Persona 5: Cognitive Recursion

by jaredstar

Summary:

After the Phantom Thieves failed and the world ended, Ren Amamiya is granted a New Game Plus by Philemon, sending him back with the core bonds of his friends intact.

Notes:

This story is in part inspired by Multiversal Support Chat Group by Hypn0s. Go give it a read. I recommend it

Updated after having a human help with editing

Chapter 1: Game Start!

AN 1: Good morning, day, evening and Bienvenue. Welcome to my latest story. For those who have read my Pokemon story, this is the story that is replacing it on the rotation. And once again I must apologize to anybody who is upset by the premature ending of that story. In the end it is all about passion. And at some point because of a variety of factors, I lost my passion for that project. In the last chapter of that story, my passion may be rekindled someday, but for now it is on hiatus.

 

On a different site, in a different story, I once said that I would never write a Persona story. To quote Dumbledore, that goes to show that sometimes even the best of us must eat our words.

 

As usual, I don’t own anything in this story. Please support the official release.

The Realm In Between, Evening, December 24th, 20XX

 

Ren Amamiya’s eyes opened suddenly. “What’s going on?” The last thing he remembered was that he and the other Phantom Thieves had been fighting Yaldabaoth in the sky over Shibuya. He had just used Satanael to put a hole in the false god’s head. But there had been a flash of light and suddenly he had found himself here. 

 

Here appeared to be a club that bore more than a little resemblance to the club Akechi had taken him to all those months ago. But almost everything had a Velvet blue hue to it that made it resemble the Velvet Room “Or at least what that bastard of a god had turned it into.”

 

“You’re not wrong.” a voice said. It was the voice of a grown man, deep and in a tone that if Ren were being honest with himself, spoke of a great age and a level of power that, if it were upset with him, would make him want to run screaming in the other direction.

 

As Ren turned, he saw a tall man in a white suit. The two most striking things about him were the ponytail and the butterfly-themed mask he wore. In an instant, Ren made a connection. He said, “Are you related to Lavenza and Igor?”

 

The man smiled, replying, “Indeed, I am. In fact, you could argue that they work for me.” 

 

Ren blinked a few times as he processed that information. While he had spent very little time with the two Velvet Room residents, the time he had spent with Caroline, Justine and the fake Igor had shown them to be beings of incredible power. If the man before them was their boss, then just how powerful was he?

 

“A question for later,” the man responded to the unasked question with more than a little amusement.

 

“Shit! He can read my mind?” Ren thought in a panic. 

 

“No, but I have been observing you humans since the first of your kind walked upon the Earth, so I have a good idea of where your thoughts may go. Now I bet you’re wondering why you are here.”

 

Ren could only nod, as he started to get an idea of the power of the being before him.

 

“Well,” the man started, “I have good news, bad news and worse news. Where would you like me to start?”

 

Ren, starting to feel a little cowed, could only say, “Good news.”

 

The man nodded and said, “The good news is that you won. Yaldabaoth has been vanquished, and his control over the people of Shibuya and, by extension, the world, has crumbled.”

 

Ren wanted to cheer, but the promise of bad and worse news kept him silent. 

 

“The bad news is that Yaldabaoth had what you would call a dead man's switch. And when you killed him, it went off. As a result, you, your friends and a sizable portion of the population of Shibuya were killed.”

 

Ren's knees buckled, and he felt a wave of nausea wash over him. His friends, the people who had become his family and possibly more, were dead along with only God knows how many people. How could it get any worse?

 

The man who now spoke with a grave tone answered, “What is worse is that with you gone and with the tragedy that just occurred, the world is ripe for The Ark and Salmael to take advantage. And that is assuming that the Dreamer cannot act. There are of course other Persona users that might be able to fight, but none that were so uniquely skilled or placed as your group.”

 

Ren mentally groped for something to say. Anything that would give him something to hold on to. And then it hit him. “Wait, you still haven’t told me who you are.”

 

The man looked at him for a moment before he responded. “My apologies, my name is Philemon and as I said earlier, you could say that I am Igor and Lavenza’s boss.”

 

Ren felt his vision start to redden as things clicked into place in his head. He raised his voice, yelling out, “If you’re their boss, then where the hell were you? Where were you when your two ‘employees’ were torn apart, enslaved or imprisoned!?”

 

Philemon stood there impassively as Ren yelled, and that just made him angrier.

 

“Where were you when that bastard of a cognitive god was using me and the other thieves as puppets for MONTHS? WHERE WERE YOU WHEN ME, MY FRIENDS AND ONLY GOD KNOWS HOW MANY PEOPLE DIED BECAUSE OF THAT CONTROL FREAK?!” By the end, spittle was flying out of Ren’s mouth as he collapsed to the ground sobbing at all that had been lost.

 

For a time that could have been moments or millennia, there was silence, before Philemon spoke. Taking a breath that, if Ren weren't so enraged, he might have wondered if it was even needed before speaking, “You’ve asked some great questions and though it won’t make you feel any better, I’ll answer them.”

 

Taking a seat at a booth table and beckoning Ren to do the same, Philemon continued, “Much like Yaldabaoth, I am a cognitive being. Unlike them, I have existed since before the collective unconscious, and as you humans grew into what you are now, I came to represent humanity's hope and belief on the instinctual level. However, at the same time another being arose; its name came to be Nyarlathotep. They came to represent humanity’s darkness, thriving on your despair and conflict and the chaos that resulted. 

 

“Throughout the ages we clashed, as they wished to see humanity destroyed, sometimes directly... But mostly through proxies. Things came to a head back in the year 2000 when he made an overt play to see humanity destroyed and succeeded.”

 

Ren was about to open his mouth to ask what the heck he was talking about, but Philemon almost immediately answered the question with, “The reason you don’t remember anything like that is because I interceded and combined my powers with the Persona users of the time to create a new world.” 

 

Ren figured that there was a story there but decided not to stick his nose in it. 

 

“A consequence of that action is that both Nyarlathotep and I have taken a back seat. We now observe and empower those who would support our ideals. Most of the Persona users since the world was recreated have been empowered by me. While most of the threats they faced, even if they didn’t know it, were empowered by Nyarlathotep. Your immediate predecessor was activated by a different cognitive being, while you, Goro Akechi and the rest of your team were activated by Yaldabaoth through its usurpation of the Velvet Room.” The fact is, for all my power, I am not omnipotent or omnipresent, and by the time I realized what was happening, the rules of the metaphorical game had been set. Essentially, all I could do was watch and pray.”

 

Despite himself, Ren wondered who a god prayed to. But he would consider that theological question much, much later. Shaking his head to get rid of that thought, he continued to listen. 

 

“And my prayers were answered. Despite the manipulations; despite having the deck stacked against you so thoroughly, you and your group managed to win.” Philemon took another deep breath before he continued, “Unfortunately, I didn’t see his last move coming and this is the result.”

 

For a time, silence again reigned, before Philemon spoke up again with a brighter tone in his voice, “Fortunately, Yaldabaoth finally cheated in a way that can be struck back against.”

 

For the first time in a while, Ren started to feel somewhat hopeful.

 

“Can you undo everything? Stop all of this from happening?” Ren asked with a voice full of hope.

 

“After a fashion. The rules of the ‘game’ dictate that I can’t undo everything, but what I can do is reset the board. Put things in place to increase your chances of success and make sure that your Fool’s journey is as it was meant to be. To use a term you might be familiar with, this is a new game plus.”

 

Ren’s eyes widened at the term. He remembered Futaba talking about a game she was playing that had such a feature. “What was it, Metarots? No, it was Metaphor!” The energetic orange haired girl had described the concept of New Game Pluses to him, and how they were often used to make subsequent playthroughs of a game easier by allowing the player to have access to powers, items or skills that they might not have had the first time around. As the implications of that dawned on the boy, his eyes got even wider, causing his eyebrows to disappear into his hairline.

 

Philemon smiled. “I see you get what I am talking about. What I can do is very much in line with what you are thinking about.”

 

“Will I remember anything about the first time around?” Ren asked, his voice full of hope.

 

“No.” Philemon replied bluntly, shattering that hope. “Much like the characters in those games, you won't remember the story. However, the bonds that you forged with your group and other confidants are genuine bonds that not even death can undo, so when you see most of them again there will be a sense of familiarity that will make trusting each other easier.”

 

The word most in that last statement made Ren take notice. “What do you mean by ‘most’?”

 

Philemon’s tone changed to be more subdued. He said, “The unfortunate fact is that Morgana is…or rather, was a different type of being than you and your friends, or even Igor and Lavenza and her sisters. Morgana was created in response to a specific situation and with a specific purpose. And the downside of this new game will be that the situation that they were created during won’t have happened. Even the purpose will be slightly different. I can make sure that a Morgana exists, but much like rebuilding something that has been broken, it will never be quite the same. That means that whatever relationship you have with this new Morgana will be brand new.”

 

That saddened Ren. It seemed that this second chance would not be without some sacrifice. But that brought up a question, “What exactly will I be getting out of all of this that will help with taking Yaldabaoth easier?”

 

Philemon smiled slightly. “I am glad you asked. The first and most important thing is that Yaldabaoth will be kicked out of the Velvet Room. While that won’t undo everything that he did to manipulate your life before you came to Tokyo, it will reduce it and put a limit on what he will have been able to do prior and after your arrival. So, the situation that you enter may well differ from what happened before. This may include new confidants and new pathways open to you. 

 

“Affecting you a bit more directly will be your compendium. While you will have to re-earn most of it, I will make sure that there are a few already in there that will help you on your journey. And speaking of you and your Persona, now that your abilities won’t be powered by Yaldabaoth, your Persona will be capable of much more than before. 

 

“You may also find that some of your targets and enemies may not have as much influence now that Yaldabaoth can not exert its own influence as much as before.”

 

Ren nodded, it seemed like a good deal, not that he had much of a choice. It was either accept and hope that he would succeed where he had failed, or refuse and go to whatever afterlife awaited him. “I accept.”

 

Philemon grinned widely, said, “Good, then let’s get started,” and with a snap of his fingers, Ren started to glow white, becoming brighter and brighter until it drowned out the color of the room. Philemon gave Ren a wave and said, “Good luck, young man... and give that bastard hell!”

 

And just like that, Ren disappeared. As the room started to fade, Philemon chuckled. He had a few boons in place that he hadn’t told the young Trickster about. A few ways of saying ‘sorry’ for the shit year the lad had been through.

 

*********************************************************************

 

2520 train from Shinjuku Station to Shibuya Station, April 9, 20XX, Day

 

Ren Amamiya woke up with a jolt as the train moved through the city. It had been a long trip from Inaba, and he guessed he had nodded off. He wasn’t particularly worried about being mugged. Recent events in his life notwithstanding, Japan was a relatively safe country. 

 

His thoughts were interrupted by a melodic voice next to him chirping, “Welcome back, sleepyhead.” Ren turned his head to see the beautiful brown eyes of one of the few people in the last couple of months to make his life bearable, Nanako Dojima. As he looked at her, Ren thanked whatever power was listening for her agreeing to be his girlfriend.

