(Author's Note)
Hey Guys! It's been a week, and I think I'm done keeping you all waiting.
This chapter... this chapter was fun to figure out. I want to believe that I did everything as best as I could, but I imagine a few people will pick up on things I didn't and correct me on the reviews. If you do, please let me know so I can go about fixing these issues.
Now, onto Reviews!
To EvanderAdvent: I will note that before writing this story I didn't look, or really know, that Crests were based on specific arcanas. So all of the confidants were decided upon by my personal opinion about who I felt fit each arcana best. That said, I don't know if I'll include any of the expanded lore just yet, since 1, I don't own three hopes, and two, there's a lot I already have to juggle with as is. That's not to say I won't grab a piece or two from that and use it, just that I won't be writing this out with it in mind.
To Redpika: Yes.
To Mark The Gamer of Grima: I'm keeping the moment that interaction occurs close to my chest. You'll just have to wait.
To DOOT76: Maybe, who knows~
To Kerrowe: I believe it's explain in a later chapter, but due to the vastly different state of cognition both worlds have, Ren and Morgana's personas are weakened back to their base states, and Joker is locked out of the others he's fused as well. Doesn't mean he won't grow Arsene up at all, just that currently, he's underpowered.
To Hunter2814: I do have plans for Rider Time, but I've hit a bit of burnout with it that I'm slowly getting out of. I can't say when I'll have another chapter up, but it's being worked on, just... slowly.
Alright, and that's everything! Thank you all for reviewing, if you get a moment to do so please do, it helps with the motivation, and with that out of the way...
Onto the Story!
'Okay, you made a bit of a blunder here Joker, but it's nothing you've never worked out before.' Ren thought idly to himself as he placed a cup of coffee down in front of Claude. 'And this time it'll be even easier, he just needs to leave Leblanc through the front door! That's where his metaverse entrance should be.'
"Hm, a bit bitter." Claude noted, placing the cup down.
"I have sugar and cream if it's needed." Ren said, motioning to the cup in front of Claude.
"Appreciate the sentiment, but it's not needed." Claude said, taking another sip.
Ren nodded, glancing down to steal a passing glance from Morgana. The cat urgently glaring at Ren from behind the counter. 'Hey, this was as much your fault as it was mine, Mona!'
"A café though? I'm surprised you have the time for this. Not that you aren't cut out for it, wow." Claude continued, raising his cup of coffee up into the air in approval.
"Was more to have something to do in my down time. Maybe set it up as a place students could show up and work on homework with drinks, or relax with friends." Ren said with a shrug. "Besides, hours aren't fixed so if the sign's marked open, then my door's open."
"Right." Claude nodded, before glancing to the flipped over open side on the door. "I suppose I did ignore that coming in."
"You're paying for your first drink in exchange, but I'll allow it." Ren said with a shrug.
"You are one cold dastard." Claude replied sarcastically.
"I know, that's what the coffee's for." Ren replied with a grin.
"Ha! Touche!" Claude smirked, taking another sip of his coffee. "Right, well, as much as I'd love to bend your ear about this, I suppose I'll just have to wait to pester you during business hours."
"At least then I'll have more to offer than just coffee." Ren shrugged. 'Please leave, please leave, please leave, please leave!'
"Until later!" Claude said with a wave as he stood up and walked out of the café.
The room fell silent as Morgana jumped up from behind the counter. "Okay, so we both agree that we need to be more careful about last second visitors."
"In my defense, I thought the door was locked." Ren replied.
"Wait, I thought you DID lock it?"
Ren paused, moving to the door and checking the lock. "...he picked my lock!"
"Which is why we have a deadbolt, Joker…" Morgana replied.
"The deadbolt implies we're in the store. Just locking it means we're out." Ren fired back. "Let's just count ourselves lucky he doesn't have a phone. I don't wanna think about what'd happen if CLAUDE of all people had access to the metaverse."
"We don't really know him all that well…" Morgana said. "Aside from the fact he's a prankster…"
"Come on, we should make our way to Mementos already." Ren shook his head, opening the front door and stepping out.
"Okay, now I'm really confused…" Claude said, looking out at the empty street before him. "Where did everyone go…?"
Claude glanced back at the café, his lips pressed into a firm line. "I walked into the café, got a sudden wave of vertigo, then walked out to… this." Claude paused, looking down at himself. "...what the hell did Sensei spike my coffee with?"
Claude heard the café door open and moved, ducking behind a nearby building as the Professor of the Black Eagle house and his cat walked out of the café. "They don't seem too confused by all this…" Claude muttered to himself.
"Right! Now to find Lysithea's shadow." The cat, the CAT, had said those words, and Claude almost blew his cover at the sight.
Ren replied something in what Claude assumed was his native language, but the talking cat continued to respond as if it was still English being spoken.
"Okay, I'm too curious now. Either this is the worst trip I've ever been on, or the best." Claude nodded to himself, before chuckling. "Well, it's my first either way."
The archer followed at a distance, keeping a few steps behind the duo and out of sight as they reached the open entrance beside Byleth's dorm, and the stairs that headed underground.
"Abyss?" Claude blinked, lightly shocked. "I didn't know that the entrance was here…"
He watched as the two walked down into the abyss, slowly disappearing into the darkness below. He took a cautionary step towards the stairs, before taking a step back as blue fire flashes from the darkness twice.
"...I'm too curious for my own good." Claude said with a determined look in his eyes as he took his first step down into Mementos.
(Play Mementos)
"Finally! I've been itching for a run through the metaverse!" Mona said as he stretched, having shifted into his metaverse form a few moments prior.
