Review Replies!

UltimateKuuga: That it is! We're starting to get into the thick of it, now!

Unsung Senpai: Yup, that was always a criticism I had of the P4 anime. So, hopefully I can capture the sort of action I had in my mind in my writing. As for Yui's character, I actually purposefully designed her as an antithesis to Yu; much like how Atlus designed the P3 heroes as drastically different, yet similar, that's the direction I went in with Yui, as well. It's even reflected in her design; Yu's got dull, silver hair which, along with his usual wardrobe, sticks him in a fairly monochrome palette, whereas Yui wears a green jacket over her uniform and dyes her hair purple, standing out much more.

Vangran: That's what I was aiming to do! As mentioned above, I had full intention on trying to make her basically the male protag's polar opposite while maintaining what makes the protagonist the team's leader in the first place (mainly the ability to make decisions while keeping their head).

Chapter 3: A Bond of Ice and Fire

April 16, Early Morning, Cloudy

As Yui walked to school that morning, still somewhat sore, she couldn't help but think back to yesterday's events. If the pain still lingering in her body wasn't a clear indication of otherwise, she'd almost have thought that it was a dream. However, that train of thought brought to mind another memory, courtesy of her second visit to that mysterious place she had dreamed of on the train to Inaba. The Velvet Room.

Sitting across from her in the familiar limousine interior was, once again, the long-nosed man. She hadn't been able to recall his name right away, but now that she had time to ponder on the mysterious happenings, she was able to remember that it was Igor. It'd only been a few days since Yui first met him and Margaret, so she was somewhat surprised that it took her this long to put his name to that very unique face of his.

"Welcome," Igor had said. "Do not be alarmed. You are fast asleep in the real world... I have summoned you within your dreams." Back when this first happened, she'd been skeptical about visiting such a room in her dreams, of all things, but considering everything she'd gone through that day, she had an easier time believing it, now. Not to mention this was the second time it'd happened, and unlike most reoccurring dreams, it wasn't simply a repeat of the same events. Further reinforcing the reality of the visit was the strange, blue key she'd found on her person when she awoke.

As Igor and Margaret spoke to her, she learned a bit of the nature of the Velvet Room, about how one normally needed to enter into a contract of some sort to visit the room, and that Yui's awakening to her power was, effectively, the very contract she needed. Upon explanation, it was then that the very key she now had in her possession was bestowed onto her. How she ended up with it when it was given to her in a dream was never quite explained, but it was just a key, right?

Then Yui recalled the next events, and a small sense of unease settled into her stomach; the "price" Igor had her agree to in order for his and Margaret's "assistance". What the assistance was, she was unsure, but when Yui remembered that his request was that she assume responsibility for all decisions that she made, it seemed a little too... simple for her. She half-expected there to be some sort of "fine print", so to speak, but something in the back of her head told her that she'd probably need their help, whatever it was. If nothing else, though, she did get some explanations from Igor.

When he spoke of Personas and explained the concept behind them, he also explained that she, compared to others, was unique. She took a moment to recall what he had called it, before remembering. The "Wild Card". How it was empty, yet infinite in potential, and how Personas were the power to control one's heart, which were strengthened by the bonds forged with others. Yui's memories of the meeting grew foggy after that point, however, no matter how hard she tried to recall them. She must've been focusing particularly hard, however, as she didn't notice Yosuke approaching her on his bike until he was right next to her.

"Yo," he said. "You saw what was on last night, right?" Yui did little else but blink in silence for a moment as she wondered what Yosuke was talking about. Last night? Then it hit her; it was raining last night, wasn't it? She'd been so exhausted that she didn't even think to check.

"Ah," she said. "No, I didn't think to." Yosuke seemed a bit surprised, with how much thought Yui put into their escapades in the TV realm, that she'd dropped the ball on such a thing.

"Oh, well, uh," he said. "Someone else appeared on the Midnight Channel, last night. I couldn't tell who it was, but if someone's shown up on there, we can't ignore it, right?" Yui gave a nod.

"Yeah," she said. "Let's go check it out after school. Maybe Teddie can tell us something." Sure, she was still sore from yesterday, but it wasn't anything she wasn't used to. She was no stranger to exerting herself even after a hard workout, so powering through this soreness would be easy for her.

"If it turns out someone was thrown in again," Yosuke said. "There really might be a culprit behind all this. Even if it is something about that place that's killing the victims, if someone's using that world as a weapon, that's unforgivable. We need to find the culprit... no matter what it takes!" His passion for catching the one at fault didn't come as much surprise to Yui. After all, considering everything he'd gone through, plus what his Shadow had gotten him to admit, she understood why he'd be so gung-ho about stopping this.

"Yeah," Yui said. "After all, there's no way the police would believe that someone's killing people by throwing them into televisions. Besides, I want to keep my word to Teddie, too." Yui's response got an eager smile out of Yosuke.

"Totally," he said. "A promise is a promise. And, you know... I tried sticking my head into the TV last night, the way you did, and it actually worked." On one hand, Yui hadn't expected him to try that. But, on the other hand, she wasn't exactly surprised once he made the revelation.

"That makes sense," she said. "I guess that means it's linked to the power, not me specifically." Yosuke nodded, seeing her logic.

"Persona, wasn't it?" He said. "It could be that we got this power from someone specifically so we could solve the case." Yosuke gave a small pause, looking at Yui with an inquisitive look for a few moments. The stare made her raise an eyebrow, mentally questioning what he was doing, but before she could voice her query, he continued to speak.

"Then again," he said. "You managed to go inside the TV and get your Persona first. I feel like, as long as you're here, I can find the culprit and crack this case, Minamoto. So, let's do our best!" With a confidant grin, Yosuke held his hand out towards Yui, who gave it a brief look before looking back up at him and giving his hand a firm handshake. She could feel how hard he was trying to move on despite everything that had been thrown his way, and how much he already seemed to trust her... And, in that moment, she suddenly had a flash of memory back to the Velvet Room, as if it had been waiting for this moment. She could tell it was during that foggy point in her memory of the previous night's visit to the Velvet Room, but not right where it'd left off. Rather, this seemed to be a little further into the discussion...

