Persona 5: Tainted Soul
Chapter 3: Just A Passing Through Thief, Remember That!
"Last time on Tainted Soul!" Vice cheered as he stood alone in a photo studio.
Vice? What are you doing?
"Giving the boys and girls a little recap of the story?" he chuckled, "Stole the idea from that white parrot thing."
But they could just go back to the previous chapter if they want the recap.
"And for those who don't?"
But this isn't a tv show! Let alone an anime!
"Hmm… good point… Alright, carry on!"
XXX
Ryuji was sitting there in his room, his mind still on the events that happened earlier yesterday. The odd Kamoshida, the talking cat, both Ren and Cody having alternate forms! Just what the heck was going on here?!
"Ugh, since when did my life become an anime?" he grumbled aloud.
Though, one thing was for certain once the next day started. He will return to that castle. If that has any evidence he needs to put Kamoshida down and maybe even help the others relax more? He'll find it there.
He then looked at something Ann had given him when they first met, a keychain that depicted a skull and crossbones. He soon gripped the keychain as he got up and prepared for what he wouldn't know, would be the birth of a new breed of hero.
Meanwhile, a mysterious man was wandering through the streets of Tokyo, taking in the sights as several people passed him by.
"So… this is the World of Persona?" he pondered before taking a photo.
Opening: Like Flames - Tensura Slime Season 2 - Opening 2
/PRELUDE/
As Revi and Vice flies through the night sky, we see glimpses of Ichigo and Naoya before the title zips past the duo
/Fate repeats all over again, The voices of my heart say
Time is not enough, it's over/
It soon jumps to Cody standing alone in a hall of mirrors, Vice being on the other side of the mirror before he turns around to see Mementos and the various monsters wandering it's corridors.
/Belief that makes me who I am, light doesn't fade away
Made my mind up now, it's better/
Meanwhile, Ren is sitting alone in the jail cell of the Velvet Room, looking towards the camera as a ghostly visage of Arsene appears before him as he smiles wickedly.
/Yeah I know it's not an easy road, lured by your hands/
It then jumps into a montage of Ryuji jumping for a bit before running, Ann with her back towards the camera fixing her hoodie, an artist holding his paintbrush in front of himself with one eye closed, a cat wandering through an alleyway, Makoto practicing judo, a NEET looking over something on her screen, an heiress looking over her garden, a gymnast practicing her routine, and finally a detective looking over some notes
/Even if it rains don't be swayed, being same as always/
It then jumps to Ichigo watching over the streets of New York, Nigo standing in the middle of a ruined battlefield alone, V3 looking towards the Pyramids of Giza, the prone body of Riderman on a beach in Tahiti, X floating down into the depths of the Mediterranean Sea, Amazon roaring into the night sky causing birds to fly up from the trees of the jungle, and a pair of graves in the middle of a beach with the helmet of Stronger resting on the left grave while a bouquet of flowers was near the right grave.
/Want to feel my destiny, Open my eyes to be braver/
As the shadow of the villains of past Rider and Persona titles haunt Cody and Ren, they soon turn to see a light where they notice the chains holding them back. Luckily, they spot Touma turn towards him and reach out for them, allowing them to break out and transform.
/Get up now Get up now stronger I believe in myself
Stand up now Stand up now shouting
I'll never run away/
It then transitions into a battle scene where Revi and Vice team up as they battle alongside the Phantom Thieves, transforming into their different forms to help each team member. Meanwhile, Ren soon awakens Arsene as several silhouettes of other Personas appear behind the original Phantom Thief before he and Ren perform Eigon.
/I might lose control... It's a perfect world/
It then transitions into showing Cody lost in the devil's world before he sees the Deadmans standing in his way, as Aguilera summons the eight Palace holders behind themselves with her Vistamp.
/Destroy all of it, in the end it's for our good/
As he panics, he notices the spirit of Maria embracing him before he sees the past Riders from Ichigo until Saber appears by his side, their lights shining down enough to allow him to obtain the Rex Vistamp, summoning Vice in the process.
/Let me shout like flames/
Afterwards, he and Vice share a high-five before it jumps to an ending shot of the twelve heroes standing behind a spotlight in their Metaverse garbs.
As Cody was getting ready for school, he made sure everything was in order. Especially making sure Alice was well and happy.
"Come on boy! We don't want to be late again!" Vice reminded him in a faux fatherly tone.
"Easy Vice, I'm just making sure Alice is well." Cody sighed, reminding the demon to be patient. "Since when did you care about me getting to school, anyways?"
"Because, there be Shadow-thingies to fight, and a certain girl would not like you getting a tardy mark on your record" the demon teased him.
"She's just my tutor, Vice!" Cody announced, unsure why his cheeks were hot from his blushed face.
"And I'm Momotaros" he quipped back.
The blonde foreigner rolled his eyes as he walked into the main room, soon seeing a new present for him. He looked confused as he went over and opened it up to find… a phone? Surprisingly it was a new phone, that had not only his Revice coloring to it, but Fenix's logo on it as well.
"OOOH! Kind of roomy in here!" Vice chuckled as he suddenly appeared on screen.
"You better stay in there and not screw things up with me when at school." Cody scolded.
"Yes sir~!" the demon said with a salute.
