January, Wednesday 6th. 32XX
Soucie Street, Geno City
Afternoon
When Akira was done at the campus for the day, he'd pack up his bag and head on over to Geno City through the sewer route with the intention of heading over to Rockwell's to meet Manic there. The green hedgehog was already at the entrance waiting outside along with Little John.
"Yo!" Manic greeted him when he approached them. "You actually came."
"That I did." Akira said as he looked over to Little John. "And you brought your friend along too."
"Have any issue with that?" Little John raised a brow.
"If I did, I'd be saying something about it." The wolf replied before introducing himself. "Akira."
"Others call me Little John." The brown hedgehog introduced himself to the red wolf.
"Like the Robin Hood character?"
"Well, the name's more out of irony than being named after him."
"Little John is Robin Hood's right hand man in the stories."
"It's less about the stories and more about him being slightly shorter than me." Manic clarifies, stuffing hands in his jacket pockets.
"Calling me short in front of your new friend?" Little John chuckles, seeing as Akira stood around a head taller than them. "You're looking a bit short yourself standing next to him."
"Yeah, I am touch shorter than Akira here..." Manic said with a laugh. "Of course, we both know who that reflects worse on~"
"Shall we?" Akira interrupted.
"Of course." Little John nodded and the three stepped inside of Rockwell's. The inside of the malt shop was as Manic described it; a true love letter to Art Deco and Kitsch. A peek at a much simpler time in historic America.
The owner of the malt shop was an older mobian lion man who walked with a bit of a hobble, seeming slightly hunched over from his old age. Sitting at a counter seat was a young Mobian lioness of age 17 who was looking at her phone and likely the older lion's granddaughter.
"Yo, Jeck." Manic greeted the owner with a smile.
"Ah, Manic..." The older mobian lion turns his neck to him and Little John. "And Little John too. Keeping out of trouble I hope."
Akira took in the malt shop's Art Deco interior design as he stood behind Manic and Little John.
"It's not our problem if trouble comes to us." Little John replied to Jeck. "How's the business?"
"Pretty good. My daughter Karmen here just finally passed her geometry state exam."
"Ah, congratulations Karmen."
"Thanks..." The lioness teen replied, shrugging boredly.
'Just like my high school graduation...' Akira thought to himself, having watched the exchange.
"So, what'll it be boys?" Asked Jeck.
"Ehhh, just a water." Manic glances to his associates. "I need to discuss business with these two anyway."
"Fair do, kiddo." Jeck replied, nodding. Little John led Manic and Akira over to a free table that they sat.
"Sorry about yesterday. Manic probably already told you all about it but I figured I'd say it now." The brown hedgehog said to Akira.
"It's alright. I got the watch back in the end."
"It's in the past at this point. So, on to business." Manic taps on the table. "What to do about this Palace stuff?"
"I've never seen anything like it before and I want to go back to it, see what's exactly inside Anton's Palace." Akira said after thinking about it for a moment. "My Persona believes that there could be things in the Palace worth looking into."
"You seriously that eager to go back to it after what happened yesterday?" Little John looked at Akira with a titled look.
"I know it's crazy but there's something about it I can't quite put my finger on unless I go back to investigate it."
"Even still, you and Manic nearly had it with the firing squad."
"All because Anton decided that I'm worth his scorn because of his sister."
"To be honest, I kinda wanna go back too if not out of morbid curiosity." Manic added, showing as strong an interest in the matter himself.
"I don't know if those other two would find you much use without a Persona to fight off those Shadows but you know Anton better than I do and I doubt I'd even get far in the Palace before hitting a roadblock." Akira noted the logistics of the idea. "Either as puzzles or traps, I'm not sure if I'd be able to doing anything while wandering in blind without knowing what to do."
"I guess then it's good thing for me to come with, huh?" Manic replied, grinning to him.
"In theory. You don't have to come if you don't want to."
"I do wanna come." Manic insisted.
"What about you?"
"Well, I'm not sure if I'd be much help there myself." The stout hedgehog admitted upfront. "I can handle the real world and it's assholes no problem. The Metaverse and Shadows on the other hand, that's a whole different story for me to handle."
"You don't have to force yourself to come with if you don't want to." Manic assures Little John. "I can handle this on my own with Akira if need be."
"As much I want to go with you, I don't think those other two would let me come along nor think me as much use over there. Although, I could fix you both up with supplies for the Metaverse before you go." Little John offered to his compatriots.
