Greetings, prospective readers, and welcome to my latest Persona project. Admittedly, I thought this was something that I was thinking about doing for quite some time, and for lack of a better option, I decided to finally put it into production. Now then, let's go over all the ships for this endeavor: Ren X Makoto, Yu X Rise, Yosuke X Chie, IMPLIED Yukari X Minato (he's dead after all). Additionally, this story does borrow certain elements from Infinity Fool's Ace In The Hole universe, such as Wakaba Isshiki having ties to the Kirjo Group and Shido getting in the way of the Shadow Operatives taking action and hunting down Mementos. Anyways, I think that about covers everything, so with nothing better to do, let us start the game!

Prologue: An Unexpected House Guest

A young man with wavy unkempt black hair, pale skin, dark gray eyes wearing an open white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up over a black short-sleeved t-shirt, blue jeans, and brown shoes, checked the time and date on his phone. March 20th, 2016.

It was time for Ren Amamiya to leave Tokyo behind for the tedium of his normal life. The life he had been forced to leave behind because of one man's greed and lust for power almost a year ago. And holy hell what a year it had been.

The day had finally crept upon him and the small group of rebellious teenagers he called his friends and brothers and sisters in arms. It had been hard for him to get even a wink of sleep, he had been dreading it so much. Yet oddly enough, he didn't feel tired. Or even sad about the prospect of having to go. His head remained held high in the sky with the sun's warmth beaming onto his face. He still had one last journey to make with his friends and his dearly beloved.

After a twist of fate, Ren had become the Joker, the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, a clandestine organization armed with the power to use Persona, metaphysical manifestations of the rebel that slumbered within. He, along with Ryuji Sakamoto aka Skull, Ann Takamaki aka Panther, and Morgana, a cat-like creature who, as it turned out, had been created from the last dregs of humanity's hope, had dedicated themselves to the theft of the warped and twisted desires of particularly evil individuals, starting with the gym teacher at their high school, Surgru Kamoshida, followed by Ichiryusai Madarame, an "artist" who not only abused the artistic hopefuls who studied under him, but actually stole the pieces they created and passed them off as his own. Thanks to Madarame, Ren and his friends had met Yusuke Kitagowa, who later joined their fold as Fox. After Madarame had been knocked off his pedestal, the Phantom Thieves had set their sights on a well-hidden and nigh uncatchable mob boss running a phishing scam and a drug smuggling operation that targeted high school students named Junya Kaneshiro. It was while they were pursuing this target that Ren had really gotten to know and befriend Makoto Niijima, who had been tasked with identifying the Phantom Thieves by the Shujin Academy principal ironically enough, and had taken the mantle of Queen.

Not long after they had brought Kaneshiro to justice, Makoto had asked for Ren's help in aiding helping a friend end a relationship with a shady club owner who seemed to be taking advantage of said friend. To that end, Makoto had asked Ren to pretend to be her boyfriend. Although, ironically enough, Ren, during the course of his and Makoto's fake dating, had actually fallen in love with Makoto for real, and as it turned out, she had fallen in love with him as well. Thus they had gone from pretending to be boyfriend and girlfriend to actually being lovers. A smile crossed Ren's face as he remembered their first kiss, during a beautiful Hawaiian sunset after having a large serving of garlic shrimp.

During their summer vacation, the Phantom Thieves had been targeted by the international hacker organization known as Medjed, who, after the Phantom Thieves refused to join them, planned to initiate the Cleanse, which would all but destroy Japan. Unfortunately, the Phantom Thieves' methods were too limited to stop Medjed. As luck and maybe fate would have it, another hacker by the name of Alibaba had contacted Ren, seeking a change of heart for someone named Futaba Sakura. As it turned out, Alibaba and Futaba Sakura were one and the same, and not long after awakening to her own Persona and changing their heart, became a valuable asset to the Phantom Thieves under the moniker of Oracle. It was Oracle who defeated Medjed,and as it turned out, it wasn't even the real Medjed, but some random guy in Tokyo.

The thought brought a chuckle to Ren. Just what did the real Medjed Organization think of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts?

After their victory over Medjed and the Phantom Thieves popularity shot through the roof to the point where there was Phantom Thieves merchandise, Ren and his team, after a small hiccup with Morgana having an identity crisis resulting in him and the Phantom Thieves having a falling out that resulted in them making an ally out of Haru Okumura, who took the less-than-stellar moniker of Beauty Thief, but later changed it to Noir, set their sights on Haru's father, Kunikazu Okumura, who not only planned to sell of his daughter to some slimeball of a politician's son and treated the employees of his company, Okumura Foods and by extension the popular food chain Big Bang Burger, as though they were mere robots or cogs in the machine, but rather may have held the key to an even larger secret: the identity of the man or woman behind the mental shutdowns and psychotic episodes that had been plaguing Japan for a year and a half before the Phantom Thieves had gone active.

