*Wabbajacked*
Chapter I: An Unexpected Gift
~Soji Seta's Apartment~
Soji Seta looked down then up then down again. There was a large box at his doorstep but whoever left it obviously was in a hurry, they were already gone. He bent down and lifted the box, it was of a considerable weight, and placed it down on his dining table. Soji pulled a box cutter from a drawer in the kitchen and examined the outside. There was no sender, odd, but that didn't mean much considering Soji could go into the TV, summon personas, and was the only one among his group who knew about the velvet room where there's an older man with an impossibly large nose and a woman with yellow eyes. Yes, this odd thing really wasn't that odd at all, suspicious, yes, odd, not at all.
He extended the blade and began cutting open the box. In no time he was able to pull out another box with a picture of a Playstation 3 on it. Soji smiled and tore a note that was taped to the box off. He tore open the note and read its contents.
"Dear Soji Seta,
Hey Leader, it been forever since we chatted so I thought why not get you one of these bad boys. I got a PS3 last Christmas and there's a chat live feature, so I thought why not. Since I had some extra money and with the help of some of the gang, we were able to get you one too. Now we can chat all the time while we play some rad games. It comes with a free game, I don't know which but I hope it doesn't suck, lol. Anyway I already paid for your membership so don't worry about that. We all really miss you so install it ASAP!
Your best friend,
Yosuke Hanamura"
Soji scanned through the note again before placing it aside. Something seemed off about it, it was Hanamura's handwriting but it just didn't sound like Yosuke. They hadn't texted each other as much lately sure but it isn't like they can't contact each other at all. Then again it is a gift and you should never question a free expensive appliance.
Seta opened up the new box and carefully pulled out the heavy Plastation and carried it into the living room. He pulled out the instructions and after thirty minutes he finally installed the console and returned to the box on the table. He pulled out the PS3 box, nothing was left in there. Where was this free game Hanamura was talking about? Then Soji looked in the largest box and finally found the game, the Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion, it had a simple yet interesting design. He looked back in the box and there was yet another game, odd, but upon further inspection it was just an expansion of the other game. Do these games usual come free with their expansions? Probably not but this was most likely Yosuke's doing, if this was Yosuke's doing at all.
Soji turned on the television and then the Playstation 3 and audio box, and adjusted the settings before slipping the game into the console, and went to the main menu. He took the game back out and installed the expansion pack. It wasn't long before it was done installing and he took it out and put the game back in again. Oblivion loaded onto the screen. He used the wireless controller and chose to start a new game.
Then all went black…
~the Hanamura Household~
Yosuke heard the door bell ring and opened the door to see Chie Satonaka barging in holding a large box that was opened at the top. He looked at her questioningly, "What's that?"
Chie plopped it down on the couch and turning to glare at Hanamura, "I was hoping you'd tell me."
The boy rolled his eyes, "What makes you think I'd know?" He peered into the box, and saw a Playstation 3 box with an opened envelope on top. Yosuke pulled a note from the envelope and began to read. It started out with 'Dear Chie Satanoka' yet the contents were the similar to the one Soji had received, but they didn't know that. It said it was from Soji Seta but that couldn't be right.
"Why would he send you a PS3 and not me!" shouted Yosuke out of jealousy.
"Oh quit your whining, look, there's no sender on the box." Chie pointed to the label that had her address under the 'send to' box but the 'sent from' box was empty.
"Your right, that's weird. Soji wouldn't forget to fill that in. I mean he is our leader after all. Let me try to get a hold of him."
Yosuke whipped out his cell and went to his contacts and chose Soji's house number. After hearing only a buzzing sound for thirty seconds the machine picked up.
"Weird," he tried his cell and once again only the machine picked up.
"He's not picking up. Do you think something could have happened to him?" Chie asked as she pondered the possibilities. She tucked her light brown hair behind her ear and sat on the couch.
"I don't know, I hope not," Yosuke kept trying, switching between his friend's house and cell number. Only the machine ever answered, and every time it did it made Yosuke more nervous. "Damn it!" He dialed for someone else, Naoto.
Naoto stared at the box and its note searching for clues, pondering silently. The phone rang and she quickly picked it up and looked at the caller id. "Hello, Hanamura."
"Naoto, Chie got a gift from Soji-"
"I got one too," Naoto cut him off staring at the note. "I don't think they're from Soji."
"Who sent them then?" Yosuke turned to Chie and began pacing.
"To be honest, I don't know. Their reason for doing this is inconclusive. For now, to be safe, don't do anything with it. I tried calling Soji but he didn't answer," Naoto pulled a letter she had previously received from Soji and compared the handwriting. They were similar with slight differences, and those details made all the difference. Who ever sent this wasn't Soji, and he himself was in grave danger.
"Yeah I tried calling too but he didn't answer. I'm going to get Teddie and have Chie call Yukiko. Can you try to call Rise and Kanji? Whoever did this might be after the old gang." Yosuke looked at Chie and she pulled out her cell and dialed Yukiko.
