Author's Notes

Hello, welcome to the second installment of Remnant of the Magatsu World.

I had already written about half of this chapter before I realized how unreasonably long the introduction would be if I didn't split it up into smaller pieces. I am able to update the story relatively quickly because of that, at least.

Let us begin.


Chapter Two: The Truth in the Fog


[Persona 4 OST: Mayonaka TV]

Naoto Shirogane leans her back against the alley wall and breathes a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Chie-senpai. I was almost done for."

The Detective Prince patts at her dark blue cardigan coat, looking for damage. Fortunately, the girl managed to make it though unscathed.

"No problem, Naoto-kun," the brown-haired savior replies.

The girl in the light green jacket looks out into the street, still somewhat in awe. Chie Satonaka and Yukiko Amagi had been out trying to relax together on their last day before the battle with Adachi. When the duo spotted their junior about to be crushed by a Shadow after following Naoto's screams, the short-haired girl had sprung into action and kicked the nearly shapeless blob of darkness as hard as she could. To her surprise, Chie had sent the creature flying across the street. The three girls had retreated immediately after.

"How did you do that, Chie?" Yukiko asks as she fusses over Naoto. The girl wears a red dress with a matching headband over her long black hair.

"I don't know. It was like I could feel Suzuka Gongen's strength. The same way I do in..."

"In the TV World," Naoto finishes as she pushes away from the wall and adjusts her fog-proof glasses. The special lenses Teddie created are the only reason the three girls are able to see each other in the intense fog, even though they are right next to one another. "Yamato-Takeru's agility is the only reason I was able to evade them for as long as I did."

In the TV World the teenagers of the Investigation Team gain the power to summon physical manifestations of their personalities, Personas, to battle the Shadows. Even when a Persona is not outwardly manifested in that world people can sill draw on the strength of them to enhance their own physical abilities. This is what allows a young group of teenagers to battle monsters without the need to exhaust themselves to keep their Personas summoned constantly. For Chie and Naoto to feel a Persona's power in their bodies in the real world means it and the TV World are now no different from one another.

Yukiko looks troubled by this revelation.

"Then that really was a Shadow? This fog is..."

"It seems our time has run out," Naoto confirms.

The grim reality around them sets in for the red, green and blue trio. They have failed. Adachi's prediction, the merger of the two worlds, has come true.

Simultaneous text notifications from all of the girls' phones snap them out of their stone-faced depression. The three share a look of surprise before they check their phones at the same time.

"It's Yu-senpai. I called him earlier," Naoto says when they see their leader's instructions to meet at Junes. "I fear I left him with a poor impression of my current state."

Sure enough, Naoto receives a second text that Chie and Yukiko do not. The message asks if the detective is OK. Naoto sends a confirmation of her wellness back, then stows her phone and adjusts her hat over her short blue hair. Steel returns to the detective's blue eyes and banishes the despair that had begun to set in. Around Naoto, Chie and Yukiko's determination flare back to life as well.

"Let's go."


Reach Out to the Truth


Yosuke Hanamura and Teddie hit the ground after a fall from the second-story window of Yosuke's room. Despite the drop, neither one feels much pain from landing on their feet because of the reinforcement of their Personas. Yosuke isn't really in a state of mind to notice that detail, though. In fact, despite the cold of the winter air and the fact that Hanamura hadn't had a chance to grab his usual white jacket, which leaves him in just an orange v-neck shirt and dark green pants, the teenager barely notices the temperature around him either.

"What the hell happened to my dad, Ted!?" the shaggy-haired boy screams as he fumbles his orange-rimmed glasses on. Hanamura would have lost his head to a grasping hand of darkness had Teddie not yanked him back into his room from behind.

"He turned into a Shadow," the blue-eyed blond next to Yosuke says sadly as they run. None of Teddie's features are visible now, though, since the head of his bear-shaped mascot costume is currently thrown over his face. The Shadow boy needs the lenses in the eyes of his suit to see in the fog. The rest of the red, white and blue costume dangles behind Teddie as he runs with it under his arm. "This whole town smells of Shadows now. There are hardly any human scents at all."

The adrenaline rush keeps Yosuke on the move, but the ramifications of that statement are terrifying.

"Damn it!" the boy exclaims. All Yosuke feels like he can do now is curse. If people have turned into Shadows just like Adachi had said they would then the Investigation Team is too late. That bastard had won. "What do we do now?"

"We find Sensei of course!" Ted says confidently. The nickname refers to Yu Narukami. The blond also attempts to hop and run at the same time while he stuffs a leg into his costume. "He'll know what to do for sure!"

Yosuke is about to lament that he doubts even Yu will know what to do in this situation, but is cut off by a text. The instructions are clear: meet at Junes and find a way to solve this problem.

"Ha! Way to go, partner!" Yosuke cheers. Even if Yu doesn't really know what to do either, Yosuke thinks, the Investigation Team's leader's take-charge attitude will do wonders for the the group's morale. It will be necessary for the teens to keep their minds together if they are to get through this unprecedented crisis. "Let's go, Ted. This way!"

"Right behind you!" Teddie confirms. The bear's costume is fully on now that Yosuke had stopped to check his message.

The boys don't get far on their new course before both are given pause by a woman's scream close by.

"Someone's still human out here?" Yosuke asks, shocked.

"I can smell a few," Teddie confirms. "The Shadows would normally leave them alone in the fog if they don't have a Persona, but I don't know how they're supposed to act in this world as it is now."

"We have to help!"

Yosuke receives no argument, and the pair take off to a grassy patch near their home. The thickness of the fog makes it so that the duo has to be right on top of their targets before they see them, but the constant yells of a young child to "leave my mom alone" steer them in the right direction.

Before Yosuke and Teddie is a young woman with wavy brown hair in a pink dress and purple coat. The woman stands in front of a young boy with her arms out to shield him from a trio of Shadows that encroach upon the pair's space. The black blobs seem intent on smashing them with their long, spindly arms.