"You'd do that for us?" Akira said with a raised brow.
"When I'm not helping Manic in earning some dough from pickpocketing suckers, I'm unofficially handling inventory and among other things that would make me able to be your quote unquote inventory manager for your mission to that other reality or whatever it is." The brown hedgehog told him. "Someone has to keep an eye on the goods."
"Sounds good to me." Manic agrees. "Consider yourself our master of inventory Little John~"
"Aye aye cap'in." Little John saluted.
"He told you the general gist of what happened yesterday?" Akira asks.
"More or less. At first, I doubted it..." The larger hedgehog said while they waited on the order. "Thinking you and him were high to come up with that. Then I eventually came to realise he was telling the truth and I came to believe him."
"I still find the experience hard to believe. It seemed like a nightmare but me, Manic and them all saw it." The wolf added. "I thought I was having a psychosis without knowing it over there."
"I mean, I hadn't had any of my pot gummies that day but even if I had been high, I wouldn'tve been able to dream up something like that."
"Nah, you'd busy dreaming yourself plowing through Princess Venus and clapping those her cheeks of hers' instead if you've done it." Little John remarks to Manic.
"That's true, heh..." Manic said with a chuckle.
"He told me Anton wanted to kick your ass for something you said to his sister." Little John looked back to Akira.
"All I said is that she's an ill-mannered harpy and has a mouth bigger than her brain with the bull that's coming out of it. That's what I said to her." The wolf scoffs. "All because she was spreading rumours about a fellow student."
"She's a nasty imp is what she is."
"One who'd be in a coma right now if I wasn't there to stop a victim of the rumours she made about from kicking her ass hard."
"Yeah, so you've mentioned." Manic added.
"Some gratitude I got for it..."
"Shit happens sometimes, y'know?"
"He told me you got an app that allows you to go to the Metaverse. Think I can have a look at it?" Little John asks Akira. The wolf nodded and pulled out his phone to show him the Metaverse App that's represented as a red eye against a black background.
"That's a weird app if I've ever seen one..." He commented. "Know where you got it from?"
"Not a clue. It randomly showed up for me on Sunday when I first moved into my new place after I had the phone charge and moving it to the trash each time I saw it come up before yesterday happened." Akira answered. "No clue on who made it. Those other two and their A.I companion might know something about it if they have it as well."
"It was some weird stuff for sure." Manic checks out Akira's phone screen. "I was kinda expecting it to be like that movie but without the shoehorned in social commentary angle but no, apparently it wasn't that... Thankfully."
He sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if it's fate that ends up making me experience the weirdest shit. Like that time when Little John and I had to disguise ourselves as students to infiltrate a prep school so we could steal some silver bars that one of the teachers stole. Remember that John?"
"I'd rather not go through that one again..." Little John groaned, not fond of bring reminded of that one. "Wearing that girdle the whole time was hell."
"Still, we've seen weird but this... This goes beyond the level of weird we've seen."
"But it could provide valuable insight into how Anton's psyche works and learn a thing or two that tells us a lot about him. The Palace is inside his mind after all." Akira pointed out.
"Like what?" Little John asked for an example.
"Like what brought upon his distorted desires in the first place and how the Palace is formed from that distortion. The navigation lists influential as a keyword."
"He's the head of the Hooligans and a big player within the underworld of Geno City. That could be the reason influential is s keyword for him."
"But why is influential seen as his distortion?" The wolf questioned. "If he's a big player, then he'd know he's influential without a second thought. There has to be a reason why his Shadow is represented in expensive high-end clothing like he's the Don of a crime organisation, refers to himself as the Chairman of Mobius, thinks that having a personal firing squad is acceptable and why this whole city is in ruins to him while his Palace stands tall above all else in his cognition."
"...You know, you're right. Anton's Shadow wouldn't be behaving that way unless that's how he views himself to be in his mind and what he perceives everything around him to be. He knows about me and Manic but he wouldn't know a whole lot about you if his Shadow doesn't have a clue on what your actual name is." Little John nodded in understanding. "Manic mentioned that he saw two wanted poster for both of you and yours' literally refers to you as Four-Eyed Dickhead."
"Therefore, Shadow Anton would only know what Real World Anton knows about."
"Makes sense..." Manic was piecing things together in his head. "Which means if he ever learned of Little John, he'd become a target too."
