Disclaimer: All characters and events that take place within the story are fictional. Any relations to real people or events is purely coincidental. All copyrights belong to Atlus. Please thank them for making a great game. I have by shoving money down their throat.

Chapter 1: Medias Res

The ringing of bells indicating a lockdown had come to the surprise of everyone here, and even now, minutes later, unnerved them. The constant bumping of shoulders and anxious talk from hundreds of people joined together to make a crowd on the verge of breaking into panic. A gasp from the woman at his side barely registered as the security alarm continued to blare loudly in the crowded gambling hall.

The business man glanced around nervously, not quite sure what was transpiring within the casino to cause such a commotion. Regardless, his evening of respite had turned into anything but.

Sudden movement at the edge of his periphery caught his attention. Immediately shifting his focus in that direction his eyes were met with nothing but dark shadows behind bright lights. He reflexively looked away as a sharp pain stabbed into his retinas from the stark contrast. Just as he blinked the dots away there was another flurry of movement from further down the hall, his eyes unconsciously drawn towards it.

Curiosity won out against common sense, as it took a few painful moments for his eyes to adjust to the darkness above the bright lights. What he saw was something he never expected to witness in his lifetime: the very embodiment of infamy.

A lean figure stood tall, undaunted by the forty-foot drop that was between them and the floor, on a series of purple framed hexagonal lights. Dressed in an ankle-length black tail coat with an upturned collar, a high-necked waistcoat accented with gold, black pants, and, in contrast, bright red gloves. The black and white domino mask stood out from the dark, unruly mess of black hair that stuck to and fro from their head. A briefcase was tucked under their left arm, their right hand loosely gripping the insulated wires that held the light fixture aloft.

"Hey," he found himself saying to no one in particular, "Is that who I think it is?"

A lady to his side gasped as she pointed up towards the figure, more and more individuals glancing up towards the lights.

Joker stood at ease, a self-assured grin threatening to break free as it tugged at the corner of his lips. He took in the atmosphere below him in a stride, the masses slowly realizing that he was present amongst them. The tension on Joker's lips disappeared as a trio of security personnel stepped into the hall, eyes scanning the room for any signs of him.

The security guards noticed where the attention of the crowd was and glanced up towards him, the one in the lead reaching up towards his wire earpiece and speaking into it.

Joker listened in to the transmission through his own communicator thanks to a gifted techie he knew.

"He's in Gambling Hall B on the light fixtures. Move in immediately."

Joker didn't need to hear anymore as he leapt off his current platform and onto a large rectangular, semi-transparent piece of glass illuminated by purple and blue. Handy how it's basically a bridge. Joker almost laughed at how everything was conveniently placed.

"Good job, Joker!" A familiar voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Now get going!"

"This is our only chance!" A distinctly male voice piped in.

Joker leapt across another gap, not even thinking about the consequences if he didn't make it. "You don't need to tell me twice, Mona, Crow. Oracle, got an escape route for me?"

"Yeah, I do. Head towards the balcony to your south," Oracle directed.

A fourth voice, this one female, spoke through the communicator, "Just drop the briefcase down the ventilation shaft and make your escape. We'll handle it from there."

"Will do, Queen," Joker grunted as he jumped across a six-foot gap and onto the designated balcony. He paused, making sure the briefcase was still held securely under his arm. He let out a breath of relief to find that it was.

"Don't worry about us. Just focus on your escape, Joker!" Mona spoke up again, enthusiastic as ever. "But I must say, that reveal of yourself in front of the crowd was an excellent move! Nice work!"

"Yeah, I bet Skull couldn't pull it off as well as he did. Isn't that right, Fox?"

"I would agree, Panther. Skull does lack the sense of aesthetics needed to cull such a reaction."

"Oi! Shut it, both of you! I could do it if I wanted to!"

A garbled transmission came through, the voice unfamiliar. "Suspects… confirmed… hold…"

Oracle whispered in the communicator, probably unawares that she was transmitting, "Hm? What was that?"