Yosuke doesn't even think. A blue tarot card made of soft blue light fades into existence in front of the teen as he rushes forward and Hanamura smashes it with his fist.

"Persona!"

Beside Yosuke the form of his Persona, Susano-o, flashes into existence. Surrounded by the faint blue glow of energy that all Persona share, Yosuke's looks like a lanky man wearing a light blue superhero jumpsuit with red gloves and boots. A metal band with numerous curved blades that stick straight out around the lower half surround Susano-o's face, and yellow-rimmed glasses sit where a human's eyes would be. The Persona's red hair sticks straight up in a twisting cone above it, as if constantly held up in a spiral of air. Around Susano-o's torso spins a wide metal ring with saw-like blades on its outer rim.

Despite the fact that nearly all Personas share names with figures from various human mythologies, their appearances are altered by the cultural impressions and personal desires of both the collective will of humanity and the individual summoner. This Susano-o is Yosuke's, and if another person in the world also ever happens to have Susano-o for a Persona they will no doubt have one that looks radically different.

The redheaded Persona goes to work immediately. Susano-o floats in the air beside its summoner as Yosuke runs, but then bursts forward at great speed. Unnatural power infuses the air around the Persona, causing the wind to glow bright green as it is forced to swirl around in front of it. When Susano-o dashes through the line of Shadows that approach the humans a mighty rush of wind buffets the creatures with great force. All three Shadows fly away violently into the fog.

"No problem!" Yosuke cheers with a snap of his fingers. Across the way Susano-o begins to shed sparks of light in an unusual manner before it fades away, back into Hanamura's mind. A sudden rush of fatigue causes Yosuke to nearly trip over his own feet. "Woah, or not. That was way more tiring than it is in the TV World."

A Persona will mentally and physically exhaust the user when they tap into that power, but Yosuke is surprised to feel so tired after a single attack. Hanamura and the rest of the team have built up considerable stamina for Persona use through their adventures so far, but now he feels even more drained as he did the first time he summoned Jiraya, Susano-o's original form.

"We'll need to be careful," Teddie muses. "This new world might be affecting our Personas as much as it is the Shadows. They are the same thing, after all."

"Who's there?"

The woman's voice calls Yosuke's attention back to their reason for being here. The boy turns, and expects to see the Shadows he buffeted away assume their true forms to do battle in. Surprisingly, the Shadows do not attack again at all, and seem content to wander away in their current forms instead.

"You're safe now, ma'am," Yosuke eventually replies when he turns back to the bystanders. The woman and child both look in the direction of his voice, but don't focus on him; their sight is far more limited than Hanamura's right now.

"Thank you so much," the young mother says with tears in her eyes.

"Are you... a hero?" the boy asks into the fog with awe.

"You bet!" Teddie declares. The bear strikes a heroic pose that neither of the people Yosuke saved can see in the fog. "We're part of an elite team that's going to defeat the villain that did this to the world!"

The boy is left speechless by how awesome that sounds to him, though his mother seems more confused than relieved.

"Listen, what's your name kid?" Yosuke asks. The teen steps close enough to be seen and kneels down to the child's height.

"Yuuta Minami. This is my mom Eri," the boy answers dutifully. In his mind he may as well be talking to a real-life Featherman at this point.

"Alright Yuuta, do you two have anyone else where you live? Other family, or friends staying over?"

"We don't, Yuuta's father is away at the moment," Eri answers for her stepson while she reaches out to hold him to her side protectively.

"Good. Your place should be safe, then. Go there and lock up. Wait until rescue comes or everything turns back to normal, OK?"

"You got it!" the boys declares.

"Thank you again," Eri says after she and Yuuta are eventually convinced to head out alone. Both Yosuke and Teddie want to escort the pair, but they have somewhere else to be.

"Sensei and the others are waiting," Teddie says with determination.

"Right."

Back into the fog they run.


Reach Out to the Truth


"Are they locked up tight?" Rise asks when Kanji returns.

Rise Kujikawa pushes one of her two copper-colored pigtails back behind her shoulder after she turns toward the interior of Daidara Metalworks. The girl in the orange shirt had stood watch for the last few minutes. Rise used her Persona Kanzeon's ability to scan the area to keep track of nearby Shadows and look for any humans left in the small town. There were several, but only a small fraction of Inaba's full population. The old shopping district Rise and Kanji live in had been full of them until Rise's fellow freshman had summoned Rokuten Maou to blow most of them away.

Kanji Tatsumi emerges from the back of Daidara's shop still out of breath and with sweat on his brow. The bleached-blond boy ignored the severe exhaustion that the use of his Persona had unexpectedly caused for the sake of the innocent bystanders who had been swarmed. Fortunately, none of the Shadows Kanji attacked had shifted into combat forms and had been easy to drive away. The district was clear now, but the teen in the black jacket was nearly dead on his feet. Rise herself had to limit her scans with Kanzeon for the same reason. In fact, Kujikawa was not only being tired out faster than usual, but her scan range also decreased drastically with each use.

"They'll be safe in there. It's practically a vault," Kanji answers, referring to both his mother and Rise's grandmother. The two women, along with Master Daidara, Old Lady Shiroku from the general store, and a small handful of others had managed to not be turned into Shadows with the rest of the town and were currently in the blacksmith's storage room. Kanji and Rise figured that they were OK because of their Personas, but didn't have a clue about the others' ability to stay human. "Let's go meet up with our senpais already."

Rise nodds. Yu's text had been a relief to both of the Yasogami High first years, but they had needed to delay their departure to ensure the safety of their families and the other innocents.

Rise watches Kanji heft up his round metal shield, the "piece of art" that Daidara had named Black Targe after he crafted it. The weapon looks like plain steel with a eight-point starburst design, in the center of which is a golden spike. Rise doesn't point out that Kanji is being stubborn to lug such a heavy thing around when he's already tired. Unlike the others in the Investigation Team Rise has no direct combat powers and relies on her support skills to contribute. If the pair do get attacked on the way to Junes, Kanji is the only one who can protect them.