But, as it turned out, both the recent surge of the Phantom Thieves popularity and targeting Okumura had all been a set-up orchestrated by the man who was truly behind the mental shutdowns and psychotic episodes, making the Phantom Thieves look like murderers by killing Okumura. And to make matters even worse, when they went to change the heart of Makoto's sister, Sae, Ren had been betrayed by Goro Akechi, who had taken the mantle of Crow, and captured. He had been beaten, drugged with multiple doses of truth serum, and nearly murdered. True, the Phantom Thieves had masterminded the entire scenario, but with the drugs messing with his mind, it had been a small miracle that he had remembered the plan.

Afterwards, the Phantom Thieves took the fight to the man who was not only the mastermind behind everything they had been through up to this point, but had also been the guy who ruined Ren's life: Masayoshi Shido. During their battle against Shido, they had reunited with Akechi, who, after a hard fought battle, ended up sacrificing himself to save them all.

But, even after Shido's defeat, the Phantom Thieves were far from finished with their mission. As it turned out, the long-nosed old man that had been helping Ren on his journey, Igor, was in fact an impostor responsible for pretty much everything he and the other Phantom Thieves had been through the past year. It was only thanks to the support of the entire population of Tokyo, and perhaps even Japan and the world, that they had been able to defeat Yaldabaoth and take the world back.

"Yo! You over there!"

"Hey, look this way!"

Ren looked in the direction that the voice had come from. Ryuji Sakamoto, a young man of around seventeen with short spiky dyed blond hair and dark brown eyes wearing a purple hoodie with a black shirt with an emoji underneath, black jeans, and brown loafers, and Ann Takamaki, a bombshell of a girl with bright blue eyes and wavy platinum blonde hair styled in bushy pigtails, with parted side bangs on the right side of her face and wearing a lavender blue button-up shirt under a red and white jersey jacket with an S symbol near the front bottom on one side. She has a white skirt, black leggings and red Converse shoes, were beckoning him over to a metallic van, big enough to hold his entire team. Oddly enough, it resembled Morgana's vehicular form. It seemed that they had pulled through with the plan they had come up with after all. Rent a van and drive him back home personally, a road trip just like in all the movies.

"Still up to our usual tricks." Ren turned and saw Yusuke Kitagawa, a young man with dark blue hair wearing a gray blazer striped with white vertical lines over a white long sleeve shirt with a red and pink detail, black pants and black ankle boots, standing to his left. Good to know he wasn't the only late arrival. "After we said we'd disband too. My word."

"Heh. Old habits die hard, you know?" The two boys shared a chuckle before approaching the vehicle. Half of it was completely on the curb with the other in the street. Ryuji leaned against the open door while Ann sat in the passenger's seat, beaming at him with her winning smile.

"Sorry about the weird parking job," the blonde in question said nonchalantly. "The engine just died on us right here." Ren ruffled the blonde's hair before going to further assess the vehicle.

"Here's hoping your driving's better than your parking," Ren jested.

"No need to worry." Makoto Niijima, a young woman with brown hair in a bob cut with blunt bangs and a French-braid styled headband that matches her hair color and crimson eyes wearing a black turtleneck shirt under a teal blue coat, with tight black pants and brown-tan knee-high boots, sat before the steering wheel with her seat belt still firmly fastened. Ren and Makoto shared a quick peck on the lips before the dark haired teenager settled into his seat, earning an eye roll from Ryuji and Futaba Sakura, who was a small bespectacled teenager girl with bright orange hair with straight-cut bangs and two long strands in the front along with a single small, thin ahoge strand at the top wearing an off-shoulder white top with a red splatter-like pattern on her chest with five white asterisks with a black tanktop underneath, a dark green jacket with a faux fur trimmed hood, black short shorts, a studded black belt in a slanted position, black thigh highs socks and black knee-high boots with buckles and studs at the top. "I'm in charge of the wheel," Makoto assured Ren.

"Are you even old enough to drive?" With that, the student council president averted her eyes sheepishly as the heat began to build itself upon her neck. "Makoto breaking the law? Man, you're living on the edge."

"Don't say it out loud!" Makoto hissed as she held a finger over her mouth and waved him down. "If my sister finds out, she'll never let me live it down! We just wanted to see you off and spend the last real day together." Commendable but it did little to quell the guilt Makoto had surmounting on her back. As penance, she'd throw herself into her studies twice as hard when they returned home.

"You worry too much," Ann dismissed. "You know what you're doing. Besides, it's fun to live on the edge a little." The blonde's attention shifted to the open hatch at the front of the van. "Hey, Morgana, are you done yet?"

