Souji met Yosuke at the hospital. After obtaining visitor's passes, they were ushered into Chie's room.
"Chie!" Yosuke shouted. The girl on the hospital bed turned her head to look at him, but it seemed to take her an inhuman amount of effort. Whatever happened had exhausted her. There was an IV attached to her arm, but the doctor had told them that her condition was stable.
"Q-quiet, you..." she murmured from the hospital bed. She smiled weakly at his concern.
"What happened, Chie!?" Yosuke yelled, and Souji told him to calm down. "I'm calm, I'm calm... Damn it, Souji, how can you be so calm!? This is Chie!"
"Shouting at her isn't going to help."
"All right... that's right..." Yosuke was breathing heavily in his panic.
Chie had a larger smile on her face now. The medicine or her exhaustion was keeping her light-headed, but oddly cheerful. "I'm glad... you're here... Now I know... how Nanako-chan felt..."
"Can you tell us what happened?" Yosuke begged as quietly as he could manage.
"The phone rang at my house... I answered it, and then... I don't know... Something attacked me from the phone."
"Something came out of the phone?"
"But Tomoe protected me... and I fell down. Now... I'm here."
"They said you're going to be fine," Souji said.
"Good... Thank you, Souji-kun... It feels good hearing it from you..."
"Get some rest," he told her, and she fell asleep while trying to nod.
"Chie," Yosuke murmured softly.
Souji guided him out of the room.
"The phone," Yosuke said. "Do you think... No, it has to be. It has to do with that revenge hotline! You think so too, right? But who would want revenge on Chie? She doesn't have any enemies who'd go that far, does she?"
Souji said nothing. He had a faint idea...
He told Yosuke to inform the others about what had happened. He had his own investigating to do.
At a clothing store in Okina City, Souji found the woman he was looking for: Ai Ebihara. She had a poor young fool trailing behind her, carrying all of her shopping bags. Souji remembered being in his position last year.
"Oh, it's you," Ai said upon seeing Souji, her eyes lighting up. "I heard you were back in town. Come to pay your respects?"
"I need to talk to you." Souji glanced at the boy with her shopping bags.
"You," she told the boy. "Get out of here. Seta can take care of this."
"B-but Ai-chan!" the boy protested. "We were going to go to lunch..."
Ai spread her hands in a shrug that clearly said, 'not my problem.' "He's an old friend, and if he's asked me out, he's asked me out. Tough luck."
The boy reluctantly left...
"So, where do you want to go?" Ai asked.
Souji eyed the shopping bags he'd now have to carry for her and gauged their weight. "The Chagall Cafe," he said, naming the closest place.
"My, so sophisticated!" Ai said. "I could do with a latte."
After they'd ordered a drink—Souji went with a soda; he needed to stay conscious—he came straight to the point. "Ai-san, do you know about that revenge hotline?"
She seemed surprised that he'd asked. "Well, yeah. Who hasn't, by now?" She waved a hand, her pink-painted fingernails catching the light.
"Have you called it?" he asked, bluntly ignoring her charms.
"H-hey!" she said, pulling her hand to her chest. "What kind of woman do you think I am?"
He looked her in the eyes until she gave in. "F-fine, so what if I did? Kou-kun asked her out! He's supposed to ask me out! Not her!"
Souji slouched in his chair, his suspicion confirmed. The fact did not cheer him. "I thought you weren't interested in Kou."
"I-I'm not, but it's the principle of it! I'm so much more attractive than that Satonaka! Not that it matters, anyway. That hotline is just a joke."
"It's not a joke," he told her. "Chie is in the hospital."
"What!" Ai gasped.
Souji explained what had happened.
"But... I only said I wanted her to break out in hives," Ai said into her latte when he was done. "I didn't want her to die!"
"Tell me what happened when you called the hotline."
"It was pretty weird... They asked my name, and who I wanted revenge against. And I told them what I'd wanted. And they said it'd be done."
"Who asked? A man or a woman?"
"Oh, it was a robotic voice. It sounded strange, like a computer."
"Ai-san, please don't call it again."
"I won't," she promised.
After leaving the cafe, Souji called Dojima. "Uncle, the victims. Check their phone records."
"What? Souji? What are you talking about? Hey, give me a moment here, it's my nephew." Dojima's voice sounded far off; he was talking to someone else. When he came back to the line, he ordered Souji to explain.
