CHAPTER 11 – DON'T DREAM IT'S OVER
Minako's Investigation Team entered the rooftop door into the expansive Inaba dungeon. The cold, worn and unpainted cement walls of the staircase revealed to be a sign of things to come. Upon finding the true entrance a couple dozen steps below, the building they stepped inside revealed itself to be a prison formed after the JUNES mall. Where shops are found in the real world, were doors and windows covered in metal bars. The locks were all removed, but moving cameras and roaming shadows ensured the atmosphere remained oppressive.
The food court retained its function, but now looked like a cafeteria from an American high school movie setting. The open roof was gone, replaced with a painting of the red and black sky above.
"I don't like this place beary much" Teddie said, stopping behind his forced companions. "There's a loooot of shadows around."
"Would you like to stay behind with Elizabeth? She can protect you, if that's what you're worried about."
Teddie shook his large head at Minako's question. "No, the blue lady is too scary! ...I want to see. Teddie went to the bad room yesterday. The one where you came from. It wasn't good, it wasn't good at all... You say you want to help. I want to believe you beary much, but I have to see!" He ended on a sad note, bracing himself for any kind of attack from the group.
Minako looked compassionately at the being, who it turned out willingly went along with people he feared might have been murderers. Tamaki was the first to speak up, just as she did before. "You're very brave Teddie. But don't worry, we told you the truth and mean you no harm. What you saw was not our doing. We just want to prevent the bad guys from hurting people."
"We'll hee-ck the losers' asses, ho!" Added the Jack Frost next to the detective.
Minako didn't get any time to back Tamaki's claim, as she heard Aigis firing her weapons at something. A pack of shadows attacked her while the others were distracted, so she, Tamaki and the demon joined the fight. The enemies fell one by one to a coordinated attack. Bufu, Bufu and a multi-target Gry knocked out the enemies and led to a final mass attack.
The danger gone, Minako looked around and saw no other shadows in the close area. She gestured to the team and led with the words "Let's go." and the team followed, including the reluctant bear.
Further into the room, they were stopped as a voice boomed through everyone's minds. "But don't you understand, we're in the red this month too! If it'll go on like that for longer, I won't have any money to pay the bills anymore!" The gruff voice of an older man spoke in an angry tone.
"LEAVE the kids out of this!" A woman replied sharply with similar anger. Nobody knew where the sound was coming from, even as they looked around.
"That's a fragment of the owner's memory, likely what created this palace. You're heading in the right direction. Head to the left for a downward staircase, and right for the scenic route with a view of supplies." Elizabeth provided navigation, as the building's shape had shifted into seemingly random corridors.
The floor below took the form of the second floor of JUNES, full of clothing stores, travel agencies and similar businesses. But beyond that degree of familiarity, the dungeon had become outright labyrinthine and unrecognizable. Fighting off shadow after shadow, Eurydice had gotten stronger and Aigis started relying on Athena more, while Tamaki recalled the tired Jack Frost in favor of a Nekomata. Teddie held back, watching from a slight distance.
Upon smashing a pair of dice enemies, they turned around a corner and found themselves in front of a door for Employees Only. Another booming memory manifested itself out of nowhere.
"Every day's great at your JU-NES! Opening new locations in Inaba and Fujiyoshida! Great deals and high quality products await you at your new favorite store!" A voice spoke in the signature style of mass advertising.
"Hey bro, do you think I should apply?" Minako thought she recognized the female speaker, but it sounded way different than she was used to – happier, less deadpan.
"Apply? For the film school?" A younger, male voiced asked in an uninterested tone of voice.
"Dad isn't gonna pay for it, so… I'm gonna need a job."
"Why don't you help out around the store? Dad says he could bring back the good times if you helped out too."
"Dad says many things."
The voices faded away, and the door in front of Minako had opened. She had understood whose memories these were and felt saddened. Whatever happened, a person she knew was likely in danger, just like when Maiko or Bunkichi wandered into Tartarus.
She approached Tamaki and borrowed her COMP's headset to contact Elizabeth and confirm what she already realized. "Eliza-chan, are we in the Palace of Saki Konishi?"
There was no reply at first, but the silver-haired navigator soon confirmed her suspicions. "Indeed, it is. Your mystery acquaintance's mind built this place. The door ahead leads to the final level of the cage. Take it, free yourselves and fly to the destination my dear birds."
Elizabeth's return to eccentric behavior was a good sign. She was starting to understand the place they were exploring. The team did good damage against the hostile shadows and were looking to be in good form even with the prior pointless exploration in the foggy corridor.
