Chapter 10
I am butchering dialogue, battles, and s-links to get the novel version respectable. I can make characters more cynical, mean, out of character, and amusing. My character is "special" personality-wise.
I own nothing, not SMT, nor Persona 4.
This is the stripytease. I'm getting complaints that Souji is too mean. He's getting better slowly, and he just has a friendly rivalry with people. I just think it's slightly amusing to sometimes act out the one way you can not in the game and still max out the slinks. Anyways, if you're worrying about the pairings… they'll start really matching them up in about 2 chapters or so. One more thing, if you're wondering why I'm putting them up so fast. It's because I've already written 21 chapters or so, and I just have to configure them and make them look decent. So… Auf Wiedersehen
Since Souji was left with finding clues for the bear, he had to know where to start. Souji would rather have someone else do it, but he was the leader. "Stupid shit. I always have to do this," he thought, "Next time… Rion's finding him/her."
He knew he had to find someone who was a huge fan of Rise or Risette. Where better to look for a clue than Yasogami High. She is our age after all. After searching and talking to some random students, he found some fat slob who seemed to be a Risette fan. A huge Risette fan.
"What do you know of Rise Kujikawa?" Souji asked.
"Risette?" the chubby boy responded, "I'm her biggest fan! I'm like a diehard Risette fan! You are too? Uh… no, huh?" Souji had shaken his head. The chubby kid had continued, "Well, ask me anything you want to know! A real Risette fan like me should be able to give you the minutest details."
"No wonder she wanted a fucking break…," Souji thought. Souji asked, "Why do you think she bugged out? I mean… What has she been up to recently?"
"Oh, you want like a status update?" the boy responded, "Well, nothing's bigger than bomb she dropped about taking time off for some R & R."
"Well, yeah," Souji said, "Everyone knows about that."
"Her blog may have some hints about why, but… well, there are a lot of theories out there. vAs a fan, I'm devastated. But, I guess there's not much I can do about it. "
"Thanks," Souji gave his gratitude.
"If you want more up-to-the-minute info, shouldn't you be asking some in the media or something?"
"I'll try that," Souji told the kid.
"Maybe, I'll try and send a letter through her fan club. Heh, I wonder if those will even reach her now?" the boy said.
"I doubt it," as Souji started backing away as he was now creeped out. He wanted to leave before he passed out anyways. He did not think the kid showered.
He seemed that Rise was really busy and he called Rion to tell him what happened.
"Yeah, go find a reporter, photographer, or some sort of paparazzi," Rion suggested.
Souji hung up the phone and began looking for a photographer. Rion seemed to put another thing in his head, "I have too many things to think about," Rion had said.
"No one really knows what he is thinking about," Souji said to himself.
Souji had talked to Rise's grandmother who told him to look for a "papa rat", which must have meant paparazzi.
"The people in the district try their best to get rid of them, but they keep coming back," she said, "One's often at the riverbank."
"Thanks," Souji replied.
He went to the floodplain to flush out the paparazzi. He was going to get the guy and wring out the information he had.
A kindly old man told him that she seemed different on TV.
"Thanks…," Souji said.
"You're welcome," the man said.
"That was a little useful," Souji thought as he left. He soon found out that the photographer wasn't around, and wasn't going to be around until the next day from a man who had scared the paparazzi away.
The next day after flushing out the photographer he decided to bug him again. He asked a "papa rat" about Rise Kujikawa.
"How's it going?" he asked.
"I'm looking for information about Rise," Souji answered.
"Oh… So, you are looking for information about Rise Kujikawa too?"
"Yeah," Souji nodded.
"How about this? We'll exchange information, you tell me what you know, and I'll tell you what I know," the photographer asked.
"Fair enough," Souji agreed.
"The people in the shopping district are making it hard for me to do any information gathering," the paparazzo replied.
"You are invading on their privacy, but we'll trade information," Souji chided him. Souji told him, "I think she's stressed out, for some unknown reasons."
"She's stressed, huh? I guess that's what it is, then," the photographer said, "You see, I've been trying to find the reason behind this shocking hiatus. And the most convincing thing of I've heard is that Risette got tired of her made-up personality."
"That would make perfect sense," Souji told him. He thought, "That's what Risette is, after all."
"Her identity as an idol, as opposed to how she normally is. She couldn't stand living two different lives. That sounds about right. Well, you didn't give me anything new, but thanks for the information. I can at least turn this into something," the guy said.
"She seems different on TV, too," Souji said.
"As I thought," the photographer said, "To be honest, I did a little digging into her private life."
"A little creepy," Souji thought.
"I was surprised to find that she's totally different than on TV. You'd never recognize her in real life," the guy said.
"It was pretty interesting meeting her up close," Souji said.
"Honestly, though, when you think of an idol you should honestly just assume manufactured personality, too," the photographer said.
"We already caught one trying to sneak into her room," Souji said.
"That's just going too far," the paparazzo admitted.
"It's nice to see that all of you aren't like that," Souji nodded.
"Thanks," the photographer said.
It looks like Rise was playing two roles. A real-life role, and the one that TV wanted her to. She was worried about both of her lives.
Souji called Yosuke.
"Yosuke, bring the group to Junes, we're going in," Souji told him.
"Right, I'll call them up and we'll meet you there," Yosuke responded.
They all met up at the sheltered bench at Junes. It was nice when it was raining, so they didn't have to get wet. Souji liked it because it was getting crowded. Especially cause they kept getting more and more members.
"So, what's the idea?" Chie asked.
"Well, we completely failed, again," Yukiko told the group, "We knew who it was, and we messed up."
"We just gotta go in and save her," Kanji replied.
"Right," Souji said, "I think we know enough now for Teddie to find her."
"Man, the Midnight Channel is a mess now," Yosuke said.
Rion looked around, "That's why we will need to rescue her in a timely manner."
"Yosuke!" Chie exclaimed, "You better not slack off, hoping she'll bare it all if we take our sweet time."
Souji didn't doubt that Yosuke would do it either.
"I wouldn't pull a stunt like that!" Yosuke yelled.
Souji chuckled, "I don't know, I could see you doing something like that."
Everyone else was quiet, "What's with the silent treatment?" Yosuke asked, "I won't do it, I swear!"
Rion wasn't giving Yosuke the silent treatment. He was just deep in thought again, "Some of the clues don't even add up. It'll be enough to find the place, and to fight the Shadow, but… eventually."
"Let's go into the TV, guys," Souji said.
At the world of the dead… no the TV world, he looked at Teddie who looked happier to see Souji and the others again.
"Hey, Sensei! You look like you found some clues!" the bear said.
He went over to talk to the bear, and Teddie said, "Did you find out more about this girl, Rise-chan?"
"Here's what we know," Souji said as he relayed the information to Teddie. The stress, the differences, and the worrying that Rise seemed to have.
"Hmhm… Her real self… I see, so she's just like me. The delicate, sentimental type. Then… Hrmm… Whaa! There's something out there! Is this it? Did I find her? Follow me!" Teddie pointed off behind him. He had freaked out as soon he had started sniffing. It must have been some good clues.
"Let's go everyone," Souji said. He shifted the sword in his back. It was much harder to hide it now that they were wearing their summer outfits.
