"Everyone, we need to evacuate!" Futaba screams at them. The Thieves are currently escaping Shido's Palace, which is collapsing around them.
"You don't gotta tell us twice!" Ryuji retorts. They are getting close to the exit, when a beam breaks loose and falls. Ren notices it's about to land on Ryuji and shoves him out of the way. The debris crushes on Ren's legs and painfully screams. Everyone turns and goes back to him.
"Joker!" The crew yells. Ryuji, Yusuke and Ann try their best lifting the beam, but it's too heavy and the movement causes Ren to scream in agony. They stop immediately.
"T-There's no time. Just go ahead without me." Ren says weakly.
"You can't expect us to leave our friend behind!" Yusuke exclaims. An explosion is heard somewhere in the distance. Signifying the lack of time they have left.
"Let's go everyone. We can't let his sacrifice be in vain." Morgana tries to sound confident, but his voice cracks in the end and tears are forming in his eyes.
"But-" Ann gets cut off by another explosion. This time closer than the last. They all look at each other worryingly, then back at Ren.
"Just go! I've defied fate once. I can do it again." He tries his best to look fine, but in reality he just wants them to leave safely. The Thieves pause for a moment. Ryuji stomps.
"Dammit! You better be right about this!" He says as he sprints down the hall. Each hesitantly leaves, until Morgana is the only one left. He couldn't hold it anymore and cries
"In the end, I'm still useless and couldn't save you." Morgana sniffles.
"That's not true. We wouldn't have gone this far without you. Your knowledge and training is what got us to this point." He comforts the cat and pets his head. "Look after them, okay?" Morgana nods and they hug one last time before the cat leaves. The last thing he remembers is the sound of the roof falling on top of him.
Somewhere in the Abyss
Everything is black. There is nothing here. Ren is isolated in the darkness. Then something bright catches his eyes. Looking up, he sees a golden butterfly hovering on top of his head.
"Can you state your name?" It says. He is slightly confused that a butterfly is talking, but then again he has traversed through the Metaverse and all the weird events in the palace, so he should be used to this by now.
"My name is Ren Amami." He answers. Then the butterfly glows and illuminates the entire room, making him shield his eyes. Once the light dims, a man with a white mask appears where the butterfly was.
"Impressive. You've passed the test. It's very uncommon for someone to recall their true self within this domain. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Philemon. A dweller between consciousness and unconsciousness." The man in the white suit bows at Ren. "I have been watching you since the moment your potential has awakened. Witnessed your struggles, teamwork, victories and ultimately your demise." Ren gets uncomfortable from his comments. "I understand you have many questions for me, however I have limited time at my disposal to restore you and defeat Nyarlathotep of his nefarious deeds. I have enough power to revive one of your fallen companions and teleport you both to another plane, where you will save the people with the same gift as you." Ren wants to ask questions, but Philemon illuminates again and Ren loses consciousness.
Persona Q2-Road Less Taken
Ren wakes up on a very comfortable sofa. He lays there for a moment, processing everything that just happened. Then he sits right up and looks around him.
He seems to be a hotel lobby, like the one from the Hawaii trip. The desk, chairs and windows are very clean and lack any speck of dust. He can see his own reflection clearly from those windows, noting that he's wearing his school uniform. Outside, there's not much to see, as it's covered by dense fog. Walking around, he finds the exit all chained up with five peculiar locks. Upon closer inspection, they all seem to be themed around something. One is a yellow pyramid, a mask covered in ice, a tower made of random buildings, a tv and the last one he recognizes is a calling card. He tries to fiddle around with it, but it's no use.
"Wish Morgana was here." He sighs. That's when he hears footsteps behind him. Turning around, his body tenses when he sees the familiar detective looking just as surprised as him. They both stood there, not knowing what to do in this unexpected reunion. Ren walks up and punches him hard on the stomach. Akechi coughs uncontrollably and is gasping for air. Ren hugs him tightly.
"You're giving me very mixed signals right now." Akechi finally says. He recovers, but Ren is still hugging him. "...Can you let go of me?"
"Just give me a second." Ren whispers. A second passes and he lets Akechi go. Not after punching him again.
"Nngh! What was that for!?"
"For many things. Mainly betraying us." Ren says bitterly.
"I'm sure you want me to payback for everything that I've done, but we've got an important issue in our hands." Akechi coughs a bit.
