Teddie was in a corner, grabbing his head and shaking it back and forth slowly. I took out my glasses and put them on.
"What, it really is that bear from last time," remarked Chie.
"What're you doing?" asked Yosuke.
"Can't you tell? I'm thinking about stuff," Teddie replied sadly. Was he thinking about himself all this time? "I've been deli-bear-ating it for a long time now," he continued. "Hey, that wasn't a bad joke." He chuckled as Yosuke groaned.
"So did you figure anything out?" he inquired. "Eh, it's probably useless to think about it too much. I've seen the inside of your skull, and it was empty." Teddie stomped over to Yosuke and glared at him.
"How rude!" he exclaimed. "You're right, though. I try and try but nothing comes out of my head."
"Will you guys shut up!?" Chie yelled, waving her arms around. "Now's not the time for jokes! Listen… someone came here yesterday, right?"
"Wow! There's a girl with a better nose than me!?" exclaimed Teddie. "What's your name, Miss?"
"'Miss'?" Chie repeated, scratching her head. "Uh, I'm Chie. But never mind that! Tell me more about that 'someone'!"
"I think it happened a little after I talked with you guys," Teddie explained. "After that, it felt like someone was here."
"Is it Yukiko-san!?" Yosuke demanded.
"I don't know. I haven't looked," Teddie replied. He turned around and pointed. "The presence is over that way. That's probably where they are."
"Over there, huh?" Chie said. "Is everyone ready?"
"Yeah!" Yosuke answered. We ran to the destination as fast as we could.
"What the…? A castle!?" Chie exclaimed, gaping at the huge thing in front of us. "Y'think this is the place they showed on T.V. last time!?"
"Yeah," I said, studying the castle. It was brownish, and it looked like your everyday fairy tail castle.
"You're positive that no one's behind a camera for that bizarre midnight program?" Yosuke asked Teddie.
"'Program'? I don't know," Teddie replied. "Maybe people on your side can see stuff in this world. It might be like that. And I told you before! There's only me and Shadows here! There's no 'camera' stuff going on. This world has been like this from the beginning."
"'From the beginning'?" Yosuke repeated. "That's what we don't understand!"
"I dunno…. Can you guys explain everything about your world?" Teddie asked. "I've never seen this 'program' thingy before, so I don't know," he continued.
"Well is that really what's happening?" Chie asked. "Are we really looking into this world? Because the first time Yukiko showed up on the midnight channel was before she disappeared. Doesn't that seem off? I mean, Yukiko saying stuff like 'score myself a hot stud'? That's not like her at all!"
"'Score'? 'Stud'?" Teddie repeated, obviously confused. The others continued to talk about Yukiko on the Midnight Channel.
"I think that 'program' happens because of the person who appears on it. Or something like that," said Teddie.
"So Yukiko is producing that show herself?" Chie exclaimed. "I don't get this at all!"
"Do you feel her presence from inside?" I asked Teddie.
"I'm pretty sure," he replied. "So, um… what's this 'scoring with a hot stud' thing?"
"Yukiko's here…," Chie muttered, turning to the castle. "I'm going on ahead!"
"What!?" I yelled as she ran off.
"Hey, wait! Don't go alone!" Yosuke called after her. She ignored us. "Geez, we better follow her," he muttered.
"Yeah," I said.
"There's a lot of Shadows inside the castle…," Teddie muttered nervously. "Oh! I almost forgot! Here, take this." He handed me some Revival Beads, Peach Seeds, and Soul Drops. "Well, off you go," he said.
"Thanks, Teddie," I said. I faced the castle and took my sword out of the bag. I strapped it onto my back. "Let's do this." We charged in.
The inside was huge. The floor was checkered. On top of it was a red carpet.
"The Shadows got aggravated since you two went in!" Teddie yelled, cowering behind us. I sighed. "Uh, try to attack them before they do!" I nodded and looked at Yosuke.
"Who's gonna take point?" I asked.
"You are," he replied immediately.
"What!?" I exclaimed. I was not used to being in charge of things. I studied Yosuke's face and sighed. "Fine…." I mumbled. I ran down the hallway and pushed open the first door I saw. The double door was gold and about three times as tall as me and twice as wide as me. I unsheathed my sword and ran down the hallway.
It zig-zagged a bit and led us to another door. I pushed it open to find a room. In the center was a red rug the covered much of the room. There was a treasure chest in it. I opened it and grabbed the thing inside it. A Snuff Soul.
We ran out and continued down the hall, opening doors.
In one room, we saw a black blob thing, most likely a Shadow.
