A/N: As someone who can't stand Mary-Sues, or Gary-Stews, Dylan and Stephen aren't perfect and have their own set of flaws including Dylan's sheer unwillingness to grow up and Stephen's enabling of Dylan's behaviour because he thinks that's what friends just do.
And while neither of them will be sparkling (Dylan: What? Me, sparkle? He's an English Major, he wouldn't do that!), both of them are, along with the Investigation Team, going to be on more-or-less the same level of badass as the Avengers. So, no weird sparkling vampire-like bullshit here.
Chapter 5: First Encounter
April 14, 2011
Entrance, Mayonaka
Yu, Yosuke, Dylan and Stephen were falling through a tunnel with a repeating black and white swirling pattern that resembled a zebra being shoved into a washing machine. It sort of resembled falling down a rabbit hole into an unknown world or falling through a wardrobe into a world populated with talking animals and a witch that had managed to turn it into a Popsicle. But there wasn't really any way to describe what the experience was like.
And that was before they landed in a place that bore a very strong resemblance to a TV studio set except that it was coloured a very bright shade of orange. Also, the floor had a weird black and yellow swirl pattern that was incredibly disorienting. Not to mention the concentric circles that you'd normally expect to find at a crime scene.
Yu and Dylan had managed to land on their feet, Yosuke had fallen in a dignified manner but had stood back up fairly quickly, and Stephen, however had managed to end up in an undignified heap.
"OW! What the hell? Where are we?!" Stephen asked. He slowly stood back up and looked around him.
"Yeah, what's going on?" Yosuke added.
"I've got no idea." Dylan lied.
"Well, this place is called Mayonaka, and I'm assuming that this is the entrance. Which means that there is a way to progress through and get to somewhere else." Yu concluded.
"So, what are we waiting for then? Some kind of sign?" Dylan asked, his question accompanied by him raising his hands up to the sky.
"We could do that. But I think that finding a way through here would be the preferred option." Yu said.
Yosuke, Dylan and Stephen had no choice but to agree with that. It wasn't as if this place was all that safe.
Twisted Shopping District, Mayonaka
After having wandered through there for what seemed like an age through almost impenetrable banks of fog, the fog had begun to clear to show a row of identical houses on an immaculate street that connected out onto other streets.
They decided to enter one of the identical houses and what they saw would shock them to the very core.
For one thing, there was blood dripping down to the floor from the walls like something out of a horror movie. There were also pictures of a woman with her face either cut off, burnt off, scratched off, painted over, crossed off, crumpled up or just ripped up into increasingly miniscule pieces.
And that was before they saw a chair in the middle of the room with a red scarf hanging down from the ceiling like a noose. Yu almost immediately recognised what it was but he decided against telling the rest of the group that.
"What the fuck?" Stephen looked up.
"Maybe someone killed himself in here. Yeah, something doesn't feel right about this at all." Yosuke said, echoing the unvoiced sentiments of everyone in the group except Yu.
"We'd better get out of here before whoever was here before us comes back." Dylan interjected.
Yu watched as Yosuke, Dylan and Stephen hurried out of the building and followed after them in a leisurely manner.
Stephen looked in fear as something that looked like a stuffed bear with blue fur wearing a red and white jumpsuit which looked sort of like a clown outfit made its way towards the group. Yu and Dylan almost immediately recognized the bear, but Yosuke and Stephen had no idea who or what it was supposed to be.
"Hey Teddie." Dylan said.
"Oh, there you are Teddie. It's great to see you." Yu added, not wanting to give too much away at that moment.
"So why are you guys here?" Teddie asked.
"Well we just fell in and we decided to have a little look around." Dylan replied.
"You have to be bear-y, bear-y careful because the grizzlies are around and they're bear-y hungry! And angry too!" Teddie explained.
"Wait, you mean Shadows? As in beings that feed off of peoples' emotions right?" Yu asked.
"Well, whatever you want to call them, you have to be bear-y careful when they appear because you're going to be bear-y big trouble!" Teddie exclaimed.
