A/N: I've decided to put an interlude in between the chapters (at least some of them). I realize that the previous interlude was a bit lengthy…and, well, Latin. This time I've made the Interlude much more about story and much less about lyrics, which should make it easier to read. Lyrics here are from The Mindmaker, by Soilwork.

Edit: I've fixed errors and added details. Soilwork and Persona 4 are both copyrighted by their respective owners and are used here without permission.

Borderline of Madness, Part 1: Secret Lab

Interlude Two: Reach Out for the Truth

The search for truth's just moving on
Everybody wants a piece,
Denying the sound of their restless song…
Escaping reality won't set your judgment free.

Yosuke moved his feet to the steady beat pounding from his headphones as he followed Souji through the green hallways of Naoto's shadow bunker.

Souji paused before a large door and turned to look at the party. Yosuke pulled his headphones off and placed them around his neck.

"Rise says there's a strong shadow just through this door."

"Is it Naoto-kun?" Yukiko asked softly.

Souji shook his head. "No, Rise says she doesn't sense Naoto on this floor."

Yosuke nodded. "Alright then. Let's go kick this thing's ass!"

"Um…Yukiko, could you heal us up?" Chie spoke softly as she leaned against the wall. She was holding her arm and breathing hard.

"Of course." Yukiko nodded, closed her eyes, summoned Amaterasu, and cast Mediarama.

Yosuke felt the soft heat rush over his body, soothing his pain and closing his wounds.

Souji nodded. "Thanks, Yukiko."

"Alright, let's do this!" Chie pumped her arm into the air, fully recovered.

Yosuke chuckled to himself. She had been uncharacteristically quiet for a while. They all had. They had all been hurting. The lesser shadows that they had faced thus far had been drastically stronger than any they'd faced in Void Quest. If Chie had been quiet, she must have been hurting pretty badly. Why hadn't she said anything? She was ok now, right? Should he say something or would that just make him look stupid?

Stop thinking about Chie and focus on the battle!

"Shut up, Susano-O." Yosuke thought, cursing his Persona for knowing exactly how he felt at all times…and feeling the need to voice his opinions constantly.

"Yosuke?" Chie waved a hand in front of his face. "Earth to Yosuke."

"Huh? Oh, sorry. Spacing out." Yosuke flashed a wide, sheepish grin and turned to face Souji so that Chie wouldn't see him blush.

"Right. Let's go, guys." Souji turned to the door and produced the keycard they had found on a lesser shadow from his pocket. He slid it over a scanner to the side of the door. There was a hiss as the airlock released.

The door opened to reveal a giant red robot wielding a rather large and nasty looking sword.

Chie gasped. "Holy shit, it's Optimus Prime."

"It looks like a toy!" Yosuke laughed as he slid his headphones on. "What kind of shit is going on in Naoto's head?"

The group ran into the room and surrounded the robot.

"INTRUDER DETECTED WITHIN THE RESEARCH AREA. ELIMINATION PROCEEDING." A grinding monotone voice greeted them.

"Is this thing for real?" Chie laughed. "It looks like it's made of plastic."

Yukiko grinned demonically. "I'm going to melt its dopey looking face off!"

Souji grimaced, "Wait, Yukiko—"

But it was too late. Yukiko's slightly crazy pyro side had taken over, and there was no reasoning with her. Amaterasu appeared and fired Agidyne at the robot.

Quicker than anyone in the party thought possible, the robot moved its sword and deflected the attack.

"Yukiko!" Chie whined.

"Whoops. I got a little carried a—"

Before Yukiko could finish speaking, the robot retaliated, sending its sword down in a giant sweep. Yukiko went flying backwards, knocked over by the sheer force of the blow.

"Focus! This one's really strong!" Rise spoke to them all through Himiko.

"Really, Rise? I never would have been able to guess." Yukiko said curtly through clenched teeth. They could almost hear Rise's pout.

Chie rushed over and helped her fallen friend to her feet. "Don't do stuff without thinking, Yukiko!"

The raven-haired girl just stared at Chie in disbelief.

Realizing the hypocrisy of her statement, Chie bit her lip and chuckled awkwardly. "Well…never mind."

The two turned their attention back to the battle.

"Grimekala!" Souji cried as he summoned the obese shadow elephant persona and used Mighty Swing. The attack connected and the Machine staggered back.

