?
"Hey."
"Uhhh.", 'This might be stating the obvious,…but this doesn't look like my school.'
"Hey!…HEY!" The blonde boy beside him said, looking around the place. "…What the hell is this place?"
"Ahhh" The place that had the sign of his school was actually not a school. It had the looks of a medieval castle on the outside. But in the inside, it also actually looked like a medieval castle.
There's a long winded stairs, Big pictures, a chandelier with the size of his room and of course Knights in steel armor.
'…I'm sorry, what?' Both him and the boy turned towards the newcomer, a big burly man in an armor with what looked like a mask on his face.
"Whoa! What the hell is that? A costume!?" The blonde haired boy exclaimed, walking towards the man.
'Hey, I don't need to remind you that that the kind of talk is what get you killed first in horror movies.' Is what he's thinking, but of course the only thing that came out from his mouth was…
"Uhhhhh."
"Amazing, This is so dope!" The blonde haired boy said carefully examining the 'costume'. "Okay! Enough of this! Come out! Whoever you are, the prank is over!" The boy shouted suddenly.
…*Clank, Clank* And his shout seemed to attract somethings. Three others wearing the same 'costume' came out and surrounded them.
"H-hey", The boy said in a shaking voice. "Th-these guys are starting to give me creeps, let's get ou-outta here!" Saying that, he turned towards him.
"T-true." And he replied back in an equally shaking voice. With that both of them turned towards the entrance back to run when another came out and hit the blonde haired boy with it's shield in the face. *Clang* , "Ah!"
"Huhh!?" Akira looked at his back as the men before surrounded the falling boy. "Hey, what are you guys doing to him!?" Akira ran up to him as he shouted. "Isn't this supposed to be my scho-" *Clang* , Akira didn't finish his words as something also hit him in the head.
x-x
"Do you feel anything?"
"Do I suppose to?" Minato answered back Caroline's question. They were in the alleyway where the wildcard got spirited away…or so she said. "Maybe he's already in school…"
"No!" The answer came almost immediately. "How many times do I have to tell you!? He vanished!"
"I get it. No need to shout so much."
"Stupid, idiot, buffoon…" Caroline named him with every insults she could think of, then continued searching. For what he didn't know.
….
"Does he seem strange at that time?"
"…No."
….
"…And anything strange around him?"
"Umm, No. He's just talking normally with another guy."
….
'…Hm?'
"What did you just say?" Minato asked turning around.
"Huh?" Caroline also turned towards him with an raised eyebrow.
"Just now." Minato said looking at the girl weirdly. "What did you say, just now?"
"Ahhhh" Caroline looked at him weirdly before continuing. "He was just talking…with an another guy?"
….
….
'Oh For Pete's Sake!'
"Another guy!? Where's that guy now!?"
"Huh? Um, ahhhh," Caroline became tongue-tied at Minato's out of character outburst. "Ahhhh, he vanished with him too. I don't know! Why are you shouting at me!?"
"What's that guy looks like? Is he a shadow? A demon? Or don't tell me, another god!?"
"What!?" Caroline eyes went wide the size of her head. "I mean, Um, I-I don't know. He looks and talks like a normal human!" Caroline answered back scratching her head.
"Well, I look and talk like a normal human!" Minato said pointing to himself.
"Ahhhhh! I don't knooowwww. How can I supposed to tell!?"
"Ahhhhh…" Minato let out a long gurgling noise, holding his head. "Ummm…"
"What!? I mean, I'm not sure but I think he's a human!"
"Ahhhh, that doesn't matt-Wait…" Suddenly Minato got a idea, then he took out his phone.
"What are you doing?" Caroline asked looking at him.
"Whoever that guy is…the wildcard truly did enter this alleyway but ends up in another place…" Minato said opening his phone.
"So?" Caroline said, walking near him.
"It's the same as when you two ambushed me."
"…What?" Caroline thought back to herself. "You mean in Mementos!?"
Minato didn't say anything back and opened the navigator app. "It's a long shot but let's see…" Minato touched the screen. "Destination: Mementos. Navigation beginning…"
….
"…?"
Minato looked around the place.
….
"…So, are we in mementos now?"
"Oh, right, I forgot!" Caroline suddenly shouted and he turned towards her. "You have to be near the place for that to work."
"What?"
"It's the station."
"Whaaatttt? Say sooner." Minato sighed loudly.
"We-well, it was sudden, so of course I forgot a little. Don't blame me." Caroline said back, frowning.
"…So now what?" Minato checked around the place again.
….
"Oh!" After some time, Caroline shouted. "You were investigating that wounded students in this school, right?" Minato's eyebrows twitched but she didn't notice that. "What happened to that?"
"It…has nothing to do with shadows or…this matter right now."