With that, he nodded as he sees Alice walk over to him as he patted her head, "I hope your school is treating you well, Alice?" He asked her.
"Same here" she hoped, "Please come back in one piece, okay?"
"I will, promise." He smiled, hugging his sister gently.
They soon were off as Ren, Arsene, and Ryuji were there to meet him and Vice.
"So, your Persona is some thief guy from a book?" Ryuji asked, recalling what Vice has mentioned the other day.
"Thats what it seems." Ren nodded.
"Kind of makes me wonder what other kinds of those Personas there are?" Cody pondered on with a smile.
"Well, hopefully we won't need to see them first hand again." Ren sighed.
As they walked around, Cody couldn't help but feel like he was being watched, and not by Vice or Arsene either. Cody soon turned around as he saw there was nothing there and decided to shrug off the feeling for now, joining his new friends in some small talk.
"Say, since we have time before school starts, why don't we head back into that castle and check things out?" Ryuji offered the idea.
"But how do we even do that?" Vice asked from within Cody's phone.
"Hm?" Ryuji looked around confused before shaking his head, "Here, let me see your phone Ren." He asked, as the black-haired teen did so. He soon fiddled around with it before a bright smile on his face, "Got it! Look! It even has a search history!" He said, showing that it was from the odd app that couldn't be removed.
"Why would such a thing, even need that?" Cody questioned.
"Maybe to keep tabs on whatever places we find?" Ren guessed, "We could need to go back of we miss something."
"Hmm… well, with me and Ren having powers now… We could be safer. But we'll still need to not make so much noise." Cody noted.
"Think that weirdo app might show up in here?" Vice asked, once more using the phone as his means of communication… ironically.
"Hey, if it works, it works right?"
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's do this!" Ryuji said, as he clicked on the history as it began to activate.
BEGINNING NAVIGATION
With that, they found themselves in front of Shujin Castle once more, Ren and Cody's clothes changing to fit the world they were in.
"Well… we're back and everything is still the same…" Ren noted, as he looked at his attire.
"Huh? What are you idiots doing back here?"
From afar came Morgana, as the monster-cat was confused as to why they returned after escaping?
"We could say the same thing to you, cat." Ryuji noted.
"So, where be the Shadows? I want to see what they taste like" Vice asked eagerly.
"You're one weird persona…" Morgana sweatdropped at Vice's personality.
"Demon! Not Persona! DEMON!" Vice insisted.
"This is most interesting to see…" Arsene commented… much to Morgana's surprise.
"Wait, he's manifesting just to talk?! Just what is going on here!?" Morgana groaned out.
"What? Yours can't do it too?" Ryuji asked.
"It's not that I can't, I mostly don't have much to say" a Spanish voice answered, likely Zorro.
"Plus… since Persona's are our other selves… it's kinda like you're talking to yourself, you hear?" Morgana noted. "Now, what you are three doing back here?"
"Besides checking the place out? Ask Ryuji." Cody pointed out.
"W-Well… its because of Kamoshida…" He responded, "I don't know why this is all happening, but he has to be the source of it. If we can find out what, and maybe even find any evidence like those cells we saw, maybe we can get him to stop being such a shitty adult?"
"This isn't some field trip. Going inside Palaces are dangerous. You could get killed!" Morgana stated.
"So is facing off against the Deadmans, but you don't see me complaining," Cody reminded the two.
Morgana sighed out, seeing that either way he tries to go at this, they'll most likely come back over and over again. But then… an idea hit him.
"Hmm…. maybe..? Yes, yes… that'll work." Morgana muttered out before looking at the group, "Okay. Then let's make a deal?"
"What do you mean?" Ren asked.
"I'll accompany you idiots, since you most likely will be caught without my help. In exchange, you three help me find what I'm looking for and this way we all can work together and not die!" Morgana explained to them.
"What would that by? A lifetime's supply of tuna?" Vice guessed.
"I'm not a cat!" Morgana hissed, slapping Vice on the head, "And well… it's important, but we can discuss about that later."
"So boss? What's the plan then?" Vice then asked Ren, much to his surprise.
"Huh? Why me?" Ren questioned.
"Well, you kind of have that leader vibe to you" Cody explained, "Plus, come on, your Persona speaks for itself."
"Not to mention other than him and myself, you're the only one who seems to know how to fight. This blonde monkey seems pretty weak to me." Morgana noted, snickering at Ryuji.
"What did you say?!" the delinquent growled.
"Well… I guess you have a point…" Ren nodded.
"Alright! Next up, we need Codenames!" Morgana said.
"Technically I have one in Revi" Cody pointed out.
"And I'm Vice!" The blue demon chimed in.
"Then… how about… 'Joker'?" Morgana offered, "He's not only our ace, but out trump card too!"
Almost immediately Cody, or Revi, felt a shiver down his spine upon hearing that name.
"What's wrong?" Ryuji asked the foreigner, "Feeling a bit cold dude?"
"It's just, bad things happen when that name is used" Revi said before realizing what Vice might say, "And before you ask, W doesn't count."
"I wasn't talking about W, I was going to mention you know… what she said about that name." the demon reminded him.
"Then what about him?" Ryuji pointed to Morgana, "I'm still liking 'Monster-Cat'." He snickered.
