Part 39: 6/8/09

6/8/09

Ugh, long day. I figured I’d grab Yukari and Junpei and bug Ekoda about Fuuka at lunch.

Video- “Ekoda and the Plan”

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> You decide to ask the teacher about the missing girl, Fuuka Yamagishi, today…
> Gekkoukan High School, faculty office…
> You came to ask Mr. Ekoda about Fuuka Yamagishi’s disappearance…

Mitsuru got there first, though, and was already getting ready to tear into him when we arrived.



> Someone is already at Mr. Ekoda’s desk…
> It’s Mitsuru and another student…
Oh, Mitsuru-senpai. Why are you here?
Same reason as you.
Mr. Ekoda, I’m here to ask you about a student named Fuuka Yamagishi…
No!!
I-I never thought it’d turn out like this…
Fuuka…
Wait… You’re that girl…
What did you do to Yamagishi?
Hold on, Mitsuru… This isn’t an interrogation.
Natsuki, you don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.
You wouldn’t want to give her the wrong idea.

Wouldn’t want to tell her what he’s been trying to cover up to save his own ass is more like it.



She always looked so frazzled whenever I gave her a hard time…
Then, I realized… She’s an honor student, but deep inside, she’s just the same as us.
I knew exactly which buttons to push…
We were just messin’ with her that day, too!
May 29th…
We took Fuuka to the gym… and locked the door from the outside…
What!? You locked her in!?
That night, Maki returned to school alone. She was afraid we’d get in trouble if Fuuka committed suicide.
But, she never came back… and the next morning…
…She was found lying on the ground by the gate.
I went to the gym to let Fuuka out, but the door was still locked…
So, I opened it and went inside, but she wasn’t there…

Really, being attacked by Shadows couldn’t have happened to a nicer group of people.



But every night, another one of us went missing… and they each ended up like Maki!
I see…
By the way, Mr. Ekoda… All this time, you’ve attributed Yamagishi’s absences to “illness.”
But in reality, she was missing. You must have been aware of that…
…What was your intention?
I was thinking of the students, of course.
You children may not understand, but we have to consider the future of everyone affected.
You mean, you chose not to report this to the police for the “good of the class.”
It-It was in her best interest.
I wouldn’t want her records to be stained by something like this. Her parents agree!
So to protect your career, you ignored your responsibility as a teacher…
How despicable…!
* gasp *
I-I didn’t… I was just…

Ekoda was pretty lucky that Mitsuru had more important things to do than continue to trash him, he’ll be lucky if she doesn’t get him fired for this.



…Anything at all.
……
They all heard a voice…
…A creepy voice.
…Right before each of them went missing.
They said it was calling their name.
Oh, man…
Senpai, could it be…!?
It’s them… no doubt about it.
Until now, there was no way of knowing how or why some people are conscious during the Dark Hour…
But, it’s the voice; it draws them in. It’s not a random phenomenon.
This whole thing has made me realize… They’re clearly targeting humans.
Shadows are the enemy of mankind.
Stay at our dorm tonight; it’s the safest place.
If you hear the voice, tell us immediately.
And don’t leave the room, no matter what.
If you can do that much, you should be okay.
…Don’t worry, Yamagishi should be alright as well.
Fuuka…

So we decided to get together and figure out what to do about Fuuka.



Iori and Takeba, too.
We’ll meet after school in the Student Council Room to discuss tonight’s operation.
T-Tonight!?
We’re going to rescue Yamagishi.
If my guess is right, she’s still inside the school.
U-Understood!

It was risky, but there was only one thing to do.



> Everyone gathered is wearing a stern face…
Tonight, we will infiltrate the campus. Our objective is to rescue Fuuka Yamagishi.
Um, I don’t get it… Is Fuuka inside the school somewhere?
And why at night? At midnight, this place turns into—
Exactly.
That’s how Yamagishi wandered into Tartarus.
Then, ever since Fuuka got locked in the gym, she’s been stuck there…?
…That’s correct.
But, that was ten days ago!
That means…
Not necessarily. We can’t jump to conclusions.
Tartarus only appears during the Dark Hour. So, what about the rest of the day?
Now that you mention it…
This is only a theory, but I think time may function differently with respect to Tartarus.
So, even though it’s been ten days for us, perhaps only ten hours have passed for her.
It’s possible she’s still alive.

