Chapter 21
Never See It Coming
Location: New York, USA. Near Central Park
Date: Friday, April 30th, 2182. Early Afternoon Cloudy
Deadline: 18 Days until the election….
Charles Saracino, the 'everyman politician', a known proponent among the Terra Firma followers, was not happy as he stormed up to his apartment building in the middle of New York City. While he'd been able to largely avoid any awkward questions thanks to all of his connections and a 'need for privacy in this trying time' as he waved his still injured arm around, it'd still taken the better part of his morning just to get back to his building. Despite his still lingering anger at the fact his home had been so blatantly violated, his privacy so obviously infringed upon, he did his best to put his normally ever present smile onto his face as he walked through the front doors. Nodding respectfully towards the thankfully human woman working the front desk, Charles sighed, only to pause when his nose detected a hint of coffee in the air.
Normally he didn't much care for coffee, but something about this particular blend appealed to him as he turned to see Julia Burman sipping at a glass. "Is there a new coffee shop in town I don't know about Julia?" Charles asked as the brunette woman looked up, looked down towards her glass, and smiled as she beckoned him over.
"There's actually some new folks just down the hall from you, nice guy by the name of Sojiro gave me a cup on his way out this mornin'." Julia explained, earning a thoughtful smile from the man.
"Huh, I might have to steal that from you then if it tastes half as good as it smells." Julia chuckled warmly and made to shield her cup of coffee as if he had already made a grab for it, with Charles laughing warmly as he turned away.
"Get your own boss." She retorted as he made his way towards the elevators that would take him up to his apartment. He couldn't wait to get back to his estate for a few days before the election was over, but Julia's company at least had put him in a better mood.
Even when a beautiful blonde bumped into him on her way off the lift, earning a hurried apology as she reached up towards him even as she fell backwards. A hand was on hers before she could fall completely, pulling her upright so quickly that her momentum reversed and she ended up falling into his chest. Blushing furiously, Charles quickly if gently pushed her back as she pushed away, her own pale skinned cheeks as red as her blazer. "I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going!"
"It-It's alright ma'am." Charles stuttered, at a rare loss for words as he drank in the tall, leggy blonde with her pale blue eyes before remembering himself. With a shake of his head, he coughed into his fist and said, "The fault's mine. I've...had a bit of a rough morning and I wasn't paying attention."
"Y-yeah, I heard there was some kinda weird break-in, was that place yours?"
"Yes it was." Charles sighed, stopping the elevator door from sliding closed by sticking his good hand in front of the door's sensor. "I'm just glad nobody was hurt, but I've yet to see if the would be thieves stole anything."
"That's funny, I thought I saw someone with a fresh bruise on their face being taken to the hospital." The blonde mused, earning a puzzled shrug from Charles since, while his personal guard had indeed limped out with the cops this morning, he hadn't exactly been forthcoming about how he'd had a paw print sized bruise on his cheek. Seemingly satisfied by his confusion in any event, the blonde backed away with a wave. "Well, good luck! Sorry for nearly toppling you over."
"It's alright. What's your name? And I swear it's not an attempt at a cheesy pickup line!" Charles called out, earning an amused snort from the blonde.
"I might tell you later, provided you don't try to sweep me off my feet again!" She teased, leaving the building with a wave. Charles, despite himself, couldn't help but chuckle at her remark as he finally began his way up to his apartment, having no idea Ann had stolen his ID.
"That was fast." Yusuke mused as Ann doubled back, bypassing the alarm on the fire escape thanks to Futaba's having hacked the building's security. Holding out his hand towards her, she deposited the stolen ID card into it where the master artist immediately set to work in scanning it, both for his own efforts into forging a perfect copy of the man's card, but also for Futaba's digital efforts in the same effort. "This will do nicely."
"Thanks, now if you don't mind, I need to have a very hot shower after putting my hands all over that sleazebag." Yusuke chuckled at that even if their mutual disgust was all to apparent on both of their faces as Ann walked away.
It took only a few minutes to get it copied and scanned, whereas Charles was delayed further by a number of 'innocent bystanders' blocking his path once he reached his desired floor only after Futaba allowed the elevator to actually get there, for Sae to be making her way out of their place only to 'bump' into the man. "My apologies. Oh, I think you dropped this." Sae said as she bent down to 'pick up' his original ID.
"Huh? Oh, thank you." Charles smiled, completely unaware he'd been duped twice in as many minutes as he reached out to take the offered card, only to frown when she held it just out of his reach as she read the name. Recognition dawned on her face as she soon turned her sharp, reddish brown eyed gaze upon him.
"Terra Firma's current president. I wasn't aware I had moved into the same building, let alone the same floor, of such a prominent public figure." She said as she handed over the card without further delay. "I hear you're set to run in the next Parliamentary election in a little over two weeks."
