7/29 Friday

After proper preparation, the gang returned to Futaba´s Palace, they got out of the van

-¨Hey, we´ve changed into our phantom thief costumes¨ Ann said

-¨That proves she see us as a threat now¨ Morgana pointed out ¨Let´s be careful! ¨

-¨Let´s begin our beautiful work¨ Yusuke said and they all went inside of the pyramid


Once inside, they went to the staircase and saw that it was blocked by a big door

-¨So it still won´t open. We might just have to give up on it¨ Morgana said

-¨No point sittin´ around though. Whaddya wanna do, Joker? ¨ Ryuji asked

Ren grabbed his chin ¨Looking for another entrance¨

-¨Not a bad idea. Considering how humongous this building is, there have to be other ways in¨ Morgana said

-¨We will have to investigate every suspicious place we see, both inside the pyramid and out¨ Yusuke said

-¨Ugh, outside…!?¨ Ryuji groaned ¨You mean we have gotta deal with that heat!?¨

-¨No complaining¨ Makoto said ¨Let´s begin our investigation right away¨

They went to the exit, until

-¨Are you leaving? ¨ a voice asked, they turned around and there it was Shadow Futaba ¨Come back here. Let´s talk for a moment¨

They went towards her

-¨Welcome back. I had thought I would never see you again¨

-¨We´re only here ´cause we gotta be! I can´t believe you tried to drop a boulder on us! ¨ Ryuji complained ¨You want us to steal your goddamn Treasure or not? ¨

-¨Hm? Why don´t we make a deal? You wish to proceed further, yes? ¨

-¨A deal, you say? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨There is a town nearby. I would like you to take back that which the bandit there stole from me¨

-¨Oh yeah, I think I remember seeing a town a town on the way here¨ Ann pointed out

-¨If you bring back what was stolen back to me; I will give you a reward. I´ll even tell you how to proceed¨

-¨Can´t you tell us any more details? Anything about this bandit, or what was stolen? ¨ Makoto asked

-¨You´ll learn the information you need to know once you arrive¨

-¨We´ll need to head outside if we want to go to the town. We can go when you are ready, Joker¨ Makoto said

They left the pyramid and Morgana drove them to the town


-¨We´ve arrived. This has to be the city Futaba´s Shadow mentioned¨ Morgana said

-¨Thieves stealing stuff from another thieve, huh? That´s quite the irony¨ Ann said

-¨Meh, we are six and based on what the Shadow said, it is only one bandit, this would be piece of cake¨ Ryuji said

-¨Don´t you think you are pushing our luck? ¨ Makoto asked

-¨I agree with Skull, besides, is just another guy that we got to steal from, not so hard¨ Ren said

-¨If you say so¨ Makoto said a bit unsure

They begin to explore the town, until arriving to a square

-¨Hey, guys. You lookin´ for something? ¨ somebody asked

They turned around and saw a Shadow covered with robes and a saw

-¨Heh, I thought I heard someone rustling around out here… and here y´ all are. Welcome to the desert, fellow trader¨

-¨Hm? What does he mean by trader? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨We don´t care about your welcomes. You´re a bandit, right? Just cough up the thing you stole¨ Ryuji said

The bandit let out a chuckle ¨Ha! Well ain´t this interesting. A group of criminals coming after a fellow trader¨

Yeah, we were discussing the irony a moment ago¨ Ren thought

-¨Well, you´re gonna have to catch me if you want it¨ and the bandit run away

-¨Wait…! ¨ Ann yelled, she glared at Ryuji ¨Ughhh, you just had to scare him off, Skull! ¨

-¨Me!?¨ Ryuji asked outraged

-¨We´ll have time to talk later¨ Makoto said ¨Let´s get after him¨

They began to chase the bandit, finding him in an alley

-¨Hey, I said wait! ¨ Ryuji yelled ¨We´re¨

-¨You´re too slow, moron. You´ll never catch me at this rate¨ the bandit mocked and run away again

