(I was missing a line from the last chapter... eh. I'll put it back in. As far as this chapter goes, for some reason I have it labeled as 34. Dunno how that happened. xP Ehm. Yeah. One of you guys is prolly gonna wanna kill me after this chapter. I actually added more to the fight and proofread it like five minutes ago, so as always, please let me know of any typos and things that don't make sense due to sentences getting changed and deleted...)

You and the others made it to the final room; it had a circular stage in the middle where Alice's magician twin, still wearing her large suit and hat, was arguing with the original. Your team stood back to watch the two girls.

"Alice!"

Akira? No, that loud voice was actually Zero.

The innocent girl turned to face your group. "What are you guys doing here?" she asked, obviously scared.

"No! You're not gonna take me back!" the magician pouted, stomping her foot. The remainder of the room stared at her, confused and defensive. "I'm going to do this last show and disappear! I don't need to be around, anyway!"

"What do you mean?" Alice asked.

"No one sees me for who I am," the magician explained, poking her cane at the ground like it was a walking stick as she paced across the stage. "The girl named 'Alice' doesn't exist. She's just whatever everyone wants her to be.

"I danced because other people said I was good. I performed because they told me to go for it. I became a star because my family told me to. I moved to Japan because my agent told me to. I moved to New York for the people that call themselves my friends. Everyone makes my decisions for me because I can't make any on my own."

"Why are you saying this?" Alice asked.

"Don't you recognize your own thoughts? Or are you confused because people keep putting their thoughts in your head? You never wanted to be here, did you? You wanted to cling to your mommy and daddy for a bit longer. But you're so distant to the people you loved most that they probably don't even remember you. So," she waved her cane, guiding a levitating blanket in their direction. It floated several feet above their heads, and it began to fall slowly. "Just hide under here, and no one will have to see us again."

"I... I don't want to leave forever," she said, stepping away from the falling sheet. "Please stop."

"Oh, think about it," her twin told her, "you never feel like a real person. You've just become everyone's illusion of everyone's perfect girl. Every illusion has to disappear, and you know in your heart that you once you get tired of that charade, you don't want to find out who you really are. You don't want to face the world as yourself, so get back here with me!"

"Get ready," Rage said.

"The least I could do for everyone is to go out with a bang. Everyone believed I should be a performer, and I'll give them what they want. I'll give them the show they pushed me to have and leave this place once and for all!"

"No!" the timid girl screamed. "I don't want that! I'm nothing like you!"

The magician grinned and chuckled in a low voice. Her hair began to rise on its own and you could see the familiar dark aura intensifying around her. A wave of energy pushed Alice onto the ground, and the Shadow manifested into a monster.

The monster was similar to Alice, only it became completely invisible. Her suit was discarded and it revealed her revealing two piece garment; a cleavage-exposing collared shirt with a bikini bottom and a long tie around her neck. You could see the lower contours of her body as dark shadows, and her hair floated like a wig where her head should've been.

You quickly led your team to the Shadow. Devil Zukin pulled Alice to the back of the room, and before you could issue a command...

PERSONA!

Rage didn't hesitate to attack the seemingly levitating clothes. Shadow Alice swung her cane just before the bulky Persona landed a punch. A card appeared behind her; it rotated and she disappeared.

"No! Already? But the fight just started!" Rage yelled.

"She is still here," Zukin confirmed.

The single card spawned two more; they shuffled before you and levitated with their identical backs facing toward your team, likely wanting you to choose one. Benkei launched a wave of fire at the rightmost card, and it split into two more. All the cards reshuffled instantly, and then you had four to choose from.

"If you choose the wrong card, it will only make things worse," Zukin warned.

"There's five of us and four of them," Rage reasoned. "Let's just get 'em all at once before they shuffle!"

His logic would work if you could all cooperate and time your attacks. You readied Loki, while Akira and Yuni called Lu-yan and Tsutomu respectively. You commanded the Personas to attack simultaneously with a physical attack, and so they did; each of them slashed with their weapons and hands. Tsutomu had attacked the second-to-last card and triggered a feminine shriek.

