Persona 3: Second Chances

By Crimson Reaper Ragna
Co-author: Omegaxis-1

AN: I… have no excuse for updating so late. The only thing coming close to one is the fact that I'm not able to update very quickly due to the fact that my computer is broken, and my school blocks this site. I promise, that as soon as my computer is fixed, this story will update much faster. First off, review responses, mainly aimed at guest users and authors who've disabled PM. - CR Ragna.

Great fan-M (Guest): In the original version, Persona 3 Plus 1, I was using Kazuya Minegishi, the protagonist of Devil Survivor, but since it's easier to capture Hibiki's personality, I decided on him for this rewrite. And in response to your other review, here it is. Sorry for the delay, honest.

yakari school: Thanks! Even though my best friend on this site is helping me out greatly, that reassures me. Give him credit too!

TheRedMan: At least you like one of them, but the main reason people didn't like Yukari, from what I hear, was her English VA. I can understand that, but each to their own. I hope this won't turn you off the story.

And, with great enthusiasm, I present the fifth chapter.

Chapter 5: Reawakening

Hibiki POV

I squinted my eyes for what seemed like the sixth time before slowly opening them and adjusting to the sunlight that streamed through the window in the safe house. Just like before, the enigmatic person whose name still eludes me wasn't there. Not that it bothered me. He was kinda creepy, the way he always knew where I was. Still not sure how he does that, and he doesn't even show his face, having it covered by his hood and cloak and all.

Weirdo. I bet he doesn't have any luck with girls. Girls might like the dark and mysterious look at times, but he does it too dark and mysterious.

Getting up from the sofa, I looked at my phone and cycled through my apps, making sure they were all still working. One by one, I mentally counted them off.

"Alright… email is working… the camera is good too…" I tapped the Nicaea button on the middle of my screen, and breathed a heavy sigh of relief when my demon roster popped up. All of them were safe and sound. And if that weird chip that guy put in my phone does what he says it does, I'll be able to waste those things next time.

Hopefully, anyway.

The warm morning sunlight was nice and I decided that it was a good time to start memorizing the map that guy had given me, all the while keeping a close eye on the time.

I highly doubted that the mystery man was gonna save me twice.

Makoto POV

"Of course, any flowers would be nice if they were from you, Makoto-kun… psyche!"

"Listen… I'm sorry for snapping at you on the beach. I shouldn't have said that…"

"Do you… want to see my room…?"

"I… love you."

I couldn't help but play my memories of Yukari in my head over and over again, like a broken record. The pain in my chest was growing the more I thought about her, and even more as I dreaded to think what would happen if nothing changed.

… No.

I can't think like that. I'm gonna stay positive. But even so, I couldn't help but glance at her as I quote-unquote 'paid' attention to Ekoda's incredibly dull lecture about some old author or something- I stopped paying attention long before now. Listening to him drone on and on makes me want to hurl.

Part of me was hoping that she would remember me but that wasn't possible. As far as the rest of the world was concerned, time was just resetting itself. I couldn't just go up to her and tell her that I'm her future boyfriend. She'd punch me.

Not to say that I'm really that great of a guy. After all, all the things I've done I've dated a bunch of other girls too, and Yukari was one of them. Being the Great Seal and coming back to this new time, I felt a little despicable.

Yukari… I loved her, but it didn't change how I played her, along with everyone else. Fuuka, Mitsuru, Chihiro, Yuko, Maya who was actually Ms. Toriumi… even Maiko.

And then the other guys… I didn't even spend much time with Junpei, Akihiko, and the others. I was mostly closed off to them. Did I even think that I was better than them? I had power beyond their own, and could change everything… was becoming the Great Seal worth it? Was it enough to even make up my own sins? I don't even know anymore. Everything… everything's just so damn confusing.

I began thinking about my other self, Minako. We're the same person… but she's nothing like me. How was she with the others? Maybe I should talk to her… were things the same with her, or were they different? So many questions…

My thoughts were immediately dashed as the bell rang to signal the end of the day. I tucked my books under my shoulder as I strolled out the doors with my new friend-slash-partner, Yu. It wasn't too late, so I took a shortcut through the strip mall, pointing out the various shops.

"That's the ramen bar over there. It's not expensive and the food's-"

"Really good, right? Man, sometimes I wonder how they make their broth…" Yu chuckled, having practically finished the sentence for me.

I was stunned. Did he… was it possible that he'd been to Tatsumi Port Island before?