"The phone records at both the Michiyo and Konishi households. Who called them the night before they died? I... I think it's important."
"It wouldn't be difficult to get," said Dojima, "but I don't see why it would be important. I don't have time to waste—"
"Make time," Souji interrupted. "I need to know."
There was silence on the other end for some time. Finally, Dojima said, "I heard what happened to your friend... I'll do what I can."
Souji walked down the shopping district on his way home when he saw a shimmering blue door appear between the bookstore and Daidara Metalworks. He hadn't seen that in a while... Perhaps it was time to pay his respects to its residents.
Upon entering the Velvet Room, one's first sensation was of the color blue.
"Welcome to the Velvet Room," a warm female voice said.
Then, details would emerge. A long liquor cabinet to the left, a glass brandy decanter open on the top shelf. Directly in front, a small, short table with a blue tablecloth, and behind it, comfortable velvet cushioned seats. Seated to the viewer's right, an elegant woman wearing a blue chauffeur coat and black leggings, smiling with golden eyes and wavy silver-yellow hair. The windows outside this limousine showed nothing but indistinct, blurred scenery rushing past as it moved on its continuous journey.
The woman spoke. "My heart might have skipped a beat to see you here again. Did your heart do the same...?"
"Margaret..." Souji said.
The woman's playful smile faded. "You will soon face your greatest challenge yet." She paused. "Have I told you that before...? Regardless, please be prepared, Souji Seta."
The vision faded. Margaret's voice followed him out of the Velvet Room. "I'll be watching..."
Souji spent the rest of the afternoon with Nanako, waiting for Dojima to get back to him. He answered the phone once; Yosuke was still frantic about what happened to Chie. He reported that there was still no activity in the TV World. "Teddie says the Shadows seem restless, but that's not unusual."
"We'll meet up tomorrow," Souji promised, "and go over what we've learned."
"All right, partner..." Yosuke said before hanging up.
Souji's manner must have been tense when he put the phone down, because Nanako asked him what was wrong. He wondered if he should tell her about Chie, but he decided against it; he didn't want her to worry.
The phone rang again some time later. It was Dojima. "Don't know how you knew," he said, "but... yeah, there was something in the phone records you had me look into. The second victim had been called by an unlisted number not long before the estimated time of death... It traces to a place in Okina City, but it's an abandoned house. There's not even a working phone line there."
Souji asked for the address.
"The address? You shouldn't be poking around into this..." Dojima hesitated for several long moments. "Souji. Your friend, Satonaka... I checked her house too, and it was also called by this number. Tell me what it means."
Souji repeated the number he'd seen advertised on the revenge hotline poster.
"How in the world did you know the number?" Dojima exclaimed. "Souji, if you know something, God help me...!"
"Please give me the address."
The next morning, Souji called Yosuke, Kanji, and Yukiko to meet him at Okina City. When they arrived, he told them his findings.
"So this hotline actually works? And someone called for revenge on Chie!?" Yosuke shouted in his frustration. "W-what the hell, man!"
"Who'd do such a thing...?" While Yosuke was angry about it, Yukiko had retreated into herself. She was perhaps more introspective than she normally was. "My Shadow might have called, had it been able to..."
"You had nothing to do with it," Souji assured her. He hadn't named Ai Ebihara as the one responsible, in case Yosuke decided to call the hotline on her in counter-revenge.
"If you're not feeling well, Yukiko, you don't have to come with," Yosuke said with sudden concern. "We guys can handle this, right?"
"Damn right!" said Kanji. He was still panting slightly from riding his bicycle all the way to Okina.
"I'm already here," she said demurely. "And I have to be here... for Chie."
Using a map, they navigated to the address Dojima had given Souji. The location seemed to be an abandoned house on a run-down street. By the look of it, it seemed no one had lived there for years. Trash was piled up in the yard as people used the lot as a dumping ground. A window was smashed open, and the shutters were rotting apart. The garden under the windowsill contained only the memories of flowers. Several shingles were falling off the roof, and the paint was peeling up in several areas.
"What a dump," said Yosuke, voicing everyone's opinion. "Still, I could see someone using it as a secret hideout."
"We're here. Now what?" Kanji asked, looking at Souji.
"We... go inside." Souji navigated past the trash in the yard and to the front door. He gingerly tried the doorknob, but the door was locked.
"Step aside," said Kanji, and he slammed his shoulder into the door several times until it gave way.
