Chapter 26: Detour Ahead

Maruki didn't waste any time getting underway. As he drove, they could see the TVs and radios piled higher and higher, filling up all the empty spaces between houses and starting to spill into the road. Goro had the uncomfortable feeling that they were getting out just in time. Any more of this, and even Jose would have a hard time bending reality enough to let them out.

In the close quarters, Goro put an arm around Ren, who settled on his shoulder and closed his eyes.

Sae looked at the dashboard clock and clicked her tongue. "We'll still be an hour out from Tokyo when the press conference starts. I was hoping to be back in time, but…."

"In that case, could we take a rest stop somewhere?" Takamaki suggested.

"Good idea," said Goro, jumping in before Sae could object. "We don't need to loiter, but we do need a break. Maruki, got that?"

Maruki nodded absently. "When the radio works."

They all looked at the radio, as if it was going to speak to them, then back at Maruki.

He turned up the volume and twiddled the tuner. "Nothing but static. I don't know for sure if this means we're still within Souzencho's field of influence, but if so…we shouldn't stop here."

"That seems prudent," Goro agreed. "Everyone, get comfy. We might not get a chance to stretch our legs for a while."

The idea that Souzencho's warped reality might have a boundary sparked Goro's memory; he recalled something Jose had said earlier, when they were in the Velvet Room. "Jose, is this mess all a reflection of the cognitions nearby?"

Jose got the blank look that meant he was thinking. "Yes. Cognition is only supposed to affect Mementos and other collective unconscious spaces, but it seems to have gotten loose somehow."

"Myojo is doing this. Gotta be," said Takamaki. "Ugh, how many times are we going to have to fight off something like this?"

"Until humans are enlightened enough to stop falling for it?" Ren suggested.

"So…never," said Goro.

Everyone started talking at once. Goro shouted over them to quiet them. We need one of those conch shells, he thought. "Listen up, Brats," he said when he had their attention, "There's time to get to everybody's questions, but I'm the leader — I go first."

He waited a beat to see if anybody objected, but they were quiet. He nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Morgana, you're the one who set up the jukebox, right?"

Morgana's head bobbed. "Right. I needed to go with Jose, but I couldn't leave Ren-kun unprotected. The jukebox kept Myojo out while also serving as a puzzle to draw you in, Akechi. Pretty elegant, eh? Just what you'd expect from a master thief like me!"

Exactly what is the job description of a 'master thief,' anyway? Akechi thought, but kept it to himself.

"I made the jukebox," Jose offered. "Did you like it?"

"It was impressive," said Goro, then added with a smile, "I wouldn't mind having one for my own room…not in place of the door, though."

Jose smiled to himself and bounced a little in his seat.

"Next question: what is Myojo?"

Morgana answered, "I think it's the same kind of entity as Azathoth. Or, if we're unlucky, it may even be as powerful as Yaldabaoth."

"Are those words?" said Sae, annoyed.

"They're gods," said Ren.

Sae's mouth snapped shut with a click.

"Ren, we almost died fighting Azathoth. You're saying you fought something worse?" Goro asked.

"It's kind of hard to judge when they're that powerful, but yeah. Yaldabaoth was the size of a skyscraper. It took all of us working together even to weaken it."

"All of you, or four at a time like usual?"

"All at once."

A curse popped into Goro's head so emphatically that Jose looked at him in shock.

"Ren used Satanael in that fight — that big kaiju thing. Would that work again?" Takamaki asked Morgana.

Morgana sighed heavily. "I'm not sure. That's what I was trying to find out from Igor —"

"Igor? Where is he?" Ren broke in.

Morgana opened his mouth to answer, but all that came out was the sound of rocks falling. He snapped his mouth shut, and the sound stopped.

"Sorry. I can't say." Morgana thought for a moment. "Let me put it this way. Say you brought home some sushi and put it in the fridge next to the curry leftovers…and the curry taste got onto the sushi and ruined the flavor…."

Goro frowned. "Are we the sushi in this analogy? And these powerful entities that keep waltzing in here and trying to take over are the curry?"

"Right, you got it. Glad you catch on so fast." Morgana added thoughtfully, "The sushi was never supposed to be able to imagine things into being, you know. The realms of reality, imagination, and unconscious are supposed to stay mostly separate. They influence each other, but only indirectly."

In the back row of seats, Togo, Takamaki, and Suzui exchanged confused looks but stayed quiet.

Goro ventured, "Are you saying someone is putting this nasty curry into the fridge? Or is it just an unfortunate coincidence?"

"Hey, the curry wouldn't be nasty if it was put away properly!" Ren objected.

