Disclamer: I don't own Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona.

Hi everyone. Sorry for taking so long to publish the next chapter. I intended to do it sooner, but it turned out differently because of lack of ideas and some personal life problems. And finally, here I am. As I had mentioned before, this chapter contains P5's content. The chapter was longer than I had planned, which was another reason for this delay in publishing.

And after all the Persona content, in the next chapter I will focus on XC's protagonist, Shulk, and the beginning of the attack on the Colony 9. I planned to make this chapter twice as long as than this one. So it may even take more time.

And just as last time, I have checked all the grammar errors in this chapter, but it isn't certain that I have corrected them all. For that, I apologize for my bad English and any mistakes I may make.

And that's all I want to say. Hopefully you guys will enjoy my humble story!

Alcamoth, Fountain of Hope, Day ?, ??:??

As the culmination of a long history, this city was built by the wisdom of High Entia, thus it was filled with the highest quality of unbelievable technology and finest structures. One could say it was the most beautiful city ever.

Boommmmmmmmmmm

However, that beauty was being devastated.

'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!'

The painful scream of a poor little girl filled the air in the midst of madness.

She wondered why it was turned out to be like this.

She knew this happened because of her, yet she couldn't stop or control it. Her power was just shot out aimlessly, harming both friends and foes. This power of madness truly consumed everything around her.

Booooommmmmmmmmm

(Stop...!)

First was the power of fire, it destroyed any building or structure, no matter how durable it might be.

Zapppppppppppppppppp

(Someone...)

Next was the power of thunder, it broke every inventions, wasting any energy they had.

Splashhhhhhhhhhhhhh

And final was the power of water, it drained all of citizen's lives until there was nothing left for them to stand.

(Help...!)

The girl's cry for help didn't reach anyone.

'Ah!'

The girl noticed a young girl and a young boy with wings on their heads. The little girl was tripping as those two kids tried to escape the dangerous situation.

(No! Please no! Run away!)

The girl wanted to cry out those words to the two. But no matter how she tried, she couldn't speak them out, because she wasn't the one in control. She blamed herself for being useless like this, she blamed herself for hurting the citizens who had trusted her as a member of the royal family, yet she could do nothing about this, nothing at all.

Boommmmmmmmmmmm

Zapppppppppppppp

Splashhhhhhhhhhhh

The directionless bullet of energy began to mercilessly launch themselves at the defenseless kids like they was lightning rods. The little boy tried to cover the little girl in despair.

(NOOOOOOOO!) The girl tried to cry when she saw that there was no way to save them.

...Or at least that was how she thought.

'Raoul! Makarakarn!'

Boommmmmmmm

In that moment, the girl saw him. A boy wearing a weird black costume and a strange mask, accompanied by a strange black and white creature, suddenly jumped in and stood before them. The power shot at the boy, but... it was somehow reflected back, even though it was insanely strong.

'Now, as we promised, we are here to take that thing.' The black and white creature said while pointing to her, or more precisely, the thing the girl held. It looked like a black dagger with red strip. In fact, this was the reason for her power got out of control.

(You... how...) She thought.

'Your name is Melia, right? Please allow us to take that thing you hold. You do not have the option to refuse.' The boy said.

(How can he...)

'Ready, Joker?' The black and white creature said.

'Always ready.'

The two ran toward the girl despite the power being consecutively shot at them.

'IT'S SHOWTIME!'

Shibuya Station, 14/10 (Rainy Day), After School

Chatter Chatter

Murmur Murmur

The sound was noisy, as always. As expected to a big city even though it was raining.

Talking about this place, you can easily imagine it if it was said to be a big, modern city that could be found in any developed country. The country we are referring to here, of course, is Japan. There were numerous buildings in this area with monitors displaying advertisements and news. On the ground, there was a crowd of people walking on the five-way intersection even though it was raining. Mostly, these people wore office and school uniforms. Anyone visiting this place for the first time would be surprised by the large number of people present, however, this was normal for Shibuya, as it was always bustling like this.

Next, we will shift our attention to one particular individual of the crowd. This is not something like "how to find the protagonist" by seeing who is look different from the mass. In fact, he was a ordinary high school student who were blending in the crowd with black fizzy hair, wearing glasses and messing with his smartphone while holding an umbrella. He wore a black school uniform of Shujin Academy with a strip pants, a white turtleneck inside like some students around. He was also carrying a bag on his shoulder. Ren Amamiya was his name, a perfect name for an ordinary high school student. But in his case, he was not so... ordinary. Actually, he was on probation.

[The Phantom Thieves strikes again!]

He watched an article on his phone. In these modern times, one could watch the news on their phone rather than buy a newspaper, that was how convenient technology had become for humans. The article discussed a group calling itself "The Phantom Thieves of Heart", which claimed to be able to change a corrupt individual's heart by stealing it. They had gained fame by exposing numerous people causing harm to society, including a mafia organization (or that was how they called themselves), and forcing them to confess their crimes.

"Phantom Thief," a term used to describe an outlaw figure who steals from wealthy, corrupt individuals and redistributes their ill-gotten gains among the downtrodden masses. Due to stealing, no matter how noble the cause, is still illegal and will never be accepted by the law, these thieves must operate their mission in the shadows, despite their desire is contributing and improving society for greater freedoms and human rights. An example of this type of character can be found in the fictional Arsène Lupin. However, these characters have only existed in stories, never in reality. That was, until the appearance of the "Phantom Thieves of Hearts."

The very word itself held its mystery. When someone hid their identity from everyone and catched their interests, it was natural for the curious masses to desire to know that identity. However, simply wanting something wasn't enough to make it happen. If their wish did come true, though, they would learn that it was the boy with the fizzy hair, Ren Amamiya, and he was not only a member, but also the leader. In any case, that scenario wouldn't occur so easily.

