5/4
"Yeah, so this is the creepiest thing I've ever seen," Skull says.
Joker cannot disagree. Where before had existed one of many entrances to the Shibuya Underground, now is a gaping maw of rust-red veins strangling the familiar. They pulse and cling to the escalators, the walls, the signs - scrawled upon with a collection of unsettling gibberish - everything.
"Mementos," Mona says. "Humanity's Palace."
Skull shakes his head. "If this is Humanity's Palace, then humanity is pretty messed up."
Joker steps up to the escalator and peers down into the depths. It is a black throat.
Mona hops up onto his shoulder and leans against his head, forelegs crossed over his chest like arms. "You're not scared, are you Joker?" The cat asks, smirking.
Joker smiles. "Natsuhiko's Shadow is down there?" He asks.
Mona nods, turning serious. "He is. I'm sure of it." The cat's eyes narrow. "And so is..." He trails off.
Joker knows what his friend is thinking. The cat had come clean the other day about his lost memories, about the distortion affecting him. The key to unlocking the first and undoing the second lay in the depths of the dungeon they now stood before.
Skull lets out a groan. "You're not gonna be all sad again, are you Mona?" He asks.
The cat turns his head, and Joker can almost hear the bitter rebuke on his friend's tongue, but Skull is smiling.
"We already told you that we're gonna help you get your memories back."
Mona blinks.
"Yeah," Panther says, joining them. "No matter how deep it gets. So stop looking so down every time you talk about them."
Mona averts his eyes. "Thanks, you guys." Then, he shakes his head and shouts. "Okay! Let's do this." He leaps off Joker's shoulder and lands on the first step of the escalator. "Our target isn't even that deep. This will be a great introduction to this place."
Skull pumps his fist in the air and hefts his pipe. "Let's rock!"
Panther grins and Joker, and their leader nods.
The four thieves rush down the escalator, weapons drawn, and hearts set on their task.
And then, at the bottom of the escalator, Mona turns into a bus.
"WHAT THE FUCK?" Skull screams, falling back as the smoke from Mona's transformation drifts up into the air.
"Mona!" Panther scream. "Oh my god! Mona!"
"Huh?" The bus asks. "What's wrong?"
Joker stands there, knife held in limp fingers, the terrifying environment surrounding him forgotten. "Uh... you just turned into a bus."
"And?" The cat bus asks.
"And?" Skull shouts, standing. "What'd you mean, 'and?' You just turned into a freakin' bus!"
Panther peers into the windows. "Are you, like, okay?"
"Are you worried about me, Lady Ann?"
"Stop messing around, Mona! Are you okay?"
"Of course, I'm okay."
Joker frowns. "So, maybe we should take a second, so you can walk us through how this works."
Mona, in the form of a bus, proceeds with a rundown of the relationship between cats, buses, and cognition.
At the end of the explanation, Joker shakes his head. "Wait, so, because people sometimes think about cats turning into buses, it lets you actually turn into a bus?"
"Only in the Metaverse," Mona says, his engine whirring like a purr.
Joker looks over at Panther and shrugs. "I don't understand any of this shit."
Skull scratches his head. "Can you turn into a plane?"
"No."
His eyes widen. "Oh! What about a badass car, like a Mustang or Corvette or somethin'?"
"No," Mona shouts.
"How about a submarine?"
"No!" Mona yowls. "I can only turn into a bus. This is it!"
Skull frowns. "Lame."
"Lame?" Mona replies. "Do you have any idea how big this place is? You guys would be screwed if I couldn't do this!"
Joker pushes up his mask and rubs his eyes with gloved fingers. "Okay. So, Mona can turn into a bus. Fine." He slides his mask back into place. "This doesn't change anything, we're still hunting Natusuhiko's Shadow." He smiles. "Mona's ability just lets us get to him faster, right?"
The front radiator of the bus expands in what Joker could almost swear is a grin. "Exactly."
"But, you can change back, right?" Panther asks.
"I can change any time I'd like," Mona replies. "Obviously I'll do it before battle."
She nods. "Well, in that case, I guess it's all aboard the Mona-Mobile!"
Skull looks at Joker as Panther opens one of Mona's doors. "We're not seriously calling it that, right?"
"I kind of like it," Joker says, opening a door on the other side and sliding in. Skull sighs and follows him, and the three thieves sit in the middle row of seats.
"Um," Mona says, after a few seconds. "You do realize that one of you is going to have to drive me, right?"
#
"She's mine, she's mine, she's mine, she's mine." he chants.
Beneath the rat-colored girders, burrowed into the ruins of the Palace of Everyman, he paces.
Eyes aflame in gold, an angry smile on its face, hands running around themselves again and again, the shadow of Nakanohara Natsuhiko pushes itself along.
"She's mine, she's mine, she's mine."
