Persona X TWEWY X Kingdom Hearts
Summary: Trapped in an unfair game? Fighting against society? Changing the hearts of evil adults? Save the world? Discovering oneself? Nothing out of the ordinary for these teenagers.
Chapter Nineteen:
Truths coming out.
*Afternoon: Tuesday 4/26*
*Six days until Expulsion*
*Wildkat*
With the gang assembled at the hip café in Udagawa, coffees, sodas and teas with snacks deposited equally, they all settled into the gathered-up couches and seats. Following the end of the school day, the party immediately headed for the café for everyone to come clean with whatever Mr H and Sora's group had been keeping to themselves, while the leader of the Phantom Thieves had been heavily debating about his side of this circle of secrecy between them all.
Worryingly enough that pointy nosed goblin hadn't dragged him back into the Velvet Room since Kamoshida's Palace's destruction, which he was convinced that must have been part of his training to become a thief. Yet nothing last night, he got some sleep at least and even know without certainty that the change of heart had indeed occurred he was more anxious about whatever Igor had instore for him. Least with the expulsion he knew what the worst thing that could happen, and not entirely ruin his life…possibly…
"So nobody else knows shit 'bout Kamo-dickhead?" Beat asks after taking a massive sip of his drink, and after a stern glare from Rhyme held back a belch.
"Nope. All we know is what Kawakami told those three," Riku said, gesturing to Neku, Naminé and Ryuji, "He's taken a day off and likely with putting himself under suspicion he won't be coming back to Shujin for a while".
"Do you think it's a sign of a changed heart?" Kairi asks as she sipped her tea, "I mean Kawakami did say the tournament wasn't far off, I can't imagine he would miss a chance to show off".
"I really hope so…" Ren sighs after sipping his coffee, "But we don't have any other options other than waiting for the board meeting".
"Couldn't we spy on him?" asked Xion.
"That's a whole kind of illegal…and if Ren took part in it…" Neku replied dryly, silencing Xion's suggestion. He waved his hand and stated that Kamoshida was off limits to them and just as Ren said, all the thieves can do is just wait for the board meeting to happen and then pray their efforts will pay off. "I think now's the time we finally get whatever we're keeping from each other out there and done with,". There are several looks of hesitation and reluctance from everyone attending, many of the guardians looking equally restless and uneased by this whole ordeal.
However the first to speak was Riku.
"Guess we'll go first…" he says, placing his mug on the table and folds his arms, "So…first off…we're not from this world".
"Yo you keep sayin' that. The hell's that mean?" Ryuji asked with a groan. Rolling his eyes at the simplicity of the punk, Riku clarifies that himself and the others don't belong in Shibuya, that the world they came from was different to theirs in more ways then just another country. "The world I, Sora and Kairi came from is Destiny Islands, a world that's worryingly close to the Realm of Darkness," he explains and when Ryuji opened his mouth, he stopped him. "That's another subject for another time, let me explain how the worlds work first before anything else".
To give an example to his friends, Riku explains that technology here, while most it may seem like the norm for them, to the islanders back home this would be considered sci-fi levels of advancement. How back home they relied on more medieval and simpler methods of lifestyles and how they survived off the sea and land as opposed to commerce like Shibuya and all of Japan. Even something as mundane as a phone would be considered too advance for the islanders.
"So your world is in the past? Are you all from the past?" Ren asked, raised brow. "Not exactly. Its just our world is set like that, while yours is advancing in a sense. There are other worlds who are in various points in time, be they further ahead or farther behind," Riku explains. Each world was different to each other, where one world could be in a fantasy land of knights, dragons, and princesses, and then another world could be something out of somebodies dream. Vast and varied like story books, and Sora even revealed a world could exist even IN a story book.
"See, years ago, long before our time, the worlds were all just one world," he revealed and thus divulged the details about how one world became many worlds. He did his best to avoid telling them about the keyblade war, refusing to mention the man who had taken so much from them, and the less Sora and Kairi hear about him the better. His words had captured the others attention easily, and slowly his serious detailing shifted into Sora joining in and talking about all kinds of worlds they had seen.
