A/N: Thanks again to those who have been reviewing, following, favouriting, and reading this fanfiction. Your continued support is greatly appreciated. I was going to make this chapter a little longer, but when I got to a certain part I initially decided that was a perfect point to stop without it dragging on and losing the dramatics. But yeah. We've finally gotten to the part you guys have mostly been waiting for. Some of you might be disappointed, others might be surprised, and there may be a few of you who will be stuck in the middle. Don't worry, though. If you stick around at the end of the chapter, I'll go about briefly explaining my choice and the reasons why I did it for your benefit. Personally, I think it's a good twist, but you'll see. I wouldn't expect frequent updates from here on out, though. I'll be focusing some of my time on another fanfic I really need to update, so I'll be taking a small break from this one temporarily. It shouldn't be too long, though.

Also, I forgot to mention this last chapter, but the whole thing with the pronunciation of Caroline's name was a little joke I threw in. When I first heard her name pronunciation in my first playthrough of Persona 5, I flipped out because that's not how I've heard it pronounced. I got used to it as I progressed, but I'm not sure if that's an actual alternate pronunciation of the name or they purposely did that so it rhymed with 'Justine'. *shrugs* But it doesn't matter. But anyway, onto the reviews.

To the anon making 'Joker's in Smash' jokes... I like them as much as the next person, but please don't just spam the reviews section with them and then not say anything about my fanfic underneath it. You might think you're being funny, but it really is demoralising to a creator when someone makes jokes about something they've put their time and effort into and they don't receive proper feedback that gauges if people like it or not. I'm sure you meant it in good humour, but please be mindful of this next time if you decide to make any further jokes. That's all I ask.

To Acallaris: Hey there, my friend! Long time no see! XD I wasn't expecting a review, so thank you for taking the time to write one. ^^ And yeah... I'm one of those writers who likes to put a lot of details into my chapters, so they do get pretty lengthy sometimes. It's worse in my other fanfics, though. Like... /Yow/. XD But I'm glad you're enjoying it and think I'm doing a good job, especially where Justine and Caroline are concerned. That's exactly what I was aiming to do for the twins. (Also, I see what you did there... ;) XD)

And to the anon commenting about Atlus' 'idealism': You're entitled to your opinion, by all means. I know not everyone is going to agree or like the decisions I make in this fanfic, let alone enjoy certain games. You're not wrong in saying Ren's reasoning behind his actions is valid, but it's not his reasons that I'm trying to portray are distorted. It's his actions that are. Ren is perfectly valid to feel the way he does, but he's gone down the route that many members of society have a habit of doing in these kinds of situations; the route of 'generalising', whereby a person believes that every person should suffer the consequences of actions that were brought about by certain people. Just because there's a general consensus in society where most of them hold a certain belief, it doesn't mean /everyone else/ thinks the same way. It's like with you and me, for example. You claim that people generally believe people don't change and they want others to think and act for them, but I believe that people can change and dislike when others try and speak and act for me. I even make sure they know I don't like the latter, especially, by telling them that to their face. But I digress. Basically, Ren shouldn't strip the whole of humanity's freedom to think and act for themselves just because a certain amount of people treated him badly, and that is exactly why my OC is here and going against him. But that's just what I think, of course. I'd like to personally thank you, though, as your insight and opinion actually gave me inspiration for a specific part of this chapter. By this time, I assume you're not even reading this story anymore, since it looks like you didn't enjoy the Persona 5 game all that much with its 'stupid anime friendship', but if you are still here and are planning on reading this chapter, then kudos. I hope you don't mind, but I also borrowed some of your phrasing in your review, as I thought it was /very inspiring/. ;)

Chapter 6: Awaken to the Truth

Walking away from Shibuya Station and towards Central Street with his hands in the pockets of his blue jeans, Ren dwelled in his thoughts and returned to the recent conversation he'd had with Yaldabaoth only moments ago. Although he hadn't originally planned on going anywhere in Shibuya after visiting Mementos, he wasn't able to get the recent conversation between him and the demiurge out of his head for some reason. He suspected it might have been related to the sudden feeling of dread that had occurred after he'd left the Depths of Mementos, causing him to make the decision of having a little walk around to try to clear his head. Ren knew he couldn't linger out in Shibuya for long, though.

