Disclaimer: Persona 4 and Death Note aren't mine.
Last time: The gang gets wind that popular idol Rise Kujikawa is coming to Inaba. Shortly thereafter she winds up on the Midnight Channel, marking her as the next victim. Tracking her to her grandmother's tofu shop, it's not long before a potential suspect shows himself. As most of the gang along with Adachi chase after the stalker, Light is tasked with watching after Rise. Through their talks together, Rise and Light really start to connect. Later Rise gets a shock to find that a rival of hers has replaced her in an upcoming movie. To make things worse, it seems the gang has the wrong suspect, since Rise has just shown up in another Midnight Channel special.
Chapter 12: Strength
On the TV, Rise was wearing nothing but a bright green bikini. She seemed to be acting much like an exotic dancer. "Maru-Q! This summer one young school girl will evolve into a full fledged idol. I'm Risette, and I'm here to give all my fans a surprise that's sure to get everyone's attention." Yu was just staring at the TV. He knew the others were watching this, and wondered what Light in particular would think. "I'm going to STRIP for you! Oh my... Now that I've said it, I'm so embarrassed. But if something is worth doing, it's going ALL THE WAY!" And with that, the program ended. Seconds later, Yu's phone rang. 'Hey,' came Yosuke's voice, 'She just said strip right?!' "Calm down Yosuke," Yu said, "It seems these programs are getting crazier. Maybe you should give Light a call. He may be upset by this."
Upset may have been an understatement. The gang was just sitting around while Light was slumped over the table with his hands covering his head. Earlier he had told the gang about his sudden feelings for Rise, and now she had been kidnapped. Picking himself up and leaning back in his chair, he sighed deeply. "I don't think I've ever been so frustrated. I was with her all that time, and I never even saw anything suspicious. I feel so useless." "I know how you feel," Yosuke said, "I'm sure it's hit you harder than the rest of us but... We all knew who the victim was this time and we still couldn't do anything." Light smiled. "Thanks Yosuke. Having said that, I did do something that should make finding Rise in the TV world easier." He brought out the laptop he had brought with him.
"What's that for?," Chie asked. "I was concerned that Teddie may still be having issues with his tracking abilities," Light said, "So to save some time I did as much research on Rise as I could find. It wasn't easy sifting through what was real and what was manufactured. I started by developing a psychological profile on Rise, based on my conversations with her from the past two days. From there it became somewhat easier to separate fact from fiction. I don't know how much it'll help, but I also don't know how much time we have before the fog starts rolling in again." Kanji nodded. "Then what are we doing sitting on our asses here? Let's head for the TV world and get going." "Wait," Chie said, "You still need a weapon." Kanji simply got up, folded up the chair he was sitting on, and walked off toward the electronic department.
"So now we're looking for this Rise girl?," Teddie asked. Light nodded. "It's important we get to her as soon as possible. If you need any help, I've compiled as much information on Rise as I could." He placed his hands on where he assumed were Teddie's shoulders would be. "Please Teddie. We need to save her." Teddie somehow sensed the determination behind Light's words. 'He must really care about this girl. I've gotta do this for my friends. Come on Shadow Senses, don't fail me now.' Teddie focused as hard as he could, and was able to pick up something. "Yeah... Yeah I think I've got her. It's faint, but I can still track it." Light sighed in relief. "Thank you." Teddie nodded, smiling. "Alright, follow me."
Rise awoke to the sound of laughter. As she got up, she took a look around her. 'What is this place? Some sort of club? How did I get here?' As she continued walking, the laughter around her got louder and louder. Twisting her head around in panic, she called out, "Who's there?" From the shadows of the club, several copies of her, all dressed in her school uniform, appeared one at a time. Rise gave a surprised gasp. "What's going on here?" "'You'll find out soon enough,'" came a voice that sounded just like hers, yet not like hers. The other Rises all started chattering at once, each one telling a different part of her life. Rise could barely take it all. 'Someone help me... Please... Light...'
"Well I got us here," Teddie said as the gang approached the entrance to the strip club, "But I bear-ly have any strength to guide us through." Light nodded. "That's okay, we may be able to find our way through from here." "I take it your thoughts about yourself are still filling your mind?," Yu asked. Teddie nodded. "Sorry sensei. I've been wracking my brain for answers, but it's like all I can conjure is a blank. I think I may have erased my own memories for some reason. Though why, I have no idea. Up until I met you guys, I never even questioned my own existence. I was happy that way. Don't get me wrong though. I'm still happy to have met all of you. But now that I've actually met people from the outside, it's like I want to know myself better so I can be better friends with all of you."
