Chapter I: The Call to Action

Akira Kurusu recognized this feeling. This ethereal sensation as if he was caught in a void beyond reality, the comforting yet somewhat hostile atmosphere, and the cold, hard stone supporting his back. It was a familiar feeling, one that greeted him on the way into Tokyo and one that he experienced quite a few times after. Yes, Akira had once again been taken to the Velvet Room. He wasn't very surprised at this point, he'd been called to the room in his sleep more than a few times now, and at this point, the height of his group's achievements, he wasn't really up for another lecture from Igor. But when he thought about it, juvie had been pretty consistently boring, so he decided that it was about time for a change of pace. And so, Akira got up and prepared for said inevitable lecture, only to be greeted with a surprise; he was back in his cell. Ever since he had exposed Yaldabaoth, he had been free from the confines of his cell and the itchiness of the prison rags which he once again found himself in.

He felt considerably annoyed. Having to spend two months in prison was already bad enough, but having to be subjected to the prisoner act even in the one room where he felt he might be able to get a respite was just rubbing salt in the wound. But that wasn't the only unusual thing about his visit to the Velvet Room; for the cell right across from his was occupied. And the cell next to it, and the cell next to that one, and so forth until each of them was full.

As usual, the Velvet Room took the form of a prison, and Igor, the Room's owner, played the part of a warden. Igor was placed in the center of the room, and Lavenza, his assistant, was by his side. But rather than simply being a place where Akira could fuse Personas, it now seemed like a genuine prison. He stood in surprise for a bit before trying to speak, but Lavenza suddenly raised her hand, signaling him to stay quiet. She then proceeded to flip through her tome until she landed on the page she was looking for, and summoned the angelic Persona pictured on that page, Trumpeter. In a burst of blue, it appeared before her.

"Please wake up our guests," Lavenza spoke softly to her Persona, prompting it to raise it's trumpet to its mouth. Akira quickly covered his ears, before Trumpeter blew its horn. Even covering his ears, it was quite apparent just how loud the trumpet was, and Akira prayed that the other occupants would still be able to hear after it had passed. While still covering his ears, he kept his eyes focused outside his cell. Many of the figures now abruptly waking up were people he knew. Ryuji was screaming and flailing, Anne had fallen off of her bunk, Yusuke shot straight up before covering his ears, Makoto was doing the same, Futaba scrunched up on her bunk, and Haru was curled up in the corner of her cell. They all looked like they were dressed in the same striped prison rags as Akira. Morgana was sprawled out on Akira's floor, now looking like he was having a panic attack.

As Trumpeter ended its cacophonous trumpeting and returned to Lavenza's tome, each of the Thieves got up apprehensively. Once he found that they were all accounted for, Akira noticed a far-off cell to his right, where there was someone that he did not recognize. It was a boy about his age, with silver hair, dressed in the same prisoner's outfit that he was. He looked like he was in a cold sweat, unaware of what was going on. He noticed a few other cells within his field of vision that also held several people unknown to him, all of whom looked incredibly confused. They weren't the only ones; Akira was now sitting with Morgana at his side, thinking at a mile-a-minute, trying to work out what could be going on. It was bad enough when the Demiurge itself interrupted his Christmas Eve, now Igor was going to interrupt his life the day before he got out of the slammer? Akira looked over at Ryuji's cell, noticing that he was still half-asleep.

"Ahhhhh… Goddammit! I get it! I'm getting u- WHAT?!" By the time he had opened his eyes, he was quite evidently surprised, and judging by the other shouts and chatter that followed suit, so was everyone else. Ryuji looked around for a bit before laying his eyes on Akira's cell.

"Akira!" he shouted, "Man, what's going on? Why are we here with the old man? Why are we in these cells? Wha-"

In an instant, Lavenza summoned Trumpeter once again, and Ryuji immediately shut up. A look of absolute dread filled his face, and he noticed that all his friends were looking at him like they were contemplating murder. With Ryuji silenced, all the inmates gradually and quietly stood up, trying to process the bizarre circumstances they had found themselves faced with. As Lavenza returned Trumpeter a second time, she gestured to the room's owner.

"My master would very much like to speak with all of you," she said, "Please ward off your weariness and hold all your questions until he is finished speaking."

Igor then raised his head, and began to talk, "Welcome to the Velvet Room. This place exists between dream and reality. Mind and matter. Now, it appears we have more guests than usual. Some familiar, some not. I would like to apologize for the abruptness of your summoning, but I require you all to lend some assistance to me. It is a burdensome task, I admit, but it is quite important."

Akira sighed. It seemed like his life was now some sort of endless cycle of misery where he was never allowed to have more than a month or two to just decompress from fighting monsters. He gathered that his friends probably felt the same way as well. But he knew that if Igor was in a position to go out of his way and ask them for help, then it must've been important.

