Heyo. Been a while since I played IS so I had to watch a few videos. Remember, this is an AU and while I could have gone the usual route, there is no way in hell I am writing 30-40 chapters so... bear the very fast forward chapter.
Also, do check out P4 : Fallen Hero by GrimReaperJr, if you are into protags turned antags.
Anyway, here we go. Thank fuck I wrote a short chapter last time because the site fucked up.
"This book..." Nyarlathotep whispered into the head of his newest champion, a young brunette boy who was holding the rather massive book in his hands, flipping through the pages and skimming through the contents.
"In Lak'ech..."
"This book was complied by Tatsuya Sudou..."
"That name..." the younger Tatsuya whispered, eye twitching because that brought back a few memories from hours ago. The arsonist who had set the shrine on fire called himself Tatsuya Sudou during his delusional rants, as if he was talking to himself.
"I relayed these to him and he wrote this book," the ancient evil explained. "Tatsuya, this book will bring the downfall of humanity and with Sudou..."
Tatsuya started moving, not paying too much attention to the words of Nyarlathotep.
"Where is Sudou...?"
"Why do you ask?"
"I want to kill him..."
"..."
"Where is he...?"
"Haha..."
"..."
"HAHAHAHAH!"
The laugh of the crawling chaos echoed in his head, going off horrendously and bouncing off his skull but the brunette kept moving, still awaiting the directions to the residence of the bastard.
"Very well..." Nyarlathotep said with pride, knowing that his new champion was more than capable of bringing forth the downfall all on his own. "Do with him as you wish..."
Tatsuya picked up the pace, eyes brimming with the bloodlust and insanity of the crawling chaos.
...
Tatsuya kept walking and walking and walking, not stopping even though he was exhausted because of the corruption of his mind. He followed the directions and quickly located the smelly apartment where Sudou was staying.
Sudou.
The number one pawn of Nyarlathotep, the fool who thought aliens were communicating to him.
"Summon your persona..."
Tatsuya did, letting out a small burst of flames to burn the doorknob. He pushed it open and glanced at his palm, noting that his persona powers had grown in a short while, most likely due to the crawling chaos who had infused a good bit of power after he accepted his offer.
"Who is there!?"
Tatsuya stopped and stood in the small lounge as the door was smashed open and Sudou stumbled into the lounge, looking just as insane as the last time he saw him, eyes puffy red and wide open, almost threatening to pop out of his sockets. The burns caused by his previously puny persona were still visible, marring his face and arms with hideous marks.
"Y-You..." Sudou said, instantly recognizing the little brat who had attacked him with some kind of monster he had summoned. "Y-You brat!"
"Feel the chaos, Tatsuya..."
Tatsuya listened to the haunted whispers, the rage and insanity in his veins increasing tenfold, scarring his psyche and corrupting his initial persona. He stumbled backwards momentarily but managed to endure the suffering, a little initiation for the champion of Nyarlahthotep.
"Kill him, Tatsuya..." Nyarlathotep commanded.
Sudou pulled a knife out of his pocket and lunged at the boy, screaming something incomprehensible-
"KILL. HIM."
His persona screamed into his psyche, under going a metamorphosis and Tatsuya bolted, blind, without reason and full of insanity, slipping the knife thrust and listening to the yell of his darkened persona, calling forth the dark flames into his hand and unleashing the torrent against the chest of the much older male-
The heat tore through his flesh, exploding out of his back and killing him in a few seconds as his heart was burned to ashes by the first burst of the unholy flames. Sudou's mouth went wide in a muffled scream that never came out, dissolving inside of his throat as he stumbled backwards, slowly falling into the pool of blood and ashes beneath him-
"Excellent..."
Tatsuya shook his head and summoned yet again, not letting the bastard fall down in one piece. The dark blue flames burned through his body, the heat lashing out more viciously than before, consuming him, burning him and ultimately reducing almost every bit of him to ash, save for his single eye that plopped to the ground, leaking out blood and fear.
"I choose well..."
