Fandom Persona 5: The Meta War CLOSED

[Maeve Valor]

Masami was about to respond to Lyka to defend herself, but when Solon cut in she ended up just pouting as she waved him away as if he was a fly. It was then that Igor began explaining to the best of his ability, though it still seemed to be in a vague manner that it was presented. In summary to Masami, she gathered that this was an alternate reality of some sort that was linked to her world and held the unconscious thoughts of everyone. She couldn't really disbelieve what he was saying with the way he presented everything as he manipulated the area around them such as conjuring objects. At the mention of her having already met someone that is trying to control the fate of others, she wondered who exactly it was because she actually has a couple of people in mind as to who it could be.

The next thing Igor conjured was what looked to be a tarot card deck and he drew a card with a tower in it. He then elucidated what this card meant to her and in response, she clenched her fists, her mind immediately went to her fear of her being put away along with her family in actual prison for all the harm she has done to others.

She somehow felt herself being drawn back to that figure, yet she knew what ultimately felt like the best decision to make. She wanted to control her own fate, if this man could offer her control to do so, she thought herself an idiot if she didn't take this chance to take the reigns. Forcefully, she picked up the quill pen and signed her name under the text written in the middle of the paper. "Masami Ogawa"

Nellancholy

 

[Nellancholy]

The moment Masami put the dot on her signature, the blue twinkle that first reached out to her returned once more. No mere spark this time, it swelled with her resolve and determination, growing into a cleansing flame that rumbled like a storm cloud, pouring into her heart. Like a patch of mold or a stained linen, the encroaching tulpa flickered and stuttered for scarcely a moment before the heat consumed it down to the last speck.

The inferno grew, imparting equal parts fear and glory to Masami as it seemed to swallow her up, the impassive visage of Igor and the wardens washed away by the blinding light.

---

As Masami regained her sight, she would likely be none too pleased to find herself nowhere near Dr. Hiroshi's examination room. In fact, she was inside what appeared to be a dim but clean corridor within an ancient structure, resembling a temple or a catacomb straight out of a fantasy movie. But that wasn't quite all there was to it. Gleaming piping and lightbulbs ran along the walls, and the occasional chip or loose brick along the wall betrayed some more modern construction propping up the structure.

"Heave-ho, heave-ho!"

Adding to the already surreal vibe of Masami's surroundings, energetic voices rang out from a little further down the corridor, as a stack of the brick wall slid aside and several workers in bright white hazmat suits and rubber gloves walked out, each hefting cases that were filled with...the linen garments and the pendants belonging to the Order of Metatron. Was this were they were made? Was it the nature of this place that gave those objects their supernatural influence?

Finding answers to these questions would unfortunately have to wait.

The procession of workers stopped dead as one of them turned to face Masami, soon noticing her presence. Immediately their hands shot to their side like a soldier standing at attention, the container they carried hitting the ground with a thud. Their neck twisted at a sharp angle as they scrutinized Masami.

"FOLLOWER...OF METATRON? COME COLLECT BLESSED MEDALLIONS...?"

The group of them, numbering five, took a step towards Masami in perfect sync. Another one spoke.

"IDIOT! NOT FOLLOWER! HAVE STENCH OF CHAOS! SANCTIFY WITH BLESSED LIGHT OF METATRON!"

Immediately, their bodies began to twist and warp as their clothing turned black and they withdrew a strange apparatus from their coats.

One thing was for sure, those things weren't human.

The blue flame flickered to life in Masami's heart. This was the final test.

Maeve Valor

 

[That Weird girl]

Isao was still a idiot by morning , his father's overcoat and hat laid strung out on the floor from their nightly adventure, slung on to himself the night before when he was able to rush home in between stalking the preachers until he shot up from where he collapsed the night before futilely thankful that he was able to get home even with a thumping ache inside of his brain and automatically left his room running on purely routine at this point with time only for basic sanitary.

Left the train, 28 minute interval difference, minimal time offset day starting now, turn page to 18, investigation resume.

Once again he recorded the day jolted out of his seat and in the direction of the school slogging forward with every step groggily aware that his uniform was creased and untidy from last night this messiness following the rest of his features hair frayed untidy and his eyes in the medium between open and closed yet he could feel them twitching unconsciously carrying over into his writing even as he attempted to repeat himself again, slamming forward for his place in the school entrance having to push through students inside of the crowd at the school gates trying to regain his place at entrance and sipping some chocolate milk the carton crumbling in a sad attempt to dapper the developed headache for this investigation continue.

Memories of last night seeping back into his mind, following '1' the whole night became a contest of stamina more than anything staying with energy that could only be described as supernatural becoming a cycle of drinking caffeine to keep up with him and wishful thinking he would stop until eventfully Isao had to admit defeat and drag himself home. Now he didn't have any idea where this landed on the cryptid chart but the one lesson learnt from the night before was that he needed to get case member's on this and the prime suspect for the cryptid case, Ann though to be honest he would like a case member that wasn't a suspected cryptid so once Isao again leaned against the entrance squinting at the populace for any odd looking individuals.

It turned out that Shiro didn't need her yet for the plan. Ann was waiting on a bench on the walkway drinking a soda watching the many people of Tokyo walk by and some stared at her weirdly. She then realized she was wearing her school uniform and panicked for a second before grabbing her bag with Morgana in it sleeping. Her phone was filled with texts from her mom asking where she was and did she did know how late it was.

"What the heck?" Morgana asked grumpily as the bag was being moved and he was woken up from his sleep. He didn't realize that Ann had more important matters than waiting for Shiro to tell them where the treasure was. He hoped the powerful thief would find the treasure location or else she was going to get shit from him for not bringing him along and of course he would boost his own ego. Morgana felt like he was the best at stealing treasure from palaces even though he failed at the last one and needed the girls help. The last thing he wanted was some new person to mess them up.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Ann had actually taken initiative to seek out Isao at school to talk to him. He was strange enough to perhaps become a persona much like she and Shiro were strange. She sensed someone followed her yesterday evening and hoped he was not a Metamerc in real life. The thieves definitely had a hatred of them now since they tried to capture them once. The group of mercs could hunt them down at any point and she was a little scared.

