Ren and Takemi just stared out at the vast, arid expanse before them, completely in shock. The two of them had a lot of questions. A lot of the same questions as it turns out. But rather than ask any of them, the two just kinda… stared blankly, feeling the oppressive heat flow into the clinic, confirming that no, this was really happening.
Still, the bespectacled high schooler turned towards Takemi.
"You didn't… drug me or anything, did you?"
"What?" Takemi responded, sounding slightly offended. "What do you take me for? I don't drug people. Without consent."
"Okay, well-" Ren did a double take at that but quickly got back on track. "Well if you're seeing this too, I guess that means I'm not hallucinating." His voice sounded a little higher-pitched and quivering, as though he was trying desperately not to freak out.
"And… you have no idea how any of this happened?" Takemi asked.
"No, why would I?"
"Because this didn't happen until you came into my clinic. I've never seen you before, and this didn't happen until you came in today."
"How could I have possibly had anything to do with the city turning into a desert?!"
"I guess you have a point… If neither of us have any ideas, guess we'll just have to look around town and figure out what happened."
"How are you being so calm about this?!" Ren asked frantically.
"What, do you WANT me to freak out?" Takemi shot back, irritated.
"No. You're right. We need to figure this out," Ren replied, taking a deep, shaky breath. "Let's go."
The two stepped out into the newly-appeared market town and both shielded their eyes at the blinding light of the sun. Even though the sun was beginning to go down when Ren walked into the clinic looking for a part-time job, it seemed to be noon wherever they were. He began sweating, his black blazer not helping at all in this heat.
As he began taking it off, Takemi looked around at their surroundings. "It looks completely deserted…" she noticed. "There's no one around. But all the buildings look like they're still being used."
"But we still don't know how we got here…" Ren said, having gotten his blazer off and now wearing just his button-up shirt, but before Takemi could reply, they heard a noise. They looked in that direction, which happened to be down an alleyway. They saw a couple of shadowy figures at the end of it. Ren and Takemi backed behind the corner and listened.
"I heard something over here," a male, distorted voice called.
"Find them, then!" another replied. "We can't risk them overhearing our plan! We need that papyrus, after all."
"On it," said the first voice.
Papyrus? Ren wondered. What are they talking about? Who are they…?
He didn't have much time to muse on this as Takemi whispered for the two of them to hide. Ren quickly saw a large clay pot underneath a bright-colored awning, which he quickly slipped inside, and thankfully the pot was empty. He chanced a peek outside when he heard footsteps walking by.
The person, if it could be called that, didn't appear to be human. It looked like a shadowy, humanoid insect with glowing blue eyes. Another one passed by and turned another corner, but the first one just stopped and began surveying the area around him. Ren quickly ducked back into the pot when the creature looked in his direction.
"I know I heard something…" it said.
Ren did his best to not make any sound as he listened carefully, the being's footsteps getting more and more distant. Ren was about to risk another look when he heard a struggle.
"Who are you?" one of those creatures shouted from a good distance away.
"Hey! Let go!" Takemi shouted and Ren went pale. He peeked out from the pot and saw one of those shadowy creatures grabbing Takemi by the arm, and the doctor was trying in vain to free herself.
Ren gasped, and without a moment's hesitation, tipped over the pot so he could crawl out and run to her aid, only realizing moments later, after he'd already drawn attention to himself, how stupid he was. He still had that stupid instinct to get involved in other people's business, even after the events that got him stuck on probation, and he was a little frustrated that that instinct still hadn't been beaten out of him.
"Let her go!" Ren yelled as he ran towards them, only to come to a full stop as a strong arm grabbed him from behind and held him in place.
"Hmph," the creature responded. "So it was you two who were eavesdropping on us earlier."
"We didn't-" Takemi protested, but one of the beings grabbed her by the neck, silencing her.
"Well?" it asked the other one. "Should we kill them here?"
"Let's bring them with us," it replied. "If we wait until we reach the tomb, it saves us the trouble of hiding the bodies. Though we can't have them struggling the whole trip..."
