TNDG 4 - ENDGAME

[the_macdonald]

[So you're at the Halloween dance, and maybe you're fighting robots or each other, or maybe you were just hanging out and eating pizza? Either way, there's a new door in the building... or maybe one you simply didn't notice before? It opens, and inside there is a well-lit TV stage, upon which there are several freestanding doors with names of all the surviving participants. A monitor in the corner displays the face of Ronald McDonald.]

All right, kids! Game's over! Thanks to all your tomfoolery, our sponsors pulled out, and we can't even afford prizes. Get on out of here, you little shits!

((Here's your endgame post! The doors will drop off each person where they were kidnapped (or will drop someone else where the person whose name is listed was kidnapped). Say goodbye, yell at the hosts, go back and bob for apples?))

Comments

[wantsnudes]

Um... Right. [that's pretty metal bro???]

Even after seeing the Velvet Room for myself, there's still a lot I don't understand about your power, or Joker's. What made you decide you only wanted to have two Personas?

[afailedmurder]

It wasn't any kind of big, dramatic decision. I'd experimented with other Personas, but Loki's special ability couldn't be beat. I could simply turn Shadows against each other when I didn't feel like dealing with them, or turn it on myself and really let loose.

[wantsnudes]

You truly are strong. If I tried something like that and fought without restraint, I'm sure I would just get myself killed.

[afailedmurder]

Well, even I've had my share of close calls.

[Spoken not with the actual weight of what he said, but the raw joy of having been praised]

At any rate, it's cathartic. I assume you must have felt the same way, fighting in there.

[wantsnudes]

That's true... I would be lying if I said I didn't derive a certain amount of enjoyment, even relief, from fighting Shadows.

More importantly, however, the Palaces and Mementos have served as a vital source of inspiration for me. Even if I can no longer visit them to draw from those sights and experiences... all of it is etched vividly into my memory. I'm sure it will inspire my artwork for a long time to come.

[afailedmurder]

Are we... really not going to be able to go back there?

[wantsnudes]

That's right, the Metaverse is gone.

[EXPOSITION TIME, where's Morgana when you need a helpful exposition cat???]

The brief explanation is that after Shido's change of heart, the public refused to accept his confession of guilt, and the Phantom Thieves were being treated as though we no longer existed. Wondering what had happened to distort the cognition of society to this extent, we all journeyed into the depths of Mementos to discover the truth.

We learned Mementos was the Palace of everyone's hearts, which took the form of a prison, reflecting the will of a society that no longer wished to live or think for themselves. Even Shido's Shadow, Madarame's... all the other Shadows we had fought were held there. Mementos began to bleed into reality, while we were banished from existence altogether... but we were able to free ourselves, then restore the public's hope in us, lending us the strength to defeat the evil being that held their hearts captive.

Now we've stolen the Treasure of Mementos, the distorted desires of the public are gone, and the Metaverse along with it.

[afailedmurder]

[Listens to all of this carefully.]

That's incredible. I had no idea.

[His expression grows more and more distant.]

So... that's it? You've just gone back to living normal lives, like normal people?

[wantsnudes]

Yes. Joker returned to his hometown once his name was cleared of wrongdoing, and Morgana went with him. The rest of us have returned to our lives.

Though, I doubt I can pretend to live an ordinary life after all that has happened here...

[afailedmurder]

I... I guess not.

[Staring at that door with renewed anxiety.]

[wantsnudes]

Akechi...

[Yusuke tentatively puts a hand on his shoulder.]

I know it must be scary, to return and face everything. But I and the others will be there to help you... You'll even be free of Shido.

[afailedmurder]

If it were just that, that would be one thing, but doesn't it also seem... pointless? Is there even a purpose to my existence in that world?

[wantsnudes]

Of course there's a purpose. But you've been tied down by others for so long, by your own notions of revenge against them, that you haven't had the opportunity to consider what you might want, were you ever to be removed from all that.

I'm sure you'll find something to direct your passions toward. You're intelligent, driven, and incredibly talented.

[afailedmurder]

[Looking awfully dubious now. One foot slides back, ever-so-slightly.]

Are— are you sure about that?

[wantsnudes]

I'm absolutely sure. You've been granted a second chance; you mustn't let it go to waste.

Personally, I want to do what I can to bring the people behind this place to justice. I can't forgive them... not after what they did to Ann and the others.

[afailedmurder]

[Takes a deep breath and nods.]

...All right. Let's go.

[wantsnudes]

Very well. I'll go first.

[Yusuke leads the way in stepping through the door, glancing back only to make sure Akechi doesn't have any second thoughts.]

[afailedmurder]

[His expression is intense, to say the least, but Akechi follows right behind.]