Chapter 7: New Possibilities

Ω • Ω • Ω

•Akira•

Ryuji ran up to him, his own class also watching through the windows. "Hey, what the hell's goin' on?!"

"We need to get to the courtyard!" Takamaki-san had seemingly already realized that, since in the few seconds he had turned to face Ryuji, she had fled towards the stairs. Ryuji nodded and ran as best as he could after him, refusing to let his lame leg slow them down.

He gripped the railing as Ryuji trailed him, jumping down the last flight and finding a massive crowd already bunching up and blocking the entrance to the courtyard. "MOVE!" He roared out the word and watched the students immediately back away, not wanting to anger the 'troubled delinquent.' And with Ryuji backing him up, he probably seemed even more punk-like. His reputation might suffer more for that later, but right now he didn't give a shit.

He shoved through the opening in the crowd, Ryuji close behind, and managed to reach the courtyard to see the students crowding around the unconscious girl as paramedics loaded her onto a stretcher. It seemed that someone had the foresight to actually call an ambulance the second they'd seen the girl on top of the roof, but the rest of the students around him currently…

He felt a wave of deep anger and hatred well up in his gut, almost as strongly as when Arsène had emerged from him. Everyone had their phones out and were attempting to get recordings or pictures of the girl, especially her bleeding, mangled legs. "The hell is wrong with these people?!" Ryuji spat, looking around with similar fury.

"We need someone to go with her," a paramedic spoke up, "are there any teachers around?!"

"I-I'm not in charge of her class though…"

"We should leave this to Principal Kobayakawa…"

These teachers…

No, they do not even deserve to be called as such. Disgust welled up alongside his other emotions as he agreed with Arsène's words, and he shoved his way to the front of the crowd, only to witness Takamaki-san racing forward. "I'll go!" He broke through and saw her on her knees, holding Suzui-san's hand.

Suzui-san whispered something to her, and Takamaki's face transformed into shock. "Kamoshida?" He didn't pay attention. The paramedics shouted at him to stay back, but he ignored them in favor of kneeling next to the girl. Even under the sheets, he could see her legs twisting at odd angles, bone protruding here and there. He wasn't sure why he was kneeling there. Did he want to comfort Suzui-san? Takamaki-san?

No, no, there had to be some way he could help… he had these powers, but they all seemed designed to destroy. He had nothing like Morgana's Dia spell, whether it was his psychic abilities or Arsène's powers. He wielded Rebellion, while Arsène's powers were geared towards curses. But he had to try, damnit…

He placed a hand on Suzui-san's shoulder, not wanting to agitate her legs further if he failed, even as the paramedics reached down to pull him away. 'Please, please, work…' he didn't care if people found out about his powers right now. All he cared about was helping this girl.

For a brief moment, nothing happened. He forced himself, reaching in, searching for something. To bring out his damaging attack he said Rebellion, but he didn't know what to say to heal… could he even heal? He dug, scraping his mind for energy, and he did feel it, roiling beneath the surface, but not in a useful form. He felt as it prepared itself, but it was in a damaging form, it wouldn't heal.

But it was his! It would bow to his will if it was the last thing it would do! He commanded it to come forward in a healing form, and there was a sudden rush through his very core. Golden light sputtered weakly in his palm, and even though he didn't care if people saw it, it was still thankfully hidden by his body. Takamaki-san, however, was on the opposite side of him and watched with wide eyes as the light trailed into Suzui-san, flowing through her veins and down into her legs.

The light quickly sputtered out, but it was just in time as the paramedics pulled him away, and he watched as they lifted the girl into the ambulance, with Takamaki-san climbing in after her, looking back and forth between him and Suzui-san, alternating between a concerned gaze and a confused one.

Ryuji grabbed his shoulder, not having seen the light. "Man, that was effed up… the hell was that even about…?"

"I don't know… but I've got a real bad feeling." He narrowed his eyes as his fists clenched, mind darting to Kamoshida.

One of the panicking teachers waved his arms, trying to be heard above the crowd of students. "Return to your classrooms at once!"

However, as his eyes were drawn to the teacher's waving form, somebody behind the teacher sprinted away. His eyes followed them and caught a flash of dark-blue hair. Ryuji caught it as well, seeing how he narrowed his eyes. "Ain't Mishima acting a bit weird?"

"It could be a coincidence," he warned, even though his eyes were still locked onto the boy's form, "simply queasiness from seeing Suzui-san's broken form."

"I mean, maybe…" They nodded at each other, before giving chase. They managed to find and corner Mishima-san by some lockers, and his eyes widened once he spotted them. He tried to get away, but Ryuji gripped his hand hard and pulled him back. Mishima-san stumbled and winced, holding his hand while looking at them fearfully.

"That hurt!"

Ryuji didn't care, closing in and narrowing his eyes. "Why'd you run like that? Huh?!"

"I didn't run-"

Ryuji slammed the side of his fist into a locker to silence Mishima-san, glaring him into submission as he screamed in his face. "She jumped and tried to kill herself!"

Mishima-san stumbled back and held up his hands, accidentally knocking over a pile of stacked desks. "L-Leave me alone…"

"Mishima-san," he cut in, placing a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder and drawing his gaze. Though he was angry, he had to stay calm. Ryuji was overwhelming the boy, but he could use that and appeal to him. Mishima-san would listen and likely cooperate if he seemed nicer and more sympathetic than Ryuji. "Please. We don't think you did anything to her… but you know something."

