December 24th, 2016: Friday

"You messed with the wrong Thieves!"

He could feel it. The power everyone down there was giving him. It was coursing through him now.

He tore off his mask, summoning his first Persona.

Arsene appeared behind him, still bound by chains. Joker looked at them surrounding him, a frown on his face. Those wouldn't do. He grabbed one and then pulled with all of his might.

It broke in two.

Behind him, Arsene twisted and contorted, screaming not in pain but with a righteous anger and fury.

He exploded in a brilliant white light. All the Thieves aside from Joker had to brace themselves against the force of the explosion, but he simply stood his ground.

For a long moment, nothing happened.

"SO YOU HAVE FAILED TO HARNESS THE POWER." Yaldabaoth let out a low chuckle. "NO MATTER HOW MANY PRAYERS OF THOSE FOOLISH MASSES COME TOGETHER…HM!?"

A dark shadow cast itself over Yaldabaoth. The air grew still. Great power swelled up all around the Phantom thieves.

"What the…!?" Panther had to take a few steps back.

Silently, gracefully even, Sataneal descended from the stars above.

"That's—" Fox stuttered, his eyes wide with awe.

"Man, it's huge!" Skull laughed as he gestured to the massive form.

"What an immense power…! No way… is it a Persona!?" Mona asked, still in complete shock.

"FOOLS. THIS IS WHY MANKIND IS DOOMED," Yaldabaoth proclaimed and called a massive energy attack down onto the Thieves.

Normally, they would all have been wiped out in an instant. But this time, nothing happened. Satanael, through some power not even Joker understood, blocked the attack completely and without effort.

Even without a face, Yaldabaoth looked taken aback. "IMPOSSIBLE!"

"I see…" Mona said knowingly. "If a god plays naughty, then it's a demon lord's duty to punish him! What better way is there for a finale as a Trickster!" He turned to Joker and nodded. "Joker, we're entrusting our strength and the people's hopes to you! Put an end to this!"

Joker held out his hand, gathering all of the energy the people below were giving him.

"Pillage him," Joker said, a grin spreading across his face.

This… this is the power of his friends. His family. All of the people of Tokyo, cheering him on to take down this false God.

With a flourish of his cape, he turned towards Yaldabaoth and drew his gun in one smooth motion. Behind him, the gargantuan form of Satanael slowly raised the massive gun in its right hand.

"Satanael!"

"PREPOSTEROUS… YOU DARE ROB THE PEOPLE'S WISHES!?"

Yaldabaoth sounded scared. As if, for the first time in its life, it was staring death in the face.

Joker's face hardened. "Begone."

He pulled the trigger.

click

His eyes widened. He looked down at his gun and examined it for any imperfections. He aimed it back at Yaldabaoth and pulled the trigger twice more.

Nothing.

There was nothing there.

Slowly, Yaldabaoth began to laugh. "HA. HAHAHA! DID YOU TRULY THINK THAT WOULD WORK, TRICKSTER?"

Suddenly, chains erupted from the ground all around the Phantom Thieves and the people on the streets.

Skull was the first to go. He tried to fight against it, he truly did, but the force of a hurricane tore into him and ripped him apart.

Next was Panther, slowly frozen feet first. The ice climbed her skin as she cried out in fear, her eyes begging and pleading Joker to do something, anything. But he couldn't. He watched as the chains tightened around her frozen body, and she shattered into a million pieces.

Fox was set on fire, his screams echoing throughout the battlefield, and there was nothing his powers over ice could do to stop it.

Queen's mind was the next to go, destroyed by the psychokinetic attack Yaldabaoth threw at her. She didn't even have time for a scream, her eyes just rolled back into her head as blood poured from her nostrils and ears. The chains let her go, and she felt limply to the floor.

Noir was… Joker looked away. She was… melting right before him. Her flesh just peeling away and turning into a pile of… Oh, God…

Finally, Morgana fell as lightning rained down on him, frying him to a crisp.

Akira was crying now. "Stop!" He shouted towards Yaldabaoth. "Please, stop!"

"YOU LOST THE GAME. THE MASSES HAVE REJECTED YOUR REBELLION. THERE WAS NEVER ANY OTHER WAY FOR THIS TO END." The God laughed again. "BUT BEFORE I EXECUTE YOU FOR YOUR INSOLENCE, YOU WILL BRING WITH YOU ONE LAST MEMORY."

The chains picked him and hung him over the precipice the battle had taken place on. He watched as the ground below began to disappear, one by one.

