The trio stared in horror as the other Yosuke chuckled darkly. His eyes were closed, and he tapped his foot on the cold, hard tile of the liquor store. The real Yosuke was pinned where he stood. All thoughts were frozen in his skull. The golf club he held slipped from his grasp. The aluminum tool clattered as it struck the ground. That warped, demonic laugh drowned Yosuke. His breath was hard and heavy, unable to get enough oxygen. He couldn't even sweat.

"~Sucks, doesn't it?~" the second Yosuke asked casually, staring down the real one. Those golden eyes burned Yosuke's eyes. No matter how hard he fought, he couldn't help but stare into those horrid orbs. His mind was set alight whenever his gaze slid too close. Hands flew to his hair, clawing at his skull. A pressure unlike anything he could have known crushed his brain.

"Wh-What!?" Yosuke choke out, collapsing to his knees when the pain got too intense. That twisting in his gut returned. The one he thought he cured with the glasses. He retched on the floor as his double stepped over to him, humming a cheery tune as he watched the real Yosuke writhe in pain.

"~Being stuck out in the sticks,~" the fake said, sitting atop Yosuke's back, checking his nails. Those bright eyes drifted around the store, seeing JoJo still crumpled to the floor, trying to cover herself and tomato red. The bear, Teddie, rolled on the floor, screaming something about an evil monster being there and that they were going to die.

"Wh-What... are you...?" Yosuke garbled out, all energy leaving his body as the double sat atop his back. It was like a leech draining his blood. He felt his bones bend as the twin shifted more weight onto him.

"~I mean, to tell the truth,~" Yosuke Two said, feeling his strength grow. That chuckle subsided as he got off the real Yosuke's back. The steps echoed in the empty store. The malevolent one crouched down, closing the distance to Yosuke's pale, sweating face. "~I'm really the one that thinks everything is a pain in the ass.~"

"N-No!" Yosuke barked, forcing himself to his feet. His legs convulsed under him, sending him to the floor before he caught the shelf next to him. That pounding in his head returned with a vengeance. A copper smell flooded his nostrils. A shaking hand to his nose brought a wet sensation to his palm. His fading vision gave him enough time to see the blood on his hand. "Th-That's not true!"

"~Haha!~" the evil version laughed. It was a cruel, sadistic laugh. His mouth was open, sharp incisors accentuated like a predator animal. That dark cloud around him grew, shifting around like tentacles. "~How long are you gonna keep deluding yourself!?~"

"Sh-Shut up!" Yosuke screamed, grabbing the attention of the other two.

"Yosuke!" JoJo shouted. She picked herself off the ground, observing the scene around her. Teddie's squawking, squeaking feet made their way to JoJo's side. She heard the bear gasp as he watched. Her body shifted forward, preparing itself to run to Yosuke and pull him out of there. Thoughts of utter terror flooded her mind, keeping her feet planted where she stood.

"~Screw the shopping district, and Junes too!~" the insidious figure said. He kept his gaze locked onto Yosuke, who convulsed on the floor as another wave of pain crashed into him. "~You're sick of it all. Especially with living out in the middle of nowhere.~"

"What... are you... saying-!?" Yosuke forced from his throat. Blood spilled from his nose, staining his uniform. "That's not true!"

"~You've got to put on a show of being happy and go lucky because you're scared shitless of being alone,~" the fake Yosuke said, tearing through all of the defenses the real one built. He snickered as Yosuke crumpled to the ground once again. A painful, bone-chattering cough filled the air from Yosuke, his hands clutching his throat. "~The act was so pathetic, even I wanted to kick your ass.~"

"W-We have to do something!" JoJo said, turning to Teddie. The bear shook where he stood. Her mind raced as she tried to think of a plan. That arm of hers already failed once, and she wasn't too confident in trying it for a second time. The crackling taunted her, mocking her for cowardice.

"~And what's this about checking out this place for Saki-senpai's sake?~" the creature of a boy asked cruelly. Yosuke's eyes shot to the fake. Despite the agony, he refused to let the pseudo-Yosuke's words fly over his head. His hand refused to listen to him, tightening and opening wildly as the seizure continued. "~Haha... you know damn well why you really came here.~"

"St-Stop!" Yosuke begged, more pain infecting him.

