Whatever Dojima had been thinking, he didn't get a chance to respond. The body tensed up for a moment, forcing itself to take another breath, and then fell limp. The gun clattered to the floor in front of Yu. He didn't look. He couldn't.

"Everyone, behind me!"

Naoto's voice felt distant, but it was just enough to force him back to reality. He tugged his attention away, looking at the gun he'd been offered, grabbing it, and then looking at Naoto. She, along with the others, had stood up by now. Her revolver was aimed at the man in the doorway.

Resolute in the decision she'd made, she fired six shots at the masked man. As she backed up, reloading, the rest of the team did too. It didn't take her long to realize that it wasn't doing much to deter him.

The man didn't even react. No grunts of pain,no jerking body motions,not even blood exploted out of his body. It was just oozing out,like blood would come out of a corpse. He got closer and closer.

Naoto's eyes widened, just for a moment, before her face hardened. She couldn't let herself be distracted. She had to think fast.

"W-What the hell is that thing?!" Kanji asked, sounding aggressive, despite the shock carved into his expression.

"Is it a Shadow?" Rise questioned, panicking. She couldn't tell without her Persona, but nothing else could take six bullets and keep walking like that.

"Run!" Naoto yelled.

Her solution wasn't one she liked, but it was the only one she could think of. They couldn't summon their Personas outside of the TV World, which meant they only had their pre-existing abilities. Clearly, that wouldn't be enough to take down this thing, whatever it was.

"Hanamura-senpai, get your parents! Go through a window on the second floor!" she commanded. Yosuke's parents had headed upstairs, if she recalled, and Yosuke's nod confirmed that.

"Y-Yeah, right!" he agreed.

It took him a second to formulate an escape plan. He bounced back and forth for a good few moments, as the killer advanced, before dodging off to one side and racing up the stairs.

It was then that Teddie chose to emerge from the kitchen. He'd heard the screaming, and for the most part, had assumed that it was all just reactions to the movie. Even he was smart enough to tell now that wasn't the case.

"He-e-ey, what's- D-Dojima??" he shouted, as his eyes swept over the corpse. His hands began to quiver, as he looked back at the masked man, and glared. He hopped out of the room, and into the hall, "Y-You stop right there!!"

"Teddie, hurry! Out the back door!" Yukiko urged, as the group backed away from the oncoming threat. Teddie looked up at Yukiko, bewildered.

"Huh?! We can't just leave-"

"He's gone," Yu interrupted, surprisingly calm in tone, for the situation at hand.

The team glanced towards Yu as he spoke, most of them continuing to back up. Rise stopped, leaning down a bit to grab Yu's hand.

"Senpai, come on! There's nothing you can do..!" she insisted.

Yu looked up, staring at Rise for a moment, then stood up. It wasn't like he wanted to die here. He had to save Nanako, his friends, and the rest of this town. "Let's go!"

Chie snatched Yukiko's hand, dragging her towards the back door. The rest of the team followed quickly.

The door slammed open, revealing the cool night outside. The sound of children laughing was distant, but still present. Otherwise, it was quiet.

"Where's Yosuke?" Chie asked the open air.

Her answer came a moment later, in the form of a shouting Hanamura falling from the overhanging roof. He landed with a hard *thud, groaning in pain.

"Okay, okay- Mom, Dad, hurry it up!" he shouted to the window.

"We're coming!" his mother called back, staring out the window in a fashion that implied she wasn't particularly eager to exit through it.

"You had to be down here yesterday, there's a frigging killer in there!! Hurry it up!!!" he continued yelling, cupping his hands to his cheeks.

Naoto trained her gun on the doorway once more, as the team out distance between themselves and the exit. She already knew that it would do next to nothing, but she had to try.

The words caught in Yosuke's throat. His mother screamed above, as blood splattered against the window. His mouth moved, trying to form words, and failing. This had to be a joke. This had to all be a big joke. It wouldn't be fair otherwise.

"No, no-no-no-" he mumbled, his tone quickly growing louder, "-Th-This is a joke, this a sick goddamn joke-"

As if on cue, his mother slumped onto the ground next to them. Teddie shrieked, lurching away from the scene. Blood gurgled out of the woman's neck, as she spent her last seconds trying to gasp for breath.

"M-... Mom..!" Yosuke's voice was strained.

He dropped to his knees, desperately shaking the body, shouting incoherent pleas. Rise gasped, clasping her hands over her mouth.

