"Welcome! One and all! To the arena! If you can reach me then I will fight you!" The shadows taunting tone sent a shiver running down her spine. The area they were in was like a strange mix between Kanji's Sauna dungeon, a forest and... a laboratory? What was that about? Oh well! She could think about it later!

"Look out!" At Chie's warning Naoto swiftly avoided a gunshot from a turret shadow with her paws launching her forwards and attacking the lion-like shadow that emerged beside it.

"Phoenix!" She summoned her bird Persona as Minato moved onto another shadow. "Maragidyne!" In an instant every shadow in the area was destroyed! The team swiftly raced onwards whilst destroying any and all shadows that got to close to the group! However with only two Persona users on the team made it slightly more difficult then it probably should have been.

"Took your time!" The shadow screeched at them as they arrived in the final room. The shadow was very similar in shape and... style to the original's description he had been told about except it was a solid black colour with only a few features in a different colour. It's muscled body was covered in jet black fur and the shadow now had a matching feline tail with a snowy white tip. "Are you ready to die?" That was weird...

The shadows voice was no where near similar to Kanji's... The voice was much deeper and colder then his had ever sounded before. Well at least not that she knew of.

"We could ask you the same!" Chie blurted out to it as its strange and rather blobby face contorted with a huge smirk.

"Bring it on! You don't even have a Persona anymore!"

"Who cares?!" She growled in response before Minato and Naoto could do anything else.

"Gdon!" Naoto summoned the fiery tiger from the depths of her heart. "Agidyne!" In an instant the shadow was engulfed in flames from the tiger's attack!

"Mithra! Seal Bomb!" Minato summoned the Lion-serpent creature that clung to what seemed to be a stick before it launched a powerful physical attack on the shadow!

"Hiyaa!" Chie cried as she used her own unsheathed claws to attack the shadow whilst Souji just sprinted forwards to bite their opponent!

"Souji-kun!" Both Minato and Naoto called to him in unison as they powered his fangs with a mixture of fire and ice attacks from their best Persona's! His claws would have left huge marks if the shadow hadn't smacked him aside with his... weapons...

He leapt to his feet again as Naoto who was now aided by both of the Persona's sprinted forwards beside Chie as Minato powered their attacks with ice! The two of them launched a co-op attack that knocked the shadow over with the sheer intensity of the dozen blows it received from them both!

"Chimera!" Minato screeched as the Chimera appeared behind him and the attackers were struck back by a ziodyne strike. Naoto bounded back to her paws before hurriedly casting Garudyne then Agidyne. Somehow the massive shadow had managed to dodge the attacks before it launched a Maziodyne at the team!

"Guys! I don't sense any weaknesses!" Rise called to them through her Persona's communication ability whilst Chie attempted to attack the Shadow with tooth and claw! The Shadow easily beat her away as it cast kill rush! Both Naoto and Minato narrowly evaded the attack but their friends weren't so lucky. The two of them exchanged a knowing glance as their only communication before the young detective and her Persona Gdon both tag teamed in an attack on their opponent, leaving dozens of claw and bite marks oozing black sludge as the shadow struggled!

Meanwhile Minato had successfully healed the entire party before casting Bufudyne! In an instant the entire team rocketed into an all-out attack that completely destroyed the pathetic shadow!

"Damn it! Why is this shadow so flimsy?!" Wait what? Did the shadow just insult itself? Why on Earth would it do that? "I suppose that's what happens when you spend to much time getting ready for new challenges..." It mumbled in thought for a moment before it completely disintegrated. The second it did so Kanji was teleported into the room before his Persona Taka-Mikazuchi returned to his heart.

"Yeah! About time to!" Kanji yelled in what was possibly delight before the entire team began to glow an eerie silver completely enveloping their entire bodies.

Naoto cringed as an excruciating pain followed the glow that filled her body! She could barely hear Chie's screech as she struggled to prevent herself from doing the same! The pain had now covered her entire body to the point where she couldn't help but mimic the rest of the team as they all cried out in pain! What is this?! It's so strong! Finally she blacked out as moving at all became impossible...

