Minato decided to eavesdrop on Akira's conversation with Fuuka's help.

"Sojiro, is Sae there? I need to ask the both of you a favor."

Fuuka fumbled with the phone signal interception device. PSID for short.

A raspy male's voice responded.

"Look, kid, I've got a pot of curry on the stove, 5 types of coffee brewing simultaneously, and a large family group with picky eaters. I'll call you back. And no, your girlfriend's sister isn't here."

Minato smiled as he heard Akira respond.

"DAD-Sojiro! I meant Sojiro, not dad. She's not my girlfriend! I'm not a major flirt like you! Its not my fault that I usually have more girls around me than men! I won't exc-"

Sojiro cut him off.

"Akira, I was joking. It was funny to listen to you complain though. Bye for now kid."

"Sojiro, wait. Please call me when Sae gets to the shop. It's really important to me."

"Sure thing Kiddo. Will do."

The call ended.

Minato held back a chuckle as he saw Akira stomp out of the closet where he called from, Akira's face red from blushing so hard.

His laughter only ceased when Minato realized that Akira was walking straight towards his and Fuuka's hiding spot. Minato tried to find a hiding spot in vain. Akira spotted the blunette with ease. 

"What are you two doing?"

Minato stared Akira in the eyes while Fuuka blushed and apologized profusely. Akira just sighed in disappointment before pulling Minato aside. 

"Dude, I don't mind the eavesdropping. I'm a thief, remember? But I do have something to ask you."

"Shoot."

"Is it just me or do women seem attracted to me instantly? I'm not trying, so why do I keep getting all of these love letters and confessions?"

Minato laughed dryly. "Akira, that's the leader's curse. Ask any of the others. Minako, Tatsuya, Naoya, Yu, or even Maya. We all have this problem as soon as we get a persona. I guess it's just Igor's curse or blessing or whatever."

Akira pouted slightly, which looked unnatural on his usually snarky and arrogant face. "I hate being the leader."

Minato lightly placed his hand on Akira's shoulder. "At least you didn't have to die because of it." before walking away, whistling a melancholy tune.

*****

Timeskip to that evening!

*****

The apartment complex's pool and lawn was full of people. The scent of barbecuing filled the air as the many young persona veterans swam, talked, and laughed their hearts out.  The blue haired boy, Eikichi, was flipping burgers. Shinjiro was making potato salad. Yosuke waited on tables. Ann showed the other girls her model diet, comparing it to Rise's pop star diet. 

Akira sat in the shadows, reading a Zattpad story on his phone. Yu sat on his left, flipping through a magazine. Minato and his sister, Minako, dicussed the nuances in their timelines. Naoya socialized with everyone, but he kept looking at an empty space. And finally, Tatsuya and Maya sat in the corner with Tatsuya crying in the fetal position and Maya hugging him. 

They all watched our comrades laugh about the adventures they'd been through. It brought warmth to their hearts. But soon, the warmth would leave. 

A silver-haired boy and a golden-haired girl walked into the yard, followed by their siblings. Everyone stopped talking. Felix, Lavenza, Elizabeth, Theo, Margaret, The Demon Painter, Nameless, Belladonna, Igor, and the masked figure known as Philemon stood against the wall. Philemon cleared his throat and spoke. 

"Hello. You may know me, or you may not. I am Philemon, deity of justice, order, and truth. All of you here gathered today have earned my respect by learning how to use your personas to fight on the side of good. I thank you. But now, I must say the time for celebration is coming to a close. You see, the demons that Igor told you about, have vanished. Disappeared from existence. We suspect foul play, but we have no substantial proof. That's why I'm assigning my helpers to you. All of your will continue to gather information at various high schools and sources of discord, but now you will have someone to help you. Now, gather into your predetermined groups."

Group 1

Yu, Ken, Yusuke, Yukiko, Eriko, Kanji, Naoto

Group 2

Tatsuya, Ann, Katsuya, Chie, Ulala, Rise, Haru,

Group 3

Naoya, Hidehiko, Yukari, Jun, Goro, Masao, Yuka, Akihiko

Group 4

Minako, Junpei, Lisa, Ryuji, Eikichi, Teddie, Mitsuru

Group 5

Maya, Kei, Yosuke, Haru, Morgana, Maki, Makoto

Group 6

Akira, Futaba, Minato, Aigis, Fuuka, Reiji, Yukino

"Good. Now, I will asign you your denizens, myself included. Felix will go into Yu's group. Lavenza into Tatsuya's, Elizabeth into Naoya's, Theo into Minako's, Margaret into Maya's, The Demon Painter and Nameless into Akira's, Belladonna in Tatsuya's, and myself in Maya's."

Everyone but Philemon moved to their respective groups, with The Demon Painter helping Nameless guide himself over to Akira's group. 

"Your mission starts tomorrow. Good Luck. I'll arrange for disguises tonight."

And with that, Philemon turned into a golden butterfly and flew towards the moon. Igor changed into a blue butterfly and followed. 

The confused teens were left with silence until Elizabeth started squealing. "OMG! I can't believe were going on a mission! Yeeeeee!"

All the siblings looked in various degrees of excitement, but they all shared a look of embarrassment for Elizabeth's lack of self control. Well, all but one. Felix started doing cartwheels in celebration. The older denizens, Demon Painter, Nameless, and Belladonna were different. Nameless smirked, The Demon Painter Smiled softly, and Belladonna sung a song of melancholy.  

"Hold up. No. We all are retired Philemon. You promised to leave myself, Tatsuya, Naoya, the whole gang out of this!" Maya complained.

"Sorry, but this situation is much to hard for the younger generation to handle. They need expert seniors to help them. I'm sorry. Good luck!" Philemon dissipated in a flurry of multicolored butterflies.

Maya stomped her foot. "Dang it!"

"Hey, chill. We got this. All we have to do is-Ahhhhh!" Junpei started. They ground shook and ripped open. A massive shadow came from within, releasing a fine silvery dust that fell upon the teens. 

"What is this stuff?" Chie wondered, trying to wipe of the substance. It stayed glued to her.

The shadow screeched and lunged towards the pool. Persona users screamed and tried to summon their personas, but couldn't. The demon grabbed over 10 users and swallowed them whole. Akira grabbed his gun and started firing. No one could seem to summon their personas.

The creature seemed only aggravated by the bullets and slithered towards Akira. Futaba ran in and stopped the creature from attacking him, but at his own expense. She went down too. The creature kept attacking and attacking, until all that was left were the 7 leaders. 

Minato and Minako shot it with an evoker in both eyes and the creature vanished, but so did their friends. They were alone, all of their allies gone.