The Fool's World

Chapter 1:

The Fool and His Orders

December 24th. 20XX. Only 8 people truly remember the time ruin visited Shibuya and a god was killed. And, hypothetically speaking, if you were one of those 8 you may have believed destroying the cognitive world known as Mementos – a disgusting, warped world that leaked into and choked the everyday life of the sole few who could even remember its short-lived and (rather traumatic) existence – would destroy with it the Metaverse it resided within, bringing social reform to its freed inmates.

But such social reform is too optimistic, too grand an aspiration to be truly achievable for all humanity, everywhere. If it was, as was stated before the Trickster and his allies, a fact that Palaces were places reserved for those who could not belong in Mementos, a residence for those who broke the cognitive prison, then could the Metaverse, the area where these sites festered like a boil, truly be gone forever..? Perhaps out of necessity (or be it mere plot convenience for this tale to unfold), a tool as useful and necessary for internal revolution would once again rear it's head and would prove useful once more.

First, a note on Mementos. What was it? Was it an area merely confined to the people of Shibuya? Tokyo? Japan? The world at large? If The Fool was to overcome Death and conquer The World, then perhaps the latter option seems fitting – but if this story is to be told one must simply believe a Mementos exists within the cognition of the public of one area. Tokyo – with its bustling and sprawling subway, had a very urban and vast Mementos due to its population density. Your Mementos is different to mine. It could be a very wide yet dead field of Shadows if your area is rural, or perhaps a twisted and devastated city. But your Mementos always leads to the will of the people, the screaming, rapt desire – the Treasure of the many. For the citizens of Tokyo, to belong to a vast unthinking prison of stagnation was all that desire was. It formed the Holy Grail and raised a god. Not all of Mementos will have depths as powerful and as repulsive as Tokyo's, but perhaps there are some Mementos out there that are markedly worse, with more powerful entities formed from the desires, gasping for breath under the sodden, waterlogged earth of cognition. For many, being bound to – and becoming worshipful – of the collective desire is the only barrier between ruin and daily life. And it must stay that way, for society demands it so. Phantom Thieves will not be around to fix every broken god, after all. For you and I said desire may be different from the one we know as Tokyo's. But it may be the same. That is the nature of the game. That is the nature of Mementos.

May 26th, 20XX

Ren Amamiya surveyed his room with the same wistful stare he so often observed it with almost daily. This room was a prison that caused emotion to well in his chest and his throat to tighten, a labyrinth of despair that he felt on the verge of tears when he entered – but for all the right reasons. He had spent one final week with his friends in Shibuya, his late homecoming angering his parents greatly and it was to become a source of great misery as he felt the repercussions of his bonds. For him, home was where the heart was. And his heart rested firmly in Shibuya, Yongen-Jaya, Aoyama Itchome… anywhere in Tokyo he had forged a bond, really – so returning to his hometown was essentially ripping his heart away from him, which made this room even more painful. He had to explain to his parents the 'souvenirs' he had brought home weren't actually gifts from his friends, they were just simply souvenirs. But his heart languished on the items surrounding him. A dog tag with 'Takemi' engraved upon the cold metal, a fountain pen he twirled between his fingers as his restless mind raced, even items as inane as a recipe for coffee and curry, or a business card for Sae Niijima, attorney at law, he had to pass off as odds and ends, mere trivialities with no emotional meaning behind them. He turned up the music playing in his headphones – perhaps the 'souvenir' that brought him most parts equal joy and sorrow and recalled the day his happiest memories were erased.

31st April, 20XX

"Mr. Amamiya, was it?" A policeman, sapped of soul and happiness, handed over Ren's phone as if it were a rag he had just blown his nose into. His eyes were almost completely blanketed by an opaque shadow by his officer's hat, adding a slight jab of menace to the airs he carried with him. Though, Ren suspected, if he were to look into those eyes all he would see was just another hollow adult, complicit within his societal roles and duties. "Now, although your past record was wiped clean, we can't ignore your more… questionable escapades. And your parents didn't want us to, either. Of course, the rumours are spreading throughout the town about what you did to land yourself back in juvenile hall, but the details of Shido's trial and your testimony are completely confidential." He spoke as a robot, like this was completely standard procedure. Ren had been met with constant rumours and whisperings, some malicious, about his time out of town. It was a bit of deja vu, harkening back to the time he had first arrived at Shujin and the same speakings were on the tongues of the everyman. "As such… your parents handed us this."

