"Welcome back."

Your vision was blurry after you opened your eyes, but you instantly recognized the voice of Igor. Were you still alive...?

"Do not be alarmed. Your body is in an unconscious state. Fortunately, I can still summon you in spirit."

He waited for you to focus; it took you a few seconds before you were able to see straight. Even in this form, you could feel lingering pains from the shadow's attack, likely because it was still fresh in your memory.

"Know that as bad as this looks, your journey is not over," he began. "You are reaching the final stages of this battle. I suppose you would like the assistance of an old friend of yours, wouldn't you?"

You didn't speak aloud, but your lips mouthed a name.

Izanagi...

The last Persona that you could remember from Inaba formed in your mind. Your soul welcomed Izanagi no Okami back; you and he were one once again.

"Your allies have been getting stronger; it wouldn't make sense for you to be behind them, would it? This Persona wishes to aid you in your time of need.

"The last thing I can say is a word of advice: sometimes the greatest tactics are based purely on your instincts. This is the last time I can help you before the end. But if you make it to the end, I will meet you there. Until then, farewell."

Your vision became cloudy again; you were returning back to your real body...

-.

Your body hurt immensely. You didn't have any open wounds, but you felt like you were covered in bruises. As you remembered how badly constricted you had been, the pain worsened. Only after you took a second to lament over your pain did you realize you were locked in an uncomfortably hot prison cell. You tried to push yourself up, but your weak arms and legs couldn't support you, and you fell shortly onto the ground. You crawled to your right and used the wall as a support to get up a second time, but more slowly. You leaned against the wall as you walked to the bars to see just where you were.

The rest of the prison was cloudy, as if some sort of smog existed everywhere. No... it wasn't smog, it was static. You... were in the TV world alone! How would anyone come in without you?

You had to get out of there. You had no weapons, but you did have your Personas at your arsenal. At least one of them could get you through the bars. To ration your dwindling power, you decided not to use Izanagi no Okami right away.

Loki!

His powers were strong enough so that a small Bufu move could theoretically do the trick. He blasted a wave of ice at the bars that broke and faded into mist. But when the mist cleared, the bars were still there. Ice was probably not a wise choice for metal bars; you decided to try someone else.

Mada!

You wanted the magician's firepower to melt the bars. Not holding back, you commanded him to use Agidyne on the barrier. The fire cleared, and the bars looked unaffected. Perhaps they weren't constructed from metal after all... so if you used electricity, you should probably be unharmed.

Odin!

You rashly had him cast Ziodyne, hoping you could tell something different about the bars this time. Still, there was no scratch.

Norn!

Garudyne's winds failed to rip or bend the bars in any direction.

Futsunushi!

The violent sword slashes reflected off of the invincible material.

Exhausted from using power, you decided to give up. You fell back to the ground; you would need to try and rest before you could do anything else. The static around you gave you a headache, and the heat made you dizzy, so you closed your eyes and tried to ignore it. The static monotonously resonated through your ears, making you drowsy. Come to think of it, you weren't sure if your body had rested at all while you were unconscious. You wanted to come up with a plan, but somewhere in your thoughts, you fell asleep...

-.

Click.

Bang!

You were startled by the sounds of clanking metal. Your eyes nearly opened, but your tired eyelids wouldn't allow it just yet.

"Souji! Are you okay?"

Emi's voice...? You wondered if it was a dream...

"All right, we found him!"

Why would you dream about Rage, though...?

"Here, give him these."

Akira...? You tried to open your eyes, but the world around you seemed so bright after that nap you tried to take. Someone lifted you into a sitting position, and someone else put glasses onto your face. You blinked a couple times before you looked forward to see Emi staring at you; hands around your head.

"You're okay!" she said. "Thank goodness."

You rubbed your shoulder, having slept on the hard floor for probably an hour or so, and looked behind you to see Akira. He, Emi, Rage, Yuni, Zero, Alice, and Devil Zukin had all come to get you.

But how? How did they manage to get in here?

"You got the power to get in the TV, right?" Rage asked.

"Your ability probably allows you to go in any sort of television," Devil Zukin began, "but as for Pluto and Hades... that is likely because any song can get into this world."

Did that mean... she got them in there?

"It seems so," she smiled. "It was the only chance we had at getting in here, so we gave it a try."

Zero stepped forward and knelt before you. "You've been using your powers, haven't you?" He must've been able to tell that your health was weak. His new, blindingly bright Persona descended from above and showered you in light, not having to touch you at all.