-¨He ran off again! Hurry up and catch him, fast! ¨ Morgana yelled

They kept chasing it

-¨Hahaha, you tired already? What a bunch of losers… Grave- robbing is a game of stamina, you know? ¨ the bandit laughed at them and escape for the third time

-¨He sure likes to play hide and seek¨ Ren said a bit annoyed

-¨We´ll never catch him if we do nothing but follow his path… We should corner him somewhere¨ Makoto suggested

-¨Corner him? But how? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨Let´s use that square from earlier. We can sneak around him and trap him in there! ¨

They went through different alleyways, this cause the bandit to entered into the square

-¨Yo bandit! What´s the matter? Not runnin anymore? ¨ Ryuji asked with sarcasm

The bandit clench his fist ¨Don´t even think about coming´one step closer¨

-¨Give us what you stole¨ Ren said

-¨Heh, don´t be ridiculous. You´ve gotta let me go, I mean, you guys came to raid that tomb too, right? Why don´t we work together and share the plunder? ¨

-¨Don´t talk to us like we´re the same as you! We came here to save Futaba-chan¨ Ann said

-¨So you wanna do this no matter what, huh? Well, in that case… I guess I don´t have a choice! ¨

The Shadow transformed, revealing a giant bird like creature dressed as a pharaoh

-¨Figures as much, let´s get started. Persona! ¨ Ren called Arsene, the gentleman wrapping the enemy with dark energy, causing damage

The bird made a shriek and released a wind attack against the trickster, who withstood it

-¨Persona! ¨ Makoto called her Persona, using Frei, she create a little explosion

-¨This is my other self ¨ Yusuke called Goemon and released ice fragments against the enemy

-¨Whoop them Persona! ¨ Ryuji called his Persona and electrocute the creature

The Shadow used an attack that wrapped Makoto with pinkish orbs, brainwashing her

-¨Queen got brainwashed! ¨ Morgana warned

She look to her side, she saw the enemy and try to punch it ¨Out of my way! ¨

But it wasn´t the Shadow, it was actually Ren

-¨Queen, snapped out of it! ¨ He yelled, dodging her attacks

-¨Hang in there! ¨ Ryuji used a paper fan and hit her on the head, hoping that would get her back to her senses

-¨Huh? ¨ she came back to herself ¨What?!¨

-¨Oh good, you are back¨ Ryuji said

-¨Are you all right? ¨ Ren asked

-¨Y-Yeah, but what happened? ¨

-¨Tell you later, we have a battle to win¨

-¨R-Right¨

-¨Persona! ¨ Yusuke used his Persona and dealt more damage

-¨Captain Kidd! ¨ Ryuji called Captain Kidd and used a strong blow, causing the Shadow to be confused

The creature tried to use another brainwashing attack, but nothing happened

-¨This is it! ¨ they all performed an All-Out Attack

-¨This will end it! ¨ Morgana said

After dealing several blows at full speed, Ren adjust his gloves and said ¨Who is out of stamina now?! ¨

-¨We won! ¨ Ryuji exclaimed ¨Oh, he dropped something¨ they got a papyrus

-¨Is this… some kind of papyrus parchment? It looks like there´s something written inside¨ Morgana said

-¨Hey, no peeking at a girl´s belongings without her permission! ¨ Ann said

-¨Y´know, just what the hell´s happenin in her heart? ¨ Ryuji asked ¨There´s this bandit, those weird voices saying ¨you killed her¨ and who knows what else. It´s a total freaking mess¨

-¨Futaba´s supposed to be the queen of this Palace, but even she can´t control it? ¨ Ann asked

-¨I don´t know… I´ve never seen a case like this¨ Morgana said

-¨Regardless, we have no more business in this city. Shall we head back, Joker? ¨ Yusuke asked

They left the town, while driving through the desert, Makoto spoke

-¨Excuse me Joker, but can I ask you something? ¨

-¨What is it? ¨

-¨Just what happened during that battle? Some of my memories are cloud, one thing I remember getting attacked by the enemy and next thing; you are in front of me all agitated¨

