Act 8
The Ties That Bind
"Is there something that ails you, Haru?"
Haru managed to force a smile at Yusuke, shaking her head. What could she say—that she was starting to feel that she was dead weight? No… that would just make him worry further.
"No… nothing's wrong, Yusuke-kun."
Yusuke frowned before studying her closely.
"You just… sighed heavily. Usually a sign of feeling bothered, no?" he inquired.
"It's not a big deal, Yusuke-kun," Haru insisted, shaking her head at her friend.
Yusuke pursed his lips together. "Are you positive? One hundred percent?"
"It's fine, Yusuke-kun," Haru said reassuringly, before giving him a slight smile. "You do recall that I'm older than you, right? There's no need to fuss over me."
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Ken was looking at them in concern.
"It doesn't mean I still can't be worried," Yusuke stated, arms folded over her chest.
"There's no need to worry—really!" Haru said hastily.
She already felt bad enough. She didn't need to add to her friends' worry.
"Why do we have to go back?" Teddie-san was whining to Ren. "We hafta save Yosuke!"
Minako-san giggled.
"You're fond of Yosuke-kun, huh?"
Teddie-san's eyes lit up. "He's the beary best! He let me live in the real world with Sensei and everyone! He gets mad a lot when I mess up but he still buys me topsicles and is really nice!"
"Maybe Yosuke-senpai's parents should get it over with and just adopt ya," Kanji-san grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Adopt…?" Teddie-san frowned. "Kanji, you're not supposed to use big words!"
Kanji-san growled and stomped over to Teddie-san. "The hell's that supposed to mean?!"
"Big words confuse me!"
Kanji scowled at him, clenching one hand in a fist. "You don't complain when Naoto uses 'em!"
"Kanji-kun, please don't fight with Teddie…" Naoto-san sighed, shaking her head. "You know Teddie means no harm."
"Sheesh, you two are making me think of when Mona and Skull bicker," Anne sighed, shaking her head.
"But anyways—" Yu-san interjected. "If you're curious, Teddie, adopt means to take in a child that isn't biologically your child. It's your job to take care of them."
"Oh, like Nana-chan's daddy with you, Sensei?!" Teddie-san asked.
"Uh… sure, let's go with that," Yu-san said.
"Who's 'Nana-chan'?" Haru heard Makoto whisper to Ken.
"Nanako, Yu-san's little cousin," Ken mumbled. "She's ten years younger than Yu-san."
Rise-san just giggled. "Heehee, I bet you'd love to adopt a couple kids of your own, Senpai~ Just look at you with Nanako-chan!"
"Rise-chan!" Chie-san exclaimed.
"I mean… it's true," Yu-san said with a sheepish smile.
"Be careful, guys," Ryuji started to joke to the twins, "or Yu-san just might try and adopt ya!"
Their expressions became unimpressed.
"Not happening," Miyuki said flatly, just as Kaito exclaimed, "We still have Mommy!"
Their pure adoration of their mother was honestly very sweet to watch… Haru honestly wished she had the same kind of memories for her mother but they were… fuzzy at best.
"Okay, okay, we know," Morgana grumbled.
"We should really get going guys," Ren said.
"Right, sorry about that Joker!" Yukiko-san said, bowing her head.
But as they slowly made their way back, Haru saw Ken slip away from his usual spot next to Makoto to walk by Haru.
"Noir, can we talk?"
"About what, Ace?" she asked, even though she had a feeling she knew exactly what Ken was going to inquire about.
"Fox had a point, you know," he said in a low voice. "Something is bothering you."
Haru just sighed. The twins looked at her curiously.
Ken then turned his attention to them, arms crossed. He raised an eyebrow at them. "I know Yukari-san has taught you it's not nice to eavesdrop."
"But—" Miyuki began to protest, but Ken held up his hand.
"No buts," Ken said, shaking his head before nodding towards the group. "Now run along and catch up with the others. We'll be there soon, okay?"
Miyuki blinked up at him. "But what if Auntie Makoto gets worried?"
"Or what if she gets mad?" Kaito chimed in.
"Or… morried!" Miyuki said.
"I can handle Queen fine," Ken said dryly before making a shooing movement towards the rest of the group. "Now run along."
"Fiiine…" they grumbled in unison, before Miyuki began to pout.
They watched the twins scurry away before they trailed behind the group.
Ken then turned to look at Haru, his brown eyes filled with concern. "Seriously, Noir, what's the problem?"
Haru pressed her lips together. Ken… he'd understand right? He was the one who got kidnapped alongside her.
"But it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't gone down first," whispered a nasty voice in the back of her mind.
"It's silly but I just… feel like I'm not doing enough," she managed to mumble out. "With what happened with Kamoshidaman…"
She then cut herself off with a sigh, wrapping her arms around herself.
"I know you were just trying to help me. But if I hadn't…" Haru just trailed off, sighing.
Ken's expression morphed into a sympathetic one. He pursed his lips together, like he was mulling over his thoughts.
"You can't blame yourself for that. You were trying to help Oracle. And besides, we both made mistakes. You saw Queen chew me out for that, didn't you?"
Haru just raised an eyebrow. "The only thing I really caught on was Queen grabbing you for a kiss."
Pink just tinged around Ken's mask, making Haru giggle at his flustered expression. He really walked into that one, if you asked her. Though her two friends had made a spectacle, given their preference to be affectionate in private—well, at least when they thought they had privacy—in contrast to Ren and Anne.
"And you are doing your part," Ken persisted. "Don't forget that Joker has to deal with a twice as large team now."
"I suppose… I just wish I could feel like I'm contributing more," Haru lamented with another sigh.
