Chapter 1: Awakening

"This is bullshit!" Yukari yelled.

Ren sighed. While he was happy that his stepsister was on his side, he was just... unbelievably tired. He looked at his parents and saw the same tiredness hanging over them like a cloud.

"I don't disagree with that assessment." Akira Kurusu said. "That trial happened way too quickly. They didn't even wait for us to get a defense lawyer."

Isako Takeba shook her head. "Because they knew we couldn't afford it."

Yukari scowled. "No, they just didn't wait for the lawyer from the Kirijo Group that I called in a favor for to get there." She began shouting at the ceiling, the only way she could let out her frustration at the moment. Where's a good Dark Hour when you need it? "And now Ren has to get shipped off to Tokyo to serve a bullshit probation and live with some asshole that will probably set him up to fail!"

"That's not fair." Akira said, "Sojiro's an old coworker of mine, we can trust him." He smiled sadly, "Even if he's a bit... prickly."

Ren heaved a sigh and hauled himself out of his chair. "Guess I'll go pack."

Yukari made to follow him. "I'll help."

Akira looked at his wife and nodded. "Yukari, we need to talk to you for a moment."

She groaned and turned back to her parents as Ren went upstairs. "Yes, I know the gag order extends to me too. I can't say a damn thing. Publicly. I'm not about to mess with that. I have no interest in committing career suicide." She had a duty to her fans, after all. Being the actress for one of the titular heroes of Neo Featherman R was important to her.

Akira leaned forward. "Who do you plan on telling... privately?"

Yukari looked at her stepfather and began to feel that old fire rise up in her. The fire that had risen when SEES had been told that they were fighting a force of nature rather than just another Shadow. "Friends." She slipped a hand in her jacket pocket and held the old MP3 player she always kept with her. Hah... been a while since I've felt like this. Guess I'm just a sucker for hopeless causes. Right, Makoto?

Without waiting for her parents' response, she turned and headed to Ren's room. She knocked.

"Come in."

She opened the door and walked into the bedroom. It looked like the average teenage boy's room. Posters of favorite shows and celebrities covered the wall, one wall was dominated by a work desk and display shelves that showcased various plastic models that Ren had built, some of vehicles, some of firearms, and even the Strike Gundam with IWSP Striker Pack. She smiled. That had been a week-long saga. Ren was currently going through his closet, figuring out what clothes to take. "Need some help?"

Ren smiled ruefully, "I don't think I'm going to take my Neo Featherman cosplay, Kari."

Yukari laughed, "Please, you'd do a better job than the numbskull that they've got playing Feather Hawk right now. Dude won't even try to learn some martial arts so his moves actually look legit."

"Inexcusable." Ren said with authority.

"That's what I said!" Yukari said with righteous indignation. "And you know what that prick said to me?"

Ren raised his eyebrow. "Let me guess. He made a pass at you?"

Yukari huffed. "Dumbass. He can't measure up to my standards. Not unless..."

Ren could feel a disturbance in the Sibling Force. "What's wrong?"

Yukari bit her lip. How much could she tell him? His situation was too similar to what Makoto's had been in that fateful year. Moving to a new place... transferring to a new school... and after learning about what had happened in Inaba the following year and that it had began after a teenage boy had transferred to the high school there...

It didn't help that Yukari saw far too much of Makoto Yuki in Ren. It was why she could be so protective of him at times. That probably wasn't healthy, in retrospect. His kindness, his desire to help others... especially in the wake of his birth mother's death ten years ago...

It was close enough to give Yukari nightmares.

"Just promise me you won't get involved in anything... weird." She finally said.

Ren's eyes narrowed. "Weird? You mean like those... odd incidents a few years ago?"

Ren was the only member of their little family that Yukari had even obliquely confided in regarding her other job. "Yeah. Like those. Stay the hell away." She glanced at Ren's closet. "And take your pea coat for winter. They're in style right now. Gotta trick the girls into thinking that you actually have some fashion sense."

"Hey, I have fashion sense!"

