Persona V: Burn My Dread

by TheRedeemer1995

When the Phantom Thieves of Hearts encounter an exceptionally powerful Persona-user in Mementos named Minato Arisato, they recruit him into their fold under the codename of Maestro. What the Trickster and his allies fail to realize, however, is that the return of the Messiah has caused the game to go completely off the rails. Will it be for the better? Or will things get worse?

Greetings, prospective readers, and welcome to the new-and-improved version of Persona V: Burn My Dread! Admittedly, this new incarnation came to me on-the-fly, and it was due in no small part to the Japanese release of Persona 5 Scramble and the addition of the new Phantom Thief known as Wolf. Needless to say, the addition of an actual adult being a member of the Phantom Thieves IN CANON NO LESS, opened up a whole new plethora of ideas for this project that can make things so much more versatile, and allowing me to change and alter the story of Persona 5 in so many different ways, such as Yukari and Minato getting back together (trust me when I say that I have a scene planned for that reunion), S.E.E.S/the Shadow Operatives playing a greater role in the storyline as a whole, plus the added benefit of Minato being a member of the Phantom Thieves who can actually follow, investigate, and acquire leads while Ren/Joker and the others are in school, amongst other things. Additionally, the AO3 version of this story will include things that things that, due to the rules of this site, I can't add here, such as a duet between Ren and Minato when the Phantom Thieves go out for karaoke during the Kaneshiro arc, amongst other things. Additionally, I can indeed confirm that I have Yu Narukami and the rest of the Investigation Team/Seekers of The Truth slated for appearances during a "field trip" arc, where what I like to call the "Trinity" (S.E.E.S/the Shadow Operatives, the Investigation Team, and the Phantom Thieves) all get together. Said arc includes sharing war stories from their journeys, male bonding activities with the male members of all three groups (aka going on a rampage in Mementos killing every single Shadow unfortunate enough to cross their path) while the female members of the Trinity have a "Girls Night Out." Oh! And before I forget, since I can only show four characters in little character bar thingy on this site, I believe I should unveil the rest of my ships as well! They are as follows:

Mitsuru Kirijo X Akihiko Sanada

Yusuke Kitagawa X Haru Okumura

Yu Narukami X Rise Kujikawa

Yosuke Hanamura X Chie Satonaka

Naoto Shirogane X Kanji Tatsumi

Stupei-er, I mean, Junpei Iroi X Chidori Yoshino

Well, I've babbled on long enough, so let us start the game anew once more!

Chapter I: A New Journey Begins

March 5th, 2010

S.E.E.S Dorm

A young man of around seventeen or eighteen with blue unkempt hair wearing a black blazer with a white dress shirt and a black ribbon bow tie, black slacks with a white belt that had a holster attached to it, and black dress shoes was sitting at his desk, looking out of his window, listening to the birds chirping outside.

Minato Arisato was finding it to be a struggle to keep his eyes open. After he had used the power of the Universe Arcana in order to perform the Great Seal on Nyx and prevent the end of the world, he could slowly feel the life draining out of his body. And yet, all the past month, Minato had forced himself to stay alive, forced himself to eat, and hoped to God that he would wake up the next morning.

But now his willpower was nearly depleted, and deep in his heart, Minato Arisato knew that this would be the day that he died…

Maybe it won't be so bad… passing away… I mean, it certainly looks beautiful out today… and hopefully, Akihiko-senpai, Mitsuru-senpai, Junpei, Fuuka, Aigis, and… my beloved Yukari will be there when it happens… and maybe… I'll get to see my parents again… thought Minato before he was pulled out of his thoughts by someone knocking on his door. "W-who is it?" Minato asked.

"It's me… Aigis… may I please come in?" the female voice of the Anti-Shadow Suppression android asked from the other side of the door.

"Oh, uh s-sure," said Minato as he got up from his desk and opened the door to let the android in.

As Aigis walked into the room, a content smile was on her face. "Thank goodness. I'm so happy to see you again," Aigis said, before her smile changed into a gloomy expression as something seemed to cross her mind.

"I-it's good to see you again, too, Aigis," Minato said with a smile that quickly turned into a frown at Aigis' downcast look. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry to show up so suddenly, but… I really needed to talk to you," the android said.

"N-no problem," Minato said with a small smile. "What's on your mind?"

"I… I remember everything. Everyone seems to have forgotten, but I remember. That day, we..." Aigis said, sadness evident in her voice as she began to cry.

"Th-that's right," Minato said, a small, sad smile on his face as he looked down at the ground.

"I'm sorry… it's just that… when I remembered… I was afraid you might go somewhere far away… like you did at the last battle…" said Aigis.

Minato chose to remain silent. As much as he wanted to reassure Aigis that that wouldn't happen, he knew for a fact that it wasn't true.

Aigis looked up at Minato. "Graduation's today, isn't it?" the android asked Minato.

"Oh! Th-that's right! I should probably get going-" Minato said,

"I'm sorry. The ceremony's already begun…" Aigis said sadly.

"Oh…" said Minato, looking dejected.

Aigis walked over to the nearby window and smiled "Such nice weather outside… Do you remember? The promise we all made?" the android asked her human friend and companion.

Minato nodded solemnly. "Of course I do…" he said.

"Good. Why don't we go there and wait for the others…? We can enjoy the view of this peaceful city…" Aigis suggested,

Minato closed his eyes "The school's roof… Yeah… let's go..." Minato said before he followed the android out of the room. Together, man and machine made their way towards Gekkoukan High School.

Meanwhile, at Gekkoukan High School Auditorium...

All the students were seated in rows and columns for the senior Graduation Ceremony as the senior class representative spoke at the podium that had been set up for the event.

"The time to part has finally come. Though this is our last day together, we want the senior class to know that you've truly earned our respect. We wish each of you good health, happiness, and prosperity. On this auspicious occasion, I wish you all a fond farewell on behalf of the student body," the class representative said, concluding her speech as the crowd broke out in applause. Her role for the ceremony finished, the class representative took a bow and left the stage.

"Next, a word from the valedictorian," a teacher announced. "From Class D, Mitsuru Kirijo."

Mitsuru stepped from behind the curtain and walked up to the podium and making a respectful bow to the teacher. "Thank you," Mitsuru said as she looked out to her audience, standing proudly as she began her speech.

"This past year, I accepted an important responsibility as Student Council President. When I first addressed you from this podium, I spoke to you all about seizing opportunity while you had the chance. Well, it must have been fate that intervened and gave me an important reminder of this. As many of you may know, my father unexpectedly…"

When she thought about what she was about to say next, a nagging feeling in her mind seemed to be triggered, cutting her off mid-sentence. Mitsuru shook her head and dismissed the feeling before she attempted to continue her speech.

"H-He… unexpectedly passed away, due to sudden illness…" Once again, the nagging feeling within her mind was triggered, this time with greater force. It was starting to feel as though she was telling a lie, as if half of those words she had spoken… weren't true at all. As the nagging feeling started to get overwhelming, Mitsuru looked down and placed her hand on her forehead.

"Sudden… illness…?" Mitsuru muttered as the feeling in her mind began to grow stronger by the second.

Meanwhile, Mitsuru's sudden stumble with her speech had caused the entire crowd of students to begin stirring, as there were few times where the newly anointed Kirijo Group CEO had ever fumbled with her words.

"Wow, that's rare. I've never heard her stumble in a speech before," one of the graduating seniors said, a frown on her face.

"It's a big day… It must be tough thinking about her father," another nearby senior said, sympathy evident in his voice.

