A/N: Sorry for the long wait! I went on vacation right after I posted the last chapter and downloaded P3P onto my Vita, causing my productivity to decrease quite a bit. Anyways, I apologize for the wait; hopefully I'll have the next chapter up by the end of the week! I'd like to shout out to RagingRaven for reviewing my last chapters, I really appreciate the support! Please feel free to leave any form of criticism/comments, if there's anything you think I could work on/improve I'd greatly appreciate your input. Hope you guys enjoy this one! – M/I

Chie shuffled nervously in her seat. Normally she would have met Yukiko at the bus stop at the central shopping district and walked with her to school. Today however, she didn't appear at the customary time. After several calls and texts without a response, Chie couldn't help but worry. Yukiko was never late, rarely didn't show up for school, and always got back to her when she wasn't busy. With all this unusual behavior coupled with the strange recent events, both in the local murder and the previous days… excursion, Chie was hard pressed not to freak out.

The loud voice of Yosuke accompanied by Yu's lower, softer one caused her eyes to lift to the entrance of the classroom. They made their way over to her desk greeting her.

"Hey Chie, what's up!" Yosuke said in his usual enthusiastic tone. Noticing her lack of response he probed her, "Something wrong?"

"Nah it's nothing…" Chie answered quickly. Checking her messages she saw a flashing icon on the display of her cell phone indicating a new message had been received. Lots of customers this week, I'll probably be late to school today. I'm sorry I couldn't get back to you sooner. I'll probably be there before lunch. I'll see you later! Chie's concerns were immediately alleviated for the moment. Tapping out a quick response before Mr. Morooka showed up, she sighed in relief.

"Everything all right neighbor?" Yu asked, his face tinged with concern.

"Yeah," Chie nodded, sighing in relief. She did her best to make a convincing smile and replied, "Everything's fine now, there's nothing to worry about."

Yu nodded then gestured indicating that they should probably start paying attention to King Moron, who had just entered, so as to avoid any additional lecturing.

"Alright you brats get off yer asses! There's an assembly goin' on and I don't like having my time wasted!" Everyone began to move out of their seats, and as they began to make their way to the assembly the mental gears in Chie's mind started turning. An assembly? At this time of year? She didn't have any time to further ponder the matter as she was shooed out of the class by a raving Mr. Morooka.

By the time all the school's students had been gathered and settled down, nearly an hour had elapsed. Chie checked her phone nervously. Surely she's gotten off the hook by now… She dismissed these thoughts as the principal approached the podium after Mr. Morooka quieted down the students.

The elderly man cleared his throat then began to speak, "Attention students. We have assembled you all here today to bring some terrible news. One of our students has passed away…" Sounds of collective shock were heard throughout the student body, and students quickly began to speculate on the latest victim. "One of our third year students Saki Konishi I'm afraid." The principal went on and on, though at this point Chie had stopped listening. It seemed almost unreal, having just seen Saki yesterday. Suddenly filled with worry for Yosuke, she shifted her gaze to him, finding him with a downcast expression.

"Why did this happen," He breathed softly, unable to comprehend the news he had just heard.

"Yosuke…" Chie began, although she couldn't find the appropriate words to comfort him. Despite his annoying and immature tendencies, she was genuinely concerned about him. As much of a pain he is he's still my friend.

Before she could say anything further however, he stormed off, leaving Chie and Yu at the assembly. The principal went on about expecting student cooperation in the upcoming investigation and so forth, finally concluding his speech with the announcement that the students could return home. With police coming to interview the school staff, students quickly cleared the halls. Yu and Chie gathered their things from class and made their way downstairs, finding Yosuke near the entrance.

"Yu…" He began softly, obviously still unable to completely reconcile the death of his senpai. He shifted his gaze upwards, his gaze firming with resolve, "I want to go back into the TV world…"

"What!" Chie shouted, barely making an effort to conceal her surprise. "Yosuke are you crazy! It's dangerous there and besides what good would going there do?" Yosuke's sudden desire was an absolute mystery to Chie. Once was enough for me.

"I've been thinking…" Yosuke went on. "Remember those posters in that weird room we found?" Yu nodded, having been the one to have been pointed them out in the first place. "They were posters of Mayumi Yamano…"

Chie's eyes widened, "You mean that announcer lady? Wait... you think her and Saki's murders are connected!"

"I don't know," Yosuke admitted, looking down again. "But I can't ignore it now… if I can find something… anything…" He took a deep breath. "I need to know why she had to die like this." He returned his gaze to Yu. "I'm going to need your help to get in."

Yu was silent for a moment, probably weighing in on what decision to make. "I'll go with you. You shouldn't go in there by yourself."

