Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth (Female MC Edition)

Prolegomenon of Fate

This is the 6th story written by William Stockholm. Disclaimer: the author does not own the Shin Megami Tensei series, specifically the Persona series. All rights belong to Atlus

"Do not be afraid; our fate

Cannot be taken from us; it is a gift"

-Dante Alighieri, Inferno

September 20 2009

Paulownia Mall, a place where people, usually students from a prestigious school called Gekkoukan High, hang out after a long day of studying and listening to lectures. Today's the day they finally catch a break from school or work.

Some relaxed in the Chagall Café where they drank the famous Pheromone Coffee that is said to increase the charisma of the drinker while others dance at Club Escapade. Occasionally, to make things more enjoyable, the students would play video games at Game Panic while some just sing their hearts out at Mandragora.

Amongst the students hanging out in Paulownia Mall at present was a sixteen-year old girl named Kotone Shiome a second year in Gekkoukan High. She has this bubbly expression around her and her crimson eyes had a cheerful glint in it. She wears the standard Gekkoukan High uniform with a red mp3 player hanging around her neck and a red armband that has the words SEES in it. She has auburn hair tied into a high ponytail with silver barrettes that form the numbers XII.

Unbeknownst to the students, Kotone has a special power known as the wild card ability, an ability that lets her summon a person's personality called Personas to fight malevolent manifestations called Shadows. She utilizes this power to investigate a massive tower that appears at midnight in her school and save mankind from the Apathy Syndrome, a condition that reduces the victims to a vegetative state. Her power is like the number zero; empty, yet holds infinite possibilities within itself.

Kotone walked under the Mandragora Karaoke Bar and stood in front of a wall. She took out a velvet key and inserted it into nothing but a wall in front of her. A door then magically appeared in front of her. Only those who signed the contract may see and enter the magical door that leads to a place where mind and matter coexisting with dreams and reality called the Velvet Room.

Before she entered, Kotone heard a bell ringing rather clearly. She glanced back to see where the source of the sound was until it slowly fades away. To her surprise, the people around her did not hear the bell, as if they did not hear it in the first place.

Kotone was about to enter when a spider suddenly appeared in just a few inches away from her face. Instinctively, she swatted the spider away. Today is just getting stranger and stranger she thought. Then again, fighting Shadows during the Dark Hour in Tartarus was no exception.

The auburn haired girl, wanting to avoid the sudden occurrences hastily, turned the key and entered the Velvet Room. However, little did she know that the Velvet Room is inseparable from its guest's fate. Nothing meaningless happens there.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room…" a voice greeted Kotone as she arrived.

A spacious "elevator" that seems to be ascending into forever, the place Kotone entered was entirely filled with the color of velvet, from the floors to the furniture. However, that was not the case.

The one who greeted the auburn haired was a bizarre old man sitting at the center of the Velvet Room, his bulging, bloodshot eyes welcoming her. He wears a black suit and white gloves. His most striking feature was his long, sharp nose. His name is Igor, the Proprietor of the Velvet Room and the one who provides vital services of Persona Fusion.

Next to him was a young man with a white, sweptback crew cut and golden eyes. He wears bellboy attire consisting of a black collared and long sleeved shirt under a velvet suit with a tie and on his was a thick tome. He is Theodore, Igor's assistant and a resident of the Velvet Room.

Kotone sat down in front of Igor. The Velvet Room is usually calm and quiet, saved for the sound of the elevator. However, for some reason, she felt that the atmosphere is tensed, as if something foreboding is going to happen.

"Do you see the signs happening in the outside world recently?" Igor asked, breaking the silence.

Kotone took this by surprise but did not say anything. Nothing much happened this month recently as she think about it. She and the volleyball team went to Yasoinaba for an interschool sports exchange with Yasogami High, went dungeon exploring in Tartarus and a typhoon arrived in Tatsumi Port Island, cancelling the Culture Festival for safety reasons. She was really bummed about the cancelation though.

"Have you felt a storm brewing up?" Igor once again asked, this time, in a cryptic tone. "Storms have the tendency to disrupt one's core, not just the body. It can change one's own decisions, peace, and beliefs. Storms can also shake fate and even time itself." He magically summoned a deck of cards and laid it at the table like dealer in a casino. "Like a fog that obstructs one's sight, everyone covers eyes from the truth they do not wish to see. Therefore, there will be no choice but to face what was hidden while their eyes were averted."

The auburn girl look puzzled; what Igor was talking about was beyond her. Most of his conversations were his insights of Kotone social links and her powers. This time, however, he is commenting rather strangely, as if there is something going to happen.

"What do you mean?" Kotone couldn't help but asked.

Igor chuckled. "Do not worry," he replied reassuringly. "Everything will make sense soon. All it takes is a bell, book and a candle…"

After he said it, business in the Velvet has begun. Kotone used Igor's services to fuse several Personas into a powerful one. She then acquired other Personas from Theodore with the use of the tome called the Persona Compendium he usually carries. She also shared conversations with him, mostly about the outside world he is curious about.

"I am truly sorry that your Culture Festival was cancelled" Theodore said solemnly. "I would wish to see such festivities in your institution one day and try out some of these candy that are made out of cotton. What manufacturing trickery was employed to accomplish it?" Despite looking like a reserved character, Theodore is actually a bit of an egotist whenever the auburn girl escorts him to the outside world. It goes for show that he is quite humorous to see him how naïve and gullible he actually is, especially when he is outside of the Velvet Room.

"Maybe next time" Kotone suggested. "If the Culture Festival could move into a later date, I could invite you."

The bellboy beamed enthusiastically. "Oh joy!" he said in excitement. "I'll put it up at the request at once!"

As the two were talking amiably about Culture Festivals, the sounds of the alarm blared though out the Velvet Room, surprising Kotone and Theodore. Igor, on the other hand, looked calm even though the alarm was blaring loudly. Instead, he was grinning from ear to ear. "The wheel of Fate is turning" he responded.

On cue, the gates of the Velvet Room opened...

It's been, what, a year since I written a story that is satisfactory to write for once. I wrote several stories, though not related to this one, and they have this lack of plot and purpose that I almost gave up. All of my previous attempts before writing this story were a failure.

The reason I chose to write this story because I love the Persona series for its unique characters, character development, and plot. Although I did not play the entire series, currently, I am playing Persona Q and I love I so fart. Right now, I am almost done finishing the game (BTW, I am playing as Yu Narukami/ Souji Seta. The guy's awesome, especially in Persona 4 the Animation, though I regret not play the game itself).

As I played through the game, a thought struck me: what if I integrate the female MC into Persona Q? Theodore is a part of it, despite being a character in a non-canon game related to Persona 3 after all. Also, I look upon and notice that there is not a single story related to Persona Q, aside from Zen and Rei. After mulling over the plot and watching the P3 side a bit for some information, I finally put it into text and started writing (or typing if you want to get technical.

Note: Instead of using Minako or Hamuko and Arisato or Yuki, I, more or less, used her name provided from the Shin Megami Tensei Wiki since the first and last name have six letters each and it was from a play. I want to try at least to have a story that has a bit of the flow in the game. And besides, Minako is a popular name in the west while Hamuko is the same in the east. Also, Arisato and Yuki is reserved for the P3 hero, except for his first name in the play which his name is Sakuya.

Enjoy the story! Comments and reviews are welcome