Teddie what did you do?

[taketwoadults]

[Even though he knew this trip was largely a distraction because Terra and Aqua were going out on a mission and didn't want him following, Ven's day had been amazing so far. Regardless of the reason for the impromptu mini-vacation he was glad to get out of the castle again and visit Inaba. It was great to see Yosuke again and this time he finally got a chance to meet Teddie when they visited Junes!

The two of them got along great so when Yosuke was momentarily called away, he probably didn't think it was a big deal to leave the two of them alone.

But... it was.

Because Teddie thought it would be a fun idea to take Ventus to see the world he came from.

By the time Yosuke gets back all he'll find is one very distressed looking Teddie with some very, very bad news.

IT'S 2 PM. DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR VENTUS IS?

It's the TV. He's in the TV.]

Comments

[princeofjunes]

[Okay. Okay. No reason to panic. No reason at all except, Ven being trapped in the one place he was absolutely never ever supposed to be! He wanted to strangle the hell out of Teddie, but that wouldn't help right now.]

[He'd do that later.]

[Repeatedly.]

[Deep breaths. Aqua and Terra would kill him, but deep breaths. He could fix this! If they found the kid quick, maybe they could save him before anything bad happened. But he'd need to move fast. First things first, he'd need help. His options were limited for vague plot related reasons, but he at least knew where to start!]

[AND SO YOSUKE HEROICALLY dialed his phone.]

C'mon Rise, pick up...

[idol_support]

[It was the weekend, and Rise actually wasn't doing much. She answers on the second ring, cheerful but curious.]

Hey, Yosuke-senpai! What's up?

[Hanging out with everyone would be nice! Maybe that's what he's calling about?]

[princeofjunes]

Rise! Oh thank god...

[Wait, crap! That wasn't exactly a good way to lead into a conversation, but he couldn't exactly take his time either.]

I kinda need a huge favor. Mind meeting me and Ted at Junes?

[idol_support]

[A friend is in need! That much is obvious from how stressed Yosuke-senpai sounds. So Rise is totally there, even if she's not quite sure what's going on just yet. But she'll get it out of him soon, nooo problem!]

Sure, I'm on my way! What happened?

[Cell phones are great, aren't they. She can walk and grill Yosuke be filled in on what's up at the same time.]

[princeofjunes]

Um...

[He can't really expect her to help without the truth, but... man, his life is going to get a bit more awkward now.]

I was watching the sort-of little brother of my g- ... of a friend. I left him with Ted for ten minutes, and he wound up in the TV. He really needs to not be in the TV, but we have to find him first.

[idol_support]

Whoa! That's pretty seriously bad!

[At least it could be, depending on who this sort-of little brother is. Rise's walk becomes more of a run, and she's gonna be there pretty soon at this rate.



But

despite how important this is and how urgent things are right now

there was also something else in there that she absolutely cannot let slide without comment:]

So~ Whose 'sort-of little brother' is this? It sure sounded like you were about to say girlfriend for a second there~!

[princeofjunes]

[... crap. Busted. He can feel his face heating up, but there's no real way out of it now.]

Okay, yeah, he's my girlfriend's adopted little brother. I swear I was going to tell everyone about her, but she's sort of from really far away so... you know...

[Besides, who would believe 'I totally have a girlfriend guys she's just from another world!'? That's worse than having a 'girlfriend in Australia.']

[idol_support]

[..................Oh man, this is a teasing goldmine. This is gonna be almost as fun as teasing Naoto and Kanji-kun!]

A secret girlfriend, huh? I dunno about that, Yosuke-senpai...

[princeofjunes]

Look, you'll probably get to meet her. She's the next person I have to call.

Er...

[Might as well get this over now, too.]

And, um... don't be surprised if she comes in the TV with us. She knows how to fight.

[idol_support]

Probably? Hiding something like that's super-lame, Yosuke-senpai! You're supposed to tell your friends when important stuff like that happens!

[She absolutely sounds a little pouty about it, too. But not for long, because trolling is fun, but this is Important.]

Okay! When you call her, I'll try calling the others! But is it really safe for her to come into the TV with us?

[princeofjunes]

Look, it was complicated! You'll understand when you meet her.

['Of course she'll be fine, because she has a Persona!']

[Nope, not saying that. Not at all. But how the hell does he get out of this one?!]

I know she's tough firsthand. It might be dangerous, but she'd never agree to be left behind while we go. Besides, I don't think a lot of the Team is around this weekend, so we might need all the help we can get.

At Junes! Finally!

[taketwoadults]

[Get your act together, keyderps and pureowners! Tick tock, tick tock!]

[princeofjunes]

[Yosuke didn't dare leave the food court, so he had sent Teddie back home to get their TV world equipment. At least he couldn't lose that in the TV world before Yosuke saw him again.]

[...]

[...]

