Mathew-Swift-Fiction presents...
A Persona 5 X Helltaker Story
"The Demons in my Head"
Persona 5 belongs to ATLUS and SEGA * Helltaker belongs to vanripper
Chapter One: A New Kind of Contract
"You sure you're gonna be alright on your own, kiddo?" Sojiro asked Ren kindly, concerned for him. "You've had the bug for a couple days now."
"Sojiro, you're underestimating him again." pouted Futaba, giving her guardian a look of disapproval. "Ren will be fine! He can fight through anything, right?" She turned to Ren, giving him a caring smile.
"I'll be fine, Boss," Ren nodded, scratching his head. "It's just a minor cold, is all."
"Well…" The barista scratched his chin, still eyeing Ren cautiously. "Alright. Just… get well soon, okay?"
Ren nodded to Sojiro, as he and Futaba took their leave for the night, muttering about getting a new video game or something. After they left, Ren headed down to the public restroom and took his cold medicine. It tasted like cherry flavored vegetable oil, as he coughed into his sleeve from the sheer density of the medicine.
It has almost been a few days since Ren Amamiya came back from his trip to Hawaii, and ever since he came back, this flu was hitting him hard. Imagine, the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, getting beaten by a minor cold. His head felt heavier than usual, his nose was as runny as a fountain, and his eyes looked red and swollen, due to him rubbing them constantly. Even from looking in the mirror, his charcoal black hair looked all messy and unkempt, due to him sleeping all day. This week hasn't been very kind to him. Well, at least he has Morgana to keep him company.
Speaking of which, the door slid open, as Morgana hopped on top of the sink, looking up to him.
"Hey, you doing okay?" He asked, with the same amount of concern as Sojiro did earlier. "You did remember to take your medicine, did you?"
"Yeah, I did." Ren said, looking down at the cat. "Thanks for asking, Mona." He leaned over to Morgana, giving him a small pat on the head, as the cat purred lightly.
"Just be sure to thank Takemi for the medicine she gave you." He reminded him, raising a paw to push his hand away. "It seems you're feeling better than yesterday."
"Still sucks, though." Ren looked into the mirror, putting his fingers through his hair, trying to fix his do, only for it to return to it's unkempt form.
"Well, from what Takemi said, you should be all better in the morning, if you go to bed early." That was a relief for Ren. If it weren't for his fellow phantom thieves coming to visit him and making sure that he's alright, the last two days could've been candidates for the worst days of his life. Just one last sleep, and this nightmare cold will finally end. As soon as his nose stopped running, he washed his face with cold water and went back upstairs, with Morgana following from behind. His head was now feeling a tad bit better, and his breathing got a bit more clearer, he headed to his bed, and laid under the covers.
"Aaaaahhhhh," He sighs in relaxation, as he can already feel the cool summer breeze from his window above, blowing back at him, cooling his forehead. Morgana hopped onto the sofa, as he marched in place, making himself comfortable.
"Night, Ren." He purred, curling into a ball, laying sideways.
"Night, Mona." Ren replied, as he turned off the lights, with only the moonlight entering the attic, giving it a blueish gray aura on the floorboards. It was a very peaceful night, as Ren closes his eyes, trying his best to sleep.
The good news is that the medicine was working wonders.
The bad news is… well… you'll see…
Waking up to the sounds of chains, Ren shot his eyes open. His cold was gone, but he still felt hot all over, feeling like he was next to a campfire.
I'm probably back in the Velvet Room. Ren thought to himself. I wonder what Igor wants with me now. He sat up, almost expecting to see the long nosed man, or even the twin wardens, at the very least. But something doesn't feel right. He wasn't in the Velvet Room at all. He seemed to be in an empty, dark room, where the only thing he could possibly see was a massive gate, with a pair of horned skulls, on either side of the door. This was getting weird, as Ren stood up.
Even weirder, he was donning his Phantom Thief outfit, with the black leather coat and the strange, white mask upon his face. This made Ren feel more suspicious than before, as he adjusted his crimson red gloves. This can't be the Metaverse, he wondered. What the hell is this place? He looked back to the doors, as he approached it, looking closer at the stone doors, looking closer at it. Curiously, he traces his finger down the door, as small pieces of the door landed on his finger. Cautiously, he sniffs the tiny rock particles on his finger, recognizing it's stench.
