I do not own JoJo's Bizarre Adventure or the Persona series.

"Maru-Q~!" The voice of Rise Kujikawa spoke in a 'cute' way as a female butt wearing the bottom portion of a yellow swimsuit, tied by two strings at each side, thrust at the screen with cartoonish stars and sparkling sounds coming from it.

"Nope." Johnny Joestar declared as he pressed the power button on his remote, only for the TV screen to not change. "Damn."

"I'm a spring flower, blooming into a high school idol…" Rise's voice whispered out, the camera circling around to the front, panning up with the same stars and sparkling sounds apps eating when the bottom part of her groin and chest came into view. "That's right, it's me…" Rise's face came into view, and she winked and gave the camera a peace sign. "Risette!"

Cheesy jazz music played, and Johnny could not help but wonder if the Shadows played it while the show went on.

"And this time…" The Rise on the screen held up a Yasogami High uniform as she said, "I'm about to take on the most extreme and exciting challenge ever!"

Johnny could not help but notice that in the background was a building that looked a lot like a strip club with the name Marukyu on it. Posters of Rise posing in various swimsuits or in various states of undress covered the walls, with banners saying 'Look at me!', 'One night only!', and 'Come for the only show you want to see!'.

"At least it fits." Johnny muttered to himself.

"I'm. going. to." The Rise whispered with a blush before she dropped her uniform and placed her hands on her cheeks. "Strip for you!"

A title appeared behind her. Letters in blue neon stating 'Risette! Show It!' And letters in pink neon reading 'Peel A Layer Off That Green Fruit! A Young Woman At Her Best And Tastiest!'.

"Yosuke probably isn't going to shut up about this." Was the only thought going through Johnny's mind.

"Oh! I'm so embarrassed!" Rise declared, shaking her head as she feigned an innocent gesture. "But…" Rise whispered seductively as the camera panned up from her feet to her face. "If I'm going to do it…" Johnny frowned as shots of her chest, groin, and butt were shown in quick succession before the camera stopped on a full body shot. "I'm going to go all! The! Way!"

"Are people really into this kind of stuff?" Johnny muttered as Rise jumped back and smiled at the camera.

"Come and see me, focus all your attention on me and the parts of me that you love. After all, I want to burn myself into your minds. I have to." Rise giggled as she waved at the camera. "Stay tuned!"

Johnny let out a sigh of relief as the picture faded and the TV turned off. This was like Kanji's Shadow all over again.

"But at least it's not a complete shock like with Kanji." Johnny sighed as he leaned back on the couch.

Honestly this Shadow's display wasn't too far from what he'd seen of Idols. All of them meant to look cute or attractive to get the most amount of fans ranging from little girls who didn't know any better to horny teenage boys whose balls just dropped and even to extremely lonely older men. Outfits meant to either highlight their innocence or ones that went the completely opposite direction and showed as much skin as possible without being too indecent. It looked like Rise's Shadow was trying to strike a balance between the two, trying to sound innocent and cutesy but showing off her body and acting as provocatively as possible.

Johnny thought she had utterly failed at it.

"Oh look at me! I've got breasts and a butt! Don't you want me? You should want me! Consider yourself how lucky you are to see me! And who knows? Maybe you'll get a shot at being with me! Not." Johnny spoke in an annoying high pitch, but kept it low to not wake up Dojima and Nanako. Johnny groaned as he slumped back into the couch. "Ugh."

He seriously did not know why he used to be into that stuff. Maybe it was hormones? Maybe it was just him seeing the fact that being with a hot girl is supposed to be every guy's dream and rolled with it?

Either way, he could see the bullshit for what it really was and could ignore it without a problem.

Johnny felt his phone vibrate and picked it up. He brought it to his ear and said, "Yeah?"

"DUDE!" Johnny rolled his eyes at the sound of Yosuke's voice. "Did you see that!?"

"Yes, I did. We are all supposed to be watching the Midnight Channel remember?"

"Oh man, then it wasn't a dream!" Yosuke now sounded giddy of all things. "That was really Risette on the TV wearing a really hot swimsuit! I recorded it as soon as I saw it and…"

"It's not a big deal Yosuke." Johnny pinched the bridge of his nose. "Rise appeared on TV in a swimsuit. Whoop dee fuckin' doo."

"Not a big deal!?" Yosuke shouted, shock and betrayal leaking from his voice. "How can you-"

"Besides, the important thing here is the fact she even appeared at all." Johnny interrupted, talking to Yosuke like he was talking to a small child. "Tell me, Yosuke, what does that mean…?"

"…She's been thrown in the TV."

Johnny smirked at the other boy's reply. "You wanna keep talking about Risette in a swimsuit? Cause seriously, we can obsess about it all night if you want. I mean, nothing else matters to-"

"Dude, I get it! Just… just stop. You've made your point."

"Good." Johnny said, rolling his eyes before getting serious. "So now we've got another person to rescue."

"Seems like it." Yosuke gave a groan. "Ah man, I hoped that is chasing that creep would make the killer think she was too risky to catch, but…"

"Yeah. Evidently a bunch of kids and a cop just barely catching some stalker isn't enough to ward away a guy who successfully killed two people and got away with kidnapping three others."

"Hardy har har." Yosukegave an emotionless mock-laugh before signing. "It's just… it sucks that we couldn't get anything on the real guy, y'know? And now this happens again."

"…Yeah. I get it." Johnny sighed, conceding the point. "So now what?"

"We do what we've done before." Yosuke said. "We should remind the others to head for Junes after school. I'll call Chie."

"Try not to talk about Rise's swimsuit with her." Johnny smirked, getting in one last jab as Yosuke groaned and hung up the phone.

Johnny rolled his eyes as he began dialing Gyro's number. Hopefully his comments would keep the Risette talk and obsession to a minimum. Johnny heard the phone ring twice before Gyro picked up.

"Hey Johnny."

"Hey. You saw what I saw right?"

"Yeah, I did." Gyro gave a tired sigh. "This sucks. And I was with her yesterday!"

Johnny blinked in surprise. That, he was not expecting. "You were with her?"

"Yeah."

"Wha…? When the hell did this happen?!" Johnny hissed out, and he could now tell Gyro was feeling a bit agitated.

"Earlier… yesterday now I guess. After school, I helped her dodge some paparazzi and we went our separate ways around four or five." Johnny heard the tapping of fingers on a wooden desk. "Why?"

"Why? Because the killer could have taken her right off the street after you guys separated!" Johnny pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why the hell didn't you follow her?!"

Gyro went silent for a second, surprising Johnny. After all, it was supposed to be a simple answer. "She didn't want to be around me anymore."

"That was your reason?!"

"Do I need a better one?"

"You could've watched her from a distance until she got back to her house!" Johnny groaned in frustration. "You know what? Whatever. It's too late anyway. She's kidnapped and in the TV now. Just go to Junes after school so that we can find her and get her out."

"...Fine." Gyro replied, sounding very put out before hanging up. Johnny didn't know if Gyro was more angry with himself, or angry at Johnny for telling him he might have been at fault.

While it was true that Johnny and the others left the day before yesterday after catching the creep, it was due to obvious reasons. The cops were already suspicious of them hanging around there, and they had no real idea where Rise and simply assumed that she might be in the store, so there was no real reason to remain.

Gyro actually saw, spoke, and stayed near Rise. He could've easily kept an eye on her until she returned home, and yet he didn't. Just because Rise didn't want him around.

