A/N: Alright, things are finally starting to pick up a bit! It has come to my attention that I have already made a slight omission from the cannon story line (specifically, when the gang communicates with Teddie in the electronics department.) Sorry about that, I might go back and edit it in later, but for the sake of simplicity, I'm keeping it as is for now. Anyways back to the here and now: fight scenes are always a little tough, so let me know if you guys have any suggestions! Thanks for reading, and if you like it, please review!
The wait for an explanation was a long an arduous one. The teacher's lectures seemed infinitely longer and more unbearable than usual, not that it really mattered, since Chie was hardly in a state of mind to pay attention anyway. When the school day finally did end, the kung fu enthusiast approached Yosuke's desk, looking at him expectantly. Yu had already joined there, and they both shared a brief glance before nodding and turning to face her.
Yu spoke first, telling her that their entrance into the TV world had been largely similar to their first unpleasant experience. They had apparently again encountered the strange creature they had met on their first venture, who had confirmed their suspicions that the murders and the TV world had been connected in some way. The creature, who apparently referred to itself as 'Teddie', had revealed that someone had been forcibly putting people inside the TV. After a bit of an argument, 'Teddie' had agreed to help them navigate through the TV world after they had promised to stop the person responsible. After some searching they had encountered an area that was virtually a twisted carbon copy of the shopping district.
"That's," Yosuke intoned, "when things got crazy… We found the liquor store that senpai's family owned, but apparently we weren't alone. Teddie freaked out and said shadows were about to attack us. Sure enough, these monsters came out, and they didn't look too friendly. I though we were done for when partner here," Yosuke clapped Yu on the back for emphasis, "summoned this crazy badass swordsman guy, and zapped the crap out of those monsters!"
Yu, deciding to cut in before Yosuke got too carried away, continued the story. "We decided to investigate the store afterwards. When we got inside we heard a voice that sounded like Saki-senpai's." Yu's gaze briefly shifted to Yosuke, who at the moment appeared to be inspecting something very interesting on his shoes. "Eventually we encountered a shadow that looked like Yosuke… It was an embodiment of all the things about himself that he didn't-"
Yosuke suddenly coughed very loudly. "Um, that's enough of my sorry escapades…" He said dryly. "Long story short, Yu kicked its ass, and the shadow became my persona."
"Persona?" Chie asked, suddenly confused.
"The thing that I summoned earlier," Yu explained. "It's some sort of manifestation of your inner self as far as I can understand."
The mental gears churned in Chie's mind as she attempted to soak in all of this in. Giving up for the moment she said, "If I hadn't been in there myself I never would have believed a story like that. And I'm not sure I completely understand everything you guys just threw at me." Chie swallowed and then looked at both of them firmly. "But what I do understand is that Yukiko is in trouble, and we're going to save her."
Yosuke flinched for a moment. "You mean you're coming with us? No way it's too dangerous!"
Although Yosuke may have been speaking out of friendly concern his reaction only served to anger Chie. "There's no way you two are going in there without me! And besides I can handle myself. Or do I need to give you a personal demonstration?"
Yosuke visibly paled, all too familiar with being on the receiving end of Chie's kicks. Relenting he sighed, "Fine, just stay behind us, okay? We'll meet up at Junes in an hour or so. I'll try to get some supplies so we're a little better prepared."
Chie nodded, grudgingly accepting Yosuke's terms.
Over an hour later, Chie waited patiently at the Junes food court. Although Yosuke had only given them a soft deadline, she hadn't expected them to take this long. She rapped her fingers on the table impatiently. Where the heck are those two? She remembered something about Yosuke getting some stuff before they dived into the thick of it; however, it still bothered her. Pulling out her phone, she opted to call Yosuke.
After failing to get a response, she snapped her phone shut in frustration. What gives! Before she could dive further into a mental rant, she overheard the loud gossiping of some nearby housewives.
"Did you see those boys getting taken away?" One of them said. "One of them was the son of the Junes department manager so I can't say I'm surprised…"
Chie's head snapped toward the housewives as they continued on about how they were spotted with weapons. Groaning inwardly, she hurried toward the police station.
When she finally rushed into the station, she found Yu and Yosuke, both having expressions similar to kids who had just been lectured by a stern parent.
"There you two are!"
Yosuke rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Sorry 'bout that… there was a bit of a… misunderstanding…"
"I'll say," Yu said dryly. "Next time, I think we should avoid waving weapons in a public place while an ongoing murder investigation is going on."
