Hello everybody, I have been reborn and have come back, and after reading many stories like this one, I decided to try my luck. I will be copying some elements some stories I've read, but I will put my twist on them, so they stay somewhat original and fresh. This story will follow the events of Persona 5 Royal with some call back to the original game. Still, like many fanfics, some things will be different due to me not remembering what happened or me just expressing what the characters would do if this were canon. Anyhow, let us start the show.
During the final battle against the holy grail now turned 'god,' the Phantom Thieves have fought hard and were getting exhausted. Even Oracle worked overtime to buff, heal, and protect everyone when needed.
"Foolish mortals, do you believe you can go against the wishes of the masses?" Yaldabaoth angrily declared while charging his most devastating attack, "Think again."
Oracle inside her Persona, Prometheus, saw how dangerous it was going to be; she tried to protect the team the best she can, but it was all for not.
When the Rays of Control hit all but one of the members of the Phantoms Thieves, the seven who got caught were in critical condition.
"Gah... god d-dammit," sputtered Skull.
"Ryu-ji," a severely injured Panther was able to say in a whisper.
"Did we just lose?" inquired Queen.
"So this... ack... is what death feels like?" Fox wondered with holes over his torso, "I wish to... paint... this feeling."
"Really? You... dumb... Inari," Oracle said as the last of her breath left her.
"I'm sorry... every... one," Noir apologized before passing out to her injuries.
Mona, starring at the remaining member, passed one final wish to him, "Finish this Joker."
The said boy who looked at the friends and family he made on this journey reminisced on all the time they spent. Whether it was one-on-one or as a group of teens who became friends through some similarities, those were precious times during his probation, and he'll treasure those memories forever. And with a nod to the hope humanity, the trickster stood tall, facing the false god ready to make the final move.
"So you still defy me?" Yaldabaoth exclaimed, ready to hit Joker with the Rays of Control, "Then let end this now."
As soon as the god of control fired, Arsen appeared and tanked the blow, which shocked Yaldabaoth.
"What?" was all the treasure of the public could say.
Removing his mask and breaking the chains of his Persona, Akira Kurusu, the trickster that causes a sensation to man's hearts, said one thing, "Come, Sataneal!"
And from the dark clouds above a giant demonic-looking Persona with six wings and horns going downwards from its head appeared facing Yaldabaoth.
Raising his gun and his Persona raising its own, Joker aimed at the holy grail and whispered, "Begone."
And with that, Sataneal fired the Sinful Shell through the treasure turned god and put an ended this.
With a final breath, Yaldabaoth was able to say, "You were a truly formidable opponent, but in the end, the masses got their wish; only you remain."
Joker turned to see his teammates were lying there, dead, and the public's voices were gone.
"I know you ask why, so I will answer you," Yaldabaoth replied, "Mankind still wanted to give up on free will, but you and your friends stood in the way. To fix this, I erased everyone with my Rays of Control."
After he said that Yaldabaoth started to fall apart, "To think... that Igor... wasn't... spewing... nonsense."
Then the treasure's true form appeared in front of Joker. As he stared at it, he aimed his gun and fired until he had no more bullets and fainted.
As the trickster came to, he woke up once more in his cell in the velvet room and came face to face with Igor, the true master of the very room, and Lavenza, who supported him in whatever ways she could.
Lavenza faced remaining human with a smile, "Trickster... No Akira Kurusu, my master, and I owe you a great debt not only for freeing us but for ending the one who did this in the first place." Then her lovely smile of gratitude became a frown of sorrow, "But you have lost the friends who stood with you as you all tried to steal the world back and those who supported you during this adventure. You have my deepest condolences."
"Yes, it is a great shame even after everything you've endured; you still couldn't save humanity from ruin. But it is as Lavenza said when she was split, the game was rigged from the beginning," Igor agreed with his assistant in a somber tone.
Akira recalled the moments when he and his friends celebrated their success, and when they help the people with their problems made his heart cry.
After reminiscing on old times, Akira faced Igor with desperation in his voice, "Is there no way to fix what's already done?"
As the lone thief asked this, the phone on Igor's desk started rigging, "Hello, who is this?"
"..."
"Tell me more about this plan."
"..."
"I see."
"..."
"Hmm."
"..."
"Interesting."
"..."
"How kind of you."
"..."
"I understand, so worry not. I shall accept these terms if he does."
"..."
Igor hung up the phone and faced Akira with a grin, "Good news my trickster a benefactor wishes to make a deal with you."
Akira perked up at this, "What kind of deal?"
"He said he shall restart the game, but this time you will have a better chance at beating the holy grail," Igor explained.
"How so?" Akira questioned.
"First, the compendium shall be as you left it, but the Personas you can call upon shall be limited until you reforged the bonds with those who supported you," Igor explained the conditions of the benefactor, "Second, the weapons you used personally shall still be in your possession, along with the items you still have."
"Shouldn't take me to long to reforge all the bonds, and that's a lot of money, weapons, and items I'll have access to start with," Joker exclaimed.
Igor chuckled at Akira's enthusiasm, "Indeed, and as for your social stats, they shall be as they are now, so that will help you a bit with rebuilding your bonds."
'Hmm, I wonder how the other students at Shujin will think of me?' pondered Akira.
"And Levenza and I shall wait for you here when you fall asleep that first night in Yongen-Jaya," added Igor.
After thinking it over, Akira made his choice, "I accept."
"I knew you'd say that," Igor smiled and explained one more thing, "But a fair warning, my dear trickster for when the game resets, there will be events that might not have happened last time, and people you haven't met at all could appear. Do you in good conscious accept this, not knowing what to expect?"