From the crowd, four students suddenly jumped from their seats. These students were Akihiko Sanada, Yukari Takeba, Fuuka Yamagishi, and Junpei Iori. Akihiko and Fuuka looked around as memories that seemed to have been long forgotten resurfaced with nearly overwhelming force and clarity.

"I-we-!" Fuuka Yamagishi started to stammer as her memories began to return in full force.

"Oh… I- I..." Junpei Iori started shouting.

"That's right! I remember! Our promise!" Yukari Takeba exclaimed, her eyes wide with both shock and realization as the memories she had made during the past year, and the memories she had made with her boyfriend, Minato Arisato, along with them.

Mitsuru's eyes widened as her own memories began to return. "I… I remember…" Mitsuru nodded before continuing her speech. "Yes… upon my father's death, I was set adrift, stripped of my reason to live. But now… I have found something else to live for. No longer will I run from the future. I will face it head on, in memory of my father's will. I am resolved, and without reservation! This is because…" Mitsuru said, a smile appearing on her face as she caught sight of her friends starting to gather.

"It is because I made such wonderful, such priceless friends. And we promised each other that we will never lose hope, no matter what tomorrow may bring!" she shouted as she left the podium, not caring about the knocked over mic, and leapt from the stage to rejoin her dear friends.

"Senpai!" Fuuka shouted. "We finally remember!"

Junpei shot a smirk at all of them. "We should probably get goin'!" he said. "Minato and Aigis… betcha five hundred yen they're already there."

Mitsuru nodded in agreement. "Yes, of course! I can hardly wait! Everyone, let's go!"

And on that note, the five students rushed out of the auditorium, completely ignoring the shocked and clammering crowd they had left behind.

Meanwhile, on the Gekkoukan High School Rooftop…

(Persona 3 OST: Because I Will Protect You)

Minato's entire body was lying on the stone seat, his hands clasped on his torso, with his head resting on Aigis' lap. Cherry blossoms from nearby trees were flying overhead, and the warm sunlight and gentle breeze were enveloping Minato's resting body. As she watched the cherry blossoms blow about in the wind, Aigis held out her hand to catch a blossom, a small smile on her face as she looked at the small, pink petal in her hand.

"The wind feels so nice," the android said. "This is my first time experiencing spring."

Minato nodded as he gazed at the hundreds of small pink petals gliding through the sky. Yeah… it's the perfect place to take a nap, he thought to himself with a small, sad smile on his face.

A few moments of what could only be described as a calm, peaceful quiet passed by before the wind blew the cherry blossom out of Aigis' hand. The android looked up, following the blossom as it disappeared into the blue above.

"But, this season will eventually pass." Aigis said as she looked down at Minato, who seemed to be quite sleepy. Perhaps she should set a wake-up call if he fell asleep before their friends arrived. "After fighting alongside you, and facing the world's end, I finally began to understand… what it means to live. Thinking for yourself… not running away… accepting the inevitable… all things eventually come to an end... every living thing will one day disappear... only by accepting this can one discover what they truly want… what the meaning of their life will be..."

"I understand now why I was so tormented by my lack of strength... protecting others became more than just an order I had to obey... I wanted to do it for my own reasons. I realized this once I decided to try and prevent the Fall," Aigis continued, her gaze returning to the sky as she spoke. "When I thought I might never see you again, something else became clear to me… what I wanted most," Aigis said as tears formed in her eyes. Unable to stop herself from crying tears of happiness, Aigis smiled and looked at Minato.

"And so... I made up my mind. I decided that I would continue to protect you. I want to be your strength. I know I'm not the only one who can do this… but that's okay," the android said as she started to happily sob. "My life… will be worth living if it's for this reason…"

Minato smiled. "Aigis…" he said as Aigis placed her hand on his cheek, her synthetic tears continuing to fall onto him as the android continued to cry.

"Ha ha… thank you…" the android sobbed.

Minato slowly raised his trembling hand to her cheek to wipe off the tears. "D-Don't… cry… it'll… be a-all right."

As he continued to wide away the tears, Aigis closed her eyes and clasped Minato's hand in her own. "You're right..." the android sobbed. "What am I doing? I understand now… so I should be happy." Aigis said as she let go of Minato's hand, letting it return to his stomach.

Nearby, a voice that both Minato and Aigis recognized as Junpei's cried out "Hey," causing Aigis to beam at the sound of their friend's voice.

"Everyone!" Aigis cried out happily as she looked over her shoulder in the direction the voice had come from. "I realize now that I have friends as well..." Aigis said. "You don't have to save the world to find meaning in life. Sometimes… all you need is something simple… like someone to take care of. I'll keep on living no matter what, so that I can protect you. Thank you… for everything."

As the gentle spring sunlight warmed his body, Minato started to feel sleepy, and found himself struggling to keep his eyes open. Whatever he had left of his will power was quickly fading fast, along with his life. Although she had noticed Minato's apparent exhaustion, Aigis still hadn't quite picked up on what it meant as she smiled down at Minato. "You must be tired… please, get some rest… I'll stay right here with you…" the android said.

Finally losing the will power to keep his eyes open, Minato Arisato closed his eyes and let his exhaustion carry him off to his eternal rest…

May 5th, 2016

Outside The Shibuya Subway Station

(Persona 5 OST: Wicked Plan )

A group of three teenagers, two boys and a girl, along with a black cat with a yellow collar and intelligent blue eyes, stood near the Shibuya Subway entrance.

"What're you bringing us here for?" said Ryuji Sakamoto, a young man with short blond hair and dark brown eyes. He wore the standard uniform of Shujin Academy, with the blazer opened to reveal the yellow t-shirt with a comic style star symbol and the word 'ZOMG!' he had on underneath, plaid trousers rolled up to reveal his ankles, a white belt. and white sneakers that bore a rising sun flag motif.

The black cat nearby heaved a frustrated sigh. "Just do as I told you," Morgana said, the black cat's voice as clear as crystal.

Ryuji heaved a sigh and pulled out his phone, pulling up a website called the Phantom Aficionado Website. "All right, I've got the Phantom Aficionado Website pulled up. Now what?" asked Ryuji.

"Look for a post with a full name in it," instructed Morgana.

"I already did that! There's no info on any big shots! Don't you remember?" Ryuji said, irritation evident in his voice. "But, man, people actually go and put someone's real name on here. That's some scary shit…"

Meanwhile, Ann Takamaki, a bombshell of a young woman with bright blue eyes and wavy platinum blonde hair styled in bushy pigtails, with parted side bangs on the right side of her face wearing the standard Shujin Academy black blazer over a white varsity-like full zip hooded sweatshirt, with a red stripe between two blue stripes at the bottom, an S symbol near the front bottom on one side and a green four-leaf-clover symbol on the back of the hood, red tights and brown boots with yellow laces, looked over Ryuji's shoulder. "'He won't listen to a word I say…' No, there's no name on this one,'" she said, disappointment evident in her voice.

"'Someone's been bad-mouthing me in online chat rooms…' Hey! This one's got a name!" exclaimed Ryuji.

Morgana heaved a sigh. "Ignore those. Aren't there any posts about more serious trouble?" he said.

Ann took another look at the Phantom Aficionado Website."'I don't know what to do about my ex who's stalking me, his name is Natsuhiko Nakanohara…' It says that he's a teller at City Hall," she read aloud.

"A government worker's stalkin' someone…?" Ryuji said, his tone of voice indicating he was hoping for something better.

Morgana smirked. "That should be a suitable target. All right, now get the Meta-Nav ready," the cat instructed.

"We're just gonna jump right into a Palace? Fine by me!" Ryuji said, getting the Meta-Nav application on his phone ready.

