"Still can't believe that happened..." Rise muttered as she looked at her pale left arm, which seemed to glow in the moonlight from her opened window. It had taken all her strength to not keep looking at it with wonder and curiosity when she got out of the TV World with the others. To not keep curling up her fingers and roll her wrist, to now flex it. To keep reminding herself that yes, Rise Kujikawa had a new left arm and no this wasn't a dream.

The trip out of Junes had been mostly in silence, save for Chie sniffling a bit from time to time. Obviously, she was still upset from... what had happened. Hell, all of them felt uneasy in one way or another. Gyro had been just as curious about Rise's new arm as she was, and Rise could tell that the doctor within him was just begging to inspect it.

But if he did that in public, people would start talking. About how the two were dating or something more scandalous, and her friends were just cover to keep the 'reporters' from learning the truth. And Gyro's interest in her arm? Probably what got him hot or something.

"It would be funny if I wasn't still kinda freaking out about the whole thing." Rise clenched her hand into a fist once more, and as she unclenched it she watched in fascination as her nails left deep grooves and big red circles at the center of her palm. It looked like she practically was holding bright red balls in it. Then, they slowly faded. "I mean, I got a new arm! It's like something from a manga! Or a movie! A really weird sci-fi movie too, with Luke Skywalker or Spock or something."

She had lost an arm, and had regrown a new one in seconds.

Then, it hit her again.

She lost an arm.

Rise Kujikawa almost died in another world, surrounded by friends barely reaching the bastard who was the cause of her sleepless nights and abduction. She almost died, and had barely managed to contribute anything to help the others.

The fear returned, and Rise remembered the pain she felt after finally realizing her arm was gone. The feeling of fire, and that she could feel the parts of the arm that were missing, She could still feel her left hand clenching and unclenching as she fell, but it also felt like it was on fire. And yet, the hand was not there. The rest of her arm felt like a long and thick knife was being repeatedly stabbed through it.

Even as she passed out, Rise wanted to cry for her mother and father. Tell them that it hurt, to please help her. And yet, she could not say anything. Just gurgle and cry so quietly that the others barely heard her.

Rise covered her mouth as she felt something rise from her stomach.

"Not here, not here goddamnit!"

The bile tasted horrible even if it had not reached her mouth. Acid-like and sour. But rather than let it come through, she closed her eyes and forced it back down. After a few moments, Rise got out of her futon and crawled in her pink pajamas to her garbage basket, spitting out what had managed to get through. When she was done, Rise sat on the ground and hugged her knees to her chest.

A part of her was still scared. Terrified of what had happened, and of the possibility of it happening again if Rise went back to that world.

That perhaps, it would be better if they let the guy just get torn apart by Shadows. Just like how Saki Konishi and Mayumi Yamano died.

Poetic justice, and not that all out of place in a detective novel or something.

"Don't think about that." Rise thought to herself in a grimace. "That bastard... I won't let him get out that easily! I don't care if I'm scared, or that it would be easier! He should face what he did and rot in a cell, not die in that world without us being able to have him confess to the cops!"

Yes, the others weren't giving up on bringing the murderer of justice. They fought just as hard, and for longer than she had. They wanted to see him brought to the police kicking and screaming.

And Rise wouldn't want to spit on their bravery by suggesting they just leave the son of a bitch to die.

And sure, Rise was still a bit freaked out, but she should use this as a lesson. To keep in mind that this can happen again, and that if it did Teddie might not be able to fix her up. She had to be more careful and fight smarter next time.

Rise then thought back to when she was on the ground. She had for the most part passed out, but she had been fading in and out.

Everyone had been freaking out in some way, shape, or form. She couldn't hear much, because in those pain-filled moments it was like her ears were full of cotton.

But she did see Gyro Zeppeli kneeling by her, his face completely calm as he gave short commands to the others.

The boy she had accused of not really getting her just a few weeks ago had a look in his eye when he looked at her. It wasn't a look of resignation or fear.

It was a look that said he would absolutely save her.

Gyro Zeppeli was a boy who could be just as immature as he was mature. He told bad jokes, and it could be argued that he stuck his nose in situations he had no business to be in.

But in those few moments of semi-consciousness, Gyro Zeppeli was perhaps the coolest person in the world.

Rise giggled to herself as she fell back into her futon.

"I better step up my game then."

The last thing she wanted or needed was for Gyro to feel compelled to try and help her again, even if the look in his eyes was a nice one.

No wonder he was a bit of a heartbreaker back in Italy and in Inaba...

July 28th, 2011:

Johnny had seen and experienced a lot since coming to Inaba. His lame legs had moved, he faced down the representation of his inner self even as it tried to murder him and his friends, and he had managed to go through more punishment that the stars of those action movies had ever experienced. He'd been cut, bruised, had holes punched through his body, electrocuted, and his skin melted off. Maybe he could get stabbed, poisoned and frozen before the year was over.

"Oh, and also the bear from another dimension grew a clone of my body and made it dickless. Can't forget about that." Johnny's mind noted in the dry wit that his classmates had gotten to know him for.

But honestly, this scene right here seemed to take the morbid cake.

The smell of copper filled the air, and the source of it was on the ground. Just a good ten feet away from them was the remains of Rise's old left arm. It was pale, not exactly grey but getting close. The bottom of it in the small nearly dry puddle of blood was still wet and probably sticky. Its fingers seemed to be reaching towards them, slackened and yet still up. As if begging "Please, take me with you. Don't leave me down here..."

In spite of the morbid scene, Johnny could not help but note in a rather dark sense of humor that if they did try to pick it up there would likely be an announcement that they picked up an item. Complete with a little jingle

"God, this place is making a future where I never touch another video game really appealing."

They had arrived here practically at twelve in the afternoon on the dot. None of the group wanted to leave this for another day, even if Johnny would have preferred an extra day to relax after going through all that crazy bullshit. After all, the freak wasn't going anywhere.

"But no, we have to go in and catch the murderer right away. Cannot chance that he may have some new freaky power that he will pull out of his ass. We can't just have one goddamn moment of peace and quiet together..."

Johnny blinked and shook his head. Where did that come from? Sure he disagreed with rushing in just a day after, but never this strongly. It was more like a nagging feeling of trepidation before...

"...Maybe the stress is just getting to me." Johnny thought to himself before looking at Rise.

She was staring at her arm blankly, neither fear nor anger at the sight of her arm. Well... that wasn't exactly true. Johnny could see that she was gripping and rubbing her new left arm.

"Man..." Yosuke decided to break the silence while rubbing the back of his neck. "This is freaky."

"No kiddin' Senpai." Kanji coughed into his fist before looking at Rise. "Shouldn't you have... I dunno... just gone up with Gyro-senpai and the others? Would've been smarter..."

"I probably would have seen it if the way to the next 'level' or whatever was down here." Rise responded with a low voice, not turning to them. "Honestly, this just helps to rip off this particular band-aid."

Gyro and the others had opted to go upstairs and look when it was revealed that there was a flight of stairs going up. If there was another level, it was likely to be in the area they hadn't been in before. Yosuke however suggested that they might be playing by 'Metroidvania' rules, that there was a secret door or something in the floor Rise was in. So Gyro decided that it would be smarter if they split up. Half go up while the other goes down, with each team taking someone who can heal injuries should there be an ambush or something.

