Fate/Reach Out (F/SN + SMT:P4 Crossover)
- Thread starter KishouTheBadger
- Start date
zaiaku
The Ignorant Guru
- Location
- Alamo, Texas
http://www.siliconera.com/2014/06/20/persona-q-shadow-labyrinths-story-canon/
Now I can't wait to find out why it's canon. Supposedly there's something big about it.
Now I can't wait to find out why it's canon. Supposedly there's something big about it.
WHAT. Persona Q is CANON? Wonder why? With a concept like that game has, ya'd figure it'd be impossible for it to be so..
Chapter 21: Shadow of the Caged Self
KishouTheBadger
Psychic Mech Pilot
Chapter 21: Shadow of the Caged Self
<><><>
-April 20th, Daidara Metalworks, After School-
A lot had happened during the second trek through Yukiko's Castle yesterday, Shirou reflected. Despite the fear of facing Yukiko's Shadow, the group had decided to abandon stealth and fight their way through any other Shadow in their way as a form of training with their awakened powers. Yosuke's initial trouble in summoning his Persona nearly got him killed if simply having access to one didn't make him so much faster.
Much to the group's surprise, many Shadows left bits of themselves behind when they dissolved, usually bits of teeth or strips of the strange materials that made up their combat forms. Shirou collected the spoils to figure out what to do with them later. Even a third-rate magus like himself could appreciate finding obviously magical materials for possible use… not that he had any skills in processing them.
Odd as those bits were, there were stranger things in the castle. Yosuke, being a casual gamer, was at first excited of finding golden treasure chests in a few of the castle's side rooms, all but vaulting for them and expecting new weapons or valuable gems. While the contents invariably disappointed Yosuke, they weren't a total loss either. Rather than riches, they tended to be random odds and ends that you could find at Shiroku's General Store in the Shopping District. Some of them were useful and practical, like the pain medicine and bandages, while others, such as the firecrackers and peach seeds earned a few raised eyebrows. Among all the treasures they found though, Teddie insisted that the almost glowing purple-blue hard candy "Soul Drops" were rare and very useful, though he wasn't clear on precisely how aside from them being "invigorating."
The further up the castle they climbed, the more they heard voices echoing through the halls. Most of them were the gibbering nonsense of the agitated Shadows, but there were times where Yukiko's voice was loud and clear in their ears. The Shadow claimed to be "waiting for her prince" on one floor, while another had her politely greeting someone visiting the Amagi Inn. No one took the time to debate or question these voices and focused more on searching every part of the castle for Yukiko.
And just when they thought they had finally caught up to Shadow Yukiko, they ran into a Shadow shaped like a hollow suit of armor riding the barding of an invisible horse. It was stronger than all of the other Shadows in the castle they had fought to that point, but was fortunately weaker than Shadow Yosuke or Shadow Chie.
This of course led to Eligor. Unlike Shirou, neither Satonaka nor Yosuke knew anything about the Ars Goetia, so hearing the transfigured knight introduce himself as a "duke of Hell" had certainly set them all on edge. When the Chariot Arcana spirit had easily joined with Shirou, it cast some uncomfortable possibilities on what their Personas might really be.
At least they had found the glass key needed to reach the next flight of stairs from the Shadow's remains.
The Shadow might have been defeated and progress made, but the quartet was absolutely exhausted by all of the running and fighting up to that point. Frankly, Shirou was amazed at how long they lasted before having to turn back. Real fights were extremely draining on top of exploring the maze-like interior of the castle, but it took over a dozen fights to the death to slow them down even a little.
Just as the group was about to trudge their way down through the five floors once again, Teddie surprised them all again with his ingenuity. The bear was amazing when he put his mind to it; pulling out what looked to be a small diorama of a house from…somewhere, it called the group around and dropped it to the floor, shattering it in the middle of them all. There was a flash of light, and then they were standing on the road leading up the castle's gates. Outside.
Initial gawking aside, Shirou made sure to be the first among his friends to praise the bear; it needed every bit of self-esteem he could get. Besides, even if it was limited to simply taking them back to the red and black door at the castle's entrance, it was still an incredible feat of magecraft to move them all safely. If Teddie ever figured out how exactly he pulled off half of the Projections he did, Shirou would be first in line to take notes.
That was for later, though. Exhaustion had the group reluctantly agreeing to take today off to recover their strength before they dove back in to hopefully finish the job and get Yukiko safely home. As eager as they were to find her, it would do her no good if her would-be rescuers ended up dead before even reaching her. Even a good night's rest was not enough for the worst of their wounds to scab over, even with the reduction that came from leaving the TV World.
Chie left for home as soon as school got out and Yosuke decided to follow Shirou after hearing he was heading to the Metalworks after grabbing a bag from his house. Meeting the redhead at the shop, Yosuke shrugged off his jacket and visibly cringed at the shop's heat as they stepped in. Even if the early spring weather was clear and warm over the last few days, it was nothing compared to the dry heat of Daidara's burning forge.
"You're back," the scarred blacksmith grunted when he saw the two teens. "Want anything new?"
"You said you wanted materials for inspiration, correct?" Shirou asked. Without waiting for an answer, he unslung the Junes-brand bag and displayed the contents. Seeing the bits of Shadows that Shirou had salvaged from the TV World so openly in this world nearly made Yosuke lose his balance; how the hell was he going to explain having broken teeth that big, let alone the more bizarre materials?
"Shirou, what the heck are you-?" Yosuke started to protest before he saw the look on Daidara's face. There was a gleam there now in the blacksmith's eye, as he gazed hungrily at the seemingly random mess of objects.
"Where'd you get all this?!" Daidara demanded, never taking his eyes off of the bag.
"I have my ways," Shirou answered with a half-shrug. "I take it you want them?"
The blacksmith stood upright, nodding once. "I do, boy. I've been looking for something new, and I think I just found it. Come back in… a week. I'll have something for you and your friends by then."
Now, Yosuke was no expert in forging, but that seemed crazy even to him. Shirou's reaction only confirmed it. "A week, Daidara-san? I don't doubt your skills, but I thought forging weapons or armor took longer."
The muscled man let out a short bark of laughter, "I have my ways, kid! One week!"
With that, Daidara heaved the bag up and almost ran to the back room with the forge, the gleam of inspiration in his eye even brighter than earlier and an almost manic grin on his lips.
"I can't believe that actually worked," Yosuke said after a few moments of silence. "I was expecting him to push you more for details."
"Daidara-san did say he needed material. Maybe showing him something new was enough to get him to overlook it," Shirou shrugged. "And it would have been a waste not to use them." Though, depending on what was made from all of that scrap, he might need to confront Daidara about his profession. There was no way an ordinary blacksmith/metalworker could forge high-quality weapons and armor in a week.
But a magus might.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by Yosuke draping an arm over his shoulder. "Well, since we have nothing else better to do, how about that beef steak I promised you?"
<><><>
-Souzai Daigaku-
The food stand that Yosuke led Shirou to was small and nestled between two closed buildings. Somehow, despite larger stores dwindling down to bankruptcy around it, Souzai Daigaku managed to stay afloat with but a single clerk in the back managing the grill. There was only one table made from a simple plank of wood on some crates and a few chairs set up for customers to sit and eat; the majority ordered their food to go from here.
Shirou quickly discovered the reason why this food stand's business was still booming. It was nearly unorthodox to stick pieces of steak in croquettes, but each piece was well seasoned and thick in fat. It might as well be eating well cooked beef already cut for the buyer. Sure it was a little tough in places, but the flavor was superb even then.
"What'd I tell ya?" Yosuke smiled from across the table. "These croquettes are as delicious as they are weird. Tough to chew, maybe, but still."
Shirou licked his lips at the third chunk. "Indeed, their meat is very tender." He would have to remember to ask the clerk where her meat comes from. Cooking for a certain ravenous tiger had instilled in him an appreciation for high-quality ingredients, especially when making meat dishes.
"Man, you almost sound like Satonaka," Yosuke chuckled. "But you seem to eat yours just as fast as she does. What kind of teeth do you two have?"
"A martial artist's, I'd assume."
"Excuse me?"
"If we can't hope to even digest our breakfast, we'd shame our disciplines."
"That's kinda deep. Too bad your friend has no idea what you're talking about, let alone me."
Shirou ignored Pixie's quip and Yosuke's owlish blink, resuming his meal. The breading was still a little greasy in his opinion, but such was the price for a quick meal versus his usual standards.
Yosuke shifted in his seat and opened his mouth to say something when two women spoke up from a short distance away, just loud enough for the boys to hear.
"Say, isn't that the Junes boy?"
"I believe he's classmates with Sato-san's son."
"The poor thing; I heard they went out of business last week."
The two continued their walk as if Yosuke hadn't heard that tidbit of information. He stared at their retreated backs with a blank gaze and clenched fists before turning back to Shirou. "Sorry 'bout that. I'm kinda infamous around here."
"He looks bored, but what those women said really got to him." Now that Shirou looked with Pixie's words in mind, he could see the way he slumped slightly more in his chair before forcing himself back into his usual carefree posture.
"It must be tough," Shirou said neutrally, hoping to steer the conversation away from them.
"Eh, not really," Yosuke shrugged. "It's my parents that get the brunt of it. I'm not that involved with the 'Junes Invasion' other than being another employee, but everyone knows my name and face. Not that I mind, but it sucks having to keep a lid on all the time, ya know?"
"I can imagine," Shirou nodded, feeling he should say something to take the focus off of the subject. "I used to get into a lot of trouble fighting bullies growing up."
"Whoa, really?" Yosuke never would have thought Shirou to be the kind of guy to-…well, okay, after what he saw in the TV world he could believe that. But as a kid? That part was a bit of a stretch. "How old were you at the time?"
"Eleven or so. It just wasn't in me to stand by doing nothing, so I couldn't ignore them as well as you did right now." He chuckled a bit at the memories of trying to stare down his dad after coming home covered in bruises and bandages back then.
"Well, picking a fight with some gossiping women is a lot less cool than with bullies." And that was the end of it. Yosuke was already smiling again and putting the matter behind him. Having someone to confide in had taken some of the weight off Yosuke's shoulders.
I think I understand him a bit better now. Shirou couldn't help but smile.
"Da-dadada-DAAAAAAAAAA!"
As soon as Pixie sang, Shirou felt something tug from the theoretical line between himself and Yosuke, causing him to freeze mid-bite for half a second. The bond between them felt a little thicker and stronger, built up from their short heart-to-heart.
Yosuke seemed more bothered than Shirou at the recent development, and started to pad his body for something.
"Something wrong?" asked the magus.
"I just felt a little funny all of a sudden. Not sure why though." He kept probing his body and turning his hands, before shrugging it off. "Ah, it's probably nothing. Another order of croquettes, then!"
The two ate and chatted casually for the rest of their meal before heading their separate ways, the unspoken agreement to meet up and finish the battle after school tomorrow passing between them.
On his way back to the Dojima home, Shirou passed by the book store with a sign on the window for new arrivals. Normally, Shirou would just walk on by unless there was a particular book he needed for something, and even then he usually just borrowed it from the local library. Unfortunately, Inaba was too small for a full library, and he didn't exactly have a lot of cash right now anyway. Being a secret hero was proving frustratingly expensive.
He was about to move on, but Margaret's words about his personal life (more accurately his lack of one) brought him to an almost reluctant halt. While none of the new titles displayed interested him (fishing guides and study aids weren't needed, and he had never heard of self-help books like The Lovely Man before), there was always the chance there was something interesting in there, too. Maybe a book or two wouldn't hurt.
Shirou once more felt like the hand of fate was guiding him when he spotted a lone translated copy of The Ars Goetia in the shop's extremely small occult section. At the very least, it might serve as decent reference for demonically themed Personas like Eligor. With a shrug, he ended up taking it and a copy of The Lovely Man.
Upon arriving back home, cooking a simple dinner with his cousin pitching in where she could made for a fine close to the evening.
<><><>
-April 21st, Dojima Household, Morning-
Shirou now knew what it felt like to lose a few years of your life to a sudden scare. The moment he woke up today, he nearly had a heart attack at the hissing patter of rain hitting the gutters. If it rained too long, it would fog over and… Amagi would-
The magus quickly turned on the TV and checked the weather report, pacing his room furiously through every commercial and useless morning gossip show.
"Calm down, Satonaka. I got the TV on now. The weather report is just about to start."
It was truly a uniquely frustrating experience for Shirou trying to juggle calls from his two friends. He never had so many phone calls at the same time before, especially with the calls and voice mails bouncing around like tennis balls between the three of them. He idly wondered if there was a way to set them all up to talk at the same time for situations like this. It would certainly be useful in the future.
"Yeah, that's right. Rain should give way to clear skies by the time first period is over. No fog for another few days, it looks like."
Relief passed through every one of them as they saw patches of blue sky grow over the course of the morning walk with no fog in sight. It was still a grim reminder that time was running out. They needed to get through that castle and get Yukiko out of there as fast as possible.
<><><>
-Yukiko's Caste, After School-
After diving into the TV World, the trio tore their way through the first few floors with almost frightening ease compared to previous visits. The Shadows on the lower levels were predictable and slow compared to their own enhanced abilities and Personas, and each strike from their weapons all but pulverized the formerly vicious creatures. One of Chie's kicks alone was enough to imbed a Shadow halfway into a wall at one point.
The higher they climbed, though, the more diverse and bizarre the things became. Some were simple creatures, like animated silk gloves the size of large dogs, with masks sticking out of the opening. Others were even stranger, such as a stationary table. That one gave them all headaches as it levitated knives, torches and cups to keep the trio at bay. It wasn't terribly powerful, but it was a nuisance.
While none were as dangerous as his friends' Shadows or the hollow knight, there were also Shadows that were genuinely frightening to face, such as the Phantom Mage and the Black Raven. The former resembled spinning scarecrows with long green cloaks, and the latter were pitch-black birds that each carried a lit oil lantern in their claws.
After the first few names Teddie gave out, the trio was already fighting in sync and cared less about the details other than their foes' elemental weaknesses.
"Garu!" A viridian gust spiraled up beneath the spinning shadow, nearly tearing off its cloak along with bits of loose straw. Yosuke, crouching low and having pointed at the Phantom Mage, turned his knives to the direction of a Laughing Table throwing its floating utensils. His Persona spun behind him, projecting another gale that blew the attack away and sent the Shadow flying.
Seeing the other Shadows move in to counterattack, Yosuke jumped behind Chie, his Persona moving with inhuman speed and flexibility to join him as his teammate darted forward. A massive scarlet and gold beetle flew to meet her with a shriek, and she almost jumped to meet it when Teddie called out to her.
"Chie-chan!" the bear called from behind a corner away from the melee. "Burning Beetles reflect physical attacks! Use your magic instead!"
"Got it!" Instinct and practice took over, and the blue card of her Persona appeared before her. A flick of her wrist brought her whip down through the card, and her Persona rose into existence behind her. It always felt like the she was taller when Tomoe appeared, possibly from the shared link she was still getting used to. And although the action wasn't necessary, Tomoe stabbed her glowing blade into the ground behind her before cupping her hands together and thrusting them forward. Chie imagined this to be an easier, if not cooler, way to cast magic, as well as go with the intended suffix at the end.
"Bufu-ken!" Frigid ice formed in the space between the Persona's palms, and was propelled out and through the air like it was a cannon ball. The blast met the beetle in mid-air, stopping it in mid-flight before the ice shattered, sending the Shadow sprawling on its back.
Chie smiled at her success, and was about to follow up with another Bufu-ken when she heard a hawk-like screech. Persona-enhanced reflexes kicking in, she dropped down in time to avoid the Black Raven's diving beak.
Even as the Shadow opened its wings and swooped upward for another pass, it was blasted from the air. "Zio!" A thunderclap later, and the bird Shadow too sprawled to the ground with the rest of its comrades, twitching in pain. Shirou and Izanagi stood a distance from the other two, striking from afar while watching for ambushes from any Shadows drawn to the scuffle.
Although I would prefer taking them down first in case the Shadows proved too much for them, but they both beat me to the draw.
With all of the Shadows down and immobilized, there was one thing left to do. "All right guys! Pile on!" Chie shouted and uncoiled her whip, Tomoe taking her blade up from the floor and following.
With their friend leading the charge, the others joined the fray and smashed into the Shadows in a wild, unorthodox melee. Teddie had to look away from the sheer brutality (although he did try peeking from behind his mittens out of curiosity, his view was obscured by the growing dust cloud of the brawl regardless). As it was, the fight ended with the students brandishing their weapons and dusting their hands off, Yosuke checking the group over for any injuries.
When Yosuke first learned that Jiraiya could patch up injuries with the Dia ability the last time they were here, the group had stopped to incorporate the new trick into their plans; Shirou's Pixie could heal wounds as well, but splitting his reserves between healing and fighting with Izanagi, not to mention the delay in switching Persona, meant that it wasn't ideal to rely on just her. Jiraiya was also much faster to use its magic, making Yosuke's Persona ideal for support.
The basic stratagem for the team was thus: Chie would take point in assault and use Tomoe's Bufu on the select enemies Teddie pointed out as vulnerable to ice, though with much more reserved control than her classmates due to Tomoe's low magical ability. She would make up for this with extremely strong strikes from her Persona and herself, easily the hardest-hitting of them all. Yosuke would single out priority targets like magic-using Shadows with hit-and-run tactics to take advantage of his enhanced speed, using wind and healing magic whenever necessary. Shirou, being the toughest of the lot but the slowest, would serve to "draw aggro" (Shirou had to have the concept explained to him, as he had no experience with video game lingo) from Shadows and overpower the ones that his teammates couldn't finish off quickly, especially on enemies weak to electricity.
"You know, I think I'm finally getting the hang of this," Yosuke smiled.
"I'm not sure if I ever will," Chie winced as she rolled her shoulders. "I mean, it feels fun, but it can't be healthy to feel that if we're just killing monsters all the time. I think I'm already starting to get nightmares."
"You worry too much," Yosuke shrugged. "Just pretend we're in a video game. You already made homage to Street Fighter, anyway." It certainly helped that they weren't nearly as badass in the real world as they were in here with their Personas. It created a sense of separation that made the transition easier for him.
"Don't even joke about that, Yosuke," Shirou chided from his rummaging of the Shadow remains. "An experienced magus always runs the risk of dying from unexpected circumstances, and we're treading a thin enough line as it is. But I think we'll be alright with our Personas for the time being. They represent our will, so they keep our fears and worries in check to protect us when they're active."
Though their friend clearly meant it as a warning, the casual reference still bothered Yosuke and Chie. Neither of them forgot that he "walked with death" as all magi did, but he never explained further than that. "Listen, Emiya-kun-"
Whatever Chie was about to say would be left unsaid; the room grew loud with the echoes of Shadows within the walls. Just like before, voices that came from Yukiko's life came through mockingly distorted.
"Excuse me! We heard you're the new manager of the Amagi Inn. Is it true you're still in high school?" a particularly greasy voice called out.
Yosuke blinked. "Wait, isn't that the TV announcer that interviewed Amagi-san?"
Neither Shirou nor Chie replied, tightening their fists around their weapons, scowling deeply.
"That's none of your damn business," The voice of Yukiko snapped with none of its usual reservation or gentleness.
"Someday, though… That aside, wow! You're looking gorgeous in that kimono. You must have a lot of male visitors."
"Shut up!"
"And your inn's hot springs are all natural, yes? I recall you sometimes allow-"
"Leave me alone!" Yukiko's voice broke out, effectively drowning out and silencing the reporter's. "I'm sick of everything. I'm sick of it all." The Shadows calmed down shortly after her outburst, leaving a chilly silence behind.
Shirou decided then and there that, when this was over, he was going to punch the reporter. Preferably in the mouth.
He realized that Yosuke and Teddie were suddenly staring at him rather incredulously. It took the magus another moment to realize he had spoken out loud, and he turned away in embarrassment. He usually kept his more snide comments to himself except when bantering with Taiga or Shinji. Anyone watching that would have assumed that was simply him dealing with familial affection with the former and a defense mechanism against the latter, but never as a personality trait that defined him.
Chie however, didn't seem to mind, adding her own comment: "You'll have to wait in line."
All eyes turned to her in surprise again as they digested her words. By the time they managed to shake off their stupor, the tomboy was already halfway down the hall, leaving the boys and bear scrambling to catch up.
<><><>
Yukiko's Castle, 7th Floor
"Hasn't my Prince come yet?" The halls echoed with Yukiko's voice again the moment the quartet reached the top of the stairs. "My dear Prince… Please hurry and take me away! Somewhere, anywhere, to a world where no one knows me…"
When the halls fell silent again, Shirou turned to their unlikely guide. "How much further, Teddie?"
"She's close," the bear sniffed. "Real close… she's on the next floor up!"
Chie nearly buckled between relief and anxiety, just barely keeping herself from bolting ahead while Yosuke looked around apprehensively. "We haven't run into her Shadow yet though. What if she's at the next floor waiting?" he asked, flipping his knives in his grip.
"Doubt it," said Teddie. "I can only smell one Yuki-chan upstairs, and she's definitely human. I can't tell where her Shadow is, but I don't sense her on this floor, let alone the one below or above. That's all I can be sure of."
"So we managed to get a head start," the magus deduced. "Let's make for the stairs then. If we're lucky, we can grab Amagi-san and leave without triggering her Shadow."
Chie frowned. "But what will happen to her if she doesn't, you know… accept herself?"
"I could only base this on what happened to the last two people in here," Teddie started to explain. "But after their bear-zerk rage and killing their hosts, they ran deeper into the fog attacking other Shadows. Normally their sense of self would keep them together, but they gradually grew more and more distant from their host, since they killed the person that defined them in the first place."
"I almost hate to ask," Yosuke gulped. "But what happened to the Shadows of the announcer and Saki-senpai?"
"Still fighting and assimilating other Shadows, I'd assume. At this rate they might even become…"
"Become?" the teen urged.
The bear stayed silent, internally debating the issue, before shaking its head rapidly. "No! That's not even certain to be the case. Saving Yuki-chan is more important anyways!"
"He's right," Shirou nodded. "We can figure out what to do after we make sure Amagi-san is safe. For now, let's just focus on finding the stairs this time; no unnecessary fights."
Stealthy as they were, the group was only forced into one fight with a much smaller and weaker Avenger Knight patrolling the halls. A few doors later, and they found the final ascending staircase.
"Praise our Persona Gods!" Yosuke cheered and high-fived Shirou.
Chie could barely contain herself anymore, rushing ahead of the group. "Yukiko, we're almost there!"
Teddie was in the midst of dancing when his nose twitched. "Waitaminute… Chie-chan, watch out!"
The bear's last second warning proved vital as a white blur dived for her with a sword extended outward. She dodged to the side at the last moment, feeling a thin needle of steel cut through her sleeve and graze her arm, but barely had time to wince when her assailant landed before them.
The Shadow landed gracefully on both feet, and rose to its full height to gauge its enemies with its shining steel mask… which wasn't high to begin with. Barely meeting the teen's chests, the Shadow was of the comical variety with a stocky, almost gourd-shaped figure clad in bright medieval clothing. It wore a small red frock coat with yellow stars decorated across it, a blue mantle reaching its mid-back, a monochrome striped underdress, and pointed yellow boots. It also wore a small yellow crown topping its oddly realistic yellow locks. And, of course, it was armed with a rapier: the very same sword it used to attack Chie. Apparently through gauging them, the Shadow lunged towards Shirou, blade held high.
Instinctively, Shirou brought his katana up and parried his shorter opponent's clumsy slashes, but couldn't set his stance with the Shadow striking so quickly. Yosuke immediately summoned his ninja-frog Persona and had it help the only way he could think of: kicking the Shadow aside from its blind spot.
"Thanks," the magus said quickly, eyes not leaving his enemy.
"Be bear-y careful, Shirou-sensei," Teddie warned. "This is one tough enemy."
"We've faced worst. Now, Per-"
The Shadow reacted first, trembling with a red aura that gave Shirou pause. It reminded him vaguely of the dream apparition he fought, and how it glowed before summoning a Ghoul and blinding fog. Then, the Shadow screamed.
A sense of terror overwhelmed him, freezing him in place. His ears rang in pain but he couldn't even cover them with his hands rigid before him, his sword shaking in his suddenly too-tight grip. A miasma of light and shadow seemed to swallow the castle interior, and he swore he was seeing flames and corpses in the light blots.