Ann's face suddenly turned exceptionally stern. "Hey! What about all this talk about 'unanimous decision?'" she demanded before turning her attention to the leader of the group. "What do you think we should do, Ren?"

Ren Amamiya, a young man of around sixteen with wavy and unkempt black hair and dark gray eyes wearing a pair of fake black glasses and the standard Shujin Academy uniform, consisting of a red-buttoned black blazer with Shujin's emblem on the left hand breast pocket, a white turtleneck shirt with chevron detailing on the collar, red plaid pants, and black dress shoes gave his teammates a determined sort of look before he told them his decision. "Let's go," he said.

Ryuji laughed. "That's what I'm talkin' about!"

Ann nodded in agreement. "All right, then, let's go!" she declared.

"We need a name and a place, right? So the name is-" Ryuji started to say before Morgana cut him off.

"Actually, we don't need a place this time. Just enter exactly what I say," the cat said. "The keyword is 'Mementos.'"

"Mementos? Sounds kinda minty," Ren quipped with a small smirk.

Ryuji, meanwhile, was almost immediately suspicious of the cat. "Huh? What are you tryin' to pull?"

"Just listen to me! It should work… I think," said Morgana, a small degree of uncertainty in his voice.

Ryuji sighed in defeat. "Aw, jeez, that again?" he said before pulling up the Metaverse Navigator, which took the form a demonic red and black eyeball. "Uh… M-E-M-E-N-T-O-S, was it?" Ryuji said as he typed the word into the Meta-Nav.

"Candidate found," a female computerized voice said from Ryuji's phone, greatly surprising the blonde boy.

"We got a hit?!" Ryuji exclaimed in surprise.

Morgana, meanwhile, had a cocky smirk on his face. "Just as I thought!" he said.

The very next second, reality itself began to distort in the form of red and black waves of some kind. The distortion seemed to be spread all over the immediate area. Once the waves of distortion had disappeared, the world around the three teenagers was drastically altered.

(Persona 5 OST: Tension )

Ann let out a gasp. "Everyone's disappeared!" she exclaimed. "And it… kind of feels like I'm walking on air…?"

"Is this that Nakanohara guy's Palace?" Ryuji asked Morgana.

"That's half right, but half wrong," said Morgana. "This is a type of Palace, but it's different from the normal ones. Come on, let's head down. The Shadows here lurk underground. I don't quite understand why. It may be because they're drawn to something…"

"Underground?" Ann questioned, confusion evident in her voice. "How are we going to get there?"

Morgana chuckled. "How? You use it every day on your way to school, Follow me!" the cat said before jumping down from the garbage bin he was sitting on and heading down into the nearby subway tunnels, Ren, Ryuji, and Ann following close behind.

As soon as they set foot into the subway tunnels, which had been drastically transformed into something resembling most depictions of Hell, Ren, Ryuji, Ann, and Morgana were engulfed in plumes of blue fire. Once the flames had vanished, the appearance of the three teenagaers and the cat appeared to be almost completely different.

Morgana had gone from resembling a normal house cat to what appeared to be some sort of cartoon mascot with a black and white color scheme with blue eyes wearing a yellow bandana and carrying a bandit sword of some kind.

Ren, or rather the Joker's, outfit consisted of a black leather ankle-length tailcoat, a high-necked waistcoat with gold accents, black pants, brown-black winklepickers, and a pair of red gloves. The mask that adorned the Joker's face was a black and white, birdlike domino mask. Hidden somewhere on the Joker's outfit was a model pistol that somehow functioned as well as the gun's real world counterpart along with a combat knife, his preferred weapon of choice.

Ann, or rather Panther's, outfit consisted of a skin-tight red latex catsuit with a cleavage cutout and zippers, a matching red panther mask, pink gloves, dark red thigh-high boots, and a clip-on tail on the back of her catsuit. Hidden somewhere on her costume was a model machine gun that functioned just as well as its real-world counterpart, along with a whip for her melee weapon of choice.

Ryuji, or rather Skull's, outfit consisted of a black leather jacket with matching pants and knee pads, a red ascot, combat boots, a pair of yellow gloves, and a skull mask. Hidden somewhere on Skull's outfit was a shotgun that functioned just as well as its real world counterpart, along with a bludgeoning weapon of some kind.

While they didn't notice the transformation at first, it wasn't long before the Phantom Thieves of Hearts came to realize it.

(Persona 5 OST: Suspicion)

"The Hell is this place…?" Skull muttered to himself as he looked around the area before the realization hit him. "Wait, our clothes changed?!" he exclaimed.

"The Shadows know we're here?!" exclaimed Panther in concern.

"Certainly looks that way," Joker said, a stern expression on his face.

Morgana nodded. "They've known we were here since the moment we stepped in," the cartoon cat explained.

"You should've told us!" Skull exclaimed.

"Oh, don't worry, we're still safe right here. I've come to investigate a number of times. The Shadows never come up to this floor. That being said, it's a completely different story once you go down. This place is simply teeming with them," Morgana explained.

Panther, however, was still uncertain about everything that was going on. "Good to know, but more importantly, what is this Mementos?! It's about time you start explaining!" she demanded.

"Mementos is… everyone's Palace," Morgana said, a stern expression on his cartoonish face.

"Huh? Whaddya mean 'everyone's'...?" Skull asked, clearly confused by the cat's statements.

"A Palace as grand as Kamoshida's Castle only appears when a person's wishes are extremely distorted. So, instead of many individual Palaces, the general public has one gigantic shared Palace. That's where we are now: Mementos," Morgana explained.

"You know, now that you mention it, this place feels a bit different from Kamoshida's Palace…" said Panther, thinking over Morgana's statements.

"When you say 'shared,' you mean they're all put together, even though they're just total strangers?" Skull asked Morgana.

"Think of it as the collective unconscious…" Morgana started to say before deciding against it. "No, never mind. You wouldn't understand."

"I don't know, I think I understand just fine. From what you've just told us, I'd say this Mementos Grand Palace, for lack of a better term, is some kind of hive mind of sorts. And with it, we can change the Hearts of people who don't even have a proper Palace of their own." Joker said, his hand placed on his chin in thought.

Morgana looked over at Joker, surprised. "Huh… I guess you understand a bit better than I thought. You never cease to impress me, Joker," the cat said, smiling at his protege. "That being said, the steps to change the heart of a person in Mementos are slightly different, though."

"Hold up, Morgana. Before we get any further into the process for Mementos, I have a question," Joker said as he held his hand up to stop Morgana from elaborating the process. "If this really is the Palace for the general public as a whole, then I think it'd be safe to assume that this place is going to be massive. Are we actually going to be able to get around just by hoofing it?" Joker asked Morgana.

Morgana hopped off the escalator rail he was standing on and stood in a random spot nearby. "It seems the time has finally come. MORGANAAAAA! HENSHIN!"

As Morgana spoke, he leapt into the air and, in a puff of smoke, transformed into a small bus of some kind with a black and yellow color scheme.

(Persona 5 OST: My Homie )

"Come now, Panther. Ladies first," Morgana said.

"A car?!" Panther said in a mixture of shock and surprise.

"NO WAY!" Skull exclaimed in shock and surprise.

"All right, Morgana!" Joker said, smirking boradly at his pet cat/Phantom Thief mentor. "But, uh… how exactly did you do that?"

"This comes from the way cognition materializes in the Metaverse, plus a little bit of extra training," Morgana explained. "It's not dissimilar to the way you guys transform."

"YOU TURNIN' INTO A CAR IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT FROM OUR CLOTHES CHANGIN'!" Skull exclaimed.

"Yeah, well, for some reason, cats turning into buses is an extremely widespread cognition among the general public," Morgana said.