"He's right! We ain't tryin' to get you busted, and we won't rat and say you said anything either!"

"Suzui-san…" Mishima-san stayed silent, and he quickly held a hand up before Ryuji could say anything out of impatience as Mishima-san continued to think. After a few moments, the dam broke and Mishima-san spoke. "She was called out by Kamoshida-sensei!"

Ryuji's eyes widened, and he took a step back. "Wait, what?!" The faux-blond questioned.

"I was called a number of times by him too… to the teacher's room. It wasn't just me or Suzui-san either. He'd nominate someone when he was in a bad mood… and hit them."

He felt a pit of worry form. "Mishima-san… when exactly did he ask for her?"

"Uh… I'm not sure, I know that it was a bit after practice though. Not everyone had gone home yet." So he didn't have an exact time, but it was probably triggered by Takamaki-san rejecting him over the phone. And from what she told him, and what Kamoshida had been asking for… "A-And it was weird because he called her out of the blue. She didn't make any mistakes or anything… He seemed really irritated all throughout practice, so she probably got it… worse than usual."

His mouth went dry. He hoped from the bottom of his heart that Kamoshida hadn't done what he thought he did, because if he did… He was suddenly shoved aside, and he saw Ryuji running as best he could towards the stairs. "Damnit!" He sprinted after him, following his friend up onto the second floor, turning the corner around the stairwell to see Ryuji slamming the door to the PE Faculty office open.

He got to it before it fully closed, and the first thing that greeted his ears was Ryuji roaring at Kamoshida. "You bastard! The hell did you do to that girl?!"

"What are you talking about?" the man scoffed, not even looking up from some paperwork on his desk.

Ryuji slammed his foot into a chair, sending it sailing across the room and crashing into the wall opposite him. "Don't play dumb with me, asshole!"

Kamoshida finally stopped working on whatever the papers on his desk were, turning to glare at them. "That is enough!"

He heard a whisper behind him and turned to see that Mishima-san had followed them. He was clenching his fists, but he looked up and glared at Kamoshida, a surprising amount of defiance in his gaze. "What you did… wasn't coaching!" Ryuji turned to him with some surprise at Mishima-san's backbone, and even Kamoshida seemed shocked at the meager boy's words before that turned into anger.

"What did you say…?"

Mishima-san kept talking, "You… you ordered me to call Suzui-san here… I can only imagine what you did to her! Something worse than just the beatings!"

Kamoshida got out of his chair, causing Mishima-san to take a fearful step back, but he and Ryuji moved side-by-side to defend the blue-haired boy and glared at the coach. "You're going on and on about things you have no proof about… Basically, you're just making these claims because you can't be a regular on the team, right?"

"That's not what this is about!" Mishima-san yelled, angry tears forming in his eyes.

"Volleyball this and that… that's all that matters to you, isn't it?" He questioned, his words tainted and spat like poison. "You disgust me, you rotten fuck!"

"Even if it is exactly how you imagine it to be, hypothetically of course… what can you do?" Kamoshida leaned forward, and a sick smile grew across the man's face. "We just received a call from the hospital. Suzui's in a coma, and her chances of recovery are slim… How would someone like that make a statement?" They all gave gasped at the news, and Kamoshida dramatically lifted his hand to the back of his head. "There's no chance of her getting better, I hear… oh, the poor girl."

As Mishima-san murmured to himself in shock, he felt his rage and disgust grow to new heights. This utter bastard didn't even give a shit that he might've caused the death of a girl. In his clenched hands, dark energy started forming as he began to lose control. What could they do? He could think of one thing. Kamoshida's death couldn't possibly be linked back to them if there was no trace of the man left, could it? The rage that peaked within him whispered to him, and the energy surging through him was visible in his veins, though thankfully Kamoshida's attention was on a yelling Ryuji.

This power is thine to wield, however thou wishes. Unleash thy rage if thou so choose, dispose of this monster that disguises itself as a human…

He listened to Arsène's words, and almost did as he said. For a brief, brief moment, PSI formed within his palms, before his eyes spotted Ryuji's fist flying upwards towards the teacher as if in slow-motion. He wasn't sure if he would ever later regret killing Kamoshida, or if he would care if he was caught, but he didn't want his friend to suffer for his actions. Or Mishima-san, for that matter. The destructive energy in his hand vanished and he shot his hand out, stopping Ryuji right before his fist would have crashed into Kamoshida's face.

Everyone looked surprised and Ryuji quickly pulled away, glaring at him. "Dude, what the hell?!"

"Don't let him get to you."

"But…!"

Kamoshida watched with interest, eyebrows raised. "You're stopping him? What a surprise! There's no need to hold back, come on, attack me!" He then began laughing, crossing his arms. "Oooh, but you can't! Of course you can't."

"Listen here, you malignant tumor," he growled. "The only fucking reason I don't kill you where you stand is simply that I don't want Ryuji or Mishma-san in trouble. If it were just me… You would be a red stain across that wall." The room almost seemed to darken alongside his words, and Ryuji, Mishima-san, and Kamoshida all felt a sudden wave of malicious intent. They could all tell… He was telling the truth. Kamoshida was truly lucky that the two students were in the room alongside the silver-eyed boy.

