PHANTOM THIEVES OF HEARTS AT LARGE ONCE AGAIN!
Early yesterday morning, after a 6.0 earthquake shook Shibuya, several waves of monsters suddenly started flooding out of the underground and into the city above, attacking anyone they could find. It was at this time that the Phantom Thieves, a controversial group of unidentified individuals reportedly responsible for several incidents of changes of heart over the last two and a half years, appeared out in the open for the first time, wielding supernatural powers to come to the aid of the citizens.
Eyewitnesses to these events all agree that the Phantom Thieves wore stylized and flashy costumes, and naturally possess strength, speed, agility, reflexes, and durability far greater than the average human. Each Phantom Thief also has a unique mask which, when removed, summons an ethereal being of azure fire to fight alongside them and give that Phantom Thief access to a specific form of magic. It is still unknown how the Phantom Thieves obtained these powers or how they connect to their feats of stealing hearts back in 2016.
Regardless, wherever the Phantom Thieves went yesterday during their first time out in the open, they did not leave alive even a single monster that escaped from the Shibuya subway. Multiple police officers report that their guns were very effective against some of these monsters, which from this point on will be referred to as Shadows, and had reduced effect to no effect at all on others. From this, it can be extrapolated that had not the Phantom Thieves been there, this outbreak would have been a disaster of epic proportions.
"It was like nothing I'd ever seen," reports officer Naozane Ogata. "This one Shadow was beyond terrifying, it was like a giant white man made out of metal. My bullets didn't do squat against the thing. But this woman in dark gray leather with spiked shoulder pads comes in, and casts some kind of blue energy pulse at it, and it just blows up right there."
"I saw a spiky-haired young man in a skull mask swing a steel pipe at a chunk of concrete and crack it in two," states Shibuya business owner Saikaku Tsukino. "The guy apparently likes my ramen because he looked downright furious when one of the baddies tried to set fire to my shop. I didn't even get to see how far it flew when Mr. Skull hit the thing; it exploded in midair practically the moment his pipe hit it."
The two Phantom Thieves observed by the witnesses above are reportedly named Queen and Skull. A full list of the Phantom Thieves' members as reported by eyewitnesses is included below.
"Hey!" Morgana complained. "Why am I not on here?"
"Probably because the media were more focused on the more human-looking Phantom Thieves," Sumire said, not unkindly. "And to be fair, I was barely mentioned at all myself, probably because I didn't make it to the station, where all the press was, by the end of the outbreak."
"Hey, we didn't do it for the fame, remember?" Makoto reminded them. "Now that we're back to being Phantom Thieves again, for whatever reason, all that matters is that we're helping people."
"Agreed," Ren said, both quietly and firmly.
The entire group was sitting in the attic of LeBlanc once again. The Phantom Thieves were all over the news, and now that the group had been seen in their outfits outside the Metaverse, people were going absolutely bonkers. Pictures, theories, speculations, and even some straight-up conspiracies had flooded the internet, and some servers had even crashed with the overload of information from the Phantom Thieves' first public debut.
"This is absolutely insane," Futaba reported in an awed tone. She'd been scanning the internet ever since her school had been let out early around two hours ago. "Entire groups have formed online based around the Phantom Thieves. Joker naturally seems to be the most popular, but a number of people seem to have become smitten with Panther and Fox too."
"It's not very surprising that our leader is so popular, especially considering his dramatic entrance this morning and the fact that he's the only one the public were familiar with before this," Haru suggested.
"Dammit, you always have to go and steal the spotlight, don't you?" Ryuji complained half-jokingly.
"It's not my fault Mona and I were in the subway when the outbreak started," Ren insisted.
Sojiro walked in with a tray stacked with cups of coffee, followed closely by Zenkichi. "On the house for saving Shibuya," he stated with a hint of pride.
"Thanks, Dad!" Futaba chimed.
"Hell yeah!" Ryuji whooped. "You're the best, Boss!"
"Sure, sure," Sojiro's tone turned more serious. "Mind if I sit in on this one? Now that stuff is going down in the real world and not just in that Meta-place, I feel like I should get in on this as well."
"You probably should," Ren agreed. "Seeing as you're our closest adult confidant who doesn't have a Persona."
"Much appreciated," Sojiro replied, taking a seat.
"So," Makoto started, "we need to figure out what's going on. Why did a whole bunch of Shadows suddenly appear in Shibuya, and why are we able to use our Personas in the real world?"
Morgana shifted from cat form into not-cat form in a flash of blue. "I may have some answers to that," he stated.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Sojiro gave a start at suddenly seeing Morgana change. "What the heck is that!?"
"That's the form Morgana used to take back in the Metaverse," Ann said cheerily. "Can you hear him talk now?"
"W-well, yes," Sojiro stuttered. "I still only heard meowing before though."
"Interesting," Morgana mused. "People can still only hear meowing if they haven't heard me talk in this form. I guess the rules of the Metaverse really have combined with the rules of reality."
"Can you elaborate on that a little more?" Yusuke asked. "Has reality become fused with the Metaverse again?"
