CONTENT WARNING: This chapter contains mentions of parental, sexual and physical abuse, and extremely brief depictions of torture and asphyxiation. While not graphic, this content still may be difficult or upsetting to read, so please take breaks or skip sections as needed. Stay safe.


4/11 – Monday
Evening
Cafe Leblanc

"I heard you were late to school today," Sojiro said. He hadn't even waited for Ren to make it all the way inside. The cafe was empty besides for the two of them. No one to come to Ren's rescue, not that a random customer ever would.

Ren swallowed hard and carefully shut the cafe door behind him. "I'm sorry," he said, quietly. "I got lost. It wasn't..." Wasn't his fault. The plea fell back into his throat, boiling his breath, cooking over the pilot light of his heart. "I didn't mean to be late. It won't...happen again."

The man let the silence stretch. "Okay," he said. One firm nod. "Any other trouble, then? Or just that?"

Ren blinked. "Just that," he said, slowly. Was that all it took? Just a bare minimum of penance, an apology? It was never that easy.

"Good." Sojiro gave a little smile. "And what do you think of Shujin now that it's not empty?"

A test, right? Not like he could bad-talk the place either way. "It was fine," Ren lied. "I mean, I've never...been in a high school, besides this one. But it seems fine." A flash of blond hair in the back of his mind. "I made a friend."

"Oh?" Sojiro said, raising an eyebrow. "Well, that's a good start." He turned to the register, popping it open and starting to pull out bills, counting them by hand. "Keep up the good work, kid."

Good work? Okay. Weird. Ren forced a nod through the confusion, mumbled something that approximated gratitude, and headed upstairs.


Ryuji
yo yo yo
its ryuji btw

Ren
Yo
Frizzy-Hair speaking

Ryuji
lmao shut the fuck up ren
howre you holding up?

Ren
Fine I think
I'm kinda tired, but otherwise no complaints
I didn't get in trouble, so that's good
You?

Ryuji
pretty usual i guess
my mom did that sigh thing she does whenever i get in trouble
made me wanna shove a nail into my hand or something but otherwise im fine

Ren
I'm sorry

Ryuji
its fine dude
i just fucking hate dissapointing her you know?

Ren
Mhm

Ryuji
soooo uh
i mean here goes the question i was never not gonna ask
we going to that palace thing tomorrow?
cuz i mean im fucking going
no question
but itd be great to have you and your demon dude with me
if youre cool tagging along

Ren stared up at the attic's ceiling. He was sticking his nose where it didn't belong, again . Last time, he lost a year of this life. This time...who knows? Those Shadow things had been pretty adamant on murdering him. He might lose a lot more than a year.

But then, there was Arsene. There was the flame that had tickled the back of his throat, the power surging through his veins.

The knife.

Ren kicked off his covers and pivoted his feet over the side. Using his phone as a flashlight, he stole across the attic to the dresser next to the stairs. His bag was where he'd left it earlier, and he pulled it open. Nothing out of the ordinary, not at a glance. He pulled back the inside pocket, and reached inside for the knife he'd left there.

His hands closed around the hilt. His forearm brushed against cold metal.

Ren pulled out the knife. Two-bladed, black hilt. He tossed it up and down in one hand, then placed it down on the table, investigating that pocket again. Running his fingers along the top seam, pulling it back. Metal. Ren pivoted his phone, shining the light inside. The radiance caught a zipper, and the flashlight shut off automatically.

Ren swore under his breath and switched it back on. He felt around that zipper, tracing it from one end to the other. His fingers closed around the slider, tucked in the corner. Had this always been here? Why was his breath catching on nothing? Ren took a deep breath in and pulled back the slider, opening the hidden pocket, shining his light into it.

What...exactly was that? Something thin, oddly colored. Ren reached inside and extracted the object. A parcel envelope. Not empty, it was distinctly full of something. He shook it and the thing rattled. Okay. No address for shipping or return. The only labeling was a single line of thick black block letters:

Do Not Open Until 6/10

Ren blinked at the parcel. He carefully placed it onto the dresser, then returned to the hidden pocket. More tan envelopes. More parcels. One by one, he pulled them out, placed them label-side up onto the dresser. When the pocket was finally empty, he let the bag slump in place and stepped back to examine the arrangement.

Eighteen in total. All the same size, the same nameless brand, each labeled with that same warning. "Do not open" until a specified date from April to November. And the earliest...was today. 4/11.

Ren stepped back away from the dresser, lowering his phone, squeezing his eyes shut. What the fuck was going on? Had someone slipped these into his bag when he was unconscious? Probably along with that mysterious knife with the skull hilt. Ryuji didn't seem the type for that sort of subterfuge, and Morgana had allegedly been chained up before they ran into him. A Shadow, maybe? But...why? For what purpose?

This was beyond bizarre. And those warnings...should he heed them? He didn't have any reason to trust whoever had sent them. But they'd marked them for a reason, and some vague anxiety pulsed in his gut at the thought of seeing something he wasn't meant to. Hm. There was no harm from going in order, at least.

Ren picked up the 4/11 parcel, broke the seal and glanced inside. His breath froze in his throat.

