"Allow me to explain, as you shall not leave alive. A shadow, at its core, wants no more than to be accepted. When I met Mitsuo in the 'world inside people's hearts', I was ecstatic! But... he denied me. I was enraged. He convinced himself that I was not him. I was no longer his shadow. I attacked. After you bested me, I left. Mitsuo was no longer of my concern. I exited into your world when you left with him. Despite my hatred of him, we were still linked. I still… cared for him… What was a shadow to do? So I plotted. To get revenge on you, Mitsuo, and human kind. Humans only hurt. Truth hurts. Denial gives me strength."

"You can't live in denial forever Shadow Mitsuo."

"Don't give me that shit. As if you know anything about me. As I was saying, by pure chance, I found Mitsuo. In a mental hospital. Then it hit me. Mitsuo is a killer. Mitsuo is brilliant. Mitsuo is wasted potential. He can help me. I spoke to him, and he recognized me as the 'copycat.' I told him if he helped me get revenge on you, I could break him out. He agreed. I excel at mind games and putting up facades, as I am the hermit arcana. I masqueraded as one of the employees there, and convinced them to release him. As I knew, Mitsuo is a nerd. He excels at hacking and the like. He's just too incompetent to use it correctly."

"So Mitsuo was the hacker!?"

"Correct. I had him look up personas and shadows, so he could know about our situation. I saw no point in wasting my time explaining it to him. Then, we found a very interesting document. We looked into it and found it was from the Kirijo group. That's where we found about the shadow suppression weapons, specifically you my angel, Labrys."

"M-me?"

"Just like a human to ignore the feelings of nonhumans. We found where you were hidden, and I traveled there to free you, and tell you of the humans who seek the truth. I also informed you of your 'mother.' I must thank you, for your wish gave me an idea. What if I turned the persona against their humans? It was perfect. So Mitsuo and I threw you into the TV. You got your wish, and so did I. But the humans did not play their part! So I needed a new plan. I knew of that other world, because it became active as soon as you defeated Izanami. Obviously before you all. I hoped your bonds would break, but they remained stable! So I took control of the one with the darkest hearts. That was Kamui-Moshiri and Takehaya Susano-o."

"The darkest hearts..."

"I am no longer Shadow Mitsuo. I am my own! I am Apollyon! Now, with my newfound power, I shall have no one to stand in my way! Perish!"

"Yosuke! Teddie! Just hold on!" Yu yelled.

"That was one hell of a speech. Not that it matters. Cause we're gonna kick your ass! For Yosuke and Teddie!" Junpei reassured.

"I appreciate that you, in a way, introduced me ta my new friends. Too bad that backfired, cause we're taking you down!" Said Labrys.

"To think. They held so much pain behind smiles. I'll prove to both of you that I care about you. If you're getting in my way Apollyon, I'll crush you!" Yukiko stated full of determination.

"Evil smile!"

The attack hit Yukiko and Labrys!

"No! Stay away!" Yukiko screamed.

"Help..." Said Labrys quietly.

"Here!" Yu dropped an amrita soda!

"Thanks!"

"It's on!" Junpei power charged.

"Magarula!"

Junpei and Yu were knocked down!

"The scent of flowers wafts."

A flaming rose attacked Apollyon! Labrys surrounded herself with red diamonds, then scattered them, hitting him!

"I'm okay! Change! Mada! Mind charge!"

"Sorry to keep you waiting! Power charge!"

"Mediarahan!"

"Take this!" Labrys threw her axe like a boomerang, and hit all of Apollyon's legs!

"Garula!'

Junpei dodged!

"Nice Junpei-san!" yelled Rise.

"Mada! Agidyne!"

Apollyon took heavy damage!

"Jackass! Terror voice!"

Yu became scared!

"G-go away!"

"Amrita!" Yelled Yukiko!

"Thanks."

"Brave blade!" Junpei's persona slashed right through Apollyon!

"Take this!" Ariadine covered herself in red, and took the shape of a bull, then charged into Apollyon!

"Megidolohan!"

Everyone took heavy damage!

"Mediarahan!"

"Senpai! Focus attacks to the legs!"

"Floradyne!"

Labrys was impacted!

"Turn to scarlet!"

"Blade of fury!"

