Begin

~Normal POV

They quickly dropped to Sophia's side, Haru held her up in her arms trying to wake her. "Are you alright, Sophie?!"

"Wake up, Sophie!" Ryuji cried.

Akira could hardly breathe from shock. This had never happened to them before. Being this close to losing one of their own for real. Sure, at one memorable point last year, Ryuji very nearly sacrificed himself to help them escape Shido's Palace, but he had been fine in the end. This was different. Actually seeing the limp, unmoving body of one of his teammates was getting closer and closer to snapping Akira's heart in two as they tried desperately to revive her… Morgana's healing magic didn't appear to be working…

Way back when they first started the Phantom Thieves, Akira was initially skeptical of being given the position of leader. Mainly the only reason he accepted at the time was because nobody else wanted to do it. But after a while he became somewhat attached to the position. He always treated everyone as equally as he could, but there were times where he genuinely enjoyed being the boss. However, it came with a heavy burden on his shoulders as well.

When he had told Sophia that his job was to protect and care for everyone else, he had meant it with all his being. That was his real job as leader: to keep them safe. No matter what the danger, it was his responsibility to get them out of it. And his attachment to his thief family made this all the more heavy. He loved each and every one of them dearly in different ways. And every trip they made into the Metaverse, he had to risk facing his worst fear: And that was, if even one thing goes wrong, then any one of them could stop breathing… He couldn't handle losing anyone he cared about. And it was starting to look like he might have to accept it, since Sophia wasn't waking up…

"There's no sign of activity. Oracle, how is she?" Yusuke asked, softly.

"I- I don't know…" Futaba answered, lifting her mask to wipe her eyes. "Even if I wanted to check her out, I couldn't do it here."

"She's not moving…" Makoto said, quietly, her eyes tearing up.

"No…" Ann sniffled quietly, clutching her mouth and nose under her mask, trying to hold herself together.

"I wonder if she was able to hear us…" Haru said softly, a few tears running down her mask.

"I don't know but…" Ryuji said, his voice breaking. "She said… she was sorry…"

"She defied her command and sacrificed herself so she wouldn't have to take our lives…" Yusuke said, shakily, wiping his eyes behind his mask.

Zenkichi watched them with a similar downcast expression. He could understand their pain all too well. Losing a loved one isn't easy, it never is. He rubbed his neck uncomfortably, trying to think of something to say to the poor kids.

"Kids…? I'm sorry… Listen, I… I know that it's hard but… when this happens, you just-" He didn't get to finish when Akira suddenly got to his feet and turned to him with a serious look in his misty eyes.

"Wolf-" Akira said, firmly, in the clear, commanding tone he used when giving orders. "Nobody in this family is dying on my watch!" He had everyone's attention now as he continued. "We'll take her with us! Bring her back online somehow! She may not be human, but she's a person and our teammate, and we won't let her go that easily! Right?"

Zenkichi gaped at him in awe. Damn this kid, he thought. He won't even let death itself stop him. And the implication of his words didn't fly over his head either…

"Right…" Futaba said, firmly. "I'll… I'll find a way to bring her back!"

"You're right, Joker." Ann said, wiping her eyes. "We can't give up so soon!"

Everyone else followed with words of collective agreement and newfound determination. They refused to allow their mission to end like this.

"Here, I'll carry her. If we run into Shadows, I'll put her somewhere safe." Ryuji said. He moved to a kneeling position to let Haru and Makoto pick Sophia up and put her onto his back, with her limp arms draped over his shoulders. Once she was secure, he stood up; with his arms around her legs to keep her steady.

"I don't know if you can hear this, shorty," He said, gently. "But don't worry, Joker doesn't give up on anybody."

"But before we stop EMMA…" Akira said, "Let's go beat some sense into Ichinose. For Sophie!"

"For Sophie!" Everyone shouted in unison.

~...

