"Huh…?" Chikara tries again. She pushes the screen and recoils when the television begins to lean. "I know I was in that world before…I could barely stay awake when I got out."
"Well, I don't want to leave you here alone," Akihiko says. "What should we do?"
Chika thinks back to her previous, unintentional experiences with the TV world. She lights up when she notices a pattern.
"This should work," she says as she takes Akihiko's hand again. Aki nods before reentering the portal. They both end up falling through the rectangular vortex and on the crime scene-like studio. Akihiko's entrance is less than graceful but Chikara, who tucks and rolls, lands a few feet away without hurting herself. She ends up on her back, limbs spread apart. She struggles to see through the fog. After Akihiko recovers, he bends over to pick up something and sits down next to her.
"You dropped these," he says, dangling a pair of glasses over the girl.
"Again?" she sighs and takes them. To her dismay, she sees a crack in one of the lenses. "I guess these finally reached their limit. So, welcome to," she sweeps the air above her with her arm, "…whatever this is."
"The new Tartarus?"
"…This might pose a bigger threat," Chika says, tucking one of the glasses' wings into her collar. "And, Aki?"
"Hm?"
"Do you have your Evoker on you?"
"Uh, yeah," Akihiko digs the silver handgun out of his coat pocket and hands it to her. "Why?"
"I need to know why I couldn't get in here on my own."
The Team follows their bear-shaped bloodhound to the newest dungeon's location. Their chatter begins to quiet down as their search takes noticeably longer than usual. Silence, save for Teddie's squeaky feet and determined sniffing, creeps up on them. When their path becomes familiar, Chie is the first to point it out.
"Are you sure we're going the right way?"
"Yeah! It's this way…I think," Teddie mutters the last part.
"Are we going around in circles?!" the tomboy stomps her foot
"Waaah, I'm sorry!" the bear cowers.
"Is there something wrong?" Yu asks. "You usually don't lead the way unless you're sure."
"That's the thing," Teddie looks down. "At first I'm beary sure, but then the scent starts to weaken…It changes and I don't know why."
"He's right, I've been having trouble too," Bunny states. "It's like…something makes it different from the others."
"Should we go back?" says Yukiko.
"No! She's gotta be close. We have to keep tryin'!" Kanji snaps. The others stare at him. "Look, she's a brat who annoys the shit outta me, but she's…she's my friend. Turning back ain't an option."
"Kanji-kun…"
"Don't push yourself. Even we get lost in here sometimes," says Teddie. "We'll try to find her, but you guys should go home for now."
"I said…!" Kanji raises his already-booming voice, but is stopped by something in his peripheral vision. "Hey, guys. We're not alone."
"Hah…hah…" Chikara erratically places the summoner onto her temple. She swallows hard, not willing to relive her past. Once the cold metal of the barrel presses against her skin, she spasms, then takes another breath. No matter how many times she tells herself that the result won't be permanent, the sensation is terrifying. Akihiko places his hand on her shoulder.
"You're fine. You can do this. Just stay calm," he whispers. Chikara shuts her eyes, trying to hide her anger and stop her tears. He didn't need his help all this time. Why does he need him now…? Come on, girl, you've done this before! Dammit, stop shaking! Just…do it. …Come on, do it!
A barrage of 'Wait!', 'Stop!', and 'Don't!' scares her into pulling the trigger. Even though blue glass shards exit the other side instead of blood splatter, the gunshot sounds very real.
"Nooo!" Kanji jumps over the abyss between the railing he's standing on and Chikara. He almost knocks her over with a hug. The others rush to join them using the safe route, watching as Aki shoots daggers in the back of Kanji's head. Chika doesn't notice. She returns the gesture after being frozen for a second or two.
"Whoa, where's the fire?" Chikara says.
"Are you…I mean, how…" Kanji extends his arms, hands clenched to Chikara's arms, to observe the girl's body.
"I thought you didn't like hugs. …Oh, I get it. It's only okay if you start 'em, huh?"
"You dumbass!" the punk pulls her in again. "D'you have any idea how worried we were?"
"Wh, you're the dumbass!" she pushes him away. "If you picked up one of the twenty different times I called you, you would've known that I was okay!"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I don't get bars in this dimension!"
"Whatever. I hope you were tearing your hair out over me, tough guy," Chika sticks out her tongue.
"You didn't have to go through that alone," Kanji ignores the banter. "And now…Shit, you fuckin' piss me off!"
"What's your deal?!" she soon figures out that she's holding the source of Kanji's, and everyone else's, panic in her hand. "Oh, you mean this? No, no, this is my Evoker."
"That's your Evoker?" Yosuke slumps, mouth agape. Chikara inhales sharply. That's right. She never told them how it was used…
"Yeah, so it's harmless," she says. "But my Persona's not coming out for some reason."
"How did you get here?" Yu asks.
"Aki helped me in a few minutes ago."
"No, I mean, here. In this area."
"Maybe Mr. Sanada saved her," Yukiko says, and then every other Team member comes to a realization at once.
"Akihiko Sanada?!"
"What?!"
"No way…"
"This guy's a champ and he has a Persona?" Chie joins the group of fawning kids blocking every possible means of escape for Aki. "Wahow, those Shadows better watch out!"
