Chapter 32 / Lies

March 20th, 2012 / Daytime
Inside the TV - Heaven, Paradise #10

We all stood there as Yu approached Margaret who stood there silently for a long moment as she quietly observed him. We had discussed the options for a while and ultimately Yu told them that Margaret was a big reason as to why he was so prepared for battle. She was a woman that held immense power and had helped him harness his own along the way. A part of him felt that he wanted to know just how strong she was. And that he knew that it would be a immensely rough fight. That it could possibly be fatal, but at the same time he was confident in his own ability and that he would be able to match her. Plus he felt things wouldn't feel complete for him if he didn't.

"So, you've come," Margaret mused as she shifted her stance a bit. "I spoke to my master briefly before coming here. It appears that my predecessor also requested a duel from our last guest. Though there's no way of knowing whether the boy took her up on the offer." She chuckled a bit, "I called her foolish, but it seems we are kin indeed. Are you sure you're ready? What of your friends will join you in your fight against me?"

"I thought about that for a while. My friends would probably not have any problems fighting with me. But honestly, I think that would not be what you are truly wanting. I'll face you, on my own," Yu said resolutely.

"Yeah, he's really stubborn. Amagi has been arguing against it ever since he made that decision," I found myself saying.

"I trust him, and I know he can win, but..." Yukiko shook her head.

"You are concerned for him. I understand. Is this truly your wish Narukami? To fight me alone? You have no reason to do so," Margaret asked, seemingly amused. I'm not sure what Yu was trying to prove but I think I understood why he felt this way. I guess the only thing we could to was support him the best to our ability. Though he seemed to have a good idea as to how powerful Margaret really does, or if anything he had a strong suspicion. However, he assured all of us that he was as powerful as he could get himself.

"I've only come this far because of my friends and all of the people that I forged bonds with. And that includes you Margaret. I may fight you one on one but I am far from alone. My Persona will show you that much," Yu said as he pulled his katana free from its sheath and tossed the sheath aside. "Allow me to show you the power that you helped me forge."

Margaret held a soft smile, "I see, if that is truly your wish then I shall not question you further. As the one who rules over power, I will fight with the utmost deference to you. Show me what lies beyond a mere exchange of words." Tossing the grimoire in front of her Margaret slowly floated into the air. "I am charged with the head and tension of battle. Now, we begin. Don't disappoint me!"

"What the? I've never felt a power like hers before. Senpai, are you sure about this?" Rise had summoned her Persona.

"Yes, its fine," he answered. "All of you need to stand back. There isn't going to be any holding back."

As Rise dismissed Kouzeon I took her and we walked back towards the entrance to the room as the fight started. There was something immediately telling as soon as the fight started...just how much power there was between the two of them. Just what was the limits of the power of Persona? Was there a limit? But maybe it was because we didn't quite understand the origin of that power and what fueled it. Knowing that would maybe help to quantify how strong an individual is. If there was ever a need to do just that.

The fight became instantly more serious the moment we realized that Margaret could summon not just one Persona but many different kinds. Unlike the others though I had already seen it first hand with Miyuki fighting by my side in that landscape of my mind. She had used a grimoire like Margaret but she used different Persona than Margaret. It was clear in just the short time what Miyuki meant about only being an apprentice. Margaret's power was inspiring. However, so was Yu. The two of them continued to trade blows and Yu pulling out a repertoire of new and powerful Persona, one after the other. Despite the powerful and massive attacks that Margaret launched, Yu was able to weather them all without much difficulty.

"I'll tell you now, discard any concern you may have for me. You will honor me by fighting as though you mean to kill. To hold back would be nothing short of insulting," Margaret proclaimed as Yu charged at her and swung his sword only for her to block it with the grimoire.

"It goes both ways, Margaret," Yu replied back before jumping back and summoning Shiva and meeting another of Margaret's attacks head on and the colliding spells made it harder to see. Yet when it settled I could see Yu summoning yet a different Persona Sandalphon, and seemed to be charging for an attack. Then I realized that Margaret was charging for her own.

"They really are putting everything into this fight," Naoto observed outloud.

"I didn't realize Yu was so powerful," Yukiko added.

