April 28th, 20XX

He headed for Untouchable on Thursday afternoon. Might be some better guns in stock. And Yusuke needed one too. Did Makoto and Ryuji? Probably not yet, it'd be a waste if they didn't join. Morgana was doing fuck-all, lazing around in the Velvet Room, so he had some space in the bag. He passed an odd pair of formally dressed men in the alley on his way in.

"Hey. Whatcha want?"

"Just looking." He saw a familiar model on a rack. "Hey, is that-"

"It's a Pallet Rifle. Custom model." Iwai bit down on his lollipop and didn't turn from his magazine. "Doubt a kid like you could afford it."

Hardasses gotta watch good shows too, completely fair.

"Man… Got anything good?"

"Everything in this shop is 'good'."

"Of course. I'm looking for something like that. Sniper rifles, the like. Looking for someone else's."

"...We're still talking models, right?"

"We'd both be in trouble if we weren't. I'm thinking of a collapsible model. Maybe fit in a school bag?"

"I'll check the stock. I think we got what you're looking for. Just don't go pointin' it around at people."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

"50,000 yen!?" Ren nearly slammed his hands on the counter, but remembered he didn't want to get shot with something that wasn't just a model.

"What did you expect? Collapsible, realistic, ammunition capacity…" The gruff shopkeeper ticked off his fingers. "That don't come cheap." He shook his head and looked at the clock. "Damn kid. It's about time too." He handed Ren a paper bag. "Bring this back next time you come in. Then we can talk about some kind of discount."

"Right." He barely had time to stow away the bag before the door opened.

"Alright, so we need to ask about the?-"

"Shut up, you idiot!" The older detective smacked the rookie upside the head.

"Mnmhfff." Mumbled the younger policeman. Or something like that.

"Munehisa Iwai, we're here to investigate claims of illegal weapons being sold here." He noticed Ren standing by the counter. "Hey, aren't you that kid on probation? We let the beatdown you gave to those thugs slide, but you're pushing it." He walked up to Ren and started trying to intimidate him; Well, more like imposing on his personal space.

"Don't intimidate my customers, detective. I'll be happy to let you check the stock. All you're going to find are models and buckets of foam." He subtly jerked his head to the door. Ren nodded, and walked out of the shop. The older man with red hair called to him as he walked out.

"I've got my eye on you, kid. You better not screw up."

When he got home, safely out of the view of the public, he opened the bag.

"Oh, shit!"

He closed the bag back up. It was realistic enough, though the silver finish made him have doubts. No wonder he didn't want the thing around during an inspection.

Wonder what the engraving meant though. What the hell was a 'SEES' anyway?

April 29th, 20XX

"Ren, when are we going back in?"

"Back where?" He facepalmed at Ryuji, who had asked him in the middle of the hall. "We're not talking about that here."

"Oh. Yeah, I see whatcha mean, sorry."

"Well… do you have plans today?"

"Huh? Well, the prez needs my help moving boxes and paperwork and other things."

"So student council stuff?" The neon-blond scratched the back of his head.

"Well, she gave everyone else time off to study for midterms, saying she'd probably only need my help anyway."

"She probably figured you wouldn't study anyway."

"For real? Man… I thought I was getting better with that…"

"I'm messing with you, dude."

"Heh, yeah, I could tell, totally."

"And it'll just be the two of you?"

"Well… I guess."

"Right, don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"The prez would kick your ass for saying that."

"Well, what's the point of living without a little risk?"

Like the risk he was taking by staying in one place. He felt the stares he was getting and shuddered.

I thought I dealt with that? Makoto's distortion got fixed.

Ren asked, "Hey, do you have any problems with hitting rabid fangirls?"

"What? I'd never hit a girl!"

"Suit yourself. Later."

"Wait, what do you mean by that, dude?"

"..." Ren just kept walking down the hall, towards his classroom.

"Dude?"

He snuck into an alley after school, pretty good distance away from Shujin, pulling out the navigator.

If the distortion related to Shujin was fixed, then why is everyone still acting the same?

"Shujin Academy."

Bzzt.

Son of a bitch.

"Prison?"

Bzzt.

I fixed it!

"Makoto Niijima."

"Target not found."

"What?"

"Ren?"

Jesus Christ- "Kasumi, did you hear what happened to the last girl who said my name so casually?"

She winced. "I can't believe someone would do that to Suzui. She's a nice girl."

"You know her?" Other people have lives outside of you, asshole.