"Shut up!" Yosuke said lamely, obviously embarrassed. Shaking his head he looked at Chie. "Anyway, we learned something while we were here." He lowered his voice. "The police know Yukiko-san is missing," His voice dropped to a whisper. "In fact they even think that Yukiko might be 'laying low' or something.' Apparently that announcer lady bitched out her mom… made her pass out from stress or something. They think that's motive!"
"What!" Chie said, obviously enraged. "They think Yukiko did it!"
"Keep your voice down! We don't need to get hauled in again!" Chie merely folded her arms in response, still angry that the police had cobbled together such a stupid theory. "We're empty handed now," Yosuke continued. "Man," He groaned, frustrated at their current situation. "It'll probably even be more dangerous now…"
"We need weapons?" Chie asked, a little quieter this time. "I know just the place!"
They ended up in a mysterious shop in the shopping district. The inside was dark, with most of the stores lighting coming from a fire in the back of the store, no doubt used to craft the ornate pieces displayed before them. A grizzled looking man with a strange scar greeted them, his body shining with sweat after a long days work.
"Whoa," Yosuke managed. "How'd you here about this place Chie." His tone suddenly became teasing, "Oh I get it, watched one too many kung fu movies, eh!"
"No!" Chie protested a bit too quickly. "I heard some guys talking about this place," She gestured to the various assortments of wares before them. "This place sells weapons and armor… so yeah." Though I gotta admit, that one sword looks just like the one from that one- Chie shook her head, now was not the time for such thoughts. Quickly selecting some armored boots and some light chain mail, she quickly made her purchase. "Well," She proclaimed, "I got what I need" She looked over towards the boys, who had obviously made no headway.
"Wait a sec," Yosuke piped up. "If we get spotted with all this stuff we'll probably just be picked up again. And we can't exactly just bring in huge bags of equipment either."
Chie was suddenly hit with an idea. "I know! Why don't we just wear our uniforms over everything? I doubt people would notice."
"That," Yosuke began, sounding a little surprised, "Might work actually… Well I guess we'll see…" Yu and Yosuke then proceeded to choose their armaments, the former choosing a traditional katana, and the latter choosing a pair of kunai. "Well I guess we're as ready as we'll ever be," Yosuke sighed, and with that, the trio went off to Junes once again.
Yu and Yosuke, having grown used to entering the TV world, managed to land on their feet. Chie on the other hand, was less fortunate, gingerly rubbing her throbbing backside and muttering a quiet curse.
Suddenly the bear-like creature greeted them cheerfully. "Sensei you're back! Oh, and you brought Yosuke too…"
"Hey what's that supposed to-"
"Oooh," Teddie crooned. "Who do we have here? Oh, isn't this the girl that came with you guys the first time. What's your name miss?"
Great, not even five minutes and this thing is already getting on my nerves, thought Chie. She obliged the bear's request however and answered, "I'm Chie…"
"Chie-chan?" Teddie asked, testing the name on his tongue. He bowed dramatically. "It's beary nice to meet you!"
"Err… thanks," Chie said awkwardly, still not quite accustomed to Teddie's presence. "Hey we're looking for a girl named Yukiko, do you know where she is?"
"Yukiko? Who's that?" Teddie asked, obviously puzzled.
"Listen Teddie," Yu began, "We think someone may have been thrown inside the TV. Can you sense anyone?"
"Just a minute!" Teddie said cheerfully. He then began to pace around the area, sniffing vigorously as he did so.
"Uhh… is this normal?" Chie asked.
Before she could express any further doubts however, Teddie loudly exclaimed, "Sensei, my bear senses are going off the charts! Follow me!" Teddie suddenly began walking to a random direction through the dense fog clouding the area. Yu and Yosuke followed easily, however Chie had to strain to see where exactly they were going. She noticed they were both wearing glasses, Yu's grey and Yosuke's bright orange, although her mind was far too preoccupied with worry over Yukiko to draw any sort of meaningful connection.
After wandering for several minutes they entered a place that felt... different from the others. Teddie suddenly came to a halt. "Here we are!" He exclaimed at last.
Chie looked up, and then gaped at what she saw. Before them stood an immense castle, like something straight out of a fairy tale, although with a far more sinister air. Although the castle was beautiful in a way, it exuded a sense of foreboding that was a bit unnerving.
"Whoa," Chie managed. "Hey, isn't this where that weird midnight channel show with Yukiko was filmed?"
"Now that you mention it, this looks like the place," Yu agreed. "So Teddie, is she in there?"