It didn't take long to reach the back door of the Ark's chamber from their location. They did have to fight every Shadow in their way and had to protect Sophia in the process, but this wasn't as bad as they'd thought it would be. The Jail might have been massive but their path was very linear.

"Looks like we made it back." Morgana commented.

"How's Sophie?" Akira asked.

Ryuji shook his head sadly. "Still out…"

Akira looked at the door before them unsurely. "Hm… I'm betting Ichinose is still in there too. I doubt EMMA told her to leave her post."

"And what of the crystal?" Yusuke asked, "We may not be so lucky with the next laser blast."

"I noticed it has a charge up period," Futaba said, "If I can hack into it, I could probably shut it down before it charges again. If it didn't have that, she wouldn't have needed Sophie and she could've just blasted us the second we walked in. It'll be a gamble, and you guys will have to stall her for me, but I can do it."

"We'll take your word," Akira replied, "It's the only plan we have."

"What about Sophie," Ann asked. "We can't bring her into a fight with us."

Akira looked around for a moment. "Skull, set her down in this corner over here. There's no Shadows so it should be safe. We'll come back for her after we deal with Ichinose."

Ryuji gently set Sophia down on the floor, sitting up against the wall as comfortably as she could right now. "Hang tight, Sophie," He said, quietly, "We'll be right back."

~...

Upon entering the door they found Ichinose standing guard idly in the room's center still, with her crystal laser hovering above her as a defense mechanism. She looked surprised to see them return. She must have thought the fall killed them if the blast hadn't.

"Oh wow, you guys actually came back?" Ichinose started, looking shocked. "You could have just stayed down there. I mean, no matter how many times you come back here, it'll be pointless."

"Hmph. We're about to disprove your little theory," Morgana said.

"That's right- you're going down, ya bitch!" Ryuji shouted.

"We're gonna slap some sense into you and get Sophie back up and running!" Ann added angrily.

Ichinose's calm, pleasant smile returned. "Why are you fighting this? You could witness the birth of a god and be among the first people to enter the Promised Land. No one is ever going to suffer again, or even want for anything."

"Witness the birth of god?" Akira replied, dryly. "Been there, not a fan."

"You realize you're fighting against utopia, right?" Ichinose asked, simply.

"Having a sole path foisted upon you with no regard for a person's wishes-" Yusuke said, glaring at her, "In what world is that a utopia? Take this very Jail for instance. These people, locked up in cells, having what makes them human stolen from them. Yet you dare to call this place the Promised Land for all humanity?!"

Ichinose laughed. "Of course. Your first fallacy was considering this place a prison. EMMA protects people. She shields them from worry, from pain, from any suffering. It's the utopia people have dreamed of since the beginning of time. EMMA knows how to bring us all to the Promised Land."

"Big surprise that your so-called Promised Land looks just like Mementos…" Morgana commented, though right as he said it he realized she wouldn't know what he was talking about. "That's how we know you're full of it! We can tell this whole place is wrong!"

"Our progress is guided by our hearts and paved through our efforts. We'd never just hand our lives over!" Haru said, firmly.

"...Boy, you sure are one tough gang." Ichinose replied casually. "I bet you all took life by the horns and just made everything go your own way, huh? But that applies to very few people in the real world. What about all those who have lost their way? The outcasts in your schools, the people mocked and slandered on the internet… If any one of them steps out of line, their fate is sealed. The burden forced on them for the rest of their lives. You're fine with all those people going through that? All because you're strong? Because you never screwed up?"

"You're so wrong, Ichinose." Futaba said, "I'm not strong at all… Not now, not ever. I still mess up and make plenty of mistakes… I'm sure I'll even screw up in the future, too!"

"I've seen it all with my own eyes." Morgana added. "Every one of these guys has crawled back up from rock bottom. They suffered, they struggled, and they fought back. They weren't born strong, they grew strong! Isn't that sort of growth what makes people human in the first place?!"

