Chapter 4
Yu stared up at this magic beanstalk that seemed to have sprouted up only last night. He wasn't aware of any western castle built in Tokyo. If there was a golden goose inside he's out.
"We didn't come the wrong way, though." The vulgar boy looked back at the alley.
Yu copied. The path to school wasn't clear to him at all, but there was little doubt this delinquent-esc boy beside him was better oriented to this district than him. Yu may have lived in Tokyo; he has no recollection of this area.
"Yah, this should be right." The boy nodded, staring up at this fantasy delusion.
The school's name was printed on the gates leading up to the behemoth. Instead of stairs it was a draw bridge, and instead of a three-story academic structure it was some… skyscraper-esc fort.
An ominous feeling awoke in the pit of Yu's stomach, writhing around in search of an exit. Such a feeling he got when he was in the other world. Again, other world warnings left and right. But, the fog wasn't here. If something was wrong in the other world shouldn't there be a fog?
Yu raised his hand, palm to the sky. "Persona." His fist clenched… and held only air. There wasn't even the flow of power.
The boy looked at him like he grew antlers singing jingle bells. "Are… you alright, man?"
An embarrassed ting formed on Ren's cheeks. Using the hand in the air, he pushed his glasses back into place then marched straight toward the gates like a good little student.
The teen boy behind blinked but followed anyway.
They passed the gates and over the uneven stone floor, stopping at some doors. With those archways they could have been garage doors, each housing two thick, dark oak doors. The blond boy pushed open the middle sections and strolled right in, Ren followed behind, making sure to shut the way in respectfully.
The foyer was quite elaborate, overelaborate if anything. Red carpet everywhere, immaculate marble walls, high ceilings with golden chandlers swaying to and fro, golden candle stands taller than both teens, and a large staircase leading up from the middle before splitting off toward the second level on both sides. Nothing that says 'academy.' Considering no one can tear down the school and rebuild it overnight… Yu's insistent thoughts began peeling back the doubt and fusing Ren with paranoia. This had to be the other world, but how did they enter? They weren't anywhere near a television. Where were his personas?
The boy ahead of him scratched his head, "Th-that's weird… Where's the school?"
"We should go." Ren took a step toward the exits.
"Huh?! But… it said 'Shujin' on the front gate. What's goin' on here?" The boy pulled out his phone. His face dropped. "Out of service? Where'd we end up?" He thrust the phone back in. "The sign was for the school, right?"
"We need to go!" Yu stepped up and grabbed the boy's shoulder.
The boy pulled away. "What's up with you? You saw the sign too!"
A clank of metal rung. A man in a large suite of armor stormed up to them. He had a large shield in one hand and a long sword in the other. Yu's heart pounded in his chest, his legs backing away. The mask… the mask on that man's face… that thing's face. It was a shadow.
Ren's mind raced. What should they do? Why was he hesitating? They were in real, mortal peril, but his legs just wouldn't budge.
The boy next to him walked right up to it. "Geez… you freaked me out. Who're you? You a student?"
IDIOT, Ren wanted to scream.
"Man, your costume's impressive. Is that armor real?"
"Get away from that thing!" Yu rushed up and tried pulling him away.
The boy batted his hand away, "Stop touchin' me already!"
A second pair of armor marched up, sword drawn and pointed right at them.
The vulgar boy stumbled back. "H-hey, what's goin' on?"
"We need to leave!" Yu barked.
With a pale face he nodded. "Y-yeah. Run." They both spun on their heels and tore toward the exit. Two more suits then cut them off with their blades.
"What's with these guys!?"
A bang echoed out in the room. The blond cried out. One of the armors struck him in the back with a shield.
Toppled onto his knees the boy glared back at the shadow. "Oww… you're gonna break my bones, dammit! The hell you think you're-!" Another shield came down on his head.
The shadows turned their attention on Yu. He stepped back and brought up his arm. "Persona!" … Nothing. He could only just stare at his empty hand with vacant eyes. "W-why? P-persona! PERSONA!" He was only shouting into the room.
He didn't even know one of the shadows was flinging the butt of its sword till a dull thud cracked his skull. Consciousness fled away.
"Hey! Wake up!" A distant voice drummed into his ears.
Ren shook his throbbing head, gently pushing himself up off some harden surface. His limp feet plopped onto the stone floor where he rested his weary head on a hand. Blinking away the blur he was met with the concerned face of the vulgar boy. "You all right?"
