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“You all right?” asks Ryuji- no, still Sakamoto at this point. Or wait, you aren’t even supposed to know his name yet, never mind.
Rousing yourself from your thoughts and pasting on a wan smile, you say “Yeah man, I’m fine, thanks for checking in though. Where… are we? This looks like a dungeon.”
“I dunno, is this some kinda tv set?” he asks, hesitantly. “Whatever. HEY! LET US OUTTA HERE, I KNOW SOMEONE’S OUT THERE!” A scream echoes down the hallway. “Th-the hell was that just now…?”
A Shadow guard walks up to the cell. It’s a bit earlier than usual this time, right…? You can’t quite recall. You snap back into awareness as Ryuji the boy snaps “This ain’t funny, you asshole!”
As expected, Kamoshida’s Shadow and the guards enter the room, taunting Ryuji THE BOY. You don’t know him yet, not yet, don’t screw it up again like last time, can’t get too close too quick. Oh, they’re attacking him now. “A peasant like you isn’t worth beating. I’ll have you killed right now.” You wait for the rush of the beginning of an awakening, to feel the worst pain of your life worse even than in that stone room for the third time, but… you can’t feel it. Arsène’s voice… isn’t appearing…?
“Kill him, then the other. They’re boring me,” the distorted Kamoshida echoes. Where is that familiar feeling of outrage? Where is your other self…? Everything will be fine as soon as you can just… get back on track, follow the script.
“JUST RUN! SAVE YOUR-” the boy’s Ryuji’s words cut off, the Shadow guard driving its sword into his stomach, WHERE IS YOUR OTHER SELF? This… this wasn’t supposed to happen… you were supposed to save him, follow the script, assemble your team, your friends, save them all, why did it all go wrong so quickly? A flash of crimson blood drips down Ryuji’s stomach. The light leaves his eyes. This wasn’t supposed to happen. WHERE WERE YOU, ARSÈNE?
Your head pulses. What was I supposed to do? You were not rebelling, you were not fighting against injustice, you were sitting down and watching. You showed no strength of will, only resignation. What…? No, no this can’t be right! You… can’t have already failed… I am not Thou anymore, as Thou art not I. Thou hast abandoned thine own rebellion. Your head pulses, and something inside your soul shatters.
NO… NO YOU CAN’T LET THIS BE THE END! You’re pinned to the wall, a sword to your throat, your very soul empty and abandoned, your best friend dead on the ground before he even learned your name. You have failed. Your goal lies bleeding and broken on the ground already. You rely on your pitiful knowledge too heavily, and thus it leads to this. Your friends abandoned you last cycle because you spoke too much, and you abandoned yourself this cycle because you placated yourself with your own lies and falsehoods. But… you can still avenge him, no? Pledge yourself to the silence of he who knows too much and seek your revenge. I am Thou, and Thou shalt yet make yourself I. A silent pillar, facing those who have drawn your wrath through acts yet uncommitted. Call my name, and release thy new rage, thy new promise! Bathed in the blood of he who was your steadfast ally, now a failed broken corpse because of your inaction! … if Arsène has abandoned you, then maybe… maybe you’ll have to make this work.
You place your hand to your face, but don’t find the domino mask you expect. Instead, you feel a rough metal plate, covering your mouth. Barely more than a muzzle. Hah. You know why your rebellion takes this form now. “Help me take my revenge… Víðarr!”
It’s cold.
Your breath clouds the air. Víðarr cackles, having unleashed his sword and ice upon the Shadows that…
Kamoshida escaped in the distraction that the carnage provided. The cell is covered in ice.
You’re cold.
There’s… another reason you’re here, right? Someone… you need to find. … Morgana. Hope. Hope. Hah. What a joke. You’ve already failed. But you might as well try to save him anyway. You step out of the cell and see another shadow charging towards you. A thought. With unnatural grace, you dodge back and leap onto it, tearing the ruler’s mask off of its face. It fades into a Pixie. Paradise Lost burns in your hands as you level it at the hapless shadow, clipping its wing and knocking it to the ground. With Arsène gone do you still have the ability to recruit shadows to your cause? “You have something to offer me. Join me and bind your power to mine.” You’re a little harsh, but you feel it can be excused given the circumstances. Clearly the Pixie agrees, as it sputters before memory returns and it rushes towards you, settling into your soul.
