Author's Notes: Happy Turkey Roasting Day to my fellow Americans and happy "this fic finally got an update" day to all of my followers. No excuses, just real life. I did want to provide a clarification about this chapter that I can potentially foresee. A lot of the discussion in this chapter is purely theory crafting on the part of the Inaba kids/Minako's parts. Some of this information may be true, some of it may be false. Additionally, if Maruki feels a bit out of character, this is being done completely on purpose. He has tried to play it nice and it nearly cost him his vision, now it is time to play hardball. Thanks for sticking around.

~Nox

The regrouping of the Inaba kids had been going too smoothly. Minako knew, she's pretty sure Yu knew it, too. So when they were suddenly found by not one but two of the local persona users in this region, Minako had a bad feeling about it. There was something about the speed in which it happened that made her nervous. It felt manufactured, rushed. There was no way for her to pull Yu aside to warn him, so instead she hoped that pulling Saki away might give him space to work his magic as a wild card. Soon though, the sounds of yelling could be heard from inside the station and Rise told Saki to get going and Yosuke would catch up after they figured out what was going on. Minako was the first to turn and run back towards the station, Chie overtook her quickly, while Naoto and Rise both trailed behind for a short distance. Chie yelled inside the station and Minako had just made it inside when the air around them all seemed to twist and distort. As if it had suddenly become solid and was then manipulated by powerful unseen hands. Then the world fell quiet and everything seemed to melt from around them and they found themselves in a distorted version of the station. Minako looked around and saw that they were all present with the exception of Naoto and Rise.

Minako suddenly became aware of the fact that everybody had a change of clothing, and looking down she confirmed that she too had changed. However, if she had to say that she immediately noticed a difference in theme between herself and the people around her, it could not have been more obvious. The people around her were all dressed like an exotic team of heroes. Armor, super suits, and capes adorned their various new outfits. Minako would not call herself plain by comparison, but perhaps more down-to-earth would be appropriate. Clad in a golden orange tank top, a red scarf, a pair of tight brown jeans held up by a thick leather belt, and dark brown boots, she felt like an adventurer. A weight caught her attention and she realized that hanging off the back of her belt was a heart shaped harp. Perhaps, Orpheus was involved in the designs in which she found herself.

Looking up, she could see that the others had all been distracted by their own changes as well. To be perfectly honest, she could not blame them. Yu looked like some kind of modern day samurai for goodness's sakes. But their surprise did not last long enough, as the tension immediately returned.

"Yukiko what is going on?" Chie called oui. She was now dressed in skin tight, black short tank-top, with yellow stripes up the side. Yellow pants with a black belt and black kung fu shoes. Bandages wrapped up her arms from her biceps down to her hands just short of her fingers, left exposed.

The raven haired girl turned towards Chie and Minako. In her hand was a fan, but she was clad in a long pink kimono, with full length wide sleeves, and with sakura buds adorning the neck where it met a red half cape. Her left arm however was out of its sleeve giving her a warrior princess like look. Her hair was now in an updo with a pink charm holding it in place. Minako thought she was beautiful, but the look on Yukiko's face sent shivers down her spine.

"Did you know, Chie?" Yukiko asked.

"Know what?"

"About Yu's plan to make Saki disappear? And Nanako's mom? To make all of you relive your worst lives?" Yukiko explained, still highly emotional.

Chie seemed like she wanted to retort, but no words escaped her. So Minako suddenly replied, "But those people are already gone and those worst moments have already happened, Yukiko. It isn't our place, or anyone's place, to change the past."

Yukiko's gaze shifted to Minako and she said, "Who are you?"

"Not important right now," Minako replied, ignoring the daggers being glared into her by the furious girl in front of her. "What is important is why Yu is doing what he is doing. Do you think that if people could just live their ideal lives without consequence he would be fighting against this so hard?"

Yukiko seemed to pause for a brief moment before she finally shook her head and said, "I don't believe you."

"Then believe him!" Chie replied loudly.

"Both of you shut up!" Yosuke yelled as he looked back at them. He wore a camoed gi, adorned with two crossed utility belts full of kunai and shuriken. His total ninja inspired attire was topped off with what looked like a spiked set of headphones, currently around his neck.

