Happy New Year everyone! So here it is at last, the next chapter. I'll be curious to hear all of your opinions, there's a lot here for you to critique and (hopefully) enjoy! Thank you all for the support, and leave a review if you like, I'm always looking for ways to improve.
The rhythm of battle was familiar now, along with the rush and thrill that came with it. Over many journeys into the shadow world, the team had come to understand that with the power of persona also came increased physical abilities in combat. Whether this was due to the reinforced connection to their personas that occurred when they entered the shadow world or some other supernatural phenomena was unclear, but the results were not. With little difficulty, Chie sent a shadow reeling with a powerful kick, a shuriken from Jiraiya quickly finishing the job.
"Alright, what's next?" Chie asked, anxiously bouncing on her toes. Gotta stay loose, Chie reasoned. The shadow world demanded that they were always on guard; growing lax could prove fatal.
"Be careful guys," Rise warned. "I'm sensing a strong one nearby. Be careful."
"Thanks for the heads up," Yu acknowledged. "How's Teddie holding up?"
"He's getting the hang of it," Rise replied. "Kanji's doing a pretty good job keeping him in line, making sure he doesn't show off too much y'know?"
Yosuke chuckled and shook his head. "Figures."
Yu grinned. "Alright, once they're finished up, go ahead and move up again and clear up any stragglers. Once we get closer to whatever you sensed we'll wait for you all to catch up."
"Got it senpai!" Rise chirped.
"Let's move everyone," Yu called out. The team fell in line, advancing further into the dungeon. Eventually they came across a large, conspicuous door.
"The 'bosses' are always behind big doors, huh?" Yosuke wondered out loud. "My bet's this is the place Rise mentioned. I think it's safe to say we can take five for a minute while we wait for the others." Yu nodded in agreement, prompting Yosuke to pull out a can of TaP from his backpack and unceremoniously down the entire can.
Chie wasted no time in pulling out her trusty pack of meat gum, the savory substance momentarily satisfying her craving for something more substantial, like a beef bowl at Aiya.
Yu began to casually approach her. "How are you feeling?"
Chie smiled confidently. "Feelin' good! I can't wait to give that guy a piece of my mind! Hey, do you want some?" Chie asked, offering him some meat gum.
Yu examined the substance curiously. "What is it?"
"Meat gum!" Chie exclaimed, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Yu chuckled, taking a piece. "Didn't know that was a thing."
"Yep, they sell it at Shiroku! They always have tons of it, so I always grab a bunch when I'm over there."
"Huh," Yu replied, popping the gum into his mouth. His eyebrow twitched slightly. "Hmm… It really does taste like meat."
"Well yeah, that's kinda the point."
"Sensei!" Teddie, interrupted, the remaining members apparently have just arrived. "You should have seen me! The shadows fell to my bearserker assault in no time!"
"Tch, you barely did anything you stupid bear! You were just showboatin' on the whole damn way over here!" Kanji growled.
Rise walked past the pair as they argued, joining the main group. "How'd it go on your end senpai?"
"How'd it go?" Yosuke chuckled. "At this point we're like a well-oiled machine! They never stood a chance!"
Rise giggled. "Wow, that good huh? Don't get cocky just yet Yosuke-senpai, the shadow behind that door is going to be a tough one. I know you guys can do it though! I'll back you guys up however I can."
Yu nodded. "Alright then, everyone ready?"
"You kiddin'? I'm barely getting' warmed up!" Kanji scoffed. "I'll do the heavy liftin' this time senpai!"
"I'll step up too!" Teddie chimed in, not to be outdone. "I'll be right bearhind you Kanji! No sense in getting my fur any more ruffled than I need to!"
"I'll be counting on you both then," Yu replied, chuckling. The group began to advance forward, opening the enormous door.
Inside, several shadows scattered at the presence of the team of persona-users, gathering at the rear of the room. The dark creatures began to combine their forms, becoming an increasingly large, amorphous, black mass. The blob began to expand and stretch outward taking on a new form. Once the transformation was complete the collective of shadows had become a hulking mecha-robot. The shadow loomed above them, readying it's sword for an attack.
"Oh yeah," Kanji said, rolling his neck across his shoulders. "This is more my speed. Let's bring it Take-Mikazuchi!" The robotic jet-black persona shot forth immediately in response to Kanji's call, one of its fists springing from the shocks housed in its massive shoulders. The shadow attempted to halt the attack with its blade, but Kanji had anticipated this. "Not so fast, bastard," The blonde teen muttered, and sure enough, Take-Mikazuchi raised its lighting blade, 'catching' the shadow's sword and allowing its own initial strike to hit its mark. The persona's fist connected soundly with the shadow's face, sending it staggering backward.
