Chapter 2: Meeting Hope

You have successfully returned from the Jail. Welcome Back.

"Look's like we are back in the real world. But what did EMMA mean by a 'Jail'?" Akechi comments as the group finds themselves next to the green train car once again. The sun had started to dip down, turning the sky a cooling colour as lights switched on in the surrounding buildings. "It's almost night? Have we really been in there for that long?"

"It didn't feel like it." Mishima remarks, glancing around before noticing they were one head short. "Hey, where did Sophia go?" The group looked around, trying to see where the little red head went off to. Until a blip from Ren's phone draws all eyes to it as he picks it out of his pocket.

"I'm right here." Sophia's voice echoes from Ren's phone as the image on the screen quickly changes. Showing the red haired girl hovering in what looked to be a blue space filled with screens.

"Sophia's… in Ren's phone?" Ryuji asks, his brain bluescreening for a moment as Akechi narrows his eyes.

"Is she an A.I.?" He mutters to himself as Sophia gazes at the four. Her wide eyes filled with curiosity.

"Oh, did you change your outfits? That was fast." She asks, tilting her head cutely.

"Is that…really you, Sophia?" Morgana asks, leaning over Ren's shoulder to get a better look.

"It is me. But who are you?"

"I'm still Mona. This is how I look like in the real world. A regular old house cat." Morgana replies, his head dropping a little as Ren scratches behind his ear.

"You're not regular or old, Morgana…" He tells him, even as Sophia's eyes widen in surprise.

"Mona? You are Mona? But… you are also called Morgana? And you really aren't a raccoon…" Sophia seemed to suddenly deflate when she said that, much to Morgana's dismay, even as Ryuji scratched the back of his head.

"So…how did she even get into Ren's phone?"

"How did I enter 'Ren's' phone? It is because I am an A.I. And who is this 'Ren' you are talking about?"

"And my theory is correct." Akechi remarks as Ryuji takes a step back in shock. "Perhaps we should continue this conversation someplace private. And with the others as well."

"That's a good idea." Ren remarks, turning to look at Mishima. "Yuuki, think you can call everyone on the app. Just our own group chat, though. No need to get Yu or the Arisato's involved with this."

"Sure thing, Ren." Mishima replies, reaching for his phone. "Man…why do I feel like our summer plans have gone down the drain…"

"You're not the only one…" Ren replies back as the group moves for the trains. Preparing themselves for the upcoming conversation, while getting their thoughts in order.

Chatroom: Return of the Phantoms!

Outlaw: Guys. We need to gather up in LeBlanc

Outlaw: Something has happened.

Spring: What's wrong, Outlaw?

Spring: And why are you using this chat?

Fox: We have not used this chat since the fall of Maruki.

Fox: Nor is it the one with our confidants or the Shadow Operatives.

Fox: For you to type via it means something is wrong.

Skull: Wrong might be an understatement there, bro.

Panther: What do you mean?

Crow: It's best if we talk about this in Leblanc.

Crow: What we found cannot be easily talked over text.

Athena: Unfortunately I am not in Tokyo, so I will be unable to join.

Athena: However, I would appreciate an update later on.

Queen: I'll handle that, sis.

Queen: By the way, why is Joker not typing?

Crow: The problem we have found has effected Joker's phone.

Oracle: Really?

Oracle: Well, there IS something strange going on with it.

Noir: Is it a virus?

Outlaw; Nah, it's not a virus.

Outlaw: But it's not easy to text about.

Shadow: Well, Boss is here at Leblanc, so he will be joining us.

Shadow: Teach is also here as well.

Crow: Good. We need to inform our other confidants later.

Crow: This will save us some time.

Violet: Crow is in his detective mood.

Violet: This isn't good.

Oracle: I'll bring Isara as well.

Oracle: But still, why do I have a bad feeling about this?

The Thieves didn't know what to expect when Ren and the others returned to Leblanc. The cryptic nature of their texts and Ren's silence only help compound their worries. Yet when they were told what had happened to them and Akechi's current investigations, all their concerns were turned into resignation.