 

They had met when Ren and his parents had moved to Inaba when he was 10, and the friendly and quirky girl had become fast friends with him. The next couple years were a whirlwind of hangouts at Junes, festivals and getting to know Nanako’s cousin (that she called her big brother) Yu Narukami and his friends (while doing his best to politely ignore the situationship that was Yu, the local weather reporter Marie, an absolute stunner of a European woman named Margaret and Rise Kujikawa of all people.)

 

At the beginning of their last year of junior high, he had finally built up the courage to ask her to be his girlfriend. The aftermath of that had been a little weird. Her father, Detective Ryotaro Dojima, had invited him over for a talk that had really just been the man looking him square in the eye for two minutes before nodding and her cousin shaking his hand and saying thank you. 

 

If Ren were being honest with himself, a part of him was hoping for the small-town fantasy of the two of them growing up, attending college together before returning to Inaba to get married and have kids.

 

Things had been great until a few months ago when, while he had been on his way home from studying, he had come upon a drunk asshole assaulting a woman. He had tried to defend the woman, and the bastard had fallen. Claiming that he would sue. After that he had been arrested, the woman he had tried to save had said that he had attacked the man without cause and the family court judge had thrown out anything that his lawyer or Nanako’s dad or Yu and his friends had tried to bring up to defend him. 

 

In the end, he had been convicted of assault, but because of his age and the fact that the complaining witness hadn’t bothered to show up (which Detective Dojima had said should have seen the case dismissed) he had gotten probation. It had been at that point that he had learned about the darker side of Inaba. Almost overnight, his name had become mud within the small town. People who he had known for years would look the other way if they saw him on the street, and the high school had refused his enrollment for the next year. 

 

His parents, heaven bless them, had searched high and low for a place that would accept him, but most of the places that would do so were little better than prisons. In the end, it had taken help from Yu, Rise and some group they were connected with to get him into a school in Tokyo that had a really good track record, particularly with sports. His parents found someone to take him in. A man named Sojiro Sakura. The man would serve as his parole officer. 

 

Ren wished that Nanako’s dad could fill the role and, to his parents’ credit, they had tried. But because he was dating his daughter, it was judged by the courts that the man couldn’t serve as an effective guarantor of his good behavior. They had said something about how if he and Nanako broke up, Ryotaro might use his position to make Ren's life harder. Nobody who actually knew the man thought that it would happen, but their opinions didn't matter to the courts.

All too soon, their train arrived in Shibuya and the pair made their way to the street. It was a couple of blocks from the train line that would take them to Yongen-Jaya, where Sakura lived. 

 

As they made their way through the crowd near Shibuya's Scramble Crossing, Ren saw something that caught his eye. Standing there in the middle of the street was a girl. He couldn’t tell how old but if he were to venture a guess. She looked to be maybe a year or two younger than Nanako and him. That ‌by itself wouldn’t have been all that weird, but her yellow eyes and platinum hair stood out and reminded Ren of Margaret. Then, as he was about to say something to Nanako, the girl disappeared in the blink of an eye. 

 

“Ren. What's wrong?” Nanako asked, her voice laced with concern.

 

Ren paused for a moment before he responded, “There… there was a girl in the street staring at me.”

 

Nanako cocked her head to the side before she smiled cutely and asked, “Was she cute?”

 

His girlfriend's response brought Ren out of his shock. “She looked a little younger than us, and she looked a lot like Margaret.” 

 

Nanako had a look on her face that after all the years they had been friends and more, told him that she was trying to form the mental vision of someone who looked like her brothers… Ren wanted to call the woman his wife but outside of Yu’s friend group and a few other people in close circles like her dad most people in Inaba didn’t know that she was his wife alongside Marie and Rise. As far as most people were aware, he was married to Rise, and the other two lived with them. Something they occasionally caught flack for from some of the older residents. 

 

“So that's a yes.” Nanako said with a smirk. “Maybe next time I’ll get lucky and get to see her.”

 

Ren wanted to make a smart-ass remark, but if he was being honest, he loved when Nanako got the chance to show her true self. 

 

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Yongen-Jaya, Tokyo, Day

 

As the duo walked into Yongen-Jaya hand in hand, Nanako Dojima found herself metaphorically floored by the differences and similarities. Not just to Shibuya but also to Inaba. The neighborhood was a far cry from the busy and chaotic hustle and bustle of Shibuya. But the small businesses and apartments that filled her eyes reminded her of Inaba, particularly after the town and Junes had found equilibrium. 

 

As they made their way to the address that Ren had been given, Nanako took the time to take in the people around them. Be it the beautiful woman in the doctor's coat or the girl that looked a little older than them that looked like she was of Chinese background. The lesbian couple that was kissing near a movie theater just made the difference between this neighborhood and Inaba more blatant. While she loved the town she had grown up in, she would be the first to admit that it had a lot of the problems that many rural areas had. Namely, a distaste for nonstandard relationships and lifestyles. Okina City was a bit more accepting in that regard, but ‌it was like comparing an apple to an apple that was starting to get a bit overripe. Even if the residents of the small city liked to act like they were better than the small town.

 

A quick conversation with a police officer and the pair found themselves in front of the Sakura residence. Nearby, a delivery man was unloading some packages, but they paid him no mind. Ren quickly pressed the button and took a step back. They stood there for another minute before the deliveryman spoke. “Looks like no one's home.” The two teens looked at the man, who had a thoughtful expression on his face before he continued. “Oh yeah, Sakura's usually at his cafe around this time.” before he trailed off and started mumbling about his deliveries. Walking back out to the main thoroughfare, another quick conversation with the officer found her and Ren standing in front of a small storefront, with the awning above the door reading Cafe Leblanc in English. She looked at Ren, who looked back at her as if he was trying to build up the courage to walk inside. 

 

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

In a dark room filled with books and computer equipment, an orange-haired girl sat at her desk. Her fingers glided over the keyboard as she typed code for a Trojan program she had been developing for a while. She was pulled from her work when one of the cameras in the restaurant area of Leblanc detected someone entering. That ‌was nothing new. Even if the place didn’t have much foot traffic, it did enough business to stay open. But regardless, her eyes moved over to the monitor that displayed that camera's feed. 

 

She saw a pair of teenagers. They looked a little older than she did. The girl had brown hair and an athletic build, while the guy had an average build and stereotypical Japanese featu-... her mental analysis of the guy stopped cold as she really got a look at the guy and she was filled with a sense of familiarity. Despite the fact that she hadn’t left the house since she had moved here. Despite the fact that there was no way for her to have met the boy before her in the past, she felt like she knew him. And ‌it filled her with warmth. 

 

Suddenly the voices started again. “It’s your fault! Say something! You killed me!” things she had heard repeatedly. During her waking hours, in her nightmares. The voices of her aunts and uncles. The voice of her mom. The voice of the men in black as they read her mom's will. She closed her eyes and covered her ears to prevent herself from seeing and hearing the jeers and taunts. But to no avail. Out of desperation, she cried out, “STOP IT!” In an instant her mind's eye was filled with a pair of intense dark grey eyes and a familiar warmth.. And the voices stopped. As she sobbed from relief, the girl asked herself, “Who the heck is this guy?”

 

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

As the pair walked hand in hand to the cafe, Nanako took in the decor. The main area had a quaint and lived-in vibe to it that worked for it. It was clean but at the same time had a feeling of clutter that reminded her of the kitchen in the house in Inaba. Nearby, she saw an elderly man and woman sipping cups of what she assumed was coffee as they watched the news program on the fairly old TV. Nanako gasped as the story repeated itself. The news of all of the weird stuff going on in Tokyo the last couple of years had even reached Inaba. When she had suggested following Ren to Tokyo, her dad had brought up what was happening. She knew that he didn’t buy into the idea that was being championed by the older generation, that what was happening was just the sinful Nature of Tokyo coming to roost. But any idiot could tell you that something weird was going on. He had finally agreed when she pointed out that Ren was going to be thrown into whatever weirdness was going on, and she wanted to be there to shield him from it. As her dad had put it, if she was going to be there to shield Ren, then he was going to be there to shield both of them. 

 

That night she had accepted the sports scholarship from Shujin for field hockey, and her dad had put in for a transfer to a precinct in the same area.

 

Her eyes turned to the middle-aged man sitting on one stool reading a newspaper that she was sure was Sojiro Sakura. He was muttering about the name of a shellfish used in pearl farming. Nanako was about to say oyster when the man noticed them. “Oh, right,” he muttered before putting the paper down on the counter in a huff. “They did say that was today.” 

 

Nanako raised an eyebrow at the tone the man had used since he had started to speak. In and of itself, there was nothing necessarily wrong with it. But it raised a pink-colored flag in her mind. Her thoughts and the conversation were interrupted by the old man. “We’ll be going now, the payments on the table.” followed by Sakura thanking them for coming. 

 

The old man continued on, “This place is in the back alley, so there’s no worries of a car crashing in here.”

 

Nanako considered the point for a moment. Before she shrugged. A big or small enough vehicle moving fast enough could still cause some damage.

 

Sojiro seemed confused. “A what now?”

 

The old man was quick to respond. “There’s been a string of those rampage accidents, you know. I just hope that nothing happens around here.”

 

Nanako nodded at the man's words. 

 

Sakura, on the other hand, seemed to wave it off. “None of my concern.”

 

Either not noticing or not caring about the younger man's dismissal, the old man just chuckled lightly before replying. “We’ll see you next time.” Before he and the old woman walked past Nanako and Ren. The old woman looked at them for a second before nodding approvingly as she followed the man.

 

As the older pair left, Sakura sighed in annoyance. “Four hours for a single cup of joe. Before he looked at Ren, “So you’re Ren?” If Nanako had to take a guess at what the man was thinking. She would bet that he was expecting some punk like Kanji used to act like. Not the well-dressed and put-together young man that her boyfriend presented himself as. His eyes turned to her, and he asked, “And just who are you?”

 

Nanako was about to respond, but Ren got there first. “Yes, I’m Ren Amamiya, and this is my girlfriend Nanako Dojima.”

 

Sakura gave a clearly unimpressed “Uh huh” before he continued, “I’m Sojiro Sakura. You’ll be in my custody over the next year.” Nanako smiled lightly as her guess had been proven correct. But she kept that to herself as the man continued. “I was wondering what kind of unruly kid would show up, but you’re the one, huh?”

 

Nanako smiled at being two for two with her guesses but stayed quiet as Sakura continued. “Have you been told? A customer of mine and your parents know each other, and- not that that matters. Follow me.”

 

Nanako was a little confused as to why Sakura had stopped but put a pin in that topic for later on as she followed the man and Ren up the stairs. 

 

What she found was a room that looked like it might have been used as a sitting area at one point, maybe a break room. She saw a small loveseat and what looked like a desk. But everything was covered either by clear tarps or by several layers of dust. Its saving grace was that it was large, larger in fact than some apartments her dad had looked at when they were looking for a place. 

 

As soon as everyone was standing in the room, Sojiro said, “This is your room, I’ll at least give you sheets for your bed.”

 

Nanako looked over at where the ‘bed’ lay. It was a thick mattress on top of some wooden crates. The placement and the apparent newness of the mattress told her that it had been bought fairly recently. Next to her, Ren let out a gasp of surprise. Something that Sojiro took notice of.

‘You look like you wanna say something.” His tone clearly told Nanako he was expecting some sort of attitude. 

 

Ren, for his part, just said, “It’s big.” Which seemed to catch the man by surprise.

