Author's Notes

This is the first Mix Tape chapter, so things may get a little hectic. I've tried to make it as clear as possible to tell the two points of view apart. That said, this is a new way of writing for me. It's an experiment, so to speak. I had quite a lot of fun writing this chapter and giving a bit more presence to the Personas themselves.

A tendril gripped a nearby piller and pulled.

As if it were made of sand, the stone crumbled and debris was thrown out over the room. A second ear bursting screech filled the room. Whatever was happening to the robot man seemed to have reached a crescendo.

Lynn dared to look up over her cover. A gasp escaped before she had time to stifle it. The sight of the grotesque mass of shadow, bone and flesh almost brought up her lunch. What was once a strange, crazy robotic man was now a huge amalgamation of Shadow and body horror.

Its form swelled and lurched into a twisted, half remembered approximation of a squid. Complete with a rotating maw of bone and teeth.

A tendril lashed out straight towards Lynn. Its point was as sharp as a needle. She felt a firm hand on her shoulder shove her down just in time. The tendril bashed against the top of the Phantom Thieves cover, sending sparks into the air.

The woman who had initially taken the robot man down - V if she recalled - scowled at her. "Keep your fucking head down unless you want to lose it."

All Lynn could do was nod.

As V took her attention elsewhere, Lynn looked down towards Ann. "Mona, think you can patch her up?"

Morgana seemed to be one step ahead already. The cat had already brought out his little yellow sack from earlier and was now rummaging through it. "Hold on, Joker. I need to disinfect the wounds first. I'll have Zorro finish up after."

Finally, Mona retrieved a bottle of clear gel labelled with Tae Takemi's clinic logo.

As the Thieves' resident healer got to work, Lynn checked up on the rest of the gang. Ryuji and the bald man - River, Lynn recalled him saying - were both taking potshots. Ryuji was clearly panicking, but adrenaline was keeping him from outright running in fear. Meanwhile, Shiho had yet to let go of Ann's hand. Her expression hadn't changed since realising Ann had taken a hit.

Lynn wouldn't have blamed someone for mistaking it as fear or worry.

No. Shiho was getting pissed.

She could see a fire beginning to spark to life in Shiho's eyes as the girl stared down at her injured friend.

"Judy, do you still have a connection?" V called to the other woman. To which, she shook her head, looking incredibly flustered. A connection to what, Lynn had no clue.

"No… there's nothin' left! All his circuits are…" The woman paused, bracing herself as a shower of debris peppered the area. "He's fuckin' dead, V!"

Lynn took another daring look over the cover.

The monster was lashing out indiscriminately. It was acting purely on instinct alone.

Even if that were the case, it was still dangerously rampant. There had to be something they could do. "Arsene, are you down for a rough up?" She muttered to herself. She felt her mask rumble briefly.

[Always, Trickster.] Arsene cackled from within Lynn's soul.

Lynn flashed a grin as blue flame began to pulse from her mask. Ryuji looked over, surprise evident in his face. "Are you effin' crazy, Joker!? Shadows are one thing… but we don't have a clue what this is!"

"We need a plan. You think I can borrow Captain Kidd for a spell?"

Ryuji's shoulders sagged. He knew better than to try and argue when Lynn got like this. "Alright… just… be careful, idiot."

Joker's grin grew wider. "I'm always careful!"

With two bursts of energy and roaring blue fire, Lynn lept from the cover and high into the air. Her mask burned itself away in a plume of red and grey flame. Out from her back burst a pair of black wings. Arsene's form almost seemed to rip itself free from Lynn's back. Like a rabid animal breaking its restraints.

As she seemed to glide through the air, Ryuji's mask crackled to life with electricity before shattering into bolts of yellow energy, allowing the hulking form of Captain Kidd to emerge. The skeletal pirate let out a chorus of chattering bones as he laughed. [Yar be callin' t' arms? Har har! AVAST YE' KER!]

Kidd vaulted over to the other side of the cover and began to fire off electrically charged shots from his arm cannon. The creature's form took each blow, seemingly unaffected by them. It roared and lashed out with a tendril.

The Captain stepped to the side, allowing the tendril to just barely miss him. It crashed into the ground and with a second chortle, Kidd wrapped an arm around it, gripping it as tight as possible. ['ELLO BEASTIE!] His voice was almost a hiss, daring the beast to act.

The pirate's arm cannon morphed and with a flicker of the blue flame and yellow sparks, the cannon was replaced with a large, menacing scimitar. Yellow arcs of electricity crackled and sparked from its black blade.