"The Metaverse? Again?" Kawakami asks with a groan, leaning back on her chair. "Didn't you kids already put up with enough of that all ready?"

"It has only been four months, and already you're being thrown right back into it." Sojiro agrees, shaking his head. "What did you all do to deserve this?"

"At this point, I don't even know anymore." Ren remarks, shaking his head while folding his arms.

"I had hoped to finish up with brining in the last of Shido's and Yoshiki's conspirators before the Summer break truly sits in. But it would seem that has been derailed." Akechi adds with a sigh, rubbing between his eyes.

"But still… Alica Hiiragi has a Palace in Shibuya?" Ann asks, her face heartbroken at the news. "I mean, that doesn't make any sense. Alice doesn't even act like what you have described in real life. Even if that's her shadow. Are you absolutely sure it was Shadow Alice and not a duplicate pretending to be her?"

"We are sure." Mishima replies, letting out a sigh. "It was her all right. Even got brought up to her personally. She was ordering all the shadows around her, which were all dressed like riot police officers, along with free personae. All the while, she was acting high and mighty like a queen. Honestly, she was like a female Kamoshida."

"Urgh… That's an image I don't want to see…" Shiho remarks, letting out an involuntary shake before looking back at her boyfriend. "You said you were brought before her, right Yuuki? How did she capture you?"

"We fell into an ambush after fighting our way out of an army of shadows. And no, I'm not making that up." Ren replies. "It seems the rules of this Metaverse follows the lines of hack & slash this time around."

"So one-man-army taking down scores of foes? Geeze, what's next…crossover?" Futaba remarks as Isara looks around the table.

"So, what happened after you were caught? I mean, obviously, you got away, but I'm curious as to what happened." Isara asks, rolling into the middle of the table.

"Well, we weren't taken right away." Akechi remarks, stroking his chin. "First, they attempted to 'steal our desires'. Whatever they meant by that."

"Stealing desires? Like what we did with our changes of heart?" Makoto asks, slightly concerned by the phrasing. And she wasn't alone as the other Thieves were put off by the words.

"That's right. But when they couldn't, the shadows brought us to Alice." Morgana takes over, stretching himself. "And when we were brought to her, the first thing she started trying to do was seduce us." The moment those words left his mouth, a chill went down his spine as he found Sumire's gaze suddenly focused on him with killer intent.

"Say that again…Morgana." Sumire suddenly says as she, Makoto, Ann and Shiho suddenly send the temperature of the room down by several degrees. The others look at them with concerned looks while Haru instinctively wraps her hand around Yusuke's with a tighter grip than average.

"She…tried to seduce us?" Morgana repeats, feeling very nervous all of a sudden. "And when that didn't work…she smacked Joker in the face with a cane and… then stepped on his face pinning him to the ground?" Makoto's anger made the room even colder as everyone, barring the simmering girls, shivered at the decrease in temperature.

"Somehow…this reaction doesn't surprise me." Isara remarks, turning her turret around before rolling back towards Futaba.

"Other than your encounter with Alice…" Hifumi asks cautiously, not meeting the gaze of the other girls as Kawakami and Sojiro try to calm them down. "Did you encounter anything else?"

"We did." Ren replies, hoping to distract everyone's attention as he takes out his phone and a phone stand from his desk. "We met a new ally in there."

"A new ally?" Yusuke asks, letting his hand flex a bit as Haru lets her grasp go. While shooting him a sorry look at the grip.

"Yep." Ren replies, setting the phone up and facing it to the others. "Can you join us, Sophia?" At that, Ren's phone lights up as Sophia appears on the screen. Giving the shocked team a wave as she greets them.

"Yo, Phantom Thieves."

"Wha—?"

"What is that!?"

"How—?!"

The Thieves' reactions were expected, none of them expecting Sophia to appear on the screen as she grasps her hands behind her back.

"I am Sophia. Humanities companion."

"Hold the phone!" Isara suddenly shouts, rolling up to the phone and grabbing Sophia's attention. While the Thieves just watch in stunned silence as the two interact. "Are you a sentient A.I.?! Like me!?"

