"Ahh!" Teddie squeaks as we reach the fifth floor. "I can sense her! She must be on this floor!"

"Real or shadow?" I ask.

"Still can't tell. Sorry, sensei."

If it's her shadow it'll taunt us some more. If it's her we fight her shadow. So it's nothing or a big fight. "Don't worry about it. Let's just-"

Wow! By any chance are you my princes? I'm locked up here! Please save me!

I groan to myself. "Question asked and answered." Though now that I think about it, the shadow would be there either way.

I'm sure my princes can do it. I'm sure they'll brave any danger to release me from this place. I'll be waiting for you. Ohoho...

Ughhh, the cliché noble laugh. It hurts me! At least it wasn't 'ufufufu' or anything dumb like that.

"Something's strange, sensei. Be careful." Teddie warns as the spooky voice that was obviously Yukiko's shadow fades.

Teddie wasn't wrong about something being off here. Certain spots on the floor instantly transported us somewhere else. As a trap it was entirely pointless and served as not much more than a minor annoyance. So I have to assume that was the point.

And that just made it more annoying.

"I sense something behind this door! It's that girl's scent!" Teddie exclaims as we near the aforementioned door.

"Alright. We good to go? Everyone know the plan?" I ask the others.

Chie nods. Yosuke uses a skill, looks himself over, then nods. Healing himself, I guess.

"Good. Kick in the door on three?"

"THREE!"

"Dammit, Chie! Stop stealing our badass entrances!" I shout.

"You guys are just too slow! I mean who really counts nowadays?" she fires back.

-(-)-

"Hmhmhm! My prince wouldn't lose to guards like this, correct?"

Shadow Yukiko is standing in front of a … rather large shadow. An armoured knight riding a horse that appears to be floating about a foot off the ground. On second thought, 'rather large' doesn't quite describe it. Huge would be more accurate. And very intimidating. "That's... big." is all I managed.

"Gyaaaah! I've never seen such a strong one before! It's attacking!" Teddie squeals.

Need a battle plan. Now. "Teddie! Corner! Keep an eye for weaknesses! Yosuke, Chie! Surround it!"

The knight wasn't about to let that happen. It lunges straight for Chie with its lance, trying to pin her down. Literally. Her reflexes just barely save her as she quick-steps out of the way. Yosuke is getting to work improving our agility with Sukukaja so we could more easily keep up.

Chie knows better than to attack armour with just her feet, choosing instead to use her persona's physical skills. I join the assault with Orobas' Agi skills.

"Physical attacks aren't doing much, sensei!" Teddie tells me, raising his voice to be heard over the clanking of the knight's armour.

"Chie, stick with using your ice attacks. Yosuke, wind skills. I'll stick with fire. Just-"

"Yosuke!" I hear Chie shriek. I hadn't noticed the knight going for him until it was too late. The lance looks as though it passed straight through his leg.

"I'm fine!" he shouts back to allay our worries. "It's just a scra-uhh..." his voice trails off, his eyes going vacant.

And just like that he's on one knee.

Crap.

"Chie, keep it busy!" I order as I head for Yosuke with the supply bag. The knight immediately turns his attention to me and strikes out but with the Sukukaja still in effect dodging isn't too difficult, sliding under the lance's sweep and rolling to dodge the follow-up thrust. Chie's constant barrage of ice attacks on the knight's undefended flank is thankfully enough to force him to leave me alone.

"Yosuke." I tap both sides of his face hard enough to get his attention.

"Ngh uh? Oh... Hey, partner!" he slurs after recognising me smiling drunkenly.

"What's the problem?" I ask.

"I... I 'unno. I just don't feel so... Hurgh!" He starts to heave.

This is suddenly very very bad. It's pretty clear it's poison but don't you need specific antidotes for poisons? The only antidotes I have are those crappy remedies from the Shiroku store... Screw it.

"Take this and use Dia on yourself." I order. I don't care if science doesn't work that way. This damn well better work.

I switch to Izanagi, use a Rakukaja and start slinging Zio attacks at the knight. I need this thing to go down. Soon. "Chie, you still alive over there?" I yell to the other side of the room.

"You guys owe me some healing." Chie's voice came back, sounding a bit unsteady. "Soon would be good."

"Give it everything you've got!"

Zio. Bufu. Zio. Bufu. Over and over again. The simple-minded shadow can't seem to decide who to go for. Zio. Bufu. Zio... Garu?