"You're right." Ren composes himself. "I just woke up, so I haven't explored the entire floor. Did you find anything?" Akechi points right, which is a normal elevator.
"That elevator only has two buttons. The ground floor and first floor. There is also that blue door right across us. I haven't gone in yet, but I feel...strange when I approach it." Ren is all too familiar with the blue door and he runs towards it. "Ren wait! We don't know what's in there."
"It's okay. I've been in there before. This door leads to the Velvet Room. Well more like Velvet Prison, but it's the place where I've been fusing Persona for a stronger one. Justine and Caroline may be...harsh at times, but they mean well. Hopefully." Ren grabs the handle and opens it. They both go inside.
A Poem of Everyone's Soul
The soothing sound of the piano is the first thing they hear inside the room. Then a beautiful voice starts accompanying the instrument. They both feel safe here. As if all the problems have been cleansed away from their soul. Ren recognizes the familiar long nosed individual sitting in front of the table where he lays his arms. The table has face down cards organized as a pentagram.
"Welcome to the Velvet Room, my dear guests. This room exists between dream and reality. Mind and matter. My name is Igor and I will be assisting you in your journey." The smirking man introduces himself.
"I am Belladonna I praise visiting warriors Who challenge the monster called thyself " The beautiful songstress sings.
"I am Nameless... A pianist who opens the shuttered doors of one's soul…" The blindfolded pianist says.
"I thought you said this was a prison. This seems more like a backstage of a theater." Akechi remarks as he notes the blue curtains around the room. Ren is in clear distress.
"This can't be right. Igor! Where's Caroline and Justine? And why is your voice not as deep anymore?" He asks.
"My apologies. I do not know the people you are referring to and as for my voice, I've always sounded like this since my inception." Igor answers.
"You have a beautiful voice, my friend " Belladonna chimes in.
"Why, thank you. Your singing is truly enchanting." Igor compliments. Ren smacks the table.
"This is serious, Igor! You're acting as if we never met before! What is going on!?" Akechi vibe checks him.
"Look Ren, stressing about it won't get us anywhere. We're clearly not in the same world as our own, which could mean this is a different person altogether." Akechi assesses the situation. Ren takes a couple of deep breaths.
"You're right. I got a little carried away. Sorry."
"There's no need for apologies. It is understandable to be confused in your current situation. That's why we are here to assist you in your journey." Igor assures him. "At the moment, there are some Wild Card bearers on the first floor who may be in need of some assistance."
"That Philemon guy did say there are others like me." Akechi speaks out loud.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go give them hand." Ren jogs out of the room with Akechi following behind. Ren presses the elevator button. They go inside and ascend. There's an awkward atmosphere between them. It thankfully doesn't last long as they arrive at the floor. Their clothes change to their thief outfit. The door opens and it shows an empty hallway.
Hospital of Madness
Persona 1-Hospital (After incident)
Screams and laughter can be heard echoing throughout the hospital. It makes Ren shiver down his spine. The utter chaos sounds very disturbing and unlike anything he experienced back in the Palaces they infiltrated. Hell, Mementos seems homely in comparison. Akechi, despite having killed people, experienced the shitty foster care system and being the son of Shido, also feels unsettled by the alien atmosphere. Ren starts running down the hall.
"Hey! Where are you going!?" Akechi yells as he catches up to him.
"We have to find and save the people from whatever is attacking them!" He opens a door that leads to a patient room, but enemies attack him!
Battle Time!
Persona 1-Normal Battle
Three zombies are on the field.
Zombie: EhehEheHe! MorE foOD!
It lunges towards Ren, but he jumps out of the way. It recovers quickly and tries it again.
Ren: What the hell!? Arsene!
He uses Cleave to slice it's head off.
Ren: Huh? Why am I using a weak move?
The remaining Zombies attack Ren at the same time.
Akechi: Loki!
He uses Dream Needle on both. Kills one of them but heavily injures the other. They both point their guns at it.
Ren: Tell us what we need to know and maybe you'll be spared.
Zombie: EuHgfD! ShiNy! MoON BrIgHt!
Akechi: This thing is a lost cause. Let's finish it.
They perform an All-Out Attack!
Show's over!
They put their weapons away. Ren looks inside to find nothing but a pool of blood on the floor.