"That's correct. I am. Are you also an A.I.?"

"Heck yeah, I am! This is AMAZING! Another A.I.! Like me!" Isara cheers, rolling around the table in joy. Even as Kawakami leans down to pick her up.

"Well…someone is excited." She remarks to the model tank before returning her gaze back to the phone. "So…this is Sophia?"

"This is…amazing." Haru breaths as Sophia glances around Ren's room with childlike wonder.

"Is this some sort of hideout? There are a number of Phantom Thieves to be present at the moment." Sophia then hums a little tune as she bobs in place, swaying her hands at her sides.

"She's humming?" Sumire asks with an open mouth as Makoto leans towards Ren.

"Ren... how is she so cute when we just met her?" She asks, all anger she had at Alice seemingly evaporated at seeing Sophia.

"I have no idea." He replies, shaking his head.

"Such an adorable design." Yusuke comments softly, already brining his sketch pad out and drawing an outline.

"Another A.I. that is alive. Never thought I'd see another one in my lifetime." Sojiro comments, looking between Isara and Sophia.

"We couldn't believe it ourselves when we saw her on Ren's phone." Ryuji replies, causing Sophia to look at him.

"You said 'Ren' the last time. Who is 'Ren'? All I see is Joker, Crow, Outlaw, Mona and you, Skull."

"You guys didn't tell her your real names?" Isara asks with a hint of disappointment in her voice towards the five.

"In our defence, we were out in public, and we didn't want anyone to hear Sophia say our Thief names. They ARE on the Phansite with our masks, remember. Especially after I updated it with the others after they awoke in the Kingdoms." Mishima replies. "We're not making that mistake."

"Anyway, the reason why is because Ren is my real name Sophia. Ren… Amamiya." Ren interjects, his voice hesitating on his last name for a moment, catching Sophia's gaze.

"I see. So those were codenames from before." Sophia replies, nodding her head with a smile. "Nice to meet you again, Ren. But who is everyone else?"

"Right. In all the excitement, we forgot to introduce ourselves." Makoto remarks, brushing her lap. "Nice to meet you, Sophia. My name is Makoto Nijima."

"My name is Haru Okumura. We are both college students, but we still aim to make time to be with everyone here."

"Name's Ann Takamaki. I'm a third year at Shujin Academy alongside Ren, who is the student council president in the same year, and a few others here. I also do some modelling too."

"My name is Yusuke Kitagawa. I continuously strive to master the arts as we know them."

"I'm Futaba Sakura. A second year at Shujin. Ren is my adoptive older brother, and I created Isara."

"Yep! That's me! Isara at your service!"

"My name is Hifumi Togo. And I am Ren and Futaba's older sister by adoption." A similar hesitation left Hifumi's lips as she said her last name. Something that went under the radar for the others.

"Shiho Suzui. Just like Ann, I also go to Shujin in third year, where I'm captain of the Volleyball club."

"Yuuki Mishima. Also, a third year Shujin student and a member of the student council."

"I'm Sumire Yoshizawa. While I also go to Shujin as a second year like Futaba, I'm also training to be a gymnast Olympian."

"Ryuji Sakamoto. Also on the student council as a third year at Shujin."

"I'm still surprised you managed to become a member…" Morgana quips before shaking his head. "Anyway, I'm Morgana."

"Goro Akechi. Detective, at your service."

"Very smooth there, Goro." Kawakami remarks with a grin before turning her attention to Sophia. "My name is Sadayo Kawakami. And I am the Principal at Shujin Academy."

"An' a vast improvement over the last one for sure." Ryuji remarks, earning a grin from Kawakami as Sojiro clears his throat.

"I am Sojiro Sakura. The adoptive father of Ren, Futaba and Hifumi. And I would like to offer my thanks for helping Ren and the others escape that place."

"Makoto, Haru, Ann, Yusuke, Futaba, Isara, Hifumi, Shiho, Yuuki, Sumire, Ryuji, Goro, Kawakami, Sojiro and Morgana. I'll remember that." Sophia responds with a head nod, glancing around at everyone. "You all have a really big group."

