Hello, fellow heroes (man sounds that's stupid). UknownHero here and welcome to another chapter of Time To Make History! Decided to write this chapter because I woke up this morning only to see Persona 3 and 5 are getting Dancing spin-offs and Persona Q2 is in the works.

Oh God, P3, P4, P5 party members… all in one goddamn game… how the hell many party members is gonna be that!? Seriously, I bet right now people are losing their shit their fan fictions are about to become reality.

Also, I just checked my CPU and it says that it's using all of it. 100%. I know my computer's old but I should really start investing a new, more powerful one. My bro keeps promising to build me a new PC but until I have 2000 bucks, I guess this old thing gonna have to last a few more years.

Anyway… onto the reviews, I guess. To Card-Golem: Yes, they are linked by their Arcana. However, I do know about the gaps that would leave. I already worked those out a long time ago, though Shinjiro's one has to come down to a vote because there are a lot of options to choose from. Though I am leaning towards one person… And… that's it, really. Damn, now time to make history! Again… hopefully!

Load Game… Start!

Chapter 7: Up Your Arsenal

(4/17 Early Morning)

That night, Minato didn't get a lot of sleep.

He just wanted to remind himself of that fact: Minato Arisato, a man known for sleeping at the drop of a hat without a second thought, didn't sleep well.

Yu only knew him for about six days, and already he knew this was a bad sign. Was it because Yukiko was kidnapped yesterday? Or was it because of what Io said, that Lucia saw herself on the Midnight Channel? Whatever it was, it was affecting Minato, which in turn was subtly affecting himself. He could sense his dread and confusion, even though neither of them showed any emotion on their faces.

Yu quickly shook his head before getting up to wake up Minato. They didn't have the time to worry.

They had an heiress to save.

(Some time later…)

After dressing into their casual winter clothes, since it was Sunday today, they headed downstairs to eat a quick breakfast before heading out. They needed to meet Yosuke and the others at Junes soon. They saw that Nanako was drinking orange juice at the table already. It seemed she woke up earlier, maybe to prepare breakfast.

"Oh, good morning." Nanako greeted. Minato looked around and saw there were no signs of Dojima's presence.

'Looks like Nanako is the only one here…' Minato thought with a small frown.

"Where's your father?" Yu asked.

"He left already. He said he's gonna be late." Nanako replied. The Fools actually took pause to think about this for a second. If they left, more than likely Nanako would be alone for the entire day and she really looked like she needed someone to look after her. But… they really needed to meet up with the others at Junes and if they were going into the TV World today, they needed all the man power they could muster, plus their Wild Cards were invaluable to any team. "Are you guys going somewhere? I'll be fine by myself."

"Yeah, but uh…" Minato said before Nanako turned on the TV.

"—so the weather this weekend will be perfect for going out." The weather announcer said. Minato and Yu winced. It was like the world was telling them to go out today. "As for next week's forecast..."

"Oh, the sun's gonna come out. I should do some laundry." Nanako said as she stood up. "Uh... Weren't you two going somewhere? I left your breakfast on the counter."

Minato and Yu looked at each other before sighing. After eating, they gave a quick good-bye to Nanako before heading out to Junes.

(Daytime)

(Junes Food Court)

'Your affection… your affection… take it from me~' Music blasted into Minato's ears as he listened to one of tracks he download a few days ago. It wasn't his type of music but for some reason he had been leaning towards more… upbeat, pop songs as of late. He wondered if it was because his soul was bound to Yu that his taste in music had changed.

"They should be coming soon…" Yu muttered as he checked the time. They got to Junes about half an hour earlier than the scheduled time and started to waste some time. Yu was making paper cranes and Minato just sat and listened to his music as they waited for Yosuke, Junpei, Aigis, Fukka, Yukari and Chie. It was around the time Yu made his 40th origami crane when Minato spotted Junpei and Yosuke approach them, their hands behind their backs.

"Sorry for the hold up." Yosuke apologized. "But we found some stuff we could use in my closet back home."

"Please tell me it recovers SP…" Minato muttered to himself before taking off his headphones.

"Get a load of these babies!" Junpei exclaimed as they revealed what was behind their backs. Yu and Minato's eyes widened when they saw the Magicians holding weapons in their hands. Yosuke had a katana and an aikuchi, Junpei had a mace and a war hammer.

They had a good feeling this was not going to end well.

'Thou friends art idiots.' The Fools thought.

"You brought weapons." Minato deadpanned.

"Yep! We've got our Personas, but a golf club and a broken pipe aren't the best weapons." Yosuke pointed out. "So, which one strikes your fancy?"

"You brought weapons." Yu said with a bit more force in his tone.

"Hey, don't worry about it, man." Junpei tried to reassure the grey-haired Fool. "They're fakes. Gotten exclusively from the Junes-brand Cosplay Weaponry line."

"You brought weapons!" Minato and Yu called out.

"Hey, what's your problem?" Junpei said. "We need to defend ourselves when we're in there when we can't use our Personas. What's the big deal with us bringing weapons here? You did it all the time, Orpheus!"

"Yeah, but we had the police on our side." Minato pointed out. "By the way, look behind you."

"FREEZE!"

"HEY WAIT!"

"HE'S RESISTING ARREST!"

*BZZT!*

(Inaba Police Station)

"There is a serial killer out there, two people died and you guys brought weapons into a public place." Yu deadpanned.