They laughed together, probably the last time they would for a long time. Yukari took the MP3 player out of her pocket. "Listen, Ren. This thing might be ancient by today's standards, but it belonged to someone who was very dear to me." She was amazed that her courage was holding out. This was the first time that she'd talked about Makoto openly with anyone that hadn't been a part of SEES. "I want you to have it."

Ren took the MP3 player from her and turned it over in his hands. It was gray and pill-shaped, with a lanyard attached that allowed it to be worn around the neck. The title of the last song Yukari had been listening to was displayed on its screen. Mass Destruction? Huh. "Thanks, Kari. I'll take good care of it."

"If things go sideways, mail it back to me." Yukari said. "Cause the cops are probably going to be watching your mail, and mailing something like this probably won't even register on their radar."

"That makes sense." Ren's head canted to the side. "The guy this belonged to, what was he like?"

Yukari's voice caught in her throat before she was about to respond. "He- he was the kindest and bravest man I have ever met. Despite... his situation. No one would've blamed him for withdrawing, cursing the world, and... letting it fall to ruin. But once you got past that outer shell of who cares it was plain to see that he cared." She wiped a tear from her eye, "You remind me so much of him, Ren. How you stepped in to help a perfect stranger that was about to be attacked by some asshole..."

Ren laid a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Yukari. You can count on me. I'll get through this and be back home before you know it."

Yukari playfully slugged Ren in the arm. "You'd better, or I'll kick your butt. Then annihilate whatever dumbass Sha- shitheads that tried to step up to you."

Mentally, Yukari kicked herself. Hopefully she didn't just jinx anything. Regardless, she made her excuses and left for her apartment. Once she had made it there, she pulled out her phone and made a call.

"Hey, Mitsuru. It's me."

"Yukari, this is a surprise. Usually I have to call you."

"Yeah, yeah, you can give me grief later. Listen..." she took a moment to figure out how she wanted to ask her question. "Has there been anything weird happening in Tokyo? Our kind of weird."

"No. There's no sign of the Dark Hour, and the TV world has been dormant for years. Not counting Teddie. Why?"

Yukari shivered, but it had nothing to do with the temperature. "I don't know. Just... a bad feeling."

"Noted. I'll have Fuuka take a... work trip. As they say."

Yukari giggled. That old verbal tic of Aigis's had become a running joke among the former members of SEES any time they used any sort of euphemism. "Thanks, Mitsuru. Keep me posted."

"Understood. Until next time, Yukari."

Yukari hung up and closed her eyes. She could feel Isis inside of her. She was worried too. Why wouldn't she be? "It'll be okay, Isis." She said, "If he needs us, we'll come running."

Yukari went to her bedroom and pulled a case out from under her bed. She opened it up to ensure that her Evoker and Theurgy cartridges were still there. It had been a long time. But if she had to return to the fight to protect her little brother...

She'd do it in a heartbeat.

Ren Amamiya was jolted awake as his train rounded a corner. It hadn't helped matters that he had slept terribly the night before. Go figure, right? About to start his probation and sleep eluded him, all because of some weird dream.

Chasing a glowing blue butterfly through halls he didn't recognize, while oddly nostalgic piano music played. When he finally caught up to it time froze and a female voice spoke.

This is truly an unjust game... Your chances of winning are almost none. But if my voice is reaching you, there may be a possibility open to you. I beg you. Please overcome this game... and save the world.

There was a part of him that wondered if this was the weird stuff that Yukari had told him to stay away from. What was the worst that could happen?

Besides, how could he stay away from dreams?

As he disembarked from the train, it felt like he was slapped in the face with how busy and loud Tokyo was. Sure, he expected Shibuya to be loud. But this? Coming from Tatsumi Port Island, it was a bit much. He looked down at his phone to make sure he was still headed towards the subway stop he needed to go to and...

In the middle of the screen, there was an app icon blocking his GPS. It looked like a red eye. He tried to delete it, but it grew to fill the whole screen. He looked around in a panic. Had his phone caught a virus?

