Author's Headnote: Glad to see that people are liking this so far, so here's the next chapter.
And to answer your questions: These things, they take time. Wait until after Akechi has built a name for himself.
Remnant's Very Own Detective: The Metaverse
Goro Akechi:
Health: 100%
Spirit/Aura: 100% (Apparently these two are intertwined)
Personas:
Robin Hood
Loki
Weapons: None (It seems nothing other than my clothes and phone carried over to this world, shouldn't have let him keep my stuff).
"Semblance": Call of Chaos (Not really, since before my arrival here, I could only use it in the Metaverse)
Lien: 1720
Social Links:
Fool (Unknown): Rank 0
Magician (Unknown): Rank 0
High Priestess (Unknown): Rank 0
Emperess (Unknown): Rank 0
Emperor (Unknown): Rank 0
Hierophant (Unknown): Rank 0
Lovers (Unknown): Rank 0
Chariot (Unknown): Rank 0
Justice (Unknown): Rank 0
Hermit (Unknown): Rank 0
Wheel of Fortune (Unknown): Rank 0
Strength (Unknown): Rank 0
Hanged Man (Unknown): Rank 0
Death (Unknown): Rank 0
Temperance (Unknown): Rank 0
Devil (Unknown): Rank 0
Tower (Unknown): Rank 0
Star (Unknown): Rank 0
Moon (Unknown): Rank 0
Sun (Unknown): Rank 0
Judgement (Unknown): Rank 0
Trickster (Rival): Rank 9 (He defeated me in the last fight. Weakened, I was surrounded by a cognitive version of myself and the local security of the palace, I sacrificed myself so they could escape. I'd rather die than have Shido win.)
End of Main Character status report
Monday, August 7, 2175 - Tuesday, August 8, 2175
City of Vale, August 8, Afternoon, Subway Station
Akechi had arrived at one of the subway stations in Vale. Apparently, they're not as used as they once were because of the more frequently used Bullheads. He didn't know what they were until he looked up in the sky. Flying public transportation, some people back on Earth would have loved those... but they did exist, they were called Airplanes. But it seems these are like hybrids of Airplanes and Helicopters. Technology has developed quite differently here than in Earth.
He also did some research on this world. The name of this world is called Remnant, which has 4 main Continents and one large Island. There's Sanus, which is where Akechi is right now. There's also Anima, Solitas, and one called "The Grimmlands". Sanus is home to two 'Kingdoms', one is Vale, the other is Vacuo. Anima and Solitas are home to one kingdom each, Mistral and Atlas respectively. Atlas is interesting since it's named after the Greek God of Strength and Sky. Though, he would be just as intrigued if it was named after the god of the sun, prophecy, and dodgeball: Apollo. There is also a large island named: 'Menagerie' with it's only notable settlement named "Kuo Kuana". The said settlement is a village comprised of exclusively faunas. They also have a Monarch called: "Ghira Belladonna". However, Kuo Kuana is a dependency of Vale, not part of its own kingdom.
Each of the four kingdoms are named after their capital cities respectively. Though there are settlements outside of the cities, they have roughly a 50 percent chance of disappearing. Why? Because of creatures attracted to negative emotions: the grimm. He took a double take on that once he read up about them. Souless creatures of darkness, attracted to negative emotion. From what's going on... humanity is in a forever war with these creatures for their survival. The vanguard to fend off the grimm are called 'huntsmen or huntresses' or simply 'hunters' in some dialects. So, that's what the whole huntsman thing was about. They're literally training the defenders of humanity. Akechi hypothesizes that one of the champions is on the side of the huntsmen, whilst the other on the side of the grimm. Though why would anyone side with the grimm in the first place?
Needless to say, if the grimm existed on Earth, humanity would not have lasted long.
Another thing he had taken notice to was 'dust' the apparent power source for most of the world? Magic green rock and fairy dust hybrid. It would seem too good to be true, it would allow one to use abilities that emulate magic. The dust itself has mostly a large monopoly by one company: The Schnee Dust Company. If he recalled correctly: 'Schnee' was a German company on earth that sold hunting supplies, both companies had a snowflake as their symbol. He only knows this because he overheard a conversation with a politician who visited Germany one time.
