Daichi: Might as well get things moving a bit more, maybe reach proper plot advancement at some point… more specifically, how far I can get things off the rails before Izanami gets too upset.

Verity: We don't own this stuff… be very grateful for that.

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With the glasses that Teddie had provided on the way back, Souji was more able to appreciate the world around him… well, appreciate might not have been the right word for it. Comprehend, more like.

Amongst other things, he now completely believed that this world was where Ryoji and Metis made their home, if only because the area he and Yosuke were led back to actually looked lived-in. Well, as much as a tv station could, anyway. A couple of mattresses covered in blankets and clothing, a discarded schoolbag lying off to the side, a pack of batteries next to a portable game console…

"It doesn't look like much, does it?" Ryoji idly commented. "But it's cheaper than an apartment, which helps when none of us can actually cook. I tried, once. It came out like something Fuuka-chan would make."

Souji wasn't sure who this Fuuka was, but decided to take the older boy's word for it. He'd had his own experiences with bad food thanks to the back of his refrigerator, anyway.

"Yeah, can't imagine you'd live here if you had another choice," Yosuke remarked. "I feel drained just being here."

"Here, have a soda." Souji blinked at the cans that Ryoji had somehow produced from nowhere. "Don't worry about the cans. Just toss them outside of the station when you're done, and they should vanish within an hour or so."

"Hey, thanks!" Yosuke grabbed a can and popped it open. However, Souji was a bit more hesitant.

"Where did you get these?"

"Vending machines. Practically live off of them."

"...That can't be healthy."

"Probably not," The blue-eyed Persona User agreed. "Easier than takeout, though. Do you know how hard it is to get people to deliver to random televisions?" He was pretty sure that was a joke. Maybe.

"Aren't you going to ask them what they're doing here?" Teddie asked. "For all we know, they could be the ones messing stuff up!"

"Why would we throw Saki-senpai into a television? Yosuke likes her." Souji immediately ducked, letting Jiraiya's gust of wind pass harmlessly through the space above his head. He considered retaliating with Izanagi, but thought better of it. Breezes were a lot easier to control than electric shocks.

"Right, sorry," The bear laughed. "It's just… this place used to be so peaceful. Sure, the Shadows didn't like it when the fog left, but we could do things without worrying about if they'd attack us."

"Saki-chan denied her Shadow, too," Ryoji explained. "She survived because I was there with Teddie and Thanatos. Metis came across the announcer, the day before her body was found, but she was blown away."

"So, whoever it is knew that this world could hurt people, even kill them, and still threw Saki-senpai in?"

"Most likely. Don't worry about it, though. Metis and I can probably handle most Shadows, you don't have to get involved." That sounded nice. He could just go home, pretend none of the past few days had ever happened… constantly worry about just what was going on.

"Senpai, that doesn't sound like the best idea," Souji pointed out. "I mean, you and Yuki-san probably have it hard enough trying to survive here. And it's not just this side being affected."

"You want to help us?" Teddie bounced on the spot in glee.

"I'm pretty sure I've actually cracked, but…"

"You're absolutely sure about this?" Ryoji's eyes flashed, but with what, Souji couldn't say. "Once you get deep enough down this rabbit hole of Shadows and Personas, there's no coming out."

"I'm sure." He wasn't, not really, but he felt he was being pulled in this direction by some force he could only vaguely notice. "Yosuke?"

"I'm in." And that was that.

He barely even noticed the voices talking about the Fool Arcana.

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The hospital was far from a cheery place at the best of times. Saki had never given it much thought, before, but barely being able to move gave someone a lot of time to think. Even if she still wasn't entirely sure why she was there in the first place.

The slight memory loss could probably be explained by the concussion. Maybe. The mind-numbing fog might have had something to do with it as well, but she was pretty sure it was the concussion, because there was no way Ryoji could actually do something that awesome.

Except she couldn't have hallucinated the whole thing, or she wouldn't have Kuebiko. Not that she was sure whether having him would be a good thing or not just yet. It hadn't even been a day, after all.

People were already wondering how she'd gotten so badly injured. She claimed not to remember anything, because a vague blur and whatever that foggy Inaba was made a lot less sense than forgetting everything due to a concussion, even if it meant her parents worried more.

As if there was anything to worry about, really. Whoever it was wouldn't have sent her there if they had a better option, and she felt she could defend herself now, the thing that had once been the greatest danger to her now locked safely away inside her head. Well… she could defend herself if she could move. Okay, she could see how there might be a bit of a problem.

Not that anybody showed up. No, it was just her, sitting there and wondering just what had even happened. Ryoji had told her not to worry, that he'd figure everything out. It would probably have helped if she had a lot more faith in Ryoji.

It was decided, then. As soon as she could, she'd figure out if there was anything she could do herself.

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Verity: With her scarecrow that has barrier skills and no elemental attacks but Hama. I think that's the farthest you can get from being a frontline fighter without being a Scanner.

Daichi: Hey, not everyone can be Naoto. Next time, the party tries to recruit Chie with promises of meat. It's probably not going to end well.