Monday, 4-18-11. Weather: Sunny Throughout the Day
"I wonder how Chie's doing." Yosuke said as he leaned against Yu's desk. Jiraiya and Izanagi hovered nearby, the former idly twirling his shurikens while the other impassively watched the two boys interact.
Yu looked away from the door, giving his friend a confused look. "You mean you didn't call her?"
"Too much stuff happened yesterday. I thought that I'd just let her be alone for a bit, I know that's what I wanted when I first got my power. Still, I hope she's back to her usual self. Seeing her depressed is just… jarring, y'know?"
As if on cue, the classroom door opened with a slam, and a flustered Chie ran in. Her eyes swept across the room before landing on Yosuke and Yu, and her face was overcome with rage. She stomped over to the two boys, Yosuke making the smart decision to hide behind Yu's chair to save himself from her kicks.
"You! You guys didn't tell me that this would happen!" She shouted, stomping her feet against the floor as she pointed at the figure that had phased through the door behind her. They straightened out their back, standing proudly at Chie's side with their head raised. Jiraiya moved closer, seemingly interested in the other Persona's long hair. "I woke up and this thing was at the end of my bed. I could barely sleep last night knowing that thing was there!"
"Chie, calm down." Yu said, standing up and placing his hands on Chie's shoulders. "It's okay, this is normal after you face your Shadow."
"How is this normal?! Am I going to have this floating… thing constantly following me around for the rest of my life?" Yu thanked every deity he could think of that it was still early, and that there were barely any kids in the classroom.
"Look, Chie you just need to breathe and-!" Yosuke let out a choked noise of pain and doubled over, clutching at his stomach. Yu and Chie both looked around to see her Persona's foot lodged into Jiraiya's stomach, a comical expression of pain forming on their mask. Apparently the female Persona had had enough of Jiraiya messing with their hair, and delivered a quick dose of pain to show that they did not appreciate the attention. Yu winced in sympathy, moving his chair around so that his friend could sit down.
"Chie," Yu continued, letting Yosuke recover his breath. "This is… normal. At least, so far it's normal. It happened to me and Yosuke, and now it's happened to you. They're not going to hurt you, and as far as we know we can't get rid of them or anything like that."
"So it's gonna be stuck with me forever?" Chie asked, much calmer than when she had entered the classroom.
"For now, we're assuming so, but we're the only three that can see them. They're mainly just a sign that you can enter the TV and have faced your Shadow." Yu said, moving Chie over so that she could sit down in her chair. "It's not a bad thing, and you aren't crazy or something like that. You're completely fine, okay?"
Chie exhaled shakily, taking quick glances at her Persona, who was glaring down at Jiraiya. "Tomoe."
"Huh?"
"Tomoe. It's its name." Chie said, nodding to herself. "Okay, I think I can deal with this. Sorry for flipping out it's just… not natural, I guess."
"Don't worry, I had an even worse freak out." Yosuke ground out, standing from the chair and holding his stomach and slowly walking to the door. "I'm gonna go down to the nurse's office and get an ice pack, I'm pretty sure this is starting to bruise."
A long stretch of silence came between the two teens after the magician left the room, Yu shuffling to his seat as Izanagi settled down at his usual spot in the back of the classroom. "Hey, um," Chie started awkwardly. "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 turned and looked at Yu directly, giving a genuine smile at the gray-haired teen, and Yu repeated the gesture. Time slowed to a halt, the smash of glass breaking filled the air as a card manifested between the two. It was decorated with golds, reds and blacks. A knight (or maybe a king, in this context) was in a chariot being pulled by two sphinxes, the Roman numeral VII proudly portrayed at the bottom.
Thou art I, and I am thou.
Thou hast established a new bond
It brings thee closer to the truth...
Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Chariot Arcana.
With that, the card faded away, and time started up again with Chie leaning back into her chair and letting out a content smile. With his mind now much clearer than it had been before, Yu realized that he did not have Chie's contact information. He paused once he got his flip phone out, not knowing how to ask her for her number. He didn't do this at all in the city, preferring to keep his contact information to himself or to his teachers if he were out sick. Asking directly would lead to him getting a swift kick from the trigger happy girl beside him, but just asking for the number for the investigation seemed ruder than anything.
"Excuse me, miss? My sire here desires for your 'number,' whatever that means." Yu's head darted up in shock at Ukobach's raspy voice, the small devil sitting on his desk, twirling his ladle around lazily. Chie stared at the Persona before jumping to her feet, grabbing Yu's book bag and slamming it down on the devil's head. Yu let out a hiss and placed his hand over the area that stung slightly, Ukobach comically falling on his back with a stunned expression.
"What the hell!" Chie yelled, sheepishly laughing after realizing that her outburst had drawn the attention of various classmates. "Uh, sorry! Really, really gross bug." At that moment, Jiraiya floated through the floor, the two slits on the ear-like structures of their mask glowing a faint blue.