Tatsuya cracked his neck, his first successful kill taking care of the building fatigue.
"You will be perfect," Nyarlathotep praised. "You will be unstoppable, Tatsuya... Just heed my words."
"... I will..." Tatsuya replied.
"Next..." Tatsuya recalled the names once more-
Jun-
Eikichi-
Lisa-
Tatsuya crushed the eye to shreds under his boot and lumbered his way out of the apartment, their disgusting faces flashing across his eyes. His so called friends were next and they were going to pay for what he did to him and Maya. He knew of their residence and upon the approval of his new God, Tatsuya set out, looking to finish the night by a very violent catharsis.
By the time he reached them, the three members of the Masked Circle had found out about the shrine and had taken their masks, burying them into the cave along with their memories of the dreadful night. The thought sickened Tatsuya, only making his rage grow but oh well, he was content with this new development too.
They were running from the truth.
He was going to drag them back.
Torture them until they remembered.
...
"Well done," Nyarlathotep repeated his praise for his young follower. "Now, head back to the cave. You will need some more time before you are fully ready."
Tatsuya obeyed and started walking, silently going back to the same cave, the same room where he first met the evil God. He rested his back against the wall and sat down, curling with with his head on his knees, taking in and embracing the chaotic whispers of the crawling chaos. Minutes turned into hours, hours to days and days to year as the brunette remained seated at the same spot-
"Tatsuya!"
Katsuy yelled the name of his younger sibling, eyes widen and brimming with tears because the shrine was in ashes and Tatsuya was nowhere to be found. "Dammit, where are you!?"
"Don't listen to him..."
"Tatsuya!"
"..."
"Listen to me..."
"Tatsuya!"
"..."
"TATSUYA!"
Tatsuya winced at the last call but Nyarlathotep easily lulled him back, telling him to let go of the petty emotions lest his revenge would fail. It took a while but Tatsuya turned the other cheek towards the cries of his older brother and listened to the crawling chaos, accepting the false reality as his memories started twisting and turning, filling his heart and soul with hate for everyone who did him wrong.
Now a teenager, Tatsuya stood up from the spot and concentrated on his newfound power, his hands pulsing with dark flames. It had been years since that incident and so much had changed, his brother thought he had died and that was fine, his vengeance was more important. Meanwhile, the sons of bitches who did him wrong were still breathing.
"Take the mantle of Joker and lead humanity towards the fall..."
"No..."
"..."
"I am the Grim Reaper..." Tatsuya replied, putting on the brown paper bag mask over his head, a psychopathic grin in the middle and one hole punctured at the side for vision.
Nyarlathotep fell silent for a few seconds before his cruel, proud laugh echoed in the head of the brunette, bringing a barely noticeable, bloodthirsty smirk to his features.
"As you wish," Nyalathotep said, summoning two demons behind his champion. "Here, command them as you see fit and have fun, Tatsuya."
Tatsuya glanced at the demons and nodded, remembering their faces and ordering the demons to move-
...
The leading rumor in Sumaru City was that if you dialed your own number, the Grim Reaper would appear and take the life of whoever you wished. That Grim Reaper was the lost brother of Katsuya and through his brutal ways and comprehensive slaughtering of his victims, he had gained a cult following for people who called him to do their bidding.
For Tatsuya, every kill fueled the chaos in his psyche and with every slaughter, the smirk was returning to his features, a far cry from the childish grins he gave back then-
"Tch!" Tatsuya removed his mask briefly and vomited in disgust. He shook his head and looked over his newest victim, assured that his work was done.
For those who did not have the intent for the kill, Tatsuya would steal their dreams, their ideal energy, all in the name of Nyarlathotep. There were so many weaklings who called him but fell silent when he asked the name of the victim, hearts too weak to commit the ultimate sin and they paid the price, losing their personalities and dreams that Tatsuya took forcefully, reducing them to shadows that were only seen by-
Eikichi and Jun managed to close the door to the Sumaru prison and collapsed to the ground, crying and moaning over their wounds. This had been happening for months and it was not stopping. Weird, demonic creatures followed them, attacking whenever they were alone and they barely escaped with their lives each time.
