Hane was lost. Period. For words, for explanations... this mirror place seemed like the kind of thing that he would see in a bad late night scifi television show. Alternate realities? Parallel universes? You mean this shit is real?!, he thought to himself oblivious to all that was going on around him. It took Kazuo's simple 'Why?' question to bring him out of his stupor, "Y-Yeah, why'd ya bring us here? Talk about disorienting..." he agreed.

He looked about the scene again with more awareness, hoping to understand what he was doing in such a cracked-out place, who were the two new girls, and why one of them looked like him.

Don't tell me I have a doppelganger or something too! he thought to himself. He decided not to bring it up and simply listened for an answer, all the while trying not to show his internal discomfort.

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A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. ~Laozi

~ Mirror World – Shopping District ~

“Ah, perhaps I had better—“ Satoko started, but shut her mouth with a pouting look as Kaoru raised a hand to silence her.

The wounded girl sighed softly as she looked at the group, her gaze flicking between the speakers before she interjected her answer to Kazuo and Hane's question. ”You wanted answers. Would you have believed me if I said that I was from another world, and that I'd been pulled through to yours by the Shadow that you dispatched?”

“A-hem!” Satoko cleared her throat loudly and shouldered herself in front of Kaoru, facing the group with more backbone than her mirror in their world had ever shown in their presence. “I think it is important that you understand the basics, from a scientific standpoint. One,” she started carefully emphasizing the scientific portion so as to not completely alienate Hibiki. As she continued, she held up fingers to count off her points of explanation, “Personae and Shadows cannot exist without humans. Two, Personae and Shadows are essentially the same thing: the very strong inner feelings and emotions of a human. Three, what makes a Persona differ from a Shadow is the degree of order the Psyche imposes upon its inner turmoil. Four (and this is why you are here, incidentally), the barrier between our worlds can be crossed when two Persona users are at the same geographical point on opposite sides of a mirror.”

Kaoru sighed, reaching up to press her fingertips against her forehead as Satoko infodumped the Otherworlders. She'd heard the girl's theories too many times to count, and while tonight's events did lend some weight to the fourth point, Kaoru herself was not entirely convinced that that was the whole of how it worked.

“Five," she continued, ending with her thumb, "as number Four has been proven, we are in Really Big Trouble, because this experiment was not arranged by us, but by Harlequin, who wants to break through to your world. Right?” the last word, while it was a question, didn't seem to need their affirmation. Instead, it seemed like a quirk of the scarred girl's speech patterns.

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Official Forum Mom

~ Mirror World – Shopping District ~

”You wanted answers. Would you have believed me if I said that I was from another world, and that I'd been pulled through to yours by the Shadow that you dispatched?”

Kazuo chuckled lightly at Kaoru's assumption. "After being attacked by a shadow demon and summoning a mythological entity out of my own body? I would have been ready to believe just about anything you told me..."

The younger girl who had mostly been quiet up until this point finally decided to add her own explanation, which was thankfully much more to the point than Hibiki's. Persona and Shadows, inner feelings manifested into a physical form and two sides of the same coin. It still didn't make a whole lot of sense, but a lot of things about this whole evening seemed fundamentally impossible, so Kazuo was willing to admit that perhaps he just wasn't smart enough to dissect the more scientific theories as to why these things were happening at all. Sakoto's last point was the more pressing matter. The third-year was not at all comfortable with the idea of someone "breaking into" their world for the likely intent of doing it harm.

"Who?" He inquired simply, unsure if that name was supposed to be familiar to him. "And hold on a second, if one can only cross over when a Persona user is on each side, then how are we getting back? Everyone just came through except that uh... that one girl, and she never summoned a Persona."

The reality of the situation and even the suggestion that they might be stuck on this side was beginning to hit Kazuo, and his eyes narrowed in Kaoru's direction. "If you trapped us here..." He uttered with a slight growl to his tone.

"Then surely, you wouldn't stop at anything until you find a way to return. Correct?" a voice suddenly spoke up in response to Kazuo's threatening tone. It was a gentle voice, but there seemed to be a sort of determination and firmness issued with at the same time. A dark figure stood high above the group on a streetlight, a graceful silhouette masked by darkness as the bright moon floated in the skies as a suitable backdrop.

