CHAPTER 11:

MEMENTOS

Sojiro looked at the bottled concoction Futaba held. "What is that stuff?"

"Calming Draught," Sirius said as they sat around in Leblanc that Saturday, in the afternoon. "I've kept a supply up ever since I escaped nearly having my soul eaten."

"Please don't joke about that," Sojiro said.

"Who's joking?" Sirius said, shooting Sojiro a look. "Azkaban was a cold and wet rock the wizards of Magical Britain thought, in their infinitesimal wisdom, it'd be a good idea to use as a prison, and they thought it an even better idea to let Dementors be the guards with little oversight. Dementors suck the joy and happiness out of their surroundings more than bureaucrats do, and unlike most bureaucrats, they can eat your soul. The Ministry of Magic thought it'd make a good execution method. I was in Azkaban for over a decade, it's a wonder I stayed remotely sane. But I needed more of this stuff to remain functional at times."

"It's not addictive, is it?" Sojiro asked.

"Not that I know of. It's also meant to be used only on occasion, not regularly. I just thought Futaba could use it."

"Are you sure, Futaba?" Sojiro asked.

Futaba gave him a wan smile. "I've spent the last few days trying to acclimate to coming here, Sojiro. I'm better than I was, and with Harry, I should be fine. But with the huge crowds on the trains and in Shibuya, well, it doesn't hurt to prepare more, does it?"

Sojiro rubbed his forehead. They'd told the middle-aged man a half-truth. They were embarking on a shopping trip to Shibuya, but they had told Sojiro they were also going to make a brief trip to Mementos, albeit just to see what it was like. Futaba had told him it was to see more vindication of her mother's work, and after a long argument, the café owner eventually agreed. It helped that Sirius was giving Futaba an emergency Portkey that would take her back to her room if things went really bad…outside Mementos, anyway.

Of course, the truth was that their expedition into Mementos was going to be longer than they claimed. And they hadn't mentioned that Akira or Morgana had links to the Metaverse. Sojiro might join together too many dots, and they weren't quite ready to trust the curmudgeonly man about this. Akira, Morgana and their comrades were going to meet them in Shibuya after school.

Sojiro eventually bit out, "Fine. But the moment you're heading home, I want you to call me. I need to know that you are safe, Futaba. I am letting you go off with these people. You can't blame me for worrying."

Harry went over to Sojiro as Futaba swigged down the potion. "I'm going to make sure Futaba is kept safe. If anything happens to her, I'll take responsibility."

Sojiro glanced at Harry, before scoffing. "I WILL hold you to that, kid," he said, prodding Harry in the chest with a finger. "You better not have made that promise lightly, because I won't take it lightly. And make sure Kurusu and his friends from Shujin are aware of that too when you see them." He sighed. "Just don't make me regret this. And make sure you keep an especial eye on her. I've heard of some Yakuza gang muscling in on Shibuya lately with extortion rackets and the like…"


It wasn't so bad, really. Whatever the Calming Draught had in it, Futaba was coping pretty well. Seriously, she'd actually got Sojiro to get her some antidepressants, but few of them worked the way she wanted them to, and she eventually went off them. But this shit was good. She did hope it wasn't addictive, though. She found a few good games at some shops, and new books, though she'd have to ask Harry and/or Sirius to escort her to Akihabara. Now THAT was where the action was.

But the time soon came for them to rendezvous with Akira, Morgana and their two allies in Shibuya Station. They were to meet just outside the station proper. And they soon found them. Akira and Morgana were with another pair of teenagers, both blonde, oddly enough.

One of them was a boy, with short dyed-blonde hair and a yellow shirt with 'ZOMG!' on it under his jacket. He had the air of a punk, but the way he spoke with Akira and the girl showed friendliness. The girl was rather hot, with platinum blonde hair done in twin tails and blue eyes, and Futaba was sure that was actually her natural hair colour.

Futaba took a deep breath. She could do this. It was all to figure out what happened to her mother, and what her research led to. The Calming Draught definitely helped.

They were speaking in Japanese, but Sirius had applied a Translation Charm to Harry and Sirius, so they could hear the boy snarl, "…Something about Little Miss Student Council President that pisses me off. I mean, aside from her brown-nosing and that prim and proper attitude."