Kamoshida took a shaky step back before masking it with a scoff and turning away, even as sweat dripped down the back of his neck. How dare this brat...! He wanted to threaten him? He'd show him just how little power he held, then. "Everyone present right now will be expelled. I'm reporting all of you at the next board meeting." As Kamoshida sat down at his desk, Akira felt his rage slip away and turn into shock. Ryuji took a step back and Mishima-san gasped.

"Wha-"

Mishima-san stepped forward as Ryuji tried to formulate a response, glaring at the teacher. "You can't make a decision like that!"

"Who would seriously consider what scum like you say?" Kamoshida turned in his chair to scoff at them. "You threatened me too, Mishima, so you're just as responsible."

"H-Huh…?"

"To think you didn't know why I kept someone as talentless as you on the team. You act like you're a victim, but you're the one that leaked all his criminal records, didn't you? It's all over the internet, isn't it? How terrible."

He and Ryuji turned to Mishima-san as Kamoshida snickered, and they saw Mishima-san look down in fear and shame. "Mishima…?" Ryuji questioned.

The boy fell to his knees as tears ran silently down his face. "He told me I had to do it, I had no choice…"

Kamoshida's snickers turned to outright laughter as he turned back towards his desk, waving his arm. "Now, are we done here? You're all expelled! You're done for; your futures are mine to take. Now get out of my sight."

"I can't believe this asshole's getting away with this!"

As Ryuji stewed, he simply knelt down and grabbed Mishima-san, lifting him up. "Don't worry, Ryu." Ryuji looked over in surprise at his sudden light-hearted tone and saw a dangerous glint in the boy's eyes. "He'll get what's coming to him."

Ryuji peered at him, confused, before his eyes shot to the black cat that had followed them into the room, and he grinned. "Oh, right, we have that!"

Kamoshida turned to them, suspicious. "Huh? Have you lost your minds?"

"Of course not, Sensei," he smirked sarcastically. "But I would watch my back for the next few days if I were you." With that, he led Mishima-san out of the room without waiting for a response. Ryuji and Morgana followed, and determination shone in their eyes.

Any inhibitions were gone.

It was time to punish the King.

Ω • Ω • Ω

Ryuji pounded his fist against the side of a vending machine, causing the drinks inside to wobble. "We can't waste any time. We gotta hurry up and go to that world and beat the shit outta that asshole!"

"We aren't beating him up, we're just stealing his distorted desires," Morgana corrected, annoyed.

"I don't care which one we do," he interrupted, "as long as Kamoshida pays."

Ryuji, though still a bit shocked at the bloodlust emanating from the boy, could only nod along. Morgana nodded as well. "So then, I'll assume that you've both made up your minds about this, then? How he could completely shut down if we mess up?"

"...I have." Ryuji nodded after a moment, clenching a fist. "Someone almost died because of him! I don't give a rat's ass what happens to him anymore!"

"And you?"

"Let's do this." He didn't elaborate. They both heard his rant inside the PE office.

"Then it's settled."

"Oh, by the way… is stealing a Treasure hard? I mean, you've done it before, right?"

"When did I ever say that?"

As Ryuji stared at Morgana in shock, he thought to himself. They were all new at this then. Even if Morgana knew how to do it, if he'd never done it, he was still just as inexperienced. They would have to be cautious about this… he didn't know when the expulsion would take place, but just the fact that they were on a limited timetable filled him with anxiety. Still, there was a touch of excitement lurking beneath it, the thought of being able to go all out and release the emotions that he kept bottled up in the real world free through Arsène and the Shadows causing a grin to appear.

Arsène agreed with him, chuckling darkly within him. Let us show that false king true agony…

"Is it true that you're getting expelled?" He turned towards the now familiar voice and spied Takamaki-san standing in the entrance of the courtyard. "Everyone's talking about it…"

"You know, that's got to be some kind of record," he sighed, rolling his eyes. "I mean, Jesus, Kamoshida works fast."

After Ryuji scoffed, he glared at the blonde. "What, you come all this way to ask us that?"

"Ryu, calm down. You know it's not her fault." Ryuji sighed, nodding as he looked away.

"Sorry man, it's just—"

"I get it. I'm just as frustrated as you." He turned to Takamaki-san. "Anyway… how's Suzui-san?"

"She's…" the girl clenched her fists, before shaking her head. "The doctors don't know. She might pull through, but she might not…" she glared at them, but the anger in her eyes wasn't aimed at them. "But I'll assume that it's true then."

"Yeah. It's true."

"So… you're going after Kamoshida then?" He glanced at Ryuji, and the blond just shrugged back at him. "I want in." Their gazes shot back to the girl, and she stared at them with a mixture of determination and hatred. "I want in on whatever you're planning."

"No," he immediately shut down.

"Why not?!"

"Because it's dangerous." She opened her mouth to retort and he immediately cut her off. "Right now Kamoshida doesn't think you're involved with us at all, but if you do get involved, you'll be in just as much danger. I don't think Kamoshida would expel you, he's sick enough to keep you here for..." He didn't need to finish his sentence, they all knew what he meant.

Even still, she looked at him furiously. "That's my decision to make! It's my best friend that he-!" She cut herself off but clenched her fists.