"Let's get it," whispered Yosuke. I nodded and ran into the room, striking the Shadow from behind. A huge puff of black smoke exploded from it. The smoke cleared, revealing three Shadows. What? I swear there was only one! They were the sphere things with mouths. Only this time, they were white. I ran around and struck the one on the left. It recoiled, then attacked me. Jumping back, I used Zio on it. It dodged it and struck me. I somehow parried its tongue and countered it. The Shadow rushed at me and hit me with its tongue really hard. I fell back and landed on my ass. I quickly summoned Izanagi and used Zio. This time, it struck the Shadow, making it fall down. I quickly got up and attacked it until it disappeared in a puff of smoke. Yosuke destroyed the other one. I used Zio on the last one and if fell down.
"Let's do this!" I yelled, charging the Shadow. Yosuke ran in with me, and we attacked the monster. A few seconds later, it disappeared in a puff of smoke. I smiled, satisfied. "A successful first battle!" I exclaimed.
"Yeah!" Yosuke agreed, fist pumping. Suddenly, tarot cards appeared in front of my eyes. I heard Igor's voice echo in my head.
When you defeat an enemy, the seeds of possibility you attain will appear before you as cards, he said. At times, they may be hard to grasp, but you must master your fear and reach out to them. The cards stopped swirling around and settled in front of me and flipped over. One was a Persona that looked like a slime. The other one had a picture on it. An eye was at the bottom, under a lantern thing. There was a Roman numeral under the eye: IX. I chose the slime thing, knowing that I needed to fill out the Persona Compendium or whatever it was. I felt Slime (the Persona) enter my heart area. The cards disappeared.
I felt something different. I searched through my Personas and saw that Izanagi learned Rakunda, a defense-lowering spell.
Yosuke was staring at me.
"You all right?" he asked, coming closer to me.
"I'm fine," I said. "Why?"
"You were just staring into space or something."
"Oh… uh… it was… some weird thing. Nothing to worry about," I assured him. "Let's go."
We went up the stairs we found in a room.
The second floor had a door right in front of us. We walked up to the door.
"There she is!" Teddie exclaimed. "Chie-san is in there!" I breathed deeply, calmed my nerves, and pushed open the door.
It was a gigantic room. There was a huge red square carpet in the middle. Chie stood there, not moving.
"Chie! Are you all right!?" Yosuke called as we ran up to her. She didn't respond. "Chie?"
"She said that red looks good on me…." Yukiko's voice echoed throughout the room.
"Yukiko-san!?" Yosuke yelled, looking around.
"I hated my name," the voice continued. "Yukiko… 'Snow'…. Snow is cold and it melts quickly. It's transient…. Worthless. But it's perfect for me…. Apart from inheriting the inn, I'm worthless. Still, Chie told me that red looks good on me."
"Are these… Yukiko-san's inner thoughts?" Yosuke asked. "I remember hearing Saki-senpai's, too…."
"Yeah," Teddie said. "This castle is probably here because of this Yukiko person."
"Yukiko…," muttered Chie.
"Chie was the only one who gave my life meaning," Yukiko's voice said. "She's bright and strong, and she can do anything…. She has everything that I don't. Compared to Chie, I'm… I'm…. Chie protects me… she looks after my worthless life. And I… I don't deserve any of it. Chie is so kind…."
"Yukiko, I…," Chie whispered, her face contorted in pain.
"'Chie is so kind,' huh? What a joke," another voice said. It sounded like Chie's with a deep undertone.
"What!?" exclaimed Chie, stepping back. Another Chie stepped out of the shadows. She was surrounded with a dark aura, much like the Shadow Yosuke.
"Oh man… is that…!?" Yosuke said. I unsheathed my sword, ready for the worst.
"It's just like Yosuke!" Teddie yelled. "She lost control over her suppressed self! Now it's a Shadow!" Shadow Chie chortled.
"Are we talking about that Yukiko!?" she laughed. "She says I'm protecting her!? She says she's worthless." She laughed. "That's how it should be, right?"
"What're you saying!?" Chie yelled.
"Yukiko's soooooooo good looking… sooooo fair-skinned… sooooo feminine. She's the one all the guys drool over. When Yukiko looked at me with such jealously… man did I get a charge out of that. Yukiko knows the score. She can't do anything if I'm not around. I'm better than her. Much, much better!"
"No! I have never thought that!" Chie yelled, glaring at the Shadow.
"What're we gonna do?" Yosuke asked, getting his knives ready.
"We need to protect Chie," I said, staring intently at her and her Shadow.