As the monster retracted its tendril, it was forced to pull Kidd along with it.

Lynn's leap reached its apex just in time for Arsene to fully break free. The spectral demonic thief began to cackle with laughter of his own. He threw his hand forward, allowing for Lynn to grasp it. A billow of his wings took the two high above the unfolding battle.

"Arsene, get us behind it."

Heeding his Ward's order, the Persona beat his wings once more, repositioning them both. Finally, they landed just as Kidd's roar rocked through the room. Ryuji's Persona launched a powerful strike, slashing down onto the creature's main body. Liquid shadow sprayed from the open wound like blood.

The creature gurgled and groaned as it staggered. Kidd had at least hurt it.

In a bid to capitalise on the opening, Lynn lunged forward. "Curse Fire, Arsene!" She ordered. The thief obeyed and with a motion and the faint sound of chains, Lynn's pistol and forearm burst into raging hellfire.

The grey and red energy roared to life as she fired off several shots. The empowered bullets pulsed on impact.

The monster screamed in agony as the wounds almost seemed to rot and fester in a matter of seconds.

Something sprang from the ground, rocketing straight for Joker. She braced herself, feeling the tendril miss her throat by mere millimetres. Arsene had redirected it just in time.

She nodded thanks to her protector and dove straight back into the action. Her arm still glowed with Arsene's Curse Fire as she fired again. The creature had regained its composure, allowing it to deflect her attacks harmlessly away. Several more tendrils shot forward in retaliation. Sadly, this time, Arsene wasn't quick enough.

Lynn winced and cried out in pain as one tendril grazed her thigh, opening a large gash. Another struck down hard against her arm. The bone hadn't broken, thankfully, but it was going to be sore in the morning.

An explosion caught her attention.

In the distance, she saw Ryuji and River beginning to throw objects that she could only assume were grenades. Though they were a sort she had never seen before. The beast roared and staggered with each blast.

It began to back up.

Then Lynn noticed something. The monster was growing closer to a destroyed and sparking mess of wires and thick cabling. A powerful enough current could be what they needed to destabilise the beast long enough to deal a mortal blow.

She caught Ryuji's attention, pointed towards the cables and ran a finger over her throat. It seemed the bleach blond understood her intentions. She could see him grin, nod and begin to aim his throws accordingly.

Meanwhile, Captain Kidd rushed to Lynn's side. Seemingly acting on unspoken orders, he scooped her up, slung her over his shoulder and summoned his spectral ship-slash-surfboard. [Yar! Quite the shocking plan ye' be brewin'! It be a true spark o' inspiration! Har har!] Kidd bellowed in laughter.

Ghostly waves began to kick up around Kidd's ship. Riding the waves, the pirate made his way around the edge of the room, circling around the abomination. Lynn growled as she saw Arsene howling with laughter at the sight. He gave his ward a salute and rejoined the fray, slinging Curse Fire as he avoided attacks.

A few more concussive blasts managed to knock the abomination closer to their goal.

Once Captain Kidd had regrouped with the rest of the Thieves, he set Lynn down behind the cover once again. It was only then that she noticed V had something clinging to her back. A Pixie of all things!

That was actually perfect.

If not somewhat concerning.

"V, is that your Persona? Can you have her fire a spark at that mass of cables when I give the signal?" The woman - who was currently caught up in the fight - paused. She gave Lynn a confused look before shielding herself from a bludgeoning attack.

"Kid, I have no fucking clue what's going on. I don't know what the fuck a Persona is and quite frankly, I don't give a shit right now!"

The Pixie, meanwhile, had let go of V's back and was now cowering on the ground next to her. She looked up at Lynn. "I can shoot. Just… t-tell me when. Eek!" She squealed as a gout of searing fire blasted against their cover.

They just needed to push it back a little further.

"Ok… almost. Almost. NOW! KIDD, PIXIE, FIRE!"

A surge of power fizzled through the air. Moments later, whatever the Maelstromer had become began to convulse.

Sparks flew from open wounds, electrical fire erupted from exposed cables and the screeching of agony seemed to vibrate the entire room. It seemed the girl in the domino mask had something up her sleeve.

V watched as the amalgamation spasmed. The inky substance holding the mess of gore and mangled cybernetics together began to loosen. If a kill shot was going to happen, now definitely was the time. She stood and together with the blond boy, the domino masked girl, River and Judy, she opened fire. A cacophony of noise drowned out all other sound as the muzzle flashes created a lightshow rivalling a Night City parade.

