Some of you already know this, but I've begun the process on moving this fic on AO3 and posting chapters simultaneously on there. For those of you who've come to join us from AO3: Hi, how's it like being on a site this blue?
Anyway, I recently watched the 2003 Daredevil movie, and it is fucking hysterical. The soundtrack alone is just an endless string of early-2000's edgelord music, including 2 Evanesence songs, one of which is FUCKING BRING ME TO LIFE. I think I've found my second-favourite bad superhero movie, behind only Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3. Watch the Director's Cut, though. The original theatrical cut isn't as (unintentionally) funny.
Anyway, onto something I hope ends up being unironically good instead of just so bad it's good:
Monday, March 4th, 2024
Afternoon
Tashiro Residence
Shouma's eyes stuttered open as he raised his hand to his forehead. How long was he out for? He looked around, only to see a familiar poster. He was back home. He looked over at his alarm clock. 3:26 PM, it read. Shouma groaned as he walked out of bed. He was still feeling weak and sluggish, though he was at least able to keep his balance this time. Carefully placing one foot in front of the next and leaning close to the walls, Shouma limped his way out to the dining room where his father was sitting at the table praying.
"It's not like you to start praying like that." Shouma weakly mused.
Wataru shot up to see his son standing before him and quickly grabbed his cane. He walked over to Shouma and wordlessly pulled him into a hug.
"I was scared that I'd lost you again." He said, his voice trembling with tears.
Shouma sighed. "I'm fine, Dad." He reassured. "I'm gonna be fine."
The two of them let go of each other and sat down at the table.
"Where's Daigo?" Shouma asked.
"Just at college." Wataru responded. "Don't worry, I covered for your absence while you were out. I just said you fell down some stairs"
Shouma looked down at the ground. "...Thanks for that." He muttered.
Wataru closed his eyes and sighed before taking his glasses off and looking directly at Shouma. "You already know what I'm going to say, don't you?" He asked rhetorically.
"What else was I supposed to do?" Shouma shot back. "For all I knew, the two of you could have been associated with criminals, or worse." His face and tone were unwaveringly serious.
"And it is worse, Shouma." Wataru retorted. "What we're dealing with is some of the deadliest stuff in our, or any world for that matter. I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemies."
Shouma's brow furrowed. "What do you mean 'any world?' What is Agartha exactly?" He asked. "What aren't you telling me?"
Wataru put his hand to his face. "I guess it's too late to keep you out of this. Especially now that we know you're also a Wild Card." He then put his glasses back on. "I promise to tell you everything tomorrow. Come with me to room 108 at about midday and I can better explain things."
Shouma crossed his arms. "Are you actually going to keep a promise this time?" He asked defensively.
Wataru turned away from Shouma out of embarrassment. "I know I haven't been the most... No. I left you alone in a preventable nightmare of my own making." He said painfully. "I let you down as your father and as a person, and I understand if you don't forgive me for this. But know I'm deeply sorry for everything you've been through in the past eleven years."
Shouma didn't answer him. He just sat in awkward silence, staring at his father for about a minute.
"I'm not sure I'm entirely ready to accept that yet." Shouma said, breaking the silence. "But thanks. It means a lot to hear you say that."
Wataru started tearing up. "Anything I can do to help, you name it." He said, reaching in for another hug.
Almost immediately however, Shouma heard a voice ring out in his head.
"Thou art I... And I am thou... Thou hast established a new bond..."
The voice sounded almost like that of his Personas', but also like... Wataru's?
"Thou shalt be blessed when fusing Personas of the Judgement Arcana." It called.
Wataru looked at his son concerned. "Shouma! Are you okay?!" He reached out and grabbed his arm.
"Y-yeah, I'm okay. Did you just hear a voice?" Shouma asked.
His father shook his head. "Can't say I did. Sorry. You're probably still exhausted. Make sure you get some rest."
