Looking Glass Speculation

December 3rd, 20XX.

The opening to the subway remains undisturbed. Even the streaks of blood on the ground from when Saito had dragged that policewoman's dead body away are still present. He thinks back to that moment, and how she seemed to know who he was. The chances of her having survived at all were extremely low, especially with the state he had been in at the time, but even then, she'd died harboring information that was at present lost forever. Information about him, knowledge of some relationship that even now he doesn't remember having. For now he just has to live with that.

Fumi follows closely behind him, still chewing on some chicken they'd managed to defrost with a working microwave. He'd learned very quickly that this girl loved to eat. It's a wonder she's as thin as she is, Grendel starvation notwithstanding. Like Himiko had warned them, eating 'normal' meat wasn't quite as filling as human meat, but it was certainly enough to satisfy the stronger pangs of hunger at the very least. Electing to pick and choose who to eat was already shaping up to be a huge detriment, and he had a feeling that between the two of them Fumi would end up losing control first, but for now it was manageable.

"That's spooky." She remarks, looking up at the message written above the archway. "Bad handwriting though."

"Last chance to turn around if you want to." She just shakes her head in response. "I mean it. I'm not quite sure who we're going to be up against just yet, but they're probably not going to pull any punches. I'm ready to kill someone if they try to kill me." He looks back at her. "Well, I mean, let's put it this way. Are you prepared to kill someone down there? If you had to?"

Fumi tosses the last piece of breaded chicken into her mouth. "Sure." She says with her mouth full.

Saito sighs, as Hrothgar comes out to confer with him. I don't like this, princeling. This one has 'traitor' underlining her every syllable. And good lord, her stomach – it won't be too much longer before she tries to eat my glorious crown!

Fumi suddenly shows interest in the exchange. "Can I do that?"

N-No, you impudent strumpet! You CANNOT eat a king's crown! Why would you even THINK of such moral insanity?!

"Your words, not mine." She shrugs.

"Alright, enough of this." Saito intervenes. "I don't think that's even possible."

It's very close to midnight, and while they wait they confirm that the tunnel leads simply to a dead end in its present state. The nature of the path forward is unclear, and it's entirely possible that they were lied to by someone also seeking the Sword of Power.

Fumi casts her eyes downward in disappointment. "I like snail… They've got crunchy shells..."

Off with her head right now, princeling. I've spoken. This crown is a collector's item, and what's more how barbaric can you POSSIBLY be to actually eat the shell -

"I said, enough." He rubs at the bridge of his nose. "Someone please make this a quick elevator trip to the bottom..."

"It's ok." Fumi grabs his wrist. "I'll protect you from the talking snail."

Hrothgar is about to protest, but Saito dismisses him before he can drag this out any further.

His mind wanders – in such a way that it's curious Hrothgar doesn't seem to notice. It's been apparent to him for some time that the so-called King In Fire has no apparent recollection of the dark shadow in Saito's heart that he once was, and further not even a whisper of that fateful night in the apartment. It was as though, through some laughable irony, that only one of them could shoulder the memory at a time.

On some level, it makes sense. After all, only a beast could live with the fact that it killed its unborn child. Not a man, and certainly not a king. And now it was his turn to carry the burden, after having left it all to his other self for so long. Just as his flesh is cursed every bit as much as it's been blessed – he could grow limbs back overtime when lost, but at the first hint of silver those capabilities were rendered almost completely inert. Even as food, the flesh of the Wild Card, whatever that truly meant, had already become far less effective than it had seemed to be for Fumi at first.

It was morbidly simple. The more he bled, the closer he was to becoming a beast like any other. For his companion the situation was much the same, only she teetered even closer to the edge than he did at all times.

There was truly no turning away from becoming Grendel. But for now he decided it could last. After all, it had to.

At last, midnight arrives, with little fanfare. But all at once, the way forward paves itself.

The far end of the path illuminates, and begins to extend further down, and as it does, what seems to be faint howling can be heard in the distance, just barely echoing off the tunnel's walls, as a low rumble jostles the earth beneath their feet. They proceed through the new opening, following the sloping train tracks further in.

Their path leads them further down, towards the depths, where the sound grows more and more prominent. Just like that, the eerie silence of the subway ends, and the sounds of a great draft of wind surround them.