A train rockets past on the track, but the shadow ignores it. Its light bathes him as if in blood, the dark silhouettes of the shadows aboard play across his body like withered tendrils seeking purchase.
"She's mine, she's mine, she's mine."
As faint as its words are, they echo through the tunnel and become a booming mantra, reverberating through the thing's skull, the approximation it has of a brain. They are all it can think, all it can do. And then there is a moment, where a new thought, unbidden, escapes its lips.
"And if I can't have her, no one can."
And from the black that surrounds it, a voice calls out, "That's a selfish way of looking at it."
It halts. The voice had come from above, and the shadow lifts its golden gaze to the girders. "Who said that?" It screams. "Who said that?"
A new voice replies, "We're the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, asshole."
"And we've got a few bones to pick with you." This from a third voice, female this time.
"Phantom Thieves?" The shadow mumbles. "Phantom Thieves? Phantom Thieves?"
That's right. It knows what this is about. It understands.
A knife slashes down from above, and sticks itself into the wall alongside his head. He turns to look, and sees the same card that had been on his doormat the night before, pinned to the wall.
"Target: Nakanohara Natsuhiko!" says yet another new voice, high-pitched and boyish. "Accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend."
"No," he says, his head jerks from side to side. "No, no, no, no."
"Don't bother denying it, jackass. We got all the evidence we needed."
"In order to confirm your crime, we provided your ex with a series of instructions, a number of tasks for her to complete at various locations. From there, all we had to do was follow her, and we ran right into you."
The shadow remembers now. Remembers the stupid blonde kid he'd crashed into on Central Street. Remembers the stupid pig-tailed bitch who had offered so many apologies.
"No!"
"Sure looked like stalking to me."
"Shut up! She's mine, goddammit! She belongs to me! She's my property!"
From above, four dark shapes fall. The shadow of Nakanohara Natsuhiko watches them descend one on each side. They land in a crouch, and four weapons are drawn and aimed down at him.
Joker smirks. "I'd say that this could go well for you, or poorly, but that would be a lie. It's just gonna go poorly."
The shadow throws back its head and begins to cackle. "Phantom Thieves? Don't make me fucking laugh! You think these little antics of yours are really going to change anything? Do anything? That's not how the world works. That's not how life works! The weak and stupid get eaten by the strong! The only choice they have is to feast those even weaker and dumber than they are!"
"Geez," Panther says. "With an outlook like that, it's no wonder she broke up with you."
The shadow screams and digs its fingers into its stomach. Black ooze boils forth and congeals upon the ground. Natsuhiko screeches once, and collapses into the obsidian bile.
"The hell?" Skull asks, jumping clear of the puddle. "Now what?"
"He's transforming into his shadow self!" Mona shouts as the pool rises into a shape. "Just like Kamoshida!"
The black bile twists and bursts into an impish demon, purple bangs hanging low over its face, mouth split in a too-wide grin full of razor teeth. Sharp claws bleed out of its hands, and several metallic gray swirls pepper its pink body. "Change me?" It screeches. "You'll never change me!"
The monster snarls and hurls itself at Joker, and he leaps back with a cry of, "Arsene!"
His Persona rises up, and the creature cascades into a garden of the black and red tendrils, screaming as they puncture his skin. As he falls back, Joker aims his gun and fires, and the bullets hit the creature's face, but it only growls and pries itself free of Arsene's hold. It tilts its head back and roars, and a wave of something spits into the air around it and crashes into Joker.
He grunts as he's thrown back, and lands in a roll on the tracks.
"Joker!" Panther shouts, then narrows her eyes at the shadow. "You jackass!" Behind her, Carmen blooms, and a fresh wave of fire lances out and envelops the shadow.
It groans, and Joker flips back to his feet. "Agathion!" The little demon spins upward and fires another bout of flame into the thing.
The monster drops to its knees, hands smashing into the dust. "No," it whispers. "No! I don't have anything else!" It pushes itself into the air and opens its palms wide, unleashing its claws. "I WON'T LET YOU TAKE HER FROM ME!" It falls towards Panther, who stares, wide-eyed
"Move!" Skull shouts, and slams into her side, pushing her out of the way as the thing falls on him. The monster digs its claws into his shoulders, and Skull screams. The other thieves tense, but the blonde boy's yell turns into a growl, and he brings his shotgun up and fires point blank into the thing's stomach. "Get off, asshole!"
"Got your back, Skull!" Mona says, closing the distance between the two, as the monster flies into the air, its entrails a black mess and hanging limply from a hole in its stomach. "Oh, gross." He hits Skull with a Dia, and then keeps moving, falchion clutched in his paws. "Let's straighten this jerk out, once and for all!" He jumps in the air towards the falling enemy, and swings his sword in a bright and brilliant slash through the air.
