Catch-22: The World Within
By: M14Mouse
Summary: Yu takes Mona to the tv world. Mona does something that he hasn't done in a long time. Listen
Disclaimer: Don't own them.
One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.
-Bryant H. McGill
Many thanks to AKatsinTcups for betaing this chapter.
"How was the tv world?" Ren asked him.
Morgana stopped licking his paw for a moment to answer thoughtfully.
"Misty…disjointed…expansive. In other words, it left me in awe."
Ren put down his phone and looked at him.
"Wow."
Mona nodded.
"It just like how Sensei described it."
"Man, I wished that I could have gone."
He felt a bit of smugness from Ren's comment. He was the first to step into the tv world. Sensei chose him to go first.
"I think Sensei talked about taking the team one by one or two by two. The place outside of his tv isn't very big."
"Is it floating islands like Sensei described?"
"Yes, some more connected than the others but floating islands is best way to describe it. I'm curious about Inaba, he expressed that it is more together there. He said that it is beautiful when no one is messing with it. I kind of want to see it too."
Mona wasn't going to tell Ren this, but he spent 30 minutes just sitting there watching the islands float by.
"Me too. Although, I am not sure about sticking myself into a tv set, I get nervous every time I see Sensei do it."
"It was fine. Nothing to be afraid of," He said.
Okay, he was mildly terrified, and his claws may have torn holes into Sensei's good suit when they stepped into the tv world.
Ren didn't need to know that.
Ren laughed.
"Good to know. What else did you two do?"
"We explored. We compared and contrasted the differences between the tv world and the Metaverse."
"And?"
"Sensei was right. There aren't many differences between the two. I changed the same way that I change in the Metaverse, but it took me a few minutes to summon my persona. Only "rules" that we could see that the tv world is formless until something or someone cause it to react. Sensei called it the baking soda effect. The islands are like batter, add baking soda in and it will rise up.."
Ren adjusted his glasses and frowned.
"The Metaverse isn't formless?"
"I guess it could be without everyone's cognitions…but then we wouldn't have a Metaverse if we took that away."
"Good point. Anything else?"
"I saw Sensei's persona."
Ren got up from the bed and looked Mona excitedly.
"What was it like?"
"Like standing in front of a god."
He could sense everyone's personas. Each had a different feel, and each had their own sense of power. Sensei's persona was nothing like theirs and it was utterly terrifying. It didn't help that the very air around them hissed. It didn't help that his glowing red eyes were staring at him and his massive sword was drawn.
Much like Sensei, the presence of Sensei's persona could fill a room and demanded your attention.
Power?
He fell to his knees to bow. If he felt tiny before, at that time he felt like dust that he could easily be blown away.
He was damn lucky that Sensei decided not to use his persona when they fought. Even if he was embarrassed by the loss, he would have been destroyed.
In the back of his head, he thought that Sensei's persona was weak. The he couldn't use it in the Metaverse. He was too smug about that fact.
That was a mistake.
Personas are a mask and a second face to the world. He knew that sensei told them that he didn't see himself as a thief. His persona mirrored that. It was a warrior made flesh.
Mona was an idiot.
A complete, utter idiot.
He was so lost in his head that he missed that fact.
Thankfully, Sensei forgave him for it.
Ren looked at him in awe.
"Wow…."
"Sensei's persona, Izanagi, could crush us without breaking a sweat."
"You weren't lying when you said that it was a god. My history of mythology is a little rough, but Izanagi created the islands and stuff. Makoto might know more."
"I will ask her," Mona said with a nod.
"What else did you two do?" Ren asked.
"Uh…talked."
"About?"
He sighed.
"You know, Ren hasn't told me about his record yet."
"What?"
"Ryuji and Ann told me. They wanted to know if I could something about it. The file is sealed, but I found some articles on the incident and it is strange. They made a big show of the trial, but I can't find anything about the people involved. I am having one of my lawyers look into it if they can find anything."
"Why do you think that he hasn't told you?"
"If I take a guess at it, he doesn't want disappoint me. I have a feeling, beside Sojiro, every person has torn him down. When he is ready to tell me, I will be waiting to listen. But now, onto you….what is your problem?" Sensei said as he took a seat next to him.
"I don't have a problem," He said.
He felt a moment of outrage. That is why Sensei brought him here. Just to corner him. He needed to get out of here before….
"At first, I thought that it was with me. I know that you had problems with me teaching the others because that was your role in the beginning, but I thought that we resolved that. Am I wrong?"
Mona felt his chest puff up.
"We did! I have no problem with you teaching. In fact, I learned a lot from you."
"The same for me, especially from you and Ren," Sensei said with a smile.
"Really?"
"Of course. I would have stumbled around Mementos without you. I love my friends, but Incubus is likely to lead me into dead ends. Your knowledge is remarkable and sense of direction is top notch. Your ability to keep everyone focused and on task is impressive, especially when dealing with Skull and Fox."
He felt his body deflated then his face turn red.
"Then I realized that isn't your problem. In fact, you had the same problem I did a few years ago."
"What?"
"I pointed out when we fought. You fear being alone. I think that fear reappeared when Futaba-chan joined."
He felt his hackles rise up again as he started to protest but Sensei cut him off.
"You have been alone for some time. You explored alone. You ate alone. You survived alone. Suddenly, you're surrounded by new people. People like you. You realize you have friends and, in some ways, a family. You're afraid of losing that. You are afraid of being discarded. I don't blame you at all."
