Souji kept a mental list of possible future victims of Namatame. His school friends, like Daisuke, Kou, Ai, maybe Yumi, perhaps Eri or Sayoko from work…maybe even Nanako, his precious little cousin he always took time for in the evenings. Every day he checked up on them, because, at this point, Souji didn't care about 'social links' anymore. He just wanted them safe.

However, he'd never marked Dojima as a possible victim.

Because…well…his uncle worked as a detective. And he was a really, really good detective who poured over cases to keep his mind sharp and worked out to stay strong. Never, in a million years, would Souji ever have considered him a victim of the television.

And yet, that "Bastard Namatame," as Yosuke called him, somehow pushed his uncle into the shadow realm. At first, Souji hadn't noticed—his uncle often came home late. But, after a call to Adachi confirmed that Dojima hadn't been in all day and Naoto ran a quick check on surrounding businesses to note that nobody in the shopping district saw him, Souji went into action. He picked up medical kits, vanish balls, and revival beads at the Shiroku store, bought Chie a new pair of shoes, and called everyone to Junes. Upon entering the shadow realm, Rise staggered to the ground with her hands pressed against her forehead.

"There's a new dungeon here," she murmured, quickly summoning Himiko, "And it's different. It's big, all spread out…but not very tall. Just a couple floors. But, wait, Senpai!" Rise cried as her persona placed the visor over her eyes, "T-There's not just one shadow-self here! I sense…I sense two. Oh this is, bad, he threw two people in here!" In a quick shower of sparks, Himiko vanished as Rise turned her worried expression on Souji. The rest of the team gaped at her, and Souji saw each of them calculating certain factors—Yukiko, mentally counting the chewing souls she would need to keep up her healing skills, Naoto, wondering if she'd upgraded her gun to a high enough level, and the rest of them looking over general medicine supplies.

"Do we have enough?" Kanji wondered aloud, "Wait, we've only got six homunculus left. What happens if we get hama'd or mudo'd?" Naoto shook her head, adjusting her hat.

"As I am not susceptible to either, I believe I should go on this one. We have no clue what we'll face with Dojima, or this mystery shadow. Senpai, may I suggest you, me, Yukiko, and Teddie? We may need his traesto…I noticed we only have one goho-m left. And it never hurts to have two healers," she pointed out, tucking her gun into her belt, "Yosuke, Chie, and Kanji will follow behind and act as backup, should one of us fall during battle, as they are all strong fighters." Naoto didn't notice Kanji's blush, instead facing Souji, who nodded yes in response.

"Are you okay, partner?" Yosuke asked, unconsciously brushing his hand against Souji's. Kanji bit his tongue to keep himself from making a scathing, "Who's the gay one now?" remark. Souji nodded, squeezing Yosuke's hand before turning to Rise.

"Can you take us to Dojima now?" he asked. She nodded, thumbing the card in her hand, and almost dreamily walking in the other direction. The rest of the group followed after the concentrating girl, Souji biting down on his lip as he tried not to think about what waited for him at the dungeon. Dojima…he'd come to know him so well since April. His uncle, a close confidant, and practically his father now...how could he possibly fail at saving him? How could he leave the TV without his uncle, Nanako's father? There was no way, absolutely no way he could go back and tell his cousin she would never pick flowers at the Samegawa with her dad again.

"Guys," he muttered, surprising them all by speaking, "If all else fails, we bring back a body."

Not having to ask any further questions, the rest of the team nodded. Souji dug his fingernails into his palm and continued marching on.

Rise led them to the front of a very twisted, sprawling building full of cracks and crumbling bits. Souji felt his breath catch when he realized just what made up this dungeon: an amalgamation of the Dojima residence and the police station. Trash littered the walkway leading up to the door, broken sake bottles littering the ground.

"This is the manifestation of Dojima-san's mind?" Naoto asked, sounding more than a little nervous, "It's very…telling."

"Beary scary's more like it," Teddie whimpered, "That's Sensei's home…Teddie doesn't want to see it so messed up." Souji shook his head, taking a step forward and feeling his feet crunch the broken glass.