"Okay! Okay! We get it already!" Junpei exclaimed, trying to shake-off some aftershocks. Currently, they were waiting in the hallway of the police station, waiting for Dojima to clear everything and get them out of trouble. "Damn it… they took all our weapons…"

"Not surprising…" Minato deadpanned. "Why do you think there wasn't any Cosplay Weaponry on sale at Junes in the first place?"

"I got tased, bro! We get it!" Yosuke exclaimed just as Dojima approached, clearly frustrated by the whole thing. They all shut up and listened to him.

"You didn't seem the type to pull a stupid stunt like this…" Dojima said. "You know what's been going on around town. We got men stationed everywhere. For god's sake... You're lucky I was around, or this would have ended up on your permanent record." Dojima then turned to Minato and Junpei. "And you two would've been kicked out of where you're living."

"Sorry, Dojima-san." Minato apologized. "It's just… it didn't feel right not to have our fake guns on us, plus there's a serial killer out there, so Yosuke here offered to bring us something. It was a stupid idea in retrospect so we promise, it won't happen again."

"It better," Dojima said with a sigh, just as two police officers, one in uniform and one in plain clothes, walked past them.

"Wait, so the one that disappeared is the Amagi girl…?" The plainclothesman said incredulously.

"Seems like it…" The uniformed officer replied. "But she's just a high schooler, you know. Could be she ran away from home…?" The boys just winced as they heard the news.

"Hey, did he say Amagi?" Yosuke mumbled with a grimace on his face. "Then... She really is—"

"Hm? Who's what now?" Dojima asked, not quite getting what Yosuke said.

"Oh, uh, nothing!" Yosuke quickly said.

"I'm sure you've seen on the news that there's an investigation in progress. We're sensitive about certain things." Dojima informed the boys. "You're free to go. But this better not happen again."

"Of course…" Junpei said with a sigh as the detective walked away. "Well, that confirms it. Yukiko-san is in the TV World."

"Then let's get out of here," Yu said. "We can work out getting better weapons later. I'm sure the girls are wondering where we are." With that, they started making their way to the exit, before bumping into Adachi holding a cup of coffee.

"Whoa… Pardon me." He apologized before recognizing Junpei and Minato. "Hey, uh… Orpheus and… Hermes? How have you been?"

"Fine so far. Staying with these guys." Minato replied. Adachi then turned his attention to Yu.

"Ah, I'm guessing you're the kid that's staying at Dojima-san's place then," Adachi said.

"Aren't you the guy that puked a few days ago?" Yu asked.

"Ugh… don't remind me. Never had the strongest stomach." Adachi groaned out. "Plus, never thought a dead body would show up here of all places. Town's too damn sleepy for a murder, let alone a serial killer."

"Oh! Uh, can we ask you something?" Yosuke spoke up, realizing they could use the man to learn more about Yukiko's disappearance. "It's about Yukiko-san... I mean, Yukiko Amagi of the Amagi Inn. Did something happen to her?"

"Huh? Oh, umm... Am I allowed to say? Well, if you're friends with Ms. Amagi... Keep this between us, okay?" Adachi said. The boys quickly nodded, while also making a mental note to relay everything Adachi says to the girls. "We got a call from Ms. Amagi's parents yesterday evening saying they couldn't find her anywhere."

"Yeah, we uh, got a call from a friend asking where Amagi-san was last night." Junpei lied. "Really weird."

"Yep," Adachi replied with a nod. "Since it was the weekend, the workers at the Inn were extremely busy, and no one saw Ms. Amagi around that time."

"So, is it possible she's been kidnapped?" Minato guessed.

"It is possible, but it isn't really a case just yet," Adachi explained. "For all we know, it could be a false alarm and she's safe. But, people have been turning up dead on foggy days, so we're really sensitive to stuff like this." Adachi then frowned a little before questioning the boys. "By the way, did she say anything to you guys about maybe going through some hard times?"

This raised a few alarm bells in their heads.

"Uh…? Hard times?" Yosuke said, looking confused.

"I mean, the inn was pretty busy last time we were there…" Junpei muttered out.

"Yukiko has been leaving early last week…" Minato mumbled to himself before frowning. Yukari was supposed to be helping out at the Amagi Inn, so wouldn't she know about anything wrong happening at the Inn?

"Not that we're aware of," Yu answered truthfully. "Why ask about this?"

"Well, that announcer, Ms. Yamano, was staying at the Amagi Inn before the first murder." Adachi started to explain. "Seems Ms. Yamano had some harsh words for the manager about the staff's attitude towards guests. The stress of it caused the manager to collapse."

"What!?" The boys exclaimed.

"Y-Yukiko's mother collapsed!?" Junpei exclaimed.

"Damn it, Yukari…" Minato swore under his breath. Yukari must've known about it and hid the fact from him. It would also explain why she was helping out even though he swore she never worked a day in her life. They were gonna have a long talk about this later.

"Dude, did she have a heart attack or something!?" Yosuke shouted out.

"Hey! It isn't anything life threatening or anything!" Adachi quickly corrected. "I heard all she needed was some rest! That's all!"

"Still…" Yu muttered with a wince. Yukiko's mother collapsing was explaining why Yukiko had been leaving early and not showing up to school lately.

"And with Ms. Amagi being the manager's daughter... She must've felt pretty strongly about the incident, y'know." Adachi continued. "By the way, did Ms. Amagi ever hint that she might be leaving the house?" This confused the boys. They took a quick glance at each other before shrugging.

"Uh… no…" Yosuke replied. "Never really said anything about it as far as I know."

"Really? 'Cause if not, there's been some theories floating around that she's laying low for some reason or another..." Adachi muttered out loud before slapping his free hand over his mouth as the boys' eyes widened. "Crap, I think I've gone too far. You didn't hear that, okay?"