Goro was about to argue about just whomst was responsible for the last batch of leftovers, but he reeled himself in. "Anyway, is Igor planning to protect the sushi somehow, or is the sushi on its own here?"

"He and his minions are trying to put the sushi into Tupperware so the curry can't get to it. So to speak," said Morgana.

"And putting away the leftovers is a difficult operation requiring all of their resources?" Togo asked.

"Afraid so."

"That must be a tremendously spicy curry," said Togo in reverent tones.

"Basically radioactive," Morgana agreed.

"Then we can't count on Igor's help," said Ren grimly. "At least, any more than he already is. Jose, why aren't you with Igor and Lavenza?"

Jose looked up at the ceiling. "I'm not ready," he said quietly.

Sure, I would get the trainee, Goro thought sourly, feeling too annoyed to say anything constructive.

"My version of Igor put me in prison. I bet you're a million times better than that," said Ren, reaching across Goro to ruffle Jose's hair reassuringly.

He always knows what to say. How does he do it? Goro thought. Then he remembered that Jose was listening to his thoughts. Sorry, Jose. You're doing fine. I'm just frustrated.

Jose looked up at him quizzically. "Don't your thoughts define your reality?"

Goro almost laughed. "Not the same way yours do, Jose. A lot of thoughts are just…fleeting. Like vapor."

"We choose which ones to hold onto and which ones to let go," Ren added.

"Why hold onto bad ones, then?" asked Jose.

Goro took another look at the clock. "I don't think we have time to get into that right now, Jose. Let's focus on what's in front of us."

"All I know is that thing…Myojo…tried to kill us all," said Suzui. "I assume it'll keep trying unless we stop it first. What do we do?"

Ren said, "That's something I've been thinking about myself. Even for these entities, taking over the earth isn't so simple. They need time to gather their strength — and they also need help from humans."

"Excellent point," said Goro. "Myojo must have some useful idiots somewhere. It would be a lot easier to stop them."

"Did you ever find out if that guy Wada was the creator of the app?" Ren asked.

"I haven't had time. That does seem to be our best lead, though. Let's follow up when we get back to Tokyo."

After a bit of grumbling, they all lapsed into tired, somber silence.

Goro looked out the window, watching the lush late-summer countryside fly by as far as he could see in any direction. He spent a few minutes organizing his thoughts, then decided to bring up something he wanted to discuss with Maruki. He had hoped to talk privately, but with no idea when they might be stopping, he didn't want to wait.

He tapped the doctor on the shoulder. "I wanted to talk to you. About healing."

"Oh? What about it?"

"I want to know how you do it."

"I'm not sure what you mean. Can't you already heal? Your power is like Ren's, isn't it? A wild card, I think you called it."

Goro hesitated, hating to admit that he wasn't the best, but there was no other way. "Yes, but you healed six mortal wounds at the same time. We can't do that. If I thought Ren and I had it covered, I wouldn't be asking."

"I see, but I don't know how I can help you. You already know what to do, after all."

"Then what's your secret? What makes your version of healing so much more powerful than mine?"

Maruki's shoulders raised slightly. "Healing is more of a state of mind than a skill per se."

"What's that supposed to mean? Stop speaking in riddles."

"Fine. If I had to guess, I'd say your problem is that you don't like to help people. You like to hurt them."

"Of course I don't," Goro protested immediately. "I like to hurt Shadows, but that's different."

"You'd know best, I suppose," said the doctor evenly. There wasn't anger or malice in his words, but there was no warmth in his tone either.

Goro looked at the faint reflection of his eyes in the window. Is it true? Is that why my healing abilities are so weak, because I don't like helping people? Wakaba Isshiki had always said cognition was the only thing that mattered in the Metaverse. Whatever you wanted to be, that's what you would become. When he heard that, Goro resolved to become stronger, and he had. But Shido had become a monster…was that what he "wanted," or was it something that happened because he lacked the mental fortitude to prevent it?

Turning away from his reflection, he took his tarot deck out from his bag and shuffled through the cards rhythmically, then on a whim turned them over so he could only see the backs. He chose one at random and turned it over. Death. He frowned at it.

"What's that? Going to play a card game?" asked Maruki.

"Tarot. Did Ren ever tell you about these?" Goro asked, and continued when Maruki shook his head. "Every bond we make, as wild cards, is represented by one of the major arcana."

Maruki didn't say anything. Goro realized he probably thought tarot was nonsense or witchcraft, like most people did, and was awkwardly trying to avoid saying anything rude. The thought amused him, and he brightened up.

"Yep, they're magic fortune-telling cards. Hey, Ren. Is Maruki one of yours?"

"The Councilor," said Ren, opening his eyes a crack.

"The what? My deck doesn't even have one of those."