Before too long the train tracks cut off at what appears to be another underground platform, raised above the tracks. The two of them clear the height without much issue and follow this new platform further in. Walls of the tunnel past this point are decrepit and falling apart all around them, with long, pink vines growing out of the gaps. The further they go, the greater the vegetation, to the point where the vines sprawl out onto the platform in front of them. They stick to the side of the platform until the tunnel converges on a single operating escalator, cutting through a very narrow gap in the wall just in front of them.

Fumi elects to go first. Surrounded by concrete wall on both sides, their descent continues. Fumi walks down the escalator to shorten the trip while Saito carefully watches from behind. The sounds of conflict grow louder, and the rumbling becomes more intense.

Eventually the entire chasm shifts violently, including the escalator. Fumi in her haste is thrown off balance and lands right on her face. Just below are two lights built into the walls of the chasm – and just past them is a wall of the pink vines, intent on blocking them while the escalator continues on below. Fumi pulls herself back up in time to start hacking away at the vines – but as she tries to reach out the entire wall of them retracts on their own, revealing the path forward, just the escalator reaches a sudden end right past the vanishing vines, tossing them both into the pitch black ravine below. Fumi screams loudly, while Saito just sighs.

As they hurtle downward a red glow begins to engulf the space beneath them, and as the glow grows brighter the circular wall around them becomes more prominent. They're in freefall, heading down a massive hole in the ground. The vines continue to shift and churn all around them, and as they continue their high speed descent they crash into many on the way down.

Eventually, a huge net of vines beneath them comes into view. Fumi tries to reach out for one of the vines nearby to slow her fall, but to no avail. She crashes into the net first, with Saito trying his best not to land right on top of her. The net is enough to break their fall completely, but at considerable cost. The impact breaks a few bones, and the vines cut right into his skin.

"What the hell?!" Fumi cries out in pain, partially dangling off the side of the net.

"Anything broken?"

"Feels like a lot."

"Yeah… Hrothgar, help us out here."

No can do, princeling.

"...Why not?"

I don't have any healing magic.

"You're telling us this now?!"

It's not my fault you didn't stock up on Chewing Souls and Somas.

"I don't even know what those are." Saito groans.

"Worst Persona ever." Fumi concludes.

Please, like you two even have any business complaining. You heal on your own!

"Yeah, but that takes like half a century." Saito tries to argue though he knows it's in vain. "It's not practical for when you're suspended over a huge pit, idiot."

That's still much better than being an amputee for life, you know.

"Quit making excuses." Fumi doesn't care.

Not every king has every talent! Really, where would either of you be right now without my superior combat abilities?

"In a lot less pain." Fumi groans.

"Yeah, this really sucks." Saito agrees.

Alright, fine, you want my help, go ahead and take it!

With a spark from his fingers, Hrothgar sets the entire net of vines on fire.

After a few moments they crumble away into dust, and the two are cast off further down the pit, this time both of them hurling profanities into the void while the King in Fire laughs hysterically.

A purple barrier forms just underneath them just before the reach the bottom of the chasm. They hit the ground hard, but the impact is greatly diminished by the barrier.

At the base of the hole in the world in a fissure in the nearby leading forward, rather than further down, and what looks like a note tacked to the wall just beside the opening.

Saito tears the taped on note off and looks it over. Immediately he's confused.

To Saito Nijima-kun and Lady,

I have been anticipating your arrival and am thankful you have accepted my summons.

You've passed the Trial of Beasts, and it's changed you both forever.

Now comes the Trial of Men, which will do much the same.

I await you at the bottom of this chilling Mementos.

This court is so lonely without a king.

Yours always,

Joker

Next to the signature is a little hand scribbled opera mask and top hat, with 'take ur heart' written in English just below it.

Hrothgar peers down at the letter from over Saito's shoulder. Fumi tucks herself under his arm and looks up at it.

He can feel another chorus of stupidity about to erupt. "No. Not a single word." Saito's having none of it. "No, I have no idea who wrote this, no I don't know how they know who we are, we know literally nothing about this letter, and we are not going to stand here for five minutes finding ways to mull over it like idiots."

Fumi promptly closes her mouth. Hrothgar clears his throat.

They head through the fissure, and at last appear in something that vaguely resembles the subway from above. The lights are dim, maintaining a dark green tint. The air is cold and damp, but aside from that, the subway platform they step out onto is unremarkable, but uncanny. They can hear the sound of trains hurtling down the tracks in the distance, headlights flitting about in the darkness ahead.

