The eight Phantom Thieves gathered together in Ren's attic room above Leblanc. They had gathered at the request of, of all people, Futaba. It was the first time since her joining the group that she had requested everyone gather. And that wasn't the only request she made. She also had Ryuji and Yusuke come over to her and Sojiro's home to help (if help meant 'do all the work') her carry her entire computer setup over to Leblanc and up to Ren's room. Ren, of course, and Haru, surprisingly, helped them with their task while Ann and Makoto had cold drinks ready for them once they were finished.
"I-I'm supposed to thank you guys for coming on such short notice at a time like this, right?" It was almost hard to believe the shy, awkward, socially-naïve girl before them was the same one who had demanded that the boys carry her PC down the street only a few hours earlier.
"There's no need to be so formal about this, Futaba," Makoto said in response, slightly amused.
Ren gave an encouraging thumbs up.
"Right. But still, thanks." Futaba took a deep breath and began her explanation. "So, like, last time we went into the Metaverse, I noticed some new files in Prometheus' database while I was looking up some Shadow stats."
"What kind of files?" Ann asked from the couch beside Haru.
"They were all in a folder called 'Previous Operational Data'."
"An' you never seen 'em before then?" Ryuji asked.
"I don't think they were even there before Necronomicon digivolved into Prometheus. So, I got curious and brought a thumb drive in with me yesterday to copy the files to."
"And that worked?" Makoto asked, not so much a question of clarification as one of surprise. After all, why would Futaba gather everyone and bring the attempt up at all if it hadn't worked?
"It did," the younger girl replied proudly, producing the drive in question. "Despite how complex the data was, the files were surprisingly small. But they're still super advanced files. My laptop nearly had a meltdown trying to run the things. Luckily, I built my own PC with all the top-of-the-line parts for the biggest, baddest specs."
"So your... computer got it working, right?" Haru asked, the nearly computer-illiterate heiress struggling to keep up with the conversation.
"If my baby couldn't handle it, I could hardly call myself a computer expert, could I? It would be a disgrace to the Oracle and Medjed names!"
"But why'd we hafta lug the damn thing all the way up here? Couldn't we'a' just done this in your room?"
"I was gonna, but there isn't nearly enough room in my room. Plus, I don't want Inari messing with my figures again. Feather Red nearly died for real when I reconstructed him." She glared at Yusuke, who was too distracted by the snacks Makoto and Haru had bought for the group on the way over to notice.
"You did check the files to make sure they're safe, right?" Morgana asked from his place in Haru's lap. "We don't know for sure what Metaverse data could do to a computer in the real world."
"It's fine. I put together some of my older parts into a backup PC and put the files though an antivirus program I wrote myself to make sure. That computer chugged a bit when I opened 'em in another program I wrote myself, but the files mostly worked. I tested a few of 'em on my main PC and they run perfectly well there."
"And if something goes wrong even after that test?"
"Eh. I'll just have Sojiro buy me replacement parts. He can't say no if it's for Phantom Thief business, right?"
"Futaba-chan is pretty devious, huh?" Haru commented.
"Imagine what she'll be like when she learns about tax write-offs..." Makoto whispered, adding to the thought.
"So, anyway, now that the PC's all set up again, we can all check out the files," Futaba declared. The PC had been set up on the small table where Ren's TV was normally kept, which had been moved in front of the shelves on which he kept souvenirs of various trips. That way, everyone had a clear view of the screens.
"So, like, what exactly are these files?" Ann asked as Futaba pulled up the program to play them.
"Basically, they're like stream archives, but of things we actually saw."
"So, like if we'd had cameras in our eyes?" Ann asked, shuddering at the thought.
"I'd have thought that too, but it's actually got a cinematic flare to it with all the good angles."
"So, like in a TV show when they reuse old footage for in-universe recordings," Ren proposed, "even if the angle changes aren't realistic in the slightest."
"Bingo. That's exactly right!"
"I guess if one movie can affect the collective unconscious enough to let me turn into a bus," Morgana pondered, "then it's not too much of a stretch for the sheer number of movies and TV shows that do that camera thing to have a similar effect."
"But why would we wanna go back over the old missions?" Ryuji asked, his brows creased. "I mean, we already beat 'em. It ain't like we can go back for some extra hard bonus bosses or somethin'."
"Tisk, tisk, my dear Skull. The fact that we can't go back is exactly why this is such a good opportunity for us."
"Huh? How come?"