"I owe you this you bastard!" Yosuke's voice comes from behind me and to my side I see Jiraiya slinging Garu attacks at the knight one after another.

It ends up being too much for the shadow. Before we know it he's a puddle on the floor.

Hmhmhm! If you really are my prince, we will surely meet again. I am but a trapped soul. I cannot leave this place even if I wished...

Well... That was telling. More important things to deal with though.

"Yosuke, are you feeling alright?" I ask.

"Dude, I feel great! I don't know what you gave me but it was awesome! We should get more!"

I read the label for what I'd given him. 'Doctor Tanaka's Super Mega Cure-All Medicine! Now with coconut extract!'

… "Yeah. I'll... be sure to pick some up."

How the hell did that cure anything? Let alone supernatural poisons?

-(-)-

Sixth floor. No further sign of Shadow Yukiko. Just weak shadows and more weak shadows. Some of them do look kind of like the Pringles guy now though. Or the Monopoly guy.

Now that I think about it... those two mascots do look surprisingly similar. Hey, Pixie?

"Yep, yep?!"

So, are like, are mascots demons too? I mean if demons are born out of human thoughts...

"Ummm... Probably! Think so! But very young... Bottom of the totem-pole. Demons don't die so stronger means older. Some have thousands of human years. Some count by universes."

Count by... Wait, you mean their age?! Holy shit!

"Yep yep! Those kind have names in CAPITAL LETTERS they're so powerful. Usually compete to end the world to remake it the way they want. Like YHWH would be all "The world must be orderly and worship me forever" and stuff. And Lucifer – he doesn't get CAPITAL LETTERS but he prob'ly should – he's like "Everybody should do whatever". Armies fight. Humans fight. They fight. The world ends and the winner puts it back together how they like it! Neat, huh?"

…

…

"Seta?"

"Seta-kun?"

…

"... S-sensei?"

"... Anybody know any skill that can make me forget the last like, five minutes?" I ask weakly.

"... Uh, no. Sorry, partner. Also? Could you, you know, blink for me? You're starting to creep me out."

Slowly and deliberately, I close my eyes and re-open them. "Okay. Let's keep going."

-(-)-

The seventh floor is more of the same. How big is this place anyway? I wouldn't have thought there'd be room for seven floors of gigantic hallways.

"Uhh, guys?" Chie says, trying to get our attention. I turn to face her and...

… The hallway in that direction is no longer part of the castle. Looks like another timewarp flashback to the inn is upon us. Fun. There don't seem to be any details missing in this one. A recent memory then? Since Yukiko looks around her current age I'd assume so.

"She what?!" Yukiko shouts at the man she's speaking with.

The refined-looking man appears unfazed by her outburst. "Please, Amagi-san, calm down. Your mother is fine. Recent events have merely left her exhausted and she is taking some time to recuperate. She wishes for you to run the inn in her absence."

"But that can't be! I don't... I'm not... I'm still in high school! She can't expect me to take over everything just like that! It's not fair! It's not!" Yukiko almost looks on the verge of tears.

"What do you mean, Amagi-san?"

"I... V-very well. Tell my mother I would be glad to run the inn in her absence and... that I am grateful for the opportunity."

"Very good, Amagi-san. Then if you will excuse me." And with that the man fades. However, Yukiko does not. Neither do the tears running down her cheeks.

-(-)-

Eighth floor. Teddie warned us that he sensed Yukiko's presence again. This would likely be the big finish. But...

I look at the others. Teddie looks normal. But Yosuke looks haggered. And even Chie doesn't look that much better despite being more used to this kind of exertion. Then again, does this even really compare to her normal routines?

I'm feeling the strain, too. I haven't been able to cast anything since we left the sixth floor and hasn't that just been a marvellous handicap against the strongest shadows in this place? I'd get drips and drabs of SP when the cup cards came up but it wasn't enough. I don't think we can... Do this... Wait.

"Ooh, cheatingcheating cheater! I like it!"

"Yosuke, what time is it?" I ask.

"Huh? Uh," he grunts, pulling out his phone. "Yeah, yeah, no signal, I know." he grumbles. "It's... Wow! Just after 5! We made good time!"

"Real fights are way shorter than most people realise when there's no rules." Chie says, standing to full height after getting her breath back. "If there were no between-round breaks in boxing matches, every match would probably be over by the third round at most."

