"Hello Morgana-san. I'm glad to see you are well. As for Narukami-san, there was an… incident at school. Don't worry, he's perfectly fine."
"I'm glad to hear that. And it's good to see you too evil-eye. You guys must have a treasure trove of questions. Ask away, I'm all ears." She said, stretching.
"What is this place? How exactly is it that we can enter here?" Akechi asked first.
"For your first question, there are a few answers. This place that we're in, in general, is called the Metaverse, an alternate dimension formed by human cognition. It allows people who enter it to, in essence, see and alter the hearts and minds of other humans. This place we're in, specifically, is called a Palace, a spot in the Metaverse that has been altered by extremely powerful and distorted desires."
"Could you explain that last part further?"
"Well, since the Metaverse is a product of human cognition, it is capable of being altered by human cognition and desires. Those who have distorted desires that are strong enough to affect the Metaverse get a Palace. Palaces are how a person views a certain place in the real world. Every time, the Palace is something that it's equivalent in the waking world could never be. Case and point: This Kobayakawa sees this 'Shujin' place as his own private nation. He believes he's the ruler of Shujin, and that he's allowed to do whatever he feels is necessary to protect it."
"So, these Palaces are a product of human desires and how they see the world. They form because someone has twisted desires and a skewered world view. Kobayakawa wants to protect Shujin's reputation at any costs, and as a result, views Shujin as a nation." Akechi repeated thoughtfully, as if he was reviewing clues in a case.
"Bingo! And since Palaces form from one person, each one is unique in how it distorts the Metaverse."
"Alright, anything you want to ask Narukami-san?"
"Yea, I remember getting slugged by Kobayakawa, but he didn't seem to remember that when I met him at the gates this morning. Why is that?"
"Well, like I said, the Metaverse allows us to see and enter the hearts and minds of others. What we're moving through is his heart and subconscious mind. Chances are that he won't remember what happens here. Probably."
"What do you mean 'probably'? If Kobayakawa finds out I'm messing with his mind, I'm expelled for sure."
"Well, you know how I said that the Metaverse was affected by human cognition? Well, it's something of a two-way street, so what you do in the Palace can affect the waking world in a few ways. This Kobayakawa guy won't know what you're doing, but if you have a lot of interaction with him while you're in here, and keep saying your name, the real Kobayakawa will get on edge and on guard whenever you're around. He might not know why, but he will. That's why I didn't say your real names last time. He might not outright know what you're doing, but you will earn his attention and his ire, which could lead to further complications later."
"I see. Thank you for keeping our identities secret Morgana-san."
The woman beamed at the praise.
"You said that this Palace can affect the real world in a few ways. How?" Yu asked.
Morgana smirked and rubbed her hands together, like a mustache-twirling villain who just saw the hero fall into his trap.
"I'm soooooooo glad you asked that question Wild Card! As you know, Palaces form because of distorted desires. Those desires originated from somewhere, and that somewhere is in the Palace!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, at the heart of each Palace is something called a Treasure. The Treasure is the source of the distorted desires that caused the Palace to form. If the Treasure is removed from the Palace, we'll remove those desires from the Palace ruler's heart and cause the Palace to collapse!"
"What?"
"Since the Treasure is what caused the desires to manifest into a Palace, it only makes sense that removing it would remove the desires."
"What happens to the person in the real world if we steal this 'Treasure' and make the Palace collapse?" Akechi asked.
"Well, since taking the Treasure means taking the desire that formed the Palace, we'd be removing their desire in the real world too. This would cause the person to realize the full extent of what they've done since they don't want what they originally wanted. As a result, they'd feel guilt over their actions. In other words, we'd force them to have a change of heart, so to speak. After that, they'd most likely repent for their crimes and work to atone."
Both Yu and Akechi looked at each other before turning to Morgana.
"So, what you're saying is that, if we steal the Treasure in Kobayakawa's Palace, we'll make him confess his crimes and seek atonement?"
"Yup!"
"You're sure? You are 100 percent sure?"
"Yes!" Morgana affirmed, starting to grow irritated.
Akechi looked at Yu then back at Morgana for a moment before smiling.