-¨… Nothing you should worry¨ he waved off the topic

-¨If you say so¨

Ren was worry, it was bad to lie her, but if he told her that she tried to attack her, nobody knows how she would react


Back at the pyramid, the group encountered with Shadow Futaba

-¨We´re back¨ Ryuji said ¨This is the thing you said they stole, right? ¨

-¨Well done. It is yours now¨

-¨Wait, what? ¨ Ann asked confused ¨Didn´t you want us to get it back because it was important? ¨

-¨That is a map of the tomb, stolen by the bandit to aid in his ransacking of this place¨

-¨Why are you letting them just do whatever they want? This is your Palace, isn´t it? ¨ Makoto asked

-¨All that matters is that map is now yours. Just come further in and… Oh¨

The pyramid shook

-¨What in the? ¨ Yusuke said

Shadow Futaba disappeared

-¨Huh? Futaba-chan disa¨ Ann said but

The floor under them opened

-¨Goddammiiiiiiiit! ¨ Ryuji yelled as they fell

They landed on quicksand, swimming with all their might, they manage to get out

-¨Hey, you guys still alive? ¨ Ryuji asked while panting

-¨Oww¨ Ann complained ¨First a boulder, then this… Did we piss her off somehow? ¨

-¨I don´t think it has anything to do with us angering her¨ Morgana said ¨I suspect the problem is that she can´t control her instinct to push people away from her¨

-¨A simple defense mechanism¨ Makoto wondered ¨Considering what she´s been through, I don´t blame her for mistrusting others¨

-¨Joker, let´s save her! We´ve gotta help Futaba-Chan open the door to her heart! ¨ Ann said

-¨Of course¨ he replied

-¨I have no objections, but we should worry about ourselves first and foremost. Come on, let´s look for a way back above ground. Otherwise this place is going to end up our tomb too¨ Morgana said

They began to go upwards, and after securing an alternative entrance, they found another way blocked by a powerful Shadow

-¨Welp, we got our way out. Now can we kick that thing´s ass!?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Here we go¨ Ren said

-¨Brace yourselves. This is definitely no normal enemy! ¨ Morgana warned

They approach the Shadow

-¨FOOLISH GRAVE ROBBERS. YOU HAVE ENRAGED THE GUARDIANS OF THIS PLACE. HENCE, THERE SHALL BE NO PATH FORWARD FOR YOU, IT IS TIME YOU PERISH! ¨ The Shadow exclaimed

-¨Wanna bet? ¨ Ren asked with a smirk

The Shadow transformed into a coffin, it got its hand out of it and throw a spell, transforming Ann into a mouse

-¨Panther´s a mouse now! ¨ Morgana yelled worry ¨Oh, she doesn´t stand a chance like that! ¨

-¨Joker, we should get its attention, hopefully that transformation is only temporal¨ Makoto said

-¨Understood, Persona! ¨ Ren summon his vigilante Arsene and throw an ice attack to the coffin

-¨Persona! ¨ Makoto ride her bike and used a nuclear attack

-¨This is my other self! ¨ Yusuke called Goemon and used an ice attack as well

The Shadow used a spell and called a naked half woman and half snake creature

Can´t fight on your own, huh?¨ Ren thought ¨Let´s go! ¨ he used an ice attack agains the snake-like thing, knocking it off balance

-¨Whoooaaa! Looking cool, Joker! ¨ Morgana congratulated him

He then used another ice attack against the coffin

-¨I´ll use my Persona! ¨ Makoto used Vajra Blast, creating a big explosion that damage both enemies

-¨Persona! ¨ Yusuke once again attack with ice pieces to the Shadow snake, but the creature used some sort on spell and drain energy from Ann

-¨Panther, hang in there! ¨ Morgana yelled

-¨Persona! ¨ Ren called Arsene and used an ice attack once more, gaining the advantage ¨There! ¨ he used Media to heal his teammates