"So is there like, a rule that worlds can't know about each other or something?" Eri asks, "Cause the way you guys were hiding all that made it seem like if someone else knew about other worlds it be bad news!".
"Well yeah, there kinda is…" Sora says, scratching his cheek, "See…my friend told me that those who travel between worlds are advised to avoid meddling in the affairs of other worlds, and informing their inhabitants of the existence of other worlds, to maintain a balance of separation".
"Balance of separation?" Rhyme asked.
"In a way, you can look at it as if it's a bigger rule then the worst-case scenario," Riku offers, "Say for example, someone with horrible intention learns of other worlds and finds a way off".
"Like Kamoshida…" Ren huffs, "Yeah, I can see why keeping it a secret was a big deal…".
"But wait, if the whole world order thing about keeping other worlds a big secret, then why do YOU guys know about them?" Ann asked.
"Because we're keyblade wielders," Riku says, "Our job is to protect the realm of light, IE, the worlds, from the heartless". He explains that the heartless are more than just monsters that can, apparently, appear in the Metaverse. They exist beyond that realm and could in any world that contains darkness. Naminé kindly explains what the creatures were, evil beings of pure darkness that feed off hearts of humans, or mortals in general, within the realm of light. The heartless they fought back in the Metaverse were just a variation they usually take on whenever they wished to become stronger or blend in.
"The heartless are drawn by the darkness in people's hearts. The more selfish, greedy, cruel or just plain evil you are the stronger the darkness within becomes, and the stronger that becomes, the more likely the heartless will be drawn to it," she explained, "Kamoshida's Shadow was one of the more darkest hearts we've seen, and likely if his heart was just as blackened in the real world, he would have been turned into a heartless".
"Is that how he was able to summon heartless, or why they listened to him back in the Palace?" Morgana inquires, "Because they weren't so different from shadows".
"That's up for debate…he didn't seem to be able to tell what the difference between a shadow or a heartless was," Riku remarked, "Its more likely he was oblivious". It did spark a short conversation between them, Kairi wondering aloud if the heartless stole his heart while in the Metaverse, what exactly would happen to him in the real world. The gang all unanimously agreed it was probably for the best that this stays as a theory that remained untested.
"The heartless are responsible for a lot of issues happening to other worlds, so in order to counter them, the realm of light has Guardians of Light, warriors who fight to protect the realm from darkness," Riku further explains, "And that's what we are".
"Umm…are you guys following okay?" Kairi asked, gesturing the very confused and lost Ann and Ryuji, both rubbing their heads.
"We…can stop for a bit if you need a break…" Roxas offers.
"Nah dude…w-we're good…I mean, how much more complicated can this get?" Ryuji asked with exasperated grin.
"…well…" Riku starts…
*Twenty Minutes Later…*
Not even Ren or Neku could help but rub their temples with exhaustion and a bit of strain on their mental states, taking deep breaths. Part of them truly wished they hadn't asked about Sora's background or the whole guardians of light ordeal, it was more overloading than they had anticipated and judging from how the guardians looked it might have been much for them as well. Even Rhyme was having a hard time wrapping her mind around all this, and she was probably the smartest one between them all.
Least they fared better than Ann and Ryuji, who were both pressing ice to their heads.
Riku had given the team the breakdown of their roles as guardians and keyblade wielders, explaining the heartless, the world order, and even how they all ended up in Shibuya. Though he kept the keyblade war, the bringer of destruction and the more sensitive information out of it, excusing the separation of the gang caused by a terrible play fate. Their abilities were explained to the best of his ability, and they were backed up by Beat and Neku.
And then came probably their biggest mind-blowing subject, the other four guardians. Especially when Eri asked if by chance the three boys and girls were triplets while Riku was the lonely child, and the moment she asked the seven became sheepishly quiet and Kairi even tried to steer the conversation to something less confusing, only to have Ren inquire more about the subject. Reluctantly, Naminé was the one who explained the ordeal and their origins as gently and patiently as she could.