"The Magician Arcana," Igor had said, revealing a tarot card from the deck he held. "It is the first step on the Fool's journey, and it represents initiative, self-confidence, immaturity, and the power to make use of one's skills properly. A bond you forge in the name of this Arcana will most certainly involve moving forward in life, in mind, and in heart. And, in doing so, you will learn to temper yourselves into stronger individuals with even stronger convictions."

As the memory passed, she wondered what exactly Igor had meant by the "Fool's journey", but she quickly realized something. Did this mean that her newly-blossoming friendship with Yosuke was represented by this... "Magician Arcana"? As they continued on their way to school, she took the time to think on it more, wondering what the purpose of her hazy memory was, and why only one part of it was revealed. Would she learn more if she met with other people who represented the other cards? For now, she shook it out of her mind; time would tell, and Igor seemed the type to only say as much as was necessary, anyways.

"By the way," she said, turning her full attention back to Yosuke. "You don't have to call me 'Minamoto'. Just 'Yui' is fine. Was never big on formality and shit." Her request caught Yosuke off-guard, prompting him to stop for a brief second, only to pick his pace back up to match hers.

"Oh, uh, sure," he said. "I thought you might not, but, y'know, better safe than sorry, right?" Yosuke gave a carefree laugh, to which Yui simply shrugged. She wasn't a mind reader, but she had a pretty good idea as to why; she was taller than he was by a smidge, she'd bitched out a teacher in her introduction on her first day, and now he knew how good in a fight she was. He'd probably been too intimidated to be anything but respectful. Still, it was like she said; Yui didn't care much for formality, and if they were going to be working together on this case, she'd rather him be relaxed and casual around her than nervous and intimidated.

Once they arrived at school, the two took some time to talk a bit more about some random theories before classes started and see if any of them stuck with what little information they had, but they had no such luck. Just as they finished striking another idea off of their theory list, the classroom door slid open abruptly, immediately followed by Chie rushing into the room and looking around frantically. When she noticed Yosuke and Yui, she ran over to them, still looking panicked. Despite that, Yosuke turned to her, apparently thinking she might still be upset over yesterday.

"Uh, Chie!" He said. "Um, about yesterday... We're sorry we worried you." Chie lifted a hand to wave it off, looking over her shoulder briefly before turning back to them.

"Never mind that," she said. "Is Yukiko still not here?" When the two of them confirmed that they, in fact, hadn't seen Yukiko yet that day, Chie's concern grew as she began to pace back and forth. Finally, she stopped herself before looking at the two with a mix of concern and desperation across her face.

"Oh man," she said. "What should I do...? Is that stuff you were talking about for real? You know, all that about how people showing up on the Midnight Channel is related to that other world..."

"Oh, we were just talking about that," Yosuke said. "We were thinking about checking it out later." Chie's lips pursed for a brief moment, taking a deep breath before exhaling softly, as though she didn't want to believe what she was about to say.

"The person on TV last night," she said. "...I think it was Yukiko. That kimono looked like the one she wears at the inn, and she wore it during that interview, too... I got worried, so I emailed her last night, but she hasn't responded... I called her earlier in the evening, though, and she said she'd be at school, today..." It seemed like Chie was on the verge of hysterics, prompting Yosuke and Yui to do their best to calm her down before continuing along that train of thought.

"So," Yosuke said. "You still haven't heard from her?" When Chie affirmed that she hadn't, Yui took the time to explain what they had learned in the other world as best as she could. It was a little difficult, considering she didn't fully understand it, either, and they mostly just had theories to go on, but she felt like she managed to get her point across well enough.

"What's that supposed to mean...?" Chie said. "Wait, are you saying... Yukiko was thrown in there?!" Before Chie became hysterical again, Yosuke had to explain that they weren't certain yet, and that making sure she was still okay was their main priority. To do so, he had Chie call her once again. However, it went to voice mail, which only worried the group more.

"Would she have her phone on if she was helping out at the inn?" Yui said. It was one possibility; she knew that in restaurants, workers weren't allowed to keep their phones on their persons while on-duty, so it might be the same case for someone working at an inn. Yui's idea brought some hope back to Chie's face, who quickly had the idea to call the front desk and ask for her. Relief was added to her expression as someone picked up on the other end, and after a quick exchange, Chie hung up, breathing a sigh of relief before explaining Yukiko's situation... only to practically explode in Yosuke's face right after.

"For crying out loud, Yosuke!" She said. "You got me worried over nothing! She was totally fine, and you were all 'Is Yukiko-san inside that place...?'!" Yosuke was quick to apologize but explained their initial train of thought – that people showed up on TV because they were already inside. Considering they were clearly incorrect, they made plans to meet up after school at Junes and figure out what was going on.

April 16, After School, Rain

The electronics section of Junes proved to be particularly busy this afternoon, which was apparently highly unusual. While they waited for the crowd to thin out, Yui went over the details of yesterday's events in greater detail to Chie, who'd otherwise been left out. However, the explanation took less time than they'd hoped, especially when Yosuke cut Yui short to avoid her going on about his experiences with his Shadow, so the area was still as lively as it had been.

"Ugh," Yosuke said. "I can't believe I forgot there's a sale in this department today... We can't go in to ask Teddie like this." The trio stood in silence for a few moments before an idea seemed to come to Yosuke, who motioned for Yui to follow him as he approached the TV, telling Chie to stand on the other side of her.

"Try sticking your hand in and calling him over," he said. "I bet that bear's wandering around the entrance, anyway." When Chie took her position, the two doing their best to obscure Yui from view, she stuck her hand in and made a beckoning motion... only to feel a pair of teeth clamp down on her hand. Out of reflex, she yanked her hand back, wincing lightly. Yosuke voiced his concern a little too loudly, though, prompting Chie to shush him.