Ren shrugged. "Don't ask me. What's he for you, then?"

Goro took the View-Master out of his bag and looked through it. The card was still floating above Maruki's head, same as before. "Death," he said.

Maruki looked distressed and Goro started to worry that he might get too distracted to drive.

"It doesn't mean death literally, Dr. Maruki. It represents change," said Ren helpfully.

Maruki's relief was immediate. "Oh. For him or for me?"

"Maybe both?" said Ren. "My Death is Dr. Takemi."

Goro laughed. "That's appropriate. She probably changed you plenty with that medicine of hers."

"Which did save us all from death today," Ren pointed out.

Goro conceded the point and turned the card around in his hand. It wasn't the idea of change that bothered him; it was the idea of fate. A psychologist representing "change" being air-dropped into his life seemed like some kind of cosmic marching order, and he wasn't on board with that. But, he decided, he probably shouldn't read too much into a random card pull.

He shuffled the cards and turned another one over. Death again.

"Impossible," he murmured. With Death still upturned, he chose another card. Tower.

"Oof. Bad luck," said Ren.

"Just for the record, I don't believe in luck. Or fate. Or omens."

"Didn't Tower also come up when Chihaya read your fortune?"

"Oh, shut up."

In fact, Tower came up an unnerving amount when Goro had tried doing his own spreads, enough that it shook him and made him stop trying. He even checked the deck to make sure there weren't multiples, but there was just one…one card that somehow kept turning up again and again.

It was like the Tower was following him…a catastrophe getting closer and closer.

But that was ridiculous.

Goro's clothing rippled and changed back from his Metaverse costume to the street clothes he'd been wearing before. Does that mean —

Before he could finish the thought, a signal broke through the static on the radio. A song was playing: Kishidan's raucous cover of "My Way."

They were out.

Shortly after the radio returned, Maruki found a gas station with convenience store and pulled over. They all climbed out of the van, stretching and yawning.

"Want to take a stroll?" Goro asked Ren.

They took a walk around the borders of the gas station, not that there was anything to see out here in the country — just more country, as far as Goro could tell. A thin strip of grass separated the gas station from a sizable field filled with ripening sweet corn. The fresh scent of the corn mingled with oil and gasoline.

After a full circuit, they stopped and looked in the gas station's window. Takamaki, Togo, and Suzui were holding t-shirts and hats up to each other and seemed to be giggling.

"Look at those Brats," said Goro, shaking his head. "They have no idea what we're up against."

"Is it starting to feel real now?" Ren asked.

"The whole team thing?"

"Yeah, the whole not-being-alone thing. The whole having-each-other's-backs thing. That thing."

"It's not as bad as I thought it would be."

"This is me you're talking to, you know. You loved being a Phantom Thief, admit it."

"I was just playing a role."

"Mm, right, acting. The cute little dance you did after battles was a nice touch. Very convincing."

Goro wiggled his hips and said, "If you had a moneymaker like this, you'd shake it too."

Ren laughed out loud, happily, for the first time since they'd found him in his room. Goro laughed too, heart fluttering, but the thought of Ren stabbed through the middle dragged his mood back down.

"The problem with having a team is there are so many more points of failure now. If I'd been alone today, I could have just killed Myojo and been done with it."

Ren studied Goro's face. "Or, Myojo would have killed you and nobody would have ever known about it."

"No way. Didn't you hear? He likes it when I justice," Goro deadpanned.

Ren half-smiled and slid a finger along the back of Goro's hand. Their fingers clasped. Ren curled his fingers a little and Goro leaned closer, answering his beckon.

"What if I can't save them next time?" said Goro, so quietly that Ren almost couldn't make it out.

"That's why the only move is to trust them. Trust us." Ren squeezed Goro's hand, but let go as he saw a car approach. "We should probably quit before we end up on some gossip show, huh?" he said sheepishly.

Goro imagined his promo photos slapped under a bunch of unflattering headlines. If it were discovered that he liked guys, he knew how it would go over with the public. He had worked hard to keep certain parts of his life secret, not so much because he was ashamed, but because he didn't want his mother or his love life to become gossip fodder for a bunch of bored idiots with nothing better to talk about.

Sighing, he said, "Amamiya…have you ever thought about world travel?"

"I went to Hawaii on our school trip last year. Like that?"

"Anywhere we could hold hands in public would be a nice change of pace. Don't you think so?"

"What are you, some kind of exhibitionist?" Ren teased.

"You'll never find out unless you take me somewhere fun."

"Crossroads?"

"Somewhere fun, Amamiya. Like…New Zealand."

Ren considered that. "Is the hobbit village still there?"

"I was thinking bungee jumping and rock climbing. Maybe scuba diving."

