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Morning, Dorms

Full Moon
I awoke to the sound of voices. Normal voices for once, thank god. I quickly changed and walked down. I saw the girls talking about "Old times" while Judge was on the couch. No wonder they were using "Coded" words, as they called them. I was going to ask Mitsuru about my idea when the bell rang for the door. I walked to the door and answered it. It was Tabitha!

"Uh…hi Tabitha."

"Hay…just wanted to see if you were alive or not after we dropped you in your room like a stone." Wow…I love the choice of words…

"Uh…yea….I'm fine."

"You wanna catch a movie or something' later. Minus J-tard over there?"

Judge rolled his eyes.

"I'm not listening Tabitha~"

She rolled her's as well.

"So?" She asked again.

Funny…as much as I wanted to…I just couldn't say no. Plus the murder in her eyes really livened up the conversation…

"Sure. It's not like I had anything planned. Wha'd you have in mind?" I asked her.

Palownia Mall, Evening

Full Moon
We exited from the arcade. This was the most fun I've had…ever.

"You have got to be the first Girl who's beaten me at videogames. Actually…the first girl I've ever met to like games in the first place."

She had a huge grin on her face, which looked nice despite the Goth makeup.

"Well when you hold the current title for 'Kill Joy' in all of southern Japan, it shows in normal games." She explained. I nodded in agreement.

I checked my cell phone. It was almost midnight. About two minuets from it.

"Hay…do you hear that?" Tabitha asked me.

I listened. Besides some shadow voices, Persona voices, and the regular whoosh of water from the multiple fountains, there was nothing.

"Hear what?"

Tabitha shook her head.

"Never mind." I checked my cell phone again.

"At the tone. It will be…twelve midnight, exactly. Beep…beep….beep….BEEEEP…"

"The hell!" My cell phone cut off. I gave it a good smack. Still nothing.

"Great…that's what I get for buying a used phone." I said.

Tabitha poked my shoulder.

"Hang on…I'm trying to get my phone to-What!" I looked up…it wasn't a pretty sight.

"What….just happened?" Tabitha asked me.

The mall had changed! There was blood everywhere! It was in the fountains! It was on the floor! The air seemed to have a lime green color too it as well! The hell was going on here!

"Uh…what…are those!" Tabitha said as she pointed to three dark oozing creatures. They had no definitive shape. There was one small one and two bigger ones, and they were crawling towards us.

"Sh-sh-sh-shadows…" They had to be! Then that must mean…we're in the dark hour! But…how! Minato and co. sealed away Nyx! How is this happening! And why are we here? Wait…

I looked at Tabitha.

"You…heard a voice before this happened…right?"

"Y-yea…" She said while both of us were backing up.

"Did it sound anything like that?" I asked her as the shadows got closer.

She could only nod.

Crap…she was led in. But then how was I able too…

I shook my head. Trying to remember all that they told me about shadows.


"When we investigated Tarterus, we came across these monsters we called shadows. Before battle they looked harmless. Back when Akihiko and I were the only members of SEES we thought we could just avoid or ignore us and they'd do the same. But in reality they hunted us down. As soon as one of us was hit or touched by a shadow the area around us changed and we were thrown into battle." Mitsuru explained. Akihiko jumped in.

"Our first battle was very…hard to say the least. We thought we could just go in, kill them and be done with it. But apparently the Dark hour has rules for battle that apply during one." He shook his head.

"Rule One: Everyone has turns. The faster you physically are than your opponent, the faster you get your turn." Then Yukari jumped in.

"Rule Two: Everyone's Stamina and Magical capabilities and limits are seen only by persona users. When someone's stamina reaches zero they knock out." Then Junpei jumped in. I turned my head to see him.

"Rule Three: My favorite one. The AOA. When your enemy is down while your leader and one other person is up, you can do an All out attack which cannot be blocked or evaded. Plus it does some serious damage!" He said with a smile. Aegis piped in after him.

"Rule number Four is the Arcana system. All shadows are classified by the masks they wear and that determines their Arcana. This was very important because certain shadows or their Arcanas were weak against certain magic. Take the Priestess and Garudyne for example."

I nodded. "Anything else?"

Fuuka then nodded. "Once more."

Mitsuru nodded. "Ah yes…His best tactic."

I was confused. "Once….more? As in one more what?"

Fuuka explained. "Once more is a special rule where, if a person or shadow hit's their targets weakness or gets a hit in a critical area, then they get one more turn to do as they please. He utilized this to it's full potential a lot, getting multiple once more's at a time." Akihiko then jumped in with the last word.

"Two things left are the leader and the shadows appearances. If the leader was KO'ed on our side then so did everyone else. That's why it was important to appoint Him leader. He almost never did. The last thing is how shadows look. Don't be fooled by their initial appearance. As soon as battle starts they change into their true forms, and it can be scary at times. But because we were persona users and we had weapons on our side as well, we prevailed and vectored over many battles!"


