Author's Note: Hey, everybody. My Persona 5 novelization fanfic is STILL on hiatus for now, so I'll soon decide to split those previous longest chapters that cover each Palaces from the game into parts.

As you already know, this is my very own novelization of the original and main 'Persona 5' video game that relive the epic origin story of the Phantom Thieves with some slight changes I recently and currently thought of. No stuff from 'Persona 5 Royal' involved.

Just recently, I did some little Persona 5 X Bayonetta crossover artwork. But then, a cute little idea/inspiration crept its way into my mind and skull. Inspired by this cool theory, artworks, and memes of Joker being Bayonetta's son, courtesy of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, I thought...

'What if the P5 Protagonist in my Persona 5 novel fanfic was an alternate-reality variant of Ren Amamiya who was orphaned, lost and alone after a tragic accident...until he met a shy, sweet time-displaced young Cereza, the Bayonetta of the past. Their chance meeting sets in motion of him being like an elder brother figure to Cereza and getting involved in the events of the first Bayonetta game from 2009, where he helps a grown-up Cereza, the Umbra witch known as Bayonetta, rediscover her identity and her past...and somehow becomes close to her.

And then, a few months after returning young Cereza to the past and the events of the first game, Bayonetta returns to the present and adopted Ren Amamiya, living peacefully and teaching him everything she knows, including the ways of the Bullet Arts, a combination of gunfire and melee attacks. And then, understanding his adoptive Umbra witch mother's sense of duty calling her to action, Ren decides to stay behind in a rural life and attends school as an honor student...until the events of being falsely framed for assault led to his ongoing one-year probation in a certain area in Tokyo and giving himself a fake name to try and cover his real identity - 'Akira Kurusu'.'

I know it's a bit much, but it's all I got for now.

There's still also a little crossover that takes place after the events of my novel fanfic, 'Scooby-Doo and the Phantom Thieves', depicting an alternate world ENTIRELY SEPARATE from the main flow of the Persona series where the Phantom Thieves team up with the teen sleuths of Mystery Inc. and Scooby-Doo from the 'Scooby-Doo' franchise, who are now involved and taking part in the events of 'Persona 5 Strikers'/'Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers' with some changes to the sequel game I also thought of as well.

Anyway, enjoy the rest of my novel fanfic for now. Any and all comments (on the story) are welcome.

The world as it exists now is not the way it should be.

White noise drowns righteousness, leaving ruin to fill its place…

The souls who stood against that fate and dared to ask for better.

Once upon a time, they were referred to as Tricksters.

And you are our Trickster…

The time for you to rise against the forming abyss of distortion is nigh.

Inside a grand yet gaudy casino, there was an unexpected commotion as alarms were going off. The people inside became confused and unaware of a black-clad figure leaping stealthily through the air like the wind above the guests. A few suited men in sunglasses were patrolling the area as a figure smirked from above on top of the many light fixtures on the ceiling, watching and carrying an extraordinary treasure in the form of a briefcase.

Someone called out, pointing up at the black-clad figure. "Hey…up there!"

"He's here. Move-in immediately," one of the suited security guards remarked as the men in suits moved in after the mysterious, smiling figure.

"Good. Now get running!" A boyish voice rang out through the commlink.

"This is our chance!" A boy's voice came in as well.

"Stay calm! You can get away now!" A girl's voice said as the navigator.

"We'll retrieve the briefcase on our end," Another girl's voice popped out.

Just then, a transmission broke in. "...suspects...not...confirmed...hold...your...positions…"

"Hm…? What was that...?" The girl asked.

"Don't worry about us. Just concentrate on getting away!" The same boyish voice rang as the masked thief jumped across the lights. "But I have to say, showing yourself above that crowd earlier was an excellent move. Nice work as always, Joker!"

"Thanks," Joker said with ease.

"I bet Skull wouldn't pull it off that smoothly," Another girl's voice teased.

"This happens because you have no sense for aesthetics," A deep voice stated.

"Nobody asked you, Inari!" A vulgar young man's voice chimed in.

"Everyone remember where we're meeting up?" One more female voice asked.

"No worries. I can guide you all," The navigator rang out. Then she spotted two guards that then turned into monstrous creatures. "Enemy readings!"

"Take 'em down, Joker!" cheered the energetic girl.

Guided by his teammates, Joker managed to fight off bizarre monsters and escapes the casino, dodging the guards, and ran through the halls when he made his way to the top of the stairway.