The image of Chie. She asked him that once. After he put his hand in the TV and then felt something bite. "I might be dying."
"Can you not joke 'bout that right now?!"
Not as amusing as Chie.
The boy looked toward the cell entrance. "This ain't no dream. What's goin' on?!" He rushed up to the bars and began banging on them. "Hey! Let us outta here! I know there's someone out there!" With a final kick, the boy stumbled back from the bars. "Dammit, where are we?! Are we in some kinda TV set?!"
If they were lucky, maybe they could find a TV. Ren planted his face into his palm and shook his head. Who was he kidding. He can't enter TVs anymore, he couldn't summon a persona, he even failed to realize they were in the other world despite having that gut feeling writing in the pit of his stomach. How could he be Yu? The guy who wiped out leagues of shadows, the guy who could summon several personas with the flick of his wrist, the one who nearly lost his head trying to save himself from a vacuum TV. This boy… Ren… he had nothing Yu did.
With a shudder, Ren struggled to his feet, planting a hand on his hip. He looked around the empty cell. Molding bricks, chiseled floor, rusty bars, a few rotted barrels, and this wooden cot he woke on. A scream erupted from the distance, both boys staring at the bars as if the source would crawl out begging for help. They both rushed to the bars, the blond boy fumbling with words, "Wh-what the hell was that just now?"
The screaming continued, faint, but heard. "No! Please don't! Eh-yahhhhh!"
The blond boy paled, his breathing rushing. "Whoa… whoa, whoa, whoa. Whoa." He turned to Ren. "You're shittin' me, right? This is real bad!" He spun to look back into their cell. "Isn't there some way outta here!? C'mon, we gotta do something!" He rushed deeper in and began looking around.
Ren swallowed, looking back at the bars. There was no point rummaging through everything in the cell. Even if they found something it would be meaningless without knowing what to use it on. The bars were rusted, but still solid. The walls and ceiling were wet, but they clearly were still standing. If anything, their only way out would be if those barrels were either hiding a structural weakness or covering a hole.
"C'mon! Help me!" The boy shouted at Ren.
Squeezing his eyes shut, Ren turned and rushed toward the barrels shoving them aside and peering at the walls and floor. Nothing, not even a scrape or dent.
The boy walked up to him. "Hey, should we hide in here and trick the guards?"
Ren blinked up at him.
"It prolly wouldn't like it does in the movies though…" He stopped, looking toward the bars. "Huh, you hear that?"
Ren shoved himself up, grabbing the bars and trying to squeeze through the gaps to look. It sounded like a whole welcoming party, and it was coming their way. Armors marched up to their cell, the one leading glowering at them, "Be glad your punishment has been decided upon." Its dark voice reverberated in their heads.
Ren clutched his ear. He hadn't heard a normal shadow talk before, but it sounded very similar to the shadows of Yu's friends. Normal, but a hint of darkness within.
The deep voice continued, "You're charged with 'Unlawful Entry.' Thus, you will be sentenced to death."
Both boys' faces plummeted, the blond responding with, "Say what?!"
"No one is allowed to do as they please in my castle!" A familiar voice spoke behind the entourage which all stepped aside, allowing the lone figure to come forth.
The blond boy pressed up against the bars. "Huh? Wait... Is that you, Kamoshida?"
Ren squinted his eyes. It was unmistakable, the figure was Kamoshida, but something was off. The voice of a shadow lingered in his tone and what he wore… it was mostly nothing. Just looked like some fluffy cape, some slippers, a speedo of sorts, and a crown placed atop his head. It had to be the shadow of Kamoshida.
Yu's eyes flared as he desperately tried to come up with something to say. How was this possible? The shadows didn't appear in the other world unless the real individual was in here as well. Why was this so backwards? The shadow exists without the real one? Since when? Why is this other world out to get him, it was so unfair!
Shadows were basically the suppressed emotions of human minds, so it did stand to reason it did 'exist' in the other world, but it shouldn't be conscious of whose emotional desires it was connected to without the real individual grounding it… right? There was so much Yu didn't know, he could only conjecture. Something very irrelevant as at least he knew 'what' was happening. What was happening is they were dealing with the suppressed desires of the one known as Kamoshida. If anything, that makes him unreasonable, especially if he thought himself as some king. The regular shadows here also had some sort of twisted loyalty to their 'king' here. Something Yu's never seen from shadows before. It all added up to, 'bad news.'