"So you found out about what's happening, then?"
"Yeah,…but Like I said, it's not something we should concern ourselves with." Minato tried to change the subject but Caroline didn't let up.
"What? I want to know. Why were they hurt?"
"It's just…uhhh…" Minato stopped talking and turned around.
"Hey, answer me! Are you hiding something!?" Caroline said walking to the front of him.
"No, it's just…it's just a teacher abusing his students, Okay. Nothing Shadow related. Nothing we should be concerned with." Minato said in an annoyed voice.
"What? A teacher!?" Caroline seemed surprised at that. "So, what did you do?"
"What do you mean what did I do? I did nothing." Minato said turning around again.
"What!?" Caroline said walking over him again. "Aren't they your friends!?"
"No, they are not." Minato's reply came fast.
"But,…but what kind of Messiah are you if you don't help people in need!?"
"The kind of Messiah That Has More Important Matters to Attend to! Now, can we please Focus on the Wildcard?" Minato said in an uncharacteristically loud voice and Caroline stammered a little at that.
But, she steeled herself fast. "No! this is important!" Saying that she took the phone out of Minato's hand.
"What are yo-"
"What is that teacher's name?"
"What?"
"The one you said who's abusing his student!" Caroline shouted back to him.
"Why would that matte-"
"Remember what Justine said? Your school could be a Palace. A corrupt teacher like that fits the criteria to have one."
"…Really?" Minato said with his eyes a little wide. "…Well, I think it was Sumoshi-Uh, no,…Kamoshida…Suguru or something."
Caroline quickly typed the name, and the word 'HIT' appeared on the screen, making Caroline face broke into a smile. "Gotcha!" Minato stared at the phone with an indiscernible face. "The closest thing would be your school…" Caroline typed his school name, looking at the big sign, and the screen showed the words 'HIT' again. "Yes!" Caroline shouted again. "But now, the tricky part…" Caroline tried to think. 'but, really, what would comes out of it…?'
"I will take it from here…" Minato, still with the expressionless face, took back his phone.
"You have an idea?"
"No…But, I will think of one." Minato looked at the phone, his face still showing no emotions. "You said that it's supposed to be their delusions for the reality, right?"
"Huh?" Caroline thought back to herself. "That's not what I said but yeah, that makes sense." Caroline admitted, looking at him.
"So, it's not that hard if we look at them from their psychological standpoint."
"You can do tha-", "Hush…", Minato stopped her. 'I have to think back to my encounter with him…but, first the obvious.'
Torture room, Prison, Jail, Jail cell,…fitness center…
''No hits.'' Caroline said from beside him.
He, himself was a student of this school.
'Shujin Academy, the past…Nope.'
He gets along well with his fellow faculty and most of the student body love him.
'Faculty, Contest, Festival…Nope.'
As I said before, Kamoshida-sensei is an Olympics gold medal winner.
'Olympics…then…Greece, Rome,…Stadium,…Field,…No luck.'
Minato thought back to the evening of that day…
You guys should revere me as your king! I'm the only who make your life worthy here!
'King…kingdom, country, city. Well, it's Palace so, might be a building…, fortress,…castle…'
'Destination found…'
"*Sigh*"
"Gotcha! Yes!" Caroline loudly shouted from beside him. "Hah! You're so great!" Caroline said putting her hand up and turning to him with a bright smile.
….
"…."
"…?" She still had her hand up with a bright smile on her face.
….
"What?" At Minato's question, her smile started to twitch.
"Tch, Nothing." Caroline put her hand back down. "…Stupid, dense, inconsiderate jerk."
"…What?"
"Nothing! I said it's nothing!"
….
"*Sigh* , Okay, now we just need to go, Uh…Caroline?" Minato glanced towards her.
"Hm?"
"Is that place the same as Mementos?"
"That man's palace? Well, the laws would be the same but…the place will be wholly different."
"I see. So, I don't need to remember nothing new, huh?"
"Yeah! So, What are we waiting for? Let's g-" Caroline said smiling, but Minato stopped with his hand. "What?"
Minato turned towards the opposite end of the alleyway. "…Did you hear that?"
"What?" Caroline looked at the place he's looking, but she couldn't see much because of the darkness. "I don't hear an-" Minato stopped her again.
"Quiet…" Then he tiptoed towards the shadow.
Caroline stared at him before she realized something. "Was that like back there again?" Caroline said, remembering about their time after that fight with the false god. 'No way, is the crawling chaos here!?'
"I'm not sure…" Minato slowly moved with his phone in hand.
"Wait, Convic-Mako-Makoto! It's dangerous!"
"Hold on." Minato walked over there as much quietly as he could, and he's already a safe distance away from Caroline.
….
….
