TV World
The strange, trippy journey into the TV world was still a bit unnerving to Hamuko, but she was somewhat used to it now. Arriving just behind the others, she noticed Teddie and Metis were pacing around the area, with Metis' Persona in tow.
"Wow, you guys guys came at a good time!" said Teddie as he ran up to the group.
"Did you guys sense anyone getting thrown in lately?" asked Yosuke.
Metis turned and faced the group. "That is the situation. I wanted to go investigate immediately, but the bear said to wait."
Teddie nodded. "It's all true! I was bear-ly able to keep her from leaving. Oh, that was a pretty good joke! Hee hee!"
The group let out a collective soft groan at the bad pun.
"We don't have time for your awful jokes!" fumed Chie as she backhanded Teddie upside his head. "Do you know where Yukiko is or not?"
"The identity of the person is unknown," answered Metis as she dismissed Psyche. "We do know where to go, however. We chose to wait until you all came, though."
"It's gotta be Yukiko!" said Chie, her face growing with concern. "I just know it! Let's go! Everyone ready?"
"Let's do it!" said Yosuke with a somewhat confident fist pump.
"I'll lead the way!" said Teddie as he waddled to the front of the group. "My nose will guide us with un-bear-eavable accuracy!"
Hamuko winced at the pun but quickly joined the group in following Teddie, with Metis bringing up the rear.
Hamuko listened as the group began discussing the different aspects of Yukiko's disappearance as well as the odd things the Yukiko they had seen on the Midnight Channel was saying. The more they tried to make sense of things, the less they were able to.
As the group continued, they noticed that the scenery gradually shifted from that of a TV studio to that of a medieval theme, culminating at the end with a grand stone castle.
"Hey this looks like where Yukiko was at on the TV!" said Hamuko.
"You're right, it does!" agreed Chie. "Do either of you detect Yukiko's presence inside?"
Metis nodded. "We can't confirm exactly who it is in there, but it is the same person that was thrown in here previously."
"It's definitely her," said Chie, with renewed determination. "I'm going!" Before anyone could stop her, she took off inside the castle.
Yosuke gave a groan of frustration. "Geez there she goes..."
Souji shrugged. "Something tells me we should have expected this."
"Um, shouldn't we go after her?" asked Hamuko. "There's Shadows in there right?"
Metis looked at the castle entrance with a bit of concern. "My sensors are detecting multiple Shadows within. It is not wise to let her be alone."
"You could have said that sooner!" said Yosuke, now very worried. "Let's go!"
Souji nodded and led the group into the castle.
The interior of the castle looked just like Hamuko had imagined it- grand in appearance, with red carpeting on the floor, and large, wooden doors separated the hallways and rooms.
"How are we supposed to find Chie in a place like this?" sighed Hamuko.
Teddie sniffed the air before shaking his head. "I don't smell her on this floor. So she must have gone up already."
"We're supposed to rely on that?" asked Yosuke, shaking his head.
"My sensors confirm what the bear has said," replied Metis. "Don't dismiss his sniffing ability, as it is, so fast."
Yosuke shrugged. "Ah, whatever, let's just hurry- uh oh!" Before he could continue, a large group of the ball-with-a-mouth Shadows appeared in the hallway.
"Uh, oh there's four Shadows!" warned Teddie as she skittered behind the group.
"Looks like it's Persona time!" said Yosuke as a card appeared in front of him. "Let's do this Jiraiya!" A large ninja-looking Persona formed in front of Yosuke, looking a little bit like a less frog-like version of the Shadow Yosuke the group had battled previously. As he sent his Persona to fight against one of the Shadows, Souji called forth Izanagi and began fighting two other Shadows, his Zio skill giving him an advantage.
Hamuko gripped her weapon before trying to call out her Persona. "Janna D'arc!" After a few seconds of nothing happening, she tried calling out her Persona again with no results. "Why isn't it working?"
Metis paused for a moment before handing Hamuko her Evoker and holster. "You may need this, Hamuko-san. You used it the last time you summoned your Persona."
