A/n Hello everyone! So I decided to post at least a few more chapters, thanks to your good reviews! I can't however tell you when exactly the next chap is going to be published, as I am just in my 1st playthrough and trying to be careful about spoilers (though it doesn't really work :D),so I think I will update as I play. Also, I am thinking about changing this story's rating to Mature - I am not sure about that, please post if you think I should do that in the reviews. Well,and now... things will get random
CHAPTER II
First thing Ren noticed after opening his eyes, is that he was not in his room anymore. No – he was laying on something hard and cold. He got up lazily and looked around, surprised. The interior was of the blue-purple color. Somewhere, a piano was playing and a woman sang. What's worse, Ren noticed that he was trapped behind bars . He quickly ran towards them and grabbed them, trying to break free. That's when he noticed an old, creepy man sitting by a desk and smiling at him.
„Where am I!?" Ren yelled at the man.
„Trickster." The man spoke in an unusually deep voice „Welcome to my Velvet Room".
„...aaaAA...UUAAAa.." The woman continued singing to the melody played by the piano."
„What is this place?" Ren yelled „Where am I?"
„This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter." The man never stoped smiling „My name is Igor, and those are my assistants: Caroline and Justine".
„AaaaUUUUaaaaU-U-u-u-a-aA..."
Ren let go of the bars and just now noticed two small girls by Igor's side, both of which kept sending the old man scared glances. They could not be older than 10.
„Dude" Ren looked at Igor with disgust „You're even more sick than I am."
„Do not worry." Igor continued „ You are fast asleep in your real world. I summoned you from within your dreams."
„...Aaaa-uuuu-AAAAAuaaa-aaaaa..."
„GOD! Shut UP!" Ren yelled.
Both the piano and the singer cut off abruptly. Igor also seemed to lose his track. He kept mumbling something, as if he could not speak.
The girl on his left used this opportunity to move a few steps away from him.
„Twenty years..." The old man finally said „I had to listen to this for twenty years day and night and you came and... anyway, the reason I summoned you here, Trickster, is because I have very high expectations for you. Justine, where are you going?"
The young girl winced and returned to her place.
„That's not one of my concern." Ren responded calmly
„LISTEN WHEN OUR MASTER SPEAKS TO YOU,INMATE!" The other girl, Caroline lashed at him, however something was off- she held one palm open and indicated with her eyes for Ren to look at it. The boy followed their movement and found out a short word written on the palm : „help"
„Trickster, you have awakened the power of Persona. This power..."
„I don't care." Ren stated abruptly.
„Wait, what!?" Igor widened his eyes.
„I don't know what sick game are you trying to get me involved in , but I will not be a part of it. You can take your disgusting power as far away from me as possible, because there's no way I'd join you in this."
Ren once again looked at Igor with disgust,turned away from him and laid down in this cold,hard bed he has awoken in.
„TRICKSTER!" He heard an angry voice „TRICKSTER, COME BACK HERE RIGHT NOW! I AM NOT DONE TALKING TO YOU!TRICKSTER!"
But the next time Ren opened his eyes, he was laying in his own bed in Sojiro's attic.
LINE BREAK
It was a few days after Ryuji Sakamoto was expelled from Shujin Academy and send to Juvenile Hall for drug dealing and bullying.
Getting rid of the infamous trouble maker certainly got Ren many benefits, especially from mr. Suguru Kamoshida, who quickly became his favourite teacher. But one day after school, when he was invited to Mr. Kamoshida's office for some r and r , the teacher could not resist and finally asked.
"How come someone like you got kicked out of previous school? What happened?"
And Ren felt the painful memories of that night, that he fought so hard to ignore or forget, are all coming back to haunt him
-FLASHBACK EFFECT INITIATED-
"GET IN THE CAR!"
"No! Please" The Woman's voice was desperate.
"I SAID GET IN!"
The woman tried to struggle, but was held down with great force.
"I will call the police!"
"DO IT! SEE IF I CARE! You think they would do anything ? The cops are..."
"Kid, what the hell do you think you're doing!?
Ren turned around and saw a bald man in a suit standing at the other side of the street. He dropped his suitcase in shock and looked at the scene with his eyes clearly widened behind his glasses.
"What are you looking at!? This ain't a show! Get lost,old man!" Ren tried to yell, but at this time,the alcohol really kicked in and all he managed were some incoherent grunts.
"Please, help!" The young woman cried towards the man.
Meanwhile, Ren felt that the insides of his stomach are slowly trying to move towards his mouth.
"Please!" The woman cried even more desperately.
The man picked up his suitcase and approached Ren.
"I told you to let her go!" He screamed, before swinging with his suitcase.
He did not hit Ren, but the boy has had enough anyway.
"Damn Punk!" the elegant looking man looked at the pile of puke covering his shoes "I'll sue you!"
Ren could not react, as he slowly passed out from alcohol overdose.
-FLASHBACK EFFECT TERMINATED -
Both males were now sitting in silence.
"That bastard." Ren muttered "That's why I hate rich people."
