Shi sighed as she sat at the food court. She hadn't really known why she agreed to this, but it seemed it was the only way to get answers. The station had been chaos, with officers running all over the place. Crime Scene officers had been panicked, unable to find anything definitive at the scene. Shi had managed to bring them under some semblance of control, telling them to focus on what they had been able to recover and analyse that. She had then worked on the last two autopsies she had from when she was away. That had been interrupted by Adachi slinking into her lab to avoid being abused by anyone else. Apparently, he had spent the entire morning being berated by the chief and Dojima for wasting time.
Shi looked up, disturbed from her thoughts as she heard chairs scraping. Yu and the others sat at the table. "Are you sure you want to do this Tawakemono-sensei?" Yukiko asked her.
"Whoever it is attacking people needs to be stopped. And, despite my earlier beliefs, it seems the midnight channel does have something to do with it. If helping you will help solve this, then I am certain I will do this. At least, it means I can keep an eye on you to make sure you don't get hurt." Shi said.
Yu nodded and turned to the others. "So, Rise is in the TV world. We need to go and rescue her. Are you ready?" He asked. They all nodded and stood. Shi got to her feet and followed them to the electronics department. They checked no one was around before Yu touched the TV screen, his hand slipping into the screen.
"That's impossible." Shi murmured.
"You haven't seen anything yet Tawakemono-sensei." Chie said. Shi frowned and followed as they each entered the TV. She hesitantly raised her hand and touched the screen. She gulped as her hand sunk into the TV screen before taking a deep breath. She stepped into the TV world, crying out as she fell to the ground. She hit the floor hard, rolling slightly as her arm struck the ground.
"Son of a bitch! That's gonna bruise and be hard to explain." She murmured as she got to her feet. She looked around, squinting to try and see through the fog. "How do you see?" She asked. She turned to see Yosuke putting on a pair of glasses.
"Here pretty lady, I made these for you." Shi turned to see Teddy holding something out to her. She took it to see a grey pair of glasses, the arms streaked with black and white. She put them on, her eyes widening as the fog cleared. Surprise must have been evident on her face because she heard them laughing softly.
"Don't worry Tawakemono-sensei, it surprises everyone at first." Yukiko said. Shi shook her head and looked around.
"So Rise is here somewhere?" She asked. Yu nodded in response. "So let's go find her." Teddy sniffed the air and led them through the area until they stopped outside a neon club.
"The hell is this place?" Kanji asked.
"This is where Rise-san is." Yu replied. He headed inside, followed by Shi and the others. As they walked, Shi felt something hitting her hip in her pocket. She paused and looked in it to see a scalpel. She pulled it out and slipped it into her sleeve. It may not have been much, but it was a form of defence should she require it. She quickly caught up to the group. As they walked, she could see black shapes with blue masks moving around them. She gripped the scalpel, ready to attack.
"Tawakemono-sensei, you need to summon your persona." Yu said. Shi looked at him, surprised. She gulped, suddenly nervous of this gift she had. She watched the others summon their personas first before summoning her own. She watched the card appear before her. She went to grab it before seeing the scalpel. An idea sent a smile to her lips.
"Thou art I." She said before slicing the card in half. "Let's solve this." She said. Energy erupted around her as her persona appeared. It moved ahead of her, the masks on its tails constantly shifting back and forth to attack the creatures around them.
"Tawakemono-sensei, your persona is kicking ass." Yosuke cried excitedly. Shi smiled as she watched her persona defend the others. This had always been what she wanted. To help and protect people. And now she could. She followed Yu and the others to a large curtain, similar to those of a stage.
The curtain rose to reveal Rise sitting on the ground, her doppelganger standing before her.
"Rise-chan!" Shi quickly began to move forward, her medical training kicking in. She paused when the shadow laughed at her.
"They're all watching! All eyes are on me now!" The other Rise said. Shi stepped back, a dull ache in her shoulder a reminder of what could happen if you got too close.
"Stop it." Rise said weakly.
"Awwww! What's the matter? You wanna show your stuff, don'tcha? How's this?!" They all watched as the other Rise spun around the dance pole on the stage then started grinding against it.
"Please...stop this." Rise begged.
"Oooh, she wants me to stop. That's so funny!" The doppelganger chuckled. "As if that's even close to what you're really thinking you little skank!" It snapped suddenly. Shi felt ill suddenly. Had her own shadow acted in such a way? Had it acted so out of control? She looked up as Rise stood up suddenly.
"Stop... Stop it! You're..." She began to say. Yu and the others immediately began to shout out to tell her to stop. But it didn't work.