"Back up for a minute here. Did you really just say Shadows?" Stephen asked.
"Wait, there were previous incidents involving Shadows if I remember correctly. So I'm guessing that there's got to be a reason why there's Shadows here." Yu surmised calmly.
"Yes, but there's something that usually guides them." Teddie said.
"My brother was one of the people who helped stop the last one. But I don't think that what's going on here is in any way, shape or form connected to what happened on Port Island. At least I don't think so." Dylan said.
"Whatever it is, you've made them bear-y upset with you. Well, more upset than they were before you got here." Teddie sounded remarkably upbeat when he mentioned this.
They could hear a noise in the distance that grew simultaneously closer and louder. It sort of sounded like a series of wet-sounding thuds. These thuds were accompanied by the same thick, rolling banks of fog that they had seen earlier only there was a lot more fog this time.
Not only that but a black, tar-like ooze had appeared on the walls of the buildings and on the ground and was moving like a tidal wave towards the group. The ooze began to form into weird three dimensional oval things that were pink with black stripes. Said shapes had no eyes and a large, gaping mouth with large teeth and a long tongue. In addition, there were actors' masks on their backs that were secured there by something.
"They're called Slipping Hableries." Yu said, as if they were the most common sight in the world.
"I think you'd better wear these! Look, we've got to get out of here!" Teddie said, handing Yu a pair of glasses.
They had no other option but to start running as fast as they could. Yu knew that despite the fact that he had his katana with him, it wasn't going to do much against the Shadows by itself.
Eventually, the Shadows had managed to have them surrounded with nowhere else to possibly run to.
"Okay, we tried running, what the hell do we do now?" Stephen asked, looking at the Shadows that had surrounded them.
"I don't know." Yosuke replied. Nobody wanted to think about how close they were to impending death.
Yu had taken his katana out of its sheathe and stood before the Shadows. I am thou, thou art I. The time has come. Open thine eyes and call forth what's within.
Yu already knew what was going to happen next. He looked up as he was surrounded by blue flames that coalesced into a bright blue card that floated down into the hand that he had kept empty. He already knew what must be done.
"PER-SO-NA! I-ZA-NA-GI!" Yu yelled, calling forth Izanagi as he was surrounded by bright blue light that caused the Shadows to recoil away from them.
The being, or Izanagi as it was called, had golden eyes and was wearing a metal mask on its face. Izanagi was wearing black trousers and a black long coat that was fully zipped up and was carrying a sword that looked more like a spear with a large, serrated knife-blade replacing the point. It also had pointed feet, no doubt because it was wearing boots with blades on them.
"It's good to see you old friend. I can only assume that the plan has worked and that we're back to where we're supposed to be." Izanagi said, sounding clear despite the mask it was wearing.
"It has. The only problem is that we're going to die if you don't help us. Yu said.
"Of course." Izanagi sounded remarkably good-natured, almost as if it had been waiting to be called forth again.
One of the Shadows began to make its move and was going to attempt to attack Yosuke before Yu or Izanagi could notice it in time.
"Izanagi! Zio!" Yu commanded.
Izanagi lifted a hand and a bolt of lightning struck the Shadow, bringing it down to the ground. Yu looked as Izanagi darted over to finish that particular Shadow off. But there were still more to deal with.
One of the Shadows managed to attack Izanagi before the being could react, hurting Izanagi and affecting Yu as well.
Izanagi looked at the Shadow with an expression of pity mixed with contempt as it skewered the Shadow. This display of force was enough to destroy it, leaving five more Shadows left for Izanagi to destroy. But it wasn't like the numerical advantage that the Shadows had would matter all that much.
Yu unzipped his jacket and smiled. Some things never change.
The first of the remaining Shadows attempted to attack Izanagi but Izanagi impaled it and sent it flying against a wall where it disappeared.
Another Shadow rushed towards the group and had bit into Izanagi's arm. Izanagi made a violent twisting motion in order to free itself from The Shadow before attacking it.
"I am Izanagi. I know no fear. I was one of the first, and you Shadows are nothing more than twisted abominations. You cannot hope to match me in combat." Izanagi said, provoking the Shadows while succeeding in drawing the attention of the remaining three Shadows away from the group.