"Thanks man," Yosuke said appreciatively. "I'll meet you at Junes then." He hurried of in the direction of the mega market.

"Is this really a good idea?" Chie questioned.

"Either way, we should head to Junes to make sure he doesn't due anything drastic," Yu replied. Chie nodded in agreement, walking off with Yu at a fast clip to catch up with their distraught friend.

They found Yosuke, as expected, in the electronics department. In his hands he held a strange combination of items: a large golf club, and a large bundle of rope.

Yosuke smiled weakly at Yu. "Thanks for coming dude…"

"Yosuke, do you really think this is a good idea? What if you can't get out like last time?" Chie asked, completely opposed to the idea of them going into that crazy place.

Yosuke's expression lightened even further, "That's where you come in!"

"Me!" Chie exclaimed, completely aghast. "Wait hold up a sec-"

Yosuke interrupted her protest, "All you need to do is hang onto this…" He handed her the rope. "I'll tie it to myself before we go in and then we should be able to climb back out once we've looked around a bit."

"Don't be an idiot," Chie scoffed. "First off how do you even know the rope will be long enough? And don't even get me started on the fact that, on the off chance this does work, that a freaking rope will be sticking out of a TV!"

Yosuke waved his hand dismissively, "No one comes back here anyway, and if someone does just stand in front of it or something." He turned to Yu handing him the golf club. "Take this. I thought we shouldn't go in there empty handed," He explained, tying the rope around his waist as he did. "All right," Yosuke began, finishing the knot. "Let's go."

Yu nodded touching the screen, causing the screen to ripple like water.

As Yosuke began to climb in Chie made a final desperate protest. "You guys are crazy! This is-" Her words where lost on them however, as the next thing she knew, they had disappeared into the TV. She pulled on the rope apprehensively. Dread ran through her once she had discovered that the rope had been cut off from the point it had entered, prompting Chie to fall to her knees in despair.

"I knew this wouldn't work," She muttered. She hated being in situations like this, where she was powerless to do anything. All it seemed she could do now was wait.

Several hours had passed, but for Chie, it might as well have been an eternity. Worry had consumed her minutes after the boys venture into the TV world, and her unease grew with each passing moment. Those idiots! They knew that place was bad news. Her expression grew even more distraught. For all I know they could be dead right now… She shook her head to dismiss such thoughts, instead opting to give both boys the ass-kicking of their lives once they finally returned. 'If they return' She thought darkly. Chie's anger sparked again at Yu and Yosuke's stupidity. However, she knew that the anger was merely a façade to disguise her true feelings of worry and concern.

She couldn't maintain the charade anymore, however, and was on the verge of breaking down. Suddenly, as if on cue, the TV rippled once again, indicating some sort of presence and an exhausted looking Yosuke emerged, followed promptly by Yu. "You're back!" Chie cried, her voice nearly breaking due to her intense relief. This however, quickly reasserted itself as anger toward them. "You j-jerks! I was so worried… I thought…"

"Chie…" Yu began, sounding apologetic.

Chie, however, was having none of it. "You're both idiots!" She screamed, storming out of the shop.

Chie promptly sealed herself in her room after running home, only giving her parents vague reasons as to why she was so upset. She had attempted to call Yukiko to vent, however her various calls and messages went unanswered. Sighing in frustration, she wandered to her bed, exhausted from the day's events, eventually falling into a fitful sleep.

Chie strode into the classroom the next day, finding Yu and Yosuke waiting near her desk.

"Hey Chie," Yosuke began, lowering his gaze. "Um, we're really sorry about yesterday, and-"

Chie cut him off mid apology, "Yeah, yeah save it," waving him off dismissively. Now there were far more pressing matters at hand.

"Have either of you heard from Yukiko?"

Both of them shook their heads, prompting Chie's brow to furrow with worry.

This did not go unnoticed by Yu. "Something wrong?" He asked.

Chie sighed in frustration, "I don't know… I haven't heard from her at all since yesterday, and this is the second day she missed school." At this, she noticed Yosuke and Yu giving each other uneasy glances, only furthering her worry. "Hey what's up with you two? Do you know something?"

Yosuke visibly blanched at her questioning. Clearing his throat, he spoke solemnly, "The night before Saki-senpai was killed, I watched the midnight channel again. That girl we all saw was definitely her." He tilted his head forward and closed his eyes for a moment before going on. "I remember a couple of days ago, people were talking about the midnight channel too, something about the announcer being some kid's soul mate."

Chie's eyes widened, "Are you saying that people that appear on the midnight channel… die?"

