Huh? Oh, hey, I actually updated... that's neat... and it's still not good enough, since I still have a lot more stories to work with... oh boy.

Now then...

Let's continue the Journey! Start!

? – The Velvet Room

Blue-themed furniture, different levels of light, three strange individuals...

"It's so nice to see you again."

Their vision regained some clarity as they found themselves sitting on their chairs of this familiar room. Minato was the least surprised of it all as per appearance while Hamuko had been startled by the change in location before relaxing. That's right, they were contracted to this room earlier, but for what purpose they didn't know for now. Just behind the round table was the long-nosed and large-eyed Igor, with the fancy black suit and white gloves. By his left stood the woman in blue named Elizabeth, dressed like an elevator attendant in parallel to the theme of this room. By his right was Theodore, also donning an outfit belonging to an elevator attendant.

Igor's smile never wavered as he spoke. "You became unconscious after awakening to your power. It's nothing to worry about, though. So just relax."

Hamuko found it more harder to go against his words despite her ever-growing tension, so she took a deep breath. It wasn't like it would be helpful to against her mysterious benefactor, anyways. Beside her, Minato slowly tilted his head as he spot some words being used, but he allowed the Proprietor of the Velvet Room to continue speaking.

"By the way," the odd man hummed, "I see it was Orpheus that heeded your callings. That power is called a Persona. It is a manifestation of your psyche."

"So that's what it was," Minato responded quietly, putting the pieces together.

"Our psyche?" Hamuko echoed the man's words, still lost.

"It may take some time to fully comprehend," Igor said pleasantly. "A Persona is a facet of your personality that surfaces as you react to external stimuli. You can think of it as a mask that protects you as you brave many hardships."

Then the appearance of their own kinds of Orpheus that saved them, they happened to be theirs. But there was something wrong with them...

"That being said, your power is still weak."

Once again, Minato gave no indication of his confusion, but Hamuko had trouble trying to keep a straight face. Still, they couldn't deny his words that their forms of Orpheus felt lackluster compared to their transformations...

"Wait," Hamuko spoke up, still skeptical about his info, "when you say weak, do you mean Orpheus isn't a strong Persona?"

"Hm," Minato closed his eyes for a moment of quick-thinking. "Then I'd say there are more stronger Personas available to us, like the red Orpheus I had earlier."

He had felt it before, the difference between the silver Orpheus he summoned first, and the crimson Orpheus that evolved afterward. In fact, just that power alone might have been the reason why his exhaustion kept up with him, he figured. Hamuko thought similarly; that Persona in black that transformed from her Orpheus seemed to be a different Persona, but she wasn't sure what it was, other than it was pretty feral.

Igor moved on with his explanation. "When you use your Persona ability, you must channel your inner strength. The ability evolves as you develop your Social Links—your emotional ties with others. The stronger your Social Links, the more powerful your Persona ability. Please remember that."

Social Links... emotional ties with others...

...They had to make friends to get powerful? No, there was something more deeper to it than he had let on...

"Time marches on in your world," Igor spoke up, preventing any more questions being asked. "I shouldn't keep you here any longer. Next time we meet, you will come here of your own accord."

The Velvet Room was suddenly fading away...

"Until then, farewell."

"Hm... now this is a surprise."

? – The Velvet Tavern

The Velvet Tavern... Zen shifted from his seat to a comfortable position as his earlier drowsiness was washed away. That was quite a long night, especially when he didn't have the time needed for explanations like a normal person after experiencing the Dark Hour, being told to ask when either Minato or Hamuko would wake up. By the other side of the table, Rei sat upright and stretched around from her slumber. She looked around the room for a bit, muttering 'blue' all over and realizing what place they were in.

Rai smiled, having quipped the earlier comment. "It's nice to see you two again."

Zen grunted, having almost expected this. "We were bound to meet you again, as you said."

The younger student turned to see the black-haired twins in blue clothing. "Oh! Hey Rai, Luna!" She greeted vividly.

"Welcome back," Luna responded with a bow. "I suppose the night has shed some light over our predicament?"

The tanned student nodded slowly. While many new questions had been presented, they had at least learned something from this night. It wasn't much to make any concrete assumptions, but it was enough to move on.

"Then we should begin while we can," Rai responded, noting their limited time for interactions in a dimension like the Velvet Tavern. "Perhaps we can start off with the Personas that have been summoned?"

"They were cool, I can say that!" Rei cheerfully exclaimed, raising a corn dog... and realizing that she had none in the first place, causing her to sulk before noticing something. "Oh, but there was something weird with their Orpheuses, or something. Minato's Orpheus turned into his... his Telos form, right? I think that was it... and Hamuko's turned into Thanatos..."

Still on edge, Zen answered, "Their Personas, their kinds of Orpheus, were meant to evolve to their stronger forms against the Arcana Magician. But even that's not normal for them..."

Rei lifted a finger to her cheek. "It's not? Were they supposed to fight without evolving their Personas?"

"Minato's Orpheus was meant to evolve into Thanatos, one of his Ultimate Personas," Luna clarified, getting Rei to pop a question mark. "Thanatos was supposed to reveal itself, not Orpheus Telos. That's how it was in the original timeline."

"Huh? But then Hamuko-san..."

"And now you've come to another contradiction, namely Hamuko Yuuki," Rai responded warily. "This Persona-user has never appeared in the previous timeline, so her existence here is rather complicated and unfathomable."

"I knew it...!" Zen hissed, startling Rei enough to press her back to her seat. "That girl's presence is a clear anomaly of this timeline, of this universe in its entirety. Why is she existing now?" Not once had he ever seen her in SEES before, not once was she ever involved with the Dark Hour, not once did he ever notice her soul sparking to her ultimate powers! So why...?

Luna shook her head, disappointment clear in her face. "Unfortunately, we all share the same guesses as to why she's here. She is unknown. And until then, that is what she is. Now please, calm yourself."

Zen sighed deeply. It wasn't like him to get worked up over the most trivial matters, but to find someone whose existence defied any form of logic... who was this Hamuko Yuuki, who managed to summon Death as Minato once did?

"At any rate," Rai coughed, avoiding the mystery of Hamuko for now, "it seems there is something wrong with what Minato summoned in particular. It's like we mentioned, he was meant to summon Thanatos instead of Orpheus Telos."

"And that is one of our first hints to this abnormal timeline," Zen responded fairly, losing the heat of his tone.

"Didn't he have Orpheus Telos in the last timeline, though?" Rei wondered. "It would make sense if his Personas carried over when we traveled back in time right?"

"It is logical, but that is not the case," Luna shot the theory down. "If that was so, then Minato Arisato and Yu Narukami would have had their Personas obtained from the Culture Festival Labyrinth, but they returned to the same set of Personas just before that happened. Perhaps Zen knows better."

"It's next to impossible," Zen answered, still having knowledge of his previous life as the Clockwork God. "All unstable time rifts cannot allow individuals to carry over their experiences. What remains in their hearts are the only exceptions."

"But this wasn't caused by a time rift," Rai pointed out.

"Precisely. It is indeed time travel... so it may have been from after the Culture Festival Labyrinth."