"I wanted to bring this up when we would go to Junes after school." Yu started, rubbing at his head. "I can use multiple Personas. This one is called Ukobach, and he's currently the only other one I have besides Izanagi. He's also the only one that can talk."
"Yes, miss Chie." Ukobach continued, moving to the side of the desk that was farthest from Chie's wrath. "I was simply asking for my master since he was nervous about asking you for your number." Chie blushed at the statement, quickly taking Yu's phone and typing in her number before handing it back to him. Whatever conversation that could have been salvaged was soon ended by Morooka barging into the classroom, attendance book held tightly in his hand as he began roll call.
"Hello and good afternoon, all! My name is Mr. Kondo, your P.E. teacher! But since no one at this school teaches English, I'll be doubling up my roles!" Mr. Kondo said with obvious enthusiasm, seemingly oblivious to the bored expressions of the teens of class 2-2. Yosuke had come back to the classroom shortly after lunch, an ice pack held to his stomach as he nibbled on his leftovers, staying silent and only letting out a few groans throughout the rest of the day's lectures. For most of the morning, Yu and Chie had been keeping up a silent texting conversation, planning for the afternoon ahead of them. After filling in Yosuke on their plans, the bell had rang for the afternoon lessons, and Yu winced at his teacher's revelation.
Seriously? No one here teaches English? Well, if he's been assigned the job, then he has to know a minimal amount. "...Don't be so disappointed. In fact, I've spent some time overseas! One week of vacation time, to be exact! But that's more than enough to teach a class!" He began to laugh loudly, and Yu tried to shrink down into his seat, knowing that he'd probably know more English than his teacher ever would.
"We'll start with the basics of the basics: the English alphabet! It starts with the letter A, then B, then C, and then 23 more! Maybe that was a little too basic?" Taking note of the indifference of his students, Kondo's face hardened and his eyes scanned the classroom. "All right! I'll give you an alphabet-related pop quiz, then! Let's see… Narukami!"
Yu inwardly groaned as he stood from his seat, Kondo smiling at him. "The word 'alphabet' comes from the words 'alpha' and what other one?"
You've got to be kidding me. "Beta." Yu said, rolling his eyes at the simple question. It wasn't much of a pop quiz if the answers were from the previous year's curriculum. At least, for Yu it was simple knowledge that he had learned from his parents and English tutors.
"Good! That's correct!" Mr. Kondo said, smiling at the fact that someone other than him knew some English. "It comes from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, alpha and beta! By the way, any set of western European characters in a specific order is called an alphabet. In Japan, when we say 'alphabet' we're talking about the English alphabet, but it doesn't always mean the English one!"
Yu tilted his head and sat back down, quickly jotting down what Kondo had said. Despite knowing that his teacher wasn't an English expert, it was better to know something than nothing.
First order of business for after school was for Yu to go to the Central Shopping District. Chie and Yosuke would head to Junes and get some drinks for the three of them to enjoy before they left for the TV world, but Yu would check for new weapons or armor while selling the materials they got from the Shadows. Teddie had picked them up as they were fighting and chasing after Chie, and then had given them to Yu simply because the bear didn't have any use for them. Daidara, on the other hand, had mentioned to Chie that if she had any materials he could make new merchandise.
Unfortunately, nothing had come from what he sold, so Yu took the money and left the store. With stop number one done, Yu took out the Velvet key and went to the blue door floating above the ground. The sound of an opening door was a relief and Yu sat down in the velvet-covered seat in the limo, Igor greeting him with his standard creepy smile.
"Welcome, to the Velvet Room." Igor straightened in his seat, greeting Yu with his standard creepy smile. "Well, then. I shall tell you about how I can offer you my 'assistance.' I can gather a number of the Personas you possess and provide you with the ability to 'fuse' them. I have suggestions for the creation of powerful Personas that may be of use to you. If you want to summon a new Persona that you have not registered, then simply choose the two Personas you wish to fuse and allow me to use my abilities. I will let Margaret explain how to use the Compendium." He turned to the older woman next to him, who turned to Yu and propped up the large tome in her hand.
"The Persona Compendium has many aspects surrounding it. It registers all of the Personas in your possession and all of their abilities. After registration, the Persona can be summoned with the same abilities as many times as you like. However, the stronger the Persona, the greater the cost to summon it will be, but registering a Persona is free of charge."
"So to get a Persona back, I have to pay?" Margaret nodded, and Yu let out a sigh, Ukobach and Izanagi forming in the seats beside him.
"Sire," Ukobach began, a large smile on his face. "I have a plan for us, and how you can fuse use to gain more power!" Yu glanced at Igor before turning to the blond devil beside him.
"I'm listening."
"First fuse together your guardian and I, then summon us back from the Compendium." Yu nodded and turned to Igor, who nodded at him. Two cards formed on the table in front of him, flipping over to show Izanagi and Ukobach before they glowed white. Floating into the air, they spun around rapidly before colliding together, a new card forming, and with that, a new Persona appeared. A tall woman, her dark blue hair tied up and dressed in a simple white outfit with a blue gem decorated belt around her hips. A see-through veil curled around her arms and upper body, streaming from the simple crown on her head, and a gentle smile on her face.