'Don't worry Kanji,' the girl thinks as she follows behind the taller teen. 'No matter how tied I get, I'll scan with Kanzeon as often as I need to make sure you don't have to fight again before we get there.'


Reach Out to the Truth


"Ahahaha! This is great!"

Another Shadow descends upon Sho Minazuki. Like every other before it, the nameless entity is slaughtered mercilessly by the redheaded boy's twin swords. The battle-scarred teen doesn't hesitate to deal fatal blows to creatures that he knows were ordinary humans just minutes ago. Sho also doesn't allow any of the Shadows to flee from him alive. All Sho cares about now is the chance to kill his attackers.

"You are allowing yourself to be surrounded," Minazuki's voice speaks within Sho's mind. The second personality sounds as calm as it always has.

"Who cares?" Sho demands with glee. The teen spins in place at the notice and lops off an extended black hand. "Let them come to me!"

Due to Sho Minazuki's unnatural circumstances, the young man is not a person who can comfortably interact with others outside of deadly combat anymore. To Sho, a world where the people can't connect to all become easy targets of his violent tendencies is far superior than the old world.

"That loser god wanted us to help him destroy the world, but now it's ending on its own! Sucks to be him!"

"You are in the most heavily-populated area of Inaba and have no means of seeing through this fog," Minazuki reminds his other self. As always, Sho's safety is Minazuki's primary concern. "You will tire and be overwhelmed if you do not change positions."

"Like any of these worthless things can actually touch me," Sho counters as he passes between two Shadows and slices both in half as he does so. "I don't need to see them if they just charge mindlessly. Now stay out of this fight! I haven't gotten to enjoy myself like this in forever! Just watching those other kids play around with Shadows wasn't enough!"

"Very well," the voice concedes, though Minazuki knows that he will intervene if necessary. Should Sho require the power of Minazuki's Persona to survive, the second personality will not hesitate to save the young man. Until then, the slaughter continues.

All the while, a malevolent presence gathers its strength to take advantage of the new situation.


Reach Out to the Truth


[Persona 4 OST: Corridor]

Yu watches in horror as Rangda dissolves in front of him. A burst of bright particles glitter in the air, all that remains of the Persona, then float away into the sky. Narukami remains frozen for a few seconds until he can gather his resolve, then makes his way to one of the nearby tables to sit down and catch his breath.

Going back several minutes, the leader of the Investigation Team takes it upon himself to clear out the meeting place he had designated as their rally point. Yu makes it to the Junes food court, then sets out to drive away all of the Shadows that crawl through that area of the department store.

Yu figures out early on that the Shadows no longer assume forms more suitable for battle, they are simply physical masses of black matter with red eyes now. The Shadows' assaults are now all easily countered by Rangda's passive ability to repel the damage of physical strikes to its owner's human body back onto the attacker. This power allows Yu to essentially stroll through Junes and let the Shadows force themselves away without even a need to summon the Persona outside of himself.

After a few minutes of this strategy Yu starts to notice white sparks of power drift off of his form, and also that he has lost his breath despite engaging in little activity. Eventually the Persona's ability to protect Yu automatically fades away entirely, which results in a nasty blow the surcoat partially absorbs. Narukami summons Rangda's full form to force away the last few Shadows. The job is now done, but Yu's Persona completely evaporates before it returns to him. Now not only is Yu tired beyond belief, but he can no longer feel one of the Personas he had previously readied for the battle with Adachi in his mind anymore.

Back in the present, Yu takes the time to try to recover his strength. The boy flinches at a soft thump on the table he sits at. Grey eyes shoot open at the sound and meet an orange fox's stare.

Yu blinks in surprise, but then smiles in relief. The scarred animal who wears a small red apron with a pink heart pattern on it is basically another member of the Investigation Team, after all. The fox lives in the local shrine and provides the group with rare herbs that restore energy for their exploration of the TV World, in exchange for donations to the shrine.

Yu has never actually spoken to the fox out loud, even if it seems to mysteriously understand human language. The two share an connection that requires no words. Yu nods his thanks when the fox pushes a small leaf toward him with its nose.

'I guess it knows donations won't mean much if the world stays like this,' Yu thinks as he rubs the herbal remedy on his inexplicably tired muscles. The relief and energy come on quickly, but Rangda remains gone from Narukami's mind.

All Yu can do now is wait for his friends.

"Yu?"

"Marie?"

The young man shoots to his feet and turns to see Marie enter the food court. The pretty brunette looks slightly confused and her Velvet Room cap and bag are both gone from her attire. Yu puts that observation aside for the moment and rushes to the lady's side.

Marie might have said why she was there, but her voice is stolen from her when Yu engulfs her in his arms. The girl wants to simply close her eyes and take comfort in her love's embrace, to press her head against his warmth and pretend it will be alright, but she knows that would be wrong. Now that Marie knows the truth she doesn't think it will ever be alright again.

Marie places her hands on Yu's chest and pushes him back abruptly.

"Marie?" Yu asks, his confusion evident. The boy had wondered what would become of Marie ever since the Velvet Room suspended its service to him. To find the girl alive and back in the world was a relief, but her rejection was a concern.

"I'm sorry. I can't."

Yu remains silent and asks Marie what she means with just his eyes when she finally looks up at him again.

"I... can't stay with the Nose anymore," the girl says, using her nickname for Igor. "I... I started to remember."

Marie's arms come up to hug herself as she shivers in disgust.

"I'm... I'm a monster."

"What do you mean, Emmy-chan?"

Teddie's sudden intrusion breaks through to both Narukami and Marie's distracted minds. The two Velvet Room rejects turn to see the bear and Yosuke walk into the court.