Then everything except himself stopped. It was like time was frozen. A moment later, a pillar of blue fire sprang into existence. It gave off no heat, and didn't seem to burn anything. Ren squinted. He could make out a shape that appeared to be... a demon in a top hat.

His eyes almost bugged out of his head when the flames parted and he saw himself staring him down with haunting yellow eyes.

As soon as the vision had started, it was swept away. People went on their way, unheeding of Ren's distress. He managed to delete the app and continued on his way. For a moment he considered calling Yukari but decided against it. He probably just needed more sleep.

He found his way to the subway and Yongen-Jaya without further incident. As he left the station, he heard two kids having a lively discussion about Neo Featherman Again, the latest iteration of the series. Unlike most actors who were only on for one season, Yukari had been in a starring role for years. She had found herself in a self-sustaining feedback loop of enjoying what she did and being a fan favorite.

"Hey, mister!" One of the kids asked, "Who's your favorite Feather?"

Ren stopped and looked at the kid. "Oh, that's easy. It's Pink Argus." He smiled at the shouted assent from the kids and went on his way. He had received instructions to go to Café Leblanc, as that was Sojiro Sakura's place of business.

He quickly found the café. It was a quaint establishment tucked away in an alley. Ren frowned. Sojiro couldn't possibly get many customers like this, right? Then again, maybe he liked it that way. He pushed open the door and found more or less what he had expected. On the left were four booths, and to the right was a counter with barstools. A balding man in his forties who wore glasses sat at one of the stools working on a crossword puzzle. An older couple sat in one of the booths, both of them nursing cups of coffee.

Ren's attention was drawn to the TV on the wall. "Yet another grisly accident has occurred thanks to a mental shutdown. A bus full of riders careened into an intersection, killing thirty people. This includes an honor student from a local high school. Her family has asked for privacy in this trying time."

The man at the bar looked up at him. "Ah. They did say that was today." The couple got up, said their goodbye and left. "Oh, come on. Four hours for a cup of joe?" He turned to Ren and gave him an appraising look. "Hm. I expected a troublemaker."

Ren shrugged. "Sorry to disappoint." He said with a wry smile.

"Oh, you think you're a joker, huh? Whatever. My name's Sojiro Sakura. I'll be taking care of you for the next year." He threw his newspaper on the bar. "Now, I got the gist of your situation. A woman was being harassed by a man, and you took it upon yourself to intervene. He got hurt, and the law came down on you." He shook his head. "At least you've learned an important lesson about sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."

Ren said nothing. It wasn't like that. The man had tripped. Then the woman had turned around and testified against him. It wasn't fair. All his life, he'd been taught to do the right thing and now he was being punished for it. They walked up to the attic above the café.

"This is where you'll be staying. I've given you some sheets for your bed. Let me know if they get worn out or if you need a heater when winter comes around."

Ren looked around the space. It was a mess. His luggage was sitting in the middle of the room. There was a desk in the corner, but it was covered in stacks of books. The rest of the room was covered by... stuff. "It's... a mess."

Sojiro pondered that for a moment. "Well, so is your life. Hell, even your parents don't want you around."

"That's not true!" Ren said, "They- there's a gag order so they-"

"Sure." Sojiro said. "If that's what you want to tell yourself." He pulled out a book and gave it to Ren. "Write what you do each day in here so I can report to your probation officer. Tomorrow we go to your school and get you properly registered."

"Right." Ren said as Sojiro walked off. He checked the time and saw that it was only midafternoon. He pulled out his MP3 player and hung it around his neck. Then came earbuds and a press of the play button.

I will burn my dread...

"I will burn my bread..." Ren sang incorrectly as he began to clean.

It had taken the rest of the afternoon and most of the evening, but he had gotten the attic... livable. He wasn't done yet -the desk and the side of the room that was filled with random junk was still on the to-do list- but this was a good start.

He also took no small amount of satisfaction that Sojiro had been surprised that he had taken it upon himself to clean up the attic.

Regardless, soon after that conversation, a wave of tiredness hit him. Soon after, he was falling asleep. He tried to set an alarm on his phone...