Catching the murderer wasn't exactly Johnny's top priority when it came to the TV World, but it was important to Chie and Yosuke so he was trying to help them.

He wouldn't screw up this badly.

Johnny's phone rang yet again, and Johnny picked it up. "Yeah?"

"Joestar-san?"

Johnny blinked in surprise at Yukiko's voice. "Oh, hey. We're going to Junes tomorrow so…"

"Yes, I know. Chie told me." Yukiko cut him off. "But that's not why I'm calling you."

"Really."

"Yes. The reason is…" Johnny noted how Yukiko sounded nervous, as if she didn't want to say what she had to say. Which was like her, since Yukiko was the most polite person in their group. "...it has to do with Zeppeli-san."

"…Is that right. What about him?"

"It's just… I figured you might know something since you're with him more often than the rest of us and I was wondering if you've noticed anything… strange about his attitude lately."

"So she's noticed too." Johnny thought to himself with a frown.

The way Gyro's decisions as leader bothered Johnny immensely, mostly due to the fact that he seemed to want to dismiss a more difficult course of action despite the obvious benefits provided. The decisions he'd been making weren't the best or most efficient, though luckily they had managed to convince Gyro to go along with their desired course of action.

"Is it about him as a leader?" Johnny asked Yukiko with a frown on his face.

As expected, the reply was, "Yes." Yukiko gave a sigh. "I wanted to talk to Chie about this, but I don't think she, Hanamura-san or Kanji-kun have noticed."

"Maybe they have but don't know something is wrong." Johnny laid on the couch while looking up to the ceiling. "After all, what he wanted to do also made sense, but…"

"But it's as if Zeppeli-san just wants to take what seems like the easiest course of action." Yukiko sounded sad as she said it. "It's as if he wants to only put effort into a path that'll settle things as quickly as possible, and doesn't want to put himself through the time and effort it'll take to go a much safer route."

"Never thought of it that way." Johnny admitted with a frown. Though now that Yukiko brought it up, that did seem like what Gyro was doing. "You know, he told me just a bit ago that he met Rise today, and then left her because she didn't want him around her anymore. Didn't even watch from a distance."

"...Really?" Yukiko muttered worriedly. "That's just… what do we do? Should we talk to him about this or…?"

"I say we keep quiet for now." Johnny instructed. "If he does it again, we're just going to have to call him out on it."

Yukiko was silent for a second, most likely contemplating the course of action, before answering. "Okay then. That is what we'll do, Joestar-san."

"Alright. See you tomorrow then."

"Goodnight."

With that, Johnny hung up the phone and placed it on the table.

Johnny trusted Gyro. After all, the older teen was the one who inspired Johnny to try riding a horse again. Gyro was the one teaching him. Gyro even willingly didn't go on the camping trip just to hang out with him.

But Johnny was also a practical person. He was going on life or death missions against monsters inside of a TV World. One wrong decision could lead to him dying. If Gyro was their leader, there could be a time when he forces all of them to follow his decision and they all die as a result.

So Johnny would have to confront Gyro about it if this happens again.

Gyro probably wouldn't like it.

"At least I won't be alone." Johnny thought as he closed his eyes.

That gave him some comfort.

xxXXxx

Yukiko shook her head as she picked herself off the floor. Chie gave a similar groan of discomfort as she performed the action as well. Yukiko was currently wearing a pair of red pants, tucked into her black tennis shoes with red shoelaces. She wore a black long-sleeved shirt which had red petal designs coming down from the shoulders.

"At least it doesn't hurt as much." She thought while putting on her glasses, clearing a good portion of the fog from her view.

As planned, after school and after changing they each went to June's. However, like last time, they went in at separate times to ward off suspicion. From what Yukiko could gather, Chie and her were the last ones in.

"Ugh, why can't this just be a door? Like we can just open it and come here?" Chie asked as she got onto her feet. Her friend was currently wearing a sleeveless yellow shirt with a red face on the left side sticking out its tongue. On her wrist was a seashell bracelet along with a bracelet that had the metal silhouette of a man kicking. She wore a simple pair of jean shorts and her boots. "I don't want to keep falling into this place!" She groaned out while picking up their bag of spare clothes.

"Perhaps this place is trying to be modern?" Yukiko suggested with a frown. "I mean this place is supernatural, not science fiction. And since this is a TV station and doors being portals to other worlds is very old…"

"Ugh, Yukiko please stop. You're creeping me out." Chie shivered a bit. "I'd rather not think that this place actually has a mind of its own."

"Hm?" Yukiko hummed in confusion. "But it's interesting to think about Chie."

"Man…" Kanji let out a slight gasp of awe. He wore a short-sleeved black and red striped t-shirt, with a pair of jeans that had the metallic emblem of a skull on the right knee area. His black belt was spiked, and his shoes had metal studs across the bottom. "Never would have thought you were into that kind of stuff, Yukiko-senpai..."

"Is it really that strange?" She didn't get why people didn't like talking about these things. Maybe because of stress? But talking about horror or the supernatural didn't make her stressed. Rather it got her excited in a good way.

"Oh come on, Teddie!" Yosuke shouted out, causing everyone to look towards him. Yosuke was wearing a dark green shirt and a light brown jacket over it that had metal music notes in place of the conventional zippers. His pants were also a dark green, but also had stripes of brown across the bottom and knee area which matched his brown sneakers. "You still can't smell Rise?!"

"I'm trying!" The bear protested while putting his hands on his head. "I'm trying beary hard! But I just can't smell her!"

"Well, why not?" Gyro asked while placing his hands on his hips. The Italian was wearing a button-up green shirt tucked into a pair of dark blue jeans. The bottoms of which were tucked into his brown boots. "Do you need medicine or something to unclog your nose? Because if that's the case…"

"No! It's not like that!" Teddie interjected before looking down at the ground worriedly. "It's just… I can't sniff out things like I used to! Maybe it's because I've got so much on my mind. Like who am I? Where do I come from? How did I get here? These questions are tearing me up inside!"

"Is Teddie really thinking those things?" Yukiko actually felt a bit ashamed for not thinking much about the guide through this mysterious world. Or at least, not thinking much of what he revealed about himself to them. It was rude and disrespectful to Teddie, at least in Yukiko's opinion.

"Well, that's weird." Yosuke gave a sigh. "Considering you're hollow and all."

Suddenly, much to everyone's shock, Teddie turned to Yosuke and glared at him. While such an expression would normally be comical, it conveyed the message that Teddie was furious. "Don't call me hollow!" Teddie shouted in anger "Don't say I'm empty!"

"Woah! Ted, calm down!" Kanji walked up to the bear. "Nobody is saying…"

"Take it back!" Teddie however was not backing down, and Yosuke was looking extremely uncomfortable. "Take it back right now!"

"Teddie. Yosuke was telling a bad joke." Gyro spoke calmly, giving the bear a reassuring smile. "I should know. I make great ones."

"Yup. You sure do…" Johnny commented with a roll of his eyes. He wore a sleeveless white shirt with a white belt tied across his abdomen decorated in red stars. His blue pants which also had white stars on them were buttoned onto his equally blue shoes. And once again, Yukiko saw the armbands on Johnny's arms. He was leaning against the railing standing up, but his legs were still shaking a bit. "Look Teddie, we don't have time for this. Kill Yosuke later. After we find Rise."