"Huhh,"
"Wh-what?"
"Hm…Must be my imagination. And on that subject, hey, Can you cook dinner tonight?"
"What?" Minato hit the button and the world around him started to shift. Caroline stared at him for a second before it hit her. "WHAT!?" Caroline ran towards him but it was too late, "What The Hell!" Minato vanished into thin air as he alone was transported to the palace. "Wait! wait! wait!"
…*SHIZZ*…
….
Caroline stared at the place where the Messiah was standing before with her mouth wide open.
….
"Damn it…" Caroline breathed loudly.
….
"Damn iiiittttt…
MAKOTO! I HATE YOU! YOU STUPID MESSIAH!"
Somewhere In Shujin Academy
"What?" Makoto Niijima looked out of the window, stopping her search for the runaway student.
….
"Who's that?"
x-x
'Wher-Oh god not again…' Akira hazily opened his eyes to see the brick walls on his head. He craned his head a little to see chains on the wall. 'Oh god, not that goblin again! That gives me nightmares!'
"Hey, Enough of this crap! Let us outta here!" , 'Wait, I know that voice…'
"Listen! Dammit!", Akira turned towards the loud voice, mostly because he's too loud but no one's gonna say that to his face, of course. But, then…
Akira saw the knight in a blue mask standing in front of their cell door. 'so, it was not a dream…shit…'
"Hey, don't ignore me! You dic-", "Silence!" A distorted voice, but he's sure it's a man, said, making the blonde haired boy go…silent *Clang. clang*
"Huh, I was thinking what kind of brats they picked up. So, it was you, Sakamoto." A man in a glitter robe appeared with two of the knights like from before on his side.
"Kamoshida!?" The boy '…Sakamoto, was it?', Sakamoto identified the man in front of him as 'Kamoshida'. "What the hell is that crazy outfit!?"
'Wait, didn't I see that guy before?' Akira thought back to the man in a gym suit. '…He's not in the gym suit, but that nose is unmistakable!'
"Hm! You sneaked into my castle, then you performed the highest crime of possible. You dare insult your king!?" The man said in an angry voice, before his face broke into an evil grin. "Right, that's it. Death is only fitting for a criminal like you…Guards!" At the man's words, the knights opened the cell door and entered the place, making the boy recoiled in fear.
"Come now. Sakamoto. It's your execution."
"What the hell are you talking about? Execution…Don't joke around." Then the boy noticed him, and equally making the man noticed him of course.
"Huhhh, so there's still someone who hangs out with you, Sakamoto. But, who the hell are you?"
"Ahhhh", 'Crap, this guy's bad news.'
"Don't f*ck around with me!" But, the shout from the boy beside him, turned his attention away from him. "Who do you think you are, Kamoshida!? Now let us out of here!"
"Heh, the dog's still barking. You never learn, don't you, Sakamoto? I'm the King of this Castle! My words are absolute. But, well, that will only be wasted on dogs like you. Guards! Hold him down!" At the man's order, the men in the knight suits walked over to them.
"Hey,"
"Huh?" Akira turned towards the boys. "These guys are serious, we must get out of here."
"Ye-yeah." Akira nodded to him then with a shout and the boy rammed the knight in front of him.
"Now!" Both Akira and him tried to ran towards the door, but the one of the guards around them hit the blonde haired boy with its shield. "Ahhh!"
"Sakamoto-san!"
"Run!" The boy gurgled out those words.
"But…"
"Please let me go!"
"Ha!? Just get in the car!"
"But…"
"Ahh!"
….
"Damn brat, I'll sue."
"…Run…", "No, I won't, I will not leav-"
'Just don't get yourself involved in any nonsense.'
"Huhhh, Running away? what a heartless friend you are." The man said then turned to the boy on the ground, "I suppose only trash would talks with you now, huh? Sakamoto!" The man kicked the boy in the chest.
"Ack!" Sakamoto cried out in pain and the man seemed to take delight on it as he continued kicking him again.
"Huh? Huh!? You dare defies me!? Trash like you!?"
"Ahhh…wh…at a…re…ru…n." The boy said in pain.
"Umm, hey!" Akira tried to walk towards them but the guards stopped him by barring him.
'Even if something's happening in front of you, just pretend like you don't see it.'
'Damn it.' Akira looked at the boy still being kicked like a dog. "Sorry." With that Akira turned around to leave when…
"Hoi! Look over here!", "Huh?" The man stopped kicking the boy and turned towards the voice as both him and the guards also did to see a weird cat like creature.
"Wait, aren't you the one I cau-", "Zorro!" The man didn't even finish his sentence as the creature shouted loudly and a glass breaking sound was heard, then a black being with a sword appeared behind him.