As it was mentioned earlier, his group stole the hearts of bad people. It was not like they literally grab the hearts inside their bodies and run away. Instead, it was more about a consciousness level. For explanation, there was a space that was manifested by the collective unconscious of people, and it had a name - "Metaverse". If a person's desires were so twisted and distorted, a structure would form itself in the Metaverse based on that person's perspective. We called this structure "Palace", and the twisted desires that powered the Palace were known as "Treasure". By using their special powers, the Phantom Thieves took away that so-called Treasure, made them realize their guilt and confess their crimes. The special power they used came from their desire for rebellion, the power emanating from their hearts - their Personas.

'And now is our next news...' The announcer on the monitor attached to one of the building said. '...investigation progress about the death of Okumura Foods's president. The police has identified that he was the next victim of the serial mental shutdown case.'

(It's again.) Ren thought.

In summary, he talked about the events in Shibuya where people's minds were randomly corrupted, leading them into a vegetative state, which was referred to as "mental shutdown" or "psychotic breakdown". There was also a story about a company president who died while trying to confess his crimes during a live press conference. Therefore, his gruesome death was seen by all those who watched the event on television that day. There wasn't enough evidence left to make clear what had happened. However, it was believed that he suffered from a mental shutdown and there was one thing which could be certain...

'Before his death,...' The announcer continued. '...he received a strange red letter which a strange symbol, which we could safely assume this was "calling card" from a group called themselves "The Phantom Thieves of Heart". There was an opinion that this same group was responsible for his death, as well as the recently mental shutdown cases. Regardless, the police still need evidence for this matter...'

(...)

It was just like the announcer said, Ren and his team had targeted him. But for unknown reason, he died instead of changing of heart. They knew they didn't do it, but society didn't think so. This had put a heavy pressure on his team, not only in proving their innocence but also in finding the true culprit.

'Those "Phantom Thieves"? Were they still not arrested?'

'Evidence my ass! They're obviously the culprit, they were the only ones who could brainwash people so they could cause mental shutdown too!'

'Are we going to died?!'

'...' Ren was just silent before these false accusations.

'Hey, what's wrong?' A voice was suddenly raised.

From his bag, a black and white cat which yellow collar poked his head out.

'Morgana...' Ren said the cat's name.

'You're suddenly shaking so... If you feel worried, you can share it with me.' Morgana tried to calm Ren. Ren hadn't realized that he was just trembling.

Due to the fact that a cat couldn't talk like this, it had proven that Morgana wasn't a normal cat. Despite his appearance, he was also a member of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. He had another form when they operated their missions in Metaverse, which we will discuss later. His original remained unknown, but he had guided and acted as the team's tactician since the first days when they gained fame. It could be certain to say that without him, the Phantom Thieves wouldn't have existed. Additionally, his personality was childish, and irritating to the point where you might hate him. However, deep down, he genuinely cared for his teammates. If there was one thing to note during conversations with him, it would be not calling him a cat or the conversation would extend unintentionally.

'I'm glad that you here with me.' Ren smiled. He always carried Morgana whenever he go outside. They confided, shared their thought to each other about their every personal matter. Thus, Morgana was always by his side and became his greatest partner. The same went for Ren too.

'So you're really not ok at all.' Morgana said. 'Humans could really so cruel like this huh? No need to be so nervous, I am always by your side so I will guide you guys to victory. This is a part of our deal after all.'

'Thanks, but I'm okay now. As someone who is the leader and is on probation, this won't be a problem for me. We will make whoever do this to us pay for this!'

'That's the spirit! Still, I know you was on probation due to false charge, and now this is a whole completely different level. Remember, you don't have to bring the burden alone, you have us by your side.'

'I know, that's why we has come this far.'

'And don't forget about the exam too. Study is important.'

'Roger that.' Ren said it while petting him. That made Morgana moan like a cat a little in satisfaction.

If you asked him if he felt frustrated by that false accusation making him leave his hometown, the answer would be yes. Even when he tried to voice his innocence, the larger power would shut him up and people would treat him like a disgusting criminal. From that moment, Ren realized that this was how the world worked. As long as the greed of humans still existed, it was a world of injustice where people would try to enslave and control others for their own self-interest.

However, he had no longer thought about it, because he had made friends who were truly trustworthy and supportive, so it wasn't bad at all when he lived here.

'...And now for our next news...' The news on the monitor was still continuing. '...The mystery surrounding the serial missing cases in Tokyo.'

'Hm? That is...' Ren expressed his familiar feeling to the news.

'According to the Tokyo Police Department, there are a total of 689 people reported missing since the beginning of April. Based on this large number, the police have concluded that it is a severe case.'

'Oh? They're reporting that case now?' Morgana commented.

For summary again, there had been people missing since April. With the frequency was over 100 reports per month, this had made an attention to the public like the mental shutdown and psychotic breakdown cases. There were also rumors that the two had been related to each other. With that belief, because the Phantom Thieves was blamed for the mental shutdown case, they tied the Phantom Thieves to the missing case too.

'I remember they made a few requests about this on the PhanSite too.' Morgana said. 'We have tried investigating, but in the end we can't find any clue about this.'

'But nearly 700 people in a half of year... if they were kidnapped, it requires a large quantity of people to do this. The question is who has done this and why?' Ren tried to guess while putting his finger on his chin.

'Maybe we are opposed a secret organization? It might be worth as a rival of Phantom Thieves.' Morgana said with an interesting tone. 'Well... can you guess who?'

'I guess... it was the aliens kidnapping people and do experience on them.' Ren joked.

'...Now it might go to far. Maybe you still have jetlag on that last Palace, don't you?' Morgana replied. 'But now I recalled that again, I wonder how she is...'

'For now let's just be patient until we can contact her.'

'...'

He was now walking into a place call "Central Street". Generally, this place is a straight road where it had some types of store on two side of the road. While walking, he stopped to eavesdrop two young man nearby.

'Are you going to vote?'

'Vote?'

'For our next Prime Minister of course! Did you forget?'

'Is it that time already? I don't know, I don't into politics. But if I have to vote, I definitely won't vote for Shido.'

'Masayoshi Shido, right? Same here. Although he looks friendly and caring, I heard that people accuse him of having a superior attitude. My friend worked as a waiter in the restaurant where Shido and some high-ranking officials were having dinner, and you know what he told me? He said that they had some disrespectful words about the food and the staff.'

