Author's Note: Fuck me this is my longest chapter yet. I'm sorry for the long delay. I guess this chapter is extra long to make up for my absence...? Regardless, I hope you enjoy it. Writing's gotten a little rusty so forgive me if there are any glaring errors.

While preparing this chapter for release, I went ahead and pored over some of my earlier chapters to remind myself what the hell my own characters sound like and I was appalled to find how much fluctuation there was in their characterization. If you actually go back and look it's really bad. Inconsistency all across the board with few if any characters staying true to their 'personas' (uh-hyuk) throughout this now 24 chapter run. Am I saying I'm going to do something drastic and restart Nameless? Absolutely not. I couldn't think of a bigger waste of time. But rewrites? Certainly not out of the question.

Also I was having more trouble than was probably appropriate deciding between 'Under the Knife' and 'Healing Touch'.

Chapter 24 – Under the Knife

[ September 13th, 2012 | Glasswater Park Griffith's Home | 12:07 AM ]

Only a few short but tumultuous minutes has passed since the team of four split into two of two: Noah Scofield and Lucia Kennedy heading in the direction of Griffith Triton's home and Matthew Livingston and Robin Tesla heading in the direction of Alice Stonewall's. Noah and Lucia marched in the dead of night at a brisk pace with Noah lagging behind somewhat, the troubled youth occasionally throwing glances over his shoulder.

"Y'know," Noah began, "This isn't exactly how I envisioned us reuniting."

"Then what did you 'envision' oh glorious leader?" Lucia turned on a dime, bangs swishing across her piercing blue eyes as she whirled around to face him. "How do you suggest we tackle this problem, hm? Two victims this night: Griffith Triton and Alice whatever the hell her last name is. We can't just leave one person to die, can we?"

"I know, but—"

"There are no buts this time, Scofield." Lucia lowered her gaze. "No time for arguments, no time for wasting. Coming here I told myself that this wouldn't be a repeat of last time. I'll fight as hard as I have to in order to ensure that doesn't happen again."

Noah's stern expression softened. "That's noble of you."

"There's nothing noble about any of this." Lucia said, coldly. "What's noble about four teenagers risking their lives in a manner such as this? This isn't noble, Noah… this is a sacrifice that we hardly have any choice in."

Noah's hesitant pause was all the answer Lucia needed, if she needed one at all. She resumed her brisk march onwards, Noah hesitantly following suit.

"But you did have a choice." Noah said. His words didn't so much as put a dent in Lucia's pace. Sighing, he continued, "I gave you that choice. I told you back at Tartarus that you didn't have to do anything that you didn't want to. You're here of your own free will, remember? Nobody forced you to come."

Once again, Lucia stopped, a sound that sounded halfway between a scoff and a laugh escaping her lips. "Oh, that's rich." She turned to pin him down with another of her piercing stares. Noah met her gaze coolly. "Nobody forced me to come? And what would I look like to you all if I didn't? What kind of monster would I be to look such naive, senseless sacrifice in the face and look away? I've wondered night after night how it's so easy for all three of you to willingly put your lives on the line like this time and time again. You don't know when this is going to stop, if it's even going to stop at all. And yet you charge headfirst into danger without so much as a thought to your own safety and well-being… it boggles the mind. I don't… I don't have a right to say no. I can't. It wouldn't be fair."

"Lucia…"

"You want honesty, Scofield? You want the truth?" She was trembling now, all pretenses abandoned. "I'm terrified… I'm scared. I hardly did anything the first night. I don't know what it was that compelled me to come to your aid but whatever it was, it's long since gone now. The only thing I feel now is fear. Anxiety. Apprehension." Her hand clenched her gut as her gaze dropped to the ground.

"Hey." Noah strode forward and looked down at Lucia who refused to meet his eyes. He brought his hand up to her face and knocked her chin up. "I get it. You're scared. We all are. What you feel isn't anything new to any of us… the difference is we just didn't show it. Well, that's not entirely true—we do. We just press on in spite of ourselves. Lucia… the fact that you're here now when you could be anywhere else in the world right now speaks volumes of your true character. None of us… not me, not Matt, not Robin would so much as bat an eye if you decided to walk away from all of this. I don't care how smart you are. Stop assuming how we'll react to you before even giving us that chance."

Noah looked thoughtful for a moment before continuing, "Lucia… you have a personal stake in this. Seth was a good friend of yours, sure. But Griffith is different. It doesn't take a detective to figure that out. I mean honestly, from what I've gathered, he's practically your boyf—"

A pair of white hands shot up to press themselves against Noah's lips before he could finish his sentence. Lucia was staring at him, beet red in the face, her eyes narrowed slits.

"Don't you say it." Lucia whispered quietly. "Don't you say that word. He is not. Whatever you've heard, whatever you think, you're wrong, so you stop that nonsense right now Scofield or so help me I will make you regret it."

Noah lifted his hands in a disarming gesture as Lucia sighed, pulling away from him.

"You certainly have a way with words, don't you Scofield?" Lucia smiled thinly and held out her hand, willing her tarot card to appear and inspecting it with a great deal of interest. "But I suppose—as always—that you have a point. If I'm the reason Griffith is stuck in that quagmire in the first place then it's only right that I be the one to pull him out of it."

"Wait." Noah frowned. "I never said—"

"I know what you said, and you're right." Lucia said. "But I sent him into that Hell with my thoughtless words and actions. It's my responsibility to bring him back."

Well that isn't where I was going with what I said at all. Noah thought. But if it helps her anxiety, so be it?

"Well then if you're ready, Lucia…" Noah waved his hand. "Lead the way."

…

The rest of their trek to Griffith's home continued in relative silence. It didn't take long for Noah and Lucia to come upon the thresholds of Griffith's home. Noah remembered it from their previous visit scoping out the place, checking to ensure that Griffith's clock hadn't frozen. How ironic was it, Noah thought to himself, that their first visit entailed someone else entirely? He and Lucia took up positions near the same bushes they hid behind last time, Noah taking in the sight of Griffith's home and trying to figure out what exactly he was looking at.

"Noah… what is this?"

Noah shook his head. "I'm not sure."

The building was normal. Tall with windows that seemed to continue all across the sides with no breaks in between. The rooms within were well-lit but it was difficult to tell what they contained. Nothing about the building identified its function like the search-lights at Lucia's prison or the escalators at Robin's subway tunnel or even the dizzying heights of Seth's looming tower. For all intents and purposes, the building was normal.

If anything was certain, however, it was not a home. That was all Noah and Lucia really needed to know.

"Do you think Matt and Robin are okay?"

Noah could practically feel Lucia tense up when he mentioned their names. "I imagine the Shadows will flee at the mere mention of Robin's presence." Lucia glanced at him before furtively looking back towards the building. "I'm sure they'll do just fine. Matthew is more than capable of handling himself and Robin has healing magic if I remember correctly… they'll make a fine team."

"And so will we." Noah smiled. "So… thoughts on what we've got on our hands here? You know Griffith better than any of us. I kind of thought we'd be going into a gymnasium or something."

Lucia gave him a look. "And I thought you weren't the type to jump to conclusions."

Noah shrugged.

"Well we won't know until we find out, but…" Lucia cocked her head thoughtfully. "It looks like some sort of office complex. Or any kind of run-of-the-mills business administrations building. Honestly… it hardly even looks intimidating."

"You sound almost happy."

"If I were any farther removed from the emotion you just ascribed to me I'd be sitting next to God who art our father in Heaven."

Noah's eyebrows raised slightly. "I didn't take you for the religious type."

"…I'm not." After a pause, Lucia sighed and continued, "You're more familiar with these situations than I am, Scofield. Lead the way before I actually lose my temper."

With a curt nod, Noah stood up and led the two of them around the perimeter of the building to the front and upon reaching it, their footsteps slowed to a mere crawl. Noah felt lead in his feet and his heart sink into the pits of his stomach. He sensed Lucia, too, wilt upon their newfound discovery. The backside of Griffith's labyrinth was nothing but a ruse. This was no mere office building.

A sliding door opened and closed on an endless loop, blocked partway by a crushed aluminum stretcher toppled onto its side. There were broken windows pockmarked on the face of the building like gaps in rows of teeth. Mechanical, medical equipment hung out the sides of some of the holes. There were white, tattered bed sheets hanging on some of the broken shards of glass. Eerie splashes of blood stained some of the lit windows, some of them as if they were etched by human hands. There was a neon red-cross blinking to and out of life above the sliding door, the name to the location in bright white inset just below.

Triton Hospital.

"It's never that simple, is it?" Noah lamented.

"Griffith's in there, somewhere..." Lucia said, studying the hospital corridors hesitantly. As with Seth's tower, the pair could already tell that there was a dissonance in reality between the insides of the hospital versus the actual size of the building. The corridor stretched on for quite a ways, easily past the normal thresholds of a suburban home. There was no telling how high Griffith's labyrinth truly stretched.

"He is. And you and I are going to save him, aren't we?"

"Yes…" Lucia blinked as if awakening from some kind of stupor. "Yes, you're right Scofield. We're going to save him no matter what it takes."

"You're damned right we will." Noah jerked his head towards the entrance. "C'mon Lucia… your boy's waiting for you."

Noah moved first but realized after taking no more than a dozen steps that Lucia wasn't following him. He looked back at her and noticed she was staring blankly ahead. Physically she was present but mentally, she appeared to be drifting off.

"Do you think…?" Lucia began, quietly.

"Hm? Do I think what?"

Lucia shook her head. "Never mind, it's nothing."

Noah placed his hands on his lips and sighed in frustration. "Lucia, I'm not letting you or I go in there without you telling me what's on your mind. Normally I wouldn't press you like this but it's not good to go into a place like this without putting all your cards on the table. We can't have any hang ups. No regrets. What is it?"

"I was just… wondering if they were alright."

"Oh… someone's worried." Noah teased.

Lucia shot Noah a look of irritation and walked towards the entrance to Triton Hospital without him. Sighing, and thinking to himself that he had tried his best, Noah followed in her footsteps as the duo passed through the sliding glass doors and into the decrepit hallways of Griffith's personal Hell.

[ September 13th, 2012 | Glasswater Park Alice's Home | 12:07 AM ]

"I can't believe her."

Matthew stomped along the sidewalks fuming, his arms swinging back and forth in dramatic, exaggerated arcs that all but smacked Robin in the face as she walked alongside him. She looked downcast and he, the picture of fury. It was a telling reversal of roles that neither of them seemed to have picked up on.

"I thought she was starting to come around." Matthew ranted. "I started to think, 'Lucia's not so bad…'. That was naïve, wasn't it?"

"Matt, let it go."

"She hurt you!" Matthew exclaimed, grabbing Robin roughly by the shoulders. Robin stared at him in shock and Matthew—surprised at his own sudden outburst—shrunk back, sheepish. "Sorry… I'm sorry. I just…"

"Nah, I get it." Robin muttered as she shoved her hands into the pocket of her jacket. "All three of us stuck our necks out for her and she's still actin' like some snobby rich kid. Well, she is a snobby rich kid but—okay, I ain't sure where I was goin' with that but point is: I get Princess. She's pissed that I forgot to mention her boyfriend Griffith and now she's gonna' be his knight in shinin' armor. That's cool. I can respect that. I'd be mad too if it was the other way 'round so… I ain't complainin' too much."

"That doesn't give her the right—"

"I know, Matt." Robin interrupted, waving her hand dismissively. "It's whatever, I'm already over it. Past is past, leave it. You and I, we got bigger fish to fry." She turned around and leaned back, throwing her arms across her chest and puckering her lips. "How you like them rhymes?"