As if just on cue, the both of them heard the door unlock, as Daigo and Lucas entered the apartment carrying brown bags filled with food and a large black bag. "You're up? That's good." Daigo breathed a sigh of relief. "Decided I'd get some groceries while I was out." He called to Wataru.
"Remind me again how I got dragged into this again." Lucas complained.
"You said you wanted to get something at Alejandro's, remember?" Daigo replied as he and Lucas then set the bags down in the kitchen. "Besides, Juniper and that Piers guy aren't in much better shape than Shouma."
"Right, right..." Lucas sighed.
"Who's Alejandro?" Shouma asked.
"Alejandro's is the Mexican Resturaunt along the freeway." Daigo replied as he reached into one of the bags and pulling out something covered in aluminium foil. "Speaking of which, I got you this." He threw it over to Shouma, who caught it in his hands. "Beef burrito. Something quick to fill you up."
"Uh, thanks." Shouma said before unwrapping the burrito and taking a bite.
Wataru looked at Daigo puzzled. "I thought we were fine for more food."
Daigo turned to Lucas. "I'm gonna need to talk to him about the thing."
Lucas nodded. "See you tomorrow, boss-man." He said as he left the apartment.
"'The thing'?" Shouma asked.
Daigo brought the black bag over to the table and reached inside. He pulled out a familiar object.
"Hey, is that...?"
Shouma immediately recognised it as the rune on the face of the large creature outside the tower from yesterday. Upon closer inspection, it looked about as big as a basketball.
Daigo looked towards Wataru. "I stopped by Agartha to grab this after you beat it yesterday."
Shouma remembered how much punishment that thing took before it finally died. "Are you sure it's safe to bring it here?"
"That's why I brought Lucas with me. His Persona can usually tell things like this." Daigo replied.
Shouma took another bite of the burrito, still cautiously eying the rune. "That's the thing that says 'Tharmas', right?" He asked.
"Actually, the star just below it changes what it says." Daigo pointed at the star rune below the 'Tharmas' character. "Now this reads 'Enion'."
"Do you have any idea what that means?" Wataru asked Daigo.
Daigo shook his head. "No clue. I can only guess some kind of name."
Shouma leaned back in his chair. "'Enion', huh?"
Wataru looked at Shouma again. "You still need rest, Shouma. Take the day off for now."
Shouma sighed. "Sure. But remember, you promised." He pointed the hand holding the half-eaten burrito at Wataru.
"Of course." Wataru reassured.
Shouma unfurled more of the wrap and ate the rest of his food in a single bite as he went into his room and closed the door. Still, what was that voice from earlier? He laid down on his bed, when his phone recieved a call. It was an unknown number. He answered the call.
"Hello?" Shouma was somewhat hesitant.
"Greetings, human." It was Walton's voice. That confirmed what Shouma saw the night before wasn't just a dream. "I've gotten in contact to inform you about something my master didn't have time to tell you earlier last night."
"What would that be?" Shouma asked. It sounded important if Igor sent Walton to tell him about it.
"The true power of the Wild Card." Walton answered. "Social Links".
Shouma was caught off-guard. "'Social Links'?"
"The Wild Card on its own is weak." Walton explained. "But through the bonds they make with others, they gain access to stronger Personas as they grow as both people and Persona users."
Shouma remembered something Igor had told him the night before.
"The Wild Card is much like the number zero. Empty, yet full of limitless, infinite potential!"
Then it hit him. Was that what he heard earlier with his father?
"Just a question." Shouma responded.
"Yes, what is it, human?" Walton asked, slightly annoyed.
"Do these 'Social Links' correspond to certain Tarot cards?" Shouma asked.
"Yes. You'd have a Social Link corresponding to each of the major arcana." Walton sounded progressively more agitated.
"Like say... Judgement?" Shouma continued.
Walton sighed. "Well, it looks like you've already made a bond with someone. It appears you don't need my help." He said before abruptly hanging up.
Shouma stared at his phone for a good second. "...Dick." He mumbled. A few seconds later though, it rang again. Shouma recognised the number, though. It was Piers. He quickly answered it. "Yo."
