Chapter 60: Helping Astrid Out Hanging Out With Astrid
August 17th.
I returned to Astrid's apartment where she and I started to clean up the place. She was out of the hospital and was feeling better, but she needed someone to help out in order to become her old self again.
"I always clean up my apartment once a week." She said, "And since I skipped out two weeks, I needed a hand, so I thought you would come along since you're also in Pride like me."
"I'm on it." I said, "Let's get started."
Astrid smiled at me.
"Thanks for accepting my assistance, I needed some anyway." She said,
"Don't mention it." I said,
Me and Astrid were cleaning her room.
"It's only just trash and dust we have to get rid of." She said, "Nothing special."
"Yeah." I said,
After that we cleaned the kitchen. I was doing dishes while Astrid was picking out any expired food and throwing them away.
"You know, Ren?" Astrid said to me, "You're a good guy, despite being a Sinner."
"Thanks." I said,
"By the way, you said I reminded you of someone?"
"You guys remind me of my… old friends."
"Really?"
"I had someone who was a skilled hacker like you, but she hacked us just to change her heart."
"Huh… So she had it different from me…"
"Yeah…"
"Was she a family member?"
"Well… She was the daughter of… someone looking after me while I was on probation."
"You were on probation? For what?"
"Robbery. I didn't do it."
"Uh-huh, as if you're a Phantom Thief."
Astrid giggled a bit. I was a bit embarrassed.
"I'm just kidding!" She said,
"Oh…" I said,
"Hey, maybe you should chat with me again on your friends when you used to be alive."
"Sure."
"Nice, I do need some new people to talk to anyways!"
Me and Astrid have become friendly to each other.
Fast forwarding to a few months later. Bernie was still interrogating me.
"I gotta say, we were even impressed by the Phantom Thieves by their intel-gathering skills as well." He said to me, "This wouldn't have been impossible if it wasn't for a skilled hacker."
I was silent.
"I'm right, aren't I?" He asked me,
Back to the present moment. A voice spoke to me.
"I am thou... Thou art I…
Thou hast acquired a new vow...
It shall become the wings of rebellion
That breaketh thy chains of captivity.
With the birth of the Fortune Persona
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
shall lead to freedom and new power…"
Me and Astrid have formed a bond together. I promise to use this bond to fix Astrid up again.
"Anyways, let's clean the windows now." She said to me, "They're probably filthy."
"R-Right!" I said, "I'm almost done with the dishes."
"Oh, I almost forgot! Take your time! I can try and wait…"
August 18th.
My friends and I were taking Astrid somewhere.
"Hey, Astrid, can I ask you a question?" Boris asked while Cattleya followed us somewhere,
"Yeah?" Astrid wondered, "What is it?"
"What did you do with our informations now that you're no longer gonna expose us?"
"...I deleted it. What else would I do with it?"
"Just wondering, that's all."
"Hey, Cattleya, where are we going?" Astrid asked Cattleya,
"We're going to a park!"
"A park, huh?" Sounds boring."
"Hey, you need sunlight." Lars said, "And fresh air."
"The only sunlight and fresh air I had are when I went to my window back in my apartment."
"That's only a small fraction of it." Willow said,
"Still, it's sunlight and fresh air."
"Come on, Astrid. Just trust my friends as always." Selene said,
"Alright, if you say so."
We were in the park. Astrid had her arms out.
"What are you doing?" Boris asked her,
"Saluting the sun?" Astrid replied, confused, "You said I need sunlight."
"Well not too much." Lars said, "Otherwise, you'll get sunburn."
"Ren, help me out, do I need sunlight?" Astrid asked me,
"...Depends on the mood." I replied,
"You're just speaking nonsense all of a sudden."
We all shared a laugh. My bond with Astrid has grown a bit.
August 19th.
We were walking to a beach. We were in our bathing suits.
"The beaches here in Pride aren't superior to the ones back in Gluttony." Boris said,
"In Sloth, there's no beaches." Selene said,
"Yeah, I can see why."
"What do I do when we hit the beach?" Astrid asked us,
"Swim around? Build a sandcastle? I don't know, there's a lot of things to do at the beach." Cattleya replied,
"Can I salute the sun?"
"That's not even funny anymore." Lars said,
"I still live with unfunny jokes!"
"Well since Summer is ending soon, I think this might be a good time for us to have some fun at the beach." Cattleya said,
"Fair. I haven't been to a beach in forever, so this should clear my mind as well."
When we hit the beach, Astrid was doing stretches. Lars and Willow were making a sandcastle together. Cattleya and Selene were sunbathing. Boris and I were chatting.
"So… You remember anything from your time as a human on Earth?" Boris asked me,
"...A little." I replied, "I think I know who you remind me of?"
"Really?"
"Yeah. She was class president at my high school and her sister was a prosecutor. Or maybe an attorney?"
"Huh, was she tough like me?"
"Yeah, I guess you can say that."
Boris looked at Astrid who was about to go into the waters.
