At first, Sae thought the power had gone out. She looked out the window to see if it was just her building and saw everything was dark outside. That was highly unusual; the only time she'd seen a widespread blackout in Tokyo was during an actual emergency, like a tsunami or a power plant meltdown. She shook her head. No point wasting time on speculating.

She tried turning on her phone to see if there was any breaking news, but none of her usual apps would open, not even the telephone dialer itself. She decided the next logical step would be to try contacting her neighbors. She left her apartment and started knocking on doors, banging and yelling loudly to no response.

A chill ran through her. This was utterly bizarre. It looked like her home, but the sounds, the smells - or lack thereof - the general emptiness of the place were all wrong. Instinctively quieting her footsteps, she headed toward the elevator. Surely there would be someone on the street who could tell her what was going on. Or, failing that, direct her to a mental health facility.

A door creaked open behind her. Oh, thank god, she thought, and whirled around. But what came out of the door wasn't a person. It looked more like a plucked chicken with an onion for a head. Other doors started to open all along the hallway and other things emerged - an angry-looking purple horse with horns like a ram, a green-skinned woman in a flowing red dress, a mobile lump of what looked like slime - Sae backed toward the elevator and started mashing the button.

Just as it occurred to her that the elevator wouldn't be working in a blackout, the door opened with the familiar ding. Sae leapt into the elevator and slammed the close door button. There seemed only one sensible place to go now, so she hit the ground floor button, shrinking back to put even a few inches of space between her and whatever the hell was out there.

Sae wasn't a particularly artistic type, but she found herself envisioning the elevator's descent as a drop into the underworld - like Izanagi descending to find Izanami. After all, she thought nervously, Who's to say what I find out there will be better than what I left upstairs?

When the elevator reached the ground floor, Sae peeked quickly outside before stepping out. The building foyer was empty. Stepping cautiously out into the street, she saw the strangest thing yet: Ren-kun and Goro-kun both standing in the middle of the street, motionless. Not that they were in any immediate danger - there was no traffic, not even any pedestrians.

Keeping an eye on her surroundings, she approached the boys. Getting closer, she could see that they were both staring dazedly into space. She waved a hand in front of them. Nothing. At their feet was something that looked like a cat-shaped garden statue. How that figured in, she couldn't begin to guess.

"What is wrong with this place?" she murmured.

As if in answer to her question, she heard the distinct rhythmic thumping of soldiers marching. She couldn't see far into the gloom down the street, so she concentrated on the sound. At least dozens, coming closer.

She tried putting her arm around Goro's shoulders and pushing, but his feet stayed rooted stubbornly to the ground. She thought perhaps she could pick him up, but where could she take him? And what about Ren? She looked around for anything she could use, but the street was frustratingly empty.

The soldiers had gotten closer. Now Sae could see that her guess was correct - there was a smartly formed platoon wearing what looked like Japan Self-Defense Forces dress uniforms and carrying rifles. She could also see that they were headed by someone standing majestically on top of a tank, arms akimbo, wearing some sort of extravagant military dress uniform. She moved a little bit forward, in spite of her fear, wanting to know who it was.

It was Masayoshi Shido.

Not normally given to panic, Sae shrieked a little and stumbled backwards.

"Hey, hey. Shh," said a familiar voice.

She whirled around to see Ren was alert, no longer staring into space.

"Ren-kun! It's him! Shido is here!"

Ren responded with a word she'd never heard come out of his mouth before, but she could hardly blame him. She was thinking the same thing.

"This is bad," said a voice from somewhere near Sae's feet. "It took all of us to defeat Shido last time, and he didn't have fifty soldiers to throw at us then."

Sae looked down and saw that the garden statue had come to life. At least it's on our side, she thought wearily. She was beginning to understand how Goro and the Phantom Thieves had learned to roll with things so easily.

"Take Goro-kun," Sae said to Ren. "Get him out of here."

Ren looked over at Goro and cocked his head to one side. "Whoa. Is that what I look like when I go into the Velvet Room?"

"Yup," said the cat. "We all thought you were just spacing out."

Sae grabbed Ren's arm. "You can carry him. Take him and run. I'll stall them, then follow."