The burning fire. A wave of black mud. The fleeing screams. Hell on earth. Death. Murder. Anger. Hatred Rage Anarchy Rape Drug Depression Envy Wrath Pride Lust Gluttony Sloth Greed Sin Vanity Melancholy Die Die Die die die diediediethestartingpenaltyisfive
Make it stop. Make it stop! MAKE IT-!
A painful slap impacted across Shirou's cheek, and the illusion immediately shattered with Yosuke's voice suddenly filling his ears. "-hold of yourself NOW, man!"
Snapping to awareness, Shirou saw he was still in the castle with the others; Yosuke was practically shaking him senseless with Teddie behind him. Chie and her Persona were standing a close distance between them and the Shadow, which was now lying face down at the bottom of the stairs.
As it stirred again, Chie invoked Tomoe's magic again. "Bufu-ken!" An ice block projectile shattered against the comical Shadow, once again forcing it back down and disorienting it.
From the looks of things, it would take far more than just blasting it with ice magic and smacking it around to put this Shadow down. It was barely showing any damage despite Satonaka's attacks. There was no reason to fight this Shadow now that Yukiko Amagi was within reach.
"Leave it!" he ordered. "Just hurry to the top of the stairs!"
No one needed to be told twice; they all ran up and left the Shadow as it struggled to stand back up.
<><><>
-Yukiko's Castle, Top Floor-
Only when the group opened the large double doors at the top and closed them behind them did the quartet slump in relief and exhaustion. Shirou was especially drained after the Shadow's vision. He finally had time to collect himself and push down the memories.
After a moment of relative silence to catch their breaths, Yosuke's voice pulled Shirou's attention back to the present. "Shirou," he started carefully, "what happened back there?"
Not wanting to bring up those painful memories again, Shirou kept his answer brief and discreet. "I saw something no one should ever have to see in their lifetime." The tone in his voice was clear to everyone, and they offered understanding, if not comforting, gazes before dropping the matter.
It was just as well, when the Investigation Team found themselves speechless of the room they were in. It was similar to the ballroom Shadow Chie appeared from, but larger and even more regally appointed; red drapes covered over window spaces and gilded candle-lit chandeliers were suspended on either side of the room, with a large metal dome akin to a bird cage made of gold wires forming the ceiling over them. The carpet that acted as the group's winding road ended at the stoop ascending to a single throne crowned with a red tarp roof. The back of the throne had two drapes pulled closed together, with a decorated image of what looked like a heart with wings stretching upward.
Teddie sniffed again, unaware of Shirou's watching eyes; he had started having suspicions that the bear really was attuned to magecraft on some level. Shirou himself could vaguely determine the presence of magecraft through a sort of phantom smell, but an almost electrically-charged sting was the only scent he could ever pick up anywhere in this world. If there was any other "scent" here, it was so faint and distant that he couldn't pick up on it at all. He wasn't entirely sure if Teddie's senses were more refined or just plain different. Unless Yukiko was an active magus using magecraft, there would be no way for him to know.
"Yuki-chan's just behind that throne!"
Well, that's one mystery solved. Different it is.
Once again Chie ran ahead, but the others were just as excited as they followed her. Beyond the curtains was another room, about a fraction of the size of the throne room. It was most appropriately a bedroom with a side room stylized as a bathroom, a few open cupboards full of snacks, and the large, queen sized heart-shaped bed smack dab in the middle of it all.
And there, peacefully lying on the center of the bed, Yukiko Amagi was sleeping with the covers up to her stomach, still wearing the same pink kimono as when they last saw her at the gazebo. For someone lost in this place for so long, she looked healthy and remarkably clean.
"She's not-?" Yosuke asked, the immediate concern hanging in the air.
Chie ignored him, already leaning over the side of the bed to her friend. Her hands hesitantly reached for her shoulders. Taking a moment to just feel the presence of the girl under her hand (if only for reassurance), she gently shook her. "Yukiko, wake up. Yukiko, it's me."
A soft gasp passed her lips as she stirred at the sound of Chie's voice. Amagi slowly opened her eyes and blinked a few times. To everyone's immense relief, they were a dark brown.
"C-Chie? What-?"
She was cut off when she was pulled upright from her bed and into a hug with her best friend. Chie, her face close to Yukiko's hair and shoulder, freely cried tears of relief and rubbed her back in reassurance, almost afraid of letting the moment end. "You're okay," she wept over and over.
Shirou and Yosuke weren't nearly as emotional, but enjoyed a great sense of relief and accomplishment all the same. Aware of the other's good cheer they exchanged glances, a smile and grin respectively, and bumped their fists together. Teddie watched the gesture in awe before staring at his paws and clapping them together curiously, much to Yosuke's amusement.
Amagi, however, was both surprised and confused by the sudden tearful reunion, turning to the boys. "Um… am I missing something?"
"Nothing's wrong now, Yukiko!" Chie sniffed. She finally broke out of her hug and let out a big, teary smile. "I'm just… really glad you're alright!"
"So, who put you in here?"
So caught in their elevated cheer, the human members of the IT were caught completely flat-footed when Teddie trotted up to the girls with an innocent yet blunt question. Amagi was visibly startled by the bear, but not as much as everyone was expecting. "What are-? Uh, I mean, who are you?"
"I'm Teddie the Kuma!" the bear said. It stopped itself and tried again. "Wait, no, that's 'Teddie Kuma the bear'. You know what? Just call me Teddie. So, back to my question, who put you in here?"
Yosuke, Shirou, AND Chie were all contemplating smacking Teddie for his sudden questioning after so much had happened here, but Amagi's quiet answer brought their attention back to her.
The inn heiress frowned in strained thought. "Put me in…? I… can't remember. I think someone called my name, but I can't remember who or why. The next thing I know, I'm here. I'm sorry, uh, Teddie."
Teddie hummed, walking away while rubbing his chin contemplatively. "That doesn't tell us much."
"It tells us plenty," Yosuke affirmed, following him out of the bedroom. "If someone called Amagi-san, they kidnapped her and threw her in this world before anyone had a chance to notice."
"This also proves the culprit knows magecraft, at least to a level of using memory-altering hypnotism. It's not much, but it's a start," Shirou added.
Amagi blinked bewilderedly. "Mage-what?"
"Not here, Yukiko," her friend whispered, partly dragging her out of the bed.
Teddie paced away from the bed, pondering in deep thought as he stepped down the stoop. "She said it was someone she didn't know, so the culprit is someone unfamiliar to her. Chie-chan's her best friend, and she's in the same school as Shirou-sensei and Yosuke, so she has to know them too. Then that means they couldn't be the culprits that killed the other two like they said, and I won't have to leave them stranded here when this is over after all!"
The room was suddenly tense and quiet. Teddie stood up rigid and scared. "Oh whoopee cushions, I just said that all out loud, didn't I?"
"Teddie," Shirou slowly asked. "Have you secretly doubted our innocence this whole time, after you've been helping us from the beginning?"
The bear turned around and, not surprisingly, found Shirou, Yosuke and Chie all glaring down at him from the throne's dais with varying levels of anger. "W-well, I never doubted you, per say, Shirou-sensei!" Teddie reasoned more animatedly than necessary, sweating all the while. "M-more like keeping a… an open mind for reasonable doubt, ha ha! But I've ALWAYS supported and trusted you guys 99%! I just, well, needed the 1% to not trust you on the off chance that you'd, you know… be liars?"
"Says the lying sack of honey," Yosuke seethed and stomped towards Teddie. "I can't believe you considered leaving us to the Shadows again!"
"Shadows?" Chie's rage quickly shifted to confusion and then to panicked realization. "Oh crap! Yukiko's Shadow! It's still looking for her!"
In all the excitement, the others had forgotten about her Princess persona as well; Yukiko's rescue wouldn't truly be a victory until she made peace with herself or they escaped without running into the Shadow. If she was even aware of the depths of her suppressed feelings, it wouldn't accomplish anything to simply acknowledge them head on. Chie was proof of that.
Yosuke turned to their team leader. "Think we can take her on?"
If Yosuke had asked that when they were in peak condition upon first entering the castle today, Shirou would have tentatively said they had a chance. As it was, they had depleted most of their Soul Candies on the way up, and still used up a bit of their energy to get this far. Even with Satonaka joining the fight with her powerful Persona and martial arts skills, she was still one more potential casualty he would have to focus on defending. For Shirou, it was both easier and harder to fight Shadows with more people in the party.
And even if they did win the fight, wouldn't that mean that Amagi would gain a Persona and would fight alongside them? He couldn't ask that of her. He wouldn't ask that of her. She had no personal motivation to help them like his classmates did and was too feminine to risk her future fighting for her life regularly in this hidden world. Not that he'd ever say that out loud to either of his teammates, especially after seeing how much Satonaka's self-confidence suffered with Amagi's said femininity.
No, it was better to cut and run rather than pick a fight with something that dangerous. "I'm not sure, but I don't plan to stay and find out. Let's do what we came for and take Amagi-san home," Shirou decided.
Yukiko turned to him, surprisingly more startled than she was by every other revelation. "Wh-what?"
"Fine by me," Yosuke nodded before turning to the bear with a relaxed grin. The little guy was actually pretty useful even if he couldn't fight at all. "Teddie?"
"One Goho-M, coming up!" The bear smiled, clapping his hands to conjure a new diorama. But just as soon as it appeared, a white blur smacked the bear aside and snatched the newly crafted item. "Aaaah! Help me!"
The new enemy smashed the diorama to pieces, cutting off the IT's means of escape. It took a moment for everyone to recognize it.
"It's that Shadow from before!" Chie cried after helping Teddie up.
"Damn," said Yosuke. "It must have followed us here!"
Shirou was already drawing his sword as he gave orders. "I'll take point. Satonaka, Yosuke, follow my lead and cover your ears the moment it trembles. Let's-"
"WAIT!"
The Persona users were taken aback by the sudden outcry, but were absolutely floored when Yukiko jumped between them and the stout Shadow, arms spread out as if protecting it. "Don't hurt him!" she cried.
The others stared back in bewilderment, silently questioning the girl's sanity. Chie recovered quickly and pointed to the Shadow. "Yukiko, I know it looks cute and harmless, but that Shadow attacked us trying to get up here! Hell, I'm pretty sure it even gave Emiya-kun a seizure!"
"Prince-kun would never do something like that!"
"You haven't seen what the Shadows ca-" Yosuke stopped himself with a confused blink. "Wait: Prince-kun? You named it?"
"Technically the Shadow's full name is Charming Prince, so-"
"Not helping Teddie!"
"Prince-kun watches over me," Yukiko explained patiently. "Ever since the moment I woke up in this place, he was there. He found me, saved me from monsters that look like pinned together zombies, and then led me to this room."
"To keep you prisoner," Yosuke accused.
"To protect me!" she snapped. "Prince-kun's been nothing but accommodating in my wellbeing! He even brings me food and water whenever I need it!"
"And you haven't been getting any sort of headaches from being here?" Shirou asked, remembering the first time the three of them entered the TV world.
"To be honest, I just sleep a lot in the back room. I get so dizzy that I barely have the energy to go leave here even if I wanted to."
Yukiko patted the Shadow's head affectionately, smiling as she did. "It's not all bad; Prince-kun is always there when I need him, bringing me food and water and whatever else I need when I ask. And maybe when I get better, I can see the rest of the castle with him protecting me. It's a little scary at first, with all the monsters around, but it's also exciting. It's like I'm living in a fairy tale!"
The Investigation Team exchanged knowing, winced looks. Teddie looked the saddest. "She should have seen this place before people were dumped in."
Chie took a single, slow breath to relieve her tension. "Yukiko," she spoke softly. "We don't have time to explain everything, but this place really is dangerous. You know the TV announcer Ms. Yamano? We found the room she could have been in while stuck here. And that school announcement you missed last week? One of our third year classmates died recently, but the timing and circumstances are too much like Ms. Yamano. We think you could be next."
Yukiko had the decency to look alarmed. "What? How?"
"I just said I can't explain everything," she calmly reasoned. "But you just got to have to trust me so we can all go home."
"I'm fine here. Prince-kun takes care of me."
"Even if you're safe here, you've been missing for five days! You have to come back!"
"Well maybe I don't want to go back!"
A deathly silence followed in the wake of Yukiko Amagi's outburst. The Persona fighters stared at Yukiko, wide-eyed at the violent confession. Even the heiress was surprised by her sudden choice of words, staring faintly at her once clenched hands in horror.
"Yukiko…" Chie's voice cracked, about ready to burst into tears. Does she really-?
"Chie, I-!"
"Oh my! This room certainly looks crowded!"
Yukiko froze, surprised to hear someone sound so similar to her. Looking up, she saw Chie and the others looking past her, stiff in horror. She instinctively reached for Prince-kun's hand, but she was standing alone. Turning around in a frantic search for her Prince, she saw a lookalike to her in a frilly princess dress with a scary looking smile.
It was worse than any nightmare she'd ever had, because she wasn't waking up.
"Aaaaaand of course the Shadow would show up at this moment," Yosuke sighed.
"Amagi-san, get back, cover your ears and wait for us," Shirou said as calmly as he could muster, never taking his eyes off of the Shadow. She didn't listen, but the trio moved in formation between the two Yukikos.
"So all this time, you three was all out looking for little old me?" The Shadow grinned. "I'm flattered, really, but none of you properly look the part. No matter! I can fix that!"
As she spoke, Shadow Yukiko whipped her gloved arm around in a circle and her aura twisted in reply. She finished with a flick of her wrist, sending a plume of blue dust at Shirou, Yosuke, and Chie, engulfing the trio in a flash of light.
When the light faded, the only thing that changed was their attire, and what they saw struck them silent in awe and more than a little confusion. Yosuke's clothes had changed from a black school uniform to a white service dress military uniform and pants, made more official with yellow epaulettes on his shoulders and service ribbons on his breast. The clothes made him look regal, but from a low, honorary standing.
Shirou's outfit was a slightly baggy coat and pants combo, lined with gold marks around the edges and center of the cloth. This was barely seen, however, by the large black overcoat with the top flaps near his neck buttoned together. The suit struck a certain chord as being dynamic and dramatic, though it felt best worn by someone of great tactical leadership; something Shirou was only starting to get the hang of.
Chie's was the most surprising; she was now wearing a red jacket with a yellow insignia outlined around the zipper line in front of her chest. The outfit was complete with matching red pants, white knee high boots and white gloves. It was obviously feminine, but almost tailored to be worn like men's clothes.
Teddie was bedazzled by the student's change of attire, and looked over itself to see if it received the same costume change. When the bear saw no change in itself, it comically made an angry-looking pout. Yukiko found herself blushing at how beautiful the clothes looked. Especially on Chie-
"So strong and dashing," The Shadow sighed dreamily. "Yes, these clothes really do make you look like princes!"
Yukiko felt her heart skip a beat. Her classmates just looked up in confusion. "Princes?" Emiya asked.
"Th-that includes me too?" Chie glanced down at her outfit again, albeit timidly. She knew Yukiko sought her out as the better girl, but to have the allusion be taken this far was unbelievable.
Shadow Yukiko walked closer to them, personally examining the students in line. "But I wonder… are any of you the kind of prince that could help me escape?"
Yosuke was suddenly stricken with a brilliant idea; if he could appease the Shadow enough to follow him as her "prince", then they could avoid a fight altogether and rescue Yukiko Amagi! On the plus side, if it worked well enough, he might even get the cute heiress as a girlfriend! Motivated by both noble and selfish intentions, he stepped forward with an eager smile and spoke in his best British accent. "Allow me, my princess! I shall be the dashing hero who will whisk you away by the powers love and magic!"
Chie was gobsmacked by his sudden charisma, but passed as she picked up the intentions. "Love and-Hanamura!"
"Shirou-sensei!" the bear whispered to his idol. "Is this 'scoring a hot babe' that Yosuke mentioned before?" The magus, feeling a heated glare from the red "prince" turn his way, wisely chose not to comment.
To her credit, Shadow Yukiko spared time to assess Yosuke. "Kind of cute, but… I'm drawing a blank. Who are you again?"
The white prince was crushed; he shouldn't be surprised since he kept mostly to himself the semester he moved to Inaba, but was he really that bland? Well, she said she was cute, so there was still hope. "Uh, Yosuke Hanamura? The guy who your best friend kicked in the nads a while back?" A bit of recognition started to dawn on her, so he kept going. "I also asked you out last year but you turned me down."
Frowns were mirrored on both Yukiko's faces, but the Shadow's was more hostile, and started to turn away from him. "Oh, you're only another peasant suitor from school. I've dealt with enough of you posers to last a lifetime. Pass."
"But if you could just recon-"
"NO." The casual, blunt refusal was powerful enough to break the illusion on Yosuke's clothes, morphing them back to his school uniform.
"Thaaat'll teach me to get my hopes up," he sighed dejectedly, before tugging his jacket and bitterly adding, "Could've at least let me keep the clothes…"
"And then there's Shirou-kun," The Shadow cooed, walking to the black prince seductively with wandering eyes. "Now here's a prince worth mentioning. Yes, a foreigner from the city, who was suddenly forced to move and live in a rural prison, who is strong, kind, polite and chaste. It's so much like a story book fairy tale where the prince from far, far away who meets his true love in shared melancholy and they manage to escape and live happily ever after!"
It was déjà vu for Shirou; a Shadow was making open advances to him because of some subconscious attraction again. He certainly thought of the fairer sex from time to time, like Sakura's growing beauty over the years, or the idol of his last school Rin Tohsaka, but he never believed himself to be worthy of female attention. As it turned out, he didn't need to worry about making a calm refusal to the Shadow, as she turned away.
"But that image was broken when you admitted you chose to come to this hellhole on your own volition and to see your gods-ridden extended family. The only family me and my prince would need is from our own children, not from wicked in-laws."
Shirou blinked incredulously, barely registering his cape and dress clothes morphing back to normal. Did she just insult Dojima and Nanako? Or was she displacing her own family experiences on him?
"Last but not least, Chie-chan," Shadow Yukiko smiled brightly, taking the flustered Chie's hands in hers before doing a mock dance. "Cute, little Chie-chan, who is always by my side and making me feel safe. It's not as classical, but the childhood friend who saves the princess is even more of a romantic tale."
"B-but I'm a girl," Chie weakly argued.
"That's fine; I'm willing to try something new for my prince."
Chie blushed, and she turned worriedly to Yukiko as if for clarification. Yosuke, Teddie, and (to his chagrin) Shirou did as well; Yukiko looked thoroughly embarrassed, and suddenly self-conscious of the stares. Uncaring of the reaction, Shadow Yukiko continued waltzing.
"Yes, I wouldn't mind spending all of eternity together in bliss, just the two of us, because you're a kind, strong prince." She ended their dance with their faces close to one another, almost close to a kiss. Then the Shadow's good cheer disappeared and she shoved Chie away. "Or at least you were."
Like Shirou before her, Chie was too stunned at the turn of events to notice or care her prince clothes disappearing. "'Were'?"
"You're just not good enough. You can't hope to rescue me, let alone yourself. You needed the help of two wannabe princes to even get this far. I believed in you, thought you were different and could help me, but you told me I had to go back home! And what was that you said the other day again?" The Shadow spread her arms out wide, her tone loud and mocking. "'I want security and power and everyone to be my BITCH!'"
Chie flinched at every insult, feeling worse than when her own subconscious snubbed her face in it). She knew Yukiko would never mean or say this out loud, but deep down she felt betrayed. Just what the hell happened to their friendship to come to this? "Th-that's-!"
But the Shadow ignored her, and marched to the top step of the throne with anger. "You're just like everyone else, telling me what I can or can't do! 'Go run some errands for me, Yukiko'! 'Greet your guests with a smile, Yukiko'! 'Stop dilly-dallying and do as you're told, Yukiko'!!"
Yukiko had enough, and followed her Shadow to the bottom step, to the worry of the others. "You stop this right now, whoever you are. I don't know why you look like me, but you have no right coming in here and insulting everyone! You better apologize to them right now!"
"'Apologize'?" The princess turned to her double, her aura darkening as she spat the first word. "For what? Being born already chained down to a 'historic family inn' in the middle of a shitty little town? Or perhaps thinking that I hate everyone for having such high expectations of me when I never had a choice once in my entire life?!"
"Wh-what are you implying?"
The Shadow's mouth quirked to a smile, but the look in her eyes was vicious, predatory. "Why do think we share the same face? Or sound alike? Or how I know what you know? It's because we're the same; I'm Yukiko, and Yukiko is me. Isn't that right, Prince-kun?"
To everyone's surprise, the Charming Prince, once so protective of the inn heiress Yukiko, was kneeling in reverence to Princess Yukiko, who fondly patted its head like it was showing affection to a pet. The tension in the room grew subtly between human and Shadow, and the Investigation Team was stuck watching it play out for the third time.
"He's my real prince," she cooed seductively, kneeling down and caressing its cheek with her hand tenderly. "Saving me from the monsters like a hero and whisking me away in his little arms! Keeping me nice and safe from all that I could care less about, and from that moment on, I knew he would be the one to guide me away from all my troubles. And the best part? He's soooo much regal than that Hana guy, soooo much cuter than Shirou-kun, and SOOOO much reliable than Chie-chan."
"Oh, this is not going to end well," Yosuke grimaced. The obvious pointed jabs to them were bad, true, but that was distracting from the real escalating problem.
"Can't we do something?!" Chie whispered frantically. They all knew exactly what this was building up to, but stopping it was proving harder and harder.
Yukiko's stern facade faltered, and the horror that was in the back of her mind since seeing the double was slowly setting in. It was worse that Prince-kun, her protector, was standing by the fake's side and had betrayed her trust. And that this witch was saying those same hopeful wishes she kept to herself as if she had them first! "How dare you! Prince-kun is my friend!"
Shadow Yukiko turned with a mock smile. "You want him? Come and take him." A moment passed, and she found herself rooted on the spot, too afraid to act. "I knew it. Even when you want something so much, you never had the nerve to go do it yourself. You hate the life you never wanted, you hate your family for controlling you, and most of all you hate yourself for being so passive! Even your pet bird was tired of you and flew off!"
"That's not true!" she argued. "I would never-!"
The Shadow then turned opposite to the Prince and looked longingly in the distance with her hands cupped together in prayer. "I just want to go somewhere far away, anywhere but here!" She spoke partly dramatic, partly mocking. "Someone, please take me away! I can't leave here on my own! I'm completely useless!"
"Stop it. Stop it, please…!" Yukiko's voice grew weaker and shakier with every word.
"We can't hurt one without hurting the other," Yosuke reminded as the rant went on. "And anything we say will only make things worse. You just heard what she really thought about us."
Regardless of the logic in his argument, Chie wasn't at all happy with it. "So we're just going to stand around like idiots and do nothing?"
"Teddie will carry Yukiko back to that room before the Shadow transforms," said Shirou. "After that, we'll fight it out."
"But you said-!"
"We don't have the choice in the matter anymore, Satonaka." The magus's voice was resigned at this point. It was like Teddie's world put in extra effort to make you face yourself or die, no matter how much it hurt.
"I have no hope if I stay, and no courage to leave," the princess continued, ending her rant with a deliberate plop onto her throne. "So I sit on my ass fantasizing the day my Prince will come. I don't care who he is. I don't care where we go. As long as I'm not anywhere near that pile of bullshit they call the 'pride of Inaba', I don't give a damn!"
Guess the Shadows of Yosuke and Amagi-san have a lot more in common than I thought, Shirou mentally noted as he glanced back to his friend. From his slightly bewildered expression, he must be thinking along the same lines.
"Wh-why?" Yukiko weakly scolded. "Why would you say such awful things?"
Her lookalike just smiled back. "Because that's how I really feel… me."
Yukiko had never felt so insulted. All those hurtful things this person said, and claimed to be her? After she insulted her friends, family, and stole Prince-kun? But… all those things she said, how could she have even known? Is she really-?
"No!" She suddenly cried, denying both the Shadow and her internal thoughts. This wasn't possible, it just wasn't!
"Yukiko, no!" Chie cried, hoping beyond hope that she would listen. "Don't say-!"
"You're not me!"
The magus was already moving, not waiting for the Shadow's transformation to even start. "Get her out of here now," he ordered the bear.
"Good luck, everyone," Teddie said, pulling on a suddenly very tired girl by the arm. "This way, Yuki-chan. Hurry!"
It wasn't clear if she was really listening or not, but she was nonetheless dragged away as her classmates grouped together before Shadow Yukiko. The princess rose off of her throne with a giddy laugh as more dark particles streamed into her.
