Persona - Mask of Origins

He shook his head, "I don't know. There was a lot of fog, I couldn't see him, but he could see me and he hit me with some sort of electric pulses or something. It hurt when I woke up."

 

"You need any medicine?" Yuki asked.

 

"Huh, uh, no, I'm fine. Not a mark on me but I feel like I've been hit by a semi. He said...I couldn't have a new Persona until I realized who I really was. It's like he's testing me for something."

 

"Whatever the case, I hope you get a new persona soon."

 

Zain nodded silently. He hoped that guy was there the next time he went to sleep. He'd give him a taste of his own medicine. "I think I'll go for a walk." He got up and headed out the door.

 

"I wonder when Nicholi and Toji are gonna get back. They've been gone for a while now."

 

Maria gently touched Nicholi's cheek, whispering, "Mother's home." before she bit into his neck in much the same way as a vampire. Nicholi's eyes sprang open and he choked, "No..."

Zain wandered around before finding himself at the entrance to Daieko's mansion. "Daieko lived here... I wonder if he's still around somewhere or if he's dead."

 

Toji grabbed the nearest sharp object to defend himself with.

"Get away from him."

 

Maria hissed at Toji, her fangs bloody and Nicholi held a hand to his neck. He felt betrayed but the process had worked. The woman before him was his mother. "Mom...? Why are you..?" "I don't understand Nicholi. I'm not anything. I'm your mother, please, don't let this man hurt me!" Nicholi shook his head, "You drank my blood." Maria clutched her head, "I don't...I don't know, it just smelt so good. I-I don't even know what's wrong with me!"

 

"Something must've went wrong at some point. I'm sure you didn't mean for something like this to happen, Nicholi."

 

Nicholi sadly watched his mother ease herself onto the ground and sighed, his wound healed quickly, "I don't think any of the process is correct. The Doctor made Zero and I easy because he had years of time. And he made us weapons. Recreating Maria's personality and her purpose is...harder. I suppose now her purpose is to drink blood of shadows and humans alike. What more could I have done?"

 

"You ought to be able to change her purpose soon enough, if you work at it."

 

Nicholi nodded, already considering the changes. His mind worked ahead of his body though. For now, he was burnt. "I need rest. Lest I run myself to the ground. Maria and I will stay at the farmhouse I was at a before you found me. I shall return when she is fixed."

 

"Just be careful out there."

 

Nicholi nodded, taking Maria and hurrying into Callen's black car and driving off. He knew he could fix her, and if not, she'd kill him.

 

Toji went back to Yuki's and sat down.

"Nicholi didn't come back with you?"

"Nope."

 

Callen frowned, "Zain hasn't returned from his walk either."

Zain, having collapsed outside Daieko's mansion, stood unsteadily, "Whoa...that's a lot of repressed memories."

"Is it too much for you?" Zain shook his head at the voice and it chuckled, "Good to know that you can take a lot of pain."

 

"Should we go looking for him?"

 

Callen shook his head, folding his arms and sitting down on the couch, "No, he should be able to handle himself. The Shadow Hormone does a bit more than add an attraction for Ari. His threshold for pain is higher and his senses are much more alert to other shadows." Zero scratched at his bandages, "So in other words, Zain can handle himself and anything else."

Zain pushed through the rubble. "There's a lot of dust. Hey, isn't ther supposed to be a body around here?" "There's been a lot of shadow's around here and well....Daieko didn't exactly die a normal death. Zain... "What!" "Behind you." Zain turned quickly enough to grab the pole a shadow had almost knocked him unconscious with. He twisted it from the shadow's hand and broke it on the shadow's head.

 

"I guess we should just relax for now. Let's head up to your room, Yuki."

"Not now, Toji. I'm not in the mood."