Play: Heartbeat, Heartbreak - Persona 4
Ren was already up and getting himself prepared when Morgana was waking up.
He stretched himself out and scratched behind his ear, "You're up early."
"Gonna try to be there early, especially since I'm gonna have to find where the station is."
"You could just look it up, y'know."
"I know, but I also want to go explore the town a little bit. Just get a feel for it, y'know."
He then opened up the bag, motioning for Morgana to enter, "Now hurry up. We've gotta go."
"Alright alright. But you better not forget my sushi you promised yesterday!"
Ren sighed, "We'll get you sushi on the way back. Just get in the bag."
Morgana complied, and Ren lifted the bag strap over his shoulder and headed towards the door. He locked the door behind him and walked down the hall.
…
When he reached the lobby, he ran into Yukiko again.
She smiled when she noticed him, "Good morning, Amamiya-kun. Did you sleep well last night?"
"Actually...yes. It was very nice."
"I'm glad to hear that. I'm assuming you're heading to the station now, yes?"
"That's right. Has Chie already left?"
She nodded, "She left a few minutes before you came down. I should've had her wait for you, I apologize."
"It's alright. I'll figure it out."
"Well just in case, I'll give you the directions. Just walk through the central shopping district and take a left once you get to Junes. It'll be about two blocks down the road from there."
"Thank you."
She grinned and bowed lightly, "It's my pleasure. Have a great day!"
"You too." He said as he walked out the front door and into the streets of the town.
…
"I gotta say," Morgana said from the bag as Ren walked through town, "Mrs. Amagi seems like the opposite of the Shadow version of her we met in Mementos."
"I know, I agree. It's like she's a whole different person."
"Granted, she could just be putting on an act to lower suspicion, but…"
"I don't think that's the case this time," Ren said as he and Morgana were passing by some old shops. This must've been the shopping district that Yukiko had mentioned.
"Just pass through here and a left at the Junes." He remembered.
He then continued his conversation with Morgana, "If she was hiding something, then the people around her would be acting differently as well, almost as if they felt the energy of their Shadows. But when I first arrived last night, Chie acted...well, comfortable."
"Well, they're married after all. Of course she'd act comfortable around her."
"I'd agree with that, but remember. Chie is the one that put in the request. If she had a real reason why then we'd have noticed something different in her behavior."
Ren then shook his head, "Let's talk about this later. We can go over everything when we start investigating the Midnight Channel."
"Yep."
…
He reached an intersection with stoplights for the cars in the road. Across the street from him was a large department store.
"That must be Junes." Morgana said as he popped out and stood on his shoulder, "It's huge. Who'd have thought a store like that would be in this town."
"Amagi-san said to head left from here…Okay."
When the lights indicated, he walked across the road to the left, away from Junes and the shopping district.
"What sort of work do you think they'll have you do?"
"I'm not sure. It probably wouldn't be anything too involved. I wouldn't be going around working crime scenes, I think."
…
As he was nearing the station, his phone started buzzing.
It was a phone call from Ryuji.
Ren answered, "Hey Ryuji. What's up?"
"Good, you answered. You didn't say anything to us after you left yesterday. Did you make it?"
"Oh yeah. Sorry about that. I'm fine, made it here without an issue."
"That's good to hear. After you left, Makoto put me in charge of checking up with you, but I kinda forgot about it until this morning. By the way, did you meet her?"
"Her?"
"Y'know, Amagi. The target?"
"Oh. I have, yes."
"Okay, well...what do ya think?"
"What do I think about what?"
"About Amagi, dude! Come on, you can't be THAT clueless."
It was then that Ren figured out what Ryuji meant, and he sighed, "Ryuji, two things. One: she's an adult and you're still in high school. Two: she's married, so hands off or you'll get messed up."
"Aww come on! Y'know I'm just messin' around!"
He laughed for a little before he softly asked, "But seriously, is she as good as she looks in the photos? Cuz hoooo man."
"I'm telling her wife you said that."
"Hahaha oh Ren. You're hilarious!"
Ren said nothing as Ryuji took a second to process.
"Wait, did you just say "wife"?"
Ren grinned and said, "Talk to you later, Ryuji."
"Hey, wait a se-" but Ren hung up before Ryuji could finish.
"What in the world is wrong with him?"
Ren shook his head while still smiling, "That's just Ryuji bein' Ryuji."