 

However, Sojiro continued on. “It’s on you to clean up the rest.” Nanako made a mental note to pick up some cleaning supplies and PPE. There was no way she was going to let him do this all alone. She refocused on the middle-aged man as he continued. “I’ll be leaving after I lock up each day, so you’ll be alone at night, but don’t do anything stupid. I’ll throw you out if you cause any trouble.”

 

That caused the pink flags from earlier to turn light red. Despite all evidence to the contrary, Sojiro Sakura continued to act like Ren was some sort of thug. But before she could argue, the man continued.

 

“Now then, I got the gist of your situation. You protected some woman from a man forcing himself on her, he got injured and sued you, right? That's what you get for sticking your nose in a matter between two adults. You did injure him, yeah?

 

Nanako couldn’t help what she did next. “I’m sorry, did you just call sexual assault ‘a matter between two adults'?’” Ren, to his credit, put a hand on her shoulder to try to calm her down. But she was far past the point where that would be effective, so she continued. “Are you saying that Ren should have left that woman to at best be manhandled or at worst violated just because it was, as you say, ‘A matter between two adults.’ Because if that's your attitude, I have grave concerns not just for Ren under your ‘care’ but for any woman you might associate with.” Ren would later tell her that he had felt the temperature in the room drop ten degrees while she had spoken.

 

In the here and now, she seemed to have touched a nerve as the Sakura’s eyes widened and then narrowed. “Look at where that got him. He’s got a criminal record, he was expelled from his school, and he had to come all the way out here to find a place that would accept him. And his parents approved of it. Probably for being such a pain in the ass.” He took a moment to take a breath before he continued. “And who the hell are you to talk to me like that?”

 

Nanako didn’t miss a beat as she looked the man in the eye and in a tone that chilled the room even further. “I am Nanako Dojima, Daughter of Ryotaro Dojima. We moved out here with Ren to make sure that he wasn’t alone during his probation. It broke Ren’s parents' hearts to have him move all the way out here. The only mistake they made seems to be asking someone to be his parole officer who treats him like he’s some violent thug! And for the record, Ren didn’t injure the asshole. The man was drunk and tripped over himself, and the arresting officers were working for him. And since the man was some sort of big shot, the judge just shat all over the law to keep the trial going. It’s only thanks to Ren’s age and the so-called victim not even bothering to show up that he got probation instead of jail time. “

 

Not to be outdone, Sojiro responded just as coldly. “If you have a problem with how I’m talking to him, then you're going to hate the rest of society. If he causes one problem or is even thought to have caused a problem, he is going to juvie. One mistake and his life is over.”

 

For a moment, Nanako remained silent before she responded. Her tone was even and measured. “His life in Japan is over.” At Sojiro's raised eyebrow, she continued. “Ren, my dad and I have discussed this several times over the last couple of months, and we are well aware that even if it is eventually overturned, this conviction is going to be a gigantic rock around Ren’s neck. So, a group that my big brother is connected with has agreed to help set him up in another country if we ask. The Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand. If he needs to leave Asia, then there is the E.U., Brazil, the United States. His life as a citizen of Japan might end, but his life would be far from over. And you can bet that as soon as I could, I would be right behind him.”

 

Sojiro's face softened a little bit, but when he turned to Ren and spoke, there was still a little bit of an edge. “She seems like a better person than most, so keep a hold of her. Your luggage arrived a few days ago.” He pointed to a large box in the middle of the floor. “There’s a laundromat and a bathhouse across the street. They cost money, but your parents sent a card for you to use for both. If you act stupid and use it for other things, don’t blame me if they cut you off and you stink.” He handed Ren the plastic card. 

 

“As far as your girlfriend here, despite some of the things she said to me, I won’t bar her from the cafe, but keep it down. And if you get her in trouble, don’t come looking to me for help. That's between you, her, and her dad. One last thing: don't stay up too late. We’re going over to your school tomorrow to introduce you to the staff properly. I don’t have time to drive all the way to your school every day. So If I were you, I would use my free time to get to know the local train schedules and routes.”

 

Ren, who had been silently watching his host and his girlfriend go at each other, just said, “Yes, sir.”

 

With a curt nod, Sojiro moved past the two teens, leaving them to their own devices. After she was sure he was out of earshot, Nanako smiled and said, “Do you think we should tell him that me and dad are going to be at that meeting as well?”

 

Ren grinned, “Nah, we’ll let him realize that tomorrow at Shujin.”

 

The two teens then started working on making the room livable.

 

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Cafe Leblanc, Late Evening

 

Ren lay on his mattress. He and Nanako had spent the better part of the afternoon and well into the evening getting the room looking less like a storage area and more like someone actually lived there. By the time they were done, they had an hour before the cafe was due to close and, as Sojiro made clear, his curfew. So they had decided to look around the neighborhood they would be living in for the foreseeable future. They found the laundromat and bathhouse easily enough, and they were able to familiarize themselves with the locations of the grocery store and the medical clinic. The batting cages had been a bit of a surprise, and the second-hand store had a number of items that looked interesting. Still, all too soon the pair had needed to go their separate ways. Nanako had walked him back to Leblanc, and the pair had shared a kiss before she went to the apartment she and her dad were staging in. Sojiro had fed him some curry and a bottle of water before he had left for the evening but not before reminding him not to do anything stupid and to get up in time to make himself presentable to the school officials. As soon as he put his head on the pillow, sleep claimed him.

 

When Ren opened his eyes, he was no longer in his room. He was standing in the lobby of a classically styled theater. That would have been weird enough, but the Velvet blue color of the lobby alongside black pillars with gold piping made the whole thing feel oddly familiar in a way that Ren couldn’t put into words. His thoughts about the decor were interrupted by a blue butterfly. The part of him that remembered the module that had been done on butterflies in school last year thought that it looked like a Blue Morpho. But that did beg the question. Why was it glowing? And why was it here? Wherever here was.

 

Ren didn’t have much time to think about it as the butterfly flew through one of the open doors. Not knowing what else to do, Ren followed it.

 

When he walked through the door, he found himself in an auditorium. All of the seats were empty, and he couldn’t find the butterfly. What he did find were two people. One was sitting on a fancy loveseat, and the other was sitting in an equally fancy chair. Both were out of place in the theater. One was a tall, spindly man with a large nose and wide eyes. He wore a black suit. The other was the girl he had seen back in Shibuya. She wore a blue and black maid-style dress with blue buttons with gold around the borders. Her arms were covered by long black gloves, and her legs were covered with white stockings that ended in a pair of black slip-on shoes. On her head was a blue and black headband that had a butterfly wing on each side. When he looked at her. He felt a sense of familiarity that he couldn’t place. He had felt the same thing today when he had met Sojiro. And it wasn’t a bad feeling. There was something inside him that told him to trust Sojiro despite the attitude the man seemed to have. He was getting the same feeling regarding the girl in front of him.

 

Before Ren could think of saying anything, the man started to speak. His voice was a bit high-pitched but not comically so, and it had an otherworldly quality to it. “Welcome to the Velvet Room. Please have a seat.”

 

Ren was about to say that there was no chair close by for him to sit in but before he could open his mouth a chair that was identical to the one the girl was sitting in appeared along with a table that was the same shade of blue as everything else. Not knowing what else to do, Ren took his seat.

 

As soon as Ren was comfortable, the man continued. “My name is Igor. I am delighted to meet you.” Igor waved an arm toward the girl and continued, “This is Lavenza. Like myself, she is a resident of this place.”

 

Lavenza gave a slight seated bow and said, “I am pleased to meet you, Trickster.”

 

Igor continued, “There should be one other here to meet you, but no matter, I have faith that you will meet her when it is time.” Igor nodded to himself before he continued. “This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. Only those who have signed the contract can enter this place freely. But it is not yet time for you to do so. But I do believe that that time will come very soon. After which you will be a welcomed guest on your journey.”

 

Ren had no clue what was going on. This was the weirdest dream he had had in a long time. But it still felt weirdly familiar. Including the one called Lavenza calling him a Trickster.

 

Igor either didn’t notice his thoughts or didn’t care as he continued to speak. “I sense that our time is almost at an end, but tell me, do you believe in tarot?”

 

Ren thought about it. He couldn’t say that he subscribed to any one belief. But he did believe that there was something beyond the world that he and the rest of the world saw. With that said, he knew that most Tarot readers you might see in a city like Tokyo were con men and swindlers that at best would give general readings that would be so vague that anybody that went to them could find some connection to themselves no matter how vague. So he shrugged.

 

Igor nodded. “Then before you go, may I give you a reading.” Ren thought about it for a moment. If this was just a dream, then it wouldn’t hurt to let the figment of his imagination give him a reading so that he could wake up. So he nodded.

 

Igor smiled. It was a wide smile that was just a bit unsettling. And on the table, a deck of cards materialized. They were blue and with gold symbols that might as well have been Greek to Ren.

 

After a minute, Igor spoke. “Tarot has always been an interesting art. For most people, no two readings are ever the same. Even with the same deck.” As Igor spoke, he shuffled the deck. Moving it between his hands almost supernaturally. Before he put the deck back down on the table, and pulled three cards. Laying them face down.

 

With a wave of Igor's hand, the first card flipped over, revealing a tower being struck by lightning and being torn in half. “The first card is The Tower, Its foundations crumbling, its windows shattered. This signifies disaster is afoot. The collapse of the world as you perceive it. Relationships will be tested, beliefs shattered and the walls of protection you have put up will fall.”

 

Ren would admit that what he had just heard freaked him out a bit. But he found himself unable to speak. As Igor waved his hand again. This time it was a door with a large human skull in front of it. Ren felt his blood run cold as Igor spoke.”The next card is Death. But worry not, Trickster, for it predicts not an actual death, but a rebirth. In order to weather what is to come, you must rid yourself of preconceived notions and embrace the change to come.”

 

Ren calmed down a few hairs, but this reading was oddly specific. And that freaked him out a little.

 

Igor flipped over the last card, revealing a horned monster in front of two bowing figures. What was weird was that it was upside down. Igor looked at him gravely. “This last card is The Devil reversed. Combined with The Tower and Death, it offers a warning. A failure or refusal to undergo the needed change will lead to ruin. And I fear that it would not just be your personal ruin but that of all that you hold dear.”

 

Ren wanted to scream, to beg for Igor to take back the prediction, but he was interrupted by the sound of an alarm. And in the blink of an eye, he rose from his bed covered in sweat and breathing hard. “What the hell was that?

 

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Shujin Academy, Aoyama-Itchome, April 10 20XX, Day

 

With six adults and two teenagers, Ryotaro Dojima found Principal Kobayakawa’s obnoxiously opulent office to be a little cramped, but he chose to ignore it. On his side of the room sat himself, Nanako, Ren, Sojiro Sakura and a young attorney named Maiko Oohashi. She said that she had been sent by Yu’s employer to represent Ren’s interest. She looked much younger than he expected an attorney to be, but after all his years as a cop and detective, he had learned to take things at face value.

 

After his daughter had told him about her ‘conversation’ with Sojiro Sakura, he had done a light background check on the man. The man had no priors and had worked for the government in some capacity in the past but had spent the last several years as the owner of Cafe Leblanc. The most interesting thing was that the man was listed as the legal and custodial guardian of a young girl ‌ a little younger than Ren and Nanako, named Futaba. If his daughter was being truthful about the encounter, that explained why the man had lost his temper. The living quarters in which he had Ren living ‌ were a little bit iffy to Ryotaro, but they were technically legal for a boy Ren's age. Still, he would keep an eye out regarding the man. 

