Please note: Chapter 1 has been renamed to "Awakening" and Chapter 2 is now "Welcome to the Velvet Room". This is because the names are more appropriate in my opinion. I apologise if there is any confusion.

Chapter 2 – "Welcome to the Velvet Room"

"This is a place between dream and reality, mind and matter, but I'm sure the three of you already know that," said Igor with a grin on his face. "It is through your links to this realm that you were able to be saved from the ruin of mankind." Igor's grin immediately faded and his face became more serious in expression. The atmosphere within the room became familiar to the trinity of Wild Cards. However, the moment of clarity was soon gone when they cringed at Igor's remark and became visibly distraught upon learning that the world may have ended without any of them being able to stop it.

"The ruin—of mankind?" asked a confused Yu as he clenched his right fist in visible frustration. Ren and Makoto said nothing as they both seemed to be in deep thought regarding what they just heard.

"…but I'm getting ahead of myself. Everything will be explained in due time," said Igor.

After this statement, the trinity of Fools had made themselves comfortable in different parts of the room to cope with the revelation. Yu stood in place in the middle of the room in denial, Ren made his way to the closest wall to lean against a bookcase to ponder the validity of Igor's claim, and Makoto remained sitting on the lounge looking like he had just been stabbed in the back. After a few minutes of silence, Makoto finally spoke up.

"I sealed away Nyx and prevented the end of the world," said Makoto in a calm tone as if he was preventing himself from revealing his true emotions despite the tears visible on his face. "How could this happen!?" Yu looked back at his fellow Wild Card and tried to comfort him with a faint smile to no avail.

Ren thought to himself for a moment before speaking his thoughts. "Wait… Yaldabaoth mentioned the ruin of mankind during the time he was masquerading as you. Does this have any sort of connection?" questioned Ren to the Master of the Velvet Room who had turned his head to face the Trickster.

"I cannot say," replied Igor without a change in facial expression. The three boys looked down at the ground as they pondered whether the actions of them and their friends were for nothing. "…but what happened has nothing to do with any of your journeys." This lifted a weight off of each of their shoulders, but didn't change the mood as they had still just learned that the world ended.

Yu let out a sigh, clenched both his fists, and lifted his head to stare down Igor. "Where are my friends?" Makoto and Ren both looked at their fellow Wild Card as they wondered the same thing. "Don't tell me that the three of us are all that's left of mankind. You must have been able to save them as well. They are fellow Persona-users, and helped me stop Izanami."

Makoto face palmed, and answered Yu's question. "I assume you are also one who possessed the power of the Wild Card; the Fool arcana. Then you must know that your friends wouldn't have been able to know of the existence of this place unless they were to enter into a contract and begin their own journey." Yu looked back at Makoto with a look of disappointment for being pessimistic, but also a glint of respect as the blue-haired boy seemed to be knowledgeable about how the Velvet Room works.

"I'm just being optimistic. It would be a shame if we are all that's left if Igor's story about the ruin of mankind is to be believed," replied Yu. Makoto knew this, and also wished it were possible for his friends to be with him. However, it just wasn't a possibility as far as he was aware.

Ren, after having listened to the two bicker, decided to jump in on the conversation himself. "Believe it or not, my friends have been inside the Velvet Room. They were imprisoned at first, and the place was under the control of an evil God… long story, but it's something." Yu and Makoto suddenly lifted their heads in response; with the latter also curious about how the Velvet Room had possibly been invaded. Igor continued on from where Ren left off.

"He is correct; it is possible for those who had not signed a contract to enter the Velvet Room under certain conditions," confirmed Igor with a grin returning to his face. All three Fools looked towards the old man hoping to hear good news. "Luckily for you three, and them, the power of Social Links has allowed this to be the case. The bonds you share with your friends have acted as a tether which prevented them from being lost alongside the rest of your world; a safety rope if you will. They will arrive shortly."

All three Fools were ecstatic to hear this news and changed their composures after a brief pause to process the information. Makoto's look of despair suddenly became that of relief as he laid back into the lounge. Meanwhile, Yu raised his hand and proceeded to clutch his fist as if he was summoning his Persona. Ren simply folded his arms with a smirk on his face. This moment of clarity, however, was soon interrupted by the arrival of someone who none of the Wild Cards were familiar with.

"Ah, I see the three guests have arrived just as expected. I welcome you to the—ahh!" A man wearing blue had entered the room with a tray in his hands, but tripped over an object that Yu left lying on the floor earlier. This tray, which consisted of four cups filled with tea, was soon airborne.

