(This pretty much branches off of chapter 3 in the original story, I hope you like it!)

Year: 2011

Several months had passed since Goro Akechi's entire world had fallen apart. Shortly after the Phantom Thieves final meeting at which their target's Palace inexplicably vanished, he had been attacked by a group of mysterious strangers with clear intent to kill. Despite managing to barely escape with his life, he was forced to go into hiding. Spending every waking moment trying desperately to learn who these people were and why he was being targeted, he happened upon some shocking news. The strange satellite that had appeared embedded within the Radi-Kan's top floor had exploded, causing the building to collapse. It was the list of casualties that truly caught his eye however, as one of the victims displayed had his mind reeling.

Goro Akechi.

At this moment he truly realized the extent of the situation... what he was seeing now was a statement. By who, he had no idea, but a statement nonetheless.

"Try as you might to survive, Goro Akechi is now a dead man in the eyes of the world."

He knew now that things would never return to how they once were.

Year: 2013

Akechi continued his ever exhausting search for the truth from the shadows of society. Finding information as a detective was often difficult, but finding information as a dead man felt damn near impossible. However, through sheer perseverance he had finally managed to grasp the tiniest thread... The name of the group that was after his head.

The Rounders.

In addition, as unbelievable as it seemed, he learned that the organization directing them was none other than SERN. As for why a European research organization of all things wanted him dead, or why they had a veritable army of trained mercenaries at their disposal, this was still frustratingly unclear. With nothing else to go on, and no one to turn to, all he could do now was continue his meager efforts alone.

Year: 2014

As time marched onward, all around him a concerning and quickly accelerating shift in the behavior began to take hold of the general public, in the form of a collective melancholy. In a way, it reminded him of the strange "Apathy Syndrome" condition that had begun to spread years ago but suddenly and inexplicably vanished one day. The only difference he could see was that the ability to survive independently wasn't lost, but rather any and all passion, drive or motivation had completely vanished.

More than curious, he considered checking if there had been any change in Mementos. It had been quite a while since he had any reason to utilize the Metaverse Navigator app. After all, he was on his own now, and one hostile world out to kill him was more than enough to deal with. Given the current situation however, his curiosity once again took hold, and he made to open the app only to discover... it was gone. The MetaNav app had always been a mysterious piece of software, and now it had vanished just as suddenly as it had appeared. Once again, Akechi was left with no answers and countless more questions.

As for the strange Apathy Syndrome-like condition, it continued to spread even beyond Japan, and in the years to come, overall conflict on both micro and macro scales would see a dramatic decrease as this strange phenomenon became a worldwide commonality, bordering on mundanity. Moreover, things would become seemingly more and more peaceful at a surface level, however even with nothing more than a passing glance of the eyes of those affected walking by, only one word seemed appropriate to describe them... Empty.

Year: 2015

Continuing to hit wall after wall in his search for answers, Akechi was nearly at his limit. The crushing weight of the isolation he had been forced to bear these past five years, as well as the constant threat of his unseen pursuers had taken a brutal toll on his psyche. As he began to wonder just how much longer he could last, he saw something move just on the edges of his vision. Rounding a nearby corner was a familiar black tail. Despite being nearly convinced he had simply begun to hallucinate out of desperation, his emotions immediately took hold of his actions as he quickly but cautiously pursued the small animal to it's destination. What awaited him there was a reunion that nearly brought him to tears.

Year: 2019

Waiting in their current hideout, Akechi continued to reread what little intel they had most recently gathered to pass time until they returned. Just as he had nearly finished, he heard the loud sound of the door to the entrance. Instinctively assuming a defensive position, he only relaxed when he heard Morgana's voice from the entrance.

"We're back."

"How did it go? Any new leads?" Akechi asked, wasting no time getting to the point.

"Possibly. We weren't able to meet directly this time, but she did manage to get a message to me." Ren answered, holding up what appeared to be both a voice recorder and a small flash drive.

Even now, Akechi was impressed that Ren had managed to retain the few connections he still had, despite being in such a similar position. Like himself, Ren was also being pursued by the Rounders, and had also had false reports of his own death publicized. Despite the attack he too had faced nearly a decade prior, Ren's foremost concern was, as always, the safety of his friends. With Morgana's help he had ultimately managed to confirmed the relative safety of Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto and Haru. In the end however, he had decided that making contact with them was too risky, no matter how much he wanted to. As for why the others hadn't also been targeted by the Rounders, that was still uncertain. Perhaps SERN believed that without their leader, the others would simply be a non-issue. If that was the case, Akechi thought, those bastards were greatly underestimating what his friends were capable of.