"Hey partner," Hanamura greets them. "I'm glad to see Marie-chan didn't turn into a Shadow either. Did you have to explain... well, all of this?"

Yosuke is understandably nervous. No one but Yu is aware that their friend Marie has known about the Investigation Team's secret work all along.

"Never mind that!" Teddie interrupts. "Emmy-chan's not a monster! She's Emmy-chan! Sensei, don't let her say that anymore!"

Yu nods, but is quickly distracted by the arrival of more footsteps. All of the Investigation Team members who had yet to arrive left walk into the food court together.

"Senpai!" Rise calls with forced cheer as she rushes forward. "We all made it!"

The group quickly exchanges sentiments of relief at their reunion and Yu directs everyone to collect as much of the fox's herbs as they need to restore their stamina from the ravages of the trip. Throughout it all Marie inches away a bit at a time, but Narukami's attention never leaves her long enough for the girl to think she could slip away unnoticed.

"The Persona I used to clear the Shadows out of here disappeared," Yu states with his trademark deceptive calm.

The Investigation Team had traded stories and worries about how much more it drains them to use their Persona's abilities now. Even Chie, who had only used Suzuka Gongen's passive strength enhancement, had been a little winded after she saved Naoto. Yu confirms for them all that it is worse than just Personas requiring more effort to summon or to use the abilities of. After enough use in this new world a Persona will lose their powers and then disappear entirely.

"Holy shit," Kanji eloquently provides.

"So if you didn't have more than one Persona, you'd be out of the fight right now?" Yosuke asks, horrified.

"How many do you have left?" Yukiko inquires after Yu somberly nods to his best friend. The team knows that their leader has more potential Personas than they have ever counted, but also that he can only hold so many in his mind at once.

"Eleven."

"So the rest of us need to be careful," Chie confirms. "If we get into a fight we'll probably have to rely on Yu's multiple Personas and just back him up when he needs us."

Talk of how to handle future battles inevitably leads the group to consider who they might have left to fight. Eventually, after the question of what to do is raised, Yu's grey eyes fall upon Marie once more and implore her to speak. The brunette slumps, but then walks over and takes a seat at the table with the rest of the team.

"So Marie-san already knew about the Shadows before today," Naoto says to begin the discussion. Most of the others simply look between Shirogane and Marie with confusion in their eyes, expressions that beg the detective to elaborate on how she came to that conclusion. "Marie-san wasn't confused by our discussion about Personas, and the fact that she shows clear signs of sorrow but not fear indicates that she was already aware of the potential danger. Even if Yu-senpai explained the situation to her before we arrived, I doubt anyone not already in the know could accept this so quickly. Chie-senpai, Yukiko-senpai and I saw a few townspeople not transformed into Shadows on the way here. All of them were rightly terrified. Only we who knew about this possibility beforehand reacted with immediate despair."

"We saw Kou and Daisuke on the way over," Chie elaborates. "We weren't sure what to tell them, or how to explain not to follow us. I just hope they found a safe place to hold up in."

"Yeah, Teddie and I helped a mom and kid as well," Yosuke says.

"Ma and Rise's grandma are barricaded inside Daidara's with everyone who was left in the Shopping District," Kanji adds. "All of them were scared shitless."

"So, Marie-san, how is it that you knew about this?" Naoto says to bring the discussion back to its root.

Marie is silent for a time as all eyes turn to her. The brunette can't meet any of their stares, she just looks at her hands as they rest on the table.

[Persona 4 OST: Reverie]

"I knew all along. I'm... not human, like you guys."

"... are you a Shadow like me, Emmy-chan?" Teddie asks with awe after the group is silent for a few moments.

"No," the girl shakes her head. "I'm... not sure what to call what I am. Until now I was staying in the Velvet Room between visits to this world and trying to find my memories. But it's gone now."

"The Velvet Room? That's the place where you put your Personas together or whatever, right partner?" Yosuke asks. Yu simply nods in return as he keeps most of his attention on Marie. The Investigation Team members have a simple explanation of the Velvet Room they received from Yu early on, but none of them have ever seen it but their leader. "What do you mean it's gone?"

"I failed, so they can't help me anymore," Narukami explains, his tone wooden. "And now I can't even replace the Persona I already lost without them."

"Don't give us that crap, Senpai!" Kanji rebukes their leader and slams a fist on the table. "This isn't your fault! We all agreed to wait until tomorrow to finish things!"

"Yeah, Sensei! If anyone is to blame it's gotta be Adachi-baby!"

"No, this isn't the doing of the serial killer you've all been chasing."

Marie's declaration halts the discussion and brings the attention back to her.

"There's someone else. Something else. A creature that creates the fog. Do you remember fighting something called Kunino-sagiri?"

"That's the monster Namatame turned into," Rise recalls. The man's reaction to the TV World was unusual, just as it had been for Adachi and even Narukami himself. Normally a person's inner Shadow will separate from the original and act on its own in that world. In Namatame's case, he seemed to become possessed by a number of Shadows at once and then physically transformed into a Shadow-like monster. Rise's Persona had identified its name as Kunino-sagiri.

"Yes. They're monsters connected to the fog. Another one is the source."

"How do you know about that?" Yukiko asks with curiosity.

"Because I'm like them. A fog monster."

Yu turns stiffly in his seat. The young man wants no more than to loudly deny Marie's words, but he can't interrupt her. Everyone senses the girl's hesitation, and no one wishes to scare her off.

"When this world became engulfed in the fog, it made me remember a little bit. I'm a... spy, I guess? I was given human form and used to find out what the wish of the people was, even if I didn't realize I was doing it."

"Humanity's wish? You don't mean... turning into Shadows?" Naoto probes, her mind racing with this new information.

"Yes," Marie confirms. "The fog lets people live in ignorance of others, turning humans into Shadows that only care about themselves and ignore everything else. At least, it's supposed to."

"But the Shadows aren't ignoring people, not even the ones without Personas like they did inside the TV," Yukiko reminds everyone with a curious tone. "Why is that happening?"

