Piece Dix – The Fog
[The next day, June 9th 2012…]
The train heading back from Hibari station, one of the few stopovers on the way from Inaba back to Iwotodai, was silent, save for the occasional buzz from the headphones of a passenger listening to music, or the sound effects from a passenger's portable gaming system. In Japan after all, it's taboo to make conversation on the trains, as it is believed to be disrespectful to passengers trying to sleep. Yukari Takeba, Souji's friend and Okina University Student was one of those passengers.
She had finally fallen asleep, holding Souji's arm and using his shoulder as a pillow. Souji however, could not get a wink of sleep.
The night before, Yosuke had replayed the video Adachi released, claiming responsibility for the jailbreak in Mikage-Cho, as well as revealed the existence of Personas and threatened to release the identity of the Investigation Team to the public. Yosuke also took the time to pull him aside and brief him on the rest of the strange occurrences—the return of the fog in the TV world, the appearance of the mysterious tower, and the Persona user who seemed to have the same ability as him, Elizabeth.
Then there was the matter of a certain raven-haired heiress to the Amagi-inn… She hadn't shown up with the others to see him off, so he never had the chance to…
…To what?
"What would I even say to her…?" Souji said to himself. He sighed deeply, his chest heaving.
"Mm…" Yukari fidgeted in her seat, but didn't wake up. He looked to the girl asleep on his arm.
Something about her reaction to the video didn't seem to add up.
The synapses in his overworked mind were frayed and burnt out. He decided to rest his eyes.
Mitsuru sat in front of the window of the dorm, staring out blankly. A teacup of exotic coffee cooled itself to lukewarm temperature on the hazelnut finished table beside her.
Aigis, the blonde haired, blue eyed android stood very still watching her. Something about it would have warranted comments from Yukari about how "creepy" she looked if she were there. She was essentially an inanimate object, a fixture of the dorm living room, yet, alive.
"Neo Strega." Mitsuru muttered to herself. The ghost of Kirijo's twisted, nihilistic past had returned yet again to haunt her. The ghost of a ghost—and the latter could be argued as the ghost of something having never lived in the first place.
Minato's Evoker was still missing, and the true purpose for the reappearance of the twelve Arcana Shadows, as well as the Keys to the Abyss of Time were still unknown, with zero leads to even a glimpse of a clue in the case of any of the aforementioned mysteries.
The phone on the table beside her rang loudly and vibrated. The marble cream on the surface of the coffee, once placid and still, rippled slightly.
"This is Mitsuru." Mitsuru answered after picking up the phone.
"How is that possible…?" She said. Aigis watched quietly.
"Get the IT head of security on it immediately. And inform me of any updates. …Yes. Please do. Goodbye." She hung up, and sighed.
"What happened?" Aigis asked. Mitsuru shook her head.
"It's Kirijo's database…" Mitsuru said. "Someone hacked into it… Some data is missing, but, we don't know what they did… First Minato's Evoker, and now this… What in the world is happening…?"
Pharos stood at Tartarus' peak, overlooking the bleak, foggy TV world. He smiled, feeling the presence of a visitor.
"To what do I owe this pleasure?" He asked Izanami, who was standing behind him. She walked over to a pillar, leaning on it and sighed.
"Soon our chess pieces will finally meet." Izanami said.
"Yes…" Pharos said listlessly.
"It's a little unfair though—" Izanami said. "Regardless of the confrontation's results, the defeat of another Arcana Shadow is one step closer to your revival…"
Pharos smiled.
"Oh, I'm sure you'll think of something to even the odds. Nothing that occurs does so without you pulling the strings in some way, after all…" He said.
Izanami smirked.
"I-I'm doing everything I can to get to the bottom of this.." Doijima said to the Investigation Team. "But as you already know, I can't even tell where the bottom is…"
"W-what's going to happen to us…?" Rise asked, "…If he tells everyone the truth about us?"
The rest of the group stayed quiet.
"So this, 'Kirijo Group' used high schoolers for their twisted experiments, huh?" Yosuke said glumly. His sullen eyes were cast down at the floor of Dojima's office.
"…Yeah." Dojima said.
"And these high school kids… They all wound up dead…?" Yosuke continued.
