Residential Area

Rei stared blankly at the ceiling, his mind miles away from where his body was. It has been two days now since the nightmare stopped and though he was thankful that the ordeal was over, a different thought occupied his mind. On the night when he accepted his death through the murderous dreams, an entity appeared to him and introduced itself as his "Persona" who went by the name of Ioannes. The creature had a strange appearance but Rei was not scared or intimidated by it, he even felt familiarity towards it. He could still remember clearly every word that his Persona told him.



"Make sure you unplug everything before heading to bed, okay? There's gonna be another blackout tonight." called out Rei's mother from the doorway, giving her son a skeptic look when she noticed that the young man looked detached and preoccupied. "Rei? Everything alright?"

Rei was snapped out of his thoughts by his mother's beckon and he quickly sat up from his bed, a confused expression in his face. After a quick gathering of his thoughts, he looked over at his mother and nodded a couple of times.

"Yeah, I got it. I already charged the emergency light too." answered Rei.

"Okay but, are you alright?" asked the woman again, her question still awaiting answers.

"Yes. Of course I'm okay. There's just... a lot of stuff to think about." replied Rei, giving his mother a wry smile to dispel her worries. "Don't worry yourself, mom. I'm fine. It's nothing a little sleep won't cure." he assured before laying back in bed. "I think you should be more worried about Mina, mom. Her fever still hasn't gone down."

"Rei... You know I have enough concern to spare for you and your sister." sighed Mrs. Ishikawa but she understood what her son meant. "Okay then, Reisuke, if you say so. If something's bothering you though, you can always talk to me about it." nodded the woman as he let herself out of Rei's room. "Sleep well, Reisuke."

"You too mom. Tell Mina I said goodnight too."

With that Rei tried to immerse himself in some ruminating again but before he got the chance, the lights started to flicker and weaken, signifying that the blackout was going to happen soon. Switching on the rechargeable fan beside his bed, he turned in for the night, still questioning himself as to what Ioannes could have meant with his enigmatic words.

"The call of death... others who suffer the same fate as me... Persona... What could they mean?" he mumbled as he slowly drifted into a quiet slumber.

(To be continued in the Nightmare Realm)

Rivera sighed, remembering how she had responded to Temuji. "Of course I want to fight! No one should have to face those shadows alone!" Temuji had smiled at her.

The lights in her room flickered, brining her back to reality. She sighed again, and her father's voice floated up to her from the living room.

"Hey, Vera! You unpluged everything, right?"

"Yeah, I did Dad! I'm going to bed, I'll see you in the morning!"

"Night, Vera."

Her thoughts wandered back to two nights ago. Temuji had promised to teach her the next time she went to sleep. And she hadn't slept since, fearful that she hadn't actually escaped the nightmares, and that Temiju wasn't real. Once again, she sighed, and laid down. She didn't want to sleep, but she didn't have a choice. Her body and mind almost imedeately shut down completely. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

[To be continued in the Nightmare Realm]

10:15PM - Eniwa Flats, Tominosuke Residence

“Daddy! Daddy!” The shrill, piping voice of the tousled-haired girl blasted through the tiny one-room flat. In the kitchen, elbows up to in soapwater and oily plates, Hatsu glanced up. He didn’t need to wait long, a head popped around the plastic sliding door and Akemi grinned up at him, all dimpled cheeks and white teeth.

“Daddy, they’ve got Pokemon on now!”

“Yeah? You go watch it first, I gotta clean up all this stuff first.”

The girl dawdled, unsurety flickering across her round features.

“If you don’t go watch Pokemon now, it’s gonna be over and you’re gonna miss Ash and Iris and whotshisname.”

“Cilan!” sang Akemi, her face smoothing out. “’kay, Daddy!”

And so saying, she sped out of the kitchen and into the living room, where she flopped down on the low brown couch, turning on the television as she did so. Left in the kitchen, Hatsu allowed himself to grin slightly.

Damn Pokemon. Hatsu was pretty sure that all the merchandise he had been buying for Akemi took up about fifty percent of the budget.

… three hours later …

Tip-toeing into the dark room, Hatsu peeled back a blue blanket and slid underneath it, taking care not to disturb the still little shape in the second futon.

Beside him, tucked under her own blanket and clutching a battered Pikachu doll, the chest of the Akemi rose and fell to the beat of her even breaths. She was a sound sleeper, an earthquake would be hard put to wake her up.

Hatsu stifled a sigh.

He was building up a tolerance to caffeine, he realised.

His eyelids slid shut.

And Hatsu began to dream.

[To be continued in the Nightmare Realm]

Residential Area - Crossroads Bar - 10:13 PM

Thus Spoke Marcel

“So Saadiq darlin’, how’ve ya’ll been holdin’ up?”

The voice that spoke was concerned and sincere. A foreign tone in a place like Crossroads. It was the finest bar on the island—that is if you enjoyed the smell of cigarette butts, and the chef’s burnt pizza. But the waitress was friendly, it only had a dozen or two tables so it didn’t get crowded, and the drinks had a certain flair about them that only the bartender, ‘Shades’ could pull off. It was kind of like Cheers; everybody knew your name, and there was always a seat waiting for you.

At Crossroads, there was a booth damn near reserved for a group of four men. Down on the main floor [a set of two stairs separated the ‘ground floor’ from the top floor where the bar, kitchen, and a few stools resided], smack in the center along the back wall was where this group always met. They picked this spot specifically because the good TV was mounted in the perfect spot from there. Rei Ryugamine, Shu Nara, Toby Blake, and…who was the last one? Oh yeah. The last guy was Saadiq Leonard Marcel. And tonight, like every night for the past three weeks, he was sulking.

