Persona 5 - The Jester's Point Of View

Scene 66

The escape... It was something but at the very least it was successful. Or as successful as it could be. They took one door after the other, as quickly as possible. Just get out of this place before knowing it! No matter where they had to pass. Just out of here! Seriously, out of here! Which meant no stopping until, finally, they were at the entrance, right behind the gate, hands on their thighs as they panted heavily, trying to catch their breath. Talk about just barely escaping death again... The Metaverse is more dangerous than ever imagined. No, seriously, what the hell was this!? How could anyone survive this on their own!? Yikes...

In any case, they soon stood up straight again after having calmed down from all of this. They never ran faster in their entire life but that may as well just have been the sudden adrenaline rush they had experienced thanks to wanting to escape. What adrenaline can do to a person! That and Pipistrello probably had its hands in this. Speaking of Pipistrello...

"And the fun is over. How unfortunate." It sighed, the disappointment more than audible. Or rather it was a faux. Because it still sounded as if it was not taking this any more seriously than before. What were they doing? Giving it a show for their own amusement!? It started to feel like it more and more. "But what can you do? We'll go back another day."

"I'm not done here, am I?"

"Not even close~"

"Not even close huh..." They sighed at the thought. That only meant one thing, they had a long way to go. A very, very long way to go. And so they could not just rush in either. Actually, the longer they were here, the more they felt their body getting a toll on this space. It was almost unbearable to be honest. Maybe they just had to adjust to this situation altogether. After all, they were not used to getting this type of workout. Even when roaming around with Ole this one mainly did the fighting. He kept them on the sidelines, solely so they wouldn't get into these types of situations. But they weren't exactly left with a choice either, thus they had to endure it no matter what... Even if they felt as if they were about to break apart at any moment. Any second and their bones would crumble. Well, not really but it wouldn't surprise them if it did happen.

"Yep, not even close." Pipistrello continued, confirming it, then it sighed at the next best turn. "You weren't careful enough and now she knows."

"She? Ishikawa?" They asked, already growing pale from hearing this. "Does that mean that the actual—"

"Haha, no no! Not the Miyuki you know. Don't worry your pretty little head about that. She doesn't even know that we're here. She doesn't even know that this place exists."

"She... Doesn't?"

"Not at all."

"You sure? This isn't a lie?"

"No. Have I ever lied to you?"

"W... Well..." They were about to say 'Yes' but if they really thought about it.... The figure didn't lie. It didn't tell them everything, yes, but so far... Lying was the wrong word. It didn't lie even once. It was surprisingly honest. Everything it said came true and it even kept its word on helping them stay alive at the very least. They hate to admit it but with each passing moment it only proved more and more valuable. "No, you didn't."

"Thank you for your understanding. That's why I like you so much." It chuckled, only making them roll their eyes. Oh they could already hear that wide grin on its mask no problems whatsoever. That uncomfortably large smile. Even when it continued speaking. "But worry not, you can still go around and explore."

"W... Well... Yeah but... You didn't tell me why I'm doing this exactly. So you better—"

"Find her precious treasure and—" A long pause. Wait... What did it just say? A... What now? They wanted to ask, thinking that they had the time but it was delayed for a few seconds as Pipistrello quickly followed it up with: "Do whatever you want with it."

"A treasure?" They finally were able to repeat though, after some time. Though it was with literal confusion escaping their mouth. They didn't know what this meant. Of course they knew the definition of 'treasure' but in this context they weren't sure what it could mean!

A cackle escaped Pipistrello. "Hehe, I'll tell you when we get there. I won't spoil the surprise~ Let's just say that you will have to become a little thief yourself."

"A... Thief? You mean I gotta steal whatever this 'treasure' is?" This was becoming more and more confusing by the second. How were they supposed to understand that!?

"Yep. It's that or cutting her head off. Both works just fine~"

"Cut her– I'm not going to kill her!"

"That's what I thought! It'd be a boring option anyways, way too simple." It laughed. "But let's take it one step at a time. For now go rest dearie. You look as if you're about to collapse."