He'd left Café Leblanc that morning without Morgana knowing, and the last thing he needed was for the feline to get worried about his prolonged absence. It was getting more and more difficult to hide his activities from his teammates now that he was occupied with the threat Verity posed (especially Morgana and Futaba), but he knew it was for the best they didn't know. Despite the path he'd chosen now, there was still a tiny part of him that cared enough for his friends to the point he wanted them to keep the original roots of the Phantom Thieves alive. This was his burden to bear as their leader, and there was no changing his mind on that.

Leaving his black blazer unbuttoned and exposing his cream sweater to the crowds of people who passed by him on either side, the frizzy-haired teen kept his gaze locked on his brown shoes as he recalled specific things the false god had said regarding Verity and her abilities, continuing his walk towards Central Street without looking where he was going but still relying on his hearing to guide him.

'… she has yet to awaken to the power of Persona and enter the Metaverse. She is still oblivious to the world you and your allies have been exposed to.'

'… being able to perceive the entrance to the Velvet Room does suggest she could possess abilities that rival yours.'

'…it will not be enough to harm the contract we have made.'

'She has little power to influence the masses now.'

Ren was unable to stop himself from clenching his hands into fists in his pockets. But it wasn't until they started shaking that he eventually forced himself to come to a stop, raising his head and finding himself standing beside the bookstore at the beginning of the street. He couldn't understand why Yaldabaoth's words were bothering him so much. He'd already decided he was going to deal with Verity should she ever enter the Metaverse of her own will, and yet… Was it because of how arrogant the false god sounded? Or something else he wasn't able to pinpoint? Or even the feeling of dread that continued to gnaw away at him like a mouse eating a piece of cheese?

'… Why does this feel so familiar?'

Relaxing his hands and removing one of them from his pockets to brush his fingers through his hair, Ren glanced in the direction of the bookstore and locked eyes with his reflection in the glass of the door. He knew this wasn't the first time he'd felt this way. He was sure a similar feeling had sprouted during the times where the shadows of the former Palaces they'd conquered had warned them of a Persona user with a black mask, who the group now knew as 'Goro Akechi'. Ren couldn't deny Akechi had certainly rivalled him as another Wild Card and that he'd proven to be a formidable foe, proving his worries right from the very beginning. Was he worried that Verity was going to turn out the same way, perhaps…?

'Things are different this time around, though. Akechi was fighting for humanity's ruin, whereas Verity…' Ren trailed off and furrowed his brow in confusion, unable to complete his sentence. 'Wait. What would Verity be fighting for if we became enemies? Free speech? Being free from Yaldabaoth's control? Ruin like Akechi-?'

Ren was quick to shake his head to rid himself of that last thought, forcing himself to turn away and continue his walk up towards the other end of Central Street.

'No. She's not an evil person, even if her views oppose mine. And yet…'

Ren's frown deepened as he slowed the pace in his walk, causing him to move abnormally slow in comparison to the other people speeding around him. Words he remembered Akechi telling him and his teammates before engaging in their final battle sprung into his head, causing his eyes to widen in shock as he realised the meaning they held and prompting him to come to a sudden stop in the middle of the street.

'My targets were all doing the same damn thing in this eat or be eaten world. All I did was remove their evil from society.'

'The more I think about it, the more I realise just how similar my current situation is to back then with Akechi; him committing horrific deeds for the sake of his goals and me opposing them. And now I'm the one committing what many would consider 'horrific' deeds, meaning Verity could eventually become the one to oppose them…'

Ren reached his hand to clutch at the front of his sweater as he felt his forehead growing moist, causing the dread he could feel swirling within him to worsen.

'Have I… Have I fallen as far as Akechi did…?'

However, it only took Ren two seconds to shake his head and straighten out his posture to regain his composure. Letting go of his sweater and dropping his hand back into his jean's pocket, the teen continued his walk as if nothing had happened, taking a quick deep breath in and out to calm himself down.

'Don't be ridiculous. Akechi was trying to destroy humanity. I'm trying to save it. I made the right choice. I'm reforming society for the better. They don't need free will, just someone who is willing to guide them-'

It wasn't long, though, before Ren caught sight of the door to the Velvet Room out of the corner of his eyes as he'd begun to pass the alleyway, prompting him to stop again and glance in its direction out of instinct and cut his train of thought short. The second his eyes locked with the door, however, he soon recognised that something was obviously off with it. The door was wide open when he knew it shouldn't have been, with the leaf shaped indent on the lock mechanism glowing a bright green when he knew it shouldn't have been glowing at all.

Had he not known any better, Ren would have been shocked and confused as to why the door was in this state and questioning who could have possibly opened it. But instead, because of what he'd seen going on in the past week, his reaction was completely different. His brow contorted into an annoyed scowl, his hands clenched into fists in the comfort of his jean pockets, and his teeth gritted so hard that adding any more pressure could have possibly snapped his jaw.