"Just make sure she doesn't end up in Envy." He said as he realized something, "...Not that we sent her a calling card of that already about her Envy, but I meant the ring, Envy."
"I'm on it." I said,
I went over to Astrid. She looked at me.
"The oceans sure are beautiful when it sparkles…" She said, "I'm not really used to the outside world all that much."
"I can understand that feeling." Ren said,
Astrid then sat on the sand.
"Feels weird to even be out here." She said, "The atmosphere is almost giving me a headache, but it's worth every second of it."
"Sure is…" I said as I turned to my friends, "Wanna help build Lars and Willow their sandcastle?"
"Nah, I'm good."
"What about sunbathing with Cattleya and Selene?"
"...Can I sunbath over here?"
"...I guess that can work."
My bond with Astrid has grown.
August 20th.
After being outside with Astrid, it was time to take her to Mementos to change the heart of someone here in Pride.
"Alright, let's head to Mementos!" Cattleya said, "Astrid, I think it's time for you to learn about the place with your new skills."
"And I'm a Phantom Thief like you guys, yeah?" Astrid asked her,
"Of course!" Selene said, "You have a useful Persona and everything!"
"Except for a code name." Cattleya said,
"Oh? Like a nickname?" Astrid wondered,
"Totally!"
"Well, if you insist, then call me Hacker. Kinda fits me well despite what I did.
"Excellent, welcome aboard, Hacker!"
"Thanks."
"Heh, Hacker and Hunter." Boris said, "I found that out and it's kinda fun to say."
Astrid chuckled.
"Didn't know your code name was Hunter." She said to Boris,
"But here we are." Boris said, "Anyways, let's go to Mementos."
When we had to Mementos, our outfits changed, same for Astrid's as she was also a Phantom Thief as well.
"Huh, what an outfit I'm wearing." Astrid said, "This like a jumpsuit or anything?"
"It is from the looks of it." Selene said as she got a closer look at it, "And it fits you very well!"
Astrid blushed a bit.
"Thanks…" She said, "You're kinda beautiful yourself, Selene."
Selene blushed and chuckled.
"Thanks for the compliment!" They said, "But we go by our code names here, so call me Eclipse!"
"Right, thanks and you're welcome, Eclipse." Astrid said,
"Anyways, enough chit-chatting, let's go!" Cattleya said,
"Wait, who's heart are we changing?"
"Here, I'll tell you the details. Some guy's boyfriend wanted to control him, so we decided to change his heart so that he won't feel manipulative."
"I see… Thanks for the details."
"Oh, and not to mention!"
Cattleya then showed off a device. She pressed and then The Phantom Truck appeared.
"Hey, it's The Phantom Truck!" Lars said, "I haven't seen this thing in a while!"
"A truck?" Astrid wondered,
"I made it myself!" Cattleya said, "And this device I made to make it appear with the push of a button!"
We all got on as I was driving.
"Wait, does Joker know how to drive?" Selene wondered,
"Don't worry, he's an intermediate at this." Cattleya said, "He might have some flaws, but he'll learn out of them."
"Ok, so let's hope we don't die." Astrid said,
I drove away to where we were gonna change the heart of someone. When we got there, the demon turned into a Shadow as he screamed in anger without hesitation. Astrid then took off her mask to reveal Jingu as Jingu rubbed her head, which made Astrid find a weakness.
"His weaknesses are Dark and Light!" She said,
I stepped up and took off my mask to reveal a new Persona of mine.
"Choronzon!" I shouted,
Choronzon appeared and shot out Eiga dark magic at the Shadow, stunning him.
"Now's our chance!" Astrid shouted, "Here comes an all-out attack!"
We performed an all-out attack on the Shadow. Selene got the final kill.
"It's been fun while it lasted." She said,
The Shadow returned back to the demon we changed the heart of.
"Ok, I won't control my boyfriend…" He said as he disappeared,
"We did it!" Cattleya said,
"Well, that was… interesting." Astrid said, "Is that it?"
"That's it! Let's head back!"
August 21st.
I was with Astrid again as she was looking at a picture of herself and Cattleya years ago.
"She and I had a bond back then…" She said, "But with what I did to you all, I had to work to get that bond back…"
Astrid looked at me.
"Does she remind you of someone?" She asked me,
"Some cat I had as a pet." I replied, "He was also a Phantom Thief."
"Really? A pet cat as a Phantom Thief?"
"Yeah, but he's not really a cat."
"Then… What was he?"
"I don't know."
"Well that makes no sense."
Astrid then chuckled a bit.
"I guess it doesn't." I said,
"Look, Cattleya is a cat, so that makes sense." Astrid said,
"Right."
"So… Who else represents who?"
"...It's a lot."
"Don't worry, I'll listen."
"Lars reminds me of a jock I first became friends with. Willow reminds me of another first friend in high school. Boris, some high school president who was tough. Selene, an artist from another school."
"Interesting… Was that it?"
"There was one more… She was from a rich family."
"Huh, interesting… We only got 7 and you had 8 during your time as a human."
"Yeah…"
Astrid and I understood each other more.