"Yeeees, this wonderful feeling!" The Shadow cooed, one arm hugging her chest and the other rubbing… in a discreet place lower down. "It keeps building up inside me, more and MORE. If this keeps up, I'll… I'll…!" Then she screamed as if in ecstasy and the darkness around her exploded.
For the briefest of moments, and despite the danger that presented itself, Shirou felt exasperated that a Shadow had made such an innuendo as it transformed. As if her actions weren't obvious in the Midnight Channel.
The mental jesting stopped as they saw Shadow Yukiko's new form. What they saw in front of the throne was no longer a princess, but a giant red bird, standing tall on golden talons. In the place of her arms, red feathered wings were outstretched nearly three meters each. Her chest area had white under feathers that was shaped perfectly like a heart and suspiciously made her chest look well endowed. Her neck was long and lanky like a giraffe's, with three lines of pink feathers ringing her throat. The head however, was not birdlike at all, but nearly a mirror of Yukiko's own, headband and all, the face colored the same vibrant red as her plumage and long black hair. The horrific difference was that her face was frozen in position like a mask, with golden eyes blank of emotion and her mouth set in a thin, disapproving line.
"I am a Shadow: the true self," she spoke, though her mouth did not move. "I'll allow you failure princes to dance with me, if you can keep up." The Shadow bird immediately took flight, one beat of her slender wings sending up a veritable storm of wind and dust at the trio, stopping them cold as she ascended towards the ceiling.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Yosuke powered through the winds first, his card floating before him. "Let's do this, Jiraiya!" The moment his knife passed through the card, his Persona exploded into action, leaping into the air with a perfect flying kick… that the Shadow gracefully dodged with a mere turn of its wings.
The bird's expressionless face somehow conveyed mockery as it turned to Yosuke. "What was tha-AH!" Before she could even finish the sentence, Jiraiya had kicked off the towering chamber's ceiling and grabbing a wingtip, swinging his body under the Shadow and yanking the wing across the Shadow's chest as he went. With its wings tangled, the Shadow was sent into a wild tumble downward while Jiraiya leaped away to land gracefully at the edge of the chamber.
With the winds halted, Shirou and Chie invoked their Personas as well. The magus reacted first, invoking his Persona's weakness curse. "Rakunda!" Like Shadow Chie before her, the purple light orb flashed to life around the avian before constricting and sinking into its flesh. For ninety seconds the bird's physical and magical defenses would be sharply reduced, a fact that Tomoe took immediate advantage of, twirling her two-bladed naginata overhead and bringing it down in a vicious whirling slash. Shadow Yukiko's shriek of pain was equal parts distorted human and birdlike.
In spite of the gash ripped into his hide, the Shadow hopped back with surprising agility, though nowhere near the insane level of Yosuke's own Shadow. Before anyone could close the distance, the Shadow released an eagle-like scream before exhaling a massive torrent of fire straight for the group. Izanagi was clipped by the onslaught. Shirou's face flushed and small burns marred his body and a scream was torn from his throat.
"Emiya-kun!"
"I'm fine," he assured Chie, calming himself through hastened breaths. "But keep your guard up, Satonaka." Like Izanagi's weakness to wind, they had discovered the hard way that fire was Tomoe's weakness, though Chie and her Persona's agility were usually enough to avoid the worst of it.
It was harder to focus than he liked, though. The Charming Prince's scream had dragged hellish memories long buried back to the surface like ripping open a nearly-healed wound. Forcing the feelings down for now in spite of the burns, Shirou grit his teeth and set his stance. They had to finish this quickly. Numbers were in their favor now, and even if she had a few surprises of her own, they had their own- wait, why is she glowing?
It took a moment to realize she was bathed in purple, sparkling light that reminded him of Pixie's Dia, but larger and much more effective. When the light faded, the massive scar she had received from Tomoe was gone, leaving Shadow Yukiko as good as new. She craned her neck affectionately towards the culprit: her Charming Prince settled down as the last traces of concentrated prana left its body.
"Thank you, Prince-kun!" she doted as a loving wife would. "You're so thoughtful!"
Yosuke threw his arms down, almost tempted to throw the nata down as well. "Oh COME ON! She has a back-up healer?! That's so not fair!"
That new wrinkle complicated things, but the fight wasn't over. "Satonaka, you distract the Charming Prince while Yosuke and I fight Amagi's Shadow," Shirou said as Izanagi shifted its grip on its polearm.
Chie blinked. "Huh? Are you sure?"
"Yeah, shouldn't we all gang up on him and get rid of him quickly? Healers gotta go down first," Yosuke asked as Jiraiya tossed its shuriken at the Shadow, doubling it over for a moment from the impact.
Shirou shook his head. "I was hoping to use that tactic for Amagi's Shadow, but as long as the Prince is healing her, it'll only make things harder for us. Same problem applies to attacking the Prince together; she'll likely take us all down in one strike, especially if she cares that much for him. Satonaka's vulnerable to fire attacks, but her ice ones can put a buffer on the Prince, who is her ideal target. She doesn't even have to defeat it; just hold it off and prevent it from healing so we can finish the fight."
The tomboy had to admit the plan was sound. She'd be no good to anyone if she got caught vulnerable to an Agi, especially if the Prince could heal whatever damage they dealt away. "Leave it to me! I'll have him wiped out no problem!" she smiled, and dashed off to her new opponent, with Tomoe leading the charge. "Bufu-ken!"
The ice bullet pelted and knocked the Charming Prince down into a double backwards roll before landing flat on its back. At the same time, Izanagi and Jiraiya threw their own elemental magic towards the avian Shadow, who screeched as wind and thunder struck her body. The pause was short lived as she flew down in an attempt to scratch Yosuke with both talons. The headphone wearing teen jumped back at the last moment, nearly landing back to a tumble, and his previous spot was marked with two large gouges in the carpet. She didn't pull back quick enough before he jumped back and cross slashed her neck while Jiraiya threw another gust of wind her back.
"Gotta be quicker than that, Princess!" Yosuke smirked even as he jumped away from her fire attack.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Yosuke!" Shirou warned, keeping a steady guard and distance from the Shadow with his Persona attacking. No sooner had he made the call, Jiraiya flipped away from the flailing Shadow, keeping low to the ground and bounding like a frog as it dodged darts of flame and blade-like feathers.
"I got this! Now toss me a Taru! I got an idea!" Shirou, though uncertain, did as he was told and invoked the offense enchantment spell.
Taking flight again, Shadow Yukiko set her sights on the airborne ninja who was bouncing from walls, ceilings, and sometimes nothing to make fast strikes against her. She barely stopped herself in time to avoid a downward kick that would have smacked her head down. Wary of retaliation, she followed his descent as he landed on the floor and then sprang up again to uppercut her chest. This one was a direct hit, stunning the Shadow as she gagged, and she momentarily lost sight of him before he attempted a haymaker on her back, which she air-rolled away from.
"That does it!" The Shadow screeched, positioning herself and then flying towards the Ninja Persona with quick reaction time. "Get back here, commoner!" she shouted before unleashing another raging inferno. Burns formed on Yosuke's clothes as Jiraiya bounded just outside of the flames' reach. Still releasing the flamethrower-like blast, Shadow Yukiko opened her wings again and pulled out of her dive, sweeping her head towards the would-be rescuers.
Before she could finish off the Persona users, Izanagi impaled the Shadow in the side, cutting off the flames and drawing a squawk of shock and pain from her throat. The bird flapped wildly and slashed at Izanagi with its talons, but found little purchase against the long coat he wore. She finally dislodged the spirit by whirling in a wild roll and pushing off as hard as she could, sending Izanagi into a wall with a resounding boom. Shirou felt that and grimaced as the impact transferred to him.
Back in the air and regenerating the black scar in her plumage (thankfully not as fast as Shadow Yosuke did), the Shadow opted instead to stay on the move rather than hover in place like before. Even as Jiraiya started upwards with his bounding leaps, Shadow Yukiko kept on the move, not willing to be a stationary punching bag anymore.
Even so, trying to counterattack was even harder with the two entities constantly on the move. Down below Shirou and Izanagi held up a hand each, but Shirou refused to release another Zio until he had a clear shot. Instead, he made sure to recast Rakunda and prepare a Tarukaja for the instant Jiraiya had an opening. At least those curses didn't need to strike the target, merely willed into effect.
Jiraiya continued to keep the Shadow on the move, the shuriken flashing out to try and hem the Shadow in even as it displayed more aerial agility than something its size should have. "I can do this all day, you overgrown flamingo!" Yosuke taunted again. Shirou was left to worry about his overconfidence, but simply focused on keeping Rakunda and Tarukaja working for as long as possible.
On the far side of the throne room, Chie had reached a bit more of a stalemate with her own opponent. Due to her already weak and low magic reserves, she couldn't pelt him to submission with ice as much as she'd like to. At best, she had three shots left, and couldn't afford to miss even one. That left her with going with fighting head on. She awkwardly stood in place while spinning her chain whip parallel to her body. It was a basic technique, and not something really useful in hindsight, but it kept the Prince away from her lest it got smacked by the spinning flail.
She had Tomoe fight back sword to spear, and despite its stout figure, it was just as easily fast as it was strong. Tomoe had the edge earlier for being taller and with a longer weapon, slowly but surely cutting the Shadow to pieces. Chie had thought the fight was as good as over, but then the gourd Prince invoked a green light around it and started all but dancing around the samurai Persona. Attacks that would normally be blocked by its sword would now be dodged outright and expose her to a counterattack by its agility. Chie gritted her teeth with each new cut on her body, but she persists in keeping the link open.
It seemed like an eternity before she saw one: a sudden, sharp drop in its speed unbalanced the Charming Prince and left it overextended, and Tomoe took full advantage of the lapse. A strong kick shot the Shadow up into the air, and Chie followed through with her limited magic reserves. "Bufu-ken!" To her delight, the Shadow flew higher and higher...
Right into Shadow Yukiko line of sight. The fighting stopped as everyone turned and watched as the Charming Prince sail through the air with crushed ice crystals before falling down in a metallic thud. The Investigation Team all felt an immediate shift in the larger Shadow, and though her face remained frozen, the emotion seemed to spark with rage anew. Chie nearly flinched and felt her whip dart to the floor as the Shadow turned her predatory glare on her... and flames that started to burn brighter than before. "No one hurts my Prince-kun! Not even you, Chie! Agi!"
"Shit!" Yosuke cursed; both at the level of danger their teammate was about to face, and to himself for not doing anything to stop her. There was no time to get in the line of fire or push Satonaka away from their angle, so he tried the next best thing; punching the Shadow to divert the trajectory. Had Jiraiya struck earlier, he would have done just that. But a second difference was still vital in a fight, and though he struck another powerful blow to her, the fireball still found its mark by Chie's feet. It was enough.
"Aaaaaah!" Chie cried in pain as she was blown away. Her sweater quickly caught fire before she rolled on the ground to smother them. Tomoe slumped and started to flicker.
"Satonaka!" Shirou's heart wavered for a moment; his attention focused solely on his teammate's safety. It was with this pause that his heart subconsciously dismissed Izanagi from the fight and that, while still under the passive blessings of his Persona, ran for her.
"Damn it," Yosuke cursed. He couldn't blame the magus for his actions, and he had been fighting the Shadow himself this whole time, but it would help to have his Persona as moral support. If he could keep this up though, he could win. She hadn't even hit him yet! Though why was he feeling so tired all of a sudden?
Shirou felt the bottom of his stomach drop out at the sight of Satonaka lying on the ground in pain. Regret filled every fiber of his being; he should have never allowed anyone to be here with him. No one should ever risk their lives other than his own. Now one of his first friends here in Inaba was hurt and it was because of his stupid plan! If she (had) just stayed safe in the normal world and lived in ignorance, she would never have to endure this pain. Worse, he could switch Izanagi out and heal her, but if he did, Shadow Yukiko would be free to rampage. He could feel Izanagi straining to hold her down through their link.
He would have reached down to pick her up, but Chie immediately reached up and took his hand. "Okay, now I'm mad. Those two are going down!" she declared before giving the obviously bewildered Shirou a slight glare. "What? I'm not out of this yet! Help me up!"
Any protest Shirou had to the demand died at the look in Satonaka's eyes. He felt that trying to convince her to step back would only end in pain later. It also reminded him that this was not the place to argue with her. With a pull, he helped the girl to her feet and turned back to the Shadow, who was pursued by Jiraiya but a lot less aggressively. Somehow, the tables have turned and it was the avian that was dancing in circles around the ninja Persona now, and it left both Shirou and Chie a feeling of worry and dread, especially when he would occasionally flicker between tangibility every few seconds.
"Yosuke, what's wrong?" Shirou quickly shouted, taking note of the way his friend was visibly trembling, like he could barely stand.
"I-I don't know, partner! I feel like I just ran a marathon and a half!" he wheezed, his breathing obviously ragged.
Teddie provided the answer from the throne room's door, dreading the thought of having to go deeper into the castle with a weakened Yukiko. "Yosuke's been using a lot of power to let Jiraiya use his techniques so much! He's bear-y drained right now!"
Shirou bit back a curse. Moving and controlling a Persona normally took no effort, but there was a drain whenever they used their Persona's special powers, physical or magical. Yosuke must have been too caught up in the battle to even notice! He'd need to restore some of his strength to keep him fighting; maybe Pixie could help?
Shadow Yukiko, now perched atop a chandelier, laughs triumphantly. "You three think you're so smart, but you aren't the only ones with tricks up your sleeves. Prince-kun! Let us dance!"
As if reinvigorated by her "princess's" voice, the Charming Prince flipped to its feet instantly. Dark power gathered and it began to shake in a familiar manner. Clapping his hands over his ears, Shirou braced for the memories as the Shadow screamed…
Nothing. No fire, no anguish. Shirou blinked to awareness slowly, noticing that everything was still the same. He didn't need to look long and hard to figure out why. He wasn't the target.
No, this time it was Yosuke, sporting an unhealthy mix of pale white and blue, that was affected. Jiraiya, a hair's width away from striking the avian Shadow, froze and flickered away, not unlike what happened to him as Shadow Yosuke. The trauma by the Charming Prince's fear scream was so strong it overrode the power of Persona itself. "S-Saki-senpai? But..."
With a haughty laugh, the Shadow flew off her chandelier perch and higher up to the ceiling."Now stay right there, and I'll show you a dance I like to call, the 'Shivering Rondo'." Then in one strike with her talons, she severed the chains supporting the chandelier before letting gravity take over.
There was no time to think. Shirou took off towards their friend, faintly aware of Chie running behind him. He desperately called to his Persona, any Persona, to help him close the gap in time. He pushed his body as far as he could, ramping up his Reinforcement. They were too far away but he just had to reach him in time. He had to! "YOSUKE! LOOK OUT!"
Another ten yards and he could have shoved Yosuke aside. He could have at least put himself in the way, maybe absorbed some of the damage and healed later.
But fate was cruel.
A loud crash shook the room, and the magus was nearly blown back by the force. Debris and dust from overturned, broken tiles was just settling down, and left no imagination to the damage done. Metal bars once supporting candles were bent and broken off, littering the floor around it. Or at least the ones closest to the ground as the chandelier crashed at a tilted angle to the side. The candles themselves were either burnt out or weakly burning to the floor and caved open tile spaces. There was no trace of Yosuke above the structure.
The scenario slowly settled in of their friend's demise. Chie knelt back down to the floor sobbing. A coldness spread through Shirou's entire being. Two failures back to back. He had power now, but what good was it if he wasn't able to save everyone here? He had pulled it off against the other Shadows, so why was he failing so miserably now? What did he do wrong? How could he call himself an Ally of Justice like this? "Yosuke…"
"I knew it," said Shadow Yukiko. "He really was such a worthless commoner pretending to be someone else. He couldn't even make a proper escort. Isn't that right, Prince-kun?"
Shirou snapped to the Shadow and saw red, figuratively and literally. He cared not that she was now a myriad projection of Amagi's feelings made reality. She was an insufferable, violent monster who needed to be stopped. Acting on his growing desire for righteous fury, his newest Persona beckoned to the call and he answered it. "Eligor!"
Like a chevalier racing to his fellow jousting opponent, Duke and steed galloped from the spiritual flames of their shattered card. With breakneck speed, their distance across the throne room shrank by the second and the rider drew back his weapon, armed and poised towards its grounded enemy. The Charming Prince, as if sensing its impending doom, started to flee as far as its little legs could carry it.
"If thou calls itself royalty, than accept death with dignity!" Eligor roared, just before he approached striking distance and struck. "Poison Skewer!"
SRICK!
"Prince-kuuuuun!" Shadow Yukiko screeched, watching in horror as the deed was done.
The lance pierced the Shadow's lesser armor, already weakened by Tomoe. Its smaller body mass left it embedded on the lance's point as the gallant knight slowed to a stop. As if disgusted with his meager kill, and resonant to Shirou's thoughts, the Duke of Hell flicked his lance aside, flinging the dead Shadow away. The red avian flew down to the prince's side, craning her head to its side affectionately. It was for naught as the Charming Prince dissolved to black nothingness, and no trace was left.
"No… no!" the Shadow cried, ending with a long, loud primal screech to the heavens. Though her grief was far from gone, it was replaced with anger as she directed her gaze to Shirou.
"YOU!" She roared at the magus. "How DARE YOU kill my one and only true love?!"
He simply stared back, hands gripping his sword tightly. Eligor righted his lance in position between them, his horse brushing its leg back for another charge. Chie was slowly pulling herself up and wiping the still tears off her eyes before joining the fight.
"None of you are worthy of me, so you decide to take it out on my Prince-kun? Well you can all die like the worthless commoners that you are! Just like your little friend!"
Eligor charged forward to strike, but the Shadow was already in the air and beyond his reach. She climbed into the bird cage structure on top of another chandelier which was large enough to fit her inside. She perched herself just outside of the now swaying cage with her wings fully outstretched and paid special attention to the lit candles.
"Now burn to ashes!" she wailed, and then flapped her wings. The candle flames grew larger, and embers parted them as they flew and rained down on the room, which only grew worse with the constant moving of Shadow Yukiko's perch. Other chandeliers were blown forward by the wind as well, and in response, more embers scattered.
In less than a minute, the throne room was engulfed in flames that threatened to burn everything in sight. Chie could already feel the stinging smell of smoke build up from the carpets and drapes, taking extra precaution to dismiss Tomoe while avoiding falling debris. "What do we do now?"
She hoped that Shirou had a plan. If not, at the very least respond with assurance that they would get by somehow. But when she maneuvered her way next to him, he was in a trance again. Not like seeing Yosuke die, but when the Prince terrorized him into a seizure. He was now staring blankly around the room, as if looking for something. Possibly Eligor, for he upped and vanished around the time the fire started.
"Emiya-kun?" she tried again, but no answer. Things were going from bad to worse, and everything was literally coming down on their heads!
"Shirou-sensei! Chie-chan!" Teddie finally called out from the back. "This room is gonna fall apart any second! Get out of there, hurry! And don't worry; I bearly fetched Yosuke in time, but he'll live! He's right here resting with me and Yuki-chan!"
If the situation wasn't so dire, she'd probably weep with relief and forgive Teddie for doubting them. But she was stuck with a nearly unresponsive leader in a burning room and a psychotic bird waiting to kill them. "Emiya-kun!" she shook his shoulders. "Snap out it! We need your help! Emiya-kun!"
When that didn't work, she slapped him. She felt a little guilty, but it seemed to work with Yosuke earlier. To her relief, she got it to work too, and the redhead's eyes blinked as if waking up. "S-Satonaka?"
"No time, just run!"
She grabbed his arm and dragged him to the back of the hall by the staircase, narrowly avoiding burning ceiling beams blocking their path and/or nearly crushing them. As the bear said, Teddie was waiting near the stairs with two laying down students. Yukiko was leaning against the corner wall, making tired pants and close to passing out due to her Shadow's presence. Yosuke looked far worse, flat on the ground with rags that was once his school uniform. Teddie was just finishing covering his head gash with wrapping tape before moving to the cuts from shrapnel across his chest when the duo arrived.
"Things are beary bad out there," Teddie shock nervously even as he worked. "If this keeps up, we'll all be bar-bear-qued!"
Chie winced from the searing hotness and the painful pun. Shirou himself ignored it and considered their options. "Any chance we can escape?"
"The door's barred," said the bear, pointing to a large pile of burning wood in front of the stairway. "And this castle is eight stories high; I counted. Even if we get past here, we have so many other floors to climb down that it'd be too late."
The students exchanged forlorn glances, but fortunately for them Teddie wasn't done yet. "I made another Goho-M," it said after patching Yosuke, lifting a house diorama for emphasis. "But I was hoping to use it after we beat Shadow Yuki-chan. I… I don't want to think what would happen if she was left alone, whether or not she killed Yuki-chan."
Chie herself didn't want to think what would happen to Yukiko either if this issue was ignored, now that she thought about it. But they were so weak and the fire was getting closer. "We can't beat that thing on our own. Not without Hanamura. Can't you heal him, Emiya-kun?"
He didn't answer, but called out Pixie to check their teammate. After a quick look, she sadly shook her head. "This is beyond me. Only alternative is to use some revival beads or that… well, you know."
"Beads…" Teddie said aloud even as Pixie dismissed herself. Then he smacked his paws together. "Oh! I know what Pixie-chan's talking about!"
"Do we have any to use?" Chie asked hopefully.
"Nope!" Teddie smiled, much to the dismay of his friends. "But I can make one!"
Teddie clapped his hands twice, and cupped them together and produced a small curved, clear colored magatama and pressed it on Yosuke's body. A moment later, he gasped awake, lunging up abruptly and looking around frantically. He calmed down upon wincing in pain and noting his body bandages. "We're not dead yet, are we?"
"Not yet," Shirou weakly joked. "Now the Shadow's trying to burn us out. You and I could probably make it, but Satonaka…"
"I only have two ice shots left in me," she finished.
"So that's it then?" he asked. "Man, if only Amagi-san could accept herself."
Chie's expression brightened at the idea. She turned to her friend resting in the corner, and slowly walked over to her before kneeling down. "Yukiko, can you hear me?"
The inn heiress moaned weakly, barely keeping her eyes open before focusing on her friend. Chie could relate, and she was certain Yosuke could too; the sudden loss of feeling and awareness, where you'd rather just doze off and let yourself roll over and die. It was easy to understand why Ms. Yamano and Konishi-senpai died after their Shadows were born, and it was tempting without a heart to react. But if Yosuke was able to admit his problems to his Shadow under the influence, then so could Yukiko. She just needed to be reminded that her best friend was here for her.
"Yukiko, I'm sorry. You were right; I'm not good enough, let alone strong enough to help you. I never even noticed all of-"
"Run, Chie."
Chie's planned speech was interrupted and thoroughly derailed by Yukiko's words. They were soft spoken as a plea, but had finality to them… and defeat. "Wh-what?!"
"Run," she said again, slowly but strongly. "Go and save yourself. It's me that thing wants, isn't it? I'd never forgive myself if you died in my place."
"We're not leaving without you," said Shirou.
"Damn straight we're not!" Yosuke added. "We came all this way in the first to rescue you, Satonaka especially! We might not be the princes you were hoping for, but don't we get points for trying?"
Yukiko turned to Chie, who nodded in answer. Then the black haired girl chuckled, again with futility. "You were right. This place was dangerous. I knew it from the start, even with Prince-kun by my side. But I'm just like a bird in a cage. I don't have the strength or courage to leave on my own."
A birdlike screech drew Yosuke and Shirou's attention back, seeing the Shadow's form blacken and falter. The moment passed and she flapped out more embers and flares to further ignite the room, growing steadily closer to their spot. "Where are you peasants?! I know you're in here!"
"Is her guilt a form of confronting her Shadow?" Shirou asked.
"That's how it started with me, too," Yosuke said. "But unless she fully admits it to herself, we're literally toasted!"
"I found a baby bird in a dropped nest," Yukiko continued, eyes focused on her attentive friend. "I saw myself in him; alone and unable to take care of himself. So I took him home, bought a bird cage, and fed him every day. All of last year I looked forward to seeing him grow bigger and stronger, as he was my excuse to believe everything was okay.
"Then one day, I forgot to lock the cage and he flew away. Everyone thought I was heartbroken, but I was really devastated. A bird had more courage than me to leave his prison, while I need someone to open my door. But I ignored that fact and just went on with my life, pretending it never happened," Yukiko's eyes moistened, and she covered her face to hide them. "Because it would remind me how trapped I feel… and how horrible a person I really am!"