"Agh," Yui said. "I think the fucker bit me... Stupid goddamn bear..." Leaning in, Yui spoke in an irritated tone, a little louder than her mutter earlier, but still low enough to avoid drawing attention.

"All right," she said. "I know you're in there, what the hell was that for?" Surprisingly, and yet not, Teddie's voice came out of the TV. She'd honestly half-expected it to not work, but hey, it made her seem like she knew what she was doing.

"Is that you, Sensei?" Teddie said. "Sorry, I thought someone was trying to throw someone in again! Is this a game or something?" Leaning in, Yosuke chimed in, while still blocking the view of Yui as best as he could.

"No, it's not a game!" He said. "Can you sense anyone in that world right now?" Teddie's reply was surprisingly simple, as he simply informed them that he was alone at the moment. Even after they pressured him to make sure, he insisted he was certain. With their hypothesis now shot full of holes, Chie decided that safe was better than sorry and decided to warn Yukiko anyways, and Yosuke and Yui resolved to watch the Midnight Channel that night just to make sure.

"Oh, by the way," Yosuke said. "What's your cell number? It'd probably be easier to plan this stuff if we could get a hold of each other ASAP." Nodding in agreement, Yui exchanged her number with Yosuke before heading home.

April 16, Evening, Rain

When she arrived back at the Dojima household, Yui took notice of Nanako watching TV alone, as she expected. She could tell Nanako had been hoping her dad was home, because the little girl had half-risen from her seat at the table, only to sit back down with a disappointed-sounding greeting as Yui walked in instead of Dojima. Sure, she didn't expect to be greeted with hugs and smiles, but it still kind of annoyed her that she was a forethought. As a result, Yui grumbled a greeting back before heading straight upstairs.

Fifteen minutes later, Yui realized just how little she'd actually brought along for her stay. Sure, she had some books and music she'd brought, but she'd already read through all of the books at least twice each already, and she wasn't the type who could pass hours just by letting a CD play and relaxing on the couch. In fact, most of what she had brought was simply just used as decoration for the shelf, to make it seem like she did something of value in her room besides sleep. Sadly, looks was about as far as it got.

So, instead, Yui turned on the TV, eventually managing to let her mind settle on a documentary channel, although she, admittedly, only paid partial attention. It wasn't until she heard Dojima come home that she decided to check the clock, realizing it was already almost 11:30. Turning off the TV and her room lights, Yui switched on her desk lamp and decided to burn the rest of her time paging through one of her textbooks until the telltale sound of a signal coming through on her television prompted her to get up and investigate it.

Unlike the last time she'd checked the Midnight Channel, the image was incredibly clear. Yosuke's description of what he'd seen last night made it clearer to her that this was highly unusual, and that sense only grew when the image shown was Yukiko in what looked to be some sort of princess costume, holding a microphone, and speaking like she was some sort of television host. What threw Yui off even more is that Yukiko was talking about "hunting studs", and gleefully talking about finding a harem before skipping along into the castle in the background. As the program faded, Yui was left dumbfounded, only shaken from her stupor by her cell phone going off on the table, which she picked up.

"H-Hey, did you see that?!" It was, naturally, Yosuke on the other line, who seemed to be panicking about the whole situation. She could certainly understand why, since just when they thought they'd figured everything out, a bunch of new things came out of the woodwork to prove them wrong.

"Calm down," Yui said. "You've got Chie's number, right? Try and get a hold of her, see if she can get a hold of Yukiko."

"R-Right," Yosuke said. "Tomorrow's Sunday, so let's meet up at Junes first thing in the morning!" With their plans set, Yui hung up, wondering if Yukiko was still safe or if now she actually was inside the television world. Considering it was already late, though, she decided to go to bed and get some rest just in case they actually did have to go in to rescue her.

April 17, Daytime, Clear

After taking a shower and getting dressed, Yui grabbed her suburitō and made her way downstairs to find Nanako sitting alone, once more. Looking around, there definitely wasn't any sign of Dojima being around, which concerned her. Did he really not have a single day off so far? Sure, there was the problems with the murders going on, but there had to be more than just him working. Nanako seemed to catch on to her concern, explaining quickly.

"Dad left already," she said. "He said he's gonna be late, again. Are you going somewhere? I'll be fine by myself." Almost as if to prove it, Nanako turned on the television, with the weather announcer stating just in time that it'd remain clear all weekend, which caused Nanako to remark that she should do some laundry so that it'd dry. While she wasn't totally convinced Nanako was fine with being alone, she figured the girl could handle things responsibly. Besides, her business was important, so after stating that she was going to head out, Yui did just that and left for Junes.

When she arrived, it was clear that she was the first one to do so, as she saw Yosuke nowhere at the food court. Deciding to kill some time, she made her way to the stationery section of the store and bought some cheap folding paper before returning to the food court and taking a seat. It'd been a while since she'd made some origami, after all, and she had time to kill, so it couldn't hurt to practice...

12 years ago...

"Ory-gamy?" The little girl, six years old, said, looking up at her family's head maid. She'd just come home from her first day at kindergarten, crying because some other kids had made fun of her for not being able to write her own name legibly. When she explained it to the maid, the woman, who seemed to be in her mid-30's, decided to take her shopping.

"That's right," the maid said. "Origami is folding paper into looking like little animals." Arriving at the bookstore, the head maid brought the girl over to the section with instruction booklets, and found an origami book aimed towards children, where she pointed a few of the papercrafts out to the girl.

"See?" She said. "They look cute, but they're a little complicated to make." Back at home, the maid worked on some of the simpler designs with the girl, and while the maid was able to make hers at least loosely resemble the ones in the book, the girl clearly struggled, her fingers apparently unable to fold the paper as precisely as needed, causing her to start to cry in frustration.

"Now, now," the maid said. "I know it's frustrating now, but keep practicing, okay Yui-chan? It seems too hard, now, but with time and practice, you'll be able to make the bigger animals by memory alone, and then you'll look back on your frustration and laugh at how you thought you'd never do it."