"I am Apsaras." She said, her voice almost immediately soothing Yu's nerves. "I will lend you what power I can offer." Her card floated down before bursting, her form fading away in a gentle blue light. Yu shook his head, turning to Margaret who opened the Compendium, summoning back Izanagi and Ukobach after Yu gave her the correct amount of yen.
"Now," Ukobach said, unperturbed by his time in the limbo-like state. "Fuse the three of us together and summon your guardian and I back." Igor looked up and nodded, knowing what Yu wanted done, and the three cards holding the Personas materialized in front of him. They formed a triangle and glowed a bright white, spinning together and violently colliding with each other to form the final Persona.
In the place of the three cards was a woman dressed in old battle armor, a white cloak draped over her shoulder and two short swords were held in each of her hands. A silver mask covered her eyes, each end framing her long blonde hair with two small silver wings.. She rode on the back of a horse with a red pelt and pink mane, the ends of the hairs fading into a light yellow, and glowing blue eyes.
"I am Valkyrie!" She proclaimed, raising her sword above her head. "You shall witness my power with your own two eyes!" Her form burst out into a blast of blue, and Margaret summoned back the last two Personas, Yu sighing in relief as he felt the familiar presences settle back into his mind. With that, Yu stood from his seat, giving the residents of the Velvet Room a thankful nod, and left.
"Man, this place is not come any easier to come back to." Chie said, her glasses resting on the bridge of her nose as she stared up at the foreboding structure unimpeded. She then turned her head as two flames burst in her peripheral, and Yu and Yosuke stood dressed as their Personas. Chie shuffled awkwardly, trying and failing to bring forth the card that represented Tomoe's strong figure.
"What's wrong?" Yu asked, moving towards her. His shoes - or, at least, Chie thought that they were shoes, but now she's not so sure - tapped against the stone path as he stood in front of her.
"I can't - I don't know how to do… whatever you guys just did." She replied, glaring at Yosuke when he let out a series of chuckles, muttering that it was an easy thing to do.
"Maybe you need to be in a different scenario for it to work." Yu questioned, turning to face the castle. "Either way, we need to go in. Can you fight?"
"Course I can fight!" Chie exclaimed, her pride coming back full force at the question. How could she not fight, she's been serving kicks and punches to the local bullies ever since she was three! With that exclamation, Yu nodded, and he, Yosuke, and Teddie began to run inside, Chie keeping pace with the large bear.
They went through the first door on the left which, unfortunately, slammed right into the face of a Shadow. It split into a Lying Hablerie and a Calm Pesce, which were soon blown back by a Zio and slash attack from Yu.
That's how most of the fights continued, if Yu didn't land his attack, than Yosuke would rush in instead and end the Shadow's brief existence. Chie stood on the sidelines for the most part, and she did want to jump in and kick ass, but she was slower than the two boys. Coupled with the fact that she knew that, if she transformed with her Persona, she would have to adopt a somewhat new style of fighting, she stayed near Teddie for now.
It was at the second floor where things took a turn for the worse. Teddie had sensed someone on the other side of the door and, thinking it was her Shadow coming back to finish what it started, Chie rushed ahead again and pushed open the doors, much to the chagrin of the others. She went in with her hands clenched into fists, glaring in anger at whatever was in the room.
Her heart stopped when she saw the familiar black hair of her best friend. "Yukiko…?"
"Yukiko-san! Are you alright?" Yosuke asked, dropping the transformation in case she flipped out like Chie did when she saw them while facing her Shadow. To their surprise, the taller girl barely reacted to their concern and didn't turn around to face them.
"Yukiko, what's wrong?" Chie asked, moving forwards in concern at the lack of response. Yukiko just barely turned her head to face her -
And glowing yellow eyes met a deep brown.
Yukiko's normally elegant face twisted into a grimace, insane laughter leaving her lips as she turned around fully, her pink dress barely making a wrinkle at her movements. Chie backed away, seeing a disturbingly familiar purple aura surrounding the look-alike's body. "Oh my! Special guests? I wonder how they'll play into all this! Things are really heating up!"
Shadow Yukiko lifted the microphone in its hand closer to its lips, smiling wickedly at her 'guests.' "Okie-dokie! I'm going back to hunt for my Prince Charming! Oh, where could he be? This place is huge! It's so- exciting, but it makes it so hard to find him! Oh, maybe he's playing hide-and-seek in the fog! Ready or not, here I come! Let's go further in then, shall we?" Above her head, almost like in a low-budget TV show, appeared a logo saying 'Princess Yukiko's Hunt for Her Prince Charming!' It was fully accompanied by sparkles flying off of it, and a silly pose from the Shadow.