"You're... Not me!" Rise shouted. The shadow chuckled, starting to laugh manically as darkness gathered around it. Energy exploded outwards, knocking Rise back as her shadow reappeared before them. It had a satellite for a face, the body was covered in different colours. It swayed from side to side on the pole. Shi quickly moved to check on Rise whilst the others got into position to fight. She was still breathing but unconscious. Shi turned and summoned her persona. It charged forward, throwing various elemental attacks at the shadow whilst supporting the others. Shi watched as her persona threw a lighting attack, supporting Yu's attack. It was then she felt it. Something wash over her. There was a odd sound, like one of her machines analysing a item.
She looked around but couldn't see anything. As she looked around, she heard the shadow laugh.
"No touching allowed!" It laughed at them.
As she turned back to the shadow, she noticed that their attacks were missing. She glanced at Yu before seeing the shadow hop down from the pole.
"I can see everything about you." The shadow laughed. They all stared as it laughed.
"What's the deal!? Our attacks aren't even making a dent!" Chie cried.
"Damn, it's like its anticipating our every move!" Yosuke said. Teddie whimpered behind them. They stiffened as the light and noise sounded again.
"That power... I think it's scanning us." Teddie said.
"Scanning us? Shit, now it knows everything about us." Shi snapped.
"Woohoo! Analysis complete!" The shadow said. "Okay, here comes my counterattack! See if you can dodge this, hmm?" The shadow jumped off the pole and pulled at it, aiming it at them.
"Shit! Look out!" Shi yelled. She moved to try to block the attack, her persona standing in front of the others as the attack hit. It was brutal, knocking them all to the ground. Shi felt like her nerves were on fire. She pushed herself up as the shadow prepared to attack again. They all looked in surprise as Teddie suddenly moved in front of them.
"I-I feel like I'm going bear-serk!" Teddie yelled. He growled at the shadow, energy radiating from him. "Take a good look... At Teddie's last stand!" He growled. He roared and charged forward towards the shadow. There was a bright light as they collided, forcing them to shield their eyes. When it cleared, Teddie was on the floor looking worse for wear and the shadow was laying beaten.
"Teddie! You idiot... You coulda died..." Kanji snapped.
Did I... Did I help...?" Teddie croaked out. They sighed in relief.
"You didn't just help, you saved our lives!" Yosuke exclaimed. Teddie chuckled before standing up with some difficulty. He jumped when he looked down at himself.
"Nooo... My fine, silky fur... I was so proud of it! Waaaah..." He cried. Shi let out a soft laugh as the others went to check on Rise.
"It'll be fine Teddie. If necessary, I will get you a brush." She said, petting his head. "Your fur is still really soft." She added, which seemed to cheer him up. She smiled and walked to join the others as Rise spoke to her shadow.
"There is no "real" me. It just doesn't exist. You... Me... Even Risette... They were all born from me. All of them are... Me." She said softly. The shadow nodded, fading and transforming into a tall female figure with a satellite for its face. It was also holding a visor before it. It faded to the now familiar blue card that merged with Rise. She turned to face them before collapsing. Yosuke caught her and Shi moved forward.
"Rise-chan you need to rest. Trust me when I say this takes a lot out of you." Shi said. She moved to help Rise up as she thanked the others. She looked up as Chie made a startled noise. Teddie was staring blankly at them, when a strange voice emerged from him.
"Real? Me?" It chuckled. "Such foolishness." They stared as a shadow emerged from Teddie. Teddie turned to face his other side, jumping in surprise.
"The truth is unattainable... It will always be shrouded in fog. Though you reach through the murk and the gloom to grasp something, you have no means to know it is the truth... In which case, why...? What sense is there in yearning for the truth? Close your eyes. Lie to yourself. Live in blissful ignorance... It is a much smarter way to exist." It said.
"Wh-What are you talking about!? I don't understand a word you're saying!" Teddie yelled. "You're just making it sound difficult because I'm not that smart! How rude! Maybe you can't tell, but I'm thinking as hard as I can!"
"It is those efforts that I am calling useless... You are hollow. Empty." The other Teddie countered. "At your core, you know this... You just cannot accept it. So you seek an alternate form... A denial of your nature. You have no lost memories. If you have forgotten anything, it is this truth."
"Th... That's a lie." Teddy said.
"Shall I spell it out for you? You are but a mere-" The other Teddie began.
"I said shaddup!" Teddie interrupted. He charged at his other side, only to bounce back off of it.
"It is the same for you all..." The other Teddie continued as though nothing had happened. "You undergo suffering because of your search for the truth... This world is filled with thick, heavy fog... How can you find something when you know not what you search for?" It asked.
"There's a way to find it." Yu replied.
"And thus, you invite more suffering upon yourselves... It is beyond my comprehension. Then I will grant you one truth... You will all die here. You sought the truth, only to find death." With those words echoing in their ears, darkness and energy began to radiate from the other Teddie.