Persona Series 1. The Dig

Wind blew lazily against the dust.

Bristles and fingers scraped gently, doing the work the wind would not.

Things uncovered, things removed, things to hold back the earth.

The Dark lay in wait.

The time was coming.

VVVVV

**Chapter 1: The Dig**

Kazuhiro Kinjo traced gentle paths through the dusty earth with his fingers. In his younger years he would have been scooping mounds of the dirt with his hands, or even with a shovel, and to hell with damaging anything underneath. Patience was a virtue he had only learned after deciding his life's true path, almost too late to make it a reality.

He had seen movies about archaeology, though most focused on the glamorous tomb raids that almost never occurred in real life, followed by dramatic escapes from spear-wielding natives that never happened except in movies. Kaz had never fooled himself into believing he would be out in the field wearing a fedora and wielding a bullwhip, though while his professor often ridiculed that portrayal of archaeology, Kaz still enjoyed them.

The loose, sandy grit constantly tried to re-fill the hole he was digging with his fingers, egged on only slightly by the mild breeze coming from the ocean. The Tottori dunes were unique in Japan; it was the only arid place on the entire island nation. As such, it had been a major find when Kaz's predecessors discovered artifacts of an ancient tribe hidden under the sand. Whether the tribe lived in this place or whether the items were washed here by the same ocean forces that created the dunes, they hadn't yet discovered. The pieces they'd found did not specifically match any known civilization.

That did not mean there was much pomp and circumstance. The few pieces found were not enough to garner major attention, and so Tokyo University's Archaeology department was able to gain full rights to the site, using it to train, and often break the spirits of, its students. Indeed, Kaz had seen many students storm off in frustration, swearing off "digging in this crap in this goddamn heat". The dig site had certainly done its job in that respect. To Kaz, it was a cleansing. Washing away his preconceptions in the heat, leaving only the patience that his sensei had always tried to instill within him and allowing it to grow.

_"When the harumagedon comes,"_ she had told him once, _"it will come. Always be ready, but don't anticipate it or it will drive you out of your mind. That's the most important lesson I can give you, because I had to learn it the hard way." _She told all her students this, but only a trusted few, including Kaz, knew it wasn't just a metaphor. Sensei knew that, sooner or later, the end would come. She didn't just feel it, didn't "predict" it as so many con artists had before. She knew, as sure as she knew her own name. She knew about her students, too, things about them nobody else could have known. As if she could read their life force directly.

Yes, she knew the world would end. She also knew that a small few would be called upon to save all of humanity. It had happened before, more than once, and Kaz was one of the few who would, if needed, heed that call. If she had told him this three years ago he would have thought she was insane. But she didn't. He trained with her for years, learned the best of many fighting styles, but most importantly, learned patience. And somehow she knew the moment he was ready to believe, and she told him the truth at that moment.

And he did believe.

He dug his fingers into the dust, waiting for it to tell him its story. Not just in the treasures it contained, but in the chapping of his hands, already calloused from years of martial arts training, and the sinking sun baking the back of his neck. He knew it would, in its own sweet time, hand over its secrets, and he would be there, patiently waiting, feeling for...

His middle fingernail brushed something. A rush of excitement filled him, and he was just barely able to stop himself from plunging his hands deeper into the dust. Taking a deep breath, the hot, dry air stinging his nostrils, he was able to restore control. _"Patience isn't just a thing,"_ Sensei often said. _"It's a way of life. A way of taking control of yourself."_

_Be patient, Kaz_, he thought. _ One gentle swipe at a time, just as you were taught._

It could be nothing. Probably was. A rock. Or maybe something dropped by a tourist; this place had seen a lot of foot traffic before the pieces were found. The pieces had, at first, thought to be such until carbon dating proved they were far older than any tourist's trinket could be. He'd heard one had been destroyed in the process, but it proved that all three, made of the same material with the same amount of weathering, were genuine. Now, after weeks of brushing and sweeping and poking and prodding into the dirt, they had found nothing more.

The professor had been pressured, even begged, by some of the students to use modern equipment. Sonar had been used for years and proven safe for the artifacts, but the Professor had staunchly refused. He was a traditionalist, like Sensei. And, like Sensei, he was strong-willed. And Kaz believed in his judgment just as he had in hers. Up to a point.

Kaz swiped his hand slowly, deliberately, time and time again, brushing just a little more dust each time as he watched a tiny object start revealing itself.

"I found it! I found something!" He looked up to see one of his classmates jumping to her feet within her roped-off square, cradling a small object in her hands. "Look, look!"

The professor, a small, bald man with a thin moustache, beckoned her toward him. She stumbled out of her square and over the rope marker toward him. _You really suck at this job_, Kaz thought, imagining her destroying a dozen buried pieces with each clomp of her heavily-booted feet.

Kaz looked back down at his find, uninterested in his classmate's, even though some of his other classmates rose and crowded around her and the professor. Kaz continued swiping away the dust, more and more of the small object peeking through.

And then, with one gentle swipe, a chunk of the top broke away. He knew right away what he was looking at, from his biology courses. "Crap," he muttered, for that was indeed what he'd found. A bit desiccated, but definitely much newer than anything that could be considered "valuable" in this desert.

_"Disappointment is a way of life."_ That wasn't Sensei, though it certainly could have been. No, it was his professor. "The Anthem of the Archaeologist", he had called it. For every significant find, there are a million disappointments.

He looked up when he heard an indignant cry. His classmate, the one who found "it", was waving her arms and protesting loudly. The professor, calm and collected as always, said something, his voice too low to be heard over the breeze and his classmates' murmuring, barely moving his face as he spoke. He hurled the object that the girl had given him over his shoulder. It arced high and landed in the sand with a distant _whump_. Kaz's eyes followed it from the professor's hand up, to the apogee of its flight, and then all the way down to the ground. Before he knew what he was doing, he found himself making a mental note of where the object had landed.

_Something about that thing..._

"Pack it up, everyone," the professor said loudly, but calmly. "We'll review today's work over dinner, and then call it a night." He gestured toward the tents, indicating the end of their first day. While this wasn't Kaz's first school camping trip, it was a far cry from those inflicted upon him at Yasogami, even though, as he thought about it, those times he'd been on his knees in the dirt, searching for trash just as he had been today. This time, though, he really felt like he was accomplishing something. This time, he didn't have an almost-elderly teacher with breasts larger than his head trying to hit on him and his friends.

"Kaz, c'mon." He looked up. It was Emi, one of his friends and one of the people whom he'd driven here in his ancient clunker of a car. "Find anything?"

"Nothing much," Kaz said. He wiped his fingers in the dirt, and then accepted the hand she offered. He stood and stepped out of the dig site. "You?"

"Nope," Emi said. "Ryoko-chan's 'find' was probably the most exciting thing today."

"Well, you know what Okuchi-san says," Kaz said.

Emi smiled. "'If you're looking for excitement, you're in the wrong class.'"

VVVVV

Kaz was lying on his sleeping bag. Not in. He had feigned feeling warm, even though the night had gone chilly. Through the evening's lesson, dinner, and the pre-bedtime recreation, he'd had one thing on his mind: the object Professor Okuchi had thrown was something he had to find. Tonight. Even though he'd barely caught a glimpse of it, something about it touched his mind. Had a piece of Sensei's power rubbed off on him? Or had her teachings finally allowed him to open his soul to hear the wind speaking to him, as she said it did to her?

He could only wish he had her power, though. Instead of being able to tell when his tentmates were asleep by reading their minds, he had to wait until their breathing had evened out which, he hoped, meant they were out. Slowly, as patiently as he had been while uncovering the not-so-ancient turd in the sand, he sat up, and then stood, his boots making the slightest shuffling sound in the grit.

He slid out of the tent, stopping with each little scrape of his jacket against the nylon. He listened each time to hear if his tentmates' breathing changed, and then made another move. Eventually he was completely out of the tent, in the darkness broken only by the infinity of stars overhead and the lights from the tourist traps nearby.