"YES! YES YES YES! AT LAST, MY PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED!" Akechi yelled, jumping for joy with every word.
"WE'RE GOING TO TAKE YOU DOWN KOBAYAKAWA! DO YOU HEAR ME?! YOUR DAYS ARE NUMBERED!"
"Calm down Akechi. He actually will hear you if you keep yelling like that." Yu said, exasperated.
"I'm sorry, but I just can't contain my excitement. It almost seems too good to be true."
"Well…." Morgana started.
"Damnit!"
"Because of the nature of the Treasure, it's going to be in the most heavily guarded place in the Palace. If we want to reach it, we'll have to infiltrate the Palace, and that means we'll have to fight."
"Those police guards? You called them Shadows yes?" Akechi asked.
"Correct. Formed from repressed human emotions and vices, Shadows are the sworn enemies of us Tricksters. There are a few ways to fight them, but the easiest and most effective one is, without a doubt, using our Personas."
"Like Izanagi." Yu pointed out.
"And Lady Trieu! Exactly! And before you ask, Personas are, in a nutshell, your inner self. They are your personality, traits, qualities, both good and bad, all mixed together and given form, and that form is based always on a figure in history or mythology whose personality and history is the most similar to you. Because of that fact, they are separate entities from ourselves, like if your heart or brain had its own personality. Every person save for Wild Cards can only have one Persona."
"A Wild Card?" Yu inquired.
"Yup! Wild Cards are the rare Persona users who have enough mental flexibility, fortitude and adaptability to hold more than one Persona. As a result, they are the best of the best Tricksters."
"Sounds like you're quite impressive Narukami-san."
"Legends and reality are very different things. Besides, those apply to previous Wild Cards, if we're believing everything Morgana says, and I haven't done anything." Yu replied.
"Yet. You haven't done anything yet. If we want to steal the Treasure, we'll have to infiltrate the Palace. If we're going to pull off a successful infiltration, we'll need information. Hence why I had to leave early last time. Which brings me to the second half of Palaces: Cognition."
Before either could ask what she meant, she snapped her fingers and the middle door to the Mona-mobile opened to reveal Makoto and… Akechi. Both of them were dressed in camouflage for the jungle, and their clothing was rather… sparse. For Makoto, she wore booty shorts with suspenders connected to a tube top, while all Akechi wore was pants with an army pattern. Both had belts on top of belts of ammo, a heavy machine gun, a bandana and face paint in the form of two stripes on their cheeks.
"Um… who are these people, and why do they look like Makoto-san and I?"
"Well, you see, Palaces may be formed by distorted desires, but they are affected by cognition, how the Palace ruler sees the outside world. Since Kobayakawa sees Shujin as his nation, and since evil-eye and his sister oppose him-"
"Makoto-san and I are not siblings."
"-He naturally sees them as any dictator would; rebels. And are you really? You both have red eyes."
"No, they aren't. Trust me." Yu said.
"Correct. And not all rebels are shirtless." Akechi pointed out, looking at his counterpart.
"Hey, I'm not complaining." Yu said as he stared at Makoto's half naked body, earning a jab to the gut from Akechi.
"But that doesn't explain how there's two of me."
"I'm getting there. Since this Kobayakawa sees evil-eye and lady evil-eye as rebels, they appear in his Palace as how the real Kobayakawa thinks rebels look like."
"What about the ones in the prison? I saw Ann, Ryuji, Futaba and Kawakami-sensei working in a quarry. They were dressed like prisoners and Ann got whipped. Several times."
"Then that's how he sees those people: Prisoners that he is free to abuse. These things, the rebel evil-eye and lady evil-eye and those prisoners, those are called cognitions. They're how the Palace ruler views people, but they aren't real. Think of them as very life-like dolls."
"So, if we came to him one day and submitted to him, what would happen to these rebels?" Yu asked
"I highly advise against such a thing civilian. Servitude under Kobayakawa is a fate worse than death. You should instead join us rebels and help us sow chaos and destruction across the Nation!" Cognitive Makoto suggested.
