Yu stared silently at the television set as he watched his silhouetted image stand hunched over and walking about in nothingness, the grainy screen crackled as Yu found himself sitting down on the table behind him. His eyes shut tightly, than he opened them again to see the image still shuffling about. Kanji's voice could be heard shouting over the phone trying to get Yu's attention. 'I'm next? But he didn't talk with me why would... why wou... plans change...' Yu's brows furrowed and he nodded his head. "So, you've changed your mode of choice I pressume..."

"Yu!" Kanji's voice blared through the phone, sounding frantic. Yu flinched and flopped about with the phone in the air for a few seconds. "Oh, shit! Yu, are you all right?!"

"I-I'm, sorry Kanji... I'm just... damn..." Yu heard Kanji give a sigh of relief, and than found himself pulling the phone away from his ear.

"Don't pull that shit! I freaked and thought you were pulled into the TV or something." Kanji sighed. "But, seriously, what is this Yu?"

The television began to die away and it returned to being a black screen.

" I'm basically dealing with some strange god... thing... But whatever it is, I know I have to be dealing with it!" Yu sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Since I came here I've been dealing with people who have been dragged into the TV, and they always get dragged in shortly after they've appeared on the Midnight Channel... I was afraid you'd be next..."

"Me?" Kanji's voice slightly cracked, as it did Yu's phone began to bing. "What was that?!"

"Calm down Kanji, it's just my phone... I have another call. I'm putting you on hold for a second, okay Kanji? I think its someone who I'm working with me to... well, I guess to solve this problem."

"Wait, what? You got an entire gang together fighting monsters or something from the TV?"

"Um... well basically. Though I think there's a bit more to it than that." Yu blushed as he heard Kanji give an affirmative grunt.

"So, your like a super hero or something?" Yu's phone beeped again.

"Ye-yea... No! I mean... look, I need to take this call..." Yu held his forehead and sighed.

"Okay... I'll let you check up with your team."Kanji gave another happy grunt.

"Thank you Kanji..." Yu clicked the phone and moved over to his call waiting. "Saki..." Lifting the phone to his ears he heard her panicked voice.

"Yu! What is going on? I saw-"

"I know... calm down Saki. I saw it too..." Yu looked over to the window and sighed as he crossed his arms. "I don't know what's going to happen, but at least I have the power of Persona... the good news is that this may mean the reaper isn't guarding the gates anymore... wait." Yu looked over to the TV with a look of interest. "The reaper probably isn't guarding the gates anymore..."

"Yu... I don't like the tone of your voice..." there was the sound of a foot stomping and Saki's tone became more authoritative. "Don't you dare do anything stupid! We're going to have to keep a watch over you starting tomorrow. I don't think they're gonna take you quite yet and-" the phone again began to beep. "What the..."

"Please hold Saki..." Yu sighed and checked and saw he was on the line with Chie. "Hey Chi-"

"The Hell! What were you doing on the midnight channel? Seriously I-"

"One sec, I have two other people on the line... got to check on Kanji."

"Kanji? Why's he on the line?" the phone began to beep again.

"God damn it!" Yu banged the phone on his forehead. "Please call back later Chie."

"Okay... but you better give me a good explanation."

After Chie hung up Yu answered the other call. "Yo, it Yosuke. Yu, what the hell ma-" the phone began beeping again.

"My God! Stop calling me! Yosuke, I'll talk later. I need to finish talking with Saki and Kanji, and probably Yukiko."

"Wait, Saki? Is she okay? Tell her that I was-"

Yu hung up on Yosuke and went on to answer his other line. Running a hand through his hair Yu sighed. "Yukiko I presume?"

"Yeah, Yu I just saw-"

"Me on the midnight channel? You and everyone else who's been calling me..." Yu sighed and rubbed the side of his head. "I'm sorry Yukiko, we'll talk later. After school tomorrow probably."

"Well all right... but stay safe Yu-kun. I don't want you getting dragged into the TV like I was."

"No worries Yukiko, I'll be fine." Yu smiled and sat back on the table. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have two other people on the phone."

"Oh, sorry. Talk to you later Yu."

After Yukiko hung up, Yu sighed and connected back with Kanji. "Yu? Everything okay? What you guys decide?"

"We're gonna be talking more about this tomorrow after school..."

"I'm heading over!" Kanji's tone was firm. "You can't be by yourself like this. You need someone to protect you!"

Yu smiled softly and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, that's sweet Kanji, but I'm the only one that has the power to battle these things."