"We don't know for sure, " Yosuke replied. "But it can't be a coincidence. That's not all though… last night, I though I saw Yukiko-san…"

Chie's eyes widened in shock. This is crazy… There's no way that Yukiko… Panic coursing through her, she hurriedly brought out her phone, quickly calling Yukiko's cell phone. With each unanswered ring a new wave of dread washed over her. "She's not picking up," Chie cried out, fear slipping into her voice.

Yu, however, remained calm as ever. "Did you try calling the inn?" He asked.

Chie quickly mentally slapped herself. Of course! Why didn't I think of that earlier? Quickly scrolling through her contacts, she found the number for the Amagi inn and dialed. Please pick up…

Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice on the other line.

"Hello?"

"Yukiko?" Chie asked, somewhat breathlessly.

"Chie?" The other voice replied, sounding surprised. "Sorry, I had to help out at the inn today. I meant to tell you earlier, but the inn's been really busy."

Chie sighed in relief.

"Is something wrong?"

Snapping out of it Chie quickly responded, "N-no… I was just wondering where you were, sorry to bother you."

Yukiko giggled on the other line. "It's okay Chie. I'll see you later okay?"

"Yeah, alright see ya!" Chie answered, doing her best to mimic her usual enthusiasm before hanging up. Letting out another sigh of relief as she closed her phone, she suddenly remembered that this wasn't a wholly unusual occurrence. "Now that I think about it, this happens at least once or twice a year," She thought out loud. She quickly turned to Yosuke, her voice brimming with anger. "Geez, what's you're problem Yosuke, you got me worried over nothing!"

"Wha- hey I was worried about her you know!" Yosuke shot back.

As Yosuke was beginning to make a retort, a particularly irate looking Mr. Morooka entered the classroom. "Hey city boy, shut yer' trap unless you wanna end up on my even shitier shit list! If I so much as…"

As King Moron endlessly lectured Yosuke, Chie sat back and grinned smugly.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful aside from Yosuke's torture at the hands of King Moron. As the hours drifted closer to midnight, Chie felt a growing sense of unease. She got up from her bead, walking towards the window in her room. She slid the curtain aside, revealing the pattering rain against the glass. Remembering Yosuke's words she sat down anxiously in front of her TV. It couldn't hurt just to watch… She eyed the clock in her room, the silence in the room making the ticking sound seem louder than usual. Finally the clock struck midnight.

Merely moments later, her TV erupted into static, before clearing to reveal a large castle. The camera panned throughout scenery and suddenly Yukiko appeared, wearing a strange outfit. Chie watched completely agape at her friends supposed antics. While the girl on the screen certainly looked like Yukiko, it certainly didn't sound like her. Never in her life could she have imagined her friend saying anything about "bagging hot studs." The program ended abruptly as Yukiko ran out of view, leaving Chie speechless.

She was knocked out of her state of shock by her phone ringing. Seeing the caller as Yosuke she quickly answered.

"Yosuke, what the heck is going on!"

"I don't know, but it's possible that Yukiko-san has been kidnapped…"

Chie was quickly becoming panicked, "What! But…"

"Listen Chie," Yosuke cut in. "You need to calm down. We're not sure of anything yet. Try calling her-"

"What exactly happened yesterday? If-"

"Yu and I will explain everything tomorrow. Right now, focus on trying to get a hold of Yukiko."

Before Chie could demand further explanation, the line went dead. Groaning in frustration, she opted to follow Yosuke's instructions. Quickly dialing Yukiko's number, Chie waited, hoping her friend would answer. Yukiko… please pick up…

Chie nearly jumped in surprise when someone on the other line picked up.

"Yukiko?" Chie said hopefully.

"Is that you Chie-chan," An older, distinctly not Yukiko voice answered.

Chie's heart sank, this didn't bode well. "Amagi-san… Sorry to call so late… I was just trying to get a hold of Yukiko… I uhh…" Chie fumbled for an excuse as to why she was calling so late; Yukiko's parents were incredibly strict. "I was, uh, just trying to remind her that… she's… missing a lot of homework!" Chie hoped she sounded more convincing than she felt.

"Never mind that," Yukiko's mother replied, obviously worried. "Have you heard anything from Yukiko? She's been missing for hours!"

Chie's heart nearly stopped. "Missing!?"

"I'm afraid so… I was wondering if you had seen her recently…"

"Sorry Amagi-san, I haven't heard from her since yesterday…"

"Well…if you here anything please call the inn…" Yukiko's mother replied in a pleading tone.

Hanging up, Chie threw her phone onto her nightstand and plopped into her bed. There was no way she was going to get any sleep tonight.