'So his true nature was exposed just like that, huh? There are also rumors that he used his connections to the police to get away with many crimes. I don't know if it's true or not, but I won't vote for a shady guy like him, for our country's future.'

'Hey, do you think the Phantom Thieves, the missing cases and the mental shutdown cases is actually staged by him? Then he just need to pretend that he solves all of them and gains our trust.'

'Wow... There goes your conspiracy theory again! But it isn't like it's impossible! Haha!'

Morgana was looking and eavesdropping the conversation too. Then he told Ren.

'Something fishy is going on here.'

'Hm? You want fish? We still have cat food at home.' Ren replied.

'Not fish! I mean suspicious!' Morgana irritated. 'Beside, don't treat me like a cat!'

'Sorry, I was joking.' Ren apologized. 'But you right, I feel like people start to be more aggressive for no reason. They just... suddenly can think for themselves.'

As if the mental shutdown case wasn't enough, a strange phenomenon had been occurring since the beginning of October. Ren noticed that people had been behaving strangely, like victims of abuse were trying to stand up for themselves, and some people were protesting against the government's actions. While it was a positive development that they could think about their own rights, but it also felt like everything was on the verge of descending into chaos.

'But is this mean... Phantom Thieves is no longer necessary? They now can fight for themselves so...'

'Remember that we do this for people's courage, not making people depend on us.'

'You're right...' Morgana sighed. 'Anyway, the only possibility for this sudden change in people like this could be from Mementos.' Morgana deduced.

'I agree, there was no other place to be more suitable for this.' Ren said.

About Mementos, it was a Palace, but instead of one particular individual, it was the Palace of everyone. So if there was a sudden change in everyone's cognition, Mementos would be the first come to mind.

'So do you want to call the gang and explore Mementos now?'

'Good idea, but I have somewhere to go first.'

'Where?'

'Don't worry, it will be quick.'

'Okay then, but remember buying me some fishes. I prefer tuna if you will.' Then he got back to the bag like a turtle.

'...' Ren smiled a little, then he walked further into the Central Street.

(It has been a while since I visited that place.) He thought.

He turned left to enter a narrow alley. The alley wasn't too small, but no one was there. This place gave off the impression that it was used for some shady deal on the black market. The alley wasn't long either, it simply led you straight a bit before turning right only to realize that you found several bicycles parked at the end and a model gun shop on the left. Interestingly enough, that very same model gun shop was where he purchased weapons for his team. Although it might be models, as long as their enemies in the Metaverse believed the weapons were real, the fakes would seamlessly transform into real without any issues.

But that model gun shop wasn't his destination. He went to a... transparent blue jail-bar-like object at the turn.

(Velvet Room is still here, as always.)

The place he used to fuse and make new stronger Persona, its name was "Velvet Room".

According to a long-nosed man who owned the place and called himself "Igor", the Velvet Room existed between dream and reality, mind and matter. It would take the shape base on the guest's heart, so that's why it took the shape of a prison, as Ren thought he was "a prisoner of fate". When Ren stepped foot inside, he would become a prisoner, request for fusing Persona and get stronger ones. Igor's motive for helping Ren wasn't clear, but he had taught him some basic about Persona. Assisting him was the Twin Wardens, Caroline and Justine. Simply put, they were a pair of twin children who wore warden outfits and in charge of fusing Persona. While Justine held a clipboard with calmer attitude, Caroline used a baton and have a violence behavior. With their complicated personalities, even Ren could felt they were troublesome in some way.

The last time he visited this place was after they had stolen their last target's heart and took away the Treasure. They summoned him in his slept that night to have a quick chat. The conversation was still vague, as always. But...

In Igor's voice, although he tried to hide it, but Ren could feel that he was... scared. It was rare to see him scared like that.

(...)

Anyway, he walked closer to the door, then he realized...

(Where are the twins?)

Normally Caroline and Justine was always waiting outside of the door. Caroline would even kick his ass (no joke) into the door. But now they were no where to be seen.

(...I should step inside.)

Although it was weird, he couldn't know anything if he only stood outside like this. So he opened the door and quickly stepped inside. The white blue light emerged out from the door made Ren closed his eyes.

...

The first thing on his eyes when he opened them was some prison cells arranged in circle. The room was mostly blue as always. The grids of the cells was ripped of and there was a pile of rubble in the middle as if this place had been collapsed... Collapsed?

(...Wait, Velvet Room I know isn't supposed to be like this?!)

This place somehow had become a mess. Following his astonishment, Ren realized that he still wore his school uniform. Usually he would unintentionally wear a white and black strips prisoner uniform. You could think it was weird because it should be other way around, but that was how it was supposed to be here.

(What the hell is going on?!)

He bent the bar which was badly damaged to step outside the prison cell. Everything Ren saw now was just a whole big mess.

'Igor?! Caroline?! Justine?! Are you here?!'

...

But nobody answered. When he looked around...

(Hm? That...)

Out of the blue, he noticed a small blue butterfly was perching on the rubble. Its wings was moving slightly as if it was resting. Somehow seeing this butterfly made him feel peaceful a little.

(...)

Ren tried reaching his hand to the little creature until...

Rumble

The Velvet Room suddenly started shaking and collapsed again. The cracks spread themselves on every corner of the small prison at an incredible speed, leaving Ren unable to respond in time.

'What?!'

Rumble Rumble

Crashhhhhhhh

The whole place just simply collapsed, and Ren couldn't know what had happened after that...

...

...

'!'

Ren immediately came back to his sense. He realized that he had returned the familiar alley, the rain still fell and no one was there. Only one small difference: the Velvet Room door wasn't there anymore, he was just staring into a blank wall.

(?) And Ren was obviously too confused.

'Oi... What happened?' Morgana poked his head out again. 'Didn't you have somewhere to go?'

'...It's nothing. I was just there already. Let's go.' Ren tried to said calmly. He didn't talk about what happened because Morgana didn't know the Velvet Room's existence.