"~Hmm...~" Fake Yosuke hummed as he put a finger to his chin. "~Why so panicked? I thought I was just spouting bullshit. Unless you know that I'm telling the truth...!~"

"No!" Yosuke shot back, picking himself off the floor, feeling the pain subside. "You are just spouting out bullshit! None of what you're saying is making any sense!"

"~Or maybe...~" Fake Yosuke offered, putting a hand on the real one's shoulder, who was too weak to force it off. "~I am telling the truth. I know every little thing you're thinking. You know why? Because I am you!~"

Yosuke fell to the floor once again. The convulsions were more aggressive. His body shook on the floor like a surfaced fish. Every word stole his breath, his throat tightening. The fake him put his shoe on Yosuke's back, kicking him onto his back. The shoe smashed into his ribs, sticking there like it was driven from a nailgun.

"~You stayed here because you thought it'd be a good time,~" evil Yosuke hissed. His shoe stayed tight on Yosuke's chest. "~I mean, what else is there to do in this ghost town? A world in the TV... now that's exciting! You didn't have any other reason, did you!?"

"St..." Yosuke whimpered out, trying to get his tongue to work again. "Sto-Stop..."

"~You're trying to act like a bigshot!~" his double snapped at him once again. He wore a scowl as he pressed his foot harder onto Yosuke's chest, choking him. "~If all went well, hey, maybe you could be a hero! And that senpai you were so sweet on? Her death was a perfect excuse!~"

"Who... are... you...?" Yosuke said, finding the strength to speak. He laid stuck to the floor, his brain burnt and gone.

"~Already told ya,~" the evil him said, "~I'm you... Your Shadow. There's nothing I don't know about you.~"

"Th-That's a Shadow!?" JoJo shrieked, shaking like a scared kitten. Her eyes stared down to Teddie, praying for answers.

"You... can't be... me..." Yosuke said, his limbs heavy and immobile. His hardened his face into a scowl. "You... son of a bitch..."

The cackle made the trio go white. It was dark, menacing, and entirely psychotic. The Shadow laughed long and hard. He slapped his leg as he kept going. Those bright eyes of his glowed like stars, painting his form as a silhouette against the light.

"~That's right!~" Shadow Yosuke screamed, a wide grin on his face. "~Say it again!~"

"You're... not... me..." Yosuke growled, picking himself up once again. His new found strength was welcome, finally not suffering on the ground. "You... are nothing like me!"

"~Hmph,~" the Shadow huffed, a dark smirk on his face. "~That's true. I'm me now. I don't need you anymore...~"

The dark aura around the Shadow exploded. Yosuke flew through the air, slamming into the counter next to JoJo and Teddie. They rushed to his side, checking for wounds and making sure he was still alive. While they did this, a bright, blinding light saturated the store. They saw pure white, even though their eyes were closed. When it subsided, they saw something that made their bowels freeze.

A horrid beast stood where the Shadow once stood. It had a frog-like body, its toes had the pads frogs had, large and cartoonish. Its skin was a camouflage green, covering its whole body except for a small, black figure that sat on top of the frog. That small figure had massive hands, a tight red scarf wrapped around its throat. It was more of a shadow than an actual person; its skin a charcoal black. The eyes were a strange star shape, making it all the more alien. A large V-shaped mouth, permanently locked into a grin, stayed on the frog body, towering over them. Two glowing red eyes illuminated the trio in a bath of crimson light. JoJo and Teddie stared at the creature in absolute horror.

"~I am the Shadow... the True Self,~" the beast roared, the store collapsing around them. Instead of the rest of the corrupted town being exposed, they sat in the midst of an empty studio. Monitors covered the metallic girders around them, all having empty, black screens. The platform was entirely empty, just them and the monster. Not a single streetlight could have been seen for miles around. "~ And I'm gonna crush anything that bores me... including you!~"

The monster threw one of its massive frog legs at the trio. The sound of it cutting through the air dwarfed a tank shell. The force alone caused the girders to groan.

