Yu rolled into the fall from the Real World to the Shadow World, already beginning to move towards the direction to Yukiko's Castle when he heard yelling and grunts of pain. Alarmed he turned around and drew his new Gunblade, aiming towards the sound of the noise, only instead of danger, he saw Yosuke and Chie clumped together on the floor. Oh yeah… they don't have the experience yet. These aren't my friends I've known for a year. These are my acquaintances that I've known for what, a week now? I shouldn't expect things to go the way they would if they were here. I have to go slower, and pace myself.

"You guys okay? Nothing broken?" He asked, concern filling him. Yosuke he wasn't to worried about, as he had Jiraya now and his Persona should have increased his strength in here, but Chie didn't have that advantage. His concern finally faded when Chie stood up and gave him a thumbs up.

"I'm alright, our things okay?" She gestured to the dufflebag full of medicine, Beads, and Yosuke and Chie's armor and weapons. Yu nodded and set down the bag he was carrying next to the T.V's that they exit through. Yosuke caught his wrenches and spun them around experimentally, trying to get the hang of using them. Chie put on her grieves, and started to walk ahead.

"Satonaka!" Yu called before she could go too far. He gestured to the right, with a "That way." She nodded and started to go that way. Before Yosuke could follow, Yu walked next to him and handed him a few bottles of medicine and a bead. "Hopefully you won't have to use that."

"Hey Yu?" Yosuke asked, his tone slightly concerned. "Where's Teddie?" Yu's eyes widened and he looked around. He's usually here every time we come in. Maybe he's at the Castle?

"Let's worry about him later. As much as I hate to say it, Teddie seems perfectly fine here. Yukiko however, would have to face her Shadow as well. Just like Saki-senpai and Yamano-san. She's more in danger here. Not to mention that Chie doesn't have a Persona either so she's also in dang… DAMN IT, SHE DIDN'T WAIT FOR US!" Yu suddenly noticed that she wasn't in the vicinity anymore. He started to run, slipping on the glasses that Teddie gave him last time. Yosuke was suddenly beside him, glasses also on, determination on his face. With what felt like five minutes of running, the Castle was finally in view with Teddie standing there facing the entrance. "Teddie! Did Chie run past here?" At Teddie's confused stare, Yu elaborated. "The girl we came here with the first time? Brown hair, bowl cut, Green Jacket, Grieves on her legs?" Teddie seemed to remember and nodded.

"Yeah, she ran right by me. She ignored what I was saying about it being dangerous and just went inside!" He seemed very worried, but remembering that this Teddie can't do anything yet, he gently patted him on the head.

"It'll be okay Teddie. Come on, we got some people to save." And the three of them went into the Castle. The whole atmosphere around them seemed to change. Yu unsheathed his Blazefire Saber and took point as they went down the hall. A giant black blob was in the middle of the hallway, blocking their progression. "Yosuke, make sure to not let that touch you. It's a shadow." Yosuke nodded as Yu kneeled and aimed down his gun. He fired one shot, making the blob exploded into a giant Slipping Hablerie. The Fool stood up and began to make his way to the Shadow, but stumbled slightly and fell down. Diadara wasn't kidding. The Ammo of this gun truly is my energy. Guess I'll do this the Old fashion way. "Yosuke, charge at it! Give me a second."

"You got it Partner!" With that Yosuke ran at the Shadow, and slammed one of his wrenches into it's body, and his other one against it's tongue. Before Yu could even summon Izanagi, the Shadow faded from existence. "Whoa! Dude it left money!"

Yu walked over to where the Shadow perished, to find out he was right. Usually, there were little cards going through his mind, but it seems as though that wasn't happening anymore. "I guess that my gun did more damage than I thought… Alright Yosuke, since this gun seems to use my energy, I'll let you take on the next one by yourself. Try to summon your Persona for it. Teddie? Think you can hold onto this for us?" Yosuke nodded and Teddie walked to the Yen.

"Sure thing Sensei!" Once they began to move, another Shadow approached them from behind. It completely avoided Teddie and Yu just managed to dodge it as it sped past.

"Yosuke! Dodge down and to the left!" Surprised by the sudden command, he did as instructed, the only damage happening to his School Jacket. A fire burned in his eyes, and Yosuke whirled around and smacked his Tarot Card that appeared in front of him.

