A/N: Sorry for the delay in getting the chapter out. I've been having medical complications acting up that have slowed down my progress in getting this done. This is the first time I've really attempted to write a 'battle scene' of sorts into a fanfiction (at least properly), so I apologise if it turned out quite crappy. I was trying to find the right balance between a lot of detail and little detail whilst switching back and forth between the dialogue. It's not as easy as you might think. ^^' Thank you again to those who have been favouriting, following, reviewing and even reading this fanfiction. It's nice to see people are enjoying it despite my original twist on things. Please stay tuned for end notes at the bottom of this fanfic as I address things mentioned in the previous author's notes. But anyways, time to answer reviews.
To the anon addressing the parallels between Ren and Akechi: yeah, that's sort of what I was going for. It just so happened that when I was writing this chapter, I noticed the ironic parallels I'd made between Ren and Verity from Ren and Akechi, and I thought it would be a good idea to throw that in there and have Ren question his own resolve. I didn't like Akechi all that much, but considering Ren has now taken on the antagonist role of this situation I thought it was a good idea to bring him into it. But nice to see you're aware of what I was getting at regarding Verity's Persona. I'll be expanding more on that in the end notes.
To Kersplunk: Not even close. Nice try, though. XD But I'll be going into more detail in the end notes about that anyways, so don't worry about it. ^^
To the anon who I last responded to in the previous chapter: No harm done, buddy (I don't mean that sarcastically, just to clarify). Like I said, you have a right to your opinion. We don't all like the same things. I agree with you that P5's story wasn't perfect. It had its flaws. But I enjoyed the story, regardless. But of course, that is also my opinion. I didn't think you disliked everything the game offered. I just thought based on what you'd said you just generally didn't enjoy the experience overall. But regardless of which part of society you were focusing on, my points still stand, too. If you look back over history, there have been people who have overthrown kings and such because they didn't want them to speak and act for them. Heck, even today, there are specific things in place that people have used to go against those in power and have their voices heard; petitions, voting, protests, etc. So, when it comes down to it, we're both right. Despite society's basis, there's always going to be opposition in some form. I am surprised to see you do like this story, though. Because you seemed to focus more on the parts of the story you didn't like and didn't appear to mention anything you enjoyed about it, I naturally assumed you didn't enjoy the direction I was taking it in. That's also why it was hard for me to truly discern if you were a troll or just stating your opinion, since in my experience critique-like views normally follow the three step rule; likes, dislikes, and suggestions for improvement, whilst troll reviews solely focus on the negatives and sometimes insult the writer. But it's fine. No hard feelings. Also, the ending part of the chapter wasn't a jab at you. I know better than to ruin my work with my emotions. The 'wink face' I put in the end notes was supposed to be the jab to make my sentence come across sarcastic. So, I apologise for that. ^^' I'm not good with confrontation, anonymous or not. Genuinely, though, your wording did turn out to be good inspiration, as they matched my OC's situation perfectly. So thanks for that. I don't normally bring my fights into my work, so I won't do that in the future. But when it does come to trolls, I find taking the fire they throw at you and turning it into something different that's creative and inspiring is much better than letting it get to my head, you know?
And to PowerRangersOfLight: Why, thank you very much. ^^ I'm glad to see you like the ideas I've incorporated into this.
Chapter 7: Will of Rebellion
Justine and Caroline remained stood where they were and watched in silent shock as Verity and Ira made their first attack, with the former calling out the attack name just as Ira pulled her sword free from the scabbard strapped to her waist.
"Ira, Magaru!"
The twins focused on Ira when she swung her sword behind her and quickly brought it forward to fire a gust of green wind stretching outwards towards the six Shadows, taking a moment to observe the Persona's attacks and movements. Whereas one of the Liliths and Nebiros managed to guard and took little damage despite getting knocked backwards a bit, the remaining four Shadows who failed to dodge found themselves being knocked further back than they'd probably expected. However, as a result of them being weak to wind-type attacks, the Melchizedeks of the group quickly dropped to the ground in a dazed state, going from their former hovering positions down onto one knee.
"Intriguing," Justine muttered, her eye remaining locked onto Ira as she straightened her posture and held her sword across her front in a defensive stance. "Awakening to a Persona we have never seen before… This is far from what I was expecting."
"That's what you're focusing on right now?!" Caroline responded in a slightly raised tone, prompting the quiet warden to turn her way with a surprised blink. "Did you forget what she just said?! You know, about the Phantom Thieves?!"
