TV World
Once again Hamuko found herself falling through a seemingly endless expanse, save for the alternating black and white rectangular shapes that outlined the path she and the two boys were falling through. It didn't take long them to reach their destination, although what that destination actually was was still a mystery.
"Ow," sighed Hamuko as she righted herself up from the hard landing. "I don't think I'll ever get used to this..."
"Remember senpai, it was your choice to come," reminded Souji as he was standing up. "We did try to talk you out of it."
Hamuko sighed. Souji-kun's right, but you can't let it show! Be strong for once.
"Yeah, well it still hurts..." She mentally sighed to herself. Yeah, real cool...
"Pipe down, jeez," said Yosuke, who was already standing up and taking a survey of the surroundings. "Hey is this?... Yeah, this is the same place as last time!"
Hamuko looked around and noted that despite the heavy fog that was oppressing the atmosphere, it was indeed the same place that they had landed in the day before. "So?..."
"So, it means they're connected from place to place," clarified Yosuke, although it didn't really make sense to Hamuko.
"I'm still not getting it," sighed Hamuko, scratching the side of her head. "Am I missing something?"
Souji cleared his throat before answering her. "It's like this senpai: Different TVs will put you in a different area of this, uh world. Otherwise we would have stumbled into Saki-senpai yesterday, right?"
Hamuko closed her eyes and tried to digest the information. Well, I guess that makes sense. I guess I'll just leave the hard stuff to Souji-kun then.
"Okay, I get it," she finally said. "So that means- Agh!"
The sudden appearance of the colorful bear they had met the last time took her by surprise, and she couldn't hide the fact.
"It's you guys again!" said the bear as he approached the group. "Why'd you come back?"
"D-don't just appear out of nowhere like that!" gasped Hamuko as she finally recognized the bear.
"Huh?" The bear scratched his head. "I've been here since you guys left. I'd say it was you guys who appeared out of nowhere. That means...You're the ones behind this!" He stared at the group with an accusatory glare.
"You're that bear-thing from last time..." trailed Hamuko.
"Wait, what the hell did you just say?" interrupted Yosuke.
"I can tell that someone's been throwing people in here," said the bear matter-of-factly. "Recently too. It's making this world more and more messed up."
"Um, okay..." trailed Hamuko. She wasn't sure what the bear was really talking about.
"Not only that but this is the second time you guys came here," continued the bear. "And it doesn't look like anyone forced you in either."
Souji shrugged. "Well that part is true," he admitted.
"Well that means you're the most suspicious!" declared the bear as he crossed his arms in front of him. "Rawrrr! So it must you guys that are throwing the people in here!"
Hamuko stamped her foot at the bear. "Throwing people in? Us?"
"What the hell are you talking about," fumed Yosuke. "If someone gets thrown in here and they can't get out, they might die!"
"B-but who would do something like that?" asked Hamuko, still nervously eying the bear.
"All this talk about throwing people in, does he mean Senpai and that announcer, or reporter lady?" wondered Yosuke.
Souji thought for a moment. "So, this 'someone's' threw them in maybe? It's a stretch to think they both fell in on their own."
Hamuko cleared her throat. "Um, isn't that what happened to us yesterday?"
"Hey, that's different!" said Yosuke with a fiery look in his eyes. "And as you can see, we're not dead."
"Er..." Hamuko didn't really see it was any different, but she decided to drop the issue anyway.
Yosuke decided to continue. "Let's assume he's not lying. Does this mean whoever threw them in here meant to kill them? Because if that's the case..."
The bear suddenly let out a frustrated growl and stamped his feet.
"What're you guys talking about? Why'd you all come back here anyways?"
Souji shrugged. "Is it really that bad we're here?"
The bear nodded. "It's a one-way door. You can't get back out once you're in here!"
"But...you let us out last time right?" asked Hamuko. "So..."
Yosuke crossed his arms in front of him triumphantly before responding.
"Hey, no need to worry about that senpai," he said as he grabbed the rope next to him. "This time we have a lif-"
He suddenly fell silent when he saw that the rope he had tied himself to had been severed a few inches from where he held it.
"Oh, no," sighed Hamuko. She suddenly found herself wishing she had listened to Souji about not joining the two boys to this place.
"Hey, you'd better let us out of here when we're finished investigating!" declared Yosuke, pointing at the bear and giving his best angry face.
"You? What about me?" growled the bear. "Things were quiet around here until around the time you guys showed up! Do you have any proof that it's not you guys that are throwing people in here?"
"Proof huh?" asked Souji. "Well it just so happens that..that..uh..."
Hamuko sighed as she sat down and drew her knees to her chest. "We don't have any do we?"