"I guess its easier for him to go full tilt if he doesn't have to worry about hitting anyone else," Kanji scratched his head. Maybe, but Yu had a wide range of skills and abilities that we could never hope to obtain. He was equipped to handle most any fight, which is why he made sense to be the leader to begin with. He could control the flow of battle as well as contributions the group made to the fight. If someone needed to rest he could switch to a Persona that filled that persons need to the group. Being able to switch to a Persona of a needed element of strength needed. But what did he have to do to maintain that kind of power.

"His power is more complex than any of you realize," a new voice entered but I knew who it was without looking. Miyuki walked up to us from seemingly nowhere.

"Miyuki?" I turned towards her.

"Hey, Onii-chan," Miyuki smiled a bit denoting her enjoyment of being able to call me that. "Normally this kind of thing would stay between the two of them, but initially Margaret had invited him to let you all fight next to him. But seeing as things have come to this my Master has permitted me to answer some questions about all of this."

"Your Master?" Naoto asked.

Miyuki nodded, "Indeed. Margaret hinted at it before, as to why she wanted this fight with him. Do you all remember?"

"She mentioned a different attendant that abandoned her duty after the guest that came before Yu," Yukiko said.

She nodded, "Yes, the last guest, as you can imagine was a unique individual in his own right. It's also been a couple years since then. He is also the reason why you are all alive here now."

That was a hell of a revelation to drop on us. "What do you mean by that?"

She gave a slight shrug, "I don't know much about it, only that the world nearly came to an end because of Shadows before. But that the boy from this tale gave his life in order to prevent it. So Elizabeth, who is Margaret's younger sister left to figure out a way to save him. And typically as residents of the Velvet Room, such motivations and actions are not encouraged. But I'm a bit different than the others. Most of them were born into these roles so are not sure how the real world works. As such Elizabeth was introduced to the world through the previous guest. And if I had to wager a guess, I believe she fell in love with him. He paid an immense price to save the world and she went out to save him."

"That's sad," Rise said from next to me. "But Margaret doesn't understand that so she is basically traveling down the road her sister took. In order to somehow understand the actions her sister took."

Miyuki nodded, "Yes, I wish I could tell you more but I'm only allowed to do so much. The clash of their power will be felt by Izanami as well, and she won't be worried about it." She turned back and looked to Rise then to the others. "This is an important transition time for all of you. Things will start to change as life begins to move forward. I only want to remind all of you to never forget the trials and hardships that you all faced together."

"You mentioned before a trial that Kayane and I will have to face," Rise pressed. I was curious about it, naturally.

"I think you are both aware of how close that trial is. However, I'll say it so that no one here can mistake it. Shadows populate a great many places in this world, and many of them are not of the same origin. Humanity is complex and its Shadows are equally so," Miyuki moved over to me and Rise. "There are things I want to say to both of you, but I've been forbidden to do so from my Master until the time is deemed right. There are a lot of rules I have to follow."

I laughed, "I bet you love it." I knew how much she loved her structure and clear lines. However Miyuki didn't smile or do anything in response which made me stop.

"Be strong both of you," Miyuki said.

"Wait, what about Izanami? Is she also a being that came about because of humanity? Or is she truly the Goddess of Japanese myth?" Naoto asked as Miyuki took a few steps away from us.

"Honestly, I don't know," Miyuki looked back at us once more. "But look at the power of Persona, and how immense it can be to behold. Kayane's ability with what is called Symphonic Discord is one such power that is scary to be on the receiving end of. Imagine what else could possibly be accomplished. I will say that my Master has remarked that humanity has not yet found how deep the power of Persona could really go. The reason mankind was given that power and the intention behind that is known only to my Master. And I doubt he would ever reveal it to anyone. I think he wants you to find it for yourselves."

Miyuki didn't stay a moment longer and was gone just as quick as she appeared.

"I feel like I know less now than I did before," Kanji said scratching his head.

"She had no obligation to tell us anything. And it seems the residents of this Velvet Room have no choice but to adhere to very strict rules," Naoto said as she turned to the ongoing fight with Yu and Margaret. "Margaret seeks to understand her Sister that left to seek a means of saving the life of a 'guest' that sacrificed his life to save the world. As Miyuki indicated, the power of Persona is vast, and yet that individual had to go so far to stop whatever threat he had to face. And its obvious that the 'guest' had a profound influence. Likely on several individuals lives. But that knowledge alone also makes you wonder, how many times has the world been faced with a crisis and Persona users had to step up to quell them? How long has this kind of fight been going on?"