It…didn't go so well.
"So you three don't technically exist and Ven is the…form…thing, Roxas took when Sora…died?" Neku asks, running his hand through his hair.
"Err…in a…sense?" Riku sighed, running his hand though his hair, mimicking Neku. He truly had no idea how baffling this all sounded now that he explained it to their friends, and truth be told if he were the one receiving this information he'd swear the person was an escapee from an asylum.
"YOU DIED!?" Morgana shrieked, looking at Sora.
"Y-Yeah…I uh…I mean…kinda…?" Sora asked, rubbing the back of his neck with unease and even his smile was shaky. But when the cat was about to ask more on the matter, Kairi took Sora's hand and Ren petted his head, ceasing him and with a firm shake of his head, he ended that line of question. "But you three are nobodies who eventually grew hearts of your own…?" he asked, looking at the three, then with a small smirk, he added, "I suppose if you hung around Sora long enough it was bound to happen, huh?".
"That's one way to look at it…" Roxas hums, "Bit of a pain getting our bodies though…but hey, we got it".
"But Xion isn't a nobody like you and Naminé? She's…what did you say she was again?" Shiki asked.
"Xion is…sorry, was, a replica that was created from Sora's memories while using Kairi's body as a construction," Naminé explained, and firmly ended any attempts to question more. She wasn't going to divulge that level of information to the others, at least not until Xion deemed the time right. The questioning looks from the ones keeping up with this level of information lingered, until Beat scratched his head with a confused look. "Wait, you said Xion over there was…made from Sora's memories…but she's got Kairi's body?" he asked.
"I mean it is more complicated than that but in a nutshell, that's right. Why?" Naminé asked.
"Jus'…way you say it…kinda sounds like she's their kid…" he says. Several eyes turned on him, and when Naminé opened her mouth to correct him, she pauses and then reflects on her words…then blushed softly. Kairi's eyes widened while Sora's jaw drops, but they both shared the same deep red coloured cheeks while Xion, sitting between them, looked between her two "creators" with an innocent look. Riku snickers profusely with Ventus and Roxas groaned.
"…l-lets move on…" Naminé squeaks quietly while Xion grinned innocent and her creators just remained silent.
"Hold up!" Ryuji says tiredly and even hissed in pain, before he sat up and continued: "If you guys can do all that kind of shit, why the hell can't ya do that in the Metaverse?".
"First off all, Naminé isn't a keyblade wielder…but as for the rest of us…" Kairi says, before she falters and then goes quiet. Neku and his fellow players noticed the girl's hesitance and realize they weren't going to talk about the Reaper's Game. He shares a glance with his friends, Beat's eyes glowed with resolve while Rhyme and Shiki, though reluctant, nodded in agreement to finally speak about the game.
"…think its time we said our piece," Neku sighed, "Since in their defence, the reason they aren't as powerful there is because of the Game Mr H mentioned". The others glanced at the four, where Neku reveals their side. "You know how my powers don't really work like you guys? All that telepathic stuff I can do? Or when Shiki can control Mr Mew?" he asks, just so everyone was on the same page as him. When they nodded, he revealed to the party what Mr H meant about the "Game", and how it worked.
"Have you guys ever heard of the Reapers' Game?" he asked.
Surprising everyone, Ryuji pipped up about hearing some urban legend stuff about it. "A while back there was this bizarre story going around Shibuya. That when some people die, they end up in another world where monsters exist…but weirdest thing is they came back a week later even after dying…" he says. "Not much of a legend…we played it," Neku sighed.
"About two years ago now…" Shiki says with a small unhappy frown.
"What exactly IS the Reapers' Game?" Ren asked.
"In layman's terms? The purpose of the Game is to determine who is worthy enough to be rewarded in the afterlife, or to be given a second chance at life, and to hopefully improve that individual through their experiences in the Game," Neku explained, "Kinda like a very intense rehab".
