Shin Megami Tensei - Persona Infinite Loops Chapter 9: Misc 7, a Megami Tensei + Persona Series Crossover fanfic

Disclaimer: None of the authors own any of the referenced properties.

[Admin Shenanigans]
Taira-no-Masakado
Author: Gamerex27

People believe that universes are all separate. All parallel worlds, all other sides, are segmented by barriers, which must be bypassed in order to travel through the multiverse. That they are totally and one hundred percent disconnected from one another.

In reality, nothing could be farther from the truth.

Every universe that exists, past, present, or future, exists not in a vacuum, but tied together by a system of unimaginable power. As it is difficult to describe in the English language, the closest analogy those who run this system is to the legendary World Tree from Norse mythology: Yggdrasil. To further expand upon this, the "Yggdrasil" system can best be understood as the most complex and eldritch computer system ever built.

Upon each of its nigh-incalculable branches rests a multiverse. Some of these Branches split off into linked universes-twigs, if you will-which are closely connected to one another by recurring concepts and code across all worlds.

And more than a trillion trillion years ago, this system almost crashed.

No one knows why, as the memories of this Event in the very Admins that run Yggdrasil were corrupted by it. Precious few universes (including the universe you, the reader, comes from) were left untouched by this disaster. Every corner of reality, every inch of creation was ravaged by this nightmare. All of existence was left in jeopardy: if Yggdrasil broke apart, it would be impaled by its own Branches, and all worlds would die. No, not die: to have never existed at all.

To stop all of creation from tearing itself apart, the Admins enacted a last-minute solution to the problem. They put a number of worlds into a time Loop-that is to say, when a world reached a certain point in its history, it would reset back to an earlier point, and repeat ad nauseum. This countermeasure prevented the problem from worsening, but in order to keep the Loop stable, an Anchor from each world was programmed to keep their memories of every reset, to make sure the Loop would not crumble in on itself without an aware entity to support it.

Wanting to be merciful, the Admins also programmed the possibility for additional people to retain their memories through each Loop-these other Loopers were usually friends, family, or those with a close connection to the Anchor, Awakening in their Loops every now and again (not throughout each Loop) to help their friend retain his, her, its, or any other pronoun's sanity.

However, things are rarely that simple. As with any disaster, there is a point where it originated from: a Ground Zero.

There are several universes that were close to this Ground Zero. These Loops were badly damaged as a result of this, and suffer from myriad problems such as immense difficulty Activating Loopers properly, glitches in the timeline, and various metaphysical viruses invading the worlds and trying to tear both Branch and people alike apart.

One of these Branches is commonly referred to as the "Megaverse," due to its robotic Anchor being codenamed "Mega Man." This Branch is the most damaged running Loop in all of Yggdrasil, and its inhabitants suffered through nightmarish failed, unstable Loops and viral trauma for millions of years.

There is another multiverse that was close to Ground Zero, and is just as damaged as this first universe.

As you may have guessed, that Branch is known as the Sea of Amala. Or, as you may know it better, the multiverse as seen in the "Shin Megami Tensei" games.

Here is how these Loops began for the inhabitants of Amala.

…

"Tea. Hot."

Stone fingers drummed on a wooden, sturdy desk.

"Shrine for good luck. Set up."

"You don't need to ask us for help," the man standing in the corner of the cubicle grunted. "We're using all the luck we have for these 'Loops.' And besides...it is odd for one who has Ascended to godhood himself to be praying for help, no?"

Taira no Masakado sighed. Yes, he had been mortal once upon a time. He had fought to free Edo and the rest of Nippon from a nightmarish, corrupted government. He had liberated thousands of people, and died a good, honorable death.

But that was not the end of it. Upon dying, he found himself a room enclosed within fuzzy walls, with an annoyed woman with oddly even eyes glaring at him. Apparently, he had become so honored by the people of Edo-or as it was now called, Tokyo-that they had deified him as a guardian spirit of the city.

Belief begets power, as you are no doubt aware. This power catapulted Masakado's soul to the highest echalons of existence, to Adminhood.

But this was a dangerous prospect. At least, it was now. When Masakado Ascended, Yggdrasil was still in working order, and his deed caused no problems save a explosion of the monitor from which he emerged. With the Loops, however, many universes cannot handle someone with such power. If someone attempted to become an Admin through the use of enormous amounts of cosmic power, or just became too strong...

...they would tear their universe apart, leaving nothing left but their own self in the offices, to deal with the consequences of their mistake for all eternity.

Which is what he and his superior Izanagi-no-Okami were trying to prevent by getting these Loops set up properly.

"Why is it that you asked me to do this?" Masakado muttered. "I am a warrior. A king. And while I am by no means a fool, I died in 940, according to the 'Hub' Gregorian calandar. Even after thousands of years of learning, I still cannot program worth shit."

"Normally, you'd be right. You are a terrible programmer." Masakado sighed again: wasn't Izanagi visiting to help him?

"However," the patriarch of the Shinto pantheon continued, "you are the God of Edo. Tokyo. Whatever. As such, you know the city like no other. And these universes I have asked you to activate focus almost entirely on Tokyo. Everything that's important in these timelines occur there."

"...so that's why you sent me this...program," Masakado said, clicking on an application. He moved the mouse around, flinging the camera around and around the scale model of Tokyo as seen in one universe. "One structured around a specific city. Yes...I do understand this," he continued.