"Dude! What was that?!" Yosuke cried in disbelief as he gazed at the large screen monitor in front of them. It had just shown the team defeating the shadow with little difficulty, only for the entire group to be knocked out moments after!

"Come on! Sensei's in trouble!" Teddie bounded forwards in his still Collie dog form straight through the door that the others had left through. Instead of slamming into the invisible wall that had been their just moments ago he passed through like it was nothing!

"Teddie!" Yosuke swiftly dashed after him as the rest of their group followed close behind. At least the barrier was gone...

"Sensei!" Naoto groaned as her eyes slowly opened. What on Earth had just happened, again? Was that Teddie? Every movement brought a cruel aching sensation to her limbs as Teddie swiftly approached her. His golden fur was blurry from the entire event of blacking out and his voice was echo-y as he drew nearer. "Sensei! Your normal!" What? Normal? Wait...

"Hmm?" She suddenly noticed that she was now staring directly at the rest of the group that had been left behind with her human hands in view! She blinked before she realised what he meant by 'normal'. Scrambling into a sitting position she glanced nervously around at her teammates as her vision cleared.

"Naoto-kun!" Rise called as she rushed over towards the detective who now sat idly on the floor next to her cousin and Souji. Chie and Kanji weren't too much further away from her either. Her eyes widened as she glanced down at her hands before her gaze shifted towards the auburn feline who had called to her.

"Rise-san? Your... um still a cat..." If Rise was a cat then how on Earth could Naoto understand what she was saying? Is Rise still talking like people or something?

"Aww! C-can I pet you?" Turning round at the voice she noticed how both Yosuke and Teddie were now running away from Kanji. However Yukiko seemed to enjoy the way he scratched her gently behind the ears.

"Hey. Come on Chie! It feels wonderful!" Yukiko didn't seem to notice that her friend was now a human as she purred at the attention.

"So... How did you guys change back?" Yosuke had retreated towards Naoto who was now pondering the idea.

"I'm not sure... The memory is rather fuzzy." Naoto shook her head before her gaze met Minato who seemed to have an idea.

"Maybe we can use our Persona's? It might have been that. Or perhaps it was the shadow having to be in a set range to be able to reverse the affects." She nodded in response before the two of them summoned their Persona's and casted the best healing spells they had on the team. Nothing happened...

"Er... Why do you think Yukiko-senpai likes that so much?" The idols curious tone earned a questioning glance from both Yosuke and Naoto.

"Lets find out shall we?" Souji leaned forwards before mimicking Kanjii's movements with the auburn feline. She purred as she seemed to enjoy it as well.

"Ooo! That looks like fun!" Teddie suddenly appeared beside the detective before he roughly nuzzled her shoulder. "Nao-chan! Treat me like you treat Tantei!" His annoying wistful voice caused the two cousins to exchange a mischievous glance.

"Er... Ted? I don't think that's gonna work... I mean – " Yosuke's voice was as unnoticed as the mischievous glance as Naoto shrugged and scratched the Collie behind the ears with both hands. "What?! No way!"

"Wow Nao-chan! Your so bear-y kind! Can I score with you?" His soft and wishful voice suddenly yelped as Naoto flicked his nose.

"No. Bad dog." Minato sniggered at her words as she grinned smugly at him from behind the brim of her cap.

"Ha! Nice one!" Yosuke grinned at them as well before turning to face the detective. "But... Is that really how you treat Tantei?"

"No. Tantei can't say ridiculous things like that so I have no need to scold him for it." She replied nonchalantly.

"Aww... Nao-chan! That hurt!" Teddie whined as he held a paw over his nose.

"That's what you get Ted." Souji responded casually whilst still rubbing Rise's pelt.

"You know, this is great... Can I just stay like this forever?" The feline idol spoke wistfully as the silver haired teen continued to pet her.

