Author's Notes:

Before we get into the specifics: why remake the original pieces? For a few reasons.

The biggest and most obvious reason was that I got some things wrong - about the timeline, and more than that, about some of the characters that I didn't know as well. The exact circumstances of Reiji's marriage, for instance, I completely dropped the ball on (I wondered why user EmmyChao was so mad at me!), and also the details behind the Kuzunoha timeline split. You spend a lot of time doing research to get things right, and then whoops! Better to go in and fix what I did before it got any worse. Thankfully nothing was irreversible!

Also, because it's easier at this stage to tell the story as a single, lengthy unit. I'm proud of most of my work on the earlier "After the End" pieces, but that format was going to drag on through some of the middle Arcana before approaching Universe, which was long enough to be an epic on its own. The extreme delays on "Aeon/Judgment" back when the old stories were updating was a testament to that. Originally, it was only going to be the first two stories! Response was so positive that I built a longer epic out of them - reworking things in this order allows a bit more foreshadowing (Katsuya showing up in the Chie bits and so on).

We'll be burning through the old material really fast at this pace, and I hope to introduce more new bits (like the prologue!) soon.

The $64,000 question, though, is will the story finish this time? I can't promise anything. I left to focus on writing outside of fandom, and that project actually has met with some positive movement. It's still my primary focus. But I felt bad about leaving it hanging, I still love these characters, and Hell, we've been playing a lot of Persona 2 in the house these days and it's been a real rejuvenating factor. Let's all cross our fingers, and not hate me too much if it doesn't happen, okay?

Okay, boring crap over, notes follow:

Prologue:

-The chronology was worked out carefully, based on things like the canon years of P3 & P4, the ages offered on Trish's Who's Who, and some vaguely defined uses of things like "five years ago" or "ten years ago." I believe this is about as good as you're going to get it, but nothing lines up quite perfectly. I'm open to criticism on this front, but I'd leave the reminder that not everything is perfect – the games are designed to be connected, but it's clear that not every month and day used was designed to line up with every one in other games. That's just not what MegaTen is about – the links have always been more thematic than literal, which is why the Amala Network was created to provide a multiversal excuse where necessary. I'm reminded of Phoenix Wright, where everyone's ages (and many of the case dates) are exact, but still create a crisis of chronology when examined too closely.

-Dr. Nicholai was the DVA scientist in the first Persona; it'd be easy to judge Kirijo the Elder here as the villain who caused all of the problems, for every game, but as always, morality and intention are ambiguous in MegaTen. And everyone is always a playing piece in some higher power's game.

-The term "Avidya" was of course used in the first Persona game, but its connection to the term "Maya" was not. You may see the connection as we go on.

-Call it my own bias, but I don't think that any human could catch Tamaki if she didn't want to be found. That said, why would Kirijo risk kidnapping a teenager when he has a viable subject more easily obtainable?

-The explication of Gouto's sin (about which more later, obviously) is obviously my own invention. My reasoning will be clearer later on, hopefully, but if you're worried about the chronology, I have an out: There were 14 known Kuzunohas in the Raidou line over 1200 years, but it's not clear how old any given one of them were. Some may have died very quickly, in service to Yatagarasu. Some may have had the blessing/curse of extended aging. This is certainly suggested by the math! It's my belief that Raidou the First, who was known to be a magician, lived a very long time – similarly, it's my belief that Raidou XIV lived an above-average but not impossible number of years, as will be established later on.

-My method of jumping around chronologically sometimes feels arbitrary to readers, and I won't attempt to dissuade them of that; however, generally my purpose is thematic. For instance, the reason I focused on Baofu's awakening in the prologue was as a re-introduction to the concept of "Persona" - as if this were a novel for a newcomer (which, of course, it obviously is not). In dealing with all of the series, it's good to begin on firm ground. Hence also the focus on the 1999 Incident, which is the focal point of the Persona game that has the largest audience. Some would argue that this is primarily a P3/P4 story anyway.

-Dr. Kimijima first appeared in Aegis: The First Mission, the Japan-only cellphone game. Komatsubara suggests Persona: Trinity Soul, but I haven't seen all of it and will only reference it obliquely (I'm given leeway, as Atlus has declared it non-canonical, but given that you'll briefly see characters from Catherine, obviously that won't stop me). General Sugawara was not a great man, but it's implied that he was seduced into the NWO after his illness – I don't think Kurosawa gets implicated unfairly here.

-The incident involving Raidou XIV here comes from Devil Summoner 3 – that is, Raidou vs. The Soulless Army. This is generally agreed upon as the incident where the Persona timeline began. It is interesting, then, that this timeline split is (sort of) caused by an artifact that draws on the power of, essentially, "social links."

