(I don't have enough written to go back to weekly updates, but I realized a week ago that I left poor Emi in the TV and should probably do something about it before writing the next parts...)
Although you weren't sure if the sun would set before you got home after work, you stopped by Rage's takoyaki stand. You wondered if anyone else was willing to talk to him that day, considering you left his girlfriend in the other world. Despite that, he seemed to be level headed when you arrived.
"Hey, Souji. Busy day?"
Not really; you were just cleaning. If anyone had it busy, it would've been Zero. He was being called left and right, and he was still on the clock when you left. Your biggest concern, on the other hand, was the intern that threw up on the floor during a procedure...
Rage laughed. "What a wuss."
You chuckled, although you felt bad for the nameless boy. How had Rage's business been that day?
"I sold so much octopus, you have no idea," Rage said. "Well... I tried, to. Business is expected to get slower this time of year, people coming outside less and less... and plus, some of the little kids just walked away, acting all cute and cheery, when I forgot to make them pay..."
Why didn't he just make them pay before he gave them the food?
"You... you know what, it's harder than it sounds."
You smiled. He looked a bit frustrated, but he grinned sheepishly, trying to laugh at himself.
"So tomorrow... we're going back in to save Emi, right?"
Of course, and not a day later.
"It's weird... I mean, I've been helping you save people since you first told me about this, but when it's Emi... it's different, you know? I just wonder what she's doing in there, what her Shadow's doing to her. And then I'm just letting it happen to her... I feel like there's something I should be doing right now."
There are times when a person has to face their dark side, so that they may realize that they have problems deep down. Accepting what's wrong means accepting you're only human and not lying to yourself anymore.
"You're right, but... I don't know. The thing with your buddy and Emi... that was a whole bunch of news thrown out at once. But at least that Hades guy is out of the picture, so we have one less thing to worry about in the TV world."
You hoped so; you didn't tell Rage of your uncertainty...
-.
Your class with Mr. Reddot was on Wednesday. Despite all you heard about Pluto possessing him, nothing seemed odd about the man. He was generally stoic and uncaring in his lectures, but you always wondered why he did nothing to you, despite Robert telling him all about you. Nervously, you sat in the back of the classroom and successfully went unnoticed for that day...
-.
You tried to arrive to Yuni's house as quickly as possible. Oddly, you were beaten by not only the mansion's residents but also by Rage and Zero, both of whom you thought were working in the afternoon.
"Screw work," Rage said, "I'm my own boss; I can do whatever I want."
"Like give away your product for free?" Zero asked.
"Sh-shut up, what's your excuse?"
"They allowed me to take time off today upon request."
"That's nice of 'em," Yuni commented. Zero shrugged.
When Alice finally showed up, you entered the large television...
-.
Devil Zukin and Ouze were able to send your group back to where you found Robert and Paranoia Hades.
"How much of the dungeon is left?" Rage asked.
"She is about two floors away," Zukin told him. "We can get there quickly if we hurry."
You requested that the seven of you split up as before: Zukin, Rage, Akira, and Zero on one team, with Alice and Yuni on yours. Once ready, you lead your small team forward. The wreckage from the previous battle left an opening to a set of stairs. At the next floor, you could hear voices again...
"I... I'm going back to Hong Kong to be with my family."
… Alice's voice? Is this from Emi's memories?
"I can't stay here; Japan just isn't the place for me. As long as I'm in my dad's business, I'll never get anywhere."
That was definitely Rage...
"My family's rental store isn't doing so hot. But they found a place in America where I can work on a movie."
Likely Yuni...
"Good bye, Emi."
"This can't be goodbye; I thought I could be with all of you forever... I don't want you to leave me!"
"It wasn't like that," Rage argued, "we all came back."
"She didn't know it at the time," Yuni said. "Besides, it's like we all left at once. I knew she was freaked out that year. That's why I decided to take her with me, and to see you, you jerk! You were her boyfriend; how could you just leave her like that?"
"I never thought she cared that much! I really didn't. Not until now."
You told them they would have to hold those thoughts off for the time being. At that point, the floor you were on was laid out like a maze. Columns of supercomputers lined against walls bordered the paths. You led the entire group to the first fork, which left you the option of going forward or left.. You glanced at Devil Zukin, who took her group left while you proceeded forward with Yuni and Alice.
You walked through an opening that led to a hallway perpendicular to the one you came from. To your right was a group of quietly working robots, and to your left was a door. Farther to your left was a blowing blue fan with red blades and a silver cage around it embedded in a wall. You quietly stepped in the room, not wanting to alert the small soldiers, and the girls did the same.
