"Why the hell would we go back?" Kanji yelled "We barely survived and now you want us to take a quick field trip?" Yu placed his hands in his pockets, staring at his friend as the argument continued "It's a stupid idea, there's no way I'm going to do it!" The silver haired teen grabbed Kanji's arm and pulled him in "We have to." He whispered hoarsely "Shadows grow more powerful by the day. We might not be able to fight them off at our current strength." Kanji yanked his arm back "We need to develop our skills--so we can fight for as long as possible."
The delinquent shook his head "I don't like it, and I doubt Chie will either. Hell, nobody will like this idea." You scoffed "That's not the point. We have to do it. We're one of the last lines of defense against those horrid creatures. If we don't do it, no one will."
--Weeks Later, Late Afternoon--
Yu stood outside, holding his umbrella while looking at the convenience store. He, and their other friends had agreed to meet there to try and re-enter Midnight Channel, so that they could level up their Personas. He had arrived first, walking and brushing the rain off his umbrella as he looked around the store. The floor had a teall tile pattern that seemed to age horribly, with cracks filled with dirt littering the store. He scoped out the area before making eye contact with the assortment of tv's that were on sale. "There they are." He told himself.
Not too long after, Yosuke finally made it, then Chie arrived, excusing her lateness for a long practice. Next was Yukiko, who walked in with Rise beside her. They were followed up with Teddie, then Naoto, and finally Kanji. Each and every one of them knew the dangers of the Midnight channel, but desperately needed to strengthen their powers. More and more dangerous foes had emerged, and it was imperative that they improved upon everything their experiences had taught them.
Yukiko brushed back her hair, striking a pose as she looked at Yu "I don't know how the hell you convinced me. But the only reason I'd even consider going is for Chie's sake." The brunette smiled sheepishly as everyone else muttered in agreement; they only came for one another's presence, and not for Yu's save-the-world act. "So are we going to wait like last time, or is there a shortcut for this?" Her question was both sarcastic and curious; Yu wouldn't ask them to come at this time if he didn't have something important.
Yu smiled "You're right. I believe I've discovered a way into the Midnight Channel, without having to follow the prerequisites we had to before." Everyone's head faced him as he gestured to the TV. "He had to wait till a certain time before entering, but with this portal I have uncovered, we can go whenever we want to." Rise perked up as she jumped forward "You mean it Senpai? I don't have to wait till Midnight to fight shadows?" The thought was sobering to be sure. It was a nightmare to try and wait for hours before being able to reach the Midnight Channel, and to then fight as well?
Everyone imagined not having to wait like they did the first time they tried, their eye lids holding up what felt like cement, and their bodies weighing down as time crawled forward, unwilling to speed up for them. It was something that was almost comforting in a way, but the real question needed to be asked "Alright then, where is this portal?" Naoto crossed his arms, looking at their defacto team leader. The tall teen then walked past the tv sets "Follow me." He stated, going out back where a cobblestone wall remained strong, unmoving to the heavy rainfall.
The structure itself had vines all over it, with the ground underneath it having an indent made due to its shear weight. "When did this get here? This wasn't here before." Teddie pinched his bottom lip curiously "It appeared because of our need for it." Yu explained "This object is summoned whenever we need a new path to the Midnight Channel. I first discovered it when I thought about there being another way. It was called here by my need for a new path." The others started smiling to themselves.
"So then, does that mean it vanishes when we're done with it?" Kanji asked. Yu replied with a nod and the group grew excited "So how do we get through?" Yuki Kyo chimed "Do we walk through like television sets inside?" Yu shook his head and pointed at the ground, there an inscription of impossibly small print laid by their feet. "You have to speak this word to open it. It seems to be some sort of Latin." Rise murmured to herself "Do you know the meaning of the word?" Yu shook his head "Not yet. But I can say the word well enough for the portal to recognize."
The teen kneeled down and pressed his hand against the carved text, inhaling softly as he spoke the supernatural words "Tristitia maturam senectutem affert." The ground around them shifted, the pebbles rumbling under their feet as the wall started to cave in on itself, leaving a thin outline where sparks of green flames formed a swirling portal. The group took a step back, admiring the magic device. "Whoa! That looks so cool!" Chie jumped excitedly, walking around the gateway, seeing how opaque the fluid was. "Did you go into it yourself Yu? I mean, since you know so much." Yu smiled and confirmed her suspicion.
"I walked through the portal after discovering it, I even stayed there for a few minutes. It looked exactly like it did for the Midnight Channel." Naoto wasn't sure about this. "How do we get back? Does the entrance stay open, or will it close as soon as we walk in?" The others looked back at Yu "It didn't not close on me, so I can assume that it won't. We won't have anything to worry about, we will be safe." Everyone looked somewhat uncomfortable.
