I've been wanting to get into the Persona series, so I bought Persona 4 Golden during the Steam summer sale. I've got just past the tutorials and into the first serious dungeon, and I already can't get past it. I enjoy and want to play many (J)RPGs, but I suck at them so bad.

Also, happy Independence Day, or Fourth of July, to all of us who celebrate it! And to those who don't, have a good day as well!

"So you think Pearl is going to die?" Ruby asked Moon.

"No, like I said, my other supposedly foretelling dreams have added up to be false, so there is no reason this one should be different." Moon said vehemently.

"Yeah, but something did end up happening to the person in the end, right? Like something worse then you originally dreamed about." Y said, but she had a strange expression on her face. Moon laughed it off.

"Haha, don't say I dreamed about it, it sounds wrong. But, no, the first time I foretold that Emerald's body would be displayed in the kitchen, but it just ended up being a lot of food."

"Yeah, but..." Y looked away.

"Cheer up, Pearl, and us, will be fine." Platinum tried to lift her spirits.

Y appeared cheer up, but she still had a bad feeling.

'Hihihi~ you ready for some more fun!?" Person A asked.

"Mhhmhhh!" The other person was gagged and tried up to a chair, tears streaming down their face. One look at their surroundings would probably reveal why, but it's too horrible to mention.

"I'll take that as a yes! Let's see, what should we do right now? Ah! I know! Let's watch the movie I made right now!"

The other person's eyes widened in terror as they furiously shook their head and protested as much as possible.

"Ugh, don't remind me that you're not him. I would much rather be doing this with -, but it's not time for that; yet, at least. For now, you're a substitution. Do I need to remind you of that?"

The other person began to cry one again. Person A sighed, grabbing a whip. They began to lash the other person's body, who cried in pain and seemed to beg them to stop.

"You're supposed to like this! Enjoy it! It's not punishment, rather, it's a gift for you to feel pleasure."

Yet, they still cried out in pain as they shook violently, desperate to escape.

"You still don't get it? I guess I'll have to teach you!"

The movie had started to play in the background as Person A whipped the other person harder. The movie was actually complied footage of the dex holders' time in the Old Chateau; everything from the mysterious beginnings with the shadow monsters, to the mass confusion, the violent deaths, and even the arguments and discord among the teenagers. And just when you'd expect a happy ending, or even just a resolution, the movie just suddenly cuts off.

At some point during the movie, Person A stoped abusing the poor other person and made popcorn. They had sat down on a makeshift chair to enjoy the movie they had made.

"Did you enjoy it?" They asked. They had removed the gag from the other person sometime ago.

"Why are you sitting..." the other person trailed off, "how the hell can you disrespect..."

"What?"

"WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU SITTING ON HER!? HOW CAN YOU DISRESPECT SAPPHIRE LIKE THAT!"

"Hmm?"

"What is it Pearl?" Green asked the boy.

"I though I just saw Blue walk by." Pearl said.

"Blue?" Diamond asked.

"That can't be." Green fell downcast as he responded.

Pearl suddenly ran back a few steps and down the hallway he thought he saw Blue in.

"I'm checking it out, you guys wait there!" Pearl called back to them.

"No, wait!" Diamond yelled but there was no response.

"He's probably already out of earshot."

"That dumbass. C'mon, let's go after him." Green sighed.

They walked around the corner, but Pearl was nowhere to be found. Green and Diamond suddenly started panicking.

"Pearl!?" Diamond called out.

"Pearl!"

There was no response. Both boys dashed down the hallway at full speed. They had been running for five minutes when Green spoke.

"I don't get it! There's no rooms or turns in this extremely and strangely long hallway! Where the hell did he go?"

They kept running, yet the hallway never ended. If anything, they were getting farther away from the end. By now, Diamond had to stop and was out of breath.

"Something, haa ha, is up," he said in between breaths, "because we should've, haa haa ha, seen him from the start, if the hallway is actually this long, that is."

"Yeah." Green agreed. He looked behind them and actually jumped in shock. They were maybe just two meters from the turn that led them into this hallway. Diamond looked back and was also shocked.

"But how? We've been running all this time! I know for a fact that we have been moving!"

"Damn, it seems like the supernatural stuff is back." Green sighed.

"What do we do? I'm worried about Pearl." Diamond expressed his concerns.

"Let's try walking." Green said after some thought. The boys walked down the hall, glancing behind them ever once in a while. They where making progress, albeit slowly, but after about five minutes, they were at the beginning once again.

"Shit." Green cursed.

"I guess, the best thing we can do now is look for another way." Diamond sighed. Green nodded in agreement and they turned the corner to continue forward they way they were going before they lost Pearl. There, however, hung Pearl's dead body.

"So this is where we where when Black and I left the Kanto and Sinnoh boys to find you guys." Ruby explained. He and Black had led the girls back to the place they had left.

"Alright, so I guess they went in that direction." Moon pointed forwards.

"Yup, most likely." Black replied.

"They didn't even tell you where to find them, gosh you boys are so dumb." Blue shook her head in disapproval.

"You mean Green, Red, Diamond, and Pearl are so dumb." Black corrected her.

