New Fan Fic idea I saw no one else take advantage of, especially since pretty much everyone who plays Persona 5 uses this mechanic. Enjoy!
Ren Amamiya. The daring and charismatic leader of the infamous Phantom Thieves is bored, which as far as he is concerned, is the worst possible fate for any human alive.
He groaned, turning off his phone after checking it for the 10th time in five minutes. Ren lies in his meager mattress as he stares at the ceiling waiting for something, anything, to happen. 'This blows.' Ren thought to himself, his inner voice even sounding defeated. 'No one is available. Not a single Thieve or Confidant. Not even Morgana…' Ren thought wistfully. It was true, it seemed that everyone that Ren confided in even the slightest was busy. He even texted Mishima, his female-related shenanigans always made Ren chuckle, but alas, it wasn't meant to be.
'Maybe… this a good thing?' A single thought rose above the cacophony of depressing and reluctantly self-deprecating thoughts. 'When was the last time you actually had time to yourself? The second you stepped into Tokyo- no- even before that, you had little to no time for yourself.' Ren perked up at that. It was true, this past year his days were spent either infiltrating the metaverse, schoolwork, or hanging out with friends and confidants alike. He always enjoyed his time with what he basically considers his family, but it seemed like he always was playing up a character, even if it was just a little bit. Whether it was acting tougher when he was with Iwai or intentionally adding more wit and deadpan when he was with Akechi. It didn't matter who, Ren always left a conversation with the betraying thought that he wasn't being 100% genuine, a thought that always got smothered and shot down.
'Now's not the time for a downward existential spiral…' Ren shook his head. 'But… what do I do?' A good question, and it was met with a subsequent brainstorming of ideas and activities. 'Baseball? No… Fishing? Too cold… Shopping? No, what would I even buy?' As the brainstorm continued, Ren was growing increasingly more frustrated. It seemed with each idea, there was a reason to not do it, not to mention that there was no one else there with him to keep him on his toes. Once again though, a single question penetrated the ocean of thoughts. 'How about the Metaverse?'
Ren tried to shoot that thought down immediately, listing more and more reasons why he shouldn't: the danger, no backup, no Morgana Mobile, no navigational support. But the more reasons he listed, the stronger the thought became, despite the pushback, it was the only activity that sounded appealing. In the past, Ren has briefly thought about how alive and free he felt while fighting Shadows in Mementos, but he always suppressed it, he had to keep calm and in control- he had his fellow Thieves depending on his decisions and tactics, to get distracted could spell a serious disaster… but since he was on his own, he could act a bit more freely. Not reckless mind you, he was still solo, but he can let his personality guard down.
Ren smirked, a wicked grin flashing across his face. 'It'll be good to let loose… as long as no one else finds out, it'll be okay, right? It's not like we have any palace work to do, the deadline is still two weeks away and we made great progress… yeah, let's do it!' Ren got up from his bed, full of energy that wasn't there a mere five minutes ago. Ren silently admits that if any other of the Thieves found out, there'd be hell to pay, but damn the consequences, he was bored damn it!
After a short train ride, Ren arrived at Shibuya Main Subway Station, giddy with glee and excitement. Ren wouldn't admit it to anyone, but it had been a long time since he'd done anything by himself that he wanted to do. Ren pulled out the Metaverse Navigator, and the world pulsed with red and black in that familiar and satisfying way. Ren sighed in contentment as he felt his casual clothing get replaced with his "Joker" outfit. With a silly smile, Joker began to head towards the escalators, before something caught his eye in his peripheral vision.
It was a large cardboard box. It's always been there, as its where the Thieves keep their "costumes." The costumes were a strange phenomenon, they'd find sets for every member of their team occasionally on a random Mementos level. They ranged from distant school uniforms to strange high-tech suits. They were quite bizarre, and frankly hardly used, as everyone felt more than comfortable in their own metaverse outfit. Occasionally it would see some use, but otherwise were hardly touched. However, Ren secretly adored these "alternate costumes." He always felt… different in them. Like the tempo and intensity of the random shadow encounters changed depending on what costume he wore, it switched things up, kept battles fresh and Ren on his toes. But he almost never wore them. He needed to keep up his act as Joker, the stoic but snarky and cocky team leader… but this time was different, he was alone, with no one to judge him. So, with a smile, Ren walked over to the box and opened it, shifting through the costumes.