Hamuko was about to ask why Metis had it when she remembered that she had left left her Evoker at the entrance with Teddie and Metis when she left with the others the last time. She assumed she had to use the Evoker the same way she had last time, and put the barrel of it against her head before pulling the trigger. Again, her mind felt like it was being both sucked inwards and pulled apart at the same time, but it was only a temporary feeling, and the result in the end was her Persona appearing. Hamuko willed Janna to assist Yosuke and Jiraya, who were both fending off a pair of Shadows.
"Whew, bout time Senpai!" said Yosuke as Janna crashed her shield into the Shadow that Yosuke was defending against.
With their two Personas working together, Yosuke and Hamuko made short work of the Shadows the were pitted against. At the same time, Souji had dispatched the two that he was fighting against.
"Wow, great work everyone!" said Teddie as everyone regrouped. "Except you Meti-chan; you didn't do anything!"
"Shut up!" grumbled the robot girl as she shoved Teddie onto his back. "They didn't need me for this fight."
"Not again!" whined Teddie as he flailed his arms and legs trying to get upright again. He was finally able to do so with the help of Hamuko, for which he was grateful.
"Let's just keep going..." sighed Souji as he lead the group down the hall. They didn't have to go very far until they reached a room that contained a staircase going up.
"Guess we have no choice then?" said Hamuko as she looked at the others.
"Not if we want to find Chie," said Yosuke. "Let's go, Partner!"
Souji nodded and headed up the stairs first, with Yosuke and Hamuko following behind. Upon arriving at the next floor, the hallway was obstructed by a large door. When Souji moved to open it, Metis stopped him.
"Wait. I sense your friend past this door," she said. "Are you all ready for what may happen?"
The three students nodded, and Souji pushed open the door.
The group rushed into the room to see Chie standing in the middle of the room which looked like an open ballroom that fit the castle theme. A few moments later they could hear Yukiko's voice throughout the room.
"Chie said red looks good on me."
"Yukiko?" Hamuko called out. "Where are you?"
"Yukiko... I always hated my name," continued the voice. "'Snow' it's cold and melts quickly; it's worthless, just like me..."
Chie looked at the ground sadly and muttered he friend's name.
"Hey are these Yukiko-san's inner thoughts?" asked Yosuke as he looked around. "It's a lot like Saki-senpai's."
Teddie nodded. "I think so. I bet this castle is here because of this Yukiko person."
"Chie was the only person to give my life meaning," Yukiko's voice continued. "She's strong and can do anything. Compared to her I'm..."
"This is what she really thought?" asked Hamuko. True she didn't know Yukiko that well, but she didn't the impression that what she had just heard was what Yukiko felt all the time.
"I don't deserve any of it," said Yukiko's voice. "Chie is so kind..."
"Yukiko..." trailed Chie, clearly disheartened by what she was hearing.
"Chie is so kind huh?!" said a harsh sounding voice on the far end of the room that sounded frightfully similar to Chie's. "What a joke!"
"Wha?" Chie rubbed her eyes a moment before scanning the room to find who it was that had just spoke. Her answer arrived in the form of another Chie appearing out of seemingly nowhere on the other side of the room, wearing the exact same clothing that the real Chie was wearing, with only the yellow eyes being different.
"What's going on?" asked Hamuko as she looked at the other Chie that appeared. "Is that..."
Metis responded by gripping her weapon tighter and nodding. "That is a Class A Shadow!"
"I-it's the same as Yosuke!" said a nervous-lookingTeddie. "She's lost control over her other self! Now it's a Shadow!"
"Are we talking about that Yukiko?" chuckled Shadow Chie as she leered at the real Chie. "She says she worthless! Ha! That's how it should be right?"
"What?!" asked Chie. "What are you saying?"
"Yukiko's soooo pretty, soo fair-skinned... sooo feminine!" said Shadow Chie in an angry tone. "She's the one all the guys want! When Yukiko looks at me with such jealousy, man do I get a charge out of that! She knows the score; she can't do anything if I'm not around! I'm way better than her!"
"N-no! I've never thought that!" Chie said, trying to block out what her other self was saying.
"Oh, crap..." Yosuke trailed as he looked at the two Chie's nervously. "What are we going to do?"