The shadow holding Ren nodded, and the next thing the high-schooler knew, there was a sharp pain in the back of his head, followed by sweet, sweet unconsciousness.
The first thing Ren realized upon waking up was that he was in a place with air-conditioning. He groggily opened his eyes and began to take in his surroundings.
He was in a dark stone hallway that led to a large, seemingly endless staircase. In the air, there seemed to be code or text of some kind that appeared and disappeared, resembling something from The Matrix. He was laying down on the cold stone floor next to Takemi, who seemed to still be out. Off in the distance, four or five of those shadowy insect people were standing in a group, one of them holding what looked like an ancient, worn piece of paper.
"We got what we came for," Ren heard one of them say. "So let's take care of these two."
"Sounds good to me."
Ren shot awake, and tried to get away but found that his legs and hands were tied with thick rope. He struggled to free himself, but his grunting proved fruitless as the figures approached him.
One of them took out a curved sword, and raised it overhead, preparing to strike, when suddenly…
"Hey, why don't you leave him alone?!" Takemi snarled.
They turned. Takemi having woken up and glaring daggers. The shadowy figures looked at each other, then turned to Ren. "We'll take care of you second."
They began advancing on Takemi, whose nerve didn't seem to disappear even as she shut her mouth, instead glaring defiantly at them as they grew closer. Ren could see her beginning to quake in fear, though. He redoubled his efforts to free himself. With luck, one of his hands managed to slip free. He quickly got to work undoing the knot around his feet.
Thankfully, this task was much easier with both of his hands. He turned to Takemi and looked on in growing horror as they prepared to bring the sword down on Takemi.
No, you can't stick around, he thought. She drew attention to herself so you could get away!
He turned and prepared to make a run for it while the figures were distracted. Just then, time seemed to stop.
What's the matter? An echoing, ghostly voice spoke to him. Are you forsaking that woman to save yourself?
Ren looked around for the source of the voice but saw nothing.
Who are you?
Death awaits her if you do nothing.
Well what can I do? Ren thought grimly. They were going to kill me too!
Was your previous decision a mistake then?
Ren froze. He remembered that previous decision. His interference with that drunk. The assault charge. The betrayal.
He was severely tempted to say yes.
But he couldn't.
He had saved somebody from a terrible fate, regardless of the consequences to himself.
He closed his eyes.
No.
Time returned to its proper course. He turned to face the three figures about to kill Takemi. Without thinking, she shouted.
"Don't you dare lay a finger on her!"
The three whirled around to him, seeming surprised he had freed himself. And yet, Ren didn't feel fear. All he felt was righteous indignation flowing through him, filling him resolve as that voice echoed in his mind yet again.
You are ready, then. We don't have much time, so I'll keep it brief.
Just then, Ren felt a burning, blinding pain. He gripped his head, grunting in agony and yet not wanting it to stop. It felt like something was breaking free, something that had been imprisoned inside of him that needed to be freed.
I am thou, thou art I.
The pain stopped and Ren felt an unfamiliar weight on his face that yet felt like it was a part of him. He realized that his glasses (which weren't even real, he just wore them to look more like a model student, all the good that did him now) had disappeared, replaced with a white mask.
Call on my name, tear off the mask you wear for society, and release thy rage!
Without hesitation, Ren reached for the mask and tore it off, a spray of blood following it.
"ARSENE!"
A blue flame erupted from inside Ren, quickly coalescing into a terrifying figure behind him. It was dark red and black, with large, feathery wings, with a blood red jacket and what appeared to be a top hat.
The three creatures, on seeing this, growled, before seeming to melt into the floor. From where they once stood, three new creatures emerged, these ones resembling birds with dark feathers and a lion's head.
Ren, his mask removed, a dagger materialized in his hand, cried out. "Eiha!"
From Arsene, a flame of shadow shot out, striking one of the creatures and catching it off-guard, knocking it down, wounded. Without missing a beat, he took his dagger and swung it into a second, as though he had known how to use it all his life.
