Part 9: 4/17/11 Part 2

4/17/11 Part 2

The others were already waiting when I got back to the Food Court.

VIDEO- "To The Castle"

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The sale should end soon, so that'll get rid of some of the people wandering around here.
Alright… let's get going.
Chie, it's not too late to-
I'm going!
Fine, but don't push yourself, got it!?

We headed to the TV world.



What're you doing?
Can't you tell? I'm thinking about stuff.
> It seems he's been thinking about himself all this time…
I've been deli-bear-ating over it for a long time now.
Hey, that wasn't a bad joke. Heehee…!
……
So… did you figure anything out?
Eh, it's probably useless to think about it too much. I've seen the inside of your skull, and it was empty.
How rude!
You're right, though. I try and try but nothing comes out of my head.

Chie wasn't in the mood to sit around and chat though.



Listen… Someone came here yesterday, right?
Teddie; Wow! There's a girl with a better nose than me!?
What's your name, Miss?
M-Miss? Uh… I'm Chie. But never mind that! Tell me more about that "someone"!
I think it happened a little after I talked with you guys. After that, it felt like someone was here.
Is it Yukiko-san!?
I don't know. I haven't looked…
The presence is over that way. That's probably where they are.
Over there, huh…?
Is everyone ready?
Y-yeah!

That freaky castle from the Midnight Channel was waiting for us.



What the…? A castle!?
Y'think this is the place they showed on TV last time?
You're positive that no one's behind a camera for that bizarre midnight program?
Program…? I don't know.
Maybe people on your side can see stuff in this world. It might be that.
And I told you before! There's only me and Shadows here!
There's no "camera" stuff going on. This world has been like this from the beginning.
"From the beginning"…? That's what we don't understand!
I dunno… Can you guys explain everything about your world?
I've never seen this "program" thingy before. So I don't know.
Well… is that really what's happening? Are we really looking into this world?
Because the first time Yukiko showed up on that channel was before she disappeared. Doesn't that seem off?
I mean, Yukiko saying stuff like "score myself a hot stud"? That's not like her at all!
"Score"? "Stud"?

Things like that sure do seem like the opposite of how Yukiko normally acts. Suspiciously so.



……!?
I wonder… Is this kinda like what happened to me last time…?
There's a lot of stuff I still don't get. But after hearing your story…
I think that "program" happens because of the person who appears on it. Or something like that…
So… Yukiko is producing that show herself?
Ugh, I don't get this at all!
Hey… Do you feel Yukiko's presence from inside?
I'm pretty sure.
So, um, what's this "scoring with a hot stud" thing…?
Yukiko's here… I'm going on ahead!
Hey, wait! Don't go alone!
Geez! We better follow her!

Chie disappeared into the red light pouring out of the door. Before we could follow, Teddie had some just wonderful news.



She ran off on her own…
Urk…!
There are lots of Shadows in the castle.
It'll be dangerous inside for a girl by herself…
Dude, are you serious!? Why didn't you tell us before!?
C'mon, let's find Chie!

She was nowhere in sight when we got in.



Ugh, she ran off alone…
Dammit, let's go!
Um, wait a second!
The Shadows have gotten aggravated ever since you two got here.
They'll probably attack as soon as they find you, Sensei.
So try to get the jump on Shadows before they can attack you!

Sure enough the Shadows were everywhere. After we beat one set, I saw some strange cards flying around my face. I guess this is what Igor was talking about.



> You recalled what Igor told you…
When you defeat an enemy, the seeds of possibility you attain will appear before you as cards.
At times, they may be hard to grasp… but you must master your fear and reach out to them.

Gameplay Notes:
Shuffle Time is back but in a slightly different form. Now there are only three types of cards- Blanks, Personas, and Penalties. Blanks obviously do nothing. Personas give us the opportunity to pick up the Persona on the card if we are high enough level and do not already have it. Penalties eliminate all of the rewards from the fight. Another new wrinkle is that instead of cards shuffled like three-card monte, we have to deal with cards that are continually moving. So instead of a memory check, it's really a timing check. Shuffle Time is your best source of fodder for fusion so it's important to get good at it.

We eventually found a set of stairs leading up. We could see some footprints that looked like Chie's on them.



You're good at fighting, Sensei.
Compared to you, Yosuke stinks…
Shut up, Ted!
Though I do gotta admit… You have a knack for this stuff.
Doesn't he?
So you should be the one to give Yosuke orders during a fight.
It ticks me off to hear Teddie say that stuff, but I don't wanna cause trouble doing my own thing in battle…
So don't hesitate to order me around.
I'm counting on you.

Gameplay Notes:
They've just alluded to one of the best new features of Persona 4: the Direct Command tactic. We have the option to directly control our party, though we also can use Persona 3 style AI control (the AI is better even than The Answer's AI to be fair). The game is balanced around you doing this, especially on bosses, so you should.

There was a huge set of doors, and Chie was behind it. She looked like she was listening to something, and we quickly realized what.

