Chapter 1: Velvet

"Joker!" Futaba shouted as the man who had shown her the light was pierced through by an arrow of light. The Trickster fell over, surrounded by the corpses of the seven other Phantom Thieves.

"Foolish humans, don't you understand?" Futaba looked up from within her Persona to the screen that showed Yaldabaoth's hulking form. "No matter how hard you try, you cannot change the distorted heart of humanity."

"Futaba…" Joker… no… Ren's voice came through the speakers within Prometheus. Tears pricked Futaba's eyes as she saw the blood pool around him. "I'm sorry. I… couldn't protect you."

"What are you talking about?!" Futaba shouted. "You saved me! You saved all of us!"

"But…" Ren hit the ground with a closed fist. "Did it really matter in the end…?"

"Of course it did!" Futaba slammed her fists on the virtual keyboard. "I… we might have failed, but it's the spirit of rebellion within us! Didn't you teach us that?!"

"I… you're right," Ren coughed up blood and stood up. "Futaba… I love you."

"I love you too," Futaba wiped the tears from her eyes. She wasn't stupid. She knew neither of them were going to survive this. But… they might as well go down swinging. For her comrades. For humanity.

Futaba frantically started to type onto the digital keyboard of the Prometheus. She couldn't heal Joker's wounds completely, but she could dull the pain and keep him fighting for just a bit longer.

"Let's do this," Ren said as Arsene flared up behind him.

"It seems this will be our last dance together, partner," Arsene shook his head. Futaba remembered when she started hearing Arsene's voice. It happened with all the personas from the thieves. The closer she got to each of them, the more the voices of their personas were revealed to her. All of them except for hers however.

"What are you talking about?" Joker scoffed as a smirk formed on his face. "You can't say that until we kick the bucket."

"Insufferable…" Yaldabaoth aimed its gigantic gun at Joker. "I will not tolerate any more of this farce. It is time for the last hope of humanity to be extinguished."

"That's what you say! Eigaon!" Ren shouted. Dark energy swirled around Yaldabaoth's arm and exploded outwards, causing the arm to fall limp, the gun in its hand fading into nothingness.

"You think that will stop me?!" Yaldabaoth swung down its sword. Arsene clapped his hands together and spread them, revealing a long sword. Moving as one with Ren, he held the sword up and blocked the gigantic weapon.

"Tch…" Ren fell down to one knee as the force of the sword continued to bear down on him. Futaba could see that his dagger was starting to crack.

"No!" Futaba grit her teeth as she considered her options. She didn't have much in terms of attacks. Nothing except. She took a deep breath. She knew what she had to do.

"Ren…" Futaba started to type in a command. "I love you."

"Futaba, what are you doing?" Ren didn't turn his focus away, but she could see the concern laced in his eyes.

"Before you came into my life, I thought I was going to die in that room. That tomb," Futaba shook her head as Prometheus started to float even higher. "You're special to me, Ren. I… I can't let this happen."

"Futaba!" Realization shone through Ren's eyes as a large bomb started to form under Futaba's persona. Futaba felt her energy drain as the bomb grew bigger and bigger. Soon enough, it was the size of Yaldabaoth's head.

"Ren… please… live on," Futaba felt tears fall down her cheeks. She didn't want to die. She remembered the fear she felt when her body originally started to disappear and she felt that fear now. Despite that… her resolve was stronger. "If I see you in the afterlife, I'll beat your ass, okay?"

"Futaba…" Ren looked down in an attempt to hide the tears. "I will. I promise."

"Good," Futaba said as she turned her attention back to Yaldabaoth. "Well, time to be a hero."

Futaba closed her eyes as she flew towards Yaldabaoth's head at top speeds. There was a brief flash of pain, and then nothing.

"Oh?" The first thing Futaba heard was a familiar, raspy voice. "You were not the one I expected to come visit."

"Ugh…" Futaba opened her eyes to see that she was sitting at a chair in front of a terminal. The whole room shone under a deep, blue light. She looked up to see an old man with a long nose and bulging eyes sitting at the end of a row of terminals, three large screens on the wall behind him. Standing next to him was a small girl in a blue uniform. She had snow white hair and glowing yellow eyes.

"The Velvet Room…?" Futaba stood up, her knees shaky. The Velvet Room looked nothing like it did when she was first freed here by Ren. Instead of looking like a prison, it was more akin to a command center. Something one would see in a space station.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room," Igor's voice snapped Futaba from her stupor. "It is good to see you again, and in a state like this no less."

"State? Didn't I… die?" Futaba walked up to the man and his attendant.

"You did die, but at the last moment, your potential was realized," The girl, Lavenza, looked up at Futaba. "With your final act, you have proven your potential to change the world."

"Potential?" Futaba shook her head. "What's the point? I'm dead."

"That may be true, but we can't let that potential go to waste, now can we?" Igor shook his head. "No, that won't do. Instead, Lavenza and I have arranged something special for you."

"Special?" Futaba tilted her head.

"Yes. An opportunity for you to change your fate," Igor's creepy smile grew even wider. "I can send you back in time. Not too far, but you will have ample time to change the way you acted. To make new decisions and forge new bonds."

