Fanfic / Monsta X in the Phantom World

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Monsta X in the Phantom World is a crossover fanfic between Persona 5, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and Monsta X written by whateverpostifind.

Set after the event of Persona 5 Strikers (while diverging from canon), it follows the story of Soren Rover, a young man from America, who wishes to enjoy his vacation in Japan, but was dragged into the world of Persona where he learned that the Phantom Thieves of Hearts had lost themselves to their madness due to two vengeful gods' corruption. With the help of 8 other fighters he encountered along the way, Soren formed a new Metaverse group (named after his favorite K-pop group, Monsta X) and set out on a journey through their Palaces to save the Phantom Thieves from themselves. 

However, things have taken a wrong turn during their journey, and nobody is prepared for what's about to happen.

Monsta X in the Abyssal World, a sequel to this, is now complete.

"Monsta X in the Phantom World" contains examples of:

• Ascended Extra: Rather than being a minor character in canon, Shiho gains prominence in the story when she begs Monsta X to help her friend, Ann.
• Alternate Universe Fic: The fanfic takes place in an alternate universe where the Phantom Thieves become the main antagonist due to Galeem and Dharkon's influences after striking a deal with them.
• Another Dimension: Using the Meta-Nav, Monsta X can travel to the Metaverse (and Mementos later on).
  • Despite not dying, Soren ends up in the afterlife after falling from Akira's crumbling Palace, in which he meets the Phantom Thieves who have passed on.
  • The rest of the group also traveled to the afterlife to reconcile with the Phantom Thieves.
    • By the time they've all arrived, no one held a grudge with one another.
• Arrested for Heroism: Monsta X was under arrest by Makoto when she believed that they were responsible for Tokyo making an unwelcoming transformation when in reality, they were only trying to save the Phantom Thieves from themselves.
• Backup from Otherworld: Each Monsta X member receives memorabilia from the Phantom Thieves, which also gives them extra power to wield in future battles.
• Band of Brothers: The metaverse group, Monsta X becomes one as the fic goes on.
• Based on a True Story: Soren explains to his friends that Wonho left Monsta X as a result of one person accusing him of doing drugs, and the other claiming that he owes them money.
  • It's also further evidence that the author remains bitter about the news.
• Bearer of Bad News: Monsta X informs the Phantom Thieves' friends, acquaintances, and loved ones about what happened to them.
• Being Watched: Futaba takes an immediate dislike to Monsta X and watches their every move.
  • She even goes so far as to install spycams into their homes and hack into their group chat to get more dirt from them.
• Big Bad Duumvirate: Galeem and Dharkon. They team up to take down Monsta X, but they still try to fight each other
• Birdcaged: Soren gets caught in one when the rest of the group were sucked in by a mysterious door in Haru's Palace.
• Boss Rush: Monsta X fights the revived bosses again to reach the Final Boss once more.
• But Now I Must Go: Everyone returns home to their respective worlds, Soren goes back to America, and Jackie (Now a human) chooses to stay in Japan to start his new life. But despite that, they all promise that they will meet again someday.
• Crash-Into Hello: The main characters usually bump into each other unknowingly before introducing themselves.
• Code Name: The main cast uses a different alias to protect their identity from the enemy. In their case, their codenames are based on the real Monsta X members, with two being unique.
  • Soren - Soohyun
  • Jackie - Jackson
  • Ike - Jooheon
  • Robin - Kihyun
  • Richter - Wonho
  • Ryu - Hyungwon
  • Ken - I.M
  • Shulk - Minhyuk
  • Little Mac - Shownu
  • Kirby - Eunbi
• Collective Groan: Haru brought Sugimura into the conversation, with Monsta X all groaning in response to her actions.
• Concert Episode: Monsta X, temporarily named X Clan, held a concert, with the help from the Phantom Thieves, and the real K-pop group themselves.
  • In some songs, Soren takes some of Kihyun and Jooheon's lines, while Jackie takes some of Shownu, Wonho, and I.M's lines. This is the author's intention to make the line distribution fairly even as Jooheon and Kihyun have more lines while Minhyuk and Hyungwon have less.
• Conveniently Cellmates: Monsta X were thrown together in jail cells by Makoto.
• Deal with the Devil: The Phantom Thieves made a deal with Galeem and Dharkon after their falling out, granting them power and a disillusioned union, in return of them being completely under their control.
• Death Fic: All of the arc's endings results in the Phantom Thieves' deaths and Monsta X members receiving a special power from them.
• Destroy the Security Camera:
  • Monsta X plucks off the security bugs immediately when Ike found one in his apartment complex.
  • Sae spills water on the computer, frying the system and shutting down the cameras.