Ichinose didn't reply and merely narrowed her eyes at him angrily.

"If you don't have any emotions, why do you look so pissed off right now?" Zenkichi asked. "Your jealousy over these kids is plastered across your face."

"He's right," Akira said, "You go on about how you have no empathy for others, yet you insist on saving people using EMMA and her bullshit plan. Snap the fuck out of it, Ichinose. You're just as human as we are, and you're a hypocrite to boot."

"Shut up." Ichinose said, gruffly. "All of you shut up. When an infallible A.I puts you on the right path, you follow it! Humans don't need hearts!"

~...

Even after taking out all the Shadows she sent their way, Futaba's plan was all for naught. The laser was still able to recharge. And everyone was too weak from the fighting to try dodging it this time… Akira, rather stupidly believing he could block the hit with Arsène was about to try doing so, until…

Within moments of the laser going off, something else blocked it instead. It was Sophia! Blocking the shot with Pithos shielding her friends from harm.

"Sophie!" Futaba shouted, smiling.

"Sophie! You're awake!" Morgana cried happily.

"Thank goodness…" Akira said, feeling relief wash over him.

"Wait, her eyes…" Makoto pointed out quickly.

Sophia was definitely awake and functioning but she was unresponsive to their cries of joy at her appearance. Upon closer inspection, they saw her eyes were now alternating between red and blue. Despite her being alive, her programming was still overridden.

"Are you still fighting it, Sophie?" Haru asked worriedly. Sophia didn't reply, but she didn't have to anyway. They could tell.

Ichinose, even after seeing that her laser was ineffective this time, was more surprised by Sophia's appearance than anything. "This is quite unusual. I thought you were programmed to obey my commands… Yet here you are, resisting them. Just what's going on in your mind, Sophia?"

Sophia seemed to be struggling to remain still as she stiffly replied. "Kuon… Ichinose… Turn me back… to how I was!"

"No can do." Ichinose said, smiling. "After all, that's not what EMMA wants. She told me to stop the Phantom Thieves- and it's your job to help me with that. Obey my commands, Sophia." She snapped her fingers.

Sophia gasped and continued standing firmly in place as much as she could.

"Come on, Sophie!" Ryuji urged. "You can beat this!"

"Fight it, Sophie!" Akira added. "You can do it!"

"Skull… Joker…" Sophia said, in a strained voice.

"Sophia, you're nothing more than a doll." Ichinose said, "There's no defying me."

"I'm… a doll?"

"That's right. That's always been the truth."

"Bullshit!" Futaba screamed. "Sophie's not some doll!"

"She's our family now." Akira added angrily. "She doesn't belong to you!"

"The doll that EMMA's toying around with here? That's you, Ichinose!" Morgana said.

Ichinose laughed. "You nailed it! I'm a heartless doll, exactly! You guys could probably never understand. I brought Sophia to life so I could learn about the human heart. Remember what I told you? All my life, I've never felt what other people call the heart…"

"She just lost both her parents, and even then… she doesn't cry… her expression doesn't even change."

"She reminds me of some lifeless doll."

"It doesn't even matter what you say to her, she doesn't answer. She just sits there on her computer all day. It's like… It's like she's totally heartless."

"Hey, don't you think she's sorta creepy? She never reacts to anything, even if you're being nice. Maybe she's not human…"

"Come on, she'll hear you!"

"Oh, I didn't see her there… It's no big deal though. She's a lifeless doll, ya know!"

"Um, Ichinose-san? We're heading out for the night pretty soon… If you'd like to join us…"

"Just ignore her. She basically does the same to us. They call her an A.I wunderkind, but I've never seen her bat an eye at a single compliment- or anything else, for that matter. I even heard her nickname was Doll when she was growing up… She left her humanity behind somewhere along the path to success."