"Aha! So it is you guys!" announced the bear with pride.
"It's not us for the millionth time!" argued Yosuke, his voice becoming ever so louder. "We've got nothing to prove to you, so you better answer our questions!"
The bear tilted its head quizzically, which Hamuko took as a cue to continue where Yosuke had left off.
"People have been dying in our world," she said as she stood back up. "Not the, uh, normal way though. Every time it gets foggy, a dead body appears. We think it has something to do with this place, s-so if you know something, tell us, please!"
The bear eyed the group for a moment before answering. "A dead body...Whenever the fog appears... Well I do know that when it gets foggy on your side, the fog over here lifts. When that happens it gets really dangerous over here; that's when the Shadows get violent!"
The bear's face suddenly lit up. "Ah I get it!"
His sudden enthusiasm was not shared by the others.
"Huh? Well if you get it, then explain it so us dammit!" demanded Yosuke, his voice getting a little louder. "If it gets foggy on our side it isn't here? Shadows get violent?"
The bear nodded. "That's why I said to hurry back! It gets really dangerous here when that happens!"
The news did not sound at all good to Hamuko. Yet, as much as she wanted to run away at the moment, there was a single word that the bear had said that kept drilling itself into her head. Shadows. For some reason, she felt like she should know what that word meant, as if it was the most important word she had ever heard spoken since she had woken up from her coma.
Her thoughts were snapped as the bear pointed at the group.
"Okay I know you guys did it! You'd better stop it right now!"
Yosuke untied the remains of the rope that was around his waist and threw it angrily on the ground.
"I've told you over and over that it wasn't us! I've had with you! Why won't you listen to anything we're saying?"
The bear shrinked back a little. "I-I'm just saying, you might be the culprits... I'm just making sure, that's all."
Not a very effective way to go about doing that, Hamuko thought to herself.
"So what is this place anyways?" asked Souji as he looked around the fog-choked surroundings. "It kind of looks like some sort of TV studio."
"Maybe something's being filmed here?" offered Hamuko.
"Hey, is this where that weird show is being filmed?" asked Yosuke.
The bear scratched his head. "Weird show? Filmed? What does that mean?"
"I think he's asking if someone's been recording the people who's been getting thrown in here," said Souji.
The clarification didn't help, as the bear looked just as confused as before.
"This world has always been like this. No one's ever done this 'filming' or 'recording' business before."
Hamuko raised her hand to get the bear's attention. "Um, can you explain it a little differently maybe, cuz I still don't get it..."
The bear sighed. "Only me and Shadows live here! I've already told you before!"
"But we don't know what these Shadow things are..." trailed Hamuko.
"Come to think of it, we don't even know what you are!" declared Yosuke. "You keep saying we're the bad guys, but to me, you're the most suspicious thing here!"
"Could he be the real culprit?" gasped Hamuko as she took a step back from the bear.
Yosuke did the exact opposite and approached the bear. "And what's with this stupid costume? I say it's time to show your face!"
Before the bear could react, Yosuke grabbed the top of its head and a moment later yanked it off and tossed the head to the ground. To everyone's amazement, there wasn't anyone inside the bear-suit.
"Ack!" gasped Hamuko and she and the other two back away from the bear.
"What the hell are you?" asked Yosuke as he and the others watched the bear retrieve its head and put it back on.
"That isn't funny you know," declared the bear in a sad voice. "And besides, I'm not the culprit. I wouldn't do such a thing...I mean I just live here. I wanna live here peacefully, that's all."
Yosuke's mostly hostile attitude towards the bear softened a bit upon hearing this.
"Alright, I'll believe that you guys aren't the culprits!" announced bear, his tone a bit more happy.
"Um, thanks?" said Hamuko.
"-But I want you guys to find out who the real culprit is!" added the bear. "You have to stop him! Or her if that's the case. You have to promise me, or else!"
"...O-or else?" Hamuko didn't like where this was going. He's not going to eat us or anything if we can't will he?
"I won't let you guys out of here!" finished the bear.
"What? That's not fair!" said Yosuke.
"But this can't keep going on!" argued the bear. "My home's gunna be a complete mess if it does!"
He suddenly began to cry.
"What's with the crying all of a sudden?" sighed Yosuke. "Geez this thing's really weirding me out..." He then sighed. "So, what should we do?"
About a minute passed before Souji spoke up. "Alright, let's do it."
"Really?" asked the bear. "Promise?"
Souji nodded. "Promise." He then turned to Hamuko. "What about you senpai?"