The figure jumped and it was only seconds before the newcomer landed right beside the blind girl called Hitomi. For a moment as the person stood up and dusted the trenchcoat with a pair of gloved hands, there seemed to be an eerie resemblance between the two. The feeling quickly faded away as soon as the person looked at the group with a calm, piercing eye. The other was covered by a simple black eyepatch, intimidating at first sight.

He appeared to be examining each and every one of them with his only good eye and gave a small smirk as soon as he finished. "But don't worry about it, we don't plan on trapping you or anything," he said while adjusting the peaked cap on his head. "It's just that some of you haven't been able to stay quiet long enough to think for a second before jumping to conclusions."

"Besides," he gave a cautious look at Kazuo as he spoke, "Do you really want to assume that the first few people that you've met and proven themselves to know a lot more things than you about our world, to be your enemies?"

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Captain of Innuendo Strike Forces & Founder of Innuendo Striking Technique

When Kitano took a step towards her, Hibiki took two steps back. She affixed him with a chilly glare, though she seemed unimpressed otherwise. Once her perimeter had been re-established, however, she sighed and closed her eyes. There wasn't any point in responding to his aggression. She would leave the explanation to Satoko; perhaps the plebs would find it easier to swallow.

Although they were allies, Hibiki came from a wildly different background than the others. Gifted with her power at an early age, she understood well how to use a Persona and was extremely powerful for having fought relatively few Shadows. Most importantly, she did not fear them. But as was evident from the divide between her explanation and Satoko's, the Tenkyouin approach to Personae was a bit esoteric. She was cooperative enough, but Hibiki still insisted on her family's terminology. Even though she had left their villa for reasons only known to herself, she still had pride, it seemed.

She listened silently to Satoko's explanation as usual, although she did mutter "Harlequin... The fiends."

When the young man who asked the most questions seemed to grow suspicious of them, and their other ally emerged, Hibiki turned towards the new arrival.
"Sengoku. Well met. However, this one does not wager they intend to make enemies of us or any such thing. 'Twould be mutually disadvantageous not to cooperate."

She gave Kitano a sidelong glance. "Not to mention quite unwise, considering their circumstances."

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FUKKATSU

~Mirror World: Shopping District~

As Hitomi listened to others around her little by little her questions were being answered especially thanks to Satoko’s explanation. Hearing these people she just met talking about mythical powers like they were second nature was a little frightening to Hitomi. She wondered if being born into a world like this made people more accepting of the super natural or out of the ordinary.

It seemed things were starting to get tense as Kazou started to accuse their new acquaintances of trapping the rest of us in this weird world. Hitomi was also concerned about going back to her own home and hoped that there was a way to return to where they once were. As she thought about it suddenly out of the blue another person and landed next to Hitomi startling her greatly and causing her to take a few steps back from the impact site of the new girl that arrived on the scene.

For some reason Hitomi’s heart started to race. An odd feeling of déjà vu overwhelmed the blind girl as she felt some sort of weird unexplainable connection between this new person even though they have never met before. She brushed off these feelings after dwelling on them for a moment and quickly started thinking about the present and what she should be doing now. But this new girl did have a point no one around her meant any harm even if they knew a lot more about everything that was going on.

She was concerned about this person called Harlequin and those monsters that brought about the chaos that was turning her life upside down. She asked nervously, “So if we help you all out will you take us back to our own world? And…uh…who is Harlequin and why does he/she want to break into our world?”

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~ Mirror World – Shopping District ~

Kaoru's shoulders stiffened at Kazuo's accusation, and anger flared on her face as she opened her mouth, probably to yell at him. Nothing came out, though, as she held a finger up and turned her back, forcing herself to take deep breath after deep breath in a clear effort to calm herself and not go ballistic on her male reflection.

“Ano...” Satoko offered, pointing behind them at the still rippling wall they'd walked through. Beyond, they could see the scared, timid form of the first year they'd separated from, dutifully waiting alone as she'd been told. “You can go back any time you want...Provided the path is open, obviously. Hmm. This is another good point to my theorum...”

“Excuse me,” Kaoru snapped quietly before walking many steps away from the group, earning a look from the pseudo-scientist girl.

“Pixie, help me!” the wounded girl called when she was just shy of being out of earshot, throwing her left hand up into the air as the blue light flared and the strange ring of numerals materialized from thin air and spun around her, stopping quickly on I. The form that appeared above herwas that of a winged redhead wearing a skintight purple leotard with matching thigh boots and tall gloves. The apparition lasted only for an instant, and in that instant, Kaoru was engulfed in a warm healing light that faded as quickly as the fairy girl did.