"What the heck?" questioned Yu as he turned around to face the doorway only to see the mysterious stranger on his back. Ren chuckled at the situation, but wondered who he was. Makoto on the other hand only stared at the cups of tea which were going to become affected by gravity at any moment and spill over the nice décor. Before this could happen, however, they were simply stopped in mid-air by some sort of telekinesis, and neatly placed onto the coffee table in front of the lounge.

"Theo, only you could mess up such a simple task," said a woman's voice coming from outside the room. Footsteps were soon heard and two women emerged and stood in the doorway. They both wore all blue and possessed white hair, but had strikingly different styles. The woman on the left wore a hat which complimented her short hair, and a sleeveless outfit which appeared to be something you would find in a thrift shop if not for its bizarre pattern and colours. Meanwhile, the woman on the right had long hair, and wore clothes that appeared to be more formal in appearance, but shared the same colour scheme. She looked offended at the actions of the man.

"Theodore, what is the meaning of this!?" scolded the woman on the right to the man who was still lying on the floor. "You better apologise for your incompetence." Hearing this, the man in blue hastily stood up and dusted himself off as if his life depended on it. He also had white hair like the two women, but wore a uniform which could only be described as that of a hotel bellboy.

The man known as Theodore bowed to the trinity of Wild Cards, and proceeded to speak. "I wholeheartedly apologise for my mishap; it will not happen again." You could tell that the second half of his statement was more directed towards Igor due to him glancing over to the grand chair for a split second. However, the man wasn't finished with his introduction. "Ah, where are my manners. My name is Theodore. It is nice to make my acquaintance with you." He gave a cheesy smile and bowed a second time before stepping back… into a bookshelf. "Ouch—are you happy now, Margaret?"

"That will do," replied the woman with long hair whose name was Margaret.

"You shouldn't let Theo off the hook that easily," argued the woman with short hair who seemed to be taking the opportunity to further ruin the man's day.

"Elizabeth, that's enough," retorted Margaret with a look of annoyance on her face, "he has had enough embarrassment for the day." The woman, whose name was Elizabeth, folded her arms like a child and rolled her eyes.

At this point, Margaret and Elizabeth had entered the room through the doorway and were clearly visible to the Fools. Makoto immediately recognised them both and gave a small smile and nod directed to Elizabeth. She saw this, and subtlety blew a kiss back to him. Ren noticed the exchange and tried to block out any questions he had regarding it. Meanwhile, Yu gave a thumbs up to Margaret who nodded her head in response. Theodore continued to stand in front of the bookcase, but with his head looking down at the ground in shame. However, there was still one more person left to be introduced.

"This appears to be a nice little reunion between us and our guests," stated a childlike feminine voice, "I guess it is now appropriate for me to step out of the shadows, and make my entrance."

Suddenly, a popping sound was heard, and a little girl with long white hair appeared in the middle of the room. She wore a blue outfit that was reminiscent of something you would see in a fairy tale; specifically Alice in Wonderland. Within her arms she also carried a book. The girl proceeded to bow to those in the room by lifting her skirt, as if addressing royalty.

"This is exhilarating! We have three with the power of the Wild Card within the Velvet Room at once," sparked the little girl. She looked at Makoto and Yu and introduced herself. "My name is Lavenza. It is nice to meet you two." She then turned to face Ren and smiled. "It is great to see you again."

"Likewise," replied Ren as he smiled back and nodded with his arms still crossed.

"I apologise for not revealing myself earlier, but it would have been rude of me to interrupt your previous exchanges," said Lavenza looking down at her feet as if she was in trouble. "It was me who placed you three back onto the lounge when my Master was discovered, and prevented my brother Theodore from spilling tea all over the place." She glanced over at Theodore when speaking the second half of her sentence. "I see you have already become acquainted with my older sisters, and brother." After this line, Margaret stepped forward to formally introduce herself.

"As you are already aware, I am Margaret. The pleasure is mine," said Margaret. Like the others, she also bowed as sign of respect. After a few moments passed, she eventually elbowed Elizabeth to follow her lead.

"Hey—what was that for? Oh, right," complained Elizabeth as she proceeded to bow like her sister. "I am Elizabeth. Welcome to the Velvet Room. It is an honour."

Lavenza joined her siblings whilst the introductions concluded. After a long awkward silence, Ren finally spoke up and addressed the elephant in the room. This caused everyone to face him.