The Shadow Kamoshida shook his head. "I thought it was just some petty thief, but to think it would be you, Sakamoto… Are you trying to disobey me again? Looks like you haven't learned your lesson at all, huh?"
Sakamoto must be the vulgar boy's last name, Yu looked over at him to see the scowl all over his face.
This Kamoshida turned to Yu, "And it looks like you brought a friend this time… because you can't do anything for yourself."
The blond yanked on the bars. "This ain't funny, you asshole!"
"Is that how you speak to a king?! It seems you don't understand the position you're in at all. Not only did you sneak into my castle, you committed the crime of insulting me- the king." The shadow's smile twisted up. "The punishment for that is death." The 'king' tossed his hand away as if to slash a sword. "It's time for an execution! Take him out!"
The armor next to the cell inserted the key and tore open the door.
The blond boy staggered back, his eyes not leaving the man he thought to be Komoshia. "S-stop it…!"
The armors began marching in, Ren and the boy staggering away to the end of the cell as the shadows stared them down.
The boy shivered, eyes shut tight. "…Goddammit…!" With a battle cry he charged. The armor in front was knocked down.
Yu froze at the determination. A flash of familiarity emanating from this guy… Chie. When three guys were hustling a scared kid she rushed them, yelling. Telling them to 'put em up.' She was going to fight all three of them. The nostalgia, it rooted him to the floor. If only… she were here. She would still have her persona.
"I ain't down for this shit!" The boy turned to Yu. "C'mon, we're outta here!"
An armor stormed up and struck the boy in the gut. Gagging, he staggered back and fell to his knees, gasping for air. Chie, on her knees desperately trying to breath… is that what she would have looked like if he didn't step in too? Cursing, Yu charged and rammed his shoulder into the back of one of the armors, but it didn't budge. It didn't even turn around to acknowledge him. Damn Ren's stupid, frail body!
The blond boy blinked away tears, looking up at Yu between the armor's arms. "Just go! Get outta here! These guys are serious!"
"Oh, running away are we?" The 'king' snickered. "What a heartless friend you are."
Yu scowled, pressing harder against the armor. Chie gagging for breath flashed inside his head again. Yu gritted his teeth, pushing off and ready to hit the back of the armor again.
"He ain't a friend."
Yu froze, his heart stopping. Chie disappeared from his mind. In its place was this dank, evil cell. He staggered away, a heavy heart sapping the resolve that had built up prior. Chie wasn't here. He wasn't saving her. Just… this stranger. Yu would have killed all the shadows by now… what was Ren doing? He was all alone… friendless. Defenseless.
"C'mon! Hurry up and go!" The distant shout of that boy rung in Ren's ears.
The memory of that woman being forcefully shoved into the car surfacing in his mind. Abandon someone in desperate need to protect himself or sacrifice everything all over again. He trembled, unable to move. Unable to think.
King Kamoshida laughed. "What's the matter? Too scared to run away?"
Damn it. He couldn't move. He couldn't fight. He was just… powerless. Useless.
"Hmph. Pathetic scum isn't worth my time. I'll focus on this one's execution." The 'king' turned to the blond teen.
An armor brought up a sword, pressing it against Ren's throat and forced him against the wall. Two other armors grabbed the other boy's arms and lifted him up. The Shadow Kamoshida rammed his fist into the boy's face, "Take this!"
The vulgar boy cried out.
"Lowly scum!" The 'king' began an onslaught of uppercuts and wide punches. "Useless pest!" He slammed a fist against the boy's head, smacking him into the floor.
Ren clenched, eyes burning into the bastard's back. If only he had a persona.
This Kamoshida stared down his nose at the gagging boy at his feet, spitting on him. "Where'd your energy from earlier go?" He mocked as an armor grabbed the back of the boy's collar and toss him deeper into the cell. The Shadow Kamoshida shook his head. "A peasant like you isn't worth beating."
The boy grunted, groaned, trying to stand back up, his face covered in bruises.
The Kamoshida smiled. "I'll have you killed right now."
Ren stomped his foot, "Stop it! That's enough!"
The 'king' turned around, looking stunned at the audacity. "What? Don't you dare tell me you don't know who I am." He came up to Ren's face.