He quickly turned his attention to the third, who to his surprise, landed and quickly backed down.
"Wait! D-dont hurt me!" it pleaded, in an echoey, distorted voice as the other two seemed to fade away.. "I'll- I'll do anything! What is it you want?!"
Ren wanted to finish it off, after what almost happened to Takemi, but decided it was more important to get answers. He walked towards the being, his new dagger at the ready.
"I just want answers. First question: Where the hell are we?"
"Th-this place? It's a world born of cognition."
"What do you mean?"
The creature got to its feet. "W-well, there's your world- the real world- and then there's this place. The cognitive world. It's the world as perceived by the subconscious of the humans who live in it."
"And why did Tokyo suddenly transform into Egypt?"
"Because the cognition of this place is distorted. You are in a Palace, a place where one person's view of the world around them is so screwed up that it changes its cognitive reflection."
Ren raised an eyebrow behind his mask. "And who would that person be?"
"You'll just have to ask her," it said. "Can I go now?"
"Last question. Who or what are you?"
"Me? I'm a Shadow. I'm born from the thoughts and emotions that exist within this world, born from the subconscious of mankind… wait… mankind?"
It suddenly stood up.
"Of course! I- I remember now! I'm not just a Shadow, I come from the sea of human souls!"
Ren looked on in confusion. "Sea of… what?"
"My name is Anzu," it said. "I am thou, thou art I."
It dissolved into light before taking the form of a mask, which Ren instinctively took. "Another one?" He didn't have much time to dwell on it, though. He turned to Takemi and approached her.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
Takemi simply stared at him. "What… what was that?"
"I have no idea. I'm still trying to process it. I guess we're in… Tokyo's subconscious? I guess? Whatever that means?"
"If you say so," Takemi said. "Nice outfit, by the way."
"Nice… what?!" Ren looked down at himself. His school uniform had been replaced with a black leather jacket with red gloves. He looked down at himself, looking at the sudden change in appearance. "When did this… you know what? I'm not going to question it. Of all the things that have happened today this is the least concerning. If I freak out over every little thing I'm going to give myself a headache."
"Smart move."
Ren sat down, now that he had a breather. Looking around at where those shadows used to be, he noticed an ancient looking piece of paper. Evidently the papyrus they were after. He picked it up, but couldn't quite make it out in the dim lighting. "I don't think we're safe here," he said. "We need to-"
He paused. Looking in the direction of the stone steps, there was a person coming down. Ren brandished his dagger in case it was a threat, but on closer inspection, this new arrival was different from the shadows that had attacked them.
She was a girl. Ren guessed she was a year or two younger than him. She had long reddish hair and was incredibly thin, like she could be snapped in half like a twig. She was dressed in regal Egyptian garb, with golden ornaments, a sleeveless top made of wraps and a floor-length white skirt, but she was also wearing an ordinary pair of glasses.
Ren remembered what Anzu said. You'll just have to ask her.
"Excuse me, um… your majesty," Ren hesitantly said, noting how queenly she looked in spite of her sickly demeanor. "Is this… your Palace?"
"That is correct," her soft, distorted voice answered. "More accurately, it is my tomb."
"Your… tomb?"
"I will die here," she replied.
Takemi mumbled something to herself as her eyes widened in realization. "Ren… what was it you said back at the clinic? About that depressed girl?"
Ren wasn't sure what she was getting at. Then, it clicked.
"She refuses to go outside and she's determined to trap herself in her room, like it's her tomb or something."
He slowly turned back to the girl as the pieces fit into place in his head. "...Futaba Sakura?" he asked.
"In a sense," she replied.
The world around them flickered. For just a brief moment, the stone hallway appeared as the entryway of Sojiro's house. It flickered like a television with a bad signal before it returned to the cold, sandstone walls that made up the pyramid.
I get it… in reality this place is Boss's house, but Futaba sees it as a tomb.
"I thought you were raiders, here to plunder this place… but you made short work of those bandits. Tell me… why have you come?"
"We don't know. We came here by mistake, and those… bandits?... brought us here."