The first of the remaining Shadows charged at Izanagi, and had managed to almost sneak past Izanagi, only to be met with the being's weapon and sliced in half.
The two remaining Shadows attempted to attack Yosuke, Dylan and Stephen which was something that Yu wasn't going to allow to happen on his watch.
"Izanagi! Zio!" Yu commanded, causing Izanagi to cast Zio on one of the remaining Shadows. There was also a pause before Izanagi used the same ability again, destroying both Shadows.
"Farewell my friend, until we meet again." Izangi bowed its head before vanishing away.
"Would you mind explaining what the hell that was?" Yosuke asked.
"It's called Persona." Yu replied.
"Whatever it's called, that was off the fucking chain!" Stephen exclaimed loudly.
"That was possibly the coolest thing we've seen since we got here." Dylan enthused.
"That was amazing Sensei!" Teddie gushed.
"Well we have to see what else there is here." Yu said.
Yu, Yosuke, Dylan and Stephen along with Teddie went further into the Twisted Shopping District when they saw a building that Yosuke recognised.
"This-this-looks exactly like the liquor store that Saki-Senpai's parents run." Yosuke said.
"I wish Junes would go under! It's all because of that store!" They heard a distinctly feminine voice echoing from inside the building.
"I heard that Konishi-san's daughter is working there you know. And their business is really suffering too. That poor man, to have his own daughter betray him by working for the enemy." There were other voices too, but they all seemed to blend together.
Yosuke ran inside, closely followed by Yu, Dylan and Stephen.
"You do know what the neighbours have been saying about you right?!" A male voice could be heard now, and it didn't sound happy.
"Is that Saki-Senpai's dad?" Yosuke asked.
"Why did you have to work there of all places?! Our family has owned this store for generations and you work for the people who are trying to put us out of business! I don't believe it! Especially after that big-shot American businessman started poking his nose in where it didn't belong!" The voice continued.
Yosuke moved towards a desk and picked up a photograph or rather the cut-up pieces of said photograph.
"I always wanted to tell Hana-Chan that he's a pain in the ass. The only reason I was nice to him was because I could've gotten fired but he just takes everything the wrong way. Ugh, what a dip! Because of Junes, my family are almost bankrupt and our neighbours talk behind my back! I'm sick of Junes and I wish everything would disappear!" Saki, although dead, was making her presence felt.
"NO! She's not like that!" Yosuke shouted.
"OH, she's not like that! Quit deluding yourself pal!" There was another voice, and another Yosuke had appeared in front of them.
"What?" Yosuke asked.
"You're sick of living in Inaba right? You're just stuck in the sticks and this has been the most interesting thing that's happened to you! Along with the silverette and Dumb & Dumber!" Shadow Yosuke laughed.
"NO! That's not true!" Yosuke yelled, while also stamped his foot.
"Oh, c'mon! Stop acting like such a big shot pal! You can't pull it off! Not like me anyway!" Shadow Yosuke was laughing at the idea.
"You're lying!" Yosuke shouted.
"You know I'm right! Hell, look at BLONDIE! He's managed to get more pussy than you and do you know why that is? He doesn't give a SHIT about anyone else but himself! Just like his old man!" Shadow Yosuke continued.
"That's enough." Yosuke said quietly.
"Oh, that's enough! What? You were just going to fall in here and be the hero right?" Shadow Yosuke mocked.
"No, that's not true!" Yosuke almost screamed at his Shadow.
"Well it is, and I'm here so it must be true!" Shadow Yosuke said triumphantly.
"NO! You're not me! You can't be! I refuse to believe it! There's no way!" Yosuke was almost hysterical.
"Oh, you're not me! Tell it to somebody who gives a shit!" Shadow Yosuke growled.
"YOU'RE NOT ME!" Yosuke shouted again, but he was much louder this time.
"That's right! SAY IT AGAIN! I DARE YOU!" Shadow Yosuke roared back.