"What?", "The hell?" Both him and Sakamoto said looking at the creature…with the creature behind him when some kind of shadow walked past the guards, coming near him. "What?"
"Get out…" Saying that the shadow kicked him or pushed him through the door, blowing him towards the creature's feet. "Woahhhh!"
"Huh? Who the hell are you!?" Kamoshida said to the one who kicked him out and he also took a good look at him…to see a boy with blue hair that covered half of his face, wearing the same uniform as him.
"Huh! YOU ARE THE-" The man, Kamoshida, loudly shouted pointing at the blue haired boy. But, he didn't even pay attention to that.
"Now!"
"Here it comes, Garula!" The creature beside him shouted and a large gust of wind blew towards the cell, making everyone in there blown towards the wall, "Oof!", "Ahhhhh!", "Woahhhhh!", The last one was him.
But the blue haired boy skillfully rolled over through the hardy wind and picked up Sakamoto. Then he ran out of the cell.
"Wait! Aren't you that weird third year transfer student!?" Sakamoto said looking at the boy who's carrying him.
"I…suppose so."
"Wait!" Sakamoto said before moving out and closing the cell door. And then he picked up the keys on the ground and threw them away. "Let's go!"
"Hey, Don't you hear the blondie? Let's go!" The cat like creature beside him said.
"Yes…" Akira quickly got up to follow them and he notices the blue haired boy looking at him. "Umm, thank you for saving us."
"…."
No reply came back. Not even a nod. 'Did I offend him somehow?'
"Guards!" Kamoshida shouted from the cell door.
"Thank him later, frizzy hair. We must get out of here fast!" The weird thing said to him again.
"O-okay." Saying that Akira followed Sakamoto and the blue haired boy with that weird creature with weird head in tow. Leaving the man, still shouting in the cell.
"Guards! Guards! Don't let them escape! Especially that blue haired brat!"
x-x
They ran for some distance before stopping at a place that seemed to be safe. …Well, he knew nowhere was safe here but, that blonde haired boy was pretty wounded.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" The blonde haired boy said to his savior, still with bruises and blood on his lips. "How the hell do you get here!?"
"Shut up. You're too loud." Minato said, looking around himself.
"Damn it. Just answer my question!" But, the boy did not stop being loud.
"*Sigh*" Minato turned towards him with an annoyed face. "I was walking to the school then suddenly I was here."
"That's how we end up here too!" the black haired kid with glasses said, catching his breath. He stared at the kid for a time.
"…Are you the transfer student?"
"Huh? Uhh, Yes, Akira Kurusu. I just got transferred today." The boy said, looking at him.
"Minato Arisato…I'm also a transfer student…"
"Huh…" The boy smiled. Then he noticed the pin on his collar. "Ahhh, Nice to meet you, Senpai. And this is Sakamoto…uh, Sakamoto…" The boy said again, bowing to him, then pointing at the boy on the ground.
"Ryuji. It's Ryuji Sakamoto…But, damn it! why are you two idiots introducing like everything's okay!? Well, news flash! Everything's not okay!" The bruised boy said in his loud voice again.
"…I told you, you're being too loud."
"That's normal! The question is why are you being so calm!?" The boy said standing up and walking to him. "You know something, Don't you?"
"Hey, Sa-sakamoto-san." Akira walked up to him with the intent of stopping him…But, really it's not needed.
"…I don't know what to tell you. I'm in the dark as much as you guys are."
"And we're just supposed to believe that!?"
"…Well,…yeah." Honestly, That's not a lie. He didn't really know anything about this place.
"Hey, we must get out of here fast. They are searching for us even now." In fact, he didn't even know what the hell was that thing he picked up.
The weird thing…which has been introduced to him as Morgana came towards him. "Most of them are still saving their king. But, it won't be long before they found us."
….
'…Here it comes.'
Minato tried his best first. "Okay, don'-"
"What the Hell is that thing!?" Ryuji shouted loudly, pointing at…The Morgana. Minato clutched his head in annoyance. "Dude, I mean what!? Is that a monster!?"
"Who are you calling a monster!?"
"I mean, What the hell are you!?"
"Ah, Sakamoto-san, calms down." The wildcard stopped the boy by holding his shoulder. 'at least, he got his head.'
"I mean, Isn't that a cat?" ,'Oh great, another idiot.'
"What, a cat!? Are you out of your mind? Are you Out Of Your Damn Mind!? It doesn't look like a cat! It does not even remotely looks lik-oh, it looks like a cat…"
"I'm not a cat!"
"Okay, that's enough. Shut up." Minato stopped the impending chaos.
"Dude, is that thing yours?" Ryuji asked him.
"I'm not a thing. I have a name. it's Morgana!"
"Whatever, did you take him with you?" Minato stared at the boy like he's the most stupid thing in the world.