"Yes. Our primary goal is to plant the seeds of unrest across Shujin Nation, because we were not good enough to make the cut for the villainous Kobayakawa's standards! Bah! But it matters not! We will deliver glorious justice for all to see!" Cognitive Akechi declared, striking a dramatic pose.
"He nailed your theatrics." Yu pointed out.
"Shut up." Akechi ordered, getting a grin from Yu in response.
"I'm guessing these cognitive versions of you and Makoto would turn into those prisoners we saw before." Yu said.
"I agree. So, what happens in the real world would have a chance to affect the Palace?"
"That's correct. Like, if there was door in here that couldn't be opened, it would be because he thinks there's a door in the real world that only he could open. BUT! If he saw evil-eye or the Wild Card open that door, then the door in his Palace would open up because of the change in Cognition." Morgana explained.
"I see. That makes sense."
"If this world is affected by cognition, does that mean Kobayakawa sees himself as a dictator?" Yu asked.
"That's a different story actually. Since we're traversing a mix of his soul and subconscious, he doesn't have any active control over it. If he did, he would be able to make sure we never escaped to begin with. What you saw before was his own personal Shadow."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Well, remember how I said Shadows were repressed human emotions and vices? Well, everyone has one specific Shadow. That's their true self, the part of them that they don't want to admit exists, and thus, they hide it away."
"I can believe it. He talked to us the same way the real Kobayakawa does to me whenever we're alone. But if everyone has a Shadow, does that mean Narukami-san and I do as well?"
"Yes… and no. For the Wild Card's case, no. Once you become completely aware and accepting of your true self, that strength forges your heart and soul into your Persona."
"Except I didn't face myself." Yu pointed out.
"I was getting there. There are many ways to obtain a Persona. Facing your true self and accepting all the ugly in you is without a doubt the most dangerous, but surefire way to get one. Another way is situational; if the proper conditions are met, and if the person is put in a stressful situation, like if their life is on the line, then a Persona can be forced to take form, bypassing the need to accept your inner self completely until the day you die. The first awakenings are traumatic and the person will most likely pass out once the danger is over, but the Persona materializes permanently from then on and will come if the situation is replicated. The middle ground is how Wild Card here summoned his Persona: Willpower. If your desire and need is great enough, then you can form a contract with your inner self. In exchange for obtaining the power of Persona, you must agree to never lose sight of yourself or compromise your beliefs. And finally, for guides such as myself, we are given our Personas and thus, don't have to use any methods humans do."
"Is that all of the methods?"
"All that I know of. I wouldn't be surprised if there were other ways to call a Persona, but there is one constant; you have to have the potential to have a Persona. Not everyone has the strength needed to obtain one by any methods."
"I see."
"Any other questions?"
"Yes. How do you know all this?" Akechi asked.
"She's our guide. She was created by a man named Igor to help me complete my 'rehabilitation'. I've met him in my dreams." Yu answered.
"What?"
"Let me explain. You know how I thought that the app was giving me LSD trips, and how I thought one of those trips was me in a prison? Well, turns out that it's real. Or am I mistaken?" Yu asked, turning to the woman.
"Nope! I'm surprised you figured it out, since I didn't mention Master Igor, his assistants, or the Velvet Room."
"You have a 'V' imprinted on your belt."
"Oh yeah… hehe." Morgana laughed to hide her embarrassment.
"Wait, wait just a moment. Who exactly is this Igor? What does he want?"
"He's a long-nosed gremlin that only wants to help!" Morgana answered gleefully.
"Or so he claims. He says he's here to help, but so far all he's offered is talk." Yu countered.
"Really? So he hasn't done anything?" Akechi asked.
"No, nothing."
"I see. Please let me know if that changes."
"Yea, yea. Sure." Yu rubbing the bridge of his nose with two fingers.
"Are you alright Narukami-san?"
"It's just… this is a lot to process Akechi. We just found out that there's a separate dimension that can let us force Kobayakawa and other people to have personality changes, and that place is plagued by humanity's inner demons, and the only way to fight those demons is with our souls. You'll have to forgive me for not taking all this in stride. Especially since this has happened so quickly. I need a few moments."
Not to mention there's the contract that said ruin draws near, and that only Tricksters can fight it. And according to Morgana, I'm supposed to be the best of the best. No pressure, right?
