I watched as the shadows gathered overhead. With a final, piercing shout, Mitsuo fell limply to the ground. Above him, the shadows merged into the form of...
...a baby.
Everyone assumed their battle stances. I had a few qualms with attacking an infant, but I knew we had no choice.
"Get ready, everyone!" Rise cried out. "Once we beat him, this case is as good as closed!"
I was excited that we had come so far in investigating the murder case, and that we may finally have come close to solving it once and for all. I was excited that we had possibly found the killer all by ourselves, and solved a case that even the police could not.
And yet...somewhere in the back of my mind, I hoped that we were wrong.
...
######################################
######################################
...
...
...Where am I?
*Mitsuo searches the area.
...
*But he finds nothing.
...What?
You could have sworn that there were other people here.
Where did they go?
...
What is that?
You see an aura emanating far away from you.
However, the fog blocks your vision, so you can't see what's causing it.
You make your way through the fog as you approach the aura.
...
...oh.
It's that impostor.
He's sitting on the ground, staring at nothing.
You stare down at him, crossing your arms to show that you are in charge.
"What the hell are you still doing here?"
He does not respond, nor does he look up.
You're pissed now.
"Hey, I'm talkin' to you!"
You shake him.
Still no response.
You can barely contain your anger.
You frantically look around for something you can hit him with.
...
Then, you notice something on the ground in front of you.
It is your old baseball bat.
...
*Mitsuo equips the Baseball Bat.
You don't know how it got here, but you don't care.
You're gonna get this impostor's attention if you have to beat it out of him.
You raise your weapon to strike...
But something knocks it out of your hand.
Before you can react, you are knocked to the ground.
You struggle to sit up so that you can see your attacker.
...
It's the hero.
######################################
######################################
Suddenly, the infant let out a shrill wail. As if on cue, some sort of shield began forming around him. It seemed to be made of the Lego-like pieces that made up the rest of this dungeon. A the pieces assembled themselves, they formed what looked like an 8-bit knight character.
I pondered for a moment. Where had I seen that character before...?
...No matter. I needed to get rid of my emotional attachments if we were going to solve this case. As much as I hated to think about it, I wasn't dealing with Mitsuo anymore. I was dealing with a killer.
I gave the command, and we began our assault.
######################################
######################################
The hero looks down at you.
He offers a hand to help you up, even though he's the one who knocked you down.
...
Is he teasing you?
Is he trying to rub his superiority in your face?
...
You get up by yourself.
That ought to knock him off his high horse.
However, he seems unfazed.
In fact, he's smiling.
It's a sad, pitying smile that you absolutely loathe.
*"Come..."
He holds his hand out to you again.
*"...I'll end your emptiness."
What is he talking about?
You back away.
He attempts to close the distance between you.
*"There's no need to be scared. It'll be quick."
Quick...?
What does he mean by that?
You see him fingering his sword.
...
Oh God.
You want to run, but...you can't.
Your legs won't move.
You're helpless.
Besides, it's not like there's anywhere to go.
You're alone.
You don't know where you are.
Nobody's going to help you.
The world couldn't care less if you die right here.
So you brace yourself...and await the inevitable.
...But nothing happens.
As you look up, you see that the hero has frozen in his tracks.
Slowly, he begins to fade away.
You watch him go until there is nothing left.
...
See?
Even he's grown tired of you.
...
######################################
######################################
Finally, after bombarding it with our strongest attacks, we managed to destroy the shield. However, things were not looking good. We were all beaten pretty badly, and Yukiko was pale and trembling.
The shadow (I refused to think of it as an infant anymore) began assaulting us with powerful spells. Yukiko got the worst of it, and we had to constantly heal her. Unfortunately, there was nothing we could do to alleviate her fear. It pained me to see her so helpless and scared.
That did it. I just couldn't forgive Mitsuo for making so many people suffer. No matter what he was like before...
######################################
######################################
...
Oh, the impostor's still here.
You almost forgot about him, even though he was sitting here the entire time.
Even after what happened, he's just sitting there like nothing happened at all.
You walk up to him.
"Hey..."
You shake him again.
No response.
You didn't really expect one, but it still annoys the hell out of you.
He's probably doing this on purpose.
Maybe if you assert your authority, he'll listen.
You stare down at him in a manner that you hope is imposing.