"Hey investigator," Ann spoke as she walked alongside him, "sorry our interview was cut short the other day...had to do something important." Ann wondered if he knew about her being a phantom thief, no could he have? What if he is a meta merc?

"What do you think about these phantom thieves?" Ann asked him just to gauge his answer, "you think they are criminals that deserve to put to justice or heroes?" Ann was terrible at hiding stuff, Sougo had always told her that and throughout school he had caught her lies so many times.

accursedjobber Anthem

 

[Anthem]

Ann had actually taken initiative to seek out Isao at school to talk to him. He was strange enough to perhaps become a persona much like she and Shiro were strange. She sensed someone followed her yesterday evening and hoped he was not a Metamerc in real life. The thieves definitely had a hatred of them now since they tried to capture them once. The group of mercs could hunt them down at any point and she was a little scared.

"Hey investigator," Ann spoke as she walked alongside him, "sorry our interview was cut short the other day...had to do something important." Ann wondered if he knew about her being a phantom thief, no could he have? What if he is a meta merc?

"What do you think about these phantom thieves?" Ann asked him just to gauge his answer, "you think they are criminals that deserve to put to justice or heroes?" Ann was terrible at hiding stuff, Sougo had always told her that and throughout school he had caught her lies so many times.

Studying a list of probabilities to no avail... That is what Imato had been doing since he followed the strange blonde girl who ran from the school. He had tracked the route made by following the girl, trying to see if there was any connections he could discover but at this point he believed the pursuit was useless. With a sigh of defeat, the teen started to clear the library table he had occupied until- *Bzz Bzz!* his phone had buzzed with some form of notification. As Imato pulled out the phone he soon realized it wasn't any notification, but the strange app from the day before and it was showing a map, one of the city. He looked at both maps and came to a realization, somehow throughout the pursuit there was a particular area that was avoided... That area had a small blip on the strange map.

"! Heh... Jackpot." Imato said to himself, marking the point of interest on his normal map before cleaning up the rest of the mess he made. 'If there is anything there or not, it would be best to check out the area since we somehow avoided it so perfectly. I'll check it out after school, have to make sure I'm not the one who's followed this time though.' He thought as he looked at the map one last time before putting his phone away. For now, he remained in the library since there was still a short amount of time left before classes start again.

 

[accursedjobber]

It turned out that Shiro didn't need her yet for the plan. Ann was waiting on a bench on the walkway drinking a soda watching the many people of Tokyo walk by and some stared at her weirdly. She then realized she was wearing her school uniform and panicked for a second before grabbing her bag with Morgana in it sleeping. Her phone was filled with texts from her mom asking where she was and did she did know how late it was.

"What the heck?" Morgana asked grumpily as the bag was being moved and he was woken up from his sleep. He didn't realize that Ann had more important matters than waiting for Shiro to tell them where the treasure was. He hoped the powerful thief would find the treasure location or else she was going to get shit from him for not bringing him along and of course he would boost his own ego. Morgana felt like he was the best at stealing treasure from palaces even though he failed at the last one and needed the girls help. The last thing he wanted was some new person to mess them up.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Ann had actually taken initiative to seek out Isao at school to talk to him. He was strange enough to perhaps become a persona much like she and Shiro were strange. She sensed someone followed her yesterday evening and hoped he was not a Metamerc in real life. The thieves definitely had a hatred of them now since they tried to capture them once. The group of mercs could hunt them down at any point and she was a little scared.

"Hey investigator," Ann spoke as she walked alongside him, "sorry our interview was cut short the other day...had to do something important." Ann wondered if he knew about her being a phantom thief, no could he have? What if he is a meta merc?

"What do you think about these phantom thieves?" Ann asked him just to gauge his answer, "you think they are criminals that deserve to put to justice or heroes?" Ann was terrible at hiding stuff, Sougo had always told her that and throughout school he had caught her lies so many times.

accursedjobber Anthem

Once again repeating himself like a broken record, now in a stupor of deprived sleep jolted out of his automated state staggered back upon hearing a voice the same voice from yesterday which in his current state felt like needles inside of his ears " Jesus, stop doing that " Isao said without a shred of self awareness or reflection in his words, the blowback from the night before impacting his tact and professionalism to a painful effect as he heard Ann's question, a random question based on phantom thieves, implying linkage towards his brain as the response and thought processing in his head spoke to him, until yester night's effects short circuited it " Well so far they've done a good job so far "the babble continued despite Isao's inner logic attempting to choke it back "but to ignore the implication's of such abilities would be arrogant, it's mystery leads that the threat is similar to a taser in trained or in this case heroic people it's a tool for justice for any other persons from misuse or malpractice it may cause more harm than if given to" It just kept going on and on the tracks in his brain built for today with no brakes manifesting itself as a oversharing of information.

"though this is fails on the conceptually level as the manipulation of the mind to confess it itself is completely different on a philosophical level and physical the only reason I know of them is that it fitted into my own private investigations meaning that they have a method that takes time as otherwise there would've been more activity from though, yet this isn't considering that they could of been using it for their own gains already and simply haven't already gone and done that."

Finally Isao stopped this one sided conversation even as his right eye flickered separated from it's pair, as he slowly thought this through the phantom thieves and information on them in general was niche in it's availability, hell Isao only got it via nepotism in a conversation about the supernatural with his dad apparently it became as father said "Station gossip tree material" though the school probably had it's only 'gossip tree' the question itself was indicative of something. Isao reasoned this indicative connection worthy of questioning and Ann's cryptid status also ignoring the lack of information on that part, plan- ask question's, find opinion, Isao prepared to ask this questions notepad drawn out, pen held upside down
"are you a member or associate of the phantom thieves?" Isao was a idiot, having 3 hours of sleep only enhanced this.

