Lee was confused to say the least; first was all the memory flashes that happened throughout his return, he chalked that down to Igor's bizarre rewind. The second was that despite Ann showing up like normal; this time there was another rough looking blonde that made their appearance…in place of Ryuji.
"Hey! You gonna say something or what?" Said rough looking girl growled at him as she was starting to wonder if he was either slow on the uptake or he was simply a weirdo trying to gawk at her; "Wait…I don't think I've seen your face around here before…you a transfer?" She asked him as her animosity started to slacken a little and backed off out of his face.
"Yeah…You go there too, don't you?" He would ask only to start mentally kicking himself; "Why ask that, you dumbass?! Same Uniform!"
"Uh…Yeah, I do…So how come you didn't hitch a ride with Kamoshida? That mophead jackass in the car earlier?" She asked him curiously and crossed her arms, "I'd have thought a newbie would've wanted to try getting on teacher's good side on their first day."
Lee leaned against the wall and decided to be as honest as he could; "Well, I would've but he just felt….off, like a bad vibe or something." He explained, knowing that if he just outright said that Kamoshida was a sex pest or an abusive jerk, This "Ryuji" might respond differently or something else might change.
"You think so too? Trust me, I know exactly the kind of guy that he is and you don't wanna go anywhere near him…Anyway, we should probably get going to school. The rain's letting up and I doubt being fashionably late's gonna go well for you." She would remark as she held her hand out to the rain and started walking towards Shujin with a groan to herself; "Man…I really wish I could've just stayed in bed…"
"You and me both…" Lee thought to himself as they rounded the corner towards the gates but any desire for sleep quickly went away once they saw the clouds darken and turn a bright red as they cast an ominous light over a very large castle.
"What in the….This IS the school right? You saw the sign outside, didn't you? It said Shujin!" The girl tried to rationalise and peered out of one of the windows.
"Yeah, the sign was out there and I was here yesterday to register, I got the path memorised and there's no way that this place relocated or changed that much in a day." Lee confirmed; just from a basic glance, this place seemed to be like a stereotypical luxury castle; a grand hall with Kamoshida as a knight plastered on a gaudy looking painting…Something way beyond what he saw at Shujin.
"Damn it! There's no signal in here either? So much for calling the school…" She would say as she looked up from her phone and saw a large knight with a rather human looking mask on it's face standing in front of her; "Gah! Don't sneak up on me like that, jerkass! Still…nice costume, you with the theatre club?" She would ask curiously as she started eyeing the armoured figure inquisitively and poked at it; making a rather hollow "Clank". Annoyed at the silent treatment, she growled in frustration; "Well? come on say somethi-"
It was there that she got cut off as more of them began to file into the hallway and close in on the pair with swords drawn and heavy looking shields ready to move; "We should get out of here…Something feels wrong." Lee said to her and grabbed her wrist with some of her protesting and rushed for the door but was stopped by two large guards getting between them.
"None will be escaping the King's Castle, you shall be thrown into the dungeons for your trespass!" One of the knights declared before a loud noise was heard as the girl shoulder barged one of the knights.
"Come on! let's get out of he-GAH!" She yelled out to him before one of the shields slammed into her and knocked her across the floor.
"Why you!" Lee would growl as he was waiting for an opening to grab the girl and run but before he could make a break for it; he felt a sudden eruption of pain from the back of his head and then everything went black.
"Take them away, the King will want to see this one…"
—Some Time Later—
Lee groaned to himself as he returned to consciousness; his head felt like a lead weight following the smack by a shield along with whatever hard surface his limp body had been using as a bed…which turned out to be the stone floor of a prison cell. "Figures…But if I remember what happened before correctly…Ryuji should be in here, or at least this version of him…" He would think to himself and then looked around the claustrophobic chamber but found no one else in there with him…This was bad. He grabbed at the iron bars; peeking out into the open hallway of countless other cells before starting to struggle. "Let me out! Where'd you take the girl?!" He yelled and struggled in vain as the bangs of the bars echoed through the hallway but footsteps soon came after.
"So you're the little rat who tried to sneak around my castle." A distorted voice made itself known as a man in a gaudy pink robe with an even more ostentatious crown planted on his head.
