Chapter 14: Intermission #2

Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 3, work at Atlas, or own the myths and legends mentioned in my story

Warning: There will be strong language, graphically detailed violence, crude humor, dark angst-y moments, deep thought, and the occasional feminine joke. The list will potentially change to reflect changes in the story without advance notice. You have been warned.

I'm sure my first few steps toward Orobas were normal, I felt a shudder run through my body. As I felt my head begin to shut down, I could distinctly hear Orobas shout, {"Don't let him fall!"}

Now, granted, I'm only vaguely aware that someone was holding me up. In all honesty, I was busy vomiting up everything. And I meant, everything. From the bitterness of bile, to the tang of acid, and even the sweetness of blood.

{"Angel, let apsaras hold him! You go and get Igor and Lucifer!"}

Obviously shit was going down, not that I didn't know already. I was vomiting so hard that I could feel pressure building up behind my eyes. That, and unless I was dripping blood from my mouth, I'm mildly sure I have a nosebleed. Least, I hope it's a nosebleed.

"Easy there kid, easy. Just stay still. How's the towel? Is it cold enough?"

Patting the wet towel over my forehead and eyes, "Yeah, it's perfect. Sorry about the mess. I'll clean it up." Trying to sit up, I was immediately met with a feminine hand on my chest. Hearing Elizabeth's voice, I figure it was probably her's, "Don't worry about the mess. I'll have Theo clean it up."

"But! Sister!"

"Theo." Yeah. Couldn't see her face, but from the sweetness in her voice, I'm thinking she's giving him the 'threatening-smile-of-doooooom'

Resigning to his fate, Theo just lets out a dejected, "Very well."

"Now that everything has settled down, my dear guest, do you have any idea what happened?"

Groaning a bit as I sipped my third virgin mojito, "I have no idea. One moment, I was training with apsaras. Then it happened. Then I kinda, suddenly woke up."

There was a cimulative, 'It?' from everyone in the room.

"Honestly... I really don't want to talk about it."

{"Umm. I think I know what may have happened. When you, Summoner, have an active persona, there is a bleeding effect where you take on a bit of the persona's personality. But, you also gain some of their innate abilities."}

Groaning, I lift up the towel a bit so I could actually look at Orobas as he talked, "Right-o. With Orpheus, I become pretty decent with a guitar. Haven't had time to check the rest of my extensive list."

{"Technically, you are partially correct. When you choose Orpheus as your main persona, you, in fact, gain total master over all forms of string instruments. With Amy and subsequently the pixie persona, you become more playful and innocent and gain the ability to set up minor tricks and pranks instantly."}

"Fucking sweet, mate. But how does that explain what I saw and experienced? Or the mess that Theo has to clean up? Sorry about that, by the way." I couldn't see Theo from where I was lying down, but I think he might have waved at me.

{"Well... It may have to do with me."} Lucifer pursed his lips and gestured for Orobas to continue. Letting out a small cough, {"Well. Since I'm not a persona nor did you attune with me, I sort of exist within your soul. Very much the same way as a possession. Since I mainly act as your advisor, I didn't think my residency in your soul would produce an effect."}

{"But it did?"}

{"Indeed, Lady Amy. Much more intensely than I could have imagined. My ability to answer questions regarding dimensions and time is because I am peering into all of it simultaneously. Very much like a... Oh! Like a Time Lord."}

Deadpanning while sighing, "Really? A Doctor Who reference?"

{"Quite so. More on point, a lesser degree of my vision bled into you. While you may no control over it, you can occasionally see the most likely results of your actions."}

"That was far too real to be just a glimpse. Even now... Even now I can still hear and feel every bit of what happened. The screaming. The look in her eyes..." Though confused, Amy landed on my chest as apsaras begins patting my forehead while humming a lullaby. Despite what should be calming me down, I could feel a sense of dread creeping up on me.

{"This next part is not going to be easy for you. I need you to remain calm. By that, I need you to hand your duster over to angel and then empty your pockets."}

"Okay. This has gotten weird." Groaning, I turn over onto my stomach so angel and apsaras could help me remove my duster. Rolling back, I turned all my pockets inside out. Looking back at Orobas, I watched as he nods at Elizabeth, who places a bucket next to my head. "Really? Is all this necessary?"

Clapping his hands together and giving them a rub, {"Okay. Now. This is going to very unpleasant. But what you just experienced wasn't just a vision. That was reality. A reality to be more specific where the events has already come to pass."}

Oh yeah. He was right about the bucket. Bolting up faster than I could have know I could, I dove headlong into the opening only to start dry heaving. That's what happens when there's nothing left to vomit. Of course there were a lot of choked cries of 'oh god' and 'no' echoing between heaves. Giving up, I just wave feebly in Orobas's direction, "Explain."