Ken's expression grew… conflicted. He opened his mouth to reply only to be cut off by Ryuji calling out to them to hurry up. He then shook his head.
"Come on, we have to catch up to the others."
"R-Right!"
"I wonder what Elizabeth-san wants," Makoto murmured, just soft enough for Ken to hear, as Futaba greeted them.
Apparently Elizabeth-san was becoming impatient with waiting for them. Ken just sighed.
"Knowing her… only she knows," he mumbled out.
He had met Elizabeth-san briefly back during the whole Abyss of Time debacle. But she was… a bit of a loose cannon with the incidents regarding Labrys and Hi-no-Kagutsuchi. She marched to the beat of her own drum, that was for sure.
Elizabeth-san was waiting for them, standing right by the ticket booth. She was dressed in a dress that oddly enough resembled a movie reel.
"So what's this about?" Ren asked.
"Thank you for your patience," Elizabeth-san said, before bowing in front of them. "The ticket machine is finally ready for use."
"Oh right…" Anne frowned. "It was completely busted before."
She nodded. "That is correct."
Then she reached out, stroking the machine. The screen glowed a bright blue. Ken couldn't help but feel confused on what was going on.
"However, the ticket machine seems to be shining, as if it's received the spark of life."
"…What?" Teddie-san asked. "I don't get it—"
"Oh, you missed that?" Elizabeth-san tilted her head. "Allow me to explain once more—"
"No!" Ryuji shouted. "We got it a'right!"
Then he narrowed his eyes.
"What the hell is up with that costume, anyways? What happened to that blue attendant dress?"
"Oh this?" Elizabeth-san smoothed down her dress, taking on an innocent expression. "While I swiped—ah, I mean sifted—through the items in storage here, I happened to stumble upon this lovely costume. It seemed like a perfect fit for my role, so I decided to don it."
Minako-san tilted her head. "Wait… your role?"
Elizabeth-san nodded. "Allow me to explain that. Along with the circumstances that led to it."
She then proceeded to explain why they were putting their necks on the line, she was stuffing her face with popcorn and napping—only for the ticket machine to start glowing.
Ryuji didn't look pleased about this revelation, grumbling under his breath.
"This light that I beheld was so nearly blinding, I had no choice but to wipe the drool from my mouth and rise to my feet!" Elizabeth-san exclaimed dramatically, clutching a hand to her chest.
"This Elizabeth lady should look into acting," Futaba muttered under her breath.
"Futaba!" Makoto chided. "Shh!"
Naoto-san just shook her head. "It almost feels that she's blaming us for this event…"
Teddie-san gave a little hop in excitement. "What does the ticket machine do?!"
"It can now issue 'Special Screening' tickets," Elizabeth-san stated.
"Special Screening?" Yu-san asked, before he tilted his head. "What's so special about it?"
"If Kamoshidaman is a full-feature film, then the special screenings can be seen as short films," Elizabeth-san then explained.
"Do we have to change the endings here too then?" Minako-san said, looking dismayed. "We already have our hands full!"
"No, no, quite the opposite! You see, you're supposed to fulfill the goal of the special screening." She then held up a small pamphlet. "According to this 'instruction manual', the screenings will end once the goal is fulfilled."
This was… weird.
"This makes no sense whatsoever," Ren grumbled out.
"Ah, but it's just how it is!" Elizabeth-san said cheerfully.
Makoto frowned, rubbing her chin. "Will something happen if we complete the special screenings?"
"Yes!" Elizabeth-san nodded enthusiastically. "I will grant you extravagant rewards if you fulfill the screenings!"
"Wait—so you're making us do this for rewards!" Ryuji exclaimed.
"I dunno… it sounds like a good deal, if we get something out of it?" Chie-san remarked.
"This is my role!" Elizabeth-san declared, throwing her arms up. "I am the vendor for the ticket booth, so I donned this attire! I am now transformed into the movie booth babe!"
"…I don't get it," Kaito said.
"I want to wear that dress too," Ren suddenly announced.
"For real?!" Ryuji sputtered out. "Please tell me you're joking!"
Ken pinched the bridge of his nose. Obviously Ren was messing around but…
"But… girls wear dresses," Miyuki said with the air of superiority. "Shouldn't you know that already? You're almost as old as Uncle Ken!"
"Gender is just a social construct," Ren said seriously.
Ken let out a frustrated growl before rapping Ren on the head with his knuckles. "Knock it off, Ren," he hissed out. "You'll just confuse them!"
Ren insisted, "They need to know, Ken!"
"REN!"
Elizabeth-san suddenly cleared her throat. "Oh, I deeply apologize. Unfortunately, there was only one of the dress."
Ren let out a long-suffering sigh. "There goes my dream of dressing like a movie booth babe…"
"Perhaps we can procure you a kimono?" Yusuke suggested.
"I'd say a lady cop would fit you better," Ryuji grumbled.
"Only if you dress up like Anne!" Ren teased.
Ryuji glowered at Ren. "Hell no!"
"Hey, don't drag me into this!" Anne huffed out.
Ren then gave Ken a furtive glance, before smiling slyly. "You know, I feel that Ken would pull off the Gekkoukan female uniform pretty well too."
Ken glowered at him. "That is not happening. Not even in a different universe."
"Never say never, my dear Ken!" Ren said, taking on a posh voice.
"Ren-san is weeeeird…" Miyuki said in a loud whisper.
"But one ticket is ready for you!" Elizabeth-san interjected. "Would you like to give it a try?"
"What do you guys think?" Ren asked.
Yu-san shrugged. "You're our leader. You'll call the shots."