'Verity… She has a key to that lock.'

It was the only conclusion he could come to, since he knew he hadn't lost his; he could feel the cold touch of the leaf charm in his right jean's pocket pressing against the backs of his fingers.

'Dammit!'

Without another moment's hesitation, Ren removed his hands from his pockets and broke out into a mad dash straight for the open doorway, his scowl deepening.

'Tch! 'You need not worry', huh? Looks like you were wrong, Yaldabaoth.'

As I followed the two strangely dressed twin girls back up a blue flight of stairs I'd never even noticed was there to begin with (when I'd appeared here through that door, I'd found myself standing just in front of the corridor that had led towards the room), it slowly dawned on me that I'd become entangled in a complicated web of which I knew nothing about. I hadn't been here for very long, and yet already I was picking up on all sorts of words and names in association with this place; 'Velvet Room', 'Persona', 'Persona user', 'Persona Compendium'… And those were just the words I could pronounce. But despite not understanding most of it, my common sense was able to help me at least use what I'd seen to try to put together some kind of logical explanation.

'They've used 'Velvet Room' multiple times in our conversation to refer to that prison-like area we were in a moment ago. But I suppose that must be what it is; a prison. There were prison cells, and those two girls are wearing strange uniforms…'

I briefly paused as my gaze locked with the backs of said twins running in front of me. I was only just about able to keep up with them and see them through the darkness around us. They were fast for kids.

'They also mentioned they had a 'master', didn't they? And I thought I heard the word 'inmate' being thrown around during their private conversation. I wonder if the 'inmate' is the 'captor' that locked them in there in the first place. Maybe they're an escaped convict and those girls were guarding them…'

I shook my head in disbelief and slowed down to a stop at finally reaching the top of the stairs, placing a hand to my forehead.

'What am I saying?! Am I actually believing all of this?! I don't even know what's real anymore! I'm just going along with this madness like it's supposed to be normal! But is it?! Is it really?!'

"Intruder! Over here!"

I raised my head in the direction of the girl with her hair put into twin buns (the one who I think was called 'Caroline') when she called for me, prompting me to walk forward to where the pair were standing in front of – what I guessed was – the exit to this place. It was a large metal door that rounded at the top, where a bright red glowing light was placed that made it come across as ominous. But in the middle of this door was the same circle lock mechanism I'd seen the first time (including with the six hidden indents around the outside and the only one that was still visible in the middle), which is what Caroline quizzed me on by the time I'd approached them and she'd pointed a finger towards it.

"Is that the lock mechanism you saw before?"

When I gave a nod of confirmation, I watched the other girl with the single-braid ('Justine', I think I heard her name was…) place a gloved hand to her chin and furrow her brow as she looked it over.

"… How peculiar. I don't ever recall our master using something like this."

"It has to be the work of that false god, right?" Caroline asked, prompting Justine to nod in agreement.

"It has to be. From the beginning of his rehabilitation, the inmate was provided his abilities through him. I do not doubt he has granted him further power to aid in his endeavours…"

Letting out a loud huff of annoyance, Caroline focused her gaze on me as she took a step back.

"Well, whatever. You just go ahead and unlock it."

I scowled, but still proceeded to walk forward towards the door and hold up my left wrist when I was close enough.

"… 'Please' would have also been acceptable, but I'll let that slide."

I didn't bother to glance behind me to see the reactions of the twins, instead choosing to watch both the charm and the matching indent light up a bright green and the shapes covering the other indents dispersing as they did before.

'Should I even be calling them 'twins' just because they look alike? … Meh. It doesn't matter.'

I showed no reaction to what was happening, since I'd already witnessed this once; although I did frown when I thought I heard the sound of something raising up from the other side. But I did expect reactions from Caroline and Justine, who I thought I heard gasp as the door started to swing forward and open.

"Exactly as described…" Justine muttered.

"So that's how he did it?" I thought I heard Caroline pause to click her tongue. "I'll admit, he did well in hiding the key from us."

Of course, I wasn't calm for long. When the door opened all the way and revealed what was on the other side, I was expecting to find something similar to what I was used to seeing in Tokyo. What I saw instead caused my jaw to drop.

Amongst the black and red that streaked across the walls and flooring of whatever place we had entered, rows of box-like cells glowing red and housing one person each lined the walls currently facing me. It was almost like the small room I had walked into a moment ago, expect that one was much smaller and looked a little more inviting. This area, however, was wider and was convincing me that I'd taken a wrong turn into the inside of some monster's stomach.

