So, are you ready Yonda? Ren asked as the two sat in his office.
Quite Dr Akira. Yonda said as she lay down. I'm curious to see what kind of palace takes form in my mind. I'm downright giddy I dare say.
Very well. Ren laid down. Let's begin.
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Yonda and Ren appeared at the counter of the Velvet Room Cafe.
"Oh my what a cute little-" Yonda froze, realizing that words were actually coming out of her mouth, and not her brain. "I-I-I-I'm…talking."
"Indeed. This place exists in one's mind after all. By the very nature of being here, we are already communicating with our minds." Lavenza explained. "So your quirk might not work quite as well here, due to interference."
"I…I see." Yonda took a moment to collect herself. "My apologies that took me off guard for a moment, shall we continue?"
"Of course, please wait one moment," Lavenza said, reaching under the counter and pulling out a cup of purplish liquid. "Here you are."
Yonda took the cup, giving it a confused look. She gave it a sniff. "Is this grape juice?"
"Yes, it's your favorite, correct?" Lavenza asked.
"Yes, and I'm not complaining, but I'm just confused as to why you're serving it to me now?" Yonda asked.
"It's just nice to have something cold and delicious, before experiencing something unpleasant," Lavenza explained.
"I see. Yes, I suppose that makes sense." Yonda said, taking a good long drink of the juice until the glass was empty. "Ahhh. Delicious. Thank you Lady Lavenza."
Lavenza giggled. "You're very welcome, I can give you another if you'd like?"
"No, no, I'd prefer to go into the palace now." Yonda insisted politely.
"Alright then, let's go," Ren said, getting out of his seat, and looking towards the backdoor.
"Very well," Lavenza said, as the back door opened.
Yonda hopped off her seat, and she and Ren approached the door.
"Be ready," Ren told her.
Yonda nodded, and the two of them went through the door.
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Ren and Yonda found themselves in front of a large building, just below the steps that led to the entrance.
Next to the building, was a sign that said "D.O.C Asylum."
"Ahhh. So the old facility I was kept in has turned into an insane asylum in my mind." Yonda said, taking a good look at the place. "Can't say I'm surprised."
But it does upset you. Said Yonda's voice, ringing in both Ren and Yonda's heads. As much as you like to own up to your past, you do despise the terrible memories it brings you. Don't you?
"I didn't say that," Yonda explained, looking around to see if she could find the source of the voice, although she already knew she likely wouldn't find anything.
"That's probably your shadow self," Ren explained calmly. "It seems she can hear us no matter where we are in the palace."
Oh, I can do more than that. I can hear you. See you. Feel you. All that. Shadow Yonda giggled. This entire place is my eyes and ears. With each step you take, you walk on my skin. Hehehehehehe!
Oh, this is going to get quite annoying, isn't it? Yonda cringed.
There are two of you, did you imagine it would be any other way? Shadow Yonda said.
"It looks like she can still read our thoughts, even though I can not." Yonda sighed. "Lovely. Shall we go in?"
Ren nodded, and the two went up the steps leading to the door.
Fair warning, you're not going to like what happens when you go through that dooooorrrrr. Shadow Yonda warned in a sing-song tone.
"I understood that before I came in here. Thank you very much." Yonda said, rolling her eyes, as she opened the door.
Inside was a lobby. With doorways leading to hallways all around the asylum, two large stairways that led to the upper level, and a large desk at the center, with a shadow behind it, as well as a bunch of other shadows just standing around the lobby.
Shadows were dressed in black nurses' outfits, and were mostly normal, except for their heads, which were just giant mouths.
And those mouths were talking. Constantly. About a dozen shadows all talking at the same time.
"Agghhhhhh!" Yonda shouted in pain, as the noise quickly overwhelmed her, she tried to cover her ears but of course, this didn't help as it felt like she was getting blasted by noise that pierced her brain.
Ren grit his teeth, as the headache-inducing noise did a number on him as well, causing a truly awful headache.
"Make it stop! Make it stop! For the love of all that is good! MAKE IT STOP!" Yonda shouted, her voice only barely drowned out by the noise.
