Manic and Little John's Hideout, Geno City. Mobius
Evening
The Persona users safely made it back to their world and Akira escorted Manic to his hideout while the others bid them a good evening before going their separate ways to lessen the chances of Anton's gang catching them together, the wolf mainly coming along just in case any of the Hooligans should try to jump Manic this evening.
"Hey Manic, you're back and..." Little John greeted Manic as soon as he came into the hideout, then seeing Akira with him. "You too?"
"I couldn't let him go alone this evening after what happened in the Metaverse in case Anton's guys are about." Akira took in the interior of the hideout. "So, this is where you both hang out in?"
"It is and thank you." The brown hedgehog said in appreciation. "You didn't have to do that."
"It's the least I could do."
"Yeah, thanks for that." Manic said, sitting down on the couch in the hideout. "Oh man, that whole thing nearly wiped me out..."
"Wiped out?" Little John questioned.
"We nearly got killed at the Palace. The Shadows had caught us by total surprise and had three of us knocked down including Johnny." Akira told him. "Anton's Shadow almost got us all good back there and on the second floor no less."
"That bad huh?"
"Worse than that. He was revelling in our predicament." The wolf sat down on the couch. "So confident in what looked like a victory for him that he'd gloat about it."
"I would probably be dead if my Persona hadn't awakened..." Manic added.
"Holy shit, you got a Persona now?" Little John perked up at that.
"I do now. Used it to defeat a giant Shadow monster."
"A Hydra to be exact." Akira added. "The one that Hercules fought."
"Man, if only I was there to see it in person." Little John remarks.
The wolf shook his head. "Actually, it was a good thing you weren't with us. Anton there would have too eager to have you killed just to make Manic suffer..."
"Oh... Right..." The stout hedgehog nodded in understanding. "Guess I had dodged a serious bullet there then..."
Moving the topic away from the dark implications and looks to Manic. "What kind of Persona did you get?"
"Someone called A. J. Raffles."
"A literary character popularised in pop culture as being a gentleman thief character predating the likes of Maurice LeBlanc's Arsène Lupin." Akira stated. "Created by E. W. Hornung; Arthur Coyle's brother-in-law. The same Arthur Coyle responsible for Sherlock Holmes."
"You an avid fan of the guy or something?" Little John asked.
"Doctor Omega told me that actually."
"Doctor what?"
"That's what he known as. Doctor Omega."
"Izzat so?" Manic mused, finding amusement in the knowledge. "Huh... I got a thief created by the brother-in-law of the creator behind Sherlock as my Persona... Sorry, I'm just really lethargic right now..."
"Who is this Doctor Omega, where he's from and why him?" Little John probed Akira.
"To answer your question: Mine takes the form of the Doctor Omega from Doctor Omega. A traveller of unknown origins that builds a ship to go explore the universe and helping many folks he would come across, becoming a protector against all kinds of monsters..." Akira nodded, understanding why his Persona manifest as Doctor Omega. "Using intellect to defeat them and to solve problems rather than resolve a crisis with fists, swords or guns. Fighting as a healer rather than a soldier and the Doctor is a being of different facets too..."
"It seems like our personas are either based on pop culture characters or in Johnny's case, a historical figure..." Manic thought about it. "If we get more people, then who's next? Tigger the Tiger?"
"The Personas we have are either rebels or figure of defiance in their stories. Omega wanted to explore the universe and Raffles' a thief stealing from criminals less savoury than he is." Akira shook his head. "I think Johnny's Persona is John Dillinger; a gangster Robin Hood from Great Depression America."
"The Doctor told you that too?" Little John asks.
"Yep. Our Personas can interact with us as hard as that is to believe. Doctor's giving me an anecdote about how he helped Issac Newton with his law of universal gravitation by sitting up on the tree that Newton was sitting under, drop apples on his head and explaining it to him over dinner or so he claims."
"Really?" Manic fubs his chin. "I'll have to try and ask mine some pointers on thievery."
"What about Cortez's Persona?" Little John asks.
"Not too sure but given the appearance of Guardian as he calls him, I'd say he's the Sphinx from Egyptian Mythology. Though I'll have to ask him about it myself whenever I see him again." Akira leans his head back on the couch. "I'm just glad to be out of there alive."
"Same…" Manic added. "Still, I felt such a rush while fighting those Shadows…"
"The instinct for survival. That's why."