"Neko-chan works too" Vice added in, the pair giving a fist bump as they did.
"Ugh, just call me whatever…" The cat rolled his eyes.
"Mona it is then!" Vice declared.
"Fine, fine. Let's just get going then." Mona said, as he soon lead them… to the exit they came out yesterday?
"Why back here?"
"Well, besides them being too stupid to cover it back up. Returning from an easy exit is also a good place to enter. Such is the ways of being a thief." Mona informed.
"I see that he is at least knowledgeable about this" Arsene complimented.
"Why wou-oh right, master thief" the monster cat realized as he took the compliment.
"So, what's next Mona-sensei?" Vice cheekily asked.
"Well, we need to be sneaky. Can't just by monkey brain over here and yelling out things." Mona pointed to Ryuji once more.
Ryuji was pissed about that, but even he couldn't fault what the monster cat advised, especially given their last time in the castle.
With that, Mona led them onward as they began to traverse the castle. Luckily no guards were shown by they still had to be ready for an ambush, just in case.
They began to head to the depths once more and find any more clues or anything else that could give them what they need. But surprisingly when they reached the cells and hanging cages… they were completely empty.
"What happened while we were away?" Revi asked.
"Most likely they got move to a new location. Either for more torture or because of us." Mona informed.
The blondes audibly gulped in fear of what that meant. Regardless, they continued to trek through the castle when they spotted one of the guards patrolling the halls.
"Intruders!" It said, as the guard splitted off into three pixies as they were caught in a fight.
"Looks like we have to take them on now." Revi said as the four fighters were ready for a brawl as Ryuji hid back.
"Alright, it's my turn to fight!" Vice cheered.
"Persona/Henshin!"
KAMEN RI~DER~
RE~VI! VICE! REVI~CE~!
As Revi soon changed into his Rider form, with Vice adding in. Joker had taken out a combat knife while Mona had, surprisingly a large cutlass in his paw.
"Compensating for something kitty cat?" Vice teased as he took out the Ohnin-buster.
"Shut it, and focus on fighting!" Mona frowned.
"Alright, let's end this in one shot!" Revi declared as he and Joker dashed in and attacked one of the pixies.
Mona and Vice lunged in as they slashed the other pixie as it quickly faded into ash from their attack. This made the final pixie flinched as it attempted to cast a spell, but Mona stopped it as he whipped out a slingshot and a cannonball, as he fired a round at it, knocking it onto the ground.
"Looking cool!" Vice complimented the cat as he smirked at the praise.
"Owowow!" The pixie whined, "P-Please! Don't kill me!" The Shadow pleaded to them.
"Wait, it can talk?" Vice gasped for the rest of the fighters.
"Shadows are wandering spirits after all. Of course they'd be able to talk too." Mona explained.
"So, what do you want?" Joker asked the scared pixie.
"To live obviously, I'll do anything!" she said whilst cowering.
"Anything?" Revi noted as he pondered, "Well, can you tell us where they took the captives from these cells?"
"T-That's all you want?" Pixie questioned as they nodded, "Oh, well.. Um… they were taken to Lord Kamoshida's Training Cells. They all have to give him proper results or be banished from the castle."
Suddenly, Ryuji felt some memories flash through his head due to the pixie's information. Memories of Kamoshida scolding him, and the track team abandoning him.
"I see, thank you then." Joker said as he pocketed his knife.
"T-That truly was all you wanted?"
"Of course, we're not monsters." Revi noted as the pixie smiled.
"I mean I was planning on eating you but-Hey! Again with the head?!"
"Vice…" Revi scolded, slapping his head.
"Please! Let me come with you!" Pixie said, flying up to Joker.
"What do you think Joker?" Mona asked.
"Might as well. If she has any more knowledge about this place, she could be useful." Joker noted. The Pixie smiled before she glowed brightly as surprisingly turned into the Mask that Joker wore, before it entered him.
"Cody? This is looking mighty familiar, don't you think?" Vice whispered to the boy.
"Y-Yeah…" Revi nodded.
"W-Woah! You can hold two Personas?" Mona gasped.
"I think there's something special about him" Revi commented, "Guess we were right to appoint you as our leader."
"Yeah, guess so." Joker nodded, "So, lead the way, Pixie." He said, as he summoned the small pixie as she nodded and began to lead the way to this 'Training Cell' she spoke of.
XXX
As they arrived, they saw that the training cell was in fact, the school gym.
"I knew it…" Ryuji snarled.
Within each of the larger cells were indeed more of the people, mostly the men, they saw before. But seems they were being forced to do such cruel activities that could be considered torture as each one was more horrific than the last.
"What the hell?!" Revi gasped.
"Yo, and here I thought American coaches were bad! This guy's just fucking sick!" Vice roared.
"This must be what Kamoshida sees his training as to those he puts them in." Mona informed.
"You mean he's doing this in person?"
"No, but suffice to say, how we see it, is how far he'd take it if he was given the chance." Mona explained to them.
"Damn it…. So this bastard really is that sick…" Ryuji hissed, as he took out his phone.
"Hey, Ryuji, is everything alright with you?" Joker asked.
"Yeah… but why isn't my phone working?" he questioned as it wouldn't boot up.