Matthew stopped dead in his tracks and stared at her as if she'd just punted a sobbing baby across a football field. "Do you want me to come with you or not?"

"Well sorry for tryin' to lighten up the mood." Robin studied Matthew's sour expression before, out of the blue, asking him, "Hey… didn't you used to have a crush on 'ol Kennedy?"

The way Matthew stumbled over his own two feet made Robin think for a brief moment that perhaps he had feigned being normal his whole life and was, in reality, physically disabled. Matthew gathered himself up, dusting his clothes off before whirling around to sputter, "W-W-Where did that come from?" He placed his hands on his hips and laughed into the stars. "Me? A c-crush? On Lucia? Don't make me laugh!"

"…So you still have one, or…?"

"Shut up!" Matthew snapped. "Just shut up Robin!"

Robin picked her nose and inspected the booger sitting atop the tip of her finger. "Hey, I ain't the one practically telegraphin' his emotions with every syllable that comes out of his damn mouth. You couldn't be more obvious if you tried, pal."

"I do not, have not, nor will I ever have a crush on that uptight snob!" Matthew protested.

Robin pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and pressed a few buttons, holding the receiver towards Matthew. "Then can I get a little demo of you saying that for the record?"

"W-What the hell!?" Matthew recoiled away from her phone in disgust. "What are you trying to do, blackmail me?"

"So you do have a crush!" Robin smiled, beaming proudly. Her smile dampened, somewhat, as she noted, "You know, you're gonna' have to get through Griffith if you want her."

"Oh my God." Matthew lamented, raked his hands down his face. "You're not even listening to me…"

"Ain't nothin' you never experienced before!" Robin said, clapping a blank, stone-faced Mathew on the back. "Chin up! I've always been more of an underdog type of gal anyway!"

I should have gone with Noah.

[ September 13th, 2012 | Triton Hospital – Lobby | 12:07 AM ]

Noah had never liked hospitals. The atmosphere within their pasty white interiors was always cold, bleak, and impersonal. Doctors, nurses, and all other manner of healthcare personnel studied and honed their skills in disciplines related to Anatomy, Physiology, Chemistry, Biology, the list went on. But people skills, too, were another near-essential skill necessary in the toolbox of the employees of these facilities. And yet, somehow, Noah still found hospitals to be untrustworthy, unfriendly, and just all around unpleasant.

He walked these halls behind Lucia, their footsteps creating the kind of squeaks heard on polished linoleum basketball courts when sneakers slid against the floor. The hallways were empty, for the most part. As they had seen from the outside, various types of medical equipment littered the floors. There might be an upturned stretcher here, a BPM monitor there, an IV pump over yonder…

The quiet was what got to Noah the most. Though he and Lucia exchanged some small talk here and there, there was a pervasive silence that unsettled him, set his nerves asunder. The blank space outside the windows of Matthew's school at least gave the location some life. There were echoes in Robin's subway tunnels. Lucia's prison. Lighting the torches in Seth's tower brightened the color.

But here, there was nothing. No semblance of life apart from the looming threat of Shadows no doubt awaiting the perfect chance to strike them down. There was a certain life missing. A spark. The chatter of doctors and nurses filling the air, of elevator cubicles ringing to signal their arrival, of patients in scrubs wandering the hallways.

"Lucia…?"

"What is it, Scofield?"

"You're close to Griffith, aren't you?" He glanced at her, prompting a hesitant nod. "I hope this doesn't pry too deeply into personal affairs but you wouldn't… happen to know anything about him that might explain why his labyrinth is in an abandoned hospital, would you?"

"I'm as in much in the dark as you, Scofield." Lucia said. "As far as I knew, Griffith was the picture of health. A young man in his prime. If anything, he abhorred hospitals. Claimed injuries sustained in the field were 'scars you bragged about to your friends'."

"Hm… I thought as much." Noah rubbed his chin, perusing some of the rooms adjoined to the hallway. "Insofar, these places have related to some aspect of the person they're involved with. Matt's was a school. Robin's was an underground subway tunnel. Seth, a magic tower… that one I can't really explain but then, I didn't know Seth that well in the first place. Griffith was hiding something, Lucia. Not just from us… he hid this from you too."

"Perhaps he has some sort of debilitating disease?" Lucia said. Her tone betrayed her non commitment to her theory.

"You really think Griffith has cancer?" Noah said in disbelief. "C'mon. The guy's a well-oiled machine. There's an answer, an explanation to all of this. We're not walking in a spooky abandoned hospital for nothing."

"Well then perhaps he wanted to become a physician."

Noah stopped and stared at her blankly.

"Okay, Scofield, don't give me that look. Even I know that was stupid."

"I realize it's not important." Noah admitted. "It's not like its information that we have to know. But I mean… it'd be nice to know it just to know it, you know?"

"You're starting to sound like him." Lucia said. "But no, I can't say that I do. Why would you want to know that? If Griffith has skeletons in his closet, then who are we to bring them back out into the light? His inner demons aren't our responsibility. There are some things that we don't need to know. Some things that we shouldn't know. If this is in his past, then let it be his past. No need for us to repeat his mistakes."

"Like how we shouldn't have known that the only thing you wanted was to be accepted?"

Lucia went silent, shooting Noah a look that—if he didn't know any better—would have interpreted as hostile. "I'd say that's a little different, Scofield."

"No, I'd say it's just the same." Noah argued. "Like it or not, you were made to face your fears and I know for a fact that you came out of the other end a better person for it. You're starting to get along with Robin, of all people, a girl that you claimed you used to despise. Look, I'm not saying we need to go making a scene, playing twenty questions with the guy. Not at all. But what I am saying is that we're in this place for a reason. Griffith has issues that he needs to sort out, and if that's going to be a painful process for everybody involved then so be it. Because if we let his inner demons get the best of him…"

"…He'll die." Lucia sighed bitterly. "I hate that it has to be that way. But I also understand that it doesn't appear as if we have a choice in the matter."

With a satisfied smile, Noah nodded and decided to leave it at that. He reached into his pocket and sorted through the cards he still had left from their last foray into a labyrinth. Three Personas: Angel, Saki Mitama, and Pixie. Four items: Two Medicines, a Soul Drop, and a Bead. For a brief moment, he cursed himself for not making a quick stop by the Velvet Room before meeting up with the group. He had money for two packs. He could have had more Personas, more items.

Vivid flashbacks of Seth's death played in his mind like some twisted silent film. A knot formed in his stomach as he realized they were down a Life Stone due to his recklessness. He had unwittingly wasted the precious item on Seth's corpse, not realizing that an individual that had not yet accepted his or her Persona could not be revived. For all intents and purposes they were an empty husk, a shell of a human being awaiting fulfillment via acceptance of their fears.

It was sickeningly ironic to Noah. Willingly wearing one's own weaknesses on one's sleeves by all rights shouldn't have been such a boon to one's strength. There was a difference between being realistic with your shortcomings and then letting them define who you were. And yet, doing just that was what ultimately led to gaining a Persona: the manifestation of one's very personality.

We need to be careful. Noah thought. Waves of anxiety made his insides churn with worry and doubt as he glanced at Lucia who was slightly ahead of him, the two of them climbing a staircase they hit upon reaching the end of the white hallway. One fatal mistake could lead to her death. To both of their deaths.

Robin… Noah's mind wandered to the other pair in Alice's labyrinth. Robin has healing magic, thank God. They don't have a Life Stone either but… if worst comes to worst then at least I know they have some form of backup.

"Noah?"

"Yes?"

Lucia hadn't called his name for idle chit chat, Noah slowly realized as they reached the end of the hallway. Somehow, someway, without them noticing, the hospital's appearance had changed. There were cracks in the paint. Less of the lights were in working order. Even more of the equipment was left in disarray. The floors were grimier and less clean.

And the blood.

Streaks of blood were everywhere: stretched across the floor as if someone had been dragged. splashed across the walls as if someone were making an abstract painting with someone else's guts, staining white sheets as if someone had hemorrhaged beneath them. There was a receptionist's desk at the end of the hallway and, curiously, no staircase implying a multi-story building as the outside of Triton Hospital had implied. Noah circled around and—amidst the pens and clipboards spread out in clumps—noticed there was a map to the facility stretched across the surface of the desk.

The layout was relatively easy to memorize. To the left and right of the receptionist's desk were two double doors concealing hallways behind them that eventually joined together in a vaguely square shape. There were rooms of varying shapes and sizes attached adjacent to the hallway, but the major ones were: Surgical Ward, Pediatric Ward, Diagnostics Lab, and the Pharmacy. Noah retrieved the map from the desk just to be on the safe side, folding it up into a more compact size and placing it into his pocket.

Suddenly, a loud, ear-piercing shriek wailed over the hospital's until-then silent intercoms. It devolved into a siren that blared loudly and ominously, devolving once again into a wailing, erratic beep as if someone's heartbeat was being played over the loudspeaker systems. A disturbingly pleasant, feminine voice spoke:

"Surgical operation on patient Griffith Triton will commence shortly. Have a nice day."

There was a click, and then there was nothing.

Without another word or any kind of warning whatsoever, Lucia suddenly broke into a run, vaulting over the patient beds blocking the aisles and bursting through the double doors to the right. Noah stared at her dumbfounded before his mind screamed at him to run after her before she got herself killed by a Shadow.

"Lucia!" Noah roared, pushing over a rusted wheelchair and dashing after her. "Lucia, stop!"

[ December 2nd, 2008 | Glasswater Middle School - Courtyard | 3:22 PM ]

"Lucia, Princess of Glasswater!" A lightly freckled child with curly black hair stooped low in mock bow. "Your highness!"

Lucia Kennedy stared at the boy solemnly. If nothing else she was used to this kind of treatment. The Kennedys being the most esteemed family in all of Glasswater was no secret to even children at this level of preliminary education. News of their political, financial, and social deeds were always in the local papers, even if they weren't always headlines. Whether she wanted to or not, whether she asked for it or not, Lucia had developed a reputation among her peers as a spoiled, entitled, snobby, rich-kid.

Why her parents hadn't sent her to a private school, Lucia thought as the boy stepped forward and shoved her to the ground, was beyond her.

"Hey, look!" The boy egged on his two friends—one, an Asian wearing a beanie and the other a dirty blonde with a thick winter jacket—who stood at opposite sides with sneers just as snotty as his plastered all over their faces. "Looks like the Princess of Glasswater isn't all she's cracked up to be! Haha!"

Saying nothing, Lucia reached out to gather her fallen books and hoped that this new group of bullies wouldn't last as long as the previous ones. Generally speaking, they lost interest after about a dozen minutes or so, give or take.

The snow was beautiful. It coated the grass and the trees with a thick layer of frosty white that looked just like the vanilla ice cream the head maid of her household Amber would serve to her by the fireplace before bed. She would drizzle it with thin stripes of chocolate and a dash of nuts, and if she was feeling particularly adventurous she might even put a cherry on the very top. In truth, Lucia didn't need all of the extra additions. Vanilla was her favorite flavor for a reason. It reminded her so much of herself.

Boring.

"Don't ignore us." The dirty blonde haired one stepped forward, finally giving in to the peer pressure. She kicked away the book Lucia was reaching for and snorted in disgust. "You live in that big fancy house… you don't even do anything, do you? You have a bunch of maids and butlers that do all the work for you! Huh?"