April 17, Daytime, Clear

Yui looked at the origami giraffe she'd just finished making with a nod of satisfaction. Sure enough, recalling that memory was rather amusing to her. To this day, she found it hard to pick up a new skill if it involved her fine motor skills, but sticking with it always worked out in the end for her. It seemed she'd finished just in time, though, because she saw Yosuke approaching in the distance, and tucked the rest of her folding paper away into her jacket.

"Yo," he said. "Sorry for the hold-up. I dug up some stuff we can use in the closet at home!" It looked to Yui like he was meaning to surprise her with it, though, because he had his hands held behind his back. With a grin, Yosuke pulled his hands out to reveal a katana and a tanto in his hands.

"We've got our Personas," he said. "But a wooden sword and some wrenches aren't that reliable of weapons. Granted, the blades are fake, but it's better than nothing, right?" Yui admitted, she didn't think finding those was what had him tied up, but it was surprisingly good planning, in her opinion.

"Well," she said. "The wrenches, sure, but I've used this baby in plenty of fights, so it's pretty reliable to me."

"Huh, really?" Yosuke said. "Then which one should I... Heh, maybe I should dual-wield these puppies!" Yosuke suddenly started striking a number of poses, as if he was a character in a manga or video game, all of which really demonstrated to Yui just how little actual fighting experience he had. Out of the corner of her eye, though, Yui caught wind of a familiar sight – a police officer speaking into his radio, and what she and Yosuke could hear from him made it clear he was reporting in about them.

"A suspicious young man and woman found, both armed with multiple weapons," he said. "Requesting backup." Yui sighed and stood up as the officer approached them, and before she could do damage control, Yosuke started running at the mouth, doing a poor job of explaining things, and only made things worse when he began to flail around in a panic with both of the weapons still in hand. As more officers approached, Yui grabbed Yosuke and shook her head, knowing that freaking out would only continue to worsen things, though that didn't make her being brought to the police station with Yosuke any more enjoyable for her...

After a pair of lengthy interrogations, the two were finally released, although Yui had to argue soundly – and loudly – in order to keep possession of her wooden sword. Thankfully, the argument that she could pick up any old branch and use it in a similar manner and that the sword had sentimental value to her seemed to work, but the confrontation still left a bitter taste in her mouth, especially when Yosuke grouped back up with her, telling her that he could hear that argument from outside. What only made things worse was the two being approached by Dojima, of all people.

"And here I was hoping I wouldn't see you here like this, Yui," he said. "You know what's been going on around town. We've got men stationed everywhere. You're lucky I was around, or this would've just added to your permanent record." Yosuke became visibly surprised when he heard that Yui already had marks on her record, before stepping up a bit.

"Sorry, it's my fault, Dojima-san," he said. "I-I'd just heard that she'd been in a few scraps, and since we've been hanging out for the past couple of days, I... kinda wanted to impress her..." Dojima gave Yosuke a long, hard look before sighing and rubbing at the bridge of his nose.

"Fine," he said. "You're free to go, but we're still keeping the weapons, fake or not. ...With a clear exception, of course. We don't need you two scaring the locals, understand?" Yui gave a reluctant nod, only holding herself back from snarking to avoid having her suburitō confiscated, as well. As Dojima went on his way and the two began to leave, they passed by a couple of detectives who were speaking surprisingly openly about Yukiko, talking about how she'd disappeared.

"Hey," Yosuke said. "Did you hear that...? So she really is...!" Before they could continue their discussion, another plainclothes detective holding a cup of coffee nearly ran into them.

"Whoa," he said. "Pardon me... Huh? Wait a sec, aren't you the kid staying at Dojima-san's place?" Yui gave a small nod in confirmation, but before he could ask anything more, Yosuke stepped in, asking about Yukiko and if something happened to her.

"Huh? Oh," the detective said. "Umm, am I allowed to say...? Well, if you're friends with Ms. Amagi... Keep this between us, okay? We got a call from her parents yesterday evening, saying they couldn't find her anywhere." Hearing the confirmation for themselves, Yui and Yosuke exchanged a look before the detective continued, explaining how nobody had noticed her disappearance due to how busy the Amagi Inn has been, lately, before asking if she'd said anything unusual.

"That announcer, Ms. Yamano?" He said. "Well, it turns out she was staying at the Amagi Inn before she got murdered. It seems she had some harsh words for the manager about how they treated their guests, and the stress of it caused the manager to collapse." Yui didn't like where this was going, and her concerns were well-placed, as he made it clear that some theories were abound that, rather than disappearing, she was laying low for some reason. As soon as he realized that he might've said a little too much, though, Dojima's voice came from around the corner, shouting for an "Adachi".

"S-Sorry!" He said. "I got it right here! Hey, forget I said anything, guys, okay?" The man they now identified as Adachi was quick to hurry off, leaving Yui and Yosuke to stew on what they'd just learned as they made their way to leave. As they did, they spotted Chie entering.

"There you are!" She said. "What are you guys doing?! I saw you get dragged off into police cars and had to come all the way here!"

"Uh, well," Yosuke said. "There was a slight misunderstanding... We'll tell you about it later. Anyways, something's up with Yukiko-san!" His words seemed to surprise Chie, who was quick to explain that Yukiko never answered her phone, and that she'd found out that Yukiko had disappeared when she went to check up on her in person. That news solidified their decision to head inside and rescue her, but before they left, Yosuke explained to Chie about the police's suspicions that they'd just learned about, which angered Chie. Her snapping only served to irritate Yosuke, which left the both of them agitated.

"Calm down, guys," Yui said. "Standing here getting pissed off won't save Yukiko." Her words had their desired effect, as they quickly realized what was important at the moment and nodded, but when Chie expressed her intent on joining them, Yui pursed her lips while Yosuke scratched his head.

"Well," he said. "Before we decide on who's doing what, we need to do something about our weapon situation, since they just confiscated... Well, mine, anyways."