Above, a man began screaming, a voice that many of them recognized as Mr. Hanamura. Yosuke couldn't look up. His attention was locked on the gaping hole left in his mother's throat, the sight blurring as tears formed on his lashes.

"Holy crap..!" Chie breathed, looking up.

"What the hell?!" Kanji reacted. He jumped back from the eyeballs, which bounced on the ground, and rolled towards Hanamura.

Yu's face stretched in shock, looking back and forth between his partner and the window. He stepped forward, reaching out to set a hand on Yosuke's shoulder; immediately, Yosuke shot to a stand, scowling up at the window.

"You son of a bitch!! Get the hell down here, so I can- I can-!!" Yosuke stopped, his voice trailing off into a sob as he noticed the eyeballs that had landed beside him. He closed his eyes, trying not to cry - and failing.

Yu wrapped a half-hug around Yosuke. He didn't say anything, but tried to tug him along. They had to go. Yosuke stifled a cry, yanking away from Yu.

"I'm fine, I-I'm fine, I-" he stopped, looking to the road behind the house.

"Yosuke? What is it?" Teddie asked, entirely oblivious to the sight.

The team followed Yosuke's gaze to the road. Kanji sputtered in shock for a minute.

"How did he get there already?!" Chie demanded.

"It does not matter! We must hurry! Now!" Naoto ordered.

"What?? And let him get away with this?! To hell with that!! He's going down!" Yosuke argued. He took a few storming steps forward, only for Chie to grab him by the back of the shirt.

"What?! No way!" she protested.

"You can't possibly take him on alone, Yosuke-kun," Yukiko added.

"Come, we will come up with a plan on the way!" Naoto urged.

Yosuke was quiet for a minute, clearly upset with this. He looked at Yu. Narukami nodded.

"... Okay, okay, come on!" Yosuke finally agreed.

The team made a run off to the side, heading for the road opposite of the one that the killer was on. They had to put as much distance between themselves and him as possible.

Nobody wanted to look back. The trade-off for peace of mind would be a moment of slowing down, and with how quickly the killer had moved from the top floor of the house to the street behind them, it wasn't a chance worth taking. With that speed in mind, it didn't take them long to realize that the man in the mask wasn't catching up.

"Hey, is that guy still after us?!" Chie yelled, glancing towards the others.

Yu took the chance first. He looked back over his shoulder, to see the man far behind them, walking at a leisurely pace. Although he tried his best not to let it show on his face, fear struck his chest. This guy was in absolutely no hurry.

"What is he doing?" Yosuke replied vaguely, seemingly having looked back whenever Yu did.

"He's confident, that's for sure-" Yu added, mostly to himself, as the two looked forwards once more.

Teddie had to force himself to look back. As afraid as he was, he was equally curious about what the others were talking about. The way that they were talking, the guy had wandered off-

Just as he looked back, a hand clenched around his neck. He let out a choked squeal as he was lifted up into the air, a sound that immediately notified his friends of the situation. They came to a stop, turning around.

"Ted!" Yosuke called.

"Oh no, oh no-!" Yukiko whispered. If her eyes hadn't been rounded already, they were now.

None of them got a chance to properly act. Even Teddie could only barely force out a plea, before a sharp pain split up his spine. The body fell limp.

On instinct, Naoto had raised her gun, only to remember the futility of her last attempt at shooting him. Besides, Teddie was already gone.

"T-TEDDIE-KUN!!" Rise cried, eyes watering.

"Now you're really gonna get it, you son of a-!" Kanji jumped forward, ready to take the masked man head on. Yu, despite his shock, managed to catch Kanji by the coat just in time to pull him back.

"Not yet!" he insisted.

Although Kanji looked like he wanted to put up a fight, Yu's wording made him relent. Not *yet*. They'd beat the hell out of this bastard when the time came. He took a step back, and the group began to run again.

Only upon seeing the lights of Junes, did the group stop. They couldn't see the killer around, but figured that he was still stalking them. Nobody had noticed if he'd left.

"Alright, what's the plan, Senpai?" Kanji asked, out of breath.

Everyone was looking to him. Yu glanced about at his team, quiet. It was quite clear to everyone that he didn't know.

"... Whatever, I'm gonna kill this dude if it's the last thing I do," Yosuke spat.

"Hanamura-senpai, it won't be that simple-" Naoto attempted.

"To hell with it! First Saki dies, then both of my friggin' parents get killed, and then Teddie- Shit, Teddie..." he trailed off, as realization hit.

Yu's gaze dropped. The guilt felt like a sack of bricks. But he couldn't let it hold him down - for Nanako, and for his friends. He lifted his eyes.

