Persona 5: Tainted Soul
Chapter 1: I am Thou, Thou art I!
It was chaos, various students were running in fear whilst several skull-like monsters were attacking the world. While it seemed similar to Earth, everything looked… tainted, corrupt and foul. This wasn't part of the actual planet Earth, this was a whole new dimension entirely.
"Go, teach these fools the same pain as I feel!" a distorted voice called out as someone with glowing yellow eyes commanded. This person looked more like a shadow, a reflection of their true self as glowing on the side of their chest was a symbol of a T-Rex.
By his side, a large creature with red origami-like armor and a T-Rex skull roared as he charged at the students.
"What's going on here?!" a blonde delinquent cried out as he tried to fight off the skull-like monsters.
"Does it look like I know?!" A student with a cool-looking deminere and black hair, got out as well.
As this was happening, a young student was looking around with absolute horror in his eyes. He was shivering with fear as his eyes constantly turned towards the side of him, despite nothing being there. He looked like a foreigner with short, dirty blonde hair and blue eyes.
Nearby, a young girl with brown eyes and her hair tied up in a ponytail was cowering while a monster with black stripes and white hair-like horns menaced over her… at least until the world stopped to the tune of a record scratch.
"Wait, why am I acting like this? I'm not even out of the guy yet!" the demon realized as he turned towards.. the reader?
"Yep, this is me. You're probably wondering how this chaos started? Well, just sit back, relax, and enjoy this meeting between a group of Phantom Thieves, and the masked hero of justice, the Demi-Field~!" he cheered before whispering, "Not that one obviously, I'm talking Kamen Rider Revice here!" he said as he pointed his thumb towards the blond male foreigner.
He then snapped his fingers, "Cue the music!"
Opening: Like Flames - Tensura Slime Season 2 - Opening 2
/PRELUDE/
As Revi and Vice flies through the night sky, we see glimpses of Ichigo and Naoya before the title zips past the duo
/Fate repeats all over again, The voices of my heart say
Time is not enough, it's over/
It soon jumps to Cody standing alone in a hall of mirrors, Vice being on the other side of the mirror before he turns around to see Mementos and the various monsters wandering it's corridors.
/Belief that makes me who I am, light doesn't fade away
Made my mind up now, it's better/
Meanwhile, Ren is sitting alone in the jail cell of the Velvet Room, looking towards the camera as a ghostly visage of Arsene appears before him as he smiles wickedly.
/Yeah I know it's not an easy road, lured by your hands/
It then jumps into a montage of Ryuji jumping for a bit before running, Ann with her back towards the camera fixing her hoodie, an artist holding his paintbrush in front of himself with one eye closed, a cat wandering through an alleyway, Makoto practicing judo, a NEET looking over something on her screen, an heiress looking over her garden, a gymnast practicing her routine, and finally a detective looking over some notes
/Even if it rains don't be swayed, being same as always/
It then jumps to Ichigo watching over the streets of New York, Nigo standing in the middle of a ruined battlefield alone, V3 looking towards the Pyramids of Giza, the prone body of Riderman on a beach in Tahiti, X floating down into the depths of the Mediterranean Sea, Amazon roaring into the night sky causing birds to fly up from the trees of the jungle, and a pair of graves in the middle of a beach with the helmet of Stronger resting on the left grave while a bouquet of flowers was near the right grave.
/Want to feel my destiny, Open my eyes to be braver/
As the shadow of the villains of past Rider and Persona titles haunt Cody and Ren, they soon turn to see a light where they notice the chains holding them back. Luckily, they spot Touma turn towards him and reach out for them, allowing them to break out and transform.
/Get up now Get up now stronger I believe in myself
Stand up now Stand up now shouting
I'll never run away/
It then transitions into a battle scene where Revi and Vice team up as they battle alongside the Phantom Thieves, transforming into their different forms to help each team member. Meanwhile, Ren soon awakens Arsene as several silhouettes of other Personas appear behind the original Phantom Thief before he and Ren perform Eigon.
/I might lose control... It's a perfect world/
It then transitions into showing Cody lost in the devil's world before he sees the Deadmans standing in his way, as Aguilera summons the eight Palace holders behind themselves with her Vistamp.
/Destroy all of it, in the end it's for our good/
As he panics, he notices the spirit of Maria embracing him before he sees the past Riders from Ichigo until Saber appears by his side, their lights shining down enough to allow him to obtain the Rex Vistamp, summoning Vice in the process.
/Let me shout like flames/
Afterwards, he and Vice share a high-five before it jumps to an ending shot of the twelve heroes standing behind a spotlight in their Metaverse garbs.
"Okay, stolen Slime Isekai OP aside, let's take it from the top and explain what the heck is going on here!" the demon declared before he got a bonk on the head from the foreigner, Cody as they were on a bus.
"Vice, stop talking to nothing!" He shouted out in annoyance despite the odd looks from other students.
"I could say the same for you pal!" the demon, Vice, retorted much to the boy's dismay.
This was the young Cody Aldrich; a new forigen exchange student whose family of his two sisters recently got a special reward, due to some inheritance from their passing parents. This allowed them to do this and earn some money from the government and see how well these exchanges can be for other countries.
