Outsider Chronicles: Brockton's Phantom Thieves

Most of the time, the focus of a Worm story is a hero screwing over the villains. Or a villain being even worse and winning that way. Me? I'm just a Phantom Thief. Even so, I'll save this city, one stolen heart at a time!

So, I had this idea at work. Originally, I planned for the MC to just Trigger with a Persona, but then I had an even better idea. What is it? Well, I can guarantee that I won't be following the standard Cliches here! For one thing, Taylor's role will be relatively small. With that in mind, enjoy!

Prologue

Sometimes, its hard to believe that something's going on, even if you know for a fact your not dreaming. I'd felt like that before, namly when I woke up after dying to find myself as a baby again. Yeah, kinda hard to believe, right? Even more so when you consider that I've been reborn into a world crawling with traumatized people with superpowers, had a glowing, golden man flying around helping people and regularly suffered attacks from giant, unkillable monsters.

Fortunately, I was lucky enough to be born in a place with few Capes and no juicy targets for any of the roving bands of loonies to attack. Unfortunately, my Parents apparently kept a lot from me, including the fact that their marriage was on the rocks, right up until there was a massive blow up that ended with Mum storming out and divorce papers making appearances. That leads me to now, sitting on a bus on my way to my Aunt and Uncle's house to stay with them while everything got sorted out. Seeing as this is a Worm story, guess where they live? I groaned as the bus drove past the irritatingly cheery 'WELCOME TO BROCKTON BAY!' sign that was surprisingly unmarred by Graffiti.


It took another half an hour to reach the bus station where I grabbed my bag and got of the bus. I glanced around and quickly spotted my Uncle, a tall, slightly stooped man with slicked back hair and a chinstrap beard and goatee. I waved and made my way over to him.

"Hey Uncle Ron," I said as I approached.

"Hey kiddo," said Ron, ruffling my already frizzy hair and making me scowl, "You've certainly grown since I last saw you."

"I'd hope so since I was about six," I muttered.

Ron winced.

"Yeah, sorry kid," he said as he led the way to his car, "I know it can't be easy, knowing your gonna be living with what are essentially strangers for a year. And this stuff with your Parents certainly won't help."

I sighed.
"I'll manage," I said.

"Good lad."


The drive to Uncle's house was made in silence. He, along with his wife and Son, lived on the edge of the good and bad parts of town. He ran a small, out of the way cafe called LaBlanc that was famous for excellent coffee and even better curry of all things. The Cafe itself was only a small part of the building and the rest of it was actually the family's home. Uncle Ron pulled the car up in the driveway and got out, grabbing my bags from the boot and leading the way inside.

"Sharron, Greg, we're home!" he called as I entered after him.

At his shout, Aunt Sharron, a large, motherly woman came bustling out of the kitchen with flour on her hands. The moment she saw me, she hurried over and pulled me into a hug. I blinked, not expecting that in the slightest.

"Oh, you poor dear!" she said, "I can't imagine what you must be going through right now!"

"Err…"

She released me and turned to glare up the stairs.

"GREG!"

"Coming Mom!"

A moment later, my Cousin appeared at the top of the stairs and came stumping down. He was shorter than me, with short, blonde hair spiked up with a heavy amount of gell and brown eyes. He was wearing a yellow t-shirt with a comic style star symbol and the word 'ZOMG!' on the front, a pair of jogging bottoms with the bottoms rolled up and no shoes or socks. At the sight of me, he paused and raised an eyebrow.

"Greg, do you remember Cousin Andrew?" said Sharron, "You met him at Grandma's 80th."

"Ehh, not really," said Greg.

"Well, we were only six," I said, "Nice to...meet you I guess would be the best thing to say."

"I hope you two can get along," said Uncle Ron, "Andrew's going to be here for a while."

"How long?" asked Greg.

"About a year most likely," said Ron.

"Things back home are a little...volatile at the moment," I said.

An awkward silence fell over the hall.

"Well, lets show you where you'll be sleeping," said Ron, grabbing one of my bags.

I grabbed the other and followed him upstairs and into a room that was situated above the cafe. I'm pretty sure it had been a storeroom until recently, but it was clean and had a comfortable looking bed, a side table and a desk and chair set up.

"I know its not much, but it was the best we could do at such short notice," said Ron.