Yosuke watched all of this from the corner of his eye. He was focused on the Machine. He moved his feet to the beat of his music: I put my trust in a prominent machine. Feel no pain and don't you dare to make a scene.

The enemy used Power Charge, and during this break in the fight, Yosuke saw his chance.

"Go Susano-O!" He summoned his flame-haired persona and fired Garudyne. It slammed into the Machine and took quite a chunk of health out.

"Sheesh, this thing sure has a lot of health for a toy!" Chie said as she summoned Suzuka Gogen for a Bufula attack.

While the battle with the Dominating Machine raged on in the bunker, Kanji paced circles around the entrance.

"I should be in there!" He yelled at Rise who was standing just inside the door with her Persona analyzing the battle.

"Quiet, Kanji. You'll make her mess up!" Teddie said, looking up from the drawing he was making in the dirt with his claws.

"But…but Naoto! He…I need to tell him somethin'." Kanji kicked at the ground. "Damn that kid! How could he do somethin' like this?"

"What do you need to tell him, Kanji?" Teddie stood and joined Kanji in his pacing, the dirt drawing completely forgotten. "Oh, is it like what Yosuke said?"

Kanji stopped pacing and clenched his fists. "What did Yosuke say?"

"He said that you and Naoto were 'butt buddies'." Teddie paused. "Um…what's a 'butt buddy,' Kanji?"

Kanji however, had turned a very bright shade of red. "It ain't like that. Ain't like that at all!" He turned around and grabbed Teddie's shoulders. "Naoto doesn't even talk to me. I mean…I'd like him to…but I...dammit, Yosuke!"

"Kanji, you're hurting me!"

Kanji looked down and realized that he had twisted Teddie's fur in his agitation. "Oh…uh…sorry." Kanji released Teddie and resumed pacing.

He still wasn't quite sure what it was about Naoto that made him feel…well he wasn't even sure what he felt. His Shadow had been quite insistent that he "vastly preferred men"…but then why had he gotten a nosebleed on the school camping trip upon seeing the girls in their swimsuits?

Kid, you keep thinkin' like this and your head is gonna explode. Take-Mikazuchi's familiar growl echoed through Kanji's mind.

"Awesome job, Senpai! You won!" Rise squealed from the entrance. She emerged, her Persona no longer summoned. "They're coming back now. They're all drained."

Kanji nodded, grateful for any excuse to not think about that stuff anymore.

Shortly the entire party appeared in a flash of Goho-M generated light. Everyone looked pretty battered and tired.

"That's enough for today." Souji said quietly.

"That Robot was nuts!" Yukiko sat down on the ground and fanned herself absentmindedly with her fan.

Yosuke flopped onto the ground as well. "Thank god."

"Yeah, I don't know how much more I can take today." Chie sat down next to Yosuke. Her hand brushed against his, and they both jerked away from each other in surprise.

"I…that wasn't"

"Err…sorry"

Yukiko shook her head and chuckled softly.

Kanji didn't even notice the awkward interaction between Yosuke and Chie. He was desperately pleading with Souji. "Senpai, you can't mean that! I mean, we've gotta rescue him! I mean, it took us so long to find him, you know?"

"Kanji, I can't. I'm completely drained."

"But I ain't! I haven't even used my Persona today!" Kanji was practically shouting.

"I know. But none of us can do this alone. We're a team, remember?"

Kanji nodded slowly as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Tomorrow. We'll get him tomorrow, Kanji. And you're coming with me. I promise." Souji took off his glasses and used his shirttail to clean them.

"Humph. Alright. But I ain't leavin' without usin' my Persona." Kanji turned to Yosuke and narrowed his eyes. "So, Yosuke-senpai, I heard that you've been telling Teddie how much you wish I would beat the shit out of you."

Yosuke looked confused. "Huh?"

Kanji summoned Take-Mikazuchi. "So, I thought I'd oblige ya."

Yosuke's confusion turned to fear. "Hey, Ted, w-what did you tell him?"

Teddie smiled. "Just that you thought he and Naoto were 'butt buddies.'"

Yukiko stifled a giggle, "Snrk. Butt buddies…"

Chie shook her head and sighed, "Are you an idiot, Yosuke?"

Souji face-palmed. "I am not a part of this."

"Oh shit. I'm going to die, aren't I?" Yosuke asked Chie.

"Yeah. Pretty much." Chie patted him on the head and dragged herself and Yukiko to their feet. "Come on Yukiko; let's let Kanji give Yosuke what he asked for."