"But there's gotta be something more to it, right?" Manic questioned. "This whole Palace thing."
"It's what I want to know. Shadow Anton knows a lot of things that his real world counterpart would like the fact he is higher up the food chain than you are and he takes special delight in your suffering. He's taken plenty from you in the past and still not satisfied enough from what I could infer from him. There's a particular sadism in what he's doing to you." Then Akira added; "Plus you haven't been transparent with me regarding your motives for going back to the Palace. It wasn't the thought of loot or treasure that made you want to come back, is it?"
"...You're right. It wasn't just that. I... I wanted to see if I could figure where he was keeping Tatiana..." Manic frowns. "Ever since he took her from me, he's kept her well away from me... The only reason I know for a fact is that he's been keeping her on drugs is because when she was still part of my crew, he ended up getting her addicted through giving her lower-priced drugs; then started charging her more for them and not long after that, she ran out on us. I found out not long after that she's in Anton's captivity. His brother Hud says it outright."
"You never specified what is it that Anton and his gang does exactly." Akira pointed out.
"Hooligans make sales of stolen goods, drug trafficking, extortion, robbery and general thuggish behaviour. Those are the major activities they're known to be involved in." Little John told him. "There are other gangs who does what they do but none of his size."
"What about their victims?"
"Either threatened or bribed into silence. If not that and they tried talking to the police, they end up in a hospital and made as an example to all others to keep their mouths shut or even murdered. They're a fearsome bunch for a pack of gangbangers and that's thanks to Anton's innate ability to get out of trouble with the law and being impossible to prosecute."
"Not even on drug charges?"
"Not even if he made the drugs himself. When it comes to the drugs they deal in, we're not certain on where the stuff's coming in from since we can't find any drug lab of theirs' but it's definitely not produced by his gang. In any case, he's earning profits from their sales and he'd have us killed if we knew where he's getting them from. That's a big tight-lipped secret for him."
"And I'm certain he got Tatiana hooked on the stuff..." Manic's face turned to a regretful one. "Fuck... I shoulda just helped her... I shoulda helped her get sobered out rather than be ignorant of what was going on before it was too late... Before she ran off..."
"Although, we're not even sure ourselves if Tatiana was actually addicted to the drugs or he's been fabricating the whole lie just to twist the knife in further for us as he's the kind of person to do that. Whatever was going on with Tatiana at the time, we don't know except her." Little John added. "All we knew is that it happened shortly after Manic got sent to juvie on false drug charges. She had been acting off from around that time til she suddenly left with the money she was giving to him."
"Yeah..." Manic said, going silent a moment.
"The extortion money?" Akira questioned. "What about that one?"
"...It's the result of me confronting him over Tatiana one day after I got out..." Manic replied vaguely. "I said and did some stupid shit during that confrontation. He basically has a hold over me ever since."
"He wanted you gone. Always has but isn't content with just having you simply killed on the streets, he has to have the last word on it too. It's something I have noticed with him."
"Because Manic and us have more approval from the folks of the streets than he does and that bothers him greatly. If he can't have it, he'll wreak it so that only he stands tall." Little John run a hand down his face. "Our people in Geno City are more afraid of him because of his gang influence than they do respecting him."
"He gives no damn about the city or it's people. His cognition and real world action says as such." The wolf shook his head.
"That much is true. The poison he's pushing on the streets says it all and the fact he's got a home in the wealthy suburbs of Cyber City."
"Not from here?"
"The Verucas were from some island before settling here and Anton was an asshole even before all this."
"From what I've gathered, his family wasn't even liked back there either. Real vibe killers." Manic added.
"Can't imagine why." Akira agreed. "Nevertheless, he tried to make you crawl to him on your hands and knees to kiss his shoes."
"The rotten bastard... I'd die before I'd seriously do that for mercy..."
"I'd like to get at him too for yesterday." Akira agreed. "Couldn't let him get the satisfaction of you gravelling to him, even if it was meant to be a ruse. Letting you degrade yourself in front of him like you're a wimp begging for his forgiveness."
"I'll admit it wasn't my best plan, heh..." Manic admitted with a bashful look.
"That was reckless. Those Shadows wouldn't get off from us and you didn't have the power to fend them off then. There was no telling what Anton's Shadow would have done." Akira chided the hedgehog. "We don't know what's going on with his real world counterpart either beyond the assumption that he probably has no clue what's going on in his Palace if he isn't responding to the intrusions with extreme prejudice..."