{"Well, it's a reality where you gave up on humanity and embraced a, rather, excessively cruel nature. Lord Lucifer would remember it was the one where he simply turned his back on you."}

Looking over at Lucifer, he had his eyes rolled back for a bit. Honestly it was kinda creepy to see him standing there. Not saying anything. With only whites for eyes. When he finally snapped out of it, he just shook his head, "Yup. There I go. Yeesh. That Dark was way too fucked up for even me."

Springing up and grabbing Lucifer by the collar. I'll admit it. I went a bit crazy there, but everyone goes a little every now-and-then, "Lucifer! Lucifer, I trust you. I'll believe you if you tell me that that wasn't me! That I will never become that or do that to anyone! PLEASE! TELL ME THAT!"

For a while, Lucifer just stares at Orobas. A silent conversation goes between the two. Clicking his tongue, Lucifer places his hands on my shoulders before moving moving it to my face, "Look at me. I'm not going to lie to you. That. Was. You. Everything you saw? You did it to every female demon and member of your own team. Stand up. Listen to me. Look at me! All of that is inside you. You made that choice then, you can make that same choice now. You are no different that anyone else out there. You have both an angel and a devil inside you. I can tell you now, that you will never do that to your friends. Look at me! When we first met, I said that I would never lie to you and I'm not starting now. You can trust yourself to not do that. Okay? Come on, kid. Okay?"

I nodded my head as I always did even as Lucifer slowly laid me back down on the ground. I will be okay. I had to be. I believed Lucifer, but the sensations... they were all too fresh for me to forget right away. But I guess Lucifer knew that. I wasn't alone with my thoughts very long when Lucifer just chimes in, "Hey, kid! Would you like me to erase that memory? I mean, your memory palace is right there. You are in a unique position that no one else has."

"..."

"You don't have to decide now. The time-stasis is still in place. You can rest as long as you-"

"I want to keep it. But...But please, help me lock it away." Taking a shuddering breath, "I-I'm scared if I go near it by myself."

"I got it, kid. Just do your best to pack it up. I'll teach you."

With some coaching from Lucifer and the Resident siblings, I now stood at the lobby of my memory palace, and bleeding all over the marble floor was an old-school wooden trunk. A countless number of scratches mar the surface as a reminder of the effort it took me to get it this far.

"You sure about this kid? I can haul this outside and torch it. You don't have to live with this."

"Thanks Lucifer. But I think I do. If all I did was get rid of memories, then I'll have nothing left. At least this way, someday, I can grow strong enough to face my own demons." Tapping the directory to reassure myself., I finally nod my head, "Alright. But first, Orpheus?"

{"Still here..."} I think I detect a bit of spite there.

"Head back to the dorm. You have the day off."

{"I thought you were grounding me."}

"I'm ashamed of what I'm doing and I don't want you here while it's being done."

Exhaling a bit, {"... Alright. Just take care of yourself."}

I was seriously having seconds thoughts, at least until I heard a loud boom right near the entrance behind me. Wait..., "Lucifer! Did you just-? PLEASE DON'T BREAK MY DIRECTORY!"

Looking hurt, "It wasn't my fault!"

"Really? That's where we're going? Blaming the inanimate marble thing in my head?"

"well, it's going to sound stupid if you put it like that. Anyways, I was trying to find how deep we were going to bury this, but this stupid thing!" Backhanding my directory. "It says your lowest level stores information on baseball, football, and basketball. That can't be right."

"It is to my memory."

"... There is something wrong with you! Who files that stuff away!? Even I love those sports!"

Shrugging my shoulders, "Stephen Hawkings."

"Kid... That was freaking terrible."

"Yeah. But true. Anyways, while I occasionally watch those sports. I really don't care to know anything about it. That includes but is not limited to point values. Hopping back on track, we're taking it up to the first floor."

"Why. The. Fuck. Are there no elevators?!"

"Stop complaining. It's not cool."

"Screw cool! It's the principle of the matter! The fuck are we lugging this thing up a flight of stairs!"

"It's just one flight of stairs and only up to the first floor."

"Why then?!"

"Because I want to make it easy to recall but hard to suppress."

"The logic is sound, but it doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Didn't expect you to... Mister Opposer." Chuckling to myself, I suddenly feel the trunk shift. Bracing myself by digging down into the stairs as the chains around my waist begin to crush my pelvis. In the end, I got dragged down six steps. Glaring back at Lucifer, "You are such an ass."

"Blow it out your ass, princess! I slipped!"

"Dude.. my blood is way ahead of you."