"Right!" Yosuke said. It was easier to hide kunai. Of course, he was using larger knives now, and Souji did not know where he hid those.
The group trudged off after Teddie, southward and beyond. It was dark as they entered with only a small purplish glow surrounding them.
"What is this place? It's all dark?" Chie asked.
"Given from the show on the Midnight Channel, and the darkness; I have a pretty good idea, and it isn't a good one," Rion told them as his sword on his waist was shifted around his back.
The lights turned on suddenly and there were a bunch of velvet-covered lounges with a stage up front. The floor was magenta and it was quite the risqué place.
"Oh, you got to be shittin' me," Souji thought as he realized what the place was. He put two plus two together with what Midnight Channel showed.
There were glowing lights at the top of the stage and covered curtains to the left and the right.
"I'm surprised there isn't a pole," Rion muttered.
"Rion!" Yukiko yelled. She tried to hit him, but was surprised to see that she missed.
"Figures," Souji thought.
"Whoa? Is this a…?" Chie was bewildered.
"It's exactly what you think it is, Chie," Rion said.
"A strip joint," Souji said.
"Oh, like the kind you always find in resort towns?" Yosuke said.
"Ah, I think you're right," Yukiko replied, "Oh… but we don't have one. Our inn is not like that," Yukiko was shaking her head profusely.
"That's good to know," Souji said. He was thinking, "Though… if…"
"Huh? So this is a strip joint, eh?" Kanji asked.
"That would seem to be the case," Rion said.
"Strip?" Teddie asked, "Aha! I know what that is! It's the thing that zebras have, right?"
"….," Chie said. She was not amused.
"Strip… Like a zebra, right? Right?"
"It's so bright here. Even with my glasses on, my eyes hurt," Yukiko complained, ignoring Teddie.
"I agree… How about you, Kanji? You are wearing sunglasses," Rion said, also ignoring Teddie. Souji knew that Rion would ignore Teddie's jokes no matter what.
"It still bugs me a little," Kanji replied, ignoring Teddie as well.
"Doesn't anyone get the joke? Okay, let's try it one more time!" Teddie was desperate for attention, "Strip… It's something zebras have."
"Give it a rest, man," Souji said as Chie asked, "Can anyone shut this thing up?"
"Huh? Zebra? Sorry, what are we talking about?" Yukiko asked as she turned towards Teddie. The one person to shut the thing up, did so.
"I won't say it again," Teddie looked downtrodden, "Let's hurry on…"
Souji met with the team…, "Let's try and clear a few floors today. Make sure you have the right stuff equipped." He pointed to his sword strapped over his shoulder.
"Do you have what you need?" Yosuke asked.
"Yeah, I have the right Personas," Souji replied, "Then, let's go squash some Shadows."
They entered the striptease ready to smash and destroy. If it was only that easy.
They were expecting great things out of their new member. The first new Shadow that they encountered was an unmoving yet freestanding statue. A relic of sorts, that struck forth when aggravated. There were no weaknesses but one that they could find, and the one they found was electricity.
"Come forth, Take-Mikazuchi!" Kanji yelled, "Mazio!"
"Good job," Souji said. Souji shook his head. He had taken a good amount of damage in this first fight alone. Sarasvati just wouldn't work anymore. He would have to change it quickly. He changed to Rakshasa.
"Let's smash these bastards!" Kanji yelled at the three downed relics.
"Let's go then," Souji yelled.
The six of them ran forth to meet the downed enemies in a flurry of kicks, blows, and chairs. The Personas just watched.
They encountered an enemy that absorbed physical attacks. That took away all of Rion's abilities, as well of most of Chie's and Kanji's. Yukiko's fire was also worthless against it, and she was stuck healing. Kanji's electricity and Yosuke's wind were pointless as well.
"Damn it!" Yosuke yelled, "Why won't anything work!" as Yukiko healed him again.
"There is always a way to defeat the enemy. If there is not a weakness, there it least has to be a way to damage it," Rion said running in front of Souji to deflect the damage.
The Personas were doing no better than the people themselves. They took damage as easily as the people considering that they were reflections of the people that summoned them.
"Chie, watch your flank!" Souji yelled, as one of the sisters advanced on her.
"Ahhh!" Chie yelled.
"That's it!" Rion yelled as he figured out a weakness, "Chie, use Mabufu!"
"Help me, Tomoe!" "Mabufu!"
Souji went back to Sarasvati to use "Mabufu" to support Chie.
The sisters were knocked down just like the others.
"Is this our chance?" Chie asked.
Again, they went forth and pounded the enemy.
A third kind of Shadow on the early floors they faced were Shadows with purple, white, and red ladies with heads shaped like hearts spinning around. They carried sabers, had no weaknesses and preferred to swarm the group over and over.
"Finally, a respectable enemy," Rion said as he pulled his sword. He had dispelled Tajikarawo as the deity was incapable of performing enough damage. Rion preferred to fight the honorable way anyways.
"Why? Because they carry swords, or because they keep trying to charm us?" Souji asked.
"Let's just play the game," Rion replied.
Everyone else kept their Personas out to help them fight. They preferred someone casting magic in the background if they were to kill something.
A chair striking against a spinning head made Kanji happy for some reason. He really enjoyed smacking them around.
"And another, and another!" he exclaimed. He took his rage out on the shadows, "Who's a pansy now!"
Chie slid her feet underneath the lady so it would trip and Yosuke could slide his kunai in the chest area, while dodging the sword. Yukiko threw her fan into the enemy blinding it long enough for Souji to cut it in half horizontally. It was perfect teamwork. The Personas' magic flashed back and forth eliminating any of the others that got close.
Rion… well, Rion faced three Shadows at once. His saber locked against one of the "dancers" while he pressed one of the buttons on his staff to block another blow from one of the others. His foot lanced out towards the third, and after he hit the third one and his foot had landed; he spun to hit all three in a blur, staff and sword. "Tch… Waste of time," Rion murmured as the Shadows exploded in purple smoke.
"Let's go," Souji said. As he ran up to Rion, "What were you thinking? You are reckless."
"I have too much on my mind already. I let my instincts take over," Rion shrugged.
"Whatever," Souji replied as they ran off towards the next enemy.
It was another police-shaped Shadow with a gun. "Tajikarawo!" "Tarukaja!" Rion cast on Souji, who had Rakshasa summoned.
"You need to use physical attacks!" Souji said after seeing many magical attacks go back and hit Yukiko, Chie, Yosuke, and Kanji. Souji felt it was smart that Rion had casted that skill on him. It was the reason they were surviving.
Kanji used "Kill Rush", Yosuke used "Sonic Punch", Chie used "Rampage", Rion used "Torrent Shot", and Souji used "Kill Rush" himself on those police-shaped Shadows to finish them off.
Kanji would get another workout very soon when they tried to get through the 2nd floor. There was a wavy Shadow that looked like something Souji learned about in science class.
It struck at Souji and he rolled out of the way. He brought his sword to bear to block the next strike as it swooped down upon him. He switched to Xiezhai and yelled "Zionga!" to incapacitate one of them.
"Nice!" Chie exclaimed.
"Tch," Kanji muttered, "I can do better than that." The other wavy Shadows were still coming and he summoned, "Here now! Take-Mikazuchi!" "Mazio!"