'… What the hell?'

Even as Justine and Caroline walked ahead of me and I was forced to follow them upon impulse, my gaze would not leave the walls. I was turning both my body and head to get a good look at all the faces hiding behind the bars of the cells they occupied, until I was eventually walking backwards and had to force myself to stand still with a slight stumble. I didn't recognise any of the people, but I still couldn't help feeling uneasy and freaked out with what I was seeing.

"What is this place…?" I spoke without thinking.

"The Depths of Mementos," Justine answered, finally allowing my gaze to pry away to glance at her and Caroline standing calmly behind me. "Normally, the entrance to the Velvet Room would not lead here. But its recent fusion with Mementos has placed us in the heart of the public's palace…"

"Mementos…? 'Public's Palace'…? What are you-?"

"Don't bother explaining, Justine! She's not going to get it!" Caroline interrupted, rolling her eyes and glancing around the area with a frown. "But it looks like we're too far away from the palace's entrance to make a quick getaway. Without our Personas, we can't protect ourselves from the Shadows if we're spotted."

I frowned in confusion at Caroline mentioning 'Personas' and 'Shadows', still having no idea what these two were talking about. These two were certainly unique despite looking similar, with one seeming calm and collected and the other appearing rude and kind of strict. But both of them were blunt and held the same air of confidence when it came to staying true to their 'role', whatever that was…

I eventually noticed Justine briefly glancing me up and down with a thoughtful look on her face, tucking her clipboard further under her arm as she did so.

"I wonder… Do you have the Metaverse Navigator?"

"… The what?"

"Metaverse Navigator," Caroline repeated, placing her hands to her hips. "She's talking about the app on your phone. You should remember seeing something like that if you have it, right?"

My eyes widened in realisation at Caroline's explanation.

"A phone app? Oh!"

Reaching a hand into the pocket of my jacket, I brought out my phone and unlocked it. I noticed that there didn't appear to be any signal in this place, but decided not to focus on that for now. It wasn't important.

Seeing the strange black and red nameless app still on my screen, I turned it around to show Caroline and Justine, pointing towards it when the pair moved closer to get a better look with curious blinks.

"Are you talking about this one?"

After staring at it for a few seconds, Justine nodded.

"Indeed. That is the Metaverse Navigator we speak of. I was not expecting you to have it."

I turned my phone towards me so I could see the screen again.

"Yeah. It's been there for the last week or so and won't go away no matter what I do. I've never actually used it. But if you're calling it a 'navigator', does that mean pressing it will get us out of here?"

Caroline smirked with satisfaction.

"You're catching on surprisingly quick for someone who knows nothing about the Metaverse!"

"But you are correct," Justine added. "The purpose of the navigator is for a Persona user to enter and exit the Metaverse."

"You mean this place?"

"This is Mementos, you dummy! We've already told you that!" Caroline replied, shaking her head in dismay. "The Metaverse is where places like Mementos exist! Think of it as a world that exists alongside yours."

"Right…"

My response betrayed my uncertainty at Caroline's attempted explanation, but I didn't let it stop me from getting my confirmation. It was hard to process this information; however, I knew I just had to go along with it for now. I could get answers out of them another time.

"So, if I were to press this right now, it would return me to Shibuya?"

"It would. And not just because Shibuya is where Mementos is…"

Caroline mumbled that last part, but I still managed to pick it up either way. I chose not to remark on it as she scowled at me.

"Enough of the questions! Just go ahead and-"

"Hey! What are you doing there?! Where are your restraints?!"

When Caroline was interrupted by a deep and distorted voice, all three of us turned our heads towards the left. A black and red coloured figure who looked suspiciously like a warden wearing a white mask was approaching us with a black baton in hand, with wisps of black rising from its feet.

"You're not allowed outside the cells without restraints! Are you outsiders?!"

"A Shadow!" Caroline said with a growl. "We need to run!"

I glanced at Caroline with a surprised blink.

"Wait. That's a 'Shadow'-?"

"Just run away already!"

When Caroline turned towards the right and started to run away from the area, Justine and I were soon following her without objection, with me shoving my phone back into my jacket pocket so I didn't lose it. I had no idea what was going on, so I knew all I could do was trust Caroline and Justine for now. Although, in this case, it was obvious to me that being spotted properly wasn't a good thing…

I didn't dare look back as I heard the warden – or Shadow as Caroline said – yell as we tried to make our escape.