"So, you're working for this Fenix group eh? Or was it the Kirijo Group with the hot redhead?" Vice tried to remember as, quite frankly, he was asleep for the news like the lazy Deadman he was.
"HEY! I HEARD THAT!"
You were supposed to!
"Well you didn't have to be right you know…"
Cody sighed out, "Vice, this is important to my sister, so don't mess this up!" He gritted at the demon. For some reason, ever since he was small, he could see and hear this 'Demon' that resides within him.
"Scouts honor!" Vice declared with the appropriate gesture of most boy scouts, though Cody could tell he had his fingers crossed behind his back.
"You better…" He frowned, soon looking to his older and younger sister who were staring at him with confusion, "Oh uh… sorry… guess I spoke out loud again, huh?"
"You do realize that people already think you're weird because of that imaginary friend of yours, right?" the older sister, Maria, reminded him. This was his oldest sister, as she was a young woman with medium length brown hair, as she was wearing a office outfit for their meeting and soon to be chief of Fenix as she rose up in the ranks, ever since she applied to the company.
"And quite the hot one, if I do say so myself!"
"Vice!" Cody growled at the demon, almost ready to punch him.
"You sure it's just not stress, Cody?" Alice, his younger sister sighed out. She was convinced that this was just some mental instability from her brother. She was a young girl with long blonde hair with brown tips as she was in a simply shirt and skirt with leggings.
"What?! It's true! I'm surprised that she's still single despite the guys following her! Very much like a certain blonde I know. Hehehe!" Vice teased.
"Why you little!" Cody glared, swinging his fist, only for it to hit the glass window next to him, as he flinched in pain.
"Ignore him, it's best to let him be" Maria said as she shook her head, 'I hope that imaginary friend of his isn't speaking anything dirty about me...'
"I am you know!" Vice answered cheekily.
"I swear, the moment I can actually touch you, I'm gonna slug you, Vice…" Cody frowned at the demon's schemes.
"Love you too, bro!" the demon sighed before sitting down, relatively, next to Cody.
The trio were heading to a new place as well as the new school that the young boy will be attending known as Shujin. And since Fenix is giving them a new place they get to explore around the area a bit more before seeing the school.
"So, what exactly did you do to get the higher-ups to afford the new place?" Cody asked.
"Bribe someone with some limited edition Rider merch?" Vice guessed.
"What does that even mean?" Cody turned to the demon.
"What, I've seen how giddy you were when Saber started airing!" the demon reminded him, "I'm pretty sure your sis has got someone at Fenix who's as big of a Rider otaku as you are."
"T-That doesn't mean anything!" Cody turned his head in denial, as he was a fan of the shows.
"Says the guy who has every DX belt until Yuugo. Need I remind you of how your sister scolded you for using company money to pre-order the Igintion Driver toy?" the demon chuckled.
"T-That still doesn't explain it!" Cody snapped, earning a chop on the head from his little sister.
"Stop speaking out loud, that's a bad habit." Alice sighed out.
"Sorry" the two apologized.
The bus soon stopped as the trio got off and were introduced to the head executive of Fenix, Yujiro Wakabayashi.
"Hello there, Aldrich-san" the man said as the three plus Vice bowed.
"Ahh! So this is the new Rider candidate!" Walking up to them was a young man with glasses and in a labcoat as he took out a phone that had stickers of all of the Rider shows.
"Called it. Rider otaku, just like you" Vice whispered to Cody.
"This is our head scientist, George Karizaki." Yujiro informed the three, "I expect many things from you Maria-san."
"Of course sir." She bowed once more, knowing that this can help improve their family and rebuild what was lost after they had no parents.
"At least we're in Tokyo and not that tourist trap of a Mystery Shack grandpa owned…" Alice sighed with relief.
"At least there weren't any floating triangles with eyeballs bothering us, we're golden" Vice commented.
"Triangles?" Cody turned to him.
"Trust me, you don't wanna know…" the demon told him.
"Now, you know the rules if you two want to stay here with your sister. Don't you?" the head executive asked Cody and Alice as he examined them.
"Yes sir…" They nodded, understanding well that they may have to be used in some of the experiments of Fenix, but luckily nothing too dangerous.
"No promises!" Vice piped up, to Cody's groaning.
However before Cody could say anything, Yujiro then did something that surprised the trio as he glared at Vice.
"This includes you, demon…" he threatened the demon, placing a finger where his chest would be.
"H-Huh?!" The family, and demon said in shock.
"W-Wait, you can see me?!" Vice gasped as he was just as surprised as the family was.
"Wait, you can see Vice too?" Cody asked him.
"Oh, I had George modify his glasses to be able to see and sense any demonic traces." Yujiro said as George tapped his glasses.
"While I can't hear him, I can see him." George noted.
This freaked Vice out as George began waltzing around him and Cody.
"Amazing! While I've seen some demons, this one with such a personality and style just radiates many things for me!" George said with interest before snapping his fingers at him.
"Oh, I'm flattered," the demon nervously chuckled, showing a sign of confusion that Cody was not used to.
"I think more testing should be done now that I know there's a demon inside you, Cody-san." George noted to the boy.
"So wait, he's not mentally ill?" Alice asked aloud.
"Nope, he's been chatting with this demon." George stated, "How long have you been seeing and hearing him?"