"And here I thought this was going to take effort," Souji pretended to be tired. Rion rolled his eyes.
Souji loved getting under Rion's skin. Of course, Rion would crush a Shadow with his bare fist and laugh about it while Souji needed countless healing from Yukiko. So, they could make a good team… if used properly.
As soon as they had climbed to the 3rd floor, Souji was already blinded by the pink. Also, he was blindsided by a rock. A rock Shadow.
"Damn!" Souji yelled.
"I am ineffective," Rion said as Tajikarawo attacks did about… minimal damage. When the rocks tried to roll into him, Rion jumped over the top, landing shoulder first. He backed away from the fight after dodging the fight.
"It's no good," Kanji said as his electricity wasn't working.
Chie jumped back from the attack and Tomoe advanced, "Mabufu!" All of the rocks fell over.
"Yes!" she yelled. "Alright guys, pile on!"
Yosuke shook his head, "Do we have to?"
"I guess…," Souji said before they all charged the rocks.
It wasn't a good prospect for those rocks.
Tomoe, Jiraiya, Konohana Sakuya, Tajikarawo, and Rakshasa were used repeatedly during the first three floors. It was during a certain door in the third floor that they sensed Rise.
Of course, right before they could do anything about that, they were attacked by more white ravens. They were dive bombers and caused holy hell on the group.
"What do we do?" Yukiko asked as she threw her fan.
"Did you ever think of… shooting fire at it?" Rion asked.
"Oh…," Yukiko said, "Konohana Sakuya!" "Maragi!"
The birds came crashing to the ground and the wings caught on fire.
"That's hot, Yukiko," Souji said.
"Thanks," Yukiko said shyly.
Yosuke snrked at their flirty exchange. Souji wanted to curse, but held back.
"The smell is coming from here!" Teddie yelled when they got to a doorway.
They pulled back the curtains and ran in. What was waiting for them was a Shadow Rise covered in that purple fog and smoke. She was wearing that skimpy little swimsuit that she "had never worn before" and was making Yosuke drool.
"It's Rise!" Yosuke exclaimed, wiping his drool off his cheek.
"Thank you, Mr. Obvious!" Chie muttered, "But something's not right."
"It is her other self," Souji said frankly.
The Shadow said, "Hello, all you fans out there! Thanks for coming today!" she had a cheery yet shrilly voice not much unlike the Rise in the commercials or the one in the shop, "Today, you're gonna see every last inch of me!"
"Oh dear," Souji said, "Is she really going to strip?"
The Shadow said, "What's that? You don't believe me? Ahahaha! Okay, okay! Then, why don't we… Oh, but you won't be able to see with all this smoke, huh? Okie-dokie! Just follow me a little further in and I'll prove that I'm every bit as good as my word."
"This is not how I wanted to spend my Saturday," Rion muttered to himself.
A sign appeared, "Maru-Q Midnight Summer Dream Special! All the Way Live! Risette Exposed!"
It was a show creepy beyond belief and made everyone nervous. Souji rolled his eyes.
"Were we like that?" Kanji asked
"Pretty much…," Souji said. "What are we going to do here?" Souji thought.
"Dang, cause that's going kinda far…," Kanji muttered. "This is just crazy…," Kanji thought.
The applause they heard this time the show appeared was much louder this time.
"Sheesh, the roar of the crowd this time is insane. It's making me feel sick," Chie said.
Yosuke said worriedly, "If people really are watching this, we need to do something, and fast."
The Shadow continued, "All right, Risetteers! Don't touch that dial! When we come back, you'll get a long good look at the real me! Maru-Q!"
The Shadow ran off, away from them, and further up into the striptease. It left the group speechless for a few seconds.
"We'd better move it! This is a thousand times worse than hearing a few nasty secrets!" Yosuke yelled after wiping more drool from his mouth.
As the people laughed, Teddie exclaimed, "The shadows are really getting aggravated! What we just saw is what that Rise girl is suppressing. She'll be in trouble at this rate!"
"That's a terrible amount of stress on her," Rion admitted, "What she is going through would be both physically and psychologically damaging even if this is not happening. We need to hurry then."
"Yeah," Kanji said, "So, I guess I'm on the rescue team now. Alright, let's hurry up and go!"
"Let's go then!" Souji said.
They ran forwards after Rise's smoke trail.
They started cutting through ravens and police Shadows. The group shocked the DNA Shadows while freezing the rocks to try and make as much headway as possible to catch the Shadow. Souji and Yukiko were clearing a pair of dancing swords ladies when they reached the stairs. There was no sign of Rise, unfortunately.
"Okay, that's enough for today. The fog isn't coming for a while, and she won't expose herself that quickly," Souji said, "We normally don't go two days in a row, but since we don't have school… We're going to go up some more on Sunday."
"No rest for the weary, huh?" Yosuke asked.
"Of course not," Souji smiled.
"Figures," Yosuke nodded.
"He just does not want you to see her bare it all," Rion told him.
"Come on! Does no one trust me!?" Yosuke exclaimed.
They had reached the plaza floor as they all answered resoundingly, "NO!"
They left the TV world and headed back to their homes. "Welcome back!" was the greeting Souji got as he returned to Dojima's residence. He did not bother with food and such. All he could do when he got back was collapse on the futon. He did have a dream where Yukiko was throwing him up in the air. It made Souji happy, but he wondered how Yukiko was strong enough to throw him in the air.
---
Sunday…
Yukiko was wondering, "Why are we here again for the second day in a row? I'm tired, I had to make an excuse for why I can't work at the Inn, and if it wasn't Souji asking I wouldn't have bothered." She shook her head, "Where is he? He's late…"
Souji did arrive eventually at their table in Junes, and everyone was waiting for him. Chie had suckered Yosuke into buying her a steak.
"What's up sleepyhead?" Yosuke asked.
"Quiet you!" Souji rebuked, "Nanako didn't wake me up until 10 A.M."
"You require a young child to wake you up?" Rion inquired.
"Is that a problem?" he asked, annoyed.
"I think he was only wonderin' man," Kanji tried to calm it down, "Let's just go through the TV."
"Right, let's head out!" Chie exclaimed, "But let me finish my steak first!"
"Do you ever shut up about the steak, Chie!?" Yosuke asked. He shook his head.
"Umm… no," Yukiko said.
Eventually, they dragged Chie away from the steak.
They went through the TV to see Teddie and save Ms. Idol.
"Hey, you guys came!" Teddie said with glee, "Are we going to save Rise-chan?"
"We're going to try," Souji said.
"Alright, let's go!" Teddie took them to the club.
As they started to climb up the club, they encountered a lot of new Shadows to try and deal with.
"Why can not we just play with some more rocks?" Chie asked as a large wheel with spike on it crashed into her, knocking her over. The wheel had a lion's face on it.
The wheel came back around towards Yukiko. Souji ran in front of Yukiko to protect and faced the oncoming Shadow.
"Souji-kun!" she yelled in worry.
"Souji-kun…," he thought to himself before he yelled at the wheel, "Xiezhai!" "Zionga!"
It knocked down one of the wheels and Souji commanded, "Kanji, the rest is up to you."