"Speaking of, we're gonna to have to approach the Palace different the next time we go to it to avoid a repeat of today." Akira made a point to the new Persona user. "We may be sneaky but not sneaky enough to stop us from getting jumped like that."
"Sneaking like thieves?" Little John asked.
"That'd be the best way to go about it. Reduces the chance of them surprising us if they don't know we're there."
"Well, you ever pickpocketed people or burglarise other people's houses?"
"...No."
"Well, Little John and I could teach you if you want." Manic offered.
"You would?" Akira turned back to Manic.
"Yeah." Manic nodded.
"If you're going to be living in this city, you could do a lot worse than falling in with us. Especially when you bring Anton into the equation." Little John added. "You could have just left Manic behind and let the Hooligans get at him but instead you helped him get out of that one."
"It was mainly because I don't know this city too well." Akira says. "And also because I knew I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I had left him behind. Could be my weariness towards inaction that compelled me to."
"Whatever the case may be, you're straight with us. You being there for Manic twice when I couldn't be around for him to help him out is enough to put you notches above a lot of our former so-called homies." The stout hedgehog said with an assuring nod. "The fact you called out Migu small-brained to her face with no hesitation, wether you knew her family connection or not takes real cajones to do."
"I've met her kind before and just as unpleasant if not worse. She's just the first to actually follow through on her threat of having a brother like Anton."
"Yeah, she's what people in the industry refer to as a 'Mega-Bitch' and we've had the unfortunate luck to have a run-in with her."
"I got that impression from the first minute I had with her."
"Well, she's way worse when you actually know her." Manic tells him
"Wouldn't doubt it."
"Oh, believe me she is worse than what you just met."
"So, what do you say to us teaching you the way of thievery that only we know how?" Little John asked Akira as he and Manic offers their hands for him to shake. "You help us and we'll help you in return."
"What guarantees that you both won't stab me in the back?" Akira replied, posing the question to them and still a little skeptical of the pair.
"I'll let Manic answer this one. He's the one who's been there with you when you ran into Anton and his Shadow." Little John nodded to Manic. "Me? I've got little time for busters and that includes the guys who used to roll with us. If he's fine with you, then you're fine with me."
"Well..." Manic said to his new friend. "Honestly, Akira... You remind me of the first friend I'd ever had in my life."
"Ah, I see." Akira nodded. "I'd ask who is this friend is but like the subject of your foster father, it's not my place to be enquiring about it from you and leave the matter be for you to discuss on your own terms."
"The most you need to know now is that unfortunately, he was the first to leave after the business with Anton began."
"Right..." Akira got the implication from that sentence. If he wanted any more details on the subject, that's Manic's call.
"And when the rest turned, we had to abandon the old hideout after Anton's gang had it wrecked. Burned it down even as an extra screw you to us." Little John sighs. "Back then, that couch would have been full and some of them be gaming at the T.V."
"Must have been hard to lose them."
"Eh. Some of them were rather questionable ethics-wise..." The brown hedgehog replies. "A few were right assholes I barely tolerated for Manic's sake and frankly, I think they only hung around with us for status before they'd find better opportunities elsewhere which they did without hesitation when Anton gave them one. Those judases jumped ship as soon as Manic went to juvie and acted like they didn't know us in the first place. Fucking fake ass marks."
"Some friends they were."
"Agreed." Little John nodded. "At least you're straight with us and you seem like a good guy to hang out with. Man, we could do with another dude to shoot the shit with these days."
"Other people including Johnny believes we're friends..." Akira would take Manic's hand and shake it. "May as well make it official. I could do with some new friends in the city and you saved my life today too..."
"I am thou, thou art I. Thou hast acquired a new vow. It shall become the wings of rebellion that breakth thy chains of captivity. With the birth of the Chariot Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that should lead to freedom and new power..."
The Chariot: Rank 1
"Hell yeah." Manic said with a grin after he shook Akira's hand, pleased to have a new friend. "I have a feeling this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship my friend."
"Likewise." Akira smiled to him and hiding his own surprise at a new sensation that just appeared to him now. Proceeding to shake Little John's hand as well.
"Well, I don't wanna keep you since I figure you wouldn't wanna risk Anton seein' ya here."