"Johnny, have a bit more tact…" Chie groaned while pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Joestar-san!" Yukiko gave a light gasp as she covered her mouth. What Johnny said was unbelievably rude and careless. And judging from Johnny's grimace, he realized it too.

Teddie looked hurt by Johnny's words to the point he seemed ready to cry. Which made sense, considering how much Teddie respected Johnny to the point of calling him 'Sensei'.

But in a split second, that sad expression turned into Teddie's usually happy one. "I-okay Sensei! Beary sorry. I lost my head for a second." He then looked around at the unnerved team and asked, "I may be able to sniff out this Rise girl's emotions if you tell me what she's like. Just like how I was able to find Kanji and Junkyouin!"

"T-Teddie…" Yukiko spoke, looking concerned at the bear. "Are you okay?"

"Yup! Never better!" Came Teddie's ready reply in the same cheerful tone. Everyone looked at each other. Teddie was definitely not fine, but he probably wasn't going to talk about it.

"Right, well…" Gyro gave a cough before saying, "I know some things about Rise."

"Huh?" Kanji raised an eyebrow. "How do you know stuff about her Gyro-senpai?"

"I hung out with her a couple of times."

Chie gasped in surprise at the revelation, while Yosuke shouted "Dude! How could you meet the Risette and not tell me?!" Yosuke gave a groan of despair. "I thought we were friends…"

"It's not a big deal, Yosuke." Johnny pointed out with a shrug, but glanced at Yukiko.

Yes, they knew prior to this about Gyro's meeting. Honestly, Yukiko was with Johnny in thinking that the Italian's actions were extremely wrong. How could he just leave her and not even see if she went home safely, despite knowing that the killer would be targeting her? "There's definitely something wrong with Zeppeli-san."

And if it was what she was thinking, he would need to be confronted about it.

Gyro looked back at Teddie and said, "Rise's… Troubled. Troubled by her career, because it has her acting out a part. The idol Risette is not Rise. She hates it when her fans don't seem to know or care who she is as a person. And while she has quit, she also seems to miss her career." Gyro looked up in thought for a second. "She also doesn't have a taste for good jokes." He added as an afterthought.

"Hm… Okay! Let me try finding her again!" Teddie declared. He began sniffing the air before pointing in a direction. "Oh! It's faint, but my snout has picked her out! Give me your things for safe-keeping, and get ready to follow the bear!"

With that, everyone have their spare clothes and first aid kit to Teddie before setting out. Kanji was beside Yosuke while Johnny was running with Gyro with his arm around the Italian for support. Yukiko was with Chie, but she kept glancing at Gyro and Teddie.

Gyro was staring straight ahead towards Teddie, having the bear guide him. Yukiko could tell just from his eyes that Gyro was a strong person ready for anything that heads his way.

But his eyes lacked the certain spark necessary for a leader.

"No, don't judge. Give him another chance. I need to give him another chance, like Joestar-san said." She shook her head and looked at Teddie. "I hope he's okay…" From what Yukiko could tell, Teddie was bottling things up. That was not in the least healthy, and Yukiko didn't want Teddie to be hurt in any way. But she didn't know how she could help if the bear wasn't willing to talk. "Perhaps I can say something to him after rescuing Kujikawa-san…"

"We're here!" Teddie declared, breaking Yukiko from her thoughts. Had she been thinking so hard that she didn't realize how much distance they had covered?

Yukiko looked up at their destination and her face was suddenly as red as her clothes.

Indeed, just like the Midnight Channel depicted, the place where Rise was at looked like the entrance to someplace in a red-light district. One of those shops she only heard about muttered around school, or shown in television shows. Even in movies from America during the 70's or 80's showed places like this as common place in New York City.

"Holy crap! It really is a strip club!" Yosuke shouted out with glee in his voice. "Okay, now this is my kind of scene! Way better than Kanji's bathhouse!"

That comment earned an annoyed glare from Kanji.

"Don't sound happy about it!" Chie shouted as she kicked Yosuke's posterior, making him jump forward while crying out in pain. "You sound like a creep!"

"Why do you keep hitting me?!"

"I only do it when you deserve it!"

For her part, Yukiko sympathized with Rise. She really did. Lord knows she wouldn't know what to do if she were getting connected with this kind of place thanks to her Shadow. And Yukiko's Shadow was mortifying the way it was!

"Huh, so this is a strip joint?" Kanji asked, and Yukiko fidgeted a bit in discomfort. "Ya know, this does look like somethin' you'd find next to an inn in some washed up tourist town..."

"Kanji-kun!" Yukiko shouted, horrified by the assumption. "My family's inn would have nothing like this… this place near it!"

"Oh, sorry Yukiko-senpai. I didn't mean it like that…"

Yukiko nodded, accepting Kanji's apology. While she didn't want to inherit the inn, just thinking that a club like this doing business next door made her sick.

"Man, do the shadows have to make this place so tacky?" Gyro asked out loud, only for Johnny to roll his eyes.

"Why would they need to exaggerate what is stupid and tacky in real life?" Johnny motioned to the various posters of a swimsuit-wearing Rise advertising her appearance and show. "But in all seriousness, why are they putting this crap out? Are they trying to make us interested? It reeks of desperation."

That surprised Yukiko a bit. Weren't boys supposed to be interested in this kind of thing?

"So she wants to show herself to others?" Teddie asked curiously. "But Chie-chan got beary angry when Yosuke saw her wearing clothes like that back in the castle."

"What?!" Yukiko shouted in shock, looking towards Chie whose face was now red. She also saw Johnny was covering his face and groaning. "Chie, what is he…?"

"H-Hey! Come on guys! Let's stop fooling around!" Yosuke shouted, pointing towards the club. "Rise's in there! We gotta go save her, so let's stop fooling around!"

Yukiko noted he seemed to be covering his groin area.

"You're so full of crap man…" Kanji said with a sigh.

"Maybe, but he's right. Let's go." When Gyro gave the order, the teens and bear went through the entrance.

When she entered with them, Yukiko noted a single poster that had a photo of Rise beginning to take off the top part of her swimsuit while a single gloved hand was out. Open as if it were expecting something. On it was a single message:

Leave your body and soul at the door.

xxXXxx

Johnny wasn't in the least bit surprised when it turned out the interior of the club was just as tacky as the exterior.

The floor, walls, and ceiling seemed to be colored with some variant of pink and purple. Or to be more accurate, the carpet and draped which covered the floors and walls. The floor itself was a dark pink with dark purple symbols of hearts and lips. The drapes covering the walls were the opposite, but they still seemed to blend into one another. The ceiling was a light pink, which caused the light coming from the bright lamps to bounce off of it. And there was a disco ball for some reason. To the left of them was a small bar, but no one managing it. To the right were couches which all faced the stage. There was also a godawful techno beat which echoed from unseen speakers, which was loud enough to be an annoyance but thankfully low enough for Johnny to still be able to hear his own thoughts. The stage was about a foot off the ground, and on top of it was a pole that stretched to the ceiling.

And one Rise Kujikawa, dressed in a swimsuit. Or to be more accurate her Shadow, with her otherworldly yellow eyes looking at them with a mixture of amusement and lust.

"Oh, I finally got some visitors!" Shadow Rise shouted as it grabbed the pole. "I'm a bit embarrassed... this is my first time performing in front of so many people!" It then lightly thrust its posterior out at them, smirking as she looked over her shoulder. "And with such a varied audience... Have to say, I'm so flattered to have a female audience too!"