"AH!" JoJo screamed, firing lighting at the Shadow. Her eyes were clenched shut, not willing to look at the mistake she no doubt made. She knew the pain was inevitable, but she didn't want to see it coming. Oh God, it was going to hurt so bad! Her bones would be crushed, her skull cracked, organs crushed, lungs perforated, brain hemorrhaged, intestines revealed- what was taking the thing so long?

"It's paralyzed!" Teddie shouted. His foot squeaked as he took a step.

JoJo opened her eyes to see that the bear spoke the truth. The Shadow frog laid on its back, lamenting in pain. Her arm sparked and smoked, having just fired the bolt of lightning. A wide smile grew on her face as the realization of what she did sank in.

"Oh my God..." JoJo said aloud. She looked deep into her glowing palm. "I'm a badass!"

"~You bitch!~" the Shadow howled, contorting back into its position. Heavy booms shook the platform as the frog legs slammed into the thin metal. Teddie found himself hopped into the air more than once as the monster took its 'steps'.

"Eep..." JoJo squeaked herself, the new found confidence long gone. She threw herself behind Teddie, trying to hide her much larger form behind the smaller bear.

"~This is for my bike, you fat-assed slut!~" the Shadow roared, raising one of its legs for another strike.

"What did you say...?" JoJo asked, her voice no longer shaking. Neither was her body. She was completely still.

"~I said I'm gonna kill you!~" it screamed, rage in its voice. The leg cast a massive shade on the trio. Teddie chattered, his voice whimpering.

"No you didn't..." JoJo said simply, her head still hidden by Teddie. "You called me something..."

"~I called you a slut,~" Shadow Yosuke snipped, his voice unamused and impatient. "~Now, it's smashing time!~"

"You called me something before 'slut'..." JoJo continued. Her grip tightened around Teddie's fur, digging into the bear. Her teeth grit. Rage flooded her being. Red filled her vision, and not from the glowing eyes of the frog.

"O-Oh no!" he wailed, his boyish voice breaking as he spoke. "You have no idea what you've just done!"

"~I called you a fat-ass!~" Shadow Yosuke screamed, his leg dropping like an asteroid at the terrified bear, and the hidden teen girl. "~You're huge butt broke my bike! It hasn't been the same because of you!~"

Teddie ran as fast as he could, dragging Yosuke by the foot behind him. He searched desperately for a place to hide. All he could do was pray that there would be something left once it was all over. Teddie threw himself over a turned over girder, Yosuke following behind. Teddie threw his little blue paws over his ears, shutting his eyes tight. A weak hand tapped on the bear's side.

"Ted-Teddie...?" Yosuke groaned out, finally haven awoken from his forced slumber. "Wh-Where's JoJo?"

"Oh, it's more horrible than I thought!" Teddie screamed, failing to resist the urge to watch the girl and the beast.

"I-Is she okay!?" Yosuke demanded, grabbing a hold of the girder and pulling himself on top of it, his chest resting on the cold metal. The sight was unforgettable.

The Shadow's foot slammed onto the ground, sending a shockwave throughout the platform. The raw power blew back Yosuke's hair. He raised an arm to cover his eyes. The boy knew he saw JoJo standing at the impact sight, not moving an inch. His heart sank when the realization hit him as hard as the blow would have.

"J-JOJO!" Yosuke cried, reaching his arm out, but unable to pull himself further. Energy sapped itself from his body. His throat let out short, quickening wails of sorrow. He forced himself to hold it together. Tears dotted his eyes. He lost another one.

"~What the-!?~" the Shadow cried. It pushed its leg harder to the ground. No matter how much strength it put in, a strange resistance kept its leg from meeting the metal floor. The resistance grew in strength, pushing its leg upwards. It wasn't long before the beast fell back over, confused and enraged. "~H-How!?~"

A sight that shocked them all. There, on the platform, stood JoJo. Her eyes glowed bright. A deep yellow much like the Shadow when it was Yosuke, and when they were pushed into the TV. In her hand was the golf-club Yosuke wielded earlier, tight in her hand like a sword to a Samurai. Her face no longer held the apprehension that she was known for. No fear. No shame. No embarrassment. It was hardened. A scowl worthy of a true warrior.

"You mentioned her butt, didn't you?" Yosuke called to the monster, the black figure at the top turning its head to him.