Teddie sniffed deeply, then nodded vigorously, "Yep, someone's definitely in there!"
"Then there's no time to waste, "Chie said resolutely, and without another word she sprinted towards the castle entrance.
"Chie wait!" Yosuke cried out, yet his protest went unheeded, as Chie continued towards the castle.
She ran past the entrance and kept running, ignoring the swaths of monsters lingering in the halls. As she was running the thought occurred to her that she had no idea where she was going, however she quickly shoved the thought aside, hoping the others would catch up to her eventually. For now, getting to Yukiko was her first priority. She found a flight of stairs and kept running eventually arriving at a huge door. She paused for a moment, when she was startled by a voice that rung through the castle halls.
Has my prince finally come? Will someone finally save me?
Chie's eyes widened. "Yukiko?" Her previous hesitation was quickly discarded as she pushed through the door, revealing a large, mostly empty room. The red carpet and marble floors of the rest of the castle continued into the room, with the walls stretching endlessly up. Suddenly, her surroundings vanished and only Yukiko appeared, her features black and white save for her signature red sweater and hair band.
Yukiko… snow… I've always hated that name. Snow is cold, transient, worthless, and soon enough it fades away completely.
Chie could scarcely believe what she was hearing, but she could only stand in stunned silence.
Chie… she protects my worthless life. Without her, I don't know where I'd be… She has no trouble being friends with other boys… Still, she said red looked good on me…
"Yukiko…" Chie breathed softly.
Suddenly the castle scenery returned, and the worried voices of Yu and Yosuke reached her ears.
"Chie!" Yu shouted.
Chie is strong, unlike me. Chie is so kind…
"Chie is so kind…" An otherworldly voice repeated mockingly. "What a load of crap!" Suddenly, a shadow formed out of a dark mist, revealing an exact copy of Chie.
"What the!" Chie exclaimed, unable to conceal her surprise. "Who the heck are you!"
The other Chie stared at her menacingly, golden eyes shining brightly. "Me? Why, I'm you of course! Yukiko is so pretty, so smart, so feminine. All the guys pay attention to her, and none of them are any different! But did you hear that earlier, about how Yukiko was jealous of me?" The shadow cackled evilly. "Man, did I get a charge outta that!"
"T-that's not true," Chie stuttered, horrified at what she was hearing.
"And she was going on about how I protect her, but really, I'm just keeping her in line, so she always depends on me! People try to take her away, but Yukiko knows the score, I'd never let that happen. " Noticing Chie's trembling, the shadow taunted, "What's the matter? Can't stand your true feelings?"
"Cut the crap!" Chie shouted, sounding braver than she actually felt. "Who are you really?"
"Don't you get it?" The shadow mocked. "I've told you already: I'm you!"
"No… no!" Chie screamed. "You're...You're…"
"Chie don't," Yu cried.
"You're not me!"
The shadow smiled, the dark aura surrounding it growing in power. "Not any more I'm not!" The Shadow's smile widened into a grin then broke out into maniacal laughter, growing into a giant monster. Finally the transformation was complete, revealing a yellow hooded figure brandishing a large whip.
"I am a shadow, the true self! I will crush anything that gets in my way!" The monster turned toward Chie. "Starting with you!" Laughing maniacally, the shadow raised the whip and then brought it down violently.
"Izanagi!" Yu shouted from behind her. A black clad masked swordsman appeared in front of her, the whip wrapping harmlessly around its naginata. "Zio!" Yu commanded, causing Izanagi to raise it's unoccupied hand, releasing a streaking current of lighting at the shadow. Hitting its mark the shadow cried out in pain.
"Way to go sensei!" Shouted Teddie exuberantly.
The shadow only laughed in response to the assault. "Is that all?" It taunted. Suddenly, it pulled violently at its whip, momentarily throwing Izanagi off balance. Taking advantage of this, the shadow continued its attack, releasing a torrent of ice towards Izanagi. Although the persona recovered in time to dodge the worst of the blast, a portion of the ice spikes hit home, causing Yu to grunt in pain.
"Hang in there partner!" Yosuke shouted. He called forth a blue card then crushed it quickly. "Jiraiya!" He shouted, causing a white and orange clad figure armed with shuriken to appear. It quickly moved to assist Izanagi, rushing in for a quick strike at the shadow. It hit dead on, but the shadow merely stumbled at the blow. With Jiraiya temporarily open to attack, the shadow capitalized on the moment, launching a salvo of ice at the persona.
"Damn…" Yosuke said wincing.