Ren put his phone down. With one arm, he pushed the parcels towards the far end of the dresser, and upturned the 4/11 parcel with the other. A smattering of trinkets made it out first, but those were hardly his focus. He was a little more fixated on the bundles of cash, each wrapped with a labeled paper band. With shaky hands, he picked his phone up again and ran the light over the bundles.

One stack of 10,000 yen bills, labeled as 1,00,000 total. Six stacks of 5,000 yen bills, labeled as 500,000 each. Altogether...Ren's mind stuttered over the math for a solid few seconds. Four million yen. Four million yen. More money than he'd ever seen in one place in his life.

Ren felt lightheaded, and he forced himself to breathe. What the fuck. What the fuck . He shook his head. No. Focus. Trinkets. He dragged his phone's light off of the cash and onto the rest of the parcel's contents.

A yellow bandana. A red sports watch. An ornate blue-metal letter opener. An equally ornate red...stick of some sort, maybe a wand, something like seven inches long and decorated with golden trim. And a neatly folded piece of white paper. Ren took the paper, eyes still tracing the other four objects. Morgana had a bandana just like that, didn't he? Was that a message? And the watch...he'd seen one like it on Ryuji. But the letter opener and the rod were utterly unclear.

Ren unfolded the paper. A note. Addressed to him. Oh, good.

To Ren Amimiya, the Wild Card,

If you are reading this, my Trickster, then you are beginning to remember what you have been made to forget. Your bonds may have been constricted by time and fate, but their link to you can never be severed. The oath your companions have shared with you has granted you strength bordering on infinite. You have exceeded possibility and broken the yoke of your own heart.

Even so, it was not enough. The divine chorus has willed this game continue beyond the grasp of your fate. I ask only of you what you yourself have wished for: a chance at vindication, the opportunity to strike back against the universe for its transgression. To this end, we are placing our faith in you, Trickster.

A simple request, yes, but an unforgivable burden. I am truly sorry that I cannot tell you more. I made a promise, and I plan to keep it, as much as it breaks my heart. I hope you will understand, in time.

I beg you, not to trust my words, but to have faith in your own heart. Trust your instincts. Follow your emotions, believe in the bonds you will form with others. Over these coming months, you will accomplish the impossible. I shall miss you dearly, my friend, but I look forward to meeting you again, when the sky cries blood and the world eats itself alive. Until then, stay strong.

Your friend,
The First and Final
Oxymoron

His eyes traced the words. Once. Twice. He closed them, and opened them again. Ren had 'been made to forget' something? Constricted by time and faith...was this Oxymoron person trying to imply that they knew the future? The dated parcels certainly seemed to indicate some level of determinism to the coming months.

Ren reached up and twisted a strand of hair between his bandana and watch; Morgana and Ryuji. The knife that had fit his hand perfectly. Trickster, the same title that Igor had bestowed him with. Trust his instincts...

Ren's phone buzzed.

Ryuji
yooooo
dude did you pass out or something?

Ren
No, sorry
I got distracted

The distant feeling of red leather traced the back of his left hand. Ren instinctively scratched at his wrist, and winced as his nails scored against that raised line set perpendicular to the vein. Trust his instincts. Trust his instincts.

Ren
Count me in
I'll help however I can
Let's tear that Palace apart

Ryuji
fuck YES thats what im talking about!


4/12 – Tuesday
Enveloped in the Pitch of Night
The Velvet Room

Back here again. This was starting to become predictable.

"Rise, Trickster," came Igor's booming voice.

"I'm on it," Ren mumbled, shifting off of his cell's bed. Back to weird-ass dream business. He shuffled his way over to the bars. Hm. "Hey, where are those kids? The...my wardens." Neither Caroline nor Justine were anywhere to be seen.

"They are of no concern of yours," Igor said, the calmest scolding in the universe. "Caroline and Justine are hard at work preparing for the next step of your rehabilitation. And speaking of..." The man's smile seemed to widen. "It seems you truly have done exactly as I predicted."

"I'm not wearing a mask right now," Ren quipped back. "In case you...couldn't..." His breath stalled. A mask. No, no way. Had the man know somehow? "Arsene. That's what you meant?"

Igor burst into hollow laughter. "The power of Persona. How have you enjoyed making use of such a gift?"

Fuck. Not just the parcels, now his dreams were prophetic? Ren let out a long breath. "You want me to rid the world of distortion. Does that mean, like, the Palaces?"

"Correct," Igor said. "You will seize the Treasures within each Palace you find, and change the hearts of its Ruler. Such are the terms of your rehabilitation." Treasures were new. Something to ask Morgana about, probably. Changing hearts though, that was already sort of the plan.

"Part of the way there," Ren replied. "How do I get back into the Kamoshida's Palace, though? I don't know how I got there in the first place."

Igor raised a hand, palm open towards the ceiling. Sparks of red and black flickered in the air above it, scoring a symbol into the air. An eye set in a black star.

Ren gawked at the man. " You put that virus on my phone?"

"You would be wise not to treat such gifts lightly," Igor said, his voice momentarily slipping low, a vague threat. "And not attempt to remove it from your possession." Ah. Right, yeah, Ren had tried to delete that app something like a dozen times. "You shall know that application as the Metaverse Navigator. It will allow you to travel to and from any Palaces you find, so long as its conditions are met."