"…What do you think? Of course, I take a weird pet that can talk on my walk to school."
….
"…Just saying 'no' is fine. No need to get sarcastic with me." Ryuji said scratching his head.
"So, how did you two meet?" Akira asked still looking at the cat.
"Um…", 'so…How do I lie? I mean…how do I bend the truth here?'
x-x
Some minutes ago…
….*Fizzz, Shizz*…
The world around him started to shift then the face of Caroline running up to him disappear. Minato looked around the place and he seemed to be in the same alleyway.
"…Is this…am I…", Well, he didn't see Caroline anymore. So, he can say that it did move him somewhere.
'Destination reached…Navigation successful.' Minato checked his phone. 'So, it's a success.' Then he walked out of the alleyway, but another voice came from his phone.
"…Updated. Voice recognition system added."
Minato looked at his phone again to see a little mic button at the corner.
….
Minato checked around his surroundings.
'Now, that is weird.' Minato finally got out of the alleyway to see his school…not, a castle in it's place.
….
'Well…now this is more weird.' Minato carefully observed the building.
'…A castle…', then he turned towards his surroundings again. Everything looked the same as the place in the outside world…everything except this castle. Even the buildings on the street and clouds in the sky.
….
'There is a world inside every human's heart. Huh, wonder what my heart looks like?' Minato touched the place where his heart is…or was…
….
"No time for that." With that Minato walked inside the castle, taking out something from his shirt. A revolver with the words S.E.E.S on it.
…*Creak*
Minato opened the large door and looked inside…to see nothing. *Left…Right…Left…* 'Can't bother with the right, again.'
Minato walked up the stairs and went face to face with a large painting of…Kamoshida in a crown and some kind of robe.
….
'This painting…'
"Hey, is there an another intruder?" A distorted voice was heard, and he quickly moved towards the wall trying to hide. '…Wait, why am I trying to hide?'
"Maybe it's an false report." Another distorted voice similar to the first one, but a little different, said. Minato moved a little to get a better look. A two…things in a suit of black armor with weapons in hand was talking. Although they were talking, their faces, which looked a lot like masks, weren't moving. 'Shadows…wait, shadows can't talk.…Well, Ryoji was an exception.'
Minato carefully looked at them. Although with their masks on, they still seemed to act like humans, with emotions behind their voice. …Even more so than him.
'That's kinda sad…'
"Yeah, do you remember about that thing? It was so weird, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it kept shouting 'unhand me, unhand me' but it didn't even have an hand,…it has paws, Bwahahaha!" The two? laughed among themselves almost like middle aged old man.
"So, what happened to the intruders before?", '…Intruders?' Minato moved a little more to hear better.
"Oh, those twos? I took them to the dungeons. It looks like King Kamoshida is gonna punish them personal-" *Bam* The knight stopped talking as the one in front of him got suddenly crushed into pieces…Literally. "Wha-" The he also got suddenly pinned into wall by a blue haired boy. "Ah!"
Everything happened in under one second that they hadn't even got a chance to react.
"Where are they?" Minato asked in a soft voice.
"Who are you!?
"Where are the intruders?" Minato asked again, putting pressure on the thing's neck.
"Mmmphhh, GAH, I will never betray King Kamosida!"
"I don't care. Where are they?"
"I will nev-" Minato's face shifted into bone-like mask with the surrounding became suddenly green. "-errrrrr, they are in the dungeons."
….
'Well, now that was easy.', "And where are the dungeons?" The knight pointed into the one of the door at the end of the hallway with shaking hand as Minato looked towards it. "Thank you…"
Minato stopped pinning him and he fell to the floor in a heap. *Clang*
….
"You know…technically, Paws also count as hands."
"Wha-" The knight vanished into black ichor, leaving no trace that it even existed.
x-x
…*drippppppp* …
'A river…'
…. *Drippppppp* …
'A river, really?' Minato crouched down to get better look at the water flowing between two walk spaces.
The water looked incredibly like…well, water. And there were even sea weeds and other things in it.
Minato looked at the water to see his face reflected on it.
….
'Can I drink it?' Minato scooped up the water with his hand.
….
… *Sniffs* 'No smell. That's a good thing, right?'
Minato carefully looked at the liquid on his hand.
…
'It's not like I can get diseases, so…' Minato scooped up more with both of his hands. 'Bottoms up.' With that Minato drank the water that's on the underground level with sea weeds growing, and that was even not real but made by a man's delusions.
….
'…Now that I think it out loud, this doesn't seem like a good idea.'
"Hey, Hey! You! Yes, you over there!" Suddenly a pesky voice called out from across the river.
Minato looked at the voice to see a bobcat waving at him. Then he turned to his surroundings.
