April 14

"I heard someone screaming near the PE Faculty Office yesterday." A girl said as I walked from the train station. "It sounded like they were in pain."

"There's no way." Her friend said. "Everyone was at the Volleyball rally yesterday. No one was there."

"I know, that's why it was so creepy." She said. "I wanted to get Mr. Kamoshida's autograph, but when I heard that, I ran right away."

It was probably a "Special Lesson" with one of the Team members, potentially even Mishima. He had been much more bruised when we'd confronted him then he'd had yesterday morning.

I tuned the rest of their conversation out, passing Kawakami on the way to my class. She opened her mouth to say something, but she seemed to give up halfway through.

"Make sure you're not late…" She yawned. I nodded, making a beeline for my room. Takamaki glanced at me as I sat down, but she didn't say anything either.

As expected.

Class was pretty normal. I stopped paying attention at this point. They were just teaching things I had already learned, and I was confident that I would be fine on the test. Makoto had made me good at studying. I hadn't even been allowed to spend time with her until my grades were higher than the average for the school. My phone buzzed. I put it in the pocket under my desk, pretending to still look out the window.

Ryuji: I was thinking that Takamaki could be a witness for us

Akira: Why

Ryuji: She's BFFs with one of the starters. Suzui.

Ryuji: I knew her from middle school too, so I tried to talk to her yesterday, but

Ryuji: She kinda seemed empty inside. She barely responded to anything

Ryuji: I thought that asking someone who knows them might help

'Normally, that would work, but Shiho didn't tell Ann anything.' I thought, putting my phone away. Ann had been in the dark the entire time. She'd suspected something was wrong, but she had never acted on those suspicions...and she'd regretted it ever since. I didn't want her to regret her actions. I would save Shiho.

"Oh, sorry." I stumbled a bit as I collided with somebody. "I wasn't watching where I was going…" It was Shiho.

"No, I should have been watching...are you okay?" I asked. She looked up at me. "You're covered in bruises.

"It's...it's nothing…" She winced, averting her eyes. "You shouldn't be worrying about me...you're the transfer to class D, right?" I nodded. "You should probably worry about yourself more…"

"What do you mean?" I cocked my head.

"Well...it's just that I've heard some...horrible rumors about you, and I don't want you to feel bad about them."

"Thanks." I smiled. "But why are you telling me?"

"Well, one of my friends also has lots of rumors circulating about her...so...ah, I didn't mean to drag that on you."

"It's alright."

"Yeah...you're too nice for any of those rumors to be true." She smiled slightly, and I could see a bit of life in her eyes. "But...I have to go to practice…" The light faded when she said that.

"Be careful," I said as she walked away. "If you need help…"

"...thanks, but...nevermind." She turned the corner, headed for the Gym.

'...Kamoshida! What did you do to that girl?!' I was furious. How could someone so kind be so broken? How much had Kamoshida already done to her. I'd assumed that today had been the first time, but it was possible that today had simply been the one that broke her. Either way...Kamoshida deserved no mercy.

'I think I can understand why Akechi was willing to murder people...if he was killing Shadows, he must have been inside a few Palaces before…'

"But even then, he also killed possibly innocent people. Everybody has a Shadow...everyone except Persona Users. If that Shadow isn't within a Palace, or in the process of creating one within Mementos…"

'They're on their way into the depths of Mementos.'

"Yes. Akechi may have killed a Shadow that was on its way. It could have been an innocent person as well."

'I know. I don't want to kill Kamoshida...but I don't want him to be free either.'

"Hey…" Ryuji grumbled, greeting me as I entered the courtyard. "You get anything outta her? I saw you two talking."

"No. She didn't say anything either." I said. "We're not gonna get anything out of them."

"Dammit." Ryuji banged his fist against the vending machine. "Can't we do anything? We both know that if we confront him he'll deny it...and find a way to pin the blame on us."

"We can take down the King," I said. "If we strike inside the Palace, the real Kamoshida won't know shit. That way we don't have to worry about getting caught."

"I mean...that would feel nice, for sure, but does that even mean anything?" Ryuji asked.

"Actually, What Frizzy here says is true." Morgana hopped up onto the table.

"Huh?" Ryuji looked around. "I thought I heard something."

"Down here!" Morgana called. "Ryuji!"

"The cat?!" Ryuji asked. "Morgana?!"

"Yeah, it's me." Morgana sat down. "I've finished my investigation. There are some oddities, but I know everything that I need to know."

"B-but you're a cat!" Ryuji yelled.

"I just look like one!" Morgana cried. "I may look like a cat in reality, but I'm not."

"You're hearing this right?!" Ryuji asked. "I'm not going insane!"

"Meow?" I smirked.

"Dammit, Akira! Don't mess with me…" Ryuji shook his head. "Are you seriously in the real world?"

"I am." Morgana nodded. "And I can help you."

"How'd you get out though...do you have a phone?"

"I'm not like you guys," Morgana said, licking his paw. "I don't need the MetaNav to leave Palaces. It is more of a hassle though." He admitted.

"I can't believe that this cat is Morgana..."

"Could you just accept it! Not everything has to make sense all the time!"

"Hey, keep quiet!" Ryuji shushed.

"Nobody else can hear me," Morgana said. "I sound like a cat to anybody who's never been in the Metaverse."

"Still...I don't think we should talk about something like this in plain sight." He grabbed Morgana by the collar. "Stick him in your bag, we'll go to the roof."

Morgana complied, and we snuck our way up the stairs. Most people ignored us.

"So you said something about helping us?" Ryuji asked. Morgana nodded.

"You need to learn how to be softer." He whined. "But yeah, I can help."

"So?"

"That castle is how Kamoshida views this school." Ryuji nodded. "Even if he doesn't want it, it's deeply connected to his psyche. If we can destroy his castle, the real Kamoshida will also be affected."

"So...we should plant explosives in his Palace?"

"...no." Morgana sighed. "There is a reason that his Desires became distorted. There had to be a catalyst that began the process of his descent into...whatever he's become. That's true for every Palace Ruler."

"And?" Ryuji asked.

"I'm getting there!" Morgana yelled. "If we can find that item, that Treasure, and steal it, the Palace won't have a source anymore, and it'll collapse, along with the Distorted Desire's of the Ruler."

"...So he would become a person with a conscience" I supplied, seeing the look on Ryuji's face.

"Is that really getting revenge though?" Ryuji asked. "I mean, yeah it stops him from doing it again but…"

"Well, even if the desires disappear, the fact that he committed crimes will not." Morgana grinned. "A morally sound person wouldn't be able to live with himself, so they'd confess those crimes on their own accord!"

"For real, we could do that?!" Ruji asked.

"You gotta be careful though," Morgana said. "If you end up hurting the Shadow, it could seriously affect Kamoshida's real body, and the consequences of that are...unpleasant."

"What do you mean?"

"...I mean that if you end up killing the Shadow, the real Kamoshida will die as well."

"..." Ryuji looked at me. "We could kill him if we went in?"

"Only if you kill the Shadow," Morgana said. "As long as you don't do that, nothing will happen."

"...I don't know man, I don't want to risk something like that…" Ryuji sighed. "We might end up doing it accidentally...especially if we try to steal this Treasure thing...what do you think?"

"I'm confident in our abilities…" I said. "As long as the Shadow is unharmed...we'll be fine."

"You sound so sure...but I'm worried. If we just do it...doesn't that make us just as bad as Kamoshida. Messing with people's heads because we want to?"

"I don't think it's the same," I said. "We are doing it in order to stop Kamoshida. He's doing it because he believes it's his right to."

"..." Ryuji grabbed his bag. "I'll think it over…" He began to walk down the stairs.

"You tried," Morgana said. "But we both know he comes around."

"Only because Shiho jumped," I said. "I don't want her to do that this time."

"Alright…" Morgana turned around. "Today's the day right?" I winced, affirming his question. "I'll stay here and watch over her." I nodded. "I'll see you later."

"I'm gonna go see Ann," I said. "Don't let Kamoshida get to her."

I couldn't even get an hour with the only person who knew the truth. There was too much to do.

"Why did you bring me here?" Ann asked once we sat down in the cafe. "I don't have anything to say to you."

"..." I glanced out the window. "Something happened in that argument of yours...you clearly were not okay."

"It was just an argument…" Ann said. "Nothing else."

"It was with Kamoshida...about Shizui's starting position." She flinched. "You almost had a mental breakdown back at the station…"

"You really heard all of it, didn't you?" I nodded. "Fine…" She traced a circle on the table. "I'm sure that even you've heard the rumors about Mr. Kamoshida and me by now...about how we're together...that I'm his girl, but...that's not true…"

"I believe you," I said. "I've seen you come up with excuses for why you can't stay every day after class."

"...You really like Eavesdropping, don't you?" I grinned slightly. "Well...he wanted me to come to his place...you can probably guess what he meant."

"Yeah…"

"If I declined, he said that Shiho's spot as a starter would be in jeopardy...she's the only reason I even put up with him." She started speaking a bit louder. "Shiho deserves that spot, and I don't want to take that away from her! But...I can't do it. I can't go to his place and be his party girl! She curled up into a ball. "I hate him. I really...genuinely hate him from the bottom of my heart...but I don't know what to do...and I know that I can't go...but what about Shiho's dream?"

"...Don't go." I whispered. "Don't let Kamoshida take that away from you."

"But what about Shiho?"

"You said that she deserves that spot." I grabbed her hand. "Shiho is good at Volleyball, and it will only result in a loss for Kamoshida if he takes her off the starting Team. I know that you care about her a lot...but you can't throw yourself away.

"...why are you being so nice to me?" Ann asked, wiping tears away. "Why do you even care? Most people just ignore me...are you really supposed to be the delinquent transfer student?"

"That's what people say."

"You're too...you're not a bad person at all…" Ann sighed. "I thought the rumors were exaggerated...but you're nothing like what they said."

"Shiho told me that too."

"You've met her?" Ann smiled. "Yeah, she'd say something like that. She's too nice to push anybody away." She leaned back. "I can't believe that I told you all that…"

"Why?"

"I don't talk to anybody but Shiho these days...but here I am, telling you everything. I guess we're similar, in a sense...there are just these rumors about us...and nobody really lets us be...us."

"That's why I don't listen to them. I won't wait for them to "let" me be me. I am me, whether or not people want me."

"...You're a lot stronger than I am." Ann admitted. "Even Sakamoto seems to be okay with all the rumors about him...I guess that's why you two get along." I nodded. "I'm gonna go home...I won't be going to Kamoshida today."

"Good."

"It'd be nice if he could just...forget about me though...I'm not looking forward to tomorrow." She sighed.

"I could, bop him on the head, give him amnesia?" I stood, grabbing my bag.

"You'd get in trouble for that, and then you'd really be the delinquent transfer student," Ann said. "But...thanks." She walked past me. "Don't tell anybody what I told you."

"I won't." She smiled.

"It was nice talking to you." I watched her go for a moment, before checking my phone. I had to head back quickly. Based on my memory, Shiho hadn't gone home until the late evening, so it had happened sometime around then. It was already the late afternoon.

"What are you doing here?" Mr. Ushimaru asked as I walked through the halls. "School's over?"

"Uh-"

"I bet a criminal like you is just here to vandalize school property!" He grabbed my shoulder. "I won't allow anything of the sort!"

"I'm not. I actually had an inquiry for Mr. Kamoshida!" I explained rapidly. "I don't like all the rumors going around the school about me, so I was wondering if I could make a positive name for myself!"

"Hm, then come back tomorrow!" Mr. Ushimaru let me go. "He's currently speaking with another student."

"Actually, he told me to wait for him after school, but I forgot and went home. That's why I came back."

"That's a pretty brazen lie," Arsene said. "I don't know if it'll be so easy to convince Mr. Ushimaru."

"If we must, we'll just have to sneak into the school," Satanael said. "Even in the real world, you are acrobatic enough to pull that off."

"You've got 5 minutes!" Mr. Ushimaru shouted. "Any more, and I'll assume that you're lying to me!"

"Thank you, sir!" I ran towards the PE Faculty Office.

"Don't run in the halls!" I slowed to a brisk walk. As I approached the office, I could hear the sounds of a struggle. I rapped on the door.

"Mr. Kamoshida?" I heard him curse.

"Dammit, what now?" He groaned. "Who is it?"

"I had some questions about the Volleyball Team?"

"What, you want to join?" He shouted. "Come back tomorrow, I'm busy!"

"Oh no you don't!" Morgana yelled.

"What's with this damn cat?!"

"Are you alright, Mr. Kamoshida?" I opened the door. Shiho was sitting in the corner, trembling. Kamoshida had his pants halfway down, and Morgana was scrambling around the room, scratching at his skin as Kamoshida tried to swat him away. "...what's going on?"

"...You're that new kid." Kamoshida groaned. "Listen here, punk. You're gonna close that door, and you're gonna walk away without a word to anybody, understand me?"

"Let me take her to the Nurse," I said, ignoring him. I squeezed past him, grabbing onto Shiho. "She's in shock."

"We were in the middle of a discussion." He growled, finally pulling his pants up. Morgana had retreated, staying out of sight.