"YOU CAN'T BE ME YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Yosuke yelled again, causing his Shadow to begin laughing uncontrollably.
"You're right about that. I was wondering WHEN you'd be right about something. Honestly." Shadow Yosuke replied.
Shadow Yosuke was almost instantaneously replaced with an animated frog with an almost cartoonish looking body on top.
"I'm going to make everything disappear!" Shadow Yosuke roared before swinging wildly at Yosuke, who was just about pulled out of the way by Dylan and Stephen.
"HEY! Leave them alone! Alright, if that's how you want to do this, IZANAGI!" Yu yelled, summoning Izanagi again.
"You think that scares me? Pain in the ass!" Shadow Yosuke about to attack his other self along with Dylan and Stephen but Izanagi leapt in the way, shielding them from any harm. Even if it was going to suffer in the process.
Unfortunately the resulting impact brought Yu to his knees. Seeing this, Izanagi rushed over to Yu to help him stand back up, taking special care to evade some of Shadow Yosuke's attacks before doing so.
"Izanagi, ZIO!" Yu ordered Izanagi to call forth another bolt of lightning. This resulted in Shadow Yosuke crumpling into a forlorn heap on the floor.
"C'mon Sensei! You can do it!" Teddie was busying himself giving Yu words of encouragement.
Izanagi attacked Shadow Yosuke, who promptly stood back up, but fell into a defensive position as if preparing a powerful attack of its own.
"Sensei! Be careful!" Teddie shouted.
Yu almost immediately dropped into a defensive stance as he knew what was going to be coming next. Sure enough, Shadow Yosuke sent a blast of wind at him that only damaged him a little bit.
"I've had enough of you!" Shadow Yosuke exclaimed, bringing its hand down on Yu who just about managed to dodge it before counterattacking himself by getting Izanagi to stab the hand. Which would cause the Shadow to fall back and attempt something else.
Izanagi cast Zio again, which resulted in Shadow Yosuke falling down for a second time. Seeing an opening, Yu and Izanagi attacked Shadow Yosuke at the same time.
Shadow Yosuke stood back up, and summoned a red burst of energy which made it stronger. Yu quickly dropped into a guarding stance so as to minimise any damage that he'd get from the Shadow's next attack. It seemed that Shadow Yosuke was able to counterattack anything that Yu and Izanagi could do to try and take it down, which was gradually becoming an unpleasant possibility for them.
"Well, this has become a very interesting battle." Izanagi mused.
"Then I guess we have to be careful." Yu replied.
They both waited in anticipation of Shadow Yosuke's next move. When said next move wasn't forthcoming, Yu ordered Izanagi to cast Zio on Shadow Yosuke again, bringing the Shadow down to the ground temporarily.
After Yu and Izanagi attacked the Shadow again, Shadow Yosuke stood back up and pounded the ground in frustration.
"PAIN IN THE ASS! I WANT YOU DISAPPEAR!" Shadow Yosuke charged at Izanagi, who dodged it and skewered it, tossing Shadow Yosuke across the room like a child's toy.
It took a few seconds for Shadow Yosuke to get back up and over to where it had been since the start of the battle.
Yu dropped back into another defensive stance as Shadow Yosuke swung at him for another attempt at damaging him.
Izanagi cast Zio again, but this time cast it when Shadow Yosuke was down on the ground, causing the Shadow some more pain.
They dropped back, waiting for another blast of wind to hit them, which it did and almost sent them flying despite their guarding against it.
"WHY WON'T YOU JUST DISAPPEAR ALREADY?!" Shadow Yosuke screamed, unable to comprehend that Yu wasn't going to just give up.
"No." Yu didn't really need to say anything to add to that.
Izanagi nodded, and readied itself for Shadow Yosuke's next onslaught. The Shadow lunged at Izanagi again, grabbing the being and throwing it against a wall. Izanagi had managed to stand back up much to Shadow Yosuke's intense frustration and casted Zio on it or him. Or whatever you wanted to call it.
As soon as Shadow Yosuke returned to its feet, Yu dropped down as the Shadow was guarding its weak point before unleashing a counterattack.