Satoko dragged her gaze back to the group, tilting her head in a birdlike manner. “What are your Personae? Let me see them.”

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Official Forum Mom

~ Mirror World – Shopping District ~

These people were strange, Kitano ground his teeth and moved his eyes over the lot of them. More than just strange, they had an agenda and it included Kitano. True enough, it might be necessary to beat up this Harlequin fellow, but Kitano would decide to make that battle for himself. All these doppelgangers seemed oddly eager to get Kitano and his schoolmates up in arms to fight.

Maybe they were the enemies.

Kitano took a breath and closed his eyes.

He couldn't do anything yet. Not yet. No one was guilty. Suspicious, but not guilty and that meant they were innocents.

"I don't like any of this," Kitano said flatly, "And I don't trust any of you." He stared down Satoko, "I won't fight you, but don't expect me to do whatever you ask me to."

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~ Mirror World – Shopping District ~

Satoko stared right back at Kitano, completely nonplussed by the large guy. "Would it help if I showed you mine, first?"

Without waiting for an answer, she struck a pose, and called out a single word: "Muninn!"

The number that stopped in front of her as the mysterious blue light flared was IX, and as soon as the revolutions stopped, her persona materialized, a freakishly tall and thin sheet-white man wearing a magnificent cloak of black feathers that swathed the entirety of his body from neck to toe except for his white hands, the fingers of which were tipped with wicked black talons. His black hair was wild about his gaunt face, and his eyes seemed heavy with knowledge and wisdom.

The bird-man-thing paused for a moment, then shot straight up in a streak of light, to hover high above Satoko. Unlike the other Personae, he lingered in the air instead of fading quickly.

"Looks like we're safe for a little while longer," the girl remarked absently, as if half of her attention was now being paid elsewhere.

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Official Forum Mom

*Shopping District*

Taro tore at his hair. On one hand, the group seemed to be the most safe place the be. The newcomers also knew the area. On the other hand, he had to know if his family was alright and this place was close enough to his home. Then he decided, or rather, acted. He took one step backwards, then another, then turned and began to run. "I'm sorry! I need to know!" In a corner of his mind, he knew that he shouldn't be doing this but that corner was ignored by the panic that was screaming at him.

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Final Fantasy IX was the best Final Fantasy game ever and if you think otherwise you are WRONG!

My fanfiction account. Comments and criticisms are very welcome.

Hibiki smiled, but the expression, despite being genuine, was subdued and plainly one of marginal amusement rather than friendliness. "It is not necessary for you to do whatever we ask you to. This one does not believe your assistance is required in accomplishing our goals but..."

She raised the shakujo momentarily, setting loose a chorus of jingling, then slammed its pointed end into the pavement three times. Hibiki closed her eyes, and when they re-opened, she seemed to transform. Not physically; that was impossible, for how laughable of a term "impossible" had become to all of them as of late. But her posture and body language shifted, becoming rigid and forceful where she had before been graceful and fluid. Her eyes seemed to haze with a far off quality, as if Hibiki stared deep into the well of the past and conjured fourth memories of days long gone by. This was the face of the performer without her mask. No physical one, anyway. The Tenkyouin practiced this form of controlled possession even without the power of Persona.

She prepared to recite some kind of bizarre incantation, drumming her foot and spreading her arms in a deliberate but stiff manner, bodyparts willed to move by forces from some other plane. If not truly supernatural in nature, her acting seemed as though she truly was channeling her Persona's spirit. It was an altogether haunting sight.

But just as she was beginning to glow with that same unnatural light, Taro bolted. Hibiki immediately dropped her trance and glared at the boy as he began to run, almost as if she was offended he didn't stay for her performance.

"You ignorant fool! Stay! 'Tis not safe for the likes of you!" She drew her shakujo aside with an affected jerk of her arm and jingled after him at startling speed.

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FUKKATSU

The immediate pursuit of Hibiki struck home the fact that Taro was going headlong into trouble. "Shit," Hane muttered under his breath, "I should have guessed that guy was goin' to lose it. It was written all over his face." Of course, he did not really see it coming, but he wanted everyone to think that he did. After all, taking a good game was a key to winning, no matter the scenario.