"I've run into her in the gym a few times, while I was running laps. Gotta stay in shape for gymnastics, right?" she laughed awkwardly.

"Cool. I think there's something wrong with this school." He looked sideways, up to the gleaming mass of concrete.

"It's certainly… Different from my old school."

"Same; Inaba was always a bit dull, not much to do back there."

"Right… Well, I'm heading out. Get home safely." She bowed and stiffly walked out of the alley.

He briefly felt a bit of guilt for cutting the girl off. He shook his head to stop himself from thinking, and turned his attention back to the navigator, and cleared out the three search regions. Location, distortion, and owner.

Wait...

He didn't need an owner for Mementos, did he? And he didn't need a location either, he just said its name.

Was there any good reason that Mementos would only be tied to the underground?

"Mementos." Time froze.

"Beginning navigation."

The air around him grew thick with smoky fog, but only in the alley. The school was in the same state of disrepair and hostility, with the same blue-hell-like sky. All things considered, it looked even more hostile, with all that barbed wire. He saw something metallic gleaming behind the roof, but couldn't get a good look.

It felt different, somehow, from Makoto's but… It looked nearly the same.

He caught a flash in the corner of his eye. One of the building entrances nearby had lit up a Velvet blue.

"Hey, Morgana," he said, walking into the Velvet Room. The cat was in bobblehead form.

"Hey."

"There's a surface section of Mementos."

"Well, obviously; the above-ground outside the train station."

"It corresponds to Shujin. It looks like a prison."

"Wait, seriously? But Mementos is the collective cognition of the public…"

"Let's think logically about this." The shadow in the room put down his glass for a moment.

"That's a first for you."

"Shaddup, Minatos. Palaces are the distorted desires of a single person right?"

"That's about right."

"And Mementos is the collective unconsciousness of humanity?"

"To simplify, yes."

"Are those the only two destinations?"

"Those are the two that I know of. There might be others out there, but I dunno…"

"...Maybe it's the cognition of the students?"

"That could be possible… Hey! You might be onto something. Think, why is Mementos in the subway system?"

"Because a lot of people use it and spend time there."

"So could your school be like that for the same reason?"

"...That makes a lot of sense. Like Mementos, but on a much smaller scale."

"Sounds like it."

"For the sake of saying less capital letters, let's go with… Shadow nests. We'll call them that. The Mementos in the subway system is a shadow nest, but not every shadow nest is connected to that Mementos."

"...You kind of lost me."

"Maybe the cognitive realm is called Mementos as a whole, but not everything in the cognitive realm is connected."

"I guess. Wouldn't that apply to Palaces as well?"

"Hm… Lavenza, do you have a whiteboard in here?" Minatos glanced at him, snapped his fingers, and formed a clear board and expo markers. "Smartass." Ren shook his head and drew a diagram. One big box, labeled as 'cognitive realm', with two separated boxes inside it, labeled 'palace' and 'mementos'. He drew a bunch of tiny circles inside of each box.

"We'll use this to demonstrate how this works for the others. Yusuke, and Makoto if she feels like it. Ryuji too, if we can get him a Persona. Every circle is an individual palace, or a shadow nest. They're all in the same category, and can be accessed with the same methods, but aren't necessarily connected."

"And you figured all of this out in three weeks?"

"More like two and a half, but who's counting?"

A soft clapping echoed around the room. He turned to Igor, whose smile was even wider than usual.

"Congratulations, Trickster. I didn't think a mere human would discern the nature of the cognitive world so easily."

Ren just shrugged.

"It makes sense to me, but I could be wrong, and there might be even more types of cognitions out there."

"The world is full of possibilities…"

He heard a silent 'and'.

"...Remember, despite not having signed the usual contract, that the contracts you have formed with others entitle you to our services, and will continue to as long as you may need our assistance."

"Of course, Igor. Thank you." Ren inclined his head slightly. The hunched over old man chuckled lightly.

"Old man is right. Long time ago, Minato pulled a contract out when he was about to quit on him, and as much as I hate the guy, it was pretty smart." Lavenza threw a rag at him.

"Shut up, Minatos."

"I thought I knew about the metaverse…" Morgana looked down at his paws, frowning. Ren kneeled down and scrubbed him on his head.

"Hey, you're the navigator. I just put the things into categories. You know how to get around, fight without bullshit Personae- and what would I do without my catbus?"

"I'm not a- Well, I guess you're right."

"Aren't I, though."

Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personae of the Magician Arcana.

"You might want to hold off on exploring the new section. Maybe bring Tantalus, since he has latent resistances against magic."