"Now, I may have neglected to mention this to you in our previous meetings, but I am not working merely at my own behest. I am merely a servant of my master, Philemon." Akira was surprised. Igor very much seemed as it he was meant to be the sole master of the Velvet Room, and even though he had only very recently met the real Igor, his demeanor was only slightly different from the one he had known. Igor seemed almost all-knowing, omniscient, like he was thinking on a level that humans probably couldn't comprehend, and the idea that there was someone above his level of knowledge almost scared Akira.

"Master Philemon has a very high opinion of humans," Igor continued, "He believes greatly in their potential, and in their strength of mind. As such, he frequently wagers on such matters. And he has recently made a wager as to whether or not he can prevent a certain event from occurring in the year two-thousand and nine. He then tasked me with gathering a party to act as his proxies. As you can probably gather, that is why you have all been brought here. To be quite direct, I need you to travel back in time in order to prevent this particular event from occurring."

As Igor finished, the room went silent for a moment before Lavenza spoke up. "You are now allowed to speak and ask questions, but please try to be civil about it." More silence. Akira was getting sick of this.

He was about to speak up himself before someone else shouted, "The hell?!" at Igor. Looking to his right, Akira found that the voice belonged to a thuggish looking young man with blonde hair similar to Ryuji's.

"Who do you think you are?! No way we're just gonna do what you say!"

"Damn right!" said a brown-haired girl in the cell next to his, "I'm not going through with this! No way, no how!"

With those two leading the charge, the entire cell block had erupted into protest. It seemed like nothing was going to be heard until someone spoke up, "Everyone, calm down!"

All of the inmates were immediately quieted, and everyone's attention was drawn to the cell of the silver-haired boy.

"Give me a moment," he said, "I'll work things out." He turned to Igor.

"Igor," he said, "I'm not quite sure what to think of this task you've given us, but I need you to answer some questions. Where's Margaret? Why does the Velvet Room look like this? Who are these other people? And what did your master wager?"

Akira was intrigued. It seemed that this boy was familiar with Igor, much more so than any of the other strangers. He had clearly been to the Velvet Room before, but wasn't familiar with it in this form. There was a possibility that he was a wild card user, but considering that his friends had been able to visit the Velvet Room once before, it was still too uncertain to say.

"Ah, yes." Igor said, "It is a pleasure to see you once again Mr. Narukami. It's been far too long since our last meeting. Though, for you I assume it hasn't been as long as it was for me." Narukami. So that was his name. And it looked like Akira's hunch was right. He doubted that Igor would talk like that to someone who he didn't frequently see, which meant that this Narukami boy had to have been a regular visitor at some point. But he was confused as to why Igor mentioned that he had felt that he had waited longer between their last visit.

His question was promptly answered. "To put it simply, Mr. Narukami, the Velvet Room you are currently inhabiting is neither the one you are familiar with, nor is it situated in your time. You currently are in the Velvet Room of the year two-thousand and seventeen, and its main guest is that young man over there; Mr. Akira Kurusu." He gestured to Akira's cell for a moment before returning to his hands to their normal steepled position. "In this time period, Margaret and Marie occupy the Velvet Room you visit by themselves. My assistant in this room is Lavenza." He then gestured to Lavenza, who curtsied to Narukami. "And as for the other visitors," he continued, "They are acquaintances of Mr. Kurusu, and are here to fulfill the same goal as you."

Akira noticed the unfamiliar stares from the room's other occupants. He wasn't so sure about working with a large deal of strangers, regardless of whether or not they knew Igor. It wasn't that Akira didn't trust the Velvet Room's proprietor, it was more that, in the short time that he had know the real Igor, he had seen that he was somewhat ambiguous in his judgement. He hoped that they would be able to cooperate and get the job done, but depending on the circumstances, he knew that doing so may potentially be out of the question. At this point, he would just let things play out and see how they went.

"Now," Igor continued "I know you all likely wish to know what my master has staked on this wager. Unfortunately, I am not at liberty to reveal that information. Master Philemon behaves in ways that most humans find quite alien. While I cannot properly explain what it is that he has wagered, I can say that he does have the utmost faith in all of you to accomplish your goal."

"And what, pray tell, is that goal?" asked Makoto, who seemed quite irate with Igor. Not that Akira blamed her. He felt very much the same.

Igor, however, kept grinning and replied in short order, "You must prevent the death of Makoto Yuki."

Once more, the room was silent. Akira gathered by this silence that no one else knew who this, "Makoto Yuki," person was.

"Do you know how we can come into contact with him when we get there?" replied Makoto (Nijima).

"There is no cause for concern," said Igor, "I will make sure that you are put in a position where meeting with him will be quite easy. Now, I must see you all off."

All of a sudden, the sound of gears turning filled the room, as it seemed things were now being put into motion. Everyone in the cells began panicking, some yelling at Igor about how unfair the situation was, others retreating to the back of their cells in fear.

Akira on the other hand simply looked at Lavenza and said, "You're really just going to throw us back in time so abruptly? I wish I had time to pack."

"For your convenience," she replied, "You will each be provided with a bag of clothes, a time-appropriate cell phone, and enough funds to get by for the time being. In addition, you will each be provided with a familiar weapon."