Chie didn't know what caused her gut to twist uneasily at the Shadow's speech, but she certainly didn't like it. With a growl, Chie lifted her leg and did a roundhouse kick, breaking a card that had formed in midair. With a blast of icy-blue flame, she felt Tomoe's power and abilities flow into her veins, as well as her physical appearance. Her hair changed color and length, a mask fitting snugly over her head as her body was covered in a yellow track suit, samurai armor hung from her hips. A double-bladed staff held in her gloved hands, and once the flames faded, Chie thrust the tip of one of the blades under the Shadow's chin. "You're not Yukiko. Who are you?"
The Shadow barely reacted to the threat, pushing the blade out of the way of the microphone and continued to speak with its distorted voice. "What're you talking about? I'm Yukiko, and Yukiko is me."
Chie let out another growl at the Shadow, and pressed her blade against the fake rose that adorned the top of the dress, right above the center of the Shadow's chest. "Where's the real Yukiko?"
The near-silence of the room was filled with the sound of voices, and while they were unintelligible, anyone could tell that they were filled with anger. "What's with these voices?" Yosuke asked, lifting his kunai in front of him defensively.
"The Shadows are getting agitated!" Teddie exclaimed, looking around the room to try and see any black globs of goo dripping out of the wall, a clear indicator of the Shadow's distance from them.
"Well, I'm off again!" Shadow Yukiko said, either ignoring or completely oblivious to Chie's threats as she spun around to face the door behind her. "You'd better be waiting with bells on, my dear Prince!"
"Hey, wait!" Chie shouted, fully prepared to launch herself after the Shadow if it weren't for the fact that the tip of a sword was pressed against her gut. She looked down, prepared to yell at Yu for threatening her with his katana, only for her eyes to widen as she saw a woman riding on the back of a horse. Noticing that Chie's attention was on her, the woman lowered her sword and stared into Chie's eyes.
"I know you want to run off, I would too if I were in your shoes, but you cannot defeat that opponent alone." She said, the horse neighing as it turned to Yu, lowering its head in respect. "Chieftain, we should pursue this demon and end its life while we have the opportunity."
The imposing teen nodded, floating above the ground and floating forward, Yosuke and Teddie trailing behind by only a few inches. "C'mon, Chie. You can definitely help us out now that you got the transformation down."
Chie stared after the trio as the moved past her, not fully comprehending what her friend had just said. She raised the hand that held the bladed staff and twirled it expertly, Tomoe's knowledge and skills aiding her with the small trick. Smiling behind the blackened visor, Chie kicked off the ground and floated, taking a small victory at the feat, and sped up in order to catch up with her allies.
She would rescue Yukiko, no matter the consequences.
The second, third, and fourth floors passed by with little problems. Whenever Yu or Yosuke failed to take out a Shadow, Chie did incredibly well. She would either kick them, stab and slash at them with her staff, or cast a new spell: Bufu. Her attacks were mostly physical, and she definitely increased their pace through the castle.
But at the fifth floor, Yukiko's Shadow decided to have a bit of fun.
Every few feet, a flash of bright light would surround the four and send them to a random part of the floor. It threw them off and, in an effort to try and solve the confusion, Yu would keep a door open after they entered it to keep track of where they had already been.
After the third attempt, the group was relieved when Teddie stood in front of a door and proclaimed that he could smell Yukiko beyond it. Chie charged forward immediately and kicked it open, her staff at the ready to beat the stuffing out of Yukiko's Shadow before it could touch her friend.
She nearly dropped it a moment later when she saw what was really in the room.
Yu and Yosuke both gaped as Yukiko's Shadow chuckled. Standing, or rather, floating right behind her was a massive armored horse, with an even more imposing knight sitting atop it. In its left hand was a javelin, rusted and covered in red stains. "My Prince wouldn't lose to guards such as this, correct?" The larger shadow charged as Shadow Yukiko was whisked away in a plume of purple smoke, her laughter echoing through the room.
"Move!" Yu shouted, the three persona users charing out of the way of its attack. A horrifying scream rang out, and an orange sigil lit up beneath it.
"That Shadow's called an Avenger Knight," Teddie shouted from his hiding spot. "And it just cast a Tarukaja, which raised its attack!"
"What do we do?" Chie shouted.
"Attack it with whatever spells you have, see what it's weak to, and then hit it when it's down!" Yosuke shouted, throwing out a Garu. It grunted in pain as its armor was disconnected from the blast, but it only lasted for a second before it re-arranged itself.
"Ukobach!" Yu shouted, summoning the devil. Obediently, the small devil threw out a fireball, and Yu smirked behind his mask as the Shadow screamed in pain and fell to the ground. Taking Yosuke's suggestion, Yu and the others charged forward, slashing and dealing as much damage to the Avenger Knight before it could recover.
It wasn't much. Growling in annoyance, the Shadow surged upwards and raised its javelin. It glowed red for a brief instant before trying to stab Chie, who barely managed to dodge the quick movement.
"It just cast Red Wall; it's resistant against Agi now!" Teddie shouted, and Yu cursed under his breath.
