Persona: Rise of a New Wild Card

Chapter 4: A New Tartarus

Maki woke up covered in sweat and breathy extremely heavily. She had never experienced a nightmare quite like what she just went through. She learned in that moment that her greatest fear was losing her father. Makoto was a very determined father and a great persona user. Maki remembered her father stepping between Strega and herself, he received a massive hit from their leader Takaya. She had awakened to her own power, Mimir was the Norse god of knowledge. She thought about what she just experienced, her father was sent to death in her dream. She wondered if she could save him from his fate in the real world.

"Maki? You alright? I had a strange feeling that you were awake." Makoto had walked into Maki's room and sat on her bed stroking her hair to comfort her. She began to cry as she tried explaining what she saw. "I... I saw you die... I... I don't want to lose you dad." She continued to weep greatly as Makoto hugged her and comforted her in her time of need. He stayed with her for hours just letting her cry in his arms. "I've been where you are right now. Your mom helped me when I went through a rough time. I guess it's fate for me to return the favor by being there for you. Don't worry Maki, whatever happens I will always love you."

Maki's tears went from those of fright to those of sadness as her father held her in his arms. She continued to cry for several minutes before calming herself down. It was about to be the Dark Hour in the next couple minutes. Makoto grabbed Yukari and the three of them walked around town as the Dark Hour began. What frightened them was as the Dark Hour began instead of Gekkoukan becoming Tartarus. As they walked around town a new building that was set up in town known as the "Nanjo Tower" morphed and turned into a far scarier version of Tartarus. Makoto and Yukari were left at a loss for words. They had worked so hard to eliminate the Dark Hour and though it had returned they didn't think Tartarus would follow along with it. "Impossible!" Yukari said. Maki was confused yet again. She was getting tired of being confused but this time she couldn't blame her parents because they were just as confused as she was.

"What is that?" Maki asked her father. Makoto snapped out of his trance of confusion as he turned to her. "That. Would appear to be Tartarus. Or at least a version of it, Tartarus was a tower that housed shadows. It was a place where your mother and I used to train to become stronger. Now it only brings haunting memories of pain and death. I think we should go and explore it. Perhaps we can figure out just what is going on." Makoto led Yukari and Maki to the tower. Outside the building they found that Kotone, Shinjiro, Akihiko, Kojiro, and Mitsuru were all waiting for them outside. "Ah good, you all made it. I was worried when I saw the Nanjo tower turn into Tartarus. It would seem that not only did Strega jump over from another timeline, but Tartarus as well. I wish Yamagishi were here to provide support for us during battle. But it would seem I will have to return to that duty for now." Mitsuru opened the door to Tartarus as everyone else stepped inside.

"Well this place clearly didn't change much. It's still just as fu-" Shinjiro was about to continue but Kotone interrupted him. "Shinji! You know better then to swear in front of your son!" Kotone was mad Shinjiro was about to swear around his son. He felt embarrassed by it, Akihiko laughed at him. Revenge would soon be served as Shinjiro punched Akihiko in the shoulder. Makoto stepped forward with Maki as they spoke to each other. "Maki, I'd like to make you the leader of exploring Tartarus." Maki was concerned. "Me? Leader? But I don't even know where we would be going. I don't know how to lead, I'd only get you guys hurt." Makoto put his hand on her shoulder. "Maki, don't worry. I've led this team for over twenty years. I'll be right there next to you. Just take your pick on who else you want to come with you. Except for Mitsuru and Shinji, they both can't fight. Mitsuru because she has to stay here and Shinji cause he doesn't have a persona." Maki took a long thought over who she wanted to come with her.

"Well... You're coming with me obviously. Mom... And you know what? I'd like for Kojiro to have a go at using a persona." Kojiro stepped forward and he, Maki, Yukari, and Makoto all walked up the stairs and onto the second floor of Tartarus. They continued to explore around Mitsuru guided them into defeating a few shadows. Makoto and Yukari made it a point to avoid using their most powerful personas so that the kids had time to get a feel for their abilities. They soon ended up facing a larger shadow. The first gate guardian, Maki was about to summon her persona for the second time when Kojiro spoke up, "Let me handle this. Taste shit shadow! Persona!" Kojiro used his Evoker and summoned his persona. Tyr headed Kojiro's call and made quick work of the gate guardian. "Wow. I did it, I summoned a persona." Maki clapped as she walked up to Kojiro and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

Once they made it up another floor they found themselves at a boarder floor. Makoto and Yukari explained that after a certain amount of time and defeating a powerful shadow they would get to continue further up the tower. Maki was glad she had her parents to help her on her journey through this new adventure. Once they made it back to the entrance Mitsuru congratulated the teens on their success and ability to summon personas without difficulty. Makoto patted Maki and Kojiro on the back as he told them he was proud of them. Maki got a little teary eyed as she hugged both her parents. They shared a tender moment and Maki felt something shift within her heart. "I am thou... Thou art I... Thou hast established a new bond... Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest, to create a Persona of the Fool Arcana" The voice then vanished from Maki's heart and mind. She has formed a bond with the newly reformed SEES. Once everyone was ready they left the new Tartarus and went home to get rest for the night. Everyone was ready for the year that stood before them.