"Good," his boss huffed. "Which one will you start with?"

"This one," Masakado said, minimizing the Tokyo app and opening the master file for a universe labeled "PERSONA."

"That one's not focused in Tokyo, though."

"But it runs on the same principles," Masakado countered. "This Tokyo programming...program...is still compatable with it. Also, I was preforming...diagnostics, that's the word...on this universe when whatever damaged Yggdrasil so badly hit. So it was somewhat protected from the blast."

"Very well, then. I'll come back when you're getting the next one online. You've picked an Anchor, right?"

"The only suitable candidate is the entity called Igor. As he is the only entity to have a role in each part of the timeline, he's the only one who can bear the weight of Anchorhood. Which...will be on...now."

[Nocturne], [SCP Foundation]
(no title)
Author: Gamerex27

INCIDENT REPORT:

At 04:44 hours, SCP-682 breached containment. Multiple teams were sent to secure 682. In addition to its own escape, it also allowed several other sapient SCPs to breach containment, including SCP-8888-A-666 ("Naoki/Kashima").

At 04:49 hours, SCP-8888-A-666 encountered SCP-682. The following exchange was recovered from security footage on-site.

SCP-8888-A-666: So, you're the immortal fucker all the coats are pissing themselves over, huh?

-SCP-682 ceases devouring the remains of an unidentified strike team member, and turns to face 8888-A-666.

SCP-8888-A-666: Meh, might as well see if I can take you on. What's an overgrown gekko to someone like me, huh?"

-SCP-682 continues to stand still, staring directly at SCP-8888-A-666.

SCP-8888-A-666:...so? You gonna try and eat me, or what? I've got plenty of Magnetite in me! I'm probably delicious!

SCP-682:...Ha.

SCP-8888-A-666:...what?

SCP-682 Ha. Ha ha. Hahaha.

SCP-8888-A-666: The fuck?!

SCP-682: Hahahahahahahahahaha! Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

SCP-8888-A-666: The fuck is so funny to you, jackass?!

SCP-682: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

-At this point, Strike Team [REDACTED] closed in upon SCP-682, in an attempt to use the distraction to successfully restrain 682. However, 682 proceeded to grow multiple mouths from its sides and rear.

Agent [REDACTED]: JESUS CHRIST! SINCE WHEN COULD IT-

-SCP-682 proceeds to use several whiplike appendages (later determined to be tongues) to catch and devour the strike team as it attempted to re-contain it. At no point in this process did it cease laughing at 8888-A-666.

SCP-8888-A-666: Can it, jackass!

SCP-682: HA HAHAHAHAHAH HA HA HA! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

SCP-8888-A-666: SHUT UP!

-SCP-8888-A-666 proceeds to attack SCP-682 for several hours, with its attacks tearing away at approximately 30% of 682's body mass. Other than moving away to avoid 8888-A-666's strikes, it made no attempt to defend itself, and it never ceased laughing during the entire fight.

At 06:51 hours, SCP-682 was successfully re-contained, at the cost of _ D-Class Personnell. SCP-8888-A-666 returned to containment after some coercion, though it expressed frusturation at SCP-682's unexpected behavior. SCP-8888-A-666 proceeded to request alcohol, which was granted after diluting it _ fold.

"..." -Dr Glass.

[Persona 3]
(no title)
Author: Zerorock41

"WEEELLLLCOME TOOOO THEEE VELVET ROOM!" an obnoxiously over-the-top voice cried out.

Igor, Anchor of the Persona Branch and usually Owner of the aforementioned Room, merely sighed. No one would be that hilariously cheesy when welcoming a guest unless they were wide-Awake.

Sitting in Igor's usual position, hands clasped in a manner familiar to the Evangelion Loopers, sat a young boy with dark blue hair, who was poorly trying to hide his mirth.

"Enjoying yourself in my position I see?" asked Igor, current guest of the Velvet Room.

"Oh yes. Very much so," responded a smiling Minato. "Just wait till you see my choice of attire for my assistants."

In a valiant though fruitless attempt to stave off the ensuing headache, Igor responded with the tried and true method of applying palm to forehead.

[Persona 4], [Digital Devil Saga]
Dojima's Awakening – part 1
Author: LostHereAndThere

It began with the dream.

He was alone, pacing through a white, sterile hall; occasionally he would tire enough to sit on one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs lining it. Precious few details were visible; there were no windows, and only a few doors. Worn leaflets cluttered a metal desk. A water station, recaf, and stale biscuits.

Then one of the doors opened, and a medical aide beckoned him to follow.

He was led to another hall, where the aide opened another door. It was a small room, flooded with warm, comfortable light. A woman lay on a bed, clutching a small white bundle to her chest. Her head was covered by some sort of hood or drape, yet she somehow knew who had entered. The aide merely smiled and nodded, bidding him approach. The woman extended her free arm and weakly draped it across his shoulder. Instinctively, he returned the gesture, mindful of the woman's state. Gently, the woman presented her treasure to him. A small, rosy face peered from the white cloth, blinking at what he knew was the first light she'd ever seen. There was something between whimpering and giggles, and he knew that he'd given life to this one. He felt joy and fear tearing a pit in his stomach, and he could do nothing but lightly tighten the embrace in response.

Then the woman raised her hand, removed the drape, and spoke.

Her voice was white noise. Her eyes were the color of static. Her factions angrily twisted and warped, colors and shapes clashing and cycling without rhyme or reason.