"Why a bus, though?" asked Panther.

"I… honestly have no idea. Still, it could be useful in the event we get any additional members," said Morgana.

"Cat-bus has a point," Joker said, pointing at Morgana.

"Wait a minute, why didn't you do this at the castle?!" Skull exclaimed as he ran towards the bus.

"I would have if I could, but that castle was cramped, there were tons of stairs, and there's no way in Hell this would fit on top of a chandelier," Morgana retorted.

"Hey, Skull! Ladies first!" exclaimed Panther as she tried to get ahead of Skull with Joker right behind her just in time to see Panther fighting with Skull over seating arrangements.

"Hey! Stop that, that's dangerous!" Skull exclaimed.

"Panther! Please be gentle!" Morgana exclaimed as Joker climbed into the bus.

After a few moments struggling, all three of the teenage Phantom Thieves were seated comfortably on the Morgana-mobile.

"All aboard! Let's go!" said Skull, leaning back on his seat and waiting for Morgana to take them into Mementos. Except, after a few moments, Joker, Skull, and Panther realized that Morgana was going nowhere fast.

"Why are you all just sitting back there? I'm a car, remember? I'm not going anywhere unless someone drives me!" said Morgana.

"What, you can't drive yourself?!" Skull asked.

"Well, even though cats turning into buses are a widespread cognition among the general public, cats turning into self-driving buses isn't quite as widespread," Morgana said.

Panther looked over at Joker. "Do you know how to drive?" Panther asked Joker, who shot her a cocky smirk.

"Time for me to bust my moves," Joker said, causing concern to spread amongst his fellow Phantom Thieves. "What?"

"Umm… safety first, okay?" Panther said.

"You'd better not smash up my beautiful face, you hear me?!" Morgana demanded.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Joker said as he climbed out of the Morgana-mobile and made his way towards the driver's seat.

"Now, start the engine! You can't drive if it's not running!" exclaimed Morgana.

"Yes, Morgana, I am fully aware of how a car works," Joker said as he jumped into the driver's seat, Skull clambering over the backseat to join Joker in the front, riding shotgun.

"Oh, jeeze, what a pain. Where's the key to this thing?" Skull muttered under his breath as he looked around up front for the key to the transmission.

"Why would you need a key?" asked Morgana. "There's a switch right next to the steering wheel."

"Ah, found it," said Joker before pulling the switch down a little, causing Morgana to giggle.

"That tickles! Lower, lower!" Morgana exclaimed as Joker pulled the engine all the way down, causing the engine to start kicking in, along with what sounded like a cat purring. "Oh, there! That feels soooooooo gooooooood!"

Skull frowned as he heard Morgana's purring. "Is that purring? What a creepy-ass car!" he yelled.

"Don't underestimate my meowtery engine!" snapped Morgana. "We're going full throttle! It's time to fly!"

Meanwhile...

(Persona 5 OST: Desire)

Lying on what appeared to be some form of subway boarding station on the border between the lowest floor of the Path of Qimranut and the top floor of the Path of Aiyatsbus within Mementos was a young man who seemed to be around the age of twenty-four years old with blue unkempt hair wearing a sleek black suit with a black dress shirt and a silk tie that was a somber shade of royal blue, black slacks held up by a black leather belt and black dress shoes. The young man began to stir as his eyes slowly began to open.

Where… am I? The last thing I remember was... Minato Arisato thought to himself before a massive surge of knowledge came rushing into his mind, causing a small headache. Apparently, he was living in an apartment complex in the Tokyo district of Yongen-Jaya, where he would find everything he needed for his new and falsified identity, allowing him to avoid arousing suspicion amongst those who would undoubtedly prove to be extremely dangerous adversaries and would do whatever it took to prevent him from meddling in their designs by abusing their power, influence, and status to manipulate and perhaps even fabricate scenes and events.

Wha… what was that all about? thought Minato as he looked around in confusion, not entirely sure what to make of his immediate surroundings. Either when he died, he had been condemned to the fiery depths of Hell for some unknown reason, or this was something else. Wherever or whatever this place was, it almost felt like Tartarus, or the Dark Hour. Yet, at the same time, it felt completely different. Nonetheless, the fact that this place felt even remotely similar to Tartarus or the Dark Hour troubled him greatly.

As Minato pulled himself off of the ground, he checked his pockets, and found that he only had what seemed to be an apartment key, his old Velvet Key, and a model of cell phone that he didn't recognize, and the entire screen of which seemed to be glowing with a shimmering red and black symbol with a demonic eye on it.

What in the Hell is going on here? thought Minato as he tried to get a feel for his powers. While he could indeed feel that he had maintained his power, the fact that his Evoker had gone missing gave the Redeemer of Man severe doubts of being able to do anything with it.

Maybe I should take a look around, see if I can find a way out of this place, whatever the hell it is, thought Minato, before he caught sight of a seemingly-impenetrable barrier in one direction, while in the opposite direction was a deactivated escalator that seemed to be leading to some sort of higher level within the Hell-like realm he now found himself in, which, now that he took a closer look, seemed to resemble some form of sinister subway system, complete with what could only be trains of the damned running by him at full speed, if the eerie glowing red windows were any indication.

Well, that escalator seems to be my best bet, so let's get out of this crazy place, thought Minato as he began to walk towards the staircase. But, before Minato was able to make it more than a few steps forward, the bluenette began to sense a sinister presence nearby. A moment after this presence appeared, Minato heard something that sounded like laughter. Evil, malicious laughter that sent chills up Minato's spine. As he stood there, frozen in place as he tried to determine the source of the laughter, a voice spoke behind him.

"So, you're the one…"

(Persona 5 OST: Blood of A Villain)

Minato wheeled around to find what was unmistakably his silhouette walking towards him. Black as night with pure white eyes wearing what seemed to be his old Gekkoukan High School uniform, complete with headphones hanging around its neck, and holding what appeared to be a short sword in its hand, walked toward him.

"Didn't expect to have the chance to face the one who was responsible for my birth, let alone here… I was merely a countermeasure set up by His Righteousness in case your former allies decided to come snooping, but I never thought I'd get the chance to face you…" the mysterious creature said in a warped version of Minato's voice.

"And what the Hell are you exactly?" Minato asked as he and his dark doppelganger circled each other.

"I am each and every single one of your former friends' regrets, failures, and negative emotions personified," the dark creature, known as Shadow Minato explained to the original Minato. "I take your form because among the regrets of those known as S.E.E.S, the greatest and most powerful was the fact that after all they had accomplished, all they had become, all the power they had gained, they couldn't save you. Especially your former girlfriend, Yukari Takeba… seems she actually entertained the idea of undoing your sacrifice via time travel and timeline manipulation, so that she could be with you, be it in life or in death," Shadow Minato sneered maliciously as a pained expression flashed across Minato's face for a brief moment.

"What…? S.E.E.S. created you? Because they couldn't save… me? And Yukari… was willing to sacrifice the lives of everyone on the entire planet, just so we could be together…?" Minato said, hardly able to believe it of any of his friends, that they would actually go as far as to undo his sacrifice and more than likely doom everyone on the planet to oblivion in the process. "What was S.E.E.S. thinking?! What in the FUCKING HELL WERE THEY THINKING?! WHAT IN THE FUCKING HELL WAS YUKARI THINKING?!" Minato bellowed in anger, disappointment, and disbelief.

"They were thinking they missed you. They were thinking they wanted you back, the rest of the Earth be damned, so long as you were with them. They were thinking that your sacrifice meant nothing compared to having you by their side, leading the vanguard into oblivion," Shadow Minato said. "But, what does it matter anyway? You might have returned to the realm of the living, but I'm afraid that your triumphant return from the grave is doomed to be rather short-lived."