"There are escaped inmates outside of the quarantine cell! Capture them at once!"

Joker thought his timing into this situation couldn't have been any better. After making his dash into the Velvet Room, he was genuinely surprised to discover that the twin wardens were no longer in their cell and that said cell was unlocked. He had been quick to deduce that Verity was the one responsible, and headed straight for the Velvet Room's entrance to make sure the door of the quarantine cell in the Depths of Mementos hadn't been unlocked.

Upon arriving there however, Joker found himself coming to an abrupt stop at the top of the stairs at seeing not only the door to the quarantine cell wide open, but also a small horde of Shadows heading off towards the right. He could hear the voice of one commanding Shadow as they gave the rest of the group their orders.

"Don't let them get away! Outsiders must be eliminated!"

"…"

Joker briefly closed his eyes.

'They must have fled into the Palace to escape from the Shadows. Looks like they didn't have time to use the Nav.'

Opening his eyes and turning away so his back faced the opened metal door, Joker placed his hands in the pockets of his tailcoat and began his walk down the stairs.

'If I give chase to them as well, it'll get too messy. I'm still a technical enemy of the Shadows, too.' Joker paused to let out an annoyed sigh at the situation. 'I was hoping to avoid this. But it looks like I'll have to deal with her at a later date. For now, I'll let the Shadows deal with them. After all, there's still a chance they won't make it out of the Palace alive…'

Caroline and Justine had taken the lead by the time the Shadows had chosen to give chase to them, having Verity follow behind as the trio ran in the direction of the Palace's entrance. Between the two of them, the twin wardens continually glanced behind them a number of times to make sure Verity was still there, since they appeared to be faster than her. Admittedly, Caroline and Justine had never been inside of this Palace before, so they had no idea where they were going. But Caroline had enough common sense to know that they didn't need to know. They had the app, after all. So long as they could find somewhere to hide, it would buy them the time they needed to use it. Caroline wasn't actually sure if the Metaverse Navigator worked anywhere in a Palace aside from the entrance, but it wasn't like they had much time to be questioning any of this. Risks would be needed to be taken in this situation.

Caroline and Justine found themselves running into a wide and open area with tall, black pillars lined in front of a black wall stretching across to their right. As they dashed in between them, Caroline brought herself to a sudden stop beside one part that was covered in red markings which she'd spotted out of the corner of her eye, turning her head towards it with a surprised blink.

'Is this a door?'

It took a few seconds for Justine to realise Caroline wasn't following her, meaning that when she stopped she ended up being a few steps ahead of her. Because Verity had been running behind them, though, she was quick to stop closer to Caroline than Justine was. But unlike the two girls, Verity was soon hunched over with her hands on her thighs, her breathing heavy as she tried to catch it from her excessive exercise.

"Caroline?"

Caroline turned to Justine when she addressed her.

"I think this is a door."

"Then what are you waiting for?! Open it! We need to hide!" Verity replied in a breathy tone, prompting Caroline to scowl her way.

"Don't you order me around-!"

Caroline cut herself off when she heard Verity's breathing grow heavy and saw her place a hand to her chest, prompting both her and Justine to frown in confusion at the actions brought about.

"… Something wrong?" Caroline asked, causing Verity to raise her head as her body started trembling, her hand now scratching at her shirt like she was trying to get rid of something.

"Panic attack…" Verity attempted to speak, but her voice came out too quiet and breathy for either of the twins to understand what she'd said.

"What was that?"

"Panic attack." Verity tried repeating herself a little louder, but all it did was cause Caroline to tilt her head to the side.

"Huh?!"

"She said 'Panic attack'," Justine finally said out of clarification, her brow furrowing in thought. "I'm not sure what that means…"

"Well, based on what I'm seeing it's not a good thing!" Caroline placed her hands to her hips. "Hey! Snap out of it!"

"I would if I could…!" Verity tried to yell in between gasps for breath, closing her eyes tight and shaking her head back and forth. "I have no idea where I am…! W-We're being chased by some weird- weird thing…! I-I shouldn't have gone through that door…! I-I need to get out of here-!"

"And you're going to, so just calm down!"

"It's not that simple…!"

Unbeknownst to the pair, however, a nearby Shadow Warden had spotted them and had started its charge towards Verity from behind as she straightened out her posture. Only Justine noticed this, causing her to briefly gasp in surprise as Caroline made her retaliation.

"What else am I supposed to do-?!"

"Behind you-!"