"You and me both." Joker nodded, tugging at his crimson gloves. "I have a LOT of pent up aggression that needs to be dealt with right now."
"Being told to murder bandits will do that." Mona shrugged, turning to look at the wild card. "So, what's the plan?"
"Find Lysithea's shadow. Figure out what's her distortion, then return to reality to make the calling card." Joker relayed, pulling his model gun out in a flash of blue fire, revealing an almost ethereal pistol with two angel wings sprouting from the back of the slide. "And figure out if this works."
Joker raised Nataraja R, the pistol he had itemized Metatron to create during a fusion alarm, and fired.
There was a satisfying click, but not the expected bang of superior satisfaction.
"Shit." Joker said simply, letting the model gun disappear in another flash of Azure.
"Well, I guess model guns won't be very useful here…" Morgana replied with a groan. "Not entirely surprising. This world probably doesn't have much, if any, knowledge of firearms, especially modern ones like yours."
"Great. Well, at least I have this." Ren noted, pulling out Daredevil. The weapon disappeared in a flash of blue fire quickly, leaving the thief empty handed. "Right, enough waiting time. Let's get moving."
(Play Mementos: Upper Layer)
'Well, say what you will about Sensei, but keeping myself hidden from him is REALLY hard.' Claude thought to himself as he followed at a light distance behind the two thieves. 'Doesn't help that this place is so weirdly designed…'
It was a labyrinth of corridors and stairways. The architecture melting and twisting in on itself in strange and unnatural ways. Various hallways led to each other, while others would simply lead to dead ends.
It was those dead ends that had almost revealed Claude to the two, but he got lucky those times.
"Joker!" The monster cat, a term that Claude felt was pretty apt to call the professor's cat that right now, shouted to the Professor as he, she? They pointed to a hulking mass of black goo wearing a mask that looked ripped out of a play.
And then, speaking of ripped out of, the Professor moved. "Show me your true form!"
A gloved hand grasped the mask on the monster and pulled, tearing the mask off with a burst of blood. The teen kicked off the now writhing mass and flipped into a handspring, righting himself up as the thing burst open.
And then, the music changed.
(Play Take Over)
Claude wanted to question the music, he really did, but he also doubted his drug induced mind would've been able to come up with music like this.
So he merely sat back and watched the professor go to work with his cat against a group of 3 fairy-like creatures.
"Hey, are those pixies!?" Morgana asked, readying his sword with a flourish of blue fire.
"If they are, they're not the ones we'll be used to!" Ren shouted, pulling out Daredevil. "Let's knock a few down!"
Ren pulled the trigger and fired three times, each shot letting loose an bolt at the three fairies before them. The aim was dead on, and each shot fired found their mark, knocking down the opposition.
"They're down! Stick 'em up!" Morgana proclaimed, pulling his slingshot out as Joker labeled Daredevil at the one in front.
(Play Talk)
"H-hey, can't we talk about this?" One of the fairies asked, staring down the barrel of Joker's hand crossbow.
"Sure, why not? I'll spare your lives, but in exchange, join me." Joker commanded, glancing out at the three in front of him.
"W-what!?" The one on the left cried out. "Who do you think you are-!"
"I-I'll do it!" The one on the right replied. "You're a bit terrifying, but that's kinda hot."
"Really?" The one in the middle deadpanned.
"Yes! Look at him! He's got the vibe and-hey!" The fairy floated into the air towards Joker, a smile on her face forming. "I remember! I'm not a shadow stuck in this damp old abyss, I'm on loan from the sea of souls!"
"On loan?" Morgana deadpanned, eyebrow raised.
"I'm Sprite! Can't wait to work with you!" The fairy replied, before they burst into blue flames that flew and merged with Joker's mask.
"Holy shit!" The other Sprite yelled out, stumbling back.
"Alright, get moving!" Mona shouted, aggressively motioning for them to leave with his slingshot.
"Running now!" The two remaining Sprites yelled out, disappearing into the darkness.
"...You know, I think that went well." Joker said, nodding to himself.
"She seemed…" Mona paused, considering his words. "Eccentric."
"Well, she'll fit right in then." Joker shrugged, reaching up to his mask. "Right, let's see if she can give us any advice."
Joker's mask flashed blue, before the teen ripped it off his face, azure flames licking the underside as it was wrenched free. "Sprite!"
The persona burst to life in front of the two, Joker's mask bursting up into flames in the process. "Wow! Your soul is like, super empty!" Sprite noted with a smile. "There's so much room in there!"
"Hyper, that's the word I was looking for…" Mona corrected himself.
"Not that the space is a bad thing! You're still there and whole, you just got space for more!" Sprite continued, flying around the two.
Joker glanced up, taking in a better look at his new persona. She was a little taller than Pixie was, though wore more of a dress than the leotard than his comparison. Her hair was a bright white, curled up into a bun on the top of her head, and she had numerous bracelets hanging around her wrists. She wasn't wearing shoes, but she was wearing thigh high stockings.
"Ooh, there's someone else here too! Hello!" Sprite said, looking up.
"A very interesting first addition, Trickster." Arsene rumbled in Joker's mind, almost laughing.
"Yeah. Right, Sprite, let's see what you can do." Ren began, crossing his arms and activating his third eye. "Huh, okay, so it's mainly a change of element."
"Which one?" Mona asked, glancing over at his partner.
"Ice." Ren said with a shrug. "A bit surprising, but that's a very nice ability to have to start."