"She looks too sick to hear anything." I picked her up, supporting her on my shoulder. She was still conscious, but her eyes were dull. She seemed to be holding her stomach in pain, which I assumed Kamoshida had struck. "Don't worry sir, I'll take her off your hands."

Morgana reemerged, attacking Kamoshida once again, giving me the opening I needed. While Kamoshida was distracted, I left the room, leaving an opening for Morgana to leave.

"Can you stand?" I asked. Shiho didn't respond, but she did settle onto her feet. "Let's get you away from him," I whispered.

"...okay." Her voice was small and wavering as if the wind would blow it away.

Thankfully, Mr. Ushimaru was nowhere to be seen, and I managed to get Shiho to the entrance without any problems. I'd left her bag behind, but that wasn't very important at the moment. "Can you get home?"

"...I…" She shook her head. "...leave me…"

"We have to get you home." I refused to leave her. "Where to?"

Eventually, I managed to get her home. She gave me a goodbye and went up to her apartment on her own, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Her eyes and voice were too similar to last time.

It bothered me the entire ride home. 'Morgana stopped him from going too far, and I got her home...but what next?'

"I do admit, this worries me," Satanael said.

"I agree. She is too similar." Arsene said. "Watch out for her tomorrow."

'I will.'

"There you are!" I heard. "I've been waiting here for a while now."

"Morgana?" I crouched, grabbing the cat that stood before me.

"Yeah...but man, seeing him try it in person was disgusting." Morgana shook. "He just...beat her until she couldn't move, and I could barely stop him from taking off her clothes. I even got hit a few times trying to stop him."

"Sorry, Morgana...but I couldn't be in two places at once."

"It's fine," Morgana said. "We stopped her from being raped."

"...yeah, but when I took her home, she didn't seem any better than last time." I opened the door to Leblanc.

"Hm...we should watch out for her."

"Why are you back so late?!" Sojiro stood. "This is absurd."

"...I found this cat." I said, holding Morgana up. "It took a while to convince him to come with me."

"...a cat?" He raised an eyebrow. "You were late for a cat?"

"...yes." I kept my face straight. Sojiro sighed, shaking his head.

"I guess...having a pet might be helpful." He stood, glaring at me. "You'd better take care of it yourself. This is a Cafe."

"I will." He conceded.

"Well...just keep it upstairs." He went behind the counter. "I'll make some food for you both."

"Thank you."

"Just...I'll talk to you later." He waved me away. I went up the stairs, letting go of Morgana.

"It's kinda jarring to go back to this early Boss. He was so nice the last time I saw him." Morgana said. "That must've been hard to deal with."

"Yeah…"

Sojiro came up, holding a plate of fish for Morgana, and a plate of curry for me. "You name it?"

"Morgana," I said, he put the plates on my bed.

"Huh, not bad…" He sighed. "I would have liked to name it though…"

"What would you have named him?" I asked. Morgana paused from his eating to listen.

"Oreo...ya know, he's nice and Black!" He said, seeing the look on my face. "I don't need to explain myself to you."

"It's just...Oreo?" I tried not to laugh. "Is that even a name?"

"Whatever." He groaned, watching Morgana eat. "The school told me that you haven't caused any problems since the first day. That Kawakami lady said that you've been hangin' around with a...Sakamoto?"

"Yeah, Ryuji," I said, taking a bite of Curry. "He's nice."

"Must be weird if he's friends with you..." Sojiro muttered. "I won't stop you from having friends...but be careful who you hang out with. You don't want them running your life."

"I'll be careful," I said. "Ryuji's good."

"Alright, alright," Sojiro said. "Just making sure. I don't need you getting in trouble and making things more difficult for me."

"I won't sir," I said. "The curry tastes amazing."

"Flattery won't get you anywhere," Sojiro said, but I could tell that he was proud. "..you sure came home late though." He looked at the clock. "I have to get home too. Try to think about me more." He yawned a bit. "Try not to come back so late next time. I'll lock up."

"Yes sir."

"Wash those plates when you're done with 'em" He commanded, descending the stairs.

Bzz

I checked my phone.

Ryuji: I still don't know if we should go into the Palace

Ryuji: If we mess up, we might kill him

Ryuji: I hate the guy, but not enough to do that

Akira: I get you, but…

Ryuji: What?

Akira: I talked with Takamaki today

Akira: Kamoshida wanted her to come to his place

Akira: He said that if she didn't, Suzui would lose her spot

I felt kinda scummy, telling Ryuji what Ann had told me in security, but Ryuji needed context. Ann had told him herself last time, so I figured I wouldn't be doing too much harm.

Ryuji: Seriously? That bastard!

Akira: Yeah, so I convinced her not to go

Ryuji: Yeah, that's probably for the best

Akira: But I was worried, so I went back to school

Akira: And I found Shiho in the PE Faculty Office

Ryuji: Oh no

Akira: Yeah...Morgana was trying to stop him

Akira: I managed to get her home before he could...do much, but he did beat her before that

Ryuji: ...He's a rapist

Akira: Probably

Akira: Today could have been the first time he tried it

Akira: But he didn't look ashamed at all

Akira: I bet if we found girls in his Palace, they'd be Sex Slaves

Ryuji: I was on the fence about this, but not anymore

Ryuji: He tried to rape Suzui!

Ryuji: If Takamaki had gone, he would have done it to her too

Ryuji: We're going into the Palace

Ryuji: I don't care what happens to him anymore!"

Akira: I agree

Morgana had read the conversation. "I guess that we'll go tomorrow after school." I nodded. "That's when Lady Ann joins us, right?"

"Yeah. She was captured. I don't think we should let that happen this time." Morgana nodded in agreement.

Seeing Kamoshida had rekindled the anger again. Every single time I saw him, it just made me angrier and angrier. He had been prepared to rape a student yesterday. His student. Just to satisfy his own lust. He was a depraved monster. If anybody deserved to be locked up, it was him.

"But...you're finally home...you're alive." I grinned. They were all alive! It was finally setting in, now that my cat was here. He was in Leblanc, with me. He was okay!

"I am." He smiled at me. "You know...dying isn't all bad. It was quiet...at least until I woke up inside that cell again." He jumped onto my shoulder. "You're lucky I knew about the time-travel thing somehow, or I would have freaked out!

"That doesn't matter right now! You're back! You're okay!" I grabbed him, holding him close. He squirmed, shouting out at me. "Seeing you be thrown off that cliff…"

"Don't focus on that." He said. "I'm alive now! We all are!"

April 15

"I heard that Kamoshida asked her to come over yesterday!" I drowned out the usual morning gossip. It was all about the supposed relationship Ann had with Kamoshida. Something about how cool she acted and how much they hated it. It was all just petty jealousy. The only other news I heard was something about a guest visiting the school today. Gossip was so...annoying. But then again, it was useful. Much of the information I gathered was from people who spoke just a little too loud.

"I can't see Shiho anywhere," Morgana said. "Maybe she didn't come to school today."

"Or she came early…" I said. "We have to be vigilant."

"..." I heard Satanael groan, but he didn't say anything.

I knew that she had jumped in the morning. It had been just before lunch, during Mr. Ushimaru's class. Until that time had passed, I had to watch out. Even if I had to skip class, I wouldn't let Shiho jump.

"Should I check around the building for her?" Morgana asked, observing my face. "I'll check the roof, just to make sure."

"Thanks, Morgana." I nodded. "That'd be for the best." He hopped out of my bag as I turned up the stairs.

"I'll tell you if I see anything." With that, he raced along the wall, finding an open window to climb through."

"Hey man…" Ryuji said. "We're going tonight, right?"

"Yeah…" I nodded. "I'm still worried about Suzui…especially after yesterday."

"...that bastard!" He clicked his teeth. "We'll get him back for it."

"I'm sure we will." I nodded. "Let's just...let's get to class."

Class was...stressful. Nothing in the class particularly, but the foreboding sense of something coming. I couldn't concentrate at all. All I could focus on was where Shiho was. I almost was tempted to leave now to look for her, but Morgana had said that he would watch out. I didn't need any trouble with the Faculty unless it was absolutely necessary.

Ann kept staring at me in concern, but she could never find a way to broach the topic. I could tell that my attitude was drawing attention because all I heard were people talking about how I was close to snapping and slashing at the next person who approached me. At least the rumors stopped people from bothering me.

Even Kawakami had a look of concern on her face. Thankfully, she didn't say anything either, though she did keep glancing at me. I scribbled aimlessly, at least trying to look like I was paying attention.

"It's not fooling anyone," Arsene said. "They're scared of you."

'I don't care anymore.' I tapped my foot. 'I'm too...wound up to care.'

"I can feel your desperation to save her," Satanael said. "You're making us anxious."

'How so?'

"We feel everything that you feel. Any emotion you feel will become what we feel as well." Arsene explained. "We are one."

'Sorry…' I sighed. 'I don't want to make you guys feel like that.'

"It's no matter," Satanael said. "Your feelings are your strength."

Classes changed again, and it was finally the fated hour. Ushimaru was lecturing on Governmental Structure, but I was distracted when Morgana appeared by the window. "Akira…"

"Somethings wrong, isn't it?" He nodded. "Fuck…"

"She's just pacing right now...but she's on the roof." He frowned. "We saved her though?"

"The emotional trauma from even an attempt can be strong…" I clenched my fist. "I have to stop her."

"H-hey…" A boy near the door said. "Isn't somebody on the roof?" The class surged to see, and I used it as a distraction in order to slip out the door. I ran up the stairs, flying past the group of students crowding the corridor. I could hear someone shouting, but I carried on. I just had to get there before she jumped.

I threw the door open, just in time to see Shiho descend the fence on the other side. "Don't do it!" I called, running towards her.

"It's you…" She glanced down. "Why are you here?"

"I just want to talk." I stopped on the other side of the fence. "I want to help you…"

"Don't stop me." She cried. "You don't know what's happened, no one does…" I paused.

"I saw what he tried to do…" I said. "And I know that you don't actually want to die."

"What do you mean?"

"Is it okay if I join you?" I asked, gripping the top of the fence. "Don't worry, I won't come any closer if you don't want me to."

She didn't move, so I pulled myself over the fence, standing on the edge of the building too. She stepped away, standing eerily close to the corner. "Why are you trying to stop me? I'm not important enough for that…"

"That's not the case…" I paused, remembering what Shiho had said last time. "I think you're important enough to save."

"No…"

"I just want to help you...You don't need to jump in order to escape." I knew what I was saying was dangerous, but my mind couldn't come up with something logical at the moment. I was just letting my mouth run, unimpeded by the filter that was usually there. "There's no need to injure yourself."

"But...what else can I do?!" She glanced at the open door behind us. No teachers had arrived yet, but it was only a matter of time before they tried to force her away from the edge. I hoped to bring her back before that. "If I weren't so useless…" She trembled.

"You're not useless!" I called. "You are important to the people around you. Your family, and Ann!" I stepped towards her. "And what happened wasn't any fault of your own...It never was, and it never will be." She was still shaking, but she didn't seem as certain of her decision before. "Don't blame yourself for something out of your control." I stepped again, almost close enough to reach her. "I know that there's a voice saying that this is the only way, but that's wrong. That's not you."

"W-what do I do then?" She asked. She looked to me for an answer.

"It's okay to ask for help." I gave her my hand. "I can help you. Ann wants to help you. Don't let her down…" I gripped the fence. "Don't jump...take my hand, and we'll go back over the fence. You'll be okay, I promise."

"...Okay…" She whispered. "I'll climb back over." I smiled, taking her hand softly. Even with as weak as she seemed, she pulled herself over the fence, stepping back to safety.

I breathed, feeling a wave of exhaustion wash over me. Knowing that if I said the wrong thing, I could end up driving her over the edge was terrifying. I vaulted back onto the roof, landing by her side. I could hear the students clamoring below us, and I could hear footsteps coming. She gripped my hand.

"Shiho!" Ann stumbled through the door, throwing herself at Shiho. "W-what happened?!"

"I...I couldn't take it." Shiho whispered. "After Kamoshida…" she never finished her sentence, but I could feel Ann's emotions in the air.

"What did he do?" She asked. Her tone was still light in an attempt to ease Shiho, but I could hear the hatred laced within it. She looked to me for an answer when Shiho failed to respond.

"Meet me at Lunch," I said. "We have to get her out of here first." Ann nodded, supporting Shiho from the other side.

"I'm...I'm sorry Ann…" Shiho whispered.

"Don't apologize to me," Ann said. "Whatever happened wasn't your fault."

We managed to get her down the stairs, where a large group of students stood before us. Shiho flinched, seeing all their gazes on her. I frowned, taking off my glasses.

"Get out of the way," I growled. The reaction from the student body was immediate. This was the one benefit of being hated by the student body. They listened when you talked.

We brought Shiho to the entrance, where a few Police Cars were waiting for us. They asked a few questions, along with our affiliation with Shiho.

"I'm just a witness," I answered. "I saw her on the roof, and I ran up to try and stop her." The Officer nodded.

"Well, you prevented something tragic from happening." He glanced back at the girls. Ann had chosen to stay with Shiho, waiting for the girl's parents to arrive. "Though, it is still a delicate situation. I will have to ask you to leave them be since you don't have a personal relationship with the attemptee." I nodded, turning to go back to the school.