"I can tell what you're thinking just by your face, so I'll answer; yeah, I've been here in my timeline with my friends. It was pretty fun; Teddie got smashed on soda." I raised an eyebrow, only just realizing that we were now on the monorail, since I was too busy trying to realize what he'd said earlier.

"Teddie? Drunk on soda? What are you talking about?"

He chuckled and ran a hand through his silver hair. "Oh yeah, you wouldn't know him. Maybe if we do this right, changing you and Minako-san's fate and all, we'll go to my timeline and you can meet him. Just…" He looked out the window and sighed heavily. "Just don't give him any ideas about Minako. He's a girl hound."

Like a certain someone I know, I thought.

It was night by the time we got back to the dorm, but I couldn't think straight for some reason. Minako and Yukari came in a few minutes later, chatting about who-knows-what, until the latter noticed me.

"You okay, Makoto-kun?" I nodded and headed for the stairs. "Y-yeah… I'm gonna go to sleep early. Night." I had to drag my legs up the stairs, step by step, and I didn't know why. Groggily, I checked the date on my phone and froze.

April 4th. The day when Arcana Magician was to appear.

I was a little relieved due to the fact that I knew what was gonna happen but what if Thanatos didn't appear this time? I'd be ripped to shreds. Wait, that wasn't Thanatos that came out back then. I forgot how they look rather alike. It wasn't Thanatos that came out. It was Death, or as I had known them, Pharos or Ryoji.

And now that Minako is here, how would it work? She must have also had Death inside her in her time like me. And what's gonna happen with Yu here as well? Even more questions.

Entering my room, I found myself collapsing on the bed, as sleep came over me quickly.

Normal POV

Twelve o'clock midnight, the Dark Hour.

Mitsuru's fingers danced across the keyboard, typing in commands that, in return, showed up on the large screen before her. Yukari sat next to her, doing the same thing, albeit much slower. Hitting a key, Mitsuru watched as the computer connected to three camera feeds, showing them the rooms of Makoto, Yu, and Minako. All three were sound asleep.

Shortly thereafter, Ikutsuki walked in, took a seat and smiled. "Well, how are they?"

Yukari turned around and looked at the ground. "They're asleep. By the way… why are we doing this? It feels like I'm stalking them…" Ikutsuki sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I know how you feel, Yukari, truly. But it's imperative that we recruit new members. All three of them have retained their human form, so they have the potential." The young brunette sighed and looked back up, wearing a frown of disappointment. "I know, but…"

She was interrupted by the computer as it made a beeping noise- Akihiko was signaling them via communicator. Mitsuru hit the response button and stood up. "What is it, Akihiko?" Heavy breathing came from the other side of the line followed by a gasp of air.

"You aren't gonna believe this, Mitsuru… this thing's huge!"

In an instant, Mitsuru understood what was going on. Akihiko was being pursued by a Shadow, and from what he said, a large one at that. She held the microphone button and leaned forward so her face was right up to the speaker. "What?! Where is it now? Where are you now?!" Akihiko chuckled as he replied yet again.

"Don't worry, you'll see for yourself soon enough. I'm on my way right now!"

Yukari jumped from her seat and turned three shades of pale. "Wha… did he… is he gonna bring that thing… here!?" Mitsuru turned on her heels, grabbed what appeared to be a handgun, and faced Ikutsuki, who was busy locking the windows. "Chairman, find somewhere to hide. We'll deal with it."

He nodded and wiped his brow with a cloth. "Right. I'll get ready to move towards the basement."

The group of three hurried to the ground floor where Akihiko was slumped against the door, holding it with his back. "Gah… he got me good." Yukari kneeled down next to him and got out a damp towel. "You alright, senpai?" Just as she found the wounded area, Akihiko grunted in pain. Ikutsuki helped the older student to his legs and brushed his pants legs. "It's one of them, Akihiko?"

The white haired youth nodded and smiled. "You bet. It'll be here any second, so get ready." Akihiko could feel pain shooting through him as he attempted to stay strong. Did he injure a rib? This might make things a little more tough on him, but its not like he had a choice on the condition he'll be in to face such a monster.

Mitsuru looked at Yukari and drew her gun. "Takeba, go and wake up the others. Take them to safety out the back door."

The young brunette nodded, but it was clear she was afraid of the situation. She hadn't ever fought before. "Got it," she replied, dashing upstairs to the males dorm floor first.

