Catch-22: The Conversation
By: M14Mouse
Summary: Yu and The Thieves have a talk. Mona continues to open his mouth.
Disclaimer: Don't own them.
The world is like a reverse casino. In a casino, if you gamble long enough, you're certainly going to lose. But in the real world, where the only thing you're gambling is, say, your time or your embarrassment, then the more stuff you do, the more you give luck a chance to find you.
-Scott Adams
"Are you okay, Sensei?" Lilim asked.
"Do you want me to get Slime to eat them? Because he will!" Incubus said.
"Hee HO!" Black Frost added.
"No…No…it just worried me that they thought of me as some type of killer," He said as he shook his head no.
You spoke wisely.
He nodded his head. He could understand why the cat said that because he was probably the only person that they have seen down here.
Can we talk about the elephant in the room?
He made a face at High Pixie.
And you are surprised by his actions?
Kohryu groaned softly. Then Tam Lin and Isis got involved.
No! But…he could have gotten killed. He doesn't have us anymore!
He is a warrior. He adapted to the situation.
And nearly got killed in the process.
Killed? He didn't even get a scratch on him. He did a wonderful job of using his strengths to defeat his enemy. We have trained him well. He is no weakling.
You aren't thinking logically. He could have been killed.
Logical has nothing to do with instinct and ability.
He pressed his hand against his head.
That is enough. The personas in his head fighting stopped. The other persona grumbled.
Quite the gamble, boy. I like it.
Oh?
The other persona didn't say anything.
"You aren't a killer. They are just meanies!" Lilim said angrily.
"Are you sure that you don't want to have Slime eat them?" Incubus said.
He chuckled.
"No, it is a nice thought. I don't want Slime to get a stomach ache."
"Oh, right."
He shook his head as he listened to the other shadows chat around him. He hummed softly as they walked down the dark tunnels. He was glad that his little shadow friends were okay. After a few minutes, they made it to their spot where the other shadows were waiting for them. Yaskini spotted them first.
"SENSEI!" Yaskini shouted.
The other shadows turned around and rushed toward them.
"INCUBUS! Are you okay?"
"Black Frost! Lilim!"
"Sensei, we save you some snacks!"
He watched as they gathered around them. Hariti checked Incubus for any injuries. Hua Po and Yaskini huddled around Black Frost and Lilim.
He grinned as he walked over to the edge of the platform. He pulled himself up and took a seat next to Slime. Slime came up to him and split out a package of cookies. He patted Slime's head.
It was a good thing that the cookies were still in its wrapper.
"Thank you."
"WeLCome!"
In the distance, he heard the sound of a car. He frowned for a moment. There are cars here? Sure enough, a strange car came into view. The car came to a stop and the people came out. Suddenly, the van turned into the talking cat creature from before.
Okay, now that is new.
"Oh my god, he has more!" The strange talking cat shouted.
He tilted his head to get a better look at the talking cat….Mona? He thought that it was Morgana? He was shorter than the rest. He wore a black mask that almost covered his entire face and a little yellow bandana around his neck.
His shadow friends broke off their conversations and stared at the newcomers. Lilim hissed.
"MONA!" The lady in the red mask said.
He titled his head slightly. That outfit can't be comfortable. He remembered Rise complaining to him about spandex for a week when she did a special.
Wait…does she have a tail and a whip?
"What!? I am just saying that he has more! We should be careful."
"Man…shut up before his shadows eat you," The blonde one said.
He turned away from the cat lady to the blonde one with the skull as a mask. He looked like he got lost in Hot Topic. Those pants can't be comfortable.
How on earth do they fight in those outfits?!
Black Frost's eyes started to glow again. He raised his hand slightly.
"Let's hear them out, okay? Why don't you guys come over and finished the snacks? " He said
"HE HO!"
"Okay, Sensei."
"We don't know that yet. Come here, Black Frost."
Black Frost and the other shadows came over. He leaned over and grabbed Black Frost then set him down next to him. The other shadows went back to the snacks left by his bag.
"If he wasn't the man in the black mask, he would stop them!"
"Your comments are not going to endear him or his shadows," The one with the fox mask said.