The sound of the trains grows louder, and just then, someone comes running at them out of the darkness. At first they think it's a Grendel, but then the startling man heading their way shouts at the top of his lungs.

"Jack Frost!"

A little snowman appears out of thin air behind him, and a spear of ice forms just in front.

Dodge that immediately! Hrothgar suddenly shrieks at the top of his lungs.

Saito narrowly avoids the spear hurtling towards him. The wide eyed man charges forward with little regard for his own safety. Saito grabs hold of him by the neck and hosts him into the air before crushing his throat with ease. The man suffocates and dies a few agonizing moments later.

An awkward silence fills the space, that Fumi in her infinite wisdom interrupts. "You killed him."

"Was I not supposed to?"

"Can I eat him?"

"You literally just ate."

"Yeah but that big fall upset my stomach."

Saito releases the corpse, trying his best not to sigh, and it drops to the floor with a thud. Fumi just stands there frowning.

He looks at her, both expectantly and unamused. "I thought you were hungry."

"You're mad so I'm not hungry anymore."

"I'm not mad."

"Yes you are."

If I might interrupt this bit for a moment, Hrothgar begins, now would be a great time to discuss my elemental affinities, my strengths and weaknesses to be more-

"You suck at everything. We figured that out already." Fumi shoots him down. Again.

I wasn't asking you, harpy. Actually, I wasn't ASKING, period.

"Alright, enough!" Saito comes at them angrily. "Look, you two need to find a way to not loop through this shit every single time something happens -"

Suddenly, they can hear screaming. Two more persona users appear on the train tracks below, running out of the darkness for their lives.

Suddenly a hole bursts open in the ceiling just above them – gunfire follows, shredding the two into ribbons.

A dark figure descends from the gap, landing on the platform just in front of Saito and Fumi.

Coated in a metallic sheen is a black skeleton, the skull clearly visible, covered in what appears to be metal arms and legs. The neck and torso are protected by a red kevlar vest, and the legs cut off at the ankles, with flattened pincers for feet. Its movements are janky and imprecise, betraying that mechanical origin even further than its loadout. It starts them down for a short few moments before its left arm folds inward. Unfolding to a loud whirring sound, much of the android's arm retracts unnaturally, exposing the barrel of a shotgun, jutting out from between the now visible bones of the forearm.

It opens fire almost instantly, Saito having just enough time to grab hold of Fumi and leap off the side of the platform they were just standing on moments ago.

First one shot, then two shots, and from there, holding that pattern. He stays crouched there, waiting for the promise of the shotgun reloading – but it never comes. The sawed off shotgun maintains that one-two pattern, relentlessly. Eventually the android begins its course correction, and the two of them can hear its heavy metal footsteps as it stalks closer to the edge of the platform.

It's slow on the uptake. That's the only advantage they've got. But how far would that really get them?

A train speeds by, heading deeper into Mementos. They have only an instant to commit, but the train presents itself as the only opportunity they have of putting distance between themselves and the killer android. On the tail end of the train is a service railing – without hesitation Saito grabs hold of it, Fumi still clinging to him. Pulling himself towards the body of the train as fast as he can to miitgate the whiplash from their sudden acceleration, they proceed deeper into the tunnel, further and further away from their assailant.

Fumi climbs onto the top of the train first before helping Saito. Their eyes cast towards the tunnel before them – with some luck, this would at least get them a few levels down before they had to depart. The train shoots down the track, heading further and further, and with great difficulty they try to make their way towards the front, keeping their grip on the train firm as they slowly proceed.

They make it halfway before there's suddenly a huge shift in the train's weight, as though it were about to be derailed. Behind them sparks are flying near the rear of the train, and though it doesn't come to a full stop, the train slows down considerably.

Climbing onto the top of the train right along with them is the android, its shotgun conveniently switched out for a longer range barrel from a semi-automatic rifle. Saito stands himself up on the top of the train, the unbuttoned collar of his dress shirt flapping violently in the wind of the tunnel – there's no other way out of this than to fight it.

The android takes aim.

"Give me something." At once the King in Fire appears, this time the collar and chain forming around Saito's neck. A purple haze appears at Saito's feet. A transparent shell begins to take form around him and disappears as it falls into place with a snapping sound. He snarls before taking off, sprinting towards the android. It's like running straight at a wind tunnel, but he gradually gains speed, and as the bullets fly towards him, they bounce off of that transparent shield.