Hunched over on the table with one hand firmly gripped around his glass of rum and cola he was completely detached from the conversation his friends were holding with Ai. Ai was Crossroad’s curvy waitress. Her green eyes and red hair we’re not natural. She spoke in a southern drool that wasn’t at all natural to her in preparation for a movie role she’s been training to get for months. Ai was popular with all the patrons at Crossroads for her down to earth attitude [go figure] and genuine interest in other’s lives. That said, her interest borders on just being plain nosey. She went to school with the boys, but moved away during their junior year of high school. So she knew them pretty well.

It was Ai that asked if Saadiq was alright. When she bent over the table to get closer to him [she had to lean over Toby, who was sitting on the outside of the left side of the booth with Saadiq] the tattooed arm of the man shooed her away. The waitress pouted and sighed.

“Ya’ll know sulking is unhealthy right? I once knew a guy, he used to be a regular here, who sulked so much over losing a bet, he died! Granted the bet cost the poor boy all of his money, and he really died because he overdosed on coke…” She scratched her head, “But still! Sadie, ya’ll just can’t sit around mopin’ it’s been a month sweetheart!” The guys, and Ai eyed him longingly. But there was zero reaction from the grieving Saadiq.

“Ah, give him a break Ai. The guy’s going through a break up.” Speaking next was Rei. Rei was Okinawan, so he had a brown tint to his skin. His brown hair was cut into a buzz and he rocked a goatee for style. After college, Rei opened up his own Garage and became his own boss. The years were good to him and his business is booming. Not much for fashion, the cat wears his mechanic’s garb wherever he goes. A big blue garb stained with oil all over. He smelled like a walking car. “Things like this take time you know?” With a nod to himself, Rei reached over to the center of the square, wooden table, and snatched one of the buffalo wings from their bowl.

“Sheesh boss. You’re such a romantic!” It was Shu that spoke next. Shu was a freshmen in highschool when the boys met him their junior year. He had messy light brown hair, brown eyes and a baby face. Shu liked to shop, and loved to dress. Currently he was donned in a brown waistcoat, white shirt and tie, black slacks, and white loafers. Shu was still in college, but worked with Rei as a mechanic part time. The kid couldn’t legally drink yet, but his ties with the boys got him in to Crossroads without trouble.

“Not really. I just know what its like to lose someone special. You can’t just get over something like that. Not in a few weeks at least.” Rei shrugged and munched on his wing. Shu smirked.

“Sureeee.” He giggled, “But man. I still can’t get over the fact that you of all people cheated Sadie. I mean, you and Minako we’re together for like, ever right? Didn’t you love her?” There was a bit of movement from Saadiq’s petrified body, “I know if I loved someone, I’d never even think of cheating on her. It’s low man.” The entire group shot Shu a death glare, “I-I-I mean…” Young Nara broke into a cool sweat, embarrassed by his ramblings.

“Of course I loved her…” Saadiq’s body stirred, and slowly he rose up from the slump. His back now straight, his bloodshot eyes were in full view. He didn’t look at anyone in particular, instead, he cut his eyes down and to the side, away from the curious of everyone. “I still do love her.” With a sigh, the battered man ran a hand down his cheek.

“Then why did you cheat?” Ai asked. Her tone was serious, almost like a mother ready to scold her child. The southern drawl she was trying to perfect was gone completely, replaced with her own voice.

“I don’t know!” He leaned back against the red leather of the booth and groaned, “It was like…my body wasn’t in control. I met Ramona and I just couldn’t help myself.” Elbows on the table, he cradled his head on his hands, rocking his dome side to side in confusion. “Why’d she have to be so…” Saadiq’s voice trailed off. Perfect.

“You sound like a kid. All these years and you’re still blaming everyone but yourself for your mistakes.” Ai raged. Saadiq’s eyes widened and his body froze. “You need to grow up Saadiq. Maybe if you did you’d still have Minako!” The entire bar fell silent—and the boys all cringed.

Save for Toby, who only sighed. Toby was from America, much like Saadiq. He moved to the island during fourth grade thanks to his father’s corporate takeover of a failing Japanese computer company. Toby had peach skin, blonde hair, a chin strap beard, and melancholy blue eyes. He was still dressed in his blue dress shirt and khaki’s from work—sleeves rolled up. Toby worked under his dad at Four Stars PC like Saadiq. But unlike his buddy, Toby worked in the office with his number crunching desk job that he sincerely loathed.

“Don’t you think you’re making a bit of a scene Ai?” He reached into his pocket for his phone, “You’re no saint either. So don’t go jumping down Saadiq’s throat, yeah?” The clock on his phone read 10:27. Ai scoffed.

“Look who’s talking Mr. I Hate Women—“



“Look. It’s getting late, there’s supposed to be a black out tonight. I’m headed home.” Toby quickly stood from his seat, and shoved by Ai, making sure he gave her an icy stare as he did. But just as he headed for the door the lights flickered. Moments passed, and everything went black. The entire room gasped, and then everything was still.

She

The lights flickered back on just a minute later. But Saadiq’s friends were nowhere to be found. The entire bar was empty now. The music of the jukebox had stopped, and the images on the TV’s were replaced with static [even the ‘good’ TV!]. He wasn’t alone though. Not at all. The minute the lights came back on, he felt her presence. Although he couldn’t see her at first, he knew she was beside him.

Her warm, familiar touch as her hand cradled his. The feeling of her body as a drew closer to his own. Saadiq trembled in fear, and in pleasure.

“Ramona…what are you doing here?”

It was another nightmare...

[To Be Continued In the Nightmare Realm]