A Flower Amongst Devils
Original Concept: Persona 3 Portable/High School DxD
Chapter 1
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Created by: Atlus/Sega and Ishibumi Ichiei
Author's Notes: This is a crossover of High School DxD and Persona 3 Portable. The FeMC would be named Arisato Minako. I would like to thank two particular authors who had been very influential in me publishing this fic, gabriel blessing and The Crimson Lord. Thank you for the great work you two did in HS DxD crossovers to get me interested in writing one as well.
written by: wrathie
wrathie: The list never stops dwindling down, does it? One day I'll sit down and finish all of my fics in one go.. maybe. Rambling aside, here goes nothing.
Like what my co-author, XoreandoX will mention next, this fic started off with me wanting to pay homage to Crimson Lord's HS DxD x P3 crossover, his fic, A Demon Among Devils is awesome, much better than mine, so go read it, and then subsequently getting influenced by gabriel blessing's Beyond the Outer Gate Lies, yes that is great too, read it.
Then it went into the brainstorming phase, where my co-author threw the book at me, he's good at that (and is always so blunt at it), and I went back to the drawing block to actually come up with something that could actually work. He suggested a new angle that wasn't touched on much in DxD, I took a look at it, and the rest is history. For starters besides by co-author, XoreandoX, the two above mentioned authors, I would also like to credit Kisdota- The Freak Gamer for his Persona fic that had influenced me alot, my other beta readers, itscomplicatedokay, bowpurity and kaiserdude for contributing alot and indulging me till I actually got confident enough to publish this one out as well.
For this chapter, it's just the introduction and the meat of the story isn't quite there yet. Yes, it seems like I got the crossover all wrong, and it's more of Persona with Persona, but trust me on this. For my loyal readers of PtF (Piecing the Fragments), no it is no an epilogue to that fic, though it seems like one, and you won't see the DxD references or any hints that this is the DxD world till chapter 4 the latest. So sit tight, enjoy the ride, and till the next time!
EDIT: 25/08/14 - I have revised the first chapter, it's really horrible and I contradicted myself alot. Hope it's better now!
XoreandoX: When I first heard that wrathie wanted to write a fic to pay homage to Crimson Lord's "A Demon Among Devils", I wondered just what wrathie had in mind. Needless to say it looked like it was just a lot of ideas that needed a bit of direction, so here I am once again playing the role of co-author for another fic. One of the things I contributed to this fic is the introduction of a character that normally makes an appearance later on in the Highschool DxD canon, though from what I understand you won't be seeing her until Chapter 4 or so. I should note that this chapter is more or less the 'missing' chapter that describes the struggles of suddenly appearing in an unknown world that a lot of people like to handwave, so without further delay enjoy the chapter; and for all the authors out there, Keep on Writing.
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Arisato Minako woke up suddenly, her entire consciousness jerking awake as she stared up at the clear blue sky, the warmth of the sun making her speechless as she slowly got up. She found herself sprawled and resting on a bench in an unfamiliar park.
The change of scenery made her wonder why Theodore had pulled her from the seal. She had been prepared to maintain for as long as Father Time moved on for the sake of her friends and the world. Minako prided herself as an adaptable individual, and not knowing what was happening to the world that she was protecting - had been protecting along with all of her friends, is quite a bitter pill to swallow.
The first thing Minako did upon calming down was to reach into the depth of her consciousness, searching, probing to find the Personas, her allies, her other selves that had gone through her last journey together with her.
To her horror, there was none, none that resided in her mind and she found herself panicking as she racked her mind for some way, any way to regain her Personas that was missing from her Sea of Souls.
It had been only a year since she had first awakened her ability summon Personas, and although it seems like only a short period, it has also been the longest, terrifying and yet most fulfilling and happiest time of her entire life. Her Personas were the one that contributed greatly to it being so.
It wasn't just S.E.E.S, her friends or the bonds that she created that made that time precious, it was also the Personas' presence that made it even more so.
The Personas she wielded and carred were an aspect of her, yet were also separate from her, Personas whose voice only she could hear. Personas taught her, just like she had taught some of them as well.
Personas were individuals just like herself and her friends in S.E.E.S, and even her comrades' Persona has retained some of their memories from their time before her friends drew upon their powers to protect humanity.
"No.."' Minako found herself feeling a profound sense of loss. She felt alone, lonely and without her Personas she felt naked, powerless and helpless. Not even Orpheus, the truest aspect of her, answered her call -
No – she could hear it, her, him, she didn't care, She could hear a familiar voice calling out to her as she pleaded into her Sea of Souls.