"He's right," Takemi added. "We didn't mean to trouble you."
"Is that so…?" replied "Futaba," the distant expression on her face not changing. "The cognition is weak just outside the entrance. Though what to do from there, I cannot say."
"Okay…" Ren said. He turned to leave, but then remembered something. "By the way," he added, turning back to her. "They were stealing this papyrus, so… we might as well return it, I guess."
"It doesn't matter, keep it if you would like," she replied. "It is a map of this place. Those bandits sought it so they might plunder this tomb."
Ren shrugged and put the map away. "Thank you, then."
"Farewell," Futaba said as she seemed to fade away into the darkness.
Outside the pyramid, the two walked away and saw the desert begin to flicker somewhat, like the inside of the tomb had earlier. "She said we could leave here, right?"
"I think she did," Takemi said. "But it just looks like… more desert, doesn't it?"
Hmmm… I wonder. Ren reached into his pocket and took out his phone. "Maybe I oughta take a picture of this place and see if anyone knows what's- hey!"
"What's wrong?" Takemi asked.
"The camera isn't working. None of my apps are, actually. The only one that works is…" he paused. The only app on his phone that would respond was the mysterious red app that downloaded itself onto his phone. Hesitantly, he opened it.
"Metaverse… Navigator?" he mumbled. "It looks like a navigation app of some kind."
"What are you going on about…?" Takemi asked, walking over and looking at the screen.
"I don't know, it just… hey, it has a search history here."
Name: Futaba Sakura
Location: Bedroom
Distortion: Tomb
At the bottom of the screen was another function that read Return to reality .
"Is this how we got here?" Takemi asked. "What is it?"
"I don't know. A few days ago it just appeared on my phone and I tried deleting it but it kept coming back. I think you're right, it lets us travel to and from this other world. Well, we might as well leave then." He pressed the button and suddenly, the world around them seemed to ripple like water, tinted red and blurring out before finally refocusing.
You have returned to the real world. Thank you for your hard work.
They were standing outside of Sojiro's house. The sun had almost gone down now, the sky a lovely reddish violet color. There were hardly any pedestrians in this back alley, and Ren would know- they surely would've freaked out to see two random people just appear out of thin air.
"Well… we made it," Ren said, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Not that this wasn't fun and all," Takemi said, "but I really need to get back to my clinic."
"I should be getting home too," Ren said. "Boss is probably wondering where I've been. Though I really oughta figure out what that app was about."
With that, the two went their separate ways, Takemi wanting to put the incident out of her mind as quickly as possible, Ren wanting more than anything to figure it out.
Futaba, though, he thought. That tomb is how she sees her house? Does she really think she'll die there? Her pharaoh self seemed like she was a shell of a person… how closely is she related to her real self…?
He opened the door to the thankfully empty Leblanc, which prompted Sojiro to turn towards him with an icy glare. "Well, it's about time," he said. "Where were you all day? You disappeared for hours without so much as a text. You weren't out causing trouble again, were you?" he pressed. "You know the terms of your-"
"I-it was nothing like that, I promise," Ren said, trying to ease his guardian's worries. "I was out all day looking for a part-time job."
Sojiro sighed. "Well, you certainly look tired enough from that. I'll take your word for it for now, but let me know ahead of time next time you go out like that, all right? I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on you."
"R-right," Ren nodded anxiously. "It won't happen again."
"That's good to hear. Better get to work on your homework then- hey," Sojiro added as he realized something, raising an eyebrow suspiciously. "What happened to your uniform?"
Ren looked down and remembered that he discarded his blazer back in Futaba's Palace and it evidently didn't return to reality along with him.
Well, crap.
A couple notes:
First of all, I'll probably gloss over or skip altogether some events that happen the same way they do in canon, so just be aware of that.
Second, I haven't figured out a pairing yet, but I'll update the tags once I do.
Third, if you're waiting on my other ongoing works, I'm really sorry for the delay, but I keep having new ideas and rest assured I don't intend to abandon any of them.