"And he's charming too! Oh, you're a keeper!" Sprite said with a smirk.
"I'm gonna need to read up on this world's mythology at some point…" Joker said with a shrug.
"Good idea. For now though, can you tell us anything about this place, Sprite. We know it's Mementos, but…" Mona asked the Persona.
"Hm, well, I know it's based around Abyss." She began, placing a hand on her chin. "And that the lower floors are closed off so it's just this level and the one below us for now…"
"Abyss?" Joker asked.
"Yeah, it's this secret underground section of the monastery. It's kind of a mix between the place where all the morally grey business goes down, and other monastery stuff. I think they even have a house down there for the officers academy too." Sprite supplied, crossing her arms.
"Another house? You heard of anything like that, Joker?" Mona asked.
"Not really." Ren said with a shrug.
"Well, I could be wrong, but I don't think that really matters right now." Sprite said with a shrug.
"Okay, I think we've done enough looking around. We should go find Lysithea's shadow. Mona, you're not getting a reading yet, right?" Joker asked, looking down at the Cat.
"Yeah. The floor belows feels about right." Mona nodded. "Come on, we're almost done mapping out what's on this floor for right now."
"Right. Sprite, return." Joker said, placing his hand over his face.
"Yes sir!" The fairy saluted, turning back into Joker's mask as it formed on his face once more.
"She's here, I can feel it." Mona said as the two walked off the stairway heading down to the second floor.
"So, what do you think we'll find?" Joker asked, walking alongside Mona as they made their way down the nearby hallway.
"In regards to Lysithea, or how Mementos is going to split her off?" Morgana asked.
"Both, I guess. I'm not looking forward to charging headfirst into the portal thing without something to act as a go between." Joker answered.
"Hopefully it'll be something manageable." Mona replied. "Like a simple door or a smaller portal. As for Lysithea… I'm not sure."
Joker hummed, before coming to a stop. "Hey, is this it?" The thief asked, motioning to the wood door next to him. The door was cracked, looking almost like spider webs across the front that glowed with a red hue.
"Well, if it wasn't for the feeling I'm getting, I'd still have been hard pressed to say yes." Mona nodded. "She's in here."
"Okay… Please don't give us trouble with this." Joker muttered to himself as he grabbed the doorknob. "Open says me…"
The door creaked open, revealing to the two a very cluttered library. Books towered next to each other, and notes about various topics were strewn about all over the place.
"Wow, shadows didn't ever get this kind of treatment before…" Mona noted with wide eyes.
"Maybe she's on the edge of forming a palace and that's why? Or maybe it's just the new Mementos?" Joker guessed. The thief scanned the room, before his eyes landed on their target. "Oh my God…"
Lysithea's shadow didn't look great. It was clearly her, but whatever minor signs of sleep deprivation that were noticeable on her real self were magnified in her shadow. Dark bags hung under her eyes, her body was thinner, not malnourished, but a step towards it.
It was the strange orbs next to her that worried the phantom thief. They were strange glass balls, with what Ren thought looked like Crests glowing within. The orbs were attached to almost vein like chains, pulsating red as they wrapped around Lysithea in an almost restraining manner.
"This… is her shadow?" Mona gasped. "Why is she-?"
(Play Tension)
"W-what the hell?" Joker blinked, swerving around to see Claude standing in the doorway, staring wide eyed at the sight before him. "Are those her Crests? Why are they-?"
"Claude? Why are you here!?" Ren hissed, face pailing.
"He should've returned to reality when he left the café!" Mona hissed out as well.
"I followed you. The streets were empty and you two looked like you knew what was happening. Now where are we?" Claude asked.
"Would you all be quiet!" Lysithea's shadow demanded, getting everyone's attention. "How am I supposed to do anything with my life when you're wasting what little time I have!"
"Lysithea? What are you talking about?" Claude asked, taking a step forward, only to stop when Joker blocked his path with his arm. "Sensei?"
"Careful, that's her shadow. Her inner self, we don't want to have to fight her." Joker said, keeping his eyes locked to Lysithea's shadow.
"Do you have any idea how infuriating it is to be treated like a kid!? Please, do remind me of my age! It really helps!" Lysithea's shadow growled at Claude, her tone obviously sarcastic.
"This isn't good, his presence is just agitating her!" Mona noted, glancing over at Claude.
"What do you mean? You said something about 'what little time' you had left?" Joker asked, not lowering his arms.
"You can see, can't you?" Lysithea motioned to the Crests wrapped around her. "They're killing me. I've been told I will likely not live to see my thirties, if even my mid twenties."
"What!?" Claude exclaimed, eyes wide in shock as Lysithea's gaze fell onto him.
"Do you get it now, why I cannot afford to waste the time I have? I want to do so many things, learn so much, and I do not have even close to enough time to do any of that!" Lysithea's shadow yelled, glaring at the leader of the golden deer. "Why will you not just mind your own business and let me live!"
"This is really bad, Joker! We need to go!" Mona shouted, looking at the teen.
"You're right, we're leaving." Joker nodded, reaching into his pocket. "Claude, Mona, to me!"
"Get out of my sight!" Lysithea's shadow screamed, energy beginning to pool in her hands.
"Sensei, I hope you have a plan, because I don't have many options!" Claude shouted, stepping up next to Joker.
"I do, trust me." Joker said, glancing to confirm Mona was within range. "Alright, now!"
The thief threw the item in the hand onto the ground, sending out a flash of light and smoke that hid all three from view.
Lysithea's shadow fired off the energy at the cloud of smoke, breaking it apart to reveal empty space.