VIDEO- "Shadows In The Castle"

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Chie…?
She said that red looks good on me…
Yukiko-san!?
I hated my name… Yukiko… "Snow"…
Snow is cold and it melts quickly… It's transient… worthless…
But it's perfect for me… Apart from inheriting the inn, I'm worthless…
Still… Chie told me that red looks good on me.
Are these… Yukiko-san's inner thoughts? I remember hearing Saki-senpai's, too…
Yeah. This castle is probably here because of this Yukiko person.
Yukiko…



She's bright and strong, and she can do anything… She has everything that I don't…
Compared to Chie, I'm… I'm…
Chie protects me… She looks after my worthless life…
And I… I don't deserve any of it…
Chie is so kind…
Yukiko, I-I…

And then things got bad.



Wh-What…!?

A Shadow appeared!



It's just like Yosuke!
She lost control over her suppressed self! Now it's a Shadow!
Are we talking about THAT Yukiko!? She says I'm protecting her!?
She says she's worthless!
*chuckle * That's how it should be, right?
Wh-What're you saying?
Yukiko's sooo good looking… sooo fair-skinned… so feminine… She's the one all the guys drool over.
When Yukiko looked at me with such jealousy… Man, did I get a charge out of that.
Yukiko knows the score. She can't do anything if I'm not around…
I'm better than her… Much, much better!
No! I have never thought that!
Wh-What're we gonna do?

Duh, Yosuke. What the hell else are we gonna do?



We need to protect Chie-chan right now!
N-No, don't come near me! Don't look at me!
Chie, calm down!
No… No, this isn't me!
W-Wait, stupid! Don't say anything else like that!
*chuckle * That's right. I'm the one who can't do anything alone…
I can't win as a girl, let alone as a person… I'm pathetic.
But Yukiko… She depends on me…
*chuckle * That's why she's my friend… I'll never loosen my grip on her… She's too important to me.
No… That is not how I think of her…
*chuckle * So, you're just gonna turn your back and deny me again?
But things are different now. When the time comes… I'll be the one left standing.

Things were getting bad.



Shut up! You're…
Chie, no!
You're not me!
*chuckle * Heehee… Ahahahahahaha!

The other Chie turned into a horrible monster, just like Yosuke's.



Chie!
I-It's coming! You have to use your powers to save Chie-chan!

Once again we were thrown into battle with someone's twisted reflection.

VIDEO- "Shadow Chie"

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What do you guys think you're doing? Trying to defend the "real" me?
Then you're gonna pay the price!
Shut up! Quit being such a pain!
Chie… Just hang in there a little longer…
Hah… Think you can stop me that easy!?

Boss Battle: Shadow Chie
Shadow Chie is another easy boss. She's got a Weakness to Wind (which makes her the last actual boss with any type of weakness, so cherish it) and is entirely vulnerable to being Downed by it (though she cannot be Dizzied). But if we open up with a Wind attack…



And then she casts Green Wall, which will make her resist Wind instead of being weak to it for a few turns. Most of her offense comes in the form of nasty whipping Attacks, but she does have one other little trick up her sleeve. She'll spend one turn like this…



And then casts Mazio. It's important that you have Yosuke guard through this, because Chie will do a nasty follow-up if she gets One More. As long as you don't fall victim to this, you should be able to blow through Shadow Chie almost as fast as you did Shadow Yosuke. Savor this victory, because the game is about to get much, much harder.

Chie's Shadow fell just like Yosuke's in the end.

VIDEO- "Awaken Tomoe"

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Chie! Are you okay!?
What happened…?
……
What's the matter…? Got nothing to say anymore?
Stop it, Chie. It's all right.
B-But…

It's sort of silly to get so upset about this, we're all assholes sometimes.



Everyone…?
He's right… I went through the same thing.
So I can understand… I mean… Everyone has a side like this…
Yeah… I kinda get it now. You are me…
A side of me I couldn't forgive… That I tried to ignore…
But you still exist. You're a part of me…
> The strength of heart required to face oneself has been made manifest…

And just like before…



> Chie has faced her other self…

Chie awakened to her Persona. She said her name is Tomoe, and I think she's some kind of ancient warrior-queen or something.



I… Um, well it's true that part of me feels that way…
But I wasn't lying about being friends with Yukiko…!
Like we don't know that already.
H-Hey! Chie!
I'm okay… Just a little tired…
You don't look okay at all…
And I bet…
You can use the same power we have now.
Huh…?
Hey, what should we do?

Chie barely looked like she could walk, let alone fight.



I agree. We need to let Chie rest.
I-I never said I needed a break! I… can still keep going…
Don't overdo it!
It's not that we don't think you can. It's just, we have to save Yukiko-san, no matter what.
Now that you have the power, you can fight with us. It'd be much better for us all if you had your strength back.
That's why we're saying we should go back and regroup.
But Yukiko's still in here, isn't she!?
I-I… If those were Yukiko's true feelings… then I have to tell her something.
I'm not as strong as she thinks! It's because she was with me…
Because we were always together, I was able to act that way. If we weren't, I'd…
Well, you need to get your strength back! Then you can tell her!
Yuki-chan's normal. The Shadows don't attack normal people.
They only attack when the fog lifts here.