"Hm." Yosuke hums in acknowledgement. "Also the above the belt rule, the no-grappling rule, the no kicking rule, the gloves... Guess you got a point."

I nod. "Okay. We're gonna bounce for now."

"Yay, something Teddie can do!" the bear exclaims before...

Oh, for the love of- "Not that kind of bounce, Teddie." I grumble. Teddie lets out a disappointed "Aww." and stops hopping in place.

I just don't even...

"You mean we're leaving?!" Chie asks, a disappointed expression on her face. "But I mean, we're so close!"

"We're leaving," I confirm, "but we're not done for today. We can't keep going like this. I can't cast anymore, you're tired and Yosuke is hanging by a thread. Thankfully, we have plenty of time and when it comes to our stamina, I have an ability that lets us cheat."

"So Teddie, how do these gem things work?"

-(-)-

"Nonononono-"

"Welcome to the-"

"Pleasedon'tdothispleasepleaseplease!"

"Welcome to-"

"It'snotfairit'snotfair!"

It looks like Igor is trying to say something but I'm not hearing it. With my poor lip reading skills it looks like he's trying to do his welcome thing but keeps stopping. Wait can he hear-?

"StopitstopitstopitSTOPITSTOPIT-"

Igor snaps his fingers.

"STOPIIIIIIT! Oh." The Pixie's seemingly never-ending screeching that had been giving me a headache for the past five minutes finally stopped as she realised she was corporeal, looking at the people around her sheepishly. "Oh. Umm... Hi?"

"Hello." I respond, deadpan. I've been dealing with this for her screeching for past ten minutes. I want everyone involved to know how annoying it was.

"-the Velvet Room." Igor finishes, evidently having waited for Tink's tantrum to finish before finishing his greeting. "It seems we have a disagreement on our hands."

"Yeah!" Tink agrees, whizzing her way to the long-nosed man, stopping a couple inches above said nose. "He wants to get rid of me! The deal was I get stronger this way! Not fair!"

"The agreement is for demons to make themselves available to our guest, should he need them." Igor says. I pay rapt attention, this being something he's never mentioned to me. "Our guest is under no obligation to actually use the persona borne of demons."

"But that's the only way for me to get stronger!" Tink whines, moving a few inches away from his left eye.

"The agreement was made to the satisfaction of all parties-"

"'Scuse me?" I interrupt. "I don't remember agreeing to... any of this. You might've talked about a contract before but it wasn't with you or with any demons."

Igor closes his left eye so as to ignore Tink hovering in front of it. "No? Well you are welcome to ignore the power and abilities offered to you. In that sense, the agreement was always in your favour. If you do not want it, you need not take it. It is an option open to you, no charge, no consequence. For acceptance or rejection."

"I just..." I rub at my forehead. "I just want to understand. What are you two talking about?"

Igor opens his left eye to look at the annoyed fairy before closing it again and looking at me. "Simply, the power you now wield is a two-way street. You are given power, abilities, strength beyond the norm for even those who wield the power of Persona. However, the power must come from somewhere. In truth, it comes from demons. Demons that are willing to share their power and gain power in return. Many of the higher ranked demons are willing to share their power in this way and as such, the lower ranked demons see this as a shortcut to strength. Fools are rare and only one per species are permitted to give power per Fool. Indeed, there are long waiting lists for demons wanting to share their power with a Fool."

"Andyou'remyturn!" Tink says rapidly, flitting back over to me so fast I rear back in my seat. "You. Are. My. Turn. No power! No strength! Not fair! Waited for my turn! Wantmyturn!"

I lean around Tink to look at Igor again. "So how does that work?"

Igor releases the closest to a shrug I've ever seen him give, a twitch of his hunched shoulders. "Defeating enemies. It is not a complicated process. However it is difficult and not without risk. For demons without this opportunity there are only two ways. Combat other demons in the Endless which carries the risk of destructive rebirth. Like your reincarnation it means being reborn as someone else with no memory of who you were. Or they could contract themselves to a demon summoner. A human that makes contracts with demons directly. Usually this also means combating other demons. However, the demon is bound to a specialised device that means even in defeat they will not be reborn. No risk, all the reward."

"And Tink didn't go with that option because...?" I ask, seeing Tink's body language tense up in my periphery.

