A/N: Sorry this took so long, I've been a little busy getting ready for college and all. I'll try to update a little more frequently, I don't like having to make you guys wait so long between updates. Well anyways, lot's of stuff happens in this chapter, y'know set up and all. Honestly I can't wait to get the rest of the gang together, I've already got some ideas ones the whole investigation team is filled out. Anyways, hope you guys enjoy this one!
Although Chie had expected to be exhausted from the previous day's events, the next morning she found herself brimming with energy. Ever since yesterday, a strange sense of mental clarity had washed over her, most likely due to the acceptance of her other self. Inside the background of her mind, she could feel the presence of Tomoe, her persona. It urged her to take action, and it took all of Chie's willpower not to just skip school and head straight to the Junes Electronics department. Instead, she found herself walking into her class where Yu and Yosuke were currently talking.
They both turned to look at her, and Chie waved apprehensively. "Mornin'," She greeted, doing her best to sound casual. However, her greeting came across as awkward at best, much to her chagrin. She rubbed the back of her head. Geez this is embarrassing.
"Get any sleep?" Yu asked his face tinged with concern.
"Mhm…" Chie managed. "Um… thanks for everything yesterday. Man, this is so embarrassing…" Chie mumbled voicing her previous thoughts. "You guys saw all of my true feelings yesterday…"
"Don't sweat it." Yosuke said easily.
"Oh yeah! The same thing happened to Yosuke right?" Chie couldn't help but be curious. If his shadow had been half as embarrassing as hers it must have said some pretty crazy stuff. At the very least she wanted to be on even footing. Yeah, seems kinda unfair that he got to see mine when I still have no clue what happened when he faced his, Chie reasoned.
"Uhh.. about that," Yosuke said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. Hoping to change the subject, he quickly blurted out, "Oh yeah, nothing happened to you right?" He gestured to Yu, who nodded. "Guess it's because you got nothing to hide, or something," He added hastily.
"Really?" Chie asked, intrigued. "So nothing happened to you? Though I gotta admit, you seem like a pretty open guy. There's a funny air around you, I guess that draws people to you…" In truth, it was something Chie had noticed it the minute he had walked into their class the first day of school, although she carefully left that part out.
"That a compliment?" Yu said with a wry smile.
"Yup," Chie chuckled. "It's a compliment."
"If you say so…" Yosuke said dubiously. Suddenly the bell rang, startling the red haired teenager. "Oh crap!" Yosuke groaned, suddenly in a panic. "I didn't get to use the bathroom!" He ran off in a hurry, desperately hoping to relieve his bladder before class started.
Yu and Chie watched him go. "I take it this happens a lot?" Yu asked, smiling.
Chie laughed in response. "Don't you remember when we first went into the TV? It practically happens every morning." She suddenly noticed that, save for a couple of students in the class, Yu and her were alone in the center of the classroom. A wave of nervousness passed over her as she said, "Um… thanks for saving me yesterday…" She exhaled, feeling stronger now that she had gotten that out. Feeling a bit more confident she continued, "Yosuke's cool and all but… I feel like you won't let me down." She flushed a little at the admission, anxiously waiting for his response.
"I'll do my best not to then." Yu said firmly, smiling up at her from his seat. "Hey…" Yu said suddenly. "Mind if I have your number?"
"Wh-what?" Chie stuttered, shocked at his sudden request. Relax, she scolded herself mentally, he just needs it so we can get in touch for all this stuff, "Oh yeah, you'll probably need it in case we need to meet or something, right?" Chie reasoned as she pulled out her phone. They exchanged numbers, and Chie, feeling bold, continued, "But... um… you can call anytime…" She trailed off hopefully.
"Sure thing," Yu answered, grinning.
The air between them had undoubtedly changed, yet before anything else could happen, Yosuke barged back in, breathing heavily. "Whew," He sighed in relief. "Heh, King Moron isn't even back yet. Score!" Yosuke cheered, pumping his fist in victory. Noticing a lack of reaction from his friends he prodded, "Did I miss something?"