…
They finally arrived at the police station, a tall building with police cars parked on the side away from the regular vehicles.
"Finally, we made it." Morgana said, "Now remember: be a good student and just do what Narukami says. We don't want you to draw any attention to yourself."
"And you stay in the bag and don't say anything."
"It's gonna be double the sushi after today."
Morgana went back into the bag, Ren just sighing and heading inside the building.
…
He went up to the woman at the reception desk, "Hi, I'm Ren Amamiya, here for-,"
"The apprenticeship with Narukami? Yeah, he already told me about it."
"Oh, uhh…"
She pulled a card up from the desk and gave it to Ren, "This will give you access to the main offices. It only works from 9 AM to 5 PM, so be sure you don't leave anything behind at night."
"Okay...thank you."
With that exchange done, he walked away and towards the rear elevators.
"If only Narukami told me which floor he worked on…"
Before he could enter one of the elevators though, a familiar voice called to him from behind.
"Hey, Amamiya!"
He turned to see Chie jogging up to him.
"I left the Inn this morning as early as I could. How'd you get here before me?"
Ren shrugged, "I dunno. Yukiko said you left a few minutes before I even came down."
Chie sighed, "Ah well. Come on, Yu should be waiting for us upstairs."
They entered the elevator together, Chie pressing the button for the third floor.
…
Once the doors shut, Chie spoke to him, "By the way, you weren't...disturbed or anything about last night, right?"
He looked over confused, "What about last night?"
"With uhh...Yukiko and I…"
"Oh. No, of course not."
"Really?"
The doors opened and the two of them walked out, "Yeah. Y'know back home, one of my friends is dating another girl. They've been together for a while now, actually."
"Oh, well...that's a relief. I dunno, I thought you'd find it weird or something."
Ren smiled, "Not at all. You two seem like you're happy together."
Chie smiled, blushing a little bit, "Yeah, we really are…"
"That's good. I hope it stays that way."
…
The two of them eventually ran into Yu, who was sitting at his desk and looking through some papers. When he noticed them walking towards him, he stood up and smiled.
"There you are. I was worried you weren't actually gonna show up."
"I'm sorry about that. Am I late?"
He shook his head, "You're not, no. Unlike Chie over there…"
"Hey! I'm not late, y'know!"
Yu chuckled, "Anyways, now that you're here…"
He then turned back away and called for someone else, "Hey Uncle! He's here."
An older man walked over to them, his suit jacket slung over his shoulder, "Is this the kid?"
"Yes sir." Yu then looked at Ren, "This is the chief, Ryotaro Dojima. He's also my uncle."
Ren nodded and put a hand out towards Dojima, "It's nice to meet you, sir. I hope I can be helpful in any way."
Dojima shook his hand, "You'd better. You're the first person I've allowed to do something like this, so make yourself useful."
He then looked at Chie and Yu, "You two wanted this, so I'm leaving it to you. Look after him and make sure he doesn't mess anything up."
"Yes sir." They said in unison as Dojima walked away back to his own business.
Chie sighed, "Chief's really lighting up the room today, huh?"
"I apologize if I'm causing any disturbance," Ren said to the two of them.
"Oh no, you're not." Yu responded, "Don't worry about uncle. He's a nice guy once you get to know him."
"I sure hope so…" Ren heard Morgana say from the bag.
"Alright, let's get to work."
…
…
…
"So...do you ever go out and actually investigate crime scenes?"
"Yeah, of course. Just not very often, small town and all."
"I see…"
Ren handed him the next set of papers for Yu to sort through and sign, "What made you want to become a detective anyway?"
Yu thought on the question as he worked, "The whole Inaba murders case a decade ago. You've heard of it, right?"
Ren nodded, so Yu continued, "That whole case happened during the time I was here for a year. I saw what it was doing to Dojima and the impact it was having on the whole town. Hell, some of my friends were kidnapped and could've ended up victims themselves."
"From that day forward, I knew I wanted to stop crimes like that from happening again. That's why I came back to be a detective. This town isn't much and we're a pretty tight-knit group, but...it's home."
"That's very...admirable of you, Narukami."
Yu smiled, "It's nothing. I'm sure everyone else here would say the same thing."
"Now, where was I?" He said, returning to his paperwork.
Stop: Heartbeat, Heartbreak - Persona 4
The day had overall been pretty boring. Narukami had been right, there must not have been much going on in the town.