"After that happened?" Rei tilted her head before showing surprise. "Ah, what SEES was doing after that was..."

"Trying to stop the Dark Hour from appearing," Zen finished her thought. "So I believe that Minato was able to summon Orpheus Telos because he kept it with him until the end of the previous timeline. But still..."

"Thanatos still would have shown up instead, right?" The younger student asked.

"Not only that, but Orpheus regained its normal form afterward," Luna noted before going under the counter to pick up a glass. "So we are not sure what has become of all of his Personas. It may as well be that Orpheus is the only Persona available to him, and that Orpheus Telos' awakening was linked to his past life. Either way..." She trailed off before wiping the glass.

"We don't know for sure," Zen concluded hopelessly. It seemed that everyone would be at a loss for what happened with Minato in that night. Regardless, there was one more thing he needed to ask.

Namely, the enigmatic boy named Waltz.

Rai nodded, picking up Zen's expression. "The one who is named Waltz, he is a Persona-user."

"He is?" Rei rubbed her head a little.

Zen gave a nod without hesitation. He had known about the boy... his past, his original family, how much he suffered, but he had soon disappeared from his sights when he thought the last of his life would be gone. The boy's soul never showed up for Zen in his previous life as Chronos. So how much was he involved in this timeline? More importantly...

"He is considered another contradiction," he responded after a moment of silence. "He hasn't appeared in the previous timeline, and we aren't sure what exactly are his motivations or his intentions. It's likely he only wished to see my power as a Persona-user, but..." Waltz said he had placed his faith in Zen and Rei after witnessing Chronos. Was he much more involved in the new timeline than Zen previously thought?

"He had said it would not be the last we have seen of him," said Luna, now filling the glass with some water. "So we may see him again soon, if he decides to..."

A pulse of white...

"Ah," Rei looked almost ready to panic before calming down. "Is this...?"

"It seems we don't have much time anymore," Rai sighed. "A pity. But..."

"We have covered up on some questions with this meeting," Zen said on a positive note. Arguments between people often gave way for answers, even if there are times where there were more questions than answers, but still, he could not reject the benefits of this.

Luna nodded, smiling. "We will be sure to invite you again if anything abnormal comes up. This is farewell for now."

"Okay then!" Rei cheerfully raised her hand. "See you later, guys!"

"Goodbye, you two," Rai hummed, waving as well.

Their vision was flooded with white, saying that their time in the Velvet Tavern has come to an end, that they were to wake up into the material world soon. Just before the Velvet Tavern was lost in their dreams, however, Luna's voice spoke out.

"Oh, and I just finished getting a glass of water..."

His mind was getting clearer... he wondered how long he was asleep.

Feeling someone's presence next to him, he tried to wake up with his stiff body. He felt sluggish, but he supposed that was the tax for the amount of power he used that day. Still, he was able to creak his eyes open, even if the room started to look too bright for him.

Huh. He wondered when was the last time he was in this hospital.

"Hm? Oh, you're awake!"

April 10, 2009 – 29 Days Left

After School – Tatsumi Memorial Hospital, Minato's Room

He turned his head to the small bundle of optimism sitting next to him on a stool, with a book held firmly in one hand, likely to pass the time. Rei smiled cheerily at his awakening, finding full of relief now that he wasn't playing dead. Zen didn't seem to be with her for some reason. Perhaps he was elsewhere?

"Are you okay, Minato-san? Are you hurt anywhere? Can you move? Are you hungry? You're not gonna fall asleep on me, are you?"

So many questions she was asking all at once... was she that worried? Minato blinked, wondering how well she was going to take this.

"Yes. No. Yes," he emphasized this with a quick sit-up. "Yes. No. Do you have any other questions?"

Rei's face turned to red in the heat of her anger, but hadn't said a word. It was obvious she was very worried.

"Hm..." She wasn't sure if he was actually chuckling. "Sorry, I'll try to not get unconscious again." She was still slightly annoyed, but she quickly showed her relief with a small smile, knowing he was still well. "By the way, how long was I out?"

"That's right," she affirmed the fact. "You were out since yesterday. You were sleeping after the Dark Hour came around and you destroyed the Shadow. Hamuko fell asleep too when she had to beat the smaller ones... oh!" She suddenly looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I guess you're still confused by what's going on, right?"

He tilted his head, his muscles finally loosening up. "You tell me."

Rei contemplated to herself once he answered. There were no consequences on telling Minato what had happened, right? Mitsuru only told her to remind the hospital staff that he woke up, but Rei wasn't restricted to do anything else, so she was sure she could give a short version of what's going on.

"Well, that weird moment where the world goes green and there are coffins everywhere?" The younger student then asked. "They say it's the Dark Hour. At that time, monsters called Shadows show up, and they're the bad guys. At least, that's what I heard." She first heard it at a different time, but it wasn't an important fact for now.

He seemed to be taking it well for now, despite her unorthodox terming. Either that, or he was that unreadable. It seemed pretty hard to tell when this happened to be the past era of Minato, Rei thought.

"So..." Her cheerful tone started to waver. "We have these things called Personas. We... we use them to fight against the Shadows that try to kill us. I think we're supposed to find out what's going on with the Shadows and how to stop the Dark Hour from appearing."

"I see," he responded neutrally. Rei figured he wanted her to move on with the story.

"Yeah," she hummed, still not sure what else to say. "Um... Hamuko-san and Zen have Personas too. They summoned them after you got unconscious..."

So they had similar powers too, Minato wondered. Hamuko, he had already figured when they met at the Velvet Room the past few times, but it seemed Zen was capable of holding one as well. Now that he thought of it, he didn't see Zen in the Velvet Room at all, did he? Maybe he was that different?

"...I'm sorry."

He blinked. Rei was suddenly apologizing with an unhealthy pout, but for what reason?

"I don't really have to explain these things," she explained, "and I'm not sure if I'm supposed to. But I wondered if there was anything I could to to help you, even if I could only explain some things. I guess everyone else can handle that a lot better right now..."

Minato shrugged. "You tried, at least. I should be thankful for that."

"Yeah... hehehe..."

Now she was laughing? As he looked at her, he noticed that her smile was broken before it could be any happier. Rei's behavior surely changed, compared to her vivid, big eater side she showed constantly. Did the events from last night change her? Before he thought about asking, she spoke up.

"You really remind me of him," she stated, trying to stop her heart from sinking. "He was quiet like you. He didn't blame anything on anyone no matter what happened. He never even blamed me for the trouble I caused him before. Instead... he helped me."

He remembered, back in the train ride, that Rei vaguely mentioned that he reminded him of someone important to her. To what extent, he wasn't sure, and even then...

"I'm not him."

A pained wince was marked on her face for his blunt statement.

"I... I know. But... it's okay."

He was not the Minato she knew. He had yet to be the Minato she knew. There was hardly a sign of his soft-spoken yet easygoing nature, where he could be friends with anyone and everyone despite making it look difficult. All he had was this robotic exterior that made him seem devoid of life. But given enough time, perhaps one day, when he could smile like the time just before he had said his farewells to her...

When he would laugh at the many misfortunes they got into, when he would look sad after acknowledging a tragic fate, when he would show his sharpened determination for the sake of the people he called his friends...