Marie shakes her head. The answer to that discrepancy is unknown to her.

"I don't remember anything else yet, or know anything we can do to change it. The fog has already begun to completely cover the world outside of Inaba as well. It's too late for anyone to stop it now."

The Investigation Team is quiet. The teens gathered together here like they always had and tried to act as they normally would while thinking the problem through, mostly to keep morale up, but the weight of reality presses down on them again now. The world is already in the middle of a change it might not be able to come back from.

"I don't accept that."

Yu rarely talks when the team gathers but his words always have weight. Even Marie tears her eyes away from the table to look his way when the young man speaks.

"Senpai's right!" Rise agrees loudly. "Everyone was supposed to turn into Shadows, right? Well, my grandmother didn't! Kanji's mom didn't either! It isn't just people with Personas who didn't change!"

Yu nods. Rise's words remind the leader of the hope that remains.

The Investigation Team are still the Seekers of Truth, and the truth still remains hidden in the fog. As long as the friends don't give up on each other they are motivated to keep looking for an answer to this crisis.

Inside the Wild Card, the power of the Judgement Arcana swells.

"Why, though?" Yosuke wonders. "What's the reason they stayed human if it doesn't have to do with having a Persona? Could the answer help us?"

Hanamura's answer comes not from one of his gathered friends, but from an older voice that none of them expected to hear, at least not yet.

[End Track]

"I'll tell you why. It's because brats like you lot are determined to ruin everything for everyone, that's why."

The Investigation Team collectively leap to their feet at the sound of the voice. A lanky man stands on the ledge of the food court's outer wall, his back to the fog-covered town, and sneers at the teenagers with disdain. The unkempt adult wears a dark work suit and red tie, and a pistol is gripped in his right hand.

This is the man that the Investigation Team failed to apprehend in time to save the world: Tohru Adachi.

[Persona 4 OST: Borderline of Madness]

"You!" Kanji yells right before he grabs the Black Targe and leaps at the serial murderer that the Investigation Team hunted for almost an entire year.

Adachi scoffs before he raises his weapon and fires off a shot at his attacker. Kanji recognizes the danger mid-jump and moves his shield in front of him. The unnaturally powerful force of the bullet Adachi fires causes the teenager's teeth to rattle even as the shield absorbs the impact. Meanwhile, the shooter's balance shows no disruption whatsoever from his own attack. Kanji's entire body is thrown back in the air and crashes into the table the team is gathered around. The tall boy is quickly picked back up by Yukiko and Chie after they call his name in surprise.

Tohru makes no move to continue an assault, so Yu seizes control and steps forward to keep the attention of both sides on himself. The Blade of Totsuka's hilt digs into Narukami's unnaturally-tight grip while he looks at Adachi with as calm of an expression as he can muster. Despite the effort, Yu's facade of stoicism isn't very believable.

"And here's the number one problem child," Adachi says with scorn. Gone is the man's mockery from the TV World, now the brunet just looks pissed.

"Adachi-san..."

"What? Gonna cry about losing? Because I'm not really interested in hearing it."

Behind Yu the rest of the Investigation Team forms up into a wider half ring around their enemy. Each one is prepared to risk the loss of their Persona if it becomes necessary. Marie and the fox take cover further within Junes, behind Rise who takes up the rear position for support.

"... is this really the world you wanted?" Yu asks as calmly as he can. The boy understands that his bond with Adachi has changed for the worse, but it is still hard to accept that the man could have desired this outcome.

Adachi grits his teeth so hard it hurts.

"Of course not!" the cop replies with venom. "Because even now other people just won't let me enjoy myself!"

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Yosuke demands.

"Do you kids even understand how great it would be to live in pure ignorance?" Adachi asks with a quieter but more contemptible tone. The man holds his left arm up in a gesture back toward the town that can't be seen behind him. "Every day in the old world people would go around putting up with a reality that they couldn't change but couldn't ignore either. How much better would it be if everyone were Shadows? We could all just believe whatever we wanted and ignore everything else. It would be awesome if everyone's life could be that easy."

"Nobody wants that, you dumbass!" Chie retorts with fury.

"Oh yeah? Then where did most of Inaba go, little girl? Are you hiding them?"

Chie snarls but bites her tongue to keep from taking Adachi's bait.

"The fact remains that several people did not become Shadows as you predicted," Naoto answers instead. The detective's loud but calm voice cuts through the rampage of emotions in the assembled group "Could it be that the ones who remain are those who have the strength and support necessary to face and accept reality as it is?"

Yu thinks of all the people of Inaba that he grew close to over the past year. Each of what Igor called Yu's Social Links managed to accept a greater truth about themselves and the world over the time they spent together, and became better people for it. The teen is sure that his friends are all still alive out there, and in need of help.

"Yeah," Adachi confirms. "And because of people like that, this paradise has turned into hell."

"Do you know why the Shadows are acting funny?" Teddies demands. "They never attacked people while the fog was around in my old world!"

"Yeah, it's because there aren't supposed to be any humans in this world anymore," Adachi sneers. "Their presence is an anomaly, and with everyone freaking out and running around scared the Shadows can't get any peace at all. Everything's been ruined."

All of the teens flinch when a sharp note splits the air. After the Investigation Team blinks their eyes clear they are greeted by the sight of Adachi surrounded by a foreboding blue aura. The man's eyes now glow yellow like an untamed Shadow's.

"None of you annoyances are wanted in this new world!" Adachi angrily cries. The criminal's voice is slightly distorted and his body language has become far more hunched and wild.

"Speak for yourself!" Yukiko yells back in defiance. "If being alive is too painful for you the answer isn't to kill everybody else!"

"Living alone is what makes life difficult for humans," Naoto confirms. "Running from that like a coward while clinging to your ego like a child... you're the source of all your own troubles."

