A/N: Well, it's been almost two years since an update of any substance was added to this story, and for that I am beyond sorry. I'm not going to try and make excuses, but nevertheless I am still sorry. Anyways, here we are with chapter seven and hopefully I'll be following it up with chapter eight soon, no promises though. It's not as much as you guys deserve, but I hope it's enough to recapture your interest and either way I'll be getting to work on chapter eight as soon as possible.


Why Does the Caged Bird Sing?

Dinner in the Dojima residence was proving, once again, to be a very quiet and awkward affair. Normally Danny would be bothered by the silence hanging heavily over the table, however as he fumbled tiredly with his chopsticks under Dojima's unrelenting gaze he found himself grateful for it. Unfortunately for the half-ghost it didn't last. "Hey. Mind if I ask you something?"

Danny blinked at his rice before slowly looking up and meeting his Uncle's stare, "Sure..." He replied quietly, forcing a very tired smile onto his face.

The heavy silence returned for a moment before Dojima let out a sigh that sounded as tired as he felt, "You aren't getting involved with any strange business are you? What happened at the station this afternoon...it's still bothering me. Is there...anything you're not telling me?" He asked seriously.

The half-ghost stared at his Uncle for a few seconds, unsurprised at the question. 'Well, I'm a half-ghost; don't bother asking me how that's even possible, it's really kind of a mess to explain; and now that I don't have any ghosts to fight I've been going into a TV set and fighting the personifications of Humanity's dark side in order to save people thrown in by a madman with the help of my brand new 'friends' and our mythological allies.'

"Don't worry, it's nothing important."

The older man's eyes narrowed before he sighed and shook his head, "Is something bothering you? Believe me, I do feel bad that I've been too caught up with work to have time to talk..."

A slightly amused smile tugged at the corners of Danny's mouth as he shook his head, before he could answer though Nanako chose to remind the two of them that she was still there.

"What's wrong? Are you two fighting...?" She asked hesitantly, gazing at her father uncomfortably.

Both men blinked at her in surprise, though Dojima was the first to recover, "No...we're not having a fight."

The little girl huffed in annoyance, "This isn't the police station..."

The half-ghost's smile was threatening to actually spread across his face as the detective quickly nodded to his daughter that he understood before turning back to him, forcing him to do a better job of hiding his amusement, "Look, I agreed to look after you. So don't get yourself involved in anything that could get you in trouble. Got that?"

Danny nodded silently in agreement, despite mentally finding himself split between appreciating the concern and annoyed at the prodding questions. He quickly discarded the thought as he focused on his food again while he listened to his uncle try to explain to his cousin the weather woman's job. As amusing as the conversation was he chose to stay out of it and finish his dinner before excusing himself, washing his dishes, and quickly heading upstairs to get ready for bed.


Danny leaned back in his desk as Yosuke stood next to him, fidgeting uncomfortably. The half-ghost couldn't help but be slightly concerned at his friend's behavior. 'I really hope he's not getting cold feet after seeing Chie's shadow yesterday. He was actually a real help there. It would have been a pain in the ass to take that thing out alone.'

"You alright, Yosuke?"

The brunette let out a small sigh, "Yeah...I'm just wondering how Chie's doing. She was still pretty shaken up when I left yesterday. Too much going on, I guess. I just hope she's back to her usual self..." He admitted.

He raised a somewhat surprised eyebrow but, before he could reply, Chie appeared in the doorway of the classroom and made her way towards the two of them. "Mornin'" She muttered, a little subdued compared to normal but seemingly fine.

"Hey, Chie. Are you alright?"

The girl nodded, directing a slightly tired smile towards Danny at the question, "Yep..." She replied, falling silent for a moment before sighing heavily and continuing quietly, "Um...thanks for everything yesterday. It's kinda embarrassing, ya know? You two were there to see my hidden feelings and all."

Both boys nodded in understanding, "Don't sweat it." The brunette replied easily.

She smiled lightly, a little of the Chie he'd seen previously coming back into her eyes, "The same thing happened to Yosuke, right?" She asked.

"Yeah..." Danny replied carefully as he nodded again.

"Soooo...what was it like?"

Yosuke flinched a little at the question, "Huh? Uh...how should I put this...?" He asked, fumbling uncomfortably before his gaze locked onto Danny again, his eyes flashing with inspiration as he quickly changed the subject, "Oh, I nearly forgot! The shadows still attack you even though you don't have a Persona and haven't seen your Shadow, huh?"

The half-ghost's gaze narrowed slightly, not particularly appreciating the attention being shoved onto him, "Well, no..."

The brunette nodded, "Yeah...maybe you don't have a shadow because you don't have anything to hide from us?"

"Oh? So nothing happened for you? I do gotta agree that you seem like a pretty open guy, even with your whole secret super-hero thing going on. There's a kinda funny air about you...I dunno, I guess that's what draws people to you, or something like that." Chie said excitedly, clearly drawing several parallels between him and the heroes in her movies.

The half-ghost barely managed to stop himself from wincing at the obvious trust the teens had in him, particularly in believing that he had divulged everything to them. "I...uh, I guess..." He muttered, a light blush dusting his cheeks.

Chie shot a small smirk at his embarrassment, "Hah! I made him blush!" She cheered loudly, drawing several curious glances, before lowering her voice again, "Hehe, sorry. Anyways, what's most important right now is to rescue Yukiko. I'm dead set on coming. Remember...you promised."

Danny smiled lightly with a nod, "Don't worry, Chie, I'm not going to stop you from going." He replied, rolling his eyes slightly as Yosuke ran from the room, proclaiming his need to use the bathroom. 'How hard is it to go before class?' He thought skeptically.

"Uh...hey, um..." Chie muttered, forcing his attention back to her as she stumbled over her words slightly, "Th-thanks for saving me. Yosuke's cool and all, but...there really is something different about you. I feel like you won't let me down..." She admitted, a small blush gracing her face.

Danny blinked in shock at her for a moment before smiling at her, "I...appreciate your trust, Chie." He replied quietly, feeling a fraction of the warm feeling he'd once associated with Sam and Tucker well up in his chest, almost as if it was the first warm day of a very long winter. The two of them talked for a few more minutes, quickly exchanging cell phone numbers, before Chie slid herself into the desk beside him and they both turned their attention to Morooka as he shuffled into the classroom.


Phantom ran a hand through his hair with a sigh as he slowed to a stop outside the set of doors leading to the room he and Yosuke had found Chie in yesterday. He stared at them silently for a few seconds until Yosuke appeared at his side, casting a slightly concerned gaze at him, "You alright, Leader?"

Danny shook his head with a small chuckle before glancing at the brunette, "You don't have to call me that, you know. It's mostly just a formality anyways, you guys said yourselves the main reason you wanted me to be the leader is I've done this kind of thing before."

Chie shrugged as she stopped on his other side, "Well, yeah...that and because neither of us wanted the job."

Yosuke nodded quickly in agreement, "Yeah, that's true...I'm more of an advisor than a leader."

The half-ghost rolled his eyes at the pair's antics, "Yeah, yeah, I get that neither of you are able to handle any responsibility." He replied mockingly, receiving glares in return, "Look, the point is that I've got a name and I'd prefer you use it. Anyways, let's get going again."

"Whatever you say, Partner."

"We'll follow you, fearless Leader."