"That's the plan, but I have some stiff competition miss…" He trailed off, silently asking for a name to go with the much darker blonde woman's pretty face.
Nodding minutely, she waved a hand through one side of her hair, pushing it back over her shoulder. "Sae Nijiima, I'm currently a law student. Most of my family's been in law in some capacity or another, so it's only natural I'd take an interest in becoming a DA."
"I see. Maybe I'll have a reason to hire you if you become a big enough success once you graduate."
"You'd never be able to afford me." Sae chuckled, but something in her voice made Charles wonder if there was more behind her little smile than appearances suggested. Bidding her a kind farewell in any event, Sae only then noticed once he'd gone into his apartment that she'd been burying her nails into the skin of her palm. With a sigh, she saw she hadn't broken the skin, but only just as she left the hallway in turn, just in time to see Futaba look up from her spot on the couch with a devilish grin on her face. "I take it you saw that whole exchange."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Futaba stated, feigning complete innocence before just as quickly shattering any hope that Sae hadn't been watched, "Way to lay on the charm with that creep by the way, although your hand off could use a bit of work."
"Before I met you all, I'd have never seen myself openly partaking of such a blatant crime, let alone the several i've participated in since this started." Sae countered as she plopped down on the same couch with a sigh, but the small little smile that she'd worn for Charles became far more noticeable as she picked up her stack of datapads she'd been going over for her studies in obtaining a genuine law degree. "But I can see why you all took so readily to this lifestyle. It's...exciting, almost as much as my first case as a defense attorney when Akira needed someone in his corner."
"Just keep in mind why we're doing all this." Makoto said as she sat beside her sister, who only nodded again since nothing else needed to be said about the situation as it stood. She didn't need the reminder in any event, but it felt good, being an active part of their next heist, a sentiment Makoto must have seen on her face as she smiled once she'd gotten comfortable on the couch. "I am looking forward to seeing what happens next though, especially now I have my big sis by my side."
"You did alright without me before now, but I'm happy to be a part of this as well, Makoto. So, how's everyone's studies going?" She asked her sister since it'd been long established she was the one to talk to when it came to the rest of the Phantom Thieves' academic achievements, or lack thereof in at least one person's case as her eyes fell on a blushing, sheepishly grinning Ryuji.
"Hehe, take it easy on 'em Sae-san." Sojiro said as he walked away from the kitchen, the pleasant smell of food wafting around him. "While you're not wrong to ask, most of 'em are pretty good kids, your sister included."
"We might be trying to protect this world and time, but that doesn't mean they should grow lax in their normal, everyday lives." Sae countered, but smiled, assured that they wouldn't let their academic lives go to waste. They'd maintained their mundane lives perfectly during their run in their original time, and astonishingly, her investigation later, more to satiate her curiosity at the time, had revealed the fact that all of the Phantom Thieves had maintained fairly good grades throughout their time together.
"You have nothing to worry about in that regard Sae-senpai." Haru stated as she looked up from her own pile of homework and digital textbooks, smiling brightly from the other couch across from them. "We understand the value of maintaining our seemingly mundane lives, but in truth, we'd be fools to let our grades drop, ruining any chance at a future outside of our Phantom Thievery."
"Ya said it Haru." Ryuji stated even as he sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. "But man, who knew all this galactic history shit would be so complicated! I have no idea how we're supposed to keep all this straight!"
"It is rather complicated, but I find it quite fascinating myself." Yusuke mused as he also went over the homework their professors from the academy had sent given the 'fieldwork' they were doing. That none of the teachers had seemed the least bit suspicious simply proved that all of them were aware of what Amanda Kirijo was up to, at least to some extent, and that they trusted her without hesitation spoke of just how deep her relationships ran with her own people. "I do find it fascinating none of our professors thought it odd we took a 'field trip' for an extended period." Yusuke stated once he'd mulled it over for a time.
"You're tellin' me Inari. Still, I ain't complaining, it's nice to have the profs on our side for a change."
"I think it's more they trust Kirijo-senpai rather than anything we're doing as of this moment Ryuji." Yusuke countered gently, but nodded in agreement despite this as he turned his attention to his work once more. "Still, I am of the same mind. Having the staff aware we're working for Amanda, even if it's in an unofficial capacity, instead of having to hide our movements as we once did, is indeed a nice change of pace."
"Speaking of our future activities," Sae began, drawing everyone's gaze to her even as Sojiro returned to tending to their food, "are we still on for tonight?"
"You mean the plan where we use the cloned ID to get into assbag's place before taking everything that's not nailed down? Far as I know, why?" Ryuji asked.