Regardless, the Schnee Dust Company basically provides most of the dust in Atlas, Vacuo, and Mistral. The ones in Vale are mostly independent. The said company is quite infamous for its severe labor conditions and practice of Slavery. Their chief Executive Officer is Jacques Schnee, who married into the family name. Guessing by Jacques' Wiki Page, Akechi can already assume he's like Kunikazu Okumura, if not worse.
There's also this violent faunas rights group (though this is likely in name only), The White Fang. Perhaps the reason he hasn't seen any faunas is because they're either with the White Fang or in Menagerie. Perhaps there's some small outliers, but he has to see them to believe them.
Lastly, people, animals, and even plants possess something called an 'aura', which is a manifestation of the soul. Akechi checked his scroll, and supposedly his aura is unlocked. This was likely done by Astaphaios in the event he needs to engage in combat outside of the metaverse. One thing he does notice is that aura and spirit are directly correlated. The strength of his aura is dependent on his spirit. Thankfully he has built up some spiritual and mental training back on earth whilst working for Shido. However, it may not be entirely necessary.
He believes he's in the loop with most of the public knowledge, nothing on the relics or any confirmation on who the champions are. Chances are they're being kept secret by the champions, so there's no doubt a conspiracy going on.
He opens up his scroll and opens the Metaverse app. He had turned off his phone because he doesn't need it right now. The search history has been wiped, no doubt. He does have an idea to where to go, however.
"Welcome to the Metanav, where would you like to go?" The Metanav spoke.
"Mementos." Akechi said.
"Now Traveling to Mementos. Please remain patient."
He feels reality distorting around him, this is normal as this happens regularly as he travels to the Metaverse.
Metaverse Vale, August 8, Afternoon, Mementos Entrance
"You have now arrived at Mementos."
Akechi has entered the Metaverse in Remnant. At first glance, it doesn't look that different from the Metaverse on Earth, except there's some differences. The sky in Earth's Metaverse is red, whilst the sky here is rainbow colored.
He appears in an outfit different from his 'Prince' and 'Black Mask' outfits. If anything, the two of them combined into one outfit. Resembling some sort of dark figure of justice. It has the base of the 'prince' for sure. However, the shoulder pads and the lower collar are from the 'black mask' outfit. However, unlike the black mask outfit. The collar only ends at his neck and doesn't extend from there. Along with the black colored, tattered cape. The main outfit itself is black. Though, some things are different. For example, the boots and gloves do not resemble either the 'prince' or 'black mask' outfit. But they rather do resemble modern designed boots and gloves with minor metallic plating on them. Though, the mask he wears only covers his eyes, like the 'prince' outfit. But it's design more so fits with the 'black mask' design. The belt on the outfit resembles the 'prince' outfit, though without the 'A' belt buckle, rather one that is seen on the belts on the 'black mask' outfit. The design on the torso resembles the embroidery on the 'prince outfit', though instead of being embroidery, they're simply dark red lines in the same design as the 'prince' outfit's embroidery.
This is unusual, as he never saw himself wearing this outfit until just now? Did his two outfits merge? Hold on, he's gonna try swapping them out. He snaps his fingers and poof, his normal 'black mask' outfit appeared. He snapped it again and 'poof', his 'prince' outfit appeared. And then again, the new outfit. This is quite peculiar. He's never had this outfit before, but why now? Regardless, he's going to call that outfit the 'dark huntsman' outfit, regarding the origin of this new outfit. He'll stay in it for now, but for now he should investigate Mementos.
Just as he thought, Mementos is in the Subway. Mementos is strange as it has multiple entrances, hypothetically any subway station would be a mementos entrance. What stood out though is that the Mementos here looks different, for one. The Earth Mementos had red, veiny like tendrils sticking out with some bones. Resembling something demonic. But here, Mementos has normal tree branches sticking out from the subway, some of them even have rainbow colored maple leaves sticking out of them. This is quite odd. But given this is another world, no doubt the Mementos on Remnant would be far different than the one on Earth.