-"Brightly colored button" is the kind of joke that only I laugh at – it's (obviously?) a reference to the decision on whether or not to spare Nicholai in the first Persona game.

-The hinting that General Sugawara is some sort of descendant of General Munakata is a little silly and unnecessary, but lineages, fateful coincidences, and repeating history is important in this story. It doesn't break anything, anyway. Sukunu-Hikona (Raidou's opponent, and the basis for Naoto's initial Persona) being drawn in response to man's darkness sets a precedent that recurs throughout the Persona timeline – really, through all MegaTen timelines.

-In the case of characters like Jouhei or Minato, I use fan-accepted semi-canon names where appropriate. I'll be using Souji's name for the Persona 4 protagonist, though, and I've gone with Hamuko for the Persona 3 heroine. Hopefully this isn't confusing, and doesn't lead to much conflict.

-Yes, that was a tip of the hat to the brilliant and infamous Let's Play of Persona 3.

-Ideo Hazama is the antagonist of Shin Megami Tensei: If... - the first-released game in the Persona timeline and the one who, like Akemi Nakajima in the original Digital Devil Story, was an abused student who started all the balls rolling by stupidly summoning demons without thinking it through. Akemi had a supposedly "brilliant" mind, however, and Ideo did not. How did he get it to work right?

-"Chunky" isn't really the best adjective to use in that sentence, but the in-joke is obvious.

-Reminder: All scenes that took place on screen in the original games are directly and specifically quoted verbatim whenever humanly possible, unless otherwise stated here in the notes.

Chapter 1:

-This excerpt concerning Margaret was intended for the perennially delayed "Aeon/Judgment" story in the original "After the End" series. Part of reworking these into a single narrative means that I can interweave things better without expecting the chapters to stand alone. Hopefully this will also make the story an interesting read for people who encountered the originals, given the new context. Think of it as the "director's cut."

-The Velvet Room didn't really change much to match its occupants until Igor acquired the Siblings. This may be because Persona 1 and 2 collected essentially wound up telling one large story. Its (intentional) similarity to the Black Lodge from Twin Peaks in those games may well have imported thematic meaning in the same way the elevator and the limousine did in the later titles. The train car, naturally, has its own import.

-Akihiko stepped in as police chief in Persona: Trinity Soul, but as A) that's not offically canonical and B) he and his compatriot (Ken under an assumed name? A popular theory) may have been operating with Mitsuru's support, do we know his official rank? Being a fellow officer makes for a better story here – the mention of Ayanagi City is a throw-in.

-Why is this story now chapter one? To start more simply, and to establish the theme that just because things are over, that doesn't mean that people's problems are magically fixed forever. Life doesn't work that way – people have to move on, people occasionally backslide, and that does not invalidate their character development in the slightest.

-That Chie identifies as "Chie" when out of uniform and "Officer Satonaka" when in it – until she doesn't – wasn't something that I think many people picked up on the first time through, but I thought it fit her character at the time.

-Trying to fit in every character can drive you (which is to say, me) crazy, but getting in cameo mentions like Shu's here is still fun.

-I don't think that they ever call the Inaba murders "The Hanged Man Killings" in the game, but the Tarot connection is so obvious that I couldn't help using the term for it. It fits the media exploitation themes in Persona 4 anyway.

-Most of the Suou brother stuff was added in for this "Remix" edition of the story, so that it fits in better with the later pieces. It was my intention from the beginning to have them all serve in the same area, but it was only in this combined story where it fit to take some time for that aspect.

-That said, I really am a bit mean to Tatsuya, aren't I? In case you're wondering: Yes, I believe that Jun was Tatsuya's best match – what Tatsuya wanted wasn't romantic, but Chie doesn't know that.

-The Yosuke/Teddie sequence was also from the unfinished "Aeon/Judgment" story.

-Originally it said that Katsuya and Kurosawa "went through the academy together" - wasn't sure that fit the timeline, so it was easier to change it.

Chapter 2:

-There is nothing more nerve-wracking than going in and messing with something that actually met with good reception. "The Eagle and The Butterfly" and "A Remembrance Carried on the Wind" were the only two ATE pieces to receive a heavily positive response. But they couldn't just be pasted in wholesale as they were. Hopefully you still enjoy them in the new format – the old ones still exist online, after all.

-By my estimate, this scene at the Alaya Shrine happens one year before the fire.

-People have been asking me since the stories first went up – what the Hell happened to Aigis? Hopefully we'll get there this time.

-Miki is seen as an infant because that's how Minato imagines her. How much is real, and how much isn't? Decide for yourself – there's no correct answer.