"I am not afraid at all! I am not! I don't need them! I don't! If they don't need me, that's fine!" He shouted.
"Bullshit."
His mouth snapped shut and his eyes widen at Sensei's tone.
"Mona, why do you deny yourself this truth?"
"Because it will be easier, okay!" He snapped.
Sensei just stared at him.
"It's easier to pretend that I don't care. I don't want the others to see me afraid because I don't want to seem weak in front of the others."
Sensei nodded.
"My little cousin…my little sister if you will, got kidnapped and taken inside of the tv world. We were able to get her out but the tv world had a terrible effect on her. We had to rush her to the hospital. For months, she moved in and out of conscience until she flat lined."
He heard the angst in Sensei's voice. It might have been years but this memory still hurt. He moved closer and nudged his head against Sensei's hand. Sensei smiled softly and gently pat the top of his head.
"Did…did she make it?"
Sensei nodded.
"She did. During those horrible moments, I was a mess on the inside but my friends were equally so. They were looking to me for guidance and leadership. I knew that I had to be strong. I had to be the calm one. I had to keep it together until the end. Once we found out that she pulled through and after everyone left, I broke down. I broke down under a lamp post on the side of the street in the middle of a snowstorm. I didn't have to be calm or strong. I could break down and no one would see me. I didn't care. Funny thing is, I may not have cared but my friends did. Yosuke came and saw me in the middle of my breakdown. He didn't care. He allowed me to cry on his shoulder and question my decision. You see, Mona, where we are weak, true friends acknowledge that weakness and makes us stronger."
"I don't think the others know."
"Oh, Mona, they do know. They just haven't been telling you about it. They are afraid to hurt your feelings, especially Joker. You're his best friend at all."
His eyes widen as the words stumbled out of his mouth.
"I'm his best friend? Surely, he knows that I'm using him to get my end goal! Surely!"
Sensei gave him this knowing look.
Mona felt his body sink down.
"You know that he never questioned that I wasn't cat. He always said that we are going to make you human again even if he said that he wasn't sure how to do it. Everyone else doubted me and he didn't. And I…I was so grateful for that. He doesn't treat me like a cat. He takes me almost everywhere with him when he can. I…he is really my best friend," He said in realization.
Sensei hummed softly.
"I'm a terrible friend."
"I'm glad that you realized that before someone got hurt."
"HEY!"
Sensei smiled softly.
"Honesty is always the best policy, even when it hurts."
"Uhh…stuff."
"Oh…." Ren said with a small frown.
Okay, Morgana…you can do this. Sensei said that you need to be honest with yourself and to everyone else.
He stopped licking his paw and stared at Ren.
"I'm a terrible best friend."
Ren gave him a slightly confused look.
"Huh?"
"I keep saying that I'm using you. In reality, I depend on you more than anyone else. At first, I came along to make sure that you kept your end of the promise. As time went on, I realized how much I liked you. You took me everywhere with you. You made me a part of your world. We make tools together, we talk about palaces and missions, but also random stuff that we see on tv. I like it. I like being included in everything, and I like it the most when I'm doing it with you. So, there."
Ren adjusted his glasses.
"Wow…Sensei must have had some talk with you."
"Hey!"
"No…no…it isn't a bad thing. I'm glad. Really, I am. I tried to show you that you were a part of the team, especially after the whole fight with Sensei. I guess I failed."
"No, you didn't fail. I was just too hardheaded to see. Just, don't tell Ryuji that."
Ren smiled a little. Mona jumped from his perch on the nightstand to the bed. He curled up next to Ren.
"I won't."
"I realize that I keep hurting everyone on the team because of my feelings. I just met Futaba and I can already tell that she is going to run circles around me. So, I am going to work extra hard to do my part."
"I'm counting on it. Since you are being so honest, I guess that it's my turn. Thank you for being here. I couldn't do anything of this without you. Thank you also for believing me. I told you my story and how I got here, you accepted it without question. I know the others believe my story now, but that wasn't always the case. I know that I can count on the them, but you are always there for me. I never had a friend like that."
He rubbed his paw across his face. He wasn't crying. Nope, he just got dust in his eyes.
"I told you that I could scratch out their eyes for you," He said.
"I think that they would find out that you've been hiding in my desk."
"Hah…I am a thief. They couldn't catch me!"
Ren laughed.
"I don't doubt that at all."
"Of course, I am the best," He said in a matter of a fact tone.
Ren laughed again. It was a good sound. It was a happy sound. It was a sound that he liked to hear.
He quickly joined in.
End of The World Within
Next Chapter: The Recovery
A/N: See, Mona! Talking is your friend and you can tell people you know…your feelings. Now, I won't have to deal with emo kitten anymore. Now, Poor Yu. He won't have concrete proof of Akechi's involvement until later but it does hurt. You get little hints of Yu's mindset until I dropped the chapter, the Tipping Point. Ah…yes, Shido. Yu isn't quite in his obit yet but it will happen. Anyway, thanks for the wonderful reviews, kudos, favorites, etc. You guys make my world.
Now for Royal: I am sure most of us read some of the new info coming out. I have been asked in the past if this fic with be compliment with it. This fic won't be. When we get it in the states, if I see enough to make *changes*, it will be a different fic altogether.
Fun Question: If you could name one of Yu's shadow friends, who would it be and their name?