"Yeah, same here" Revi noted as his phone was also bugging out.
"Because this is a Palace, a physical manifestation of someone's psyche. Put it bluntly, his cognitive view." the monster cat explained.
"So these guys aren't real then?" Vice asked, "Well that explains why they don't even notice us."
"Indeed. But just because they aren't real, doesn't mean what we feel or see is." Mona informed, "This can still give us clues as to what he could to do someone or what he hides away from other's."
"Think there's any correlation between this and the real Kamoshida?" Revi pondered.
"Most likely." Mona nodded.
"Well, I'll just have to memorize their faces and confront them later." Ryuji said, examining their faces more.
"Maybe get Fenix in on this" Vice added in, "Maybe they could do something about these guys."
"I doubt we could convince them about this unknown world even if we tried." Revi sighed out.
"Hey, it was worth a shot after all" the demon shrugged.
"Alright, I memorized them all. Let's get out of here now." Ryuji said to them.
They soon nodded before they heard something growling behind them.
"What was that?" Ryuji fearfully asked.
As they slowly turned around, they noticed a new enemy as it wasn't a Shadow. But it was some kind of origami shark that was lime green and magenta.
"Deadman ahoy!" Vice declared as he and Revi got ready for battle.
"What the hell is that thing?!" Mona gasped.
"That's a Deadman, one of our enemies." Vice explained.
"So, this is where you rats went to?" King Kamoshida said, walking into view, "Glad I got to use the little present I took from Mishima." he grinned, holding up the Vistamp in question as it was a magenta stamp with a green Megalodon on it.
"What the?! Is that a Vistamp?!" Revi gasped as he spotted the Vistamp in his hand.
"How did he even get one?" Joker questioned.
"A little bird told me that you two had inner demons and gave me something to even the odds" he noted, "Didn't think that I'd find you brats in a world like this after using the stamp."
"Hand over the stamp before someone gets hurt!" Revi demanded from the mad king.
"Ha! Why would I give up such delicious power? No, I'm going to use it to weed you brats out of here for good." Kamoshida grinned.
"Alright, you want to play ball! Well batter up!" Vice declared as they charged into action.
The Megalodon Deadman growled as it rushed at the group, tackling the three powered ones through the wall as it soon sent out waves of water and scales to attack with, hitting them thanks to it's power.
Thinking fast, Joker swapped back to Arsene as he released a blast of Eiha at the Deaman, cursing it for a moment while Revi leaped in with a continuous kick attack. Meanwhile, Vice and the Megalodon Deadman were savagely clawing at each other as the demon felt a rush of adrenaline like never before.
"I was starting to miss fighting you guys, boy am I glad to see something like this again!" he laughed whilst unleashing several slash attacks on the Deaman.
"Let me help out." Mona said as he used what felt like a heal spell as the damage they gained from the Deadman was healed a bit.
"Thanks Garfield" the demon thanked him.
"You better knock it off, or no heals for you!" Mona hissed out.
"What are ya, Donald Duck?" he quipped before landing several punches to the monster's head.
Mona hissed before he flinched and quickly turned to see several Shadows surrounding the group once more. "Crap! We're surrounded!" Mona gasped.
"As you should!" King Kamoshida declared as the hoard inched closer and closer, forcing the quartet to back up towards each other in a hope to fight.
"This isn't good, I don't see any way to get out of this…" Joker grimaced.
"Well, it's been an honor fighting alongside you gentlemen!" Vice said as he stood fearfully by their side.
"Don't wuss out this early, Vice!" Revi growled.
"Who said I was running? If you die, I go too" the demon reminded him, "I got no choice but to fight!"
That was when the delinquent had enough as he rushed towards the mad king.
"Leave them out of this, Kamoshida!" Ryuji shouted to him.
King Kamoshida didn't have enough time to react as he was shoved away, causing him to drop his Vistamp and allow Ryuji to pick it up.
"You idiot! Don't be some hero!" Revi scolded him.
"Hell no, I'm not standing around and letting you guys die! I'm just as ready to fight as you are!" he declared as he looked at the Vistamp and glared at the confused Megalodon Deadman.
"Ryuji… of course you'd be another nuisance." Kamoshida sighed out. "Just like when you were the same with your old track team."
Joker and Revi looked confused as to why King Kamoshida was bringing this up now. However the delinquent was still seething with rage at the mad king mentioning the track team.
"Did you tell them? How you were the reason the track team was forced to disband?" Kamoshida asked, "Or were you just dragging them down with you like before?"
"Did you forget I have your monster under my control?" he reminded him as he gripped Megalodon Vistamp.
"Oh that? That only summons them. He's still under my will." Kamoshida grinned as the Deadman sent a wave of water and scales at Ryuji.
"Ryuji!" Joker cried out as the delinquent fell to the ground, and right under Kamoshida's boot as he reclaimed the Vistamp.
"And once again, that thickhead of yours is about to cost you another chance. Oh well." Kamoshida shrugged, "It didn't have to be like this. If you just listened like the dog you are, maybe I wouldn't had to break your leg for defying me. Though many would think it was just self defense again."
That was enough, Ryuji was at his limit.
"You… YOU…. YOU SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" he declared as he got up, throwing the mad king off balance.