"I do," Joker replied with no hesitation.
"Well then, you will be sent back in time one week before the man who labeled you a criminal to prove your resolve of the rebellious spirit," Igor revealed.
Lavenza turned and smiled to Akira, "May we meet again, trickster, and that your friends and loved ones be spared this time around."
With a wave and a smile, Joker bid farewell to his confidants as he was sent back a week before it all started. The day he met Masayoshi Shido.
One week before the beginning
Akira Kurusu awoke one lovely morning after having a strange dream last night.
'Huh, what an odd dream, maybe it means something good will happen,' he thought as he got ready for the day, not knowing his destiny.
One week later
It was late, and Akira was heading home after spending time studying in the public library for the upcoming school year.
When he almost close to home heard voices he didn't recognize up ahead and decided to investigate, and after turning a corner and following the road forward, he saw a drunk man trying to force a resisting woman into his car.
Akira, seeing this a meter away, was frozen contemplating what to do.
'If I help the woman, I could get into trouble, and my life would be ruined,' he thought, 'but if I don't do anything, I might regret it for the rest of my life.'
"The choice is yours," said a familiar voice coming within Akira's heart.
Frightened, Akira questioned out loud, "Who said that?"
"You can live a peaceful life and be a slave to society, or you can be the rebel that stands for those who are powerless to those who abuse their own. Now make your choice and seal the fate of humanity," the voice exclaimed with a passion of a rebel who changes the hearts of the masses.
And with that, Akira made his choice.
"Tch.. what a waste of time," exclaimed the drunk man, "You think you're worth causing me trouble? Huh?"
"I-I'll call the police!" the struggling woman exclaimed in an attempt to get away.
The man scoffed, "Heh, call them if you want! The police are my bitches. They're not gonna take you seriously."
"No... Stop!" the woman in a fearful tone.
Then in the distance, sirens could be heard approaching.
"Someone called the cops, huh?" the drunk man thought.
Facing the current target of his current wishes, he demanded, "Get in the car! Incompetent fools like you just need to shut your mouths and follow where I steer this country!"
Then he turned to see Akira.
"What're you looking at? Get outta my face! This ain't a show. Get lost, kid," he yelled at the boy who's resolve was more durable than diamonds.
"See? This is all because you're so damn slow! Get in the car!" he demanded the woman one last time.
And as the drunk was about to lay his hand on the woman, Akira stood between them ready to come whats next.
"You bastard! You think you can stop me?" the drunk questioned surly.
As Akira tried to reply, the drunk tried to knock him out, but by pure instincts, he was able to dodge the punch, and the man fell, breaking his glasses and bleeding from the impact to the concrete floor.
"Damn Brat..." the man announced as he got up, "I'll sue."
"If you keep this up..." the woman said with a weak resolve, "Then I'll report about the money! Is that fine with you!?"
"All I have to say is that you did it on your own, and it's over," the man countered.
Shocked, the woman complained, "But... I just did as I was told..."
"Who do you think I am?" the man boasted.
"No..." the woman said, realizing how hopeless this is.
"Hey. Make this statement to the cops, "This kid suddenly attacked me." Got it?" the man ordered, "If you even try to say anything else, you know what'll happen to you, right?"
"Huh? But-" the woman tried to refuse but was stopped.
Akira had the woman turned to face him as he spoke with conviction in his voice, "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Do what you must to save yourself."
"Shut up. You're done for." the drunk warned, "You're gonna learn what happens when you cross me..."
"Excuse me, folks. We received a complaint about an argument here. Is there something the matter?" a burly policeman inquired, "Oh! It's you, sir."
Thinking he won in the long term, the man cockily sent his order, "So, what happened? Explain it to the good officer."
"..." the woman spoke hesitantly, "I'm so scared, it all happened so fast... I barely realized what happened."
The man was disappointed but still could use this to his advantage, "This boy attacked me for no reason and shoved me to the ground. As you can see here, I got injured during the assault."
"Is this true, ma'am?" the burly policeman questioned the lady once more.
"I mean the story those seem to add up but...'" she lied while starring at Akira, "I'm so scared... to know what truly happened."
"Also... make sure you deal with this so my name isn't mentioned at all," ordered the man to the cops, "You understand what that means, correct?"
"Y-yes, sir!" replied the burly policeman.
He then turned to his partner, "Hey, cuff him!"
"Understood," he replied.
As the thin policeman reaches for his cuffs, Akira already had his hands behind his back, facing the officer as a sign of odd cooperation. The officers were a bit surprised by the behavior, but they let it slide as it's less work for them. Meanwhile, the man who believed he sealed Akira's fate cockily smirked, not knowing his arc was about to sink.
As he was about to be driven off to the station, Akira looked at the woman one last time with a smile on his face, and the woman, in turn, thanked him with a silent nod, still surprised that he was willing to do all this to help her.
As the cruiser sped off to the station, one thing came to Akira's mind, 'Don't worry, guys, I'm coming, and this time we will take back the world.'
AN: So this is my interpretation of Akira's do-over to save the world and his friends being there at his side. And in case you're curious about the rules of this game this time around, Igor already explained it best. I couldn't have eavesdropped on his conversation with this mysterious benefactor who gave Akira a second chance to save man from ruin. I believed they sealed his memories to prove to the benefactor and us that he is indeed a trickster who shall save the world from ruin. That was what I believe. Anywho next chapter we go back to the small café hidden in the back alleys of Yongen-Jaya, see guy whenever I post. Oh, and in case you have any idea who the benefactor is, please PM me and I shall respond as quickly as possible, comments about it shall be deleted or be handled appropriately to give anyone the right or wrong idea.