Didn't take much longer for us to get to the first floor. Lucifer was surprised at its plainness. It was a simple brown wooden door with a brass doorknob. The hallway and room was lit with a one-fifty watt light bulb impacted into the ceiling. There were even benches. "Pick up your jaw Lucifer, got work to do." Taking a short break in the short hallway, I couldn't help but wonder how many memories I suppressed over the years. Screw it. I'll burn that bridge when I get to it.

Taking a breath and opening the door, the resulting room was very reminiscent of a museum. There were a few podium/table things and there were actual displays. Walking up to the first one right by the door, I found a clean, well-lit display. Opening up the latch, I pull out a drawer to find a rusty nail. Placing my finger on the nail.

Bolting up the scaffolding, I was proud as hell to have found this junkyard. Hopping up and down, I started waving my arms. Shouting on the top of my lungs, "Come on Grant! This is tag! If you can't catch me, what are your chances against your friends above me?"

I could see that Grant wasn't worried. No. He strutted into the warehouse with his arms outstretched to his sides, "Watch it shorty, the only reason we don't go after you yet is because you'd cry."

"Will not!"

"Riiight. Don't forget we taught you everything you know on how to freerun. That doesn't mean we taught you everything we know." Grant wasted no time from the entrance, climbing up the doorway, he balanced himself across a beam, and began hopping across the top of the two-by-fours in front of me. Letting out a pained scream, I watched in horror as he fell and crumpled like an accordion into an old bathtub below. Scrambling down as fast as I can , when I finally got to him, I could see a big rusty nail sticking out of his foot. Taking off my belt, I wrapped it around his ankle to-...

Pulling my finger away, I quickly push the drawer back into the display. No sooner did the internal lock clicked, the feelings of guilt, disgust, and self-loathing were replaced by curiosity. It was such a clean and well-lit display. I had just open the latch and pulled out the drawer revealing a rusty nail when Lucifer shouted from the entrance, "Hey, kid! I thought we had a job to do! How much longer are you going to keep messing with that?!"

"Back that up a moment. What do you mean keep?"

The look of confusion that Lucifer was giving me was not a good sign, "That was your eighth go."

"Please, don't let me touch these things more than once!"

I can't tell you how many memories I checked over-and-over again since I don't remember, but letting Lucifer control my touch-and-go was a poor life choice. But in the end, we made it to the end of the room. It was dark or dramatically lit. It only had two displays embedded into either side of the walls. And the glass sported cracks all over the surface that were bleeding something that looked a lot like mercury all over the floor. The one on my left, in the center of the display, was a perfect scale model of a bridge that's name I cannot recall. All around the model was twisted metal. Some kind of accident? As I got close enough to touch the glass, the entire thing exploded with fire. Recoiling back, I could see figures in-... no, not in. Hidden. They are being hidden by the flames. As several vanish, three of the most prominent approach the glass. The figure furthest left looked at me with eyes redder than the flames. Looking away and moving toward the center, I watched as a moving shadow pressed itself up against the glass. As I got closer to examine it, the top half of the shadow tilted slightly. Whether it was out of curiosity or concern, I cannot say. As I watch the shadow press a hand against the glass, a pair of sapphire eyes stare at me off to the right. When I say sapphire, it wasn't a figure of speech. The eyes were not blue, they were literally sapphires! The eyes were so pure, so innocent, and so sad, that if someone were to tell me that they belonged to an angel, I would start believing. In the end, it doesn't matter. The moment my hand pressed up against the glass, all the dynamics vanished leaving behind the model by itself.

Shaking my head, I move towards the opposite display. It was very plain, very simple, and it terrified me in a way I cannot explain. It was the interior of a metal container, like the ones stacked up in shipyards. A single lightbulb dangled in the center illuminating a metal chair welded into the floor while casting everything else in shadow. Seat on the chair was one of those voodoo dolls you could get from those capsule machines at Oriental stores. You know, little string wound dolls with the big heads. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, too bad! They're adorable! This one is too... if it wasn't for the setting. The doll itself is wound with black yarn, red beads for eyes, a tiny heart sewn to its chest, and red yarn for a mouth stitched shut. Just like the last one, I wanted to get close to this one, but with each step, it got harder and harder to breathe. With just one step, something heaving and metal slid and clattered on the floor inside the container beside the chair. The silver duct-tap handle shone in the light. Another step and I can see the glass vibrating at random intervals, length, and intensity. A mere breath's away and I can hear something muffled behind the glass.

I wanted to run.

But... I wanted to know more and no amount of survival instincts could override that.

Reaching toward the glass, just inches away Lucifer's hand snaps around my wrist. Looking at him, he brows were furled as he slowly shook his head. His voice sounded... for the lack of a better word, his voice sounded sad, "Let's stop there, kid. If you want to face this memory, fine. But not today."