"Bufu!" Shards of ice formed above it before crashing down. The Avenger Knight didn't even flinch as it turned its attention fully in Chie, ramming the head of its horse into her chest. While Tomoe's armor did, in fact, keep her relatively protected from the attack, the force of her body slamming into the wall did not bode well. Chie moaned in pain, and Yosuke quickly sent out a Dia to try and heal her.
Yu smashed another card in his hand, Izanagi's presence dominating his mind as he cast a Rakunda. Small chips in the Shadow's thick armor grew, and Yosuke took this opportunity to charge ahead, slashing precisely at the weak points. The Shadow collapsed, and with Chie temporarily out of commission, the remaining boys darted in, slashing away at the Shadow. While the damage wasn't much, it was better than sitting around and doing nothing.
"We need to wait until the Red Wall falls, then I might be able to kill it with Ukobach's Agi."
"We also need Chie to get up. She can help us deal more damage to this guy." Yosuke said, yelping as the muzzle of the horse tried to bite his arm. The Avenger Knight drew back and stabbed at Yu, who yelled out when he felt the Javelin pierce his shoulder.
At that same moment, Chie recovered fully from her hit and rose from the ground, shaking her head to clear it. She growled in annoyance and charged full speed at the Shadow, twisting her body almost like a ballerina midair and slashing at it with her staff. The Knight recoiled from the hit, the butt of the horse slamming into the wall and shaking the foundation.
The fight seemed to go on for almost an eternity. The Shadow was incredibly resilient, but it would occasionally fall down from strong attacks. Just as the Red Wall faded, Yu cast an Agi with Ukobach, right as Yosuke threw out his shurikens, and the Avenger Knight dissolved into a puddle of black sludge with a scream.
Chie fell to the ground, panting. Her transformation faded in a blast of blue flame, and Yu and Yosuke both followed suit. The five floors had drained them of energy, but the fight with the Avenger Knight had them practically falling asleep from exhaustion. They knew that they wouldn't be able to last another fight without collapsing entirely.
Yukiko's voice rang above them, and Chie grimaced at the Shadow's holy-than-thou tone. "If you really are my Prince, then we will surely meet again. I am but a trapped soul, I cannot leave this place even if I wished."
"I don't sense her anymore." Teddie murmured. "Do you guys want to head back? I'm sure we've got a long ways to go, so we shouldn't push ourselves too hard."
"Teddie's right." Yu said, using his katana as support to push himself up. He took out one of the two GoHo-Ms. "If we burn out, we're of no use to Yukiko. Heading back now is the safest option."
"Hold on." Chie said. She stood up and walked to the center of the room where the sludge was dissolving and, with a grimace, she pulled something out. With a disgusted expression, she wiped off the rest of the tar on her skirt and held up a small, glass key with the kanji for 'Snow' engraved on the side. She nodded after and put the key in her jacket pocket and nodded at Yu, who broke the GoHo-M and sent them to the outside of the castle.
Tuesday, 4-19-11. Weather: Sunny Morning and Cloudy Afternoon
Yu yawned, still tired from the combination of him not sleeping well after he had studied the night prior, as well as his exhaustion from fighting. He had a close call with Dojima as well, who had not only noticed his nephew's tired expression, but an ugly bruise on the back of his neck. Thankfully, he had acted fast, and said that he had tried out for the school soccer team, but now that mean he would have to actually attend the club and go to practices (if he made it in) to make his lie a little bit more concrete.
It's a good alibi, at least, if we go to the TV World. I can just say I have practice. As Yu pulled on his jacket, his cellphone began to ring. Mumbling tiredly, he flipped it open and hit the accept call button, thinking that Chie had messaged him to ask if they were going in today.
Imagine his surprise when the deeper voice of Margaret came through instead. "Hello. I realize this is sudden, but I'm Margaret. We met at the Velvet Room the other day."
"Uh…" Yu said. "Good morning?"
Margaret chuckled. "Yes, good morning. There is one important point I forgot to warn you about, so I thought it best to contact you immediately. Going to save your friends is a selfless and noble deed. By all means, we encourage and support you in regards to this matter, but to proceed too hastily in that quest will mean facing one battle after the next. Though you may be pressed for time, devoting yourself to battles will not quench your heart's yearnings."
"The bonds created through Social Links are another important means of strengthening the power of your Persona. Do not hasten heedlessly through your days, and remember the importance of moving at a sustainable pace. Please remember that. Well then, if you'll excuse me."
Not a moment later, the line went dead. Yu pulled the phone away from his ear and hit the end call button, putting it into his back pocket. Rubbing at his eyes, Yu picked up his bag and, noticing the time on the small clock by his TV, hastily ran down the stairs and out the door.