"Shouma? Are you okay?!" Piers asked, somewhat panicked. "I heard that you collapsed after what happened yesterday!"
Shouma chuckled. "Don't worry, I lived. I'll be able to make it by tomorrow."
Piers sighed on the other end of the line. "Right, good to hear you're not dead." The call went silent for about five seconds before Piers continued. "...Look, about yesterday..."
"You don't need to apologise for a goddamn thing." Shouma interrupted. "Without you, we never would have been able to take out that thing from before." He then scratched the side of his head. "Besides, you were brave as fuck back there."
"O-Oh, stop." Piers awkwardly deflected. "You were the one who thought of that idea to help beat it."
"I'm serious, man." Shouma insisted. "By the way, my dad was gonna actually explain what happened to us back there tomorrow. Wanna meet up with us at Room 108?"
"Definitely." Piers responded with the utmost conviction. "If I have the ability to help you guys, I have to do it."
Shouma smiled. "Thanks."
"Anytime!" Piers cheered.
It was at that point Shouma heard another voice.
"Thou art I... And I am thou... Thou hast established a new bond..."
There it was again, that 'Social Link' thing Walton had told him about. Only it sounded like Piers this time.
"Thou shalt be blessed when fusing Personas of the Magician Arcana." It echoed.
Shouma spaced out for a moment.
"Shouma? Shouma!" Piers called.
"Huh? Yeah. I think I just need a nap." Shouma replied.
"Yeah. You're gonna need it. Get some rest, bro." Piers said before he hung up.
Shouma stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, playing with his watch all the while. He then instinctively grabbed his sheets and pulled them over. It seemed he really did need to take his own advice. He closed his eyes as the world around him went dark.
Tuesday, March 5th, 2024
Morning
Tashiro Residence
Shouma woke up surprisingly refreshed and got out of bed to go have a morning shower. After undressing and turning the faucet on, he stood there for a moment to let his head clear. Taking the time to reflect, he looked back on the past few days as the cold water passed over his face. Everything had seemed to go completely crazy the moment he left Japan. Had he made the right choice moving to Los Angeles?
Of course he had. Daigo, their father and all the others needed his help, even if some of them didn't realise it yet. He'd never been sure about anything in his life. Shouma looked down at his hands before clenching them into fists. It was his responsibility to help everyone with the Shadows. After all, who else even could?
After drying himself off and getting dressed, he walked into the dining room where Wataru and Daigo were waiting, the latter of which on a laptop.
"Looks like I didn't even need to wake you up." Wataru mused.
"Yeah. Turns out passing out from exhaustion screws with your sleep." Shouma joked. His face then turned completely serious for a moment. "By the way, are you ready?"
"Just about." Wataru answered. "I can get the rest of the preparations done while at work before I show you." He then picked up a paper presumably for work. "By the way, don't you have a lecture today?"
Shouma had completely forgotten about that. "O-Oh. Right."
Wataru smirked playfully. "Don't worry. You'll do fine, I know you will."
Daigo shut his laptop and put it into a backpack at his feet. "I'll get the car ready." He got up and exited the apartment.
"Well, let's go." Wataru beckoned, as both he and Shouma followed Daigo. When suddenly...
"Oh, Shouma honey! Are you okay?!" Susie rushed in almost immediately to caress Shouma's cheeks. Shouma almost screamed when he heard her voice and tried to run, but it was too late. She already had him in her clutches. "When I heard you had that terrible accident, I was beside myself with worry!" She exclaimed, concern and sadness in her tone.
"I-It's okay. I'm fine." Shouma stuttered.
"Oh, I know exactly what'll make ya feel better!" Susie ran back into her own apartment across from the Tashiros' before emerging with another paper bag. Definitely the butterscotch cookies. But also a kind of pass for something. Shouma took a look at the pass as his eyes widened.
"Is this a-?"