"Each game usually lasts one week," Rhyme added, "The Reapers give you missions each day, and all you do is complete them. Be they puzzles, find a discrepancy, hide and seek or eliminating noise".
"…eliminating noise? Like, turning off stereos or something?" Ann asks, scratching her head.
"N-No, Ann…they're monsters that exist within the UG, or the Reapers' Game," clarified the girl. She explains the UG, or the Underground, is a parallel plane of existence stacked above the Realground, RG, used to conduct the Reapers' Game. It is created and ruled by a Composer, the one who leads the Reapers within their territory. "Hold on a second, if your fighting monsters, what the hell do you use to protect yourselves with?", the model asks.
"You know the psych abilities we've been using in the Metaverse with our Personas?" Rhyme says, "That's called psych, or psychic power if you will, which allows use to use our minds along with Player Pins". Neku pulls out the said pin from his pocket, showing the gang the item in question. "See these pins are given to you when you first enter the game, and these prevent from players being imprinted or scanned".
"Scanned?" Ren asked, "As in having your mind scanned?".
"Yup," Shiki says, "And the pins Neku's been using are kinda similar. Like each of them have their own use, like pyrokinesis".
Shiki showed them her pin she used to use back in the game days, which was a "Groove Pawn". Basically it allows her to control Mr Mew through her mind as if she were controlling a puppet, while Beat showed off his "Respect" pin which was more neutral damage inducing pin and he used it for his skateboard back then. Rhyme admits she didn't have a pin of her own due to a circumstances that occurred in the game, but the ones Neku provided her served her better then the old ones.
"The game we were part of ended years back, and since then I've barely heard anything about it from Mr H," Neku said, "But that's not to say there hasn't been any games occurring since then".
"Jeez…but wait a second, why did you guys partake in it?" Morgana asked. The four looked away before there were ghosts of an expression on their faces, namely Neku's skin turning white. He takes a breath and faces the others and says: "You don't get a choice…and the only way to enter the game is to be killed…".
Neku reveals the methods the Reapers' use to bring players into the game, and laments that the four of them were no different. Then he talked about how each of them had an entry fee to pay for partaking the game, which was varied between them. Which made him look at Sora and say: "So if I heard right, your entry fees were not being able to use your abilities?". Sora nodded, gesturing to Roxas and the others, and said they were in the same boat as he and Riku the moment they ended up in the Metaverse.
Neku cupped his chin in thought, saying: "That's a switch…usually the entry fee is something important to you, like memories, a trinket…something you can't live without".
"But Mr H said this game was different…like it's a game between the composer and this Igor guy…" Roxas said, "And who are they?".
"The Composer is the big boss man of the game…" Beat says, "That prissy kid who ran the show". Riku crossed his arms before he hummed. "Prissy kid…wait…you mean Joshua?" he asked looking to the boys, "Silvery hair? Fancy clothes? Very punch worthy face?".
"Bingo," Neku huffed, "Yeah he's the one in charge of the reapers game". He explained Joshua to the others, and how he was the one who brought Neku into the game in the first place. And even after everything that's happened he was still absent from their lives. "When did you guys see him last?" Kairi inquired, and in response Beat said about a week after they came back from the game. Since then he went radio silent on the gang and not even Neku could reach him. "So the fact he started a new game without us knowing is a Joshua thing to do…but here's what's bothering me about all this," Neku says, "First off, we're not in the UG, and as far as I remember the Metaverse is an entirely different thing compared to it.
"And if what you said was right, you need to be in the UG to use psych, right?" Sora asked. Neku nodded, and there Riku informs him of their discovery.
"When we were scouting out the lower regions of the Palace…we found Players there looking for one of those skulls," he revealed, "And they could use psych without a Persona". The players share a glance of confusion while Ren and co listened with more questions being created within their minds. "Does that mean there is some form of the UG's gimmick within the Metaverse? Or could it be possible that the composer allowed them to use psych without the need of a Persona?" Ren theorised. He then hummed and said: "Wait…is it entirely possible, that there's a connection between Sora's team not being able to use their abilities with your group's restrictions?".