Ren didn't back off, his eyes challenging this lecherous man. Everything has gone on long enough. There was no point in reasoning with a shadow. It was a waste of time, only the real man could change it. That didn't mean he was going to just stand there and let it do whatever it wanted.
The smug grin vanished from its face, a frown in its place. "That look in your eyes irritate me!" It sent a kick into Ren's gut, sending the teen sprawled against the floor and wall. "Hold him there." The 'king' turned back to the other boy. "After the peasant, it's his turn to die."
Over his dead body! Ren leapt to his feet and charged, but two metal arms snatched his shoulders and slammed him into the wall.
The Shadow Kamoshida laughed as he slowly approached the beaten boy. Seeing the shadow come closer he curled up, shivering on the floor. "N-no. I don't wanna die."
Ren bared his teeth, staring at the scene unfolding before him. Why? Why couldn't he do something? Anything?
What's the matter? A smooth tone echoed inside Ren's head, stilling his beating heart. Are you simply going to watch? Ren's eyes cast around, searching for the source. Are you forsaking him to save yourself? Death awaits him if you do nothing. Was your previous decision, Flashes of that screaming woman blared into his mind, a mistake then?!
Ren glared at the group before him. One of the armors clutched the boy's neck and slowly lifted him up. Ren pulled on the hands holding him. What he did then… it was NO mistake! The armor lifted its sword. The weapon ready to plunge.
Very well… I have headed your resolve. Ren pushed, shoved, writhed in the hands of these shadows. A pulse clamped an iron grip around his brain. He stopped struggling as the pain began frothing inside his skull.
Yu blinked. This sensation… he knew it. He recognized it. It's been so long but there was no denying it. Vow to me. I am thou, thou art I. Yu tugged on the arms, neck straining from the pressure within. Sweet poured off his brow as he screamed. Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice! Call upon my name and release thy rage! Yu shouted to the sky as the power mounted, burning his insides and climbing into his face. He dropped his head as the pain slowly etched away. Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thy own, though thou be chained to hell itself! Yu's enraged eyes lifted, daring to engulf the bastards before him in an angry blaze.
Shadow Kamoshida raised his hand and pointed to the blond boy. "Execute him!"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Yu bellowed, jumping the shadows holding him.
The 'king' slowly turned his head toward the insubordinate. "What was that?" The shadow crushing the vulgar boy's neck let go, causing the boy to stager back against the wall.
The 'king' rounded on Yu. "You desire to be killed that much? Fine!"
The shield of a shadow came crashing down on Yu's face shattering his glasses, but the teen refused to fall off his feet. Blades came up pushing against his neck till his head was resting against the wall. The armor in front of him lifted its sword over its head.
A powerful wind burst from Yu's body, throwing the nights off him and toppling his supposed killer to the floor. 'King' Kamoshida raised his arms over his eyes, his cape flapping in the gust. When it stopped all eyes were on the teen hunched over on weary feet.
Yu stood up, touching his face… or the mask that was now sucking on his face. It was white, and it curled around his eyes like some opera mask. He grabbed it with both hands, pulling. His instincts crying out from the burden this pressed against his skin. Tearing, ripping, the mask peeling away at him. Yu screamed. Blood erupted out as the mask was torn off. He looked up at this Kamoshida with a victorious grin. A warm rumble came flooding into him. His persona.
He was surged with a blue flame, it spreading over his frame as if finding his body to be saturated with gas. Red fire burst from within this blue haze; its appearance were of eyes and an ever-growing crescent smile ascending over the whole room. All gawked at the towering form as the flames vanquished, leaving Yu in a dark, long coat and red gloves. A towering figure behind him: crimson feathered wings on its hips, a red suit reminiscent of a late seventieth century Englishmen, a shadowed face with scorching eyes and a flaming smile, all under a large top hat resting on its head.
With a flick of Yu's wrist, the persona over him threw out it's arms and wings, tossing all shadows against the wall in a scrap heap. Two of them disappeared in blast of dark fog. The Shadow Kamoshida clambered to his feet and pressed himself against the farthest wall, "Wh-who the hell are you?!"
The blond teen stared up at Yu, eyes aghast and shivering from the immense presence. "What the hell…?"
Yu just grinned wildly at both sights. It didn't matter what any of them thought anymore. He had a persona again, and that's all he needed.
Yu Narukami was back.