"I think I'll hang around here for a little while longer if it's not a bother for you two."
"I believe that would be just fine." Manic replied, scanning the place. "It's been a while since there was more than just two people here."
"A first for this second hideout." Little John pointed out.
"Yeah." Manic thought of a suggestion. "I figure we could bust out some frozen pizzas, cans of fruit punch, fire up our Neptune 4 and play some Mutant Wrestling."
"Sounds good to me." Akira nods to that.
"Right-O!" Manic said with a grin as he got up from his seat and headed to the kitchenette area of the hideout, digging through the freezer for a few frozen pizzas.
"Welcome to the crew Wolfy..." Little John said to Akira and then added in a low voice; "And I appreciate you keeping him safe. He could do with another friend, a good friend right now that he can talk to besides me and not encourage bad habits."
"Considering what we've been through, I'd be a moron to just go back to where I was before." Akira still felt the new sensation from when he shook hands with Manic moments ago.
Manic began heating up the counter-top electric oven while opening the fridge and getting out a twelve-pack of canned fruit punch soft drinks. Little John goes to get the console set up and as Manic began to cook the pizzas, he smiled to himself.
For the first time in a long time, he felt like he had finally found a new friend; the first real friend he's made since those so-called friends he knew for years left him like he's nothing to them. It made him feel good and more importantly, he felt like he could tackle anything with his new friends and Little John by his side.
Coming into Cyber City, Akira didn't have anybody in Golden Bay City for him to keep in touch with. The wolf had mostly kept to himself during the latter days of his high school tenure when he wasn't being invited to events and didn't actively go out to make any friends during that time.
He expected to just study hard at college and graduate it but what for? He's not so sure himself. Instead, he got Manic and Little John for friends out of a pickpocket scheme.
Coming out of it with a renewed purpose and goal in his life he had lacked for over three years. It is funny how life works sometimes. Even Manic was amazed by the circumstances that led to him becoming friends with Akira. Still, his thoughts drifted back to Anton's Palace as he tried to think of how else they could utilize it.
With that in mind, the wolf spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out with them where he dominated the Mutant Wrestling: Have Mercy! session on them and getting their numbers before heading back home. He couldn't remember last when he had fun like this.
'...I made some new friends today, gained a new Persona user to fight alongside me in the Metaverse and felt a piece of strength awaken within me...'
Freedom HQ, Great Forest of Knothole
Evening
"...Based on the data we have on them." Sally spoke, the chipmunk princess currently going over the recent info on the mental incidents to her team in the briefing room with a holo-board behind her. "These mental shutdowns and psychotic incidents have been occuring at alarming rates all around Mobius. It is not currently known on what's actually causing them beyond suggested guesses."
"Hmmm, is it not a disease or something?" Sonic; the fastest thing alive suggested. Looking up to her from his seat.
"Not that we're aware of..." Sally is as much in the dark as he is. "Though I do have a working theory that it could be the work of some dark magic."
"Dark magic?"
"Stranger things have happened Sonic. We need to be open to the possibility that this could be the work of sorcery or something akin to it."
"The only wizards I could think off the top of my head are Lazaar, Ixis Naugus and Heavy Magician. But Lazaar's reformed these days, I haven't heard anything from those Hard Boiled Heavies in years and ditto on Naugus." The blue hedghog cupped his chin in thought. "Most of these cases are happening around Northamer and Eurish with a few recorded from elsewhere."
"Which means it couldn't possibly be one of them but we still shouldn't rule out dark magic or sorcery as a likely culprit for not. If the cause isn't biological, it could very well be mystical."
"It's a scary thought that someone with access to dark magic could be capable of mentally shutting someone down without having to bludgeon them or setting them off." A green dragon named Dulcy commented. "What if they could do it to us as well?"
"It's very much possible." Sally replies as she shuddered at the thought of it. Being killed or controlled by something you can't even see.
"Ah s'pose we all gotta remain vigilant if that's th' case." Bunnie tap her finger on the table. A half-cyborg bunny from the south.
"Right you are. From here on, we will strictly abide by the policy of 'If you see something, say something'. If one of us starts acting in a way that's a red flag to you, let everyone else know immediately without hesitation."
"Got it."
"Uhh... What if there's no sorcery involved?" Big suggested. A stout cat built like a sumo wrestler.