First was Yuuki Mishima, gone in an instant, without ever knowing the Phantom Thieves failed.

Sojiro Sakura, standing next to him, stumbled back before he too was gone.

Then was Sadayo Kawakami, her eyes wide with fear. She was calling out to the Phantom Thieves, unaware her pleas fell on deaf ears.

Then Sae Niijima, desperately trying to get control of the situation, trying to get people to run, only to disappear seconds afterwards.

Toranosuke Yoshida, Munehisa Iwai, Ichiko Ohya, Chihaya Mifune, Shinya Oda, one right after the other. He could swear he heard his father cry out in pain and agony somewhere.

It wasn't until he saw the last person standing that Akira truly broke inside.

There, in the middle of the street the people had once occupied, was Tae Takemi. Her hand over her mouth, tears running down her face, she was terrified. She could see her lover dangling over the edge, held up by tight chains.

There was nothing that she could do to help him.

He tried to call out to her, to get her to run, to hide, anything… but it was pointless.

She too disappeared like all the rest.

"No," he croaked out, his voice hoarse. "NO!"

"YOU ONLY HAD TO DO AS I INSTRUCTED. ALL OF THIS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED."

He felt it. The chains, beginning to constrict around him. But he didn't care anymore. He didn't try to fight it. He hung there, awaiting the end.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS, TRICKSTER. THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT."

April 8th, 2022: Friday.

Akira Kurusu woke up with a sharp intake of breath and the tensing of his muscles.

He looked over to the alarm clock and groaned when he saw that it only read "3:00 AM".

Beside him, his better half, Tae Takemi, slept soundly. Good, he told himself. She didn't need to worry about him like this. She did that enough for both of them already.

He carefully pulled the covers off of himself and slid out of bed, not disturbing a hair on her head. She was so peaceful like this. If only there was a way to capture this moment forever, to preserve it in his memory.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed at his eyes before he turned to walk to the bathroom. Years ago, back when Morgana was still living with them and not Sojiro and Futaba, he'd have to watch his footing when he made these late-night-trips to the bathroom.

Despite what he'd have you believe, Morgana was very much a cat and would sleep wherever and whenever was most inconvenient.

He flicked the light on and splashed some cold water against his face. He was awake this early, he might as well stay awake. He turned off the faucet and looked up at the mirror. It was a sorry sight to see.

His hair had grown over the past few years, reaching his shoulders. His beard had filled out and was probably in need of a good trimming. Dark circles made themselves at home beneath his eyes, a nice little gift his nightmares left him.

Along with the scars. The leftover remnants of a time long since past.

In the years since he was a Phantom Thief, getting beaten up on an almost daily basis, the scars littering his body had faded slightly. It wasn't by much, as they were still constant reminders of that short time he was saving the world.

The mark above his right eye had thinned. He was thankful it was the only constantly visible scar. The punch that left it was the start of two good friendships, as strange as that sounded. It brought up mostly good memories.

The same could not be said for the rest.

He reached up and traced the large diagonal scar on his chest, courtesy of Goro Akechi. It was a nice companion piece to the gunshot wound in his right shoulder. There were too many grim reminders of that day.

The physical scars weren't the only memories he was given from that time. The nightmares were becoming more common.

They had started about a year after that fateful Christmas, and they had been sporadic over the next few years, but it had slowly gotten worse over the course of the past six months. The specifics were always different, but it ended the same. His team dying in front of him, his confidants disappearing on the ground below, seeing the terrified look in Tae's eyes as she silently begs him to save her.

The worst part was how real it always felt. It was almost as if he was just a hair away from the events in his nightmares occurring in the real world. That's because, he realized, it was that close.

A single different action is all it would have taken for them to fail. For that being to exert its control over the entire world. He sometimes wondered if Tokyo was the only place affected by the merging of Mementos.

He couldn't even remember the last good night of sleep he had. Maybe it was during the honeymoon. Was it really that long ago?

"Another one?" a voice behind him asked.

Akira looked over his shoulder and saw Tae standing in the bathroom door, leaning on the frame. She looked at him, her eyes so full of worry. Damn it, she wasn't supposed to wake up.

"How'd you know?" he asked.

She shrugged. "When I didn't feel you next to me, I got worried."

He nodded and pushed himself away from the sink. "I'm sorry. I didn't try to wake you up."

"You don't have to apologize for that."

Akira walked over and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I know. You should try to go back to sleep."

Tae raised a brow. "Are you coming with me?"

He wanted to. God, all he wanted to do was to go back into bed, hold her tight to his chest, and fall into a dreamless sleep. It would be so peaceful.