"Maragidyne!" All the attacks hit the legs!

"Fuck off!"

Apollyon cast Maziodyne! Labrys took heavy damage!

"Diarahan!"

"Gettin' real tired of your shit."

Labrys attacked Apollyon in a flurry of strikes from her axe!

"Change! Izanagi! Maziodyne!"

"Check this out! Brave blade!"

Junpei's brave blade slashed through all the legs!

"You're really annoying! Mind charge!"

"Cross slash!" Yu slashed with his electrified sword, and Izanagi came down and impaled Apollyon!

"Mediarahan!" Yukiko healed everybody!

Apollyon stuck his legs in the ground! They all came up striking everyone with physical almighty!

"Oh no!"

"Apollyon charged a black orb between his horns!"

"No you don't! Izanagi! Strike that orb!"

Izanagi did as told and hit the orb to the ground! It unleashed a wave that finished off the legs!

"We have our chance! Are you ready!"

"Yes!"

"All right! Begone!"

An all-out attack was performed and did massive damage!

"Your power is formidable! But the more damage you do, the more power I gain!"

Apollyon unleashed a ray of darkness from his empty eyes on Junpei!

"Dammit!"

"Chujo-hime! Florilao!"

"Junpei-san, you alright?"

"Fine, thanks laba-tan!"

"Nebulus Octula!"

Everyone took moderate damage!

"Senpai! Go for his horns now!"

"You know what to do Izanagi!"

Izanagi flew and slashed the horns!

"Ha! Dumbass!"

Apollyon cast a purple shockwave that went through Izanagi!"

"Gah! C-change! Scalatch! Mabufudyne!"

"Yu-kun! Diarahan!"

"Bufudyne!"

The Bufudyne interrupted the healing!

"Ah!"

"Trismegistus! Blade of fury!"

"Ugh! Dammit!"

"Salvation!"

"Change! Helel! Morning Star!"

Apollyon took heavy damage!

"Dark Moon!"

Apollyon used a dark version of morning star!

"Heat wave!"

"Senpai! You need to heal!"

"Helel! Salvation!"

"Chujo-hime! Florilao!"

Labrys used her rockets and repeatedly hit Apollyon with her axe on the way up!

"Blade of Fury!"

"MaTerraDyne!"

"MaNikkodyne!"

Everyone took heavy damage!

"Heal block!"

"Not again!"

"Morning star!"

"Brave Blade!"

"Maflorilao!"

"Weaver's art! Sword!"

"Brave Blade!"

"Ah!"

"Yukiko!"

Yukiko withstood the attack!

"God's Hand!"

The attacked critically hit one of the horns and broke it!

"Megidolohan!"

"Blade of fury!"

"Change! Siegfried! Masukukaja!"

Everyone dodged!

"Rainy death!"

Siegfried smashed through the remains of Apollyon's horn!

"Here's our chance, let's get em!"

"Yeah!"

"Get back here you son of a-!"

The all-out attack left Apollyon at everyone's mercy!

"Persona!" Rise charged everyone up!

"For Yosuke and Teddie! Izanagi! Primal force!"

"We've got your backs! Trismegistis! Akasha Arts!"

"Your ass is finished! Guillotine Axe!"

"Fall before me! Burning Petals!"

Apollyon sat, unmoving, staring blankly.

"...As powerful as you are, you're still failures. I can see into your heart. You shouldn't be alive. You don't deserve it! Chidori deserved life more than you! Her sacrifice was pointless."

"..."

Junpei readied his evoker.

"Don't you dare bring her up! How dare you insult her!"

Junpei put it to his head.

"Trismegistus!" Trismegistus spawned and flew straight into Apollyon! Her unleashed a flurry of slashes on him!

"Ragnarok!"

Feeling Junpei's anger, Trismegistus did as told. A red ring formed under Apollyon, and fire engulfed him!

"Everything about you is fake Ariadine. Your emotions, your feelings, it's all just programming! You're nothing but a machine!"

"I may be a machine, but that means nothing. Everything I feel is real to me! I don't hafta prove anything to you!"

Labrys slashed her axe quickly multiple times! She pulled her axe back down and smashed it into Apollyon!

"Sumeo-okami. You have no feelings for Takehaya Susano-o. You took him as the next best thing. He's nothing compared to him."