"I can… change the past?" Hundreds of thoughts swirled in Futaba's head. Even if she was sent back a day, there was so much she could do… and this opportunity… she couldn't pass it up. "What do I have to do?"

"For now, just sit back down," Lavenza said. "We entrust our other guest's fate to you."

"Other guest? You mean Ren?" Futaba asked.

"Yes," Igor nodded slightly. "While we may be able to assist you here, the other Trickster will no doubt continue to return to the other Velvet Room. We can only do so much; It is up to you."

"I understand," Futaba nodded, determination burning behind her glasses. Ren had already saved her once. Regardless of how her final act turned out, she would save him again.

"Now return to your world, my new Trickster. We shall be watching over you," Lavenza said. Futaba nodded and went back to her seat.

A second chance, huh? Futaba thought to herself as she closed her eyes. I won't let it go to waste.

I am thou, thou art I…

Thou hast acquired a newnow.

It shalt becomethe wings of rebellion that breakeththy chains of captivity,

With the birth of the FoolPersona, I have obtained the winds of blessingthat shall lead to freedom and newpower…

A warm feeling flowed into her body as she felt herself drift back into unconsciousness. This time… life will change.

Futaba snapped awake at the sound of a doorbell ringing. She was hunched over on her desk, her three monitors still showing several lines of code. Futaba stretched and stood up, instinctively making her way to the door. If this was her from six months ago, she wouldn't have even moved, but she was different now. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and opened the front door and—

Her heart stopped.

Standing in front of the gate was none other that Amimiya Ren, her savior, her leader, and her love. She was about to open her mouth when…

"Oh… Sorry for bothering you," Ren rubbed the back of his head shyly, a flush forming on his cheeks. Was he always this reserved? "I was looking for someone named Sakura Sojiro and I was told I can find him here."

Futaba took a deep breath. She had to remind herself that this wasn't the Ren that she knew. The Ren that had gone through hell and back for her. The Ren that she had died for.

This must be at the beginning of his probation, Futaba thought. She shook her head. If she was going to change the future, she might as well start now.

"Oh, y-you're looking for dad?" Futaba asked. She had to admit, it was hard keeping her cool like this. Talking to Ren like he was a stranger. "He should be at work right now. Want me to take you there?"

"Well, if he's at work…" Ren looked down.

"It's okay. He owns a cafe, so it's not like we'd be risking his job or anything," Futaba assured him. She walked past the gate, shutting it behind her. "My name is Sakura Futaba. What's yours?"

"Amimya Ren," The young man replied as the two set off. "Thank you for helping me out."

"It's alright," Futaba said when it was very much not alright. It took all of her willpower to keep herself calm, but somehow she kept it together. The walk only took about half a minute, but for Futaba, it felt like an eternity. She was a lot more comfortable with going outside, but the crushing weight of her task really set in when she saw Ren. As they approached LeBlanc, the door opened and two elderly people walked out.

"We're here," Futaba said. She resisted the urge to smirk. Despite everything going on, seeing Sojiro's shocked face always tickled that malicious part of herself. She opened the door and gestured for Ren to go in first.

"Welc— oh, it's you," Sojiro said as Futaba hid behind the door. "So you're Ren?"

"It's nice to meet you, sir," Ren said.

"The name's Sakura Sojiro. I'll be in your custody for the next year," Futaba heard Sojiro reply. "I was wonderin' what kinda upstart I was given, but you're the one, eh?"

"That's kinda rude, dad," Futaba capitalized on the opportunity and stepped in. When she saw his expression contort, she finally let the triumphant smirk show. "Shouldn't you be more nice to him, since you're responsible for him now?"

"F-Futaba? What are you doing outside?" Sojiro asked. His tone wasn't accusatory at all, but rather laced with shock that Futaba hadn't heard from the man in months.

"Ren was looking for you, so I decided to lead him here," Futaba shrugged her shoulders as if it wasn't a big deal. "He's really nice."

Sojiro shot daggers into Ren that made Futaba shiver. Maybe she shouldn't have said that.

"Upstairs. Let me show you where you'll be sleeping from now on," Sojiro said as he made his way up the stairs.

"Sorry about him," Futaba heaved a sigh. "He's a bit… overprotective."

"I-It's fine," Ren shook his head. "Why was he shocked to see you out, though?"

"I'm… a bit of a shut in," Futaba said.

I'm not lying, Futuaba clung onto that fact in order to keep a straight face. "I usually don't even leave my room. This has been the first time I've stepped out in… I don't even remember how long."

"I'm glad you did," Ren said with a soft smile on his face.

"Shut up and go," Futaba looked away. "I'll… see you around."

"Yeah," Ren nodded. "I'll see you around."

Futaba winced as she heard the threats that Sojiro flung at the young man. While she appreciated the concern, it was still a bit… much.

"Yeah, yeah, what a waste of my Sunday," Sojiro said as he walked down the stairs. He then looked at Futaba. "Futaba…"

"Hey dad," Futaba stood up from the seat she was crouching on. "You alright?"