Ren nodded slowly. "Another gift," he said. "And I'm guessing the knife and the parcels were your doing too?"

Igor silently stared across the distance. Neither of them said a word for a long few seconds.

"I provided no such gift," the monstrous man replied.

Ren blinked. Huh. "So...do you know anyone named Oxymoron?"

"I do not," Igor said, his booming voice filled with sharp suspicion.

Ren found his throat drying up. He was starting to get the distinct feeling that he'd said something he shouldn't have. Time to course correct. "Oh!" Ren snapped his fingers, making his eyes go wide. "Right! Duh, sorry." He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I had a weird dream the other day, and I just assumed that you did that. Since you contact me when I'm asleep and all."

The man's eyes were the deadliest beads. "I see," he said. Unconvinced, maybe. "I shall...amend that particular vector of misunderstanding." Igor interlocked his fingers. "Caroline and Justine will find you in reality when we next need to speak." He lowered his head, the shadows spilling over his face, obscuring his gaze. "You may depart now, Trickster. The Palace awaits."

If he knew something, he wasn't telling. And for whatever reason...Ren got the impression the man was more clueless than he was letting on. In that case, it seemed he had two benefactors. Igor, and Oxymoron. And no real idea what either of them actually wanted .

Ren turned back towards his cell bed as the chime of distant bells dragged at his consciousness. Regardless, Igor was right. He could let these mysteries simmer on the back burner for the time being.

Now? Now, he had a Palace to return to.

Now, he had a heart to change.


4/12 – Tuesday
After School
Shujin Academy, Entrance

Ren hadn't slept that well, or that much. Even disregarding his trip to the Velvet Room, he'd spent the better half of the night tearing the attic apart for a proper hiding spot. He'd found two: a loose floorboard beneath his bed, and a snug corner of the rafters above it. After attacking both locations with the duster from downstairs, he'd slipped the parcels one by one into the space under the floorboard and snugly tucked the envelope with the cash into the rafters – taping it shut and in place for good measure. Half of a 50 thousand yen bundle went into his wallet, the note into a drawer in his desk, and the bandana, watch, letter opener and rod into the hidden pocket in his bag.

And now he was nearing five minutes spent loitering near the school's front gate, pretending to ignore the stares of every passerby, when a flash of blond hair rounded the corner. He jolted in place, turning to face...oh. That wasn't Ryuji. "Hi, Takamaki," he said.

The girl sent him a dry glance. "It's Ann," she corrected. Oh. Apparently, they were on a first name basis. Cool. "So, new kid." Or not. "You were showed up partway through homeroom yesterday." Ann's gaze was sharp as steel and twice as cold. "But you weren't running late until Sakamoto showed up. I'm guessing he roped you into something."

"Actually, he roped me out of it," Ren said. "Uh. I mean, he helped me. I would have been later, if not for him."

Ann raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

Ren's attempt at explanation fell back into his throat. "Um," he managed, before shaking his head. His breath was filling rapidly with something that tasted like curiosity and burned like stolen vitriol. "Why do you care, anyway? I thought we were...like, I mean, we're even. Why does it matter to you if I get in trouble?" He narrowed his gaze. "Or are you just looking for more reasons to hate Ryuji?"

Ann didn't say a word for a long few seconds. "I don't hate him," she said, and started walking again, passing right by Ren without another look. "But he can't let anything go. I just don't want him dragging someone else into his grudge match." And she just kept walking.

"Fuck is her problem?" Ryuji's sudden voice behind Ren made him jolt in place. "Woah! Shit, sorry."

Ren couldn't help but burst into nervous laughter. "Second time you've snuck up on me in two days," he said, flashing an awkward smile over his shoulder. "Maybe...stop walking up from behind me?"

Ryuji snorted out a laugh through his sheepish expression. "Or maybe you just need to pay more attention." The boy leaned against the nearby wall and let out a sigh. "Kawakami tried to drop my ass in detention a day early, but I talked her out of it. Fucking teachers, man." He sighed. "Anyway, what's the plan? You wanna head back to that awning and retrace our steps or something? Or we could poke around the alleyway."

Ren shook his head and pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Better." He unlocked the cell and scrolled over to the red and black app. "I'm pretty sure we got in with this." And he opened it.

The screen filled with a display akin to a top-down map of their surroundings, but colored in red and black. Ryuji leaned over, squinting at the screen. "Metaverse Navigator," he read. And double-took. "Wait, no way, didn't Morgana–"

Ren nodded. "I found this app a couple days ago. I thought it was a virus or something, but I think it might have...I mean, I don't know where it came from, but it must have been voice activated or something." Half a lie, half an assumption. Ren poked the search bar at the top, and a triplicate of fields dropped down. "Distorted Target. Location of Palace. Keyword. I'm guessing we probably entered those by accident while we were talking about Kamoshida yesterday." And as he said the name, the first field flickered, text scrolling into view. 'Suguru Kamoshida.' "Like that."

"Holy fuck," Ryuji muttered, staring down at the screen. A long few seconds passed in silence. "Uh. Do you remember what we said?"