Danny let out frustrated groan, throwing his arms up in the air, though otherwise ignoring them as he started towards the door again, only to be interrupted by Teddie's squeaking voice, "Sensei!"

The half-ghost let out another sigh before spinning on his heel, "What is it, Teddie?" He asked tiredly, ignoring his classmates' smirks.

The bear didn't seem to catch his idol's annoyance as he continued unfazed, "There's something behind that door, Sensei! I can sense it, but I'm not sure who it is."

Phantom nodded in understanding before turning around again and finally pushing the heavy doors open with a loud creak. The entire team was surprised that instead of coming face-to-face with some kind of dark abomination they found Yukiko facing away from them, clad in the frilly pink dress she'd been wearing on the midnight channel. Danny let out a coughing gasp, paling as he saw mist forming from his breath, even as Chie recovered from the shock of seeing her friend.

"Yukiko!?"

"Yukiko-san! Are you alright?" Yosuke asked quickly, echoing the sentiments of his friend.

The girl in the pink dress let out an uncontrolled chuckle still staring at the wall opposite them even as Chie started to move towards her, "Yukiko...what's wrong?"

Phantom grabbed her shoulder gently, holding the girl back, "I don't think that's Yukiko, Chie..." He muttered sympathetically to her.

The raven-haired girl beamed at the team as she turned around, sending a slight chill up Danny's spine as he saw her eyes. "Oh my! Special guests? I wonder how they'll play into all this!" She tittered bubbly, "Things are really heating up!"

All three teenagers blinked disbelievingly at 'Yukiko'as she continued excitedly, "Okie-dokie! I'm going back to the hunt for my Prince Charming! Ooooh, where could he be? This place is huge! It's soooo exciting, but it makes it so hard to find him! Ooh! Maybe he's playing hide and seek in the fog! Ready or not, here I come! Let's go in further, shall we!?" She finished, letting out an excited squeal as she struck a pose while a rainbow colored sign flashed above her head several times.

Danny gaped at the scene, blinking stupidly twice before shaking his head, "This...just got weird..." He muttered to himself much to Yosuke's agreement, though it seemed Chie's concern for her friend won out over the confusion.

"You're...you're not Yukiko...who are you!?"

The princess had been getting ready to take off again but stopped at the question, smiling darkly back at the the jacket-clad girl. "What are you talking about? I'm Yukiko...and Yukiko is me." She answered with a laugh.

Chie's eyes widened, whether in surprise or denial Danny couldn't tell, "No! You're- Where's the real Yukiko?!"

The Shadow smirked at the group as murmurs broke out all around the room, sending Phantom and Yosuke spinning around looking for the source, though the half-ghost quickly determined it as his ghost-sense went off again. "Oh crap..."

"The shadows are getting agitated!" Teddie cried out, scrambling to hide behind Danny as had become normal.

"Well, I'm off again!" Yukiko's doppelganger said, letting out a musical laugh before twirling around again and running away, "You'd better be waiting with bells on, my dear Prince!"

Chie shook her head, starting to chase after her, only to stop as the other girl faded out of view. She let out a frustrated groan as she turned back towards the group, "Oh man...that clearly wasn't Yukiko. It had to be..."

Teddie nodded in agreement as he slid out from behind his half-ghost shield, "I think it was. It must have been the other part of herself."

"So...it's just like what happened to us." Yosuke sighed unhappily.

"Looks like it...she seemed pretty happy about something though." Phantom replied.

"The real Yukiko wants to show us something. I can feel it." Teddie blurted out, drawing skeptical looks from the three high-schoolers.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

The bear wilted slightly at the attention being focused back on him, "It's hard to explain...but it seems like she has a really strong connection to this castle, and the shadows are crawling all over this place. This is a lot more dangerous than I thought it'd be!"

"Yukiko!" Chie's eyes widened at the bear's explanation, taking off in the direction the shadow had disappeared in.

"Hey, not again! Damn it, we told her not to run off on her own!" Yosuke shouted, turning towards Danny only to see that he had already taken off after her, leaving only him and Teddie staring after them. The brunette let out a groan of frustration before chasing after his classmates, followed closely by Teddie.

It only took Phantom a few moments to catch up to Chie and, by the time Yosuke and Teddie arrived he'd calmed her down enough that she wasn't about to break away from the party again. After taking a few minutes to catch their breath the group pushed forwards through the castle, and soon they were climbing the staircase up to the next floor. Almost as soon as they reached the landing a bubbly laugh filled the hallway, making Danny swing his gaze around the hallway even as the others jumped at the sudden sound.

"My Prince will soon come for me. Until then, I'll be waiting...forever and ever."

Danny glanced at his friends, unsurprised to see worry written on their faces at the mocking tone of the Shadow's message, but rather than say anything he decided to push forward, hoping to find the real Yukiko sooner rather than later. Unfortunately Yukiko's inner thoughts and messages from her shadow continued to plague them as they stormed the castle, not to mention the normal shadows and the castle's increasingly time-consuming defenses.

Yosuke let out a frustrated groan as a group of shadows charged them just after they had managed to, hopefully, navigate their way through an invisible maze, "Argh! Damn it, we were making really good time until all this freaking puzzle crap!"

"It doesn't matter, Yosuke! We just have to keep going until we find Yukiko." Chie shouted back to him as she summoned Tomoe to assault one of the shadows with a blast of ice-cold air, following it up with an uppercut and a painful looking kick to the stomach.

The brunette looked like he wanted to shout back at her, but before he could even start to reply he was forced to summon Jiraiya, grunting as his Persona shielded him from being pummeled by what looked like a large boulder wearing a mask.

Phantom let out a small growl of annoyance as he blasted a shadow orb to the ground where it began disintegrating, before turning towards his team. "Damn it guys, stop arguing and take these things out or we'll be wiped out before we ever even get a chance to-crap!" He barely managed to duck and roll out of the way as a humanoid shadow leapt at him with the obvious intent to skewer him on its' claw-like fingers.

The shadow swiped at the half-ghost again as it realized he'd evaded its' attack, hissing in anger as it only managed to score a few shallow scratches on his left arm before the ghost blipped out of existence. The battle raged on for several more seconds before Danny reappeared behind the confused shadow, his fist glowing violet with energy as he delivered a powerful punch to the back of the monster's head. The creature let out a piercing shriek as it slammed face-first into the castle wall followed quickly by the rest of its' body as Phantom barreled into it, pounding it with brutal kicks and punches amplified with ecto-energy until it let out a final screech before beginning to disintegrate.

By the time Phantom had take care of the shadow and turned around both Yosuke and Chie had managed to end their own fights and were staring at him in a strange mixture of awe and small bit of nervousness. He was about to ask them what was wrong when a familiar bouncy voice cut him off. "Wow! By any chance, are you my...princes?" The shadow asked hesitantly, seeming to be talking to herself more than them.

The group blinked in surprise, none of them having expected the shadow to ask that, "I'm locked up in here, please save me!" She continued, her tone a mixture of flirtation and mock terror, though it was quickly followed up by a laugh. "I'm sure my princes can do it...I'm sure they'll brave any danger to release me from this place. Until then...I'll be waiting for you."