"Wait….You're that guy from the car earlier…Kamoshida, right?" Lee remarked as he tried to keep his vision eye level; the fact that this guy was wearing nothing but loafers, a crown and a pink robe was already bad enough.
"I am the king of this castle, if you want to keep that head on your neck then you'll address me as such…You're lucky that I'm willing to listen to your excuse as to why you were running around my palace without permission alongside that foulmouthed little thing." "King" Kamoshida drawled as he had the knights standing guard by him.
"I could tell you the truth about all of this, but I know for a fact that you'd not believe me either way." Lee pointed out as he stepped back from the door once Kamoshida started inching closer.
"Go ahead and try me, who knows? I might actually hear you out." Kamoshida snarked as he peered through the bars, his curiosity somewhat peaked at hearing this.
"Alright fine…I'm a person from the future sent back in time to stop an evil cup from killing me a second time…That good enough for you, Your Majesty?" Lee said with a raised eyebrow and his voice dripping with sarcasm when he mentioned his majesty; Kamoshida started to laugh raucously in Lee's face much like he expected him to.
"Okay, I knew that you were a mouthy lil pest but I wasn't expecting you to have a sense of humour…Of course, you're not as bad as that hot tempered skank that we found with you." Kamoshida leered as he let one of the guards open up the door; "Of course I'll be dealing with her later…I always make it a purpose to treat ladies right." He would remark with a slimy smile before the guards started to file in and press Lee up against the wall.
"Heh…Looks like I nailed it on the head about you being a scumbag…" Lee choked as he had an arm pressed against his throat and glared at Kamoshida who sidled in.
"Now I'll ask you seriously this time; What were you planning in here?" Kamoshida asked as he swung a punch into Lee's stomach when he remained silent; "You looking for something here? or perhaps you heard about my treasure room and you wanted a little piece…Not that I blame you but I don't share my hard earned little gems with aggressive little apes like you."
"The hell do you…mean by that…?" Lee would wheeze out as he lifted his head towards the smug looking Kamoshida.
"Simple, this here is MY castle and the women in this castle just love me and want to do whatever they can to please me…But you however…I think I'll keep you here in this dungeon, I might even throw that rebellious little spit Sakamoto in here with you once I'm done with her." Kamoshida gloated before kicking Lee once more in the stomach; "Though in all honesty; I think it'll be easier to just end it for you here and now since that arrogant look of your's irritates me!"
"No…I won't let this creep get his way…Not while I have something else to d-"
"LET GO OF ME, YOU PERV!" That same familiar voice would ring out loudly, Lee saw that grin on Kamoshida's face spread further across his face when the blonde girl from earlier was dragged in to the cell with them inside before wrestling her to the ground.
"I had originally intended for you to be executed and THEN have my fun with her…But I think I really want to see you suffer, one of the knights told me how you tried to save her so why not really rub it in; I'll tear her down piece by piece and then when you're begging me to stop…" Kamoshida monologued like he was coming up with the perfect way to end the day, his amusement growing when he saw Lee shaking and struggling in the grip of his knights.
"…Stop…it…"
"I think I'm done talking, let's get this show started, Sakamoto! I'll be starting with getting you all nice and prepped for your big reveal." Kamoshida crooned as his face warped into something vile and predatory when he inched himself closer to the fruitlessly struggling Sakamoto, his hands sliding out from under his robe and reaching to pull at her clothing.
Lee was getting frantic, it was a scene that he remembered all too well and the reality hit him that he lacked his abilities from before; no friends to help, no weapons and no Persona at all…But this time around was not a time that he was going to give up, he did it back home and that was the one and only time that he would.
"What's the matter, Is this really the full strength of your resolve? I'd have thought that you would know just how strong you were by now…Was it a fluke that you awakened before? Are you truly so content with giving in?" A cryptic voice echoed in the back of his head, a voice that he both remembered yet stayed hidden in the forgotten parts of his memory.
With a resolution shake of his head gave his answer and then without any warning; Lee felt like his head was being stretched out to the point of splitting in two.