Johnny simply looked at the disco ball in annoyance. "That damn thing is shining light in my eyes."

He didn't notice that the Shadow frowned at his reaction.

"W-Was I really that bad?" Yukiko stammered out while looking away, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

"No Yukiko, trust me..." Chie gave a slight cough. "This... this is a whole other level than what your Shadow did."

"Ooh, I just love compliments! Thank you sooo much!" The Shadow drawled out as it began leaning out with her right hand still on the pole and spinning around. "Please, keep them coming!"

"I bet those drinks are just for show." Johnny thought to himself as he looked at the bar. "Teddie did mention that stuff over here is tasteless."

"Jesus..." Kanji was also looking away. He also shifted uncomfortably while scratching the back of his neck. "My Shadow was a freak, but it didn't put on a show like this... right?"

"Well, Yosuke acted weird to the things it said. Yuki-chan explained why to me, but I still don't get the big deal." Teddie frowned as the Shadow Rise stopped spinning and then began grinding against the pole. "Isn't that uncomfortable?"

"Dude, shut up..." Yosuke, unlike the others, was absolutely star struck. "Risette is actually putting on a show like this! Man, I had my fantasies but..."

"Not the time or place, Yosuke..." Gyro muttered as he brought his hat down over his eyes. Johnny noticed he placed his hands in his pockets and was slouching... hell, all the guys were.

"And this is why I don't get strip clubs." Aside from wondering how the hell guys can be so excited by women just showing off some skin, it was also the fact they get horny in a group when they can just do that privately through a computer or TV.

There wasn't really any difference since either way, you couldn't touch the girls. It was just an exercise in futility as far as Johnny was concerned.

"And I have some fans here too?" The Shadow Rise began jumping excitedly as she jumped up and down, her bust following her movements. "Now I just have to show you everything!"

"..The hell does that girl eat?" Chie muttered as she glared at the Shadow's chest.

"I heard it's just genetics or pure dumb luck." Yukiko was still looking away, but now seemed to be stealing some glances.

"Oh, will you stop it already?!" Johnny shouted out. "You're wasting our time!"

He was getting sick of the Shadow's show. If Kanji's Shadow taught Johnny anything, it was that the gimmicks the Shadows had were mostly just that: gimmicks. Acts to throw off their original selves and whoever came to save them.

And as expected, the Shadow suddenly stopped its jumping. It huffed disdainfully while crossing its arms underneath it's chest and glared at Johnny. "You're no fun, you know that?"

"So I've been told." Johnny replied blandly. He glanced to the other teens. "Hey guys, you wanna demand the usual?"

"Right, right." Gyro cleared his throat and brought up his hat. "Where's Rise?"

"But I am Rise! I have all the important bits too..." The Shadow then gave a playful tap of her butt.

"Y-You know what we mean!" Chie shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the Shadow.

"Oh, she's around. Fumbling around in the dark, inching closer and closer to the big show..." The Shadow Rise giggled. "She's farther ahead than you guys, but..." The Shadow Rise fluttered it's eyelashes. "If you hurry up, I might just put on a private show just for you gu-"

"So she's not here. Got it." Johnny then pointed to the curtains behind the Shadow Rise. "I guess that's how we get to the hallways of this place? Shadows and all?"

"..You're never going to get a woman with that kind of attitude, you know that?"

"I couldn't really give less of a damn."

He could feel everyone's staring at him with shock and amazement. Probably wondering how he could dismiss the Shadow like this. But he didn't really care. He didn't have to play the Shadow's games if he didn't care for them.

"Okay then, one less customer means more time with the rest of you!" The Shadow Rise then licked the pole of all things. God, it was now trying way too hard. "Hurry up. There's only so long before the show starts." It then got away from the pole and sauntered away. The curtains drew back, revealing a dark hallway with thick shadows. "I'll be waiting..." With a wink thrown over its shoulder, it disappeared into the Shadows.

"Ugh, that was..." Chie shivered in disgust. "Gah. I'm going to need a shower when this is done."

"No kidding. I now feel dirty just standing here." Kanji stated, and Yukiko have a nod in agreement.

"Yeah... I mean, it's a fantasy come true but..." Yosuke gave a sigh. "This is going to be traumatizing for Rise."

"Wow Yosuke, surprised your thinking with the brain in your skull again." Johnny commented with a small grin.

"Ah, shaddup man."

"It'll only be traumatizing if she actually gets to see it." Gyro stated before looking at Teddie. "Okay Teddie, lead the way."

"Righty-o, Junkyouin!" Teddie shouted before climbing on the stadium while the others followed suit behind him. Johnny held onto Gyro who helped him up, silently cursing still needing the Italian's assistance and his still existing muscle atrophy for the upteenth time.

Johnny glanced at the pole, or more specifically the part the Shadow licked.

Rather than being covered in clear saliva (or a good enough imitation of it), it was covered in a liquid that seemed to be red, green, blue, purple... all the colors of the rainbow. "What the hell...?"

Before Johnny could think more about it, he winced as purple-ish light hit his eyes. He looked at Gyro, who also seemed annoyed by the lighting, the interior, and that damn techno music.

This was going to be a long trip...

xxXXxx

The trip was just as long as Johnny thought it would be.

"Come on, just die already!" Johnny shouted at the raven-like Shadow as it dove towards the Cu Sith copy, but pulled back in order to allow a fireball that came out of the lamp to be launched. It passed through the copy, and the real Cu Sith barked three times before jumping towards the raven (It was called Sonic Raven, if Johnny remembered the name Teddie gave it right.). However, the fireball then changed directions and headed straight for the dog Persona. "Shit!" Johnny shouted as he crushed another card. Cu Sith then disappeared from view before the fireball circled around the Sonic Raven to hit it. Johnny then changed the Cu Sith Persona back to Tusk, which floated by his side.

The Shadow screeched as Johnny aimed his right hand and pointed his index finger. "The thing stops when it gets within a meter of its target. If I fire before it stops, then it can change direction and strike before I can fire another shot.." Johnny narrowed his eyes and felt his fingernail come off his finger. The bird was getting closer to the meter mark. "Wait for it..." Johnny clenched his jaw and tried to steady his hand. "Come on, you used to pretend your hand was a pistol after watching Westerns. Get a grip and wait for it..." The Shadow then stopped, and the lanter began swinging back with the door opening. "Now!"

The nail then flew out and hit the Shadow in the neck. It screeched as blood flew out and the flame in the lantern went out. "Damn. I was aiming for the head." Johnny thought as the Shadow began disappearing in black smoke.

"Wowie, Sensei!" Teddie cried out from next to him. "You were able to time your attack perfectl-!"

"Stormy May Day!" Yosuke shouted which caused Johnny to look over his shoulder towards the teen behind him, coincidentally interrupting Teddie's commentary (Much to the bear's apparent annoyance). The giant weapons then converged before the three black hands with blue masks on them (Killing Hands according to Teddie), causing the cyclone which threw them about against the wall. They then fell on the ground as the shurriken returned to Jiraiya. "Alright! That's how it's done!" Yosuke cried out while pumping his fist into the air.

Johnny looked at Teddie. "Anything on that?"

Teddie simply gave a shrug. "I wasn't watching, Sensei. Sorry."

"Aw, come on guys..." Yosuke whined out before blinking and looking back at the hands. "Huh?"

