The Hour of Fell Light (Persona/DtbB/CC)

[Elf]

Chrono's fingers twitched. His head half-turned, one crimson eye giving his Channeler a flat look.

Um, Reg? That's not really how this works--

But he didn't have time for snarky comebacks, as one of the Shadows suddenly charged, it's gelatinous, tentacle-like arms flailing. A growl rumbled through him and he dashed forward with a snarl, fangs bared.

His claws flashed. Streaks of white-gold light split the air, casting spectral trails in their wake. The first Shadow let out an ear-piercing scream, gurgling as it died. Without missing a beat, Chrono turned, flared his wings, shot into the air, and literally pounced on the second creature. Growls and hisses filled the air as he went bestial on the thing, tearing it to shreds with his bare hands.

The demonic Persona straightened as the last of the Shadows' flesh dissolved into the air. He shook off his claws and once again half-turned, giving Reggie a bemused look.

He took the opportunity to voice his thoughts. "Reggie. You're the Channeler, I'm the Persona. You give me commands when we fight. That's sort of how this thing works."

[Meryck]

Reg matched him flat stare for flat stare. "So, what, you can't use the tiniest iota of common sense to realize that if something is trying to EAT you, you either run or fight? Really? 'Cause I'd figure anybody with half a brain would know that."

She was officially unimpressed with him, if this was really how it was going to roll. Killer he may be, but if he wasn't gonna use any sense, then this nightmare had officially gotten worse.

[Elf]

Chrono didn’t seem affected in the least by Reg’s scathing sarcasm, except that the exasperation in his bemused look went up a few notches. “Well fine then,” he grumbled under his breath, loping towards the school without waiting for his Channeler. “Next time maybe I’ll just leave you to fend for yourself. A ‘thank you’ might’ve been nice.”

He didn’t mean it, though, and Reg wouldn’t need that uncanny link, that empathic buzzing in the back of her skull to know that. Despite his rather ominous presence, the creature seemed to possess the curious ability to sulk.

“Time is wasting,” he said to Reggae, half-turning again to glance at her. The look was more to make sure that she’d stick with him than to egg her on.

[Meryck]

"Yes, yes, yes, I'm aware of that", Reg snapped back as she ran along behind him, mentally cursing his long legs and her muddling, unhelpful dress. Despite the fact that she had managed to be weirded out enough not to care much anymore and, therefore, revert back to her normal growling snark, she was, indeed, thankful for the Persona's protection and company. Even as she felt the Evokers still in her hands and her trigger fingers itched, she knew she would be Shadow kibble on her own. The girl's pride and natural nastiness might never allow her true thoughts a word in edgewise, but she did find Chrono to be a rather decent part of the hellhole she had been thrown into.

As if unaware of the ominous presence of the Persona, or of the reputation of the feeling's owner, gratefulness was present in her eyes.

It was nice, not having to face this all alone.

[Elf]

Despite the sour look on his Channeler's face, Chrono managed to catch the spark of gratitude in Reggie's eye. It wasn't enough to bring a smile to his face, but it was enough that when he turned back around, a feeling of contentment settled in his stomach. He was glad she wasn't completely antagonistic; not only was it self-defeating in the most literal sense, but it wouldn't make getting through the Dark Hour in one piece any easier. And anyway, it was only natural for a girl thrown into a situation like this to be scared--this was just how Reg expressed fear. He'd live with it.

Chrono didn't need to ask Reggie which way the dorms way, being that he was a part of her soul. He pushed past the front doors and set off through the school hallways at a brisk pace, but not too brisk to leave his nightgown-bound other self behind.

Another pair of Shadows erupted from the darkness coalescing between a row of lockers. An irritated growl tore through Chrono's throat. "We don't have time for this!" He raised a hand at the creatures, and suddenly, the skin of his palm molded and shifted. A strange structure that looked half like a third eye and half like a lightbulb sprouted from his skin. The moment it appeared, white-gold light gathered within it.

An instant later a brilliant flash of power filled the hallway as an aura ball shot at the two Shadows. Both of them let out ear-piercing wails. The energy ball, shot straight between the two, had scooped away half of each of their gelatinous bodies between it.

With another feral snarl, Chrono lunged. His claws finished the two creatures within moments.

[Meryck]

Reg blinked. Holy craaaaaaaap. She shook the stun out of her head and kept hauling for the dorms.

If those two are dead, I'm going to kill them.

[Elf]

She stood stock-still, feet planted shoulder-width apart, hands shaking violently as they clutched the letter opener between them. She had nothing to protect her but that and the gauzy nightgown plastered to her skin via the cold sweat of terror coating her head to toe.

The Tragedy mask tilted as the creature considered its prey, studying the strawberry-blonde teenager like a horrible mockery of a puppy studying a beetle. She grimaced at the thing, teeth set, and swallowed.