"Hey, knock it off, Yosuke! Keep bein' an asshole and I might actually get mad," Kanji yelled after him. Kanji's outfit looked like a suit of armor at first until Minako realized that the pitch black plates that adorned his chest, shoulders, forearms, and legs were built like that of a robot, with thick wires connecting them all to each other resting against his actual limbs.. Painted on each piece was a skeletal figure, ending where Kanji's head was replacing the skull that would have been there.

"Guy's this is helping nobody," Yu told them all firmly.

"Be quiet sensei!" Teddie said with watery eyes. He was currently dressed in what looked like a mascot suit, but it was fully animated and its face moved as his expression did. To Minako it was a bizarre look to say the least, almost like a reverse teardrop shape with bright circus clown color palettes.

Teddie's outburst did seem to make Yu sad as he flinched and looked down somewhat ashamed. The tension in the room was palpable before some kind of confrontation took place. Yosuke stepped towards Yu and everyone knew that he was ready for conflict. Yu begrudgingly walked forward to meet him and for a brief moment it felt like time slowed, everyone saw Yosuke raise a fist. The next thing Minako was aware of was the sound of flesh hitting flesh. She looked over and saw that Yu had caught Yosuke's fist in his palm.

"I'm going to give you one last chance, Yosuke," Yu said evenly, nearly monotonously. To Minako, his words sounded hollow, like he couldn't afford to let himself feel anything at this point. "You don't have to help me, but you do have to get out of my way."

"No," Yosuke said with a growl. "Not gonna happen!"

Yu clenched his free hand and punched Yosuke in the face. Yosuke stumbled backwards but he caught himself before falling. He ran forward and charged his shoulder into Yu's stomach. The momentum lifted him off the ground and the two went further down the corrupted station.

Kanji was about to go and help Yu when Teddie leapt on his back again and his small wily form kept narrowly avoiding being grabbed by the larger boy. Minako would have been impressed about his agility in the bear suit if she did not have her own problems to worry about. She looked at Chie and saw that she looked desperate to help, but Yukiko's gaze was glued to her and it seemed like Chie did not want to come to blows with her.

Minako however had no such qualms as she suddenly ran at Yukiko and called, "Chie help them!" Yukiko attempted to throw her fan to stop Chie, but Minako leapt in the way. Minako felt the pain a moment after as the impact had been greater than she was expecting. The strange reality they found themselves in seemed to supply Yukiko with more fans. Minako realized that this must have been her weapon and she intended for these throws to hurt. Minako held out her hand and a long spear with a curved blade appeared in it. If this world could make her more powerful, then it must be a space where the Persona can be manifested. Meaning all of the protections there would apply. Hopefully the others realized this soon.

Minako spun the spear in her hand expertly as the year of battle with the Shadows came back to her. Even eight years inside a seal was not going to stop her from being the wild card she was meant to be. Yukiko unleashed a barrage of fan throws and Minako swept the weapon, slicing and bashing them in the air. Yukiko made the approach difficult as her aim was disturbingly precise. Minako swept the spear blocking another fan and leapt through the air. She lunged the spear forward when a dark tendril suddenly appeared before her and deflected her attack, it then lashed forward and sent Minako flying backwards.

Minako tried to get her vision straight as she watched Chie do a low sweeping kick at Yosuke who nimbly leapt over the attack. Continuing her spin, Chie launched herself up with the other leg and forced Yosuke to block with both of his arms and Yu charged him from behind and his arm was suddenly caught by a man who had not been there before.

He was clad in a yellow jumpsuit, a white cloak over his shoulders and a tall golden mask over his face. The man threw Narukami back effortlessly and Minako watched as he tumbled backwards across the station platform. Kanji leapt through the air like a wild man possessed, but he was caught by another of the dark tendrils and thrown against the ceiling and falling back to the ground with a heavy impact. Chie attempted to perform a flying kick at the man but he sidestepped the attack and suddenly revealed a gold staff with a spiky morningstar atop it. He swung the staff and sent Chie to the ground.

"So you are the others who have chosen to deny ideal reality?" The golden figure asked with genuine curiosity.