That Weird girl Anthem

 

[Maeve Valor]

Masami held her arms in front of her face to shield herself from the blinding light and when she felt that it was gone she slowly let her arms fall to her side as she opened her eyes to inspect her surroundings. Once she realized that had not ended up back in the examination room, she initially suspected that she had been tricked somehow thinking, "Damn, you've got to be kidding me, I knew something like this would happen!"

She heard the voices of others down the corridor. She took a step toward that direction so that she could give these people a piece of her mind, but when she looked down as she took a couple of steps forward she noticed a slight ripple effect from walking as if she was walking across a puddle, yet the floor felt solid to her. Something was definitely off. As she pondered this odd phenomenon, the people in hazmat suits came out with pendants which only confused her more as they began acknowledging her presence. As they continued speaking amongst themselves Masami had a feeling that this wasn't going to end well for her. She was about to take off running, but then each of the people became disfigured before her into things that could only be described as monsters to her. She froze in place, choosing neither a fight or flight method. Surely, if she were to run this... thing would catch up to her in no time.

A quick thought then came to her mind; These beasts can obviously speak so maybe she could lie and try to convince them that she was with the Order as a "special" recruit. Her planning stopped right there as she faltered looking down and said to herself, "More dishonesty... more deceit... just like they said there would be."

As the the enemies slowly began to surround her, she abruptly shot them a defiant glare, "Well no more... I'm tired of hiding behind lies!" Suddenly, an uncontrollable pounding came over her whole body emanating mainly from her head down. The sensation almost made her drop to her knees in pain as a female voice she can only describe as mischievous resonated around her saying

"In your attempt to hide your true self, you have split yourself thus making you two-faced...
Such a revolting look for someone with so much potential..."

Masami grabbed handfuls of hair on either side of her head jerking side to side occasionally as she tried to scream, yet the sound would catch itself in her throat making a silent yell.

"Allow me to mend those two faces into one...
True beauty lies in those that tackle problems with full force...
Are you ready to take matters into your own hands finally?..."

"Yes..." she managed to growl out feeling as if it wasn't entirely herself that was speaking and some sort of alter ego saying it on her behalf.

"Excellent! A covenant has been formed on this day...
I am thou, thou art I...
For far too long, you have let others dictate how you live your life....
Now... weave the tales of your own destiny!"

A mask appeared on Masami's face that looked to be a helmet modeled after the skeleton of a bird with feathers coming out over the top of her head. Instinctively, she grabbed the top part of her mask as her fingers raked through some of the feathers attached as she pulled downward feeling a feral need to take the damn thing off. The mask gave way as she this time was able to scream out and felt a searing pain across her face as if she actually ripped a layer of skin off herself. The feeling was only temporary and was replaced by bliss as she felt a newfound power surge through her. A powerful rush of energy came out creating a light burst of air to be felt throughout the entire corridor. In it's wake, Masami now wore black light armored dress with gold trimming that clung to her with a slit along the left side and she wielded a large, silver chakram. There was beauty in her outfit yet still gave her an imposing aura. Behind her, was a tall woman that only looked like a silhouette wearing a gold crown and an extravagant red halter dress where the style was middle eastern inspired. The most notable feature though was the light that was terrifyingly pooling out her mouth and eyes as she constantly wore a smirk.

"Stench of chaos, huh?" She stood up tall and then got into a fighting stance while gripping her chakram. "When I'm done with you, you'll know the true meaning of chaos! Scheherazade, let's make these cultists say their prayers!"

Nellancholy

 

[Nellancholy]

The Shadows bearing down on Masami trembled as the searing flames blazed forth from her, their hands in the air as they shrieked. But it was not fear that gripped them. They were simple entities, barely living. Created by the malevolent greed and ego of Matriarch Suzuki and shaped into forms that were barely human, they nonetheless recognized the new figure before them as an imminent threat. A being of incredible radiance and power, the very antithesis of their artificial, unconscious existence. What they expressed...was rage.

"PURGE...PURIFY!"

Not quite the types to engage in close range, the "Mad Gassers" formed up into a firing line, aiming their strange weapons at Scheherazade. As they pulled the triggers in unison, waves of a thick, oily gas filled the air before them, their effects enough to burn and corrode anything in their path. Some other mechanism in the lab activated as they screamed, triggering the alarms and causing a series of doors to close up behind Masami.

Against an ordinary human being, these measures would be enough to finish them off. But for Masami and Scheherazade, this was a perfect opportunity to counterattack.

Maeve Valor

 

[That Weird girl]

Once again repeating himself like a broken record, now in a stupor of deprived sleep jolted out of his automated state staggered back upon hearing a voice the same voice from yesterday which in his current state felt like needles inside of his ears " Jesus, stop doing that " Isao said without a shred of self awareness or reflection in his words, the blowback from the night before impacting his tact and professionalism to a painful effect as he heard Ann's question, a random question based on phantom thieves, implying linkage towards his brain as the response and thought processing in his head spoke to him, until yester night's effects short circuited it " Well so far they've done a good job so far "the babble continued despite Isao's inner logic attempting to choke it back "but to ignore the implication's of such abilities would be arrogant, it's mystery leads that the threat is similar to a taser in trained or in this case heroic people it's a tool for justice for any other persons from misuse or malpractice it may cause more harm than if given to" It just kept going on and on the tracks in his brain built for today with no brakes manifesting itself as a oversharing of information.

"though this is fails on the conceptually level as the manipulation of the mind to confess it itself is completely different on a philosophical level and physical the only reason I know of them is that it fitted into my own private investigations meaning that they have a method that takes time as otherwise there would've been more activity from though, yet this isn't considering that they could of been using it for their own gains already and simply haven't already gone and done that."