"I think he's already a target by association with you." Akira said back to him. "Shadow Anton even said it's unfortunate he wasn't there with us to complete the set."
"Well, that's not good..."
"He still doesn't know where either of us live or where our hideout is." Little John pointed out. "Same for what folks we know about. Folks that'd be in danger if Anton knew they're associated with us."
"Is he really that bad?" Akira asks.
"He's a dangerous fucker that the police either has a hard time catching or arresting without hard evidence to get him off the streets. People are terrified of him and his gang to not go to the police about his activities." The brown hedgehog explained. "If only we knew how to catch him in the act to video it and have it sent off to the authorities for evidence. Something Anton can't simply slither his way out of."
Manic had an idea. "...I wonder... What if we did manage to record him in the act?"
"That we could and perhaps you can even use his Palace to get information on the victims that are made to keep quiet on his activities?" Little John added with his suggestion. Seeing what Akira sees with the Palace's potential.
"I imagine there'll be stuff from his memories that'll be there including his own crimes." Akira surmises. "The victims' testimonies would be enough to put Anton away and the police will finally have caught the guy for good."
"Yeah!" Manic said, throwing up a fist. "And I know just how to do it. John, you remember that time when you got those body cameras that one time? We're gonna need those for this."
"They should be in storage. I'll dig 'em out whenever I get back to the hideout." Little John looked over to Akira. "Man, your app could help a lot of people and put away dirtbags like Anton away."
"After yesterday, I'm not going to stand back and do nothing anymore." Akira gave a stern nod. "Not while there's good people being terrorised by his kind and getting away with it. They deserve to get knocked down a peg off their high pedestal and taking responsibility for their actions."
"Spoken like a true crusader." Little John smiled. "We'll appreciate whatever help you can give to us and who knows, maybe we could even earn some moolah in robbing his Palace if we can bring his valuables to the real world?"
"Well, what kind of person is Anton here in the real world?" The wolf enquired.
"He's a hooligan with an inflated opinion of himself, obnoxious to hang around with, likes to take but not give back and be a Grade A asshole to people like us as a whole. Anton is every bit a street punk that you can imagine and more. And that's based on what we actually know of him."
"Yeah." Manic added. "The guy sucks majorly and he's not afraid to show how much of a dickhead he is."
"No doubt his Shadow will reveal what he doesn't show on the surface." Akira added as Jeck arrives with Manic's water, having to answer a phone call he received earlier.
"Thanks." Manic said to Jeck as the older Lion nodded before going back to the counter. "But yeah, it's pretty evident this Shadow of his has all his dirty laundry."
"We just have to find a few people and collect hard proof of his crimes to corroborate what we'll find in his Palace if we find any there." Akira sat back in his chair. "Either we go there on our own or wait on Johnny and Cortez. They didn't say where they'll see us around at—"
Speaking of John and Cortez, both would show up to the malt shop and go to the counter to place an order for themselves.
"Well, what do ya know..." Manic said when he saw the two enter.
"...Thank you." Cortez said to Jeck with a curtsey smile before taking notice of the three at their table. "Look who's here."
"Saves us the hassle of looking around for them." Johnny replied as he and Cortez goes over to their table. "Fancy seeing you here."
"Likewise. Were you looking for us?" Akira looked up to the rabbit.
"Well, we were planning to come look for you and Manic." The rabbit says with him and Cortez taking a seat at the table. "Though, we were just coming here to have a sit-in when we learned about it."
"It does save the trouble of choosing a specific place to meet up ahead of time." Manic eyes one of his saviours.
"He a friend of yours?" Johnny asks Akira, gesturing over to Little John.
"Manic's friend. We've only just been introduced today." Akira replies. "His name's Little John."
He then turns to Little John, gesturing to Johnny and Cortez; "This is Johnny and Cortez. They helped us out yesterday."
"How do you do?" Johnny greeted the stout hedgehog.
"Pretty well myself. Oh and thanks for helping my homies out yesterday." Little John nodded
"You're welcome." Johnny whispers to Akira. "Does he know about yesterday?"
"He does but I think you can trust him." Akira whispered back.
"Right."
"Little John? Just like the Robin Hood character?" Cortez softly chuckles at hearing the name. "Would you happen to know a Marian by any chance?"
"I don't know any Marians. If I did, she'd be reminding Manic to tidy after himself more often." Little John joked lightheartedly.
"I try to keep the hideout as tidy as I can." Manic reminded him.