"It's a year-long pass to Destinyland!" Susie answered. "I wanted to buy a pair for myself & my nephew about a couple days back for when he comes to visit me from Newark, but I accidentally bought a third that I didn't know what to do with." She handed the pass and the cookies over to him. "After what you went through, I'd say you should have it."
Shouma took both the cookies and the pass hesitantly. "Wow... Thanks." He muttered.
"Oh, just gonna let you know, it expires next March. I thought I was being clever by buying them on the 29th, they'd sadly thought of that beforehand." She whispered before scurrying back to her apartment.
Shouma was still in shock. A year-long pass to Destinyland? And she bought three of them? What kind of money did that lady have?
"You coming?" Wataru called out.
Shouma put the pass in his pocket and ran down the stairs.
College
About fifteen minutes later, the three of them arrived at Camus and got out of the car.
"You're looking for the Samson pavillion." Daigo pointed to the northeast towards a large building. "It's close to the reception. Can't miss it."
"Right." Shouma walked towards the pavillion as Wataru and Daigo walked off to other parts of the campus.
He made it to the front of the building and got a closer look. The front entrance had a glass ceiling and walls before trailing off to a brick structure after about 10 metres. It was at this time he heard a familiar voice.
"Yo." Shouma turned arouound to see Piers jogging towards him. "You're doing Liberal arts too, huh?"
"Yeah. Didn't expect to see you here." Shouma mused.
Piers chuckled. "Shouma, I've never had the chance to settle down for long enough. What else was I supposed to do?"
"I dunno. Foreign relations? Linguistics?" Shouma responded.
"Y-Yeah. I guess you're right." Piers blurted out.
Shouma noticed something behind Piers. "Wait, is that...?"
Piers turned around, as the both of them saw Juniper in their path. She looked over to them, and almost immiediately, her face turned into a scowl.
"What are you two doing here?" She groaned.
Shouma and Piers exchanged glances. "You wouldn't happen to be enrolled in the Liberal Arts degree too, would you?" Shouma asked.
Juniper facepalmed. "...Just my luck." She glared at the two of them. "Are the both of you going to drag me down here too?" She snarled.
"I'm sorry, but didn't you walk the three of you, my own brother included into an enemy ambush just two days ago? So remind me again, who's holding who back?" Shouma shot back. He and Juniper glared at each other for an uncomfortable amount of time.
"Whatever." The both of them said in unison, as they looked away from each other. Juniper walked into the building and into the nearby lecture theatre.
Shouma looked back over at Piers, who was trying to hide a grin. "Dude, shut up." He said.
"I didn't say anything." Piers chuckled.
They both followed into the theatre as they took seats in the middle row right next to each other. The lecturer, a brown-haired man with a well-trimmed beard who appeared in his mid-thirties and a casual shirt made his way to the pedastal and readied a presentation on the laptop in front of him. It seemed like they were just in time.
"Alright everyone, settle down." He called out. "I understand it's still early days, but we're gonna have to get into the rhythm of things." The room, which prior was echoing with conversations as white noise went almost silent.
"I see a few new faces in the crowd today, so I'll just reintroduce myself. I'm Professor Jameson, I'm a lecturer of liberal arts at this college, and I'm here to provide you all with the tools to critically examine the world around us."
He then changed the slide in the presentation projected above him. "So, now that we asked why you'd study liberal arts yesterday, I thought we'd go over the history of the field from its beginnings." He then turned back and pointed to the slides. "Now, the early form of liberal arts began in Ancient Athens in order to shape the students into productive members of society..."
Shouma started to nod off in the middle of the lecture and look out the nearby windows. He vaguely heard something about... rhetoric? When suddenly...
"You there! With the white hair!" Professor Jameson called out.
Shouma immediately shot up and stood up next to his chair and stood upright.
"...You don't have to stand up like that." The professor reassured.
"Sorry." Shouma sheepishly sat back down. "Force of habit."
"Okay then. So tell me, what subjects did the Trivium consist of?" Jameson asked him.