You felt a cool wave through your body, replenishing your energy and enabling you to stand again. You rotated your shoulder and stretched your arms. As quickly as the healing spell moved through you, the heat came back afterward. You looked around, wondering what kind of dungeon you were in. You stepped out of your cell and noticed that there had been a lock outside with a key in it; the others must have found the key and opened the door when they got there. It seemed there was no way to break the cell open otherwise.

You couldn't ignore the heat wave that surrounded you. It felt as if you were in a burning building, but you couldn't see any flames. There was an open door that let to an orange environment, likely where the heat was coming from.

"We came in from there," Emi started. "There's lots of stuff on fire."

"But Emi's Persona was great at putting them out," Rage commented.

Should you assume that it was best to leave the way they came? Could Devil Zukin sense anything?

"I know Pluto is here," she said. "Hecate can hear him, but his sound is very distant. I know that we need to go back through that area, but we will not make it to our enemy for a while."

You nodded. You were unsure if they wanted you as their leader again, seeing as they seemed to do fine without you...

"What are you talking about?" Yuni said. "If it weren't for Zukin, these men would've gotten us lost. Please help us out again!"

"You can't be talking about me," Rage argued. "It was Zero's idea to go through that dead-end cave."

"I didn't want to die from that fire power you pointlessly unleashed at the fire monsters," Zero defended.

"That wasn't me, that was um..."

"I'm sorry!" Alice whimpered, "I won't use win again, I promise!"

"It's okay, it's okay."

All right, then. You reclaimed your spot as the leader. Akira gave you your sword, and you prepared Loki in your mind to fare against the fire monsters that waited for everyone on the other side of that doorway. You asked Zukin if she could assist you in leading the way, to which she silently agreed before stepping by your side.

All together, you were ready for your last journey.

-.

You were ultimately confused. You weren't running through a room, but rather a world made of stones and fire, like the inside of a volcano. Seemingly harmless rocks would rise from the ground as monsters. You were well-guarded by your allies, but most of the credit had to be given to Emi and Selkie, who were finally able to use new moves together.

"Use Mabufula!"

Ice blocks formed around the walking rocks; they cracked and melted at the same time. You told Emi that she didn't have to push herself so much; as long as the monsters were weak to her element, they would retreat long enough to get everyone through. Still, you continued to freeze your way through the area with Loki's mere Mabufu ability to assure that she didn't have too many Shadows to fight alone.

Fires repeatedly rose from the cracks in the ground; you knew this when rocks vibrated beneath your feet. You knew the dungeons represented each person, and you wondered if these fires were some sort of hell created by Pluto. If he was related at all to Hades, it would make sense...

"Aahh!"

The flaming geysers were becoming more frequent, and the usually graceful Yuni had stumbled backward when a rock shot up next to her foot. You instructed everyone to come closer together; somewhere in your pondering, your team had split up unintentionally. You frantically looked around for the others; you could see Yuni and Zukin close behind you. Akira was a few meters back, trying to catch up. You could see mist behind them from Emi's ice; while her efforts to douse fires were effective, the mist made it impossible for you to find the rest of your team. You stopped, hoping they would catch up.

Emi arrived. You asked if she knew the whereabouts of the others.

"They're all back there?" she asked worriedly. She looked back. She began to step back into the flames and mist, but was stopped when a burning Shadow rose from beneath a layer of rocks and blocked her path.

"Rage! Alice! Zero, can you hear me? Akira!" She continued to scream, even as the Shadow's flames rose. You told her to get out of the way, or she would get hurt.

"No! I have to get them back! I have to!" You could see Selkie materialize behind her; the Persona's body glowed a neon blue.

"Bring them back!"

A powerful pulse of ice spread across the ground, even hitting you. You felt a sharp chill on your feet as a sheet of ice covered your shoes just before melting into water. The powerful Bufu spell destroyed all of the monsters and geysers in a large radius, though you could still hear fire in the distance. Nevertheless, the area around you was cooler (which wasn't actually saying much); as the mist began to clear, you could see your missing teammates running to you.

You saw Emi kneel to the ground; she must've exhausted herself. You knelt behind her and tried placed your hands on her shoulders, asking if she was okay.

"Y-yeah, I'm all right," she answered shakily.

"Damn it, Emi," Rage scolded, "you've been doing this since we first got in here. You gotta hold back more. Zero can't give you that magic kind of power back."