Whilst Justine's and Caroline's conversation went on behind her, Verity was forced to try to dodge an attack from the Lilith who had managed to guard against her earlier. She just about managed to stumble out of the way when the Lilith cast 'Bufudyne', catching sight of the swirl of ice forming under her feet seconds before it shot upwards and had been close to completely surrounding her. Naturally, this was to be expected, as Verity had never battled with a Persona before. Her reflexes would be clumsy, meaning she'd have to rely solely on her Persona for now and try to knock the Shadows down as quickly as possible.
"I didn't. But given the situation, Caroline, this is a lot for us to process, don't you think?"
Caroline rolled her eye at Justine's response and placed her hands to her hips.
"I know that! But don't you think it's strange? She was clearly speaking against the Phantom Thieves!"
"…"
Justine furrowed her brow and turned her gaze towards the fight once more, witnessing the Nebiros who'd guarded leaning forward and casting 'Brain Shake' and sending swirls of pink in Verity's direction. However, Verity just about managed to counter with 'Magaru' for a second time, causing the two moves to clash and explode in a flurry of pink and green. In the process, though, the attack managed to push the Liliths and the Nebiros back again, with Melchizedeks once again receiving heavy damage and disappearing in motes of darkness.
"That is strange. It goes against the world the inmate sought for."
"Exactly!" Caroline replied in agreement, following Justine's gaze as Verity used the momentary setback to cast another spell with the raise of her arm, prompting Ira to swing her sword behind her again in sync.
"Ira, Makouga!"
Swinging her sword forward, Ira sent a slash of swirling light down upon all four Shadows, successfully hitting them and causing the Nebiros to fade away in motes of darkness due to their weak resistance against bless attacks.
"A human who has awoken a Persona in a distorted world whose values she's heavily against… Doesn't that sound like a human immune to Yaldabaoth's influence, Justine?"
Justine blinked at Caroline in shock at this realisation, oblivious to Verity making a daring attempt to dash towards the Liliths whilst they were trying to pull themselves together.
"Immune to the influence of the false god? Is that even possible?"
"Apparently so-"
Caroline cut herself off with a gape when both Liliths made to retaliate before Verity had a chance to get close enough to bring her blade forward, resulting in them both casting 'Mabufudyne' just in front of the blonde so the ice rose up in a large swirl to trip her up. Justine followed Caroline's gaze with a gasp as Verity cried out and was sent flying backwards through the air, only to crash to the ground on her back close to where the twins were stood. She wasn't weak to ice attacks, thankfully, but still suffered quite a bit of damage from the combination. Ira remained hovering above her on the defensive, blade brought close to her chest once more.
With Verity slowly rolling over onto her front and grunting as she tried to pull herself together, Caroline and Justine focused their gazes towards the Liliths floating a small distance away from them, preparing to charge towards Verity head-on whilst she was technically down. Caroline gritted her teeth at this.
"… Justine, I take back what I said before." Justine frowned Caroline's way when she spoke, with the latter's eyes locked onto the Liliths as they started to rush their way forward. "Our master was right to continue to keep his trust in humanity. He knows not all humans think and act the same way."
Justine's expression relaxed once Caroline had elaborated on her reasoning, being quick to follow her alongside her as she started her run forward towards the charging Liliths.
"I'm glad you finally agree, Caroline."
"We shouldn't have let the inmate get into our heads! He made us forget the importance of our roles in the Velvet Room!"
Verity glanced between the twin wardens in surprise when they came to a sudden stop just in front of her, with Justine to her right and Caroline to her left. As the Liliths gained speed and raised their hands in preparation for their next spell casting, the twins spread their legs apart and got into a fighting stance.
"Since this human embodies our master's hope in humanity…" Caroline began, positioning her right arm across her front whilst her left one was raised behind her head.
"…then it's our duty to guide her through the obstacles she shall most likely face," Justine finished, holding out her left arm towards the charging Liliths whilst her right one held her clipboard behind her head.
Verity watched on in silent awe as Caroline grinned at the blue flames that briefly flashed around her and Justine, engulfing them for a few seconds before quickly dispersing.
"No more holding back!"
"It's time we atone for our mistakes!"
A Jack Frost and Jack-O-Lantern were revealed to now be hovering behind Justine and Caroline respectively as the Liliths cast 'Bufudyne' towards them both, prompting the twins to yell out in sync as their Personas prepared to counter.
"Persona!"
Due to being resistant to ice attacks, all Jack Frost had to do was fly in front of Justine and allow the one 'Bufudyne' spell to hit it, immediately causing the spell to dissipate into thin air as if it never happened and allowing Jack Frost to escape without any inflicted damage. Jack-O-Lantern, on the other hand, retaliated with the spell 'Maragidyne', causing large swirls of fire to appear in front of the trio and block the second 'Bufudyne' spell. This also happened right in front of the Liliths as they'd closed in on them, resulting in massive damage being inflicted onto them due to their lack of resistance to fire.