"Its fine," I said, sitting down on the bed, "Thanks."

Ron hesitated for a moment, before nodding and leaving me alone. I sighed and lay back on my bed, staring up at the ceiling without really seeing it. Well, here I was. Now, just what did the ROB who stuck me here have in mind for me? I didn't have much time to think on it however as the fatigue of traveling such a long way crept up on me and my eyes fluttered shut. The last thing I saw was a blue butterfly landing on the window outside.


"Ahhh, a new guest."

My eyes snapped open at the unexpected voice, but before I could shoot to my feet, my mind registered what was sat across the table from me and I froze in complete disbelief. I found myself sitting in a comfortable armchair, bound in blue velvet, before a fireplace made of black marble with pale blue flames flickering in the grate. A look around the room revealed that I was in what appeared to be a large drawing room of some kind. It was painted dark blue, with a blue and black patterned carpet. The windows were covered in blue velvet curtains. Sat in an armchair across a small coffee table from me was a little old man with bulging eyes and a very long nose, while a woman stood at his shoulder.

The woman was tall, pale skinned and rather pretty, with shoulder length, blonde hair and yellow eyes. She was wearing a tailored, dark blue suit with a white undershirt and a matching fedora and was carrying a large book under one arm.

"Welcome, to the Velvet room," said Igor, "I'm sure I don't need to introduce myself, but I shall anyway. I am Igor and this is my assistant, Fortuna."

"It is a pleasure to meet you at last Master," said Fortuna with a bow, "I admit, I was beginning to worry that we would have to resort to my Waking selfs Path to Victory after all."

"Errr," was my only response.

Seriously, what else could I say.

"Don't worry, you are simply here in a dream," said Fortuna, "Your body is still in your bed, safe and sound."

"I am delighted to make your acquaintance," said Igor, "This place exists between Dreams and Reality, Mind and Matter. It is a room only those bound by a Contract may enter."

"Um, I don't remember making a contract," I said.

"Perhaps not, but the fact remains that a Contract has been made," said Igor.

I sighed. Guess I'm not getting out of this. I lent forwards in my chair.

"Alright, so whats this about?" I asked.

"The world outside is rotten," said Igor, "So many lives have been lost, so much suffering wrought by the monsters that now threaten the Earth."

"Wait, you mean you want me to fight the Entities?!" I spluttered.

"Of course not, that would be suicide," said Fortuna, "No, we wish for you to get stronger than anyone else and then crush their Champion."

"Oh, so fighting Scion will be so much easier," I grumbled, "Isn't he immune to powers?"

"Powers sourced from the Entities, maybe, but the power of a Persona comes from your Heart," said Igor.

"We will not force you of course," said Fortuna, "But your refusal will force the hands of those with far more dangerous plans. Plans that will lead to far more suffering than is necessary."

I flinched. Good god, these two were good at guilt tripping.

"Worry not, we do not expect you to fight this battle alone," said Igor, "You will have comrades to aid you in battle. However, for now, you should return to sleep. We will see each other again, in time."

I opened my mouth to protest the abrupt dismissal, but before I could, the world blurred and went black.

Right, so this is a tad short, but its the prologue, what do you expect? Future chapters will probably be longer.

I'm not entirely sure what the relationship between Fortuna and Contessa is at the moment, but they are linked. And isn't that a scary thought? Still, at least she can see what the best options for Fusions will be in the future!

Yes, Andrew's cousin is Greg Veder, although he is a little different than in Canon. You might be able to guess what his role will be. I wonder if you can guess who I plan to use as Panther? Or hell, even the rest of the team? Morgana's not changing though.

Oh yeah, I probably should have mentioned that most of this will be based on P5, although Igor is Igor and not an evil cup in disguise.

Timeline wise, it starts at about the same time as Worm, so Taylors already got her powers and is planning to go out VERY soon.

Personas and Parahuman abilities are completely different and aren't linked in anyway. That said, you can't use a Persona in the Real World (obvs) and Parahumans can't use their powers in the Cognitive World. Of course, Shadow's generally possess an approximation of their powers. That comment might serve as a clue to some of the future targets for the Thieves.

Anyway, I'm gonna sign off now. Next chapter will be the start of the Hunter arc. Until then, don't forget to leave a review!