Finally Isao stopped this one sided conversation even as his right eye flickered separated from it's pair, as he slowly thought this through the phantom thieves and information on them in general was niche in it's availability, hell Isao only got it via nepotism in a conversation about the supernatural with his dad apparently it became as father said "Station gossip tree material" though the school probably had it's only 'gossip tree' the question itself was indicative of something. Isao reasoned this indicative connection worthy of questioning and Ann's cryptid status also ignoring the lack of information on that part, plan- ask question's, find opinion, Isao prepared to ask this questions notepad drawn out, pen held upside down
"are you a member or associate of the phantom thieves?" Isao was a idiot, having 3 hours of sleep only enhanced this.

That Weird girl Anthem

Isao seemed really tired because of his really important investigation. Ann nodded listening to him babble about the thieves and it seemed like he was not a Metamerc at all by the way he talked about them and maybe he could be a useful person for the team except that he needed more sleep of course...Ann didn't want to give herself away but she did want to point him in the right direction and she channeled her best Sougo Agata impression which hopefully would work.

"I am not but they seem to be worthy to investigate maybe?" Ann shrugged, "I bet they have something to do with those cryptids and I can help with the investigation." Maybe Ann could see if he had the potential to transform into a persona and then he could join. Morgana was thinking about the treasure that he would find in Suzuki's palace and he was so happy that he did not hear Ann talking to Isao and imagined a hall of golden status and him being showered in gold.

Morgana then tumbled out of Ann's bag onto the school floor. "Ann what the hell?!" Morgana complained and the others could just hear him meow until they transformed into personas. He sighed, "Why is lady Shiro taking so god damn long?" He wondered out loud and was annoyed at her already but to be fair she was annoyed with Morgana by just him being there. He was going die of old age before Shiro could find the treasure location.

Man she isn't as cool as me Morgana thought to himself with his ego going up like always. He thought he could take down a Metamerc by himself and didn't need the thieves help but he was going to stay with them since they did help him escape Kajiki. He guessed he did sort of owe them but would change his tune as he soon would see the most beautiful person in his life.

 

[Maeve Valor]

Masami smirked as she basked in the dynamic feeling of now having Scheherazade standing by her. With the wave of her hand in the direction of the enemies, that was all that was needed to command the persona to attack. Scheherazade lifted her arms as her hands looked as if she was gripping onto an invisible. As she did so, she seemed to have summoned a dark aura protrude from the floor in a circle around each of the enemies that looked vibrant, red and a wave of pure blackness together. When they came up, they engulfed all of those that stood in her way. While they were distracted trying to get this visual version of absolute dread off of them, she ran towards each of them directing her large bladed ring to slice over each of them finishing them off.

Without even breaking a sweat she checked the area once more to see if any more were coming. She was only met with hearing footsteps clamoring in the distance coming in her direction. She could have stayed to fight some more, but instead she decided to find a way out and conserve her energy for if she needed to fight for her escape so she ran the opposite way from where she heard the noise. Scheherazade disappeared and the mask she previously had returned to her face as she left the area.

Nellancholy

 

[Nellancholy]

Masami made good her escape, running through the tunnels. Was she actually headed to the exit? Or deeper into the eccentric mastermind's lair? The clamor and shouting of the pursuing Shadows was soon interrupted by a roar like that of no living animal, reverberating through the suffocating underground tunnel. The sound of steel on stone and the stomping of armored legs soon followed, the agonized Shadows dissipating one by one.

Silence fell for two seconds, if that. And around the corner came a figure in a biker helmet and leather jacket, a sturdy lance and a machine gun slung over her back. Behind her, an armored warrior hovered from unfurled wings, each feather formed from gleaming steel. Shiro kept her pace steady as she walked by Masami, not stopping for her. "You made it. I am glad my faith in you was not misplaced." It certainly seemed like Shiro had arrived a bit later than expected, but she definitely wasn't the kind of person to give a "sorry I'm late" to anyone. Or to Masami, at least.

Despite Masami and Scheherazade's quick disposal of the initial wave of "laborers", the alarms couldn't be silenced. "Come. Let's not waste time." Thrud offered Masami her hand, easily picking her and Shiro up and firing up her jets. The deafening roar of her flight almost drowned out the alarms as she streaked through the corridor. Doors and corners flew by in a blur, several smaller Shadows either leaping out of the way or being scorched in their wake. It seemed they would reach their destination in record time, and yet-

Thrud barely had time to slow down as she angled herself backwards, stopping just short of ramming headlong into one of the stone walls.

"Dead end...?" The Shadows on alert had managed to regroup. Pouring out from hatches in the wall, the approaching horde included skull-faced birds and furious orbs of lightning. "Hold on...aha!" Despite the helmet covering her entire face, Shiro's satisfaction was palpable. The tip of her lance punched between two of the stones, dislodging them. The wall crumbled and collapsed, revealing...a pair of broad sliding metal doors.

Wasting little time, Thrud jammed her hands into the gap, prying the doors open and revealing an elevator shaft that seemed to lead high up into the base. Wherever it ended, it was likely that their target would be there. "Ogawa, come on!"

Maeve Valor

 

[Maeve Valor]

Masami was getting annoyed with how much today keeps getting more and more weird. At this point she felt as if she was living in a perpetual state of confusion as she saw a person whom she recognized as obviously Shiro. Though she was able to put together the fact that Shiro probably made the same kind of pact as she did with Scheherazade; so that was one question she was able to cross off her book of inquiries that was beginning to form in her mind. When Thrud picked her up she didn't fight it at all and only a "woah" came from her as it happened.

Afterwards, everything seemed to happening so fast as she just went along with everything because she really didn't have much of a choice. Masami turned sideways to get through the elevator doors and shuffled over as Thrud held it open. "I'm not even going to bother asking for a damn explanation at the moment, but can you at least tell where it is that we're going? I hope to God that you have a plan as well." She said looking sideways to Shiro.

