Shattered Justice (A Persona Quest)

Makoto-san steps forward, giving the box a close look with an expression that is even more unreadable than ever, if that's even possible.

"Makoto-kun?" Yukari-san asks, glancing at him. "Is something the matter?"

"...I'm going to try something," His voice is quiet, and he runs his fingers along the edge of the box, leaning over the object that is, in fact, large enough to fit a person in.

Aigis-san crosses her arms. "I cannot condone attempting to use the box on yourself. We have no idea how it works. It could be dangerous."
Actually, given ___________, I can't help but wonder what would actually happen.
You wince as your head starts hurting for, as far as you can tell, no reason at all. It's probably nothing, though.

"I... guess that wouldn't be a good idea," It's still impossible to tell what he's thinking from his voice. You're aware, by this point, that Makoto-san doesn't really feel like bothering with inflection a lot, but it's still pretty weird. The only other person you know who speaks like that is Aigis-san. "But... that's not the only idea I have."

Of course it's not. You aren't sure it's possible to be a Wild Card without being able to come up with a wide variety of ideas, some of them possessing more relative sanity than others.

Not that any of those ideas are really sane, but it really is all a matter of perspective.

From his pockets, Makoto-san produces five blank cards. He drops them, and lets them flutter down into the box.

As he tries to operate the box, you hear something fairly akin to an explosion inside it. Everyone looks at Makoto-san.

"...I guess it did something. Let's see..." He opens the box, and retrieves the same five cards as before.

There's also a large wave of sludge coming out that looks like, at one point, it could have been a Shadow. It's nice to see that, even in a world as strange and messed-up as this one, it's still possible to commit crimes against nature.
Lesson one: The power of the Wild Card is not a toy. I shouldn't actually have to explain this.
The sludge does not move, simply settling and congealing on top of the box that no longer appears to be safe to touch. Mitsuru-san narrows her eyes at Makoto-san. "Would you care to tell me what, exactly, you were hoping to accomplish?"

He shrugs. "It... I thought it might do something?"

Well, it certainly did do something, but as nobody wants to poke the mass of slowly congealing goo to find out what it was, you're probably not going to ever find out.

You don't really have any sort of a problem with this.

---

According to the map, you should be close to the stairs down a level now. You're pretty glad for this, because maybe it'll give you a few more answers than you have currently.

Of course, that still leaves the question of why there's something up ahead that's glowing. Morgana runs ahead, as you've come to expect from him at this point.

"Guys! Guys, it's a treasure chest! But I can't get it open!" You have no idea where he got those lockpicks from, and at this point, you're scared to ask.

You're just... going to ignore that for right now...


[ ] And talk to Makoto-san.

[ ] And talk to Aigis-san.

[ ] And talk to Shinjiro-san.

[ ] And talk to Chidori-san.

[ ] ...And slip down the stairs ahead of everyone else.

You glance at Chidori-san. "Do you think they're going to get it open?"

"They might. They might not. I'm not sure how much it matters." You aren't, either, aside from the obvious fact that there's nowhere near as many crates here as there are briefcases in Tartarus. "If they can't get it open, they could leave it on the map, if they had any way of labeling it."
It really is a good thing Narukami-san handled things so well last time... where is he, anyway?
This is about the point where you remember that Chidori-san's priority, when it isn't just 'don't die due to the Dark Hour,' is art. "How would you mark it down, then?"

"I'd use some sort of symbol. Preferably something that brings to mind thoughts of treasures. And the FOEs could be drawn, too, in miniature." Somehow, you get the feeling that would leave everyone with more time spent working on the map than actually making use of it.

"...Have you considered drawing it yourself?"

'I'm waiting for someone else to think of it." You get the feeling that might take a while. Longer than this Labyrinth would even last. "The papers in my sketchbook aren't good for maps, anyway. It's better to start with some kind of grid."

It sounds like she's put a lot of thought into this... more thought than you would have ever expected from her. "I... didn't realize you knew a lot about maps."

"...Not really. It mostly comes from a video game Junpei was showing me the other day. It was going well, until the bull his party was running from caught up to them." She pauses. "...Odd. Those enemies were called FOEs, too."
...The sad thing is, I don't think she's joking. One of my classmates in high school had a game that was just like that. I don't remember what it's called, though...
"Really?" You aren't sure if she's messing with you or not.

"Yes, but it stood for 'Field On Enemy' instead."

"...That sounds a lot simpler to remember." Why couldn't Zen have suggested something like that?
There are so many ways you can make that acronym, it's not even funny.
Chidori-san simply shrugs. "I suppose it is."

The others actually manage to get the chest open, somehow, and are buried in so many Heal Stones you don't think you have to worry about ever running out. This is probably very useful.

As it is, the most interesting thing is seeing how many of them everyone can fit in their pockets.

---

As you descend, the floor changes as smoothly as if you'd traveled between blocks in Tartarus. The world is now brighter, the floors being purple and orange tile. Already, you can hear the ticking of many, many clocks.

"Hey, Makoto-kun, I've been wondering something," Yukari speaks up. "I've seen you use a lot of Personas before, but... since we got here, you've just been using Orpheus. Is something wrong?"

"That..." He glances to the side, clearly uncomfortable. "I... can't use most of my Personas right now. Just Orpheus, and... Just Orpheus." You see he's still not entirely comfortable with Thanatos' existence.

"This feels like the sort of thing you should have mentioned sooner," Mitsuru-san remarks, and Makoto-san starts looking away from her as well.

"Sorry..."

Morgana's tail swishes. "This is something that really shouldn't be possible. I mean, the power of the Wild Card... That's not something that's easy to mess with! Probably impossible!"

You blink. "How do you know this?"

"That's easy! I... um..." It appears that it's not as easy as he claims it is. "...You know, maybe we should ask the Velvet Room about this! I'm sure one of them will have an answer!" You consider pointing out that he didn't actually answer your question, but figure you can leave it be for now.

Still... this leaves the question of who to go to.


[ ] Maybe Elizabeth? She's a Wild Card, too, so if anything happened involving it... she's probably the most likely to know.

[ ] Theodore seems reliable. Maybe you should ask him.

[ ] Lavenza has yet to steer you wrong on Persona-related stuff, and you're starting to think she never will.