Justine's interrupting yell of warning towards Verity was said too soon, as seconds after speaking she could only watch on with a widened eye at the sight of the Shadow Warden ramming the side of its body into her back.

With Verity crying out in pain, the force of the attack was strong enough to send her flying forward, leaving Justine and Caroline gaping as they watched her faceplant a nearby pillar and let out a grunt before landing flat on her back on the ground.

"Ow-! Son of a-!"

As Verity reached her hands up to cover her nose, Justine was the first of the two wardens to break out of her shock and react at sighting the Shadow walking over to their incapacitated charge. The quiet warden ran forward and came to a stop in between the pair, facing the Shadow and causing it to stop as she spread her legs apart and raised her clipboard behind her head, taking on a battle stance.

Caroline briefly gaped at Justine's sudden boldness, but it didn't take long for her to realise what she was doing.

'She's trying to buy time for the human to run. I don't know what she was playing at a moment ago, but she can't stay in the Metaverse any longer. She won't make it out on her own. … Dammit, Justine!'

Caroline was the next one to run forward and drop to her knees beside Verity still lying on her back on the floor, just as the Shadow Warden took a swing at Justine with its baton and clashed it with her clipboard when she brought it forward as a temporary shield. Giving the girl a quick glance over, it looked like she wasn't having her 'panic attack' anymore.

'I guess this isn't so bad. We're doing a good thing, aren't we?'

"Hey." Caroline placed a hand to Verity's closest shoulder and gave it a light shake, scowling down at the biologically older girl as she did so. "You okay?"

"I think so," Verity gave a muffled response, dropping her hands away from her nose after doing so. "The bridge of my nose is stinging, though."

"… Good."

Listening to the grunts of Justine and the Shadow behind her – alongside the consistent thumps made as their weapons collided – Caroline took her hand away and glanced in the direction of the door whilst Verity lifted her upper-body so she was sitting up.

"There's a room over there that'll protect you from the Shadows. Hide in there and use the Metaverse Navigator to return to your world. Just press it and it'll automatically send you out of here."

Caroline faced Verity again when she was met with silence, seeing her staring back at her with a shocked blink.

"You mean… on my own?"

Caroline's scowl deepened.

"Duh! Why else do you think I'm telling you this information?"

"But what about our-?"

"Forget it."

Verity's eyes widened as Caroline got to her feet and turned her gaze to Justine, who she witnessed shoving the Shadow Warden backwards with her clipboard before she started running away into the open area. As the Shadow stumbled backwards and tried to regain its balance, Caroline allowed her gaze to soften as she glanced Verity's way for a moment.

"We shouldn't have dragged you into this. Sorry, but thanks for the help." Caroline paused at feeling the heat rise to her cheeks, turning her head away when they flushed a light pink out of embarrassment. "So, just go, alright?!"

Verity was silent as she watched Caroline run after Justine without a word, which happened to be around the time the Shadow Warden had managed to regain its balance. She kept her wide eyes locked on the backs of the twins as they fled away from the area, being pursued by the lone Shadow and the five more who arrived from around the corner.

"Don't let them get away! They've escaped from the quarantine cell!"

I wanted to get up and move. But my body wasn't in sync with my thoughts, at all. My limbs felt numb, as if overcome with shock. Was I feeling guilty at the idea of abandoning these two after the change of heart they'd seemingly had? Was I just in too much shock at this whole situation?

'Why? Why can't I move?'

I couldn't take my eyes off Justine and Caroline as they continued their run, but the pair didn't get very far by the time the six Shadows had succeeded in surrounding them. I heard the girls cry out in sync and watched them getting shoved to the floor on their fronts, seeing their arms pinned to their backs before the Shadows gathered around in a circle and blocked them from view.

The sight of the gathered Shadows brought forth a flash of memory that overlapped with my vision for a few seconds, portraying a scene of me hiding under a white table cloth and watching the silhouette of a man backing away from the silhouette of a woman.

'What the-? What was that?!'

"Get off!" Caroline's yell of anger quickly brought me back to reality, leaving me to watch as the Shadows parted equally on both sides.

In doing so, they pulled both Justine and Caroline to their feet, with their arms restrained against their backs. Justine's clipboard was on the floor. It appeared their distraction had made them completely forget about me, as they'd seemingly planned.

"These two escaped from the quarantine cell," one of the Shadow Wardens said to the others. "They need to be returned immediately."

Hearing those words only caused Caroline to start wriggling her body around in retaliation and close her eye.

"Let us go, you insolent-!"