Johnny saw what Yosuke was confused about. One of the hands was disappearing in the usual puff of black smoke. The other two were now making signs with both of them 'standing' on their wrist part. The right hand was sticking out its middle finger while the other was bending its hand horizontally, completely flat.

The message they were trying to convey was extremely clear.

"Oh, you son of a..." Yosuke growled out, but Johnny simply rolled his eyes and took aim.

He fired twice. hitting both Shadows and causing them to fall down before disappearing.

"Dude, come on. I was going to get them..." Yosuke grumbled while glancing down at Johnny.

"Save it. I was just trying not to have you fall into whatever trap they had planned." Johnny meant that too. It was obvious the hands were trying to provoke Yosuke, and they could do without major injuries before reaching the actually powerful Shadows.

"Actually..." Johnny looked back in front of him to see how the others were doing. Kanji was stepping to the side to avoid the Forgotten Hablerie's corrosive tongue, jumping to the side and punching it before summoning Take-Mikazuchi who then punched the Shadow to the ground and destroying it while leaving a small crater. Chie was facing another one of the Sonic Ravens but had lured it into a trap set by her Blue Swede, giving it a cheeky wave as Tomoe finished the three-dimensional cube sketch with its naginata and freezing the bird in a cube of ice. Gyro gave his signature laugh as he threw one of his steel balls at the cube which crackled with Puck's energy before smashing it to pieces. Gyro closed his eye before the ball then launched itself off of the remains of the cube and hit a Sonic Raven still in the air. Yukiko closed her fan as a Killing Hand leapt to the side to avoid one of Konohana Sakuya's blasts only to land on a petal still on the ground before being engulfed in a fiery explosion. "We're all doing extraordinarily well."

"Man, this is getting easier!" Chie shouted with a grin while Gyro simply shrugged as his steel ball returned to him.

"Well, compared to that hand guy back in Yukiko's place, these guys are nothing." Gyro then grinned as he turned to Johnny and asked, "Hey, you got anymore Personas now?"

"Not ye-!" Before Johnny could finish, a card came out of the smoldering corpse of Yukiko's defeated Shadow and flew to Johnny. It floated in front of the American before an image came out in a ghostly blue light. It was a being dressed like a Spanish matador, with a frilly green and red shirt tucked into white pants. It also wore black boots and white gloves while holding a red flag. The outfit was complete with a black hat with a single white feather sticking out. However instead of it being an actual human or some demonic figure, the head that turned to stare at Johnny was that of a skeleton. "Never mind." Johnny grumbled out as the name Matador was whispered into his mind, and the Persona disappeared into him after giving a showman's bow.

"Okay, what's the deal with that?" Kanji asked as he pointed at Johnny. "I've been kinda meanin' to ask why Joestar-senpai has more than one Persona for a while now."

Yosuke gave a shrug and said, "It's kinda complicated man. Let's just say that weird mystic beings gave Johnny a small gift."

"Woah, really?" Kanji looked at Johnny in awe. "That's pretty awesome man."

"It's really not." Johnny replied with a frown.

"Aw, he's just being grumpy." Gyro gave a small dismissive wave.

"No, I'm not. After all I have to deal with that Marie chick..."

"She's not that bad." Gyro shot back with a grin.

"Hey, who's this Marie girl?" Chie asked as the group converged on Johnny. "Is she one of the people... things... whatever they are... that gave you your stuff?"

"Yes... well, actually, no…" Johnny then gave a groan. "Look, it's complicated."

"Not really." Gyro pat Johnny on the head, which the American swatted away. "We can introduce you guys to her sometime. It'll be fun."

"Ehhh..." Yosuke seemed more hesitant. Johnny could understand that, since Yosuke more or less acted polite out of respect for social norms towards Marie more than anything. She did greet him by insulting what he was wearing after all.

"Sure. That sounds like fun." Yukiko gave a smile and a nod towards the idea.

"Great." Johnny thought while rolling his eyes. "That'll be so much fun."

He wasn't particularly excited to see how Marie would act in a group.

"Sensei... has more friends on the outside?" Teddie muttered out under his breath. It sounded as if he was heartbroken by this news. Why would he be?

Before Johnny could ask this, Kanji was pointing forward. "Uh, guys? No more Shadows, so maybe we should..."

"Right, right." Gyro holstered his steel ball and said, "Alright guys, lets hurry this up so we can get Rise and get out of here."

Everyone gave various responses in agreement as Gyro picked Johnny up and they all ran down the hallway. At the end to their left they reached a door, where the curtains drew to the sides as they approached it revealing a stairway up.

Johnny was in his own thoughts as they ascended the stairs.

"We definitely have gotten stronger since going to Yukiko's place that second time." Johnny frowned as they reached the top of the stairs and entered another hallway. "To the point that this barely fazes us anymore." In fact, the only things that were disorienting them even a little were the colors of the interior, the lights, and the music that seemed to be on constant repeat. But those were minor annoyances at best.

The only thing that was really of any concern (other than Rise's Shadow) was Gyro's problem. Sure he seemed committed to rescuing Rise now, but still...

"I wonder what could make Rise-chan's Shadow be this." Yukiko muttered out. "I mean, it said that it wants to 'show us everything'. Perhaps that's a clue?"

"Well, she had been working pretty hard during her hiatus." Yosuke admitted with a small nod. "I mean, I was following her for a while. She had her concert tour, auditions for shows, her part in that movie that's supposed to be coming out next year, and all her voice-acting roles in a lot of next-season animes."

"Damn, a schedule that packed?" Kanji shook his head. "Chick was probably bottling up a lot of frustration or something."

"She was definitely suppressing herself." Johnny replied with a nod. While he still couldn't get the appeal of idols, he still understood that their duties were similar to any other musician. Wake up, get ready for the day, eat nutritional paste to not gain weight, go rehearse, go to interviews, perform at a concert, sign autographs, and then sleep while driving off to the next show.

Stuff like that would drive anyone a little bit nuts.

"Maybe she just wants to talk honestly to people?" Chie suggested with a frown. "I mean she seemed really happy when she talked with me, Yukiko, and Johnny when we told her we weren't fans."

"No." Johnny looked at Gyro whose face was staring forward. His expression was that of upmost seriousness as he said, "It's more than that. Definitely a lot more than that..."

Johnny frowned a bit. "If he knows that much, why doesn't he just enlighten us?" But then again, that piece of information wouldn't be important now.

Now when Gyro thinks they can just go in, get Rise, and get out as quickly as possible.

Before anyone could ask Gyro to expand upon this, a voice came from everywhere and nowhere. "Ooh, you boys and girls are wondering how little old me is doing?"

"Come on guys, my snout is picking up this Rise girl's scent! She's beary close!" Teddie cried out as he continued to go forward. The others nodded and continued on behind him.

"I was just having a bit of... personal time before I could practice for the big show, waiting for you all. Thinking of all of you..." The Shadow Rise's voice purred out sultrily... or trying its damned hardest to be. "Except for the blond. He's no fun."

"Okay, ew. Too much information." Chie's expression turned to one of disgust. Kanji and Yukiko's faces flushed with embarrassment at the message.

"She's just desperate." Johnny gave a dismissive wave.

"I get that, but still... ew."

"Aw damn." Gyro muttered in frustration, and Johnny looked ahead to see the reason why.

Teddie was running towards the end of the hallway which split into two. Both hallways were completely identical, but both also looked as if they could go on forever.