Light put his hand on Teddie's head and said, "If someone from this world can have thoughts like that, it means you have a soul. To question one's own existence is human nature. Even the simplest people on the planet have thoughts like this. So if nothing else, then hold onto your questions. They may be the only lead you have to finding yourself." Yu nodded. "And don't forget you have us here. If you want to find out who you really are, then we'll be here to help." Teddie smiled. "Thanks sensei, Light, everyone. For the longest time I've been all alone. But ever since you guys came here, it's like my life has real meaning. Oh, but we've spent too much time out here. I'm sure Light is eager to find Rise, so let's go."
"Thanks Teddie," Light said. As the group headed into the strip club to find Rise, they didn't notice the sinister presence behind them. Peering at the gang from within the shadows, it observed them from afar. "'Which shall I draw strength from master?,'" it asked to an unseen being. It waited for a bit, then received it's answer. "'The guide? Yes, I believe drawing strength from him will be much better than their leader. But do you believe it to be necessary? Is not the shadow here invincible?'" Another pause. "'I understand. I had not realized it's power could have limits. Very well then master. I shall obey.'" Shifting into a new form, the second shadow emerged and started to follow the gang from a good distance.
The gang ran from room to room, searching for the shadow they had to face to ensure Rise's safety. Finally, they found their way into a large chamber with a stripper pole on one side. In the middle of the room stood Shadow Rise. "'Well, well. You people are a little early for the show. As much as I'd love to give you all a sneak peek, I'm afraid you'll have to be satisfied with what you see right now.'" "We didn't come here for a show," Light snapped, "We came to find our friend Rise. And don't get cute saying you are Rise, we already know how this world works." The shadow pouted. "'Party pooper. Fine then, if you really need some early entertainment, perhaps my good friend the Amorous Snake can help.'"
From rafters, an giant albino snake came slithering down the stripper pole. It had a red plate on its head, and around its neck was a Venus symbol, also used for a female symbol. "Oh great," Chie said, "I guarantee you that thing is poisonous." "In a second it won't matter," Kanji said. Summoning his card, he grabbed it in his fist to shatter it. "Take-Mikazuchi! Mazio!" Take-Mikazuchi swung his lightning bolt and struck it against the pole, using it as a lightning rod to deal extra damage to the snake. In retaliation, it shot a stream of venom right at Kanji. "Hang in there Kanji," Light said, "Makarakarn!" Yoshitsune stepped in front of Kanji and blocked the venom attack with his beam shield. "Thanks Light," Kanji said, "We need to shut that big mouth of his."
"Allow me," Yukiko said, and her fan was set on fire. "Maragi!" Sakuya waved her wings, causing a stream of flames to engulf the snake. Before it could recover, Yu and Light brought their blades on top the creature, slicing it almost down the middle. "Now that it's been sliced up and fried," Kanji joked, "Time to tenderize it! Kill Rush!" Take-Mikazuchi's arms starting spinning like wind turbines. Pulling back his arm, he then slammed it straight into the giant snake, pulverizing it. "Thank goodness," Chie said, "I really hate snakes." "Her cousin once teased her with a giant rubber snake when she was a kid," Yukiko explained. The others nodded, and they headed out to the next room.
"'They are strong,'" the second shadow said to its unseen master, "'They could prove a problem. Must I truly wait until they have dealt with the prime shadow here?'" It paused for a moment, awaiting its master's response. "'So be it. I will wait until they have finished. Perhaps, should they actually win somehow, they will be too weak to defeat me.'" Stepping out of the darkness it had been hiding in, the second shadow waited a bit until it looked like the gang was several rooms ahead. It then began following them, using its instincts to keep up with them. It would wait until the prime shadow had weakened them.
Meanwhile back in the real world, Adachi was completing his case report. By sheer luck, he had managed to capture two professional thieves who had hijacked a plane belonging to a very important company. They were carrying a giant case which had been confiscated and was sitting in the evidence locker. Adachi's curiosity got the better of him and he decided to check it out. As he began undoing the complex lock, he thought to himself, 'Why am I getting a sudden case of deja vu?' He got his answer as the case opened. What he saw inside surprised him. "Okay, out of all the things I thought this could be, I never expected this..."
Continuing to move through the club, Light was the first to hear the sounds of laughter coming from one of the rooms. "That sounds like Rise," he said, "Or several of them." Heading into the room, the gang was surprised to find a whole batch of Rise clones. In the center was the real Rise, still wearing her uniform from the tofu shop. She turned to see the the others behind her. "Light! What are you doing here?" As Rise ran to Light's side, the other Rises started to disappear, all except the Shadow Rise. "'I see you all made it in time for the show,'" the shadow said while dancing around another stripper pole, "'I'm here ready to bare everything. All my little secrets... Because I know the best way to get people to love me. All of me.'"