Ren frowned before giving a small nod. "Sure, Elizabeth-san. We'll give it our best shot."
"Excellent." Elizabeth-san beamed at them. "Now, if you will give me a moment~"
She printed out the ticket, handing it almost reverently to Ren.
Ren squinted. "Wait… it has Makoto, Ken, and Haru's names on it."
"What?!" Futaba gasped. "Lemme see!"
"Your task is to defeat eight basalts," Elizabeth-san announced. "An easy task, no?"
Basalts… If he recalled correctly, they were the boulder-type Shadows. It was honestly weird fighting them again.
"Sounds easy," Ren agreed.
"Mm-hm! We can definitely handle that!" Haru nodded.
"That's very reassuring to hear," Elizabeth-san said with a smile. "I will be watching with great eagerness, popcorn in hand."
Ken rolled his eyes. "Glad to know we're of great entertainment to you," he droned out.
"Let us begin!" Elizabeth-san said. "You will need the people on the ticket to enact the special screening."
"Okay, so that leaves one other person then," Ren mused. "You up for it, Minako?"
Minako-san beamed. "Sure! I'd love to chip in!"
"It says Kamoshidaman, so we gotta head to the first theater right, Ren?" Morgana asked.
"Yep, let's do it!" Ryuji said, smacking his fist against his palm.
"We'll let you take the stage for now then," Yu-san chuckled.
"Hey, we gotta save you guys swooping to Yosuke's rescue, right?" Ren quipped.
"Knowing him, he's probably in some kind of trouble," Chie-san grumbled.
"Aww, Chie-senpai, it almost sounds like you're worried about him!" teased Rise-san.
Chie-san's cheeks went bright red. "S-Shut up! That's not true!"
Anne's eyes brightened with excitement. "Wait so—"
"No!" Chie-san shouted. "That's not it at all!"
"Rise, that's enough," Yu-san said, calm as ever.
However, there was an amused glint in Yu-san's eyes.
Rise-san pouted. "Oh fiiiine."
Makoto then coughed. "But anyways, let's head into Kamoshidaman."
They did just that, jumping through the movie screen. Ken blinked. This was a bit strange… seeing the city like this. He had hardly registered the city when they had first made it here.
"Wow this is… different," Yukiko-san breathed out.
"No kidding!" Kanji-san exclaimed.
"Stay on your guard though," Anne warned. "This place is crawling with Shadows, just like with Junessic Park."
Makoto surveyed the area, before looking to Ren.
"Should we just do what we usually do? I don't see anything abnormal…"
Ren nodded. "Yeah, I think that's the best course of action."
"WAIT!" Futaba suddenly shouted.
"Jeez, Futaba!" Ryuji rubbed his ear. "You don't hafta shout."
"Ugh, you can't say that, Ryuji," Futaba huffed. "But anyways, be careful! I'm sensing a ton of FOE signals!"
Rise-san suddenly appeared. "Yeah, and I'm sensing the Basalts hanging around the FOEs."
"So the special screening altered things…" Yu-san commented with a frown.
"Should've known there was a catch…" Ken grumbled.
Futaba nodded. "Looks like it. Normal pathways might be blocked off too."
"This is cheating!" Miyuki complained.
"Just think of it as a different direction, Miyuki-chan!" Haru said.
Yukiko-san nodded. "This is supposed to be a challenge after all… Good luck, everyone!"
"There might be some Basalts hanging away from the FOEs… but I think there's less of a chance of running into them," Rise-san commented.
"Yeah, just take care with the FOEs if you wanna fight them!" Futaba said.
"Let's get started, Joker," Ken said, turning to his friend.
Ren nodded, his expression growing serious. "Right."
They crept along the area, watching the FOEs' patterns. They managed to find the Basalts quickly, as the two navigators predicted.
He was glad to see Haru relaxing a little as she fell into the flow of combat. Ken had to admit that it felt good, to have a particular goal.
"And that's our fourth Basalt!" Rise-san cheered. "Awesome work, guys!"
"Yes, we're halfway there!" Haru said, giving a little hop of excitement. "We should be finished soon if we keep up this great pace."
Minako-san giggled. "It seems like you guys are leaving me and Joker in the dust."
"Hey, who said anything about that?!" Ren's voice turned mock outraged, making several people laugh.
Ken nodded. "This is a good warm-up. But we can't be complacent."
Haru nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! We can't let our kouhai beat us, no?"
"Hey, since when is this a competition?!" Ren called out to them.
Makoto just raised an eyebrow. "You're just the type to make it into a competition, Joker."
"Am not!"
Anne put a hand on Ren's shoulder. "Joker, you know I love you… but that's the biggest lie I've ever seen you make."
"Lying is bad, Joker!" Kaito said, shaking his head in disappointment.
"What is it, pick on Joker day?!" Ren grumbled.
Morgana snickered. "We have to give Ryuji a break now and then."
"Ugh, shuddup, Mona!" Ryuji snarled out.
Then Ren, Ryuji, Anne, and Morgana seemed to whisper about something. Ken just frowned, wondering what on earth what they were talking about.
Makoto and Haru looked confused as well, Makoto choosing to speak up about it.
Morgana flinched, before waving his paws at them. "Oh, nothing! We just noticed you guys were being super motivated, that's all!"
Minako-san tilted her head. "Wait, what about that talk about Noir going on a rampage?"
"Huh?!" Haru cried out. "You thought I was going to—?!"
Ren raised his hand. "I plead the fifth."
"Joker, not this again!" Makoto glared at him.
"Just admit that you messed up," Ken droned out.
"It would've been fine if Minako hadn't…!" Morgana complained.