"That seems like a sensible plan, we should meet up in an half an hour, at our old headquarters. Bring the console, we should compare them," Shiragane pulled the console out of the box and checked for any oddities, nothing seemed strange or out of the ordinary.
Yosuke smiled, "Ok then thirty minutes it is," and hung-up. Hanamura felt pumped with energy, a new case, sure his best friend might be in mortal danger, but a new case none the less.
Chie hung up her cell, "Yukiko got one too, and she said she'll meet us up at Naoto's."
"Then our next stop is Junes. Who knows, Teddie might just know something, and if not, well we should tell him anyway." Yosuke grabbed his coat from the cupboard and slipped it on.
"Hey, do you think we should just leave the PS3 here or take it with us?"
Chie looked at the box, "It's safer to take it with us since we don't want your family to mess with it. Plus I can just look at it as part of my training." She smiled.
"Ok then," Yosuke grabbed his old kunai from his bedroom closet. He opened the front door and immediately noticed a box that was identical to Chie's. He groaned and picked it up and felt its weight, it wasn't too heavy, but he didn't want to carry it all the way to Junes. "When did this get here?"
Chie giggled, "I guess I won't be the only one training today." Yosuke grunted again and they were on their way to Junes.
~the Shiragane Household, Several Minutes Later~
Naoto sighed as she hung up on Kanji, both Kanji and Rise had received similar packages. Who was sending them? What for? And why did they choose videogame consoles of all things? Naoto pondered for a while, grabbing the handgun from the shelf of her closet. She picked up the console and made her way to Junes.
~Junes, Thirty Minutes Later~
"Naoto! What took you so long?" Yosuke yelled as he stood up from the food court bench. Three identical boxes were covering the table surface, while the rest were scattered on the ground around them. Naoto placed her box on the ground and then sat down at the table.
Shiragane sighed and realized she couldn't see the people across from her due to the boxes. "Could we maybe put these somewhere else?"
Rise rose. "Oh right." She picked up her box, Chie lifted hers, and Yosuke removed his from the table.
Once everyone settled back down, Kanji slammed his fist down on the wooden panels. "What the hell is going on here?"
"I don't know, just calm down." Naoto commanded.
"So no one was able to get a hold of Soji," Yukiko frowned and sadly looked down. The atmosphere felt heavy as they all worried about their former leader.
Teddie stood up, a serious expression on his face, "Cheer up you guys! Senpai would want us to do our best, with our heads held high and fire in our hearts. We just have to grin and bare it! Get it, grin and 'bear' it, ha, I still got it!" Everyone stared at Teddie except Yukiko who broke into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. Then they all gently smiled as the mood considerably lightened.
Yosuke with a little smile then suggested his plan, "Ok everyone, we have no leads except these game systems and the notes. On further inspection I found that all the consoles came with the exact same game and its expansion pack, which of course isn't normal. As far as I know these Playstations should be getting random cheap games but this game isn't cheap and it shouldn't come with its expansion pack."
"Well duh, and your point," Kanji crossed his muscular arms.
"The notes say they're from our leader, but they obviously aren't, and it seems something happened to the real Soji." Yosuke noted aloud.
"You don't think he's dead do you?" Rise asked with a grim expression.
"Most likely not," Naoto shook her head. "If the perpetrator simply wanted us all dead then they wouldn't go to the trouble of sending us all these consoles. No, I think that Soji must have received one of these as well and whatever they are meant to do, it did to Soji."
"So why don't we try testing one and see what happens?" Kanji suggested.
"We might have no other choice…" Chie tilted her head to the side.
"I think one of us should go over to Soji's place and check things out first," Yosuke stood up. Then suddenly a familiar chime met their ears and Yosuke answered his cell. "Hello." He greeted slightly agitated.
Then an androgynous voice chuckled and spoke happily, "Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you."
"Who-Who are you? What did you do with Soji?" Yosuke literally yelled into the phone. Everyone looked at him with wide eyes. It was the perp!
"He he he, oh you shouldn't worry about any of those things. What you should be worrying about is what you are going to do next, what all of you are going to do now," the voice informed.
"What?" Yosuke wasn't sure how to reply.
"I'm going to put this in words you'll hopefully understand, and if not well there really isn't much we can do about that. I want you to do as I say, or you won't see your friend ever again.
"Soji Seta is in no real danger at the moment, but he will be and you can help him. All you and your friends have to do is play the game and you'll see him again. All I want is to see you guys do is that one simple task.
"If you don't do this, then you might as well say you murdered Soji with your own precious little hands. Now what are we to do if you don't participate? Then I might kill you all, too, anyway. If you want to get out of this alive, just play the game." The perp hung up.
Hanamura slowly placed his cell back into his pocket.
"What did they say?" Naoto asked.
Yosuke grew pale, "The perp said that if we don't play the game Soji will die and so will we."
"So all we have to do is play the game in the box? That's no big deal," Chie grinned throwing a fist in the air, she was great at the fighting games she had played on the Xbox.
"Yeah if all we have to do is play this videogame then this should be a cinch," Kanji smiled.
