It had started so simply. He wasn't a stranger to certain quid pro quo arrangements with the women in his life. From paying for Sadayo's services, to Tae's occasional bouts of friskiness, to that one and only time Ichiko gave him a drunken handjob under the table at Crossroads. Sex could be all levels of transactional in this new world, whether for money or for favours. It wasn't like that with Ann though.

With Ann, it started almost like any other relationship in the old world. He had taken her to the diner in Shibuya after she was feeling down about that other model, the conniving one, Mika. He had managed to cheer her up, or rather as it tended to be with Ann, she managed to cheer herself up. She was a pretty amazing girl. All she needed was someone to declare her intentions to and that was all it took for her to raise her spirits. An unending spring of enthusiasm. To think Kamoshida had been working to crush that.

But even if she didn't really need him, she appreciated him. For being there. For being supportive and honest with her. And as they left the diner, she made her move, grabbed him and kissed him. He had felt her tongue slither past his lips, a declaration of intent. This wasn't in any way transactional. This was the new world's equivalent of a confession. She was attracted to him, she wanted to take their relationship in a more intimate direction.

At the time, he had no reason to refuse. Polyamory was normal, even encouraged. So the fact that he got his dick sucked by his doctor on occasion, was paying to fuck their teacher, that didn't matter. If she wanted to be with him, then him being with other women was no issue.

And so he had reciprocated, his mouth opening to give her better access, to allow his own tongue to explore her mouth as she explored his. Her giggle of joy at his acceptance was wonderful. He could feel her excitement at what this development could mean for the future.

Their relationship didn't escalate quickly from there. It was quite innocent in fact. They stayed closer than before, often held hands as they walked to school together. Sometimes forget to eat during lunch for how busy they were exploring each other's bodies over their uniforms. It was cute. And it stayed that way until a moment came, where that was treated like a problem.

"Grr! What does that stupid photographer know! I'm sexy!" Ann told herself more than Ren, storming towards the Asakusa subway station. "Right?" she asked, stopping and turning her sort-of boyfriend's way, striking what was supposed to be a sexy pose.

"Well..."

"What?" she demanded, dropping the pose and her smile.

"You're sexy," he confirmed with certainty, "But what I think that guy meant was a womanly, experienced kind of sexy."

"I-I'm experienced!" Ann complained, "I mean we've done... stuff."

"Yeah, but... Okay, put it like this. You were giving the camera a flirty wink. She was giving the camera bedroom eyes."

"Bedroom eyes?" she asked, "But I don't..." Know how to do that. "Khh! Fine!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him along with her, "Come with me!"

Ren found himself being dragged into a few feet into an alley and shoved against a wall. Opening his mouth to ask what she was doing only allowed her tongue to forcefully wrestle with his. Not that he was going to complain. Nor was he really going to complain when he felt her hand slide under his pants, her breath hitching as her fingers ran along his hardening cock. "You really want to do this?" he took the opportunity to ask.

"If I can only act cute and innocent, I need to fix that!" she stated with pure determination, dropping down to her knees as she unbuttoned his pants and fished out his cock. "Wow... Up close like this it's bigger than I thought," she commented. Her cute astonished blinking and her warm breath on it stirring up his arousal.

"So long as you're sure."

She smirked up at him. "What, you think I didn't want to do something like this with you already?" Her hand gently ran along his shaft with a loose grip, coaxing it that last little bit to full hardness.

He grinned down at her. "You're already getting the hang of that look."

"Well, no need to stop halfway!" she grinned back, her head bobbing forward to let his head pass her lips, her tongue swirling around his crown, getting her first taste of him. Her hand continued to stroke the rest as she squatted there in the alley sucking cock for the first time. He watched the nearby street, the occasional passer-by stopping to stare for a couple of seconds before moving on. Public sex acts weren't uncommon, but it was unusual to see a girl as pretty and exotic as Ann providing sexual service. A rare treat. Had they known she was a model they might've snapped pictures. Taken candid shots as she experimentally fondled his balls with her free hand, or when she first dove a little deeper. Move past tonguing the head to suck cock for real.