"Sh-shut up! You stupid teenagers are going to keep denying it even when I've already proved most people agree with me? You're the abnormal ones here!"

"Even now," Yosuke grinds out. "With the world ending all around us, you still can't think of anyone but yourself. You really are nothing but a worthless criminal!"

"Ngh," Adachi groans. The murderer's aura flares and black mist begins to pulse around his body. The detective holds his head writhes on the spot. "Aaaaarrgh!"

[Persona 4 OST: A New World Fool]

The dark fogs washes out from Adachi in a blast that forces the Investigation Team to cover their faces. When the blackness clears the group watches as the deranged criminal steps forth onto the food court floor with a deceptively calm gait but a manic grin on his face. The aura around the man can no longer be seen, but his eyes remain yellow and everyone present still feels the pressure of his power as it washes over them.

"You guys are nothing but a plague in this world now," Adachi announces with the same deranged voice. "I'm going to get rid of all of you!"

"That bastard!" Rise curses from the back. The former idol summons Kanzeon behind her. The Persona takes the form of a tall feminine body clothed in black and white vertical stripes, but with an extensive satellite array for a head. Kanzeon's hands place a red visor over Rise's eyes which gives the girl her scan data. Even if Rise knows she shouldn't keep Kanzeon around for the entire fight as she normally would, the girl still intends to get what information she can about Adachi at the start. "We can't lose, no matter what!"

Rise's Persona allows her to project her voice to the others perfectly. Yu quickly uses Kanzeon's power as a hub to distribute tactical orders as usual, though this time it is a general battle plan rather than individual moves since their time with each Persona is limited. The team accepts the expected orders to let Yu take up the vanguard with his more expendable Persona stock and ready themselves for opportunities to intervene.

Yu grips the Blade of Totsuka in both hands at his right side, ready to act, when Adachi makes an unexpected move. The criminal bends over and grabs both sides of his head like he's in terrible pain. When the man rears back up and screams out, a bright red light bursts up around him from below and a familiar shape appears in the air above.

'Izanagi?!'

The manifestation certainly bears the same shape as Narukami's first Persona. A male body garbed in a long open coat and wearing a full head mask made of steel, wielding a naginata with a peculiar knife-like blade. The similarities end there. The creature that takes shape above Adachi is stained entirely in red corruption. The sheer malice the thing exudes is enough to make the Investigation Team collectively take a step back.

The red Izanagi lookalike hoists up the naginata it holds in a reverse grip in front of it, then grasps it with both hands before it plunges down to stab the blade into the floor. The force of the impact causes Yu to stumble slightly before the sound of uncountable sword swings fills the air in every direction.

'Invisible slashes!'

Narukami and the rest of the gang within Adachi's range are battered by unseen blades. Yu is fortunate among them since he is one of the few who had the chance to bring some protective gear with him, but all of the teens ultimately have to rely on the gifted superhuman endurance of their Personas to avoid their clothes and flesh being cut open several times. The protection of the team's other selves keeps their bodies intact and is one of the reasons they had never needed to explain any unfortunate injuries or bruises to anyone throughout the year. That protection still costs the group heavily in pain and stamina, though, especially now.

In the aftermath of the assault every one of the Investigation Team leak out the telltale sparks that they now understand to be a Persona's power as it leaves them. This confirms that defence also eats away at what time the teens have left with their powers. Even Rise loses more of Kanzeon while she attempts to interpret what just happened.

"A Persona!?" Rise asks incredulously. The support player allows Kanzeon to fade away for the moment to preserve her. Rise is left to stare wide-eyed at the battlefield the food court is about to become. "But that can't be!"

'It can,' Yu thinks. The leader now regrets the loss of Rangda's protection from physical attacks even more than before. 'And it's worse than that, too.'

As Yu watches, Adachi regains his composure. Whatever unusual pain the man goes through to summon his Persona, he doesn't look the least bit exhausted from the act. Yu doesn't observe any of the sparks of power leave Adachi or his Persona either. Whatever unknown affliction east away at the Investigation Team has spared their enemy from that same handicap.

Yu calmly faces down Adachi's crazed grin and raises his blade once more. The Wild Card brings the Persona Cerberus to the forefront of his mind and steps forth.

The battle for the old world begins.


Reach Out to the Truth


[Persona 4 OST: Mayonaka TV]

"What is this?" asks a grey-haired figure in a Moel Gas Station uniform. The androgynous person is completely unperturbed by the fog and Shadows that now encompass the town and, soon enough, the entire globe. The anomaly strolls through the obscured Inaba as if the vision of their red eyes is perfectly clear. "What drives the Shadows to lash out as they are?"

Two of the mastermind's players may be in battle against each other elsewhere, but the game has already been decided. That conflict has no true consequence anymore. The figure's concern now is the abnormality of the behaviour that the Shadows have begun to show, even more so than the unexpected presence of humanity that still lingers within the fog. The theory that Adachi believes is known to the inhuman creature, but there is certainly more to it than that.

"There is another power at work here."

Whatever force seeks to usurp the will of humanity, the desire to live in blissful ignorance as Shadows, must be eliminated. First, the unknown power that drives the Shadows to violence. Second...

... the few needlessly defiant humans that still remain.


Reach Out to the Truth


[Persona 4 OST: A New World Fool]

The very air trembles when Adachi's Persona and Cu Chulainn, the white-armored representation of the Irish folk hero that Yu summons, deal simultaneous death blows to one another. The black-haired knight's spear pierces the red Persona's heart, but so too does its naginata blade embed itself in Cu Chulainn's chest. Adachi's manifestation fades in a flash of the usual blue aura that marks a Persona's departure, but Narukami's explodes in a burst of yellow fragments. Without Rangda's perfect defence against physical trauma Cu Chulainn's especially high resistance to it had been the next best thing, but now that had finally been worn out as well.