Heading toward the door, Joker ran into a railing and saw a giant, ornate window on the other side, all while more people are below the ground floor.

"Something's wrong? The exit should be up ahead," The navigator said.

"Through there…?" Joker asked, pointing at the window.

"That's just how it is. After that commotion, the bottom floor is—"

"—completely closed off," Another member finished. "Hey, can you make it?"

"I hope so…," Joker calmly answered.

Just then, one of the guards spotted Joker. "Over there! There's nowhere left to run!"

But Joker hopped on the railing and ran across to the other side of the room.

"See 'ya!" Joker called out as he used his arms as shields to jump through the window while glass shards of it flew in the air.

"What a showoff," The girl scoffed.

"You're so reckless. You know that?"
"Of course I am," Joker said. "Now, all we can do is—"

But as he landed safely, a flash of light blinded Joker, but he used his arm to cover his eyes to see an entire police squadron waiting for him, blocking his path.

"Enemies, here!?" The navigator cried. "These readings… It can't be!"

That made the other team members freaked out as one of them shouted out, "What happened!?"

"An ambush!?"

"Joker, can you handle this!?"

"Joker!"

"Oh, no!"

"Capture him!" The commander yelled out as the police were already on Joker's tail, and even the spotlight wouldn't leave him.

Joker tried to get out by using the fire escape, but it was too late as he was struck in the face with the butt of a rifle, making him lose grip and fell to the ground.

The police quickly piled on Joker, preventing him from escaping. "Suspect secured!"

"Didn't expect to find some kid," A man in a suit said as he looked down at Joker. "You have your teammate to thank for this. You were sold out."

"Suspect confirmed! Cuff him!"

Shocked by the news, Joker was cuffed up by the cops as everything went black.

? – The interrogation room

"Guess the drug was too strong…," a voice appeared. "Wake him up."

Splashed by a bucket of water, the unmasked thief, appearing to be a young man in a black school uniform and a pair of plaid pants, woke up and found himself tied to a chair and was being brought into a dark, windowless room.

"Where am I…?"

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty," the same voice appeared as the young man looked up to see a few suited men standing. "I see you've finally decided to wake up. Welcome back to the land of the living, Mr. Phantom Thief."

"What is this place…?" The young man asked, still wary.

"Oh right, of course," One of the suited men began to answer. "This, right here, is an interrogation room. An interrogation room for you, a room that is specially chosen to be for you."

Seeing the youth in silence, the man spoke angrily, "Anyways, no dozing off. You still don't get it, do you?" Then, he kicked the young man. "Give it up!"

The young man was recently injected with a truth serum drug to confess his deeds.

"As my partner here has stated, you've been taken under our custody for many reasons," The suited man said to the young boy as he looked at a clipboard, listing the crimes. "Obstruction of justice, blackmail, defamation, possession of weapons, etc., etc.…"

The man looked back at the beaten-up youth. "And you are also responsible for manslaughter, huh? Talk about the works. To think all these crimes were led by a punk like this… And you seemed to be enjoying every minute of it, huh?"

I was…enjoying it? The young man thought. Everything's hazy… I can't remember…

"You should know your place," The suited man said as he removed the cuffs off of the young man and gave him a file, "Sign here… It's a confession under your name."

And with that, the young man was handed a pen to sign, but then he pushed the file away before he spoke out, "Y-You know,… That wasn't nice of you to torture me."

"What!?" The suited man asked.

"Forced confessions gained through torture and intimidation are inadmissible as proof. Anything I tell you would be invalid if you get your hands dirty. Shouldn't you know about this by now?"

The suited man grunted in anger, but he sighed in dismay. "Just signed the confession," he said. "I need your hand to sign this, but...I don't care if you end up losing a leg."

And so, the young man signed the file in silence— 'Akira Kurusu.'

That was the young man's name.

"Now just sit tight 'til we figure out what to do with you," The man told Akira. "Get comfy while you're at it. Because no matter what, don't expect to walk out of here in one piece. We're going to make you understand that one must take full responsibility for their actions…"

A young woman in black with long, silver hair walked into the hallway outside the interrogation room. In contrast, the room seemed to be guarded by a suited police detective and one guard in a police uniform.

"Hold it!" A police detective halted the woman. "This area is off-limits to—"

"The only thing that's about to be off-limits is your ability to walk if you don't let me through," The woman interrupted as she then introduced herself. "I'm Niijima. Sae Niijima from the Public Prosecutors Office, and of the Tokyo Division's Special Investigations Unit."