The policeman produced a small, ziplock bag containing his phone and waved it in front of Ren's face. An involuntary gasp escaped Ren's lips as the light reflected off the case and he couldn't shake the anxiety that rooted itself within him. "What did you do with it..?" He questioned.

"We didn't look at any of the data on it, if you're wondering. But we did wipe it clean."

"You what?!" Ren couldn't hide his surprise and anger. He snatched the bag from the officer who let out a "Hey-!" in protest and quickly unzipped it, grabbing his phone from within. He felt how frightfully cold the metal case was and ran a fingernail along one of the ridges while waiting for it to boot up. Sure enough, the phone looked as if it had just been unboxed, a stock lock screen and no password enterable. "Surely this is a violation of some police code?" Ren asked.

"The thief's gonna lecture us on misconduct?" The policeman guffawed. "There's a few stipulations your parents agreed upon when we struck a deal. We'll be monitoring all your communications on that phone from now on. If we catch even a whiff of a suspicion you're communicating with anyone from Tokyo, we can move in to make sure they get the same treatment. And you'll be spending more time in Juvie for conspiracy."

"Anyone?" Ren tried to mask the anger welling in his chest. The Juvie part didn't annoy him. The threat against his friends, however, pricked his anger like a pin brushing a balloon.

"Anyone."
"Even Tora?"

"Even Tora."

"Even Oda?"
"Even that kid."

"Even So-"

"I said anyone, I mean anyone!" The officer snapped.

"But Sojiro's a family friend!" Ren barked, getting awfully close to the officer.

"He's an accomplice!" The officer unleashed a truly powerful yell, closing the conversation.

Ren thought about never messaging Ryuji, or Yusuke, or Ann, or Haru, or Makoto, or… or Futaba. 'The right not to leave you.' The words echoed in his head like daggers as he forcefully thrust the phone down into his pocket. Just the thought of not being able to talk to his greatest friends, even the oddballs like Takemi, Ohya or Kawakami just felt odd and caused a cold sweat to trickle down the base of his spine.

"Remember, cause no trouble for us and the boys in Tokyo will cause no trouble for your pals and accomplices."
"Sure thing, Big Brother." Ren turned on his heel. He wanted to spit on the perfectly shined-shoes of this overbearing authority figure, another adult his 'reform' had seemed not to change.

"We're not done talking! Cheek like that will land you in Juv-" The officer was halfway through his riposte when Ren closed the door to the station, walking out to an unfittingly sunny sky and a horribly grey mood. He decided it would be best to head back. He mused on what just had happened. Here he was, a boy who had slain a god, completely stupefied by the thought of never being able to talk with humans he loved again. He had to chuckle at the situation. To think that if he even dared to send a message to someone as completely harmless as Hifumi, the entirety of those he shared an oath with would be monitored – extending even to an elementary schooler like Shinya – made his blood boil and vision cloud over. He saw nothing but red on the way home. Futaba had often mentioned he was almost a different person when he was Joker and the only time he became 'Joker-ified' (direct quote) in everyday life was when he was angry or his passions were enflamed. He could almost feel the mask on his face at that very moment and felt the urge to tear it off, despite it being completely intangible. And if one were to focus on his gait as an outsider, they would see it straighten and speed up as if he were once again traversing the corridors of a Palace. Though this time it would be alone.

He arrived back home and one angry glare at his mother was all he needed to show what he thought of their new privacy-invading scheme. He arrived back in his room to a greeting from the one friend he retained from Tokyo.

"How'd it go, Ren?" Morgana chirped.

"See for yourself." The sweat from his palms had warmed the phone case considerably, Ren noted as he held the phone up for Morgana to see.