"You're right." Lucia agreed, reaching for the book for the second time. "I don't do anything."

"You think you're so much better than us, don't you?" The girl continued. "You don't talk to anybody, don't say anything, just do your homework and go home. You're so boring!"

One promise Lucia had made to herself once the bullying started was that she would never cry. No matter how bad it got, no matter how much it hurt, no matter how long it lasted, they would never see her break. Once they knew she was weak, it was as good as over. She never told her parents or Amber or Arthur about a word of any of it as part of her personal code. The last thing she needed was to give her bullies more fuel for her funeral pyre. She chalked it up to her genes; Kennedys were independent by nature.

"Get her books." The curly-haired boy said. "We'll toss 'em into the ocean."

It wasn't the first nor would it be the last time her schoolbooks were confiscated from her and tossed aside. Money clearly wasn't an issue for her family so—though she would always come home to an earful from her mother and father for losing yet another set of textbooks—replacing the books never was either. She watched as the girl snatched the books off the snow-padded ground with a triumphant 'ha!' and gathered them up in her arms. Curiously, the other boy wasn't partaking in the festivities. He only watched his friends carry out their actions with a look of mild disinterest.

"You can just get new ones, can't you?" The boy asked.

"I'd prefer not to." Lucia replied.

"Listen to her. She doesn't even care." The girl spat with disgust. "She knows her mom and dad can just buy her new ones."

"Man… I wish our p—" The boy stopped, biting his lip. "…I wish we were rich. I don't even know why you go to school with all of that money. I'd just stay home and play games all day."

"If I could, I would—"

Before Lucia could even think to finish her sentence, the boy kicked up a wave of fresh snow into her face, cutting her off. Lucia yelped in surprise, the stinging cold of the frozen ice invading her mouth and burning her eyes. She sputtered helplessly, coughing and rubbing her eyes as the boy chuckled at her misfortune.

"I hate people like you." The boy said, advancing upon her slowly. "You think you're better than everybody else. You think just because you have a lot of money and you come from a nice family that you're above everyone… but I think—"

A snowball suddenly collided with the side of the boy's face out of the blue, the force of it knocking him onto his side. His two friends jolted in alarm, twisting to and fro as they surveyed their immediate surroundings for the snowball thrower. It didn't take very long. Standing at a distance was another boy their age, dressed in a simple hoodie. Thick locks of chestnut brown hair peered out from the brim of his baseball cap and his bright, turquoise eyes studied them all with a mischievous glint. In a rage, the freckled boy leapt to his feet and smacked the flecks of snow off of his face, staring the other boy down.

"What the hell was that for?"

Rather than address his victim directly, the boy instead turned to Lucia, puffed up his chest and bellowed, "Have no fear, Griffith is here!"

No one said a word as everyone present processed his words. Suddenly, the girl and the reserved boy fell to the ground laughing, rolling around in the snow and holding their stomachs as their faces turned shades of bright red. Lucia held her face in her hands and looked away in embarrassment.

"What… what kind of stupid idiot says something like that?" The freckled boy cried in disbelief.

"This kind of stupid idiot!" Griffith exclaimed proudly, jabbing his chest with his thumb. "Now you jerks better leave her alone or else!"

The boy scoffed. "Or else what?"

"Or else I'll call the Kennedys!"

Griffith's threat was met with a pause as the three bullies exchanged hesitant looks. Lucia wasn't sure what to think. Whether or not an outsider calling her family for help broke her rule was unclear. What was clear, however, was that this boy whom she had never met was risking his personal safety for a girl he had also never met.

It was like something out of a fairy tale.

"You're lying." The boy shot back.

"Or am I?" Griffith produced a cell phone from the pockets of his jacket and dangled it between his fingers. "The business number of the Kennedy's isn't a secret, y'know… one dial is all it takes and before you know it…"

The boy's companions were giving him worried looks now, and, finally, the boy seemed to take a hint. He looked over his shoulders at his friends and jerked his head towards the gated exit to Glasswater Middle School. Some mild grumbling and backtalk aside, the trio slowly shuffled away from Lucia and Griffith, leaving the two middle school students alone in the courtyard. Light snowfall fell from the skies in gentle waves, a welcome break from the tense atmosphere from just moments ago. Griffith trudged forward, extending a hand out towards Lucia once he was within arms distance. She stared at his hand briefly before slapping it away and getting up by her own strength.

"Griffith." Griffith said once Lucia was steady on her feet. "Griffith Triton."

Lucia nodded.

"You're Lucia Kennedy, right?" Griffith was like an excited dog, his eyes glimmering and his lips fixed in a permanent grin. All he was missing was a tail.

"If you think you're getting paid for helping me, think again."

"Oh, no!" Griffith recoiled, shocked. "I don't need money. You just looked like you could have used some help, that's all."

"I would have been fine." Lucia said, walking over to where the girl had dropped her books. She collected them from the ground and sighed once she felt the wet pages and saw the smudged ink. She would need to get them replaced and her bullies hadn't even thrown them into the ocean. The world was a cruel place, indeed. Out of nowhere, Griffith suddenly shot up from behind her books, startling Lucia into dropping them again.

"Sorry about that…" Griffith murmured, glancing at her books shamefacedly. But he was back to 100 in no time, up in her face and smiling. "Hey, you need a bodyguard? I know you get bullied a lot and you wouldn't even need to pay me! It's free!"

Lucia cringed and shoved past him, deciding that she'd just tell her parents her books had been torn to irreparable shreds by a pack of ravenous dogs if only it meant she wouldn't have to deal with Griffith for any longer than she already had. Every passing second with him made her feel dumber. But the boy was persistent as he nipped at her heels, keeping in stride with her and giving her that constant, impenetrable smile.

"Hey, do you wanna get ice cream with me?"

"…Ice cream?" Lucia said. Griffith nodded. "But it's freezing cold."

"Uh, so?" Griffith shrugged. "That's the best time to get it. Besides, it's never NOT the right time to get ice cream!"

"Would you kindly go soak your head in a bucket of water?" Lucia snapped.

"If I did, would you let me be your bodyguard?"

"Sure!" Lucia cried, throwing her hands into the air. "Whatever makes you happy!"

"Really!?"

"Yes!"

"And would you get ice cream with me?"

"Yes!"

With an excited yelp, Griffith took off, leaving Lucia alone as she continued walking towards the curb where she normally waited for Arthur to pick her up in the family limousine. Her eyes followed him as he dashed at a breakneck pace down the sidewalk and around a corner, quickly disappearing from view.

Lucia breathed a heavy sigh of relief and quietly whispered, "I'm glad I'll never see him again."

[ September 13th, 2012 | Triton Hospital – Pediatric Wing | 12:07 AM ]

Things only looked more worse for the wear as Noah and Lucia pushed deeper and deeper into the depths of Triton Hospital. The walls only grew more dilapidated and the lights only grew dimmer. No matter how loudly or how frequently he called Lucia's name, she refused to slow down. For someone who supposedly spent most of her time inside of a big fancy mansion getting pampered by maids and butlers, Lucia was surprisingly quick and nimble on her feet.

Each new department of Triton Hospital was more decrepit than the last. Everything was as the map had foretold: proceeding counterclockwise around the facility had them pass by the Pharmacy, the Diagnostics Lab which apparently doubled as a Bloodworks Clinic…

Lost in his thoughts, Noah nearly collided with Lucia who had come to a complete stop.

"Freaking finally…" Noah breathed. "I was wondering… when you'd stop… do you wanna… get yourself killed…?"

Lucia walked forward into the new flight, her eyes glued to the sign denoting where they were. Noah followed her gaze and when he saw what she was staring at, a chill ran up his spine.

Pediatric Ward, Intensive Care Unit. The words were innocent enough but strung up by their necks to the bottom of the sign were handmade dolls. Caricatures, more accurately.

Caricatures of Noah, Lucia, and Griffith.

"What's a Pediatric Ward?" Noah wondered aloud.

"… A Pediatric Ward designates the area of the hospital where physicians who specialize in child care take care of the young." Lucia looked past the sign into the ward itself. "ICU… means they're dealing with the critically ill."

"Then maybe your theory was correct." Noah mused. "Maybe Griffith really did have some sort of condition."

"I'm actually starting to think that might not be the case, Scofield." Lucia said. She walked into the Pediatric Ward section and stopped at the receptionist's desk, staring at the contents littering the surface. There were all kinds of different memorabilia from dolls to hair brushes and even little miniature tea cups meant to simulate play dates. Noah appeared at Lucia's side and singled out a photograph buried beneath the mess, pinching a corner and withdrawing it from the pile.

This was the photo of the blonde girl we saw at Griffith's house that one day. Noah thought to himself. It's a little girl… blonde hair, blue eyes. If I didn't know any better…

Noah glanced at Lucia. She looked unnerved when her eyes met the eyes of the girl in the picture. He remembered, of course, that this was not Lucia, even though by all counts it looked like a younger version of her, the smiling little girl in the photograph was not her. Noah had a sinking feeling about who she might be… but he kept the information to himself and continued examining the rest of the room.

"Scofield, I found something." Lucia picked up something from the table and handed it to Noah.

"A locked chest?" Its appearance was, like the rest of the items on the countertop, feminine by design. The box was foundationally pink and bordered with wooden, gold curls and a little keyhole located on the front. Noah turned it over and noticed a little inscription etched into the bottom of the frame.

1. One must first experience pain.
2. One must second learn from the pain.
3. One must third lessen the pain.
4. One must fourth cure the pain.
5. One must, finally, realize futility and accept death.

"There's some kind of… to-do list." Noah said as he handed the box back to Lucia.

"Experience pain?" Lucia furrowed her brows. "What could that me—"

From further down the hallway came a sudden, shrill, mechanical whirring not unlike the startup engine of a chainsaw. In fact, if Noah's ears weren't playing some kind of trick on him then he was fairly confident that the noise he and Lucia just heard was in fact a chainsaw. He stepped out of the Pediatric Ward back into the hallway and to his horror, the sound was getting louder. No doubt about it, there was another entity inside of Triton Hospital with them.

Whoever—or whatever—was creating that noise was coming…

…And it was coming for them.

[ September 13th, 2012 | Alice's Labyrinth | 12:07 AM ]

Matthew and Robin stood at the edges of a pulsating, tiled dance floor. Loud, deafening techno blared over loudspeakers hooked up to sound systems spread all over the brick walls. The air was thick and humid and they could hardly hear their own thoughts above the cacophonous noise, let alone each other's voices.

In the middle of the dance floor stood one, lone, imposing, hulking giant of a Shadow. Its skin was charcoal black and it sported a mask like so many other Shadows before it, in addition to the rest of its pseudo-wrestling like attire. It stood there thrusting its hips to the music and waving its arms. There didn't seem to be a way to avoid it in order to advance to the next room but it also didn't appear to pose a hostile threat to the two bewildered Persona users.

"It's dancing." Matthew whispered.

"I can see that, Matt." Robin stared at the rainbow-flashing tiles. "Guaranteed once we step on the floor we're gonna' have to, like, beat it in a sick dance battle or somethin'."

"Dance battle?" Matthew said, incredulous. "I think I'd rather fight."

"Oh, c'mon Matt!" Robin elbowed him in the side. "You ain't totally lackin' rhythm!"

"I don't wanna' hear that from you!" Matthew snapped. "The last time I saw you dancing I actually ran up to you and thought you were having a seizure on the floor, remember?"

Robin flushed red and delivered a solid kick to his shin, causing him to jump back and howl in pain. "Bite me, it ain't my fault I was taught how to do the worm the wrong way."