Rise demanded that she go down, even though everyone insisted that she shouldn't or didn't have to. However, Rise's mind was set and she couldn't be talked out of it. Not that Johnny really thought that Rise shouldn't go down. If she thought she could handle it, then she could.

Though her bout of silence after coming down did make him somewhat concerned.

Johnny decided to go down with Yosuke and Kanji. When Gyro offered to follow, Johnny refused. He needed to pracice more using his legs without assistance, and using stairs was a big step forward in moving around like he once did years ago.

It went rather poorly. He stumbled and nearly fell a couple of times on the way down. And Kanji had to help carry him down halfway through. But some progress was better than none.

"You sure about that?" Johnny asked, causing her to look at him. "This is a bit bigger than a band-aid."

"Yeah, I guess you're right..." Rise muttered, and the room went silent again for a moment. "Hey, Johnny... Um..."

Johnny got the message and looked to Kanji and Yosuke. "Guys, would you mind looking around for that exit or something?"

"Huh? Why?" Kanji asked, only for Johnny to roll his eyes.

"Oh, so I guess we're just here for sightseeing? Well then, that means we should just go up already since..."

"Yeah, yeah we get the point." Yosuke motioned to Kanji and said, "Come on dude, we got to feel around the walls."

Kanji gave Johnny a bit of a sour look before following Yosuke. "That wasn't the best way to have them leave, you know." Rise mentioned while Johnny rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well I had to get them to leave somehow. So, what do you want to talk about."

"Forget it, I don't want to..."

Johnny narrowed his eyes. "You aren't bothering me. Just spit it out already."

She had already gotten him involved, and he really didn't want to hear the old "I don't want to bother you" excuse.

Rise bit her lip before sighing. "To be honest, I am a bit scared. I have been ever since yesterday. I mean, I was before but..."

"But now it's a lot worse?" Johnny asked as he sat on the ground. "I mean, you lost an arm so it's a bit understandable..."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too." Rise said with a nod before looking back at her arm. "Honesty, I should be too scared to go on. I thought I knew what I was getting into and even told you I was ready for the possibility of dying, but I guess nearly experiencing it kind of puts things into perspective..."

"...I suppose it does." Johnny admitted. Lord knew that Johnny had often lost his nerve and was scared shitless when death drew near. Most people would want nothing to do with the TV World after half of the stuff they've already experienced. "But you're here, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but I think it's kind of weird." Rise admitted with a nod. "I mean, I'm pretty scared... but in a way, I'm also excited."

Johnny couldn't help but raise his eyebrow at that. Most people would not be excited over the fact they nearly died.

"I mean... this wasn't all that fun, but it was done by my own choice. I put my all into it, and when I won I felt... wonderful. It was a victory of my own making, rather than it being someone else's..." Rise then sighed as she looked up. "I mean, I haven't had much of an opportunity to do anything on my own before. My parents were strict, and my career... well, let's just say that being an idol doesn't give you much room to do what you want." Rise then looked to Johnny and smiled. "But now... I'm throwing myself into all this and giving it my all, and it's all my choice. And because of that, I've made new friends like you!" Rise then smiled, but it was hesitant. "You don't think it's weird, do you?"

Johnny frowned for a minute, but this really didn't need that long to think about. "Not really. I mean, if you're happy that you're doing this by your own choice and power, then there's nothing wrong with that. Hell, if doing something like this psyches you out then you should do it more often." Johnny thought for a second before adding, "Without fighting monsters and flying, preferably."

Rise giggled at that. "Well, I wasn't planning to!" She then then walked up to him and without warning, kneeled down and hugged him. "But thank you so much Johnny!"

Johnny stiffened and clicked his tongue. He was more shocked by the fact that Rise straight-up hugged him despite the two not really talking to each other personally all that much. He accepted Rise's offer to be his friend for politeness sake, but was this perhaps a sign that she took it seriously?

"I still don't get this crap." Johnny thought to himself. Still, it did feel kind of nice. "Yeah, yeah. You would've figured it out sooner or later. Now can you please let go?"

Rise released her grip and looked alarmed. "Oh my god, am I hurting you? I'm so so-!"

"No, you're not. So stop acting like you committed a crime or something." Johnny could not help but frown at the reaction. Not even Chie or Yosuke treated him like he was made of glass.

...Still, perhaps this was just her nerves on end due to the fact her arm, which looked to be in the early stages of decomposing, was just a few feet from them.

To switch to a much lighter subject, wasn't this kind of situation the one where his Social Link would 'level up' or whatever? "What's going on here? I mean I don't miss the pausing of time and crap, but..."

"Rise!" Gyro's voice echoed from behind Rise, and a sentry then flew from behind to the left of Rise and to the right of Johnny. "You guys didn't happen to find anything, have you?"

Before Rise could answer, the room began to shake and they heard stone scraping on stone. "Holy crap! That actually worked!" Yosuke shouted, and the two turned to see Yosuke and Kanji standing in front of a slightly dipped lamp at the right of the room and a stone passageway to their right with stairs leading down.

"That is so cliché man..." Kanji groaned out.

"...We just did." Johnny said out loud. "And you guys?"

"Eh." Gyro said in a disappointed tone. "We found a chest, but all it had were skimpy female outfits that I can barely call armor, a muscle drink, and some gravy that's been sitting for way too long."

"How can I smell it!?" Chie cried out, her voice slightly distant. "It's totally sealed shut!"

"Maybe there's a hole?" Yukiko supplied helpfully.

"Hey Sensei! I found some yummy chicken in the wall!" Teddie shouted out.

"Gyaaah! Teddie! Don't eat that!" Chie shouted in horror, and Gyro gave a slightly amused chuckle.

"We'll be down to see you guys soon! First though, I gotta make sure the situation doesn't get Kentucky Fried!" Johnny and Rise shared the same blank look. "Get it? Because...?" Rise then dismissed her drone, and looked at Johnny.

"I won't say anything if you won't."

Johnny nodded and looked down to the corridor that will lead them further in to the dungeon, down to the murderer. Down even closer to the end of all this…

"Time to hit continue, I guess..."

"ARGH" The pixelated soldier called out in a monotone tone as it slowly changed to a falling back position, and then a laying down position. It was dressed like an American soldier, wearing camo and pouches with a gun in its hands, and its pixelated skin was white. Almost absurdly so, to the point that it might as well have belonged to an albino. But its pixelated open mouth had what appeared to be missing teeth and the eyes seemed to be looking in two different directions, probably to indicate stupidity. It's 'hair' if one would call it that was blond, or at least that's what the tuffs of yellow that escaped its 'hat' that covered its head. One that had the pixelated red words of ASS written on its front.

Behind it was the Shadow that Gyro had actually defeated, something that Teddie called a Fate Seeker. The thing was a massive black blob with a face in its front and six eyes floating in front of it that formed a star. It let out a gurgle once before it as well as the pixelated soldier had disappeared.