"What do you mean?" Rhyme asked.
"Think of it like this, if Sora and his friends didn't have their abilities taken away, and if Neku's team could use their psych from the get-go, combined with our Personas, Kamoshida wouldn't have been even a tenth of a threat to us," Ren explains, "So my guess is these restrictions is your composers way of evening the playing field".
"For real!? You tellin' me these guys are that strong!?" Ryuji asked, looking at them, especially Xion. Naminé hummed in agreement to Ren's theory, adding that Sora and Riku, together or alone, would have been a force not even an entire army of shadows could even think to stop them. Which gives Ren's theory some weight, until she asked: "But why would Joshua want to give this Igor an advantage?".
"And why would he train me?".
The party glanced at Ren, who was cleaning his glasses before returning them back to where they belonged. "…for the past few nights I've been brought to a place that resembles a jail. And there's this goblin like man, named Igor". He sits up and continues: "He brought me to a place called the Velvet Room, a place that only those "bound by contract" are allowed to enter. And according to him, the room represents my heart, which took on the form of a jail".
"Bound by contract? What's that supposed to mean?" Ryuji asked.
"I'm assuming its akin to an entry free for the Reapers' Game…but he said I'm a prisoner of fate, and that ruin awaits me," Ren sighed. "Well considering what could have happened with Kamoshida? Think Igor might be right about that".
"But is there a way to stop it? I mean you don't even know what ruin he could be referring to," Rhyme offers, "Maybe it's a forewarning about your probation?".
"I don't know…he said I needed to be rehabilitated in order to gain my freedom and have the resolve to face the distortion of the world," he reveals. "Distortion of the world…? The hell is that supposed to be!?" Ryuji asked, "Like the end of the world? Doomsday!?".
"He didn't say…" Ren admitted, "But he was the one who gave us, or rather me, the app". He revealed that those who connected to him through bonds are fated to become Phantom Thieves, and that he himself was being trained to become a thief. He also revealed that even if he tried to refuse to partake in this game, an even worse fate awaits for them. "So either you accept whatever challenge he gives you…or your screwed", Neku huffed, "Sounds familiar".
"So Igor and Joshua created this new game, but does that mean Ren is Igor's chosen player or is he on our team?" Kairi asks, "I mean Igor was the one who reached out to Ren and introduced him to all this, so wouldn't that mean he's on his team?".
"If that was the case, why would Igor give Sora and Neku the navigator app?" Ren says, "And if I'm right chances are anyone we encounter who joins us or if Ven and the others get their Personas, they'll have the app as well".
"That's true. Riku and Kairi were the only ones who got the app after we escaped from the Metaverse," Ventus reminds, and checks his phone, "And I've still got nothing on mine".
"Which means Igor is still providing us with ways to become Phantom Thieves," Morgana says, "So if Ren was on his team exclusively, he wouldn't have given Sora and Neku a way in".
"Then its not so much as a versus game…so its not like their pitting teams against each other," Riku says, "Otherwise we'd never would have teamed up against Kamoshida".
"But all of them rule changes…the hell is that prissy kid up to?" Beat grumbles, "Mean, we have to be dead to be in the UG…but that Meta-whatever lets us go wild with Personas and shit?".
"If those players Sora and the others encountered could use psych without Personas, I think it is highly likely to compensate they were allowed to use psych without them, or even more likely they were already dead," Rhyme says.
"But then, how did they enter the Metaverse?" Ann asks, "I mean if I'm getting all this right, you need the navigator app to get there first, and that UG thingy was a…what, other dimension? So how does that work?".
"…maybe Joshua is giving them a way into the Metaverse?" Ventus offers, "I mean if he's going out of his way to make sure we can't access our full might without Personas, maybe he's got Igor helping him getting players into the Metaverse".