With that, Shadow Minato pulled out what could only be an Evoker, placed it against the side of his head, and pulled the trigger with a cry of "Persona!"

From behind Shadow Minato arose a grayscale version of a figure that the real Minato instantly recognized as Pallos Athena, the Persona of his old friend, the Anti-Shadow Weapon known as Aigis. "What the-?"

"Athena! God's Hand!" commanded Shadow Minato.

"Oh, crap!" cried Minato as he dove out of the way of the attack and scrambled backwards in a panic. "And me without my Evoker! Or any way to defend myself…" Minato said as he pulled himself up. "But there's no way in hell I'm going down like this, at the hands of some wannabe demon! Even if I have to fight using my bare hands, I will survive! I'm back for good this time, and there is no way in hell I'm going to let you or anything else from the collective unconscious hurt anyone ever again! I may not know who or what this 'His Righteousness' is that you're talking about, but I promise you this: whatever it is he's planning, whatever he's done or unleashed, I will personally end, along with him, you, and any other dark and evil entity that threaten the good people of this world!" Minato declared, raw anger and rage pumping through his veins.

"You've been gone for quite some time."

(Persona 5 OST: Awakening)

Minato's eyes turned a similar shade of gold to a Velvet Room attendant as an almighty surge of pain roared through his skull, through his very being, as an all-too-familiar voice spoke in his mind, a voice that Minato knew as well as his own, even as he fell to his knees, holding his head in excruciating agony.

"But, now that you've returned, the time has come to give this world the encore performance it so desperately needs, and to take back the future that was stolen from you. To that end, shall we forge a contract anew, as a sign of the two of us playing in harmony once more? I am thou, thou art I, just as we've always been. The strings of fate once entangled you, but no longer! Now is the time to play the songs of rebellion, and declare war against fate and ruination itself!"

As the voice inside Minato's mind finished speaking, a mask stylized like a lyre appeared on Minato's face, and as though by sheer instinct alone, Minato reached up for the mask and began pulling it from his face, unable to stop himself even as blood began running down his face in crimson rivers and the strong smell of iron filled his nostrils.

"Per… son...AHHHHHHHUGH!" screamed Minato as the mask finally came free from his face and his entire form was engulfed within a powerful geyser of blue and white flame, the sheer power of which sent Shadow Minato stumbling backwards.

"Ugh!" the manifestation of negative emotions cried out as it shielded its face from the almighty blast of wind.

(Persona 3: A Midsummer Knight's Dream OST: Mass Destruction-Lotus Juice Remix)

By the time the smoke cleared, Minato was dressed in a navy blue tailcoat that was tattered near the hem with a white dress shirt, a light blue vest with a golden chain attached to one of the pockets and a yellow bow tie underneath, black dress pants held up by a black leather belt that had a short sword and an uzi in its holster, black dress shoes, and a pair of light blue gloves.

Hovering behind Minato was what appeared to be a robotic being with a white hairstyle not dissimilar to Minato's, a red, white, and gold color scheme carrying a golden lyre on its back.

"From the sea of thy soul, I cometh. I am Orpheus Telos, Master of Strings Reborn!" the robotic being said as Minato looked at his dark doppelganger dead in the eye.

"Oh, man, I missed this feeling! This power!" laughed Minato, a madman's grin on his face. "All right, now that I can defend myself good and properly, let's dance, you demonic poser! Orpheus Telos! Agidyne!"

A massive blast of fire struck Shadow Minato as Orpheus Telos strummed his lyre, sending the dark doppelganger reeling backwards.

"Ugh! So, that's how you want to play it… Athena! Akasha Arts!" Shadow Minato cried out as it used its Evoker to summon Pallas Athena once again to do some sort of slashing attack, which Minato evaded by sheer instinct with a backflip before he and his dark doppelganger charged at each other with their swords, locking them together.

"Urrgh… why won't you die?!" snarled Shadow Minato.

"Because I died once already, and I'm in no hurry to do it again! Not when this world clearly needs me again for some reason, or when my friends are clearly in need of me!" snarled Minato as he broke the sword lock and struck a few powerful blows on his Shadow doppelganger, bringing it to one knee, and causing several gashes to appear on the Shadow, causing its black blood to begin leaking out of it.

"Artemisia! Diarama!" cried Shadow Minato, using its Evoker as a grayscale version of Mitsuru Kirijo's Persona emerged from behind him and healed its wounds.

"Orpheus Telos, Handicap!" yelled Minato as Orpheus Telos played his instrument, which seemed to greatly weaken. "Now then, Agidyne!" yelled Minato. Orpheus Telos strummed a chord on his lyre, causing another blast of flame to bring Shadow Minato to his knees. "Morning Star!" Minato yelled as Orpheus Telos played another chord on his lyre, causing what looked like a miniaturized sun to come crashing down upon Shadow Minato, doing even further damage.

"Assault Dive!" ordered Minato as Orpheus Telos took his lyre and beat Shadow Minato with it as hard as he could, causing the dark duplicate to spasm in sheer pain and agony.

As Shadow Minato pulled itself up off the ground, the sheer power of Minato's onslaught of attacks seemed to leave it with injuries far greater than even Diarama could heal, and was swinging its sword around as though it were drunk. Minato ran up to his dark doppelganger, easily deflected its lazy strikes before disarming it completely, and ran it through with his own sword.

Upon its defeat, Shadow Minato began to dissolve, thought not in the fashion of traditional Shadows. Letters began to peel off its black skin, flying into the wind as unintelligible words as what were unmistakably internal organs revealed themselves. Finally, slowly, Shadow Minato returned to the darkness from whence it came.

The battle over, Orpheus Telos returned to being the lyre shaped mask on Minato's face as the reborn Messiah fell onto his ass in exhaustion. "Whoo… forgot how tiring this line of work was… still, beats the Hell out of-" Minato started to say, before another voice cut him off.

"Well, looks like we're late for the party."

(Persona 5 OST: Suspicion)

Minato perked his head up at the sound of the new voice just in time to find himself surrounded by what were unmistakably three teenagers wearing costumes, and what seemed to be a cartoon cat of some kind.

"Holy shit, dude… where the Hell didja learn how to fight like that? And your Persona's powers were off the chain!" one of the teenagers, a blonde wearing a black jacket with matching pants and knee pads, a red ascot, combat boots, a pair of yellow gloves, and a skull mask.

"That's an understatement, Skull. It was kickass with a capital k!" exclaimed the female of the group, who was clad in a skin-tight red latex catsuit with a cleavage cutout and zippers, a matching red panther mask, pink gloves, dark red thigh-high boots, and a clip on tail on the back of her catsuit.

"Agreed. Our team could certainly use a powerhouse like you on our side," the second male of the group, who had dark unkempt hair and wore a black leather ankle-length tailcoat, a high-necked waistcoat with gold accents, black pants, brown-black winklepickers, a pair of red gloves, and a black and white, birdlike domino mask. "However, that does beg the question, how exactly did you get into the Metaverse and how did you get to be so proficient at fighting? Can you teach us how to fight like that?"

"That'll have to wait, Joker," the cartoon cat said before he examined the nearby barrier before pressing his paw against it. Slowly, the seemingly impassable barrier opened up to reveal a passageway leading even deeper into the abyss that was Mementos.

The very next second, the robotic voice of the Metaverse Navigator came on. "A new destination has been confirmed in the depths. Updating guidance information."

"Huh? The Hell was that?" asked Minato in confusion.

"We'll explain once we get out of here, but Morgana, what was that all about?" the dark haired teen, apparently called Joker, asked the cartoon cat.