And all the while she did her best to look up at him, trying to nail a look of wanton lust. When his hands moved from his sides to take hold of her twin tails she knew she got it, letting him guide her pace and depth. She trusted him, he wouldn't push her too far until he knew she could take it. All he ever did was encourage her to do her best. Pushing beyond her limits was her job as she felt it should be. And so after a couple more minutes of surprising amounts of exertion for her, she pushed against his guiding grip, sinking deeper than she had before, feeling his cock prod against her throat. She sputtered, pulling back. Only to try again. And again. She was growing frustrated. She felt like she almost had the trick to it!

But her eager determination ended up proving too much for Ren to handle. "Ann, I'm–!" That was all the warning he could manage before he groaned, his cock spraying spurt after spurt of warm cum into her mouth, coating the entrance to her throat and making her choke. Hearing her struggle he let her hair go. She pulled back, letting his cock slide free of her mouth, an unsteady bounce of his shaft spraying a white streak into her hair and across her forehead. More dribbling out of him and landing in her hair as she leaned forward to cough and clear her throat of cum. "Phew!" she managed through coughs, "That surprised me!"

"Sorry, it really surprised me how good that was," Ren admitted. "If that was your first time you're really talented."

Ann only smiled proudly at being told she was a talented cocksucker. After all, it was a good skill to have and she was in need of a confidence booster after that botched photo shoot.

After that furthering of their intimacy things escalated quickly between them over the next week. Twice more Ann went down on him in hopes of mastering her deepthroating technique. And after she finally did, Ren couldn't not want to reciprocate, showing her just how talented his tongue was, though admittedly he had a little practice behind him from Tae sitting on his face.

That weekend, Ren invited her on a date to Penguin Sniper to play pool. A choice that only enflamed Ann's competitive spirit as the date went on until she made a proposition. A bet. That if he won the next game he could have her, and if she won... Well, she would decide after.

Even with the potential penalty being so open ended, the way her legs wrapped so tightly around her cue, pressing into the fabric of her jean shorts and her womanhood beneath, it was a bet he couldn't bring himself to pass up. If she really wanted to win, giving an enticing offer that would inspire him was the last thing she should have done. With the passion of a man on a mission he put his deft hands to work sinking ball after ball no matter how much Ann tried to distract him with her amazing body.

Before long, it was over. Ann sighed in disappointment, she still wanted to win after all. But that only turned to a seductive smirk and a look she had spent the week perfecting. "Looks like I lost. Well a bet's a bet." She moved around the table, pressing her body against his. "I'm all yours. What do you wanna do with me?"

She giggled as Ren reached into his wallet, slapped a thousand yen bill on the pool table and practically dragged her out of the sports bar to the nearest love hotel. The receptionist on duty more than used to patrons not paying them any attention gave the price for an hour, took the proffered money and gave them a key and directions. All the while the two teenagers couldn't keep their hands off each other, Ann's tanktop already rising up her midriff, Ren's jacket hanging off one arm and his belt undone by the time they managed to get the door open. The blonde girl showed her eagerness by being the first into the room, dragging her boyfriend in with her.

"What would you have asked for?" Ren managed to ask between kisses as his jacket came off fully. "If you'd won?"

She let out a gasp of laughter as he eagerly pulled her tanktop up and off. "What do you think?"

Yeah. That made sense.

His pants and her shorts dropped almost at the same time, leaving the two teens in only their underwear. "Do you want me to get it started?" she asked, cupping his manhood through his underwear.

"With all the teasing you did, I'm more ready than I've ever been," he smiled down at her, unhooking her bra with one hand before she shrugged it off. His other hand diving into her thong. "It feels like you're ready too."

"Get on the bed," she ordered. It took Ren a second but only a second to figure out the reason. Her time ever since entering high school, ever since running afoul of Kamoshida, it had been run by a man. Pressuring her. Wanting her. Caring nothing for what she wanted. That had been what sex was for her, someone else putting demands on her she wasn't ready or willing to fulfil. So of course, having sex for the first time she would want to be the one in control. Their previous sexual experiences had been like that too. Even when she pushed him into that alleyway it was always her taking charge.

Well, he was more than alright with that. He lay on the bed, watching as she pulled down her thong and prowled up the bed toward him, peeling down his boxer briefs before moving the rest of the way to straddle his thighs, his shaft resting against her body. Her hand wrapped around it absently as she stared down at him with her bright blue eyes. Her look softened for a moment. "Ren, thank you. I'm glad it's you," she said as she raised her hips.

"I'm glad to be with you too," he answered as her womanhood hovered over him.