"Hmmm." Igor hums, more pleased than contemplative. "Well there is the issue of contacts. Our services can benefit any demon, therefore it has become something of a lottery in recent years. Only one opening per species per fool. Naturally there are many more that would seek alternative means. Some would find them, most do not. In the case of... 'Tink' specifically, power is also a concern. There is not much call for demons as low on the power scale as she is."

In response to this perceived insult, Tink backs away from me and flits over to Igor again, taking a swing at his nose. Given their relative size it has... even less impact than one would expect. After her assault doesn't even dent the skin, Igor picks her out of the air and suspends her with two fingers, looking her dead in the eye. "Please remember." he whispers in a growl, more menacing than anything I've heard from him before, barely audible to me but I bet she's close enough she doesn't miss a single word. "You are not a guest. You are here at my whim to plead your case to him. Do not take such rash action again." With that, he lets her go again.

Even in miniature, I can see the unique terror on Tink's face of an opportunity about to slip through one's fingers. The panicked glances at the people around her, the tightening of her facial muscles. Inevitably, the dam breaks. Giving up some of her pride, she throws herself at me, gripping on to my shoulder. "Pleasedon'tthrowmeaway!"

…

Ggh, fucking guilt trips! "Demons are more powerful than personae, yes? You said that."

"I did. However, for your purposes..." he trails off.

"For my purposes?"

Surprisingly, Margaret continues for him. Not sure why. "The base strength of a demon is limited in the form of a persona, that is true. However, the world you currently inhabit – what you call the "TV World" - is actually the collective human consciousness given form. An active human consciousness has greater impact in it and a persona – any persona – receives a similar boost. Demons, however-"

"Aren't human." I finish. "So they'd be weaker in the TV World, not stronger."

Her lips twitch downwards. "Effectively, yes. The environment would be even more inhospitable for them than it is for you."

So they'd be useless here... But... "What about in the real world?" We will need to confront the killer at some point and I get the sneaking suspicion they won't come quietly.

"What, this world not real enough for you?" Marie speaks up for the first time, and naturally it's to snark at me.

I roll my eyes. "Fine. The human world. The physical world. Earth. Terra Firma. Whatever. She would be stronger there, yes?"

I notice my slip as Tink stops clutching my shoulder to look at me. I can feel her eyes burning into me and it's unnerving.

"Yes." is all Margaret answers.

… "Alright." I say before looking at Tink. "Alright."

The tiny fairy girl squeals in joy and relief and flits around my head erratically before WOAH okay latching on my forehead and hugging it, or as close as she can manage with her armspan. Don't think she notices that also puts her crotch directly in front of my eyes about an inch away. And yes, apparently demons – or fairies at least – are anatomically correct.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!"

"Yes you're welcome get off please?" I say in a run on sentence, not moving a muscle. Mercifully, she backs up, grins brightly at me and flits over to perch herself approximately on my left collarbone. I let loose the breath I was holding in a puff before looking at the Velvet Room occupants again. "So how does demon summoning work?"

Margaret opens her mouth to speak but- "That is a journey for which we cannot assist you." Igor cuts in, Margaret's jaw shutting with an audible click. "Our role is to assist our guests in the wielding of their persona abilities. That is all. Demon summoning is an altogether different journey, perhaps more perilous than the one you are currently undertaking, and one for which we cannot guide you."

I nod. "Get someone else to tell me. Got it." Igor frowns. I guess that's not what he meant but it's how I'm gonna take it. "Let's get some fusing done then."

"But-!" Tink protests from my shoulder.

"You'll be in the compendium and you'll know as soon as I do once I have this summoning thing down."

"Okay." she quietly responds, pouting.

She's really determined to send me on that guilt trip.

-(-)-

A/N: Alright. So the team basically finish the dungeon save for the boss but Seta comes up with a plan to rejuvenate them by gaming the system a bit. But before doing that he gets guilted into figuring out demon summoning which will bring in all kinds of complications both in and out of story. Yayyyyyy.

So yeah. Demon summoning will still be a thing but not in the TV world.

Fandom Flux. Still a cool Youtube channel. Still doing podcasts. Also just started a let's play with KingofZeroX of Conception 2, the game about having spiritual hand sex with a bunch of girls. One of those girls has Nanako's voice actor and she is also the character with the most prominent jiggle-physics. It's deeply unsettling.

Thanks for reading.