Chapter Text
Persona Tricksters Reload.
Chapter One: A tricksters Path Through time,
Ren Awoke to the familiar hymn of the Velvet Room Piano acting as a backdrop to a woman singing. Opening his eyes, the fluffy-haired teen found himself lying on the uncomfortable bed, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw he was still wearing his phantom thieves' attire.
“Welcome back, Trickster”, a familiar and friendly elderly voice rang across the room as Ren rose from the bed; looking to the origin of the voice in the centre of the room, Ren saw three people sitting behind the wooden desk with his signature long nose and smile was Igor. To his right stood the little platinum-haired Lavenza. To the left of Igor stood a towering figure in a black trench coat wearing a metal mask in the shape of a face, through which piercing black eyes stared, seemingly staring through Ren, like he was looking into his soul.
“Welcome to the Velvet room, I am Igor, and this is Lavenza, although I'm sure you remember that.”
Lavenza Curtsied “it has been some time Trickster” said with a warm smile before then shifting into a look of sadness
“Although I am happy to see you again trickster, there is a matter which we must discuss with you”
“Don’t tell me another false god has popped up? First Yaldabaoth, then Maruki and the Demiurge, oh and can't forget Salmael,” Ren answered while walking through the open cell door until he stood in front of the desk.
Lavenza giggled at Rens antics, bringing a smile to his face. “No, that is not the case; however, we would like to make another request of you, trickster. You have every right to refuse but please listen and consider before answering” Ren nodded silently in response while looking at Igor
Igor spoke “We would like for you, trickster to Aid another guest of the Velvet Room, you see she has completed her journey, however, we would like to see that she gets the ending she deserves”
Ren stood silent ‘he knew he wasn’t the first guest of the velvet room because he had fought the conative echos; the idea that Igor and the inhabitant of the velvet room wanted to have him help meant that it must be serious “Well, what exactly do you have in mind?” Ren answered, “From what you have said, their journey is complete; how could I change anything?”
“by travelling back to when her journey had just begun” answered Igor the smile never faltering
“is that even possible? And…. And even if it is, what about my life?” Ren spluttered out in shock, looking between the grinning Igor and Lavenza, looking for some break in their smiles, only to find none.
“it is very possible, Trickster; remember the Velvet Room and its power exists between mind and matter, outside of time and reality. As for your life, you will have to trust us when we say we have it all accounted for,” Lavenza answered after he continued to stare in shock.
Ren continued to stand silently as he thought, thinking over what he had been told by the two. On the one hand, he had been through the wringer, having had to face more trouble than he ever thought he would. And he was happy in his life he was about to move back to Tokyo and move in with Futaba and Sojiro. But on the other hand, if someone else needs his help to get their happy ending, what was some extra time spent helping them?
“I accept, I'll go back and help them in their journey”, Ren answered and watched as Igor's Smile somehow grew larger, and Lavenza began beaming at him.
“Please allow me to personally thank you Trickster; you have been through so much and yet you are willing to undertake another task, you truly have been a most remarkable guest” Igor looked like he was going to shed a tear, “Now have you any questions for me Trickster” Ren answered immediately
“Who is this” while gesturing to the man in the mask
“ah yes it is perhaps best that he introduce himself and his purpose” Igor Gestured to the man who stepped forward
“Hello, Trickster, I am Alexander. I, too, am joining you on this journey through time to aid the past wildcard. There are certain…..skills that I offer that will be instrumental in this plan. Sadly im afraid I cant go into further detail until the time is right. As par my contact” as he spoke Alexander continued to stare into Rens soul. “although as part of the journey I will be able to offer new personas from my Arcana to you just as I can the forebearer wildcard” Ren nodded and grinned
“well, I look forward to getting to know you, Alexander, it looks like we will be working together. As long as you don’t tell me when I have to go to bed every night im sure we will get along fine”
In response to this Alexanders' piercing stare left his eyes instead was replaced with an amused look.
“Now then shall we get underway, Trickster, Nameless?” Igor's shrill voice brought both Ren's and Alexanders' attention back to him. Both of them nodded in response, once again bolstering Igors Grin
“The contract has been signed, let us begin” With a flick of his fingers, the Velvet room was filled with a bright white light.
-Take your time-
The Light cleared, and Ren found himself in the exact same place in the Velvet room, with it looking like nothing had changed. Ren scanned the room, trying to see if anything had changed. Resulting in Lavenza giggling
“Time does not affect the Velvet Room trickster. However, once you leave this space, you will find yourself In 2009. The 1st of the 6th, to be exact,” Igor chuckled while Lavenza explained to the Trickster and raised his eyebrow in the direction of Alexander, taking note of how unaffected he was by the light.
Lavenza then walked over to the pair and handed them each a wallet and a folder “Now Trickster, Nameless,. In these Wallets, you will find a modified I.D to match this era, along with a train card and 200,000 yen. all the needed documents have been added to government archives, and they have been modified to suit the era with false information to make up for inconsistencies. These folders contain copies of the documents for you both to read over.” Both men thanked Lavenza as they took their wallets and files. Before Ren turned to face Alexander and asked
“shall we go look around?”
-Take your time-
The Two men had spent the last 3 hours exploring the area outside the Velvet room, which they found was called the Paulownia Mall. They found there was a music store, a pharmacy, two shops that had yet to be opened, a café night club, and an arcade and karaoke place. While walking around, Ren found Alexander was very calm and quiet, and he seemed to enjoy people-watching. In particular, he seemed to be studying those he watched. After they finished their exploring, the two began walking back to the Velvet room entrance, which was located in a back hallway. As they got closer Ren noted a girl darted past. He didn’t get a close look, but as she sped past, he saw bright red eyes, and he felt a connection. He turned around, but she was already gone; turning back, Ren saw Alexander had also stopped and had to turn to look for the girl.
The two shared a glance, and Alexander spoke
“I take it you sensed something too?” Ren nodded and spoke as they began walking again “I think she is the one we are here to help, whoever she is. I think ill ask for another entrance to the Velvet room for us; we cant exactly pretend to be unconnected to the velvet room if she sees us go in”
Looking to his left he saw the taller man nod “Agreed we can’t afford to blow our cover to early”