To be honest, Hamuko wasn't really sure she wanted to do this anymore. Sure it sounded good initially when she said she wanted to do this in the first place for Saki's sake, but the reality of it was, she really had no reason. It was then that she remembered Igor's words to her in her dream during the train ride to Inaba.
"It seems you will encounter a great misfortune at your destination, and you will be called upon to assist in some way afterward."
Hamuko's thoughts were going a mile a minute now. A great misfortune? Could this be what he was talking about? But how am I supposed to 'assist'?
There was no more time to think about it. She gave her answer.
"I'm in too. I mean we came here to find out what's going on right? But, uh, as things stand...we still don't know what's going on..."
Yosuke shared the other two's conviction. "Still, we need to find the real culprit huh? Fine I'm in!"
"Well, shouldn't we introduce ourselves to, uh, the bear?" asked Hamuko.
Yosuke nodded. "Yeah may as well. I'm Yosuke Hanamura, and these are my buddies Souji Seta and Hamuko Arisato."
Hamuko gave a polite bow to the bear. "Um, do you have a name?" she asked.
The bear nodded. "Teddie."
Hamuko had to hold back a chuckle at how fitting the name was.
Yosuke seemed to share Hamuko's sentiment. "Figures," he sighed. "Anyway, how are we supposed to find the culprit in the first place?"
Teddie shrugged. "I dunno. Oh, but I do know where the last person came in!"
That was certainly a surprising statement to the group, one that Yosuke quickly seized on.
"The...last person?" he asked. "Do you mean Saki-senpai?"
Teddie glanced to the side before giving an answer. "I don't really know the name. I just meant whoever it was that came in and vanished the last time."
Hamuko looked at the other two. "Well, it could be her, right?"
"I'll take you guys there; you might find a clue or two." said Teddie as he began fumbling with a small pack that was hidden somewhere on him. "But first things first, you guys should put these on." He then produced three pairs of glasses, each a different style and color, and gave each person a pair. Hamuko received a pair that was red-orange in color and appeared to be made of plastic and in the style of those cheap sunglasses that one could find in a supermarket, but the lenses themselves were clear.
"What are these glasses for?" asked Yosuke as he stared at his pair.
"Just put em on, you'll see for yourself!" said Teddie, with a bit of pride.
Shrugging, Yosuke did so as did the other two.
To Hamuko's surprise, as well as the Yosuke and Souji's, the fog that had obstructed their vision had suddenly vanished as soon as they had put the glasses on.
"Wow," gasped Hamuko as she took in her surroundings with her new-found clarity. Her immediate area did indeed seem like some type of strange television set, with spotlights and cameras illuminating the environment. The most striking thing about the place was, oddly enough, the floor. In the center was a black circle that emanated outwards in a ripple pattern, alternating in color between black and white. What was the most defining part was not the pattern, but what appeared to be solid white outlines of...bodies in various positions, like those on the TV police shows.
"Wow, it's like night and day with these things on," said Yosuke as he looked around.
Teddie nodded. "Yep, they'll help you travel through the fog. Don't forget, I've been here for a long time, so you can count on me!"
"Well that's... good?" said Hamuko, unsure if that really was something she should have believed. It didn't take long before her doubts proved to be founded.
"But I can only take you and show you where it is," said Teddie, with a sheepish look on his face. "You'll have to defend yourselves if it comes to that."
"What happened to 'you can count on me?'" sighed Yosuke.
"Y-yeah there better not be any monsters or whatever when we get there!" added Hamuko. I don't know what I'd do if there were...
Souji looked at his golf club. "Well we did bring weapons..."
Yosuke turned to him and shook his head. "Yeah, but they're more for show. I mean geez what's a golf club and a hockey stick going to do against...well whatever might be here."
Hamuko gripped her hockey stick and held it tightly against her and looked at Teddie. "Besides, if it dangerous, couldn't you do something instead of tossing that onto us?"
Teddie shook his head. "Nope! I don't have any muscles! But, wait! I can give you guys moral support and whatnot from a safe distance! How's that sound?"
"Er..." Souji was about to say something but instead walked up to Teddie and gave him a small poke on the side of his head. To the group's surprise, Teddie fell over.
"N-noooooo," cried Teddie as he flailed his arms and legs as he lay on the ground.
Yosuke facepalmed. "Ugh is this thing serious? We promised to find the culprit and this is all the backup we get?"
"Oh yeah," said Teddie, as he continued to lay on the ground, but no longer flailing. "Who's this 'Saki-senpai' person? Is it someone you know?"
Yosuke paused for a moment before answering Teddie. As he did, Hamuko detected a slight pained look from him.