The whirring of the fan grew louder.
In seconds, you found it impossible to move toward the door due to a strong wind. The girls groaned -Yuni specifically mumbling something about her hair- and by that point, you were sure that the building knew you were there. You turned your head to the robots, hair and bangs now blowing into your face. As expected, the robots' lights were flashing, and they readied their guns. They seemed impervious to the wind, and you assumed their small bullets would have little resistance; you had no choice but to summon a Persona to protect your group. Futsunushi worked well the first time, so you quickly tried to call him again.
Before you were all hit, your Persona spawned and blocked the bullets as before. You spent a moment wondering what sort of element you could use. Electricity and fire were hazardous, ice was slippery... and what would wind do when there was already wind? Would it amplify your powers or make them useless?
"Any ideas?" Yuni shouted over the thundering wind.
You were sliding closer to your enemies until... the wind faded. What happened? You turned around and noticed that Hael was trying to push the wind backward in a sideways tornado. Not knowing how long she could keep this up, you told Yuni to destroy the mindless robots while the wind was gone.
"Got it!" Not bothering to summon Tsutomu, the blonde readied her armored fists and began to beat up the small soldiers by hand. You knew that they were weak, so you spared your spirit power and did the same with your sword, slicing their heads and weapons from their bodies. You could hear steel creaking behind you, followed by loud cracking sounds.
CRASH!
You heard several large mechanical pieces hitting the walls and the floor. Computers wires were snapping, and broken wires made crackling noises from excess charges. You finished destroying your last enemy before you went to check on Alice. The two of you looked at the fan... or its remains, rather. Hael's powers had ripped off the cage; it seemed to have spun in a counterclockwise direction, tearing apart computers in its path before it scraped the ground. The fan itself was crushed by the force of the opposing wind, and the blades were bent and broken. You asked how Alice's power was holding out.
"I think I'm okay," she answered.
"Wow," Yuni said at the wreckage. "Doesn't that kinda look like Be-fu's fan?"
Alice observed it. "It does. Emi's always been into Concents, hasn't she?"
Into what...? You weren't sure if it mattered what a Concent was... you dismissed that thought and asked your teammates to follow you to the door. You hastened your way to it, finding that on the other side was the next set of stairs.
"That's great!" Yuni said. "Now, we just gotta go get the guys and Zukin."
How were they holding up? Had they run into the same trap? Worried, you backtracked to the first fork.
Their path was about as linear as yours, occasionally leading to a dead end that Alice or Yuni would check out for you. You knew you were getting closer when you heard a whirring noise; they had to be caught by a fan as well. Still, you were plagued with trying to navigate a maze for about a minute before you actually found the right hallway. Devil Zukin was waiting outside of the fan room.
"Please forgive me," she said quickly, "I didn't know what could be done. They're unharmed for the most part, but they're all in there alone."
You looked in from the corner of the doorless opening. The men had their backs pressed against the wall, each missing their Persona. Inspired by Alice's strategy, you sent Norn inside, using the Wind Amp ability to quickly and effortlessly blow an opposing cyclone of wind into the fan, causing it to viciously tear apart and crumble like the other one did. Once the wind died, the boys fell to the floor.
"Thank you, Souji," Akira said on behalf of the three of them. Each of them looked a bit wind-wrecked; Zero's long hair was the most noticeably messy among them. Rage took one look at him and started laughing before Zero kicked him in the arm with his heavy boots, ending Rage's laughter with a yelp of pain.
"We ran into this thing on the other side, too," Yuni explained, "But our way led to the exit. Come on!" Ignoring your position as a leader, she ran ahead of everyone in the direction of the door. Rage dashed in front of you, and you and the others followed them back.
-.
"I want to go back..."
You listened to the echo as you went up the spiral stairs.
"I want to go back to when I didn't have to worry so much about my future... but the future is always coming at me, no matter what I do. Please, make it stop... make everything stop..."
The glowing portal indicated that you were at the final hallway. One metal door stood in your way of Emi. This was normally where you would leave and take a break, however...
"Can we go in now?"
Rage had turned around to face you.
"I really think we can get her out of here. That last fight was nothing; at least, the three of us still have some power left. Emi's been gone for days now; we gotta save her this time."
You felt you could still take on a Shadow, but you had to confirm that everyone else way okay. You looked around at everyone's faces; you received a few nods of confirmation, as well as a smile from Yuni and Alice. Knowing they were all right, you stepped toward the door, which slid open automatically.
"Emi!" Rage shouted.