He shuffled across the sand, keeping an eye and ear out for any activity, and making his way gently toward the spot where he had kept his mind focused the entire evening. The stars had moved quite a bit by the time he made it there, so slow did he walk, but he eventually made it to the spot. He knelt down and dropped his hand.

Nothing.

He moved it around in a small circle. Nothing but sand.

Perhaps his memory wasn't as good as-

His hand brushed something solid. He rolled his fingers around it, and then lowered his hand and clasped his fingers around it softly, as if it were an egg. For all he knew, it was.

He picked it up. It was small, but heavy. He couldn't see much in the dim light, but he ran his fingers along it. There were crevasses and pits in it, but without seeing it he couldn't tell if they were made by human hands, or by the relentless beat of nature.

He turned it over in his palm a few times, learning the object by feel. Before had seen something in this object, something special. Now, nothing.

A dim light appeared briefly in his palm. He pulled it closer to his face. It was dark again. He rolled it around, and found that it glowed blue where his skin touched it, but only briefly.

He pressed his other hand over top of it, held it for a second, and then uncovered it. The object glowed blue for only a fraction of a second, but just long enough for him to see two dark circles etched into it. _Eyes. Those are eyes._

He heard a rumbling and looked up. Lights were flashing in the sky. _Heat lightning_, he thought. Probably typical out here.

He looked back down at the object. Even though it wasn't glowing anymore, he imagined the eyes on it, staring at him. He had something. He didn't know what, but it was important. He jumped to his feet and spun around. He could see a lot of dark shapes, but none were the one he wanted to see. He stuffed a hand into his pocket and felt for the cracked plastic of his car's remote.

He hesitated for a moment, and then pressed the unlocking button. He saw lights flash far ahead and to the left, accompanied by a pair of beeps.

Noise no longer a concern, he ran as fast as he could toward the car, praying he'd left enough distance from the dig site so he wouldn't trip over the rope partitions. He made it just as the doors re-locked automatically. He fumbled for the keys again, unlocked the doors once more, and threw himself inside. He started the engine and flicked on the headlights, and cursed. He'd done his best to park in such a way that he wouldn't be blocked in, but his classmates had apparently had other ideas.

Tents were rustling, and people were starting to emerge. He closed his eyes. _Patience, patience_, he thought. He opened his eyes, calmly placed the car into gear, and stepped on the accelerator. The engine hesitated a moment, but then clicked in and his wheels started spinning. For a brief second he thought they would become stuck in the shifting sand, but the car lurched forward. As if guided by some higher power, it slid perfectly between the two cars parked obliquely in front of it. Once he was clear he turned, back toward the nearby road and took a hard right turn. He didn't have to think about it, he just did it. Wherever he went, he always made sure he knew how to get back to Inaba.

As he disappeared into the night, leaving his confused classmates and professor behind, a figure stepped out from behind one of the cars. It was Emi, rubbing her upper arms to restore warmth to them. She sighed, and then pulled a cell phone from her pocket. She dialed a number and held the phone up to her ear.

_"Something to report?"_ It was a man's voice.

"He has the talisman," Emi said. "He's heading south now."

_"We'll track him,"_ the voice said. _"Keep your cover."_

"Are you going to intercept him?" she asked, a little trepidation in her voice.

_"No, we just need to know where he takes it."_

Emi nodded absently. "O-okay." The calmness in the voice sent a chill across her entire body. She liked Kaz, and despite her employer's claims to the contrary, she also knew her employer's history of getting whatever they wanted by whatever means necessary.

_"We'll call you when we need you again."_ The speaker beeped three times, indicating the other side had disconnected the call.

Emi closed her eyes, and shivered again. "Please be careful, Kaz. Don't fight them."

VVVVV

They were standing around her, their faces pure visages of contempt. Her wrists, ankles, and neck were chained to the ground, forcing her into a low kneeling position.

_No, I've seen this already and it's a lie._

She could still turn her head and look about her. Tall figures glared down at her, each wielding a weapon. One lowered an aluminum baseball bat and touched her bare shoulder. It was like ice. She tried to shake it off but its owner kept it there, laughing.

"You've betrayed your family," said a familiar male voice. "You've betrayed me."

"No, this isn't real," she said. Her voice quivered, and for all the self-control she'd taught herself, she couldn't force herself to be calm.

It was like this every time.

"You've dishonored yourself, and there's only one way to restore it."

"I'm not playing along," she said, her voice squeaking out her tight throat. "I'm not playing along."

"This is no game," the voice said. "If you won't restore my honor, I'll do it for you."

A sword pierced her, running through from her back and out her stomach. The shock of pain tore through her...

And then she was sitting on the floor of the dojo, eyes closed, hearing only the slight crackling of the incense as it burned on the Kamidana before her.

Twelve years since she'd first been given that vision, on a television screen in a hospital room. For twelve years, she'd seen it every time she'd looked deep into herself, trying to touch what once was there. A place of power, but a place of danger. It frightened her, and yet she couldn't resist the urge to look again. And again.

The night had already been sleepless. Something was coming. She didn't know what or where, but it was the first true sensation, one she had not experienced in twelve years. It had kept her mind from settling into rest, despite the mental discipline she'd taught herself over those years.

_ So many years alone_, she thought. Even with her friends, even with her students, she was always alone. Holding onto secrets she could not share for fear of endangering their lives. They knew something had changed with her, in her abandonment of her studies in favor of almost constant martial arts training, and in her opening of this dojo. Her father had never agreed with her choices, but had done his best to support her. Overcompensation for his absenteeism in her younger years, she supposed.

She opened her eyes, which fell upon a photograph on the other side of the incense stick. It portrayed a woman with big brown eyes and a wide, toothy smile on her lips. Her hair hung around her shoulders, framing the front opening of the otherwise modest blouse.

_Have I made the right choices, Mom?_ She closed her eyes again. _I mean, I can't un-know what I know. But should I have just tried to make friends, maybe find a man and have a family? And – did I really have to drag the others into this with me?_

Of course, she knew the answer. She liked to believe it was her mother's spirit speaking to her, though from her experiences it was easy to become deluded, even by oneself, into thinking the dead were giving you an answer you wanted to hear. She and her father had both had their hearts broken in that way.

No, she had made the right choices. Though it had been hinted that things might not come to pass in her lifetime, she always suspected that they would. She knew that secret was kept deep in the dangerous place within her, the place she could not touch.

It was her blessing, and her curse, to know these things. It was the reason she'd chosen to devote her life to martial arts, and to open her dojo. She needed to find others she could trust, ones who wouldn't burden her with the kind of love she felt for her friends, the worry and the pain of watching them once again risk their lives. She needed ones who could be counted upon to take up the mantle of heroes when humanity needed them, ones she could lead into battle with a clear conscience. Teddie was the only one of her friends who followed her because, for some reason, she'd found it impossible to get rid of him.

And so had begun Dojo Harumagedon. Certainly not a subtle name, but she believed that anyone scared off by the name could not be expected to rise to the occasion of preventing it. She had not taught any one style, but rather blended her favorite parts of all of them. Karate, tae kwon do, balintawak, wing tsun – fighting with weapons and without, controlling one's body so one could change it from a vision of peace to a deadly weapon in the blink of an eye.

She had applied no dress code. In fact, she almost always wore a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt, both in class and out. She knew it made her look sloppy, but she had never wanted her students to mistakenly expect any sort of accolades such as colored belts or tournament trophies. For even if they won their battles, even if they saved all of humanity, none would ever know about it.

She opened her eyes. While she could see into people's minds, her range was limited. One of her students had just entered hers. Kaz was coming back.

And someone else was coming down the stairs. "Sensei?" came a high voice. "How come you're still up?"

