"You three will pay for what you just did." Shadow Yukiko threatened angrily. "Burn!"
The moment those words left her lips Shadow Yukiko formed a massive wave of fire that flew towards the three Persona Users only for them to barely jump out of the way.
"Ok, anybody have any bright ideas on how to take her down?" Chie inquired.
"I think so, but it won't be easy." Yosuke answered. "Mind giving me a boost partner?"
"Right." Yu nodded as Izanagi appeared above him. "Tarukaja!"
With that a faint orange glow appeared around Yosuke. "Alright, Jiraiya take her down."
As Yosuke said that Jiraiya appeared and a powerful gust of wind struck Shadow Yukiko but instead of injuring her it caused her cage to start swinging.
"I get it, not a bad idea Yosuke." Yu mentioned before turning to Chie who had a grin on her face.
"Alright, let's take her down." Chie called as Tomoe appeared above her and Shadow Yukiko's cage started swinging back towards them.
"I told you to take me away from this place, this is not that." Shadow Yukiko stated glaring at Yosuke only to suddenly cry out in shock as a Izanagi and Tomoe struck her simultaneously with the momentum sending her crashing into a wall.
"Nice, that should have done something." Yosuke mentioned. "Though just to be on the safe side, Jiraiya…"
Suddenly Jiraiya vanished as Yosuke fell to his hands and knees.
"Yosuke!" Chie cried running to him only for her eyes to widen. "I knew this was a bad idea, you're in no shape to be doing this yet."
"We've gotten this far; we're getting Yukiko out." Yosuke told her.
"Yosuke…" Chie started before nodding. "Alright, but stay behind me alright?"
"Deal, just don't overdo it Chie. None of us are in great shape." Yosuke reminded her.
Chie just smiled before nodding as Shadow Yukiko managed to recover from her crash and turn back towards them only to suddenly get struck by a bolt of electricity.
"Sensei?" Teddie asked in confusion.
"That last hit had to have done something." Yu mentioned. "If we manage to land another one like that it might take her down. Or at the very least give us a fighting chance."
"That's true, alright in that…" Yosuke started only for flames to suddenly surround them.
"If you think I'll let you do that again you're gravely mistaken!" Shadow Yukiko stated angrily.
"Oh no, Sensei!" Teddie cried fearfully.
"Yosuke, think you can get Chie into the air?" Yu inquired.
"The air? I can try, but why would we…" Yosuke started only to wince. "Alright partner, if you think it'll help."
"It's worth a shot." Chie mentioned. "You guys ready?"
"As ready as we'll ever be." Yu answered. "On three."
"Got it, you count Chie that way we'll definitely be in sync." Yosuke told her before wincing. "We'll probably only get one shot though."
Chie nodded before taking a deep breath as an orange glow appeared around Yu and Yosuke. "Ok, one… two… three!"
The moment she said that Chie ran and jumped onto Yu and Yosuke's hands as they threw her into the air where she managed to land on top of Shadow Yukiko's cage.
"What?" Shadow Yukiko questioned in shock. "Just what do you think you're doing?"
"We told you, we're getting Yukiko out safely." Chie answered. "Tomoe, take her down!"
With those words Chie's Persona appeared above her and struck Shadow Yukiko with shards of ice causing her to cry out as the flames vanished.
"You…" Shadow Yukiko started only to cry out in pain as Izanagi and Jiraiya appeared and struck her together, sending her crashing into a wall before she collapsed and reverted back to her princess form.
"What… happened?" Yukiko asked weakly as she slowly got up before turning to see her Shadow. "Oh, wait I think I remember now."
"Yukiko!" Chie called running up to her. "Are you ok?"
"I think so. You came to help me didn't you Chie? You're always there for me." Yukiko smiled.
"You're wrong Yukiko, the fact is I've always been jealous of you. You're so much more mature and thoughtful than me and…" Chie started before looking down only for Yukiko to gently hug her.
"It's ok Chie, I know that neither of us are perfect but you're one of my closest friends and you've always been there for me." Yukiko smiled before turning to her Shadow. "Are you ok?"
Shadow Yukiko slowly got up before looking at Yukiko who simply smiled gently.
"Yukiko?" Chie asked in confusion.
"It's true, I do feel like I'm being forced to do what other people want and have no control over my life." Yukiko admitted. "I don't hate the Inn, but I do hate how everyone just expects me to inherit it. I want to make those kinds of choices for myself. Isn't that right, me?"
Shadow Yukiko simply nodded before glowing blue and transforming into a pink fairy-like creature with a pink helmet and a band of feathers attached to both of her wrists before fading as Yukiko fell to her knees.
"Yukiko!" Chie cried running to her. "Are you ok?"
"I think so, just tired." Yukiko answered.
"That makes sense, we should head back." Yosuke mentioned. "Still, this proves it for sure. We can keep anyone else from dying."
Yu looked at them before smiling. "Yeah, you're right. We can keep everyone safe."
"That sounds like a plan to me." Chie nodded. "Though we should get back, who knows how long we've been in here."
Yu and Yosuke nodded in agreement.
"Can you walk or do you need help?" Yosuke asked Yukiko.
"I'm ok, just… really tired but I can follow you guys out of here." Yukiko answered.
Yu, Yosuke, and Chie nodded before the group started leaving the castle.