"...Gone, good."
(Play Mementos - Upper Layer)
"Thank you, Goho-Ms…" Joker said, looking around the start of the second floor of Mementos. "Now then."
Joker turned to look at Claude, the teen leaning over taking in deep breaths to steady himself. "So, there's not much else to do but explain what just happened."
"Yes, please explain why my classmate was trying to kill us just now with magic that I'm fairly sure is way over her current level." Claude snarked back as he stood up straight.
"Well, he's taking almost dying rather well…" Mona snarked back.
"Also, why did your cat turn into… this thing?" Claude continued, motioning to Mona with his off hand.
"What's that supposed to mean!?"
"Mona, not now." Joker said, giving the cat a side glance before looking straight ahead at Claude. "To answer your question, we're in the metaverse."
"Metaverse? You're gonna need to be more specific than that, Sensei." Claude said with a raised eyebrow.
"Think of the metaverse as a world connected to yours. It's a world of cognition, specifically the cognition of the collective unconscious given form." Mona answered.
"Collective unconscious? I think I've heard that term before. It's that thing where everyone's thoughts are connected or something, right?" Claude asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, it's a bit more complicated, but basically." Joker nodded.
"So, why are we in the abyss then? I didn't know this place actually existed…" Claude said, looking around the hallway.
"This specifically is what we call Mementos. I guess it just took this abyss thing and ran with it when it formed." Mona replied with a shrug.
"Mementos is where everyone's shadow resides. They're you, but tend to show off more of the aspects of yourself you don't like." Joker continued. "What we encountered earlier was Lysithea's shadow. Her other self."
"Okay, just… give me a moment to process this…" Claude said, placing a hand to his forehead.
"Take your time. We're in the higher levels of Mementos so if we do run into any shadows we should be fine." Joker said, placing his hands in his pockets.
"Should being the operative word…" Mona muttered to himself.
"Right, okay… So, why were you two here then?" Claude asked, lowering his arm as he locked eyes with Ren.
"The cognitive world is deeply connected with reality. Changes we make here have effects with people out there." Joker began. "I was worried about Lysithea and wanted to see how distorted she was before taking any further actions."
"Distorted?" Claude repeated.
"When someone's desires… Well, distort, so too does their shadow. If their distortion grows big enough, their shadow is basically ejected out of Mementos and forms its own separate area we call Palaces." Joker replied calmly.
"Unlike Mementos, Palaces are places formed from ONE person's desire instead of everyone's. It can get… very unnatural when traversing Palaces." Mona finished with a nod.
"Okay, as much as I'd love to know more, and believe me I really do, what were you planning on doing with Lysithea?" Claude asked.
"It depended on what we saw of her distortion, but… we've never seen anything like that before." Joker admitted, crossing his arms. "Normally a shadow is indistinguishable from their other self, but you saw what she looked like. The weird things restraining her are also entirely unnatural."
"You mean her Crests?" Claude asked, getting looks from both Joker and Mona. "Lysithea has two Crests. She never disclosed how though. Having two isn't exactly a natural thing to happen though."
"Well, they certainly didn't look very natural like that." Mona replied with a huff.
"For now, we need to get out of Mementos." Joker said, turning around to face the stairs.
"What, why?" Claude asked, getting a look from Joker. "Shouldn't we do more?"
"Not much else to do. We're not prepared for her as we are, we haven't prepared a calling card, and she goes off the rails whenever you're nearby." Mona shook his head. "And you don't have a persona, so you're severely weakened."
Claude grit his teeth. "I don't like this."
"I didn't want to drag you along with us, but unfortunately that didn't happen." Joker said, turning back to look at Claude. "But-Oh, that's not a good sign."
(Play Tension)
"Oh, that so?" Claude blinked, turning around as he caught sight of what he almost assumed was his reflection for a moment. "Well, we do tend to elicit that kind of reaction normally, right?"
"The hell!?" Claude exclaimed, staring into the yellow eyes of his shadow.
"Okay. Claude, your shadow. Claude's shadow, Claude." Ren said,
"Okay, so this one looks pretty normal. Claude, you have a Crest right?" Mona asked.
"Why is that important right now?" Claude asked, not breaking eye contact with his shadow.
"Because it means Lysithea's situation is legitimately unnatural if you do have one." Joker finished, motioning to Claude's shadow and the lack of Crest based restraints on him.
"Of course I have a Crest. Not like the people would place their faith in someone who doesn't." Claude's shadow said with glare. He looked up at his other self and smiled. "But of course you already know that."
"Hey, I don't know if this is a good idea." Mona said to Joker. "Oracle turned out okay when meeting her shadow, but the vibe I'm getting from this one is completely different."
"Claude, we need to go." Joker said again, placing a hand on the teen's shoulder.
"Why? There's so much we could do here! You heard him, this world connected to ours! There's so much we could change for the better with this!" Claude's shadow cut in, spreading his arms out wide. "Isn't this exactly what we need to fulfill our dream?"
"What are you talking about?" Claude asked, hands clenched.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about! What else would someone who belongs to nowhere want? To make a place where everyone will accept us!" Claude's shadow replied. "And now you can finally do something about it!"
"What do you mean finally?" Claude asked with narrowed eyes.
"Please, do you really think anything you've done has changed the world yet?" The shadow mocked with a sneer. "All you've done is chase this guy around in hopes of getting him on your side. After all, the first foreign professor of the officers academy is a big deal, isn't it?"
"That's not what I've been doing!" Claude yelled, arms shaking.
