Theater of Fate (Persona 5 Royal)

I - Return of Mementos

Akira sat up, rubbing his head as he woke up. He yawned, and pet Morgana, who purred happily. "You're so cute as a cat...." He mumbled, using his soft fur to help wake up his hand, which was still asleep.

"Thanks!" He smiled, accepting the pets. "So! How was your dream this time?"

"It wasn't that bad..." He stood up, getting into his school uniform, rubbing his hand. He winced once the weird, almost numb feeling faded into the feeling of pins and needles running down the hand. 'Of course I'd sleep wrong on a Monday morning....'

"What happened?"

"Well.... I know this sounds weird coming from me to you, but I don't think you'd believe me if I told you." He put on his glasses, smiling.

"Whaaaat? No, I'd totally get it."

"Not really.... putting a long story short, an old guy and a little girl talked to me about my fate in a room that used to be a bunch of jail cells. Apparently, I'm in danger again. I hope it'll end up alright." He picked up his bag, and set it on the table for the house cat to jump into.

"...I don't get it."

"Thought so." He walked downstairs, looking at Sojiro. "Hey, Dad." He waved, yawning.

The barista chuckled. "You're already calling me that?"

"Well, it's been a month since you officially took me in, so, yeah, I am."

"Alright, sure. Call me whatever you want. Make sure you and your friends don't cause too much of a ruckus if they decide to hang out with you here."

"Got it!" He ran to the subway, hoping he wouldn't be too late. He tensed up when the world around him went red. "What the hell.......?" He looked around at the twisted world, gasping in realization. "Mementos?!"

"What about Mementos?" Morgana popped out from his bag, then looked around. "Hey, wasn't this place destroyed...?"

"Yeah.... What's going on....?" He looked at his red gloves. "This is weird....."

'Was everything we did for nothing? No, he can't be back, I know he isn't.... is there another Palace somewhere or something......? That's impossible, if the Metaverse was destroyed, then how are we here...?' His mind started racing as he tried to figure out what was going on. 

"Wait, do we still have our Personas?"

"I dunno... Let's check. Satanael!" He called out, and nobody appeared. "Didn't think so.... wait, did Igor bring back Arsene...?"

"Igor?"

"Arsene!" He yelled, and sighed in relief once his original Persona appeared. "Okay... so I still have my Persona..."

"Zorro's here, too!" He grinned happily, and their Personas both vanished. "So, do you still have the Meta-Nav?"

"Of course I do... my friends all have theirs, too. We decided to keep the app there for a sentimental reason."

"Well, now it has a practical one. Let's head back before you get in any major trouble."

Joker nodded, and Akira sighed once they got onto the subway in the real world. "Thank goodness.... We somehow made it..." He pushed up his glasses, sitting down.

"How about you read something?"

"Nah...." He yawned. "Too tired today...." He stood up once they arrived at their stop, and walked to Shujin Academy, smiling at it as he went to class, and then his smile quickly faded once class started, sitting down behind Ann.

"You barely made it... What happened?"

"I'll tell everyone at the hideout later tonight."

"Okay? Why are we going there?"

"You'll see." He perked up when Kawakami looked at him.

"Akira, what does it mean when I say that a fish rots from the head down? What is that referring to?"

"When an organization like the mafia falls, the leader is the cause of that."

"Very good! It's a phrase devised from ancient times, yet nobody knows exactly where it came from! Now, who can tell me..." Her voice trailed off as doubt filled his mind.

'Should I tell them about Mementos...? I know I should, so then why... Why do I feel so horrible when thinking about the Metaverse all of a sudden....? And did Igor bring all of our connections with it back...? Why have I been so tired recently...? Where's all this doubt coming from...?! I- No. You need to calm down. You're a Phantom Thief, you're better than this.' He sat up straight, struggling to calm his mind, and petting the cat in his desk to help him relax.

Eventually, though, he knew that school was going to end, and he'd have to tell his friends. It was only a matter of hours.