"It's not your decision when it's us who came up with the plan."

"Then at least let me in on it!"

He glanced towards Morgana and Ryuji, before turning back. "Please, I may not know exactly how you're feeling, but this is too dangerous."

"Are you sure we should be explaining this much…?" Ryuji whispered.

"Takamaki-san, we're already too deep into this. You don't have to risk yourself. Let us handle it."

"But…" she glanced at his hand for several seconds, until she glanced back up and clenched her hands, taking a step forward. "I don't care how dangerous it is, Shiho—"

Ryuji finally had enough and also took a step forward, pointing at her. "He said no enough times, so that's it! Don't get in our way!"

She glared back before turning and leaving. He sighed and turned to Ryuji, "You know, that might've been a bit harsh."

"She's too stubborn," Ryuji sighed, "she wouldn't have listened. And that Palace is way too dangerous for her…"

"If she had a Persona it'd be different, but we can't risk her life to see if she even has potential. She probably does with how determined she is, but we can't risk it." He looked towards where she ran off to, before turning back to them with determination glinting in his silver eyes. "Let's go."

Ω • Ω • Ω

•Ann•

After waiting by the school's main entrance for a few minutes, she eventually saw the two boys exiting the courtyard and walking out of the building. They might not have wanted to involve her in whatever they had planned, but she absolutely would not fail Shiho. The hatred that she felt for Kamoshida coursed through her body like a poison, and she refused to let Starr-san or Sakamoto-san deny her the chance for revenge for Shiho.

She tailed the two boys towards an alleyway across from the school and hid by the entrance as the two boys talked inside the alley. "Phantom thieves?" Sakamoto-san was talking, facing away from her.

"Covertly sneaking and stylishly stealing? You know that we're doing this to take down Kamoshida, not for fun. Still, though, I suppose it does sound intriguing."

"Right?! So cool!" Sakamoto-san laughed, and Starr-san nodded as he grabbed his phone.

"Alright, I guess it's time. Let's take this asshole down." All of a sudden, a wave of dizziness washed over her. She stumbled back and held her head, closing her eyes as a migraine slammed into her.

She heard footsteps and gasped as she realized Sakamoto-san and Starr-san were leaving the alley, so she quickly hid around the corner. However, as she moved back, her jaw went slack as she saw the sky. The clouds in the sky were swirling around a castle that now stood where Shujin academy once was, and instead of white, gray, or black, they were shades of purple, with the sky beyond shades of red.

Her eyes darted to two individuals as they walked past, not recognizing them in the dark clothes they wore. She looked around but could see nobody else near them, whereas before there were dozens of students walking home. She swallowed, before refocusing on the two males. If they were the only ones around, they were probably the ones that brought her… to wherever this place was.

"H-Hey! What is this?!"

The two males turned to her in surprise, and she could see that they were wearing two masks, one was a metal skull, and the other wore a white domino mask. However, even with the masks, she could see the surprise in their… familiar eyes? "T-Takamaki?!"

He knew her? Wait… familiar hair, eyes, voice, didn't use an honorific… "Sakamoto-san?!" Now that she wasn't panicking, she could look closer and see all the signs. The boy had the same golden-blond spiky dyed hair, alongside the hunched posture. And if that was Sakamoto-san… The boy next to him… yeah, silver eyes, raven-hair… "And are you Starr-san?!" Both boys stuttered for a few seconds, clearly caught off guard by her arrival. "What are you guys wearing?!"

"W-Wh-Why are you here?!" Sakamoto-san seemingly began panicking, while Starr-san looked down at his outfit.

"Actually, I thought I looked pretty good. Sexy, even."

"Dude, that's not important!" Sakamoto-san punched him on the shoulder as she kept looking back and forth between them. But, Starr-san's joke had actually helped a small amount, his sarcasm grounding her slightly. And he actually was correct, their outfits did look interesting… as a model, she— Not the point!

"Hey, how should I know how I'm here?! What the hell's going on?! Where's the school?!" The boys watched her jump between sentences as she attempted to rationalize the world around her. Starr-san's joke may have grounded her slightly, but she was still completely out of her depth.

"This has gone completely off the rails," Starr-san sighed. "Did you follow us?"

"Of course I did! I wasn't just going to let you do whatever you're planning without me!"

"Ugh… just great." She ignored Sakamoto-san as she looked around, slowly calming down to observe the world around her. It looked like everything except for the school and the sky was completely normal, no… odd buildings or anything like the castle nearby.

"Morgana, could the app have pulled her in because she was nearby? Morgana!" She heard a whack noise, and what sounded like a cat yowling. "I don't care how… ugh, meow-velous she is, focus!"

A third person, apparently named Morgana, began speaking, but she couldn't see who it was. "Uh, yes, it's probably as you said… If the phone can pull in multiple people, it might have an area of effect around it, pulling in people nearby."

"For real…?" Sakamoto-san groaned.

"We need to be more careful then," Starr-san spoke up, spinning his phone on his finger expertly before slipping it into his trench coat's pocket. "I don't want to drag in anyone else by accident while we deal with Kamoshita. Maybe bringing her back to where we entered from will take her out of here?"