"Oh, heh... sorry."

"You may feel dizzy," Zero began, "but your physical stamina is fine. You're probably low on the power to use spells."

You helped her up, although she didn't seem like she needed your help. When you were sure she was stable, you declared that you should all rush forward before the Shadows came back.

"It seems Emi's power opened up a new path," Zukin said. You looked her way and then turned to the direction she was looking. There, you could see a cave with embers circling the entrance. Perhaps it had been blocked by fire just beforehand. You hesitantly stepped closer to the hole, believing that everyone else would follow you. As you walked through the path inside, it quickly became so dark that it was impossible to see.

"Hey, I got this," Rage declared. "Everyone, stand back."

"How?" Yuni argued. "I don't even know where you are."

You heard Rage hit someone.

"That wasn't me."

"Who'd I hit?"

You heard Zero grumble.

"Oh, sorry."

The way his voice echoed made it impossible to determine how far away from him you were. You proposed that everyone split up until no one was within arms' reach of each other.

"I think everybody got back," Rage started. "All right, time for Hidesato to show off!"

He shouldn't show off too much; all you needed was a little light.

The Persona materialized, glowing with embers. He didn't need any additional Agi spells to make everything visible. The cave looked linear; you were relieved to avoid exploring an impossible maze. Everyone gathered around Hidesato, and once you regrouped, you asked Rage to lead the way. He agreed and walked in front of you.

-.

Minutes later, quite long after the entrance disappeared from your sight, you had come out of some sort of crater in a hill. You and Rage carefully stepped out before running down the steep surface, while the others did the same behind you two. You were in a rough, rocky world, mainly filled with smoke. The atmosphere had cooled off considerably; it was only about as warm as a humid summer afternoon, even though the sun in the sky was absent. With no fires in sight, you had no idea where the smoke was coming from, but it was difficult to breathe.

Whoosh!

A large, strong wind cleared the smoke. You could then see that you were in some sort of crackled desert. It didn't look like there was a right way to go. You turned back and saw the other behind you, as well as Alice's Persona in the air. You thanked her for her help.

"It was kind of stuffy, s-so I hope it helped," she said.

You reminded everyone to stay close. You summoned Norn by your side to continue to blow away the thick air as you continued forward, trying not to go in any sort of circle. Why was this so different from the previous world...? Where was Pluto hiding?

"There is a path below us," Zukin stated. "Hecate can see monsters below, but they cannot come up."

"That's kinda pointless," Rage mumbled. "Unless they expect us to come down there."

That was probably the case. You couldn't see anything of interest in front of you, making it frustrating to find some way to get beneath the surface of this world. You trudged through the hot world, slowly so as not to miss anything. As you kept going, you wondered if you were even traveling in a straight line...

The ground began to vibrate. Did you find the entrance?

From the crackled soil rose a monster, just where you stood. You jumped back, pulled out your sword, and tried to strike it, but you couldn't put a dent in its skin. You asked your allies to try their powers while you ran to the back of your group.

Just after you finished your command, you saw a dark aura encircle the rising, bulky humanoid being made entirely of the terrain. You could see into its empty eyes once the black smoke vanished, having no effect.

"Shoot," Yuni pouted.

Akira stepped in front of her and called Goujiu's electric powers, offering only a little of what power he had. A wise choice, you thought, considering the sparks did nothing to effect it either.

It was essentially a walking rock, so you suggested that Emi try her ice moves.

"Okay. Selkie, come help!" she shouted, knifing her Persona's card. Selkie cast an ice spell that froze your opponent from its core. The water froze and, upon expanding inside it, caused it to burst into pieces.

"Yay!"

You were happy for her... until you heard Zukin gasp.

"No," she mumbled.

You looked at its remains; each rock that fell was like a seed, and from the rocks sprouted more monsters from the ground. Having gone through several elements now, your mind scrambled for a solution, as the monsters began to spread and surround your group, although at a very slow pace.

Peering at their feet, you noticed they left new rocky crater in the surface. They had to spawn from the terrain... therefore, if enough of them rose from one spot, they could possibly open a hole that you could go through.

"Are you sure?" Yuni asked. "We might just be asking for trouble!"