"Look, I understand why you worry. We nearly died the last time we got involved in this, but we can now safely go to and from the Midnight Channel! We can train, be better warriors so we won't have to face that challenge!" Yosuke bit the inside of his cheek, walking forward and standing beside his friend "He's right. We need this opportunity. I don't want to wake up one day, incapable of defending myself, muchless my friends. So I say, we got through and kick some Shadow butt!" Kanji pumped his fist, followed by Chie, then everyone. They were in.
Yu walked through the portal first, followed by Yosuke, then Chie, Yukiko, Kanji, Rise, Teddie and then Naoto. Only, there was something different; for one thing, they were now falling, rather than being abruptly moved to the Midnight Channel. All of them cried out in horror as they passed by a multi-story tower, the gothic look sent a shiver down Yu's spine as the ground came up to them at a blinding speed. He closed his eyes, bracing for an impact that never came. He slowly opened his shivering eyes, seeing no one else. There was an indomidal fog around him, blinding all five of his senses. "Hey! Are you guys alright!" He called out "Where are you!" No answer. He balled his fist and called upon his Persona, Izanagi, using its weapon to blow away the smog.
There he saw his friends, on the ground, dazed and unhurt. He rushed towards them, waking them and making them aware of the situation. "S-Sensei!" Teddie called out "What happened! I-I was falling, then I hit...no, I didn't hit the ground." The shadow became it's true form, a round red and white bear-like creature. He rubbed his head, trying to prevent a headache. Yu lifted him up onto his feet, checking on everyone else. Rise groaned and looked up, moving her disheveled hair out of her eyes. "Ahhh! My hair!" She gasped, tending to it as Kanji stood up and rubbed her arm "What happened Yu, I thought you said it was going to be like the Midnight Channel!"
He didn't understand! How could something like this have happened! Nothing like this happened for him at all! Could it have been because of the number of people, or the time of day? Maybe it was the weather- "Ow!" Yu got whacked over the side of his head, looking to see Chie fuming at the mouth "What was that! I can handle surprises but you almost got us killed!" She yelled, threatening to hit him again, but was stopped by Yukiko. "No, stop. This isn't the time! He's just as shocked as you are." Yu looked up, seeing the portal high above the ground; far too high for anyone to reach.
"It's still open. If we go up this building, we can make it back. Then we'll figure out why all of this happened." Yosuke sighed loudly, scratching the back of his head in annoyance "Alright then. Let's get to it then partner." He fist bumped Yu and made their way to the building in question: The building was a haunting size, each ridged corner, every dingy window, even the door itself was an intimidating thing. I was like an insane asylum of old, where poor and unfortunate souls went to be experimented on, tortured, and then killed. The fog was now long gone, leaving a dark, dim land with no grass or signs of life. Not even the smallest of ants or flies--only a dead building and a menacing aura.
The tower had a massive clock on all four sides of it, with a blinding white light emanating from behind the see-through glass. However, despite this fact, there was no real time on the clock, just dashes where numbers should be, with the minute and hour hand rapidly moving. Both weren't going at a normal pace; it almost looked like a timelapse, speeding up as the group continued looking at it. "Well, that's real helpful." Kanji remarked sarcastically, going to the humongous wooden doors and knocked on the door. Each hit reverbated off the walls, going upwards to what sounded like an empty room. "Is no one there?" Teddie asked. Kanji shrugged and decided to kick down the door, snapping the door handle into splinters all over the stone tiling, letting them in.
The air was stagnant, causing a coughing fit. The building reeked to high heaven, smelling only of rotting furniture and ant infested floorboards. Yikiko covered her nose in disgust, standing close to Chie as they looked for an elevator, or a ladder, something that would allow them to go to the roof of the building. Yu looked around for any stairs, spotting some rooms away from them "This way! Come, let's get out of here." He started running, only to stop and get knocked down by an invisible force "What the-?" Then a fiery being appeared before him, it's skin were made of dwindling embers. "Shadows!" Yu yelled, holding a fighting stance as he and everyone else manifested their Persona.
The shadows themselves were made of fire and heat, with every step making the cold ground warm. Yu stood back to back with Naoto, keeping his hands up as the creature then multiplied, making a dozen versions of itself. "There's like, 10 of them!" Kanji yelled "I count 15." Yakiko responded "Try 20!" There seemed to be more and more. Each one spawned from the other. "We have to attack them now, before more are created." Yu struck first, jabbing the shadows with a fierce and quick blow to their chest. A cry of pain was heard before the flames were snuffed, leaving a pile of ash.