"Fuck, that hurt!" Matt rubbed his pounding ankle and glared at Robin. "And who taught you?"

"Alice did." Robin said.

"Oh…"

"Let's just get this over with." Robin took one step onto the dance floor and once she did, everything came to a screeching halt. The colors faded from the tiles beneath her shoes and the paralysis-inducing blinking lights ceased. The pounding music faded into the background. The giant, muscular Shadow that had been jamming out to the music just moments ago was now staring directly at her—or at the very least, the closest approximation to staring the Shadow could get since it wore a mask.

"Rob, be ca—"

But before Matthew could get the words out, the muscular Shadow charged forward, winding its arm up in a counter clock wise motion as it bore down on the two of them with incredible speed. Robin leapt back and cried, "Persona!", willing Skadi to materialize. Robin and Matthew dove in opposite directions as the Shadow's shoulder just narrowly grazed Robin, Skadi's bow already trained on their enemy.

Daring Gigas. Robin's eyes narrowed as she examined the Shadow more closely. Physical attacks ain't gonna do jack shit… but if we had some Wind magic then maybe we'd be getting somewhere. But Matthew's only got Agi… and I've only got Bufu. That ain't Wind. Shit! If only Noah were here…

"What's the plan, Rob!?" Matthew shrieked as the Gigas chased after him, arms outstretched.

"We're doin' this the hard way! Bufu!" Robin commanded. Blocks of ice formed around the Gigas' body but all they did was slow it down. The imposing Shadow flexing its toned muscles and shaking the attack off as if it were nothing.

"Oh, I can see what you mean by 'hard way' now!" Matthew shrieked. "Now it can use it's rock-hard nipples to beat me into submission! Great fucking job!"

"Stop running like a bitch and help me then!" Robin snapped. "It's called Daring Gigas! Drop that stupid sword of yours and focus on using Agi!"

"Ugh, damn it! I'm sorry about this Claire!" Matthew tossed his broadsword to the side. The heavy broadsword clattered to the ground, but the reduction in equipment weight gave him the agility boost needed to get out of the Gigas' striking distance. When he had a sizeable lead on the Shadow, Matthew whirled around and yelled, "Baldr, Agi!"

Baldr materialized in all of his silver glory, crackling balls of fiery energy shooting out of its palms and striking the Gigas across its torso. The Gigas shrugged off all of Matthew's spells, its now glistening, sweaty body headed straight for him. A high-pitched squeal of terror leapt out of Matthew's throat as the Gigas rammed into him, flinging the helpless teenager's body against the wall with incredible force. Matthew's collision with the brick wall stole all the wind from his lungs as he fell to the floor, gasping in desperation.

Fuck, we ain't getting' anywhere like this!

"Matt!" Robin called.

"I-I'm listening…" Matthew replied, weakly.

"We're goin' nowhere fast fightin' separate! Our magic alone—" Robin ducked and scrambled on all fours under the Gigas' massive arms as it attempted to grab her. "—ain't gonna cut it! On my count, my Bufu and your Agi, together! You read me?"

"L-Loud and c-clear…" Matthew groaned, struggling to his feet and smacking his temples as he tried to clear the double-vision from his eyes.

"Aight, then get ready!" Robin dashed to Matthew's side and readied Skadi as the Gigas pivoted in place, cracking its joints and its neck as it prepared itself for its next attack. The Gigas pointed at the two of them and when it did, a golden aura flashed hot and bright around its outline. Robin shrank back and made a face. "Oh, shit…"

"What?" Matthew looked back and forth between the Gigas and Robin. "What's wrong?"

"That ain't good." Robin analyzed the Shadow again and smacked her forehead. "The piece of shit just used Power Charge on itself! If you or I get hit by another attack by that thing, we're fucking done! Game over! End of story!"

Matthew paled. "…I got hit once and I already feel half dead."

"And you'll be full-on dead-ass-dead if you let that thing get near us!" Robin scolded. "Get ready Matt, on my count! Three, two, one…"

"Agi!"

"Bufu!"

All at once, shards of deadly ice and spurts of hot fire flew from Skadi's bow and Baldr's hands respectively. The two streams of magic converged into one twisting spiral, becoming a potent tornado of power. The Gigas was struck directly in the center of its chest, the force of the combined magic of Agi and Bufu lifting the Shadow up off its feet and corkscrewing it into the brick wall behind it. Matthew and Robin watched as their spell drilled a hole into the Shadow's chest, immediately turning the rest of its body into black ash.

The two Persona users traded looks of utter disbelief, sharing a moment of stunned silence. Minutes passed as they realized what they had accomplished and without needed to say another word, they jumped into the air and high fived, dancing in the middle of the dance floor as if the music was still playing and the lights were still flashing.

"Holy shit Matt!" Robin hollered. "That was fuckin' sick!"

"That was freaking epic!" Matthew agreed, bouncing up and down in excitement. "We have Team Attacks! I didn't know we could do that!"

"Yo, we gotta' come up with a name for that!" Robin yelled.

"Uh… how about, Twin Tornado!?"

Robin's hand immediately jerked, slapping him across the face and eliciting a howl of pain from Matthew. He held his tender cheeks and shot her a look of hurt and betrayal.

"Use your fucking words, Rob!" Matthew yelled.

"S-Sorry, sorry!" Robin stammered. "That name was literally so stupid that my body reacted on its own and attacked you. I'm not even kidding. Are, uh… are you okay?"

"We're using Twin Tornado!"

"Shit." Robin bit her lip and violently shook her head from side to side. "It's hard Matt, fighting my gut instinct to hit you when you keep saying that."

"Twin Tornado, Twin Tornado, Twin Tornado!"

"Look, first of all, how are we twin—" Robin sighed and shook her head. "Y'know what, never mind, ain't important. Twin Tornado it is. I don't care what we call it, long as we can keep doin' it. We can't be usin' 'Twin Tornado' willy nilly though, I know you felt that huge drain once we used it… magic comes at a cost, 'specially when we use it the way we just did now."

"Yeah, I know, I know…" Matthew said. He smiled, then, and said, "But hey! If we're doing this well already, then I'm sure Noah and Lucia are just fine!"

[ September 13th, 2012 | Triton Hospital – Diagnostics Lab | 12:07 AM ]

Noah slammed the door to the Diagnostics Lab shut and leaned against it, gasping for air. Lucia was already inside, on her knees and clutching her left arm in pain as blood dripped from a deep gash cleaved from her shoulder running just short of her elbow. Noah pressed his ear against the door and shakily slowed his breathing, listening for the distinct noise of the Shadow that had been chasing them and its weapon. In the distance, a roaring chainsaw faded into the background. Noah heaved a sigh of relief as he sank to his bottom and looked over to Lucia.

"We lost it." Noah whispered. "For now."

Lucia nodded, her eyes still clenched in pain.

"...Lucia, you didn't have to take that hit for me." Noah turned his head slightly, ensuring that the Shadow really was gone before crawling over to his injured comrade. "Let me take a look."

"You would have done the same thing." Lucia muttered. After a stern glare from Noah, Lucia—somewhat hesitantly—exposed her arm to Noah, wincing with the effort. "Besides, I did say we'd need to take a hit to verify whether or not my theory was correct, right?"

"…Ugh. You're just lucky I can take care of this. Odin…" Noah closed his eyes and willed his Persona forth. "Dia."

Within seconds, Lucia's crimson cut was bathed in a soothing, ethereal green light. It didn't take long before it disappeared, leaving virtually nothing behind aside from a faint scar. Satisfied with his work, Noah patted her arm before standing to his feet and surveying the rest of the room.

"Well, c'mon then." Noah said. "Let's hear that theory of yours one more time, before 'ol Leatherface comes back."

"Right." Lucia stood up and produced the box from her pocket, glancing at the inscription at the bottom. "So we've… or at least, I've experienced pain. Done. Now we need to learn from it, correct? What better place in a Hospital would there be to learn that from than the laboratory?"

"I'm not sure I follow."

"Look," Lucia sighed, "I've already explained this to you once but if we want to get to Griffith and his Shadow, we're going to need to fulfill some conditions. Griffith is being held in the Surgeon's Ward, remember? And when we were on the run from… from whatever kind of Shadow that was, it was locked. The key to that room in this box, I know it is."

"You know, I have no idea what's even happening anymore," Noah said, "So I'm going to defer judgment to you from here on out."

Lucia nodded and walked around the perimeter of the laboratory, inspecting the equipment and looking for clues that might tell them what to do next. Like the rest of the hospital, the lab was in a state of utter disarray. None of the medical equipment scattered across the countertops seemed to be in any kind of working order. Lucia didn't expect any of them to, but she felt it in her gut that they were in the right place. It was all a matter of figuring out what they needed to accomplish.

"How…" Lucia whispered, softly. "How do you think they're doing?"

"Who? Matt and Robin?" Noah chuckled. "I'm sure they're doing fine." He briefly recalled coming back to them in Lucia's labyrinth only to find them trying to kill each other. "Hopefully."

"I never thought I'd be on friendly terms with them, you know. I hardly got along with anyone really aside from Griffith, but if I had a choice they wouldn't have been it." Lucia inspected a machine with a blinking green light with slight interest. "Particularly Tesla. We never saw eye to eye… but that was always my fault."

"You were jealous," Noah thought aloud, "if I'm remembering right."

"…Yes." Lucia nodded. "For silly reasons. Griffith always did have a lot of friends but he was closer to Robin than most others. The only other female aside from me. I felt threatened. I was protective. Territorial, even. I thought she'd steal Griffith away from me. I treated her like dirt… always belittled her, usually behind Griffith's back."

"You know," Noah said, "You really should be telling Robin this, not me."

"I'm aware." Lucia said with a slight grimace. "It's just… I'm still getting used to talking to her in general. It's… I suppose it's just…"

"It's hard, I know." Noah said. "No one likes to admit they're wrong. No offense but you, especially. And no one's rushing you either. An apology isn't worth giving if it isn't sincere. Take your time, Lucia. Robin can wait."

"…Thank you, Scofield. I needed to hear that." Lucia smiled before stumbling across a tray of test tubes on the countertop, each one with blank white labels and caps. There was a chute next to the tray that read DEPOSIT BLOOD SAMPLES HERE in hastily scrawled permanent ink. A blinking orange machine sat adjacent to the chute with a thin slot in the front. Lucia picked up the test tube and studied the chute with curiosity, glancing down at her blood-stained sleeves.

An idea occurred to Lucia. She settled the tube down and pinched the fabric of her clothing between her fingers and her teeth, pulling away and tearing off a piece. Picking the test tube up again, Lucia took the bloodstained fabric and dabbed the inside surface of the tube, coating it with some of the fresher blood. When she was finished, Lucia capped the tube and placed it on the tray, scribbling her name down on the label with a pen she kept in her pocket before dumping the contents of the tray down the chute.

Hearing the noise, Noah looked up.

"What was that? What did you do?"

"I'm not sure yet." Lucia mused. "But we'll find out soon enough."

'Soon enough' arrived much quicker than Lucia had anticipated. In just a few short minutes the machine with the blinking orange light flashed to a solid green, roaring to life. Lucia stared at it in wonder as the machine began printing page after page of information, an endless parade of white sheets falling to the floor in rapid succession. Once the machine had finished printing off its pages, Lucia kneeled down and collected them into a neat stack, flipping through the pages to decipher context from any of them.