"I-I didn't really do anything…" Akihiko shows clear signs of discomfort, forcing Chika to rescue him.
"I got out on my own," she says, regaining the kids' attention and convincing them to back off. "It wasn't easy, but I have the scars to prove it. So the secret to getting in here is being a Persona user?"
"That's our guess," Yosuke says. "Which means…"
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," says Yu when Yosuke gives him a concerned look.
"Well, don't leave us in suspense!" Chikara laughs. "What is it?"
"It's possible that your Persona's trapped in here in the form of a Shadow."
"…What?"
"You know what Shadows are, right?"
"Yeah. They're instinct given form. Insatiable, gaudy, blunt…Basically the id of the human psyche."
"And there are special kinds that consume other Shadows and grow," Akihiko helps her finish.
"Right," Yu says, "and when they're accepted by their hosts, they turn into Personas."
"That part is actually news to me," Chikara crosses her arms and lowers her head. "So you're saying my Persona, er, my Shadow is in here somewhere?"
"In a place created by you."
"…Huh."
"You guys sure know a lot. You should be one of us!" Teddie raises one of his mitten-like paws and grins. Bunny wraps her arms around his neck to steady herself. Despite talking to the couple, the bear's glistening eyes are locked on Chikara.
"Like I said, I don't have my Persona," she backs away from him.
"If you don't accept your Shadow, and soon, you might not get it back," Yu points out.
"So make sure that you do, no matter what it has to say," says Yosuke.
"Yeah, got it," Chika nods. "But before we do any of that, I'd like to spend the rest of the day preparing, if that's okay."
The others consent before saying their goodbyes. Most of them exit through the stack of televisions in the center of the crime scene.
"It was a pleasure seeing you again, Mr. Sanada," Yukiko says as she bows. "I'm sorry that it wasn't under better circumstances."
"Hey, I'm more than happy to make anyone who hurts my girl pay," Akihiko places his arm on Chikara's shoulders and raises his opposite fist. Yukiko smiles before walking through the portal, careful not to reveal what's beneath her skirt. Teddie growls, his focus now on Akihiko.
"Teddie Bear, no," Bunny hisses.
"Hmph!" he nosedives between the couple, forcing them apart. "Chika-chan, can I borrow your glasses?"
"What for, little guy?" Chikara asks when she takes the broken spectacles out of her collar. Teddie snatches them away, turns around, and tinkers with them a bit.
"Here," he returns them. "Try them now."
"Wow, they're like new…" the former teacher does so and gasps. "The fog…It's gone!"
"I gave them special lenses for your next visit!"
"Really? Awww, you're a smart widdle clown bear thing, awen't you?" Chikara uses a baby voice as she scratches behind Teddie's ear. The bear growls in a different tune, his face full of bliss. He even takes a moment to cut his eyes at Akihiko while Chikara's distracted.
"Get away…" Bunny snarls.
"Haha, okay, okay, I'm not after your man. Don't worry," Chikara says, rendering the floppy-eared girl speechless.
"So according to those kids, my Shadow exists because I'm hiding something," Chikara says as she and Akihiko return to the first floor via elevator. "But what could I be hiding?"
"You tell me."
"Oh, come on, don't you suspect me too. You know me!"
"I saw your Shadow on TV last night. So I'm going to find out either way."
The girl's face scrunches up, offended by the accusation. She ponders about what her secret may be.
"Shadows are a part of the subconscious," Aki continues. "You'll have to dig, but if you find out what yours has to say before we have to face it, it may save us some trouble."
"…There is something."
The double doors open with a ding.
"What is it?"
"W…Well…Back in high school, I-"
"Hey, Miss!"
As the couple heads toward the entrance, it's stopped by a lanky young man with a paper grocery bag in hand.
"Hey…?" Chika tilts her head and squints before making the connection. "Oh, you're that cop from earlier! What're you doing here?"
"Oh, heh, you know," he glances at his cabbage-filled bag. "Grocery shopping. But then I thought, 'maybe if I stay here long enough, I'll run into that nice couple again'."
Shifting the weight to one of his arms, the detective takes Chikara's cellphone out of his pocket and gives it to her.
"So you decided to carry my phone around instead of keeping it at the station where lost items are usually turned in?" Chika asks.
"Uh…aheheh, yeah."
"Well, it's still a nice gesture," she decides to give the pitiful-looking man a break. "So thank you…um…"
"Tohru Adachi."
"Right, right, thanks, Mr. Adachi."
Adachi flashes that stupid smile again before going about his way. He's incompetent but at least he's nice.
"You sure are popular…" Aki mumbles.
"What do you mean?"
"A lot of guys seem to fall all over themselves to impress you."
Chikara scoffs. She looks at the boxer, who averts his gaze. She leans further and further at an angle the more stubborn he is about eye contact.
"…Are you jealous?"
"No."
"You are !"
"Am not!"
"Yoooou're jea-lous, yoooou're jea-lous!" Chika does a little dance around Aki as she sings, and his face reddens from both the teasing and crowd they're attracting.
"Let's just get our training over with, alright?" he says as he marches out of the store, his relentless wife trailing behind.