Shadow Over Trolberg
A Hilda/Persona 4 AU
By Daring D.D. Danger
22: It's All a Game
The Velvet Room faded into view, but strangely, Randall locked eyes with the Deerfox, Twig. The creature had been missing for a while. Randall wondered what it meant.
The snow outside the restaurant had intensified. Kelly, David and Randall had stood in silence for a while.
"We should go over the facts with everyone one more time," Kelly said.
"I'm going back to the hospital," Randall said.
"Understood." Kelly returned to the restaurant.
"Randall," David stopped him from leaving. "We need to talk."
"Alright. What is it?"
"There was a period of time, at first, where I didn't trust you. Or maybe I was jealous of you." Randall gave him a confused look. "In just a few days here, you nabbed a Persona, you're a hero, and it's obvious people are drawn to you. There's a part of me that loves that, and I'm glad to be your friend." David was full of apprehension.
"What are you getting at?" Randall asked.
"There's a part of me I'm not proud of, and I need to say this now. I need you to do this! I need you to hit me!"
"What?" Randall was confused. "Why?"
"I think, out of everyone, I needed your approval the most. So give me one solid hit. I want to be on even ground with you. I know it's hard-" Randall hit David full force in the face, knocking him back into the snow.
"Is that what you wanted?" Randall asked.
"That really hurt, dude!" David complained.
"Are we level now?" Randall asked.
"Honestly, this was kind of embarrassing."
"If we hit each other, we'd be equal." Randall extended a hand to David and helped him up.
"Alright, let's do it." David charged at Randall.
The pair soon found themselves laying in the snow.
"You punch too hard," David said, catching his breath.
"My bad." Randall and David were side by side, both bleeding a bit.
"I feel a whole lot better now, though," David noted.
"Something bothers me," Randall said.
"What?"
"Van Gale's diary is missing Kevin's name."
"He was a copycat, he entered the TV on his own and killed Mr. Cory."
"Do we know that?" Randall sat up. David joined him. "We've just assumed he entered on his own this whole time, but has that really been confirmed? He appeared on the midnight channel, but if he didn't go in on his own..."
"The real killer did it instead," David said.
"I think this knocked some sense into me," Randall said.
"What are you thinking?" David said.
"There is someone that fits Kelly's description from earlier. All of us."
"Wait! You think one of us is the killer!?" David looked terrified.
"I know it's not you, you couldn't hurt Nessa. Alfur and Twig lack the means," Randall said.
"I don't like where you're headed," David said.
"It would've been to the killer's benefit if we'd thrown Van Gale into the TV, which rules out Hilda and Frida."
"So you think it's Kelly or Trevor?" David said.
"Tell Hilda, Alfur, and Frida. Let's meet at my house," Randall said.
Kelly entered the house last, she shut the newly fixed door gently. The group sat silently.
"Did you guys figure out who the murderer is or something?" she asked.
"Sort of. I thought about it, and realized no one fits the description of the murderer that we know," Randall said.
"And?" Kelly asked.
"That might mean it's one of us." The room went silent. "I already am fairly sure it's not David, Hilda, or Frida," he noted.
"Alfur is too small," Hilda added.
"Sure, blame it on the nightmare spirit. Real nice," Kelly said angrily.
"It has to be you. I'd never hurt anyone," Trevor said.
"You throw rocks at birds for fun, you sociopath!" Kelly yelled.
"What if neither of them is the murderer?" Hilda asks.
"It's gotta be Kelly," David said. "Trevor is too weak to kill someone."
"Come on!" Kelly complained.
"She breaks into people's houses every night," Trevor added.
"Maybe it's different because we're humans," David suggested,
"How would we even prosecute her? She's not human," Frida pointed out.
"Let's just push her in the TV and do it ourselves," Trevor said.
"We're not killers!" Hilda said. Suddenly, Randall walked up to Kelly and wrapped his belt around her.
"We have no other way to prosecute her," Randall said. "I'll take her to Junes." The group nodded and dispersed.