"Weapons, huh?" Chie said. "I know just the place!" With an unusual amount of eagerness, Chie lead the two out of the police station and off to the shopping district, where they found an unusual-looking store that was apparently named "Daidara Metalworks". On the inside, it was warmer than usual, and lining the counters and shelves were a variety of tools, weapons, and armor.

"Why would you know about a place like this?" Yosuke said. "Oh, I get it... You watched one too many kung-fu movies, and..."

"It's not that at all!" Chie said. "I overheard some guys in our class talk about it! They said this place sells weapons and armor." With the explanation out of the way, the three began to browse the equipment until Yosuke brought up the subject of Chie joining them.

"I dunno, Chie..." He said. "I still think it's too dangerous. I know how you feel, but -" Before he could continue, Chie turned and snapped at him.

"You don't!" She said. "You don't know shit about how I feel... Yukiko might die from this, for crying out loud! I'm going, and that's that!" Yui gave a sigh before stepping up. She knew Chie had very strong feelings about this, so she stood straight, firm, and put a more authoritative tone to her voice.

"Listen," she said. "I know you want to save her, but Yosuke's right. It's far more dangerous than you think; I'm not saying you can't come with, but if you're going to insist on it, you need to let us protect you, okay? If you decide to try and go solo, we're sending you back through. Got it?" Chie looked up at Yui and bit her lip; it was clear she didn't like the idea of being protected when she wanted to badly to save Yukiko, but after mulling it over for a few seconds, she lowered her head in resignation.

"All right..." She said. "But I'm not going in unarmed! If there's something I can do to help...!" Yui sighed again before placing a firm hand on Chie's shoulder.

"We'll let you know," she said. "Just know that if we save Yukiko, but you die in the process, that ruins the whole point of this, plus it'll devastate Yukiko, too." That final nail in the coffin seemed to strike home to Chie just how important it was that she take the dangers of that world seriously. The brunette gave one final, silent nod before going back to picking out her gear. Yosuke, relieved that Chie saw fit to listen to reason, walked up to Yui.

"But man," he said. "I have no idea what to get... You mind picking something out for me, Yui? You're the only one with fighting experience here, so I figure you'd know what's best, y'know?" Yui nodded, fine with that. She'd already figured out what kind of weapons he might be... well, decent with, and took the money he offered for his equipment.

"That being said," he said. "If we wear this stuff around town, we'll just get picked up again... But it's not like we can waltz into Junes with a sack full of gear and expect no one to notice, either..." The three thought for a moment before Yui had an idea.

"Leave that to me," she said. "I've got something that should work out." Yosuke looked to Chie, the both of them nodding and deciding to trust Yui.

"All right," Yosuke said. "Let's split up for now, then. The store'll be crowded until the afternoon sale ends, and if we walk around together, the cops might get suspicious." Deciding to meet back up again at the Junes food court, the trio split up. Yui, who needed to pick something up from home beforehand, made her way to leave. However, as she made her way down the street, she was blinded by a sudden flash of light for a brief moment.

When she opened her eyes, to her right was now a strange, blue door with intricate, gold patterns across it. As she looked around, it seemed like nobody else noticed the door's sudden appearance, and a familiar voice rang through her head.

"So," it said. "It finally begins... If you'll give me a moment of your time..." Yui took notice of a strange glow once the voice faded and realized the key she'd gotten the other day was now shining in her pocket. Pulling it out, she decided to take the plunge and inserted it into the keyhole of the door, finding herself teleported almost instantaneously to the Velvet Room.

"We have been expecting you," Igor said. "The catastrophe that is headed your way... It has already taken human lives in its approach towards you. But you have nothing to fear. You already have the power to fight against it. It seems that the time for you to use your Persona has come..." Igor gave an amused chuckle, and Yui quickly realized that the calming, yet oppressive atmosphere that usually dominated the Velvet Room was gone. Perhaps it was only there in her dreams...?

"You, my dear visitor, are special, however," Margaret said. "Your Persona is the wild card. Fueled by the strength of your bonds, your power allows you to wield multiple Personas, and our role here in the Velvet Room is to fasciliate that." Igor explained that it was through his power that he could create new Personas for Yui through fusing them.

"Okay," Yui said. "But I only have Izanagi now, right? Or is it just something I come up with on the spot?" Igor chuckled again, shaking his head.

"No, my dear," he said. "When you defeat Shadows, you may discover what remains of them calling out to you. Shadows and Personas are one and the same, after all, so occasionally you'll find ones that are willing to join you, should you accept them." Shadows are Personas...? That was a concept that, when she thought about it, she should've noticed earlier. After all, when she'd defeated Yosuke's Shadow and he accepted it, it became his Persona. So, it stood to reason that by defeating other Shadows and accepting them, she could obtain new ones.

"All right," she said. "I think I get it. So, I beat and accept Shadows, they turn into Personas, then you fuse them and if I have strong enough bonds, they'll get even stronger. Is that about right?" Igor and Margaret nodded, clearly enthused that Yui caught on so quickly. Margaret then lifted up the book she was carrying, displaying it to Yui.

"This tome you see," she said. "Is the Persona Compendium. Here, I can keep track of the Personas you've wielded, and for a fee, I can recall them for you at any time. And lastly, we'd like to introduce you to a new resident of the Velvet Room, who will be helping you on your journey." Yui had noticed the familiar girl to her left, but waited for them to introduce her. If she recalled, she'd met this girl on her very first day in Inaba, hadn't she? It was hard to forget that strange clothing style.

"...Nice to meet you," the girl said. "I'm Marie."

"Well, technically, this is the second time we've met," Yui said. "Y'know, at the train station? You picked up my paper for me." Marie furrowed her brow as she did her best to think back before shrugging.

"Maybe," she said. "That'd explain why you're so familiar." Did she have trouble remembering? It was a fairly short exchange, and while Yui didn't think she blended in that well, perhaps she was rather plain to Marie if she was a resident of this room. As if reading Yui's mind, Margaret began to explain to her about Marie, but Marie was quick to interject, telling her not to tell Yui more than she needed to.