That was when he woke up, both he and the demon screaming in terror and rage neither could comprehend.

…

Many, if not all, of the other Hunters had had dreams after their Atma came. Whenever he could, he took the time to talk to his tribesmen and ask about what they saw in them. Mostly, the visions coincided – a world of a blue sky, with people that made no war, yet fraught with danger. He knew this because even in the dream he was a hunter. He wasn't really sure what he hunted – part of him even dreaded the answer – but that was what he was.

There was a city of some sort – people dressed in colorful, strange clothes that badly contrasted with the Junkyard's ubiquitous slate-grey Karma Temple-issue body armor. There was certainly no famine and nothing like Atma – everyone looked too calm for that. The sky was blue, with a disk of white light completely unlike the piercing glare of the monitors or the bright glow of the LEDs.

The buildings were strange, nothing like the solid sandstone architecture that dominated the Junkyard – no pillboxes, no defensive emplacements – just irregular mishmashes of different materials. Surprisingly, some of the people he'd seen were well past fighting age and into senescence – how had they managed to survive? Also, there were little people – children (he didn't know where the word came, but he'd decided it was the correct one) living with their elders. In the dream, he himself lived with one. Pink. Very pink.

He'd consulted Vishuddha's database in order to understand the term "daddy" to no avail. Why would the pink child address him as such? Why did the demon recoil at her memory? And why did he see the leader of the Investigator Tribe in the dream, living alongside himself and the child? Disturbingly, he'd even seen faces he recognized in the Junkyard – a few Hunters, the gaunt, strange leader of the Preservers, Namatame, even his own second, Adachi. For some reason, the demon hissed and scowled at them with unusual vigor. As much as it hurt, he pressed the beast as tightly as he could – his own orders were to avoid infighting as much as possible; he didn't want to think what the effect on the Tribe's morale would be if he defied his own orders to devour his own second because he couldn't keep the demon leashed.

But it was the woman-that-was-not that truly frightened him. The memory came infrequently, but it hurt. He knew it was a woman – what little he could see under the drapes made that abundantly clear. But while the others he could see and understand, the woman was different. Her factions were jumbled, twisting and changing, never allowing him to commit them to memory. And it hurt to see her like that, and he didn't know why.

The demon slept and dreamed with him. Together they were one. But whenever it saw the thing, it started rattling and pulling at his mind in a berserk rage, the black mark in his shoulder burning with electric blue light. Even attempting to form the memory stoked the fires that always burned behind his eyes. The demon wanted the woman. She was the demon's. And his, by proxy; that was all he understood. He wanted the woman, hungered for her presence, and it hurt he didn't have her.

But there was too much to do. There was always far too much to do. Reinforcing Vishuddha's walls was slow work, and the Phantoms were encroaching in. There was always something he could do – helping here and there, showing up with extra rations and ammunition, assisting his men against the advancing Phantoms. Releasing the beast and showing the invaders by claw and flame what being a Hunter meant. Leading the occasional incursion into Ajna. Checking supply lines. There was always something to lose himself into. Something to keep him running.

Sometimes, when he had the time, he asked questions, and let himself wander in dreams. And he never stopped listening to the white noise, or staring at the nightmare.

Who knew, really... he might just start understanding her, one day...

…

Yu Narukami Awoke to the feeling of cold raindrops in his ear. The first thing he noticed after that was the vile taste of old blood filling his mouth.

Mentally, he prayed to Masakado this wasn't the outcome of Teddie's ridiculous "make nice with the ex-wife" idea. Blearily blinking away the last traces of sleep, he managed to plant an elbow in the soft, wet earth. Definitely new Loop. If the silver – really silver, not merely grey – sunless sky didn't confirm another world, the complete lack of clouds despite the constant rain, the impossibly high tower in the horizon and the shining circuitry lines crisscrossing the stratosphere certainly did.

"Oi! Leader!"

"Hey! That isn't Serph!"

"Hands up where I can see 'em, buddy!"

Narukami managed to further push himself up and rise. The voices were rapidly approaching now. Three armed soldiers, weapons trained on him, were advancing to his position. While his attention briefly wandered to the handgun at his side, he started mentally listing how many ways he had to resolve the situation peaceably. He decided to play it safe and start with a Ping.

The effect was instantaneous. All three soldiers stopped in their tracks as the responses trickled back – three, four, five. Momentum broken, they lowered their guns and approached him slightly more cautiously. The point man broke formation, and cheerfully clapped Narukami's shoulder as he dragged/helped him towards his companions.

"Y'okay, bro? New to the Junkyard, ja? Loopy?"

The glee in that Jamaican patois was contagious. Narukami chuckled. He was sopping wet, wearing combat armor generously coated in mud, and his mouth tasted like he'd been chewing rusty nails. And yet a few words and a reassuring gesture were enough to make him smile.

"Yes to all three, thanks for asking. Give me a few moments for the memories to settle in, won't you?"

He closed his eyes, and blinked in confusion. There was… remarkably little in the memories. As in, there were, like, ten lines of background. If that.

He, Narukami (one name only), was the Leader of the Investigators, one of the six ruling Tribes of the Junkyard. The ultimate authority in the land was the Karma Temple – that huge Tower he'd seen in the distance. The entire purpose of this world was for one Tribe to annihilate the others and succeed in reaching the Temple's summit, whence they would ascend to Nirvana.