"Wait, did Ryuji just say 'fuck' instead of 'eff'? Wow, he really is pissed off…" Vice commented as he recalled the delinquent's manners.
"Breaking points are always the case when it comes to one's manners and beliefs." Arsene informed the demon.
Ryuji panted as he glared at Kamoshida, angered at what the corrupt teacher had done over and over again.
"All you think about is using people… you're the real scumbag, Kamoshida!" he declared, "But when it comes time to actually fight? You run…. So stop looking down at me, with that suptid face of yours!"
"What are you doing? Silence him!" he tried to order the Megalodon Deadman as the monster quickly charged in to take a bite out of the delinquant.
YOU MADE ME WAIT FOR QUITE A WHILE.
Like Joker before him, Ryuji felt a burst of power emanate from him, leading to the delinquent receiving a major headache.
YOU SEEK POWER, CORRECT? THEN LET US FORM A PACT.
SINCE YOUR NAME HAS BEEN DISGRACED ALREADY, WHY NOT HOIST THE FLAG AND WREAK HAVOC…? THE 'OTHER YOU' WHO EXISTS WITHIN DESIRES IT THUS...
"Woah, what's going on?!" Vice gasped, "Is he going through the same think Joker did?"
"I think so" the leader of the group confirmed.
I AM THOU, THOU ART I….
THERE IS NO TURNING BACK, THE SKULL OF REBELLION IS YOUR FLAG HENCEFORTH!
Ryuji soon looked up with a glare at Kamoshida. His mask was a metal skull as he ripped it off, soon quickly gaining new clothes as it was a very rock/punk set of clothes with a red ascot as floating behind him was his Persona. It looked like a pirate lord, with a hook and skull face, as he was riding on a small boat.
"Blast them away, Captain Kidd!" Ryuji shouted in triumph.
Soon, the newly subbed Captain Kidd started firing the cannons on his ship at the Shadows and the Deadman, this scared King Kamoshida enough to flee the area as the rest got their second wind.
"Let's pummel these jerks!" Ryuji said to the others with vigor as they nodded.
"Well then, it's not Blackbeard but he'll do!" Vice chuckled while Joker and Revi felt their second wind appear.
"Alright, let's ravage them!" the thief declared as Arsene unleashed a burst of curse magic at their foes.
Mona chimed in with a gust of wind while Ryuji knocked them into the air. Vice and Revi followed suit as they slammed the Shadows and Deadman to the ground, weakening it.
"Wow, I'm in the zone!" the newly awakened thief cheered as he looked at his new weapon, a spiked baseball bat.
"We can chat later, let's end this!" Joker announced.
With that declaration, all of the thieves and heroes blitzed the Megalodon Deadman and the remaining Shadows.
"The show's over in!" Vice declared as he once more counted down.
3!
2!
1!
Ryuji soon landed in front of the opponents after the demon snapped his fingers, falling face first before getting up and performing a rocker hand gesture.
FREAKIN' BORING!
As the Shadows spurted 'blood' from their wounds, the Megalodon Deadman howled before erupting into a fiery explosion, leaving the group free to escape once more.
"Alright! That was awesome!" Ryuji cheered, "Did you see us there? You were like "Ravage them!" and Cody was going all Amazons on their ass!"
"We all did…" Mona sighed out.
"Hey, don't mind the kid. Let him have his moment" the demon chuckled.
"Still though, to think he too would have a persona?" Mona noted, "This is going better than I hoped."
"That's not a Persona. That's a Deadman, the monsters that have been terrorizing our world for almost half a century" Vice explained, thinking he meant Kamoshida.
"I think he was referring to Ryuji, Vice." Revi said to him.
"Oh…" he realized, "Forgot about him."
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean!" the delinquant snapped at the demon.
"So what now? We've already run into Kamoshida twice?" Joker asked the monster cat.
"No, we should leave and recover." Mona said, pointing to a now panting Ryuji, "Summoning a persona at the start drains your energy quickly."
"Plus, we now know that Kamoshida has a Vistamp, so we should probably find a way to keep it away from him" Revi pointed out to the two.
"True, well when we do come back, Skull will be ready to pillage and plunder!" Ryuji declared, giving himself a codename.
"Skull?" Mona questioned, "Such terrible taste…"
"What? It works with the pirate motif!" he protested.
"Let's just get going before we are late." Revi said as he helped lead the group back to reality.
XXX
As they headed to school, the trio were worried about what Kamoshida might do with the Megalodon Vistamp. They knew how dangerous Mishima was with the Rex Vistamp, so someone with a Palace would likely be worse.
Of course they still needed to find a way how to get it off of Kamoshida without him just spawning another Deadman again. This became tricky for them as so far, they see nothing on his person, and his office is always locked when he's not in.
Just then, Cody bumped into someone as he fell to the ground, much to his friends' shock.
"Yo, you okay there Cody?" Vice asked the foreigner.
"Yeah, just a bump…" He groaned out.
"Guessing you three had a lot on your mind?" the stranger asked as Ren and Ryuji helped Cody back to his feet.
"Yeah, sorry about that sir." Cody apologized, even with his broken Japanese.
However, when he turned to who he bumped into, he was left speechless, as were the boy in glasses and the delinquant.