"I merely wish to be aware of what's happening so I can react appropriately later." Sae hummed quietly in return, her focus on her own work. "I am next door neighbors of sorts with the man after all. Feigning ignorance will be simpler when I have a believable story on my side. There was a reason why I told him I was getting my law degree, after all. Late hours studying, coupled with an irregular sleep pattern, is a common trend among people in my chosen career path."
"So you saying you didn't hear a damn thing b'cause you were out cold would sound reasonable later eh? Not bad Miss Former Prosecutor!" Ryuji crowed, gleeful at how devious their newest member was turning out to be. Sae merely smiled quietly in response, briefly meeting the young man's gaze before returning her attention on what was in front of her. Things had certainly changed quite a bit for all of them if even she was taking a direct part in such criminal activity. But as she'd learned long before now, sometimes it took people like them to take down far worse individuals, especially when they bent and distorted the law to suit their twisted ambitions. Looking down at her own hand, Sae could almost see the armored, leather gloves that had adorned it, and focusing her mind inward, where she could plainly see the Persona she'd awoken within herself.
"I won't lose my way again." She whispered, only to look up when she felt Makoto's hand on her shoulder. Smiling fondly towards her sister, Sae nodded minutely, but it was enough to affirm her convictions in seeing this through to the end.
Nightfall….
Typing away at his private terminal in his office, the same office that had failed to protect his prize, Charles sighed as he prepared his next speech with the input his writers had sent to him after he'd sent them a rough draft while he'd still been laid up in the hospital. He could've paid them to write all of his speeches from start to finish, but he preferred to keep at least some of his work as honest as possible, to maintain the illusion he'd built up of being a hard, honest laborer like countless human people throughout the galaxy. Besides, he was a hard working American, while American had still existed at least as it once had before it'd been assimilated into the Systems Alliance way back when, and more importantly, he wasn't a fool. He knew the dangers the other so called advanced races of the galaxy posed to humanity, even though not everyone would ever agree with him, no matter what such enlightened people as he tried to prove to them the truth of what he knew. He didn't outright hate the aliens, not in the way people often thought he did, although he didn't correct them either, but he firmly believed they had their place, and it sure as Hell wasn't ruling over the vast majority of their current society.
Looking up away from his screen, Charles blinked when he thought he saw a shadow pass by his open door. Despite the fact the shattered window had yet to be replaced pending a further investigation by the police, he'd kept the door open to his office since the breeze that came through was pleasant. Now though he strained his ears, listening for movement that shouldn't be present as he slowly pulled open one of the metallic drawers of his desk before pulling out a sidearm. The polonium ammo modification that he'd had put into his pistol was highly illegal in most civilized space, but Charles didn't feel too bad about using it after the day he'd had. Besides, he was merely protecting his home that someone had already broken into, if the would be thieves had returned, he'd be well within his rights to shoot first and ask questions later. If they happened to die to radiation poisoning before getting to a hospital...well, that wouldn't be on his conscious, now would it?
Yet no one came through the door and the night fell silent again, so as he strained his ears and heard nothing, he began to relax, thinking perhaps he'd merely imagined that shadow. With a sigh he opened up the drawer to put the pistol back into his desk. His hand had just let go of the weapon when a red gloved hand shot out of the darkness, twisting it to the side as another pushed his face into his desk, hard. Pain followed immediately as his cheek slammed into the unyielding surface of his desk, making him see stars, but Charles was cognizant enough to know he was in trouble.
"Mr. Saracino, it's a pleasure to meet you." A mocking, if cultured voice rang out from behind him. Though no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't free himself and the pressure on his skull increased to keep him from moving. "Careful now, I'd like to avoid unnecessary injury. A conversation might be in order, don't you think?"
"Who- Who are you?! Was it you? Are you the asshole who broke into my apartment?!" Charles growled, looking more the part of wounded bear than cultured politician at this point.
"I prefer honored guest." The man behind him told him sardonically and chuckled. "Though that aside I'd like to know a few things… for example, the woman we found in your 'care', where did you find her? She's quite distrusting I am afraid to say."
"I don't know what you're talking abo-OW!"
The increased pressure to his arm behind his back made it clear that the thief wasn't in the mood for whatever cover story Charles had tried to put together. Yet he continued onward as if he hadn't just nearly pulled his arm out of its socket. "Oh? Skull, if you would?" A pair of legs walked through the corner of his vision as an as of this moment unseen partner walked over to the mosaic upon the wall before a moment later, the wall slid apart. They must have gotten his codes somehow he realized with a shudder. "Now, shall we try that again? I am certain the police would find this curious indeed."
"You can't, otherwise you'll just implicate yourselves in the process."
"Maybe, but we'd manage. Whereas you, your career as a 'honest politician' would be shot. So tell me Mr. Saracino, what do you have to lose at this point?"
"I'll tell you nothing! You think this is the first threat I've gotten? I'm still here aren't I? Because I won! Because I'm better! You'll be no different!"