Yu struggled back to his feet and as he did, a sheathed katana made itself manifest in his left hand. "Yeah, that's us. So you must be Maruki," Yu said between heavy breaths. "Got to say, you're a lot more human than the last god I had to protect humanity from."

"Protect humanity? From me?" Maruki asked. "I have given humanity its ideal world, I have saved the distraught from their sorrow and the victims from their villains. Why would humanity need to be protected from me?"

Minako struggled to her feet and said, "How about stagnating humanity and forcing them to live the life you plan for them. Or that you're actively letting a God have his way with humanity. There's a couple of thoughts."

Maruki looked over at Minako and a dark tendril suddenly lashed out and covered her mouth. "Quiet, I am talking to the Wild Card," Maruki replied with a slight twitch of his eye. Minako struggled against the tendril but it was almost impossible to get her fingers under it to even try to pry it away from her mouth. Her breathing became labored.

Yu leapt forward and swung his sheathed blade at Maruki and was caught by his hand. "Let her go!" Yu demanded as he swung his feet forward. Maruki dropped him and he rolled off his back onto his feet and swung the weapon again. A larger shadow loomed over Maruki as Kanji suddenly leapt through the air, arcing over Teddie, and grabbed onto Maruki's back. Both attacks found their mark and Maruki launched them both back with tendrils, but they had their desired effect as Minako felt herself drop down and she could breathe easily.

"I see you are not willing to talk. I will simply take those who would defend this world and be on my way then," Maruki said with a cold tone. Yosuke, Yukiko, and Teddie were dragged towards Maruki by the black tendrils. The four of them all disappeared. Yu slammed his fist into the ground.

Everyone there was quiet. What had just happened? Yu stood up and walked over to each of the remaining Persona-users and helped them to their feet and checked on their wellbeing. When he got to Minako he made doubly sure to make sure that she was not feeling any adverse effects from the constriction of her breathing.

"No light-headeness?" Yu asked, this being the sixth or seventh symptom he asked her about.

Minako smiled and just said, "I'm fine Yu, I'm more worried about Naoto and Rise. They didn't come here with us and are probably wondering how an entire room of people disappeared into thin air." He nodded and turned away. As he turned, Minako's mouth turned to a frown. The constriction had reminded her of the seal, completely silent, watching existence pass her by, and feeling completely helpless. The sting of tears came back but she held it back. This was not the time. She could cry herself to sleep later.

Yu gestured for her to come over and he took out his phone. "We're heading back," Yu said. "I think I just gotta hit this button here." The group nodded and the air around them twisted and distorted again. Soon the air about them became fresh and clear. Minako looked around and saw Naoto and Rise sitting on a nearby bench. A quick glance outside confirmed her worst fear. It was noticeably darker than when they left.

"Senpai!" Rise called out as she noticed their reappearance. She ran across the platform and hugged Yu. The quiet rumble of the upcoming train caught everyone's attention.

Yu's head perked up from its spot atop Rise's in their embrace as he asked, "How long were we in there?"

"A little over one hundred fifty minutes," Naoto replied as she made her way to the group. "I'll need to inquire about where you went, once we can guarantee some kind of privacy, Senpai."

Yu nodded. He seemed to fall into deep thought.

"What's up, Leader?" Chie asked.

"There are others waiting for us in Tokyo. I just don't know when would be a good time to go," Yu pondered.

"This is all a fake reality," Naoto commented. "Any decision we make will have no real world consequences if we are successful." The young detective made a good point. Minako also wanted to go and see her friends. The train gave a small honk as it approached and a voice began to play over the speakers.

"Yasoinaba. Yasoinaba. The train to Tokyo will be leaving in sixty minutes."

The train slowed and gave a small whine as it approached. "So do we go or do we stay?" Kanji asked. Everybody looked at each other and without words, they all nodded. "Then we need to get tickets."

"I'll get them," Yu said. He made his way off the platform. The door to the train opened and Minako's world slowed down. The maroon peacoat and beanie were unmistakable. The shaggy brown hair looked as soft as the day she died in his lap. The emotions were overwhelming, but she could not bring herself to run to him. This was not her Shinjiro, afterall. The ache in her heart felt like a tightness that would not leave. Her body shook as she stepped into the back of the group, praying that the distance would alleviate her of this pain.