"Are you talking about Makoto Nijima? She seemed pretty nice to me when I met her," Harry said.

Sirius nodded, even as he cast Privacy Charms. "Makoto's a decent girl, she's just under a lot of pressure. She needs to loosen up quite a bit, her and her sister, I'll give you that, but they're good people. So, you're Akira's friends, huh?"

"That's right!" the girl said, with a smile. "I'm Ann Takamaki. Chuckles here is Ryuji Sakamoto."

"'Sup," Ryuji said, looking sceptical and wary. "You're the ones Akira and Morgana mentioned, the wizards and the NEET who've been in Palaces before?"

"Yes, not that you should say such things out loud," Sirius said. "You're lucky I took measures against that."

"And who're you calling a NEET?" Futaba asked indignantly, despite the Calming Draught. Then again, it prevented her social anxieties from playing up too much, not from getting annoyed or angry. "I'm taking online courses, Bottle-Blondie, so I'm in education."

"Okay, my bad," Ryuji said. "Sorry, I've been a little on-edge since that bald asshole and his pet shaved gorillas gave us grief at the hotel the other night."

Futaba nodded, mollified. Akira had alluded to what happened on Thursday night, when they went to a buffet to celebrate their triumph over Kamoshida. Harry, Sirius and Futaba weren't invited because they weren't part of the group, but they had been told of what happened afterwards. Akira seemed to be particularly pensive about the matter, but wouldn't be drawn on exactly what.

Apparently, the Phantom Thieves now had their own website, a Phan-Site so to speak. And Akira was flicking through it on his iPhone. "Anyway, Morgana's having us look up posts on the Phan-Site," he explained. "It's freaky how many people want others to have a Change of Heart after what happened with Kamoshida. They're even willing to post full names. But we need to know where to draw the line. Here's one that's promising, though. Someone called Natsuhiko Nakonahara is stalking an ex-girlfriend of his. He's a teller at City Hall, apparently. What do you reckon, Morgana?"

"That sounds about right. Better than that idiot who doxed someone who disagreed with them on a chatroom," Morgana said.

"Dox?" Harry asked.

"It means the victim's name was given out, despite online anonymity, it's a pretty nasty tactic," Futaba said. "I told you about two days ago, remember?"

"Anyway, we now have a name. Get the MetaNav app ready, and use the keyword 'Mementos'," Morgana said.

Akira did so, and they soon found their surroundings consumed by crimson ripples…


…Only for the station to reappear…sans people. "Whoa, what the…?" Ann exclaimed. "There's no people! And it feels like I'm walking on air…"

"Huh, Shibuya Station without any people. Neat," Futaba remarked. The effect was eerie, but given her agoraphobia and enochlophobia, she actually found it kind of comforting. "So this is the collective Palace of everyone?"

"Wait, what?" Ryuji yelped. "How are you so effing calm?"

"She's done this before, remember? And thanks to her background, Futaba seems to grasp this better than even I do," Morgana said. "But she's right. Mementos reaches underground, basically like a mix between a cave and a subway system. Shadows lurk there, possibly searching for something within its depths. C'mon, let's go…"


As they went into the station, Harry noted the changes. The lighting became red and sinister, and growths that looked like blood vessels covered the walls. "Well, this isn't ominous at all," Sirius remarked sarcastically.

"You can say that again," Futaba said, only for both her and Harry to do a double-take when they realised not only had their clothes changed…but so had the others', barring Sirius…and Morgana, whose entire appearance had changed.

Akira's outfit had a long black coat, with red gloves. His mask was white with black around the eyes, an inversion of Harry's mask. Ryuji had what could have been a biker's outfit, his metallic mask looking like a skull. Ann was now dressed in a figure-hugging red leather outfit, with a feline mask and a tail that put Harry in mind of Catwoman if her costume was dyed red.

And Morgana? Instead of looking like an ordinary cat, he had now become something like a cartoon character, a short figure with a massive head, the top of his head covered by a black bandanna with holes for his big blue eyes and ears. He wore a utility belt around his waist, and a yellow handkerchief around his neck. Oddly enough, the cartoony body seemed to suit his voice.