Ren winced. "Barely? I mean, Shujin Academy." The second field filled itself in. "But I've got no idea what his Keyword is. Or even what that means."

Ryuji's brow furrowed. "What's that little clock-looking button?" Without waiting for an answer, he reached over and tapped the clock symbol next to the search bar.

Immediately, a black slate was drawn over the search field, filling the screen like a pitch curtain. 'Search History' written in red at the top. A list with a single entry:

Suguru Kamoshida. Shujn Academy. Kingdom.

And a button that read 'Start Navigation.'

Ren threw a glance towards Ryuji, who returned it. Not a word, but none was really needed. After a glance to make sure that no one was there to watch them, Ren held his breath and pressed down on the button.

"Beginning navigation."

Reality pitched to the left.


Ren stared up at the massive castle towering above him. He reached a hand to his face and ran the tips of his gloves against that white mask. He could feel something pulsing there, like a faint heartbeat against his skin. A thief's name pooling on his tongue.

"Back in that burglar costume?" Ryuji said, gesturing to Ren's outfit.

"Guess so." He lowered his gaze to the castle doors. "Do you remember where those guards brought us in yesterday?"

"Front door," Ryuji replied, nodding to the enormous double doors that took up a vast section of the Palace's front. "I mean, it was open then."

"Probably not a good idea for us then." Ren threw a wide-angle glance around the entrance. "Oh. Hey." He motioned to a black speck currently barrelling towards them on all fours. "He probably knows the way in."

"Great," Ryuji grumbled, kicking at nothing as the feline made it to them.

"You made it!" Morgana exclaimed, sounding a lot more excited than Ren would have expected. He had sort of blown them both off yesterday, but now he looked downright delighted. And back to being a little-monster-thing instead of a cat-that-wasn't-a-cat-thing. "It's good to see you, Ren!"

"And Ryuji," Ren said, motioning to the boy with his head.

"Sure," Morgana said. Ryuji growled an indistinct response into his own closed mouth, but the feline paid him no mind. "Come on! I found a way in over here." He turned and scrambled back towards the castle.

Ren threw a glance towards Ryuji. "Are you gonna be okay heading back in?"

"Yeah, man. I came prepared." Ryuji reached into his bag, pulling out–

"Is that a fucking gun!?" Ren yelped, jolting back from the boy.

Ryuji scoffed out a laugh, waving the black pistol back and forth. "Dude, it's airsoft. It doesn't do shit." He pulled the trigger a couple times, and the gun clicked at hollow nothing. "I mean, might not be much, but it can probably give one of those monsters a scare or something." He shoved the plastic gun into his waistband and jerked his head after Morgana. "Come on, man. Let's get moving."


The three of them made their steady way back down the spiral stone staircase they'd taken the day before in the other direction. "I found a way into the Palace proper on the other side of the dungeon," Morgana said, bounding down the steps with inadvisable haste. "Once we get there, I'm betting we can open up a shortcut or something, pop one of the outside windows. That should let us get inside faster next time."

"Can't we just go right to Kamoshida's whatever and kick his ass?" Ryuji asked. "Why do we need to sneak around like this?"

"If you want to fight every Shadow in the Palace in a row, be my guest," Morgana snapped. "Besides, we're not after Kamoshida's Shadow. We're after his Treasure, the core of his distorted desires. Once we find that and steal it, Kamoshida's Palace crumbles, and his heart changes. Fighting him is a last resort." Morgana paused, pivoting and scrambling up Ren's side to send a glare over his shoulder at Ryuji; Ren stifled a yelp at the sudden claws digging into first his leg, then his arm. "You got that, Blondie!?"

"You will seize the Treasures within each Palace you find, and change the hearts of its Ruler. Such are the terms of your rehabilitation."

Igor's words, the booming baritone of his voice, still echoed through Ren's ears. "Do you know where his Treasure is?" Ren asked.

Morgana shook his head, hopping off of Ren and somehow managing to land on the stairs again without tumbling down them. "Not sure. That's why we've got to take our time. And, be careful not to set off any alarms. Infiltrations like this can take days, and if the Palace goes on high alert, we'll have to leave in a hurry."

"Makes sense," Ren said.

"Does it, though?" Ryuji mumbled.

Ren shrugged. "I mean, as much as any part of this can."

At the bottom of the stairs now, Morgana scrambled ahead, then froze in place, Ren having to skid to a halt to avoid tripping over the feline. "Look lively!" Morgana reached into his tool belt and somehow pulled out a cutlass nearly bigger than he was. "Shadow, straight ahead!"

"You there!" Ren's gaze flicked up to the armored guard now rushing towards them. "Stop! By the order of King Kamoshida!" It turned, shouting over its shoulder. "I found the escaped prisoners!"

"Quick!" Morgana bolted forward, right towards the Shadow. "We've gotta shut it up before it raises an alarm!"

Ren forced his feet into motion, following after. "How do we do that, exactly?" he called.

A little chuckle escaped the not-a-cat. "First lesson of being a Phantom Thief." Morgana took a flying leap onto the armored foe, scrabbling up its side and jamming his claws into its mask. The knight swatted at his own face, but Morgana was quicker, pivoting to springboard off it, still holding the mask with a paw.