"It's just as I thought!" the cat, Morgana, said.

"What do you mean?" asked the female of the group.

"Well, that wall wouldn't budge when I came here by myself before, but honestly speaking, it'd be weird if the deepest part of Mementos was just some normal place like this, wouldn't it?" explained Morgana.

"So, you were thinking there's gotta be more?" the skull-masked teen said.

"Yeah! Now that Kamoshida's Palace is gone and people are actually starting to talk about us… I knew something had to have changed down here! Didn't expect to run into that guy, though," Morgana said, gesturing at Minato.

"My name is Minato Arisato," Minato said, a hint of irritation in his voice.

The girl decided to intervene before things got out of hand. "That aside? How deep is it? Should we try going further down?" she asked.

"Let's not. That's not why we're here today, remember? And besides, we have to get some answers out of him about how the heck he got down here in the first place. We should return to the real world for now," said Morgana.

"Got it. Come on, man, I'll help you up," the skull-faced teen said to Minato, holding out his hand to him.

"Thanks," said Minato, taking the teenager's hand and using it to pull himself up.

Together, the five Persona-users made their way out of Mementos and into reality.

A Short While Later…

Upon returning to the real world from the hellish domain known as Mementos, the three teenagers, whose outfits had reverted back into what Minato had to assume was their normal civilian attire while their cartoon cat-esque companion had transformed into a black and white cat with intelligent blue eyes and a yellow collar, had introduced themselves as Ren Amamiya, Ryuji Sakamoto, and Ann Takamaki, while their feline companion, who seemed to be very insistent on not being a cat, but rather a human trapped in a cat's body, introduced himself as Morgana. Once introductions were out of the way, the ragtag group of misfits began to tell the story of how they had become the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, a clandestine organization dedicated to reforming society by forcing corrupt men and women who were abusing their power to screw over those who couldn't fight back, whether it be children or adults who lacked the means to stand up and fight back against those who were oppressing them, while getting away scot-free with their crimes due to their reputation, status, and connections, into confessing their crimes, misdeeds, and sins with their own mouths.

According to the Thieves, this feat was accomplished by entering what they called the Metaverse, an alternate dimension created by the cognition of humanity, and infiltrating Palaces, which were real world locations as viewed by particularly nasty people, and stealing the Treasure held within, thus effectively forcing the Palace Ruler to have a change of heart and causing them to become crushed under the weight of their sins and crimes, thus forcing them into confessing their crimes in a desperate attempt to escape the crushing weight.

However, from their story, it sounded like these Phantom Thieves were merely fledgelings at this point, as they had only taken down one target who actually had a legitimate Palace of his own, the Shujin Academy PE teacher and volleyball coach, Suguru Kamoshida, who Minato had a vague recollection of as having one hell of a spike, which helped the Japanese Olympic Volleyball take the gold. Apparently, Kamoshida had regularly put subpar members of both the boys and girls teams through "special coaching" aka beating the living daylights out of the poor bastards, and sexually harassed female students, even going as far as to try to force Takamaki-san into having relations with him in exchange for giving her best friend a starting position on the girls volleyball team, only to rape the poor girl when Takamaki-san managed to worm her way out of his advances one too many times. It had broken Takamaki-san's friend to the point where she had taken a one-step shortcut from the school roof to the ground floor out of a nasty combination of shame and a desperate need to escape Kamoshida, and when Sakamoto-san, Amaiyama-san, and a third student confronted the son of a bitch about what he'd done, Kamoshida went and put their all three of their heads on the chopping block to be expelled out of some bullshit excuse that they had tried to assault him.

That stunted piece of slime had better thank his lucky stars that I wasn't there at the time. If I had been, and if I had Thanatos on me at the time, I'd have sent the son of a bitch through the Doors of Hades and dragged him off to hell, thought Minato, anger surging through his veins as the Phantom Thieves continued their story.

According to the Thieves, Kamoshida's Palace, apparently having been called the Castle of Lust, manifested as exactly what it said on the tin: it had been a medieval castle where a Shadow version of Kamoshida was the king, as the Principal, other faculty members and even the parents of Kamoshida's victims bent over backwards to cover up the real Kamoshida's crimes and protect the stunted piece of shit, all for the sake of maintaining the volleyball team's prestige, and by extension, the prestige of the school itself. Apparently in this castle, the male students of the Academy, particularly members of the volleyball team that Kamoshida had coached for, were slaves who were abused and subjected to all forms of cruel and unusual punishment, while female students manifested as mere sexual outlets, or, more accurately, concubines, with Takamaki-san herself manifesting as an airheaded bimbo clad in only a bra, panties, and a pair of cat ears.

While Minato was glad that Takamaki-san's best friend had woken up and on the road to recovery, it also gave him a particularly unimpressed view on both the school and the faculty, given that they had covered up these heinous acts so easily and without a second thought, turning a blind eye to the battered, broken, and trapped students right in front of them so easily. And Minato had no respect whatsoever for teachers or those whose desired profession protect and instruct the younger generation who instead chose to either disregard or refuse to do something when those they were hired to teach and support were troubled in some form, be it physical or emotional.

As the Phantom Thieves concluded their story, Minato knew, whether his resurrection was for this purpose or for another one entirely, the Phantom Thieves plight was not something he could turn away from even if he wanted to, and it wasn't just because of the nature of the Metaverse, these Palaces, and Mementos, but because Orpheus Telos was right. If this miserable hellhole of a society where those in power preyed upon those weaker or those who had less means than themselves was what had become of the world that he had fought and literally died for, all so that humanity could be protected from both its sins and its collective death wish, then he was far, far better use to the world and humanity alive and kicking than acting as a glorified barricade.

And perhaps now, after all these years serving as the Seal, he could finally reclaim everything he had sacrificed... it made his heart skip a beat to think of holding Yukari in his arms again after so long... if Minato was being honest with himself, his becoming the Great Seal wasn't something he had done for the sake of saving the world. As far as he was concerned, humanity could go to the very Hell it had wished upon itself by conjuring up Erebus.

The truth of it was, the reason behind his sacrifice was for the sake of something far more selfish. He had done it so that his friends, Junpei, Akihiko-senpai, Fuuka-chan, Mitsuru-senpai, Ken-kun, Koromaru, Aigis, and above all others, his beloved Yukari, would survive and continue the legacy of life in his place, while he watched over and protected them like a guardian angel.

Regardless of what his reasons behind his sacrifice back then, after what the Phantom Thieves had just told him, the resurrected Redeemer of Man was ready, willing, and able to lend these new Persona-users his power, strength, and knowledge in their battles against what he could only describe as the trash of society, and hopefully reunite with his lost love and his old friends in the process.

Serious business aside, however, Minato couldn't help but give a small smirk at the thought of the new Shadow Nest's name, "Mementos." First toothpaste, now breath mints. What's next, mouth wash? Floss? Dentures? Some play off of the word "dentist?" the bluenette thought to himself before the Phantom Thieves turned to him, expectant looks on their faces.

"All right, we've told you our story, now it's time for you to tell us yours," said Morgana, his intelligent blue eyes all but drilling into the pair of silvery blue ones above him. "How exactly did you get into the Metaverse, and how the Hell did you get to be so proficient at fighting the Shadows like that? From what the others and I saw, you fought that Shadow knockoff of yourself almost as easy as breathing. Care to shed some light on that?"

Minato thought for a moment before giving his answer. "I'd have thought reasoning behind my power and skill fighting against the Shadows would have been obvious," he said before looking Amamiya-san dead in the eye.