First, you figure you'll ask him what you want to know.
"What did you mean when you said I was nothing?"
You speak loudly to let it be known that you demand an answer.
To your suprise, he looks up at you.
To be honest, you're stunned.
You are quiet for a moment.
Then, you get over your shock when you realize that he still hasn't given you what you want.
"Answer me!"
You shout at him.
Still no response.
"I said answer me, dammit!"
He keeps staring at you, but says nothing.
By this time, you are shaking with rage.
You try to form more words, but all that comes out is angry sputtering.
You look around frantically, absolutely at a loss for what to do.
And then, you notice the bat that is still in your hand.
You see the dried blood still caked on it.
...
Of course.
You won't get his attention by just shouting.
If you want him to talk, you'll have to beat him up.
He's not just going to sit there and take it. He'll have to defend himself, right?
...
You raise your weapon.
Then, you strike him over the head.
*Mitsuo attacks!
The blow knocks him to the ground.
You can't help but smile a little as he slowly picks himself up.
Maybe now he'll answer you, or at the very least try to fight back.
...But no. He just sits there.
*Mitsuo attacks!
And he just sits back up.
Why won't he answer you?
Why won't he get up and fight back?
*Mitsuo attacks!
He sits up again.
He doesn't even look angry.
He looks like he doesn't even care.
*Mitsuo attacks!
*Critical hit!
*Mitsuo attacks!
*Critical hit!
*Mitsuo attacks!
*Critical hit!
No matter how many times you hit him, it doesn't seem to faze him at all.
By this time, you don't care if he doesn't answer you.
You just want him to stay down.
You just want him to die.
So he'll stop taunting you.
*Mitsuo attacks!
Punishing hit!
*Mitsuo attacks!
*Punishing hit!
*Mitsuo attacks!
*Punishing hit!
It's covered in blood, but it just won't die!
*Mitsuo attacks!
*Punishing hit!
Why won't you die!
*Mitsuo attacks!
*Critical hit!
DIE!
*Mitsuo attacks!
...
Just stop...
*Mitsuo attacks!
*Miss!
Stop ignoring me...
*Mitsuo attacks!
*Miss!
Please...
*Mitsuo attacks!
*Miss!
...
You can't see him anymore.
Everything is a blur.
You can hardly breathe.
...
You throw your weapon to the side.
You get down on your knees.
And you start shaking the life out of him.
Why?
You don't know.
It doesn't really matter what you do.
And he doesn't even try to resist.
He's almost like a doll in your hands.
...
You're crying your eyes out, but you don't care.
You don't try to hold back, even though you probably look like a big crybaby.
Who knows? Maybe if you cry, you'll catch someone's attention.
It's gotten you attention before, however brief.
...
...But no.
Nobody comes.
...
Why?
Why does no one care?
They care about everyone else.
...
Morooka...he was a total bastard, but people respected him...
The announcer...she was a cheating whore, but her death saddened a lot of people...
Konishi...she was a cold-hearted bitch, but even she had someone who loved her unconditionally...
...
But not you.
No one wants to even look at you.
You thought you had a friend once...but when you tried to show your affection for him, he turned tail and ran.
Yuki...she can't stand the sight of you.
She would rather be with some generic pretty-boy.
And that weird grey-haired kid...you thought he was different.
You were an idiot for thinking he would stick around.
You should've known he would leave you like everyone else.
Face it.
You'll always be alone.
No matter what you do.
...
But I don't want to be alone.
...
I don't wanna be alone.
I don't wanna be alone!
I don't wanna!
I don't wanna!
I don't wanna!
...
######################################
######################################
Suddenly, I heard the most deafening, blood-curdling scream that had ever reached my ears. The ground itself seemed to shake from the volume of the noise. It seemed to go on for an eternity before it finally ceased. As it did, I saw Yukiko drop helplessly to the floor. I knew we had to beat this thing fast. Fortunately, it looked like it didn't have much strength left.
We attacked with what little strength we had. We were all growing exhausted from the long battle.
At last, the shadow fell from its pixellated throne and onto the ground.
"Now's our chance!" Yosuke declared, turning to me. "You ready?"
I nodded. At my command, we assaulted it without mercy.
The last of its strength seemingly depleted, it deteriorated until it was nothing more than a blackened husk. I let out a lengthy sigh.
We had done it.
...But at what cost?