"Is... It really that good?" The music loving feline spoke up hesitantly before padding closer to the two cousins and the feline getting attention from the nearby teen.

"Yeah Yosuke-senpai! It's great! Try it!" Rise's voice was dreamy as she lounged on the floor next to Souji.

"Uh..." He turned to Souji who just nodded towards the two blue haired cousins as a signal to just ask them. "C-can you...?" His hesitant voice was cut of by both Naoto and Minato scratching each of his ears. "Dude... Your so right! This is great!" It was then that Chie came over to them having left Kanji to give Yukiko some attention.

"Hey, what's going on?" She asked in confusion as she noticed that Yosuke was also enjoying the attention just as much as her feline friend. "Aww..."

At this Teddie came back over to them before nuzzling Chie's leg with his cheek pinning for some affection.

"Chie-chan! Nao-chan flicked me on the nose!" He whined whilst Naoto stopped petting the music loving feline. She was more of a dog person then a cat person. Yosuke's disappointed expression just made her look away in annoyance.

"Why'd you stop?" His disappointed plea recaptured her gaze in an instant.

"I'm sorry Yosuke-senpai, but I'm not too keen on cats." She replied simply earning another saddened expression from Yosuke. Sighing in defeat she resumed scratching him behind the ears. She'd always hated those depressed animal expressions so she'd always loved how Tantei never showed them to her. He purred in both delight and triumph as she petted him again.

"I thought you weren't a cat person?" Naoto glared at Souji before replying.

"I-I just don't like it when they give people those sad expressions..."

"Softy." She glared daggers at Minato before she realised that Chie had sat down in front of them with Teddie next to her.

"Want to swap?" The steak loving girl offered calmly with a meaningful glint in her eyes. Naoto nodded calmly before glancing at Yosuke who now had a pleading look on his face.

"Naoto-kun, I am begging you! Don't sentence me to death!" She frowned at him as he clung to her knee with sheathed claws.

"Hmm? Why would I kill you? If Naoto-kun prefers dogs then why should she pet you?" Chie's confused voice was followed by Yosuke clinging even tighter to the detective with the most pitiful expression on his face. She sighed in defeat before glancing back up at Chie with a sorrowful expression. Rise giggled at them as the brunettes face filled with annoyance. If her grandfather had never brought her a puppy then she would have never been like this... Its his fault!

"Aww! Naoto-kun, your such a softy!" Both Naoto and the pleading feline glared at her in agitation before the detective unconsciously found herself petting him again as if to comfort him. She then noticed Souji's jealous expression causing her to look away.

"I-I'm not a softy... I just... Hate these situations..." She mumbled in annoyance as Yosuke's grip on her knee lessened and he purred in delight at her.

"Hey Naoto-kun!" Kanji called to them from nearby. "Come check this out!"

In an instant Chie had dragged Naoto to her feet and was shoving her towards him.

"Come on! Your the leader!" The steak loving girl growled to her as she was almost flung over!

"What was that for?" She asked in annoyance as Chie successfully shoved her to the floor this time.

"You know what!" Picking up her signature cap she swiftly scrambled back to her feet and faced Chie.

"I'm sorry Chie-senpai but you really could show some control over your emotions for something that I unintentionally did." Her tone was calm but you could tell how agitated she really was. She swiftly turned to Kanji and Yukiko before she could reply. Her eyes widened as she realised what they were looking at. "Isn't that what we passed through when we arrived?" The others nodded as she stepped forwards to get a closer look. They had passed through a pale blue glowing archway that seemed to be like a virtual wall that people could pass through. An idea suddenly crossed her mind before she glanced at Yukiko. "Yukiko-senpai? Can you step through this again?"

"Hmm? Sure." The feline glanced hesitantly back at her before timidly padding through the archway. In an instant she was enveloped in a silver glow before she screeched in pain! Naoto swiftly stopped Kanji from helping her as she had already guessed what was happening. A few moments later the rest of the team had gathered to see the glow disappear and the human Yukiko collapse as the pain she must have felt subsided. "Ugh..."