"Brimstone?" He raises an eyebrow, analyzing the stone with his finger. Wiping it away, he pulls out his silver dagger, and slashes the iron chains into pieces, causing them to fall to the pitch black floor, in front of his feet. And with one massive push, Joker opened the massive gates, as an orange light shines through the cracks, and the sounds of flames flickered into his ears.
"Welcome to the abyss," The voice whispered to the Phantom Thief, in a kind, yet intimidating tone. "Please make yourself at home."
"... How about it, Joker? Do we have a deal…?" A female voice echoed through the flames, as cackles of laughter echoed through Joker's ears, before a pair of glowing eyes stared back at Ren, as the rev of an engine roared louder than the laughter.
Then, he felt the pain of a knife, being thrusted into his chest, as he toppled over to the ground. The flames extinguished, and all Joker saw was nothing, before passing out.
Saturday, Early Morning
Ren shot awake, as he sat up almost instantly, breathing heavily from that strange nightmare. He clutched his chest to see that there was no knife, stabbed within him, causing him to sigh in relief. As he wiped the sweat off his brow, he realized something. His cold was gone. His head felt lighter, and his eyes were back to normal. The medicine worked like a charm, as he stretched his arms, and stood up. He scanned the room, trying to find his casual clothes for the weekend.
"Hey, Mona," He called out to his friend, putting on his jacket. "Do you want anything for breakfast?" He waited for a response, as he heard a tired groan, coming from the sofa. He turned towards the sofa, and immediately stopped what he was doing.
"Could you keep it down?" That voice definitely wasn't Morgana. In his place, was a woman, with curly white hair and tired, red eyes, beneath a pair of rounded glasses. She was leaning back on the sofa, drinking what seemed to be a small cup of coffee, as she sighs in relief. She seemed to be wearing a black business suit, with a skirt, but the strangest thing about this woman is that she seemed to have a pair of black, curvy horns and a arrow-pointed tail. "Aaaaaahhh, delicious." She muttered, as she took another sip of Sojiro's coffee.
Ren stood in place, raising an eye in suspicion at the woman. He pulled out one of his model guns he bought before and pointed it at her, in defense. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" He asked menacingly, in a courageous voice. The woman merely looked up to Ren, and yawned.
"Same as you, waking up." The girl said bluntly, as she sipped more coffee. "God, I needed this so bad."
"Who are you?" Ren asked once more. He stepped closer, still pointing the gun at the woman. She wasn't even phased at Ren's attempt at interrogating, as she simply stood up.
"Pandemonica." She said, not even batting an eye.
"Pandemonica?" Ren raises an eyebrow, as that name seems to ring a bell in his head. But now wasn't the time to remember things. "Alright, Pandemonica, what are you doing in my room?"
"Well, I was waiting for you to wake up, and this man came upstairs with this cup of coffee for you." Pandemonica nodded, as she continued to drink more coffee, sighing in relief once more. "Too bad, I got to it first."
"That doesn't answer my question." grumbled Ren, clearly not enjoying this woman's company (and the fact that she stole his morning coffee.) "I mean, what are you doing here, in the first place?"
"How dense must mortals be?" sighed Pandemonica, rubbing her tired eyes. "By the way, Modeus is behind you."
"Modeus? Who's..." Ren asked, and then, he felt a hand grasp at his ass tightly, causing him to jump away from what touched him. "HEY! What the?!"
"Oooohhh, so firm, like an ripe, juicy apple!" The awe of another girl caught Ren's attention, as he saw her. She appeared to be similar to Pandemonica, except her hair wasn't all messy. She had horns and a tail, as well, and her eyes were heart shaped. She looked up to Ren, with a dreamy stare. "Wow, how did you get your ass to be so perfect?" She asked, getting awfully close to Ren, clearly mesmerized. Clearly, this "Modeus'' doesn't know what 'personal space' means.
"Leave him be, Modeus." Pandemonica chimed in, making Modeus stop dead in her tracks. "You know the rules."
"Awww," She pouted, walking away from him, and sitting on the bed, with her arms crossed. "I just wanted to sleep with him once." Ren had to do a double take at her response.