 

Ryotaro's eyes turned to Ren. When Nanako had introduced the boy to him all those years ago, he would admit that he hadn’t been happy about a boy being around his daughter. After all, he had been a lad once, and he knew that at that age boys started to have all sorts of feelings regarding the opposite sex. But the boy had grown on him. And as the pair had grown, he had started what his younger subordinates referred to as shipping them. And as Nanako's interest started to develop, he would admit that he would have acted the same way if Nanako had brought a girl home.

 

As it was, he was treating the situation the same way he did with Yu and his partners. As long as everyone was happy, he would support them. 

 

Ryotaro's eyes turned to the other side of the room. Where the other three adults sat or stood. The first was a young woman who had been introduced as Sadayo Kawakami. It didn’t take a trained detective to see that the woman was exhausted. It showed in her posture, in the way her eyes settled when she wasn’t focused on anything. And during the few times she had spoken, it showed in her speech. 

 

On the other side of the principal's desk stood a man whom Ryotaro instantly recognized as Suguru Kamoshida. He had seen the man help win Japan a gold medal in volleyball years ago, and it seemed that the years between had done nothing to dampen the man's physique. From the moment they had been introduced, Ryotaro hadn’t liked the man. There was an underlying tone in his voice that screamed ‘I am superior to you’ and it showed in the man's eyes as well. When he had spoken to Nanako and Miss Oohashi, the look in his eyes had been almost predatory. When he had shaken the man's hand, it seemed like the man was trying to squeeze his hand almost as a display of dominance. Ryotaro had been happy to play the game and had put just as much pressure behind his grip. He made a note to do a background check on the man. Something seemed hinky about him. And Ryotaro was going to find out what it was. 

 

Finally, his gaze turned to the principal, Minato Kobayakawa. The man was, without putting too fine a point on it, morbidly obese. In and of itself, that wasn’t a problem. At least not legally or morally. Even if it did bode poorly for the man's health given his age. No, what bothered Ryotaro was the way he spoke. For the most part, it reminded him of some of the sleazy politicians he had dealt with during his career and their toadies. The man before him didn’t seem to have the wit to actually be someone, so if Ryotaro was right, the man was a toady. A part of him wanted to pull Nanako away from here immediately, but that would mean abandoning Ren to this nest of vipers.

 

Despite all of that, the meeting seemed to be going along normally until close to the end, when Kamoshida said in a voice just loud enough to be heard. “I don’t know why you accepted someone like him. A kid with a criminal record is going to do nothing to help the school's reputation.”

 

In an instant, everyone in the room froze. He could already see the rage in his daughter's eyes, the cold fury in Ren’s, the surprise in Sakura’s and the cold calculation in Miss Oohashi’s. 

 

He wasn’t a lawyer, but Ryotaro knew what the rules were regarding releasing information regarding minors, particularly criminal records, to those who didn’t need that information. Such as himself or his daughter in normal circumstances. “If I were a betting man, I would say this was some sort of power play.”

 

Ryotaro was about to speak when Miss Oohashi beat him to the punch. In a voice that was at absolute zero, she said. “MR. KAMOSHIDA! Are you aware that you have just violated not just the APPI but the Juvenile Act as well?”

 

Ryotaro noted that Kamoshida had a blank look on his face, while Kawakami looked shocked and Kobayakawa’s face paled so much that for a second he was worried the man was having a heart attack. He recovered quickly enough and started to play damage control. “Miss Oohashi, please! I’m sure that it was just a slip of the tongue. And Mr Kamoshida meant no harm.”

 

Miss Oohashi’s face was decidedly unimpressed. “Mr. Kobayakawa, this man is an educator. This isn’t just being loose with his words on a sensitive matter. This was a clear violation of Ren Amamiya’s right to privacy under the law. Your earlier speech to Amamiya was close to the line, but I let it be. That was my mistake. My employer will be most displeased by what has happened here.”

 

Kamoshida got a look on his face and snidely asked. “And just who might your ‘employer' be, missy.”

 

Oohashi gave the man a look that would have melted Mithril as she responded, her tone so cold that Ryotaro almost felt the temperature in the room drop. “Not that you have any right to know, Mr Kamoshida.” She said, saying his name as if it were the most vile of curses. “But I work for the Kirijo Group. And as I said at the start of this meeting, I have been hired to represent Ren Amamiya's interests during his probation.” She looked back at Kobayakawa before she continued. “You would do well to put a muzzle on your teacher. Consider yourself lucky that everyone in this room either had a legal right to that information or was already cognizant of it. So, for the time being, we will consider it as you say, a slip of the tongue. However,” she said with a cold smile that did not reach her eyes. “From now on, a very close eye is going to be kept on the goings-on of this school, particularly as they pertain to Ren Amamiya. And if we don’t like what we see, if there are any other slips of the tongue and privileged information regarding Amamiya becomes public. I have been given permission to bring the full force of the Kirijo Group down on you.”

 

All three Shujin staff members paled as the implications of what Oohashi had said hit them like an anti-tank rifle. Miss Oohashi turned to him and the rest of the group and said in a much warmer tone of voice. “I do believe we are done here. Come along.”

 

One by one, the group filed out until Ryotaro stood before the three teachers. Looking at Kamoshida, he said, “I’ve been a detective for a very long time and I have been a cop for even longer. And in all that time, I have come to have a pretty good eye for the criminal element. And you, sir, are raising a lot of flags for me. Keep your nose clean because if I need to, I will bring the fury of organized law down on you. Have a day.” With that, he walked out of the office to join his daughter and Ren.

 

If he had remained in the office, he would have seen Suguru Kamoshida clench his fist so hard that his nails threatened to break his skin and a look of unbridled fury on his face.

 

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Deep within the bowels of Mementos, the being known as Yaldabaoth raged. It had been so close. It had the Velvet Room, one of its pawns was active, and the other was going to become active any day now. But something had happened, and he suddenly found himself out of the Room, stripped of the power that it granted him and worse, he no longer had access to the Trickster. While he was still connected to the prisoners of Mementos, even that had been reduced. It was sure that someone was behind what had happened. And the gigantic writing on in the air in front of it that read C̶̯̰̩̗̓H̴̲͂͛̕Ẹ̵̮̭̤͂̄̆̏Ä̷͚̙́͋̊͐̚͝Ṭ̸̛͎̤̣̀̑͝͝͠E̷̥̩̯͒̀̌̂R̷̛̫̮̾̑̌̕S̶̹̣̠̅ ̸̭̖̯̉͜͝ͅŃ̷̢͓̩̣̠̬͆̂E̵̳͔̝̪̚V̶͎̯͖͚̜̠͆͂̇̆͂͑E̸̠͈̖͉̱̤̓R̵̦̹̠̥̋ ̸̨͕̽́P̶̧̡̩͉̤̭͝R̷̗̘͇̜̳̰͆Ọ̷͙͚̌̋̈́̅̓̕S̴͎̭̺̈́̍̀P̷̢̺̙͙̾͊̓̚͠E̸̡̢̤̜̱̼͘R̸̛̙̭̒̌!̵̲̾̄̓̊͑ confirmed that fact. 

 

The heat of its anger burned the air. Even though it had lost access to some of its power and the shadows that provided, there were other sources of power to draw from. Its game was not yet lost. It had only just begun.

 

AN 2: Well, that's the end of that chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Next up is ITS HERO SLIME!! And the fight against the early LOV 

 

As usual Kudos, Favorite, comment and subscribe (according to whichever site you are reading this one.)

Chapter 2: PERSONA!!!

Summary:

Three awakening and a cat girl

Notes:

Like last chapter Multiversal Support Chat Group by Hypn0s continues to be a strong inspiration for this story Go give it a read.

AN 1: Welcome back! I normally work in cycles, but felt so inspired that I just had to type this out. And it is actually longer then the original.

 

With that said I have an announcement to make. As of a few weeks ago half of my long-form stories are on hiatus. Besides Pokemon: the Story of Us. Kingdom Hearts:(Re) Destiny, The Rise of the Dark Hero and The Ki Hero Izuku are what has been affected. 

 

What does this mean? Well, put shortly, they are out of the writing cycle. Which now includes this story, My Lyrical Academia, IT’S HERO SLIME!! And Hanami: The Festival of Cherry Blossoms. The idea being that by limiting my cycle to four stories, I can increase my turnaround time so that you all are getting one chapter update a year. 

 

The on-hiatus stories will be under the same rules as my compilations, which means chapters will be added as I develop them.

 

Finally, those of you who are reading this on FFN may note that the first chapter has been updated to fix the mountain of spelling and grammar errors. If I did things right, the chapter should update at the same time that this chapter goes live.

 

As always, Persona, SMT and anything else you find in here that isn’t 100 percent original belongs to their original owners. Please support the official release.

 

Cafe Leblanc,Yongen-Jaya,Tokyo, April 11 20XX. Morning.

 

Today, Ren decided as he sipped on admittingly fantastic cup of coffee as he washed down one of the best plates of curry he had eaten in a while, it was all things considered a good day. Sure, he was exiled from home for the next year. Sure, the man whose business he was living above  treated him like he was going to cause trouble at every turn. But considering that he could be in jail, things could be worse.

 

Looking at his phone, Ren noticed that Nanako had sent him a message.

 

Nana: “I’m waiting outside.” 

 

That made Ren finish the last dregs of his food and drink. While Sojiro had said that Nanako wasn’t banned from the premises,  he and Nanako had discussed it last night and they had agreed that, all things considered, it might be best if she didn’t go inside the restaurant for a few days, until any residual tempers had cooled.

 

As he stepped outside, Ren noted that the air felt a bit moist but ignored it. As he gave Nanako a kiss on the cheek. And the pair headed towards the train station. Had he been paying more attention, he would have noted an unfamiliar app on his smartphone home screen. An app with a shot of a Blue Morpho from above.

 

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Later, as the pair moved through the Shibuya Station changeover that would take them to school, Ren couldn’t help but be amazed at all the school uniforms. The one that stood out the most was the yellow jacket of a school that a trio of girls wearing a Shujin uniform had called Kokatsu Academy. Apparently two of the girls had attended there until this school year. The dark-haired  girl they were talking to was familiar, but Ren had put that aside as he and Nanako moved through the crowd. The air was even more humid now than when he had left Leblanc.

 

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Ren and Nanako had made it to Aoyama-Itchome without too many issues. The pair were walking away from the station when the heavens opened up and it started to rain cats and dogs. Taking his girlfriend's hand, Ren led her under an awning before they got too wet. He smiled at Nanako's  creative cursing. (a side effect, he supposed, of spending so much time with Kanji over the years.) when he noticed a figure join them in escaping the rain. When they came to a stop, Ren saw that it was a girl. 

 

She was wearing a somewhat customized variation of the Shujin uniform. Wearing a white hooded sweatshirt underneath the school jacket and red tights. As the girl pulled the hood back, he saw that the girl had long blonde hair tied up in bushy ponytails on either side of her head and blue eyes. Ren would be lying to himself if said he wasn’t a bit captivated by the girl's exotic beauty. Heck, he would be lying to himself if there wasn’t a part of him that was acting like the wolf from that Tex Avery anime short he had seen years earlier. And he could tell from the hitch of her breath that Nanako was thinking along the same lines. 