"Oracle, I'm here and the briefcase is en route," Joker tried to reign in the focus as he dropped the briefcase down the designated ventilation shaft, a series of thuds ensuing after. "Where to-"

"There he is!"

The shout was heard both through his communicator and ear, not a good sign. Joker glanced up and saw a pair of guards blocking the stairs up. "I've got company."

"We've located the target. He's on the south balcony overlooking Gambling Hall B. We're moving to apprehend."

Mona, ever the opportunist, gave the orders so Joker didn't have to. "We have the briefcase and the guards are distracted. Alright everyone, let's make our escape!"

"Does everyone remember the rendezvous point?"

"Don't worry, Noir, I'll make sure everyone gets there. You hear that, Joker? We expect you to be there, too!" Oracle punctuated the last bit.

Sounds like he'd be in trouble if he wasn't there. Well, now that Joker thought about it, more than trouble. Try prison. But now he had to focus. After all, in order to escape he had to deal with the guards running up to him first.

"Yeah," Joker couldn't say anymore as he ducked beneath a vertical baton swing aimed at his neck. "Working on that."

The second guard delivered a downward swing from behind. Joker spun to the side, feeling the air break from the swing just a hairsbreadth away from his face. The guard was off balance, expecting something to stop his forward momentum. Planting a leg in front of the guard's own accompanied by a hand placed on the upper back and midsection, a swift twist from Joker sent the guard tumbling through the air and colliding into his partner. The two lay in a pile of entangled limbs. They were down but not out. Although Joker certainly was about to be the latter.

Joke absentmindedly muttered under his breath, the adrenaline still pumping in his veins. "Thanks for that, Queen."

"Hm? For what?"

"Nothing, ignore me. Oracle?" Joker asked, already in motion.

"Everyone, take route B to the point!" Oracle directed the others before addressing Joker. "Joker, there's a fire exit on the balcony to the right of yours. You should be able to get out that way. Hurry!"

He wasted no time as he dashed across the balcony, making a running jump off the rail and rolling onto the neighboring balcony. A pair of double doors marked "Fire Exit" was tucked into the corner next to a potted plant.

As much as Joker wanted to bust through those doors in a hurry, instinct took over as he placed an ear against the cool metal trying to listen past it. Nothing stood out to him as he pushed open a door, peering inside before committing.

L shaped vents were behind wire fences, posters plastered across the walls with numerous words written on them in English.

Joker didn't have time to over-analyze. No one else was here, that's all that mattered.

He continued towards the only other door in the room and went through the same procedure: ear to the door, listen, go.

Opening the doors and quickly descending down a staircase, Joker made only a whisper of noise. Despite himself he was pleased with his skill. No, don't get cocky. That leads to mistakes.

"Tch!" Skull clicking his tongue through the communicator made an audible pop, "We managed to sneak past a bunch of these guys in black, and there's still more of them. How crazy is security here?"

A T-intersection greeted Joker at the bottom of the staircase. Upon reaching the landing he glanced around the left corner and immediately ducked back behind the wall. Two guards lay beyond the fence separating them. Joker risked another peak, and seeing that they, for the moment, weren't looking this way dashed towards the right and through a set of doors. A pause later confirmed that they were unaware of his presence.

In this room several windows looked into a hall, electric blue lights illuminating the space beyond. Several steel carts were placed in the room itself. Thankfully, the lights were off.

A guard in the hall ran into view, looking harried as he scanned the hallway. "Where'd they go? Damn!" He reached up to his earpiece, reporting, "Intruder's location is not confirmed. Sector Four looks clear. Moving to Sector Five."

Joker waited a heartbeat after the guard rounded the corner and out of sight before moving. He almost stumbled as he scrambled for cover.

Another guard stood not but fifteen feet from him, choosing now of all moments to reveal himself by speaking. "Hey, are you sure he came this way? There's nothing here… Yeah... Got it. Continuing the search."

Joker tucked himself as far into the dark corner as possible, breathing softly despite his heart pounding in his chest.

The guard ran past where Joker was hidden and down the path he just came from.