"JIRAYA!" Jiraya appeared behind him, arms crossed. "GARU!" And Yosuke's call to his Persona sprung it into action, uncrossing it's arms and forming a sphere of wind in it's hands. Jiraya then threw the ball of wind at the shadow, causing it to explode into another Hablerie. Just as it turned to face Yosuke, the Magician gave another command. "BASH!" Jiraya raised it's hands up high before slamming into the Shadow, causing it to disappear.

Yu smiled. "Nice going, Yosuke!" The Junes Heir threw a thumbs up towards him. They both moved onwards until they reached the stairs leading up towards the next floor of the Castle. In front of them was a large door, with yelling coming from the opposite side.

"YOU'RE NOT ME!" came Chie's voice, followed by laughter. Damn, how did that happen so fast!?

"Let's go!" Yosuke cried as Yu kicked open the door. Chie was unconcious in the middle of the floor, and her Shadow, which still seemed like a weird Dominatrix, was getting ever closer to the downed girl. Yu quickly pulled out his Blazefire Saber and shot a few times at the Shadow.

"YOU! HOW DARE YOU ATTACK ME? HOW DARE YOU SIDE WITH THE OTHER, LESSER ME!?" In a rage, she ignored her other self and charged at the Fool and Magician.

"Yosuke, behind me!" Yu raised Goddess's grace and braced himself for the impact as Yosuke slid behind him. Teddie was standing away from the battle trying to stealthily get closer to Chie, and just as she started to pull her away, the Shadow turned and roared at the bear.

"YOU'LL BE NEXT BEAR!" Teddie, the brave fool, kept tugging at Chie to try and get her to move, completely ignoring the Shadow starting to charge towards him. Yu however, wasn't going to let Teddie be hurt again.

"IZANAGI! ZIO!" With a mighty cry, Yu reached out and crushed his Tarot Card, summoning the Father of Japan to strike the Shadow with lightning. Yosuke swiped his own Tarot Card calling forth his own Persona, sending a wind blast at the Shadow, knocking it over. Something clicked in Yu's mind, and he pulled Yosuke over. "On the count of three, send out your strongest Garu okay?"

"You got it Partner!" Was his answer. Chie's Shadow charged them once again, long hair following its body.

"One…." Yosuke summoned Jiraya, and Yu summoned Izanagi. "Two…" In Izanagi's off hand, a ball of lightning formed in his hand. Jiraya had a ball of wind in each hand, charging up. The Shadow was now a meter away from them. "THREE!" Izanagi and Jiraya both threw their orbs of power, the Wind cutting through a large portion of the Shadow's hair, and slamming into its stomach, while the lightning went through the chest of the Shadow. With a loud cry, the Shadow dissolved around them, leaving a Chie look-alike next to them, with the Aura around it a deep blue and it's eyes a burning yellow.

The actual Chie began to stir in Teddie's Arms, and eventually opened her eyes. She got up and looked surprised to see both Yu and Yosuke there. Her eyes eventually zeroed in on her Shadow and was about to say something before Yu spoke up. "Chie-san." Her eyes widened, and stared at Yu, blushing slightly. Once again, before any words could be said, Yu spoke up. "No matter what Chie, we won't think any less of you. It doesn't matter what your Shadow said. She could've said that you were deeply in love with Yukiko for all I care. She's still apart of you. She is you just as much as you are her. She may have overstated somethings, but whatever she said held some truth to it. You have to accept her Chie, or you won't be able to live with yourself… or in general. Saki-senpai and Yamano-san, they both denied their Shadows and died. You have to actually accept your Shadow, Chie, or they'll go berserk again. I won't judge you for it." Surprisingly, Yosuke also spoke up.

"No matter what Chie-san, we will both support you. Should you ever need us to help you out, you can count on us okay?" Chie began to tear up and took a few steps towards her Shadow.

"You know maybe you are right. Maybe I am pathetic. Maybe I do fail as a girl, as a person. Maybe I do rely on Yukiko to feel a bit better about myself. And you know what? Even though I'm jealous of her, I'll still give it my all to protect her. You are right about all of that. Because… You're me and I'm you."

"Thank you…" was all the Shadow was able to say before it hugged it's human counterpart and faded into her Persona, Tomoe. Chie staggered slightly and began to fall before Teddie caught her.