Eventually Saito makes it close enough to strike. With the neck protected, his best option is to cripple it from the legs. But try as he might – the metal this thing is made out of is stronger than steel. In all likelihood the neck was its only weak point.

At close range the rifle barrel switches out for a steel blade, and the android slashes away with precision, its very first swing shattering the barrier Hrothgar had created in an instant. Saito has no choice but to give up some of the ground he's gained as he avoids the incoming barrage.

The second he slips out of range the arm transitions back into its long-range mode. But this time, as it does so, Fumi vaults onto the top of the train using a section of the service railing she rips from the side of the car with her bare hands. With an ear piercing yell she drives the severed pole downward, piercing the android's neck. Its head juts out of place, awkwardly tilted on an angle as its reaction speed takes a huge hit. Fumi is able to touch the ground and slip directly underneath it before it has the chance to fire, and as it does Hrothgar closes in, holding the rifle-arm in place while Saito ducks left and traps its other arm. Fumi throws her arms around its neck and pulls backward, successfully toppling the machine.

The second its back connects with the roof of the train, both Fumi and Saito feel that very familiar sensation of glass shattering all around them. Saito just barely manages to push Fumi out of the way before a silver haze engulfs them, and a dark grey puppet with a golden helmet crawls out of the very narrow space between him and the killer robot just beneath him. Brandishing a golden spear, it drives its weapon upward, straight for his chest. The spear catches Saito's left hand as he pulls away, which without a second thought he severs from his own wrist in order to escape.

He snarls. It'll grow back after some time, but it still hurts like hell. Meanwhile, the android realigns itself with a loud clunk, pulling the pole out of its neck and casting it off the side of the train. Fumi tries to jump on its back, clawing away at the guard around its neck like a spider-monkey, but try as she might, the only thing she can do is throw off its aim when it tries to shoot at Saito just a few feet away.

He uses that opening to close the gap. This time, the android's companion appears right away, attempting to poke another hole open in his face. But Hrothgar is ready, and throws up a physical barrier at the moment of the collision. The spearman recoils, but the android transitions to close-range mode, intending to follow up with its sword arm.

Fumi growls as she pulls on the sword arm as hard as she can, the blade digging into her hands and arms.

Then there's a glint of white as Saito's fangs flash in the overhead light of the tunnel. Craning his head over the machine's neck guard, his teeth clamp around the softer metal within with a loud grinding noise. His right hand shoots through the guard and wraps around the android's neck in its entirety, tightening until a satisfying crunch confirms penetration.

In a last ditch effort the android throws itself from the top of the train, taking the two of them with it. They land on the platform nearby, flung from the failing machine as they make impact. Pulling himself to his feet Saito spits out the steel shards that almost went down his throat, the inside of his mouth all cut up and his teeth shattered. Fumi remains laid out and unconscious on the side of the platform, half of her hanging off the side.

The machine staggers to its feet in a broken fashion, but still unyielding. Its head is just barely still attached to the rest of the neck – only one more push and he was confident he could destroy it.

This one's a joke in this state, princeling. Hrothgar gloats. Quite honestly I'm disappointed.

The android's vest expands at the chest, and a large cavity opens up inside its heavily damages chassis. From within the cavity, a pale light begins to glow.

"That's a death ray, isn't it?"

Yes that would be a death ray.

Searing energy shoots forward not even three seconds later. Hrothgar throws his own cape in front of Saito, giving him just enough time to avoid it. The beam doesn't even full dissipate against the wall behind him before another one begins to shine from the android's chest. This one Saito can't clear fast enough, and it costs him his left leg from the knee down.

As he topples over, there's merely a scorched stump where the bottom half of his leg used to be. That's all. A ray of light not meant to inflict pain, but rather to bring a swift, unconditional end.

His options had whittled away to almost nothing in seconds. When the next comes for him, all he can do is feebly roll out of the way. Hrothgar materializes again to shield Saito with his billowing cloak from the next one, and the next one. The laser beam cuts through him like it's nothing.

The next shot rips apart his good arm. And just like that, it's almost over. It's not even a fight at this point. It's simply a mercy killing.