"~Shut up!~" it answered, throwing a leg at JoJo for a heavy smack. It rocketed through the air, another shockwave mere centimeters behind it. It held enough momentum to kill any human being and the town they lived in with them. Shadow Yosuke couldn't help but laugh as he was sure that the girl would die to the attack.

Until she raised her arm in the air.

The attack was blocked. An explosion the size of a nuclear blast sent more metallic groans into the air. The platform shifted and shook at the sudden stop. The Shadow fell over on its side, its energy transferring to its whole and sending the beast to the ground. Even the two hidden behind the fallen over girder were sent flying, smashing against massive spotlights that sat on the platform.

The Shadow threw its gaze at JoJo, her left arm flexed at a perpendicular position. Her forearm stayed still in the air, dug into the thick, slimy flesh of the frog leg it interrupted. In her right hand, the golf-club crackled with electricity. The head of the club glowed a bright orange, the heat building in that spot. The floor beneath her were assaulted with bolts of energy. The teen girl was a walking generator. Electricity snapped and cracked all around her.

"Ya shouldn't have done that..." JoJo said, a sneer on her lips.

A thunderclap erupted in the air. A bolt of lightning shot from the sky, striking JoJo where she stood. Her eyes glowed brighter, forcing out the darkness around them. She aimed her right arm at the Shadow, fingers making a gun shape. That same sneer still stuck to her face. One eye shut, taking aim at the massive, defenseless monster.

"BANG!" she screamed, another bolt flying from her pointer finger and into the Shadow before her. The howls of the beast echoed around them. It shook and writhed, limbs slamming all around it. The figure on its back clutched its skull. Smoke rose from Yosuke's Shadow, cooked thoroughly by the lightning.

Yosuke stared at the girl, his mouth agape. He was... there were no words. JoJo sparked like a malfunctioning Christmas light, and she just killed that gigantic monster. It was yet another thing that made that day one of the weirdest ones he had lived. The one when he was eight with the clown still remained number one, though.

"Guys!" she shouted, waving her left hand in the air when she spotted her friends. She jogged her way to them, running past the smoking remains of the Shadow. Her smile was a mile wide. The power coursing through her veins made her confident. She just saved her friends with it! Nothing could make her feel useless again!

"JOJO, LOOK OUT!"

Until the Shadow grabbed her...

The grip was tight. Bone crushingly so. In the Shadow's amphibious foot, JoJo was pinned. She shook in its hold as the monster got back up. The growls it made caused JoJo to become a scared kitten all over again. She couldn't move. Mercy was not on the mind of the monster as it tightened its prison. JoJo shouted, feeling her ribs crushed by the beast.

"GAH!" she shrieked, pain over wracking her system. Her eyes were shut tight. Thoughts of death flowed in her head. Her hair flowed in the air as the Shadow lifted her in the sky.

"~Thought you killed me, didn't you, bitch!?~" Shadow Yosuke howled. It knew its plan would work that time. No more magic tricks! Just a whoosh and a crunch!

"He-Hel-!" JoJo gargled, silenced by another clench by the Shadow. Every breath was agony. Sharp knives driven into her chest.

"~It's about time you get crushed!~" the darker self proclaimed. Its foot flew down to the floor. The power was horrifying. Dust flew around them, creating massive clouds that acted like a smokescreen.

"Oh my God!" Yosuke shouted. He had enough strength to get back to feet. He wiped the lenses of his glasses, clearing his vision. "There's no way..." he whimpered, unable to handle what he was seeing. "There's no way that he's me!"

"~Oh Hell yeah!~" Shadow Yosuke shouted, a tingle going through its body. "~Power boost!~"

The dust cleared to show JoJo collapsed onto the ground. She wasn't moving a muscle. Her skirt was torn and nothing more than rags. What was left of her shoes were just chunks of broken plastic and fiber that fell off her feet in sheets. Her bra barely clung on. Luckily, she was on her back or else it wouldn't have clung on in the first place. Blood trickled from her mouth, just enough to stain her teeth a light pink.

"Is she okay?" Teddie asked, his eyes stuck on JoJo's unconscious form. His whines caught Yosuke's attention, who limped his way to Teddie's side and focused his sight on JoJo as well.