"What do you mean by that?" Dulcy questioned the blue cat.
"Yea, what do ya mean?" Bunnie asked Big as well. Leaning forward on the table.
"What if there's people going into other people's heads and taking over from there?" Big threw it out there.
"No offence Big but that's kind of far-fetched." Sonic said to him. "If that's the case, then how are they able to pull it off? Unless they're as smart as Tails, Uncle Chuck, Nate Morgan or even the late Ovi Kintobor to come up with a way to do it, then I don't see them being able to go into people's heads like that. I mean it's not like we have control panels with an off/on switches in our heads."
"Was just a thought I had." Big scratches his ear.
"Yea sugah, that's a bit far fetched even for us." Bunnie told him. "Sorry."
"It's not like we're any more knowledgeable on the techniques ourselves." Dulcy pointed out. "Who knows how they're doing it beyond vague assumptions."
"It could be anyone or anything at this point til we get the facts..." Sally says to her group. "So to reiterate; if you see something, say something and report it ASAP. And... That's about it."
The others nodded in acknowledgement before Sally adds; "That is all for now. Stay alert everyone."
The group then began to disperse from the briefing room, Duly came up to Sally. "How did that interview go? Been meaning to ask."
"It went great actually. I just answered each question honestly and Breezie was very nice about it. I'm glad she's doing better than she was during the war."
"Tails told me about her once. Saying Breezie was a nasty piece of work before she had a change of heart."
"She certainly was from what Tails had told me of it but I guess as long as she's not causing trouble anymore, then she's alright in my book."
"She seems to be content with her career as a talkshow host." Dulcy nodded as Sonic came over to them.
"Good on her. She still tries to pursue a relationship with me but that ship has long sailed off." Sonic chimes in. "Besides, I doubt things would have worked out in the long run."
"Absolutely..." Sally agrees with him. "I don't think organics like us and robots are compatible on a biological sense. Personality-wise and whatnot; there could be something but biologically, it wouldn't really work as well."
"Yep..."
"But she's at least a good friend now and I'm happy to have seen her again after a while."
"Maybe I should go on her show some day..." Dulcy murmurs to herself as she heads out of the room.
"Laters." Sonic said to her as she left.
"So..." Sally said to Sonic. "Lunch?"
"Not like I've got anything else to do this evening."
"I suppose having a late lunch/early dinner wouldn't hurt. Plus, we could chat for a while there."
"Sure." Sonic nodded, rocking one shoulder back. "Where to?"
"I was thinking we could swing by that village cafe." Sally suggested to him.
"Fine by me."
"Good to know." Sally said with a smile, holding her hand out to Sonic. He took her hand with a smile in return and the two headed out of the briefing room together hand in hand.
Akira's Apartment, Cyber City
Evening
The wolf would make it back to his apartment when he got a text from Manic.
Manic: Hey. you made it home ok?
Akira: Just made it back
Manic: Good to know. Listen, I've been thinking about all this palace stuff since you left, and I started thinking about what Johnny and Cortez said about it being the 'cognition' of Anton's mind or whatever, I got to wonderin'; What if we could change him by changing somethin' in his palace?
Akira: The thought has crossed my mind. The whole place has to have been formed from somewhere somehow.
Manic: Yeah, exactly. So tomorrow, let'z meet up with them and discuss it further then.
Akira: I think we should try to do some investigation in the real world while we're at it.
Manic: I think that'd be a good idea as well.
Akira: Better to gather intel to best decide our course of action and prepare ourselves too.
Manic: Lucky for me I know of a good airsoft shop in town.
Akira: Then we can take a trip to it when we get the chance to.
Manic: In addition, they also have spy gear and military surplus stuff. Little John and I shop there all the time. I'll definitely show ya the place tomorrow.
Akira: We'll meet up at Rockwell's then tomorrow. Night.
The wolf puts his phone away and was about to the kitchen to grab something from there when he saw the out of place door in the hallway. The Velvet Room Door.
'I wonder if I had done the contract like he said I would?' Akira went to over to the door and entered through it...
The Velvet Room, ?
Evening
The red wolf found himself back inside the Velvet Room modelled after a psychiatrist's office.
"Ah, welcome back to the Velvet Room trickster..." Akira turns his head to the blue hedgehog in the black tuxedo whom greeted him from behind his desk. "You've finally awoken to your own self as did your new friend. Interesting how much can happen in only two days."