"One hit…? So they're scarier than they look." He relayed the information and they started having their fun. Yosuke unleashed Jiraiya, blasting the creatures as he started removing the oxygen around them, weaning the flames before knocking them down, kicking in their faces before moving on to the next one. "Hah, this is fun!" He quipped, dodging a slow attack before having their body implode "You're definitely onto something here Yu!" Chie giggled with delight, rubbing around the decrepit room, jumping over kicks and under swipes at her. Then she activated her Persona, bringing Tome Gozen into the battle with a swift sword strike.
"Hah! Eat that you weirdos." She did a jump kick, smacking her foot against the enemy's chin and she bounced back "How'd you like the crane kick, jerk!" Yukiko deflected attacks, pushing them into other flame shadows and a few there the thin walls. Konohana Sakuya didn't play any games, making an absolute fool out of the army of shadows. It's golden glow was blinding, with its wings acting as a shield for Yukiko as she absolutely bodied the creatures, one after the other. Like many battles before, she shows no fear, no hint of doubt. She was doing this with the grace and dignity that she'd been taught throughout her entire childhood. This was beyond child's play to her.
Even Kanji was enjoying himself, elbowing the beasts as Take-Mikazuchi made quick work out of the shadows. The Persona's mighty sword cut down enemy after enemy, showing off his strength and tenacity while being able to physically fight off the fire creatures. "How many of them are there? While I'd love to fight one day," he punched one in the gut "This is going to get exhausting if it lasts for too long!" He fought alongside Yukiko as Rise took a more defensive approach, tripping up the shadows and then having her teammates finish the job.
Himiko wasn't too much of a fighter, but they were a menace to these chumps. It's radar kept Rise on her toes, and acted as a vital power used to tell everyone where the next wave was coming from "Yu- your left! Naoto, behind you! Kanji- oh. You took care of that." She laughed to herself before going back to what she was doing. It was an all out brawl, and she served just as useful of a teammate as everyone else was, even if she wasn't as warrior-like as the rest of them. "Come on Himiko, let's show them who's boss!"
Teddie was kept busy, running towards his teammates and watching them obliterate the hoard chasing him before starting the cycle all over again "Aahhhh! Why are they after me!" He cried, snaking around his friends and towards the pillars, zigzagging around them to try and confuse the shadows. Kintoki-Douji was definitely a powerful Persona, and could probably handle the creatures with ease. But honestly, they were kind of scary. What with their ear piercing screams and the fact that their whole bodies were on fire! Sure, they were weak, but that didn't excuse the fact that they were probably really strong as a swarm.
Sukuna Hikona was laying the hurt on the mindless fire zombies, kicking in their rib cages, breaking fingers, throat punching, knee snapping, and using its electrical powers to explode their heads from afar. This ability alone kept them back away from Naoto, with his eyes focused completely on the battle. He was a trained fighter, determined to not lose to something as weak as these inhuman abominations. He almost felt disgusted looking at them; seeing how they withered in pain and agony as they quickly died. He found it to be pathetic and quite simply not worth his time.
The group continued this for what felt like hours, helping each other out, covering for their weak points and decimating their opponents with utter ease. They curb stomped their teeth in, gutted their insides like a fish, and started making the fight into a game of how creatively they could end the fire shadow. This continued for some time, testing each of their stamina as the hoard of monsters slowly dissipated, leaving only them in its wake. "Is…is it over?" Yosuke asked, relaxing as Yu stared at the stairwell "I don't think we should wait and see." They then ran to the steps, out of breath and exhausted.
"Gosh, that took forever!" Yukiko mumbled, wiping away the sweat from her brow as Kanji smiled ecstatically "Those morons didn't have a chance!" Yosuke smirked "Yeah, it was like bringing piss to a shit fight!" Everyone froze and looked at him "Bad analogy?" They nodded their heads and he sighed "Damn. And here I thought it sounded cool." Chie rubbed his back and laughed "Maybe one day. But we have other things to worry about. Like getting out of here!" Yosuke perked up and followed the group, wishing to leave as soon as possible.
Yu breathed heavily, walking to the starwell with Yosuke right behind him. "Geez, what were they about? I don't think I've ever seen shadows like those…" Yu nodded his head and walked on the stairs, feeling the steps groan under his weight. His hair fluttered in his face, making him blow it out of his face. Then it got in his eyes again, which he now grabbed and pulled back with the rest of his hair. "Is there an open window somewhere?" he asked, gasping as he covered his mouth; his voice...it was different. Not unfamiliar, but it changed.
"Hey Chie." The brunette looked at him, "Is it just me, or is my voice different?" She shrugged her shoulders "I don't know. I guess you're just super mature or something." He sighed to himself and continued onward, looking up the staircase, seeing the bright light shining at the top. He became reinvigorated and started running up the steps "We have to move quickly!" Yu warned "Come on! We gotta keep on moving, we don't know what other dangers there are."