[Waiting sucks.]

[All it does is give him time to worry about who they can even reach to help, or how long Aqua might take, or what might be happening with Ventus inside the TV world. Yeah he was getting in trouble with Aqua and letting her down, but he'd become just as close with Ven. What would he do if anything happened to him? How could he ever live with himself, or look Aqua in the eye again? And Rise was right, how could he let his friends down by neglecting to mention something so important?]

[It'd be great if someone were to snap him from these trains of thought.]

[idol_support]

[If Rise knows anything after years in showbiz, it's how and when to make an entrance.

So of course, maybe a minute after Yosuke hangs up with Aqua, Rise arrives at the food court, a little breathless but ready and rarin' to go...and, both notably and unfortunately, alone.]

Yosuke-senpai! Hey! So, bad news first...

[She gives Yosuke an apologetic look as she comes to a stop beside him.]

Sorry, looks like it's gonna be just us for now. None of the others are answering their phones--I know it's super-busy at Yukiko-senpai's inn right now, and Chie-senpai's probably helping. Naoto said she was gonna leaving on a big case a few days ago, and Kanji has those sewing classes for kids... But I left them all messages, so hopefully they'll call back!

[And now, the good news!]

I got through to Senpai, though! He texted me back, saying he'd find us as soon as possible!

[She's...not entirely sure how that'll work, since he'd gone back to the city, and hey, did jumping into a TV outside of Inaba even work? But that doesn't matter--it's Yu-senpai. If he said he'd do something, then Rise believed that he'd find a way to do it, no matter what.]

[princeofjunes]

[The relief that shows on his face is palpable. Rise, you're a nationally famous idol that he adored and yet Yosuke has never been as happy to see you as he is right now.]

[The carousel of bad news... that hurts a bit, but it's not entirely unexpected. He knew about the Inn being slammed beforehand, and Kanji's classes were going way better than anyone could've hoped. Naoto... if he had mentioned to her about Aqua before now, maybe she'd be able to drop things to come and help, but he was stuck in the grave he'd dug.]

[His Partner is a bit of a surprise - how the hell is he going to manage that? - but a re-assuring one.]

Thanks a lot, Rise. I can't tell you how much this all means to me.

[It's rare that Yosuke's happy-go-lucky attitude drops without him being angry, but this is one of those times.]

[followthehearts]

[If there were speed limits in the Lanes Between, she probably broke every single one of them in order to get to Inaba as fast as humanly possible. And luckily for her, that light corridor opened up right in the ladies restroom of Junes! Convenience! Especially since the last time she was here she got stares for her clothing choice.

It takes her about 1.5 minutes in total to arrive and change, and find her way to the food court. And Yosuke was already talking to someone. Must be one of his friends, right?]

Don't thank her just yet...

[If this were a video game, angry violins would likely be playing very quietly in the background as Aqua entered the food court. And for once, no armor and all street clothes!

...and a bit of helmet hair, but details!]

I came here as fast as my glider would go... any word?

[Looking at both of you, and completely unaware of who Yosuke's kouhai is.]

[princeofjunes]

[Any other time and any other situation, Yosuke would be jumping for joy and grinning like an idiot. After all, his girlfriend's right there!]

[But she's there because he made a massive mistake, and even if he didn't make the mistake directly he still feels all the responsibility weighing down on him.]

[He shakes his head in response to her question, because no matter how she meant it, the answer's the same.]

Most of my friends didn't answer, so once Teddie gets back with our gear it'll be us heading in there to find him. We haven't looked yet because Rise - [He gestures to his friend] - will probably need to ask you a few questions to get a better fix on Ven, but she's the best. I promise, we'll find him once we're in there.

[A beat, and then-]

Oh, right. Rise, this is Aqua, Aqua, my friend Rise.

[idol_support]

[Meeting new people, Rise is a pro at this. She flashes a bright smile and gives a cheerful wave.]

Hi there! Nice to meet you!

[She really REALLY wants to add something like, 'I wish I could say I've heard a lot about you, buuuuut~' and maybe get Yosuke in a little bit of trouble...but this isn't the time for that. Teasing can and WILL come later, for now they have to focus on rescuing Aqua's little brother.]

I'll find him for sure, just leave it to me! But Yosuke's right, I need to know more about him to make it easier to get a fix on where he is--what he's like, how he thinks about things, if he's been dealing with anything important lately, stuff like that!

[followthehearts]

[She nods, smiling faintly in return.]

Nice to meet you, too.

[Aqua places a hand to her chin, trying to think of what Ven may have gone through recently... Well, may as well be up front.]

I've known Ven since he was brought to our castle, and I can't really think of anything other than training incidents that would have happened to him before we "raptor-proofed" Yosuke's house that one time...

[She goes quiet for a moment, as she remembers something that hasn't happened yet.]

