He was falling.
No, falling wasn't the right word. It was more like he was floating slowly downward, as though he was in water. It was….strangely calming, in a way. Deeper and deeper, surrounded by inky blackness that should have been scary, but really wasn't.
Inky black? No, that wasn't right. It was more like a deep, deep, blue.
He felt himself land on something. He laid there for a minute, lacking the energy to move. Eventually, his energy returned enough for him to up. He was on a large floating circle, made of stained-glass, shimmering in all shades of blue. A butterfly design occupied most of the glass. In the center, there was a desk, at which sat old man with an abnormally long nose. To the man's left was a young girl, also dressed in blue, with white hair and golden eyes. A butterfly headband adorned her head.
He struggled to his feet, feeling weak and somewhat dizzy. After spending a moment regaining his balance, he made his way over to the two figures.
The man smiled wide. "Welcome, trickster. We have been waiting for you. It seems you have made it. Please, take a seat. There is so much to do, and so little time." The man motioned to a plush velvet chair that hadn't been their a moment ago. Confused, he sat and waited for the man to speak again.
"I believe introductions are in order. I am Igor." The man - Igor - motioned to himself. "This here is Lavenza, my assistant." The girl smiled politely.
"Pleased to meet you, trickster," She said. Her voice was high-pitched and melodic. "I hope we will get along well." He nodded silently at her.
"Sadly, we didn't bring you here just for pleasant conversation," Igor said. "There is a great danger present. Worlds are being destroyed one after another. All previous attempts by our benefactor to stop this threat has failed. You are our new, and only, hope." Igor nodded at him. "I am sure you are up to the task. What do you think?"
He was being asked? He struggled to find his voice. "I'd rather not have all the worlds be destroyed." That was how he felt about all this at least. He just didn't know enough about what was being said to give an opinion on any of the other things Igor mentioned. Was that what Igor wanted to hear?
Igor chuckled. "That is fair! And we will help you achieve that goal. The man sobered up and looked at him seriously. He felt as though Igor's eyes were staring right into his soul. "Please know this, trickster. As I mentioned before, you aren't the first to be summoned to deal with this threat. However, due to either ignorance or cowardice, neither of the others have succeeded. I have faith in you, but our benefactor is keeping a much closer eye on you than he otherwise would. Do you understand?"
Not really. It would help if Igor told him who this "benefactor" was. But that probably wasn't the right answer, and saying no most likely wouldn't get him anywhere. So he nodded.
Igor clasped his hands together. "Wonderful! I'm so glad you are taking this so well. With a bit of effort, you could become a true trickster, able to destroy all inevitability and fate. However, we do have a few more things to get through." He flicked his wrist, and a clipboard appeared. "If you sign this contract, you are agreeing to take responsibility for all your actions. Do you agree to these terms?"
He hesitated, then nodded. That sounded reasonable. Lavenza held out a pen, which he took, and signed the contract. Igor flicked his wrist again and it vanished into a ball of light, before fading away.
"Excellent! Next task on the agenda. Lavenza, if you would." Lavenza stepped forward. She held out her hands in front of her, and three items appeared: a sword, a wand, and a shield.
"These are three of your strengths," She explained. "You must choose one that you wish to excel in, and in return, one that you will be weaker in."
She motioned to the sword. "The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction." Then to the wand. "The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin." Finally, the shield. "The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. What is your choice?"
He frowned in thought. None of those things sounded like something he'd want to give up.
Lavenza smiled at him. "What does your heart tell you is best?"
What did his heart tell him? He looked at the items again. "I'd….like to excel in the power of the mystic," He said slowly. "And I think I'll be weaker in the power of the guardian." Lavenza nodded, and the items disappeared.
"Wonderful! Now if you would, I'd like to know more about yourself," Igor said. "Just answer my questions as honestly as you can. First off, What would you consider a fear of yours?"
He thought. "Being indecisive, I guess."
"Interesting." Igor hummed. "There are many times where swift action is necessary, and hesitation will only hurt. However there are also times where you must hang back and consider your options if you are to make the correct decision. Remember that." He nodded once again. "Now, what do you want out of your life?"
"I'd like to broaden my horizons." He thought of his friends, and their plans to explore past their islands.
"Very Interesting. Final question. What is most important to you?"
The most important thing to him? That one was easy. "Friendship," he answered confidently. Once again he thought of his friends. They meant so much to him, and he wouldn't give them up for anything in the world.
Igor smiled at him. "That is a very good answer. I look forward to seeing your journey progress, trickster."
"We will see you soon," Lavenza said. "And do not forget: your heart is the mightiest weapon of all."
The chair disappeared from underneath him and he fell to the floor. He looked up the see the desk and its occupants were gone as well. The floor cracked beneath him, and he was falling, falling falling….
"...n. ….en. ….Ren! Ren, can you hear me? Wake up, man!"
His eyes blinked open and he winced and covered them, shrinking away from the bright, almost cloudless sky. Luckily for him, a friend-shaped shadow leaned over, giving him time to adjust. "...Ryuji."
"Dude, you're up!" Ryuji jumped up and pulled him to his feet. "You're lucky it was me who saw you snoozing and not Ann. She'd be pissed. We're supposed to be building the raft, remember?"
The raft? Right, the raft. He, Ann, and Ryuji were building a raft to go outside their islands.
He put his hand over his face. What was that weird dream? With those strange people, talking about "benefactors" and "tricksters". It certainly had a dream-like quality to it, but for some reason, it didn't feel like a normal dream.
"Hey, are you alright?" Ryuji asked, uncertainty clouding his voice. "What is it?"
He blinked once. Twice. Huh. He did feel somewhat strange, but that must have just been sleep wearing off. Ren gave his friend a smile. "Yeah, I'm alright. Sorry for worrying you. Let's just go find Ann before she finds us." Ryuji's answering grin made him feel light inside, in a way he couldn't quite explain.
"Sounds good to me! Let's go!"
Welcome to 'Take Your Hearts! This just came to me randomly, and I had to get it down. I hope you enjoy!
(And if you're curious, Ren chose the power of the Mystic because his main power is Persona, then Warrior because attack is also a big option in 5, then Guardian because guard is much less of a big deal in 5 than the other two (Not that it isn't important).