Then, out of the darkness, near the stairs leading deeper into Mementos, is the flash of a gun's muzzle. At first the sound it produces is faint enough that he's not sure if it was even a gunshot. But the grotesqueness in front of him stops, the light from its chest fading away.

Not a moment later, the gun fires again, and this time the automaton's head comes clean off its shoulders.

For a brief moment he thinks the fight is over, but then its arms begin to move again.

Just then, Fumi reenters the fray, launching herself into the air and on top of the decapitated machine. Driving her hand straight through the opening, she rips out what looks like a large ceramic fixture from deep inside it. As though a puppet with its strings suddenly cut, the machine collapses at last, Fumi jumping off it as it comes toppling down.

Her breath is ragged, but the glint in her eyes is absolutely murderous. She's close to tipping, he can see it. Her eyes are cast towards the darkness as a figure emerges.

He's dressed in a black suit, complete with a red bowtie and white gloves, like he'd just walked straight out of a cabaret club after work. His shoulder length brown hair is very well kept, his skin is almost glowing. He eyes the two of them curiously for a moment, before smiling warmly. Fumi doesn't return the gesture, at which he doesn't seem to react.

"That was an impressive finisher." The Pleasant Butler is the first to try to break the ice. "I was afraid I hadn't made it in time, but it looks like there was nothing for me to worry about."

Fumi doesn't reply, so Saito has to fill in the silence himself while his limbs slowly start to grow back in. "You have our thanks." Fumi instantly looks his way, her dissatisfaction apparent. "What?"

"She knows I'm not alone." The butler responds curtly. "I'm even more impressed by how strong your senses are." His gaze shifts towards Saito. "But – she has you to thank for that, doesn't she?"

"Hikawa." A deeper voice comes from the darkness. "Toying with them like this is unbecoming."

At once the butler bends at the waist. "Ah, I apologize, young master. I couldn't help but be curious."

At his side, a younger man steps out of the shadows – a man with sharp features and long red hair that comes down almost to his waist. He is also formally dressed, but in a beige blazer with a red shirt and a black tie. But what stands out the most is not the flaming red hair, but his blue eyes, one a slightly darker than the other.

Immediately Saito is on the same wavelength as Fumi. What stands out about those eyes isn't quite their discoloration – it's the perpetual disgust behind them, like the young man was looking at walking garbage. There's nothing more threatening than eyes like those.

"I've seen you before." Saito gets the next word in, thankfully before Fumi had a chance to make the situation worse.

"Good for you." He gestures towards Fumi with a small nod. "I'm going to need that. You can either give it to me, or we'll take it from you." He refers to the object in her hand. "The Plume of Dusk is of no interest to a pair of dogs."

"Now, now, young master – there's no reason for us to fight further, is there?" The butler chides the young man for his hostility.

The noble scion looks towards Saito, ignoring his companion entirely. "Tell me, you're Lavenza's contender, aren't you?"

"I wish I knew what you were asking." Saito isn't impressed by him at any rate.

"Hm… No. I'm certain of it." Something dawns on him, and he almost smirks. "Ahh, I see. You killed Igor, didn't you?" Now that was a name he remembers, though only vaguely.

The butler leans in, speaking in a hushed voice, but still one that Saito can hear clearly. "Young master, you don't think..."

"Indeed. He's more like Lavenza's mad dog at this point. Tell me your name, canine." He addresses Saito.

Finally Saito is able to place a name to the extravagant man. "You're Tetsuo Kirijo, aren't you?"

"We're talking about you at the moment, not me."

Saito's regrown left leg squirms and locks into place. But before he can speak -

"Don't tell him anything…!" Fumi hisses. "That man – I saw him! And then I..." Fumi clutches the side of her head, letting out an ear-piercing scream. She spits up a considerable amount of blood and almost loses her balance.

But as she steadies herself, her shallow breaths become agonizing pants, as the Grendel within washes over her.

Tetsuo Kirijo looks looks over the spectacle. After a few moments, some realization dawns on him, but he doesn't share it. "Hikawa. Take the Plume of Dusk."

"Of course, young master, but – are you sure?" The butler asks with a concerned look.

"We've already wasted enough time at this depth. Arcadia makes for the bottom and we must stay ahead of her."

The butler takes a step forward.

"Wait – Fumi." Saito calls out to her. "Give it to them. This isn't the time, alright?" She looks between Saito and the two men. He can see that she's trying to dial herself back even now, but it doesn't seem to be working.