"What do you mean?," Rise said, "Who are you anyway? And why do you look like me?" The shadow smiled. "'I am you. And soon, the whole world will know of me, the popular Risette. But then, am I really Risette? Am I really anyone? Or am I just no one, just a face hiding behind fame?'" Rise couldn't believe her ears. "No... I..." The shadow laughed. "'I just want to know all about me. To know who I am. And to let the world know of me in the process.'" "Stop it...," Rise said, close to tears, "You're not... You can't be..." Before anyone could do anything else, Rise screamed, "YOU'RE NOT EVEN ME!" Shadow Rise started laughing harder and harder as its dark aura turned red and engulfed her in darkness.
"What's going on?," Rise said, thoroughly confused. "That's your shadow," Light explained, "A physical manifestation of your darkest thoughts. But now that you've rejected it, it's gone berserk." The shadow's new form was surprising to say the least. It was still humanoid, but multicolored in an almost patch-work way. Instead of a normal head, it had a six-sided satellite dish with pigtails, making for a bizarre appearance. It hung horizontally off the stripper pole, swaying like a flag. "'I am a shadow! The true self!'" The antenna on its head started scanning around, as if trying to gather data. "We need to stop that thing before its gets too much information," Light said. Kanji was the first to run in. "I got it!" But the shadow simply knocked him back with a powerful shield.
"'Too easy. So straightforward.'" "Then try something a little less direct," Yukiko said, "Maragi!" Before Sakuya's flames could reach it, the shadow erected a red wall to protect itself. Chie tried her luck next. "Bufu!" This time the shadow conjured a blue wall to block the ice. "This thing is able to predict our every move," Yu said, "Time to fall back on our go-to finisher." Light nodded. "Hama!" Yoshitsune raised it's beam blade and increased the intensity. "'Child's play,'" the shadow said as it erected a yellow barrier to block the attack, "'Though it makes for an excellent tan.'" "No way," Chie said, "That's our best technique." "'My turn,'" the shadow said, and fired a massive laser from its antenna.
Thinking quickly, Light called out, "Makarakarn!" Yoshitsune put up his beam shield, but the laser was too strong and broke through. "Oh no," Teddie said, "I've got to do something to help them." As the shadow readied another attack, Teddie stood in front of them. The shadow seemed to hestitate. "'What is that thing? I can't detect it. What's going on?'" With a mighty growl, Teddie charged at the shadow as another laser fired from its antenna. It wasn't as strong as before, and Teddie was even able to redirect the laser back at the shadow. There was a bright flash, and the gang quickly covered their eyes. When the light faded, they saw Teddie was lying on the ground, completely flat.
"Teddie," Yukiko said, "Are you okay?" Teddie got up, feeling as deflated as he looked. "I'm fine, just literally got the wind knocked out of me." They turned to the shadow, who had been turned back into Rise's double. Rise walked over to it as it struggled to get up. "I've always wondered who I really am, ever since I became an idol. I've gone through so many personalities, sometimes I get confused. Maybe the real me doesn't really exist. But I do know one thing." She helped her shadow to her feet. "You're me, and I am you." The shadow smiled and closed its eyes as the blue light engulfed it. It transformed into a large female form in a flowing gown. It seemed to have a complex satellite for a head, and held an unusual object in its hands. Turning into a card with a picture of the Lovers, it fell into Rise's hands.
"Himiko," Rise said. Light smiled at her. "Congratulations, you now have your own Persona." Rise smiled, before gasping and turning her head. "There's something behind us." The gang all turned around, and were shocked. It looked like Teddie, only much bigger, and with the same dark aura and yellow eyes as the other shadows. "A shadow of a shadow?," Yu said, "Is that even possible?" "'Any creature that can have thoughts and worries about their own lives may have a shadow,'" the Shadow Teddie said, "'Even, sometimes, other shadows. Yet your quest for answers will only bring you tears. Why search for the truth, when it would be so much easier to remain in ignorance?'"
"Don't go trying to get me to reject you," Teddie said, defiant, "I already know how bad an idea that is." The shadow seemed to smile. "'Not all shadows require rejection to achieve power. Any form of negative emotion will do.'" As if to prove it, the shadow suddenly became engulfed in the same blood red aura as before. "'You may have survived the prime shadow here. But let's see how you fare against an even stronger foe.'" As the darkness faded, the shadow's new form appeared. It almost seemed to be half sunk into the floor. It still looked like Teddie, only gigantic and tattered. With a mighty heave of its breath, it blew Teddie to the back of the room. "'You have interfered long enough.'"
"We need to get rid of this guy," Yosuke said, "But with Teddie out of it, how can we know how to fight." Rise got an idea. "Light, can you help me up? I think my Persona can act as a new guide for us." Light nodded, and took Rise's arm over his shoulder. Rise called forth her card, which shattered from her will alone. "Come forth, Himiko!" Himiko appeared behind Rise and placed the object in her hands over Rise's eyes. It turned out to be a special visor, containing a heads-up display of the battlefield. Rise focused on the shadow in front of them and gasped. "There's something inside that thing," she told Light, "I think its drawing power from another source."