Finally, the creature slumped to the ground.

Strange smoke began to plume from the corpse as it lay unmoving.

A moment passed.

Then another.

"ALRIGHT JOKER!" The blond boy yelled in Japanese. He pumped his fist in the air and jumped in joy. He gave the domino masked girl a hearty slap on the back. She looked pretty bashful.

So the girl was called Joker?

For now, that could wait. V turned to Judy. "We might be able to salvage some data. Maybe a shard if we're lucky." Her partner nodded and joined her, moving carefully to the smoking corpse.

What was left of the original Maelstromer was in pretty bad shape. The cyberware had warped and cracked far beyond repair. Though in some small mercy, it seemed the head was mostly untouched. Not really wanting to jack into his personal link, V knelt down and examined what she could. Judy walked around the corpse, her nose scrunched up in disgust.

"So… what the hell was that guy? A robot?" Joker had apparently followed the two women and was now looking over the scene with interest. The kid had guts, that was for certain.

"Robot? No. Just a chromed up gangoon. Wired on Black Lace, looks like. His bloods are off the fucking chart." V replied, scanning the remains. Maelstrom narcotics were by far the strongest on the market. Highly addictive, toxic and deadly. Evidently, this guy was no different. "Your choom ok?"

"Choom? You mean Panther? Yeah. Mona's tending to her."

"You kids have some weird names…" Judy slyly remarked, grinning at V. "Still, they're more creative than referring to yourself with a single letter."

"You wound me, sweetie." V retorted in a deadpan tone. Though there was a very slight smile tugging at her lips. Joker seemed to catch on to the banter quickly, allowing a slight giggle. "Seriously, though. What the fuck was all that crazy bullshit back there? And what were those… things you created?"

"They're our Personas. They're kind of like manifestations of our inner rebellious spirit. I thought you had one of your own, what with that Pixie clinging to you for dear life."

Joker referring to Pixie with a "that" perked an eyebrow.

Still, all this talk really didn't make much sense. Then again, nothing in the last few hours did. V still wasn't completely convinced she wasn't currently a vegetable on one of Felix's 'runner chairs and this was just some weird hallucination.

"We just met literally a few minutes ago, right before we found you all."

Judy suddenly pointed at something in the mess of shadow and gore. "V, I got a ping! A shard, looks like. Might have somethin' halfway useful on it."

V picked up the shard. A communication archive from a first glance. However, now wasn't the time to slot it. The group still needed to get the hell out of this place. Once she was satisfied, she rose to her feet and turned to face the others. "Well, not the greatest outcome, but for now, it'll do."

With that, the three began to walk back towards the rest of the group.

It seemed as though the Panther girl had been patched up and was now back on her feet. The fur and armour clad girl still held onto Panther's hand. V wasn't one to assume, but there was clearly deep affection there.

The bear girl turned to face the approaching three and for a moment, she looked relieved.

Then a look of abject horror flashed over her face.

"Hrgk!"

Joker's voice cut through the air like a knife.

V's gaze whipped down to look. A single shadowy tendril had pierced straight through Joker's abdomen. The needle sharp point dripped with blood. For what felt like an eternity, time slowed to a crawl as if V were under the effects of her Sandevistan.

Joker's eyes widened as the tendril retracted. She stumbled. "Well that… sucks…" She managed to squeeze out in Japanese before finally slumping into Judy's waiting arms.

V looked back towards the supposedly dead Maelstromer. Though barely holding itself together, and very visibly on its final death throes, the monster was very much still alive. Then an ear bursting screech threatened to deafen the solo.

It was not the monster's screech.

"JOOOOOKER!"

It was the bear girl.

A sudden pulse of energy thumped out from the girl, knocking Panther off balance. She then clasped hands on her head, writhing in agony. Blue fire - similar to earlier - began to grow, consuming the poor girl.

For a brief moment, V was rooted to the spot in sheer awe. Though Judy's plea for help shook her out of it. Getting Joker to safety was now top priority.

[The rage inside is beginning to burst. It shall be your spear. Take what has been taken. You are not powerless. Call upon my wrath and wage a devastating war on all those that have wronged us! I am thou. Thou art I!]

The voice didn't seem to come from any one place, rather it seemed to emanate from the very stone itself. As the wrathful flame grew stronger, the bear girl stepped forward. The floor cracked under her step.

