[OPEN] Out of Kindness

[herewardbound]

Who: You and people you've dearly missed.
Which: Antagonist Log (Open)
Where: All over Reverein, but mostly around a smiling man in white.
What: Dreams coming true, wrongs righted, and joyful reunions with lost loved ones.
Warnings: MASSIVE spoilers for Persona 5 Royal, mental manipulation including hallucination, memory loss and alteration, discussion of complete personality and history rewrites in extreme cases.


▶ GENTLE MADMAN

¤ A.The skies of Reverein are dark and stormy, but for some reason… not here. A newcomer to the world of dreams, dressed in white with a pair of glasses accenting a soft-featured, smiling face. He seems to have the best of luck, really- wherever he goes, there seems to be a lull in the storms, a brief spot of clear skies and sunshine- or shorter lines at the shops, or maybe an accidental extra bun in the box you grab at the bakery. For whatever reason, around the stranger things just… seem to go well.

And, should you approach him, you'll find him… easy, to talk to. His voice is soft, his expression friendly, and he always takes an interest. Easy to talk to, to open up to. Questions diverted with a joke or a laugh, an offering of food and a friendly ear making it damnably difficult to actually dislike him. Besides, he says he's a professional counselor, and that anything you say to him is, of course, in confidence and not to be shared.

What could it hurt? With all these nightmares running loose, no-one could deny that a little mental health care would be a good thing.

¤ B.When he's not around, however, things seem to be actively getting worse. Shadows are appearing in Reverein, already a problem in and of itself- but around budding Antagonists, they're worse somehow, their forms warping to match the Antagonists' desires, protecting them, following orders. They'll have to be dealt with.

Bizarrely, a small handful simply aren't being a problem. They dress like hospital orderlies, their demeanors almost helpful… unless, of course, you've interacted with the smiling man- and refused his help. Then their true nature comes through, and they become very nasty indeed.

▶ ROYAL DAYS

¤ A.As concerning as the influx of monstrosities and megalomaniacs is, in the moment you might find it hard to care, very much. Ever since meeting that smiling man, things have turned out for the best. A familiar face appears- perhaps a long-dead loved one, suddenly brought to the land of dreams. Or an estranged friend, maybe, hoping to reconcile. Stranger things have happened, right?

Or maybe you've started to remember a wholly different sequence of events. Choices you regretted, undone in an instant. Hurtful things you said, never spoken. A traumatic event never occurring, or the love of a parental figure, never withheld from you. Whatever the reason, how could you worry about the impending confrontation when your life is so… perfect?

¤ B.Or maybe… you're a little too suspicious, too willful, too well-adjusted already for that to work. Or perhaps you've spotted a contradiction too great to ignore, a remembered event that simply couldn't have happened, because you also remember something that would've made it impossible. In that moment of horrible realization, it all comes rushing back. Whatever figment of the ones you lost fades and dissipates, so much noctaere-black smoke in the wind. Forgotten details suddenly remembered, the skies just as clouded and thunderous as ever.
Maybe you're seeing the slightly glazed-over look in the eyes of the afflicted, the joyful smiles and lack of care. Maybe you've even connected it to the Smiling Man, the one who introduced himself as Doctor Maruki- or maybe you're still searching for the truth.

Whatever the case, the Orderlies- the Shadows, marching about in masked, twisted, humanoid forms- do not like you. At a moment's notice, they attack, hoping to capture, to subdue- to force you to meet with their 'glorious savior' for 'treatment'.

Or maybe you've had the chance to run into the good doctor again, in an environment where he seems so much less happy to see you.

▶ THROW AWAY YOUR MASK

¤ A.A special third prompt that will be posted in a few days' time. Those interested in joining the final confrontation should see the sign-up post below.

Comments

[lemiserable]

"..."

Wow. In many ways he felt almost insulted at whatever was in front of him. The uneasiness quickly grew in a type of anger that he had honed over the years, especially the last two where he had to bid his time and even become what he hated to protect his family.

It would be nice, if he could believe what was in front of him. But unlike Goro, Zenkichi had over twice his age of experience to fall back on. This Ren was a charmer, sure, as he tended to do, but also the smooth, easy voice wasn't something that could so easily sway an adult like him.