 

But as the girl noticed him and looked back, that part was overtaken by a sense of familiarity. The girl looked at him for a moment before her eyes widened. 

 

Anything that any of the three teens might have said or done next was interrupted as a silver sedan pulled up and the window opened to reveal Kamoshida. In a pleasant tone, he said, “Good morning. Do you want a ride to schoo-” It seemed that he had been speaking to Ann because as soon as he took notice of Ren and Nanako his expression changed in an instant and he growled out “Gotta go.” before he peeled out leaving a shocked Ann and a slightly bemused Ren and Nanako. It seemed like Miss Oohashi had left an impression.

 

As the car faded from sight in the rain, a rapid set of footsteps approached, and Ren saw a boy about his age wearing an orangish-yellow t-shirt under his coat run up and growl out. “Damn it! Screw that pervy teacher!”

 

A little confused, Ren repeated the words, “Pervy teacher?” In his pocket, his phone unlocked itself and activated an app.

 

The boy took notice of the three other teens and growled, “I hate that bastard Kamoshida. He thinks he’s the king of the school.” As the two looked each other in the eyes, Ren felt another pang of familiarity, while the boy went quiet for a moment.

 

Behind Ren, the two girls nodded. Nanako was enthusiastic, while the other girl was hesitant.

 

The boy looked at Ren and then Nanako for a moment before he said, “You two are going to Shujin Academy, right?”

 

Nanako replied, “Yeah, we just transferred in. This was actually our second time seeing Kamoshida. We met him yesterday when we had to come here to introduce ourselves to the staff.”

 

The boy looked at Ren for a moment before he said, “Wait a second, I think I-”  whatever he was going to say was interrupted by a sudden realization. “Oh shit, we’re going to be late! It's not raining that hard!”

 

 Nanako and the other girl joined Ren as he followed behind the blond new male classmate.

 

None of them heard a computerized voice say, “Result found,” followed by, “Your destination has a hit. Beginning navigation.” When talking about this day in later years, Ren would say that it felt like the world turned purple for a moment. The piercing headache that he got for a moment was a bad sign. 

 

Eventually, the quartet made it to where the school was located. The blonde-haired boy, who had finally introduced himself as Ryuji Sakamoto, and the blonde- haired girl, who had introduced herself as Ann Takamaki, were even more confused than Ren, who didn’t remember a castle being here yesterday. The fact that the sky was red and black was another hint that they weren't in Kansai anymore.

 

Ann had an extremely concerned look on her face, and Ryuji was confused and angry. Ren couldn’t help but notice that Nanako seemed calm, almost strangely calm. She was looking at the courtyard they were standing in with a critical eye. As if she were taking in everything she was seeing and storing it away for later. 

 

Finally, Ann broke the silence. “What the heck is going on? Where’s the school?” With each word, her voice rose and became more panicky. 

 

Nanako, in a display of calmness that shocked Ren, placed his hand on her shoulder and said quietly, “Don’t worry, it will be okay.”

 

Ren, trying to help with the mood, quipped, “So the school has, apparently 

become Hogwarts in the last 18 hours. What do we do now?”

 

Ryuji was thoughtful for a moment before he replied, “Let's go in and see what the hell is going on.”

 

Ren and Nanako looked at each other for a moment before nodding. Ann got a wide-eyed look and was about to respond when Nanako looked at her and said, “This is just to see what is going on. If there is any danger, we’ll make for the exit and run like mad.” The blonde-haired girl was hesitant but slowly nodded. 

 

As the quartet made their way into the castle, Ann snorted at the decor. “Disgusting”

 

Ren, for his part, had to agree. Whatever this place was, it was meant to be a European-style castle. But in a way that made it clear that whoever had built it had no idea what one looked like and based their design off of games and manga. And underneath it all was an undercurrent of sleaze that permeated everything. 

 

Ren's thoughts were interrupted by the clanking of heavy metal as a group of three hulking armored soldiers ran into the room. The most distinctive thing about them was that none of them had the faceplate that one might expect from a medieval soldier. Rather, they all had what looked to Ren like a metallic theater mask. Behind him, he heard Nanako gasp. When he looked at her, her face was white, and she had a look of terror in her eyes. 

 

Before Ren could say anything, one soldier spoke up. His voice was rough. “Princess Ann! What are you doing here, and inn that low manner of dress and with these commoners and the accursed sheriff's offspring.” 

 

Ann sounded utterly confused. “Princess? What are you talking about? What's going on? What's with the cosplay?”

 

Ren looked at the soldiers. Whatever was going on, he was almost sure these weren't people wearing costumes. They didn’t look or sound like foam or plastic. And the swords they carried glinted like real metal. “Guys, I think we need to go.”  

 

The group turned to leave but found their exit blocked by more of the soldiers. Ren looked at Nanako for a moment before he ran full force into one soldier, barely moving it but causing enough of a distraction that when he yelled, “RUN!” Nanako grabbed  Ann’s hand and ran down a hallway. He was about to grab Ryuji and do the same when he felt something hit in the back of the head and everything went dark.

 

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Sometime later, Ren's eyes opened, and he sat up with a start. An action he almost immediately regretted as he was hit with a sudden spike of pain. Ryuji was standing nearby excitedly exclaiming, “Dude, you’re up! You’ve been out for a while now.”

 

Ren let out a frustrated groan. “Great,” he drawled, “Remind me to schedule a visit to a doctor after all of this.” He wasn't a doctor but even he knew that being knocked unconscious for a prolonged amount of time like that wasn't good. 

 

Taking a look around where he had woken up. He found himself in what looked like a dungeon cell. And like the castle before, it looked like it was out of a manga or anime. 

 

“Where the hell are we!” he heard Ryuji growl indignantly. As he marched up to the cell bars and shook them, yelling. “LET US OUT! I KNOW SOMEONE’S OUT THERE!” his voice echoed around the area 

 

Almost in response, there were a pair of pained screams. Ren joined Ryuji at the bars  and looked around for the source. “You heard that too... right?” the blonde-haired boy asked as fear started to creep into his voice. Ren merely nodded. Ryuji quickly replied. “We need to find the girls and get the hell out of here!” 

 

Ren nodded. Wherever the girls were, he hoped that they were okay.

 

His concern almost immediately returned to himself and Ryuji as one of the soldiers walked up to their cell and growled, “Stand ready, worms, for your sentence has been decided. King Kamoshida has decreed that you are to be executed immediately.” 

 

The cell doors opened, and any thought either boy had of running died as a number of other soldiers entered the cell flanked by a human-looking figure. Two of the soldiers moved behind Ren and Ryuji and kicked the backs of their knees to force them to kneel. 

 

As the pair looked up, Ren was shocked and disgusted to see Kamoshida. Only he was different. His eyes were almost ‌ glowing yellow, and there was a sense of wrongness that surrounded him. The disgust stemmed from the fact that Kamoshida was wearing very little. His outfit consisted of  an almost comically small crown, a cape checkered with red and pink hearts  and red shoes. And as Ren saw when he moved around, pink panties. Ren wasn’t one to shame another for how they enjoyed themselves, but he really didn’t need to see that.

 

When Kamoshida spoke, it was in the same way that the soldiers did. Almost as if there was a deeper second voice behind it. “So these are the rats that have invaded my castle.” Looking at Ren, he sneered, “You are the troublemaker who has entered my kingdom to cause ruin?” He looked at Ryuji and said with both delight and disgust, “We remember you, boy. Tell me, was one busted leg not enough for you? Do you wish for me to complete the set?”

 

Ryuji took that personally. “I always knew you were a damn creep. And all of this just proves it. When we get out of here, I am going to let everyone know just what you are.”

 

Kamoshida grinned. “And who will believe a disgrace such as yourself. The violent son of a drunk and a sullen wench. A crippled failure, whose actions saw the dissolution of his entire order. And if you think your little friend here will speak on your behalf, why would the peasants believe the word of a violent thug. And if you think that that Sheriff or that vile solicitor will help you. Think again. I may be a king, but as far as you maggots are concerned, I am God.” 

 

On the floor, Ren felt a headache brewing as he trembled with anger. 

 

Kamoshida smirked as he continued. “I had considered sparing your lives. After all, you brought with you a pale imitation of my princess and the sheriff's daughter. When we find them, many hours of merry sport will be had.”

 

In that moment, Ren’s vision didn’t just go red; it fractured. The pain in his skull wasn’t a headache; it was the sensation of his soul ripping at the seams. For a terrible, blinding instant, Kamoshida's tiny crown warped into a towering, multi-layered golden chalice. The dungeon disappeared from view, replaced by a ruined skyline and the cries of countless people. As he turned around, a massive figure with six black wings filled the skyline. When he blinked, the figure disappeared, and standing in front of him was himself. After a moment, the other him spoke. His voice, with a light French accent, was smooth and laced with a terrifying arrogance. It was deeper and grander, echoing with the finality of a judge. “Has your defeat truly brought you so low that this bête is more than an insect to be crushed beneath your heel? Is this truly all that you are capable of, Trickster?

 

Ren found himself back in  the dungeon. But time had frozen. Kamoshida stood there with his arrogant grin. And something within him snapped. Ren didn’t growl or lunge. He went absolutely still. His eyes, fixed on Kamoshida, were cold, not with fear , but with a terrifying, absolute recognition of this creature's worthlessness. That this thing that called itself a King was merely a pebble in the road, something to be stepped on. The fact that he had threatened the woman Ren loved filled him with an all-consuming rage. 

 

“Your limitations, your chains are an illusion crafted by others to keep you weak. Toss them aside. You have the power to wage war on Heaven.‌ Do not waste it on insignificant nothings like this.”

 

Ren didn’t know what the other him was talking about and at the moment he didn’t particularly care.

Time resumed, and Kamoshida and his soldiers found themselves driven back by a wave of pure force.

 

I am Thou, and Thou art I…”

 

A white mask formed over Ren’s face before it cracked and shattered, leaving raw smoking flesh behind. Yellow eyes glared at Kamoshida, promising nothing but pain.

 

Ren didn’t scream. He looked Kamoshida dead in the eye and whispered a single, ice-cold word. "Arsene."

 

The blue and black flame ignited at his feet, but it was violently unstable. For one agonizing, terrifying heartbeat, the flame exploded into a  six-winged silhouette of pure  darkness that nearly touched the ceiling of the dungeon.

 

Then, with a crackle of barely constrained power, the silhouette  condensed, the shadow reforming into the  elegant, top-hatted figure of Arsene. For a moment nothing happened, but suddenly the chains that wrapped around its body burned away into ash.

The blue and black flame continued to burn around Ren for a moment before it died down, revealing a figure that was equal parts aristocrat and assassin. He wore a long, flowing black tailcoat that flared out behind him like a shadow, worn over a gunmetal grey vest and a high-collared white shirt. But it was the hands that drew the eye, encased in blood-red gloves, currently balled into fists that were trembling with barely contained violence. He didn't look like a student playing dress-up; he looked like a predator wearing a three-piece suit.