Son of a bitch hadn't been all that difficult to figure out, but it still managed to get a few good licks in with the small patches of missing skin along Gyro's left arm being a testament to that.

"Still looks like you, Johnny." Gyro could not help but comment to the drone on his shoulder.

"Oh really!? I couldn't tell! I mean, I was curious! Oh yes oh so curious about why it was so familiar! But I would've never imagined that it was supposed to be...!" Then, a painful cry was let out by Johnny. "Oh what the hell Chie!?"

"We get that you're upset Johnny, but you don't need to keep screaming about it!"

Gyro couldn't help but chuckle as he listened to Johnny continue to grumble while running forward. The area that the team had entered below the flight of stairs had been one that was flat and constraining, with the walls closing in and showing even bigger pixelated brick walls that were now colored blue. There was a door with the words 'SINGLE PLAYER ONLY' written on them, and it had been determined that only one of them would be able to enter. Gyro had offered to go first, and nobody really had objected. Considering that the little scenario was designed to put them in a bad spot, it really didn't matter who entered first. Plus Gyro was a doctor and could reasonably handle his own injuries well enough without either Johnny or Teddie around.

The little 'game' was one that Gyro found rather... unnerving to be quite honest. It was comprised mostly of hallways with pixelated doors all labeled 'Mitsuo's room' all over. Sometimes they were on every portion of the hallway while other times they were at the end. Sometimes those doors led to other hallways while other times they led to mostly empty rooms that were only filled by a pixelated computer on a table. That, or a huge room with pixelated pictures of what Gyro could assume were Rise and Yukiko either in swimsuits or in the nude.

But that's not what disturbed Gyro.

No, it was what was said in a monotone voice as soon as he started on this damn 'level'.

A female announcer draws near!

Command?

-Fight

Run

Mitsuo attacks!

Thou hast done well in Retiring the female announcer.

Mitsuo hath been promoted to the next level.

Thy Excitement increases by 4.

Thy Emptiness increases by 1.

"This guy is seriously messed up."

With that and the whole 'rotten orange' bit, Gyro could put together that the guy had both an inflated ego yet a low opinion on himself. Whatever the case 'Retiring', which Gyro could safely assume meant killing, the Yamano woman led to a confidence boost. What was odd and a bit unnerving was the fact that this Mitsuo guy's horrendous actions were being transitioned and emulated in this video game format. Like he reprehensible deeds were getting him experience points or unlocking achievements. Gyro supposed it made a twisted kind of sense. Some people made a list of steps that leads to a goal, and by crossing off things step by step they feel more confident about the possibility of reaching the goal and come closer to achieving their goal.

"But still, making it into a requirement to reach a level..."

Treating Yamano, a woman who had a life and dreams, like just some monster to shake down to earn experience points made Gyro sick.

"And for what? What the hell is he trying to level up for?"

Well, best not to think about it. Gyro would be stuck on a loop if he tried to guess the reasons of a lunatic.

"DAMN HONKY" a voice cried out from behind, and Gyro turned to see another American soldier that looked like it was supposed to be an African American but whose depiction was basically an insulting stereotype, with large eyes and big pink lips and torn shoes that allowed pixelated toes to pop out. On its head was another bandanna that described 'ASS' in bold English letters. Behind it however were five pink eyes that marked the points of a star.

"Oh great. This guy is also a racist on top of everything. As if he didn't have enough warning signs of being a psycho."

Gyro made the mistake of looking at the one over the soldier's head.

Gyro's body went numb, and he couldn't break his gaze. "Shit!" Gyro bit the inside of his cheek, tasting the liquid copper of his own blood. Feeling entered his limbs again, and he instantly hopped to the right just in time to see a pink beam shoot at where he was just standing.

The soldier then suddenly had its gun in its mid-section, and the barrel showed a red eye within it. There was a small tear in its pupil, and its black blood went down from it. Gyro threw his steel ball, Puck's energy crackling in the air but not leaving the smell of burnt ozone. However, the eye closed as did the barrel and the pixelated soldier brought its gun back to the side. The steel ball hit pixelated flesh, spinning at speeds that would've shredded skin yet was suspended on the soldier's midsection. The soldier showed no visible reaction as it advanced in pre-rendered 'walking' movements.

"Gyro, did you take it down?" Rise asked, and Gyro grimaced as he moved his eyes away from the eyes.

"No, but I'm getting to it."

"It still makes no sense. I can see the ball striking the Shadow from here..." Rise muttered to herself, and Gyro sighed.

Rise had been saying since he began battling the 'soldiers' that she could see the Shadows. That she couldn't see the soldiers that the Shadows were hiding behind.

"It's probably true, but it raises some questions." From what Gyro could tell, the 'soldiers' were meant to act as shields for the Shadows so that Gyro's attacks couldn't reach them. Sometimes he was lucky and nailed the center eye while other times he had to improvise. "But if these soldiers don't actually exist... is this another of the Shadow's abilities? To make me see what isn't there?"

Perhaps, considering the fact that for a split second when he bit his cheek Gyro's vision became distorted. And he could actually see the eyes floating in mid-air without the soldier in front of them. But as soon as Gyro released his grip on his cheek, the soldier reappeared.

In any case, it was time to improvise.

"Yeah, well it's no dice from what I can tell." He then grinned. "Still, I can remedy that." With that, Gyro focused on the pixels of the soldier, closing his right eye as he did so and looked through the steel ball. He used the still spinning ball to look back at himself, a disorienting experience, before looking up to see the top floating eye. At that moment, Gyro stared at the pixels on its body. Two that were side by side, forming a rectangle. Gyro imagined the line separating them into squares not being there, allowing himself to see a perfect rectangle. Then, he divided it and began tracing the spiral...

...A spiral that went on forever.

And in that second, Gyro had it. The Shadow's eye stained at Gyro's body, and Gyro allowed himself (his body... damn this got confusing at times managing two eyes at two different locations) to look at it. He felt the Shadow's power freeze his body, and in that instant Gyro launched the ball at the eye.

It made impact, and Gyro used the power and concept of the spiral, the spinning, to transfer itself to the eye. It then began spinning while the ball fell uselessly to the ground, and in a wet pop the eye came out and spun. The eye looked down and Gyro looked down through it, and he saw the barrel portion open with a bit of the eye sticking out. Fluid began building up on the surface of the pupil and glowed pink.

"Now!"

The eye then shot forward, tearing what could pass as the conjunctiva of the Shadow's eye and causing the liquid to spill out. The Shadow screeched as the soldier cried out 'ARGH' before falling back dead along with the Shadow.

"You wanna know how I always win these things guys?" Gyro asked the drone as he walked forward, opening his right eye and picking up the ball as the Shadow and pixelated soldier disappeared. "I make sure to never lose my eye!" Gyro then grinned. "Get it? Because usually they say never to lose your head but..."

"Pffftthahaha!" Rise's laughter interrupted Gyro's explanation, causing Gyro's cheeks to puff. "That's so goddamn lame Gyro! And way too easy! I mean, come on!"

"My jokes are a national treasure." Gyro muttered as he put his ball back in his holster and Puck returned into his body.