Ren looked back at the soldiers, estimating their numbers and strength. "No, not a chance. You can't hold off those things. Morgana, you stay here while I go see what he wants."

Somehow managing to look skeptical, the cat said, "You think he wants to thank us and buy us ice cream?"

Ignoring him, Ren took off at a sprint and ran toward the tank. "Masayoshi Shido!" he called when he was within earshot. "Why are you here? What do you want?"

Shido - or something that looked just like him - smiled cruelly. "What I've always wanted, boy. For the enemies of this great nation to be utterly destroyed. Tell me: are you with Japan or against us?"

"I'm with Japan and against you. You don't represent this country and you definitely don't represent me!" Ren shouted furiously. He knew he shouldn't let this cognition or whatever it was goad him, but it was utterly disgusting to see Shido conflate himself with the country.

Shido looked untroubled by this defiance. "Fine, fine. My Patriot Corps needs some practice anyway. Go, my champions!"

With that, the soldiers surged forward. Ren took out a couple of them with his daggers, mainly to get some breathing room. He had no idea what to do about Sae and Goro, but he wouldn't be able to do anything if he was dead.

He glanced back at Sae to see how she was doing. She had thrown a couple of the soldiers aside using some aikido technique, but there were more coming. One attacked Akechi, knocking him flat on his back.

Sae, with an expression of pure fury, slugged the soldier square in the face. It was a solid punch that would have left a human eating his teeth. Unfortunately, though she couldn't have known, you needed a Persona to do real damage in the Metaverse. The Shadow, hardly phased, countered with a body slam that knocked her to the pavement.

Ren grimaced, but his resolve was bolstered. He summoned Yoshitsune and unleashed Hassou Tobi. The spectral blades whirled, slicing through the soldiers like they were no more substantial than air. Hassou Tobi always took a lot out of him, but Ren noted with satisfaction that he had taken an even larger chunk out of the enemy force - maybe a dozen in one shot. So they weren't terribly strong, but still...there were a lot of them.

In response, Shido picked up a bullhorn and started shouting into it. "There is no need for thieves in our mighty country! Join me, citizens! Crush these traitors!"

To Ren's horror, some Shadows that had been on the sidewalk - he hadn't even noticed they were there - peeled away and joined the soldiers. Similar to the way Ren's clothes changed to the Phantom Thief outfit, they transformed from monochromatic Shadows into soldiers.

Oh crap, thought Ren. What god or demon did I piss off this time?

Sae sat up and rubbed her head, which had hit hard on the concrete. Nearby, the cat summoned some sort of creature - it must be his Persona, if she understood her case files correctly - to cast a wind attack that pushed back the nearest soldiers.

Then Ren unleashed a spectacular sword attack using his own Persona, wiping out at least a quarter of the enemy forces. That's the kid who ran circles around the SIU, Masayoshi Shido, Goro Akechi, and me, she thought. It was the most understandable thing she'd seen since she came to this surreal place.

Clear of enemies for the moment, she looked down next to her; Goro was still lying where he'd landed, unblinking eyes staring eerily up at the sky. Her heart stopped for a second, but she could see that he was still breathing. I couldn't help him with Shido. I can't protect him now. I'm putting everything on a couple of kids - again!

Thoughts scattered by anger and frustration, the only thing Sae knew for sure was that she wanted to do something to help the situation. Take action. Not be a bystander in her own life. She reached out for Goro, though she didn't know if she intended to comfort him or the other way around.

As their hands touched, some mysterious power flowed through from Goro to Sae, sparking like electricity. She had an uncanny certainty that somewhere, a butterfly was bursting from its chrysalis and soaring. Then she was seized with crushing pain and her mind went blank.

"Well, well," said a regal voice, seeming to come from all around. "Are you prepared at last to stop blaming the stars and make your own destiny?"

Sae held her head in her hands, groaning in pain as power coursed through her and a mask formed over her eyes.

The mask felt like safety and belonging. She could keep it on, stay hidden, blend in with the Shadow soldiers. She hadn't noticed before, but they were all wearing masks too. They wouldn't bother her if she were like them.

The thought made her feel ill.

Through clenched teeth, Sae hissed, "The boundaries of my life are not for others to decide. I'm done passively accepting whatever gets dumped on me."