"You… got a new phone?"

"Come on, Mona, it's my old phone. But the data got wiped by the police." Morgana's cat eyes widened in surprise.

"Th-they can't do that!"

"Apparently they can. And there's more. If I'm caught texting or ringing anyone from Tokyo, they'll get this treatment too." A few moments of nothing but silence hung throughout the room. "Oh, man. I thought the police in Tokyo would back off. What if Lady Ann gets arrested?"

"Just Ann?! What about everyone else?!" Ren snapped.

"Whoa, calm down, Joker." Morgana recoiled and tried to soothe Ren's emotions, still trying to accept the fact of the matter himself. Ren noted how when he got angry people tended to call him Joker. That shook him perhaps more than it should've.

"I know but…" Ren hung and shook his head in defeat.

Ren plugged in Futaba's headphones to his PC and turned on some music to try and calm himself down. He felt like puking, moreso than even when that wretched god showed itself to him. He squeezed them into his head, almost as if trying to comfort himself with them. It almost worked until his phone buzzed and once again he was reminded he was supposed to be having a crappy day.

The text was from the department, blunt and disconnected from any empathy. It read:

Ren Amamiya, under strict orders from superiors and in agreement with your parents, the following numbers have been blocked:

-Sojiro Sakura

-Ryuji Sakomoto

-Ann Takamaki

-Yusuke Kitagawa

..." Ren did not need to press to see more. The message conveyed enough already. He sighed, scrunching up and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Sheesh. That's way too harsh, even if you were on probation." Morgana tried his damnedest to grimace in his cat form, before the phone buzzed once more.

"Any texts sent from their phones will immediately be marked read and you will not be able to view them. This is to ensure your friends know you are still alive, while limiting your communication."

"Well, at least we still have the public phone at Leblanc, right..?" The phone seemed to buzz in response.

"As to the matter of other modems of contact, such as the public phone in Leblanc or other public forms of contact such as library computers or laptops, Shujin is now being tracked for communication, as well as Leblanc's public phone. Other areas where your accomplices may frequent (arcades, libraries, restaurants) are required to divulge information if it is deemed necessary. Details on your exploits as Phantom Thieves or details on aiding them is on a strictly need-to-know basis, so details on why you are under watch remain confidential."

Ren felt nauseous and had to breathe in to steady himself. "Th-This has gotta break some sorta right, right? Your probation is over…!" Morgana exclaimed, jumping onto Ren's lap to comfort him. Ren gently ran his fingers through Morgana's coat and responded, "I guess probation's never over for the guys who humiliated the police. They won't rest until we get arrested again, most likely."

"This cannot get worse…" And the phone buzzed once more.

"Morgana, I still need to tell you when the right time to just shut up is, huh?" Ren craned his neck to read the text and began to speak it aloud.

"Furthermore, we understand there will most likely be one accomplice more likely to contact you than the rest, due to your relationship and her skills with technology. As such, Futaba Sakura is required to hand over her PC every Friday until is deemed necessary for inspection. If a single file has been deleted or altered, innocuous or not, she will receive a strike on her record for conspira- Bullshit!" Ren had mostly murmured the text until the last sentence where he couldn't stop himself from complaining.

"Channeling your inner Ryuji there?" Morgana attempted some form of a quip but the depressing tone made it fall flat.

"It's like probation never ended! Did we really sleight them that bad? We were the good guys, for the love of-"

"I get you. That last text… this is definitely a matter of them licking their wounds, otherwise they wouldn't be taking special measures just to go after Futaba. Man, it's times like this where I wish we didn't disband!"

"It's like I'm a prisoner all over again!" The two yelled in unison, immense frustration evident in their voices.

Those words would echo through to an area existing between mind and matter, between dream and reality. A freakishly long-nosed man wrung his gloved hands and chuckled. "It's like I'm a prisoner all over again!" blared through the loudspeakers above his head, giving him more reason to chuckle with merriment. "My, my… has the game begun anew already? Lavenza, prepare a cell for our inmate. He may be back sooner than expected…"