"Um… since I was 6…" Cody admitted.
Alice turned to Maria to wonder if she knew as well. A simple nod from the elder Aldrich sister was all it took for her to question every interaction Cody had with Vice.
"I'm… sorry for seeing that you were ill…" Alice apologized, as now that she knew the truth. All of the guilt from her words and thoughts hit her.
Cody turned to his little sister, a soft smile on his face as he hugged her, forgiving her as well as showing his support. "We're family, things happen Alice. So don't feel bad about it." He said to her as she nodded.
"Well, isn't this sweet?" A new voice came out as walking up to the group was another young woman, same age as Maria as she had long silvery hair and a style that felt like she could interrogate you before kicking you into space.
"Nice to see you here, Sae" Maria said with a smile before the two shared a brief, if familiar handshake before hugging.
"Maria, good to see you too." Sae smiled, as it seemed they knew each other very well.
George soon budded in and smiled, hugging the two, "Nice to see the old crew back together again, eh?" he commented. Though, the two girls frowned as they glared at him, causing him to back up.
"Seems to me… they don't like him…" Alice whispered to Cody.
Cody merely shrugged as the eccentric scientist sighed as he began walking into the building, "Well, anyways follow me. I'll be showing you what exactly we're up against, and our means of fighting it."
As the Fenix members lead the way, the Aldrich family followed suit. They were led to a nice hillside house that overlooked the area of the town they would go to. Inside of course was a well made place with several advancements in technology and human housing. It even had a few extra parts like a pool, a training room, and VR Station for communication with Fenix's heads.
"This… seems a bit much for us, don't you think, sir?" Maria got out, surprised at the well made house they gave them.
"Nah, this is tame compared to what the boss and I have" he reassured her.
"Plus, with you being a candidate against Deadmen, this is nothing we can expense for." Yujiro informed them. "George, please show her your system."
He soon nodded as he brought out what seemed to be a PC rig, only to reveal something inside of it. Inside of it was an odd looking plate with the numbers '50' on it. It was purple and light blue as above it was what appeared to be a stamp with the same coloring, but with a T-Rex on the front of it.
"Consider this the ultimate weapon against the Deadmans. Because after all, to fight demons, we create our own demon" George declared with a wicked grin. "This is the Revice Driver and the power it wields is that of the Vistamps. Items that can imbue someone with not only a demon, but also the genetic power of a living creature that exists or has existed in history."
"You're…. making sis a Kamen Rider?" Cody got out in shock but awe as well.
He shook his head, "Actually, your sister is merely one such candidate. Especially after today."
This took Maria by surprise as she turned to the scientist, "What do you mean? I thought this was to inaugurate me as the head candidate?" She questioned.
"True, that is until we met your brother and his… who do you call your demon?" George said before asking.
"Um… Vice…" Cody nodded.
"That's my name, don't wear it out!" the demon responded.
"And you can control him, yes?"
Cody shook his head, "He's nothing but a fly, buzzing me around." He said as the demon felt insulted.
"Hey!" the demon snapped.
"Well regardless, we at least found your understudy should you find yourself unable to fight for a time, Aldrich-san" Yujiro clarified for the eccentric Rider otaku.
"This was not part of the deal, my siblings are only here so they can be protected should the Deadman attack them!" Maria said, worried that this would be more dangerous than it already was.
"We are at least keeping our options open" the head executive reminded her before thinking of something, "If it makes you feel any better, we can have your brother as an absolute last resort. Outside of that, you are for the most part, our main candidate for the Revice Driver."
Maria took a deep breath, nodding as she accepted this. "I… can agree to this… I don't want to put them in any more danger than they already are." She said, knowing at least should she fail, others will be used with her brother being the last resort.
The head executive soon nodded before the two left, leaving the three Aldrich siblings behind to move into their new surroundings.
"So… how long have you suspected of me having a demon?" Cody asked his sister, as this was still on his mind after all.
"Since you were six" she reminded him.
"Was it… the moment dad left us? That you figured I had one?" He asked once more as she nodded before hugging him.
"But… unlike him, mom and myself still loved and cared for you. We wouldn't abandon you ever" Maria reassured him.
Cody and Alice soon hugged as Vice sighed, crossing his arms with a faint smile on his face… for a brief moment.
"Alright alright, enough with the family drama. Let's see how Lupin Jr. is doing!" Vice chuckled.
XXX
During the walk to the school of Shujin, Cody was making his way to the campus in spite of being quite lost. As this was new to him, he was still unable to fully read Japanese. He was using an app, but it seemed it was misleading him.
"Ugh, dumb app" he grumbled.
"Think I should pop by the dev's place to make them fix it?" Vice asked.
"Later…" Cody dismissively said before he realized what the demon was suggesting.
"Do you want some help?" Another voice called out. As nearby was a young teen boy with short black hair and glasses as he too wore the Shujin outfit.
"Oh, uhh… hi there" Cody answered in... slightly broken Japanese.
"Should have paid attention to those Japanese classes, am I right?" the demon said.
"If you would've shut up, I could've!" Cody gritted.
"Hm?" The student looked to Cody.
"Sorry, I uh… have a bad habit of speaking my thoughts out loud." Cody responded as best as he could.