"This isn't even all of us. But the rest of us are scattered over Japan." Ryuji remarks, scratching the back of his head. "We'll introduce you to them later."

"Still, I can't believe that another advance A.I. like Isara is around. You'd think whoever created you would have gone public." Futaba remarks, placing a hand on her chin. "Do you know who created you or whay you were in the Metaverse?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't remember anything…" Sophia remarks, looking down at her 'floor' with a distressed look. "All I can remember is waking up to see Ren finding me."

"Oh, you poor thing…" Makoto remarks sadly. Isara glances at Sophia before turning her turret to look at Futaba.

"Do you think you could recover her memory?"

"Maybe." Futaba replies, hand on her chin. "But it may be tough. Or even impossible. But I could still take a look and try to restore it."

"It is impossible. I've already tried every possible outcome since waking up." Sophia replies, taking the wind out of Isara and Futaba. "There is only one thing I can recall, and that is the command I was issued after initialisation. 'Be humanity's companion'. That is the only command I can remember."

"That's too sad…" Ren remarks, placing a hand on his chin. "But don't let it bother you too much, Sophia. Even if you can't remember anything, that means you can still make new memories. And one of us was in the same situation as you."

"Yeah." Morgana quips, jumping onto the table and walking up to the phone. "I was the same as you once, Sophia. But then I met these guys and made lots of new memories, even after I got my old ones back. So instead of looking at it as a bad thing, look on the bright side."

"I see… Thank you." Sophia replies, her mood slightly brighter, but a hint of sadness can still be seen.

"While we all may have plenty of questions to ask Sophia, there is a more pressing issue at hand." Akechi interjects, folding his hands on his lap. "The Metaverse and the Change of Heart pandemic."

"Igor and Lavenza got in contact with me last night, and I had planned on telling everyone later today. Before we got swept up into the Metaverse anyway." Ren remarks, folding his arms in irritation. "Why can't things ever go to plan for once…"

"There was no doubt that was the cognitive world. But…something was out of place, and I don't mean how are fighting style is there." Morgana comments, sitting down at the table. "Real humans were being attacked by the shadows."

"Real humans? Do you mean like what Minato told us about Tartarus? Or Yu with the TV world?" Haru asks, placing a hand on her cheek. "But, that would mean they have the Navigator App, but that vanished when we defeated Yaldabaoth and Nyarlathotep. So, how did they get it?"

"Actually, we have it on our phones right this moment." Ren replies, folding his hands. "EMMA."

"What!? EMMA is the Meta-Nav!?" Futaba shouts as everyone goes wide-eyed at the news.

"Yeah. Somehow, EMMA works just like it. And how we entered it was just as simple."

"All Ren did was put in Alice's Keyword, and then we found ourselves in her Palace." Mishima remarks, shivering. "I felt ice go down my spine when it said, 'Beginning Navigation'."

"But that means EMMA is dangerous!" Shiho remarks.

"But unlike the Meta-Nav, we can uninstall it." Futaba replies. "It never came back when I uninstalled it once. So it doesn't have Re-Raise on it."

"That's reassuring." Kawakami remarks. "And I'm glad I haven't downloaded it yet."

"Same here. Always had a bad feeling about that app." Sojiro admits, folding his arms.

"There's one more thing that has been troubling me though…" Morgana remarks, drawing all eyes. Including Sophia's. "When we got back from the Palace, EMMA referred to it as a 'Jail'."

"Jail?" Yusuke asks, pausing in his sketch. "That is certainly darker than the other names we have encountered."

"That's why we want you guys to come with us and check it out." Ren asks the team. "We want to scope it out before we head off on our trip, but I understand if you guys are tired of dealing with the Metaverse. I know I am."

"And even if we were, we would still go with you." Makoto remarks, brushing her hair back. "After all, this is what we do."

"I'm also having a hard time buying Alice is a Palace Ruler… I need to see it with my own eyes." Ann remarks, leaning forward. Sojiro and Kawakami glance at each other before nodding their heads at once.