"Orpheus?" Minako cried out in her mind, blindly reaching out to see if she could locate the direction of its voice, even if it was metaphysical in her mind. 'Orpheus?' She called again, this time louder and he, or she, answered.
The metallic body and form, with a great lyre shaped liked a heart placed comfortably behind it was familiar to her. The golden sheen instead of the usual silver made her sigh in relief while she stared up at the mask that covered the Persona's head, the long brown hair waving freely behind her in a nonexistent wind.
"Orpheus Telos"' She whispered as she collapsed back onto the bench, at least she wasn't alone. Even if it was just Orpheus – she wasn't alone any more. But it wasn't the Orpheus that had accompanied her from the start of her previous journey, no she was much more.
The mask that this Orpheus wore was the 'colorless mask' that Igor had granted her from the strength of all her bonds put together. The colorless mask was a sign of her bonds, her connection to her friends and to her, it was the embodiment of her friend's faith and trust in her.
So with Orpheus Telos, she could not lose, she would never lose. That was her faith in her Personas, her bonds and her friends.
As Minako calmed down, she started digging through her pockets to find out what she had to work with.
..
It turned out that the total material possessions she had on hand was her evoker, her wallet with barely five thousand yen in notes and coins, and her cellphone with the S.E.E.S arm band attached to it. Still, it could be worse. She was back, she was released from the Great Seal somehow and it was due to Theodore that she was able to return to the world of the living.
She made a promise to hug and kiss her most beloved elevator sibling before she ran off, excited at being given the chance to live life again after being sealed for goodness know how long?
The passing of time was a concern for her too. She did not know how long she had been sealed away for? It had to be years at least, she felt like it had been that long, and if it had been years, would her friends still remember her?
"Get a grip girl! Orpheus Telos is here, of course they'll remember." Minako muttered to herself as she asked for directions to the nearest train station. She hoped she had at least enough cash on her to buy a ticket back to Tatsumi Port Island, from there she would be able to contact her friends. Hopefully the Kirijo group would still be linked to Gekkoukan, and anyway, she was a student of Gekkoukan high... wait, she was officially deceased.
So that was not an option as it might cause more than their share of problems, so contacting Gekkoukan High was out. Perhaps she could contact the Kirijo office instead? But she didn't know who to contact, and depending on how many years had passed, Mitsuru might even be calling the shots – and that meant she could never get through to her. Then it hit her.
"How silly of me!" Minako slapped a hand against her forehead as she pulled out her cellphone, she could call them as she had their numbers and mail addresses! Even if they didn't pick up, she could at least mail them too, right?
..
"Thank you very much! Really, thank you!" Minako bowed profusely to the staff in the train station who were kind enough to let her recharge her phone. It had taken her some begging, but they had agreed to at least charge her phone so she could turn it again.
Minako bowed again to the staff before she walked away, hands trembling as she selected the person she would want to call first in the contact list. Yukari, she should call Yukari first. Her best friend in the world would be the first to know that she was back!
"Eh?" But Minako was confused when she noticed that she couldn't make a call to her no matter how she tried. She would only get a error message.
"Network error? I can't connect with it? Why?" Minako frowned before she slapped a hand on her forehead again.
"Right, I didn't pay the bills... so they would have cut me off." Minako sighed but that was only a minor setback as she looked around for a payphone to make calls with. Payphones were becoming a rarer and rarer sight nowadays, but there were at least one or two per station to help people like her.
Minako plunked the coins into the phone and dialed the number for Yukari's cell impatiently, and to her relief this time the call went through.
"C'mon, Yuka-tan... pick up." Minako mumbled in frustration and her breath picked up when someone answered the call.
"Yuka-tan?" She practically squealed into the phone, only to freeze when it wasn't Yukari's voice that came from the other end.
"Yuka-tan? Who is this?" It was a gruff voice, a man and Minako eeped before apologizing.
"E-Eh, ehh? I'm sorry! I must have gotten the wrong number! I'm so sorry!" She apologized profusely before she hung up, a hand on her chest in embarrassment and shock. Did she dial the number wrong in her excitement?
"Well, let's try again." Minako told herself as she picked up the phone and tried again.
"Hello?" The same voice answered the phone again and Minako shivered but still managed to confirm that she had dialed the right number that she had dialed countless times to Yukari.