Izanagi charged at the shadow before it could do any further harm, yet the shadow anticipated this, casting it's whip out, wrapping it around Izanagi tightly. The persona struggled against its bonds, but to no avail. The shadow tightened the whip, further constricting Izanagi. Yu doubled over in pain at the attack. "Y-yosuke," He said breathlessly. "A little help here."
"On it," Yosuke said, firming his stance. Concentrating, he shouted out, "Garu!"
Jiraiya suddenly sent a violent blast of wind, causing the shadow to scream loudly.
"You found its weakness Yosuke!" Teddie informed, 'Hit it again!"
Yosuke obliged, sending another windblast, causing the shadow to stagger back. Izanagi ripped itself free, leveling its naginata, poised to strike.
"Finish it off partner!" Yosuke shouted.
Yu nodded resolutely. Izanagi charged forward, its naginata piercing the shadows torso with a sickening sound. The shadow screamed once more as Izanagi withdrew its blade, falling to a heap and dissolving into a shadowy mass, reforming into its previous form, kneeling over in pain.
Chie approached warily, watching the shadow carefully. "What's the matter? Got nothing more to stay?"
"Stop it Chie." Yosuke said. "If you keep on denying it, it'll just attack us again." His toned softened a bit. "It's alright; everyone has a side like this."
"B-but…." Chie stammered, unable to believe that the thing standing in front of her was supposed to be a part of her.
"Chie," Yu said firmly, "its okay." He looked her directly in the eyes, "You're more than that thing." Yosuke nodded in agreement.
Yu's words stirred a resolve within Chie, and she turned to face herself. She looked down, faltering a bit. "It's true…" She began. "All those things… I didn't want to admit it, but deep down I've always felt this way sometimes." She shifted her gaze, staring her shadow directly into its golden eyes. "I'm you, and you're me," Chie said firmly, and with that admission, she felt like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Her shadow nodded, smiling, the air around it shimmering bright blue. It floated upward, then in a blinding flash of life, transformed into a yellow clad samurai. Tomoe, Chie thought mentally, the name springing forth from the depths of her mind. The figure disappeared, leaving a shining card floating in front of her.
"My persona…" Chie breathed, the card returning into the sea of her soul. Suddenly, Chie noticed just how tired she felt. She collapsed, fatigue overwhelming her.
"C'mon, let's get you outta here," Yosuke said. Yu approached her offering a helping hand. Chie took it gratefully, standing uneasily.
"I'm fine…" Chie said breathlessly, trying to shrug off their concern. "Gotta save Yukiko…" She reasoned, though every fiber of her being was protesting with each movement she made.
"Chie, we're all exhausted, it would be best if we all rested and rescued Yukiko-san tomorrow, " Yu reasoned.
As Chie was about to protest, Teddie piped up, "She's normal right now," He explained. 'Shadows don't attack normal people unless the fog lifts here. You have until then to save her."
"You're sure?" Chie questioned, not quite believing the mysterious bear.
Teddie nodded vigorously, "I'm one hundred bearcent positive!" Normally Chie would have allowed herself an eye roll at the awful pun, but she was far too tired to care.
"Fine," Chie said grudgingly. "But you guys aren't gonna go in later without me!"
"Agreed," Yosuke said. "It's way too dangerous to go alone, and I bet the shadows will just get stronger from here on out."
With everyone in agreement, they slowly made their way out of the castle.
By the time they finally made it back to the studio area, Chie could barely even walk. Sometime on their way back she had to accept a helping shoulder from Yu, much to her embarrassment. Although she didn't mind the help, it was a matter of pride for her, although Yosuke's teasing certainly didn't help. He had, however, been silenced by the threat of another kick.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Teddie exclaimed. He turned to Chie, producing a pair of glasses from seemingly nowhere. "Chie-chan's glasses!" The bear said, brimming with excitement.
"Dude," Yosuke said in annoyance. "Did you have those the whole time? Why didn't you say anything?"
"As a matter of fact," Teddie began, obviously offended by the accusation," I just finished them right now!"
Chie took the glasses curiously, putting them on carefully. The fog engulfing the area suddenly vanished, allowing her to easily distinguish her surroundings. "Woah this is awesome! I was wondering why you guys had put those on! I'll definitely be back tomorrow with these puppies!"
"Now," Teddie began dramatically, tapping his feet on the floor, again causing the stack of old looking TVs to appear. He bowed dramatically gesturing toward them, "Your exit awaits!"
"So…" Yosuke began. "Who's up first?"