Catch-22: The Stakes
By: M14Mouse
Summary: The stakes are set. Somehow it still feels like a noose around his neck.
Disclaimer: Don't own them.
A gambler plays even when the odds are immutable and against him.
-Roger "Lou Krieger" Lubin
"I can offer you a way to take down Masayoshi Shido."
He heard a grasp.
Leave now, Oracle.
But…I don't want to leave you…
NOW!
He felt her presence leave his mind. He will apologize to Futaba-chan later but right now, he needs to focus. He didn't know what response that he would get out of Akechi with his words. Right now, there was silence except the distant sound of police sirens and people.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of laughter.
"What gives you the impression that I want to do anything like that?!" Akechi said.
"You were trying too hard to hide the fact that you hate the man especially when we talked about politics."
Very good, boy. Very good.
"Hating a man doesn't mean that I would want to take him down."
There it was again. The bitterness and anger in Akechi's voice that he tried to hide so much.
"True. The same men guarding him during his speeches were also at your apartment. Your tone was pleasant but if looks could kill. I would guess that they would have been dead," He said with a hum.
"Very impressive. I didn't expect you to put two and two together. Does anyone else know?"
"No. I wanted to confirm first. Stop before you do something overly dramatic."
"May I ask what that means?"
"I speak from experience when I say angry and rage make people do stupid things. You would kill him after he was elected. When he has a taste of his goal, you want to be the one who takes it away. Mostly, that will likely get you killed."
His persona laughed. It sounded like the rumbling of the earth in his head.
"It will not get me killed, my friend. I know him too well for that. You are correct. I plan to kill him slowly with all of the pain and suffering that he put me through but he will know. I will be the last face that he sees when he has left this land."
Akechi tried to hide it before but now….
He heard the rage, the anger, hatred in Akechi's voice but he wondered if it was sorely directed at Shinto…or himself.
That one is slightly unhinged.
Slightly?
Just be careful.
Atropos sounded worried which was strange to him.
Time to fold this hand, boy. That one isn't playing with a full deck.
Maybe.
"Why do you want to kill him so bad?"
"Because that piece of shit is my father."
-P4P5P4-
He felt himself drifting off to sleep. He felt the familiar pull of the Velvet Room. Instead of waking up standing, he woke up in a cot. He got up from the cot and looked around. It took him a moment to realize that this room was a prison.
"I must say that your successor has an interesting view of the world," The fake Igor said from the center of the room. He was sitting at the same desk as before.
He got up from the cot and walked into the center of the room. He looked around at all of the different cells then his glance settled onto the fake Igor.
Briefly, he wondered how much of it was this fake or his successor's view.
The fake chuckled.
"Have a seat." The fake said with the wave of his hand.
He walked over and took a seat across from him.
"Have you thought about my offer?"
"I have but there will be terms."
"Speak"
"My friends and family will not be harmed in any way."
"Unless you break one of the rules."
"Which is?"
"You will not speak of me to the other players."
He nodded his head slightly but his eyes trained on Igor.
"Next, you must not call your attendant."
He frowned for a moment. Briefly, he wondered where the current attendant was. He knew Elizabeth and Margaret were searching for a way to free Minato. Theo…he wasn't quite sure where he was.
He knew that they were powerful in their own right.
That would explain why he doesn't want the other attendants around or come running. If they would find out, this fake would probably have a lot of trouble on his hands.
"What if they come of their own accord? Margaret and I talk from time to time."
Margaret and Elizabeth showed up at a little café in London when he was visiting Naoto. For an hour, he sat through their heated conversation about teacup puppies verse teacup piglets.
It was…. enlightening.
"Since you didn't summon them, then it isn't breaking the rules."
"Where is your attendant by the way? Have you done something to him or her?" He said coldly.
"I am in need of them. No permanent harm has come to them."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
He did something.
"Very well. Next."
"Next, your personas are bound during the duration of the game."
He felt the cold rage from King Frost. He heard the distant sound of metal against the metal. He wasn't quite sure which one of his personas that was. None of them sound very happy at the moment.
Calm down.
Lucifer's voice cut through their voices.
"Why?"
"They don't fit into our little game. My players will notice something off if you ever join the game."
It only took a moment to make his decision.
"No."
"Pardon?"
"I said no."
The fake Igor blinked as if he didn't expect that.
"By chaining up my personas, you defeat the purpose of your game. My friends would know something is wrong if suddenly I couldn't use my personas. I will not leave the tv world unprotected."
"While I hold no interest in that world, you make a very excellent point." The fake said.
The fake Igor rubbed his chin as he hummed. The more that he was in the presence of this fake, the more he realized that he did little to hide that he wasn't Igor at all.
No one would actually know that except him and a select few.
Then the fake smiled. Igor's smile always looked creepy to him but this fake….sinister came to mind.
"Then you must bear a mask of my choice. You can only use that mask during the duration of our game. It should be interesting to see how or if you can adapt. Since you are so concerned about the tv world, our game won't cross into that realm. So, you are free to use your personas there."
"Mask?" He said with curiosity.
"Excuse me. Persona. Of course, you will have to figure everything out. Just like before. Most of all, can you even control a persona who wasn't born from your own soul even with your powers? Of course, no harm will come to you through this persona. Can't have you break in the middle of the game. I see it will be a delightful challenge. What do you say? Do we have a deal?"
He bound you in chains that he doesn't think that you can escape. He might as well have bound us.
He knew. He also knew this fake wrapped a noose around his neck. Say no again. A great deal of people could be in trouble or worse…. Say yes. His powers were limited and there was this unknown persona to deal with.
He knew.
He knew his personas because they were a part of him in little ways. This unknown persona could be a parasite or a spy for this false Igor.
This was a dangerous risk to everyone around him.
Could he risk it? Was it worth the risk?
He felt something soft brush against his mind. He heard the gentle voice of Isis whisper in his ear.
People bring about their own undoing through their tongues. Take his bargain. We will protect you. We will soon rip out his tongue and he will regret making a bargain with us.
"Yes, we have a deal."
End of the Stakes
A/N: This chapter is edited…yay! :D Thanks for the reviews, kudos, favorites, etc. Read and Review if you wish.