Inch by trepidatious inch, Ann's body sank down until his head was kissing her lower lips. "Ahh," she sighed, hissing through her teeth as she sank further, her pussy yielding to a real cock for the first time. No hymen thankfully, but a frustratingly tight fit all the same. Her walls gradually surrendered to the weight of her body and the hardness of the invader, the pressure eased by the slickness of her juices.

She found it easier to tease him deeper with repeated short thrusts than to force the entire length inside, gradually letting her sink deeper onto him. Just like when she learned to suck him off, she realised with amusement, just a bit more fun for her. And it was certainly fun for her. Better than the slim little vibrator she liked. She could feel the heat of him inside her, the random pulses and twitches that sent thrills through her body. The sex ed classes had been right, masturbation was nothing to having fun with a partner. And the affection between them magnifying every sensation all the more. It was wonderful.

Before Ann knew it, she had gotten all the way down to the base, her hips flush with his. Her hands came together on his lower abdomen, squeezing her breasts together between her arms as she lifted herself and let herself fall. "This is, amazing!" she moaned as she began to ride him feeling his reaction, his appreciation in the twitching of his cock inside her.

"Ann!" Ren moaned, his hands settling on her hips, "Could you let your hair down?"

"Hmm?" she asked with an impish grin, her lower lip caught between her teeth. She reached up and pulled loose her twintails, letting her long blonde hair fall in a curtain over her shoulders. "Like this?"

Ren's breath caught. "You're so beautiful!"

"Hmhm!" she giggled at his reaction, tossing her head to flick her hair this way and that. She leaned her head back, presenting her body. "Touch me, Ren!"

His hands moved up to fondle her heaving breasts as she kept riding him at a sedate pace. Both of them just enjoyed the feel of it, of being connected like this. It wasn't Ren's first time, but it was his first time with a girl he cared about this much.

As she leaned forward again, his hands grabbed her ass as she really started riding him in earnest, as they both neared a finale they knew was coming, Ren hoped he could feel like this for the rest of his life.

"Ren!" Ann called out as she bounced on his cock, her breasts jiggling with the ferocity of her movements as she pushed herself to her peak.

"Ann!" Ren called back, squeezing her ass, then pulling her head down to kiss him. With one hand gripping her backside he used that hold to drive himself up into her, slamming his cock into her pussy at a rapid pace. His experience winning out at bringing Ann to a mutual climax with him. Her pussy convulsing, stroking, milking out his cum as she squealed into his mouth. The off-white fluid spurted up into her womb, filling her up with his seed before the remainder trickled down around his cock and out from her nether lips.

It was a beautiful moment, a connection between them as they smiled at each other in the afterglow. He never wanted to lose her.

But he would. He would willingly.

A month would go by. And in that month they would save a girl from herself. From the demons of her mind that haunted her. And in turn she would save them from an enemy they couldn't see.

And... In that brief time of knowing this strange, eccentric girl... Ren would find himself falling in love. In love with a quirky but fragile girl with a mountain of emotional issues. Had he fallen for anyone else... He may have gone on as he had before. Allowed himself to accept the love that had brewed in his heart for the blonde girl who took his breath away every time she smiled.

But it wasn't anyone else. And so Ren forced himself to make a choice.

"You're... You're breaking up with me?"

He couldn't look at her. Couldn't bear to see the hurt on her face. He was a coward, unwilling to see the consequences of his choices. "I promised myself when I found out about Futaba, I would help her. No matter what it took, I'd help her be part of the world again. She needs that help. And I can't just leave you to wait however long that takes. That's not fair to you."

"But... But I love you!"

He looked up at her. The words tumbled out. The feelings he couldn't deny if he wanted to. "I love you too."

"Then- Then we can work it out!" she pleaded, tears in her eyes as she grabbed his hands. "I can wait or–!"

His eyes closed. He pulled his hands out of hers. "I'm sorry."

The sounds were enough for him to know. A choked sob, the squeak of plastic and suddenly he was soaked. By the time he looked up through tea-coated glasses all he could make out was her hair flipping as she threw herself out of the diner.

It would be for the best. He had to tell himself that, and that one day he would be proven right.

