IMPORTANT: I still need a name for the Protagonist. Please leave a suggestion in a review, it would help a lot.

-Purple

"What's the meaning of this?" I asked as I stood up, trying to remain as calm as I possibly could with an identical doppelganger of myself standing in front of me. I felt my heartbeat quicken and I readied myself for any possible scenario that could come into play. All I could think of was the group of students I had been observing. Hopefully they had discovered I was missing. I hoped to God that they would find me here, though after the last three murder attempts had failed, I had faith that they would do whatever they did to the others in order to save them. "Who are you?" I asked.

"Weren't you listening?" the doppelganger said in her ominous voice, "My name is Naoto Shirogane."

"Cut the crap," I snapped, "Who are you and why are you dressed like me? Do you think this is some sort of game?"

"I don't know," said the doppelganger, "You tell me. Obviously you know that for yourself. Is this one of your little games? I'd love to partake in it, if so... I do love games."

"Shut up," I said loudly, my voice echoing throughout the room, "Tell me what's going on. What is this place, and why was I taken here?"

"Oh, you should know this place," the doppelganger said, beginning to walk around me, "You've visited it so many times. Don't you remember?"

"I've never visited this place in my life."

"Is that so?" the doppelganger laughed. "You should know this place better than anyone. After all, this is your Secret Base."

"Secret... Base?" I said, confused.

"Of course," the doppelganger said, a devilish grin forming under the eerie golden eyes it bore, "You created this place, did you not?"

"Stop speaking in these childish riddles," I demanded, growing annoyed.

"But it's that simple," she said, "I promise you, it's that simple. This place is a manifestation of your own thoughts and feelings, after all."

"What are you saying...?" I asked.

"You come here very often, as I said. This is where you hide, deep within yourself, from other people. Don't you know that, Naoto? You've always hidden in a place like this. It's an industrial paradise for you, where you can just sit here and solve your own little cases, without anyone to bother you."

"What...?" I said, wrinkling my nose, "That's not how I think. You've got it all wrong." I sighed. "I don't know why I'm here or what that culprit is planning to do with me, but I don't have time for a child like you. I need to go investigate." I turned to leave.

"Wait!" the doppelganger suddenly cried out. I stopped, surprised. The cry had been unlike any that I would ever dare to let escape from my mouth. It was a whine, like that of an ignorant child. It disgusted me, hearing it come from my own voice. "I don't want you to leave," she said, "Please don't leave?"

"Why the sudden change in attitude?" I said, turning around to face her, "And for God's sake, stop acting so damn childish. It's sickening, really.

"You think I'm sickening...?" the doppelganger said, sounding heartbroken, as if she were about to cry. "I just don't want to be left alone... Please, don't leave me alone. I waited forever for you to wake up, and I don't want to stand another second alone!"

"Ugh," I scoffed, "You are so annoying."

"The loneliness hurts," she continued, holding her head in her hands, which were covered by the enormous sleeves of her lab coat. "It burns and it eats away at me from the inside... I don't know how much longer I can stand being so alone!"

"This is growing tiresome," I said, shrugging her off, "And it's insulting, frankly, seeing someone with my own face acting the polar opposite of me. I'm going to try to find a way out of here."

"Oh, you know you can't," the doppelganger cried, "You won't find a way out of here... But then you won't come back either! No one ever comes back... No one ever stays by me!"

That phrase stung in my heart. She continued. "That dream you had while you were passed out. It was a flashback, was it not?"

I was surprised out of my wit. How would she have known what I had dreamt about? "Yes, it was."

"What ever happened to that old house, or Ms. Nomura, or your grandfather's dog, for that matter?"

It pained me slightly to think about it. "The bloodhound died, my grandfather got transferred to another station, so we moved, and Ms. Nomura got a higher-paying job in Tokyo. She moved on. Everything moved on. Everything always moves on, even more so in the life of a detective."

"You would know that so well..." the doppelganger's voice hissed painfully. "Please, don't move on yourself... You know how painful it is to be cast aside, so why would you do the same to me?!"