The final area encompassed the heart of JUNES, its supermarket. The dungeon was no longer in random patterns or prison-themed, but was one long aisle of empty store shelves in a dark room. At the end was another large gate, which suddenly reminded Minako of her visit to her own palace.
"I'm sensing a large shadow ahead. Make sure you beat them in style." Elizabeth proclaimed to the team.
Taking some last minute preparations, Minako led Aigis, Tamaki and Teddie inside. What they saw was two large shadows. An older, deformed man wearing a suit and carrying a baseball bat and a three-headed dog on a leash, with Yosuke Hanamura's face and a scarf with a heart on it.
The shadow didn't waste any time and attacked immediately, prompting a counteroffensive. Minako thought it disturbing that the shadows actually talked during the fight. The human one kept laughing as it threatened to fire everyone, while the dog flirted with the team, demanding dates. A well placed charged attack knocked out the man for good, as the dog fell soon after to a zio spell and the battle ended in victory.
"It's over." Minako stated, as the door behind the now vanishing shadows broke apart, revealing the entrance to the town area. Aigis picked up a piece of paper off the ground where the big shadows stood. It had been full of insults against Saki Konishi. They called her a traitor, a sellout and a disgrace to her family.
"Insults." Aigis commented upon reading the paper. "Should this letter be genuine, It seems there was disapproval of her employment at JUNES."
The leader thought of Saki's reaction on the first day of school, as even Takeo had mentioned her distaste for her workplace. Minako could see why. It had manifested as a prison and full of hostiles. Meanwhile, the portrayal of the only other employee she knew personally and someone presumedly higher on the company ladder was nothing but overwhelmingly negative.
She picked up a shard off the broken door, seeing the logo of the mall split in half, with the other parts somewhere on the ground. Minako said nothing and just shook her head as she threw the piece away.
Outside, shadow activity had ceased. All sounds were gone and the fog cleared completely in the fake central shopping street. The stores they passed were all closed or abandoned. Even the vending machines looked vandalized and emptied.
Teddie muttered something to himself, and Elizabeth informed the team they were approaching the central location of the palace. Perhaps anti-climatically, the presence was strongest felt from a regular house with a storefront at the end of the street, a liquor store.
"Are we okay?" Minako asked, and received a positive answer from her teammates. Teddie looked Hesitant, but offered no resistance. He was not impressed by what he saw in here. A sense of danger was omnipresent and the evil voices and presences did not help. He was ready to escape to places only he knew of in case his temporary companions went back on their word. They have proven themselves to be very capable fighters, regardless of their further course of actions.
Aigis was the one to open the door of the store and it they saw the room was larger than the building would allow it to be. The area looked otherwise fairly normal if not messy, with beverage crates, bottles littered about and opened fridge doors cooling down the temperature. The Palace had a ruler and they were staring them down from a spot on top of a throne made from Crates. She was wearing garish, orange-tinted sunglasses, a yellow silk shirt with a frog shot by an arrow drawn on it and a set of pants, boots and an opened jacket made from black leather. Completing the look was a katana, stabbed into the throne and easily reachable for the shadow.
Similarly to Minako's case, the real Saki Konishi kneeled on the ground full of confusion and barely noticing what was happening.
"You've made it past the pen, eh?. Good job, but I'm not surrendering to you scum. Not on my territory." The shadow spoke in a venom-filled angry tone of voice. "They don't call me the Dragon of Inaba for show. I've wrecked this town to submission. Some random bozos like you won't stop me."
"This was your doing?" Tamaki asked, hoping for an explanation.
"This can be resolved without violence. Let your victim go, and we'll leave you be." Aigis added, having the opposite effect than she hoped. The shadow began laughing and looked towards Saki, gaining her attention. "You hearin' this? 'Victim' ...Victim my ass, this girl is as fierce as the rest of the gang, just like me ...ain't you? Not like her useless brother."
"No…" Saki replied meekly, suddenly having her attention once again focused.
"WHAT WAS THAT?" The shadow was angry, as Minako ordered the team to get ready to fight.
"I'm not like you. I'm not you! I'M NOT YOU!"
"OH?" The shadow began laughing hysterically, growing in size and transforming into a snow demon. "JUST WHAT I WANTED TO HEAR"
Saki passed out and the team got attacked by a Mabufu spell, followed by the large shadow voiding fire spells against it. Elizabeth suggested to try Zio or Zan spells, and they did decent damage. Tamaki was able to damage it with her gun, and it was a blow by Aigis that ended the battle. Using God's hand had sent her unconcscious, but it dealt severe damage to the shadow. It collapsed to the ground with loud screams. Aigis was revived with an item and Minako helped her get onto her feet once again.