"Y-Yes, I... I see, I'm sorry... I must have gotten the wrong number. So-So sorry!" She apologized again before hanging up and looking a little lost on what she should do next.
"R-Right, she must have changed her number, that's normal... let's try the others then!" Minako tried to reassure herself before she decided on the next person to call.
"Junpei, Junpei wouldn't change his number, right?"
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In the end, all of the numbers that she had in her contact list were either the wrong number or were not even in service. Minako was confused, and more than a little terrified as she stared at her phone, feeling lost and dejected. She didn't even dare to mail her friends, not that she could, but it was still a terrifying though.
There was just no way that all of her contact list could have been wrong, there was just no way. How could Chagall Cafe or Club Escapade just... change numbers like that? Unless... it had been decades since she had sealed herself away, that could be it.
If it was decades, then her friends would have grown up, and would have moved on. She wouldn't fault them for that, so that might be the case. It would be enough time for even businesses to close down, yes, that was it!
Minako breathed easier after rationalizing through the possibilities. She was walking towards the train station again, trying to look for anything that could give her an idea of what day and date it was today.
"2013?" Minako's eyes widened as she felt her legs weaken, it had just been three years and everything has changed? H-How, why?
"Everyone?" Minako felt as though her world was crashing down on her, Had everyone abandoned her? Or had Mitsuru decided to remove everything regarding the Shadows, including Tatsumi Port Island and Gekkoukan high? No, that was not possible... she, she wouldn't, they had so many memories there, she just couldn't destroy everything they had fought so hard for, right?
Unfortunately for Minako, she couldn't think clearly now as she sobbed openly, her shoulders shivering as she walked aimlessly to rest her head against a wall.
..
It took a few minutes for her to regain her composure again and she bounced back with the encouragement of Orpheus Telos, the representative of her soul had always been laconic as compared to her other more vocal Personas. But it was again her encouragement that made her want to try again, she had to believe in her friends, she had to be strong – she was the field leader of S.E.E.S, had faced the harbinger of the end of the world, Nyx and had come out triumphant. She had to believe, believe in the Minako that her friends believed in.
"Let's go... to Tatsumi Port Island." Minako told herself as she slapped both hands against her cheek and as it stung, she knew she was at least awake and alive.
"Note to self... never do that again." She muttered painfully while heading towards the ticketing station to buy tickets that would allow her to ride to Tatsumi Port Island. Speaking of which, where was she now, anyway?
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It turned out that she was at Odaiba within Tokyo City, but she found herself stunned when she could not find Tatsumi Port Island station within the entire train directory. She remembered where it was, it was a man made island near the city of Ito, and yet, it wasn't there at all. It didn't make sense, it just didn't!
Even if it she remembered wrongly and it was nowhere near Ito City, the station should still exists! It's also one of the wonders of Japan, a fully man-made island that was developed and ran by the Kirijo group! There was no way that it could just disappear off the face of the earth!
Minako clutched her head and hair in confusion as she stared at the machine, sorely tempted to slam her hands on it but she reined herself in.
"Erm, are you going to use the machine, Miss?" A business man asked her politely and Minako took the opportunity to ask him about Tatsumi Port Island, and how to get there.
"Tatsumi Port Island? I've never heard of that place before. It is an amusement park?" The man was patient enough to listen to her, she probably was looking quite harassed and panicky and she took a few deep breaths to calm herself down before asking.
"Tatsumi Port Island, a man made island just the south of Ito city... you know, the one that was run by the Kirijo Group, you... do know of the Kirijo Group right?" Minako pleaded with him, but her hopes were dashed when he shook his head in apology.
"I've never heard of the place in my life, miss. So... are you going to use the machine?" The man smiled apologetically and thanked her as Minako slowly moving her body out of the way. Once again she found herself with a mystery she couldn't solve or accept.
"Doesn't exist?" She muttered weakly as she stumbled away, almost tripping a few times with a haunted look on her face.
"Minako, please, calm down." Orpheus Telos spoke suddenly, startling her.
It was her own voice that called out inside her, Orpheus Telos trying to encourage her and Minako tried, she tried so hard to get herself up again. She had always been an endless bundle of energy and optimism wasn't she? She had to, she had to remain positive. There was a logical reason for everything here. Everything can't just be gone, it just can't.
