Hearing the girl's reasons, Yuumei sighed to herself. [i][color=f7941d]She has a point, but still...[/color][/i] She shook her head. That didn't matter now. Now, even though she didn't want to, all she could do was trust. Trust the flame thing. She'll say sorry later, now she just had to go. But wait... This place was for dead people? The frozen time place where everything's frozen and stuff? Then why was she there...? Why were the others there, too? Was she dead? [right][color=ed1c24]Wouldn't be a bad thing.[/color][/right] No. It would be a bad thing. She didn't care. She was alive and she knew it. That was the one hope she had, and it was going to be the one hope she was going to hang onto. She just had to go somewhere safe. Anywhere safe. The monster (it was friends with the flame?) was going to be coming from the back, so engine room. Engine room. It has a use now. Everything does. [b]Run, run, run.[/b] - what about the others? [color=ed1c24]They don't matter. They can all die for what you care. You can just run away. Run away by yourself. Hide from whatever might come out. Shelter yourself from everything. Just like you've always done. [/color] No! They matter. They all matter. She was going to help them - [color=ed1c24]Not save them? Wow, even you know that you can't save anyone.[/color] - help them. Maybe not save them. Hopefully she does, but... Roaring. Roaring. No. No no no no no no no. It can't be. Not right now. Not right here. She didn't even get to say sorry to the girl or the flame or...or anyone! Everything became black and tar-like. The setting changed from a dream to a nightmare. Yuumei turned around, maybe her last turn ever, and saw it. It was a monster. A 3-headed tar monster dog. The blue flame was hesitating. The monster dog looked like all it wanted to do was kill. No. This won't happen. [color=fdc68a]"Live,"[/color] Yuumei whispered. [color=fdc68a]"Please."[/color] The blue flame didn't move. Why wasn't it moving? It could get out of the way before it got killed, right? It was fast enough! So why not...? She figured out why. There was no flame. It was a doll. There was no flame. It was a doll. A doll. Dead. Dead. No flame. Dead. Gone. Never to come back again, killed by its own friend! What kind of friend would- [i]She[/i] would. [color=a36209]Get over it.[/color] [color=f7941d]I can't...[/color] [color=f7976a][b]Yes you can[/b].[/color] [color=ed145b]It's so easy.[/color] [color=92278f]The past is the past.[/color] [color=8493ca]Just forget about it! Can't be that hard, can it?[/color] [color=f7941d]You're wrong.[/color] [color=ed1c24]Fucking wimp. Is that really the worst thing that's happened to you? A little,[/color] [i][color=bc8dbf]I don't know why I was friends with you, [/color][/i][color=ed1c24] and you never trust again. You're too weak for this world. It would be better if you were just dead! This monster is making your life so much easier! It killed the blue flame and now it's going to kill [i]you[/i]. You have no worth. [/color] [color=fdc68a]Yes I do.[/color] [color=ed1c24]What you think doesn't matter now! Everyone is going to die! All of those useless people that you see now? Dead. And you won't care.[/color] [color=f7941d]I care about them. All of them.[/color] [color=00aeef]Do you?[/color] This was a different voice in her head. She couldn't explain what it was, but she talked to it [color=f7941d]Yes. Yes I do.[/color] [color=00aeef]Then prove it.[/color] [color=f7941d]How? I don't have anything, I can't save them, I can't help, I'm useless![/color] [color=ed1c24]Yeah you are. You're finally admitting it. Now go on. Run away.[/color] The voices switched back to a cold, demonic one. She didn't want this to happen. She didn't want to run. [color=f7941d]No! How do I prove that I care about all of them?[/color] [color=00aeef]All you have to do is stop running away.[/color] And then, the brown-haired girl told them to run. She was sobbing. And while Yuumei didn't realize it, she was sobbing herself. She was trying to save them all. To protect them. But she would die. Would Yuumei allow that to happen? Of course she would. She should! After all, she was useless here. They were useless here. They had no power. There was nothing they could do. That girl was stupid, stupid, stupid. She was going to fail. Without help. The girl became thrice her size with a word she had never heard before- [i]Persona.[/i]- and she also became more powerful. That was her strength. But what did Yuumei have? Nothing. She should just run away now. Not again. No more running away. Suddenly, Yuumei felt something weighing her down. It was on her neck, so she looked down. She no longer saw the heart. What she saw was a compass. [right][i]I art thou...[/i][/right] It was green. Green, with illustrations of everything important to her. A camera, pictures of science, pictures of her and her friends, a treasure chest, a tower- what? That was there for a reason, but she couldn't figure out what...didn't matter now. The tower was pointing north. She looked north. It was the beast. She saw Taro throwing his bag and crying. He was scared. He must not have gotten any sort of power. Was Yuumei going to let him die? The first person she met here? Or anyone else, for that matter? [right][i]...and thou art I...[/i][/right] She'd already answered this. It was no. Running...hah. That was no longer an option after she saw the first girl say 'persona.' She heard another yell it, and the blind girl used hers too. Most of her regrets, her doubts...they were replaced with hope. More hope than she could have ever had in her life before now. Hope and courage. Courage of a great warrior, enough to take on the strongest beasts. She was still very scared of her current situation, but she felt those two feelings. [right][i]From the sea of thine soul, I emerge...[/i][/right] She knew what had to be done. She grabbed hold of her compass, outstretched her arm with the compass facing the monster, and took a deep breath. This moment was about to change her life forever. With death, or with a life of trusting. [url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PtD6N9TDFAk] [center]"Persona."[/center] [/url] Her compass turned blue and felt very cool. She saw a light shining out of it, and closed her eyes. Upon opening them, she saw what might have been the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. A woman with long, light brown hair. She was covered in a gold robe from a canopy. In one of her hands she held a chest that looked exactly like the one on Yuumei's compass. [center][i]The key to a prophecy, the bearer of a hero... Danae.[/i][/center] Yuumei pointed at the beast, letting the necklace fall back to her chest. She grew a huge, smug grin on her face. [color=fdc68a]"Danae. This beast has proven itself unworthy of any kind of warm welcome. Aqua!"[/color] She said, and water flowed out of the chest and to the beast's vines at an alarming speed.