"Ha, funny you should say that… Skull, please take what you can with you, and thank you Mr. Saracino for your gracious gifts of hospitality. I assure you, they won't go to waste. Queen, if you would?"
"Gladly." His eyes looked up just in time to see a black clad leather fist slam into the front of his face. Charles knew nothing else until he woke up in a pool of his own drool several hours later, his head feeling like it was about to split open. Blinking his eyes open he began to look around, his mind still struggling to catch up to what had just happened. His breath grew laboured and his heart raced as he noticed that almost everything was missing. His terminal, his valuables he had kept in the room, the hidden safe behind the picture, and from the open door leading to his secret vault he felt certain that this wasn't the only room where the thieves had struck.
Location: New York, USA. Near Central Park
Date: Saturday, April 31st, 2182. Morning Cloudy
Deadline: 17 Days until the election….
As before, his personal guard, who'd since been moved out of the vault to his own apartment, was out cold, except this time he'd been tied up to a chair in the living room with a fresh paw print bruise on his other cheek. With a growled curse, Charles stormed past the security office, and sure enough, saw that the thieves had made a mess of the rest of his apartment on their way out. And all the while, the Phantom Thieves watched from Futaba's various monitors as he furiously started making calls to everyone on his contact list.
"Ah I love it when a plan comes together!" Haru beamed from over Futaba's right shoulder. "His Palace must have been changed quite a bit by this point with how easily we've violated his sanctuary twice now."
"You know." Sae began and chuckled. "Usually I wouldn't condone what is essentially a terror campaign but… in this case I think I'll let it slide. This is surprisingly cathartic if I'm being honest."
"Welcome to the club Themis." Akira grinned softly as he too paused to take a glance at Futaba's screens before nodding approvingly. "Now we deliver the coup de grace once he returns to his apartment later tonight."
"About time, I've been wanting to blow that place apart since finding that drell woman." Ann hissed between clenched teeth, a flame appearing in her right hand before she was able to reign herself in. "Still, at least I got to tie up that guard after Mona knocked him out cold. I didn't even think you could do that Morgana."
"Hehehehe, that is just one of my many talents now that I can use my power outside the Metaverse." The cat boasted as he happily licked the same paw he'd used to render the guard utterly useless for the entirety of the evening. "Still, did you see that hand cannon Charles pulled out of his desk? That thing's giving me some bad vibes."
"As it should." Sae stated as she pulled up the specs she'd been able to find online, sending the page to the rest of the team's omni-tools without a moment's thought. "Be glad you didn't touch it with your bare hands without first knowing about the radiation mod he's had installed, which is illegal pretty much everywhere outside of the Terminus Systems.
"And yet he managed to get his hands on it. Why am I not surprised?" Queen cursed and clenched her teeth. "So… the plan is to just blow everything up I guess?"
"Quite the contrary, blowing everything up would be counterproductive, we need a controlled blast in his office, big enough to be seen and heard so the police will come running, but not enough to level the place, something… that blows open the doors to his secret hideout would be nice. Once the police comes to check on the reports… well I'm certain they'll be curious, and this will put even more pressure on him." Akira idly observed, feigning innocence where there was clearly none to be found. "If we happen to catch him on the edge of the blast though, that'd just be a bonus at this point."
"And I'm reminded why you were never caught until you actually wanted to be." Sae mused, once more astonished by their sheer level of commitment and dedication to the cause they'd set upon themselves. "Still, I'm not about to argue if it gets results. We don't want to kill him outright though, correct?"
"Indeed, we are up to doing pretty drastic things, but we'd never kill anyone." Akira assured her, which fit with their modus operandi thus far.
"Good, so long as we're on the same page. That does leave the question though, what do we do with everything we took? Well, that you took I should say." Sae corrected herself as she nodded her chin towards Makoto, Ryuji, and Akira specifically.
"Well, we were planning on handing over the evidence to the police, once he confesses and it becomes little more than a formality to prove his guilt, especially since more than a few cops are apparently dirty… As for the rest… I figured we'd sell them somewhere, get us some cash, which then can be used if needed."
"Did you do something like this often?" She already suspected she knew the answer, she just wanted to confirm it.
"Oh yes, you should come to the victory party once we're done with him. We like to do that after we take a target's Treasure." Ann said and grinned at some memory. "The food was sooo delicious last time!"
"Too bad that hotel we partied at after the Kamoshida heist was full of Shido's rich snobs." Ryuji said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Still, I'm already pumped for another victory party at this point! I can practically taste that asari cuisine already….hey Ann, think that one teach would send us more of that stuff?"
"I can always ask I guess, but after we get Saracino's treasure." Ann stated, earning another shrug from the bleach blonde track star for her trouble. "Still, that asari cuisine we had shortly after arriving was pretty good wasn't it?"