It was late in the afternoon, and Ren, Chie, and Yu were all walking along the sidewalk together.
"I don't mean any offense to your town, but...don't you ever get bored of days like this?"
Yu shook his head, "None taken, and personally no. Honestly, it just shows that we're doing our jobs the right way, y'know?"
"He says as if he doesn't yearn to bust a drug ring or something someday." Chie teased him.
"Like you wouldn't."
The three laughed as Yu looked back at Ren, "The town is probably a big adjustment for you. We're definitely not Tokyo. There are no mafias or corrupt politicians or Phantom Thieves. Just us and our small town."
"I've noticed. It's different, but...I like it."
"Good."
…
"Hey! Big Bro!"
A girl's voice called to them from ahead, and Yu smiled as they approached.
"Nanako!"
The girl, "Nanako", ran up to them and gave Yu a big hug. She was dressed in what Ren could only assume was the local high school uniform, with her long brown hair tied back into a ponytail.
Yu chuckled, "Whoa. You're acting like I haven't seen you in ages!"
Nanako released him from her grasp and smiled, "Sorry. I was just going through town and I saw you. I just had to come to say hi!"
She also looked over to Chie and gave her a wave, "Hi Chie-san! It's so nice to see you!"
"Hey, Nanako. Why are you in your uniform? Aren't you guys on break?"
"We are, but I had to go in for band practice today, which reminds me. I need to get you both tickets for our next concert! Oh, but...it's not for a while, so never mind..."
Her eyes then went over to Ren, "I...don't think we've met before. Are you new in town?"
Yu responded before Ren could, "Oh, this is Ren Amamiya. He's a student working with us on an apprenticeship. He's a high school student, like you."
"Oh! That sounds like fun! Are you a third-year student?"
Ren nodded, "Yes I am. Are you?"
"I'm a second-year, but it's very nice to meet you, Senpai! I hope you and Big Bro can get along!"
"We're getting along great, actually."
Nanako smiled, "I'm glad to hear!"
She then checked the time, and gasped, "Oh shoot! I'm gonna be late!"
"I've gotta go, but I'll talk to you all soon, okay?"
She gave Yu one last hug, which he returned, "See you later Big Bro! And you too Chie-san and Amamiya-senpai!"
With that, Nanako took off in the opposite direction of them.
"Is she your younger sister?" Ren asked Yu as they started walking again.
"Cousin, actually. But all things considered, I might as well be her older brother."
…
They had stopped for a minute near the shopping district to continue their conversation when they overheard some high school students gossiping nearby.
"You really saw it?"
"Yeah, I totally did. There was a guy on the screen for a minute and then it disappeared. I couldn't tell what he looked like though…"
"Aww man. What's the point of even checking the channel if we can't tell who's on it?"
"I dunno. We'll just have to keep trying. Check it again tonight. It's supposed to be raining overnight, yeah?"
"Sounds like they're talking about the Midnight Channel...I should ask Yu and Chie if they know anything about it."
Ren looked back at Chie and Yu, "Wonder what they're talking about."
The two of them exchanged nervous glances, not responding to him.
He faked concern, "Are...you two okay?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah yeah! We're fine! Uhh…"
Yu sighed, "I know what they're talking about."
"Oh?"
Chie looked at Yu with concern, but he just shook his head to her and turned back to Ren, "It's an old urban legend here in Inaba. According to some people, on nights where it rains and you look into your TV, it'll come on and show you who your soulmate is. It's been goin' around for a while now."
"Really…" Ren said, the curiosity in his voice obvious, "What's it called?"
"People in town call it the "Midnight Channel", since...well, that's the only time it appears."
"So they know about it…" Ren thought to himself, "I should push for more…"
"Have either of you ever tried it?"
Yu nodded, "I did once when I was younger but didn't see anything so I chalked it up to a myth. Chie though…"
She glared at him, whispering "Don't you dare…"
"Chie told me and our friends that she saw a girl on it the first time she checked...and guess who she's married to now..."
Chie smacked Yu on the shoulder hard and yelled "You dick!", but he just laughed at her embarrassment. Ren cracked a smile but didn't dare to laugh.
"So, does that mean it's real?"
"You're asking the wrong person. Ask Chie…"
She hissed at him, "Don't make me kick your ass in front of a kid, Narukami!"
