Part 4: 4/14/11

4/14/11

If there weren't two other people who would swear today happened just the way I'm writing now I'd assume I was totally fucked in the head. Normally when your day starts with a teacher in an Egyptian headdress that's the weirdest thing that happens in that day.

VIDEO- "The Next Day"

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Ms. Sofue: First, a little about me. I love to use my dowser to look for lost items, and there's nothing quite like a romance.
In fact, world history is a magnificent romance. History is like a river; it was born in the past and flows ever forward.
I hope we can all enjoy the profundity of history together. Hohoho.
And since this is my first lecture, I'll start with an easy question.
Our transferee, Mr. Seta, please stand up.
When did A.D.-in other words, Anno Domini-begin?

Too easy.



Ms. Sofue: Ah, you seem to understand this well. And does anyone know what B.C. stands for? Oh, I'll just tell you.
Before Christ, or the years before Christ was born.
This is, of course, the way we count our years today, but it wasn't adopted in Western Europe until the 15th century.
Hohoho, it was around that time that there were many religious wars and power shifts occurring.
Anyhow, the world's beliefs have been in an ever-flowing tide since humanity began to emphasize religion.
Most holidays are related to religion, you know. If you do some research, you may find some interesting facts.
But regardless of the culture or the tradition, the tide decides who will survive in the present and the future.
And those survivors ensure that their will is passed down to the next generation…
…But now it's time to start from the beginning. Let's take a look at the origin of civilization…

Everyone was still talking about the murder. Can't say I blame them. Yosuke was freaking too.



Sitting Girl: Is it supposed to be like, mimicking an execution? It's messed up…
Short Girl: My senpai told me it was a third-year named Saki who found the body.
Y-Yo. Um…
It's, uh, it's not really that important, but…
Well, yesterday on TV, I…
Oh, uhh… Never mind. Look, I'll tell you later. Ahaha…

Chie was excited about the rumors going around.



Saki-senpai's supposedly the one who discovered that body.
I wonder if that's why she looked so down… She doesn't seem to be at school today either.
Huh? Hey Yukiko, are you helping out at the inn today too?
Things are really out of hand right now… I'm sorry.

I wasn't the only one who noticed she seemed really run down. And that wasn't the only thing to talk about…



I guess they're running her ragged…
By the way, did you see… it… last night?
Huh…?
Uh, well… What about you?
I did! I seriously saw a girl!
But… my soulmate's a girl? What's that supposed to mean?
I couldn't quite tell who it was, but it was a girl for sure…

Chie described the exact person I'd seen…



Hey… I think that's the same person I saw.
I couldn't make out that much detail, though. The image I saw was much blurrier…
Wait, so you saw it too!?
And we saw the same girl…? Does that mean… we have the same soulmate?
How should I know?
How 'bout you? Did you see it?

I decided to tell them about last night's little fiasco. I mean, if they'd seen the Midnight Channel maybe all the other stuff hit them too.



It sounds like we all saw the same person…
But weird voices aside, what was that about getting sucked into your TV…?
Were you that tired last night? You must've just fallen asleep in front of your TV.
That'd be one interesting dream, though.
I like the part where you got stuck 'cause your TV was too small. That's pretty realistic.
Well, if it had been bigger, the-

Chie took a break from mocking me when she reminded herself of something. I'd say something but for the whole lightning reflexes and brutal accuracy thing.



Oh yeah? Well, flatscreen TVs are definitely in these days.
Wanna go check 'em out on the way back? We're beefing up our electronics department this month.
Oh, definitely! My parents don't know anything about electronics, and I've gotta see my kung-fu movies on the big screen!
Hwa-taaaa!
We've got some pretty big ones in stock. I bet they'd be big enough for you to fit into, hehe.
> They don't believe you at all…
> You decided to go to Junes with the others.

I was sure I was never going to live that story down.

VIDEO- "At Junes"

Click Here For Video!

I dunno… Rich folks?
Honestly, not many people shop for TVs here. That's why we don't have clerks around.
Huh… Not worth trying then, I guess. Well, at least looking's free.
…Nope, can't get in. Figures.
Haha, this proves it. It was all just a dream.
Besides, these flat-screen TVs are so thin, you'd just end up on the other side…
Argh, what am I saying!?
So, Chie. What kind of TVs are you guys in the market for?
O-Oh, they said they wanted one that's cheap. You got any suggestions?