"Yeah, sure. They're huge in Europe." Johnny's said in a flat tone, but Gyro grinned. Johnny always got it. "Anyways, how could you make the eye spin? I mean, I get it's like a ball but..."

"To be honest, the thing being ball-shaped just makes things easier." Gyro admitted as he walked forward to the next door. "But I don't think Puck's power works like that. Puck's like an energy that makes things spin, spin and move to my will... I can probably do a lot more now that I think about it."

And Gyro was being honest. Ever since Rise's dungeon, Gyro had been thinking about Puck. About how its power was a lot deeper than it appeared. It was one thing to just make balls spin, but another to transfer that energy to another object.

All because he knew the power of the Golden Rectangle...

"That's interesting..." Johnny muttered from his end. "Maybe you can spin something bigger? Like a body? I mean, if what you say is true then..."

"...Then Puck can make anything spin." Gyro grimaced. "Yeah, that is interesting..."

"Yeah, it's an interesting topic but maybe you guys can speed this along?" Yosuke interrupted, causing Gyro to blink. "The sooner you get through that creepy place and get the key or whatever, the better I'll feel."

"Alright, alright. Keep your pants on." Gyro then grinned. "After all, the last thing we wanna see is your tan lines if you're into that kind of thing."

This time, he heard everyone chuckle and Yosuke practically fumed. That made Gyro's mood all the brighter as he continued on.

In spite of that, Gyro could not help but be impressed with how fast Johnny caught onto Gyro's power. How fast Johnny grasped the concept that made Puck what it was, evolved it in a way from how Gyro previously used it. To manipulate the power of rotation, to continue the spinning...

...Spinning like how Puck made the air spin, how it spun Johnny's nails to shoot them out.

Gyro frowned as a thought suddenly occurred to him.

Perhaps Johnny's power was more than what it seemed? On paper, Johnny's Persona was rather simple. It made Johnny spin the air to create whirlwinds, whirlwinds that Johnny through Tusk could manipulate in size. With, of course, the additional side effect of giving Johnny the ability to shoot his nails and regrow them at an advanced rate. But that still didn't explain as to how they could shoot forward at the speed of a bullet, continuing to spin until impact.

Because they had to spin. They were spinning from the whirlwinds underneath.

Weren't they?

"Bizarre... can me and Johnny both control rotations?" Well, it wouldn't be the strangest thing Gyro had encountered in his short time in Inaba. "If Johnny could also see it... if he tried using the concept of the Golden Rectangle... what would happen?"

Well, Johnny would likely pick it up if he needed it to continue forward. Johnny was rather stubborn and would do anything it took to reach his goal.

...If Johnny believed that there was a shred of hope to get him out of a hopeless situation, he would take it.

Gyro frowned. That, he admired about Johnny. However, the part that Gyro didn't like was how easily Johnny caved when a situation looked hopeless. When the only future he could see looked bleak, he wanted to run.

Sort of like how he was acting right now, like there was something nagging him not to continue...

"Well, I can shelve that for later." Gyro opened the door to reveal a large room filled with pixelated images of Yukiko and Rise in various suggestive poses.

And two pixelated soldiers, both white and vaguely resembling Johnny.

"DURR INTRUDER YE-HAW" The two intoned as they turned to Gyro, and Gyro took his balls from their holsters and grinned.

"Right now, I've got a game to win."

"H-How much..." Chie gasped as she continued to run, the fast-paced yet repetitive music in the air continuing to echo throughout the long obstacle course she now found herself in. "H-How much farther... W-Who the hell could make something like this? Sadists?"

'Well, we're kind of a quarter from the beginning of the hallway." Rise replied gloomily. "So... not much."

"You sure you're alright Chie?" Johnny asked, worry in his voice which caused Chie's heart to pick up the pace for whatever reason. "You usually don't get this winded unless we've gone through, like, a thirty minute workout."

"I-I'm fine!" Chie stuttered out, coming across a gap in the path. She stopped at the edge, stared down, and saw the large and comical cartoony spiked that jutted out of a twenty foot drop. Though, there was nothing comical about the tips which looked sharp enough to go through her flesh like butter. "J-Just a lot of... obstacles..."

"Sounds like a real-life game show." Yosuke muttered out with worry. "You know, those ones where if you go through you get a huge price and stuff. With all the guys and girls that look like they chugged protein."

"Ya know, I've actually thought about entering one of those once or twice." Kanji added with a chuckle. "Then I realized I'd look kinda like an asshole on the TV."

"Kanji-kun! Language!" Yukiko gasped out, and she could almost see Johnny roll his eyes.

"Oh yeah, because asshole is the worst word you've heard around us..."

"Chie, are you absolutely sure that there are obstacles holding you up?" Rise asked, her voice even more doubtful than before. "Because I'm just reading that it's a straightforward hallway like..."

Chie backed up, breathed in and out, and ran forward. When she reached the edge, she jumped forward with all her strength in her left foot.

"Tomoe!"

She commanded while crushing the card in her right hand, focusing on Tomoe's right leg ghosting along her own and hopping forward as well. The bottom of Tomoe's foot made contact with the bottom of Chie's, and Chie found herself rocketed forward.

"WOOOAAAH!"

Chie cried out, waving her hands as she practically flew across upraised platforms and brought her feet forward as if she were doing the long jump at gym class. Chie screwed her eyes shut and willed Tomoe's legs to appear over hers. In a second, they landed on the ground and cushioned the impact. Chie's own feet landed on their imprints, and she ran forward a bit before opening her eyes.

Chie sighed. If nothing else, this whole obstacle course was providing more practice with the ability she used in Rise's own dungeon.

"Maybe..." Rise began, but she was interrupted by Teddie.

"Keep going Chie-chan!" Teddie cried out in glee. "When you get here, you can have ALL the water bottles! Don't give up now! Just a bit more to go!"

Chie sighed and just kept running. While encouragement was nice in a workout, it was another thing entirely when you're required to go forward. It's why she hated the jogs around the field. At some point it stops being fun and begins being a chore.

Chie's clothes were drenched in sweat, her skin glistening while her shirt clung to her body. It was not a sight that Chie liked people seeing, on account that most of the time people would catch either the outline or the vague image of her sports bra. This was the reason why she wore her so often so she could hide her body when she got like this. To zip up and hide herself on reflex.

However, there was a small part of her that was irked when guys that walked by didn't try to catch a glimpse. That nobody's face was red when she looked at them and they, suddenly, found the ground extremely interesting.

Johnny himself would keep looking at her and not show any discomfort whatsoever.

"Not the time or place to think about this." Chie thought to herself, her already red with exertion face growing darker. "B-Besides, it isn't the first time that Johnny saw a girl... like that... with even less on..."

For some reason, that made her stomach twist and not from the fact that all the running she was doing was seriously making her consider throwing up.

The team had managed to go further into the dungeon after Gyro cleared his level... if one could consider backtracking to reach the room they had found the wall chicken in going further. "Still have no idea what was up with that." But backtracking there somehow made a door appear on the other side of the room, two of them to be precise. One with another 'SINGLE PLAYER ONLY' written on it and a door that led to a long hallway with a locked door on the other side. Chie decided to be the one to go, half because she knew Tomoe was a perfect combination of speed and strength needed to get through the challenge.