"We could have found another way in," said Yosuke, watching Kanji rub his shoulder.
"Tch, we're in now. Who cares how?"
Souji hesitated before following the others in. "This feels familiar..." he said to himself.
"Are you feeling deja vu?" Yukiko asked. "I feel it sometimes when I meet new people, but I think it's because I work at an inn. I often meet people I've seen before."
"I'm not sure," said Souji.
"It's as bad inside as out," Yosuke warned. "Watch out for the hole in the floor there. Anyone thought to bring a flashlight?"
Souji took out a detective's badge and pressed a switch on it, and it produced a bright yellow light. "Nifty! Where'd you get that?" Yosuke asked. Souji didn't reply.
"Move it back over to the left, Senpai!" said Kanji. "Yeah, there! It's a damned phone!"
"Didn't Dojima-san say there wasn't any phone service here? That makes no sense." Yosuke picked up the phone and put it to his ear. "Yeah, nothing. Man, look. The phone line's been cut anyway." He put the phone back down.
"Maybe the line works, and someone's bringing in their own phone set and cables," Yukiko suggested.
"Well, we can't really test that. We've only got our cell phones. Let's look around some more."
"Smells like cat piss," Kanji muttered as he opened a door to another room.
Aside from stray animals, there didn't seem to be any signs of frequent, or even rare, visitors to the house. It really was just an abandoned building.
Suddenly, the phone rang, startling everyone. "I thought you said it wasn't connected!" Kanji shouted at Yosuke.
"I did! What the hell!" Yosuke scrambled to the phone. He reached out to pick it up, but stopped, looking at Souji. "Uhh... Should I?"
Souji paused tensely for a moment before nodding.
"No good," said Yosuke. "They hung up. But how the heck is this working?"
"It's that night at the Amagi Inn all over again," said Kanji. "This place is giving me the damn creeps!"
"Huh?" Yukiko asked.
"Uh, nevermind," said Yosuke.
The phone rang again, and Yosuke answered again. "Yeah, hello?"
They waited, watching him, but he just cradled the phone. "It's nothing. I don't even hear the phone click on the other end. It's just... nothing."
"I wish Chie was here," Yukiko murmured, hugging herself.
"Yeah, I don't think we're gonna find anything, partner. I guess it was a nice try, but—" The phone rang again. "Oh, I am not answering that again!"
Souji picked it up and put the receiver to his ear. A distorted voice spoke to him. "So, you've returned... I knew you couldn't stay away."
Souji breathed in sharply. "Who...?"
The voice continued. "How do you like what you've brought to this town?"
"Who are you?" Souji demanded.
"Come in and find me... If you'd really like to know..."
The old television set in the corner of the room flickered on, showing only static. "Whoa, man, it's not plugged in... It shouldn't be doing that!" Yosuke exclaimed.
A shadowy figure appeared on the television. Hiding in the static, its identity was impossible to make out. It seemed to move towards the camera. "Come after me, if you dare, Souji Seta..." it said. Then the television abruptly turned off.
They stared at the television for over a minute, as if it might do another trick.
"It knew your name," Yukiko said slowly, finally breaking the silence.
"What are you waiting for? We outta go in there and show him not to mess with us!" Kanji declared. He stepped towards the television, his arms twitching with excitement. "It's gotta be the killer, right?"
"We shouldn't," said Yukiko. "Teddie always says we should never enter a strange TV."
"But it's mocking us..." Yosuke sighed. "You're right, Yukiko. We can't get caught up in the moment. Besides, we aren't prepared. Do you have any idea why it's after you, partner?"
Souji was still staring at the television screen, as if he hadn't even heard.
"Yo, Senpai?" Kanji waved his hand in front of Souji's face, and finally Souji blinked and returned his full attention to his friends.
"No," he said, his face troubled. "I have no idea."
"It's not raining, and it's nowhere near midnight," Yukiko noted. "But that looked a lot like the Midnight Channel, didn't it?"
They visited the TV World the next day. Because Rise was not available, they relied on Teddie's "sniffer" to find out where that stranger was within it.
"It's no good. I don't sense anything different," Teddie said. "I'm beary sorry."
"You don't sense anything at all?" Yosuke asked.
"No one has been here since the Grand Prix."
"Maybe we should take Teddie to that strange TV?" Yukiko suggested.
"No," said Souji. "We can't risk a new entrance, even with Teddie."