She turned to look at him, the flickering candle light making his pale face appear yellow and red in the dark studio. "Not a sleeping night. How about you, Teddie?" she asked, standing. She padded to him on bare feet.

"Couldn't sleep either," Teddie said, fingers playing through his perpetually-styled blond hair. "Something smells weird."

"I know you're not talking about the incense," she said with a sardonic grin. Then she released the grin and nodded. "Yeah, yeah it does." She lifted her head up and looked to the ceiling. "Someone's on their way."

"Who?"

"Kaz. He's driving up the street now."

"But I thought he was at school," Teddie said. "Is he coming back for a visit?"

She shook her head. "He was away on a field trip," she said. "It's got to be something important for him to leave it and come back here." She tilted her head slightly and her eyes wandered a bit. "He was on a – dig for his class. Archaeology."

"Ooh, like that one guy with the whip?" Teddie asked, his bright blue eyes open wide and appearing greenish in the candle light.

"Something like that," she said, not wanting to end up in another reality versus fantasy discussion with her old, naïve friend. "He's been driving all night to get back here. He's exhausted."

"Wow," Teddie said. "Maybe we can all take a nap together when he gets here!"

She smiled, an almost motherly smile, but also amused at Teddie's light attitude. No matter how old he was he did not appear to have aged a day, nor had he matured much in that time. He still looked upon everything with the curiosity of a child. She, on the other hand, had changed quite a bit from the girl who had first met him, about twenty years ago. At twenty-four, she felt as if she'd lived well over seventy years. Not in her body, which was about as fit as a human body could be, but in the life and the knowledge that had been inflicted upon her, and which she had, when necessary, borrowed from others.

"Go put on some tea, if you would please. I could use some myself."

"Sure thing!" Teddie scampered back up the stairs in his typical, happy-go-lucky style.

The sound of an engine, old and slightly out of balance, was becoming louder through the glass door at the far end of the studio, and shattering the silence of the dojo and indeed that of the whole neighborhood. There was a squeal of worn brakes and then the engine slowed, sputtered, and went silent. A creaky metal door opened and then slammed shut. She glided to the door and flipped the lock just as Kaz arrived at it. Kaz saw her do so and pulled the door open, triggering an electronic _ding-dong_.

"Sensei," Kaz said, stepping inside and stopping in front of her. She was tall, at least half a head taller than he was even though her feet were bare and his were encased in dusty, thick-soled boots. He opened his mouth to speak again, but no words came out. He held up his hands, an object cradled within them, saying nothing more.

She looked at the item he was holding before her. Immediately, without even touching it, she knew its purpose, even if she didn't know what it was or from where it had come. It was a sign. The sign she'd known was coming, that she'd taught her trusted few, the nakama she had formed over the few short years of her work.

She also saw what had transpired, how it had caught his attention even from a distance, how it had seemed to almost speak to him, even though he wasn't aware of it. That concerned her greatly.

She held out her hand and Kaz placed it into her palm. "Thank you, Kaz-kun. Your insight was good." She held the object up to her eye and examined it more closely. She felt no excitement at this revelation, only dread buried deep beneath the blanket of her mental conditioning. "This is...what we've been waiting for, I think. You were right to bring it to me right away."

Kaz, trying and failing to suppress his smile, bowed deeply to her. "Thank you, Nanako-sensei."


	2. Links

Living life's love

Today, tomorrow, and the next

A world of your own making

A world that cannot last

The Darkness is coming

VVVVV

**Chapter 2: Links**

"Daddy! Whatcha makin' now?"

"Hey! What'd I tell you 'bout doing that when I'm using a needle?" Kanji Tatsumi pressed his hands flat on the table, covering the threaded needle with which he had been assembling his latest creation.

The young boy who had jumped up between his arms, apparently oblivious to his father's scolding, spun around. "Looks like that sea urchin sushi Great-Grandpa always eats!"

Kanji lifted his palms from the table and wrapped his arms around the boy, pulling him up into his lap. "That's 'cause it's inside out, ya little goof!" The boy giggled as Kanji tickled his midsection, a thimble popping off his finger and clinking onto the floor. "It's a surprise for your brother."

"Is it a Featherman X?"

"No, it's not Feather-" He sighed theatrically. "He doesn't watch that show all the time like you do."

The boy wriggled out of his grip, sliding to the floor. "I'm gonna teach him so he'll be cool like me!" He rolled to his feet and sprinted out of the room, disappearing as quickly as he had appeared.

"Damn, Tatsu, the hell d'you get that kinda energy?" Kanji bent down to pick up his thimble, feeling a slight twinge in his back. _Getting out of shape_, he thought. _Kid's putting me to shame._

_"Moooom!" _he heard over the intercom on the wall. _"Daddy's not makin' a Featherman X figure even though it'd be cool!"_

_"Tatsuyoshi Tatsumi, what have you been told about playing with the intercom?"_ came back a female voice.

_"Not to do it," _returned the boy's voice, lower and with much less excitement and before. _"Unless it's important."_

_"And is this important?"_ Kanji had to chuckle at the little game the boy's mother was playing with him. He knew she was encouraging him to abuse the intercom by bantering with him over it, and probably would have said something to her about it if it weren't so damned funny.

_"No, Mommy," _the boy said, his voice now full of dejection.

_ "Then go play outside. It's a nice day."_

_ "But Mommy-"_

_ "One!"_

_ "Daddy!"_

Eyes rolling, Kanji stood from his chair and leaned over toward the intercom, pressing the button hard with his thumb. "Do what your mother says," he answered sternly.

_"Okay," _the boy's voice came back after a few seconds. There was silence and, satisfied that the discussion was over, Kanji sat back down and tried to recapture his train of thought.

In truth, the boy hadn't been the one to disrupt his rhythm in creating the toy. He'd been up since early in the morning, a sense of dread invading his dreams and making it impossible for him to ease back to sleep. He'd figured that focusing on this toy, the gift for his younger son, would clear his head.

It hadn't.

He had just picked up the unfinished toy and had straightened his interrupted stitch when the same female voice said from behind him, "Sometimes I don't know what to do with him."

He didn't look up, instead starting his next stitch. "Heard about a dart that can knock out a charging elephant."

"I'll order a case." She walked up to him and placed a hand on the back of his neck. Even after so many years, even despite the rough callouses on her fingers and palms, her touch on his neck still gave him goosebumps.

He gently placed the unfinished toy on the table, took her cool hand in one of his, and looked up. He smiled at her, and she smiled back. "What's on your mind?"

"Whaddya mean?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

Naoto arched an eyebrow. "Since when have you been able to hide anything from me?"

He sighed. "Just had a weird feeling when I woke up, that's all. I'm okay now."

"No you're not," she said. She looked away. "I'm not either. I think...I think the time is coming soon."

He didn't have to ask what time she meant. He tried to draw the conversation away from that. "Can't believe he doesn't get as pissed about the kids playing with that intercom as you do."

Naoto laughed a little. She leaned down and kissed his forehead, the blue hair that framed her face brushing against his cheek. "Grandfather has always been a patient man. I believe he enjoys the sounds of children. I believe," her smile relaxed, "he would like it to be one of the last things he hears."

Kanji stood, taking both her hands into his, callouses stroking callouses. He could see the tears she was hiding behind in her eyes. The hardest part was that he could feel the pain from her, the knowing that the old man, whom they both loved, wasn't long for this world. Ever since that day years ago, each could always feel what the other felt. Sometimes it helped. Sometimes not.

She shook her head, and forced her smile to return. "He has lived a long life, and has told me more than once that he is ready once his time finally arrives. Now that he has seen the Shirogane line continue...now that he has seen me happy..." She let the sentence hang in the air, and Kanji drew her close. He felt her tremble just a little, something that had once been rare for her but that had become more frequent as her grandfather's illness had worsened. "I only hope that, when it's my time, I can face it as bravely as he."