And half because she would feel better knowing she helped them advance closer to catching this creep.

High priestess Amagi hath been awaiting thy advances from afar.

All doust thou need to do is help her understand thy noble intentions.

Command?

-Approach Amagi to informer her of her destiny beside you

Flee

You approach and talk to Yukiko!

Amazonian Bodyguard, Disgusting Merchant's Son, and Uncultured Foreigner approach you.

They declare ownership of your future companion!

Command?

-Fight

Run

You are not at a high enough level...

You retreat while your future companion remains in the clutches of brutes who do not understand your destiny...

Thy Anger increases by 6 from the encounter.

Thy Sadness increases by 3 from the encounter.

Thy Emptiness increases by 5 from the encounter.

Those words that she heard when she entered this messed up obstacle course. Chie had remembered that day ever since she heard the creep actually was the killer. How he approached Yukiko, tried forcing her to come with him as if she had no other choice. That look of pure malice and hate when he retreated from them...

...Was he planning on killing Yukiko then? Had they made him decide to kill Yukiko, because in some messed up part of his brain he decided the old "If I can't have her, no one can" cliche?

That chilled Chie to the bone, and made the fury in her bubble even more.

"And the sheer gall of it... the way that was said... that Yukiko was destined to be with him... that she's just a slab of meat that he deserved!"

Chie remembered when she met Yukiko in the castle. How scared she was, how she cried when she hugged Yukiko. How worried Chie was when Yukiko's Shadow put Yukiko in that cage...

And because of that, Chie remembered why she got into this entire situation in the first place. Why she suffered injury after injury, fought against horrors that would make other kids her age weep in terror. Why she joined her friends in this mission that could very well cost them their lived.

For revenge.

Whatever feelings she had regarding Johnny could wait. She could push them to the side for now. All that mattered now was pushing forward and smashing the disturbed killer's teeth in with the bottom of her shoe.

Then, her mind flashed to Johnny and the odd look and attitude he took on. How he worried her with those two, and the concern he showed when she entered this challenge.

"Easier said than done." Chie admitted to herself grimly as she stopped at her newest obstacle. A loop nearly fifteen feet high that went up and deposited whatever managed to roll in it to the platforms just to the left of Chie. The gap was far too long to jump even with Tomoe, and the drop just led to more spikes.

Chie sighed.

"I'm never going to touch another Sonic game again."

She had Tomoe trace ice along the loop before having the Persona's legs assist her in running... and guiding her body so she wouldn't slide into the abyss.

It was the scariest ten seconds of Chie's life, and Chie added this experience to the reasons why she would take revenge on Mitsuo Kubo.

The results of said list have been for a long time coming.

A corpse discoverer draws near!

Command?

-Fight

Run

Mitsuo attacks!

Thou hast done well in Retiring the corpse discoverer

Mitsuo has been promoted to the next level.

Thy Sadness increases by 5.

Thy Emptiness increases by 8.

"Bastard. That fucking bastard..."

Yosuke grit his teeth as he dodged another thrust from the giant pixelated knight, the thing eight feet tall, 'dressed' in bulky pixelated armor, and its hands on a long lance almost as tall as its body thrusting out near crotch level. The entire thing would be pretty comical, and Johnny did make a crack that the killer was compensating for something in his own mind, but Yosuke was not in a laughing mood. It wasn't the fact that the Shadow was a tough bastard. Though it was considering the thing seemed to have an even longer reach than the lance considering the fact Jiraiya, and Yosuke by extension, how had a bleeding groove just below the ribs on his side in spite of jumping back before the thing's weapon could skewer him.

No, it was those words that echoed in the 'level' as soon as they entered.

"How could he!? How could he treat Saki like just some... some game challenge!?"

Yosuke didn't know what to expect when it came to the killer's thoughts on Saki. A large part of him didn't want to know, while a small part was morbidly fascinated as horrible as it sounded. For what purpose did it have? Because she was famous for all of five minutes on TV?

Saki, a girl who was more than just "The highschool girl that was on TV".

Saki, who worked at Junes with a smile on her face and never lost a friendly tone in her voice.

Saki, who treated him with respect and even didn't mind holding a conversation with him a couple of times.

Saki, who worked hard and studied hard. Who probably had plans to get out of Inaba after college. Who wanted to own her own business or become a designer or something.

Yosuke didn't know what Saki had wanted to do with her life, but it didn't matter now.

She was dead.

"All because this psychotic fuck wanted to level up! Goddamn it!"

"Yo, Senpai! Please tell me you've got a plan!" Kanji shouted from the drone on his shoulder, and Yosuke grit his teeth.

"Workin' on it dude!"

"Maybe I should've gone in instead of you... that dude you're fighting sounds like a mean mother-OW!"

"Language!" Yukiko voice cried out from the background.

The pixelated knight then twisted its body, turning around and Yosuke could guess what it was for. "It's going to swing that big lance around and then hit me on its side!" No time to back up now. There wasn't enough bridge and the damn lance would skewer him onto the door to his back if he tried.

Time to go up.

Jiraiya jumped up and Yosuke reached up with his arms. His Persona grabbed onto them and they began rising.

The idea was to jump over the massive thing and completely miss the lance.

Unfortunately, the thing had other ideas.

The pixelated knight instead turned around and held the lance up, both 'hands' on the handle and at crotch level. The damn thing did in fact make it look like the knight had a stiff one.

"Oh that is just wron-!"

The knight then thrust up the lance, and Yosuke bit his lip to hold back a scream. The tip of the lance had it through the left side of his right knee, scraping bone and slicing off flesh. But to stop now would mean certain death. So with a mighty tug, Jiraiya continued on tearing whatever flesh was still pieced on the lance from the rest of his body.

The world went a bit wavy after that. Yosuke could swear he saw that he was now just in a large blank room with a door on the other side. Nothing else.

But as quickly as it came, it left. "Don't think about that now! Focus on killing the damn thing to get the hell out of here! That way you can throttle that bastard!"

"Yosuke! You okay!?" Johnny's voice called out as Yosuke and Jiraiya landed on the stone ground of the bridge.

"I will be in a few minutes!" Yosuke turned around and Jiraiya raised its right hand, its shuriken already spinning.

But then Rise said something strange:

"Yosuke, close your eyes."

Yosuke blinked. "...Wha...?"

"Just do it! Trust me! You should hear something!"

"Rise, what the hell are you...?" But Chie's objection fell to deaf ears.

Yosuke bit his lip. Closing his eyes would mean leaving him at the mercy of the knight. "Then again, Rise sounds like she's on to something." He gulped the saliva in his mouth as he watched the knight turn around. "But I've already got things mapped out for Jiraiya."

Hopefully it wouldn't mess up. Otherwise, Yosuke was going to get a brand new piece of decoration through his forehead.

Yosuke closed his eyes...

...And frowned when he began hearing something knew.

Click... click... click... whiiirl...

Yosuke had watched plenty of action movies in his spare time instead of studying, so he could somewhat recognize the sound.