Joker allowed himself a soft sigh of relief before moving into the hallway. He strained his ears, listening for even the softest footstep as knowing a second before the enemy that they were there was an advantage nonetheless. That, and it was the only way he could be alerted of their presence.

He passed a windowed room and glanced inside. Dozens of monitors and individuals sitting behind them were cluttered in the tight space. Joker watched as different viewpoints of the casino were displayed on the screens. Looked like the control room. Luckily for Joker they were too focused on their tasks to pay any attention to him. But he decided caution was best, crouching and moving beneath the windows. Even if someone did look, they'd literally have to be standing against the window to spot him.

Just as he reached the opposite end of the windows and stood up Joker heard a voice from within the room say, "He's not alone! Find and kill them all!"

Killing is a bit extreme, don't you think? Joker shook his head and dismissed the thought. No sense dawdling when his teammates were waiting on him. "Oracle, where am I going? In a bit of a maze here."

"Continue down the hall and make the next right. There should be a staircase. Take two flights up and exit the staircase. The exit point will be right in front of you."

"Got it, thanks."

"Don't thank me yet, Joker. We're not out of the frying pan yet."

Joker took a single step as the hairs of his neck stood on end, a voice ringing out from behind him.

"Stop!"

Of course, Joker did the only sensible thing in the moment. He ran like hell. Down the hall, up the staircase, and out onto another balcony.

This balcony overlooked what appeared to be a ballroom of sorts, elegantly set tables and décor, an expensive piano in the middle, and dozens of brilliantly dressed people. Joker looked around for a possible exit route and found himself looking straight towards a large mosaic glass window.

"Uh… Oracle?"

"Yeah? The exit should be right in front of you."

"The freakin window?" Joker could almost feel Oracle squirming behind her mic.

"It can't be helped. Security is tighter than anticipated and after all the commotion-"

"All the other exits are completely closed off. Hey, you can make it, right?" Panther broke in, concern lacing her voice.

A shout came from behind him, "Over there!"

"Don't really have a choice," Joker muttered as he ran along the balcony towards the window.

"There's nowhere to run!"

Joker paused as he crouched on the balcony railing, the window behind him. He glanced towards the guards and gave a small salute accompanied by a dashing smile. "Later." And with that single word launched himself back into the window, fragmented mosaic glittering around him as the rush of cold evening air greeted him.

It was a long way down. Oh God, that was a long way down. Joker landed on his feet and immediately tucked into a roll, coming to a stop as glass cascaded down around him.

Queen's voice spoke through the communicator just as Joker let out a breath he'd been unconsciously holding in, "Did you have to make it a window?"

"What a show off," Panther sighed, although the worry that just passed was still evident, "You're so reckless, you know that?"

"Yeah, well I don't know how else-" Joker was cut off as lights suddenly glared into his eyes. He instinctively raised his hand in front of his face to obscure it, but it didn't really help. His eyes eventually adjusted and a sense of dread blossomed in his chest. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding."

Line after line of police officers in riot gear stood in front of him. Police transports with spotlights attached to the hoods were behind them, the blue and red lights flashing.

"Wha- They- Here?!" Oracle's disbelief was mirrored by the rest of the team.

"What's wrong?" Skull asked.

Queen's words came out unsteady, "There's no way… That's impossible!"

"What the hell is happening, guys?!" Skull yelled over the com, but no one bothered answering. There worries lied elsewhere.

"Joker, can you handle it?" Mona voiced their concern.

"That's… asking a bit much," Joker admitted, every muscle in his body drawn taut. "And into the fire…"

"Apprehend him!" A man shouted from behind a loudspeaker.

Joker ran right, along the line of riot police as they surged forward like an endless wave. The spotlights tracked him, and Joker had no other tricks up his sleeve. Eluding them was going to be hard, outrunning them might be possible. Joker quickly gagged that possibility. Yes, they were equipped with some heavy equipment but unlike him, they weren't jumping and running around for the past half hour. Joker was, as much as he didn't want to admit, nearing his limit.

Despite the throbbing in his side Joker kept running, the roar of the officers behind him not lapsing in the slightest when a sliver of hope presented itself before him: a low hanging ladder connected to a fire escape. A grin broke out across his face as the revelation of things being convenient renewed itself.