There was a cackling laugh, then the voice said, "I am thou, thou art I…together we shall defend the weak...humble the strong...and scour the earth with the light of judgement!"

Sae ripped off the mask. The pain was intense at first, but faded as she beheld her Persona. As if remembering something she'd forgotten, Sae knew this was Morrigan, the Phantom Queen. Her other self, the part of her spirit that refused to bow to injustice.

The Phantom Queen was regal and terrifying, with wild red hair and huge black bird wings. In one hand she held a scepter and in the other a battle axe. At Sae's command, Morrigan held her scepter high and lightning arced down upon the Shadows, instantly obliterating almost all of those remaining.

The battle was all but won. Ren and Morgana turned to stare at Sae in awe. She smiled, but her strength was already starting to fade. She wobbled on her feet a little.

"I'd hoped to avoid using the big gun," Shido called with his bullhorn. "But you've left me no choice!"

The tank started making an ominous grinding noise as the turret moved slowly to point at them. As it readied its attack, an eager smile spread across Shido's face.

Takuto Maruki crunched Jagarikos compulsively as he watched the battle unfold on his monitors. If Akechi wakes up, there will be four of them...is that enough to defeat Shido and his army and his tank, I wonder?

He didn't find out. It only took a split-second for Ren to decide on running. Ren tossed Akechi over his shoulder and sprinted towards the nearby apartment building. Sae Niijima followed and the cat brought up the rear, keeping an eye on the tank.

They were fortunate that it took the big gun so long to change direction; otherwise they wouldn't have made it inside. The explosive shell destroyed the front of the building - but in true Phantom Thieves fashion, they had already disappeared.

Maruki watched Ren and the others make their way back up to Niijima's apartment and then disappear, presumably back to the real world. He'd gotten more pieces of the puzzle, but they were still jumbled up.

In his notebook, he wrote:

How...

-Did Akechi fix his dissociation? Could the technique/artifact/power be used by others?
-Did Sae Niijima summon a Persona after touching Akechi? Is it related to his ability to "unchain hearts," as he puts it?

Why…

-Are the psychotic breakdown and mental shutdown cases happening again, if Akechi isn't involved? Could they be spontaneous?

What…

-Happened when Amamiya held the star? Something on another plane of reality? Perhaps some kind of internal, mental effect?
-Is the nature of the Shido figure in the Metaverse?
-Are those soldiers and how does Shido summon more?

He sighed. Intriguing questions all, but only the first was truly important. How did Akechi fix his dissociation, and would it work on other people?

Taking his notebook with him, Maruki exited through the heavy security door and walked down the hall to a set of swinging double doors. Pushing through, he entered the mental shutdown ward and began to "do the rounds" as he thought of it.

It wasn't much like doing rounds in the waking world, though. There was no point in reviewing medical charts or looking at vitals. These patients didn't have vital signs in the Metaverse, though they were still alive in the waking world. Every one of them had the same problem: mental shutdown.

No changes, as usual. He didn't know how long his patients could hold out waiting for a cure.

Maruki added two questions to the list in his notebook:

Can Akechi help me? And if so, will he?

Back in the Metaverse version of Sae's apartment, Ren laid Goro down on his bed while Sae sank into the desk chair. Goro's eyes were still disconcertingly open and glassy. Ren tucked a stray strand of hair behind his ear and Goro blinked, seemed to see him for a fraction of a second, then sighed and closed his eyes as if drifting back to sleep. Taking a quick peek at Sae to be sure she wasn't watching, Ren kissed his forehead.

Then he got to work, using Goro's finger to unlock his phone. Ren stared for a second at the Metaverse Navigator, wondering if it was back on his phone too. In any case, using Goro's phone seemed like the best bet, since it was the device that had brought them all here. Holding his breath, Ren tapped the exit button.

Instantly, Ren found himself back in his own room with Morgana. He let out his breath in a whoosh.

"Glad that worked out," said Morgana. "We've never tried long-distance Metaverse navigation before, have we?"

"Nope," said Ren. A sly smile spread across his face. "Hey, that means I can meet Goro in the Metaverse. No train necessary."

"With everything we saw tonight, that's what you're focused on?!"

Ren shrugged in a sorry-not-sorry way, still grinning.