'Hmmm… lets go with this one. A classier look… but a man wearing a formal uniform while fighting monsters is a great trope…right?' Ren hummed as he picked out another school's uniform. 'Gekkoukan High School…' The name was foreign to Ren, he was sure he has never heard of such a school before, but when he held the uniform up, he instinctively knew. 'Metaverse Shenanigans, huh?' Ren chuckled as he looked over the uniform. A black blazer with the school emblem sewed on. Under the blazer was a white button up along with a pair of black dress pants and a light bronze belt. Strangely, the uniform seemed to have a red armband with the letters "S.E.E.S" blazoned on it. The acronym meant nothing to Ren, but what's even weirder was the…accessory with the uniform. A silver gun, as far as Ren could tell, there was no magazine to load anything into it, appearing as nothing more than a prop, but when Ren held it, he shuddered with a mild sense of dread, as the word "Evoker" slithered into his mind. Ren took a breath and holstered it in the dress pants.
Ren looked himself over after he put the full uniform on. It was snug, fit just right, but not enough to actually restrict any sort of movement. He noticed that felt a bit more… suppressed emotionally, but in its place, a grim sense of determination and courage rose in him. As far as he could tell, he was the only Thieve to experience any mental or emotional change when wearing the uniforms; slight and subtle as the changes are. Again, he never brought it up, lest Makoto and Ann team up to mother over him, but he could tell by the Thieves' performance in combat and their banter that they hadn't been affected by the uniforms beyond cosmetically.
Shaking that thought of his head, Ren set off to the escalators and road them down into Mementos, a shadow of a smirk on his face, ready to let loose on any unsuspecting shadows. Without Morgana, he would have to start at the top of Mementos and walk his way down, but it would be a good energy waster and the Shadows wouldn't pose a serious threat. Regardless, Ren couldn't help but bounce his leg slightly, excited for what's to come.
A couple of levels pass by, with Joker tearing through the weak shadows, although they were considerably weak, the fact that Joker was on his lonesome, added an extra factor of challenge and thrill. After clearing out another horde of pixies and slimes. Joker walks away from the battle with a satisfied smirk, excited for the next encounter. As Joker walked down the subway tracks, humming a tune, a flash of blue light caught his eye.
'What is…' Joker turned and looked at it. The light was light blue, a pillar almost, in sharp contrast of the dull red and black color scheme Mementos was plagued with. Cautiously, Ren approached the pillar, his gun raised and palming his knife. Slowly, reluctantly, Ren touches the light. Immediately, an unseen force grabs Ren's hand, pulling Ren into the light. "W-wait, damn it!" Ren tries pulling his hand out, but the more he pulls, the stronger the force gets. Slowly but surely, Ren's entire arm gets pulled into the light, then his torso, his legs, and then his entire body. Ren's last thought was 'This was a fucking mistake…'
Ren opens his eyes slowly, a dull pain in his head as he groans. "W-where… am I?" Ren looks around. Immediately, he could tell that he wasn't in Mementos. A shot of adrenaline wakes Ren up, jumping to his feet and palming his weapons. He looks around, taking in his surroundings. It… looks like a school… but it's warped… wrong somehow. Stairs and walls fused together, leading to nowhere. Ren sees a window, he looks outside and sees a sickly green night sky. The moon looks massive, but also, it seems like Ren was impossibly high in the sky, barely seeing the ground. "Where…? This isn't Mementos, atleast a part I've never been to. How do I return…?" Ren introspects on this new environment, before a dreadfully familiar sound reaches his ears. Distant, clinking metal chains. A shiver of fear shoots down Ren's spine as he immediately turns around, eyes wide, looking for The Reaper, and viable escape routes.
