Happy birthday to me!
So here's chapter three!
I've been writing a lot lately
And I'll be back in a jiffy!

(Yeah it's my birthday tomorrow :3)

"Chie!" Yu shouted.

"Come on, Chie, not now," Yosuke whispered, fingers crossed, hoping she'd get back up, entirely back to normal. But she didn't move. In the back of his mind, Yosuke knew that. Now, he and Yu were alone with Namatame's Shadow and his army of their possessed friends. Seren-freakin'-dipitous.

"Hey, Yosuke," Yu said, "Let's use this opportunity and take Namatame down!"

"Right!" Yosuke nodded. They had a tiny window of time, maybe three or four minutes, before Chie would get back up and Yosuke would fall under Namatame's control in the exact same way, but if they worked fast enough, then that wouldn't be an issue. Namatame didn't have that much energy left; the two of them could take him out, no problem.

Sure, the race against the ever-ticking clock did create a ton of unnecessary pressure, but they could work with that. After all, it wasn't over until they were all lying dead on the floor.

Yosuke hoped it wouldn't come to that.

"No!" Namatame's Shadow let out a loud, anguished cry once Yu got a hit on him. "What are you doing?"

"We're done with your crap!" Yosuke shot a Garudyne right at him. It was what he liked to call a rage attack, filled with the perfect Yosuke Hanamura blend of anger, irritation, and impatience he felt right now. This had gone on far too long.

Namatame's chuckle echoed across the battlefield. "You know what comes next, don't you?" His dead eyes stared right into Yosuke's soul. "You'll be just like the others soon enough, and you can't do a thing about it!"

"You're wrong!" Yosuke resisted the urge to jump out at him. That would be rash, and something they really didn't need right now.

"Yosuke, don't waste your energy!" Yu said, "We're almost there!" He shot another attack, this one hitting Namatame hard.

"Nice one, partner!"

"Thanks." Yu grinned. "A few more hits and he'll be done for."

"Great!" Yosuke hit Namatame again, trying to see if he could deal at least a little more damage by thinking about beating him to a pulp. He didn't know if it actually worked or not, but it felt really good to think about.

He must have hit Namatame maybe four times before he realized that Yu had been staring right at him for the last two. This wasn't good.

"Hey, what's up, dude?" Yosuke knew what it was before he saw the pained look in Yu's eyes. "Crap. It's happening, isn't it?" He didn't dare look up. He thought he would rather delude himself a little longer than get the awful truth served up to him on a silver platter.

"Yeah." Yu nodded before turning away with a solemn sigh. "We were close. We were so damn close."

"I know," Yosuke said, walking up right next to him, "Sorry, partner."

"No, it's okay," Yu said. He gave the tiniest grin, putting his hand on Yosuke's shoulder. "I can do this. Just you watch."

Yosuke nodded. So this was how it would end. With Yu effectively alone, trying to fight as long as he could, until he either beat this guy, or died trying. What if he did fail? Would it be all of a sudden? Would it be obvious from the beginning? Who knew? Maybe Yosuke would be the one to deal the final blow. That would be one hell of a way to die.

Namatame's Shadow let out a long, twisted laugh. "It's all over now, isn't it? Now, why don't you just accept your inevitable demise?"

"Never," Yosuke whispered, "I won't let you do this."

"Sure, that may be what you say." The Shadow stayed calm, with its composure still intact, doing a much easier job than Yosuke was doing. "But what is it that you truly want?"

Not this, Yosuke thought, Not anything like this.

And then he heard a loud whir above his head. This was it. It was over, wasn't it? Great. What was going to happen now?

Yosuke couldn't move after that. He stood, paralyzed, watching everything fold out in front of him. It felt like forever to wait through, standing right outside the action but not being able to do a thing.

So Yu really was alone now. He was the only one able to defeat Namatame, that's what this all meant. And while he was the single strongest guy that Yosuke had ever met, the odds of him actually beating this guy were near impossible, especially right now. As he called Persona after Persona, trying to get a hit in, Yosuke realized that it didn't faze Namatame that much.