"Well, you guys had already beaten three Palaces before I joined and I didn't even get to see a whole lot of mine. And Haru's seen even less of 'em. Not to mention, we didn't get to see everyone else's Persona awakenings. Only you and Ren have seen all of 'em. I'm sure everyone else is curious to see what it was like. Right?"
The others were quiet as the atmosphere became a tad awkward.
"Considering what he... *gulp* got up to, I'm not so sure I want to see Kamoshida's Palace," Makoto said nervously.
"Yeah, and I don't wanna revisit it either," Ann said in a similar manner. Haru passed her Morgana for comfort.
"I'm not sure I wanna revisit my own Palace either," Futaba admitted, "but I really wanna see Joker's awakening! I bet it was super cool!"
"I-I mean..." Despite herself, Ann was already starting to come around to the idea.
As were the others, as all eyes were on Ren.
"I would like to see Ren's awakening myself," Yusuke said, "but I am sure Ann's was a flurry of beauty and passion that I simply must see for myself!"
"W-Wait!" Ann exclaimed suddenly, now that her own awakening was on the table. "We-We should make sure everyone's okay with having their awakenings shown. Th-They're personal, y'know..."
"I agree," Ren replied, understanding why Ann might not want her own awakening to be shown. "That being said, I'm fine with mine being shown."
"Yay! You're the best, Ren!" Futaba was clearly the most excited of the group to see this.
Conversely, despite it not being her own awakening on display, Ann was still nervous about seeing her abuser's Palace again. Ren gave Morgana a meaningful look, a request for him to do what he could to comfort her. In a surprising display of uncatlike ability, he stood on his hind legs and rubbed the top of his head against her chin. Ann giggled when she noticed what he was doing and scratched behind his ears gratefully.
Futaba began the recording and, just as she'd said, the display was taken from multiple angles. How this was possible, especially given that Futaba's Persona would not exist for multiple months after this, was unclear, but it was unlikely that ruminating on this fact would get them anywhere. The recording took place in the dungeon beneath Kamoshida's castle. The man himself, or rather his Shadow, was watching as three of his knights surrounded Ren and Ryuji inside a jail cell.
Haru let out a loud gasp as she realised what Kamoshida's Shadow was (or rather wasn't) wearing: a crown, a cape and his underwear, leaving most of his unshaven body exposed.
"This is... Kamoshida's Shadow?" Makoto asked, just as shocked.
Ann said nothing.
In the recording, Ryuji shoulder-barged one of the knights off its feet in an impressive display of strength. He was then brought to his knees as a second knight punched him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. While Ren tried in vain to stop the first knight, which was now back on its feet, Ryuji pleaded with Ren to run and save himself. Looking back, Ren only now realised what a profound effect this one act had had on him.
Kamoshida then had one knight hold Ren at swordpoint while he began beating on Ryuji personally. Given what the others now knew about Ryuji's injury, this was difficult for them to watch, even for Morgana. Once he was done and ready to have Ryuji killed, Kamoshida finally turned his attention towards Ren when he demanded the Shadow stop. Kamoshida kicked Ren into a wall and had his guards hold him in place while he turned his attention back towards Ryuji.
Then, the moment came that each of the others recognised as Ren's Persona speaking to him for the first time, encouraging him to fight back. Ryuji could barely stand as Kamoshida grew tired of Ren's backtalk and decided to kill him first. Only after having his glasses knocked off by one of the guards (to which all of the others recoiled) did Ren's mask form. His mask removal was, perhaps, the most violent of them all. It was certainly the most bloody. Haru and Futaba couldn't watch. Makoto bit her lip. Ryuji and Morgana spared a quick concerned glance at Ren as his hand unconsciously reached for the tingling flesh on his face where the mask had come off. Yusuke found fresh inspiration in the imagery.
As for Ann, she was unable to look away from the screen for even a second. While she knew this and that were entirely unrelated, she couldn't help but feel like this was the first step in Ren and Ryuji helping her to find her own inner strength and manifest her own Persona. It made her feel like the pain the two had suffered in that dungeon was, somehow, partly her fault.
That wicked trickster grin of Ren's, making its first appearance in this moment as he stared down Kamoshida's Shadow, sent a chill down the spine of his seven teammates as Arsène let out a sinister chuckle in Ren's voice, only amplifying its terrifying nature. Once the blue flames had engulfed Ren's entire body and formed his Joker attire, the guards were all sent reeling by a gust of wind that seemed outside of Arsène's normal abilities. As such, it gave off the impression that Arsène was just innately powerful, probably moreso than any of the others' initial Personas.