The three teenagers and Teddie exchanged nervous glances as the shadow's echoing laughter faded away. There were several heavy seconds before Yosuke finally broke the silence, "That was...weird. It kind of seemed like the shadow wanted us to rescue her..." The brunette muttered uneasily, glancing between Danny and Chie self-consciously as he said it.

Danny considered the idea for several seconds before shaking his head as he turned around, leading the group down the corridor at a brisk walk rather than the jog they had maintained previously. "I don't know...I guess it's possible, but if your guys' shadows are anything to go buy I think we're going to have to take whatever she's saying with a grain of salt." He replied slowly.

Yosuke nodded, seeming to agree, though Chie didn't seem to want to accept it now that the idea had been planted in her mind. "Well, yeah, I guess I get what you're saying, but don't you think maybe somewhere deep down she could be recognizing us and asking us to help her?"

Phantom shrugged non-committally, "Sure. Like I said, maybe it's possible; I don't know. I mean, we don't really even know much abo-" He said placatingy, only to be interrupted by Teddie as they neared the door that seemed to lead to the staircase.

"Sensei, there's somebody behind this door...I think it's that girl's scent!"

The group's heads snapped towards the bear, surprise clear in their eyes, "Are you sure it's her, Teddie?"

A small frown crossed Teddie's face at the question, "My nose has never lied to me before, Sensei!"

Danny nodded in acceptance and marched forward, heaving the doors open before leading the rest of the group in, only to stumble to a clumsy stop as a wisp of mist forced itself from his throat just before the team found themselves being stared down upon by a fully armored knight kneeling next to Yukiko's shadow, even as she spun on her heel with a challenging chuckle. "I'm sure my prince wouldn't lose to guards such as this, correct?" She asked, not bothering to specify who she was talking to, though it appeared the knight believed he was her supposed prince as he shook his head before he stiffly rose from his knee and drew his sword.

Yosuke and Chie eyed the powerful figure with apprehension as he advanced towards them purposefully, the two of them subconsciously stumbling back a few steps while Phantom stood his ground, glancing back at his team once before focusing on their armored enemy. Within seconds the knight had charged towards the half-ghost and swung his sword downwards at him in attempt to slice into his shoulder, only to stumble forwards as Danny dove under the attack and rolled to a knee behind him. It only took the knight a few moments to spin back around and brandish its sword at the half-ghost, but that was all Phantom needed to hurl an ectobolt at the shadow's chest, followed closely by a flying kick at its head.

Phantom's first attack slammed into the shadow's armor at full force, sending it stumbling back a couple of paces and scorching its plate mail armor, though it didn't seem to do much more damage, something that the knight took advantage of as it caught Danny by the ankle and flung him roughly down onto the floor. Teddie let out a shout of alarm as the shadow raised its gleaming sword above its head, apparently preparing to spike it down on its dazed enemy.

"Sensei, watch out!"

Danny blinked blearily as he heard the bear's warning, just barely managing to shake the cobwebs from his head in time to roll away from his impending skewering. Thankfully it seemed that the combination of seeing their leader in need of assistance as well as Teddie's shout had managed to snap Yosuke and Chie out of their panic. The two brunettes quickly rushed into the battle, Yosuke summoning Jiraiya to fling two wind spells at the shadow knight while Chie sprinted forward to close the distance between them.

The shadow silently turned its attention towards the two newcomers to the battle, just in time to catch Jiraiya's first wind spell in the helmet while the second clipped its sword, sending the weapon tumbling from its master's grip. Before the knight could fully recover and attempt to reclaim its sword from the ground Chie launched herself into the air and delivered a punishing kick to the shadow's back, staggering it slightly as well as tearing a somewhat pained grunt from the girl as her foot connected with the solid armor just long enough for her to follow through with her kick to push herself up into a flip away from the knight.

As soon as Chie touched down on the ground Phantom rocketed back into the fight with a scowl on his face, a solid chunk of ice forming over his shoulder seconds before he barreled into the shadow at full speed, tearing a short gasp of pain from his lips due to the unforgiving impact of their bodies. Despite the perpetual silence of their enemy, it was clear to all of the teens that the knight had felt the full impact as both he and Danny hurtled forward into the wall behind him, small shards of cryoplasm slicing across the half-ghost's face and puncturing the shadow's armor.

Teddie let out a mixed cry of amazement and alarm at Phantom's attack, though the half-ghost didn't pay any attention as he struggled to escape the shadow's grip, the knight's badly dented helmet and scorched armor making it look even more insidious as it delivered a rough punch to his gut, ripping a shout from him as the still healing injuries from Yosuke and Chie's shadows flared up in blinding agony. Before the shadow knight could follow up on his attack and do any more damage Tomoe's spear crashed into its shoulder, barely missing Phantom and giving him a chance to escape while Yosuke had Jiraiya rain down several wind spells on the squirming shadow.

The moment Danny managed to scramble out of the shadow's grasp Chie rushed over to him, her Persona still pinning the knight to the ground, "Danny! Are you okay?" She asked worriedly, her eyebrows knit together in concern as she took in the blooming red on his shirt and vest from his reopened wounds, as well as the fresh cuts on his cheeks.

"I'm fine..." He managed to gasp out, doing his best to swallow the slowly fading pain, "But we need to finish this thing off now, if we don't then I'm not sure if we'll be able to save Yukiko today."

The brunette's gaze hardened as she nodded in understanding, "Alright, let's do it then! Give him all you've got Tomoe!"

It appeared that was all the Persona was waiting for as it gave the briefest of nods before viciously ripping its spear from the shadow's shoulder only to bring it back down onto its dented and scorched chest with a vengeance. Moments later a hail of ice shards rained down on the battered knight which, combined with Jiraiya's steady stream of blade-like wind spells, was finally enough to tear an infuriated howl from the shadow as it began to dissolve.

A heavy moment of silence weighed on the group as both Tomoe and Jiraiya faded from existence and all three teens sucked in heavy breaths, clearly drained by the exertion of the unexpected battle. Danny was the first of them to move, wiping sweat from his forehead and wincing slightly at the burning sensation of sweat in the cuts on his face. "Are you guys alright?" He asked, somewhat wearily.

Both Chie and Yosuke nodded but before either of them could say anything the familiar chuckle of Yukiko's Shadow echoed in the room, "I'm impressed...if you truly are my Prince, then we'll surely meet again. I am but a trapped soul, I couldn't leave this place even if I wished..." The Shadow tittered in its tauntingly helpless tone before her voice faded away with a final dark laugh.

Chie's eyebrows furrowed in frustration, "I'm getting really tired of this! She's just taunting us while Yukiko needs somebody to help her!" She fumed, "I swear, if she's hurt Yukiko then I'm gonna-"

Danny nodded in understanding, though before he could reply to try and calm her down Teddie cut back into the conversation, "I don't sense her anymore..." The impressionable bear sighed, before taking in the half-ghost's full appearance with alarm, "Oh! Are you okay, Sensei? I'm sure we've got a long way to go, don't push yourself too hard! If you're tired, you should head back."

Yosuke nodded in agreement as he looked at the blotchy colors on his friend's shirt guiltily, "The little guy's right, dude...you don't look so great. Maybe we should come back tomorrow..."

"W-what?! But you guys promised that we would save Yukiko today! What if something happens to her after we leave? She's already been in here for too long!" Chie shot back, clearly just as scared as she was angry at the suggestion.