The Liliths emitted a loud cry and got knocked back just as the cast spell dispersed into thin air, leaving Justine watching with her usual stoic expression and Caroline's grin widening at the sight of the remaining two Shadows suffering enough damage to disappear in motes of darkness.
Caroline and Justine were soon relaxing their stances and turning to glance at one another as Jack-O-Lantern, Jack Frost, and Ira all disappeared back into their respective users within a flash of blue flames, with Verity slowly pushing herself off the ground to try to stand despite how much her limbs were shaking. As she did so, her sword was engulfed in a bright green light, which soon dispersed once it had shape-shifted back into its leaf charm and returned to the bracelet around her wrist.
"Aha! Justine, did you see that?! We regained our Personas!"
Justine nodded in response, the pair remaining oblivious to Verity hunching over as she tried to straighten out her posture with her arms dangling limply at her front.
"Indeed we did."
Caroline placed her hands to her hips and straightened out her back in a proud manner.
"I'd like to see the inmate take us on now! And with a new Persona user by our side, no less!"
Justine shook her head in dismay.
"You're forgetting, Caroline, that she has only just awoken to her Persona. We can't go making assumptions. For now, we need to focus on getting out of here."
Caroline's shoulders slumped as she frowned Justine's way, letting out a huff of annoyance.
"Right, right. Hey-"
Caroline and Justine blinked in surprise at hearing something fall to the floor behind them, prompting them to glance behind them out of instinct. They were met with the sight of Verity collapsed on the floor face-down, her arms and legs sprawled out. Verity had passed out from exhaustion, seemingly.
Upon realising this, the twins' eyes drooped in sync out of dismay, with Justine sighing and reaching a hand up to grab the front of her cap and adjust it on her head.
"… Let's move her to that room before the Shadows return."
"Agreed."
When I opened my eyes, the first sight I was met with was a girl with bright green hair and eyes staring back at me from where she hovered a small distance away a little way off the ground. We were surrounded by darkness, and there didn't appear to be anyone else but us. Which, in this situation, unnerved me quite a bit.
As I took a step or two back out of caution and tried to process what I was seeing, the girl chuckled in amusement at my reaction, causing me to gape. Her laugh sounded close enough to mine, but held a darker and confident tone that caused a shiver to run down my spine.
"Still cautious of me, are you? I'm not surprised."
"… Who are you?" The words left my mouth before I could stop them. "Were you the one who spoke to me in my head?"
The girl nodded.
"I am." She held out her hands on either side of her. "I am the side of you you've been suppressing for all these years, who has now gained a physical form."
I frowned in confusion, not quite understanding what she meant.
"You're… me?"
"Yes."
"…"
My frown deepened.
'… Is this like that Japanese saying about a person having three faces? Is she supposed to be the third face; the one I never show to anybody?'
"If that analogy helps you to understand what I'm talking about, then yes. Something like that."
I flinched in surprise and leaned back a bit when the girl spoke again, prompting the girl to giggle again out of amusement at my reaction.
"You and I are one in the same. You shouldn't be so surprised that I can hear your thoughts."
"And yet here we are…" I muttered sarcastically, not exactly sure of how to respond to this situation despite my fear.
This prompted another giggle from the girl, but one that this time caused a smile to stay on her face.
"You have done well in choosing to open your eyes to the truth. But you still have a long road ahead of you before you can know it for yourself."
I frowned in confusion.
"What do you mean by that?"
The girl tilted her head to the side slightly, her smile widening as a bright green glow started to engulf her.
"You'll see soon enough~…"
As the girl started to slowly fade away within the glow, I was quick to reach my right hand out and try to move forward as fast as I could, only being able to call out one word before my vision immediately went black.
"Wait-!"
The next time I found myself managing to open my eyes I was staring up at a black ceiling above me, the first noise that escaped my mouth being a loud groan. I had no memory of what had happened between now and when I pulled whatever it was off my face. But that didn't stop me from feeling like my limbs had been stepped on by an elephant.
"Look who's finally awake, Justine."
I turned my head in the direction of the voice from where I was lying, only to see Caroline and Justine sitting close by on the floor with their legs crossed. Justine was holding her clipboard to her chest with a neutral look on her face, whilst Caroline had her arms crossed and was smirking at me.
"And to think, I thought you didn't look or sound like a Persona user!"
"…?"
Frowning in confusion at Caroline's remarks, I slowly lifted myself from the floor and sat up, reaching a hand to place to my forehead as the pain began to ease itself.
"…?!"
However, my eyes widened when I felt my palm touch something on the front of my face, prompting me to pat it a couple of times at realising it was around my eyes.
"What the-? What's on my face-?"