"Yeah, way to go Kanji-kun!" Chie cheered, pleased with her kouhai's results thus far.
Kanji quickly ordered another attack, but the shadow recovered more quickly than expected, delivering a swift blow to Take-Mikazuchi's mid-section with the pommel of its sword as the persona winded up for another attack. Capitalizing on the moment, the shadow followed up with a horizontal slash, the impact sending the persona backward.
"Don't forget about me, baby," Teddie exclaimed, prompting Kintoki-Doji forth, the rotund persona moving forward like a cannon ball. Preparing its missile, the warhead opened suddenly, releasing a salvo of Teddie's strongest ice magic. The projectiles bombarded the shadow, the frigid temperatures slowing the shadows movements and forming a layer of ice over its armor. The shadows joints creaked with strain as it tried to break the ice, but it appeared to be having difficulty doing so.
"You're finished now…" Yukiko muttered darkly, and Chie didn't know whether to laugh or shiver. Her friend would on occasion become incredibly zealous in battle, with anything at the end of her fury quickly going up in flames. The raven-haired girl summoned Konohana-Sakuya, the persona flowing gracefully toward its target. Waving its fan-like petals, the persona rained exploding embers over the shadow with fervor. The rapid shift in temperature caused the ice to rapidly sublimate, sending cracks along the shadows armor and destroying the joints that allowed it to move. Incapacitated, the shadow toppled to the floor, but did not disappear.
"What, how is that thing still alive?" Yosuke wondered out loud. "You guys really put that thing through the wringer." Light suddenly began to emanate from the cracks on the shadows body, pulsing ominously.
"Everyone, get back!" Rise shouted, prompting the Investigation Team to scatter rapidly. Moments later the shadow exploded, emitting a blinding white light.
When it appeared the coast was clear, Yu began to appraise the aftermath. "Everyone alright?" he asked, examining his teammates carefully for any sign of injury.
"Little banged up, but I'll live," Kanji grunted.
"Yukiko, take a look at him, just in case," Yu replied. The first-year was about to protest, but was quickly silenced by a firm glance from his senpai.
"Good work everyone," Yu said, turning to address the rest his team, no doubt proud that they were all able to work together effectively with little input from their leader. "Once Kanji gets patched up, we'll keep going if everyone's still doing well."
"Hold on a sec senpai,"Rise interrupted. The silver haired teen shifted his gaze to the former idol. "I'm getting a strange reading from where the shadow was just a minute ago…"
Yu raised an eyebrow, then began to head toward the site of the explosion. "Yosuke, Chie, with me," He ordered, likely as a precaution. Chie quickly obeyed, moving with Yu and Yosuke toward what had been the epicenter of the explosion. Reaching the center, Yu knelt down, picking up a round object.
"It looks like… some kind of orb," Yu noted, examining the spherical object. Inside, some kind of dark substance ebbed and flowed sporadically. "Any ideas Rise?"
"Hmm… I'm not sure…" Rise replied.
"Is it dangerous?"
"I don't think so. Hold on, let me try to get a better scan." After several moments, the idol's face lit up. "Aha! I can't be sure, but I think that the orb will let further in so we can get to this 'Mitsuo' guy."
"So… you're saying it's some kind of key or something?" Yosuke asked.
"I think so, Yosuke senpai. We won't be sure until we get further, but I think we should hold onto it for now," Rise answered.
"Well then let's do this!" Kanji piped up, his healing now complete. "Storm the castle and all, yeah?"
Yu nodded, rising from the floor and carefully tucking the orb in his pack. "Alright then everyone, let's go." Chie nodded firmly along with the rest of the Investigation Team, the group rallying behind their leader for the final push.
Black miasma flowed out of the orb Yu held outstretched, the dark substance flowing into the final door they had reached. The massive entrance glowed for a moment, and then began to slowly creak open. Revealed was a large pit, reminiscent of where gladiators would fight in ancient Rome, albeit depicted in the style of early videogames. Inside was Mitsuo Kubo and, presumably, his shadow.
The 'real' Mitsuo turned to face them, clearly enraged. "Who the hell are you guys? What are you doing here?"