Then, Kamoshida started to cry.
"What's wrong?"
"You know." The teacher wiped the tear from his eye "We may be even more similar then I thought."
LINE BREAK
The sun was certainly a nice addition after a few days of rain. Ren decided to spend the lunch break outside. However, as soon as he found a calm place to sit down,he hear a angry, boyish voice.
"There you are, Joker!"
The boy turned around and saw a black cat with blue eyes glaring daggers at him and approaching him slowly.
"You think you can do something like this to me and just run away!?"
„Oh, wow, a talking cat." Ren said and returned to reading his book
"You don't recognize me!?"
"You are that cat-looking thing from the castle." The boy answered calmly
„I am not a cat!" The cat yelled „My name is Morgana and I am just as human as you are!
„Sure."
A few seconds of silence, which then turned into more seconds, and more,until finally Morgana broke the silence after almost five minutes.
"You left me there." The cat hissed "They cut off my head!"
"... you have a head."
"Well, you know, I have nine..."
"Oh, yeah. Cats have nine lives, I forgot... but you aren't a cat,you said."
„MEOW!"
„Ow!" Ren yelled „Stupid furball! Take your claws off my hair!"
The boy struggled with Morgana for a few moments, before finally managing to grab him by the fur and get him out of his head.
„Meow! Meowmeowmeow!" Morgana said, swinging his claws in the air.
„What the hell do you want?" Ren asked,putting him back on the ground.
"You will help me." The cat hissed angrily "You will help me get back my memories of being human, because despite of being a cat I am a human. You wil help me get to the bottom of Mementos and get my memories for me because i am a human and my memories are at the bottom of mementos and I am human and..."
"No."
"What do you mean!?"
"No."
"But..." the cat looked at him "Joker, come on! This is not how the storyline should be and you know it!"
„What are you even talking about?" Ren looked at Morgana as if he was crazy „Just... get out of here."
„Not before I gain back my memories from Mementos!"
The boy sighed and closed his book.
„If I take you to this...mementos, will you gimme a break?"
„Yeah, yeah, sure..."
„Then let's go."
LINE BREAK
Apparently, as Morgana explained, the red-eyed app on his phone was a navigation system that allowed people to travel between the Real World and something called the Metaverse. Ren did not understand and he did not care, but he already had a plan in his head.
Tired and exhausted, the boy and Morgana made their way through the first area. They engaged in a few battles, but all of them were boring so they won't be mentioned here.
Because he did not listen to Igor, Ren did not know how to use a Persona, but he was quite happy with dancing on the defeated Shadows' bodies, ripping them to pieces and taking parts of them as a „souvenir"
Finally, he and Morgana reached what looked like an opening to a lower floor.
„Well, what now?" Morgana looked at him „What do we do?"
„You wanted to get to the bottom of this place, right?"
„... Yeah?"
„Well..." Joker grabbed the cat „ HERE-YOU-GO!" The boy screamed as he kicked Morgana down the stairs.
„MEOW! Joker, you asshole!" Came along with the sound of something fallng downstairs
The boy turned around, smiled and tapped the red-eyed icon. Soon, he was back in the real world.
Another day, another job well done.
LINE BREAK
It was already getting dark when Ren reached the doors of LeBlanc cafe. Upon noticing his arrival, Sojiro paled extremely. The boy walked towards the bartender.
„Give me some curry." He demanded.
„Ah... uh..." The man tried to smile … „But... you see... we're out."
„I'm sorry, what?" Ren raised his eyebrows „Could you repeat?"
„W-we're...out of curry" Sojiro looked as he was about to cry „P-please... This cafe is all I have... I'll do anything."
„I understand." Ren smiled at him „No problem."
„Really!?" Sojiro was shocked
„Well, of course, such thriving, prospering restaurant would not have any curry left this late. It was silly of me to ask, I'm sorry."
„Thank... you." Sojiro could not believe what he was hearing.
„But let me just say something."
„Yeah?
„What do you mean" Ren picked up a chair and threw it against the wall „There is no curry? Are you stupid or what!?"
„NO! PLEASE!"
„DO YOU REALLY WANT ME TO WRECK THIS PLACE LIKE I DID MY GRANDMA'S!?" The boy was fliping one table after another. „YOU TRYING TO CROSS ME OR WHAT!? GET OUT! „ he threw a chair at an elderly couple sitting in the corner „GET OUT OF HERE! THE SHOP IS CLOSED!"
The couple quickly took their stuff and left the cafe without paying. Ren turned towards Sojiro,anger clear in his eyes.
„If tommorow there won't be any curry too." He said in a extremely soft voice „I'll burn down this place AND your home. Do you get me?"
„Y..yes... sir!" said Sojiro who was kneeling in fear behind the bar „Yes,of course!"
„Good." Ren turned around and walked towards his room „Oh, one more thing."
„Yes?"
„If the cops find out about this, you're a dead man. You better make sure it doesn't happen."
„Yes! Yes, I will talk to those customers,and..."
„Goodnight."
Ren slowly made his way to his room.