"Then we need to shut it down at the source," Kanji said, "Mazio!" Take-Mikazuchi's lightning attack struck inside the shadow's open eye-socket, stunning it. It then breathed in again. "That won't stop me," Yosuke said, "Sukukaja!" Running faster than he thought possible, the sudden wind gust felt more like a summer breeze. Rushing at the shadow, he threw one of his kunai at the shadow's eye, then struck with his other. Before the shadow could recover, Chie flipped in the air and brought her foot down on the shadow's head. "'You continue this pointless fighting. But for what purpose. The answers you seek do not come easy. Why put yourselves through such pain?'" "Because what good is an answer if it comes easy?," came Teddie's voice.
He walked up to the shadow and said, "I only started thinking about who I am recently, and it's because I have such good friends who are willing to help. It doesn't matter if the truth only brings pain. Nothing in this world can be that easy." Teddie's new-found resolve started to weaken the shadow, causing it to start falling apart. "Light," Rise said, "I think you can finish it off now." Light nodded. "Hama!" Yoshitsune fired a shot from his beam blade, bathing the shadow in light. The shadow was forced back to its normal state under the searing light. As it got up, Teddie walked over to it. "I don't know what the answers are, but I'll keep searching for them. I have friends who can help me, so I know I'll find who I am soon."
'He seems so confident,' Rise thought, 'Maybe I should look for who I am too.' Teddie offered his hand to the shadow, who accepted. "You're me, and I'm you. That's how it goes. I knew that the second I laid eyes on you." The shadow was engulfed in bright blue light, turning into a giant red boiler with arms and legs and a horned head. A yellow cape fluttered from the figures short neck. Fading into a card with a picture of the Star, it landed in Teddie's hands. "Kintoki-Douji," Teddie said. Then he started crying tears of joy. "I don't believe it, I have my own Persona." "Congratulations Teddie," Yosuke said, "Guess this means you're well on your way."
Rise laughed, then asked Light, "So you guys came all the way here just to save me?" Light blushed nervously. "Light was especially eager to save you," Chie said, "You could say for him it was a little more than a life-or-death situation." Now Rise blushed. 'Light wanted to save me. He and the others came here just for me.' "Alright then," Teddie said, "Now that I can fight alongside you guys, I need to shape up quick. Oh yeah, before I get started..." He handed something to Light. "It might be best for you to give these to Rise," he said with a wink. And then he flopped down on the floor and started doing sit-ups, which looked quite comical in his flat state.
As Light walked Rise back home, she asked him, "So your primary concern was getting to me as soon as possible?" Light was still nervous. "Well... I didn't want to lose you. Not before I understood my own feelings toward you." Rise couldn't help but giggle. "You may be the first boy ever to legitimately fall in love with me. However..." She turned to him, her face a little red. "I think I may be falling in love with you too. I mean, you seem to understand me better than anyone else I've met. Not to mention saving me from that strange place." "Oh," Light said, "That reminds me. Teddie wanted me to give you these." He brought another pair of glasses for Rise.
"Since you may be joining our investigation team now," he said, "Teddie had these made." Rise tried them on. "They look awesome. This proves I'm one of you guys." Light nodded. "They're more than a fashion statement. They actually help us to see through the fog in the TV world." "Nice," Rise said. Light smiled. "Nice to see you more cheerful." "Well I can't stay down in the dumps forever right?," Rise said, "Oh, I hope that doesn't ruin your image of me." Light shook his head and placed a hand on Rise's cheek. "It doesn't matter to me how you act. As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing fake about you." Rise blushed, but smiled as she and Light embraced. 'It's good to finally know real love,' Light thought to himself, 'Now I just have to work hard to keep it.'
The next rainy night showed nothing on the Midnight Channel. As the mysterious figure walked down the foggy street, it saw something hanging from a nearby apartment railing. "Maybe I succeeded this time." But when the figure got a closer look, it saw that the dead body was that of an adult male. The body had a trickle of blood coming from its forehead, a sign that it had been killed in the real world. "That's definitely not my work," the figure said, "But maybe I can use it to my advantage. In any case, I can't leave a dead body here to rot." The figure picked up its cell and dialed in an emergency number. "I'd like to report a possible murder victim..."
Next time: Mr. Morooka has been found murdered, despite not having been seen on any news reports or the Midnight Channel. The gang is confused, and a new development with Teddie doesn't help matters. A new suspect has emerged, with a direct challenge on the next Midnight Channel...
Next chapter: Hanged Man
Touch and go there, huh? Things are only gonna get crazier. Send me reviews.