"You been keeping up on all of that and what's with the trickster remark again?"
"You've forged your first contract with another and it appears to be..." Mr. Hedgehog opens the brown file on the desk and takes out a card with a VII on the top alongside having the words 'The Chariot' written at the bottom. "The Chariot. A major arcana about overcoming obstacles and moving forward in a positive direction. A good card from the deck to have if I say so myself, what about you Tiara?"
"Quite th' match for your first companion, it is." Tiara nodded in agreement.
"And he's only the first of many to join you in your journey. Therefore, I congratulate you on forging your first bond in your rehabilitation. I'm sure Doctor Omega will have congratulated you on that too."
"That I have."
To Akira's surprise, his own Persona was standing next to him without being summoned by him and having the hands in his coat pockets. Lacking the blueish colour he would have in the Metaverse.
"Doctor, how is this even possible?!" Akira questioned him, astonished by what he's seeing. The Doctor simply tapped the side of his nose with a toothy grin.
"Good. Both the Host and the Persona they carry should try to support each other whenever they can after all." Mr. Hedgehog smiled to the pair. "The heart and soul is most effective when working in tandem."
"When you have a good grasp of both, there's no telling what you can do." Gazebo agreed, lighting a cigarette in his mouth.
"Indeed." Mr. Hedgehog clasps his fingers together. "Since you're here, I should let you know about what I and my assistants will do for you in your journey."
"First off, Tiara will handle the Persona Compendium. Recording and storing whichever Shadow you have captured in your trips to the Metaverse." He gestures to Tiara. "She will also be your main point of contact with the Velvet Room from here on."
"Whenever you need a Persona registered or need to contact th' boss, I'm your gal." Tiara said to the wolf as the blue hedgehog moved onto Gazebo.
"Gazebo here will handle the strengthening of the Personas." He went on. "In addition, he will sell to you rare items that can't be easily gotten in either the real world or the Metaverse. Whatever loot you have fetched can handed off to him for credits to put towards items not found anywhere else."
"Bring me whatever you find and I'll give you a good price for it." Gazebo replied with a smile.
"As for Joe here..." Mr. Hedgehog gestured to Joe. "He will handle the Fusions and Network Fusions for you."
"This place might not be Cold Shadow Storage but rest assured, I'll help you fuse your acquired Personas into newer ones." Joe said with a nod. The red wolf wondering what he meant by the latter part of the statement.
"And lastly, I handle the summoning of new Shadows to become your Personas to use if you acquire cards with a web address on them for me to search up on the computer before ringing those numbers with a phone-call. The cards should look something like this..." The Master of the Velvet Room shows Akira a white and black business card in his palm before it dematerialises from existence as he continued on. "Additionally, I handle the Advance Fusions for I have the abilities and powers necessary to ensure successful fusions of this level."
"Wait..." Akira tried to say, trying to understand what the attendants are telling to him. "Can we stop fo—"
"Demonstrations of these functions will come in good time when you're deemed ready to have access to them. Tiara will provide you with whatever explanations or refreshers that you need and among other details that you'll be given as your journey progresses. May this be the beginning of your tuition with her and perhaps more in the foreseeable future."
"I'll do my best mate~!" Tiara chirped, grinning to him. The wolf kind of finding it attractive on her.
Mr. Hedgehog then pulls out a card that reads 'The Fool' at the bottom and shows it to Akira. "While your first bond represents the Chariot, you yourself represent the major arcana the Fool. A card of new beginnings, opportunity and potential. The most valuable card in the deck."
The hedgehog would pick up the Chariot and the Roman Numeral for seven appears above it. "Whatever bonds you forge out of the heart, they can be strengthened further to unlock new possibilities to you that you never thought was possible and grant you access to greater power than what you wield now."
"Bonds should be made to help you grow, not out of necessity. They can only be made when both you and the other wielder of their respective arcana are willing to give to one another. An ironclad promise that should always be kept no matter what." Mr. Hedgehog noted firmly. "When your journey reaches towards it's end, you'll come to understand the full significance of the bonds themselves and the tapestry you'll have made out of them in relation to yourself."
"We will provide the guidance needed to help get you there but the rest you must learn on your own and to be figured out on your own." That is the condition of your rehabilitation." The tuxedo hedgehog then extends a hand out to Akira. "With that said... We, the attendants of the Velvet Room would like to extend our services to you and make the agreement official."