"...In other words, she's a manager who's still in high school." Chie yelped and looked around the sixth floor of the castle. For some reason, when they had opened the door, they had wound up on the fifth level of the castle. The glass key Chie picked up from yesterday was needed to unlock the door leading to the next flight of stairs. The moment the key had fit in, the large, ornate doors were covered in a thick layer of ice and shattered, allowing them to proceed. However, the castle was still filled with enemies, and it certainly didn't help that voices had begun to echo around them. "Now that has a nice ring to it, let's see if we can interview her. Excuse me!"
"Shut up!" Yukiko's voice exclaimed, a wave of hot air blowing down the hall and nearly toppling the teens.
"H-Hey, Yukiko-san. Mind if I ask you something? Is it true that announcer's staying at your family's inn?"
"Shut up, shut up!"
"Someday, though. That aside, wow! You're looking gorgeous in that kimono. You must have a lot of male visitors."
"Leave me alone! I'm sick of it…" The voices faded out, and the temperature in the room slowly fell. Teddie chimed in from behind them, saying that they were getting closer to Yukiko, and Yu sighed in relief. The castle was, for lack of a better word, oppressive. As they climbed, he had noticed that it had gotten hotter on every new floor. Before, it had been nearly unnoticeable, but coming onto the sixth floor from the very cool entrance, it was a stark difference.
For the rest of the sixth floor, Yu and Yosuke both noted how Chie would dart ahead and viciously slash at Black Ravens and Bronze Dice, even if she were weak to their attacks. Yosuke could only cast a few Dias to heal her injuries to assist, and Yu would take a few hits for her in an effort to minimize the damage she would take.
On the seventh floor, Chie's agitation grew even higher as Yukiko's Shadow taunted her. "Hasn't my Prince come yet? My dear Prince, please, hurry and take me away! Somewhere… to a world where no one knows me."
"It's close! We're right beneath it!" Teddie cheered, and Chie only growled as she ran ahead.
"Ugh, why would you tell her that, Ted?" Yosuke reprimanded, throwing a few Garus under his feet to increase his speed. Yu couldn't tell if he was trying to keep up with her or stop her completely, but he knew that, either way, if he didn't interfere, there would be a fight. In a split-second decision, he picked up Teddie and also darted ahead, cursing as his currently equipped persona, Sandman, was not built for making sharp corners, nor going all that fast.
He found Chie and Yosuke at the top of the stairs that lead to the next floor, a large pair of doors behind them as they argued very, very loudly.
"Teddie, is Yukiko behind that door?"
Teddie hummed in affirmation. "I can sense her. She's beary, beary close Sensei!"
Yu nodded and put down his friend. He hovered over to the other two and forcefully shoved them apart, electricity running up and down his back as he let Izanagi take the lead. "Enough. Yukiko is just beyond that door, we can't break down now. We need to focus and save her, not argue."
Chie had enough decency to look down, ashamed. Yosuke simply grumbled and cast a Dia on all three of them, healing their previous injuries. "You're right, as usual. C'mon, we've come this far, we can't give up."
Chie nodded and turned to the door, bracing herself as she pushed it open. The group darted in, only to stop when they saw Shadow Yukiko sitting on a throne at the top of a small flight of stairs. A red tapestry hung behind her, a pair golden wings sewn in the center of it, like a royal crest. From the ceiling hung two, golden bird cages, and kneeling at the very bottom was a distressed Yukiko, dressed in her kimono.
"Yukiko!" Chie shouted, starting to run forward, only to be tugged back by Yu. He shook his head, gesturing at the exchange between the two beings in front of them.
"Oh?" The Shadow began. "O-h, what's this? Three princes are here to see me? My, my! Are you the surprise guests who came in late? Aw, I wish I'd gotten a better look at you!
"My, it's getting crowded in here. Why don't you and I go somewhere else? 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?"
"Oh, is this "Scoring a hot stud"?" Teddie asked innocently from the tail of the group.
Either ignoring or just not noticing the bear's question, Chie mumbled to herself. "Three princes? Wait, does that include me too?"
"Duh, the third one's gotta be me!" Teddie said, pouting as he stared at Chie.
"I seriously doubt that." Yosuke whispered, and Yu had to restrain the urge to chuckle.
"Chie… Yes, she's my Prince." The group looked up in surprise, the girl in question sputtering at its confession. "She always leads the way… Chie's a strong prince, or at least, she was."
"Was?"
"When it comes down to it, Chie's just not good enough! She can't take me away from here! She can't save me!"
"S-Stop…" Said Yukiko, pushing herself to her feet. The girl wobbled in place, her time in the castle having clearly drained her of her energy.
"Historic inn? Manager training? I'm sick of all these things chaining me down! I never asked to be born here! Everything's decided for me, from how to live, to where I die! I'm so sick of it! To hell with it all!"
"That's not true." Chie wanted to charge in, to attack the Shadow and help her friend, but Yu's grip on her shoulder held her back.
"What are you doing?" She hissed out, frost forming on her blades to make them sharper. "We can end this fight, right here, right now!"
"She needs to confront her Shadow." Yu said calmly. "If not, she'll be even more of a wreck once she comes back. For all we know, she might not function normally if she doesn't accept her Shadow after coming in here."