He turned to everyone with a confident grin, "I better follow them. I can just tell trouble is that way." As if to punctuate that assertion, he threw out his hand dismissively in the direction of Taro's flight. "They'll need a real scrapper like me in a pinch," he quipped as he thumbed his nose.

He took a second to secure his glasses and all other lose items deep into his pockets, then ran after the pair. At least he knew what to do in a fight; it was kind of a comfort zone thing to Hane, much more so than standing about and talking.

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A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. ~Laozi

~Mirror World: Shopping District~

Hitomi was soon graced with the images of two other personae. The persona Pixie, a fairy like creature, and Muninn, a large freaky bird-like creature, appeared vividly inside her mind. It was as if her persona was channeling the images directly into her mind. Kitano was still extremely distrusting of them but Hitomi felt that they wouldn’t go to all this trouble if they were enemies. “I see! Those are what your personas look like. At least I’m not freaking out like the last time this happened.” Hitomi said shyly to Satoko and Kaoru still trying to get someone more acquitted with this ability. As she was about to try calling out her persona again, just to make sure it was truly real, something unexpected happened.

Suddenly Taro started to freak out and ran away from the group with Hibiki and then Hane following after him. This wasn’t the time to be having a mental breakdown and not the time to start separating from each other in this new and unknown environment. It’s not like she can chase after the ones that just ran off, not unless she had her trusty canine companion with her. Yet her dog was all the way back at her home and she wasn’t going back there anytime soon. “Um…what should we do? I certainly can’t go after them…unless someone guides me. What do you think Kazou-san?” Hitomi asked feeling that he was the most stable person left from their world.

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{Mirror World, Shopping District}

A soft, wet noise cried out as Taro ran. Something black rested now under his right foot, shining like oil, clinging to his shoe as if it were desperate to keep him close. The black ooze began to slowly bubble and ripple, a white, solid object rising up from the epicenter of the odd substance. The empty slits at the top were turned to stare right at Taro's eyes, the odd mask being slowly lifted up by a growing mass of black that stretched on and on until it was eye level with the boy. The mask leaned forward, studying Taro for the longest of moments while his shoe was still stuck in the base of the creature's form.

The mask had no mouth, nor slot for a nose. It bore no symbols or imagery, being just a ghostly white piece of hardened clay that was staring at him. But the more Taro stared back, the more the mask began to change. Subtle alterations came first as the pale white became hinted with shades of lavender. The smooth, flat surface became more defined, taking on a curved form that better clung to the darkness behind it. An etching arose of Roman numerals, depicting the image of the number "IV".

The mask suddenly cracked, the breaking lines forming a faux smile. The dark creature then began to violently spasm and convulse, long masses moving out from the body of the ooze, reaching out to Taro as the appendages became more defined, long fingers reaching out to grasp the boy's face. the ooze dripped and fell from the two arms, puddling at the creature's base as the arms began taking on muscular features.

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*Mirror World- Shopping District*

"Aaaaahhh!" Taro fell down, crawling backwards away from the oily thing. He knew what this thing was. It was like the bull thing from earlier. It had to be. But such a thing didn't exist, it couldn't exist. "Y-you're just a manifestation! You can't be real!" He pulled out his hand crossbow "You aren't real!" He let loose an bolt that was aimed for the center of the mask.

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Final Fantasy IX was the best Final Fantasy game ever and if you think otherwise you are WRONG!

My fanfiction account. Comments and criticisms are very welcome.

{Mirror World, Shopping District}

The bolt hit the mask as the creature was moving, causing it to embed upon the mask's right side at an off angle. The smiling crack began to crackle as the arrow caused it to widen and grow. The mask quickly grew apart as the lower half of its 'mouth' dropped down an expanding mass of black. The shadow's 'head' underneath elongated, forming a pointed tip straight down from the mask. The dripping ooze on the arms began stopping in the air, forming into odd, misshapen wings. The pointed tip of the shadow's head lifted up to point toward Taro, parting open as the ooze began falling away to reveal a hard surface underneath. Inside the opening between the sharp tips, there seemed to be rows of tiny, jagged fangs lining the outer edges of the creature's beak. Its large tongue lifted and split apart, stretching out to flicker in the air as the monster screeched loudly at the boy that had just attacked it.