Randall was coming around the back of Junes so he wasn't seen hauling Kelly around in a belt. He heard a sound behind him. He turned to see Trevor twirling a pistol in his hand.
"What are you doing!?" Randall whisper yelled.
"Did you know Marra can be mortally wounded when in a leather belt?" Trevor asked as he shot the gun. The bullet echoed and Randall ducked. When he peaked he noted Kelly on the ground, her head spit open, with black ooze spilling.
"Wh-" Randall couldn't speak before the gun was in his face. Police sirens were already approaching. "We blamed the wrong person…"
"Any last words?" Trevor asked.
"Yes… Persona!" Randall yelled and put his arm up in the air, but nothing happened.
"You know you can't summon a P-" Randall swung his hand down, smacking the gun out of Trevor's hands. Randall ran full speed out of the alley and into the side entrance of Junes. There wasn't much of a late night crowd in Junes as he took a winding route to the electronics section. And dove into the TV.
"Nice landing." Trevor was clapping slowly. "If you wanted to go out fighting on the stage you should've asked."
"Orpheus!" Randall summoned his Persona. "I have the advantage over Goemon, you know that."
"I do know that." Trevor gave an evil smile. "Magatsu Izanagi!" Trevor summoned the orange Persona in a mask. Trevor pointed and the Persona lunged at Orpheus, knocking both him and Randall off the stage.
"I planned this whole thing out, Randall. You won't survive this," Trevor said.
"You made an error," Randall said.
"Oh yeah? What is it?" Trevor rolled his eyes.
"I don't wear a leather belt," Randall said.
"Wh-" Trevor was kicked in the back of the head by Kelly. He fell to the ground and his Persona disintegrated.
"Getting shot still hurts, you know!" Kelly spat on him.
"How'd you know it was him and not me?" Kelly asked.
"I trusted you," Randall said as Kelly lifted him up.
"That makes one of our friends," Kelly scoffed.
"All we can do now is wait for the cavalry." Randall gestured to the exit, and the two returned to Junes.
David rounded the corner into the electronics section ahead of the others.
"Did Trevor really shoot you!?" David was examining Kelly. She backhanded him.
"Yes, he did, but I'm fine. I can't be killed again," Kelly explained.
"Sorry for not trusting you," David said. The others approached and nodded.
"It's fine. Your fear of Marra made my plan work," Randall laughed a little. The group entered the TV. Alfur and Astria stood on the stage for a while.
"The fog's gotten worse here, too," Frida noted.
"It's like both worlds are messed up," David said.
"There's no trace of him," Alfur said. "If only that stupid Deerfox were here." Suddenly, the group heard growling and turned to see Twig.
"Twig!" Hilda ran up to the animal and gave it a big hug.
"Can you find Trevor, Twig?" Randall asked. The animal began sniffing and ran off at top speed. The group ran behind and only caught up to him at a door. Twig scratched violently at it.
"Isn't this...?" David said to Randall.
"The room from the first time we were in the TV," Randall answered.
"Didn't you almost wet yourself?" Hilda asked.
"No!" David yelled.
"Do you have any idea how annoying you all are?" Trevor's voice came from inside. They opened the door to find him leaning out of a window.
"Were you the killer, Trevor?" Randall asked.
"Does it really matter? These two worlds are about to fuse. Who will care after that?" Trevor said.
"What do you mean?" Kelly pressed.
"This world is about to become our world. All humans will turn into shadows."
"Sounds like bullshit," Kelly said.
"Stop changing the subject. Did you kill Raven Leader?"
"Do you actually want the truth? The world is going to end, so why not? It was an accident," Trevor said.
"Wait, that's not Trevor! It's just a projection," Alfur noted. The projection clapped slowly.
"Congrats, elf." A portal opened in the window and the projection entered. Hilda sprinted through after it. The others followed.
"This is the shopping district," Frida noted. All the buildings were leveled and the sky was red.
"I get the sense that he's got control over this world," Alfur said.