(Something is definitely going on here, I have to find out.)

Leaving the question about the Velvet Room behind, Ren left the alley and walked back onto Central Street. He decided to investigate this strange phenomenon in the Mementos, although the chances were slim, he hoped that the answer he sought would be found there.

Di Di Di Ding

That was the sound of his phone ringing.

(Hm? Who sends messages at this time?)

When he opened it, he saw a message sent to him. Then he promptly opened the chat window.

[Futaba: There was something I'd like to discuss.]

That was the message from one of his teammates, Futaba Sakura. As a navigator of the team, her hacker skill was extremely awesome despite her age due to some trauma in the past. That aside, "extremely awesome" here meant she could even take down international websites with no problem if she wanted to.

[Ren: Can't you just wait until I returned?]

[Futaba: This is important. I want you to read this ASAP.]

When she messaged that. Ren knew something was wrong.

[Futaba: Is it OK?]

[Ren: It must be important to the point you must message me, right? So let hear it.]

[Futaba: Okay.p

[Futaba: Last time when I skimmed through the internet to investigate...]

[Futaba: I found some clues about those serial missing cases.]

[Futaba: And what I found is a name, "Bionite Order".]

(Bionite Order?) Ren thought.

[Ren: Sound like a name of a cult to me.]

[Futaba: Right.]

[Futaba: When I skimmed further, I found that it were some kind of secret organization existing since 2000 or later.]

[Futaba: And its members had crept themselves into government systems and were said to be responsible for many strange phenomena on the world.]

'Our enemy really is a secret organization?' Morgana said while he looked at the phone with Ren.

[Futaba: What's more, I found a list of missing cases's victims, evidences showed that they had stolen my Mom's cognitive psience research and their goal was world's domination.]

[Ren: Like those villains in movie?]

[Futaba: Exactly.]

[Ren: Then what are special about them?]

[Futaba: They seemed to get the power from a artifact called "Blade of Anger".]

(Blade of... Anger?) Ren thought in curiosity.

[Futaba: According to all the information I've collected, that thing can generate, maintain, control and overload any type of energy. If this is true, it can even solve the perpetual motion machine problem!]

[Futaba: However, it is very hard to control so no one can fully use its ability. The weird part is it can make copy of itself and parasite it on human body in exchange for the host to be able to use a small part of its power.]

[Futaba: And it will drive the host's mind crazy if that parasiting blade is destroyed. If this is true, this will be a very dangerous item.]

[Ren: What do you mean by "parasite"?]

[Futaba: I don't know, I just repeat what I found.]

[Futaba: It's also said that it can overload the energy to the point that the space-time structure can be twisted and it will lead you to another dimension!]

[Ren: Another dimension?]

[Futaba: Like there is a "you" in this world and another "you" in another world. But that "you" from another world is not the "you" here.]

[Futaba: It's similar to Metaverse, but like... from another timeline or something like that in those sci-fi movies. You know what I mean?]

[Ren: How a thing like that could exist? I feel this is unbelievable.]

[Futaba: I don't know if this was true or not. It seemed "Bionite Order" came from another world by that item. I still didn't have enough evidence to back it up though.]

[Futaba: I doubted they're just some idiot, with what I told you, I think we must take them serious...]

'Wow... even Futaba said this. They must really be the real deal.' Morgana said, then Ren nodded with that.

[Ren: But why don't you wait for the meeting to talk about this to everyone.]

[Futaba: It's just...]

[Futaba: I don't know why, but I have bad feeling about this. So I decided to talk about this to you first. Also...]

...

Suddenly he didn't receive any messages from her.

'Huh? She stops messaging?' Morgana said.

'Let's ask her.' Ren said then he continued typing.

[Ren: Also what?]

...

It took a while until...

[Futaba: Where are you right now? We will meet there right now.]

[Ren: Meet me? Why so sudden?]

[Futaba: I have something to show you.]

[Ren: But doesn't you afraid of going outside alone?]

...

The messages was stopped once more. And Ren could feel that something is wrong here. So he tried...

[Ren: Is Makoto there? She said to me that she will come to my place. You can ask her to come with you.]

...

[Futaba: Yes. She is here.]

[Futaba: Just tell me where you are.]

(What?!)

'Hey! Is that...?!' Morgana said in panic. He could feel something was different from her.

[Ren: Who're you?]

[Futaba: What do you mean?]

[Ren: I've just studied for the exam with her at the school. No way she can be at Yongen-Jaya at this hour.]

...

The messages was stopped sending once again. Ren had hoped that this was just a prank. But...

[Futaba: You will know soon enough, after the Order come after you.]

'What?!'

[Ren: Is this a prank?]

[Ren: Hey! Who are you?!]

[Ren: What do you want?! What did you do to Futaba?!]

...

The messages stopped here, no matter how he sent messages to that mysterious person, he wouldn't get any reply.

'What the hell…?' Ren muttered nervously. 'This should better be a prank.' Then he started running.

'Seriously?! Were that... them?!' Morgana paused. 'Wait, is something happened to my eyes?! Why are you glowing?!'

'What are you talking about-? Wait! What?!' Ren shouted when he saw his body started glowing in a red light.

Wooshhhhhhhhhh

'REN!' Morgana shouted. But before they could react, Ren's existence disappeared in the crowd without a trace.

It looked like a subway tunnel with wooden train track, but everything was twisted. It was covered in red with black stain made this place give a horror vibe. Ren without a doubt knew this place. This was how the Mementos, the Palace of everyone.

'Ouch...'

'Joker! Are you okay?' A creature with a small body and a spheroidal head spoke to him. It was mostly covered in black fur, but it had some properties of a cat, such as its white limbs, the tip of its tail, and its muzzle were all white. This was none other than Morgana, and this was another form Morgana took when he entered the Metaverse. The reason for this, of course, was known by no one. At first glance, he appeared to be wearing a black mask covering half of his head, while the bottom half of his face was white. The yellow collar around his neck was replaced by a yellow scarf, and he even had a belt hanging from his hip, with two gold buttons in front and two small bags attached to it.