This time, he and Ren both laughed.
Play: Signs of Love - Persona 4
He was walking through the halls of the Inn when he ran into Yukiko, who was carrying a basket of linens and blankets. She stumbled to her side and nearly tripped.
Ren jumped in and stopped her from falling, "Whoa there!"
He then walked ahead of her and said, "Here, let me take that." as he grabbed the basket that she had dropped, none of the contents having fallen out, thankfully.
"Oh please, that's not-,"
Ren shook his head, "Please. I insist. Where are these going?"
"They're supposed to go to the washroom downstairs…"
"Okay, lead the way."
…
When they were done with that, Yukiko looked at him with a smile, "I'm sorry you had to do that, but...I do appreciate the help."
"It's not a problem. Are you...working by yourself?"
"Oh, of course not. We have other staff, of course. But you've just so happened to run into me when I'm by myself."
"Well, if you ever need any help, I'd be glad to assist you."
She shook her head, "I appreciate the offer, but no thank you. You're our guest, not our servant."
"I understand."
"Were Chie and Narukami giving you a hard time today?"
"Not at all, actually. If anything, Narukami was giving her a hard time."
Yukiko sighed, but smiled, "Of course. He just loves to tease us, ever since she and I first got together."
"Oh?"
"He...set us up on Valentine's Day when we were in high school, and we've been together ever since."
She chuckled, "I remember the first thing he said when we got together was "When's the wedding?""
The two of them laughed.
…
Yukiko then said, "Well, I've got to get back to work."
"Alright. My offer is still on the table if you need an extra set of hands."
"If it comes to that point, I'll let you know. Thank you again, Amamiya-kun."
He nodded to her, smiling before walking back towards his room at the Inn.
…
"Boring day of work, huh?" Morgana asked him as he searched through the Phan Site on his phone.
"Yeah. Not that I expected much."
The small pattering of rain on the window filled the silence in the room.
"So, anything new on the site?"
Ren shook his head, "Nothin'."
"Well, let's leave that to the others. We should focus on our task here: the Midnight Channel."
He then put his phone away and sat up so he and Morgana could talk, "That's right. Those students in town mentioned that they've been checking it recently. You heard that?"
"I did. I heard everything you talked about today. They mentioned it shows up on rainy nights, and then there was that whole story with Chie and how she saw it."
"They know about it…" He said lightly, which Morgana didn't hear.
"Hmm?"
"The Midnight Channel. They knew, even before Narukami told that story. I saw it in their expressions, they looked...afraid."
"Afraid?"
"I can't explain it other than that. It was as if they wanted to avoid talking about it."
"That's really suspicious…"
Stop: Signs of Love - Persona 4
Their conversation continued as the clock slowly moved towards midnight.
Tick
Tick
Tick
Ding
…
Out of nowhere, the TV turned itself on, much to the surprise of Ren and Morgana.
Morgana looked over at Ren, "Did you do that?"
He shook his head.
The two of them immediately walked over to the TV, looking into the screen and the static.
Play: Who is There? - Persona 4
Just a second after, the screen changed. There was a yellow border and a man in the center of the screen.
"This is it!" Morgana said with excitement, "The Midnight Channel!"
Ren was too enthralled to say anything.
"It finally appeared…"
…
Then, the figure on the screen spoke to the two of them. The voice was distorted, so they couldn't tell if it was male or female.
"It seems you've finally arrived, Phantom Thieves…"
Their eyes widened. It...knew who they were?
Ren put his hand up on the screen, "Who are you?"
Big mistake.
…
Before he could get a response, he was being pulled in.
He stopped it, but something was pulling him inside.
Morgana ran up to help, but there was nothing he could do in cat form.
Ren continued to struggle, but it was no use. Soon, his entire arm was engulfed inside the TV.
Then, after one last tug, his entire body fell inside.
"Joker!" Morgana yelled as Ren was fully pulled inside.
Despite his initial shock, Morgana sprung into action, jumping into the TV screen himself.
…
…
…
After falling for what seemed like forever, Joker landed on a hard, metal surface. The pain in his back from the fall kept him on the floor for a good minute.
As he was standing, he heard loud yelling coming from above, and he soon collided with another falling figure.
Once the initial dizziness faded, he pushed the figure off of him and stood up. He looked down at what had hit him, and…
"Morgana?"