"Look, Chie, we aren't any use to Yukiko if we're dead...I know how you feel, and I-"

The green-clad girl glared at Yosuke, "No! You have no idea how I feel, Yosuke! I have to save Yukiko, it's important, and if you aren't going to help me then I'll do it myself!" She interrupted, stamping her foot on the ground angrily.

Phantom cocked an inquisitive eyebrow at her display, 'She's even more stubborn than I thought before. Still, most people aren't this protective of their friends. Maybe they're...' The half-ghost shook that line of thought from his head before it could even finish forming. He was probably over thinking things, and even if he wasn't it wasn't like it would matter anyway. "Guys, stop arguing and come on. We need to get moving."

All three of his companions looked at him in surprise, apparently having forgotten about him despite the fact that his wellbeing was the original cause of the argument. Chie was the first to come to her senses and realize what she meant, "Wait, you mean we're still going to save Yukiko?" She asked hopefully, a smile practically splitting her face as he nodded, "Thank you, Danny, I mean it!"

Danny shrugged in response as he led the group forward, his friends following closely behind him. "Dude...are you sure about this? I mean-"

"I'm sure, Yosuke." Phantom replied simply, cutting the brunette off as they managed to navigate the nearly empty halls of the floor they'd largely cleared up to the previously sealed door to the next stairway, which was thankfully open to them now. "I told you guys before, I keep my promises. Besides, even if she probably would be okay here for a while longer, how would you like to be trapped in here with nobody but your Shadow for company?" He asked, glancing over his shoulder with the question, only to see his new friend fall silent at the thought.

The group climbed the staircase to the next floor in a silence that was shattered as soon as they stepped foot on the top step. "In other words, she's a manager who's still in high school." Danny's eyes widened at the sudden voice, an ectobolt immediately charging in his hand before he realized that he'd heard this voice before on a news report a few days ago. As he glanced at the rest of his group he noticed they seemed to have had a similar reaction and as the voice continued the familiar disgust he'd felt last time he heard the report welled up in his chest. "Now that has a nice ring to it...let's see if we can get an interview with her. Excuse me!"

"Shut up!"

The group collectively blinked in surprise at the frustration in Yukiko's disembodied voice, momentarily pausing in their advance only to be forced into another fight as a small group of shadows rounded the corner while the altered memory continued to reverberate through the hall.

"Someday, though...that aside, wow! You're looking gorgeous in that kimono. You must have a lot of male visitors." Danny's eyes shined brighter as he did his best to channel his anger at the slimeball of a reporter on the shadows, something that he noticed Chie doing as well, if her livid shout coupled with a brutal kick to a shadow orb was anything to judge by.

"Leave me alone! I'm sick of everything! I'm sick of it..."

As Yukiko's voice faded into nothingness the last shadow orb collapsed to the ground and started dissolving, courtesy of Yosuke's daggers. "I swear that if I see that reporter guy, I'm going to punch him right in his smug face." Chie grumbled angrily, drawing nods from both of her classmates as they began pushing forward again.

"I don't know anything about a reporter or what's going on with these voices, but I can sense that we're getting closer. Just hang in there!" Teddie reported dutifully.

Danny nodded in understanding before taking off again. The four of them pushed stubbornly through the groups of shadows, which were becoming more and more common as they approached the next stair case. Finally, just as they reached the door to the next floor after Chie smeared a shadow orb across the wall with a brutal kick they heard Yukiko's voice echo through the halls again, though from the mocking tone Danny was fairly sure that it was the dark-haired girl's Shadow rather than another memory.

"Hasn't my Prince come yet?" Yukiko's Shadow asked, feigning sadness while the group groaned in frustration at her taunts, "My dear Prince...please hurry and take me away! Somewhere...to a world where nobody knows me..."

Teddie seemed to perk up as the Shadow's voice once again faded away, drawing a curious look from the three teens, "We're close now! She's just beyond here, I'm certain of it!" The bear told them confidently, sending a rush of optimism through the entire group as they rushed up the stairs. Before they had even fully ascended to the top floor of the castle, the team could see a set of massive doors ahead of them and as they approached the doors Danny let out a choking gasp at the familiar sensation of Yukiko's Shadow practically overloading his ghost sense.

"She's in there alright...or at least her Shadow is." The half-ghost rasped out, noticing that both of his new friends seemed apprehensive at the news. 'Not that I blame them...I mean, as much as I really want to get Yukiko out of here, I'm not exactly looking forward to a repeat of the last two Shadows I fought.' He mused, though he quickly forced himself to concentrate on the situation rather than speculations of what they were going to find.

"So...do we have a plan, Partner, or are we just gonna wing it?" Yosuke asked hesitantly, clearly unsure about what they were getting ready to do.

Chie shook her head, taking a bold step towards the doors though she didn't push through them quite yet, "The plan is to save Yukiko. That's all that matters!"

Both boys blinked at the jacket-clad girl in surprise for a moment before Phantom shrugged, much to Yosuke's dismay, "Pretty much, really. There's no telling what's in there for sure, so there's not much that we can do to plan for it. We'll have to just play it by ear this time...just make sure that no matter what happens you stay safe and we get Yukiko out of here in one piece."

The three other team members nodded in understanding, though both Yosuke and Teddie were noticeably less enthusiastic about the makeshift 'plan' than Chie. Danny took one final deep breath before stepping forward as confidently as he could and forcefully shoving both doors open, revealing a magnificent throne room, empty save for two figures next to the ornately decorated throne. "I knew it...there's two of her!" Yosuke gasped, drawing a somewhat skeptical look from the half-ghost though it was short lived as the four of them rushed into the room.

Despite the seemingly obvious statement from Yosuke, Phantom was still thankful to see that the real Yukiko was in fact still there, seemingly unharmed, though she did look somewhat the worse for wear in the same pink kimono that she'd had on the last time he saw her. A wide smile spread across Shadow Yukiko's face as she saw them approaching, her golden eyes burning in amusement, "Oh? Ooooh, what's this?"

Both Danny and Yosuke, along with Teddie, slowed to a hesitant halt at the Shadow's apparent joy at their arrival, the half-ghost's eyes narrowing in suspicion before widening in alarm as he noticed that Chie had continued on a beeline for Yukiko. Before he could even shout out a warning Yukiko's Shadow swiped her hand across the room, immediately the drapes closest to Chie sprung to life and snapped out into the center of the room to chase after the high schooler.

"Yukik- Aagh!" Chie shouted out as she sprawled down to the floor helplessly while the drapes wrapped around her thrashing form, only tangling themselves more as she struggled against them.

"Hold on, Chie!" Yosuke called, but he only got a few steps further into the room himself before the floor warped up to trap both his and Danny's feet, though the half-ghost managed to escape the trap fairly easily. Before he could do anything to help either of his friends, however, Yukiko's doppleganger continued on as if she'd never been interrupted in the first place.

"Three princes are here to see me!? My my!" The Shadow cooed, a twisted smirk curling across her lips while she slowly started descending the staircase leading up to the throne, eyeing each of the teenagers as if they were particularly juicy flies caught in her spider web, "Are you the three guests who came in late? Awwww...you're all so cute, I wish I'd gotten a better look at you!"