Umcomfortably, I began to edge away despite her desperate and childish cries, when suddenly, the big, round, industrial metal door leading into the room hissed and clanged as it opened up, and a group of people ran in. I heard a familiar voice cry my name. "Naoto!" When I looked to see who was entering the room, my heart softened in relief and I grinned. The group of students I had been observing had indeed come. There before me were Yukiko Amagi, Kanji Tatsumi, and Rise Kujikawa, along with the others who I had met during the school trip, Yosuke, Chie, and the small, blonde boy named Teddie... Who, for whatever reason, was wearing the mascot suit he had always carried around, and who was leading them but the peculiar silver-haired transfer student whose name always slipped my mind. I'd had faith that they would show up.

"Ah, it's about time you arrived," I said calmly, "Dealing with this child has been quite a pain." I casually walked toward them. If that was it, then I was ready to go.

"No!" the doppelganger burst into tears as I walked away, "No, no! Don't go!"

I turned and faced her. "It's useless speaking with you. I need to go back now..."

"Why?" she wailed, "Why are you leaving me here!? Why am I always left alone!?" She sobbed, tears streaming from her eyes. "It's so lonely... I don't wanna be alone!"

My heart was sore with a gnawing pain as I looked back at this other me. I almost felt sorry for her, yet every inch of her and every word she said was revolting to me, as well as insulting. "Naoto-kun..." a soft voice came from behind me. It was Yukiko Amagi. Her face seemed sympathetic, as if she thought these were my real thoughts. She was wrong. This was not me. It was a fraud, and I had to make them aware of that.

"You wear the same face as me..." I said to my doppelganger, "It's as if you're implying we're one and the same." I gritted my teeth in frustration. "But the difference between me and you is..."

The doppelganger suddenly dropped her arms and looked at me with a malicious expression. "Why delude yourself? I am you." My eyes widened a bit, and my palms began to sweat, but I had to remain calm. "These childish gestures are no mere affectation... They're the truth. The fools all say it, don't they...? 'You're only a child,' 'Keep out of our business, kid,' and so forth. No matter how many cases you spend hours cogitating over, no matter how many crimes you solve, you're a child in their eyes. It's your brain they're interested in, the grey matter locked up in that skull. As long as they need it, you're an ace detective, but once they're done, it's back to the playpen with you. You haven't the means to deal with society's two-faced nature... You're just a lonely child."

How dare she say that about me!? What did she know about me!? I curled my fingers into fists unknowingly, and my heart raced inside me. "Naoto..." Another voice, the voice of Yosuke, spoke from behind me. What, did he feel sorry for me as well? I wasn't asking for their pity! This wasn't me! How dare they make such assumptions!

"I wanna be a grown-up," my doppelganger wailed again, rubbing her eyes like some kind of toddler, "I wanna be a big boy right now... Then they'll see who I am... I... I want a reason for me to stay..."

"That's enough," I snapped, growing angry, "I can find my own reason for living..."

"Hah," the other me said, growing serious yet again, "I'm telling you, that's impossible. You are but a child. How can you change that essential truth?"

Everything was happening so quickly. I was infuriated. I needed to stop this person, whoever they were, before they revealed what would ruin my life as a detective, forever. I couldn't let that one fact slip from their mouth. I was desperate to stop that from happening. "S-stop it...!"

She continued regardless of my plea. "At your core, you admire the sort of 'strong' and 'cool' men who populate detective fiction. But in trying to emulate them, you must know that you're nothing of the sort-you're a child. There's no avoiding first principles... Admit that you're a child, and admit that there's nothing you can do about it. Now then! Our analysis is complete. Let us begin the body alteration procedure. You have no objections, do you... 'Naoto' Shirogane?"

I was outraged. Why wouldn't she stop spewing all this hot air!? "Stop it!"

"'Naoto'... Such a cool, manly name!" said the doppelganger. "But a name doesn't change the truth. It doesn't let you cross the barrier between the sexes. How could you become an ideal man when you were never male to begin with...?"

I stood there, my eyes wide, in shock. I didn't know what to do. It was out. It had come out.

Shit.

Everyone in the room suddenly bore a look of shock almost similar to mine. Yosuke's voice stuttered out in surprise. "Wait, what...? Did he... Did I hear that right!?"