"Sensei..." said Teddie.
"I'll think of something," Souji promised them. "For now, I want everyone to focus on the revenge hotline. Listen for other stories of people using it, and take down any posters you see for it. It's dangerous."
That evening, Souji spent quality time with Nanako. A suspicion had been forming in his mind all day, ever since the trip to that abandoned house. He felt that time was short; there was likely to be another victim soon. He had to do something.
"Big bro... you look lost."
"Lost? But I'm right here..." He hugged Nanako close, saddened that his thoughtful demeanor was worrying her.
The revenge hotline frightened him. Anyone could be a target. That boy he'd seen with Ai Ebihara could call for revenge on him for taking Ai away from him... What if the hotline targeted him by attacking Nanako? Could he convince Nanako not to answer the phone? That was ridiculous... She needed to answer it in case Dojima called. Maybe he could buy a phone set that revealed calling numbers and teach her to answer only safe numbers.
And Yosuke had several enemies since he was the son of Junes' manager. Unsatisfied employees or customers, enemies of the Junes brand, or anyone else he might have offended with his caustic sense of humor.
Yukiko was probably safe... But there was that television producer she'd offended last year, who'd wanted to do a special on her family's inn being haunted, so there was always a chance.
Kanji had plenty of enemies from the biker gang he'd ejected from the town.
Was the phenomenon limited to Inaba? Because Rise surely had enemies in the idol business, and Naoto had likely made enemies during her detective work...
"Big bro...?"
"Hmm? Oh..." He looked down at Nanako, clinging to him. He forced a smile. "Did I ever tell you what my new school is like?" he asked.
"No! I bet you made lots of friends there!" She beamed up at him, and he put aside his dark thoughts and focused on spending time with her.
At Souji's urging, everyone spent the next day working independently on the case.
Yukiko heard from one of the chefs at her family's inn that a maid had tried calling the revenge hotline against her ex-husband, but that the number wasn't in service.
Both Yosuke and Teddie worked all day at Junes. They'd also overheard some talk about the hotline. By all reports, it seemed the hotline was suddenly out of business.
Kanji spent the day tearing down posters for the hotline all over the town. He also went to Okina City to make sure none had made their way there.
And Souji... He made his own plans.
In the hospital, Chie was slowly recovering. She could walk without help now, but the doctors wanted her to stay with them for a few more days, just to make sure she was fully-recovered.
It sucked. She was craving a steak bowl from Aiya... even at this hour.
She could hear the rain outside. It was always difficult for her to sleep during the rain. She remembered the Midnight Channel too vividly. She hadn't planned on being awake at midnight this night, nor facing the television that was set up in the corner of the room, but it just sort of happened.
She saw the television flicker on, with that staticky sound that was all too familiar.
She blinked at the screen. "No, not again," she whispered. Her tired eyes tried to make out what was being shown.
It was... Souji-kun.
Chie bolted upright in the hospital bed.
"Hahaha," said the boy on the television. It was a dry, humorless laugh. "It's me, the hero of Inaba."
No, that's not Souji-kun, Chie thought. It can't be...
"How well do you know me?" he continued. "Not well enough, I'm afraid. You didn't know I'd do this, did you?"
Chie frantically searched for her cell phone at the bedside table, knocking over a glass of water in the process. When she found it, she began to dial Souji's number with trembling hands.
"That's all right," said the figure that was not Souji. "We have plenty of time. We're going to stay together forever. From now until eternity."
Chie finished dialing and put the phone to her ear. "The number you are trying to reach is out of service. For more information, press one." She swore and hung up.
The figure on the television waved and turned around and began to walk nonchalantly away. He looked over his shoulder at the camera. "I'll see you around."
The television turned off.
Chie called Yosuke next, but the line was busy. Yukiko was also busy, and Kanji wasn't answering. In desperation, she called Naoto, even though Naoto was too removed from the scene to do anything.
"Hello? Chie?" the young detective's voice came over the line.
"Thank God!" Chie wept into the phone.
"Ch-Chie? What's the matter?"
"I'm sorry if I woke you," Chie said between gasps for breath, "but something really serious just happened over here and Souji-kun was just on the Midnight Channel and—"
"One moment please, Chie," Naoto requested. Chie could hear Naoto moving around in the background. By the rustle of paper, she was probably preparing to take notes. "All right. Now, from the beginning..."