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"It's gone... t-totally... gone?" Minako couldn't stop her voice from breaking as she stared at the expense of sea that she knew had been Tatsumi Port Island. Unless everyone was lying to her, Tatsumi Port Island never even existed in the first place. The place of her journey with S.E.E.S, her friends in Gekkoukan High, all of her memories, was it all a lie? Had she been dreaming? Or was this a trick of the mind? Had she lost to Nyx?
"Minako,your sea of souls, I need you here now."
Orpheus Telo's words shook her out of her rapidly downward spiraling train of thoughts. She obliged and she closed her eyes to enter into her consciousness and sea of souls instead. Once there, Minako's breath hitched and she found herself staring in amazement at who had greeted her within the confines of her mind as they nodded to her before fading away.
She had wanted to cry out to them, but she was too late to stop them. Minako almost broke then, but was saved Orpheus shook her head and said that they were still she hoped, and dared, and she opened her eyes again, turned around and like she had hoped, in front of her were the Personas of her comrades in S.E.E.S.
Isis of the Lovers, ultimate Persona of Yukari was floating in front of her, her wings fluttering slightly in the breeze while smiling at her.
Artemisia of the Empress, ultimate Persona of Mitsuru in all of her masked glory looked at her regally as she nodded to her in acknowledgment of her.
Trismegistus the red armored and red blooded Magician, nodded at her firmly, even giving her a thumbs up as he floated in the air besides Isis.
Caesar of the Emperor, ultimate Persona of Akihiko looked at her solemnly as he lowered his right hand, the sword cutting in the ground as he waited patiently.
Juno, of the Priestess, ultimate Persona of Fuuka simply looked on, her all-seeing eyes meeting hers and not moving at all until she broke eye contact to the next Persona.
Pallas Athena of the Chariot, ultimate Persona of Aegis stood resolutely besides her fellow S.E.E.S summons just like as she remembered Aegis to be, always guarding her patiently and stoically.
Kala-Nemi of the Justice, ultimate Persona of Ken, stood besides Pallas Athena, the tall and powerful figure casting a shadow on the last two Personas as Minako found herself too emotional for words.
Cerberus, of the Strength, Persona of Koromaru looked on fondly, wagging his tail, all three heads drooling and slobbering in delight. Minako's eyes were however on the last figure that had just turned up, Castor, of the Hierophant and the Persona of Shinjiro.
The black colored Persona, riding a steel horse moved silently to stand besides Caesar before all the Personas moved forward as one. It was Castor however whose hand reached out to drop a familiar, blueish key that made Minako gasp. All the Personas joined Cerberus in surrounding Minako as the wild card sobbed and cried, the overwhelming flood of her emotions too much for her to bear as she clutched the Velvet room key to her chest.
..
Minako was a wreck, all alone and sobbing to herself and must have looked pretty desperate too as she was picked up by a patrolling officer who wanted to check on her. However it ended up having him bring Minako in to the station as her identity hadn't checked out.
It was something the Wild Card dreaded, and the odds was so low that it was astronomical but Minako had more or less came to the conclusion that this wasn't the world she had lived in, or had saved for that matter.
This was another world, so her identity wasn't valid, and she probably didn't even exist in the records, to the country of Japan. Even if she was born, raised and lived here for 16-17 years, she wasn't a true Japanese citizen. She just wished she had applied for a passport and kept it with her as it would have helped her case, but there was no helping it now.
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Her identification was not valid, there was no one registered under Arisato Minako with that identification number, but no matter how the officer looked, it was legitimate identity that just wasn't recognized in the system.
The possibility that she was erased from the system was higher than someone had faked that identity. Which leaves the officer, and the station confused and perplexed on what to do with her.
The high school girl was not even making any attempts to resist, she seemed genuinely confused, and looked like she was just as eager to find out what was going on rather than trying to lie her way out of the situation.
She was cooperative, answered all their questions and behaved extremely well. The only problem with her story was how she didn't exactly have a home to return to, being an orphan and all. But it was feasible, an orphan would explain how she had not discovered her identity was lost all this time.
Her statement to the station was that she had applied for her identification along with her student pass to 'Gekkoukan High'. It was a school that was nonexistent as well as the place it was supposed to be on,'Tatsumi Port Island'. Tatsumi Port Island was an entirely fictitious address, it simply did not exists but the teenager looked so eager and trusting that many of the officers hadn't had the heart to tell her that she might have been duped and conned by others.
That also explained why the address that had been listed in her identity was an altogether unfamiliar address as well, the young woman has been duped, hook, line and sinker. They didn't think that a woman as smart looking as her could be so gullible though, but apparently she had been.