With a grunt Joker leapt up and grabbed hold of the lowest rung, a swing of his legs later and the momentum carried him higher and out of reach. There was no way the police were making that jump with their gear. A short laugh escaped his mouth as he climbed further up, still looking down towards the police who could do nothing but watch him escape.

Joker finally looked up- and straight into a rifle barrel. He followed to barrel to the body of the man holding it, wearing the blue fatigues of a police officer. Several other men in matching uniforms were with him, standing on the fire escape landing. Any hope Joker had of escaping was squashed, along with his nose as a rifle butt slammed into his face.

Joker couldn't help but let go of the ladder, his body stunned as the nose drove the body to the involuntary reaction of reaching for it. And down he fell, impacting the hard, concrete ground flat on his back with an audible crack. He gasped, the air being knocked out of him as he was rolled onto his stomach by the surrounding officers. Sooner than Joker could get his bearings his arms and legs were held down by strong hands, a knee pressed into his back and a pistol to his head. Escape? Impossible. Joker continued to squirm and resist anyways. Might as well make them work for it.

The officer with his knee on Joker's back and, presumably, the man pressing the pistol against his head, shouted in a clear voice, "Suspect detained!"

Another officer grunted from exertion, "He's still struggling, hold him down!"

The crowd began to clear slightly as a pair of black loafers entered Joker's sight. Not a pair of combat boots like everyone else here.

"Didn't really expect to see some kid," the newcomer said as he crouched down next to Joker.

The light behind the man silhouetted him, making discerning his face difficult to say the least. Joker gave the man his best stink eye at where he thought the eyes were.

The man reached down, grabbed Joker roughly by the hair and hoisted him up a few inches. "Oh, don't give me that look." The man leaned down and whispered his next words into Joker's ear, his heart growing cold. The man released his hair and walked away. "Cuff 'em."

Joker merely laid on the ground, no longer having the will to struggle as he was hand cuffed and hoisted to his feet. The flashing lights barely registered anymore, and neither did the rough shoves as he was herded into the back of a police transport like a wild animal, accompanied by half a dozen police officers with loaded rifles.

Joker was in a daze, the man's last words echoing in his head. "You have your teammate to thank for this. You… haha… You were sold out, my friend."

A groan reverberated from his throat, the sensation slightly numbed from… what? A sudden spike of pain stabbed into his temple and his hand reactively reached up, only to be drawn taught against… something? Vision slowly came into focus, padded walls, a single door, a bright red light in the left corner, three… people?

"Loogs lig dha dwug wa tew stwon."

He dried to say that he couldn't understand, but his vocal cords refused to cooperate. At best he managed to groan again, head reeling to fight back the nausea that crept up his esophagus.

"Wuag ihm uph"

A sudden splash of cold water sent his body into momentary shock, his nerves suddenly erupting as everything came into focus too quickly. He started coughing uncontrollably, dry heaving rather than vomiting, thank goodness, as the nausea died away.

"No dozing off."

The words were clear this time, as he glanced up towards a no-nonsense man with a square nose and jaw. Didn't look Japanese to him; not that it really mattered.

A few measured breaths later and he realized he was bound to a chair, his hands restrained behind the back of it. A few moments of futile struggling were all he had in him before giving in to exhaustion. It was only now that the dull throb of pain crept into his consciousness. A rib here, a finger there, his nose… was his nose okay? Something was fractured, if not broken. Thankfully he mostly felt numb all over.

"Still don't get it, huh? Will continue to struggle until the very end. When will you learn to give UP?"

The man delivered a swift kick to the left side of his midsection, sending him flying across the room and out of the chair.

The numbness dulled the pain for the most part, but it still hurt like no other. He started coughing again, curling up into a ball as he wheezed for air. His eyes watered and his vision became blurry once more. He blinked away the tears as empty syringes came into focus in front of him. That, and the red light turned out to be a camera.

"What? Want another shot? We've given you more than usual already." The man followed his gaze before mocking him. "Looking at the camera? Smile while you still can. Are you possibly thinking that the footage can be used as evidence?"