No personal memories. No likes. No dislikes. A few personnel files for close underlings. Some tactical data.

But then came the interesting bit. In a skirmish against a rival Tribe, the Investigator shock troopers had found an artifact – some sort of giant egg or bud, which both sides had mistaken for some machine of the other Tribe's. It had exploded, and some sort of strands of light had poured out of the relic. Almost everyone had been hit, and then… and then…

A sharp stab of pain from within forced him to kneel.

Millennia of control were sorely tested as Narukami felt power lines being redrawn in control of his body. Izanagi was screaming and clawing, pushing against his host's skull, against his skin. Narukami collapsed into the soft, grey soil, barely forcing breath down his starved lungs in throaty gasps. Bright white lines steadily spread across him from a black spot in his cheek, and the body underneath convulsed as new power flowed through it.

There was a commotion somewhere, far, far away. The happy voice was now full of concern, and there was another, a rough groan, pushing the young soldier away from the flailing Narukami. Even as he tried to make himself as small as possible, some force responded to his efforts by painfully pushing out. The Inaba Looper whimpered as bones broke, elongated and changed. Armor plates pierced his skin to cover him head to toe; light itself ceased to matter as his eyes were crushed out of existence and new senses awoke and old ones changed to compensate.

Long-known corridors of his mind were shifting into an alien configuration. Izanagi was struggling to rip his prison – the prison that was the flesh of Yu Narukami – open. His mind. What was happening? He was drowning in Izanagi, Izanagi was eating him, neither knew what to do. His conscience, his memories, everything that made him who he was, his very identity, was being pushed under Izanagi. The mask was becoming the skin, the beast was being given thought.

With a blood-curdling howl, Yu Narukami ceased to exist, and Izanagi gave his first clumsy steps into the physical world.

[Nocturne], [Warhammer 40000]
(no title)
Author: Evilhumour

Naoki Awoke on the damn roof when he saw something unusual but welcoming. Instead of the usual Conception appearing, he smirked as he saw and felt the familiar of taint of the Warp reaching out. Before the people next him could react, several daemon rained down and killed them with a splatter of blood going everywhere but him.

As he watched Tyoko being engulfed by the Eye of Terror, he felt a familiar presence next to him. Turning around, the Anchor saw his favourite Chaos God appear in one of their more favourable forms. Before he could speak, Slaanesh encircled around his body, emitting lust, pride, joy and a hostfull other emotions. With no words spoken, they watched the people of Tyoko briefly panic before adjusting to the relative peaceful new world they were in.

[Digital Devil Saga], [My Little Pony]
Atma Variant: Herbivore – part 2
Author: Gamerex27

Sweetie Belle's mind was in a haze. She remembered...being in the town hall? Why was she there?

She couldn't think. Couldn't concentrate. Her hunger was getting to her.

Eat it all eat it all eat it all eat it all

And that voice in her head wasn't helping.

And yet, as the herd of Atma-infected ponies neared the Everfree in their stampede, her mouth couldn't help but salivate at the thought of that tough-yet-juicy, delicious, flavour-packed bark. And the leaves...the leaves!

She had to eat it. She had to eat it all.

…

"I think that's all of them," Fluttershy said, grabbing the last fox kit from its hole and transfering it to the forest habitat she'd been growing in her Pocket. "I don't smell any more animals in here. Just remind me to take all them out at the end of the Loop. There is still that plot of land where I can put the forest, right?"

"Indeed, though getting it was quite the fight," Zecora responded, passing around stamina potions to the motley crew of ponies and pony/demon/AI hybrids. "Discovering that the deed was in Equaltown gave me quite the fright."

"Oh, there." Fluttershy's eyes narrowed. "Speaking of frights, you all came from the direction of that town, right?"

"We did," Seraph confirmed.

"And Starlight Glimmer was long gone by the time we got there this Loop," Fluttershy continued. "The Cutie Marks were all back on everypony there, too. Someone solved the problem for us."

"...you are suggesting that we killed her," Gale concluded.

"Um...not killed," Fluttershy said softly. "If you did, they probably would have been more upset and sad when we got there, even though the map misfired and didn't figure out it was already fixed. And I saw a white-coated pony that kind of looked like her being dragged to an asylum in the closest town to her village. It was you guys, right?"

"Yeah, it was," Argilla said, chugging her potion and wincing at the taste. "We just planned on doing some of the pranks you suggested when we met on Tatsumi Island, but things went downhill when her Removal spell just...didn't work."

"Really?"

"I've had some time to consider why that was the case," Gale thought out loud. "I believe that our 'Cutie Marks' and Atma Brands are one and the same in this world." He pointed to the stylized tornado with a set of jaws at its center on his flank. "As the Atma virus is incorperated into our very codes as a result of the Edit, it cannot be removed by such mundane means."

"Things went rapidly downhill from there," Argilla continued.

…

"That...that's not possible!" Starlight Glimmer whimpered, dropping the Staff of Sameness to the ground. "Why...why are your Cutie Marks still there?"

The Embryon twitched in place, as if holding something back.

"There are...some things...beyond control," Gale managed to get out, shuddering. "This is...Atma. A blessing and curse, tied to our very souls. The demonic self and our souls...are one and...the same."

"You can't...erase...who we are," Argilla panted, as she desperately tried to hold back the power surging through her. "It's...our karma. Too strong...to strip away."