"I just couldn't understand this foreign concept of heart…" Ichinose said, simply, "But it was my top priority in my studies, so I tackled the problem the only way I knew how… One year ago, on this very day, I brought Sophia to life. I spent a long time working on her before that but she finally came to fruition with one directive: To become humanity's companion. If I could give my baby a heart… That'd mean I had one of my own all along. And maybe she could tell me why I'm… different from everyone else. But then…"

"Ichinose. You are Ichinose."

"Yes, that's right! I'm Ichinose. Now, Sophia: what do you want to do today?"

"I want to learn, Ichinose."

"Mhmm, about what?"

"Heart. What is that?"

"Huh?"

"Teach me, Ichinose: what is a heart?"

"Well, that's…"

"Please explain: what is a heart?"

"Uh…"

"You are human; therefore, you have a heart."

"No…"

"Will you tell me about your heart?"

"Shut up!"

"I shut her down moments after activation…" The doctor said, in a vaguely bitter tone. "I don't know how she ended up in the Metaverse, or why, or how you found her, and it doesn't even matter. How did I ever think something that understands the heart could ever come from a doll like me? My mission was nothing but doomed from the start. I gave up on my foolish endeavor and approached the issue from a totally new angle: is a heart truly necessary for a person? You know the rest. I abandoned Sophia and handed EMMA over to Madicce. 'Am I really the problem, or does the problem lie at the feet of the world?' Any doubts about this question were purged from EMMA. She was given the prime directive of granting humanity's ultimate Desire… And now it will come to fruition: EMMA's divine plan for us all. Do you get it now, Sophia? You're nothing more than an artificial clone of myself. A defective doll born from a defective doll. A fatally flawed A.I that will never accomplish its primary directive. So if you're not going to accomplish anything, obey my commands like the doll you are."

Sophia once again stood her ground, struggling to remain in control of her faculties. "I refuse… I don't… want to! I've made… such good friends…"

"Friends?" Ichinose said, quizzically.

"Joker… Mona… Skull… Panther… Oracle… Queen… Noir… Fox… Wolf! They've all been there for me when I needed them… I don't want… to see them hurt!"

Ichinose gaped at her in shock. She never thought she'd hear her creation backtalk her like this.

"Becoming humanity's companion…" Sophia continued, still talking in a strained manner. "That's not just a directive… It's the reason I was given life! I was just waiting… Waiting for any voice that would… Give me orders… But… The Phantom Thieves changed that. They stuck with me when I needed them. They taught me all sorts of feelings. They told me that I'm their friend! They said that I could stay with them! They taught me what it means to live! To be myself!"

"Sophie…" Morgana said, softly, looking deeply impressed and touched.

"All of this is pointless." Ichinose replied. "Sophia, you're incapable of disobeying me. Kill the Phantom Thieves!"

"Agh!" Sophia said, struggling further. "Ichinose… It's just as you say. I am a doll… An arrangement of code and data… made to follow commands… But, I…"

Akira watched the scene in awe at Sophia's constant struggle to remain in control. A thought occurred to him. He'd seen children talk back to their parents like this before. A creation… talking back to their creator… showing a will of their own. No… it couldn't be possible, right? But…

"Hold onto your will, Sophie!" He urged. If there was even the smallest chance, then there was only one way she could beat this and she had to do it all on her own. They couldn't help…

Sophia didn't turn to look at him but acknowledged his encouragement. "Yes… I want to change." She blinked in realization. "The power… to change… I've got it now… That's what a heart is!"

"What are you talking about?" Ichinose asked.

"Ichinose, you made me out of nothing. A thinking being designed to obey you- that may have been the reason for my birth… But if your order… is to harm my friends… Then I… I refuse your command!"

Behind her the gang wisely stepped back to give her some room, just in case their assumption was right.

Sophia kept fighting to keep still and was breathing hard at this point. "I want my own…" She said, quietly. "So please… I want a heart… Strong enough to choose… my own path!" She stiffly clasped her hands as if she were praying.

"Can you wield that strength?"