"We need to protect Chie," said Souji as he drew his weapon.
"That's right!" said Teddie as the group approached the real Chie. "We need to protect her right now!"
"No, don't come near me!" said Chie as she started to panic. "Don't look at me!"
"You need to calm down!" said Hamuko.
"No, no!" cried Chie as she backed away from the group. "This... this isn't me Senpai!"
"Wait, don-t!" Yosuke's pleas were cut off by Shadow Chie's words.
"That's right, I'm the pathetic one!" she chuckled. "I can't win as a person, never mind as a girl! But Yukiko depends on me! That's why she's my friend; as long as she needs me, I'll never loosen my grip on her!"
"I don't think of her like that!" argued Chie. "It's all lies!"
Shadow Chie only chuckled at the other Chie's attempt to rebuff her statement. "So you're just going to deny me again huh? But this are different now. This time I'll be the one left standing! You won't mind will you? You are me after all!"
"No!" shouted Chie, who had reached the breaking point. "You're..."
"Don't say it!" pleaded Yosuke.
"You're not me!"
At this, Shadow Chie began laughing maniacally and was soon engulfed in a black mass of Shadows. A few moments later, the transformation was completed. To everyone's horror, Shadow Chie had become a huge monster, resembling a dominatrix clad in yellow leather armed with a whip and being held up by several shadows dressed in the school uniform.
Chie fainted at this, just as Yosuke had done when his Shadow self had transformed.
"I am a Shadow. The true self!" Declared Shadow Chie when the transformation was complete. "What do you all think you're doing? Trying to protect the 'real me'?!"
"You guys need to hurry and use your powers to save Chie-chan!" said Teddie, who was clearly frightened by the new monster.
Hamuko nodded and watched as Souji and Yosuke called out their Personas. Not wanting to be a bystander, she took her Evoker, pressed it against her head and pulled the trigger. Her Persona appeared as well and marched up next to Jiraiya and Izanagi.
"Aren't you going to call out yours Meti-Chan?" asked Teddie.
"Not yet," said the robot girl as she gripped her weapon and joined the others.
Shadow Chie only laughed at the group and shook her head. "We're just getting started and you're all so deadly serious! How utterly lame!"
"Yeah, I'll show you how lame we are!" growled Yosuke. "Garu!" A moment later Jiraiya cast a wind attack like Psyche had done to his Shadow in their fight. It was enough to knock Shadow Chie off her 'seat' as it were and onto the ground.
"The enemy is down!" said Metis as she pointed forward. "We must attack!" She then charged forward with the others close behind. The group began pounding Shadow Chie with a flurry of kicks punches and whatever else they could think of. After a few seconds of this Shadow Chie knocked them all back with a wave of her massive arm.
"You'll pay for that!" she shouted before sending multiple lightning bolts at the group. Hamuko yelped after getting struck by one- the sting of an electric attack wasn't something she was used to after all. Souji and Metis also reeled back somewhat from the attack, but Yosuke looked like he was affected the most as he dropped to his knees after getting struck.
"Oh, man what the hell was-" Yosuke's sentence was cut off by another blast of electricity, this time aimed specifically for him. "Arg!" He cried out from the pain and collapsed on his back. "I-I can't..."
"Aw that's too bad!" taunted Shadow Chie as she cracked her whip at Souji, who had barely dodged it. "I was hoping to have a little more fun than that!"
"Oh, no Yosuke's hurt!" Teddie cried out from behind the group. "W-what are we gonna do?!"
"Stop whining and start being useful for starters!" growled Metis as she called out Psyche. "Garu!" Another wind attack hit Shadow Chie, once again knocking her off balance.
"L-let's attack her again like last time!" said Hamuko as she, Souji and Metis charged at the incapacitated Shadow. While they did this, Teddie ran up to Yosuke and produced a small glowing bead.
"I-I don't know if this will work but..." Teddie held the bead over Yosuke and a moment later a glow emitted from it and shined onto Yosuke, who began stirring.
"Ugh," muttered Yosuke as he stood up. "I'm pissed off now!" The then joined the others in attacking Shadow Chie.
