Italics: Mitsuru or Fuuka talking through their Personas
Tartarus - lobby - Dark Hour
My sense of reality is thrown for a loop stepping into Tartarus; the air is thinner here, making it somewhat harder to breathe. Not to mention, the green hue of the world didn't make it into the place, as if this place is an isolated space.
The pathway into this place leads to a platform with a pair of stairs leading up to a large clock, thingy. Absurdly large structures climb higher into the tower in the background. How does that even work?
"Whoa... it's as cool on the inside," Jun exclaims, looking around the place with a gleam in his eyes...
"But, It sure is creepy," Yuka-chan shutters.
"This is only the entrance, the labyrinth is beyond the doorway at the top of the stairs," Kirijo-senpai informs us.
"First, we'll have you four get a feel for this, so Mitsuru and I will have you guys go in there," Sanada senpai says.
"What, by ourselves," Junpei questions as he springs back, surprised by his conclusion.
"No, they won't send us in there without a way to communicate," Mako-kun intuitively points out.
"What do you mean Mako-kun?"
"While Sanada-senpai was explaining our objective, I was looking at Kirijo-senpai's bike."
"How did my bike catch your attention?"
"Electronics, including vehicles, don't function during the Dark Hour." Oh, that's right. That's why any light in the city goes off when the Dark Hour hits. "How did you bring it here?
"There's a certain material inside the bike that allows it to function during the Dark Hour.".
"I see… That aside, allow me to get back to the bike. Other than the material inside the bike, it's completely normal, except for one thing. The radios on the bike. Senpai, you don't have any type of earpieces, do you?"
"None at all. My persona can fight in battle, and provide support off the front lines."
"I see, so are the radios amplifying your support abilities."
"Correct."
That sounds pretty useful. At least I know we won't be flying solo in there.
"Wow... Yuka-tan, did you know she can do that?"
"Not at all."
The idea that she can give support outside of the is comforting, no doubt about that. However, Yuki-kun's analytical skills are on point. In fact...it's kinda scary...
"All right, we don't have all night. Let me appoint the leader so we can get this started," Sanada-senpai says.
"One of us, for real!?" Jun's eyes beam with excitement for some reason. "Oh, oh, me, me, me, pick ME!"
Seriously dude? It isn't like it's a big deal. Then again, I wonder if I'll get picked…? Nah, I can't see that happening. My wet blanket set of nerves couldn't handle it.
"Hmm… Yuki, you're in charge."
Can't say I'm surprised. Out of the four of us, I think he's the only one who isn't overwhelmed by all of this.
"What, why him!?" Jun voices his objection but nobody pays it any mind.
Kirijo-senpai clears her throat. "Enough of the idle chit-chat, time to begin the mission."
Tartarus block - Thebel - floor 5
It's been a few minutes since we entered the labyrinth, Shadows stalk the tight halls. This place has a chilling vibe to it that makes it hard to keep calm, let alone let my guard down. I can see the upper floors from here; like it goes on forever as flights of stairs connect to the next level. Fighting in here is exhausting but enemies aren't too tough to deal with. Speaking of fighting, I have more strength than usual. Kirijo-senpai said that it's because of our Personas.
"Hey, this floor's pretty small. Think we can take a break?" Jun asks Yuki, wiping sweat off his forehead.
"No, it's still too dangerous. Let's keep going until– What the…!?
The ground quakes as something drops from above. A gust of wind blows past us, nearly knocking me off balance. A large shadow with wheels rolls toward us from the dust cloud it created.
"What the hell! Is that a shadow, too!?" Jun clasps his sword. The blade rattles as he holds it up. Then, to add to the insanity of the situation, three birds swoop from the corridor behind the monster.
"Everyone, get ready," Mako-kun orders, holding his sword with both hands.
The birds dive at us. Junpei's hit on the shoulder by one of them. A light wound and better than getting hit around the neck or head.
"Don't let them hit you with their talons," Kirijo-senpai warns.
Easier said than done, they're freaking fast! Not to mention the big guy over here!
Two of them come at me. I draw my blade, immediately going for a strike. It fails to even get near them as they maneuver away. My swordsmanship is sloppy, coupled with their speed, I have a snowball's chance in hell at hitting them with a katana.
They circle me, watching me with their unsettling eyes, probably waiting to claw out a piece of me. One of them broke the circle, coming at me with said talon. I'm able to stab it before it reaches me. Screeching, crying out in pain, it thrashes around a little. Great, this is good! Now…if I can only get my sword out!
With enough force, I rip my sword out of it, slicing through its torso. As a last act of attack, it summons a gust of wind to hit me from under my feet, pushing me up a few feet into the air. Another one of those birds grabs me in midair. It's taking me up in the sky as it gawks at capturing its prey. It's raising me higher and higher into the air. Is it gonna take me somewhere? Looking below, I see Orpheus darting at us. It uses its lyre to crush the shadow's face. It dies immediately after impact. Now, without anything keeping me up, I'm gonna fall…fast!. "Holy shiiiiiit!"