"Oh... sorry," Rei sobered up a little, hoping that her tears hadn't been seen. "I was thinking of some way to help you, but I'm just talking about my own problems..." He wasn't him, but he would be...

"You don't need to apologize for it, Rei."

Rei blinked. It had almost felt like time stopped thanks to him.

Something in there... deep in his tone... was that...?

"A-ah, by the way!" She spouted, panicking oddly to him. "Mitsuru-san told me that I should get to her right away if you wake up. I probably wouldn't want to tell her that you were up for a long time."

"I see," he simply stated. "You can give her my regards, then," he added.

"Right..."

The younger student gently got up from seat, taking the book she was reading to pass the time, which Minato noticed that it wasn't really literature, but more like a diary. Ah, so she was only writing down her thoughts on the things that occurred recently, he surmised.

"Oh, another thing," Rei turned to him with a small smile. "Hamuko-san passed out like you since yesterday, and I'm gonna stop by her room first before I leave. Yukari should still be there, too, so we'll be around for a moment before we're done." Then she gave a rare, mischievous look as her smile turned brighter. "She said that you should call the nurse if anything comes up. I think you already know that, but I guess she really wanted to make sure."

He seemed to have an inkling that Yukari would suspect him not saying a word if any abnormal condition came up. He didn't know how to deal with a very unamused Yukari, especially if Mitsuru was notified and she became unamused as well, so he decided to follow along Rei's half-suggestion, half-warning with a nod.

"Okay. I'll see you later, Minato-san."

"See you."

And so she left without another word said, leaving Minato to his own business. After closing the door quietly and releasing the knob, Rei leaned on the nearby wall and gave out a shuddering breath, almost looking like she had seen a ghost. Even though this was a time before they had truly met for the first time, she was confused on how in the world did Minato sound so... warm and sincere...

"Zen...?"

"Did something happen?" He had been told to wait outside while Rei would talk to Minato, but after seeing Rei like this, now he wasn't sure if it was the best of her ideas.

"Minato-kun..." She gulped. "He shouldn't have remembered what happened in the Culture Festival Labyrinth, the rift, right?"

Zen raised a brow, very curious. "The rift was unstable, so he shouldn't have. Did he...?"

"No..."

She shook her head at the possibility. But while she wanted to smile at the glint of hope, she found it difficult to enjoy a single fragment of it.

"It's just... when we talked, we talked as if we knew each other so well..."

Zen wondered about that. It was true that even if memories were long forgotten from an unstable time rift, it was possible for Minato to hang on to both the more natural ones, and the ones he took to heart. For the former, it was like breathing without paying much attention to it in every hour, but for the latter, it would have him require to remember his promise well while making sure it wasn't related to the rift in any way.

The latter made sense, but the 'how' was on a different form. He talked to Rei as if they were long friends. But the day when he would be dropped into the unstable rift hadn't come to, and it was still too early to be this social. So the only explanation would be from this strange reversal in time the unknown man had set them up to. But how did a trickle of Minato's more social habits get restored? And...

"Wait," Zen blinked as his mind came to a wall, "he woke up just now..."

"Huh?" Rei tilted her head, unknown to the purpose of his acknowledging Minato's return. "Yeah, he did. Is there something wrong?"

He gave a fixed stare on her before sighing. Yet another divergence from the original timeline...

"He wasn't supposed to wake up on this day..."

(April 10, 2009)

(Past Midnight – Iwatodai Dorm, Lounge)

Of Personas, Shadows, and the Dark Hour itself...

Zen and Rei paid careful attention to the short explanation Mitsuru had given to them. They didn't have much time to explain, not when they had to tend to Minato and Hamuko, who were unconscious from the battles before, along with an injured Akihiko. But ultimately, they, or at least Rei (Zen had already known of its existence before), understood it well.

The Dark Hour, such a strange plane of existence that surrounded Tatsumi Port Island, or perhaps the world as a whole. During the time, Shadows would sometime manifest and prey on anyone that roamed through the world in its altered state. These Shadows were like the ones on the rooftop, where the two students fought before falling unconscious. Masked and deadly, varying in power, but dangerous all the same.

Their power of Persona was quickly brought up, with Mitsuru explaining that those with Personas are the only ones able to fight back the Shadows. It was rare for someone to gain this power, however, so the transfer students were counted as lucky to gain such power. But in Zen's case, it was only proven because of the child that asked for him to reveal his 'true self'.

There were so many questions at the time that Ikutsuki asked them to calm down and rest up, confirming that the Dark Hour wouldn't appear the same day, and that they needed careful thinking on their part as well. He then added that they might explain things better if everyone was safe and awake. Rei was mildly disturbed by the events so far (this Dark Hour seemed like the epitome of nightmares), but reluctantly agreed.

It wasn't the first time she had faced danger.

With medical care arriving for the unconscious and the injured, the two time-travelers were pushed to take their rest, seeing no abnormalities in them. And so Zen and Rei crawled to their rooms, their heads amidst their own seas of countless other questions that would give them a bit of trouble to sleep easily.

How Rei badly wanted the morning sun to just come up already...

April 11, 2009 – 28 Days Left

Early Morning – Gekkoukan High, Entrance

Minato sighed. It hasn't even been the end of first week and already trouble was starting to pop up. Oh well, he wasn't going to complain. Still, that much a mess on the first week and he still felt like he needed another day of rest. It was a Saturday, so maybe he might get some extra hours of sleep.

"Yo, Minato!"

He turned his head by his side to see a familiar capped person calling out to him. Junpei Iori had a wide smile on, seeing his friend again.

"So, what happened to you?" He spoke up, looking curious. "You disappear for one day, and now you look like you got through a bunch of nightmares. You did something?"

"Probably," Minato answered mysteriously. "I guess I wasn't used to this place just yet..." That, and fighting monsters in the middle of the night taxed on his health, but why bother with an unbelievable story?

The capped student chuckled. "It's cool." He looked around for a moment, trying to find someone in particular. "Hey, where's Hamuko-chan? Don't tell me she's in the same boat..."

"She seems to be a lot more exhausted than I am," Minato answered honestly. "I guess she's had it worse, but she'll be fine with better resting."

"Doesn't this kinda feel weird, though?" Junpei asked, a little skeptical. "You both got knocked out from the same day in the first week..."

"Hm... the doctors didn't say anything abnormal about us. I guess we really were just exhausted."

"Heh, I get it. Must have been from your ride as transfer students, right?"

"Probably."

"Hm? Oh, Minato-san!"

The two students turned around to see Rei walking towards them, with Zen following suit. Even after everything that happened, it seemed Rei was able to keep a strong smile on her face, Minato noted. Then again, Hamuko did possess a similar smile when they wandered through that alternate world.

"Good morning," Minato greeted to the two as Junpei looked on. "You two look like you're doing okay."

Rei happily raised a butter roll, appearing to be halfway finished. "We sure have! But..." Then she pointed to Minato with the hand holding the roll while having a frown. "That should be my question, Minato-san! You worried us for a long time, you know!"

"I was unconscious for only half a day," the blue-haired student sighed. Unfortunately, with Rei still giving a cute glare that would turn worse if she was provoked, he wondered if he was going to walk out of it quietly.