"You don't know anything! Yosuke-kun already feels bad about himself! You have no right to belittle him, or question my feelings!"

Sumeo-okami unleashed a storm of petals on Apollyon! Apollyon looked at Yu, and said

"Pressure."

With that, his body vanished. Leaving only Shadow Yosuke and Shadow Teddie. Labrys woke up Teddie, and Yukiko woke up Yosuke.

"He's gone. We drove him back. At least for now. To think he was the Malevolent Entity..." Rise lamented.

"Go on guys."

"I sometimes hate everything. I feel like shit, like everyone barely puts up with me."

"One day, I might be alone again. Back where I started."

"I'm jealous of Yu, I told him that before. He's everything... I want to be..."

"I'm scared that one day, I'll mess up so bad that everyone will abandon me..."

"Get real Ted. If we were gonna leave you, we'd have done it a long time ago." said Kanji

"Yosuke. I had no idea you felt that way... I'm sorry..." said Chie.

"Teddie. When I got mad at you, I was upset because I had to fight the people important to me. And, I thought you were going to leave us. I wasn't just mad, I was also scared. I trust you and like you as much as anyone else."

Yukiko rubbed Teddie's head, and he had a pleased look on his face.

"Yosuke-kun, even if you can't see what's great about you, I can. I'll show you what's great about you. You and I both need to stop doubting ourselves so much."

Yukiko hugged Yosuke, and he started blushing.

The strength required to face one's self, and support one's friends has been made manifest. Teddie and Yosuke have obtained the facades used to overcome life's hardship, the personas Issun-boshi and Tsukoyomi! Yosuke and Teddie collapsed, tired.

"Aw, how cute!"

Everyone turned around to see something they never expected.

"And at any second, it can all come crashing down."

"S-Sensei's shadow!?"

"Impossible!" Naoto tried to explain. "Senpai's shadow is most likely either a collection of all his personas, or Izanagi! But Senpai was using Izanagi just a moment ago!"

"Then summon me Yu."

"Izanagi!"

All that came was a blank tarot card.

"Could this be another one of Apollyon's tricks?" asked Yukiko.

"Stop deluding yourselves. It's getting old."

"Could this really be Yu's shadow?" asked Chie.

"..."

"These guys are gonna get themselves killed."

Yu looked up in surprise.

"Did I strike a nerve?"

'Let's say you are my shadow, how did you revert."

"The answer, lies within you."

"...Pressure..."

"You knew what he was talking about. But whether you realized it or not, you ignored it. You denied it. And that's why I'm here."

"Pressure? What's he talking about Naru-kun?" Kotone asked.

"Allow me. Yu, respected and adored by many. But what would happen if they knew your secret."

"..."

"Every time you enter battle, someone could die. Under your leadership. Everyone would say it's not your fault, but everyone would know the truth! You failed as a leader! As the cool calm Senpai everyone loves and respects. They put their lives in your hands, and you failed them! But you hide your fear behind that emotionless facade. You know, that if anyone died, you'd never forgive yourself. The team would drift apart, and you'd be alone. To this day, you STILL blame yourself about Nanako. So. Much. Pressure."

"..."

"Yu..."

"So my partner was hurting too..."

"Playtime's over! Time to die!"

The shadow went berserk, and Yu fell unconscious. The shadow became Izanagi-no-okami with Magatsu Izanagi's color scheme. He had a 13 on his sword.

"I am a shadow, the darkness in your heart, and the breaker of bonds. All you dumbasses are gonna get yourselves killed! Allow me to do the honors."

"Oh crap!" Yosuke screamed. "What now!?"

Kotone spoke up. "Yukiko-chan, protect Yosuke-kun! Labrys-chan, protect Teddie! Kanji-kun, Na-chan, and Chie-chan, you're with me! Rise-chan, scan! Everyone else stay back and protect Naru-kun, Yosuke-kun, and Teddie!"

"Huh!? Um, right Kotone-chan!" said Chie.

"Yes sister!"

"I'm ready to kick some ass!"

Shadow Yu created a barrier

"You better be ready!"

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Short one this time, but I suppose it's better than nothing! Hope you enjoyed! Next time Shadow Yu! Maybe some of Kotone's social links too?