"But Yu! If anything happened to you... I um... I... your..." Kanji gave a sigh. "You're the only real friend I have right now... your the only person that likes me... besides ma."

Yu smiled and ran was still running his hand through his hair. "Thank you Kanji, but no. It's fine. Just get some rest."

"Bu... but I can't just sit around and let my buddy get kidnapped or something!" As Kanji began to bellow there was another loud sound.

"Kanji! If your going to stay up late, keep your voice down! I have work in the morning."

"Sorry ma!" Kanji shouted and his tone became more of a whisper. "Isn't there anything I can do?"

Yu bit his lower lip and shut his eyes. 'I don't know.. should I have Kanji get involved? Well, actually he's already involved now, like Yosuke. So maybe he could help Yosuke keep things smooth for us as we go to and from the TV world. He doesn't seem the type that would like that kind of job... but its for his own good. I'm not taking him into the TV world so...' Yu suddenly heard a harsh whisper come through the phone. "Oh, sorry Kanji, let my mind wander."

"Man, if you do this so much you really shouldn't get a driver's license."

Yu blushed and looked to the window. "Y-yeah... I've really got to get a handle on that..." Yu sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'll talk to you more tomorrow Kanji, I need to talk with Saki some more."

"Oh... Saki. Okay..." Kanji cleared his throat. "Well... just stay safe okay. Don't go acting like some knucklehead. Got it? If you do I'll whoop your ass!"

Yu smiled and nodded his head. "Gotcha Kanji." After hanging up on him Yu went back to talking with Saki. "I'm going to stick my head into the TV to see if the reaper is still guarding the gates."

"What! That's what you choose to say to start our conversation again?!" Saki gave a disgruntled groan, "Please tell me your just joking around... At least wait till you have someone with you to back you up." Yu was silent and stared quietly at the TV. "Yu? Don't you dare. I will kill you if you do that." Saki's voice hissed through the phone as he walked over to the TV.

"Don't worry, I'm not going through it." Yu turned his head to the side and saw the number one Teddie trophy. "Though I have an idea that involves something going through it."

"What are you getting at Naru-chan?"

Yu grabbed the trophy and walked over to the television. Placing his hand on it, the television began to ripple. A nostalgic warmth filled Yu's chest. "Haven't seen that for a while..."

"Yu?" Saki sounded agitated, "You better not be going in."

"Nope." Yu stuck the trophy in, his hand holding tightly to it. "Just trying a little figurative fishing..."

"Catch what?"

"Mascot characters." Yu smirked as he heard Saki give a snort.

"Teddie? Wait... Teddie? Why are you trying to get him?"

"Just wanted to talk with him... shouldn't be too hard to yank him through. He ways less than most of my clothes it seems. I'll call you later okay Saki?"

"All right... just don't do anything stupid. Keep me on the line till you get him. I want to make sure you get Teddie and not something else."

After waiting a minute or two Yu felt something grab at the statue. "Now let's reel this sucker in." Yu gingerly pulled the trophy back in and saw some blue paws grasping it. "Gotcha. Call you back Saki, I got to talk with Teddie." Hanging up, Yu placed his phone carefully down into his pocket while with the other hand he prepared to yank Teddie in. "One... two... three!" Yu pulled as hard as he could and sent the little bear flying into the window.

"Ow..." Teddie slowly slid down until he was on the couch. As he began to orient himself his eyes widened as he saw Yu looking smugly at him,"S-sensei? What's the big idea luring me over with a mini Teddie?"

Yu smirked and shook his head as he saw Teddie was laying on his head on the couch. "I missed you Ted." Yu walked over and after getting him to sit properly, he gave the bear a big hug. "I'm wanted to ask you if the reaper has disappeared."

"Uh... yeah. How'd you know?" Teddie's eyes slowly widened as he began to realize where he was. "Wait, this is sensei's room..." Teddie slowly walked around the room with a look of awe. "It's been so long since I was last here."

"Yeah... wait..." Yu pouted and looked at the trophy. " I hadn't thought about it much, which is weird for me, but I just remembered... almost like a dream... did you fight me once? Like weeks ago?"

"Well duh, why else would I have given you a Number One Teddie Fighter trophy? Rawr!" Teddie hunched down and gave a silly leer at Yu and looked ready to attack. "I've never met anyone as powerful as you sensei~"

"Teddie... no offense, but you could be knocked down by my six year old cousin. And I don't mean if she was fighting you. I mean if she just gently nudged you. I can't have been the first person to beat you."