 

The being smirked, adjusting his coat. “Très Bien, Trickster. Now, let us remind this crétin what happens when you tickle a sleeping dragon.

 

Arsene released a wave of dark energy that drove Kamoshida and his men into the wall so hard that it cracked. Ren grinned viciously as he put his hand out and, in a wave of power, a long, dark, cruel-looking knife appeared in his hand. A few of the soldiers burst into ooze before reforming into a pair of pumpkin-headed beings riding broomsticks. 

Before the monsters could think to act, Ren charged forward, slicing through one of them from the bottom-up before spinning around and decapitating the other.

Ren then turned to look at Kamoshida, who was attempting to stand up. “You little bastard! You think killing my men is enough to stop me. There are more like them. All of them are ready to fight and die for their king! It is only a matter of time before they bring those mewling bi-” 

 

Anything else the bastard was going to say was interrupted by a kick to the head courtesy of an angry Ryuji. Who quickly used the man's disorientation to toss him into the cell before yelling, “ Dude, get out here and lock the door!”

 

Ren left the cell, grabbing a cell key that had fallen during the fight and  locking the cell door behind him. 

 

Ryuji grinned viciously. “Take that, you perverted son of a bitch.” Before turning to Ren, he said, “Okay, dude, what the hell was that.”

 

Ren looked back at Ryuji before he was engulfed in blue and black flame again. Returning him to his school clothes. Very confused by what had just happened, Ren responded hesitantly, “I-I don’t know.“ 

 

Ryuji grinned. “Well, whatever that was. It was awesome! Scary as fuck but awesome!”

 

Kamoshida chose that moment to interrupt. “Let me out of here, you lowly maggots! Do that, and I will make your deaths painless.”

 

Ryuji kicked the bars before shouting, “Quiet, you piece of shit!” before he looked at Ren and said, “We need to find the girls, and get the hell out of here.”

 

Ren looked at Kamoshida for a moment. A part of him wished he still had the knife. Before he nodded at Ryuji and said, “Let's go.”

 

With that, the pair ran off into the dungeons seeking their companions.

 

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Ann made her way through the corridors of the castle with more than a little bit of trepidation. Everywhere she tried to go, there were those strange soldiers. All of them seemed to be looking for her. She and the new girl Nanako had gotten separated a while ago. And Ann  winced at the thought of the girl and how she had completely fallen to pieces earlier. When they had arrived at this weird castle, the girl had been so calm. But something about the soldiers had flipped a switch, and the calm young woman had been replaced by a girl whose panic mirrored her own. 

 

“There’s a story there.” Ann thought to herself but shook her head. Now wasn’t the time to think about that. She could worry about what was going on with the other girl when they got out of this castle. “Or rather, if we get out of the castle.”

 

Ann wasn’t sure where she was. But she knew from the few times she had looked out of the windows that she was a few stories up. But every time she tried to head down, she saw more and more of the soldiers. 

 

Suddenly she heard a feminine giggle. It was followed by more giggles. That, even without seeing who was making them, sounded far from innocent. Following the sounds, she soon found herself in a large room that looked like it was out of an H-doujin she had seen some time ago. All around the room were girls in various costumes and states of undress. Of all of them writhing and moaning  in ways that shook her. “What the hell is going on? What is this?” Ann whispered to herself at the scene in front of her. 

 

The most disturbing thing about all of this was that Ann ‌recognized many of the girls. Some of them were from the girls' volleyball team. Two of the girls looked like the student body president and the vice president. The last was several years older than the rest, with ashen-brown hair  and brown eyes. 

 

She recoiled, attempting to escape the horrifying spectacle that assaulted her eyes. A sudden collision with something made her stop. It didn’t feel like a wall or anything more solid. In fact, it felt fairly soft. When she turned around, what she saw made her blood run cold.

 

In front of her was another version of herself.‌ Clad in a barely-there bikini and a crowned cat-ear headband, it was almost like looking in a perverted mirror. Then the other her opened her mouth. In a tone of voice that made it seem like her IQ was 50 points lower, she said. “Oh wow! Is King Kamoshida so horny that he had to get another me…” The other girl looked Ann up and down for a moment before sneering. “Not even a good copy. Like I would ever be caught dead wearing such ugly clothes.” 

 

For several seconds, Ann tried to come up with something, anything, to say. “What- What is this? Who are you? Why do you look like me?

 

The other Ann merely giggled. “Wow, what hole did they drag you from? This is King Kamoshida's harem. All of the girls here serve him in whatever way he desires.” The other Ann pointed at her crown. “And I’m his favorite. I happily make sure that he is satisfied. Because that's what I’m for.”

 

The other girl's words dripped with a venom that made Ann's stomach clench. It was a familiar poison, a taste she’d known since returning to Japan. Whispers slithered through school hallways, fueled by the envious glares of girls. Boys, emboldened by her heritage and appearance, spat their opinions like curses. The metallic scent of the train mingled with the perfume of office ladies, their judgments hanging heavy in the air as they hurried past.

 

“Asqueroso!” The voice that ran through her head was accompanied with a splitting headache.

 

The other Ann giggled. “Ah, does the little doll have a headache? Why don’t I summon a guard so that they can make you feel better.” Her tone told Ann, even through the headache, that the guard would do anything but make her feel better. 

 

With a snap of the other Ann’s fingers, another soldier walked in. Unlike the soldiers she had seen before, this one wore golden armor that shone brightly even in the low light of the room.

 

Her voice full of cruelty, the other Ann cooed, “Before you go, let me introduce you to one of the newer girls in the stable. I may be the favorite, but she’s quickly rising through the ranks.”

 

The other Ann walked away for a moment before coming back with another girl, who was wearing a white bunny-themed bikini with a bunny-eared headband. When Ann realized who it was, she screeched, “SHIHO!”

 

The other Ann grinned wickedly. “Oh yes, I had her brought into the harem, and the King loves her. But she’s so pathetic that I never have to worry about her replacing me.” To punctuate her statement, she slapped Shiho’s butt, causing the girl, who had been looking down at the ground, to whimper. 

 

Ann was a hurricane of emotions. She knew that this place couldn’t be real, but what did all of it mean? Was Kamoshida abusing these girls? Was he abusing Shiho? And what did the other her mean about bringing her into the harem. “I helped Shiho get on the team by agreeing to play nice with Kamoshida. Does that mean that I put in his clutches? I know he’s a pervert, but is he actually doing things to the girls on the team? And what about that woman?”

 

"Shut up!" Ann screamed, but her voice wavered. Fear paralyzed her. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable. I can’t do anything… I’m just… I’m just…

Time came to a stop. Nothing was moving, not the guard, not her slutty clone, not even the flames ‌ from the candles around the room.

“Is that truly all you are, mi corazón?”

The Spanish accented voice didn’t come from the room. It erupted from inside her skull, sultry, sharp, and smelling of smoke and roses.

Ann gasped, clutching her head as a splitting headache dropped her to her knees.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of her. Through the pain in her head, Ann saw that it was another duplicate of her. Only this one was dressed as she was. The biggest difference was the yellow eyes that seemed to look into her soul.

“Look at you,” the yellow-eyed Ann scoffed, dripping with passionate disdain. “Trembling before this filthy Gadji? Allowing this Puta to dictate your worth? ¡Qué vergüenza!”

"Who… who are you?" Ann whispered through gritted teeth.

“I am the fire in your veins that you tried to extinguish,” the girl purred, growing louder, angrier. “You sacrificed your pride to protect another, yet look where it led. The fantasy of the beng, the devil that would dare call himself a king, laughs while your sister suffers. Will you remain a doll? A silent, pretty plaything?”

The cognitive Ann stood as motionless as a statue. The real Ann looked at it, at the mockery of her own existence, and the fear in her chest began to curdle into something hotter. Something violent.

"No..." Ann muttered.

“I cannot hear you!” the yellow-eyed girl roared, the Spanish accent thickening with rage. “Is your spirit so easily broken? Or does the blood of a Calé burn within you? Do you crave the freedom to stomp this oppression into the dust?”

Ann looked up, her blue eyes blazing with a newfound fury that made Shadow Kamoshida pause. "I said... NO!"

“¡Magnífico!” The girl laughed, a sound of pure, unadulterated rebellion. “Then let us end this charade! Stop looking away from the ugly truth and embrace the beautiful fuego of vengeance!”

 

The yellow-eyed girl vanished

“I am Thou, Thou art I...”

Time resumed, and all of the occupants of the room moved back as it became much hotter.

A blue flame ignited at Ann’s feet, spiraling upward, scorching the air.

“You have finally found the courage to dance to your own rhythm! Let us steal back your life from these thieves of virtue! Call my name and let us show this world what happens when a rose grows thorns!”

Ann screamed, her hands clawing at her face as a red, cat-like mask materialized over her eyes. It burned, it hurt like hell, but it felt right. With a savage cry, she ripped the mask away.

Blood splattered against the floor, instantly vaporizing in the intense heat, as blue and red fire exploded outward, knocking the guard back and incinerating the other Ann, Shiho and most of the harem girls instantly.

Standing within the inferno, Ann panted heavily. She was no longer wearing her hoodie and school uniform. She was clad in a skin-tight red leather suit with pink gloves, a tail flicking behind her, and a whip coiled in her hand.

Behind her, looming large and magnificent, rose a towering figure in a black panther mask and a  crimson flamenco dress. Two men wearing suits with robotic heads  in chains lay prostrate at the figure’s feet, a pair of vine-like chains wrapped around their necks.‌

The entity smirked, her voice echoing with the power of an operatic diva.

“I am Carmen! And you, you tasteless Gadjo,” She said, pointing at the golden soldier. “... you are about to learn that some flowers possess a deadly poison! ¡Baila con la muerte!”

Ann snapped her whip; the crack sounded like a gunshot. She glared at the soldier . Her fear completely incinerated.

The golden soldier stood to its feet and growled, “How dare you, you worthless trollop! King Kamoshida will reward me when I bring him your head.”

Ann stayed silent, favoring the soldier with a withering glare before she raised her hand with her palm ‌ pointed at the guard. Three balls of flame appeared in an instant, lighting up the room. “Die.” She whispered dangerously. Before the three balls of flame flew from her hand. Colliding with the soldier with concussive force. The first knocked it back. The second drove it to its knees, and the third reduced it to a puddle. 

Ann was about to turn away when Carmen called out. “Ready yourself, querida, the battle is not yet done.”

The puddle grew massive and exploded. What was left was a massive purple horned demon sitting on a toilet. 

Ann didn’t hesitate; she charged forward, unfurling her whip. With a mighty swing, it wrapped around one of the demon's horns. When Ann hit the ground, she pulled with all her strength, pulling the demon off of its seat and causing it to fall to the ground  with a resounding thud.

Before the monster could recover. Carmen appeared before it, and it was suddenly engulfed in a pillar of flame  that filled the room, burning everything to ash.

For several seconds, the only sounds were the smoldering ruins of the room burning and Ann's labored breathing. Then Carmen spoke. “But śukar! ¡Magnífico! A wonderful first outing. Now let us go. We need to find the other girl and those lovely boys.

In a flash of blue and red flame, Ann was back in her normal clothes, still gasping for breath as she nodded. “Let's go, Carmen.”