Ren noticed his outfit had changed too. It contained a black ankle-length tailcoat, a high-necked waistcoat, cinched black pants and a pair of red gloves. Over his eyes is a white, birdlike mask with black designs around the eyes reminiscent of full eyeliner and sharp lashes. With this, he was looked cooler compared to his usual self.

About why he called Ren "Joker". It was his code name. Usually when they performed their mission in Metaverse, they would use code name instead of real name. Including for "cool" purpose, it also helped them hide their identity as true thieves working in the shadow. With that, Ren would called Morgana by his code name "Mona" too.

'I'm okay. But... is this Mementos? I didn't even activate the Nav.'

'I don't know. It seemed something has pulled you here.'

Rumble Rumble

They hadn't had time to know what was happening because Mementos suddenly shaking.

'What is happening here, Mona?!'

'I don't know!'

Crackkkk

'!'

Crashhhh

Thudddddddd

As if the situation wanted to kill them at all cost. The Mementos in the area started to collapse.

'Not again...!'

'Get on!'

Morgana jumped up, then he immediately turned into a... big van. In the Metaverse, he also have an ability to transform into a black van, which made this even more ridiculous for anyone who hears this in the first time. The thing made this even more ridiculous was his cat tail still attached in the back of the van, his eyes become the headlight (the pupil still there but they were still able to emit light) made the van look like it had come from children's cartoons. With this, he played the role for being vehicle of the team, letting them drive him (?) and move around the spacious Mementos.

Hearing the call, Ren quickly jump into the van. Although Morgana could transform, but he couldn't drive himself, so there must be someone to hold the steering wheel.

Vrooooommmmmmmmm

BANGGGGGGG CRASSSSSSHHHHHHHHH

Ren used his foot to stomp the accelerator, the van immediately launched itself forward. He rotated the steering wheel restlessly to dodge all the dropping stone. Somehow they miraculously escaped the mess and went toward the part that hadn't collapsed yet. The road they were on was now a straight subway tunnel. Behind them the tunnel still continued collapsing, it still collapsed endlessly from behind like chasing them.

CRASSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH

But the collapsing speed was too quick, it was slowly approaching van which was desperately going in despair.

'Can't you go faster?!' Ren shouted.

'I can't! This is already my maximum speed!' Morgana loudly replied.

Thud Thud Thud

Crackkkkkk

'Damn it! We're gonna die!' He didn't know what to do to escape this situation, so he... closed his eyes and let the fate decide.

SMASHHHHHHHHHHHHH

SHATTERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

And the fate had decided they didn't have to die yet.

'Wha-!'

Ren and Morgana unexpectedly heard a glass shattering sound. Within less than a second, the Mementos shattered itself into pieces and revealed that they was in... space?

'Whoa! What the hell?!'

It was no doubt that they was literally in space. Left, right, front, behind, above, below is only black with meteors and a big planet with ring in front of them.

'Is that... Saturn?! Wait, why are we in space?! And I can breath?!'

'How should I know?!'

Ren tried looking at rearview mirror, he noticed that the wheels of the van left a blue hexagonal net trace on the way it went. It seemed although this was look like space, there was an invisible platform for them to stand and run on, so he guessed this was not a real space.

'Anyway, we should stop.' Ren said as he tried to brake the van. 'Uhm... Mona? We can stop now.' But the brake wouldn't work.

'...S- sorry, but for some reason I can't stop!' Morgana panicked.

'What?! You mean we will keep running like this-?!'

Roarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

'What is it this time!?' Ren wondered as he heard a roar. Deciding to check the rearview mirror, he saw what was behind him.

What he saw was a huge three-headed beast. Its skin color was emerald green. Although it was quadrupedal and lacked wings, it was somehow flying. It also had two tails and long, glowing yellow feathers on its chest and tail.

Whooshhhhhhhhhhhh

'Watch out!'

Creakkkkkkkkkkk

The beast suddenly rushed forward and rammed at them, but Ren quickly steered the wheel just in time. Whatever this beast was, it obviously trying to harm them.

'Nicely dodge! Joker!' Morgana praised.

However, that wasn't the reason why the beast stopped its attack. Without breaking stride, it continued flying upwards and chased after them like a starving predator.

Roarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

'What the heck is that thing?! Is it a Shadow?!' Ren asked loudly.

'N- No! Doesn't look like it!' Morgana answered. 'But it seems that monster was the reason Mementos collapsed. Whatever it is, we ought to defeat it! If only we have Oracle here!' Morgana said in panic again.

'Calm down!' Ren said as he drew out a handgun from his pocket. He quickly turned the steering wheel to drift and rotate the van in horizontal position so that the direction of the driver's seat window faced the beast. Then he held the gun by the other hand and shot.

Creakkkkkkkkkk

Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang

Roarrrrrrrrrrrrrr

And the beast easily dodged all of the bullet Ren shot.

Vroommmmmmmmmm

The drift didn't even make the van slow down. The wheels still rolled at the same speed and lanched the van forward.

'You missed all?! Really?!' Morgana said in awkward.

'No, I'm pretty sure I used Down Shot skill I learned from Shinya at arcade. With that size it can't dodge all of my bullets like that! I feel like it could guess where I will shoot at!'

'What?! You mean like it can read your mind-?!'

The emerald skin beast tried to ram them one more...

Swooshhhhhhhhhhhhh

'Meowwwwww!' Morgana squealed like a cat.

Creakkkkkkkkk

...but Ren drifted the van again just in time.

'We will worry about that later! What's the plan?!' Morgana dreadfully asked.

'Use that "power" like we always do!'

Wooshhhhhhhhhhh

After that, the beast now flied parallel with the van. Although there was no eye on its head, it turned its head as if looking at Ren. Then it opened its jaw, likely was going to crunch.

He put the gun away and placed his hand on his mask. 'COME! RAOUL!'