However, it seems he's unable to enter Mementos as the entrance is blocked out by thick tree vines. His first instinct? He summons Loki to cut the vines, but they just won't even budge. If this is like the Mementos on Earth, it would likely mean he can't enter the palace of the collective unconscious because to the eyes of the public, he doesn't exist. Therefore, he remains outside.
New Objective: Find a Way for Mementos to Open
Theory: If he can prove to Remnant his existence, he would be able to access Mementos. For that, he would have to go do some detective work.
He uses the Metaverse to leave Mementos for now, reality begins to lose its distortion as he leaves the metaverse. He's just glad he hasn't met a Cosmic Horror of unknown origin while he was briefly in the Metaverse. Seriously, what's it with that world and bringing about strange creatures that take the form of talking animals in the real world? First, he saw a talking owl, then a talking cat, and Akechi swore he saw a talking bear once. He's not crazy (Okay, maybe he is but he's right about the Cosmic Horrors!). Akechi has no idea what those things really are, and he's not sure if he wants to find out.
City of Vale, August 8, Afternoon, Commercial District Subway Station
"You have now returned to the real world, thank you for your hard work."
He didn't do anything, though. Normally one would feel tired after going to the Metaverse, but he was only there for like less than five minutes and literally didn't do anything.
As predicted, he was back in his regular outfit. Given how different mementos is here, no doubt the shadows are different too. The collective unconscious is a bit more flowery than the one on Earth. He's not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, or a neutral thing. He'd have to enter Mementos to see for himself. But for now he needs to find out how to establish the 'Detective Prince' in Remnant out of nothing.
He overhears a conversation between two police officers on patrol.
"Did you figure out what happened to those muggers?" the first officer asked.
"No, but I can obviously rule out Torchwick. The methods look like they belonged to a petty criminal." the second officer stated.
"Eh, I wouldn't rule it out. The guy himself may be sly, but his little henchman is ruthless."
"Oh ya, what was her name? I think she was named after a flavor of Ice Cream."
"You're making me hungry. How about we grab some Creame Cookie Ice Cream?"
"No thanks, how about we grab some Mint Coco, instead?"
"Y'know what? I think I'm in the mood for some Neopolitan."
"That sounds good. Though, why did you say it like that? It's pronounced Neapolitan."
"I don't know, anyways. Let's get some of that Ice cream!"
"I'm right with you."
The two police officers have left to go get ice cream, obliviously giving out possible names for the Ice Cream named henchman could have. They were talking about a serious topic earlier and instantly diverted to ice cream. What are the hiring requirements for police in Vale? Obviously, the standards are low, from the sound of it. But he shouldn't lecture on about the competence of the police force. He's going to have to work with them in the future... no matter how dumb they may actually be.
Akechi opened up the metanav again.
"Welcome to the Metanav, where would you like to go?"
"Search."
"Please enter Candidate."
Obviously, he should enter Roman Torchwick's name, taking down the crime lord himself would no doubt give him celebrity status.
"Roman Torchwick."
"Candidate not found."
Wait what? He doesn't have a palace; his desires are not that distorted? So, he genuinely wants to do crime for a living? Well, that's actually a first for Akechi. He's not even mad, he's actually quite impressed that a criminal's heart isn't distorted, no matter how malevolent they may be. Guess some people are just born evil. Well, that's likely gonna make things harder for him if he wants to take down Roman Torchwick. But perhaps he doesn't have to take down the man himself, he does have a rather infamous henchman. Perhaps he should enter that name instead. He heard some very name like ice cream flavors from the police officers, it's a stretch but he could enter them to see if that's a result.
"Creame Cookie."
"Candidate Not Found."
Well, expected. He's gonna get it wrong. After all, he's not sure which one is the right name.
"Mint Coco."
"Candidate Not Found."
Okay, they say third time's the charm. Though, he highly doubts 'Neopolitan' is an actual name. Who names their kid like that, a name like that is basically being asked to get bullied.
Akechi sighed... "Neopolitan."
"Candidate Found."
So... this 'Neopolitan' has a palace? Quite interesting. However, he literally doesn't know anything about her so he should likely cancel the search until he learns more about them.
"Cancel."
"Navigation canceled. Have a nice day."