"You did well though."

"Thanks, Officer." I walked back into the building, only to meet another crowd of students. They moved as I passed by, more focused on Shiho than on me.

"What happened man?" Ryuji asked, running up to me. "You were up there with her?!"

"I managed to stop her from jumping," I said, walking towards the PE Faculty Office. "We are confronting Kamoshida. He pushed that girl to the point where she was desperate to escape. She was willing to kill herself because of him...that fucker will pay!" Ryuji followed me.

"Yeah...he tried to rape her. I don't care what the consequences are anymore!"

We ran to Kamoshida's office. The bastard couldn't even be bothered to leave it in order to check on the girl he pushed to suicide. He was still sitting in his chair, acting as though he had nothing to do with it. Mishima was already standing there, a look of anger adorning his own face.

"How could you do that to her?!" He yelled. "You're supposed to be our coach!"

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about." Kamoshida hissed.

"We both know that's a lie," I said, standing over him. He stood, staring into my eyes. "I saw what you were doing yesterday. One word to the Police and your days in freedom are over."

"Your word against mine, huh?" He laughed, pushing me back. "You're a criminal. The whole school knows it. Meanwhile, I'm the coach who brought this school into greatness."

"Shut your mouth!" Ryuji yelled. "You tried to rape her!"

"Let's say that you're right." Kamoshida grinned. "Suzui is in no mental state to make a statement, is she? I bet she's disoriented and confused. She may even shut down mentally."

"No…" Mishima gripped his head.

"That poor girl…" Kamoshida's act was so...infuriating.

"You don't get to speak!" Ryuji said. "It's all your fault that she's like that now!"

"Sakamoto…" He glanced at Ryuji's fist. "Will this be another instance of self-defense?"

"You son of a bitch!" Ryuji pulled his fist back, and I could see Kamoshida grin. I grabbed his arm, keeping Ryuji away from him.

"Don't give him an excuse to break your leg again." Ryuji tried to escape my grasp.

"I don't care!"

"It's not worth it. We can make the fucker pay, but no need to get injured in the process."

"Oh, strong words Kurusu," Kamoshida said, leaning in to look me in the eye. "Don't you want to hit me."

"Oh, I do…" I glared back at him. "But there are better ways to get revenge."

"Tch." He turned to his desk. "Everyone here will be expelled. I'm reporting all of you at the next board meeting."

"Wh-that's not a decision someone like you gets to make!" Mishima said.

"I don't care what scum like you has to say!" He yelled. "You seriously think you matter? I don't even know why I kept you on the team."

"Huh?" Mishima recoiled.

"You wanna know where all the rumors came from?" Kamoshida asked. "Mishima leaked them. He spread them all over the internet."

"Y-you told me I had too!" Mishima backed away.

"You did that, Mishima?" Ryuji turned to the boy. He whimpered.

"I don't care what he did," I said. "You made him do it. In my eyes, it was you who spread them." Kamoshida growled.

"Nothing you say will change anything!" He sat back down at his desk. "You have no proof, and no one would believe the words of a criminal."

"The real criminal here is you."

"Whatever. You'll all be expelled soon enough. I control the fortunes of the Students here! It's too bad that you got on my bad side because I'm taking any chance of success away from you! Get outta my sight!"

"...let's go." I turned to Ryuji. "He'll get his comeuppance."

"Nothing you kids do can stop your expulsion." Kamoshida waved us away. I had never hated Kamoshida like this before. His relationship had always been with Ryuji and Ann. I had just been there to stop my expulsion. Now that I knew Ryuji and Ann on a deeply personal level, the same hate they felt was surging through my veins. Kamoshida honestly, may have been one of the worst criminals we had faced. Even Okumura had never stooped so low...Only Shido stood on the same level of depravity as Kamoshida.

"What now?" Ryuji asked. We'd left Mishima behind in the hallway.

"Same plan," I said. I grit my teeth. "We go into the Palace and steal his Treasure. We do that, and he reforms. We didn't do anything wrong, so he'll revoke our expulsion."

"How are you so sure?" Ryuji asked. "Even if he does have this...change of heart, how do you know he will."

"He'll want to atone for his crimes," Morgana said, appearing by my side. "It was wrong to expel you, so he'll want to make up for that too."

"Where'd you come from?" Ryuji asked.

"Akira was worried about Shiho, so he asked me to look out for her."

"So that's how you made it up there so fast…" Ryuji shook his head. "Still, I can't believe that Suzui would resort to something so drastic."

"She was traumatized," I said. "Kamoshida did it to her."

"There you are," Ann said, stopping us in the hallway. "You still haven't told me what happened."

"What do you want with him?" Ryuji asked. "We've got our own things to worry about."

"I heard that you two were being expelled," Ann said. "You confronted Kamoshida about Shiho."

"What of it?" Ryuji kicked at the ground. "And it's only been a few minutes. How'd the hell it spread so fast?"

"Let me help." She said, ignoring Ryuji's other question. "I don't know all the details, but I want to get back at him."

"...I get what you mean, but this is too much for you." Ryuji said. "Don't get in our way."

"I don't care!" Ann shouted. "This is about Shiho! I have to get back at him!"

"I said-" I cut him off.

"Ryuji, she deserves at least an explanation on what happened." I glanced around us. "Let's talk somewhere else." I led them towards the roof.

"Are you sure?" Ryuji whispered. "The Metaverse is way too dangerous for someone without a Persona."

"It's not about letting her help us," I whispered back. "Her best friend just tried to commit suicide. I have to at least tell her what led up to this." Ryuji nodded, understanding.

"So?" Ann looked at me. "What did Kamoshida do to her?"

"Well, after...yesterday…" Ann nodded, knowing what I was referring to. "I was worried because I saw Mishima tell Shiho that Kamoshida wanted to see her." She knit her eyebrows. "I came back to the school, and walked in on Kamoshida...almost raping her."

"What do you mean "almost"?" Ann asked.

"He hadn't actually managed to do anything, though he did hit her a lot before I arrived. I managed to get her home without any problems...but her voice worried me. She sounded so...empty." I glanced over to the ledge we'd been standing on. "When I heard that someone was standing up here, I assumed the worst. Unfortunately...my assumption was correct."

"...Kamoshida…" She cursed. "I should have gone to him...he did this to her because I said no."

"Would that have been the right choice?" I said. "If that had happened, you might have been the one who had to be talked down."

"..." She turned, ending the conversation there.

"Man...You walked in on him?" I nodded. "..."

"She looks like she's gonna do something stupid," Morgana said.

"She's smart enough not to do anything too drastic," I said. "We're going into his Palace today...let's prepare."

I knew that Ann was around the corner, but she had to enter the Metaverse somehow, so I pretended that I couldn't see her.

"Once we go into the Palace, we'll be Phantom Thieves," Morgana said. "We'll be stylish and covert."

"Sounds cool…" Ryuji whipped out his phone. "Honestly though, it's weird how we can use this app to enter a different world. I wonder how it got on here…" He shook his head. "Doesn't matter. Let's take him down."

"Yeah…"

"Kamoshida, Castle, Shujin Academy."

"The hell?!" Ann shouted.

"What?!" Ryuji yelled.

"She must have been nearby when we entered," Morgana said. "I knew she would do something like this."

"For real...well, what now?" Ryuji asked, "We can't take Takamaki with us."

"S-Sakamoto?!" She shrieked. "What the hell are you wearing...and then you must be Kurusu-kun!" I nodded. "Where are we?!" She glanced up at the castle. "Everythings all red! And there's a big castle where the school used to be!"

"Should we just push her out?"

"That seems a bit rough."

"No! I'm not leaving until someone explains what the hell is happening?!"

"The shadows probably noticed us with all the noise we're making."

"Wha-that monster cat talked?!"

"I mean…" Morgana winced. "I knew it was coming, but it still hurts."

"We gotta make her go back," Ryuji said. "Sorry Takamaki, but we don't got time to explain."

"W-what are you doing?"

Together, we managed to send Ann back to the real world, though she was not happy at all. She'd be back. "We gotta be careful when we enter a Palace from now on." Ryuji muttered. "She saw us right at the beginning too, so now we don't even have much time."

"I bet she'll come right back in," I said. "She was desperate enough to follow us in just now, I bet she'll find a way back."

"So we should wait here?" Ryuji asked. "What about stealing the treasure?"

"I already know where it is, the hard part is just getting to it," Morgana said. "We have some time."

"I guess if the cat says so…" Ryuji kicked his leg, leaning against the gate.

"Not a cat," Morgana muttered, lying against the fence post.

Sure enough, five minutes later, the air before them shimmered, and Ann emerged, glaring at us. "You can't just push me out like that!"

"Called it." I sighed. "Listen, Takamaki? This place is dangerous. There's a reason that we're dressed like this, and you're not."

"So...this is battle attire?" She looked me up and down. "It sure doesn't look like it."

"Akira's tryin' to warn you!" Ryuji shouted. "This place is dangerous. There's a reason we don't want you around!"

"Well, even if you make me leave again, I know how to get back!" She held up her phone, displaying an open MetaNav. "You'll just have to protect me."

"How'd you get one?!"

"It's probably given to anybody who's been in the Metaverse," I said. "It's best if we take her along?"

"What?!"

"Do you want to let her wander alone?" I gestured at the castle. "What happens if a Shadow Spots her? We can fight, she can't." I thought for a second. "Did you bring that gun with you?"

"Huh, you mean the replica I was usin'?" Ryuji reached into his back pocket. "I was using my shotgun, but I kept it anyway. Why?"

I took it from him, handing the pistol to Ann. "Take this." She stared at the object in my hand. "It's to defend yourself."

"Y-you have a gun?!"

"It's fake," I said, holding it to my head. I pulled the trigger. "It just makes a noise."

"Then how will it even work?!" She grabbed this pistol.

"Inside the castle, as long as an enemy thinks it's real, it is real," Morgana said. "It'll only work against enemies."

"What are you?" She asked. "You're not human."

"I'm Morgana...I'm...well, I'm a special creature!" He supplied. Nobody knew about Igor and the Velvet Room, so it would have been way too difficult to explain.

"Takamaki, we can't explain much right now." I turned around, grabbing my knife. "We have to go." Ryuji pulled a pipe out of who knows where.

"At least explain where we are!" She called, running after us. We entered in through the window, though this time, we went left instead of right. Ann had a hard time matching our acrobatics. We had to pull her up through the window.

"We're inside Kamoshida's Palace," Morgana said. "This is how he views the School."

"Kamoshida?!"

"Yup," I said, opening the door. "He thinks the school's his castle."

"And that he's the King." Ryuji finished. "This is a different world, but it affects reality...somehow."

"This world exists because Kamoshida's desires have grown distorted," Morgana said. "We want to destroy his desires, and make him a morally sound human again." We stepped out from behind the wall. Kamoshida was talking to his soldiers in the main hall, but he was too far away to hear. "To destroy this Palace, we have to steal the source of his desires or his Treasure."

"We do that, and the Palace disappears," I said, closing the door between us and Kamoshida. No need to risk being seen.

"So...that's what you're trying to do?" We nodded. "Then why can't I help?"

"Kamoshida has guards all around this place!" Ryuji yelled. "Last time I was here, I had to rely on Akira and Morgana to survive. I would have died if it wasn't for Akira. You can't fight like we can. You don't have the same powers that we do. It's too dangerous."

"Then get me those...powers you guys have!"

"This girl truly does wish to help." Satanael appeared above me.

"Holy fuck what the hell is that?!"

"Satanael, you've freaked her out!" I stared up at the Devil. Had he really thought it was a good idea to manifest now?

"You do know that you are terrifying, right?" Arsene appeared, drawing a look from Ryuji.

"You have two of those things?"

"Arsene," I said. "Using Satanael is way too painful, and Arsene is basically a devolved version, so I'll use him instead.

"Devolved is a mean way to put it."

"And you're scary looking too, Arsene." I gestured to Ann, who was shaking in her shoes. "Go away." My persona complied, folding themselves in their wings and disappearing from sight.

"What were those?!"

"Those were Persona," Morgana said. "They are what give us the ability to fight. It's not something that we can just...give to you. Everyone has their own personal Persona. Joker's is Satanael...and Arsene. Ryuji's is Captain Kidd."

"You have a Persona thing too?"

"I do." Ryuji nodded, summoning the pirate forth. "I'm not nearly as powerful as Akira or Satanael is though."

"And I have Mercurius," Morgana said. "Without these Personas, we wouldn't look like this. We would still look like we do in reality."

"...uh-huh…" Ann shook her head. "I don't get it at all…"

"I barely understand it either," Ryuji said. "See how crazy this is? You should go back."

"No way!" Ann said. "I have this pistol. I'll keep going."

"...Alright then." I said, opening the door, displaying the guard inside. "Get ready for a fight."

"Let's go!" Ryuji ran forward, striking the Shadow, who turned into a Pixie. I remembered this fight. This was the first time I'd convinced a Shadow to become my Persona. Last time, it had been quite a shock to realize that I could carry more Persona...but now, with Satanael and Arsene being as strong as they were, what was the point to gaining another Pixie? "Shoot it!"