CRACKKKKKKK

His mask suddenly turned into a blue flame, then immediately after that, a figure manifested itself atop the van. It had the shape of a red-jacketed and red-fedora-wearing gentleman with a demonic face. He had large wings made from leather and metal in the shape of bat wings. Besides those catching-eyes parts, he was also equipped with long blade heels on his feet. This was one of Ren's Personas, Raoul.

'We don't have to defeat it, we just need to make it sleep. Raoul! Phantom Show!'

Raoul made a big red cloth before the beast. When the cloth was pulled out, an illusion of moon could be seen. It broke and... nothing happened.

'What?!'

Roarrrrrrrrrrrrr

'Damn it!' He drew his handgun again and shot at the beast before it tried to bite the van's door. The beast slowed down to dodge as if it had predicted the shot.

'...Never mind. It resist to sleep ailment.' Ren awkwardly said.

'This was not the time for joking...!' Morgana said in awkward too.

Boom

The beast fired a pink blast of energy at Ren, but with his driving skills, he easily dodged it. However, he suddenly felt sleepy for some reason.

'That energy could make us sleep?' Ren said while confirming he had been affected by that attack a little.

Crack

'What now?!' Morgana wondered about the sound.

Suddenly, the space landscape around them began to cracked. Before they could react again, the van hit something.

Smashhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

The impact of the van on the space scenery made it shatter to reveal… another space scenery. This time there was no meteor or Saturn, but instead just a colossal brown planet and a comet nearby.

'Now this is Jupiter?!' Ren asked loudly.

Roarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Smashhhhhhhhhhhhh

The beast broke the scenery behind them and continued the chase.

'Your turn! Alice!' Ren put his hand on his mask again to call new Persona. The Persona this time was a blond little girl in a blue skirt. Anyone first saw her would absolutely underestimate her and let themselves guard down. In fact, with no exaggeration, she was a nightmare with an insane power.

Roarrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Creakkkkkkkkkkkkkk

The beast rushed toward the van again, using one of its heads to attempt to bite. However, Ren quickly drifted the van to the left and once again drove them out of danger. The driver's seat now faced the left side of the beast, putting Ren in a more advantageous position.

'Alice! Do your thing!' Ren commanded.

'Die for me!' The Persona shouted with a scary smiling face. She pointed her finger to the beast.

Without delay, a bunch of teddy bears came from nowhere and rushed towards the beast. The beast was covered in a black power of curses and... nothing happened.

Vroommmmmmmm

'Wait a second, it is strong enough to resist an insta-kill move?!' Ren said.

'Seriously?!'

Crack

The scenery started cracking itself again.

'Again?!'

Smashhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

The van smash to the scenery again and made it changed. This time it was a smaller red planet.

'And this is Mars? We are really travelling through Solar System huh?' Ren commented.

'How can you so calm in this?'

'Then we will try this. Because we are in space, so let it taste the power of the space! Raoul! Concentrated!'

The red costume and demonic face Persona came back, it focus the energy into Ren.

Crack

Smashhhhhhhhhhhhh

The van pierced through the landscape once more. This time it was a planet... no, it was a big gray natural satellite with holes on it. It was the thing which we called "Moon".

'I see! When Ren summoned his Persona, the landscape will be shattered and changed!' Morgana concluded.

'Next is Heat Raiser and Debilitate!'

Ren was surrounded by a orange, blue, and green aura, while the beast was surrounded by the same aura, but darker. Ren's defense, accuracy, and attack were raised sharply, while the emerald-skinned beast's stats were the exact opposite. Although its speed could be seen as being reduced, it wasn't enough for them to escape.

Crack

Smashhhhhhhhhhhh

The scenery was broken for the last time. Before them lay a blue and green planet like a big water ball. Behind it, the sun was shining brightly. Unlike any other planets they had seen, this one teemed with life. It was the home of countless lives, and its name was Earth.

Without warning, Ren opened the van's door. He left the steering wheel and jump onto the roof.

'Joker?! What are you doing?!'

'This attack required precision, I can't just aim while driving!' Ren said while his mask burned in blue flame. 'Descend! Lucifer!'

A figure appeared. It was large, dark blue-skinned and shaped like a demon with three pairs of wings.

Roarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

The three-head beast suddenly focused a purple energy on its mouth, indicating that this attack would be a strong one.

'Ren! Be careful!' Morgana warned.

'I will be fine!' Ren replied. Then he shouted 'Morning Star!'

After that, the space was filled of stars. One of them suddenly sparked, and...

Pewwwwwwwwwwww

A big white beam was shot out from that star and rang out a big laser beam noise. The destructive beam was too large as if it was the punishment from heaven.

Boommmmmmmmmmmm

The beam hit the beast and made it be consumed by a white explosion. The explosion shined behind the van made it feel like this was truly an action movie.

'Did we do it?' Morgana asked.

'Do you know that the enemies are always alive when you ask-?!'

Boommmmmmmmmmmm

A pink, spherical energy beam suddenly shot out from the explosion like a cannon. The three-headed beast had attempted to throw out that energy before it was turned into ash.

'!'

Standing before a surprised attack, he let Lucifer take the impact before it hit the van.

Boommmmmmmmmmmm

'Agh!' The blast made Ren be blew away from the van.

'JOKER!' Ren heard Morgana's voice was slowly further away when he was flied off.

Smashhhhhhhhhhhhh

Shatterrrrrrrrrrr

Ren heard the glass shattering sound once again. But instead of the scenery's changing, everything was turn into an absolute black. He felt that his body was floating instead of falling. He didn't lose his consciousness, it was just there was nothing for him to see anymore.

(I- I need to find Morgana!)

With that in mind, he tried moving his body around, but it was difficult since he was likely in a zero-gravity environment. Without any reference points, he couldn't distinguish between up and down either.

(...!)

Suddenly his body was pulled by a strange force, the speed was quickly accelerating as if he was falling.

(Is this... gravity?!)

Whoosh

Thud

It didn't take long until he took an impact on a solid platform. He closed his eyes and feeling headache because his brain couldn't tell where the ground was. He tried to opened his eyes in dizziness.

'O... ouch...'

Suddenly, he heard someone talking.

'H- hey, isn't that a Homs?'