Orpheus catches me, barely making it in time seeing how my body was a second away from ending up a red smear. Mako-kun waves at me, I wave back at him as a nervous chuckle leaves my mouth.
"Hm?" The last bird zooms towards him, circling his backside. I can catch it if I jump from here.
"Here goes nothing!"
I jump from Orpheus to the bird, grabbing its wing. The added weight is too much for it to handle. We end up crash-landing on the ground. My elbow is first to hit the ground, pain sparks in my shoulder
It's a struggle to get up for me, as well as the bird. My legs felt like crap but it's nothing I can't walk off. Damn, this is worse than the other night; at least I was able to fight back, but I'm flopping all over the damn place.
A shrill cry from the shadow in front of me snaps me out of my thoughts. Right, I need to kill it before it gets back up. I pick up my sword off the ground and walk to the enemy. Before it can take off again, in a swift motion, I cut its head off. The cries of the shadow come to an abrupt end as it melts into a black ooze...
"That's that… Now..."
Time to fight the bigger shadow. As I search for it, Yukari is sent flying from one end of the room to the other. Junpei has his Persona attack the shadow head-on.
"Iori, your attacks aren't effective on it!"
Senpai's warning is too late. Hermes is smacked out of the way by the shadow as it spins around to use its wheel as an attack. It set its sights on Makoto and me.
"Ready, Kazuki?" Makoto asks as he prepares to use his Evoker.
"Yeah, let's go!"
"Careful, physical attacks aren't as effective. Use magic to defeat it!"
With a strategy in mind, we charge for the shadow, Makoto summons Orpheus. The Persona spews fire against the shadow, but it brushes it off as if it were nothing. I slam my sword at the enemy. I know that using my sword isn't the best idea against this enemy, yet, since I can't use magic, I need to rely on physical attacks. The shadow trains its gaze on me as it spins to hit me with its wheels. There's no time to dodge, I need to block it!
The shadow's attack is too strong for me to handle. I'm flung right into a wall, hitting my back pretty goddamn hard. Whether it's because I'm lucky or because of my sword, I managed to block the attack with minimal injuries. A sword isn't gonna cut it against this thing; I need my Persona.
"Alright, let's do this!" I take my Evoker out of my holster as I sprint towards the enemy. I jump high off a broken pillar, gaining some air. It's busy fighting Makoto, I can get the jump on it. As I put the gun to my head, the shadow once again spins at an incredibly quick rate. Those spikes for arms are gonna hit me at this rate. But, by whatever luck I have in my body, I end up getting hit by the side of the spike. like my fortune is strong, cause I got hit with the side of the spike, so my skin didn't get sliced open. While I escaped with no open wounds, it sure did knock the wind out of me. My skin is crawling, reeling from the blow a moment ago.
"Kazuki, dodge!"
The shadow rolls its way to me, and being loud about it too; like a wrecking ball being dragged across the ground. Hermes swoops in from the side, kicking the shadow's head. It slams it to the wall.
Junpei snaps his fingers. "Oh yeah, home run,"
The shadow is stuck in the wall as Hermes is keeping it at bay, The thing's blood-red eyes glow brighter. It pushes Hermes off, sending it rocking toward Junpei. Yukari's Persona summoned a strong gust of wind, but it did nothing to affect it. It's charging for her as Orpheus' lyre smacks it on the head, causing it to drive into a pillar. Yet again, it spins to attack Orpheus, and heads right back for Yukari. She uses her Persona as a shield. The shadow easily shatters it into tiny blue shards.
"Takeba is in danger! Somebody cover her!"
I grit my teeth as I'm the first to dash off after the shadow. It spins around over and over again, probably warming up for a big one. I get in front of Yukari.
"Kazuki, this attack will be devastating! Use your Persona!"
"Go-got it!"
My left-hand goes for my Evoker. Nothing, there's nothing but empty space near my holster. No way, I lost it!
"I lost my Evoker somewhere," I report, fear leaking into my tone of voice.
"Are you joking!?"
"I'm sorry!"
"Damn, here it comes!"
The shadow is seconds away from approaching us. I look to see if Yukari can move. She's still recovering from the damage she received. There's not enough time to move her, and I definitely can't leave her.
"Damn it, I don't have a choice! Yuka-chan, stay behind me!"
Summoning my Persona is the only way to get out of this, and as much as I would like to, I don't know how to summon it... I have to remember the details of that night, the sensation...the feeling that has power behind it! I need to picture the Persona and that feeling.
"Kazuki, that shadow is going to attack! Hurry up and get Takeba out of the way!"