• Down to the Last Play: With no other options, Kirby sent away the Lucky Seven fighters (Ike, Robin, Richter, Ryu, Ken, Shulk, Little Mac) onto a Warp Star to another world so they can avoid the same fate their fellow fighters were suffering from.
• Elemental Powers: Each Spirit has unique elemental properties that can be used to their advantage, but can also be exploited from their weaknesses. For Monsta X, their Spirits wield different diverse elements.
  • Altina - Wind
  • K.K. Slider - Electric
  • Yune - Nuclear
  • Grima - Support
  • Maria - Bless
  • Gouken - Ice
  • Sean - Fire
  • Fiora - Psychokinesis
  • Doc Louis -    Curse   
  • Galacta Knight - Almighty
    • While Soren is a Wild Card and can use many Spirits in combat, his primary Spirit and his affinity are still Wind.
    • While Robin is the main Navigator, he can still fight, even if it's from a distance, as Grima's supposed element is    Curse   .
• Ending Theme: Each arc ending has a unique song that was selected by the author.
• Fallen Hero: The Phantom Thieves specifically. They were once heroes that saved the world from ruin now reduced to lowly pawns by two unknown entities.
  • Ren is also one since he is from a timeline where the Phantom Thieves caused mental shutdowns on their targets to seek vengeance, leading them to become deranged and losing a lot of their humanity.
• Forgiven, but Not Forgotten: While Soren doesn't forget the atrocities that the Phantom Thieves wrought upon him and his friends, he still forgives them as he genuinely believes that they were victimized by the gods, even more so than they were.
• Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!: Jackie gave one to Soren when the latter lost his will to fight after seeing what Haru had become.
• Ghost Town: The sub-worlds in the Dark Realm, infused with Mementos, are left barren and empty, giving the group no purpose to explore, other than resurfacing memories from long days past.
• Hell on Earth: The world and Mementos fused once again, with Shadows roaming the streets, and the gods ruling over it.
• Heroes Fight Barehanded: Ryu, Ken, and Little Mac are known to fight with Ansatsuken and boxing respectively as they don't use weapons like their fellow members.
  • Kirby can be classified as such, but he's pretty much the Jack of All Trades.
• Invisible to Normals: While those who are connected to the Phantom Thieves in any capacity can see the abnormalities happening in Tokyo (i.e. Monsta X and Sojiro), the public noticed no such thing until much later on.
• Involuntary Group Split: While Soren was trapped in a birdcage, the rest of the group was split up by the mysterious door that sucked them in, which involves them fighting their way out.
• It's All Upstairs From Here: Monsta X makes the arduous and treacherous climb to reach the top to face Galeem and Dharkon.
• Joined Your Party: In each arc, a new member joins.
  • In the first arc, three members have joined.
  • In the third arc, two members have joined.
• Kill the God: Soren struck down Galeem and Dharkon with Ashera and Yune joined as Ashunera.
• Let's Get Out of Here: Monsta X escapes from the crumbling Palaces every time they steal a Treasure.
• Let's Split Up, Gang!: The group temporarily splits up as they are evading the cops since Makoto is actively pursuing them. Jackie takes this a step further as he temporarily leaves the group to get help from Little Mac and Sae Niijima.
• Losing the Team Spirit: The group's morale was thrown into question when Haru dies, making them feel conflicted about their feelings and question whether or not what they did was right. But despite that, they all decided to stay together.
• Mercy Kill: All of the Phantom Thieves requested them to not heal them even when they're at death's door, much to Monsta X's dismay.
• My God, What Have I Done?: The Phantom Thieves realize the error of their ways as they are free from the god's control, but are mortally wounded and on death's door.
• Next Tier Power-Up: The Phantom Thieves grant Soren their Personas and Tarots, giving him access to second tier Persona Picaros.
  • Ike also gains this when the Velvet Room residents discover that Yune is compatible with Ashera as they transform into Ashunera when joined together. Because of this, he is given temporary Wild Card powers, which gives him access to first tier Persona Picaros.
    • With Persona Picaros in possession, Soren and Ike's eyes change color depending on which Persona is called to action.
• NPC Amnesia: After the events, the public media has no recollection of what had transpired, except those who are connected to the Phantom Thieves.
• Original Character: Soren Rover and Jackie are created by the author.
• Painful Transformation: Anyone who was attacked by the revived Galeem and Dharkon will undergo the very agonizing process.
  • This was evidenced when Daisy saved Ken from being struck, but the forced transformation proved to be extremely painful, and soon, others followed.
• Pop-Up Texting: Monsta X uses either Discord or Messenger to communicate with each other about the current situation, though how the text can be seen is up to the reader's interpretation.
• Radio Silence: Monsta X has to shut their phones down so that Makoto can't trace their locations.
• Rage Breaking Point: Soren explodes on the Phantom Thieves for giving him and his friends so much grief and chews each and every one of them out for what they've done wrong.