They had no idea who was behind this.
Had no idea how to put a stop to this.
"H-Hey..." the two looked up and saw a blonde haired, blue eyed girl quivering in the corner of their apartment of sorts, busted up much like they were. "They attack you too, don't they?"
"They do..." Jun said.
"I have an idea..." Lisa said, having heard of the two by someone in the school. She laughed in front of her friends but she knew the demons were very real as they had relentlessly targeted her for months. She had a plan to put an end to the assault but was way too afraid to do it alone. "L-Let's call the Grim Reaper and ask him to kill whoever is doing this..."
Eikichi and Jun looked at each other, trying to muster up the courage.
"I'm tired of this," Lisa sniffed. "Nobody listens to us. I'll kill myself it this goes on."
"Alright..." Jun said, biting his lip because there was no other way. They couldn't keep on going like this after all.
"Yeah, let's do it," Eikichi said, pulling out his cellphone.
"Finally..." Tatsuy whispered. At last, THEY had called him...
...
As soon as Lisa made the call, a wave of dread erupted in the apartment, sending the three to their knees in fear of the enigma who spawned in the middle of them, cursing the three behind his paper mask.
"State the victim..."
"W-Whoever is doing this to us!" Lisa cried.
Tatsuya stopped and chuckled behind the mask, sending a shiver down her backbone.
Lisa was in love with him way back and now she was wishing for his death.
Two-faced bitch...
"Denied..." Tatsuya spoke after a tense silence, widening the eyes of the three students.
"W-Why...?"
"Paradox..." Tatsuya took a step forward, channeling the dark blue flames into his fists. "After all, I cannot kill myself."
The colors drained from their faces but before they could even question what the hell was going on, Tatsuya lunged at them, finally about to satiate his vengeance that he had held in for so many years. He was not going to steal their ideal energy, rather, he was going to steal their wretched, sinful lives.
The three re-awakened to their personas but they were no match for the grim reaper who almost mauled the life out of the three, giving them a beating worse than the demons had given them. He brutally killed the nearby friends of Eikichi, his so called band members and then focused on the three, lifting Jun up his throat and yelling at him to remember.
"You look as disgusting as always," Tatsuya spat, his foot holding Eikichi down while Lisa was bloodied in the corner, paralyzed from head to toe. Jun gasped for air as the pressure around his throat grew. "Well then, time to fulfill my vengeance..."
"W-What the hell are you talking about!?" Eikichi spat out, looking up at the brunette.
"What have we ever done to you!?" Lisa cried.
Tatsuya dropped Jun in shock and stood still for a few moments until a prominent vein bulged on his forehead and he kicked Jun into the opposite wall, barely leaving him alive. Now it all made sense, with all of their questions and them not remembering who he was. He thought they were refusing to admit but in truth, they had forgotten their sin.
"So you buried your memories along, huh!?" Tatsuya spat, launching Eikichi into Jun. "Pathetic!"
He had half a mind to summon and burn them to ashes but the revenge wouldn't be as sweet.
"Very well, I can wait," Tatsuya spat, stepping back from the mutilated bodies of his old friends. "Remember your sins and when you do, be certain that I will return to finish my work."
"Ugh, w-who the hell are you!?" Eikichi demanded.
"You'll know..." Tatsuya faded into a vortex of dark flames, disappearing from the apartment with an impatient hiss.
...
Confused and afraid, the three teenagers ran into a reporter who was investigating the case of the mysterious grim reaper. Her name was Maya Amano-
"Maya...?"
"Shhh..."
Maya Amano, who worked for Coolest magazine.
"She is dead..."
"Yes she is..." Tatsuya confirmed. "All because of them..."
"Go on, you have work to do,"
According to the book, to raise the ancient spaceship from underneath Sumaru, one would have to place the crystal skulls in Caracol. Xibalba would then arise, separating Sumaru from the rest of the world that was fated for destruction.