The black ooze was quickly falling away from the creature entirely, giving form to a large head similar to a raven's. The body below the neck was completely different, however, and resembled more closely with an ape's torso. The arms were different still, being thick and golden brown, with the paws of a lion, and thick fingers from the ape. Two black wings, broken and unusable, fell away from the arms. A failed attempt by whatever created the beast to further cross the appendages of the animals. The legs were long and thin, taking after the raven with its large feet and jagged talons. Two, long tails swayed behind the beast, golden brown for the most part, until the black plumage erupted around the tips.

The separated mask began moving a bit on its own, forming more clearly into a humanoid face. The jagged lines of separation acted as false teeth of sorts as it seemed to yawn with an audible voice. The large, bulging eyes of the raven shifted until its pupils were directed towards Taro as the mask moved its lower half to mock a moving jaw. “Chimera feels hungry today, child... Chimera desires fresh meat... Lion has soooooo hungered for meat of late.” The mask spoke as the chimeran beast reached up and snapped off half the bolt embedded into the mask. An obvious tone of displeasure was announced at the bolt's refusal to come out as the creature screeched and roared in unison at Taro before its form stood upright, standing at nearly twelve feet in height. It swung down with its left arm, sharp claws erupting and splitting apart its fingers to slash at the frightened boy. The black ooze that had birthed Chimera slid away in the midst of the creature's attack, flowing into a storm drain.

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Kazuo remained silent as he studied the Mirror World's inhabitants and their reactions to his earlier accusation and naturally they were less than pleased. Truthfully he knew they hadn't trapped him and his classmates in this weird alternate universe, but he couldn't help the knee-jerk reaction to any possibility that returning home might not be as easy as opening a door. They had to understand that while the concept of stepping between worlds might not be a new concept to them, it certainly was for the young student and his companions.

The young girl, Sakoto, then demanded to see their Persona. It was odd, but before that moment, Kazuo hadn't even thought about summoning it again. He had just sort of assumed he could, but for all he knew it was a one time thing. The Mirror World inhabitants had been suggesting otherwise the entire time, however, and they had claimed it was only possible to be over on this side by having the power. Still, Kazuo wasn't jumping at the chance to summon that mythical being right after being prompted. There was still so little he knew about Persona and what its affect on him was. There was also something else nagging at him, but figuring out a way to word it was becoming increasingly difficult.

"I don't like any of this," Kitano said flatly, "And I don't trust any of you." He stared down Satoko, "I won't fight you, but don't expect me to do whatever you ask me to."


Kitano's words conveniently stated Kazuo's concerns, if more bluntly than he would have said himself. While they were not exactly brought over against their will, he didn't like the idea of just doing anything they said. The problem was, just how much was being this cautious helping? Antagonizing these people wasn't exactly wise either, especially when they were the ones who knew the specifics on how to get back to the other side. Sakoto didn't seem offended, though, and decided she would be the first to perform a summoning, calling forth a feathered humanoid figure that flew high into the air seemingly to observe their surroundings for any potential dangers.

The ever-expressive Hibiki assured Kitano they weren't required to do what they say, even going as far to suggest they weren't needed at all. A part of Kazuo wanted to leave right then. If they weren't needed then all of this was pointless, right? Still, he couldn't in good conscience just leave this world in ruins without helping if he really had the power to do so. He wasn't exactly one to believe in destiny or fate, but he had this power and letting it go to waste just didn't seem right. The elegant woman seemed to be next in line to display her summoning, however it went quite differently than everyone else he had witnessed thus far. No Persona emerged, but rather a strange transformation took place in Hibiki's posture and gaze. To say Kazuo was confused would be an understatement, but he didn't even have a chance to express such before Taro finally lost it and ran off.

The poor kid. It wasn't surprising he would react this way. If anything it was more surprising that everyone else was taking all this so well. Hibiki flew off to stop him before Kazuo could even reach his hand out toward his fellow classmate, and Hane was close behind. Kazuo himself was about to follow until he remembered Hitomi beside him who seemed to be looking to him for guidance.

"Taro is just a bit confused... I think they'll be able to stop him before he gets too far. I won't leave you though." He reassured her with a smile, even if she wouldn't be able to see it. Still there was a bit of worry in his voice if not for Taro's safety than for the lasting effects on the boy's sanity.