She barely had six thousand yen with her, and they were sure that her bank accounts were frozen as well. Was she a victim of identity theft after all? That was terrible, who would do such a thing?
It would take some time to sort through the legal paperwork and diplomatic headaches that this unique situation required, it looked like they need to seek assistance from other agencies to help resolve this issue for her. She was just a teenager, and they were the police, they had to help her, or else who would?
In the mean time, they had to ask the poor teenager to stay in the station till they sort out the situation for her.
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Minako bowed to the police officer who was looking extremely awkward and apologetic, apologizing about the state of the room that she had to sleep in for the next few days. In truth, Minako was surprised that the officers had been so accommodating to her, some of them even offered their place for her to crash in the mean time. It seemed, oddly inappropriate, and if it was just one or two officer, she might be a little worried. But the whole station seemed to be too... eager to help her. It was as if they were all charmed by her... was it really her? She'd have to think about that for a bit.
One thing she had to focus now entirely now though, was the current situation. Knowing that her identity was not registered was another nail in the coffin for her, this wasn't her world, S.E.E.S didn't exist here, neither did Shadows and she didn't exist here till today.
It was earth shattering news, and the only comfort she could cling on to was the fact that all the things she experienced for the past year hadn't been a dream, she had succeeded, and she had saved the world. Her friends' Personas had told her that, and even if she could not call upon them like she did with Orpheus, they had spoken to her briefly before taking residence in the sea of her consciousness before they faded away totally. They were there, reminders of what she had fought for, but they had came from a great distance to reach out to her in her time of weakness. Just for that she was eternally grateful to her friends.
She had almost, almost given into her despair, into the idea that all she had fought for was a lie, that it was a dream she had. It would have shattered her, but now she had assurance, that her friends were still waiting for her, Minako had a new goal, she was going to return to them, or die trying.
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That was why she had started meditating, seeking to explore her own consciousness and her Sea of Souls to see if any more Personas were still residing in her Sea of Souls.
Her evoker had mysteriously disappeared when they had her empty her pockets, something she was glad for and they had even taken her S.E.E.S arm band due to the pin that was used to secure it. They wouldn't want her to attempt suicide after all. She had been found in a very emotional state after all, but she was sure that she could beg them to return it to her tomorrow.
With the evoker out of the picture, a good thing for she was sure that she would have been under more scrutiny if they had asked about her evoker. The Velvet Room key had also disappeared, but she was sure that it would turn up eventually just like her evoker. Minako could imagine Theodore doing that favor for her – allowing her to summon her evoker and her key like she had done when she wanted to visit the Velvet Room. Coincidentally Theodore was linked to the second most important thing in her agenda right now.
She had to look for the elevator siblings and Igor to find out exactly what was she supposed to do here. Was she suppose to save this world too? Or was this a second chance for her to live her life peacefully?
Was this a wish that her friends had desired, a chance for her to live life normally? She had to know, she just had to.
But for now, her first priority was to search for her Personas. Having Orpheus Telos was wonderful, but it was like speaking to a mirror, it wasn't what she needed right now.
Speaking with her Personas had been a habit that she had formed after speaking with Pharos, actually she had discovered that she could do so only after speaking with Pharos.
Her Personas were an aspect of her, but they were also themselves, their legends, history and experience was something she was happy to know and experience. They also had many personalities, for example those of the Justice Arcana were frightfully pompous, while those of the Devil were candidly informal.
Those of the Hierophant had many stories and tales to share, some even tried to give her advise on dating.
Those of the Lovers were the romantic types, meeting Raphael was a shock when he prepositioned her almost immediately, that had been extremely awkward.
Those of the Judgement were stern, unforgiving, and very serious – they heralded the end after all.
She had spoken to all of them, but there was one Persona who had never spoken back to her. Messiah, the ultimate persona of the Judgement Arcana. It had simply stared back at her wordlessly no matter how many times she tried to speak to him.
She had wondered why, but there wasn't much time before Messiah was torn from her grasp after the final battle with Nyx. The ultimate Judgement had been strangely absent on her final days and as the Velvet Room was inaccessible to her, she had thought him to be lost to her forever.
..