The boy in glasses didn't seem to buy it, but just thought 'Eh, Americans…'
"Anyways, I think I know where the school is since well, I'm kind of new too" he admitted.
"You'll help me?" Cody asked as the boy nodded, "Ah, thank you! Oh uh… I'm Cody."
"Amamiya. Nice to meet you." He smiled, as the two boys shook hands before heading off together.
They soon went onward before a small rain cloud flew overhead and began to pour, causing them to take shelter. Whilst annoyed, this was at least good enough to try and talk. Yet, when Cody turned his head, both he and Ren noticed another person with the Shujin outfit, only to pull their hood down to reveal a pretty young lady with soft blonde hair in twintails. She even had a slight American look to her.
Vice soon did a wolf whistle, "Dayum girl! You lookin' fi~ne! I might wanna have a snack later!" he said with a rather perverted chuckle.
"Shut it, Vice!" Cody gritted, but it was heard well enough by the two of them. "Um… sorry…"
The girl gave a simple smile, "It's okay." She said… in good enough English as it surprised the boys.
"Wait, you speak English?" Cody asked in his native tongue.
"Not as much, but enough. I'm a mud blood." She admitted, as while she did have some accent to it, it was enough for him to understand.
"Oooh~! Mixed heritage, my favorite!" Vice cheered.
Cody wanted to shout at Vice, but ignored him for now. But before he could say anything a car pulled up as the window pulled down to show some adult, yet he had the Shujin logo on it.
"Cody, I suggest you stay away from this guy" Vice warned him, his voice lacking any sense of pervertedness and instead had much more of an angry tone.
"Huh? Now you're behaving?" Cody got out, soon noticing the girl get into the car of the adult before driving off.
"Damn it! Not again!" Another voice called out as rushing up to them was another male in Shujin attire, but he had bleached bright blonde hair, an opened shirt and a punkish style to him, "Damn that pervy teacher!"
This shocked Cody as he soon figured out why Vice quickly went serious. It was clear that the demon could tell something was off about the man.
"Who was that, your girlfriend or something?" Ren questioned him.
"What? No, she and I just knew each other a few grades back." The punk waved off before noticing the two's Shujin numbers as he glared at them.
The three looked at each other with confused looks before nodding.
"Yeah, sure discount Kanji" Vice quipped.
"So what? You two plan on ratting me out to Kamoshida?" He said with a distaste tone to his voice.
"Thats his name? Sounds dumb." Cody said, soon earning a chuckle from the punk.
"I know right? Heh, sorry. You both have Shujin on you and one of you is a third year." The punk said, pointing to Cody. "I'm Sakamoto."
"Amamiya."
"Cody."
Ryuji soon smiled as this seemed like for once, he could gain some friends and not be stained with the reputation he has. The rain soon stopped as that was enough for them to walk together.
"Oh, so you're a foriegn exchange student? Gotta admit, your Japanese sucks. Should've paid more attention." Ryuji said, having learned what he could from Cody's broken English.
"That's what I've been saying!" Vice agreed before giving a thumbs up, "Glad to find a kindred spirit in you kid!"
"I know already…" Cody groaned out as they kept walking as Ryuji was leading them to a backroad to the school. And luckily they arrived as they were heading in, yet the moment they stepped into the front doors, one of the teachers was crossing his arms looking disappointed.
"Ryuji. Trying to skip things out again and dragging others down, huh?" The teacher called out to the delinquent.
"I was just showing them a backroad!" He said, annoyed by the teacher.
The teacher shook his head, "Of course you were…"
"Now, now. At least our two new students are here." Another teacher said, as it was a woman with brown fluffy hair and a long yellow and brown dress. "Sides, I still have to show the American around."
"As you wish, Ms Kawakami, I'll deal with these two other boys myself." The other teacher said, pulling them off and away from Cody.
"Don't start" he snarled at Vice, already preparing for the lecherous comments from the demon.
"Meh, too old for my taste." the demon waved off nonchalantly.
Cody merely rolled his eyes as he followed the teacher as she showed him the school and the classrooms as she was more than just wanting to get through this day.
"Oh, also, from what the principal has told me, you will need some extra help on your Japanese. Luckily the student council president has offered her services to help you." Kawakami said, "You can meet with her later once lunch is finished."
"Oooh! Already working that Igarashi charm on her, eh Cody?" Vice chuckled.
"Please don't bring up mom's family name, Vice…" Cody whispered with a snap.
This got Vice to shut up as, while he does like to tease Cody, he does know there are some subjects that are best left alone.
"Pretty much, I was his only friend while he was growing up. Boy am I glad that Code's getting better mentally."
You better behave when he works on his school this time.
"Yes sir, readers!"
XXX
As soon as the bell rang, signaling to get back to class after lunch, Cody soon headed off to the Student Council Room to meet with the president for his last class of the day. He was dreading this as it felt like it would be a very stuck up person, he just hoped it wouldn't be that bad.
"Please don't let it be a snob…. Please!" Cody muttered to himself as he was standing right outside the door, already thinking about bailing out on this moment.
As he opened the door, he ended up bumping into someone, causing several papers to fly across the room. He almost fell back but caught himself as he looked down at the papers before backing up at the person.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't know you were that close!" Cody said with worry.
"Nice moves, bro" Vice chuckled.