"Well no. But you were the first person with such a good heart." Teddie grinned and pointed at Yu's chest.

"I... what?" Yu blushed and looked to the trophy. "Heart, what?"

"You're strong, smart, and kind. You're the greatest warrior this bear has ever seen!" Teddie began dancing around leaving Yu mortified and staring down at his feet.

"I'm not really all that kind Teddie..." Yu glanced over to his notebooks hidden under the futon and sighed. "Just something to keep up appearances..."

"Oh, you can't fool this bear. The nose knows when it finds someone with the strength of heart you got."

"Enough of the shilling Teddie." Yu blushed and looked away. "I don't see why you'd actually say such sappy stuff."

"Sensei? What's shilling?" Teddie stopped his dancing and walked up to him. Tilting his head he began to frown as he saw Yu's distress, "What's wrong sensei?"

"Sorry Teddie. I've been going through a lot of internal debate over certain revelations about myself of late. I've been thinking about what kind of person I am and... I'm sorry... uh... how are things in the TV world?" Yu grimaced and let his head sag 'Wow, talk about a great way to get out of an awkward subject. Maybe I should ask him about the weather next...'

"Quiet as ever, I suppose." Teddie waddled over to Yu's futon and laid down on it. "Awe... this is nice."

"You suppose? Lovely." Yu smiled weakly, 'Well that got us off the topic of me...' Yu sat next to Teddie and stared at his locked bedroom door. " Is the reaper's absence the only difference?"

"Well... no, but I haven't actually seen anything weird." Teddie looked over at Yu, while still lying down, and shrugged. "There's been this weird smell running through the shadow world. I can't quite place it. It's familiar though."

"Well thanks for that Teddie-" Yu stopped as a thought began to form. 'Wait, when I first met him, Teddie was amongst the shadows and he was following that shadow woman's orders.' Yu looked down to Teddie. 'He's a shadow, so who did he come from? What's the deal with shadows? Are they all born like Yukiko's, Saki's, and Chie's? Or is their some other processes involved. Does this goddess, as Daidara calls her, have power over the shadows to some degree? What is going on here? Should I ask Teddie? I don't know... what if he's actually part of her plans? Like my...' Yu grasped his chest, his eyes wided. "Persona..."

"Why are you summoning them here sensei?"

Yu looked at Teddie and gave a weak smile. "Ju-just thinking out loud Teddie." Yu looked over at the television with a huge grimace. 'This persona I've been using. Izanagi is just a mixture of my shadow, something else.' Yu looked over at Teddie, than looked through his window into the rainy night. 'Should I go out to the Velvet Room? I suspect they'd probably still be open... but...'

Teddie leaned his head against Yu's legs. "Grr... Sensei, I don't like it when you get all quiet like this. You keep making weird faces."

Yu blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry Teddie... I'm just thinking about somethings. Maybe..." Yu picked up his phone and sighed. "Maybe... she did just call a little while ago." Yu dialed Saki's number and waited patiently till he heard the click.

"Sensei what are you doing?" Teddie began to lean against Yu with his entire body and looked up at him expectantly. "Tell me! Tell me!"

"Teddie, shh. They're are people sleeping here tonight." Yu gently bopped Teddie, and sent him falling onto his back. "Oop... forgot. Please don't start crying."

Teddie than covered his mouth and let out his usual series of wails, but muffled.

Sighing Yu shook his head. "Hey Saki."

"Did something just happen?."

"I'm coming over to the shopping district." Yu helped Teddie and quietly made his way to the bedroom door. "There is something I want to figure out." Looking to Teddie he waved him to follow.

"You're taking me sensei?" Teddie voice became joyous at this revelation. "I'll do my best then!" Teddie saluted Yu than ran up to his side.

"Just stay quiet Teddie. Now Saki, I just wanted to let you know what I am doing so in case anything happens you know what I've been doing." Yu looked to Teddie as he opened his door and raised a finger to his lips. "Shh."

"Right sensei, no worries. I'm a pretty stealthy bear." Teddie hunched over while talking in whisper and followed Yu down the stairs.

"Well it's better than you heading into the TV world by yourself. It is a rainy night though, so be careful."

"I will. Good night Saki." Yu hung up and led Teddie to the front door. Picking up his umbrella he gave it to Teddie, than took out Dojima's for himself. 'Dojima won't be heading to work till five, and it's like 12:18 now... I should have time.' Opening the door Yu ushered Teddie out, after showing him how to open the umbrella, but before they stepped outside Yu stopped himself. "Wait, you're made of fabric." Yu looked down to Teddie who cocked his head.