It was then that a harrowing cry came from Taro's direction, and it was not any sort of sound Kazuo would have expected to come out of any of the people who ran off in that direction. A black mass was forming up from the ground donning an eerie white mask. The creature, what Kazuo could only assume was another shadow, reached out toward the terrified student as its shape began to further define. Without any apparent summoning gesture, the card from before levitated in front of Kazuo which he grasped immediately, crushing the card with great urgency and causing the shimmering remnants to disintegrate into the air.

"Guess I'll show you guys my Persona after all... Perseus, come forth!" Kazuo shouted out as he was enveloped in the blue flame once again along with the spinning wheel of glowing roman numerals. The wheel came to a halt at the 0, illuminating the area around the dark-haired student as he stood with a silent confidence. The armored figure of Perseus rose from the flame again, his eyes shining brightly and the only thing visible amidst the darkness of the helm. Kazuo gestured outward with his hand toward the shadow, urging Perseus to attack. The bond between himself and his Persona allowed Kazuo to guide Perseus' attacks without even having to say a word. The mythical figure raised the head of Medusa, the eyes now beaming with light, as a whirling torrent of wind began to form and assault the creature, which had now lost its dripping coat of ooze and transformed into some horrific amalgamation, attempting to push it away and hopefully distract it from the seemingly appetizing Taro.

Taro could hear the sounds of Hibiki's shakujo, gaining on him. She pursued him, a chagrined expression plastered across her face as she ground to a halt, raising her staff before her cautiously. It hadn't taken much time at all for the creatures to make their move. If only they were less inclined to self-preservation, they could have attacked them while they were in a larger group and all fought at once. But Hibiki somehow doubted that was ideal as well. The newcomers, after all, were inferior to her allies, who also were inferior to Hibiki on a basic level, so she felt. They did not have the mental preparation or training to face the Youma from such a young age. Hibiki did. She had to be ready, else everything she endured would have been for naught. Of all others none could compare to her, for only Tenkyouin was destined to bridge Heaven and Earth. And only she among the Tenkyouin possessed the Godlike Skill in this generation.

"Kuh, Chimera. I shall feed you to the worms!"

Seeing the amorphous beast grow claws and fangs, threatening the panicked boy, Hibiki suppressed the urge to spit (most unladylike) and raised both hands; staff before her in one, and the other clutched in an obscure, one-handed mudra. The symbols Hibiki's fingers formed were a variety of shorthand taught to her in her family rituals that emphasized the immediacy of the situation and placated the dark spirits they channeled so as not to lose control of them at the crucial moment, even without enough time to perform the proper rites.

"On sanmaya satoban Jinben Bosatsu" She hissed through gritted teeth, slamming her Shakujo's base into the ground violently. The fated circle of glowing blue light echoed outward and her body began to exhibit the signs of possession she had acted out before.

"Come forth! En No Gyouja"

But this time, something was born from her back. A ragged figure wearing a massive shade made of stone rather than sedge, crumbling apart like he had been fused with the earth itself, spun upwards gracefully Hibiki's back as the circle ground to a halt at "V." It was nearly faceless, its features obscured by a rippling fabric veil, and its form was gnarled and gaunt, but none could question the power it expelled in all directions. Even from a distance, the others could *feel* the closeness of their bond, as Hibiki began to move once more. When Jinben Bosatsu raised his arm, and his own, matching shakujo, so did Hibiki, posture perfectly mirroring his. With the two of them in perfect sync, she called out.

"KATSU"

Instantly, a bright light shined at the tip of their shakujo, and a mirror image of the same light, replete with tiny characters of ancient sanskrit, echoed in the heart of the monster, before bursting free of it and darting towards the duo. The etherial power of the shadow seemed almost purified, cleansed of its dark energy, before floating into a massive stone dial covered with the eight trigrams of Taoism jutting out of En no Gyouja's chest, appearing to invigorate them.

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FUKKATSU

"Weak, just as I thought," Sengoku whispered under her breath when she saw the shadow make its appearance. She had only just been a little child when she fought her first battle, and yet here she saw a grown boy frightened by the sight of a mere danger. She sighed and drew a long breath, perhaps they were not like her. After all, it took time to get used to something completely strage to you.

But now was not the time for sympathy or understanding.