"Someone, anyone..." Minako whispered desperately as she searched her Sea of Souls, probing, begging for any of her Personas to answer like Orpheus Telos. After she had settled down the small cell that she would be spending the night in, she started meditating. Reaching into her consciousness was normally something instinctual to her, something she did not need to put effort into before. However in this case, it had been frustratingly hard to achieve. She supposed all the bombshells that were dropped on her made it almost impossible for her to achieve the perfect centre and calm she usually managed. Minako wouldn't say that she was totally unflappable, but it was just easier for her to compose herself and reach that inner calm compared to others.
So it was perhaps no surprised that while she searched, she also cried, begged and finally, someone answered, a small blonde girl skipping out of the darkness before curtseying to her.
..
"Alice?" Minako's tone was soft as the Persona modelled after the fairy tale smiled in front of her. The blonde little girl found herself being hugged by Minako a moment later.
"Alice... you're... here? T-Thank you!" She blinked back tears as the child simply beamed but subsequently frowned when she pointed behind her shoulders and Minako turned to come face to face with the ultimate Persona of Death.
"Thanatos, you came..." Minako gave the Greek God of death a respectful nod and wondered how she had missed the presence of the god of death that had been a constant shadow in her mind after they had decided to let Ryoji live to take on Nyx.
Thanatos could be said to be the alternate form of Ryoji, and the Fortune Social Link had been very protective and enamoured with her. Thanatos had been similarly affected after his death, choosing to stay by her side adamantly even if she did not call upon the Persona often.
It had been like a guard dog, a few times she had been afraid that it would tear down the mental restraints Personas all had in her mind when she got hurt and would re-enact what had happened during the first full moon she had on Port Island. That horror show of Orpheus being torn inside out to summon Thanatos was traumatizing, and if Thanatos had tried it on other Personas... and god forbid, any of the Seraphs, she was sure that they would be very, very displeased with her.
"I'm glad... you're here though. I'll probably need your help too." Minako smiled sincerely in her mind as she settled herself better on the bed in the cell. Now that she had two more Personas, arguably two that she couldn't hold a conversation with, but it was a start at least.
"I'll help!"
Alice's voice echoed in her mind, before appearing and offered a hand to her. The Wild Card nodded and took her hand, following her lead in skipping and searching for her Personas.
"It's like when I went down the rabbit hole, Mina-chan. It's an adventure!"
Alice giggled while navigating the Sea of Souls of her own creation. She had long accepted that her sea of souls was a dangerous place, she hadn't wanted it to take form as a labyrinth similar to Tartarus, but some wishes can't be granted.
Her sea of souls was huge, but if she had picture how it has been, she supposed that in the middle of the maze there was a huge lounge where all her Personas hung out together.
Now though, the lounge was empty save for Orpheus Telos and Thanatos. The Personas of her comrades had left, faded away and leaving fragments of their presences within the lounge itself. In time the Personas that were least used would retire to the connected rooms to avoid the lounge being too cluttered, but that would not be the case for them.
Minako had to step out of the safety of her lounge to find them, and with Alice, it just might be easier. She had escaped from the Queen of Hearts after all – and had experience navigating mazes.
"It's about finding our friends, Mina-chan." Alice berated her and the wild card blushed before nodding her head.
"Is there anyone you would like to find, Mina-chan?" Alice asked curiously and the first name that came to her was one that she had relied on for the longest time.
"Cybele... I would, it would be great if I can see her again, Alice."
"Cyble nee-sama? Let's hope we can do so!" Alice beamed and the Death Persona skipped forward, cheerfully so as Minako asked her what she should do now.
"What can I do, Alice? I'm alone... and I don't know what I'm supposed to do."
"Don't worry, Mina-chan. You'll find a sign, just like how I did when I followed Mr Rabbit to the tea party!" Alice's reply made Minako smile.
"Glad to see that one of us is confident. But you're right, moping about isn't going to get me anywhere, and I have the most incredible luck, right?" Minako joked and laughed when Alice nodded her head.
"Maybe Mina-chan should buy lotto!"
"Oh you, you're too young to know about that, who's been teaching you all these bad things!" Minako frowned but couldn't stop herself laughing when Alice replied easily.
"Belial nii-san and Nebiros nii-san! They made me pick the numbers and the horsies to win the race!"
"Did they? I'll have to speak with them soon... for them to take advantage of Alice-chan like that, is unforgivable." Minako grumbled softly under her breath but she started when she heard someone laugh at her conversation.
..
"Minako. I didn't expect to see you again." A pale woman with long black hair and what appeared to be a mask over her face greeted the two of them as she stepped from the shadows. Besides wearing a mask, she was also wearing a large witch hat along with the traditional robes and cloak that screamed witch. She should, as she was the famous witch of Celtic and Irish Lore, Scathach, the Ultimate Priestess Persona.