'He's really our hero?'

When he opened his eyes, he realized that his costume had reverted back to his school uniform. Next, he saw several people wearing white armor, seemingly some kind of soldiers, standing around him. He could also see that each of them had a pair of wings on their heads.

'Look like we have some unexpected results.' Ren heard a women's voice. When he looked up, he saw a woman wearing a weird and revealing red costume like some kind of fan-service. She also had wings on her head similar to those soldier standing around. Ren began to think this was probably some kind of tradition for putting wings on their head.

'Who are you?' Ren asked.

'Lorithia is the name.' The woman answered while smiling. 'And welcome to Alcamoth, look like from now on your future will belong to our hand.'

Mechonis Field, Upper Bulkhead Bridge, Day 2, 06:08

If you looked around, everything you saw here were just old and mechanical. There was nothing but giant cogs and giant turbines spinning and giant cylindrical parts around. It wouldn't be a surprise if you thought you had been shrunk and were inside a sophisticatedly build robot. At the big serrated gate was probably about 50 meters height and 10 meters wide, there was a long conveyor belt connecting the door and the platform inside. The belt consisted two parallel bell running opposite each other. It would easier to imagine if you think about escalators usually have two way to go up and down between the floor.

This place also brought back those memories of that girl, the memories of when she was on a certain space station due to the mechanical vibe.

(...)

Standing in front of the belt was a short, curly haired girl dressed in a corseted vest over a pink long-sleeved blouse with a white neck jabot held by a red gem pin, and purple bloomers over black pantyhose. She had a holster belt strapped around her waist, holding ammunition clips. Perched atop her head was a dark pink cavalier hat with a purple band adorned with a feather plume, and she wore a black mask. Every part of her costume gave the impression of a European outlaw. On her back, she carried a grenade launcher and held an axe in one hand as a weapon. The name of this girl was Haru Okumura, daughter of Okumura Foods's president and a member of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. She was there waiting for someone while listening to the mechanical noise.

(...)

While waiting, she was rereading an anonymous message on her phone.

[To Haru Okumura, Noir as a member of the Phantom Thieves of Heart.

Look like you have failed to get the freedom you want, so do you want a second chance?

If you still want to fix your fate, there is one thing you can do.

Use the power of Blade of Anger, you can change the world in the way you like. Blade of Anger is the sword that can tamper the reality depending on the user's will. To say it more simplier, the blade make you become a God, and the world will go on in the rule you like. The one and only job for you is finding it, take it, using its power and become a god to create a world you desire.

Of course, with your situation right now, it is impossible. So I have prepared a Rank-D Blade of Anger. It is still the Blade of Anger but smaller version, and can only use a part of the true Blade. Use it and you can use your Persona power.

Extremely important, your Blade absolutely must not fall into another person's hand. If it does, they can access and control you and your powers. You may still be able to retrieve the Blade if you are quick enough. However, if the Blade is destroyed, your Persona power will go berserk and kill you, so please be careful.

Also, please be aware that there is also others use the Blade similar to your. However, there is only one person can claim the Blade and actualize their wish. You must get it before they do.

Come to in front of Shibuya Station, the thing I talked about is behind the Buchiko's statue. It will be there until tomorrow so have your decision before that. And remember, once you accept this, there will be no returning point, so please choose wisely.]

(...)

About "the freedom" she had failed to claim, let's just say that she had experienced... hell.

At first, she didn't belive it like anyone would. However, the sender knew about her Persona power, and with her situation in that time, it made her decide to give it a try. When she came to Shibuya Station as the message had instructed, she found a small dagger which was 30 centimeters long. It was completely black with some glowing red stripes. When Haru touched it, she could feel that a strange power was flowing into her, or more precisely, the Persona power inside her was grown stronger by the dagger for some unknown reason. Moreover, it was hard to describe, but she felt like... the dagger had become a part of her body. To add more surprise, she was teleported to this unfamiliar place.

And that was how she was here.

Vroommmmmm

She heard an engine sound, and a drifting sound of wheels. Actually she had heard this sound enough to know this was the sound of a friend.

Vroommmmm

Creakkkkkkkkk

There was a girl with short brown hair riding on a glowing white motorcycle, with the front displaying the face of a woman closing her eyes in calmness. She wore a black and dark blue skin-tight suit with shoulder and knee pads, both adorned with spikes. Alongside this, she sported a long black scarf and a black iron mask, reminiscent of an outlaw biker. She ran on the conveyor belt and headed towards the serrated door. Though Haru hadn't worked with her for long, she recognized her as a member of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, the student council president of Shujin Academy, Makoto Nijima.

Haru then gripped the dagger tightly. When she did so, a red flame was released and engulfed her body. However, she wasn't burned by it. Instead, the flame moved behind her and formed itself into a large figure.

The figure appeared to be a non-head woman wearing a black and pink Rococo style dress and wearing pink gloves. To replace the head, the face was represented by a pink mask insetting with yellow eyes. The mask was positioned by a handle which was holding by her right hand while her left hand held a yellow and pink colored fan with black fur. The bottom of the dress was in a pink color with golden trim around the dress, which has a golden lip on the center of the dress. There were also black and red curtain drapes around the dress underneath, a pink heart shaped frill around her waist with a red bow tied on the drapes and a knife next to on the center of the heart shaped frill.

'Milady! One-shot Kill!'

The dress suddenly opened up to reveal an array of ranged weaponry, including two Gatling guns, a bazooka, and a missile. The bazooka shot out a big bullet and charged toward her.

Banggggggggggg

'!'

Creakkkkkkkkkk

A big bullet flied straight to Makoto, however, she brake and drifted the bike to dodge as the bullet hit the ground. It seemed that Haru didn't want to attack her, instead she just wanted to stop her.

'Who the hell are you?! Why're you keep chasing me?!' Makoto said it out loud.

'Mako-chan- No, Queen! Please! We need to talk!' Haru shouted the girl's codename. However...

'You-! Why do you know my name?!' Makoto surprised, and Haru couldn't think this reaction was fake either. Haru obviously knew her, but she seemed not know Haru.