"So… I'm not the only Wild Card, and guest of the Velvet Room? Wouldn't I have seen these other two guys at some point during the previous year?" questioned Ren. "All three of us being in here at the same time disproves the theory that only one could be in here at a time." Both Yu and Makoto were wondering the same thing. How come there were two other people who possessed the power of the Wild Card, and frequented the Velvet Room without their knowledge? Igor heard this question and had the usual grin on his face once more.

"It is actually quite interesting. The three of you were each pulled from different times; at the end of your respective journeys," remarked Igor as if fascinated with the idea. "That is why none of you were aware of the others' existences."

The three Fools were surprised by this revelation and quickly had a discussion.

"That is an interesting development. I wonder which one of us is the oldest," said Ren with a smirk.

"It doesn't really make a difference anyway. All three of us still appear to be the age of high school students," replied Yu.

"Well, my journey ended in the year 2010," stated Makoto as he wiped sweat off his forehead, but continued to keep his calm demeanour.

"There's no use in not telling you guys. 2012 for me," continued Yu.

"Shoot… I'm from 2017," concluded Ren as his smirk disappeared. "I'm like five years younger than you guys."

"I'm the oldest," said Makoto not sounding like he cared.

"So now that we have that out of the way, may I ask when my friends will be arriving? You did say that they will be here shortly," asked Yu to the Master of the Velvet Room. Instead of Igor replying to the question, Margaret stood forward with what looked like a mobile phone in her hand.

"I believe they arrived in town a few minutes ago. My sisters and I will go retrieve them whilst you three are given a tour of the premises by Theodore. You can handle a task like that, right?" Margaret turned to face her brother and he nodded in response. The three Wild Cards were relieved to know that they would soon be reunited with their companions. It would get lonely with just themselves around after all. However, they did wonder what Margaret meant by 'town'. That was a question for another time.

"Of course," replied Theodore with determination in his eyes. "I will give our guests a full tour of the manor."

"W-wait, this isn't just a Velvet Room, but an entire mansion!?" questioned Ren with surprise. "I know there's a doorway out of this room and all, but the prison also had that and was pretty small."

"My Velvet Room was a moving limousine," remarked Yu with pride.

"An elevator for me," finished Makoto with disappointment in his voice for how lame his Velvet Room was in comparison.

"Yes, the Velvet Room has manifested itself as a mansion with many facilities and rooms, said Theodore with stars in his eyes. "This is the assignment of a lifetime; figuratively and literally."

Elizabeth walked over to Theodore and slapped the back of his head. This caused Lavenza to giggle.

"Ouch—why did you do that?" responded Theodore in frustration. Elizabeth didn't reply and merely walked out of the room after waving goodbye to the guests. Lavenza followed suit after also waving goodbye.

"We will be back soon. Don't have another unfortunate accident while we are gone," said Margaret sarcastically as she left the room as well.

This left just Theodore, Makoto, Yu, Ren and Igor in the room; the latter whom mysteriously turned his grand chair around to face the fireplace once more. Theodore looked at the tea on the table, which had gone cold, and frowned. He tried his best to impress the new guests and only succeeded in making a bad first impression. This tour was the redemption he needed

"What a waste… I'll prepare new cups for you once we are done touring the property," proclaimed Theodore. He then proceeded to walk into the doorway and turned around to face the trio behind him. The three guests stared at him as if waiting to be told what to do. This caused Theodore to sweat a little.

"N-now, shall we get going?"

NEXT CHAPTER

"New World"

Featuring

Makoto Yuki - Yu Narukami - Ren Amamiya

Guest Starring

Theodore

Social Links

N/A

Author's Notes:

Wow, I didn't expect Chapter 1 of this story to receive 190 views, 13 favourites and 14 followers in a few days. I am grateful that people are checking it out. The statistics actually motivated me in writing Chapter 2, so I would like to thank everyone.

The story is going to pick-up soon once we are introduced to the rest of the characters. I can confirm that this will happen next chapter so be prepared. As you can tell from the preview above, Social Links will be a mechanic throughout this story. However, these Social Links are not just limited to the Wild Cards. There will be bonds being formed between all of the characters, and these will be reflected through Social Links.

I'm hoping to release Chapter 3 within the next week.

Edit: Sorry, but I was unable to meet the initial proposed release date for Chapter 3 due to exams and such.

That is it from me for now. Please feel free to send feedback, and leave a review. I'm always open to constructive criticism.

See you next time!