Chapter Text
The trio made their way to the TV at Junes to consult their other-worldly navigator, who denied their suspicions. No one was in the TV World, as far as Rui could tell.
Frustrated, scared, and worried, An stomped her foot in retaliation, “So we’re just supposed to trust your stupid intuition??? ”
“Ah-ah, of course not. Trust my excellent nose,” Rui smiled, tapping the tip of his nose. “Being honest, there is a faint smell of someone new here. Very faint, but someone is definitely here.”
“Then it’s settled.” Akito spoke, “Rui, you try following this… scent you smell, and the three of us will watch the midnight channel tonight for more clues. We can talk about our next move tomorrow.”
>> Monday, April 25th
The clock had just struck 12 a.m. when An was crouched in front of her TV in her room in the dark. Her skin was uncomfortably damp from how much she was sweating in anticipation and fear. Part of her hoped the TV wouldn’t turn on, or at least wouldn’t reveal her worst nightmares about Nene. The other part, however, felt that if she didn’t see Nene on the Midnight Channel, the meek girl could’ve really been gone.
In the blink of an eye, the TV burst to life and dawned the image of an all-too familiar face framed by grey hair.
“Good evening!” TV Nene greeted cheerfully, holding a microphone up to her lips. “Today, I, Nene Kusanagi, will be performing onstage for all my faithful viewers at home! The title of my show?”
The camera panned out to reveal the title, much like a proper TV show, and the title read—
“Wondershow! The Greatest Performance of All Time by Yours Truly, Nene~!” Nene threw her hands up into the air, beaming brightly at the camera.
An had never been more taken aback in her life. Never, in the 9 years the girls had known each other, had An seen Nene be so bright and outspoken. She had a nerve for wit and a sharp tongue, yes, in private, but here An was, watching the timid girl burst into near song to advertise her “show.”
“I’d hate for even a single person to miss my grand performance,” Nene mocked sadness, “I even had this costume specially made for my great show. I made sure it was as flashy and bright and colorful so no one would miss a single detail!”
At least Nene was right in that sense. Her costume was extremely colorful, consisting of bold reds and blues and yellows with hints of glittery fabric here and there. It was quite an ugly dress, An had to admit, and gave her a headache if she stared at it for too long. Its only purpose, it seemed, was to draw attention.
“Not only that, but I had a special-made stage just for my show!”
A curtain rose from behind Nene and revealed a huge stage and a sea of rows of chairs for audience members. The stage looked to be solid, made of pure wood and had dark red curtains typical for a theater.
“I hope you’ll all tune in!” Nene giggled before turning tail and running down the aisle towards the stage. Then the screen flickered for a moment before turning back off.
“I’m going! No matter what!”
The trio were on the roof of their school to discuss their next course of action after watching the previous night’s broadcasting. An was extremely passionate about rescuing Nene, of course, but Toya and Akito were a little more cautious. They all had equal amounts of experience with the Midnight Channel, but only Akito and Toya knew the true dangers and labors the TV World brought.
“I get you’re worried for her, An, but—”
“No! You don’t get it at all! She could fucking die in there!”
Akito impatiently snapped back, “ So could you, jackass! ”
Toya refrained from interfering. He was a quick learner, and thus learned to let Akito and An air out their thoughts and feelings in the heat of the moment. He could reprimand and talk to them later.
“I’m going, and that’s final! I’m skipping!” An spat out before rushing down the stairs back inside the school.
Still frustrated and annoyed, Akito turned to Toya. “Come on, Toya. Class is soon.”
“I don’t think we should let her go on her own, Akito. It’s dangerous in there, and she doesn’t have…”
“A Persona? I don’t care, maybe getting beat up a bit will teach her not to go running off like that in the first place. We warned her, anyway.”
“Stop, that’s not true. You care about An as much as I do. We have to go after her.”
The sincerity and truth behind Toya’s words made Akito cave in. Akito just hoped his uncle didn’t find out he was skipping.
Rui was extremely busy moping about the TV World when a now-familiar whirring sound played from the stack of TV’s and out tumbled An, followed shortly by Akito and Toya.
“The hell are you doing…?” Akito scoffed, stone-faced, nudging Rui’s arm with his shoe from where he stood over the purple-haired bear-boy.
“What else could I be doing? I am pondering the great mysteries of life.”
“Like…?”
“Who am I? What is this world? Who—”
Akito rolled his eyes and kicked Rui a little harder, “Don’t start with that Shakespeare bullshit, come on and get up—”
“We need your help! Please! Nene really is inside the TV World!” An begged.
Rui got up reluctantly and reported that he could lead them to wherever Nene was. He’d been able to strengthen the smell of the scent, somehow, and told them the journey wouldn’t take too long. So, the four of them set off in search of Nene and her grand stage.
When the grand stage came into view, An raced ahead, shouting out Nene’s name.
“An, wait! Don’t run ahead, it’s not safe!” Toya called after her.
An ran down the path ahead and disappeared into what looked like the door to a backstage area. As the pulsing rings of red and black swallowed her whole. Akito and Toya held back for a minute to talk to Rui.
“We’ll need to be careful in there. I can smell even more shadows inside.” Rui grimaced.
“That’s great. I’m bursting at the seams with excitement and joy.” Akito sighed.
“Whatever’s inside, we’re ready to face it. We need to save Nene and protect An. I don’t want anyone else to get hurt…” Toya his glasses.
“Don’t worry, we’ll do just fine. Are you ready, partner?” Akito assured him, nodding to the entrance to the backstage.
“Of course, Akito.”
The remaining three followed An, passing through the hypnotic red and black door into Nene’s Grand Wondershow Stage.