She starts to hyperventilate as Saito helplessly looks on, the butler drawing closer bit by bit. If he closes the gap any more, she'll snap. But despite his remarkably calm disposition the man was prepared to counter her, even at such close range. He can't get a read on Tetsuo – but this man, this butler called Hikawa, was more than a match for the both of them put together.

Her open hand balls into a fist. A moment later her fingers shoot outward all at once. As his slow but stalwart advance continues the butler's eyes open, very slightly, just enough to betray the sharp killer intent beneath his emotionless exterior. She might be a Grendel, but she's completely outclassed. If she loses it now, she'll die.

"Fumi, c'mon." Saito tries to call out to her. "It doesn't matter what you're thinking about right now. It has to wait. You know that."

"Hikawa. Enough of this." Kirijo interrupts his seemingly vain attempts to bring her back to him.

"No, you just wait a fucking second!" Saito growls at the impatient noble. The butler doesn't immediately comply with the command, and looks his way. It's apparent from the look in his eyes – Saito has one chance to deescalate this before the butler must move in for the kill. "Fumi, please. Just look at me." The next few moments are long and agonizing. But eventually, Fumi's gaze shifts in his direction, her eyes unsteady, her shoulders looking like they're about to buckle under tremendous weight. He looks right into her eyes, and for a moment her shifty gaze manages to focus on him. "We're not giving up. We'll settle this, I promise."

He doesn't want her to set her feelings aside. He wants her to conquer them, to own them in this moment. It's exactly what he'd done. What she'd shown him how to do in the first place.

The butler is within killing distance, his master compelling him to deal the final blow. But at last, Fumi places the ceramic fixture on the ground just in front of her and backs away. The butler steps in and retrieves the object. As he falls back in place at the young man's side, Saito shares a moment of silent thanks with him. The exchange ends without violence, just barely.

Tetsuo is surprised at this, if not a little disappointed. "That was well done." He commends Saito. "Indeed, I am Tetsuo Kirijo. If you know that name, you shouldn't have any trouble imagining what you'll be getting yourself into if you cross paths with us again."

"Is that a warning, or a threat?"

"That lump of scrap was called Uriel." The scion begins, gesturing to the thoroughly disabled android. "There are three others just like it down here, each stronger than the last. Their only directive is to hunt us. And the one that nearly ended you was already heavily damaged by the time it stumbled across you." It's the most useful thing he's said this whole time.

"Machines are stupid." Fumi grumbles.

Saito still watches her carefully, but it looks like she's come almost all the way back down from where she was. Then he focuses back on the pair in front of them. "They happen to be part of your security detail, by any chance?"

Tetsuo doesn't respond, while his butler puts a hand to his mouth to stifle laughter. "He certainly called you out there, young master."

"Not another word from you." Tetsuo narrows his eyes at the man beside him, who stiffens like a board. "Regardless, the other three continue to hunt Persona users with impunity. I imagine most that have tried the descent are long since dead, and the further down you go, only the strongest will remain."

"That poses as much of a problem for you as it does for us, doesn't it?"

"Hoh?" Tetsuo seems almost surprised. "So you make for the throne? I expected that Lavenza would aim to eliminate the other contenders, not beat them to the bottom." He then turns away from them. "I won't lie, however – you've certainly piqued my interest. If by some miracle I do see you again, you will give me your name."

"You seem pretty adamant about that."

"Dog or no, I won't kill a man unless I know at least his name." As Tetsuo Kirijo walks off, the butler gives them a courteous bow before following suit, taking the escalator down to the next level.

Only then, when Saito is left staring only at the darkness in front of him, he realizes. The entire time they were being toyed with, and the butler was complicit. He never intended to kill them at all.

"Mother fucker!" He shouts. He can hear Tetsuo Kirijo's high-and-mighty laughter off in the distance.

Fumi sits herself down beside him as his kneecaps start to twist back into place.

"Sorry," She mumbles.

"He's gonna regret that. I'll make sure of it." Saito grinds his molars.

From there the two of them sit in silence. Fumi's dejection is apparent, but Saito doesn't have the words to console her. Right now he can't even find the words to ask her about any of what had happened before.

Nor do they have the time.

This had quickly become a race against time, even if it would still take days to make it to the bottom of Mementos. If they don't, then Tetsuo Kirijo will doubtlessly make it there first. And that he could not have.