How much time did he have left?

Yosuke thought Namatame would have done something else. He could have brought Yosuke into the battle itself, closer to Yu, so even if they were on different sides, Yosuke could tell him that he could do it, that everything would be just fine. Hell, he could even tell a joke and lighten the mood, which might give Yu the confidence to actually finish this once and for all.

He was standing far enough away to not be able to do a thing, but he was close enough to see everything happen. He stared at Yu for a long time, seeing him get worn down bit by bit. And he knew that there wasn't a thing he could do about it.

He barely noticed falling down to the floor.

After that, everything went black. Yosuke couldn't open his eyes. He had no idea what was going on, but he could hear particularly well. He could hear Namatame's Shadow laughing like there wasn't a care in the world. And he could hear footsteps, fast approaching in his direction.

"Yosuke!"

Yu?

"Yosuke, are you okay?"

Yeah, I'm okay. I'm fine. Are you okay? I'm worried about you.

Yosuke couldn't see him, couldn't say a thing to him, but he could hear him just fine and he could practically feel Yu's enthusiasm drain right out of him and hit the ground as he sighed and got up, walking away.

Partner, no. I'm okay. You can do this. I don't want to see you like this. It'll all be over soon. You'll do it, I know you will.

And then Yosuke could see again. He was looking right up at the sky above his head, which was brighter than he remembered it being. Was it over? Was this it?

It couldn't have been. It couldn't have been that easy. He only barely saw what happened with Chie and Yukiko, but if he heard from Rise was true, the worst of it was beginning right now.

He shot up to his feet instantly, something he didn't expect at all. As his eyes adjusted to the world around him, he realized something seemed slightly off about his vision. Something seemed fake, like he was looking at the world through a video or a Skype call instead of through his own eyes.

This wasn't good.

He tried calling out to Yu to watch out, that this wasn't what it seemed, but he couldn't open his mouth, couldn't speak. He couldn't move, either. Frankly, Yosuke had no idea what was about to happen.

This really wasn't good.

"Yosuke!" Yu's eyes brightened once he saw Yosuke standing up.

Partner, don't do it. This isn't what it seems. Don't be stupid, dude!

"Ah, well, hello, partner." That sounded so wrong. The words were coming out of Yosuke's mouth, but he had no intention whatsoever of saying them. Yosuke was normally sarcastic, that was entirely natural, but this was... it was different. And not in a good way.

So this is what it felt like, being possessed. Being able to see exactly what you were doing, but not having any control over it. It was like you were watching a let's play of your life. You were watching the game fold out in front of you, but you didn't have the controller.

Frankly, it was the single creepiest thing Yosuke had ever experienced. And he knew that it would only get worse from here.

"Well, well, well." Namatame's Shadow talked slowly, seemingly without any kind of emotion. "Look what just happened here." He smirked as he looked at Yu. "Looks like you're all alone now, poor boy."

No, he's not! I'm standing right here! It was no use. Yosuke couldn't do anything about any of this. He was alone with his thoughts, all locked up inside his head until Yu actually beat that bastard.

That is, if Yu actually beat that bastard.

But he would, right? They'd beaten every other shadow they'd come across, how was this one

any different?

Okay, this one was a lot different, but that wasn't the point. Yu would beat this guy for sure, no doubt about it. He totally had all the capability of doing it, and there was nothing stopping him.

Except maybe Yosuke himself.

But hopefully, if things went alright, Yu would end up winning this fight before things went there. Of course he would.

Yu turned around to look at Yosuke again. Did he see anything wrong? He must have, that smile was too twisted to go unnoticed. Not to mention that if this was the same thing that happened to Yukiko, the freaky, yellow, glowing Shadow eyes must have been there, too.

Come on, Yu, don't be an idiot, please.