That card exploded into a puff of smoke and Shadow Alice instantly fell to the ground. Tsutomu instinctively backed up and prepared a follow up attack, but once she swung her fist, Shadow Alice knocked it away with her cane while still lying on the ground. The magician violently swung the stick, spreading a wave of magic about the room. Tsutomu charged at the recovering girl and ran past her; it was impossible to stop efficiently at her speed and Shadow Alice levitated on her own, preparing another spell.

Judging by your vision, you knew everyone suffered from another accuracy ailment. You commanded Zero to use Dekunda.

He nodded and summoned Maion's card from his soul. Without actually saying anything, he kicked it into pieces and the angel appeared. Maion stretched his dark wings, and cast a light to each person in the room with his arms spread out.

By that point, Shadow Alice had readied another spell. You couldn't describe what you felt, and you stood for a second wondering what she had done to you until the Shadow used a weak Garu spell on Akira, knocking him down instantly. Your defenses must have been lowered.

You commanded Loki to stun her with Niflheim, while Zero had to re-cast Dekunda. Loki's ice wall had her captured long enough for Lu-yan to charge into her; the shock of the broken ice and Lu-yan's fists impacting caused her to scream again.

"Alice can't win this battle the way she is," the Shadow muttered. "But I... I know enough tricks to fool everybody!" She waved her cane in a gentle circle above her.

"She's gonna do something again," Rage yelled. "Get her!"

Benkei charged to Shadow Alice's body and swung his sword into her. The magician's body and hair were gone for a moment; upon the weapon's contact with her chest, her shirt flung, undamaged, almost as if her nonexistent body was made of rubber. Her outfit pulled itself back together, and you could see her body and hair again.

"How was that for a magic trick?" she taunted.

"How'd you do that?" Rage yelled.

She giggled, then he voice became threatening. "There are plenty of secrets I can't tell you."

Akira sighed as Rage grunted. "Don't be so rash," he yelled to his teammate.

"But how else were we gonna figure out that she could do that?" he argued back. "We gotta plan around it!"

You used Loki's Niflheim again to freeze her in place. She noticed the attack, but a second too late; Shadow Alice was temporarily locked in an ice prison. Your lack of spirit power rendered you unable to keep her in there for more than a few seconds, but it hindered her movement shortly afterward. Mid-attack, you called to Yuni, whose quick Persona could perform a follow-up move.

"Right!" she said, directing the equally eager Tsutomu to chuck stars at the Shadow. The Persona spun her entire body as she threw five black stars at her enemy.

The stars stuck into her near-invisible body for a moment. She shivered from the cold of your ice attack, and then snapped her fingers, making her body disappear again and allowing the stars to fall down from the air and onto the ground.

"How can we hurt something that's not even there?" Yuni asked.

"Paralysis," Devil Zukin mumbled from the distant area of the room. "You must prevent her from using spells on herself!"

"Don't be concerned with what I do," the Shadow yelled. "Worry about yourselves!"

She pointed her cane at your group; you felt a tinge of pain, but nothing that lasted. You looked to the others, however, and noticed that Yuni and Rage were panting. They were suffering from exhaustion. What could cure that? The least advanced moves that came to mind were Nervundi and Energy Shower. You asked Zero if Maion could use either of those; as he communicated with his Persona, you and Akira tried to distract Shadow Alice. In the seconds it took to charge another spell, Akira managed to shoot her with five bullets, but before you could hit her with her sword, her body faded again; your sword had no effect on her waist and Akira's bullets fell.

You saw a flash of light from behind you

"Thanks, man!"

It was Rage; Zero must've been able to cure him first.

"We have to stop those spells before making any movements," Akira agreed. "Rage, get ready!"

"Huh?" he said, making you concerned if Rage knew what he was doing. He watched the bodyguard dart behind Shadow Alice. Rage had called Benkei, distracting the girl from Akira. As Rage's Persona spawned, Lu-yan's powers electrocuted her from behind, which let Rage perform a fire spell to add to her pain.