"When you're not feeling lazy." Little John then turns to Johnny. "So, what do you and Cortez usually do in the other place?"
"We'd normally explore the Palaces to try and learn more about the other reality. Basically explorers." Johnny replied vaguely. "I'm only telling you about this because you're in the know."
"Do you ever take anything from those Palaces?"
"Nope. Not really our priority."
"You're telling me that you have never looted the Palaces for their riches?"
"We'd be more focused on trying to uncover the mysteries of the other world than we are looting it." Cortez told him, Johnny letting him know that Little John knows of the Metaverse. "Plus we're usually trying to avoid setting off the security of the Palaces and not dealing with the Shadows that lurks in them. Don't know why you're asking about it."
"Well, me and Manic are thinking of going back to Anton's Palace to investigate it ourselves." Akira spoke up. "We want to know what's going on in there and learn what secrets it holds."
"Hang on and nothing against you Manic but you two barely escaped back there before we arrived." Johnny said, waving a hand and making a point. "Akira. You've got the means of fighting the Shadows while your friend here doesn't and I'm not sure if we're willing to bring him along when there's a high risk factor involved with the Palace."
"Maybe so..." Akira nodded as he saw Johnny's point before countering it with a follow up statement; "However, neither of us knows Anton himself too well nor have any insight on him. All except Manic and Little John here whom would be familiar with the guy."
"There's logic in what he's saying here." O.V.I spoke up from Johnny's inside jacket pocket as the rabbit pulls out the phone-like device. "We've ran into brick walls in the past because we didn't have the means of safely progressing through the Palaces at certain points nor having the manpower to deal with some of the obstacles. We can only uncover so much on our own without some help."
"What's that?" Little John asks, pointing to the device.
"Our Metaverse Navigator." Cortez replied, Johnny showing O.V.I to him before putting him away. "He does analysis on the Shadow, provide information regarding the Metaverse that we don't know of, performs scans and etc. Even helps us out in the real world."
"Well, I just help whenever I can..." O.V.I said in a bashful tone. "You lot helps me obtain more knowledge on the Metaverse than I'd be able to on my own."
"You guys need us more than you know." Manic told the other Persona users. "We know Anton pretty damn well since we've dealt with him in the past, even when we weren't trying to."
"I don't know about bringing the both of you along..." Johnny said with uncertainty in his voice.
"I'm not going." Little John clarified. "Don't think I'd do too well there but I can supply you guys with items before you go."
"Really?"
"Uh-huh."
"We have been meaning to replenish our supplies for a while now." Cortez said to Johnny. "We were lucky yesterday that we didn't run into too many obstructions nor run into any powerful Shadows along the way at Anton's Palace with our low supplies. Also having Manic along might help us out when we go back to the Palace."
"I suppose we could bring him along..." Johnny looked back to Manic. "But you'll have to stick close with us."
"I'll protect him." Akira offered.
"I can protect myself." Manic stated. "I'm tough."
"These Shadows are tougher than what you're accustomed to in the real world and that's when they're wearing the masks." Johnny said to Manic. "Without a Persona or outfit to protect you in the Metaverse, they could easily overpower you if they decide to go for you. Unless you got a weapon to fight back against them, you'll need Akira's protection if you don't want to get killed by a hostile Shadow."
Manic pulled off a pair of nunchuks and showed them off. "I know how to use these well."
"You'll need a ranged weapon as well." Johnny noted as Jeck arrived with his' and Cortez's orders.
"I mean, I have the means of obtaining some..."
"You don't have to bring real weapons along." Cortez noted. "Just ones that are realistic enough for the Shadows to think they are real."
"How does that work?" Little John asks.
"Cognition. If a prop appears to be real enough to the Shadow or to the Palace Ruler, they'll think it's real unless they're able to tell them apart from the real deal and that includes Anton himself." Johnny answered. "Those wanted posters of Manic and Akira may exist because Anton's cognition views both of them as the wrongful party after seeing both of them yesterday."
"Shadow Anton doesn't have a clue on who I am because the real Anton doesn't know either." Akira discloses his take. "I've only just moved to here three days ago and unless he's that well-connected, he wouldn't have a clue on my existence until yesterday. His cognition must have shifted after we ran from his gang, hence the posters."
"Correct. The Metaverse can be affected by what goes on in the real world." O.V.I chimed in. "After you and Akira escaped from his gang prior to coming to the Metaverse, Anton would regard you as outlaws in his world for that reason."