"I just want to go somewhere far away, anywhere but here. Someone, please, take me away, I can't leave here on my own. I'm completely useless."
"Stop. Please, stop."
"I have no hope if I stay, and no courage to leave. So I sit on my ass hoping that 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! Historical tradition? Pride of the town? What a bunch of bullshit!"
"How dare you?" Yukiko choked out, glaring at her doppelganger.
"That's how I really feel, isn't that right, me?"
"N-No." The group started, Yosuke's warning drowned out by Yukiko's defiant shout. "No! You're not me!"
Shadow Yukiko grinned maliciously, golden eyes flashing as the aura surrounding it rose and flickered, brushing the top of the ceiling. She laughed maniacally, hands covering her mouth as her hair and dress were pushed around by the force of her transformation. "Ah, this feels wonderful! It's building, more and more… If this keeps up, I'll… I'll-!"
Her laughter rang around the room as a dark fog spread out around her, making the room impossibly hotter than before. The sound of something being lowered by a chain rattled the stone walls, and immediately Chie darted out to cover Yukiko. The fog receded, and Yu and Yosuke moved into a defensive posture when they saw a massive golden cage-chandelier hybrid hanging right in front of them. Bursting from the cage was a massive, red feathered bird, the coloring on its chest much paler-almost peach in color-in the shape of a heart. Where its beak and head should have been was Yukiko's face, along with her long hair, draping down the bird's neck. Yukiko screamed as one of the cages by the throne descended and practically scooped her up, closing and locking its door.
"Yukiko!" Chie shouted, but her voice was labored, the heat of the room seeming to weigh her down. "Hang in there, we'll save you!"
"We have to stop it, that girl's in danger!" Teddie said. "I'll try to get Yukiko-chan out of that cage, you guys stop the Shadow." Yu nodded, and as the Shadow let out a soul-ripping cry, the three teens charged at it. The lit candles on the chandelier practically exploded, the force and height of the flames forcing them back. Once the flames died down, pink feathers descended from the ceiling, and the Shadow's voice swept over them like a wave.
"I am a shadow, the true self. Now, my Prince, why don't we dance and make merry together?"
"Like hell!" Chie shouted, turning her gaze towards the terrified Yukiko. "Don't worry, we'll save you, I'm right here for you!"
"Oh really? Then I'll make sure to give you plenty to deal with!" Yu and Yosuke charged, trying to slash at the bird's wings. However, the flames from the candles, combined with the heat of the room and the fact that they leapt up any time they came close made it difficult. Yosuke tried throwing his shurikens and, while they did get through the flames, the cage swung and the door to it closed, acting as a shield to protect its prisoner.
Rolling her eyes at the boys' attempts, Chie raised her arms and spun her staff around, slashing down and causing shards of ice to pierce the Shadow's body. It let out a cry and fell, the flames of the candles dying once Shadow Yukiko fell out of her cage, stunned.
"Here's our chance, let's go!" Chie said. Using the opportunity to their advantage, the three immediately rushed the Shadow and bombarded it with attacks, aiming at its wings and back. With an angered yell, Shadow Yukiko pushed them off and flapped its wings viciously to push them back. It turned and dove down at Chie, its talons outstretched. The girl managed to dodge and then deflect both of them, but at the cost of losing her staff, which was flung into one of the many pillars in the room. Feeling vulnerable without her weapon, Chie raced after it, trying to tug it out of the solid stone.
Thinking on his feet, Yu turned to Yosuke and said "Cover me." As he smashed a card in his hand. His naginata disappeared, and Valkyrie appeared in a haze of white snow. She stood proudly next to him and then glared at the large Shadow. "What are you weak to?"
"Garu skills. Judging by her appearance, I'd say this Shadow's an expert with Agi." She turned to Yu, smiling. "Chieftain, would you like it if I crushed this little pigeon?"
"Most definitely." With a calm expression, Valkyrie raised her sword and then brought it down, a chunk of ice in similar size to the one Chie summoned smacking her out of the air. Instead of ordering the others to charge, Yu shouted out "Cleave!" and let Valkyrie rush in, her sword leaving a nasty gash on its belly while her horse's legs tramped on the Shadow's wings. Yosuke and Chie followed suit, the former throwing out both of his shurikens and having them slice at the shadow while Chie leapt up into the air and brought down her blade onto the joint connecting the left wing to the Shadow's main body.
Screeching in anger and pain, Shadow Yukiko threw off her assailants and clawed her way back up the chandelier. Her wing was limp against her chest, and she seethed in anger. She closed herself in her cage, a wall of ice-blue energy surrounding her as she burst out once more, a wall of fire flying from her wings as she screamed "Burn to Ashes!"
Thankfully, because of his Persona switch, Yu and Yosuke were only slightly burnt from the attack, but it had certainly dealt a lot more damage than the spells they had been casting. Chie, on the other hand, screeched in pain and fell to the floor, curling protectively as Yukiko laughed and dove down, slashing at her with her talons.