"...Well, as you can probably tell," Margaret said. "She can be brusque at times, but please understand that she is only an apprentice and forgive her for her impoliteness. With her aid, you will be able to empower your Personas with abilities they otherwise wouldn't be able to learn." With Marie's introduction taken care of, Igor spoke up once again with a chuckle.

"Do you recall my words to you before?" He said. "…'The coming year is a turning point in your destiny... If the mystery goes unsolved, your future may be forever lost'. I meant precisely what I said. Defeat in battle is not the only way your journey may come to an end... Please, do not forget this. When next we meet, you will come here of your own will. Until then... farewell." Yui's vision began to blur before she suddenly found herself back in the shopping district, suddenly concerned. Did he mean to say that if they couldn't find the killer... she'd die, as well? That didn't change what she had to do, but it added another level of pressure onto the task. Speaking of which, she remembered that she had to return home to pick up her necessary supplies...

When she joined back up with Yosuke and Chie at Junes, they noticed she was carrying a large drum case, which she had slung over her shoulder. Even as strong as she was, she was starting to tire out from carrying it, because their equipment was inside. With everything taken care of, the three made the jump through the television once the people cleared out.

As he promised, waiting on the other side for them was Teddie, who was sat in the corner of the arrival area, seemingly in thought. When Yosuke asked what he was doing, the bear replied simply that he was thinking about stuff, though he clearly wasn't thinking too hard, as he still found the capacity to make a bear pun.

"So..." Yosuke said. "...Did you figure anything out? Eh, it's probably useless to think about it too much. I've seen the inside of your skull, and it was empty."

"How rude!" Teddie said, rushing over to the trio. "You're right, though... I try and try, but nothing comes out of my head." Their off-topic discussion clearly got to the worried Chie, as she quickly snapped at the two of them.

"Will you guys shut up?!" She said. "Now's not the time for stupid jokes! Listen, someone came here yesterday, right?" Teddie seemed surprise that they knew already, and after a quick introduction to each other, Chie asked about the person in the world already. Teddie explained that he began to sense someone in there with him a short while after he spoke with them last night, and he pointed out the direction he detected the presence. Just as Chie was about to start running off, Yui firmly grabbed a hold of her arm, and with a single, stern look, reminded the brunette that she said she'd be careful. With Teddie giving directions, the three left at a hurried pace.

What they found when they arrived was a castle, which Yui recognized from what had been shown on the Midnight Channel last night. As Yui looked around for any sign of danger, potential traps, or ambushes, Yosuke and Teddie began a brief discussion about the Midnight Channel, which only served to confuse the both of them, as Teddie still didn't know what the Midnight Channel was, and Yosuke seemed to have trouble grasping what Teddie meant about the world always having been in its current state. When Teddie confirmed that he could feel someone's presence inside the castle, Chie stepped up to Yui, and judging by her expression and the tension in her body, Yui figured she was only just barely restraining herself from charging in, per Yui's instruction.

"All right," Yui said. "Let's head in and stick together. There's no telling what's in there, and if we get separated, all of us could get killed. If you can't get a visual on the others, yell so the others can find you and regroup, okay?" Yosuke, Chie, and Teddie all nodded in understanding, and with that, Yui lead the charge into the castle.

"Yosuke, you take the back!" Yui said. "Chie, Teddie, hang in the middle! That way, if we get surrounded, you two aren't as vulnerable!" The group took the formation, and lucky for them, because as they passed by a door, Teddie began to freak out.

"We've got Shadows!" He said. "There's some ahead, and I think a few are coming from that room we just passed!" Stopping, Yui nodded back to Teddie then looked to Yosuke, who nodded in understanding. Pulling out the daggers that Yui had given him into both hands, they were soon confronted with white-colored versions of the Shadows that Yui had first encountered, as well as a pair of fish-like Shadows from behind. Confident she could handle the Hableries, as Teddie called them, she left the Pesces to Yosuke.

"All right," he said. "Time to show my stuff! Let's do this, Jiraiya!" As the glowing card appear in front of Yosuke, he leaped up and shattered it with a spinning strike from one of his daggers. As Jiraiya appeared, it made a stereotypical ninja pose, causing gusts of wind to send one of the Pesces to the ceiling, destroying it, while the other moved to attack Yosuke. In response, he proved to be rather nimble and acrobatic, dodging out of the way before going in for a diving slash with his weapons. However, the dive left him open to a counterattack from the Pesce's tail, which slammed into him, sending him into a nearby wall with a pained cry.

"Yosuke!" Chie said. Rushing in despite the danger to her safety, Chie attempted to kick the Pesce, but while her foot impacted it and pushed it away, she didn't seem to do any actual damage to it. Luckily, that was all Yosuke needed to get back up on his feet. Rather than go for any sort of fancy tricks, this time, he opted to jump onto the Pesce and dig both of his daggers into it, which caused it to burst into mist like the first. Yui, who'd finished handling the Hableries just a few moments earlier, came up to them at a half-jog just as the Pesce died, exhaling softly.

"Everyone okay?" She said. Yosuke seemed to have recovered after a few moments, in some pain but not dealing with any actual injuries, it appeared.

"All right," Yui said. "Let's try to avoid getting surrounded like that, again... What is it, Teddie?" She'd just noticed the bear peeking into the room the Pesces had burst out of, waving over to the three.

"There's a chest in here, Sensei!" He said. "It might have something useful in it!" The three looked between each other in bewilderment before stepping into the room to see, in fact, an almost cartoonish-looking treasure chest sitting in a corner. And, sure enough, there were supplies inside of it.

"Dude," Yosuke said. "What is this, a video game? We're running around in a giant castle, fighting monsters, finding treasure, and saving a girl... Should I start saying 'I've leveled up' every couple of battles, too?" Teddie didn't seem to understand, but it was clear that all of them were realizing just how strangely that all fit together. Still, they couldn't linger on it too long, so after sorting through the supplies and taking what they needed, the four of them moved on.