"You got it!" Ryuji yelled, grabbing his shotgun. "Take this!" The pixie took a spray to the face, falling over onto the floor. We surrounded it, holding it at gunpoint.

"Hold on!" She cried. "I'm not ready to die yet!"

"Then you better hand over some money." I cocked the gun sideways.

"M-money?!" She shrieked. "I can do that." She tossed some coins on the ground. A pretty measly amount, but I'd take what I could get. I motioned at her to leave. "Thanks! King Kamoshida's still more powerful than you are though."

'I doubt that, but whatever.' I put my gun away, and the Pixie disappeared.

"I didn't know that Shadows carried money!" Ryuji said, picking up the coins she'd dropped.

"They're born from human desire, so they usually carry something." Morgana glanced at the small pile. "Though...the weaker they are the less they have."

"That was a Shadow?" Ann asked, coming out from cover. "It didn't look so strong."

"It was alone this time," Morgana said. "Usually we have to fight multiple at a time. That's when it becomes more difficult."

"Are you sure that Shotgun isn't real?" Ryuji grinned.

"Yeah, there's no place to reload or anything." He bonked it against the wall, revealing that it was partly plastic. Though the Metaverse had made the higher level weapons real, our guns had never been real. It was strange, to say the least.

"Let's keep going," I said. "We have to find his Treasure sooner rather than later."

"Joker's right!" Morgana said.

"Joker...you've called him that for a few times now. What's with that?"

"Well...he's our leader, and he can carry multiple personas at the same time. He's like our wild card!" Morgana said. Besides, it could be dangerous to use our real names inside a Palace. We don't know what kind of effect it could have on the Ruler."

"Oh, I get it." Ryuji grinned. "It's a codename."

"Try not to say each other's real names," Morgana said. "Call me Mona."

"And what am I?"

"Skull," I replied.

"I like it. Fits my motif."

"And me?" Ann asked.

"..." Morgana and I shared a glance. "You're not really one of us…"

"Yeah, you don't have a Persona, so…"

"Eh, we'll figure something out later," Ryuji said. "Let's keep going."

"Intruders!" A shadow ran into the room, startling both Ann and Ryuji.

"Arsene!" I called. He appeared behind me. "Eigaon!" Darkness pillared from beneath the Bicorn, and it disintegrated, leaving a little money behind.

"You see?" Ryuji asked. "That's why you need a Persona to fight. "Ak-Joker's Persona is way stronger than mine."

"Y...Was that magic?" Ann asked. Arsene nodded his head.

"In a sense...it does take much energy to use." He disappeared, leaving Ann to gape at the three of us.

"You can use magic?"

"Well, us two are constrained by a specific element," Morgana said. "I use Wind, and Skull uses Electricity." He glanced at me. "Arsene is a Curse type, but can technically use all Elements."

"And Satanael is...basically Almighty," I said. "He can use any move that I can think of. Fire, Ice, Wind, Electricity, Gun, Psychokinesis, Nuclear, Bless, and Curse. Ryuji laughed, hearing the list. "Though...the energy cost is way too taxing and it hurts...a lot."

"S...Satanael?"

"Yeah. Gnostic." I said. "He might be the Demon Lord, but he's a good guy."

"Why thank you," Satanael remarked. "He is correct. I am the culmination of Joker's abilities. I am the pinnacle of his power."

"...I'm gonna pretend to get what you guys just said." Ann stumbled shakily. "I can barely believe it."

"I'm still getting used to it." Ryuji grabbed her arm, keeping her steady. "It'll make sense eventually."

The way to where Ann had been held last time was closed, and I wanted to avoid going there anyway so we continued on. The next room was filled with Jack-o'-Lanterns, who all fell within a few shots. We rounded them up, performing an All-Out Attack on them, eliciting more outbursts from Ann. We opened the Chest inside the room, continuing into the next hallway.

"Oh, it's that hazy looking door thing." Ryuji rapped on it.

"Safe room." Morgana supplied.

"A safe room?" Ann asked.

"It's a room where the distortion is weak." Morgana pushed it open. "Shadows can't enter, so it's a nice resting area.

"Yeah, this saved our asses last time." Ryuji sat down by the desk. "We would have been caught without having this room nearby."

"...this is all, so weird," Ann said. "I saw Kamoshida back here earlier...is this why you're getting expelled?"

"No," I said. "We confronted Kamoshida after I left you with Shiho." There was so much to explain. "The Kamoshida in here isn't the same one as out in reality. This is how Kamoshida really is, he just hides it in the real world. That's how I knew that he would do something. We've been here twice before."

"Yeah, we were late that first time because neither of us had a Persona," Ryuji said. "We got captured and taken to the dungeons. Kamoshida was really about to kill me when Joker kinda, exploded into flames and Satanael appeared."

"They met me after that," Morgana said. "And when we went in the second time, Ryuji awakened to his own Persona."

"...okay." Ann shook her head. "I'll just accept it."

"Honestly, that's probably for the best." I smiled. "It'll make sense eventually. If we were in the real world, we'd have more time to explain, but you wouldn't believe a single word we said."

"Yeah...seeing this kinda forces me to accept it."

"We should keep going," Morgana said. "There's a large group of Shadow's coming this way. I bet Kamoshida sent them out on patrol."

"How high is the Security Level?" I asked. "He feels on edge."

"Well, his Castle's been invaded twice now, and he witnessed 2 Persona awakenings," Morgana said. "And his actions resulted in getting a girl to attempt suicide, and then he was confronted by a witness. It might have been a bad idea to come today."

"..." I opened the door, noting the Shadows at the other end of the hall. "Let's move."

"Alright." Ryuji ran out, pulling Ann along. "We gotta keep her safe."

We kept moving, entering a kitchen like area. It was surprisingly empty. I activated my Third-Eye, taking anything of value.

"What are you doing Joker?" Ryuji asked. "You're just destroying volleyballs and barrels."

"Actually, there are valuables inside them," I said. "I have good eyes for thievery."

"You can sell those items for a surprising amount of money," Morgana said. "And it's not like Kamoshida needs these anyway. We'll be making better use of it than he is."

"The Intruders have captured the Princess!" A voice called. There was a Shadow behind us. I was surprised that we'd even been spotted, usually, Shadows had very poor eyesight. I supposed that the increase in Security had changed that.

"Princess?!" Ann asked.

"You don't want to know," Ryuji said, pulling her along as we ran. "It's creepy."

"It's how Kamoshida sees you," I said, turning to cut the Shadows off. "Arsene!"

"Give the Princess back!"

"Maeiga!" I called. Arsene summoned darkness, destroying the Shadows before they had a chance to de-mask. However, there were more coming, called to the area by the other Guards.

"Well well well." Kamoshida laughed, approaching with an entourage of guards, along with a Golden Guard. "You came back again! You really are desperate to die." He glanced at Ann. "I can't believe that you idiots would call that my Princess. She would never dress like that!"

Princess Ann walked in, throwing herself at Kamoshida. "I know...she's all, like, prudish."

"Exactly." Kamoshida grinned.

"What the hell is he wearing?" Ann asked. "And how the hell is there another me?!"

"He's wearing a cape and a pink speedo," I said. "And the other you is his cognition of you." I winced. "This is how he sees you."

"What?!"

"Shut up!" Kamoshida yelled. "You keep invading my Castle! I bet it's about that girl...whatever her name was." He grinned. "That's why you came too, isn't it." Ann flinched, not liking the look in his eyes. "Ya know, if you'd just come to me like I told you, I wouldn't have had to turn to her."

"N-no!" Ann shouted.

"Shut up!" I yelled. "None of it is her fault!"

"Actually, you were the one who interrupted me yesterday, aren't you?" He growled. "And it was just getting good too."

"You were going to rape her if I didn't get there in time," I whispered, but even he could hear the sharpness of my tongue.

"I knew it...I should have protected Shiho…" Ann shuddered.

"Don't say that!" Ryuji yelled. "Are you seriously gonna let Kamoshida get to you like that?! It's all his fault that Suzui tried to jump! Even if you'd gone, who's to say he wouldn't do it again? He's a depraved bastard, and don't you dare listen to a single word that comes out of him!"

"Huh?" Ann froze.

"Ryuji's right," I said. "Never let this Perv get in your head. It's his fault entirely. Not yours."

"You're right…" Ann shook her head. "What the hell is wrong with me?!"

"Slaves like you should just shut up and listen."

"No!" Ann growled. "People like you don't get to speak. I can't believe that I even let you have any control over me!" She doubled over in pain.

"She's awakening!" I called. "Defend her!"

"Got it!" Ryuji pulled out his Shotgun, keeping nearby Shadows from approaching the girl. It only took a moment, before I could hear her set her feet.

"I can hear you...Carmen!" She ripped her mask off, and flames erupted around us.

"Her too?!" Kamoshida yelled. She emerged, wearing her red latex catsuit. She ran past us, whipping the fake Ann into oblivion.

"That's what you think of me huh?" She turned to Kamoshida. "I bet you thought I was some cheap girl you could toy with huh? Dispose of when you were bored. Like Shiho." She gripped the whip in her hands. "

"B-bitch!" Kamoshida backed away.

"You...destroyed her!" Ann yelled. "I'll get her revenge...I'll take everything from you!"

"Don't speak to the King that way!" The Golden Guard ran forward, slashing at Ann. She jumped back, joining us. "I'll execute you!" He collapsed, revealing Belphegor.

"No one can stop me now!" Ann cried. "Agi!"

Belphegor took the flames to the face, crying in pain as he fell. "This insolence...how dare you deny King Kamoshida's love!"

"Love?!" Ann held up her submachine gun. We surrounded it. "Don't give me that bullshit! He just sees me as a sex slave!"

"Attack!" I called. He rushed in, attacking relentlessly while Belphegor was still down. He stood, still barely holding on. "He's strong to Electricity!"

"I got him!" Ryuji ran in, jumping up to hit it with his pipe.

Belphegor yelled out, "How could a woman stand against King Kamoshida…" He disintegrated on the spot.

"Good job." I smiled. It was an easy fight, but it had been enough to let Kamoshida run for safety.

"Where is he?!" She yelled. "He isn't getting a-" She collapsed, the post-awakening exhaustion taking over.

"We need to get her to safety." I crouched down. "She'll be too tired to follow us."

"Ugh, and we were just getting started." Ryuji took her side. "We'll have to come back later."

"Huh...what the hell am I wearing?!" Ann yelled. "I don't remember changing!"

"It's your will of rebellion manifested…" Morgana said. "I guess that's what you think a rebel looks like?"

"This is...why is it so tight?!" I ignored her comments, bringing her back to the window we'd come in through. "You guys get costumes that actually look good, and I look like a cosplayer!"

"I mean...you look good," Ryuji said. I groaned. I knew Ryuji meant well, but that was not the right thing to say at all.

"Shut up!" Ann yelled. "I don't need you ogling me!"

"I wasn't-gah, whatever." Ryuji shook his head. We helped her through the window, crossing the drawbridge back to the real world."

The world shifted, and we appeared inside the alleyway. Ann was using the wall to support herself. A small group was still leaving the school, but no one seemed to pay attention to us.

"You okay?" Ryuji asked.

"I think so…" Ann huffed, pulling herself up. "That was...exhilarating and exhausting."

"Yeah, it is." Ryuji nodded. "Hey, but at least you don't go through pain like Akia does."

"Yeah…" Ann shook her head. "So...am I like you guys now?"

"Yeah." Morgana jumped onto my shoulder. "You have a Persona, so you can help us if you want to."

"You said that his desires disappear if we steal his Treasure?" Ann said, ignoring the fact that she was talking to a cat. "What does that mean?"

"It means that he grows a conscience," Morgana said. "He'll confess all his crimes on his own, and he won't be able to deal with the guilt."

"Is it really possible?" Ann whispered.

"Well, the Faculty and the Parents are keeping quiet." Ryuji kicked at the ground. "And we got expelled for trying to speak up. It's honestly the only thing we can do."

"I saw him today…" Ann said. "He's acting as though he had nothing to do with it. If we can make him confess, I'll do whatever it takes."

"You still wanna help us?" Ryuji asked. "After seeing how dangerous it is?"

"I can fight too you know!" She cried. "You saw me!"

"Yeah...I guess we can't really stop you." Ryuji sighed. "What do you think?"

"The more teammates we have the longer we can fight for," I said. "She can pick up our slack. If she's with us, we won't have to waste as much energy."

"Yeah...I guess she does help."

"Then it's official!" Ann cheered. "I'll do whatever it takes...I bet he's treated countless girls like he's treated Shiho...I have to stop him."

'She's really fired up…'

"You've reawakened your bond with the Lovers Arcana. May it's power help you soar ever higher"

We traded contact information before parting. Ann was planning to visit Shiho, just to make sure she was alright. I sighed, feeling exhausted on the ride home. 'Why did she still try to kill herself...I thought I stopped it from happening.'

"I suppose that this event is important to fate. It may be unavoidable." Satanael said. "Even so, you managed to keep her from injuring herself."

'I guess I'll just have to ask Igor and Lavenza what happened.' I opened the door to Leblanc, noticing Takemi sitting at the table.