It was the sound of a reloading revolver.

"No time to think about that now!" Yosuke then shouted, "Go Jiraiya!"

Yosuke opened his eyes and watched as Jiraiya threw the shuriken into the ground, but it curved upward as the wind blades began digging into the ground. "Please work, please work...!" Yosuke grinned as he watched the shuriken disappeared into the ground, and the stone began to expand in a somewhat circular shape before collapsing like a deflated balloon. It raced to the knight, going underneath it just as it was raising its lance right at Yosuke. It raced behind the knight as it began to thrust back its hips...

...And then the shuriken shot out from its hiding place, slicing right through the knight's midsection and returned to Jiraiya who caught it.

It stood still for a moment before its body seemed to realize it was cut in half. The top half began to slide back before falling to the ground in a meaty splat. Black blood squirted out of it and the pixels dissappated...

...Revealing a fat Shadow dressed similarly to a cop. One that Yosuke saw before, yet different.

"Yosuke, did you get it?" Gyro asked, and Yosuke simply chuckled.

"Well dude, if I didn't I sure as hell wouldn't be talking to you..."

"Hardeharhar. You're a laugh riot." Johnny intoned sarcastically.

"What kind of Shadow was it Yosuke?" Teddie asked enthusiastically. "Come on, tell me!"

"It was kind of like that Fuzz one we fought before? But a bit different?" Yosuke then decided to add another detail. "Kept trying to stab... well, fire, at my buttons."

"Oh! That must be the Monomaniac Fuzz!" Teddie declared in glee. "Yeah, they only shoot at whatever has metal on them, though their bullets only go a few meters! Those grizzlies can be a bit tricky, but if you just lose everything metal on you they are harmless as a newborn cub!"

"Yeah, thanks for that tip Teddie..." Yosuke sighed out while scratching the back of his head as the two halves disappeared in black smoke. "That info would've helped a couple of minutes ago..."

"Did closing your eyes help at all Yosuke?" Rise asked, causing Yosuke to frown.

"Well... I could hear the thing actually loading its bullets, but that's it." Yosuke then blinked and asked, "Do you think something's up?"

"Yeah, but I still need a bit more to work on it." Rise then sighed. "It can wait. You think you can get to the exit?"

"Yeah, sure but..."

"But what?"

Yosuke could not help but blush as he looked at the door he had been trying to get to.

A door that lead to a tower, with the surface around it being carved in the visage of someone. A woman that happened to be naked with her 'legs' spread and the door between them.

Said woman looked a lot like Rise.

"Look, you'll find out soon enough just don't freak out and don't blame me." Yosuke then sighed. "Trust me, you guys will understand why I'm not saying anything just yet. Please don't kick me either Chie."

"What?! I don't always kick you!" Chie protested in anger, but Yosuke moved forward ignoring the rest of her indignant cries.

He could not help but look around. To his sides were a massive sprawling medieval castle. Filled with courtyards and massive walls, with statues either cracked or with overgrowth crawling around them. The stones of the walls seemed to glow in the pale grey sunlight that hung behind clouds, making the place rather beautiful.

Now why the hell did the psycho have to ruin it with doors in between stone legs and Shadow 'knights' with long and thick weapons held near crotch level?

"Maybe I'll ask him as I beat the shit out of him." Yosuke thought darkly to himself as his eyes spotted a knocked over statue just below him that looked vaguely like Saki.

Yosuke's thoughts regarding Saki were a confusion of anguish and longing. Anguish knowing that the girl secretly held him in contempt. That likely talked bad about him behind his back, who saw him as just another pain in the ass. By all accounts, Yosuke should be indifferent for her as a person.

Yet a part of him still yearned for her. His heart was still broken by her loss.

He had made a promise to himself that he would catch the murderer for Saki's sake.

But there was more to it than that.

Catching the murderer would settle things once and for all.

When he got his hands on this psychopath, made him pay and then handed him over to the cops...

...Perhaps then Yosuke would be able to bury the Saki in his heart and say 'goodbye' once and for all.

"Confessing how I felt in front of Johnny was step one." Yosuke gripped the door handle and turned it. He heard the victory music echoed out as he opened the door, seeing the familiar hallway of the dungeon. "This can be step two."

Even if Yosuke had to nearly die to get to this monster... Yosuke was going to settle this today.

One way or the other.

"I'm seriously gettin' sick of this music." Kanji declared aloud as the rest of the team ran forward, going past Hallways with the same features. One would think they hadn't made any progress if it weren't for the blue-colored stones.

Kanji never played much games. He usually just spent his free time loitering around shops, at least until his knees hurt. No tough guys in manga or television said anything about your knees becoming sore as all hell doing that. Or watching TV and doing his... hobby...

"Damn it, now isn't the time to be worrying about that..."

But even he could tell that this was lazy design.

Kanji wasn't like a machine when he made clothes or little cute dolls. Each one was made different. Different fabric, different accessories, different styles. "If I made everything similar, I would be bored outta my fuckin' goard."

But this seemed like someone who didn't have any imagination at all. Didn't want to put in the effort to make something unique. From what Gyro and the others told him about their levels, and Kanji's limited knowledge of pop culture, it was like this guy just took things he liked from other games and slapped them into his mind. And when he had to make something of his own he did a couple of hallways, thought that was good enough, then changed the colors in each floor to cover up the fact that he was basically just copy and pasting his own work.

It was actually kind of insulting when Kanji really thought about it.

Well, then again he probably shouldn't have expected much from a fuckin' psychopath who killed people for kicks.

"We all are, but unfortunately none of us had the foresight to bring a stereo or Next Pod. ." Johnny supplied up ahead with an almost visible roll of his eyes, and Kanji could not help but feel a bit of annoyance at that.

Johnny was a senior Kanji could respect. He took no shit from nobody and had brass balls, willing to put his neck on the line for his friends.

But he could be a real stubborn jackass that seemed to find something 'clever' to say at any situation.

"I would've brought some velvety tunes, but we aren't underground enough!" Gyro snickered at his own joke. "Get it? Because of the Velvet Underground!"

Everyone was silent, and Kanji felt compelled to say, "Uh... I don't think any of us know what that is Senpai."

"Is it a kind of snack?" Teddie asked hopefully.

Rise's suppressed snickering said otherwise though.

Gyro clicked his tongue and muttered out, "Nobody has any freakin' taste here..."

"Well, I like the music better than the place we just went through." Yukiko shuddered as she ran beside Kanji, looking back at Yosuke. "Couldn't you have warned us about the statues Yosuke-kun?"

Huh. Weird. Yukiko was actually calling Yosuke that more often now.

Yosuke rolled his eyes as he said, "Yeah, well I didn't want to be called a pervert by you guys. Sue me."

"Still, you could have warned us!" Chie shouted back, running alongside him and glaring at Yosuke. Her jacket was zippered up to hide all the sweat she shed from her 'level'.

Kanji could not help but blush and look away. He remembered having to go through that door, and it was freakin' embarrassing. "Don't think I can look at Rise for a bit now..."

Which was going to be hard, considering she was running ahead of him.