"It's not," he murmured, drawing his sword and holding it up to the front of the dungeon, "This is not my home. Rise, stand ready to analyze the new shadows. Naoto, your gun has enough bullets, right? Teddie, Yukiko, keep your spirit up—we might need the healing once we encounter more dangerous foe," he ordered. The team gaped at Souji, surprised by his new talkative qualities. But, they only nodded and followed him into the new dungeon.

Upon stepping inside, Souji felt his mouth go dry and his stomach turn. It was his home, but not really. They resided in the kitchen, a much bigger kitchen, but Souji recognized the musty smell and sink piled high with dishes. However, everything seemed intensified, far grimier and dirtier than normal. The lights flickered on and off, giving the overall impression that the house hadn't been a home for a long time.

"This is…really fucking creepy," Kanji intoned, blunt as always as he stared at the surroundings, "Do you understand any of this, Senpai?" Souji shook his head, swallowing a lump in his throat as he looked at Nanako's dolls strewn over the floor with their heads popped off and limbs broken. It became too easy to imagine his actual baby cousin in the same spot.

Not her…

"Nanako?" Souji shouted, sprinting forward into the house, leaving his friends behind as he wildly searched for the little girl, "Are you in here? Can you hear me? Nana—" Yosuke cut him off by tackling him to the ground.

"Partner! Partner, what the hell?" he gasped, clamping a hand over Souji's trembling lips, "She's back home! She's fine, remember, we put her to bed before heading over here. So, calm down…come on…please, Souji?"

Before he could respond, three of those nasty cop-bear shadows flew towards them. Yukiko turned her fan on them, landing a critical hit, allowing Naoto to finish them off with her gun. Souji sat on the ground, absolutely stunned while staring at the scene before him.

"I know it's been tough lately, partner…but can you do this?" Yosuke asked. Souji nodded.

"I need…I need to protect them," he whispered, staggering to his feet and turning his attention back to Rise.

"Rise, have you scanned the floor yet? Can Himiko produce a map?" Rise, visors on, nodded and opened her palms. She produced a vivid map, showing the multitude of shadows and location of the treasure chests. Souji's eyes widened when he realized how far the floor sprawled—easily twice or thrice the size of a regular dungeon's. Well, Rise had said this one was odd…

"Let's move on," Yukiko urged, gripping onto her fan for dear life, "Just standing here makes me nervous." Souji nodded, and they all began to fight the seemingly endless shadows that resided on the floor.

After clearing every last shadow they could find, collecting some medical treats, and finding new armor for the girls, the team collapsed in front of the stairs leading to the next floor. "Got enough spirit for a mediarahan, Yukiko?" Chie groaned, stretching her legs and slumping onto her best friend's shoulder. Yukiko quietly whispered, "Come, Amaterasu," and suddenly Souji felt a hundred percent better. Rise gave their spirit an extra boost with Himiko, and soon all of them staggered back to their feet.

"So, this floor was just a larger version of the first floor of the Dojima residence," Naoto mused, pursing her lips, "We even had to fight the shadows that came out of Nanako's television, not to mention the minion shadow in her room. I wasn't aware toy rabbits could be so ugly." Teddie shuddered at the memory of being repeatedly hit with agidyne.

"This is definitely my least favorite," Yosuke remarked, "It's just…wrong. There's nothing interesting about it. It's just creepy and twisted, and I hate it." Souji once again felt Yosuke's hand grasping his and fought back a smile. Even in the midst of this fresh hell, it felt good to know he still had the team in his life. Naoto still seemed deep in thought until a look of apprehension crossed her face.

"Senpai…I believe that if this floor is setting up a pattern, then we will climb up the stairs to this world's version of your bedroom." Souji briefly stiffened, but shook off the fear. Do not, Seta. Do not, he told himself as he placed a foot on the bottom step.

"We're right behind you, remember that," Yukiko said as she brandished her fan. Souji nodded, and started up the stairs, ignoring his thumping heart.

When they reached the top of the creaking staircase, he realized Naoto always predicted correctly. It was his room, but sprawled out and winding. His bed appeared to melt into the floor, and his desk lay in a splintered mess with shadows crawling over it. Rise raised a finger to point into the center of his room labyrinth.