"Yeah, I get it," Chie nodded from next to Naoto. "We could be just another group that rose up to stand against the Shadows. There could be others right now or in the future that will have to fight them somewhere else."

"I've thought about it too," Rise said from next to me. We looked as Yu and Margaret continued to trade blows, each seemingly more powerful than the last. "Miyuki said there was a guest before Yu-senpai, so there has probably been plenty of others before him and us. Other Persona users that had to fight against Shadows. It's a fight I don't think ever really ends."

"Mankind has to constantly face itself as we move forward. We have to think about what we believe in, we must consider carefully where we go and where we have been before. Yet as a species we still manage to fall to previous mistakes, even as we try not to repeat them, history repeats itself. I wonder if this fight has happened before, where mankind sought to be covered in a fog of ambiguity, to not have to deal with the consequences of our actions," Naoto speculated further.

"Regret is a powerful emotion, one that has driven action in many moments in the history of man," I found myself saying in reflection. "A desire to forget our own actions and yet honor the ones that came before us. So we seek a easy way to press forward and not have to face the pain we've caused for ourselves. If you think about it, we're full of contradictions."

"So is that why they are given form? To fix the contradictions in humanities sub-conscious?" Naoto thought out loud and shook her head.

"What? So humanity wants the benefit without the hard work? Shit, there are a lot of people that think like that," Kanji said scratching his head.

"This all sounds too complicated. What does it have to do with Sensei fighting this Margaret person?" Teddie asked.

"It doesn't, but I think its obvious that things are more complex. Shadows, Persona and why we were even here to fight. It is much more grand than what we faced. We faced a killer who used this power and these tools for his own amusement, but it didn't exist for him...it was here before he ever came to this town," Rise spoke softly but we could all hear her just as well.

"There is no point in us thinking about it right now," I spoke up and they briefly looked to me. "We can wonder about the whys and speculate on the what ifs after all of this. We came here because Yu needs us. He found the origin of who gave him his power. This here is why problems started in Inaba. These are questions we can get the answers to. Beyond that, I think it will be years if we wanted to find answer to such broad questions about the origin of Shadows."

"Kayane-senpai is right," Yukiko said and looking to me for a moment. I think it was a little odd hearing her say my first name, but honestly, besides Rise I had gotten to know Yukiko pretty well. And she had come to me for a lot of her problems. So it really didn't bother me in the end. "We need to support Yu now, more than ever."

"Yes, no doubt this Izanami will be more than any foe we have fought up till now," Naoto nodded.

"C'mon Yu! Show her your true power!" Yosuke yelled out, turning our attention back to the fight.

We looked back to see Yu summoning another Persona, he called out its name. "Yoshitsune! Hassou Tobi!" This persona appeared like that of a samurai warrior, and in blinding speed used the katana at its waist. The last hit smashing against Margaret and she collapsed to the ground. We all moved forward thinking that Margaret had taken a bad hit, but she merely stumbled up to her feet, with not a scratch on her.

Her grimoire fell to the ground and she fell to a knee again. "I concede, this duel is yours, Narukami Yu." She took a moment before getting back to her feet and the grimoire floated up and back into her hand. "I'm impressed, only my Sister was ever to drive me to such lengths. Ever since she left I've contemplated why she would do such a thing. While we fought, I began to remember what she had told me before. She said that a soul slumbers at the ends of the world. A soul of a young man who devoted himself to becoming a seal. His soul is risking itself to prevent mankind, who lost the joy of living, from calling down ultimate destruction. She told me that she was going to save him from that fate. To tell the truth, I wondered what sort of nonsense she was speaking. But no, she was serious. She said if she couldn't do it alone, she would combine her powers with those who bonded with that soul to enact a miracle. While the actions of that young man in itself was a miracle. Maybe all that she said was the truth. And that was her reason for leaving the Velvet Room. She must have come to realize what I now understand." Margaret shifted slightly and moved forward. She stumbled but Yu was there to catch her as the rest of us approached them.

"Margaret, sorry I might have gone too far," Yu said softly.