Kanji listened to Souji and hit his card with his chair, "Come on, Take-Mikazuchi!"
The static electricity that remained in the air after that battle made Souji's hair stand on end. He tried to flatten it as he looked at Yukiko. Yosuke chuckled again.
Yosuke had a flashback to the liquor store, and Saki as another licking Shadow came after them in the 5th floor.
"Saki…," Yosuke got caught in his memories.
"Oh please…," Chie said as she summoned Tomoe to use "Rampage" on a few of them.
"Mazio!" Kanji yelled to knock down the lickers. Souji and Rion stabbed and cut through the spheres.
The group found more dice Shadows on the end of the 5th floor as Souji was turning a corner. Guess what the dice were good at. Going boom! Souji did not like that. Not at all…
The dice were rolling in left and right and causing general havoc. The latest one had blown up in Souji's face, and as he patted off a small flame on his pant leg, he muttered, "Why me…?"
"Nothing's working," Kanji yelled as Take-Mikazuchi fired a "Zionga!" into the dice, only for it to blow up in his face.
Rion sighed as he pushed himself back up and said, "I believe the only viable option is to use physical attacks. There are no weaknesses to speak of." He faced a pair of dice, "Reach and destroy! Tajikarawo!" "Torrent Shot!" The dice were knocked over by the attack and hit the ground. Rion smirked at this, and pushed up his glasses.
"You heard him," Souji said, "Kick their ass!"
At this command, two "Kill Rush!", "Rampage!", "Sonic Punch!", plus a fan, chair, kunai, ninjato, katana, and a pair of greaves all slammed into about 4 pair of dice to try and stop them from decimating the group.
"Is it over?" Yukiko asked. "Media!" She healed the group with Konohana Sakuya.
"I think so," Souji said.
They found more of these chained lions on the 6th floor, but they did look different to Souji when they attempted to kill the group. They were black instead of brown. But the similarity to the one in Kanji's place was that getting hit by their attacks still hurt rather badly.
It was best to use Yukiko's "Agilao" with Konohana Sakuya than anything else. It made them flip over like a pancake.
"Time for breakfast," Yosuke joked.
When they reached the seventh floor, it got all dark and spooky. It seemed like the Rise's Shadow wanted to play a game with the viewers and the group before she was going to show off for the viewers.
"I'm tired of playing games," Souji said with a sigh. He shifted his sword that he had replaced over his shoulder.
"It seems every one of these places has at least one game for us to play," Rion said. He pushed his glasses up with his pointer finger. Souji noticed himself doing that sometimes after a tough battle against Shadows. If he didn't do that, he would have trouble navigating through the fog.
They had to wander around almost blind and try to find a door that would lead to what they were looking for, Rise. They found where she supposedly was, but she didn't let them in. "The stairway, I guess," Souji thought.
"Do we have to do something else?" Yosuke asked.
"Like what?" Chie wondered.
"Probably kill something," Souji said.
Rion was leaning on his staff, looking for Shadows, "That sounds about right."
There were beetle Shadows on this floor.
"Pssh…," Rion had Tajikarawo behind him. He knew with beetles, that he should not use physical attacks. "This is all I can do for you, Masukunda!"
It did prove useful. One of the beetle Shadows struck at Yosuke, and it missed terribly. He easily slipped to the left. "Garula!" The wind blew the beetle into the air.
"Mabufu!" Chie commanded for her Persona. She would much rather have used her feet. But, killing is killing.
Yukiko aimed for the beetle in the front, "Agilao!" She wanted to cause a pile-up.
"Unicorn!" "Mahama!" Souji commanded. He wanted to see if his luck would hold.
As the beetles disappeared, Souji decided, he really was lucky.
"Okay… let's go," Yosuke said as they walked on.
They went along killing Shadows till they found a curtain at that point Rise's voice came forth again.
"You came!" the shadow said, "Okay, I'm ready for anything!"
Teddie looked nervous, "Are you ready, Sensei?"
"As long as someone stops playing this stupid music…," Souji muttered.
He wasn't the only one annoyed by it. Chie was holding her ears.
"No, I won't make the damn music louder!" Rion yelled. They entered the curtain and saw Rise's Shadow with a huge-ass snake with her.
"What the hell is that?" Yosuke yelled.
"Ahahahaha!" Rise's Shadow chuckled, "Look! C'mon, look at me!"
"Sorry… little distracted," Souji muttered.
The snake attacked them.
"Start moving guys!" Rion yelled.
The snake started by casting "Stagnant Air!" It seemed to have made it easier to catch a cold.
"It caught you off guard, Sensei!" Teddie exclaimed.
The snake used, "Virus Wave!" after that, which damaged all six of them, and poisoned Kanji and Yukiko.
"Our turn!" Yosuke yelled, "Jiraiya!" "Garula!" He damaged the snake, but it did little damage.
Yukiko and Souji used items on each other to get rid of the poison.
"You should have waited for me Yosuke," Rion muttered, "Tajikarawo! Rakunda! Yukiko, let's see what you can do to take it out!"
Souji had Rakshasa equipped and used "Kill Rush" to pound down on the enemy with its weakened defense.
"Zionga!" Kanji was a little forward with summoning "Take-Mikazuchi!"
"Tarukaja!" Chie had used Tomoe to cast that on Yukiko.
"Agilao!" Yukiko yelled for Konohana Sakuya. It did a good amount of damage on the snake Shadow.
The Shadow kept up with its "Virus Wave" right after the "Agilao" and it kept poisoning members of the group.
"This is taking too long," Rion said. He had watched Yosuke use medicine to heal his poison, and Chie use Tomoe's "Assault Dive!" He himself had just used "Torrent Shot!" with his Tajikarawo because he did not need to buff or debuff this turn. Yet, they kept getting poisoned. He moved in on the snake with his staff and hit its tail while Souji tried to it cut it down to size with his own sword.
"That was so cool, Yuki-chan!" Teddie yelled as she dodged the Virus Wave. She fired her fan, while Konohana Sakuya used "Agilao!", but it was taking too long.
"Our enemy is down! We must strike!" or "Now's our chance for a beatdown!" Kanji yelled.
"Let's go!" Souji responded.
The group, some poisoned, some not, came full speed into the snake.
"Souji!" Rion yelled. He suggested, "You need a Persona that uses Agilao repeatedly. If you do that, it might help."
Yosuke had just finished dodging another Virus Wave and was casting "Sonic Punch!" while using his kunai at the tail. Tajikarawo was just buffing the others while Rion used his sword to pinprick the snake. Chie used "Assault Dive!" and her feet on the cross of the snake.
The snake started using "Mind Slice" that started confusing those it hit. Rion threw Yosuke to the ground to dodge it. Rion came up spitting some blood.
Meanwhile, Souji switched to a Persona called Power that he had and casted "Agilao!" on the snake. It fell over like it had before, but this time… "Did someone happen?" Souji thought.
"Ooh ooh! Can I have this one!?" Chie asked in glee.
"Hurry!" Souji yelled.
"Protect me for a second, Tomoe!" The twin-bladed persona guarded her master while she prepared for something.
Chie stretched out her legs and then ran towards the snake. Chie roundhouse kicked the enemy. Off into the distance the Shadow went, and never did it return.