Over the following months he and Futaba would grow close. Enter a romantic relationship. Then eventually a sexual one. As if to prove just how special she was, Ann never took out his actions on Futaba, and eventually stopped treating him with scorn. She would enter a casual relationship with Ryuji. His blond friend, his first friend in Tokyo let him know the truth of it. That even after what he had done, Ann still carried a torch for him. That Ryuji would support it if they got back together.

Futaba hadn't been ignorant of the goings on in the group. She could be terrifyingly insightful when she wanted to be. By December, with everything looming over them she started pushing for him to make amends. To stop treating her like glass and let himself be happy.

And then Yaldabaoth.

And then back to juvie.

February and March was just getting his life back together. Getting the chance to stay in Tokyo, to leave his parents behind and embrace his new life was amazing.

He had been planning to do it. To take Futaba's advice. To live his life, to not misguidedly restrain himself for her sake.

And then he woke up with another him's memories.

His second life having flashed before his eyes, Ren came back to awareness with Crow and Violet standing between him and Xochiquetzal. Though he couldn't see the god clearly, his vision was blurry. It took him a moment to realise he had been crying, the sudden surge of love, loss and self-inflicted torment hitting him again all at once. He rubbed at his eyes through his mask to clear his vision.

Looking upon her again, he saw that she was smiling. Not just smiling. Grinning. Giddy. "You see? Now you see! Is it not wonderful?! This world has the potential for so much more love, so much more joy!"

"Do you not know what's in those memories?" he asked harshly.

"Of course!" she answered. "Yes, you loved and lost, but you loved! That is a joy that cannot be ignored! For all the despair in one's life, a single moment of love can make it all worth it!" Her hands clasped together in front of her as if praying. "You can still get her back, you know! No, you know! You knew it before, you felt it before! That love can be again! More loves can bloom in the future! That is the gift of this world!"

He did know. That was the painful truth of it and likely her plan from the moment the thieves entered her palace. With this life, he knew the love of a wonderful woman. A love he never knew in his first life. A love that he could never have in his old life. His old self thought it selfish. But the fingers of his new life experience were already clawing for space in his perspective. If everyone knew, and everyone consented, and it made everyone happy, why was it wrong?

"Are you alright, Joker?" Crow asked.

Perhaps it was out of spite, or the fledgling thoughts that could form a true belief. Whatever the cause, he acted. His soul, he could feel it was no longer empty! The personas he carried were different but they were there and– Oh, of course he would have that one in this world. Fine! "Mara!" He ripped his mask off, the great tentacle beast appearing above them, one of its limbs darting forward to impale the goddess. Though not in the way he had intended.

"Ahhhh!" the goddess squealed as she very suddenly had something very large invading her goddesshood.

"Joker!" Violet looked back at him, scandalised.

Though unconventional, the attack did damage even if not in the normal way. The hurt, the pain of rejection on Xochiquetzal's face said as much. "You, ahhn! Why would you turn away? My beautiful world... I just want to give you love!"

Joker shook his head, drawing his gun and pointing it at her. "Humanity make our own path, we don't need someone thinking they can force us to follow their whims!" Yes. Just like Yaldabaoth. Even if the ends weren't as malevolent, it was the same.

It had to be.

He pulled the trigger.

The form of Xochiquetzal dissolved, leaving behind only a liquid sheen on Mara's tentacle before the persona too, vanished.

"Is that it?" Crow asked. "Seems rather anticlimactic."

"FOOLS!" The voice was loud. So loud it felt like it came from all directions at once. "YOU ARE SO EAGER TO REBEL, YOU SPIT ON MY GIFTS?!"

"Where is she?!" Violet shouted, trying to be heard over the sudden rumbling.

Naoto looked about frantically, her mind the first to put the pieces together. "Joker! We need to get out!" She saw him look toward the elevator... That was no longer there. "Not that way! The window! Quickly before–!"

"YOU THINK YOU CAN DEFY ME?! YOU ARE ALREADY INSIDE ME!"

The walls and ceiling began to close in around them, the pressure breaking the glass of the window.

"Come on!" Joker grabbed hold of Naoto, Crow grabbed Violet, the four diving out of the shattered window just as the ceiling came down. Joker's grapple line shot out towards one of the garish displays for the love hotel, swinging the pair of them down to more or less safe landing.

Joker was surprised to see Crow using a similar technique, bringing the other pair down to safety. "What?" Crow asked smugly. "You thought after seeing it in action so many times I wouldn't consider it myself?"