She could tell the others were all watching her. She could hear the red Shadow screaming and yelling both in pain and anger, but she was too ashamed to care. Ashamed of her real desire to run away from home and needing someone to do it for her. The fact she was telling all this to Chie, her best friend, and the one person she secretly hoped to be her savior, did nothing to alleviate her feelings.
"So what if you're horrible? I'm just as bad, if not worse."
Confused, Yukiko looked up from her hands to see Chie. Strangely enough, she looked just as guilty as she was. "Huh…?"
"I understand, really. I had a Shadow too recently." She sighed, steeling herself. "I'm… not as strong as you think I am, either. I'm not as popular or smart or pretty as you. You get boys asking you out every other day and they all just see me as your keeper."
She lowered her head and started sniffling; death was the farthest thing on her mind, as feelings of shame crept into her. "You're my best friend, Yukiko. I would never lie about that. But, *sniff* I was always so jealous of you, getting all the boys and attention, that I wanted to feel important like you were all the time. I just wanted to be noticed so badly. And I felt happy when your Shadow said you depended on me, when for years it felt like the other way around. So happy that… I wanted to keep that feeling and never let it go."
When she looked up, her face was red and tears were sliding down her cheeks. "I needed you Yukiko, just to get by. But I wanted you to need me to feel better about myself. Because if you didn't, if you left me… I'd have nothing."
"Chie…"
"But… now I'm convinced more than ever that it's okay to have bad qualities. I was afraid you'd hate me for being so selfish, and here you are, telling me to run away because you care, just like always." She gave a soft smile that Yukiko had grown to appreciate as strong and comforting. "I don't know my good qualities yet, but I figure I could make it up to you by being there when you need me. You know… because we're friends."
Yukiko felt so silly in comparison. It was never that she needed Chie or Chie needed her; they needed each other because they brought out the best in one another. The only one keeping her locked in the cage was herself, afraid of going out alone. But what was to be afraid of? Chie wasn't her rescuer, but someone who'd always be by her side, and was waiting for her to leave on her own.
Yukiko was right that she was like the bird she'd adopted in the past. And she found her courage to take the first step forward.
"Chie…"
"Yukiko…"
The two friends embraced one another, tears of joy and relief freely falling from their eyes, overwhelming ones of grief and sadness. They were close before, but even the boundaries of their secrets couldn't drive them apart. And as he watched from afar as they whispered thanks, Shirou smiled to himself, glad to know their friendship was saved.
"LIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!"
The whole room shook violently, and more flames erupted out uncontrollably. Everyone turned to the source to see the Shadow discharge like crazy and repeatedly flail in her cage perch while weakly fanning flames around. The desperate action would no doubt engulf the whole castle in flames if not for her body phasing out.
"Liar liar liar liar liar liar LIAR!" she bellowed. "No one can save me but my Prince, and YOU MONSTERS KILLED HIM! I can't do anything without him so STOP SPREADING LIES!"
"The Shadow's weakening!" Yosuke smiled. "This is our opening!"
"Be careful!" Teddie exclaimed. "She's like a cornered bear now!"
"So are we," said Shirou, feeling his body tension rise as he projected his Persona card. He turned to his injured comrade. He almost lost his friend, and would want nothing more than for him and Satonaka to never fight again. But they were both stubborn and loyal to a fault, and he would insult them telling them otherwise. All he could do is ask if they were still willing: "Think you can still fight, Yosuke?"
His partner merely grinned. "Who the hell do you think I am?"
"Right," he smiled back, before crushing the card. "Persona!"
The Duke Persona once again galloped into the main hall, effortlessly stomping over the now weakening flames of the Shadow's rampage. Though he couldn't reach her, he made due with taunting her. "Come, duchess of flames! Joust me if you wish to avenge your spouse!"
"If you must refer to me by title, it's PRINCESS Yukiko! And I'm more than happy to oblige!" Her retort made, she cut the chain on her chandelier and watched it fall to crush him.
This wasn't the case as Eligor and Shirou knew what to expect. With expert handling, he heeled his horse at the last moment before the chandelier would land. "Next," he challenged, trotting his horse around.
Shadow Yukiko dived down with a screech, head first, and bashed firmly at Eligor's breastplate. The knight gagged on reflex, with Shirou mirroring the action with their synchronized link. The large Shadow kept flapping her wings for momentum in an attempt to topple the rider off.
But Shirou gritted his teeth and held his ground. Through Eligor's reins his mount did the same, and slowly but surely forced the attack to a stop. Then he completely overpowered the Shadow and pushed her back with a screaming charge.
"HUOOOOOOOOOOOOOA!" cried magus and knight, their actions one. The horse joined them, with a hearty neigh.
"Wh-what?!" the Shadow gasped, and found herself flapping to get away instead of advance. She was also constantly conjuring Agi after Agi at the knight, hoping to stop him. "Get back! Begone! Away with you! Why won't you die? WHY WON'T YOU DIE!?!"
As one of the many Dukes of Hell from the Ars Goetia, it was fitting that Eligor had control in Agi-aligned magic, and that he was just as resistant to the element. Through the link, Shirou felt each fireball pass over him like heat from an open flame against his face. And that was for the attacks that actually continued and didn't fizzle out.
"Surprise!"
Shadow Yukiko's retreat was stopped in its tracks when the Ninja Persona, mimicking Yosuke's voice, struck her exposed back with both hands and their spinning discuses. Her cry of pain doubled when Eligor closed the small gap between them with his piercing lance. Then the Duke Persona backed away before flicking the avian Shadow into the air, and Jiraiya propelled her with a well-timed Garu.
"Satonaka!" "All you!"
Now standing in front of the staircase, Chie stood firmly in place, arms pulled back and cupped together. Tomoe was floating above her in a similar position, and her hands were glowing bluish white.
"This is gonna get messy, Yukiko," she warned her friend, the only one who followed her while the others split off for the final assault. "You should run when you get the chance."
But her friend shook her head confidently. "I'm not leaving, Chie." It brought a smile to her lips, and gave her the needed boost to finish the job.
"Double… Bufu… KEEEEEEEEEN!"
She had no idea how fighting game characters really used their hypothetical energy to make their attacks bigger, so she went over Shirou's instructions on Persona summoning, as well as a bit of wishful thinking of "I want to use two Bufus at once."
The result for Tomoe was a very draining, very bright, very big, and very cool-looking ice blast that moved and acted more like freezing wind than anything else. And it was fired directly at the avian sent flying towards her.
"Noooooooo!"
And Shadow Yukiko was defeated. She crystalized on the spot into an ice sculpture, but with the fight over, the ice cracked and gave away moments later. With the ice shattered, Shadow particles melted away through the cracks and evaporated helplessly on the ground. All that remained was the Princess lookalike standing in the center, looking more somber and calm than she'd ever been.
Chie exhaled and dismissed Tomoe, gauging the now silent Shadow. "I'm sorry for all this, Yukiko," she said to both human and Shadow. "I was so caught up in my own problems I didn't know how much you really needed me for you."
"I wasn't very considerate either, Chie," the heiress admitted. "I just wanted an easy way out of all of my problems without facing them head on." She walked slowly to the Princess, feeling the empty haze clear more with each step. It had already eased up considerably after confining in Chie, but she had to look to herself in the mirror and admit it, so to speak.
"'I want to run away.' 'I want someone to save me.' I really did have these feelings, but I felt so bound down that I was ashamed to admit it." She gently took the Princess' hands in hers, giving them an affectionate squeeze. "I'm sorry I didn't it get sooner… me."
The Shadow smiled faintly and nodded. Before the girl's eyes, she was enveloped in a bright blue light and transformed. Hovering before them was a young woman in a white skirt, black stockings and thin knee high boots. Her upper body bore a skin-tight white and pink shirt, with the white outlines covering her arms, abdomen, and chest a familiar heart shape, and her face was covered with a bright pink mask similar to the super hero shows. Each corner of her head sported a floral hair decoration of a bloomed sakura. A similar design of sakura was seen attached to both her wrists, but made much larger and mechanical like a chain weapon of sorts that was linked together.
Yukiko didn't understand why she knew it was now a Persona like what her friends were using, or how she knew her name (Konohana Sakuya), but she accepted her other self for who she was, no matter the change. In another flash, the being vanished and fluttered down to her open hands as a Tarot Card.
When she felt the card melt into her soul, she suddenly lost feeling in her legs. Chie caught her right away and smiled. "Don't worry. It was rough the first time for me too."
Yukiko smiled back. Then she realized something, back during the fighting. "Is Prince-kun really-?"
Chie's smile quickly faded, and she shook her head. "I'm sorry Yukiko. I know how much he means to you, but when we thought Yosuke died back there…"
It was understandable. She thought she had something close to the Charming Prince in the days depending on its care, but it was just a facet of someone to save her, not an actual person. Rather, it was the one keeping her in her gilded cage, and it wasn't until she realized the people that truly mannered were right in front of her that she had the strength to get out.
"To be honest, it was Emiya-kun that did it. I think the last time I saw him that pissed was- wait a minute. Where is Emiya-kun? And the others?"
The girls took careful notice of the changed scenery since the final attack. The throne room was a mess; piles of ceiling wood were still scattered across the room, and carpets and drapes had been burnt to the point of being unrecognizable. The fire was all gone now at least, but somehow the room had changed from bright pink to dark blue from the sudden flash freeze. At least the castle wasn't in danger of burning to the ground now. That positive thought gave Chie the confidence that the guys came out all right.
"Ah-CHOO! Oh, my f-fur's all w-w-wet."
Turning to the noise, both girls gasped at what they saw, and Chie mentally corrected herself to mostly all right.
As Yukiko was beside Chie at the time and thus behind the blast radius, the girls were completely healthy despite feeling a slight draft. Shirou, Yosuke and Teddie, on the other hand, were all comically hugging their shivering selves, topped with snow on their heads and shoulders, and were trying their darn hardest to fight back their sneezes.
"WhwhwhwhwhwhwhWhat the HELL was that?!" Yosuke chattered. "W-w-were you tr-tr-trying to freeze us all to d-d-death?"
Chie had the decency to blush and rub her head sheepishly. "Heh heh, sorry guys. Didn't mean to go that far."
"H-how you even managed that s-surprises me," the magus admitted. He couldn't hold it against her for the unseen circumstance, and he knew she didn't mean it.
"I didn't know I could do it either," she agreed, teasingly flexing her arms for emphasis. "But man, sometimes I scare myself with my own strength."
"Y-your ice was b-beary amazing, Chie-chan!" Teddie smiled, despite the cold. "I-I wish I could do ma-ma-ma-magic as nearly as c-c-cool like that!"
"I s-s-swear, it's Fe-Fe-February all over again," the headphone teen shivered. "N-n-next time? Warn us before you give us a g-giant c-c-cold blast!"
Chie was about to reply that she would, but Yukiko, who had been quiet since the boys arrived, snorted. Confused, everyone turned to her and saw her trying to keep a serious face, and failing miserably. And then another snort, with it a smile and giggle. Chie couldn't believe her eyes. "Is she really-?"
"BWAAAA-hahahahaha, ahahahahahaha!" Finally unable to control herself, Yukiko laughed. She laughed and laughed and laughed until she cried. She laughed as she leaned on her friend for support, and pointed at the bewildered bear and students.
"Y-your faces," she squeaked between giggles. "Your fa-a-a-aces! They're so-ahahaha! And the snow! Ahahaha, the sno-o-o-w! It's-it's-it's on your heads li-like a little ha-ahahaha, like ahahaha!"
Yukiko continued to laugh blissfully, ignoring any looks she got as she did. Yosuke broke the stunned silence, face torn between hurt and accusing as he pointed to her. "I-i-is she la-laughing at our pr-pr-predicament!?"
"Don't take it personally," Chie explained, eyes rolling and hand patting her friend's back. "She always gets like this when she finds something funny." Then she sighed and half muttered to herself "But she used to only do it around me."
"Hahahaha-like a Haaaaaatahahahaha!" Yukiko finally said, and would have likely gone on laughing further before she started coughing rather violently.
"Yukiko!" Chie cried, her annoyed expression giving way to worry that mirrored the freezing boys.
"S-sorry," she smiled, forced to calm down. "It hurts to laugh, I guess."
Shirou gave a strained smile. "W-well, y-you're safe now, that's all that matters."
"Yes," Yukiko nodded, and forced herself up. She turned her attention to everyone, one by one.
To Chie, who had always been her support, and always a dear friend through thick and thin.
To Hanamura, who she considered an acquaintance at best but proved to be as loyal as when he first moved to Inaba.
To Emiya, the one she believed to be her savior from afar, and was right for the wrong reasons.
And to Teddie, who she knew nothing about but was still someone who risked his life for hers.
With a grateful smile, Yukiko bowed deeply in front of them. "Thank you for saving me everyone."
<><><>
-April 20th, Daidara Metalworks, After School-
A lot had happened during the second trek through Yukiko's Castle yesterday, Shirou reflected. Despite the fear of facing Yukiko's Shadow, the group had decided to abandon stealth and fight their way through any other Shadow in their way as a form of training with their awakened powers. Yosuke's initial trouble in summoning his Persona nearly got him killed if simply having access to one didn't make him so much faster.
Much to the group's surprise, many Shadows left bits of themselves behind when they dissolved, usually bits of teeth or strips of the strange materials that made up their combat forms. Shirou collected the spoils to figure out what to do with them later. Even a third-rate magus like himself could appreciate finding obviously magical materials for possible use… not that he had any skills in processing them.
Odd as those bits were, there were stranger things in the castle. Yosuke, being a casual gamer, was at first excited of finding golden treasure chests in a few of the castle's side rooms, all but vaulting for them and expecting new weapons or valuable gems. While the contents invariably disappointed Yosuke, they weren't a total loss either. Rather than riches, they tended to be random odds and ends that you could find at Shiroku's General Store in the Shopping District. Some of them were useful and practical, like the pain medicine and bandages, while others, such as the firecrackers and peach seeds earned a few raised eyebrows. Among all the treasures they found though, Teddie insisted that the almost glowing purple-blue hard candy "Soul Drops" were rare and very useful, though he wasn't clear on precisely how aside from them being "invigorating."
The further up the castle they climbed, the more they heard voices echoing through the halls. Most of them were the gibbering nonsense of the agitated Shadows, but there were times where Yukiko's voice was loud and clear in their ears. The Shadow claimed to be "waiting for her prince" on one floor, while another had her politely greeting someone visiting the Amagi Inn. No one took the time to debate or question these voices and focused more on searching every part of the castle for Yukiko.
And just when they thought they had finally caught up to Shadow Yukiko, they ran into a Shadow shaped like a hollow suit of armor riding the barding of an invisible horse. It was stronger than all of the other Shadows in the castle they had fought to that point, but was fortunately weaker than Shadow Yosuke or Shadow Chie.
This of course led to Eligor. Unlike Shirou, neither Satonaka nor Yosuke knew anything about the Ars Goetia, so hearing the transfigured knight introduce himself as a "duke of Hell" had certainly set them all on edge. When the Chariot Arcana spirit had easily joined with Shirou, it cast some uncomfortable possibilities on what their Personas might really be.
At least they had found the glass key needed to reach the next flight of stairs from the Shadow's remains.
The Shadow might have been defeated and progress made, but the quartet was absolutely exhausted by all of the running and fighting up to that point. Frankly, Shirou was amazed at how long they lasted before having to turn back. Real fights were extremely draining on top of exploring the maze-like interior of the castle, but it took over a dozen fights to the death to slow them down even a little.
Just as the group was about to trudge their way down through the five floors once again, Teddie surprised them all again with his ingenuity. The bear was amazing when he put his mind to it; pulling out what looked to be a small diorama of a house from…somewhere, it called the group around and dropped it to the floor, shattering it in the middle of them all. There was a flash of light, and then they were standing on the road leading up the castle's gates. Outside.
Initial gawking aside, Shirou made sure to be the first among his friends to praise the bear; it needed every bit of self-esteem he could get. Besides, even if it was limited to simply taking them back to the red and black door at the castle's entrance, it was still an incredible feat of magecraft to move them all safely. If Teddie ever figured out how exactly he pulled off half of the Projections he did, Shirou would be first in line to take notes.
That was for later, though. Exhaustion had the group reluctantly agreeing to take today off to recover their strength before they dove back in to hopefully finish the job and get Yukiko safely home. As eager as they were to find her, it would do her no good if her would-be rescuers ended up dead before even reaching her. Even a good night's rest was not enough for the worst of their wounds to scab over, even with the reduction that came from leaving the TV World.
Chie left for home as soon as school got out and Yosuke decided to follow Shirou after hearing he was heading to the Metalworks after grabbing a bag from his house. Meeting the redhead at the shop, Yosuke shrugged off his jacket and visibly cringed at the shop's heat as they stepped in. Even if the early spring weather was clear and warm over the last few days, it was nothing compared to the dry heat of Daidara's burning forge.
"You're back," the scarred blacksmith grunted when he saw the two teens. "Want anything new?"
"You said you wanted materials for inspiration, correct?" Shirou asked. Without waiting for an answer, he unslung the Junes-brand bag and displayed the contents. Seeing the bits of Shadows that Shirou had salvaged from the TV World so openly in this world nearly made Yosuke lose his balance; how the hell was he going to explain having broken teeth that big, let alone the more bizarre materials?
"Shirou, what the heck are you-?" Yosuke started to protest before he saw the look on Daidara's face. There was a gleam there now in the blacksmith's eye, as he gazed hungrily at the seemingly random mess of objects.
"Where'd you get all this?!" Daidara demanded, never taking his eyes off of the bag.
"I have my ways," Shirou answered with a half-shrug. "I take it you want them?"
The blacksmith stood upright, nodding once. "I do, boy. I've been looking for something new, and I think I just found it. Come back in… a week. I'll have something for you and your friends by then."
Now, Yosuke was no expert in forging, but that seemed crazy even to him. Shirou's reaction only confirmed it. "A week, Daidara-san? I don't doubt your skills, but I thought forging weapons or armor took longer."
The muscled man let out a short bark of laughter, "I have my ways, kid! One week!"
With that, Daidara heaved the bag up and almost ran to the back room with the forge, the gleam of inspiration in his eye even brighter than earlier and an almost manic grin on his lips.
"I can't believe that actually worked," Yosuke said after a few moments of silence. "I was expecting him to push you more for details."
"Daidara-san did say he needed material. Maybe showing him something new was enough to get him to overlook it," Shirou shrugged. "And it would have been a waste not to use them." Though, depending on what was made from all of that scrap, he might need to confront Daidara about his profession. There was no way an ordinary blacksmith/metalworker could forge high-quality weapons and armor in a week.
But a magus might.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by Yosuke draping an arm over his shoulder. "Well, since we have nothing else better to do, how about that beef steak I promised you?"
<><><>
-Souzai Daigaku-
The food stand that Yosuke led Shirou to was small and nestled between two closed buildings. Somehow, despite larger stores dwindling down to bankruptcy around it, Souzai Daigaku managed to stay afloat with but a single clerk in the back managing the grill. There was only one table made from a simple plank of wood on some crates and a few chairs set up for customers to sit and eat; the majority ordered their food to go from here.
Shirou quickly discovered the reason why this food stand's business was still booming. It was nearly unorthodox to stick pieces of steak in croquettes, but each piece was well seasoned and thick in fat. It might as well be eating well cooked beef already cut for the buyer. Sure it was a little tough in places, but the flavor was superb even then.
"What'd I tell ya?" Yosuke smiled from across the table. "These croquettes are as delicious as they are weird. Tough to chew, maybe, but still."
Shirou licked his lips at the third chunk. "Indeed, their meat is very tender." He would have to remember to ask the clerk where her meat comes from. Cooking for a certain ravenous tiger had instilled in him an appreciation for high-quality ingredients, especially when making meat dishes.
"Man, you almost sound like Satonaka," Yosuke chuckled. "But you seem to eat yours just as fast as she does. What kind of teeth do you two have?"
"A martial artist's, I'd assume."
"Excuse me?"
"If we can't hope to even digest our breakfast, we'd shame our disciplines."
"That's kinda deep. Too bad your friend has no idea what you're talking about, let alone me."
Shirou ignored Pixie's quip and Yosuke's owlish blink, resuming his meal. The breading was still a little greasy in his opinion, but such was the price for a quick meal versus his usual standards.
Yosuke shifted in his seat and opened his mouth to say something when two women spoke up from a short distance away, just loud enough for the boys to hear.
"Say, isn't that the Junes boy?"
"I believe he's classmates with Sato-san's son."
"The poor thing; I heard they went out of business last week."
The two continued their walk as if Yosuke hadn't heard that tidbit of information. He stared at their retreated backs with a blank gaze and clenched fists before turning back to Shirou. "Sorry 'bout that. I'm kinda infamous around here."
"He looks bored, but what those women said really got to him." Now that Shirou looked with Pixie's words in mind, he could see the way he slumped slightly more in his chair before forcing himself back into his usual carefree posture.
"It must be tough," Shirou said neutrally, hoping to steer the conversation away from them.
"Eh, not really," Yosuke shrugged. "It's my parents that get the brunt of it. I'm not that involved with the 'Junes Invasion' other than being another employee, but everyone knows my name and face. Not that I mind, but it sucks having to keep a lid on all the time, ya know?"
"I can imagine," Shirou nodded, feeling he should say something to take the focus off of the subject. "I used to get into a lot of trouble fighting bullies growing up."
"Whoa, really?" Yosuke never would have thought Shirou to be the kind of guy to-…well, okay, after what he saw in the TV world he could believe that. But as a kid? That part was a bit of a stretch. "How old were you at the time?"
"Eleven or so. It just wasn't in me to stand by doing nothing, so I couldn't ignore them as well as you did right now." He chuckled a bit at the memories of trying to stare down his dad after coming home covered in bruises and bandages back then.
"Well, picking a fight with some gossiping women is a lot less cool than with bullies." And that was the end of it. Yosuke was already smiling again and putting the matter behind him. Having someone to confide in had taken some of the weight off Yosuke's shoulders.
I think I understand him a bit better now. Shirou couldn't help but smile.
"Da-dadada-DAAAAAAAAAA!"
As soon as Pixie sang, Shirou felt something tug from the theoretical line between himself and Yosuke, causing him to freeze mid-bite for half a second. The bond between them felt a little thicker and stronger, built up from their short heart-to-heart.
Yosuke seemed more bothered than Shirou at the recent development, and started to pad his body for something.
"Something wrong?" asked the magus.
"I just felt a little funny all of a sudden. Not sure why though." He kept probing his body and turning his hands, before shrugging it off. "Ah, it's probably nothing. Another order of croquettes, then!"
The two ate and chatted casually for the rest of their meal before heading their separate ways, the unspoken agreement to meet up and finish the battle after school tomorrow passing between them.
On his way back to the Dojima home, Shirou passed by the book store with a sign on the window for new arrivals. Normally, Shirou would just walk on by unless there was a particular book he needed for something, and even then he usually just borrowed it from the local library. Unfortunately, Inaba was too small for a full library, and he didn't exactly have a lot of cash right now anyway. Being a secret hero was proving frustratingly expensive.
He was about to move on, but Margaret's words about his personal life (more accurately his lack of one) brought him to an almost reluctant halt. While none of the new titles displayed interested him (fishing guides and study aids weren't needed, and he had never heard of self-help books like The Lovely Man before), there was always the chance there was something interesting in there, too. Maybe a book or two wouldn't hurt.
Shirou once more felt like the hand of fate was guiding him when he spotted a lone translated copy of The Ars Goetia in the shop's extremely small occult section. At the very least, it might serve as decent reference for demonically themed Personas like Eligor. With a shrug, he ended up taking it and a copy of The Lovely Man.
Upon arriving back home, cooking a simple dinner with his cousin pitching in where she could made for a fine close to the evening.
<><><>
-April 21st, Dojima Household, Morning-
Shirou now knew what it felt like to lose a few years of your life to a sudden scare. The moment he woke up today, he nearly had a heart attack at the hissing patter of rain hitting the gutters. If it rained too long, it would fog over and… Amagi would-
The magus quickly turned on the TV and checked the weather report, pacing his room furiously through every commercial and useless morning gossip show.
"Calm down, Satonaka. I got the TV on now. The weather report is just about to start."