"Stay upstairs during business hours, alright?" Sojiro said, nodding to me. I complied, passing by the customers sitting in their booths. My phone buzzed as I walked up the stairs.

Ann: I just realized I never actually thanked you today

Akira: For what?

Ann: You guys protected me…

Ann: If you guys had left me behind, I might have actually died

Ann: It's all hitting me right now

Akira: We wouldn't leave you

Ann: Thanks…

Ann: I'll see you tomorrow

"Well, Ann still awakened to Carmen," Morgana said, jumping out of my bag. "I wonder how much will be different and how much will stay the same…"

"Yeah…" I muttered. "I've heard about some Honor Student Transfer, but that's basically it."

"Doesn't seem too important," Morgana said. "Since you don't have the keys, I guess you can't go out yet." I nodded. "And you don't have a TV or Computer either." I nodded again. "And with the Perma-pick, there's no point in crafting anything…" Morgana yawned. "There really isn't anything to do."

"I could do some training…" I stood, grabbing the chair by my bed. I had never been big on training last time. It had always been Ryuji asking me to do it with him. Though, now I realized just how important it was. I had to be stronger. I had to make us stronger than before. I couldn't allow a single one of us to fall to Yaldabaoth this time. Even if I had to tear my muscles apart, I would keep the Phantom Thieves alive.

"What happened?" I asked. "I stopped her from being raped."

"That event…" Igor closed his eyes. "That event was the catalyst for Takamaki choosing to fight against Kamoshida. It is the driving force behind her. It is also an event that forced the school to take action, however limited, and drove your Principal to investigate the Phantom Thieves."

"It's an event that cannot be avoided," Lavenza said. "It can be altered, but it must come to pass."

"So...can I even save Okumura...or Akechi?"

"It's unclear," Igor said. "It's impossible to know until after the time passes." I sighed. "Fate could be changed, it could not."

"Fate has been changed," Lavenza said. "I believe I've said this before, but something important has happened. Something is hidden in the background."

"So I should watch out for that?" Igor nodded. Even more stuff to keep track of.

April 16

I managed to snag a seat on the way to school. Unfortunately, I wasn't carrying any books, so there was nothing to do.

"Akira!" Ryuji squeezed his way towards me. "Hey, I didn't know we were on the same train."

"Hey man." I nodded at him. "We going in today?" I shook my head.

"We need to be better prepared." I stood, getting ready to exit the train. "I have good weapons and armor, but you two are kinda lacking."

"Oh, you mean how my Shotgun looks kinda fake and your pistol looks totally real?" I nodded. "Are you going to that Airsoft Shop?"

"I will. But first, we also need supplies. Healing items and stuff."

"Yeah. I may be good at healing, but it takes a lot of energy. If we can get Items to do it for us, it'll be easier to infiltrate the Palace." Morgana popped out of my bag. "We should take a few days to prepare."

"Ah, I guess that makes sense." Ryuji sighed. "I was looking forward to fighting again though…"

"Calm down," Morgana said. "The Board Meeting's not until May. We've got a few weeks to get this done."

"Yeah, but the sooner we take him down, the less time he has to hurt more people!" Ryuji shouted, drawing looks from the people around us.

"Bro, keep quiet," I said. "I know how you feel, but we have to be cautious. The further we go into that Castle, the stronger the enemies become. If we aren't careful, we could die."

"Alright…" Ryuji looked ahead. "I guess we should at least tell Takamaki."

"We'll meet on the roof."

"So, what's happening?" Ann sat down at the table. "Are we going back to that Castle?"

"Not for a bit." I shook my head. "Those weapons and guns you guys have aren't exactly...spectacular." Ann nodded.

"Yeah, it's way too light." She said. "It's entirely plastic. And isn't my whip just a string?"

"Exactly," I said, pulling out my gun and knife. "This knife is actually real." I cut the edge of the table. "It does a lot more damage than either of your weapons."

"Whoa!" Ryuji gripped my knife, "This thing is insane!"

"And this gun is entirely metal," I said. "It feels real. The only difference is that it can't be reloaded."

I put my weapons away. "That means that I do way more damage than you guys at the moment. There's an airsoft shop where they sell gun replicas and knives."

"That's where I got that pistol from," Ryuji said. "It's a nice place."

"The guy also sells armor and other trinkets." I picked up my bag, and Morgana climbed in. "I'm gonna spend the next few days gathering equipment."

"That sounds expensive…" Ann said. "I feel bad making you do that."

"Don't worry about me," I said. "As the leader, I've gotta make sure you guys are safe." I pulled a few bills out of my bag. "And money isn't something I need to worry about for a little bit anyway." I walked back to the door. "I won't let you guys die...I won't."

Ryuji and Ann watched their leader go. Ryuji turned to look at Ann. "That's kind of a weird thing to just...say."

"...Isn't it weird how he explains things just as much as Morgana does?" Ann asked. "Didn't he awaken his Persona back on that first day?"

"Yeah…" Ryuji shook his head. "Still, it's amazing how strong he is."

"You said that Akira's awakening was painful?"

"Yeah…" Ryuji glanced around. "You saw Satanael, right?" Ann nodded. "Well, I met him in the middle of my execution...anyway, he completely destroyed the Shadows around us. And then Akira turned towards Kamoshida...and he looked genuinely terrifying. I thought Kamoshida was gonna get killed or something. Satanael kinda raised his gun to the sky, and summoned a massive explosion to scare Kamoshida or somethin'...and then Akira almost collapsed. Every time he fought something he kept gasping in pain...I could tell that he was trying to hide it from me, but...it was bad. Even when we got back to the real world he was so pale...I think using Satanael too much might kill him."

"That's...wow," Ann said. "I thought that I had it bad, but that's…"

"Yeah," Ryuji said. "I guess that's why he uses Arsene instead. Even if Satanael could probably carry us to the end, it would be way too painful to do. Arsene seems to be pretty powerful on his own."

"Even Morgana seems to be much stronger than we are," Ann said. "I want to be strong too!"

"Tomorrow, we'll go to the Airsoft Shop," Morgana said. "After that, we should be good to go!"

"Yeah…" I had just spent some money buying the best medicine that Takemi was willing to sell to me. It wouldn't help me that much, but it would be more than enough to support Ann and Ryuji.

"Do you take that cat everywhere?" Sojiro asked, glancing at me. "Is that good for him?"

"He won't leave me alone," I smirked. "He gets lonely."

"Hey!" Morgana whined. "It's just boring without you around…I can deal with being alone!"

"Pretty loud cat you got there…" Sojiro muttered. "I heard that some girl at your school attempted suicide?" I glanced up at him. "You know anything about it?

"...I do." I relented. "Her...friend managed to talk her down." I didn't want to tell Sojiro that I was that friend. It would have just been another case of "getting involved in business I had no place in". Honestly, I understood what Sojiro meant, that if you stayed away from problems, you'd be safe, but I couldn't do that. I couldn't let her jump. Not again. Not when I was able to do something. Even if I'd gotten my criminal record because I couldn't mind my own business...I would rather be a criminal who did the right thing than a civilian who let people do wrong.

"I gotta go home. Don't go anywhere."

I nodded. That was what he usually said when he left anyway. 'I don't remember when he gave me the go-ahead to stay out…' I thought. It was probably written in my notebook somewhere, but I didn't feel like checking right now. The day would come soon enough anyway.

"What now?" Morgana asked.

"I don't own anything yet...so I guess we could just play games on my phone?"

April 17

"Our country may seem prosperous, but the younger generation sees nothing! They have no savings, no financial security. Is it truly a wonder as to why they don't spend as much as their elders? No! They don't have the luxury of buying the amenities that stimulate economic growth. It's our duty as their elders to guide them to a future where they can live in prosperity! We have to start working now, or they'll never feel secure!"

I wandered past the man. If I had remembered correctly, his name was Yoshida. I had talked with him a few times, but I'd never had much interaction with the man. His policies were something I agreed with though. It was a shame that he didn't ever seem to go anywhere.

"Perhaps you could help him," Satanael said. "He could hone your speech-giving skills. Perhaps help with negotiation."

'Maybe…' I stepped into the Crossing. 'Yeah...I feel kinda bad about not talking to him before.' I'd always felt like we'd had something...not a bond per se, but something. I'd have to find a way to interact with him.

I made a beeline for the Airsoft Shop. I still didn't have a DVD player, and there was no point in buying books I'd already read. My plant could use some fertilizer, but it would be better to wait until I could buy the high-quality one in Shinjuku.

Honestly...I hadn't been the greatest at making friends. I was really close to the Team, but outside of that, it was...iffy. I'd gotten along with Kawakami...and Shinya had been a nice kid, but other than that, I hadn't done much interacting. I barely spoke to Ohya or Chihaya...and even Hifumi was only on occasion. Kawakami and Sojiro had been the only people outside the team that I had really bonded with. He'd even taken me with him to visit Wakaba.

And I'd never had the guts to talk about the gun to Iwai. He had been way too scary for me. "And now I'm going directly to him…" It didn't matter much to me anymore. After facing a False God, I felt like nothing could scare me anymore.

"...Is that Ryuji?" Morgana asked, standing on my shoulder. "What the hell is he doing back here?!"

"Akira?" Ryuji looked over at me. "Were you gonna buy weapons today?"

"Yeah, what are you doing here?" He winced.

"Well, me and Ann were talkin', and we thought that it was kinda rude to make you do everything." he pointed at the shop. "Ann couldn't come though, so I thought that I'd buy our weapons."

"Ryuji...well, thanks for the consideration," I smiled. "But gun replicas are hella expensive. They can cost upwards of 100,000 yen if you want the really good ones."

"W-what?!" Ryuji yelled. "The one I bought wasn't nearly so expensive!"

"He probably wasn't gonna sell a highschooler real looking guns," I said. "That's why I came on our day off."

"I only bought like...10,000 yen…" Ryuji sank over. "Just take it…" He gave me his spending money.

"I have more than enough to buy what we need," I pushed his arm back. "Keep the money for yourself." I opened the door, seeing Iwai leaning against the wall. He glanced at us as we came in.

"Welcome."

"This place is epic…"

"Let me do the talking." I walked up to the counter. "Hey, I've been collecting guns for a while, and I wanted to round out my stash."

"Ah, so you've done this before, huh?" He looked at me. "What are you looking for?"

"A submachine gun and a shotgun." I looked up at the wall. "I guess that a bat and a whip would be nice too."

"Seems like you know what you're talking about." Iwai stood. "Unfortunately, I don't know you too well, so I can't exactly sell you everything, but as long as it ain't modified, I'll see what I can do."

"We're totally gonna see the good stuff!" Ryuji said.

I spent a good 150,000 yen buying all the stuff we needed. I ended up buying some better armor from Iwai, along with some accessories that would make us stronger. Ryuji and I parted ways at the station.

'I think we're good. We'll go tomorrow after school.' I squeezed myself into the train. 'It should be easier this time around.' Last time, we'd all been very new at this, and limited funds meant that I couldn't really buy the best weapons for everyone. It had been a slow process, and we'd only managed to get to the Treasure after almost a week of hard work. This time, Morgana and I would be able to carry the team, and funds weren't an issue. If we worked hard and conserved our energy, it was possible to secure a route within a day.

"There are some new things inside the Palace," Morgana said. "Not enough to change the plan, but be watchful."

"New?" He nodded. "Like what?"

"Extra rooms, and a tool I found," Morgana said. "It's hard to explain without showing you, so I'll explain it tomorrow."

I stepped off the train, walking into Leblanc just as the Evening began. Again, there was nothing to do.

"If you're bored, why don't you wash the dishes or something…" He saw the look on my face, before glancing back at the full sink.

"Sure." I nodded, putting my bag down. Morgana jumped out, settling on one of the chairs.

"Didn't think you'd actually say yes…" Sojiro muttered, wiping a glass. I began to scrub the plates.

"I'm living here, might as well help out."

"Alright…" Sojiro said. "Finish that for me then I'll be heading home."

"Sure sir." He grabbed his jacket, leaving the store to me. I scrubbed plates, doing what I was already used to by now. I felt my phone buzz, and I wiped my hands before answering

Ann: I went to see Shiho today

Akira: Is she alright

Ann: So far, but they're still saying that she has to be kept on Suicide Watch

Ann: I'm scared

Ann: What if she does something while I'm not there?

Akira: I believe in her

Akira: On the roof, I realized that she didn't actually want to die

Akira: That's how I managed to talk her down

Ann: I hope you're right

Ann: Thanks for that by the way

Ann: I don't know what would have happened to me if she'd actually jumped

Akira: Don't focus on what could have happened

Ann: I know

Ann: Either way...Kamoshida will pay for what he did to her

Akira: We'll make sure of it

April 18

"Ah...good morning, Kurusu." Kamoshida jeered as I walked past him.

"Screw off…" I muttered. He raised his eyebrows.

"Ooh, that stings." He laughed. "You'll be singing a different tune once you're out of here." He glared at me. "A criminal like you won't be able to go anywhere...your life will be over."

"You'll be eating those words soon enough," I said, turning around. People eyed me. "Trust me when I say, you messed with the wrong kids."