[Call my name and ravage the enemy!]

"BOUDICA!"

The hood of the girl's coat burned away to nothing as energy exploded forth.

From the blinding light, a form emerged. Muscular, large and clad in furs and hide. Blue warpaint ran over scarred arms and rage filled eyes. Fiery red hair sparked and roared with searing fire. It ran long into a form resembling a thick braid with flecks of radiant light dancing around it.

A strong grip clutched a large spear with a haft of stone and a tip made seemingly out of pure light. The woman was easily over eight feet tall and her deep, booming roar instilled a sense of primal fear that even V had a hard time resisting.

The bear girl and the newly summoned Boudica charged forward.

Leaping up into the air, the girl pulled out a strange looking pistol. Its barrel was hefty and as long as a rifle's. Twisting in mid air, she took aim. As she did, Boudica readied her spear, its tip growing brighter as energy was sucked in from the air around it. For a moment, V could swear that the room was growing dimmer.

The monster clawed at the advancing warrior duo. To very little effect.

"Purging Radiance!" The girl yelled before firing a single shot. A solid, thick beam of black and white energy burst from the pistol's barrel. Boudica launched her spear on the command. As it flew through the air, the gun's beam merged itself with the spear and together they annihilated what was left of the creature.

The entire opposite side of the room was enveloped in black and white.

When the dust settled, there was nothing left but a large smoking crater. The stone was clean cut as if it had simply disappeared from existence. Vaporised in mere seconds.

"Holy… shit…" V could only mutter in disbelief. Then, the girl collapsed as Boudica vanished into nothingness.

Breathing was painful.

Not breathing was also painful.

Putting it plainly, life was pain.

Lynn let out a grunt as she slowly came back to the land of the living. "Hey you, you're finally awake." Ryuji's voice was muffled and Lynn could barely focus on it. Though she immediately shot her eyes open.

From first glance, she was laid out in the back seat of Mona's bus form. Her head rested on Ann's lap as the blonde gently stroked her hair. If Lynn wasn't in so much pain, the act would have been relaxing. Still, she managed to shoot Ryuji a baleful glare. "If I hear anything about an 'impaling ambush' I'll shove your shotgun where the sun doesn't shine." She groaned.

Ryuji's smirk morphed into a dopey grin.

Though a particularly bad movement that elicited a cry of pain wiped the grin from his face. As much as the bleach blond loved to joke around, he was very clearly worried out of his mind. A sweet sentiment.

Daring to try and look around the bus, a few things caught her attention.

First was V in the driver's seat. The Pixie sat perched on her shoulder and was muttering in the woman's ear, pointing in different directions. Next to the two was the woman V had called Judy. She was tapping at a weird looking piece of machinery. It looked like a laptop, but would have fit better in a sci-fi movie.

Then Lynn noticed Shiho's unconscious form laid in a similar position on the next seat over.

"What… happened?" Lynn asked as she gestured to Shiho. Surprisingly, it was the bald man - River - that replied. He did his best to speak in Japanese, but was quite out of practice. Thankfully, he was at least somewhat decent.

"Your friend is… tired. Exhausted. Not hurt."

"I can speak English, River." Lynn replied. River nodded, but looked up at Ryuji. The bleach blond had taken to leaning out of the window to look out for Shadows.

"I know. Your boyfriend does not, though."

Lynn suddenly laughed. A huge mistake, it seemed. Pain shot through her body. She felt Ann gasp in surprise before a warm feeling washed over her body. The pain soothed to a dull ache. It seemed Ann was getting better with her own form of healing power.

"He's definitely not my boyfriend."

That caught the man off guard. He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Sorry. I meant Skull, I think he said. My Japanese isn't what it used to be."

"It's better than mine when I first came back to Japan." Ann gave a warm smile as she spoke. Hearing another speak English seemed to take a load off River's shoulders. "Anyway, you had us worried there, Joker! If not for our new friends here, you'd probably be dead."

"Airhypo. A basic stimulant. It keeps the blood flowing and helps seal wounds." V called back from the front. "You owe me a good chunk of eddies." Though clearly a joke, the sight of Judy jabbing V in the side with a swift elbow brought a smile to Lynn's face. Even if the term "eddies" meant nothing to her.

"We're currently heading for the exit." Ann explained.

"What about Nakanohara?"

"Joker, you're hurt. He can wait. His Shadow won't be going anywhere."