"What the hell was that?" Souji asked… He was in shock. They spent all the time trying to kill the snake, and it was kicked into oblivion in about five seconds by Chie.
"I call it… The Galactic Punt!" Chie exclaimed.
"What kind of dumbass name is that?" Yosuke said, brushing himself off, "Oof…," He soon found himself on the ground feeling one of Chie's feet.
"You have a problem with the name?" Chie asked.
"No, Ma'am!" Yosuke said in rolling pain.
"And that's… why I don't get on Chie's bad side…," Souji muttered.
"Do any you have a problem with the name?" Chie glared at everyone else.
They shook their heads meaning they had no problems with the name she gave.
"Ooh… It got all bright again, guys!" Teddie exclaimed as Yosuke got up because the lights turned on. They started paying attention again, "We did it, Sensei! What a relief… We can go on now!"
Before they could goho-m by getting to the next floor, they ran into eagle Shadows.
"I'm tired," Yukik complained as she threw her fan. The eagle responded by diving at her. She ducked and screamed.
"Yukiko!" Chie yelled, "Protect her, Tomoe! Bufula!"
"That works," Rion said, fighting off one with Tajikarawo's own "Torrent Shot!"
"Titania!" "Bufula!" Souji yelled, getting rid of the other one.
They went back up to the next floor and returned home. He knew they'd need a couple days off. Souji had pushed them hard, but the faster the better. "No baring it all for Yosuke," Souji thought.
Souji returned to Nanako's "Welcome home, big bro!" He smiled at that.
Monday was a boring school day. Morooka bugged him about what resentment meant. Something about hatred and jealousy was his answer for that. He would have hung out with Yosuke, but since they hadn't saved Rise, it wouldn't be possible. He ate some cheesecake he hopefully had not poisoned himself with when he got home.
"Always such nice things waiting for me at home," Souji thought to himself.
It was rainy the next day. He bought a book where the dude was a poor teacher. "Man, teachers suck," he thought.
Then, he hung out with Kou. As usual, Daisuke came along to try and cheer up the downer. Kou was all lonely and what not because his parents wanted him to do this and that. "His adopted parents are douches," he thought.
Wednesday, he decided they were going to throw their lives away at trying to kill, no I mean saving Rise. He told them so during lunchtime.
Rion pulled Souji aside after lunch, "After a floor or so, I'm going to start running. I'm a lot faster than everyone else, and if I get there first I'll see what I can do."
"You'd be without Teddie, and your Persona isn't really made for solo trips," Souji told him, "What are you going to try and do?"
"My Persona can reduce magic damage and physical damage. Anyways, I usually figure things out what to do before Teddie," Rion shrugged, "I'm going to make sure Rise does not say anything until you get there. When you get there, then she can go crazy."
"Alright whatever, whenever you're ready to go," Souji muttered. Souji thought, "If Rion gets himself killed, I'm not responsible. Rion is right… he does figure it out faster than Teddie. We usually just have to figure it out and then Teddie remembers if we forget." Souji shook his head as he walked back to class, "Of all the people who have Personas and have faced Shadows, he's the one who has changed the least. I wonder what that means…"
After school, they checked the weather. They still had days before days of repetitive rain.
"Okay, let's go!" Yosuke said as they went into the TV.
The first floor they started into that day had the same enemies they had before. The chained lions, the beetles, and that rock monster. The next floor, after nods from Souji, Rion all but flew ahead of everyone.
"Where's he going?" Chie asked in confusion.
"He's going to meet us at the top floor with Rise," Souji replied.
"What!?" Yosuke exclaimed, "He's going to take on the Shadow by himself?"
"No, I think he's going to try and delay what's going to happen," Souji explained, "I don't think it's some sort of pride thing, so we shouldn't interfere."
"I think it's pretty foolish," Yukiko said.
"Rion-senpai is going to get himself killed without Teddie," Kanji told them.
"We'll just have to see if his corpse shows up," Souji said with a shrug.
"That's terrible, Souji," Yosuke said.
"I'm kidding," Souji said, "He'll be fine. Rion's just making sure Rise doesn't say anything before we get there."
Souji soon found out with the new enemies that it was harder without Rion. Yosuke was his partner per say, he ran the show, but Rion was the guy who backed everyone up and was a step ahead of the enemy.
Souji had one thing to say, "Damn tank enemy!" They kept shooting shit at them. The Personas would take the blows, but that weakened the others slowly too. There were no weaknesses of the tanks that they could find.
"So… what do we do?" Kanji asked.
"We kick ass?" Souji responded as he was about to switch to Rakshasa for a high defense, but he wanted to try something against this tank… "LMatador!"
"Hmm!?" Yukiko was looking at Souji curiously as the tank came towards them.
"Mudo!" The black magic that enveloped the tank made it disappear into the night.
"Hell yeah!" Yosuke exclaimed.
They tried to maneuver around a gigas, but as Yosuke threw a kunai into its foot; it got angry.
As it tried to smash in Yosuke, Yukiko dealt with the giant, "Here, Agilao!"
"So awesome," Souji thought as the gigas fell over, burned, and they cut it to pieces.
He hoped Rion didn't attack any of the knight Shadows. He had to wake up Chie after she kicked the knight fruitlessly, and watch it spear her. At least Souji knew Rion was really fast.
Reaching the final floor was a blessing… They hadn't found Rion, but they had an inkling that he was already there.
When he went to open the curtain Teddie said, "I think that girl named Rise is ahead of here, but I'm not certain. I know Rion is here.
They ran as fast as they could through the fog and into the darkness.
The real Rise was kneeling before the Shadow Rise in her apron-clad outfit, while Rion was standing before them with his arms crossed. This was the main stage as there was a pole in the center. "No comments," Souji thought, "Pole dancing… are you kidding me?"
Chie exclaimed, "There it is!"
"I hope you guys have better luck than I did…," Rion said as he turned around.
"Look, the real one is here, too!" Yosuke yelled.
"Duh!" Souji said, "Aren't they always at the top of the place?"
The Shadow started laughing, "Ahahahaha! They're all watching! All eyes are on me now!"
The real Rise tried to reason with the Shadow, "Stop it!"
The Shadow mocked her, "Aww… What's the matter? You wanna show your stuff, don'tcha? How's this?"
"I wouldn't," Yukiko muttered, "But I guess I already dealt with that."
The Shadow started twirling on the pole.
"Please… Stop this," Rise was begging.
"The shadow will not listen to reason, Rise," Rion said.
The Shadow was laughing again, "Oooh, she wants me to stop. That's so funny!" The Shadow suddenly got angry, "As if that's even close to what you're really thinking, you little skank. You're me! And obviously, I'm you!"
"No… That's not true…," Rise tried to deny it.
The Shadow was cackling, "Ahahaha! C'mon, look! You can't tear your eyes away! This is me! This is who I really am!" Her voice changed into a mocking voice, "Not Risette, the fake celebrity! Look at the girl right in front of you! I'm sick of being some airhead cliché who chokes everything she's fed and takes it all with a smile. Risette! Who the hell is she? There's no such person in this world! I'm no one but myself! C'mon, look at me!"