Sophia gasped and moved to clutch her temples in agony as pain shot through her skull. It was nearing unbearable. She wasn't even sure if she could feel pain before but now she knew. But the pain wasn't all. For some reason, there was a smooth, elegant voice talking inside her head, one that sounded vaguely like her own, but it wasn't like anything she'd ever heard before. She was so focused on the agony of her migraine that she dropped to her knees as Pithos hovered above her in circles. She didn't even notice her teammates watching in awe and smiling proudly at what they knew was happening.

"Dare you unleash catastrophe upon this world?" The voice continued in a commanding tone, ignoring her cries of anguish. "Can you cling to the paltry hope that remains? Is the puppet ready to cut her own strings? Shall the doll seize her own destiny? Then you need only call my name."

Sophia lifted her head once more with her mask on her face again, shrieking in pain as her LCD visor displayed one single word. She knew now what was happening, and she knew who that voice was at last.

"I am thou, thou art I. My name is…"

Rather than ripping off her mask like the rest of them, Sophia's mask merely shattered like glass as she cried out. "PANDORA!"

Pithos stacked itself up behind her in a tower of boxes before glowing bright blue with magical energy, and opening at last, revealing Sophia's true Persona, Pandora. She was still different from other Personas they'd seen. She was human in shape, resembling a slender adult woman. Her skin was a pale green color, and she had one of the boxes on her head, covering most of her face except her mouth. She wore something that resembled a black short top that showed off her midriff, a black choker around her neck, black shorts that showed most of her legs, long black gloves, and black thigh high boots. She still had the floating pieces of boxes attached to her on all sides. She vaguely reminded them of a computer program of sorts, perfectly fitting for their A.I friend. Though most of them were a little busy fighting back tears of joy at the sight of Sophia having a real Persona at all.

"That's crazy…" Ryuji muttered.

"It should be impossible…" Morgana said, quietly.

"Doesn't look impossible anymore…" Akira said, softly.

Sophia didn't hear these comments nor did she turn to them again. She was busy enjoying the feeling of smugness and power that came from her true powers, as she twirled her yo-yos. And she had only one person to take this power out on.

"Kuon Ichinose… Your desires have been twisted… and I'll be the one to take them." Sophia said, smugly. "I'm not your doll anymore!"

Sophia the A.I found strength of heart at last.

"What the… What the hell just happened?!" Zenkichi asked frantically. (Even having experienced this himself, he was still stunned at witnessing a Persona awakening.)

"Sophie has a Persona!" Morgana cried proudly.

"And a real badass one, at that!" Futaba added, beaming brightly.

"Amazing…" Ann gushed, teary-eyed behind her mask. "You're so amazing, Sophie!"

Ichinose, not understanding what was happening either, had merely been watching in awe and confusion. "Sophia… What have you done?"

"Ichinose… You told me I was nothing more than a doll." Sophia replied, as Pandora hovered in the air beside her. "I originally agreed with your assessment and accepted it… But it was incorrect. It was simply your assumption. It wasn't the answer that I chose for myself!"

"Chose- For yourself?" Ichinose asked, curiously.

"The power to push beyond what's forced on a person, and still change for the better…" Sophia said, "That is the human heart!"

Ichinose narrowed her eyes in anger once more. "Sophia… I can't believe what a failure you are. You're nothing but a worthless heap of faulty code who couldn't accomplish one single task!"

"Sophie's not a failure or faulty!" Morgana cried indignantly. "She's our friend with a heart of gold!"

"Whatever." Ichinose spat bitterly. "It doesn't change what I'm about to do. The Promised Land is within reach. Once it's here, there won't be any of this stupid squabbling over things like hearts."

"Stop running from your pain," Akira snapped back; making Ichinose pause in shock at his words.