"I don't know what you are or where you came from," she growled, her voice quavering with the distinct edge of fear, "but what I wanna know is--WHO do you think you are, coming into a girl's room in the middle of the night?!" She brandished the letter opener. "You think you can just waltz in here when I'm in nothing but a nightgown?! Huh?!"

The Shadow gurgled, and lunged. Rosette Christopher grit her teeth, closed her eyes, and thrust the letter opener forward. If she was going down, she'd go down swinging.

Her weapon met with nothing but air. When enough seconds of silence had passed for Rosette to realize she wasn't dead, she cracked one eye open. The other flew open as well, both bulging at what they saw.

A hand, sticking out through the Shadow's stomach, its wicked claws coated in the creature's viscous fluids.

Chrono removed his hand from the Shadow and brought his other hand slicing downward, cleaving the creature's head from its body. It didn't have time to scream before it died.

"Are you alright, Miss?"

She stood stock-still, feet planted shoulder-width apart, hands shaking violently even now that they had nothing to clutch. She stared. A monster had just saved her from another monster by clawing the thing to death.

This was unreal. This was too much. So Rosette, always the most verbal among her friends, voiced her thoughts.

"What kind of retarded nightmare is this?"

[Meryck]

Reg poked out from behind the "monster".

"Oh, good. Brash comments. She's okay. And to answer you're question, Rosie-chan, it's not a nightmare. Sadly."

Sarcasm aside, Reggie was happy to see her best friend from childhood okay. Now, to check on Ran and.....

Oh wait, Rosie-chan was going to want to hit her. She braced herself.

[Elf]

Blue eyes blinked, boggling at the newest addition to this most bizarre of bizarre scenarios. "Reggie?" Okay, now she was SURE she was dreaming.

WHACK! "HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT?!" Per their custom, almost the moment the abhorred moniker was out of Reg's mouth, a new goose egg appeared on Reg's skull. Granted, Rosette's reaction time was a little slower than usual today, on account of she'd almost died, and oh yeah, there was a freakishly tall, winged, horned demon standing right there.

Who was looking inordinately nervous at the teenage girl's rage. Which was kind of cute on him. Wait, I did NOT just think that.

She rounded on Reg and continued her tirade as if she'd never left off. "Say that I believe you for a SECOND that this isn't a nightmare, then WHAT IS IT?! This makes no sense! What was that thing?! What is--who is--HE?!" One arm shot out towards Chrono, an accusing pointer finger at the end of it.

"I'm--my name is Chrono, Miss Christopher," the demonic Persona said, trying to overlay his bemusement with politeness. "I'm glad you're not hurt."

Blink. Blink. "Uh." She blinked over at Reg as a follow-up. "Reggie..."

Her shoulders slumped, a completely perplexed expression blasting her face. "What is going ON??!"

[Meryck]

"What the crap are you asking ME for?" The raven-haired girl rubbed her now-sore head and snorted indignantly. "By the way, was that a letter opener in your hand?"

Says the girl with a gun in each hand.

....Oh joy, YOU'RE back. She grumbled a sigh. "Hold on, gotta check on Ran, then--"

SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!! Reg jolted and turned at the scream. Ran's door swung open, rapier landing and burying into the floor with a skewered Tragedy mask lanced through the middle. A soft, gentle voice followed the death rattle of a Shadow;

"I'm going to be very vexed if this isn't a nightmare." A tall, lanky, white-haired boy stepped out of the room, grim of expression, to retrieve his sword. Reg paled.

"Damn, Ran, I thought that thing was for display only." The boy blinked, surprised at the raven-haired girl.

"Reg, what are you--?! Er...Well, yes it is usually, but--" Ran's eyes finally caught on to the demon standing behind Reggae. His face fell into a deathly serious look as he pried his rapier from the floor, didn't notice the Mask had vanished, and pointed the tip at Chrono. Reg squawked in alarm.

"Hey, Chrono's not a bad guy! Put that thing down before you poke someone's eye out!"

[Elf]

“YES, that was a letter opener, it was all I—ACK!!” Rosette jumped back as the rapier stabbed into the floor and stuck there, pinning a Shadow’s Tragedy mask into the carpet. She raised her gaze to the source of the disturbance, baby-blues bulging at the sight. How could he be so cool, so calm and confident, as if he’d been battling these monsters all night without breaking a sweat?

“Rrgh—RAN!” Rosette stomped her foot, her face growing redder. “DON’T SCARE ME LIKE THAT!”

She was tired, she was frazzled, she was scared; her heart was STILL hammering in her chest from that Shadow attacking her and the demon wasting it, and then Reggie had the gall to give her crap again, and now THIS?! A girl could only take so much!

But when Ran raised the rapier and leveled it at Chrono, Rosette only scoffed at the deadly-serious look on his face. “Take a chill pill, would’ya Ran?” she drawled. “This figment of my imagination just saved my life.” She gestured with her thumb at the Persona.