"Adachi, what the hell are you chatting with civvies for!? And where's my coffee!?" They heard Dojima shout out.

"S-Sorry! I got it right here!" Adachi called. "Psst! Forget I said anything! Please!" He whispered to the boys before dashing off. The boys just stood in the hallway as they stared at Adachi's retreating form.

"...I think we need to talk to Chie and the girls." Minato stated.

"No shit," Junpei said. "The police think Yukiko's the-"

"Not here." Yu interrupted with a stern tone. "Not now. Junes. Now." And with that, the boys continued walking to the exit. They didn't say anything, contemplating the information they had now. When they made it to the front office, Yosuke couldn't hold it in.

"Hey… does that detective really believe that Yukiko-san—" Yosuke started before being interrupted.

"There you are!" Chie called out as she, Aigis and Fuuka approached them. Aigis seemed pretty out of place since she wore her Gekkoukan uniform instead of anything casual. "Sheesh, what're you guys doing!? We've been looking everywhere for you guys!"

"Sorry. Long story." Junpei groaned. "Long story short, we were kind of idiots."

"Why does that not surprise me…" Chie deadpanned.

"This isn't time for jokes!" Yosuke called out. "Something's up with Yukiko-san!"

"We have already talked with Satonaka-san with the subject," Aigis said. "We can confirm that Amagi-san is missing."

"It's already on the morning news," Fuuka said. "But I haven't heard about anyone seeing what happened on the Midnight Channel, though."

"Has anyone mention you being on there?" Minato asked. Fuuka quickly shook her head. "Good. Now, where's Io?"

"Still lending her assistance at the inn at this moment." Aigis informed them. "She will not be available for an uncertain amount of time."

"Chie, you watched Midnight Channel last night, right?" Yosuke questioned.

"Yeah. As soon as it shut off I tried to call Yukiko on her cell and she wasn't picking up." Chie replied. "I got really worried so I headed straight for her house, and she wasn't there! Yukiko really did disappear!"

"It would be safe to assume that she was only kidnapped last night." Minato theorized before looking at Fuuka and Aigis. "Hey, when was the last time you guys saw Yukiko?"

"U-Uh… Um… around… 9 o'clock at night?" Fuuka guessed.

"Exactly 8:56 pm." Aigis corrected. Chie looked at Aigis weirdly before shrugging.

"So between nine and midnight," Yu muttered. "That's still pretty early so that would mean she wasn't kidnapped in her sleep. And since no one noticed until we saw Midnight Channel, I assume there wasn't a struggle."

"Damn, this guy isn't gonna be easy to catch, huh," Yosuke grumbled.

"Can we get back to Yukiko here!" Chie called out. "We can figure out how she was kidnapped later!"

"Oh right!" Yosuke exclaimed. "Guess we've got no choice but to go now. But that aside, the cops are saying some weird stuff."

"Yeah, they think Yukiko-san's hiding to 'lay low'..." Junpei added in as Fuuka gasped.

"Wait, they think… Yukiko-san's the murderer?" Fuuka said in disbelief.

"What the-!? How the Hell did they come up with that!?" Chie shouted out.

"Apparently Yukiko-san's mom collapsed because that announcer lady bitched her out," Yosuke explained. "They think that gives her a motive, and the fact that the announcer died right after makes her even more suspicious..."

"What!? What the Hell do they know!? What the hell is wrong with them!?" Chie called out. "You hear that you assholes! Yukiko isn't a-!" Junpei and Minato quickly covered Chie's mouth and held her back from attacking someone.

"Highly unlikely given what we know, but to those unaware…" Aigis said.

"Dude, shut up! You're gonna get arrested at this rate!" Junpei scolded.

"Am… Am I next…?" Fuuka whispered to herself, shivering on the spot.

"Yukiko's the victim here, dammit, not the suspect..." Yosuke mumbled under his breath, clearly frustrated by the whole thing.

'Looks like everyone's agitated.' The Fools thought.

"Everyone, let's calm down," Yu said.

"Yeah, right now we need to save her," Minato said.

"Y-Yeah, they're right. We need to keep focused." Yosuke spoke up. Everyone stopped what they were doing and quickly started taking deep breaths.

"R-Right," Chie said after Junpei and Minato let go of her. "Yukiko's in danger. That's important."

"The police are going to try and arrest Yukiko-san if we don't do something." Fuuka pointed out.

"Yeah. We have to do this by ourselves." Yosuke said.

"I'm going to! And that's final! I'm going to save Yukiko no matter what!" Chie declared.

"From one of those action movies Hermes-san enjoys, 'Take us with you, damn it!'" Aigis said, already shifting into a battle stance.

"Uh… Are you sure?" Yosuke asked. "I mean, you guys really don't have powers like us…"

"Don't worry about Palladion and Lucia. They faced their fair share of Shadows before. They can help." Minato said as he looked at his friends. "Why though? You guys don't…"

"You are my highest priority, Orpheus-san," Aigis answered. "Even without a Persona, I will protect you."

"And… after what I saw last night… this involves me." Fuuka spoke up. "Whatever that… thing was on the Midnight Channel… I have to find out."

"Well, if they're coming with us, at the very least they need a way to defend themselves." Yu pointed out. Minato winced a little. Fuuka had no combat experience outside of her support role while Aigis didn't have any ammo to use, and he really doubted they could get their hands on military-grade bullets or grenades.