"Yeah… it's just…" Sojiro paused. Futaba almost sighed. She had gotten good at seeing the emotions behind Sojiro's stoic expressions. "It's not that I'm not happy to see you outside, but what happened? Did something change?"

"Yeah," Futaba let a genuine smile spread across her face. She remembered fighting that distorted version of her mother. "I had to fight my demons, but I think I'm starting to feel a lot better now."

"I'm glad," Sojiro let a smile cross his face. "Now let's get going. I have to take the brat to school tomorrow so I want to crash early."

Futaba took a deep breath as she stood alone at the Yogan-Jaya subway station. Luckily, she didn't have to sneak in, but she knew the place would be closed when she left. Sojiro had long since passed out, so sneaking out of the house wasn't hard.

"Alright," Futaba looked at her phone and tapped the eerily familiar app. She didn't like the thought of coming back here, but if she wanted to get stronger, she was going to have to face her fears. She raised the phone towards her mouth and spoke.

"Mementos."

The world started to change and distort around her until she was in an all-too-familiar place. She looked down to see that she was in her Phantom Thief wear. She took a deep breath as she walked past the check-in gate and into the subway system. Although Morgana wasn't there for transportation, she did have something else.

"Persona!" Futaba shouted. Blue fire burned behind her and the pyramid-shaped persona rose from the flames. Tentacles sprouted from the bottom of Prometheus and they gently hoisted Futaba into itself.

"It's good to be back," Futaba said to herself as multiple screens appeared in front of her. "Now…"

Futaba took a deep breath and commanded her Persona to move. Although it wasn't as fast as the Mona-bus, Prometheus was definitely better than walking. When she approached her first Shadow, however, she stopped.

In order to reveal its true self, I have to tear off its mask… Futaba thought to herself. She stared at the shadow, who had yet to notice her presence and ran a scenario in her head.

That'll work, Futaba concluded as she sped towards it. As they approached, Prometheus' floor opened up and Futaba fell towards the shadow. As she did, she grabbed onto its mask with both her hands and with gravity on her side, she tore the mask off. She fell on her feet and bent her knees only to jump backwards into the opening her persona left for her.

"Alright!" Futaba cheered as the opening closed. As the pair of Pyro Jacks revealed themselves, Futaba started to type in a command. She floated over the two shadows and let a large bomb fall in between them. They just had enough time to look before the bomb exploded, atomizing the two of them.

"Yeah!" Futaba felt a large smile grow on her face as she saw the remains of her handiwork, or lack thereof. "I can do this all day."

It turns out that Futaba couldn't do that all day. She learned very quickly that the bombs she made drained her of stamina. Although she knew that before, she didn't really worry about it since she never needed to make so many bombs in such a short period of time. She was only able to stay in Mementos for about an hour until she had to retreat.

"Man, I didn't know fighting would be so hard," Futaba panted as she leaned on the wall next to the elevator. "I… think I'm gonna need some weapons."

After a few minutes, Futaba pressed the button on the elevator and stepped in. When the elevator doors opened again, she was back in the real world. She sighed as she made her way back to her house. She snuck in and made her way to her room.

Alright, there's a lot I need to do, Futaba thought to herself. During that hour she spent in Mementos, she had a lot of time to think. There was a lot she needed to do. The first thing she needed were weapons. She already had a good idea of what to get, but she needed money. She didn't feel comfortable asking Ren to help her when he barely knew her, so she would have to find a way to get money on her own. She was able to make a fair bit of money in Mementos, but that would only take her so far.

Next, I need to confirm something, Futaba thought. She sat down and turned on her computer. She wanted to know if there were other Persona users out there. Goro proved that the Phantom Thieves weren't the only ones, so there must be more. If she could just find them, they could potentially be a huge asset against Yaldabaoth.

"Alright," Futaba cracked her knuckles as her three screens flared to life. "Time to get to work."

Hey all! Thank you for reading my first ever Persona fic! I have just finished my first playthrough of Persona 5 and I immidetely found myself writing this. I do plan on writing another Persona fic centered around Sojiro, but I want to get more accustomed to writing about this fandom before I do that.

Although Futaba wouldn't necessarily be my first pick when it came to shipping with the protagonist, I felt like it would give her more motivation in this story. If you're curious, I went for Makoto in my first run.

With that being said, please do consider leaving a review! I would love to read and reply to your thoughts. Also please join my Discord! I would love to talk to you all and answer all your questions! I talk a lot about my thought process while writing, so if you're interested in that, do consider joining. The url is discord . gg (forego the spaces) followed by a slash and CpVs7R8KXz. Unfortunately you'll have to type the rest of the url in manually because I'm not allowed to post links. If you want to read chapters as soon as they're finished along with a slew of other benefits, check out my Patron at pat reon dot com slash kfpisnotacult. Thank you for reading and I'll catch you on the flipside.

Update: Changed Al Azir to Prometheus. I neither maxed out Futaba nor Maruki in my first run (something I'm working on right now) so I wasn't aware. Thanks for the heads up.