"I'm very sorry about that. I hope you're-" Cody was soon cut off as he looked towards who he accidentally bumped into. It was a young girl around his age, and in class as her pin showed she was a third year too. She had short brown hair in a bob cut with blunt bangs and a braid headband on top with soft red eyes.
"Uh, are you okay there?" she asked him as he was left stunned.
Vice waved his hand over Cody's face before groaning loudly.
"Wow, that's as cliche of a love interest's debut as it's ever gonna get…" he commented.
"Oh, you must be Cody Aldrich. It's nice to meet you, I'm Makoto Nijima, the student council president and the one who'll help you study." Makoto introduced herself with a bow.
That last name was what snapped Cody out of his trance as he and Vice blanched at the young girl.
"Wait… 'Nijima?! Dude, your crush is Sae's sister!" the demon said, soon laughing loudly, "Oh! This is the best treat ever! If you mess anything up, not only will this chick might reject you, but her sister might end up leaving you as dead as Ghost for flirting with her! GYAHAHAHAHA!"
The demon soon continued to roll on the floor, howling with laughter as Cody was left stunned… and a bit afraid that maybe, Vice might be right for once.
"Hm? Something wrong, Cody-san?" Makoto asked.
"Uh.. n-no everything's okay. Just… worried I might mess this up is all." He said as best as he could.
"I'd tread lightly if I were you, lover boy~!" Vice chided him before cackling again.
"Just remember that this will take time, so don't expect to learn this easily." She reassured, before the two began to pick up the papers before the young boy handed the rest to her. "So, shall we start?" She offered as she stepped back to let him walk inside and begin their tutoring.
XXX
Meanwhile, within an unknown area, most likely a cave was a large area, glowing with color as a unique symbol was at the top of it. Inside were many followers and such, including several creatures of black and white and boney origin as they were praising and shouting to the heavens in front of a statue and two people.
"Gather up sacrifices! Release the devils from within the bodies of humanity and destroy the pointless order of this world! All for the sake of Giff-sama's revival!" a young girl wearing a red dress cheered as she pressed a strange stamp into each person she passed, releasing a strange skull-like monster from them.
"Remember! We are all no one, and that includes the rest of the world. No one. We are simply pawns in this game of life, and who's to say we should listen to the masses?" A man said as he was wearing a green outfit with red additions.
"Please, give it up for the great Giff-sama's fiancee, Lady Aguilera!" a man with a blue mariachi uniform that had a ribcage shirt declared to the audience.
These three individuals were the heads of Deadmans and the ones who created this chaotic group as they looked fully inspired by the Day of The Dead. These were the Generals of Giff.
"The time for a new evolution has come" Aguilera declared.
"Gracias, Deadmans!" The trio said in unison, alongside their followers.
XXX
"I believe you're good to go, Cody-san." Makoto said, as she looked at the time on her phone, "Your work is rough, but at least you're willing to make it work."
Cody nodded before he noticed something dangling from her phone. It was two phone charms depicting a pair of Kamen Riders.
"Wait, is that Kamen RIder Stronger and Kamen RIder Black?" he asked.
"Hm?" She looked at the charms before back to him as she quickly hid them, "I-It was just something my sister gave me is all. I-I don't have any-"
"I love Kamen Rider too!" Cody said with glee as that took Makoto back a bit.
"Now it starts…" Vice grumbled as he lifted his arms in the air and looked away in shame. This wasn't the first time where he was witness to his host's fanboy tendencies, and nor was it going to be his last.
"Hey, you try and listen to this guy's fanboy tendencies for nearly several years!"
That's being an otaku after all.
"Ay-yai-yai-yai-yai…"
"W-Well… um… we can discuss that another time. You best be heading home." Makoto said, as it seemed she was still nervous to show one of her hobbies in public.
This did make Cody feel a bit sad that he couldn't connect to her, but at least he knows he can get along with the president as he nodded and started to head off. As he walked out of the school, he noticed Ren and Ryuji there, waving to him.
"Yo Newbie!" Ryuji called out.
"Why are you two here waiting for me?" Cody asked them.
"We thought it'd be cool to hang out for a while. You seem like a good guy" Ren commented.
"Yeah! Plus we're friends after all!" Ryuji smiled.
Cody, once again was surprised. They all just met, yet are easily willing to befriend and trust him? Cody… couldn't help but smile as he nodded, "Sure, I got time. Thanks!" He said with joy as he followed the two.
Vice soon smiled, "Ah, the boy's finally growing up. Got some friends, and even a potential girlfriend too. Everything seems to be coming up Cody I. Aldrich…"
Is it though?
"Yeah, you're right. When's the Monster of the Week showing up?"
As the trio made their way towards Shibuya, things started to change…. For some reason an odd feeling came over them alongside many other civilians as to them, they were seeing a bubble form around the area, while other people were strangely going about their lives unaware of the currently unfolding situation.
"What the eff is going on?!" Ryuji gasped.
Soon, three people walked out of the shadows, as everyone quickly knew who they were. It was the Deadmans.
"Hello everyone! Today, you have the honor of making special sacrifices for Giff-sama! Please enjoy your last remaining moments in this Dead Zone." Aguilera said to the ones inside the field.