"In that case, we'll go with you." Sojiro informs them, gathering their shocked attention.

"Are you sure?" Haru asks, surprised. "We don't want to interrupt your business."

"It's been slow anyway. And Toshiro and Tsuchiya haven't been here for a while. I can afford to close the shop for a few days." He gives them a smile as he folds his arms. "I'm not sitting this one out."

"And neither will I." Kawakami tells them as she stands up. "I may be the Principal, but I can afford to take a few days off from school. All the busy work that needed to be done has already been taken care of, so I have some free time."

"But is it even safe to enter?" Makoto asks with a concerned glance. "After all, when you guys first entered, you were ambushed and captured. What if the same thing happens to us when we enter?"

"There were no enemies in the vicinity when we left." Sophia suddenly remarks, drawing the attention of all. "It is fine to enter and exit from there."

"Well, that explains that." Ren remarks, glancing around the room. "It's getting late, so we'll check out the place tomorrow and figure out where to go from there. We'll meet at the connecting bridge in Shibuya, where we had our second hideout initially before settling here."

"That was in the original timeline, right?" Shiho asks, shaking her head. "I don't think I'll understand why you guys chose that place."

"Timeline?" Sophia asks, tilting her head as Makoto picks up the phone.

"Nothing you need to worry about, sweety."

"Yeah. Nothing at all." Ren quickly adds as the Thieves glance around at each other. Leaving any comments about the two at the back of their minds. Until Yusuke suddenly gasps in realisation.

"What's wrong, Yusuke-senpai?" Sumire asks, seeing the wide eyes on Yusuke's face as he stands up.

"What about our life-changing Kyoto excursion? Our barbeque extravaganza?" He asks in a hurt voice as though his favourite painting brush had been taken from him.

"We may have to postpone it…" Haru gently tells him. Yusuke breathes in a sharp gust of air as he closes his eyes. Clenching his hands at his side, he lets the words bounce around in his head. Before he throws his hand out to the side, opening his eyes in narrow rage.

"Dammed Metaverse! I vow to slice it to ribbons!"

"That's the same line you used when Isara was disfigured by Marie…" Futaba deadpans.

"Yeah… try something new Inari…" Isara adds with a disappointed shake of her turret.

"All these mysteries just seem to keep piling up. And Sophia is at the top of that list…" Morgana interjects as Yusuke sits back down.

"Says the talking cat." Isara and Sophia say at the same time, earning chuckles out of everyone in the room.

"Fait point…" Morgana conceives as Sophia suddenly lets out a sad sigh. "What's wrong, Sophia?"

"It's just… I am humanity's companion. But I have no memories of anything. How can I be helpful without any knowledge? If I am not helpful, then I am useless."

"No one is useless, Sophia." Makoto interjects, keeping her gaze on Sophia. "No matter what, we all have something that we can bring to the table. So don't let those thoughts drag you down. Believe me, I know how those thoughts eat away at you."

"You can still remember what it is you want to be. That counts for something, right?" Ren asks gently. Sophia looks back at him, nodding her head as a small smile graces her face.

"Right. I think it means something important."

"Then that's all that matters. You can find other ways than forgotten memories to be a good companion. Actively helping doesn't necessarily have to be one of them. Even just talking and giving ideas can be helpful." Ren tells her, thinking back to how he helped his confidant by mainly just talking things through. Action was needed sometimes, but all he did was just talk and listen.

"When you put it like that, Ren, I guess you just need to understand the human heart." Shiho surmises, catching the young A.I.'s attention.

"Hearts?"

"Understanding a person's emotions. Like knowing when to speak up or give them space." Shiho expands.

"How about this Sophia." Ren interjects, grabbing the young A.I.s attention. "If you join up with us, we can help teach you how to understand the heart. In return, you help us in the Metaverse. You proved yourself to be pretty strong when you helped us escape. Is that okay with you?" Sophia blinks for a moment before smiling back and nodding at Ren.