Kanji seemed especially stunned. "H-he's not a guy!?"

My breathing was rapid, and I felt somewhat faint. "I won't throw a tantrum... That accomplishes nothing...!"

The doppelganger chuckled. "Hahahaha! How often I've heard those words from the adults. 'Throwing a tantrum won't solve anything, Naoto-kun,' and other such bilge! They made you cry, didn't they? Yet here you are, mimicking those same men. What exactly are you trying to justify?"

I was speechless. "What...?"

"It's all right. You needn't suffer anymore. That's why you're undergoing this body alteration procedure to begin with. You throw a tantrum, but it fails to change the situation a single bit... I can quite understand the feeling. After all... I am you."

"That's not true!" I cried at the top of my lungs. I couldn't take this anymore.

"Don't say it!" Chie cried from behind me.

"It's okay," said Kanji, "Let the kid spill the whole thing. If not, Naoto's just gonna keep hurting... We'll just do our job and kick the Shadow's ass, yeah?"

Shadow? What in the world were they talking about? Were they still on that "Defeating shadows with our Personas" talk again? ...But then again, now that I had come here, it wasn't sounding so farfetched.

My doppelganger chuckled darkly again. "Ahahahaha! As if you know anything about me! You'll kick my ass, huh? Fine, go ahead and try, you lizard-brained imbecile!"

I stood back in terror, and before me, something began to happen to the doppelganger. Black smoke began to rise from it, and soon, the entire shape of it was gone, enveloped in shadow. Was everything they had said back at Port Island... True...? I was terrified, and had no idea what would possibly happen, but the others seemed calm, even fired up.

"Save the discussion for later!" Yosuke piped up. The group of students readied themselves, as if a battle was about to take place. I could only watch, not knowing what to do for once in my life.

"Here it comes!" Rise said. Here what comes!? What was about to happen!?

I was then answered, as the shadows enveloping my doppelganger surged outward in an array of overwhelming darkness, and I was knocked to the ground. I blacked out, but I wasn't fully unconscious. I was on my hands and knees and everything before me was going blurry. When I came to my senses and looked up, what I saw stunned me more than anything I had seen that day. My doppelganger now appeared to be a giant, robotic version of myself. Half of it was dressed in the same clothes I was wearing, but the other half was completely metallic and covered in all kinds of buttons and mechanisms. It wielded what looked like two large laser guns, which resembled the ideal toys of a small child. From its back, two airplane-like wings protruded, as well as jets, which propelled it into the air. Its empty, golden eyes bore an expression of wrath and hatred. I was scared stiff, not only by this giant metal beast, but by myself as well, and everything it had said. I couldn't remember a time I had been this scared, and I was completely petrified, unable to move, speak, or even think straight. The other students, on the other hand, seemed completely prepared. They each took fighting stances, as if they had done this many times before, which they probably had.

Without warning, I felt two metal clamps fasten around my shoulders, and I was suddenly carried into the air, and then placed on the cold, hard, metal surgical table in the center of the room. More metal clamps secured my arms and legs to the table, so that I could not escape. Now, I uderstood what this "Shadow" wanted from me. It wanted to do what I had claimed myself to desire most: It wanted to change me into a male.

I struggled with what feeble strength remained in my body, letting out a weak squeal for help. I must have looked so helpless... But this time, I had to admit that I actually was helpless. I couldn't do this on my own. If the others didn't do something, I was going to die here. This doppelganger clearly wasn't in their right mind, and I didn't trust them at all with any type of "surgery," even if I had approved of it.

"I am a shadow..." the monster said, "The true self..." It turned to the others, who were ready to fight. "What? Are you sick of yourselves too? Very well... Then let's begin the special operation!" I raised its mechanical limbs, preparing its toy-like weapons.

"Bring it on, man..." Kanji said, "I'll pull you through this!"

Teddie stepped back a bit. "O-operation!? I hate ouchies!"

Normally, I would have thought of that as a pitiful thing to say, but at the moment, I was desperate. One by one, the "surgical tools" around me began to turn on, slowly moving out of their positions and toward me.

"Have you made up your mind?" the doppelganger said, "Then let us commence!"