"Yeah!" Teddie agreed. We ran closer to her.
"No, don't come near me! Don't look at me!" Chie ordered unsuccessfully.
"Chie, calm down!" Yosuke yelled.
"No, no! This isn't me!" she shouted.
"Wait, stupid! Don't say anything else like that!" he shouted back. All the while, the Shadow looked on with a smile on her face. She laughed.
"That's right," she said. "I'm the one who can't do anything alone. I can't win as a girl, let alone as a person. I'm pathetic. But Yukiko… she depends on me. That's why she's my friend. I'll never loosen my grip on her. She's too important to me."
"No! That's not how I think of her!" Chie protested. Shadow Chie chuckled.
"So you're just gonna turn your back and deny me again?" she asked, smiling creepily. But things are different now. When the time comes, I'll be the one left standing. You won't mind, right? I'm still you!"
"Shut up!" Chie yelled. "You're…"
"Chie, no!" Yosuke shouted.
"You're not me!" she screamed. Shadow Chie laughed evilly. The aura around her turned black and black stuff flooded into her. After everything cleared, revealing a woman in a banana mask. She had tall yellow boots on. She sat on top of girls. Her black hair was suuuper long. In her hand was a whip. Chie cried out.
"Chie!" Yosuke yelled.
"It's coming! You have to use your powers to save Chie-chan!" Teddie yelled. I ran backwards, away from the Shadow.
"I am a Shadow… the true self!" Shadow Chie yelled. She cracked her whip. "What do you guys think you're doing? Trying to defend the 'real' me!? Then you're gonna pay the price!"
"Shut up!" Yosuke shouted, running around her. "Quite being such a pain! Chie, just hand in there a little longer!"
"Hah! Think you can stop me that easy!?" Shadow Chie taunted. I summoned Izanagi and used Rakunda on her. A small purple sphere shrunk on the Shadow and disappeared. A small green tornado formed where she was and vanished. She fell down. Yosuke and I charged at her, slashing repeatedly. I backed away, motioning Yosuke to do the same. Shadow Chie got up and yelled, "Looks like you won't understand without a little pain!" She used Mazio (the multi-target electricity spell. Hits all enemies). I dodged it, but Yosuke got hit, and fell down. The Shadow whipped Yosuke, and he cried out in agony. I ran towards him and helped him up. As I did that, Shadow Chie made a green shield thingy and it disappeared. Izanagi flew to the Shadow and slashed at her. Yosuke used Garu (the wind spell) again, but to no avail. She didn't fall down. She laughed.
"How lame!" she taunted. "You're all so deadly serious, and we've only gotten started!" She used Mabufu (a multi-target ice spell). An ice cube about the size of my chest formed and broke, forcing me back. Yosuke used Dia (a healing spell) on me, and I felt a little better.
"Thanks!" I called as I charged towards the Shadow. She whipped the ground in front of me, forcing me to stop. Izanagi rushed in and attacked her, slashing at her face. While she was blinded, I decided to switch Personas. A tarot card appeared in my hand as Izanagi faded. I flipped it over and the card disappeared.
"Slime!" I yelled, smashing the tarot card.
"What!?" Yosuke exclaimed. "You can use more than one Persona!? No fair!"
I ran up to the Shadow. It appeared in front of me and used smashed into Shadow Chie. She recoiled and I used that instant to attack her. I slashed at her a few times, cutting part of her hair and boot. I jumped back as Yosuke ran in, using Garu. Then his Persona, Jiraiya, attacked her face. I switched Personas again, back to Izanagi. I used Zio and she fell, black smoke flooding out from her. When the smoke cleared, we saw a girl laying on the floor.
We ran to Chie. She slowly got up, groaning.
"Chie! Are you okay!?" Yosuke asked worriedly.
"What happened?" she asked. She looked up and saw her other self. Shadow Chie was standing now. "What's the matter? Got nothing to say anymore?"
"Stop it, Chie. It's all right," Yosuke said. Chie turned to us.
"But," she began.
"Everyone's like that," I said patiently. "We all have another side that we don't want people to see."
"Everyone…?" she repeated quietly.
"She's right…. I went through the same thing," Yosuke muttered. "So I can understand. I mean… everyone has a side like this." Chie turned around and walked up to her Shadow. I sheathed my sword.
"Yeah… I kinda get it now," she said. "You are me…. A side of me I couldn't forgive. That I tried to ignore. But you still exist. You're a part of me." Shadow Chie nodded and turned into a Persona. It wore a tight yellow shirt and pants. Around its waist is some kind of armor. It had a helmet on, the top of it really long. Its long black hair flowed out from under the helmet. In its hand was a naginata.
