While the members of SEES waited for the twins to finish optimizing their Persona arsenal , Fuuka finished scanning the new block . It seemed to be a culmination of everything Tartarus had thrown at them up to this point . There were switches , secret walls they could pass through , a strange fog that was weakening Juno , and the whole place was dark .
" man ... talk about a final dungeon " Junpei sighed " this is going to be hectic"
" what about the F.O.Es , Fuuka ? " Yukari asked
" I think I found them , as sudden spikes of power in certain floors in Tartarus , but I don't think I can tell you much about them . I think , like the third block , I would probably be able to sense your surroundings better if you were there "
" looks like this block is going to be the most difficult one yet " Mitsuru thought
" heh ... sounds interesting " Akihiko grinned
" oh , you two are done already ? " Junpei saw the twins approaching them , but he also noticed a grim look on their faces " so how's the velvet dudes ? "
" they said seven people have wandered into Tartarus in just few days " Minako replied with a conflicted look on her face " and ... well ... "
" four of them have already become shadows " Minato clenched his fist in frustration
" what ?!! " everyone was shocked to hear that
" that ... that can't be ! " Fuuka stuttered " tonight isn't a full moon night , we should still have plenty of time ! "
" the residents of the velvet room are just as shocked " Minato replied " They reported the situation to us by a call as usual , but tonight they were surprised that several of the victims have already joined the fall . After that , they re-studied the Dark Hour in more detail , and found out that it changed drastically after we defeated the last full moon shadow "
" changed ? How so ? " Mitsuru asked curiously
" they say that it became much longer , and shadows have become more aggressive . They also speculate that the closer the moon gets to being full , the more unpredictable they become, to the point where regular shadows become life-threatening during full moon nights , according to their estimation . And victims who wander into Tartarus can become shadows at literally any second , so we can't waste any time "
" that's right " Akihiko nodded " we've already lost four victims because of that , so we need to pick up the pace from now on "
" now then , do we actually need to split up , Fuuka ? "
" I don't think that's a good idea , there's a strange fog in there that's weakening Juno , so I might have trouble keeping up with you . The new block is riddled with switches , which could trap you in one place , but I can still teleport you back , so I don't think there's any need to split up"
" very well , everyone , follow me " Minato walked toward the teleporter
" just a minute , Minato " Mitsuru stopped him " I think Minako should be the leader "
" huh ? What ? " Minato looked at the troubled expression on the others faces , then at Minako who seemed equally as confused " not that I have a problem with that , but why ? "
" oh ... right ... " Fuuka nervously replied " I forgot to mention ... but the block is also dark ... "
" according to my data , Minato-san has Nyctophobia " Aigis commented " so it might not be a good idea to put him in charge in dark places "
" I ... I won't get ... in the way ! " Minato blushed with embarrassment " but ... but if that's the case ... then ... "
" okay , I'll take the lead , then " Minako giggled
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The members of SEES were at awe as they entered the new block , it was filled with cogs , bridges and stairs . It was like they entered a labyrinth inside a clock tower . The place itself was really dark , with torches hanging on walls to light the area around them , which were few and far between , and a strange red mist in the area . At the front hallway before them , they saw a bunch of notes scattered on the ground , with strange words scribbled on it in a deranged fashion . From repeatedly writing ' death ' over and over and over , or writing nihilistic sentences about hopelessness and the end , to unintelligible writing that they couldn't understand . It was apparent that whoever was there before them had gone insane . That thought sent shivers down their spines , and before they could get over that , the flames in the place were snuffed out , as if an invisible entity blew them away , leaving them in pitch darkness .
" aaahhh !!! " Minato screamed as soon as that happened
" it's okay ! Everything is in control ! " Minako immediately exclaimed to calm her brother , then she took out a small lighter and lit it " see ? I was prepared for this ! "
" oh , thank God " Minato sighed
" seriously , dude , get a hold of yourself ! " Junpei said
" anyway , let's continue ... ah ! " the flame from Minako's lighter was snuffed out again .