You asked your teammates to do their best to herd them into the dip. Your group proceeded to attack by physical means, angering the ground demons. Emi would use her small Bufu spells to kill the ones that were deepest in the hole. Sure enough, the crater became deeper, but the monsters exponentially increased in numbers. Their only means of offense were their heavy hammer-shaped limbs; their poor speed was nothing to handle until large monsters towered over you. You had so many after you that their strikes became nonstop; your only hope was that Futsunushi would be able to protect you.

Crackle...

You glanced to the sound's source.

"Guys, I think I got it!"

Emi and the rock monsters must have broken through the surface. It was difficult for you to navigate your way to her, and you assumed the others were having a problem as well. You shouted your command: Emi will mass destroy all the monsters, and you would all rush into the hole before they had time to spawn.

"Uh, all right," the girl said nervously. "Everybody ready?"

"Get 'em!" Rage yelled.

In seconds, rocks were flying in every direction. Mist from the ice clouded your vision, until Alice blew everything away with Amitiel's aid. You knew where Emi was, and ran in that direction. She wasn't there, but she had probably already gone down the hole. You shouted at everyone to follow you, mainly so that they could hear your voice and find their way. As you ran, you slipped in the steep crater and slid into the dark hole.

After falling on the ground, Emi pulled you up. It took some time to focus in the dark, but there were glowing rocks around you. Rage, Yuni, Akira, Zero, Alice, and finally Devil Zukin found you shortly afterward. Several monsters should've fallen with Emi, though. You asked her what happened to them.

"Oh, see," she began, kicking the floor. "We're not on the planet's surface anymore, so I blew them up again. They can't come back once they're down here."

You smiled and thanked her for being of such help. But this was the second time she had saved your team... was she all right?

"I feel all right," she said. "How about you guys? Did they hurt you?"

There were a number of groans from the rest of your group.

"We didn't have much of a way to defend ourselves," Akira commented.

Rings of light appeared and orbited your teammates, one at a time, and all of the lights faded as they restored your stamina. You saw Zero's Persona for a second, majestically holding its sword like a staff, before the angel hid back inside Zero.

"Does that thing have a name?" Rage asked.

"Raziel," Zero responded. "Does it matter?"

Rage grumbled. "Just a question. So... what's ahead?"

You reminded him that the Shadows Zukin detected earlier were likely at your level. You didn't feel safe in the dim light and asked Rage to light the cave as before. He agreed and, with excess vigor, summoned his card and slammed it open to bring Hidesato back. Regardless of his aid, you knew that your other teammates could probably still see, and you ordered Yuni and Akira to be at the back, knowing that Goujiu's electricity could briefly light the way and that he worked well with Yuni.

Meanwhile, you and Rage followed the linear hallway. Although Hidesato's excess heat kept your left side too warm for your liking, the rest of your body could feel that the air below the surface was getting cooler. You wondered how different your other teammates felt, but it didn't seem problematic. Rather, what did this signify? You began in a hellish burning zone and you eventually wound up in a dark, cool cave.

You began to mumble aloud... it was as if you were distancing yourself from the sun.

"Huh?" Emi asked. "What do you mean?"

"I think I understand," Akira began. "Perhaps that's Souji's explanation for the changes in scenery in Pluto's world."

You heard a few "mms" and "ahhs," none of which seemed very enthused. Were they tired or uninterested...?

Concentrating again on what was in front of you, you saw a shadow in the distance. It seemed very small but fast. You couldn't quite make out its shape.

"Aha!" Rage exclaimed, voice echoing. "We found something!" He grabbed his shield and ran forward with Hidesato, taking the Persona's light with him. You called for him to stop, and he slid to a halt; he quickly stepped back, off balance, as if he was afraid to go forward all of a sudden. The rest of you caught up to him and noticed that he stopped at a staircase.

You stared at green, ghost-like Shadows, armored in crystalline armor... and the nearest ones stared back at you.

In few seconds, they floated up the stairs and charged for your group, carrying their own weapons made out of a cross between diamond and ice. You heard your allies scatter, but you courageously pulled out your sword and fought back, though inside you were scrambling to come up with directions. You knew nothing about their strengths and weaknesses, or if they had any at all. You asked your right-hand comrade if his fire could do anything to them.

"Trying," you heard him yell from behind you. A flash of hot fire later, he continued. "It's doing something, should I keep, agh, doing it?"

Everyone should try their elements at least once. Each of them had their own spells, essentially they filled the entire spectrum of elements. You felt it was unfair for you to save your spirit power while they used theirs, but you wanted to make sure you had all the power you could for your secret weapon in the end...