Akira looked at the blue hedgehog's hand, then glancing over at the other attendants. Tiara included.
"Consider our services available to you whenever you need them." Tiara told him, adding onto the explanation. "Whenever you see the door to this room, that's when you can come right in."
"Whatever your call is, I'm with you no matter what." Doctor Omega says to Akira. "You make the decision here."
The red wolf thought about it for a moment or two before finally making his decision with some serious consideration. "I have made my decision Doctor."
Akira would take Mr. Hedgehog's hand and and shook it. Accepting the offer.
"I am thou, thou art I. Thou hast acquired a new vow. It shall become the wings of rebellion that breakth thy chains of captivity. With the birth of the Fool Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that should lead to freedom and new power..."
The Fool: Rank 1
"Good on ya!" Tiara said with a grin.
"You made a good decision brother." Joe added.
"Yeah..." Gazebo finished with a shrug. The grandfather clock would then chime, signifying that the wolf's visit time is up.
"Unfortunately, that's all the time we for tonight..." Mr. Hedgehog sighs before regaining his smile. "Before you go, let me impart you with a gift to help you in your endeavours on behalf of the Velvet Room. Hope you'd find it useful."
"What sort of gift is it—AGH!" Akira suddenly felt a sharp pain shot through his head like a tumour had just appeared before it quickly subsided. "The hell was that!?"
"That was the gift I just gave you now." The blue hedgehog chuckled. "You'll soon see what ordinary sights can't reveal. Have a pleasant night and we'll be seeing you next time. I have great expectations for you, young trickster."
"Good luck out there!" Tiara watches Akira leave. "Stay safe!
"Thanks." Akira nodded and walked through the door with the Doctor accompanying him...
'...I left the Velvet Room with a gift from Mr. Hedgehog and his assistants...'
Akira's Apartment, Cyber City. Mobius
Evening
"Today's been quite the ordeal, hasn't it? Reminds me of some of the perils that me and my companion would get into." The voice of Doctor Omega would say to Akira with fondness. "What shall we do for the evening?"
"I think I'll study for the night before bedtime." Akira told him. "You wanna help me out?"
"Anything to help you out."
"And please keep it to the facts that they'll accept."
"I know more about history and science than your tutors at Cyber City College Campus will ever know."
"Like the time you knew a certain guy years before he would later formed a political party responsible for a lot of deaths and telling a representative about it years later? Not exactly one of your prouder visits in hindsight, is it?"
"Touché... Exactly how much do you know of my trips per say?"
"Enough to remember that you have known about the three different versions of Atlantis with each destroyed under different circumstances in three different stories by three different writers. Even coming upon the latter two's fates within a few stories of each other." Akira answered. "Seriously, what's up with that?"
"Well, let me explain..."
The Rabbit's House, Mobotropolis
Night
Vanilla would return home from a late shift at work while Cream was being minded by her best friend Amy Rose since Vector isn't available to babysit her due to a case his agency are busy with at the moment. Something about an amusement park and poisoned sauces.
The young rabbit emerged from the living room to greet her mother the politeness that she has taught her with. "Welcome home Mommy, how was work today?"
"Exhausting..." Vanilla sighs as she set her duffel bag down beside the door for a moment. "One of Mommy's coworkers didn't show up for her shift, so I had to cover for her."
"Were you cross about it?"
"I was but it just means I get paid a little extra for covering someone else's shift."
"That's good at least..." Cream picked up her mother's duffel-bag and goes to put it away for her til she needs it next time.
"So, was Cream well-behaved?" Vanilla asks Amy, then smiled and added; "A silly question, I know. My darling little angel is always well-behaved."
Cream would return to them after putting the bag away before Vanilla asks her. "So sweetie, what did you and Amy have for dinner?"
"Potato mash and carrots with gravy." Cream beamed. "After we had dinner, Amy showed me the new tarot card set she made herself."
"Ohhhh, she did. Mmm?" Vanilla said, having a toothy smile. "Well, I'm glad you had fun with her."
"Yeah, she's well-behaved. Nothing else worth noting except she likes how my tarot cards came out." Amy said with a curt bow.
"Wanna see them?" Cream asks her mother excitably.
"Sure."