"Pile on!" Rage shouted. "Souji, Yuni, Zero, let's attack her while she's-" but before he finished his request, both his and Akira's Personas were reflected away from her.

She stood elegantly and twirled her cane. She stamped it on the ground, causing a shockwave that sent electricity to you and your teammates. You were lightly damaged. Akira was unaffected, but it stunned Yuni and Rage.

Surely, she was expecting you or Akira to attack her again. You two nodded at each other and decided to attack at the same time from different angles. Akira was still behind her, so you two switched sides to confuse her. Akira faked a call to Lu-yan while you mentally summoned Loki again, this time you only used Bufudyne to spare your spirit energy.

"Zero! Get her!" Akira shouted, while lending his Persona to assist you as well.

You didn't hear him call out for his Persona, but you saw the light from the angel arise from thin air. As Maion prepared his sword, Shadow Alice yet again broke free from the block of ice, and quickly used another spell. You opened your mouth, but no sound came out. No... she had the ability to silence you! You looked around for anyone who noticed; Zero had his hand over his throat. You and he were the only ones who could heal... you were doomed if she caused another ailment.

Shadow Alice's outfit separated of its own will. The outfit flew in front of Maion; the magician formed herself right in front of the Persona and quickly choked his pale neck with her right hand, holding the cane in her left.

"I actually got you to shut up," she said. "Now maybe you'll finally listen to what I have to say."

Maion faded.

You turned your tired head toward Zero, who had a hostile look on his face. He looked hesitant at the same time.

"I saw everyone in their Persona. Rage's muscle man, Yuni's stealth ninja, Akira's loyal soldier," she tapped her cane in her left hand as she walked closer, neither her nor Zero showing fear. "But you brought along an angel, one that hides his face behind his hair. You love to hide things, don't you? Like the fact that you never really wanted to be anyone's friend here. You're just here to stalk me, and you used my friends as a means to do so!"

You thought you could hear him growl a little.

The Shadow's body became increasingly visible. You could start to see that she was actually a mutated monster with yellow eyes and rough purple skin. "You think I like being told what to do all the time, but I hate you for that!" Her true body was revealed itself entirely as she shouted. "I hate how you just expect me to agree to everything you ask! I hate that you deceive people and think you can get away with it! I-"

SLASH.

Maion's sword struck her head from her shoulders. The speed of the sword caused the Shadow's head to fly several feet away, while the body stood in place, shocked for a moment, before falling on its back.

The team gasped, and you did as well. Never had you seen the head of a powerful Shadow discarded like a piece of trash. The unconscious head came to rest with her hair sprawled out on the floor and tangled around her broken neck, not bleeding but emitting bits of shadows. Her eyes and mouth were frozen open. Her body's arms and legs lay limp on the ground.

For a moment, Zero was fuming with revenge in his expression, but his eyes widened seconds later. He stepped closer to her fallen body, and Maion picked up her head. Zero watched as the angel fused the two pieces together.

Shadow Alice was able to close her eyes, but she continued to rest on the ground. You knew that she wasn't going to get up; she had been defeated.

Alice was still being guarded by Devil Zukin. You and your friends ran to check on her.

"Hey, are you all right?" Rage said first.

Her eyes fluttered open and she groaned. "I'm sorry," she said, in a tired voice. "I don't know where she came from, but..."

You briefly explained what her Shadow was, and told her not to worry about what anyone thought of it. What was important was that she needed to accept what she was for who she was. Those fears, hates, and hostilities... it made her Alice, and it was nothing to be ashamed of.

She stared at you for a moment, sinking the words in. It was the first time she willingly stared her gentle sapphire eyes into yours. After few seconds, she got up and stumbled into the direction of her now kneeling Shadow, who was no longer a monster but rather looked like a clone of Alice again. The real Alice knelt before her.