Ann returned to her normal form

-¨Ugh, you little! ¨ she used a fire attack against the coffin

Yusuke took out his gun and shoot to it

The Shadow called two more snake-like creatures

-¨Let´s go! ¨ Ren used bufu on the two snakes ¨You are mine! ¨ he proceed to use a wind attack against the coffin, knocking it off balance

-¨Do it! ¨ they performed an All-Out Attack, destroying the two snakes and the coffin took quite the damage

-¨Johanna! ¨ Makoto used another nuclear attack, followed by Ann who used another fire attack and then Yusuke proceed to use another ice attack

The Shadow fell to the ground, it appeared to be defeated

-¨Is it over? ¨ Yusuke said

Makoto got closed to it, suddenly the creature got up and catching her off guard, it threw a spell to her

-¨Queen! ¨ Ren pushed her out of the way and got hit by the spell, turning into a mouse

-¨Joker! ¨ Makoto yelled worry

-¨Let´s take this asshole down! ¨ Ryuji exclaimed angry

The others performed an All-Out Attack on their own, defeating the creature for good this time

-¨Now is over! ¨ Ann exclaimed

-¨What a low trick, pretending to be defeated¨ Yusuke said

-¨Are you all right Queen? ¨ Morgana asked her

-¨Yes, I am fine, but…¨ she looked at Ren, who was still a mouse ¨Joker is still a mouse¨

-¨For real? But we took that thing down! ¨ Ryuji said

-¨It should be fine, I mean, I returned to normal¨ Ann said

-¨That´s a good point, but we should move out before more enemies appears¨ Yusuke said

-¨Let´s take him outside for now, it is much safer there, does that sound good, Joker? ¨ Morgana said

Mouse Ren nod his head

-¨Here, let me help you¨ Makoto bend down and put both of her hands on the floor, the mouse got into them ¨Let´s go¨

They began to head out for the exit, Makoto looked at Mouse Ren and she noticed that he was scratching his little ear; she thought it was cute and blushed a bit


Once outside, she lowered Mouse Ren in the sand

-¨Now let´s wait, it shouldn´t take that long¨ Ryuji said

And they wait and wait, seconds became minutes and after an hour, nothing happened, Mouse Ren was stretched at the sand, the heat affecting him more than the others

-¨Ok, what the hell is goin on? ¨ Ryuji asked pissed

-¨I… I don´t know¨ Morgana said worry

-¨You guys don´t think he is going to stay like that forever, right? ¨ Ann asked nervous

-¨We defeat the Shadow, so why? ¨ Yusuke wondered

Makoto was getting worry, what if it was her fault that Ren stays like that forever?

-¨This can´t be happening¨ she said ¨What are we gonna tell boss? ¨ she covered her mouth concerned

-¨He barely leaves me live there, a rat in a restaurant doesn´t sound like a good idea¨ Morgana said

-¨Mona, don´t think about eating him or anything! ¨ Ryuji said

-¨That is a misconception about cats and I am quite offended by that¨

Makoto bend down next to Mouse Ren ¨Joker…¨ she took him on his hands ¨This my fault¨

Everybody looked worry at her

-¨I´ll take him to my house, at least until we figured out something¨

Suddenly, a cloud of steam came out of her hands, she felt them going heavier, and now in front of her, there it was Ren back to normal, being hold by his hands and back

-¨J-Joker! ¨ Makoto said surprised

-¨You are back! ¨ Ryuji said

-¨Are you ok? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨Y-Yeah, although I have the urge of eating cheese¨ he said half joking

-¨I am sorry Joker, this is because of me¨ Makoto said ashamed

-¨It´s fine, I am back to normal, which is all that matters¨

-¨No, is not that simple, I left my guard down so easily¨ she left him go ¨Let´s just keep moving, I´ll make up for this, I promise¨

He let out a sigh ¨You hear her, let´s go¨


They went back inside and returned where the battle took place and entered a room where there was a giant ballista and a button as well