"That's probably a good idea. I need to get him kitted out anyway."

April 30th, 20XX

"Oh yeah, I have the thing, Iwai." He handed over the bag as soon as he got in, knowing the contents. Yusuke trailed after him, looking better, like he'd been eating well. It'll do for now.

"...Actually, hold onto it for now. Those bastards are still pokin' around…" He shook his head. "This the guy?"

"Yep. Sniper model for him. Artistic type, you know what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, every now and then I get weirdos like you…" He grabbed the calculator and started punching in numbers. "For the same thing you were asking for… 45,000 yen."

"That's not much better!"

"This is a business, not a charity. If you don't like the discount, you know where the door is." Ren settled back down and sighed.

"Fine, fine, something else then; Let's start back with collapsible."

He actually managed to grab a decent deal, though he didn't let Yusuke know how much money he was spending on him. 10,000 yen was a reasonable amount to spend with the money he'd made in the Metaverse. Though, he could probably use a cash boost sometime soon. Energy drinks ain't cheap, and when you drink a few every time you study? Adds up quickly.

They entered the top layer of mementos from an alley. Yusuke seemed to be adapting, he only looked green for a moment. Shujin's shadow nest was unscouted territory, so Ren decided to train him in basic combat before then.

"What do model weapons have to do with… this?" He gestured to the entire world around them. Fair question.

"This is the cognitive realm, think about it. If the enemies think the gun is a gun, then it basically is a gun."

"Interesting." Yusuke shook out his rifle, extending the stock. It would work in normal combat as well, real handy for a small team.

"We won't go beyond the first few levels, but your Persona will grow stronger, even if you don't use it in combat."

"Very well. I shall go along with this."

"Re- Arsene, that looks very human…" He hesitated to pull the trigger on a Pixie.

"They're supposed to, but they aren't. They go back to the sea of souls when they're destroyed."

"It's not like dying for them, is it?"

"They're not really alive in the first place, but unless they remember that they aren't shadows, it's open season."

"If you say so." The pixie exploded in a shower of black goop. "I still don't think I'll get used to that."

"You will." In truth, Ren wasn't either, but you gotta do what you gotta do. "They aren't demons, as in, not sentient, but they aren't quite human."

"Demons?" Yusuke looked at him quizzically.

"Oh, did I forget to tell you about those? Yeah, I haven't met very many, but some are pretty cool. Sure, they can talk, but that's probably more because of the translator microbes, their arcana, and the connection they have to the sea of souls."

"Are you sure?"

"Nope, but it sounds plausible, from what I know."

Minatos said something like that, and he would know better than anyone, right?

"What matters is that we don't kill people. And we try not to kill anything that might be sentient."

"That seems reasonable." The catbus honked its horn.

"Are you guys going to get back in, or do you want to fight the Reaper?"

"The what?"

"He'll show up if we stick around on a floor for too long-"

Chains started rattling.

"You jinxed it- God damn it, Morgana!"

"Don't blame me!" Yelled the catbus and Ren threw Yusuke in the back and climbed in the driver's seat. "You should have remembered that talking isn't a free action-"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Not important, drive! I don't want my fur to get blood on it!"

The wheels squealed while the bus shot forward, as the Reaper rounded a corner, with its twin bolters already out.

"Bastard's not pulling any punches today, huh?" Ren rifled in his bag for his more realistic model. "Morgana, keep going, Yusuke, steer when he tells you to." He climbed out of the window onto the roof. The bus jerked around slightly, but he kept his grip until it straightened out.

"Ice wall!" A glacier formed in the space between them and the Reaper.

Gunshots rang out as the wall of ice shattered into glittering shards.

"Ice wall, Ice wall!" Coldness seeped through the subway air as the Reaper was completely hidden from his sight.

...Anddddd it shattered again. Great. Fantastic, even.

"Third time's the charm?"

...

Not even three stopped him? Come on!

"I should have figured that wouldn't work." Jack Frost disappeared while his mask reformed on his face.

"How's your SP looking?"

"Fuck if I know, this isn't a video game. There isn't some picture with bars next to it in the corner of my vision." He emptied a clip into the approaching Reaper, who didn't lose even a single drop of shadow ichor. "Yusuke, hand me that brown paper bag."

He reached into the bag and pulled out the silver model.

"Who cares what a SEES is anyway?" He pointed it at the Reaper.

The cloak stopped in mid-air. It's chains seemed to freeze the world around them.

Before it started laughing.