If he is to apprehend them and/or Roman Torchwick, the secrets possibly lie in that palace. To access a palace, one must know three things. Obviously, the Candidate: the owner of the palace, the location: where the palace is located, and finally the distortion: how the owner sees the location as. So, he has the name... he just needs the location and the distortion. And for that, is where the investigation starts.
Despite staging crimes for him to 'solve', Akechi is quite capable of doing authentic detective work, it's actually how he discovered the palaces of Shido's opposition, after all. Even then, being able to do actual detective work helped his 'Detective Prince' charade back on Earth. Any critic can spot a fake, but being that he has the capabilities, he's able to pull it off as if he's a real detective prince. He could have taken down Junya Kaneshiro's smuggling operation the old-fashioned way, but Shido needed the mafia money for his prime ministerial campaign.
So... Now comes the investigation.
New Objective: Learn more about Neopolitan
Obviously, the first thing he does is browse the web on the person... all the results come up for Neapolitan Ice cream. And he means ALL OF THEM. He then specifies 'Roman Torchwick's sidekick'. Turns out it just redirects to the man himself. GOD DAMNIT! The Web is not very helpful. So, he just has to ask around. He first asks the man nearby.
"Excuse me, sir. Do you know anything about 'Neopolitan'?" Akechi asked.
"The Ice cream? I heard it's quite good." the man answered.
Well, it seems pointless asking the common man about lesser-known criminals. Everyone knows about Roman Torchwick, the sidekick is a bit harder. Hypothesis: Criminals know about criminals. He browses the map on his scroll, he figures the downtown might be a good place to investigate Neopolitan. And going by this theory, he decides to head downtown. He does so through the subway, being that he's already there. Being how large Vale is. Taking the train is quite a must, quite like Tokyo.
City of Vale, August 8, Afternoon, Downtown
Vale's downtown is hypothetically where the less reputable members of society dwell. As most downtowns across urban areas. Must be some sort of unspoken rule. Being here asking questions on Neopolitan is risky considering that they may find out. However, he really doesn't have any leads on them. The design of the buildings he see are quite similar to the other ones. The whole area is urban. Though, no surprising. He did lose 100 Lien from taking the Subway, so he should really find some more money.
However, he's here to investigate Neopolitan, and anything that may reveal where the palace is and what they see it as. Directly asking the person is never a good idea. Considering that the individual's methods are identical to the fiasco Akechi caused by enforcing psychosis on one of the muggers, direct confrontation would be suicidal. Especially considering he's unarmed and can't exactly manifest his persona outside of the metaverse. So he starts his investigation near the building with two rugged individuals hanging around nearby. Akechi has gone to ask them a couple of questions.
"Excuse me, do you know anything about 'Neopolitan'?" Akechi asked.
"Don't ask questions you aren't gonna live knowin' the answers to." the thug said.
"Ya, we ain't rats." the second thug said.
Akechi, not to happy about going on a wild goose chase finding Roman Torchwick's infamous henchman decides to keep his cool. If he makes everyone who irritates him goes berserk, he's going to get the attention he doesn't want. So, what does he do? He checks for other people to ask. He sees a man with a rat's tail... yep, faunas are real. That's enough proof. Especially considering that it's moving. He's a rat, so he may squeak out some information he wants. He went to ask the rat faunas.
"Excuse me, sir. Do you know anything about 'Neopolitan'?" Akechi asked.
"What? You think I'm a snitch just cause I'm a rat faunas?" the fauans accused, sounded offended.
"Yes. Which is exactly why I'm asking you."
"Aren't you bold, Pretty boy? Let's see how your face is after I give it a black and blue makeover." the rat faunas said, preparing to punch Akechi.
Akechi briefly dodged the attack and drove the rat faunas berserk with his power. The rat faunas, now under a violent psychosis went to attack the two thugs nearby as Akechi quietly walked away. He used it on the rat faunas and not the thugs because the blame can be shifted to faunas stereotypes without raising a hint of suspicion. So far, he asked three people and still has no info on Neopolitan. Perhaps he should try a nightclub. That place has info on just about anyone. He does notice a place called 'The Club'. Most generic name he's ever heard for a nightclub. But it'll do.
