eatsyourscience | (no subject)

(no subject)

To begin with, it was Naoto's idea to check up on things in the TV world, and it had become so normal to spend rainy afternoons inside that Souji agreed without requiring much in the way of an explanation, though she provided one anyway. He agreed with all the points she made--that they should keep an eye on the movements of the fog, the density of shadows in various places, if anything had changed since Adachi's defeat--but more than anything, he was beginning to miss that world and the time they spent there.

Chie and Yukiko passed, and so did Kanji when Souji tracked him down at lunch, but Rise was happy to accompany them--a good thing, because Souji didn't think it would be wise to go in without her--and so were Yousuke and Teddie, who agreed with Naoto about the importance of keeping an eye on what was going on in that world. Souji couldn't blame him.

Inside, everything seemed the same. Even the damp smell, the feeling of the fog against his cheeks in odd juxtaposition to the way it vanished in the view through his glasses were the same. He asked Rise to do a scan of the area, but wasn't expecting her excited, staccato announcement that there was a new area she hadn't seen before.

When Kanzeon vanished, Souji glanced around to find everyone looking at him and he almost smiled at how comfortable it had become to see them relying on him. He gave a slight nod and with Rise directing him, led the way past locations they already knew.

They stopped when the ground disappeared in front of them. An expanse of open, empty space spread in front of them, filled with a swirling fog that he could see. Resisting the urge to remove his glasses and clean them, Souji squinted. All that was visible were what looked like several bare, unornamented platforms hovering in the air, each at a greater distance than the last from where they stood.

He looked around, then down, then took a step into open space. Rise called out after him, but trailed off when a walkway materialized beneath his feet, extending for a short distance ahead of him. A few steps across what looked and felt like smooth, gray stone confirmed that it would continue to appear ahead of him as he walked instead of leaving him to step blindly and hope he hadn't come to a corner without noticing. Hefting his sword a little higher, he looked back and nodded to the others that they should proceed.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"There can't be any more than you have persona," Naoto interjects, "And there's no way you can take them on alone in your current state regardless."

They didn't find him to be arrogant as much as they found him self-sacrificing. He was special. He was better equipped than any of them to continue on.

They say the captain goes down with the ship, but this crew wasn't going anywhere either.

Souji sighs, but it's inaudible. "We should rest first, then."

Naoto nods.

"How does our stock of items look? We may end up having to rely on them more than usual. There's no need to squander them now."

"Oh, oh!" Teddie flails one arm. "I have some that'll help with our magic!"

Souji crouches on the pathway, his sword propped against his shoulder. "Let's save those as long as we can."

Yousuke sits down next to him.

"We gotta play it careful now. Keeping alive is priority number one. Defend when you have to and heal whenever anyone's down. We've got all the time in the world, right? No sneak attacks to worry about at least."

He knows there's one thing he's good at, and that's filling up silence. At his partner's side, he's almost a verbal crutch as Souji deals with whatever worries plagued him at the moment.

Souji nods in agreement as Rise pipes up.

"Y-yeah! That's right, Yousuke-senpai! As long as we keep everything in perspective and we keep calm, we'll be fine!" She turns quickly to Naoto, her voice cheerful, though a bit forced. She needs Naoto's brand of logical, calm reassurance now. "Right, Naoto-kun?"

Naoto is quiet as she thinks over her words, as always.

"...We've certainly fought equally uneven odds before."

Wow, go positive thinking there Naoto.

Rise's expression echoes the narration, but then she smiles again. It's something, at least.

"Don't worry, guys! I'll scan the area and see if I can find anything!"

Souji doesn't think she will find anything, but at least she's staying optimistic. He sighs again and looks at Yousuke.

"Alright?"

"We're ready to go when you are, partner."

Rise's scan doesn't turn anything up and Souji isn't surprised. He waits until she's given them the news and then heaves himself back to his feet. He gives everyone a moment to prepare, then steps onto the next platform.

It's less that the next set of fights are more difficult than those before and more that the group has already reached its limit. With no choice but to move on, they batter their way through Fortune, Justice, and Star, leaving Souji with three Personas and no energy by the time the last platform comes into view.

That last platform has to be the last one, the number reading 22. Everyone takes a slight pause. If they were right, Souji's shadow would be just beyond, and if that was true, what might be the most difficult fight of their lives.

"Let's just run right in," Yousuke says, out of breath, "If we stop here we'll lose momentum. We can't afford to slow down now."

"For once, I agree with Yousuke-senpai. I think we've already done our deliberating."

"Let's do it, sensei!" Teddie stands on one foot, his opposite arm raised high.