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"Is this…. are we at Junes?" Yukiko asked looking around. "How did we get here?"
"It's how we can get in and out of that world. If we enter through here, we'll always know where we're going to end up." Yu explained only for his eyes to widen.
"Huh, is something…" Yosuke started only to glance around and notice people were nearby and could easily see them. "Ok, I have an idea. Yu and Chie can go ahead and if anyone sees me and Yukiko I can say I found her tied up somewhere, hopefully they don't ask too many questions."
"Well ok, if you're sure about that." Chie relented. "Just be careful."
"I know, and we will be." Yosuke nodded as Yu and Chie walked off.
"She'll be ok, we can trust Yosuke." Yu mentioned.
"I know it's just… whoever did this is still out there, and if someone else gets thrown in it could be even harder.' Chie admitted.
Yu shuddered at the thought before shaking his head. "If that happens we'll need to make sure we're more careful. Then again, maybe Yukiko can help us out too."
"Hold on, we can't just assume Yukiko will want to go back there especially after what she just went through." Chie pointed out. "Why don't we just wait for now and let her rest?"
"Alright, that makes sense." Yu nodded. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, see you." Chie mentioned calmly.
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"Oh you're back." Dojima noted as Yu walked into the house. "You look happy, I'm guessing you spent some time with your friends today?"
"Yeah, I'm really glad to have such great friends." Yu smiled. "How about you uncle?"
"Nanako and I spent some time together, actually we were at Junes picking up a few things for dinner." Dojima mentioned.
"We got sushi." Nanako nodded. "It's the special kind."
"That sounds great, thanks you guys." Yu replied before the doorbell rang. "Huh, were you expecting someone?"
"No I wasn't." Dojima answered before walking over to open the door.
"Good evening, I apologize for the intrusion but I wanted to make your acquaintance." stated a slim boy in a blue hat. "My name is Naoto Shirogane."
"Shirogane, you mean the detective prince?" Dojima inquired. "Aren't you a bit young?"
"I can assure you my age won't be a hindrance in assisting you on this case." Naoto mentioned calmly. "The police officers speak rather highly of you detective Dojima."
Dojima looked at Naoto before just shaking his head. "If I judged someone by their age I wouldn't be a very good detective, I'm looking forward to working with you."
"The feeling is mutual, good night." Naoto noted calmly before walking off.
"Who was that dad?" Nanako asked curiously.
"Someone who came to help Adachi and me figure out what's going on." Dojima answered. "If his resume is any indication he's really smart for his age and when you have three detectives working together… with any luck things will work out."
"So does that mean you'll…" Yu started only to pause. "You can stop this from happening again?"
"We'll do everything we can to stop it from happening Yu. Just try not to think about it." Dojima mentioned as Yu nodded thoughtfully. "By the way, what do you think of inviting your friends over sometime soon?"
"Huh, are you sure?" Yu asked in surprise. "You mean Yosuke and Chie and…"
As Yu said that Dojima's phone started beeping with a message from Adachi.
"Work again?" Nanako asked sadly.
"It's Adachi." Dojima nodded before his eyes widened. "What the, is he serious?"
"Is everything ok?" Yu inquired nervously.
"Yeah. Apparently, your friend Yosuke found Yukiko Amagi unconscious in the back room of Junes. Unfortunately, it probably also means she won't remember what happened and who the culprit is." Dojima answered. "Still, she's been found and she's alive which are two good things as far as I'm concerned."
"That's really good, she's ok." Yu smiled.
"Oh that's right, she was one of the people who helped you out before." Dojima noted. "In that case should we invite her over too, of course assuming she's ok that is."
"That sounds great." Yu nodded before pausing. "Oh, but should she rest first?"
"You mean because of whatever happened to her, that's true we should give her time to recover from her ordeal." Dojima nodded. "Of course for now we should all enjoy our dinner."
"Yeah." Nanako agreed happily.
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"Morning Yu." Chie mentioned walking up to him.
"Good morning Chie." Yu smiled. "It's still kind of hard to believe we pulled that one off the other day."
"Yeah, I know what you mean." Chie nodded before smiling. "Then again, we did and Yukiko is safe."
"Is she going to be ok?" Yu asked. "After all she was there for a lot longer than the rest of us."
"Yeah, you're right about that." Chie nodded only to frown. "I just wish we knew more about who was doing this."
"You aren't the only one Chie, but for now all we can do is keep our eyes open." Yosuke mentioned walking up to them.
"That makes sense." Yu nodded. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. My uncle mentioned that when Yukiko was feeling better you guy could come over."
"Huh, why would…" Yosuke started only for Chie to nod.
"That makes sense, he's probably worried about you. He doesn't know that you're able to keep people from dying." Chie realized.
"Oh that's right, what happened before right?" Yosuke asked before frowning. "I guess from his perspective spending time with friends is helping keep your mind off of things."
Yu nodded before looking down. "Should we tell him what's going on?"
"I don't think so." Chie admitted. "At least not until we know more about who's doing this."
"Chie's right, if the police learn about that place then the person who's throwing people in there might get suspicious." Yosuke agreed.
"Yeah, you're probably right." Yu admitted as the three of them walked into the school.
(The Investigation Team managed to barely rescue Yukiko from the TV World and are now waiting for her to recover. Next chapter Naoto will learn about Yu's past and Yu will return to the Velvet Room. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)