Phantom glared up at the well dressed imposter while Chie and Yosuke both ceased struggling against their respective traps, their attention apparently being hijacked by the 'Princess' making note of more than just Danny, though their attention wasn't all the Shadow had caught. "Ungh...just go away..." Yukiko muttered pathetically, drawing everybody's attention for a brief moment before her Shadow snatched back the limelight.

"My, it's getting crowded in here. Why don't you and I go somewhere else...?" The clone suggested in a sultry tone, cruel amusement dancing in her golden eyes as she slowed her advance until she was standing just a couple of steps above the real Yukiko, "A land far far away, where no one knows me. If you're my Prince, you'd take me there, won't you? C'mon...pretty please?"

"Oooh. Is this 'scoring a hot stud'?!" Teddie asked excitedly, drawing a somewhat disbelieving glance from the half-ghost though it was short lived as he noticed the burning blush on Chie's face as she registered what her friend's Shadow was suggesting.

"Three princes...? Wait, does that include me too?!" The girl asked quickly, drawing a knowing grin from the doppleganger.

"Duh! The third one's gotta be me!" Teddie butted in, only to be largely ignored by most of the room though Danny couldn't help but roll his eyes behind the lenses of his goggles.

"I seriously doubt that, Teddie." He muttered as Yosuke nodded in agreement with him and, thankfully, before the bear could attempt to pursue that line of thought any further the Shadow continued with a quiet chuckle.

"Chie...yes, she's my Prince. She always leads the way...Chie's a strong Prince..." The golden-eyed clone sighed with a smile, practically seeming to swoon before her face hardened and she shook her head, "Or at least she WAS."

Phantom winced at the doppleganger's words, glancing towards the jacket-clad girl to see a hurt look on her face as her struggles to escape from the drapes ensnaring her ceased once again while she tried to understand, "Was...?"

The Princess' mouth dipped into a frown as she glared down at the group, "When it comes down to it, Chie's just not good enough!" She spat petulantly, "She can't take me away from here! She can't save me!"

Chie bit her lip as she shook her head, "Yukiko..."

"S-Stop..." Yukiko murmured, struggling to push herself up to her feet while her Shadow simply ignored her and continued its rant.

"Historic inn? Manager training!? I'm sick of all these things chaining me down!" She shouted, swiping her hands through the air in frustration as the dark aura around her seemed to swell, "I never asked to be born here! Everything's decided for me! From how I live, to where I die! I'm sick of it! To hell with it all!"

Yukiko shook her head weakly at her own Shadow, "That's not true..." She objected weakly, drawing a somewhat concerned look from Phantom as he realized what was going on.

"Wait, Yukiko-" The half-ghost started, taking a step towards the girl only for her Shadow to interrupt him.

"I have no hope if I stay, and no courage to leave...so I sit here on my ass, hoping someday my Prince will come! I don't care where we go! Anywhere's fine! As long as it's not here, I don't give a damn!" The Shadow spat out, practically throwing a tantrum as she stomped a foot on the floor under her, "Historical tradition?! Pride of the town!? What a bunch of bullshit!"

"How dare you...?"

Yukiko's Shadow let a darkly amused smile creep across her face as she looked down on herself, "That's how I really feel. Isn't that right...me?!" She asked mockingly, her aura pulsating powerfully as she primed herself for the words she knew were coming.

"N-no..."

"Stop! Don't say it!" Yosuke shouted while Danny rushed forward in an attempt to stop her.

Yukiko shook her head violently, ignoring both of the boys as she glared up at her Shadow, "No! You're not me!" She cried out, bringing a look of frustration to Phantom's face while the girl's golden-eyed clone let out a triumphant laugh.

"Aaaah! I can feel the power welling up inside me, it feels wonderful! If this keeps up I'll...I'll...!" The Shadow burst out into a fresh round of ecstatic laughter as she shot up into the dark recesses of the throne room's rafters for several moments before a chandelier-like bird cage came crashing down with a fiery red bird in it while a second bird cage came soaring from the dark recesses of the room to snatch up the real Yukiko as well. "I am a Shadow...the true self! Now, my Princes...why don't we dance and make merry together?"

Danny felt a stifling wave of heat wash over him as the entire room looked up at the Shadow, "Give me a break, Clockwork..." He groaned under his breath, though whether the Master of Time heard him or not he didn't know, 'Not like he'd help even if he did hear me...' He thought with frustration before the sound of the drapes that had previously been holding down Chie ripping brought him back to the present.

The jacket-clad girl quickly hopped to her feet, Tomoe floating silently behind her, "Don't worry, Yukiko, I'll fix everything!"

The Shadow narrowed its eyes at the group at the declaration before starting to flap its wings, shedding crimson feathers that hovered in front of it with every with every stroke, "Oh really? Then I suppose that means there's no reason for me to hold back!" It sneered moments before the accumulated feathers exploded into a wave of fire that rushed forward to wash over the entire room, tearing shouts of panic and pain from the teenagers as they did their best to shield themselves against the suffocating heat.

The moment that the fire subsided Phantom launched himself into the air, sparing only a few seconds to make sure that the rest of the team was alright before rocketing towards the Pheonix while reaching for his ice powers. Before the half-ghost could even make it to the Shadow, however, she had already slammed the door of her own bird cage shut to protect her from an attack by Yosuke's Persona and as the cryoplasm encaseing his boot shattered against the metal bars of the prison turned bunker he let out a shout of frustration at the revelation that it was just as immune to intangibility as the Shadows' magic was.

"Yukiko, I'm coming!" Chie shouted to her friend as she sprinted towards her prison, distracting Danny just long enough for the Shadow to swing the chandelier as if it were a pendulum and catch both of the teenagers on the downstroke, sending them crashing to the ground.

"I thought Chie would be able to save me, but she can't! She's not even my Prince..." The Shadow cried, the candles surrounding her spewing streams of flame across the room as she did, "Even though I waited so long for her!"

Danny grimaced as he pushed himself up off his knees just in time to raise a domed shield over both himself and Chie before one of the streams washed over them, the green-clad girl let out a short scream of terror at their near death while Yosuke desperately had Jiraiya fling a volley of attacks at the Shadow to no effect. Sweat beaded on his face as he struggled to keep the shield up, "Fine! Maybe Chie isn't your Prince, Yukiko, but who cares?!" He grunted out, just barely loud enough to be heard over the crackling of the fire consuming the drapes.

The flames relented somewhat as the Phoenix stared down at him incredulously,"What?!"

"Chie came all this way just to save you, Yukiko." He continued, the soot covering his face giving him a defiant look as he stared up at the Shadow before turning a softer gaze to the real Yukiko being forced to watch her friends fight for her in the bird cage, "I was going to try to come and get you out of here alone, but she wouldn't let me. Isn't it amazing to have somebody that cares that much about you?"

Yukiko stared down at Chie in speechless amazement for several seconds before flinching away from the bars of her cage as her Shadow furiously flung the door to its own cage open, causing the already blazing fire to errupt into a true inferno. The waves of fire crashed against Phantom's ice shield relentlessly until finally it broke as the flames exploded against it, sending Danny flying into a wall with a heavy thud while Chie was forced to throw herself to the ground to avoid getting burnt alive. "Hmph! It looks like I had the wrong idea. Your no Princes...you're all just worthless commoners that deserve to die!" The Phoenix shouted down at the teens, only to let out a mixed cry of fury and pain as both Phantom and Yosuke retaliated, the half-ghost managing to hit her with several shards of cryoplasm while the brunette had Jiraiya try to suppress the Shadow with a rain of wind spells.