"Excuse me?" He raises an eyebrow. Shaking off the response, he scanned around the room, wondering where Morgana is.
"Eh, forget about it, pal." Another voice called, this one sounding more laid back than the others. Ren turned towards the sofa, to where another white hair girl was sitting next to Pandemonica. She wore black aviators, as she laid her hands behind her head, sinking deeper into the couch, sighing in relief. "Just relax and enjoy the company, man." Ren was getting a little more worried.
"Okay, where do you people keep coming from?!" asked Ren, in a puzzling tone.
"Canada." The laid back woman answered, clearly joking.
"MRREEEEOOOWWWW!" Finally, a familiar voice sounded, as both Modeus and the laid back girl looked up to the window. Then, a ball of black fur hopped on the windowsill, trying to catch its breath. It was a tired, and frightened Morgana.
"Mona!" Ren yelled, as Morgana hopped into his arms, as the cat leaned closer to him. "What happened to you?"
"THEY HAPPENED!" Morgana pointed to the window, as if he witnessed a murder. "Those… humans tried to destroy me!" As if on cue, a trio of girls, who all looked eerily similar, popped their heads through the window. These girls had much longer white hair, but instead of horns, they had… puppy dog ears?
"Where'd the kitty go?" The girl on the left asked, sniffing around the tree.
"He had to have gone off somewhere!" The girl on the right looked around, sniffing as well.
"Hey, look!" The girl in the middle pointed to Ren and Morgana, causing the other two girls to jump in unison.
"There he is!" They cheered, as they hopped through the window, charging towards Ren, who stood back, as the dog girls were slowly approaching him, panting in excitement, not taking their eyes off Morgana. In retaliation, Morgana hissed at the girls clawing in the air, towards them.
"HEEL!" A rather annoyed voice screeched, causing the girls to stop their attack and sit cross-legged, in front of Ren, whining like, well, dogs. "Jesus, can't you mutts ever shut up for five fucking minutes!?" Ren turned to see yet ANOTHER white haired girl with horns, but she had a bit of a sour look on her, as she snapped at the puppy girls. She sees Ren beside her and looks up to him, giving him a glare. "What are you looking at, punk?!"
"Yo, Malina!" The laid back girl waved to the sour woman, giving her a welcoming smile. "So awesome that you could make it."
"Fuck off, Justice." Malina sneered at her, as she sat next to Pandemonica, pulling out a bottle of whiskey, and popping off the lid. She looks towards her neighbor and holds the whiskey towards her, offering her some.
"I'll pass, thank you." She shook her head, turning away from the bottle, while Malina shrugs her shoulders, downing the whole bottle. Ren stepped back, taking in the fact that seven girls, all with silvery-white hair, horns and tails were inside his bedroom, acting almost as if they lived here all their lives. His mind was racing with confusion
"This is bad," Morgana was a bit worried, as he whispered towards Ren, with the same worrisome look. "What if the Chief finds out about these girls in your room?"
"He ain't gonna find jack shit!" Then, a cloud of smoke blew right into Ren and Morgana's faces, causing them to cough for air. Ren stepped out of the way, still holding Morgana in his arms, as he turned to the aforementioned smoker. She looked a little bit like Malina, but had piercings on her lps and eras, and a bang, covering her left ear.
"Aw, fuck," Malina rolled her eyes in displeasure, as she looks up to the smoker. "You're here, too?"
"You bet your ass, I am, Malinka!" She said, teasing Malina, with a smirk of enjoyment, causing Malina to clench her fists and bared her sharp teeth.
"Zdrada! Don't you dare call me that!" She stood up growling, walking towards the smoking girl, named Zdrada.
"Aw, does Wittle Ol' Mawinka want her baby bottle?" Zdrada cooed, pinching one of Malinka's cheeks,
"No, but I do wanna punch your sorry excuse of a face!" Malina raised a fist to her, as Zdrada only smirked some more, blowing some more smoke in her face.
"Aw, come now. You wouldn't hurt your own sister, would you?"
"Try me, bitch!"
"FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!" The canine girls cheered, only escalating the situation. While Malina was rolling up her short sleeves, Morgana
"Ren…" Morgana looked up to him, as he saw Malina rolling up her short sleeves. "You might wanna do something."