You saw her up ahead, in a near-empty room with machines along the back wall. Emi was working on... that machine from the Midnight Channel! By that time, it was a large, flat machine with physical access to all the wires. You were relieved to see that the real Emi stopped working after hearing her name; her copy was off to the side, working on her own section of the machine.
"Hey, guys!" she said. She seemed oddly happy. You asked her what had been going on for the last few days.
"Oh, has it really been that long? This lady here just told me she needed help with this machine. She says I can use it when it's done." The lady she was referring to was Emi's Shadow from her broadcast, but she had a welding mask on. Emi evidently couldn't tell who the woman was.
"Do you know what that machine does?" Akira asked.
"Um... she just told me it'd make my life easier. It would probably be impressive enough so that I don't need college anymore. I could probably prove I'm good for some kind of job with this instead of a diploma." She walked to the other side of the machine, where her copy was still working. "Hey miss, what does this machine really do?"
"It's here to help you," she said.
She stood up and lifted her mask; she was indeed Emi's Shadow. The original was alarmed.
"H-hey, you look like me, and you sound like me!"
You and your group ran to protect her if you needed to. As fast as you ran, Rage managed to go faster, even with his giant shield.
"You're catching on now," the Shadow congratulated. "You're quite smart when you put your mind to it, aren't you?"
"Um... thank you?"
"That's why you're in college, studying the very thing you hate the most: technology. You can do it; you can be the success your parents always wanted if you just focus on becoming smarter. So why is it such a burden for you to do what you're good at?"
"Be... because-"
"Because you only saw your ability to build robots as a childhood hobby, and you were pushed into making it something you could use in your adult life. All you ever wanted to do was meet people and get along with others, not spend the rest of your life locked in a boring and difficult job. But you're growing up, and you'll have to face the real world on your own in just a few years. And as you age, so will your friends. They'll all leave you for live their own lives, and you'll have to leave them to support yourself."
"Emi," Rage started, "that's not-"
"I know that people leave," she said to her Shadow, seeming to ignore the man. "But... what does that have to do with anything here?"
"You were here this whole time to create a machine for yourself." She pulled a lever, making the machine start up. You gulped, wondering if you should stop that thing or if posing a threat to the Shadow would endanger Emi. "When this machine powers up, time will be frozen. You will stay this way forever."
"Forever...?" She almost sounded relieved.
"You, your friends, and your family will never change, because time will never move forward."
"Wait, so you mean... we'll all be frozen? Nothing can ever happen again?"
"Of course nothing will happen. Any occurrence could alter your future. We can't risk any of that; you want things to stay the way they are, don't you?"
"N-no. I want to make new memories with my friends."
"You know as well as I that memories are forgotten. I don't want people to forget. I don't want people to leave. And I want everything to stay the way it is!"
"Just stop this thing!" Emi said, darting for the lever. Her Shadow grabbed her wrists, and Emi struggled to pull her arms free, kicking her feet against the ground as if trying to run away.
"Don't do this to me," she began to taunt, "I can't deal with the building pressures of growing up. I can't handle the thoughts that haunt me every day about my future. I can't stand to go back to that awful school to meet more people that are just going to leave me!"
"Let me go! I want to save my friends!"
"Who cares about your friends?" she yelled. "You only care about your own happiness! You're just a selfish child who will never grow up! You and I will never face the real world as an adult if we can do anything about it!"
"Maybe you won't, but I-"
"Don't bother lying like that; I know everything about you," the Shadow said through gritted teeth,"or should I say, I know everything about myself."
"H-huh?"
"You and I are the same person, pretending to run away from reality each day. Look at yourself right now; you can't even listen to your own words!"
"You don't," she grunted, still trying to pull away, "you don't know me! You're not me!"
The Shadow's hands released Emi, whose moving feet slid unexpectedly, causing her to fall. She was shaking a bit, probably from fear. The Shadow's spine began to arch back as she chuckled in Emi's usually chipper voice. She emitted a strong dark aura.
"That's mean of you," the Shadow said. "It isn't like you to be rude like that. I'll help you out anyway; I'll make sure you never have to go back to the real world!"
Shadow clouds engulfed her, and the real Emi fainted on the floor. While Devil Zukin rushed into the darkness to pull Emi out of harm's say, you told everyone else to be ready.
The Shadow was an android of some sort, made mainly of blue and silver chrome-like material. She had a clock on her chest, which she protected with her metal hands. She didn't resemble Emi much, besides having what looked like the shape of a white hat on her head. The robot had a feminine build, but its massive size was a threat to you all.
"Well, she's a robot," Rage said. "Akira, it looks like a job for you."