"By the way Rise, what was up with telling me to close my eyes?" Yosuke asked, and Rise frowned.

"I've been noticing something weird lately... like in that room, I couldn't 'see' what you guys were seeing on the tablet."

"Yeah, but that's because the meanie was trying to fool us!" Teddie shouted, and Rise shook her head.

"That's what I thought too, but then Gyro mentioned about how those soldiers of his seemed to become fuzzy after he bit hard on his cheek, focusing his sense of pain to one area..." Rise then bit her lip. "And then I wanted you to try that thing Yosuke, and what did you hear?"

Kanji had no idea what Rise was talking about, but then it began to dawn on him when Yosuke gave his response.

"I... heard a gun being reloaded. The gun that Fuzz Shadow was supposed to have." Yosuke admitted with a frown. "Which is weird, since the knight was fighting with a lance and I didn't hear a gun being fired..."

Kanji was never the brightest of students nor the most attentative, but he wasn't dumb.

"So... you think somethin's fucking with our ears and eyes?" Kanji asked, and was surprised when Rise nodded.

"Yeah, I don't know the extent of it but that's what I was thinking."

"But then how the hell are we walking around and going through loops and shit when we're just experiencing an illusion?" Johnny asked, and there was a trace of fear in his voice. "Just... just what the hell is the extent of this thing?"

That was a troubling question. Was this a Shadow's ability? If so, then when did it start? "Probably right when we got in here..."

If that was the case... just how powerful was this Shadow?

"Well, we can figure it out later." Gyro pointed forward. "We're already at the next level."

Everyone looked ahead and saw a giant 'wooden' door with the massive neon words 'MITSUO THE HERO RACE TO DESTINY' over them, blinking in and out. There were two wardrobes on each side for some reason, looking like they belonged to some rich person's estate but pixelated.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Johnny asked as they came to a stop in front of it. "The wardrobes?"

Gyro simply reached out to open the door, and a message blared over it covering the door and making Gyro's hand jerk back.

ONLY MAIN CHARACTERS CAN ENTER

"What the hell does that mean?" Kanji asked, and Yosuke frowned before he walked to the wardrobe to the left. He then opened it...

"Oh you gotta be kidding me."

Kanji and the others walked behind him and looked inside, causing their faces to fall. Inside were several costumes, and some of them were recognizable like the red plumber's outfit and the green tunic and hat, while others were a bit weird like the blue military coat with white lines as well as the white shirt and pants combo. And the leather tunic with fur around the arm openings, as well as the leather belt and loincloth that seemed to be supposed to cover what the piece of brown cloth could not.

Finally, there was a bright yellow cap with rabbit-like yellow ears tipped with black and a lightning bolt-like clip-on tail at the bottom.

But he could tell the theme of the outfits.

"He wants us to dress as video game characters!?" Rise asked incredulously. "He can't be serious!"

"I think he is." Gyro muttered gravely. "And maybe, with time, we could figure out this Shadow's power and ignore that requirement. But we don't have the time for that. So let's just dress up and get going."

"B-But what about our costumes!?" Chie pointed into the wardrobe. "There's only four outfits in there for you guys!"

"I think that's what the other wardrobe, Chie-chan!" Teddie pointed to the other wardrobe that Rise was walking to... and her face fell."

"Oh, that's just wrong."

Gyro grinned. "Dibs on the Mario outfit!"

Grumbling, the group ran to different rooms to change. Kanji made sure to avoid eye-contact with the others and went to the corner of the room in order to put on the only outfit that seemed to fit him. The sleeveless tunic would take some getting used to, and his bottom half was still a bit breezy in spite of Kanji keeping on his boxers. But the giant boots with fur around the openings and steel toes as well as the giant stainless steel armbands made Kanji feel like a badass.

Gyro had opted for the red and blue plumber's suit that seemed only slightly baggy for him, but the red cap with the red M in the center of the white circle in the front was tipped in a joking matter.

Johnny wore the green short-sleeved shirt with the long-sleeved white undershirt, the bottom of the green shirt reaching near his mid-thighs which were now covered in yellow pants and tucked into leather boots. His hands were also covered in leather gloves, and on his head was a large pointy green cap. If looks could kill, Johnny's would've keeled Kanji over right then and there.

Yosuke had opted for the blue military vest with white highlights, which remained open to show the white shirt, brown belt, and white pants with protective knee pads seemingly sewed into them. His boots and right glove were made of brown leather, but over his left arm wa as weird metal-like device.

Finally, Teddie wore the cap and tail. He bemoaned having to ruin his natural brand-image and fur, but would take one for the team at Johnny and Gyro's request.

But they didn't have it nearly as bad as the girls.

"Not a goddamn word." Chie growled out dangerously, shifting uncomfortably in her outfit. She wore a blue qipao with golden accents, as well as a blue leotard with dark brown sheer pantyhose (Though thankfully she kept her shorts on underneath). On her feet were white combat boots and around her wrists were spiked bracelets.

Rise was wearing a fluffy pink dress that reached to her shoes, and because Rise had to lift it a bit to walk around she revealed her ruby red slippers. The dress was also sleeveless, and Rise wore white gloves that reached to just above her elbows. In addition to that, Rise also wore a oval light blue gemstone on the center of her chest area which matched her rather massive blue gemstone earrings. To complete the image was a crown, one that was rather plain and unoriginal all things considered with a red gem in the front and two blue gemstones on the sides. Rise's costume also seemed to be ill-fitting, considering the shortness of her breath and how... tight the dress was in the chest area.

Yukiko had it the worst, standing in a one-piece skintight aqua blue suit with dark blue around the knees and sides. On her wrists were black and yellow bracelets and on her ankles were steel bracelets. She was shifting from side to side, consciously covering her right arm over her breasts even though the leather-like material would hide anyone seeing anything save for the size of her bust.

"...You guys look nice?" Johnny tried to compliment, but it received glares from the three girls and an extremely red face from Chie. "Okay, we all look ridiculous."

"Ain't that the truth." Kanji sighed as he rubbed the back of his head. "I feel ridiculous."

"Come on guys!" Have some fun with this!" Gyro laughed out with a grin. "Might as well!"

"Yeah!" Teddie shouted as he shoved the girls' original clothes inside himself alongside theirs. "Besides, these clothes are really neat! Especially you Rise-chan! You look beary pretty!"

"I'm sorry..." Yukiko muttered out, looking to the side.

"It's fine!" Rise attempted to assure Yukiko with a grin. "I-I get why you didn't want to wear this! I mean, I definetly wouldn't want to wear that swimsuit my Shadow was wearing!

Yosuke seemed to want to make the bear turn to a pile of smoldering ash with his glare alone. "Easy for you to say!" Yosuke shouted in anger. "All you had to do was put on a cap and some..."

"Wait." Everyone then turned to Johnny. "Do you guys hear that?"

Everyone was silent, and then they heard it.

The rattling of chains.

They sounded heavy, scraping and clinging against one another in a faint melodious noise. It reminded Kanji somewhat of wind chimes, but these did not fill him with calm. Oh no, these filled him with dread.

"Hide."