They walked away to the smaller TVs nearby, while I kept just looking at this one. Something was bothering me about it.



Wha-that's not cheap at all! There's way too many zeroes!
I should've asked what you meant by "cheap" right off the bat.
You've got connections, right? C'mon, hook me up!
You know I can't do that…
Hey, how about this one over here? It's a display unit and it's a little old, but…
> With a TV this big, you really might be able to go inside…

Just to prove to myself it was all a dream, I reached out to touch the screen.



And went straight through it.



Yosuke picked that moment to turn around and ask me about something.



Huh? Something wrong, Yosuke?
I-Is his arm… in the TV…?
Whoa…
Uhhh… Is that some kinda… new model? L-Like with a new function?
Hell no!

They ran over to see what was up. For my part, I wasn't sure whether I was happy or sad to be proven right.



Oh man… This is for real… That's some magic trick, man!
So how's it work, huh!? What's the magician's secret!?
> Both of them are staring at you, astonished…
> You might be able to put in more than just your arm…

This was one of those things that seemed like a good idea at the time.



Oh my God!
> There's empty space inside…
> You tell them that.
Wh-What do you mean, "inside"!?
Wh-What do you mean, "empty space"!?
> It seems very spacious in here…
Wh-What do you mean, "spacious"!?
I mean, what's going on!?
Holy crap… I-I think this is all too much for my bladder…

Oh, Yosuke.



I've been holding it in all day! I-I haven't had a chance to go…
Aaarrgh! Can't… hold it… anymore…!
Shit! Customers! They're coming!
What!? But we've got a guy half stuck in a TV here!
Wh-What're we gonna do!?

And then they panicked, and we learned that as long as I'm stuck in the TV anyone can fall in. Who knew?



It felt like we were going to fall forever.

VIDEO- "The Hollow World"

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But eventually you always hit bottom.



The damn place was a sea of fog.



Everything was sort of strange and staticky, too.



I was feeling okay, but I wanted to make sure the others were fine.



I think my butt's cracked now…
Of course it is!
Whoa!
Wh-What now!? Did you wet your pants!?
No, stupid! Look around!

If we looked closely, we could see our surroundings through the fog.



Is this… a studio?
All this fog… Or is it smoke?
There's no place like this in Inaba, is there…?
Hell no…
But man… this place is huge…
What're we gonna do…?



G-Good plan!
Look, we need to get home and--!
H-Huh…?
Wait a minute… Which way did we come in from?
I don't see a way in… or out!
What? That can't be right! H-How could that be!?
I don't know! Don't ask me!
I can't take this anymore! I wanna go home!!
Okay… so how!?

What we needed was a damn way out.



Y-Yeah, an exit! We need to find one!
Let's calm down and think about this.
All right, so we need to find a way out.
Is there really a way outta here…?
We got in… so we must be able to get out somehow.
That's true, but…
If there's no exist, we're trapped, so let's cross our fingers and look around.

Yosuke's sense of direction is infallible, by the way. You know, if you're wanting to become even more lost.



It looks like we're in some kinda building, but… Damn, this fog's so thick, I can hardly see.
Are you sure we're not wandering further away?
I can't be positive, but we've gotta trust our instinct a little.
I know, but…
> It seems that there's no choice for now but to continue onward…

We ended up in some creepy room. Looked sort of like a hotel room or something. You know, in hell.



No service. What a surprise…
Can't you guys slow down a little? It's hard enough to see where you're going…
Huh? What the…!?
It's a dead end! There's no exit!
It keep getting creepier and creepier the further we go…
Aargh! I can't hold it any longer…
My bladder's gonna explode…!
Yosuke!? What're you doing!?

I had to agree with Chie here.



You're going here!? Oh, you have got to be kidding…
T-Turn around! I can't go if everyone's watching!
Aaaaargh… I can't do it! It's all your fault if my bladder bursts!
Like I care…
Anyways… what's with this room?
Check out these posters… Their faces are all cut out…
Somebody must really hate this person…

And it just got worse and worse.



It's tied in a noose… Is this a scarf?
C'mon… Let's go back to where we came from, and look somewhere else for an exit…
Hey… I think I've seen that poster before…
Who CARES!? Let's go! I am sick of this place!
And I'm not feeling so good…
Now that you mention it, me too…

The fog in there is terrible.



> Could it be due to this place's oppressive atmosphere…?
Alright, let's go back. I'm seriously starting to feel sick…

And when we got back to the studio section, things managed to get even stranger.