"Chie-chan's weak to Agi! You need to protect her if the Shadow uses its magic!" Teddie shouted. The anthropomorphic bear was trying to crawl his way up a curtain to reach Yukiko's cage, but so far, all he had achieved was clawing the fabric to shreds.
"Shit, Dia!" Yosuke yelled, a light energy surrounding Chie and healing the worst of her wounds. Yu charged forward, acting as a distraction as he kicked at the Shadow with his feet. I may not have my naginata when I switch Personas, but this works out fine!
Shadow Yukiko chuckled at the teen's attack, swatting Yu away with its good wing. "We're not done yet. Show me this strength of yours!" The Shadow raised its head and screeched, her demonic, shrill voice freezing Yosuke in place with fear. "Come, my Prince!"
In a flash of light, a short shadow with a metallic body appeared on the ground next to Shadow Yukiko. It had a gray face that showed no expression, with short blond hair and a small crown its his head. It wore medieval-like clothes, and in its right hand, it held a sword.
"Ugh, you've gotta be kidding me!" Chie shouted. "Okay, I'll focus on Shadow Yukiko, Yu and Yosuke, you guys-" She turned her attention to Yosuke, who was shaking in place. "Y-Yosuke?"
The teen fell to his knees, placing his hands over his head. "I-I can't. I can't do this!" The transformation flickered, threatening to collapse completely as he turned around and started to run for the door.
"Hey, get back here! What's wrong with you?" Chie chased after her friend, throwing her spear down in front of him to halt his escape. "Why are you running? I thought you wanted to save Yukiko!"
Yu sighed and tried to pinch the bridge of his nose through his mask. Valkyrie stared at the two with a blank expression before turning her attention back to the battle. "I take it we are manning this alone, for now."
"Yep. Bufu!" This time, the ice shards didn't knock the Shadow to the ground, but it certainly made it retreat into its cage. Thinking quickly, Valkyrie froze the edges of the door over, temporarily trapping it. Yu took this opportunity to charge at the Prince, kicking at it and knocking it into a stone pillar. With a grunt, the weak Shadow faded almost instantly, and Shadow Yukiko burst from its cage, crying out in despair once she saw her Prince had disappeared.
"My prince! My dear prince!" She screeched into the air again, a flash of light appearing where the weaker Shadow had stood prior, but nothing came. "Why… Why won't he come?"
The screech had rattled Yosuke again, but this time, it snapped him back into reality. He turned to face the Shadow, shurikens glinting in the fire light. "Now's our chance, we have to attack while it's distracted!"
"Right!" Chie and Yu both threw out their respective Bufus, freezing the Shadow in place. The three then rushed it, slashing at its remaining wing until it too became disconnected. The Shadow screeched in pain, fluttering its way back to its cage. Its wings were matted with blood as it propped itself up in its cage. Its glare shot through their souls, but thankfully, none of them were affected like Yosuke was.
"Looks like I had the wrong idea. You're no princes-die, you worthless commoners!" She sent out a wave of fire again, but this time Chie managed to dodge, and Yu and Yosuke were only mildly hurt.
"You're the one who's gonna die!" Chie yelled, casting multiple Bufus in a row. The Shadow fell back into its cage, groaning in pain, but the cage door hadn't shut. Chie dashed in, stabbing it in the chest through the heart-shaped pattern of pale feathers, dying them red with its blood. The Shadow gurgled and let out a scream as the cage fell from the ceiling, rusting and rotting away as the familiar red and black particles rose to greet it.
"Why?" It bemoaned. "All I wanted was my Prince... Why, why didn't you come? My Prince, my Prince, save me from this hell..."
The particles rose and swallowed the demonic bird whole, and the violent Shadow was no more.
I looked at a couple boss fights to figure out what I would write for Yukiko's boss fight. This is probably the shortest one simply because I had to improv most of it, and I swear I will make the next boss much, much longer with the quality you saw for Yosuke and Chie's bosses (also, never really like Yukiko's boss, it was always a pain in the ass in my opinion). I wanted to show off a bit of my improved writing, but this chapter wasn't the best example for this. Regardless, I looked at both Superjeenius' playthrough of Persona 4 Golden and Randompl0x's recording of their fight to make this chapter, so big kudos to them!
Also, from this chapter on, it's mainly going to be filler (because of Yukiko recovering), so I've decided for these long pauses in the gameplay, I'll only write any important events that happen in my run through. This includes Social Links leveling up, meeting a new character, forming a new Social Link, and any dinner events with Nanako, especially if there's a news broadcast. I'm doing this not to shorten chapter lengths (I normally aim for 7-8k per chapter), but simply because I feel like you guys would get bored having to read through all that stuff. You aren't missing anything important, just filler stuff that can be skipped.
Also I am so, so sorry for not updating. I thought I had all of my reserve chapters published, and I'm trying to figure out how to write twelve. Eleven's all good and will be up in a week this time, promise!