They crawled through the vent in the brick walls, emerging into the infiltration point that was the empty and abandoned bookroom. Jumping down from the bookcases, they cautiously opened the double doors leading out into the short hallway. Looking around to see if the coast was clear, they turned to open the door across when they heard clanking in the direction of the foyer. They turned their heads in the direction of the sounds and sneaked closer to the open door.
"Praise be to King Kamoshida! Death to the intruders!"
"W-What the hell?!" Skull sputtered quietly, looking out the foyer where the chant originated from.
There was a contingent of soldiers gathered in the main hall, their dark silver armor gleaming in the chandelier light. At the top of the stairs in front of the ostentatious painting of himself was Shadow Kamoshida, yellow eyes glowing maliciously down at his troops, still dressed in his gossamer cloak and speedo.
"Those intruders the other day were quite entertaining." Kamoshida began. "However, I can't allow that trash to ransack my castle!" He declared, striking out in the air. "Strengthen the security! KIll them on sight! I'll reward whoever brings me their heads."
"Praise be to King Kamoshida! Death to the intruders!" The soldiers shouted in unison.
Hiding behind the doors were the thieves, listening in on the announcement with a frown. "Hey, Mona. Can't we just beat the crap outta him and call it a day?" Skull whispered, sneering toward the warped king.
"Look at all those soldiers, idiot! It'd be suicide, and I'm sure you don't want a repeat of last time." Mona snapped quietly. "Besides, don't you want him to confess his sins?"
Elegant nodded. "We need him to pay, for Shiho-chan, and everyone on the volleyball team." She stated coldly, taking a silent step back. "The Treasure is more important."
Skull rolled his eyes. "Fiiiine. So, where is it?" He questioned the feline.
"It has to be somewhere in the depths of this castle. Let's infiltrate further in while he's out here!" It suggested, moving back from the open doorway.
Walking away from the foyer, they opened the door further down the hall, revealing a guard standing with its back against them.
Quickly retreating, they hid behind the doors. "Dammit, there's a guard over here too..." Skull gritted his teeth. "Whaddya wanna do? Should we kick its ass?" He asked Joker.
He nodded. "We have to, this is the only way forward." He stated, readying his dagger.
"Hold on." Mona interrupted, stopping them. "This might be a good opportunity to teach you something. All right, let's go!"
They sneaked up on the guard, Joker jumping on its back and tearing off its mask. "Show me your true form!" He yelled.
It convulsed, turning into a fairy with red hair and a purple unitard that fluttered in the air. The four stood ready with their weapons. Skull held a metal pipe in his hands, Joker twirled his dagger, Mona gripped its scimitar, and Elegant adjusted her stance to accommodate her scythe.
"Remember how I taught you Hold Ups and All-Out Attacks? I'll teach you their practical use now." Mona explained. "There's another use for Hold Ups besides simply defeating enemies. Shadows are beings born from people's hearts, so naturally, they can talk too. In other words, you can communicate with them. Get it?" It lectured the others.
"If you talk to them when they're cornered, they might offer money or items since they don't want to die." It eyed the Shadow with a greedy glint in its blue eyes. "In fact, talking has a better chance of scoring something great, as opposed to just offing them."
"Wait." Elegant interrupted. "They can give you money? Legitimate Japanese yen? I thought they were fake." She asked, befuddled at the concept. She had kept them just in case, but to know it was real? Could she do this to add to her savings?
"Yep!" Mona nodded, tightening its grip on its weapon. "Well then, let's do the first step: Knock all enemies down, and do a Hold Up!"
Joker reached into his belt, pulling out his 9mm and shot one bullet, knocking the fairy down onto the floor. It was disturbingly easy to be using a gun, even if it wasn't "real." As long as it worked, it was all he cared about.
They rushed in to surround it, pointing their firearms at the vulnerable enemy. "Seriously?! You guys are the intruders that king Kamoshida was talking about..?" The fairy complained with her high pitched voice, leaning on her hands. "It can't get worse than this...What're you going to do with me?!"
Joker cocked his gun, glaring down at the Shadow. It was an addictive feeling to be threatening monsters like this. He could get used to it. "Give me some money."
"For real?!" The Shadow sputtered, looking at him hopefully. "You'll let me live if I give you something?"