It was truly a uniquely frustrating experience for Shirou trying to juggle calls from his two friends. He never had so many phone calls at the same time before, especially with the calls and voice mails bouncing around like tennis balls between the three of them. He idly wondered if there was a way to set them all up to talk at the same time for situations like this. It would certainly be useful in the future.
"Yeah, that's right. Rain should give way to clear skies by the time first period is over. No fog for another few days, it looks like."
Relief passed through every one of them as they saw patches of blue sky grow over the course of the morning walk with no fog in sight. It was still a grim reminder that time was running out. They needed to get through that castle and get Yukiko out of there as fast as possible.
<><><>
-Yukiko's Caste, After School-
After diving into the TV World, the trio tore their way through the first few floors with almost frightening ease compared to previous visits. The Shadows on the lower levels were predictable and slow compared to their own enhanced abilities and Personas, and each strike from their weapons all but pulverized the formerly vicious creatures. One of Chie's kicks alone was enough to imbed a Shadow halfway into a wall at one point.
The higher they climbed, though, the more diverse and bizarre the things became. Some were simple creatures, like animated silk gloves the size of large dogs, with masks sticking out of the opening. Others were even stranger, such as a stationary table. That one gave them all headaches as it levitated knives, torches and cups to keep the trio at bay. It wasn't terribly powerful, but it was a nuisance.
While none were as dangerous as his friends' Shadows or the hollow knight, there were also Shadows that were genuinely frightening to face, such as the Phantom Mage and the Black Raven. The former resembled spinning scarecrows with long green cloaks, and the latter were pitch-black birds that each carried a lit oil lantern in their claws.
After the first few names Teddie gave out, the trio was already fighting in sync and cared less about the details other than their foes' elemental weaknesses.
"Garu!" A viridian gust spiraled up beneath the spinning shadow, nearly tearing off its cloak along with bits of loose straw. Yosuke, crouching low and having pointed at the Phantom Mage, turned his knives to the direction of a Laughing Table throwing its floating utensils. His Persona spun behind him, projecting another gale that blew the attack away and sent the Shadow flying.
Seeing the other Shadows move in to counterattack, Yosuke jumped behind Chie, his Persona moving with inhuman speed and flexibility to join him as his teammate darted forward. A massive scarlet and gold beetle flew to meet her with a shriek, and she almost jumped to meet it when Teddie called out to her.
"Chie-chan!" the bear called from behind a corner away from the melee. "Burning Beetles reflect physical attacks! Use your magic instead!"
"Got it!" Instinct and practice took over, and the blue card of her Persona appeared before her. A flick of her wrist brought her whip down through the card, and her Persona rose into existence behind her. It always felt like the she was taller when Tomoe appeared, possibly from the shared link she was still getting used to. And although the action wasn't necessary, Tomoe stabbed her glowing blade into the ground behind her before cupping her hands together and thrusting them forward. Chie imagined this to be an easier, if not cooler, way to cast magic, as well as go with the intended suffix at the end.
"Bufu-ken!" Frigid ice formed in the space between the Persona's palms, and was propelled out and through the air like it was a cannon ball. The blast met the beetle in mid-air, stopping it in mid-flight before the ice shattered, sending the Shadow sprawling on its back.
Chie smiled at her success, and was about to follow up with another Bufu-ken when she heard a hawk-like screech. Persona-enhanced reflexes kicking in, she dropped down in time to avoid the Black Raven's diving beak.
Even as the Shadow opened its wings and swooped upward for another pass, it was blasted from the air. "Zio!" A thunderclap later, and the bird Shadow too sprawled to the ground with the rest of its comrades, twitching in pain. Shirou and Izanagi stood a distance from the other two, striking from afar while watching for ambushes from any Shadows drawn to the scuffle.
Although I would prefer taking them down first in case the Shadows proved too much for them, but they both beat me to the draw.
With all of the Shadows down and immobilized, there was one thing left to do. "All right guys! Pile on!" Chie shouted and uncoiled her whip, Tomoe taking her blade up from the floor and following.
With their friend leading the charge, the others joined the fray and smashed into the Shadows in a wild, unorthodox melee. Teddie had to look away from the sheer brutality (although he did try peeking from behind his mittens out of curiosity, his view was obscured by the growing dust cloud of the brawl regardless). As it was, the fight ended with the students brandishing their weapons and dusting their hands off, Yosuke checking the group over for any injuries.
When Yosuke first learned that Jiraiya could patch up injuries with the Dia ability the last time they were here, the group had stopped to incorporate the new trick into their plans; Shirou's Pixie could heal wounds as well, but splitting his reserves between healing and fighting with Izanagi, not to mention the delay in switching Persona, meant that it wasn't ideal to rely on just her. Jiraiya was also much faster to use its magic, making Yosuke's Persona ideal for support.
The basic stratagem for the team was thus: Chie would take point in assault and use Tomoe's Bufu on the select enemies Teddie pointed out as vulnerable to ice, though with much more reserved control than her classmates due to Tomoe's low magical ability. She would make up for this with extremely strong strikes from her Persona and herself, easily the hardest-hitting of them all. Yosuke would single out priority targets like magic-using Shadows with hit-and-run tactics to take advantage of his enhanced speed, using wind and healing magic whenever necessary. Shirou, being the toughest of the lot but the slowest, would serve to "draw aggro" (Shirou had to have the concept explained to him, as he had no experience with video game lingo) from Shadows and overpower the ones that his teammates couldn't finish off quickly, especially on enemies weak to electricity.
"You know, I think I'm finally getting the hang of this," Yosuke smiled.
"I'm not sure if I ever will," Chie winced as she rolled her shoulders. "I mean, it feels fun, but it can't be healthy to feel that if we're just killing monsters all the time. I think I'm already starting to get nightmares."
"You worry too much," Yosuke shrugged. "Just pretend we're in a video game. You already made homage to Street Fighter, anyway." It certainly helped that they weren't nearly as badass in the real world as they were in here with their Personas. It created a sense of separation that made the transition easier for him.
"Don't even joke about that, Yosuke," Shirou chided from his rummaging of the Shadow remains. "An experienced magus always runs the risk of dying from unexpected circumstances, and we're treading a thin enough line as it is. But I think we'll be alright with our Personas for the time being. They represent our will, so they keep our fears and worries in check to protect us when they're active."
Though their friend clearly meant it as a warning, the casual reference still bothered Yosuke and Chie. Neither of them forgot that he "walked with death" as all magi did, but he never explained further than that. "Listen, Emiya-kun-"
Whatever Chie was about to say would be left unsaid; the room grew loud with the echoes of Shadows within the walls. Just like before, voices that came from Yukiko's life came through mockingly distorted.
"Excuse me! We heard you're the new manager of the Amagi Inn. Is it true you're still in high school?" a particularly greasy voice called out.
Yosuke blinked. "Wait, isn't that the TV announcer that interviewed Amagi-san?"
Neither Shirou nor Chie replied, tightening their fists around their weapons, scowling deeply.
"That's none of your damn business," The voice of Yukiko snapped with none of its usual reservation or gentleness.
"Someday, though… That aside, wow! You're looking gorgeous in that kimono. You must have a lot of male visitors."
"Shut up!"
"And your inn's hot springs are all natural, yes? I recall you sometimes allow-"
"Leave me alone!" Yukiko's voice broke out, effectively drowning out and silencing the reporter's. "I'm sick of everything. I'm sick of it all." The Shadows calmed down shortly after her outburst, leaving a chilly silence behind.
Shirou decided then and there that, when this was over, he was going to punch the reporter. Preferably in the mouth.
He realized that Yosuke and Teddie were suddenly staring at him rather incredulously. It took the magus another moment to realize he had spoken out loud, and he turned away in embarrassment. He usually kept his more snide comments to himself except when bantering with Taiga or Shinji. Anyone watching that would have assumed that was simply him dealing with familial affection with the former and a defense mechanism against the latter, but never as a personality trait that defined him.
Chie however, didn't seem to mind, adding her own comment: "You'll have to wait in line."
All eyes turned to her in surprise again as they digested her words. By the time they managed to shake off their stupor, the tomboy was already halfway down the hall, leaving the boys and bear scrambling to catch up.
<><><>
Yukiko's Castle, 7th Floor
"Hasn't my Prince come yet?" The halls echoed with Yukiko's voice again the moment the quartet reached the top of the stairs. "My dear Prince… Please hurry and take me away! Somewhere, anywhere, to a world where no one knows me…"
When the halls fell silent again, Shirou turned to their unlikely guide. "How much further, Teddie?"
"She's close," the bear sniffed. "Real close… she's on the next floor up!"
Chie nearly buckled between relief and anxiety, just barely keeping herself from bolting ahead while Yosuke looked around apprehensively. "We haven't run into her Shadow yet though. What if she's at the next floor waiting?" he asked, flipping his knives in his grip.
"Doubt it," said Teddie. "I can only smell one Yuki-chan upstairs, and she's definitely human. I can't tell where her Shadow is, but I don't sense her on this floor, let alone the one below or above. That's all I can be sure of."
"So we managed to get a head start," the magus deduced. "Let's make for the stairs then. If we're lucky, we can grab Amagi-san and leave without triggering her Shadow."
Chie frowned. "But what will happen to her if she doesn't, you know… accept herself?"
"I could only base this on what happened to the last two people in here," Teddie started to explain. "But after their bear-zerk rage and killing their hosts, they ran deeper into the fog attacking other Shadows. Normally their sense of self would keep them together, but they gradually grew more and more distant from their host, since they killed the person that defined them in the first place."
"I almost hate to ask," Yosuke gulped. "But what happened to the Shadows of the announcer and Saki-senpai?"
"Still fighting and assimilating other Shadows, I'd assume. At this rate they might even become…"
"Become?" the teen urged.
The bear stayed silent, internally debating the issue, before shaking its head rapidly. "No! That's not even certain to be the case. Saving Yuki-chan is more important anyways!"
"He's right," Shirou nodded. "We can figure out what to do after we make sure Amagi-san is safe. For now, let's just focus on finding the stairs this time; no unnecessary fights."
Stealthy as they were, the group was only forced into one fight with a much smaller and weaker Avenger Knight patrolling the halls. A few doors later, and they found the final ascending staircase.
"Praise our Persona Gods!" Yosuke cheered and high-fived Shirou.
Chie could barely contain herself anymore, rushing ahead of the group. "Yukiko, we're almost there!"
Teddie was in the midst of dancing when his nose twitched. "Waitaminute… Chie-chan, watch out!"
The bear's last second warning proved vital as a white blur dived for her with a sword extended outward. She dodged to the side at the last moment, feeling a thin needle of steel cut through her sleeve and graze her arm, but barely had time to wince when her assailant landed before them.
The Shadow landed gracefully on both feet, and rose to its full height to gauge its enemies with its shining steel mask… which wasn't high to begin with. Barely meeting the teen's chests, the Shadow was of the comical variety with a stocky, almost gourd-shaped figure clad in bright medieval clothing. It wore a small red frock coat with yellow stars decorated across it, a blue mantle reaching its mid-back, a monochrome striped underdress, and pointed yellow boots. It also wore a small yellow crown topping its oddly realistic yellow locks. And, of course, it was armed with a rapier: the very same sword it used to attack Chie. Apparently through gauging them, the Shadow lunged towards Shirou, blade held high.
Instinctively, Shirou brought his katana up and parried his shorter opponent's clumsy slashes, but couldn't set his stance with the Shadow striking so quickly. Yosuke immediately summoned his ninja-frog Persona and had it help the only way he could think of: kicking the Shadow aside from its blind spot.
"Thanks," the magus said quickly, eyes not leaving his enemy.
"Be bear-y careful, Shirou-sensei," Teddie warned. "This is one tough enemy."
"We've faced worst. Now, Per-"
The Shadow reacted first, trembling with a red aura that gave Shirou pause. It reminded him vaguely of the dream apparition he fought, and how it glowed before summoning a Ghoul and blinding fog. Then, the Shadow screamed.
A sense of terror overwhelmed him, freezing him in place. His ears rang in pain but he couldn't even cover them with his hands rigid before him, his sword shaking in his suddenly too-tight grip. A miasma of light and shadow seemed to swallow the castle interior, and he swore he was seeing flames and corpses in the light blots.
The burning fire. A wave of black mud. The fleeing screams. Hell on earth. Death. Murder. Anger. Hatred Rage Anarchy Rape Drug Depression Envy Wrath Pride Lust Gluttony Sloth Greed Sin Vanity Melancholy Die Die Die die die diediediethestartingpenaltyisfive
Make it stop. Make it stop! MAKE IT-!
A painful slap impacted across Shirou's cheek, and the illusion immediately shattered with Yosuke's voice suddenly filling his ears. "-hold of yourself NOW, man!"
Snapping to awareness, Shirou saw he was still in the castle with the others; Yosuke was practically shaking him senseless with Teddie behind him. Chie and her Persona were standing a close distance between them and the Shadow, which was now lying face down at the bottom of the stairs.
As it stirred again, Chie invoked Tomoe's magic again. "Bufu-ken!" An ice block projectile shattered against the comical Shadow, once again forcing it back down and disorienting it.
From the looks of things, it would take far more than just blasting it with ice magic and smacking it around to put this Shadow down. It was barely showing any damage despite Satonaka's attacks. There was no reason to fight this Shadow now that Yukiko Amagi was within reach.
"Leave it!" he ordered. "Just hurry to the top of the stairs!"
No one needed to be told twice; they all ran up and left the Shadow as it struggled to stand back up.
<><><>
-Yukiko's Castle, Top Floor-
Only when the group opened the large double doors at the top and closed them behind them did the quartet slump in relief and exhaustion. Shirou was especially drained after the Shadow's vision. He finally had time to collect himself and push down the memories.
After a moment of relative silence to catch their breaths, Yosuke's voice pulled Shirou's attention back to the present. "Shirou," he started carefully, "what happened back there?"
Not wanting to bring up those painful memories again, Shirou kept his answer brief and discreet. "I saw something no one should ever have to see in their lifetime." The tone in his voice was clear to everyone, and they offered understanding, if not comforting, gazes before dropping the matter.
It was just as well, when the Investigation Team found themselves speechless of the room they were in. It was similar to the ballroom Shadow Chie appeared from, but larger and even more regally appointed; red drapes covered over window spaces and gilded candle-lit chandeliers were suspended on either side of the room, with a large metal dome akin to a bird cage made of gold wires forming the ceiling over them. The carpet that acted as the group's winding road ended at the stoop ascending to a single throne crowned with a red tarp roof. The back of the throne had two drapes pulled closed together, with a decorated image of what looked like a heart with wings stretching upward.
Teddie sniffed again, unaware of Shirou's watching eyes; he had started having suspicions that the bear really was attuned to magecraft on some level. Shirou himself could vaguely determine the presence of magecraft through a sort of phantom smell, but an almost electrically-charged sting was the only scent he could ever pick up anywhere in this world. If there was any other "scent" here, it was so faint and distant that he couldn't pick up on it at all. He wasn't entirely sure if Teddie's senses were more refined or just plain different. Unless Yukiko was an active magus using magecraft, there would be no way for him to know.
"Yuki-chan's just behind that throne!"
Well, that's one mystery solved. Different it is.
Once again Chie ran ahead, but the others were just as excited as they followed her. Beyond the curtains was another room, about a fraction of the size of the throne room. It was most appropriately a bedroom with a side room stylized as a bathroom, a few open cupboards full of snacks, and the large, queen sized heart-shaped bed smack dab in the middle of it all.
And there, peacefully lying on the center of the bed, Yukiko Amagi was sleeping with the covers up to her stomach, still wearing the same pink kimono as when they last saw her at the gazebo. For someone lost in this place for so long, she looked healthy and remarkably clean.
"She's not-?" Yosuke asked, the immediate concern hanging in the air.
Chie ignored him, already leaning over the side of the bed to her friend. Her hands hesitantly reached for her shoulders. Taking a moment to just feel the presence of the girl under her hand (if only for reassurance), she gently shook her. "Yukiko, wake up. Yukiko, it's me."
A soft gasp passed her lips as she stirred at the sound of Chie's voice. Amagi slowly opened her eyes and blinked a few times. To everyone's immense relief, they were a dark brown.
"C-Chie? What-?"
She was cut off when she was pulled upright from her bed and into a hug with her best friend. Chie, her face close to Yukiko's hair and shoulder, freely cried tears of relief and rubbed her back in reassurance, almost afraid of letting the moment end. "You're okay," she wept over and over.
Shirou and Yosuke weren't nearly as emotional, but enjoyed a great sense of relief and accomplishment all the same. Aware of the other's good cheer they exchanged glances, a smile and grin respectively, and bumped their fists together. Teddie watched the gesture in awe before staring at his paws and clapping them together curiously, much to Yosuke's amusement.
Amagi, however, was both surprised and confused by the sudden tearful reunion, turning to the boys. "Um… am I missing something?"
"Nothing's wrong now, Yukiko!" Chie sniffed. She finally broke out of her hug and let out a big, teary smile. "I'm just… really glad you're alright!"
"So, who put you in here?"
So caught in their elevated cheer, the human members of the IT were caught completely flat-footed when Teddie trotted up to the girls with an innocent yet blunt question. Amagi was visibly startled by the bear, but not as much as everyone was expecting. "What are-? Uh, I mean, who are you?"
"I'm Teddie the Kuma!" the bear said. It stopped itself and tried again. "Wait, no, that's 'Teddie Kuma the bear'. You know what? Just call me Teddie. So, back to my question, who put you in here?"
Yosuke, Shirou, AND Chie were all contemplating smacking Teddie for his sudden questioning after so much had happened here, but Amagi's quiet answer brought their attention back to her.
The inn heiress frowned in strained thought. "Put me in…? I… can't remember. I think someone called my name, but I can't remember who or why. The next thing I know, I'm here. I'm sorry, uh, Teddie."
Teddie hummed, walking away while rubbing his chin contemplatively. "That doesn't tell us much."
"It tells us plenty," Yosuke affirmed, following him out of the bedroom. "If someone called Amagi-san, they kidnapped her and threw her in this world before anyone had a chance to notice."
"This also proves the culprit knows magecraft, at least to a level of using memory-altering hypnotism. It's not much, but it's a start," Shirou added.
Amagi blinked bewilderedly. "Mage-what?"
"Not here, Yukiko," her friend whispered, partly dragging her out of the bed.
Teddie paced away from the bed, pondering in deep thought as he stepped down the stoop. "She said it was someone she didn't know, so the culprit is someone unfamiliar to her. Chie-chan's her best friend, and she's in the same school as Shirou-sensei and Yosuke, so she has to know them too. Then that means they couldn't be the culprits that killed the other two like they said, and I won't have to leave them stranded here when this is over after all!"
The room was suddenly tense and quiet. Teddie stood up rigid and scared. "Oh whoopee cushions, I just said that all out loud, didn't I?"
"Teddie," Shirou slowly asked. "Have you secretly doubted our innocence this whole time, after you've been helping us from the beginning?"
The bear turned around and, not surprisingly, found Shirou, Yosuke and Chie all glaring down at him from the throne's dais with varying levels of anger. "W-well, I never doubted you, per say, Shirou-sensei!" Teddie reasoned more animatedly than necessary, sweating all the while. "M-more like keeping a… an open mind for reasonable doubt, ha ha! But I've ALWAYS supported and trusted you guys 99%! I just, well, needed the 1% to not trust you on the off chance that you'd, you know… be liars?"
"Says the lying sack of honey," Yosuke seethed and stomped towards Teddie. "I can't believe you considered leaving us to the Shadows again!"
"Shadows?" Chie's rage quickly shifted to confusion and then to panicked realization. "Oh crap! Yukiko's Shadow! It's still looking for her!"
In all the excitement, the others had forgotten about her Princess persona as well; Yukiko's rescue wouldn't truly be a victory until she made peace with herself or they escaped without running into the Shadow. If she was even aware of the depths of her suppressed feelings, it wouldn't accomplish anything to simply acknowledge them head on. Chie was proof of that.
Yosuke turned to their team leader. "Think we can take her on?"
If Yosuke had asked that when they were in peak condition upon first entering the castle today, Shirou would have tentatively said they had a chance. As it was, they had depleted most of their Soul Candies on the way up, and still used up a bit of their energy to get this far. Even with Satonaka joining the fight with her powerful Persona and martial arts skills, she was still one more potential casualty he would have to focus on defending. For Shirou, it was both easier and harder to fight Shadows with more people in the party.
And even if they did win the fight, wouldn't that mean that Amagi would gain a Persona and would fight alongside them? He couldn't ask that of her. He wouldn't ask that of her. She had no personal motivation to help them like his classmates did and was too feminine to risk her future fighting for her life regularly in this hidden world. Not that he'd ever say that out loud to either of his teammates, especially after seeing how much Satonaka's self-confidence suffered with Amagi's said femininity.
No, it was better to cut and run rather than pick a fight with something that dangerous. "I'm not sure, but I don't plan to stay and find out. Let's do what we came for and take Amagi-san home," Shirou decided.
Yukiko turned to him, surprisingly more startled than she was by every other revelation. "Wh-what?"
"Fine by me," Yosuke nodded before turning to the bear with a relaxed grin. The little guy was actually pretty useful even if he couldn't fight at all. "Teddie?"
"One Goho-M, coming up!" The bear smiled, clapping his hands to conjure a new diorama. But just as soon as it appeared, a white blur smacked the bear aside and snatched the newly crafted item. "Aaaah! Help me!"
The new enemy smashed the diorama to pieces, cutting off the IT's means of escape. It took a moment for everyone to recognize it.
"It's that Shadow from before!" Chie cried after helping Teddie up.
"Damn," said Yosuke. "It must have followed us here!"
Shirou was already drawing his sword as he gave orders. "I'll take point. Satonaka, Yosuke, follow my lead and cover your ears the moment it trembles. Let's-"
"WAIT!"
The Persona users were taken aback by the sudden outcry, but were absolutely floored when Yukiko jumped between them and the stout Shadow, arms spread out as if protecting it. "Don't hurt him!" she cried.
The others stared back in bewilderment, silently questioning the girl's sanity. Chie recovered quickly and pointed to the Shadow. "Yukiko, I know it looks cute and harmless, but that Shadow attacked us trying to get up here! Hell, I'm pretty sure it even gave Emiya-kun a seizure!"
"Prince-kun would never do something like that!"
"You haven't seen what the Shadows ca-" Yosuke stopped himself with a confused blink. "Wait: Prince-kun? You named it?"
"Technically the Shadow's full name is Charming Prince, so-"
"Not helping Teddie!"
"Prince-kun watches over me," Yukiko explained patiently. "Ever since the moment I woke up in this place, he was there. He found me, saved me from monsters that look like pinned together zombies, and then led me to this room."
"To keep you prisoner," Yosuke accused.
"To protect me!" she snapped. "Prince-kun's been nothing but accommodating in my wellbeing! He even brings me food and water whenever I need it!"
"And you haven't been getting any sort of headaches from being here?" Shirou asked, remembering the first time the three of them entered the TV world.
"To be honest, I just sleep a lot in the back room. I get so dizzy that I barely have the energy to go leave here even if I wanted to."
Yukiko patted the Shadow's head affectionately, smiling as she did. "It's not all bad; Prince-kun is always there when I need him, bringing me food and water and whatever else I need when I ask. And maybe when I get better, I can see the rest of the castle with him protecting me. It's a little scary at first, with all the monsters around, but it's also exciting. It's like I'm living in a fairy tale!"
The Investigation Team exchanged knowing, winced looks. Teddie looked the saddest. "She should have seen this place before people were dumped in."
Chie took a single, slow breath to relieve her tension. "Yukiko," she spoke softly. "We don't have time to explain everything, but this place really is dangerous. You know the TV announcer Ms. Yamano? We found the room she could have been in while stuck here. And that school announcement you missed last week? One of our third year classmates died recently, but the timing and circumstances are too much like Ms. Yamano. We think you could be next."
Yukiko had the decency to look alarmed. "What? How?"
"I just said I can't explain everything," she calmly reasoned. "But you just got to have to trust me so we can all go home."
"I'm fine here. Prince-kun takes care of me."
"Even if you're safe here, you've been missing for five days! You have to come back!"
"Well maybe I don't want to go back!"
A deathly silence followed in the wake of Yukiko Amagi's outburst. The Persona fighters stared at Yukiko, wide-eyed at the violent confession. Even the heiress was surprised by her sudden choice of words, staring faintly at her once clenched hands in horror.
"Yukiko…" Chie's voice cracked, about ready to burst into tears. Does she really-?