"We could always visit Thessia." Futaba suggested with a shrug of her own. "Oh! We could eat at the beach!"
"Could we get back on track?" Sae asked uncertainty as the conversation descended into where and when they could eat what, instead of how to blow up the apartment in question.
"Quiet you, this is important stuff!" Futaba whined, earning an amused smile despite her protests before just as quickly giving a gasp as she rounded on her computer monitors. "Oh! I think I know now why Charles had a batarian over." That certainly got their attention as they quickly ran towards the genius hacker's workstation. Ignoring the crowd at her back, Futaba switched the audio settings so that they could hear what she could through her headphones.
"-on't give me that! I've been made a fool of twice now, and I can't even locate that bitch now because they somehow found the tracking chip your so called scientists had implanted in her long before I bought her. If not for the arrangement we've had, I'd have gladly had you shot instead, Bar'tac. No that wasn't a threat, only a promise that if this falls apart, and I don't get elected, I'll take you down with me since your people were the ones that targeted those human colonies."
"Ha, big words coming from you! Don't think we've forgotten what you did! Even if we are… grateful for the assistance." The voice on the other end of the call growled, the batarian's voice a distinctive rumble even through the speakers on the computer before them.
"I know exactly what I did! I made that choice! A necessary evil! Don't you four eyed bastards dare pretend otherwise! You're a tool, you were useful, but don't think I'll hesitate to toss you aside if that stops! Are we clear?"
"Crystal clear, but once you're sitting as the new head of your government, our 'arrangement' is over. No more shuttle attacks on demand, no more colony raids on your 'order'. We'll do as we should've done from the start."
"Once I am the head of state, you can target asari, frogs, and birds as much as you want. Hell, take krogans if you want, but if you so much as think of touching humans without me giving the okay, I will make you hurt!" With a vicious jerk of his wrist, Charles ended the call.
That left the Phantom Thieves to stare dumbly at what they'd just heard as they put two and two together. "Why do I have the feeling he's responsible for the shuttle attack that left that boy, Adam, without the ability to speak?" Makoto asked once she'd recovered from the initial shock.
"That son of a bitch!" Ryuji roared with outrage, and slammed his fist into the wall, almost cracking it with the force of his blow.
Akira stood silent even as she could see how his eyes grew colder and furious, rage spreading through his body as it began to shake softly. Anger bloomed behind his eyes like a sickness, and like a true sickness it seemed to spread to the other Thieves, and even herself as well. She could practically feel the waves of outrage radiating from them, could feel how she did the same as it felt like burning oil was pumped through her veins. Her hands formed into fists as she began to breathe more erratic, the need to destroy something almost overwhelming in its intensity.
"Ann, do me a favour, blow open his secrets with a bang." Joker ordered his grey eyes shining with inner darkness. "We don't kill… but that doesn't mean that he won't regret this." Ann didn't need to be told twice as she conjured another fireball to her open hand, but it was nothing compared to the fire in her eyes that heralded Hell was about to fall on Charles' lap. "The rest of you, get to the Palace, we find his Treasure, send the card, and by this time tomorrow his Palace will be no more."
"Right!" The others agreed without a moment's thought, even Sae was fully committed in seeing this done. She could feel Atalanta urging her on, to hunt down the beast responsible for this atrocity, and she obliged gladly.
The transition to the Metaverse was barely felt as the huntress got to her feet, her focus on the path ahead as she followed Joker and the rest of the group, minus Panther who had her own chore to take care of first, towards the Palace proper. She didn't slow down as she snapped her bow up and fired at the first Shadow that dared to stand in their way, leaving it a smoldering pile of quickly dissolving shadow stuff at her back. "What?" She asked when she noted the approving looks from her fellows.
"Nothing sis." Queen said entirely too evenly. "I'm just glad that you fit in so well."
"I try to impress." She replied in the same tone, giving a toothy smile beneath her mask. She could see her sister's Persona flicker into being behind her for but a moment, the rest of team showing similar signs of barely concealed anger, and she imagined that she was no different. "Come, we have much bigger game to take care of."
"We can take our time since Panther still needs to blow the roof off of Charles' apartment." Joker retorted only to stop with what he was going to add when the whole world shuddered.
The sky was set ablaze in an inferno worthy of the apocalypse, buildings turned to ash in the mere presence of these flames that fell from the burning heavens above. Countless streets were reduced to rubble, and a horrified shriek went through the world's denizens as their paradise was truly lost at last. "Speak of the devil." Joker quipped, about the same time one of the 'angels' revealed itself in all of its fallen glory as its mask twisted and morphed as it fell, its wings turning to smoldering, skeletal parodies of themselves as its formerly polished, gleaming armor turned twisted and cruel in its design. "You reveal yourself for the fraud you really are." Joker shouted over the chaos that was erupting around them as Charles 'paradise' continued to burn around them, with the 'angels' falling like meteors, all while the city continued to burn.