"Then swear your vow to me once more! I am thou, thou art I…With your powers reborn, you shall strike at your foes with a newfound rage! Let your sacrilegious justice take form and ensure that your enemies know you bring the wrath of Hell itself!"
"Come on, Sakamoto…Just think of the kind of fun we can enjo-" Kamoshida sneered as he began to tear at the girl's shirt before he was interrupted.
"I SAID THAT'S ENOUGH!" Lee roared out with all his strength as he managed to pull free but the moment that he did; a knight swung an armoured fist into Lee's face and knocked him back against the wall.
"You really want to end yourself that eagerly, fine!" Kamoshida turned to Lee with a look of utter contempt and annoyance at his fun being interrupted, nodding his head at the knight closest to him and made it ready it's spear at Lee's throat. However something new came about as a gust of wind blew back the knights in front of him and even Kamoshida stumbled from this.
When Lee looked up to face the others; he had a black and white ballroom mask covering his face, he reached up to touch the mask and gripped onto it as he tried to pull it off. The formerly violent looking girl was in awe as she and Kamoshida watched Lee let out laboured yells of pain as he pulled the mask off of his face and from the splotches of blood on the mask and on his face. It looked like it took a little more off as the boy was engulfed in blue flames with a devilishly satisfied smirk on his face; with the flames rising higher and higher, they began to take the form of a royally dressed man in red with a mask that befitted a devil more then a man as a hollow and distorted laughter echoed from the figure.
Kamoshida began to whimper and ran for the door as Sakamoto gazed up at Lee while trying to hold her shirt in place; Lee was now dressed in black ankle-length tailcoat with a waistcoat tinged with gold accents, black pants, black boots and a pair of red gloves to cover his hands as they brandished a slender looking knife.
With some panting and a familiar looking grin on his face following his awakening; Lee recognised this place and internally thanked himself that this made him remember everything from the past. Reaching a hand down to Sakamoto who had a mixed look of awe and shock on her face; "Come on, I'll find us a way out." He said to her with a newfound confidence in his voice.
He was back…
"How…How dare you defy me?! It wasn't just once that you deny me the pleasure of killing you but you had to snub my fun as well? GUARDS! GO AHEAD AND KILL THEM BOTH!" Kamoshida ordered with a newfound anger on his face as the knights around him contorted and bubbled into an unrecognisable ooze before turning into a squad of floating Jack O'Lanterns.
"I am the Pillager of Twilight, Arsene! It is good to see you back to your former self, my master…I do not need to remind you of your experiences but know that I shall continue to fight by your side!" Arsene made himself known to Lee once more as the two readied to fight.
"Good to see you too, Arsene…But for now, let's fight on through; EIHA!" Lee yelled out and rushed forward towards the second Shadow with his knife drawn while the first one erupted into a pillar of red and black Magic, Lee managed to land a few quick slashes to take him out while narrowly avoiding a blast of fire.
Sakamoto watched in awe at how this unintimidating boy who got nervous when he saw her had all but transformed into something unreal and it honestly seemed to make her feel something that wasn't disdain or annoyance though she wouldn't admit it; "How did…what was that?" She asked with a dumbfounded look on her face as Lee's gloved hand hovered in front of her. She accepted and was pulled to her feet while holding on to the ripped part of her shirt.
"Let's get out of here first before I explain." Lee said bluntly as he held on to her hand and yanked her out of the cell, making her blush a little while he wasn't looking; thankfully Lee was more focused in grabbing the keys for the door and locking the "King" in rather then noticing the pinkish tint in her cheeks.
"W-Wait a minute! Do you even know the way out of here?!" she would ask him pointedly as she noticed that his attire quickly fizzled out and back into his school uniform when they stopped running; "And what the hell was all of that earlier?"
"I'll explain later, but right now we need to try looking for an exit…" Lee explained but heard a clanging of a metal door nearby.
"You said you're looking for a way out right?" a small voice would say as they turned towards one of the cells; for Sakamoto, it was a tiny bipedal cat trying to tug at the door but for Lee: he had found another familiar face. "If you can help me out, then I can guide you two to an exit." they offered.