"A mask," Justine replied, continuing even as I started feeling around the sides of it with both hands. "You pulled it off your face when you awoke to your Persona."
I paused with my movement and turned to stare at the twin wardens with a surprised blink.
"… 'Mask'? 'Awoke to your Persona'-?"
Catching sight of my clothes out of the corner of my eyes, I was left gaping when I dared to glance down and see my outfit was different.
"-Wait-?! Why are my clothes different?! What happened-?!" I turned my gaze away to stare at the room we were in at realising even our surroundings were now different as well. It had been difficult to tell before, since it followed the same colour scheme as everywhere else I'd seen of this place. "Where are we-?!"
"If you stop asking questions, then we'll tell you!" Caroline responded in an annoyed tone, prompting me to fall quiet and glance towards them in anticipation.
What proceeded next was a lengthy explanation courtesy of the pair regarding what happened during my 'black-out', which included what I did, why my outfit had changed, why I was wearing a mask, and the differences between Shadows and Personas. By the end of the explanation I had my hands covering my nose, briefly closing my eyes and releasing a deep breath as I tried to process what I'd just heard.
'Wow… And here was me thinking things couldn't get any weirder…'
"… Let me get this straight," I paused to move my hands away from my mouth, holding them up on either side of me to prepare to mimic quotation marks on the words I was planning to emphasise. "The voice I heard in my head was my 'Persona'. And this 'Persona' is the physical representation of a part of my personality and thoughts."
Justine nodded. "That's right."
"So, when I was hearing this voice, feeling all that pain, and then pulling this mask…" I pointed towards the mask with my hands. "… off my face… that was me awakening to my 'Persona'."
"Basically," Caroline answered.
"And awakening to my 'Persona' is the reason why I don't remember fighting those Shadows, why I feel so exhausted and why I'm wearing this mask and outfit. The latter of which is also there to protect me from the distortions of humanity's evil thoughts in this world; something these 'Shadows' are apparently made up of."
When both Caroline and Justine nodded to confirm my recollection was correct, I allowed my shoulders to slump in dismay when I dropped my hands into my lap out of disbelief. Even with the explanation, I still couldn't believe what the heck I'd just heard.
'But it sounds like what that girl said was right, then. The one who I spoke to a moment ago… She must have been my Persona.'
"… I don't even know if I'm still alive anymore. Did I die and enter some weird version of purgatory?"
Caroline snorted at my reaction out of amusement.
"You can try to deny it all you want. But you've seen and experienced it now. There's no going back from this."
My eyes drooped at her remark, prompting me to turn my gaze away to stare at the leaf charm on my bracelet.
'… So, my charm turned into a weapon, huh? I wonder…'
"… You said my Persona had a name you didn't recognise. 'Ira', wasn't it?"
I glanced towards the twins out of the corners of my eyes to see their reactions, watching as they blinked in confusion at my question. After a moment I turned my gaze away again and closed my eyes, letting out a forced chuckle.
"Heh. I wondered why I felt weird. Ira; the Latin word for 'Wrath'. How ironically fitting for someone like me."
When I opened my eyes and dared to side-glance the twins again, I thought I saw Justine staring at me with her wide eye. Not from shock, but rather as if she'd just realised something based on what I'd just said…
However, Justine was also the first to break away from this by loudly clearing her throat, choosing to stand and keeping her clipboard pressed to her chest.
"Well then, you've had ample time to recover from your exhaustion. We should leave Mementos whilst we have the chance."
Caroline nodded in agreement and copied Justine, with me doing the same once I was sure the pain in my limbs had subsided.
"Good idea. We might be safe from the Shadows in here, but we still have the inmate to worry about." She paused to turn her gaze to me. "Do you remember what you're supposed to do?"
I was quick to nod and feel around the front of my black coat for a pocket, eventually finding one and slipping my hand in for my phone.
"Yep. I just activate that app to send us back, right? … Well, that's if my phone is- There it is!"
The moment I felt my fingers touch what I thought was my phone, I brought it out and prepared to unlock it. However, I halted in my tracks when my eyes locked with my reflection in the phone screen, causing me to take sight of the mask that had been on my face this whole time. It was coloured bright red and only covered the area around my eyes, with both sides of the mask taking on the shape of a leaf.
'Yeesh. What is it with the 'plant' theme? First the indent on the door, then my 'Persona' talking about 'saplings', and now my mask… What the heck is up with-?'
"Ow!"
"Hey! Daydream on your own time!"
Reaching a hand down to my left side where I'd felt a finger jab me, I briefly turned to Caroline to find her standing close to me with a scowl.
"Okay, okay! Geez!"