"Their bodies quickly burn from the fire," Zukin commented.

"That's all I need to know," Rage said.

"Everybody look out!" Yuni shouted.

Quickly, you plummeted to the floor, expecting Rage's flames to spread around you. The room's temperature skyrocketed, and you could hear your opponents singing instantly into ashes. You heard Rage yell in surprise, but you didn't worry too much, for he likely had an immunity to fire. You waited for the light of the flames to dim before you rolled on your back and watched the remaining Shadows burn away.

"That was crazy!" Rage exclaimed. "The fire got bigger even after Hidesato stopped! I didn't hurt anyone, did I?"

"We're okay," Emi answered on behalf of everyone. You saw the others rise from lying positions much like yours; had it not been for your practices beforehand, your teammates may not have known the drill for Rage's fire.

Once you stood, you began to quickly step down the stairs. Rage and the others followed close behind you.

Slow, strong guard Shadows lined the path. As Rage incinerated them without thinking, you reached in your soul for the shining card of your Persona Mada. Before casting anything, you asked Alice to assist you two men. Rage stopped burning the room so that Alice could catch up to you. You grabbed onto her small, soft wrist so that you wouldn't lose her and kept running down the hallway. You and Alice worked in sync; once you noticed a guard, the two of you would cast Agi and Garu simultaneously. Rage fell back after a minute or so; you believed he had exhausted his spirit power.

You noticed that the enemies were falling faster than you expected. That was likely because... you were out of them. You destroyed about seven or so rocks of ice that you'd confused for armor before you noticed that the ice pieces had no owners. You released Alice's wrist, and she stayed by your side. You slowed your pace so the others could catch up. The only sounds louder than your racing heartbeat were the other teammates gasping for breath; soon enough, you found a door that looked camouflaged at a dead end in the rocky cave.

After taking a moment to search for a doorknob that didn't exist, you cautiously pushed open the door, although you felt temporarily safe as long as Zukin didn't sense any enemies. On the other side, it looked as if the cave had broken into the air. You had a path laid out for your team made of a bridge of rocks bound together with icy crystals. The bridge floated in an empty space with scattered tiny stars and a light at the end. It was the only direction you could go in. Having no other choice, you slowly kept going forward.

In the dim glow of the stars, you could see your breath form into white mist. You looked behind you; it was the same for everyone. It couldn't have been that cold; even as your heart rate began to slow down, you weren't freezing at all.

"This must be a distorted reality," Devil Zukin said. "The ice around us is about as effective as the fire on the sun."

It made sense to you, as opposed to a normal person who wouldn't understand how any of you could walk out of the TV world alive. You weren't protected, however, from the slippery ground. You kept going slowly, successfully avoiding any falls. You swore you heard Rage and Emi yelp a few times just before a few loud stomps, but your other teammates remained silent. You, once again, asked how their condition was.

"That last rush kinda took a lot out of me," Rage answered in between breaths.

"Same here," Yuni said. "Kishijoten got through a lot, but it cost a lot of power."

"You should fall back a bit more," Akira told her.

"He's right," Emi agreed. "We were all there to help."

"I couldn't let you do it," Yuni protested. "After all you did in the beginning. You were pretty amazing."

As for the other two?

"I'm fine," Alice said quickly.

Was she really? After all you had asked of her minutes ago?

She nodded. "I didn't use up a lot of energy, and you helped a lot."

Zero waited a few seconds before chiming in. "Don't worry about me," he mumbled.

You looked back to see if you could see any sign of exhaustion. Neither his voice nor his face showed anything.

"I feel"... that he is very close."

You turned your attention to Devil Zukin, as did everyone else.

"These are likely the last few steps before we reach Pluto. Do not take Souji's concern lightly."

"No sweat," Rage declared. "As long as all of us are teamed up, there's nothing we can't handle."

"Besides," Zero muttered, "we couldn't turn back if we wanted to."

He pointed ahead of you. There was a door in front of you, and nothing but a door. In other dungeons, you had that small portal so that you could leave and rest, but it was obviously no where to be seen. You felt tense, having finally reached the last battle. You trembled a little… but not because you were nervous. You finally felt the cold around you; a draft seeped through the glowing cracks of the door.

"So? You ready, buddy?" Rage asked. "We're right behind you."

You turned back and smiled, and you declared that it was time to go in.

(And sadly, the exploration was the easy part to write.)