He roughly grabbed a handful of hair twisted, hard. "Well?"

"Of course, not…" he groaned still panting as his side throbbed.

"That's good… At least you're still thinking somewhat. You want to know why it's good?" After a moment of silence, he answered his own question. "It's because we can take as much time as we need!"

Another swift kick to the stomach was accompanied by the now familiar sound of a coughing fit. By now the numbness was mostly gone, and whatever wounds they had inflicted previously flared.

"Let's see here… Obstruction of justice, blackmail, defamation, possession of weapons…" the man read down a list that one of the other men handed him, "And… no shit… murder. Talk about the works, kid. To think that all those crimes were led by a punk like you. Was it fun? Cause you seemed to enjoy every second of being Japan's most wanted."

Fun? What is he talking about? God damnit my ribs hurt. There's no way they're not fractured. What about the floaters? They're probably broken. I can't remember anything.

"Uncuff him."

The simple order was followed with a shove.

Having the mobility of his arms was extremely liberating, as was the relief that came from having his restraints removed. The chaffing on his wrists resulted in nasty looking rashes. Despite knowing better, he rubbed them with his hand.

The man knelt down before him and held out a clipboard with a piece of paper attached to it. "Sign this. It's a confession under your name."

Fire sparked in his chest as defiance reared its head. "Go to hell."

The man slowly nodded, taking in the words for seemingly face value. "I see… So that's how it's going to be. Well I just need a hand to sign this but-"

A foot came streaking down on his leg, the rough sole grinding into his skin. He grit his teeth to bear with the pain as best he could, but still ended up giving out a scream.

"It doesn't matter to me if you end up losing a leg or two in the process." The man let his threat hang for a moment before taking his foot off. He knelt down once more, his hard, brown eyes terrifyingly calm. "Let's try this again."

Still clutching his leg, he massaged it a few times to make sure the bone was still whole. Feeling that it wasn't broken or fractured he snatched the clipboard out of the man's grip.

"I need a pen if I'm going to sign."

The man grunted as he held out an ostentatiously shiny pen.

He reached for it only to find it retracted from his reach as the man leaned closer.

"Don't expect to get out of here in one piece. We're going to make you understand that one must bear he full responsibility for their actions."

He leaned forward and snatched the pen, glaring as he did so. They could break him as much as they want but he wasn't going to stop baring his teeth.

And so, he signed: Amamiya Ren :)

Ren handed back the clipboard as the man looked at it, his brow now furrowed. "You cheeky brat. Get another copy. He doesn't seem to understand the situation he's in."

Ren could only hold back his cries of pain for so long. But hell, it was worth it.

Niijima Sae strode forth with determined purpose in every step. The hallway was empty for the most part, but those that walked in the opposite direction of her quickly gave way as she bee lined towards the interrogation room. She was used to this kind of reaction. What she wasn't used to was people standing in her way like the man in front of her just did. The interrogation room was right there, damn him.

"Excuse me," the well-built man stood a head taller than Niijima did, arms crossed and wearing transition correctional lenses. The message was pretty clear: You're not passing. "But this area's off-"

"I'm Niijima from the Public Prosecutors Office," she cut him off to both identify herself and steal the initiative.

The man's brow furrowed. "Prosecutors Office? What business do you have here?"

Niijima succeeded in hiding the smile tugging at her lips. He took the bait. "Just let me through; it's urgent. I need to confirm some things with the suspect that's detained behind you."

"Look, ma'am, from my understanding this case is no longer in your jurisdiction," his eyes focused behind her as he smugly continued, "Besides…"

An older detective walked up from down the hall, his arms folded behind his back. "Are you prosecutor Niijima Sae? There's a call from your director. Hurry and get it over with. To be frank, you're being an inconvenience."

His eyes told Niijima that that was the last thing she wanted. But Niijima knew what she wanted, and she didn't give a single care that she was being an inconvenience. She had something she needed to do.

Her pocket began to buzz and she quickly withdrew her phone and brought it to her ear. A single finger press later and her boss' sigh came through the speaker. "I remember ordering you to stand by at the office."

