Persona Series Persona 3: Rogue Fool

_**[Thursday, April 16, 2009 - ?]**_

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><p>A young man opened his eyes to find himself in what appeared to be a large dark blue elevator. The thing that stood out was that the entirety of the elevator was made of, or at least covered by, what he thought to be dark blue velvet. He could also tell that the elevator was rising at a rapid pace.<p>

He also noticed that he was sitting in a small chair, and that he sat in front of a small table, which also stood across from a couch of sorts. On the couch sat a man in a suit who looked to be quite old, with silvery white hair, bulging bloodshot eyes, and a very much noticeable bald spot. He sat with his hands folded underneath his large nose.

"Welcome….to the Velvet Room, my dear young man." The man said as he looked straight at the boy. "My name is Igor. I am pleased to make your acquaintance. And this is Elizabeth, my assistant." Igor gestured to the young woman next to him, who wore a blue dress with black circles decorating the front, blue shoes, and a blue attendant's hat on her head.

"It's nice to meet you." Elizabeth greeted.

"Now, what would your name be, my boy?" Igor asked.

"Koji… Fujimoto." the teen introduced himself hesitantly, still trying to understand what was happening.

"This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter…" Igor continued. "It's actually quite interesting… You are our second guest here in this room that has arrived as of late. I imagine you will meet the other young man of which I speak in the near future."

"Only those who are bound by a contract can enter this place." he went on. "It seems that you have done so in the figurative sense already… Henceforth, you shall be welcomed here, in the Velvet Room."

Koji simply listened, unsure of what to say.

"You are destined to hone your unique power, and you will require my help to do so. I only ask one thing in return." Igor added. "That you take responsibility for the choices you make."

"I understand" Koji replied with a nod. Igor smiled.

"Hold on to this." Igor added as a small blue key appeared in front of Koji's face. The boy hesitantly took it.

"What's this for?" he inquired.

"All in due time my boy, all in due time." Igor replied. "But for now I bid you farewell…" Igor, Elizabeth, and the Velvet room all quickly vanished in a burst of white light.

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><p><em><strong>[Thursday, April 16, 2009 - Dark Hour]<strong>_

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><p>The young man opened his eyes to find himself in his bed within the Gekkoukan High Boys' Dormitory. However, the eerie atmosphere and strange green light pouring into the room didn't go unnoticed by the boy.<p>

He blinked as he sat up, taking in his surroundings. He stood up and walked over to his window. He saw that the moon had grown thrice its normal size, and turned to a greenish-yellow color. All across the city as far as he could see was blood in puddles of varying sizes. It decorated the streets as if a rainstorm had just ended.

The young man began to panic. He wasn't sure of what was happening, but he knew that it couldn't be good. He frantically changed into some clothes and ran out of his room in a panic, looking around for any other signs of life as he burst out of the dorm building and into the open city. To his shock he didn't find people. In fact, he found two things other than people. First, he discovered that coffins lined the streets and sidewalks, and second, he found black blob-like creatures crawling across the ground, paying no mind to the coffins, but seemingly noticing him.

As he ran, the young man came across a convenience store, where, to his relief, he saw a boy around his age with short dark hair wearing a baseball cap and the start of a goatee on his chin. However, the boy sitting just outside, crying and completely disoriented, and didn't immediately notice the young man. He was also surrounded by some of the coffins the young man had seen.

"Hey!" the young man called out. The dark-haired boy looked up slowly, now noticing the young man. "Are you alright?"

"W-What's goin' on here?" the dark-haired teen asked in fright. "W-Why is everything so screwed up?!"

"I wish I knew…" the young man said in reply.

Suddenly, the black creatures could be seen crawling towards the pair.

"W-What the-?!" the dark-haired boy gasped as they got closer. "Stay back!" Suddenly, the young man was blinded by a flash of bluish light, and when it subsided, there was something hovering above the goy he'd found. It looked to be a man with metallic wings attached to his hands and feet wearing a helmet shaped like a bird's head.

A burst of flames erupted near the black creatures, and they screeched before backing away from the flames.