"Wait, you're?!" Vice gasped.
Standing there in a teacher uniform, with surprisingly a magenta badge on him was none other than the destroyer of worlds, Tsukasa Kadoya, Kamen Rider Decade.
"Decade?!" the quartet gasped.
"Hm? So you kids know of me? This is a unique change from my past world visits." Tsukasa noted.
"Dude, I gotta be dreaming" Ryuji thought as he pinched himself.
"Wait, what exactly are you doing here?" Cody soon asked, "It's not exactly common to see a legendary Rider pop up in your school."
"Something about this world brought it to my attention, so I figured I'd check it out. Didn't expect a new rider out of this." Tsukasa said.
Cody was a little surprised to see that Tsukasa knew he was a Rider off the bat.
"Woah, talk about starstruck" Vice said.
"Why thank you" the photographer complimented the demon, much to his surprise.
"Wait, you ca-oh wait, forgot. Decade" the demon noted as he knew that more than likely he was given that ability upon arriving to their world.
"Indeed." Tsukasa nodded with a sly smirk.
"You three! What are you doing?!" Kamoshida called out, walking over to the three, "You should be in class, not talking to Kadoya-sensei here!" He said, as already Tsukasa's influence has already formed in this world.
"Oh, sorry!" Cody apologized as the three walked off, keeping an eye on the coach in case he held the Vistamp in hand.
"Very sorry for those three, Kadoya-sensei. They are a bad crowd and don't need you attention." Kamoshida said.
"Didn't seem like that to me. They looked more unlucky than unruly" he noted.
"I don't think so, sensei. That blonde delinquent attacked me one day, while the glasses kid was charged with assault. I've even heard rumors that he may be a Deadman believer." Kamoshida said, already sowing the seeds of doubt in the school.
Unfortunately for him, Tsukasa caught on as he took note of that, "Well then, I'll see if I can change that", he chuckled before walking off.
XXX
"So, you seem a bit tired" Ann noted as she saw how ragged Ryuji was after his awakening.
"You don't know the half of it…" the delinquant grumbled, "I feel like I ate too much ramen."
"Of course you did…" Ann sighed out.
'At least Ryuji knows how to keep his cover' Ren noted as he returned his attention to class.
During the lecture, the young man soon compiled the new information they obtained, namely the arrival of Decade and the revelation of Kamoshida having a Vistamp.
'Question is though, what does it all mean? I might not watch Rider as much as Ryuji or Cody, but I know Decade showing up doesn't mean anything good…' he noted.
Before he could think on it any further, he spotted a piece of chalk off the corner of his eye and barely dodged it.
'That was close!' he thought while the rest of the class was impressed.
"Hmph, just don't let me catch you again." The teacher huffed in response as he went back to his studies.
"Woah, he dodged it!" one of the students noticed.
"That was so cool!" Another chimed in.
"Maybe the rumors about him and that gaijin were fake?" One said, as that soon caught the two boys attention.
'Wait, rumors?' the boys thought.
XXX
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Cody shouted in annoyance, angered by what Ren and Ryuji told him about the rumors spreading about.
"I know, this blows!" Ryuji growled, crushing a soda can before even opening it, "To think, Kamoshida would stoop so low and put out that you might be a follower of the Deadmans."
"Those monsters nearly killed my sister! Why would I EVER follow them!" he roared.
"Most likely the same reason my record is out there too… To cause troubles and distrust." Ren frowned, as he was upset that his 'criminal record' was leaked out, he wasn't that phased by it.
"You gotta be kidding me…" Cody groaned loudly, "This is the worst!"
"No wonder so many were giving you glares when we entered today…" Ryuji recalled, "This sucks! He didn't do anything wrong!" the delinquent said, angered by this as well.
"Not to mention, eyes will be on us more now that's out there…. We may not even have a chance to find the ViStamp he was given." Ren noted.
Then, Ryuji had an idea. "Wait, what about Decade? Maybe he can help us?"
"Even so, I don't think that'd be a good idea to wash those doubts away. Sides, you three need something more… obscure." A new voice said…. But they were unsure who it was as they looked around and saw no one.
"Was that you Vice?" Cody asked.
"Nu uh, I'm no Robin Williams man. I can't do impressions" he told the blonde Rider.
"Geez, even out here you can't tell without looking, can you?" The familiar voice said, as soon hopping ont the table was a... cat? A simple black and white cat with bright blue eyes.
"Wait… Mona?!" Vice gasped as he tries to fight back his laughter.
"Now you get it." Mona sighed, "And stop laughing. This is… just the form I had to take to get to you guys."
"Well then, I guess Ryuji calling you a cat was pretty accurate catboy!" the demon noted before he was left howling with laughter.
"I'm not a cat! I just… lost my actual body…" Mona said with a sad tone.
That instantly got the demon to shut up.
"There are some things I don't make light of, losing a body is one."
"Dude, what happened?" Cody asked the cat as it seemed to be a touchy subject.
"So you were wandering around Kamoshida's Palace to find your real body?" Ren asked as Mona nodded.
"I don't even know who I really am… I just know my name…" Mona informed.
"So you lost your body and your memories?" Ren realized.