"Chie, I-!"
"Oh my! This room certainly looks crowded!"
Yukiko froze, surprised to hear someone sound so similar to her. Looking up, she saw Chie and the others looking past her, stiff in horror. She instinctively reached for Prince-kun's hand, but she was standing alone. Turning around in a frantic search for her Prince, she saw a lookalike to her in a frilly princess dress with a scary looking smile.
It was worse than any nightmare she'd ever had, because she wasn't waking up.
"Aaaaaand of course the Shadow would show up at this moment," Yosuke sighed.
"Amagi-san, get back, cover your ears and wait for us," Shirou said as calmly as he could muster, never taking his eyes off of the Shadow. She didn't listen, but the trio moved in formation between the two Yukikos.
"So all this time, you three was all out looking for little old me?" The Shadow grinned. "I'm flattered, really, but none of you properly look the part. No matter! I can fix that!"
As she spoke, Shadow Yukiko whipped her gloved arm around in a circle and her aura twisted in reply. She finished with a flick of her wrist, sending a plume of blue dust at Shirou, Yosuke, and Chie, engulfing the trio in a flash of light.
When the light faded, the only thing that changed was their attire, and what they saw struck them silent in awe and more than a little confusion. Yosuke's clothes had changed from a black school uniform to a white service dress military uniform and pants, made more official with yellow epaulettes on his shoulders and service ribbons on his breast. The clothes made him look regal, but from a low, honorary standing.
Shirou's outfit was a slightly baggy coat and pants combo, lined with gold marks around the edges and center of the cloth. This was barely seen, however, by the large black overcoat with the top flaps near his neck buttoned together. The suit struck a certain chord as being dynamic and dramatic, though it felt best worn by someone of great tactical leadership; something Shirou was only starting to get the hang of.
Chie's was the most surprising; she was now wearing a red jacket with a yellow insignia outlined around the zipper line in front of her chest. The outfit was complete with matching red pants, white knee high boots and white gloves. It was obviously feminine, but almost tailored to be worn like men's clothes.
Teddie was bedazzled by the student's change of attire, and looked over itself to see if it received the same costume change. When the bear saw no change in itself, it comically made an angry-looking pout. Yukiko found herself blushing at how beautiful the clothes looked. Especially on Chie-
"So strong and dashing," The Shadow sighed dreamily. "Yes, these clothes really do make you look like princes!"
Yukiko felt her heart skip a beat. Her classmates just looked up in confusion. "Princes?" Emiya asked.
"Th-that includes me too?" Chie glanced down at her outfit again, albeit timidly. She knew Yukiko sought her out as the better girl, but to have the allusion be taken this far was unbelievable.
Shadow Yukiko walked closer to them, personally examining the students in line. "But I wonder… are any of you the kind of prince that could help me escape?"
Yosuke was suddenly stricken with a brilliant idea; if he could appease the Shadow enough to follow him as her "prince", then they could avoid a fight altogether and rescue Yukiko Amagi! On the plus side, if it worked well enough, he might even get the cute heiress as a girlfriend! Motivated by both noble and selfish intentions, he stepped forward with an eager smile and spoke in his best British accent. "Allow me, my princess! I shall be the dashing hero who will whisk you away by the powers love and magic!"
Chie was gobsmacked by his sudden charisma, but passed as she picked up the intentions. "Love and-Hanamura!"
"Shirou-sensei!" the bear whispered to his idol. "Is this 'scoring a hot babe' that Yosuke mentioned before?" The magus, feeling a heated glare from the red "prince" turn his way, wisely chose not to comment.
To her credit, Shadow Yukiko spared time to assess Yosuke. "Kind of cute, but… I'm drawing a blank. Who are you again?"
The white prince was crushed; he shouldn't be surprised since he kept mostly to himself the semester he moved to Inaba, but was he really that bland? Well, she said she was cute, so there was still hope. "Uh, Yosuke Hanamura? The guy who your best friend kicked in the nads a while back?" A bit of recognition started to dawn on her, so he kept going. "I also asked you out last year but you turned me down."
Frowns were mirrored on both Yukiko's faces, but the Shadow's was more hostile, and started to turn away from him. "Oh, you're only another peasant suitor from school. I've dealt with enough of you posers to last a lifetime. Pass."
"But if you could just recon-"
"NO." The casual, blunt refusal was powerful enough to break the illusion on Yosuke's clothes, morphing them back to his school uniform.
"Thaaat'll teach me to get my hopes up," he sighed dejectedly, before tugging his jacket and bitterly adding, "Could've at least let me keep the clothes…"
"And then there's Shirou-kun," The Shadow cooed, walking to the black prince seductively with wandering eyes. "Now here's a prince worth mentioning. Yes, a foreigner from the city, who was suddenly forced to move and live in a rural prison, who is strong, kind, polite and chaste. It's so much like a story book fairy tale where the prince from far, far away who meets his true love in shared melancholy and they manage to escape and live happily ever after!"
It was déjà vu for Shirou; a Shadow was making open advances to him because of some subconscious attraction again. He certainly thought of the fairer sex from time to time, like Sakura's growing beauty over the years, or the idol of his last school Rin Tohsaka, but he never believed himself to be worthy of female attention. As it turned out, he didn't need to worry about making a calm refusal to the Shadow, as she turned away.
"But that image was broken when you admitted you chose to come to this hellhole on your own volition and to see your gods-ridden extended family. The only family me and my prince would need is from our own children, not from wicked in-laws."
Shirou blinked incredulously, barely registering his cape and dress clothes morphing back to normal. Did she just insult Dojima and Nanako? Or was she displacing her own family experiences on him?
"Last but not least, Chie-chan," Shadow Yukiko smiled brightly, taking the flustered Chie's hands in hers before doing a mock dance. "Cute, little Chie-chan, who is always by my side and making me feel safe. It's not as classical, but the childhood friend who saves the princess is even more of a romantic tale."
"B-but I'm a girl," Chie weakly argued.
"That's fine; I'm willing to try something new for my prince."
Chie blushed, and she turned worriedly to Yukiko as if for clarification. Yosuke, Teddie, and (to his chagrin) Shirou did as well; Yukiko looked thoroughly embarrassed, and suddenly self-conscious of the stares. Uncaring of the reaction, Shadow Yukiko continued waltzing.
"Yes, I wouldn't mind spending all of eternity together in bliss, just the two of us, because you're a kind, strong prince." She ended their dance with their faces close to one another, almost close to a kiss. Then the Shadow's good cheer disappeared and she shoved Chie away. "Or at least you were."
Like Shirou before her, Chie was too stunned at the turn of events to notice or care her prince clothes disappearing. "'Were'?"
"You're just not good enough. You can't hope to rescue me, let alone yourself. You needed the help of two wannabe princes to even get this far. I believed in you, thought you were different and could help me, but you told me I had to go back home! And what was that you said the other day again?" The Shadow spread her arms out wide, her tone loud and mocking. "'I want security and power and everyone to be my BITCH!'"
Chie flinched at every insult, feeling worse than when her own subconscious snubbed her face in it). She knew Yukiko would never mean or say this out loud, but deep down she felt betrayed. Just what the hell happened to their friendship to come to this? "Th-that's-!"
But the Shadow ignored her, and marched to the top step of the throne with anger. "You're just like everyone else, telling me what I can or can't do! 'Go run some errands for me, Yukiko'! 'Greet your guests with a smile, Yukiko'! 'Stop dilly-dallying and do as you're told, Yukiko'!!"
Yukiko had enough, and followed her Shadow to the bottom step, to the worry of the others. "You stop this right now, whoever you are. I don't know why you look like me, but you have no right coming in here and insulting everyone! You better apologize to them right now!"
"'Apologize'?" The princess turned to her double, her aura darkening as she spat the first word. "For what? Being born already chained down to a 'historic family inn' in the middle of a shitty little town? Or perhaps thinking that I hate everyone for having such high expectations of me when I never had a choice once in my entire life?!"
"Wh-what are you implying?"
The Shadow's mouth quirked to a smile, but the look in her eyes was vicious, predatory. "Why do think we share the same face? Or sound alike? Or how I know what you know? It's because we're the same; I'm Yukiko, and Yukiko is me. Isn't that right, Prince-kun?"
To everyone's surprise, the Charming Prince, once so protective of the inn heiress Yukiko, was kneeling in reverence to Princess Yukiko, who fondly patted its head like it was showing affection to a pet. The tension in the room grew subtly between human and Shadow, and the Investigation Team was stuck watching it play out for the third time.
"He's my real prince," she cooed seductively, kneeling down and caressing its cheek with her hand tenderly. "Saving me from the monsters like a hero and whisking me away in his little arms! Keeping me nice and safe from all that I could care less about, and from that moment on, I knew he would be the one to guide me away from all my troubles. And the best part? He's soooo much regal than that Hana guy, soooo much cuter than Shirou-kun, and SOOOO much reliable than Chie-chan."
"Oh, this is not going to end well," Yosuke grimaced. The obvious pointed jabs to them were bad, true, but that was distracting from the real escalating problem.
"Can't we do something?!" Chie whispered frantically. They all knew exactly what this was building up to, but stopping it was proving harder and harder.
Yukiko's stern facade faltered, and the horror that was in the back of her mind since seeing the double was slowly setting in. It was worse that Prince-kun, her protector, was standing by the fake's side and had betrayed her trust. And that this witch was saying those same hopeful wishes she kept to herself as if she had them first! "How dare you! Prince-kun is my friend!"
Shadow Yukiko turned with a mock smile. "You want him? Come and take him." A moment passed, and she found herself rooted on the spot, too afraid to act. "I knew it. Even when you want something so much, you never had the nerve to go do it yourself. You hate the life you never wanted, you hate your family for controlling you, and most of all you hate yourself for being so passive! Even your pet bird was tired of you and flew off!"
"That's not true!" she argued. "I would never-!"
The Shadow then turned opposite to the Prince and looked longingly in the distance with her hands cupped together in prayer. "I just want to go somewhere far away, anywhere but here!" She spoke partly dramatic, partly mocking. "Someone, please take me away! I can't leave here on my own! I'm completely useless!"
"Stop it. Stop it, please…!" Yukiko's voice grew weaker and shakier with every word.
"We can't hurt one without hurting the other," Yosuke reminded as the rant went on. "And anything we say will only make things worse. You just heard what she really thought about us."
Regardless of the logic in his argument, Chie wasn't at all happy with it. "So we're just going to stand around like idiots and do nothing?"
"Teddie will carry Yukiko back to that room before the Shadow transforms," said Shirou. "After that, we'll fight it out."
"But you said-!"
"We don't have the choice in the matter anymore, Satonaka." The magus's voice was resigned at this point. It was like Teddie's world put in extra effort to make you face yourself or die, no matter how much it hurt.
"I have no hope if I stay, and no courage to leave," the princess continued, ending her rant with a deliberate plop onto her throne. "So I sit on my ass fantasizing the day my Prince will come. I don't care who he is. I don't care where we go. As long as I'm not anywhere near that pile of bullshit they call the 'pride of Inaba', I don't give a damn!"
Guess the Shadows of Yosuke and Amagi-san have a lot more in common than I thought, Shirou mentally noted as he glanced back to his friend. From his slightly bewildered expression, he must be thinking along the same lines.
"Wh-why?" Yukiko weakly scolded. "Why would you say such awful things?"
Her lookalike just smiled back. "Because that's how I really feel… me."
Yukiko had never felt so insulted. All those hurtful things this person said, and claimed to be her? After she insulted her friends, family, and stole Prince-kun? But… all those things she said, how could she have even known? Is she really-?
"No!" She suddenly cried, denying both the Shadow and her internal thoughts. This wasn't possible, it just wasn't!
"Yukiko, no!" Chie cried, hoping beyond hope that she would listen. "Don't say-!"
"You're not me!"
The magus was already moving, not waiting for the Shadow's transformation to even start. "Get her out of here now," he ordered the bear.
"Good luck, everyone," Teddie said, pulling on a suddenly very tired girl by the arm. "This way, Yuki-chan. Hurry!"
It wasn't clear if she was really listening or not, but she was nonetheless dragged away as her classmates grouped together before Shadow Yukiko. The princess rose off of her throne with a giddy laugh as more dark particles streamed into her.
"Yeeees, this wonderful feeling!" The Shadow cooed, one arm hugging her chest and the other rubbing… in a discreet place lower down. "It keeps building up inside me, more and MORE. If this keeps up, I'll… I'll…!" Then she screamed as if in ecstasy and the darkness around her exploded.
For the briefest of moments, and despite the danger that presented itself, Shirou felt exasperated that a Shadow had made such an innuendo as it transformed. As if her actions weren't obvious in the Midnight Channel.
The mental jesting stopped as they saw Shadow Yukiko's new form. What they saw in front of the throne was no longer a princess, but a giant red bird, standing tall on golden talons. In the place of her arms, red feathered wings were outstretched nearly three meters each. Her chest area had white under feathers that was shaped perfectly like a heart and suspiciously made her chest look well endowed. Her neck was long and lanky like a giraffe's, with three lines of pink feathers ringing her throat. The head however, was not birdlike at all, but nearly a mirror of Yukiko's own, headband and all, the face colored the same vibrant red as her plumage and long black hair. The horrific difference was that her face was frozen in position like a mask, with golden eyes blank of emotion and her mouth set in a thin, disapproving line.
"I am a Shadow: the true self," she spoke, though her mouth did not move. "I'll allow you failure princes to dance with me, if you can keep up." The Shadow bird immediately took flight, one beat of her slender wings sending up a veritable storm of wind and dust at the trio, stopping them cold as she ascended towards the ceiling.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Yosuke powered through the winds first, his card floating before him. "Let's do this, Jiraiya!" The moment his knife passed through the card, his Persona exploded into action, leaping into the air with a perfect flying kick… that the Shadow gracefully dodged with a mere turn of its wings.
The bird's expressionless face somehow conveyed mockery as it turned to Yosuke. "What was tha-AH!" Before she could even finish the sentence, Jiraiya had kicked off the towering chamber's ceiling and grabbing a wingtip, swinging his body under the Shadow and yanking the wing across the Shadow's chest as he went. With its wings tangled, the Shadow was sent into a wild tumble downward while Jiraiya leaped away to land gracefully at the edge of the chamber.
With the winds halted, Shirou and Chie invoked their Personas as well. The magus reacted first, invoking his Persona's weakness curse. "Rakunda!" Like Shadow Chie before her, the purple light orb flashed to life around the avian before constricting and sinking into its flesh. For ninety seconds the bird's physical and magical defenses would be sharply reduced, a fact that Tomoe took immediate advantage of, twirling her two-bladed naginata overhead and bringing it down in a vicious whirling slash. Shadow Yukiko's shriek of pain was equal parts distorted human and birdlike.
In spite of the gash ripped into his hide, the Shadow hopped back with surprising agility, though nowhere near the insane level of Yosuke's own Shadow. Before anyone could close the distance, the Shadow released an eagle-like scream before exhaling a massive torrent of fire straight for the group. Izanagi was clipped by the onslaught. Shirou's face flushed and small burns marred his body and a scream was torn from his throat.
"Emiya-kun!"
"I'm fine," he assured Chie, calming himself through hastened breaths. "But keep your guard up, Satonaka." Like Izanagi's weakness to wind, they had discovered the hard way that fire was Tomoe's weakness, though Chie and her Persona's agility were usually enough to avoid the worst of it.
It was harder to focus than he liked, though. The Charming Prince's scream had dragged hellish memories long buried back to the surface like ripping open a nearly-healed wound. Forcing the feelings down for now in spite of the burns, Shirou grit his teeth and set his stance. They had to finish this quickly. Numbers were in their favor now, and even if she had a few surprises of her own, they had their own- wait, why is she glowing?
It took a moment to realize she was bathed in purple, sparkling light that reminded him of Pixie's Dia, but larger and much more effective. When the light faded, the massive scar she had received from Tomoe was gone, leaving Shadow Yukiko as good as new. She craned her neck affectionately towards the culprit: her Charming Prince settled down as the last traces of concentrated prana left its body.
"Thank you, Prince-kun!" she doted as a loving wife would. "You're so thoughtful!"
Yosuke threw his arms down, almost tempted to throw the nata down as well. "Oh COME ON! She has a back-up healer?! That's so not fair!"
That new wrinkle complicated things, but the fight wasn't over. "Satonaka, you distract the Charming Prince while Yosuke and I fight Amagi's Shadow," Shirou said as Izanagi shifted its grip on its polearm.
Chie blinked. "Huh? Are you sure?"
"Yeah, shouldn't we all gang up on him and get rid of him quickly? Healers gotta go down first," Yosuke asked as Jiraiya tossed its shuriken at the Shadow, doubling it over for a moment from the impact.
Shirou shook his head. "I was hoping to use that tactic for Amagi's Shadow, but as long as the Prince is healing her, it'll only make things harder for us. Same problem applies to attacking the Prince together; she'll likely take us all down in one strike, especially if she cares that much for him. Satonaka's vulnerable to fire attacks, but her ice ones can put a buffer on the Prince, who is her ideal target. She doesn't even have to defeat it; just hold it off and prevent it from healing so we can finish the fight."
The tomboy had to admit the plan was sound. She'd be no good to anyone if she got caught vulnerable to an Agi, especially if the Prince could heal whatever damage they dealt away. "Leave it to me! I'll have him wiped out no problem!" she smiled, and dashed off to her new opponent, with Tomoe leading the charge. "Bufu-ken!"
The ice bullet pelted and knocked the Charming Prince down into a double backwards roll before landing flat on its back. At the same time, Izanagi and Jiraiya threw their own elemental magic towards the avian Shadow, who screeched as wind and thunder struck her body. The pause was short lived as she flew down in an attempt to scratch Yosuke with both talons. The headphone wearing teen jumped back at the last moment, nearly landing back to a tumble, and his previous spot was marked with two large gouges in the carpet. She didn't pull back quick enough before he jumped back and cross slashed her neck while Jiraiya threw another gust of wind her back.
"Gotta be quicker than that, Princess!" Yosuke smirked even as he jumped away from her fire attack.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Yosuke!" Shirou warned, keeping a steady guard and distance from the Shadow with his Persona attacking. No sooner had he made the call, Jiraiya flipped away from the flailing Shadow, keeping low to the ground and bounding like a frog as it dodged darts of flame and blade-like feathers.
"I got this! Now toss me a Taru! I got an idea!" Shirou, though uncertain, did as he was told and invoked the offense enchantment spell.
Taking flight again, Shadow Yukiko set her sights on the airborne ninja who was bouncing from walls, ceilings, and sometimes nothing to make fast strikes against her. She barely stopped herself in time to avoid a downward kick that would have smacked her head down. Wary of retaliation, she followed his descent as he landed on the floor and then sprang up again to uppercut her chest. This one was a direct hit, stunning the Shadow as she gagged, and she momentarily lost sight of him before he attempted a haymaker on her back, which she air-rolled away from.
"That does it!" The Shadow screeched, positioning herself and then flying towards the Ninja Persona with quick reaction time. "Get back here, commoner!" she shouted before unleashing another raging inferno. Burns formed on Yosuke's clothes as Jiraiya bounded just outside of the flames' reach. Still releasing the flamethrower-like blast, Shadow Yukiko opened her wings again and pulled out of her dive, sweeping her head towards the would-be rescuers.
Before she could finish off the Persona users, Izanagi impaled the Shadow in the side, cutting off the flames and drawing a squawk of shock and pain from her throat. The bird flapped wildly and slashed at Izanagi with its talons, but found little purchase against the long coat he wore. She finally dislodged the spirit by whirling in a wild roll and pushing off as hard as she could, sending Izanagi into a wall with a resounding boom. Shirou felt that and grimaced as the impact transferred to him.
Back in the air and regenerating the black scar in her plumage (thankfully not as fast as Shadow Yosuke did), the Shadow opted instead to stay on the move rather than hover in place like before. Even as Jiraiya started upwards with his bounding leaps, Shadow Yukiko kept on the move, not willing to be a stationary punching bag anymore.
Even so, trying to counterattack was even harder with the two entities constantly on the move. Down below Shirou and Izanagi held up a hand each, but Shirou refused to release another Zio until he had a clear shot. Instead, he made sure to recast Rakunda and prepare a Tarukaja for the instant Jiraiya had an opening. At least those curses didn't need to strike the target, merely willed into effect.
Jiraiya continued to keep the Shadow on the move, the shuriken flashing out to try and hem the Shadow in even as it displayed more aerial agility than something its size should have. "I can do this all day, you overgrown flamingo!" Yosuke taunted again. Shirou was left to worry about his overconfidence, but simply focused on keeping Rakunda and Tarukaja working for as long as possible.
On the far side of the throne room, Chie had reached a bit more of a stalemate with her own opponent. Due to her already weak and low magic reserves, she couldn't pelt him to submission with ice as much as she'd like to. At best, she had three shots left, and couldn't afford to miss even one. That left her with going with fighting head on. She awkwardly stood in place while spinning her chain whip parallel to her body. It was a basic technique, and not something really useful in hindsight, but it kept the Prince away from her lest it got smacked by the spinning flail.
She had Tomoe fight back sword to spear, and despite its stout figure, it was just as easily fast as it was strong. Tomoe had the edge earlier for being taller and with a longer weapon, slowly but surely cutting the Shadow to pieces. Chie had thought the fight was as good as over, but then the gourd Prince invoked a green light around it and started all but dancing around the samurai Persona. Attacks that would normally be blocked by its sword would now be dodged outright and expose her to a counterattack by its agility. Chie gritted her teeth with each new cut on her body, but she persists in keeping the link open.
It seemed like an eternity before she saw one: a sudden, sharp drop in its speed unbalanced the Charming Prince and left it overextended, and Tomoe took full advantage of the lapse. A strong kick shot the Shadow up into the air, and Chie followed through with her limited magic reserves. "Bufu-ken!" To her delight, the Shadow flew higher and higher...
Right into Shadow Yukiko line of sight. The fighting stopped as everyone turned and watched as the Charming Prince sail through the air with crushed ice crystals before falling down in a metallic thud. The Investigation Team all felt an immediate shift in the larger Shadow, and though her face remained frozen, the emotion seemed to spark with rage anew. Chie nearly flinched and felt her whip dart to the floor as the Shadow turned her predatory glare on her... and flames that started to burn brighter than before. "No one hurts my Prince-kun! Not even you, Chie! Agi!"
"Shit!" Yosuke cursed; both at the level of danger their teammate was about to face, and to himself for not doing anything to stop her. There was no time to get in the line of fire or push Satonaka away from their angle, so he tried the next best thing; punching the Shadow to divert the trajectory. Had Jiraiya struck earlier, he would have done just that. But a second difference was still vital in a fight, and though he struck another powerful blow to her, the fireball still found its mark by Chie's feet. It was enough.
"Aaaaaah!" Chie cried in pain as she was blown away. Her sweater quickly caught fire before she rolled on the ground to smother them. Tomoe slumped and started to flicker.
"Satonaka!" Shirou's heart wavered for a moment; his attention focused solely on his teammate's safety. It was with this pause that his heart subconsciously dismissed Izanagi from the fight and that, while still under the passive blessings of his Persona, ran for her.
"Damn it," Yosuke cursed. He couldn't blame the magus for his actions, and he had been fighting the Shadow himself this whole time, but it would help to have his Persona as moral support. If he could keep this up though, he could win. She hadn't even hit him yet! Though why was he feeling so tired all of a sudden?
Shirou felt the bottom of his stomach drop out at the sight of Satonaka lying on the ground in pain. Regret filled every fiber of his being; he should have never allowed anyone to be here with him. No one should ever risk their lives other than his own. Now one of his first friends here in Inaba was hurt and it was because of his stupid plan! If she (had) just stayed safe in the normal world and lived in ignorance, she would never have to endure this pain. Worse, he could switch Izanagi out and heal her, but if he did, Shadow Yukiko would be free to rampage. He could feel Izanagi straining to hold her down through their link.
He would have reached down to pick her up, but Chie immediately reached up and took his hand. "Okay, now I'm mad. Those two are going down!" she declared before giving the obviously bewildered Shirou a slight glare. "What? I'm not out of this yet! Help me up!"
Any protest Shirou had to the demand died at the look in Satonaka's eyes. He felt that trying to convince her to step back would only end in pain later. It also reminded him that this was not the place to argue with her. With a pull, he helped the girl to her feet and turned back to the Shadow, who was pursued by Jiraiya but a lot less aggressively. Somehow, the tables have turned and it was the avian that was dancing in circles around the ninja Persona now, and it left both Shirou and Chie a feeling of worry and dread, especially when he would occasionally flicker between tangibility every few seconds.