"Not really," Yu said nonchalantly. "We were just discussing our next step."
"Oh really?" Yosuke said, "So what's the plan?"
Not skipping a beat, Yu elaborated, "We go in as far as we can today. If anyone gets tired we'll take a break. Anyone catch the weather report this morning?"
Chie nodded, "Sunny for the next few days, so it looks like we have some time. But I'd rather not wait any longer than we have to."
"Agreed," Yu said diplomatically. "Still, don't push yourselves too hard. Especially you, Chie," Yu added.
"Hey!" Chie said resentfully. "I can handle myself!"
"I know," Yu replied. "But you don't have any experience using your persona. It can take a lot out of you if you aren't careful. We'll start out slow, so you can get a feel for it."
Chie, unable to dispute his point, merely grumbled an agreement.
"Don't worry Chie," Yu said in attempt to placate her. "We'll bring you up to speed and then rescue Yukiko-san in no time."
"Yeah!" Chie said, getting fired up at the prospect.
"Pipe down Satonaka!" Mr. Morooka yelled, apparently having just entered the room. Chie rolled her eyes, and then returned to her seat. As Mr. Morooka began his lecture, Chie's thoughts drifted off to the TV world. Although the situation was dire, she couldn't help but be a little excited at fighting with her persona for the first time. In the back of her mind, Tomoe hummed in approval, no doubt looking forward to fight as well.
Adrenaline rushed through Chie as she along with her friends literally stormed the castle. After wandering through the castle for a while, their path was blocked by a group of shadows. Their black forms twisted, each taking a different monstrous form. One of the shadows warped into a square form, sprouting legs, its mask settling in front of it. Several blobs emerged from the creature, each taking the shape of a different kitchen utility. It took all of Chie's will not to scoff at the shadow's ridiculous appearance. It was then however, the table shadow elected to erupt into flames, enshrouding its form like a cloak. Chie grinned, Now that's more like it! She ignored the sense of trepidation coming from Tomoe, took a deep breath and called forth the card to summon her persona, her ensuing kick shattering the card, releasing a burst of energy.
"Let's go Tomoe!" Chie shouted, and the samurai emerged.
"Guys!" Teddie shouted urgently, "It look's like this one's weak to ice!"
Suddenly a word appeared in Chie's mind, and suddenly everything was clear to Chie. "Bufu!" She cried out, Tomoe obeying instantly, releasing a torrent of ice shards at the shadow, which stumbled but didn't fall. Chie took the moment of the enemy's weakness to check on Yu and Yosuke, who were currently busy taking out their own groups of shadows.
"Watch out Chie-chan!" Teddie cried, "It's preparing for a counter!"
Before Chie could defend herself, the table released a column of fire, enveloping Tomoe in flames. Chie screamed in pain, the pain was unlike anything she had ever felt. Tomoe knelt over, obviously weakened by the assault.
"It's going to attack again! Someone do something!" Teddie shouted desperately.
As if the situation couldn't get any worse, more shadows were converging on their position; a group of haberles from the looks of it.
Jiraiya intervened on Chie's behalf, finishing off the weakened table shadow with a gust of wind. Helping Chie to her feet, Yosuke examined the closing in monsters. The haberles floated closer, their tongues flickering through the air hungrily.
"A little help partner!" Yosuke shouted, preparing for another attack.
"On it!" Yu said running toward them, Izanagi rushing ahead of him. "Mazio!" Yu shouted, prompting Izanagi to envelope the cluster of enemies in a cluster of lightning, causing the shadows to stop dead in their tracks, stunned.
"Alright, now's our chance!" Yosuke shouted. He grinned at Chie, "Ready for a little redemption?"
"You have no idea," Chie said, quickly rushing towards the shadows together with Yu and Yosuke. In a flurry of slashes, stabs, and kicks, the shadows were eliminated handily.
"Whew, that was close!" Yosuke said wiping off a bead of sweat from his forehead.
"You took a bad hit back there," Yu said, noticing Chie panting slightly.
"It was nothing," Chie insisted, "Just some light burns is all."