With a nod, Souji steps forward and immediately stumbles as his last three Personas disappear. His mind, his heart are suddenly empty, silent, cavernous. It's dizzying and nauseating and he just wants to lie down on the ground and not move.

"Woah, partner--!"

Yousuke's arm is immediately out to catch Souji as he stumbles. He looks around, fully alert for any sort of danger, but he doesn't see anything... It's so vast and empty, even moreso than before. Naoto holds her pistol out in front of her, steady as can be, turning in slow and careful circles as she maps out the area.

It's not until he's absolutely sure he can that he looks to Souji again.

"You okay? What happened?"

"They're gone."

He's short of breath, like the air in his lungs is solidifying.

There's a soft laugh that makes Souji look up. He swears there was no one there when they stepped onto the platform, but he's there now. He is. Or a part of him, he guesses.

It's surreal, looking at his own Shadow. He's seen all the others, withholding judgment because no one can be all roses and rainbows and candy, everyone has something they're hiding, but he's never faced himself like this.

He doesn't look right though, and it's not just the yellow eyes. The left side of his face is hidden by a mask and the hole over his eye shows only blackness, no yellow glow. The arm on that side of his body is hidden by a sleeve that's much too long, though the rest of his clothes look the way they should. Souji doesn't know what that's about, but he's not giving it much thought just now.

"They're..."

Yousuke stops his sentence short. He answers his own question.

Persona.

But he doesn't have time to sympathize. As soon as that shadow appears, all he can do is focus on the task at hand. If he didn't they may all very well end up dead.

This isn't like other shadows though. They don't feel like they have the luxury to reason. Even Naoto's insatiable curiosity is dampened by the desperate nature of their current situation. She doesn't even tilt her gun down. She's ready to pop a cap in this thing's forehead if the conditions look right.

"What are you?"

The Shadow isn't in nearly as much of a hurry as them, but it is part of Souji. It's not the type to rant.

Deadpan sarcasm, on the other hand, it can do.

"If you don't know that, I've really underestimated you all this time."

This was positively unnerving. In the past, the pattern had always been that when they met a shadow, it was from someone they didn't know, or had just met. It was a stranger, just like they were. But now to face the darkest sides of their trusted leader...

"You'll have to forgive me," Naoto bites back, "I'm afraid we've never met a shadow in this way before."

"Everything's been really methodical, hasn't it? Even the unpredictable things were." The Shadow tilts his head and looks to the side. "Especially me. I guess you can't appreciate these kinds of surprises."

"Humans tend to react badly when their lives are in danger, yes," she replies, pistol still trained on the shadow, "This surprise isn't exactly on our terms."

Yousuke looks to Souji. This was his shadow. It was up to him...

"Partner?"

Souji nods and draws himself up to his full height. It's time. He has to do this.

His Shadow watches him, then holds up his hands, one still hidden in his sleeve, fanning out a set of dark blue cards. He looks at them.

"I have something that belongs to us. To you. To me. But they look really fragile when I see them this way. Little fragments of a person."

He drops the cards and they circle him like satellites.

Calm as ever, at least on the outside, Souji steps forward. "I'd like them back."

Naoto glances at him sideways, and with what looks like reluctance, takes a step back. She lines herself with Yousuke

"An extremely powerful shadow, as we predicted. The others before it were most likely drawn to him... And any smaller ones would quickly clear the way."

"You say that like you're not also a part of me, Naoto. Like you weren't also drawn to me."

Souji wants to make a distinction here, a correction. These are his friends and his Personas and his unbreakable bonds. He clenches his teeth around the words, because this is a part of him and he has to accept it. He knows that. But it still feels like he's facing a thief.

Rise comes to his rescue, at least momentarily. "Don't worry, senpai! No matter what parts of you we haven't seen, you're still you."

Souji and his Shadow offer her synchronous smiles.

Naoto falters. A part of...? The shadows words make her think back to the time that Souji helped her solve her mystery, and help her remember what she loved-- being a detective! And she has no idea why. Being drawn. How was someone drawn to another person?

"It's okay man," Yousuke tries to reason along with Rise, "This is nothing. We've been through enough, it doesn't matter what this guy can say. What we have can trump anything he has up his damn sleeve!"

"It does matter."

Souji frowns but the Shadow continues.

"It matters, Yousuke. It matters because it's something you don't know about the guy who knows everything about you. It matters to you, maybe even more than it matters to me. It'll make us even."

Yousuke pauses for a split second-- and he hates himself for it. He bristles quite visibly to have such a thing mentioned and used against him. That was important, and private, and special.

"We're already even. Don't bait me with something like that, it won't work."