"Hey, stop! We don't have time to argue with your shadow, and I certainly don't want to fight it right now!" Mona interjected.
"But-!"
"Seiros, I can't believe we're this indecisive." Claude's shadow groaned.
"Claude, we need to go." Joker said, tugging on Claude's shoulder.
"Do you even still want to prove your father wrong? Or have you given up and now agree with the man?" The shadow finally asked, freezing the archer in his tracks.
"...Shut up." Claude growled. "You keep talking as if you know me, like you know what it is I want but you don't!"
Mona snapped to look at Claude. "Hey, Claude, now is not the time for-!"
"Just stop talking, who do you even think you are? Me? Because you're not!" Claude exclaimed, throwing his arm out to the side as he glared at the shadow.
(Play I'll Face Myself - Battle)
"Ha… Haha… HAHAHA!" The shadow giggled at first, but the laughter broke free moments later. Claude's shadow smirked, looking up at the teen, the air shifting as it smirked. "You're right. I'm not you, Claude. After all, that's not my name."
Claude's breath caught in his throat as the shadow's body began to twist and morph, it's voice growing more distorted. "My name… is Khalid!"
The shadow burst open and transformed, energy pooling off of it as it seemingly melted and reformed into a humanoid shape. The shadow was covered in leather battle armor worn overtop almost regal attire. Its head looked like a paper mache helmet made to look like a deer and the horns on top spread out like claws. Its hands flowed with energy, lightning dancing between its fingertips.
"Shit, we're fighting!" Joker exclaimed, stepping in front of Claude. "Claude, stay back!"
"What the hell happened!? Is this what denying your shadow looks like!?" Mona asked in shock.
"Mona, think later! I need you to be ready with support!" Joker said, pulling his mask free from his face. "Arsene!"
"Let us take this fool down a notch, Trickster!" The persona roared, claws extended.
"You think that'll be enough!?" The shadow exclaimed, throwing a hand out as lightning began to pool in his palm. "Take this!"
"Ravage them!" Joker responded in kind, throwing his arm back as Arsene launched a blast of curse magic at Claude's shadow, laughing as he did so.
The shadow smirked, throwing his own attack out to intercept, causing the magics to merge and explode. "You'll have to do better than that!"
"Mona! You're up!" Joker shouted, looking over at his partner.
"Alright, Mecurius!" Mona shouted, summoning his Persona out. "Our personas may be weaker than before, but they're still us! Garu!"
"By your command!" Mercurius replied, raising his hand as the wind suddenly whipped up through the room. The persona clenched his fist before the winds suddenly condensed around Claude's shadow, slamming the full force of the wind magic into him.
"Gh-Lucky shot!" The shadow shouted, firing off another lighting spell at Mona.
"Woah!" Mona exclaimed, barely dodging the attack. "That was closer than I'd have liked…!"
"You think that's all I've got!?" The shadow yelled, the antlers on its head growing and flying out like bladed tendrils, slamming against the wall and cutting into the stone.
"Shit!" Joker shouted, jumping forward as he barely avoided one of the strikes. He landed into a roll and pushed back up to his feet just in time to block another strike with his sword.
"Joker!" Mona shouted, pulling out his slingshot as he aimed and fired, slamming his shot into the shadow's eye.
"Gah!" The shadow roared, its tendrils retreating slightly as Joker pulled himself up to a stand.
"My turn, Sprite!" Joker followed up, ripping his mask off once more, summoning his other Persona. "Bufu!"
"It's go time!" The fairy shouted with a smile, throwing her arms out in front of her. "Get a load of this!"
"Gah!" Claude's shadow hit the floor, a pained look on its face.
"It's weak to ice!" Mona shouted, glancing over at Joker for instructions.
"That so?" Joker smirked, glancing over at Sprite with a grin. "In that case, let's do it again!"
"I'm having so much fun with this!" Sprite laughed, launching another Bufu at the downed shadow.
The ice slammed into it, before shattering as Claude's shadow stood up. "Enough! You want to have some fun, then let's have some fun!" He shouted, throwing his hand forward as the lightning dancing on his fingers condensed and turned into a yellow blade. "Have at you, Sensei!"
The thief narrowed his eyes and raised his sword to block the first strike, gritting his teeth at the feeling of static electricity passing through their interlocked blades. "Is that all you got?" The thief asked, batting the sword to the side as he moved in for a strike of his own.
"Of course not!" The shadow replied, ducking out of the way of another attack. The shadow smirked, clashing blades with Joker before throwing his off hand up towards the thief's chest. "But I think it is for you."
Joker let out a scream of pain as lighting slammed into his chest, sending him flying backwards next to Claude.
"Sensei!" Claude shouted, crouching down next to him.
"H-hey Claude… He's… really strong." Ren noted with a smile. "So uh, congrats on having such a strong personality or… something."
"That thing is not me!" Claude replied with a grimace.
"Claude, a shadow is a shadow. Sometimes they're the part of you that you hate the most. Other times it's the past that you really need to listen to more. But they are always some part of you." Joker replied, coming to a stand as Mona ran over. "You'll need to accept that, if only so that you can move forward after acknowledging all your faults as well."
"Joker, I got you. Dia!" Mona said, placing a hand on Joker's leg. The healing magic swept through the teen, closing up some of the cuts from the earlier assault.
"Thanks Mona. Any ideas?" The teen asked, looking back at the shadow as its horns twisted and grew outward. "Because we can do damage, but not enough to put it down…"
"...Hey, Sensei." Claude spoke up, getting the teens attention as the archer rubbed the back of his head. "I'm… sorry I got you two dragged into this."