Naturally, this did leave one person unaccounted for: Futaba Sakura. Before he took his phone offline to avoid being tracked, Akechi had seen message after message from his friends about her sudden disappearance that day. Ren had also been digging into said disappearance before they had reunited, and he confirmed that it was without question an abduction. Coupled with Akechi's own info, it became clear that this too was the Rounder's doing. In the end, they had decided to make finding her their top priority and had spent the last several years looking for a lead.

Gathering around the small PC they had set up, Ren pressed the button on the recorder and the voice of a woman, Ren's informant and a former journalist, began to play.

"Sorry in advance kid, but I think I'm gonna need to go silent for a bit, so this'll probably be our last exchange for a while... I finally managed to make some headway looking into this crazy apathy wave... Unfortunately, it looks like it might have gotten me the kind of attention I typically try to avoid." The recording continued. "That said, this breakthrough might include a possible lead on that person you're looking for. This thing goes deep, and that drive's got a copy of everything I've found so far, hopefully it's enough. Next time we meet, let's finally share a drink, yeah? And don't you dare go dying for real until we do, got it?"

With an abrupt click the message ended, leaving an uncomfortable silence in the air. Ren's face wore an incredibly worried expression, but he quickly shook it off and inserted the drive into the PC. After decrypting the contents they saw several files were contained within, and Akechi started by opening the topmost one.

"It looks like a research report. Something called... Cognitive Reconditioning?" He said, reading through the document with the others.

The report itself was highly technical, but they were able to make out the gist of it. Based on it's contents, a method to completely rewrite a individuals cognition had been developed by SERN. The more they read through it, the more the entire thing began to strike them as far too familiar.

"Hold on, is this cognitive psience? I can't believe it... They really are using that research to brainwash people!" Morgana exclaimed.

This was something they had suspected for some time, but to see it confirmed so clearly was another thing entirely. With the same research that had once made their own endeavors as the Phantom Thieves possible, SERN was rewriting the minds of the general public to be unquestioningly obedient. With newfound worry, they continued to read this deeply troubling report.

Early testing supposedly demonstrated this "Cognitive Reconditioning" as having an extraordinarily high success rate, coupled with the fact that it required no direct contact with the target made it frighteningly efficient. In addition to information regarding the system itself, this report seemed to outline a potential issue, referred to as "Hyper Resistant Cognition". While individuals with this quality are exceedingly rare, it seemed those who possessed it were more or less immune to the Cognitive Reconditioning process.

With a deep breath, Akechi opened the next file. It, along with the next few, appeared to be maps and schematics detailing a particular location, as well as what looked like a status report. The location was AH Tokyo General Hospital, according to the filename. While the images did make it seem like an ordinary hospital, the included schematics showed an incredibly unusual structure, namely, a large underground facility connected to the main building. The report detailed research being conducted on "Subject-HRC1" for the sole purpose of finding a solution to the aforementioned "Hyper Resistant Cognition".

"Mind control, human testing... If I didn't know better, I'd say this was a terrible dream..." Akechi muttered, his mind reeling from these terrible revelations.

"If only..." Morgana replied. "Come on, there's still one more."

With a nod, Akechi opened the final file on the drive. It appeared to be some kind of list and, while short, it's contents left everyone completely stunned.

"CURRENTLY CONFIRMED INSTANCES OF HYPER RESISTANT COGNITION"

ID: AKECHI, GORO

LOCATION: UNKNOWN

NOTES: MARKED FOR ELIMINATION - MAINTAIN ROUNDER PURSUIT AND TERMINATE ON SIGHT

ID: AMIMIYA, REN

LOCATION: UNKNOWN

NOTES: MARKED FOR ELIMINATION - MAINTAIN ROUNDER PURSUIT AND TERMINATE ON SIGHT

ID: KIRIJO, MITSURU

LOCATION: KNOWN

NOTES: MARKED FOR ACQUISITION - STATUS: DELAY UNTIL KIRIJO GROUP IS FULLY SECURED

ID: SAKURA, FUTABA

LOCATION: KNOWN

NOTES: SOLE AVALIABLE SUBJECT FOR STUDY OF HYPER RESISTANT CONGNITION - AS SUCH, SURVIVAL OF SUBJECT-HRC1 IS VITAL UNTIL OTHERWISE

ID: SHIROGANE, NAOTO

LOCATION: UNKNOWN

NOTES: MARKED FOR ELIMINATION - MAINTAIN ROUNDER PURSUIT AND TERMINATE ON SIGHT

The three of them simply stared at the screen in utter disbelief, a myriad questions flooding their minds. Ren was the first to break the silence, his immediate focus naturally being their missing comrade.