"Ichinose, you can't hide the truth from your own offspring." Sophia added. "The only thing you're trying to succeed at is shielding yourself. You don't want to hurt anymore… You want to protect yourself… That's why you deny having a heart! You're not doing this for humanity at all- you're only doing it for yourself! You're taking the easy way out: EMMA's faulty solution!"

"No…" Ichinose replied. "No, no, no, no, no! Nobody suffers anymore thanks to EMMA! Everyone gets saved! It's what we need! What humanity deserves!"

~...

With Sophia's newfound powers, they decimated all the Shadows sent their way with ease. Her magic was real this time and even stronger than before. And she enjoyed fighting with a real Persona greatly too. Once there were no more Shadows, Ichinose's diamond laser shattered leaving her defenseless. She stared at the gang in shock as she could only drop to her knees to await the inevitable from them.

But Sophia had another priority first and foremost in her mind. Now that she was back in control of herself, she quickly ran over to hug Akira tight around his middle, surprising him momentarily but he didn't mind.

"I'm so sorry, Joker…" She said, sadly.

Akira gently hugged her back. "It's ok…"

"But I… I broke the rule…" Sophia whined. "Does this mean… I'm not a Phantom Thief anymore?"

"Whoa, now…" Akira pulled back from the hug, putting his hands on her shoulders. "That's not what that means at all. It's not even the first time that's happened. Just because a rule gets broken doesn't mean we're gonna kick you out. You weren't in control, we don't blame you for it. Remember what I told you? We're more than just a team, we're a family. And family, well ours at least, can forgive."

Sophia smiled in grateful relief. She was still one of them. She couldn't have been happier. And Akira's words told her what she needed to do now. "Forgive… Family…" She turned back to Ichinose who was sitting silently on the ground. She cautiously approached her. "Ichinose…?"

Ichinose didn't bother looking up as she replied. "As expected of the Phantom Thieves… I'm all out of tricks. Just finish me off quickly, please."

"What do you mean?" Morgana asked.

"Even still, I believe EMMA's answer is the only way to save all mankind." Ichinose continued. "I'll only continue attempting to stop you until I succeed. The one solution that guarantees EMMA's defeat is my death… Isn't that right, Sophia?"

"The Phantom Thieves don't kill people," Makoto answered firmly. Sophia continued inching close to Ichinose.

"Hey, Sophie-" Futaba tried to get her attention but Zenkichi interrupted.

"This is between the two of them- let's stay out of it." They took his advice and backed away from the two to give them some room.

Sophia paused in front of the woman and said. "I finally got it. Ichinose, you're no doll. You really do have a heart."

Ichinose glanced up at her but didn't reply.

"Wasn't it an insufferable existence?" Sophia continued. "Believing… you didn't have anyone anymore? That's why you made me."

"I made you to try and understand the heart!" Ichinose snapped. "Not some pathetic attempt to-"

"You have been locked in solitude ever since you lost your parents." Sophia interrupted.

Ichinose gasped but didn't reply again.

"Rather than empathize with you, the people who should have cared for you treated you like a lifeless doll. You attempted to rationalize this treatment by viewing yourself as truly heartless…" Sophia said, gently. "Because studying the human heart…"

"Don't…" Ichinose said, avoiding eye contact with her once more.

"Is easier than admitting how your own really feels." Sophia finished. "Deep down… you felt lonely. But you were so scared of rejection that you deluded yourself into your own lonely world."

"No, that's not true!" Ichinose retorted, "What could some program like you know about-"

"Become humanity's companion." Sophia said. When Ichinose didn't interrupt she kept going. "Why else would you give me that directive?! If I'm just some program written for emotional analysis… Why that directive?"

Ichinose dropped her gaze once more. "It's because…"

"It's because you were lonely." Sophia finished, her voice shaky with sadness. "You wanted to know what was making you feel lonely."

"That's wrong…" Ichinose replied quietly.

"You were told you had no heart and you listened, because it was simpler to just believe them!" Sophia insisted.

"No!"

