After running for what feels like hours, Kevin and I find a small clearing and decide to take a break. I don’t let my guard down- I circle the clearing, expecting the vines to return at any moment. If I’m being totally honest, the paranoia that I might be grabbed at any moment is taking a mental toll on me… but, there hasn’t been any sign of her for a while. What is she plotting?

“Um… Ashley, can I ask you something?” Kevin says. He sounds very sheepish.

“What is it?”

“You don’t think less of me now after what happened back there, do you?”

I look at him. He looks flushed and embarrassed.

“Kevin, why on earth would I think less of you after you saved me from being raped?” I question incredulously.

“Uh… I mean before that. Like, when I kinda… admitted I… sometimes think stuff about you.” He shies away a little.

I can’t help but to scoff at this. “I don’t care about that, dude. The chips were down, and you did the right thing.”

“You don’t?” he asks curiously. “I thought that girls don’t like it when guys think about that stuff…”

“I suppose that depends on the girl,” I answer. “But do you really think that straight girls never think that stuff about guys? Newsflash: They do. They’re just better about being discreet about it.”

“Huh,” he says. He has this amazed look on his face like I just blew his mind. Well, I suppose he is Catholic, so I shouldn’t be surprised.

“Really, I should apologize to you, Kevin,” I confess, going back to circling the area.

“Huh? Why?”

“When you asked me to Homecoming, I was really harsh towards you. But, you must’ve not known about Zoe and I then.”

“No, I didn’t,” he admits. “I never used to hear about gossip stuff. That is, until Mason and Diana started dating. Now I hear all about it…”

“Anyways. It was wrong for me to react that way. I understand that, from your perspective, there was nothing wrong with what you did. So I’m sorry.”

“Hey, I haven’t been sweating it. I figured you were just having a bad day or something.”

This makes me pause. “Here’s the thing, Kevin. There are people in this world, who treat everyone else like crap, and they just make excuses for it. You know, like Ms. Truman.” I make another sweep of the forest around us, but it’s still quiet for now. “I’m not gonna end up like that. So I’m not making excuses anymore.”

“You don’t have to compare yourself to her, Ashley,” Kevin consoles me. “You’re a cool person.”

“Thanks, Kevin,” I respond. I find it really relieving that he still respects me after what happened then. “For what it’s worth, I think you’ll be good for whoever you end up with,” I tell him earnestly. “You’re a good man.”

“Thanks, Ashley,” he replies, blushing. “That means a lot.”

The nice moment is interrupted by something very odd. The gemstone embedded into my chest plate begins glowing brightly. Over the past months, I honestly kind of forgot that I had this.

Kevin squints at the light. “What’s up with that rock?” he asks.

I try to block it out with my hand so it doesn’t blind him… and then I get a most peculiar sensation. It’s like my stream of thought is being parted…

Ashley? Are you in trouble? A voice says inside my head.

Yes. Who am I talking to? Michael?

No, it’s me, Lucy. Did you mean to touch your gem?

Oh, does touching my gem summon you? I never tried that before.

I must’ve forgotten to mention it. The journal that I initially used to contact you has a psychic link to me. And since your pink gem is inside the journal in the real world, I can jump from that to reach you where you are.

“You okay, Ashley?” Kevin asks. “You look-“

I hold out a hand to silence him. You did forget to mention it. Well, it’s really lucky you did that. I happen to be here without my cell phone right now.

It’s always good to have contingencies. Anyways, are you in that jungle palace?

Yes. And I’ve learned who it belongs to. And she has an app too. She can come to the Metaverse.

I feel a distinct feeling of excitement that is separate from my own thoughts. You’re not kidding, huh. Well, I figured you were going to stumble into the scheme sooner or later. Very good work.

I sure as hell didn’t expect this. But, let’s talk about the big picture stuff later. Right now I’m trapped in the palace with a very persistent child molester’s shadow, no backup but a boy who just awakened his Persona, and no way out. Got any hot tips for me?

I think you might be ready to harness the power of this gem. It’ll be sort of like a second Persona awakening… if you find yourself in a pinch, tap into its power and see what it can do. And I mean that literally, because we don’t know what it does yet.

Okay. I guess that’s something. Thanks.