The Persona disappeared and the fire flowed into Chie's heart. We walked to Chie.
"I…. Um, it's true that part of me feels that way," Chie admitted. "But I wasn't lying about being friends with Yukiko!"
"Like we didn't know that already," Yosuke said. Chie fell on her knees.
"Chie!" I cried out.
"I'm okay… just a little tired," she muttered.
"'A little'?" I asked, kneeling next to her. I slung her arm around my neck and stood up, bringing her with me.
"You don't look okay at all," remarked Yosuke. "And I bet… you can use the same power we have now."
"Huh?" she asked, looking at Yosuke.
"What should we do?" he asked, glancing at me.
"We should go back," I said.
"I agree. We need to let Chie rest," he said.
"I never said I needed a break!" protested Chie. "I can still keep going." She started for the door, taking her arm off of my neck.
"No you can't," I said curtly, sighing.
"Don't overdo it!" Teddie yelled, blocking her path.
"It's not that we don't think you can," Yosuke explained. "It's just—we have to save Yukiko-san no matter what. Now that you have the power, you can fight with us. It'd be much better for us all if you had your strength back. That's why we're saying we should go back and regroup."
"But Yukiko's still in here, isn't she!?" Chie cried. "If those were Yukiko's true feelings… then I have to tell her something. I'm not as strong as she thinks! It's because she was with me. Because we were always together, I was able to act the way. If we weren't, I'd…."
"Well, you need to get your strength back!" Teddie said. "Then you can tell her! Yuki-chan's normal. The Shadows don't attack normal people. They only when the fog lifts here."
"So Yukiko-san will be safe until then, right?" Yosuke asked.
"I'm positive!" he replied.
"Why? I don't get it," Chie said bluntly.
"Teddie told us that the weather here is the opposite of our own world," Yosuke explained. "When if fogs over in our world…. That's the day it lifts here, and that's when the Shadows attack their victim. So even if we leave for a while, Yukiko-san won't be in danger until the fog starts to cover Inaba. I'm sure of it. It was the same way for that announcer and Senpai."
"You mean, they were killed by their other selves?" she asked.
"The fog usually appears after it rains," he said. "But it's been sunny lately. I don't think it's going to rain anytime soon. Don't worry so much. We'll check the weather forecast first thing when we get back."
"But I can't turn back now!" Chie protested. "We've come so far!" I sighed, exasperated. "Yukiko's still here! She's all alone…. She must be so scared!"
"God dang it, Chie!" I yelled, feeling impatient and slightly angry. "If we go now, we'll all die! You can barely move and Yosuke and I had to fight that huge Shadow! We're all exhausted! If we're gonna go, then tell me how much further we gotta go to reach Yukiko-san!"
"Th-that's…!" Chie began.
"GOD!" I shouted. I stomped off, away from Chie. I took deep breaths, trying to get my anger under control. Yosuke talked to Chie for a bit.
"Hey Misaki!" Yosuke called, and waved me over. I walked over to them.
"I'm sorry about before," Chie apologized. "I shouldn't have rushed in like that by myself." I sighed and gave her a small smile.
"Let's go together next time, then," I said.
"No worries," Yosuke said. "We're definitely gonna save Yukiko-san, right?"
"Right!" agreed Chie. We went back to the entrance.
"I'm feeling even worse than the last time I came in here," Chie complained. "My head feels like it's gonna split open. Are you guys okay?" I grinned.
"It's thanks to these," I said, pointing to my glasses. Speaking of which, they start to hurt. I took mine off.
"That's right, you're not wearing the glasses," Yosuke said. Chie stared at them.
"Oh yeah… what's with those glasses?" she asked. "Did your eyesight go bad?"
"Man, you didn't notice until now? How panicked were you?" Yosuke asked.
"Tum de dummm!" Teddie sang. "I got a pair ready for Chie-chan, too. Here you go!" He handed her a pair. They were yellow and kinda rounded. And like all of the glasses he'd made, it had the rainbow strip on the side.
"Whoa!" she exclaimed, looking around. "This is awesome! It's like the fog doesn't exist!"
"Why didn't you whip those out earlier if you had them?" inquired Yosuke.
"I made them right now!" Teddie explained impatiently. "You didn't tell me she was coming! It was all so sadden! I mean, sudden!"
"Wait," I said. "You made them just now!?" He nodded. How did he make them so fast?