"Huh?" Teddie rubbed the side of his head and than let out an understanding gasp. "Oh! I gotcha. No worries sensei, I've come prepared! As always~"

"Teddie quiet." Yu hissed as Teddie popped open his head and began rummaging his hand about in it.

In a matter of moments Teddie produced some rain boots. Teddie than whispered"Ta Da!"After popping them on he saluted Yu. "Let's head out sensei."

As the two began to walk out into the rain Yu looked down to Teddie with a questioning look,"If you have so much stuff inside of you... how are you so easily knocked over?"

Teddie responded with a shrug. "I don't know. I'm a pretty complicated bear."

"In some ways yes." Yu smirked and ran a hand through his hair. "Guess it was a bit too much to hope that you knew how your body works."

As the two progressed to the shopping district they came across Saki waiting outside of the alcohol shop. Teddie leaned over to Yu and whispered to him. "When did we get back into my world sensei? And is that Ms. Saki?"

"It is, and we're still in my world." Yu smiled as Teddie gave a baffled look. "I know it looks like that place we met Saki, but trust me Teddie. This is definitely not the your world." Once they got up to Saki, Yu bowed to her. "You didn't have to come out for us."

"I just want to make sure you guys stayed safe... though I don't know why you brought Teddie along." Saki gave a questioning glance at the little bear who began waving at her.

"Hi Ms. Saki."Teddie than ran up to her and hugged her. "I've missed you guys."

Saki couldn't help but give Teddie a gentle smile and hugged him back. "Yeah... well I missed you too, ya idiot." Saki than looked up to Yu. "So... what are you planning to do."

"I'm going to go to the Velvet Room... I can't remember if I told you about it..."

"The what?" Saki raised an eyebrow and released Teddie from the hug.

"Thought so..." Yu looked down the street and saw the glowing door. "Don't be surprised if I disappear down there by the metal shop." Yu smiled and ran a hand through his hair as he watched Saki give him here questioning glare now. "It'll be fine Saki. The Velvet Room is where I go to work on my Persona powers."

"How come I can't see or go in it?" Saki looked up to her house, not a light was on, but her eyes began to squint. "Let's get going."

As the two walked down to the Velvet Room, Yu explained it as best he could. Once they got to the Velvet Room though Yu saw a familiar figure leaning by it.

Lifting his or her head up to look at Yu, the gas station attendant smiled as they always did, the rain dripping down the brim of their hat. Their clothes were completely soaked. "Aren't you out a little late? You really shouldn't be out on a night like this."

Yu frowned and gripped Saki's arm, who was staring warily at the gas station attendant. "Can I assume your not human?" Yu brought his hand down to Teddie and gently pushed him behind himself.

"You can think that if you want to. I don't really care what you consider me." The attendant gave a contented sigh and looked up into the sky. "I just love it when it rains like this... don't you Narukami?"

"Sensei... she doesn't smell right..." Teddie whispered, but Yu just kept staring at the gas station attendant.

Saki held tightly to Yu's hand and stepped forward. "What are you doing here? What's your intention with us?"

"My intentions are for Narukami alone." The, apparent woman, walked forward towards the group. As she did Saki took out a knife and held it at the gas station attendant who froze in her tracks.

"Not a step closer." Saki snarled.

With the knife pointed at her neck, the attendant just smiled and shook her head. "Why do you act so brutally. It isn't very feminine. It' boggles the mind that anyone thinks that you would even consider being loose with other's."

Saki's face flushed, and her eyes widened as the attendant spoke. "What?"

"How is it that one such as you has the Empress Arcana? The epitome of female power. Oh well." The attendant gently grabbed Saki's arms and took the knife and tossed it to the side, Saki's eyes staring waveringly forward. "Now, about you Narukami..."

"Grr!" Teddie lunged forward and stepped in front of Yu. "You're not gonna touch sensei!"

The attendant pointed Teddie to the side, which he instantly obeyed.

"Wha, why did I do that?" Teddie looked frantically at Yu as the attendant walked up to him.

"What do you want with me." Yu smacked at her hands, but found that her grip was stronger than he was. All color drained from his face.

"To let you know. That I've reset the game and their are new pieces added to it. I'll have my decision made by year's end... don't worry. And I still want you to aid me in that decision. But first, we'll have to see what lurks in your heart." The attendant's hand gently rested on Yu's chest. "I've been generous letting you not face yourself... but given how things are turning out I'm going to have to take back The Fool."