Morgana explained, "Ren and I haven't had contact with the Velvet Room or its associates since EMMA, so I can't confirm anything, but I have a few guesses." He looked at Makoto. "You said there was another Persona-user in the police force?"
"Yes," Makoto confirmed. "Naoto Shirogane. Apparently, she's had her Persona for the last seven years, but her clothes didn't change when she used it."
"She was the original Detective Prince back when she was in high school," Zenkichi added. "Brilliant young girl. Shame that back then she was resented for her gender."
"And," Morgana continued, "you, Lady Ann, and Ryuji all met another person who knows about Personas, right?"
"Police Chief Akihiko Sanada," Zenkichi confirmed. "He's rumored to be a member of a strange group of individuals known as the Shadow Operatives. When we met this morning, he claimed to have known about Personas and Shadows for the last decade and that most of his old team was either dead or scattered."
"AHA!" Futaba suddenly cried out from her laptop, and everyone jumped. "Seven years ago was the year Naoto was going to high school in Yasoinaba and there was a series of strange murders where no one could identify the cause of death. There were also incidents of people going missing before showing up again a few days later and all joining up as a great big friend circle. Naoto was one of the last cases of disappearances, the very last being the daughter of the police chief in that area. I'm willing to bet that Naoto's circle of friends from that year in Yasoinaba are most likely also Persona-users."
"And Chief Sanada?" Makoto asked.
"Let's see...gimme a sec…" everyone waited for a few minutes while Futaba continued tapping on her keyboard. "Ten years ago, Akihiko Sanada was going to Gekkoukan High School in Iwatodai. Aside from being the captain of the boxing team, he was apparently one of the original members of an odd group called the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, or S.E.E.S. for short. Hmm...that's strange…"
"Mind sharing what's so strange?" Sojiro prodded.
"I'm getting there!" Futaba complained. "S.E.E.S. was an odd group. A class clown, a couple of seniors, an odd transfer student, even a little kid and his dog. A couple of them are dead, too. Shinjiro Aragaki was murdered in the middle of the school year, he was apparently one of Sanada's closest friends. And then there was that transfer student I mentioned, Minato Arisato. Apparently he died right at the end of the year, for no reason at all."
"Seems to line up with what Chief Sanada told us," Zenkichi mused.
"Hey, Zenkichi, you mentioned a group called the Shadow Operatives, right?" Makoto asked. "Do you know anything about them?"
"All I know is that they're some kind of investigators," Zenkichi said helplessly. "The only thing of substance we in the police force have been told is that they're backed by the Kirijo Group, but other than that, I got nothing."
"Kirijo!?" Futaba chimed. "One of the members of this old S.E.E.S. club is named Mitsuru Kirijo. Coincidence, I think not! They've gotta be Persona-users!"
"Alright, so we've identified a series of individuals who are or at the very least might be Persona-users," Ann concluded. "But getting back on topic, what does that have to do with Shadows appearing in the real world?"
"It confirms my suspicion that the time of the Phantom Thieves wasn't the first time the real world came close to the Metaverse," Morgana explained. "You noticed how that Naoto girl didn't change her clothes when she used her Persona? It's because she hasn't fully immersed herself in the Metaverse's power. Everything in the Metaverse is based on cognition, even things brought over to it from the real world, and the deeper into the Metaverse you go, the stronger cognition becomes and the weaker the rules of reality become. Naoto can use her Persona because she has a contract with her Shadow, but she doesn't have an outfit like the Phantom Thieves do because she still unconsciously considers herself to be ordinary and that she only has powers because of her Persona."
"Alright, but what does that have to do with-" Ryuji started.
"I'm getting there!" Morgana interrupted. "Anyway, it means that when Naoto awakened to her Persona, she wasn't as deep into the Metaverse as we were when we awakened. Perhaps a sort of mid-zone or limbo where human cognition was stagnant and not strong enough to form places as complex as palaces or Mementos. And if Naoto's group was able to access this place seven years ago, and S.E.E.S. was aware of the Metaverse before that, then it makes sense that ever since humans first became aware of the Metaverse, it has been getting closer and closer to the real world, culminating in the events of the last two and a half years, where the world was almost combined with the Metaverse not once, but twice by godlike beings. And now, the Metaverse is colliding with the real world on its own."
The entire room was silent as this sank in.
"Th-the Metaverse is fusing with the real world on its own?" Futaba stuttered. "Does that mean people are going to start disappearing again?"
"I don't think so," Morgana stated. "The Metaverse and the real world aren't exactly super compatible, which is why bad things happened when that fake god Yaldabaoth first tried it. Think of the Metaverse like water under a frozen pond. When you crack the ice, the water starts coming out to interact with the world above the ice, but the air on top doesn't really want to dive in. Basically, stuff in the Metaverse, like Shadows, are going to start finding their way into the real world, but it's going to be difficult for anything from this world to enter the Metaverse."
"But then shouldn't there be a way to, I dunno, re-freeze the pond?" Ryuji asked.