" e-everyone ! Watch out ! There's a powerful shadow in front of you ! " Fuuka gasped " I think it's an F.O.E ! "
" r-right ! "
Minako had just managed to relight the fire , when she was met face to face with a grinning face right in front of her . Everyone screamed with terror and called the Personas in panic , while Minako was trying to calm them down , but their Personas seemed dazed and just stood there as the fog paralyzed them in place . Whatever was with them in the dark struck them with such a powerful attack that had them crouching on the ground in pain . They couldn't see nor hear what was happening .
" F-Fuuka ! Please teleport us back to the entrance ! " Minako anxiously called Fuuka , as she realized they were in grave danger if that would continue as it is . However , to her dismay , Fuuka wasn't responding " Fuuka ! Can you hear me ?! Please respond ! "
" agh ! I've had enough of this bullshit F.O.E !!! " between the fear of the dark and the pain , Minato lost his temper " Orpheus Picaro ! "
The members of SEES could hear the two Personas fighting , but they couldn't tell exactly which one was winning . However , before they could understand what was happening , a strange bright light blinded their sight .
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" Mi...san.....Minato-san-! "
Minato woke up to a rippling headache , and he winced as he tried to make sense of his surroundings . In the really dim place , he could see Aigis by his side , and behind her were Yukari , Ken and Junpei , who were all unconscious . Minato was panicking , he had lived through the literal personification of fear of the dark , as a shadow that they can't see , but could actually defeat them effortlessly in the dark .
" please don't be scared , I'll protect you , Minato-san "
Aigis hugged Minato , and at that point he began to calm down a little bit . Even though his legs were shaking when he stood up , he still tried to keep a calm facade in front of Aigis , despite her capability to read his emotions . The others were beginning to recover , but Minako and half of the team were nowhere to be found .
" Minato ! Please tell me you can hear me !!! " Fuuka exclaimed anxiously. From her voice , Minato could tell she was crying
" I can hear you , Fuuka ! What happened ! "
" I'm ... I'm not sure , but apparently the shadow scattered you around the floor somehow , so I lost track of your places ! " Fuuka replied " I'm so sorry , the mist is weakening Juno , so I can't determine your location unless I focus really hard , and when your location was abruptly changed , I lost contact with you ! "
" what about Minako and the others ?! "
" I still don't know where she is , but if I go look for her now , I'll lose contact with you ! "
" tsch ! This is a mess ! " Minato impatiently replied " teleport me and those around me back to the entrance , and I'll regroup with ... "
" I ... I consider that solution " Fuuka hesitantly interrupted " but one of the victims who wandered into Tartarus is nearby , so I thought you might want to save him first ! "
" what ?! " Minato began contemplating his options , and realized that since the victims could now become shadows at any seconds , he couldn't waste time rescuing whoever was nearby " okay , Fuuka ! If he's nearby , we'll find him ourselves ! You make sure Minako is safe "
" I ... okay , but please be careful ! "
" right " Minato turned to Aigis " you take the lead from here , Ai ! "
" understood "
By then , Yukari , Ken and Junpei had regained consciousness . They were disoriented , even after Aigis explained the situation to them , but they also had to hurry and rescue the victims , so they decided to follow Aigis's lead .
Examining the surroundings , they found themselves trapped in a hallway , with a locked door . They also found a switch on the far end of the wall , and as they decided to activate it , they heard the sound of movements in the walls and felt something shifting in the ground . At the other end of the hall , they saw the wall opening up to reveal a new path . While they were relieved to see that they were not hopelessly trapped in that hallway , panic began to set in when they began hearing the sound of rapid ticking , as if a clock was activated . Instinctively , they hurried to the opened wall , but before they could arrive to it , it slid back to close the path , and the ticking stopped .