• Revenge by Proxy: Monsta X encounters some of the Phantom Thieves' despised enemies and decides to get them back in the most gratifying way possible.
  • Soren and Jackie encountered the man who was "interrogating" Akira during his arrest and listed out his crimes, thanks to Futaba's tip, out in the open, prompting Sae to arrest him, giving Akira the justice he deserves.
  • Ike and Robin found Sugimura, who was resurrected, and told him that he is a complete unknown to the public masses now since false allegations had spread to even his family about him dying in a freak accident, to which Haru made it up.
  • Richter and Shulk saw Kamoshida roaming free and Tsukasa shit talking about Makoto.
    • Shulk ends up beating him up viciously off screen, somehow overpowering him.
    • Richter kicked Kamoshida right in the nuts before stuffing his mouth with a chocolate bar. He even went the extra mile by jumping on his leg, serving as a well-deserved retribution for Ann, Shiho, and Ryuji.
  • Ryu and Ken run into Akira's parents, who still think their son is a disgrace and continue to berate him, even after everything he's done for society. The Shotos bit back and said that they were the failures, not Akira, and forced them to visit his grave, but not before telling them this:
  Now stay here and think about what you've done.
  • Little Mac and Kirby spotted Ryuji's deadbeat father, heavily drinking, while proudly proclaiming to be a high school dropout and beating his son and wife. This struck a nerve in the two of them, Mac especially, and they proceeded to land hard blow after hard blow, rendering him unconscious and Mac spits on his face afterward.
• Rousing Speech: Soren gives one before Monsta X fights the gods for the fate of the world.
  Yeah. One thing for sure, saying I'll never forgive you is an understatement. Saying I want you out of our lives forever is much, much better. So that's why…" [Unsheathes Alondite]. "We will fight." Points it at them. "And we will save this world. Make your peace with whatever the gods worship, both of you. Your end has come. For the past few months or so, I never thought that this would get any crazier, until now. This battle means more than anything else… because it's for everything that is at stake here. I will win this fight, 'WE' will win this fight. For us… for the world… for them.
• Runaway Hideaway: Monsta X was forced to hide in the Wilton Hotel after they made their Great Escape from jail, making them fugitives by the law.
  • This infuriated Makoto as she ordered a manhunt, making them The Most Wanted in the process.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here!: Soren evacuates everyone after rescuing Ken when a horde of Shadows appear on Ann's command.
• Seven Deadly Sins: Just like in the original Persona 5 and Royal, the Phantom Thieves, now Palace rulers, are affected by a Sin, with Morgana affected by pride, Ryuji by greed, Ann by gluttony, Yusuke by lust, Makoto by wrath, Haru by envy, Futaba by sloth once again, and Akira harboring all seven Sins.
• Shout-Out: There are a lot of pop culture references in the fic. Some are obvious, others are subtle.
• Speak in Unison:
  • Monsta X expressed their shock when Haru blew up Sugimura's corpse with a grenade launcher.
  OOOOHHHH SHIT!!!
  • Soren rallies the group to make the climb to fight the Big Bad.
  Soren: Alright, then let's go! It's time to kick some ass, and let them know that we are-
  Everyone: MONSTA X!!!
• Training Montage: The real Monsta X members help the temporarily named X Clan rehearse for their upcoming concert, giving them quick vocal and dancing lessons, feedback on what to improve, and some techniques that they use during their career.
• Use Item: The Velvet Room residents provide Monsta X with a bottomless bag that stores every item they need, varying from solving puzzles or fighting enemies. The group themselves have a knack for creativity when combining one item or another, as it usually involves either one, two, or more members to pull off such feats.
• Weapon Specialization: Some characters use weapons to fight in the Metaverse.
  • Soren, Ike, and Shulk wield swords.
  • Jackie fights with spears.
  • Robin uses magic.
  • Richter specializes in whips.
• We Used to Be Friends: The Phantom Thieves used to be best friends but had a huge falling out and were broken up, due to outrealm meddling.
• Wham Episode:
  • In Chapter 95, Monsta X finally learns the truth behind the Phantom Thieves' falling out and the 'deal' they made with Galeem and Dharkon.
• Wistful Amnesia: Certain events were wiped off of Monsta X's memories, except Soren and Jackie. They feel that something's missing from it, with the two offering their support to end the conflict.
  • This is a request from Kirby to Igor during his time in the Velvet Room so he can observe their growth from the journey while remaining hidden, as he doesn't want them to remember him immediately.
• With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Galeem and Dharkon took advantage of the Phantom Thieves' falling out by striking a "deal" with them to destroy Monsta X. The Phantom Thieves themselves are given incredible power, but it made them mad.