Nellancholy

 

[Nellancholy]

"Plan? Why, we'll simply do as I did before. Strike at the heart of this place and make off with the villain's treasure!" Thrud's jets ignited once more as she grabbed onto both Shiro and Masami, kicking it into top gear and hurtling towards the top of the conveniently empty elevator shaft. They soared past girders and rivets, and disregarded every other doorway. After all, the most valuable thing had to always be at the top. That was how it worked, right?

With that simple idea in mind, Thrud blasted through the door leading to the top floor, setting the two of them down on the ground.

Before them was...a surprisingly sanitary white room, quiet and sterile. There was no commotion, no battle to be had despite their ferocious entrance. It almost seemed like the interior of some kind of alien spaceship. A series of glass pods with digital control panels lined the room. Several of them contained fully-formed beings, resembling various human-like or monstrous figures like the type of various myths and stories. Most of them, further back, held shapeless, growing clumps that weren't given a fixed shape yet. But all of them had that unmistakable red shimmer. This was where the tulpas were made, and probably where they were stored when Matriarch Suzuki wasn't allowing her followers to "embody" them.

"Oh, hello there!" A cheerful voice called from one of the control panels. "Aren't you that lovely young lady I ran into the other day?"

Shiro tilted her head, moving towards the tube containing the tulpa that greeted her. Its voice didn't match its muscular, barbaric appearance. "Huh. Well, I suppose we have met." Shiro folded her arms in bemusement. This was the tulpa that was attached to the timid man, Goro, the other day.

"And it is just fantastic that we've gotten to meet again!" Being formed out of undifferentiated cognition and forcefully molded into certain forms, it certainly seemed that the tulpas tended to have a certain inconsistency in their nature. "I simply don't get out all that often, least of all when the Matriarch makes me follow that lad...my names Beowulf. That's what she told me my name was, anyway..."

"Heh. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Beowulf." Shiro rested her hand on the control panel. "Now, do tell me. How did the Matriarch bring you into being, anyway?"

Shiro could certainly seem approachable when she wanted to.

As she tried to probe the tulpa for information, a voice called out to Masami, one that no one else seemed to notice.

"My follower...my soldier. How could you have refused my gift? Are you unfit for duty? The glorious and noble duty of bringing order to this world? Cease this foolishness! Come to me at once and repent of your insolence! Prove your readiness to me and I will allow you to join my ranks!"

Red trails glowed along the stark white floor, leading Masami to where the voice was coming from. The source appeared to be a pulsating silver orb, sitting on top of a mechanical platform. With the number of glowing lines that were coming off it, it seemed to be the source of power for the entire incubation room. Maybe even the entire palace?

This was certainly the "treasure" they sought. The same feeling of imposing from Masami's tulpa earlier seemed to intrude into her mind. If there was some way to make it solid so they could make off with it...

Maeve Valor

 

[accursedjobber]

Isao seemed really tired because of his really important investigation. Ann nodded listening to him babble about the thieves and it seemed like he was not a Metamerc at all by the way he talked about them and maybe he could be a useful person for the team except that he needed more sleep of course...Ann didn't want to give herself away but she did want to point him in the right direction and she channeled her best Sougo Agata impression which hopefully would work.

"I am not but they seem to be worthy to investigate maybe?" Ann shrugged, "I bet they have something to do with those cryptids and I can help with the investigation." Maybe Ann could see if he had the potential to transform into a persona and then he could join. Morgana was thinking about the treasure that he would find in Suzuki's palace and he was so happy that he did not hear Ann talking to Isao and imagined a hall of golden status and him being showered in gold.

Morgana then tumbled out of Ann's bag onto the school floor. "Ann what the hell?!" Morgana complained and the others could just hear him meow until they transformed into personas. He sighed, "Why is lady Shiro taking so god damn long?" He wondered out loud and was annoyed at her already but to be fair she was annoyed with Morgana by just him being there. He was going die of old age before Shiro could find the treasure location.

Man she isn't as cool as me Morgana thought to himself with his ego going up like always. He thought he could take down a Metamerc by himself and didn't need the thieves help but he was going to stay with them

Isao considered Ann's offer for a hot three seconds as a smile managed to creep it's way against his face, flipping his pen so that it probably acutely sat upon the notepad regaining some of his vigor upon the mentioned elements of his obsession and at the suggestion that they are all connected " A smart deduction, the phantom thieves and cryptids being interlaced makes sense though I wish there was more evidence of such, their methods are similar and I consider the kappa a key suspect in that case though I suspect It's because I find them entertaining." remembering his commitment and last night becoming evidence that he needed other people to be involved inside especially if they are all connected, then a cat appeared and started meowing, that was normal Isao thought as he turned back towards this source of information and possible helper for the current case, the thought of not doing a late night stakeout was useful to him even as he selfishly rattled off questions almost instantly.

" Any information of them would be most useful? " focusing on only one subject at a time before finally he couldn't ignore any longer and stared at the cat meowing " also why is there a cat here? " the mystery already exaggerating itself inside of his head until he eventfully fell on to her having a early onset of becoming a crazed cat lady and decided to ignore the growing mental condition of his newest helper extending his hand outstretched " My investigation towards those badge member's was insightful, what do you know about them? " dumping the remnants of his questions simply as he saved the notes for later when he was confident he has shaken that twitch in his eye and without the thumping ache inside of his head.

 

[That Weird girl]

Isao considered Ann's offer for a hot three seconds as a smile managed to creep it's way against his face, flipping his pen so that it probably acutely sat upon the notepad regaining some of his vigor upon the mentioned elements of his obsession and at the suggestion that they are all connected " A smart deduction, the phantom thieves and cryptids being interlaced makes sense though I wish there was more evidence of such, their methods are similar and I consider the kappa a key suspect in that case though I suspect It's because I find them entertaining." remembering his commitment and last night becoming evidence that he needed other people to be involved inside especially if they are all connected, then a cat appeared and started meowing, that was normal Isao thought as he turned back towards this source of information and possible helper for the current case, the thought of not doing a late night stakeout was useful to him even as he selfishly rattled off questions almost instantly.