Yu smirked and turned back to Namatame's Shadow. "I'll defeat you before anything goes really wrong." He shot another attack at him, hitting him pretty hard. This one actually looked like it hurt. Was this it? Was it already over? That would have been quicker than Yosuke thought it would.

"Well, now." Even in the face of death, the Shadow standing in front of them stayed calm, giving the tiniest of golf claps. "You're much more powerful than I ever anticipated you to be. I must say that I'm quite impressed. I know when I should drop out of a fight." He chuckled, the sound of it echoing seemingly forever. "However, there is just one more task you must accomplish."

He pointed with one long, scraggly finger at something behind where Yosuke was standing. It looked a far ways off, by the way Yu had to squint to get a good look at it. Once he was able to focus on it, his eyes got incredibly wide as a scowl appeared on his face. Damn, right now, Yosuke really wanted to turn around, just to see what it was.

"Do you see it?" Namatame said a few seconds later. Yu jumped when he heard the Shadow's low, haunting voice. "I may have failed at defeating you, but there is no way that you'll stop me from saving her!"

Nanako. It had to be. Crap, was she okay? Was she even still alive? They'd been so busy fighting Namatame that Yosuke had temporarily forgotten the connection between them. They'd only gone after Namatame in the first place because he had Nanako, he'd thrown her in here. Well, he'd thrown everyone in here, but this was the last straw. Everyone else was at least in their first year of high school. Hell, Kanji was the youngest out of the rest of the team, if Yosuke remembered correctly, and he was still able to handle himself in here just fine. Nanako was seven. It was one hell of a low blow to throw her in here.

Yu's eyes narrowed, clenching his fist as he took a single step away from Namatame.

Dammit, partner, Yosuke thought, I wish I could help.

Before he could finish the thought, Yosuke had taken three large strides, now standing right in front of Yu. He felt a grin appearing on his face, saw himself staring right into Yu's eyes as he realized just what Namatame had in mind.

"Sorry, partner." The grin on Yosuke's face only got wider. "I'm afraid that you won't be able to get past me." How was Namatame this messed up? Yosuke couldn't wait for all this possession bullshit to be done and over with.

"Yosuke, move." Yu tried to keep his voice steady and collected, but Yosuke could hear the anger coming through right now. "I don't have time for this."

Neither do I! No one has time for this, bro! Namatame's just screwing with us! It isn't me, it's just not!

The two of them were standing almost uncomfortably close to each other, their faces maybe six inches apart. Back before this whole murder thing started, it would have been the same distance when King Moron told couples to break off the PDA.

"Yosuke, listen to me," Yu said. He didn't move.

Come on, dude, don't waste your time trying to get me back! Nanako's the one that matters, not me. Now is not the time for a speech!

"If the real you is actually somewhere inside there," Yu continued, "You can break out. I know it seems impossible. I don't even know if you can hear me. But it's worth a shot. It's hard to do, I get that, but I know you've been through a lot worse, and you can do this." He smiled. "I know you can. You're stronger than you think you are."

"Ugh, shut up!" The voice that came out of Yosuke's mouth sounded just like his Shadow did. It sounded like the real him enough, but it had that tint to it, that haunting tone that made it seem like something not human. "I'm done with your bullshit!"

Yosuke's hand had balled into a fist before he had even stopped talking, and it was now pulled back behind his ear. He could feel the tension in his arm, and he knew exactly what was going to happen.

Yu barely had any time to register what was about to happen, let alone dodge the punch, before Yosuke's fist ended up hitting him square in the face. After about a second of confusion and horror appeared in Yu's eyes, he hit the ground hard.

He'd knocked him out.

Holy shit, Yosuke had knocked him out.

Which meant that Namatame had pretty much won. Which meant that they were probably all going to die pretty soon. After all, there was no one left to save Nanako, no one left to bring Namatame to justice. This was such a lackluster ending. Yosuke had hoped it would end with a bang or something, but now everyone just had to wait here, effectively alone. For how long? Forever? That would be one waste of a life.