Haru laughed. "No, no, it's quite all right. I'm just really in the mood to move around right now! I honestly felt a little cramped after being tied up for so long."
Ken pulled a face before rubbing his arm. "Don't remind me."
He still remember how the ropes dug into his arms and sides...
"A'right!" Kanji-san exclaimed. "We're rooting for ya! But don't expect to leave us in the dust!"
Ken laughed. "I wouldn't have expected it at all, Kanji-san."
Makoto then turned back to the lurking Shadows. "But let's get back to business."
"We did it! We got eight Basalts!" Haru cheered.
She honestly felt really happy. Like she was really contributing.
"Great work, Queen, Noir," Ken said with a smile.
Makoto shook her head. "No, it's because we acted like a team."
"Jeez, you just blazed a trail," Ren said, laughing while shaking his head.
"Seriously!" Anne yelped. "You finished it just like that!"
She snapped her fingers to emphasize her point.
"You are so beary fast!" Teddie-san exclaimed.
"That's the power of third-years…" Chie-san breathed out.
Haru and Ken looked at each other, before letting out an embarrassed laugh.
"No, not quite…" Ken spoke up. "It's just—"
"I've been feeling bad about not contributing enough," Haru confessed.
"I think I was feeling the same way, but I was trying to busy myself so I wouldn't think about it," Ken said with a sheepish smile.
Haru turned to her friend, dismayed. "Ace, you've always done so much! I mean, you look out for Miyuki-chan and Kaito-kun on top of everything! And…"
She bit her lip.
"You wouldn't have been captured if it wasn't for me."
"You were just trying to help Oracle," Ken contradicted. "That wasn't your fault!"
"And it is possible that we could've lost Queen as well too," Akechi spoke up. "If Ace hadn't pushed her and Oracle through the escape route."
Ken seemed to wince at that.
"…But we should head back. We can elaborate more on what's going on back in the theater."
Ren nodded. "Yeah, it's not the safest place to have a talk."
He then reached into his pocket, producing a Goho-M. They crowded together before Ren crushed the Goho-M under his feet. There was a glowing golden light before they were brought back to the theater.
"So… what's going on, exactly?" Yusuke asked.
"Well… it's more that I've felt bad for being so troublesome with Kamoshidaman capturing me," Haru confessed. "I thought it was a good opportunity to make up for it. And besides that, we were promised stronger equipment if we fulfilled the screening so…"
Ken sighed to himself before folding his arms over his chest. "I've felt like a liability in the past. Sometimes I felt like I was just a tagalong. So… I can definitely empathize with Haru's desire with wanting to prove herself."
Ren couldn't help but feel startled at that. He was so used to Ken advising him. His experience with fighting Shadows definitely came in handy.
"Ken-kun, you were never once a burden to us!" Minako spoke up.
Ken just gave her a half-hearted smile. "Thanks, Minako-san. I do appreciate it. Really, I do. But still, I couldn't help but question my role on the team."
A bittersweet smile crossed Morgana's face. "That… I can sympathize with."
"And when you came to save us, I just wanted to repay you!" Haru exclaimed. "So… this was my way of repaying you."
"Come on, Haru, did you really think we'd just leave ya?" Ryuji suddenly spoke up.
Yusuke nodded in agreement. "Ryuji is correct. We would never abandon you. You are important friends to us, our cherished comrades. If you need us, we will come rushing to your side."
Haru just stared, even feeling her eyes water a little. She had always dreamed of having friends. True friends, like her books showed her. But now she had found it.
Yusuke's eyes then widened in alarm. "Haru, please don't cry."
Haru just sniffed, before wiping away a tear. Then she gave Yusuke a smile. "It's happy tears, Yusuke-kun, don't worry."
"Comrades…" Minako said softly, her voice wistful.
"…Heh." Akechi closed his eyes. "Your loyalty to each other is truly something to behold."
Ren had to bite his tongue to hold back the snarky comment he wanted to make.
"I have to second Akechi-san," Yu suddenly said.
"Yosuke… I hope we can find you soon," Teddie whimpered out.
"Don't worry, Teddie!" Minako pumped her fist. "We will! Just you wait!"
"We've made it to a new area… is Yosuke even here?"
"Chie-san, I know you're feeling frustrated—" Haru began, her voice consoling.
"I mean it!" Chie cried, before stamping her foot. "We've been searching for ages!"
Then her voice started to quiver.
"What if… what if something bad happened to him?" she asked in a small voice.
"Chie, please calm down," Yu said, before touching his friend's shoulder.
He understood her frustration—he really did. But getting angry wouldn't help.
"Rise… is there any sign of him?" Yu asked quietly.
Rise sadly shook her head. "Sorry, Senpai… I'm getting nothing."
"Zilch on my end too," Futaba reported.
"Hmm…" Morgana then questioned, "Is there a way to pool your powers together?"
"Uhhh, I dunno about that, Mona," Futaba said. "What—do you expect us to just hold hands and poof—increased powers?! We're not in an anime!"
"Calm down, it was just an idea," Ken sighed.
"And there's nothing to be sorry, Rise-san," Naoto added. "After all, legwork is part of investigation too."
"Doesn't mean it's not frustrating," Chie grumbled.
"Ditto," Kanji seconded.
"Ohhh, Yosuke, please don't be eaten by a dino!" Teddie moaned out. "I bet you don't even taste good, like Sensei!"
"You tried to eat Yu-san?!" Miyuki squeaked out.
"It was just a little bite," Teddie reassured.
"…I think that's beyond the point," Makoto said, only to sigh as Miyuki hid behind Ken, even draping his cape around her. "Miyuki…"
"It's fine, Queen," Ken dismissed.