Again, Rise tried to deny it, "That's not, I…"
The Shadow smiled, "Well then, I guess it's time to prove it. I'm going to show it all off. Let my naked truth be burned into your brains!"
"Stop… Stop it!" Rise yelled, "You're…"
"No, don't say it!" Chie yelled.
"You're not me!"
Rion shook his head, "I tried, but we're screwed."
The purple smoke turned into black as the Shadow began to transform. The Shadow herself began to chuckle and laugh repeatedly. "Here it comes!" the Shadow said, as it waited for the transformation, "Now! I'm finally myself!"
The Rise Shadow had turned into an oversized, multi-colored, girl with a satellite dish on her head.
"What the hell? You know what, I'm not going to ask," Souji was talking to himself.
"Tch! Here we go!" Kanji yelled.
So, the proverbial battle against the shadow Rise began. The Shadow was pole dancing seductively and came down from the pole to talk, "I am a Shadow… The true self… And now the moment you've all been waiting for! It's time for me to show every last inch of myself! Heehee… And for the guests in the front row… I'll give you extra-special, extra-intense service."
"Looks like she had issues of her own after all," Yosuke said.
"I suggest we finish this quickly then, okay?" Rion suggested.
"We need to stop her from going berserk," Souji said.
"So… I was like this too? Oh, man," Kanji shook his head.
The Shadow was distracted, momentarily, before she said, "Ohh… You're going to rush the stage? What an ill-mannered guest. Maybe you're looking for an experience that's little more intense."
"We can't be deterred!" Rion yelled, "Tajikarawo!" "Torrent Shot!" to damage the shadow repeatedly.
"Rakshasa!" "Sukunda!" Souji lowered the Shadow's evasion.
"Jiraiya!" "Sukukaja!" Yosuke boosted evasion on the others by having Jiraiya use it repeatedly.
"Take-Mikazuchi!" "Kill Rush!" Kanji put his chair into action as well.
"Rampage, Tomoe!" Chie wanted repeated damage on the shadow as well.
"Agilao, Konohana Sakuya!" Yukiko was trying to hold off the enemy with fire.
It wasn't only the Personas that were getting involved… Rion's blade was a blaze as he rushed in and attacked the shadow.
The kunai that Yosuke wielded flashed dangerously as he darted in and out.
Chie was a flurry of feet and hands as she struck the pole and Shadow. The sword that Souji used made large gashes everywhere it struck.
Yukiko's fan flew calmly towards the shadow, hit, and returned.
The Shadow would respond by casting weak magic to exploit weaknesses. To help the others out, when an Agi spell was cast at Chie; Yukiko or Rion would take the blow. If a Bufu at Yukiko; Chie or Souji would take it. It went as such, so no one would be knocked down. Rion, for once, had to be pushed repeatedly, because of his weakness to Garu and Bufu.
After a while, the Shadow spoke, "Ahahaha! Enjoying yourself? I've got a ways to go until I show my true self. You ain't seen nothin' yet."
The Shadow started casting all-hitting spells like "Maragi!", which would knock down Chie. Yukiko had to pick her up and then use "Media!" especially after multiple rounds of magic.
Rion yelled, "If it's using Agi skills, Chie you have to guard!"
"Right!" Chie responded.
When the shadow cast "Agilao!" at Chie, it didn't knock her down after her guard.
They kept up the regular attacks with swords and blunt objects, while the Personas cast spells or attacked. The Shadow started using "Mind Slice!" on occasion, and the others had to smack some sense into those who were confused while "Media!" was cast.
Souji kept switching his Persona so he would not be knocked over. He went from Unicorn to Titania to Rakshasa to Power, and so on. "You are going to be taken down!" Souji yelled as he cast "Zionga!" with Unicorn.
The Shadow was mad after the fact they weren't dead yet, "What! I dealt all that exquisite pain and you're still not satisfied! What a finicky guest! You might as well die, then!"
"Guys, what do we do?" Souji asked.
It cast a new spell, "Supreme Insight!" It analyzed the whole group one at a time with a green light that slowly covered them.
"No touching allowed. Ahahaha!" The Shadow laughed.
"Oh shit," Rion said, "This is really bad," Rion looked really worried as the light covered them.
The Shadow kept up the all-hit spells while their moves suddenly couldn't connect. None of the magic, Tomoe's "Assault Dive", Mikazuchi's "Kill Rush", or Tajikarawo's "Torrent Shot" could hit.
"What the hell is going on?" Kanji yelled.
Rise's Shadow had about enough of this foolishness, "I can see about everything of you…
Ahaha!" The white light of her spell engulfed the area. Everyone was blown off the stage and Rion was knocked back in the wall. The Personas dissipated.
The others looked on at the dancing shadow as Chie asked, "What's the deal here? Our attacks keep missing."
"They are anticipating our every move, it seems," Souji said.
Teddie cried, "I'm completely useless."
Rise started charging up again, as Rion used his staff to steady himself. He could still summon his Persona because he had barely used any of his spirit.
"What the…," Yosuke was shocked.
"That power! I think it's scanning us! Ohh, this is not good!" Teddie yelled.
"It's how we were beaten before," Souji said. "I'm getting scared," Souji thought.
"When you say not good, what exactly do you mean?" Kanji asked with fear in his eyes.
"It means we're screwed," Rion told them.
The shadow shouted with glee, "Woohoo! Analysis complete! Okay, here comes my counterattack! See if you can dodge, hmm?"
"Don't test me!" Rion admitted. He was still unsteady, but his staff was now blazing back and forth in front of him as a defense, "I can still fight! Makarakarn!" He used it repeatedly on the others before she could finish them off. He just didn't have enough to use it on himself. "It won't work that well, but it's all I got!" Rion yelled.
"Oh fuck!" Souji yelled as the attack was about to come.
"Stop it!" Teddie yelled.
The yellow light came forth and knocked everyone over.
The Persona-users were staggering or were on one knee struggling to breath. The magic shields that were supposed to reflect the magic didn't work, but it stopped enough damage from getting through. Rion on the other hand, rolled through to the back of the wall.
"You got to be kidding," Yosuke said.
Chie looked exasperated, "How are we supposed to win?"
"Are we going to die?" Yukiko wondered.
"There has to be a way to do this!" Souji said. "What can we do?" he was wracking his mind.
Rion had completely disappeared altogether from the scene. He was staggering from his injured left side, dropped his staff and was readying himself for something. He had limped over to the left side of the stage.
"No! You guys can't die!" Teddie yelled, "What can I do? Sensei?"
"We need you, Teddie!" Souji yelled.
"You're right!" Teddie was worried though, "Am I going to be all alone again? No, that's not what I want!"
Kanji had exclaimed when the Shadow scanned them again, "Shit, it's winding up again!"
"I… I…," Teddie was really scared.
"Okie, dokie, here we go again!" the shadow exclaimed, readying for an attack, "Good bye… Forever!"
"I'm waiting for you, Teddie," Rion murmured to himself, "I know you'll do it."
"It's coming!" Souji yelled.
"Aw shit!" Yosuke cried out.
"My body is moving on its own! Why am I stepping forward?" Teddie asked as he moved in front of the five others.
"Right… You can do it!" Rion said to Teddie from far away.