Yu's POV

I blinked slowly after hearing some noises from the ground floor. What the hell is going on? Is someone setting off bombs or something? And again with everything going green and everything. If I didn't know better, I'd think that this was somehow the Midnight Channel or something. I began to sit up and get dressed but I was finally robbed of any drowsiness from a banging on my door.

"Hey, open up! You awake in there!?"

I slipped on my shoes and opened the door to see a gasping Yukari. "Listen, I can't explain but we've gotta run! I'll get the other two." Right before she left she stopped and turned around. "Oh, right. Take this." Pulling a sleeved item from her shoulder, she handed it to me, and unwrapped it.

A katana.

Nice.

"The blade's fake but it'll do better than your bare hands. Meet me downstairs, by the back door." I nodded and sprinted up the staircase. I had a fair idea of what was going on, but there were too many possibilities. But I could ask Makoto about it anyway, since he's been through this and all.

I jumped the last flight of steps and landed on the ground floor sprinting. I heard footsteps, and when I turned around, I was greeted by Makoto, Minako and Yukari. Gasping and also showing a look of fright, the brunette pointed to the back door and stood up. "This way, come on!" But just as we reached it, Yukari stopped and reached for her ear. While she did that, I noticed how Makoto and Minako seemed to be unusually calm about this, almost as if they were expecting this. Oh, this is a reset in time, so that meant that they knew it was gonna happen.

"Yeah, it's me… w-what? Are you serious?!" she said in shock, showing that things were serious. "… Okay, understood." She turned around and I saw beads of sweat roll down her face. "Change of plans, let's go to the rooftop!" The three of us followed her, but as we hit the second floor, a sound of crashing glass echoed throughout the dorm.

"This way, hurry," shouted Yukari. "Keep moving!"

When we finally got to the fourth floor, Yukari practically shoved us out the door to the roof, before turning around to lock it. "We should be safe for now…" she panted, but I could tell from Makoto's glance that we weren't safe. This feeling… this sensation… no doubt, it really feels like fighting Shadows in the Midnight Channel. It has to be. So does that mean that things worked differently here than it did for mine?

Unfortunately, I couldn't finish my thought when a chilling sensation overwhelms me, finding my body turning around slowly, a mask of total disbelief forming over my face. Directly facing us was the Magician Arcana Shadow mask, held by what looked like a hand. And as if that wasn't bad enough, almost a dozen more arms appeared from over the wall, each carrying a sword. In fact, the entire body was composed of arms.

No legs, neck, head… it was all arms.

… Freaky, but not the worst I've seen.

"Arcana Magician…" Makoto whispered the name quietly under his breath, but I heard it anyway. Yukari, however, didn't notice. "Those things… we call them Shadows…"

Yukari's statement confirmed my thoughts that the way things worked over here were much different from mine. But it was weird…

I knew that the moon's unnatural glow suggested otherwise, but Shadows were the manifestation of a person's rejected self, lurking in the depths of their hearts. To manifest in the real world… what was going on? This world was all kinds of weird, and I'm not used to it like these guys are… okay, Yukari wasn't counted here.

I didn't have time to think further on it, as I heard Yukari pant heavily.

"I can… use mine, no problem…"

Minako POV

"I can… use mine, no problem…" I felt horrible for Yukari, having been her best friend during my journey. I mean, what person would shoot themselves in the head? Nobody normal, that's who!

But maybe she'll do it this time.

She didn't.

Her finger refused to pull the Evoker trigger, as Arcana Magician crawled closer. Yukari panicked and pushed the barrel against her forehead, putting another finger on top of the one against the trigger, but she wasn't quick enough, as the Magician Shadow lunged at her with the back of one of its swords, creating a small tornado of towards her, the impact knocking her back harshly as she slid across the rooftop.

Even though I knew it would happen, it didn't stop my anger from boiling up from within, as I looked to see where the Evoker was, and saw it right in between me and Makoto.

At that moment… something happened…

Normal POV

As the two alternate selves stared at the Evoker that slid between them, the world seemed to almost separate, one side unable to see the other, as somehow both Minako and Makoto seemed to have picked up the Evoker, being in the same place, the same time, but yet they were not with each other.

As they held the silver gun in their grasp, an old feeling began to well up from deep within them from their first summoning. As they held up the Evoker and pointed to their temples, as their heartbeat began to sound audibly to their ears.