"Like a cheat app?" Xion asked, "Or do you guys think the game is taking place in the Meta-versey-worsey too?".
"You never know with a guy like Joshua…" Neku grumbled.
"Dear god…" Eri says, laying back on the couch, "I think my head's gonna explode from all this…info dump…". The others looked at the obviously disorientated girl and nobody else looked any better from all this. They all settled down in their seats, taking a break from the explanation and allowing themselves to take it all in. The people bar the guardians were trying to wrap their minds around everything that's happened. Other worlds, heartless, the game and now realizing they were all part of a bigger game that could bring them ruin.
Each of them were trying to comprehend all this information, and when they were just adapting to one bizarre thing suddenly they had two more to deal with. Sora accepted pretty much everything Ren and Neku told him, heck this was normal to him at this point, but he could see Ren and Neku's concerns within their eyes and a horrible sense of guilt settled in the bottom of his stomach. He didn't want to imagine how the others were coping with all this.
"So…if Ren's in rehabilitation in order to avoid ruin…does that mean we're all in the same boat, or something?" Eri asks, "Like so far its all about his quote unquote rehabilitation, but what about the rest of us?".
"Did Igor say anything about us? Apart from being connected to you?" Ann asked.
"…no…but he kept referring Sora and Neku as "Guardian" and "Player".
"So that means we've some connection to your rehabilitation…" Neku hummed, "And us being brought together wasn't by chance then".
"You think Joshua and Igor planned this from the start?" Sora asked.
"No way all of us being part of this was a chance of fate…" Ren says, "Nothing like this just happens…". He then sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling softly before he says: "Look…I know this is a lot to take in for all of us, so for now perhaps we should just, put a pin on this for now". He looked at everyone and reminds them that until they know for certain Kamoshida's heart has been changed entirely and that their efforts were for naught, none of this would matter if they failed. The party all nodded, and some voiced their agreements despite Morgana stressing it will work.
"So how long until that board meeting?" Ryuji asked.
"Six days…" Shiki reminds softly, "And that's if Kamoshida doesn't do anything".
"Well he's put himself under self-suspension, before the tournament," Kairi says, "I've a good feeling that maybe the change of heart has occurred, but until the day actually comes we can't rule out anything, can we?".
"Looks like it," Morgana sighed, "Just keep your heads down and be good students until then". The thieves nodded before they all started to disperse and head home. All the while having questions about whatever fates lied in stored for them.
*Leblanc*
Joker: "Hey? King? Reaper?".
Reaper: "Yeah? What's up?".
Joker: "Are you guys, doing anything tomorrow after school?".
King: "Not really".
Reaper: "Yeah same".
Joker: "Would you guys be up to hang out? I could really do with something normal tomorrow and…".
Joker: "I need some friends to talk to".
King: "Of course".
Reaper: "There's a curry shop at Dogenzaka, we can hang there and ate. My treat".
Joker: "Thanks guys. See you tomorrow".
A/N:
And there I was thinking: "Wow I'll never top that chapter in my previous story's exposition…".
How wrong I was.
So this is a short chapter and, not a great one, but the lore is out there and at least its not KH levels of confusing! So I call that a win!
Okay so now we're entering the downtime chapter, where we get to see the heroes chill or bond up to the deadline, so if anyone has an idea for characters in the next chapter, leave it in your review if you choose to do so!
Questions:
Q1: Thoughts on this exposition/chapter?
Q2: Did I miss anything?
Q3: Curious what this game is about?
Q4: Want to see the Reapers' Game incorporate into the Phantom Thieves missions?
Q5: Wanna see Makoto and Haru?
Q6: Anyone miss Lea and Aqua?
Q7: Joshua anyone?
I'm sorry this wasn't the best chapter and sorry for it being short, but I'm not good at ONE game's lore exposition, let alone three. I promise next one will be a lot better! As always, thanks for reading but more importantly stay safe!