"Huh, I didn't get new duds," Sirius said. "But seriously, you're dressed pretty daringly for…how old are you again, Ann?"

"16, and I didn't choose the costume, okay? Just don't perve on me!" the blonde girl protested.

"Hey, 16 is too young for me, Ann!" Sirius held up his hands in a placating manner.

"Lady Ann is right, though. The clothing is as much a manifestation of your rebellious will as your Persona is," Morgana said. "But it also acts as armour against the distortions of a Cognitive World."

Futaba frowned. "Harry was able to survive in my Palace for a couple of weeks, and he didn't manifest the clothing until he gained his Persona. It helped that my Shadow wasn't hostile towards him, but she also reckoned it could have partially been his own innate magic protecting him."

"I hope I don't need it any time soon," Sirius said.

As they walked further in, Morgana said, "The reason why our appearances have changed is because the Shadows within know we're coming. At this point, we're still perfectly safe, but that will change once we go down those escalators. I know this because I've investigated Mementos enough times before. Shadows never come up to this floor, but they're in great numbers down there."

"Seems weird," Futaba mused. "I guess this particular noosphere has certain rules."

"No-eh-what?" Ryuji asked.

"Yeah, I'm with Ryuji here. What's a noosphere?" Ann asked. "I'm good with English, I'm part-American, and yet I've never heard that word."

"A noosphere is a realm of thought. You know, like the atmosphere is a region of air, and the ecosphere revolves around life," Futaba said. "Palaces and other Cognitive Words are basically part of the collective noosphere of our world, as is Mementos, I guess."

"A good way of putting it, Futaba," Morgana said.

"I've read a lot. Carl Jung speaks a lot about the collective unconscious and personas, with a little 'p'. I wonder what he'd make of this?" Futaba asked. "Probably soil himself."

"Maybe," Morgana said with a giggle. "So, shall we?"

They descended the escalator, only to find themselves at a train platform, complete with tracks leading off into a dark tunnel, blowing with a dark wind. Futaba frowned. "Geez, these tracks must go for miles and miles. I can summon Necronomicon and fly down that tunnel given how big it is, but I could probably carry one passenger at most."

"Right you are, Futaba, but this is where my special talent comes in," Morgana said with a grin. He then struck a series of poses, before declaring, "Morganaaaa…TRANSFORM!" He then leapt into the air, disappeared in a puff of smoke…and then something crashed down onto the tracks with a meow.

Harry stared. "…You turned into a van? How is that possible?"

The van was black like Morgana's fur, but had a cat-like logo on the grille and blue headlights that looked like his eyes. A tail wagged from the rear bumper. "Actually, it's a bus," Morgana's voice came from the vehicle. "Between an extra bit of training and some knowledge of how cognition works in the Metaverse, I was able to achieve this form. It doesn't hurt that 'cats turning into buses' is a pretty prevalent Cognition amongst the public for some reason."

Akira, after a moment, pinched the bridge of his nose. "Because of My Neighbour Totoro, of course(1). And the sad thing is, I've seen weirder in the past few weeks."

"But dude, why didn't you do this in Kamoshida's castle?" Ryuji complained.

"Don't you remember how narrow the corridors were, Skull?" Morgana retorted. "Not to mention the staircases and the chandeliers! Anyway, I can't drive myself. Any of you guys know how to drive?"

"I will. Lily had me take classes for not just my motorbike, but for cars as well. But…why is he Skull?" Sirius asked.

"Oh, right," Ann said. "I dunno whether it matters in Mementos, but Morgana, or rather, Mona suggested we use codenames while infiltrating the Metaverse. From what I understood, the Rulers technically wouldn't pass on anything specific to their real selves, but there was still a possibility that they'd get suspicious somehow. So codenames were made up as a precaution. Ryuji's Skull, I'm Panther, Morgana is Mona, and our fearless leader is Joker."

"Joker? As in Batman's nemesis?" Harry asked.

"No, because the joker in a pack of cards is a wild card, like I am with my multiple Personas," Akira explained. "Plus, I have a habit of making jokes when I'm nervous or annoyed. So, what's your codenames?"