It’s somewhat comforting that I at least have a potential Hail Mary if things go wrong. That said, it would be more comforting if I knew what was going to happen…

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We arrive in the jungle again. Anja, Nova, Zoe and Ted the armadillo all take battle stances and round on Ms. Truman, who is laying on her butt several yards away, seemingly having lost balance during the transition. I expect her to look frightened, but she only looks slightly annoyed. How strange.

Anja seems quite pleased with herself. “Don’t be alarmed. We’re not gonna hurt you,” Anja promises. “But, this place we took you to is quite dangerous. So I wouldn’t recommend trying to run for it. We’re your only way out of this. Now, I have a few questions.” She pats the holster of her gun threateningly, smiling smugly.

Ms. Truman stands up, gets out her phone, and then disappears without saying a word.

“What in tarnation!” Ted shouts incredulously.

“Where the hell did she go?” Anja questions, looking around as if expecting to see her dashing into the trees.

“She just… vanished,” Zoe comments, clearly in shock. “Did she leave the Metaverse?”

“Wait… hold on,” Nova says. “Does she have one of those apps that we use?”

“No way!” Anja responds. “Unless you’re saying that this woman knows Lucy?”

“Either that, or Lucy’s not the only one distributing those,” Nova says darkly.

The next step for us is, at this point, unclear. Zoe gets her phone and starts trying to call Ashley again, presumably checking if she was in the Metaverse. Anja thought that she might’ve come in alone, and if so, it would explain why she didn’t respond to any messages or calls in the real world.

“No! She’s still not picking up!” Zoe says, looking close to tears. “Ashley, where are you?”

“Wherever she is, she must not have her phone,” Nova speculates. “Or she’s refusing to answer it, for some reason.”

“I can’t imagine why she’d be ignoring Zoe,” I say, mostly thinking out loud. “If she doesn’t have her phone, that means we can’t contact her. It also means that if she is in the Metaverse she cannot leave it, and if she is in the real world, she cannot come here.”

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

“You don’t think she’s trapped here, do you?” Anja questions, looking rather alarmed.

“Wait… maybe she is!” Nova says excitedly. “Think about it… that teacher lady can go back and forth. What if she took Ashley here and left her?”

“The story she gave us about Ashley’s whereabouts was preposterous,” I add in agreement. “It does seem as if she was trying to hide something from us. So it’s possible that story could’ve been a wild goose chase to keep us from looking for Ashley in here, which we were considering doing when she walked up.”

“But if she’s in here, how the hell are we going to find her?” Zoe asks in a panicked voice. “Everywhere looks the same here! And who knows how big it is?”

“We need like, a satellite map of it or something,” Nova comments, picking at the curls in his hair as he thinks. “But I guess nobody really has that ability here…”

“Not yet,” Ted comments. He gives me a meaningful look. “But we do have someone without a Persona.”

“Yeah, but what are the chances of her abilities being that specific thing?” Anja questions.

“Actually, I think I see what Ted is implying,” I remark. “Remember that game I showed you this morning? In the game, there was one character of the team who had a different skillset than the rest, known as the navigator. She wouldn’t fight in battles but would instead provide aid through scans of the area and indirect support through stat buffs and analysis of the enemy’s weak points.”

“And that’s supposed to be based on the legends and stuff, right?” Nova questions, scratching his head. “So you’re saying you can make yourself into that?”

“I reckon so,” Ted confirms. “Think about when the rest of y’all got your abilities. You were cornered by an enemy; you needed power to beat them. But this girl… the whole time she’s been with us, she’s listened, she’s observed… she seeks insight.”

“Why thank you Ted,” I agree, smiling at him.

“I mean, go ahead and give it a shot,” Anja suggests, shrugging.

I sit down on the ground, legs crossed, and close my eyes. I clear my mind of all thoughts and focus only on breathing in and out. I then isolate each sensation I feel in my body. I focus in on my gut, where I feel a steady anxiety about the idea of Ashley being stranded on her own. I release that feeling and let it consume me. My vision swirls, as if I’m entering another world… and then, it comes into focus.

----------------------------------------

I am now sitting on a rocky hill. In front of me, in the foreground, is a woman with wild red hair wearing a blue and gold robe. In the background, the city of Troy, surrounded by a moat yet burning to the ground.

