A Zoo in the Fog (PersonaxZoophobia)

What Am I?

            Jackson hadn't even left the school doors before getting a call from Zill. Of course, as he answered it and he heard angry Spanish shouting.

"¡Alguien se llevó a mi puta novia! ¡Maldita sea!" Zill shouted over the phone. Jackson didn't even have much of a response. He tried to take some Spanish classes to understand Zill when he was like this, but he didn't really excel at it. Voy a arrancarles la jodida garganta!

"Zill, slow down please. What's going on?" Jackson attempted to calm his friend so at the very least he would understand the problem.

"Kayla's been taken! The door was left wide open at her house and when I looked inside there was no one to be found!" Zill was clearly panicking.

"Zill, relax. Please. Come to my house. I'll get Autumn over and we can check if she's in there." Jackson wasn't really the one who was used to giving people the advice to calm down. Usually people are doing it to him.

"I... fine. I'm bringing something to fight with though. Just in case." Zill said before hanging up as quickly as he had called. Jackson quickly texted Autumn to meet at his house before sprinting back home. The trip was accompanied by many people running into him, tripping a few times, even almost getting hit by a car. The usual for Jackson. He wasn't really focusing currently. When Jackson got home, Zill was already there, nervously and impatiently pacing about the room. Autumn was close behind, carrying the bag that held his bow from before.

"Finally..." Zill rushes over to the both of them. "Let's check, right now."

Jackson was going to say calm down again, but Zill seemed close to snapping. He sighed softly. "Just be prepared. The monsters in here..." Autumn was beginning to say but was soon cut off by Zill.

"I know... still have a bruise from last time." Zill pulled on a set of metal clad gloves. Jackson thought it would be better than nothing, and remembered how much Zill's punches seemed to hurt whoever they landed on quite a bit. Maybe that would be enough. He got his own gear on as the three of them head into the TV world.

Jackson and Autumn landed on their feet while Zill caught himself with his wings and floated down to the ground. All of them looked around, while Jackson caught sight of a new pathway going from beyond the main area. "Alright Zill, stick with us and..." Before Jackson could even finish, Zill was already running through the new pathway. "... And there he goes." The other two dashed after him. As they ran, they would find themselves stopping outside what looked like a palace. The outside was an ornate blue color, and it was adorned with small crystals. Every tower looked expertly made, and the entrance had a carpet rolled out to the boys. It honestly looked more amazing than anything that had been previously seen in this world, aside from the personas.

"A palace..?" Zill muttered to himself, looking up at the ornate surroundings. "This... is like a drawing she made when we were little." On closer inspection, Jackson did recognize the pattern. Once, when Zill made Jackson go with him to Kayla's house, there was a drawing somewhat similar to this on the fridge. Her parents proudly displayed it to whatever guest that came in.

"But... why?" Jackson quietly asked himself, slowly beginning to walk forward. Zill was already sprinting ahead though.

"Zill, you have to wait u... damn it, he did it again!" Autumn sighs, rubbing his temple with his free hand.

"Well we can't just leave him in there!" Jackson began running after Zill. Autumn followed, pulling up an arrow just in case he'd have to fire. The inside was made up of these long, intricate hallways. It was almost like some kind of a maze. In this maze though, there was a soft singing very similar to Kayla's voice. It held a very somber tone though, as if she was trying to sing through tears. It almost brought Jackson to tears. He needed to keep himself level headed though. He ran up the next staircase he found and pushed through the door. The room ahead was a beautiful ballroom, with a large crystal chandelier hanging over the center of the room, where Zill stood.