"I like it here." Everyone looked up to see Trevor sitting on the ruins of the gas station. "It's like I'm the king of the world. The shadows just ignore me, too." Suddenly a large shadow burst forth covered in chains and holding a gun. It took a few shots at the kids.
"That one is really powerful," Alfur said in awe.
"Catch me if you can. None of you will live long enough."
"Persona!" Kelly yelled and her Persona charged the shadow. "Go! I've got this one!" The others sprinted on.
"Hey is that the bath house?" David pointed at the former building. Trevor was sitting on a chair.
"This town is so boring. All I can do is watch TV and mess with Raven statues." Suddenly, the group was in Trevor's house. He was sticking his hand in his TV and staring. The world quickly cut again to Junes. Trevor was talking to Raven Leader when suddenly he grabbed her and forced her through a TV.
"She went in?!" He yelled and began laughing. A projection of Trevor came forth.
"I'd heard about the Midnight Channel before. It was a coincidence I touched a TV the first time and discovered my power, though."
"So you used Raven Leader to test your power?" Randall asked.
"I found the whole thing hysterical, and I knew it was going to be fun," he said.
"You're scum!" Hilda yelled as suddenly another large Shadow burst from the ground.
"Persona!" Frida and Hilda yelled. Their Persona's came forth and charged it.
"Why bother fighting back? This whole town will be swallowed by the fog, anyway," Trevor laughed a little.
"We've got it." Hilda gave Randall a thumbs up. Alfur summoned Astria and joined the girls.
"Don't lose track of him, Twig," the elf said. Randall, David, and Twig ran forward. Suddenly, the three were in another clone of Junes. Trevor was standing with Nessa. He had her pinned against a wall and she slapped him.
"So that's how it's going to be," Trevor said as he grabbed her by the face and forced her into a TV. "Girls these days are such a pain in the ass." David slid down a nearby wall. "Maybe I'll let you out if you beg a little bit," Trevor yelled into the TV. Suddenly his projection was next to them.
"The only cool part of this story was getting my powers," it said.
"Hey, shut up!" David yelled.
"Look at it from my perspective. I had no clue what it was like in the TV world. Besides, those bitches got what they deserved. I think I've done this world a favor."
"Shut up!" David threw a punch which went through the projection.
"What did you do to Van Gale?" Randall asked.
"I happened to catch her musing about other worlds on the radio in the middle of the night. I called in and told her that no one would ever believe her story, so she should do something about it. Your own good intentions started a vicious cycle, and it was awesome." Suddenly, another Shadow burst forth. David and Twig summoned their Personas.
"Leave it to us," David said. Randall chased after the projection.
"You threw Kevin in, too, didn't you?" Randall asked.
"The cops wrote him off as a joke and let him go, and I just happened to catch him," Trevor shrugged. "If I let him take the fall, Van Gale would've stopped saving people and the game would've ended."
"So it's all a game to you?" Randall asked.
"That sort of stuff is important in life. You almost ruined it by saving him, but Van Gale kept saving people. What an idiot!" Randall kept walking and approached a table in the street. Trevor was pouring tea.
"I'm surprised you made it this far."
"Why did you really do this?" Randall asked.
"I didn't have a motive. It was because I could and it was fun. I don't think me or this world are the killer. This place reflects people's thoughts, so really, the killers are the people from our world, like you. Why don't you go back to school, get into college, meet a cute girl… er, guy, I guess? Stop worrying about this crap, it's inevitable. Or do you have nothing better to do because you are a lonely loser?"
"I think you're the loser." Trevor seemed blown away by Randall's words.
"Don't think you're better than me. I told you, once your world gets swallowed, everyone will turn into Shadows."
"You're pathetic."
"You're so annoying! The new world doesn't need assholes like you!"
"Let's finish this," Randall said quietly.
"I thought if I ignored you, you'd go away. In order to show you who this world prefers, I just have to kill you! Magatsu Izanagi!"
"Orpheus!" Randall yelled back.
"Be a good little boy and die quickly!" The pair charged at each other.
To Be Continued