Everyone turned to Teddie, who for some reasoned seemed... pale. His fur had lost its color. and his eyes were widened with terror.

It was something Kanji had never seen from the bear.

"Teddie what are you…?" Johnny began, but Gyro cut him off.

"Everyone, to the corners. Now!"

Everyone ran to the corners. Gyro, Johnny, Chie, and Teddie on the right and Kanji, Rise, Yukiko, and Yosuke on the left. Now the chains were getting louder, and Kanji could hear them scraping. Now they were no longer melodious. Now they sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Kanji groaned as he put his hands over his ears, and grit his teeth. Part of him was begging someone, anyone, to stop the noise.

"For the love of god please stop before I go fuckin' nuts...!"

Then, it stopped.

Kanji peeked from behind the corner ever so slightly, followed by the others on the other side and behind him.

And down the hallway, they found the chains' originator.

It was a humanoid man, but one they had never seen before.

He... it... was wearing faded brown jeans stained in black and dried liquid. Its leather brown boots were stained with dust and looked worn, which matched the battered brown coat that reached its ankles. The spurs on his boots were steel but browned from rust, yet the stars points hadn't lost any of their sharpness. On its midsection was a brown belt and two slanted gun holsters, the straps filled with bullets and the coat swayed revealing two pistols. Colt .45s with white handles that were cracked yet polished.

"Bones. Oh Christ those are made from bones..."

The guns themselves looked well oiled and polished, reflecting what little light there was. The shirt it wore was white, but that was hidden by a worn rawhide vest. It's hands were grey and cracked, looking dead. Wrapped around its arms were rusted chains, the ends swaying by the armpits and wrist. It's face was hidden by a wide-brimmed brown hat.

But unfortunately, it lifted its head revealing a white bagged head. But torn on the right side. The area was stained red with blood and revealed a single piercing eye.

It stared at their direction for what could have been a minute but felt like hours. Sweat dripped from Kanji's face as it continued to stare, searching for them, and then turned and walked off in the opposite direction. Its chains clattering in the wind and movement.

Kanji waited until he couldn't hear the chains anymore, and let out the breath he didn't even know he was holding.

"T-The fuck was that!?" Kanji demanded from Teddie, who seemed to tremble.

"The Reaper. That was the Reaper..."

"Like the Grim Reaper?" Johnny asked fearfully, and Teddie nodded.

"Yeah... I guess. It's supposed to be the biggest and baddest Grizzly around! It kills Shadows and anything that get in its path! I-I don't even know what it does..." Teddie shivered in fright. "W-We need to get moving! Get into that door before it comes back!"

"Maybe we should head back." Johnny suggested, and everyone looked at him. "Look, if that thing is here then we shouldn't risk going forward today. We should wait however long it takes for that thing to leave and..."

"Like hell we are!" Yosuke shouted out. "I didn't come all this way to turn around now!"

"But..."

"Johnny, I'm scared to." Gyro admitted with a frown. "Everyone here is, there's no denying that. But we can't just turn around because something spooked us. We need to keep moving forward, no matter what."

"Besides." Chie supplied, her teeth bared in anger. "I waited a whole day to get this prick. I'm not turning around now when we are so close."

Johnny opened his mouth to argue... and then closed it, turning his head and clicking his tongue. "Fine, damn it. Let's go."

Kanji could get what Johnny was talking about, but honestly? Kanji also wanted to get this over with.

He owed these guys his life. He would've died if it wasn't for them.

Kanji hated owing people anything, and if he could repay them by taking down this creep today...

...Well, he wouldn't let the fact he almost pissed himself in terror get in his way.

Gyro nodded and opened the door. The room was black saved for the area they were standing in, and a voice echoed out:

WAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA!

How dare you stand against me for being a rotten orange?

Morooka draws near!

Command?

-Kill

Run

Mitsuo attacks!

Thou hast done well in Killing Morooka.

Thy Attention increases by 16.

Thy Fame increases by 17.

Thy Coolness increases by 3.

Y-you can't be serious..." Yosuke whispered, his eyes widened in horror. "All of this... Saki was killed..." Then, a fire lit in them. His teeth bared and clenched into a snarl, and his hands clenched into fists. "SO THIS PRICK COULD GET FAMOUS!?"

Kanji then noticed something else.

"Yosuke-senpai... is crying?"

Kanji had learned plenty of things as to what is expected from a 'real man'. A real man had to be tough, to take no shit from anybody. To keep shit like embarrassment and affection inside until private moments. That sewing and shit were for women and queers, and that last part caused no end of trouble for Kanji. His Shadow was proof of that.

And most importantly, real men don't cry.

Yet here Yosuke was, bawling like a baby and nobody gave him shit for it.

"Yosuke..." Chie placed her hand on him, but Yosuke stepped aside.

"I-I'm fine..." Yosuke sniffed out, wiping his eyes and glaring forward.

"Yosuke, if you need a moment..." Johnny began, but Yosuke shook his head and shot him a reassuring grin.

"Johnny... thanks man. But I'm fine." He glanced forward. "Let's just get that son of a bitch."

"Yeah!" Chie cheered out, pumping her fist into the air. "I got a score to settle with that creep!"

"Alright guys! CHAARGE!" Teddie was apparently pumped up by everything and ran forward, causing everyone to blink.

"No, wait Teddie don't!" Gyro shouted as Teddie raced past him.

But then, the lights went on and revealed the rest of the room.

What they were standing on was a massive, rainbow track that stretched on for what looked like miles, bending and twisting all over in various directions. There were different pitfalls and ramps, and below was what appeared to be utter blackness.

Ahead of them was a single old-styled stagecoach with what looked like four horses in front, neighing and sniffing the air in spite of being pixelated replicas.

Over them was a sign that had a simple message.

NOW THAT'S A-RACING!

[To Be Continued \]

Note: Here's a new chapter, fresh off the presses thanks to Kiiam!

Not much to talk about with this chapter. Though it might have to be due to the fact there's much more to work with regarding Mitsuo's dungeon. As you may have guessed, I don't exactly spend that much time 'exploring' the dungeons because I like to get to the parts that actually stand out (namely, the Shadows and the feelings of the characters regarding their Shadows). For the most part, the dungeons of Persona 3 & 4 are... pretty boring. Not much to work with, and that only changed in Persona 5 with the Palaces. And considering that Mitsuo's dungeon was the catalyst for the Palaces, I had a lot more fun changing up things with the 'mini games' and tying them up with Mitsuo's fucked up headspace.

I had much more fun with this chapter considering all the references to video games I made (Feel free to guess what's a reference to what series, especially if I didn't already name it outright).

I'm also working on something special. Can't tell you what it is, but it's a one-shot. If you want to know what at least half of the subject matter is involved, I'll leave you a clue in the form of a quote:

"Time is the school in which we learn, time is the fire in which we burn." - Belmore Schwartz

Also, Part 5 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is finally out! It's a real treat seeing Giorno being fully animated and voiced, especially since he's one of my favorite JoJo's (however Johnny is still my very favorite. Otherwise why would I be writing such a long story centered around him?).

Please tell me what you think in reviews, and add to the TV Tropes page if you have the time.

Until next time, peace.