"There's no need to worry, Rei," Zen saved his friend by calming down his partner. "He's fine. You can see it too, can you?"

"I know, it's just..."

She trailed off... before taking another bite from the roll. No, it's alright. He was safe, sound, and alive. Nothing she could say now could change it. Since he only passed out from exhaustion, he must have went through the same thing in the last timeline. Still, the strange part that Zen pointed out earlier, about Minato waking up earlier than last time... he was surely fine for now, right?

"Uh... is this a bad time?"

"Huh?" Rei slowly looked up to the voice that had been standing there the whole time... and nearly dropped her bread. "Ah...!"

"Whoa!" Junpei stepped back at her sudden yelp. "D-did I do something wrong?"

Rei shook her head rapidly. "N-no, not at all!" There was totally nothing wrong! She had just forgotten that he happened to be there in the first place! And... Rei immediately calmed down. Junpei... doesn't remember her either. This was the past, the time before the existence of the rift, and the instability of the rift had everyone's memories gone anyways...

"Are you okay, Rei?" Minato then asked, turning the tables on to her. "It seems like you're the one I should be worried about." She had been spacing out a lot since yesterday, maybe more so than their train ride to Iwatodai.

"Oh!" She sprung up in surprise, then meekly worded, "Sorry, just remembering something..." Then she turned to the capped student. "Anyways, you're friends with Minato-san? My name's Rei Kimishima!" It would still take a while to get used to her fake name, unlike Zen.

"Zen Kurozuki," Zen cut in quietly.

"Uh, yeah," he wasn't sure what to make of these two, but they looked pretty friendly. "The name's Junpei Iori. You're the others who went with Yuka-tan to school just a few days ago, right?"

"Yeah!" Rei nodded enthusiastically. "She's a good friend!"

"You got that right, Rei-chan!" Junpei returned her enthusiasm. Minato gave a positive-sounding sigh, finding their upbeat attitude almost contagious, but welcoming.

"Oh, that's right," Zen spoke up, getting the blue-haired student's attention. "Yukari and Mitsuru want us at the fourth floor of the lobby this evening. She said it's important that we come."

"I figured as much," Minato answered. Well it would feel suspicious if he wasn't told about what happened two nights ago. Maybe the 'Dark Hour' that Rei mentioned in passing could be explained better...

"Huh?" Junpei now had a very peculiar-like look on his face. "What're you guys up to?"

Rei stiffened, remembering that Junpei had yet to get involved in the Dark Hour. He couldn't know just yet. "Um..."

"Possibly scheduling," the tanned student lied to him almost immediately. "We weren't aware that we had curfew when we got here."

"Wait, that's it?" Junpei's curiosity deflated. For all the near-empty list of things that interested him, Minato had to admit, seeing someone's own suspicions get shattered like that was entertaining.

"What did you think it was?" Minato chimed in monotonously while starting to find this conversation a little enlightening to him.

"No, no!" Junpei heartily laughed, dodging some bullets. "Just thought it was... well, actually, I hoped it wasn't."

Rei could only wonder what did Junpei even mean as he retreated into silence. The only thing that saved him was the chiming bell that broke out, getting him to chuckle at his weird luck.

"Well, we should get going!" Junpei switched topics in the blink of an eye. "Can't miss a class in your first month on purpose, right?"

"O-oh, yeah!" And to his relief, Rei brightened back up to her cheery self as she dragged Zen by hand to their school. "See you later, Junpei-san!"

"Right, later!" Junpei waved to the underclassmen with a smile before recognizing Minato by his side, and he almost grimaced. "Uh, dude-"

"It's alright, we're not in that much trouble," he simply stated, leaving Junpei to chuckled nervously. "There's really nothing important nor strange that happened the past week." Technically both happened, but not individually...

"Yeah, yeah," the upbeat student scratched his head as they marched on, letting the silly matter drop.

It wouldn't be so strange anymore, for them to get involved in a fated secret of the world.

Evening – Iwatodai Dorm, Lounge

Both Zen and Rei waited patiently for their friend to arrive, the sounds of a ticking clock nearby, along with a pencil scratching paper, filling the silence. They were instructed to go with Minato to the fourth floor and meet with Yukari there, then head for the command room to talk about that night. It was ideal for the two time-travelers; in SEES' thoughts, the meeting would answer any remaining questions in a more proper conversation. Zen had already known all the answers since his time as the Clockwork God, but Rei wanted to hear it out from SEES themselves. Plus, it would kind of make the two less suspicious if they followed along, acting as if they hadn't known anything and everything.

"Let's see... maybe I should write down about Junpei for a little... and maybe something about this meeting once it's done."

Zen quirked an eyebrow on Rei's little gift. "A diary?" He actually noticed the notepad before, but he never assumed she was writing her past experiences down.

Rei nodded with a happy hum. "The notepad that person gave us along with our other things was empty, so I guessed he wanted me to write something on it."

It was to their confusion that they still didn't understand the mysterious person's motives. They had prepared all of their lodging and essentials, letting them slide into the dorm as transfer students easily. Whoever they were, they surely had a heart to care for them, even for little things like these.

"I was thinking of writing a story of our past times," Rei admitted, twirling her pen, "but I wasn't sure how I was going to write everything down just yet. So I went with talking about how things have been going on here."

He nodded. "I see. So you're making a memento that helps you remember our times here."

The small girl looked weirdly to him for his odd idea before sighing softly. "Um, yeah, that works too." Silly Zen, still not understanding some concepts... but then again, her diary could work as a memento of her time here, alive and with her friends...

The sound of the large doors being opened caused them to look towards the entrance. Minato Arisato, the Fool in his Journey, looked around for a second with an impassive face before closing the doors behind him. He then took a few steps ahead before noticing both Zen and Rei sitting on a couch, with Rei holding a notepad, the same one he saw before in the hospital.

"I'm here," he greeted quietly to the two.

"Hey there, Minato-san!" Rei exchanged their greetings.

"Welcome back," Zen intoned, standing up. "We were told to be heading to the fourth floor of the dorm for our meeting in the command room. Do you have anything to take care of first?"

The blue-haired student shook his head. "We can get started."

Evening – Iwatodai Dorm, Meeting Room

To Minato, if anything, the room didn't seem to look like a command room, what with all the furniture placed around. In fact, he was sure it was meant to look like a normal kind of room, but they happened to call it the 'command room' since it came close with the large supercomputer on the left wall. Currently, it was not operating, since there wasn't a use for it.

The door of the command room opened up to reveal Minato, Zen, and Rei, guided by Yukari as they walked in.

"Ah, there you are," Shuji Ikutsuki sat up from his chair. "I'm glad that you're all okay. The reason I asked you here is because I needed to talk to you." He then gestured to the seats around him. "Please, have a seat."

By his suggestion, Rei took the couch on the right, where Yukari and Mitsuru were, while Minato and Zen took the cube chairs on the left, with a silver-haired student sitting on one of them.

"Oh, before we start," Ikutsuki piped up, remembering something important for Minato while he pointed to the silver-haired person beside him. "I believe I mentioned him earlier, but this is Akihiko."