"Fool. I remember the one who used such weapons. But alas, they are not for enemies. Die." The Reaper shot its bolters at the ceiling, raining gravel and scraps of metal. Ren slowed down to think, for once in his life.

Reaper has fought Minato Arisato.

Minato was a Persona-user.

Takemi said something about evokers, guns used by Persona-users to summon.

"In that case…" Ren smirked, twirling the model around his finger, before bringing it to a stop at his temple. "Acceptance of death, wasn't it? How about this, you die instead, you son of a bitch! Persona!"

A bullet flew through his skull, splattering blood and gray matter across the subway wall.

Just kidding.

Blue glass flew from where the exit wound would have been, as the cool touch of death shot through his frontal lobe. He called out his true self's name.

"Arsene De Mort!"

But it was really the same Persona, wasn't it? Arsene appeared behind him, but only for a moment, as his usual red was replaced with a flowing dulled-black robe, and his flames burned into grayscale. His eyes were overtaken by lead-colored flames, as his demonic fire turned a sickly white.

"Is that a different Persona, Ren?" Morgana asked, as the Reaper began to rise.

"It looks different, but it feels the same." He kept the evoker at his side, unloading another clip into the Reaper.

"We can't kill it, we need to get out of here!"

"Right, forgot. Hold the bastard off, Arsene!" The snow-white demon smiled, wildly tearing chunks out of the Reaper, the walls, and anything else that got in its way. The ragged warden shrugged off the damage, continuing to shoot explosive rounds. Yusuke was good at swerving out of the way.

A bullet tore through Ren's shoulder, ripping the muscle and sinew off and throwing his arm to the side, rolling away on the tracks.

I just bought that gun! More importantly-

Ren howled as blood spurted from the stump on his shoulder. Morgana opened a ceiling panel, dropping him into the back seat. Instinctively, he ripped off his mask.

"FUCK! DIA! DIA! DIA!" His vision started to fade in and out. Pixie grasped his shoulder, pouring healing magic into his arm. Bone started to reach out, as muscle wrapped itself around the newly-forming structure. Yusuke grabbed his evoker, not that he could tell.

"This is how it's done? Tantalus!" He could make out a charred stick of wood summoning ice in an attempt to stop the Reaper.

"Dia skills aren't enough for this!" Morgana yelled, revving even harder. Arsene's death form worked in tandem with Tantalus, fighting back the Reaper, as Pixie tried to heal his bleeding stump-

Two Personae at the same time- Fuck fuck FUCK this hurts!- What were those skills called?

"Fusion sk- Agh! Skill! Voler De La Mort!" His detached arm dissolved into burning ashes that swirled towards him. They formed a shell where his arm should have been. He felt a phantom pain of the burning of skin he no longer had. He gasped for breath, fading in and out of consciousness, as they approached the escalator.

Ren blacked out as Tantalus threw the bus over the barrier.

"It took you long enough, ho." A black Jack Frost sat in a regal office, as Ren woke up opposite his desk.

"Can I help you? I just got shot, you see." He gestured to his arm, which he now had, signaling he was not awake, "So I'd like to wake up soon."

"Watch your tongue, human." Two anthropomorphic guards crossed spears across his neck.

"Stop that, this is a guest."

"I'm guessing this is that demonic plane I've heard so much about? You don't have the aura of a Persona, and I feel like I'm going to pass out." The air was like LCL, the way it clogged his airways. Sure, he could breathe, but it wasn't pleasant.

"Yee-ho. We are the Jakkai. I believe one of ours formed a contract with you?"

Ren pulled off his mask, summoning Jack Frost behind him. The black- Black Frost? It nodded.

"He's a good soldier. I hope he is serving you well."

"...Yeah, you could say that." A lot more helpful than just taking a cold shower, but why would he tell him that?

"Good to hear it. Before anything else, are you interested in demonic conquest?"

"Humans are fucked up enough, I'm not sure I want to know what you guys do down here." It wasn't that much of a stretch to assume the demonic plane would look like hell.

"The universe held a similar belief. Until he got dragged into it regardless. How do you take your Jack Daniels?" One of the guardsmen placed two glasses and a bottle on the table.

"I can barely breathe anyhow, but thanks for the offer. What are the odds I get involved around here?"

"Compared to our statistics of previous variables like you, one-hundred percent." Ren sighed, exhaling through the thick air.

"Should have figured."

"That reminds me; Keep in mind that humans without Magatamas can only survive around two hours here."

