Life in Lunarvale, not Windian High"Man... what a wild two weeks..." Brad said to himself as he left the Joy Street Shopping District. Well, to the average person, it would look like he was talking to himself, but if one looked closely they could see a pixie peeking out from his jacket.
Lunarvale: The hometown of the Persona Users, even the ones that now live in Windia. An incident occurred here, known as the SEBEC scandal. Because of this, there are some demons that now live with the citizens of Lunarvale peacefully.
"So... When are you going to go back?" Sonya asked as she flitted out of Brad's jacket. "I mean, Alyson's sure going to want to see you again..."
"This weekend, if I can, Sonya." Brad said as the pixie flew over to the Persona User. "I want to see her too..."
The Persona User began to make his way to the apartment complex that his family lived in. Along the way, Brad made a stop at the local Peace Diner to quench his craving for a triple thick, chocolate Peace Shake. Soon enough, both the egotistical Persona User and his pixie companion found themselves in front of his apartment building.
"Ahh..." Brad said as he stretched, causing his back to pop rather loudly. "Damn, Windia's great, but there's actually no place like home..." The Persona User took a long pull on his shake before heading into Sunset Apartments, and to the elevator.
********************* "Mom! Dad!!! I'm home!!!" Brad yelled out as he closed the apartment door behind him. However, no one answered him. "... Hello? Is anyone..." Brad froze up as his Persona warned him. Immediately, the Persona User dropped his bag, and pulled out his Avenger machine pistol. "... Sonya, there's someone else here... I can feel it..."
Sonya just peeked up at Brad from the confines of his backpack with a look of worry adorning her tiny face. "I do too, Brad. Please, be careful..."
"Don't worry, Sonya. I will." With that, the Persona User slowly pulled back the hammer on his machine pistol and slowly crept down the hallway, making sure to keep quiet. Brad flattened himself against the wall outside his parent's bedroom, and held his gun close to his body, before leaning over to peek inside.
All right... what do we have here... Well... there's mom. Sitting at her desk... Wait... she just got up... She's heading to the bathroom. ... Dude, where's my dad? I don't see him anywhere... Hey... and where's his stuff? ... And who is... that?! Aw shit... That's a dark elf! How'd one of those get in here? ... That's what I felt when I came home... ... Her back's turned to me... I can easily get the jump on her... ... Crap! Mom's in there! ... I've gotta get her out!
Brad took a deep breath, checking over his Avenger machine pistol once more. Satisfied that it was in perfect working order, the egotistical Persona User jumped out from his place of hiding and pointed his weapon at the elf's back. "FREEZE! HANDS IN THE AIR! WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!"
That certainly got a reaction out of the female dark elf. She slowly raised her hands, and turned to gaze upon the Persona User. Brown eyes met ice blue, and a stand-off of sorts immediately began between the human and the dark elf.
"I mean you no harm..." The dark elf said quietly. Brad noticed that she was dressed mostly in burgundy, had a pair of scimitars buckled securely to her waist, and she had a cloak. What threw the Persona User for a loop was the tired, rejected look that the elf had given him.
... What's with her? ... She's not like the dark elves that we met while going through Lunarvale and St. Hermelin... ... Despite what Brad was feeling toward the elf, he knew that he had to keep his guard up, considering the rather chaotic nature that dark elves usually had. "Put your weapons on the ground now... Or I will shoot you!!!"
To Brad's surprise, the elf let out a sigh and unbuckled her sword belt and placed the weapons on the carpeted floor of his parents room. As the Persona User continued to watch the elf through the iron sights of his mechgun, he noticed that she was actually shedding a few tears. The Persona User was going to say something else, before his mother came out of the master bathroom.
"BRAD!!!" Claire Terranama yelled out when she spotted her son holding a machine gun at their houseguest. "She's not here to harm us!!! Put your weapon down!"
The egotistical Persona User just glanced at his mom, and then the elf, before deciding to lower his machine gun. Brad was expecting the dark elf to grab her scimitars from the floor and attack, but what she did next just threw him off completely.
Brad watched as the elf just collapsed to her knees, and began to sob uncontrollably. The Persona User just raised an eyebrow as confusion ran through his mind.