I told you so. Shadow Yonda said in a tone so smug, they could practically hear her expression from wherever she was. Come now, did the oh-so-smart Yonda not figure out it'd be something like this. This is just an exaggerated version of what it was like back when you lived here. Thus is the nature of these palaces. It's really quite simple.
BANG! BANG BANG! BANG BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Ren proceeded to shoot every single one of the shadows, causing the noise to stop completely.
"Ahhhh. Ahhhhhh." Yonda groaned in pain, she had crumbled to the floor, huddled in the fetal position with her hands over her now bleeding ears.
So on a scale of 1 to 10, how wrong do you think you were? Shadow Yonda asked.
"Eat shit and die," Yonda growled as she tried to stand back up, but she was struggling due to the powerful headache she still had to endure.
You first. Shadow Yonda giggled. And what happened to that false elegance of yours? Was that all it took to shatter your facade to pieces?
"We're leaving," Ren said as he picked up Yonda, and carried her in his arms. "We're too ill-equipped to explore here. We'll come back with items to make this place more…bearable."
"I suppose…that would be for the best," Yonda admitted.
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"Returning so soon?" Lavenza asked as Ren and Yonda came back into the velvet room.
"The palace was more…troublesome than expected," Ren explained. "We're going to have to get some special equipment."
"I suppose I should expect no less from something conjured from my own mind." Yonda groaned as Ren laid her down in one of the booths. "Would you mind if I stayed here for a while longer? This place is actually rather relaxing."
"Of course. Would you like some grape juice and curry?" Lavenza asked her kindly.
"Yes please," Yonda said in an almost begging voice.
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"Alright Kiba, are you ready?" Ren asked, now with Kiba in his office.
"I am ready to face my inner demons in glorious combat!" Kiba said proudly, as she lay down. "Let us begin Dr Akira."
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"Ohhh. So this is the velvet room?" Kiba asked as she arrived in the velvet room, looking around. "How cozy."
"I'm glad you think so," Lavenza told her, before bringing out a red drink. "Raspberry juice?"
"Ohhhh, thank you very much. Kiba accepts this offering." Kiba said as she quickly scarfed it down. "Ahhhh. Tastes like red. Perfect."
"Want to do some stretches before we go in?" Ren asked her.
"Wonderful idea," Kiba said, getting up, and doing those stretches for a couple minutes, before finishing up. "Alright! I'm ready!"
"Want one last juice before you go in," Lavenza asked.
"If you insist." Kiba took a glass of raspberry juice that Lavenza pulled out and quickly drank it all up. "Thank you very much. Now then, shall we go."
"Very well," Ren said, standing up.
The door opened and the two approached.
"Ready yourself," Ren told her.
"I was born ready!" Kiba said, giving him a determined look.
And with that, they walked into the light.
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"This is…not what I was expecting," Ren said as they arrived in front of the palace.
In front of them was the Midoriya house. But it looked to be partially destroyed. There were holes in the walls, and broken glass all around. The trees in the forest around them were all either broken or uprooted in some way.
Lastly, it was daytime, but there appeared to be a perpetual eclipse going on. With something that wasn't quite the moon, blocking out the sun.
The two had ended up in front of the gates, which stood strong, and unbroken.
Ren looked down at Kiba, who stared at the palace in shock and horror. "Kiba?"
"..." Kiba didn't respond, just looking at this place and not saying a word. Looking thoroughly shaken.
Ren crouched down, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Kiba."
Kiba shook her head and faced Ren. "M-My apologies. I just…wasn't expecting to see this…I can't say I enjoy seeing my home destroyed."
"It's an unpleasant sight to be sure," Ren affirmed, getting back up and looking at the building. "Thankfully it's just a construct of your mind. Remember that."
"I know. Thank you." Kiba said, looking back up at the palace. "Let's get this over with."
Kiba went over to the gate, and pushed it open, allowing both of them to walk inside.
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When the two entered, they found that the entry room was no different than the one in reality. Except the stairs were destroyed, among other things.
"Well, it looks like we're gonna have to get around here some other way," Ren said, pulling out his grappling hook, while Kiba grew her wings.
But before they could do anything, they suddenly started hearing something. The sound of things breaking off in the distance.