Akihiko put up a small smile, still not used to the bandages hidden under his uniform. "How ya doin'?"

"Could be better," the blue-haired student sighed. "Maybe another night might clear up the lasting headache from that... one night, but I'll be fine." Everyone seemed to be aware of the situation from that time, he figured.

"Well, it's not a lot to take in," Yukari responded before smiling. "Though, you don't look like you'd worry too much."

"He's so calm, it's kinda cool," Rei threw her coins in, knowing just how fearless he was against the most pressing situations.

"And mildly disturbing," Zen added, also voicing out everyone's thoughts, but to the tanned student, he had already known of Minato's calm personality to an extent.

Ikutsuki nodded, feeling everyone ready to move on. "Okay, let me start off by asking you this." He pressed the rim of his glasses before continuing. "Would you believe me if I said that a day consists of more than 24 hours?"

Minato hummed to himself for a moment once the Chairman asked that. Well, it's not a bad start. "Maybe not right off the bat, but I can believe it."

"Just like that?" Yukari grimaced a little. "No second thoughts on how it works?" That was way too apathetic to a world that turns its monsters against him.

"I figured what it was before, but I was never sure about it," the blue-haired Wild Card clarified. "I have been experiencing that moment for a while, to be honest." He took into account the slightly shocked looks of everyone present, except for Zen, who managed to look neutral.

"Then you know of what goes on in the nights?" Mitsuru asked him for a complete confirmation. "When in that time, the streetlights go out, coffins were everywhere..."

"Blood was everywhere, and no one seemed to be present as well," he finished, sighing. He then noticed Rei shivering a little, still afraid of the darkest part of the world. "At first I thought it was a sudden hallucination. Only after at some point would the world return to normal, then happen yet again in the next night. I figured there was a time limit to that thing each time it appeared. I'm sure you know what it is, then."

He wasn't sure if it was necessary to tell them that Rei did the explaining back at the hospital, but he dismissed the idea as it wasn't so important.

"You would be correct," the red-haired senior confirmed. "A time period hidden between one day and the next, that's what we call the Dark Hour."

More than 24 hours... a period between one day and the next...

"Hm... after everything that's happened, it's a lot easier to understand."

Rei gave a heartily smile. That's her leader...

"But it doesn't explain why people disappear during the Dark Hour," Minato added, pointing out something. "But I guess this involves with it being a 'hidden' time period?"

"That's right," Ikutsuki nodded, a little cheerful in knowing that he was quick.

Akihiko decided to take over. "Normal people don't realize it, since they're all sleeping inside their coffins. But, that's not what makes the Dark Hour so interesting." He stood up, giving a serious look to the blue-haired student. "You saw those creatures. We call them 'Shadows'. They only appear during the Dark Hour, and attack anyone not in a coffin."

Minato nodded stoically. "That explains the coffins. And the Shadows?"

"Well, it's our job to defeat them." The boxing student smiled. "Sounds exciting, huh?" Well, not the explanation Minato was hoping for...

"Akihiko, why are you always like that?" Mitsuru chided him, getting up with a frown. "You just got hurt the other day!"

"P-please don't fight," Rei gave an uneasy smile, trying to calm down the two. "We're in a meeting..."

"Rei knows what's right," the Chairman mirrored the smile. "Besides, Mitsuru, he does his work well."

It took the two a second before they sat back down, with Mitsuru still giving a fierce glare at her friend while Akihiko looked away, trying not to dare to meet her gaze. With Ikutsuki sighing afterward, Minato figured that the three's history may have been something like this on a weekly basis.

"Do they actually fight often?" Rei whispered to her archery friend. It was a common thing back in the labyrinth, but it seemed it was also common way before that.

Yukari sighed, wondering how to explain their connection without overstepping. "They're close friends, and I guess it's what they do. That's all I know."

"Long story short," Ikutsuki proceeded the conversation, "we're the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad—SEES for short. On paper, we're classified as a school club. But in reality, this group is dedicated to defeating the Shadows." He then gestured to Mitsuru and himself. "Mitsuru is the leader. I'm the club advisor."

"The Shadows we talk about often," Mitsuru took control of the conversation, "they feed on the minds of their prey; the victim becomes a living corpse. They're responsible for most of the incidents on the news, if not all of them."

"But there is a way to confront them," Ikutsuki then led the discussion. "Although rare, there are those who can function during the Dark Hour. Such people have the potential to awaken powers that can fight the Shadows."

"The power of Persona." Minato wouldn't need any form of clarification for this one.

A nod. "Yes. That's the power you used the other night. The Shadows can only be defeated by Persona-users. Which means, it's all up to you guys."

"I get it." The power to defeat monsters hidden in the dark... how fictional-sounding. But could he deny what was shown to him, especially when he participated in it?

"I'm glad you're quick to understand," the Chairman smiled. He had his suspicions right; Minato was an easy person to talk to, it seemed.

Now knowing that all was explained, Mitsuru stood up from her seat once more, this time making a few clicks on one of the briefcases that were lying on the table. She opened it up, revealing a few important items for the newcomer to see. Now, their intentions shone.

"What he's trying to say is, we want you to join us," Mitsuru asked, earnestly hoping for his assistance. "We've prepared an Evoker for you. We'd like you to lend us your strength."

Was this really a turning point in life? He felt that way, once she had shown him the same kind of object that he used to save everyone on the rooftop. Even then, it wasn't something he could easily walk away from. Not because he didn't care, oh no, but rather there was something strange about it.

He needed answers. There was something wrong with this. And yet, it seemed no one here knew of what was wrong. It was a maddening feeling, trying to think there were answers being kept from him, yet honestly believing no one in the room had any response to his questions. It was why he hadn't even bothered to voice them out. It was something only he could hope to understand.

So why walk away from it?

"I'll go with you."

He already figured it would lead to this answer, but he realized it wasn't out of obligation. He felt... compelled to go with them. Like he had suddenly found every reason to be with them. Not because of his own questions, or because they wanted to. He wanted to help them because he simply wanted to.

And those were the questions he wanted to ask, of why he suddenly felt so... attached to them, even if only slightly.

It was something he would try to understand for the rest of the night.

"Although, if I may ask," he spoke up, hoping no one would see his further silence as a response. "There are two other cases here. Who do they belong to?"

He shouldn't have expected much of an answer from them. He glanced to Zen, then to Rei, both of them locking eyes. From their silence, it seemed he wasn't the only one trying to make the decision. The two happened to be a little tardy on their final answer.

"Zen Kurozuki also happens to be a new Persona-user like you," Ikutsuki explained, fixing his glasses. Ah, then that did answer the question of if there were others, aside from Hamuko as he learned during the Velvet Room trip earlier. The Chairman's tone for his next words then sounded unsure. "As for the other Evoker, well..."

"Have you made your decision, Kurozuki?" Mitsuru voiced to the tanned student, first settling with him.

Zen almost accepted it right away; he was already involved in it, maybe a lot more than he so desired, and he just couldn't ignore the very people he made friends with back then. But something important had caused him to ask one more question.

"If I do join, what will be of Rei?"