"No, all of you." Blue shot back.

"What?!"

"You could've asked where to meet up when you left; so, you are also at fault." Platinum explained to the poor idiots how couldn't have realized something so simple. Then again, it just further proves her point.

"Man, that's harsh." Y muttered.

The group set forth in (partial) hopes of finding the other boys.

Some time had passed since Person A had been yelled at by the other person, and Person A had not responded well. They had enforced their teachings upon the other person. And while the other person hadn't become a dog per say, they had been partially brainwashed and stopped crying for escape.

Person A had believed they had done well. The other person still was defensive against their friends and their deaths and such, but they stopped rebelling against Person A directly. This might not make sense yet, but it will soon.

"I have decided that you have graduated." Person A announced

"What? All that just to decide to release me on a whim." The other person jested.

"Yup, but you know what to do, right? Pop quiz. You should know me well enough."

"Let's see, you want me to join up with the others,"

"And?"

"I wasn't done yet, calm the hell down. Don't reveal who you are or the fact that I know, so help them on their path to finding you, minimally. And most importantly, don't touch him."

"Ding, ding, ding!" You got it!"

"Horray!" The other person said sarcastically.

"But, just know, if you touch him, I won't hesitate to kill you immediately." Person A threatened, but the other person wasn't very intimidated.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm not interested in messing with you like that, and I'm even less interested in him."

"Fine, now get your ugly mug outta my face before I carve it out." Person A once again threatened the other person.

"With you, that's a very real threat. Well, see ya'!" The other person waved as they walked out the door. Person A sat in silence for a few moments before laughing hysterically.

"Go shake things up! Ihihihi! Just be careful, you could be not too far up on my hit list depending on your actions."

"There! I think I see Green! And there's Diamond!" Black yelled, excited.

"Hey guys! We're back!" Ruby yelled. There was no response, but that might have been because they were still at a distance where it would be hard to hear them.

As they got closer, Green noticed them and seemed to almost panic. He was trying to cover something and seemed to be shooing them away. That only made them curious and come closer, so he tried to yell at them, but it was too late. They saw the body.

Platinum gasped as she covered her mouth with her hand.

"No, he wouldn't do something like that!"

"No, no! He didn't! At least, I don't think he did?" Green panicked.

"Seriously, if your going to fail at comforting her, then don't try at all." Blue said as she hugged Platinum. Y and Moon hugged her from behind.

Tears escaped from the corners of her eyes, but she held back her emotions.

"Thanks guys, I appreciate it." She said.

The others continued to cling to her for a minute, before finally letting go. Immediately, Diamond ran up and hugged her.

"I'm still here for you, don't worry." He whispered into her ear. She blushed slightly, but that caused her to frown.

"Thank you guys, but I think I need a moment to rest. I'll be in that room." Platinum pointed to a room down the hall as Diamond let go of her. They smiled as she walked down the hall and into the room, but as soon as she closed the door, they all frowned.

"I'll go after her." Moon spoke up. The others nodded before she went in the same direction as her senior.

However, as she got near the room, she heard sobs coming from behind the door. She rushed into the room to find Platinum crying on the floor.

"What's wrong!?" She questioned as she ran up to the older girl.

"Are you upset about Pearl?"

"No. I mean, yes I am, but that's not what this is about." Platinum sniffed.

"Can you tell me about it?" Moon rubbed her back comfortingly.

"O-Okay," she paused, "it's just that, Pearl just died, yet I can't get over this stupid crush!"

"Crush!?"

"Diamond was just trying to comfort me since our friend died, but I couldn't help but feel ecstatic when he held me and whispered into my ear like that. I mean, Pearl just died, yet I'm ecstatic?! What's wrong with me!" Platinum cried. Moon hugged her.

"Don't feel bad, everyone gets like that, it's human nature. Death shouldn't mean you have to be sad; Pearl wouldn't want you to be depressed forever just 'cause he died! Even I was overjoyed with you guys right after Sun died. It's fine to not be depressed."

"But this different! You were happy because of your friends comforting you. I was happy because I got special attention from the guy I like minutes after I found his best friend's body!"

Moon grabbed Platinum's hands and stared into her tear-filled eyes.

"Platinum, calm down! Honestly, you're the strongest person I know; you stayed calm and proved your innocence when everyone thought you had committed those murders! You deserve to be happy! Pearl would not want you to be crying, he would want you to be happy! Just like when Diamond embraced you!"

"Y-Yeah, I guess you're right." Platinum sniffed as she wiped away her tears.

"I'm always right!" Moon laughed, but Platinum frowned.

"Oh, I'm sorry, you haven't fully become one of us yet. I forgot." This time, Platinum laughed at her words. Then, she had a sincere smile on her face.

"Moon, thank you. I honestly always feel better after talking to you. It's like you radiate this soothing aura."

"Well, I just know what it's like to lose someone important to you. I mean if you think about, now everyone here has lost someone from their region. We lost Yellow from Kanto, Silver from Johto, Sapphire and Emerald from Hoenn, Pearl from Sinnoh, White from Unova, X from Kalos, and Sun from Alola." Moon recalled.