The black cat with bright blue eyes griped and grumbled from inside, still hard at work fiddling with the engine. "Why the heck am I in charge of the car again?" His words were barely legible from the parts he held in his maw. Despite his reservations, he was diligently tending to their ride with his tail wrapped around a screwdriver and a wrench in his open paw.

"You used to be a car," Futaba said, poking her head out through the open window. "Shouldn't you know?"

"That's not how it works!" the cat protested. From navigator to healer to escape vehicle to escape vehicle mechanic. Even without powers, it never truly was a dull moment for them.

"And I thought we were done?" Yusuke jested calmly. "No more hijinks or daring acts."

"It's fine," Haru Okumura, a young woman with chin-length curly light auburn hair and brown eyes wearing a white dress shirt with a dark blue ribbon, pale green fluffy coat, pink skirt, white tights and brown shoes assured him from the farthest back seat. "We're on break."

"Exams are done too, right?" They really had helped Makoto loosen up. The student council president just hadn't expected it to this extent. Perhaps Ren had played a far greater and more prominent role in that, him being her boyfriend. "Come on, why don't you let us drive you home." As she said it aloud and was surrounded by all the glowing praises from her friends and especially Ren, she began to feel more comfortable about the idea. Strange for her to be such a rebel. Or perhaps it wasn't really, given all she had ventured through. Perhaps this was just the next logical step. Within reason.

"You really, really gotta go…?" Futaba begged, leaning upon Ren's shoulder. The boy ruffled her orange locks as Ryuji slid into the seat beside him.

"C'mon man." The blonde nudged his ribs with a taunting grin. "Nobody's forcin' you to leave, y'know."

Ren gave a content sigh before shrugging. "I'd love to stay, but I have to go home. Gotta see my parents and head back to my old life. Besides, it's not like I can live in Sojiro's attic forever, right?"

"He won't mind!" The two boys could only laugh at Futaba's insistence. Though, Ren mentioning his parents got Makoto starting to think. He avoided speaking much about them, and what little he had revealed a complicated picture. When she and Ren had revealed their relationship to Sae, she seemed approving enough, although her sister had threatened to personally throw Ren into a hole so deep that he wouldn't even know which way was up if he should ever assault, abuse, be unfaithful to, or otherwise do anything to hurt her little sister. Her beloved deserved the absolute world so needless to say, the Shujin Academy Student President and soon-to-be-valedictorian had some degree of contempt in store for Ren's parents when they met.

"Might be hard to go back to your old life," Ryuji said. "Wipin' your slate clean ain't so easy." The boy rested an arm on the seat behind him and craned his neck back. "See what I mean?" Their gazes followed his posturing out through the back window at a black car parked peculiarly behind them. Sleek and with slightly tinted windows to obscure the occupants inside. Ren had seen a few of those vehicles at the police station where he had been tortured. Inside were two identical men in black suits, both wearing shades. One was on a walkie communicating with someone.

"Pfft," Ren scoffed with a smirk. "Feds…"

"Things must be slow these days," Yusuke commented.

"Don't mind them," Makoto dismissed. Again, something else she couldn't have imagined herself doing, disregarding government agents tailing them. "What they think of us doesn't really matter."

"Yeah, she's right. We can totally do whatever we want to do." With Ann's words did they all turn to face the front. The agents quickly faded from memory. Ren was done living his life in fear and agitation because of government mistreatment. Even if he couldn't restore his home life, he had them. And that was all that truly mattered. It might take a while to get back to them, but it was a journey well worth making. Their attention snapped to the front of the car with the hood finally closing. Morgana leaped into the front seat and climbed into Ren's lap.

"The car's fixed! Just had to borrow a plug…" The satisfied little smirk on his face held a touch of mischievousness to it. And sure enough, the car started quick as a flash. The engine hummed at a steady and powerful pace, signaling a smooth little trip ahead of them.

"Nice job!" Makoto commended. "On the first try!"

"All right, let's roll!" Ryuji declared with excitement. Ren leaned back against the seat and watched their would-be tailers at a standstill behind them. Through the tinted windows he could barely make out the agents bickering at one another. Seemed like the car had run into some unexpected engine troubles. An amused little chuckle resonated in his throat from finally getting wise to Morgana's trick.

"You're a pretty sly dog for a cat." Ren said as he scratched his furry little friend behind the ears, eliciting a purr.

"Anyways, now that we gotcha, we ain't takin' you straight home." Ryuji's words drew a curious look from their escort, who wrapped his arm around his head and noogied him. "What, you think we were just gonna let you go without havin' fun first?"