VIDEO- "A Bear And A Crime"

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Wait… What's that…?
Th-There's something over there!

Something was indeed there.



I don't know how to explain this. It was some kind of bear… thing.



What is this thing? A monkey? A bear…?
What in the world…?

And it could talk.



*gasp * It talked!
Uhh… What are you! Y-You wanna fight!?
D-Don't yell at me like that…
> The bear is cowering in fear…
> Maybe it would be better to ask him nicely…

I figured we'd catch more bears with honey or something.



This place is what it is. It doesn't have a name.
It's where I live.
You… live here?
If I was you guys, I'd hurry back to the other side.
Someone's been throwing people in here. It's a big headache.
Huh? Throwing people in? What're you talking about?
I dunno who's doing it! I just want them to think before they go doing things like that!

Chie was really not taking anything from the bear thing.



What ARE you!? Where are we!?
What the heck's going on here!?

By the way note to self: Honey attracts bears.



I already told you…
A-Anyways, you should hurry back.
What it comes down to is, you want us to get outta here, right?
Well, so do we! We just don't know how, dammit!
Urrrrgh! That's why I'm saying I'll let you out!
Like I keep saying, we don't know where the frickin' exit-
Wait… What?

The bear did some weird tapping thing and boom, TVs out of nowhere.



What the hell!?
Wh-Where did these TVs come from!?
Okay, now go, go, get outta here! I'm a busy bear!
What's going on now!? Whoa! Hey, what're you doing!?
S-Stop pushing!

The bear pushed us into the TVs, and the world swam again. We landed with a thud on a familiar floor…



Huh? Is this…?
Did we… make it back?
Store Annoucement: Attention, shoppers. Our daily limited-time sale will now begin at the side dish area on the first floor.
Why not try the delicious, fresh produce Junes picked for you this morning as your side dish for dinner tonight?
All ages are invited to take advantage of this incredible bargain!
Crap, it's already that late!?
Looks like we were in there for quite awhile…
That's right…
Now I remember where I saw that poster before…
Look over there! That's the poster we saw!
What's up now?

Yosuke noticed something chilling.



She's been all over the news lately.
Something about… her husband having an affair with that announcer lady who died the other day.
Hey, so does that mean…?
That weird room we saw… Could it be related to that Yamano lady's death…?
Now that I think about it… there was that creepy noose hanging from the ceiling…
Yaaargh, stop! No more! We gotta stop talking about this.
I'm gonna wipe what happened today from my brain. I don't think my poor heart can take anymore.
I'm feeling a chill too…
Let's go home… I wanna lie down and rest.

We stuck together as long as we could. The chill we felt had nothing to do with the rain.



> You still feel sluggish…
Uh-Hmm… Well, I doubt you'd know…
But have you heard anything about a student named Saki Konishi?

I remembered Yosuke said he'd not seen her in school earlier.



Oh. I see…
To be honest… we got a call from her family. She's disappeared.
We've got people looking for her, but she hasn't been found yet…
*sigh * Work just keeps piling up…

And then the news started. More on that damn murder case.



Announcer: Not long ago, television announcer Mayumi Yamano was found dead in the small town.
Up until now, her whereabouts prior to her death had been unknown.
But the police investigation has found that she had been staying in the region's famous Amagi Inn.
> The Amagi Inn… It's the inn that Yukiko's family runs…

Then things started to get kind of creepy in a new way honestly.



Commentator: Oh yes, the Amagi Inn! Their hot springs are first-rate.
The manager's teenage daughter also works there, and it's rumored that she'll take over the inn this spring.
If that happens, she'll be one of the youngest managers on record! I should book another trip there!
Announcer: Uhh… I-I see… Moving along, it's time for the weather report.
The rain has begun to subside.
From now until morning, heavy fog warnings will be in effect in the Inaba region.
Visibility will be severely reduced, so please be careful if you plan on driving in the area…
> The news continues.
> Just before the announcer was found dead, she was apparently staying at the Amagi Inn, run by Yukiko's family…
And it seems the whereabouts of Saki Konishi, who discovered the body, are unknown…

What the hell is going on?



Give it some more time.
> You sneezed.
> You feel a slight chill…
Are you sick? You're probably still adjusting to the new environment.
Nanako, could you get him some cold medicine?
You should get to bed right after you take it.

So damn tired after going to that TV world… Anyway, all this will surely wait until the morning…

Next Time On Persona 4: The Fog