"Oh, well in that case; I have a set of wicked airsoft guns back at the hideout." Manic mentioned. "If they'll work in the Palace, then that saves an entire trip and transaction."
"If they're close enough to the genuine article." Johnny told him.
"What about your melee weapon?" Akira asks.
"Another thing about the Metaverse is that once you awaken to your Persona, you're given a weapon as well."
"I got a rapier sword out of it but not a gun because my Persona isn't a gun user." Akira recalls. "Yet it disappears when I leave the Metaverse."
"Correct. Also, you're able to conjure both weapons without needing the props on hand as long as you remember what they're like and how they handle in your hand post-awakening." Cortez confirmed. "Although, we're still figuring out how that part works in relation to our cognitions."
"So there's still stuff about this that you haven't figured out yet?" Manic questions. "Even though you've been doing this longer than we have?"
"It's why we're exploring the Metaverse to understand how exactly it works in relation to how the real world works and everything else about it."
"I see and yet like Little John had pointed out earlier, ya haven't like picked any of those Palaces clean of any loot? I mean, there might be some valuable stuff in Anton's Palace that the people of this part of the city could use."
"Nope. A Palace's loot is never our main priority. There were mostly only two of us plus O.V.I and it's risky enough just infiltrating the Palaces by ourselves to look for intel on the Metaverse itself without stealing the loot as is. I only have Force affinity and Cortez here only has the Bless skills against the Shadows whom are weak to either or neither, forcing us to craft items like Molotov Cocktails that deals with enemies weak to fire and so on."
"And that's if we don't run into Shadows with elementals that we're weak to." Cortez adds with emphasis on elementals. "That alone is a dangerous scenario for us."
"Have you ever tried stealing loot from one?" Manic asked.
"Not very often and only those that aren't locked inside certain treasure chests."
"I see..." Manic said, a sly grin spreading across his face. "In that case, you prolly need me on this more than you think."
"We're taking you along because going into the Palace blind would be far too risky." Johnny stated firmly. "Additionally, using the Personas and casting spells with them can take energy out of us. Basically the equivalent to using up our stamina."
"Thus you try to avoid getting into fights with the Shadows as much as possible." Akira nodded, pushing his glasses up. "Energy and supplies."
"Exactly."
"Fortunately for you guys..." Little John smiled. "I can help you out on those two fronts."
"That'd be very much appreciated." Cortez nodded, looking at his food. "But we should grab a bite first..."
Gazebo Street, Geno City
Afternoon
The group barring Little John were back at the alleyway belonging to a street named Gazebo Street located near what would be considered Hooligan turf, the same alleyway that had unintentionally brought Akira and Manic to the Metaverse when the navigation app was first activated. They were standing there waiting for Little John to come with their supplies.
"...You mentioned earlier that you and Cortez have an elemental weakness." Akira asked Johnny.
"That we do based on O.V.I's analysis and battle experiences." The grey rabbit replied. "I'm weak to Gravity spells and Cortez here would be weak to Curse spells it seems."
"Well, hopefully we don't run into mummies." Manic jokes to them.
"It'll be a problem if one of us gets knocked down by the opposite elements during battle..."
"What's with the weaknesses?" Akira questioned.
"The weaknesses stems from our Personas more than it is from us." Cortez informed him. "Gravity would cancel out Force and vice versa while Curse would affect Bless and Bless affect Curse in return. Your Persona would likely have a weakness too that you'd be bearing as well."
"Oh, so it's like the type weaknesses in RPG games?" Manic asked.
"Something like that."
"I see. Well, I'll do my best to help in any way I can."
Little John would arrive to the alleyway with a red backpack.
"Got your supplies in here." The brown hedgehog said, handing the bag over to Manic. "Gun replicas, medicine, energy supplement... Basically some stuff you need for the Metaverse and it's what I could put together at the moment."
"Whatever you got for us in the bag will help us out greatly." Akira nodded in approval.
"Let me know when you get back."
"Thanks again Little John." Manic told him. "I'll see you at the hideout."
"Stay safe and be sure to bring back some souvenirs." Little John then left the alleyway, leaving the five alone.
"Ready everyone?" O.V.I asks everyone.
"Ready." Akira nodded as he gets his phone out. The other three replying the same way before Akira taps on the Metaverse App.
"Beginning navigation..."
To Be Continued...