She had the potential, she could possibly be a Persona-user, but everyone seemed to pretend to be unaware for the most part. The members of SEES then glanced to the pale-blond girl, who was swinging her legs around until then. She immediately felt flustered when all eyes were on her, despite knowing what Zen was getting at. Yukari had the look of regret, but the others seemed stern-faced on the younger girl.

"...She has the potential as well," Ikutsuki reminded, trying to smooth it out. "But in honesty, it falls to her to make those decisions, and—"

"I'll go."

The whole group looked a little incredulous to the girl's sudden decision, concerning how the events from that night could have easily shaken her up. But Rei wasn't a normal person, not unaware like everyone else. To their stares, Rei looked back to them, resolution showing in her usually timid eyes.

"I want to be with Zen wherever we go," Rei clarified. "If I have the power to help him... no, if I have the same power to help everyone, then I want to do so. Not just helping Zen, but with Zen helping me, too."

"Rei..."

She gave a reminiscing smile to Zen.

"You saved me before... I want to at least return the favor, Zen."

"...Alright."

The mixed reactions from everyone answered well. Yukari felt too shocked to even give a smile, wondering what did Zen save the little girl from, but found their closeness very endearing. Akihiko had a more-subdued look than the archer, instead looking to the floor, hiding a broken smile. Mitsuru was the most attentive, learning that there was indeed something with them that happened in the past, but was more than wise to not comment on it. Ikutsuki was the one giving the small smile of relief, knowing that everything was all pleasant.

Minato was the one with the rare smile. But everyone else was too distracted to comment on it.

"Then I suppose there are no problems?" The Chairman asked the new recruits. To his relief, all of them nodded in confirmation with Rei smiling vividly. "Thanks for taking part, you three."

"Sheesh, and I was this worried for nothing," Yukari sighed, finally able to drop the weights before smiling. "Welcome aboard, you guys."

Flash!

Minato blinked. He was about to voice out what the flash was before realizing he couldn't move a single muscle in his body. No, not just him, everyone else was frozen in place, as if time had affected them entirely. What was...?

Suddenly, he felt something inside his body filling itself with warmth. He couldn't explain why, until sprinkles of light appeared in front of him to form a blue card. The Fool Arcana, he inexplicably recognized. Once it showed itself, he heard an echoing voice...

I am thou... thou art I...

Thou hast established a new bond...

It grants power for your Journey...

Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personae of the Fool Arcana...

And the blue card that represented the Fool vanished into a pocket-sized mist, and hovered towards Minato, until he felt it being embedded deep into his soul with no surge of pain. All he felt was the greater warmth of it.

A bond... an Arcana... and his Journey...

The moment he tried to think of these terms for himself, however, time had slowly returned to normal. It felt like he was able to move again. But not only that, it seemed no one had noticed the moment. Was it only to him?

"To be honest," Ikutsuki was sheepishly admitting as he was fixing his glasses, "one Evoker was meant to be for Hamuko Yuuki, but..."

"Has she woken up, Takeba?" Mitsuru asked. She had known the answer, but it felt easier to ask for someone's view.

"Afraid not," the girl in pink admitted, frowning. "She's still out like a light."

"That seemed to be a strong Persona she used, was it not?" Zen inquired as casually as he could. He already knew Thanatos and Orpheus Telos were equally powerful, just in different elements.

"It surprised me when she was capable of summoning that," Ikutsuki responded. "I don't think she could have lasted under the pressure of such a Persona." He then paused before turning to the blue-haired student. "Though, his is just as powerful."

"It doesn't feel like I still have that kind of power, though," Minato shrugged, still able to remember the Orpheus he had in that night. "I saw it change to its silver form before I passed out. I don't know if the red one still works..."

"Well, you can see for yourself when we get prepared tomorrow," Akihiko chuckled, really wishing he could move around just a bit more. "If you're lucky, you'll be able to find more Shadows to test your power in."

"Akihiko..."

"Sorry, right," he groaned under Mitsuru's frustration in her tone. He had gotten very unlucky in trying to keep his body in top condition with that battle. And just when things were starting to look up...

"Um, what's happening tomorrow?" Rei pointed out. She was thankful that she was quick to catch on this time.

"During the Dark Hour, an intriguing kind of place opens up," the Chairman answered in their place. "That place is called Tartarus, and it's home to some of the Shadows, like the ones you all saw earlier."

"We were planning to take you there if we had enough members to participate," Mitsuru continued on. "Luckily, we have more than enough to explore Tartarus."

Rei hadn't felt too disturbed, since she heard about Tartarus as a summary during the Culture Festival Labyrinth incident, hilariously by the same people that had explained to her just now. Regardless, she gave a quiet hum to the thought of exploring that place, whatever the so-called labyrinth was. Beside her, Zen didn't look too obvious to tell, knowing full well what Tartarus was supposed to represent.

"It's nice to know you're thinking hard about this," Ikutsuki spoke up, reading their faces carefully, "but we can save that for tomorrow. It's best if you get a well-deserved rest." None of them were prepared for the exploration at all. It was all for this meeting, and they understood it. "As for your assigned rooms, well..." Then he gave a smile like no other. "How about you stay here? I don't know what the holdup is, but it seems to be working out for us," he chuckled.

The newcomers weren't able to tell why, but Akihiko, Mitsuru, and Yukari all dropped a sweat with unpleasant looks on their faces.

"Holdup? But wasn't that...?" The archer shook her head, trying to not pry on anymore. "Oh, never mind. It doesn't matter anymore..."

Regardless of whatever problems they had, they had found themselves talking about other topics while being carefully reminded about tomorrow's work.

On her bed, Rei was the only one nervous about what was going to happen next. Her and Zen's time-travel placement, the introduction of the mysterious Hamuko Yuuki, and the boy named Waltz... She could only hope tomorrow was going to be a smooth exploration of Tartarus...

April 12, 2009 – 27 Days Left

Early Morning – Gekkoukan High, Entrance

"Hey, man! You look okay!"

It was the day after getting hospitalized since that night. Minato probably warranted some attention for being absent like that, he figured, so he gave a glance to the boy that spoke up behind him. The brown-haired student smiled his way.

"Minato Arisato, right?" He asked. Almost out of the left field, Minato thought.

"Yes, why?" He wasn't showing that much courtesy, but he figured he could play along with this guy.

"Well, it's a good thing to hear you're doing fine," the brown-haired student responded. "When we heard you and Hamuko-san got knocked out earlier, you kinda put us in a bit of a frenzy."

"Ah, that." It made sense that he got some popularity out of it... "How bad did everyone react to it?"

"Not much, actually. Kaz thought you went through some supreme training regime and collapsed."

He didn't know who Kaz was, but he had saved the thought for later. "Really?"

"Nope. He was like us, worrying about you. But since you look okay, Hamuko-san might be just as fine."

The transfer student gave an amused hum, a rare emotion of his being shown to the world. The talkative student didn't seem to bother asking about it, if his curious stare meant something else. It was replaced by a grin.

"You know," the brown-haired student chuckled, "I heard from Junpei earlier that you're pretty close with Yukari-san. What's up with that?"

Minato raised a brow. That was all he was here for? "It wasn't just her. I was with Zen and Rei when we got to the school."

"Huh," the boy folded his arms, shifting his bag around. "Should have figured. Those two seem pretty fixated on you."