"Funny, we were about to ask the same thing," Yosuke quipped, though his tone was far less joking than normal.
Mitsuo snarled, examining the group before him, his gaze halting at Yukiko. "You're shitting me… You wouldn't even give me the time of day, but you're here now. Well, I've got everyone's attention now you stupid bitch!"
To her credit, the raven-haired girl didn't even flinch. "Are you the one who's behind all this? I can understand why you might be mad at me, but all the other victims didn't deserve what happened to them!"
"Everyone's talking about them right?" Mitsuo said softly, his tone sending chills down Chie's spine. What's with this guy?
Mitsuo suddenly let out a cold laugh. "Look at you, you're so desperate I can barely look at you. Yeah, I did it." A malicious grin suddenly appeared on the boy's face. "And I did it because I could." His voice dropped to almost a whisper, "I did it… just because I wanted to…"
"That's it?" Yosuke yelled, furious. "You mean Saki died for nothing? You worthless son of a bitch!"
Mitsuo flinched at Yosuke's words. Suddenly the shadow approached, having been eerily silent for the entire encounter. "The boy is right. Your life means nothing. You… are empty."
"Shut up! I'm not empty. I… My life…." Mitsuo protested, though it was clear the shadow's words had begun to gnaw at him.
"Then you refuse to acknowledge me? Very well, then I shall force you to accept oblivion." The golden eyed shadow raised its hand, shadowy energy gathering around it. The writhing, shapeless mass slowly began levitate before suddenly collapsing into form. The shadow's appearance was similar to an oversized infant doll that had that been discarded from the set of a horror film, its features twisted and malignant. Text floated in a halo-like structure above its brow, rotating and constantly changing as new data was assessed.
Chie felt unease as the shadow ran its red and yellow eyes over the Investigation Team, no doubt assessing how much a threat each of them posed. She stood firmly in a familiar fighting stance, her muscles taut and ready to spring at any moment.
Its gaze settled on Yu. "Priority target established… Come, I will show you the futility of your life." The shadow's red pupil dilated, and it suddenly released a blood-curdling screech, emitting a wave of psionic energy. A crippling wave of nausea and dizziness suddenly overtook Chie's body, nearly forcing her to her knees. Gritting her teeth, she shifted her gaze to see how the rest of the team was faring, only to find that they were in a similar state.
"Preparing environments… scenario… complete…" The shadow droned. "Capturing target." The shadow raised its hand, telekinetically lifting Yu into the air. Chie could only watch, horrified, as he struggled in vain against invisible bonds. The shadow raised its other hand and formed a set of red blocks. The blocks circled around Yu before trapping him inside a large cube. "Preparing battle shell," The shadow continued, summoning more multi colored blocks. The blocks quickly covered the shadows form, forming an enormous figure that wouldn't look out of place as the hero of early video games. Yu's 'prison' settled onto the shadow's head, making a make shift helmet, with additional blocks being added at the top to form a plume.
The effects of the shadow's first attack finally began to recede, allowing Chie to regain her focus and summon her persona in preparation for battle. The rest of the team followed suit, with Yukiko quickly releasing a soothing wave to remove any lingering negative effects of the shadow's attack.
"Crap," Yosuke swore. "We've never fought a big one without Yu before…"
"Pull it together senpai!" Kanji growled. "We gotta hang tough or that bastard is gonna get us too!" The blonde teen quickly ordered Take-Mikazuchi to go on the offensive. The persona quickly obliged, slamming violently into the shadow, staggering it momentarily. It quickly retaliated with a sweep from its blade, sending the persona reeling back. "Tch," Kanji muttered, "Tough bastard."
"He's right Yosuke," Chie interjected. "We just got to fight together like always, and we'll pull through."
The brown haired nodded firmly. "Yeah… We can still do this. I'll step up then!" Addressing the team he spoke. "Chie, help out Kanji in the front, see if you guys can do some damage!"
"Got it!" Chie acknowledged, sending out Tomoe to aid Take-Mikazuchi.
"Yukiko, Teddie, support them from here and make sure they don't get too banged up." The persona users nodded, beginning to send out spells of fire and ice.
"Rise, see if you can find a way to break Yu out… I'll see I can get any openings." The former idol quickly complied, calling forth Himiko and beginning a thorough scan.
Chie urged Tomoe to attack, the persona responding in kind, slamming the shadow's outer shell with its staff with a deafening crack.