"You mortal fools!" The devil before them roared, only to blanch as Joker and the rest of the team manifested their Personas in the same instant. "Wh-what the Hell are you?!"
"The last thing you'll ever see." With a simple nod, Themis charged forward. Before the devil could bring his spike covered shield to bear against her, she nimbly ran up his front, kicked off of his face, and flipped through the air away from him. Before she hit the ground though, she had fired three shots into his chest, neck, and right between the eyes before landing in an elegant crouch several feet away. "Not bad Themis."
"You've seen nothing yet." She said, confident, and to her surprise, she knew it to be true. She knew that she could do better than that, she would do better than that. Because every time she went into the Metaverse, she improved, and she was determined to keep it that way.
"Hell yeah, this effin' rocks!" Skull shouted and high fived Mona who jumped up to reach his hand. "Man, hope Panther gets here soon!"
A scream to their right alerted them to someone coming. As they turned down a street that had since become as trashed as the rest of the city, they saw the by now familiar shape of the assassin, his body having been set ablaze like a human torch as he rolled around on the floor in a futile attempt to put out the fire. Panther walked right past him, the flames behind her outlining her impressive figure as she pulled the whip taut between her hands. "Missed me?"
Sae could practically see how Joker's eyes darkened with lust as he fought his desire to rush towards her. "Gods, yes!" He told her, earning a satisfied grin from the blonde who sauntered up to him. The moment she came within reach his right arm shot out, pulling her into him as he pressed his lips into hers, kissing her passionately as the rest of them stood by awkwardly. "Once we're finished with this…" He said, leaving whatever he wanted to say open for interpretation even as Panther nodded eagerly in agreement. That the 'world' was ending around them only made it worse for everyone that had to watch, up until Mona 'coughed' rather loudly to get their attention. "Right. Let's go."
"Finally!" Noir said as she started ahead, her heavy axe dragging behind her with every step. "No offense Joker, but while we're incredibly happy for you and Panther-"
"There's a time and a place for such displays of affection." Fox finished for her, an amused laugh his reward.
"It's not like we plan this…" Joker protested sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "It's just… when I saw her just now… I couldn't help myself."
"Yeah, and that's why you're such a lovable goofball." Panther told him and giggled. "Though I certainly didn't mind…"
"In one ear in, out of the other." Themis sighed and shook her head at the two of them, ignoring their dirty looks she received in response. Looking ahead as they came upon what was left of the path up to the cathedral, Themis was the first to see what their change had wrought as the once glimmering building had turned pitch black, to the point the now gothic horror that laid before them seemed to absorb and bend the very light around it. "Looks like we've stripped away his holier than thou mentality."
"I think I like it better this way." Queen muttered as she looked around. "No more lies, just the truth laid bare."
"The devil's in the details as they say." Fox mused as he took in the upside down cross emblazoned on the front doors that were as monolithic as they'd been before the transformation they'd wrought. "While I doubt he's a true satanist, he's certainly made it clear that he's no angelic being, no matter what he might think of himself even now."
Now that they had stripped away all illusions of grandeur, it was surprisingly easy to find a path through the vast city. The parts that were still standing were excellent indicators for safe rooms and points of interest. In addition to warping the mental landscape, their attack had caused the Shadows to become disorganised. Their leader was panicking, his mind in turmoil, and so were they. Opposition was weak and scattered and they had little trouble in reaching the cathedral itself, that was highlighted with hellish flames that were as black as the building rather than a byproduct of what Ann had done in reality. A bird's eye view of the area would've revealed a pit surrounded with the same hellish fire behind the former church to Charles' 'godhood'. As it was, it simply confirmed what they'd done to shatter the man's 'divinity' completely.
"So, instead of a stairway to heaven, we get a highway to hell?" Joker asked once he'd gotten a good look of everything that had changed, having noticed the glowing stairway through the still crimson clouds had dissolved.
"Ugh, of course you'd say that." Panther groaned while Oracle slapped a hand over her goggle covered face.
"It's just his quippy personality at work." The hacker muttered, just as exasperated as the blonde was.
"Meh, he's got a point though." Skull said with a shrug as he none too subtly kicked the altered cathedral doors open. "Huh, no one home?" He noted as his eyes gazed through the room, though they soon found something of interest. On top of a now bloody altar was the shimmering sheen of a Treasure not yet materialized. "Got ya!" He sang out with an audible grin. That it resided where the statue had once resided didn't escape any of their notices. "Go effin' figure that it'd be hidden in plain sight. We wouldn't have found it even if we had gotten past that assbag's Ruler."