"More important things!" Violet exclaimed, pointing upward.

The other three followed her finger to see the top of the love hotel, what they were led to believe was the penthouse suite, detach from the building entirely. "Very well! Behold, my full glory!"

Glory was certainly a word for it, though not necessarily an accurate one. It was enormous, a great blocky monstrosity of a vaguely feminine shape. Each hand alone was bigger than the four teenagers looking at it. In colours of red, gold and blue, it loomed above. On its head, a geometric shape vaguely resembling a flower sat above its left brow, as though decorating its non-existent hair.

"So, Joker," Crow spoke up, "Would you happen to have any more of the giant anti-god bullets? If so, now would be the time."

"No."

"Ah. That's a shame," the enemy turned ally lamented. "Well, it was fun while it lasted. Being alive again."

"You!" the very definitely a goddess intoned, pointing a great blocky hand in Joker's direction. "You who would claim to speak for humanity! You four stand alone! You will repent! The people of my world know its beauty! They will not be swayed!"

Naoto watched as the great being rose up, and up, and up. "It's... Leaving?"

"I sincerely doubt it." Crow pointed up at the figure now unmoving, looming far above them in the sky. "See? Staying right there so it can watch over its so-called 'beautiful world'. Far away from where we can reach it."

"So how do we destroy it?" Naoto asked, then shook her head. "A better question. How do we revert the world back to its original state?"

"Those are both very good questions for which answers aren't readily available. In the case of Doctor Maruki, answering the first answered both." He grasped his chin as he looked at the world around them, then back up at the god resting in the heavens. "I get the feeling it won't be quite so simple this time."

"It's a fully realised alternate reality," Joker agreed having experienced it himself. "Her job is already done. The only thing I can think of is to force her to undo it."

"You four stand alone," Naoto quoted. "They will not be swayed." She smiled to herself, her eyes closed. "I see."

"Care to share?" Joker asked.

"I am familiar with two instances of a similar phenomenon to this Xochiquetzal, images of gods representing a collective desire of humanity. The first I have few details of, beyond it taking a remarkable sacrifice to prevent. The second, the one my friends and I prevented? It treated the creation of their new world almost like a test or game. It gave certain people the power of persona, let it spread to a few others and watched to see the outcome. Would those who agreed with her prove victorious, or would we who rejected her intentions win out? In the end, it was a collective rejection from effectively all of the people she had chosen, a united belief in our way of life that defeated her."

"You believe this is a similar situation then?" Crow asked, skeptical but not dismissing the idea. "That we have to convince people the old world is better?"

"It... May have also taken hitting her with a great deal of magic until she was willing to listen," she admitted, pulling a snort out of Joker as he remembered the phantom thieves' battle being similar, "but yes. It would also be our best bet from a tactical standpoint."

"How so?"

"We need allies," Naoto stated simply. "And Xochiquetzal quite magnanimously informed us that we have the potential for finding a number of them. Provided we find their old selves. Most importantly, she called them 'people who could undo her design'. Quite telling, don't you think?"

"So we have to find their old selves, give them to their new selves, and convince them that the old world is better than this one so they'll help unmake it." Joker summarised. He ran through his new memories again. The joy, the pain, the love. "This is going to be so much harder than last time."

-(-)-

A/N: To give a little context from the QQ postings that came after this. A bit about what the story is.

Humanity choosing for themselves and not letting their subconscious desires control them is a major staple of the Persona series. But the thing is, that's an easy stance to take against the desires of 'I want to die', 'I want to hide from the truth,' and 'I don't want to have to think for myself'. Those desires are inherently self-destructive. It's natural that with even a smidgen of conscious thought a person would remind themselves what they would lose if they gave in to any of those desires.

'I want love' though? 'I want to make connections'? It's a Persona antagonist that supports the theme the game promotes, while also the one the game disdains. They even achieved it via the method of forming connections, touching other people's hearts to spread their message, same as P3 links giving strength to form the seal, P4 links forging Myriad Truths, the P5 links letting Satan shoot God in the face to save Christmas.

But in the end, it's still humanity giving up a part of itself to an outside force, letting themselves be controlled and guided instead of choosing their own destiny. And so a lot of this story is going to be concerning whether giving that up is worth it if the result is genuinely better. It's forcing the cast to put their big words to the test.

As Igor said in the very first chapter. Humanity will have to make a choice.