" these switches are only activated for a limited time " Aigis commented
" but then how are we going to get past them ? " Ken asked anxiously
" maybe we didn't react fast enough " Yukari thought " let's try again "
Aigis and her team tried several times to pass through the gate , but the window of opportunity was so small that they had no chance of getting past it before the switch was deactivated . The extremely dim hallway didn't make the situation any better for them , as they had to slow down or bump into each other and lose precious time . They were ready to admit it was impossible for them to pass through the gate , especially when their last attempt ended with Minato tripping and falling face first on the ground , then they were attacked by shadows that were shaped like wizards floating with cards surrounding them .
The shadows ganged up on Minato who was trying to stand up , striking him with a Mudoon spell , which instantly knocked him out . Aigis was distraught , and she aggressively countered with Paladion , but the shadows blocked her Persona effortlessly . Junpei and Ken tried to follow her attacks , but their Personas didn't seem to affect the shadows in the least .
" Persona ! " Yukari hurried tried to call her Persona to wake Minato up " please wake up ! "
" maybe ... since they used Mudoon ... they would be weak to light ! " Ken decided to call his Persona one more time , and he managed to eliminate most of the shadows " alright ! Only one left ! Let's keep it up "
" Trismagestus ! " Junpei tried to attack it with an explosive fire blast , but it absorbed the blast and healed " damn it ! It resists our physical attacks , and absorbs our magic attacks ! Now what ! "
" let me try again ! Kala-Nemi ! " Ken called his Persona again , but he missed the attack
" Orgia Mode ! Paladion ! " Aigis activated her Orgia Mode, and by that she managed to land an all out attack " fatal strike ! Now is our chance for an all out attack ! "
" r-right ... "
Yukari was a little worried about Minato , but they had to use any chance they could get to defeat that shadow quickly . After that , Yukari managed to heal Minato enough for him to recover . They had to wait for Aigis to cool down , and after that , they still needed to find a way out of there before more shadows would ambush them .
" that was difficult " Ken sighed " was that the F.O.E ? "
" negative ... " Aigis replied " the F.O.E that attacked us in the dark was much more powerful "
" oh my God ! " Junpei groaned " In a way , this is worse than the third and fourth block , even though it's technically both of them ! "
" that's right ! " Minato remembered " this block is the culmination of every other block in Tartarus , if that's the case , there should be a wall we could pass through ! "
" like the second block ! " Yukari realized what Minato meant " but how do we find it ? "
" let's start with areas that are close to the switch-locked wall . If we can find an alternative switch that's closed to the wall that we need to unlock , we might actually be able to escape this "
There was no visual features that could help them discern which wall they could pass through and which they couldn't , so they had to painstakingly examine each wall . They finally found a wall they could pass through , and sure enough there was a switch there , which was much closer to the closed gate than the previous one . By activating the newly found switch , they easily managed to escape the locked hallway .
Leaving the hallway into a narrow corridor , Aigis and her team advanced slowly , while cautiously looking around for any shadows that could ambush them . They suddenly began hearing groans and moans in the distant , which meant to them that they were close to finding one of the lost victims . They hurried to the place where they were hearing the sound , and sure enough there stood a man dressed formally . He seemed like a respectable businessman , but his face was pale and drained . He seemed like one of those suffering from Apathy Syndrome . Despite that , they couldn't leave him alone , so Minato decided to lead him by the hand back to the entrance, as he seemed dazed and confused and could probably get lost easily .
That was Minato's train of thoughts
However , he wasn't prepared at all for the man who grabbed him by the neck , slammed him with inhuman strength to nearest wall and began choking him , much to the horror of his teammates .
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You've probably realized this already , but this block isn't the same block as in the original game . That's because I didn't like that one , despite it's beautiful appearance , as it gave me so little to work with .
Anyway , I hope you enjoyed this part , and if you did please consider voting for it , and remember to comment your opinion regarding the changes I plan to make on Persona 4 for when I start writing it , and I'll see you in the next part . Stay safe .