Maya and Yukino joined with the other three teenagers to investigate the mysterious enigma, unknowingly angering Tatsuya who was now convinced that this so called Maya Amano was just a fake, as the real one had died cursing the three for what they had done to her.
Tatsuya kept working, refusing the help of the other minions and gathering the ideal energy all by himself. Using the five skulls, Tatsuya snatched the dreams of people who called him, students, young people and adults, single-handedly while the team of persona users just watched on, not able to stop the one man who led the masked circle all on his own.
The three persona users remembered their sins when they explored the cave, digging out the masks and memories they had buried long ago. After so many years they finally reunited with Maya and then uncovered the horrible reality.
"The grim reaper is..." Lisa muttered.
"Ta-chan?" Eikichi finished.
"Tatsuya..." Jun bit his lip, sobbing quietly for the horrible turn of events.
"We must bring Tatsuya-kun to his senses," Maya said. "There is no other way. We have to get to Caracol and stop him from fulfilling the prophecy."
"Like you will..." Tatsuya whispered from the shadows, already headed to Caracol with the five skulls in his grasp.
The fateful encounter transpired on Caracol. Tatsuya was already there, all alone, waiting for them. As soon as the gates behind them closed, Tatsuya finally took off his mask-
"T-Tatsuya!" Lisa yelled at him, finally seeing his face after so many years.
"My God..." Maya shivered, not able to handle the hatred that was swirling in his cold eyes.
Why did this happen...?
"So you finally remembered, huh?" Tatsuya spat, glaring at his old friends with festering hatred. "I'm glad you could make it. Truth be told, I could have finished you at any time I desired but... we have much bigger things planned."
"Tatsuya you need to snap out of this!" Maya yelled. "See!? I'm here. I'm alright and I am alive. Come to your senses!"
Tatsuya fell silent, glancing at his shoes and then shooting a glare over to the three persona users.
"If you really are Maya... why are you with them?" Tatsuya asked, pointing his finger towards them. "You told me you wanted them dead. You cursed them as you burned, right in front of my eyes."
"That never happened!" Maya shot back. "I survived. Snap out of this delusion!"
"Silence, bitch!" Tatsuya snapped, removing his sword and raising the blade up to their level, ready to finally claim vengeance. "Maya died a long time ago..."
Lisa, Jun and Eikichi broke in tears, cursing themselves for this had happened because of them. The horrible chain of events started because of them and they led to this, Tatsuya had turned out this way because of them. With all that had happened, they couldn't even beg for forgiveness and were forced to fight and bring him back to his senses.
"You are my champion..."
"..."
"You are the unstoppable Grim Reaper. KILL KILL KILL!"
Much like ten years ago, Tatsuya listened to Nyarlathotep, giving one last ultimatium to Maya.
"Last choice..." Tatsuya offered. "Choose them... or me..."
"..."
3.
2.
1.
"Fine then," Tatsuya said, summoning his persona, the darkened version of Apollo from the depths of his soul. The heat wave sent his foes staggering and Maya broke into a run, summoning her persona and ready to clash with the grim reaper, a last effort to bring Tatsuya to his senses.
Tatsuya eagerly awaited the clash, grinning when the light of Maia clashed against his dark flames-
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Apollo powered through Maia and Tatsuya rushed, loading up on his fist and almost tearing through Maya's stomach with the stiff right hand he planted without mercy, blowing her backwards while he continued his run, yelling and jumping towards the three teenagers with his eyes widen open, crawling with chaos.
There was no chance.
Not against the chosen one of Nyarlathotep.
Tatsuya bulldozed his way through his former friends, mauling them without remorse or pity. Not even Maya was spared, dubbed a fake by Tatsuya, she was beaten black and blue much like the others and this time, Tatsuya kept talking during the fight, throwing his false delusions on their faced as he continued the painful torture-
Opening wounds-
Rupturing muscles-
Breaking bones-
Taking souls-
Eventually, Maya was the last one to fall, knocked unconscious with a swift blow to her temple. She whimpered one last time and dropped next to Tatsuya's feet, the boy stomping onto the head of the fake and grinning when Xibalba took off, separating Sumaru from the rest of the world.