-¨What´s this thing, some kinda button? ¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Think before you go touching that, OK? It might be a trap¨ Morgana said ¨Although, I´m curious about it myself¨

-¨Let´s press it¨ Ren said

-¨As they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Very well¨ Makoto said

Ren pushed the button and the ballista fired an arrow that made a big hole in one of the walls, from which a light came out and illuminate the door, they went to check and fortunately, it opened

-¨Oh, hey! It´s open! ¨ Ann exclaimed happy

-¨So shining light upon the door is what caused it to unlock¨ Yusuke said

-¨Wait, doesn´t that mean we can open the door at the great stairs the same way?!¨

-¨That´s a definite possibility ¨ Makoto said ¨In any case, we should push on¨

They continue exploring the chamber, finding two orbs on two Anubis statues and they arrived to a room where there was a big board reflecting light

-¨Hey, is that? ¨ Ryuji said while pointing with his finger

-¨The door to the great stairs! That means we are directly above where we ended up after coming through the front entrance¨ Yusuke pointed out

There were two little pedestals; Ren put the orbs in both of them

The two walls near the reflecting board emanating light move and it now aimed to the door, unlocking it

-¨All right, we got it! ¨ Ryuji exclaimed

-¨So shining light upon it is what causes to open. That is the same as the door underground¨ Yusuke added

-¨We can´t rest on our laurels though¨ Makoto said ¨Let´s stay cautious and proceed forward¨

They climbed down and headed to the door, which opened for them, so they went upstairs

-¨Hrm? ¨ Morgana wondered ¨This feeling… Maybe there´s a safe room…¨

They check it and indeed there was a safe room

-¨Let´s take a break¨ Morgana said

They all took seats

-¨How are you all holding up? ¨

-¨I am sorry, but I am starting to lose focus¨ Makoto said

-¨Same here¨ Ann said

-¨I still have energy to spare, maybe we should switch teammates¨ Morgana suggested

-¨Count me in! ¨ Ryuji said

-¨No, I can still go on¨ Makoto said

-¨I don´t think that would be wise Queen¨ Yusuke said

-¨But¨

-¨I will have to agree with Fox, Mona and Skull will join the front lines, Queen and Panther will cover our backs¨ Ren said

Makoto sighed ¨Very well¨

After some minutes, they began to head out, but

-¨Queen, hold on a moment, I need to discuss something with you¨ Ren said

-¨Huh? ¨ Makoto was confused

-¨Can you guys wait outside¨ he asked the others

-¨Very well, but don´t take too long¨ Morgana said

Once the others were outside of the Safe Room, Ryuji talked

-¨What do you think they are going to talk? ¨

-¨I have no idea¨ Yusuke said

-¨What do you think Panther? ¨ Ryuji asked her

-¨Who knows¨ she shrugged

-¨Those two have been acting weird around each other, what is going on between them? ¨

-¨Don´t pry into other people privacy, Skull¨ Morgana said

Ann let out a giggle

-¨What´s so funny Panther? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨Oh, it´s nothing¨

Meanwhile, with Ren and Makoto

-¨What is wrong Joker? ¨

-¨Are you all right? Be honest

She let out a sigh ¨I just wish I wasn´t slowing you down¨

-¨Queen, don't worry about what happened before¨

-¨No, it was a call of attention, I need to push myself harder¨

Ren sighed, he understood why she was like this, she finally has the chance to help people, feel herself useful, but she didn´t want her to burn herself

-¨Queen, what are we? ¨

Makoto was surprised of that question ¨The Phantom Thieves? ¨

-¨Yes, Phantom Thieves, plural, we are a team, we don´t have to do everything on our own¨

-¨Joker¨ she looked down to the floor

Ren grabbed her hand

-¨Come on, you can´t let a little mistake depressed you, you are Queen, you can do anything¨ he knee down ¨Please your highness, join you humble servant and aid him on his quest¨

Makoto let out a laugh ¨With words like that, I suppose I can´t say no, very well, I will grant you my aid, my humble servant¨