The man gave Rage a questionable look. You didn't stop Akira from trying electricity; the more attacks that your team could test, the more data Zukin and Ouze could gather, and Lu-yan's abilities were great in defeating Paranoia. The dragon appeared and charged a small ball of lightning in front of his chest before launching it at Shadow Emi. The hands of her clock spun rapidly and the Shadow vibrated, but she remained upright.
"Don't do that again," Zukin instructed. "The more electric power she has, the more powerful she will become, and the sooner she will win this battle."
Akira frowned and stepped back. He tried pulling out his gun and shooting at the clock that Shadow Emi protected. You wondered if that was her weak point, and figured you needed to aim your attacks there. Her ability to absorb electricity led you to believe that she would cast spells of said element, so you pulled your Justice partner from your soul.
Sraosha...
The winged guardian excitedly spiraled into the air, having waited so long to be summoned again. He took a moment to charge a Brave Blade attack. As you waited, Rage and Alice tried their elemental moves against Emi. Hael's wind amplified Benkei's fire, but the attack didn't faze the sturdy robot. Beneath the robot's hands, the clock began to tick loudly at each second. The minute hand moved at the speed of a second hand.
"That clock indicates when her next move will be," Zukin said, "when the hands meet, I fear something disastrous will happen."
You felt that Sraosha's immunity to electricity prepared you for anything, but you told everyone they had about thirty more seconds before something would happen. You told everyone that the goal was to get to the clock and destroy it. After your instructions, Tsutomu dashed into the front of the battle and began slashing at Shadow Emi's right hand. Benkei used his brute force to bash the left hand. The giant hands would twitch, but they refused to move from the Shadow's chest. Even with the aid of Maion's almighty spell, the Personas weren't making much progress. With two of them physically combating the Shadow, you were hesitant to rush Sraosha in there, else you would injure one of them.
You had been trying to keep track of time. There were about ten seconds left.
The middle of the clock began to glow. Shadow Emi's impervious arms slowly spread out, surprising the two fighting Personas. They jumped back defensively as the glow became a neon purple. A ring of electricity radiated from the clock and through the Shadow's arms and legs. You looked at the floor and panicked upon noticing that it was made of metal; no standing would be safe.
CRACKLE!
Wildly dancing lightning emitted from Shadow Emi's hands, and a charged wave traveled across the floor and through the air. You were protected by your Persona, but you had to shield your eyes from the bright light. You placed your arm over your face as the room became white for a second; all you could hear were the screams of your teammates and the thundering attack.
As the sounds subsided in a few seconds, you looked around. Akira was fine (likely because he had an electric Persona himself), Zero was all right, Rage and Yuni looked like they were eager to get back into the fight, and Alice...
She had been knocked onto the floor, barely conscious. Why was it that wind and electricity were enemies, anyway...? You rushed to her aid when Maion flew into your way.
"Get the Shadow," you heard Zero yell, "I've got her."
You thanked him, having almost forgotten that this was precisely why you wanted Zero on your team. You were already running out of seconds before her next move, and it seemed that the other Personas weren't making much progress. You had a crazy idea: if Sraosha was immune to electricity, what if you sent him in at the moment of attack? It was the only time Shadow Emi left herself unguarded, and it may have been your only shot. But it would leave you unprotected, and if your Persona did anything less than stop the attack, you would be doomed.
You noticed that the Shadow began to charge energy in the center of her chest. The glow was brighter this time, as if she had more power. Tsutomu darted around the enemy from all different angles in a brief time, like she was a pesky fly. Benkei continued to slowly but harshly strike the Shadow's arm. When Emi's arms began to move, her movements scattered the Personas as before. You sent Sraosha out in the middle.
"Souji!" Zukin yelled. "What are you doing?"
You asked her to trust you. You saw the warrior dive into the bright flash before you blacked out...
-.
"...p yet?"
"Hey, he's-"
"Shh, let him..."
You opened your eyes and saw Yuni, Devil Zukin, and Zero looming over you.
"Thank God!" Yuni said. "We'd be screwed if you didn't wake up!"
"Are you all right?" Zero asked.
"The battle is still going on," Zukin told you. Worried, you instantly sat up to get a look, but your head was spinning. You grabbed your forehead; Yuni's small hands held you up.
"You were able to stop her from casting her electric attacks," she continued. "After the clock broke, your Persona disappeared. I assume that is when you were knocked out. We have been trying to weaken her, yet without a leader, we've only been able to stall the battle. I fear some of us are running out of power."
You looked at Emi's Shadow. The broken clock left a gaping hole in her. If something could attack her from the inside, it may have a greater effect. Knowing Rage, he had probably been using physical attacks and was filled with unused spirit power. You spoke your theories in a weak voice, a bit too tired to shout a command.