"It's gibberish…" Lucia said after a time, disappointed. The pages all contained wholly non interpretable information. Data sets of diseases she could not identify and medical terminology that flew completely over her head filled row after row… except for one thing. "Wait a minute…"

"What is it?" Noah looked over her shoulder. "Find anything?"

With a trembling finger, Lucia pointed to the patient's name in the upper right hand corner of one of the pages. Noah squinted and then pulled away in confusion, looking from the page to Lucia.

"What… but that's… who is…?"

Written in bold, black ink was the name: Isabelle Triton.

"Who is Isabelle Triton?" Noah looked at Lucia who stared at the name, her face blank. "Griffith's never mentioned a sister… and neither have you. What's going on?"

"Noah…" Lucia slowly turned her head towards him, her face pale. "I think I'm starting to understand… just what this all means. But… I don't want to make any conclusions about what it could all mean. Not until we hear it straight from Griffith himself."

She rolled the papers up into a tube and shoved it into her pocket, walking to the door and setting her hand on the handle. She pressed her ear against the cold metal, straining to listen once again for the chainsaw-wielding Shadow from earlier. Hearing nothing, she slowly pushed down, gently prying open the door until there was just a crack. Lucia peered through into the dimly lit hallway and looked over her shoulder at Noah who nodded in understanding, following in step and pulling the door open the rest of the way.

"We're headed to the Pharmacy next, Scofield." Lucia said as she stepped past the door frame. "Let's hope we don't run into that Shadow again."

"Let's not get our hopes up." Noah said.

"And I thought you were supposed to be the optimist of the bunch." Lucia frowned. Not wanting to waste any more time on idle chit chat, Lucia swung around and started walking down the hallway with Noah close behind. The Shadow was nowhere in sight, thankfully, and the Pharmacy wasn't too far.

They rounded a few more corners and trekked down a few more narrow corridors before they arrived into a fairly wide, open space. Dozens of rotting chairs were arranged in neat rows in the center of the area, almost forming a maze-like structure. At the back wall close to the seating arrangements was a row of kiosks numbered one through ten, an abandoned Pharmacy clinic visible through the patient to receptionist windows. Iron shutters covered every window except for number nine.

"That's our destination." Lucia said, pointing a finger to the window.

"Something to do with that diagnostics report you have?" Noah asked.

"Yes… I'm almost sure of it." With a confident nod, Lucia stepped forward…

…But not before Noah came up from behind her, clamping a hand over her mouth and yanking her down to the floor behind the rows of chairs. As Lucia struggled in his grip, Noah's eyes widened and his heart thudded in his chest. The familiar sound of the chainsaw had come from nowhere, and in the hallway throughway adjacent to the kiosks, the Shadow had appeared. Whether or not it had seen them was a question Noah did not know the answer to, but he didn't want to risk finding out.

"Scofield, let me go!" Lucia muttered angrily. "I can take care of myself!"

"Lucia, would you relax!?" Noah shushed. "The Shadow is right there!"

In her laser-narrow view of her objective, all of Lucia's other senses seemed to have faded. Her ears perked up and her eyes turned into saucers once she heard the serrated, gasoline-powered weapon.

The two of them had already tried to fight it once, but the Shadow was unstoppable. It deflected every attack they sent its way with ease and no matter how much damage they dealt it, its onslaught continued ever onwards. It had the general body shape of a human, but its proportions were wrong. Its arms were too long and its legs were too short, and yet somehow it remained a large, formidable foe. It had human-like skin and yet it was completely naked with no gender-defining genitalia. It had no face, or at least not one they could readily identify as it donned a bloodied leather rucksack over its head. There weren't even holes for eyes; the rucksack was completely free of blemishes aside from the crimson streaks.

"We're going to crawl." Noah whispered. "Follow my lead."

"Crawl?" Lucia grabbed at Noah's shirt and gave him a look like he was out of his mind. "Are you insane? We should go back the way we came and try to lose it again—"

"We're running out of time." Noah whispered, curtly. "Every second we waste here is one more second Griffith succumbs to his Shadow. We need to get to that clinic now. Don't worry Lucia, I'll keep us both safe. You trust me, don't you?"

Lucia looked away in trepidation before giving him a hesitant nod.

Smiling at her, Noah crawled around her and peered over the corner of the chairs at the Shadow which trekked back and forth between the very front of the kiosks and the chairs, holding its weapon at the ready. Biting his lip, Noah crawled around the corner and into the maze of chairs, taking cover between one of them as Lucia followed closely behind.

To Noah's horror, the Shadow turned and walked into the arranged chairs, its heavy footsteps drawing closer and closer to their position. There was one path to the left and one path to the right. The Shadow approached from the left, so Noah had no choice but to duck to the right, keeping close to the edge of the chairs in order to avoid detection. Lucia followed too as Noah silently crawled forward, his pace steady and slow as he tried to produce as little noise as was humanly possible.

After what seemed like an eternity, they came to the end of the row as Noah hugged the very end, pressing his back up against the side of the chair as Lucia followed his example. The Shadow swung around the end of the corner where they used to be hiding, giving them no time to relax as they broke away from their position and moved forward towards the kiosks, crawling past the chairs.

As they broke away from the seating arrangements and neared the kiosk wall, the Shadow suddenly produced a haunting, guttural growl from whatever kind of throat Shadows had as it arrived at Noah and Lucia's original starting point. Looking over their shoulders, Noah and Lucia exchanged glances as they wondered what that could have meant. A thought occurred to Lucia and she began patting down her body, checking her back pockets before her face paled once again and she looked back towards the Shadow.

The Shadow bent down and scooped up a piece of paper from the floor. The paper gracefully fell to the floor as the Shadow stood there for a moment, processing. Enraged, the Shadow suddenly flew into a frenzy as it flung its weapon left and right, striking the corners of the chairs as it increased the pace of its search, stalking forwards with faster steps and disappearing into the hallway that led towards the Diagnostics Lab.

With a shaky, relieved sigh, Lucia grinned at Noah, her face glistening with a thin film of sweat.

"I dropped my map."

"…Let's get into the Pharmacy, before that Shadow realizes we're here."

Nodding in agreement, Lucia stood up and examined the kiosk desk where there would normally be an attendant giving them their desired prescription. The clinic inside was pitch black and it was difficult to make out any details. On the desk itself there was a single black tray and a bell along with an assortment of used pens, pencils and note pads. Tapping a finger to her chin, Lucia unrolled the stack of papers from her pocket and stared at them before placing them into the black tray. She set them down inside and hesitantly rang the bell.

"There's no one inside there, Lucia." Noah said.

"I know." Lucia said. "But let's wait…"

From nowhere, a pair of dark, abstract appendages slowly reached out, seizing hold of the tray and taking it back into the black abyss of the Pharmacy clinic. Noah gave Lucia a look that she ignored as some time passed before the appendages returned, leaving something behind in place of the tray. Lucia stepped closer and retrieved the object, turning it over in her hands before she handed it off to Noah.

It was a pill bottle. Like with the papers, Isabelle Triton's name was written on the label. The name of some kind of drug was directly beneath it. What interested Noah most about the bottle, however, was the object contained within.

"It's a key…" Noah said.

"And what do keys do?" Lucia smiled.

"Keys…" Noah mused, "unlock things?"

"Your powers of deduction never cease to impress me." Lucia said, dryly.

With a bemused snort, Noah unscrewed the cap and deposited the key into his hands as Lucia retrieved the pink lockbox from inside of her pocket, handing it off to Noah. Noah gingerly accepted it from Lucia and carefully inserted the key into the hole. It was a perfect fit as it slid inside with ease. Noah turned the key gingerly and without warning, the box sprang open, causing Noah to yelp out in surprise and drop it to the floor. A handful of pictures cascaded to the floor in a flutter along with another key that fell into the pile with a metallic ping.

"…You know," Lucia commented, "It's a good thing you don't plan on becoming a doctor anytime soon. Steady hands and all that."

Noah gave her a sheepish grin as he kneeled to the ground with the intent to collect everything before he froze, shock-still. He picked up one photo, then another, and then another before he threw them back onto the ground with a noise of disgust. Lucia raised her eyebrows.

"What's the matter Scofield?"

"Those photos are what's the matter." Noah replied. "Take a look if you want. I wouldn't recommend it."

Lucia bent down alongside Noah and picked up a single photograph and immediately felt her dinner come back up her throat once her eyes saw the image.

"What… what is this?" Lucia wondered aloud, horrified.

"It's the same girl from the other photo in Griffith's wallet." Noah said. "And I'm pretty sure she's Isabelle Triton. Who else could she be? Lucia, did Griffith ever tell you he had a sister?"

"He never told me a thing." Lucia said, shaking her head. "But this…"

"It's all coming together." Noah said. "I know you've figured it out too. All we really have to do now is hear it from Griffith himself. We'll find out who she is and what happened to her. Are you ready to hear the truth?"

With an uncomfortable nod, Lucia stood up and followed Noah as they headed down the hallway towards the Surgeon's Ward. Lucia threw one last look over her shoulder at the pictures in the lockbox before shaking her head and moving onwards.

On every single photograph from a variety of different angles was the unknown girl sitting in a reclining operating chair. They were all in the same place taken at the same time. Her eyes were closed and she looked peaceful. What made Noah and Lucia uncomfortable, however, was the fact that her head was split wide open. Her scalp was cut and pulled back, a square portion of her skull removed, leaving the bright pink tissue of her brain completely exposed.

[ September 13th, 2012 | Alice's Labyrinth | 12:07 AM ]

"It's here, it's gotta be!"

Robin excitedly pointed to a location on a map she and Matthew had acquired within Alice's labyrinth. Her index finger rested on the name to a location: VIP Backstage Room. Matthew took the map and looked at Robin, then back at the map, and then back at Robin again.

With a frustrated sigh, Matthew said, "I wonder why."

"What, don't believe me?" Robin frowned.

"Oh, no, it's not that." Matthew said. "It's the fact that, oh, I dunno, maybe that every other room we've been to hasn't been the one I've been telling us to go to and the VIP Backstage is the one I've been saying we should go to this whole time but you never fucking listen to me?"

As he said this, he swept his hand across the rest of the map over the dozens of crossed out rooms they had already visited. Robin followed his gesture with a blank stare.

"Hey, buddy," Robin said with a friendly pat on Matthew's back, "There's no need for that kind of language."

Matthew slapped Robin's hand away and grunted before folding the map back up and putting it into his backpack sling. "You know what, whatever, at least we know where we're going."

Sticking his nose into the air, Matthew stomped away from Robin who chuckled and fell in line with him. Robin bounced her bat off of the walls as they walked together, filling the silence with some kind of noise to ease the growing tension as they grew closer and closer to their final goal: Alice and her Shadow. In a way, she was surprised the two of them had come so far and on their own no less. It was less that she had insufficient faith in their abilities and more to do with the fact that they were the pair without Noah, by his nature easily the strongest member of the team.

"You know," Matthew spoke absentmindedly, "I don't really know Alice."

"Hm… you got a point." Robin nodded. "She don't know the group. Just me."

"I mean, then again, I don't really know anyone." Matthew said. "I didn't really know Lucia, I don't know Alice, and I don't know Griffith."

"True, true." Robin said. "What's your point?"

"I guess I'm curious." Matthew admitted with a shrug. "About him, about Alice… you're not in here unless you have a problem."