"Hibiki, keep him steady. I'll need a good shot for this," The girl said as she pulled down her peak cap, revealing her hair from behind. It seemed to have been violently cut with a rough, dull blade. "You newcomers better go get your friend before he becomes lunch," her weapon was already drawn and ready, a complicated machine consisting of pulleys and levers which resembled the shape of a bow. Taking a deep breath and closing her eye, she uttered the sacred word within her heart.

Vasuuukiiiii....

Her skin tingled, her hair stood on its ends and an unreal calmness seemed to wash over her. In a mere second, what replaced that feeling was only a cold sensation that vibrated throughout her body. Her body was now a pool and she felt ripples when a drop of water hit. The sounds and air around her seemed to become still, imitating her feeling. She opened her eye.

"PERSONA! COME FORTH!" a large bright circle of blue and white appeared beneath the girl. The light was almost blinding but it did not seem to disturb her the least. Roman numerals spun quickly around her like a storm, accompanied by words of an unknown language. As sudden as it had appeared, the number XIII appeared in front of her. The numbers glowed and faded into smoke along with the circle, a fierce but calm look was on Sengoku's face. Behind her, the shadow of a large metal tail appeared and coiled around her. Above loomed the shape of a frightening combination of metal, human and snake-like resemblance. "Maziiiiio," she said the words almost with a reptile hiss.

Vasuki's gunmetal gray arms moved in one graceful motion, the gold bells attached to the ends of the red threads on his arms shook and jingled an eerie echoing tone throughout the streets. He seemed to be lifeless but at the same time, completely animate. It was scary to watch. A bright glow started to appear on the tip of the war which he held in one of his hands. It expanded and then compressed itself, turning into an almost solid mass of light concentrated on the tip.

Sengoku inhaled heavily and fired her arrow.

At the same time, a blast of fierce, swift lightning was released from Vasuki and seemed to combine with its owner's projectile. It fused together into a display of sparks and rays, heading towards the chimera at its highest speed. Without hesitation, the girl prepared another arrow and waited for her next move.

_________________

Captain of Innuendo Strike Forces & Founder of Innuendo Striking Technique

The monster was more twisted than the bull-thing from before. It warped itself, sneered with its fangs and made its move for Taro.

His classmates and their counterparts had already yelled incantations and rushed to fight off the beast. It seemed composed purely from the black ooze of evil, given form only when it could terrorize. There was not a doubt in Kitano's mind, he would kill it.

A small voice asked if he should just let the others handle the monster. If he intended to keep his "persona" a secret from these strangers, he would have to stand back.

But the call of Justice was absolute and it was Crime to not heed it.

A circle of intricate patterns glowed around Kitano and showed the numeral VIII. The card appeared in Kitano's hand again and he crushed it without the slightest bit of hesitation.

"Persona!"

The golden god burst into existence his arms outstretched, rays of light extending from them. His eyes did not just burn, they blazed. His beard seemed to be flame itself. The Persona could tell just the same way Kitano did, that the shadow monster was of the most vile kind, absolute evil and fit for nothing else but destruction.

"I am Utu. I am Justice."

Kitano felt the energy surge through him and clenched his fists tight. Now to find an open angle in the crowd of giant Personas...

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~Mirror World: Shopping District~

The young girl started to blush when she heard Kazou reassuring her and saying that he would never leave her behind. “Kazou-san…Thank you!” she said to Kazou with a bit of extra pep in her voice. The situation turned ugly as Taro’s spontaneous outburst left him blindsided and defenseless when another vile and wicked life form made its presence known. Hitomi became horrified by the sudden appearance of the monstrous creature that shown vividly in her mind thanks to the passive ability of her persona. The chimera was even more horrifying than the other creature that appeared before. It looked and felt like it was more powerful than the bull they fought as well.

The others around her seemed to spring into action and started to launch their attacks against the beast. The persona they summoned where beyond her belief and reaffirmed everything that has happened so far as being true and legitimate. Taro’s scream pierced her sensitive ears and prompted her to feel he needed help the most. Deep down she wanted to use her protection ability she mustered up when her persona first emerged on the defenseless, but without Taro summoning his persona it would be difficult to focus the energy on him since she had no idea where he was. It defied Hitomi’s nature to fight but it pained her to see that others around her were risking their lives against a force she didn’t understand completely. Everyone else was so brave and confident; she could do nothing except watch their battle through her mind’s eye and pray that none of them end up mortally wounded. If they did get hurt she promised herself to do everything in her power to make sure that they recovered and were safe from harm’s way. Clenching her fists tightly she silently prayed for their safety and braced herself to act if anyone needed her.

