(The piano, I forgot to mention, was a reference to the song .59. I don't know if I can make use of that for anyone else... Devil Zukin, Emi, and Alice are the only characters with songs I can deem their theme songs.
Two chapters merged together here... great, now my whole count is off :P)
"What... are you?" Devil Zukin asked, confused and fearful.
"What do I look like?" the Shadow asked. "Oh... well I look human, but no one really knows what I am. I don't even know."
You saw that her fear become more evident. You told her that it was her Shadow, but you couldn't say any more words because the copy continued.
"I came here because I wanted to save my precious Rage-sama," she said. "I came here because I want to make him mine. I tricked Souji into coming in so that he would take me. And now, Rage-sama will see how important I am to him, how much he matters to me, and then he'll leave Emi for me!"
That explained so much to you, but you didn't have much time to sink in the information. You were concerned over your ally's shock.
"I..." Zukin mumbled. You tried to calm her down, elaborating that this sort of thing happens to most people who enter this world. You told her it was just another side of her.
"I can't believe this," she said.
"Believe what you see before you," the copy said. "Or do you not believe I'm real? You hardly believe in your own existence as it is."
She gritted her teeth.
"If I'm not human, I may never age," the Shadow said, "Rage will die and I'll be alone for the rest of my life. No, I will just have to find another person to leech from... another person to cling to. All I want is to be in love with someone, to know what it's like... in time, it won't even matter who it is."
"N-no," the original muttered, "I... I want to belong to Rage-sama."
"No," the other one interrupted, "you want him to belong to you. You want to control him... taking him from Emi's arms would just prove that you can do just that."
"No!" she screamed. "I would never use Rage-sama like that! I look up to him!"
You gulped. You knew what was coming...
"You're not me!"
The demonic bat girl grinned... and the black aura you hadn't seen in a year circled around her.
"Then I'll get rid of you," she shouted with excitement, "and I'll make Rage mine!"
The first Zukin fell to her knees as the monster transformed behind the aura. The Shadow closely resembled Devil Zukin, but was larger and wore an outfit with two pentagrams: one on her forehead and one on her chest. Her skirt was purple plaid and her shirt was a dark magenta. Her fangs that were small yesterday were menacing and long at that point, and her entire eyes glowed red. She possessed a scythe... and you did not want to get sliced by that.
You wondered... which Personas would you rely on? Your very first Personas had disappeared from your memory, but thanks to your friends, you possessed the ultimate powers of each arcana somewhere in your soul. You pondered... the link that your friends created as your team was first forming... the one that gave power to the Fool Personas. You summoned, then, the ultimate Persona...
Loki...
You reached out your hand and a card formed. The card shattered before you and the dark winged creature was summoned to protect you.
Which was good, because you remembered that you still didn't bring any weapons.
You stretched out your right hand and Loki copied your move. The demon ally had cast an ice spell on Zukin's Shadow; you remembered it as Bufudyne. A block of ice formed around Shadow Zukin, but she broke free from it. She attempted to cut Loki's arm in half, but he countered her attack with one of his own.
Her movements became wild; she started swinging an array of scythe moves at your protector, and he was only able to block them. When one hit dug into his arm, he pulled the blade out and tried to shove her back.
You tried again to use an ice attack, but you gave him more spirit power this time...
Before your eyes, Shadow Zukin was frozen in a wall of ice. You had remembered how to use the ultimate ice move: Niflheim. This froze her solid and she was unable to move. Loki returned to your card, and the card disappeared back into your body. While you waited for the Shadow to thaw, you ran up to Devil Zukin.
"What... just happened?" she said.
You tried to explain, again, that the Shadow was born from part of her heart... the part that she refused to face. The only way to avoid being attacked by it is to accept her other side, so that she could become one with it.
You could see her struggling to accept its previous words. She frowned and walked to the slowly melting ice wall.
When the real Zukin met the foot of the iceberg, she kicked it a few times. Cracks began to form in the melted ice and it shattered. The Shadow landed on the ground and slowly got up.
"All right," Zukin began, "I get it. I'm confused... I want to control my future but I can't do that without even knowing my past. Everything you said was something I wanted to say... you're me."
The Shadow nodded and floated in midair. The demon was swallowed in a pale cloud, and then she transformed into a slim woman in a black suit. Her lower garment as made of white fur, and her skin transitioned from pale white to black. She had long claws, but she looked gentle to you. Her eyes were shut and she had large bat ears that stuck out from underneath her dark hair. There was a chakra on her forehead that shifted different hues of red.
The being turned into a glowing card that floated downward. Zukin held out her right hand and caught it as it gently faded before her and seeped into her body.
Her knees began to shake, and you rushed by her side and asked her if she was all right. You supported her by holding one of her arms, and she seemed to be able to stand.
"Ouze..." she muttered, ignoring your concern. "Yes... that is her name," she said softly. She tried to walk, but she wobbled a little. She tried to breathe deeply and rest without falling on the floor. "I... want to say sorry," she told you, "I did suspect you, but... as you know, the main reason I pulled you in here was be...cause..."
You asked again if she would be okay, having not got a response before.
"I'll be all right in a moment," she told you. "But... I should confess, I forced you in here so you would take me to Rage-sama. I don't want to believe you're the killer... I just want to save him, and I needed your help to do that."
You told her it was all right. You agreed to rescue Rage and you asked if you could count on her as well. She had an important role in finding him, and you wouldn't be able to get to him without her.