"Ya bedder get back...mon," Cielo grunted. "Tings might get...ugly."

"No!" Her eyes twitching, Starlight Glimmer's horn shined, and trapped the Embryon behind a force field. "Even if you won't give up your talents," she snarled, "I can still keep you here forever!"

"No."

The increasingly incensed mare whipped her head to glare at the androgynous pony at the front of the group. "What did you say?" she hissed.

"Keeping ponies imprisoned like this only works for so long," shi said, as she staggered forwards. "The simple truth...is that equality is impossible."

"Quiet."

"Pegasi can fly, no matter how slowly," shi continued. "Unicorns can lift things, no matter how weakly. Earth ponies will always be a little bigger, and just a bit stronger. Mares and stallions will always have different bodies and ways of thinking."

"Quiet!"

"And even if you did strip all that away," shi said, taking one impossible step forwards out of the barrier, "what then? You'd...just be the same forever. No changing, no drive to make yourselves better. The only way to make things better...is to grow. You can't stay stagnant-"

"I SAID BE QUIET!" the madmare screamed, magic infusing her words, and freezing everyone in place.

"NO. WE. SHALL. NOT!"

The spell shattered to pieces, the leader of the Embryon's words overriding Starlight's presence. Slowly, Seraph kept coming forwards, stepping hoof over hoof. One step at a time.

"There's one simple thing you're forgetting, Starlight Glimmer," shi said, smiling even as the glowing light streamed forwards from hir Atma brand/Cutie Mark and encraoched around hir body. "Three simple words that make this universe go."

"Stop it!" she yelled, grabbing the staff from the ground and channeling her Cutie Mark Removal spell through it.

"Three words that bind us all together," shi continued, as the spell hit hir body and proceeded to do absolutely nothing. "Three words that, here, can bring you closer to that one truth about the world-"

"STOP IT!" she screamed, firing the staff again and again to no avail.

"yourself-"

"I SAID STOP IT!"

"And everyone else," shi finished, as shi came face to face with the dictator.

"We'll eat you!" Heat yelled, as his Fireball brand shined with power, and lines of light lit his body.

"No. Not those," Seraph said, as the lines covered hir entire body.

In a burst of light, Seraph vanished, to be replaced by...a monster.

Its grey, boney wings unfurled from its back, as it reared up on the feet of its red hindlegs. The mouths on its grey forehooves opened.

"Friendship is magic," the demon announced, as hir companions took on their own demonic forms in the background. "And we'll use our friendship to eat you!"

The room fell deathly silent.

"...beat you!" Seraph corrected hirself, but the damage was done.

"Screw it," Heat grumbled from both of his mouths, his heads shaking back and forth. "Can we just eat her? Titan meat or not, I want some fresh prey!"

"We promised the Anchor we wouldn't eat anypony!" Argilla rebutted, the mouths somewhere on her belly gnashing their teeth in annoyance. "And besides, you're a fire demon! Cook the Titans yourself! No need to kill innocent people if we have another way!"

"Perhaps we should save this for later," Gale interrupted, his sideways head-mouth opening and closing as they neared ever closer to Starlight Glimmer."We-"

Starlight began to hyperventillate. Sweat ran down her body, washing off the fake Equal Cutie Mark. But she was too pre-occupied to care about the gasps of the Equaltown ponies to care.

She...they were going to...she was going to-

…

As she reached for the ball of yarn on her shelf, Rarity's attempt to fetch the materials she needed to make a scarf was interrupted by the loudest scream she had ever heard in her long, long, long life.

"AAAAHHH!" she shrieked, falling off the latter and landing in an undignified heap on the floor. As she tried to get up, the yarn bounced off of her head, the impact further contributing to her newfound headache.

"Rarity!" From outside, Sweetie Belle came bursting in, her currently eye-having face staring at her. "Did you hear that?"

"Darling, I think everypony on this hemisphere heard that dreadful noise," she said, pushing herself to shaky hooves. "What on Equus was that?"

"You know the sound of ultimate suffering?" her sister asked.

Rarity nodded.

"That was something similar," she continued. "The sound of ultimate fear. People only make that noise when they're afraid beyond normal fear. The same level of emotion as how angry an average Dalek is, or how happy Pinkie Pie usually is."

"...oh, dear. Should we try and help whoever it is?"

"Eh. They'll be fine next Loop."

…

Still screaming, the exposed Starlight Glimmer scrambled away from the advancing Embryon, every hair on her body turning stark white in utter terror. Pushing her way past the still stunned townsfolk, she bolted, running about as fast as an Unawake Rainbow Dash would call "a warm-up."

"...Worth it!" Cielo announced, as the townsfolk still stood slack-jawed.

"...As amusing as that was," Gale announced, his head-mouth doing a good job of keeping the tiny smirk that would normally be on his face away, "we should explain to these ponies what just happened. The lies, the fake magical staff, Glimmer's true plan, the reasons why equality for all is not always for the best, the..."

[Persona 4], [Digital Devil Saga]
Dojima's Awakening – part 3
Author: LostHereAndThere

Very well. I'm still not totally sure I did okay, but I really don't know where I might still improve. As for Gamerex27's question, I did intend the DDS Loop to be Dojima's Formative Loop and I did consider making the Atma permanent, though it was never a 100% sure thing. While I agree all SMT protagonists more than earn the power to make Formative Loops irrelevant, most NPCs cannot possibly make such a claim. That being said, I think it's better to err on the side of caution and see how this jibes well with your own impressions and ideas; if necessary I can still change the gameplan.