"No! You! You with the one eye!"
"…Me?" Minato said pointing to himself.
"Yes, can you come over here for a sec?"
….
'…why not?' Minato stood up walks over the bridge to get to the bobcat.…But, that's when he realized. He may have never seen a bobcat. But, he's 60% sure that…they don't look like whatever that is.…And of course, most important of all, bobcats don't talk. But then again, he had never seen one.
The thing inside the cell, with feline ears?, very big round eyes on very big round head that's wearing a scarf and…a belt? said to him.
"Why are you drinking water from that river, that's dangerous."
"…I don't really feel anyth-"
"Besides, it's connected to the drain pipe."
….
Minato and The bobcat? stared at each other for sometimes.
….
"Ah, Crap…", "Yeah, Craps an-", "Okay, stop talking."
"Heheh, but don't worry." The bobcat? said in a smug voice. "That's not real water. They only exist in the mind of the ruler of this Palace. So, basically it's fake."
'…how does it know this?', "…Is that so?" Minato's hands wavered towards the evoker on his waist.
"Yeah, so even the crap water you dran-"
"Okay, that's enough. Shut up." Minato stopped him before he could go…well, he already did, but…
"That's Useful Info, right? Right? So, let's make a deal." The bobcat? said frantically waving at him.
"A deal?"
"You wandered through here unknowingly like those two from before, right? Well, those two are already caught, so shame but if you get me OUT of here, I will help you escape."
"Get you out?"
"Yeah, see that key over there? You can use that to open it." The bobcat? said pointing at the key's within it's arm reach. 'Oh, wait…paws.'
"I see, but…how are you gonna help me escape? There's monsters in here.", 'playing dumb…'
"Hehehe," The bobcat?, '…I should really ask it's name', let out a low laugh. "Don't you know who I am?"
"No."
"N-no, it's-it's an rhetorical question. Ahem! I am the Great Morgana. Those weaklings Shadows don't stand a chance against me!", 'Morgana' introduced himself with some kind of pose.
….
"…but, don't you get caught?", "That's because I was caught off guard and I was tired at that time! Now stop asking questions and free me!" 'Morgana' demanded, waving his little paw hands and of course Minato walked to take the keys to open the door.
"…Before I open this, what are you again?"
"Why, I'm a human, of course."
….
"…Ah, I see."
"Hey, you don't believe me, don't you!?"
"Why, I don't believe you, of course.", "Woi!" *Click* With a noise, the door opened and came out the great Morgana.
"Hah! Freedom tastes so good!" The 'Morgana' Shouted loudly. "So, one eye, let's get out of her-"
"Hey, what are you two doing here?" The knight from like before came out and said to them.
'…Ah, Man.' Although he didn't really need it, Minato instinctively took out his evoker and aimed at his head. "Come, Tha-'', "Hey, what the hell are you doing?" But, before he could fully summon, Morgana tackled him. Making his evoker flew away from his han-*Pew*
"Huh?", "Hm?" The knight and him looked at the hole in the wall, that was still smoking.
….
'Whaaattt?' Minato then saw his evoker on the ground, 'Does that came out from…wait, my evoker!' and he tried to run there to take it back but Morgana was still holding him. "Hey, unhand me… I mean, unpaw me!"
"What do you think you're doing? Shooting yourself in the head?"
"You don't get i-", "Heh, see how a true Pro fight." Morgana jumped down from his chest towards the knight who's still looking at the hole.
"Come, Zorro!" Morgana loudly shouted and the knight finally took his attention away from the hole. '…What?'
A being shining in blue in a black suit appeared behind Morgana.
"What?!" The knight exclaimed in surprise. '…A persona?'
"Blow them away." True to his words, the persona slashed it's rapier in the air and a gust of wind blew the knight towards the cra-, ahem, normal river. "Whaa, gulp, gulp." The knight seemingly got drown in the very…VERY clean river.
"Hehe." Morgana smirked loudly and the persona behind him vanished. "So, impressive, huh?" Then he turned towards him.
"Ah,…Yeah.", '…Why is that thing have a persona? But, Before that' Minato got up and walked over to his evoker.
"What the hell were you thinking? Trying to kill yourself?"
"Ah, No." Minato picked up his gun off the ground. "I mean, this is not even a real gun." Minato said examining the gun.
"Heh, that's why I don't want to work with amateurs." Morgana said smugly. "Listen here, this is world of people's cognitive. So even a toy, even if it's not real, can be used as a gun if it looks real enough…I think."
….
"So, what you're saying is because this is the people's delusions taking form…all the other delusions also become real?" Minato said as he aimed his gun at the wall again. *Pews*…A reddish purple laser came out.
"Well, that's not how I put it. But, that's still correct. I guess. But, seriously though, why did it shoot laser beam?"