"Thanks you guys. If you didn't show up, who knows what would've happened." Chie said, trying to lighten the mood. A flash of a dead, legless Chie covered in blood flashed in front Yu's mind. He did his best to hide his grimace and tried to change the subject.

"My apologies for my Rudeness earlier. I felt as it would have been the best way to help you, Satonaka-san. Please forgive me." With that said, he bowed. Chie just giggled.

"Well you did kinda save my life. Both you and Yosuke. So I think it's fine if the two of you call me Chie without any of the honorifics. My head's killing me… are you two wearing glasses?" Yosuke answered her.

"Yeah, Teddie made them. You probably need some in order to see in here anyways. Here, take mine. I'll just stick with Teddie, and that way we can try and get you to safety." In his hand was his set of glasses, and he carefully set them upon her face, allowing her to be able to see around them. Chie nodded but then spoke up about something that was bothering her.

"What about Yukiko?" That was the main question that needed to be answered. With the events taking place sooner than expected, who is to say that the fog couldn't come tomorrow? Then Yukiko would be… Yu cleared his head of his thoughts again.

"You two, go back the the entrance of the T.V. world. I'll go on ahead and get Amagi-san. Should you both feel up to it, come on back here and meet me near the top. I'll most likely be dealing with her Shadow, so if you can't make it all the way up to the top, try and clear out the first few floors. That'll make it easier for us to escape with Yukiko. Who knows how long she's been here anyway, as time does not seem to go while we are in here. Partner, I'm counting on you to keep her safe until she can actually move around and use her Persona." With a nod and what seemed to be a burst in confidence, Yosuke lead the three of them back to the entrance. With a smile, Yu went through the room and open up the next door to see a sight he was not expecting. It was Shadow Yukiko and…

"Yukiko?" It wasn't the missing Inn Manager in training, it was the Yukiko of the last year, his Priestess. She wasn't moving, just laying there on the ground with Shadow Yukiko looking at her in sadness.

"She's not going to wake up, dear Fool." The Shadow explained as Yu ran to her side. Yu looked up at her questioningly, trying to understand what was going on with the Shadow. "We both know what must happen. You will eventually fight me as the other me will deny my existence. I've seen what happens to us, from her eyes." Here the Shadow knelt next to the fallen Priestess. "I did everything I could to protect us that day. But then Chie-san died, and the other me felt rage, hatred and pain. And I morphed into… that monstrosity. Can you protect us this time around? Will you be able to save all of our lives this time?" It seems as though Yukiko's old Persona merged with her shadow.

"I can't guarantee that Konohana-san. I'll do everything I can to protect them from dying. Even if it means my life. I promise I'll do everything I can to stop the fog so that no-one will die this time!" Yu's voice rose from a whisper to a shout. He wasn't really shouting at her though, and she seemed to understand. I can't let them die again. I WON'T LET THEM DIE. Yu was surprised though, when he felt arms wrap around him. It was his Yukiko, sitting up and holding him.

"I believe you. I… will never leave you… Yu-san." And with that she began to glow a faint blue light, and was absorbed into him. In her place, was a Tarot Card, of the Priestess Arcana. It was a Persona, Sumeo-Okami. Time seemed to stop and a loud echoing voice sounded around him.

"Thou art I... And I am thou... Thou hast established a genuine bond... The innermost power of the Priestess Arcana has been set free. We bestow upon thee Sumeo-Okami, the ultimate form of the Priestess Arcana. Know that even in Death, your bond shall always give you strength." When time resumed, Shadow Yukiko was gone, presumably going back to her other self. Yu stood and moved to the exit of the floor to proceed upward. As he reached the next floor, he was surrounded by multiple shadows of varying types, from Basalts and Hands, to Halberies and Cupids. The Fool crushed his new Tarot Card, and with a mighty cry summoned the Persona that represented his bond and time with Yukiko.

"SUMEO-OKAMI! MARAGIDYNE!"

The magical fire consumed all of the Shadows around them, and Yu collapsed in exhaustion. He noticed a small card with a cup on it and dragged himself over to it. Once it was in his hand, it faded in a faint blue light, and his energy was restored. Yu slowly staggered to his feet and began making his way back up the castle. He owed it to Konohana and Yukiko to save this Yukiko. He wasn't going to let them perish here.

Can you still move on? Should you not rest? Came Izanagi's voice through his head.

It's not a question of can or can't me. He thought to himself. Somethings in life you just do.