Then there was those last words. Sure it went back to Akechi's casual threat (and a whole other can of worms of how those two interacted) but it sort of oddly brought him back to reality.

How could he snap Akechi out of this? It's a hard one for sure. The lie and the illusion is pretty tempting. Maybe if the 'damn leader' had shown up then this could have been avoided. At the same time, who knew if this Ren, if it was some sort of realness to him, could turn into Joker. Having both him and Crow, well, he knew he could fight, but there was no way he could do both by himself.

He had to do it with words. Hopefully. Maybe do a little below-the-belt to hone his message.

"I didn't think Ren would be who you'd fight," he says, his voice low. Calmer than usual. Ready to call Val-Jean at a moment's notice if he needs too. "Honestly, I was expecting Masayoshi Shido to show up."

He winces inwardly even as he says it. But he needs to get the point across to Akechi that SOMETHING is wrong.

[herewardbound]

For a moment

the smile faltered. "I don't see why you'd need to bring him up. I've actively avoided trying to dwell too much on my biological father, for reasons I should think are obvious. Nevermind that jokes aside, I think we're well past trying to gut each other over old wounds."

Ren smirked. "Yeah, now the physical violence is mostly over board games and other peoples' opinions on Featherman. Come on, Wolf, it's a vacation. Don't you think we've earned it?"

[lemiserable]

He almost breathed a sigh of relief, until it didn't work.

Shit. Honestly if he didn't know better, he'd be happy for him. But everything about this screamed it being wrong.

"Have you not noticed all the weird stuff happening?"

Urgh. Come on, think like a teenager...

"Hey...if we're going to the beach, are you going go do the same thing as last time?"

Trying to be vague, maybe he can catch him in a slip-up.

[herewardbound]

"What weird..." and there it was, a frown of confusion, of trying to think through a series of steps without knowing the conclusion...

"I mean, not like he'd know. Akechi wasn't with us last time we went. Right?"

And there was something there, an inconsistency. Something he was locking onto, but it was hard to think, hard to remember those details, like his mind slid off them.

"No, there was. We went. It was just us, last year. Here, not with the other Thieves."

"Oh yeah... But I meant as a group, that's all."

Something about that was important. Something he was forgetting.

[lemiserable]

It's unfortunatly something that Zenkichi catches on quickly.

It kinda hurts, even having to say it.

"Yeah, it's rather strange isn't it? Since we met here...and we didn't know each other before. Come on Mr Detective Prince. I know you said you weren't really one, but I think you've got your fair share of intuition to know what I'm implying."

[herewardbound]

Zenkichi… right, Zenkichi was from elsewhere. There was weird time crap involved with Reverein, and he hadn't worried about it, much. Zenkichi had met Ren later on, after…

After what?

Ren frowned, concern clouding his expression, for the moment. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, just- headache."

"We can head inside. No pressure."

"I said it's fine." He was getting agitated, snapping, now. Why did it hurt to think about this-

"Whoa. Uh. Okay. Look, something's clearly bothering you. What's going on?"

"I don't know what he's getting at, and it's pissing me off. It- why can't I…"

It was wrong. Something was wrong. There was something important about the beach. He'd gone after he'd first arrived. Ren had been there, and they'd talked. What had they talked about? It'd been… important.

What had they talked about?

Ren was standing, moving to pull him upwards. "Hey, come on, let's-"

"Don't touch me!" he pushed away, half-snarling, half shocked at the vitriol in his own voice.

What did we talk about, on the beach.

Zenkichi. Zenkichi knew Ann, but not Ren. Someone named Sophia that he'd never met, but not Sumire. Ann had explained this. She'd never awakened Celestine, never even heard of her- And neither of them had known him, because-

Shido's Palace. Then Christmas Eve. Then- Reverein. There'd been a jump, there, a spot in his memory where he'd spent time with the Phantom Thieves, he could remember that, but what-

"Ren." His voice was hoarse. That look of hurt, of confusion, it didn't belong on Ren's face. "What… What did we talk about, when I first got here? Where was I, before I was in Reverein?"

"Is that what this is about? Goro, seriously, you had a concussion this morning, it's fine-"

"You don't. Get. To call me that. If you ever gave a shit about me, you're going to tell me why I can't remember where I was BEFORE. I WOKE UP. HERE."