After two more blasts of Zio, Shadow Yosuke returned to its normal form but had fallen silent, unable to say anything after Yu had battled it with everything that he had.
Yu dismissed Izanagi who disappeared with a mere nod of his head.
"I guess that I have to accept you right?" Yosuke asked. His Shadow just looked at him with a blank expression on its face.
"YES! Otherwise your Shadow will start attacking you again!" Teddie exclaimed.
"Well, I don't know." Yosuke said.
"Just do it!" Dylan replied.
"Yeah." Stephen added.
"I accept that I haven't really been all that enthused about living in Inaba. And I was hoping to be the hero when we fell in here but that didn't work out the way I planned. It'd just be easier if I accepted everything. Besides, I've got you guys, well, and Chie." Yosuke said.
The group looked on as Shadow Yosuke disappeared, and was replaced with a being by the name of Jiraiya. Jiraiya was a ninja frog wearing a white jumpsuit with white shoes, a gold V on its chest, a red-orange scarf and gold ninja stars. Jiraiya looked at Yosuke and gave Yosuke the Persona equivalent of a smile before it disappeared.
"That was my Persona. Wow. Now I have the strength to move forward." Yosuke said, sounding happier than he did when confronted with his Shadow self.
Yu, Yosuke, Teddie, Dylan and Stephen exited the liquor store, or more specifically, the Mayonaka version of it.
"Teddie, would you mind summoning a portal back to our world?" Yu asked politely.
Teddie stamped his left foot and summoned a 1950s style TV out from the ground and Yosuke and Stephen jumped through it followed by Yu and Dylan. Somehow, Teddie knew that he was going to see them again.
He briefly thought about the difference between Yu and Dylan. Yu was already incredibly certain in his designation as the Wild Card while Dylan, although uncertain, was moving in the right direction.
"I bear-y much hope you're right." Teddie said, wondering if Future Dylan heard him. Maybe he did.
Vincent (Goddamn) Summers's Apartment, London England
A muscular, good looking, 5'11" blonde with almost waist-length hair and blue eyes wearing Union-Jack coloured jeans and a white t-shirt fumbled for the key to his apartment. His name was Vincent Summers and he was the cousin of Dylan and Chase Blake as his mother, Allison, was Gregory Blake's sister. His father, Malcolm Summers, was an incredibly wealthy man and a lord even if Vincent didn't care to mention it.
He got into his apartment at almost the exact same minute that his phone was ringing.
Song: Tha Trademarc – Gold Medal
"Jodie? What the bloody hell? I only just got in babe! You got to yours alright?" Vincent asked, sounding worried.
"I did! You have to turn on your TV and watch the news! I think your cousin Dylan might be in trouble!" Jodie sounded panicked.
"Wait what? Is that because of the sodding murders? Oh for fuck sake!" Vincent trailed off into another string of curses about his uncle.
"Don't you think it's suspicious that he sent Dylan to Inaba?" Jodie asked.
"I thought it was because he didn't want Dylan to get in trouble. I can't fucking believe this. That's our summer holiday out the window now if I can't reschedule it. And I've got to have lunch with Alex tomorrow, can't miss it either. Bollocks." Vincent said. He might have been drunk before, but he'd sobered up.
"Well, maybe we can have some fun after that then? And see if I can get my stuff in your place next week like we said before. I'll see you tomorrow!" Jodie hung up.
Vincent went to the fridge and grabbed himself a can of beer and cracked it open before he reached for the remote. He switched over to one of the news channels just to make sure that he wasn't imagining things. Or Jodie wasn't worrying too much over what could be just an extremely weird coincidence.
He turned on the news and spat out his beer in shock.
"Fucking hell." Those were the only words he could say before he started swearing at the TV as loudly as he could.
After calming down, he turned the TV and decided that he was going to have to sleep on it and come to a course of action on the matter tomorrow. But he knew that Alex wouldn't believe him no matter what he said. Which only really left his dad as his dad or Lord Malcolm seemed to know what was going on with that side of the family more often than not.