Then something burst through the roof, slamming down in front of them.
That thing was Shadow Kiba.
She resembled Kiba for the most part but in her berserker form with her wings grown. Although she looked even more monstrous. Her face carried more bat-like features, and she was much larger than Kiba herself, towering over them.
What's more, she was entirely covered in blood.
"RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Shadow Kiba roared as she lunged at Ren.
Ren barely ducked out of the way in time, causing Shadow Kiba to go crashing through the front door.
Kiba turned and looked at her shadow in both horror and disgust. "Th-That's…my shadow?"
"Don't let it distract you Kiba. Focus." Ren told her.
"BLOOODDDDDD!" Shadow Kiba cried out before flying at them.
"You…" Kiba grit her teeth and flew at her shadow self.
"Wait! Kiba!" Ren called out.
"You will obey me mon-agh!" Kiba was punched in the side of the face by shadow Kiba, sending her flying through the walls of the palace.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Ren shot shadow Kiba in the face, doing no damage, but getting her attention all the same.
"Arsene!" Ren called out, summoning his Persona behind him.
Shadow Kiba rushed at him, and Arsene pelted her with dark energy. Shadow Kiba winced as the energy hit her, but kept going, not slowing down and healing quickly, landing a devastating kick on Ren's stomach that sent him flying through multiple walls, into the cafeteria.
Before he could get up, Shadow Kiba rushed in and pinned him to the ground.
"FEEEEEEEEDDDDDD!" Kiba hissed, as she bared her fangs, ready to take a drink out of Ren.
That's when Kiba flew in and kicked Shadow Kiba in the face.
Shadow Kiba ate the kick-through, much to Kiba's surprise.
"Impossible!" Kiba shouted seeing how little damage she did, before shadow Kiba grabbed her leg and tossed her into a wall.
Shadows rose on the wall, and grabbed Kiba, keeping her in place, while Shadow Kiba turned her attention back to Ren.
"Agh! Let me go!" Kiba shouted as she tried to struggle out of the shadow's hold. "Damn it you monster! Listen to me! I am in charge here! Obey me you leech!"
Shadow Kiba ignored her and went back to trying to bite down on Ren's neck, only for Arsene to grab her head from behind.
"HISSSSSSSSS!" Shadow Kiba kept moving her head towards Ren's neck, slowed down by Arsene but not for long.
"Kiba don't focus on the shadow. Focus on yourself." Ren told her. "You're weak because you're convincing yourself that you're weak. But we both know that's not true! Gather your strength! And break free!"
Kiba closed her eyes. That's right. I'm strong! I'm super strong!
If you were strong you could control that monster.
Th-That's not-
YOU are weak. The strong part of you is the monster in front of you. To be strong, you have to be that.
No! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!
Tears poured out of Kiba's eyes, and when Ren saw this, he knew what he had to do.
He pulled out his gun and shot Shadow Kiba in the mouth.
"RAHHHHHH!" Shadow Kiba roared in pain, and Arsene kicked her off of Ren.
Arsene blasted the shadows holding Kiba with dark energy, destroying them and freeing Kiba,
Ren ran and grabbed Kiba, taking her over his shoulder.
Shadow Kiba recovered from the attack and looked at Ren, ready to lunge at him, only for Ren to throw a smoke bomb, filling the entire area with smoke.
"RAHHH!? RAHHHHH!?" Shadow Kiba looked around, unable to see her pray, as they escaped under the cover of smoke.
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Ren rushed through the doors of the velvet room, with a softly crying Kiba in his arms.
"Oh dear." Lavenza gasped as the two came in. "I suppose things went rather poorly."
"Yeah." Ren sighed, as he set Kiba down in one of the booths.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Kiba repeatedly apologized through her sobs.
Ren massaged the bridge of his nose. "I'm gonna have to do some work on the outside before I can take her back in there."
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"Alright Fu, are you ready to go in?" Ren asked, now having Fu in his office.
"Sure," Fu said as he laid back. "Let's see if this works."
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"Huh. Well, the name is accurate." Fu said as he arrived in the velvet room, and looked around.
Until he noticed a weight on his chest.