The monster spits out more black as the force of the strike sends it careening into the ground.
And then, Joker is there. The monster looks up, and through its long, purple hair, sees the muzzle of the Phantom Thieves' leader's pistol pointing right at him. "You had your fun," he says. "But it's time to stop now." He pulls the trigger.
The shadow drops to the dirt, limp, and evaporates into a cloud of ash.
From this, Nakanohara Natsuhiko, eyes still golden, but absent their glimmer, rises up upon his knees. He looks at the thieves as they close in on him, beseechingly. "Please, you don't understand. That bastard Madarame, he took everything from me. My art, my life, it felt like he stole my very soul!" He looks down at his hands. "So when she said she liked me, I felt so happy. I thought, if she loved me, if I could be with her, then everything would be okay. The past wouldn't matter. And then she left me, so-"
Panther huffs. "Whatever happened to you, it doesn't give you the right to intimidate others."
"Yeah," Skull says, rubbing one of his shoulders. "You can't just lay claim to someone because they used to go out with you. You need to move on, just like everyone else does."
Mona hops up onto Joker's shoulder. "Deep down, I bet you knew that what you were doing was wrong."
The shadow slowly nods. "I did. Oh, god. I must've scared her so much. I never wanted that. I just wanted her to take me back."
Joker speaks. "You can't ever go back to the past. All you've got is your memories of it. If they're good, cherish them. If they're not, learn." The other thieves turn to regard their leader. "Return to yourself, and leave your ex alone."
A faint white light begins to emit out of the man's chest. "You're right," he says. "I will." Then he smiles, warm and calm. "Thank you." Then he is gone. In his place is a small shining orb, and inside that, is a small, framed photo. Joker reaches out and takes it. The frame is elaborate silver, and inside is a photo of Nakanohara Natsuhiko and the woman who had bought the eleven roses. They are both smiling.
"What's that?" Skull asks, looking over Joker's shoulder.
"It's the bud of a treasure," Mona says. "If we hadn't stopped him when we did, it could've grown more and more until it turned into a palace."
"It's a photo of the two of them," Panther mumbles. "I guess, on some level, he really did love her."
"Not much of a reward," Skull says, sticking his hands in his pockets.
"I don't know," Joker says, and runs his fingers along the frame. "We could sell the frame."
"What about the photo?" Mona asks.
"Let's leave it," Joker says, and pulls out the back of the frame, removing the picture. "It doesn't feel right to take it."
"It'll vanish when this vortex does," Mona says.
"I'd say that's fitting." He turns to the others. "Let's get going."
"Ugh," Skull groans, following him. "Does this mean we have to get back into the Mona mobile?"
"Stop complaining," Mona growls. "You should be honored to drive around inside of me!"
Panther giggles. "That sounds so wrong on so many levels."
"And where's the honor?" Skull asks. "You turn into a freakin' van! It'd be one thing if you turned into a Corvette or something, but a van?"
"At least I can turn into something! How else would we get around here?"
Joker listens to them bicker, and takes one last glance at the photo of Nakanohara Natsuhiko and his former lover. Then he lets it drop into the dirt. As he passes, Skull steps on it without even realizing it.
#
He wakes, that night, in the Velvet Room.
He sits up, looks out the bars. "So," he says to Igor, who cocks its head to the side. "What's this gift you wanted to give me?"
"You no longer wish to know the whys of your situation?" Igor asks.
"Would you answer those questions, if I did ask?" Igor's grin grows. "Right." He stands and drags his way to the cell door.
"You recall my words, those about the crafting of Personas?"
Akira thinks, then nods. "Something like that."
"I shall show you what I mean." The desk and its sole occupant shimmers, and then vanishes. Akira blinks at the now empty Velvet Room. Igor's voice booms from everywhere. "The power of Persona is the strength of your heart. You possess the Wild Card, and thus are granted the use of multiple Personas. By combining those masks, by breaking them apart and stitching them together, you could craft even more distinct, powerful Personas."
He feels the drifting presence of Justine, floating just before his face. "Our Master presents you with this gift."
Two guillotines snap into reality, constructed of white, maggoty wood, and scratched, rusted blades.
"Some gift," Akira mumbles.
"YOURFLIPPANCYISUNWARRANTEDANDFOOLISHINMATETREADLIGHTLY!" Caroline roars.
Akira puts one hand to his head and groans. "Right. Sorry."
"Think of two of your Personas," Igor says.
He does it without a moment's hesitation. Agathion and Andras appear in the cell before him, hovering there, eyes wide and white. "What's going-"
"Observe."
The two Personas convulse, and collapse to the floor. They are lifted into the air by something unseen, and moved, as if by many limbs to the guillotines.
"Hey, wait," Akira says.