That mystery app was back.

"Nope." He said to no one in particular as he deleted it again. "You're weird, and I promised my sister I would stay the hell away."

Sleep soon took him.

He immediately woke up. He wasn't in the attic. He was in a jail cell, complete with uncomfortable cot and toilet with no privacy, Sitting at a desk was a short elderly man with an abnormally long nose. "Trickster, welcome to my Velvet Room."

There were two young girls dressed as prison guards. One of them smacked the bars of his cell. "Pay attention, inmate!"

Ren dragged himself up and toward the locked door. "What the hell is this?"

"My Velvet Room." The long-nosed man said, as if that should explain everything. "This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter."

"So I'm dreaming?"

"Correct, inmate! Now be silent!"

"Other than those of us who reside here, only those who are destined to be bound by a contract may enter here. I am Igor, the master of this place."

Ren was quickly losing patience. "What do you want from me?"

Igor continued to be infuriatingly evasive. "Did you know that the state of this room reflects the state of the heart of the guest that perceives it? You believe yourself to be a prisoner, for the crime of being a good man." He opened a ledger. "Certainly the most interesting guest in recent memory."

"That's all very interesting, Igor." Ren said evenly before glaring at the oddity. "Tell me what's going on right now!"

"Ruin is approaching." Igor said plainly, "As things stand now, you cannot stop it."

Ren groaned. This was exactly the weird stuff to stay away from wasn't it? Yukari was going to rip him a new one. "Great, wonderful. Can I go back to sleep now?"

Once again, Igor ignored his extraneous comments. "You must be rehabilitated towards freedom. Only by embracing the path of the Trickster can you avoid ruin."

"Well, I'd prefer to avoid ruin..." Ren said.

Igor smiled. "The contract is sealed. For now, return to your slumber. I will bring you here again soon to discuss your rehabilitation further."

An alarm went off, and Ren lost consciousness.

The next day went by without any apparent weirdness, outside of the threats from the principal of Shujin Academy. It was about what Ren expected, to be honest.

It had taken far too long to get back to Leblanc thanks to another accident, this time on the subway system. He ended up going straight to bed. The strange app was back. Again.

"Ugh. Thank you for reminding me." Ren muttered. He ignored it and checked his route for tomorrow. Hopefully he would be able to get to school without any issues. Issues were the last thing he needed right now.

He slept well, and Sojiro had even made him breakfast. No, that wasn't doing it justice. It was the best curry that he'd ever had. Such a strange combination. He continued to ruminate on this on the train.

Finding which line he needed to transfer to get to school was a pain. It almost felt like a time loop with how much he had circled around. Not to mention his GPS was utterly useless underground.

It was fine though! He got to his train on time, and he was going to make it. No big deal, right?

It was raining. And he forgot an umbrella.

Crap.

He sought refuge under an overhang and tried to wait it out. Apparently he wasn't the only Shujin student with this game plan as someone else was waiting there. They pulled down their hood to reveal a head of blonde hair and blue eyes.

Ren swallowed. Yes, girls were in fact pretty.

He was shook out of his daze by a car pulling up. "Hey, you want a ride?" The man inside said to the girl.

Wordlessly, she stepped away from the overhang and into his car. "What about you?" He said, directing his query at Ren.

Something... seemed off here. Especially in the girl's expression. She seemed... sad? Distressed? "Nah..." He said. The car began to pull away.

As it left, a blond boy with a wildly colored t-shirt and approximately half of a Shujin Academy uniform ran up. "Damn you, Kamoshida!"

Unbeknownst to Ren, that mystery app had activated. Candidate found.

"Who?" Ren asked.

The blond boy whirled around to face him. "The hell do you mean who? You're from Shujin Academy aren't you?"

Location locked in.

Ren laughed weakly. "As of yesterday, yes. My name's Ren Amamiya."

He paused for a moment before answering. "Ryuji Sakamoto. But... damn it! You should've gotten in the car with them! You might not know how rotten Kamoshida is, but if you were in there, he wouldn't be able to be a effing perv! Now Tamamaki's alone with that bastard! Jerk treats the whole school like he's the king of a castle!"