"Subject-HRC1... is Futaba? Th-they're testing on her!? Like some kind of lab rat!?" He shouted in frustration, slamming his fist down on the desk.

"Ren, calm down!" Morgana pleaded, despite being just barely able to contain his own anger. "I know how you feel, but we can't afford to lose our composure now."

"I...!" Ren began to shout a reply, but ultimately stopped himself with a deep breath. "I know... Sorry."

It was rare to see an outburst like that from Ren, but given the circumstances, his reaction was completely understandable. Looking back to the data on the screen, the three of them began to discuss what they'd learned.

"If this Cognitive Reconditioning truly is using cognitive psience, could it function under similar principles to a change of heart?" Akechi pointed out. "If that's the case, surely it couldn't be mere coincidence that you, I and Futaba all just so happened to have this supposed immunity, right?"

"Hold on, are you suggesting that this Hyper Resistant Cognition thing could be referring to your Personas?" Morgana clarified.

Back when the Phantom Thieves were still active, the mysterious power of "Persona" had allowed them to fight the Shadows in the hearts of criminals and make them change their ways. Even with their ability to access the Metaverse long since lost, it was possible this power still existed within them and prevented SERN from tampering with their cognition using these methods. At least, that seemed to be Akechi's working hypothesis.

"In the context of that particular field of research, it's certainly the primary commonality between us." Akechi reasoned. "Although..."

He looked back at the names on the list with a curious look. While he had never met them directly, the names "Mitsuru Kirijo" and "Naoto Shirogane" were very familiar. Shirogane was something of a role model to himself and a paragon in Akechi's own field of detective work. As for Kirijo, it would likely be difficult to find someone who wasn't familiar with the head of the illustrious Kirijo Group. The possibility that they had that strange power as well was nearly unbelievable, but intriguing all the same.

"If that's true, then that's all the more reason to get Futaba out of there." Ren insisted, scrolling back through the files to look over them again. "We know where she is now, so our next step needs to be to start working on a plan to save her!"

He looked to the others emphatically, who returned his gaze with an affirmative nod.

"...You're absolutely right. Let's get to work." Akechi replied, ashamed he had let his own curiosity take precedence over their friend's safety, even for the briefest moment. More so, he was grateful to Ren, for never failing to remind him of what was most important. Their mission was far from over, but for the first time in years, the trio felt their sense of purpose renewed.

Year: 2020

The past several months had been spent in single minded preparation for the rescue of Futaba Sakura. Akechi and Morgana had been doing reconnaissance of AH Tokyo General Hospital in order to determine the optimal route and timing for the rescue to have the best chance of success. Meanwhile, Ren had been gathering supplies, calling in favor after favor of what few confidants he was still able to contact. And now, finally, the day had come.

"Got it!"

Morgana hopped back after picking the lock to the door of the hospital's fire escape. Moving swiftly and silently with the skills they had learned as Phantom Thieves, and further honed in their many years of eluding the Rounders, the three of them made their way through the building undetected until they eventually found themselves in what looked to be a dead end. Of course, it only seemed that way on the surface. Wasting no time, Akechi stepped forward to pull open the circuit breaker and swipe the access card he had managed to obtain beforehand. After a single moment that felt like an eternity, a small beep was heard and the far wall slid open to reveal a hidden staircase, just as they had expected.

"It's only a matter of time before someone notices this unscheduled access. We need to be quick, let's move." Akechi whispered, met with a nod of agreement from the others.

The light became dimmer and dimmer the further downward they moved, and the air itself became cold and stale. Undeterred, they finally made it to the room they had sought. Opening the door slowly and with his heart in his throat, Ren's eyes went wide and he immediately rushed inside.

"Futaba!"

Within the room was a young woman on a simple hospital bed, her limbs held by restraints and a series of electrodes leading from several machines to the sides of her head. While it had been nearly a decade since they had last seen her, Ren couldn't possibly mistake their missing friend. Morgana hopped from the floor to the bed and gently placed his paw on her skin.

"She's alive." He said curtly, quickly moving his attention to dealing with the restraints.

As he breathed a small sigh of relief, the woman began to stir from her sedation as a result of the commotion. Her eyes opened slowly at first, but shot wide at the sight before her. Her breathing became more rapid as those same eyes began to fill with tears.

"Ren...?" Her voice was soft and pained, little more than a whisper. "I-is this... a dream...?"

"It's not. We're getting you out of here, I promise." Ren replied with a reaffirming smile.

"There, that should do it!" Morgana exclaimed, having finished unfastening Futaba's bindings.