-¨Great¨ he got up ¨Let´s go¨

He began to head to the exit

-¨Joker¨ Makoto said

-¨What is it? ¨

-¨Th-Thank you very much, for being for me¨

-¨Anytime my lady¨ he bowed

And both reunite with the others and began to explore the following chamber


After solving some challenges, they arrived to a room where there was another reflecting board

-¨There´s some kind of control panel here. Should we try doing something with it? ¨ Makoto asked

Ren pressed the panel and a picture appeared in a board hanging in the wall

-¨Is this… some kind of picture? ¨ Ann asked

-¨Odd. The design seems to be scrambled somehow¨ Yusuke pointed out

-¨Maybe it´s kinda like a puzzle? Joker, can you change the picture? ¨ Ann asked

Ren began to move the different parts of the picture and after some work, he put them on their proper place

-¨Ohh! It´s together! ¨ Ryuji exclaimed

-¨What´s this picture of? ¨ Ann asked

-¨This adult seems to be reading something to a crying child? ¨ Yusuke asked concerned ¨Hm, the emotions of the artist are often depicted in the art they produce… I can sense… serious pain harbored in her heart¨

-¨I should never have had Futaba¨ an adult voice said

-¨Is that voice coming from the mural? ¨ Makoto asked

-¨She was always such a bother¨ the voice said ¨It seems you caused your mother a great deal of trouble. Futaba-chan. She must have had some kind of maternity neurosis¨

The reflecting board moved and aimed to the picture, the light made the picture disappear and it aimed to the following door of the great stairs, unlocking it

-¨What was that? ¨ Ann asked surprised

-¨Based on its contents, it sounded almost like a suicide note¨ Makoto said

-¨Could that be what Futaba remembers of her mother´s suicide? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨But that´s a fuckin´ sick thing to do to a kid if that´s really how it all went down¨ Ryuji said angry

The gang climbed down and went to the door, they found another Safe Room, they decided to stop for the day and returned to the real world, once back, they went their separate ways


Later that night, Ren was sleeping, until his phone ringed

-¨Ngh, who can it be at this hour? ¨ Morgana asked a bit annoyed

Ren checked his phone and saw that it was a message from Makoto

Makoto: Sorry to disturb you, but there´s a movie that won´t be in theaters for much longer, it´s called ¨Like a Dragon¨, you know, the one by that famous director, it´s a summer special feature, and I´ve been curious about it for a while. I know we haven´t finish with Futaba´s Palace but, want to take this chance and go see it?

Ren: Let´s go

Makoto: Thanks! Let´s meet in front of the movie theater in Shinjuku

Ren: Ok, see you tomorrow, Good night

Makoto: Good night

-¨Oh, you two are going to a movie? ¨ Morgana sked with a teasing tone ¨And later you say that nothing is happening between the two of you¨

Ren was tired and a bit annoyed, so he opened his window

-¨W-What are you doing? ¨ Morgana was terrified

-¨You must be tired, you should go to sleep¨

He grabbed Morgana and threw him out through the window

-¨Good night¨

And he went back to sleep


And that is the end for now, the infiltration begans and Ren as always is there for her lady and likewise, what would happen in the next chapter? Let´s just say thing will get steamy

Also, I must apologize for taking so long in this chapter, I have exams to attend to, meaning that I have to study, but with that in mind, i have to announce you all that i am starting classes at college again, so updates will take longer than usual, I will do my best to update on the weekends but keep in mind this, but don´t worry, i won´t give up on this story, we are getting to the end of it, no matter what

And great news, we have passed the 10000 views and I must say ¨This is so fucking cool¨ I can´t thank you enough guys for your support, you people are the reasonwhy I keep writing, it makes my day better knowing that you are enjoying my work, thank you very much and hope we can still go through this together, thank you very much

Special shotout to PRemington900 for his help, I owe you a lot man, go check his work, is really great

As usual, thank you for reading, leave any revies or send me a PM and I will gladly answer

See you next time

Peace