"This is getting on my nerves!" shouted Shadow Chie as she finally knocked away her attackers a second time. "That won't happen again!" A second later a green shield appeared in front of her for a moment before vanishing. "Try that again, I dare you!"
"Sure thing!" said Yosuke as he willed Jiraiya to appear again. "Garu!"
"Wait, Yosuke!" Metis tried to warn him about the attack but it was too late. The wind attack glanced harmlessly off Shadow Chie who responded by snaring him with her whip.
"What the-" Yosuke struggled to free himself with no success.
"N-now what?" asked Hamuko, who was starting to panic. As bad as Yosuke's Shadow fight was, this was looking far worse.
"Well we can't give up!" said Souji who charged forward with his weapon, but only managed to get snared as well.
Shadow Chie began laughing as she held to two boys upside down in front of her. "Oh I'm having so much fun! But we can't let the boys have all the fun can we?" She stared at Hamuko a moment before snapping her whip at her. Hamuko could do nothing more than close her eyes as the attack came her way. But when she heard the snap and no pain she opened her eyes to see Metis had intercepted the attack and the whip end had wrapped itself around her left arm.
"You have to do something Hamuko-san!" she said as she pulled at the whip.
"I-I..." Hamuko was so scared she was at a loss as to what to do. It was clear Metis couldn't hold out much longer, and if she fell, then the fight would be almost impossible with just her able to fight. "Janna, Bash the enemy!" Her Persona responded by raising it's riot shield and charged at Shadow Chie. The impact didn't appear to do much damage, but it did allow Metis the chance to increase her leverage on the whip.
"No choice now..." Metis said. "Orgia Mode!" Suddenly steam began forming from the robot girl's head as she tugged on the whip.
"What?! How can this be?" growled Shadow Chie as she pulled on the whip harder.
"Just a little more..." Metis pulled as hard as she could on her end of the whip, succeeding in toppling over Shadow Chie. But the force proved to be too much on her arm and it snapped off at her shoulder.
"Metis! A-are you all right?!" Gasped Hamuko.
"I'll...live," replied Metis, who looked like she was in a great deal of pain. "Your friends are freed! Go help them!"
Hamuko looked over to see that Yosuke and Souji had indeed broken free as Shadow Chie was struggling to right herself.
"I won't give her another chance!" said Hamuko as she summoned her Persona again and ordered her to Bash Shadow Chie once more. Yosuke and Souji took the opportunity to call their Personas as well and began using them to attack Shadow Chie. This turned out to be enough to defeat the Shadow as she collapsed and reverted back to the Chie-looking form.
The real Chie slowly got to her feet and approached her other self.
"Got... nothing to say anymore?"
"Chie, it's okay," said Hamuko as she approached the girl.
"But I-"
"We all have different faces," said Souji as he put a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"W-we do?"
Yosuke nodded. "It's true. I went through the same thing, so I can understand. We... all have a side like this."
Chie looked at Yosuke and then back at her other self.
"I think... I get it now. You are me. A side of me I couldn't forgive and tried to ignore. But no matter how much I tried to ignore you, you still exist. You're a part of me..."
The other Chie nodded and vanished. A moment later a large Persona-like being appeared over Chie for a moment before vanishing. Once it had done so, Chie dropped to her knees.
"Whoa, hey Chie!" Yosuke knelt down next to her.
"I'm... fine," said Chie, who was clearly not. "I'm just a little tired is all..."
"You don't look fine to me," said Hamuko as she shook her head. "But you know... I think she can use the same power as us now."
"I can?" asked Chie.
"That aside, what do you think we should do now?" asked Yosuke.
"We should go back," said Souji.
"I think so too," said Yosuke. "We need to let Chie rest. Also there's Metis..."
Chie did her best to stand back up but could barely do so. "But Yukiko... I have to tell her..."
"We don't know how much farther in she is Chie," said Hamuko. "And we're not in any condition to go in further now..."
"And you need to get your strength back!" said Teddie. "Yuki-chan's normal, so the Shadows won't attack her. They only attack when the fog lifts here."
"So she'll be safe until then?" asked Yosuke.
Teddie nodded. "I'm positive. Also Meti-chan needs to be fixed..."