********************* "Okay..." Brad started as he leaned against the wall, placing his hands on his hips. The Persona User looked from his mom, to the dark elf, and then at the pixie who was currently sitting on his shoulder. "Would someone PLEASE tell me what the hell is going on here?!"
"BRAD! LANGUAGE!!!" Claire Terranama yelled as she gave her son a rather withering look.
"Okay, okay... jeez, ma... I'm sorry..." Brad said as he let out a sigh. "Look..." The Persona User started before he turned his gaze to the dark elf. "I just want to know a few things. ... Who are you, why are you here, and how come you aren't like the other dark elves that my friends and I had encountered during the SEBEC Scandal and the Snow Queen Incident?"
"SEBEC Scandal? Snow Queen Incident?" The dark elf said as her ears twitched back and forth curiously. At the moment, she was seated in the middle of the couch in the living room. After a few moments of silence, the elf's ears perked almost instantaneously. "... So that was what was going on when I came here... why all of those other demons were out and about this city..."
"All right then, just... who are you?" Sonya said as she stood on Brad's shoulder, flitting her wings ever so lightly.
The dark elf just stood, and offered a bow to both the Persona User. "My name is Shayla Ra'Zaddan, formerly of House Ra'Zaddan."
"Wait up..." Brad said as he stood up straight. "Formerly of House Ra'Zaddan? Girl, what are you talking about???"
"It's quite simple, really." Shayla said as she gazed at the egotistical Persona User. "First, you have to realize that there _are_ other Gods, other than Philemon..."
"Psh, I know that girl. Philemon's a God, then there's the Catholic God which we just simply call God..."
"Then you are well aware that most of my kin worship Lloth, the Spider Goddess." Shayla said without missing a beat. Brad and Sonya noticed that when she spoke the name, Lloth, the dark elf said it with a venomous tone to her voice, like she truly hated the Spider Goddess. "I myself, am a follower of Philemon, Persona User."
"Babe, just call me Brad. You don't have to call me Persona User all the time." Brad said with a sigh. "Go on. So... why don't you follow that Goddess, like the rest of your kin?"
"... Because that Goddess is responsible for the murder of my brother... and my fiancee'..." Shayla said quietly, before shedding a few tears. "... Our society... is matriarchal. ... And there were too many males in our home... ... So my mother... murdered my twin brother... and helped to murder my fiancee'..."
Brad's, Claire's, and Sonya's eyes widened in horror as soon as the words had left the dark elf's mouth. Amazingly, Brad was the first to break the silence. "Shayla... ... I didn't know... I'm sorry..."
"Brad..." The dark elf started as she looked at the Persona User. "... There's also a reason that I'm here..."
The mother of the egotistical Persona User turned slowly to look at her son and the pixie that was sitting on his shoulder. "Hon... ... while you were gone... ... Your father... left us... Saying that he really had it with you, me... ... He wanted me to stop working at the Pharmacy... but... I refused... The Pharmacy really liked having me as the head Pharmacist..."
Brad's eyes just widened even more. ... "Dad... left... ... ... That..."
"Sweetie, don't..." Claire Terranama said, trying to comfort her son. "I know he really didn't care, but still... ... That's when I met Shayla. She wanted to help me out around the house... and in return, I was hiding her from her kin..."
"Brad... my kin are hunting me down for running from Lloth. ... They won't stop until they find me, and bring my head back to my family." Shayla said as her ears drooped.
Brad just looked like he was deep in thought. Damn... dad's gone... That stupid, uncaring son of a BITCH!!! All because he's been trying to get more control over mom and me... ... Shayla... she's telling the truth. My Persona can sense that. ... Wait. I know... I know just what to do... We can start over, and Shayla can be safe from her kin...
"Mom, Shayla..." Brad said quietly. "C'mon, let's pack... ... We can start over anew, and go somewhere safe..."
"What?" Claire Terranama said as she eyed her son.
"Brad, where are you taking us?" Shayla asked as her ears perked up curiously.
"The Velvet Room. I know a few people who can help us out..." Brad said as he headed off to his room.
Shayla Ra'Zaddan and Claire Terranama looked at each other curiously before heading off to pack what they could, wondering just what the young Persona User was up to.
Back to Main | Back to Chapter Index