"The Prosecutors Office? What business do you have here?"

"Just let me through; it's urgent. I was assigned to the Phantom Thieves' case by my boss, and I demand to enter that room this instant. There is something I must confirm with the suspect."

"All right, all right, settle down," The police detective sighed. "Let's just call your boss and confirm the situation. By the way, I hear that the case is no longer in your jurisdiction. Besides…"

Just then, an older detective came in. "Are you Prosecutor Sae Niijima? There's a call from your director. He's calling to confirm the situation."

Sae answered her ringing phone as she heard the SIU Director's voice, "Sae, I thought I ordered you to stand by."

"And I thought I told you to stay off my case," Sae replied. "I'm responsible for this, and yet I'm not even being allowed an interrogation!?"

"I'm calling because I knew you would bring that up."

"I will not be convinced unless I confirm it for myself. I have to confirm my suspicions with the suspect in custody. This is MY case, so I must know the truth about…them."

The SIU Director sighed. "Good luck to you then. I won't be expecting much, though."

Sae ended the phone call as she said, "He has allowed me permission."

"Well, all right then. He's all yours," The older detective replied. "Though I suggest caution for your own sake. His methods are unknown, so your timing will be cut short."

"…Understood," Sae answered.

Once Sae stepped inside the interrogation room, she looked up to see a beaten-up and bruised Akira while the door closed shut behind her.

"…I didn't expect it'd be you," Sae said to Akira as she sat down in a chair on the opposite side of the table. "You'll be answering my questions this time." She then noticed a used needle of the truth serum left lying on the floor nearby. "Those bastards…"

Sae turned back to Akira, leaning forward with concern. "Can you hear me? It seems you've been through a lot. Almost anything can happen here…and I can't stop them. That's why I need you to answer me honestly. I don't have much time either."

Akira nodded.

Sae began questioning Akira. "What was your objective? Why did you cause such a major incident? I didn't think it was a prank from the get-go, but I couldn't assemble a prosecution case. It's because I couldn't figure out the method behind it."

"Of course, you wouldn't…," Akira spoke up.

"True. There's no way I could be convinced of such a 'world' just by reading the reports. It seems you're coherent."

"Hey…," Akira began to ask. "Are the others…all right?"

Sae paused for a second. "Yes, they're fine. Now then, I'd like to discuss some topics involving your most recent activities throughout the year." She then turned around for a moment. "But first, we're not gonna sit here and pretend there isn't a big elephant in the room."

Akira made a blank stare at those words, but when he realized that it means that he had an obvious problem that he didn't notice or even want to talk about, he slowly began to speak, "Now listen, it wasn't—"

Sae suddenly silenced Akira as she slammed the table hard. "You had a crush on my sister!? I assume you seriously had a relationship with her, right!?"

"It was a fated encounter out of pure and intense love," Akira said. "I swear it!"

"Then how can I be so sure of that? How can I be certain that you didn't steal Makoto's heart for your own purposes, Mr. Phantom Thief?"

"I'll tell you what happened!" Akira cried. "Everything."

"All right," Sae said. "You better keep your word. When and where did you find out about the existence of that world? How is stealing another person's heart even remotely possible? Tell me your account of everything. Start from the very beginning."
"The very beginning," Akira repeated as his head feels heavy as he held on to it with his right hand to focus on his memories to try and recall everything.

Then suddenly, due to the drugs, everything went dark and hazy.

Before Akira can focus while almost letting his mind wandered in a dark place, a white yet familiar butterfly fluttering by to catch his attention. Then, a soft voice appeared as well – one he had heard before often since he had the potential.

…You are held captive—a prisoner of fate to a future that has been sealed in advance.

Akira thought he heard it before, but he can't recall why.

This is truly an unjust game… Your chances of winning are almost none.

But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you…

I beg of you. Please overcome this game…and save the world…

The key to victory lies in the memories of your bonds – the truth that you and your friends grasped.

It all began that day…when the game started half a year ago…

For the sake of the world's future…as well as your own…you must remember…

"Remember…," Akira repeated as he watched the butterfly flew higher, and a bright light spread throughout the darkness to shed some light on his fogged mind.

Akira looked back at Sae with his mind getting clear as he soon began to tell his side of the story.

Back to when it all began…

"Alright, let's set things straight," Akira began. "I'm started off about few months back, if that's cool."