Welp, felt like writing, didn't have the muse for anything so I just felt like getting some work done on this story.
Also, more Palace delving, yay!
[[]]
[July 5- 10 days before Speech]
"So." Futaba said as we gathered around the table in the morning, "We're heading back to Jacques's Palace today?" Futaba asked.
"That's the plan." Akira said cleaning his glasses, "We've got ten days before the speech, making it only a week left to send the Calling Card."
"Jeez, time sure does seem to fly doesn't it?" Ryuji muttered.
"We have been busy to be honest." Ann said, looking back at what they'd been up to since coming here.
"Well, then." Makoto said, "Let's finish our breakfast and get back to breaking and entering."
[Jacques's Palace- Safe Room 2]
[P5 Ost- King Queen and Slave.]
"Are we ready?" Joker asked, looking back at his team.
"We are ready." Noir said lifting her axe onto her shoulder.
Joker nodded and left the safe room with the rest of the Thieves, slipping back into the Chess room, which had changed slightly as before there were two Black Pawns on the board, but now the white Queen had taken one of the Pawns.
"Looks like Jacques has crushed someone else." Fox said with a frown, "In his mind at least."
"Quiet." Mona shushed them.
Remaining quiet, the Thieves heard a voice from the balcony directly above them.
"Father has been successful in stamping out another riot it seems." A voice familiar to half the group spoke, "At this rate, I doubt I'll have much to quell when I inherit the Kingdom."
"Weiss..." Mona whispered, "At least a cognition."
"And with General Winter Schnee supporting us we can rule over the other Kingdoms through Dust alone." The Cognitive Weiss said, "And once that's done I'll finish what father started, I'll see to it that all the Faunus seeking jobs are slowly made extinct as the inferior race they are, just as father wanted."
The sound of wood hitting marble was heard before the sound of a door opening and closing filled the room.
"The hell is wrong with that man?" Skull grumbled at the insanity they were hearing.
"The Cognitive realm truly frightens me at times." Fox said, "A Person's true nature unbound and unmasked for all to see."
"Never has the phrase, 'The Truth is Ugly' ever meant so much." Joker mused as the group walked into the next room.
The room was filled with only a Chest, and a table with a half played Chess game on it, one that was in a much more sensible size.
Joker walked over to the chest, but noticed it was sealed shut with no lock.
"No luck huh?" Oracle asked, "I'm willing to bet the door is locked too."
"It is." Noir confirmed, pulling on the door opposite of them.
Joker then went over to the chess game on the table and looked at it. He may not be as familiar with the rules of Chess as he was Shogi, but he knew the movement limits of the Pieces.
And right now the Black King was in check with three different ways it could move and still be in check.
"Maybe we have to win this in order to proceed." Mona said looking at the board.
"How?" Skull asked, "I may not know much about chess, but the Blacks are looking pretty damn screwed over right now."
Joker remained silent as he looked at the board, the King was in the back behind three pawn so it couldn't evade to the side, and the Queen was in the back row with a pawn in attacking range.
Then he remembered one of the rules of chess a fair number of people forgot about. Promotion.
"Pawn takes Queen." Joker said knocking over the White Queen with the Black Pawn, "Pawn Promotes to Queen."
In a flash the Black Pawn changed into a Black Queen, "Checkmate." Joker said.
In response, the sound of a lock clicking could be heard throughout the room.
"Dude, where did you learn that rule from?" Skull asked.
"I looked it up after playing a few games of Shogi with Hifumi, I started to wonder about the similarities between it and Chess and found this trick in the Chess Rules." Joker explained.
"Failing to take care of a piece as weak as the pawn resulted in a powerful foe that could defeat anything." Fox mused at how poetic that almost sounded.
Joker walked back over to the chest and this time it flung open with ease, "Let's see." Joker mused reaching inside before pulling out a 1,000 Lien card and a few Blank Cards for Fox to work his skills on.
"We could find some good use for this." Panther grinned, "Let's keep moving."
They stepped out of the mini chess room and entered a hallway, lined with large windows. Joker looked out the nearest one and grinned before breaking the latch on it.