Chrono, however, didn’t seem at all concerned to find a sword pointing his way. He looked the white-haired boy up and down, his eyebrows disappearing into his hairline. “Very nice,” he complimented, impressed. “You have some skill with a blade.” He hadn’t been expecting any humans to be holding their own against the Dark Hour’s creations without the help of a Persona. If Ran was capable of this much without a Persona, then with one, he’d be…

But neither Ran’s nor Rosette’s Personas had awakened yet. Heck, they didn’t even know what was going on, much less how to summon their alter egos. One step at a time.

Chrono dipped Ran a bow. “My name is Chrono. It’s an honor to meet a capable fighter such as yourself, Ran.”

[Meryck]

Ran blinked at both the girls reactions, then lowered his rapier, managing a small, polite smile and a bow back at Chrono. "And I thank you for saving Rosette's life." As he straightened, he raised an eyebrow at Rosette. "Figment of your imagination?" He looked over at Reg, who offered a shrug.

"Don't look at me, I already tried telling her this isn't a nightmare."

"Oh dear...", he sighed softly, shaking his head. "Well, if this isn't anyone's nightmare, then what is it and what do we do next?" He then added quickly, before Reg could add her sarcastic two-cents; "Aside from trying not to die."

Her snide comment stolen, the girl's responce was this:

"Erm....good questions. I'll get back to you when I have some good answers."

[Elf]

Rosette folded her arms and looked away from Ran with an embarrassed huff. “Yeah, well, what else d’you expect me to think?” she grumbled.

Her gaze settled on Chrono once more, and again she found her eyes trailing over his form, half in disbelief, half in wonder. What was he, really? What was his connection to Reg? And what the hell…? Just what the HELL in general?!

Chrono felt the girl’s gaze on him; he looked over to see her studying him, and blinked. Rosette choked and colored, looking away with an abrupt and self-conscious snort.

And as if sensing the girl’s unspoken questions—and also to answer Ran’s spoken ones—Chrono gave a patient sigh and began to explain. His voice rose and fell with a grave, storytelling aura, his tone holding an odd quality that made it seem like it was coming from elsewhere, somewhere outside himself.

“You’re right—this isn’t a nightmare. This is the Dark Hour, the 25th hour of the day when the world’s colors switch and the Shadows stalk the city. Most humans will transmogrify into coffins and sleep through the Dark Hour with no memory of it occurring. A very few, like you three, can walk around freely during this time. But whether you’re asleep or awake, all humans are in danger from the Shadows. Those wakeful humans will be the Shadows’ prime targets.”

“But you need not fear. The fact that you are awake and aware during his hour means that you have the potential to destroy the Shadows. Both of you have the potential to summon your Persona—a manifestation of your inner self, a being who can help you combat the Shadows. Reggae has already managed to do this.” He glanced over his shoulder at his Channeler.

And suddenly blinked, his story grinding to a halt. Oddly, he felt like he had nothing more to say.

[Meryck]

Reg blinked. Where the hell had all of that come from? It was like someone had been puppeting Chrono.

Too easy to spot my voice, is it, child? Reggie suddenly felt a wave of protectiveness wash over her from nowhere- perhaps a twisted form of self-defense-, seen as only the faintest twitch of an eyebrow.

You stay the hell out of him.

Ran, however, didn't catch this twitch of the brow, eyes merely flickering from Chrono to Reg before catching on. "...Oh. Um....Reg? How?" She cringed, feeling the guns in her hands and the memory of the echoing bullet.

"Let's just say I still have a headache and leave it at that for now, 'kay?"

[Elf]

Chrono didn't see the eyebrow twitch, but he did feel something--the uncanny link that existed between them seemed to have limits. The only time he felt emotions filtering through from Reggie was when those emotions were particularly strong, and now, Chrono felt a surge of irritation feed through the link. He raised a curious eyebrow at his Channeler, but didn't press the question any further than that.

Rosette, meanwhile, stared at the Demon Aspect incredulously.

"So...you're...a Persona, then," she said slowly, as if still reluctant to admit that any of this was even real. "Reggie's Persona, actually. Which means...you're...what, her 'inner demon'?" Rosette let out a loud snort. "Her inner demon! WOW! That suddenly explains so much about you, Reg!" She burst into laughter so boisterous that her sides shook.

Chrono gave the strawberry-blonde a bemused look. Now that was a little bipolar. Was this girl for real?

Once her laughter had calmed down enough that she could breathe again, Rosette wiped away a tear and let out a long sigh. "Soooo," she ventured, fiddling with her hands, "what's this about a headache now? I'm sure it can't be THAT bad, Reg! You're probably just overreacting." She let out a nervous laugh.

Chrono sighed. Clearly, the girl was anxious to know how to summon her own Persona and protect herself from the murderous Shadows, but wasn't liking the sound of how it was done. "The guns in Reggie's hands." The horned head nodded towards the weapons. "They're called Evokers. A Channeler has to...well, has to shoot themselves in the head to call forth the Persona."

The demon-formed Persona blinked as a surge of emotion buzzed over his link with Reg. He looked over at her, blinking again. He didn't like the feel of that...