He walks up to the nightclub to be stopped by the bouncer.
"Hold it, are ya eighteen?" the bouncer asked.
"Yes." Akechi said.
"Eh, good enough. You can enter."
Some bouncers they are. Didn't even ask for any identification. No matter, dumb bouncers are useful to sneak on by.
The Club, August 8, Afternoon, Nightclub
Mostly white, the music is awful, and the mooks around here are plain. Supposedly, this is the place to get information, based off a hunch alone. He's out of options. So, he's got to go with what he's got.
He walks up to the bar and looks at the bartender. The bartender looks slightly overweight, wearing a set of formal wear.
"You look a bit young to drink." the bartender said.
"I'm not here to drink. I'm here for questions." Akechi said.
"That'll cost you."
Akechi provided 1000 Lien.
"Alright. I can give you some information." the bartender said.
"Tell me about Neopolitan, specifically the kind of person they are. Describe their personality to me." Akechi said.
"You want to know about Neo? As a person?"
"Yes."
"That'll cost you more."
"Unfortunately, that's all the money I can afford to spend."
"Then I'll tell you 1000 Lien worth of info on her. She's a Psycho, a Villain, and she's proud of it."
"I think that will be enough."
"Pleasure doing business with ya."
Akechi had gone up and left. A Psycho and a Villain. Not much, perhaps not useful to go by at all... but the 'and she's proud of it' might hint that their distortion would have them paint themselves as the villain. He leaves the bar and heads back. He'll take some time to possibly think what the distortion might be. He still needs a location, where the palace is located. He'll figure that out tomorrow. But for now, he needs time to analyze and theorize Neopolitan's distortion and location.
City of Vale, August 8, Nighttime, Commercial District
Akechi, to save money decided to head back on foot. Unfortunately, it took a long time to do so. He continued to walk to the hotel to rest for another night. Light pollution remains a thing here. Though one thing he had noticed was the moon. It was shattered... what even happened? What are the tidal waves even like? Either way, it seems wise to avoid the beach. No doubt a shattered moon would have an impact on the tides on Remnant. But he does admit, there is some charm to the shattered moon.
He stopped to look at the moon. The sight of the moon distracted him, so he didn't notice a feminine figure walked up to his right and stood next to him.
"Looking at the moon, aren't you?" the woman asked.
Akechi looked to his right and saw a woman, wearing a scarlet dress with golden linings and heels. Her hair was black and eyes are golden. She was also wearing light makeup.
"You look like you're heading out to a date." Akechi commented.
"A date with Destiny, perhaps. But I always dress to impress." the woman said.
"Destiny?"
"Don't you believe in Destiny?"
"You seem quite... committed to having a pre-determined future."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Destiny, Fate, Purpose... it all basically means that we're nothing more than cogs in a machine designated to perform a single task and then get thrown away once we're done."
"That's a cynical way to look at things."
"I have no reason to look on the bright side."
"You were looking at the moon earlier."
"It just... fascinated me."
"Fascinated... by the moon? Interesting. Well, I'd best be off. Wouldn't want to be late for my 'date' after all." the woman said, leaving.
Destiny? Pah. He may have been sent here by a god, but it was by his own consent he did so. Humans, Faunas, Cosmic Horrors of unknown origin, all responsible for their own actions. That poor woman is so deluded she's gonna end up getting disappointed. But that's none of Akechi's concern, for now he'll just head back to the hotel and sleep for the rest of the night.
Author's Footnote: I would have introduced Neo's Palace in this chapter, but I'm not gonna rush it. I also had Akechi do some brief detective work, investigating what kind of person Neo is... albeit he turned up with barely anything and lost a thousand Lien. Things aren't gonna look so good for him so far.
I also decided that different world, different mementos. Seemingly, Earth Mementos and Remnant Mementos is functionally identical to one another. However, Remnant Mementos as I hinted does more than Earth Mementos. I'll let you find out what that might be.
Aura and Spirit are intertwined, yet separate. Aura is active in the real world, but not in the Metaverse. Whilst Personas are active in the Metaverse, but not in the real world. Easy to understand, right?
See you next chapter.