He noticed. He just didn't really care enough to think about it.

"Well, I guess it doesn't matter," the student then said. "I'm looking for someone with a little more experience, anyway." That really was all he was here for, then. "By the way, I'm Kenji Tomochika."

"Minato Arisato," he returned the gesture. "Is there anything else?"

"Nah, just that." Kenji rubbed the back of his head before grinning. "Anyways, I gotta get going. Later."

The charming boy then raced towards the doors. At such a speed, he must have been in a hurry for something else aside from the bell, which did not ring just yet, Minato figured. Behind him, Zen and Rei walked up to them, the younger student looking curiously to wherever Kenji ran off to.

"Is he a friend of yours?" She finally asked. Minato only shrugged, not even sure if they were considered friends at this point.

Zen knew otherwise. Kenji's bond represented the Magician Arcana, so it was unlikely Minato would not involve him in his Journey, as minor as he was.

Dark Hour – Tartarus, Outside

Rei held on tightly to Zen, once the world stopped changing itself and the building in front of them became the true horror of the midnight time.

Tartarus, the tower of demise that stood ominously in the port island. The nest of Shadows that imprisoned a number of secrets to its purpose. A labyrinth that consisted of multiple buildings sprouting from the ground with no indication of there being a 'main' building. There even were a few 'buildings' that look grotesque in style, and some looking like spirals. The blue lights that grew from them also added a level of mysteriousness.

The tower of demise stood tall enough to reach the skies above. Even from this distance, Rei could tell it almost reached up to the altitude of the airplanes she had seen before. But exactly how high was left to be determined. And even then, it was not what she was fearing the most.

This was Tartarus. And this happened to be their school.

"This is Tartarus," Mitsuru explained eloquently, "the labyrinth that reveals itself during the Dark Hour."

Rei was still stunned by the impressive height, along with the location, that she couldn't really think of what to say. It was Minato that spoke up in her stead.

"If this is revealed in the Dark Hour," Minato began to ask, "am I to assume that it disappears when the Dark Hour ends?"

"Correct," the red-haired senior nodded. "Once the Dark Hour passes, everything returns to normal."

"Our school is... a giant labyrinth..." Rei whispered in awe and fear. Awe, for its impressive detail and height that seemingly dwarfed mountains. Fear, for how it seemed to haunt the school grounds during the Dark Hour. Such a tower to exist in secrecy, as it was home to the many Shadows...

"Rei," Zen was quick to notice her uneasiness, "are you unwell?"

"I-I'm fine," the young girl insisted despite the signs of her body trembling. "This... this going to be okay..." Maybe. She couldn't tell what was worse: the Evil Spirit Club that drowned the entire world into cosmic, blood-soaked horror, or the Dark Hour that put the world into a silent standstill with an eerie tower. Ultimately, she wanted something less scary and more fun. Not that she was likely to find a recreation of Alice in Wonderland anytime soon...

"Be brave, Rei," her companion neared closer for a comfort of morale. "I'm here with you."

"Yeah, thanks." She chose this path. She was compelled to, but she figured she was going to get involved anyway. And so she shook off the last of her hesitation.

"Before we begin, we must be certain of one thing. Kimishima..."

Mitsuru focused their attention to Rei when the senior spoke up. Rei fidgeted a little at the mention of her fake family name.

"You don't regret your decision for coming here." It was not a question, Rei noticed.

"No... no, I don't." She was already used to it, involved in it. That was why she was going to show her resolve.

"That's good. In that case, you must prepare yourself."

It was the object that was held in her holster that Rei was directed to wield. The item that could change the fates of those who wander in this twisted dreamscape. She pulled it out for everyone to see, and stared at it blankly.

"So... I just need to pull the trigger."

Rei stared uncomfortably at the gun-like object on her right palm. From the short explanation Mitsuru and Ikutsuki gave earlier, the Evoker is a tool that channels a spark of energy to the brain, and it summons a Persona for them to use. The design as a gun was made to invoke the fear of terror of committing suicide, and while she hadn't seen a lot about guns in her previous lifetime (though Naoto's guns did come to mind in the Culture Festival Labyrinth), she was very certain of what suicide was.

To discard your own life...

She wasn't afraid of the Evoker itself. It was almost impossible to be afraid, ever since SEES used these things back in the rift. She was more afraid of the concept itself, to commit mock-suicide in order to use her powers. The feeling of Death being held at her fingertips despite the truth of what it truly was.

But when she lifted the object to her head... she strangely didn't feel any hesitation anymore. She took in the stares when she did. Mitsuru gazed at her with a cold expression, unlike during the rift, where she seemed more expressive. Akihiko and Yukari looked very unsettled to see a little girl holding an artifact of Death. Minato and Zen were the least concerned, mostly knowing of what comes next.

She had no reason to be afraid on the chance of dying. She was never afraid of dying as well. What reason was there, when she had already accepted her death when Zen was there with her? And more to that, they knew she had the chance, not to be lost in history, but to live and be a good companion to them.

And that's why, for as long as she lived...

She smiled warmly.

"Persona."

Bang!

The power the enveloped her was pure and great, a power from the unfulfilled Universe that responded to her calling. And so the true self made its form.

The Persona that answered appeared as an incomplete body at first; the arms had no elbows and anything beyond, along with the legs and their knees. From the ends of the half-developed limbs were yellow flames blazing vigorously. The markings on its body made it look like it was wearing a vest, though the head had a similar pattern attached to it. And speaking of its head, where the hair would be was instead another set of flames as bright as its core, that rested in the stomach of the Persona.

And so, once it materialized completely, it spoke for Rei's sake.

I am thou... thou art I...

I am the harvester that brings hope to you...

I am Saturnus, the justice for your future...

The new Persona then promptly disappeared the next few seconds, and the flow of power, her power, returned to her very being. A Persona, her true self, her own identity...

As long as she lived, she could repay the favor by helping those that saved her before.

She smiled once more, contended.

Thebel – Floor 1

To Minato, battles with Shadows were simple.

Strike the enemy down until it was gone.

It's how any kind of confrontation between humans worked, and this was no exception. However, it was the short version of how it worked, he admitted. To win a fight easily, one must plan strategies and then strike hard. Inflicting weaknesses, reading the right movements, understanding everyone's behavior and their powers, things here and there he had to pay attention to. Mitsuru did explain to them about the necessities of tactics, and boy how often they were.

The next battle was a setup for such.

"Four Shadows. Strike first!"

Minato took the first strike, his short sword slicing one of the four Cowardly Mayas, damaging about a third of its life. These kinds of Shadows often went down in two or three hits, so the second hit was left to Yukari, easily wounding it with a flung arrow, but not destroying it. That was left to Zen, with a long sword in hand, and the Maya was decimated easily with a single swing. Rei's turn came around as she brought her Evoker to her head.

"Saturnus!" Bang!

An Agi to burn a Cowardly Maya and knock it down. A second Agi to throw the next one off its balance. And a third Agi to punish the final Maya with the same affliction. All of them were weak to the Fire element, as she remembered when Minato performed the same thing with his Orpheus earlier.