“You are Cassandra,” I address the woman, “As depicted by the artist ‘Evelyn De Morgan.’ A painting I find myself sympathizing with quite often. The Trojan priestess who was gifted with the ability to see the future but cursed to always have her prophecies ignored.”

“They-” she gestures at the city behind her- “Do not want truth. They want ease. They want confirmation of what they already believe. They want a status quo. They want predictability. And they will take it, every time. Even if it leads to their city in ruin… or an innocent man in jail.”

“Indeed,” I agree. “It was quite an odd situation to be in. I had a realization about something. I already know from experience my family would’ve ignored it. And I expect the institutions that are supposed to serve us would’ve as well. My best option was to give my findings to the weird occult kids at my school…” I laugh at the absurdity of it. “And my risk paid off. They have taken me far further than I could’ve gotten otherwise. But now, I need a greater level of insight…”

“You have found this power within you,” she tells me. “The one who is ready to receive this gift, shall do so.”

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I open my eyes. The others are looking at me expectantly.

“Did it work?” Zoe questions eagerly.

I get to my feet, and as I do, I feel as if I stepped to the other side of a veil. My clothes have changed to a blue blouse. Not all dissimilar from the one I saw on Cassandra, but this one is more modest, covering down my ankles and over my elbows. My hair is neatly tied in a bun and tucked into a hood, which is a look I rarely bother with in real life; yet somehow it causes me no discomfort.

“Well, her clothes changed,” Anja remarks. “That means something happened.”

“I was expecting her to get super high-tech glasses or something,” Nova comments. “Do you, like, feel any different?”

“Give me a moment to focus,” I request. I close my eyes again and take a deep breath. I find, to my surprise, that I can “feel” outside my body. My consciousness can pass over my body and out through the air, making it feel rather like a curious wind is blowing through me. Immediately I feel several pressure points right around me emanating a sort of vibrancy. These are Anja, Nova, Zoe, and Ted. I find that, even with my eyes closed, I can gain a sort of outline of them in my head. They are all watching me still, their auras emanating with worry, excitement, interest, skepticism, all mixing together into a sort of soup that envelops the group.

I nudge my way through the jungle like this, seeing what I can find. There is very little here. However, eventually I come across three other pressure points. One of them emanates a large amount of power and resolution. Focusing on this figure more, I gain a very rough outline of Ashley, who is seemingly walking through the jungle aimlessly. Another one is right next to her, walking alongside her… I’m shocked to find that I recognize it as being Kevin. His energy is similar to that of Ashley and the others in the group, making me think that he also awakened a “Persona.” The third one is something that feels very different from everyone else, that I can’t get a clear picture of. But whoever it is seems to be closely following Ashley and Kevin without being seen.

I open my eyes again and point in the direction where I felt the vibrations. “Ashley is here,” I announce. “And, surprisingly, so is my friend Kevin.”

“Oh, so it made you a psychic!” Nova comments, looking impressed. “Hey, that’s cool too!”

“I knew you had it in you,” Ted tells me in a fatherly sort of way.

“Kevin's in here too?” Zoe asks, shocked. “Oh, Ms. Truman did say something about the two of them, that’s right…”

“Ashley and Kevin seem to be working together,” I elaborate. “But there is some third person, who I can’t identify, following them closely.”

“I bet that’s the shadow form of this palace’s ruler!” Anja postulates. “Let’s go after them, they could need our help!”

“Aye. Time’s a wasting!” Ted commands.

----------------------------------------

I’ve been on plenty of hikes before, but there’s something very dispiriting about the jungle we’re in. Normally, you’ll hear insects (if you’re not being bitten by them,) you’ll see critters running up and down trees. You’ll see benches built by some boy scout troop, and maybe an occasional plaque explaining some landmark. But in this jungle, there’s just nothing. It is so desolate that after long enough of going through, it just makes me feel kind of sad and empty. So I’m really quite relieved when we stumble upon a change of scenery: a single little cottage in the middle of a clearing.

“Ashley, look!” I announce, pointing at the cottage. “Maybe there’s someone there who can help us!”