"What was that for?" Queen asked, a little surprised by the sudden action.
"Shortcut back up." Joker explained pointing out the window, as it showed that the window was overhanging several ledges that the Phantom Thieves could use as steps.
"I see." Fox said with a nod, "That would definitely be helpful."
The group turned back to the hallway and noticed an elevator at the back of it, guarded by a pair of Shadows.
"Looks like we'll have to fight these guys." Oracle noted, "You guys ready?"
"Always." Joker said pulling out his pistol and running toward the Shadows.
"Intruders!" They shouted in unison and began to burst into black goop.
[P5 OST: Last Surprise]
The goop burst up once again to reveal three figures.
Two of them looked human, black haired boys with bowl cut hair, their pale faces covered mostly by blue scarves, wearing white armor, with yellow capes and holding spears. Setanta, two of them.
The third figure was larger than the Setanta's, with golden, angular skin, and a muscular build, holding a dual ended club and wearing bed shorts. A Kin-Ki.
"Kin-Ki and Two Setana's." Oracle said, "You remember their weaknesses?"
"Milady!" Noir shouted tearing off her mask, summoning her Persona, "Mapsidyne!"
A burst of colorful waves pelted Kin-Ki and the Setana's, striking their shared weakness and bringing them to their knees.
"All out attack!" Joker called out.
The world turned to a dark red as the seven thieves were left unaffected before leaping into the air. The scene then shifted to the silhouette of the Shadows as they were bombarded by attacks coming from seven unidentifiable black blurs darting in and out to attack them.
The scene then made a severe shift, a fancy table with a teapot and chair fell from above, with Noir taking a spin to take a seat on the chair, a cup of tea in her hand as she lift it to take a sip.
"Coup De Grâce" Noir declared as the background shifted to show large flowers as black blood sprayed from the Shadows.
-Adieu-
[P5 OST: King, Queen, and Slave,]
The table and chair dissolved as the group sped past where the Shadows were and into the elevator.
"Where does that chair and table even come from?" Skull muttered as the elevator went up.
[]
The elevator stopped and opened up to reveal a large room that had a room in the center of it, two lines of columns on both sides of the door to the smaller room intended to keep things in a line.
"The Treasure's in that room, I can feel it." Mona said excitedly.
"Let's see if we can find another way in there." Joker said looking around, then he noticed that there were rows of columns on either side of the smaller room, each one shorter as the line moved further away, with vent openings at the top of the highest columns, "Up there." He pointed out.
"Man this is just too easy." Mona said grinning.
Moving around to the lowest of the columns, which was on the opposite site of the room from the door, the Phantom Thieves began to hop along the columns and soon managed to crawl into the vents.
On the other side of the vents the Thieves found themselves on scaffoldings, which were high enough to reach the ceiling of the room... of which there was a giant portrait of Jacques painted on.
"There." Oracle pointed out, pointing at just behind the crystal Throne that dominated the otherwise empty room, which stood in front of a balcony.
Just behind the throne was a shimmering glow that gave off rainbow colors.
"The Treasure~" Mona breathed in awe, "Well, that's our infiltration route taken care of."
"Agreed." Joker said as the group left the room, "Let's head back home and call it a night."
[P5: Victory]
[[Infiltration Log]]
[Infiltrated Castle Gardens]
[Obtained Front Gate Key]
[Infiltrated Castle]
[Found a Safe Room]
[Infiltrated Castle Library]
[Found a Safe Room]
[Defeated Cognitive Winter]
-New- [Solved Chess Puzzle]
-New- [Opened Shortcut]
-New- [Infiltrated Throne Room]
-New- [Secured Infiltration Route]
[[]]
Well folks, that's the chapter.
Sorry if it seemed short, but after I had that little Chess Puzzle done I just got so excited for the next chapter to write.
Plus I didn't really have too many idea's for the rest of the Palace other that just fighting Shadows, which just like in the game, gets boring after a while, cool de-masking or not.
Anyway, next chapter is... well.
Calling Card and Shadow Jacques Boss fight, I hope I can focus on those to make both of them good.
But for now I'm going to bed, it's f**king 1 in the morning I'm dead tired.