"Hey, heyyyy!"
They turned to see that Yosukesaurus had returned after speaking with the rest of the herd.
"Can I ask you something?" he asked, his expression as eager as a puppy's.
"What's the matter?" Yukiko asked.
"Um… so, I kinda asked you to join us on our journey is because I'm so curious about humans!"
Makoto frowned. "Oh…? Why so curious?"
"I mean, humans built all the facilities on the island!" Yosukesaurus exclaimed. "I got really obsessed with reading these 'book' things in this room I found called the 'research lab'."
"Well that's one thing he doesn't have in common with Yosuke-kun," Yukiko murmured, soft enough so the dinosaur wouldn't hear.
"You're a real geniusaurus," Ren said gravely, only for Ryuji to boo him and giving the black-haired boy a thumbs down.
He turned to Ryuji, offended.
"Why are you booing me? I'm right," he said.
Futaba snickered. "Good one, Joker!"
"It was most certainly not a good one…" Ken grumbled, before scowling.
Minako just laughed. "Aw, c'mon, Ken-kun! It's like a joke that Ikutsuki-san would make!"
"Exactly," he ground out.
Yosukesaurus blushed.
"A-A geniusaurus?! I dunno about that… I'm not that great. Like, I didn't even really get what the books were talking about."
"Still, it's impressive that you can read!" Anne exclaimed.
Yusuke nodded. "Given how well he communicates with us, perhaps it isn't a surprise that he can read as well."
"But… is Paradise really real?" Kaito sounded dubious. "I mean, Mommy said that it's not a bad thing to wish for happiness and stuff, but you gotta take action. You can't just sit around hoping for good stuff to happen."
"W-Wha?!" Yosukesaurus sputtered. "Of course it's real! And the stuff that moves with electricity!"
That was honestly… good advice, though.
"Yukari-chan said that?" Minako questioned, before she let out a little laugh. "That does sound like her. She was always so proactive."
"Pro…active?" Miyuki asked.
Akechi abruptly coughed. "Well anyways… what do you mean by the 'stuff' with electricity?"
He wasn't looking directly at either twin, so he missed Miyuki's annoyed glare.
"The machines!" Yosukesaurus said. "Do you guys make stuff like that?"
"Hmm… that's impossible for me. I'm not the best at hands-on stuff, like Kanji-kun. Though if it's regarding machines, Naoto-kun might be able to do it."
Yosukesaurus gasped, his eyes wide with wonder. "That's amazing! You guys are amazing!"
Kanji sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sheesh, the other dinos are as quiet as mice, but this one just keeps running his mouth!"
"I like him way better than the others!" Kaito said. "He's so nice!"
Yu just chuckled. "Yeah… that's one trait he shares with Yosuke."
"He was your first friend in Inaba, after all!" Rise exclaimed.
"Though I gotta say—he definitely gets carried away like Yosuke!" Teddie chimed in.
"You're one to talk, Teddie," Chie said with an eye-roll.
"Oh, oh!" Yosukesaurus gave a little hop. "You guys eat both grass and meat right? I don't think I've met a dinosaur who does both!"
Yukiko giggled. "Well, Chie only eats meat!"
Chie giggled as well. "Yep! There's no room for both veggies and meat here!"
"Whaaaat?!" Miyuki exclaimed. "Mommy always makes me eat the yucky veggies! She says I can't eat dessert unless I finish them!"
"Oh… oops," Chie said sheepishly, before cringing underneath Ken's annoyed glare.
"Don't listen to Chie," Yu said, before crouching to their level. "You don't want to be short like Naoto, do you?"
"Senpai!" Naoto exclaimed.
"Or you can be like Futaba and be short and scrawny cause all she ate was curry and instant ramen," Ryuji snickered.
"Ooooh, I'm gonna get you for that, Skull!" Futaba vowed, glaring at him.
"Wait, wait, so are humans solely carnivorous then?!" Yosukesaurus yelped.
"I prefer carbs, actually," Ren stated.
Makoto sighed. "Joker… please don't confuse him."
"Too late," Ken deadpanned.
"Carbs…?" Yosukesaurus asked.
Yusuke nodded sagely, a slight smile coming across his face. "I concur with Joker. Meat and vegetables shine the most when paired with rice to make a more filling meal. Yes… balance is vital to both food and art. Unlike some, I will eat anything to balance my diet!"
"…Didn't you just start eating wild mushrooms once though?" Anne asked.
"Y-You did?" Akechi said incredulously.
"Like I said, I will eat anything!" Yusuke said.
Ken just sighed. "And this is why I cook you lunch," he grumbled out.
"Yusuke really can be… eccentric," Yu remarked.
Chie rolled her eyes, hands on her hips. "You're one to talk, Yu-kun."
Yu could only laugh nervously.
"Hey, it takes all kinds of people!" Minako said cheerfully.
"I'm confused…" Yosukesaurus said, his eyes wide with bewilderment. "You're all humans… shouldn't you be all the same?"
Haru gasped at that. "Heavens no! Humans will have their different likes or dislikes, hobbies… They'll excel at different things, struggle with others… The possibilities are endless."
"…I don't get it," Yosukesaurus stated.
"It just means we choose who we wanna be. We don't have to be all the same," Ryuji quickly summarized.
Akechi got a funny look on his face when Ryuji started talking. Yu frowned, before raising an eyebrow. What was that about?
"So… humans get to decide who they wanna be…" Yosukesaurus said faintly, a wistful expression forming on his face.
"What's the matter?" Minako asked, a concerned frown forming on her face.
"Nothing, nothing!" he blurted out. "Come on, we're falling behind! Let's go!"