Ann started to make her way down the hall, keeping her eyes out for any more of the soldiers.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Elsewhere in the castle, Nanako hid under a table, holding herself tightly. As tears fell down her face. As she sat there, she cursed herself. “What the hell, Nanako? You took one look at those things and bolted! What's worse, you let yourself get separated from Ann, and now she’s all alone in this place.

She had  seen those things, and suddenly she was back to being that scared child trapped in that weird heaven-like place with Namatame. Surrounded by all of those things.

Then she spent months in a coma. And when she had finally woken up, she had tried to tell herself that what she remembered was just a coma dream. There had been others, nightmares featuring more of those creatures, and though she hadn’t recognized it, those nightmares had featured many of the people that her big brother had introduced her to. Her dad had tried to get her therapy, but the quack that they had found had been less than useless and had  tried to turn everything she talked to her about into a conversation about her mom.

She had tried talking to her friends about it, but at best they had thought it was just some story she had made up, and at worst they thought she was crazy. She had talked to Yu and his friends multiple times. But while they had listened to everything she had said, they had given her nothing. She had tried to talk to her dad about it, but  every time she brought it up, she saw how disturbed the conversation had made him. So she stopped. It hadn’t been until she had gotten to know Ren that she had found what she needed. 

 

Ren had listened to her. He hadn’t judged her. And on occasion, he had even offered suggestions as to what her dreams meant. If she was being honest, the time she had spent with him as his friend and girlfriend had been some of the best of her life.  

Now… Now it seemed like all of those dreams and nightmares she had tried to bury were very real. And she had completely fallen to pieces. 

“Mon Dieu, comme c'est pathétique.”

Nanako looked up. What the hell had that been? It had sounded like her, but younger and with a French accent.‌ 

She didn’t have much time to think about it as the heavy footsteps of the soldiers approached; one of them gave orders. “Search everywhere! However, when you find her, ensure she is not unnecessarily harmed. King Kamoshida has plans for the sheriff's brat.”

Even through her fear, Nanako knew that they were talking about her. This was worse than what had happened as a child. Back then, at least, the monsters hadn't spoken.

When Nanako heard one soldier enter the room she was in, she had to cover her mouth to keep from screaming. But it’s not enough, and soon the table she is hiding under is overturned and she is staring up at a golden-armored soldier.

 

The soldier growled,  “Found you bitch, King Kamoshida will reward me for bringing you to him!”

As the soldier reached down to grab her, time came to a halt. And the voice from before spoke again. “All these years, and you are still the same petite fille on the inside that you used to be on the inside.”

Nanako looked around to try to find who had spoken and, to her shock, she saw herself. Only it was her as she had been nearly a decade ago. Down to the outfit she had worn when she had been kidnapped.

“Where is the girl that left home to support Ton Amour? Where did the girl who stood up to le vieil homme go? Did she even exist, or are you, are we just that little damsel waiting for her daddy or big brother or Ren to rescue her. 

Nanako looked at the other her and screamed, “STOP IT!” as she sobbed, tears falling down her face

“As we are right now, Ren would have been better off if we had just stayed back in Inaba like a good little girl. Because what good are we to him like we are?” What possible good are we to him besides being another objective, a distraction from what he has to do?”

Nanako's hands dug into her palms so hard that she started to bleed. As she cried out, her voice, full of anguish. “SHUT UP! YOU’RE NOT M-” 

The realization hit her like a bomb. For what felt like eons, she sat there silent and unmoving. Before she spoke. Her voice, small and sorrowful. “ You’re right, you’re right. For so long I’ve tried not to let what happened back then affect me. To pretend that it wasn’t real, that it couldn’t hurt me. Dad, Yu and his friends didn’t want to talk about it. And all my friends thought I was just making things up. Ren was there, but that was just me doing what I’ve done all my life. Hiding behind others  so that they could protect me.

First, it was Dad after Mom died. Then it was Yu when we were kidnapped. And now I have been using Ren all these years to protect me from loneliness. I love him for all he’s done, and now it's my turn to protect him.”

“Très bien, Mademoiselle! You have finally found the strength to stop being ‌protected and to become the protector. Call my name, and together we will build a wall that the combined forces of Hell can not tear down.

Nanako climbed to her feet, and time resumed. Suddenly, Nanako found herself doubled over, clutching her head as a checkered green and black harlequin domino  mask grew on her face. Nanako grabbed at the mask and started to pull, sending a fresh wave of pain through her body. Finally, with a scream that reverberated through the halls of the castle, she pulled the mask off in a spray of blood as she yelled, “LA PUCELLE!”

In an instant, Nanako was consumed by a pillar of blue and white flame that erupted from the ground and spread out, consuming all that was close to her. For a moment nothing happened, then from the flames a pair of magnificent snow-white wings emerged. And a feminine figure appeared, floating just a foot off the ground. As the flames started to recede, the  figure came into view. It was a woman clad in gleaming silver plate armor, polished to a mirror finish, worn over a tunic of deep azure blue. A flowing white cloak billowed around her armored legs.

Her face, framed by long blond hair, was serene and almost doll-like with pure white eyes. That stared forward, looking at the soldier with a disgust reserved for the vilest of sinners. In her gauntleted hands, she held a massive, ornate broadsword, its blade glowing with an ethereal pale blue light, which was soon planted in the ground as she stood guard, daring the shadow to come closer. Screaming to all that the holy warrior had arrived.

The pillar burned for a few more moments and contracted before exploding outward, knocking the soldier off its feet. Standing in the epicenter was Nanako, no longer wearing her uniform but clad in a rabbit ear hooded, high-collared, long, armored black tailcoat that split into five  tails, at the end of each was a glowing red jewel that glinted in the room's light. Underneath that was an armed bodice of deep forest green that hugged ‌her torso, reinforced with silver plating. Her legs were covered in pitch-black leggings that fed into a pair of silver knee-length sabatons.  

Nanako raised her black, gloved fist and in a flash of holy light a massive war hammer appeared. It was as long as she was tall, and the head was rectangular, spiked on one end  and decorated with holy symbols. Despite its size, she carried it as if it weighed less than the rays of the sun. She glared at the fallen soldier. Her eyes filled with righteous fury. No longer a damsel but a warrior, ready to lay waste to all that opposed her.

Drawn by the sounds, two more soldiers ran into the room and saw Nanako standing there. And their comrade on the ground. One of them went to assist the fallen soldier while the other charged at Nanako, its sword ready to remove her head. When it got close, La Pucelle's eyes glowed even brighter, and Nanako was surrounded by two blue concentric  magical circles. As the sword made contact, the circles pulsed and the soldier was thrown backwards, knocking it into its fellows.

The trio of soldiers lay there for a moment before they burst into ooze and were replaced by three small, winged demons with perverted grins and a long curved spike coming out of their groins. As they chittered and giggled,  Nanako scrunched her nose in disgust. 

Before any of them could think to move. Nanako slammed her hammer into the ground. Causing the ground beneath her to crack. Looking at the being, she said coolly, “La Pucelle! Nettoyons le terrain!”

The pair moved as one. charging at the demons with blinding speed. La Pucelle reached its opponent first, removing its spike and head with a single swing of its sword. 

Nanako was next, getting in close she swung her hammer upwards sending the demon flying. But she wasn’t finished leaping after it. She was soon behind it and as her hammer glowed white, she spun around before bringing the hammer down on its head, slamming it into the ground with enough force to shatter it. 

The third demon looked at the puddles that used to be its comrades and started to fly away. La Pucelle raised a gauntleted hand, and in a blast of white light the demon ceased to exist. 

La Pucelle looked at Nanako for a moment before she said, “Bien combattu,  Mademoiselle! May this be only the first of many victories for you. Now we should go find the others.” before she disappeared in a flash of blue and white flame. Nanako stood there for a moment before her outfit disappeared in a flash of blue and white flame, leaving her standing there in her school uniform. Breathing hard from all that she had just done. After taking another moment to catch her breath, Nanako left the room to hunt for Ren and the others.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ren and Ryuji made their way through the labyrinthine dungeon. There had been a number of close calls with the guards, but they had managed to escape to an upper floor of the dungeon. As they opened the door. They heard a scream of pain. “What the hell was that?” Ryuji asked with more than a little trepidation. As they made their way through the new area, they came upon  people trapped in cells and cages. Ren could hear Ryuji mutter under his breath, “Wait, no, it can’t be.” Something about the people they were seeing was disturbing the blonde-haired boy, and Ren was sure that it wasn’t just seeing people trapped. 

They had been trying to find a way to activate a drawbridge  that had a bust of Kamoshida next to it. when they heard a feminine voice. “Hey, you there. Blonde, Frizzy-hair, look over here.”  

Following the voice, the pair quickly found themselves standing in front of a cell. Standing there glaring at them was a girl. She looked a little younger than they did. Only she wasn’t like other girls or other humans,  ‌for that matter. She had  short, sleek black hair in a bob cut and large, strikingly blue eyes. On top of her head were a pair of black cat ears, and behind her was a black cat tail with a white tip that sprung from the black catsuit she was wearing. The yellow scarf completed the look. Behind him, Ren heard Ryuji lightly wolf-whistle. Something that the girl apparently also heard. 

“Eyes front, pervert.” The girl hissed in a distinctly cat-like manner. “You  guys don’t look like castle soldiers, so get me out of here.” Gesturing to a nearby set of keys, she continued. “The keys are right over there.”

Ren and Ryuji looked at each other for a moment before Ryuji asked. “What are you? How do we know you’re not another enemy?” 

The girl gave Ryuji a look that could melt adamantium. “If I were an enemy, why would I be locked up here? Now get me the hell out of here.

The two boys looked at each other again before Ren nodded. “I’m not sure what's going on, or what you are, but you make a good point.” 

As Ren moved to open the lock, the group heard the pounding of metal boots on stone. Causing Ryuji to swear. “Shit, they’re catching up.” He looked at his phone for a moment. “And I’m still not getting any reception. We need to find the girls and get out of here.” 

Sounding exasperated, the girl hissed, “Get me out of here and I’ll help you find the exit and your friends. Deal?”  

Ren nodded and unlocked the door. The girl walked out and stretched before purring. “Freedom tastes so great.”

As the footsteps got closer, Ryuji asked impatiently, “Hey Cat Girl! Are you going to help us or what?”

The cat girl leveled a glare at Ryuji and said, “My name is Morgana, not Cat Girl, and if you want my help, stop talking. Now follow me.” before she ran off.

The pair of boys followed her until they were in front of the drawbridge with the bust of Kamoshida. Morgana stared at it for a moment before Ryuji, his voice full of irritation, asked. “What the heck are you doing? We need to move.”

Morgana, equally irritated, replied. “I’m lowering the drawbridge, blondie.” before she pulled on the lower jaw of the bust, causing it to drop. Suddenly the mechanisms started working, and the bridge lowered.

Ryuji incredulously asked, “The hell! How were we supposed to know to do that?

Morgana rolled her eyes. “Amateurs, c'mon, let's keep moving.

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The trio had been making their way through the lower sections of the castle when their luck ran out. A pair of soldiers appeared, causing Ryuji to fall to the ground as he tried to back away. “Oooooh shit! Oh shit, it’s them!” Next to him, Ren transformed in a blast of black and blue flame.