Morgana began cleaning his paws, then said coolly, "You know, if all this is tied to Akechi, maybe he'll be the one putting the team together this time."

Ren chewed that over. "He'll want to blame this all on Shido...but that thing wasn't a Shadow, was it?"

"No, I don't think so. I think it was a cognition."

"But that would mean...that's how the public sees Shido right now," said Ren, suddenly disturbed. "They still see him as a leader. Even a savior."

Morgana made a hairball-hacking sound to indicate his displeasure. "Then we'll just have to show them the truth again, won't we?"

Ren nodded, but deep down, he wasn't convinced that the truth would be enough.

Goro wasn't sure how long he spent holding Ren before slipping into deeper unconsciousness. Ren drifted away, replaced by other sensations - good and bad memories that had imprinted themselves on his mind - while Goro's sense of self merely floated, experiencing it all.

It occurred to him that it would be easy to lose himself in this place. He could choose a memory and cling to it, remaining happy or angry or sad forever. Or he could let his consciousness go and drift apart like a bucket of water tossed into the ocean.

He didn't want to do that, though. He wanted his mind to finish knitting itself together so he could go home. There were things he wanted to do. People he wanted to see. He wasn't done.

The more he concentrated on his desire to live, the more the infinite space around him thickened and began to form a more concrete space. The blackness merged into a deep marine blue and the emptiness into a velvety softness.

Eventually Goro found himself in a profoundly blue room. There was a plush blue carpet and the walls were so blue that it was hard to tell how far away they were. There were also a number of what seemed to be boxes - moving boxes? - lying around in stacks.

More immediately, there was a little boy with yellow eyes examining him.

"He's okay!" said the boy.

There was another child, a girl - Lavenza, Goro recalled - making notes in a book. That reminded him of Maruki for some reason. He shook his head to clear it.

"Jose," said the girl with a lightly scolding tone, "You nearly killed our visitor. You should apologize."

"I'm sorry, mister," said Jose earnestly. "I didn't know it was a bad wish."

"What are you talking about?" said Goro, still feeling fuzzy.

"The wish you made on my star," said Jose, pointing at Goro's pocket.

Goro took the star out of his pocket and held it in his hands. The weight and warmth of it brought back a memory of lying cold and bloodied in a gutter outside the Diet building. He concentrated on the memory and...yes, he had seen this boy before. The memory was fragmented, but he recalled that much.

"It wasn't a bad wish," Lavenza corrected. "Only...dangerous. Taking apart a mortal's cognition and putting it back together is a complicated endeavor."

"I wished to have my cognition taken apart…?" said Goro, trying to remember. He remembered looking up at the stars and the sound of an ambulance.

"Not exactly," said Jose. "My stars are...hm, how can I explain?" He looked up at Lavenza.

"They're a tool Jose made to help him understand human desire. When a desire is strongly felt, even if not clearly understood, the star makes it concrete. Visible. Consequential."

"I see. My desire…." Goro reached back farther, back to the engine room in Shido's palace. "I wanted to be like Amamiya - free of my past. I wanted to kill the parts of myself that are hateful. I wanted a fresh start."

"Right!" said Jose. "That's what the star did!"

"The star couldn't have killed part of you," Lavenza added. "That would have mangled your psyche beyond recovery. Instead, it separated out the unwanted parts and left them in the Metaverse."

"You stuffed all the things I wanted to forget in my unconscious?" Goro snorted. "No wonder that other me was so pissed off."

"Your friends used their wishes to strengthen the bonds between one another," said Lavenza. "You could do the same, if you chose."

"Every time someone makes a wish on one of my stars, I get closer to understanding humans," said Jose. "Wish lots!"

The boy's enthusiasm for his little project was charming, but Goro couldn't help feeling unsettled. He didn't need to ask why Jose hadn't furnished a star to everyone on earth; just imagining someone like Shido with one of these things sent shivers down his spine. He changed the subject.

"This is the Velvet Room...isn't it? But it doesn't look like it did before."

"It will be your Velvet Room soon," said Lavenza. "You may stay if you like, or return to the waking world through that door."

She pointed behind him. Goro turned around and saw that there was, indeed, a door there. He didn't need to think about it. He stood up and went through.