She cut herself off with a grunt when one of the Shadows raised a knee to catch her in the gut, causing her body to slump in surrender and Justine to watch on with a horrified look on her face.

"Silence!"

"Caroline…!"

I wanted to pry my eyes away. I wanted to get up and move. But I couldn't bring myself to do any of it. I felt like a statue; a statue that was forced to watch the world moving on before its eyes, unable to do a thing.

However, in that moment of helplessness, a familiar confident-sounding voice entered my head, forcing everything occurring around me to become nothing but a blur.

'What's this? Are you playing the coward for a second time?'

'What the-? Whose-?'

"-AH!"

I covered my hands over my forehead when I felt a sharp pain attack it out of nowhere, causing me to lower my head towards the floor as the voice spoke again.

'You were already the witness to similar events in a time you have long forgotten. Are you planning on doing the same again?'

'That voice… Is it mine?!'

The pain was unbearable but forced enough adrenaline through me to have me getting to my feet, my hands remaining gripping my hair and forehead. It was so bad I wanted to rip my hair out.

'Were the words you spoke so confidently before empty? Did they not mean anything?'

I had no idea what was going on, but through the gritting of my teeth and the pain I found myself objecting, shaking my head back and forth multiple times and even responding out loud.

"No…! I meant them…!"

I stumbled backwards into the pillar as the voice – which was apparently mine – laughed in triumph.

'Very well, then. Your will has become clearer to me. It is time for you to reveal your other self.' My pulse pounded in my ears as she continued. 'I am thou, thou art I. Your will of rebellion, nurtured for years from a sapling, shall finally bare itself towards those who oppress your justice!'

I gaped when I felt and saw something flash in front of my face and cover the areas around my eyes, giving me the sudden urge to reach for it and start to pull.

'The fruits of the wrath that have festered within you can now bloom! Come, awaken to the truth that has been in front of you all along!'

All I could remember after that was yanking whatever it was across my face away and throwing my head back at the immense pain, screaming at the top of my lungs as my vision became clouded by bright, glowing blue flames.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

With the Shadows having been preoccupied with subduing Caroline and Justine, the group had failed to notice the events that were unfolding behind them. But by the time they had found themselves witnessing the sight of the glowing blue flames engulfing the area, the Shadows were left crying out in shock as the force of the flames spreading throughout the area sent them flying backwards. This included the ones restraining Justine and Caroline, forcing the twins onto the floor and wrapping their arms in front of their faces to protect themselves from the sudden but strong gusts. Despite the confusing circumstances, however, it didn't take a genius for the two to work out what was going on.

'N-No way…!'

'It can't be…'

The twin wardens stayed that way until they felt the gusts die down, allowing them both to lower their arms and glance in the direction where Verity was whilst the Shadow Wardens recovered from their landings and got to their feet. Justine and Caroline found themselves gasping loudly and simultaneously at the sight they came to behold, out of shock, confusion and also slight awe.

Verity stood with her legs spread apart, her shoulders slumped, and her head hanging limp, with an outfit change to boot. Instead of wearing her usual casual, modern clothing, it had been replaced with an old-fashioned, Victorian styled outfit. In place of her jacket and shirt was now a black, long-sleeved button-up coat with a red jabot stuck in the collar that had 'F.X.O.7' in white stitching on it. Replacing her leggings was a red, ruffled knee-length skirt that stretched past the coat. And instead of her regular green boots, she now had black ones that reached past her knees. Of course, it wasn't just the outfit that had drawn the twins' attention.

The Persona that hovered above Verity was one that neither Justine nor Caroline recognised or recalled ever seeing in the Persona Compendium. The Persona in question was depicted as a teenage girl close to Verity's age with long, flowing, bright green hair and matching eyes, wearing a dark green duster coat, a dark green bowler hat, a white short-sleeved dress, and dark green boots. Thin, green vines curled around the Persona's arms and legs and a broadsword with a light green blade was attached to its waist via its scabbard.

Justine and Caroline remained speechless as they stared at this unknown Persona in silence, giving Verity the chance to make her move as she raised her head. They had been expecting Verity to awaken to a Persona at some point, but they hadn't been expecting it to be so soon, or to even be one they'd never seen before.

Verity stared ahead at the Shadow Wardens as they took on battle-like stances, prompting her to give a smug smile and start to walk forward one slow step at a time.

"Finally… You don't realise how freeing it is to let my hidden wrath take form after being sealed away all this time!"

She stopped halfway when one of the Shadow Wardens near the front of the formation held out their baton towards in a threatening manner.