Morgana stood up, his head wobbling back and forth, "Whoaaaaaa...what a wild ride…"
"Mona, snap out of it."
Mona did by shaking his head a bunch, and turned back towards him, "J-Joker? Your...your outfit…"
He looked down at his hand, and sure enough, his Phantom Thief outfit had appeared. Were they in the Metaverse? If so, this sure was an unorthodox way of entering.
"Is this...the TV world?" Mona asked quietly.
"It must be. Where else would we have ended up?"
"So, all those rumors were true...this must've been where the kidnapped victims were thrown…"
…
"The fog is bad here." Mona said as he examined the area, "I can't see a thing…"
He then turned towards Joker, "Let's just pick a direction and head that way. It'd be better than us just standing around here."
Joker nodded, and he and Mona started to walk through the fog.
…
…
…
As they walked, the surface under his boots changed from metallic to gravelly, and soon the fog had begun to clear.
"Wait a minute, this is…" Mona said as they stopped.
"It's Inaba...the town…"
The town of Inaba stood before them, empty and quiet. All of the shops and sites they had passed that day were all that remained…
"I knew there was something off about all those TV world rumors, but...a full-on replica of Inaba? I didn't expect that…"
"You think this is just the cognitive version of it?"
"I'm not sure," Mona said, turning back to Joker, "But this sure does have me curious."
Just then, his eyes widened.
"Joker, behind you!"
He turned back and saw a Shadow standing before him. It had no face or body features, just a dark...blob.
…
Joker's eyes narrowed, "Are you the one that brought us here?" He asked the Shadow.
It didn't respond, just waving around in its form.
"I don't think this is a Shadow we can talk with…" Mona said from behind Joker.
Right after he said that the Shadow started to mutate and transform.
After a few seconds, it changed forms and split into two. Two identical Shadows, large orbs with a mouth and a large tongue.
"It's gonna attack," Mona said, "Get ready, Joker!"
Stop: Who is There? - Persona 4
Play: Reach Out To The Truth - first battle - Persona 4
Joker and Morgana brandished their weapons as the Shadows floated before them.
"This might be a different world from the Metaverse, but that doesn't mean we can't still fight. And if our looks stayed the same, then our powers should've as well. Joker, try summoning your Persona."
…
Joker nodded, reaching up and grabbing his mask, ripping it off with a loud call of "Persona!".
Thankfully, Arsène appeared behind him, unchanged and unfazed.
Morgana nodded, "Perfect. It looks like we can still use our Personas in this world."
He then narrowed his eyes at the Shadows, "Alright, you know the drill from here! Let's take 'em out!"
Joker started by casting a Curse spell on one of the Shadows. A large pool of dark energy appeared underneath the Shadow, rising up and splashing it. The Shadow disintegrated into dust and faded away.
Mona then summoned his own Persona, Zorro, and cast a Wind spell. Green streaks of wind surrounded the Shadow and seemed to do a lot of damage, but wasn't enough to finish the Shadow off.
The Shadow then advanced towards Mona, attacking him with its large tongue. When it hit him, it retreated.
"Blegh!" Morgana said, "Gross! What's with these Shadows?!"
"My Persona wasn't enough to finish it off. I got an idea. You still carry your model gun, right?"
Joker nodded to him with a "Yeah"
"Perfect. Let's see if it still works. Go ahead."
…
Joker reached down for his handgun, pulling it out and aiming at the Shadow, his finger resting eagerly on the trigger.
He pulled.
BANG
The gun discharged and the Shadow faded into dust, much like the first one.
Mona nodded with excitement, "Perfect! Looks like we have every tool at our disposal for use. Nice work, Joker!"
…
No other Shadows came. The battle was won for Joker and Mona.
Stop: Reach Out To The Truth - first battle - Persona 4
They put their weapons away, Mona turning towards Joker.
"Looks like you haven't lost a step. Just what I'd expect for our leader."
Joker nodded, "What should we do now?"
Mona searched the surrounding area, "I don't see any more Shadows, and there's certainly no Palaces nearby, so…"
He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at the ground, "I'm not entirely sure. We didn't plan on coming here today, so I'm completely unprepared."
"We should probably head back then."
Mona nodded, "That's a good idea. This is just Inaba, so we should head back to the Inn and see if there's an exit there."
Joker nodded, and he and Mona walked off into the streets of this "Inaba".