"Okay, as cute as that little cat is, how do we know it's not gonna attack us the minute we bust it out of here?" Sakamoto pointed out as the cat grimaced at the taller girl.
"I'm NOT a cat! If you must know, my name is Morgana! Besides, I wouldn't lie if it means I can get out of here." Morgana would mention as they turned their gaze to Lee; "Listen up Frizzy hair! The She-Ape may not believe me but I know you're reasonable enough to hear me out, right?" Morgana said with a flick of their ear.
"Don't call me a She-Ape, you lil shit! Besides, this guy's got something going on that I don't think a little cat like you can keep up with." She snarked back at the cat, earning a growl from Morgana; "You DO know how to get out of here right?" She asked Lee insistently.
"Not in a while, at least…" Lee thought to himself; "Look, things here are weird enough and if they can help us find a way out faster, then we should take a chance…In any case, I still don't know how long "that" can keep going." Lee said, referring to the early stages of summoning his Persona.
Sakamoto sighed as she looked to the cat and then to Lee with her usual "Tough Girl" stare; "If I turned out to be right and that little furball bites your ass then we hightail it."
"Uh, the phrase is "Bites you in the ass" not what you just said…then again you could just be distracted from staring at his." Morgana teased with a smug grin as Sakamoto turned a deep red in both embarrassment and anger while Lee was picking the locks; thankfully his Proficiency made it child's play.
"I will drop kick you, cat!" Sakamoto growled at the now freed Morgana as they stretched out at the taste of freedom; "Alright, we freed ya…Now take use out of here!"
"Right this way, you two!" Morgana called out as they ran off down the hallways, dipping and weaving around other Shadows and would be enemies faster now that Morgana could freely use Zorro alongside Lee and Arsene.
"Okay, is this like an exclusive thing where you summon those dudes like that?" Sakamoto asked both of them as Lee finished striking down a Pixie and a Jack O'Lantern.
"Personas are the embodiment of a rebellious soul, anyone who comes into the Shadows' domain can activate one except for other Shadows…You just need the right trigger to do it." Morgana explained to Sakamoto while Lee walked in front.
"Wait, so almost getting violated by a perverted Shadow of a gym teacher isn't enough of a trigger?!" Sakamoto asked incredulously as Morgana tilted their head; "I'm plenty rebellious anyway, just ask the teachers and other people!"
"Looking mean and struggling is not the same as open defiance…But I guess that won't matter because once you find your exit, you won't NEED to come back with a Persona." Morgana pointed out as they continued walking.
"Hey, hold on! Are you saying that I'm not good enough to do this?! I've given that son of a bitch plenty of rebelliousness before so why can he do it and you do it…but I can't?" Sakamoto asked the two, Lee even turning back to face them as he realised the kind of talk she was having with Morgana.
"Look, I don't think now's the time to be discussing this…do you want to get out of here and survive or do you want to keep picking fights in a place where you can't fight back?!" Morgana retorted with a rather valid point.
"I…Let's just go." Sakamoto resigned herself as she pushed past the others back into the main hall where they originally were; "God, that painting just pisses me off by looking at it!" She ranted while Lee let her blow off her anger.
However while Sakamoto was on her tirade, Morgana walked over and tapped Sakamoto's leg; "Look, I know it's hard to not be able to do anything…but there's really not much choice right now, at least once you get out of here then you don't have to worry about this place."
"Worry about it? I just had to watch and listen to people getting tortured in this place and nearly had the same done to me…If I walked away from something like that and ignore it then I'd be no better then Kamoshida…" Sakamoto responded grimly as they found a window to climb out and into the courtyard of the castle.
"I told you before, these aren't real people…they're just cognitions made by this Kamoshida's mindscape...it's probably more accurate to say that they are just very realistic looking dolls." Morgana explained again to Sakamoto who didn't look any better hearing that; "At any rate, this is where the three of us part ways…You freed me so I got you two out." Morgana said as the drawbridge was within walking distance; "Just keep walking forward out of the gates and you'll be out of here for good."
"You don't wanna leave too?" Lee asked Morgana who shook their head; explaining that there was still something that they had to do before ushering the pair out of the Castle and back into reality.