"Well, shit, I dunno." Robin said, scratching her head sheepishly. "Griffith's always been a real cheerful dude so I ain't sure. Probably got somethin' to do with Princess now that I think about it, her bein' all 'stone cold bitch' to him back at the beach. As for Alice…" She paused, stopping to think. "I really don't know. Alice never really had any problems… I mean, back then she did but that stuff wouldn't have come up now. She did start actin' all funny once Noah came here though."

"Once Noah came here?" Matthew said, doubtful.

"Yeah, it was super weird. She thought he was some kinda' asshole that was out to get me. Really didn't like the guy and I still don't know why." She shrugged helplessly and continued, "But hey, ain't that why we here? We're gonna' find out either way, yeah?"

"Right." Matthew agreed. "Do you think they're okay?"

"Do I think they're okay?" Robin scoffed. "I think they're great. I think they're fantastic even. In fact, Noah, Lucia, and Griffith are probably sitting at an ice cream bar right now havin' the time of their damn lives and wonderin' when the hell we're gonna be done. So yeah, Matt. To answer your question, fuck yeah, you're damn right I think they're 'okay'."

"I'm sensing some unresolved bitternes…"

"I'm just messin'." Robin laughed, elbowing Matthew's shoulder. "I'm just sayin' if Noah's there, things oughta' be just fine. We're the ones that need worryin', you feel me?"

"I feel you." Matthew nodded. "We've been doing great up until now, I think. Aside from that WWE reject, it's only been a bunch of smaller Shadows until now. We're in great shape."

"Hell yeah, man!"

As Matthew and Robin rounded a corner, however, something went wrong. Farther down the hallway was their current objective: a door with the words 'VIP Backroom' written in bold letters. The problem, however, lay just a few short feet beyond it. A human-sized, black hole swirled in midair, its rims touched with a hint of glowing red. There was a familiar red aura billowing out from within, an aura that was familiar to both of them. It was the same aura that appeared whenever a Shadow transformed post-rejection of its human counterpart.

Before either of them could get a word out, a black form stumbled out from within the endless black, falling onto what were presumably its hands and knees to the ground. Matthew and Robin traded worried looks as the figure stayed still for a minute, the black mist swirling around its body ceaseless and never ending.

"This is weird…" Matthew grimaced, readying his broadsword and taking a hesitant step back at the sight of the form. "I don't like this. Is that Alice's Shadow? If it is, where is Alice?"

"Hell if I know." Robin muttered, taking her bat from a sling wound across her chest and holding it in front of her. "At the end of the day, a Shadow's a Shadow. It's going down like all the others."

Silent as the night, the black form slowly stood to its feet. It moved what looked to be its head left and right in a manner that suggested it was cracking its neck. The form lifted its arms and stared at them at length, turning them and twisting them around as if it were some kind of newly created life form. For all Matthew and Robin knew, that was exactly what it might have been.

"What the fuck are we standin' around for?" Robin hissed. "Waitin' for it to achieve the next stage of evolution? Fuck common courtesy, let's go!"

"Would you wait a damn second!?" Matthew snapped, holding his arm out and stopping her as she stepped forward. He strained his eyes and studied the black form more closely. He stepped forward and commanded, "Baldr, Agi!"

Robin hushed as Baldr materialized behind Matthew, a ball of fire rocketing towards the unknown form at high speed. Mere seconds prior to colliding with whatever it was, the black form's arm snapped up, the fireball blazing out into tiny embers as it struck the appendage. The attack had eliminated a chunk of the black mist, revealing…

…A human hand.

"It is Alice's Shadow!" Robin cried, jabbing her bat in the form's direction. "See the hand! That ain't no normal Shadow!"

"Something's off…" Matthew frowned. "If it is… where…?"

And then the black form spoke.

"Ah, shit, that took a lot longer than I thought it would." The form shook its arms, even more of the mist dissipating into the air. "And she never mentioned whatever the hell all of this stuff is… gross…"

Those hands… those arms are enormous. Matthew thought, confused. And the most damning thing… that was a man's voice. He glanced at Robin whose expression mirrored his: utter confusion.

"You know, that wasn't very nice." The black form continued, raising the volume of its voice at the two of them. "Attacking a guy when he isn't ready isn't very polite. And here I thought you were supposed to be the good guys. Never judge a book by its cover, I guess."

By this point, almost all of the black mist had disappeared. It was large and stocky, but the form beneath was most definitely human as far as they could decipher. It wore a long, black trench coat buttoned up all the way, as well as black dress pants and black shoes to compliment the already dreary color scheme. Beneath the coat there was a white dress shirt and black tie. There was a sheathed long sword strapped to his back. As their eyes traveled up the form's body, the black mist finally fell away from its head, revealing the identity hidden behind it.

"Y-You!?" The man pointed a finger at the two of them in shocked. "It was so hard to see you with that crap around my face. I saw a boy and a girl and I thought… no!"

Matthew and Robin stepped back at a complete loss for words, similarly surprised but for entirely different reasons.

"Why is it… damn it!" The man kicked the wall in rage, brick giving way as his foot crashed clean through as if the wall were made out of weak cardboard. "That dumb bitch sent me here? Seriously? She doesn't make mistakes. Does she not trust me? Does she think I'm too weak? Is this some kind of test? She probably thinks I couldn't handle them alone… that's the only explanation. What a disappointment…"

Unable to bear the confusion any longer, Robin pushed past Matthew and yelled, "W-What the hell are you doing here?"

The man suddenly stopped, mulling over Robin's question for a bit before he raised his arms in surrender and sighed.

"Alright bitch, we'll do things your way." He raised his lips to the ceiling and shouted, "Not like I have a damn choice, right?"

His eyes fell to Matthew and Robin. The two opposing forces stared each other down for a good long while, sizing each other up.

Suddenly, the man dashed forward with inhuman speed, one gloved hand unsheathing the man's weapon and the other extending outwards. He was upon them in just seconds.

His next words made the Persona pair's blood run ice cold.

"Persona!"

[ September 13th, 2012 | Triton Hospital – Surgeon's Ward | 12:07 AM ]

Noah looked at Lucia as the two of them stood in front of the large, steel double-doors that the map said led to the surgery room. She gave him a confident nod. Noah breathed a heavy sigh and produced the key they had acquired just moments ago from the pill bottle at the Pharmacy. He inserted it into the lock and turned it, mechanisms inside of the door shifting as it slowly swung wide open without either of them needing to do anything.

There he was.

Or, to be more precise, there they were.

Lying on an operating table in the center of the room illuminated by a dull yellow light was Griffith Triton. Even from where Noah and Lucia stood from a good distance away they could tell that he had been crying. His eyes were bloodshot red and there were dry rivulets left behind from the tears and snot that had been running out from his eyes and his nose. He was strapped in tight; leather belts were bound over his arms and his ankles, securing him in place and leaving little to no room for escape. More worryingly was the metal contraption sitting above his head, a large, circular, serrated saw ready to slice into his scalp.

Off to the side stood what was undoubtedly his Shadow.

Dressed from top to bottom in a stereotypical doctor's outfit, Shadow Griffith swiveled around to greet his guests. He wore a white lab coat that fell just past his knees and thin, rectangular glasses on his face. In his breast pocket there hung a stethoscope that was draped loosely around his neck. Though his clothing was professional, the manner in which he wore it was not. Everything about him was disheveled: his hair, his face, his coat which hung off of one shoulder, his tie which sloppily done, even one shoe was missing off of his feet.

"Our guests have arrived." Shadow Griffith smiled, placing his hands into the pockets of his coat. "Just in time for the operation."

"There isn't going to be an operation!" Lucia snapped angrily. "Not while I'm here."

"But his sickness is life-threatening, dear Lucia." Shadow Griffith said, lovingly caressing the machine that could dismember Griffith at a moment's notice. "I take all debilitating conditions in equal measure… even the emotional ones."

"Lucia?" Griffith turned his head slightly, his eyes on her in genuine surprise. "This is some wacked-out dream…"

"Still clinging on to the false hope that this is a dream, huh?" Shadow Griffith chuckled. "We'll clear that little delusion up in no time."

"You're going to be alright, Griffith." Lucia said, in a soothing manner that caught even her off guard. "We're going to save you, Noah and I."

Griffith looked at her as if he were having a difficult time believing that she was actually there. He was torn. On one hand, he was indescribably happy that she was there. Lucia was a comfort to him in ways that even she did not realize. The sight of her alone steadied the rapid beat of his heart, at least somewhat. On the other, their last several encounters had left him feeling shattered and empty. He was used to Lucia and her personality. They had been close, extremely so, for all four years of their high school career. But the way she outright rejected him and everything they had had broken his unbreakable spirit into pieces. With a shaky sigh, Griffith turned his head away and tried his hardest to stop himself from blubbering like a child.

"Griffith…" Lucia whispered.

Shadow Griffith stepped between his 'patient' and Lucia, clicking his tongue with disappointment. "It looks like my patient isn't taking visitors right now. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you…" He narrowed his eyes at Noah as well, "Both of you to leave."

"We're not going anywhere." Noah said adamantly.

At the sound of Noah's voice, Griffith's head turned once again, his eyes wild with confusion. "N-Noah?" Griffith sputtered in shock. "What are you doing in my dream? This is new!"

"I wish this was a dream, Griffith." Noah said, sadly. "But it isn't."

"Huh? What do you mean…?"

"Oh, Griffith…" Shadow Griffith sighed. "Even your friends are telling you that truth is right in front of you, before your very eyes! All you have to do is believe. Believe in yourself, believe in your friends, and if you're feeling up to it…" Shadow Griffith licked his lips and flashed his white teeth. "Believe in me."

Griffith went silent at his Shadow's suggestion and growled, bitterly, through clenched teeth, "Never. I'm never going to believe in you because you're not real. No matter what you say, no matter what you tell me, no matter what stupid shit comes out of that mouth of yours, you're not me."

Shadow Griffith trembled at Griffith's denial. There was a cardiac monitor situated next to Griffith's table that was hooked up directly to him and it spiked, briefly. Shadow Griffith steadied himself on the table's edge, masking half of his face with one hand as his yellow eyes glowed brightly beneath his fingers.

"That was a much more visceral denial than I anticipated." Shadow Griffith breathed. "It looks like what I've been saying up until now really got to you, huh? You're a really sick guy at heart… playing around with Lucia like you have. It must kill you to know that your secret's out…"

"The fuck do you mean?" Griffith said, his tone edgy.

"Let's just drop the act, okay?" Shadow Griffith flourished his coat and tossed his spectacles to the side, running his hands through his hair as a carefree smile spread across his lips. "Besides, I'm sure your guests can enlighten you… if they're standing here, now, then there's no way they couldn't."

"Griffith," Lucia pressed, "Its alright. I already saw the photographs. You don't have to explain yourself to me. I just want to get you out of here safe and sou—"

"Talk, talk, talk, is that all this bitch does?" Shadow Griffith mimicked Lucia with his hand as an impromptu puppet. "Of course he does. Of course we do. After all the trouble of coming here to find us and rescue you, don't you think they deserve that much, me? C'mon… you can't keep this a secret forever. You know we can't. So let's just… be honest! Okay? As the saying goes… acceptance is the first step to moving on."

"You're not going to tell them shit!" Griffith snarled, struggling against his bindings with all the strength he could muster.

"It's hard, isn't it?" Shadow Griffith said pitifully as he pouted his lips and folded his arms behind his back. "Lying like this to yourself for four straight years. Lying to her for four straight years, Christ. How do you do it? How do I do it?"