After fighting through a few more Shadows, they came to a set of stairs, which Teddie pointed out they'd probably need to climb, as the presence he felt seemed like it was on the top floor. Nodding to him in understanding, they raced up the stairs, but rather than find another set of hallways, before them, instead, was a large pair of double doors. Cautiously, Yui lead them through the doors, and into what appeared to be a large ballroom, though it currently lacked any furniture.

The group moved carefully though, following Yui's lead, as she figured this was an excellent spot for an ambush. As they neared the center, in fact, a familiar voice rang through the room, prompting Yui, Yosuke, and Teddie to be on guard.

"She said red looks good on me..." The voice said. It took Yui and Yosuke a few moments, but Chie recognized the voice right away as Yukiko's. Looking around, however, they didn't see any sign of her. Chie almost seemed to be in a daze, meanwhile, as she stepped forward ahead of Yui by a few paces.

"I hated my name..." Yukiko's voice said. "Yukiko... 'Snow'… Snow is cold and it melts quickly... It's transient... Worthless... But it's perfect for me... Apart from inheriting the inn, I'm worthless... Still, Chie told me that red looks good on me." This scenario felt all too familiar to Yui and Yosuke, reminding them of their time in the liquor store where they heard Saki's thoughts. Chie seemed stunned, surprised at what she was hearing in her best friend's voice, and began to clench her teeth as Yukiko's voice went on about how Chie gave her life meaning, how Chie had everything she didn't, and how Chie was so kind for looking after her "worthless" life.

"Yukiko, I-I..." Chie said. She'd been clearly caught off-guard, as Yui noted that she looked like she wanted to say something but couldn't since Yukiko wasn't actually present. What caught them all by surprise, however, was for a voice like Chie's, but with a familiar effect to it, coming from ahead of them.

"Hah, 'Chie is so kind', huh?" It said. "What a joke." Sure enough, forming in front of them was a second Chie, just like what had happened with Yosuke. As they saw the Shadow form, tensed up as Chie looked towards it, dumbfounded.

"Are we talking about that Yukiko?" The Shadow said. "She says I'm protecting her? She says she's worthless! That's how it should be, right...?" Shadow Chie, much like Shadow Yosuke, leered at her original with a sneering grin on her face.

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Chie said. Judging from her expression and the way she stumbled over her words, Yui guessed it was happening just like with Yosuke. It was saying everything Chie didn't want it to, going on and on about how she enjoyed how much Yukiko depended on her and how it made her feel superior. Realizing that if they didn't put a stop to it now, Yui and Yosuke looked to each other and nodded before approaching Chie. When she realized this, Chie turned to them in a panic.

"No, don't come near me!" She said. "Don't look at me! No... No, this isn't me!" Yui gritted her teeth, turning her attention to Chie's Shadow when she said that. Thankfully, it didn't transform just yet, but it began to speak more of Chie's insecurities aloud, about how she was the one who couldn't do anything alone, and how she needed Yukiko's dependency on her to feel important. The final nail in the coffin was the Shadow claiming that was the reason she was Yukiko's friend, and how she'd never allow that to change.

"No..." Chie said, getting visibly angry. "That's not how I think of her... Shut up! You're not me!" Despite Yui and Yosuke's attempts to stop her, she still ended up denying her Shadow, which began to chuckle ominously as the familiar scene of it drawing power to itself began, while it laughed maniacally. When Chie gave a cry of pain as she lost strength, Yui was quick to grab her and pull her off to the side as the Shadow grew.

In place of the golden-eyed brunette was now a tower of colorless, featureless high school girls, supporting what Yui could only describe as a dominatrix with bright yellow clothes, a matching hood obscuring its faces, long black hair flowing out from underneath, and a long, scarlet whip that it clearly intended to use as a weapon.

"I am a shadow..." It said. "The true self...! What do you guys think you're doing? Trying to defend the 'real' me? Then you're gonna pay the price!"

"Shut up! Quit being such a pain!" Yosuke said as he took a battle position away from Chie, Yui quick to join him. They didn't need the fight to accidentally hurt her while she was incapacitated, after all. Teddie ran to Chie's side as the Shadow focused its attention on Yui and Yosuke, brandishing its whip and cackling sadistically.

When the Shadow brought the whip down at them, the two split off to each side to avoid it. Summoning their Personas, Izanagi and Jiraiya hit it with lightning and wind, respectively, causing it to tilt dangerously, the woman on top nearly falling over. Using this opportunity, Yui and Yosuke sent their Personas in to strike it with melee, only to be blown back by a burst of electricity as the Shadow recovered, the bolts chaining off to Yui and Yosuke themselves, the latter of whom took the hit far worse than Yui.

"Yosuke!" Yui said, calling out to him as he fell to his knees. Thankfully, he managed to reply to her, showing that he was both still conscious and alive, but just as he was starting to recover, the Shadow struck him with its whip, sending him backwards in a daze. Turning to the Shadow, Yui gritted her teeth. It seemed to take the gust of wind worse, so an idea came to mind. Recalling that she'd obtained new Personas as Igor said she would, Yui lifted her hand once more, as if summoning a new Persona. When the card appeared, Izanagi vanished, and the image on the card shifted, the number 0 being replaced with the roman numeral "VIII".

"Tear her apart," Yui said, crushing the card. "Angel!" Where Izanagi stood previously, a woman with blatant angel wings, a blindfold, and dressed in what appeared to simply be belts covering her more risque areas appeared. With a flap of her wings, Angel created a gust of wind in much the same manner as Jiraiya had, earlier, knocking the Shadow for a loop again. With the opening made, Yui decided to help Yosuke recover rather than risk a second assault of lightning.

"You okay?" She said, pulling Yosuke to his feet. Straightening out his vision and rubbing his face, Yosuke nodded before finally taking in the scene.

"What the hell?!" He said. "Is that – I mean, where'd Izanagi...?!" Yui shook her head and stepped away from Yosuke; she'd have to explain later, because the Shadow was beginning to recover.