" Any information of them would be most useful? " focusing on only one subject at a time before finally he couldn't ignore any longer and stared at the cat meowing " also why is there a cat here? " the mystery already exaggerating itself inside of his head until he eventfully fell on to her having a early onset of becoming a crazed cat lady and decided to ignore the growing mental condition of his newest helper extending his hand outstretched " My investigation towards those badge member's was insightful, what do you know about them? " dumping the remnants of his questions simply as he saved the notes for later when he was confident he has shaken that twitch in his eye and without the thumping ache inside of his head.

"Sorry about my cat," Ann apologized and sent a glare towards Morgana for making her seem like a crazy lady. Of course Morgana didn't care at all about anything but himself and maybe the thieves a little bit. "Morgana," Ann grabbed the cat and put it back in her bag, "bad boy." Morgana grumbled at being treated like an animal, "I AM NOT A CAT!" He yelled at Ann, "I am human...I have to be." Morgana swore he had to be human before he turned into a cat somehow.

"Nice cat," A boy wearing the metatron badge said while approaching Ann, "may I pet him?" The boy could hear Morgana due to a Tulpa in the Metaverse. He knew Susuki would like a pet cat with her and did not know that Morgana was a Phantom thief. Hell he did not even know what a phantom thief was...all he knew was Susuki was going to help him out.

Ann let him pet the cat and then turned back to Isao with a smirk on her, "Lets go to Ginza to visit Suzuki and ask her questions then." Ann was going to go and see the cult and hopefully make a calling card for Shiro. She smiled at him knowing he would like this part, "Hey can you draw? I need you to make a card with a heart explaining that the phantom thieves will steal Suzuki's heart. Meet me after school at the subway no time to explain." Ann walked off smirking to herself.


--------------------------------------------

After school Ann was waiting for Isao to show up at the subway station with the card or if he didn't wanna do it then she would have a backup. Ann was going to reveal her true identity to him if he showed up and she was going to drag him to Ginza with her and Morgana.

"You sure we can trust him?" Morgana asked, "what if he sells us out to the mercs?"

"He won't," Ann said, "I know he won't...I can feel it."

 

[Anthem]

Imato had been waiting a block or so away from the subway station, trying to make his decision if he was really ready to go on some sort of investigation that could very well be nothing or something that leads him into a world of trouble. He continued having more doubts throughout the day, if this idea was really worth risking his well being or even his life. The teen peered at his phone, seeing the message that was written by himself to himself:

'Don't be a Bystander.'

Seeing those words again gave Imato the push he needed to make his choice, he put on the same jacket from before and put the hood on his head. He had also brought and put on a medical mask so most of his face would be unrecognizable by anyone he may bump into. While the apparel made him look suspicious, he thought this would be the best way to hide his identity from most. From there he made his way to the subway station.

"Wait... That's the blonde girl from the other day. If she's going to Ginza as well, then my suspicions of something happening there has to be true." Imato thought as he carefully walked past, trying to ensure that he didn't draw any attention to himself. He distanced himself rather far from the blonde so he wouldn't get spotted, and started to wait for the subway. A devilish smile was on his face, but hidden by the mask he wore. "I'll uncover this... I've gone too far to back out now!"

 

[accursedjobber]

The card came out surprisingly good all things considered, to Isao's eyes at least giving it a once over inside of his bag, a doodle of a Ningen filled one of it's corners since he only had three heart stickers surrounding surrounding simple text stating the phantom thieves intention hoping that the past attempts at drawing a heart on the back are missed. Sure the ending remarks of Ann's conversation before indicated that the mental illness ran deep into her mind but still a associate of the phantom thieves. Isao Yagi was carrying a phantom thief letter, the anticipation and excitement was palpable in his face and movement regaining his composure throughout the day.

Not noticing anyone or anything odd as he walked towards the subway station, narrow-minded towards the destination specified, his mind thinking through the possibilities even as he sipped on chocolate milk brought from a store on his way over, along with a variety of crackpot remedies towards cryptids including a cucumber and a small water gun, filled for action inside of the backpack he carried with him along still holding the taser forgotten at the bottom.

As finally he arrived at his destination, spotting Ann probably with her cat/captive once again before walking towards them and waving
" I'm ready " Isao said as he presented the calling card and followed her further into this rabbit hole

That Weird girl Anthem

 

[That Weird girl]

“Great,” Ann said happily not really helping her case of looking mentally well but she decided to keep playing the act of the associate of the phantom thieves instead of a member. She was going to get that damn card to the cult leader whether it took her an arm and a leg. She hadn’t been this determined to help anyone ever but the way she saw it was that the students of Shunjin was under the phantom thieves protection.

“So what we gotta do is deliver the card to Suzuki,” Ann explained to him, “which will probably be a little hard since she probably won’t want to come out of her office buttt I have a plan.” Ann smirked devilishly thinking of making a scene or she could just sneak in, phantom thieves weren’t known for being normal. “Let’s see if you have what it takes,” Ann said, “don’t let me down now.” Ann was of course hinting at him becoming a persona and seeing if he could handle it.

“You really seem to like crypids so this is perfect,” Morgana said, “if we are wrong about you then you have to deal with Shiro Ann not me.” Ann glanced at the cat and nodded. Despite Morgana just meowing Isao would soon be able to hear the cat. Ann took the card and smiled, this was looking promising that he did not call her a mental nutcase yet. Especially not calling the police on her for potentially kidnapping a cat.

The subway came and Ann walked on with Morgana and looked back at Isao, “after this you can meet the Thieves and perhaps This masked man that is sorta like our friend.”

“Maybe he’ll be able to be as cool as me,” Morgana chuckled to himself, “not likely though because I’m awesome!”