Whichever one they took, it could probably take a while to reach the end or to find a door.

"Teddie, which way!?" Gyro cried out causing the bear to stick up its nose.

"I-I'm trying Junkyoin! I'm honing onto her scent now!

"So I was thinking... why don't we make things a bit more fun?" The Shadow began to giggle. "I'm in the mood to give an exclusive private show! Personal time with yours truly! But..."

Then the bright lights of the hallways, which Johnny found annoying but grew accustomed to, suddenly turned off.

"Waaah!" Teddie's voice cried out in front of them, but Johnny couldn't see. He couldn't see two feet in front of him.

"This isn't good." Gyro muttered beside him as they stopped.

As if on cue, someone (Kanji from the size and strength of the body) bumped in behind them.

They began falling forward.

"Oh..." Johnny began as he felt gravity do its work.

"CRAP!" Chie's voice shouted out, finishing Johnny's sentence.

Johnny felt Gyro's arm let go of him, and Johnny put his hands forward to catch himself before he fell on his face. Unfortunately, he felt something brush against his head. Johnny heard Teddie scream, and Johnny grunted as he felt the plush but surprisingly heavy bear land on his back. Johnny's arms wobbled a bit before he fell on his face. "Oww..." Johnny grunted out while Gyro groaned beside him and Teddie on top of him.

"Senpai! Guys are you okay!?" Kanji cried out, and Johnny heard the shuffling on bodies.

"Kanji, you're crushing my legs...!" Chie's voice groaned.

"Sorry!"

Johnny moved his right foot, and felt it impact something. "Ow! Who kicked me!?" Chie cried out. "That was in my face!"

"Sorry, but in case you haven't noticed it's hard to see anything!"

"Hanamura-san!" Yukiko's voice sounded horrified and appalled before the sound of something being slapped echoed through the air.

"Gah! What the hell Yukiko-senpai!?"

"Sorry Kanji-kun! I was aiming for Hanamura-san!"

"I swear I didn't mean it Yukiko-san!" Yosuke did sound apologetic.

"Freakin' liar." Johnny knew the teen was probably etching the feeling of what he touched into his memory.

"You'll have to find me first." The Shadow Rise's voice was now cheerful as it said, "Have fun!"

"Bitch!" Johnny shouted to wherever the origin of the voice was.

"Watch your language Johnny!" Chie shouted, and Johnny heard another slap.

"Ow! Why the hell did you hit me Chie?!" Yosuke cried out in pain.

"So-no, wait, you deserved that for what you did to Yukiko."

Johnny could not help but chuckle at Yosuke's pain.

"Hey, Johnny." Johnny felt Gyro's elbow touch his arm. "Mind giving us some light?"

"How can I…?" Johnny then remembered a certain pumpkin-headed Persona. "Right, okay." He envisioned a singular blue card, which appeared over his hand. "Pyro Jack." Johnny then crushed the card, and the Persona appeared in a flash of blue light. It giggled as it flew overhead and the flame of the lantern grew, lighting up the hallway slightly.

"Sorry, Sensei…" Teddie muttered as he got off of Johnny. The American gave a grunt of acknowledgement as he and Gyro got up from the floor.

"Everyone okay?" Johnny asked as the other teens got to their feet.

When Chie got on hers, she lightly kicked Johnny in the left leg. He winced in pain as Chie glared at him. "That was for kicking me in the face."

"I said I was sorry!"

"You call what you said to me an apology?" Chie retorted with a frown.

Johnny looked to Gyro for support, only to see the Italian shake his head.

"You could have worded it better, Johnny." Johnny frowned as he could see Gyro was barely holding in his laughter.

Johnny simply gave a sigh. He didn't have the time nor desire to fight this. "Alright. I'm sorry." Chie have a nod of approval. "At least that's taken care of."

"Damn, I can barely see…" Yosuke whined out while squinting his eyes. "Did she cut off all the lights?"

"Probably will keep them off until we find her." Kanji grumbled out. "That Shadow chick is screwing with us…"

"They do all seem to be into that." Johnny commented with a frown.

"Sensei, I'm starting to feel really excited for some reason…" Teddie whined out while hopping from side to side. "And now I really want to find the grizzly! Is that strange?"

Johnny clicked his tongue in annoyance. Was the bear really acting like this now of all times?!

"Please don't talk anymore about that Teddie…" Yukiko grumbled out in embarrassment, confusing the bear.

"Huh? Why?"

"Hey Johnny, you think you can turn that up?" Gyro asked as he pointed up to Pyro Jack.

"I don't think so." Johnny admitted with a frown. He had actually tried to make things brighter when Pyro Jack first increased his flame, but lighting things up by two meters seemed to be its limit. "Complete fire manipulation isn't its power."

"Okay, so we're going to have to stay close." Gyro looked forward and pointed outwards. "Now which way do we go? Left or right?"

Before anyone could answer, they heard a sound both soft yet loud enough for their ears to pick up. "Great, just great…"

"That's Rise's voice…" Johnny muttered out in surprise.

"First I'm in this strange place, then I have to run from monsters, and now this?!" Rise's sob was heard by all of the teens. "Oh god, I just want to go home! I don't belong here!"

"Yup, that's definitely her." Gyro placed his hand by his ear and listened as Rise continued to cry. "Sounds like it's coming from the hallway to the right."

"Poor Rise… She must be so scared!" Chie looked down, her expression one of pity.

"No kidding. The lack of lights must have spooked her out." Kanji nodded in agreement.

"Still, why would that Shadow do this?" Yosuke muttered out. "I mean, doesn't it want Rise to find it?"

"That's actually a good point." Johnny furrowed his brow in thought. Practically every time, the Shadows directed their human selves to them so the standard confrontation could occur. But why was the Shadow doing this? It knew that arise wouldn't move in complete darkness. "Unless…"

"Doesn't matter." Gyro declared while shaking his head. "We can hear Rise, and now we know where she is. So now we just need to go to the hallway to the right and…"

"No." Johnny interrupted Gyro, placing his foot down to halt the Italian's pace.

Everyone seemed to stop then, as if Johnny's refusal was something unprecedented. "No?" Gyro shot an annoyed look at Johnny. "What do you mean no?"

"It could be a trap." Johnny pointed out. "I mean, it's awfully convenient Rise chose now of all times to speak up when we were making a bunch of noise tripping over ourselves just before."

"Yeah, but maybe Rise didn't hear us." Chie commented while crossing her arms.

"But we can hear her." Yukiko looked over to Johnny, her eyes worried. As if asking, "Are we going to do this now?"

Johnny simply closed his eyes. "Probably."

"Senpai, you're being paranoid." Kanji pointed down the darkened hallway. "Everyone gets freaked out by the dark. And when you're stressed you raise your voice."

"Yeah, but with Shadows crawling around?" Yosuke shook his head. "Dunno man, I think Johnny has a point."

"Look." Gyro spoke up, his tone now dead serious. "You guys elected me as leader for a reason. This isn't like when we were training. We need to make a decision now, and I say we go to the right!"

Johnny felt his muscles flex a bit. Gyro was now being stubborn, and it both pissed Johnny off and made him worried. "Teddie." Johnny looked towards the bear. "Can you smell Rise?

"Um…"

"Teddie." Johnny stressed the word. The bear was probably unsure of what to do with the situation, but now really wasn't the time for doubts.