"I will do what I can," she confirmed. "Shall we proceed?"
You made sure she was able to walk before letting your mind wander. Then you had to ask her... what kind of Persona did she obtain, anyway?
Ouze revealed herself and appeared behind Zukin. She placed her long, delicate claws on the sides of Zukin's head, and Zukin felt the hands with her mittens. Ouze's ears twitched, and you could feel a resonance around the room. You assumed that the Persona was trying to sense the direction of Rage.
Ouze disappeared and Zukin lowered her arms. "I think I can better sense Rage's presence," Zukin told you. "Please follow me."
She was fast, but you assumed she was keeping your speed in mind this time. She led you through the halls, not taking as many wrong directions as before. You felt you were going on the right path the entire way.
Upon opening a door three floors higher, a monster ambushed you from behind. It knocked you to the ground, and you turned around to see what it was.
The monster was a small red octopus with glowing yellow eyes. Devil Zukin came back to your rescue and kicked it into oblivion, much like Chie probably would've done.
"I wonder if there are more of these," she said.
Coincidentally, more monsters had spawned.
As another octopus attached itself to your back, you turned around and noticed a larger one that led an army. You looked to Zukin for aid, but you doubted her Persona was fit for combat.
"Thunder..." she mumbled, staring blankly at the octopi. "Use thunder on them."
You pondered the Personas you had buried in the depths of your soul, and tried to find one with electric powers...
Odin...
You called the highest Persona of the Emperor arcana who, upon summoning, cast the spell Maziodyne across the room. One by one, the different-sized octopi dropped and faded away in individual purple clouds. The giant one still had power left, but Zukin made an effort to fight it physically. A few punches and kicks later, it faded into a cloud as well.
She panted. Surely, you thought, fighting a monster fit for a Persona would exhaust her. You asked again if she was all right.
"I can keep going," she said. "We don't know how long my spell will last on you. We should hurry."
You didn't want to push her, but you could tell that you were getting tired, too, and you wondered how much longer the two of you could fight in this dungeon.
You two ran through two more levels of stairs and floors. Along the way were not only more octopi (who were oddly skilled in martial arts the higher you got), but a few persistent humanoid beings that tried to strike you with broken glass bottles. Odin managed to hold most of them off, but the sight of the drunken monsters made you wonder what was going through Rage's mind. Your spirit power was running low and your health was deteriorating as well. After another set of stairs, Zukin's ears twitched excitedly.
"I... I can feel him!" she shouted. "He's behind that door!"
But you knew the two of you were in no condition to fight. Without a powerful Persona from Zukin, you would be taking on Rage's Shadow just from your remaining spirit power, and you deemed that impossible. You told her not to go forward.
"But... we're so close, Souji," she said. Her expression changed. "Your eyes..."
You blinked in response, worried.
"The red in your eyes is fading," she said sadly. You felt some (yet little) sympathy from her; she was probably thinking more of the man behind the door than of you. Nevertheless, it was valid proof that you needed to get out of the dungeon.
"Your eyes were still a bright red," she began, "until about the fourth floor. I didn't want to say anything because it was acting slowly, but it seems as your power depleted, the gray of your eyes returned." She lowered her head.
There was a glowing portal nearby with a floating butterfly; you remembered it from your past adventure. You told her that you would be able to come back here tomorrow, without having to go past all the monsters again.
"Tomorrow?" she asked sadly. "Will he still be all right?"
You gave her your word. You could feel that she was starting to believe you a little.
She nodded obediently. "So far, you haven't wronged me... I will trust you."
You almost sensed another link, but your headache increased. You gritted your teeth and made your way to the portal via the glowing point. Zukin followed you closely.
-.
Back in the first room with the TV set, you looked for an exit. You didn't see anything on the ground, or at least nothing the visible from where you stood. Zukin had taken to the air, or so you assumed when she was missing. Shortly after noticing this, she came down, holding a seemingly weightless screen that hung from a cord. You assumed the cord reached the ceiling, though you couldn't see it.
"This appears to be the way we came," she said. "Do you think so?"
You nodded, though you definitely had no idea what the entrance looked like. You were willing to try it anyway, so you grabbed Zukin's hand and pulled her through the mysterious screen...
The portal took you to where Yuni's TV first led you. You wobbled around for a step or two as you got used to the change in surroundings. You relaxed as the static stopped ringing in your ears. Curious, you looked around the room for something reflective. There was a window to your far left, and walked up to it to get a look at your eyes, which were their normal shade of gray.
"I see then," Zukin said, "that my power is only temporary, and when your eyes return to their normal state, it's gone. Perhaps we will need a more efficient method to navigate the world..."
If there was no other way, she would have to give you a headache each time you entered the other world... you frowned. At least the pain from the static of the other world was gone by now. Yet you were still exhausted. You told her you would come back tomorrow.
She bowed. "I thank you for what you did today." You saw something odd about her expression... the once frightening demon was giving you a warm smile.
Before you knew it, another link had been formed. In a split second, her ruby eyes pierced into your gray ones, and you could feel her sincerity and trust. You smiled back at her.
You remembered something... you wouldn't be able to fight well against the Shadows without a weapon. You asked her if she could find one for you, preferably a sword because you knew how to wield one.
"I don't suppose you can use a gun well," she said, rather quietly. "I will see what I can find. You do not need to find weapons on your own. See you tomorrow."
You bid her goodbye.