"Yeah?" Kamoshida stepped up to meet me. "Kids like you don't have any authority. Your futures are mine, whether you like it or not. There's nothing you can do about it." I closed my eyes, keeping my anger inside.

"We'll see." I left, refusing to continue engaging with him. There was no reason to become needlessly angry outside the Palace.

"I know we shouldn't, but I really want to kill him," Arsene growled.

"Scum like him should never have been born," Satanael muttered. "He has no right to authority. Tear him down!"

'In due time…' I told them. 'He'll be gone soon enough…'

They continued to grumble, but I had to ignore them. I sat in my seat, exuding an aura of anger around myself. People were muttering about both Shiho and my expulsion. They had ended up assuming that I had forced Shiho up to the roof, and was getting expelled for that. It was honestly disgusting. Assuming that I would make someone attempt suicide just to make myself the hero.

Ann sat down before me, shooting me a look. I smiled at her, trying not to seem too angry. She didn't deserve to bear that burden.

Kawakami started class. It was mostly just talk about how we shouldn't talk about the incident outside of school. Something about not having panic at home. It was just so that the school could preserve its image as an academy for the gifted. It was probably too late anyway. People loved rumors, and it would have been strange not to tell your parents that one of your fellow students attempted to jump off the roof.

"Kurusu-kun?" Kawakami called as class ended. "Can I speak with you for a moment?" I sighed, following Kawakami. She was giving me that smile in which she completely closed her eyes. I knew exactly what that meant. She was not happy with me.

She led me over to a spot near the Guidance Office. "I want to talk about something I heard." She sighed. "It won't take long...but-"

"Ah, I see that you're already on top of the problem I mentioned this morning," Kamoshida said, coming out of the office. The ribbon-haired first year was with him, as well as the Guidance Counselor. "I thank you for your support."

"Oh!" She exclaimed, meeting my eyes. "I keep seeing you everywhere these days."

"Oh, you know this guy Yoshizawa?" Kamoshida asked.

"Yes." She looked up at the teacher. "He's helped me before."

"I recommend steering clear of people like him." Kamoshida sighed. "There are certain students that you shouldn't involve yourself with, in consideration of your future." He pointed at me. "This one's the top of the list."

"You mean...the delinquent transfer student?" She looked at me. "Really? Weren't you on the roof yesterday? With the girl…"

I shrugged in response. It felt kind of awkward now. This girl had clearly looked up to me before, even calling me Senpai, but now, Kamoshida had probably convinced her that I was a no-good criminal. Well, it was fun while it lasted.

"Excuse me, but could I use the guidance office?" Kawakami asked.

"Of course." Kamoshida grinned. "We should get going anyway. C'mon Yoshizawa." She was looking at the floor. Finally, she gave me a small bow, following after Kamoshida.

"Come inside…" Kawakami sat at the table I took a seat across from her. It was silent for a bit before Kawakami sighed.

"Did something...happen, between you and Mr. Kamoshida?" She asked. "I mean, based on the conversation that just happened...and the lecture he gave me this morning, I think that there's definitely...something."

"Yeah," I responded. Kawakami gave me a dead look.

"You of all people should know not to get yourself into trouble!" She shook her head. "You don't get a second chance, Kurusu. I can't protect you."

"I know that," I said. "But what I did was right."

"What's that supposed to mean? And especially after saving Suzui? Why did you have to screw it up?"

I considered telling her about what I'd walked in on, but accusing Kamoshida of that after he'd expelled me wouldn't convince anyone, or even get them to even listen to me. Even Kawakami had fallen for Kamoshida's act, and I wouldn't be able to change her mind. Not yet at least.

"Doesn't matter. I didn't do anything wrong." I crossed my arms. Kawakami sighed.

"I guess if you're so certain...and that Yoshizawa girl...you didn't make a pass on her, did you?"

"This is like...the second time I've talked to her," I said, shaking my head. "I mean...she is cute, but I didn't do anything."

"Kamoshida mentioned that you've been getting close to Sakamoto too," Kawakami said. "Even after I told you not to...maybe you're drawn to athletes." I stifled a laugh. That was not something I'd expected my teacher to tell me. "Anyway, I guess that's all I had to say." She stood up. "You can return to your class now."

"Alright."

Ryuji: I saw Kamoshida standing at the entrance this morning

Ryuji: He just gave me this shit-eating grin

Ann: He was trying to get you riled up

Akira: He did the same to me

Akira: I told him to screw off

Ann: Akira! That'll just make him suspicious

Akira: I don't care that much

Akira: He deserves no mercy

Ryuji: Exactly. Seeing him just got me riled up

Ryuji: We'll definitely take him down!

Ann: I won't get exhausted this time!

Akira: I finished all the preparations

I glanced up, feeling Kawakami's gaze sweep over towards me. She narrowed her eyes, going back to her lecture.

Akira: I have your new weapons and armor in my bag

Ann: Great

I put my phone away, scribbling down the notes on the board. We'd meet each other at lunch. I wanted to infiltrate as far as we could. I wanted to at least get to the beginning of the Tower, if not further. Hopefully, Ryuji and Ann wouldn't struggle too much. They would get stronger as we fought, and I could support them with the other elements I could use, as well as Morgana's healing and support skills.

We would be fine...right?

"You guys ready?" Morgana asked, jumping out onto the table. "We're gonna infiltrate his Palace today."

"We're gonna steal that Treasure!" Ryuji called.

"I know we're on the roof, but you need to stop being so loud!" Ann said. "We don't need people asking us what we're doing."

"Alright." I set my bag down, pulling out a hammer and whip. Somehow, I managed to barely fit these in my bag. Barely. "These are yours, along with these guns." I pulled out the other stuff I'd bought. Once you're ready, we'll go inside."

"How much money did you spend?!" Ann asked, attaching the charm to her new armor.

"He threw away 150,000 yen on this." Ryuji grabbed his shotgun. "It was totally worth it!"

"Ready?" They nodded. I opened the MetaNav, "We should enter from the front of the Castle. Entering from the roof will probably...not end well.

We made our way downstairs, heading into the alleyway from yesterday. I tapped on the bookmark I had of Kamoshida's Palace.

The world shifted, slowly bringing the castle into view. Flames erupted around us, donning us in our Phantom Thieves Outfits. Morgana stretched, finally standing on two feet again.

"It's gonna be annoying to get all the way to that kitchen again," Ryuji said. "Isn't the path gonna be like...super long as we get closer?"

"Actually…" I held up my phone. "Safe rooms get recorded on the MetaNav. If we select them…" I did so, and all of a sudden, we were standing inside the Safe Room near where Ann had awakened. "We can start here instead of outside."

"Woah!" Ryuji and Ann exclaimed. "That's cool…"

"And convenient." Morgana opened the door. "Well, let's get going!"

"Hold on, doesn't Ann need a code name?" Ryuji yelled. "She can't be the only one without one!"

"Yeah!" Ann called. "What should it be though…?"

"Well…" Ryuji looked her up and down. "You've got a tail and cat ears…" His eyes seemed to focus on something else.

"..." Ann gave him a deadpan look. "Stop looking at me like that."

"Panther," I said. "She's not just a cat."

"What about Cougar?" Ryuji laughed. That got him a whipping from Ann.

Today would be a learning day for Ann, as well as Ryuji, though he was mostly used to everything by now. We taught them how to keep out of sight of Shadows and to move swiftly between cover. As we continued and fought, I decided to limit myself to Physical and Gun attacks, in order to give Ryuji and Ann a chance to learn and grow stronger.

It was honestly life-saving to have my gun reload after every fight. It was a reliable way to deal damage to the enemy, and I could conserve energy.

The only problem that emerged was the fact that I had absolutely no memory of what certain enemies' weaknesses were. I knew that lots of them were weak to fire and electricity and that one of them was weak to ice, but I just couldn't remember. Even though I had all these Shadows written in my Compendium, it wasn't like I carried the book everywhere. Futaba had been the one who kept a record of weaknesses. 'I need to learn how to identify weaknesses on my own.'

"Drink this." I pulled some Arginade out of my bag. "It'll restore some energy."

"Thanks, man…" Ryuji drank quickly. "That's better...using a Persona all the time is exhausting." I nodded. I had always been the one losing the most energy, especially since I could cover every position we needed. Sometimes I was the healer, or the one using AOE attacks. I had burned out so quickly.

"This Castle is surprisingly realistic...I didn't think that Kamoshida cared about books so much." Ann said, pointing at a shelf filled with all kinds of novels.

"I don't think he does," Morgana said. "He believes that he makes the school grand. What would a Castle be without decorations?"

"Yeah." Ryuji tossed the can into a nearby trash can. "There's no way someone like him actually...cares about learning."

"You don't care either!" Ann decried.

"Not true! I just care about learning...different stuff." Ryuji kicked the ground.

"No need to argue, guys." I opened the next door. "Focus."

"Sorry…" They looked ashamed.

"You guys should focus on the tactics we've been teaching you," Morgana said, following me up the stairs. "Not arguing about books."

"You mean that Baton Pass?" Morgana nodded. "That was so cool!"

He was right. Baton Passing enhanced our strength many times, and if chained, it could become even more powerful, and less energy taxing. I would have to incorporate that into my battle strategy.

We continued to battle our way down the hall.

"Why am I not surprised that that's the kind of Shadow Kamoshida would have in his Palace?" Ann muttered, picking up the cash on the ground.

"You mean that demon with the spiked dick?" Ryuji asked.

"It's an Incubus," I said. "It's a low-level demon. There are worse ones out there…" Like Mara. Incubus was nothing to Mara.

The next room was a puzzle room. It wasn't much of a problem since all I had to do was pull two chains and the bars lifted themselves up. I grabbed the map, noticing a slight change in the Castle layout. Nothing too major.

"All that those bars were protecting was a map?" Ryuji sighed. "What's the point of that?"

I pointed at a red dot moving in the room ahead of us. "These maps are vital. They tell us exactly where our enemies are, and if there are any secret passages in the area. That's why it's important enough to protect. Though it's incomplete."

"I guess that makes sense…" Ann said, glancing at one of the goat heads. "How'd you know which ones to pull?"

I put a hand to my eye, activating my ability. "I have really good eyes for this kinda stuff. Anything valuable shines yellow, and anything important shines blue." Ann covered herself. "It's not x-ray vision…"

"I bet if Skull had those eyes he'd try to see…" She glared at him. "At least try not to be so obvious!" Ryuji glanced back at the wall, whistling slightly.

"What else can you see?" He asked, ignoring Ann's rant.

"...well, I can tell how powerful a Shadow is compared to us," I muttered. "Stronger is red, Same is yellow, and Weaker is blue." I had only seen Blue Shadows, but that was because I was so powerful, not that they were weak. For Ryuji and Ann, they would probably be yellow.

We kept up our infiltration, disposing of any Shadow we came across. We weren't exactly being speedy, but we were making some good time, and Ann and Ryuji seemed to be doing alright.

"This is above the entrance, ain't it?" Ryuji looked down at the entrance hall. "The bars are in our way."

"Ryuji, haven't you ever heard of style?" Morgana jumped up onto the shelf. I followed suit, hopping past him, and onto the Chandelier.

"How the hell did you jump that high?!"

"In the Metaverse, our abilities are enhanced." I grinned down at them. "I bet you could do it too if you tried."

To their surprise, they were able to easily join me on top of the Chandelier. We jumped across the gaps, evading the sight of the Shadows below us.

As it turned out, there was a window open that we could enter from the front of the castle as well. I scribbled quickly on the map, going into the next room.

"Ain't that Treasure Chest?" Ryuji pointed at the glistening Golden Crate. "It's locked."

"I got this." I pulled the Perma-Pick out. After a bit of fiddling, the chest popped open, and I stashed my pick away. Never again would I run out of lockpicks!

The loot was okay. I had bought better armor, but it was sellable at the very least.

I turned, noticing the door before us was a little hazy. Turns out that there was a safe room here. Sweet.

We took a small break. I hadn't been using my Persona at all, so I was perfectly fine, but Morgana had been doing some healing, and Ryuji and Ann had been attacking incessantly. I distributed more Arginade, but it would only help so much.

"How are you guys?" I asked, spinning my knife in my hand. "Think we can go further?"

"I think so…" Ryuji nodded. "But...not for much longer."

"Yeah…" Ann pouted. "Can we at least slow down?"

"Okay…" I sighed. "From now on, try to avoid using your Personas. I'll do the magic damage we need."

"So we're switching roles?" Morgana asked. "That works for me."

"Arsene?" He appeared before me. "Do you know any Ice attacks?"

"...Bufula, I believe. I was never so privy to the other elements. Besides...I don't like the cold."

"Okay…" I went over a list of elements I might need. "Do you know any Bless attacks?"

"Not at all." He shook his head. "I never cared for them."

"I know a few. Divine Judgement, Kougan, Makougan." Satanael said. "I used to be an Angel."

"..." I wasn't so willing to subject myself to pain just yet. Hopefully, I wouldn't need to use those attacks. Arsene's raw power should be enough to defeat any foes we came across. If we had too, we'd just attack until they were defeated.