"Keep it up Chie-senpai!" Rise encouraged. "If you do enough damage the outer layer should break and we'll be able to free Yu-senpai. Be careful though, if you hit the head too hard he might get hurt."
"Gotcha!" Chie shouted, ordering Tomoe to attack once more. The persona flourished its staff preparing for another attack, Take-Mikazuchi alongside it. The shadow retaliated quickly, raising its sword, calling forth a violent lightning storm down on the personas. Chie gritted her teeth in pain, but stood firm. To hell with you! I'm not losing here! Not when Yu's in trouble!
Kanji seemed to agree with her unspoken thoughts. "You're gonna have to better than that bastard!" Take-Mikazuchi pushed on through the attack and charged headlong into the shadow's abdomen, blocks scattering from the impact. The shadow was about to counterattack when suddenly, Jiraiya's shuriken met their mark, digging into the shadow's back. The shadow's armor began to flicker sporadically, the strain of maintaining the form becoming too much for it to bear in wake of the prolonged assault.
"Chie, now!" Yosuke shouted.
Chie smirked. "With pleasure." Mustering as much focus as she could, she commanded her persona forth. "Tomoe!" The yellow clad persona soared through the air with breakneck speed toward the shadow, delivering a crushing flying kick, the impact sending ripples through what remained of the shadow's shell. Cracks began to spider out from the point of impact, and the blocks soon began to rapidly dissolve, releasing Yu and the shadow's smaller form. Tomoe quickly moved in, cutting off the silver-haired teen's fall and depositing him gently onto the ground. "Yu!" Chie shouted, kneeling by his side. The rest of the Investigation Team gathered around shortly thereafter, concern evident.
"Come on senpai! Wake up!" Rise cried.
After several moments and a little healing by Yukiko, Yu's eyes fluttered open. "Everyone…" He began weakly. His eyes began to wander about, understanding dawning upon his features as he began to recognize his surroundings. He began to sit up slowly. "That's right… we're still-"
"Woah there, partner," Yosuke interjected, offering Yu a helping hand. "Easy there man." His grin became teasing. "What, did you think that we couldn't handle ourselves without you?"
"Sensei! You missed my big battle debut!" Teddie wailed.
Yu chuckled as Yosuke helped him to his feet. "Sorry Teddie, I'm sure you did well." Teddie beamed, all but glowing at his "sensei's" praise. Addressing the rest of the team he continued, "Thank you, everyone."
"What happened while you were in there Yu-kun? When I healed you there didn't seem to be anything wrong on the surface," Yukiko asked.
Yu frowned for a moment. "Yeah… It wasn't a physical attack, that's for sure." Noticing the worried glances of his friends, he smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, I'm fine. We have more important things to deal with right now." He walked toward Mitsuo, who had recently regained consciousness, and his now defeated shadow. The shadow remained as impassive as ever, its gaze blank and unfeeling. Mitsuo made no move to accept the shadow and, to the Team's surprise, after several moments it simply disappeared, slowly dissipating into a back mist.
"Ha! Take that you bastard!" The boy shouted. Turning to face the Investigation Team, he narrowed his eyes at the Investigation Team. "What… what are you going to do to me?"
Yu said nothing, merely nodding to Kanji, who easily began to forcibly drag the struggling teen toward the dungeon's exit.
While the team had gotten a couple of raised eyebrows after turning Kubo in at Junes, the police didn't spend too much time questioning them of the events that had led to his capture. They were likely just glad that the alleged killer had been caught, the how of the situation likely being a secondary concern. Yu's uncle looked none too pleased to find his nephew involved, but (at the time) had refrained from needling him for details. Chie could only hope that Detective Dojima hadn't given him the grilling of his life once they had gotten home.
News of the serial murderer of Inaba supposedly getting caught were quickly picked up by news stations, and reporting crews were pouring in to get every last detail on Mitsuo. Other than that things had begun to quiet down in Inaba, with the opening days of summer taking on a sluggish pace.
Sighing, Chie pulled out her phone to text the silver-haired teen to check up on him. She managed only a few taps on her phone before a notification appeared on screen, an incoming text message. Frowning in annoyance Chie opened the message, which had been sent by Yosuke.
Hey, u heard from partner lately? Ive been asking him if he wants to hang but I haven't heard back
Chie rolled her eyes and tapped out a quick response. maybe cuz hes actually busy?