She shook her head, "This is what I wanted, my own selfish request. You, a human, won against me, one who rules over power. That is not something just anyone can accomplish. You were given an opportunity and ability to gain power through bonds. You have shown me what your hard work and effort could reach. Those who search fro themselves are 'no one' as long as the search continues. However, it isn't emptiness, but limitless potential. It means the seeker can choose to be anything he or she wishes. You had the choice to do nothing, or become something more, and protect those that are important to you. I believe like you, my sister, Elizabeth made that choice as well. I had planned to bring her back by force once I found her but I believe now, I won't interfere with her anymore. Her wish seems staggering to contemplate, but fortunately, the chains of time are loose for us residents. Even if there isn't time enough in a single era, and it takes her eons. She will accomplish her mission. This young man she took such a fancy to...I can't help but be curious as to what kind of human he must be."

"Someone who is able to sacrifice his life for all of mankind...I wouldn't mind meeting him myself," Yu added.

Margaret gave a slight giggle, "Your victory was truly amazing. And I must thank you, Narukami Yu. Of all the humans I 've encountered until now, you shook my soul the most. This is proof of my reverence, please accept it." Margaret opened the grimmoire and pulled out a blue bookmark that seemed to have a spiral pattern. "With that much power and will, you can overcome any obstacle. Should you ever run up against your limits and feel you cannot overcome your boundaries, you'd be lying to yourself. Simply recall today's victory."

Yu was looking at the bookmark before putting into his jacket pocket. "Thank you, I hope I won't let you down."

She shook her head, "There's no need to worry. Even if you should lose everything. Your soul will not be isolated. And if that does happen, just as my Sister did for that other young man, I shall do for you." Margaret turned around and took a couple steps away. "Well then...I will return to the Velvet Room and take up my original duties. Let us meet again." And with a couple steps away, she was gone.

We all stood there as Yu turned to all of us. "Thank you for allowing me to do this."

"Here, Yu, take this," Yukiko came up to him and offered him an item. Ah right, that would be one way to get him back into fighting shape. Some of the items in this place had some amazing effects. Well, it was no stranger than the fact that this place existed. He quickly downed it and smiled.

"...So this is the real end of the road, right? The case and everything else?" Kanji said.

"No matter how long we ponder it, I don't think we'll ever fully understand how all of this is possible. But defeating Izanami may answer how this case did," Naoto pushed up her glasses...the same glasses we all wore to see through the fog.

"Yeah, we should head back. We don't know how long it will take for us to get to her," Yu was right, there was hardly any time to think about this. We needed to keep moving. There would be no tomorrow if we couldn't do this. Because at this point, we either won...or likely we would die against her.

Maybe that was a bad way to think about it. But I couldn't stop from thinking that I was right.


March 20th, 2012 / Daytime
Inside the TV - Yomotsu Hirasaka

I tossed my sickle to the other side against the wall. Somehow mustering enough strength for it to solidify that it didn't budge when my full weight pulled against it. My momentum swung me wide and towards the Neo Minotaur Shadow. I was flung in the air and used the added strength of Benzaiten to pull the sickle free from the wall and spin my body to bring the sickle back to me quickly. The Minotaur charged toward me but my spin made it hard for him to target me as I moved through the air and he missed me when he tried to punch me. I straightened myself out and flung my sickle down and into the shoulder of the Minotaur. The next motion holding onto the chain and shifting my body I flung the other sickle into his other shoulder and now used both as anchor points and propelled me towards the back of the minotaurs head. Landing hard on its back I grabbed the chain from both sides as the Minotaur spun trying to reach me. Distracted by my presence made him miss Chie charging in.

Chie came in hard and fast as she summoned her Persona, "Haraedo-no-Okami! God's Hand!" A giant fist slammed onto the Minotaur just as Chie spun and gave a powerful kick to its midsection. I took the time to use Benzaiten's strength to slice the sickles down the Minotaurs back as I jumped off its back and pulled my weapons free. Despite stumbling from Chie's attack he ignored her and flipped around to attack me, jumping in the air towards me. I didn't have any room to maneuver and was in the middle of recovering my weapons. There was no way for me to dodge.

Kanji was suddenly rushing past me and shoulder charged into the Minotaurs gut and followed up with his Persona, Takeji Zaiten. Hitting the enemy with a powerful Primal Force attack and sending the Neo Minotaur tumbling to the ground. "You'll have to do better than that!" Kanji growled.

We heard a voice chuckle but there was no time to look as the Minotaur quickly recovered and charged back towards Kanji and I.

"I can't believe you came without cowering in fear. Is that bravery, or ignorance?" This voice had to be Izanami. Was she trying to distract us from the battle? No her words were direct...she was talking to Yu. "Hmm, I wonder. Have you come to realize, or rather, do you remember? The scenery of this place. You've seen it before, haven't you?"