"That's... not important," he finally said. "What is important is that now we know that she might have been thrown in here. Maybe we can get more information as well. Come on guys, let's go."
As Souji and Yosuke started to walk away, Teddie began flailing his arms and legs again. "W-waaaaait! What about me?"
Hamuko sighed and helped the bear to his feet.
"T-thanks..." said Teddie as he and Hamuko joined the other two.
…
A little while later...
The group had been following Teddie for what seemed like half an hour or so, and as they journeyed, Hamuko noticed that the scenery had taken a massive shift from the studio-like entrance that they had started in. It looked strangely familiar, and it wasn't only her that noticed it.
"What... is this place?" asked Yosuke as he looked around. "It looks just like...the shopping district."
Ah that's it! Hamuko mentally recalled the time that Takao and Iris had picked her up from the train station. They drove through this section of town on their way home. Yet it was still mostly foreign to her as that was the only time she seen that part of town since her arrival in Inaba. Still there were some differences between the two areas, namely the much darker atmosphere where she and the others were currently at. The 'sky', as it was, consisted of black and red streaks that constantly moved. It weird and somewhat unbalancing to her, as if it were an 'evil' version of the shopping district.
Souji nodded. "That's what I thought, too. What's up with this place?"
The group turned to Teddie for an answer, who appeared quite saddened.
"There's been some strange places that have appeared here recently, and this is one of them," Teddie explained. "Things have become so tangled and jumbled around here. I dunno what to do."
Yosuke nodded. "Well, I guess sort of makes sense from your point of view..." He paused when he saw just how far Teddie had distanced himself from the group. "Um, why are you standing so far away from us?..."
"You're not going to run away if something happens are you?" asked Hamuko in her best accusatory tone.
"Oh, no of course not~" said Teddie, with the most unconvincing innocent expression Hamuko had ever seen. "I-I mean I don't want to get your way or anything..."
Yosuke sighed, tired of trying to get a straight answer out of Teddie.
"You know, I wonder why this place in town of all places would be replicated here. It doesn't make sense."
Teddie shrugged. "Beats me. This place is reality for the one who's here."
"I don't get it..." said Hamuko.
Souji nodded. "I don't think any of us do, senpai."
"As usual, nothing he says makes any sense," agreed Yosuke. "But...If this shopping district is accurate, then that means Saki-senpai's..." He suddenly took off up the road, and was quickly followed by the rest of the group. After a short run they found Yosuke standing in front of a particular store.
"I knew it!" said Yosuke, his hands on his hips. "This is the liquor store that Saki-senpai's parents run."
Hamuko looked at the store and noted that the doorway had been replaced by the weird red and black swirly portal that they had seen the previous day in the section they had explored.
"Maybe she came here?" she offered.
Yosuke nodded. "I think so. But...what could have happened?" He began to walk towards the door, but was immediately stopped by Teddie.
"W-wait! They're here!" he said, with the most scared voice Hamuko had ever heard from anyone.
"Who's 'they'?" asked Yosuke, clearly annoyed by Teddie's interruption.
"Shadows!" gasped Teddie as he looked around. "I was afraid they were going to attack..."
Before Yosuke could question Teddie further, the portal began to ripple and two...things slithered out. They looked like black blobs with some type of blue mask attached to each them. They slithered toward Yosuke for a few feet before floating in the air and turning spherical in shape, and gaining a pink striped color scheme. The side that the masks were on suddenly turned around and the other side of the monsters revealed a...giant mouth, with lips, teeth and a long slobbering tongue. It was perhaps the most disturbing thing Hamuko had ever seen, and yet there was a strange familiarity somewhere within her, like she had seen something like this before.
The sound of Yosuke scrambling towards her and Souji snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Oh, shit what are we gunna do?" panicked Yosuke as he watched the two 'things' slowly float towards them.
Hamuko gripped her hockey stick, preparing to defend herself in whatever way she could when she noticed that Souji had fallen to one knee, clutching his forehead in pain.
"Hey Souji-kun are you okay?" she asked as she knelt down next to him. He gave no answer but instead slowly stood up with a strange smile on his face. For a moment Hamuko feared that he had suddenly gone mad, but then she noted a strange card in his right hand, glowing blue, as if aflame somehow. If it was, Souji showed no sign of being burned by it.
"Souji?" she asked again. No answer. What's going on? She wondered as she watched Souji stare at the flaming card in his hand. Suddenly Souji uttered a single word, quiet yet strong at the same time.
"Per..so...na..."