"They didn't say when we had to be there," Makoto teased with a wink. "Just be there today. So we figured why not make a day out of it?"

"Beach party!" Futaba declared before reaching down to tickle his ribs. Between Ryuji's headlock and Futaba's tickling, Ren had nowhere to go. Completely at their mercy.

"No-wait! Hold on, help!" The boy burst into a fit of utter laughter as he twisted and jostled in his seat while the two played havoc with him. "Driving without a license and now taking me hostage? You guys are crazy!" Ultimately, he surrendered to their onslaught and went along for the ride. The more they could put it off, the better. They weren't on a deadline, after all. So why not?

No adults to order them around, no danger from the supernatural or government, or having to worry about school and societal pressures. Today was just for them. Makoto drove like a seasoned veteran, attracting not an ounce of attention. Definitely helped that the police seemed rather absent today. They found an empty spot of beach out of the way, with beautiful clear water that shimmered in the sun. Not a soul around for miles. Food, music, and laughs galore as the teenage heroes had their fun one last time before life had to proceed as normal. But it wouldn't be forever. Eventually, they would reunite.

In the midst of all the raucousness, Makoto managed to steal Ren away. The two secluded themselves on the beach and threw caution to the wind. Her on top of him, they made out and ran their ocean-kissed bodies upon one another. Part of Ren had wished it had just been the two of them, fantasizing about a romantic romp on the sand. One day they would have it. Perhaps when they eventually returned to Hawaii together as promised. Though their fun didn't last too long as they were ultimately caught. Never had the both of them been as mortified as they were in that moment, the teasing throwing fuel on the fire.

"Such decadence." Yusuke declared.

"Guess their favorite drink is sex on the beach!" Futaba teased with a purr.

"We've only been here a couple hours! Come on!" Ryuji complained loudly.

It was totally worth it to the both of them.

...

The fun in the sun was eventually obscured by the setting twilight. So lost in their youthful endeavors that time slipped through their fingers like the very sands of the beach. But all things must reach their conclusion and they eventually forced themselves to return Ren home. Dusk had fallen, and the sun wasn't even over the horizon anymore. Just the briefest glimmer of fading orange was visible.

They were all gathered in front of Ren's front door, the man of the hour hovering his hand over it. This would be the first time he had seen his parents since April. Such a nervousness he felt at the prospect of finally reuniting with them after so much and so long. He had absolutely no idea what to even remotely expect. No doubt they had been informed about the Shido incident and the resulting fallout. It would be interesting to see their feelings on everything. Though he wasn't in the wrong, Ren still felt nervous about finally confronting them. Though his attention was stolen away from the door by a gentle hand resting on his forearm. As expected, it was Makoto's comforting touch that brought him back to reality. His friends were here. She was here. No matter what, all they had together wouldn't go away. With that did he finally muster the courage to knock on the door.

Almost instantly, the door was flung open, and a set of particularly strong hands grabbed hold of the former Phantom Thieves and dragged them inside before any of them knew what was going on. By the time Ren and the others were finally released, they found themselves in what could only be Ren's living room. Looking around, Ren saw that the two agents from the car that Morgana had sabotaged earlier that day were leaning back against the wall, stone cold looks on their faces.

"What the hell, man?! What is all this?! What's goin' on?!" Ryuji demanded of the agents.

"Anyone ever tell you that you're an exceptionally tricky individual to get ahold of, Mr. Amamiya? Your parents are fine, by the way. Sent them on a wild goose chase. Should give us plenty of time to talk. Nice of you to bring your entire team. Makes my job a lot easier," a female voice said, drawing Ren and the rest former Phantom Thieves attention to the couch facing away from them, where a figure could just barely be seen in the fading sunlight. "Excellent work taking down Yaldabaoth, by the way. However, what you and your crew don't seem to realize is that by awakening to the power of Persona, the seven of you have become soldiers in a war that is far more terrifying and far more dangerous than any of the gunfights and wars you've read about in the history books. You just haven't realized it yet. But trust me, you will."

"Yeah, that's really interesting and all, but who the hell are you and what the hell are you and your goons doing in my house?" Ren demanded, anger and outrage evident in his voice.

The woman on the couch stood up, revealing herself to be in her early twenties, with a dark complexion, long wine red hair that covered her left eye, and brown eyes wearing a fur coat over a black catsuit with black high heeled boots and what seemed to be a pistol and rapier attached to her hip.

"My name is Mitsuru Kirijo, CEO of the Kirijo Group. I'm here to talk to you about the Shadow Ops Initiative."

And thus concludes the Prologue! If you liked what you saw here then be sure to fav, follow, and review, and join us next time as Ren and the Phantom Thieves meet the rest of the Shadow Operatives! See you then!