"I got just the thing," Yosuke piped up. Conjuring his persona's card, he summoned Jiraiya. "Dia," Yosuke intoned.
Suddenly, Chie felt a relaxing wave course through her, the pain from the battle subsiding instantly. She bounced on her feet mimicking her battle stance, grinning widely, "Good as new! What's next?"
"We need to be more careful," Yu said. "We can't keep going if all fights go like this. From the looks of it, your persona's weak to fire. We all need to keep each other's strengths and weaknesses in mind, that way we can better coordinate our attacks."
Chie nodded, "Alright, I'll handle stuff that's weak to ice or needs to be kicked!"
Yu nodded, then went further into discussing tactics with his teammates.
After a little planning, the expedition deeper into the castle went much more smoothly. Understanding each other's strengths and weaknesses, they worked through each battle in sync, establishing a battle rhythm of sorts. Chie might freeze an enemy, with Yu or Yosuke following up with a physical attack, shattering their enemies into pieces. Yosuke would blow enemies off balance, prompting Chie to deliver an stratospheric kick, launching the whatever enemy unfortunate enough to be on its receiving end. Yu stunned enemies with electrical attacks, as well as being responsible for adjustments in the teams attack approach, and occasionally giving orders to make the most out of their assaults.
The team was starting to feel confident when they encountered yet another shadow. With everyone preparing for battle like all of their previous ones, they watched as the shadow took form. Its black form twisted, becoming a huge demonic knight, unlike any other shadow that they had previously encountered.
"Be careful!" Teddie warned. "It's a strong one!"
Chie evoked, commanding Tomoe to deliver a crushing strike. Tomoe charged in slashing violently at the shadow. The creature merely shrugged off the blow, then moved to strike back at Tomoe. The persona parried just in time to avoid the attack.
"Physical attacks aren't very effective," Teddie noted after analyzing the aftermath of the attack. "Try magic instead!"
Yosuke nodded, evoking Jiraiya, who proceeded to unleash a rush of wind at the shadow. While the monster appeared more affected by the spell than Chie's attempt, it wasn't as effective as they had hoped. "Any idea what its weak to Ted?" Yosuke asked, narrowly avoiding being charged by the knight.
"Give me a sec…" Teddie said, doing his best to concentrate. "Aha, bearfect! It looks like its weak to fire!"
Yosuke groaned, "No one has any abilities like that!" He launched another wind blast in an attempt to stave off further attacks from the enemy, however he succeeded only in drawing the shadow's ire. Noticing that Yu seemed distracted for some reason, Yosuke shouted out in annoyance, "A little help here partner!"
Yu broke out of whatever daze he as in, evoking his persona card. "Change!" He ordered, and suddenly the arcana of card transformed, taking on the form of the magician. "Come forth, Pyro Jack!" Yu shouted crushing the card within his palm, causing a robed Jack-o-lantern creature to appear.
"What the hell!" Yosuke shouted in surprise. "You can use more than one persona!"
Ignoring Yosuke's question Yu instead uttered a command, "Agilao!" Pyro Jack responded with a powerful fire blast, sending the knight reeling. "Alright, hit it with everything you got!" Yu yelled.
Chie and Yosuke nodded, attacking with their respective magic skills, with Yu delivering the final blow with another powerful fire attack.
"Dude, no fair," Yosuke whined. He suddenly looked curious. "Seriously though how did you do that?" Yu shrugged, clearly as unsure at the unusual emergence of power as the rest of them.
"You did say that he had no shadow, right?" Chie asked. "Maybe he's special or something…"
"That… makes more sense than I'm willing to admit…"
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"
Yosuke's face contorted into a teasing grin, and Chie had just an inkling of what was coming her way.
"Well normally when you go off spouting some crazy idea it's complete bull-"
"Focus guys," Yu interjected, calm and unflappable as ever. He looked towards Yosuke, "I'm not completely sure to be honest…" Yu's expression changed, as if debating on whether to tell them something or not before deciding not to. "It's not important right now; we need to concentrate on the matter at hand."