"Look, I-I won't let that happen to any of you! I'll—" Dojima paused. Kanji stood up suddenly.
"Hah!" He laughed suddenly, tilting his chin up. Everyone turned to him.
"K-kanji-kun…?" Chie said.
"Screw. This." He said simply. "The hell with Adachi, with those Shadows, and with the whole freakin' Japanese government! The hell with them!" Kanji exclaimed.
"I don't know what's going to happen to us! I don't know if we'll beat all those Shadows, if we can track down Adachi, or solve any of the other shit that's been happening lately, but I do know this—"
Kanji clenched his fist in front of himself tightly, his eyes burning with the determination of a man who revels in a fight to the bitter end.
"They're not taking me without a fight, damn it! If they wanna put me in a test tube—turn me into a freak experiment—to hell with that!" Kanji growled through tightly gritted teeth. "They have to kill me first! I won't be afraid! And no matter what happens, that ain't gonna change!"
Yosuke stared at Kanji, wide-eyed. His sullen expression turned into a wry smile.
"Heh." Yosuke punched his open palm hard. His eyes burned with the same resolve.
"Hell yeah!" Yosuke exclaimed. "We aren't going down without a fight, goddamn it!"
Teddie nodded. "Grrrr! Now I'm really angry! Oh man, I almost hope he reveals our names!"
Chie looked at the determined boys, shaking her head. "You're all crazy…" She said, then smiled.
"But I'm with you! I'll fight to the last—just like a Samurai!"
"Well.. I do admit I'd love to see the look on Adachi's face when he realizes that his threats don't faze us." Naoto said.
Rise nodded. "You know… before I really thought it was hopeless… but It's strange. Right now, I feel like it doesn't matter what happens. As long as we have each other."
She put her hand on Yukiko's shoulder.
"We're invincible." Rise said, nodding.
Dojima scratched his head.
"Gods from the TV world… serial kidnappers and killers… monsters… the Japanese government… you guys'll take on anyone, won't you?" He said.
Yosuke grinned. "You have to blame it on your nephew. We got our attitude from him."
"Is that right…?" Dojima said, nodding. "Well, he's taught us all a thing or two, hasn't he…?"
Dojima suddenly got a call.
"Eh?" He said, and picked it up.
"Dojima here." He grunted. "Huh? Senpai?"
"Ryotaro-kun—" His old friend answered on the other line. "Can't talk for long. Meet me where I found you after Chisato's accident." He hung up. Dojima had a grim look on his face.
"What's wrong, Dojima-san?" Yosuke asked. Dojima shook his head.
"I dunno." He said as he put his coat on. "It was my old contact who gave me the information about Kirijo before—it sounded like he had some new information… but something seemed off… I'm gonna go. Take care of yourselves, y'hear?"
Dojima left.
Yosuke and Chie looked at each other.
"Where he found me after Chisato's accident…?" Dojima said to himself as he got into his car and started it. He pulled out of the parking lot, into the street.
"He'd only say something like that if…" He gritted his teeth.
"Someone is after him…"
Dojima pushed down slightly on the gas. After a few minutes he found himself on the quiet country road overlooking the Samegawa river. He saw a man standing alone on the banks, and pulled to a stop.
"Tetsuharu-San!" Dojima called as he made his way down to the bank.
"Ryotaro-kun." His senpai answered with a nod. "Ah, you remembered. Good."
"Why wouldn't I remember? You found me here crying like a damn fool after I ran out of the office…"
Dojima answered with a wry smile.
"Ryotaro-kun." His senpai said sternly. "I may not have much time left. They've been tracking me. My phone's been tapped, and my every move has been on surveillance. I think I was able to shake whoever was tailing me when I came here but—"
"Is it Kirijo's people? Or the Naicho maybe?" Dojima asked.
"I don't know. But it definitely isn't the Naicho." Tetsuharu answered. "These aren't the Naicho's methods… but listen, I went against my gut instinct the other day, and looked into this Kirijo business again. It turns out, they have connections to the terrorist organization that claimed responsibility for the jailbreak. Neo Strega."
"What?" Dojima said. "So then…?"