The face covering snapped off cleanly. Ren got a sickening sight of a pool of empty darkness before the Shadow writhed, its armor pulsing and warping, expanding and then bursting outwards into indistinct black ooze. The textureless mass shrank, black becoming pale pink. Horns and claws and beady eyes. No longer an armored knight, but a little pink-skinned demon with long wings and sharp claws.

"Shadows wear masks too," Morgana said, the mask in his paw dissolving into black dust. "If you tear those off, they return to their true form. They're stronger like this, but you can actually hurt them. The only thing we could do to those knights is slow them down. But now?" He brandished his blade with a wide, feline grin. "Now we can kill it."

"Guys, you've got company!" Ryuji called. Sure enough, a pair of knights had rounded the corner behind the new demon, both of them warbling and bursting into pumpkin-head monsters, identical to the ones Ren had fought yesterday.

"And some of them save you the trouble of taking their masks off," Morgana continued. "We should make sure to thank them for that kindness." A playful threat beneath his words, like a cat playing with its food.

"We're outnumbered," Ren said, drawing the knife from its sheath. "Uh. Any chance lesson two will even the odds?"

"Yep!" Morgana chirped. "You really do have a knack for this stuff, Ren." The not-a-cat kept his blade low and ready, raising a paw up to his face. To his...mask. "Watch and learn, newbie. This is how a real Phantom Thief fights." That grin was wild, bordering on feral. Joyous and prideful. "Cut them to ribbons, Zorro!"

A crack of blue flame, and a flash of light on azure steel. A gale screamed past Ren's head, nearly yanking the coat off his shoulders. One of the pumpkin-headed monsters let out a horrid screech as it was abruptly slammed into the nearby wall with enough force to disintegrate it instantly, while the other simply screamed out "hee-hoooooooo" as it was unceremoniously hurled into the nearby river.

Ren turned to see an ethereal man standing behind Morgana. Broad-chested, dressed in black leather with a billowing cape, a long, sharp mustache and a silver belt with the letter Z on it. The man, the Persona , held a rapier in one hand that would have fit Morgana perfectly, but for him seemed no larger than a toothpick. Zorro, wreathed in wind.

"You've got one of those guys too!?" Ryuji yelped.

"Lesson two!" Morgana said, puffing up his chest with the words. "Each type of Shadow has its own weaknesses and resistances. Find those, and you can eliminate them effectively!"

"Pumpkin-heads are weak to wind," Ren noted. "Got it." He grabbed his mask with one hand. "Let's see what this demon's weak to. Arsene!"

His Persona burst forth, whipping out his talons, grabbing the Shadow before the monster could get a word out. "Begone , " the demon thief hissed, before pitching back and hurling the pink-skinned brute as hard as he could over Ren's shoulder. Ren himself whirled in place to watch the screaming demon sail, hitting the ground and rolling a few times before coming to a stop...right in front of Ryuji.

"Watch it!" Morgana yelped, sweeping his paw towards Zorro. "Blondie doesn't have a Persona, he can't defend himself!"

Ren felt his stomach lurch as he watched the little Shadow drag itself off the ground. Raise its head. And stare directly at the wide-eyed blond. With a chattering scream of joy, the brute lunged for the boy, claws outstretched.

Ren's breath froze. "Ryuji!"

Bang!

The Shadow exploded into dust. Ryuji stared at it, stared through the air the Shadow had occupied a second before, blinking quick and surprised. In his hands, clenched in shaking fingers, was the pistol he'd shown off earlier.

Morgana let out a long sigh, his Persona vanishing, his black mask reforming on his feline face. "Good grief. Making me worry for nothing. You really are a headache, Blondie." Ryuji didn't reply. He didn't even seem to register the not-a-cat's words.

Ren took a few cautious steps closer, and his proximity seemed to rouse the boy, who turned to glance towards him. "You okay?" Ren asked.

Ryuji looked down at himself. "It didn't get me," he said, and it was almost a question. "Uh. Not sure...what happened there, though."

"You shot it," Ren replied.

"How!?" Ryuji said, loud enough to send a wince into Ren's stride. "Shit, sorry. Didn't mean to raise my voice. Sorry." He stared down at the plastic pistol in his hand. "It's fake, though. It's not even loaded with anything!"

"It doesn't need to be." Morgana's voice, and the little creature bounded over to Ren's side. "It's the Cognitive Effect. The Metaverse is built out of beliefs, so beliefs can have power here." He nodded to the pistol. "It doesn't have to be real. It just has to look real enough to make the Shadows think that it'll hurt them. If they think that, then it will."

"That's insane ," Ryuji replied in incredulous falsetto.

"It's how this world works!" Morgana fired back. "You'll just have to get used to it." The feline turned and headed towards the paths leading farther into the dungeons.

Ryuji took one long look down at the gun again, and then, extremely carefully, tucked it into his waistband. Without a word, he followed, and Ren matched his pace.


The first section of the dungeon had all been empty, minus a few easily-dispatched guards. But as Morgana lead the two boys through a small interstitial room into a second section, Ren's felt himself longing for the quiet terror of dark, uninhabited cells.