And as long as that possibility existed, we had to try.



Uh, but the Dark Hour is pretty brutal…
Wecan barely handle an hour; how’s she gonna last ten!?
That’s true…
And, even if she’s still alive, we might not be able to get to her…
Are you just gonna let her die, then!?
…I have an idea.
Let’ try to enter Tartarus exactly hoe Fuuka did.
We’ll go to the gym, and wait for midnight. That’s the quickest way.
Is that really gonna work…?
Honestly, I have reservations.
If something goes wrong, you could all end up lost in Tartarus, too.
But…
I won’t stand by and do nothing if there’s a chance we can save her…
…I’d never forgive myself.
If you guys don’t want to go, then I’ll go by myself.

I at least wasn’t going to let him go it alone.



…Alright.
We’re aware of the risks, but we can’t just leave her there.
I agree. And we won’t know until we try.
Cool, we get to sneak into the school!
Heheh… In that case, I know just what to do…
…Huh?

Things were looking bad for a bit when we couldn’t get a hold of the Chairman.

Video- “At Night”

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> Everyone is ready to go rescue Fuuka Yamagishi…
This is a bit worrisome… I can’t get ahold of the Chairman.
I guess we can handle it ourselves.
There’s one problem, though.
Without the Chairman’s help, I’m not sure how we can get inside the school…
No need to worry, I’ve got it all set to go.
Set to go…?
An explosive?
* chuckle * Alright, I’ll let you handle this.
We won’t have time to waste. Let’s go.

Junpei actually did something well for once, though.



…Nah…
……
All I did was unlock a door…

Anyway thanks to him we got in the school easily enough.



See? We got in no problem. Man, I’m a genius!
Is that really something to brag about?
So, you unlocked it earlier… Tres bien!
Oui.
No time for compliments. Let’s go.
What’s the big deal, anyway…?
Tray Ben…? What is that, French?
Lousy seniors and their lousy French…

We planned out the next part of the operation in room 2-F.



Can we turn on the lights…?
Aww, you scared?
No!
…Stupei.
Stop callin’ me that!
Quiet.
It’s better if we leave ‘em off. They cut the power at night anyway.
I don’t like sneaking around…
First, we have to find the key to the gym.
We’ll split up into two groups and meet in the main hallway on the first floor. Understood?
The Faculty Office, huh…?
Hey, maybe we’ll find some test questions! Heheh…
Are you planning something unscrupulous under my supervision?
If so, then expect to be severely punished…
It-It was a joke! I’d never do something like that! Ha, haha…
…Perhaps I’d best take Iori with me to the janitor’s room.
Tolstoy, head to the faculty office. I leave it to you who to take along with you.

I figured we should have a senior with each group.



Very well. Then Takeba will accompany us to the janitor’s room. We’ll meet back up in the main hallway.

We almost ran into a security guard on the way to the faculty office.



……?
Hold up, someone’s coming!
> The footsteps are getting closer…
Who’d be here at this hour…?
We should hide.
> The two of you hid behind a pillar…
> The footsteps faded away…
Whew… Just a security guard.
Will we get arrested?
Haha… Well, considering that we’re sneaking around the faculty offices after hours, we’d at least be expelled.
Let’s just make sure we’re not caught.
…Alright, he’s gone.
Let’s go.

Fortunately there was nobody still in the office.



> The two of you searched for the key…
Here, I found it! The gym storage key!
Wasn’t it the gym key?
Huh!?
…I-I see.
……
> Akihiko is rummaging through the keys…
> …You spot a key right next to where he’s looking.
> It says “Gym” on it…
No good… It’s not here.
Must be in the janitor’s room, where Mitsuru and the others went.

I mean we couldn’t leave without it.



I found it. Let’s go.
Oh, so you had it.
Well, why didn’t you just say so?
…Well, at least we found it. C’mon, let’s find the others!
> Obtained Gym Key.
They said to meet up in the main hallway, right? We should get going.

They’d already given up at the janitor’s room when we arrived.