He's the kind of boy who is all sunshine and happiness who makes friends with anyone he meets, but he doesn't get out much if at all. Master and I are very protective of him, because he doesn't remember anything about who he was before he was brought to our home. Our Master said it was a "training accident", but I don't think Terra and I ever really believed that.

[And something about her tone meant she really doesn't believe it.]

[1/2]

[idol_support]

[Rise listens intently, nodding a bit, then offers a reassuring smile.]

Aw, wow, he sounds really nice! That's definitely enough to start with!

[...She might have to ask more about that 'training accident' later on though, once they're actually in the TV...because yeah, it's completely obvious that Aqua doesn't believe that's what it was at all.]

[idol_support]

[...




Okay, she knows they're in a hurry, but. She has to ask.]


..."Raptor-proofed"...?

[princeofjunes]

[Well, the meeting is going well!]

[... was going well.]

[Does he really have to explain that? Man, why couldn't Teddie be back faster?]

I, uh... sort of convinced him that Jurassic Park was a documentary. So to get back at me, they showed up and completely raptor-proofed my place, which meant boarding up everything.

WOW WE'RE FINALLY DOING IT. IT'S ACTUALLY THE TV NOW.

[taketwoadults]

[Thanks to Aqua's help, Ven's location is easy to pinpoint. What they see when they get there is a sight that Aqua knows very well. It's the only home Ven has ever known -- the castle in the Land of Departure.

Once they enter, Aqua will find the interior looking the same as she remembers it, but the moment the go down the stairs the world warps. Darkness surrounds them on all sides. It's so smothering, so all-encompassing that they'll find it difficult to see more than a few feet in front of them.

The further they descend, the darker it gets and the more the already oppressive atmosphere strengthens. There's an eerie, unsettling quiet -- there are no ambient sounds. Nothing than complete utter silence. All they'll be able to hear is the sound of their own footsteps, their ragged breathing as they run down the corridors, and the pulsing of the blood in their veins.

In any other place, they would have heard something from the shadow by now. Something, anything, that showed their innermost feelings. Here? Here there is nothing. Absolutely nothing until the finally find him.

The darkness gives way to a small ray of light as they descend the last flight of stairs, the source seemingly coming from the floor itself. It's there, in the middle of it all, that Ventus can be found. Yosuke will find a look on his face that he's never seen before -- anger. Anger and frustration. All of which is directed at the shadow grinning tauntingly in front of him.

The shadow's yellow eyes move from Ventus to the party and barks with hollow laughter.]

What did I tell you, Ventus? Your stupid impulses have put your friends in danger. Again. You don't care about them. You don't care about anything except satisfying your own curiosity.

ERMAHGERD TV

[followthehearts]

[As they arrive at the dungeon, a part of her inwardly cringes at the sight of another copy of their home. Just like hers... but the inside was as it should have been, until they went into the basement.

... It's darker than she remembers the Dark Realm even being. At least there, the Heartless made sounds. That the only sound was their footsteps made it all the more oppressive. Yet she doesn't once stumble in the dark, almost running but trying to stay close to the others. She has to remind herself that she shouldn't be able to make her way this unnaturally well, but she could sense the familiar light in there somewhere deep. They just had to get there.

And when they do, she almost freezes.

A dive into the heart...]

Ven! Please, listen. It isn't your fault we're here, we've been here and know what this world does to people. We were worried for you.

[princeofjunes]

[From the beginning, there's absolutely nothing right about this at all. For starters, he's leading the charge. That alone is unnatural and just... wrong. He's supposed to be watching his Partner's back, not speeding along corridors in the lead. The fact that he is means he's never entirely comfortable as they go along, no matter how familiar his music is or how loud he blasts it. There's a mean voice in the back of his head that says it shouldn't be him, that they're screwed because it is him - a voice he does his best to ignore.]

[Thankfully (in a way), there's something external that's even weirder as they made their way through: the fact that there's no shadows as they go. With visibility being terrible it's not a bad thing, but it's terrifying in its own right. Is it because they came so quickly that the shadows didn't have time to gather? Or is there something else at play here? No matter the answer it's something different, and it doesn't feel right. He wants to be out of here fast, and his feet respond accordingly. Maybe that's the reason he's a bit out of breath by the time they reach Ventus.]

[It's a familiar sight - a person and their shadow, the latter saying the worst things imaginable. And even so, Yosuke still isn't sure what to do as he slips his headphones back off. On the one hand, they really should try and get Ven to accept himself and get out of here as quickly as possible. On the other hand, when has that ever worked in the history of ever? Not only that, but it tends to be a good experience for the person who goes through it, assuming that they don't all die in the process. He won't be able to stop Aqua from saying her piece, but he can at least add a bit-]

It's okay! Whatever happens, we're here for you. Not just Aqua and me, but my friends too! So let it all out!