Mona shrugged. "Well, something along those lines...Now let it be money or items. Just cough it up!" It demanded, pointing its slingshot at the enemy.
The fairy sweated. "But, this happened so suddenly...I actually don't have anything on me..." She stammered. "I-I usually do though, you know?!"
Taken aback, Mona looked at it with disbelief. "W-Wait, what? Oh...This isn't how I was planning this to go." It sweatdropped. "Uh...Anyway, it can't be helped if that's the case. Time for you to go to hell." It declared, holding up its scimitar with the sharp edge angled toward the enemy.
"W-Wait!" The fairy shouted frantically, holding her hands up in a surrender.
"Sorry, but we're in a hurry." Elegant stated apologetically, readying her sniper rifle. It was heavy, but she gripped it well, kneeling on one knee.
"Can't we work something out?" The Shadow begged. "Don't kill me, please! Won't you let me go?"
Joker shook his head. That was disappointing. "You chose the wrong enemy."
"Wow...You're really confident. But I'm the same way. In any other situation, we'd get along really well." The Pixie reminisced before it began glowing a white light. "Whoa, I feel different! Something's happening!" It exclaimed, looking down at its bright
"What the..?!" Mona yelped, watching with wide eyes. "What's going on?!"
The fairy flew up in the air, a sheen of light surrounding it. "Oh yeah, I remember now! I don't belong just to King Kamoshida...I'm an existence that drifts about in the sea of humanity's souls...My real name is "Pixie"!" She proclaimed. "I am thou, thou art I. From now on, I'll live on inside your heart!" She finished, before bright blue light enveloped her. In her place was a mask, a perfect replica of Joker's. It flew to him and merged with his own in a sea of shimmer.
He smirked triumphantly, feeling the new power within him. He had no idea what just happened, but the new feeling of completion swelled inside his heart, as if it was an empty well that needed to be filled up.
The rest of the group ran up to him in awe, the room empty and safe now. "What was that just now..? What happened?!" Mona questioned quickly.
Skull turned to look at his feline companion. "Wh-What the hell was that about?" He asked, completely shocked. "The enemy got sucked into Joker's mask!"
Elegant moved a little closer to their ebony haired teammate, examining his mask. "That was amazing." She breathed, looking at him in awe.
He smirked at faintly at the compliment. It was nice to be the center of attention, good attention.
"I-I have no idea!" Mona stammered. "I wasn't expecting that either."
"Intruders?! Halt!"
A guard appeared in the doorway, its armor clanking noisily. The four thieves turned around quickly. "Shit, they noticed us!" Skull gritted, tightening his hand around his pipe.
The guard convulsed, darkness spilling out of its armor before turning into two Demon Horses.
'I sense a new possibility within me stemming from the previous battle...' Joker thought. Slicing three times with his dagger and backflipping away, he brought up a hand to clench his mask. Not Arsene, but...
He spun in place, summoning Pixie and striking out with a Zio. It shocked one Demon Horse, knocking it down on its feet.
Mona looked at him in shock with a slack jaw. "Is that the Shadow from earlier?!" It sputtered. "Don't tell me...Did you take in the Shadow's appearance and powers as a Persona?!"
"Hey!" Elegant called out, twirling her scythe. "Want me to finish it off?"
Joker looked at her and nodded in acquiesce. He had enough this time.
The noblewoman rushed up to the demon and spun in an arch with her scythe, slicing into the Demon Horse several times before jumping into the air and stabbing down with the sharp tip. It halved the Shadow and it screamed out in pain as it dissipated.
Skull yelled out, "Captain Kidd!," summoning his Persona, and sending out a bolt of lightning to the other Shadow.
They rushed up to surround the enemy. "Ow, ow, ow...Whaddya think yer doin?!" It groaned, trying to get back up on its hooves.
"Lend me your power." Joker commanded, pointing his gun. Could he get another Persona right away?
The horse cocked its head, shaking its silver mane. "So that's yer move?...Then I guess I'll talk first. I'll decide if I'm gonna help you after. I was just passin' by, and you roughed me up real bad. Hey, what's yer deal?" It asked gruffly. "Somethin' bad happen in yer life or somethin', sonny?"