"I only hope that your time's a long time from now," Kanji said.

Naoto laughed louder, surprising him. "Having already experienced it, I'm hoping my _next_ time is far off."

Kanji hated when she joked about her death. Memories of it had haunted his nightmares ever since. Just when he'd managed to finally put it out of his conscious mind, he'd have a fresh vision of it. She was standing there, clothing wet and sand-crusted, bare feet planted in the ground, arms stretched out wide. He'd see her absorbing an impossible amount of fire from an angry god, and after a final cry her body was falling limp and dead.

Every time he saw it he tried to tell himself it was a reminder of how much he had almost let slip away. Sometimes it worked.

A wife whom he loved more than any woman in the world, two wonderful boys who had almost never existed, and a wise old man who became the grandfather he'd never known. "Yeah," was all he could say, though. Naoto's way of dealing with those painful memories was to joke casually about them, a break in character that would surprise all but those who knew her best. He'd learned it was best to just let her do it.

Naoto broke their embrace and turned to the work in progress on the table. "How's Hiro's gift coming along?"

Kanji shrugged. "Taking longer than usual. I want it to be special, ya know? Plus, kinda hard to concentrate with-" He broke off, not wanting to turn the conversation back to the sinking feeling in his stomach. "A little kid popping up in your lap."

"Well, I must be a terrible distraction then." She turned away. "I'll let you get back to it."

"Nah," Kanji said, taking her arm and aborting her half-hearted attempt to escape. "I'll just take it to the shop and work on it there. Bringin' work home's a bad habit."

"Ah," Naoto said, nodding. "A rebuke, I suppose."

"Wha – no, I didn't mean-" He stopped when she pressed a finger to his lips.

"Of course you did," she said, "and you're right. You and the boys deserve more of my attention. I've been considering..." She frowned a bit. "I – think I will take a sabbatical after my current case is complete." She looked away. "I want to be here with you and the boys more often. And...and I..." Kanji drew her close again, and felt her her tremble against his chest. "I want to be with grandfather when..." She trailed off, her voice muffled by Kanji's shirt.

"He's proud of you, ya know," Kanji said. He placed his hand on her head, stroking his fingers through her shaggy blue hair. "Tells me all the time." He chuckled. "Remember when he wouldn't even give me the time of day?"

Naoto laughed through her tears. "I remember him threatening to have you physically thrown off the property the first time I brought you to meet him. He's certainly come around."

"I kinda have sticking power like that," Kanji said.

"That you do," she said. "That you do."

Kanji hesitated for a moment. "How 'bout I stay home today, huh? You know, hang out. All of us."

Naoto tilted her head. "And leave the shop closed all day?"

Kanji shrugged. "Yeah. I can dial in that sign thing you gave me. 'Closed for family day' or something."

Naoto shook her head. "No, things will be all right. I can call you if...anything happens. You won't be that far away."

Kanji hesitated for a moment. "Y'know, I've been thinking 'bout something. Maybe I should...just close the shop up. For good, I mean."

"Close it?" Naoto pulled away. "You love making those toys. You don't see the glow in your eyes when you're focusing on one. It's almost as bright as the glow when you're looking at the boys." She glanced away. "Or me." She turned back to him. "I wouldn't ask you to give up your legacy, any more than you'd ask me to give up mine."

Kanji knew what she was saying. He hadn't protested Naoto's decision to keep her family name rather than take his, because he knew how much her family's legacy meant to her. Truth be told, he was still quite attached to his mother's legacy, even after all these years, but for him, family _name_ wasn't as important as family _memory_. Not after all he'd been through. "Yeah, but...we don't need the money. I'm gone a lot. Besides, I can still make the toys and sell them on the 'Net, right? I make more on those than selling fabric, anyway, and not too many people come by anymore."

"You've been thinking about this for a while, haven't you?" She stared straight into his eyes. He could read everything in her gaze. It was saying, _"I'll support whatever you choose, but make sure it's what you truly want."_

"Kinda, yeah. I could rent the shop out. Maybe rent the apartment, too. For tourists. Pretty much all Inaba's good for anymore."

"Then we'd never see Nanako again."

Kanji shrugged again. "Just means we'd have to make a special trip. Besides, not like she isn't busy doing her own thing."

Naoto gazed into his eyes for a moment longer, then smiled and said, "It's a big decision. We'll talk about it later." She kissed him again. "Go on, we'll be fine."

VVVVV

Yosuke Hanamura jarred awake to the front door slamming shut. It took him a moment to realize he was sitting up on the couch in the living room, and not in the empty bed he'd come home to. Just like on most nights.

"Hey," Chie said, tossing her keys into the metal bowl by the door. The clattering was a further shock to his already tired system. "What're you doing up so late?"

"Nothing really," Yosuke said, grunting as he worked a kink out of his neck. He really needed to stop drinking beer in front of the TV at night. "'Nother long night?"

Chie nodded. "Yeah. Had to kick a couple drunk dudes' asses straight into the tank. What is it with you men? Why is it drinking always makes you think you're Bruce Lee?"

_ Not all men_, Yosuke thought. _Some of us do it to get away for a bit_ He shrugged. "Dunno."

"Whad'ja make for dinner?" she asked, leaning over and giving him a quick, almost habitual, peck on his cheek. It was the kind of kiss that Yosuke felt was a deliberate attempt to avoid kissing his lips. There had been a lot of that avoidance lately, on both their sides. Even the link that had connected their souls for twelve years seemed to have gone silent.

"Burgers," he said. "Made ya a couple with mushrooms and onions mixed in, like you like."

"Thanks," she said, with as little enthusiasm as he felt. Of course, he knew she wanted something more substantial than ground beef, but Yosuke was no cook. Chie certainly was not, even on the few evenings she happened to be home rather than working more overtime. If he wasn't cooking basic dishes then they were eating take-out.

She walked into the kitchen, making no effort to muffle her heavy footsteps on the carpet. He heard the fridge open and close, the microwave open and close, a few beeps, and the humming of the microwave's fan.

He sighed, standing and taking his two beer bottles with him into the kitchen. He dropped them into the recycling bin and stood watching Chie, her back turned to him, staring into the microwave.

He opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it again. There were so many things he wanted to say to her. _"Have you heard anything about that promotion?" "Are you finally ready to be a mom?" "Do you even _want_ to be a mom?" "Do you even want to be with me anymore?"_ He took a deep breath, and said, "I'm goin' to bed."

"'Kay," Chie said. "G'night."

"Yeah." Yosuke slipped away.

Chie watched the microwave heat up her hamburger patties, pulling the door open when there were still 13 seconds left on the timer. She took the plate and a bag of bread, sat at the table, and put together two hamburgers. She sighed. Just once, she'd like to come home after a hard shift to something interesting. Like steak.

Of course, she knew they couldn't afford steak. Together they made a decent living, but they had gone into so much debt buying this house and furnishing it that, once the mortgage and bills were paid, there was barely enough for any kind of fancy meals. She shook her head. When steak was considered a fancy meal, even for the wife of a manager at a store that sold steaks at discount prices, she knew things just plain sucked. Of course, they could have made smarter choices. And Chie could give up coffee and doughnuts in the morning. But if she was ever going to get that promotion to detective, she had to do her best to not be an outsider, even as she did her best to outperform her peers. Once she got her promotion, with the pay raise that it would bring, things would be better.

Yosuke had been pretty distant lately. Of course, he was dealing with a lot of stress. Bills, managing a store and having to live up to his father's extremely high expectations, and being the husband of a police officer who put her life on the line every day – she hadn't blamed him for it. She was just glad he'd stopped bugging her about having kids.

She put down her hamburger, a mouthful still half-chewed behind her lips. She just had to wait until her promotion, which she knew was coming soon. It _had_ to be. She'd put too much work into it for it _not_ to be coming. She'd get paid vacation, she'd be off the beat and in less danger of a baby getting hurt...