"Well…" Teddie sniffed the air again and frowned. "I do smell her, but now it's coming from both hallways. Teddie pointed towards the left. "That one is more distant." He then pointed to the right. "That one's closer, but it's a bit… watery."

"If that is Rise, it might mean she's either sweating like crazy or pissed herself." Johnny's mind then wandered to the strange substance he spotted on the stripper pole. "But maybe…"

"Oh, come on!" Gyro gave a scoff of exasperation. "You know Teddie has been having trouble with his nose recently! This is probably it acting up again!"

"But why are you refusing to consider this, Zeppeli-san?" Yukiko questioned while glaring at him. "We have a right to consider all possibilities!"

"Because I'm going to save Rise, and catch the killer." Gyro said firmly, his tone not wavering for even a second. "The more time we waste, the greater the possibility is for Rise's death. I joined up to find the killer, and that's what I'm going to do. But the longer we are here, the less time we have to find the guy!"

Johnny looked at Gyro with awe, and then closed his eyes. "He really has no idea does he?" Taking in a deep breath Johnny looked up at the Italian and said one clear sentence.

"Well, I'm not interested in getting killed just because you want to get this over with and take the easiest path available without considering anything else."

Gyro's eyes widened, and he dropped the American. Johnny didn't mind. What he said probably came at a shock. He heard Kanji take in a sharp breath from surprise, and Yosuke muttered a soft "Dude…"

"Johnny…" The American glanced at Chie, who now looked at him in shock. "What… you didn't mean that did you?"

He couldn't soften the blow now. Otherwise the seriousness of what he had to say wouldn't get through. "I meant every damn word, Chie."

"W-What the hell are you talkin' about Senpai!?" Kanji demanded with a glare. "How can you say that shit to-"

"He has a good reason to." Everyone looked towards Yukiko, who looked just as firm and serious as Johnny. "And… it's something I've noticed too." Yukiko closed her eyes as she continued to speak. "Gyro-san, I've been noticing a pattern in your behavior. The decisions you make… if you are asked to do something that's not related to what you vowed to do when joining our team and becoming the leader, you don't want to do it. And if you are forced to do it, you want to get it done as quickly as possible. I've…" Yukiko clenched her fists as she said, "I've noticed it ever since you first agreed to become our leader. And it's become more apparent now."

"How?" Yosuke asked. "What the heck are you guys talking about?"

"You know, I was worried about how I might be just imagining this. Imagining this all in my head, or maybe that I was being too cynical." Johnny admitted as he looked back at Gyro. "But after what happened with Rise… how you just give up when your path is blocked…"

"Senpai, that's completely over the line!" Kanji shouted out with a glare. "Gyro-senpai didn't give up! He was…"

"Actually, come to think of it…" Yosuke muttered with a frown as he crossed his arms. Johnny couldn't help but be glad for that. Kanji and Chie didn't seem to notice what was wrong, and were refusing that anything was wrong. But Yosuke was starting to notice the pattern in hindsight. Teddie simply looked back and forth from Johnny and Teddie worriedly.

Johnny was glad he was actually making sense.

"What is you want to say? Just say it." Gyro's normally joking or serious tone had now become darker. He was actually growling in anger and glaring at Johnny. "If you're going to speak up and talk shit, say it straight out and to my face!"

"Fine!" Johnny declared as he steadied his breath. He needed to be calm, and be more serious than he had ever been in his life. "I can't keep following your leadership, because with the way you are now we'll never rescue anyone or catch the killer. Because…" Johnny took a deep breath, and then let it out as he completed his sentence.

"Because you don't believe in the goal in the first place. You don't have any hunger or drive."

Things were silent for a few seconds.

"What…" Gyro then grabbed Johnny by the collar and brought him up to his face. Gyro was gritting his teeth, and his eyes were full of anger. "What the hell did you just say to me, Joestar!?"

Not hesitating for a second Johnny replied, "You don't believe in any of this, of rescuing the kidnap victims or finding the killer! It's just an obligation, isn't it? You're only doing it because we asked you to! You've got no drive or motivation to catch the killer!"

"Zeppeli-san, put down Johnny!" Yukiko shouted out, and Gyro clicked his tongue and set Johnny down. Everyone else seemed frozen, unsure of what to do. "Zeppeli-san, we're saying this because we know what you're thinking!"

"You don't know anything." Gyro grumbled out while Johnny dusted off his clothes.

"We know enough."

Before Gyro could say anything Yukiko continued, "We know that you probably think our training was unnecessary, that whatever benefits we got from extending our time in that place was a mere coincidence. But that's not it. We benefitted from the experience because we hungered for it in one way or another." Yukiko placed her hand over her heart. "I want to find the killer and save Kujikawa-san, I really do. But I'm also here to help Chie. That's what keeps me going and makes me want to become stronger."

"Huh." Johnny didn't know that, but it did help in supporting their point. Johnny glanced towards Chie, who seemed shocked by the revelation.

"But you keep trying to cut us off from that, because that is not your concern." Yukiko frowned and looked to the ground. "I understand you're our leader, I understand we gave you that position and that probably gives you stress in situations where you have to make a decision. But if you don't have any drive… then you can't be a good leader."

"So what!?" Gyro shouted as he turned fully towards Yukiko. "I'm somehow 'lesser' than the rest of you because of this!?"

"No! That's not what we are saying!" Yukiko shook her head. "There's nothing wrong with you inheriting goals, it's not good or bad. But…"

"Think about the Shadows, Gyro." Johnny then began to shakily stand up. He held out his hand to stop the others from moving, and placed his hands on his knees while rising. It hurt, but doing this would show his resolve. "They have hunger and drive, to kill their original selves and us. They will risk everything to accomplish that. And…" Johnny glared at Gyro as he got up and pointed his index finger at the Italian. "The difference between you and them will show at the worst possible moment." Johnny then pointed towards himself. "I have my own goal. I'm willing to lay down my life and kill to see it accomplished. You don't. 'Helping to find the killer' isn't something you decided on your own. It's just something we asked of you and you just accepted it. It's something you only agreed to do because you owed us for rescuing you."

Gyro clenched his fists and Johnny was worried he was about to throw a punch. "So what are you saying, Joestar?" Gyro spat out in anger and hate. "That I'm a coward? I'm somebody who just takes whatever is offered but really doesn't give a damn? Is that what you're calling me!?"

"No, we're not." Yukiko muttered softly.

"So what the hell do you want from me!?"

"To hunger, and hunger nobly." Johnny replied simply.

It was all he could say really. Gyro needed a goal, something he was willing to put his all into and not half-ass it. Perhaps he didn't mean to do that now, but it was still happening. Some would call Gyro selfish, but Johnny would just say that the Italian was like any other person.

Gyro was helping them out of obligation, even if he didn't want to admit it. He was performing his duties to the bare minimum, even if Gyro could not recognize it.

Johnny wanted to help and it sort of surprised him. In the beginning, he very likely would have simply let Gyro go about his behavior and only would act if his life would be in extreme danger if he didn't.

That point applied now still, but Johnny was also worried for Gyro specifically.

Gyro seemed surprised and hesitant at the demand and everyone else was still silent. Johnny then groaned as he set himself back down on the ground. He still needed practice before he could move on his own.

Gyro looked back at the right hallway, where the distant sounds of what might or might not be Rise Kujikawa sobbing were heard. "Joestar, it doesn't matter. I'm still going to the right to rescue Rise. And I'll do it with or without you."