"Hey Rage!" Yuni shouted in his direction. "Can you burn her up in that hole?"
"What?" he yelled back. "Benkei, you got that?"
But he couldn't get in. Shadow Emi continued to guard the hole with her large hands, and Benkei couldn't fit through the gaps, nor did he have the strength to pull her arms away..
You saw a flash from inside (it appeared to be Megido), and Shadow Emi threw her arms up out of surprise. Without hesitating, Rage's Persona tore the opening larger before pulling himself inside. You could see a massive fire in her body. She clutched her body in pain, but it only made the burning worse. The heat was so intense that the metal began to melt, and she fell on her knees. The fire stopped as she was falling forward; Benkei jumped out before she crumbled onto the ground.
The noisy battle had come to an end, and you were able to focus again. Devil Zukin helped you to your feet. You congratulated everyone on their efforts, especially during the period you were out of the battle. The next thing that occurred to you was that Emi's Shadow had faded back into her humanlike self. It was time for the original to face herself.
"Hey, you all right?" Rage said off to the side. He had been talking to Emi, who was sitting up.
"I just... what happened?" she asked.
"That's you over there," he answered. "She's your dark side."
"Am I... having a dream... or a nightmare?"
"Nope, this is all real." Rage pinched himself. "Ow. See?"
That didn't prove anything to her...
Emi giggled. "I'll take your word for it. But... why am I over there...?"
You cut Rage off before he confused her further. You simply advised Emi to confront her Shadow -her other self- and accept the other half of her.
Rage pulled her up, and Emi walked to her Shadow on her own, who was standing and waiting patiently for her.
"All those things you said earlier," she began, "all those things about staying a kid forever because you don't want to grow up, and you don't want things to change... you said them all because I never admit stuff like that, huh? I guess that's 'cause I think I sound like a brat when I talk about things I don't like, so I pretended you weren't there... you must've had a hard time being ignored for so long. I'll take you back, and I won't leave you alone anymore, okay?"
Her Shadow smiled, much like the Emi you knew so well. As she rose into the air, Emi reached out for her in a worried manner. The once-threatening Shadow shrank into sparkling blue fairy-like creature, who looked like she was made of sparkling sapphire crystals from where you stood. She faded into a card only a little smaller than her body before Emi carefully caught it as it fell softly into her hands. She pulled the glow into her chest.
You and the others excitedly surrounded her.
"Congrats, Emi!" Rage told her, giving her a pat on the back. "You got a Persona!"
"Huh?" she questioned, confused again. "I thought it was a Shadow."
You could explain that later. For then, you felt you should get out of the television before she began to feel any of this world's side effects. Rage and Yuni stayed by Emi's right and left side respectively, and you went back to the glowing portal in the hallway, leaving this world behind again.
-.
Once Emi was out, she stumbled into her friends' arms for a moment. Rage and Yuni helped her to the couch, where the three of them sat.
"Wow, it's so weird being back here," Emi commented. "Everything's so quiet and... clear."
"You really got used to being in there," Yuni said.
She nodded. "But it's good to be back. I missed you guys. So, wait, what was Rage saying about a Persona?"
"There's uh... a lot more you should know, actually," Rage replied. "Should we just tell her everything about what's been going on?"
You nodded. For hopefully the last time, you told her about the string of kidnappings, and how each time someone was taken into the TV world by who you believed was Pluto, they would face their other self. Upon accepting their side, this new side could become a protector on the other side against Shadows. After learning the true nature of the kidnappings and boss songs from Robert, you hoped that all of you could unite and stop Pluto from capturing more victims and from taking over the human he possessed like Hades nearly did.
It was a long explanation and you could tell she had been distracted for part of it, but her eyes were wide by the end.
"That's crazy!" she said. "And that's what all of you guys have been doing this whole time? I can't believe this! I can help, too, can't I? With my Persona, I can beat Pluto!"
"We will need a day to prepare your glasses," Devil Zukin said. "Konsento and I must construct them to see clearly on the other side."
"And you need a weapon," Rage noted.
And if Pluto was the mastermind behind everything, you wouldn't feel safe unless she had some time to train her Persona before the last battle.
"So... we gotta hold off, I guess," she said, defeated.
"And we must get Pluto to reveal himself before we do anything," Zukin continued.
She was right. The only reason you were able to defeat Paranoia was because Robert willingly went into the other side, giving Paranoia power. Perhaps if you took his father in there, Pluto would come out. That sort of forced battle would have to wait until everyone was ready. You would spend about a week training and allowing Emi to fully recover before you would purposely fight Pluto.