That thought filled her stomach with a lump, and made it difficult for her to swallow the food in her mouth. Something about being pregnant, about getting bigger, so big that eventually you couldn't run, could barely _walk_, having to puke every morning and pee every five minutes...she just couldn't imagine it. Sure, some of her friends had been through it, and all of them had told her it was worth all the discomfort and inconvenience. Then again, none of her friends did the kind of work she did. Naoto could just as easily put together crime scene clues without having to be far away from a restroom, and Rise the movie star didn't have to run after fast, young crooks whose only hope of getting away with their crimes was running faster than Officer Chie Hanamura.

And Yukiko... Chie hadn't thought about kids a whole lot growing up, but she'd kind of always thought someday she and Yukiko would be mothers at the same time. Yukiko wasn't having kids anytime soon.

_No, just a little longer. _ She could afford to be pregnant as a detective, she could afford to take maternity leave when it was time, and she wouldn't have to worry as badly if she couldn't quite get her body as fit after the child was born. Just a little more time, and she'd be ready.

She looked up from her partially-eaten hamburger toward the bedroom, whose door was just visible through the kitchen's rear doorway. She'd heard the toilet flush and then the room had gone silent. She then looked at the clock. She had to be back at the precinct in ten hours.

She didn't know just what it was, but she only seemed to be excited about her work when she was there, in uniform, her senses all open for a call or a cry for help or the blare of an alarm. When at home, she almost dreaded going back.

_ Stop it_, she thought. _That kind of thinking and you'll make detective. Especially not with Captain Dojima on your ass all the time._

Captain Dojima. Sometimes it just seemed completely unbelievable, the kind of experiences she and her boss's boss had shared. Fighting gods in an alternate world, witnessing his daughter, her friend, almost become a goddess herself. Sharing pieces of their souls to bring their friends back to life.

It was all a distant memory now. She didn't have much time for a social life, though she did her best to see her friends as often as she could. The captain, though, was a different story. She rarely saw him, and whenever she did he either ignored her, or was calling her out on some error or another that had drawn his attention. She wanted to believe it was intentional, that he was pushing her hard to groom her for eventual promotion. That didn't take the criticism any easier to take.

She massaged the bridge of her nose and took another big bite of her burger. It was still cold in the middle, but it didn't bother her. Just having the time to eat in the privacy of her own home was a treat.

She finished the burgers, trying not to think any more and letting the hum of the refrigerator soothe her frayed nerves. When she was done she tossed the paper plate in the recycler, and headed toward the bedroom. She needed a shower. She just hoped Yosuke was already asleep. She felt bad enough being home late all the time, and didn't want to disturb his sleep twice in one night.

_Things'll be better soon, I promise_, she thought to him, wishing he could hear her.

VVVVV

Nanako took a sip of her tea, and then looked back through the loupe at the object Kaz had brought her. She wasn't much of an archaeologist, but she could tell the object wasn't just another museum piece. It was something significant. What that was she couldn't yet see; it was somewhere on the edge of her consciousness, but it was definitely there. Calling to her.

The eyes were what caught her attention most. They weren't simple carvings in the stone, which otherwise seemed unremarkable. They only appeared when you, apparently, warmed it with body heat. She searched back through the memories Kaz gave her. His professor had examined it about as closely as she was now, but apparently saw nothing but a weather-pitted stone.

"Not heat, then," she said.

"I'm sorry, Sensei?"

Nanako realized she'd been continuing her thought verbally. Sometimes she lost track of where thoughts ended and words began, a side effect of her ability. "It isn't just body heat that makes the eyes appear. Your professor looked at it and saw nothing," she said. "Did the girl who picked it up see the eyes?"

"I don't know," Kaz said. "She just got all excited and practically tripped over herself bringing it to him."

"Teddie," Nanako said. She handed him the stone. "What do you see?"

Teddie set down his tea and examined it for a moment. "It goes blue when I touch it. Kinda-" He screeched and dropped it. It skidded across the table, and Nanako had to reach across to take it back.

"Careful!" Kaz said. "These things are fragile!"

"That was...creepy!" Teddie said. "Like it was looking right at me."

"Yeah," Nanako said, examining it again. "Yeah, it's like that, isn't it?"

"So – you think only some people can see it, Sensei?" Kaz asked.

"There's no guarantee your classmate saw it either," Nanako said. "She might've just gotten over-excited, like you thought." _It'd make more sense if she didn't see the eyes. Unless...unless she's got her own power of some kind..._ She started to ask Kaz the student's name, but could sense he didn't know. She could ask him to find out, but it wasn't necessarily important at this point. Instead she said, "The dig's sponsor knew something was there. Suppose they knew about this? It's a bit coincidental that-" She looked away, toward the stairwell.

"Sensei, what's wrong?" Teddie asked.

Nanako held a hand up, shushing him. She stood and walked calmly and quickly down the steps. Teddie and Kaz scrambled to follow her downstairs and through the dojo to the front door. The morning sun was casting long shadows on the sidewalk outside. Another shadow joined it; in a moment they could see it belonged to a black sedan with darkened windows. It rolled slowly to a stop directly in front of the dojo. Nanako sensed interest from its occupants. They were looking at Kaz's car. Then their attention shifted to the dojo. They could see her standing there, watching them.

The sedan sat for a full minute, and she could feel its occupants deciding what to do. "Sensei, what-" Teddie started as he stepped forward, but she put a hand on his chest, stopping him. The car finally pulled away, the tires squealing on the blacktop.

"Who the hell was that?" Kaz said.

"They were looking for you," Nanako said. "They've been following your car."

"The stone?" Kaz asked.

"Maybe." She wasn't sure exactly. She should have been able to detect more of what the men in the car were thinking. It was as if their thoughts were being filtered somehow. She didn't know such a thing was possible. She glanced at Teddie and Kaz, who were both staring at her expectantly. She had no answers for them, but she knew where she could find them.

"Let's get ready," she said. "We're going to go find out."


	3. Agents of Fate

Power is but a means

To fulfill one's obsessions

When fear is the guiding light

One will find oneself in the dark

There will be nowhere to escape it

VVVVV

**Chapter 3: Agents of Fate**

A middle-aged man stood at a heavy wooden door, a manila folder tucked underneath his arm. He looked up to see the camera above, pointed down at him. He heard the mechanism buzz, saw the lens turn just a little. He gave a slight nod, and the door latch clicked. He pulled it open and stepped inside.

The door closed by itself behind him, the latch catching with a pronounced _snap_. Without a word he stepped forward toward the large desk, placing the folder onto it directly in front of the woman seated there. She had long, dark red hair that flowed from her head down past her shoulders, the only break to her otherwise stern demeanor. Aside from that one deviation, in her suit and stony expression she was all business.

The woman leaned forward, opening the folder. Within was a single thin sheet, with a seemingly random assortment of colored designs on it. She slid it into a slot in the surface of her desk, and after a few seconds a display appeared on her desktop with the words:

** Authorization Required to decode this file**

** Self-destruct is armed**

She laid her hand directly onto the words. After a few seconds, the display disappeared from her desk and was replaced with a three-dimensional computer desktop, suspended above it. She shifted her position in the seat so she could see it fully. The words "Authorization Accepted" were in the center, with an "OK" button beneath. She tapped her finger in the air and first page appeared. She read through it briefly. "He took it to Inaba," she said, her voice smooth and emotionless.

"Yes," the man said. "To a dojo called 'Harumagedon'."

"'Armageddon Dojo'," the woman said. "He brought it to _her_, then." She swiped a finger across the holographic display several times, flipping through several pages.

"The dojo itself is a front, as you suspected. The sensei teaches self-defense to a few dozen students per week, but she has a special class of six. One lives at the dojo with her, and the others are between nineteen and thirty-six. Their dossiers are included in the file."

"The target is one of them."