"Stop, damn it!" Griffith was desperate now, the hacksaw above him cutting into his forehead as he thrashed violently. "Shut your fucking mouth or I'll shut it for you!" The cardiac monitor hooked up to his arm beeped wildly, Griffith's heart rate jumping up and down almost as much as he did as Shadow Griffith shot him a look of utter derision.

"You looked just like her." Shadow Griffith smiled, his eyes boring deeply into Lucia so much so that it made her cringe. "Down to the smallest details. The very first time we laid eyes on you, we thought we'd seen a ghost."

Griffith, hopeless and broken, released a guttural bellow from deep within his soul that gave even Shadow Griffith pause.

"Tell me, Lucia…" Shadow Griffith's gaze was inquisitive and curious. "How does it feel to be a substitute?"

Lucia's eyes narrowed. "A substitute?"

"Come on, Lucia. You're a smart girl." Shadow Griffith paced alongside the barrier separating them and the two Persona users, his eyes distant. "Those photos weren't you. And you didn't know Griffith when you were that age. Everything you've seen up until now, everything that you've done to get here? Do you honestly believe that Isabelle Triton is just a pet name for you?"

Lucia's lips were pursed, her eyes slowly shifting to Griffith who had since turned his face away and was sobbing to himself quietly. Shadow Griffith, satisfied with her silence, continued.

"You never questioned it, did you? Why Griffith insisted on staying with you constantly for four long years." Shadow Griffith looked thoughtful, rubbing his chin and smiling nostalgically. "People thought we were dating for the longest time, still do. We heard the rumors but it didn't matter to me. They could think what they wanted because it wasn't true. You were all that mattered. With you, we could pretend like nothing ever happened."

"Dude…" Griffith's voice was weak. "Please… I'm begging you…"

But it was far too late.

"We could pretend like she wasn't dead." Shadow Griffith said, solemnly. "We could pretend like she never died. Isabelle was right here, with us! She's had an attitude adjustment, but we could pretend like the operation changed her, for better or for worse. She's the same little Isabelle we knew and loved, right? There's a reason she looked just like her! It couldn't have been a coincidence! Right!?"

Shadow Griffith tossed his head back and laughed and laughed and laughed.

When he stopped, he was deathly serious.

"The sad fact of the matter is that Isabelle Triton is dead. Deader than dead. Maggot infested, buried six feet under, singing with the angels in Heaven dead. And there is no power not in Heaven or on Earth that will bring her back." Shadow Griffith slowly turned his gaze back onto Griffith. "We may not like that, but that's a fact. But hey." And then his yellow eyes were glued back to Lucia. "As long as you're here, we can keep living this lie. You can keep on playing the part of 'dead little sis' that you never knew you were playing. We can keep pretending and acting as if you were the real thing."

Shadow Griffith's speech had reduced Lucia to a shell, her shoulders sagging and her head dropped. Her blonde head of hair hung around her face like a veil, masking her features. Griffith was sobbing uncontrollably, his sobs loud and unrestrained. Hot, wet tears ran down his face in thick streams, soaking his already damp clothing. Noah stood off to the side watching the events unfold with anger, his fists clenched tight and his teeth grinding together in agitation.

"I'll…" Lucia spoke, her voice trembling, "I'll never forgive you…"

Shadow Griffith smiled at that, his eyes widening. "Hey, did you hear that?" Shadow Griffith pressed his ear to the barrier. "Are you hearing this, me?"

"Yes, Griffith, are you listening?" Lucia raised her head a bit, strands of hair falling away from her face. "I said I'll never forgive you."

"It's just as bad as you thought it'd be." Shadow Griffith sneered. "She hates you."

"I'm not talking to him." Lucia snarled, fully lifting her face and fixing Shadow Griffith with the most hateful glare he had ever witnessed from her. "I'm talking to you."

Shadow Griffith looked taken aback.

"…Me?"

"I'll never forgive anyone who makes Griffith cry like you did." Lucia marched up to the barrier with heavy, confident steps until she was nose to nose with Shadow Griffith, her gaze never breaking away from his for even a moment. "To be honest, right now I don't give a damn about whether or not Griffith accepts or rejects you. All I can say for certain is that I'm going to beat you within an inch of your life until I have you on your knees, apologizing to Griffith until he can accept what he's done and you're locked up nice and tight inside of him, never to show your face again."

"…You're…" Shadow Griffith's jaw hung wide open. "You're crazy…"

Even Noah, normally stoic and composed, stared at Lucia with lips parted and eyes wide. Shadow Griffith tumbled away from the barrier, an enraged scowl contorting his features. The Shadow gripped the operating table behind him, whirling around to glare at himself. "Do you hear that?" It hissed in a low voice. "Looks like you and I can keep living a lie after all! Go figure! Are you happy, me? Are you happy to know that your substitute little sister isn't mad at you after all? Come on, out with it!"

"…Of course I'm not." Griffith whispered quietly. "You ruined everything…"

"Don't you get it!?" Shadow Griffith violently shoved the saw away from Griffith's face. He took his head between his hands and looked down at him with a sadistic grin. "She's not mad! We get off scot free!"

"You keep calling her substitute sister this, substitute sister that…" Griffith turned his head away. "I would never call Lucia that."

Seeing his window of opportunity, Shadow Griffith leaned in closer. "But we would. Because we thought those things, once. At one time, that's all she was. Nothing better than someone to replace her. We used Lucia. And we didn't even have the common courtesy to fill her in on the gag."

"…Stop." Griffith said, a little more forcefully.

"And why should I?" Shadow Griffith asked. "All the things I've said are all the things you've said… or at the very least, thought. You seem to be having a tough time coming to terms with a very simple truth. And the minute you accept that truth, this will all be over in no time."

"And what would that truth be?"

"That you're me." Shadow Griffith said, matter-of-factly. "And I'm you."

The suggestion brought a shade of disgust to Griffith's face. "You must be out of your mind…" Griffith shook his head against his restraints, silently mouthing the words before they came dribbling out of his lips. "You're not me…"

Griffith's denial was like electricity to his Shadow as Shadow Griffith seized up, groaning and convulsing over the table. He stuck his ear close to Griffith's lips and smiled. "One more time for me, please?"

Griffith lifted his head and growled, "You're. Not. Me."

With a high-pitched giggle, Shadow Griffith stumbled off of the operating table, the telltale red aura gathering around the soles of his shoes as he threw a look over his shoulder at Lucia whose arms were folded, her expression blank. "Looks like I get to have some fun after all!" Shadow Griffith cackled, his doctor's coat billowing out behind him and his arms extended towards the ceiling. "I hope you kids told your parents you loved them! Because I'm afraid you'll be staying at the hospital… indefinitely! The only way you'll be leaving this place now is in a bodybag!"

Shadow Griffith allowed one last, throaty laugh as the barrier between them shattered. As the aura gathered around his body, Lucia dashed forward and desperately began undoing the straps keeping Griffith locked in place. Griffith looked up at her in a daze, his hand gingerly stroking her cheek as his lower lip trembled. Lucia smiled reassuringly, clasping his hand in her own and setting it down gently.

"It's my turn to protect you." Lucia said determinedly.

As she said the words, Shadow Griffith's aura exploded behind her. Lucia's hair whipped wildly about her face as she shielded Griffith's body with her own. It wasn't long before the red mist began to settle. Behind her came the sound of a low, hollow groan. Her breath catching in her throat and her heart thudding in her chest, Lucia stepped away from Griffith's operating table and slowly turned around to face what monstrosity stood before her. It dawned upon her, then, that this would be her first time facing someone's Shadow.

As her eyes settled on the Shadow before her, she realized that deep down, she was terrified.

"I am a Shadow," Shadow Griffith droned. "The true self."

The Shadow was massive, much larger than Lucia would have thought to predict. It was wrapped from head to toe in dirty, bloodied bandages that exposed tiny bits of flesh in random patches all across its body. Like the girl in the photograph, Shadow Griffith's head was split wide open down the middle, revealing a large, pink brain pulsing beneath a metal apparatus fixed onto its head. Its face was gaunt and hollow, its cheeks bones and its eyes sunken in. The Shadow gnashed its rotting teeth as saliva dripped down onto the ground. The Shadow, surrounded on either side by Noah and Lucia, crouched down and growled as a ring of blue lightning crackled around its feet. Lucia could feel the energy in the air building and building.

"Lucia," Noah called, Odin already at his side, "Get ready!"

"What… I…" Lucia stepped back, fear taking control of her motor skills. "I can't…"

"Yes, you can!" Noah said. "Don't you dare chicken out on me now! What happened to all that 'never forgive anyone' shit? Don't throw the game before you've even stepped up to bat! Griffith needs you!"

"That's enough." Shadow Griffith snarled. It slammed its fists onto the ground sending a massive shockwave of lightning in Noah's direction. Caught off guard, Noah was caught in its path, crying out as the blast of energy enveloped his body.

Seeing Noah in pain snapped Lucia out of her stupor. Snarling, she held her hand out and screamed, "Persona!" Sif materialized before her, golden hair blowing in the wind and short sword already poised for battle. "Sif, Rampage!"

Needing no further incentive, Sif leapt forward. The warrior Persona's blade danced in the air at speeds that Lucia could not follow, cuts and ribbons of red appearing all over Shadow Griffith's heavily bandaged body. Each swing of its weapon sent more and more scraps to the floor, causing Shadow Griffith to roar in pain. It crossed its arms, shielding itself from the brunt of the onslaught. Lucia stood her ground, focusing her attacks with razor-thin precision as she tried to buy as much time as she could for Noah to recover.

"You annoying little insect!" Shadow Griffith bellowed. Tired of being on the defensive, the hulking brute snapped its arms forward, blowing Sif backwards. Once again, blue crackling energy hummed in the air, signaling the advent of another attack.

"Saki Mitama!" Noah yelled from behind, his voice hoarse. "Sukunda!"

He has more than one… I almost forgot. Lucia thought.

She watched as a debilitating yellow light appeared around Shadow Griffith's bandaged form. It hardly seemed to register Noah's 'attack' before it slammed its fists to the ground again, causing another shockwave of energy to explode outwards. Lucia braced herself for the hit, and then opened her eyes slowly in surprise when she felt a sudden rush zoom past. The shockwave had just narrowly avoided striking her, a wanton path of destruction left behind in the wake of the attack.

Shadow Griffith stared at its hands in frustration, whirling around to face Noah. "I won't let you interfere any more. Now this is personal." Abandoning all pretense of restraint, Shadow Griffith lunged forward, dashing towards Noah at an alarming speed. With a short curse, Noah threw himself to the side, Shadow Griffith's massive foot catching him off balance as the Shadow blew past, knocking him off balance. Noah stumbled to the ground gracelessly as Shadow Griffith slid to a stop, turning itself around as it did.

"Don't move." Shadow Griffith said, ominously. "I have you two right where I want you."

It kneeled down yet again, preparing itself for another shockwave. Noah picked himself up off the ground and came to Lucia's side. "Get ready! I'm going to hit it with another—"

But Shadow Griffith gave him no time. Instead of sending another electric shockwave however, it hit itself with one instead. Confused, Noah stopped mid-sentence, his eyes reflecting the Shadow's body crackling with energy. In one moment, it stood there paralyzed from the power of its own self directed attack and in the next, it was gone.

"The hell?" Noah took a step back. "Where…?"

Shadow Griffith suddenly appeared just inches away from both of them.

Noah had only blinked.

"Die."

"Shit."