"Hey!" A voice called out. "Are you two alright?" The young man turned to see someone else running towards the convenience store. The person in question was a boy a year older than the two of them with silver hair and light grey eyes. He wore a white collared shirt, black pants and shoes, and a red vest. He slowed down as he approached them. He smiled somewhat.

"Don't worry. I'm here to help." He said.

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><p>Akihiko Sanada walked through the city with the two boys he'd just found. He wasn't expecting to find more than one person still active during the Dark Hour, but as luck would have it, he did.<p>

The dark-haired boy was named Junpei Iori, a second-year Gekkoukan High student from Class 2-F. Akihiko had to spend a few minutes trying to calm Junpei down when he found him with the orange-haired boy. This other boy, one of the new transfer student in Class 2-F, was an odd one. His said his name was Koji Fujimoto, but he added that was all he knew. Akihiko knew it wasn't uncommon for people to forget things after experiencing the Dark Hour, but he'd never seen it to an extent such as with Koji. This led Akihiko to wonder if his memory loss wasn't a result of experiencing the Dark Hour.

One thing was certain though. Junpei Iori had the Potential, so there was a possibility that Koji did as well.

Akihio had explained the basic ideas of the Dark Hour, Shadows, and Personas, but didn't go into much detail. Junpei asked occasional questions, but Koji remained silent the whole time.

'_I've only just met the guy and he already seems interesting...'_ Akihiko thought to himself.

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><p><em><strong>[Sunday, April 19, 2009 - Evening]<strong>_

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><p>Makoto Yuki, a young man with dark blue hair that hung over his right eye by a fringe, was in his room studying for the evening when he heard a familiar voice calling hi front downstairs.<p>

"Hey, it's me." the voice of Yukari Takeba called up. "Can you come down here?" Makoto shrugged to himself and stood from his desk before leaving his room and making his way downstairs to the lounge. As he got downstairs, he saw his classmate Yukari and one of the third-year students, Akihiko, standing by the front door.

"Okay, he's here. So, what's this all about?" Yukari asked as Makoto walked up to the two of them.

"There's some guys I wanna introduce." Akihiko answered. He then turned back towards the door. "...Hey, hurry up."

"Gimme a second… Hey Koji you mind helping me out here?" came a voice from just utside.

"Yeah, I'll grab this end." a second voice replied. A second later, one of the doors opened, and two boys walked in, hauling a large suitcase in together, while the boy with dark hair was carrying a small purple backpack. The orange-haired boy then opened the other door to pull in another suitcase.

"J-Junpei?!" Yukari asked incredulously."...Why is he here? Wait… Don't tell me-"

"This is Junpei Iori from Class 2-F. He'll be staying here as of today." Akihiko explained.

Junpei chuckled. "Wazzup?" he greeted.

"And this guy over here is Koji Fujimoto." Akihiko added. Yukari looked at Koji and seemed to recognize him.

"Oh yeah, you were the other transfer student from a few weeks ago, right?" Yukari asked. Koji nodded.

"It's… nice to meet you." he replied.

"But really, Junpei's staying here?" Yukari asked, addressing Akihiko. "You gotta be kidding!"

"I bumped into him the other night." Akihiko said casually. "He has the Potential, but he just awakened to it recently. Not really sure about Koji though. I told them about us, and they agreed to help."

"You have the Potential? For real?" Yukari asked with a laugh.

"He found us at the convenience store surrounded by a bunch of coffins. I was crying like a baby." Junpei added. "I don't remember that much… but man, that was embarrassing…"

"I just sorta found him there myself." Koji added.

"He said it's, y'know, normal in the beginning." Junpei went on. "Like bein' confused and not rememberin' anything. Did you guys know that?"

"Yeah." Makoto replied.

"You should, since you're a Persona-user." Junpei said. "But man, I was shocked to find out about you guys. I had no idea. I'm glad I'm not the only one, it could get kinda lonely, y'know?"

"Uh, y-yeah." Yukari replied half-heartedly.

'Well, I think that's enough with the introductions. I think we're about ready…" Akihiko cut in.

"We're gonna go do somethin'?" Junpei asked excitedly. "Sweetness!"

"We can finally explore that place." Akihiko added, partially to himself.

"You mean… Tartarus?" Yukari asked the silver-haired man.