"Okay. That is a decent deal. Especially since it should help me become a better companion for humanity." Ren smiles back at Sophia just as his vision grows dark and all motion stops. Accompanied by Lavenza's voice echoing within his mind.

I am thou, thou art I…

Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion

That breaketh thy chain of captivity.

With the birth of the Hope Persona,

I have obtained the winds of blessing that

Shall lead to freedom and new power…

"Huh. How about that." Ren comments, drawing all eyes to him as time begins to move again.

"What's up, Ren? Did you form a new bond?" Morgana asks, seeing the glint in Ren's eyes. Ren nods his head as he turns back to Sophia with a grin.

"Yeah. The Hope Arcana." Sophia tilts her head in confusion as the Thieves look around at each other. Surprised that she had such an arcana tied to her.

"Hope Arcana?" Sophia asks, tilting her head in confusion.

"We'll tell you later, Sophia." Ann replies, shaking her head. Something that was easily agreed upon as the group got ready to disperse.

While outside, a figure stood in the shadows. Listening to the muffled conversations coming from the window. Others would have given up at hearing the incoherent sounds, yet Hasegawa was nothing if not determined. Something that paid off when one of them opened the window by a tiny bit to let air in.

Allowing him to hear the entire conversation.

"Interesting…" He quietly remarks before sneaking away. "Now… how to go about this…" Not noticing the procession of people leaving the café. One of them is holding onto a glowing phone and tank model in her hands.

"Daaaaamn… So that's it…."

"How's it going sis?" Isara asks from her pot next to Futaba's bed. "Managed to crack Sophia's code? I'm still impressed you managed to convince Ren to give you her."

"So am I, Isara. But for Sophia, all I can say so far is that her programmer is a genius, not two ways about it." Futaba replies, turning around to look at Isara. "You can figure a person out by their code, with you being an obvious example since you are basically me. Their habits, thought processes, and especially their personalities are all there."

"Letting you see them like checking a person's stats in a display menu." Isara quips.

"Exactly! But Sophia's code is so advance that even I can't take it all in instantly. I'm going to need days, maybe even weeks or months, to understand it all."

"Just like how long it took you to understand how complicated I got."

"Does that mean I'm impressive?" Sophia chimes from Ren's phone, still sitting in its holder next to Futaba's screen.

"Yeah, you're impressive!" Futaba exclaims, turning in her chair. "You like Isara! A super A.I.! If you ever went public, people would be calling EMMA an old hat!"

"Old hat?" Sophia asks, tilting her head.

"It's a slang term, Sophia. Basically, whenever something becomes unpopular after a long time of popularity, it becomes an old hat. It's an older saying, but it checks out." Isara explains to Sophia, catching the young girl's attention.

"I see. Thank you, big sister Isara. You are both very knowledgeable."

"B-B-B-BIG SISTER!?" Isara splutters as Futaba laughs at the model tank.

"Oh. Was that bad?" Sophia asks, looking very guilty at Isara.

"Nonono! I just wasn't expecting it was all…" Isara immediately responds before turning her turret around. "I kind of liked it, honestly…" She mumbles to herself as Futaba laughs again.

"Oh, that was good!" She says, wiping away a tear from her eye before turning back to Sophia. "Anyway, I tried looking for your creator's name or a company, but I found nothing yet. Not even a signature…" Sophia looks at the floor of her space, a sad expression reading her eyes as Futaba quickly backpedals. "But I'm still going to keep at it! I'm not done yet after all."

"Okay… By the way, Futaba. Why did Ren and Hifumi say their last names slowly? Like they were unsure about them?" Futaba glances at Sophia, seeing her wide blue eyes before letting out a nervous hum.

"I don't know…" She says, glancing away before standing up. "Anyway, it's getting late. Don't want to keep Sojiro or Hifumi up."

"Okay. Good night Futaba. Isara."

"G'night!"/"G'night!" The two respond as Futaba flops onto her bed and Isara powers down. While Sophia began to power down herself, she couldn't help but wonder.

Why did Ren and Hifumi hesitate to say their last names?