Metis responded by grabbing her broken off arm and holding it. "I can fix myself, but it will take a little time for damage this severe..."
"But I can't turn back now!" said Chie as she stumbled forward. "I've come so far!"
Hamuko quickly blocked the way. "Then tell us how much further in we have to go! If we all die, what good does that do Yukiko?"
"But-"
"Senpai's right Chie," said Yosuke. "The enemies might be even stronger than your Shadow for all we know."
Chie looked at the stairs leading up to the next floor and then back at the group. "Okay. I'm sorry about before... I shouldn't have ran ahead like that, and because I did, Metis-san is hurt. Or damaged or whatever the right word is."
"All of the above," replied Metis. "But I'll be okay, eventually."
The group slowly made its way back to the entrance to the TV world, but it was clear Chie was looking worse off than the others.
"My head is killing me," she said as she looked at the group. "Aren't you guys feeling the same way?"
Hamuko shook her head. "It's because we have these I think." She pointed at the glasses that Teddie had made her.
"Oh that's right," said Yosuke. "You're not wearing the glasses, so it makes sense."
Chie looked to see that the others were wearing glasses, except for Teddie and Metis. "What's up with those, did your eyes go bad or something?"
"She really didn't notice before huh?" sighed Souji.
"Well that problem is now officially solved!" said Teddie as he produced another set of glasses. Chie took the pair and put them on, and was shocked to see the results.
"Oh wow you're right! It's like the fog doesn't exist at all! Is it really okay for me to keep these?"
"Fo' Sho!" said Teddie.
"Well we have to stop here for today, but I'll be back with these!" said Chie. "You guys better not come here without me!"
Yosuke nodded. "I think that's the smart thing to do. No one comes here alone- it's way too dangerous for that. We gotta work together or we can't solve this case or save Yukiko-san."
"I agree," said Souji.
Chie and Hamuko also nodded and agreed to the proposal.
"So starting tomorrow, let's try to come here as much as we can after school," said Yosuke. "That includes days off. Also..." He looked at Hamuko and then at Souji. "Would one of you mind being our leader? You both got your powers first and you're both better at being in a fight than the rest of us."
Hamuko looked at Souji before shaking her head. "I don't think I make very good Leader material, at least not right now. I'm still trying to recover physically from waking up as well..."
"Oh right, I forgot about that," said Yosuke.
"I'll do it," said Souji. "If that's what you want. Are you sure you're okay with an underclassman leading you Senpai?"
Hamuko nodded. "No problems here; you can set the pace and we'll all follow. But what if he gets sick or something happens and he can't... you know, lead?"
"Then it'll fall to you Senpai," said Chie as she slapped the girl on the back. "You can be the emergency leader."
"W-well, I guess I could if I have too," said Hamuko. "I'd be vice-leader or what's the term?"
Yosuke shrugged. "Beats me, but I'll still call you Senpai either way. But wait, what about Metis?"
The group turned to the robot was sitting on the floor, still holding her detached arm.
"I'll follow whatever your leader decides to do," she said. "As you can see, this world is far too dangerous for even me travel alone anymore."
"Then it's settled," said Chie.
At this she heard the voice in her head speak again. "Thou art I... And I am Thou... Thou hast established a new bond... It brings thee closer to the truth... Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the World Arcana..."
Another Social Link had formed, and this was one between a group of people, not just one person. From the looks of things she could tell that Souji had the same thing happen to him.
"Well, let's get out of here guys," said Yosuke. "We need to get Chie home."
"Bye Teddie, Metis!" said Hamuko as she watched the two begin to work on repairing Metis. "Uh, get well soon?"
Evening-Junes
The four students appeared in the Electronics section the same as last time, and thankfully there was no one around to see them appear as well.
"Let's all get some rest so we can be ready for tomorrow on,' said Yosuke.
"Don't forget to check the weather reports as well," said Souji. "It gets foggy after it rains for several days so be mindful of that."
Hamuko nodded and looked at Chie. "I'll take her home, so you guys go on ahead."
The two boys nodded and went their separate ways, leaving Chie and Hamuko alone.