This was it. The cornerstone of everything. Somehow, it tied everything together. And he hated, hated how much he wanted the answer to be something simple, reassuring, comforting. But the Ren Amamiya who'd made him happiest had always valued his agency. Always valued his input. Would never lie to him. Not about something this important.

There was an unreadable expression on the other boy's face, when he spoke. "What we talked about. Before you got here… you were in Maruki's Palace."

And there it was. Maruki. Maruki who'd brought him into his cognitive paradise, Maruki who'd made him believe his parents had been happily married, that he and the Thieves had never fought- Maruki who'd made him perfect and porcelain until the instant Shido'd touched him and he'd felt like puking-

Maruki who'd been slowly enslaving the world. Maruki who'd made Sumire forget herself. Maruki who'd told him to his face his life was over if he didn't go through with the deal-

Akechi felt bile rising in his throat, felt the terror and revulsion and the pain of them all leaving in the first place, suddenly brought back into horrible focus.

"Sorry," said not-Ren, bleeding at the edges, noctaere-black and azure blue dispersing in the wind. And that was the worst part, the soft, sad smile on his face. Like he knew. Like he felt. "Guess you're the one seeing through-"

And he was gone. Nothing more than smoke. The world darker, the rain returned. The distant shouts and screams of Reverein's inhabitants, waging war against… the Story Eater.

Akechi bent over and threw up.

[lemiserable]

It's hard, watching someone's word crumble. Zenkichi can't say he lived something exactly the same, but he knows a similar feeling. He knows the spark acidic taste of that bile and throwing up, when he found out what happened to his wife and how he was locked, unable to do nothing.

Knowing then, finding out he was the one who had been killed, well that's something else entirely. Hell, even that Ren looked nice despite it all. That's what might hurt the most there. Even if he worse the face of someone he knew, he almost seemed like him, if you squinted. And for someone with no future at all, a good proposition.

"I'm sorry." he finally says. He'd been bad trying to help his own daughter when she cried. He doesn't place a hand on him, especially after the outburst with Ren, wanting to give him his own pace. He'll wait. "You didn't deserve that."

[herewardbound]

He was breathing, at least, not hyperventilating, forcing himself to draw in and let out slowly- forcing the nausea down, forcing back the vicious, hateful panic that set in when he felt like he couldn't trust his own senses again.

There was a tightness in his chest, a numbness that spread, made the whole thing worse, made the shame burn in his mind as the flood came back, hot and wet and making his vision swim.

And Maruki was here. He knew. He didn't know how, didn't care- but nobody else could do this. Nobody else would do this, do this and call it kindness, call it better-

"Thank you," he managed, after a moment, hated how choked his voice sounded god dammit. "It wasn't the first time. I'd- I'd have got out of it. I did before. But it took days, last time. Don't have that luxury, here."

[lemiserable]

"It happened before?" Wow, was that a strong of swear words from the detective? Sure was. "Also sorry for bringing up your dad...I just wasn't sure what I could do to snap you out of it."

Desperate times, called for desperate measures.

"So...you think you got it in you to fight?"

[herewardbound]

"Not…" he spit, grimacing. "Not this specifically. The first time- it was all superficial. Had my mother back. Shido was… a decent person. And they were married."

The thought of it still made him sick, made his skin crawl, seeing that face smiling at him, warm and proud, seeing her treating that man like a beloved partner. But there was the bit he had to work up to. "... And I was alive. I think the last part was to make… Ren. Happy. I figured it out before he did. Too many things missing, too many things that just didn't add up. And he's the source of it. Takuto Maruki. He thinks he's… fixing things. Like he's touching up a painting, except the painting's the whole world. Futaba's mom, Haru's dad, Ryuji's leg. Ann's friend… Me. Little tragedies, wiped clean. Every mistake you ever made, every person you ever lost, undone. Everything you are, rewritten to be a happier, better version of you."

Akechi stood, not unshakily, and reached out, terrified for a moment that he might receive no answer. But the black mask appeared, and the cognitive armor with it. "I don't blame you for bringing up Shido. It worked. I'm probably not good for a fight, but I'm going anyway. I can't let this go."