"Tartarus...? What's that? Sounds like toothpaste." Junpei questioned.

"We believe we can find the reason for the Dark Hour there." Akihiko explained.

"I hope so…" Yukari added.

"The Chairman will give us the details tomorrow night, so be ready." Akihiko said as he walked off. He then stopped and turned around.

"Speaking of which, the Chairman wanted to talk to you." he added, turning to Koji.

"Me?" Koji asked. He shrugged and followed Akihiko upstairs along with his luggage.

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><p>After dropping his luggage by his new room, Koji was led by Akihiko to the second-highest floor of the dorm, where restrooms and a set of double doors leading into another room were the only noteworthy things about it. Walking through the double doors, Koji was led into a large room with a computer terminal with multiple monitors covered the wall to his left and a small coffee table surrounded by ottomans, an armchair and a couch decorated the center of the room.<p>

"Ah. There you are." a man in his mid to late-thirties spoke up from his place in the armchair. He had long brown hair and brown eyes, wearing a tan suit and a black shirt underneath. "I'm sure Akihiko told you, but the reason you're here is because I wanted to talk to you. Please, have a seat." Taking the man's invitation, Koji sat down on the couch next to a girl the same age as Akihiko with long dark red hair and dark red eyes.

"Oh, before we start, I'd like to introduce myself." the man continued. "My name is Shuji Ikutsuki. I'm the chairman of the school." He gestured to the girl sitting next to Koji. "This is Mitsuru Kirijo. She's a third-year like Akihiko. Mitsuru, this is Koji Fujimoto, he's s second-year transfer student."

"Nice to meet you, Kirijo-senpai." Koji said politely.

"Same to you, Fujimoto." Mitsuru replied.

"Okay, let me start by asking this…" Ikutsuki began. "Would you believe me if I said that a day consists of more than twenty-four hours?"

"… Excuse me?" Koji asked in confusion.

"Do you remember when Akihiko first found you? You had to have noticed the signs…" Mitsuru spoke up. "The streetlights went out… Nothing was working… There were coffins everywhere. Didn't it feel like you were in a different time?"

"Well… Yeah, actually." Koji replied.

"That's the Dark Hour - a time period hidden between one day and the next." Mitsuru continued.

"Hidden?" Koji repeated.

"I guess it's more like… something people aren't aware of." Ikutsuki explained. "But, the Dark Hour _does_ exist. It'll happen tonight, and every night to come."

"most people don't notice it, since they're all sleeping in their coffins." Akihiko chimed in. "But that's not what makes the Dark Hour so interesting." He leaned forward before continuing. "I bet you saw those creatures… We call them "Shadows". They only appear during the Dark Hour, and they attack anyone not in a coffin. It's our job to defeat them. Sounds exciting, huh?"

"Long story short…" Ikutsuki interrupted. "We're the specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad - S.E.E.S for short. On paper, we're classified as a school club, but in reality, our job is to fight Shadows. I'm the club advisor, and Mitsuru is the club leader."

"A Shadow feeds on the mind of its prey. They become a living corpse…" Mitsuru added. "They're responsible for most of the incidents on the news."

"What about the police?" Koji asked.

"Unfortunately, the police aren't much use during the Dark Hour." Akihiko answered.

"Although rare, there are those who can function during the Dark Hour." Ikutsuki continued. "Though sometimes when this happens, there can be some… side effects."

"Side effects?" Koji parroted.

"Akihiko has informed us that you told him you can't remember anything about yourself." Mitsuru explained. "This is a common occurrence for people who experience the Dark Hour, however… Was this the case before he found you and Iori?"

"I…" Koji began. "I don't know. All I know is that my name is Koji Fujimoto, and I just recently transferred into Gekkoukan. Otherwise, I don't remember anything about who I really am."

"I see…" Mitsuru said. "So it might just be amnesia then."

"the only thing I have that might serve as a clue is that I have this…" Koji said as he looked down at a small necklace he wore around his neck. What dangled from it was a black feather, like a feather one would find on a crow or raven. "I've had this for as long as I can remember, but I don't know what it is exactly."

"Well, if you'd like, we could always help you figure out who you are." Ikutsuki suggested.