"Scathach-san, I'm very glad to see you as well. Will you lend me your strength?" Minako looked at the witch hopefully as the pale woman considered. She had been the proof of Fuuka's bonds with her, and she always had fun listening to the theories of magic that she had learnt throughout her life time.
Scathach was also a very skilled warrior in the use of her spear, and she had even suggested giving her lessons but those plans had been shelved indefinitely.
"You have always been as humble, it's not befitting your status as the Wild Card, Minako. I will assist you in your time of need, call upon my power and wisdom any time you wish." The witch gave her an amused smile as she drifted away, literally drifted away as she turned into white wisps of smoke while floating back the way she came from.
Now, that was impressive.
"We found one person, Mina-chan, do we go on?" Alice asked quietly while Minako just asked her why she was raising that now.
"It's late, Mina-chan. It's almost time for you to wake up." Alice explained and Minako's eyes widened as she realized how long she had spend in her meditative state.
"Oh dear... this is not going to go well, isn't it?"
..
It took a week for all the legal issues to get settled, and in that time Minako had made a few important discoveries.
For one, she was pretty sure that Orpheus Telos was the main reason for the officer's reaction towards her. The offers of help hadn't been as transparent or numerous when she equipped Alice instead. Unlike Orpheus Telos, equipping Alice as her Persona did have an influence on her personality unlike before. The Death Persona's presence was like a weight at the back of her mind, influencing her. She was more playful for one, and childish too, but it was nothing she couldn't suppress or wave off due to the stress. All the Personas affected her, but she could still ward off their effects by tightly controlling herself.
Minako wondered what would happen if she equipped Thanatos, but that was a risk she was not going to take while she was in custody – it wouldn't do if she started trying to escape from her prison.
Another thing she found out was that her Personas were not the same as she remembered before. The Personas clearly remembered her, but there were considerably less alike her than before. They had more of their own personality infused with their original legend they had been based on and were no longer just aspects of her. For example Alice was more cheerful and eager to play than she had remember her to be, even talking about her parents when she had never mentioned them before in the past. Even Scathach had mentioned a few things about her student, Cu Chulainn and the lessons she had taught him. She wondered what would happen if she did find the Irish Hero, would he start chatting with Scathach about the good old days as well?
That brought to mind the third thing, the Personas that she pulled from The Sea of Souls into her 'stock' of ready Personas would be able to talk to her and to her fellow Personas freely. They would also be able to materialize at least an incorporeal form of themselves around Minako. They can't interact with their physical surroundings, but she was sure that if she invoked them properly, they would be able to interact with the human world just fine.
She was dying to try that though, Personas were only able to appear in Tartarus during the Dark Hour, if it was possible for them to do so outside of the Dark Hour, then that allowed her certain combat possibilities.
In the off-chance that this was a peaceful life that was granted to her due to the wishes of her friends, she was messing things up by preparing herself for another life of conflict. But better safe than sorry, right?
Minako also discovered that it was much easier to switch Personas from her 'equipped' Persona to another than it did before since it didn't require her envoker, and it was a relief for that had been one of the things that made combat in Tartarus such a dangerous affair for her.
Unlike her friends, she had the advantage and the disadvantage of being able to cycle through her stock of Personas to find the right one for the right situation. It had became an art and an instinct for her, but being able to switch Personas at will made it much easier.
If Minako had been able to look into a mirror when she switched Personas, she would have been able to see there was a faint outline of the Persona that was being switched into materializing around her for a split second. It would have been helpful to know, and would save her a lot of trouble in the future.
The last thing, and one that she was quite happy about was that her equipped Personas granted her the same physical and magical abilities of her Persona. That was a major advantage that had been the same when she was back in her own world, and in this case, provided her with much relief. Especially since she had rediscovered more of her Personas residing deep in her consciousness.
..
"I believe that another training regime would work much better, Scathach, strength is something that Minako-san is neglecting for too long." The norse legend Siegfried or Sigurd argued with the Irish witch while Minako did her workout in the mini-work out area in the station. As long as she was forced to stay in the station, she might as well make the most of it.
Minako was a bubbly girl and had an easy time chatting with the officers who had visited her in the room she had been asked to stay in. Perhaps it was the dreariness of the job, or perhaps it was Orpheus Telos, but she had made a few friends in the department.