She wasn't sure exactly what they were talking about, but she turned and looked up at the massive castle that pierced the bizarre sky. "Wait… so THIS is related to Kamoshida?!" While she wasn't sure what the hell was going on, she could at least tell that much. Sakamoto-san stammered for a moment, while Starr-san watched him amused.

"Breath, Ryu."

Sakamoto-san glared at him, before swiveling to her. "Anyway, you've gotta leave!"

"No!"

As Sakamoto-san stomped forward and began to argue and shout back, she spotted some kind of… plush cat? Suddenly, it began speaking in an exasperated tone. "The Shadows are going to find us if you make a scene."

She stumbled back, pointing at the creature with a shaky hand. "No way! It talked?! O-Oh my god, is it some kind of monster cat?!" Starr-san shot a hand up to hide a snort, while the creature's ears fell and its large eyes looked at her sadly.

"M-Monster…?"

She hardened her expression and she attempted to glare them all into submission. "You better explain what's going on! I won't leave until you do!" The two boys and one monster looked at each other with varying levels of exasperation. Starr-san lifted a hand to his face and groaned as he rubbed his temples before she pointed at him. "This has to do with those powers you used on Shiho, doesn't it?!" Starr-san froze, and both Sakamoto-san and the monster looked at him in confusion.

"Takamaki-san, I'll explain everything later, but right now you have to leave."

"I already said I'm not leaving!"

"Then we're gonna have to force you." Sakamoto-san sighed, before nodding at Starr-san. "Akira, help me out." They both stepped forward and she took a wary step back before they each grabbed one of her arms and began dragging her back to the alley.

"Please do not resist," Starr-san cheekily spoke.

"Hey! Let go of me!" She thrashed around in their grasp, but for some reason, they seemed way too strong. "Let GO!" She managed to lift one leg and kick, but she hit the unfortunate target of between Starr-san's legs. He let out some sort of sound between a wheeze and whimper, eyes twitching behind his mask, and she winced in sympathy. She hadn't intended to hit him there, and she knew it was the most painful area for boys to be hit, but she kept struggling out of their grasp. Starr-san's grip hadn't weakened, but he was now hobbling along.

"I think I've lost all ability to have kids… the Starr line ends with me…"

"Holy shit, dude, you okay?" Sakamoto-san looked over to make sure he was okay, and for a brief moment, he let go of her arm. He swiftly tried to grab it again, but in her thrashing, he grabbed a different target. She blushed in embarrassment and anger, glaring at the boy who stood stock still.

"And just where are grabbing?!"

"S-Shit, sorry! I w-was just trying to grab your arm but then you moved and your chest was suddenly— T-That doesn't matter! Come on!" He grabbed her arm and looked away to hide a blush so large even his mask couldn't hide it, while Starr-san weakly laughed.

"Damn, dude, didn't know you were so forward…"

"Shut up!" both she and Sakamoto-san spoke simultaneously, while the weird cat thing just shook its head. They reached the alleyway, and Starr-san tried to keep hold of her arm with one of his own while grabbing his phone with the other. While they might have been freakishly strong from wherever the hell they were, he couldn't keep hold of her with one arm. She managed to rip her arm from his grasp just as he hit a button on his phone. She spun around to glare at them, but they suddenly weren't there.

Her eyes widened as she looked around, and saw the normal sky, Shujin Academy, and the students wandering around outside. "What…?"

Unknown to her, Akira sighed as Takamaki-san vanished from the Palace, and Ryuji groaned. "Aw man, that was way too much trouble…"

"I'm going to talk with her."

"What?! We just got rid of her! What if she hitches a ride back in on your app?!"

"Well I can't just leave her like that," he shrugged. "Be back in a moment." He tapped the button and vanished from the Palace.

From Takamaki's point of view, Starr-san suddenly faded into view starting from his head and melting down to his feet, only he was now without the odd clothing that he'd worn. "Alright, the hell was all that?! Are you going to answer me now?! What did you just do?!"

"I'd say magic, but only because Ryu thinks my outfit looks like a magician's for some damn reason." She glared and Starr-san sighed, combing a hand through his hair, staring at her solemnly. "Takamaki-san, I swear that I'll explain all of this when we finish inside that place. But we can't waste any time. I want to get this finished as soon as possible, just in case Kamoshida doesn't wait until the board meeting, and instead goes straight to Principal Kobayakawa."

"But why can't I come?!"

"I already told you, didn't I?" He stared at her and crossed his arms resolutely. "It's dangerous. We're risking our lives in there, and I don't think you understand the danger. The first time we stumbled inside that place, Ryuji nearly lost his life because of me being a coward. Then, Morgana and I were nearly killed. I'm willing to bet even more life-threatening situations will pop-up, and you can't help us."

"But-!"

"Can you do this?" Starr-san lifted his hand, and black, silver, and red energy burst to life, casting wavering shadows along the walls of the alleyway. She gaped at the sight, having seen the light twice before, but neither times had the light been as bright and powerful. "Because if you can't, then you can't help us."

"W-What is that?"

"I'm not sure myself." He sighed, lifting his hand and gazing at it while manipulating the light to float around his palm in small orbs of power. "Inside that place, Ryuji, Morgana and I can use a power known as Persona. I won't go into the specifics, but they give us the power to fight against the monsters that lurk inside that castle. This, though… I tried to do research because Morgana seemed to know nothing about it. I think it's some kind of psychic power, but there's no real proof to that. And that place is like… Kamoshida's mental state, and we're going to be changing it."