The backlash of the loss knocks the teenager off his feet. Yu feels his back strike the floor and pushes his momentum into a backward roll to get back up and in position. Narukami grits his teeth in pain and reaches up his left hand to crush the faint blue tarot card that appears in the air at his mental command. Another Persona shifts into prominence in the boy's mind again.

"Surt!"

The tall fire giant Persona emerges behind Yu and its bare black skin glows red with an inner furnace. The long sword wreathed in flames that Surt wields is pointed at the sky, but the Persona quickly leans over its summoner to smash the weapon down upon the enemy in front of him.

Narukami feels the wave of intense heat wash back over him when his vision is filled with orange flames, and only Surt's innate protection from fire spares him from suffering a backlash from his own attack. The Wild Card isn't foolish enough to believe that Adachi is defeated yet, but is still surprised when the detective appears directly in front of him so quickly and plants a foot in his gut. Surt's power must already have waned more than Yu realized.

Yu stands his ground and Surt vanishes as he swings his sword in an upward slash in front of him. The surprising agility of the detective in front of Yu allows him to evade the Blade of Totsuka, spin on his heel, and bring his gun up and under the teenager's chin.

"Susano-o!"

Yosuke's Persona slides across the floor at high speed, accelerated by a stream of green wind around it. Adachi's arm is knocked aside by the Persona as he fires. On Susano-o's other side Yosuke is also dragged alongside his Persona by the wind. Hanamura reaches out to snag his partner's arm as they pass, which pulls Yu away from the enemy.

Adachi growls in annoyance and prepares to give chase when another voice yells from behind him.

"I am thou!" Yukiko calls. Without a battle fan on hand to break her tarot card with the girl does the job with an open hand slap instead.

Amaterasu spins into existence by Amagi, a bald female body made entirely of golden light. The Persona's wrists are linked together by a chain that hangs behind it and from which a wing-like wreath of straight blades extends down along the length. Amaterasu holds a katana in one hand and its empty scabbard in another, both obscured by the large steel flower-shaped guards over its forearms.

In the air around Amaterasu several globes of fire burn into existence. In the next instant each one takes off in a variety of curved paths that congregate on the detective's position. The bombardment turns that section of Junes into a field of powerful explosions that rock the integrity of the building and fill the Investigation Team's ears with clamor. Adachi disappears in the conflagration.

Yukiko relied on her Persona's immunity to fire to get behind Adachi when Surt attacked, and Yosuke used his Persona's speed to pull their leader out of her own surprise attack's path. The impromptu plan had been hashed together quickly the last brief moment Rise had linked the team's communications through Yu again before her Persona was banished to preserve it.

Amagi would normally hold fast in the face of the wind that sears by her and sends her hair in a wild flutter as a result of her attack. Unfortunately, as all of the girl in red's companions have also done in this battle so far, she buckles at the knees after only a few seconds of composure. The strain of full combat is nearly unbelievable.

Narukami thanks Hanamura with a nod and gulps down one of the energy-restoring medicines that the team collected over time in the TV World. Yu might be able to fight longer than the others due to his numerous Personas, but he still feels just as tired out by their use as his friends do from their own. Adachi still shows no signs of fatigue, and Yu knows he needs to rush back to capture the enemy's attention before the man turns on Yukiko. The Wild Card switches to a new Persona to preserve what's left of Surt and runs back into the fray.

"You kids are all losing your bite," Adachi observes after he walks out of the black smoke that rises from the area Yukiko bombed. The detective pats some stray dust off his suit dismissively. "Are you still not ready to admit that this world has rejected your naive beliefs?"

Adachi meets Yu's rush with a clash of his pistol against the teen's sword, then yells in self-inflicted pain again as a bright red light signals the emergence of the criminal's Persona. Narukami leaps backward to avoid a horizontal naginata slash but is left open to a couple of rounds fired from Adahi's gun when he does. The painful impacts against the Persona-reinforced surcoat are almost enough to make the team's leader black out on the spot.

The Investigation Team is going to lose.

Yu hates the thought of a loss to Adachi, but even a switch to different Personas doesn't replenish the exhaustion each one causes him. In addition, every time the other members of the team move in a big enough group to launch an effective attack pattern of their own Adachi's Persona unleashes either a wall of flame or wind to drive them out of formation. Everyone is tired and hurt, and worst of all none of them know if this battle will accomplish anything even if they do win. Anger at Inaba's serial murderer pushes the team on, but their faith in the future is what they really want to fight for right now.

"Bearsona!"

Teddie sacrifices more of his Persona's power to heal Yu of some physical strain. Kamui has an inanimate spherical body with a smiling face on its center and two short hands and feet above and below it, trailed by a long red cape. The toy-like manifestation sends a wash of bright energy Narukami's way that soothes the injured boy before it vanishes. Yu's body can be forced to keep up the fight for a while longer through Persona healing abilities like Kamui's, but the mental strain of their use has limited means of recovery, especially in the middle of a pitched battle. Worse still, with each use all of the team's powers grow weaker.

"Persona!"

Chie runs by the side of the detective to draw the man's attention away for a heartbeat. Yu crushes another intangible card and Melchizedek manifests above Adachi to seize the opportunity provided. The completely armored angel with steel wings immediately shoots down with a powerful fist to smash the detective into the ground. The food court's floor breaks beneath the human with a thunderous crack. It appears to be a decisive blow.

To everyone's shock, when Yu's Persona fades Adachi stands right back up.

"It's over," Adachi says with a renewed grin. Another scream and the foe's crimson Persona flashes into existence. The Investigation Team, desperate to land a final blow, had each rushed in to try a risky all-out attack together when Yu managed to knock their enemy down. If Rise was able to maintain contact between the group as she usually did they would have waited for Narukami's signal before they tried such a maneuver, but that isn't the case with Kanzeon's constant erosion at risk. Now Adachi's quick recovery leaves all of the teens flatfooted within the man's attack range at the same time, which Yu had directed the team to avoid after the painful start of the battle.

The naginata stabs down and the air is filled with the sound of blades once more.


