[color=silver]It would only retreat for a time, because it had sensed power, and once it had gathered new strength from elsewhere, it would definitely return for a rematch.  The strange thing of it was that he had found himself among friends to easily, instantly brought to his awareness, like a Persona.  Were they simply that good, or had his power actually summoned them.  He found himself in the Metaverse, it seemed, once the Dreamer had retreated, in a simple park area.  And after the creature cleared out, so too had his friends, and in their place was a [i]new[/i] figure...[/color]

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That was where she had appeared, wearing that black-and-orange racer outfit, and a helmet with red backlighting.  She'd been standing there with a Persona active, but it faded shortly after the Dreamer's departure, indicating that she wasn't a part of the problem, but rather the solution.  Here in the present, Ren started to piece this together, but it was not completely formed yet.  A small island of recollection had formed from the depths of the ocean in his mind, but that was all.  He needed more, but he also needed the reason for why she came to him, here and now.  Ryoko had briefly turned her attention to Morgana before Ren pressed on, the seriousness on her face breaking for a moment as she was met with another familiar face, but she kept on with the conversation at hand.

"You may not have donned your coat and mask for seven years, but that doesn't mean things stop happening in the world.  Believe me, I wish it were that simple, and that this were just a social call, but it's not.  More than my own wish for you to remember, Ren, I [i]need[/i] you."

Amidst the seriousness of their discussion, there was a definite look on her face, the confirmation that she didn't just know him, but knew him well.  That familiarity he sensed between them kept surfacing, and in those last words he could see not only a cry for help, but that there was so much more.  He wasn't simply Joker to her, an ally to be called upon, but the one she would turn to - first and always - in a crisis, the one her trust and faith went to, and maybe even...

"I don't know what happened to you or the others in the past seven years.  When we finally tracked down the Dreamer to its lair, we were all hit with a fog that made the memories fade.  You, your friends, and even I was affected.  The only thing keeping us rooted was Morpheus' power."

Morpheus, the god of dreams, and also...the name of her Persona.

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[color=silver]The Persona had been this pale figure with a wild shock of black hair, and eyes filled with blackness and starlight, like a universe.  It was a gaunt and eternal sort of man, an unending existence, clad in a dark cloak or tunic with one shoulder bare.  It faded as she revealed herself to him, a girl maybe a couple of years his senior, maybe an inch over his height.

"Sorry if I startled you there.  I felt your battle with that thing and had to intrude here in order to help.  Morpheus was the one that called your friends, brought them here to help thanks to your call.  He manifests one's thoughts and dreams into the Unconscious World."

She stepped forwards, but not too close, because she understood that he had no reason to trust her, as of yet.

"Let me be clear on something.  Right now, you're dreaming all of this, but more importantly, it's [i]lucid[/i] dreaming, the state of being aware of the dream and being in control of it.  You're not dreaming me, and that [i]thing[/i] wasn't any part of your subconscious either.  We're both real.  I need you to remember that, so it can't take you unawares."

She was being completely serious here, keeping him informed for his own good so he doesn't let his guard down in the future.  She didn't believe that he would.  He seemed rather strong, and the bond he shared with his friends was [i]equally[/i] strong.

"I call that creature the Dreamer, or the devourer OF dreams.  It's feeding on people's minds, using their imagination to gain strength.  Morpheus gives me the chance to fight fire with fire, but that alone isn't cutting it.  I need to destroy it, or this will never end."[/color]

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She looked into his eyes, searching for the signs of recognition from the one she put all her hopes and trust and yes even affection in before.  She wanted him to remember, but at the same time knew that recalling without context or understanding was as unsettling as telling an amnesiac to their face what kind of person they were in the past.

"I've been in recovery.  It took me time, even with my Persona, to get it all back.  The first thing I wanted to do was find you, but that wasn't easy, and when I DID find you...your mind was still healing.  I can help you remember, but the truth is that I come to you [i]now[/i] because I found the man who created the Dreamer."