"I don't know. There's not really anything in…" Minato stopped talking in the middle of sentence. 'Misturu-senpai did say it was made with using Nyx fragments.', "…Maybe there's something in here."
"What kind of thing shoots out lasers? It made a hole in the wall." Morgana said looking at the hole on a very thick brick wall. "But, it doesn't matter now. Let's get outta here!" Morgana said turning around.
"Wait." But at Minato's voice he turned back around. "Wha-" To see him put his gun on it's face.
….
"Eh?"
"You said there's other two, right? Help me save them…that is if you don't want a place for a third eye…"
….
"Ehhhhhhh!?"
x-x
Present
'…And that's basically what'd happened so far,'
"…."
"So?"
"…."
"Hey, are you ignoring us!?"
"Shut up, I said you're too loud. Basically, I ended up here…and met him.", 'Well, that's as good as any excuse goes.'
"What!? That's it?" Ryuji said with an raised eyebrow. "That doesn't explain anything."
"Besides," The wildcard said still not taking his eyes off from Morgana. "…Isn't this cat female?"
….
….
'Damn it, Elizabeth!'
"I'm a boy!…I think. And I told you I'm not a cat!"
"Okay, enough is enough. We've wasted enough time here.…Hey, can you run?"
"Yeah, I got it." Ryuji replied Minato's question while checking his leg. "Not that fast though."
"Doesn't matter. Kurusu?"
"Hm? Yeah?"
"You watch out for him."
"Yes, Of course!" Akira nodded enthusiastically.
"Hey, who are you to order us around?" Ryuji whined while scratching his head. "And you seem so used to it."
"Hey, Blondie, That doesn't matter. We must get out of here first. Come on, follow me!" Saying that Morgana ran towards the clearing.
"Why is everyone ordering us around?", "Umm, but, we should follow her…him though." , "No choice, I guess." Saying that his two juniors went after the…Morgana.
….
"He hasn't awaken yet?"
x-x
"Hnngh, huhhh, huuh, hey are you sure this is the right way!?" Ryuji asked the still running thing in front of him.
"Ahh, hnngh, yeah, I think we've been running for sometimes." The wildcard also whined in. 'Ahaha…Um, no. Not the time.'
Minato followed after them without making as much as a sound.
"Ahhhhhhhh!"
….
'…No, that's not me.'
"What the hell is that?" Ryuji stopped running as all the others, as they all heard a scream.
"I think…it's a human's voice." Akira said listening to the scream that was still going strong.
"A human!? Hey, monster cat!? Didn't you say that we're the only one here!?"
"I'm not a monster cat! But, yeah, we are the only ones here, Ummmm…more precisely we are the only real ones here."
"What? Explain in a way I can understa-", "Sakamoto, is that you?", "Hm!?" Ryuji stopped himself and turned towards the voice as Minato and Akira also looked…to see a boy in a red suit in a cell.
"What?" Ryuji carefully looked at the boy before something hit him. "Aren't you the one from volleyball club!? What are you doing here?"
"Hey, Blondie! Didn't you listen to me!? We are the only real ones here! All of those other people are fake!"
"Fake? What do you mean?" Akira asked but he didn't divert his attention from the boy in the cell. "B-but he doesn't seem fake."
"Yeah! Hey, hold on. I'm gonna get you out of here!" Ryuji said as he tried to open the cell door. "Damn it, where the hell is the keyhole!?"
"Hm, don't bother." , "What?" They all looked at the boy. "If I escape now, it will only make my life worse."
"What are you talking about!?"
"You of all people should know, Sakamoto. What'd happen when you defies Kamoshida…"
"Kamoshida!? What's that bastard has to do with any of thes-", "Hey, we got company…" Before Ryuji finished his sentence, Minato interrupted him.
"What?"
"There they are!" Multitude of voices sounded near them before dozens of knights appeared in front of them. "Anyone who defies King Kamoshida must be eradicated!"
"What?", "Ah, we can't escape now…", His two juniors said in surprise and fear but he just…well, he just stood there.
"Hey, one eye! we don't stand a chance with this many. We have to run!"
"A-agreed!"
"Huh? But what about this guy!?" Ryuji said pointing at the boy in the cell door.
"Well, we will sa-", Akira stopped talking for a moment. "…we have to leave him if we want to survive…"
"The hell!?"
"Frizzy's right! We must save ourselves first."
"Huh, are you two crazy!? Arisato, talk some sense into them!", Ryuji turned towards him. '…Why me?'
"…Uhhh.", 'What should I say?' , Minato looked at the wildcard, to see him looking frantically both at the guards and the boy. '…Well, decide it yourself. This is supposed to be your journey.'