Hmm… it seemed like Akechi wasn't the only person around here hiding something…
They explored for a little bit, maneuvering around the annoying electric puzzles. Ren sighed in relief as the electric gate snapped to life.
"That was a close one," Anne muttered, wrapping her arms around herself.
"Do I get a congrats kiss for getting us to safety?" Ren couldn't help but flirt.
"I think we should start investing in a spray bottle," Ren heard Ken mutter to Makoto.
"Hey, you're one to talk!" Ren retorted.
Haru just giggled nervously. "I'm sorry Ace, Queen—but Joker's got a point."
"Yeah, but at least they're not gross about it when we're around," Ryuji pointed out.
"Traitor!" Ren gasped in mock rage.
"You ditched me to make out! We were in Destinyland! DESTINYLAND! You can make out any time but noooo!" Ryuji retorted.
"Someone's salty," Futaba remarked.
"Shuddup Oracle!"
"That's enough, everyone…" Naoto sighed, before pinching the bridge of her nose. "How on earth are all of you older than me? Shouldn't we focus on the matter at hand?"
Haru nodded, looking suddenly nervous as she wrapped an arm around herself.
"The carnivores… it's really scary, trying to avoid them. You have no idea when you'll encounter them."
"Right?!" Yosukesaurus said. "If they come after us, then we're done for! It's so scary…"
"Huh?" Ryuji scratched the back of his head. "But you're a dinosaur too! Can't you fight back?"
Suddenly a bellow pierced through the air.
Yosukesaurus stiffened before he started shaking like a leaf.
"Hey, are you okay?!" Kanji asked.
The dinosaurs started shrieking about a carnivore and how it was coming their way.
"If we don't take cover, we'll be eaten!" Yosukesaurus squeaked out. "Hurry guys!"
"Wait a damn minute—" Kanji began, but the dinosaur herd paid him no heed and fled.
Ren groaned before turning to everyone else. "Come on, guys! We can catch up to them!"
They gave chase. Unfortunately with the twins, their progress was a little slowed down until Ken and Ryuji scooped them up and gave them a ride on their backs.
Ren was personally grateful that Yosukesaurus had well… Yosuke's head. Made it easier to track him down.
He was panting like crazy. "We got away… from the carnivore right?"
Morgana let out an exasperated sigh. "We finally caught up to you."
He then jerked up, looking panicked. "Oh no! I totally let you guys behind… I'm so sorry!"
"Hey, you really lost your composure there," Makoto said. "Is everything okay?"
"It's also a little… extreme," Ken said.
"No way!" Yosukesaurus's voice turned heated. "You saw how scary the carnivore was! And to top it off, there are a lot of carnivores around here. That's why everyone's on edge."
He then pointed to a sign with a silhouette of a T-rex.
Anne frowned, before folding her arms over her chest. "But still, isn't it bad for your health to panic and flee like that? You make more mistakes when you're freaked out."
"Panther's right, perhaps you should try and fight back instead," Yusuke suggested.
"Don't be ridiculous!" Yosukesaurus cried out. "There's just no way we would win, even if we threw everything we could think of at them!"
"That's quitter's talk!" Miyuki exclaimed.
"Uncle Aki would say that you shouldn't roll over and give up like that!" Kaito added.
"Though Uncle Shinji says that Uncle Aki is a meathead…" Miyuki mumbled.
"You think we haven't tried?!" Yosukesaurus cried. "Anyone who has put up a fight has gotten eaten… Who knows when that'll happen to us too."
"That's a grim thought," Chie remarked, wincing. "Though I have to wonder—would we stand a chance with our Personas?"
Ren cringed. While he reveled in fights, he knew better than to bite off more than he can chew… The disaster with Okumura had taught him that bitter lesson.
But then Naoto spoke up.
"I think that would be too dangerous, Chie-senpai… As the saying goes, wounded bears are most dangerous."
"Wounded bears?" Chie asked. "I haven't heard of a saying like that."
"When a wounded bear is cornered, it grows desperate. Its desperation makes it especially scary. It's similar with wild boars," Naoto explained.
"Oh, oh! Does that mean I'd become invincible if I ever got into a pinch?" Teddie asked.
Yu just chuckled. "You already did, Teddie. Remember, when Rise's Shadow had us cornered."
Teddie's expression brightened. "Oh yeah!"
Then he let out a growl.
"I'm all pumped up now! Yosukeeee! Just you wait for me!"
"Shut up, you idiot! You'll get us caught!" Yosukesaurus hissed at Teddie.
"I think he has a point, though," Akechi spoke up. "You saw the size of the carnivore. We ought to try and get through this area as quickly as we can."
"You're right, Crow," Ren said carefully.
He had to put on the façade, that he was willing to listen to Akechi. He wished he didn't have to do this, but he had to pretend that Akechi was one of his teammates. All of the sake of their plan.
He then turned to everyone else.
"Let's go, guys."
"Let's take a break, Joker," Morgana sighed out. "Running away from the FOEs is exhausting."
Ken wiped some sweat from his brow. "Agreed."
"Uncle Ken!" Miyuki suddenly scampered into view, before grabbing onto his cape and giving it a tug. "Uncle Ken, come look!"
Behind him, Ken could hear Morgana make a frustrated sound. From what Makoto had told him, the twins often ignored Morgana's insistence on the codenames. Though in their defense, they were fairly young.
"Whoaaaa, that container's completely busted!" Ryuji gasped. "Did a dinosaur come and wreck sh—"
He suddenly faltered as Makoto and Anne glared at him for starting to swear in front of the twins.