Even as the boys did their best to push their attacks, it was clear that the raging inferno was hindering their efforts and despite some ruffled feathers and a couple of cuts oozing a viscous substance across the Shadow's breast feathers the giant bird still held the advantage. "This isn't working, Danny! We can't even get close with all this fire!" Yosuke shouted, looking at the half-ghost desperately before letting out a shout of pain as a jet of flame slammed into Jiraiya.

Phantom's eyes widened in concern as his classmate fell to his knees, though he felt a small wave of relief wash over him when the brunette pushed himself back up with a huff, "You okay?" He asked, waiting for Yosuke to nod before turning his attention back to the fight, "We need to calm Yukiko down if we're going to have any chance to end this! Chie, see if you can't get through to her while Yosuke and I keep her Shadow busy!"

The half-ghost waited for both of his classmates to confirm that they'd heard him before blasting off into the air again, though rather than directly attacking the Phoenix again he focused his attention on blanketing the area with cryoplasm, both to make fighting the Shadow easier and also in an attempt to clear a path to Yukiko's cage for Chie. As soon as Danny took off Yosuke re-summoned Jiraiya and had him start harassing the giant bird again though he was noticeably more careful about the chances he took in his attacks after being burnt earlier. While Teddie cowered near the door and the boys were busy distracting Yukiko's Shadow, Chie started trying to make her way towards Yukiko again.

The heat radiating from the flames was almost unbearable as Chie inched her way towards the cage and shouted to her friend in an attempt to regain her attention, "Yukiko!"

Yukiko's face was a mask of despair as she stared out at the brunette, "Get out of here, Chie, please!" The black haired girl pleaded, wincing slightly as another wave of heat rolled over her while her Shadow screamed furiously at Phantom and Jiraiya evading her attacks.

Chie shook her head as calmly as she could as she continued pushing forward, "I'm not running away, Yukiko. I have something I need to tell you." Another smaller explosion of flame tore a grunt of pain from her lips as she did her best to shield her face from the heat before continuing as Danny soared overhead and showered the area in another layer of ice that almost immediately evaporated, "I was always jealous of you. You always had everything that I didn't, and no one ever paid attention to me. So I was happy that you needed my help...I wanted you to need me."

A pained shout tore out of Phantom's lips as he was caught in another massive firestorm originating from Yukiko's Shadow, "That's right! I can't do anything on my own, nothing at all!" It screamed angrily while the half-ghost did his best to temporarily distance himself from the fight before rocketing back in and delivering a cryoplasm charged kick to the Phoenix's wing.

"You're wrong!" Chie retorted, drawing a gasp of surprise from her friend, "You're one of the strongest people I know, Yukiko. If you want to be free, then all you need to do is smash that stupid cage yourself and fly wherever you want! You can do anything you want...and you don't need anybody to do it!"

Yukiko shook her head tearfully, "You're wrong. I'm not strong at all...I'm awful. You heard that thing! I don't have any courage on my own, so I was trying to find someone else to set me free!"

"So what if you're awful?" Chie choked out, struggling to get any further as the suffocating heat rolled over her while Yosuke and Phantom desperately fought to keep the Shadow from focusing its attacks on her.

"Chie!"

The jacket clad girl shook her head from her hands and knees, "It's not like I'm the person you thought I was, either. I have a lot of bad parts too! I can't do anything right on my own...I've caused so much trouble for Yosuke and the others, but I don't care, I just want to stay with you!" She explained, forcing herself back onto her feet despite the smoke and heat in the air, "Because you're important to me, Yukiko."

Tears streamed down Yukiko's face as she wrapped her hands around the bars to her cage and pulled herself up, gasping as the metal burned her hands, "Chie..."

"Stop!" Everybody on the ground was knocked off their feet by the largest explosion yet as the Phoenix's temper flared along with her desperation, followed by another surge of fire that managed to force Phantom back even as he did his best to douse the flames, "Stop!"

For the first time since they'd stepped into the throne room, Yukiko ignored her Shadow's words as she gripped the bars of her cage tighter and pushed forcefully against them. The metal held solidly for several moments before she gave one final push and the bars shattered, leaving her to tumble towards the ground while Chie rushed to catch her, "Chie!" The brunette let out a cry of joy as she snatched her friend from the air and pulled her into a tight hug, tears of relief streaming down both their faces, "Thank you..."

Before either of the girls could say anything else Yukiko's Shadow let out a howl of rage as she struggled to stay airborne while spitting out fire, "You're lying, I can't-"

"The Shadow's weakened, Sensei!" Teddie cried over the Shadow's protests.

A triumphant smile spread across Yosuke's soot smeared face as he looked up at Phantom while he soared back into the fight from the corner of the room, "Let's go, Partner!"

The half-ghost nodded in response, hurling several cryo shards towards the Phoenix as he rocketed towards her, "Give her all you've got, Yosuke!" He shouted back moments before his foot crashed into the Shadow's side, tearing a scream of pain from the bird and gaining her full attention. Phantom immediately fell back into defensive mode, easily dodging and blocking the comparatively weak attacks that the bird threw at him until Jiraiya slammed into the Shadow and pined her down, giving him a chance to lash out at her with a cryo-modified ecto-stinger to stun her as she let out a cry of agony, "Chie, take her out!"

Chie turned at the sound of her name before glaring angrily at the Shadow pinned to the floor and summoning Tomoe, "I'd love to!" She replied as her Persona soared towards the fight and plummeted its spear into the bird's before callously tearing it out seconds before the Shadow erupted into an explosion of light and feathers.

A momentary silence fell over the throne room, aside from the crackle of the slowly dying fire, while the entire group caught their breaths. Danny caught Teddie marveling at one of the pink feathers that he'd caught out of the corner of his eye, but he refocused his attention back on Yukiko and Chie as they pulled each other into another hug, "You're not hurt, are you, Yukiko?"

The dark haired girl shook her head as they pulled apart, "N-no...I'm not-" She started, before pausing as she looked at the rest of the group.

Both Yosuke and Danny offered her an understanding smile, "It's okay, Yukiko, we understand." The half-ghost said quietly while the brunette nodded beside him.

"He's right, Yukiko-san, you're not the only one like that. Everyone has something that they can't show to others, or don't want to admit to themselves." Yosuke explained, giving Danny a small smile as he repeated the same advice the half-ghost had told him a few days earlier.

Chie nodded in agreement before letting her smile fall a little, "I'm sorry, Yukiko. I was so wrapped up in myself that I didn't notice you suffering...we're supposed to be friends."

Yukiko bit her lower lip at her friend's confession before shaking her head again, "I didn't think about you, either, Chie. I was too busy trying to find an easy way out...trying to run away." She replied, not quite smiling though it was clear that she was grateful, before slowly turning to look at her Shadow in its doppleganger form. "Which is how you were formed. 'I want to run away'...'I want somebody to save me'. As much as I don't want to admit it, you're right, those feelings are part of me too." She admitted, slowly approaching the Shadow and pulling it into a hug as well, "I understand now...you're me."