Knowing better than to argue, I simply nod and turned around. Sure, I gave the odd memories one last look before dragging the trunk to it's new home, but I never saw pained look on Lucifer's face. I also didn't see the seal he placed on the memory. But, to be fair, I also didn't hear the massive splintering crack that formed over the face of the glass.

Tucking that trunk away, I left my memory palace first so I could squeeze in some more practice with apsaras and then head to class afterwards. I'll probably leave apsaras with Lucifer to get her bonded with her card.

[~][-]

I watched as students were practically sprinting to school. Screw running to school. The hell are they going to do to me? I can't believe he did this to me! He was suppose to be my brother! How dare he do this to me!

"Fate-san! Wakey-wakey!"

[~][-]

Lifting my head up, I found myself still in the Velvet Room. Elizabeth's face just a tiny bit away from mine. Poking at my cheek a bit longer until I actually sat up. Theo was in his usual spot. Shaking his head in disapproval. "My, my. That excursion into your memory palace must have been taxing. The moment you returned to the Velvet Room, you sat down and went to sleep."

"Sorry, still groggy. Um. Sorry for being an inconvenience."

She just smiled at me, "Not at all. Watching you sleep was quite educational. Time has no place here, so things like sleep and exhaustion doesn't affect us."

Drumming the table while I chewed the underside of my lip, I finally arrived at an answer, "Not sure how to feel about that." Nailed it! Clicking my teeth a bit, "Did you want to ask me something?"

"Actually, yes. I have some... requests."

"Sounds good. Send me the list and I'll get it done soon as I can."

"Actually," Stepping forward and placing a hand on Lizzy's shoulder, "My sister isn't allowed to send you a 'list' of requests. They are to b-"

Deadpanning, I hold up a hand to shut him up before patting down my duster. Making a few 'huhs' and 'hmms', Lizzy easily took the bait. "What's wrong? Are you looking for something?"

"Yeah. I'm looking for all the fucks I wasn't going to give to your brother. I know I have them around here somewhere. Ah! Here it is!" Reaching into my jean pocket, I pulled my hand out just to flip him the bird, "My bad, it was only a bird. But. Look on the bright side, you got to see an endangered bird. There's only two of them." Flipping him the double bird I deadpan, "So, retarded concept aside, this isn't a game where I take one mini-quest at a time. That's not how I work. You want me to do something for you, you tell me what it is, how many you want, when you need it, where I can get it, and how much it will cost me. After all that, I decide if I want to help or not." Standing up, I was practically nose-to-nose with Theo.

"Email, text, or written?"

That was the only thing that kept us from ripping each other apart. Blowing air out of our nose, we each turned and walked away, with me toward Lizzy, "Alright. You can send me the list however you like. I have to go and figure out how not to get arrested. Later y'all."

{"Wait for me Darky!"}

The moment I walked out of the Velvet Room, I swapped to pixie and things got cool. For a moment, I got to go Action Man. Of course, instead of going bullet-time and then running numbers to make an awesome Rube Goldberg thing, I was looking for the best hiding spot. So... nothing like Action Man. I'm so glad that Orobas let that bit slip, I don't even want to imagine what's going to happen to me. In the end, I was doing a handstand behind the door. Just when he got parallel with the Velvet Door, I scampered up above the door frame. Bless this guard for being human, never bothered to looked above his head. Checked behind the door, but not above him.

Course, when he left the door open, I sent Amy to check. Didn't have to wait long for her to get back to me to confirm my suspicion. "No good Darky. He's standing right outside."

"Aww..." Wait! Did I just 'awww'... Oh right, pixie's influence. "Hey Amy, these guys tend to work in pairs or more. Do me a favor. Walk in front of some security cameras and see if you can lure them away from me."

Amy gave me a little salute and fluttered of. Hanging there, I had no idea what she was going to do, but all the same, I waited. Soon enough, I heard it.

"Two-two-six? Charlie, come in."

"Charlie here."

"I'm seeing someone on the cameras. Looks like a kid on the floor above you, could you go and check that out?"

"... I'm on it. Over."

Short-circuiting another gate later, I had Amy latch onto my neck so I could sneak-sprint away.

What?

You expected something more action/spy movie? Too bad! Not everything in my life is edge-of-your-seat a moment.

There was no chance of me going back to the dorm to grab my gear... Oh well. Just going to have to make-do as best I can.

{Summoner, I do not think making do is the best approach.}

Well zippy-do-dah to you Mr. Fancy-pants.

{Summoner?}

Yes?

{Go grab a bite to eat and swap back to Orpheus, not necessarily in that order. You're acting a bit... asshole-y}

Wow. I must really be insufferable.

Author's note: Sorry for the lateness... again... sanitation class just started up for me and it's boring as all hell. I think I've gotten used to the schedules and should be able to write at a normal rate again. More good news: this marks the end of the filler... for now...