'We are the Phantom Thieves, remember?! So of course I know you. We are in the same grade, and I know you are stressed for being a student council president!' Haru tried to explained.

'A- Are you saying that they added more members and left me out?! They think I'm useless after all?!'

'What?! No! You were there when I joined! You had encouraged me and-?!'

'I don't know what you're blabbering about! Get out of my way!' She said it in an extremely aggressive tone.

'Mako-chan?' She whispered, then said it out loud. 'Just what has happened to you?!'

'What has happened to me you ask?! That damn Kaneshiro bastard has destroyed my life! He drugged me and shamed my Sis! And you know what is more bullshit than that?! All of this shouldn't have happened if our damn "leader" didn't disappear!'

'K- Kaneshiro? You mean... that mafia guy? I thought he was arrested because you had stolen his heart?!'

'Arrested?! Now you're making fun of me?! No matter how I wished, he was just there and abused everyone! The Nav was gone too so I couldn't do anything! Anything at all!'

'...' Haru didn't know how to react to this. But Makoto talked as if she and her team had failed to steal that Kaneshiro guy's heart. Of course when she joined the team, Makoto hadn't been like this. In fact, she was more kind, friendly, caring and always think about other people's problems than herself.

It just felt like she was a completely different Makoto from a completely different universe.

'Hey! There she is!' Suddenly, from the other side of the conveyor belt, there were about twenty strange people with brown robe covering their body and white mask covering, a few of them even were riding some weird green-skin beasts which seemly had the shape of a shark. With those, one could say they were obviously suspicious. It seemed like they were tried to catch Makoto.

'Tch!' Makoto took out a small dagger similar to Haru's. It opened itself and emitted a red light. At the same time, her bike began glowing in that same manner. 'If you don't want to be destroyed, then don't try to challenge my patience!'

'That thing-?!' Haru gasped when she recognized that dagger. 'Stop! We don't have to fight! We are friends!'

'Shut up! I don't care if you are my friend or not! And I don't even know who you are! If you try to stop me! I just have to destroy you!'

The dagger on her hand opened and released a strange light. Then her bike started to glow stronger, the eyes of the face on bike's front slowly opened.

Vroommmmm

She twisted the handle of the bike and then charged forward her with full speed. Then Makoto raised the front wheel and slammed the wheel down on her.

'Eat this! Varja Blast!'

Boommmmmm

A big explosion was released and created a small smoke. Luckily she dodged it just in time so she wasn't hurt. But the way she attacked, there was no doubt that she had really intended to kill Haru.

'You don't have to do this! Please! This is not the Makoto I know!' Haru tried to persuade.

'What do you know about me?! And do not follow me anymore!'

Vroommmmmmmmmm

Makoto then launched the bike to the serrated door and escaped.

'Wait-!' Haru stretched her hand and attempted to follow her. But before she could do that, the green-skinned beasts quickly surrounded Haru, stop her .

'You- Milady! Mapsio-!' Haru then tried to use her Persona to try clearing the way. However...

Whoosh

One of the mask people rushed in and snatched the dagger on her hand from behind. No more than a second after that, Milady subdued and turned into dust before disappearing.

'!'

Before she could respond, two more masked people held her and forced her to lie down while the remaining ones continued chasing Makoto.

'Get off me! Ugh!' She tried to resist but with a strength of a weak girl, she couldn't do anything.

'She has escaped! We can't see her anymore!'

'Continue searching! She can't go that far!'

The masked strangers ran around the exit, and it seemed like they wouldn't find who they need anytime soon.

'But leave her aside, look like we've just caught an unexpected thing.' One of the remaining who stayed to catch Haru started to speak. Base on the way he talked, he seemed to be their leader.

'Get off me you monster!'

'Shut her up.'

The masked man who just stole Haru's dagger began bending it. As soon as he did...

'Agh!' Haru suddenly cried out, showing that she was in pain. 'Stop...'

'You better behave yourself.' The masked stranger said. 'That girl is your friend, right? Care to say where she go?'

'I don't know. She... seems to be not the one I know.'

'Don't try to lie! Or I-' The man had been ready to bend the dagger again before their leader took it.

'Leave that for later, we need to withdraw before "he" notice us.'

'But-'

'We have her Blade of Anger, so we don't need to worry about her running away. More importantly, this invasion on the Mechonis cannot fail, if we lose our patience, we will alarm "him" and won't have another chance. Understood?'

'I understand...'

'Tell the other we need to retreat immediately, we can catch that biker girl for later!'

'As you wish!' The man ran to the serrated door and called out their comrade. Meanwhile, the "leader" started to talk to Haru.

'I can't understand... why would you go that far just to rebel us?'

'Because... I must take back the thing I valued, the thing they selfishly took away from me.' Haru said.

'Isn't your action selfish too? Wasn't it because of your selfishness that led you into this situation?' The masked leader replied.

'...'

'If you have accepted what other arranged for you, none of this would happen. You sacrificed the other just to satisfy your own self-interest and selfish wish. You're just the same as us.'

'...Did I say that it is wrong to be selfish?' Haru slowly speaked

'What?'

'I have reached the point of no return, so there is no reason for me to hold back. I don't care if what I do is right or wrong, I will do whatever it takes to achieve my desired future.'

'...Huh... Foolish girl. Lead her back to our base!'

The two masked men forced her to stand up after they had tied her hands, then they led her away.

'Is "he" found out yet?'

'According to our spy, he seemed didn't know what happened here.'

'Good. Now go! We have so mamy things to prepare!' He commanded.

In no more than five minutes, the masked people had erased all trace of the battle and dissapeared. Nothing there to indicate that there was somedthing had happened here.

...

And those were everything that had happened before the first member of the Phantom Thieves had been caught. Every person presented there surely had seen everything of the event.

One might say Haru was too careless and undetermined.

However, there was one thing they failed to notice.

Normally, when a person is on advantage, nearly win or has something they want, the most natural thing for them to do is smiling.

And on Haru's face, there was... a slight smirk in a short moment.