The man nodded. "He volunteered for the dig at the first opportunity. Within twenty-four hours of his arrival, the talisman had been uncovered. As you expected."

The woman continued flipping through holographic pages. "Persona-users."

The optical properties of the holographic display made it invisible to all but the person sitting behind the desk, but the man presumed she was browsing through the student dossiers. "We have detailed information on all her students save one: the one who lives at the dojo with her. He is a young man of unknown nationality and age. Appears to be in his mid-teens, perhaps fourteen or fifteen, but he has no records with the government, no biometrics on file. We've linked him to a physical check-up performed in Inaba back in 2011, but the evidence is contradictory, and the medical information completely abnormal. Our conclusion is that he may not, in fact, be human."

The woman, apparently oblivious to the man's verbal tangent, said, "She preaches that the end is coming, and that her students will help her fight for humanity."

"Yes," the man said, not skipping a beat despite the shift in subject. "Her inner circle has been nearly impossible to infiltrate, but her students have, outside her class, been known to preach about the end of humanity. There is no apparent connection to SEES or to The Fall, but the similarities are striking."

He waited for the woman to interject, and when she did not, he continued, "Our agents followed the target after he retrieved the talisman. There was a Persona-user there. At the dojo. This correlates to the results of our ongoing investigation." He straightened, crossing his hands behind his back. "Based on the evidence so far, we've confirmed that the sensei herself is indeed either a current or former Persona-user. She may have an ability to see the potential in others." He tilted his head down, gazing at her over his glasses. "Like you once did, Kirijo-sama."

"Which is why she's drawing so many to herself." Mitsuru Kirijo, chair of the Kirijo group, flipped once more through the holographic pages, and then leaned back in her chair. "Thank you, but this changes little for us right now. You know what to do."

The man nodded once, took two steps backward, and then turned and left the room. As soon as the door snapped shut behind him, Mitsuru leaned forward again and started flipping carefully, deliberately, through the pages in the folder. "Nanako Dojima," she muttered. Born and raised in Inaba, the daughter of a police captain. She was present twenty years ago during the fog incident, and then seven years later during the freak storms that had afflicted the region, along with the random reports of mysterious, temporary memory loss that had trickled out of the district.

Over the years she had devoted whatever resources she could spare, and sometimes _more_ than she could spare, on investigating strange phenomena across the globe. Inaba was one of those places that most piqued her interest. She had concluded years ago that it was some center of supernatural activity, most specifically _Persona_ activity. The file before her may well represent the culmination of that work, and the final link between the incidents of years ago and her primary goal. It couldn't be any coincidence that Nanako Dojima, whose name had come up so many times in her reports from Inaba, was seeking out the fourth piece of the talisman.

She turned around to the small clear case on the shelf behind her. There were two small objects glittering under a tiny lamp. A matching set, found together in the dunes a month ago. There had been three at first, but the third had been divided for testing, and was now being put to other use. "Pieces of the Moon", so dubbed by a Kirijo employee far more poetic than herself.

They were found in roughly in the same area where the talisman had been uncovered last night. Her advisors had questioned the logic in allowing the university rights to the dig, but Mitsuru had been sure it would get the attention of other Persona-users. It seemed she was correct.

"So what are you planning to do with the talisman, Nanako Dojima?"

VVVVV

Nanako examined the stone one more time, gazing into the tiny eyes, before zipping it away in her jacket pocket. She then snatched up her phone and hooked it onto her right ear.

"Where are we going, Sensei?" Teddie asked as stepped out of his room, pulling his shirt over his head. "How're we gonna find those guys?"

Nanako glanced to Kaz, who was watching her with expectation. She winked at him. "I think they're going to come find us."

"You mean like an ambush?" Teddie said.

"Or a trap," Kaz said. The excitement of finding the stone, and of fleeing with it to his sensei, had passed. Now he was left with the disbelief that he had actually done what he did, that he had actually been followed, and was now here with her, getting ready to go find the men who had been following him. He almost felt like he was detached from himself, watching a movie with himself as the star. He couldn't even begin to guess how the plot would play out.

"Here's how I see it," Nanako said. She held up two fingers and ticked off one. "Either they want us to follow them so they can catch us, which'll maybe make them cocky enough to slip up. Or," she ticked off the other finger, "they aren't expecting us to follow them, and we'll catch them off-guard." She patted Kaz on the shoulder, which she always did when he was feeling nervous. This was more serious than facing off against a highly-skilled opponent in a training match, though he did feel a bit comforted by her confidence. "Either way we'll find them, won't we?"

"Should we call, you know, everyone?" Kaz asked. "I mean, for backup?"

"No, not yet," Nanako said. "This all might be...nothing."

"Nothing?" Kaz stepped around to face her. "You said that stone was what you were waiting for. What else have you been waiting for, other than..." He trailed off.

"Other than what?"

"The end. The _harumagedon_!"

Nanako offered a calm smile and took Kaz's hand. "Kaz-kun, you've been with me for a while now. You've placed a lot of trust in me. Please trust me just for a little longer."

He wished it could be that easy. He wanted to trust her, but he couldn't silence his nerves. Sensei had told him many times about her adventures into other world, fighting monsters for the fate of humanity. He believed her, but it was one thing to hear the stories, but another to live them.

She let his hand go, turned away from him, and headed down the stairs. Kaz glanced at Teddie. "Don't worry, Sensei knows what she's doing. You've never seen her in a real fight!" Teddie went after her, leaving Kaz alone in the apartment kitchen. He closed his eyes and sighed. _She trusts you. Time to trust her._ He walked briskly down the stairs.

At the bottom he saw Nanako standing at the front door, watching something through the glass. He could tell the morning sun had risen in the sky, that the shadows outside had shortened noticeably.

"Sensei." She glanced back at him. Kaz continued, "I'm sorry. I _do_ trust you, Sensei. I just...I never expected..."

"You never expected the things I talked about would actually happen," Nanako said. She looked away from him, eyes going distant as they often did when she was, as she called it, "listening to the world". "It's all right to have doubts. I did my first time, too." She turned to him, her eyes both kind and serious. "You don't have to come if you don't want."

"No. I mean yes." Kaz took a breath. "I do want to come with you. Whatever happens." This was what he'd signed up for, and he wasn't going to let nerves stop him from seeing it through.

"Good," Nanako said. She gave a sly smile. "Because you're the only licensed driver here." Kaz couldn't help but smile back.

Teddie poked his head in between them. "Um, if we're going after these guys, maybe we shouldn't bring the stone. If they're really here to get it."

"It's probably safer with us than if we leave it here." She rapped on the glass of the doors. "The last thing I need is a bill for replacing these if somebody breaks in looking for it." She unbolted the door and stepped out, the two young men following her, and closing and re-locking it behind them. The morning mist was already burning off, leaving a pleasant warmth to the morning. "Well then," she said, turning to the beat-up compact car. "Let's go spring a trap."

VVVVV

They had driven around town for the better part of an hour before anything happened. Teddie had been the first one to become restless, though he had done his best not to show it. Kaz did his best to concentrate on driving enough to avert both nerves and boredom; Nanako hadn't given him any particular directions to follow, so he just made a meandering tour of Inaba, exploring all the main arterials and side streets. This kind of tactic was new to him, though he doubted they would be mistaken for a trio of lost tourists if they were found.

Nanako was the only one to truly keep her patience intact. Part of it was her self-taught discipline, though the rest was her ability to stretch her mind beyond the confines of her skull, beyond the car. She would be the first to admit it was cheating, if just a little, but in the same breath would proudly admit it. Fairness was a concept she rarely had a use for anymore. The virtue of pragmatism meant that, if you had an advantage, you were perfectly justified in using it.