Yu came charging by to put the Minotaur on the defensive. The environment was definitely unique compared to the places we had seen before in other parts of the TV world. Here it was a path with dark red squares that didn't appear to be connected at all. Yet it was definitely solid. Everything around us though was surrounded by dense fog. Our glasses prevented this from being a problem.

"Yeah, I remember this place. I knew the moment we stepped in here," Yu answered Izanami as he slammed another attack from his Persona Helel.

"What you saw in your dream that night was the result of your awakening to your power. I suppose it would be fate that has me awaiting your arrival now. How amusing," Izanami chuckle filled the air as the Minotaur recovered and turned to attack Chie. Just how tough was this bastard? "Show me that power you have attained, and your determination to face me. Yes, show me how strong you are."

Izanami was taunting as the Neo Minotaur was swinging heavy down at Chie. She was more than flexible enough to tumble out of the way. But the Minotaur's fist slammed down hard on the ground, and it shook the ground enough to throw Chie off balance. Then the Minotaur suddenly managed to speed up and follow up an attack. There would be no way for Chie to dodge this. Someone else was already moving and pushed Chie to the side taking the hit instead, it was Yosuke.

"Yosuke!" Chie cried out as Yosuke was sent scrambling and slamming into the wall. He was collapsed on the ground. Yosuke wasn't moving. "Yosuke! No!" Chie was now rushing towards him, with no regard to the Minotaur, who had not turned his attention away from her.

Naoto stepped up firing at the Minotaur as Kanji, Yu and I took a direct charge to try and stop the attack. Teddie and Yukiko were the ones closest to Chie and Yosuke and stepped forward to launch a combined attack of ice and fire to halt the Neo Minotaur. But it ignored it and continued its single minded charge to our two very vulnerable members. This Shadow wasn't focusing on survival...it simply wanted to take some of us out. It was aiming to kill Chie and Yosuke.

Chie had gotten to Yosuke and got to her knees next to him and pulled Yosuke to her. Were they talking? I could see the panic on her face as she looked up seeing the Minotaur coming towards them. Chie hadn't realized, was too focused on getting to Yosuke to ensuring he was okay.

"Here, I'll speed you guys up!" Rise interjected, then Kanji, Yu and I felt our speed pick up. I pressed forward to get ahead and tossed my sickle in a wide arc. I let the chain slide through my hand until I was holding the connected sickle, giving my attack maximum range. I connected with the Minotaurs shoulder. I slid to a stop and used Benzaiten to yank backwards, which was enough to cause him to stop and unable to attack Chie and Yosuke. At the same time Kanji and Yu continued charging forward and both attacking a separate leg with their Persona's. I pulled hard once more and caused the Minotaur to fall onto its back. Yu turned and jumped into the air and landed on the Minotaur and stabbed his katana into the Shadows throat. I pulled out the sickle from the shoulder of the Shadow and quickly tossed it back up, this time caught by Yu. He wrapped part of the chain around the hilt of his katana as the Minotaur tried to swipe at him. Yu jumped off the opposing shoulder and before the Minotaur knew what was happening both Yu and I yanked on the chain hard causing his katana to plunge deeper into its throat. Finally the Minotaur stopped resisting and then died, disappearing until all that was left was our weapons.

"Yosuke! Yosuke! Please say something," Chie was losing herself. And Yosuke still wasn't moving.

Yukiko and Teddie rushed over and both quickly summoned their Personas in order to heal Yosuke. Yu rushed over and knelt down next to Chie and checked Yosuke for a pulse. There was a long moment. Yu checked...then checked again.

"No, no, don't do this please," Chie's tears were easily seen going down her face as Yu was pulling Yosuke away from her to lay him flat on the ground. Yu was putting his hands on Yosuke's chest and was now doing chest compressions. Chie's eyes grew big at the implications. "No, no, no, no, no, don't you dare. Don't you dare! YOSUKE! You can't...you just..."

Yosuke was suddenly gasping for air and sitting up. I felt Rise at my side and grasping my arm. "What the hell happened?" Yosuke asked trying to catch his breath.

"Your heart stopped beating," Yu said point blank who was sitting back and taking in a deep breath. "You gave us all a scare after you took that hit for Chie-san."

"Is that right?" Yosuke looked over and had little time to react as Chie was suddenly next to him and putting her arms around him.