He coughed, before flashing a sheepish smile. "Wreck stuff."
"Hmm… it's really too dark to make out anything."
Akechi peered inside, only to turn back to them with a frown.
"Maybe we can find a stick and Panther or Yukiko-san can light it up!" Futaba piped up.
"Um, no, that's one great way to cause a forest fire," Ken said dryly.
Makoto rubbed her chin. "But still, wouldn't you say that this container is big enough to hold a person…?"
Oh. He didn't even consider that. Yosuke-san would certainly be smart enough to try and hide from the carnivores lurking about.
"Especially since the T-rex has a big head and little arms, he wouldn't be able to grab Yosuke-san!" Miyuki said. "Like in that Destiny movie, The Robertsons!"
"What's that movie even about?" Morgana asked.
"It's about an orphan boy who meets his time traveling son and they go back to the future!" Kaito explained.
"…Why is there a dinosaur?"
"A bad guy brought it to grab the orphan."
Morgana looked baffled, but he was interrupted by Teddie-san suddenly sticking his head into the container.
"Helloooo?! Yosuke, come out!" he cried out, his voice echoing.
Yukiko-san gave him a little pat. "Good try, Teddie, but I don't think Yosuke-kun is there."
"If he was, he would've come out, yelling at ya for screaming," Kanji-san grumbled.
"Aw, but Yosuke is shy!" Teddie-san insisted.
"Yosuke-senpai… shy?" Naoto-san asked incredulously, raising a fine brow at that.
But Teddie ignored Naoto-san's comment.
"Come on, Yosuke! It's just us!" Teddie-san continued to yell. "We've got a super sexy panther, a masked beauty, and a spike lady!"
"Super sexy, huh?" Anne giggled, looking amused.
"Masked beauty?" Haru looked pleased at the compliment, as a pink blush rose to her cheeks.
"H-Hang on!" Makoto exclaimed. "What do you mean, spike lady?!"
"Um, you do have spiky shoulder pads," Miyuki pointed out.
"But you look cool, Auntie Makoto!" Kaito added.
Ken sighed. "Kaito, please stop calling her that."
Kaito blinked owlishly at him. "But that's her name?"
"I mean the aunt part! We're not married!" Ken then whirled around, glaring at Ren—his mouth was open, ready to make a snappy quip. "Don't. You. Dare."
"Always jumping to conclusions!" Ren sighed. "You see how Ace treats me?"
"You ask for it, Joker," Anne snarked, giving him a wry look.
"Still no Yosuke though!" Teddie-san suddenly cried, disrupting whatever retort Ren had come up with.
Ken frowned. This was starting to get concerning, even if he wouldn't quite express it like Teddie-san.
"Ohhh, would he come out if we brought out some sexy nurses?" Teddie-san lamented.
That was… Um. He didn't need to know that.
"Oh, so he's into nurses?" Ryuji muttered.
Ren smirked. "You're into maids."
"Am not!"
"Operation Maidwatch, Skull."
Pink tinged around Ryuji's mask. "We agreed to never speak of that again!"
"You just did now," Ren said with a cheeky smile.
"But anyways!" Ryuji said quickly. "Now he's never going to come out."
Yusuke tilted his head. "Though what do you mean by 'sexy nurses'?"
He spoke 'sexy nurses' like he was speaking a new language. Ken sighed, rubbing his forehead. He could feel a headache coming on.
Yu-san coughed. "Well, Yosuke isn't here, so we should move on."
Ren nodded before his expression grew serious. "Right. We have a lot of ground to cover still."
"Spiky lady…" Makoto muttered, apparently still peeved by Teddie-san's comment.
Ken gave his girlfriend a sideways glance. A heavy frown was pulling at her lips, as she grumbled to herself.
"Are you still mad about that?" he asked his girlfriend quietly, slowing down his pace so he would be walking by her side.
Makoto sighed before folding her arms over her chest. "…A little. Teddie-san comments on Panther being… sexy and called Noir a 'beauty'…"
Ken leaned in, pressing a quick kiss against her cheek. They were lingering behind everyone else, so he didn't feel embarrassed at the public display of affection.
"You're beautiful too, Makoto," he said sincerely.
Pink suddenly tinged her cheeks at his compliment, but Ken viewed it nothing but the truth.
Anne, Haru, and Futaba were all pretty in their own right, but looking back, his attention had always been drawn to Makoto. Though he probably would never tell Makoto about the way he had stared at her when she had awakened to Johanna, for fear of being smacked.
"I… thank you," Makoto stammered out before her blush deepened. But then her expression grew serious. "But come on, we're lagging behind. We should catch up—"
A roar suddenly split through the air, and there were a few screams. They exchanged a panicked look for a second before sprinting towards the group.
A T-rex had appeared, and had snatched one of the herd, the timid looking one. Miyuki and Kaito had latched onto Minako-san, their eyes wide with fear.
"Auntie Mina, we have to do something before she gets gobbled up!" Miyuki whimpered out, tugging at Minako-san's jacket.
"I know, sweetie, don't worry!" Minako-san hastily reassured.
But then the T-rex turned around, apparently satisfied with the prey it had caught.
"Wait dammit!" Kanji-san snarled out.
But Yu-san turned and caught his arm. "Kanji, we can't run in guns blazing!" he said sharply.
Yosukesaurus looked paralyzed, absolutely terrified. But the other dinosaurs looked almost… indifferent.
"Why are you just standing there?" Makoto asked, her voice sharp. "If we just stand around, there'll be nothing we can do to help!"
"So… isn't this where we do the thing?" one of the herbivores suddenly spoke up, the stubborn looking one.
"What… thing?" Ken asked.