"You can absorb Shadows?!" Ryuji asked. There had been a cat persona that I had never seen before, so I'd found it's weakness and convinced it to join me as my Persona. Last time, the team had seen me do it so often that it hadn't been anything special, but this was the first time I'd done it here.

"Yeah. I have both Arsene and Satanael." I said, taking my mask off and summoning Cait Sith. "This ones kinda weak compared to them though…" Well, it would at the very least fill my Compendium.

"Yeah, but...you said that Arsene is just a weaker version of Satanael!" Ryuji gripped his head. "That Shadow just turned into a mask and now it's your Persona?!"

"Yes, Skull!" Morgana yelled. "Joker can turn Shadows into his own Persona. Just accept it and move on."

"No, I'm with Ryuji on this one," Ann said. "That doesn't make sense."

"It's just something that I can...do?" Honestly, it was still unclear. Had it been Igor or Yaldabaoth? Or some third party? Had I been born with this power? Or had it been gifted? "I can only take a few with me though."

"How do you know all these things?" Ann asked. "Like...is it just like how we already know what attacks we can use?"

"Kind of…" I shrugged, sneaking up behind the next Shadow. "Let's keep going."

"I don't think any amount of acrobatics is getting us up these stairs." Ann gestured towards the rubble. "How are we gonna get further?"

"Hm," I grumbled. Last time, there hadn't been an obstacle like this. The stairs had been in disrepair, sure, but this was more than just bad management. These stairs had collapsed, and there was no way to get up there.

"Hold on," Ryuji pointed at a Golden Goat Head. "Maybe we could throw a rope up or something?"

"Anybody have a rope?" I asked. Ann glanced at the Whip on her hip, but that wouldn't be long or strong enough for what we needed.

"Hey." Morgana jumped up, grabbing our attention. "Phantom Thieves do things a bit more...stylishly." He grabbed something from his invisible pouch, showing a wristband to me.

"What's this?" I asked, grabbing the accessory. It seemed to be about my size. Morgana gestured for me to try it on. I complied, removing my glove to slip the trinket on. It was snug, and there was a small button on the underside. I made sure my glove didn't cover anything, looking to Morgana for an answer.

"That is a grappling hook!" He said. "I bet with your abilities, you'll figure out how to use it in no time!"

I fiddled with it, finding that when I pressed the button, it shot a hooked rope out very quickly, before retracting after a moment. I glanced up at the Goat Head. "Step back." They complied.

I flicked my wrist towards the head, releasing the button as I did so, and the rope flew upwards, wrapping itself around one of the horns. I yelped as I was pulled upwards quickly, but I caught my bearings and used the Goat Head to vault myself onto the steps above. The Grappling Hook detached itself, slithering back into the contraption.

"Holy shit!" Ryuji yelled from below. "That was amazing!"

"You really can do anything in the metaverse!"

"I mean, he was all stylish and-"

"I get it, it looked cool!" I called, interrupting Ryuji. "But that fixes my problem, but what about you guys?"

"Oh...yeah…" Ryuji glanced around. "Any ideas?"

Morgana shook his head. "You guys," He gestured upwards, where I was already letting the rope descend. "Grab on!"

They were pulled up almost as quickly as I was, and Ryuji actually ended up getting hit by the Goat Head, after Ann had scrambled out of the way.

"We didn't look nearly as cool…" Ryuji rubbed his injury, sauntering towards the open entrance. " Joker always gets to looks cool…"

"Sorry?" I said, glancing into the next hall. There was a shadow patrolling, but it looked surprisingly imposing compared to the other Shadows. It was subtle, but it was taller, bulkier, and even slightly darker than the average Shadow. It also had a red fiery aura that seemed to be on the brink of invisibility.

"Hey, why's that one feel different?" Ann asked, crouching behind Joker.

"It's a dangerous enemy," Morgana said. "I call them Savage...but we should be able to handle it easily!"

"Morgana's right." I nodded, moving to behind a large chair as the Shadow turned around. "Move in behind me." They nodded. I emerged from the shadows, leaping onto the Shadow's shoulders. "Reveal yourself!" I ripped it's mask off, before leaping back to (relative) safety. It didn't even care that I'd ambushed it, yelling out in rage and revealing itself to be a Berith. It charged forward, just as my teammates raced forward to meet it.

"Whoa!" Ryuji ducked beneath a sword slice. "It's way faster than normal!" The Berith jumped back. Hadn't I ambushed it?

"Arsene!" I ripped my mask off, throwing it aside. "Bufula!" Ice spikes emerged in the air, embedding themselves within the Berith's armor. He fell, but he still didn't speak. We surrounded him, holding him at gunpoint. He looked surprisingly calm, glaring directly into my eyes.

"Hand over your cash!" I demanded, moving forward, shaking my gun in his face.

"...!" He grunted, seemingly looking for a way to escape his situation. I knew that look, and that sound. He had no intention of cooperating. He didn't even fear for his life.

"...Attack." I commanded, pulling out my knife.

We dashed through the Berith, repeatedly attacking it until we were satisfied. I fixed my glove, walking away as the Berith sprayed black blood across the hall.

"Is this for real…?" Ryuji exclaimed as the wall slid aside, revealing Kamoshida's shrine. We had fought our way here, collecting books and taking down more of those Savage enemies. They were dangerous. They didn't speak until they were on Death's Door. That determination...it was chilling.

"Why are there so many pictures of Shiho!" Ann exclaimed. "This is…"

"...we'll make him pay." I spat. My voice was soft, but I could feel the bite inside it. Ann glanced at me.

"Yeah...we'll make sure of it!"

"As much as it disgusts me...we should search the room. It was important enough to be hidden behind a book puzzle." Morgana said.

"Here's the medal," I said, putting it in a pocket.

"And another map!" Ryuji grabbed it, looking over the layout of the rest of the castle. "Think this is the rest of it?"

I nodded, pointing to a large room behind the Throne. "That's the farthest point in this castle. We can't go any further than that."

"It just has to be on the top floor doesn't it…?" Ann sighed. "And I thought we'd gotten pretty far."

"The Treasure always ends up being in the deepest area. It'll never be near the entrance...it's never easy."

"Hey, don't worry," Morgana said. "We should be almost halfway there. I bet we'll get to the tower in no time!"

"H-hey!" A voice called. Three knights ran in. "What are you doing inside the King's Personal Room?!" The first two Shadows were normal. But the one in the back seemed strange. Almost mute.

They collapsed into Bicorn, but again, one of them was strange. It's coloring never seemed certain, and it kept phasing in and out of focus.

"H-hey...be careful around that one!" Morgana yelled. "Just...try to take it down quickly!"

"Got it!" Ryuji called, swinging his weapon down. The Strange Bicorn roared, taking the attack. However, it now seemed enraged, immediately charging at Ryuji , who yelped and dove for cover.

"Be cautious!" Morgana yelled, swinging his own weapon at it. It froze, disintegrating into a ball of energy. "Brace yourselves!"

The energy erupted, erasing the other Bicorn from existence as well. Unfortunately, another trio appeared to replace their fallen comrades.

"Those weird Shadow's only attack after they get attacked. And they're really strong too!" Ryuji got up, pulling out his Shotgun. "Take them out using their weaknesses so they can't retaliate as that one did!"

"I think I'm done for today…" Ann slumped over in her chair. "We're already halfway, right?"

"Yeah...but from here on, the enemies will be stronger." Morgana jumped onto the table. "Though, you two have gotten stronger than before."

"Yeah, I learned a few new moves!" Ryuji said, rubbing his shoulder.

"..." I knew what was next. A miniboss inside the Chapel. Archangel. I wanted to get it over with, but...it would be wrong to go into battle when they were so tired. Even if it would be a comparatively easy fight, it wouldn't be right. "Let's call it for now." I glanced at the clock. "We still have a few weeks before the Deadline, no need to hurt ourselves."

"...I know I said I was done...but shouldn't we try to do this as quickly as possible?" Ann said, staring at the table. "I mean, Kamoshida...what he did to Shiho, he could have done to any of the girls...if he had the chance, he could have done it to me." She fiddled with her whip, laying it out in front of her. "Shouldn't we take him down before he has a chance to do it anymore?"

"...The faster we defeat him, the less likely he is to hurt anyone else." Ryuji grumbled, leaning against the wall behind her. "Maybe we should keep going…"

Morgana and I exchanged glances. Morally, they were absolutely correct. It would be best if they completed the Palace before Kamoshida could put his grubby hands on anybody. But, I couldn't make them fight an Archangel in this state. I had Arginade. I had medicine. I didn't have the items to keep us active for much longer. I didn't have Beads or any Soul foods. And Sojiro didn't trust me to make Coffee yet.

"I don't think we should chance it," Morgana said. "Look at the map." He pointed at the Chapel. A big, empty room? Please, it's a trap. And I bet we'll have to fight a really strong Shadow. Isn't it better to come back when we've rested for the day, instead of pushing ourselves and potentially getting badly injured?"

"..." Ryuji sighed. "I mean, it'd be smarter, sure, but...I can't stand the thought of letting Kamoshida go a single extra day without suffering for what he's done."

"...I don't know." Ann said. "I wish we could just teleport to the Treasure and take it now. Then Kamoshida would confess and be locked away, right?" Morgana nodded. "I just...I want him gone...now."

"...We'll leave for tonight." I said. "It's too much to go into a trap, knowing that it's a trap unless we're fully energized." I grabbed my phone, opening the MetaNav. "We'll come back tomorrow after school...and I'll make sure that we'll make it all the way to the Treasure."

We separated from the alleyway, promising to meet again tomorrow. I walked home, slowly feeling the strain from entering the Metaverse settle into my bones.

"Did you use Arsene too much?" Morgana asked as we stepped off the train into Yongen. "You seem kinda...out of it?"

"No." I shook my head. "It has nothing to do with the Metaverse. It's…" I frowned. "It just...it hurts...knowing that they don't know me...that the year we spent together doesn't exist."

"..." Morgana had no response. How were you supposed to respond to that anyway? I was complaining about the ability to save my friends. I had gone back in time, in order to save their lives, and I was pissed that they didn't remember me. I knew that I shouldn't complain. Nobody else ever got a chance to do what I got to do. But...it really hurt. All the people I'd known, shared how many days of my life with...and they didn't know me at all.

"You're home late…" Sojiro glanced up from the counter. There were only a few patrons here, but the Cafe was still open. "Don't get yourself into any trouble."

"Yes sir." I felt my phone buzz, and Morgana climbed onto my shoulder in order to read the texts.

Ryuji: Yo, I'm dead tired. Like...I could sleep for days

Ryuji: I just got home, and I just collapsed on my bed. I didn't even eat anything

Ann: Well...we did go pretty far. Morgana said it was halfway, right?

"Almost half. It's right before we enter the tower."

Akira: Yeah, we're basically halfway through

Ryuji: And we're gonna do the other half tomorrow, right?

Ann: That's what we agreed on

Akira: There's nothing else to do. I already got the best equipment and medicine I can get my hands on

Ann: Alright. Text us when you're ready to meet

I put my phone away, slowly trekking up the stairs. "What are we doing?" Morgana asked, jumping off. I put my bag down.

"Training." I grabbed the chair.

"N-now?!" He meowed. "After coming back from a Palace?!"

"I'll be fine," I said, grabbing the crossbeam. "I have to be stronger."

"Not by killing yourself…" He trailed off.

April 19

School was the same. Nothing new. Rumors about me and Shiho, along with Ann and Ryuji. It was annoying, but I was just...used to it at this point. It was to be expected.

The end of school came around eventually. Ann glanced at me, and I nodded, walking towards the stairs.

"Hey, Akira!" Ryuji ran through the hall. "We going?"

"Yeah." I glanced towards Kamoshida, who was down the hall. "We can get to the end today."

"Alright!"

"Keep it down, would you?" Ann said, opening the door behind us. "People are gonna think we're up to something!"

"But, aren't we?"

"Ryuji…" Morgana groaned. "That doesn't mean other people should know." We walked up the stairs, opening the door to the roof. Haru's plot hadn't really been developed much, but it looked like she'd been up here today. There was a bag of dirt nearby, and it looked like she'd planted something.

"Well?" Ryuji glanced down at the entrance. "It's another half, right?"

"Yeah, but it'll be slower," Morgana said. "The Shadow's will get stronger, and there'll probably be more puzzles to solve."

"Which means that we shouldn't use Magic as much," Ann said. "That's the obvious solution."

"Yeah, but what about Shadows that are resistant to Gunshots and Physical attacks?" I said. "We have to use magic to progress…" I opened my bag, looking at all the energy restoring stuff I had. "We'll have to be smart about when we use it. I'll make the calls." They nodded. "Then let's get going."

"This is obviously a trap," Ryuji said. "A big room with nothing in it? I've played enough video games to know what's going on." The room shivered, revealing the Gymnasium. "Whoa…"

"This is...the gym?" Ann whispered. Ryuji came to some kinda revelation.

"I get it...he's the God of the Gym. Some sorta Holy Place to him." Ryuji spit on the ground. "Disgusting."

"He still thinks like that?" Ann bristled, and we walked towards the foot of the statue. "After driving Shiho to attempt Suicide?"

"He's not normal, Ann." I grit my teeth. "Don't expect them to have any moral compass."