"It's a shame they wanted to leave, I could've probably used them to get closer to the Treasure…The Blonde has her use but that frizzy haired kid? Now he's interesting…Though I can't help but wonder why he seemed so familiar."
—Outside the Castle and back in Reality—
"You have now returned to the real world, Welcome back~" Lee's phone chimed out like a GPs as they finally returned to the city they were used to, "Okay, I wanna chalk that as an experience I do not enjoy…" Lee remarked as he felt a sudden wave of exhaustion hit following his activities in the Castle.
"I hear ya…But what was all that about the real wo-"
"What are you two doing out here?! You looking to skip school for a date or something?" A stern voice broke her train of thought as a pair of truant officers had their eyes on them; "Those uniforms…You two go to Shujin?"
"Yeah we do…We were on our way there but we ended at some weird castle." Sakamoto would explain to the two cops while trying to ignore the jab, "Great, if dealing with that castle wasn't enough…the truant officers had to be here too…" She thought to herself as the sterner looking cop eyed the two up.
With a heavy and tired sounding sigh, the taller cop held his hand out to Lee and Sakamoto; "Alright, hand over your bags…You two aren't on any drugs, are you?" He accused as he started leafing through Sakamoto's bag and then through Lee's.
"It ain't like that! Tell them all about it." She would defend herself and then looked to Lee expectantly who's eyes widened when they realised the time; "Wait…We're THAT late….shit…Guidance officer's gonna be all over us if we get caught."
"Nothing…alright, get yourself to school, it is undeniable that you're both real late; so hoof it there or we'll be calling up the school to report you." The more lax officer goaded them as Lee and Sakamoto both headed on their way.
—At Shujin's Gates—
"And what exactly do you call this, Sakamoto? I expected you to strut into school this late but I didn't know you'd have company with you…So what's the excuse this time?" The Guidance officer was standing outside and ready to reprimand them both.
"Damn cop ratted us out after all…" Sakamoto muttered under her breath before glaring up at the teacher; "We got lost and ended up at a Castle."
Along with the Injury came the insult as a very familiar mophead showed up with the kind of laidback attitude that some students would think was cool for a teacher…but it was something different for these two. "What's this about a castle? Oh Sakamoto, glad to see you still have that carefree attitude to show up when it pleases you."
"Shut up, I know the kind of glad you really are!" Sakamoto growled as she got on edge around him and with the morning that the two had, Lee couldn't blame her.
"HOW DARE YOU TALK TO MR. KAMOSHIDA LIKE THAT! I OUGHT TO HAVE Y-"
"Okay, okay…let's take it down a little, our two missing students showed up in one piece so why not just leave it at that?" Kamoshida placated the other teacher who begrudgingly relented and allowed the two to pass, though Lee was stopped by Kamoshida as the other teacher escorted the girl to her class.
"So, you're the famous transfer student that made the rounds…" Kamoshida said to break the ice and crossed his arms with a slight smile; "Gotta admit, you've really made an impression."
Lee however didn't appreciate the isolation and the now heavy focus on him; "We actually met before, with that girl in your car." Lee explained; he had wanted to say more but he didn't want to start trouble, at least for today.
"Oh yeah, well…This is your first day at school so I'll let this little infraction slide for today and cut you some slack…how's that sound?" Kamoshida remarked; playing the cool teacher and expected Lee to profusely thank him since he was considered a problem child.
"Think you can let more stuff slide?" Lee snidely retorted, he couldn't outright call him out without there being any questions but this level of sass was good enough.
Unimpressed with his attitude; Kamoshida leaned in to whisper in Lee's ear and kept firm grip on his shoulder; "I know your situation, kid…So try not to get any funny ideas of getting in trouble or I'll make sure you get expelled on the spot…" He whispered intimidatingly before pulling back and resuming the pleasant teacher facade; "In any case, you should head on up to class…I'm sure that Ms. Kawakami's tired of waiting on a student like you."
Lee nudged past once Kamoshida let go and started to climb the stairs; "Just you wait Kamoshida…I know your secret castle and you'll get your's…When the time comes." Lee thought to himself as he knocked on the door of the staff room.