"...Hey, we pulled you into the Metaverse first. I think we can call this even." Joker said with a smirk, turning to face the shadow. "...Claude, when I give the signal, I need you to fire everything this thing holds at the shadow. It won't kill it, but that's not the plan."
Claude blinked, looking down at the weapon passed towards him. "Daredevil?"
"Just aim and pull the trigger." Joker replied, rolling his shoulder. "Mona, distract it. I'm gonna try and knock it down again."
"I see what you're putting out there. Let's do this, Joker!" Mona nodded.
"Okay, break!" Joker shouted, charging straight ahead at the shadow.
"Here we go!" Claude's shadow yelled, firing off his barrage as the horns turned tendrils lashed out at the charging thief.
Joker activated his third eye, allowing his body to feel the flow of everything before moving, barely avoiding multiple attacks as he continued to close the distance with the shadow.
"What!?" It exclaimed, bringing its sword up to block.
"Mona!" Joker shouted, ducking to the side just before he got into striking range with the shadow.
"Garu!" Mona cried out, his Persona firing off another wind spell at the shadow.
"That's not gonna work like you think!" The shadow cried out, swerving around to face Mona.
"Now!" Joker shouted, turning to look at Claude.
"Hm?" The shadow paused, turning to look back at Joker before it let out a roar of pain as 6 bolts slammed into its side. "What!? Where!?"
"Now, Sprite!" Joker shouted, pulling his mask off once more.
"Chill out, my dude!" The fairy exclaimed, launching another ice spell at the shadow.
The ice solidified and shattered, knocking the shadow to the floor with a crash. Mona cheered, jumping into the air. "Yes! Looking cool, Joker!"
"Really? Chill out?" Joker asked his persona with a raised eyebrow.
"Hey, hey, fight first, mock later!" The persona said before turning back into Joker's mask.
"Fair enough. Mona, with me!" Joker shouted, throwing himself at the downed shadow.
"All right! All out attack!" Mona exclaimed as the two bounced around the shadow, slicing and dicing with their weapons as it tried to get back to its feet.
"You're done!" Joker shouted, swinging widely across the shadow's front before kicking off it and flipping in the air. He landed into a crouch and stood up, tightening his gloves with a smirk as Claude's shadow stood up. "Show's Over!"
The shadow let out a roar of pain as blood sprayed from its wounds, before it quieted down as it slowly reverted back to its original form.
(Play Regret)
"We did it." Claude breathed out, walking over to Joker.
"Yeah. We did." The teen nodded.
"Here, you take this back." Claude said, handing Daredevil back to Ren.
"Alright, let's get moving. We don't wanna wait and stick around for this guy to get back up." Mona said, walking over to the two.
"No, just… give me a second." Claude said, holding a hand up.
"Hey, we can't kill it if that's what you're asking. Killing a shadow will give the real self a mental shutdown, if not just kill them." Mona said.
"It's not that…" Claude shook his head, crouching down. "I just… Wanted to explain myself?"
"Huh?"
"...He's right. For all of it. But hearing just how much I couldn't and haven't done anything just… it hurts." Claude said, closing his eyes. "But even so, I refuse to give up. I can't, and even if I'm not making any progress, one day… one day I will."
"...Come on, let's go." Joker said turning around.
Claude stood up, sparing one last look at his shadow before he turned to follow after the thieves. "...Please don't think I've forgotten myself. But… thanks for the reminder." He muttered, glancing at his shadow for one more second.
(Play Tension)
"Shit!" Claude blinked, swerving back around to see Mona and Joker in combat stances, a group of 5 shadow's forming around them. "We wasted too much time!"
"Three Sprites, and two others. Don't know what they are." Joker noted, glancing at the Slime like creatures in front of him.
Claude grit his teeth, glancing past the shadows towards the stairs heading up. "Dammit…"
"Hey…" Claude swerved back around, looking down at his Shadow as it slowly pulled itself to a stand. "Did you… mean all that?"
"Yes, of course I did." Claude replied, raising an eyebrow.
"Heh, had to be sure. You wear a mask so often it's hard to really tell…" His shadow chuckled. Yellow eyes scanned the shadows surrounding them, before they locked onto Claude's. "...It's too soon for you to give up now. So, let me help you. Do you trust me?"
"...I don't know if I can." Claude said after a moment, before smiling. "After all, you're me, right?"
"Ha! I suppose I am!" The shadow laughed. "In that case, prepare yourself. This'll be intense."
"What will?" Claude asked, before his shadow placed his right hand on his forehead, and burst into azure flames.
"Wait, what was-!?" Mona asked, turning to look at Claude.
Joker glanced over at the teen out the corner of his eye before he smirked and glanced back at the shadows surrounding them. "Mona, with me, we're keeping these guys busy! Backups on the way!"
"Huh?" Mona blinked, before he glanced back at Claude. "Wait, you don't mean!?"
(Play Awakening)
It was sharp and sudden, the stab of pain that tore through Claude's head. The teen barely had time to scream before he fell to his knees as the pain doubled.
"You certainly took your time coming to this conclusion." A voice echoed in Claude's head, the booming of it sending waves of pain through the teen's head as he grasped his head. "But here we are at the starting line."
Claude gasped for air, falling fully onto him stomach as he attempted to right himself. "There is much to be done, and the world is clearly not keen on changing. So, we must simply force a change then, hm?"