Shouma sat there in shock. Why didn't he listen more carefully?
"Grammar, logic and rhetoric." Piers whispered from right next to him.
"U-Uh... Grammar, logic and rhetoric?" Shouma asked, not at all confident in his answer.
"Ah, so you were paying attention." Jameson noted. "The 'Trivium' consisted of the three subjects of grammar, logic and rhetoric. The term however wasn't coined until the Carolingian Renaissance in what is now France and Germany, where it was named after the 'Quadrivium'; which consisted of arithmatic, geometry, music and astronomy. All the subjects of the Trivium and Quadrivium were viewed as the seven most important subjects in classical education. Nowadays, the subjects are a bit different, of course, thanks to the changing dynamics in how we view education."
Shouma leaned in closer to Piers. "Thanks for that, man. I needed the help."
"Anytime." Piers whispered back.
Jameson went on for a while longer until the clock read 11:40 AM. "Well, I'd say that should do it for this lecture. I'll see you all again in about a week, if not earlier."
Shouma and Piers packed up and walked toward the entrance.
"So we need to find where Room 108 is to meet up with your dad and Daigo, right?" Piers asked.
"Yeah." Shouma looked around. "Just need to find where that even is."
"Follow me." Juniper walked ahead of them. "It's in the Psychology Building, third floor."
"You're not gonna argue about us coming another time?" Shouma asked backhandedly.
Juniper turned back and glared at him. "Don't tempt me."
"Okay, okay. Geez." Shouma rolled his eyes as he and Piers followed her.
Midday
Juniper opened the door to Room 108, with Shouma and Piers following in. It was a large room, almost like a band room with a second elevated "level" separated by a set of steps at the back. Wataru was standing at the front of the room with a whiteboard, with Daigo sitting at desk toward the front and Lucas at the back.
"Okay, looks like everyone made it." Wataru said.
Shouma, Piers and Juniper each sat down at different points of the room. Shouma sat towards the left of the room with Piers sitting right behind him. Juniper however sat on the opposite end of the room, as she and Shouma glared daggers at each other.
"Now that we're all here, we need to explain some things to Shouma and Piers here." Wataru explained.
He straightened his tie with a grim expression. "There's no easy way to explain this. But there exist worlds other than this one."
"I kinda got that from two days ago." Shouma said.
"The human consciousness has been able to mould the world around it, and can influence, or even create new worlds." Wataru continued. "About eleven years ago, documents written by the Kirijo Group were leaked to academic circles in Japan and the US about something they called 'The Tartarus Incident' that happened in 2009." He wrote down the key terms as he went along. "Whatever it was, it, along with strange reports coming out of other towns in Japan caught the attention of both nations' governments."
"And that's why you and Daigo had to move away." Shouma deduced.
"...Yes." Wataru replied sheepishly. "This new field: 'Cognitive Psience' as it was called, is a field of study that found the existence of various realms created by human cognition. As well as the discoveries of creatures called 'Shadows' and the manifestations of human will; 'Personas'. I'm aware the both of you are already familiar with that part, at least."
Shouma nodded.
"Cognitive Psience was pushed by Japanese companies and government departments, and the Americans incentivised international experts like me to move in to see what we could do." He then paused for a moment.
"And that's when we found it."
Piers raised his hand. "You mean Agartha, right?" He asked.
"Exactly." Wataru answered.
"I accidentally found Agartha three years ago now." Daigo said. "I awoke to Kojiro when I was cornered by some shadows and had to fight them off."
"And the both of us followed suit." Added Lucas. He looked over to Juniper. "Come to think of it, didn't you awaken to your Persona back in high school?"
Juniper looked away. "Something like that."
Wataru continued. "Agartha is another such cognitive realm. But this one is... different from most of the others."
"How so?" Shouma asked.
Wataru sighed. "We think there might have been humans living in Agartha."
Shouma did a double-take when he heard that. "...Humans? In that hellhole?"