"Yukiko! Are you okay?!" Naoto swiftly prevented Chie from running to her aid. "What are doing?!"

"Chie-senpai, if my assumptions are correct then perhaps you shouldn't go through the archway." She struggled to keep her from passing through it again before the steak loving girl completely through her away again and launched herself through the blue glow. Naoto was sent tumbling towards the ground and if it wasn't for Souji she would have collided painfully with it. He had hastily caught her moments before she could even react to being flung in such a way! Lifting her back to her feet she blushed slightly before a blood curdling scream echoed throughout the area.

"Chie!" Yukiko called from the ground as she scrambled over to her friend. The second the glow around Chie subsided she had regained her canine form and was groaning from the floor like Yukiko had done.

"Well, at least you have proved my theory to be correct. These archways seemed to be what had transformed us into our animal selves and seem to be the only way to turn us back into people." She nodded to Souji in thanks before she had spoken and moved away.

"I hate you Naoto-kun..." She mumbled as she struggled to her paws.

"Hey Chie. How does this feel?" Yukiko suddenly started scratching the sandy pelted Shiba-Inu in the same way she had been petted before.

"Hey! What the – Actually... That feels pretty good!" She rubbed her head against the black haired teen's hand.

"Honestly, now's not the time. Chie-senpai you should come back through the grid and so should anyone else who is still an animal." Naoto spoke impatiently as Chie suddenly lowered her head and gazed in dread at the archway. "I apologise Chie-senpai but I did try to stop you." She glared at the detective before begrudgingly padding through the archway...

"Hey Naoto-kun? Are we doing this again anytime soon? This stuff is exhausting!" Naoto turned to meet Yosuke's gaze as he spoke. The team was heading back towards the entrance, moving stiffly. They were all exhausted.

"No. I think that it's probably best to take a short break from this world to recover our strength." She replied calmly as his face filled with relief.

"Good! I don't know how much longer I can take all of this!" He nodded before he glanced at Minato thoughtfully. "Hey. Do your friends know your back yet? I mean wouldn't it be helpful having a group that's twice our size beating the crap out of shadows?"

"No they don't know I'm here yet. I'm planning on telling them after this is all over. You know, just in case..." Naoto glanced at her cousin questioningly as his gaze was knowingly directed at Yosuke. She seemed to be avoiding the thought of what he meant by that as she ran through possibilities in her mind.

"Oh. Well how about when this is all over we invite them all over for a welcome back party? Come on! It'll be fun!" Yosuke's tone was filled with questioning anticipation for his answer.

"Sure! Sounds great!" Minato smiled as he thought about seeing his friends again.

"I agree. It would also be a fitting celebration for ending this anomaly whatever it may be." The others nodded in agreement to her suggestion. "It would also be a good time for you to meet Labrys-san."

"Hmm, I suppose it would. After all me and Aigis were pretty close when I left and knowing her, she'd want Labrys to be the first person I met!" Her blue haired cousin spoke with a mixture of excitement and nostalgia at the thought of meeting the two anti-shadow weapons. "I wonder how much she's changed since the last time I saw her..."

Authors Note!

Hey guys! I'm back from Disneyland! Actually I came back on Wednesday but I'm still back! Okay so Naoto only felt bad about Yosuke's sad expressions because Tantei turned her into a bit of a softy. If it wasn't for Tantei making her as happy as he has made her before then she would have never acted like that! Also, I will explain as much as I can in a few chapters after this one because the next one is going to be more... interesting then some of the others and I really hope I don't muck it up! Anyway! Please Read & Review! I absolutely love writing like this and I will continue until my idea pool becomes an empty void! If you know what I mean... :D :D :D

PS.

Who likes Five Nights at Freddy's as much as I do? :D :D :D I think I'm going to make Teddie be next! :D I also won't have my own computer back ever again so I plan on getting a new one for my birthday soon.