Keyword found. Beginning navigation.

"Well... we should probably..."

Ryuji snorted. "What, do you think you're the Wicked Witch or something? You won't melt. A little rain is good for ya."

They began to head towards the school, ducking through an alley to get there on time. After about a minute, they both came down with a headache.

"Ugh, really?" Ryuji muttered, "Haven't even had to deal with Ushimaru yet..."

They rounded the corner that would take them to the school. Ren knew it should be here from yesterday. Instead, the sky was pink and there was a giant castle where Shujin Academy was supposed to be.

"The hell?" Ryuji said. "The school should be here! Where is everyone? What's up with this castle?"

"I don't know." Ren said. "We should probably go in."

Ryuji shot him a look. "For real?"

"We won't figure anything out standing here like this." Ren said bluntly.

Ryuji sighed. "You're insane. Let's do it."

The pair walked up to the front door and went in...

Well. This was an objectively stupid idea. Upon entering the castle they were swiftly captured by honest to goodness knights that were wearing odd masks over their helmets.

Oh, and told they were going to be executed by the king of the castle.

"Come on!" Ryuji said as he frantically searched through what was in their cell. "There's gotta be something here we can use!" Ren joined him, but to no avail.

"Oh, so these are the peasants?"

"What the effing hell?" Ryuji swore, "Kamoshida?"

The person in front of them certainly resembled Kamoshida, but wore a cape covered in hearts, pink underwear, and a crown. "Watch your tongue, ape!" Kamoshida barked at him. "You're in the presence of a king!"

"Yeah, the king of pervs!" Ryuji snapped.

Kamoshida gestured, and the guards burst into the cell and pinned Ren to the wall. "No!"

Ryuji took a swing at Kamoshida, but the man was faster and kicked him in the knee. Ryuji howled in pain and went down like a bag of rocks. "Tch... that's all?" Kamoshida said, "I'll kill you right now if you're not going to be any fun to torment."

"No, I don't wanna die!" Ryuji cried, "This is bullshit!"

Just as it had in the first dream he had upon coming to Tokyo, time slowed to a crawl and a sparkling blue butterfly appeared before Ren. What... is this?

This is truly an unjust game... Your chances of winning are almost none. But if my voice is reaching you, there may be a possibility open to you.

Immediately after time resumed, another voice spoke in his head. One that felt utterly alien but yet intimately familiar. "What's the matter? Are you simply going to watch? Are you forsaking him to save yourself? Death awaits him if you do nothing. Was your previous decision a mistake?

Mental images flew by of that fateful night that he had tried to save that woman and received only punishment in return. Was it a mistake? Should he have just ignored it?

No. That wasn't who he was, how he wanted to live. An image of Yukari came to his mind. She knew somehow. He realized. She knew what it was like to choose the hardest path, even if it set the whole world and forces both above and below against you.

He chuckled to himself despite the situation. Sorry, Yukari. I'm about to get involved in some real weird shit. "It wasn't!"

No one was paying attention to him. All the knights were more concerned with killing Ryuji. One of them had him against a wall with a blade to his throat. Kamoshida was too busy reveling in sadism to notice him. Suddenly he was beset by a pain that didn't seem to come from anywhere physical, but from his psyche.

"Very well, I have heeded your resolve. Vow to me... I am Thou, Thou art I. Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice! Call upon my name, and release thy rage!"

Ren screamed out in pain so loudly that the others were beginning to notice, diverting even Kamoshida's attention. "Shut him up!" He ordered. "After the peasant, it's his turn to die!"

"Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou be chained to Hell itself!"

Kamoshida began to give the order to end Ryuji's life. "Execute him-"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Ren roared.

Kamoshida froze and turned toward him. Likewise, the knights that had been headed towards him stopped as well. "What was that?"

"You heard me, you degenerate scumbag." Ren said. "Let us go, or I will end you." He glared at Kamoshida, daring him to disagree.