But he can't. If he does, the nightmares might come back. Once in a night is more than enough for him.

She noticed his hesitation. "What was it about?"

The same one as every night. The details are different. The killer is different. Sometimes it's Shido. Sometimes it's Akechi. Hell, even Kamoshida has done them in a few times, before they even had a chance to form the Phantom Thieves.

He shook his head and moved past her. He took a seat on the couch, scooting to the side to let Tae join him, and ran a hand through his hair.

"I see us die. All of us. I'm up there, fighting Yaldabaoth. I'm about to stop him. But something doesn't work. I make a wrong move or a mistake and everyone dies. And it's all my fault."

He sighed. "I know that's not what happened. I was able to save the day, stop the bad guy, and get the girl. It all worked out in the end but I always think about how close we were to losing. We were kids with no business being put into that position."

"You always were too selfless for your own good," Tae said wistfully, rubbing his shoulder.

Akira barked out a laugh. "That's why you fell for me, isn't it?"

"Among other reasons." She gave him a brief smile. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I don't know," he admitted. He reached up and played with a piece of his hair. "I'd love it if I could just forget everything. Make it as if it never happened."

Tae shook her head. "Probably not the most healthy of coping mechanisms."

"You're not wrong." He rubbed at his beard in thought. "Something has to change, though. I need to do something about it."

" We need to do something about it," Tae stressed. She took his hands and held them close. "You are not in this alone, Akira."

He looked at her, unsure of what to say.

"You saved me. All those years ago, when I was ready to call it quits on finding the cure for Miwa-chan, you picked me up and showed me I still had something worth fighting for. Now please, let me help save you."

A tear rolled down Akira's cheek as he nodded. What did he do to get such an amazing woman?

"I really don't deserve you," he said. He leaned forward, and their foreheads touched. "You're too good to me."

"Yes you do." Tae smiled before giving him a kiss on the cheek. "But thank you for noticing."

They sat in silence for what felt like hours. He wasn't sure if that was actually how long it was, but time seemed to slow to a crawl. As they sat there, ideas began to swirl around in Akira's head.

"I think I need to go to therapy," he announced suddenly.

Tae sat up and looked at him. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I think… I need someone to talk to about this. Maybe get a diagnosis."

"You'd have to find someone who'd be willing to take you at your word about all this stuff," Tae reminded him. "I'm not telling you not to do it, I think it's a good idea. But having a therapist who believes you is important."

"I know." Akira rubbed at his beard. "But I've convinced someone before in one sitting I can… Hmph."

"What?"

"I might not have to," he murmured.

"You know someone who'd believe you?"

"Maybe. I haven't spoken to him in a while, but I think if I can… Yeah. Yeah, this might work."

"What might work?"

Akira rubbed her on the shoulder. "I know someone who studied cognitive psience. He… he knows about us. The Phantom Thieves, I mean. If I can get a hold of him, I think he might be willing to help."

"How many people found out about you?"

"Probably a few too many."

She shook her head. He was all too aware that she knew of how many people were able to figure them out. Still, she smiled and stroked his chin. "I believe in you. You'll figure it out. You always do."

"You know I love you, right?"

"Well, duh." Tae threw him a wry smile. "Have you seen me? I'm hot."

Akira laughed louder than he thought his tired and emotionally drained state would allow him to. "I can't argue with that," he said between laughs.

She stood up and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "I'm going to bed. As a doctor, I advise you to get some rest. As your girlfriend, I advise you to come with me to cuddle."

"I will," Akira said. "I'm just going to get some water first."

As Tae went back to bed, Akira lingered in the living room. It was a long shot, he knew. It's entirely possible it would all be for naught. But he needed to try. Doing something, even failing at it, was better than letting this take over his life.

After getting a glass of water for himself, he walked over to the desk in their living room and opened up their card organizer. He flipped through them until he reached the "M"s.

He pulled out a slightly beaten up and crumpled card and read it over. He hadn't expected to actually need this when he had taken it all those years ago, but he was thankful he had.

He ran his thumb over the name printed on it. It's been a long time since they spoke, and that was only by pure chance. Still, if he was going to call a therapist, he needed to call someone who he knew would believe his stories, who knew something of the metaverse.

Who better than Dr. Takuto Maruki?

He placed it on the coffee table, content that he had something resembling a plan.

With that knowledge in mind, he finished his drink and then returned to bed. Tae immediately clung to him as he covered himself with the blankets.

He closed his eyes and drifted back into sleep.