Yosukesaurus suddenly looked crestfallen. "Right…"
"We… We vote on what to do," Yosukesaurus said in a suddenly small voice.
"Voting?! Now?" Ryuji spat out. "Dude, one of your friends got snatched up! She'll get eaten! What the hell is there to vote on?!"
"Don't you even care?" Ken found himself getting angry as well.
"If it was one of our friends, we'd come up with a plan and rescue them!" Haru seconded.
"That's just how it goes here," Yosukesaurus said softly.
"But anyways." The herbivore shot them an irate look. "If you think we should go against the carnivore, raise your hand."
"It'd be dangerous," the sulky herbivore murmured.
"We could get eaten ourselves…" the nervous herbivore wrung her hands.
Ken just stared in horror. They were just going to—
"Do they not intend to rescue their companion?" Yu-san apparently had come to the same conclusion as Ken.
"I…" Yosukesaurus looked horribly torn.
"Say something!" Ren hissed at him. "Be honest about how you feel."
"I want to save her," Yosukesaurus said, before raising his hand.
"So… one vote to save her."
The stubborn herbivore said, "Now then—those who think we should leave well alone, raise your hand!"
The remaining herbivores eagerly raised their hands.
Disgust rose in Ken.
"This is horrible!" Anne hissed out, blue fire burning in her eyes.
"You can't be serious!" Chie-san cried out.
"But the majority vote is to move on without our companion. Does anyone dissent?"
Yosukesaurus bowed his head. "N-No…"
"WHAT?!" Kanji-san burst out. "You asshole! Are you seriously fine with this bullshit?!"
"But we're weak… we need to stick together if we want to survive."
"This is simply awful…" Yukiko-san muttered, shooting Yosukesaurus a disapproving look.
"She's your friend though!" Miyuki cried out, before shooting the herd a glare. She then stamped her foot, her eyes burning with anger. "You're cowards! Buttfaces! You're horrible people!"
"Miyu's right!" Kaito seconded. "How could you do this to her?! What if it was you about to be eaten?"
"I…" Yosukesaurus seemed to be floundering for a response, only to bow his head once again.
Anne took a step towards Yosukesaurus however.
"But didn't you want to save your companion?"
"Y-Yeah, but it's been decided by majority vote already…" Yosukesaurus said in a timid voice.
"Sometimes the majority is wrong," Yusuke said firmly. "Are you truly okay with things if your companion gets eaten?"
Makoto sighed softly. "I understand that such a decision may sometimes be necessary for survival in the wild. But still…"
"There's nothing I can do about it! I tried… I do feel sorry for her still, though…" Yosukesaurus then heaved out a sigh.
Teddie-san suddenly made a frustrated sound. "Grrr… you may look like Yosuke, but you're not like him at all in the inside! The real Yosuke would—he'd… He'd care about his companions more than you!"
"I still remember how he tried to save me from my Shadow," Chie-san said with a nod, before her expression hardened. "Teddie's right! Yosuke would never do this!"
Yu-san said gravely, "You're right. Yosukesaurus isn't actually Yosuke. I can't agree with Yosukesaurus's line of thought."
Morgana then turned to Ren. "Joker, what should we do?"
"We go after the herbivore of course," Ren said, before pumping a fist. "If they—"
Ren threw a disgusted look towards the herd.
"If they won't do it, then we'll do it!"
"Hell yeah, Joker!" Ryuji exclaimed.
"Yes, she needs to be rescued. We'll do whatever it takes!" Yusuke proclaimed.
"Y-You say that now but the carnivore is long gone…" Yosukesaurus pointed out.
"Oracle! Rise-chan! Can you track them down?"
"Pfffft, is Yukari-san an awesome actress? Duh!" Futaba snorted out.
"Leave it to us!" Rise-san cheered.
"Wh-What are you—" Yosukesaurus began, but Futaba cut him off.
"Got it! They're one floor down!"
"Unfortunately we can't pinpoint their exact location," Rise-san added.
"That's fine. We just need to hurry and find the stairs," Ren said. "We can comb through the area."
"Don't rush into things though, Joker," Akechi remarked.
"Yeah, yeah…" Ren waved him off. "Don't be a killjoy. Ace has the role fulfilled already."
"HEY!" Ken flared up at that, before glowering at Ren. "Excuse me for being concerned so that you don't break your neck."
"You exaggerate too much."
"Um, that's you, not me."
"Enough bickering, guys!" Anne chided, even as she started to laugh. "We've got rescuing to do!"
Ren just cracked a grin before winking at Anne.
"Right you are, my lady. Just follow my lead. We'll pull off the rescue mission with style."
"Always leading towards bragging," Yusuke sighed.
"Now that's definitely Crow," Ren quipped.
Akechi raised an eyebrow. "I object to this slander—"
"Objection denied," Futaba chimed in.
Akechi just sputtered in response, making the twins giggle.
Ren's expression then grew serious. "But come on, guys, we'll show that T-rex who's boss!"
"RIGHT!"
I'm really sorry for the slow update. My motivation for the Q2 fic has been rather low, but I've been slowly working on this chapter. Next chapter should be wrapping up the Junessic Park arc. After the second intermission, we'll finally be jumping into the A.I.G.I.S arc! I've got a lot of plans for that, so that'll be fun.
I think it'll be normal for the Q2 fic to be updated slower than the main story. There's a good chunk to be written for Ace in the Hole, so my focus will be there. Also something to note: Shuann Week will be in a few months, so I'll be taking some time to work on my submissions for that. But this fic is far from dead, I promise you.
I'd love to hear your thoughts, and again I apologize for the rather slow update.