"Monsters? And that place is like… the inside of that asshole's head?"

"Essentially. It's why Ryu and I were late that first day, we'd stumbled inside on accident, and a whole thing happened that ended in us barely escaping. We kicked some major ass in the process though."

"Well, how did you get the Persona power or whatever? Maybe I can do it too!"

"Maybe you can. But we can't risk your life in doing so. If there were a safer way to try and bring out your power, trust me, then I would gladly help you do so and help you take down Kamoshida… But as it stands, it's too risky."

"And how can I trust you?" Starr-san blinked at her, and she crossed her arms, glaring at him. "How do I know you aren't just lying?"

"Well, for one, there's no reason for me to lie about this." Starr-san locked eyes with her, before lifting a hand and removing his glasses. She looked at him in confusion, and he smiled as he placed the glasses in his breast pocket. "Here, I'll tell you a secret. These glasses are fake. See, I have a really intense gaze… it's actually a bit frightening at times, from what I've heard. So, my mom bought them so that I could look less like a delinquent, and smarter, to hopefully get people to lower their guard around me. It doesn't really seem to have worked so far, but oh well."

She tried to formulate a response, and the boy just grinned as he slipped his glasses- fake glasses back on. "Congrats, you're the only person in Tokyo to know that. Is telling you a deep dark secret like that enough for you to trust me?"

"Not exactly a deep dark secret," She muttered, apparently loud enough for him to hear and chuckle at. "But…"

"Sorry, but I don't want to keep Morgana and Ryuji waiting. I'll explain it all in much more detail when we get out, but right now, we've got to do this… no matter the danger." He walked away and pressed a button on his phone, causing him to fade from view. She watched him go, vanishing back into… Kamoshida's mind, and clenched her fists.

It was out of her hands now, wasn't it… Could she try and go to Kamoshida, speak to him about not expelling them? No, he likely wouldn't listen to her anymore, and even if he did, what he might ask her to do… A disgusted shudder ran through her, and she leaned against the wall of the alley. So, it was all in Starr-san and Sakamoto-san's hands… god, they would be in for hell if they got out! She deserved more answers!

Her heart clenched when she realized she'd thought if, not when. He'd spoken of life-threatening danger… She didn't want them to die because of her, or Shiho… Wasn't there any way to help them, or stop them?

Inside her bag, her phone pinged as the Metaverse Navigator suddenly appeared.

Ω • Ω • Ω

•Akira•

After returning to the Metaverse and reuniting with Ryuji and Morgana, right away they questioned him on one of the things Takamaki-san had said. "What did she mean, when she said you used 'powers on Shiho?" Morgana questioned. "We can't use our Personas in the real world!"

"I was planning on telling you both if we were going back in, so I guess I'm glad we can get it out of the way now." He held up his hand and showed off the bright glow, causing Ryuji's eyes to bug out and Morgana to make a confused noise. "I tried looking stuff up about it, and even though there's no way to confirm, I think they could be psychic powers."

"Whoa, you're a psychic?!"

"Maybe. Morgana, you have any idea what this is?"

"No, I've never seen anything like it! I know there's a type of element Personas can use called Psy, but that isn't it! When did it first appear?"

"After Ryu awoke to Captain Kidd and we were escaping. As I was holding off the Shadows, I was running out of energy, and Arsène spoke to me. He told me I had some other kind of power, and after a moment I was able to use it. That's what blew up the entire hallway."

"I'd ask for you to demonstrate for us, but I don't want to alert the Shadows… if you really can use it in the real world, you'll have to show us later. For now, let's get moving, Joker!"

"Last I checked, I'm not a clown."

"Yeah, the heck's up with that nickname?"

"Ugh, don't call it something that… boring! They're codenames!"

"Codenames?"

"Yeah, we can't just shout out our real names in here. We have no idea what effect that might have on Kamoshida's Cognition." Morgana smirked and placed his paws on his hips. "I've decided that your codename shall be Joker, because you're our trump card when it comes to fighting strength! It makes even more sense with those psychic powers!"

"I mean… it's kind of lame, isn't it?"

Ryuji snickered and Morgana sighed. "Just go with it! Now then, what should your name be… ah, what about Thug?"

"Hell no! You trying to pick a fight?!" Ryuji growled and crossed his arms, his foot tapping on the ground impatiently. "I want it to be cool! Hm… well, maybe it should do with my mask and outfit…"

"Well, you have the pirate theme… Captain? No, we might confuse you with your Persona… Hey, what did your Persona say when you were Awakening?"

"Huh? Well, he talked about 'hoisting the flag and wreaking havoc…' Oh, he also said something about me wielding the 'Skull of Rebellion.'"

"Why not use that?" Morgana suggested. "Skull."

"Ohh, yeah! I like it! From now on, I'm Skull!" Ryuji, or Skull now, grinned at him. "So, what should Morgana's name be?"

"Hm…" He fingered at his mask and looked down at the cat. "Swashbuckler? No, way too long."

"Why not short and sweet? Mona."

"Ah, I get it. Because he's a thief and Mona is like the Mona Lisa, correct?"

Skull stood still for a moment, before nodding. "Sure!"