"Yeah… and I know deep in that Palace, there's some connection to it! I just know it! My instincts never lie to me!" Mona stated to them.
The trio soon looked towards each other and got into a huddle with the cat.
"Alright boss, what do we do?" Ryuji asked as the trio tried to come up with a plan.
"Well, I easily can sneak in and find anything thats needed. What am I looking for?" Mona asked.
"A Vistamp. One that has a Megalodon image on it." Cody informed as he took out the Rex Vistamp for the cat to see, "It's as big as this and has a pi-I mean magenta casing."
"Got it. I'll do my best to find it. You guys just sit tight." Mona said, as he hopped off and began his mission. Though from the corner, Ann stood there as she had her arms crossed and with confusion on her face.
"What did you get into this time, Ryuji?" she pondered aloud.
XXX
As the school day ended, Morgana told them he needed a bit more time to get into the office to find it. So for now, the group had to rest and wait, since charging into the Palace once more could mean more troubles for them.
So as they waited for his response, the trio were heading off together to chat and more. Though while they did, Ren noticed Ann from afar, as she seemed to be on the phone with someone, soon they all heard her voice and what was going on.
"I told you! Do not touch Shiho! I played these games enough, but I will not go that far for it!" Ann shouted into the phone, as it seemed someone was trying to blackmail her. But the phone soon hanged up as she began to drop to her knees and sob.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Ann said nothing as she stood up and ran off. This of course made the trio worried as they followed her, only to see her soon hugging her legs and crying.
"Ann…" Ryuji said softly.
Cody, also could tell this was hurting her, as he nudged Ryuji's side, suggesting him to try something to get her to come with them so she can calm down and tell them what happened? Ryuji was more shocked as to why him, but he gave in as he patted her shoulder.
After a bit, she began to sob less as she stood up, and followed them, with Ryuji, of course, leading them to Big Bang Burger of all places.
"What? It was the first thing I could think of!" Ryuji stated.
"Cause of your stomach…" Cody sighed, "Well, might as well do something here."
Soon, the four of them took a few seats as Cody helped pay for the meals and other parts they wanted, as they let Ann relax until she was ready to talk.
"You feeling alright now?" Ryuji asked her after some time.
"Yeah…. Thank you, Ryuji…" Ann said, sipping some water.
"So what even was that all about?" Ren asked, as Ann looked down at the water.
"You've all heard about it, right? The rumors about me being Kamoshida's 'girl'." She emphasized.
"Oh, that? I thought it was nothing more than just jerks making fun of you again." Ryuji said, as it seemed this wasn't the first time he's been around rumors about Ann.
"Well… while they're not true…. It's also not wrong either…" Ann confessed, "To have Shiho in the team and work towards nationals… I accepted Kamoshida's offer. He gets to pose off like this with me, and he not only keeps his hands off of her, but keep her in the team…. But now? He…. He wants me to go to…. 'His place' or he'll take Shiho off of the team…."
"This 'Shiho' means a lot to you, huh?" Cody questioned.
"Honestly? She's been my best friend for years…. She never once saw me as anyone different. She's practically like a sister to me." Ann smiled softly, "But… I don't want to be the reason she loses her dream…."
The trio soon felt anger rise up as their opinions of Kamoshida hit an all time low. They soon made a promise to themselves.
One way or another, Kamoshida was going to pay…
After a bit more talking and not only hearing her side, but knowing why the boys were concerned for her, Anna started to realize whatever she heard from before? Wasn't the whole story. And while they were hiding it from her, she was going to trust them as they were the only ones who stopped and helped her with her bottled problems.
They were…. true friends.
XXX
The next day, the trio walked to Shujin ready to save it from Kamoshida and to prevent any more people from suffering from the Deadmans. They'll head back into that Palace after school, and put an end to this.
Once they reached the gate, they were soon greeted by Tsukasa, who noticed the look in their eyes and smirked.
'Well today's gonna be interesting…' he noted as the teens passed him by and entered the school.
As the trio headed off to their classes, their class work continued. Though, with each passing minute, it felt like it was taking forever to end school…. Of course, that was the least of their worries, as during lunch break, Shiho was about to meet with Ann and eat alongside her, only to be stopped by Mishima.
"Um… Shiho? Kamoshida-sensei wants a word with you…." Mishima said to her, as she looked confused.
"Why me?"
"He… didn't say…" Mishima said, rubbing his face and chest from the injury he received from the teacher during gym class earlier before walking away.
Shiho started to think through this, the reasoning she was being summoned…. Soon she grew pale as she realized what it was…. Kamoshida was going to assault her, like he did with the male students as her fear began to grow rapidly.
"Ann… please… help me…" Shiho said with a whimper.
XXX
Lunch ended as it was now only two hours left until school was done and the students got to be released. Tension rose between the awakened thieves as they knew it wouldn't be long… that was until a student gasped.
"H-Hey! What's she doing?!" One called out as that gained the rest of the class, then soon the school's attention. Near the courtyard at the top of the building was Shiho.
The young lady was covered with a few new bruises as she was now standing on edge. This caught everyone's attention as everyone was unable to move at that point
'W-Wait… is she gonna, jump?!' Cody gawked in his in mind, that this girl was about to commit suicide!