…

"Aw, c'mon, buddy, you did great for your first time!"

Cielo was his name and he was one of his top men in the Junkyard. He had been the one to drag Narukami back to the Investigator base for treatment after his friend Heat, the guy with the grenade launcher, had chosen to err in the side of caution (more like he didn't want to deal with a new Asura) and had outright disabled Izanagi via something called an impact bomb.

Apparently, his Persona meshed too well with this world's Demon Virus – while he'd experienced many variations on Izanagi himself across the Loops, physically transforming into a demonic version of the god was new. The experience had been utterly bizarre for both Persona and host, neither used to the sheer alienness of a mental construct suddenly developing a crude mind with instincts and thoughts of its own, let alone being forced to develop walls and barriers to differentiate demon and human. Barriers that, by the way, were being constantly tested and assaulted by a mind that, for all its bestial hunger, shared Narukami's own ferocious determination and will to survive.

Masakado be blessed for the blood pills and Titan meat. Otherwise Izanagi would never have shut up, screaming and begging for more to eat, consume, devour...

He blinked, trying to clear his thoughts. "Thanks, Cielo. I-we…I'm doing fine now, thanks."

The cheerful soldier shook his head. "Nope. Yer not fine. None of ya both. Look, I… sorta gettit. Y'were used to this Naggy guy being a part of you, but not like this, ja? You tell him to jump, he asks how high! Actually, he doesn't even ask, he just begs to come down! And now he can push back, and thinks and acts by himself, an' daaamn, how he must be screamin' in yah head he's hongry. We had the opposite problem when we went to Suou's world. All loud an' noisy, an' suddenly, dey all became... puppets."

"Izanagi's always been a part of me, Cielo." And somehow, it felt wrong to think of Izanagi as a puppet. And not only because of the Persona-turned-demon's quiet, smoldering fury.

Cielo shook his head as they left Muladhara's main infirmary. "Look, let me explain. This Persona, it's a mask, right? The one you show to the world and hides who you are. A social face. Banana nose told us how it works."

Narukami nodded, arcing an eyebrow at Cielo's chosen nickname for Igor.

The young soldier just laughed. "See, it's complicated. Leader - Seraph, shi's been sorta trying to understand the virus and what it does to your head. See, at the beginning it's all hunger and instincts, oh no, I'm starving, let's eat the butler an' the cat!" Narukami could barely repress a snort of laughter at Cielo's exaggerated expressions.

"But after a while the part of you that's the demon and the part that's you start working together. The demon starts thinking with your mind, remembering with your memories, speaking with your voice. 'S not a perfect merge, though. Ever. There's always this… edge, savage, wild. But, both yous start linin' up a bit better as they learn about the other. A bit like you accept a Shadow and turn it into a Persona, only a lot slower. An' of course – there's always the chance the demon can go berserk, like the Persona can go back to the Shadow if ya don't learn to understand it properly an' play good and nice with 'im."

"And the hunger? When does that go away?"

Cielo visibly deflated. "Sorry, buddy. I mean, we've had the demons for, I 'onno, more Loops than I can count. And we still have to hunt and eat. We're trying, but nothing works. 'Side from… yanno…" Cielo averted his gaze in shame, rubbing his arm. "…eating…" the Inaba Looper winced "…there ain't a whole lotta options. Only Sera's song or her blood, an' only if we have either close. Still, dis is only a Fused Loop, mon, you should be clear after we clear things with God."

Narukami froze. "We're dealing with that jackass? Since when does that ever go right?"

"The Judeo-Abrahamic God is not present in this Loop, Narukami."

The unemotional, stiff voice took Yu by surprise. He hadn't even noticed how Gale had managed to creep so close to him. "We're fully aware of the state of the Amalaverse God, though thankfully the God we interact with is closer to Brahman rather than the Western idea of divinity." The strategist frowned. "…YHVH has been known to appear in this Loop, but it's the exception rather than the rule."

Narukami sighed in relief. "Thank Masakado. So what happens now?"

"At dis point, Leader goes to Svadhisthana for answers and sorta conquers it. Y' feel like it, or ya wanna practice with Nagee-Man? We can handle it, no biggie."

Yu sighed. "Thanks for the offer. You're a cohesive unit, used to Seraph's command style. Honestly I'm afraid I'd only go to make a fool of myself in the battlefield and get you all killed without even being able to control Izanagi. Who could lead a team?"

Cielo snorted. "Heat was already thinking of ways to challenge ya. Honestly, he'll follow Seraph to the death, always does, but take 'ir out of the picture and he's first in line to scream he's the new boss." With a click of the tongue, he added: "Boy nevah had da head to be Leader. No one bettah t'be Leader's right hand, tho. Y' didna hear that from me, by the way."

Gale raised a hand. "Anyway, I need to ask some questions." He pulled out a folder and presented it to the visiting Looper. "Several Tribes have changed names and leaders: aside from us, the Solids have somehow become the Preservers, the Wolves the Hunters, and the Brutes the Phantoms. As for the new leaders, instead of Mick the Slug, there's a Namatame I don't recognize."

"He's from my Loop all right. Deludes himself into thinking he's saving people."