Morgana sighed and rolled his eyes. "Whatever. If Joker thinks it's a good name, then I'll be Mona from now on."

He nodded at his teammates, pulling out his handgun to check it over as he smirked. "From now on, we're Joker, Skull, and Mona. Ready to take down this bastard?"

"Eff yeah!"

"Ready, Joker!"

He smirked and put away his gun while pulling his glove tight. "Let's go!"

Ω • Ω • Ω

The hidden vent they'd used the previous infiltrations remained open, allowing them easy access to the castle. They crept along the hall, witnessing a massive crowd of guards in the main hall as Shadow Kamoshida spoke down to them, ordering them to find and kill them. He grimaced and nodded at Skull and Mona before they backtracked to find another route around. Skull complained slightly about not being able to just beat him up, but he and Mona simply explained how they wouldn't be able to fight through all his guards. Plus, finding his Treasure and making the man confess his sins would be more satisfying in the long run.

They made their way down the hallway, sneaking from cover to cover until they found another door. He silently opened it, spotting a Shadow knight standing vigil in the room. "There's a Shadow," he whispered.

"What should we do, Joker?" Skull questioned. "Take it down?"

"Actually, this might be a good time to teach you something," Mona purred. "Joker, ready?"

"Ready." He waited for the Shadow to turn its head, before sprinting forward. He leaped up onto a table and onto the Shadow's head, causing it to stumble in shock as he reached down and ripped its mask off. "Show me your true form!" He backflipped away as it crashed to the ground, turning into ooze before exploding up into the form of a fairy. As the fairy floated back, disoriented from the sudden attack, Morgana quickly explained.

"Remember Hold Ups and All-Out Attacks? There's another use for them. Because Shadows are beings born from people's hearts, they can talk and communicate with us! If we talk with them while they're cornered, they might offer us money or items in exchange for their lives!"

"I see…" the fairy finally recovered and glared at them, charging up and firing a Zio at them. Mona jumped back and Skull stepped in to take the electrical attack, as he resisted it while Mona was weak to it, and he quickly ripped off his mask to summon Arsène. "Arsène, Eiha!"

"Hahahaha!" The Curse attack flew forward as Arsène cackled and impacted with the Shadow, throwing her to the ground due to her weakness to the element. They quickly surrounded the girl and pulled out their guns, plus slingshot in Mona's case, pointing them at the girl. She looked around at them with fear in her eyes and held up her hands as she weakly fluttered a foot off the ground.

"H-Hey, don't get too hasty! Don't shoot!" She shivered and muttered to herself, "Seriously?! These guys are the intruders' King Kamoshida warned us about…?"

"Hell yeah we are!" Skull grinned, waving his shotgun with one hand.

"It can't get worse than this… What're you going to do with me?!"

"Absolutely nothing," he soothed with a charming smile as Arsène vanished and his mask reappeared. "As long as you have some money for us, of course."

"R-Really? You'll let me live if I give you some money?" She smiled before it dropped and she cringed back in fear. "W-Well, this all happened so suddenly… I actually don't have any money on me… I mean, I usually do though, you know?!"

"What? For real?"

Mona sighed, "Oh well, can't be helped. Guess it's time for you to go to hell."

He choked back a laugh at how casually Mona said that, while the fairy girl winced back. "W-Wait!"

"Sorry, can't be helped. We're in a hurry after all." He placed his finger on the trigger and got ready to pull.

"Can't we work something out?! Don't kill me, please! Won't you let me go?!" The leotard wearing Shadow's eyes were beginning to water, and her voice wavered.

He watched her plead for a moment, before he sighed, twirling his gun. Killing someone that was pleading for their life, even if it was a creature born from thought, brought a sour taste to his mouth. "Fine."

"Wha- really, Joker?"

"Yes. I'm fine with killing these things when they're trying to kill us, but if they start begging for their lives, then I'd rather let them go, even if they can't give us anything." He knelt down to the fairy girl the size of his hand and smiled. "You're free to go, as long as you don't try and attack us from behind."

"Really?" The fairy floated upwards and smiled at him. "Thank you, thank you so much! You're so kind… you know, you remind me a lot of myse-" She stopped in the middle of her sentence, a sudden understanding visible on her face. "I remember now! I don't belong to just King Kamoshida… I'm an existence that drifts about in the sea of humanity's souls… My real name is… 'Pixie!' From now on, I'll live inside your heart!"

The fairy, or Pixie, suddenly began glowing blue. She vanished inside of a sphere of light, before shooting forward into his mask. He stumbled back in surprise, hands flying up to his mask. What had just happened?

Morgana seemingly had the same question, looking at him with wide eyes. Well, his eyes were always large, but they simply got wider. "What did you just do?"

"Don't ask me," He murmured, feeling around.

"The enemy totally got sucked into your mask, Joker!" Skull pointed, clear confusion on his face.

"I didn't even know that was possible," Morgana exclaimed, "I don't-"

His eyes shot to a second doorway in the room, where another Shadow guard was wandering in. The guard noticed them and drew its sword before he tackled Skull out of its way. "Look out!" He drew his gun and fired, the bullet knocking the Shadow's mask into the air. It stumbled, before turning into one of the two-horned horses that were weak to Skull's and Captain Kidd's Zio spells.

"Skull, summon Captain Kidd and-" He stopped, stilling as he felt something within him… a new possibility.