"I could get into that. Yeah," Ren said with a smile, gazing at the horizon as if he could see New Zealand already.

Goro nudged him. "It's to the south, Amamiya. You're pining for Seoul."

"Always have to have the last word, don't you?" Ren sighed, rolling his eyes as Goro snickered.

Finished pumping gas, Maruki sidled up beside Ren and turned to look at the gas station. Suzui had returned to the van to stretch out in the back seat. Takamaki and Togo were waiting in line. Sae was sipping coffee and watching a TV high up in a corner.

Goro took a look at Maruki's goofy grin and said, "She's quite a woman, isn't she?"

"Yeah," Maruki sighed, then abruptly remembered where he was and coughed into his hand. "Uh…I mean…who?"

Ren was polite enough not to laugh out loud, but his eyes sparkled with amusement. "You might have noticed, secrets don't survive long in the Metaverse. What with the constant danger and the reification of people's psyches and all."

"'Reification?' Mm, I love it when you talk Marxist," Goro teased.

"I had a lot of time for homework. Maybe I can get you one of those word-a-day calendars so you can keep up," Ren returned, grinning.

"It's not really a secret," said Maruki, sounding anxious. "Sae didn't want to ruffle any feathers, that's all."

"My feathers?" said Goro, mildly offended. "Sae can date who she wants. That's none of my business." Mentally, he added, If you break up, it's not going to be her crying into a two-liter of Ozeki.

"That's a relief," said Maruki, visibly relaxing.

"Dr. Maruki, I was wondering if you had any other thoughts about healing," said Ren. He glanced at Goro and continued, "I mean, I don't think I like to hurt people, but I'm not great at healing either. Do you need to…I dunno, try harder or something?"

"Not at all! It's the opposite, actually. I just…let go."

"Let go?" Goro repeated, mystified.

Scratching his chin, Maruki said, "Let's take a step back. How do you both feel when you do healing?"

Goro and Ren looked at each other. Ren shrugged and said, "As leader, usually I'm already onto the next tactic before my Persona is even done using the skill. Healing is just one thing going on in a battle."

"Right, it's strategic," Goro agreed. "Decisions on where to attack, defend, split up or regroup…it's all the same thing in my head."

"Then you two probably have a good handle on the assessment part. Goro-kun…you've been a leader, team member, and even solo. How do those roles differ for you?"

"Obviously, the difference is whether I'm following orders, giving them, or just doing whatever I want."

"Sure, but dig a little deeper. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you were far more restrained when you fought Ren-kun than when you fought me."

"I didn't want to kill Ren," said Goro flatly.

Maruki frowned at him, but then brushed past it. "As a leader, you have a lot of control. But paradoxically, you also need to restrain yourself more. Would you agree?"

"I suppose that's true," Goro conceded. "If someone else is leading, I can focus on what I'm doing rather than the overall strategy."

"And you don't need to worry as much about mistakes," Ren added.

Maruki bobbed in his sandals. "Exactly so. That's the best headspace for healing. Block out everything else and focus. I could teach you some affirmations to help you get into the right mood."

"What's an affirmation?" asked Ren.

"It's like a mantra. A short phrase you can say to yourself to reinforce your beliefs. For example, 'I am grateful for another day of life,' or 'I'm good enough.' The idea is to replace any negative affirmations with positive ones. Does anything come to mind?"

Seeing their faces, Maruki added, "You don't have to say it out loud if it's too personal, but I'll give you an example. Shortly after Rumi was hospitalized, I kept thinking, 'My life is over. Everything is ruined. There's nothing I can do.' And…other things along those lines. I worked with a therapist to come up with a counter."

Goro stared at him. "What…my life is fine, everything's good?"

Maruki let out a soft, humorless 'ha.' "No, of course not. My first one was, 'I've gotten through every bad day in my life so far. I will get through this one too.' Positive but still realistic."

"I think I see," said Ren. "Like, I could say to myself, 'I care about my team.'"

"Right! You've got the idea," said Maruki.

Maruki and Ren looked expectantly at Goro, but their attention flustered him.

He was saved by a commotion inside the gas station. Sae turned around and pointed up at the TV screen. They heard a muffled yell. The other girls moved toward her. The employees ran out from behind the register.

"Let's go see what's up," said Goro, a feeling of foreboding tangling his guts.

Inside, every patron had gathered around the TV screen and was watching in silent horror at a newscast. Takamaki and Togo had their arms around Sae, who was wavering on her feet.

"…Authorities are unable to determine a cause for the destruction at this time…."

While the newscaster spoke, aerial images showed a charred city block that looked like it had been leveled by a bomb.

The chyron on the bottom read, "Disaster at Shido Press Conference."