Anthem accursedjobber

 

[Anthem]

As the subway arrived at the station, Imato entered the transport and carefully glanced over, trying to hear what the blonde was saying to what he thought was a friend of the girl's. Due to it being a public area, he did have trouble listening over the crowd but he was able to lock on to specific details. Suzuki, Phantom Thieves, Masked Man. Those were the three details Imato focused on, trying to put together what was going on. His mind immediately filled with a sense of weariness and excitement, since he was getting closer but now he did know the Phantom Thieves were involved in some form. His complex mind couldn't focus on one theory of why the Phantom Thieves would have some connection to Suzuki, so he shook the thought for now until discovers more info.

'Is this stalking..? Nah, I think I'd be able to give a decent reason for this research... I think.' Imato suddenly thought, before staying more diligent than before to ensure he wouldn't be caught. The realization of the charges that could be pressed onto him were terrifying, as the young man didn't want to go to jail for his curiosity.

"Calm down... All will be answered soon." The same voice that compelled him to start this chase for the truth echoed in his mind again, and Imato trusted it once more. He pulled out his phone and played on the device to act natural.

 

[Maeve Valor]

"Treasure?" Masami managed to ask aloud before Thrud jetted forward at full speed again. She had apparently been giving Shiro way too much credit to assume she had a plan to back up this endeavor, whatever it was.

After Thrud had slammed in through the door that led to what Masami assumed was their destination she looked around the room, observing each figure wondering what it all meant and if these things were the Tulpas that the doctor was talking about. They all looked like in some form beings that she and Shiro had, yet they seemed different. They're aura felt fake and didn't give off the same vigor Scheherazade or Thrud had. When she was about to touch one of them, she jumped up slightly at a voice that started to speak directly to Shiro.

For a while, she listened carefully to the conversation the being known as Beowulf was having with Shiro. She kept quiet, hoping that in doing so, she would slowly get answers to the questions that ran through her mind. What treasure is Akiyama-san talking about? Why does she need it? Is this 'Matriarch' that Beowulf speaks of one of these people that Igor warned me about how they manipulate people's consciousness?

Her train of thought was disrupted by a new voice in her mind calling out to her. Even though the very demanding voice was new, the feeling she got from it was familiar so she felt incline to at least answer to the call to promptly decline the offer. She followed the red trail until she got to a brilliant orb and spoke out to the voice, "Unfit for duty? Foolish? Insolent? For something that's trying to win me over, you're doing a shitty job at it."

Nellancholy

 

[Nellancholy]

"Win you over?" The pompous voice scoffed. "Do you think me some kind of wheedling sycophant who begs and scrapes to the likes of you? Nay! To serve in battle against the barbaric hordes of humanity is an honor that one like you would never have if not for my generosity! All I offer is the opportunity for repentance and atonement for your sins!" The silver orb rippled in its overwrought, egotistical speech, the image of a metallic mask forming within it with the clear semblance of the great angel whose portrait hung in the hall of the Order. So this was Metatron, or at least a sizable fragment of his power. "All this could have been yours, if you had accepted. It is not too late, soldier! Behold the power I offer! Will you tame it, or will you continue to deny my gift?!"

The red lines siphoning Metatron's energy halted for a moment, then reversed, provoking a grunt of pain from Beowulf.

Instead of using the pods, Metatron bellowed and writhed, directly birthing forth a great red lion with the wicked tail of a scorpion. Ferocious to be sure, but without a will of its own. This Manticore would have been imparted to Masami, in all its power and stature...but at the cost of her own heart, reducing her to only another peon for the Order.

The beast reared up and lunged...only for Shiro to pierce its hide with her lance through a fearsome leap.

"A fine mess you've wandered into, Ogawa! Could you simply not have followed my lead?" Despite her complaints, Shiro clearly welcomed another chance to fight. Hurt but still full of energy, the Manticore thrashed and flung her aside, whirling to face Masami again.

Maeve Valor

 

[accursedjobber]

“Great,” Ann said happily not really helping her case of looking mentally well but she decided to keep playing the act of the associate of the phantom thieves instead of a member. She was going to get that damn card to the cult leader whether it took her an arm and a leg. She hadn’t been this determined to help anyone ever but the way she saw it was that the students of Shunjin was under the phantom thieves protection.

“So what we gotta do is deliver the card to Suzuki,” Ann explained to him, “which will probably be a little hard since she probably won’t want to come out of her office buttt I have a plan.” Ann smirked devilishly thinking of making a scene or she could just sneak in, phantom thieves weren’t known for being normal. “Let’s see if you have what it takes,” Ann said, “don’t let me down now.” Ann was of course hinting at him becoming a persona and seeing if he could handle it.

“You really seem to like crypids so this is perfect,” Morgana said, “if we are wrong about you then you have to deal with Shiro Ann not me.” Ann glanced at the cat and nodded. Despite Morgana just meowing Isao would soon be able to hear the cat. Ann took the card and smiled, this was looking promising that he did not call her a mental nutcase yet. Especially not calling the police on her for potentially kidnapping a cat.

The subway came and Ann walked on with Morgana and looked back at Isao, “after this you can meet the Thieves and perhaps This masked man that is sorta like our friend.”

“Maybe he’ll be able to be as cool as me,” Morgana chuckled to himself, “not likely though because I’m awesome!”

Anthem accursedjobber

So now Isao sat here attempting to eat the cucumber from his bag on a subway seat, after all he would need as much energy as possible to complete the operation set forth by Ann, trusting that the plan of a phantom thief associate would need to be performed to the utmost efficiency and be a detailed as well a sophisticated plan requiring complete attention.

Left with only the time to lament and think about the implication's found before hand in conversation, and the task given out giddiness filling himself at the thought of doing something exciting and to once again progress the investigation once again as he once again side eyed the cat in the bag, remembering how Ann has become deluded enough to attempt to speak with it keeping that noted in case a intervention would be needed later on especially if his interpretation of its meows for help were true, though he suspected that a group like the phantom thieves wouldn't associate with someone deeply troubled to a detrimental degree, thinking of them and the mentioned masked third party.