"Listen carefully. Three years ago, Kirijo's twisted experiments resulted in something incredible—something that would revolutionize the field of psychology, quantum physics—maybe even religion… They discovered the power that that Adachi recklessly showed off in that video. The power of Persona."
"Persona…" Dojima said to himself.
"Yes… though the records indicate that all of their test subjects died, in reality three survived. The only names that were on the record were Takaya, Jin, and Chidori. No family, no address… The three of them were part of an organization secretly ran and funded by the Kirijo Group—Strega.
"Strega?" Dojima exclaimed.
"The predecessors of Neo Strega." Tetsuharu said.
"Damn it." Dojima said. "We might know more, but we're still at square one. We've gotta track down Adachi! If only we could track down those three original Strega members.."
"They're all dead." Tetsuharu said. "However, I was able to pull up information about another group of Persona users… some group called SEES… Listen…" He took out a card with a phone number harshly scribbled on it.
"This is the number of my contact. She calls herself 'Ellie'. Use her to find out more about this Strega, and SEES… they're our key to tracking down Adachi."
Tetsuharu handed him the card.
Suddenly a strange, thick fog began to blanket the area. Slow clapping echoed above them.
"Well done!" A familiar voice said.
"My two senpai. Brilliant as ever."
Adachi walked toward the two men.
"Adachi!" Dojima exclaimed, reaching for his gun. Adachi held up a finger.
"Ah ah! I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Tetsuharu put his hand on Dojima's shoulder, stopping him.
"Tch-!" Dojima eyed the two punks that flanked his sides. They had appeared sometime as the fog began to cover the area.
"These are some friends of mine." Adachi said. "You'd be happy to know that a couple weeks ago, they were just normal, useless crackhead scum. But once they had a dose of our new miracle drug, they joined the Persona club! Or should I say, Neo Strega? Haha!"
"What…?" Dojima exclaimed.
"So, is this what the Nanjo Group cooked up…?" Tetsuharu said. Adachi nodded, surprised.
"You're pretty well informed, aren't ya?" Adachi said. "You should be. We've been watching you snoop around for quite some time."
"So you're the one who's been watching me!" Tetsuharu said.
"Bingo! You're 3 for 4 today!" Adachi said.
"However you missed out on one crucial tidbit I thought I'd reveal to you before I took you out—SEES and Strega… they're sisters."
"Sisters..?" Dojima asked. Adachi nodded.
"They were both ran and funded by the Kirijo Group! Thing is, Strega was their secret project. They were the rejects, y'know? SEES was the favorite child you see. They were perfect. The ultimate Persona users. Until of course your brats came into the picture."
"SEES and Strega… were connected?" Dojima exclaimed. "What the hell? And what do you mean? Yosuke and the others? They're more perfect?"
Adachi cackled.
"Yup." His smile faded into a sorrowful expression. "Dojima-san… I'm sorry Tetsuharu-senpai had to drag you here. I didn't want to have to take you out as well… I wanted to thank you. For calling the stretcher before. Heh. That was… that was very kind of you."
"Damn you Adachi.." Dojima said. "You were like a little brother to me—you acted like an idiot sometimes but you were a good man and a damn talented cop. Why did you have to do all this?"
Adachi looked at the ground quietly.
"…Thank you, Dojima-san. I promise to make yours quick."
"You're a damned fool, Adachi." Dojima said. "I'm not as ill-informed as you think. I know you can't summon your Persona before midnight."
Adachi's eyes widened. "Huh? You knew…? How…" Adachi suddenly smiled, nodding.
"I get it. The Shirogane bitch, right? She's a smart one."
Dojima took out his gun. "Yeah. Sorry. Come with me quietly and I'll do my best to speak on your behalf."
Adachi grinned.
"Some strange weather we're having, eh?" He said, looking around the fog.
"Adachi!" Dojima yelled, pointing his gun.
"Wait, Ryotaru-kun!" Tetsuharu exclaimed. The two punks began to howl in agony. Above them two malformed shadows materialized.
"What! Personas? What the hell?" Dojima exclaimed.
"Presenting Neo Strega's latest invention!" Adachi said. "Within this fog, Personas can be summoned outside of their time limit! Amazing isn't it? Arghh!"
Magatsu Izanagi appeared above him.