"It has begun..." Tatsuya raised his arms, closing his eyes as Nyarlathotep praised him. He stepped over their broken bodies, leaving the rings of time and heading for Xibalba. The Last Battalion saluted the brunette as he walked through the army and stepped into the ancient aircraft, knowing the persona users were going to make one last stand.
"You always exceed my expectations, Tatsuya," Nyarlathotep laughed. He was first content on corrupting Jun but the rage that the young brunette gave off was so promising. He had chosen correctly that day as Tatsuya was a one man army. He was full of rage, delusions and preferred working alone, with no one else to screw up his plans and now, he had fulfilled most of the prophecies, all on his own. "What will you do next?"
"Fufill the oracle of Maia..."
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Excellent!"
Much like he had predicted, the broken persona users did indeed take a final stand, venturing into the ancient spaceship to bring Sumaru back down. By some miracle, they managed to reach the heart of Xibalba, spotting Tatsuya waiting for them in the collective unconsciousness.
"Tatsuya, please, stop this..." Maya pleaded, clasping her hands together.
"Chinyan, I'm sorry," Lisa begged, knowing that he was way too powerful for them to stop.
"C'mon man, you alone can end this," Eikichi said.
"Tatsuya, remember our promise..."
"Please!"
Tatsuya remained silent, just eyeing his old friends who were sobbing out loud, begging him to return to his senses. He watched on for a little while before sighing and lowering his head, contemplating-
"Hear my voice, Tatsuya," Maya shouted. "I know you are there."
"C'mon Tatsuya!"
Tatsuya clenched his hand into a fist-
Maya saw that and started walking, closing the distance between them. She smiled slightly and raised his face-
Only to see a shit eating grin-
"Maya!"
"Fake..."
Maya could not back off in time and the spear of destiny sliced through her stomach, opening up a mortal wound that would not be healed. The rumor had been going on for centuries, a wound by the spear could not be healed and for Maya, this was the end.
Tatsuya stepped back, grinning as Nyarlathotep took him away from the collective unconsciousness. The cries and horrified faces of the three sinners fresh on his mind and for the first time, Tatsuya smiled, smiled in utter glee and joy, relishing the chaos.
He had chosen correctly that day.
The chaos was everything that he needed.
Soon after, Philemon appeared, offering them an alternative to undo the cruel fate. Forget their memories to forge a new timeline. Jun, Eikichi and Lisa did so, forgetting their memories to undo the tragic death-
"Hehe..."
"You saw what he did, Tatsuya...?"
"He undid my hard work..."
"What are you going to now?"
"I'm going to follow them..."
'And...?"
"I will put an end to Philemon..."
The crawling chaos and his champion shared a laugh together, following the miserable pigs into the next timeline, to the new world.
Eternal Punishment awaited...
Philemon knew he was in for a very possible defeat. With his new champion, Nyarlathotep was far more predictable than before. Tatsuya had no need for elaborate schemes or deceit as he accomplished everything in the open, through brute strength and unmatched brutality.
It was painfully obvious that the old persona users were no match for him.
"We need a Wild Card..."
Yikes. That was brutal. I did away the whole joker and dream fulfilling bullshit. I mean, Jun had dreams of... fulfilling other dreams but I don't think Tatsuya thinks that way, reason why he said no the whole masked circle and worked on his own. Another point to note was that Tatsuya's rage was far greater than Jun's, ffs, he was the one who suffered who Nyar's corruption in contrast was much stronger and since they couldn't beat him, Tatsuya retained the insanity and destroyed the world without a problem.
Again, this was a quick recap of Innocent Sin, with notable differences shown. Again, I could have expanded much more but... I don't think many people would care, given how unpopular p2 is and there is no way in hell I am writing another long fic. Besides, the main part of this story is regarding the wild cards, not the old persona users.
Anyway, do review if you want to see more.