"We have to find a way. There's got to be one," he decided.

"I hope that you're right, Narukami-senpai..." Naoto murmured.

The Shape then appeared out of nowhere shattering the sliding door by having enough force to just shatter It by walking through it. Glass was on it but it never reacted.

A chorus of screams burst out of the group, as they each stumbled away from the shattering glass. All eyes turned on the masked man.

"How the hell did he get here so fast?!" Yosuke demanded.

"It doesn't matter! We need to keep going!" Chie responded.

This time, there was little argument. The group started back down the street; all except one. Naoto stood her ground, trying to keep her breathing under control. She didn't want this man to think that she was afraid. She didn't want him to think he had control. She felt like a child again, sitting helplessly in the living room, listening as the police traded details with her grandparents. Helpless to the fate that had met her parents. She wouldn't run this time. She was no little girl.

Her hands found her revolver, and she aimed at the killer, face darkening.

"Michael Myers!" she shouted, bringing forth the most commanding voice that she could.

The team halted, turning back to look at the detective.

"Are you crazy?!? Get over here!!" Rise pressed, voice quaking.

"N-Naoto, you don't have t' do this!" Kanji chimed in.

The warnings went unheeded. Fear made people act stupidly. But she wasn't afraid. She wouldn't let him get away with thinking she was powerless.

"You are under arrest for a count of 11 murders, including previous charges of the murders of Steve Haley and Judith Myers, as well as attempted murder, criminal harassment and animal abuse. You will come quietly, or I will be forced to open fire!!" she ordered, narrowing her eyes.

"Naoto!" Yu shouted, only to be cut off.

"No! You go! I'm not running away, this is my job!" she returned with equal harshness, casting a stern glance over her shoulder. She turned her attention back to Michael, "Stand down, this instant!"

"Naoto, back up!"

Yosuke's words, all of their words, fell on deaf ears. Naoto kept her eyes trained on the killer, only backing away as she realized that he was advancing. Her eyes widened just for a second, then narrowed again, as she adjusted her hat.

"Stand down, Myers!" she ordered.

"He's not going to, Naoto, we need to get out of-" Chie cut herself off with a shriek.

Yu's eyes rounded. One second Naoto was fine - the next, blood was spilling from her stomach. His first thought was to charge forward, but Kanji beat him to it. Roaring, he lurched forward, only to get caught by Yosuke.

"Woah, hey! It's too late!" he pushed.

"Nah, screw that! Get off-a me!!" Kanji snapped back. He shoved Yosuke away, turning around sharply to face Michael again.

Naoto had stumbled backwards by now, shock glazing her eyes. Blood soaked her costume, dripping down her arms and legs, off her chin. Michael kicked her backwards, sending her sprawling to the ground.

"Over here, asshole!" Kanji shouted.

"G- Go, now-!" Naoto flipped over onto her stomach, choking her words out through blood.

Just for a second, Kanji caught her eyes - desperate, panicked. It only spurred him on more, and yet, something in him knew what she wanted. It took him a long second to decide, and in that time, Yosuke had grabbed a hold of him again.

"Come on!" he insisted, dragging Kanji away.

"But she's- She's still-"

"She'll be fine, man, she can handle herself!"

He didn't have time to think about it. Yosuke, in that moment, was stronger than he looked. That, or Kanji wasn't really trying to fight against him. Neither were sure. Regardless, just as Naoto reached for her gun, which had scattered off somewhere on the pavement, she saw the team disappear into the store. Good. They would get away, anyways.

Her fingers just brushed the grip, as the knife came down.

She shouted, instinctively pulling her hand back, only to deepen the wound. Her eyes squeezed shut. Michael pulled her up, further ripping the wound, and earning a howl from the victim. Blood spilled onto the ground, pooling at her feet. She could already feel the weakness flooding through her. Despite that, she struggled against his hold, kicking at his legs to no avail. She caught one last look at his face, before he slammed her head down on one of the tables in the court. Pain zapped through her head and down her neck. She groaned. Still, for the first couple of hits, she tried to fight back, grasping at his arm with her good hand, eventually letting go as it grew impossible to hold on. Her sight was going dark, but she could just see the red pouring off of the table's edge. And - and something. Someone. On the far end of the table, two figures, familiar, yet distant. She didn't get a chance to figure out who they were. She was lifted up one more time, and she got a better look at their faces, before she was slammed back down.

Inside the store, the team had just come upon the electronics store. The department was abandoned, besides a few night shift workers who had been given the message. Only one or two listened.