"You jerk! You stupid jerk! You aren't allowed to do that! You can't...you can't leave me here without you," Chie was muttering as she was trying to regain her composure but failing...instead she was visibly shaking against Yosuke.

"So what I was supposed to let you get hit by that thing? I would change what actions I took here, no matter how much you beg. Do you really think I would ever want that?" Yosuke and Chie probably needed time alone to talk but none of us were going to leave their side in this place. "I'm okay, Chie. Everything is fine now."

"It's not fine Yosuke! You almost died! If you had died then I...I would never be able to tell you how I feel," Chie's voice dropped down and I don't think I could blame her. Maybe now wasn't an ideal time, but we didn't know just how hard the next battle would be. With how tough the Minotaur fight had been...it was obvious that this fight could kill us.

"Then tell me after we leave this place. Because we aren't going to lose, got it?" Yosuke cut it off. Not letting this moment continue on. "We have to keep moving, okay?"

The laugh of Izanami filled the air around us, "So that wasn't enough to break your will? I'm impressed how you managed to survive that attack. Your powers are truly impressive. So as a reward I will tell you. Despair, emptiness, and hope. Those are the three qualities by which I selected those coming from outside of Inaba. You showed the most grounding of the three, Narukami Yu. I would expect nothing less. In which case I cannot wait to personally and directly test your power."

"The three qualities huh?" I repeated.

"So Izanami selected Namatame, Adachi and Yu-senpai based on those specific qualities that she believed they had? And then gave them each power? Just what kind of power does Izanami herself have then?" Rise said it softly as Yosuke was still calming Chie down.

"We have to keep moving," Naoto urged.

"Yosuke-kun, let me heal you a bit more and then we should keep moving," Yukiko urged and summoned her Persona to heal Yosuke a bit more.

This fight had been rough...and we still hadn't gotten to Izanami just yet...


March 20th, 2012 / Daytime
Inside the TV - Yomotsu Hirasaka

RISE'S POINT OF VIEW

Something about this fight unnerved me more than the last one. The last one required well coordinated attacks from all of them in order to just create opportunities to really damage the Minotaur. This Shadow in front of them was known as Sleeping Table. That was what Kouzeon was telling me. Unlike the Minotaur, this Shadow power was in magic, not physical strength.

Right now, Yu, Naoto, Chie and Yukiko were at the front lines and fighting. Kayane and Kanji were making sure Yosuke was fine before they let him fight again. Though it seemed Yukiko's most powerful healing spell had been more than effective to return Yosuke back to fighting form. Still it would be hard to believe he still wasn't feeling the hit he had taken earlier.

"I cannot believe you're still unperturbed, even after stepping so far into my realm," the voice of Izanami was once again trying to distract Yu as he was fighting. All her words were mostly being aimed at him. "One had not the eyes to see things as they were, and failed to awaken to his power. Another chose to avert his eyes from the truth, and allowed evil to taint his awakened power. But not you, Narukami Yu. You've come so far, yet you still yearn for the truth. I wonder what it is that drives you to keep fighting?"

From the way she made it sound, she was legitimately surprised on Yu's power. Even though she's the one who awakened it. Could it be that she had underestimated how far Yu's power could grow? Then all this truly was a fight for Yu. We had to finish this.

The Shadow launched a massive ice attack in all directions. Chie took this chance to charge through it as her Persona was highly resistant to the attack. She landed a powerful kick to the mask but it quickly moved to release another spell, this one of fire. Yukiko rushed in front of Chie with Sumeo-Okami and blocked the fire attack.

"Thunder Reign!" Yu blasted the enemy with a massive lightning strike. It was an amazing skill to behold. Spells that were more powerful than what any of the others could do. It smashed into Sleeping Table and game more than enough time for Yukiko and Chie to retreat back. "Chie! Fall back for now! Looks like this thing wants to fight magic against magic."

"He's right. Teddie, go in there for Chie-chan," I quickly motioned for the replacement. And likely it would be best for Chie to be over with Yosuke.

"I'm on it!" Teddie marched in and immediately started throwing Ice based attacks at the Sleeping Table with his Persona Kamui-Moshiri. "Let's see if you can bear my attacks!"

As Yukiko and Teddie continued to bombard the boss with Fire and Ice, Yu was charging up for a massive attack and Naoto quickly put a protective shield over the group as Sleeping Table looked like it was also charging its own attack.