"I've been present at a bunch of archeological sites in the area." Replied Daigo. "They seem to confirm the existence of a civilisation of people in another world."
"I named the place 'Agartha' after a psuedo-mythological civilisation within the Earth's core." Wataru straightened out his cuffs. "Daigo, Juniper and Lucas here have been instrumental in helping explore the place."
Juniper smirked when he said that.
"So what was that thing that attacked me, Shouma and Juniper?" Asked Piers.
"No idea." Lucas responded. "It's not like any shadow we've seen before this."
Daigo pulled out the bag that contained the Enion rune. "We've taken to calling them 'Guardians' for now. This one in particular is designated 'Guardian Enion'."
Shouma looked down at the desk. "So what you're saying is, there was an ancient society of people in the cognitive realm, and you've been investigating it for three years?"
"That about sums it up." Lucas replied.
Wataru looked directly at Shouma. "If I may be selfish, I'd like to ask something of the two of you."
"If you want to ask us to join, then I've already decided." Shouma replied firmly.
"Same here." Piers added. "If what you said is true, you're gonna need all the firepower you can get."
Wataru smiled. "Then I welcome you two..." He flipped the whiteboard over to reveal a carefully-drawn logo drawn in marker. "...To the 'Paranormal and Occult Studies Club'." He leaned on the whiteboard. "You can call it 'POSC' for short."
"The acronym is still stupid." Lucas said bluntly.
Wataru looked dejected. "...I like it."
Shouma reached back to Piers, as the two hi-fived.
"By the way, Shouma." Daigo stood up. "I have a proposition for you." He walked over to his brother, as Shouma stood up in response.
"As the club president, I'd like to appoint you as vice-president and as field leader for missions."
Shouma was taken aback. "M-Me?"
"Wait, what?" Juniper looked furious. "Why him?!"
"I call nepotism." Lucas said.
"He proved himself as a capable leader by coordinating the assault on Guardian Enion." Daigo justified. "Besides, he has the power of the Wild Card. That alone makes him a valuable asset to have."
"...I see." Juniper sulked. Shouma noticed her fists clench.
"I-I don't know what to say." Shouma stuttered. He then turned to the rest of the club. "But I accept. I know this is a big responsibility, but I'm not gonna let any of you down!"
Shouma then heard it again. Another Social Link.
"Thou art I... And I am thou... Thou hast established a new bond..."
Now it sounded like his own voice.
"Thou shalt be blessed when fusing Personas of the Fool Arcana." It echoed.
A Social Link for a whole group. Shouma felt something special about this Link. He couldn't pin down or explain why, but it was just a feeling he had.
"Well." Wataru pulled out a bottle of TaP and a set of plastic cups, and set them down on the desk. "To our two new members."
Shouma smiled. He was now with others he could place his trust in and would do the same with him. With his Persona and all of theirs, they were all basically invincible.
Right?
To be continued...
Party:
Shouma Tashiro - The Fool
Piers Fils-Amie - The Magician
Juniper Black - The Priestess
Social Stats:
Moxie: Subdued
Wisdom: Beginner
Charisma: Unremarkable
Empathy: Blunt
Wits: Innocent
Personae:
Musashi (0 - The Fool)
Orobas (I - The Magician)
And that's the fourth chapter done. Decided to actually answer a couple of the questions I'd set up instead of just leaving you all in the dark forever (which admittedly would have been pretty funny to do), though I'm still gonna leave a lot of information close to my chest for now.
In case you don't know the obscure occult writings by an 18th-century British poet, "Tharmas" and "Enion" are names pulled directly from the mythology of William Blake. It's not the first time they've been referenced in SMT, but the last times were in Nocturne and SMT IMAGINE. How they play into things in this fic however, I've yet to reveal. Though believe me, there's more where that came from.
So, uh. Yeah. Again, this fic will also be available on AO3, so if you wanna check it out there, you can go there.
I guess I'll just end on a really stupid joke I came up with when I was tired out of my mind a while ago.
Scott the Bosniak.