Yosuke saw Yu on the ground out of the corner of his eye. A bruise was already beginning to form around his left eye. His breathing was rapid and shallow, and he almost seemed out of breath.

What would happen now? Would he fall under Namatame's control, too? But he didn't have a Shadow to emulate, so how would that even work? Yosuke really didn't want to find out.

But that wasn't what really mattered. The real question was whether Yu was okay. Was he going to be able to get back up? Was he seriously injured? Worse?

What made it even worse was that it was all Yosuke's fault. All of it. People would disagree, say that Namatame had made him do this, but Yosuke was the one who didn't have enough willpower to break free.

Or maybe he did. He was certainly riled up. His best friend was lying unconscious on the floor, after all. Of course he was going to be pissed. He only had to use his anger to his advantage and -

Yosuke coughed. It wasn't a huge wheeze or anything like that, but enough to stop him for a while and give him a chance to catch his breath.

"No!" For once, Namatame's Shadow behind him couldn't keep its cool. "How is this happening?"

"What?" Oh, man. Had Yosuke actually said that out loud? No way, that couldn't be happening. It was almost too good to be true.

"You broke free!" Steam was practically coming out of the Shadow's ears. It was almost funny, if Yosuke ignored the context of what was going on.

Now for a witty comeback. He had just defied this guy's expectations entirely, after all. He had to think of something clever to say. Damn it, if cramming for exams had taught him anything, Yosuke wasn't one for working under pressure.

"Well." He grinned. "I got tired of waiting for stuff to happen, so I just decided to do it myself." It wasn't great by any stretch, but hey. It worked perfectly okay for the task at hand.

Yosuke completely ignored Namatame's cries of anger, and turned around to face Yu on the ground. Squatting down next to him, Yosuke saw that his eyes were still closed, and to be honest, he looked like crap.

"Hey, partner," Yosuke whispered, "You okay?"

"Yosuke?" Yu blinked twice, slowly, before rubbing his eyes and sitting up. He grimaced once he felt the area around his left eye. "How did you – I thought you were -"

"That's a long story," Yosuke said, "I'm not sure what happened, but I'll explain everything later."

"Okay." Yu nodded, slowly getting up to his feet. "So we're getting Nanako back?"

"Yep." Looking up, he saw that Nanako was just on the other end of the floor, maybe fifty feet away. She looked actually okay, despite how long she'd been in here. She at least didn't look dead, and that was a really good sign.

But what really got Yosuke's attention was Chie and Yukiko standing at attention in front of her. They were probably still possessed, and while that was sucky, at least there was a pretty good chance that Yu and Yosuke could get past them, if they worked together. Not to mention that Yosuke had seen that they weren't able to use their Personas, a major disadvantage on their part.

"What are we waiting for?" Yu grinned, starting to break out into a run. "Let's end this thing!"

"Right!"

The two of them broke out into a sprint towards Chie and Yukiko, who started to get into a defensive position as soon as they approached. Chie had an almost-feral snarl on her face as she readied herself for a powerful kick.

"Yosuke, you take them!" Yu shouted, "I'll get Nanako!"

"You think that'll be it for Namatame, too? Everyone else is probably still possessed down there"

"I'm not sure, but this is what's important right now!"

Just for good measure, Yosuke quickly summoned Jiraiya and shot a quick Garudyne right at Namatame's stupid face. The Shadow scowled for a quick second, but it was obvious that he'd taken a hit. Good.

As Yu took a wide circle as he ran around Chie and Yukiko, Yosuke met them head on, as the two girls came running towards him.

"Hello, ladies!" He grinned. His wit had truly returned from the battle. "I know you both want me so bad, but don't worry, there's enough of me to go around!" He shot two Garus, one at each of them, causing them both to double back, distracted for a second. God, he loved having the upper hand.