"And all our gear was just confiscated…" Yosuke reminded them. "We can't go empty-handed, and my dad's gonna wonder where his wrenches are at sooner or later."

"Weapons? I know just the place!" Chie said. "C'mon, follow me!" And with that, she dashed off. With a shrug, they all chased after the meat-loving tomboy.

(Some time later…)

(Daidara Metalworks)

"Here we are!" Chie said as the group entered the shop. Fuuka had gone to the bookshop for some reason and told them she would meet them outside. There were various weapons and pieces of armor on display and it was also really warm in the shop. They could clearly see the forge in the back as well as various weapons still in the works, with a man with scarred face working on his latest creation.

"Wh-What kinda shop is this...?" Yosuke wondered out loud, looking around the place.

"A metalworks, I guess? They sell all sorts of metal cra…" Chie started before trailing off as she saw the owner glaring at her, almost daring her to finish that sentence. "…Metal… cra…fts. Yeah, metal crafts. Katanas and stuff."

"Doesn't it seem weird to you that there's a metalwork in the middle of a shopping district." Junpei pointed out. "Let alone right next to a bookshop?"

"I would inquire how one would know about a place like this," Aigis spoke up.

"Oh, I just overheard some guys in our class talking about," Chie explained. "They said this place sells good quality weapons and armor at some really cheap prices." Chie then walked up to a set of armor that looked like it was designed for knights. "Here, this one looks good. But it might be too heavy..."

"I dunno, Chie... I still think it's too dangerous." Yosuke admitted.

"It is. I predict that Chie-san will not survive if she were to encounter an enemy head-on." Aigis informed everyone. "Which she will most likely will."

"What the-!? No way! I can and I will!" Chie called out. "I know how to fight! I've been practicing ever since I was a little kid!"

"Chie-san, you really don't get it," Junpei said. "I mean, I get how you feel, but—"

"You don't!" Chie shouted out. "You don't know shit about how I feel. Yukiko might die from this, for crying out loud!"

"You could die too." Yu pointed out with a frown. "Seriously, we're not messing around here. If you're serious about this, just know that you might not be stepping back out of that TV."

"Yukiko means everything to me," Chie said with a determined expression on her face. "I'm going, and that's that!" Minato, Yu, Aigis, Yosuke and Junpei looked at each other before sighing in defeat.

"Okay." Minato relented. "But stay behind us with Lucia. She isn't a fighter so you're her bodyguard until otherwise, got it?"

"Psh, I'll be fine! My reflexes are second to none!" Chie boasted.

"Reflexes aren't going to be enough," Yu said. "You better find something to protect yourself with here before we head out. We don't know what we're gonna face there so be prepared for anything."

"Alright…" Chie said as she started browsing at all the armor available.

"Man, there's so much to choose from here," Junpei muttered to himself before turning to Minato. "I think I'm gonna stick with my Metal Bat though. I'm gonna go grab it now. Think you can pick out something nice for me?"

"As always," Minato said as Junpei gave him his money before leaving.

"That's a good idea," Yosuke admitted before turning to Yu. "Hey, Narukami. Mind picking out something for me, too? You're one of our main assets in battle right now, so I think you should choose whatever makes it easiest for you."

"Any recommendations?" Yu asked as Yosuke gave him his money.

"Something I can dual wield. Like knives or something." Yosuke replied. Yu nodded before he and Minato approached the counter.

"Have you come to see my art?" the blacksmith, Daidara, said as the Fools approached him. "If you want something special, bring me your own materials and I'll try to use them for you. I always like seeing new things and trying new techniques. So, bring me some rare materials that I've never seen before. If you do, I can make you some really cool stuff. When choosing what to create, the number and type of materials vary. If you bring me the proper materials, I can use them to create some fine pieces of art for you. But, what I make is up to me. I am the artist here, after all. I'll be expecting some praise, too!"

'Looks we're gonna have to work for our weapons and armor, huh?' Minato thought. 'Still, a nice way to make some money.'

They ended up buying more than a few things. Yu and Minato bought five sets of Kevlar Vests for themselves, Yosuke, Junpei, and Fuuka first off before moving on to weapons. Yu ended up buying for himself an Imitation Katana and a pair of Kunai for Yosuke. Minato just bought himself a Shortsword.

"Well, I think that's it for everyone…" Minato muttered to himself after distributing as much equipment as he could. "Is everyone ready yet?"

"Please wait a moment," Aigis said before looking around, with Chie waiting behind her. Since she couldn't use her guns, she decided she needed to arm herself with something different. But… she never bought herself any weapons, that was usually Minato's duty, so she really didn't know what she wanted. She then spotted something in a dark corner. "What is that at the back?"

"Hm? What?" Daidara said before looking at the Broken Sword. It looked like it was just taken out of the forge, with a large cross guard and a shiny silver blade. However, said blade was snapped in two. "Ah, what a shame that was. Something went wrong in the forging process and by the time I noticed it was too late. Planning to break it down or throw it away." He then paused and started thinking for a few seconds. "But… you can have it for 1,200 yen."

"I will take that deal," Aigis said. As soon as she got it, she held the Broken Sword by the blade and gave it a couple of swings as if it was an ax. Liking the feel of it, she gave the man the money and let Chie buy her stuff.

'Not how I would wield it but a deal's a deal.' Minato thought as Junpei arrived with his Metal Bat. Without looking, Minato gave Junpei his armor as Chie approached the group.

"I got my stuff all picked out! How about you guys?" Chie asked.

"I think we're good for now," Yu answered. Everyone nodded, satisfied with what they had.