"Wha… Whoa!" Teddie was scared as he faced down the Shadow, "I feel like I'm going bear-serk. Grr… I'll do it. Take a good look at Teddie's last stand!"
Now the Shadow was scared of the hollow bear, "This high energy reading… Is it coming from that weird thing?"
"Teddie!" Kanji yelled, "The hell are you doing?"
Teddie growled at the multi-covered Rise's Shadow.
"Teddie!" Yosuke yelled out.
Teddie ran straight at the Shadow, and at that moment Rion dove in and pulled the real Rise out of the way before all hell broke loose. Teddie had defeated the fake Rise, but he was flattened into a pancake.
"Great, more breakfast," Souji muttered, jokingly. He was really, really relieved in actuality and proud of Teddie.
"Teddie!" Kanji yelled at the pancake, "You idiot! You coulda died!"
Teddie's voice was strained, "Did I? Did I help?"
"You did Teddie, you did," Souji replied, "Without you, we'd be dead."
"Neat! I'm so glad; I didn't want to be alone anymore," Teddie seemed to be happy.
Chie said with concern, "Teddie…,"
"Ngh… Urgh…," the wavy pancake struggled up, "What in the world!? No, my fine, silky fur… I was so proud of it!" He cried out.
"He'll be just fine," Souji told them and looked over by Rise, "Rion, what are you doing over there, with Rise?" Souji looked a little shocked with Rion a little close with the idol. If only he was closer… it would be a hell of a lot better blackmail. But alas, nope.
They all ran over to Rise, who was splayed out over to the side. Rion was standing unsteadily off to the side. He had gotten up in the time Souji was staring and thinking. He said and explained, "It's hard to jump in front of a crazy-powered up bear in time to save a girl when you're hurt."
"Rise-chan!" Yukiko cried out.
"Mm…? Where… am I…?" Rise asked, "I'm sorry. It's all my fault."
"No, it's not," Souji said.
"Don't worry about it," Rion said.
"No… It's still something that I did," Rise said solemnly. She struggled to her feet. "Here, stand up," she told the Shadow, "I'm sorry. You must been in a lot of pain up to now. You're part of me, but I kept refusing to admit that you existed. I trying to figure out who the real me was. But I realize now that I was on the wrong track. There is no "real" me. It just doesn't exist."
Rion was walking back to the others and thought, "Man, she is still messed up. Then again, I wish I knew who the real me is."
"There's no "real" me?" Teddie wondered.
"You… Me… even "Risette"… where all born from me," Rise said, "All of them are me."
The Shadow nodded and disappeared. From which, a white satellite dish-carrying Persona emerged. She turned around, and fell over.
Rion murmured, "Himiko… The Queen and Prophet of Japan…"
"Rise-chan. Be careful!" Yosuke warned. The Persona-users seemed to have completely ignored the fact that they were almost destroyed about five minutes ago. Souji remembered.
"I'm all right… Hey, you're the one who came to the store, right?" Rise asked.
Yosuke looked at the others, "Oh, yeah and these guys came too." He pointed at Rion, Souji, and Kanji.
"Hi…," Souji said.
"I thought I recognized you guys. Thanks, everyone," Rise said with a smile.
"We'll save for everything later, but for right now…," Chie was saying but she turned around and saw a troubled Teddie.
"What's wrong, Chie?" Yukiko asked as they all turned around.
"There's no real me?" Teddie asked sadly.
"Hey… Teddie…," Kanji tried to calm him down, "What's wrong?"
"No, get back!" Rise warned.
"I think we have a problem!" Rion said, "A very big one!" He drew his ninjato.
"Something's coming out of him!" she warned.
"Another Shadow!?" Souji asked, but more in alarm.
"What?" Yosuke asked.
A new voice out of Teddie came, "Real? Me?" It laughed, "Such foolishness…"
Out from Teddie came a Shadow that was larger than the normal Teddie when it was inflated.
"What is that thing?" Yosuke asked.
Chie was scared, "Don't tell me… Is that the other Teddie? Teddie's hidden thoughts."
"I believe so," Rise said, "But it seems like there's more. I felt some powerful presence intervene."
"That presence makes me feel like the next fight seem like the this one was only child's play," Rion muttered.
"What!?" Chie yelled.
"What's going on?" Teddie was confused. He turned around and saw his Shadow, which shocked him, "Whoa!" He was really scared.
"The truth is unattainable!" the Shadow said in a Rion-like voice, "It will always be shrouded in fog… Though you reach through the murk and the gloom to grasp something, you have no means to know it is the truth… In which case, why? In what sense is there in yearning for the truth? Close your eyes. Lie to yourself. Live in blissful ignorance. It is a much smarter existence."
Teddie was confused as he said quickly, "What are you talking about? I don't understand a word you're saying. You're just making it sound difficult cause I'm not that smart. How rude! Maybe you can't tell, but I'm thinking as hard as I can."
"It is those efforts I am calling useless," The Shadow said in a monotone voice, "You are hollow… Empty. At your core, you know this… You just cannot accept this. So you seek an alternate form… a denial of your nature. You have no lost memories. If you have forgotten anything, it is the truth."
"That's a lie!" Teddie whined in his most powerful voice he could have at the moment.
The Shadow's unwavering voice continued, "Shall I spell it out for you? You are but a mere…"
"I said shaddup!"
The pancake attacked the Shadow and was knocked back, "Teddie!" Yukiko yelled in concern.
The Shadow turned to the others, "It is the same for you all… You undergo suffering because of your search for the truth. This world is filled with thick, heavy fog. How can you find something if you know not what you search for?"
"There's always a way to find it," Souji responded. "Teddie…," Souji thought. He was really worried for him.
The Shadow continued, "And thus, you invite more suffering upon yourselves… It is beyond my comprehension. Then I will grant you one truth. You will all die here. You sought the truth, only to find death."
The Shadow began to transform into a larger being.
"Dammit, how are we supposed to fight something like this without Teddie?" Yosuke asked.
"We have a way," Rion responded, glancing back at the red-head.
"It's all right… Get ready, everyone," Rise commented from the back.
"Hey, don't tell me you're fighting with us! You can't take it!" Chie worried.
She soothed her, "I'm okay. I should be able to take that bear's place. It's my turn to save you all." From behind, her Persona covered her with a visor so she could sense the Shadow.
"I'm not ready to do this again," Rion muttered, "Here goes nothing." He picked up his staff, and placed it behind his back with his sword straight at the transforming Shadow.
The transformation began as the Shadow Teddie became a massive creature that covered half of the room and a large sinkhole around him.
"You got to be shittin' me!" Souji yelled as he saw the creature.
The monotone Shadow spoke in a deeper voice than Rion, "I am a Shadow. The true self. I shall give you the truth you claim to hold so dear. The inescapable fact of your death here."
"Was that creepy thing really inside our Teddie?" Chie asked. She was as scared as she was against Rise's Shadow.
"Do we have any choice but to move on and fight?" Yukiko asked.
"I guess he was a lot more troubled than he looked. We have to save him!" Yosuke said.
"We must defeat it," Souji agreed.
"Foolish beings! Accept your end with dignity and grace!" the Shadow told them.
"I'm afraid there will be no ending, but yours," Rion said, mocking the Shadow.