"Huh," Akira muttered, "I guess we're not too bad off then. I suppose that it was all paid for using my money?"

Lavenza smirked and said, "Yes. Your friends are lucky that you made such frequent use of the compendium."

And then, all of a sudden, the cells slowly began to descend, which was met with cries of dismay from their inhabitants. As Akira's cell was filled with darkness and he lost sight of his friends, he looked once more to Lavenza and said, "Well, take care."

Lavenza curtsied once more and said, "Until your next visit, Akira Kurusu," before the cell was enveloped in total darkness.

As his cell descended like an elevator. ("A cellevator?" he mused) Akira gradually began to feel tired. His eyelids felt heavy, he had trouble standing up, and soon had to sit to avoid collapsing. Realizing that this was probably a natural consequence of time travel, he decided to play along. He needed to catch up on his sleep anyway. He laid down on his bunk, put his hands behind his head, and… oh right. Morgana was in here with him. Before falling asleep, he decided that it would probably be for the best if Morgana slept on the bunk and he took the floor. He didn't want to step on him when he got up. That is, if he was still in this room when he woke up, but nevertheless, he didn't want to take that risk. Mustering what little strength he had left, he picked up Morgana, sat himself down on the floor, and placed Morgana on the bunk. With that done, he finally let sleep take hold.

Akira awoke very suddenly, now well aware that there was some form of light shining on him. Sitting up he looked around the area and noticed that he was most certainly not in the real or mental prison anymore. He was lying on pavement, surrounded by the rest of the Thieves and the unfamiliar group from the Velvet Room. Looking at said group, Akira counted eleven people who he didn't recognize. They seemed to be all tucked away in some sort of niche, and after his eyes adjusted to the light coming from what looked like the exit, Akira could see…. a fountain? He then noticed that he and the rest of the former prisoners were now all dressed in what seemed to be their sleepwear, rather than the uncomfortable striped prison garb. Everyone also seemed to have a large duffel bag right by their side. He looked to his right, and saw that he had one as well, with his name on it. Opening it, he found many of his favorite clothes, his wallet, and a very archaic looking smartphone. Turning it on, he found that it not only had the OtherWorld Navi app, but also all of the data from his previous phone as well. It seemed like it could store more data than an average phone from its year. The time was 11:45. The date, April 2. Digging around a bit more, he also managed to find a knife and pistol, the very same knife and pistol he had used in what he thought was his group's final battle. Still somewhat annoyed, but nonetheless driven to get the job done, Akira closed the bag went over to wake the group, starting with Ryuji. Morgana was still sleeping to his left, but Akira decided to let him have a bit more sleep.

Akira tapped Ryuji's face, "Ryuji," he said, "Get up."

Ryuji's eyes fluttered, but he was still clearly trying to sleep. It seemed that more drastic measures were needed. All of a sudden, Akira had an idea.

"Ryuji," he said again, getting closer to his ear, "Anne gave me some nude photos. Wanna see?"

This got Ryuji sitting up in an instant. "HELL YEAH I DO!" He yelled, stirring the people still asleep. It looked like Akira's plan had worked perfectly. The tight space reverberated the sound, making it all the more jarring to those still sleeping. Akira wasn't going to have to put in too much effort to wake them up.

"Sorry," he said, "I just needed you to get up."

Ryuji frowned, "Aw dude, no fair! Don't tease me like tha- Akira!" Ryuji yelled again, stirring the gang even more, "Holy shit, it's been ages! I mean, I know I've visited you a couple times but dude, it's great to see you're doing alright after juvie! Man, you won't believe the crazy dream I ha-"

Akira raised his hand, signaling Ryuji to stop. "Ryuji, take a look around for a second and then tell me if you think that what you experienced was really a dream."

Ryuji looked perplexed and looked around for a moment before he realized that the entire gang was right behind him. "OH WHAT THE-" Akira covered his mouth before he could let out another yell.

"Quiet," he whispered, "Everyone's already waking up at their own pace. I don't think you or I want to be on their bad side right now." Ryuji took a moment to think before nodding, and Akira took his hand off of Ryuji's mouth.

"Anyway," he said, turning to face Akira, "I suppose we really were in the Velvet Room?"

"Yeah," Akira said, "We were, and I suppose that we should keep an eye out for this 'Makoto Yuki,' person. But first, we should catch up with our group and set the record straight with the oth-" Akira had just looked in the direction of his group, and froze. Ryuji, perplexed turned and saw why. No one was missing, everyone looked well enough, and every member of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts was coming to.

The problem? One of those members shouldn't have been there.

At the very back of the pack, now totally unobscured, sat Goro Akechi. In the flesh and blood. He looked over at Akira and Ryuji.

"Oh, hello." He said, grinning innocently, "I suppose that what happened in that Velvet Room wasn't a dream huh?"

In what felt like an instant, Akira opened his bag, grabbed his gun and knife, and without hesitation, charged at Goro.