Rearing its crackling appendages back, Shadow Griffith swept them both in a violent arc. Both Noah and Lucia were caught by the attack, lightning surging through both of their bodies as they were sent tumbling head over heels in a heap. Lucia fared much worse than Noah, her eyelids fluttering and fresh blood dripping across her forehead and from the corners of her lips. She was in bad shape and Noah knew it.

Without thinking, Noah dove into his pockets and swore as his cards spread messily around them. He saw the Bead card poking out beneath the pile and reached out to grab it, but Shadow Griffith was already bearing down on their position. Its arms were raised high above its head with the clear intent to mash both of them into puddles of blood. Noah took Lucia in his arms and flung her off to the side, scrambling away from Shadow Griffith just as its meaty fists plunged into the ground. Though he had narrowly avoided getting crushed to nothing, an electric shockwave exploded outwards, jolting Noah in the aftermath.

As a reaction for reaction's sake, Noah screamed.

But he stopped.

Shadow Griffith's attack was barely hurting him.

Noah stood up with ease, causing Shadow Griffith to hesitate. Noah stared at his hands. It looked almost as if his body were channeling the lightning. Little arcs of electricity ran up and down his arms, lighting up his skin and imbuing him with a new sense of reinvigoration. Noah clenched his fist and looked up at Shadow Griffith who seemed unimpressed with Noah's newfound tolerance.

"So you can handle my Lightning?" Shadow Griffith slammed a fist into the ground. "Useless. If I can smash you to bits, it doesn't matter."

Shadow Griffith lunged forward and grabbed at nothing but thin air as Noah slid between its legs. "Odin, Cleave!" Odin's Gungnir slashed clean at Shadow Griffith's groin, dark blood jettisoning out from the gash onto Noah as he clambered to his feet. Shadow Griffith fell to its knees, screaming in pain as it held its hands to its crotch.

Sorry Griffith… Noah thought, wincing with empathy. That was a low blow.

"Enough is enough!" Shadow Griffith shrieked, standing to its feet on wobbly knees. "This is the end for you!"

"You're damn right." Noah said. "Odin, Cleave!"

Odin charged forward, the tip of Gungnir generating sparks along the ground as it rose and cut Shadow Griffith clean and deep across the chest. Shadow Griffith stumbled backwards in pain, clutching its chest as black blood spilled forth from the wound over its fingers, dripping onto the floor. Shadow Griffith snarled, fixing Noah in place with a terrible glare before a voice called out from behind.

"Sif!" Lucia struggled to her feet, her tarot card spinning in her hand. "Magna!"

The ground beneath Shadow Griffith's feet trembled momentarily before exploding out of the Earth, smashing upwards between its legs, smashing into its chest and face, and sending it skyward. Shadow Griffith roared, flailing its limbs helplessly as its loose bandages whipped around its body like tentacles. Noah and Lucia exchanged brief nods before lifting their gaze upwards, their tarot cards shattering in their hands.

"Odin, Cleave!"

"Sif! Rampage!"

It was over as soon as the last syllables left their lips as Odin and Sif leapt into the air, their weapons drawn. Shadow Griffith remained suspended in midair from the sheer momentum of Odin and Sif's combined onslaught as the two danced and weaved around Shadow Griffith, their weapons slicing and dicing his helpless form in midair. Black blood splashed the ground below as Noah and Lucia watched their Personas mercilessly attack Shadow Griffith with everything they had.

Soon, it was finished. Odin and Sif fell to the ground before Shadow Griffith as it fell between them in a heap, its body already dissipating into a black mist. Noah and Lucia took the places of their Personas as they dematerialized back into their tarot card forms. Shadow Griffith groaned in pain, rolling over onto its back and glaring at the two of them through one eye. It made to speak but stopped when Griffith put a hand on Lucia's shoulder, gently moving her aside as he stood over his Shadow.

"…You're me, huh?" Griffith held his face in his hands and sighed sadly. "Guess the secret's out. All that stuff I just saw… this isn't a dream."

"Took you a while, sport." Shadow Griffith smirked.

"Ugh, I'm glad I don't really act like you." Griffith blanched. He kneeled next to his Shadow and stared him straight in the eye, unflinching. "But I have to accept that I am you."

This admission rendered Shadow Griffith completely silent. The smirk fell from its lips and its eyes lost their hateful glare. Griffith fell back onto his haunches and rubbed the back of his head with an embarrassed look on his face.

"I've been living a lie for so long that I forgot that I was lying and believed the lie to be truth." Griffith admitted softly, his rambling directed at no one in particular. "I… lost my little sis to brain cancer earlier during my middle school years. That was hard for my family. That was hard for me, especially. She was everything to me. I loved her more than I loved myself, than my own mom and dad. Losing her… I didn't know how to cope. So I didn't. When I saw Lucia, it scared me. I thought Isabelle never died and I didn't know how to react at first. But she looked just how she would have and… you became like a surrogate sister to me without you even knowing."

Griffith turned his attention to Lucia who regarded him with a kind, gentle look that he wasn't used to seeing on her. Tears sprung forth from Griffith's eyes as he continued, "I'm… I'm really sorry Lucia. I used you. I never told you about her. I kept it a secret from you, from everyone. I didn't mean to hurt you I just…" Griffith sobbed quietly. Lucia slowly came forward and kneeled down next to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and stroking his hair. "You became my best friend and I forgot about it… I'm sorry… I'm really sorry…"

"It's alright." Lucia whispered. "It's okay. Let it out."

"You…" Griffith sniffled, looking over Lucia's shoulder at Shadow Griffith. "You are me… we're the same… I'm done running away from the past…"

Shadow Griffith nodded in knowing with a soft smile. The rest of it slowly disappeared into the atmosphere, a tarot card slowly descending from the Heavens in his place. Griffith released Lucia and took it in his palms, looking up in silent awe.

There, hovering in midair stood his Persona. A regal, powerful looking warrior dressed from head to toe in scaly, golden armor. There were symbols inscribed on its legs and its arms and platinum gauntlets and boots on its hands and feet. A thick, elegant cape was tied around its neck that billowed out behind it, only serving to make it look that much more commanding in its presence. A Viking-like helm sat atop the Persona's head, brilliant turquoise eyes illuminating from within. In its hand, the Persona gripped a massive, intimidating metal hammer with dozens of inscriptions carved into the handle and the weapon itself.

"Thor?" Griffith said in disbelief. "You're really my Persona? Wow… I'm… I'm honored…"

Thor nodded at his greeting, eventually disappearing in a calming blue mist. Griffith, exhausted from all of the events, remained sitting. He gasped for air and held his face in his hands, processing everything all at once.

"You alright Griffith?" Noah placed his hand on Griffith's shoulder comfortingly. "Take a breath man. You're going to be okay."

"What the fuck was all of this?" Griffith said. "You and Lucia… how long has this been going on?"

"Not very long at all, actually." Noah said with a shrug. "Matthew and Robin have this power too. In fact they're out there right now doing exactly what we are. Alice is going through the same thing."

"Alice…?" Griffith strained his thoughts, clenching his eyes. "Stonewall…? That's Seth's friend… What the hell is going on?"

"Nobody knows for sure." Noah said. "But we all know what you're going through right now. You're safe, now." He looked off into the distance and grimaced, his mind clouded with worry. "I just hope they are too…"

[ September 13th, 2012 | Alice's Labyrinth | 12:07 AM ]

"M… Matt…"

It was hard for Robin to see Matt's crumpled body through the blood dripping into her eyes. She reached a hand out, feeling around her immediate surroundings for her weapon. Her hand touched something solid and she quietly gasped, tightening her grip around it before slowly realizing that what her fingers were currently feeling was not her baseball bat. Rather, it was what—or more accurately who—she and Matthew had been trying to fruitlessly fend off ever since they arriving at Alice's labyrinth.

A foot descended upon her hand causing her to cry out in pain.

"Y… You…" Robin gasped, rolling over onto her back. "W-Why are you here…?"

Instead of answering, a gloved hand reached down and wrapped itself around her neck, lifting her up and slowly choking the life out of her. She kicked and struggled to no avail as their assailant gazed into her eyes calmly, coldly, as if he were disposing of a mere insect.

"C… C'mon, man…" Robin grinned lopsidedly, a trickle of blood rolling down her lips and onto the hand with a death grip around her throat. "I know you're… in there… somewhere… you ain't… gone…"

For a moment, the hold loosened, giving her much needed room to breathe.

"That's funny." It had been the first words she'd heard from the attacker ever since he had ambushed them just before reaching the presumable location of Alice and her Shadow. "You think I'm…?" The young man shook his head with a chuckle. "Oh man. You people are more delusional than she gave you credit for."

Delusional…? Robin thought, her mind drifting. She…?

"Whoever you think I am, whoever I once was… that person is gone, now." He brought Robin inches away from his face—giving Robin a clear, unobstructed view of his sickly pale yellow eyes—and continued, "I am a Shadow, the true self. If I bore any emotion towards you and everything you stand for, they would be naught but malice and contempt. I have forsaken my soul and I walk this world nameless as a Shadow of what I once was."

"I don't… b-buy that shit for a second…" Robin croaked, her fingers gripping the man's arm with all the strength left in her body as the rest of it slowly slipped away from her. "I know you're in there… S-Seth…"

Hearing the name gave Shadow Seth pause. His grip on Robin's neck loosened considerably and he even lowered her for a bit, allowing her toes to graze the floor. Shadow Seth stared at her sadly, the intensity of his bright yellow eyes fading. For a split second, Robin wondered whether or not she had managed to get through to Seth, if that was even possible.

That misconception was soon corrected.

Shadow Seth reared his fist back—his eyes never leaving Robin's—before he slammed it forcefully up into Robin's gut. The ferocity of Shadow Seth's punch drew out a strangled scream from Robin's throat, the weakened Persona user doubling over as copious amounts of blood ejected out from her lips, staining Shadow Seth's expressionless face and clothes. Her fingers dropped from Seth's arms, her arms dangling limply at her sides as she felt the last vestiges of her strength leave her entirely. Shadow Seth studied her lidded eyes, tilting his head to the side and frowning with disappointment. Sighing, he tossed her body alongside Matthew's and put his hands on his hips.

"And here I thought I might have had at least a little trouble." Shadow Seth grumbled under his breath. He stalked towards Robin and Matthew, the both of whom teetering on a fine line between the living and the dead.

Before he could get to them, however, he felt a critical shift in the fabric of their current reality. Shadow Seth stopped, surveying their surroundings with an eyebrow cocked. Slowly, but surely, the brick walls around them began rearranging themselves piece by piece. The light fixtures overhead receded, making way for more domestic decorations. Shadow Seth sighed again and examined his hand, his essence disappearing along with the immediate environment.

"Ah, well… It was fun while it lasted." Shadow Seth's eyes were on the two Persona users as he felt himself ascending to a different plane of reality. "Take care you two."

And with that, Robin and Matthew returned to the real world, barely breathing and barely alive.

Alice Stonewall had died.

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Fool (The Team): 3
Magician (Matthew): 3
Justice (Robin): 3
Emperor (Griffith): 2 + 1 = 3
Priestess (Lucia): 4
Strength (Alice): Deceased
Sun (Grace): 2
Devil (Nathaniel): 2
Moon (David): 2
Hermit (Monica): 2
Lovers (Maria): 1
Hanged Man (Christopher): 1
Tower (Seth): Deceased
Chariot (Arthur + Amber): 1
Temperance (Catherine + Robert): 5
Hierophant (Samuel): 1
Empress (Faith): 1
Death (Gwendolyn): 2