You proceed onward, towards the cell where your companion resides. Odd, he hasn’t called out to you. Maybe without Ryuji’s… Maybe without his confusion he didn’t hear your approach. “Um… hi? You… aren’t a Shadow, right? Or a cognition?” Morgana asks. Or perhaps not?
Careful, Trickster, murmurs Víðarr. Best not to show your hand too early again. “A… Shadow? What’s that?” you ask, carefully injecting confusion into your voice. Morgana needs to feel useful. As though his talents are needed. That… might be easier now that the most common source of friction is… don’t think about it.
“The guards with the masks. They’re under the control of the Palace Ruler! Here they manifest as soldiers, but they can take many forms. Let me out and I’ll help you escape them!” You nod, pull the key from the hook nearby, and unlock the cell. You really wonder why they kept it so close. “Thanks, Creepy Guy!” Creepy guy? What happened to Frizzy Hair?
As you go to share your name, Morgana lowers the bridge, revealing another Shadow. “Crap!” He shoots his slingshot at it, shattering the mask and it bursts into an Agathion. “Hey Creepy Guy, let me show you an advanced technique! Zorro!” He calls out, his persona summoning a burst of wind that knocks the demon out of its pot. “Now we surround it! We can ask it for money or items.”
“Lend me your power,” you say. You can cover physical attacks with Víðarr, healing and electricity with Pixie, but the status cure might come in handy. And it’s always good to have some fusion material as well, no matter how much it hurts to sacrifice bits of yourself. Morgana looks at you oddly, but the Agathion pipes up. “… Y’know what I’m getting at, right? Ya think ya could let me go see my girl?” Familiar questions, always with a correct answer. “I’ll consider it.” It smiles at you. “C’mon, what’s with the mask? Kinda cringy, don’tcha think?” Again, a simple answer. Though with this new mask you honestly can’t help but mean it when you say “Sure is.” Morgana looks like he’s about to say something when the Agathion cuts off his thought and says “Huh… you seem familiar… wait! Me remember now, me Agathion! Me will help you!” and rushes forward.
All you feel is a searing pain in your soul. Something is brokenbrokenwrongwrongwrong-
Agathion dissolves. You find yourself on the ground, Morgana shouting for dia over and over, the green light covering you. “Nnggh… that wasn’t supposed to happen…”
“I don’t even know what you were trying to do, Creepy Guy, but it clearly didn’t work! You should get out of here,” Morgana says, trying to hide his fretting. “You can always come back later, but you need to recover first!” You hazily agree, nodding your head and allowing Morgana to guide you out of the castle, sneaking past Shadows on instinct. Soon enough, you reach the exit. “Hey. I know you really don’t have much reason to trust me, but… would you be willing to help me out and get rid of this place?” Blond hair flashes in your mind.
“Y… yeah. I’ll help you collapse this damn castle.” You turn, the world distorting as you return to reality in an alleyway in front of Shujin. You feel like you’re going to vomit, but Kawakami is waiting for you. You enter the school, the whole time reminded of your first refuge from the rumors that will circle around you. You give a hasty excuse about getting lost and not feeling well before introducing yourself to your class. The rumors are already flying. “Hey, are you okay? You look pretty pale…” It’s Ann. No, Takamaki.
You take a risk. “Let’s talk after school tomorrow, I have a way to help with Kamoshida.” She looks at you, shocked, but Kawakami starts class before she can say anything. You can’t focus on anything. The day passes in a blur. When classes end, you flee. You can’t face Ann right now, not after letting Ryuji…
You return to LeBlanc. Sojiro looks up as the bell rings, but something stops him from admonishing you. “Hey, kid. Go ahead and go lay down, huh? Don’t want you getting sick in my shop.” You must really look bad if he’s already trying to get you to take care of yourself. You quietly nod and go to sleep in your familiar, comforting attic room.
The ethereal song of the Velvet Room rouses you from nightmares of bleach blond hair and vibrant blood. You stare at the imposter taking Igor’s place, the twins that represent his mistreatment of the residents of this room. “It seems as though your rehabilitation has started… unfortunately. The loss of one who might have been a strong ally due to your failure to awaken to your power in a timely manner is a true shame.” He shakes his head, a mockery of sadness. “I suppose I shall gift you this, perhaps it shall allow you to view your future endeavors in a new light.” The burning sensation of the Third Eye settles upon you.