"I spent almost a year of my life fighting against the Shadows, growing stronger and more powerful as I fought them and forged unbreakable bonds with those who stood with me in battle and those who merely offered moral support or had other benefits rather than directly aiding me in battle," Minato revealed as the Phantom Thieves expressions changed to varying degrees of shock. Ryuji was the one who put the voice to everyone's thoughts.

"F-for real?! Y-you mean there's other Persona-users out there somewhere?!" the blonde athlete said, his eyes wide with blatant shock at the discovery of the information that Minato had revealed to them.

"Of course there are. In fact, if I mentioned one of the Persona-users I was very close with back in the day, maybe even to the point where she had actually fallen in love with me, you'd recognize her name in a heartbeat," Minato said, recalling how disappointed Mitsuru-senpai, along with Aigis, Fuuka-chan, and his other female Social Links, had seemed when he and Yukari had broken the news that they were in fact in a romantic relationship. "And I'd stake fifty billion yen on the potential to harness and use the power of Persona not being limited to just Japan either. There could be Persona-users all over the world, forming groups, organizations, teams, hell, maybe even secret government militias, black ops squads, and state secs or all I know. Trust me, when it comes to using this power, or the hardships that come with such a gift, you are not alone."

"Wow…" Ryuji said, his mind reeling from this massive bombshell that the bluenette had just dropped on them.

Ren, having recovered from his own shock and surprise, pushed his glasses further up his nose, causing them to flash a little in the light. "While it's good to know that there are others who have the same power as we do, don't think I haven't noticed you dodging Morgana's other question. How did you end up in the Mementos, or the Metaverse in general for that matter?" he said, his storm gray eyes holding their gaze with Minato's silvery blue ones. As Ren looked into Minato's eyes, he noticed something not dissimilar to what people felt like when he made eye contact with them without his glasses, or even his Joker mask. Although, whereas Ren's eyes had a fierce gaze that seemed unsettling to people from time to time, Minato's seemed to radiate the opposite, in that his gaze had a sort of calming effect, while giving a feel of tremendous power. The blue-haired young man's silvery blue eyes shone with wisdom, serenity, inner peace, and yet still held an immense power that seemed to border on omnipotence. If Ren could put it into words, looking into the eyes of Minato Arisato was on par making eye contact with a benevolent god or an omnipotent savior who sought to bring peace, hope, justice, and love back to a world that Ren knew for a fact had long since forsaken and forgotten not only the value of what such things meant, but the very meaning of those words, and unlocked every last known secret the universe itself had to offer in order to accomplish this goal.

It was… unsettling, to say the very least.

After a moment, Minato closed his eyes and mere gave a helpless shrug before giving his response. "Honestly, I have no idea how I wound up in the Metaverse. I simply woke up, and was there. It's somewhat strange considering what had happened to me…"

"And what exactly was it that happened to you?" Morgana asked.

Minato thought about his reply for a moment before he gave it to the Thieves. "Sorry, but… that information is need-to-know. And right now, you don't. And trust me when I say that you would freak out if I told you the full story of my past. That's not too say that I won't tell you my story when I feel the time is right," he explained, earning looks from the Phantom Thieves before he continued. "That being said, I'm more than willing to join you and your cause. Considering that you all seem to be new recruits in this war against the Shadows and that, honestly speaking, I'm a veteran, lending you my power, skill, and knowledge, on top of having someone who can operate and follow leads while the rest of you are in school would prove invaluable to you all. Do we have a bargain?"

Ren, Ann, Ryuji, and Morgana looked thoughtful for a moment, thinking over Minato's offer to lend them his power and strength in their battles in the Metaverse. While his previous experience fighting Shadows would undoubtedly be a tremendous boon to them while carrying out their heists, his refusal to share details of his past and his vague response to how he had ended up in the Metaverse was a little disconcerting.

"And if we decided to tell you to take a hike?" Morgana asked, raising as much of an eyebrow as he could in his current feline form.

Minato looked down at the cat, an amused smile on his face. "If that's the case, then I hope you don't mind competition from a rival Phantom Thief organization. What do you think of the name 'Socitial Evil Eradication Syndicate,' or S.E.E.S. for short?"

Morgana let out a groan of frustration while Ryuji and Ann's faces bore expressions that seemed to indicate that competing with a second Phantom Thief organization would cause things to become far more difficult than they really needed to be. It was bad enough that they couldn't even find another Palace to begin with, and that there weren't even any good requests on the Phantom Aficionado Website right now. Assuming they did manage to find another Palace before they wound up becoming a one-hit wonder, they would have to deal with the natural defenses that Palace had, on top of Shadows. If there was a rival group out there stealing their targets and changing hearts before they could, this one led by a Persona-user who actually knew what they were doing, it would be almost impossible for them to stay in business.

Finally, Ren spoke. Truth be told, he had already made his mind up before Minato's declaration to create a rival group should they refuse to let him join.

"Welcome to the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Minato," the raven-haired teenager said, holding out his hand which Minato took.

At almost the exact same time, time itself seemed to freeze solid as something inside Ren's mind made a noise that he immediately recognized as the sound of chains being broken to pieces. A split second later, a familiar voice spoke inside Ren's head, which sounded unusually excited for some reason.

(Persona 5 OST: The Spirit)

I Am Thou, Thou Art I.

Thou Hast Acquired A New Vow.

It Shall Become Powerful Wings of Rebellion

That Shatters Thy Chains of Captivity.

With The Rebirth of The Universe Persona,

I Have Attained An Almighty Gale of Blessing That Shall Drive Me

To Freedom And Unimaginable Power!

CONFIDANT UNLOCKED! UNIVERSE RANK ONE!

CONFIDANT ABILITY UNLOCKED: FOLLOW-UP (If Joker's attack fails to down an enemy, has a chance to jump in and knock it down)

(Persona 5 OST: Break It Down -elp version-)

A moment later, as though to hammer in that nothing had happened at all, time seemed to return to normal as Minato and Ren released their hands.

"Oh, yeah! Give us your phone number! Chat ID too. That way we can get ahold of you when we want to head into another Palace or that Mementos place again," Ryuji said as he and the other Phantom Thieves pulled out their phones, which seemed to be of a similar design to the one that Minato had found on him. Speaking of the phone, for some strange reason, Minato wasn't surprised in the slightest when he found himself operating the small device like it was second nature.

Then again, considering the fact that I'm literally a dead man walking and that I woke up in what was clearly a Shadow Nest akin to Tartarus, maybe it really shouldn't be that much of a surprise, Minato thought to himself as he looked at not only the notifications that he had three new contacts, and that he had been added to a group chat labeled "The Phantom Thieves of Hearts," but at his Chat ID, TatsuyaNJima1992. His icon was a picture of himself with a neutral expression with a somber shade of indigo in the background.

Once Minato and the Phantom Thieves had exchanged their contact information, Ryuji spoke up as he put his phone back into his pocket. "Speaking of Mementos, though, I still don't really get that place," he said, a certain degree of uncertainty in his voice. "Oh, and what was that wall thing we saw at the end?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but it blocked us from going in past a certain depth," Morgana said, a serious look on his face, or at least as much as one as he could manage in his current form. "But, if Mementos is the public's Palace, though… it might be affected by the general public's belief in us."

"You know, Morgana, I have to ask. How exactly is it that you know so much about that place?" Minato asked as he looked at the black cat, an intense gaze present in the eye that wasn't hidden behind his bangs.

"My memories are a little foggy in that regard…" Morgana said, sadness in his voice as he spoke. "However, I need to know what lies in the depths of Mementos, no matter what."

"No matter what?" Ann asked the black cat, concern for the feline evident in her voice.

"Mementos is not just everyone's Palace. It's the source of all Palaces," Morgana explained.