"Yosuke, what's wrong?" Shirou quickly shouted, taking note of the way his friend was visibly trembling, like he could barely stand.
"I-I don't know, partner! I feel like I just ran a marathon and a half!" he wheezed, his breathing obviously ragged.
Teddie provided the answer from the throne room's door, dreading the thought of having to go deeper into the castle with a weakened Yukiko. "Yosuke's been using a lot of power to let Jiraiya use his techniques so much! He's bear-y drained right now!"
Shirou bit back a curse. Moving and controlling a Persona normally took no effort, but there was a drain whenever they used their Persona's special powers, physical or magical. Yosuke must have been too caught up in the battle to even notice! He'd need to restore some of his strength to keep him fighting; maybe Pixie could help?
Shadow Yukiko, now perched atop a chandelier, laughs triumphantly. "You three think you're so smart, but you aren't the only ones with tricks up your sleeves. Prince-kun! Let us dance!"
As if reinvigorated by her "princess's" voice, the Charming Prince flipped to its feet instantly. Dark power gathered and it began to shake in a familiar manner. Clapping his hands over his ears, Shirou braced for the memories as the Shadow screamed…
Nothing. No fire, no anguish. Shirou blinked to awareness slowly, noticing that everything was still the same. He didn't need to look long and hard to figure out why. He wasn't the target.
No, this time it was Yosuke, sporting an unhealthy mix of pale white and blue, that was affected. Jiraiya, a hair's width away from striking the avian Shadow, froze and flickered away, not unlike what happened to him as Shadow Yosuke. The trauma by the Charming Prince's fear scream was so strong it overrode the power of Persona itself. "S-Saki-senpai? But..."
With a haughty laugh, the Shadow flew off her chandelier perch and higher up to the ceiling."Now stay right there, and I'll show you a dance I like to call, the 'Shivering Rondo'." Then in one strike with her talons, she severed the chains supporting the chandelier before letting gravity take over.
There was no time to think. Shirou took off towards their friend, faintly aware of Chie running behind him. He desperately called to his Persona, any Persona, to help him close the gap in time. He pushed his body as far as he could, ramping up his Reinforcement. They were too far away but he just had to reach him in time. He had to! "YOSUKE! LOOK OUT!"
Another ten yards and he could have shoved Yosuke aside. He could have at least put himself in the way, maybe absorbed some of the damage and healed later.
But fate was cruel.
A loud crash shook the room, and the magus was nearly blown back by the force. Debris and dust from overturned, broken tiles was just settling down, and left no imagination to the damage done. Metal bars once supporting candles were bent and broken off, littering the floor around it. Or at least the ones closest to the ground as the chandelier crashed at a tilted angle to the side. The candles themselves were either burnt out or weakly burning to the floor and caved open tile spaces. There was no trace of Yosuke above the structure.
The scenario slowly settled in of their friend's demise. Chie knelt back down to the floor sobbing. A coldness spread through Shirou's entire being. Two failures back to back. He had power now, but what good was it if he wasn't able to save everyone here? He had pulled it off against the other Shadows, so why was he failing so miserably now? What did he do wrong? How could he call himself an Ally of Justice like this? "Yosuke…"
"I knew it," said Shadow Yukiko. "He really was such a worthless commoner pretending to be someone else. He couldn't even make a proper escort. Isn't that right, Prince-kun?"
Shirou snapped to the Shadow and saw red, figuratively and literally. He cared not that she was now a myriad projection of Amagi's feelings made reality. She was an insufferable, violent monster who needed to be stopped. Acting on his growing desire for righteous fury, his newest Persona beckoned to the call and he answered it. "Eligor!"
Like a chevalier racing to his fellow jousting opponent, Duke and steed galloped from the spiritual flames of their shattered card. With breakneck speed, their distance across the throne room shrank by the second and the rider drew back his weapon, armed and poised towards its grounded enemy. The Charming Prince, as if sensing its impending doom, started to flee as far as its little legs could carry it.
"If thou calls itself royalty, than accept death with dignity!" Eligor roared, just before he approached striking distance and struck. "Poison Skewer!"
SRICK!
"Prince-kuuuuun!" Shadow Yukiko screeched, watching in horror as the deed was done.
The lance pierced the Shadow's lesser armor, already weakened by Tomoe. Its smaller body mass left it embedded on the lance's point as the gallant knight slowed to a stop. As if disgusted with his meager kill, and resonant to Shirou's thoughts, the Duke of Hell flicked his lance aside, flinging the dead Shadow away. The red avian flew down to the prince's side, craning her head to its side affectionately. It was for naught as the Charming Prince dissolved to black nothingness, and no trace was left.
"No… no!" the Shadow cried, ending with a long, loud primal screech to the heavens. Though her grief was far from gone, it was replaced with anger as she directed her gaze to Shirou.
"YOU!" She roared at the magus. "How DARE YOU kill my one and only true love?!"
He simply stared back, hands gripping his sword tightly. Eligor righted his lance in position between them, his horse brushing its leg back for another charge. Chie was slowly pulling herself up and wiping the still tears off her eyes before joining the fight.
"None of you are worthy of me, so you decide to take it out on my Prince-kun? Well you can all die like the worthless commoners that you are! Just like your little friend!"
Eligor charged forward to strike, but the Shadow was already in the air and beyond his reach. She climbed into the bird cage structure on top of another chandelier which was large enough to fit her inside. She perched herself just outside of the now swaying cage with her wings fully outstretched and paid special attention to the lit candles.
"Now burn to ashes!" she wailed, and then flapped her wings. The candle flames grew larger, and embers parted them as they flew and rained down on the room, which only grew worse with the constant moving of Shadow Yukiko's perch. Other chandeliers were blown forward by the wind as well, and in response, more embers scattered.
In less than a minute, the throne room was engulfed in flames that threatened to burn everything in sight. Chie could already feel the stinging smell of smoke build up from the carpets and drapes, taking extra precaution to dismiss Tomoe while avoiding falling debris. "What do we do now?"
She hoped that Shirou had a plan. If not, at the very least respond with assurance that they would get by somehow. But when she maneuvered her way next to him, he was in a trance again. Not like seeing Yosuke die, but when the Prince terrorized him into a seizure. He was now staring blankly around the room, as if looking for something. Possibly Eligor, for he upped and vanished around the time the fire started.
"Emiya-kun?" she tried again, but no answer. Things were going from bad to worse, and everything was literally coming down on their heads!
"Shirou-sensei! Chie-chan!" Teddie finally called out from the back. "This room is gonna fall apart any second! Get out of there, hurry! And don't worry; I bearly fetched Yosuke in time, but he'll live! He's right here resting with me and Yuki-chan!"
If the situation wasn't so dire, she'd probably weep with relief and forgive Teddie for doubting them. But she was stuck with a nearly unresponsive leader in a burning room and a psychotic bird waiting to kill them. "Emiya-kun!" she shook his shoulders. "Snap out it! We need your help! Emiya-kun!"
When that didn't work, she slapped him. She felt a little guilty, but it seemed to work with Yosuke earlier. To her relief, she got it to work too, and the redhead's eyes blinked as if waking up. "S-Satonaka?"
"No time, just run!"
She grabbed his arm and dragged him to the back of the hall by the staircase, narrowly avoiding burning ceiling beams blocking their path and/or nearly crushing them. As the bear said, Teddie was waiting near the stairs with two laying down students. Yukiko was leaning against the corner wall, making tired pants and close to passing out due to her Shadow's presence. Yosuke looked far worse, flat on the ground with rags that was once his school uniform. Teddie was just finishing covering his head gash with wrapping tape before moving to the cuts from shrapnel across his chest when the duo arrived.
"Things are beary bad out there," Teddie shock nervously even as he worked. "If this keeps up, we'll all be bar-bear-qued!"
Chie winced from the searing hotness and the painful pun. Shirou himself ignored it and considered their options. "Any chance we can escape?"
"The door's barred," said the bear, pointing to a large pile of burning wood in front of the stairway. "And this castle is eight stories high; I counted. Even if we get past here, we have so many other floors to climb down that it'd be too late."
The students exchanged forlorn glances, but fortunately for them Teddie wasn't done yet. "I made another Goho-M," it said after patching Yosuke, lifting a house diorama for emphasis. "But I was hoping to use it after we beat Shadow Yuki-chan. I… I don't want to think what would happen if she was left alone, whether or not she killed Yuki-chan."
Chie herself didn't want to think what would happen to Yukiko either if this issue was ignored, now that she thought about it. But they were so weak and the fire was getting closer. "We can't beat that thing on our own. Not without Hanamura. Can't you heal him, Emiya-kun?"
He didn't answer, but called out Pixie to check their teammate. After a quick look, she sadly shook her head. "This is beyond me. Only alternative is to use some revival beads or that… well, you know."
"Beads…" Teddie said aloud even as Pixie dismissed herself. Then he smacked his paws together. "Oh! I know what Pixie-chan's talking about!"
"Do we have any to use?" Chie asked hopefully.
"Nope!" Teddie smiled, much to the dismay of his friends. "But I can make one!"
Teddie clapped his hands twice, and cupped them together and produced a small curved, clear colored magatama and pressed it on Yosuke's body. A moment later, he gasped awake, lunging up abruptly and looking around frantically. He calmed down upon wincing in pain and noting his body bandages. "We're not dead yet, are we?"
"Not yet," Shirou weakly joked. "Now the Shadow's trying to burn us out. You and I could probably make it, but Satonaka…"
"I only have two ice shots left in me," she finished.
"So that's it then?" he asked. "Man, if only Amagi-san could accept herself."
Chie's expression brightened at the idea. She turned to her friend resting in the corner, and slowly walked over to her before kneeling down. "Yukiko, can you hear me?"
The inn heiress moaned weakly, barely keeping her eyes open before focusing on her friend. Chie could relate, and she was certain Yosuke could too; the sudden loss of feeling and awareness, where you'd rather just doze off and let yourself roll over and die. It was easy to understand why Ms. Yamano and Konishi-senpai died after their Shadows were born, and it was tempting without a heart to react. But if Yosuke was able to admit his problems to his Shadow under the influence, then so could Yukiko. She just needed to be reminded that her best friend was here for her.
"Yukiko, I'm sorry. You were right; I'm not good enough, let alone strong enough to help you. I never even noticed all of-"
"Run, Chie."
Chie's planned speech was interrupted and thoroughly derailed by Yukiko's words. They were soft spoken as a plea, but had finality to them… and defeat. "Wh-what?!"
"Run," she said again, slowly but strongly. "Go and save yourself. It's me that thing wants, isn't it? I'd never forgive myself if you died in my place."
"We're not leaving without you," said Shirou.
"Damn straight we're not!" Yosuke added. "We came all this way in the first to rescue you, Satonaka especially! We might not be the princes you were hoping for, but don't we get points for trying?"
Yukiko turned to Chie, who nodded in answer. Then the black haired girl chuckled, again with futility. "You were right. This place was dangerous. I knew it from the start, even with Prince-kun by my side. But I'm just like a bird in a cage. I don't have the strength or courage to leave on my own."
A birdlike screech drew Yosuke and Shirou's attention back, seeing the Shadow's form blacken and falter. The moment passed and she flapped out more embers and flares to further ignite the room, growing steadily closer to their spot. "Where are you peasants?! I know you're in here!"
"Is her guilt a form of confronting her Shadow?" Shirou asked.
"That's how it started with me, too," Yosuke said. "But unless she fully admits it to herself, we're literally toasted!"
"I found a baby bird in a dropped nest," Yukiko continued, eyes focused on her attentive friend. "I saw myself in him; alone and unable to take care of himself. So I took him home, bought a bird cage, and fed him every day. All of last year I looked forward to seeing him grow bigger and stronger, as he was my excuse to believe everything was okay.
"Then one day, I forgot to lock the cage and he flew away. Everyone thought I was heartbroken, but I was really devastated. A bird had more courage than me to leave his prison, while I need someone to open my door. But I ignored that fact and just went on with my life, pretending it never happened," Yukiko's eyes moistened, and she covered her face to hide them. "Because it would remind me how trapped I feel… and how horrible a person I really am!"
She could tell the others were all watching her. She could hear the red Shadow screaming and yelling both in pain and anger, but she was too ashamed to care. Ashamed of her real desire to run away from home and needing someone to do it for her. The fact she was telling all this to Chie, her best friend, and the one person she secretly hoped to be her savior, did nothing to alleviate her feelings.
"So what if you're horrible? I'm just as bad, if not worse."
Confused, Yukiko looked up from her hands to see Chie. Strangely enough, she looked just as guilty as she was. "Huh…?"
"I understand, really. I had a Shadow too recently." She sighed, steeling herself. "I'm… not as strong as you think I am, either. I'm not as popular or smart or pretty as you. You get boys asking you out every other day and they all just see me as your keeper."
She lowered her head and started sniffling; death was the farthest thing on her mind, as feelings of shame crept into her. "You're my best friend, Yukiko. I would never lie about that. But, *sniff* I was always so jealous of you, getting all the boys and attention, that I wanted to feel important like you were all the time. I just wanted to be noticed so badly. And I felt happy when your Shadow said you depended on me, when for years it felt like the other way around. So happy that… I wanted to keep that feeling and never let it go."
When she looked up, her face was red and tears were sliding down her cheeks. "I needed you Yukiko, just to get by. But I wanted you to need me to feel better about myself. Because if you didn't, if you left me… I'd have nothing."
"Chie…"
"But… now I'm convinced more than ever that it's okay to have bad qualities. I was afraid you'd hate me for being so selfish, and here you are, telling me to run away because you care, just like always." She gave a soft smile that Yukiko had grown to appreciate as strong and comforting. "I don't know my good qualities yet, but I figure I could make it up to you by being there when you need me. You know… because we're friends."
Yukiko felt so silly in comparison. It was never that she needed Chie or Chie needed her; they needed each other because they brought out the best in one another. The only one keeping her locked in the cage was herself, afraid of going out alone. But what was to be afraid of? Chie wasn't her rescuer, but someone who'd always be by her side, and was waiting for her to leave on her own.
Yukiko was right that she was like the bird she'd adopted in the past. And she found her courage to take the first step forward.
"Chie…"
"Yukiko…"
The two friends embraced one another, tears of joy and relief freely falling from their eyes, overwhelming ones of grief and sadness. They were close before, but even the boundaries of their secrets couldn't drive them apart. And as he watched from afar as they whispered thanks, Shirou smiled to himself, glad to know their friendship was saved.
"LIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!"
The whole room shook violently, and more flames erupted out uncontrollably. Everyone turned to the source to see the Shadow discharge like crazy and repeatedly flail in her cage perch while weakly fanning flames around. The desperate action would no doubt engulf the whole castle in flames if not for her body phasing out.
"Liar liar liar liar liar liar LIAR!" she bellowed. "No one can save me but my Prince, and YOU MONSTERS KILLED HIM! I can't do anything without him so STOP SPREADING LIES!"
"The Shadow's weakening!" Yosuke smiled. "This is our opening!"
"Be careful!" Teddie exclaimed. "She's like a cornered bear now!"
"So are we," said Shirou, feeling his body tension rise as he projected his Persona card. He turned to his injured comrade. He almost lost his friend, and would want nothing more than for him and Satonaka to never fight again. But they were both stubborn and loyal to a fault, and he would insult them telling them otherwise. All he could do is ask if they were still willing: "Think you can still fight, Yosuke?"
His partner merely grinned. "Who the hell do you think I am?"
"Right," he smiled back, before crushing the card. "Persona!"
The Duke Persona once again galloped into the main hall, effortlessly stomping over the now weakening flames of the Shadow's rampage. Though he couldn't reach her, he made due with taunting her. "Come, duchess of flames! Joust me if you wish to avenge your spouse!"
"If you must refer to me by title, it's PRINCESS Yukiko! And I'm more than happy to oblige!" Her retort made, she cut the chain on her chandelier and watched it fall to crush him.
This wasn't the case as Eligor and Shirou knew what to expect. With expert handling, he heeled his horse at the last moment before the chandelier would land. "Next," he challenged, trotting his horse around.
Shadow Yukiko dived down with a screech, head first, and bashed firmly at Eligor's breastplate. The knight gagged on reflex, with Shirou mirroring the action with their synchronized link. The large Shadow kept flapping her wings for momentum in an attempt to topple the rider off.
But Shirou gritted his teeth and held his ground. Through Eligor's reins his mount did the same, and slowly but surely forced the attack to a stop. Then he completely overpowered the Shadow and pushed her back with a screaming charge.
"HUOOOOOOOOOOOOOA!" cried magus and knight, their actions one. The horse joined them, with a hearty neigh.
"Wh-what?!" the Shadow gasped, and found herself flapping to get away instead of advance. She was also constantly conjuring Agi after Agi at the knight, hoping to stop him. "Get back! Begone! Away with you! Why won't you die? WHY WON'T YOU DIE!?!"
As one of the many Dukes of Hell from the Ars Goetia, it was fitting that Eligor had control in Agi-aligned magic, and that he was just as resistant to the element. Through the link, Shirou felt each fireball pass over him like heat from an open flame against his face. And that was for the attacks that actually continued and didn't fizzle out.
"Surprise!"
Shadow Yukiko's retreat was stopped in its tracks when the Ninja Persona, mimicking Yosuke's voice, struck her exposed back with both hands and their spinning discuses. Her cry of pain doubled when Eligor closed the small gap between them with his piercing lance. Then the Duke Persona backed away before flicking the avian Shadow into the air, and Jiraiya propelled her with a well-timed Garu.
"Satonaka!" "All you!"
Now standing in front of the staircase, Chie stood firmly in place, arms pulled back and cupped together. Tomoe was floating above her in a similar position, and her hands were glowing bluish white.
"This is gonna get messy, Yukiko," she warned her friend, the only one who followed her while the others split off for the final assault. "You should run when you get the chance."
But her friend shook her head confidently. "I'm not leaving, Chie." It brought a smile to her lips, and gave her the needed boost to finish the job.
"Double… Bufu… KEEEEEEEEEN!"
She had no idea how fighting game characters really used their hypothetical energy to make their attacks bigger, so she went over Shirou's instructions on Persona summoning, as well as a bit of wishful thinking of "I want to use two Bufus at once."
The result for Tomoe was a very draining, very bright, very big, and very cool-looking ice blast that moved and acted more like freezing wind than anything else. And it was fired directly at the avian sent flying towards her.
"Noooooooo!"
And Shadow Yukiko was defeated. She crystalized on the spot into an ice sculpture, but with the fight over, the ice cracked and gave away moments later. With the ice shattered, Shadow particles melted away through the cracks and evaporated helplessly on the ground. All that remained was the Princess lookalike standing in the center, looking more somber and calm than she'd ever been.
Chie exhaled and dismissed Tomoe, gauging the now silent Shadow. "I'm sorry for all this, Yukiko," she said to both human and Shadow. "I was so caught up in my own problems I didn't know how much you really needed me for you."
"I wasn't very considerate either, Chie," the heiress admitted. "I just wanted an easy way out of all of my problems without facing them head on." She walked slowly to the Princess, feeling the empty haze clear more with each step. It had already eased up considerably after confining in Chie, but she had to look to herself in the mirror and admit it, so to speak.
"'I want to run away.' 'I want someone to save me.' I really did have these feelings, but I felt so bound down that I was ashamed to admit it." She gently took the Princess' hands in hers, giving them an affectionate squeeze. "I'm sorry I didn't it get sooner… me."
The Shadow smiled faintly and nodded. Before the girl's eyes, she was enveloped in a bright blue light and transformed. Hovering before them was a young woman in a white skirt, black stockings and thin knee high boots. Her upper body bore a skin-tight white and pink shirt, with the white outlines covering her arms, abdomen, and chest a familiar heart shape, and her face was covered with a bright pink mask similar to the super hero shows. Each corner of her head sported a floral hair decoration of a bloomed sakura. A similar design of sakura was seen attached to both her wrists, but made much larger and mechanical like a chain weapon of sorts that was linked together.
Yukiko didn't understand why she knew it was now a Persona like what her friends were using, or how she knew her name (Konohana Sakuya), but she accepted her other self for who she was, no matter the change. In another flash, the being vanished and fluttered down to her open hands as a Tarot Card.
When she felt the card melt into her soul, she suddenly lost feeling in her legs. Chie caught her right away and smiled. "Don't worry. It was rough the first time for me too."
Yukiko smiled back. Then she realized something, back during the fighting. "Is Prince-kun really-?"
Chie's smile quickly faded, and she shook her head. "I'm sorry Yukiko. I know how much he means to you, but when we thought Yosuke died back there…"
It was understandable. She thought she had something close to the Charming Prince in the days depending on its care, but it was just a facet of someone to save her, not an actual person. Rather, it was the one keeping her in her gilded cage, and it wasn't until she realized the people that truly mannered were right in front of her that she had the strength to get out.
"To be honest, it was Emiya-kun that did it. I think the last time I saw him that pissed was- wait a minute. Where is Emiya-kun? And the others?"
The girls took careful notice of the changed scenery since the final attack. The throne room was a mess; piles of ceiling wood were still scattered across the room, and carpets and drapes had been burnt to the point of being unrecognizable. The fire was all gone now at least, but somehow the room had changed from bright pink to dark blue from the sudden flash freeze. At least the castle wasn't in danger of burning to the ground now. That positive thought gave Chie the confidence that the guys came out all right.
"Ah-CHOO! Oh, my f-fur's all w-w-wet."
Turning to the noise, both girls gasped at what they saw, and Chie mentally corrected herself to mostly all right.
As Yukiko was beside Chie at the time and thus behind the blast radius, the girls were completely healthy despite feeling a slight draft. Shirou, Yosuke and Teddie, on the other hand, were all comically hugging their shivering selves, topped with snow on their heads and shoulders, and were trying their darn hardest to fight back their sneezes.
"WhwhwhwhwhwhwhWhat the HELL was that?!" Yosuke chattered. "W-w-were you tr-tr-trying to freeze us all to d-d-death?"
Chie had the decency to blush and rub her head sheepishly. "Heh heh, sorry guys. Didn't mean to go that far."
"H-how you even managed that s-surprises me," the magus admitted. He couldn't hold it against her for the unseen circumstance, and he knew she didn't mean it.
"I didn't know I could do it either," she agreed, teasingly flexing her arms for emphasis. "But man, sometimes I scare myself with my own strength."
"Y-your ice was b-beary amazing, Chie-chan!" Teddie smiled, despite the cold. "I-I wish I could do ma-ma-ma-magic as nearly as c-c-cool like that!"
"I s-s-swear, it's Fe-Fe-February all over again," the headphone teen shivered. "N-n-next time? Warn us before you give us a g-giant c-c-cold blast!"
Chie was about to reply that she would, but Yukiko, who had been quiet since the boys arrived, snorted. Confused, everyone turned to her and saw her trying to keep a serious face, and failing miserably. And then another snort, with it a smile and giggle. Chie couldn't believe her eyes. "Is she really-?"
"BWAAAA-hahahahaha, ahahahahahaha!" Finally unable to control herself, Yukiko laughed. She laughed and laughed and laughed until she cried. She laughed as she leaned on her friend for support, and pointed at the bewildered bear and students.
"Y-your faces," she squeaked between giggles. "Your fa-a-a-aces! They're so-ahahaha! And the snow! Ahahaha, the sno-o-o-w! It's-it's-it's on your heads li-like a little ha-ahahaha, like ahahaha!"
Yukiko continued to laugh blissfully, ignoring any looks she got as she did. Yosuke broke the stunned silence, face torn between hurt and accusing as he pointed to her. "I-i-is she la-laughing at our pr-pr-predicament!?"
"Don't take it personally," Chie explained, eyes rolling and hand patting her friend's back. "She always gets like this when she finds something funny." Then she sighed and half muttered to herself "But she used to only do it around me."
"Hahahaha-like a Haaaaaatahahahaha!" Yukiko finally said, and would have likely gone on laughing further before she started coughing rather violently.
"Yukiko!" Chie cried, her annoyed expression giving way to worry that mirrored the freezing boys.
"S-sorry," she smiled, forced to calm down. "It hurts to laugh, I guess."
Shirou gave a strained smile. "W-well, y-you're safe now, that's all that matters."
"Yes," Yukiko nodded, and forced herself up. She turned her attention to everyone, one by one.