This wasn't a dungeon, not really. It was a torture chamber. The cells were wider, and deeper here. And each one held at least one person, one student . Mostly boys, but a few girls, all wearing the red tracksuit of Shujin's athletes. A whole team running on a giant treadmill away from a golden-armored Shadow, who would crack his whip at the ankles of any stragglers. A girl hanging limply by her wrists, shackled to the ceiling, as others desperately spiked volleyballs towards her chain, no doubt trying to get her down; a whistle blew, and one of the other girls began pleading in desperate fear as she was dragged away by one of the guards, a pair of matching shackles slammed onto her wrists. A boy in wrestling gear thrown over and over to the cold stone ground by a guard, being watched by dead-eyed others, none even daring to move to help him when he struggled to stand.

"What the fuck ," Ryuji said, barely louder than a horrified whisper.

"They aren't real," Morgana said. Despite his firm words, his own voice was quieter now, softer. "This is all in Kamoshida's head. These are Cognitions; echoes of people he knows in reality. They're parts of his dream, nothing else."

"This is how he sees them, though?" Ren asked. "In reality, he seems them as slaves."

"Doesn't matter if it's real," Ryuji said. His voice was hoarse. Rough and furious. "It's damn true. Maybe he's not using whips and shit, but the torture's real enough." The fingers of his right hand curled into a fist, pressed tight against his leg as if he were trying to pull something ephemeral from the limb. "It's real enough."

Silence. Ren wanted to say something, to soothe the pain he could feel radiating out of the boy, but he couldn't find a single word to speak to it. Nothing sounded right in his head.

Ryuji sighed out a growl. "Let's just get moving before I start breaking shit."

Ren found himself nodding, even as his thoughts pulsed towards indistinct numbness. "Yeah. Let's."

Thankfully, it wasn't long before the trio found their way out of the dungeons. Ren stole a few glances back at Ryuji, who was taking a slower, trudging pace up the stairs, almost dragging his right leg onto each step. "Cramp," he said, before Ren could ask.

"Crap," came Morgana's voice from ahead. Ren turned back to see the top of the stairs, Morgana himself, and a grand entrance hall. Gold torches and red carpet, marble pillars and expensive-looking art. A gaudy place, occupied by the gaudiest of all: Kamoshida's Shadow. In his tactless cape, standing stock center, barking orders to a handful of his monstrous knights.

"Ah," Ren said. "Uh. Is there...another way, or something?"

"Dude," Ryuji said. The blond shoved past him; probably not meant to be rude, but it definitely felt it. "We're not going around." And strode towards the man.

"Blondie!" Morgana hissed. "What do you think you're doing!?"

Ryuji turned back around, a solid step out into the hall. "What does it look like, cat? " He jerked a thumb over his shoulder, raising his pistol in the other. "I'm gonna put a fake bullet in that guy's head. No Shadow, no Palace, right?"

"I," Morgana spluttered, "I mean, technically , but that's not–!"

"Cause I've been listening," Ryuji interrupted, his voice sharp. "Every word, you little scruffball. And for the record, I'm not a fucking idiot." He cracked his neck. "Go sneak around and play cops and robbers if you really want to. I'm ending this."

Morgana made an incoherent series of gibberish noises before finally managing a single audible sentence. "If you kill his Shadow, the real Kamoshida dies too!"

Ren's throat constricted around his already unsteady breath.

Ryuji, with agonizing slowness, turned to stare at Morgana. "What." His eye twitched. "You never said anything about..." He shook his head. "You said this was fake. You said it was a dream! How is that a supposed to be a fucking dream, huh!?" Ryuji gestured at thin air, swinging around the pistol with every word. Ren tensed, biting down hard on nothing.

"His Shadow is the source of all of his desires!" Morgana replied. "Not just the evil ones, all of them! I already told you, if you change this world, you can alter his base cognition. What sort of message do you think you're sending to his brain if you kill him here, huh?" He threw his paws up, still glaring across the distance. "If he doesn't die, he'll have a Mental Shutdown! No will to live, no desire to eat food or sleep or breathe!" Mental Shutdown. That...that thing on the news?

"Guys," Ren said, keeping his voice a low whisper. "Maybe we should talk about this back in the dungeon, before..." His words failed him as he glanced past Ryuji and made eye contact with Kamoshida. Kamoshida, who was looking right at them. Kamoshida, whose guards were now rapidly approaching them. "Ryuji, move!" Ren shoved himself forward, reaching out on instinct and snatching the pistol from the startled blond's hand, pivoting and closing one eye and pointing it at the nearest Shadow and pulling the trigger.

A crack of cognitive gunpowder. The bullet slammed through the Shadow's mask, dead center, smashing through the porcelain and sending the knight back into its allies in a sprawling heap. No time to pat himself on the back for his own aim. There were easily twenty others advancing on their cornered position, and even the one he'd shot was now rising again, bubbling into what must have been its true form.

"Back down the stairs!" Morgana added, scrambling forward, cutlass out and at the ready. "Ren and I will buy some time. Just stay out of our way, Blondie." Not the most diplomatic choice of words, but Ren couldn't fault the plan.