"Adachi!" Dojima yelled again, firing his gun. Magatsu Izanagi rushed forward, deflecting the bullets with quick, deft slashes of his naginata.
It rushed forward again, thrusting his blade into Tetsuharu's chest.
"Arghhh!" Tetsuharu cried, then fell to his knees. "R-run, Ryotaru…" He said, before collapsing.
"Senpai!" Dojima exclaimed, then looked back at Adachi.
"You bastard!"
"Dojima-san!" A voice yelled from above him. It was Yosuke.
Yosuke leapt down, sliding down the hill overlooking the bank and ran for Dojima.
"Yosuke? Watch out! Adachi is-!" Dojima was suddenly struck from behind by one of the punks' Personas. He was hurled forward into the rocky bank, landing in a heap.
"Dojima!" Yosuke exclaimed. One of the malformed, twisted shadows surged in front of Yosuke, making an attack with his clawed arm. Yosuke jumped to the side, narrowly dodging the attack.
"You stupid brat!" Adachi yelled. "I'll teach you for interfering with adults!"
"A Persona?" Yosuke exclaimed. "Now? But how-?"
"I-it's the fog… it lets them summon theirs…" Dojima said, weakly.
"The fog?" Yosuke exclaimed.
The twisted Persona rushed forward again.
"Damn it!" Yosuke cried, "I'm not letting some half-baked Persona take me out!"
A single glowing, blue card descended in front of Yosuke.
"Susano-o!" Yosuke cried, crushing the card. A blue whorl of light engulfed Yosuke as Susano-O, Yosuke's ultimate Persona appeared, intercepting the attack.
With one deft slash the 'fake' Persona was hacked in two, causing the punk who summoned it to collapse.
The other fake Persona rushed forward, its writhing, twisted black form lunging at Susano-O with its fist. Susano-O rushed forward, the circular saw around it spinning and cutting the enemy effortlessly.
Yosuke ran to Dojima's side.
"Are you alright, Dojima-san?" He cried. Dojima got on one knee, holding his arm.
"Yeah, he said. Just get Adachi!" Dojima exclaimed.
"Die, brat!" Adachi cried as Magatsu Izanagi rushed forward.
"Adachi!" Yosuke exclaimed. Susano-O intercepted it, his giant, whirling circular saw clashing with Magatsu Izanagi's naginata. Sparks flew in every direction as the two clashed again and again furiously.
Susano-O leapt up through the circular saw into the air, hurling a volley of kunai knives at Magatsu Izanagi which rained down on it like a thousand arrows.
Quickly Magatsu Izanagi knocked the circular saw back, then leapt backwards just in time to dodge the first wave of raining kunai knives. It twirled its naginata above itself, deflecting the rest of the knives.
The deflected knives bounced off the naginata's blade and rained around Magatsu Izanagi and landed blade-down in the rocky bank.
It then reared back and charged up a ferocious Bufudyne attack which struck Susano-O directly.
Yosuke's Persona cried out, and landed on the ground on one knee.
"Argh!" Yosuke cried. "D-damn it!"
"You're done for, punk!" Adachi cried as Magatsu Izanagi prepared one more devastating blow with his backhanded naginata.
Suddenly, another Persona tore through the fog, landing a single, overwhelming kick to Magatsu Izanagi's head. Suzuka Gongen bounced off, somersaulting once in the air before landing perfectly on the river's rocky banks.
Chie ran in after it. "Yosuke! Dojima-san! Are you guys alright?" She exclaimed.
"Chie!" Yosuke yelled back.
"Tch…" Adachi growled. He looked up. "The fog is beginning to fade… Heh. Looks like I'll have to cut this short…" He turned around. "Ja ne!"
He disappeared into the fog.
Chie and Yosuke called back their Personas.
"Damn it! I'll go after him!" Yosuke said, beginning to run when Chie stopped him.
"Wait, Yosuke!" She said. She looked at Dojima, who had collapsed beside them. "We need to help Dojima-san first…"
"Damn that Adachi!" Yosuke exclaimed. "A-alright.. A diarama should do the trick… We gotta tell the others about this, ASAP!"
Chie and Yosuke helped Dojima to his feet.