I nodded. So our best bet was to avoid them. I grabbed Tabitha's hand and ran for the entrance to the arcade. There had to be a backdoor or something! As we ran through the people has transmogrified into coffins. Just like they had told me! I didn't pay attention to it a lot as I tried to run for the emergency Exit. I hit the door running and sent us both onto the streets. As we ran as hard as we could we could see a great many shadows all over town. What the hell was going on! I thought Shadows were only suppose to be in that tower! We were heading towards the moonlight bridge. I could see Akihiko!

"Senpai! Over here!" I yelled. He turned and ran towards us.

"Hurry! There's a lot of shadows coming after you!" He pulled out his gun and rushed us towards the end of the bridge. When we could see the other end of the bridge…we knew we were screwed. There were countless shadows waiting for us!

"Well…always did like a good handicap fight…" He looked towards me.

"You're the leader for now! Both of you get something to fight with!" I scrambled to find a stick or something! Anything! I found a trash can lid and a monkey wrench on the ground. Good enough! I ran back to Akihiko…Tabitha had throwing knives!

"Where the heck-"

"It's for self defense!" She said hurriedly.

"Here they come!"

Then a clear voice spoke inside my head.

Akihiko-senpai! Come in! I'll provide as much support as I can from here!

"Yamagishi! What the hell is going on here? The dark hour's back!"

Tabitha-Kun look out behind you!

We all turned to look. Tabitha jump-turned and tossed a knife at the shadow.

Akihiko watched in horror.

"NO! That's a red-!" It was too late. The shadow had been hit.

Battle had begun.

The wind howled. The bridge widened. The Shadow burst into three forms and they all looked pissed. I looked around. No other shadows were there.

Hang on as long as you can guys! Everyone else is coming!

Akihiko nodded. "Fuuka, can you see our stamina!"

Yes I can! I'll keep you three updated on it!

"What the hell is going on here!" Tabitha screamed. Akihiko shook his head.

"Just do as I say and we'll live through this! Dammit…Fuuka who's first?"

Sen-Ken is first! Then it's You Akihiko then Tabitha then the shadows turns!

I nodded. "Sensei, can you tell us what their weaknesses are?"

I'll try! It's been a while so I may be slow but I'll try to hurry up as much as I can!

So it was my turn. I had to think.

"How's the one closest to you Akihiko-san?" I asked

"Sound's good enough to me!"

I nodded. I ran at the huge Hanging Cyclops looking shadow and swung with all my might, then gave it another swing before I ran back to my spot.

Akihiko was next. "Really wish I had Caesar right about now…" He took aim and shot point blank. The Cyclops hit the ground hard.

Senpai! The enemy's knocked down! Go again!

Akihiko shot again at the one closest to Tabitha. It went down as well.

It's weak against piercing attacks! That's it! One more Akihiko-senpai!

Akihiko smiled as he placed a bullet in the last Cyclops' eye.

Akihiko smiled. "Here's where the fun begins! You ready Sen?" I nodded.

Tabitha looked like she understood as well.

"Okay! Now!" We all ran at the downed shadows. I targeted one Cyclops and tried to hit it as much as I could. They still had a lot of fight in them!

We kept getting knocked back! When we couldn't attack anymore we stayed our place.

Akihiko frowned.

"Dammit…how much more Fuuka?"

They're almost to half health.

"Are you Shitting me! We did all that just for almost half health!"

You don't have your persona anymore senpai! You don't do as much damage anymore! Tabitha it's your turn!

Akihiko and I looked at Tabitha.

"Let's pray she has a piercing attack."

Tabitha tossed a knife at the Nearest Shadow…it dodged the attack.

"s**t! I missed!" She screamed.

"You didn't miss! It dodged the attack! Crap! Here they come!"

The Cyclops that Tabitha aimed for looked at her.

I screamed at her. "Brace yourself!"

She did so by holding her hand up to her face. She got hit with a slash attack from the Cyclops' hanging circle. She yelled in pain. The second shadow yelled out loud as a red vortex appeared around it.

"s**t….Hang on. This is gonna hurt!"

Look out! It's MaBufula!

"Ma what!" I yelled. Akihiko's bottom half of his body was encased in ice. Then it broke…and Akihiko hit the floor.

"Run…" He said.

Akihiko-Senpai!

My turn was next. As the ice encased my body I was about to scream from the cold when the ice broke and I screamed in pain from the impact. I don't know how but I held onto consciousness. Tabitha couldn't do it. After the attack she was left on the ground. She didn't look like she was breathing.

I looked at the last Cyclops It screamed as well. I saw it coming. As the ice was about to encase me I jumped out of the way in time.

Sen…be careful! The other's need more time!

I tried to think….my brain just wouldn't work! If I ran there was no chance of us surviving because we're surrounded. But There was no chance of me hanging on for long with THEM!

Call….me….forth…

Sensei?