Her voice begins to fade out of my mind as I try to find the feeling I need. What is it, that feeling that gave me such power? That feeling, that powerful feeling that allowed me to survive… That feeling that allowed me to destroy my enemy!
"Persona!"
Two blue blurs strike the shadow. It changes direction, slamming through two of the pillars in this room.
"It's down," Mitsuru yells.
Can't let up! We need to kill it, now!
"Then it's time to end this," Makoto states as he summons his Persona again. It smashes its lyre into the side of the shadow's face. Orpheus grabs its head. An explosion goes off in front of its face. It's pushed towards a wall. This is it, I'll end it. With all the strength in my legs, I shoot off the ground as I charge to it. I jump to reach its head. My sword runs through its head. The shadow drops to the ground, losing its support from the wheels slowly crumbling apart.
The air in my lungs runs dry, and my arms and legs continue to shake... We did it, we really did it!
"Alright!" I scream, despite my shortness of breath.
"Oh, yeah!" Jun joins in on my celebration yelling, swinging arms around me, rocking us back and forth.
"I think that will suffice for one day. Find a transporter to return to the lobby."
Weird, I thought I'd be glad for it to be over, but now, I just feel a bit bummed out.
"Let's get going before more arrive," Mako-kun orders, taking the lead.
Everyone heads off to the teleporter as I gawk at my hands. That power, that feeling manifesting into power... I like it! So much so that I let out a slightly menacing giggle. Why was I so scared before, I got this!
Tartarus - lobby - Dark Hour
We all make it back via the transporter. Okay…that is definitely weird! It's like being spun around in a chair and then standing up.
"Welcome back," Kirijo-senpai greets us. "...So how do you all feel after that fight?"
I stretch my arms as I yawn. "Exhausted."
And not sleepy but physically exhausted to the point where my whole body feels like it'll collapse if I take a step.
"Yeah, me too," Yuka-chan adds, sounding just as exhausted as me.
"Well, I can't blame you, with that fight and the effects of the Dark Hour, you'll quickly grow fatigued. It's to be expected."
Not to mention the number of times I got hit and slammed into stuff, yeah, I can see why.
"But Kazuki, how did you summon your Persona without an Evoker," Kirijo-senpai asks, narrowing a sharp gaze at me.
"Wait, what did you say," Junpei's voice echoes inside the lobby, reaching higher and higher.
"Is that not normal?" I ask, desperate to play this off.
"No. I can summon my Persona without an Evoker, but it takes too much concentration to be done in battle."
That's funny, it didn't take too much concentration for me to do it, all I needed was that feeling, then boom, Persona.
"I suppose that means you won't need your Evoker."
Everyone's staring at me with mixed reactions; Jun is surprised, and so is Yuka-chan. My senpai are pretty good at hiding their reactions, but I can tell they're interested. As for Makoto… Nope, still can't gauge him. I won't say I'm an expert at reading people, cause I'm not, but he feels so…distant, if that's the right word.
"...In any case, today's expedition mission is over," Kirijo-senpai announces. "Let's head back to the dorm."
Our senpai walks ahead to the exit. We follow behind them.
Jun comes up to me with his hands in his pocket. "Yo, Kazu, you should give me your Evoker."
"Why?"
He strikes a pose with his sword, similar to a JRPG hero. "So I can summon double-Personas!"
"Junpei..." Yuka-chan says, not even trying to hide her disappointment.
"What-up, Yuka-tan?"
"You're a moron."
"What!?"
?/? - Unknown
I'm standing in a pit of darkness, with nothing in sight or anything to hear. Yet, I know there's something here. It doesn't move with the darkness around me, nor does it hide in it, rather, it is the darkness. I can feel it, something is coming. In mere seconds, something came at me at the speed of a car. My sight goes blank, darkness obscures my vision. Static fills my head. Is this the darkness' voice, am I going insane? What is this, why is this, and more importantly, why am I here?
"Do…fee…go…?"
Words try to penetrate the static, yet it sounds like jibberish. So I am going insane, or maybe this darkness is consuming me?
"To...kil."
"Huh…?"
"Does it feel good to kill?"
4/26 Su - Kei Kazuki room - Morning
I jump up in my bed. A cold sweat rolls down my cheek. Another nightmare… That makes it the third time this week. Wondering about it does nothing since I can't remember a lick of it after I wake up.
"What time is it...?" Flipping open my phone, it's 2:25 P.M. … "2:25!? Oh, crap!"
I burst out of my covers, nearly slipping on the ground. I swing open my closet and grab the clothes I planned on wearing today. I put on my black jacket. For extra measures, I brush my teeth with absolute speed and precision.
"All right, I'm ready."
I race downstairs and through the lounge. Nobody is here and if someone was, I don't have time to greet them. Hopefully, she's not waiting for me!