"I sense a powerful shadow coming from the center," she insisted, keeping pace with Souji as she guided the team through the maze, instructing the shadows to avoid and the ones to fight. Souji squeezed her hand in gratitude as they ran, wondering what they'd done before she joined the team. However, when they reached the center, nothing could've prepared Souji for the sight before him.

He reeled back when he found himself staring at a woman wearing a beautiful wedding dress. She stood with her back turned to them, a long veil obscuring her hair and face. However, an unmistakable shadow aura glowed around her, and Souji held up his sword in preparation for another standard guardian battle.

"My, my, the team's all here!" a creepily familiar voice cajoled. Souji stood still, horrified as the woman turned around, revealing his face. He wore a wicked grin on his lips, the shadow-yellow eyes glowing with malice as he sauntered towards them.

"Partner," Yosuke breathed, staring at the shadow-self, "Why are you in a wedding dress in Dojima's dungeon?" Souji stared at himself, at the admittedly beautiful dress, which he could've sworn he'd seen somewhere before. Shadow Souji swished the skirts, sliding his fingers over the beadwork.

"Don't you like it? I think it's perfectly appropriate, considering where we are," he smirked, adjusting the veil so it trailed over his back. Souji's eyes widened when he finally recognized the dress.

"Chisato…" he whispered, remembering the garnment from Dojima's wedding pictures. Shadow Souji giggled, twirling once in the dress and posing like a blushing bride would.

"Isn't it just perfect, me? I mean, you already act like his wife: taking care of Nanako, cooking, cleaning, listening to him talk about his day…I know you've been wondering how you can max this social link." Souji felt a chill go down his spine as he stared at himself, a thing that wore his face but said things he never would've dreamed of. Frozen in place, he couldn't force himself to stop the shadow as it advanced towards Yosuke, a lecherous sneer on its ace.

"After all, Me, there's always a surefire way to max a social link…and you know what it is. Oh, Yosuke," he sighed, bringing a pale hand to cup his partner's cheek, "Stupid, vulnerable Yosuke…if only you knew the reason behind everything I've done. The talks, the Samegawa, and even that. Yes, that." Yosuke's eyes widened as the shadow trailed a finger down his chest, his face reddening with shame. The shadow turned back to Souji, malice alight on its face.

"Oh, don't look so horrified! It's all a game for us, and that's all it's ever been. Ever will be. A mission from Igor, Margaret, and don't like it's anything different. They aren't you friends…you don't care about them. There was always that urge to snap, tell them you don't care, but oh, Souji, you'll do anything to max a link, won't you? Power hungry Souji, always eager to fuse the next Persona…"

Souji felt the eyes of the investigation team fixed on him, horror etched into the contours of their faces as they registered what his shadow self said. Turning to them, he began to plead, insisting that it was a lie, that he did care about them, love them. Yosuke recoiled from him, and he felt the angry eyes of the rest fixed on him. He felt sick with himself when he saw Chie wipe her eyes, trying to keep him from seeing her cry.

"This is shameful," Naoto said, her voice icy cold as she glared at Souji, "I expect better of myself. I should've…I should've seen past that façade of yours. I should've realized it earlier." Souji's shadow chuckled, holding his sides as he began to laugh harder.

"That's right, Me! You'll do anything to max a link, and that's why you're here now. Dojima's link still isn't finished, right? So you'd even fuck your uncle to get that ultimate Persona. Or, maybe he'd fuck you. Either way, it's not like it means anything. You'll fuck anyone if it means getting more power, you conniving slut."

Souji shook his head, feeling his legs grow weaker by the second. The shadow laughed, putting on a simpering expression as he pouted in Souji's direction.

"I'm an empty shell of a person, really. There's nothing interesting about me; all anyone needs me for are my Personas. Nobody really wants the real me…I'm just pathetic. Worthless. After I defeat the final shadow, nobody will care about me anymore. I've only been what they want me to be. And you know it's true…" Souji tried to find a comforting smile in his friends, but they all refused to meet his eyes. Despair welled up inside him, filling his lungs like fluid as he struggled to breathe.

"No…no…you're not…" he started, unable to stop himself from speaking the loaded words, "You're not me!"

AN: Feedback is always appreciated!