"At least we don't have to go through the entire Palace." Noir stated, her eyes affixed to the shimmering cloud in the center of the central chamber of the altered cathedral.
"So this is the Treasure, and the calling card helps to materialize it?" Themis asked, confirming what Joker had told her during their interrogation discussion.
"Correct." Mona agreed with her and jumped atop of her shoulder and took on the posture of a teacher explaining something to a student. "However, it is always good to remember that the appearance of the Treasure varies depending on the rulers' desire and cause of his distortion, which means that it has a different appearance within the Palace than it will have when we take it with us."
"I see, that actually explains why there was a duplicate Olympic gold medal floating around after Kamoshida had confessed his crimes despite having the original still on his person. So once we force Charles' Treasure to materialize, then whatever its appearance here, it'll change once we take it from the Metaverse, correct?"
"Yep! So, let's g-" Mona didn't get a chance to finish as the floor split apart behind the shimmering cloud, and in a flash of blinding light, Charles appeared once more, except now he was no 'god'. The 'divine being' that had once ruled here, had changed just as much as the landscape had.
The winged devil in front of them was far bigger and much more powerfully built than those they'd crushed before now. A seven foot long trident was clenched tightly in his right hand, its barbed ends wickedly sharp and covered in shimmering crimson. The devil himself looked almost cartoonish in a way as it stared down upon them with unbridled hatred within its burning, yellow eyes, a forked tongue and long, serpent like tail lashing about behind him as it stamped its cloven hooves upon the ground. "You! You've destroyed the Garden of Eden! MY EDEN!"
"You did that yourself." Ann shouted back and stomped hard on the ground as she took a threatening step towards the Shadow. "All we did was pull away the facade, this is the truth of your ambitions!"
"Indeed, your 'paradise' was a horrific mockery of a true utopia!" Fox shouted as his katana flashed out before him as his Persona appeared behind him in the same instant.
"While our time to take you down hasn't yet arrived, rest assured you'll be hearing from us very soon, you devilish fiend!" Noir added while Joker pulled out a smoke orb, a wicked grin on his face.
"I couldn't have said it better myself!" The demonic roar that followed them as they made their retreat was deafening, but unlike the first time, there was a note of genuine panic behind it that was all too audible to the group as they vanished into the smoke Joker had left behind. "I think we've made him angry." Joker mused idly, completely unaffected by the roar that pierced the sky.
"He'll have plenty of time to wonder how he was bested once we finish this." Themis stated matter of factly, but try as she might, she couldn't keep the grin off of her face at having so successfully unnerved the man. "I do have to ask one thing though."
"By all means Themis." Joker agreed without missing a step as they all but flew down the stairs, away from the cathedral.
"I want to write the calling card for this one."
"Done."
"Wait really?"
"Did you expect an argument sis?" Queen asked, she too grinning openly behind her metal mask as she fell in step with her elder sister.
Location: New York, USA. Central Hospital
Date: Sunday, May 1st, 2182. Morning Rainy
Deadline: 16 Days until the election….
"I'm fine!" Charles Saracino hissed impatiently and shooed away the nurse who had come to check on him, staring uneasily at the two detectives who had come to interview him regarding the explosion in his apartment. The very same explosion that had tossed him hard enough into a wall to bruise his ribs. "I don't know what you want me to say, Detectives. I have no idea who would want to see me dead, or why."
"Be that as it may, Mr. Sarracino, we are also interested in this… hidden compartment we found at the blast site. It appears as though the only access point was your office since the front door had been sealed some time ago, and it isn't on any official plans for the building… you can understand why we're curious, can you not?"
"Of course! And I want to know the truth as well! Does that mean that someone was spying on me all this time? Please, I'm as confused by all of this as you are!" He pleaded, mind racing as he tried to think of a way to turn this to his advantage. "I've been robbed, beaten in my own home, and now someone tries to kill me through an explosive that you've yet to discover a trace of."
"I have absolute faith in our forensics on that matter." The older of the two cops declared in his deep voice. "Now abo-" The man was interrupted as Charles' omni-tool began ringing, and the politician in question felt himself break out into a sweat as he was certain that he had set it to silent. "Go on, take it." The detective muttered and leaned back. "Must be pretty important if you kept it on during our interview."