"Chairman, do you think that's a good idea?" Mitsuru questioned.

"I think so." Ikutsuki replied. "Besides, Akihiko thinks it might be possible he has the Potential." Mitsuru slowly nodded, seemingly understanding the chairman's reasoning.

"Well then, if that's the case…" Mitsuru said as she opened a metal briefcase that was sitting on the table in front of her, revealing a red armband of some sort and a silver handgun. "We'd like to welcome you as a member of S.E.E.S. Will you lend us your strength if we lend you ours?" Koji thought for a moment before answering.

"Yeah… I want to find out who I am, and if helping you guys can help me do that, then I don't mind." He answered. "Besides, it sounds like there's some sort of mysteries behind this 'Dark Hour', and I'm interested to find out the truth."

_**SMASH!**_

Koji blinked as the room suddenly darkened slightly and time seemed to slow to a crawl. In front of him he could see a shimmering card floating down in front of his face. The face of the card was framed in blue, depicting a man in a jester-like outfit, one half of his body being white, and the other half being black. At the bottom of the card was the number zero.

**-Thou art I… I am thou…-** An ominous voice echoed within Koji's head. **-Thou hast established a new bond. It brings thee closer to thy destiny… Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Rogue Arcana…-**

"Well then, it seems that we have yet another new member." Ikutsuki mused. "It looks like we really _can_ start exploring Tartarus now."

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><p><em><strong>[Monday, April 20, 2009 - Evening]<strong>_

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><p>The next evening, after Makoto, Junpei, and Koji had arrived back from school, they made their way to the meeting room, where Ikutsuki, Akihiko, Mitsuru, and Yukari were already waiting.<p>

"Okay, everybody's here." Ikutsuki spoke up as he cleared his throat. "I'd like your undivided attention." Everyone turned to face the Chairman. "For the longest time, Mitsuru and Akihiko were the only Persona-users we had. But that number recently jumped to five, possibly six" Ikutsuki glanced at Koji as he said that. "Therefore… Starting tonight at 12:00 AM, I'd like to commence the exploration of Tartarus."

Junpei got everyone's attention. "Sorry… I asked this yesterday, but what's this Tartarus thing again?"  
>he asked.<p>

"You haven't seen it, Junpei?" Yukari questioned.

"It's no surprise…" Ikutsuki added, regaining everyone's attention. "… Since it only appears during the Dark Hour."

"The Dark Hour?" Junpei parroted.

"Just like the Shadows… interesting huh?" Akihiko spoke up. "And it's the perfect place for us to train. Thjink of it as a "Shadow nest"."

"Whoa… Their nest, huh?" Junpei said.

"But, Senpai… What about your injury?" Yukari asked.

"Since Akihiko hasn't fully recovered yet, he'll only come as far as the front entrance." Mitsuru spoke up, shooting a glare at the silver-haired boy.

"… Yeah, I know." He sighed.

"Since we're dealing with Shadows, Tartarus isn't something we can avoid." Ikutsuki chimed in.

"Relax, I've got your backs." Junpei added as he stood in a heroic pose.

"I'm not so sure about this…" Yukari said, voicing her concern.

"What about you, Mr. Chairman?" Mitsuru asked.

"I'll stay here." He replied. "As you know, I can't summon a Persona."

"In that case…" Mitsuru said as she stood up, motioning for the others to follow. "There's something I'd like to show you all." She walked out of the room, with the others, Ikutsuki excluded, following as she led them to the bottom floor of the building. Shje requested help opening a large pair of double doors inside the lounge, and once the way was open, the group walked down the stairs and came out inside a large cellar. The only noteable feature of the room was the boxes scattered about the room and the weapons that hung from the walls, from swords to rifles to straps fitted with grenades.

"Whoa… What is all this?" Junpei asked in excitement.

"This is our armory." Mitsuru explained. "If you're going to be fighting shadows, then you need something to defend yourself with if your Persona isn't enough." She picked up a rapier from a nearby box, showing that there was a small logo of some sort on the underside of the guard. "Each of these weapons was created by the Kirijo Group, and have been made specifically for Persona-users. As your Persona grows in strength, so does the potency and strength of the weapon."