"So it was you who disturbed the King's Library…" A Golden Knight emerged from the Shadows. "I knew waiting would pay off...but it's true. As that ape said, this is the Holy Ground of King Kamoshida" He shook with anger. "And to allow riff-raff such as yourselves access to such a place is unacceptable! Accept your divine judgment!" He exploded, revealing a large Archangel, who thrust his sword towards them.

"Hah, an Angel. I guess that makes me the Devil, doesn't it."

"Of course it does." Satanael laughed. "That's what it means to defy the heavens."

"You will pay with your lives! No one is allowed to defy the King!"

"Prepare yourselves!" I jumped back. The Archangel flexed, charging up.

"It's preparing something!" Morgana glanced at Ryuji and Ann. "Remember to keep your guard up."

"Zio!" Lightning struck the Archangel, but it shrugged the attack off, focusing his gaze onto me.

"It's resistant!" I yelled at Ryuji. "Use physical attacks instead!" The Archangel thrust and I twisted my body aside, narrowly dodging it's enhanced attack. It clicked its teeth.

"Nice dodge!" Morgana said, slashing at the Archangel. It was a powerful strike, causing the Archangel to stumble slightly.

"Eigaon!" Arsene summoned forth the Curse, and the Archangel cried out in pain, wings curling. Ann pulled out her gun and shot it down. He screamed, dissolving away. It had gone much smoother this time around.

"Woo!" Ryuji grinned. "We kicked ass!"

"Yeah, but even then, that was only because of Joker and Morgana." Ann sighed. "You guys always seem so much stronger than us."

"That's…" Morgana trailed off. "Look, I'm sure that you guys will eventually be just as strong as we are."

Suddenly, Shadows burst into existence around us. There were at least 25 Shadows around, and I could hear even more of them popping into existence further away.

"It's an ambush!" Morgana yelled. Even with how weak these Shadows were, fighting so many at once was not a great idea. I glanced up, spotting the statue's outstretched arm.

"Grab on!" I gave them my arm. Morgana jumped onto my back, and Ryuji and Ann grabbed me. I jumped, shooting my grappling hook up at the statue. It latched on, and pulled us higher, even with all the extra weight. "Get ready!" I said, swinging us over to a platform above. Ryuji let go, landing on the platform. Morgana followed suit, landing on Ryuji. Ann and I swung back, and I kicked forward, putting more force into my swing. I grabbed Ann's hand, and, like a trapeze artist, I launched her over to the platform. She landed with the help of Ryuji, and I glanced down. All the Shadows were glaring up at me. Too bad they couldn't fly.

I grinned, pressing the button. The grappling hook began to retract, just as I made the jump myself. I landed in between the rest of them.

"That was amazing, Joker!" Morgana said. "You really know how to use that grappling hook, don't you?!"

"I guess I do…" I gazed over the sea of Shadows below us. There was no way to retrace our steps. There were just...too many Shadows. They covered almost every inch of the floor below us.

"Honestly...if you hadn't gotten us out of there, I don't know if we could've made it," Ann said. "I mean...does anybody have a move that could handle this?"

"Nah." Ryuji shook his head. "I can only target one person at a time."

"I mean...maybe if they were more grouped together," Morgana said. "I could hit them all in one attack, but this...this is too many."

"...I can." I said. They looked at me. "I could cover the entire Chapel. It would probably kill all of them too."

"For real!" Ryuji yelled. "That's insane! I mean...oh." He deflated. "You'd have to use Satanael, wouldn't you?" I nodded. "But...you'd hurt yourself!"

"..." He was right. It would hurt. I hadn't gotten much stronger. Maybe physically...but not in regards to actual combat. The Shadows were too weak to help me. Though...maybe killing this many at once would help. There had to be at least 40 Shadows on the floor.

Besides...I wouldn't tell this to anybody, but I was addicted to the feeling of power. That energy that bristled underneath my skin when I used Satanael. It was exhilarating. I had the power to do almost anything...I couldn't just let that feeling go.

"Satanael." I pulled my mask aside. "Ready?"

"You sure, Joker?" Morgana asked, glancing between me and my Persona. "I mean, we could just leave them behind. They can't get to us."

"We might need to retrace our steps later." I took out my gun. "I'll be alright."

"I am prepared." Satanael smiled. "Let us destroy them!"

"Alright…" I laughed. I could the energy building, threatening to overflow. "Let's annihilate them. Tear them apart!"

"Riot Gun!"

Gunshots rained down upon us, just missing our group. I heard the screams of the Shadows as they were shot through the head. The sea of Shadows, which had once seemed almost endless, had been entirely eradicated. Not a single Shadow was left. There were various piles of cash strewn around.

"Whoa…" Ryuji muttered. "I feel a lot stronger for some reason…"

"When you kill a Shadow, their will becomes yours…" Morgana said. "The more will you have, the stronger you grow." He looked at me. "Are you sure you're fine?"

"I'll be okay…" I groaned. It hurt. Ooh, it hurt. But at least I was prepared for it this time. Satanael disappeared, and my lungs and head pulsed, but it was manageable. And maybe, I felt just a little stronger too.

"A...Will Seed?" I asked, looking at the Red Skull. "What's that?" I tried to ignore the voices all around us.

"Palaces are places where Desire coalesces into a physical form. That's what these distortions are." He turned. "However, there are some areas where that distortion is at a much higher concentration. Those spots form these. Will Seeds."

"...I don't get it." Ryuji said. "Why's it important?"

"I mean...it's rare." Morgana shrugged. "It's just another collectible, I guess. Only good can come from having it...I think."

"Are you sure?" Ann asked, bending down to observe it. This looks like one of those pedestal trap things. Like...if we take it, a giant ball will start rolling around, trying to crush us."

"Or we'll get cursed!" Ryuji added.

"..." I grabbed the skull, plucking it from the vines. The whispering stopped, but other than that, nothing happened.

"See!" Morgana said. "It's fine."

"I guess we'll keep a lookout for more…" Ann said.

"I can tell that there are two more in the Palace." Morgana grinned. "I bet they're behind doors just like these!"

"Two? How can you tell?" Ryuji glanced at Morgana. "Can you smell ''em?"

"No! I can just tell okay!"

"I mean...can't cats smell really well?" Ann said.

"That's dogs, Ann." I put the seed away. "We'll find the other rooms later. Let's just keep going."

"Whoa, what the hell?!" Ryuji recoiled as the ground beneath his feet began to stir. We watched as a pillar shot up, before descending once again. The room was slowly falling apart, and there was a distinct purple tinge to the air.

"And of course...he has perverted statues too…" Ryuji walked further into the room. "We have to be getting closer, right?"

"We are." Morgana nodded. "A few more stairs and we'll be there." He paused. "Though the Shadow's in here are much more dangerous and aggressive."

"We'll keep going," I said. "We're close enough to force our way through if we have to."

We continued on, taking the elevator down to the base of the Castle once again. It took a bit of searching, but my eyes made it simple, and we accessed the elevator to the basement with ease. Looking around, I noted that we must be even deeper than the dungeon. There was a waterfall that descended into the depths. It was probably the stream that flowed through the underbelly of the castle.

"Hey, isn't that another Will Seed door?" Ann said. "Isn't that the last one?"

"Yeah, but there's a Shadow in the way," Morgana said. "I bet it's protecting it for a reason."

"Yeah, well you saw what Joker and Satanael can do!" Ryuji laughed. "I bet Arsene could take care of it no problem!"

"Hey!" Morgana frowned. "Just because Joker can protect you doesn't mean you should rely on him! You've got to do things on your own!"

"That's not what I was saying…" Ryuji sighed. "I want to be stronger, but I just don't think we should worry so much when Joker's here."

"..." I wasn't sure what to say. I didn't want them to worry, but it had been proven that even when I was there, I couldn't always protect them. I would try my hardest though...that's why I had to get stronger too.

"Well," Morgana turned to me. "What do you think?"

"We're getting the last Will Seed," I said. "If we're cautious, we'll all be fine."

"Fighting on a narrow path like this is…" Morgana glanced down. "Dangerous."

"I'll go first," I said, walking towards the Shadow. "Use magic to support me, but try to stay out of range." They nodded. "Let's get going."

"You're those Thieves who have been ransacking this Castle!" He yelled. "I won't allow you to proceed any further!"

"Too bad!" Ann called. "We'll make you!"

He growled, revealing himself to be a Slime, at which Ann made various sounds of disgust. The battle was uneventful. The Slime had much higher defense than I'd anticipated, but Arsene made short work of it, and that was that. All in all, much easier than I'd expected. Though, then again, I was also many times stronger than I'd been last time.

"Let's get the last Will Seed."

That's the other eye!" Ryuji grinned. "We can finally get past that stupid trap!"

"Let's get back quickly," Ann glanced at the door. "Before more Shadow's show up." I nodded in agreement, and we sprinted back to the stairs. There weren't many Shadows in the way, and those that were were disposed of with ease. I grinned. Ann and Ryuji had grown. If I remembered correctly, they were already at the same level of strength as when we'd actually fought Kamoshida.

We crossed the gaps, warily eyeing the axes that were suspended in the air. Even after shutting the trap off, it was disturbing to walk when they looked like they'd swing back any moment.

There was another group of Shadows in the way, but both Ryuji and Ann had the strength to defeat them easily, and we climbed the stairs. I pulled out the map, standing just before the door.

"We're almost there." I showed them the paper. "There's an enemy at the top of the stairs behind this door. "After that, there's the throne room…"

"And behind that is the Treasure!" Ryuji cheered, opening the door. "We're so close!"

"Hey, slow down!" Ann called, chasing him up the stairs. He'd already pulled out his hammer, pummeling the Shadow as he passed. Morgana and I ran after the two of them.

"Ryuji!" Morgana called. "The Throne Room is filled with Shadows right now!" Ryuji looked back at us. "Kamoshida's probably in there right now!"

"Then...do we wait for him to leave?"

"No, that'd take way too long." I pointed at an opening above one of the busts. "We'll go in through there. But first, there's another room nearby." I flicked open a nearby chest, stashing whatever I'd gotten into my pockets. "Yep, safe room."

"Then, we can just teleport here, right?" Ann asked. " I nodded, registering the room onto the MetaNav. "See what happens when you don't rush through everything!"

"S-sorry…" Ryuji muttered. "I was just excited, ya know?"

"Lady Ann is right," Morgana said. "Focus. Stop rushing into everything!"

"I think he gets it." I interrupted, saving Ryuji from another rant. Even after all they'd been through, Morgana didn't seem to be able to be nice to Ryuji, and I couldn't even begin to fathom why. "Stay quiet." I vaulted up to the window, sticking to the Shadows. Kamoshida was loudly complaining about his Soldiers' failure to capture us. Of course, the Shadows said nothing, accepting his tirade with bowed heads. We snuck along the balcony, and I gestured towards the door to the Treasure room. It was in plain view of the Soldiers, so we'd have to be cautious.

Thankfully, Shadows were nearsighted, and we were able to approach the door without any problems. It opened slowly, as we tried not to make any noise. We dashed inside, closing the door behind us, and drawing out the rest of Kamoshida's rant.

"Here we go." I grinned, pushing open the doors. There was gold all over the ground, along with jewels and trinkets and a few gold trophies. The Treasure was floating in the air, just as cloudy as always.

"Whoa...this place is...holy shit!" Ryuji exclaimed, marveling at the sight. "The Treasure has to be here!"

"What's that thing floating in the air?" Ann said. "It looks...weird."

"That, my friends," Morgana jumped onto a nearby crate. "Is what we're here for. That's the Treasure."

"Can we even touch it?" Ann said, reaching out her gloved hand. "Let alone steal it?"

"Eventually," Morgana said. "Desires don't really have a physical form by themselves. They're more a concept of the heart than anything else. So, until we force it to materialize, No we can't steal it."

"How do we make it materialize?" Ryuji leaned against a nearby barrel. "Do we gotta, do some Persona magic or somethin'?"

"No, it's actually pretty simple," Morgana turned to Ryuji. "You see, once the Palace Ruler is aware that their Desires are something that matters, something they Treasure, they will become aware that those Desires can be stolen. Once that happens, the Treasure will reveal itself."

"You said it'd be simple…" Ryuji sighed.

"Well, how do we get Kamoshida to realize that?" Ann asked.

"We tell him. We tell him exactly what's going to happen." I grinned. Sending the Calling Card had always been one of my favorite things to do. "If they know that there is someone out there who wants to steal their Desires, they will realize that it's a Treasure."

"And then the Treasure will materialize." Morgana finished. "We have to inform them in reality though. It has to be within the conscious mind, not their subconscious."

"So...like a calling card?" Ryuji's face lit up. "That sounds epic! That's exactly what Phantom Thieves do!"

"We'll give a calling card to Kamoshida, and then we'll steal the Treasure!" Morgana purred. "We already have a route to the Treasure. All we need to do is send the card."

"Let's give it a few days," I said. "We need to be at our best. If Kamoshida is aware that someone is coming, he'll be on high alert."

"Alright!" Ann said. "You'll tell us when you're ready, right Joker?" I nodded. "Should we go back to reality?"

"Let's," Morgana said. "We're done here."