Rolling my eyes, I unlocked my phone and pressed my thumb on the 'Nav' app before Caroline poked me again. I was soon glancing away from my phone, though, when I started to notice red rings of varying sizes start to engulf the area around us in a ripple-like effect, with Caroline and Justine glancing around once the red embedded into the black parts of the wall slowly began to fade away.
'What the-?'
The next thing I knew, the ripples had disappeared, and I was standing near a row of steps leading down to one of Shibuya Station's platforms, prompting my eyes to widen in shock for a moment.
"Huh?"
I did a full 360-degree turn to look around at the oblivious crowds of people walking by as if nothing had just happened, only to flinch when a mechanical female voice sounded from my phone.
"You have returned to the real world. Welcome back."
'… The app talks? And the weird things just keep on rolling. But it looks like those two were telling the truth; I'm in Shibuya Station again.'
As I happened to glance down at my phone I was soon gaping at sighting the dark green sleeve of my jacket, causing me to stare down at myself for a moment in shock. My usual clothes had returned and replaced the other outfit I had on, which was further proven when I raised a finger to pat the bridge of my nose and I couldn't feel the mask, either.
"My clothes changed again…"
"Of course they have!" I turned around at hearing Caroline, finding both her and Justine were still stood with me with their respective frowns and stoic looks. "We told you that outfit was to protect you from the distortions of the Metaverse. You don't need it when you return to the real world."
I opened my mouth to speak, but was quickly cut off by Justine when she raised her left hand away from her clipboard.
"And before you ask, the humans of this world can perceive your entrance and exit to the Metaverse. They're just too occupied at the moment to acknowledge you. Do keep that in mind for future reference."
"Also, they can't see us like you can." Caroline added, shrugging her shoulders. "So if you don't want to look like a crazy person, be mindful of that too."
I closed my mouth and stared at the twins stood in front of me in confusion for a moment, glancing to the left and right before deciding to speak in a low voice.
"… How did you know that's what I was going to ask?"
Justine shrugged her shoulders.
"It's common sense. You aren't the first Persona user we've had to deal with, after all."
I frowned in thought at this.
'… There are others like me?'
I was brought back to reality when Justine spoke again.
"But questions aside, it would seem you have kept to our deal."
I blinked in realisation when I remembered why I'd been following them in the first place.
"Oh, yeah! I forgot about that!" I placed a hand to the back of my neck and glanced between them, deciding to bite the bullet and ask out of curiosity. "… So, what were you two planning on doing now you're out of that cell?"
Justine and Caroline briefly glanced at each other before looking back to me, prompting Caroline to place a hand to her hip.
"We're not sure yet. We'll probably check out the door to the Velvet Room, since you've unlocked it for us." She paused to close her eye. "But if you're asking to see if there's anything else we need from you… then there's no need. We're done here."
Justine nodded in agreement.
"Your assistance is no longer required. It has been appreciated, however."
"… Oh," I said, not realising until afterwards just how disappointed I sounded.
'Why am I disappointed? Isn't this a good thing? I know what's behind that weird door now and why this app is on my phone. That's all I wanted… right?'
Being quick to shake my head and drop my hand away, I gave the twins the best grateful smile I could muster.
"Well then. I guess I should be offering you my thanks as well, for helping me get out of there and all. So…"
I trailed off as an awkward silence fell around the three of us for a moment, neither of us saying anything else as we stared each other down and waited for the cue where we could end things. Fortunately, that moment came rather quickly when I felt my phone vibrate in my hand, quickly followed by its ringing just as I glanced at the screen.
Mom was calling me.
'Uh-oh…'
"I've gotta take this. Sorry. I'll see you around then… I suppose?"
"Whatever you say, intruder."
I frowned to display my displeasure at the nickname Caroline had insisted on continuing to give me as the twins finally turned and started running away into the station. Probably in the direction of that alleyway to go through that door.
'… I knew they'd never call me by my name.'
Shaking my head in dismay, I was quick to answer the phone and put it to my ear.
"Hello?"
"... Verity! Where have you been?! I've been trying to ring you all morning!"
I cringed and moved my ear away when I heard Mom's voice yelling at me through the phone, noting how relieved and angry she sounded.
'Yikes! I made a big mistake in not at least texting her to tell her I'd be out for a while…'
"… Sorry," I started once I'd put the phone back to my ear, closing an eye as I wracked my brain for an excuse I could use to get myself out of this one. Because obviously I couldn't tell her I'd pulled an 'Alice-In-Wonderland' kind of stunt and walked through a strange door into another world. There's no way she'd believe me.
"An apology isn't good enough, young lady! You scared me half to death!"