"The shadow is down. Well done, friends." Elizabeth remarked.
The team had then approached where Saki laid and saw her regaining consciousness.
"...I'm not you." She muttered in her stupor, before laying her eyes on Minako. "Shiomi? What did you...?" A look around the room, including the vanishing shadow brought her to a realization, which left her open-mouthed. "Thank you." She fell back into unconsciousness in the same way Minako had. Inside of her, a change had occurred and the monster her saviors fought a few minutes ago had morphed into a humanoid Persona. A woman wearing an ancient silver tunic and spouting a silver bow and arrows. "I am thou, thou art I… I am Yuhwa, princess of Amrok. Let's take a stand and change the course of the river of life." It said, which only Saki heard in her dream-state.
Teddie held back near the entrance, but his wariness was beginning to fade. The strangers had fulfilled half of their deal, and he was glad that they were able to save an innocent life. The whole team didn't speak much for the entirety of the trip back to the entry point, beyond a few congratulatory statements by Elizabeth, who volunteered to carry the unconscious girl on her back.
"Thank you again Teddie. We couldn't have done this without your help." Minako shook the hands of the bear, who was now blushing in spite of his mixed feelings.
"We haven't forgotten about the promise. We won't bother you again, unless we'll have reasons to believe a danger has appeared." Tamaki reassured him with her professional and experienced demeanor. Teddie himself was unsure if that's what he wanted to hear, but knew it was time to say goodbye. He had to get ready for the next clearance of fog, which was bound to happen any day now.
Tuesday, 13th April 2011 – Late Afternoon – JUNES Electronics Store
The team returned to the space in front of the large Television they used earlier, with the unconscious body of Saki Konishi in Elizabeth's arms. Finally worn out from the mission, Minako looked around, and saw nobody around the store, except for the usual cashier and some old man who just left carrying a box.
"We have succeeded in rescuing our target. Should we contact the Kirijo Group?" Minako nodded and Aigis transmitted a report to the agents Mitsuru deployed, requesting assistance. "They'll come pick her up disguised as paramedics. We are to stay here."
Elizabeth checked Saki for Vital signs and traces left over from her forced stay in the TV world, but wasn't able to detect anything special other than what she had expected – the presence of a persona.
Minako saw Tamaki leave and sit down on a bench just outside the store. After making sure Elizabeth and Aigis would stay and tend to Saki, she approached the adult woman and sat down right next to her.
"Is everything alright?" She asked.
"Yeah, it is. It never gets any easier, doesn't it?" The detective asked in return, with the look of exhaustion on her face.
"I'm just happy that we had a doable goal this time."
Tamaki smiled mildly at the comment, relaxing somewhat.
"Heh. Yeah... We still don't know anything, but at least we saved someone's life." Tamaki sighed and shook her head, still discontent. "This woman we saved, she's the one you spoke to earlier."
Minako nodded. "A classmate. She was acting really strange. Didn't even recognize me. Suzumi told me her parents didn't know where she's been the last two days. She hasn't been to school either. Yet she came to work."
"Odd. It might be related to her showing up inside the TV." Tamaki thought aloud, and the younger woman agreed with her. They had no other information available, so the two sat in silence for a minute or two in the almost empty food court, waiting for the fake paramedics to arrive.
Once they did, Saki got transported by car to Tatsumi Port Island's Kirijo Foundation Hospital. where she got treated to the best of the doctors' abilities and studied in secret.
Tuesday, 13th April 2011 – Evening - Minako Arisato's Room, Inaba
Shiomi Kotone – Sent, 7:59 PM – chidori, could I ask you for a favor?
Chidori Yoshino - Sent, 8:12 PM – You may ask. What do you need?
Shiomi Kotone – Sent, 8:15 PM – if youre in town could you drop off a get well soon card at the hospital in my name? the patient is saki konishi. it would be nice if you could sketch her something nice too
Chidori Yoshino - Sent, 8:21 PM – This is a personal matter. I can do it, but wouldn't you prefer a personal touch?
Shiomi Kotone – Sent, 8:22 PM – ill send mine too. i just wanted it to be there very fast. i dont want her to feel alone.
Chidori Yoshino - Sent, 8:22 PM – Alright. I'll send you a picture when I'm done. You can tell me if you like it and what to write on it.
Shiomi Kotone – Sent, 8:22 PM – 3