A Zoo in the Fog (PersonaxZoophobia)

The Mind Doesn't Easily Forget

            After the team got Rusty back, everyone was pretty exhausted but that still left some time to ask him questions. They set him down in a chair inside Zechariah's office and they all either tend to their wounds or try to relax after a long day. Zechariah shifted a bit behind his desk and looked at Rusty. "How are you feeling Ruben?" He would begin with asking.

"Like... crap." Rusty held himself off from saying shit because he was talking to Zechariah now, and he wanted to try making himself better than he was before. There was still some planning he would need to do on that, but after all that came out in the Shadow world, he would need to start getting himself better. He knew a fair place to start after this.

"Do you need anything?" Zechariah tilts his head, not wanting to move on if Rusty was unfit to answer his coming questions.

"No, I'm... I'm good teach. Let's just get the questions over with." Rusty says, looking up at the cheetah. Usually his encounters with him were met with anger or disappointment. It wasn't often Rusty saw him just be calm.

"Very well. Do you remember anything before the TV world?" Zechariah asks, going to take note of anything he would provide.

"No. I think I was making dinner or something when the doorbell rang and... that was it." Rusty says, trying to think back on it all. It was really hazy. Each moment was hard to recollect, he had to think hard just to know that he was making dinner.

"I see. Do you know anything about the person who took you? Description? Even a feeling of how they moved would've helped." Zechariah continued to question, writing things down upon a notepad.

"They probably drugged me..." Rusty sighs, rubbing his head a bit. "Not like, needle or anything like that. I think it was a rag and that chloroform... stuff you see in the movies." Rusty was trying really hard not to cuss in front of the Vice Principal. Though after how many times Zechariah disciplined him, he felt more like the principal than anything.

"Hm... probably a strong individual." Zechariah mutters to himself. "Anything else?"

"Other than that? No..." Rusty sighs a bit. "It's kinda useless..."

"Maybe not..." Jackson says to himself, He had been listening whilst he tended to a couple of his bruises. "So far, the victim and the recently kidnaped have all been people to go to our school."

"You trying to say this was personal?" Rusty asks. "I dunno. There's a lot of people who have it out for me."

"And I don't know if I angered anyone enough to try and kill me..." Kayla says, looking to Zill. "Did you?"

Zill gave a little shrug. "Not really? I mean, I get we're a popular couple."

"It doesn't have to be personal either." Autumn says. "Just someone who either has access to this school or any student records."

"That narrows it down, but not enough." Zechariah says. "And we mustn't raise too much caution. As the killer would probably know as soon as we warn the school to go on caution."

"Without real evidence, we can't really point fingers either." Jackson sighs a bit.

' "Well, you guys figured something out... heh, I feel like I'm gonna be useless in this regard..." Rusty weakly chuckles.

"Though, Ruben, you have been absent from school quite a bit, and I cannot allow that to go unpunished." Zechariah says.

"... I understand teach." Rusty gives a little nod. "Though... if I need it, could I get a tutor or something? I'm pretty awful at math."

"I can help you Ruben." Autumn says with a little smile.

"Ok... can someone help me home? I feel like I'm gonna pass out." Rusty asks, looking around tiredly.

"Sure, I can..." Though as soon as Jackson spoke, he felt Rusty's hand grab his arm, probably for support so he wouldn't fall right out of the chair. Something shot through Jackson, a feeling that he had felt before any time that he and Rusty had little encounters. A fierce sort of dread overtook him and he immediately pulls his arm away. Images kept flashing in his head of all the times Rusty had bullied him throughout the years, and he began to shake.

"Jack? Jack what's wrong?" Zill came over, placing his hand on Jackson's back and trying to comfort him.

Jackson shook his head. "I-it's nothing I'm..." He looks to Rusty, a soft shakiness to his voice. "I'm fine..." He moved his hand back. "Maybe... someone else can do this today."

Autumn gives a little sigh, helping Rusty up. "C'mon. Let's go." As he said this, Rusty looks to Jackson. A fear he used to revel in now hurt him. Not that he blamed Jackson, he believed if Jackson were to never even acknowledge his existence again, he'd be completely justified. Though that fear he saw, it said everything.

As the others left the room and Jackson found a way to catch his breath, he seemed shocked with himself. "W-why? Why did I act like that?" Jackson asks himself, a hand over his chest.

"Jackson, you can't get over something like what Rusty did just like that." Zill said a bit sternly. "Besides... he needs to learn that all he did has consequences."

"But we need to give him a chance!" Jackson says, almost snapping. Everyone looked simply surprised, even Zechariah. "I want to give him a chance. I don't... want to look at him in fear."

"... I'll arrange something with you two and Ms. Cameron. For now, please. Go home and get some rest." Zechariah says, giving a little sigh as he began to compile the notes from today. Everyone nods and goes to leave.

Jackson looked towards the ground as they walked. Kayla and Zill accompanying him. They both looked at him, concerned. "Jackson, it's not your fault that you're afraid." Kayla rubs his back.

"But... I shouldn't be. I shouldn't be afraid anymore. I fight evil beings that represent other people's subconscious desires." Jackson gives a little sigh. "How can I give him a chance at redemption if I'm too afraid even to let him touch me?"

"Well, here you don't have your Personas. How many do you have anyway? Three?" Zill asks, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Yeah." Jackson gives a little nod. "It's stupid. I feel more vulnerable when I literally cannot die."

"It's not stupid Jackson." Kayla just continued to rub his back.

"It kinda is. I even stood up to him before he was thrown in." Jackson then gave a little yawn, the tiredness of today catching up to him.

"No. It's not stupid." Kayla repeated. "You cannot force something to be alright. Even if you have a single moment of courage."

"I don't know if it's even courage that I need." They soon arrived at Jackson's home.

"Well, you need time. Go to this thing with Ms. Walden and Rusty. See if it helps at all." Zill says. "As much as I still do not forgive him, he's on the team now."

"Yeah. I just want to give him a chance." Jackson sighs, going up to the door of his home.

"Heh, you're much better at this stuff than I'm going to be." Zill lightly chuckled.

"Well, I could always punch him again if he goes out of line." Kayla gave a little shrug.

"We don't need to knock him out again babe." Zill kisses her cheek. "Though that was a good right hook." Kayla and Jackson give a little laugh as they said their goodbyes and began walking off. Jackson just looked on for a bit. He wanted this to work out. He believed that Rusty could do good, and maybe even be better. But with all this he has bottled inside him, he couldn't even describe it. He hated that he reacted like that. After all he's been through already, he still reacted in fear. He needed to get through this. He couldn't do this to a team member. He just couldn't.