"I have to ask. What's with the names?" Judy asked, turning in her seat to face the rest of the group.

Things had been incredibly hectic up until now, so Lynn really hadn't had time to take in the appearance of the three newcomers. Judy's tattoos were the first and foremost thing Lynn took interest in. She had lots of them peppered all over her body. The fact that her outfit didn't really cover much was also a point of interest.

Though each to their own.

V was a little more practical in her clothing. A high collared jacket, thick, baggy pants and a shirt that bore her midriff.

Among the three, River was the most normally dressed. But then Lynn noticed his eye and hand. Who were these people?

"We give ourselves codenames when in the Metaverse. Just in case."

Judy's eyebrow raised before she shrugged. "Guess I won't ask what your real names are, then."

The bus fell silent as V drove. They were finally nearing the exit, it seemed. Lynn felt Mona crawl to a stop before the engine cut out. As much as Lynn wanted to go back and finish what they came in for, she had to admit, she would have been a liability.

The wound had closed up, sure. But it would be a while before it properly healed.

Still, it was enough for Lynn to stand with only a bit of help from Ann. The true test was the stairway up to the exit. With herculean effort and a lot of pain, Lynn hobbled up the stairs behind the rest of the group.

The ordeal completely took her breath away.

"Want Hunter and I to stay with you tonight, Joker?" Ann's tone was still far too worried to be comfortable. Lynn smiled, eyeing Ryuji. It seemed the boy had thought better of speaking up. She nodded.

"That'd be nice. If Boss says it's alright…"

"From what you've told me of him, I bet he'd let us." Ann grinned, sticking her tongue out with a cheeky giggle.

With that, the group exited Mementos. Their mission was unfinished for now.

V didn't know what to expect when stepping through Mementos' supposed exit.

But floating chains and a never-ending deep blue void certainly wasn't up there on her list of predictions. She felt weightless. In fact, it was as if she had become nothing but a consciousness floating in the blue.

The chains fluttered past gently before slowly speeding up.

Eventually, what felt like the weight of the world came crashing down. V felt an impact as though she had just landed from a long fall.

She grunted as objects and structures materialised around her.

Within a matter of seconds, the solo found herself in a firing range not too different from Wilson's at the Second Amendment. She was standing at one of the booths with a pistol in hand. Down range, faceless targets move slowly to and fro. Normally, they would have been moving along rails. Though in this case, they were merely floating aloft.

"I was wondering what form your Room would take." The male voice sent a spike through V's spine. She spun and came face to face with a man. A man she had seen before.

"Felix." V said flatly.

He was sitting behind a kiosk with a thick mesh of metal separating him from V. The whole area was like a half remembered version of Wilson's shop. Though instead of guns and crates of ammo, there were chains and boxes of papers and files.

Felix's laid back grin crawled back over his lips as he slouched on his seat. He made a welcoming gesture. "Welcome to the Velvet Room, V. Or more specifically, your Velvet Room. This place exists between the borders of reality and dream." As he spoke, Bandit jumped onto the kiosk's counter. The dog quietly watched V through the meshed metal separating them.

A strange sense of intelligence flashed across its eyes. Something that struck a strange sort of curiosity in V.

"You'll have to forgive me for lying to you. As you should have guessed by now, there's a little more to the situation than I first let on." V only gave a grunt in response. "You'll also have to forgive me for changing the terms of our contract. I have a new job for you."

"Yeah? Well you can stick it up your ass."

Felix chuckled. He nodded in understanding. "You have every right to be annoyed. And I know better than to simply offer you more money." Felix rose to his feet and began to look over the shelves behind him, searching for something. "There are those who wish to commodify the very concept of human existence. You have experience with them."

"Arasaka."

Felix nodded, continuing his search. "What they're trying to do, I don't know. How it relates to you, I also don't know. What I do know is that it will involve those teenagers you encountered during your initial foray into the Metaverse. One of them bears the title of Trickster. I want you and your comrades to aid the Trickster."

V impatiently began to tap a foot on the tiled floor. "How does helping this Trickster person tie in with whatever Arasaka's next scheme is? Who's to say I even want to get involved in that train wreck again?"

"The answers to your questions will come in time. Ah! Here we are." Felix carefully plucked a box from one of the higher shelves. From the box he plucked a single file with a strange emblem emblazoned on its cover. The file held numerous sheets of paper and a single card.

The card shimmered with a strange light for a brief moment.