-Well, then: a moment to talk about fan theories... You'll notice that I use most of the prevailing fan theories – most of the time, I agree with them, but even when I don't, I find them interesting. One thing that I wanted to do was directly play off of expectatons. It's my hope that I at least provide these theories in a new and unexpected way.

-Nobody ever laughs at my "Atlus" joke. Too obvious, huh?

-What happens here between Minato, Philemon, and Hamuko? Is he given a glimpse of another timeline? Is he allowed to restart his own time? Did Hamuko exist before this? Hmmm... It's interesting to see that due to P3P, every one of the early Persona games now has some form of alternate earth. What will P4G bring?

-The scene between Souji and Rise at the river – most of it is drawn directly from the social link event, but obviously Souji didn't have much dialogue – allowing me to fudge the details, and put extra words in their mouths. Contrast this with, say, the scene at the bottom of the Abyss, which was directly quoted.

-Just in case it wasn't clear? These would be the two members of the band who aren't Lisa Silverman, obviously.

-The ending to these bits has been shifted to a later chapter to accommodate the "all one story" format here. I know people found the scene effective, but it's unfair as a chapter cliffhanger.

Chapter 3:

-Catherine, of course, isn't actually a MegaTen title, not even by the spin-off definition that Persona uses. But as anyone who's played the last night of the game knows, it easily could have been. I count it as fair game here because of the P3P cameo, but I've no illusions, either.

-So, speaking of that cameo: how can Vincent be telling teenagers in Iwatodai what his problems are, if they take place in a single week in America? You'll see that I've fudged some details in this bit to make it work, but I'd say it's a fair compromise, if not 100% "factual." In terms of a fictional story. You know how it is.

-Vincent doesn't know that Jonny and Orlando are dreaming until further into the week, but the dialogue on this day in the bar suggests that they're already dreaming.

-Given that the Taisho democracy lasted longer than planned, Japan's militaristic push would have come later or not at all, depending on your view of history. Raidou's timeline stayed out of WWII in this story.

-So, then... a note on original characters. There's a perception that original characters are inherently bad in fan fiction, and I understand why. There's a tendency to view using them as a claim that you can create better characters than the originals, and certainly many fanfic authors treat them that way even when they're not self-insertion pieces. But sometimes you just need extra pieces on the board for the story that you want to tell. I like Anna and John, but I don't think they're "better" or "more deserving of page time" then the characters you know. I just needed a fictional "Persona 5" to take place for the story that I wanted to tell. I set it in America because I wanted to play with the expectation of what a Persona title in America would be like – and so using a traditional high school kid, and contrasting it against a sort of "space marine" character, would be a fun way to play with eastern vs. western RPG expectations. Characters from Persona appeared in Persona 2, and that's how I tried to treat Maya, Ken, and Yosuke here, as cameos whom (in this story) we care more about than the "primary" cast. Just as Persona 2 can end with the cast of the original game taking the fight to the enemy, that's at least partially what's happening in this story – only it's the focus, rather than the background, because these are by nature the people we actually care about. I hope that you can find it in your heart to have some small fondness for Anna and John, though – they go through a lot, even if we don't see it all.

-I don't think my reasonings for the Hamuko version of "The Answer" or of Shinjiro's hypothetical ascended Persona require much explanation.

-That Ken looks young enough to pass for a high schooler at his age is my own invention, but believable, I think, given how we visualize him – don't worry, he's not still in short pants.

-The bit about Wild Card holders being unable to approach each other – hang with me, it will get explained as we go on.

-Just as the "Joker" in Innocent Sin seems to have created the first recorded instance of "Apathy Syndrome" in the Persona games – arguably linking them to the zombies of the first Persona and earlier MegaTen titles – one could make the case the creatures formed from collected Kegare found in the Science Lab in Persona 2: Eternal Punishment are the first recorded instance of "Shadows" as we think of them – as random encounter creatures – in later games (Personal Shadows appeared earlier, of course). When Maya shattered the tanks at Smile Mall, then, that would be the first Shadow battle. The creatures were listed as "Shoggoths," demon servants of Nyarlathotep, in that game... if you look at what a Shoggoth is supposed to be, there's not a great deal of difference. Shoggoths in the Persona titles are made of Kegare – are made, then, of magatsuhi – and fit the description of Shadows as described in Persona 3 and Persona 4. The games didn't deviate as far from MegaTen roots as they might appear at first glance. More on this later! But consider: the sound an Evoker makes when fired is shattering glass; the weakest, initial form of Shadows are called "Mayas."

-Ken didn't abandon this world forever, and he's not being a coward. More later!