"Okay," she said gently, "I thought I wasn't the kind of person to let these things bother me. But you think about the same things I do. You do everything just to please everybody, and sometimes you forget that you aren't the person everybody wants you to be. The one thing you and I have in common is that we don't want to be hated by anyone. We are what other people want us to be because we want everyone to be happy with us. You're the part of me that people don't always see, but that doesn't mean you can disappear. I need you to be who I really am."

The magician smiled and nodded, then transformed into a ball of light that blinded the spectators. When the light faced, a Persona clad in a rose colored wrap dress with gold accessories floated before everyone. Her face had a white mask that covered her mouth... or perhaps a black mask that covered her eyes; you couldn't tell. Her blonde hair was braided behind her back. The Persona faded into a small glowing card. Alice stood up and caught the falling light in her hands, where it vanished and sank into her soul.

"H... Hael?"

After taking in the power she stumbled. Zukin and Yuni ran to catch her before she fell.

"Let's get her out of here," Yuni said, "she's gotta be tired."

-.

Outside the TV, Alice was placed on the couch until she woke up a little under an hour later. As she woke, your team rejoiced, and Maid Zukin presented some hot chocolate to her, the same chocolate that you and your friends had been sipping during her sleep. The purple cat girl left the room before you spoke about what happened in the TV.

"Hey, are you feeling better now?" Yuni asked quietly.

"Mm, yeah," Alice mumbled. "I can hardly remember... what was going on."

"Don't push yourself," Akira said, "if you're unwell, we can take you home to rest."

"Y-yeah," she said, "I'm all right, but I sometimes... get really dizzy." Her voice sounded strained. "Thanks, everyone, for coming after me."

You all nodded.

Alice blinked a few times and turned her head, scanning the room. "Um... was Zero around? I thought I saw him before..."

Zero had abandoned the group immediately after Alice was out of the TV. You asked how much she could remember... had she not seen anything during the battle?

"After that Shadow thing attacked me, I blacked out... then when I woke up, she was on the ground. After that that girl named Hael appeared and glowed in my hands, I was so exhausted that I couldn't remain awake, and then I just woke up now. That's all I really remember..."

Everyone suspected why Zero left, but you felt she was in no condition for any added stress, so you initially didn't say anything. The silence proved that your friends agreed. You simply told her that Zero left after she was out of the television.

"Oh... I see," she said.

"Do you think you will be able to get home?" Devil Zukin asked. "It is getting late, and I will accompany you if you plan to go out."

"But we're not gonna kick you out or anything," Yuni said. "You're welcome to stay here for a night if you don't need to be back."

"I think I'll stay," she said. "Sorry to be a burden..."

"Don't worry about it," Rage told her nicely. "We just want you to get better, all right?"

She smiled before laying back and closing her eyes again. "Thanks, everybody, for everything."

The group figured they should leave her alone. Zukin remained in the room to watch her, while you and the others walked out the door. Akira, the last to leave, clicked it shut behind him.

Was it worth talking about what happened in the television? Knowing that Alice would get better, the next thing that had you the most concerned was the matter of Zero. He stormed off quickly after Alice was safe, but would he want to come back to save the next person if she was on your team? You asked if anyone should tell Alice what happened inside the television, or if she would be better off not knowing.

"She's got too much on her plate to worry about," Rage said. "Maybe when she's better, we can sort that out. I'm surprised she singled him out like that. What'd he do to her? I practically wanna go beat up Zero about it before I say anything to Alice." He punched his hand in a fighting pose.

"Don't do that," Yuni ordered. "We don't know the whole story. You could just make it worse."

"This is Zero and Alice we're talking about," Rage argued. "Nothing is ever Alice's fault; everything is Zero's fault."

"Oh, you're full of it," Yuni huffed. "We don't even know the guy that well."

"We'll sort this out another day," Akira proposed. "Break it up, you two."

The bickering pair agreed, and you and Rage bid the owners of the mansion goodbye before you left.

You knew that Alice had come to the hospital multiple times to talk to Zero out of her own will. Why would she do that if she hated him? And since when did it bother Zero if someone disliked him? You were definitely missing part of their story. But Zero was probably in no mood to talk to you; you decided to wait for him to cool off before you brought this up again.