The heads of the two struggling Personas are fitted into the round holes at the base of the death machines.
"Seriously, wait!"
They are secured, and the two stop struggling.
"Stop!" Akira shouts.
The blades fall. The heads are struck.
Akira feels himself lurch. A sharp, stabbing pain races through his abdomen, and just like that, is gone. The bodies of the two Personas condense into blue light, float towards the center of the room and slam into each other. Another shape takes form.
It is a turtle, green eyed and shelled. From its back, rises a long red tail, that ends with a dragon's face. The thing looks at him, and snarling, says, "I am Genbu. I shall be your new mask." Then it condenses into a blue flame, and snaps across the room and onto Akira's face.
It feels as if ice slushes through his veins. He doubles over. This is not the same as capturing a Persona in a palace or in Mementos. This is very different.
"I-" Akira starts. His mind feels, muddied, like its coated in a sheen of something sticky.
"In this way," Igor continues. "You will craft yourself new powers. New Personas. The stronger your bonds, the stronger these will become." Akira can almost hear the smile in the thing's voice. "From now on, whenever you wish to make use of this gift, merely proceed to sleep with thoughts of this room, and we shall hear them."
"Your coming trials will be all the more difficult, inmate," Justine says. "Perhaps you find this method distasteful, but it is the only way to craft more powerful weapons to use against the enemies you will face."
Akira retreats to the bed and sits back down. As he begins to rub his temples, the horrid ringing strikes out into the cell. "And now we have reached the end," Igor says. The two machines vanish and are replaced by the desk once more. He smiles over at Akira. "We'll see you soon, Trickster."
##
A/N: Regarding Mementos and Investigations:
A lot of people are saying that investigating a Mementos target isn't necessary, as their very presence in Mementos proves their guilt.
I disagree.
Let me pose a question. How does Mementos work? A few people and I have discussed this in the comments over the past few months, and the general consensus seems to be, no one really knows.
For instance:
- Mementos is supposedly Humanity's palace. But what does that mean, geographically? If someone lives in Canada, and their desires become distorted, would they show up in Mementos? Even though Mementos is apparently located in Tokyo? If Mementos is EVERYONE'S Palace, it would stand to reason that EVERYONE'S shadow would be located there, but we never have confirmation or denial of that.
- How do the shadows work? We know what shadows are, but how do they work within the context of Mementos? Can you locate anyone in Mementos, just by saying their name into the Nav? If you said, 'Dowdz' and 'Mementos' into the Nav, would you be able to locate my shadow? What if my desires are not distorted? What if I'm just chugging along, happily through my life, content? Would I even get a shadow? Or do shadows only appear when desires are distorted? If that's the case, then what about all those people getting carted around on the trains?
So, Mementos, by itself, was always given a rather hand-wavy explanation.
But. This is about the investigation of a Mementos target.
Let's say, for instance, I have a desire for intimacy. Being alone, I feed this desire by the frequent and unhealthy use of an escort service. The more I do this, the more my desires distort, until my views on women are... well, let's just say 'bad.' That being said, I have not actually hurt anyone. All I have done is engaged in consentual inter-course with paid professionals (BTW, I feel like I shouldn't have to point this out, but I'm not recommending or justifying prostitution here, I'm using it an as example). So, I pop off a vortex in Mementos, and my shadow starts pacing around in the dark and talking about how much he loves to bang escorts, or whatever.
Now, let's say someone who is pissed off at me, for whatever reason, decides to hop on the PhanSite and post a request. 'Dear Phantom Thieves, please change Dowdz's heart, because he's robbing old people and eating babies!' In game, the Phantom Thieves would take one look at that, and hop in Mementos. They can do this, because my desires ARE distorted, but THEY ARE NOT distorted in the way the request makes them seem. The Phantom Thieves are coming to change my heart based on nothing more than my name appearing in Mementos, and some internet stranger's word.
That's pretty fucked up.
Now, in that example, my desires were distorted.
But remember how no one is quite sure how Mementos works? Well, what if you really CAN find anyone's shadow in Mementos? What if the qualification for being in Mementos, is that you DON'T have a Persona? If that's the case, anyone could be in Mementos, and anyone could post anything onto the PhanSite about anyone.
The Phantom Thieves may not have reasoned all this out themselves, but think about it from another angle.
Akira Kurusu is a kid accused of a crime he never committed. He is forced to transfer schools and change cities. At his new school, someone (cough cough Mishima cough cough) posts his record online and the rumor mill begins to churn. Akira himself hears numerous fantasies about all kinds of horrible shit he's supposedly done.
So, Akira has - phrase it however you'd like - been the victim of internet bullying. So, I would think that Akira, of all people, would choose NOT to just jump into a Mementos Request without confirming the crime first. Because if he does that, he's just doing the exact same thing that was done to him.