"You know, I'm not used to the one being saved," said Chie as the two headed for the exit. "I'd always be the one rushing to save Yukiko from some imagined villain. Never thought a real one would ever show up though..."
"Well now's your chance to do a real rescue," said Hamuko. "Uh, not now, now, but you know..."
Chie nodded. "We'll save Yukiko, I'll make sure of it!"
The pair made their way to the exit of Junes where they were greeted by a very worried looking Iris.
"There you two are!" sighed the reporter as she approached the two girls.
"Huh? Why are you here Iris?" asked Chie.
"I could ask you two the same thing!" said Iris as she glared at Hamuko and Chie. "You said you were going to look for Yukiko- I had no idea that meant spending the whole day at Junes!"
"I-it's a big place!" said Hamuko. "A-and how did you know where we were?"
"Friend of mine told me you came here after you left the Station," explained Iris. "I looked for you but I couldn't find any of you so I waited outside."
"We must have just missed each other," said Chie with a nervous laugh. "I honestly thought Yukiko was hiding somewhere in Junes. I made the other guys and Senpai tag along too, so yeah..."
Iris sighed. "So I missed the whole lot of you somehow... Man I must be getting old then..."
"I, uh, guess so?" said Hamuko with a nervous laugh of her own.
"You're not supposed to agree Hamuko-chan," sighed Iris. "Oh well, there's no point stressing out over it. You heading home Chie-chan?"
Chie nodded. "Yeah we all called it a day."
"Then I'll drop you off in my car," said Iris. "I was going to go home after I found you guys anyway."
The two girls nodded and followed Iris through the parking lot to her car. After getting in and leaving Iris let out a frustrated sigh.
"What's wrong Iris?" asked Hamuko.
"It's Yukiko," said the reporter. "Ryo-kun, er Dojima-san and I put our heads together but we couldn't make heads or tails as to where she could have run off too. It's a bit worrying to be honest."
"I'm sure she'll turn up wherever she is," said Chie, who looked uncomfortable lying to Iris. "This is Yukiko we're talking about."
"Yes it is..." trailed Iris. After a few minutes of driving Iris stopped a house. "Here we are Chie-chan."
"Thanks Iris! See later Senpai!" Chie waved at the them as she left the car and went into her house.
Matsuda Residence
The trip back home was silent as was the dinner that Iris had made. With Takao still working at the Inn, the silence seemed almost unbearable to the two of them until Iris finally broke it while the two were eating.
"Look Hamuko-chan, I don't want to start throwing suspicions at everyone and everything I see but I have to admit things today have seemed rather off, starting with your friends getting arrested for waving weapons around."
"Uh, they were just goofing around that's all," said Hamuko. "E-even Chie said that much."
"Yes she did," said Iris. "The thing is... Ryo-kun told me neither of them have a history of doing stuff like that; doubly so for Souji-kun since he is living with him for now. I guess with the murders, Yuki-chan missing and now that going on..."
"I have made some unusual friends," agreed Hamuko. "But you can't think any of us have anything to do with what's going on... do you?"
Iris looked at Hamuko before shaking her head. "Nah, pfft. I'm sure it's just the stress from my job that's making me think of dumb stuff like that."
If only that were true... Hamuko thought.
"Well at least we've got sunny weather coming for awhile so that's some good news at least!" said Iris as she pointed at the weather forecast that was playing on TV.
"Y-yeah, good news," said Hamuko. Good because that means Yukiko is still alive.
Iris looked at Hamuko as she finished eating before asking another question. "Weren't you wearing your new clothes today? Why did you change into your uniform again?"
"Oh, uh I didn't want to... get them dirty?" said Hamuko as she thought up a lame excuse.
"Well that makes sense- gotta watch out for those sudden dust storms inside Junes!" said Iris. "Then again, you had no idea Chie-chan would drag you there so I suppose it would make sense. Either way you look pretty beat. I guess you're still not 100% huh?"
Hamuko shook her head. "N-not really. I probably should go to sleep soon..."
"Well go on then," said Iris as she collected the dishes. "I'll clean up here."
"Okay, thanks Iris," said Hamuko. She trudged up to her room and plopped down on her futon and fell asleep not long afterwards.