"Sweetness!" Junpei said, immediately going for a large two-handed sword. Yukari found a simple bow and picked it up, along with a quiver filled with arrows. Makoto chose a one-handed shortsword, and after a moment of thought, Koji found a pair of pistols, along with a pair of holsters he could attach to his belt. Next to his feet, Koji saw a box filled with ammunition clips, each holding around twenty-four bullets. He took a few clips and placed them in his pocket, noting that the pistols were already loaded.

"Alright. I see that everyone's chosen what they want." Mitsuru spoke up as she gripped the rapier she had picked up. "In that case, everyone make sure you're ready by 11:30 tonight. We'll be leaving for Tartarus then." Everyone nodded as they left the armory.

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><p>Later that night, everyone had set out on their mission, and arrived at what Mitsuru said was their destination nearly half an hour later.<p>

"This is it?" Junpei asked incredulously as he looked at the gates of Gekkoukan High. "_This_ is the place?! Why _here_?"

"Just wait another minute …" Akihiko said. "It's almost midnight."

As if on cue, as Koji looked at his phone, the time hit midnight, and the sky turned green and the moon grew thrice its normal size, also turning a bright yellowish-green. Then, before their eyes, they saw the school undergo a drastic change. It began to grow and rise into the air, all the while parts of it were splitting, revealing other pieces of what appeared to be various other buildings. This went on for another minute, until the new resulting structure towered over everything, reaching into the sky as if i9t were a hand trying to grasp it. Junpei looked on in shock. Koji was also fairly surprised, but didn't make it evident.

"This is Tartarus…" Mitsuru spoke up. "… The labyrinth that reveals itself during the Dark Hour."

"L-Labyrinth?" Junpei parroted. "What are you talking about? What happened to our school?!"

""Once the Dark Hour passes, everything returns to normal." Mitsuru continued.

"This is the ?nest? you guys were talking about?" Junpei wondered aloud. "But, why?! Why'd our school turn into a giant tower?!"

Mitsuru remained silent.

"… You don't know either?" Junpei asked.

"… No." Mitsuru answered with hesitation.

"I'm sure it's complicated." Yukari chimed in. "But who cares? It's not like it would change our minds about fighting."

The group entered the massive tower, revealing the bottommost floor to be a circular platform with a strange device near the entry pathway, a clock farther away, and a massive staircase leading into a just as massive golden clock face. After they looked around, Makoto was chosen to be the field leader that would coordinate the group consisting of himself, Yukari, Junpei and Koji that would explore the first few floors of Tartarus beyond the stairs.

Just then, Koji noticed that there was a glowing blue door off to his left. He also noticed Makoto walking towards it.

'_Huh?'_ Koji wondered. _'Does he see it too?'_ He began walking towards the door as well, catching a glance from Makoto, hinting he was surprised as well.

Both of them produced their Velvet Keys from their pockets, indicating they both had the same idea, but Makoto was the one to use his key to unlock the door. Once unlocked, the group stepped inside, being engulfed by white light. In an instant, they found themselves inside the Velvet Room, sitting in a pair of chairs across from where Igor and Elizabeth were.

"I've been waiting for the two of you." Igor greeted. "The time has come… for the two of you to wield your power."

He chuckled. "The tower you are about to venture into…" he continued. "How did it come to be? For what purpose does it exist? Regretrtably, you are not yet capable of answering those questions. That is why you must now be made aware of the nature of your power."

"Hold on." Koji interrupted. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't have any kind of "power". I don't even have any idea of who I am."

"Ah, but that is why you're here, is it not?" Igor responded. "The purpose of this room is to guide those who are on a journey, or are simply lost. You, my boy, are indeed lost, but you are also here so that you may uncover the truth. Do not fret. The power which I speak of will awake within you very soon."

"…" Koji said nothing.

"Now, as I said, the power that you both possess is like the number zero…" Igor explained. "It's empty, but at the same time, it holds infinite possibilities."

'_Infinite possibilities…?'_ Koji wondered, those words sticking in his mind, though he couldn't explain why.

"You two are capable of wielding multiple Personas, and using them as needed." Igor continued. "And when you defeat your enemies, you will see the faces of possibility before you. There may be times when they are hard to grasp. But do not fear, and seize what you have earned."

