A.N: Sweet another subscriber! I forgot to add the dinner scene last chapter, I'll tweak it and add later to a different chapter. For music choice I suggest "I'll Face Myself" or "Mass Destruction" or cheerful organ music like you hear in an actual baseball game.

They had discussed at dinner with the absence of Naoto and Souji that the plan was to enter the TV world to see if the miasma came from there.

When they first landed it had changed from it's peaceful lake view to a baseball field with a purple haze in the sky.

A ball flew by Junpei's face it grazed his hat.

"BATTER UP!"

He saw himself at home with a bat but this one had yellow eyes. He gulped. It had been the same as the abyss of time! He knew he was in for some deep shi-

Another ball.

"Look I get it. You're me." He said slowly approaching his shadow.

"Not good enough!" It sneered.

"No, we're going to play a game! During the midnight hour you and Akihiko thought of it as a game, a way to play hero. If the hero wants to fight he has to play the part!" He grinned.

"Pick your teammates and let's play ball!"

"Whadya mean?" Junpei asked the double pissed.

Kanji noticed that they talked in a similar way.

The shadow grinned and a team full of Junpei's appeared. Shinji got pissed, he DID NOT want to deal with a room full of Junpei's, no matter how mature he had grown.

"If you don't play, I won't fight." the shadow taunted.

"That guy is annoying!" Junpei said pointing. The others didn't say anything but nodded.

Junpei choose his team, mostly the men, Chie and Aigis.

Fuuka, Mitsuru and Rise cheered them on from the stands.

Teddie was first to bat.

"What do I do?" He asked looking at the bats in his hands before holding it from the blunt end handle out.

"Hit the ball then run home!" Yosuke yelled from the line-up.

Junpei threw a curve ball but Teddie followed it and summoned a TV.

"What are you doing?" Yosuke shouted.

"I'm going home!" He said one hand into the TV.

"No run to the white thing in the sand!" Kanji yelled.

Teddie started running while two Junpei's collided heads trying to catch the ball at the same time.

He made it to first.

Naoto was next.

She let the ball hit the bat lightly and ran to 1st, while telling Teddie to go to the next base. He did so and she made it.

Yosuke went up. He missed the first time but on the second swing, he it into the open field. Teddie scored a point as did Naoto. Yosuke stayed at third.

Junpei was up. He got into position and he had a smile on his face. "No problem."

"You have fear. Fear that your wife will leave you if she ever remembers her past. Or what if you get injured and can't play ball for top yen or if she gets injured and can no longer draw." The pitcher taunted.

He missed.

"I know your fears, your issues. You were always jealous of Minato."

Strike two!

"He always did better than you at almost everything. He taught you how to use a sword when you used it as a baseball bat."

Yosuke almost laughed.

OUT! The Junpei behind him yelled. He went back to his seat furious.

S.E.E.S. was shaken, to have your inner thoughts revealed like someone reading your dairy, the one most frightened was Mitsuru.

"T-this is what they do..." Mitsuru said wide eyed.

Rise gave her a weak smile. "We all dealt with ours."

Souji went up. He was more of a basketball guy.

He struck at as well.

Yosuke was surprised. He knew Souji wasn't perfect but to see this...He nodded and was itching to score.

Kanji went up and brought a bleacher with him. He hit the ball outta the park and they scored twice. Shinjiro was next he dropped the bat and braced himself. He hit it with his fist into the pitcher. He smirked and scored another run.

Ken went up and missed the first time. The second he hit but it was caught.

The teams switched positions.

Aigis was up to pitch. Junpei was on third, Ken as usher, Akihiko at second, Shinjiro at home, the others in the outer-field.

Aigis threw the ball and her arm came out and rocketed with the ball still holding it. The arm punched the Junpei who swung and missed and the hand threw the ball to Ken. The shadow protested but instead set the bat on fire. He hit the ball into outer-field. Chie summoned her persona to put the fire out and it did so. She caught it after as it fell downward.

Aigis pitched a normal this time and the second shadow hit it. The shadow ran towards Shinji who was going to tackle it but it traveled under him turning into a blob.

The third hit the ball and on his way to home he jumped over Shinji and landed with a "Ta-da!"

The fourth hit it and Shinjiro got him out but the other two were on third and second. The one on third talked to the real Junpei.

"You hated it when others laughed at you. Thought you were a joke they only took you seriously after she died for you. Pathetic. A man who can't defend the woman he lov-

The shadow got punched.

"You're. Not. Me."

"What was that?" the shadow asked with a grin.

"YOUR. NOT. ME."

The shadow grew 4 times is size as Junpei fainted.

Fuuka evoked and Rise summoned.

"Its weakness is wind!"

Aigis summoned her persona naturally.

Mitsuru tried the same, she put the gun to her head but nothing came out.

Aigis saw this and cast the best Garu spell she had. It hit and the shadow was down. Everyone but the scanners attacked at once. The shadow had gone down easily like how the Magician shadow did, in a curb-stomp battle.

Junpei awoke and saw his shadow returning to normal size. He took off his hat and squeezed it.

"Fine. I am scared, I have doubt that I can't support her myself should something happen to me. I love what we have now, no pain of persona or cults trying to get to her. I know she asks and I lie to her about not knowing but I do it to protect her and because of love. You're me, the good, the bad, the truth, the doubt, everything. I just got pissed because I can get riled up easy like what you said about Minato."

The shadow smiled and turned into a card: Surtr.

"Huh?"

THOU ART I...I AM THOU. THOU CAN PITCH COMETS TO FIGHT FOR WHAT ONE HAS FOUND.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that." Junpei said getting up and letting the card in his hand appear. It emitted a glow and it felt warm.

"I always resented him but when he died...It went away. I'm a terrible friend. I've taught kids how to play baseball and even coached a team for a year but it's not enough like what he had done for all us. Friends and strangers alike."

He collapsed again as the card vanished.