"You know, if we wear this stuff around town, we'll just get picked up again." Yosuke pointed out. "But it's not like we can waltz into Junes with a sack full of gear and expect no one to notice, either..."

"Why don't we do what we did back in the day?" Minato spoke up. "The armor we have isn't very heavy. We can easily hide them under our clothes. Our uniforms should be baggy enough to hide our gear under them."

"That's a good idea but…" Yosuke said. "We can't exactly hide swords and bats under our clothes. I mean, look at Yu's katana, it's as big as he is!"

"Yeah, and we can't exactly go at night like what we did." Junpei said with a frown. "Junes would be closed by then."

"So we just bought weapons for nothing," Yu said as everyone groaned. "So much money wast-"

Suddenly, Yu felt something tap his shoulder.

"Hm? What is…?" Yu started before he paused as he realized who, or what was behind him. "Huh."

"Yu, who is it you're…?" Minato asked before looking at what Yu was looking at. "Okay."

"What are you guys-WHAT THE SHIT IS THAT!?" Yosuke shouted out, causing everyone's attention to turn to whatever Yosuke was seeing.

Before their eyes was a humanoid shape made out of TV static. They really could tell if it was male or female, but what unnerves the Magicians was that it was smiling at them.

"What are you guys looking at?" Chie asked.

"I detect nothing classifying as 'scary' in the area," Aigis spoke up.

"Y-You really don't see the giant blob thing in front of us!?" Junpei exclaimed.

"Uh… I think you're imagining things…" Chie said.

'Looks like only Persona-users can see this thing.' Minato thought. 'I wonder why it's here. Is it from the TV World?'

"You think this is a Shadow?" Yu whispered to Minato.

"I don't know…" Minato replied, cautious of the entity.

"MiNa… aKo… Ei… ishI… GaKi… fRIend…" The entity said it's voice so distorted they could barely make out what it was saying. "WeAPoNs… GIvE… dEliVeR… eNTRancE… wOrLd…"

"What. The Hell." Junpei said, his brain unable to process whatever the hell the entity just said. "What is this paranormal bullshit…?"

"I think it'll deliver our weapons into the TV World," Yu said. "I think." The entity nodded, it's ever present creepy smile becoming wider.

"You really think we should really trust this thing!?" Yosuke asked.

"TeDDiE… KnOWs…" the entity managed to get out.

"Wait, this thing knows Teddie!?" Junpei exclaimed. "Just what the Hell is happening…?"

"We'll ask him later," Minato said before looking at the entity. "You better deliver our stuff into the TV World."

"Of... CoURse…" the entity said. Minato looked at his new Shortsword before handing it over to the entity… which it promptly absorbed into its body.

"Wh-What the-!?" Chie called out. "Your sword just disappeared!"

"Yep," Yu said casually before pushing his Imitation Katana into the entity.

"To repeat Hermes-san, 'What is this paranormal bullshit?'" Aigis said as the entity looked at Junpei and Yosuke.

"Uh… my Kunai are small enough to hide under my sleeves. I think I'm fine." Yosuke said in a nervous voice.

"And I'll just risk it," Junpei said before Minato just took his weapon out of his hands and shoved into the entity. "Hey!"

"No risks," Minato stated firmly as Yu gave the entity Aigis' weapon before it dashed off.

"Well, that was… ugh…" Yosuke mumbled out, unable to find words about what just happened. "Let's just… forget about that and get back to the investigation."

"Agreed," Junpei said. "We should probably split up for now. Junes' having a sale right now so the place will be crowded until it ends."

"And the cops will be suspicious if we walk around together," Yosuke added in.

"Alright, then I'll see you all at the Junes food court!" Chie said before leaving the metalworks.

"I will be at Junes waiting," Aigis informed the Persona-users before leaving at will.

"Guess we'll see you guys later," Junpei said as he and Yosuke left.

"I'll go ahead and tell Lucia everything," Minato said.

"And I'll head to the Shiroku Store down the street," Yu said. "See you later then."

"Right," Minato replied just before they left…

Only for a glowing, floating blue door to appear right behind them.

"Or… maybe not." Yu said as he looked around. There were a few people hanging around the shopping district but no one had seemed to notice the bizarre door appearing out of nowhere. Suddenly, a voice echoed inside the Fools' heads.

So it finally begins. Now, if you'll give me a moment of your time...

Before they knew it, something started to glow in their pockets. They quickly took whatever it was in their pockets and saw it was their Velvet Keys. Without a second thought, they approached the door and unlocked it.

(Velvet Room)

Minato slowly opened his eyes as he felt soft cushioning underneath him and beautiful piano filled his ears. He took a quick look of his surroundings and confirmed to himself he and Yu were back in the Velvet Room. However, he spotted something new other than Igor and Margaret.

It was a girl with pale skin, chin-length black hair and gray eyes and wearing a sleeveless white shirt, a short black necktie with various safety pins and a checkered skirt along with a black belt and a fancy, golden buckle which resembles a heart with wings. Additionally, she has black-striped red protective sleeves and black-striped white stockings. Her black long, dark gray heeled boots are checkered as well. She carries a deep blue bag, adorned with golden designs and matching her officer's cap with a golden button and a "V" gravure.

For some reason, she had a very different feel from the other attendants of the Velvet Room. All they could tell was that she wasn't human.

'What is she doing here?' Yu and Minato thought.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room," Igor said, polite as ever. "We have been expecting you two."

"Thank you." Yu and Minato said in unison.