He wanted to disagree, but perhaps he could use this to gain a bit more time or perhaps even the trust of these two fools. So he pressed on the blinking light, a holographic screen opening up immediately. There, an unfamiliar logo greeted him in the shape of what looked like a masked figure, one eye flaming white, wearing a top hat of some kind. Blinking dumbly at the image, Charles began to say, "What the-"
"Charles Saracino." The distorted voice of a woman declared and the two cops listened in intently. "The great sinner of hubris. Your crimes are extensive, ranging from the 'services' you've purchased and paid for with the blood of innocents thanks to your batarian allies, to the 'possession' of an innocent drell woman you kept in your hidden vault. You're a politician who uses his influence to terrorize and silence those who disagree and orchestrate tragedies to fuel your hateful campaign. We have decided to make you confess all of your crimes with your own mouth. We will take your distorted desires without fail. We are the Phantom Thieves of Heart!" With that declaration his omnitool shut down, dead to the world. He stared at the silent tool in confusion and apprehension, failing to understand the gravity of those worlds even as he felt like some part of him understood those words far better than he could even begin to dream of.
"So… Mr. Saracino, what do you say to that?" The younger of the two detectives asked, seemingly genuinely curious though his eyes had sharpened at the words spoken, and he now looked more akin to a bloodhound on a trail.
"I...I honestly don't know." Charles replied, completely at a loss.
Unbeknownst to the two police officers, but not to the Phantom Thieves as they watched the interview now turned interrogation through the hospital security system, the devil that was behind the man's face stared up at the camera in his room, his gaze promising swift retribution. "So...you wish to strip away falsehoods? To 'reveal the truth' of what I am?! Fine! I'll bring Hell upon you all for daring to stand against me!" The moment passed, leaving only Charles and the detectives, but the threat had been received loud and clear.
"So that's what that's like." Sae mused, nodding as the last of the pieces of the puzzle came together for her. "That's how you always know when a calling card's been received, the Palace Ruler itself promises revenge for challenging them."
"Got it on one, sis." Makoto said, her expression uneasy. "It's how I knew that… you took the challenge seriously."
Sae grimaced at that as well and lowered her head, ashamed at how she had been in those days. "I'm sorry." She said and looked her younger sister in the eye. "I'm so sorry that you had to go through this… you risked so much for me.. And I still-"
"Shh.. it's alright." Makoto cut her of and pulled her into a warm embrace. "It wasn't easy… but I got you back. I would do it a thousand times over if it meant that you and I could be together again."
"That goes for us as well." Joker agreed from the side. "We wouldn't hesitate to help you again if need be… and I think you're feeling the same way." He offered her his right hand. "So cheer up, you're one of us now, Themis."
Taking the offered hand once she'd pulled away from Makoto, Sae smiled softly as she squeezed Akira's fingers in acceptance of the fact she was indeed one of the group. "I've said it before but… Thank you… all of you, for all you did for me."
"Meh, don't look at me, I just provided the food." Sojiro chuckled as he once more pushed away from the kitchen counter he'd been working at that morning.
"Oh don't worry, you're one of us old man." Ryuji cheered and grinned up at the grumpy barista. "You couldn't get rid of us if you tried, 'cause we'll just stick with ya."
"Is that a threat?" Sojiro deadpanned as he chuckled in response. "Seriously though, just be careful when you take this guy down."
"We will boss." Ann promised, a sentiment that was echoed by the rest of the team, Sae included.
"Get ready for one last dive into Charles' Palace, because we don't have much time now that the calling card's been sent. We only have today to get that Treasure and to defeat his Ruler."
"As you've said, but it's nice to know what our deadline is." Sae replied as she checked her watch on her omni-tool, pursing her lips in thought. "Hopefully it won't take too long since I know some of us have tests to worry about tomorrow."
"And there's that Nijiima work ethic." Ryuji mock grumbled as Makoto shared an approving smirk with her sister. "Well, if we're gonna do this, let's get it done!" He cheered, pumping a fist into the air.
End Notes: Nomad-117: Yes we killed Kai Leng for the I don't know how many times, but seeing as this won't be possible soon enough, I figured I'd vent while I had the chance. Now, as you can see, our friends have been quite busy with making Charles' life a living hell, I mean breaking in was bad enough, but then taking him hostage shortly before blowing his office to bits? Well, you can imagine that his confidence rushed downward rather spectacularly. Something which they took great delight in, and will use to great and terrible effect in the future I expect. Aside from that, he's got problems with the police to worry about now, now that they've exposed him for the hubris filled fraud he is.
Vergil1989: The moment we've all been waiting for has finally arrived with the Palace Ruler being called out, and with the Treasure having appeared once they return. It felt rather fitting that once they literally burned away his 'divine' visage, that his cognition would become much more fittingly called his Palace a literal hellscape than anything resembling a paradise for only a select few. That he'd so effortlessly hid his Treasure behind a false image of himself and the 'devil' behind his throne was even more fitting now that we know who this guy is inside and out. Satan WAS said to have a silver forked tongue after all, on top of being the Prince of Lies and what have you, so hiding his Treasure in plain sight made sense to us both. So it became necessary, and oh so satisfying, to utterly turn his world on its head just to get at the truth of things.
As always though, have a good one guys and gals. Carpe diem. Peace!