The one with the fox mask's outfit seems more comfortable with a baggy shirt and pants….but what is with the tail?
He is beginning to see a trend here.
"Mona…let me talk to him," Ren said.
Ren's outfit was completely black but looked more comfortable than the others. He wasn't sure how wise the jacket was to whatever they were doing. He could see easily getting caught on something.
"But….Joker…." Mona said.
Joker? Mona? Okay…now, he was confused.
"I thought that your name was Ren." He said in confusion.
The others stared at him in shock.
"How did you know my name?" Ren said.
"When you and Morgana were talking by the job board…wait? Or is it Mona?" He asked.
"You heard him?"
"Yes."
"Didn't you find that…strange?"
"Not really."
They don't know what to make of you.
Hell, I don't know what to make him. I am inside the kid's head.
Ren turned from him to the others. They started to huddle together to talk. He hummed softly as he opened the pack of cookies and gave one to Slime.
"ThAnKs!" Slime said.
He smiled as he listened. Whoever they are…they are terrible at being quiet.
"What should we do with him?"
"I don't know."
"I mean…we can't leave him down here. It is dangerous."
"I don't think he has anything to worry about."
"Still…it isn't safe."
"Good luck on telling him that."
"That isn't important! He is…OUCH! Okay…Okay. I want to know if he has seen anything or heard anything about the man in the black. Probably not but sti…."
"The shadows are afraid of him. They ran when they sensed him. They said that he left them alone for the most part. He often focuses on what he is doing down here. They said that he always caused changes. Not the good type according to them. Sometimes, they said that it felt like an earthquake."
The group stopped talking and turned back to look at him.
"They told you that?" Ren asked.
"Yes."
"I can imagine that the palace shadows and the shadows from here would be different."
"Guess so? Never been to a palace before."
He wondered what these palaces looked like and what a palace was.
"What are they?"
"A palace is where people with large enough desires form their own unique place, which is modeled after their own distorted desires."
"Hmmm…so, it is like the tv world."
"There is no such thing as a world inside of tv," Mona said.
"And there isn't a world under the subway either."
"He has a point, Mona," Ren said.
"What is the tv world like?" The lady in the red outfit said.
"Foggy…until someone get throw in. Instead of their large desires, it is the person's suppress desires. The tv world shapes itself around it. Well, that is before we clean up. It is nice right now. Green fields…running streams. It is beautiful. We still have to keep an eye on it because other forces tend not leave it alone."
"What kind of forces?" Ren asked.
"Ones that like for you to fight to the death. There are the dancing ones too."
He would really like to forget that one.
The group stared at him for a moment and started talking among themselves again.
"I don't know why we keep asking him these questions. He is crazy!" The angry talking cat said.
"I could stick my hand into a tv if you wish."
"You stick your hand into a tv?!" The one with the skull mask said.
"How else would I get inside?"
One with the skull mask's mouth dropped. Ren and the one with the tail just stared at him. The one with the fox mask looked at him in awe. The angry little talking cat stomped his paws on the ground.
"YOU ARE LYING!
"Are you calling Sensei a lair?!"
"HEE HO!"
"We let your tongues run long enough. It is time to end this!"
"MONA!"
He raised his hand to silence his shadow friends. He didn't want any fighting.
He frowned for a moment. In his head, he was trying to figure out why Mona was so against him. He tried to remember the conversations that he heard.
Oh….
"It is okay not to know everything. I don't know everything either…even if they do call me Sensei."
Mona's eyes widened and his body jerked.
"That isn't it!"
"He makes a very excellent point."
"FOX!"
"I think that Fox is right," The Skull one said.
"SKULL!"
"Okay…may I ask you a question?" He said as he watched Skull and Mona argue about him.
"Sure?" Ren said.
"What is with the names?"
"We are thieves and we use codenames while we are here. Joker is mine and Mona is his. He is Fox. She is Panther and he is Skull," Ren said as he pointed to everyone.
"Is there a reason?"
"We do it because this is the cognitive world or the Metaverse as we call it. We have no idea what our real names could do in that world."