"Damn you...!" It said, righting itself again. "I'm getting really sick of you doing that!" Cracking her whip, a green light formed into a shield-like shape around the Shadow.

"I don't think we're gonna get another chance to bowl her over like that again," Yui said.

"Dammit," Yosuke said. "Well then, we'll just have to be careful and beat the shit out of her!" Yui nodded, switching her Persona back to Izanagi, in case the Shadow decided to shoot more lightning at them before sending the Persona out at it once again.

Off to the side, Chie was finally starting to recover, and while Teddie couldn't do much to help her up, he kept a paw at her back as a sort of reassurance. When the brunette saw what her double had become, she weakly clenched one of her hands, struggling to her knees.

"That thing..." She said. "What... What is it...? Why did it pretend to be me...?" Teddie gave her a concerned look, turning to the ongoing battle briefly before looking back to Chie.

"It wasn't lying," He said. "That was a Shadow, too. It's another part of you, the side you don't want to admit... Just like the one Yosuke had to overcome." Chie was ready to deny it again, but the last sentence Teddie said hit her hard. Just like the one Yosuke overcame... Yosuke had stopped the recap of the other day's events, so did that mean he had to deal with this, too? That, unlike her... he had the strength to admit his faults?

"Tell me," Chie said. "Did Yosuke... Did he deny his Shadow...?" Even as she asked, she refused to look at Teddie, staring down at the floor. Teddie gave a brief nod, turning to the battle once again.

"Yeah, he did," He said. "Well, I mean, at first, he did. But, thanks to Sensei, he was able to admit it." Chie's hands clenched tighter as she listened to Teddie, regret and self-hatred filling herself. This time, it wasn't directed at the Shadow that wore her face, for announcing the things about herself that she didn't want to see. No, this time, she hated herself for denying those things. Compared to Yui and Yosuke, who clearly had the strength of heart to look at what they hated most about themselves and admit to them, she felt weak and helpless, and if she was weak, then... Then she wouldn't be able to save Yukiko.

As Chie began to slowly come to terms with her faults, the Shadow began to visibly weaken and grow fatigued much like Yosuke's Shadow had. Noting this, Yui and Yosuke nodded to each other, sending Izanagi and Jiraiya at it for one final assault. With Jiraiya's shuriken and Izanagi's spear, the Shadow was knocked off of its throne of girls with a scream, the power venting from the massive Shadow.

With the danger passed, the weakened Chie approached the two with Teddie at her side. When she reached them, she turned to see her Shadow now standing before them silently in its original shape. Chie bit her lip as she stared at it, unable to find the words despite no longer driven to deny everything it said. She knew she had to admit it, she knew that, but despite that, she couldn't get the words to leave her mouth. Her self-hate-fueled spiral was stopped short, though, when she felt a hand on her shoulder, looking up to see Yui.

"You still care about Yukiko, right?" Yui said. "The fact that you wanted to deny what it said is proof of that." The fists that Chie had been clenching so hard since she recovered finally began to relax, nodding to Yui with a newfound determination in her eyes as she took a deep breath and looked back to her Shadow.

"Yeah," she said. "Yukiko's my best friend, after all, and the side of me that... that loved being relied on, the side of me that needed to feel better than her... I couldn't forgive that. But... you're still a part of me." Chie's Shadow seemed to give a sigh of relief, smiling warmly before fading away in a soft, blue light and replaced by a tall woman wearing a yellow and black jumpsuit, a black and white kusazuri waist guard, white boots, and long, black hair flowing out from underneath a tall helmet with a biker helmet-esque visor. As Chie's new Persona faded away, her legs gave out once again, exhausted, prompting Yui and Yosuke to grab her arms to keep her from falling over.

"I'm okay..." She said. "Just a little tired..." Despite that, she was starting to look pale, and it was clear she could hardly even stand on her own.

"You don't look okay at all..." Yosuke said. "But I bet you can use the same power we have, now." Yui nodded, agreeing with his statement.

"For now," she said. "We should head back. That was a fight none of us were expecting, plus, you're exhausted, Chie." Though Yosuke nodded back, Chie weakly struggled in their grip, clearly against this course of action.

"I-I never said I needed a break...!" She said. "I can... still keep going..." Teddie moved into her view, shaking his head, telling her not to overdo it.

"It's not that we don't think you can," Yosuke said. "It's just, we have to save Yukiko-san, no matter what. Now that you have the power, you can fight with us. It'd be much better for us all if you had your strength back. That's why we're saying we should go back and regroup."

"But Yukiko's still in here, isn't she?!" Chie said. "I-I... If those were Yukiko's true feelings... then I have to tell her something. I'm not as strong as she thinks! It's because she was with me... Because we were always together, I was able to act that way. If we weren't, I'd..."

"Well," Teddie said. "You need to get your strength back! Then you can tell her! Yuki-chan's normal. The Shadows don't attack normal people. They only attack when the fog lifts here."

"So," Yui said. "We've basically got a deadline, but until then, she'll be safe, right?" Teddie nodded, positive that she would be. When Chie looked confused, Yosuke and Teddie explained about how the fog worked and how it'd lift in this world when it became foggy in theirs.

"Don't worry so much," Yosuke said. "It only fogs up after it's rained for a few days. We'll check the weather forecast first thing when we get back."

"But..." Chie said. "But I can't turn back now! We've come so far! Yukiko's still here! She's all alone... She must be so scared!" Yui snorted, adjusting her position to get into Chie's view, crouching lightly to get on eye level with her.

"Then you tell me how much farther we have to go," she said. "You don't know what's up ahead. We might have to fight even stronger enemies. We need to be prepared, or we might die, and then nobody will be able to save Yukiko. Remember what you promised me before we came in here? That still applies." Recalling her earlier promise once more, Chie tensed her jaw before sighing and giving a nod of resignation. With consensus finally reached, Yui and Yosuke pulled her fully onto her feet, and the four of them left the castle, Chie using Yui for support. This was something they absolutely had to succeed at, after all. A life was hanging in the balance.