"Why? Why do you oppose me?" Izanami obviously wasn't about to leave us alone while we were in this place. "You know that I did not choose three pawns in jest. It was all to ascertain what mankind wished for. I learned that man gladly favors falsehood over truth. Thus, I sought to fulfill their desires by shrouding the world in fog."

"So you take a small sample size of the worlds population and deem that everyone favors that? What a load of crap!" Kayane yelled out. "Even if the majority of the world things that way, that never includes everyone!"

"There are a lot of things in this world that we don't see. And it might be true that some of them we'd prefer not to. But not everyone wants to live blindly! There is so much we miss if that were to happen. And we aren't going to give it up!" I found myself adding to it.

Izanami laughed in response, "So you say, but all of this has been chosen by mankind. And whatever strength you possess is still within man's scope and that means, you cannot surpass me!"

"What a bitch! Who does she think she is!? I'll make her eat those words," Yosuke growled and stepped forward.

"Wait, Yosuke," Chie grabbed him.

"Chie, I'm fine. I am not going to sit out of this fight while the rest of you risk your lives. It's because of her that everything went into motion. She gave power to people, like it was some sort experiment. And then people died because of it. Not only that, but she still wants to cover the world in fog. And I refuse to ever let a life like that come into existence. So I have to fight," Yosuke said turning to Chie.

"Yeah, I know. Promise me though, you'll make it out of this. And that you'll listen to me when this is over," Chie spoke softly. I lifted the visor slightly that Kouzeon held over me to get a better look at the two of them. It definitely seemed they were on the verge of taking another step in their relationship. I mean, it had seemed so obvious to most of us for so long that they would. But they had issues they would no doubt have to face along the way. Then again, what relationship didn't? Kayane and I's relationship started because of our circumstances more than anything else.

We met because of this incident, and we got close quickly because of the events that happened after. Us preforming at the culture festival, and our argument and incident we had after was what made us that much closer. Then it was Kayane's Mom that had talked to me about going back into show business with Kayane at my side. I immediately loved the idea but as I thought about how hard it would be for Kayane given his anxiety issues I posed my concern. Naturally she told me that it was the main reason she wanted to do so. She believed that with me supporting him he would be okay. Because if there was ever a need for Kayane to duck out I could cover him.

All of this, no matter how hard it was, I couldn't do something like wish it didn't happen, or anything like that. Because it was only through these incidents that I discovered who I really was and also got to meet and fall in love with Kayane. Someone who I was still learning more and more about every day. And I wanted to keep learning more. I wanted to know what he would do when we were on tour. Nights at different hotels, and long road trips on some days. But I wanted to know about more than that, how would he greet the day if I woke up next to him each day? What would he look like on our wedding day? What kind of names would he want to name our kids? There was questions like that I was eager to learn. That meant I needed to put in as much as I could in everything we did now. All of it was to see my new dream come true. And I wasn't going to let anything get in the way of that.

"Kouzeon!" I summoned my Persona to help restore the group just as Yu released his own attack.

"Loki! Neflheim!" Yu landed a massive pillar of Ice on the Sleeping Table that seemed to freeze the enemy. Naoto followed it up with her Persona Yamato Sumeragi.

"Megidolaon!" A massive light came crashing down on top of the Sleeping Table, shattering it as it was encased in ice. The Table splintered into pieces before it disappeared as all Shadows did when they were defeated.

We quickly reconvened for a moment.

"How foolish," Izanami spoke once more. "Even if you learn of the truth, people will not find joy. What is best for mankind is to return the world to the void of its origin, where they need not shy away from the truth. All that exists will be thick fog and writing shadows. A tranquility called peace, that will last forever. Everything has been wished for and chosen by mankind. And I shall abide by their decision."

"You keep speaking like all of us asked for this, but we didn't!" Kanji let out a growl.

"A world of such ignorance where life would essentially cease. It would be a world where life may not be gone, but no one would be living anything resembling life. We don't care what the rest of the world may desire. Because we each have our own reasons to press on, regardless of what others may say," Naoto added as well. She was definitely getting frustrated about Izanami. She was being insistent that all of mankind wanted this, but I couldn't believe that.

Izanami could be heard laughing once more, "I suppose you all plan to resist to the end, won't you? Then I shall fight for the 'good of mankind' with all my strength. You are but a few pitted against the wishes of many. Your strength is truly astonishing, but you are the exceptions. You will soon reach the place where I am. Now, come, Narukami Yu and your friends. Show me just how far your convictions can take you."