As soon as he spoke the word, the blue flames from card in his hand suddenly intensified until it seemed to envelop his entire body. As if the sight wasn't enough to unnerve Hamuko, the figure that appeared behind Souji nearly did as well. It was an extremely tall figure, a little more than two times as tall as Souji was. It was dressed in a black coat of some type and the pants were black as well. The face was, well it was more like a silver mask of sorts, but she could make out a pair of yellow eyes from behind it. In its hand was a large sword-knife thing that she had never seen before. She guessed it was male, but there really was no telling for sure. At least not yet.
Before she could analyze the...whatever it was, the two Shadows that had appeared suddenly towards Souji charged at him.
"Izanagi!" shouted Souji, golf club still in hand. As if by some kind of remote, the large being that was behind Souji suddenly rushed to the front and swatted at the two Shadows with its weapon. As it fought off against the two Shadows, Hamuko noticed that Souji was visibly concentrating on the movements of the being that had appeared out of him. Could it be that he was also controlling it?
Teddie sensed this as well and began to give advice to Souji, albeit from a safe distance.
"Some Shadows have weaknesses! If you can figure out what it is, fighting them will be a lot easier!"
Souji took in the information that Teddie had given him and uttered the word "Zio". As soon as he did, a bolt of lightning came out of the being's weapon and struck one of the Shadows, causing it fall on the ground and flop to its side. He followed it up with a downward swing of his weapon, and the Shadow dissipated into nothingness. He repeated the same process with the other Shadow, and when it dissolved away, the being that Souji had summoned vanished away, and Souji himself simply stood where he was, looking rather dumbstruck as to what had just happened. Hamuko couldn't blame him.
Yosuke ran up to him, equally amazed. "Wow, what was that?"
Souji looked at him and then at his hands. "I-I'm not sure... Something called a Persona. I think its name was...Izanagi."
"Never mind that, are you okay?" asked Hamuko. "That wasn't exactly...normal what you just did you know."
Souji moved around a bit before nodding. "Yeah." It was then that Teddie ran up to him.
"Wow that was awesome Sensei!" he beamed.
Sensei? What's up with that? Wondered Hamuko.
"I am one impressed bear!" Teddie continued. "It's no wonder the Shadows are so scared of you! Could it be that you are the one who can bring people into this world?"
Souji scratched his head as he tried to come up with a response. "I don't really know Teddie," he finally answered.
"Hey, hey no need to be so modest, Sensei!" replied Teddie. "It's really something! Right~ Yosuke?"
Hamuko pondered what Teddie had just said. But...I was able to go through the TV too on my own; I didn't need Souji-kun for that. What does it mean?
Yosuke didn't do any kind of pondering, instead seizing on the fact that Teddie still called him by his name.
"Hey, you call him Sensei, but you don't show me any respect?" he fumed.
Teddie shrugged. "Sorry."
Yosuke sighed and shook his head. "Whatever, it's not a big deal I guess. Plus your support wasn't all that bad either."
"Aw gee, you're embarrassing me!" blushed Teddie.
"Well, let's hope the rest of the way isn't so bad," said Hamuko.
Yosuke nodded. "Right. Back to our investigation!"
The four then turned toward the portal at the store's entrance and just as they were about to enter, they suddenly heard different voices from all around, with no clear source.
"Man, Junes sucks!"
"I hope that store flops!"
"It's all because of that store that we're suffering!"
Naturally, Yosuke was unnerved upon hearing the voices and what they were saying.
"What's going on?" he asked. The only answer he got was more disembodied voices.
"You know, I heard from someone that Konishi-san's daughter works there!"
"Oh, how terrible! How could she betray her family's business like that?"
"Well, I heard that their sales have plummeted because of Junes!"
Yosuke looked even more and more distraught with each sentence spoken.
"To have his own daughter working for the enemy...I can only imagine how ashamed the father must be."
"What a terrible, thoughtless child!"
"Teddie, what's all this about?" asked Hamuko as she tried to find an explanation so Yosuke wouldn't have to ask himself.
"If this place is reality for the person who comes here," said Souji as he looked around. "Does that mean this is what senpai experienced as well?"
Teddie shrugged. "I...only know what's here. I can't say one way or the other."
Yosuke clenched his fists in determination. "Fine, then. Whatever's happening here... We'll find out what it is!"
And with that the four entered the portal.
Upon their entering, a lone figure emerged from the shadows from across the street. The group had been observed by this figure, unbeknownst to them.
One of them can fight Shadows, like I can... What does this mean? Are those people and that bear friend or foe?
A pair of red eyes stared at the portal. A light metallic sound could be heard as the figure crossed the street towards the store, its feet being the source. The figure stared at the portal in contemplation.
I must...observe further. I can't reveal myself just yet. And a moment later, the unknown figure entered the portal.