Johnny clicked his tongue. "Stubborn bastard is digging his heels into the ground." But then again it was reasonable. Johnny just called him out on not putting his heart into finding Rise and catching the killer. Now he was going to stick to his guns out of stubbornness.

"Fine, whatever. But I'm going to the left." Johnny glanced at Teddie. "Lead me there, Teddie."

"B-But Sensei…" Teddie glanced at Gyro and said, "Junkyouin…"

"Do as he says, Teddie." Gyro glared at Johnny. "Bastard made his choice."

Yosuke gave a sigh as he scratched the back of his head. "Dude…" He looked at Gyro. "I'm sorry but I'm going with Johnny on this one. I-I just can't follow you right now. Not after hearing all that…"

"Come on, Yosuke-senpai, you can't be serious!" Kanji motioned towards Gyro. "Look, just because this might be a trap it doesn't mean Gyro-senpai doesn't care!"

"Kanji-kun, it's much more serious than that." Yukiko muttered as she walked beside Johnny. "But they do need light."

"No problem." Yosuke then crushed his blue card and Jiraiya appeared. It dug its hands in the floor and tore out the carpet, revealing a wooden floor. It then punched the floor, buckling and breaking the floorboards. Jiraiya then tore up pieces of the carpet and wrapped them around long pieces of wood before bringing one towards Pyro Jack. It opened its lantern and Jiraiya put the carpet portion of the wood in, which then caught on fire and became a torch. "Here." Jiraiya handed Gyro the torch, which he then snatched away while still glaring at the ground. "Some extra for you guys if it goes out." Jiraiya handed some other torches to Kanji, who took them with a nod.

"Yosuke, help me out here." Yosuke gave Johnny a nod and picked him up before swinging the American's left arm over his shoulders.

"We sure about this, dude?"

"Can't turn back now." Johnny grumbled as he glanced at Yukiko who gave a nod in agreement. "Lead the way, Teddie."

"O-Okay…" Teddie then began walking forward towards the left hallway with the other teens following. They were only a few steps away when they heard an extra pair of footsteps follow them.

"Wait, Johnny."

Johnny and Yosuke stopped before turning around to see Chie frowning sadly at them. "I… Some of the stuff you said made sense, but I don't agree with it all. And Gyro is our leader, so I'm sticking around to help him out." Chie gave a sigh. "But if what you said turns out to be true… how can we call for you?"

"Have Kanji punch a hell of a lot with Take-Mikazuchi." Johnny replied softly. "The noise it makes should reach us. The walls separating the two hallways aren't that thick."

That's right, while Chie may think some of the things that were said were rational there was the still the fact that following the leader is the right thing to do. Chie had to do it, because not following the leader would be 'wrong'.

But she was still considering the possibility that their leader was leading them into an ambush, and it was very obvious Chie was not looking forward to dying.

"Alright." Chie then looked towards Yukiko. "Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine Chie. Honest." She took Chie's hands and said, "Don't worry. We'll come back for you soon."

"Alright." With that, Chie left them and Johnny along with the other members of his group continued on to the left.

"Johnny, you fucker…!" Johnny heard Gyro hiss that out and frowned.

He looked down as he saw the card of the Moon then break in his mind's eye before reforming. But it was now cracked, and looked dull.

It was like what he saw with Chie when she punched him, and it hurt far more than that punch.

"Gyro… I want to learn from you. Because you are so much more than me, a number far ahead from zero, and leagues away from being a minus." Johnny gave a sigh."But… you need to become more than someone who inherits. You need to grow, slowly grow, and hunger so that you can truly become someone great."

Johnny didn't mind that their Social Link reversed.

He grit his teeth as Gyro probably began resenting him.

Johnny Joestar would not back down from the words he just said.

This was his resolve.

xxXXxx

"Oooh... Now that's interesting!"

The Shadow of Rise Kujikawa smirked as it watched the numerous TV screens in front of it while lounged on a velvet chair. The TV screens showed feed from every floor, switching from hallway to hallway ever five or so minutes. It was a safety feature that was included when the Shadow's original self entered the TV World.

Not that the Shadow was complaining or anything. What it had seen was good TV.

"Hm... the filters were a good idea, but maybe the amount of dolbys were a bit much?" The Shadow simply shook its head. "Ah, doesn't matter I suppose it doesn't matter." The Shadow giggled again as it got up. "Them splitting up makes things sooo much easier now!"

The Shadow swayed its hips as it walked towards another room connected to the monitor chamber, passing by a room filled with costumes and one that lead to a hallway. It pushed on the door, opening it and revealing a bedroom. However it was no ordinary bedroom, but one where the walls and ceiling were covered in mirrors which reflected the single bed in the center, shaped as a heart and covered with satin red sheets.

"Giving a private show to a group that big would be a problem." The Shadow then jumped on the bed, bouncing slightly on the mattress before coming to a stop within a few seconds. A sultry smirk set on its face as it said, "Sure, it wouldn't be a big deal, but having a smaller crowd makes the show more... personal."

It looked at one of the mirrors and smiled at its reflection.

But the Rise Kujikawa in the mirror was not dressed in a swimsuit. Rather, it was dressed in a tight black shirt with two buttons not closed on the top which accentuated yet hid its cleavage. It was also dressed in a pair of black pants and black cowboy boots, as well as a black wide-brimmed hat and a long black overcoat. On its waist was a brown belt, and in a holster on each hip was a pistol.

In the mirror to the Shadow's left was a Rise Kujikawa dressed in a white robe stained in red, slightly see-through but not completely. It hid the figure, but showed just enough to make a person's imagination run wild.

To the right was a Rise Kujikawa dressed in a soccer uniform holding a ball on its lap, and in the mirror behind the Shadow was a Rise Kujikawa in a cheerleading outfit.

And in each mirror within the reflection was another Rise Kujikawa, each dressed in a different outfit.

"But speaking of shows..." The Shadow Rise then picked up a tube of lipstick and took off the cap. "You guys can go on ahead."

Suddenly, each reflection of the Shadow Rise got up and walked forward. Each one of them then stepped out of their mirrors, stepping onto the floor and walking towards the door Rise's Shadow had entered through as it put on the lipstick.

"It's going to be one hell of a private show." The Shadow Rise then gave a mock air kiss and a sultry smirk.

"And I want to look my absolute best."

[To Be Continued |\|]

Note: Here's newest chapter betaed by Kiiam.

A lot of stuff in this chapter concerning Gyro. The thing to remember about Gyro's problem is that it's a very human one. He can't exactly be committed to anything, and he doesn't realize this. He rode horses for fun, but wasn't out to make it his life career. He didn't want to be a doctor, but he didn't have anything as an alternative in mind. He joined up with the IT to find the killer and became their leader, but only because he was asked to.

This doesn't make Gyro a bad person by a long shot, but he has nothing to strive for in life. And compared to most of the other characters who are struggling for a goal, and most of the characters' goals here can be considered selfish in one way or another, Gyro is sort of lacking. Johnny is trying to find a way to fix his legs, Yosuke is trying to give himself closure for Saki's death, Chie wants revenge, Yukiko wants to help Chie, and Kanji wants to fight with them to pay them back for saving his life. Gyro... just kinda inherited the goal of finding the killer. He isn't really giving it his all.

But other than that, had fun with Shadow Rise and taking a piss at the fanservice cliches, and Johnny's complete non-reaction and annoyance to it all.

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