All of a sudden, someone came out from their ranks. It was a young boy who was covered in bruises and more, wearing a white shirt with the Shujin logo on it.
"Wait…. Mishima?" Ryuji noticed, "What are you doing there, dude?!"
"This young boy has been hurt and abused. He wants revenge but knows he can't… So, instead we're offering him a chance to vent out this frustration on you all." Olteca said, as he turned to the boy to let him continue.
The young boy, Yuuki Mishima, then looked at the object in his hand. It was a version of the same t-rex stamp that was shown with the Revice Driver, but it lacked the helmet behind the dinosaur.
"Enough… is enough!" he cried out in anger as a dark aura began to arise from him, "I am sick and tired of being pushed around and isolated! This time, I'm taking what's mine!"
He then pressed the button, causing a disjointed voice to shout out.
rEx!
Soon as he pressed the Vistamp against his chest, an ethereal contract flew out from it as he cried out in pain, soon folding and taking shape as bursting out from it came a Red T-Rex origami-looking monster as it let out a monstrous roar.
"Wait, why are you describing the monster again? We already saw it in the intro!"
Shut it and let's continue, demon!
"Got it…" Vice grumbled while Cody, Ryuji, and Ren were left horrified by the appearance of the monster.
XXX
As this went on, Maria got a signal from her GundaPhone, a hot pink and baby blue smartphone, as it was from command. It told her about a Dead Zone being formed as that meant a Deadman was brought out. But what made her growl pale as they informed her, her brother was caught in the field.
"No!" She got out, rushing to the case as she smashed it and took the Driver and Vistamp as she rushed out.
Worries over her brother were filling her mind and heart as she was scared about what could happen. She could only hope her resolve to fight will make it.
XXX
Meanwhile, chaos filled the area as students and other civilians ran and hid.
"And we're back!" Vice said, "Now you know the context of that cold open!"
"Vice, shut up and let me think!" Cody growled, as he looked at the demon. "For now, we need to get out of here and hope Fenix gets here!" He said to his two friends.
"But we have to do something about Mishima!" Ryuji said, showing concern for the other student.
"What can we do against a Deadman?" Ren questioned.
"I don't know!" Cody shouted.
Luckily, help was on the way as several men in white arrived with guns aimed right at the skull creatures and the Rex Deadman.
"Attack the Deadman and try to get the civilians to safety!" One shouted out, as it seemed he was a high ranking commander. The soldiers nodded as they opened fire upon the enemies.
This agitated the monsters as they quickly ran towards the Fenix soldiers, engaging with them as Maria rushed over to Cody.
"Cody! You're okay!" She said, as he finally spotted her.
"Maria!" Cody sighed in relief, rushing over as he hugged her.
"You three need to get to safety, let Fenix handle this."
"But what about you?" Cody asked.
"I still have the duty I was given…" She said, holding up the Driver.
"Just… be careful okay…?" Cody pleaded.
She gave him one more hug as the three ran before she turned her anger towards the Deadman, her hand gripping the Revice Driver and its corresponding Vistamp tightly.
She paused…. Seeing how the Deadmans work, she was worried. Could she do this? Would she be able to be in control? What if it disobeyed and attacked her brother? She couldn't live with herself if any harm came to her family. Was she even worthy of this power?
More thoughts and negativity flowed around her head. But before she could do anything, she felt someone grabbing her arm, forcing it back, and then throwing her to the ground. As she looked to see who her attacker was, it was Olteca smirking softly at the woman.
"We do not appreciate wannabe Kamen Riders like yourself rising up against us" he scoffed, "Best to weed them out before they have a chance to bloom."
The General Deadman smirked as he was soon covered in water and colorful tendrils before they faded and showed him in a new form, one that Fenix didn't know about, they too were actual Demons. It looked like a hooded mage and an octopus with a staff as he held up his hand and attacked her with a powerful attack, not only tearing her armor but injuring her heavily.
"MARIA!" Cody cried out in agony.
The older sister was now laying there motionless as Cody rushed to her side. She was heavily wounded, arms bruised and blood seeping from her side alongside a broken leg.
Olteca then held the Revice Driver, feeling victorious about claiming this device.
"Now to destroy this falsehood before it begins." he declared as he began to grip it tight, wanting the device to break in his hands.
"DAMN YOU!" Cody shouted, rushing towards the Deadman as he couldn't tackle him down. But soon gripped the Driver in order to pry it out of his hand.
"Cody, are you crazy?!" Ryuji called out to him!
"This son of a bitch! He hurt my sister! I won't let anyone harm those precious to me and take them away!" He seethed in anger.
"Hmph, what a sad sight to see, no? Your sister is at death's door, and you think you can stop this?" Olteca sighed, smacking the young boy away. Yet he soon felt something was off as he quickly realized the Driver was out of his grip as he looked back at the boy.
"Go! Kill him before he transforms!" he quickly ordered some of the skull creatures as they started running towards the blonde foreigner.
"Nice! Now you know what to do, right Cody?" Vice asked him eagerly.
"Yeah… I'm already feeling it now…" He said moving his hand in a fashion that showed his entire hand as he placed the device on his waist.
RE~VICE~ DR~IVER!
"So, shall we begin?" Cody said, holding up the ViStamp as he too pressed the button on it.
REX!
