I came up with this while writing a Pokémon/SMT crossover where Kazuya (of SMT1), Naoki, and Nanashi were Pokémon trainers, and then I realized I had ideas for Persona, too. 345, I mean, not 12; I don't know enough about Persona 1 and Tatsuya and Maya of Persona 2 have personalities even when silent.

I'm going for a complete grab bag of games and heroes. In some chapters, it's SMT1 in P3. In others, it's SMT3 in P3, or SMT1 in P4.

This fic depends heavily on the personalities of the protagonists… who are silent and are up to interpretation. At the end of every segment, I will explain their decisions.

Aleph and Flynn are absent. I don't have a grasp on Flynn's personality, and while I do know Aleph better, most of his antics are already covered by other characters.

There is a big reveal concerning the Velvet Room in one of the games. I know what it is and that it makes the premise of the story impossible. I will pretend that it never happened, because otherwise there would be no story.

So how about that new Dx2 update? The new title screen looks like the cover to Shin Megami Tensei I, both the original and the remake. I haven't gotten to the main storyline yet because I want to get the Aura Gate mission done with first. Now we've got a Digital Devil Saga-like game going on? Guess that's cool, but it would be even cooler if there was a bonus summon where you could get the DDS versions of Agni, Varuna, etc.

So now Fire Emblem Heroes has the Tokyo Mirage Session cast. I've never played TMS, so I can't judge, just parrot. I can say that it's not the crossover we wanted, but I don't want to judge it against a game that only exists in our fantasies. Now, if they could get the main Megaten cast into Heroes, that would be fun.

Actually, you know what my fantasy SMT/Persona/FE crossover game would be like? In the distant future of the Fire Emblem-verse, it's the modern era. The Outrealm Gates are commonplace, so other worlds are like other countries. Suddenly, bad things happen! Now the main characters must unlock the power of Persona to save the worlds, but this time, the theme is 'real historical figures' (i.e. Fire Emblem characters).

For extra irony, different people have the same historical figure interpreted different ways. To make things even more fun, the Outrealms also allow visits between parallel universes where the player chose different paths, so all three Fodlan Lords get three different popular interpretations, and some countercultural deviations.

If that's not enough Megaten characters for you, this is an alternate universe where for some reason all the Megaten party members (plus the Nocturne NPC humans) all live in the same city, and you choose which of the heroes you play as, with the unpicked ones doing their own thing in the background, a la Three Houses (or a la carte).

The Hero's starting Persona is Finn, the sole survivor. The Chaos Hero gets Karel as the Sword Demon who desires power, but someone wiser gets Karel the Sword Saint. Walter would get Arvis as a revolutionary, but so would the Bishop (from SMT2) because of Arvis's oppressive regime. Hallelujah gets Lachesis, because she's a healing Est archetype. Navarre would be a perfect fit for Eyrios the arrogant nobleman-wannabe Everyone assumes that the person with Hilda is a monster until she assures them that she has the nice Hilda. And some poor sap gets Glenn, and has to explain who Glenn is every time he meets a new person.

More than Just Combat

Prologue: Velvet Clock

The funny thing about fate was how pliable it was. The destinies of entire universes could be as immovable as mountains and immutable as strings, and yet spin around a lynchpin as fragile as a bridge of frost. Those lynchpins were certain people at certain times, making certain choices. Free will was a wonderful thing, and yet the world was often doomed because of it. Not just by the Hero or Heroine choosing the easy way rather than the hard way; many a world had been doomed because someone on the other side of the world double-knotted their shoes before going to work, ate tacos instead of burgers, or even picked a different bathroom stall.

In an infinite number of universes, Arisato Minato and Arisato Minako were not available to save the world, whether it was because their parents did not die on the night of the full moon, their entrance exam grades were a little bit higher or lower, or because they died themselves in that fateful car accident.

In an infinite number of universes, Yu Narukami was deemed able to live alone rather than be fobbed off to his uncle, had gone to live with another relative, or had parents who were a little better or worse at their jobs.

In an infinite number of universes, Akira Kurusu had a better lawyer, hadn't been accepted by any school, or had decided to walk down a different street.

Naturally, these universes with unavailable heroes were in need of saviors. And who better than the ones who had saved the world before?

Average teenagers, as it turned out.

Igor sighed as he looked at the three young men. "Back again?"

Kazuya scowled. Naoki gave a sheepish smile. Nanashi shrugged.

Igor didn't exactly mind turning back time for the previous Wild Cards every time they died; they faced difficult tasks, and failure was an important learning experience. But the idea of having fighters too experienced to fall in battle appealed to him, and idle curiosity turned into action.

And they did not fall nearly as many times as the usual Wild Cards. This would have been a win for Igor, if it hadn't been for all the other reasons they had to turn back the clock.

Much, much later, Igor had discovered that the best course of action was to shove all three heroes into one body, and let them switch off as needed. Until then, they had to live with each other.

At least the stories were entertaining.

"What was it this time?"

TO BE CONTINUED!

The cast:

Kazuya, hero of SMT1, on the Neutral ending. I see him as cold, stubborn, and bossy, mostly because he needs a certain personality to recruit and command demons. Demons generally respect strength, and as the physically weakest protagonist, he had to make up for it with determination and intelligence. Unlike Naoki, he doesn't separate into civilian and combatant personas.

Naoki Kashima, hero of SMT3, on the Freedom ending. I see him as a quiet, unconfrontational type by default, because that's what I see in his human artwork, but he's a ruthless and enthusiastic fighter. Unlike Kazuya, his personality doesn't revolve around keeping demons in line because he's physically strong enough for them to respect him without shouting all the time.

Nanashi, hero of SMT4A, on the Massacre ending. I know Bonds suits Persona better, and Igor knows it, but I have a better idea of Massacre Nanashi than Bonds Nanashi, and there's more delicious irony. He's a cheerful, friendly guy who genuinely cares for and supports all of his friends, but will absolutely murder them if it means achieving his goals, since you can pick all the Bonds options and still go for Massacre. I also see him as a little less secure and creative than the others, because he has to choose a side rather than make his own.