"Wait, you're right! This has to be another one of the killer's plots; make everyone suffer by killing someone close to them." Platinum thought out loud.

"Possibly, but I think killing any of the dex holders in a situation like this would cause us all suffering. I think the killer is just going about it at random. Like, maybe they decided on a whim that killing Sapphire at the moment they did, for example, would cause the most pain since she was away from Ruby at the time." Moon theorized.

"Yeah, it could be that too." Platinum drifted off into her thoughts.

"Hey! Lets not think about this right now! Cheer up, and then we can head back out with the others. We still need to find Gold and Crystal!"

"All right then." Platinum sighed.

"Wait, where's Red?" Ruby asked.

"What?" Asked Green.

"Red, where'd he go?" Black clarified in Ruby's stead.

"What are you talking about?" Green asked once again.

"Red, your boyfriend, he is not here, but he was when Ruby and Black left, so where did he go? Why isn't he here? I clarified in Black and Ruby's stead." Y further clarified.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Green protested, but then a look of realization washed over his face.

"Wait, where is Red? I'd forgotten about Red! I don't understand, Red was there, and the he wasn't all of the sudden, and I couldn't remember him. It only came back to me when you guys mentioned it!"

"Wow, it must've been that mental connection!" Blue exclaimed. Y realized what she was referring to and got a big grin on her face.

"What?" Green didn't understand.

"Deep within your subconscious, you had made the connection between the words "Red" and "boyfriend". Obviously because you want to date him, but that connection was resurfaced when I made that statement. Your love for Red far surpassed whatever brainwashing you had received!" Y explained to Green.

"More like you guys's constant teasing." Green was referring to what Y said about the connection he had made between the words "Red" and "boyfriend".

"Woah, are you guy psychologists or somthin'?" Black asked.

"Nah, we totally made it up." Blue laughed.

"But, it makes sense, right?" Y probed.

"Actually, it makes total sense." Ruby sighed.

"Well enough about that, I'm gonna check up on the girls. Anyone who wants to come with me can." Black announced. He turned and started walking towards the room the girls were in. Blue, Ruby, and Y followed.

"Geez guys, leave me all by my self why don't ya'!" Green yelled.

Moon had just awoken from her nap when the others had walked in. The conversation between her and Platinum had wiped them out, so they both fell asleep right after.

What bothered her though, was her dream. Obviously her dreams had started to tell the future, in one way or another. The one about Emerald was warning her about a big event taking place, even though it only ended up being food. The one about Sun was warning her something had happened to him. The dream about Pearl warned her that he had died, and this one she just had about Diamond was probably no different.

Of course, the dreams were way off at first, but they had gotten more and more accurate each time, and the last one was only off by the cause of death.

Just now, she saw that the shadow monster creatures had come back and burned Diamond alive.

She was afraid that this one could be real. Obviously, she wouldn't want that, but it probably was true. She can't show her fear; Platinum just lost Pearl and confessed her crush on the person scheduled to die. For now, the best thing to do would be to hide it, right?

"Y'know..."

"Who's there?!?" Green jumped, startled by the sudden appearance of the voice.

"I still do..."

"No!" Green recognized the voice. It was Pearl's. He was afraid to look behind behind him, where the voice was coming from.

"I believe it." The voice had come from Pearl, who was standing at Green's 3 o'clock.

"I really do." This was from a Pearl at his 11 o'clock.

"Stop! Whoever's doing this!" Green yelled.

"I believe, even still..." said a Pearl at his 4 o'clock.

"I believe what you said," said a Pearl standing directly in front of him, "about, getting us all out of here, alive."

"How can you! You died! I could have prevented it, but I didn't!" Green yelled, frustrated and upset. A Pearl at his 10 o'clock was about to respond, but he and the other Pearls disappeared as the others walked up.

"You okay dude? I thought I heard you crying or something?" Black asked concerned.

"No, just a headache." He replied, nonchalantly.

Platinum looked around for a bit, and Moon caught on, announcing her concerns.

"Hey? Where's Diamond?"

"What?" Ruby asked.

"What are you taking about?" Blue questioned.

"Not again!" Platinum gasped. She heard the story when the others came to get them.

"I don't have time to deal with this crap. I'm going to get something for my headache, the medical room's not too far." Green huffed as he started to walk off.

"Fine the, just don't leave the west hall!" Blue called out to him, before turning back to the panicking girls.

"What do we do?!" Moon worried.

"None of them have any significant connections to him to remind them of him!" Platinum realized.

"I don't know what you're panicking over, but calm down, please!" Ruby begged.

"Hey! Guys!" A male voice called out to the group from around the corner. The figure walked out, revealing themselves.

"Gold?!?"

Yay! I finished it on time! So, Gold's back! Who's excited? Well, unfortunately you'll have to wait a while to find out what happens next since this story will be on break until I write the last two chapters. Don't worry, I'll use that time to scan the story for any loose ends that need to be wrapped up and to write the best ending I can. Thanks to anyone who has supported this story in anyway, as well as anyone who has read this far!

Also, it's probably obvious who the person being tortured is (I don't know from the perspective of a reader), but I haven't revealed who it is yet for a very specific reason.