"No..." Yosuke answered simply, his voice dark. "We've got to get her out of there now!"

"But it's still too dangerous!" Teddie countered, paws on the sides of his head and shaking the latter worriedly. "That Shadow is still going berserk!"

"Why?" Yosuke interrogated, clutching the bear's shoulder to support himself. "Why won't that thing just stop!?"

"I don't know," Teddie said, still watching the scene. "But we have to find a way to beat it before it comes for us."

"Wait!" Yosuke shouted, pushing the bear away and huddling against the girder once again. He hissed as the pain stung him once again. Teddie raised a fist at the push, before he saw what he was staring at.

"Where'd she go...?" Teddie asked.

JoJo was gone. The spot she laid on, completely unconscious, was empty. Not a trace of her existence remained. Not a drop of blood, not an imprint in the floor, not even a gray hair was there. The dust settled, the Shadow returning to vision.

"~Ugh...~" it groaned. That warped voice struck their ears in a strange way. They were used to swells of anger, a bit of blatant narcissism, maybe a touch of sadism; but the voice sounded odd by comparison. "~Pain... in the... ass...!~"

The monster crumpled to the floor. Motionless once again. This time, however, the creature melted down. A thick, black oil spilled onto the platform as the body broke down. Cracks and snaps were heard as the physical form of the monster rotted away. The fluid turned into a small lake on the elevated metal island they stood on. The stench alone choked Yosuke and Teddie, who both retched and coughed when the fluid reached their girder.

"God, it smells like a used jockstrap!" Yosuke coughed out, tears dotting his eyes for a completely different reason that time.

Another flash of light blinded the two. The white bathed Yosuke and Teddie, who had to grit their teeth to deal the migraine. They still had no idea what just happened. It refused to make sense in their skulls. JoJo was there, but then she was gone and the Shadow just... died? But JoJo was barely hanging on the last time she 'fought' it. Why the sudden heel turn?

When the light vanished, they were back in the liquor store. The shelves still held all of the booze. The counter still had a dent from Yosuke's back crashing into it. Lights were still gone, and the store was as dark as night. The corner was still missing from JoJo's lightning. Even the second Yosuke was there.

The Shadow scrambled on the ground, on its hands and knees. Its smirk was gone. Instead, it held a face of fear. They could hear shallow breaths coming from the Shadow, who curled into a fetal position as it too realized where they were. Yosuke could only stare at the pathetic figure before them, hearing it sob and cower away from them.

"No way..." he said, crouching down to the Shadow's level. His heart hurt seeing the figure. The connection was undeniable. "Y-You can't...!"

"Yosuke..." Teddie said, the human turning his head to the bear. "That thing came from you. If you keep denying it, it'll attack us again."

Yosuke turned back to the Shadow, which covered its face with its arms. His mind screamed at him what he denied with all of his might. He placed a hand on the Shadow's shoulder, sighing as he began to speak.

"He's right," Yosuke said, turning to... his Shadow... "I knew you weren't lying. But... damn it hurts to face yourself. I was too ashamed to admit you were right."

The Shadow lowered its arms, looking at Yosuke with those bright, yellow eyes.

"You're me," Yosuke began, standing up. He offered a hand to his Shadow, who accepted it and rose with him. "And I'm you. When you think about it, all of this is me."

The Shadow gave a cheesy grin, placing a hand behind its neck. It vanished without a word, sinking into the blackness. A flash of light blinded Yosuke for the last time, this one much quicker and less powerful. Teddie and Yosuke found themselves staring at a ghostly figure hovering before them. It wore a clean white outfit. Its hands were frog-like, much like the monster's, but they were smaller and less menacing. A golden V covered its chest, its smaller black head made insignificant by the feature. The figure condensed down into a smaller form, floating down into Yosuke's hand. It was a small Tarot-style card.