She was especially close with the officer that had picked her up, a middle aged man with the name of Dojima Ryotaro who was here in Ito for a temporary assignment to wrap up a case. He had been especially sympathetic to her plight since he had a daughter, Nanako who was going to attend Middle school soon. He had also been one of the officers who offered her a place to stay in after all the legal work was done, and since he stayed in Yasoinaba, a place where she had visited before, she was seriously considering to accept.
"Perhaps where Minako-san is lacking in strength, is where your attributes come in, Siegfried. With your strength and resistance to most physical attacks, you can be expected to be called upon when she faces a Shadow that requires physical combat. As you are lacking in speed, it is therefore more important for Minako-san to train her lower limbs strengths to bolster her stamina and leg strength." Scathach answered easily, and Minako agreed with her. Strength wasn't her strong suit, it would definitely be better to improve her speed and flexibility. She had to work on her stretches later to keep her body limber and supple.
"You sure are working hard, kid. Sorry for keeping you for so long." An officer whose name escaped her remarked from the door of the mini-work out area the officers had set up and Minako hurriedly got up from where she was lifting the leg weights.
"No, no, I'm sorry for being so much trouble and... well, taking up so much of your time and resources... I feel really bad..." Minako lowered her head awkwardly after bowing to him, causing the officer to shake his head and comment in return.
"If all the kids your age were as polite and cooperative as you are, we wouldn't have so many problems with truancy. It's our job to help you, Arisato, don't think too much of it. The police exists to help people after all." The officer gave her a wave before he left Minako to her own devices again.
"Right, let's work on the stretches..."
..
By the end of the week, Minako had managed to find seven Personas that had still resided in the Sea of Souls. According to the Personas, they had the strongest links to her, or she desired them in a way to stay with them and so they did.
In a way, it was true – she had a tearful reunion with Cybele, the mother earth goddess embracing Minako just as eagerly as she did with her. She had always connected with Cybele the best, she was also known as a goddess for protection and many times Cybele had been there to support her when she faced against the Shadows in Tartarus. She was also the ultimate Lovers Persona, and a sign of the strong bond she had forged with Yukari.
She admitted it, as she was proud of it, Cybele was like a mother-figure to her, and if there was a father-figure right now in the Personas she was able to pull upon, Melchizedek would fit the bill.
As the ultimate Justice Persona, Melchizedek was an angel, but he had also been a king and a priest. The legend he was based portrayed him as righteous and wise king, and the overly stern Justice Persona had joined her private counsel of Scathach, Cybele, debating what she should do from now on. It had been quite a sight. Minako had spend a few days of listening to them discuss her plans, which mostly involved her travelling around Japan, visiting the places with high spiritual energy to look for her Personas.
Why one might ask? It was due to how Minako had somehow managed to pull out Kohryu, the ultimate Heirophant Persona from Dojima Ryotaro by interacting with her.
It had came as a complete shock and Minako had been left speechless as the golden dragon entered her Sea of Souls, scoffed a little at the company and took up residence in a corner of the lounge..
According to Cybele and Scathach, this world was vastly different from what her world was. She had been right to assume that her Personas would be able to manifest in the real world outside of her Sea of Souls and interact with the physical world.
There were still barriers preventing her Personas from manifesting without her permission. The combat and reconnaissance potential was tremendous. However the catch was that no one else but Minako could perceive their spiritual form until she had accepted them to her Sea of Souls, and she was the only person that could manifest them physically.
The trick where her Personas leave her body of their own free will? They were basically like ghosts, powerful but without the means to interact with the world. Whether they could be seen by beings with spiritual energy remains to be seen however, Cybele had remarked that the leylines of this world were particularly strong, and it was easy to imagine that there were other spiritual beasts or nature spirits that exist that could sense their presence.
Her Personas were still powerful though, powerful legends, heroes and beasts were at her command, but they were also back to their raw forms, and without the Velvet Room to fuse them with, equipping them had distinct disadvantages together with the advantages they gave.
Scathach for example was weak to fire, and Siegfried was weak to Darkness. Those elements were still present in his world, though she wondered what the powers over light and death were represented in this world. She supposed that eventually she'll find out, but right now, her new journey awaits as she stepped out of the station, new identity in hand while bowing deeply to her host for the next week or so as the government finished processing a loan for Minako for her to start a new life with.
"Are you ready to go, Arisato? I'm sure Nanako would love to meet you."
"I'll be in your care then, Dojima-san."