"Huh, so that's the trick," Chie mused. "I was wondering how you guys could see where you were going. Hey is it alright if I keep these?"
"Fo' sho!" Teddie replied happily.
"We'll have to stop here today, but I'll be back with these puppies," Chie said. "You guys better not come here without me, got it!?"
"Yeah, let's all promise each other," Yosuke said. "Nobody goes in alone. It's way too dangerous. If we don't work together, we won't be able to solve this case or save Yukiko-san, right?"
"Yeah, you're right," I agreed. I'm a cooperative person, so I really like teamwork.
"Yeah, I agree," Chie said. "I promise, too."
"Let's solve the case, then!" I yelled, fist pumping.
"Alright, so from tomorrow on, we'll try and come here as much as we can after school. And that includes days off," Yosuke said. "Misaki-chan… would you mind being our leader?"
"What!?" I exclaimed in disbelief.
"You were the first to get this power," he explained, "and you're way better in a fight than either of us. I think it's best for all of us if you set the pace of the investigation, and we follow your lead. I'm cool playing second banana." I hesitated for a while.
"…. Okay," I finally replied. "But you guys are gonna have to help me, got it? I'm not made to be a leader, so if I do something wrong, get me back on track, okay?"
"Got it," he replied. "We're counting on you, Misaki-chan. I mean, I'm more the advisor type, y'know? An ideas man, not an executive."
"I'm with Yosuke," Chie said. "If you're the one calling the shots, I'd feel a lot more comfortable about this."
"I'm with Yosuke too," Teddie said. "If you're the one calling the shots, my pillow will be a lot more comfortable at night."
"Teddie, would you please stop talking?" Chie said. "I'm really on edge right now."
"Guys," I said seriously. "I'm more of a follower than a leader. I know for a fact that I'll screw up somewhere. You guys better keep an eye on me, you hear? I don't want to mess things up." They all nodded.
Everything stopped. A card appeared in front of me and flipped over, showing a silhouette of a man walking with a dog. The man was holding a stick with a bag at the end of it.
Thou art I... and I am thou...
Thou has established a new bond.
It brings thee closer to the truth.
Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Fool Arcana.
Everything came back to life.
"Okay," Yosuke said, as if nothing happened. "Let's get some rest for today so we're ready for tomorrow on. And don't forget to check the weather forecast. It gets foggy after a lot of rain, so let's keep an eye out. Also, let's make sure we gear up for next time."
"Seems like Yosuke's the one calling the shots, not me," I muttered. Yosuke heard me.
"Oh. Sorry," he apologized, chuckling. We went out of the T.V. and went home.
I sat at the coffee table, eating dinner with Dojima and Nanako. Dojima was quiet, with a stern expression on his face.
"Hey," he muttered. "Mind if I ask you something? You aren't getting involved with any strange business, are you…? What happened at the station this afternoon… it's still bothering me. Is there… anything you're not telling me?"
"It's nothing important," I replied. I immediately felt guilty. I hated lying to my uncle… but I had no choice. He won't believe any of it.
"I'll be the judge of that," he said. "Well, it's just been nagging at me, that's all."
"What's wrong?" Nanako asked, looking worried. "Are you fighting?"
"No… we're not having a fight," Dojima said.
"This isn't the police station," his daughter said.
"I agreed to look after you," he said. "So don't get yourself involved in anything that could get you into trouble. Got that?" I nodded.
The weather was on. It seems that it's gonna be sunny for a while. We continued eating our dinner. After we finished, I went over to the refrigerator, looking for a snack. There was some fried rice. I stared at it. I decided to eat it. It tasted like nothing. After that, I went into my room. I was about to go to bed when Nanako called me.
"The phone!" she called. I went back downstairs.
"It's me, Morooka," said the man on the other side. I tried not to groan. "I have something that I've prepared just for you. I was going to deliver it to your house, but the situation's changed. I need you to come pick it up."
"So…. Uh… where are you?" I asked hesitantly.
"Er, where am I? I was getting to that!" he yelled. I moved the phone away from my ear. "I am in the front of the gas station at the shopping district. You got that? Now hurry up and come pick it up!" He hung up. I sighed and talked to Dojima about it and he let me go. I hurried to the designated place.
King Moron was yelling at a female student. I waited until they were finished. And walked up to him. He gave me the Yasogami High Jersey. I hurried back home.
I told Dojima what happened quickly and went to bed, feeling really tired from the day in the T.V.
A/N: Yay! First dungeon! My friend kept pestering me to upload the new chapter. *sigh* Well here it is! Hope you enjoyed it and feel free to critique me at any time! :D