"Oh, should we go for an All-Out Attack?" Rei asked, very reminiscent of the cooperative technique back in the rift.

"Go for it."

Their leader's command rallied them, everyone vigorously preparing themselves before they rushed towards the three downed Cowardly Mayas. The cloud that settled in was caused by the outstanding destruction by the group, demolishing the Shadows with no hesitation... though Rei wished she had a weapon to herself. Her poor hands...

The cloud soon took the form of a skull, and the Cowardly Mayas were no more.

"Yeah! We did it!" Rei cheered for another victory earned.

"You all seem to be doing well," Mitsuru voiced in their mental communication. "I trust there are no problems as of now?"

"I'm good on my end," Yukari answered, giving a small smile.

"Rei and I have no complaints," Zen spoke for themselves, with Rei giving a nod of approval.

"With the way things are going," Minato offered his thoughts, "it seems it won't take long until we make bigger leaps in Tartarus." He ran a free hand through his hair. "Though, with the restrictions applied, that will be for another day, I suppose." The moment they found the stairs, they were sternly ordered to halt their advance upward and practice on the first floor. He didn't mind, but he had this feeling a 'tutorial' wasn't necessary. Well, to him at least.

"We can't blindly rush in without understanding the basic layout of the world around us," the redhead responded to the field leader. "Do you understand?"

"Of course," he answered. It wasn't a complaint to show any disappointment. "I'm only saying things, that's all. Besides, I don't expect the world to make things easier for us."

"Junpei sure would, if he was here," Yukari sighed, easily imagining the overly-excitable dunderhead acting like a hero and attempt to bulldoze through. She'd give points for trying, though she could take them back for acting like an idiot...

"What should we do for now?" Zen inquired Mitsuru, getting to the point. "Do we head on back if we're done here?"

"But the stairs to go down are gone," Rei wondered, starting to realize the extent of the 'ever-changing' labyrinth Tartarus was.

"You can make it back by finding a device that transports you four back to ground level," Mitsuru informed. "Arisato, this will be a good opportunity to split into teams. Spread out and search for it."

"Very well," Minato responded as he turned to the group before nodding. "For now, search for the device. If you run into any treasure, take them."

"Got it."

"Okay, Leader!"

"Understood."

Dark Hour – Tartarus, Lobby

When they stepped out of the transport device, they found themselves back into the lobby of Tartarus.

Rei turned around to see what did she step out of. Ignoring the glances from the others, what she found was the device that didn't seem to work at all since they started. It was inoperable at first. It didn't seem to be of much use early on. But just now, she saw a faint glow coming from the device before its lights gave way, falling back into visual silence.

So it worked? But why couldn't either of them operate it when they entered Tartarus? Before she could ponder further, a tug from Zen told her that it was nothing to worry about for now...

"Welcome back," Mitsuru greeted them from beside the stairs, with Akihiko next to her. "So, how was it?"

"Not a problem," came from the usually-silent field leader. Minato had a small smile forming, Rei noticed, before he cleverly hid it.

"I see," the red-haired senior responded, finding his remark endearing. "Well if you gained confidence, that's the best thing you could have achieved."

"Confidence for competence," Zen whispered to himself.

"Hey," Rei hummed with a fatigued look, "I kinda feel tired all of a sudden. And a little hungry..."

"The Dark Hour is activated at midnight," Zen responded, turning to her. "Most of us should be sleeping by then."

"Really?" Rei glanced to him in slight astonishment, though her sluggish body couldn't add more to her surprise. "Does this mean we have to start napping before we start the Dark Hour?"

"Won't your sleep hours get destroyed like that?" Yukari grimaced. "I don't think I'd last through the year if I somehow stay awake after the Dark Hour..." And it would cause further problems if she left her head on the desk. No one would ever perish the image if it came to.

"It isn't necessarily suggested," Mitsuru shook her head at the idea before adding, "but you're free to try if you're still tired after school." Then she nodded. "At any rate, I'm surprised. You all did much better than I expected."

"Oh? How better?" Minato responded, clearly amused despite hiding his smile.

"Hm, perhaps being quick enough to reach Akihiko's strength if you were to continue your progress in a consistent rate," the red-haired senior answered with a hint of mirth.

"Heh, we'll see about that," Akihiko chuckled, almost in high spirits.

In any event, Minato thought, with the combination of his powers with the team's, they were able to stand against the Shadows in the first floor. Truthfully, it was one step out of more than a few hundreds, but surely they will overcome anything after leaps and bounds...

...!?

Flash!

Rank Up! Fool Arcana Level 2!

...He hummed to himself. The Fool Arcana, the SEES Social Link? Perhaps there was something to these bonds he needed to understand...

As the group began to leave after discussing the next possible night of exploration, Zen waited behind for a moment to stare with an empty look to the ceiling, thinking about something... strange.

"Saturnus..."

He shook his head before leaving the lobby. Even if it was another identity, it sure seemed to fit Rei in a sense.

"Hm hm hm..."

Dark Hour – Iwatodai Dorm, Rooftop

A silver-haired boy sang to himself as he watched the haunted skies, inhabited by the waning golden moon, as he thought to the events that passed on by so far.

"Well, while I think it could have gone better, Minato's early awakening will have to do for now. Not that it it's a bad prospect."

He messed up. He didn't mean to, but he hadn't expected it. He shrugged. Such a mistake didn't mean much to him. Compared to anything else that could go wrong, this mistake was very little, maybe even forgettable.

He was on the dorm's rooftop, the last place where a Shadow, particularly a strong one, once appeared. He turned to the door of the dorm's rooftop, not expecting anyone to exit from there. No Persona-user was left in the dorm, and Shuji Ikutsuki was elsewhere, so no one had to be occupying the dorm. What he was staring at seemed to be nothing, from the ends of the dorm to the edge of the roof, where he was calmly sitting on. There seemed to be nothing between them.

That was not the case.

He could feel it, the power starting to take up within that empty space. He knew it, down to its origin. It was his power, a focus of energy he already planted, having rooted and starting to grow. But at this point, it was little. It had not gained enough power to take a form right away, so it remained formless. Yet, this energy would only be detected by him, not until it was finished being realized.

Once it did, it would be a new story to tell, to Minato, to Hamuko, to Zen and Rei. To everyone who would be directly involved in his Journey.

This was it. This was what his research of a previous time concluded in. Created by wandering thoughts of the active souls, refined by the wonders of the collective unconscious, and with a number of allies by his side to uncover the many secrets that were hidden, this was one kind of phase he needed to rearrange the future itself.

He smiled.

"Do you understand? It may be for my sake, but it may as well be yours..."

And before the Dark Hour would end, before anyone would notice him there, he left silently, waiting for the next days to come.

Finish!

Well, things are finally starting to look up. After a couple months of tense times that I won't explain, I managed to get this done in two months of actual work. Let's hope I can go for a shorter amount of time for any story I have, shall we?

As for Rei's Persona, Saturnus, two reasons. One, Saturnus is identified as Chronos, so that one's easy. Two, I thought the Star Arcana would be right for her, since in PQ, she often brought smiles to everyone's faces before she fell apart. So why not? I'm just glad she had a Persona that was easily related, heh.

Now then...

Until the next NEW Moon...