Shinjiro looked over at the group and he made eye contact with Minako. His gaze was cold for a moment before his eyes widened. He walked forward, forcing the Inaba teens to dodge out of his way. He stopped before her.

The two of them stared at each other for a long moment and Minako looked at the ground as the tears finally began falling. Shinjiro stepped forward and said, "You moron." The young man wrapped his arms around her and supported her weight as her legs gave out.

"I-I-I-" Minako stuttered betweens sobs. "I love you too, Shinjiro."

The world fell silent before suddenly, piercing the quiet was Chie suddenly saying, "Wait, what?!"

Yu came back into the room and saw the new developments. He walked over to his friends who filled him in as much as they could.

"So he just got off the train?" Yu asked.

"Correct," Naoto answered.

"You brought me back too," Shinjiro said out loud. Minako hummed. "That makes three now."

Minako sniffed as she tried to get her emotions back under control. "We all loved you, you dummy. You were just too busy hating yourself to notice."

After another quiet moment, Yu cleared his throat and said, "Not to spoil the moment, but uh, I don't think you guys really want an audience for your big reunion."

Minako got her feet back under her as she wiped away her tears. "Shinji, these are the Investigation Team. They're Persona-users like us."

Shinjiro turned to them and said, "So you're the ones, huh? Which one of you is Yu Narukami?"

"That would be me," Narukami said as stepped forward. Shinjiro looked at him and observed him closely.

"That makes sense," Shinjiro replied. "You remind me of Ren and Minato."

"What about me?" Minako asked, mock offended.

Shinjiro looked at her and deadpanned, "I'm not dating them. It's different."

"Why you looking for Yu?" Kanji asked. "Aren't you from the past or some shit?"

Shinjiro paused for a moment before he decided to ignore the second question. "Yu, I'm here to give you a warning. Minato isn't going to be the ally you were hoping for. He isn't taking the potential threat of Erebus coming back seriously," Shinjiro explained.

"What?" Yu and Minako both asked suddenly. Minako's exclamation was much more outraged than Yu, who seemed more inquisitive than anything else.

Shinjiro simply nodded and said, "He has a decent theory if you're looking for blind hope and dumb luck. But he's willing to wager the world on a few months of a perfect life with his friends."

"What theory?" Minako asked.

"Everyone in this world is living idealized lives," Shinjiro explained. "Which means that nobody should be wishing for death, and therefore Erebus has no power source."

"What exactly do you know about Erebus's power source?" Yu asked.

Minako however, spoke up and said, "Erebus is the manifestation of humanity's desire for destruction. More specifically their grief and negative emotion. When he is called by our emotions strongly enough, he is supposed to awaken Nyx, who sleeps in the moon, to destroy us."

"So in other terms, Minato Arisato is wagering that if everyone in the world is living their ideal lives, then Erebus no longer has a power source, and would not be prompted to go and awaken Nyx," Naoto summarized. "I don't know how much water that theory holds."

"What do you mean, Naoto?" Rise asked.

"It is true, until a few hours ago, you were all living idealistic lives. But as soon as Yu approached you about the subject, you didn't just remember, but regained your original forms physically as well. Maruki's world is an illusion," Naoto explained. Naoto nodded at the explanation. But it suddenly brought up a thought to mind. If realizing that this reality was fake was causing people to revert to their normal forms, why did she not return to the seal by default?

Yu then said, "Which is why my Wild Card power works on destroying it. It's a falsehood. A fog obstructing the truth. Which must be why Margaret is worried that Izanami might return."

"Wait," Chie asked suddenly. "You mean that person who created that Origami-sashimi thing?"

"What?" Shinjiro asked.

"Ameno-Sagiri," Naoto clarified. "Our personal Nyx."

"Man, its been awhile since you said something so ridiculous Chie, Yukiko would have been laughing like crazy about that," Kanji said dully. It seemed that he was not one for emotional outbursts that were not of the anger and wrathful varieties, but the comment seemed to bring all of the Inaba kids down. Minako realized that she was going to have to get them back on track.

"So, with my… other version being a stick in the mud, what do we do now?" she asked.