"This is horrific." Ren mumbles under his breath. Akechi is not disturbed by the blood, but by the animated corpse they just fought.
"This is completely different to the Metaverse. These things don't even look or behave like Shadows. They look like something out of a horror movie." He says as he inspects the bodies. "Whatever is happening here, we're going to need to keep our guard up at all times. Especially since we have been weakened for some reason." Ren collects himself and nods. They run further down the hall while fighting off enemies along the way. After some distance, they hear a commotion in one of the rooms. Ready for anything, they open the door to find the enemies surrounding a man.
Battle Time!
Persona 1-Deadline
They are facing three zombies and an Agathion.
Boy with Piercing: W-Who are you guys!?
Ren: Don't worry. We're here to help. Persona!
He uses Eiha on the Zombie, but it barely does damage. Akechi finishes the job with Dream Needle.
Boy with Piercing: You're Persona users too? Glad to have some backup. Seimen Kongou!
He uses Garu on the rest of the Zombies, leaving only Agathion.
Agathion: E-Eh!? No one told me you guys are very strong! P-Please don't hurt me! I know! I'll give you guys my card!
A card materializes in front of them. Ren takes it.
Agathion: Bye bye!
He runs away.
Battle Over!
"That was anticlimactic." Akechi sighs.
"I would rather have that, than waste unnecessary energy on an epic battle." Boy with Piercing says. "By the way, my name is Naoya Todou." He extends his hand.
"Ren Amami." He shakes his hand. "This is Goro Akechi."
"Nice to meet you." He nods at him. "So what's with the weird get up?" He asks.
"It's a long story, but we need to go out and find anyone else that needs help." Ren suggests. Naoya has a distant expression.
"There's no one else here but us. Those screams you hear are echoes from a different time." Ren and Akechi are confused. " You see, this already happened back when me and my friends visited Maki. This is my punishment for failing to save her." Naoya turns away.
"I don't know what happened to you, but if we get out of here, you might get a second chance to save her." Ren assures him. Naoya gives a melancholic smile.
"Thanks. You know, if she were here, she would cheer me on to never give up."
"Don't give up, Naoya!"
"Just like that." His eyes widens with surprise and looks behind. It's Maki! "Maki! You're here!" He runs up to her and they both hug.
"Of course I'm here. Gotta keep your spirits up! You always get gloomy when you start being philosophical." She jabs a light punch at his arm. He laughs. "Oh! Nice get up! You guys cosplaying or something? I bet you are! Oh yeah, names Maki Sonomura." She gives them a peace sign.
"How did you get here? Don't tell you…" He doesn't finish, but she knows the implication.
"Yea...I lost at the battle of facing myself, but Philemon as always gives me hope to fight once more. And knowing that you're here, our victory is assured!" She excitedly says.
"Sorry to ruin the reunion, but I feel it would be better to go back to the hotel lobby and continue our conversation there." Akechi points out. They all agree and sprint back to the elevator.
Back to the Lobby
Upon arriving, Ren and Akechi's uniform transform back to their school wear.
"Woah! What happened to your cool costumes?" Maki questions. They explain the logic behind it. "Hmmm. I still don't get it." She sighs in defeat.
"It is confusing, unless you experience first hand." Ren admits.
"Hey Ren, I thought you said there was no one else but us here." Naoya says.
"We are. Why do you ask?"
"Then who's that?" He points to the figure on the couch. She's fidgeting with something. Everyone approaches cautiously as to not disturb her. "Excuse me?"She jumps in fright, dropping whatever she was holding to the floor.
"Shit! Don't scare me like that! Dammit, you made me drop it." She picks up what seems to be a small bronze statue, but whatever the figure is, it's beyond repair. The girl itself has strawberry blonde hair with an adorable squid clipping. Pale fair skin and blue eyes like the ocean. She has well fit jeans, high heels, a black shirt with a dolphin on it and a lab coat. "Can I help you with something?" She tiredly asks.
Who are you?
Are you a Persona user?
Canyousteponmeandcallmescum?
"Are you a Persona user?" Ren asks. She raises an eyebrow.
"A what? I have no idea what that is." She fiddles a bit with the item.
"Who are you?" He tries not to be annoying asking too many questions.
"My name is Cathy Luther. You can call me Cat as it's simple and easy to remember for you Japanese."
←To be continued
Jojo DiU-I Want You