"It wasn't intentional! I swear!" I glanced around the area I was standing in in search for something to give me an idea for an excuse, only for my gaze to lock with a magazine stand on the other side of the station. One of the magazines on display had a picture of Jinbocho on the front page. "I… I left early so I could go to Jinbocho."
A few seconds of silence went by on the other end of the line before Mom spoke up again with slight surprise seeping into her voice.
"Jinbocho? What did you go all the way over there for?"
I hesitated for a moment, reaching my empty hand to grab at one of my braids and rub it between my finger and thumb out of nerves.
"I… I wanted to see if they had any books I might like to read. You know I'm a bookworm! But the signal kept cutting out on my phone when I was on the train, so I wasn't able to text you. I'm really sorry."
Silence fell on the other side of the line again, but unlike before it lasted a while, causing me to bite the inside of my lip.
'… She's not buying it, is she?'
"… Did you find anything?"
I blinked in surprise when I got an answer, prompting me to straighten out my posture.
"N-No, no! There wasn't anything there that caught my eye. So I'm coming home now. I'm just at Shibuya Station."
Mom sighed loudly on the other side of the phone.
"Well, as long as you're okay. That's all that matters to me. But promise me you won't do that again. At least tell me you're going out next time so I don't go yanking my hair out with worry. I'm not getting any younger!"
I smiled out of amusement.
'She took the bait. She's back to making her usual jokes.'
"I promise. Sorry. I'll be home soon."
"Alright. I'll see you when you get back. Love you."
"Love you! Bye!"
The second I brought my phone away from my ear and cut the call off, I let out a huge sigh of relief and allowed my shoulders to slump.
'That was a close one.'
Slipping my phone back into my jacket pocket, I found my gaze once again crossing with my charm and bracelet around my left wrist, prompting me to recall the explanation Justine and Caroline had given me about my supposed 'Persona'. It was only just now that I started to realise just how exhausted I felt after the whole ordeal.
'Still… that was a lot for me to take in.'
Reaching a hand up to rub at my forehead, I started my walk in the direction of the train platform that would take me back to Yongen-Yaya.
'I think I'm going to take a long nap when I get home. I don't remember what I did, but it sure took a lot out of me…'
"Hurry up, Justine!"
Justine picked up the speed in her running as she tried to keep up with Caroline dashing ahead of her through Shibuya's Central Street, keeping her clipboard tucked securely under her arm as she went. They didn't need to worry so much about dodging the crowds of people as they made their way through the street. They couldn't see them anyway.
"W-Why are you h-hurrying, C-Caroline?!" Justine tried to yell through her huffs for breath as she attempted to keep up with the malicious warden.
"The sooner we regain control of the Velvet Room, the better, Justine! So keep up!"
When Caroline darted round the corner into the alleyway, Justine was quick to slow down and follow suit with the shake of her head.
'Honestly, Caroline… Why must you be so-?'
Justine let out a surprised grunt as she felt her front collide with Caroline's back, causing her to stumble backwards a little bit and blink a couple of times to regain her senses. Her grip momentarily loosened on her clipboard as she managed to steady her footing and stared at Caroline with a confused blink upon seeing her staring ahead with her mouth agape. But when Justine followed the other warden's gaze, she found herself copying the same expression at the sight of the familiar frizzy-haired teen standing in front of the now closed door to the Velvet Room, his hands in the pockets of his jeans.
"Hello, ladies," Ren greeted, presenting an unreadable expression on his face as he watched Caroline snap out of her shock first and run behind Justine for protection. "I see you've figured out how to escape the cell. Did your new little friend help you?"
Justine frowned and took a defensive stance when she felt Caroline place her hands on her shoulders, bringing her left arm across her front in case she had to use her clipboard as a temporary weapon. She and Caroline didn't think the inmate would try and attack them directly out in the real world (given they couldn't use their Personas here and no one else aside from Verity and Ren could currently see them), but that didn't mean they shouldn't exercise caution just in case. After all, he had managed to sneak up on them and catch them off guard the first time to put them in that cell to begin with.
Even so, they both did well in hiding their shock at the supposed mention of Verity, with Justine's grip around her clipboard tightening.
'He knows about the intruder?' Justine's frown deepened. 'Then again, Yaldabaoth could have made him aware of her ahead of time. He did so before with the 'other Metaverse user'. Could this mean…?'
When neither of the twins dared to make a retort, Ren smiled in amusement and straightened out his posture.
"There's no need to get all cautious. I'm not here to capture you."
"…?!"
Justine and Caroline blinked out of shock, prompting Justine to relax her stance a little.
"… What?" Caroline questioned, a scowl quickly forming. "Then why are you standing in front of the door to the Velvet Room?! You were clearly waiting for us to show up!"
"I was." Ren paused to smirk. "But only to see the looks on your faces when you saw the door."