"You want to change the world, save it even? Very well, you'll have my strength in this endeavor." The voice continued, seemingly unbothered by the pain Claude was experiencing. "Commit this pact to memory, I am Thou, Thou art I. Pick up arms, lay out your plans, and do not stop moving until you tip the scales of fate in your own favor!"
"I… Couldn't agree more…" Claude said as his vision flashed blue, a mask forming over his face in the shape of a deer. The teen opened his eyes and grasped it by the horns, before he let out a roar as he ripped the mask off his face, sending out a splash of blood as the skin was ripped off as well. "But you knew that already… Right, Robin!?"
Claude's eyes snapped open, face set into a wild grin as his body exploded in blue fire, wrapping around him and consuming him within.
"Well, here we go again." Joker smirked, kicking away another Sprite as he turned to look at the pillar of fire. "Let's see what you can do, Claude."
The fires licked and burned the area around it, before it quickly began to recede inward, slowly taking a humanoid shape. The fires dispersed, revealing the smirking visage of Claude to the room. Claude rolled his shoulder with a confident smirk on his face as a human with white hair floated behind him, wearing a long purple robe with a large tome held tightly in its right hand.
Claude glanced down at himself, running a hand over the very clearly regal inspired clothes he was dressed in before patting down the sash that was wrapped tightly from his shoulder to his waist. "Well now, isn't this something?"
Claude flicked his hand out with a flash of azure flames, quickly gripping the rapier that formed from the fire. "Hm. Well, I can't say I'm not used to this either."
"Glad you could join us, Claude." Joker said, leaping back next to Claude. "Now, shall we clean house?"
"You know, I think we shall." Claude replied with a grin, throwing his left hand out before him. "Robin! Zio!"
(Play Last Surprise)
"Now!" Robin shouted, the tome flipping open as lightning was fired out from his palm, slamming into one of the slimes, knocking it down.
"Nice one, Claude! You knocked it down." Mona said with a smirk.
"Let it be noted, slimes are weak to electric!" Joker said, ducking to the side away from another Sprite. "Claude, pass the baton to Mona!"
"The what?" Claude asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh right, shit." Joker nodded to himself. "Just hit the other one with the spell again!"
"That, I can do!" Claude said with a smirk, throwing his hand forward as Robin launched another zio at the still standing slime. "Both are down! And with that… Robin, Tarukaja!"
Joker blinked, looking down at himself as he felt the attack boost flow through him. "Well, that's a VERY pleasant surprise!" Joker said with a smirk, pulling Daredevil out as he aimed at the still standing Sprites. "And down you go!"
Joker pulled down on the trigger three times, firing out three bolts at the flying fairies. Two struck true, hitting their targets easily, while the last Sprite barely avoided the attack.
"Claude!" Joker said, dashing over to the teen. "Hold your hand up."
"Uh… like this?" Claude asked.
"Yeah. Passing the baton!" Joker called out, high fiving Claude's hand as energy swirled within Claude. "Do us all a favor and knock that last one out of the sky, will you? I'm fairly sure you got a ranged weapon when you awakened."
Claude paused, flicking his off hand out as a crossbow materialized in his hand. "Yes, yes I did." He said, lifting it up as he aimed and fired at the last flying fairy.
The crossbow bolt struck true and knocked down the shadow, leaving only the persona users standing. "Great shot, Claude! That's all of them down!"
"Claude, follow our lead." Joker said, glancing over at Claude for a moment before dashing ahead at the group of downed shadows. "Mona, Claude, All out attack!"
"Roger!" Mona replied, jumping into the fray.
"Got it!" Claude nodded, following close behind.
The three dashed and weaved, attacking the enemies over and over before coming to a stop on the other side of the shadows. Claude smirked, turning around and charging in once more at the shadow that barely survived the onslaught. He spun his rapier around and stabbed down through the slime's head, firmly killing it before he jumped and launched himself into a backflip off of the slime's head.
Claude smirked as he reached the apex of his flip, fully upside down in the air as he snapped his fingers with a flourish. "Fear the Deer!"
(Play Triumph)
Claude soared and completed his flip, landing crouched in front of Joker and Mona, the two clapping with smiles on their faces. "Well done, Claude. Not a bad finisher you had there." Joker said with a smirk.
"That… was unplanned." Claude noted as he stood up.
"It usually is. You get used to it and just sorta… let it happen after a bit." Mona replied with a shrug.
"For now, we should head back to the entrance to Mementos. There's… a lot more we have to explain now…" Ren chuckled dryly.
"Well, lead the way, Sensei." Claude said, motioning towards the stairs.
(Play Mementos)
"Okay, seriously, before anything else, what's going on with the music?" Claude asked as the three came to a stop at the Mementos entrance.
"So, we don't really have any concrete answers to… Well, that, but we do have a working theory?" Mona began with a shrug. "Basically, since Mementos is a world of cognition based around the Collective Unconscious, we figure the music has something to do with that."
"I… don't think humans think music is playing all around us 24/7…" Claude replied with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, we know. We think it's more due to the fact we're always subject to background noise, and the metaverse just so happens to take that cognition of there always being 'something' there and instead uses it to add music." Joker corrected with an uneasy shrug. "Again, it's a working theory. I mean, how are we supposed to really know. We didn't create this world."
"Okay, that's… good enough of an answer, I guess." Claude nodded as the three came to a stop. "So, the rest of the explanation?"
"Right. Well, I suppose we should start with your Persona." Joker said, crossing his arms.
"Robin…" Claude said, placing a hand on his hip. "I've heard that name somewhere before, but I can't tell from where."