"How dare you, intruder! How dare you disrupt the peace of the Prison of Regression! The prisoners here desire to be imprisoned! If you do not leave willingly, we will eliminate you!"

Justine and Caroline blinked in surprise when Verity let out a loud laugh and briefly threw her head back.

"Oh, is that so? Because it seems you haven't noticed that the two girls in front of you who you've tried to imprison don't want that. How blind of you!"

Verity lowered her head again to see the Shadow Wardens staring at her in deathly silence, prompting her to place a hand to her hip.

"You know what annoys me about people? They love to generalise! They seem to think that everyone wants the same thing; that just because a few people state a certain opinion, everybody else has that same opinion. And anyone who says otherwise is apparently being 'stupid' and 'unrealistic'. Well, I've got some bad news for you guys." Verity paused to lean forward and move her hand to her chest, narrowing her eyes the Shadow's way. "I don't share society's opinion."

The Shadows briefly glanced around at one another as Verity stood up straight and held her hands out towards her surroundings, with Caroline and Justine remaining silent and hanging on to her every word; like they were having an epiphany.

"The people inside of those cells don't want to change. According to you, they would rather lose their freedom to think for themselves and have someone else speak and act for them; like the Phantom Thieves, for example. But I'm not like them. I want to change, and I'd rather speak and act for myself than have someone else do it for me."

Verity held out a hand palm-up towards the Shadow Wardens with a frown.

"If I have to stand against society and be called 'stupid' and 'unrealistic' for wanting an 'idealised' future where people can continue thinking for themselves, then so be it! I'll happily start by taking down you measly Shadows!"

Justine and Caroline had their eyes widen in awe by this time, but this only lasted for a few seconds when the Shadow Warden yelled its warning.

"I warned you, outsider! Your kind aren't welcome here! You must be eliminated!"

Justine and Caroline glanced behind them when they heard the sounds of the six Shadows switching forms, prompting them to push themselves to their feet and run in Verity's direction (with Justine collecting her clipboard along the way) as two Nebiros, Liliths, and Melchizedeks appeared in their places. Verity waited until Justine and Caroline had passed her before raising her left wrist, where her bracelet and leaf charm were still visible.

"Tch! I'd like to see you try!"

Her leaf charm started glowing a bright green for a few seconds, before its glow intensified and its shape shifted and stretched outwards. By the time Verity was reaching her hand towards the forming object the glow had dissipated, revealing a long sword with a dark green handle and light green blade now clasped in her hand, which held a close resemblance to the sword 'Excalibur'.

With Justine and Caroline stopping a small distance away to watch the ensuing battle, Verity held the blade at her side and raised her left hand with a scowl.

"Now, it's time to unleash our wrath upon them… Lend me your strength, Ira!"

A/N: So...

Verity's Persona and outfit: Yes, her Persona is completely fictional and original... in a sense. From what I've seen for Persona 5, the Personas given to the main cast and even certain antagonists are based on fictional/real life people through history. In Verity's case, though, I purposely made up her Persona as part of the plot for this fanfic... which I can't mention because it's technical spoilers. But I will say that if you know what 'Ira' is the Latin name for, you'll probably understand where I'm going with this. Also, if you pay close attention to aspects of Verity's Metaverse outfit and her Persona's appearance, you should notice that there are subtle references to a real-life thief Verity kind of follows in terms of backstory /a tad/. I'll let you guys guess them before I reveal the answer in the author's notes next chapter.

Verity's Weapon: Her sword is based appearance-wise on the legendary sword of King Arthur, 'Excalibur'. I did this on purpose, as it's a reference to the Arcana her Persona falls into. Again, I'll let you guys try to guess before I eventually reveal it. I can bet it won't be hard to work out, though.

The Meta-Nav: I did try to look up how the Nav works, but the wiki didn't provide much information about where a user can use it in a Palace. And I can't remember much from the anime with their portrayal, either. But I assume that since it has been proven in-game that Persona users can enter a Palace from any part of the building it's located in in reality (*cough*Madarame Arc*cough*), then it's possible for a similar thing to happen from somewhere like a safe-room. I mean, I think the only reason the game specifically has you exiting from the entrance to a Palace is just for the sake of the game mechanics. If those three had tried to get to the entrance of the Depths of Mementos without their Personas, realistically, I think they wouldn't have made it. Hence why I decided to have the Nav work from a safe room. It's not officially canon, but then again this is my fanfic so... as long as it makes sense in some form... XD