Justine raised a brow out of confusion.
"The door…?"
"I bet he changed the lock again!" Caroline yelled without hesitation, raising a finger to point at Ren in an accusing manner. "That has to be it, right?! Why else would he look so smug?!"
"Close, but not quite…"
Ren moved to the right to allow the twins a better view of the door to the Velvet Room, with the sight causing them both to stare at it in horror. The original lock mechanism was still there, as was the leaf shaped indent with its green glow. However, the other six former glowing white indents were now in full view, giving a clearer picture regarding the small shapes that went around the outer side of the circle; a chalice, a hand mirror, a gavel, a rose, a book, and a snake.
"What the…?" Caroline muttered out of shock, prompting Ren's smirk to widen.
"What? You didn't think those other indents were there for show, did you?" Ren tilted his head to the side. "You should have expected this. After all, I wasn't just going to leave the solution out in the open for you to find."
Justine narrowed her eye out of suspicion. She briefly recalled Verity's explanation regarding the leaf charm in her possession, as well as having watched her unlock the quarantine cell and their own cell with the same method.
'Could it be…?'
"... You have more than one key for the Velvet Room," she eventually answered, causing Caroline to gasp loudly behind her out of disbelief.
"He has what?!"
Ren shrugged his shoulders as if out of dismissal of both Justine's answers and Caroline's reaction.
"Of course I do. I had to prepare myself in the likely case you two managed to find your way out. And it looks like I was right."
Caroline balled her hands into fists and dropped them to her sides.
"Why you-?!"
When Ren started walking towards them, Caroline and Justine straightened their postures out of caution, with the former gritting her teeth out of anger as she tried to suppress it for the time being.
'Ugh! Stupid inmate! How is he always one step ahead of us?!'
Justine and Caroline stepped away from Ren and kept their gazes locked on him when he walked by them, only for him to stop just as he passed them to glance their way. He stayed still and silent for a moment, but when he pulled one of his hands out of his pockets Justine's and Caroline's shoulders tensed.
"I don't have time to spend trying to put you back in the Velvet Room, so consider yourselves rehabilitated."
"…!"
The twins watched with wide eyes as Ren purposely threw something that landed close to Justine's feet.
'…! Caroline's baton-!'
'Is he… Is he really letting us go? Just like that?'
"I welcome you both to try to unlock it if you want. But there's little you can do. In the real world, you're both powerless. And without your master… well, what can I say?"
"…."
The twins had no retort to give to that, knowing that in a way Ren was right with what he said. Even if they had regained their Personas and encountered another Persona user amongst this mess, it's not like they could do anything with it… right?
When they both failed to respond to him, Ren turned his gaze away and shook his head.
"You might as well roll over and accept you've failed already. Looks like I was the one prisoner you failed to rehabilitate."
Caroline growled whilst Justine remained silent and kept her eye narrowed. With neither of them choosing to respond verbally to Ren's taunts, the pair watched Ren walk away from them and the alleyway, remaining on their guard even after he turned the corner and disappeared from sight in the direction of Shibuya Station.
They continued to stay that way for a little while longer after Ren was gone, just to make sure he wasn't going to pull any other tricks on them. But it wasn't long before Caroline became the first one to break away, stomping towards the wall of the alleyway and throwing an angry punch at it with all the force she had.
"UGH!"
Justine watched on with a surprised blink as Caroline gritted her teeth and threw punch after punch at the wall in a flurry, doing no damage to it but somehow not reacting to the amount of pain her knuckles must have been in every time they made contact with the brick.
'She's frustrated with him.'
And Justine knew it was only natural for her to be at this point. The Trickster had hit home with his words, knowing how much the pair took pride in their roles and duties as attendants of the Velvet Room. It was a low blow, but one that was expected.
Letting out a quiet sigh and keeping her clipboard pressed against her side, Justine turned her gaze away from Caroline towards the door of the Velvet Room when she started throwing kicks at the wall into the mix. Before long, she was walking her way towards it.
'I'll leave Caroline to release her anger. We cope with our emotions differently, after all.'
The single-braided warden stopped before the door and stared at the lock mechanism and its six revealed indents. She couldn't put her finger on it when the Trickster had first showed them the renewed lock, but for some reason she had found the specified number of indents and their shapes rather peculiar. It had been the same when Verity had shown them the leaf shaped indent on the lock and her bracelet, the recollection causing her to furrow her brow in thought.
'Seven indents. Why so specific? What is their significance?'
As that thought popped into her head, the quiet girl found her lone eye being drawn towards the glowing leaf indent in the centre of the circle, only for it to widen when she suddenly recalled Verity's words from before.