Hey, hey, let me have a turn! Pixie's bubbly voice spoke up from within him, a stark contrast to Arsène's smooth, deep tone. I can take this guy down super quick!

I agree, she wields a spell I do not.

He reached inside of himself instinctively and switched Personas, and when he ripped off his mask, instead of Arsène appearing in cerulean flames, it was Pixie. She giggled and fluttered around his body as she flipped her brown hair, landing on his head. Skull and Mona looked on in surprise, and he smirked. "Pixie, Zio!" The electricity shot out of the fairy's hands, causing the horse Shadow to whinny in pain before she disappeared and his mask returned. "Surround it!"

The horse stumbled to its feet—hooves? And glared at him. "You going to kill me then?" It spoke in a gruff tone, with broken Japanese. He thought back to what he'd done with Pixie, how he'd appealed to the girl, even if he didn't know it, and gotten her to remember that she wasn't just Kamoshida's servant. These beasts seemed more feral than Pixie, so instead of being kind, perhaps he needed to be more ruthless…

"I might. Depends on how I feel after talking with you."

"Hmph. Me no care for talking."

"Well you better start caring, or you'll find your life ended sooner than you'd think."

The horse snorted. "You remind me of me. Very tough and uncompromising…" its eyes widened, and it stood straighter. "Wait… me remember now… me not just servant… me an existence in humanity's unconscious!" The horse began glowing blue like Pixie did. "Me name is Bicorn! From now on, me serve you!"

"Perfect." Bicorn's form was absorbed into his mask, and he smirked as the new personality meshed seamlessly alongside Pixie and Arsène.

Our strength shall grow with each new Persona… a job well done.

"Yeah! I bet I can help a ton, Mister Joker!"

Me shall be powerful aid. Use me to destroy, Master!

"Holy…" Mona gasped as Pixie giggled and landed on his shoulder, waving at the cat. "You can use multiple Personas?!"

"H-Hey, Mona, what the hell did he just do?"

"He sealed the enemy's appearance and powers into his mask, and made it his new Persona… I didn't even know that was possible!"

Pixie wagged her legs from her seat on his shoulder in response to Mona's statement. "Mister Joker is the coolest, right?"

"Do you think it has something to do with my psychic powers?"

"I don't know! Only one heart exists per person, so normally a person can only have one Persona!" He focused and brought Pixie back within himself, before bringing Bicorn to the forefront. With a flick of his wrist and the removal of his mask, Bicorn burst into existence and they all looked at the horse in wonder. "But this is incredible! This'll give us a huge advantage in battle!"

"Yeah, I just hope they don't fill my head with too much chatter."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Arsène speaks to me inside the Metaverse and the real world a lot. He usually gives his own opinions on things, which I guess are really my opinions, but without me trying to hold back how I really feel. With even more Personas, that could get pretty distracting…"

"Your Persona speaks to you?" Mona blinked owlishly, "Zorro doesn't talk with me at all!"

"Yeah, Captain Kidd is pretty quiet too, the only time I've ever heard him talk was when I Awoke to him."

"So either this has to do with me being able to summon and hold multiple Personas… or my psychic abilities… Or both."

"Either way, having more Personas to cover our weaknesses is a good idea. You should grab as many as you can!"

"Yeah! We'll hold up every last Shadow in this place!"

"I sure do love mugging people."

"Me will aid Master as best me can!"

His broken speech might just get a tad annoying soon, Arsène sighed from within him.

I dunno, I think it's pretty funny, Mister Arsène!

Ignoring the voices in his head, he spoke up. "In any case, let's get back to the mission at hand." He smirked and recalled Bicorn, reforming his mask. "Let's steal a corrupted heart!"

You know, I thought it was pretty obvious in the game that Joker's glasses were fake. Their description, the fact that you don't need to wear them in the Metaverse, and you don't wear them during the beginning of the game in your hometown and at the end of the game when you go home. And I've heard that in Royal you can visit a glasses shop with Ryuji and he comments on how your glasses are fake. But apparently, a lot of people didn't know that lol.

Anyway, Joker has now caught his first Pokemon- er, Personas. I think P5's method of gaining Personas (including Fusion) is my favorite. In P3 and 4 you just select a card after a battle, but in P5 you have to negotiate with Shadows, either being mean and serious, or joking and light-hearted, which fits with Joker's theme of wearing many masks when he interacts with different people. He can be a kind older brother figure to Shinya for the Tower Confidant, and immediately become a snarky asshole to Iwai for the Hanged Man Confidant.

Man, it can get real annoying adding a -san to the end of people's names... But I've got to keep it up, since it's just another way to characterize Akira and the others. Akira adds a 'san' or 'sensei' to the end of someone's name since that's courtesy in Japan and he's trying to lay low and be respectful even though he isn't used to it, but when it's someone he's friends with, like Ryuji, or an enemy, like Kamoshida, he doesn't bother. And then there's Ryuji who just doesn't care, and doesn't add honorifics to anyone's name.

Sorry this is a few days late btw, was kind of busy so I couldn't upload this on the 14th, but hey, it's here now. It's almost time for Panther and the beautiful Carmen to make their appearance! So, leave a review on everything you liked in the chapter or just a 'nice.' Both are always great to read! See y'all next time!