“Make good use of this, Inmate!” shouts Caroline, hot with anger as always. “Be glad our master still gave this to you despite your failure. Now go back to your fleeting rest!” You’re too tired to do anything but nod as Justine looks at you sadly.
You quietly float through the day, struggling to keep your thoughts from your failure. Classes pass by uneventfully. You ignore the rumors. It’s not like they’re anything new. But this time one of them is right. You’re a murderer. You failed. As you’re leaving the school, Ann comes up to you. “Hey. You said you knew something about Kamoshida? Well, no matter what you do nothing will change.” You motion for her to follow you as you walk into the secluded alleyway. “… huh? Where are you going?” She tilts her head. “Might as well follow you I guess, not like anything could get any worse…” she mutters. You weren’t supposed to hear that. You silently activate the metanav, pulling the two of you into Kamoshida’s Palace.
“Hey, Creepy Guy! Over here!” Morgana calls out to you. “Wait, who’s that? Did you bring someone without a Persona here??? That’s really dangerous!”
Ann is too busy looking around to say anything at first, but then she sees Morgana. “Wait, is… the school just turned into a castle, you’re wearing some weird cloak, and now there’s a talking monster CAT THING?!? What’s going on??? What does any of this have to do with Kamoshida???”
“We’re taking her with us,” you tell Morgana. “We need help, right? I doubt the two of us could handle this entire castle on our own.”
“I… guess…” Morgana turns to Ann and gives her a general explanation of the metaverse, trying to include you too, but you already know all of what he’s saying. “There are a couple of ways to collapse a distortion like this, but the best way is to steal the target’s heart! That way they won’t see any of their crimes as okay anymore! We should probably have codenames, too, don’t want to be shouting out our names in someone’s head.”
“Mona, Panther,” you say, pointing to Morgana and Ann in turn. Then, pointing to yourself, you claim the name “Joker.”
“I… don’t really know much about this, and I guess I’m fine with Panther? But you don’t seem like much of a Joker to me… especially with that ominous cloak and stuff… maybe you could be Harlequin, if you want to keep the theme?” Ann says. You… hadn’t really processed it, but your mask wasn’t the only thing that changed, was it? You were wearing a tattered brown cloak, with a black bodysuit underneath it, your gleaming iron mask covering the bottom half of your face. … it’s not like you deserved the title of “Joker” anyway. Joker was the fearless, indomitable leader of the Phantom Thieves. Joker didn’t fail. Joker wasn’t a murderer.
“Fine, that works. Let’s get going.” You lead the group into the castle, sneaking your way forward, you and Mona protecting Panther whenever a fight broke out. You didn’t try to recruit any other shadows, either. Víðarr is strong enough, and you don’t want to risk whatever happened with Agathion happening again, not when Panther still didn’t have Carmen. However, as you expected, it only took one encounter with Kamoshida’s Shadow, seeing what he thought of her, for a crimson mask to materialize on her face, her will of rebellion crystalizing as she released her burning fires, burning the Belphagor to a crisp. “Let’s get out of here for now, you’re probably exhausted and we’re going to need some more equipment and materials anyway,” you say. Your party makes their way back to the entrance. You studiously ignore the doorway to the dungeon. You don’t think about the boy whose corpse is still lying there.
“I’ll wait for you two here. Don’t take too long to prepare, okay?” Mona says. You nod, taking you and Panther out of the metaverse. Over the next few days, you form the Death and Heirophant bonds. Use the money you’ve carried over from the previous cycles to buy the best medicine Takemi will give you and the best models Iwai has in stock. Friday arrives. You’ve prepared, stocked up, and now you’re ready to lead your fledgling team through Kamoshida’s Palace, but you feel as though you’re forgetting something.
Morgana ambushes you at the front gate, tired of waiting for you in the Metaverse. You act appropriately surprised, though your surprise is at his meeting you now and not his form, and nestle him into your bag. With practiced motions you slip him into your desk, and nod to Ann, signaling that you’ll be going in today. Then, in the middle of third period, you remember what’s been nagging at you. But it’s already too late. You failed Ryuji, and you failed Shiho too. Ann goes with her to the hospital, as usual. She sent you a text, told you to wait for her outside Shujin. When she returns, Morgana pokes his head out of your bag to try and comfort her. She looks at him, anger and grief filling her eyes.
“You said there was more than one way to stop Kamoshida. What’s the other?”
And Víðarr purrs.