Morgana stepped forward, hissing, “You amateur.” Before she looked at Ren and said, “You can fight, right?” At Ren's nod she continued, “Then back me up!” before she raised a hand and yelled out, “Vamos a trocear y picar, Queen of Swords”

A pillar of blue and green flame appeared, and out stepped a gigantic feminine figure‌. It was wearing a loose black  bodysuit that covered most of its white skin. Its face was  covered by a black mask that made its yellow eyes stand out. In one hand it carried a rapier; in the other, a long black whip. 

The soldiers didn’t waste any time and burst into ooze before reforming into one of the flying pumpkins from earlier and a small flying demon with a spike on its groin. 

Morgana didn't waste any time either, and as she charged forward,  a curved blade appeared in her hand. As she approached the flying pumpkin, she spun around and released a blade of air that ‌knocked it to the ground. “Here’s a lesson for you amateurs. Almost everything that exists in the Metaverse has a weakness. If you know how to exploit it, you can knock them down and tear them apart.” Morgana moved over to the winged demon and ran it through with her sword before Queen of Swords blasted the pumpkin-headed monster with another blast of wind.

“Gracias, Queen of Swords.” Morgana said to the being as it disappeared in green and blue flames. Before she looked at Ren. “I guess I didn't need your persona after all.”

Ren was curious, but Ryuji asked first. “Persona? You mean those things that came out of you guys?

Morgana nodded, You saw how your friend ripped off his mask when he summoned his persona, right? At Ryuji’s nod, she continued. “Deep inside their hearts, everybody wears a mask. If you can remove it- “ 

Anything she was going to say was interrupted, as in a burst of black and blue flame, Ren was back in his school clothes.”

Morgana nodded to herself. “Hm, it looks like you don’t have full control over your powers yet. The transformation doesn’t normally dissolve like that. After all-”

Scratching his head in frustration, Ryuji bellowed, “Stop it; none of this is making any sense.”

Morgana was decidedly unimpressed. And icily said, “Can’t you just sit still and listen, blondie?!

Ryuji fired back, “Don’t call me blondie! The name is Ryuji!”

Morgana rolled her eyes. “Fine, I don’t have any time to lecture you. If you want to find your friend and get out of here in one piece, we need to move.”

As the trio made their way through the area, Ren noticed that Ryuji had a disturbed look on his face. Suddenly he came to a stop. “Wait! I think I recognize that uniform, but I’m so flustered that I can’t think straight.”

Morgana turned on him and asked. “Do you really think you have time to worry about other people while you’re trying to escape? Besides, they’re not -”

Anything that Morgana was about to say was interrupted by the appearance of ‌a soldier. Ren, starting to really hate these soldiers, transformed. His black and red flames exploded violently, causing  the soldier to stumble. Ren charged forward before it could react and released a blast of dark energy from his palm that reduced it to dust.” before the transformation  dissolved. 

Morgana stood there stunned. “Wow, your persona is unusually powerful.” before she shook her head. “But we need to move. The fight likely got everyone's attention.”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a few minutes, the trio found themselves back in the entrance hall they had started in. Ren looked around. “We’re back at the entrance, but we need to find the girls!”

Morgana looked at him. “This castle is huge; they could be liter-” Anything else she was going to say was interrupted as the doors on either side of the upper floor burst open, revealing a thoroughly exhausted Ann and Nanako.

Ren, despite his own exhaustion, ran up to Nanako and pulled her into a hug as they drew close,  something that Nanako was happy to reciprocate. Almost as one, they said to each other, “Are you okay? I’m fine. I’m just so happy to see you.”

Despite everything that had happened, despite nursing a stitch in her side. Ann couldn’t help giggling. Which reminded the pair that they had an audience. 

Morgana, with annoyance clear in her voice, yelled, “It’s nice that you found each other, but unless you want to be eyeball deep in the king's guards, we need to move.”

Nanako looked at Morgana and back at Ren before she mouthed, “Who is she?” 

Ren simply mouthed, “I’ll explain later.” as he  grabbed her hand and led her down the stairs.

The group followed Morgana to what looked like a storage area. Ryuji yelled, “Why are we here?! Have you been leading us into a trap?”

Morgana didn’t reply; she merely pointed at a massive metal grate. “That leads outside.”

Ryuji finally caught on. “And if we can get that grate off, we can escape.” Looking at Ren, he indicated for the other boy to follow, and together they managed to pull the grate off. “We can finally get out of here!”

Morgana rolled her eyes. “You should wait to celebrate until you’ve actually escaped. Now get going!”

Ryuji’s expression turned to one of concern. “But what about you.”

Morgana shook her head. “That’s sweet, but there’s something I still need to do here. We’re going our separate ways.”

Ren looked at Morgana for a moment before he nodded. “Don’t get caught again.”

Ann looked incensed, and Ren was sure he felt the temperature in the room rise a little bit. “You can’t really be planning on leaving her here. If those monsters catch her, who knows what they are going to do!”

Ren was about to open his mouth to respond. But Morgana looked at Ann and said in a slightly harsh tone. “I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself. And to be clear, as tired as all of you are, there’s nothing any of you can do to stop me.” She paused before she spoke again, this time in a softer tone. “But thanks for your concern. Now go.”

As soon as the quartet made their way outside, they ran for the drawbridge. As soon as they crossed it, the world went purple again, and they found themselves standing on the sidewalk, with Ren's phone chirping, “You have returned to the real world, congratulations.”

“Ryuji was confused. “Real world, Does that mean we escaped? And what was all that “That castle, Kamoshida, that cat girl! What the hell is going on!” Unfortunately, his yelling caught the attention of the cops. “You all are from Shujin,  aren't you? Skipping school?”

Ryuji was about to open his mouth when Nanako stepped forward. Bowing, she said, “I’m sorry, officers. We had just gotten off the train and were making our way to school when my boyfriend was attacked. They dragged him into an alley, and it was only because of this boy here.” She pointed to Ryuji. “That they ran away. After that, we tried to take care of him, and we lost track of time.”

The officers looked at each other and then at Ren. The scuff marks and tears on his uniform seemed to lend credence to the girls' story. And the other girl was nodding along. After a moment, one officer spoke. “I’m sorry that happened to you, young man. But one of you should have run to the school and found an adult or called emergency services.”

Ryuji, catching on to the story, bowed. “Sorry, dude, we just panicked.”

The other officer nodded. “Understandable, just be more mindful in the future. Now let us escort you to your school so we can file a report.”

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Cafe Leblanc, Yongen-Jaya, Yongen-Jaya,Tokyo, April 11 20XX. Evening.

Ren lay on his ‘bed’ The staff at the school had tried to admonish him and the others for being so late to school. But coming in looking beat up and with  a story of being beaten up on the lips of three other students had quieted down most of their objections. Kamoshida had tried to make a remark about him being a wimp for not fighting back, but Ren had reminded him of his probation and how he couldn’t risk it. The man had sneered before walking off.

 

When he had arrived home, Sojiro had tried to give him crap about causing trouble. But Ren had been quick to point out that he was in the state he was because he had chosen not to fight back. It was admittedly a lie, but it had been enough to get the man to back down. 

Turning his thoughts to the weird castle, Ren wondered if what had happened had been real. Was it connected to the dream from the other day? What did it all mean?

 

Closing his eyes, Ren decided to think about it tomorrow.

 

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Ann sat in her room. She desperately wanted to talk to Shiho, but her friend was out today. And when she had tried to call her mom had said she was too busy to talk.

 

Ann fretted. The things she had seen in that castle worried her. What did it all mean? 

 

Praying to nobody in particular, Ann decided that she would intercept Shiho tomorrow on the way to school. It was the only thing she could think of doing right now.

 

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Ryuji sat in his room. The school had talked to his mom about what had happened. Or at least the story that Nanako had come up with. His mom had admonished him for not getting help, but had been proud of him for stepping up for someone he had just met. And Ryuji felt like a fraud. Not just for the lie that his mom had been fed but because he had been useless in that place. If he were being honest with himself, he would say he had been a hindrance.  

 

“Next time, I’ll make sure I can help.”

 

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Morgana lounged in a safe room. “The boys she had met today had potential. Particularly the fuzzy-haired boy. His persona had been powerful. And if she hadn’t missed her mark, the two girls had awakened to their powers as well. Morgana hoped that the four of them would return.

 

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nanako sat in the dining room of her and her dad's apartment. Waiting for him to come home. The things that had happened today were far too much like what had happened back in Inaba all those years ago. She needed answers, and she wasn’t going to let his discomfort get in the way this time.

 

Hearing the door open, Nanako waited until her dad had entered the room fully. She leveled a glare at the man and with a voice full of conviction she said, “Dad, We need to talk.”

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deep within the bowels of Mementos, the being known as Yaldabaoth concentrated. The shadows that populated its realm and the palaces were only one type of shadow. But earth had been invaded by shadows from other layers of existence, and despite the fact that they had been bested, traces of them remained. It had gathered some of those traces and had allowed them to mix with the essence of the shadows it controlled. It would be a long time before it gathered them all, but two of them were starting to take shape, the ooze slowly solidifying.

The first resembled an obese man seated on a throne with a woman with a six-barred cross for a head. On either side of it, two crosses took shape.

The other took the shape of a cartoonish heart, winglike appendages appearing on either side of it.

Yaldabaoth was pleased. Soon it would take back what it had lost. Soon, it would give humanity what it desired the most. 

AN 2: Well that's all folks. I don’t normally break my cycle but I felt inspired. I guess this is what passion will do for you. 

Special thanks go to the members of TFF, The USS ITANO and Epsi’s Hoard. For acting as sounding boards.  Next up at long last is IT’S HERO SLIME!! Catch you over there.

Notes:

Translations

 

Ren Amamiya / Arsene (French)

* Bête: "Beast."

* Très Bien: "Very good."

* Crétin: "Idiot" or "Moron."

Ann Takamaki / Carmen (Spanish & Romani)

* Asqueroso: "Disgusting" or "Filthy" (Spanish).

* Mi corazón: "My heart" (Spanish)
.
* Gadji: A Romani term for a non-Romani female.

* Puta: "Whore" or "Bitch" (Spanish).

* ¡Qué vergüenza!: "What a shame!" or "How embarrassing!" (Spanish).

* Beng: "Devil" (Romani).

* Calé: A term for Spanish Romani people (Romani/Spanish).

* ¡Magnífico!: "Magnificent!" (Spanish).

* Fuego: "Fire" (Spanish).

* Gadjo: A Romani term for a non-Romani male.

* ¡Baila con la muerte!: "Dance with death!" (Spanish).

* Querida: "Dear" or "Darling" (Spanish).

* Śukar: "Beautiful" or "Sweet" (Romani).

Nanako Dojima / La Pucelle (French)

* Mon Dieu, comme c'est pathétique: "My God, how pathetic."

* Petite fille: "Little girl."

* Ton Amour: "Your Love."

* Le vieil homme: "The old man." Referring to Sojiro

* Très bien, Mademoiselle: "Very good, Miss."

* La Pucelle: "The Maid." The historical title for Joan of Arc (La Pucelle d'Orléans).

 

* Nettoyons le terrain: "Let's clean the field" or "Let's clear the area."

* Bien combattu, Mademoiselle: "Well fought, Miss."

Morgana (Spanish)

* Vamos a trocear y picar: "Let's slice and dice."

* Gracias: "Thank you."