Shattered Justice (A Persona Quest)

You mean to follow the others through the gate. You really do. They move forward, all with the purpose of getting as close to an exit to this place as they possibly can, and you want to go with them, for more reasons than just that it's kind of creepy to be standing all alone in the middle of the void.

And yet...
...Let's wait here for a bit.
...You find yourself stopping. You aren't sure what reason there could be to not follow everyone else at the first opportunity, but... It feels like there is one, enough to make you hesitate, just for a moment.

It may be just a moment too long, because you blink, and Zen is already crossing the gate's threshold, and suddenly, it comes slamming shut right in front of you, as if there was someone inside who had explicit orders to keep you out.
I don't think they really care who's in there... as long as Zen-san and Rei-san are with them...
"Ken-chan?" Rei turns back to you, her wide eyes visible through the gate. "Are you all right?"

"You don't have to worry about me, Rei-san!" You try and encourage her. "I should be fine. See? No Shadows around or anything! I'll just wait here while you... do whatever you end up doing."

Yes, you're aware that you don't sound entirely confident, here. You don't feel entirely confident, either. At least your voice matches your feelings.

Her face falls, but she nods and slips away into the shadows of the room that apparently doesn't want you inside it. And so you are alone in the void.

"Do you need a way back, Ken-kun?" Fuuka-san asks. "I... wouldn't want you to go back through the FOEs..."

You shake your head. "The others should be able to get back here eventually. I can just go with them." It's not like you have any evidence that this area might be particularly unsafe, after all.
Besides, we've been able to defeat beetles like that one since Fuuka-san got her Persona!
You blink as the image of a golden beetle flashes in your head, for some reason. You glance around, but there's no signs of any Shadows that are quite like that. You dismiss it as being just a random thought.

You hear voices on the other side of the gate, but can't make out a word of what's being said. Resting your fingers on the unfamiliar metal is probably a bad idea.

For now, it can just be you and the void.

---

It doesn't actually take that long for it to stop being just you and the void.

It happens when you hear footsteps behind you, and a voice speaking up. "Wait, is that a kid?"

You turn around, and see that the speaker is a girl around Makoto-san's age wearing a green jacket, accompanied by six other people. All Persona Users, all at about the same level of power as each other, generally on par with Akihiko-san or Mitsuru-san. One of them is a round red-and-blue creature that feels more like a Shadow than anything else, and that you recognize from a picture you've seen in your dreams.
Hi, Kanji-san! Hi, Narukami-san! ...Hey, Teddie-san.
Other than that, they're all recognizably human. You're pretty sure their group is human by a larger percentage than yours, actually... you sort of wonder what that says about you.

"I'm eleven." You're aware that this probably isn't helping your case any. "You're Persona Users, right? Are you here to help?"

"That is the plan." You try not to jump as Margaret steps out of the darkness behind them. "My... siblings told me you could use some assistance?"
She sounds way too happy about this...
"Well, my friends are in here..." You again resist the urge to touch the metal of the gate. "But I... sort of got locked out."

"I see. Stand back." You do as you're told, scuttling over to join this new group of people.

The apparent leader of the group, a boy with silver hair, glances at you. "It's... nice to meet you," He says. "...I think."

It's nice to know that you're not the only one confused about this whole thing.



[ ] "It's... nice to meet you, too?"

[ ] "I'm Ken. What's your name?"

[ ] "...Do you have any idea what Margaret-san's doing?"

[ ] "Have you happened to see any odd butterflies?

For a moment, you consider actually introducing yourself properly somehow, but then you realize that this is already the weirdest first impression that somebody could ever have. Being polite is a lot less important when you're stuck together inside of a Labyrinth in an unreal school.

"Have you seen any odd butterflies around?" You find yourself asking. You get an odd look in return. "...Bright blue, almost glowing? Something like that?"

"That sounds... familiar," The boy with silver hair states. "I've seen butterflies like that around Inaba a lot, if that's what you mean."
Honestly, that just raises more questions than it answers.
You shrug, because honestly, you're not really sure what you mean. Just that there's something strange about all this, and that the butterflies might be part of it.

Margaret stands in front of the gate, now, a book in her hands. You wonder if it's a normal thing for Velvet Room Attendants to carry books like this with them. She opens the book, and there's a bright white flash. "Megidolaon."

The pieces of the gate fly off in different directions, most of them being immediately lost to the void. One of the new people pauses.

"Partner? Could she always do that?"
You haven't spent much time around her, have you, Hanamura-san?
"Haven't asked. Not sure I want to know."

"Right. Got it." He sounds sort of scared, and... honestly, you can't blame him. You're more than a little terrified of this woman, and she's just given you a quick way back to your friends.

Or for your friends to retreat. That's a lot of Card Soldiers. Even if they tend to explode the second they're hit by an elemental spell.

"Hey." The boy with silver hair steps forward. "Heard you could use some help?" Something about him reminds you of Makoto-san. Is this what he'd be like if he had Yukari-san's position?

Yukari-san turns around. "Well, if you're offering... who are you, anyway?"

"Feels like we should be asking you that..." The girl in the green jacket grumbles. "This was our school!"

Oh, good. You can compare notes later about schools turning into mazes filled with Shadows. It's not the sort of thing you'd expected to happen twice, but it's not like your expectations have ever been a factor in how the world works.

One of the girl's friends, this one wearing red, sighs. "Not now, Chie."

The boy with silver hair doesn't answer Yukari-san's question, instead reaching forward and crushing a tarot card that appears in front of him. Behind him, a decently-powerful Persona emerges, lightning crackling on the blade of its sword. You find the fact that he doesn't need an Evoker for this extremely unfair.
You should see him when the weather's bad.
"Izanagi." At the sound of its name, the Persona flings the lightning from its sword at one of the cards, which promptly explodes. The boy glances at his friends, and also you. "Well? Aren't you going to join in?"

As though he were waiting for the invitation, the blue bear-thing charges forward, ice wrapping around his body even before his Persona appears. "Wait, Ted-! ...And he's gone."

So is a small line of Shadows. Still, he's got the right idea. You should all be pitching in here.


[ ] You'll use Mapsi to help.

[ ] You'll use Makouha to help.

[ ] ...Will Mahama work here?

[ ] Using lightning might be slow, but it should help you catch up to your friends...