'… You said my Persona had a name you didn't recognise. 'Ira', wasn't it?'
'Heh. I wondered why I felt weird. Ira; the Latin word for 'Wrath'. How ironically fitting for someone like me.'
"…?!"
'Wrath.' Justine's mouth fell open in shock, her body turning around to face Caroline still taking her anger out on the wall. 'Of course! Seven indents, seven sins!'
"Caroline!"
Caroline paused mid-kick when Justine called her, her head turning in the other warden's direction with a confused blink, her anger at the Trickster momentarily forgotten upon sighting the look on Justine's face.
'Why's she so excited all of a sudden?'
"What? What's the matter?"
"The keys to the door, Caroline! I know what they are!"
Caroline raised a brow out of scepticism.
"Well, duh! They're obviously similar to that charm that girl had!"
Justine was quick to shake her head and walk back over to Caroline as fast as she could.
"No, no! I mean what they represent!" Justine stopped beside Caroline and pointed her finger back towards the lock mechanism on the door. "It's the Seven Deadly Sins! The sins of humanity!"
"…?!"
Caroline gaped and stared at Justine as if she'd gone crazy, unable to process what she was hearing at all.
"What?!"
Justine showed no hesitation in grabbing Caroline by the wrist and pulling her forward towards the door, oblivious to the malicious warden's stumble as she tried to keep up and regain her footing by the time the pair stopped in front of it. Justine gestured a hand at the lock mechanism again after letting the malicious girl go, glancing at Caroline with a frown.
"Look. There are seven indents. And do you remember what the Persona user said about the name of her Persona?"
Caroline's eye widened the moment she recalled it, realisation hitting her like a brick to the face.
"She said it translated to 'wrath'."
Justine nodded, returning her arm to her side and turning her body to face Caroline fully.
"I think it's safe to say that the inmate's lock mechanism is connected to that malevolent god. He must have granted him control over humanity's sins."
Caroline was the next one to frown in thought, a hand going under her chin as she turned her gaze to the lock mechanism.
"So, if the inmate is using humanity's sins in a condensed form… how does that Persona user and her Persona fit into all of this? She's supposedly had the key on her this whole time. And her Persona is named after a sin."
"…"
The twins' gazes slowly turned to meet each other, having the same thought occur to both of them at the same time. It was something the pair had been suspecting from the moment they had witnessed Verity's Persona take form right before their very eyes. Maybe even a little further back than that, when she walked into the Velvet Room.
"Justine... do you think… that Persona user could be our ticket to fixing this mess?"
Justine briefly closed her eye.
"It's not outside the realm of possibility. I did tell you I sensed something special about her. Perhaps this is what I felt."
Caroline turned her gaze towards her baton lying on the ground near the entrance to the alleyway, dropping her hand back to her side and balling both of them into fists. A frown of determination appeared as she started jogging forward towards it, prompting Justine to blink in confusion as she watched her go.
"Come on," Caroline said as she slowed down, briefly crouching to pick her baton from the ground and slip it back into the belt of her shorts.
During this time Justine obeyed and secured her clipboard under her arm as she jogged to Caroline's side, only to give her a frown of her own. She had an idea as to what Caroline meant, but decided to ask just to be sure they were on the same page.
"Where are we going?"
Caroline's frown deepened at Justine's question, prompting her to glance towards the quiet warden and place a hand to her hip, straightening out her posture in a proud stance as she did so.
"We're going to go find that Persona user before she leaves the station. If she's the key to saving humanity, we can't let her get away."
A/N: So, regarding what I said last chapter...
Verity's Persona and outfit revisited: The real life thief I drew inspiration for regarding the appearance of both her Persona and aspects of her outfit was from the outlaw 'Black Bart'. Bart was well-known for wearing a bowler hat and duster coat (which Ira is dressed in) and he had a handkerchief with the laundry mark 'F.X.O.7' (which is on Verity's jabot). And, as one reviewer correctly guessed, 'Ira' is the Latin word for 'Wrath'. After reading this chapter, I hope my intentions on the subject of where this is going has become a little clearer now. But for those of you who aren't sure, Ira's magic types are 'Wind' and 'Bless'. Again, this is another hint towards the arcana she falls into, which won't be revealed until later on depending on where this goes.
Justine's and Caroline's Personas: I purposely chose them to bring forth Jack-O-Lantern and Jack Frost during this specific fight as they were partly suited against the Shadows I'd decided to use. Although Justine's and Caroline's Personas change periodically throughout their secret boss fight, I'll consider having them stick with Jack-O-Lantern and Jack Frost permanently in the future to save confusion and time on my part. These are the ones people have commonly drawn them with in fanart and I think these two Personas suit their personalities well (aside from their types). XD