"Yeah," Chie agreed her expression hardening. The hidden thoughts that had been interspersed as they had gone through Yukiko's castle had formed a resolution within her. If Yukiko really felt like that, it was Chie's job, no duty, as a friend to get knock some sense into her. Chie thought back to when she had first met Yukiko. She closed her eyes, smiling at the memory. She then opened her eyes, a newfound willpower burning behind them. "Alright guys, lets do this!"
Yu and Yosuke nodded, and they went with renewed resolve toward the top of the castle.
After what seemed like hours later, they reached another door. The gargantuan entrance loomed before them, it's grandeur unlike any other that they had encountered throughout the castle. If there was an end to the mazelike castle, there was little doubt to be had that this was it.
Muffled voices broke through from the other side.
"No… stop, please!"
Chie's eyes widened, there was no mistaking it: she had heard Yukiko's voice. Blowing all caution to the wind she charged through the doors, Yu and Yosuke trailing close behind. Inside they discovered Yukiko, who was accompanied by another twisted version of herself, her shadow, to be exact. In Chie's mind there was no questioning which Yukiko was the real one. The cold, pure malice reflected in the shadow's glowing golden eyes sent chills down her spine. There was no way that the friend that she had come to know over the many years could harbor such an expression.
"Yukiko!" Chie cried, the strain in her voice betraying her intense worry for her friend.
The shadow turned to face them, its face twisting into a sickening smile, it's golden eyes gleaming all the while. "Ah, my three princes have finally come!"
"Three?" Yosuke blurted, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Is it talking about Chie too?"
Teddie appeared behind them, "It's obviously me!"
The shadow however, took no notice of Teddie, causing the bear to visibly deflate along with his ego. "Ah yes, Chie would make a fine prince, after all she's been my prince all these years…" The shadow trailed off, her expression becoming cold, "But Chie isn't good enough, in the end she couldn't save me, she couldn't take me away! Everyone in town keeps going on and on about how they expect me to continue the tradition of that stupid inn, not once thinking about what I really want! I'm so sick of it all!"
"T-that's not true," Yukiko stammered, her downcast expression and trembling voice betraying her.
"Oh but it is! I just want my prince to come and take me away from it all? I don't care about that stupid in or those stupid people!"
"No! I don't feel that way at all!" Yukiko protested.
"How can you say that, when I know all of your real thoughts and desires, how you really feel," The shadow laughed, looking down at Yukiko with scorn and condescension. "After all I'm you!"
"No…" Yukiko began.
"Stop Yukiko, don't!" Chie cried, watching helplessly as her friend wrestled with her conflicting emotions.
"You're not me!" Yukiko cried out.
The shadow smirked, the dark aura around it swirling with power. The shadow's form twisted, taking on the form of huge bird, perched inside a huge open cage. "I am a shadow, the true self," The shadow intoned, reminding Chie of her own encounter with her shadow. "Now," The shadow continued, "Which one of you will be my prince? I guess I'll have to put you to the test!" The shadow spread its wings, sending a storm of fire toward the party, catching them off guard.
"Damn," Yosuke cursed, bracing himself for another attack. "This one's strong!"
The shadow focused its attention on Chie, "You're not our prince anymore!" The shadow said scornfully, preparing a powerful fire attack. Chie braced herself, dread overwhelming her senses as the intense heat came closer and closer by the instant. Suddenly, Pyro Jack appeared in front of her, holding out it's lamp toward the approaching flames. The lantern drew in all the flames, swallowing them like a vortex, rendering the fire attack useless. Chie looked over her shoulder appreciatively at Yu, who nodded.
He smiled for a moment, "I said I'd try not to let you down right? Now let's do this!"
Chie turned to face the shadow, calling Tomoe to rain down a storm of ice. Yukiko's shadow cried out sharply falling from its perch. "Alright Tomoe!" Chie shouted, "Let's finish this!" Tomoe nodded in an acknowledgement, delivering a crushing blow to the shadow.