"Oh hell yeah!" Vice cheered as Cody felt something change in him as a phone screen appeared behind him, displaying some text in English.
I AM THOU, THOU ART I!
AS THE CONTRACT IS FORMED, IT'S TIME TO BEAR THE SINS OF THE DEVIL AND REBEL AGAINST THE SHADOWS!
As Cody's eyes glowed yellow, he then breathed on the stamp, before pressing it against the pad on the driver. Soon, Vice appeared, visible as he cackled in joy, lifting up an ethereal Stamp as it soon filled with purple-esque ink as a tune played out.
C'MON! R-R-R-REX!
C'MON! R-R-R-REX!
"Henshin!"
He then placed the stamp into the device and pulled it to the side, causing the screen to flip and reveal the symbol of the stamp.
BU~DDY U~P!
As the pad twisted and showed the symbol, Vice slammed the ethereal stamp on top of Cody, launching the skull creatures away while it consumed the boy in the purple ink. Yet it soon began to encompass his body and form armor as the stamp on the text screen behind him flew off, forming armor pieces on Vice as well. The stamp then shattered as standing there was a new warrior.
SEALING! DEALING! ROLLING! GO~ING~!
KAMEN R~I~DE~R! RE~VI! VICE! REVI~CE!
He had light blue and pink armor, with a T-Rex themed helmet as he had a purple '5' on the side of his chest and a t-rex symbol, while next to him Vice was donned in in black with a simple pink circle on his side of the chest, representing a '0' as well as a T-Rex symbol on it, mirroring the other side. He was decked out in pink armor parts on his shoulders and forearms with T-Rex feet on his shins, even having a goofy T-Rex helmet on top.
"Now this I can get used to!" Vice cheered as he performed a devil horn gesture with his hands.
"Woah, dude just became a Kamen Rider!" Ryuji cheered.
Meanwhile at Fenix, the higher ups were also shocked by this development.
"Hey! Hey! Hey, hey, hey! What a surprise!" George says in glee, "Here comes the birth of Kamen Rider Revice~!" he cheered as he performed Ichigo's signature transformation pose.
"So… it seems like we have no choice but to leave it to the shonen…" Yujiro noted. "Best get our people there to retrieve Maria before she passes on." He ordered one of the nearby soldiers.
Back at the battlefield, Cody was looking at himself with glee at his and his demon's new transformation.
"No way, did I just become a Kamen Rider?!" he gasped.
"Sure did! And all it took was for your sister to almost kick the bucket." Vice stated before he snarled at the generals, "Now let's kick his ass for it!" he growled.
Cody at first wanted to hit Vice, yet, he was right. He has some boiling rage to relieve himself and these Deadmans were the perfect target.
"Let's-a-go, aibou!" he declared. Nice rhyme by the way.
"Yeah, let's rampage Vice!" Cody said, first one charging in as he aimed his fist at Olteca and struck him in the face, sending the general flying into the side of the building nearby.
"Olteca, what's wrong?" Aguilera called out as she rushed to his aide.
"Just taken by surprise…. Didn't think that boy had his own demon inside him, nor did I expect him to inherit that wretched title…" The general said, rubbing his cheek from the impact.
Soon, the fight was on as both Cody and Vice started tearing through the skull-like creatures with almost prehistoric ferocity. Vice was in glee to have finally been able to actually touch things as he was incorporeal all the time. Being able to strike and tear apart the skull minions was refreshing for him.
"Dude, this is unreal…" Ryuji got out as they watched the pair fight.
"You think?" Ren muttered to him.
He then grabbed one of them and performed a piledriver maneuver on them as it smashed the minion and soon destroyed it from the impact.
"A Devil-Style Screwdriver, what a show!" Vice said with another devil horn gesture.
As for Cody, he was relieving his anger and sadness as he wanted these Deadmans to pay for this. He trusted his sister and knew she was okay, but the fact that she got hurt from this and is most likely dying fuelled this rage inside him. He wanted them to pay, and he is willing to sell his soul to his demon to make it happen.
As he fought, the Rex Deadman charged in to attack, yet Cody dodged out of the way. He soon felt the Rex symbol on his chest react, as if it was telling him to use it. He took out the stamp before pressing it against the symbol, as energy flew through him as his legs morphed and changed into that of the legs of a T-Rex. Seeing this as a boost, he stomped on the ground, sending the Rex Deadman and the minions into the air as he jumped towards them and smacked them down before the boost ended.
"We make a good tag team, don't you think?" Vice said, snickering at the rampaging his partner is doing.
"What makes you think that?" Cody frowned as the two turned back.
"Hm? Wonder what happens if I do this?" Vice said, soon gripping the Stamp on the driver as he tugged it, forcing the pad back to normal as a new standby tune was playing.
"Vice, what did you do?!" Cody said, unsure if this would undo the change.
"It just looks like fun!" He said, soon touching and feeling the driver as Cody tried to pull the demon off of him. As they wrestled a bit, Vice pressed the button on the Stamp by accident as a sound went off before continuing the jingle.
REMIX!
Cody, annoyed that this could be bad, tried to push him off more, yet the demon was having fun with this mess around before he pulled the stamp again before grabbing ahold of his partner.
BU~DDY~ U~P!