"That could be troublesome," Morgana replied. "In the past, access to the Metaverse was granted by someone drilling holes in the ice. Once we got rid of the people doing that, the ice froze again on its own. But by now, the ice has gotten too thin. Too many people have drilled holes in it too close together, and now it's cracking on its own. What we really need to do is make sure no one tries drilling holes in it again and stop anyone who does try. Otherwise, the entire surface of the pond will shatter and then it'll be like the incident with Yaldabaoth again."
"So how long do you think it'll take for the Metaverse to separate from the real world on its own again?" Haru asked cautiously.
"It's hard to say. I've never heard of the boundaries between the real world and the Metaverse being this thin before. It could take years, or even decades, for things to return to normal."
"And in the meantime, Shadows are going to continue to break into the real world and wreak havoc," Makoto concluded.
"My god…" Sojiro muttered. Everyone once again fell into stunned silence.
Morgana cut the silence when he said cheerfully, "On the bright side, now that the Metaverse is combining with the real world, virtually anyone has the potential to become a Persona-user."
"So we might be able to recruit some new members?" Ren asked.
"It's possible," Morgana confirmed, "though we'll have to be careful who we trust with our secrets. We have a lot on the line here."
"Agreed," Makoto mused. "We also have to hope that the police and the government agree to keep our identities secret as well."
"I can be of assistance with that," Zenkichi cut in. "I can make sure that if the higher-ups want the cooperation of the Phantom Thieves, the secrecy of your identities will be a required condition."
"You can be our face to the police and the public," Ren suggested. "You've only been with us a short time, but you know enough and enough people know you that you'll be able to pass along what we've learned here to the people who need to know it."
"And in the meantime, the rest of us can, well, do whatever it is we do," Sumire said brightly.
"You kids are going to relegate me to office work while you all have fun and hunt Shadows?" Zenkichi grumbled, covering his forehead with one hand. He looked at Sumire. "Also, I don't believe we've met yet."
Sumire started as she realized they hadn't been introduced. "Oh! Well, um-I'm Sumire Yoshizawa, third year at Shujin Academy. I do gymnastics."
"Inspector Zenkichi Hasegawa. Pleasure." He turned back to the rest of the group. "Seriously though, I'm the one on office duty? I have a daughter you know."
"Well, unlike us, you're also a member of the police," Yusuke reasoned. "So long as that is so, it complicates your relationship with both our parties, especially considering how often corrupt officials in the police force have tried to arrest or even kill us. Therefore, it would be better if we had someone be a bridge between ourselves and the law so that we can try to avoid getting in each others' way."
"You're a special case, Wolf," Morgana told him. "This is something only you can do."
"Alright, I get it," he relented.
"I'm barely following along here," Sojiro interrupted, "but I get that things are going to be getting dangerous for a good long while now. What can I do to help out?"
"Well, I can't imagine us having any problems so long as you continue doing what you've always done," Futaba remarked.
"What, make coffee and curry and give you kids a place to hang out?" Sojiro asked. "If that's all I have to do, consider it done. I'm getting too old to be fighting monsters anyway. Make sure you keep those Shadow things away from my house and my café, and you'll all be welcome here anytime."
"You're the best, Boss," Ren marvelled.
"Yeah, yeah. Just make sure none of you neglect your jobs and your studies, though, okay? Especially you, Futaba. I don't want to hear about you skipping out on exams just because you ran off to fight monsters."
"I won't be fighting, I'm the navigator," Futaba joked, before she caught Sojiro's stern glare. "I mean, yes sir," she finished meekly.
"Are we done with the meeting then?" Makoto asked. Everyone looked around. Nobody had any objections.
Ryuji jumped up. "WOOO! Hell yeah! The Phantom Thieves are-!"
Suddenly the lights sparked and went out. Everyone looked at him with a mixture of surprise and irritation. His arms were still sparking with golden electricity.
"Ryuji!" Ann scolded.
"Uh, did I do that?" Ryuji stammered. "But I'm not even in my Phantom Thief gear!"
Makoto facepalmed, as did Ren and Zenkichi. "This is going to be such a disaster."
"...Phantom Thieves, eh?"
"I mean, at this point it's pretty obvious that they're Persona-users like us, right, Senpai?"
"We're both adults now. You don't need to keep calling me 'Senpai'."
"Regardless of what I call you, it's pretty clear that bad things are going on now. I mean, you feel it too, right?"
"Our Personas, yes. Ever since that earthquake…"
"Does that mean we should get the rest of the gang back together then?"
Yu Narukami smiled as he looked up at his beloved. "Sure, Rise. Why not?"
When I had initially noticed Sakura-chan was missing, I had suspected the crowd had made her nervous and she'd fled to a quieter place. When she didn't show up again until after lunch, I got suspicious.
Maybe I was just overthinking it, but I did know that Sakura-chan had been a shut-in three years ago, and had only left her room after a friend came and helped her to overcome her depression over her mother's death. Ever since, she'd been hanging out with him and his friends, almost as if they were her older siblings.
They'd gotten together the same year the Phantom Thieves first appeared, and she'd gone missing at the same time the Phantom Thieves had reappeared.
Again, maybe I was overthinking things. But in the back of my mind, I hoped that there might just be a chance I was right.