"I understand Narukami-san. This is a lot to process for me too."
"Once you guys are done, I have a question I want to ask you." Morgana said, her expression turning serious.
"What question is that?" Yu asked.
"Are you in?"
A moment of silence passed as Akechi and Yu looked at each other in confusion. Morgana decided to clarify what she meant.
"I've told you everything I know, and now you need to decide what you're going to do with it. You have two choices; use what I've told you to make a difference, or walk away and forget everything. So, I'll ask again; Are. You. In?"
"So you're asking us if we are going to steal Kobayakawa's desires?"
"It'd be more accurate to say we'd steal his heart, but yea."
"If doing so will bring him down, then yes. What about you Narukami-san?"
Yu was still thinking. True, he had no reason to back out, or protect Kobayakawa. But if he went through with this, he would have to shoulder the burden of fighting a war for who knows how long. What if he died? What if Sae found out? What if they took on more members and one of them betrayed him? There were so many ways this could go wrong. He heard his dad's voice.
"If you get in any trouble, your life will be over."
Then he thought back to when he first called Izanagi. He remembered what he told his inner self. That his actions that night were not a mistake. That he would do it all over again. He was just a defenseless teenager then. Just a boy who didn't know what he was getting into, and had no way to fight the rigged system that was set on ruining his life. But that was then. He's not a defenseless teenager now. Kobayakawa ruined so many lives, and would no doubt ruin more if he was left alone, and now, Yu had the power to do something about it, and if he did it right, he would get away with it. With that thought in mind, he decided to take action, consequences be damned. He would pass judgment on this monster, since no one else could be bothered.
"When do we start?" He asked, small sparks flashing in the eyes behind the mask.
"Alright! Expected nothing less from the Wild Card."
"If we're going to do this, we'll need better nicknames." Yu stated flatly.
"Well, they're more like codenames, since I won't use them if I go to the waking world."
"Regardless, I'm not going to be called 'Wild Card' the whole way through."
"Alright, then you'll be called 'Joker'!"
"I'd rather not follow someone who's named after a comic book villain." Akechi said.
"Really? That's what bugs you? It sounds plain stupid to me." Yu replied.
"But it fits so well! In a deck, the Joker is often the wild card, a game changer!" Morgana countered.
"No."
"Awwwww, fine. Then what do you want to be called then?"
"Hmm. How about… Seeker?"
"Seeker? You serious?" Morgana asked, unimpressed.
"I like it." Akechi stated, nodding in approval.
"Two out of three, majority rules." Yu confirmed.
"Fine!"
"What about you Morgana-san? Have you thought of a codename?" Akechi asked.
"Of course! The name I chose for myself is… drum roll please… Carmen!"
"Carmen? As in the dancer?" Akechi asked.
"Yup, a femme fatale!"
"I approve." Akechi said.
"Works for me." Yu added with a nod.
"Sweet! As for the other one, I think that we should stick to evil-eye. After all, you won't be able to accompany us the whole way. You don't have a Persona." Morgana suggested, looking at Akechi, who shot a look of disapproval.
"What makes you think I don't have the potential for one?"
"Because the way you guys got here, an app I think you call it, has a range of about 10 feet, so you could drag in anyone."
"So, if we activated it in a crowd, we'd bring dozens of people in the Metaverse?"
"Yea, so I wouldn't risk it. Plus you never know who has the potential to awaken to a Persona. And not all Persona users are Tricksters."
"How do you mean?" Yu asked.
"Well, there are some people who awaken to a Persona, and decide to use it for their own personal gain. Those kind of Persona users are called 'Champions of Ruin'. They are extremely rare, and extremely dangerous, because they know how sick, twisted and all around nasty they are, and accept it without trying to change. As a result, they hold nothing back, Persona power or otherwise. In fact, if we encountered a Champion of Ruin right now, I have no doubt that they'd kill us all within a minute."
Both of the boys looked at each other with a mix of fear and concern.
"Right, let's get back to the objective at hand. How exactly will we go about infiltrating this Palace?" Akechi asked after shaking his head.