" So how are the thieves as people? " Isao finally asked to attempt to garner more information in this intermission leaving the third party until later , impatiently moving any way he can on his seat as he waits for the time to pass already and begin a new stage of , taking bites out of the warm cucumber like a carrot waiting for the train to arrive at it's destination, running through his notes recorded in his notepad as finally he accomplished something of worth in this cryptid investigation making it a worthwhile venture after all despite his doubts . Until finally it arrived at it's destination, or at least to his knowledge, putting a end to this awkward transition.
Anthem That Weird girl

 

[Maeve Valor]

"Oh that's rich, coming from someone who got me involved into this whole mess," Masami said before taking her mask off to summon Scheherazade. The female entity threw an arm shooting out a red, cursed energy towards the beast distracting him momentarily before Masami charged at it and embedded her chakram into a crook between its shoulder and neck. She then spun around with both hands on the inner part of the weapon so that the entirety blade had made its way through the wound. To disengage, she brought her leg up to kick it in the face as she pulled her weapon away from it and backed up slightly to get ready for the next attack.

"You know, when you offered me to come help, I didn't sign up to fight a Manticore along with some cultists and ally with beings from another dimension... but it's whatever, no harm no foul for the most part," she grinned the last part over at Shiro. She joked to Shiro, but she understood that if Shiro were to lay it all out beforehand, Masami definitely would have thought she was crazy and not agreed to go undercover at the headquarters.

Nellancholy

 

[Nellancholy]

Shiro rolled in the air, far more agile in this strange mental space than she could ever be in the material world. "Feeling regrets, Ogawa? You agreed to delve into this place when I asked...and alas, this place does not let go easily of that which lies in its grasp." There was no apology forthcoming from Shiro, and so all she could do was brush off any concern Masami might have. The loud, bombastic weapon came over her shoulder, and she squeezed the trigger, sending a hail of bullets towards the beast.

For its part, gouged and hemorrhaging black effluence, the Manticore wasn't quite on its last legs yet. It leapt to the side, grazed only by a few of the bullets from the machine gun. It coiled and pounced at Shiro-

But either she planned for that, or simply reacted fast enough.

Thrud came down with a crash, wrestling the lion down. Her bladed wings furled, digging further into its "flesh". Its tail lashed out, piercing through Thrud's armor and injecting venom into her. But she held on, pinning it down like cattle ready for slaughter.

And now all that remained was for Masami and Scheherazade to deliver the finishing blow.

Maeve Valor

 

[That Weird girl]

"Well they are a bunch of misfits all right," Ann responded while nervously bouncing her leg up and down not really ready for this. She felt a little bad for dragging Isao into this but she needed to know if he could be a persona and if her gut was right. She was going to have to act quick to gain Suzuki's attention and also hurry up so Shiro doesn't die since she diid care for her friend. Ann was going to prove her usefulness to the thieves and hopefully the other boy could as well.

The subway stopped and Ann stood up and grabbed Isao's hand to hopefully drag him out of the subway as she was bursting with excitement and nervousness. There was no time to explain and no time to kill. Morgana followed them to the Ginza building scoffing at his team member for her actions and that she was literally acting mental right now. Now it was game time...luckily Morgana was a pro at breaking and entering into places by now. He ran on all fours ahead of them and wondered how he could sneak in...maybe the vent? Morgana had a copy of the phantom thief card in his mouth and needed to find Suzuki's office or whatever.

"That cat is actually a member," Ann told him as she pushed open the doors to Ginza, "I am not a crazy cat lady but I am a phantom thief." Ann smirked and walked up to the front desk and looked at the person at the desk, "The order of Metatron is false! You are just using people and your leaders time is almost over so better give up." Ann trusted Morgana to deliver the calling card to Suzuki so she held out her phone as security guards walked towards her and suddenly her, Isao, and Imato were transported to the palace of Metatron and Ann was of course wearing her costume now. She aimed her gun at the shadows disguised as security guards and shot them dissolving them. Ann laughed, "that was easy..."

Then someone with a tulpa managed to ran across the wall and kick Ann in the head knocking her to the ground where shadows pointed their guns at her. The man named Goro looked at Isao and Imato with hostile eyes, "who the fuck are you guys? Eh maybe you'll make good tulpas." Goro punched Isao to hopefully knock him out and then he would try the same trick on Imato.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Morgana managed to climb into a vent and ran inside it to hopefully find the target. He was still in his cat form so if he got caught then he would be fucked. He had no idea what Suzuki would look like and where she would be but he kept traveling through the vent. He soon came to an end where he looked down below and the grate collapsed sped making him fall to the ground with a thud alerting cult members but he always had a trick...

One of the cult members found just a card and he picked it up reading it with a scrunched face confused as it was addressed to Suzuki. Morgana now had to figure out how to get to the Metaverse and he had an idea of how. He waited for the confused boy to leave to go see Suzuki and tell her the news first and started to lick his paws while he waited. His team needed him at least for a fast escape.

Anthem accursedjobber Nellancholy

 

[Anthem]

Following the blonde and her friend as fast as he could, Imato made sure to get off shortly after they did so he'd remain behind them. He looked around carefully as they entered Ginza, following soon after. The teen attempted to stay hidden by blending into the crowd, but making sure he could see and hear all that was happening. That's when his sight blurred momentarily, Imato quickly realized that the place they were in wasn't Ginza but something that seemed unreal. He saw the blonde girl from before, now in a costume shooting the heck out of monstrous beings he couldn't recognized. When she was suddenly knocked down, Imato stumbled back but stood his ground when the man came to attack him.

"I don't know what 'tulpas' are, but I'm not doing anything if it helps sickos like you!" Imato barked at Goro, dodging the punch by crouching down then quickly jumping back. The teen was in a low, defensive stance with his hood and mask still on, he was ready to ensure his survival.