Of Phantoms and Thieves

Crossing Paths

Ren's eyes fluttered open. He found himself no longer in Café Leblanc, rather in a dimly lit room. Some stranger was looming over him, face partially covered, and for a moment Ren thought that a Shadow was above him. He tensed up as is instincts kicked in and he punched the nurse in the face. Only when he realized who it was did he feel guilty.

"I... I'm sorry!" Ren blurted, sitting up. "You scared me, and I thought..."

"It's alright," the nurse breathed. "You're safe here. I assume you're feeling well, since you're sitting up without any complications."

Ren looked around the room. "How did I get here?"

The nurse winced and rubbed her cheek. "We're still not too sure about what happened. It seemed to be caused from some sort of trauma. From what was explained to me, you were alone in your room when you started screaming, and then you were found looking dead on the floor."

Ren's heart skipped a beat. He remembered that awful day of the car crash, how the paramedics had to come. His arm had been so badly damaged, they...

Ren put a hand on his forehead and pushed the thoughts out of his head.

"Perhaps some rest will help you," the nurse suggested, laying him back. "I know it's a lot to process. We're here to help you make a quick recovery and get back on your feet."

Ren slowly nodded. He watched as the nurse left the room, turning off the lights and closing the door. Across from him, on a countertop, he noticed a few belongings sitting there, a few gifts as well. He slowly got up and maneuvered over to the counter. After opening a few gifts and cards and reading them, he found his phone among the other belongings. Ren picked it up and turned it on, the light hurting his eyes. He squinted in the dark as he typed in the passcode.

There weren't any new notifications, as expected. Ren sighed to himself and turned back to the bed. A thought then nabbed at him. Where were Futaba and Sojiro? Of anything, they'd be there with him. And yet they were nowhere to be found. The nurse hadn't mentioned them either. Ren pulled up his texts and messaged them. He waited. No response.

Ren finally grew impatient and gave up. Sitting down on the bed, he looked through his applications. It was then that one caught his eye. He audibly gasped. 

It can't be back, Ren thought. Can it? After so long of trying to get rid of the Metaverse, it's back?

Ren blinked a few times. He knew that it was either a dream, or that there was no getting rid of it. He about tapped on it but thought twice. Was he in the best shape to traverse the Metaverse? Why was the app back, and how? Yaldabaoth was the one who gave it to him in hopes of taking control over reality and the Metaverse. If it was back, something must have gone wrong.

And if there was something wrong, that wrong needed to be righted.

Ren braced himself to enter the void as he tapped on the smartphone app for what seemed like the millionth time. He watched as reality lost its form, replaced with evil and twisted desires that ultimately disgusted the former leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.

He then found himself starting to suffocate and become enveloped in a misty haze, the haze that would greet him in his dreams and hallucinations.

He was back at the day of the car crash. Ren was in the back seat of the pickup truck his family owned, staring out the window at the grassy fields. He loved the sights and smells of the country. Some were... unpleasant, but other than that, the fresh air and the lack of people somewhat made him relax. School had been a bit of an issue, what with coming back after being labeled a criminal and the reoccurring news of the Phantom Thieves.