Yu seemed to recover quickly as he said, "We have to stick to the plan. Head to Tokyo and meet up with Ren and his Phantom Thieves."

"Phantom what?" Rise asked.

"What Thieves?" Chie asked.

"Who?" Kanji remarked.

"Senpai, who are the Phantom Thieves?" Naoto asked.

"I'll explain on the train," Yu said as he looked at his phone's clock and saw that the departure time was rapidly approaching. Minako was thankful that he seemed to have a head for time. Shinjiro showed his roundtrip ticket to the group, which meant that they were good to get on board. The large group of teens all picked seats in the middle of the car, thankful that the car seemed to be otherwise empty.

"Ok, so Phantom Thieves?" Rise asked as they all settled in for the ride.

Yu took a moment to organize his information before he explained. "So, to begin with, I received this information from a third party. So take all of this with a grain of salt. In 2016, Ren Amamiya, attempted to save a woman from a corrupt politician and in the process caused the man injury. This turned into a lawsuit that put him on probation. During his probation he was given the ability to go to something called the Metaverse where he could affect the unconscious of corrupt people and 'steal their hearts.' They created a group called the Phantom Thieves specifically designed for getting the wicked and corrupt to admit to their crimes."

"So that was basically the name they gave their Investigation Team?" Kanji asked.

Chie nodded and said, "That is such a cool name. We should get a cool name like that."

"Not really the point, Chie," Minako said as she held in a small chuckle. Minako remembered her earlier concern. "So, if remembering the truth returned all of you guys back to normal, why am I still here?" she asked.

The question was met with resounding silence and for a brief moment, Minako was certain that just voicing the concern had suddenly ripped her from reality and returned her to the solitude of the seal. The tears dappled the corners of her eyes until she suddenly regained her sense of self.

"Ren has a friend who, like myself, was brought back from the dead. There's an idea I have been toying with since I've been alive," Shinjiro said. "We are tied to this version of reality. We won't go away, not as long as Maruki keeps up the illusion."

"But then why is the seal empty?" Rise asked. "If this is all an illusion, then the seal should be unaffected."

"Not quite," Naoto replied as she closed her eyes in deliberation. "You all reverted to your original state. The seal is a construct of the world which has been overwritten by the false reality. Like Saki, Shinjiro and Minako are being manifested by an ideal world. An ideal world that no longer has a seal. If we are a product of the original reality now caught in a fake one, then they are the product of the fake reality, detached from the real one. The fact of the matter is that Maruki can't make Erebus or Nyx go away, but he can certainly make the seal go away. Based on this information, Minako is both here and not here."

"Does that mean," Chie started, "that anything we do to help her, is just being done to help an illusion. Is there really nothing we can do for her?"

"I might be too soon to call," Yu said. Minako was surprised by how well we tackled impossibilities. Maybe too willing to dive head first. The group fell quiet and soon it became evident just how tired they were all becoming after this long day. Like clockwork, people were beginning to fall asleep, even Shinjiro after a long day of travel dozed off. Soon the only two of them who were still awake were Minako and Rise, as even the mighty and confident Yu began to fade into the haze of sleep.

"Minako?" Rise asked.

Minako looked over at her and saw a troubled look on her face. "Rise? What's wrong?"

"Are you okay? You seem off since you guys disappeared earlier," Rise explained. This remark caught Minako off guard.

She remembered the tendril and how it had smothered her, stolen her voice. "I," Minako said as she nearly choked on the memory. "I was scared. I've been… locked up for eight years, Rise. Silent, alone. When you're like that, time has no meaning after a while. You can't tell if your awake or asleep. If the darkness is real, or just your lack of sense. So when you suddenly wake up, everything that reminds you of that prison..." Minako felt the tears come back in earnest as she could not help herself but emerge herself in the feelings as she spoke. "It just fucks me up inside." The words escaped her mouth before she could realize what she was saying. Rise grabbed Minako's hand and led her back a couple of rows away from the group. They sat down and for the second time today, Minako found herself being embraced.

"Oh, Minako," Rise said with a sad voice. The two of them could think of no further words to speak as Minako cried and soon the two began to fall asleep, Minako's head on Rise's shoulder and Rise with hand on Minako's like she was hanging on to her.