'Where is he?! Where is he coming from? I can't fight him alone, that's suicide. Come on you bastard, where are you hiding?' Ren's thoughts are interrupted as he hears distant yells. 'People?! Here? Shit if the Reaper is near them they're done for! I have to help them… atleast them buy time…' Ren bolts off in the direction of the yells and chains. Adrenaline pumping through him as he quickly mentally prepares for the upcoming battle. As he turns around the corner, he sees an interesting scene.
Ren takes in the scene. He sees four people trying to fend off The Reaper. A tall girl with red hair tied up in a high ponytail, fighting with a naginata. There's another woman, with red hair as well, but its down mid back length long, fighting with a rapier. There's a young-looking guy with a goatee and baseball hat fighting with a two handed sword. Finally, there's the last group member, an older looking teen with short grey hair fighting with…brass knuckles?
Ren stares at the group… 'it seems they're experienced… are they Persona users?' Ren wonders. He sees the Red Ponytail Woman jump back and pull out the Evoker. Ren's eyes widen, as she puts the gun to her head, Ren puts out his hand and almost yells, before that, the gun goes off and the Red Ponytail Woman's body recoils back as her Persona appears behind her. Ren recognizes the Persona, 'It's Orpheus! So they are Persona users…' Ren trails off as the fight continues. For a good minute, it seems that no intervention is necessary, but it becomes clear that it has become a battle of attrition, one in which the Persona users are losing. Ren sneaks as best as he could, sticking to the shadows. The Reaper raises his dual revolvers to fire at the Baseball Cap Guy, he barely dodges. Ren uses this opportunity to join the battle. He dashes in, ignoring the squawks of confusion and yells of protest from the other Persona users. He goes to summon Arsene, he realizes though that he subconsciously went for the Evoker he holstered instead of the mask that manifests on his face. Time seems to slow to a crawl, as Ren is acutely aware of the cold silver barrel pressing against his chin, aiming upwards toward his brain.
'Why am I doing this?' Ren thinks as he can feel his index finger tracing the and fear flood Ren's mind. 'Putting myself in danger for these strangers… especially against the Reaper. This is suicide… so why am I doing it?' Doubt and fear cloud Ren's mind for what seems to be a millennium, time still seemingly frozen. 'No… this was the fate that was always destined for me wasn't it? To be a sacrifice, to be a stepping stone for someone else. If my fate is to be sacrificed, then it should be for others. To help them, save them. Even if I die, I'll die happily knowing that my death helped paved a bright future, that others can live on. If that is my fate, THEN SO BE IT!' Ren shouts in his mind as he pulls the trigger down, a loud thundering crack consuming his ears, he swore he could've heard glass shatter as his body recoils and shudders from the Evoker's impact. He feels Arsene behind him, laughing evilly. He feels powerful, an insane rush of energy flowing through him.
"Eiagon!" Ren shouts as a concentration of curse energy soars from his being and slams into the Reaper. The four other Persona users are shocked with the appearance of Ren, but quickly shake off the shock and rally back together. "Hey, Frizzy Hair! We appreciate the save, but we're not going to let you do all the work!" Red-Ponytail girl shouts with smile. Ren falls back and nods with a smirk on his face, "Lead the way." Red-Ponytail girl nods. The other Persona users look reluctant to trust Ren, but seeing as their combat leader accepted him quickly, they decide not to fight her on it. Together, as a team, they fight the Reaper. It's still a tough and drawn-out fight, but with Ren's help they barely edge out and the Reaper crumples and disintegrates away. Everyone takes a deep breath of relief. Taking a few moments to lick their wounds and regain some stamina. The Red Long-Haired woman speaks up, "We should retreat to the entrance to recuperate fully… and to talk about our uninvited straggler." She lays an icy glare at Ren.