Reeling in pain the shadow cried out, "No! My prince has to save me! I can't-"
"That's enough out of you!" Chie snarled. "Looking toward Yu and Yosuke, she shouted, "Alright guys, pile on!" Yu and Yosuke nodded in conformation, charging in alongside Chie, finishing off the shadow in a flurry of strikes. Dissipating into a black mist, it returned to its twisted form of Yukiko. Yukiko approached the shadow, her gait slow and cautious, eyes trained on the shadow for any signs of hostility.
Finding herself unable to reconcile herself with the being before her she stuttered, "N-no, I'm not- "
"We understand Yukiko-san," Yosuke began, hoping to avoid having the situation get further out of hand. "Everyone has a side like this, something that we can't show others, something we're not proud of…"
Unable to stand the sight of Yukiko in such a state of turmoil, Chie rushed toward her closest friend. "Yukiko, I'm sorry…" Yukiko responded with a look of surprise, confusion adorning her expression. "I was so self absorbed with myself, that I didn't even realize what you were going through." Chuckling bitterly, she continued "Some friend I am, huh?"
"Chie…"
"The truth is, I was jealous of you. I guess that made me blind to what you where going through. I…" Chie swallowed, "I wanted you to need me… But really, I was the one who needed you." Attempting to smile she went on, "I'm not as strong as you think you know… It was only because you were with me."
"Chie…" Yukiko began softly. "I didn't see the real you either. I was just searching for an easy way out…" Suddenly resolve lit Yukiko's face as she turned to face her shadow. "'I want to run away,' 'I want someone to come and save me.' You're right," Yukiko admitted, "Sometimes I really do feel that way. I understand now, you're me." The shadow nodded, its form transforming into a beautiful pink figure, shimmering brightly before revealing the card that held Yukiko's persona. Suddenly, Yukiko collapsed in exhaustion.
"Yukiko!" Chie cried out, rushing toward her fallen friend.
"I'm alright," Yukiko managed, "I'm just so tired…"
Suddenly Teddie, burst from behind the group, "So who threw you in?"
Confusion and shock were etched onto Yukiko's face as she responded, "Umm, I'm not sure… Umm… Who are you… Rather, what are you?"
"I'm Teddie," The bear replied cheerfully.
Yukiko concentrated, straining to remember, "I think… someone called my name… My memories a blur honestly… I'm sorry Teddie."
Teddie's previously cheerful expression quickly turned downcast. "No new clues…"
"Not exactly," Yosuke piped up. "Now we know for sure that Yukiko was thrown in somehow."
"So it really isn't you guys?" Teddie thought out loud.
"You still suspected us?" Yu asked.
Teddie shrunk a little, "J-just joking sensei!"
"What the!" Yosuke shouted, obviously angered by Teddie's lingering doubts. "You suspected us after all that? You're one lying sack of honey, you know that!"
"Anyways," Chie cut off, preventing the conflict from escalating. "Lets get Yukiko outta here, she looks exhausted." Yu and Yosuke nodded in agreement, beginning to make their way back toward the castle entrance.
"Wait, you're just leaving me here?" Teddie cried out.
"Leaving you?" Yosuke asked, puzzled by Teddie's reaction. "Don't you live here?"
"W-well yeah but…"
"Don't worry Teddie," Yukiko interrupted, beginning to stroke the bears head. "I promise I'll come back, just stay here and be a good boy." Teddie was practically purring at the attention.
Suddenly the bear blurted out, "My, my, it's getting kinda crowded in here… Why don't you and I go somewhere else?" The bear wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, prompting the rest of the team to groan inwardly at Teddie's flirtatious antics.
"That's it!" Yosuke shouted, "You are officially stuck here for life! Creep…"
"I would like to get out of here though," Yukiko said out of the blue, causing Teddie to unleash a one hundred megawatt grin.
Chie glared at him, "That's not what she meant! Geez, quick being such a perv Ted!"
"Umm.. did I miss something?" Yukiko asked, completely oblivious to Teddie's less than noble intentions. Everyone else groaned in response and in the end, it was Chie who was left with the unenviable task of attempting to explain as they made their way out of the castle.