Lol /s -_- This might be hard for u to remember but I do in fact have a job ya know. And now I have to make sure Teddie doesn't hit on everything that moves on the job! I swear Ive caught that dumb bear sweet talking the sample lady like a billion freakin times! ANYways, idk, I feel like something might be up so see if you can get anything out of him
Chie chuckled, it seemed Teddie was up to his usual antics. She thought about teasing Yosuke for being concerned but decided against it. Yosuke could be a dork sometimes but even Chie could admit (grudgingly) that usually his hunches were pretty good. Relenting she responded: Alright, alright. ill see if i can get a hold of him
Thx. Lemme kno if something comes up. Cya l8r, shift in 5
Chie shook her head, and went back to her original objective of contacting Yu.
hey! U alright? Is ur uncle keeping u on house arrest or something?
After about a minute, Yu's reply appeared in her inbox.
Fine. He seemed suspicious, but Nanako keeps him from getting too pushy. I'm not in trouble… Yet.
Chie smiled, partially relieved to hear that Detective Dojima wasn't giving him too hard of a time. Still, 'fine' was wishy-washy at best, and Chie wasn't going to settle for that. After a moment of deliberation, she decided on trying to meet up with him, lest he try and be evasive to her questioning.
Wanna meet up by the riverbank? No training today, just hanging out
Sounds good. When do you want to go?
Hook, line, and sinker, Chie thought, smirking. She quickly typed out: Meet me there in a few minutes
Giving her outfit a quick appraisal to make sure she was presentable, Chie quickly bounded out of her room, hastily putting on her shoes at the entrance. Yelling out that she would be home in a few hours for her mom's sake, she went on her way. Outside, it was a sunny and sweltering day in Inaba, the lethargy of the town brought on by the uncomfortable heat almost palpable in the summer air. Taking a familiar route and hitting a brisk jog, Chie arrived at the riverbank in just a few minutes. Knowing Yu would probably be a few minutes, she took the opportunity to stretch. Case closed or not, Chie would never allow herself to get out of practice. She had nearly finished her routine when Yu arrived.
"I thought you said no training today," He joked.
"Well it's not my fault that you took forever to get here," Chie shot back playfully, turning around to face him. Yu shrugged, smiling absent-mindedly. "You're not busy are you?"
Yu shook his head. "The daycare women all but forced me to take the day off. Something about how I should be spending my summer with my friends, maybe even a girl." Seeing Chie raise an eyebrow at the latter half of his statement, Yu raised his arms defensively. "Their words not mine." Chuckling suddenly, he broke into a grin. "Not that I mind, of course," He added playfully, closing the distance between them and taking her hands in his, prompting Chie to blush darkly.
He's… really close right now, Chie thought, thrown for a loop for the moment. Doing her best to refocus, Chie tried to steer the topic to what she had meant to ask in the first place. Pouting, she said, "Hey, Yosuke's been bugging me lately. Says that you're not getting back to him when he texts you or something. I mean, I get it, since it is Yosuke and all, but still." Looking him in the eye, she continued. "I know you said you were okay after… whatever happened when you were stuck in that thing… but I feel like Yosuke's worried about you for whatever reason, and my gut is telling me that he's not just messing with me or something."
Yu's face darkened suddenly and he broke his gaze. After a moment, his eyes met hers again. "The shadow… reminded me of more… unpleasant memories. Things that I wonder about sometimes. It tried to prey on my doubts and fears."
Chie felt a pang of guilt. At times, it was easy to forget that Yu was a teenager with problems and struggles of his own. Special abilities or not, when it came down to it, he was no different than the rest of them. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked, her grip on his hands tightening.
"No," Yu replied. Seeing the hurt cross Chie's features, he quickly added, "Not right now anyway. I don't want to think of it right now. Maybe that's weak of me, maybe I'm just running away, but… The fact that you're here now is enough for me to know that the shadow was wrong. You're not… you won't…" He sighed, clearly exasperated with himself. "I'm sorry-"He began.
"Don't." Chie said firmly. Her expression softened. "It's okay. I understand. I've been there, all of us have. But if you ever do want to talk about it, I'm here."
"Thanks…" Yu managed after a while, looking relieved. For several minutes the simply stood together in comfortable silence.
Well, I think that's enough heaviness for both of us today, Chie mused. "Hey," She said suddenly, hit with an idea. Yu looked at her in rapt attention. Chie smiled. "Wanna buy me some skewers?"
She could only smile wider at his initial incredulous look before he gave into laughter.