"Don't you know who I am? I'm the king of this castle!" The knights started towards Ren in earnest, with weapons raised.

Ren took a deep breath, and the knights were all thrown back with a burst of wind. Wait... what was this on his face? A mask? He reached up and tried to pull it off. Why wasn't...

Call upon my name, and release thy rage!

Ren threw his head back and screamed out while pulling on the mask. It came off in a shower of blood. "RAVAGE THEM, ARSENE!"

Blue fire enveloped him and spread behind him. When it left him, he wasn't harmed. In fact, he felt more powerful than ever before.

"What the hell is that?" Ryuji asked.

Ren instinctively knew the answer to that. It was him. But also not. And he knew it had the power to save him and Ryuji. "Eiha!" Ren called out. Arsene stretched forth his hand and fired a blast of red energy that smashed into the closest knight. It was thrown into the wall and shattered. He calmly repeated this with the remaining knights. Kamoshida escaped in the chaos, leaving Ren and Ryuji alone in the now open cell.

"Dude, what the shit was all that?" Ryuji asked, "And why the hell did you look like you were wearing a Featherman cosplay while doing it?"

Ren looked down at his clothes. They'd gone back to normal. "Don't know." He admitted, "But I do know that we can't stay here!"

They barely made it out of the cell when someone yelled at them. "Hey, you!"

They turned and saw a cat. That had a big head and was standing on two legs.

"I was not mentally prepared for today." Ren deadpanned.

"No! You don't say!" Ryuji snarked.

"One of you summoned your Persona, right?" The cat asked. "I could sense it!"

"Sense it?" Ryuji asked, "What are you, some kind of weirdness radar monster cat?"

"I AM NOT A CAT! My name is Morgana!"

Ren and Ryuji looked at each other in confusion. Ryuji threw his hands up. "Don't look at me! I ain't got a clue what this shit is about!"

"What do you want with us?" Ren said for what felt like the hundredth time in the past forty-eight hours.

"Look, I've been trapped here for... as long as I can remember. I'll explain all of this-" He gestured wildly at their surroundings, "-after we get out."

Ren nodded. "Alright, let's go. I remember the path they brought us in through. Backtracking should be the fastest way out."

They ran for the exit as fast as Ryuji could go -he apparently had some leg injury that still bothered him to some extent- and encountered some token resistance. Every time they met enemies, Ren's appearance was changed back into the Featherman-esque costume. Oddly, he didn't have the full helmet. Instead having a mask that was reminiscent of the sunglasses Morphers from a different show of the same genre.

Morgana said it was because he had just barely awakened to his power. Whatever that meant.

They burst into the main hall and ran for the front door, only to have knights burst out of the floor and box them in. "Oh, come on!" Ryuji said, "We were so close!"

"Well, they probably would've made it if they didn't have to wait for your worthless ass, Sakamoto."

They whirled around to see Kamoshida again. "Ryuji, don't take the bait!" Morgana shouted before a knight in golden armor knocked both him and Ren to the ground with a single attack. Morgana yowled in pain as the knight stomped on his back.

"Oh, telling Sakamoto to not take the bait is useless." Kamoshida grinned, "After all, it's his fault that unruly track team got banned!" He laughed manically, "Besides, it's not like they would've achieved anything after I broke their star's leg! Isn't that right, Sakamoto?"

"You bastard!" Ren said. "You'll pay for-" He was cut off by one of the knights smashing his shield into his head.

"I'll pay for this? How original. Actually, it was self defense. He attacked me." Kamoshida's grin somehow became even more twisted. "At least... that's what the school said."

"Damn it... am I going to lose everything again?" Ryuji fell to his knees.

"Don't give in!" Ren called out. "Stand up to him!"

"Come on, Ryuji!" Morgana cried out.

"And you know what else is mine to do with as I please?" Kamoshida said, "Your little childhood friend, Tamamaki. After I'm done with you, I think I'll go show her why I'm the king! Hahaha!" He brought his hand up, about to give the order to execute Ren and Morgana. "And you'll die knowing your friends are dead because they sided with trash like you!"