"Huh?" The two in one Riders got out before their bodies glowed, with the symbols on their reacting as it seemed their forms were taking on a new shape.
Cody stood on Vice's thighs while the demon held him up. Then the shoulder pads unfolded into hips while the armor on Vice's shins flipped around forming feet. Even the scarf on Vice grew and took hold of his tail as Cody's arms were holding out in front of him as his back unfolded and snapp in front of him, forming jaws.
HISSATSU! KURIDASU! MAX-REX!
The two, unwillingly, created a new boost and power for them into one body, Revice Remix T-Rex Mode. Energy swept through them as the Remix jaws let out a roar, similar to the T-Rex as the eyes glowed a burning bright red as it looked towards the Rex Deadman and minions.
"Why am I here?!" Vice complained as he looked at where his head was sadly positioned.
In front of Cody's ass.
It soon rushed over, stomping the ground as it shook it when it reached them. It started to stomp on the minions, chomp down on them or literally tear them in half with a combination of both. It seemed it was actually taking in characteristics of said Dinosaur as it didn't seem like it was in control.
The Rex Deadman tried to run when it saw it was the only one left, yet the Revice Remix stopped it, as it chomped down, only to fling it into the air.
REX STAMPING FINISH!
It took its chance as it slammed its tail on the ground and jumped up high, soon spinning a bit before turning it into a flying dinosaur Rider kick, smashing the Rex Deadman into the ground as the Remixed Rider created its Rex symbol from the impact, like Kiva did, only for the Deadman to groan out before erupting into a fiery explosion, destroying it.
"Yes! He did it!" Ryuji cheered.
Ren though, looked worried, "I don't think it's over though…" He said, as the Rex Remix looked towards the group of people, as it began to walk towards it, anger hissing from its jaws.
"W-Wait what is the idiot doing?!" Ryuji gawked.
"I think he can't even control himself anymore, Sakamoto." Ren said, as they looked ready to run.
Yet before it could do anything, George walked in with a megaphone, turning it on before taking a deep breath to shout at the berserked Rider. "Cody Aldrich! Revice! Calm down!" He shouted out loudly, earning the attention of it, "Your sister is safe and sound, we were able to keep her stable, she'll survive!" He said to it as it stopped for a moment.
"Ma...ria…. is… okay…?" He grunted out from the Remixed state.
"Yes, so calm down. Don't want her scolding you now, do ya?" The scientist said to him.
He nodded softly as the Remixed form glowed, only to fade away showing Cody now there, changed back to normal, only for him to collapse. Luckily his two friends caught him before he could hit the ground. Soon the Dead Zone faded away, as Mishima kneeled on the ground, whimpering as Fenix took the Vistamp from him.
"I-I.. I almost…." He got out, the young boy scared that he almost caused many deaths.
"Hey, don't worry about it kid. Vistamps when used like that, release our inner darkness and thoughts, making a Deadman." George informed him, "You were used and emotions played with. Don't blame yourself. Besides, nobody is truly hurt from what you made." He said, looking to the paramedics who were tending to Cody and his friends as the young boy was holding his sister's hand, despite her not responding to it.
"Couldn't tell him his sister is in a coma?" Yujiro said, walking up to George.
"It'd just be worse for him while he was in that state. At least he can have his thoughts under control." George said. "I just hope he can manage this now, cause without her? Who knows if he'll be stable enough to fight."
"We'll just have to trust him and his new friends for that. We at least know, we have something that can indeed stop Deadmans." Yujiro noted, walking away to the nearby helicopter.
A/N: Heya minna! Striberx here.
Finally, after so many years of wanting to do this, I finally got a Persona story out! Hooray! ^w^
Yes, as you can see, it's Revice. Which, honestly fits Persona 5 so much. I know many would rather have Lupinranger as this, and I did think that through, but honestly that would be so difficult to make it happen, even if I just go with the idea that Ren's toy became real.
Either way, I'm just glad to have this done, as Persona 5 is my fav Persona series and probs my fav JRPG game yet. For anyone who's wondering, I will be doing both Royal and Strikers. Yes, I will be doing both. Though, with how recently Revice has started, this story will take much longer to get through.
Though, I do have ideas that, each form or at least a majority of the early Palaces and such, will be done with the early eps of Revice. We may not even see the Super form until like…. Either Yaldabotha or maybe even Maruki's final fight? Either way, I do have ways to make this work.
And as you all see, yes. Makoto is main ship. :3 She been my fav once I got to her story on the third palace. And of course, that won't be the only ship. Ren x Kasumi and Ryuji x Ann both will be here. As for Haru and Futaba? Unsure as of yet, as at this point, we don't even know the secondary rider and such. So for now, I at least have up to Kanashiro's palace thought of.
Now that also won't be the only thing thought of. I do have some plans for certain other Persona characters to show up. For now, I have Rise thought of, but others of past games may show up as well. And as for Kamen Rider? As shown, I'm going with the idea that was rumored for Revice, and that they are TV Shows. BUT! That's not the full story of it. The Legendary Seven Showa Riders, Kuuga, Agito, and Saber all do exist in this reality.
I have plans as to how they are included and why them and such, but I can't explain much else at this moment, only that I have ideas being worked on for now. I hope you all enjoy this story well, cause this is gonna be fun.
Until next time, later minna!