"I see." Makoto replied.

"My spare time will soon become scarce, but please come again of your own accords." Igor added. "I will then tell you of my true role; the manner in which I can best assist the two of you. Until then… Farewell." With that, everything became engulfed in a flash of light, leaving Makoto and Koji back in the lobby of Tartarus as it subsided.

The others voiced some concern over why the two of them had seemingly spaced out, but Koji assured them they were fine, and the party of four made their way up the stairs that led into the main portion of the tower. They then found themselves in a hallway with a checkered floor.

"So, this is it, huh?" Junpei spoke up.

"I hope I don't get lost…" Yukari added. As Koji looked around, something felt strangely familiar to him about where they were.

'_What's this feeling…?'_ he wondered. _'It's almost like…'_

He shook it aside for the time being. Mitsuru made contact with them, explaining her role in giving tactical support through her Persona, and that they should expect to encounter enemies at any moment.

The group ventured forward into the hallways, and after a few minutes, they found themselves facing a fairly-sized group of Shadows, that upon noticing them, morphed slightly, now having a pair of arms growing from their main blob-like body, and a blue mask with the Roman numeral for one imprinted on the top of the mask.

"Here we go!" Junpei cheered as he took out his Evoker and held it to his temple. "Hermes!" As he pulled the trigger, shards of blue glass flew around him as his Persona formed above his head.

"Io!" Yukari shouted as she held her Evoker to her face. As blue shards flew around her, another entity appeared above her head; a blond woman in a pale pink dress chained to a massive floating cow's skull.

Makoto also held his Evoker to his temple. "Orpheus!" he shouted as a dark-skinned marionette with white hair and a mostly mechanical body and wearing a red scarf appeared.

Koji, unsure of whether he could summon a Persona or not, simply readied his pistols.

Some of the shadows charged, attempting to strike the Persona-users with their arms. "I don't think so! **Cleave**!" Junpei said. Hermes simply flew forward and sliced through one of the Shadows with the edges of his left wing, cleaving it in two.

Yukari fired as many arrows as she could at the Shadows as they approached her.

"**Bash**!" Makoto yelled as Orpheus took the lyre attached to its back and smashing it on a third Shadow, causing it to splatter on the floor as it died. Koji fired a few bullets at another group of approaching shadows, noting that it slightly damaged them.

The group continued to fend off the enemy, but it soon became apparent that more were coming over time. As Shadows were defeated, it seemed as though more would come to take their place.

"Aw man!" Junpei said as he sliced through another Shadow with his sword. "How many of them are there?!"

"I don't know!" Yukari said as she fired a volley of arrows at more incoming enemies. As Koji continued to fire bullets at Shadows, he nearly failed to notice that more had come up behind him and were preparing to attack. Koji turned around to see that he had been surrounded. He also noticed that the others were occupied with other Shadows.

'_Damn!'_ he thought. _'What can I…'_ His gaze shifted to the evoker inside the holster attached to his belt. Still unsure but realizing he had no other choices, he grabbed the Evoker and pressed it underneath his chin. He could feel his heartbeat as it grew more rapid.

"_Do not fret. The power which I speak of will awake within you very soon."_ Koji heard the words of Igor echo within his mind. Koji swallowed hard as he moved his lips to pronounce each syllable of his next word.

"Per… So… Na!" A mad grin formed on his face as he spoke that word and pulled the trigger of the Evoker. Shards of blue glass began to fly around him as they coalesced into a figure above his head.

The figure in question was a man dressed in a white toga with a pair of sandals and a bright red cloak tied around his neck. His skin was black, as though he had been burned to the point of charring, and his hair consisted of a blazing flame. In his hands the man held what appeared to be the remains of a pair of burning reigns.

"**Thou art I… I am thou…"** the figure spoke. **"From the Sea of Souls I cometh. I am Phaethon, the Falling Star!"** Koji put the Evoker down as he looked up at the new figure - his Persona. He then readied his pistols again as the shadows readied their own assault once more.

