"Ooooooo! Nice threads, Ren! Ah, Ryuji," Rise nodded, then continued. "You look like a thug."
"That's what I said!" Morgana yelled as he fell into the TV World and hit the ground, making a squeaky toy noise.
"...Ren..."
"Yes, Rise?"
"T-t-talking anime cat?"
"Yes, Rise."
BOOM!
Rise exploded with supernatural speed, picking Morgana up and squeezing him tightly.
"I'm, urg, not a ca— purrrrr." Morgana tried to struggle free until Rise scratched THAT spot behind his ear.
"Never gets old," Ryuji said. "Do I really look like a thug?"
"Remember old superhero games for the PS2?"
"Yeah, of course. I watched my cousin play them."
"What do the enemy NPCs look like?"
"Son of a bitch," Ryuji moaned in defeat. "Screw it, I'm a modern pirate."
"Ah, they have a comedy routine too?" Rise suddenly said. "Yu and Yosuke do too."
Morgana struggled out of Rise's hug, gasping for breath.
"Where the hell are we?!"
Rise gave a sly smile.
"Welcome to the TV World. Wanna go to my strip club?"
---
"That's a hell of a story."
"Sorry you went through that," Shiho sighed. "It wasn't nearly as traumatizing, but I awoke the same way."
"Oh, that method does still work? I guess it's just a matter of potential."
"What do you mean?" Orihime asked with bright eyes.
"Hm? Each generation of Wild Card is given a new form of awakening. For our seniors, it was accepting the inevitability of death. For me, it was the acceptance of the truth, even if it hurts, and denying lies, even if they're comfortable," Rise explained softly. "Tell me about your awakenings, if you can, please."
"Rise, are you 'allowed' to share that much?" Ren asked carefully.
Rise gave a snort. "I don't care about that. You're the first Wild Card after Yu. And the Iwatodai group didn't get involved with us until Christmas of that year. Makes the journey harder, my perky ass. Who tested that?"
"Wow," Morgana said.
"It's very liberating to be able to speak the truth." Rise smiled.
---
"Hmm, I see. Rebellion against what, though?" Rise thought. "I'll have to talk to one of the smarter people about it, I guess."
"I think it's like rebellion against imposed fate?" Ren offered.
"Seems right, but also wrong. Where does the Shadow fit into that?"
"I don't know what you two are talking about at all," Ryuji said.
"Cognitive bullshit," Ren and Rise said together.
They blinked and started laughing.
---
"Umu, so Hime-chan wants to awaken a Persona." Rise nodded. "Well, if you stay in here long enough, you'll come across your Shadow."
"Wait, really? Shouldn't Shadows only manifest when they are distorted?" Morgana quickly asked for clarification.
"What defines a distortion?" Rise shrugged.
---