"Yosuke, just keep them occupied! I'm almost there!" Yu had almost completed the arc, had almost gotten to where Nanako was lying on the ground. They were so close. This was it. They were going to catch the killer, solve the crime, save Nanako, it would all be over after this. They were in the home stretch, the bottom of the ninth inning, the game was about to end.

Yosuke barely managed to duck under a kick from Chie sent right to his face, but he knew that probably didn't matter. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yu closing out the circle, dashing faster than he'd ever gone before. Yosuke couldn't blame him. Pausing for barely a second, Yu ducked down, picked Nanako up off the ground, and grinned at Yosuke, who eagerly grinned back.

They'd done it. Holy crap, they'd actually done it.

"Well, then." Namatame's Shadow slowly applauded behind them. "I may be many things, but a man who goes back on my word isn't one of them."

With that, Chie and Yukiko both fell to the ground instantly. Was it over? Was that whole possession crap done and over with? Man, this felt so good!

"Well, partner." Yosuke walked over to where Yu was standing, Nanako unconscious in his arms. "We did it."

"Yeah," Yu said. He smiled. "It's all over." He slowly put Nanako down on the ground before putting his arm around Yosuke's shoulder, starting to laugh.

"Hey, dude, what are you doing?"

"Exactly what you said!" He only laughed more, the grin on his face making the whole floor seem brighter, even though there wasn't any good source of light. "We did it, partner!"

"I know! And not just this dungeon either! There isn't going to be another one! We caught him for good!"

"You know, I'm kind of going to miss this."

"I'm actually going to have to go back to not having a life and working 24/7!"

"That sucks, dude."

For about a minute or so, they stood together, looking around the dais and laughing the whole time. They didn't even say a word to each other, they just shared a smile and knew that it was actually over, that they'd done it. Even when Yu wrapped Yosuke in the tightest hug he'd practically ever received from anyone, Yosuke didn't really mind. It didn't matter now, right? It was just the two of them, at least until Chie and Yukiko got up.

"Honestly," Yu said, "I'm glad I got to do this with you by my side."

"Me, too." Yosuke chuckled. "I honestly never thought I would like it here when I moved in last year."

"Yeah," Yu said, "But you know. Things happened, and in the end, this place actually worked out."

"Yep."

"Ugh, what was that?" Chie slowly stretched her arms, like she was getting up in the morning, before standing up and walking over to the other two. "We won, huh?"

"Yeah," Yu said, "Thanks a lot."

"No problem." Chie grinned. "I can't even believe it's over. We caught the killer, the case is one-hundred-percent solved!"

"I know!" Yosuke smiled.

There was a quiet grunt from behind them as Yukiko blinked twice, before getting up to her feet and standing next to Chie.

"Well, that was an... experience," she said with a frown.

"Yukiko, there is seriously no reason to frown right now!" Chie put her arm around the other girl's shoulder, grinning just as wide as Yu was. "We did it!"

"Right, we did!" Yukiko was starting to giggle again. In any other situation, this would have been annoying as hell, but now was just the right balance of relief and happiness that it didn't matter in the slightest. "Congratulations, everyone!"

"Same to you," Yu said, "We couldn't have done it without you."

"Oh!" Yukiko looked down at the ground, a smile growing on her face. "Thank you!" She launched into one of her giggle fits, and at this point, no one could blame her.

Chie pulled Yosuke and Yukiko towards her, one arm around each of their shoulders. Yosuke could have said she was the happiest out of the group, but they were all pretty ecstatic right now. Yosuke put his free shoulder around Yu, and the four of them stood in a line, looking around at their surroundings, broad grins on all their faces. They stayed there for two more minutes, no one daring to break the silence.

"Uh, we should probably get back now," Yukiko said eventually, "Everyone else is probably waiting for us."

"Yeah," Yu said. Leaning down, he picked Nanako up before nodding to everyone else. "Let's go."

The four of them slowly walked back down the floors of the dungeon, talking excitedly the entire way without a care in the world.