That was good news. If we had to do this all at once, we'd never make it.



I'm positive.
Why…? I don't get it…
Teddie told us that the weather here is the opposite of our own world.
When it fogs over in our world… That's the day it lifts here, and that's when the Shadows attack their victim.
So even if we leave for a while, Yukiko-san won't be in danger until the fog starts to cover Inaba.
I'm sure of it. It was the same way for that announcer and Senpai…
Don't you remember how it was foggy in town on the days they died?
You mean… they were killed by their other selves?
The fog usually appears after it rains.
But it's been sunny lately. I don't think it's going to rain anytime soon.
Don't worry so much. We'll check the weather forecast first thing when we get back.

Chie wanted to go on, though.



Yukiko's still here! She's all alone… She must be so scared!
Then you tell me how much further we gotta go to reach Yukiko-san!
Th-That's…!
You don't know what's up ahead. The enemies might be even stronger.
If we push ourselves too hard and get wiped out, who'll save Yukiko-san then!?
We can't fail, no matter what… Am I wrong?
……
…Alright.
I'm sorry about before…
I shouldn't have rushed in like that by myself…



No worries.
We're definitely gonna save Yukiko-san… Right?
…Right!

Chie was getting worse and worse as we walked back. It took us a sec to figure out why.

VIDEO- "The Fool"

Click Here For Video!

My head feels like it's gonna split open… Are you guys okay?

I'd not even realized it before, but she didn't have a pair of the Teddie's glasses.



That's right, you're not wearing the glasses.
Oh yeah… What's with those glasses? Did your eyesight go bad?
Man… You didn't notice until now? How panicked were you…?
Tum de dumm! I got a pair ready for Chie-chan, too.
Here you go!
Whoa! What the---!? This is awesome! It's like the fog doesn't exist!
Why didn't you whip those out earlier if you had them?
I made them right now! You didn't tell me she was coming! It was all so sadden! I mean, sudden!
Huh… so that's the trick. I was wondering how you guys could see where you were going.
Hey, is it alright if I keep this?
Fo' sho!
We'll have to stop here today… But I'll be back with these puppies!
You guys better not come here without me, got it!?
Yeah, let's all promise each other… Nobody goes in alone. It's way too dangerous.
If we don't work together, we won't be able to solve this case or save Yukiko-san… Right?

I think that was something we could all agree on.



Yeah, I agree. I promise too.

I agreed, and Yosuke had another suggestion.



Alright, so from tomorrow on, we'll try and come here as much as we can after school… And that includes days off.
Hey… would you mind being our leader?
You were the first to get this power, and you're way better in a fight than either of us.
I think it's bet for all of us if you set the pace of the investigation, and we follow your lead.
I'm cool playing second banana.

I wouldn't have volunteered to be leader, but if that's what needs to happen I'll give it my all.



I had a feeling you'd say that.
I mean, I'm more the advisor type, y'know? An ideas man, not an executive.
I'm with Yosuke. If you're the one calling the shots, I'd feel a lot more comfortable about this.
I'm with Yosuke too. If you're the one calling the shots, my pillow will be a lot more comfortable at night.
Teddie, would you please stop talking. I'm really on edge right now…
> You've been unanimously appointed team leader.
> Your days of pursuing this case alongside your friends have begun…

That voice again… It seems our little team was another form of Social Link.



The Fool… Is the universe making fun of us or something?



Okay. Let's get some rest for today so we're ready for tomorrow on.
And don't forget to check the weather forecast. It gets foggy after a lot of rain, so let's keep an eye out.
Also, let's make sure we gear up for next time.

We walked with Chie until we were sure she could make it home okay, then split up. I had almost let myself forget that Dojima was rightly going to be sort of pissed.



> The news is on TV.
Announcer: That's all for world news tonight. Coming up next, the local news.
……
> Dojima is quiet, with a stern expression on his face.
Hey. Mind if I ask something?
You aren't getting involved with any strange business, are you…?
What happened at the station this afternoon… it's still bothering me.
Is there… anything you're not telling me?

Well I fight the personifications of humanity's dark side inside a TV set in order to save people thrown in by a madman with the help of my friends and our mythological allies. Other than that nothing.



…Is something bothering you?
Believe me, I do feel bad that I've been too caught up with work for us to have time to talk…
What's wrong? Are you fighting…?
No… We're not having a fight.
This isn't the police station…
I agreed to look after you. So don't get yourself involved in anything that could get you in trouble.
Got that?
Weather Announcer: And now, our weather forecast.
Due to high-pressure fronts from the west, that sunny spring-like weather will stay with us fro a while longer.
Is this lady the one who decides the weather?
'Cause when she says that it'll be sunny, it always is…
Uh, she's not really deciding it…
…Never mind.
> The news continues, heedless of the heavy atmosphere…

The rain's not coming for a while yet. We've still got time…

Next Time On Persona 4: Balls and Kicking Them