Her tactic proved to be sound. Finally, the third time they passed the Junes parking lot, she felt the sedan pull out from behind two parked cars. _Of course it'd be Junes,_ she thought with a bit of irony. She chouldn't get a clear read on its passengers, but they were definitely aware of the trio. She glanced in the side mirror and saw it pull out into the road, a couple cars back. Following them. "Here they are," she said, having to speak loudly over the rumbling from the rusted out exhaust pipe beneath the floor.

"Where?" Kaz said. He started looking frantically around in front, to the sides, and in the mirrors. She could feel the stress from him, and placed a hand on his arm. He jumped slightly, causing the car to jerk to one side before he corrected.

"Hey!" Teddie said. He rubbed the spot on his head that he's bumped on the door.

"Be calm, Kaz-kun. Don't forget, you're in control of yourself. Everything will be fine, I promise."

Kaz took a few deep breaths, and his heartbeat started to slow to a more reasonable pace. "Ok, I'm...I'm better now. Sorry about that, Sensei."

"It's all right," Nanako said. "They're behind us. A few cars back."

"I-I think I see them," Kaz said, eyes darting between the side mirror and the road ahead.

Before she could tell him not to, Teddie had spun completely around and was staring out the rear window. "Teddie, face forward. Don't let them see you or they'll know we know they're there."

Teddie dutifully turned back around, but from his fidgeting Nanako could tell he really wanted to look again. "Hey, I just thought about something," Teddie said. "Uh, what if they've got guns and stuff? I didn't bring any weapons."

"I've got a couple things in the trunk, and a pocket knife in the glove box." Kaz glanced to Nanako. She opened the glove box, fished around the variety of papers and junk, and pulled out the knife. It was more of a mini-tool and looked to have gotten little use in its lifetime, but she supposed it would be better than nothing. She handed it to Kaz and he tucked it into his pocket.

"So, uh, what'll Sensei and me use? How're we gonna get to the trunk if they're right behind us?"

"We'll be all right, Teddie," Nanako said. She slid her hand into her front jeans pocket, feeling the flat rectangular object that always followed her. It was always where she expected it to be, whether or not she had thought to bring it with her, even though it had no power other than to remind her it had once had the power to manifest her Persona. That both comforted and concerned her. She did not want to go into a potentially dangerous situation without her Persona, but she knew the danger of what she could do, what she could become, if she had to summon it again under duress. She also knew, if Amaterasu was to be believed, that it might well re-start the Civil War between her and Susano-O, and rain destruction upon humanity.

She had never truly come to terms with having that choice, that responsibility thrust upon her. It was far too late for second thoughts, though. Especially not when they were in the middle of springing a trap.

"Um, what're we going to do?" Kaz said, glancing again in his mirror. The black sedan was now directly behind them and closing.

"They're trying to decide the same thing," Nanako said. There was more, she was sure, but it was clouded from her view. For the first time in years, she found herself wishing she had her full power back. Trying her best to clear her head, she focused everything she could on them, trying to pick up something-

"So do I just keep driving, or-"

"Yes," Nanako interrupted. "Quiet for a sec." She was getting something else. She just wasn't completely sure what that was. _Just push a little harder. Concentrate. Concen-_

The car jumped underneath them, knocking her out of her focus. "What the-"

"The engine just died!" Kaz said. "Dammit to hell, of all the-"

"They did it," Nanako said, now feeling the satisfaction in the car tailing them. "They expected this." She looked down at the dashboard. All indicator lights were out, as were the digital odometer and clock.

"EMP!" Teddie said, far more excited than he should have been. "It fries electronics! I saw something about it on TV before. The police were trying to-"

"Teddie!" Kaz shouted.

"Calm down, both of you," Nanako said. Kaz reached for the ignition and turned it. Nothing happened, not even the sound of the ignition motor clicking. "Relax, Kaz-kun," Nanako said. "It'll be all right." She thought for a moment. "Pull over and park as safely as you can. Make it look like you think it's just a regular break-down."

"A-all right," Kaz said. "I'll try." He looked around in several jerks, his nerves trying to get the better of him, and then pulled over toward the left and decelerated. The car responded sluggishly; both steering and braking required more force than usual with the car's power assist systems out, but he was able to manage well enough.

The sedan slowed as well, but not at the same rate. It was gaining on them. As soon as they stopped, the black sedan surged forward and struck them. All three cried out, snapped backward into their seats as the car was thrust forward, jumped the curb, and struck a concrete post.

Nanako did her best to recover her senses as the two men jumped out of the car behind them, ran up to Kaz's car, ripped open the locked doors with seemingly superhuman strength, and yanked them out. Nanako and Teddie were both pulled out the passenger side by the same man, while the other tore Kaz out from the driver's side. Kaz and Teddie struggled, but Nanako kept calm as they were quickly dragged away from the street into a thicket of bushes. Brambles tugged at Nanako's hair and jacket, but she took the opportunity to observe what she could about the men. The one distinct difference between them was that one had black hair, and the other blonde. Otherwise, they were both sturdy-framed and athletic but not particularly bulky, clad in plain nondescript black suits, shirts, and ties, and wearing dark glasses. Their suit jackets were closed and she could see the outline of something under their arms when the bushes tugged at the fabric.

The two men threw them into a pile on the other side of the bushes. One stood on either side, blocking their possible paths of escape.

"Are you agents?" Teddie said, once he'd recovered enough to roll onto his back. "Like the 'Men in Black'?"

"What do you want with us?" Nanako asked.

"We ask the questions, you answer," the one to her left, with the blonde hair, said.

The black-haired one turned to Kaz. "Last night you were at a dig in the Tottori Dunes. You picked up an object and brought it back here. Where is it?"

"What're you-" Kaz started.

"She's got it," the blonde one said, pointing to Nanako.

Nanako snapped her gaze to the blonde one. How could he have known? The tilt to Blonde's head told her he saw the surprise on her face, and knew he was correct.

"Hand it over," Black said.

"Go to hell," Nanako said.

Blonde stepped over her and leaned down, reaching for her jacket. She leaned back, faking fear at his approach. Her years of training kicked in, time slowing down as she plotted her next move. Just as his fingers brushed her jacket she snapped her left fist upward, deflecting his reach and starting a roll to her right. At the same moment she kicked up with her left leg, her shin connecting with his right ribs. She struck solid muscle and no ribs were broken, but it was enough to knock him off balance. Her right shoulder struck the dewy grass and she snapped her elbow down into the spongy earth, engaging enough momentum to put her back onto her feet.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Black take a step toward her. He didn't make it further than that; Kaz swung his legs around in a scissor kick, trapping Black's rear leg and yanking it out from under him, making him fall backward.

Teddie, likewise, jumped to his feet and snapped his fist forward, connecting with Blonde's cheek and snapping his head into his right shoulder. Taking advantage, Nanako sprang forward, one fist low and the other high guarding her face. Her lower fist connected with Blonde's abdomen seconds after her upper fist hit his chin, knocking him backward onto his buttocks. Teddie clenched his right arm and dropped hard, elbow down, onto Blonde's chest. This time there _was_ a crack, and Blonde cried out. He crossed his arms over his chest and rolled, apparently protecting his injured spot.

Keeping her arms up and rounding the fight scene slowly, Nanako saw Kaz punch Black, still on the ground, square in the face. There was another crunch, and a spray of blood that got onto Kaz's jacket. Black covered his face and rolled over. Kaz was rolling his fists and dancing around him, readying another blow.

"Stop, that's enough," Nanako said. Kaz looked at her and then immediately complied, backing away from Black but keeping his fighting stance.

There was a click, metal-on-metal, and Nanako looked back down at Blonde. Somehow he had managed to roll onto his back and pull a gun from under his jacket. It was trained directly on her. She knew she hadn't looked away for more than a second. If he was fast enough to do all that in that short time, she couldn't understand how he'd been so slow during their fight. _Unless he was looking for an excuse to pull a gun..._

"I don't want to kill you but I will," Blonde said. He glanced at Teddie, who was almost on top of him. "Back off right now."