"**Agi**!" Koji shouted. Phaethon held the burning reigns in one hand while he launched a fireball at the Shadows with the free one, burning one to a crisp easily. Koji peppered the shadows with bullets while Phaethon unleashed more fireballs, clearing away most of them after some time. Koji reloaded his weapons with new clips as he ran to help the others.

"**Single Shot**!" Koji commanded as he unleashed an assault on the other Shadows to give his friends some assistance. Phaethon grabbed the reigns and cracked it like a whip, hitting another Shadow as it pierced the creature's body. The Persona then followed up with another Agi.

"Thanks, Koji!" Junpei said. Koji nodded. Having gotten back together, the group of four was able to clear away the rest of the Shadows after a minute or two. Everyone stopped to catch their breath as their Personas vanished.

After making sure everyone was alright, they continued to explore the next two floors of Tartarus, each of them acquiring new skills for their Personas.

_=That'll be all for today, everyone.=_ Mitsuru said. =_Just come back for now.=_ The others agreed and made their way to what Mitsuru referred to as an 'Access Point', which instantly transported them back down to the lobby of Tartarus.

"Welcome back." Mitsuru greeted. "So, how was it?"

"It got tough near the end, but otherwise it was no problem." Makoto answered.

"Man… I never knew I had that kind of power! We kicked some ass!" Junpei said excitedly. "But man… I'm beat…"

"Yeah… I'm still trying to catch my breath, actually." Yukari added.

"That's the effect of the Dark Hour." Akihiko explained. "You'll become tired more easily. But you'll adapt after a while."

"It's weird… I'm not all that tired." Koji said.

"I noticed that as well." Mitsuru replied in interest. "It's surprising, since the combined strain of summoning your Persona for the first time and the natural effects of the Dark Hour should have all but sapped your strength."

"Regardless, you all did much better than I expected." Mitsuru went on. "At this rate, they'll catch up to you in no time, Akihiko." She smirked slightly at that last statement.

"We'll see about that…" Akihiko responded.

_**SMASH!**_

Both Makoto and Koji felt time slow to a crawl as the area around them darkened slightly.

**-Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Fool Arcana…-** An ominous voice spoke within Makoto's mind.

**-Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Rogue Arcana…-** the same voice spoke within Koji's mind.

"I think it's safe to say we should call it a night." Mitsuru suggested. The others nodded in agreement and the group made their way back to the dorm.

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><p><em><strong>And there we have it folks! That's the first chapter of Rogue Fool.<strong>_

_**Now, considering I have to essentially replay the game for this story, and the fact that the game is… well… long, updates of this story may be spaced out from time to time.**_

_**Also, if it wasn't obvious already, the Rogue Arcana is a Major Arcana I came up with myself for this fic that replaces the Fool Arcana for Koji. There will be other Arcana like this throughout the fic that replace other traditional major Arcana, but those won't be self-made. Believe it or not, if you do some research, you'd find that they're actual tarot cards used in decks other than the more commonly used ones. They'll start showing up possibly in the next chapter, but know that the Rogue Arcana is the only one I "made".**_

_**So I'll see you guys in the next chapter of Persona 3: Rogue Fool!**_

_**And with that out of the way, time for stats!**_

Orpheus  
><span>LV: 5<span>  
><span>Arcana: The Fool<span>

Resist - n/a  
><span>Block - na  
><span>Repel - na  
><span>Absorb - na  
><span>Weak - Electricity, Dark<span>

Skills: _Bash, Agi_

Io  
><span>LV: 5<span>  
><span>Arcana: The Lovers<span>

Resist - Wind  
><span>Block - na  
><span>Repel - na  
><span>Absorb - na  
><span>Weak - Electricity<span>

Skills:_ Dia, Patra, Garu_

Hermes  
><span>LV: 5<span>  
><span>Arcana: The Magician<span>

Resist - Fire  
><span>Block - na  
><span>Repel - na  
><span>Absorb - na  
><span>Weak - Wind<span>

Skills:_ Cleave, Agi_

Phaethon  
><span>LV 5<span>  
><span>Arcana: The Rogue<span>

Resist - Fire  
><span>Block - na  
><span>Repel - na  
><span>Absorb - na  
><span>Weak - Dark<span>

Skills: _Agi, Single Shot, Hama_


End file.

Persona Series, Mystery, Supernatural