The Shadow nodded, offering Yukiko a small smile as they pulled away from each other, before a flash much softer and more comforting than any of the previous Shadows lit the room. When the light faded a lightly armored figure hovered above the spot that the Shadow had previously been, wing-like fans extended down both of its arms each of them covered in bladed feathers. "I am thou...and thou art I. The strength of heart required to face oneself has been made manifest. I am the facade used to overcome life's hardships, the Persona Konohana Sakuya."

Phantom stared up at the with a small smile, though it quickly faded as he glanced down at the floor, warring with the mixed feelings he had at yet another person accomplishing something that he apparently failed to do. 'I should be happy for her, but...what happens if I can't figure out how to release my own Persona? Clockwork said that I didn't have enough power to beat Dan on my own, but maybe if I can just-'

Before the half-ghost could finish his thought he was snapped back to the real world as Chie let out a gasp and rushed forward to catch her collapsing friend, "Yukiko!"

"Are you okay?" Yosuke asked, mirroring the half-ghost's look of concern as they and Teddie stepped closer to the girls.

"Yes, I'm just a little tired..." She replied quietly, before casting her gaze around the group again with a renewed sense of disbelief, "You all came to rescue me...?"

"Of course!" Chie answered immediately, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "I don't even want to imagine not being with you!"

The faintest traces of a blush washed over the dark haired girl's face as she smiled at her friend, "Thank you..."

Phantom shrugged in response, "Don't even mention it, it's what I-" He paused for a moment before looking at Yosuke and continuing, "It's what we do. I'm just glad you're safe."

Yosuke stared his friend in shock for a few moments before beaming at him with a small laugh, "Right on..." He replied, drawing a small smile from Yukiko before she blinked in confusion as she looked back at Danny.

"I'm sorry, but...who are you? I feel like I should know you, but I don't remember ever meeting you."

The half-ghost let out a small sigh while Chie and Yosuke both laughed, "That's Danny, Yukiko." Chie explained while he briefly let go of his ghost to prove it to her before immediately changing back, "I'm sure he can explain it to you later..."

Danny raised an eyebrow at the jacket clad girl's assumption, though he didn't bother to comment seeing as how it was probably true anyways. Before anybody else could say anything though, Teddie inserted inserted himself into the conversation, apparently satisfied with his examination of the feather he'd caught earlier. "So, who threw you in here?" He asked with an innocent smile, showcasing his complete lack of any social graces.

Yukiko stared at the bear in shock, clearly starting to become overwhelmed by the amount of strangeness she was being subjected to, "Huh...? Who...rather, what are you?"

"I'm Teddie!" The bear beamed proudly, "So, who threw you in?"

Phantom cocked an eyebrow at the bear's insistence, momentarily considering whether or not he should mention the rudeness to him before deciding that he was more interested in the girl's answer. He turned his attention back to her just in time to see her shift her gaze to the floor as she struggled to answer the question, "I don't know...I think some one called my name..." She murmured before trailing off and shaking her head, "But my memories a blur. I can't remember who it was...I'm sorry, um...Teddie."

"No new clues..." Teddie sighed morosely.

"Not necessarily." Yosuke replied with a shrug, "At least now we know for sure that somebody actually threw Yukiko-san in here."

Danny nodded in agreement with the brunette while Teddie let out a low hum at the thought, "Then it really isn't you guys..." He muttered.

The half-ghost cocked his hip to the side, crossing his arms as he looked down at the bear in frustration, "Well, I'm glad we could clear that up at least." He replied cooly, bringing a somewhat panicked look to the mascot's face.

"I-I always knew it believed you guys!" He lied quickly, doing his best to plaster a trustworthy smile onto his face while Yosuke let out his own shout of frustration.

"Of course you did, Teddie." Phantom grumbled, rolling his eyes before looking back towards Chie as she helped Yukiko back up to her feet.

"Anyways, let's hurry back home home, Yukiko looks exhausted..." She said, and Danny couldn't help but agree with the statement as they started making their way out of the throne room and down towards the entrance of the castle. Luckily it seemed like whatever shadows might have been left cleared out of the area when they defeated Yukiko's own Shadow. It didn't take the group too long to get back to the exit of the Shadow World, even with the exhausted Yukiko, and as the team started to gather around the tower of TV's Chie shot Teddie a grateful smile, "Thanks again for your help, Teddie!"

The mascot immediately nodded with a smile before letting out a sudden gasp, "Huh? You're leaving me here?" He asked, disappointment tinging his tone.

Danny raised an eyebrow at the bear, "Well...yeah, you live here. We're not going to force you to come with us. Besides, I think that we'd be drawing a little too much attention by bringing a talking bear with us into the mall." He explained simply.

"Well...yeah, but..." The bear started, before trailing off with a sigh that tugged slightly on the half-ghost's heartstrings.

'Come on, Phantom, you spent most of your time in Amity Park making sure that ghosts didn't invade the place, how's this any different? On the other hand though...it's not like there weren't a few ghosts that would have been alright if they'd ever actually wanted to leave the Zone.'

"I'm sorry, Teddie. I promise to come again..." Yukiko said, forcing Phantom out of his internal debate as she approached their guide and gave him a gentle pet on the head, "So be a good boy and wait here until then, okay?"

The mascot let out a soft purr at the contact, drawing an amused smile to the team's faces, "My, it's getting pretty crowded in here. Why don't you and I go somewhere else?" He purred, diminishing the goodwill his previous reaction had caused, "C'mon, pretty please?"

Phantom shook his head as he let go of his ghost and transformed back into his human form, "Congratulations, Teddie, You just went from cute to creepy in five seconds flat." He deadpanned. "That's gotta be some kind of record."

Yosuke winced at his friend's use of the word 'cute' before nodding in agreement, "He's right, dude, you'll be lucky if you ever get out of here now."

Teddie let out a disappointed groan as the team said their last goodbyes to him before each using the TV set to return to the electronic center, with Danny heading through first so that he could act as an invisible lookout. Once the entire team had managed to return to Junes they made their way to the food court so that Yukiko could sit down while Chie ran off for several minutes to get her friend something to eat, despite her protests.

Yukiko let out a small sigh and pushed the tray of food away from her once she'd eatten as much as she could manage, "Are you sure you're not hurt anywhere, Yukiko?" Chie asked, still looking at her friend in concern.

The dark haired girl nodded, "No...I'm fine, just tired." She sighed, seeming unsure whether she was touched or slightly annoyed by her friend's fawning over her.

Danny nodded in understanding, remembering the exhaustion both Yosuke and Chie had experienced after facing their Shadows, as well as being more than familiar with his own share of emotionally charged conflicts. "I'm glad you're alright, Yukiko, and I'm really sorry to ask you again, but now that we're out of the Shadow World, do you think you might remember anything?"

"No...I'm sorry, but I still don't remember anything..." She replied, an expression of both disappointment and exhaustion washing over her face.

The half-ghost shrugged in response, offering her a smile, "Hey, don't worry about it. You've had a long two days."

"That's right!" Chie agreed strongly, "You're safe, and that's more than enough for now."

Yosuke quickly nodded as well before letting out a sigh, "But there's no mistake that Yukiko-san was...attacked...the same way as the last two victims." He reasoned before shaking his head, "And I think that the one we saw on the TV wasn't the real Yukiko-san, but her Shadow."

"I got that feeling too." Danny replied, wincing a little as he rested a slightly burnt hand on the table, "None of the ghosts that I've fought were quite like the Shadows, but I've seen some that can manipulate suppressed emotions like this, maybe that's what we were seeing on the Midnight Channel?"