Teddie looked from the gun to Nanako, and back at the gun. He took a step back, a second, a third. Another click, and Black had his gun out, pointed at Kaz. How could she not have read their intentions? Had she been too distracted, too out of practice? Or was there more to these "agents" than there appeared to be?

"The talisman. Now." Blonde pushed himself slowly to his feet, wincing and bringing his hand over the rib Teddie had broken.

Nanako forced herself to remain calm. The situation had gotten bad quickly, and she needed to find an out before they got even worse. "What is it?"

"That's not your concern," Black said.

"Yeah it is!" Teddie said. "How do we know you're not gonna do something evil with it?"

"You know nothing about it or us," Blonde said. He tightened his grip on his gun. "Now hand it over. You have no idea how dangerous it is."

"Actually I do," Nanako said. "It's dangerous enough for you to stalk and threaten to kill us. Maybe the fact you haven't killed us already means something, but something like this – you don't know me. I have no intention of letting someone I don't know have it."

"We know more than you think," Blonde said.

"Who are you guys anyway?" Teddie said.

"Who we are isn't important," said Black.

"You've left us no choice," Blonde said. He straightened his arm, pointing the gun square between Nanako's eyes...and then in a flash turned it toward his own head and squeezed the trigger. Nanako stepped back as his head exploded, not into bone and brain and gore, but with a sound like smashing glass. His head remained fully intact. A creature appeared overhead, mostly human but emaciated, with sallow skin, dark, deep-set eyes, and pointed ears. It raised its clawed fingers over its head and dove at her, swiping downward. She brought up her arms to block just as the claws struck, tearing strips of flesh from her forearms. Not allowing the pain to distract her, she jumped back, trying to get out of the creature's reach.

The _Persona's_ reach.

Nanako continued backing away from the creature, surprise and horror filling her. "No, no, it's not possible!" she said.

A hundred questions surged through her head, centered around the "who" of these men and their employer, and the "how" of their Personas and their being able to summon them in the real world.

Another small explosion shot through those questions. Black had also fired his gun into his own head, and his own Persona appeared above him. It was a blue-haired woman, draped loosely in white and black cloth swirling around her in the general shape of a yin-yang. In place of her stomach was what appeared to be a wagon wheel. She spun in place and raised her hand. Flames erupted around them. Kaz and Teddie were both at the ready, but the fire scorched them and sent them reeling. Nanako felt the heat from the flames, but they didn't seem to reach her skin. The real burning she felt was from within. Something felt like it wanted out, and she was afraid she knew exactly what that was.

"Give us the talisman!" shouted Blonde. He pointed to her and his Persona set upon her, once again slashing viciously. This time the attack did not seem to reach her, though she felt some sting from it especially in the open wounds on her forearms. The burning within her grew more intense.

"Stop it!" shouted Nanako.

Black's Persona waved its hands, and this time a wave of cold washed over her, the air solidifying into ice. The heat from within her melted the ice almost instantaneously. "S-stop!" she begged, her legs becoming rubbery and unstable. The burning was so intense she felt as if she would explode, spreading flames everywhere around her. The Personas continued their alternating attacks, and the fire in Nanako's chest was almost white-hot. She clenched her arms around herself. "Stop! Please stop!"

"Give us the damn talisman!" Black shouted. "It doesn't have to be like this!" Despite his platitude, the two of them intensified their attacks, apparently throwing every possible at her and ignoring Kaz and Teddie completely.

"Stop!" Nanako cried as another slash struck her. "Stop! Stop it stop stop STOP IT STOP IT _STOP IT_!" Nanako cried in vain. The attacks did not relent. She gave one last desperate attempt to curb the power within her, but then finally the control slipped from her grip. She screamed wordlessly as the air exploded around her, and then she shouted one, clear word:

_"Persona!"_

Blue flame flew from her body and wind whipped around her. Her card flew from her pocket, suspended in front of her face. The image on it, which for twelve years had been all but invisible, reappeared into a vivid depiction that spread across its face like flame. Then the card vanished completely and, in its place, manifested a giant of a being. It looked human, clad in gold and silver armor, with giant white feathered wings on its back. It's gauntlet-covered hands wielded a spear over its head, as if in a war cheer.

Zerachiel. Defender of Earth.

Nanako roared. It brought the spear down in a wide swipe, slashing through the two lesser Personas as if they were rice paper. The two agents screamed as their Personas were torn apart, and they collapsed to the ground. Nanako roared again, arms outstretched, and she lifted off the ground, carried by the wind she was generating.

The power. She'd forgotten what it felt like. How good it was. She turned her head down, glaring at the two agents now cowering from her. How dare they attack her? They had no idea whom they were messing with. She would teach them. Teach them, and whoever sent them. She would teach them all.

She opened her mouth. Zerachiel wavered, and pieces began tearing away, pulled toward her. The remains of the agents' Personas, lolling in the air, also began to disintegrate, the fragments all being drawn into her.

_ Yes. Yes! I will take their power! I will have it all, and I'll...and I'll..._ She opened her eyes and looked down. Kaz and Teddie had gotten to their feet and were staring up at her, horror written onto their faces. She flashed back to twelve years ago, to that beach in another dimension, where she held all the power of her Big Bro's Personas, which paled in comparison to the power from his and Naoto's very souls. She had craved more, just as she did now. She could have taken all the souls in the world, and then maybe, maybe she would have had enough power to destroy Susano-O. And Amaterasu. And any god who dared cross her. She looked up into the sky, which was rumbling with lightning and thunder despite the lack of clouds.

It was just like then.

_ "Nanako-chan! No! You've gotta stop!"_

_ "Nanako-chan! Stop it!"_

_ "You've gotta let them go! Sensei and Nao-chan'll be trapped forever if you don't!"_

_ "_Sensei! Stop, please! You beat 'em already. You're gonna turn into that – that thing again!"

Teddie. His voice from the past, and his voice from the present, both begging her to stop. He was there the first time, with the other voices. He saw what she almost became...saw what she was becoming now.

She's almost lost herself then.

She turned down again, seeing Teddie and Kaz staring up at her. She felt the heat from her eyes, a sensation all too familiar despite the years since it had last happened.

She was on the verge of losing herself again.

"No..." she said. "Let it go, let it go..." She sank toward the ground. "Let it go, Nanako-chan." She felt the heat within her subside. As soon as her feet touched the ground they gave way, and she sank to her knees. The bright spots of Persona that had been drawing toward her vanished. The agents' Personas also vanished.

The heat within her disappeared, leaving a coldness. The coldness of fear. Her rational mind finally returning to her, she reflected on what had just happened, and why she had fought for so long to prevent it from happening.

"S-sensei?" Teddie said, rushing to her side.

"Nanako-sensei?" Kaz said, though he kept his distance.

Nanako fell to her hands. Zerachiel hovered over her for a moment longer before it finally disappeared, leaving behind a spinning tarot card. Nanako looked up at the card and, as if the string suspending it in the air were suddenly cut, it dropped to the grass. That same string had been holding back her dread. The enormity of all that had just happened, what she had done, struck her like a dagger in to her heart. The fear took her.

_If you re-power yourselves too soon, war will quickly follow_. She could now hear Amaterasu's voice, the warning that had colored the entirety of Nanako's life since that day. _Innocents will die before it is done. Innocents will die._

_ And it's my fault_, she thought. _She told me what would happen, and I_ let_ it happen. What have I done?_

She pounded a fist into the ground. "No!" she shouted. She jumped to her feet. The two agents were still on the ground, struggling to get to their feet. She clenched her hands to the side of her head, pulling hard against her own hair as she trembled uncontrollably. "_You_ did this! Do you have any idea what you've done? Do you?"

Either from their injuries or out of fear, the agents did not answer her. Nanako let out a cry of despair and then said, "You just killed us all!"


End file.

Persona Series, Fantasy, Supernatural