Did you find the key?
Yeah, piece of cake!
We’ll divide into teams again.
Three of you will enter Tartarus, and one of you will remain outside with me.
Once the Dark Hour has begun, I’ll determine Yamagishi’s position.
I’ll go.
You should come, too. You can take the lead, like always.
Um, then, I’ll be the third—
Wait a second…!
Remember how I accidentally screwed up on the monorail?
Gimme a chance to make up for that!
Oh, come on! It’s not always about YOU!
Besides, you didn’t “accidentally” screw up.
Alright, Junpei, we’ll give you another shot.
Sweet! Thanks!
Seriously…!?
What’s wrong, Yukari? You don’t want to stay behind with Mitsuru?
Um, n-no, it’s fine.
It’s almost time.
Let’s go!

I think if Junpei had known what we’d be in for he would have preferred to stay behind.

Video- “Lost in Tartarus”

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I…
* sigh *
……
…I’m all alone, after all…
……
Fuuka…
Hm…?
No… No! I don’t wanna hear this!
…calling me…
I… I have to go…
…tell her I’m sorry…
……
Fuuka…

The Dark Hour came, as it always does.



> Yukari and Mitsuru are waiting at the entrance…
Umm…
We still haven’t heard back from them… The transceiver’s sensitivity is set to high, too…
……
O-Oh yeah, that girl, Natsuki… I hope she’s okay at the dorm…
Unfortunately, no place is completely safe in the Dark Hour.
But, we couldn’t possibly bring her here, and one of us staying behind was out of the question.
Yeah… I guess so…
……
…But, we’re all here for Fuuka’s sake—
Mitsuru, can you hear me?
This is Mitsuru. I’ve confirmed your position.
You’re higher up than I expected… You’re barely in communication range.
Is everyone alright?
…don’t know… …got separ…
Akihiko! Come in, Akihiko!
…Is he out of range? I’m starting to get worried…

I’m not sure what happened but I woke up in Tartarus. And I wasn’t totally alone…



> You appear to be inside Tartarus…
> But you don’t see Akihiko or Junpei…
> You can’t hear Mitsuru, either…
Are you awake?
> ……!?
This is the first time we’ve spoken outside of your room.
Why are you here?
* chuckle * I told you, remember? I’m always with you.
But, we don’t have much time to talk.
Tonight, there is more than one ordeal you must face…
You should hurry… She’s waiting for you.
You guys will need her.
Okay, then… I hope we can speak again.
> The mysterious boy disappeared…

I was alone again, and it was almost impossible to get a line to Mitsuru.



Are… you… alri--?
…distance… too far. …can’t provi-- …back up.
……
You got s-- …from Akihi—
……
> Communication has been lost.

Things got a bit weird next time, it was like there was someone else on the line with us.



…Akihiko and… aren’t… this floor…
……
Mysterious Voice: Who’s there…?
…Are you human?
……
> Communication has been lost.

There was nothing to do but push ahead as best I could.



What’s y-- …current loca-- …Reply immed—
……
Mysterious Voice: Where am I…?
Why am I here…?
Please answer me…
……
> Communication has been lost.

I’m still sorry there was no way for us to talk with her then.



Can y-- …hear me? …Please ans—
……
Mysterious Voice: Is someone there…?
Please answer me…
……
> Communication has been lost.

Fortunately, I found Akihiko and Junpei after too long.

Video- “Fuuka”

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Man, we were worried about you.
I don’t think we should enter Tartarus this way again…
Oh yeah! Did you hear a voice while you were in here?
Uh, kinda like—
Mysterious Voice: Who is this…? Are you human?
Th-That’s it! That’s the voice!
It sounded liked it came from behind us…

It turned out that was because Fuuka was behind us.



> A girl is looking your way from the shadows…
Are you Fuuka Yamagishi?
Y-Yes…!
Wow, you’re alive! That’s awesome!
Never fear, Junpei’s here!
I’m glad you’re okay…
Come with us.
Thank you so much… I…
Looks like we made the right decision. I’ll see if I can contact Mitsuru.
Where are we…? I was at school, and then…
Well… it’s a long story. I’ll explain after we get outta here.
Mitsuru, can you hear me?
……
…No good. All I hear is static.
Oh yeah, are ya hurt?
Have you run into any monsters?

As it turned out, Fuuka hadn’t had a problem with the Shadows.



I’ve managed to avoid them so far…
Are you serious!?
How’s that possible!?
Umm, it’s hard to describe, but… I can sort of tell where they are…
Whaddya mean? Are you psychic?
She has the same power as Mitsuru…
…Maybe even stronger…
…since Mitsuru’s Persona is more battle-oriented.
Persona…?
Hang on to this.
> Akihiko gave Fuuka an Evoker…
* gasp * B-But, this is…!
This of it as a lucky charm. It’s not really a gun.
Um… okay…?
Alright, let’s get outta here!