He took aim again. Who knows how many bullets this thing had? Five, maybe? It was entirely possible these Shadows could have believed their way into infinite ammo, but Ren doubted it. Either way...

Bang!

Another knight dropped.

Five could be enough.

"Back off!" Morgana growled, his hackles raised, scrambling forward and swiping blindly with his cutlass. A few Shadows recoiled, carefully avoiding the wild swipes.

"What are you waiting for!?" Kamoshida bellowed. "Stop standing around, get them!" Standing around? And he didn't seem like he was directing it towards the knights in front of it, more towards...somewhere off to the right of Ren.

Ren felt his blood chill to subzero as he followed the thing's gaze all the way to a suit of golden armor directly to his right. Less than two feet away from him. He spun towards the newfound threat, raising the borrowed pistol, and the armor surged forward.

The gun was wrenched from Ren's grip, clattering across the polished floor. His hand went for the knife at his belt, and the golden knight's went for Ren's throat.

Oxygen left his lungs. Ren couldn't breathe, his vision blurring at the edges, feet leaving the floor as that vice grip tightened around his trachea. Move. Move .

"P...Pers..." The word didn't make it out of him. Arsene's name was a thousand miles away.

"That's enough, I think." That monster's voice cut through the haze.

Ren felt his velocity abruptly shift from zero to fast, hurtling through the air before landing in a messy heap on the floor with enough force to jolt a pained gasp out of him. His airway was free. He didn't have enough time to enjoy his newfound ability to breathe, as a firm force dropped onto his back, pinning him to the floor. Oh good, he could barely breathe again. A difficult glance over his shoulder showed another knight standing over him, his foot on the flat of Ren's back, sword out and positioned directly above him. No way out.

"Let me go!" Morgana wailed, and Ren glanced back towards the doorway to see another Shadow knight holding the feline creature in both hands, locking his arms by his sides. Morgana was flailing, kicking his feet, but he clearly couldn't move either. The knights had formed a loose semicircle around the two of them, along with a couple of horned black steeds with yellow eyes - no doubt their true forms, from Ren's two shots earlier.

"Well, well, well." Kamoshida strolled around into view, smirking so wide and ugly that Ren was half sure his head would crack in half from the strained glee. "You both have made far more trouble for me than I thought you would. Especially you, Amamiya." He crouched down closer to Ren's eye level, chuckling to himself. "You know, I was planning on sending you back to that cell, letting you starve there for a couple days. But with the headache you've given me..." His eyes gleamed with vile joy. "Maybe I'll just have my guard kill you now and save me the headache in case you get loose again."

The sharp of the sword pressed into Ren's back, and he kept as still as possible. Don't move. Don't blink. Fuck, fuck, fuck-

"Stop it!" Ryuji's panicked voice. Ren's focus shot up towards him as Kamoshida turned to face the blond as well. "Just...stop. Leave them alone." Ryuji was standing in the staircase doorway, his hands in fists by his sides. Even through blurry eyes, Ren could see he was shaking. "Your fight's with me, Kamoshida. So...let them go."

"Fight?" Kamoshida's Shadow repeated, before bursting into sickening laughter. "Sakamoto, our fight ended a year ago." His voice dropped into a low, mocking coo. "How's your leg, by the way? Still acting up?"

Ryuji grit his teeth into what looked like a jaw-aching grimace, and Ren's own jaw set along with him. "Shut up," Ryuji said.

"I still hear all those boys telling the newbies about you, you know," the Shadow continued. "Track Traitor; hell of a nickname, don't you think?"

"Shut. Up." Ryuji's brown eyes seemed closer to gold now.

"And they don't even know the half of it!" Another bubble of horrid laughter, and the assembled shadows echoed it. "After all, with a home life like yours, it only makes sense the school would rule that little stunt in my favor. You did swing first, and it seems like the apple doesn't fall far–"

"Shut up!" Ryuji's voice broke, but the command still silenced the room. "You keep on running your mouth, and for what?" He lowered his head, still shaking. "Yeah, you won. You had it out for the track team, and now there's no more track team. I talked back to you a couple times, and now my leg's fucked up forever. People were gossiping about you abusing the team, and now no one can shut up about how I'm just like my fucking dad."

Ren felt his throat constrict. The full picture was still out of reach, but every detail of Ryuji's grudge painted a brand new picture in sickening crimson.

"You didn't like me," Ryuji continued. "So you took away everything that made me happy, everything that was dear to me. And I'm not ever getting any of that back. I've gotta live with that, and you get to walk around your stupid fucking castle without a goddamn care in the world."

"Good," Kamoshida said, almost purring out the word. "You finally see things for what they are."

Ryuji barked out a laugh that sent a brief and glorious tension into the man. "Oh, you're damn right I do. Cause guess what, Kamoshida? You took away everything that mattered to me. You get what that means, right?" He raised his head again, eyes glimmering with golden furor, lips curled into a feral grin. "It means I've got nothing left to lose. It means you don't get a damn thing out of me but the truth." He cracked his neck, taking a step forward; Kamoshida backpedaled, wincing away from the boy. "And the truth is?" Ryuji shuddered out a strained laugh. "I'm sick... and tired ... of you looking down on me...with that stupid smile on your face!"