As Arsène began laying waste to the guards in their true forms, attention turned away from the recording. All eyes were on Ren once again. "And what's why I was late on my first day of school," he said in a jovial tone that he hoped would raise the mood. And it seemed to.
"Wow. Ryuji was actually kinda cool for once," Futaba commented. "What happened to you?"
"Dude, come on..."
"I might not have made it outta there if not for Ryuji throwing himself at Kamoshida," Ren said, coming to his friend's rescue, as he had his. "It was the first act of kindness I received since before the assault allegation. Thank you, Ryuji. You have no idea what that meant to me."
"N-Nah, dude. 's fine. You tried ta help me there too, so we're even."
"Woah! So mature, Ryuji!"
"Futaba, seriously. Come on!"
"Are you alright, Lady Ann?" Morgana's question drew everyone's attention towards the group's sole female co-founder. The dams that were her blue eyes were on the verge of bursting.
"I'm flattered, but you've seen me go through worse," Ren joked, again hoping to ease the tension.
Ann shook her head. "It's not that. I just... Seeing this video, I... I started to wonder how things might have gone differently if I hadn't accepted Kamoshida's offer of a ride to school that morning. I would've ended up in the Metaverse with you and Ryuji, right? Would I have been a powerless bystander in that moment, or would I have been the focus of Kamoshida's abuse? Would I have awoken my Persona sooner? Would I... Would I have been able to save Shiho from her suicide attempt?"
"Lady Ann..."
"If I'd been strong enough to say 'No' back then, I... God..." The tears were coming full force now. Morgana, impotent with his tiny limbs, hopped off of Ann's lap to allow Haru to pull her in for a much-needed hug.
Ryuji leaned in to whisper to Ren, "Hey, whadda we do? Say she wouldn't'a made a difference? Or would that only upset her more?"
Ren considered the potential outcomes for a moment, his hand on his chin. "Ann," he said softly.
The teary-eyed young woman met his gaze.
"I'm not really sure why I've never told you this, but out of everyone in this group, and no offence to anyone else here, you are the one that I always felt was the strongest out of all of us."
"H-Huh? How?"
"You put up with Kamoshida's harassment for so long, and did so for Suzui-san's sake; you followed Ryuji and me into Kamoshida's Castle without any way to defend yourself or even much concern about the magic castle that suddenly appeared over the school; you stood up and demanded proper reparations from Kamoshida when he said he'd make amends by killing himself; you refused to let Kamoshida destroy your self-image and continued your modelling; you agreed to let Yusuke paint you naked not long after, even without a proper plan to get out of it. Hell, you even spared Kamoshida's Shadow so he could properly pay for what he'd done, no matter how personal it was for you. It wasn't as personal for me and even I was fine with the possibility of him dying after what happened to Suzui-san. It really inspired me to set moral limits for myself too."
"Wait. Are you... being serious?"
"I am. I may well have ended up like Akechi, if not for you being so level-headed. So don't focus on what you could have done. Focus on what you did do. You gave the Phantom Thieves a moral code. You are the very heart of this team and we would not have made it this far without you joining us when you did."
Ann gripped Haru's sweater tightly and cried even harder into it.
Makoto chuckled. "When he puts it like that, it's hard to argue against him."
"Gimme a few minutes and I can find some holes in his argument."
"Geez, save it for the next Space Wars, Futaba," Ryuji groaned, earning a laugh from the others, Ann included.
"Thanks, Ren," Ann replied, wiping away her tears with a tissue that Haru provided. "We wouldn't've made it this far without your power and tenacity either. Or your incredible way with words."
"Or my dashing good looks."
"Haha! Or those."
"Okay then!" Futaba interjected. "Now that Ren's segment is over, who wants to go next?"
"We could proceed chronologically," Yusuke suggested. "That would mean that Ryuji is next, correct?"
"Man, ya don't gotta put me on the spot like that," Ryuji whined.
"I'll go next," Ann said with firm conviction.
"Are you sure, Ann-chan?" Haru asked with concern.
"I am," Ann replied, meeting her senpai's gaze with determination. She would prove that Ren's assessment of her wasn't inaccurate. "Futaba? Roll the clip."
This one stemmed from a random thought I had a few months ago when I had Makoto assist Yusuke in the P5D dance set in Madarame's Palace, since she never saw it outside of that moment. Thinking about it again recently, this idea came to me.