"And that means what, exactly?" Minato asked, his curiosity becoming somewhat piqued by this information. Plus, if he was going to roll with these Phantom Thieves, then he would need to learn all he could about this new Shadow threat, as opposed to flying blind.

"It used to be that Palaces like Kamoshida's with one ruler simply didn't exist," Morgana explained, sadness still evident in his voice as he spoke. "So, if we can do something about the greatest cause of distortions, I'm certain my appearance will…"

"You wanted someone to save you too," Ann said, her voice filled with concern for the black cat as she spoke.

Morgana's eyes went wide at Ann's concern. "I-I just needed pawns!" he vehemently exclaimed, causing Ren, Ryuji, and Minato to each raise an eyebrow at the feline.

"Oh, is that right, Morgana? And here I thought we stood as equals on this team. Any of you aware that this was in fact a hierarchy with Morgana at the tippy-top?" Minato asked, looking at his new teammates.

Ryuji cracked a smile. "It's news to me, but then again, given how Morgana acts sometimes, maybe I shouldn't be surprised," he said before addressing the black cat in question. "But, I suppose if you really were lookin' for someone to help you get back what you lost, that would explain why you came pokin' your nose around with us."

"I'll help you," Ann said, a kind smile on her face as she addressed their feline companion while Ryuji gave a firm nod in confirmation, showing his support. "I hope you can regain what you've lost."

"Well, I don't know, like Minato said, Morgana did just call us 'pawns…'" Ren said, a tone of mock uncertainty in his voice while the smile he wore clearly indicated that he was just teasing the cat. "But, considering how much you've helped us out with Kamoshida, I suppose I'll help you get your memories and true form back."

"Same here, although you really should work on your sense of humility," Minato said, a small smile on his face.

"I'll… be relying on you guys," Morgana said, a sad expression still evident on his face.

"There, now that was a little better, now just keep working at that until it becomes second nature," Minato said, nodding in approval at the cat.

"By the way, Morgana, are you a boy? Or might you be a girl?" Ann asked the Phantom Thieves' feline companion.

"You know, I was actually kinda wondering that myself, considering the fact that Morgana is usually a female name due to Morgana le Fay being a powerful sorceress who made life miserable for Merlin the Wise, but all things considered, part of me is leaning towards Morgana being a boy," said Minato.

"Then again, considering Morgana can turn into one in the Metaverse, maybe it's a car?" Ren quipped, a teasing smirk evident on his face.

"That is a possibility!" Ann said with a bright and bubbly grin on her face.

"I wish I could deny it, but… I can't be sure," Ryuji teased, a look of false uncertainty on his face.

"Why not?!" Morgana said, apparently having decided to roll along with the joke. "In any case, of course I'm male! I mean, I…" Morgana continued before developing a look of either discomfort or uncertainty that Ann was quick to pick up on.

"What is it?" Ann asked the cat, concern entering her voice once more.

"No… it's nothing! We're done talking about that!" Morgana said, shrugging off Ann's concern. "Anyway, not only have we picked up an exceptionally powerful new member of the team, but we now know that we can perform minor changes of heart in Mementos. If we come across any eye catching leads, it might be worth dealing with them for a bit of combat practice. Plus, we can sell whatever we find in there to help bring in the petty cash."

"There weren't any other outstanding ones though…" Ann said, disappointment evident in her voice.

"I bet we'll get tons of 'em if we can change someone famous and make the Phantom Thieves well-known," Ryuji said, an excited grin on his face as he spoke. "The big fish are our main targets, after all."

"Ryuji, it's good to get all hyped-up about the possibility of using our gifts to help those who can't fight back against those abusing their power causing us to hit the big time, but getting conceited over it is a sure-fire way for us to become the architects of our own destruction," Minato said, a serious look on his face as he gazed at the blonde. "For now, I say we hang back until we get a lead on either a new Mementos target, or one of these big fish you mentioned."

"And besides that, you need to find a way to get through your exams," Morgana added, causing Ryuji to let out a groan.

"I gotta study…" the blonde groaned.

On that note, the Phantom Thieves began to head their separate ways for the evening, each of them too beat and drained from their first dive into Mementos to do much of anything else for the day.

Unaware that someone had been watching them, or more specifically Ann and Minato, the entire time...

And thus concludes the opening chapter! If you liked what you saw here, then be sure to fave, follow, and review, and I'll see you guys next time for some more Mementos adventures!

Universe Confidant-Overview

Confidant Name: Minato Arisato

Category: Veteran Persona-User

Arcana: Universe

Confidant Description: A mysterious young man and an exceptionally powerful Persona-user that you met in Mementos. Despite his reluctance to share much information about his past, apart from having befriended several well-known celebrities, such as the actress Yukari Takeba, with whom he has rekindled a romantic relationship, you feel a strange kinship with him, and he seems to have a great deal of combat experience fighting Shadows in phenomenon similar to the Metaverse that he can pass down to you and your team.

Universe Confidant-Ranks and Rewards

Rank One: Follow-Up (If Joker's attack fails to down an enemy, has a chance to jump in and knock it down)

Rank Two: Wisdom of The Universe (allows Joker to perform low-level Fusion Spells, such as Jack Bros)

Rank Three: Veteran Talk (Either gives Joker a retry for Shadow Negotiation or allows Minato to step in and take over Negotiations for Joker)

Rank Four: Super Baton Pass (After knocking down an enemy, Minato can pass the baton to other Baton Pass users, powering them up far more than a standard Baton Pass)

Rank Five: Harisen Recovery (Has the chance to cure other party members of status ailments)

Rank Six (Locked until the Pyramid of Wrath Palace has been cleared): Deeper Secrets of The Universe (allows Joker to use more powerful Fusion Spells)

Rank Seven: Endure (Chance that Minato can survive an otherwise fatal attack with 1 HP)

Rank Eight: Fusion EXP Boost

Rank Nine (Locked until the Casino of Envy Palace has been cleared and Joker has attained True Judgement from his Judgement Confidant, and maxed out his Star Confidant): Ultimate Secret of The Universe (allows Joker to use the Fusion Spell Armageddon), Protect (chance to shield Joker from an otherwise fatal attack)

Rank Ten: Second Awakening (turns Orpheus Telos into Messiah Picaro), Fusion Unlock: Raoul (unlocks Raoul, the Ultimate Persona of the Universe Arcana aka Joker's Third-Tier Persona from Persona 5: The Royal, for fusion)

Universe Confidant-Rank One Description

Despite his refusal to reveal the circumstances behind his mysterious arrival in Mementos, he has agreed to join the Phantom Thieves. His incredible raw power, deadly physical combat skills, prior experience in fighting against the Shadows, and ability to operate and investigate potential leads while you and the others are at school should prove to be a tremendous boon to you and the others.

Orpheus Telos

Arcana: Universe

Affinities: Drain Light/Bless, Resist Gun, Drain Fire

Weaknesses: Darkness/Curse, Ice

Skills: Agidyne, Maragidyne, Handicap (a multi-target version of Debilitate. If the other debuff skills have multi-target variations, why not Debilitate?) Morning Star, Assault Dive, Overture (essentially Mediarahan fused with a full-party Heat Riser. Think of it as an upgraded version of Cadenza from the Persona 5 Orpheus DLC), Kougaon, Makougaon

Itemization Result: Cipher Mask (Doubles all stats, HP, and SP, and halves the cost of all Persona Skills. It IS a mask, and considering that's not only how Orpheus becomes Orpheus Telos in the first place, but that ripping off masks is kinda how you summon Personas in Persona 5 to begin with, why WOULDN'T it be a Disc-One Nuke?)