Ryuji somehow found the strength of will to make it to his feet. "No, that's what you are Kamoshida. You're trash, trash of the worst kind!" He stepped forward and pointed an accusing finger at him. "Stop lookin' down on me with that stupid smile on your face!"

"You made me wait quite a while."

Ryuji grinned. "Hell yeah. Let's go." His head throbbed and he stumbled around screaming like a man who'd just been shot.

"You seek power, correct? So let us form a pact. Since your name has been disgraced already, why not hoist the flag and wreak havoc? The other you who exists within desires it thus."

Morgana gasped. "Ryuji? Is he..."

Ryuji found his footing. "I am thou... thou art I..."

"There is no turning back! The Skull of rebellion shall be your flag henceforth!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Ryuji started pulling on the metal skull mask that had appeared on his face. As with Ren, it was ripped away in a shower of blood, and only once he called out his Persona's name. "LET'S GO, CAPTAIN KIDD!"

With the awakening of Ryuji's Persona, lightning rained down from on high, blasting the knights holding his friends down into nothing. They leapt into action immediately.

"Zorro, show your might!" Morgana called out.

"Ravage them, Arsene!" Ren yelled.

Dual blasts of wind and dark energy shot out and scattered the knights, giving them a window to escape. "Come on, we're leaving!" Ren said.

They burst through the front door with mere moments to spare. In an instant, they were in front of the school gates back in the real world. Morgana was nowhere to be found. Although there was a cat that hadn't been there before.

"Dude." Ryuji said.

"Well, that was an adventure." Ren said nonchalantly.

"Wait, what time is it?" Ryuji asked.

Ren checked his phone. If they hurried, they would barely be in time for school. "Could've sworn we were in that place for longer than ten minutes..."

"it's because you both awakened your Personas. They make time flow different in the Metaverse." Morgana said.

Ren and Ryuji looked down at the cat, then back at each other. "That's good." Ren said. "This was almost a catastrophe."

Ryuji groaned. "Really, man? Are you for real?"

"I'll find you two after you get out of school and explain what's going on." Morgana said. "I owe you that much for helping me escape."

"Sure, but..." Ryuji scratched his head, "What are you?"

"Not a cat." Morgana insisted.

"Bold words coming from a cat." Ren snarked.

Morgana groaned and walked off. "At least it's better than being chased around that damn castle..." He muttered to himself.

"Come on, man." Ryuji said, "We'll hang out after school. Gotta learn what the hell is going on with all of that shit. And learn more about the guy I just cheated death with!"

Ren smiled as he walked through the doors. Maybe this year-long probation was going to be more interesting than he thought it would be.

A/N: Hello! This is my first big Persona fic. It's something I've wanted to do for a while now, so I'm excited to finally get cracking on it.

First things first. My one-shot Tell Me Again is canon to this fic. So, Ren's dad married Yukari's mother. They're step siblings. It's a thing.

I may have made Sojiro a bit too abrasive. I'll freely admit that. He'll soften up like usual though.

Yeah, they met Morgana and Ryuji got his Persona in one shot. Just trying to speed things along a little so I can get the ball rolling.

And look at that, Kamoshida is a bastard! Who could've seen this coming?

So, the time in the Metaverse. It's simple. If everyone who goes into the Metaverse via the app has a Persona, the time spent in the Metaverse will be drastically longer than the time that passes in the real world. Just a thing to let me not have Ren be super late on his first day.

And yes, I know that the Awakenings are basically ripped right from the game, but I don't see much reason to change it up. They're basically perfect.

Finally, yeah. Ren's Phantom Thief attire is different. It's because of his familial relationship with Yukari that his ideal of a rebel has changed from canon. His mask is similar to the sunglasses Morphers from Power Rangers Jungle Fury. His suit has big Red Ranger vibes. Cause he's the leader. Traditions must be upheld.

Also, since I know this fandom can get... passionate about shipping, I'm going to tell you the planned ships now so you can bail if you choose.

Ren x Makoto

Ryuji x Haru

Sojiro x Kawakami

Until next chapter.