"Morgana, you too..."

Before their reunion could continue, a siren blared in the facility and what little light there was was replaced by the flashing of a sinister red hue.

"Damn it, already!?" Ren frustratedly shouted, quickly turning to the door. "Goro, we need to-!"

It was only now that Ren realized that Akechi was nowhere to be seen. Panic welling in his mind, Ren shook his head and moved to help Futaba off the bed. Naturally, in her current state she was unable to stand on her own. With Morgana taking the lead to scout their path, the three of them moved through their predetermined escape route, but something was very clearly wrong.

"Where the hell did he go...?" Ren muttered under his breath.

As he said this, they heard the muffled sound of gunfire coming from the direction they were currently heading. Just then, everything clicked in Ren's mind. Still being careful not to hurt the still weak Futaba, he picked up his pace and dashed toward the sound.

"Ren, what are you-!?" Morgana's confused cries fell upon deaf ears as Ren reached the source of the sound, which had now gone silent.

Just around this corner was the final hallway between them and escape, yet so far they had encountered no resistance. Praying he was wrong as to why, Ren set Futaba down and drew his gun. With one final breath, he rounded the corner and felt a wave of nausea at the sheer carnage before him. A sea of blood and bodies, all of which bore the characteristics they had come to associate with the Rounders.

All but one.

Amidst the piles of death before him was the last person he wanted to see there. The man responsible for taking out the Rounders who were likely waiting in ambush, at the cost of his own life. Goro Akechi's body lie there among the others, his weapon gripped in his unmoving hand and a look of resolve in his unmoving eyes. Ren simply stared in disbelief at this gruesome scene, waiting for his partner to simply stand up as if nothing was wrong and lead the way to safety. But no matter how deeply he wished for this to happen, it never did.

"Ren..." Morgana's mournful voice snapped him out of his trance. "There must be more on the way, we need to get out of here..."

Morgana and Futaba were now standing in the blood-soaked hallway as well, the latter leaning weakly against the wall with a look of horror in her eyes. Desperately trying to tear his own eyes way from the nightmarish scene before him, Ren clenched his teeth so hard he was certain they would shatter.

"You're right." He finally resigned.

With heavy hearts, they managed to complete their escape before reinforcements arrived and, after ensuring they hadn't been tailed, finally returned to their current dwelling.

Realizing it would be best to relocate sooner rather than later, Ren began to pack what few things they had set up so they could do so immediately, or at least once Futaba had regained some of her strength. As he did, he spotted something unfamiliar among Akechi's belongings, namely a small white envelope. He picked it up and turned it over to reveal a single word written on the front.

"Joker"

Before he even realized it, Ren had already begun to slowly open the envelope with shaking hands and remove the single piece of paper within.

I leave this for you in the eventuality that I don't survive tomorrow's mission.

I am fully aware of what this rescue means to you, and what you yourself are willing to lose to see it through.

In the years before our reunion, my priority had always been my own survival and little else.

However, after we met once more I realized that despite being in such a similar position to my own, you never once shed your willingness to forego your own wellbeing to assist those you care for.

I came to understand that this world needs you far more than it does me, a sentiment I'm sure you would take umbrage with.

I knew from the moment we chose to mount this rescue that you would certainly cast your life aside in an instant should it mean our missing ally's safe return.

This is simply who you are, and not for a single moment would I wish for that to change.

It is no secret that I have always considered you my greatest rival, but even more so than that, you are my dearest friend, and I simply cannot bring myself to let you die.

I am fully aware of the hypocrisy in my reasoning, and for that I have no defense, merely apologies.

I don't know what kind of pain awaits you in the future, or how much longer you will be forced to bear it, but I do have a request to make of those of you who remain.

Do not let this world break you or strip you of who you are, as it nearly did me.

Stand together against those that seek your ruin, as you always have.

Finally, and most importantly... survive.

I am truly glad to have met you all.

Thank you.

-Crow

Ren stared at the words on the page as countless emotions raged within him. What stood out most to him was Akechi's choice to use their old codenames, names they hadn't used since all those years ago. He knew it wasn't simply for anonymity's sake. It was to remind him that they were then, as they are now, a team. Even if the Phantom Thieves were no more, that didn't mean there was nothing they could do. What that was, Ren wasn't sure, but for the sake of his fallen partner, he swore in his heart that he would find it.

"Ren..."

Morgana's voice once again shattered through his ruminations, and he looked over to him, as well as a concerned looking Futaba. It was only then he realized his vision had become blurry and his cheeks wet. With a somber smile, he wiped his eyes and tucked the letter away, preparing his heart for whatever the future might hold.