Release me…

The voice called to them…

Summon me…

Somehow they could feel how they knew to perform such a task…

Let me out…

Their breathing quickened as their pupils dilated…

Call out to me…

"Per…"

Finally…

"So…"

I am…

"Na…"

Free!

The instant the trigger was pulled, the force of the power from within the Evoker released through their heads, the sound of glass shattering, and the power finally unleashed.

As the two worlds were still separate, two realities were shown, one with Makoto summoning Orpheus, the other of Minako, summoning her own version of Orpheus.

Yu and Yukari could only question what was happening, as they could feel some strange force working at play before them. To their eyes, they were seeing both Makoto and Minako there together, side by side, but what they couldn't explain was why they each had an Evoker in their opposite hand, or why their Personas were so similar to one another.

And even though they could be seen together with others, the two current released Persona users were somehow unable to see one another even then. It seemed to them, they were each other.

As Orpheus began to form above them, the lyre held on their respective backs, wind kicked the dust around the Persona users.

"I am thou. And thou art I. From the sea of thy soul, I cometh. I am Orpheus, master of strings."

To both Makoto and Minako, they felt euphoric, enjoying the sensation of being able to use their Personas once more, the adrenaline it gave them… the surge of emotions pumping through them that gave their Personas power. They missed the feeling, having lost the power from having used it all to become the Great Seal.

However, the feeling was not meant to last, as the dark feeling overcame them once more, knowing that it was meant to happen, but now it was not the same as they once experienced it. Minako collapsed on her knees, as Makoto held his head in pain, and it was transferring to even their respective Personas.

The pain became unbearable for them both as they screamed at the top of their lungs as a pair of hands suddenly came out of the Orpheus' neck, and in an instant, the Personas were gone, and in their place, something that was beyond imaginable.

The two seemed to finally snap out of their alternate realities to witness Thanatos rise once more... or to be precise, Death. However, the pain wasn't going away, and Death was not even the same as they once remembered him to be.

Rather than there being two Thanatos, everyone, including Ikutski, Mitsuru, and Akihiko, were seeing some savage monster that they seemed to be worse than anything that they could have ever imagined.

Death did not look the same as Thanatos any longer, but had a more savage look, as black ooze dripped out of the skull mask, that seemed to have been partially broken to reveal a horrifying face. The robe was even tattered a bit, and his limbs were missing portions of skin, only for there to be a set skeletal arms coming from under the first set. The coffins it carried once were not there, but rather was embedded on its back, giving it an appearance of actual wings. And more bones emerged from its back, the long line forming to be another form of wings that were wrapped in chains, connecting to the coffins.

The appearance was nauseating and both Yu and Yukari stepped back, slightly feeling fear creeping inside them. Even Makoto and Minako felt fearful of this Death, but the fear could not last long, as they suddenly felt their vision going dark and collapsing, much to the other's surprise, especially as the Persona, if it could even be called that, still remained out.

If the Arcana Magician Shadow felt fear back when it first encountered Death, then it would feel utter despair and panic from this one, as Death lunged at it, and the Shadow could not even cower, as it was savagely being torn apart, the mask being grabbed by one of the skeleton hands and shattered, before some of the arms were picked up and shoved into the mouth of Death. Death was not only destroying it, it was devouring its prey.

As a large black puddle formed from nowhere, Death let loose a roar that was echoed throughout all of existence, to know its presence, right as it faded to return where it was sealed, the two Personas it emerged from returning as well.

"That cry…" a cloaked figure muttered as he stood atop the tower that reached the heavens, and grunted as he collapsed on his knees, his heart beating so fast that he wondered if it was about to break through his own ribs.

"This power… its…"

The cloaked figure didn't finish as he stood back up and walked over to the edge, looking over the city, before he stepped over the edge.

CR Ragna: ...I can't say how sorry I am for the delay. Stress is not a fun emotion to have, believe me, and if that were the only thing, I could've dealt with it. But it's more than that; low grades, my job, and my broken computer all add to it. From the bottom of my heart, I'm so, so sorry.

Omegaxis1: Yeah, so he's gonna be getting an extra harsh lesson from me if he doesn't step up. Also, how did you all like this chapter? Did you notice anything different in events?

What was happening that somehow made both Minako and Makoto summon their Personas? What was that about Death there? Why did it seem different?

As you can see, many changes are going to take place over this story so that its not one of those simple things where one can just copy and paste what happened in the games to here.

Anyways, be sure to review and hopefully the next chapter will come soon.