"ENOUGH!" Ren shouted as loud as he could, and for the first time since he woke up, the room was completely silent. All of the girls looked towards the phantom thief, their eyes shot up in surprise, aside from Pandemonica, who was looking at him nonchalantly.
"What's your problem, kid?" Zdrada asked him, breaking the silence. But another voice broke the silence, as well. And it was the last voice Ren was expecting.
"Ren, are you alright?" Sojiro's voice sounded from below the floor, as a sudden spark of reality hit him. Sojiro! Crap, he completely forgot about him. If he were to find out about these girls, he would be in some serious trouble.
"We're on our way up! Medic!" Futaba's voice shouted from below, as a pair of footsteps were heard coming up the staircase. Futaba was here, too? This isn't good at all.
"Crap!" Morgana hopped out of Ren's arms, his eyes shrinking in realization. "We gotta do something!"
"Like what?!" Ren asked, as he was starting to panic.
"I don't know, maybe… lock them in a closet?"
"Oooh, that sounds kinky." Modeus was flustered at the suggestion, causing Ren to blush lightly. He tried his best to come up with a last minute plan, but it was too late, as Sojiro was the first one up the stairs.
"Is everything alright?" He asked, trying to catch his breath. "I heard you screaming from downstairs." He looked up to Ren, as he raised an eyebrow. "Are you alright?"
"Oh, I'm, uhh, fine." Ren nodded, still sweating nervously. "Just… had a bad dream is all."
"You look like you had a bad dream." Futaba teased, reaching the top of the staircase, behind Sojiro. "Your hair is a mess." Ren looked behind him, as all the girls are still present. But how can he see them, but not Sojiro and Futaba? He looked towards Pandemonica, who looked at him, in the same, uninterested expression.
"Mortals lack the holy eyes to sense our presence." She replied. Futaba looked to Ren's eyes, who were glued to the empty sofa.
"Uhhh, you OK?" She asked, with concern. "You've been staring at that empty sofa."
"Huh?" Ren was caught off-guard, turning back to the red-headed hermit. "Oh, uh, yeah, I'm alright." Placing a finger over his chin, Sojiro looked closer at him,as he felt his forehead.
"Hmm, you still feel a little warm. Maybe you should try to take it easy for today." He suggested. "Just remember to take the medicine later, but I think it's fine for you to get some fresh air. I mean, you've been cramped up in here for half a week."
"Sure, smells like it, that's for sure!" Malina plugged her nose, trying to blow the stink (and the smoke) away from her. Even with her response, Futaba and Sojiro are completely unaware of them, as if they never existed.
"Shut it!" Morgana whispered to Malina.
"Just let me know, if you're not feeling well. I gotta go back down to the shop." Sojiro nods to Ren, as he heads back down to Leblanc, as Futaba says her goodbyes, as well.
"I'd better go, too. I volunteered to help with dishwashing duty." She follows her guardian down the stairs, as Ren and Morgana were left upstairs, both still confused about the whole situation.
"See? Didn't see a thing!" Zdrada gloated, puffing a smoke from her cigarette. Ren looked down to Mona, as they both nodded in unison
It was time to get some answers.
"Alright," Morgana turned to the girls and lifted a paw towards them, while steering clear of the puppy-eared girls. "You all better start talking."
"Fire away, we got all the time in this plane of existence." Justice nodded, adjusting her aviator glasses.
"First of all, who are you all?" Ren asked, crossing his arms. "And what are you all doing in Leblanc?"
"And one more question," Morgana chimed in, hopping on the sofa, next to Pandemonica. "What's with all those horns and tails?"
"You still haven't figured it out?" Oh, great. Another mysterious voice from behind them. However, a hint of deja-vu has flustered through Ren, as he heard that voice before. But from what, though? "Very well, I may as well fill you in on the details." The woman stepped out of the shadows on the attic, looking at Ren deviously. She was unlike the other girls, as her horns were white, and her suit looked incredibly well-refined and fitted. She wore a crown of black spikes upon her head, as she sipped from a glass of red wine, which looked suspiciously like blood.
"First of all, who am I? The name's Lucifer, CEO of Hell." She responded, smirking at Ren, walking closer to him. "Second, the horns and tails? We're demons. And lastly, the reason we're here…"
"You brought us here, Joker. We are your harem."
To be continued...