"Mine's easy: Padfoot. It's my nickname back when I was part of the original Marauders," Sirius said. "I'll let Harry and Futaba choose their own, though."

"Hmm…I'll choose Oracle," Futaba said. "Because I can see so much more now. Plus, I just rewatched The Matrix with Harry. And then, there's Oracle from the Batman comics. Seriously, I looked up to Barbara Gordon."

After a moment's consideration, Harry said, "Godric. After Godric Gryffindor, the guy who founded the House I was in at school."

"…Not bad," Akira said. "Okay, so, Padfoot, you do the driving. I call shotgun."

"Aww, man…" Ryuji complained.


Travelling inside Necronomicon was an experience and a half for Harry. Leaving aside the tentacles that drew him inside, which had Ann panicking for a moment for some reason, he was weightless inside, though he was able to sit still in what passed for the Persona's 'cockpit' alongside Futaba. He couldn't even begin to decipher the readouts she was looking at with ease, but then again, it was her Shadow transformed.

He watched the video feed as they followed Morgana. "Still can't get over the whole 'cat turning into a bus' thing."

"It comes from a Studio Ghibli film," Futaba said. Their voices were being fed to the others via the radio in Morgana's transformed form. "Given how widespread a meme it is in Japanese culture, that explains a little how Mona can do it. Anyway, Mona, I'm scanning this level of Mementos as we go, and I think I'm beginning to get a decent idea of where to go. I think you guys need to take the next left if possible."

"I hear you. I can sense the guy that way myself. You heard the girl, Padfoot!" Morgana said.

As they followed Morgana, Futaba frowned. "Hey, Mona, Mementos is basically the embodiment of the collective unconsciousness, right? Have you come across any links to people from other countries in here?"

"Well, theoretically, it should, but in practise, I think it's only Japan, simply because we live in Japan," Morgana explained. "It's a good question, though. Why do you ask?"

"I'm just trying to figure out the implications of Mementos," Futaba mused. "If we view the collective unconsciousness as the internet, maybe Mementos is equivalent to the servers based in Japan. I'm musing at the moment. Still, there's something about this that does concern me. I mean, amongst so many others."

"What's that?" Harry asked.

Futaba pointed to a readout. "Necronomicon calls this section of Mementos the 'Path of Qimranut'. Now, the Necronomicon has a hell of a database, based on my own library and that of my mother's, don't ask me how…and, well, you wanna tell them?"

The child-like voice of Necronomicon spoke up. "ANALYSIS: The Path of Qimranut comes from The Tree of Evil by William G Gray. It is a reference to an aspect of the Qlippoth, the tree that acts as the antithesis of the Tree of Life, the Sefirot, in Kabbalah. Which is not a good thing."

"…Wasn't Sephiroth the guy from Final Fantasy VII with the overcompensating sword?" Ryuji asked.

"He was named after the Sefirot," Futaba said, rolling her eyes. "The Tree of Life and other kabbalistic imagery can often be seen in Neon Genesis Evangelion, Skull. Mom had a copy of The Tree of Life as an ebook."

"…Ominous," Akira said. "But it'll have to wait. I think we've found Nakonahara."

Futaba and Harry looked at the screen. The railway tracks on the floors of Mementos were twisted into a spiral, leading into a vortex in a wall. "Well, let's go kick his ass," Futaba said…

CHAPTER 11 ANNOTATIONS:

The Phantom Thieves have united for their first trip into Mementos. And now, they have codenames. Some pretty big stuff happens in the next chapter, FYI.

Review-answering time! Jostanos: I hope that was a rhetorical question about whose Palace Sirius ended up in. He's keeping that to himself for now because he's trying to suss out Sae's character. As for Quarian's Wizard, it's one of the stories I'm most proud of, not least because I managed to complete it. Ditto Not Your Kind of People, my Rising of the Shield Hero crossover. And while you may have a long to-read list, there's a number of good Persona 5 fics out there that need a hell of a lot more love, IMO, so if you, or any of my readers, want recs at the end of the next chapter, just ask.

1. For those of you who don't understand the reference, Morgana's ability is a reference to My Neighbour Totoro, and the Catbus character in it.