The path in front of us opened up.

"So, she's up ahead, huh?" Kayane was at my side as I dismissed Kouzeon. He silently took my hand in his. "It's going to be harder then the last couple fights."

"We have to do this, if we don't, she'll flood the world with fog again," Yukiko said.

"Well she'll also kill us too," Kanji muttered scratching his head. Naoto who was next to him elbowed him. "What? We all know its true, just sayin'."

"Yes, you're right, I apologize," Naoto let out a sigh. "It's just not a very good thought."

"We've made it so far. We won't fail now. Besides after we beat her, all of this will finally be over," Yosuke added.

"Over? Maybe not. But at the very least she won't be able to awaken the power to other people that come to town," Yu put it in a different way. "This world though, I think is here to stay. So we'll have to be here, to watch over it and protect it anyway we can, right?"

"We each faced parts of ourselves we denied throughout life. For me, it was something I had been running from since I was a child. As odd as it sounds, its only because of this place and the power that Izanami granted that got me here. But I think all of us would not have had the support we needed if it wasn't for Yu and the way he's leaded and helped all of us," Kayane said looking to the others. "This is your fight Yu. In a odd way I feel like this was your dungeon, similar to how all of us had our own."

Yu nodded, "Yeah, I think you're right. But you should all know that it is through all of you that I faced myself and finally saw the person that I wanted to be. And so, I have to ask that all of you fight just one more time. This is for Inaba, our home, a place that holds countless memories for me. And now the girl that I love."

"You know that we all got your back, partner," Yosuke said with a slight grin.

"Let's do this, and give it all we got!" I said cheerfully as I felt my heart beating faster. Looking down the path ahead, I could feel something taken hold of my heart. I was afraid...but I had no idea why. No, we could do this. We would do this. And then the next chapter in our lives could truly begin.


A/N:

I wasn't sure how I wanted to get to all of Izanami's dialogue that happens along the way, so instead I decided to show the Boss fights. Trying to make it seem like Izanami is trying to break their morale along the way. Only one last fight to go.

I couldn't help but put the fight with Margaret in here, as I feel it was a good moment to show more of Yu and also add more foreshadowing since the fighting games are the next in line to come up, and since we all know Elizabeth makes her grand entrance in that time. So yeah, I'm actually excited that I'll be moving onto that in the not too distant future.

I'm guess everyone has seen the new Persona 5 trailer at this point. Looks pretty stylistic and makes me more eager to see whats in store. Well hopefully the release date for the West will be coming soon. Anyway moving on from that...

So some development between Chie and Yosuke here, and I don't think I need to spell out where it is going. I dunno maybe people disagree with that pairing simply because it seems almost too easy. But I feel like the two of them just have gigantic wall between them that prevent them from ever being truly honest with the other, even after both of them knowing what hides in their hearts. Well, Chie wasn't there when Yosuke's Shadow appeared but Yosuke was there for Chie's and I think the two got into a comfortable distance. Not too close, but also close enough that the two talk easily to one another. And its always that relationship where everyone around you almost assumes that they are going to get together at some point, but I think there are some key differences here that stop them. For one, and I did cover it a bit within this story, but Chie never really saw herself as caring for that kind of relationship. She never tries to impress anyone, not until later on. Towards the end, and maybe its just me, but she is a lot more self conscious about her appearance. The extra epilogue shows that Chie is starting to take care of her appearance and look more girly. I guess that's the only way I can think to phrase it at the moment.

Also I think at some point along the way Yosuke starts to believe that there isn't really a girl out there for him. After everything that has happened its kinda hard to believe you could be with someone and have to explain this part of your life to them. All of them in the Investigation Team share the experience, and its only these people that will truly understand what each of them went through. I think Chie just needed a push, which I gave her in a couple ways. There needed to be something that changed the dynamic between the two of them to get them going in a different direction. And well, as intentional as it was on the part of Yu and Yukiko when they invited the pair to the valentines dinner, it was enough to get their views to shift. So what will happen between them? I guess you'll find out soon enough.

Next Chapter is the fight against Izanami. Well...let's see how well it goes for them.

Thanks everyone for your time and reading my fan fiction. I hope you continue to enjoy it as we progress past Persona 4 Golden and into Persona 4 Arena and Ultimax.