A somewhat awkward silence fell over the table as the team stared curiously at their leader's casual mention of his previous experiences before Chie seemed to remember something, "You know, Teddie was saying something kinda like that earlier..."

The half-ghost nodded in response, though he remained silent as he stared down at the table in thought.'That's true...I wonder how far this goes though. Not that I have any choice but continue down the rabbit hole at this point anyways, but still...'

"Aww, it's no use." Yosuke groaned in frustration, "I'm just going around in circles. What kinda person could be doing this?"

'I've got a few ideas as to the kind of person...' Danny mused darkly, before shaking his head as he looked around the group, his eyes finally landing on the exhausted Yukiko, 'I'm sure Vlad would have it in him to do this kind of thing if he wanted, but it's not his style...besides it's not like he's anywhere near here anyways. Damn it, I wish that this wasn't something that was so hard to believe...not that the police would be able to handle it, and I doubt that it's a big enough problem for the Justice League to get involved. Guess you're on your own this time, Phantom. Well...I guess that's not completely true.'

"Let's just think on it for a while, we can talk about it more tomorrow if you want, but I think that it'd probably be for the best if Yukiko went home and got some rest." Danny suggested, drawing a thankful smile from both of the girls while Yosuke blinked in surprise.

"I think that's a good idea." Chie said, standing up and helping Yukiko from her seat, "I'll take Yukiko home. See you guys tomorrow."

"That's right...sorry, Yukiko-san, you must be exhausted." Yosuke replied as he stood up himself, "We'll talk about it more once she's feeling better."

The group nodded in agreement before starting to part ways, Yukiko thanking each of them profusely one more time before Chie forcefully led her away. As soon as the girls were gone the boys said their own goodbyes before they went separate ways, both of them exhausted and sore from the day's mission.


It hadn't taken long for Danny to get home, despite his fatigue and, while he'd appreciated Nanako's greeting as he arrived, he'd immediately rushed upstairs to clean himself up and tend to his wounds. Thankfully, barring barring the burn on his hand, most of his smaller injuries had already started to heal themselves...though the scratches on his face would probably be a bit of a pain to explain if anybody asked about them. Finally, after taking a shower and making sure that the slash on his chest from Yosuke's Shadow wasn't in any danger of reopening again, he made his way back downstairs to join his cousin at the table.

"Hey, Nanako. How are you doing?"

The little girl blinked up at him in surprise at the question before smiling at him, "Um...I'm alright..." She replied unsurely, before wincing as she saw his face, "You hurt your face again..."

"Yeah...I really need to stop being so clumsy." Danny laughed, smiling at her with a shrug, "It doesn't really hurt too bad though. Did you have a good day at school?" He continued, trying to redirect the conversation away from his perceived inability to stay on his feet.

Nanako's eyes brightened at the question, her concern over his face immediately forgotten at the chance to talk about something she'd done. "Yeah! We read a book about fish, and then we planted some beans to put in the window! My teacher says that if we take good care of them they'll grow big and we can bring them home!" She exclaimed, a bright smile plastered on her face as the two of them ignored the TV in favor of each other for a couple of hours.

Danny couldn't help but smile in fond amusement at his cousin, 'And here I thought that she wasn't talkative.' He thought to himself as she told him a story about one of her friends at school, though his smile did falter slightly as he considered the reason for her initial shyness, 'I do kind of wish that she was able to spend more time with Uncle Dojima, though...I get the feeling that they've got just as many communication issues as I had at home.'

Despite his suspicions on Dojima's communication skills and his growing concern over the Midnight Channel, Danny did manage to forget about that for a while and simply enjoy getting to know his cousin a little better until, at last, the two of them heard the front door open and Nanako let out a gasp of excitement, "He's home!" She cried, jumping up from the table only to come screeching to a confused halt as Dojima and the detective he'd almost ran into in the station walked into the living room. "Um...hello..."

The young detective smiled down at her brightly as her father walked up beside him, "Hi there!"

"We got off work at the same time, so I'm giving him a ride back to his place." Dojima explained, clearly understanding the look of confusion on both his daughter and nephew's faces. "I figured that since we had the time, we might as well swing by."

The detective nodded in agreement as he offered his hand to the little girl, "Nice to meet ya. I'm Adachi, the guy that's been your dad's slave since spring." He joked with a grin.

"I can still work you harder, you know."

"Good one, sir!" Adachi replied with a nervous chuckle before blinking as he recognized Danny, "Oh, I almost forgot! You're friends with Yukiko Amagi, right? They found her safe and sound, tell all your friends at school!"

Danny blinked in surprise, not having expected the police to follow up on Yukiko's reappearance so quickly, 'Guess it's not that big of a surprise though, now that I think about it. Dojima did say that they're on edge lately...not that I can really blame them.'

The half-ghost realized that the detectives were still waiting for his reaction to the news and, despite his initial surprise, he managed to cover it up and play it cool, "I'm glad to hear it, I'm glad that you guys were able to find her." He replied, though he winced internally as he noticed his uncle's eyes narrow just the slightest bit in suspicion.

"Yeah, all of us on the force are relieved too." Adachi smiled, before seeming to loose himself in thought, "But this doesn't mean the case is closed, though. We were just questioning Ms. Amagi, but she says she doesn't remember anything that happened while she was missing. And we can't figure out her whereabouts during the missing period, either. It's like she really disappeared. It's all pretty fishy, if you ask me, like there's something else going on...Ow!"

Dojima shot the younger detective a glare as he rubbed the shoulder he'd punched him in, "Stop blabbering, dumbass!" He growled, his tone tinged with frustration.

"S-sorry..." Adachi muttered, glancing towards the ground.

Dojima rolled his eyes at his subordinate's antics before looking back to his nephew, "Ignore him. He's just spouting off some wild fantasy."

"I'm pretty sure that Yukiko isn't involved." Danny replied, despite his better instincts, "I mean, I know I just met her, but she doesn't seem the type."

Both his uncle and the younger detective looked at him with a small amount of suspicion before Dojima shook his head, "Yeah, I know..." He muttered, shooting another withering glare at Adachi before shrugging, "Anyways, don't mind him. He can be a real pain sometimes."

The half-ghost raised an eyebrow at his uncle's response, but before any of them could say anything else Nanako reminded the three of them that she was still there with a quiet complaint, "I'm hungry..."

Dojima blinked down at his daughter in surprise before letting out a small laugh and smiling at her, "Hey, you're right. My stomach's growling too." He replied, drawing another smile from Nanako, though his smile was short-lived as Adachi chuckled at him.

"So you do have a softer side around Nanako-chan, sir." The younger detective teased.

"Shut up and siddown, Adachi. And wash those hands first! Hmm...I should probably do the same..." He muttered, before wandering off towards the kitchen with Nanako in tow while Adachi returned to the table to sit with the somewhat bemused Danny as soon as he'd finished washing his hands.

Despite the half-ghost's exhaustion, Danny couldn't help but find a strange amusement and comfort in the abnormal evening that he'd been presented with so far and, as he chatted with Adachi for a few minutes before heading to the kitchen as he realized that his uncle clearly had no idea what he was doing, he realized that, despite everything that was going on, for the first time since coming to Japan, he almost felt like he was actually home.