"Good to know. What if I…" Ren fiddled with his drill, thinking. He abruptly tore off his mask, summoning good ol' Arsene. He stabbed the Persona, and felt his body and mind melt into the being.

"Will this work?" He asked, his face being made out of flames rather than flesh. Black Frost only looked surprised for a moment, before shaking his head.

"I don't remember the king having an ability like that." Arsene just shrugged.

"Well, I'm not him." He was about half-full on energy, but he'd have enough time. He didn't even feel the need to breathe.

"Back to business." The Jack took up the Gendo thinking pose. "I would like you to pledge your allegiance to the nation of Jakkai." The two guards tensed up, but stood still.

"Why?"

"You may not know, but the rise of the Jakkai was mainly due to the influence of the Universe. After the first war with the heavens, the other demonic nations realized the potential that humans like the king held, and began searching for their own conquerors.

"There's one einstein for every thousand with his intelligence."

He wasn't sure who he was stealing the quote from, but it sounded smart.

"Certainly a human way to put it, but yes. Wild card, wasn't it? It's an apt term."

"I can imagine." Vague memories of Igor's words came back to him.

"A Trickster is one whom will influence the course of history. The wild card of wild cards, they can cause the greatest change. Remember this, as you move forward, and hope you do not stumble."

Hell of a destiny, huh?

"Think of it as a protection contract. No other nations would bother you and your people, because of the power the Jakkai hold."

"And in return, I become your lackey."

"It's the best outcome you could hope for."

"Do I need to get the Shadow of the Universe on your ass? Because I think he has a thing against messing with humans." Arsene grabbed the shaft of a spear swinging his way, and snapped it with a clawed hand. "And this sounds like a no-win scenario for me." Black Frost didn't move from his seat, only closing his eyes for a second to think.

"We can grant you a title and access to the armory in return for military service, should it be required."

"That doesn't seem like a deal in my favor." Arsene's eyes sharpened, causing Black Frost to sigh.

"You forget who you are speaking to. I am the leader of the Jakkai. Do you really think I would call a literal wild card to my office, with only two guards?"

"..." He looked around seeing strange metallic contraptions glinting on the walls and the floor beneath him.

"Regardless, at some point or another, you will have to come to a decision. You can ally with us, the fairest nation among demons, or be forced to side with someone else. Think about it, will you?" The demon waved an arm as Ren faded into reality.

His head was resting on bare concrete, as he awoke with hazy vision.

"-Arsene? Are you awake?" Morgana lightly slapped him a few times in bobblehead form.

"My arm!" He shot up, grabbing his- He pulled up the sleeve of his jacket, seeing the skin underneath. It looked scarred and cracked, like layered wood ashes. "The hell?" He flexed his fingers. They felt dry, but the pain was barely there anymore. He felt another brief wave of nausea.

And since when do I speak French?

"I don't know either, I've never seen a skill like that! You're lucky it didn't hit an organ, magic can't heal that kind of damage."

"Who cares! I didn't die a virgin!" Ren jumped up, laughing. "I thought I was done for sure! I swear, my heart stopped beating for a minute there!"

"Well, glad to see that you're okay." Morgana said, sarcastically shaking his head. Ren nodded, and turned to a blank-faced Yusuke, who was sitting on the rest bench, staring at the evoker in his hands.

"Hey, Tantalus."

"..."

"You did good. I don't think we would have gotten back without you." The blue-haired boy nodded, but didn't seem to be listening.

"I thought you would die."

"Ah, come on, who the hell do you think I am?"

"Your arm was torn off, why are you so calm about this?"

"Well, the worst thing that could happen is that I die, right?" Not too much of a loss. "You guys would have gotten out fine."

"...If you say so. I don't know what I'd do if that happened."

"Well, we can think of it as a- Learning experience, yeah. I'll try to not get shot, and if I do, I have a badass healing skill.

"Very well. I think it would be wise for us to retire for today, would it not?"

"You've got a point." He felt a dull buzzing in the back of his skull, telling him that he needed some damn sleep.

"Alright- Phantom thieves, out!"

"Shut up, Morgana."

AN:

Stonks.

Evoker has stopped sounding like a real word to me, send help.

I pronounce Minatos as "Meen-a-tose", because "Min-aht-o's" sounds lame and too obviously close to Minato.

NoRoleModelz, thanks for beta'ing, again, everyone go read his stuff it's cool.

Stuff may or may not start ramping up. I'm imagining that the Shujin Mementos Arc will last about a week, so 3-4 chapters at least.

Review if you haven't already, it inflates my ego and it might help with story direction.