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~ Mirror World – Shopping District ~

"Damnit! Satoko!" Kaoru yelled, flinging her arm to point to combat.

"I know, I know! It came out of nowhere!" the scarred girl yelled back, clapping her hands over her ears and closing her eyes to block out the noise. "Kaoru, you stay with me. You're too exhausted to be of any good in that fight!"

Those that had fought in Satoko's presence before would be familiar with the way her voice flowed into their minds, but it was a new sensation for those who had walked through the looking glass.

Try and hold it off for a moment and I'll scan it to see what its weakness is!

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Official Forum Mom

~ Mirror World, Shopping District ~

Hane scarcely believed his eyes when he saw the Shadow form before Taro. "Hell, I said there might be trouble, but I wasn't actually thinking there was going to be some so fast," he muttered to himself. He looked behind him, silently grateful to see that the others were there and ready to help out. He could not help but flash his arrogant smile at the lot and wheeled his head back toward 'Chimera' and Taro.

"Right, fellas, you take that Shadow while I nab Danger-kun!" he yelled as he darted to Taro side; he was rather quick for someone who looked like any physical effort at all would be a direct affront to his elitist status. He quickly grabbed him under the arms and began to drag him back toward the everyone else, stringing a few curses about this being one hell of a day. To those that could actually hear him, he gave the appearances of being hassled.

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A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. ~Laozi

{Shopping District, Fire Sale}

Chimera flinched as a whirling wall of wind spun around it, slicing sharply at its extended hand after attempting to attack Taro. It growled furiously in protest of being denied its prey. Then Hibiki's little life drain began kicking in. The beast visibly paused at this time, though it then shook its head, feeling as thought it had been bitten by a mosquito. It felt an itch from the metaphysical bite, but having no way to scratch both confused and irritated the beast's simple mind. This then caused a soft chuckle from the mask.

[Skill]>>>[Agi]>>>[Target: Wind Wall]

Chimera clenched its right paw after retracting the claws of both hands, forming a small aura of flame into the formed fist. It swung forward, releasing the small blast of fire into the air, which only seemed to cause the fire to spread all around the creature. Chimera then pushed both arms into the flames, the heat and burn not hurting it in the slightest. In fact, the beast seemed to be healing by absorbing the empowered flames into its body and ridding itself of the annoying wind and the minor damage it had caused, as well as healing what bit of energy Hibiki had stolen.

Just before being struck in the left eye by some asshole's electric arrow. The mask cracked around the slot of its left eye as the beast howled with pain for the briefest of moments before striking at the arrow to stare ahead at Hitomi with its wounded, bleeding eye. Two of these new humans weren't attacking. But of the two that seemed to want to fight, only one seemed ready to act. The other seemed to be on the defensive and staying back.

Chimera jumped up and over the others in its way, easily clearing the distance to land in front of the young girl. A breath of steam rolled over her face as the beast stared at her. Then, the mask spoke once more for its brutish counterpart. "You must be a healer... Chimera, MARAGI!" An aura of flames instantly erupted around the beast before multiple fireballs shot out, consuming the aura. A single ball went after everyone around the beast, including the defenseless Hitomi that was standing right in front of the beast.

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(Shopping District Ice>Fire)

Taro had crawled backwards as all the attacks had sailed over his head. Hane managed to drag him farther away. Luckily, this pulled him away before the creature caused the wall of wind to erupt. If Hane hadn't acted, Taro would be well done. Then Taro tore himself from Hane's grip. His hand fumbled for a bolt as he re-cocked the crossbow. "Artemis, Goddess of the Moon, I invoke thee! Persona!" He added a little theatrical speech for no reason, other than he felt it was right. He aimed his crossbow, still on the ground, as Artemis pulled back her bowstring. The nonsense word came to his mind as he pulled the trigger: "Bufu!" His arrow flew at the creature and was swiftly covered in ice. It tore through the fireball and shot towards the creature's side.

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Final Fantasy IX was the best Final Fantasy game ever and if you think otherwise you are WRONG!

My fanfiction account. Comments and criticisms are very welcome.