"You've already begun the first step on your journey. The contract you formed with the Pixie has granted you and your comrades the will to rebel. Such contracts are quite rare, indeed. You possess a unique affinity. However, I must admit, there was a hidden term to that contract. One the Pixie didn't even know of."

"Of fucking course there was. Let me guess… I've just sold my soul."

Felix paused for a moment. Long enough for V to seriously start questioning if that was actually what happened. Her grip on the pistol tightened and her teeth began to grind. Then, Felix laughed. "No. Your soul is very much still your own. Rather, the contract you agreed to with Pixie has also bound you to this room. In short; you are now under my employ."

V stood for a moment in complete silence.

The distant jingling of chains danced around the room as the two stared at one another.

Then, a blazing burst of movement.

Followed by a screeching yell of pain. V lay on the ground, clutching the hand that had once held the pistol. Said iron was now on the other side of the room, laying harmlessly on the floor. V's hand was enveloped in a strange smoke and for a few more moments, it seared in agony as if it had been set alight.

As the smoke faded and the pain subsided, she clambered to her feet. Her breathing grew heavy as she glared at Felix with intent to kill. "What. Was. That?" She hissed through clenched teeth.

"An addendum. You're prohibited from attempting to cause me or my assistants any harm. Sanctions will be assigned if you try breaching that clause." Felix's expression remained unchanged from his grin.

Lifting her arm, V pointed at the now slightly burned hand. "You call this a fuckin' sanction!? Don't fuck with me, asshole!" She threw a kick at a nearby stack of boxes, sending its contents scattering across the floor. "You're sick in the head, you creepy, grinning psychopath!"

"I'm aware of the severity. But you have to understand my position. You're an Edgerunner of legend. One with a reputation of acting first and thinking never. Certain precautions have to be put in place. I'm sorry, truly. Now, I suggest you take a moment to decompress. When you've calmed yourself, we'll continue."

For the next few minutes, V could only glare at the man. Slowly, the burn on her hand cleared up and returned to normal. "Fine. Have it your fucking way." Her shoulders sagged as she leant against her booth's counter. Felix nodded once again, visibly relaxing.

There are a few things I need to explain. The Trickster and their friends hold the power known as Persona. You hold something similar. Though it isn't quite as potent."

Felix placed the card that was in the folder from earlier on the counter and slid it through a slot in the mesh. On its surface was an image of Pixie contained within an intricate blue border.

"Rather than having a Persona of your own, you can form contracts with Shadows, allowing you and your comrades to give them orders. I believe the Trickster does something similar. Though their power transforms the Shadow into a fully realised Persona. In effect, it becomes a part of their personality."

"Well that doesn't sound healthy…" V was getting a little overwhelmed by all this. "Alright. So you want me to help the Trickster. Then what? What's in it for you? Also… what the fuck do you mean the 'border between reality and dream'?"

Felix laughed once more. "My goals and reasons are my own." That response just annoyed V more. Though she knew better than to try squeezing blood from a stone. Plus, she didn't want to get another 'sanction.' "This place is a reflection of your inner heart. A manifestation of your soul, so to speak. Your physical body is currently undergoing the process of leaving the Metaverse. On that note… there is one more thing you should forgive me for."

"... I hope, for your sake, these fucking sanctions are enough to keep me from tearing you a new asshole."

"Perhaps." Felix's grin faltered for a moment. "When you regain your physical form, you will find yourself in a new reality different from your own. The reality the Trickster calls home."

V's fist slammed against the mesh, denting it. She gritted her teeth and hissed as her hand began to burn in the smoke once more. Only this time, she endured it and didn't break eye contact for a moment.

The noise startled Bandit, who was now growling and baring their teeth. Felix, meanwhile, barely seemed to flinch. He calmly petted Bandit's head, settling the dog down once more. All the while, his grin remained unchanged.

"Now, now. This is not a permanent thing. In time, you will be able to go back and forth between realities. Though you lack the means as you are now. Seek power from your bonds. Foster your relationships and hone your skills."

A chime rang from beneath the counter. Its tone pounded in V's mind. Strangely, it wasn't all that loud, yet V felt as though it was about to deafen her.

"Ah. We've run out of time. Again, forgive me. We shall speak again when the time comes. For now, you would do well to blend in with your new surroundings."

With that, before V had any time to argue, her consciousness faded. She was thrown back into the blue void of spectral chains. The questions she had were limitless, but it looked as though she wouldn't be getting any answers any time soon.