As everyone rushed to watched the girl jumped off the building, Cody was in so much shock and worry, that as he moved, he accidentally dropped his Rex Vistamp as it landed on his foot.
Soon, this caught the attention of the other students in his class, Makoto included as forming from him was a contract as spawning out of it, was Vice, making the students scream in terror, thinking there was a Deadman attack.
"VICE!" Cody commanded, as while changing into his Rider form would've helped, he may not have time for it, so instead taking this chance of the summoned Vice to do it instead.
"Aye aye!" he declared as he jumped out of the window right at the exact time as Shiho fell. During the mid fall, as Shiho braced for her end, Vice caught Shiho, landing with a large dent in the ground. Thankfully, the girl was alive as she opened her eyes, only for that confusion to change to dread as she saw Vice staring at her.
"You alright?" he asked.
"D-Deadman?!" She cried out with worry.
From afar in the second-year class, Ren, Ryuji and Anna saw this, as the blonde girl was shocked at the sight, "Shiho!" She cried out, soon rushing out to get to her friend.
However, as she did so, most of Cody's class started ganging up on him, enraged at what they saw.
"HEY, WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" one student growled.
"He has a Stamp! He must be with the Deadmans!" Another chimed in.
"Let's kick his ass before his Deadman cult buddies get here!" one more shouted.
"W-Wait! I was just wanted to help save her!" Cody said, trying to defend himself as the student either threw things at him or was ready to attack him.
"That doesn't excuse you having that stamp pal!" one student growled as the class began to arm themselves.
Cody soon held himself in defense as several items were being thrown at him, he was lucky to pocket his stamp before they did anything to him. Several other students however began beating him with whatever was on hand as they started almost lynching him with the intent to beat him to the ground.
'V-Vice! Get back here before anymore people get scared!' Cody called out to the demon via telepathy, since they were connected.
'Eh? But you're getting hurt, kiddo!'
'I know! But better to have them be scared of me, rather than them being scared of you and call in the police and get more people hurt!'
Luckily, Vice didn't need to step in again as Makoto scratched the nearby chalkboard to cause an ear-piercing sound that cause the student's enough pain to stop the mob attack.
Cody looked as Makoto nodded, knowing that he can use this to escape before he got hurt more. He quickly broke out of the mob and began to run.
As Cody ran, he dashed past a confused, but still gleeful Kamoshida looking at the ragged foreigner.
"Run as much as you want kid. You just gave yourself away." Kamoshida smirked.
XXX
A/N:
HackerEX: (looking at the calendar) Hey, is Sora out yet?
Striberx: In 3 more days.
HackerEX: Seriously? Can't they release it early already? I mean come on!
Striberx: Hey, at least we can keep our readers occupied until then, right?
HackerEX: I guess, especially since we updated chapter 8 of Tales of Bond with that added Buster/Elfman flashback… that I messed up before submitting.
Striberx: Mhm, as well as this new chap for Persona! ^^
HackerEX: Even still, HOLY SHIT SORA'S IN SMASH! I mean, I literally released an EoT chapter ON the same day as Sora's reveal. Something tells me that I was on to that reveal.
Striberx: As for me, I hope you all are enjoy this story so far? I know some of you are wanting to get to the good stuff, but remember, Persona is long. If we did it too short, not only would we be rushing things but also never serve it justice with this.
HackerEX: And that's not even counting any possible Confidant/Social Link dialogue that could be added.
Striberx: Indeed, which all will be added and more. We're even giving Cody his own unique Confidant power.
HackerEX: But on the top of this chapter, did anyone really not expect Tsukasa to show up at one point. I mean I know that we already revealed the roster of Riders that do exist here, but come on. It's Tsukasa Kadoya, the dude goes through so many worlds it's no surprise that he'd find himself here.
Striberx: Plus, its not that big of a stretch for him to show, since Persona does have odd cameos as well.
HackerEX: Not to mention all of the cameos in the SMT franchise as a whole. Featuring Dante from the Devil May Cry series anyone?
Striberx: Indeed. So don't worry, we're not going too far with this story on the Rider cameos other than this and the ones we mentioned before. They're mostly gonna serve as mentor roles than actual rider additions.
HackerEX: Also, minor spoiler, Stronger is dead in this story. Ripping off that band-aid right now for those who know the history behind Stronger's actor.
Striberx: Mhm, so far, only Stronger and Riderman are gone. The rest of the Legendary Seven Showa's are around in the world somewhere. Same goes for Kuuga, Agito, Aruto and Touma.
HackerEX: Yeah, new reveal. Zero-One exists here too now. But yeah, next time, we finally get the debut of Cody's first form change in the series, alongside the debut of a certain panther.
Striberx: Mhm. We still will try out best to have some justice and such for Persona on here, since I know many can be worried about it. But we are doing our best here, just unable to go at it 1 for 1 like in the game. Have to cut some corners otherwise this would've been better to make as a fancomic.
HackerEX: I mean, we had two allusions to Persona 2 here, but unfortunately, we cannot add any Persona 1 content in this story.
Striberx: Indeed. Nothing against the og 2, but from how this plays out? They're most likely gone or very aged at this point.
HackerEX: But yeah, this is getting a bit long, so we'll see you guys next time. See ya.