"I don't think you guys understand, there's probably more to it than that," Naoto glared at the boxes on the ground, contemplating about the possibilities.
"I think she's right. We can go into the TV. We are all persona users. Why would they choose to play this game with us specifically, unless there was someway to use that against us somehow?" Yukiko bit the bottom of her lip.
"But it's not like installing a PS3 is going to suddenly make it so we can go into the game, if that's what you're implying," Rise furrowed her brow and pouted her lips.
"You never know, it could be possible." Kanji said.
"It doesn't matter. We have to play the game, or we die and Soji dies." Yosuke shouted.
"Calm down and let's talk about this." Naoto tried to reason with him.
"No, listen, we have to start now! Don't you care if he dies - if we all die?" Yosuke grabbed his box and started on his way home.
Chie stood up, "Hey, you shouldn't do this by yourself!" She grabbed her box and went after him.
"Well this is just great," Kanji grabbed his box and Rise followed suit.
"Hey guys, I don't have a TV and I don't know much about these Playstations. I didn't even get one. Can I come with one of you?" Teddie asked.
"Of course man," Kanji said and Teddie followed him out of Junes.
Yukiko sighed and grabbed her box, "It probably would have been smarter for all of us to rent rooms at my inn. We just got HD TVs installed in every room."
Naoto picked up her console, "That would have been a more logical choice. I'll go if you don't mind."
Yukiko smiled. "Not at all."
They left Junes and got on the bus to the Amagi inn.
~the Amagi Inn, One Hour Later~
"I'm sorry for freaking out earlier," Hanamura rubbed the back of his head out of embarrassment. "It's just Soji's my best friend and I couldn't stand the thought that some sicko might kill him."
"Oh, that's perfectly understandable. I have to admit I myself should have been more concerned," Chie rubbed her friend's shoulder in an attempt to give him some comfort.
"So we are going to rent these rooms for about a week. Don't you think that's a long time?" Kanji asked.
"While I was waiting for the rest of you to arrive I did some research on the internet. Apparently this Elder Scrolls game can last a very long time depending on the person's choice of game play. It's an RPG that has more than a hundred different ways to play, at least I think that's what the article said," Naoto informed them.
"What's does RPG mean?" Teddie asked.
"It means role-playing game," Rise smiled.
"How do you know that, Rise-chan?" Yosuke ask, surprised.
"Well I played a few to pass the time after I did my gigs," Rise seemed very pleased with herself.
"Okay, everything's been prepared. Your rooms are ready," Yukiko entered the room in her assistant manager's kimono.
"Can I play with you, Chie?" Teddie put on his puppy dog eyes and pleaded.
"Of course you can Ted," Chie smiled.
"Yippee!" Teddie cried.
"Okay gang, it's time to save our leader!" Yosuke announced and they each went into their rooms and went through a similar process that Soji did.
"So all we have to do is pick 'new', right Chie?" Teddie asked staring at the screen with awe.
"Yes Teddie, now shut up and let me do this." Chie slowly pushed the X button.
As they each chose to start a new game all went dark and their rooms became empty…
~A Maximum Security Prison Cell Somewhere in Japan~
Adachi looked into the cracked mirror in his cell there were bags under his eyes and little hairs protruding untamed from his face. He looked terrible - it'd been years since he'd been arrested, caught by a bunch of children who just had to put their noses in everything. Then there was the sound of a guard at his large steel door.
"You've got a visitor, Adachi," the guard unlocked the door and then pulled Tohru by his collar and took him to this small room where a mysterious person sat on a metal chair. They wore a black trench coat and hat as well as leather gloves, only the lower half of their mouth could be seen in the dim room.
The guard closed the door behind Adachi and he sat down across from the stranger. They smiled at him, "You look terrible Adachi, just like an abandoned puppy that's been abused and beaten. Of course those guards aren't the nicest of people."
"What do you want?" Adachi asked, slightly frustrated.
The stranger's grin widened, "Adachi, Adachi, Adachi… Poor, poor Adachi. You were rejected by that awful reporter and then you killed her by pushing her into the TV. Then there's that Saki, you were just trying to do a simple interview her but when you got just little excited and she fought back and you pushed her into the TV too. Then Namatame just had to screw up and one after another those children were saved and not only that but everyone that was saved joined their little team. And if that wasn't bad enough when they realized that he wasn't the killer he helped lead them to you. Finally those pesky children defeated you and you were arrested. Now you're rotting away in prison when you could be doing something better, something else."
Adachi furrowed his eyebrows together, "What are you suggesting?"
"I'm suggesting you play a little game, maybe get a bit of revenge in the process, and all you have to do is take my hand," The stranger stretched out their gloved fingers toward him with a smile.
Adachi hesitated for a moment, and then smiled. Revenge sounded good - very good. Tohru took the stranger's hand. The shadows around them stretched and flexed and shot towards them and before he knew it Adachi was in a bed in a small room. He looked at his left hand and a strange mark appeared in the shape of a serpent. Adachi looked up at a figure dressed in a cloak as dark as the void.
The man smiled and spoke, "You sleep rather soundly for a murderer…"