"The catastrophe that is headed your way... It has already taken human lives in its approach towards you." Igor said, causing the Fools to wince. "But you have nothing to fear. You already have the power to fight against it. It seems that the time for you to use your Persona has come..." Igor then chuckled.

"Remember," Margaret spoke up. "Your Persona ability is that of the Wild Card. If you strengthen your bonds properly, their power will help you overcome any ordeal. Our role is to facilitate that."

"To Minato Arisato, you know what my role in the Velvet Room is but to Yu Narukami, my contribution... is to give birth to new Personas," Igor informed the newcomer. "By mixing together multiple Persona cards, I can transmute them into a new form... This, in other words, is the fusion of Personas. You have the power to hold multiple Personas and to use them accordingly. When you defeat an enemy, the seeds of possibility you attain will appear before you as cards. At times, they may be hard to grasp... but you must master your fear and reach out to them."

Minato silently groaned. Somehow he was a magnet for the Death Arcana. It was a miracle how far he went into Tartarus because of it.

"When you obtain new cards, please do not hesitate to bring them here." Igor continued his explanation. "If you have been developing your Social Links, then your Persona will gain even more power. They will be one of your chief sources of strength... You would do well to take this to heart." Then, Margaret reached under the counter of the bar and pulled out a book.

"The tome you see in my hand is the Persona Compendium. More specifically, Yu's Compendium." Margaret said.

"His compendium?" Minato repeated with a raised eyebrow. "What happened to my compendium?"

"I'm afraid your Persona Compendium had been… misplaced." Margaret said with a slight regretful tone. "You will be sharing with Yu's Compendium until it is found."

"So what does it do?" Yu asked.

"Registering the Personas you hold will allow you to recall them at any time. Please see me when you wish to use it." Margaret explained.

"Thank you," Yu said before looking at the new person in the Velvet Room. He seemed familiar to him. She's been quiet this entire time.

"I see you two have noticed something different here," Margaret said. "I would like to introduce a new resident of the Velvet Room, who will be helping you two on your journey."

"Nice to meet you." Minato greeted but didn't get any sort of response from her.

"Hello?" Yu tried to get some sort response for the unfriendly girl. "What's your name?"

"...Marie?" Margaret said.

"Yeah, I can hear you guys. Nice to meet you too." Marie finally spoke up. She seemed slightly rude.

"Have you met her before?" Yu whispered to Minato.

"Not at all," Minato replied quietly. "Wait, have you?"

"Maybe?" Yu muttered out before talking to Marie. "Why are you here?"

"…Dunno." She answered with a shrug. "It doesn't matter."

"Excuse her. This is Marie." Margaret said. "Her soul is still very young and—"

"Shut up!" Marie called out. "Don't tell him any more about me than you need to."

'Her soul is very young, huh?' Minato thought as he narrowed his eyes. 'She looks just as old as us. I wonder…'

"...As you can see. She may be brusque at times." Margaret continued. "But please understand that she is only an apprentice and forgive her for her impoliteness."

"Got it." Minato and Yu said with a nod.

"Marie will be dealing with 'Skill Cards.'" Margaret explained. "Using these cards will allow you to provide your Personas with new powers. Also, I am sure she will help you form a bond between yourselves and the 'outside world.' Marie will contact you at a later date. Please feel free to speak with her here when you wish to use her services."

"So you're in charge of extracting Skill Cards from our Personas…" Minato muttered.

"No. I take Skill Cards from you and register them. From then on, those Skill Cards will be available for your use to your heart's content." Marie explained. "…As long as you have the money. You're gonna have to find another way to get Skill Cards."

"Everything in the Velvet Room needs a fee, huh…" Minato groaned out as Yu sighed. They could already hear their wallets cry. Igor chuckled at the tired expressions his guests already had.

"Yu Narukami, do you recall my words to you before?" Igor questioned. "'The coming year is a turning point in your destiny... If the mystery goes unsolved, your future may be forever lost.' I meant precisely what I said. Defeat in battle is not the only way your journey may come to an end..."

"Well, we are responsible for all our actions," Yu said.

"And we are in charge of our own free will," Minato added in.

"Then please do not forget that. When next we meet, you will come here of your own wills." Igor then chuckled. "I look forward to it. Until then... farewell." Suddenly, both Fools' eyes became heavy as they taken out of the Velvet Room.

(Junes)

After they left the Velvet Room, they went home and quickly changed into their uniforms. However, Minato changed into his Gekkoukan uniform instead of his Yasogami uniform.

"My Yasogami uniform isn't loose enough for me. This uniform is." Minato said when asked about it as they waited for the elevator.

"We can't say we're going to cram school if you're in another school's uniform." Yu pointed out.

"Remember, I'm supposed to be a wandering orphan," Minato said with a smirk as they entered the elevator. "For all the public knows, these are my only other set of clothes."

"Well, let's hope the public buys it," Yu muttered as they stepped out into the Food Court. They saw the others waiting for them at one of the larger tables, with all the SEES members in their Gekkoukan uniforms and Yosuke and Chie in their Yasogami uniforms.

"Sorry we kept you guys waiting," Minato said as they walked up to the group.

"Nah, we just got here ourselves," Junpei said as they all got up from their seats before looking at the group in front him. Everyone couldn't help but wince a little.

"We really stand out, don't we?" Fuuka spoke up, carrying a rather thick book under her arm. "It doesn't help we're in our uniforms on a Sunday."

"Well, it's better to stand out wearing our uniforms than stand out carrying enough stuff to arm everyone in Inaba," Yosuke said. "Anyway, the sale should end soon, so that'll get rid of some of the people wandering around here."