"I'm glad you asked evil-eye. And it was for that express reason that I brought the cognitive versions of yourself and your not-sister!"
"Why? Do they know how to infiltrate this Palace?"
"They should. But we got lucky with this first one. The other Palace's won't have a guide for us to follow, so we'll have to figure it out as we go for future infiltrations. But right now, we'll take any advantage we can."
The three looked at the cognitive rebels, and Akechi was the first to speak up.
"Excuse me, do you know where the Treasure is?"
"I don't know what this 'treasure' you speak of is. Unless you are referring to where President Kobayakawa keeps his ill-gotten fortunes, then yes, I do."
"No, we're not- were you listening at all to our conversation?'
"Unless it is related to the downfall of the villainous President Kobayakawa, or the collapse of the corrupt Shujin Nation, then I am not interested."
"I have other things on my mind besides defeating you, Kobayakawa." Akechi muttered to himself. Before he could try again, Yu put his hand on Akechi's shoulder.
"Let me give it a try." He mouthed, and Akechi stepped aside.
"Where's the most heavily guarded spot in Shujin Nation?" Yu asked and Akechi facepalmed for not thinking of that earlier.
"Ah. That would have to be, without a doubt, President Kobayakawa's private residence. It's a small mansion off the coast, on an island. Getting there will not be easy."
"Nothing worth doing ever is."
"True enough. If you want to get to the island that houses the disgusting glutton, you will need to board his private jet and get past his island's defenses. To do this, you will need two access codes: One to make sure you aren't shot down leaving the resort, and one to make sure you land without being fired on."
"Wait, what? Why are two codes needed?"
"A righteous conspirator named Mishima and I once tried to force our way onto the island of villainy by holding the pilots at gunpoint. We managed to arrive, but sadly, Mishima was not prepared for what awaited us, and paid the price for it. Since then, any guest that wishes to see that slug Kobayakawa is given the codes, not the plane pilots."
The real Akechi hung his head low at the mention of Mishima.
"And where can we find these codes?"
The cognitive Akechi pointed two fingers to the hotels.
"At the top floor of each hotel lies a lap-dog marshal. They are supposed to give whatever the current codes are to any guest that visits Kobayakawa. If you manage to obtain them, you will be able to fly to Kobayakawa's island. But it will not be easy once you get there."
"How do you mean?"
"His mansion is full of security, but it isn't the corrupt police. His private military soldiers prowl the halls. The only way you're getting through that untouched is if you have the disgusting President himself guiding you through."
"And that sure isn't an option." Yu muttered.
"Exactly. Underneath the island is a bunker housing the vile General Morooka."
"That's a new name."
"Kinshiro Morooka is Kobayakawa's best friend, one that helped collaborate his alibis and is the sole reason why so many testimonies against the coach failed to hold up in court." The real Akechi explained.
"Yes. General Morooka has fought against our righteous cause for a long time. As a result, he was entrusted with a copy of the key to Kobayakawa's foul inner sanctum in his mansion. In there lie his deepest, darkest secrets."
"Sounds like that's where the Treasure would be. Anything else that we should know?" Yu asked.
Cognitive Akechi pulled out two maps, one of both hotels, and one of the private island. After Yu shot a glance at them, he heard a PING come from his phone. Pulling the device out, he saw that there was no longer a black screen, but instead the map he saw in cognitive Akechi's hand. After giving a nod, he returned the maps and looked at Morgana.
"If there's nothing else, then let's get to it." Yu ordered.
"Alright. Oh, and by the way, you're going to be our leader." Morgana said as she started up the Mona-mobile.
"Wait what? Why me?" Yu asked as he climbed in.
"That should be obvious Seeker. You have the unique talents of a Wild Card." Morgana answered.
"That means I have an ability. It doesn't mean that I should be deciding who should be in the front lines and such."
"I agree with Morgana-san. Wild Cards are supposed to be talented in many areas, if what she says is true, leadership is probably one of those areas." Akechi said as he got in and closed the door.
"Yea, except we have no idea if those apply to me. So how about no?"
"Two out of three, majority rules!" Morgana stated as they began their drive to Shujin Nation, leaving the cognitive rebels behind.