"Hey, Arisato, say somet-", "Look out!", "Huh?" Morgana tackled him as a fire ball whizzed past through him. "Holy Shit!"
"That's because you guys take too long to decide! Tch, I will try to hold them off. You guys try to escape!" Saying that Morgana leaped through the knights that are now turn into '…Is that Pyro jack?'
"Sakamoto-san, we must escape now." Akira said, trying to pick Ryuji up.
"You're saying we are gonna have to leave him too? No way!"
Akira's neutral face turned angry as the boy didn't move his spot. "Don't be a naive idiot! Nothing good gonna come out of helping others." Akira spat those words, even though his face didn't look like he really believed them.
"Shut the f*ck up. A delinquent like you wouldn't understand!" Ryuji shouted batting Akira's arm away. "I will never abandon someone who help me." Ryuji said as he tried to stand up. "Hey, Monster cat! I'm coming." Saying that he ran towards the battle, without fear or doubt at what's happening in front of him in the battle between Personas and shadows.
Akira both looked like he wanted to run with him but also wanted to stop him at the same time. His face looked conflicted as he watched the boy ran towards to help someone he didn't know a minute before.
"S-senpai! W-we must escape now." Then he turned towards him. "W-we must get out of here."
Minato didn't say anything, just looking at him. "…Is that really what you want?"
"Um?"
"…You know both of them gonna get killed."
Akira looked at the ground as beads of sweat rolled down from his forehead. "I know…I know but…if we help them, we are also gonna get killed!"
"…Look at me." Minato said walking towards him.
"Um!"
"Even though they tried to help you, you're not gonna help them back?" Minato said looking him in the eyes.
"But…" Then Akira shouted back. "You don't know what did I do! You don't know what happens when I try to help them."
"True, I don't." Minato replied back in his monotone voice. "…And they don't either." Minato said looking towards the blonde boy running through fires and lightnings, carrying a monster cat. "…But now their lives are on the line. They are not gonna even care even if you killed your entire family before."
"Ummm"
"And Right now they need you. They don't need your past. They don't need your future." Minato turned back towards him. "Right now…they need someone who can help them…"
"I-I-"
"*Sigh* , Okay, I will tell you this one time…" Akira looked up towards him.
….
"Stop hiding, Trickster…"
"What?"
"Stop hiding…and Now show Me Your True Self!"
"Huh!?"
x-x
As soon as Minato said that, he felt a sharp pain on his head.
'Gah, My head!'
Well, Well, looks like our Messiah has issued a decree.
"Ahhhh, Gah!" Akira clutched his head in pain.
Now I can't really refuse a divine intervention like this, right?
'What…who?', "Ahhh!" Akira fell towards the floor in pain.
So, what now, Trickster? Still gonna hide behind that mask.
"Huh!?" Akira felt something attached to his face. 'What…what's happening!?'
Was your choice back then a mistake?
"N-no, Gah…No!"
Was that something you regret?
"hnngh. no, I…Uhhh…don't." Akira said through gritted teeth.
Yes…Listen to that cry in your soul…
"…hmmm, hmmm, Hnnghhhh…" Akira touched the mask on his face.
Listen to that wailing in your spirit!
"Gahhhh…Ahhhh!" Akira started to pull on the mask.
Yes, Stop hiding…and Stop Pretending Behind that Mask!
"Ahhhhh!" The mask started came off like it was peeled from his skin.
Rip that mask off and Show Them Your True Self!
"AHHHHHHH!" The mask came off from his face in bloody mess. His face was full of blood as they trickled down across his yellow shining eye…Before they all burned in a blue hair.
"What the?", "What's happening?" Morgana and Ryuji and all that weird monsters turned towards him in surprise.
"Is that…a persona?"
Then blue fire on his face covered his whole body as a maniacal laugh echoed throughout the face.
Yes…Embrace that power…Embrace that power though you may be chained to hell itself!
…
"…Now that's new."
The place the fire burned on Akira's clothes started to transform…before his school uniform was completely gone and he was in jet back suit wearing an equally black coat.
….
"What in the f*ck?"
A fire flickered on his hand before revealing a dagger.
Akira pointed it at towards the groups of monster. "…Come, Arsene!" *BOM* A heavy wind blew out the place as a large being cladded in red with big feathery wings appeared.
Minato watched them with his expressionless face…as Akira watched the groups of shadows who now started to recoil in fear, with the devilish smile on his face as he uttered those words.
….
"Ravage them…"
-x-x-
I did say the next chapter gonna takes some time…but because my hospital stay got extended, here's another one.
Oh and, I apologized if the conversation from the casino confuses you. However I make it so that you can still have an inkling who's talking. But, Still I must say, I didn't expect someone to find that Noir is missing that fast.