"Okay, is everyone's ready?" Yu asked, and everyone nodded with determined expressions on their faces.

"Alright... let's get going," Junpei said as they started heading for the electronics department, with the members of SEES making sure their holsters were hidden away properly.

"Chie, it's not too late to—" Yosuke started only for Chie stop him.

"I'm going!" She called out.

"Yosuke, leave her alone," Minato said. "But for the love of God, Chie, stay behind us and don't push yourself too hard." He reminded her as he put on a pair of glasses. Chie only scoffed at that.

She could take care of herself.

-Midnight Channel-

"What in the world…" Fuuka muttered out as she walked out of the stack of TVs, along with everyone else. Yu and Minato made a mental note that since Teddie kept the exit up, they wouldn't have to fall out of the sky ever again. Speaking of Teddie, he seemed to be huddled up in a corner of the studio. He seemed to be thinking… or sad… maybe both.

"This seems somewhat similar to the Dark Hour…" Aigis noted before doing a quick scan of the area. Suddenly, something interesting came up. Focusing on Teddie, she was getting a strange reading for him. For some reason, it didn't classify him as friendly (for most human targets) or hostile (for enemies like Strega or Shadows). It confused her systems.

Though the most interesting thing was it detecting zero percent fluff. Only fur.

"Whoa, it really is that bear from last time…" Chie said, looking at the mascot bear.

"Um… what is he doing?" Fuuka asked.

"Oh. You brought more people here." Teddie said as he turned around, revealing his sad expression on his mask. "I guess I better start working on more of them."

"'Work on more'?" Yosuke repeated. "What have you been doing all this time!?"

"Can't you tell?" Teddie said, looking a little upset. "I've been thinking about stuff."

"Ever since we left!?" Junpei clarified.

"Yep," Teddie answered. "I've been deli-bear-ating over it for a long time now." He then smiled to himself while everyone silently groaned. "Hey, that wasn't a bad joke. Heehee!"

No one laughed with him. Or at him. There was no laughing in general.

"…So, have you figured out anything?" Yu asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"Eh, it's probably useless to think about it too much. I've seen the inside of your skull, and it was empty." Yosuke joked.

"Yosuke-kun, that's rude!" Fuuka spoke up.

"No, literally," Minato said before casually taking off Teddie's head, showing there was literally nothing inside, startling Chie and Fuuka but leaving Aigis curious about Teddie. "I'm bear-y about that," Minato said as he popped Teddie's head back onto his body. Teddie chuckled before becoming sad again.

"Yosuke's right, though." Teddie sighed sadly. "I try and try but nothing comes out of my head."

"Will you guys shut up!? Now's not the time for stupid jokes!" Chie called out. "Listen—someone came here yesterday, right?" Teddie gasped at that.

"Wow! There's a girl with a better nose than me!?" Teddie exclaimed. "Hey, with all these new faces, why don't you introduce yourselves, Miss…?"

"M-Miss? Uh... I'm Chie." Chie said.

"Call me Lucia, Teddie-kun," Fuuka spoke up.

"I am Palladion," Aigis said with a bow.

"Enough introductions! Tell me more about that 'someone!'" Chie said impatiently. They really couldn't blame her for wanting to save her best friend but she needed to tone it down.

"I think it happened a little after I talked with you guys," Teddie answered. "After that, I felt like someone was here."

"Is it Yukiko-san!?" Yosuke quickly asked.

"I don't know. I haven't looked..." Teddie replied before sniffing the air and pointing in a direction. "The presence is over that way. That's probably where they are."

"Over there, huh?" Chie muttered out as she looked out at the endless fog that Teddie was pointing at.

"It is most likely where Amagi-san is located," Aigis said. "We should head over in that direction as soon as possible."

"Hey, what about our weapons!?" Junpei called out.

"Weapons?" Teddie looked confused before pointing over to another corner of the Backlot, where their weapons were. "Static-chan left for some reason and came back with all that stuff. I've been meaning to ask about it but I've been too busy thinking."

"Looks like it kept its promise," Yu said as he picked up his Imitation Katana and pulling it out of its sheath. "Alright, is everyone ready?"

"You bet I am," Chie said as she bounced on her feet.

"Yep," Junpei said as he picked up his Metal Bat.

"I'll help as best as I can." Fuuka said, holding her 'Witch Detective Loveline: Complete Series in One' book at the ready. It was all she could afford.

"Y-Yeah," Yosuke said as he slipped his Kunai out of his sleeves. "Let's go save Yukiko-san!"

"Give me a moment," Aigis said as she started unbuttoning her blazer. "I do not want these clothes to be damaged."

"Are you sure?" Minato asked before looking at Yu, Yosuke, and Chie.

"I must fight at full capacity to protect you, Minato-san," Aigis replied as she took off her blazer before moving onto her blouse.

"If you say so…" Minato muttered.

"Wh-Whoa!? What are you doing!?" Chie shouted out as Teddie looked on in amazement at what he's seeing.

"H-H-Hey! They'll be fine!" Yosuke tried to stop Aigis from stripping. "Don't strip in front of…" Before Yosuke could finish, Aigis pulled her top over her head to reveal her metallic white torso and golden disjointed shoulders. "What the Hell…"

"Well, this is new," Yu said, his eyes wide but his tone still rather casual as Aigis stripped off the last of her uniform.

"Uh… I guess we should mention this if we're gonna be fighting Shadows." Junpei said. "We're not gonna tell you her real name and kinda forget after a while but um… yeah, she's an android."

