarus at, anyways?" A boy with a scar on his left eye said.

"At approximately midnight, the school known as 'Gekkokan' becomes Tartarus."

"So, how do we summons 'personas'?" A girl with long black waist-length hair said.

"If you could do the honors, Yamamoto-san."

I walked over to the table and picked up a gun like object from one of the suitcases.

"You put this on your head, pull the trigger, and your Persona comes out." I said lazily.

"Very well put, Yamamoto-san. In any case, I would like to begin exploration of the tower in order to beat this game. If you are willing to put your life on the line…state your name, persona, and Arcana.

"Excuse me, why are Arcanas necessary to be known?" Someone asked.

"I think that people of the same Arcana may have similar abilities or attributes. Without any more interruptions, begin." Hinata said with finality.

"I'm Uemura Shiori, my Arcana is the Chariot, my Persona is Palladion." A girl with orange dyed hair said.

"Next." Going to the left was the next person.

"My name is Tanamura Ishida, My Persona is Forneus, My Arcana is the Emperor." A long black haired boy said.

"..Ishida...? That name sounds familiar…" I thought aloud. Why am I thinking like that? That's a common name in Japan.

"I'm Shima Hajime, Arcanum..uh, Arcana is Magician. My Persona is…damn how do you pronounce this…Herumiisu? Hermes! Yeah Hermes!"

"I'm Nakamura Nishiki, my Arcana is Justice, my Persona is Nemesis." An orange haired boy said. His hair was down to his neck and messy.

"I'm..I'm Matsuhita Kanami…My p-persona is Lucia, and uh, my Arcana is Priestess…" She was cute. Her hair was a nice shade of brown. She looked timid but she looked as if she could become strong.

"Ichigawa Kyoji. Arcana's Strength. Persona, Cerberus." A black haired boy said. He looked scary but calm all the while.

"I'm Higashiyama Naohiro. My Persona is Polydeuces of the Emperor Arcana." A buff boy with blonde hair with black streaks said. He exuded anger from himself.

"I'm his sister, Higashiyama Asuka. My Persona is Castor, of the Hierophant." His sister looked normal and nonviolent. She also was shorter than him. Shorter than me as well.

"I'm Kusanaki Eri. My Persona is Lilim of the Devil Arcana. Let's have fun!"

No way. It can't be. It was my friend, Eri. That same girl who was my best friend in middle school. The same girl who abandoned me along with an Ishida. I began to get angry but I swallowed it and reviewed others who spoke. The devil, huh? That's fitting.

"I'm Hasegawa Nanami, my Arcana is the Lovers, my persona; Io." She said. I'm still curious about that smile she gave me. A few more went and then finally it was my turn.

"I'm Yamamoto Yahiko. My Arcana is the Fool," Most faces froze with shock or confusion.

"My Persona is Orpheus. I believe I was the first to summon one. According to Hinata over there, I'm your leader."

"Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Tsukatani Hinata. My Arcana is the Empress. My Persona is Penthesilea. In any case, we conduct our first exploration tomorrow at Midnight. We depart as soon as the game's time shifts to late night. Wait, you said 'Fool'? Meaning you can use multiple Personas?" He asked.

"I'm not sure…We'll see tomorrow."

After that, people asked questions. During that time, I left out of the room. As I reached the steps, a female called me.

"Yahiko-kun! Hey wait!"

It was Kusanaki Eri, the former love of my life, who was also my best friend.

"You're looking good, how long has it been since…" She trailed off.

"Since you abandoned me? You and Ishida…! Since entering high school, you and him thought that you were hot shit and left me by my lonesome…Well, that's fine…I didn't mind it anyways. I remember that day that you left me…It was just me and Ishida eating lunch by ourselves. And then he left too. You two became popular and…! Damn it…Now we're stuck in this game of death…One problem after another, eh? Whatever…don't bring that face of yours around me." I gritted my teeth enough to drop my health down by one.

As I walked down the stairs, I heard a slight 'Yahikkun…' and a sob.

Sorry, Eri-chan.

Please Review, I'm desperate for advice on this story! I'll take stranger reviews as well!

I know Yahiko seems heartless, but whatever happened in his past brings this Yahiko to the present.

If you have questions, leave a review or PM me :D