"Buff and debuff!" Souji said, "Sukunda!" "Rakshasa!"
"Jiraiya!" exclaimed Yosuke, "Sukukaja!"
"Take-Mikazuchi!" "Kill Rush!" yelled Kanji as he hit his card with the chair to summon it.
"Assault Dive! Tomoe!" yelled Chie.
"Tajikarawo!" "Tarunda!" Rion lowered the attack of the Shadow.
"Persona! Konohana Sakuya!" "Agilao!" Yukiko attacked the Shadow with her flames.
The Shadow tried to use "Foolish Whisper!" to silence the users. If that would happen, the Personas couldn't use their skills. Luckily, Yukiko wasn't silenced, so she was able to use "Me Patra."
Once the Persona-users were silenced, the Shadow used "Dekunda!" to negate the effects of any reduction of his powers.
The Shadow also used "Marakunda" to weaken every person and Persona so they would take more damage.
The amount of people who could actually attack the shadow with their weapons was limited. Souji couldn't because of the huge hole that the Shadow came out of, neither could Chie, Yosuke, or Kanji.
Yukiko's fan became a mainstay in attacking the Teddie's shadow. Rion literally had to pole vault over the hole with his staff and attack with the ninjato, and back flip when the bear tried to swat him off like a gnat.
The Shadow would attempt to use "Heat Wave" to inflict multiple hits on the investigators. Those who didn't dodge had to be healed.
"Rion… we need a way for us to dodge!" Souji exclaimed. Yukiko was currently healing Souji with "Diarama!" and would be moving onto to others shortly.
"I understand…," Rion said calmly. He spun his card into the air, and slashed it, "Reach, Tajikarawo! Sukukaja!" He looked at them, "I'll need some time to repeat this."
By this time, Souji had switched to "Unicorn!" "Zionga!"
After a few more attacks by Souji's Unicorn, Take-Mikazuchi, Jiraiya, and Tomoe; the Shadow began using "Mind Charge!"
"Be careful!" Rion yelled, "This is going to be bad if you aren't prepared!"
Rion, and Yukiko luckily blocked after the Mind Charge, because the Shadow used "Mabufula!" It didn't knock them over, but it still damaged them a lot, and their Personas were in trouble as well.
"Keep blocking after the Mind Charges!" Rion told them, "If you are weak to ice, you will be hurt."
Yukiko had healed the group afterwards and the pounding continued from every Persona and human, but there was only a slight break by the Shadow before he used more "Mabufula!" Then Yukiko needed to use more "Diarama!" and more "Media!"
After some more damage, the Shadow finally started talking, "Stop this futile struggling! Even if you resist, it will all come to naught."
The Shadow began something called "Ultra Charge!" It ducked under and came up with a large energy ball in its left hand.
"What… I have a bad feeling about this," Rise said.
"Guys," Souji was worried, "This is something you shouldn't be hit by."
"Be sure to guard before it comes," Rion told them.
"What's going to happen?" Kanji asked.
Yukiko started healing everyone to full health. After one more free shot by Tajikarawo, Rise said, "It's going to attack, get ready!"
Every Persona and human started guarding against the attack. The "Nihil Hand!" struck, but it was blocked and nulled.
So, the battle continued.
Those who couldn't attack with their weapons focused more with Personas. Kanji worked alongside Take-Mikazuchi to cast "Kill Rush!" or "Zionga!" Chie would work with Tomoe for "Gale Slash!" When Teddie started charging it's "Nihil Hand!", they guarded. It also would use "Marakunda!" and "Heat Wave!" randomly to try to catch them off guard. Occasionally the Shadow would use "Mabufula" to knock over Rion or Yukiko to weaken the party, especially since Yukiko was the main healer. Souji went back and forth between Unicorn and Ganga to heal or use lightning depending on the situation, all while protecting him from ice. He had to pick up Yukiko and Rion multiple times.
"What? How can summon such strength for such a futile endeavor?" the Shadow asked after being inflicted with more damage.
His new attack, "Nullify Guidance!" nearly killed any it hit, and require a lot of shoving people out of the way. If the attack connected, the one hit would become extremely tired and tired, and all of their injuries they had ever had came back. Yukiko had to work overtime to heal them, except the time she was hit with it. They had to keep attacking… Even with repeated "Nihil Hand!" attacks, "Mabufula!" spells, and "Nullify Guidance" they persisted. "Zionga!", "Kill Rush!", "Agilao!", and "Assault Dive!" were abused. All the while, they were being buffed by Rion and Yosuke, or they were debuffing the Shadow.
Rion became a nuisance on the shadow's head as he danced on it, stabbing and dodging its hands. Doing so, distracted it, and allowed Yukiko and Souji to heal the others and themselves.
With more damage, a new spiel came forth, "Why do you still resist? Even should you win, naught but suffering awaits?"
"We need to keep fighting!" Souji yelled as he was blasted by "Nullify Guidance", "Arrgh!" Souji became dizzy.
"Wake up!" Yukiko smacked him and cast "Diarama!".
"Torrent Shot!" Rion's Persona came forth, "Sukunda!" The Persona was became even more of a sitting duck.
"Garula!" Yosuke yelled. It was a perfect hit.
"We're running out of power here," Chie said, "I don't know how much longer we can keep this up."
"Just a little longer!" Souji yelled. Souji was struggling to keep it up as well. This battle needed to end soon. "Mabufula!" The Shadow blasted Rion and Yukiko to the ground and hit them again with his arms.
"Yukiko!" Souji yelled. He ran over and helped her up.
"Thanks," Yukiko said.
Yosuke and Chie dragged Rion up by each of his arms.
"Till the end!" Kanji said, "Kill Rush!"
That final attack seemed to be the end of it, as the Shadow disappeared from the distance as the Shadow fell into the hole.
They all struggled and staggered around. "Two Shadow battles in a day suck big time," Souji thought to himself.
"Was that part of you, Teddie?" Yukiko asked the pancake as they could see him again.
"Even Teddie has a hidden side," Chie said to the flat bear.
"I don't know who I am," Teddie told the Shadow as he turned towards it.
The Shadow stared at him.
"I've thought of number of times, that there was no answer," Teddie said, "But I'm here, and I live here."
"I'm sure you'll find it, Teddie," Souji told him.
"Sensei, will I really find it?" Teddie asked.
"Of course, we will all help you figure it out," Souji responded.
"I'm sure we will find out about you as we continue investigating about this world," Yukiko told the bear.
"You guys!" Teddie was so happy, "I'm one lucky bear!"
Chie looked, "Is that…?"
"A Persona?" Yosuke asked.
The Shadow had disappeared and a huge bear creature came out of it holding a rocket.
"Kintoki-Douji!" Rion muttered.
"Is this my Persona?" he asked.
Rise looked at him, "I can sense strong power from it. It's awesome, Teddie!"
Rise fell over onto her knees; she was tired from being the guide. No one could blame her. They staggered to her side.
"Whoa! Are you alright?" Chie asked, "Oh yeah, your persona just awakened, too. I'm so sorry. You must be so tired."
"We should go out of here as quickly as possible," Souji said.
"Chie, Yukiko, you should help her out…," Rion said.
The Persona-users headed out of the club, idol and pancake in-hand.