"SHE'S A WHAT!?" Yosuke and Chie yelled out.

"Well, more specifically, an ASW," Minato added in. "An Anti-Shadow Weapon."

"Anti… Shadow Weapon!?" Yosuke exclaimed. "You mean… I can't… WHAT!?"

"Should I… put my clothes back on?" Aigis asked in an innocent tone. "They will get ruined if I participate in battle…"

"J-Just keep them off," Fuuka said as she watches Chie and Yosuke scream and runs around while Teddie just kept staring at Aigis.

"We'll explain everything later. Along with the Dark Hour and stuff." Minato said with a sigh before looking at Yu, who actually didn't mind. "You don't seem surprised."

"…Look at where we are." Yu deadpanned.

"Touché," Minato said before calling out to everyone after they all calmed down. "Are we ready to go?"

"Th-that's pretty awesome," Yosuke said, feeling giddy inside despite calming down somewhat. "Alright! I'm pumped! Let's do this!"

"Okay! We're coming, Yukiko!" Chie called before she felt something tug at her jacket. She looked behind her and saw it was Teddie.

"Aren't you supposed to take your clothes off too?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…We need the bear alive, Chie." Yu deadpanned, causing Teddie to panic.

"One kick," Chie growled. "That's it."

"He really doesn't know any better." Minato pointed out. "Save it for when you need it." Chie wanted to argue but relented. He was their only guide in this… Shadow World so she let go of her anger. They needed the bear alive.

For now.

(Yukiko's Castle)

They had been walking for what felt like hours before they started seeing something in the distance. Even with the glasses, the Fools and Magicians could only so much until they could spot a clearing in the sickly yellow fog. When they finally arrived, they stared in awe of their destination.

"What the…!?" Chie exclaimed. "A castle!?"

"It looks just like the one on the Midnight Channel…" Fuuka said before wincing. Her own voice saying such lewd and weird things. Like getting a harem. Like such things existed nowadays.

Meanwhile, Minato sneezed next to her.

"You sure no one's here with a camera filming programs for the Midnight Channel?" Junpei questioned Teddie.

"Program? I don't know." Teddie replied with a shrug. "Maybe people on your side can see stuff in this world. It might be that. And I told you before! There's only me and Shadows here! There's no 'camera' stuff going on. This world has been like this from the beginning."

"And when was the beginning?" Yu muttered to himself.

"Uh… the rumors about the Midnight Channel have been around for a while, but I don't know when it started." Chie said. "It just sort of spread around Inaba."

"So for all we know, there has always been a Midnight Channel." Minato groaned. "It's just the first time someone's been actually using it."

"And that's what I want to understand." Yosuke sighed out. "Just what the Hell is this place!?"

"I dunno... Can you guys explain everything about your world?" Teddie pointed out. "I've never seen this 'program' thingy before. So I don't know."

"So the Midnight Channel allows anyone to see into this world whenever it's on…" Fuuka clarified.

"But when Yukiko showed up on that channel was before she disappeared." Chie pointed out. "Doesn't that seem off?"

"I believe Yukiko-san said such things like 'score myself a hot stud' and admitting to wearing lace panties," Aigis said as Fuuka winced. "I believe who it was last night may not be the real Yukiko-san."

"Score… Stud… panties…?" Teddie wondered out loud but was ignored for now.

"Yeah, we couldn't believe it either," Yosuke admitted. "Yukiko-san would never say anything like that."

"It had to be an imposter. A… Shadow." Junpei spoke up before grimacing. "Just like…"

"What happened to us…" Junpei and Yosuke said in unison.

"That's… kinda freaky." Chie admitted. "Just what happened back there?"

"Oh right," Yu muttered under his breath. "We'll explain that later too."

"There's a lot of stuff I still don't get," Teddie said. "But after hearing your story, I think that 'program' happens because of the person who appears on it. Or something like that..."

"So you think Yukiko was producing the show herself," Minato said with a sigh. "Explains it being low budget."

"Th-That doesn't make any sense either!" Chie growled in frustration as she stomped around. "I don't get any of this!" She then looked up at the castle and then the red and black swirling vortex just past the gate. "Hey... Do you sense Yukiko's presence from inside?"

"Don't you mean smell?" Yu pointed out.

"Same difference," Chie said off-handedly.

"I'm pretty sure," Teddie replied before turning to Aigis. "So, um, what's this 'scoring with a hot stud' thing...?"

"I… honestly do not know," Aigis admitted. "I will have to ask Minato-san about it."

"Please don't." Minato quietly begged.

"Yukiko's here…" Chie muttered to herself, taking a few steps forward. "I'm going ahead."

"Huh, wait what?" Yosuke managed to get out before Chie charged into the castle without a second thought. "Hey, wait! Don't go alone, you idiot!" It was already too late though, Chie had disappeared into the vortex. "Oh, that stupid…"

"Chie-chan!" Fuuka gasped out.

"Didn't we just tell her not to charge in, like, twelve times!?" Junpei called out.

"I predict a seven percent chance she will make to the second floor," Aigis informed everyone. "And a 0.007% chance she will make past that unless we save her soon." Minato looked down at his hand and saw his Evoker (maybe he should rename it soon) forming in it. He looked at the castle before looking at Narukami, who had already summoned his card.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Minato said as he placed his Evoker into his holster.

"Let's just hope our princess isn't in another castle," Yu added in as they looked at Yukiko's Castle one last time before running in.

Save Game… Quit!

Whew! Done! Off to the beta and off to sleep!

UknownHero signing off, my friends!