"You believed you could figure out the human heart so you could make your own stop feeling lonely!"

"That's not true!"

"You were just lonely! That's the real solution!"

"No… I…"

"But what's so wrong about that?" Sophia asked. Ichinose looked up at her again in shock as she continued. "No human is perfect. By acknowledging weakness, humans can begin the path to changing themselves. I may be an A.I, but I was able to change. You should be able to change too! You should be able to comprehend the heart! Ichinose, you told me to become a good companion for humanity. A good companion is one who takes your hand and leads you back to the right path when you fall astray. Someone who will forge a path alongside you if you cannot find your own. Ichinose, I want to be that kind of companion for you, too!"

Ichinose stared at her, too stunned for words at this point.

"So please join me in finding the right path-" Sophia urged. "And if we can't, then let me help you forge one! You have no reason to be lonely… After all, you're my… You're my very first friend!"

"Sophia…" Ichinose said, shakily. She reached up and touched her cheek. Tears were running from her eyes and she didn't even notice. "Huh? Why are… tears…? That's so weird… This hasn't happened before…" She delved into weeping softly.

Sophia dropped to her knees before her and pulled her into a comforting hug. "Mother…" She whispered softly. Ichinose was hesitant at first, but eventually lifted her arms and hugged her daughter back as she wept.

Behind them, the rest of the gang watched quietly, letting the two have their moment in peace.

"A daughter's words cut the deepest, ya know." Zenkichi said, smiling softly.

"Speaking from experience?" Makoto asked knowingly.

"Yep…"

After a while the two got to their feet again. Ichinose wiped her eyes on her sleeve, having finished crying. But they still had one more problem to deal with…

"We need to stop EMMA," Sophia said, firmly.

"Right, but where'd the Ark go?" Ryuji asked.

"Ichinose, do you know?" Zenkichi asked.

Ichinose blinked in surprise. "Oh… no, I don't…" Her voice was softer now.

"Wait!" Sophia said, suddenly. "I can hear another voice! It's the one I heard in the Okinawa Jail… It's EMMA- the voice of the Ark! It's gathering the people… It says a god is nigh… That their Desire will be granted!"

"Where is the voice coming from?" Morgana asked.

"Not from within the Jail… Somewhere outside!"

Akira felt his heart jump into his throat. "Oh shit… You mean in reality?! We gotta get out there- now! You're coming with us too, doc."

Ichinose looked at him with confusion. "No, I…"

"Let's go, mother!" Sophia said hurriedly. "There's no time to argue!"

"But it's all my fault…" Ichinose said, feebly.

"Ugh, would you give it a rest?!" Ryuji said, approaching her. "Just shut up and get with the program! We're rescuing you whether you like it or not!" He grabbed Ichinose's arm gently and dragged her along with them. "A friend of Sophie's is a friend of ours! We're not ditching anybody in this hellhole!"

"Just go with it," Sophia said, smiling, silencing any protest from Ichinose. "He dragged me up from down in the dumps too."

~...

Upon returning to reality, with Ichinose in tow, they found even more people in the crowd outside the tower gathered here. All staring blankly at their phones like zombies. But that wasn't the worst part. The lights on the tower suddenly went out entirely, along with the entire rest of the city in a massive blackout. EMMA must be using all the city's power at this point.

"What the hell is going on…?!" Ann asked fearfully.

"I wish I knew…" Akira answered.

Morgana popped out of Akira's bag onto his shoulder staring up at the tower and said. "Hey! What's that?"

The radio tower glowed bright white against the night sky, and the top of it slowly branched out into a tree-like shape, parting the clouds, and momentarily blinding them as everything went white.

Once they could see again they found the horrific sight of the Metaverse merging with reality once more.

~End of Chapter

Side note: Yes, I also cried when Sophie got her Persona. My favorite scene in the whole game, without question. And yes, it is actually canon that her "birthday" is August 28th, so she got a heart for her birthday! :D