"I am responsible for this case, sir, yet I'm not even allowed an interrogation?"

"I called knowing you'd bring it up…"

He was about to cave, Niijima knew just from the tone of his voice. She just needed to continue her push. "I will not 'stand by' when this is my case. I know an interrogation has already taken place. Without. My. Jurisdiction."

Niijima was answered with another long drawn out sigh. She was elated when she heard the response that followed. "Fine. Do what you want. I'm not expecting much more from the suspect though."

Niijima genuinely gave a short-lived smile at that. She promptly hung up and repocketed her phone.

"Ah, Prosecutor," the older detective spoke up, rudely listening in to the conversation. "I forgot to mention something important. Your time with the suspect will be cut short. We can't permit you to talk with him for too long."

Niijima glared daggers at a tile in the floor, gripping her bag with a white-knuckle grip.

"Understand it's for your own sake," the detective tried to quell the flames. "His modus operandi is unknown. After all, we don't even know if it's safe to simply meet and speak with him face to face."

"And yet you did it anyway. Fine, have it your way. Can I continue with my interrogation now?" Niijima shifted the direction of her glare straight into the detective's eyes.

"Erm… Yes…"

Niijima pushed onward and through the door, the heavy metal frame giving an audible click as it closed behind her. The room smelled of sweat and blood. While she was expecting it to a certain degree it was unwelcome nonetheless.

She noticed the suspect seated in a chair on the opposite side of the room, still in his school uniform. A table and another empty chair occupied the small, cramped space.

Niijima sat down across from the young man, a difficult to read expression etching her features as she brushed a few strands of hair away from her face. "I didn't think you'd be the one sitting across from me."

She was greeted with silence. Typical.

"You'll be answering my questions now." Niijima paused as she noticed the young man's glazed eyes. A quick scan of the room brought the syringes to her attention. She clicked her tongue. "Drugs. Of course. Bastards can't even do one thing humanely."

Niijima folded her hands in front of her and placed them on the table, straightened her back and spoke slower, annunciating every syllable. "Can you hear me? Seems like you've been through a lot here. Just so we're clear, almost anything can happen in this room. I can't protect you here. Which is why I need you to answer me honestly. Understand?"

A firm nod. Good.

"What was your objective. Why did you cause such major incidents?" Niijima started to ask another and stopped, realizing that he would have trouble keeping track of them in his muddled state. "I didn't think it was a prank from the get-go, but I couldn't assemble a case for prosecution. You know why?"

Niijima was met with a familiar, knowing grin. "Because you couldn't figure out how we did it." Amamiya Ren leaned back in his chair, clarity coming to his gray eyes.

Niijima blinked at his response but was satisfied that he finally spoke. At least now she could get some answers. "Correct. There's no way I could be convinced that such a…" she paused to find an appropriate term. "'World' existed just by reading the reports. When did you find out about it? How is it even possible to 'steal another's heart?' Now, I want you to tell me your account of everything. Start from the very beginning, and don't skip a single… minute… detail."

A voice echoed in Ren's subconscious, almost like a memory or an afterthought, and strangely the image of a blue luminescent butterfly came to mind. You are held captive. A prisoner of fate to a future that has been sealed in advance. This is truly an unjust game… Your chances of winning are almost none. But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you. I beg you. Please overcome this game… and save the world. The key to victory lies within the memories of your bonds- the truth that you and your friends grasped. It all began that day… When the game was started half a year ago. For the sake of your world's future… as well as your own… you must remember.

Ren leaned forward, masking the grimace of pain with a smile. "Well… Let's see how much I can recall for you, Niijima-san. Are you ready?"

Author's Note

I know I really shouldn't be starting a new one before finishing my other, and I offer no excuse.

Writing these is something I do in my spare time when I feel like it, so no promises on consistent updates and the like. But hey, if you enjoy it then I'm glad. Let me know what you guys think, I'm always open to constructive criticism and am interested in what you guys think. Stay tuned, friends.

I'll get a picture when I get around to it, okay? Bear with me.