"Oh chill out Mitsuru, he just saved our ass and you're already glaring at him?" The Baseball-Cap man speaks up, with a tired smile on his face. "Sorry about her, she's a real ice-queen y`know?" An undignified squawk of protest comes from the now named Mitsuru, and light chuckles are heard from the group. The Red-Ponytail girl shakes off her mirth and walks towards Ren. "We appreciate the help… but we weren't aware that anyone was trapped in Tartarus…" She mumbles that part but shakes it off. "My name is Kotone. That's Akihiko. Junpei. And our lovable ice queen, Mitsuru!" She says cheerfully. Ren nods, "It's a pleasure to meet all of you. My name is Ren. I must admit, I'm impressed with all of your skills and teamwork against the Reaper. Your personas are quite powerful as well."
Despite the fact that they just fought together, all of the S.E.E.S field team members can't help but take a sharp breath when they hear Ren talk about the reaper and personas so casually. It's strange that a seemingly random and hidden stranger suddenly appeared and helped them greatly while seemingly knowing of the things they've kept hidden from everyone else. Kotone recovers first and smiles at Ren, "Wow, you seem pretty knowledgeable about this stuff, huh? Why don't you come back with us? Trade information if you will?" Kotone smirks at Ren. Ren smirks back at her, it's abundantly clear that she wants to know why and how Ren knows so much about these hidden abilities. Ren chuckles lightly, fully intending to make her work for the information. "Lead the way, field leader." Ren says cheekily. Kotone lights up and gestures to Mitsuru. Mitsuru nods and puts her fingers to an earpiece. "Yamagishi, can you teleport us to the entrance? Oh, and lock on to the fifth signal… we found someone."
Ren's eyes widen at the mention of a teleporter, "Man… if we had a teleporter, our lives would be so much easier in Mementos." Ren thinks wistfully as we feels a jolt of electricity strike him. His world flashes in bright white light before feeling a strange moving sensation. Ren blinks the disorientation out of his eyes before his mind registers a dull black and red environment. Ren shakes his head and looks around as realizes he's back at the Mementos entrance.
"What…? Was that just a dream? A hallucination?" Ren can't help but ask aloud. Despite his doubts, he feels a foreign presence enter his mind. Its words are warm and joyful, "No…Ren… it was real…thank you for your help… I wouldn't have made it if not for your intervention…" The voice fades away just as quickly as it appeared, leaving Ren confused and strangely empty. Ren feels somber, as if someone close to him passed away suddenly. He decides to take off the Gekkoukan uniform in silence. As he folds it up and places it in the box, he feels something heavy in his pocket. He reaches in and pulls out a small wooden box. He opens it and sees an Evoker. On the handle the name "Kotone Shiomi" is engraved. The phrase "Memento Mori" is engraved on the barrel as well. Alongside the Evoker is a small handwritten note. It reads, "In honor of Kotone Shiomi. The Girl who gave her life, body, and soul, to save everyone else's." Ren grows weary at the message, knowing somehow that the cheery Persona user he was fighting alongside only minutes ago, was no longer in the land of the living. A strange feeling of remorse and sadness fills Ren, one that goes much further than his irregular depressive episodes. Ren closes the wooden box and pockets it.
As he exits Mementos, he makes an oath, "I promise, Kotone. I will carry on your legacy. Even if it means laying down my life to save others. You won't be forgotten. Your gift to me, no, to all of us, will be something that won't taken for granted. I swear it." As the world pulses, the dull red and black fade, and give way to the real world. Ren emerges in the constantly busy Shibuya Main subway station. Feeling a light breeze, Ren looks up at the clear sky. He feels a renowned sense of purpose and stability despite his somber mood. He looks at the wooden case and smiles softly. He heads back home, to LeBlanc with a renewed vigor and purpose.
I hope you all enjoyed. I'll definitely continue this story in the future when I can.
I honestly was stuck on the Reaper's battle aftermath for like a week, so I apologize if the rest of the chapter after it seems forced and rushed. I had no other way to end it. :p
On a side note, anyone else excited for Metaphor?! Can't freaking wait for that.