"Oh," Fu said as he looked down, and noticed that there was a baby on his lap. A baby with pitch black, gooey skin.
"Well, it looks like we have an extra guest," Lavenza said.
"I can't believe I forgot about Kyosei." Ren sighed, rubbing his temples. "Fu, do you mind keeping Kyosei with Lavenza while we're in the palace?"
Fu nodded, picking up Kyosei, and handing him to Lavenza. "Be good."
"Gooooo." Kyosei gave Fu a sad look but didn't make a fuss about it.
"It's ok little one. I'll take good care of you." Lavenza said, reassuring the child in her arms, before turning her attention to Ren. "Could you handle the juice, my arms are occupied."
Ren nodded, and got behind the counter, before pulling out some orange juice. "Here."
"Um. I can't taste this, you know?" Fu pointed out, before taking a second to think about it. "Actually now that I think about it. This place is formed mostly from thoughts and memories. And I remember being able to feel and taste, well…I have Fuhai's memories of that stuff. So maybe I could-"
And suddenly the world shifted.
Suddenly Fu could feel it. He could feel the soft stool under his butt. He could feel gravity pulling down his body. He could feel the warm air in the room. He could feel his clothes touching his skin.
It was faint. He definitely wasn't feeling any of this in full. But he COULD feel things.
Fu started rapidly patting his body, faintly feeling his hands across his body and in his palms. He ran his hand through his hair, feeling the sensation of each lock of hair.
"Looks like his cognition shifted," Ren said.
Swiftly after that, Fu hastily grabbed the glass, spilling a bit in his haste, and gulped the juice down.
"Ahhhhhh." Fu gave out a long pleased groan as he set down the cup. "...My ability to feel emotion has not increased, and yet I am on the verge of tears of joy. Thank you."
"You're very welcome," Lavenza said. "Would you like another? And maybe some food. Normally I don't feed people before they go into a palace, but with you, it should be alright."
"Yes!" Fu said desperately. "Please!"
"I have a feeling we're going to be here for a while." Ren sighed.
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After a lengthy feast, Ren and Fu finally went into the palace.
"Well, this is new," Ren said.
In front of them was a giant castle, on the edge of a cliff. Looking like something you'd see out of an old-timey cartoon or horror movie.
Adding to that feeling was the fact that the entire world had turned gray. Including the two of them.
"So this isn't normal," Fu said as he looked over himself. "Well, I guess this would be something my brain comes up with. So, what now?"
Ren approached the gate, with Fu following in tow.
Then, the gate promptly opened, and out came a massive zombie dog.
"Alright, Fu get ready," Ren told him.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Three failed palace attempts in a row?" Izuku asked.
Izuku and Ren were meeting in Ren's office, so Ren could give him a report on how the day had gone.
"Yonda's palace requires special equipment to get through. That one will be the easiest to deal with…probably." Ren sighed, as he drank his coffee. "Kiba on the other hand. It looks like her own self-loathing is keeping her from manifesting a Persona. It's also significantly powering up her shadow, and increasing its aggression. So I'm not gonna be able to bring her back there without a change in her cognition."
"And Fu?" Izuku asked.
"Ughhhhhhhhh." Ren groaned, before taking a long, long drink of his coffee. "Ok. So, when in the cognitive world. Some sense of feeling is returned to Fu. This includes pain. It's lessened because it's just based on distant memories. But he can feel it. I didn't think it would be TOO much of an issue. I was wrong."
"Was the pain too much for him?" Izuku asked, immediately being filled with concern.
"Yes. But not in the way you're thinking." Ren explained. "If you remember correctly, Fu likes anything that makes him feel something. If that thing is something negative. This includes pain."
"Oh. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh." Izuku cringed as he realized what had happened.
"It gets worse. Once Fu realized this, he allowed the shadow to start doing harm to him, while regenerating from all the damage. In a scene I will never be able to unsee." Ren continued, with a shiver of disgust. "...Putting that aside. This pretty much made awakening Fu's persona at the time, impossible. I'm gonna have to get more creative with him."
Things had gone rather poorly today, but Ren wouldn't let that stop him. He never has.