"Jiraiya...?" Yosuke said, his tone unsure and confused. Knowledge flowed into his mind, acting as though he knew it for years. "My... Persona...?" Yosuke stared into the darkness, finally having a moment to catch his breath. His foot crunched a piece of paper on the ground. Yosuke moved his foot, seeing it was the photograph he found earlier. "Huh. You know, when we heard senpai's voice, I wonder if that was all what she kept hidden deep down..." he kicked the photo into the air, a sad smile on his face. "'He was a real pain in the ass', huh? What a way to find out-"

The touching moment was interrupted by JoJo's sudden return, who proceeded to leap out of nowhere and send her foot to Yosuke's crotch. The boy was sent flying into the air, slamming into the ceiling, and falling back down to the floor. He curled into a ball, hands over his genitals, as the teenaged girl announced her arrival.

"SO EVERYTHING IT SAID WAS WHAT YOU WERE THINKING, HUH!?" JoJo screamed, completely drenched in that black fluid the Shadows bled. She looked as though she bathed in ink, skin blacker than the sky itself. "YOU THINK I'M SOME BIG-BUTTED SLUT!?"

Yosuke groaned on the ground, unaware that his soon-to-be-murderer would interpret his acceptance of his Shadow in that way.

"You know," he hissed out, pain focused on his genitals, "you're a lot cuter when you're shy..."

"SHUT UP, I'M MAD AT YOU!"


The trio left the liquor store, making their way back towards the exit. Yosuke held onto Teddie, who stood far away from JoJo. The teen girl still seethed with pure hatred. She refused to look at the two as they walked, and none wanted to break the silence between them. They stayed that way until they reached the televisions stacked high into the sky. The ice refused to break even when Yosuke pushed himself off of Teddie, wrapping an arm around JoJo.

"You didn't have to hit me so hard..." Yosuke groaned, earning a large shove from his assistant.

"Oh, sorry," JoJo said in spite, "that's just my big butt."

"You're never going to let that go, are you?"

"Only when you say you're sorry and then die!" JoJo huffed her nose high in the air.

"But seriously," Yosuke said, changing the topic as quick as he could, "how did you do all of that stuff? That thing should've killed you ten times over!"

"I don't really know," JoJo admitted, noticing some of the putrid smelling oil rub off on Yosuke. "But none of what it did really hurt too bad. It felt like I was on auto-pilot most of the time. I was pretty scared, to be honest..."

"And how exactly did you beat it?" Teddie asked, confusion thick on his furry face. "Me and Yosuke lost track of you until you came back and kicked him."

Her eyes went wide, face darkened, and grip on Yosuke's arm tightened.

"I don't want to talk about it..."

"You're hurting my arm," Yosuke said, trying to pry the girl's hands off of him.

"Let's just go..."

"Goodbye Yosuke!" Teddie said while waving a tiny hand at them. He was not fond of the oil on his fur, unable to escape a surprise hug from JoJo a few miles back. "Goodbye, Sensei!"

"Hey, what the Hell!?" Yosuke shouted as he was pushed through the television by JoJo, who followed immediately after.


The clamor and chatter of Junes was a welcome, long-missed sound. The stench of industrial cleaner never made them feel so safe. Yosuke and JoJo stayed where they laid, which was a ball of limbs on the floor, too relieved to move. It wasn't until they heard rapid, sharp footsteps, the ones made by tennis shoes, coming towards them did they get to their feet.

Once again, they were surrounded by shoppers and pedestrians alike. Though they were blind, retarded drones that did nothing but buy the thing that had the blinkiest lights, they felt like dear friends the teens that just escaped what could only be described as a nightmare.

Chie's foot to Yosuke's crotch sent her feelings to the boy in her own strange way. Followed by a sad wail and a tight hug to JoJo.

"You guys came baaack!" Chie cried, wrapping her arms around JoJo's midsection. "I woke up,and you guys were gone, so I went to go find a rope, but then I got lost, and then-!" her voice fell apart, devolving into sobs of pure happiness as she hugged her friend. Who was wearing more clothes the last time she saw her...

"JoJo..."

"Yeah?"

"You do know you're naked, right?"

The grey haired girl looked down, seeing her breasts and special happy hole (what her mother always called it) was on full display.

"Chie?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you please kill me?"


A/N

Got another chapter down. Thank God we finally got past the first Shadow battle. XD

Type it all out while watching Good Eats on Netflix. :3

So now we're back to the high school shenanigans. I don't know what I'm more excited for.

Until Next Time!