As we passed through Tartarus trying to find a way out, we came to a horrible realization.



Whoa, check out the moon!
…I’ve never seen it so bright.
Some research indicates that the Shadows are affected by the phases of the moon.
Of course, the same can be said for humans.
That would explain Yuka-tan’s mood swings.
Hey, wasn’t it a full moon the night we went to the monorail?
Was it?
I think so… Why?
Hey, did you see the moon on the night the dorm was attacked, back in April?
I think it was full…
Today is the 8th… The monorail incident happened last month around the same time…
And the assault on the dorm was a month before that! …They were all during a full moon!
Mitsuru, are you there!?

We were too late, though. It seemed Mitsuru and Yukari were already under attack.



Hey, can you hear me? Mitsuru, come in!
…Be caref…
Mitsuru!? Mitsuru!!
…What is this thing…?
It’s much bigger than the others… and it’s attacking someone…
Dammit!!
Wh-What’s going on!?
It’s one of THEM! If my guess is right, they come every full moon!
…We have to hurry!
H-Hey! Wait for me!

Akihiko wasn’t quite right though. It wasn’t one of them. It was two.



> Mitsuru and Yukari are having trouble against the giant Shadows that suddenly appeared…
Ugh… uh…
What’s going on!? Nothing’s working!
Mitsuru!
What in the world…!?
Akihiko-senpai! We gotta distract those Shadows somehow!
I know just how to do it… Hey! If it’s a fight you want, we’ll give it to you!
Be careful… Normal attacks won’t work on these Shadows.

And then things got even worse, because that girl Natsuki walked in. I guess the Shadows had called her.



> Someone entered the lobby from outside Tartarus…!
F-Fuuka…
Why are you here!?
…Moriyama-san!?
Please, get out of here! It’s dangerous!!
I… I wanted to tell you… I’m sorry…
Hey! Look out!
Moriyama-san!
I need to protect her!
> Fuuka put the gun to her temple…

Fuuka’s really an amazing person, to have risked herself to save someone who’d treated her so badly.



I think her resolve is really what saved us here.



Fuuka-san…!?
A Persona…?
…I can see…
I… I can sense these monsters’ weaknesses, somehow…
…Just as I thought.
Mitsuru, let her take your place.
We’ll take care of this!

With her backing us up these damned Shadows never stood a chance.

Video- “Showdown”

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Boss Battle: Empress and Emperor
Okay, this fight is either a pain in the ass if you don’t know what’s going on or simplicity itself. As the fight starts, Empress is immune to magic and vulnerable to physical attacks and Emperor is immune to physicals and vulnerable to magic. So, what you want to do is hit her and magic him with each character to ideally drop three All-Out Attacks on them. They actually hit pretty hard so you want to minimize the number of turns they’ll get. This is especially important because they have a skill called Paradigm Shift that lets them shuffle their properties around. You probably want to try and kill them before that can happen. This is probably even easier than the Priestess, honestly.

We smashed them aside with the intelligence she provided.

Video- “Victory”

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Don’t worry, it’s over.
Fuuka… You…
A-Are you alright…?
Yeah…
Thank goodness…
> Fuuka fell unconscious…
Fuuka!?
It’s alright. She’s just exhausted.
Fuuka…
Fuuka, I…
Where did these two Shadows come from?
From somewhere outside of Tartarus, just like before…
I see…

Natsuki won’t remember the details of what happened, but I don’t think she’ll forget how much she realized she’d hurt Fuuka.



Don’t worry, she’s not like us, so she won’t remember any of it.
The good news is, she didn’t fall victim to the Shadows, even though she obviously heard their call.
She should be safe from now on.
But, that means she’ll forget Fuuka saved her life, right?
That doesn’t seem fair…
Actually, I don’t think it’ll matter.
I’m sorry, Fuuka… I’m so sorry…
I think she’s learned her lesson.
I’m sorry… * sob *

Well we pulled it off. I’m dead tired, but any one you walk away from.



> You wonder about the mysterious boy who appeared again…
> His warnings seem to be more than just dreams…
> ……
> You are too exhausted to make any sense of it right now.
> You decide to rest as soon as you get back to the dorm…