Gale nodded. "If his wish is to preserve his Tribe, it may be easier to press him into an alliance by convincing him it will ensure a maximum amount of survivors. There's no information so far on Varin Omega's replacement, but we do know the Hunters are now led by a Ryotaro…"

Narukami stared, and sank his face into his hands. "Crap."

[Nocturne]
SMT vs 4Kids – part 1
Author: Evilhumour

Naoki blinked as his loop memories kicked in and swore, "What the heck."

Or tried to swear.

He had heard of this variant before and while he had been somewhat hopeful for it, it was still a shock to the system. The Conception still occurred, but simply split Tokyo off from the rest of the world. Humanity had been driven into hiding from the alien invasion and he had been one of the few people that managed to bond with one of aliens in an heroic attempt to save everything.

He remembered fighting the invaders but not actually killing them because as soon as he won a fight, the aliens teleported away with really cheesy lines tossed at him.

He could hear Kashima grumbling at him at this insanity variant and he agreed; as soon as they could find some booze, they'd drink some of the memories of the 4Kids variant they were in away.

[Persona 4]
SMT vs 4Kids – part 2
Author: Gamerex27

"4Kids virus?" Naoto/Taylor asked, hat drooping over her forehead.

"4Kids virus," Yu/Sam confirmed.

"I mean, it could be worse," Chie/Alex muttered half-heartedly. "But, really?! Alex?! And Tomoe's The Lancer?!"

"It could be worse, Sempai," Rise/Maggie pointed out. "You could be named-"

"Tiiffany!" Yukiko/Tiffany choked out, bursting into another one of her signature laughing fits.

"Could we at least beat Allen-urgh, Adachi's butt-no, butt, I said butt!-in?" Kanji/Jack asked. "Since murder ain't really happening this time, maybe we could ask Yamano or Saki what happened?"

"They're in comas," Yosuke/Max replied glumly. "And by the time Yu and I tried to bust him, he'd escaped into the TV world already. We can track him down like always...but it's gonna be pretty annoying if stuff like this happens throughout the entire Loop."

"...Jelly doughnuts?" Teddie asked the group, offering them a tray of rice balls from the food court.

"NOT HELPING!" half of them screamed back.

[Persona 3]
SMT vs. 4Kids – part 3
Author: wildrook

"Shadow Hour?" Minato/Michael asked Ryoji/Pharos/Paul, who was lucky enough to keep ONE of his names intact. "Really? They named the extra hour the Shadow Hour? I know we deal with a type of card, but this just makes it look like we save the world by playing a Children's Card game."

"I'm just as amazed as you are, Mike...er, Minato-san," Pharos replied. "But the weird part is it looks like they picked our names out from the BIBLE. Yet...it's a lot more faithful to the original material."

Minato/Michael groaned. "I don't even want to know how the others are going to react to their names this Loop," he replied. "Mari...er, Mitsuru would probably go Punish...er, Execution-happy...on someone because of this. Still, something is bugging me."

Pharos blinked as he looked at his friend's face.

"Is Nyx still the Arcana of Despair?" he asked him, before realizing what came out of his mouth.

Pharos blinked. "You just answered your own question," he replied. "The real question is...will you fall into a coma...or would you physically disappear from this world as soon as you seal me?"

[Digital Devil Saga], [My Little Pony]
Atma Variant: Herbivore – part 3
Author: Gamerex27

A few days before the outbreak of the Atma flu, Twilight had found herself burying the hatchet with Moondancer yet again.

Things went off the rails, however, when they got to the restaurant.

Oh, things weren't too different at first. The conversation went on as Baseline, the other patrons were in the places Twilight had already started to memorize...

Well, the waiter was a bit different: a tan-coated earth pony stallion with a lighter-colored mane, but this thing wasn't too worrying.

At least, until she had put her order in.

"What will you be having, Princess?"

"Um..."Twilight glanced back down at the menu. "The hayburger. Cooked medium, please."

"Alright," the waiter said. "Would you like to try our special wine? It's made...from..."

He trailed off, as he glanced to the corner of the room, where a white coated mare's slightly shaking hooves held up a menu.

"Uh...hello?" Spike asked.

"Hang on," he muttered. "I think I forgot to take her order. I will be right back."

He trotted over to the other table. The conversation resumed for all of a few lines, and then the chaos began.

"I'll be needing that menu now," the stallion said, gingerly plucking the menu out of the other pony's grasp with his mouth.

"Wait, no!"

She jumped slightly out of her seat. And as she fell back down, Starlight Glimmer briefly made eye contact with Twilight.

"You," the waiter hissed, his demeanor going from friendly to threatening in two seconds flat. "Guess it's time for my order to come in, too."

"Wait, what?!" Twilight said, scrambling out of her seat. 'Are you kidding me?! That mare in the corner is her?!"

"No!" the former dictator pleaded, knocking the table over as she scrambled to get away from the waiter.

The one with a lightning bolt Cutie Mark, with a set of fanged jaws emerging from its tip.

"Om mani padme hum," the stranger intoned. In a burst of blue light, he went from an ordinary pony to an eyeless creature made of brass and copper. Smiling a hungry smile, it raised its forehoof, now transformed into a massive bladed fist much bigger than his other legs, and pointed it at the villain, sparking with electricity as the smell of ozone filled the air.

"Let's finish this," he snarled.

And that's when Starlight Glimmer screamed like a little filly and broke right through the wall, running off into the night through a Looney Tunes-esque unicorn-shaped hole in the building.