Reach Out to the Truth


[Persona 4 OST: Corridor]

It isn't until Yu feels the hot barrel of a gun poke into his forehead that the boy realizes he had lost consciousness. Adachi squats over the leader of the Investigation Team triumphantly and holds his weapon with a steady hand. The criminal's eyes have returned to normal, Yu notes, but that doesn't mean Adachi is any less dangerous now.

"You kids have ruined this world for me," Adachi says with an unexpected calm. The man doesn't grin like a madman or sneer in hatred anymore, he just looks down on Yu with casual contempt.

All around Yu the boy can hear his team stir and groan, but none stand or speak. The protection of the group's Personas fades with every bit of damage taken, and now none of them can handle Adachi's attacks anymore.

The Investigation Team lost.

"Adachi-san..."

"I told you," Adachi interrupts. The man presses the barrel of his pistol painfully into Yu's forehead. "I don't want to hear any whining from the losers."

"... we told you already. You're the source of your own troubles."

"Still talking shit at a time like this? Those aren't exactly the greatest last words, you know? Then again, you always were a bit of a space case, Yu-kun."

"We didn't ruin this world for you. You did."

"Still blaming me for the problems with reality, huh? How exactly do you figure that?"

It amazed Yu how much clarity could be found in defeat. When the teen had faced Adachi's first appearance with high emotions and then faced him again in heated combat there wasn't a lot of opportunity for clear thought. Here at the end of his rope, however, Narukami realizes a fact that is incredibly strange.

"You didn't turn into a Shadow."

Adachi has no immediate response to Yu's observation. The detective keeps his weapon on the boy's head but stares down with blank, uncertain eyes.

"I see. You said you wanted everyone to live in blissful ignorance," Naoto's weak voice reminds Adachi from somewhere off to the side. Neither the criminal nor his hostage stir from their stare down, though. "Yet when the opportunity came, you yourself have chosen to face reality."

"You gotta be kiddin' me," Kanji's half-delirious tone remarks from another direction. "After sayin' all that crap, he still can't even go through with his own words?"

"Could it be..." Rise wonders. The redhead kneels next to Chie and helps the brunet sit up straight. The battle is lost and the idol has no fear of being put in harm's way now. If Rise's teammates will all fall here than she is resolved to go by their side. "... that you actually wanted us to stop you?"

Adachi's jaw aches from how hard he bites down on his own teeth.

"Stop trying to twist things around!"

"You watched people die for your own petty entertainment, but while doing so you saw how we could face reality by being together," Naoto continues unhindered. "Deep down, maybe you wished you could have lived like us instead of the way you always had."

Adcahi and Narukami both stay silent at the accusation, and the rest of the team follow suit. No one is sure when the deathblow will come for them, or how their foe will react to the provocation. All the teens have left is the resolve to figure out the truth, even now.

The quiet of the foggy store is broken by Adachi. A series of weak chuckles rumble out from the detective's throat, then escalate into full laughter. No one interrupts, and when Adachi's humorless fit ends the eyes that turn back to meet Yu's again have turned morose.

"That's ridiculous," the murderer asserts without any force. Narukami is surprised by the sight of the man when Adachi looks to the side in uncertainty. "But maybe I did wonder once or twice..."

The pistol leaves Yu's forehead and hangs down by the floor.

"... if things might have gone differently if I had been more like you."

The confession isn't much, and it doesn't help anyone save the world from the calamity that has befallen it, but Yu can sense the man's sincerity. Narukami can't help but feel as if he finally understands Adachi.

Inside the Wild Card, the power of the Hunger Arcana swells.

"Adachi-san, you need to face the punishment for your crimes."

The murderer isn't the only one present who is surprised by the next words out of Yu's mouth. The team is still entirely at Adachi's mercy, after all. To piss the killer off now might be suicide.

"That can't happen in this new world. So help us take the old one back. Uncle Dojima and I... will help you learn how to live in it."

Adachi laughs again, this time with less resentment in his heart.

"Damn teenagers, they think they know all the answers to life," Adachi grumbles as he stands up straight. Yu watches the criminal step out from over him, then winces in pain when Adachi plants a sharp kick into his ribs. "Well? You gonna just lie there!?"

Yu forces himself to sit up and rub his side while he watches Adachi retreat to a section of the food court that wasn't totally ruined in the battle. None of the other members of the Investigation Team can do much more.

"Since you have all the answers I'm just dying to hear how you plan to save the world," Adachi calls back. The man adds a tone of mockery to the last part of his statement, he also pointedly avoids any chance for the others to see his face. "Hurry up and get back on your feet."

Adachi vanishes into the fog, too far away to be seen even with Teddie's glasses. The Investigation Team pulls themselves together shortly afterward and happily welcome the fox's return with more of its herbs. The team's energy ad strength will be restored now, at least.

Marie helps Yu to his feet and keeps a tight hold on her lover's arm once he is. Narukami doesn't say anything or draw any special attention to himself while the others patch themselves up and discuss what just happened, specifically how unbelievable it was. The young man just lets Marie hold him for a while and waits for the tears in her eyes to dry up.

"Almost dying after all this time... stupidjerkIhateyoudon'tdothatanymore."

Yu's close brush with death might have forced aside any thoughts Marie had of distancing herself from her love, but both of them also understand a sad truth. The serial murderer is no longer the one that the team needs to defeat, and now they are all weaker for the battle ahead.

The Investigation Team's last hope for the world's future... is Tohru Adachi.


Chapter End


Author's Notes

The second part of the introduction concludes here.

Even though I have split the introduction up, this second installment is still a lot longer than I would have liked. That is entirely due to the fact that I refused to let the second chapter end without getting through the Adachi encounter. Ending it when he first appears and having a four-part introduction arc was an option, but I wanted this content out next so here it is.

Hopefully the finale of the introduction arc will live up to any expectations.

Sincerely,

Captain Bell