"Most Personas tend to be based on our cognition, maybe it's a historical figure from Fódlan or someone of note that's just floating around the collective unconscious?" Mona guessed.
"Robin… I think I remember reading something about him recently…" Joker noted with a sigh. "Unfortunately I'm drawing a blank on WHERE."
"Well, it's not really that important for right now. We can figure it out later." Claude said with a shrug.
"Right. So, normally Awakening your Persona isn't… like what you had." Joker noted, motioning at Claude. "Normally it's a strong sense of rebellion that awakens a Persona, but you… Well, you denied and then accepted your Shadow and that… did the trick I guess?"
"We had something slightly similar with a friend of ours back home, but her situation was still very different from yours." Mona continued.
"Right, and the clothes?" Claude asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Hm, got a very emperor look going on here. Even got the shoulder thing, don't know the name, kinda European looking now that I'm really looking at it…" Joker replied, leaning forward.
"I meant where these came from and why I'm wearing them." Claude deadpanned.
"Oh, yeah, right." Joker nodded, coughing into his hand.
"They're the form of the rebel residing within you." Mona said with a nod. "We tend to refer to them as our thieves' garb, but considering you're gonna be the lord reagent of a country… the royalty look sorta works. Helps it's clearly modified to be meant for athletic activities and battle."
"Right… and the… nicknames?" Claude asked.
"Safety precautions. We have no clue how the shadows will react if we just use our actual name out there, so we each have codenames." Joker replied with a nod. "I'm Joker, like the wild card, since I can use multiple personas. Which is a whole other thing I can explain at a later time, trust me."
"And I'm Mona." Morgana continued.
"...There, any reason for that?" Claude asked.
"Not really, Skull just threw the name out there and it kinda stuck?" Joker replied with a shrug. "Speaking of codenames, I think I have a question for you, Claude."
"Hm?" Claude blinked, tilting his head as Joker stepped towards him.
"I want to extend an offer to join us, Mona and I, as a Phantom Thief." Ren said.
"Wait, what!?" Mona blinked, staring at Ren in shock.
"A… Phantom Thief?" Claude asked with a raised eyebrow. "I'm not exactly keen on being a bandit, Sensei."
"We're not bandits." Joker said with a light glare. "We only steal the hearts and desires of corrupted people. Usually that tends to be adults abusing their power to make life miserable to those under them, but it also extends to helping people like Lysithea."
"It's what we came today to do. Check and see what we even COULD do." Mona continued.
"But we're only two people now. That isn't gonna be enough to take what the metaverse can throw at us." Joker continued, extending a hand out to Claude. "So I want to ask you to join us. You have a Persona, you want to change the world for the better, your shadow said so already, and I think I can trust you to keep all this a secret."
"...Yeah, I do want to change the world. It's all messed up, and I think with the metaverse, we can really do some good." Claude nodded, taking Joker's hand. "I'm in, Joker."
"Glad to have you. I figure it's obvious, but I'm the leader of our growing operation here. Mona is our navigator for the time being until we can find a Persona user with one tailored to navigating." Joker began, before looking over at Claude. "And you're gonna help us out a lot. You can buff us right, you did it during the fight earlier."
"Yeah, I think so. I have one for… defense, if the feel is right." Claude noted as his eyes closed.
"The vibe tends to be accurate. It's instinctual, so you won't be stumbling around trying to figure out what you're doing." Joker said. "A few other rules you should know. We only take on targets we agree on unanimously. We all have to be on board or it's a no go."
"Alright, I understand." Claude nodded. "That everything?"
"One last thing actually." Joker said with a nod. "We need to give you a codename."
"Hmm… his mask is that of a deer…" Mona said with narrowed eyes.
"Hey, how about we swap the name thing around?" Joker proposed to Mona. "Like, how we all had English names back home, the guys we recruit here in Fódlan can have Japanese names."
"Huh, that'd work." Mona said with a nod.
"Alright then… Claude," Joker began as he turned to look the teen over. "How does Rokuō sound?"
"Rokuō?" Claude repeated slowly, as if tasting the word in his mouth. "I like it, but what's it mean?"
Joker smirked wildly. "Deer King."
"Ha, then yes, I like it a lot!" The newly named Rokuō said with a smirk.
And to cap it all off, time slowed to a crawl, and Lavenza's voice echoed within Ren's mind.
I am Thou, Thou art I…
Thou hast acquired a new vow.
It shall become the wings of rebellion
that breaketh thy chains of captivity.
With the birth of the Magician Persona,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
shall lead to freedom and new power…
{RANK UP!}
[Baton Pass Unlocked]
Chains flew out across Joker's vision before shattering as a blue arcana card descended into view. The magician displayed plain before him before fading from view as time resumed.
"Oh, that's what that meant…" Joker said with a smirk. "Well, with all that said and done, we got one last stop for the day."
"And that is?" Rokuō asked.
"I believe it is with my master." Rokuō jumped as he turned to look at the small girl in the blue train conductor's outfit standing next to the translucent blue doors. "Hello Claude Von Reigan. My name is Lavenza."
"Uh… Hi?" The teen replied with a light wave as he glanced over at Joker with a confused look on his face.
"It'll be easier to explain when we board." Joker said, walking up to Lavenza as he held out his Velvet Room Key, still shaped like a train pass. "I'd say prepare to be amazed, but I think we're past that point right now."
Joker tapped the pass against Lavenzas compendium and stepped back as the doors to the velvet room opened up for the group. "Shall we?"
"Ah, a new visitor. Welcome to the Velvet Room."