"Come on, everyone in! Now!" Yu commanded, stopping by the televisions. He waved frantically at the screen, urging his team to get in.

One by one, the members of the Investigation Team began to plunge themselves into the television. Kanji first, in a joint effort between Yosuke and Chie to keep him from going back. Naoto had made her wishes clear enough. Yukiko followed him, then Yosuke, and Rise. It was almost surreal, counting their members and realizing how small it seemed without those they'd lost. Teddie, Naoto... Dojima, the Hanamuras... For a minute, Yu felt a pit dig itself into his stomach. He'd failed them.

He couldn't let it get the best of him. He looked to Chie, the last one left in the department besides himself.

"Alright, your turn-"

Something cut him off. Down the hall was the masked man, blood splattered across his boiler suit, hammer in hand. Naoto was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, crap!" Chie reacted.

She spun around, grabbing Yu by the coat and pushing him towards the television. Narukami stumbled back, falling through the TV back-first. Chie looked back and forth between the television and Michael, waiting for Yu to go through fully, before starting to climb through herself.

The screen opened up into the entrance to the TV World. The mist was thick and spreading today, and without their glasses, it was becoming harder and harder to see.

"Chie! Hurry!" Yukiko worried. She took Chie's hands, helping to pull her through, when the television went black.

For a moment, Chie didn't feel it. She just fell, and Yukiko began to shriek. Then the pain set in.

Satonaka began to howl, with what air remained in her lungs. Her torso had slumped to the ground, intestines hanging out of her abdomen. Yukiko cried out in protest, dropping to her knees. She gathered what was left of Chie into her arms, getting blood all over her arms, sobbing into her girlfriend's dying body.

"No, no... This can't be happening..." she whispered, shaking. She'd always had Chie. They had always had each other. And now, in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

Even as Chie went silent, Yukiko refused to let the body go. The entrance was quiet besides her weeping, with nobody entirely sure what to do with themselves in the light of this event.

"... Goddamnit!" Kanji eventually cursed, twisting away from the group and storming off. He slammed a fist into one of the metal bars around, repeatedly punching the structure. What the hell was he thinking, running off like that? He could have saved her. But he's chosen to leave. He'd let Yosuke pull him off to wherever and now Naoto was dead. She was gone forever. And so was Chie. And Teddie. And Dojima, and the Hanamuras. And what about his mother? There was no way she could survive this.

He barely noticed the tears wetting his eyes, not quite falling down yet. He was too angry. This much was obvious to everyone around him. As much as Rise wanted to say something, she held her tongue. He wouldn't want to hear from her anyways.

"God... What the hell do we do..?" Yosuke mumbled. He wanted to be angry. He wanted to be like Kanji, pissed off and looking to fight back, but he could only find fear. Fear and sadness. His eyes drifted down, and he pocketed his hands.

Rise knelt down next to Yukiko, shaking at the sight. She didn't know what to do. But she had to start somewhere. She set her hand on the living girl's back, half-hugging her.

"It's okay... It's okay, she..." Rise couldn't find the words, and it was clear that Yukiko wasn't listening.

"W-We can't just stand here. We have to do something! What about all those other people?? We can't just leave them!" Yosuke finally forced out, feigning fury. He swivelled his head to look at Yu, only to find his partner staring at Chie and Yukiko, lost. Yosuke faltered. "... Partner?"

Yu blinked. His eyes were wet, lashes holding back tears. Yosuke was right. They couldn't stay here. But where was safe from that thing? What if they left Inaba, and it just followed them? What if even here wasn't safe? He slowly began to shake his head.

"Oh, Senpai..." Rise whispered, looking back, but not leaving Yukiko's side.

"I'm going back out," Yu decided, trying not to let his voice shake.

"Huh?? No way, partner, I'm not losing you, too!" Yosuke protested, swiftly moving to stand between Yu and the television.

"Move, Yosuke. I'm going to get the police, and then I'll get our families out of here."

"You're gonna get yourself killed, is what you'll do!"

"I have to make up for this somehow!"

Yu stomped a foot down, scowling. Yosuke stared for a second, shocked.

"It's my fault that they're gone. I couldn't... I didn't..." Yu halted, struggling for words. He gave up after a minute. "Just let me through."

Soon, They left the television world. The masked man is nowhere in sight. For he had decided to stop Suddenly. No one was able to find the man. Yu felt horrible for Nanako. He didn't know what to even say to her. But what the town didn't know was that Michael was still there. Hiding. Waiting. For the next Halloween.