A voice like low, rumbling thunder echoed through the hall. You made me wait quite a while.

Ryuji's wild grin vanished. Eyes widened. A violent shudder traced through him. Ren wanted to call out to the boy, wanted to make it to his side, but he could neither find the words nor move an inch.

You seek revenge, aye? For everything he's done to you, everything the world has lethim do.

"You...you're...damn right..." Ryuji's voice was strained with agony, wheezing out the words through grit teeth as his shuddering legs threatened to give out.

Your name has been disgraced already. Why not hoist the flag and wreak havoc?

The lights flickered. The torches wavered and darkened. Sparks danced up the walls, across the chandelier above them, the windows rattling as they held out what sounded like an oncoming storm.

"Stop...talking..." Ryuji growled. "And...help me take that scumbag down already!"

Aye, you've got the spirit, boy! No prey, no pay.

A bolt of lightning slammed into the ground next to Ryuji, splintering the floor. The Shadows recoiled as one, nervous whispers spreading throughout the mass of guards.

I am thou, thou art I.

Ryuji's brown eyes were gleaming gold now, like two vivid coins.

Your bounty is before you now. Come, let's split the cut of his blood.

The overwhelming scent of saltpeter and ozone.

Give him no quarter. Spare him nothing .

Another crackle of heavenly fury, another bolt. The light caught on black metal. On the black skull mask resting on Ryuji's brow.

There is no turning back.

Ryuji reached up with both hands, fingers digging into his scalp as he grabbed the mask.

The skull of rebellion is your flag henceforth!

With a long, furious scream, Ryuji pulled the mask off of his skin, his now-bloody face igniting with azure brilliance, that blue fire swallowing him whole. Flames became lightning.

A white arc screamed out from the bonfire and tore through one of the nearby knights. Kamoshida and his guards flinched, turning to stare as the Shadow disintegrated instantly. No true form, nonexistence. Another arc, and another. Lightning dancing across the chamber, Kamoshida cowering in place, dropping to the floor and covering his head as Shadow after Shadow was reduced to dust.

The hairs on the back of Ren's neck stood up.

Another arc, another sharp crack of voltage, and the pressure left Ren's back completely. He could feel dust settling on his trenchcoat, no other trace of the knight that had kept him pinned. As he turned his attention back towards Ryuji, one final bolt obliterated the Shadow currently holding Morgana, who dropped to the floor with a surprised yelp.

The veil parted, lightning peeling away from the staircase. From Ryuji.

Blond hair that caught the azure radiance swirling around and behind him. A black jacket with dark metal adornments, a popped collar and a loose red ascot around his neck. Yellow gloves with a band of studded metal across the knuckles. And a grin brighter than a sunrise.

And behind him, standing astride a galleon barely big enough to act as a platform, was a skull-faced pirate with a cannon arm, twin cutlasses crossed over his chest and a red cape billowing out behind him. A Persona. Ryuji's Persona.

"Right on," Ryuji said, sounding just as amazed as Ren felt. "What's up, Persona?" He flexed his gloves, and lightning traced across his fingertips. "This fucking rocks! "

"You got one too," Ren said. He was smiling. When did that start?

"Damn right," Ryuji replied. His gaze flicked towards the still cowering Kamoshida, grin twisting into a grimace. "And now that I do, it's time for payback." He took a step towards the man, eyes flaring dark for the briefest of seconds. "How about you come over here and say all that shit to my face, you son of a bitch?"

The golden knight strode between them and the Shadow king, who was already starting to backpedal towards the nearby stairs, clearly looking to retreat. "In the name of King Kamoshida," the knight said, drawing his sword. "You shall meet your end here, boy!"

"Yeah?" Ryuji cracked his knuckles. "Alright, you big shiny brown-noser." He broke into another wild grin that sent Ren's heart fluttering into the sides of his ribcage. "Bring it!"

The knight snarled, his form distorting, raising his blade above his head. "Don't mock me, you brat!" He brought the sword down, melting before it reached the floor, bursting outwards and then back in. The darkness congealed, solidifying into the form of a red-armored knight with a horned helm and sharpened lance, atop one of those dark horses from before.

"You think you can handle this guy?" Morgana asked, scrambling up to join them.

"You kidding?" Ryuji laughed. A half-nod towards the straggler knights now taking up flanking positions. "Just keep the small fry out of my way." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder at his Persona. "We'll take him down, no problem."

Morgana grumbled something under his breath, but tossed the previously discarded pistol to Ryuji and drew his cutlass – he must have retrieved both when Ren wasn't looking. "Fine. Just don't get yourself killed."

"We've got your back," Ren added, drawing his knife and resting another hand on his mask.

"And I'm damn thankful for it," Ryuji said, sending an honest smile towards Ren before focusing on their foe again. "Last chance to get out of our way, you ugly fuckwad."

The steed snorted, and its rider echoed with a laugh. "My allegiance is to King Kamoshida. I'll defend him to my dying breath."

"Cool." The Persona behind Ryuji finally moved, pivoting around and pointing his cannon towards the knight. "Let's test that theory, huh?" The cannon ignited with voltaic fury, sparks dancing up and down the pirate's arm. "Blast him away, Captain Kidd!"