“No, Kevin. There’s nobody there who can help us,” she responds disparagingly. “You don’t really understand what’s going on here yet. This entire stupid place is a product of Ms. Truman’s mind.”

“Wait… we’re inside her brain???” I ask. “So what do you think is in there, then?”

She sighs. “A trap. But, she hasn’t made any effort to get us the normal way in quite some time. So the radio silence must have been building up to this.”

“So do you think we should just ignore it?” I question.

“Actually, no. Let’s go in. I have an ace up my sleeve I’m gonna hit her with, so we can end this once and for all,” Ashley declares. “You ready?”

“Uh… sure,” I say, taken off guard. I start to feel really nervous. What kind of trap is going to be in there?

“Let’s get this over with,” she says. She walks towards the cottage with a quick stride. I take a long, deep breath, and then follow her in.

Inside the cottage is… a normal sitting room. It has a very old-fashioned feel. The walls and most of the furniture are made from wood, with stone being used for the kitchen. There is a patchy rug covering the floor which looks like it could’ve been home sewn. There’s no TV, no microwave, nothing very modern, although there is an electric light fixture illuminating the room.

“Okay… never mind then,” Ashley remarks. “I guess it wasn’t a trap. Just a regular cottage.”

“That’s a relief,” I say, letting myself relax.

“Might be a good time to rest our legs,” she suggests. She sits on a bench which is adorned with pillows. I’m about to sit in an armchair across from it, but she gestures to the spot right next to her. I sit beside her on the bench.

“That was a nice conversation we had earlier,” she says.

“Yeah, it was.”

“Do you remember when I said, ‘different girls react differently?’”

“Yeah.”

“Well… I wasn’t willing to admit it at the time, but I actually felt really… flattered when you said that stuff about me. Intrigued, even.”

“Oh really?” I question. That is… confusing.

“Yeah. You know Kevin, just because I’m dating a girl, doesn’t mean I’m not into guys at all…”

“Yeah, I know. That’s called being bisexual.”

“Exactly. And you know, I was thinking… you saved my life. You were my knight in shining armor. I should reward you properly for it.”

“Wait. No. You don’t mean…”

She nods, smiling widely at me. I feel a… uh, mix of emotions. Part of me, the part of me that doesn’t really think, is really excited… but this is also so bizarre that I’m totally befuddled as to what got into her. And on top of that I’m quite nervous…

“Uh… are you feeling okay, Ashley? This is very unlike you.”

She giggles. “It’s just like I told you, Kevin. We girls have wild sides too… we just keep them hidden away.”

“Yeah, but…”

“Shhh. Just go with it, okay?”

She gets to her feet and walks to the center of the room. “Step one is getting this stuffy armor off of me…” And then, right in front of my eyes, she starts disassembling her armor. I’m initially frightened that she’s going to be totally naked under it, but when her chest plate comes off, I see that she is wearing a sparkly pink dress that glitters every time she moves… it looks incredible on her. For a moment I’m just left in awe…

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To try and get to Ashley and Kevin as soon as possible, we run through the forest, Nova occasionally clearing away some branches in front of us using Mjölnir. I normally don’t like running very much, but the adrenaline is making me able to run a long way without getting tired. Or maybe that’s just because I’m in this world? I couldn’t say.

My heart is still pumping hard. I have this dramatic song stuck in my head which I listened to while getting ready for school this morning…

“Guys, stop for a moment,” Ruth says.

The five of us grind to halt. Ruth has her eyes closed again.

“What’s the matter?” Nova asks. “Did something happen?”

“Yes… I detected something extremely odd. Ashley just… went away.”

“Went away?” I question fervently. “What do you mean?”

“It’s like she fell into a hole… but instead of going down, she went… away.”

“Do you think she escaped from here?” Nova asks.

“No… because Kevin is still here. And there is some… thing in the place where Ashley was.”

“Some thing ?” Anja asks, sounding as frightened as I feel.

“It doesn’t feel like any of us do… it’s like an empty shell in the shape of a human.”

“We’ve had spirits and demons tamper with our missions before,” Ted mentions. “I’ll bet you one of them got in here…”

“We need to get there even faster now!” I shout. The others agree, and we take off back in the same direction at a sprinting pace.