"I'll go and get them." Amy told them. "I left them on the coffee table earlier. I'm getting more into the paranormal lately."
"You've always had an affinity for tarot readings even at a young age."
"I bought a bunch of the spirit medium items. I bought this set of dice with letters on them and the way they work is you use them during a seance, then you roll them right after asking a spirit a question. In theory, the spirit will cause a few of the dice to land on certain letters and spell certain words like 'yes' or 'no' or 'him' or 'up' things like that. Since I first heard about it, I just had to find me a pair to try my hand at it."
"Sounds like you have a new, interesting hobby." Vanilla said as Amy retrieved her tarot card deck.
"More interesting than most of my hobbies..."
"We could do a quick reading." Cream suggested.
"Alright, one reading." Vanilla said to her daughter. "Then you have to go to bed Cream because it's getting late and you have school tomorrow."
They'd go back to the living room with the tarots and Amy Rose would start it off, tarot readings being second nature to her like her summoning the Piko Piko Hammer whenever she needs to get someone with it or hammer down rail spikes which the latter is a surprisingly profitable part-time gig for her when she needs to earn some extra dough for her shopping.
"Alright..." Amy said, starting by shuffling the deck and then sets it down. "Let's see what the future holds..."
She drew the first card and a few more would be drawn afterwards. Amy closed her eyes a moment as if to focus her spiritual energy, soon she turned over the first card. Then another and and eventually the rest of the cards she drew would all be facing up.
"Looks like... The Empress, Death and the Wheel of Fortune seems to be gathered around the Fool." And Amy was right; three specific cards were around the Fool like three people coming up to this one fella from all sides. "Interesting. That's an interesting reading..."
"Why is that?" Vanilla asks.
"It means-" Amy began but then a notification would interrupt her as she quickly checked her phone. "Aw jeez... I'm sorry guys, I gotta run. The groceries I ordered are on their way to my house and I gotta be there to take them in before they spoil."
"Okay..." Cream sighed in disappointment before getting over it. "Thanks for the tarot reading Miss Amy Rose."
"Not a problem." Amy said with a smile before putting away her tarot set and heading towards the door, heading out as Vanilla went to get herself a water bottle from the fridge.
"Alright sweetie, right to bed." Vanilla told Cream. "Mommy needs some time to unwind."
"Night Mommy." Cream replied as she goes off to do just that and leaving her mother alone with herself. Vanilla waited until Cream was in her room, then sighed as her expression saddened. She went into the kitchen, leaning against a counter for a moment.
She then looked at the bulletin board in the kitchen, spotting a list of debts she had and listed from 'paid off' to 'overdue'. There was also a notice she recieved that morning of a near-overdue rent payment. "Just barely scraping by even with my new job..."
She reached into her jacket pocket, getting out a dark purple business card with a graphic on it. Looking the card over sadly as she put it back in her jacket pocket before going and opening the fridge and getting out a bottle of fruit juice.
Vanilla hated what her current financial situation has brought her to and it feels like someone is purposefully applying more pressure onto her, seeing how much she can bear it before she cracks. She hated that she had no choice but to do the jobs she's taking for paying rent, especially would happen if people found out about them and how that'll look on her own child.
She'd have to do what she needed to within reason for the sake of her child. It's easy enough to keep those other folks at arm's length but knowing what unsavoury characters lies in Geno City, there's always those who doesn't respect boundaries. Not understanding the concept of restraint, consent or morals.
And to think that red wolf from the other day would be living near that side of the city while still in Cyber City. Either he's brave to be living like that or he has willingly resigned himself to that fate. Her mind went over that peculiar tarot set up with the Empress, Death and Fortune surrounding the Fool card.
Amy has once remarked during a conversation over the tarot deck that the mother rabbit would be the Empress for her maternal influence and the hedgehog herself as the Wheel of Fortune. It's the Fool that stood out to her amongst them. Why were all those cards surrounding it and what's more, who did the Fool represent and what does Death represent in that lot?
The Fool is the representation of limitless potential and the subject of the Fool is one left to many interpretations, one of them being that they can become nearly anything. Yet she can't think of anyone she knows personally of who'd fit that definition to a T. She sighed, becoming doubtful of the whole tarot thing.
She took a long sip of the juice bottle she had opened, focusing on how she was going to pay off all these debts and raising her daughter at the same time. Wondering if this could have been avoided if her husband was still around today...