To Chie, who had always been her support, and always a dear friend through thick and thin.
To Hanamura, who she considered an acquaintance at best but proved to be as loyal as when he first moved to Inaba.
To Emiya, the one she believed to be her savior from afar, and was right for the wrong reasons.
And to Teddie, who she knew nothing about but was still someone who risked his life for hers.
With a grateful smile, Yukiko bowed deeply in front of them. "Thank you for saving me everyone."
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Raj
Master of Procrasination
- Location
- Canada
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I've already stated this in SpaceBattles, but I thought I might as well do it here as well.
This was a great chapter, although I hope Shirou abandoning Yosuke is brought up in the next chapter or later on.
Also something I noticed which very much surprised me is that apparently the chapter has more likes here in SV than in SB, which is extremely surprising as I would be surprised if 3/4 of your SB fans came here as well.
I guess SV just better recognizes quality at the moment.
This was a great chapter, although I hope Shirou abandoning Yosuke is brought up in the next chapter or later on.
Also something I noticed which very much surprised me is that apparently the chapter has more likes here in SV than in SB, which is extremely surprising as I would be surprised if 3/4 of your SB fans came here as well.
I guess SV just better recognizes quality at the moment.
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KishouTheBadger
Psychic Mech Pilot
I wouldn't say that, Raj, but I appreciate it.
Also, feel free to re-read the chapter as I updated a bit thanks to NamelessFlame. Change is mostly evident in the fight where Chie goes against the Charming Prince to when the chandelier hits Yosuke.
Also, feel free to re-read the chapter as I updated a bit thanks to NamelessFlame. Change is mostly evident in the fight where Chie goes against the Charming Prince to when the chandelier hits Yosuke.
Raj
Master of Procrasination
- Location
- Canada
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I just finished rereading the chapter, I definitely like the changes that were made as they make the fight scene flow that much better.
Also I was glad to listen to the music this time, as the first time I read the newest chapter of FFN rather than SB or SV.
Also I was glad to listen to the music this time, as the first time I read the newest chapter of FFN rather than SB or SV.
Raj
Master of Procrasination
- Location
- Canada
- Pronouns
- He/Him
You are thinking of a different part of the fight.
I am talking about when Chie was struck down by a fire ball, Shirou abandoned Yosuke and ran to see Chie.
Which is in character yes, but it could have easily ended in disaster, especially since the reason Yosuke was able to push back the shadow, was due to Shirou boosting him and weakening the Shadow.
Hopefully he learns from his mistakes and doesn't do something that stupid again, although like some people on SB pointed out, we are not to far into the story so it isn't likely to be addressed too much until we hit the middle or so.
Silly question. I was reading the tvtropes page of the story and it's mentioned under "Power Perversion Potential" that Shirou might be able to figure out a girl's measurements at a glance. Can Structural Analysis really do that?
Yes it can- would also tell him so much other stuff its not even funny- if their sick, how their sic, the history of the item in question- probably their basic diet their entire lives as well as behavior- in so far as it directly effects their body- note that these are things that anyone would be able to determine with that spell- hence why most every magus learns it. In short if Bones from said show could figure it out through an autopsy then structural analysis will tell him that.
- Location
- The Grandcypher
I actually doubt that Structural Grasp is able to do that. It is a spell meant for the analysis of objects, not living beings. There is no proof in the VN that Shirou can use it to determine the state of his or somebody else' body. Considering that Shirou's magecraft is focused on swords, not humans, it is even more unlikly that he could use it on humans.
There is also the fact that nearly no magus is capabel of gaining so much information using SG as Shirou. Additionally it probably one of the most simple spells in existence, which means every magus will be able to use it to some degree.
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If it only works on objects(which incidentally I vote still includes humans since they are in fact physically there) then it likely depends on weather the caster view the individual as an object or not. I will however agree that Shirou may not actually get as much from a random civilian as he would from a soldier and even not as much as sword. Info he receives probably goes joe-schmoe<civilians who's into swords< soldier who doesn't give a crap about swords< swordsmen< actual weapons.
- Location
- The Grandcypher
SG is a spell that analysis things that carry the concept of 'object'. 'Object' probably means that it only works on unliving matter, including organic substances which are not themselves alive, like dead wood or bones, but not on a living tree or person, since those carry the concept of a 'living being'. But that is just my interpretation.
I would argue that Structural Grasp will get you things like measurements very easily, but once you start trying to push prana into their bodies... well, it won't work on a magus, obviously, and even bog-standard humans are going to have lots of tiny fiddly squishy bits that'd be hard to analyze.
(For that matter, what's its resolution like even with inanimate objects? Can Shirou's structural grasp and Projection let him, say, repair a broken Integrated circuit?)
(For that matter, what's its resolution like even with inanimate objects? Can Shirou's structural grasp and Projection let him, say, repair a broken Integrated circuit?)
- Pronouns
- Tuan/Mahakuasa/Abah
Besides, many nasuverse mechanic doesn't translate well into other fiction work.
For one, it magic system actually ran contradictory against commonly used magical/supernatural theory.
That's why some people tends to hand waive nasuverse's to certain degree when they are doing crossover, to the best of my knowledge.
That's a sign of nice world building from Nasu, though.
......And is it only me does anyone also wanted to know what kind of reaction Shirou has when confronted with Kanji...... Dungeon?
For one, it magic system actually ran contradictory against commonly used magical/supernatural theory.
That's why some people tends to hand waive nasuverse's to certain degree when they are doing crossover, to the best of my knowledge.
That's a sign of nice world building from Nasu, though.
......And is it only me does anyone also wanted to know what kind of reaction Shirou has when confronted with Kanji...... Dungeon?
Fuyuki Gaiden 1 (Taiga): The Sunny Days are over
KishouTheBadger
Psychic Mech Pilot
Fuyuki Gaiden 1: The Sunny Days are over
My name is Taiga Fujimua. I've been called many things, from teacher to Yakuza Princess to human rocket to even… that word. I always strive to be a role model for my students and peers. It's not my fault they don't know how to have fun most of the time.
My little protégé-slash-student-slash-cook-slash-brother Shirou is always a handful, getting riled up at the most harmless of my pranks, but we get along well. I worry sometimes that I can never quite help him or reach that level of closeness to do it, but I suppose that's the downside of not being related by blood.
I admit that I wasn't the best older sister figure most of the time, but I believe I finally came through for him with the chance to reconcile with his extended family. This fact alone is what keeps me sleeping soundly (and with a slightly smaller stomach) for the first few nights.
But I still feel… uneasy. I haven't forgotten about the blue butterfly that night. I tried doing a bit of research, but nothing I found came even close to what I saw. If I was a little more paranoid and wary, I would think that the butterfly spoke to me that same night.
Right, and Homurahara High School is secretly teaching students magic. Like I said, "If I was a little more paranoid and wary."
That aside, I still wonder if there was some warning of things to come that would happen to Shirou. Something that might happen to his family after all the time and effort I went into looking for them. It was part of the reason I pushed him along to his school year transfer. I didn't like it any more than Sakura (and I might have backpedalled into reeling him to cook for me again) but I knew he needed this. I just wished I thought of this sooner. Like, five years sooner.
When Shirou called me two days after he left (despite interrupting my beauty sleep), I was thankful he didn't automatically forget about me. The last thing I would want is to be forgotten because he didn't have me mooching off his food anymore. But it still reminded me that he might get back to his old habits of being helpful.
I would also find myself watching the news every day just wondering how he's doing. My… intuition (which is clearly NOT the same as paranoia, which I already explained) told me to keep an ear low to the ground on whatever could happen to Shirou and/or Inaba. It wasn't easy because that town is literally in the middle of nowhere, but it wasn't hard to pick up how hard they were milking the "Yamano Love Scandal" for days.
Some days I wished I hadn't.
Days after it went public, said scandal had an unexpected and startling twist that resulted in the former news anchor's death; hanging off a telephone pole no less. It was almost as unexplainable as the string of child killings in Fuyuki a decade ago. To this day, it's still a somber topic for high school students who were children at the time because of the terror they felt and the friends they lost. I think I also heard rumors that Rin Tohsaka miraculously survived the encounter with the serial killer.
Instead of grieving though, the Inaba newscast team was ecstatic; going over the mysterious death and anything else relating to the scandal like they had found a way to kill Gojira. A part of me was angry at how careless they were all being, but I had other concerns on my mind. I tried to keep myself calm, thinking that it was just an unfortunate coincidence that happened just as Shirou moved over. The murder topic would eventually die out, and then he'd enjoy the rest of the trip with his family.
<><><>
The next day I dialed Shirou's home phone to Ryutaro Dojima's cell. He picked up after two rings. "Dojima spea-"
"I want Shirou to move back in Fuyuki City right now."
I was never one for tact, but Dojima-san was smart and caught on to things quick. True to my theory, he sighed in a way that indicated he knew who I was and what I was calling for. "You heard about the announcer's death?"
I turned back to the house TV. "I'm watching the news right now about a student's death."
Saki Konishi, a third year student from Yasogami High. As usual, the news media was effectively grave-robbing her identity for a story in a complete 180 of doctrine and hiding her face and voice from the public only a day ago. The only details I cared to get were her name and school, especially how close this was all coming to Shirou.
Dojima wasn't happy either, but he seemed more annoyed and muttering about the news for some reason. Not that I cared at this point.
"When I agreed to send him over for his yearlong stay, I expected him to be in a nice, quiet environment to study and get to know you and Nanako-chan better," I explained calmly. I can't help but to feel a bit vindictive after the pause. "Not to be caught in the middle of some Western crime drama!"
"You can't blame me for how and when these perps act up in this town!" Dojima argued. "Besides, he's in no more danger than the rest of his friends are."
I wanted to believe him, and if it was anyone else I probably would, but I knew that bonehead better than he did. "This is Shirou we're talking about. If there's one thing he won't tolerate, it is injustice. And maybe bad cooking." Oddly enough, his passion for food was probably one of the more normal tidbits of his personality and what he'd be open with.
"I still don't see how this is a problem."
"Tell me; are you anywhere close to knowing who did this?"
"The bastard knows how to cover his tracks," the detective sighed.
"Then it's only a matter of time before Shirou gets the brilliant idea to go try chasing the maniac himself or die trying!"
The line was quiet as my words slowly sunk in, and I realized just how scared I was for Shirou. I knew I was ever since the first killing, but it just hit me like a ton of bricks in my own argument.
"You're kidding," Dojima replied, as if trying to convince both of us that it was a bad joke. And I honestly wish it was.
"He got into a lot of fights with bullies growing up," I frowned, recalling those memories. "And he lost. A lot. Had bandages over his arms and legs every other week, and tried brushing it off like it's no big deal until the next injury would happen."
Why else would I want him to rethink the whole "Ally of Justice" nonsense? It was a cute dream for him as a kid, but it's only that; a dream. If he was a bit clearer as to why or how he'd go about it, I'd be more than welcoming of his attitude to change the world, but he's either always vague or half-hearted in explaining what it means. The only person who could probably explain it (since it was his dream to begin with) was Kiritsugu Emiya, and he's dead (God rest his soul). Not to mention that Shirou would still act so immaturely that I wonder if he even knows how much Sakura-chan really cares about him. In hindsight, I should have pushed them together a bit more.
But despite this, Dojima gave a small chuckle. I was about ready to snap at him that it was no laughing matter, but his next words stopped me. "He'd make one hell of a cop, then, if he could take a beating."
Shirou, a cop? The thought honestly hadn't occurred to me before. Still, it helped cheer me up a bit. "I fancy him as a part time chef with a food truck."
That got Dojima laughing harder, as it did with me. A traveling chef might suit him, really. Making fine cuisine dishes and ending world hunger in all the small European countries too poor for anything else.
"In any case," he said after we calmed down. "I'll let him know you called and see how he feels about moving back."
"Thanks. Good luck on the case."
I hung up, left once again alone in the empty house. A big, fancy rich house that according to my grandpa's records was bought by Kiritsugu a few days before the Shinto district fire. It had a lot of rooms, lot of space, classic sliding doors, and a large open yard space with its own storage annex that Shirou has a strange fixation towards for some reason. But it was missing people to fill in that void, and two to three people was never quite enough to fill that space.
This must have been what Shirou felt every time Sakura-chan and I left for our own homes each night. A constant reminder for five years that there was no family or friends around when sleeping-
Wait a minute.
I hurriedly dialed the phone again. Three rings this time. "What is-"
"What was that you said about Shirou's friends?"
The talk following that was mostly short, as Dojima-san stressed he needed to get back to work before complying. My head was still ringing. Two girls. First day of Yasogami High and he was socializing with two girls his same year.
Dojima-san only knew this because they were walking home from school while he was on duty, looking over the announcer's dead body. This is all well and dandy but WHAT THE HELL?! The first day in a new school and he's already got two girls walking with him?!
I could seriously count on one hand the number of people Shirou knew personally in Homorahara, and they weren't at all instant made friendships! First was Issei Ryuudou, Reikan's younger brother and current student body president. Problem is he tends to look a gift horse in the mouth concerning Shirou. Not that I blame him, since he's probably the closest semblance Shirou has to a friend worried for him.
Then there was the archery team captain, Ayako Mitsuzuri. From what I know, Shirou used to be in the club before some accident convinced him to drop out last year. She's been pestering him to join back ever since, but they get along like former acquaintances at best.
Then there's Sakura's brother, Shinji Matou. Enough said.
Adding Sakura and myself, that's a whole hand! So why would he suddenly get attention from girls?!
Wait… THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE HE PERSONALLY KNOWS ARE GIRLS! OH MY GOD HE'S GOING TO GROW UP TO BE A WOMANIZER!
<><><>
"Uh… Taiga-chan?"
I lifted my aching head from the table. Ugh, stupid hazy thoughts. I could barely recognize the room though. Copenhagen, right?
"Don't you think you've had enough to drink?" I turned to the speaker, and it was 'ol Neko-chan in all black attire; shirt, pants, apron. Yep, Copenhagen; which means I came here for a heavy drinking binge, as seen by the empty mug in my hand. Next to about a dozen others.
Damn, why'd I drink so many again?
Oh that's right, something about a murder of a student in Inaba, and Shirou walking back with two-
"Nope!" I slam my glass mug down. I was suddenly sober from that thought, and had no wish to be tonight. "Give me another!"
<><><>
I called Dojima the following evening, ready to chew him out. This was the third missing person, and it's only a matter of time before she became a streetlight ornament. I was in my house this time; hand on my cell, foot tapping, and my gaze glued to the Inaba local news.
He finally answered at the fourth ring. "He's staying."
Well, color me surprised. The detective can predict when I-wait, what?! "Excuse me?"
"Shirou's staying here, at least for now."
Okay, what the hell?! He has no right to claim custody like that! I'm his legal guardian, damn it! What possible reason could he have to keep him down there?!
"I don't know when this case will be solved, and things are only getting worse with a missing student." Exactly my point! So why-?! "I'm most likely going to spend a lot of late nights finding this guy while Nanako's alone in the house."
Nanako?
"You told me once that I should consider my daughter's feelings with her mother gone and me always working. That was the only reason I even considered meeting half-way to this whole "long-lost-nephew' thing. I don't know about Shirou in all this, but Nanako's just starting to open up more now that there's more company at home. They need each other."
…I'd forgotten. In the whole spiraling worry of Shirou's wellbeing, I didn't consider how bad it would be for Nanako-chan. And even if I devote more time and attention to him and remind him (that) he's not alone, the same couldn't be said for Nanako-chan.
I feel ashamed for even wanting to break up the family that I'd started and help mend. But it doesn't help that there's still a murderer out there, who'd ruin that family connection anyway by killing Shirou.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't. And I damn well want to hit something right now. Instead, I breath out the leftover anger and guilt away in a long, exhausted sigh.
"…All right," I agree. "But if I hear or see the news going over a third murder victim, I'll come over myself and drag him back home if I have to."
"Fair enough," he replied back. He then adds with a bit of annoyance, "Though you're making it kind of hard to do my job."
"You're Detective Ryutaro Dojima," I said with a smile. "I'm sure you'll figure something out!"
I hung up, torn between being relieved and upset. That idiot was making a connection by channeling his helper attitude as usual, but the timing couldn't be worse. I guess the best thing to do would be to call Shirou and see how he was dealing with the whole thing. He was just a call away, like his uncle.
But why do I hesitate to dial the number?
<><><>
Good news, the Amagi Inn girl who went missing for almost a week had finally returned; alive, no less. She didn't make another appearance like in that one-sided interview, because the mother and father assured that she was safe and sound while recovering. They also kept the questioning short and returned to their business, so good for them.
But then there's the bad news: Shirou won't be coming back yet.
Well, not that I would have been happy for that girl's death in any case. I want to eat his delicious free food again, but I also want him to get along with his uncle and cousin.
It was then, sitting in his empty house once more that I decided to call him and see how he was. One ring goes by. Then two-
"Hello? Fuji-nee?"
How I missed hearing him call me that. But I can't let him know my weakness though.
"Shirou, it's good to hear from you! Haven't had any problems yet, right? Are you studying hard? How's Junes? Did you buy me any souvenirs yet? What about their recipes?!"
That should throw him off a bit.
"Sl-slow down! I'm fine with studying, Junes is great, I'm working on the souvenirs, and I'm considering how they make their steak skewers…"
I absently lick my lips. Steak skewers? That sounds kinda-wait. He skipped one. "So I take it you are having problems?"
I didn't need to see Shirou to know he was looking panicked at his blunder. "Uh… no?"
"If you have something to say, you better say it now before I beat it out of you, one way or another."
I was angrily tapping my finger to the table. He seemed to clue in to my behavior, for he sighed and said, "Okay, I do. Though it's… kind of embarrassing to say."
I grinned and silently urge him to continue. He'll admit he's caught up in the murder case, she'll talk him out of it, and he'll be out of risk of endangering himself and Nanako-chan. Plain and simple. "Just say it, Shirou. I won't judge." Much.
"Well…" he sounded doubtful, but went ahead anyway. "What do you do if you found out someone is… attracted to you?"
…
"And that you found out about it in the most… humiliating way possible?"
…
"And you want to try and help them see someone else but can't because of a misunderstanding?"
…
What?
Did Shirou just… is he seriously asking me… love advice?!
"Fuji-?"
I hung up, unable to listen to his innocent questioning anymore. It took all I had in me to fight back the urge to run for Copenhagen. Remember Taiga, getting drunk off your ass won't help anyone. Getting drunk off your ass won't help anyone. Getting drunk off your ass won't help anyone.
…Oh who the hell am I kidding?! SHIROU'S A WOMANIZER! THE APOCALYPSE IS UPON US!
Wait. What if it's Sakura?! Maybe… maybe he's finally realized that she has feelings for him and was legitimately asking for reasonable advice regarding his underclassman sweetheart! This changes everything!
I quickly redialed the number, excited and grinning from ear to ear, despite him not seeing it. "Fuji-nee, you're back! What happened?"
"Phone died," I lied easily. "Got it back up with a quick charge. So, mind telling more about this lucky girl?"
"W-well, she's very energetic, for starters. A bit violent, but also very protective."
I nodded. Sounded like a bit of a handful, but nothing Shirou couldn't handle. But if she was violent, she couldn't be Sakura-chan, though. "Yes, yes, go on."
"She's also very strong and athletic. With a healthy metabolism to boot; meaning, she eats a lot, but she works out to keep her figure fit, I'd imagine."
Strong and athletic? That'd suit more of Ayako-chan's description than Sakura-chan's, and even then they're both archers. But it's definitely not Sakura as I usually out-paced her in eating. So it wasn't her after all…
"Fuji-nee?"
"Sorry," I said and smiled again. I should be happy for him, and at least determine who this crush girl really is. "How did you know she likes you again?"
"I, uh…" he fumbled. He really was nervous about this. "I walked in and heard the alleged confession. Among other things I shouldn't have."
Ah. That's always a hazard to go through. I would hate for someone to get the wrong idea of me sleeping over at Shirou's place every night. I lost count I had to stress it otherwise to more than a few students curious of our arrangement, especially Ayako-chan's brother. "And what's this about a misunderstanding?"
"I was hoping to help someone else get to know her better but there's still the fact that she likes me."
Huh. Well, I got to admit Shirou's in a real pickle concerning this mystery girl and whether or not he wants to let her down gently. It was almost cute in a way. Still, she sounds vaguely familiar. The description, the rumors… if I didn't know any better, this crush girl sounds just like-
The smile on my face froze. Painfully.
"What do you think I shou-?"
I hung up again. Screw the power of mental persuasion. I REFUSE TO BE WOMANIZED!
<><><>
"Taiga-chan, I really think you should-"
"Nope!"
<><><>
Meals with Sakura-chan became a rare occurrence now. I was devastated at first, but it turns out Sakura-chan took Shirou's move harder than I thought. I convinced her to at least come over every Sunday and spend the entire day in the house with whatever she needed; we could study in separate rooms and she'd cook for both of us all three meals. It's a good thing because it'll spare Neko-chan and myself from another night at the bar, for both our sakes.
Tonight was a simple teriyaki chicken dish with fried rice; not as extravagant, but we both had no real reason to stay longer than necessary. I'd never admit it to Shirou of course, but Sakura-chan really is the better cook of the two, even with the most simplest and bare of ingredients. She just had the unfortunate trade-off of not being around as often as Shirou in the household; prior to this year, anyway.
Sakura-chan would never say why she would suddenly go straight to her estate, or what her sudden disappearance would be other than "family matters". Sakura-chan loved her brother more than he deserved, but she never liked talking about her family so Shirou and I never pushed. We just stayed stagnant at our little table for years, enjoying wonderful food and pretending nothing was wrong.
Pretending that Shirou didn't miss Kiritsugu. Pretending that Sakura-chan didn't have an unhappy life outside of the estate. Pretending that I just wanted to have responsibilities without really acting on them.
"I miss Senpai," Sakura spoke softly. She was lightly eating through her rice (with her) head hanging down.
"Yeah," I agreed, going through my third helping. Things just weren't the same without him to tease around. Dinner wasn't lively anymore with just the two of us. Perhaps this was another reason I always ate here.
"You never should have made him leave."
I looked up, surprised to see cute little Sakura-chan glaring at me. It was only a stern frown, but this was still a first from her. I was almost inclined to agree with her, though. But Sakura-chan was ignorant about the murder cases and there was no sense in getting her more worried. As far as she knew, nothing was going on in Inaba.
I simply shrugged. "I see this as doing it more for Nanako-chan at this point. She's lost her mother, and her father's too busy to take care of her all the time. Shirou would make a great nanny for her!"
I could already see it; the two of them sitting by a small table in princess dresses and large stuffed animals sitting around them, drinking tea that he'd no doubt make for the occasion. Shirou's lack of backbone led him to be everyone's favorite fake janitor, but there would be nothing wrong with allowing himself to go along with a little cousin's play time. In fact, it would sound kind of cute… and hilarious. I honestly had to laugh at the image.
But I realized that Sakura-chan wasn't laughing with me. Her glare broke down to a sadder frown, and she ducked her head down as if trying to hide from under her bangs.
She really was against Shirou's trip from the start, huh?
Well, as much as we both hated it, the decision was final and he won't be back until spring. There was nothing to worry about either; there hasn't been another murder yet from what I've kept up in the Inaba news. Shirou would be fine, and this whole murder crime spree will be a distant memory by the end of the year.
…I hope.
Raj
Master of Procrasination
- Location
- Canada
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Glad to see this updated, but I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed with the chapter probably because while it's likely important foreshadowing it still feels a lot like filler.
It probably doesn't help that for the most part I'm not a huge fan of Taiga's character and how she behaves.
But there were definitely some interesting tidbits in this chapter.
For example Sakura showing some of her strong disapproval of Shirou moving, along with Shirou asking for romantic advice.
I can hardly wait until that gets worse, it should be funny to see how Shirou of all people takes to resolve it after all.
I am also leaning towards copying and pasting this entire post onto spacebattles, just in case some of the others have some interesting comments on my own.
It probably doesn't help that for the most part I'm not a huge fan of Taiga's character and how she behaves.
But there were definitely some interesting tidbits in this chapter.
For example Sakura showing some of her strong disapproval of Shirou moving, along with Shirou asking for romantic advice.
I can hardly wait until that gets worse, it should be funny to see how Shirou of all people takes to resolve it after all.
I am also leaning towards copying and pasting this entire post onto spacebattles, just in case some of the others have some interesting comments on my own.