As the waiter gave chase, Twilight muttered a brief excuse to her friends at the table, and pushed her way past the now-stampeding ponies in the bar to trail after the two.

…

She galloped to a stop. The waiter, now back in his normal form, was watching the albino Starlight getting carted away in a straighjacket and magic-nullifying horn cover by the nice ponies in white at the outskirts of the town.

"Guess this works too," he muttered, pulling a chunk of meat out of thin air and taking a bite.

Wait, not thin air. A Pocket.

"Hi, Anchor here," Twilight muttered, as the other Looper turned around to face her.

"Roland," he said, holding out a hoof for an introduction. "Indra sometimes, though, when I use my Atma. Have you seen anyone like me? Other Loopers, similar Cutie Marks with jaws?"

"Yes," Twilight confirmed. "But that's not why I came after you. I wanted, well, to stop you from eating Starlight. I know you and your friends need to eat human flesh, and I know nothing can fix it...but I didn't want you hurting anypony. Especially any innocent bystanders while you were chasing after her."

"I was just going to scare her," he protested. "A prank. We just came from Erin's world, and I've got enough Titan Meat to last a few Loops."

"Glad to hear it," the Anchor said, smiling. "And I have to thank you for discovering Starlight for me."

"You didn't know she was there in Baseline?" Roland asked, his eyes widening in surprise.

"No. That expansion only came around a dozen Loops ago, and I was too pre-occupied working out how to fix things with Moondancer earlier in the timeline. Though this opens the door for a lot of pranks, now that I've nailed down where she;ll be after she escapes."

Twilight rubbed her hooves together and smilied evily. The Looper from Amala, who had devoured countless others and fought monsters that could break worlds apart by their mere wills, felt profoundly uncomfortable.

[Persona3], [Persona 4]
(no title)
Author: wildrook

"You know," Yu Narukami said to the owner of the Velvet Room, "in all my times of Looping, I've never seen you outside the area."

"There's a very good reason for that," Igor replied, in Inaba's shopping district. "You've fought Elizabeth, Theodore, and Margaret at the same time, I'm assuming." Yu nodded as he noticed the vinyl record in question. "Unless it's very important, I usually take an...indirect approach in assisting you and your Persona. Besides, this is the only part of the Loop that sells the Aria of the Soul on Vinyl from time to time."

Yu sweat-dropped at that. Guess Igor has his eccentric side.

"Besides, I couldn't help but notice some...intent that was headed your way. So I figured...why not kill two birds with one stone, as the phrase may be?"

Unknown to Yu, a figure was approaching him with the intent to kill.

Igor, however, was the first to notice as he nonchalantly summoned a Persona. Specifically...Amun-Ra...which kneed the incoming figure in question.

"GYAAAH!" the voice yelled, revealing a man with white hair and a skin tone that was pale in question.

Yu was caught off-guard by the figure...but he had heard tales from Minato's group. "That's...Takaya Sakaki from STREGA," he said. "But isn't he supposed to be..."

"Dead," Igor replied. "And yes he is. But most Loops, he tends to slip through the cracks. Either way, it's his Persona that does the deed."

Yu cringed. "And now I'm having flashbacks to where I was infected with the Atma," he said. "Thanks for the save, but...who was the Pharaoh?"

"Amun-Ra," Igor replied. "One of the first few Ultimate Personae I've created in my personal Compendium."

"Remind us to never face you seriously," Yu said to the man with the long nose.

"All in good time, my friend. But right now, I must make my leave. Until then, I bid you adieu." He then disappeared from view as Ryotaro and Adachi arrived on the scene.

"What happened here?" the concerned uncle asked his nephew. "And who was that...old man?"

Yu was about to respond, but Adachi beat him to it. "Forget the old man," he said. "You might need to contact Detective Kurosawa."

Yu and Ryotaro were surprised...but the detective beat Yu to it. "I forgot that you were once stationed on Tatsumi Port Island," he said. "Adachi, you know about this guy?"

"How can I not? This guy's name is Takaya Sakaki, and he's the Leader of STREGA."

Ryotaro then cringed...as did Yu. "I'll see what I can do," he said. "Right now, I need to get you and the culprit down to the police station. Have one of your friends keep an eye on Nanako for me, alright?"

Guess that confirms that Dojima was Looping for him. But Adachi...stationed in Tatsumi Port Island? That alone, was news to him.

'I had a feeling there was more to Adachi ever since Tartarus appeared in Inaba,' Yu thought, 'and Igor taking out a rabid Persona in one strike confirmed why he's the master of the Velvet Room. If he was going all-out...would this place still be standing?'

"Probably not," Izanagi replied. "Heck, I can't do that much damage when I jump to Izanagi-no-Okami."

Yu nodded. 'Still, if Dojima wants me at the station, I might as well see if the others can watch Nanako. The difference this time is that we'll both be back by dinner before she gets kidnapped.'

"You're going to tell him about Igor?"

'He's a recent Looper, remember? And Igor's the Anchor. He has to know sometime.'

Izanagi, within Yu's mind, sighed. "I hope it works," he said. "Still, I wonder...would Igor win in a fight against this one guy named DIO?"

'Igor held back against the Persona in Takaya's body. Even when Dio can Stop Time, I'm under the impression that Igor exists OUTSIDE Time.'

…

Author: Tincanman125