"That is smart. Oh, do you guys want some cookies? I know fighting these places can be exhausting," He said as he offered some cookies from the bag.
"Tell me about it," Panther said as she took a cookie from the bag. Ren took one as well then Fox took the whole bag and started eating like no tomorrow.
Someone was hungry.
"HEY! You are supposed to share!" Lilim shouted.
"I am too!" Fox said.
"No, you aren't! You took the whole thing!"
"I was going to give them back!"
"An empty bag!"
He sighed. Out of the corner, he saw Black Frost go and get his bag. Few moments later, he returned with his bag. He grinned and patted Black Frost on the head. He took the bag and pulled out another pack of cookies.
"That is enough for you two. I have a pack left," He said as he gave Lilim the pack of cookies.
Lilim and Fox stopped fighting.
"Awww….sorry, Sensei." Lilim said with a bow
"I am sorry, Sensei. That was very rude of me," Fox said with a bow as well.
"It is okay. You burn a lot of energy going through these places. You need it more than me," He said with a smile.
"I am always so tired after you know…Am I doing something wrong? Mona explained that I am not but…"
"You aren't doing anything wrong. How long have you had your persona?"
"A few months or so…"
"Your sense of self has been awakened. You are still adjusting. Don't be so hard on yourself, okay? Experience will help. You will get less tired but it lingers. Just clear out your schedule. Make sure that you get plenty of rest and food at the end of day. You will be fine. If not, just take a few days off to recover. Don't overdo it, okay?"
"Yes, Sen…Sensei," Panther said with a bow.
"What if you have multiple personas?" Ren asked softly.
How are you going to answer that one?! Remember the rules!
"I am somewhat familiar with them. What is your question?"
Ren looked down at the ground and scratched the back of his head. It was like he was embarrassed by the question.
"It is nothing. Sorry to bring it up."
He tilted his head slightly and waited for a moment.
"Man, you should totally ask him. Sensei seems to know a lot of stuff!" Skull said behind Ren.
Oh, so that they stopped fighting and…Mona has a piece of cloth wrapped around his month.
Mona gave Skull and him evil looks.
"Maybe another time," He said.
Ren grinned.
"I will give you my number and you guys can call me anytime if you have questions."
"That would be wonderful," Fox said.
"Why are you down here anyway, Sensei?" Skull asked.
"I am checking out the shutdowns but the more and more that I am down here…I am beginning to see what I must catch whoever is causing it in the act. This place changed too quickly to pinpoint a source. You?"
"We are changing the hearts of rotten adults!"
His eyes widened slightly.
"So the people on tv…"
"Yes, those are hearts that we changed," Ren said with a nod.
"Remarkable," He said thoughtfully.
He had something else to think about. He made a note to research a little later.
"YOU GUYS! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!? He knew about personas…Hell…" Mona shouted.
Someone got the piece of cloth out of his month.
"Yes, Sensei…why didn't you use your persona?" Fox asked.
"How do you use your personas?" He asked.
"Through our masks…"
"That explains it…I use it through a card. I think that there are different rules that apply to each world."
"Oh, that is why you don't have a mask or an outfit!" Panther said.
"And outfit?"
"Well…it came with the mask."
…Well, he was sticking the glasses…
"It is how you view yourself as a thief," Mona added.
"Oh…that explained a lot. I don't view myself as a thief," He said
"HEE HO!"
"Right, we should leave. The Reaper is coming soon," He said.
"Oh, right!"
He said good-bye to his shadow friends and climbed into the talking cat/van which is now the strangest thing in his life.
He has got to say…it made travel easier.
Once they made it to the entrance, he glanced at the Velvet Room and the two attendants standing by its door.
He made a note to tell Theo later.
"So…what are you seeking then?" Mona asked with a grumble.
"The truth."
End of The Conversation
Next Chapter: The Former
A/N: The Mona/Yu conflict will go on a few more chapters before Yu actually do something about it (It won't be pretty). AP...I totally going to steal your Skull comment because it made me laugh so much. So, again...thank you for the reviews, kudos, favorites, etc. You guys are totally awesome. So, read and review if you wish.