I didn't say that! Sen what's going on?

Call my name…you need me…I'll protect you…I'll destroy them…bring me forth…you know how…

I looked at Akihiko. I walked towards his unconscious body and took his Evoker.

That's it…send me forth…let the world know our pain…let us bring forth the end…

Wait! Sen no! This voice! It's- That was the end of what she said. I couldn't disobey the voice. It was controlling me. Possessing me. I…. had to see…what was it that enchanted me? As I pointed the gun towards the side of my head I couldn't control myself anymore. Something else was pulling the strings.

"I am the harbinger of death. I will bring death upon those who wish it…and those who wish to harm me."

"Thou arth I.

And I am thou.

No one can withstand my might! I am The Fall! Now! Call me!"
I pulled the trigger.

"PERSONA!"

My head split! The pain…it was immeasurable! I felt like My brain was imploding! I was about to give in…when it stopped. I opened my eyes. Nothing changed…but the Cyclopes looked afraid. I heard a flapping sound. Like the sound of a birds wings in slow motion. I turned around to see my persona.

"N-n-nyx!" No way….my persona was…Nyx! There was no question!

The white mask, the four raven feathered wings, the huge figure along with the sword bigger than the dorms I lived in? It matched the description the others said exactly!

Nyx looked at me.

Hurry up and command me human. These Shadows appearances bore me.

I semi-nodded. Then turned around.

What could Nyx do? As soon as the question popped into my head, so many answers filled it as well! I picked one at random.

"Megidolaon!" I said pointing to the shadows. Nyx did the same and three orbs or pure light appeared above us. Then, in a slow spiral, they came down and fused together, creating a massive explosion! I covered myself with my arms and when the damage was done only I was left standing.

The bridge pulled itself back. The wind howled again. Then all was still.

No more voices…did something happen? I walked till I could see one end of the bridge. The shadows were retreating as fast as they could!

I ran to the other side of the bridge and confirmed what I had seen. A smile lit across my face. Then I saw Akihiko and Tabitha still on the ground.

"Nyx…can you do anything to help them?"

Why would we want to? Leave them to the shadows.

"Wait a second! You're my persona! And as such you are suppose to listen to me! So heal them….uh….now?" Nyx kneeled down and looked strait at me. Her mask alone was my size…yipe….maybe I was pushing my luck.

Fine…they shall be restored…

Nyx waved her hand and Shortly after Akihiko and Tabitha awoke…in horror.

Akihiko pulled out his gun. "You're back! No wonder the Dark hour is here!"

"Senpai wait!" We all turned our heads. There was Yukari and the others along with Fuuka-sensei and Judge…wait…Judge!

"What is he doing in the Dark hour?"

Yukari answered me.

"He just recently awakened to his potential. That's why we took so long. But the bigger question is…Why is Nyx here!" She said, looking at the giant persona.

I wondered that myself.

Mitsuru walked in the middle.

"Regardless…we need to get back to the dorms so we can talk this out…something's not right here." She said to us all.

I nodded.

Nyx faded away. But she wasn't gone. I could hear her voice in my head.

You're making a big mistake human.

Well if I was…then it was my mistake to make.

Nyx was silent after that.

We didn't see any shadows on our way to the dorms…but that didn't mean we weren't prepared. Our guard wasn't down even when we walked into the dorms. Mitsuru-sensei looked at me with a worried expression on her face. She turned to look at Fuuka-sensei and she nodded.

As everyone sat down their attention was all to me. It made me uncomfortable.

"So…is anyone gonna say anything or are all of you just going to stare at me all night?" I asked. I was a bit annoyed.

Mitsuru answered. "I'm sorry…it's just…tonight has given us a lot to think about. The main thing is that…the dark hour is back. But what's scaring me is that there's no Tarterus. No tower whatsoever. All the shadows are outside. Which means that Apathy syndrome is going to be a plague not just here but all around the world…and now you have Nyx as a persona…it's a lot to take in-"

"Bullshit! Lot to take in is an understatement! Why the hell does he have Nyx!" Akihiko screamed. "We went through hell and back to get her down! He even gave up his life to seal her! And now she's just prancing around here like nothing! Was His sacrifice that meaningless!" Akihiko looked even more pissed. Tabitha took out a throwing knife.

"Watch it. Cop or not I wont hesitate to toss this at you if you so much as take a step towards him." She warned.

I looked at her, surprised.

"Uh…thanks?" I said. She nodded.

"I owe you my life. It's the least I can do."

I was in thanks to that.

Akihiko cooled down. "All I'm saying is that this is confusing as hell. This is worse than when Ikut-"

"Guys…" Judge said hesitantly.

We all looked at him.

"How long did you say this was suppose to last Miss Yukari?"

"An hour…or so we think. It ends at 12:01 though. Why do you ask?"

"Cause it's 12:05 right now and we're still in the dark hour. My cell phone's back on though…"

Ah s**t…..