Persona - Mask of Origins

Nicholi nodded, closing the door. He kept Zain out of his line of view until they heard Ari's predicted scream. Zain growled and Nicholi snarled back at him. "Take it easy Zain." "You take it easy. He's hurting her!"

 

Toji finished after a while.

"There, all finished."

 

Zain rushed to Ari's side. "Ari...how do you feel?" "I'm okay." surprise lit in her face and she covered her mouth. A smile broke out on Zain's face, "Hey you...you just said 'I'."

Nicholi grimaced, "It's unnatural for shadows to have emotions. The other's will find out about this and come for you."

 

"It's up to Zain to defend her, then."

 

"And who will protect you, Yuki and my family. Surely you don't expect me to protect everyone." He silently watched Zain and Ari. His mind tossing aside the possibilities of when the shadows could come.

 

"I don't expect you to do anything, Nicholi. Now if I recall, don't you have an experiment of your own to work on?"

 

Nicholi nodded and left. He didn't have time to entertain thoughts of the shadows who'd ruined his first set of experiments. They'd come soon enough anyway.

Nicholi stayed gone for days. In that time, Zain was enjoying Ari's newfound emotions and Zero and Callen had worked on getting back into fighting shape.

 

Yuki spent her time with Toji.

 

In the coming night, rude sounds came down the street. A car screeched to a stop and a couple's screams entered the house. Zain jumped to his feet, "What the hell was that?" Callen stretched, "The fellas who ruined my house and nearly killed my sons. C'mon Zero, time for our revenge." Zero nodded and followed him. Zain tucked Ari behind him protectively and kept a hand on his lance.

 

Yuki grabbed her scythe, just in case.

 

Almost minutes later Callen was tossed through the window back into the house. He groaned and stood, "Strong little..." he shut his mouth as a lizard like shadow leapt through the open window, sniffing at the air before being tackled by Zero. Zero's pale eyes were glowing a dark red and his fanged teeth sunk into the shadow's leathery skin.

Ari screamed and three more lizard like shadows jumped through the window. A darker purple one that apparently was the leader hissed, "Nab the girl. She's the problem!" The others moved to obey and Zain slashed at them with his lance. Keeping them away. "Back off!"

 

Yuki stepped in front of Zain and began to fight.

 

Their tails wrapped around Yuki's scythe and ripped it out of her hands. Zain blocked them before their sharp claws could sink into his sister. A long tail wrapped around his ankle and pulled his leg out from under him, sending Zain to the floor and his lance sliding out of his hands. Locking hands with the shadow, he tired to keep it off him but they were surprisingly heavy. A forked tongue flicked out and licked along Zain's cheek. Grimacing, Zain turned away and felt sharp teeth sink into his shoulder. His eyes widened in shock, Not again! Ari cowered against the wall, her eyes locked on Zain.

Callen snarled and shoved Zero and the shadow he was biting off him and ripped the shadow off Zain. Blood dripping from it's teeth. "A message from everyone of our kind. Stop creating these abominations." Callen dug his claws into the shadow and flung it back out into the street.

Zero was thrown away from the shadow into the street. His confidence fell a few notches as he noticed the possibly hundreds more of the same shadows waiting on the street. "Shi-" they swarmed on him and cut off his words.

 

Yuki began firing energy bolts at the shadows to get them off of Zero.

 

Callen left his spot by Zain to help his son. Pulling them off as fast as they recovered and clambered back onto him. Zero split through the mass of shadow bodies with a feral snarl on his face. Having let go of his humanity for a minute, his eyes no longer glowed red but a deep black color. "That's the end of your lackies." A large majority of the shadows fell dead at his words and Callen kept his distance from his son.

Their leader clambered closer to Ari from over furniture and licked at her thigh. "For something that shouldn't exist, you are a delicious one. Perhaps you'd make a good Queen." Zain pushed himself to his feet and grabbed the leader's tail, "Touch her and I'll rip this tail of yours off!" It's head turned around to look at him, lidless eyes focused on Zain's hand and back to his face, "You shouldn't exist either. You must both die." Before Zain could remove his hand, the spines on the tail sharpened and pierced through his hand.

 

Yuki immediately grabbed her scythe and chucked it at the leader.

 

The leader's skin hardened and the scythe bounced off it, clattering to the floor. Zain pulled his hand free of the tail spines. The shadow flicked it's tail, sending Zain flying into the wall. He crumpled to the ground unmoving.

Zero and Callen sent the others off with their tails between their legs. Callen kept his eyes averted from Zero. Zero was breathing rapidly, his shadow personality taking it's time in going back under his control.

 

Yuki attacked the leader with her persona's power.

 

The shadow growled and cartwheeled backwards away from Yuki's power and kept Ari in it's arms. "You want her? Give up the research notes for the creation of others like them and kill the weapon shadows. Nicholi and Zero do not belong in a world like this." He disappeared along with the others and the dead ones melted into sand on the street. Zero calmed down and returned to the living room with Callen, "Where's Ari?"

 

"That shadow took her."