Joker glared at it. "You're getting on my nerves." He warned. He didn't want to talk about it, and definitely not to a Shadow.
"Y'know, let's just drop all this dangerous stuff and go fer a drink. Whaddya say?" The horse suggested nervously. "Humans talk over drinks, right? How 'bout it? Hell, let me buy you a round, sonny."
"Quit messing around." Joker threatened, glaring harder.
"Heh, you don't like jokes, huh? Reminds me of when-Oh!" The Shadow got up on its hooves, standing confidently. "I remember now. My name is Bicorn. I'll go with ya." It stated, before turning into a mask and flying to merge with Joker's.
He smirked. Another Persona acquired!
Mona gazed up at its leader in awe. "No way...Does that mean you can wield multiple Personas?!"
Skull looked around, clueless to what happened. "H-Hey, Mona! What was that about?!" He asked. "What did Joker do?"
The feline circled their current team leader, observing him. "He sealed the enemy's appearance and powers into his mask, and made it his new Persona." It rationalized. "I've never seen anyone do that before...didn't even know it was possible!" It exclaimed, amazed at what it just witnessed.
Elegant hummed. "Perhaps it's purely unique to Joker then? We don't seem to have the same ability." She remarked, tapping her chin. "So a person can only have one Persona each. Joker now has three, which means that he could absorb different Personas with different strengths and weaknesses, making it so he can always have the advantage!" She cheered, feeling more optimistic about their situation. With a power like that, they could definitely get through this. "Really living up to your name as the wild card!"
Joker smirked, pleased at hearing so many compliments. They could keep stroking his ego. "Sounds useful." He remarked, clenching and relaxing his hand experimentally, feeling the power humming beneath his skin. It was interesting to know he could gain other sides to him that were different from Arsene, but did that mean he wasn't true to himself? Or that he was incomplete?
He felt a deep chuckle from the gentleman thief, as if he understood his concerns. Pixie and now Bicorn also twinged, letting him know that they were at his side, not with words, but more like feelings. He relaxed a bit. As long as he had this power, he shouldn't question it too much. Maybe it was just meant to be. "Let's keep going." He ordered, resting his hands in his pockets.
Mona's eyes shined with excitement. "Hehe, I like you even more now!" It snickered, a grin on its cartoonish face. "I really do have someone special on my hands!"
They moved through the next door, passing through the guard armory and fighting Shadows along the way. Joker acquired two new Personas in the meantime, a Jack-O-Lantern and a Mandrake.
"Oh!" Elegant gasped. "A treasure chest! Let's check it out!" She suggested excitedly to her companions, gesturing to the box that was at a corner. The ebony haired thief walked up to the chest, opening it. They all peered curiously over his shoulder as he pulled out a silver dagger.
"Nice! It looks stronger than your current one, you should use that." Mona suggested.
Nodding, Joker switched out his rebel knife with the silver dagger, testing the grip. 'It does seem a little sturdier.' He observed. How did he know how to use a knife so naturally? Since this was all metaphysical, was it his mind believing in it?
Advancing through the next corridor, they passed by a gated hallway and detected a door that was different from the others. It slightly wavered the closer they got to it.
"Oooh, it's another hazy-lookin' door! This that thing!" Skull exclaimed, scratching his head. "Uhh, what was it called..?"
Elegant sighed in relief. "A safe room, perfect."
"We can discuss our strategy inside. There are a lot of places even I don't know about in here." Mona added, pushing the door open. The room shuddered, turning into an empty classroom, before fluctuating back into an abandoned armory.
Ann walked up to the castle, looking around cautiously. "This is that place from earlier..!"
She gazed around the empty courtyard, not seeing her fellow students even under the harsh red light from the red sky. "Why were they dressed so weirdly..?" Pulling out her phone, she looked at it perplexedly. "...What's up with this app? I just said the words Sakamoto said, and I ended up-"
"Princess?!"
Taken offguard by the shouting, she shot her head up. "Huh?" She took a step back in bewilderment when she saw three suits of armor run up to her, the metal clanking noisily in the otherwise empty courtyard.
"Princess, you must come with us!" A guard demanded. Another picked her up, carrying her on their shoulder.
"Aaaaaaaah!" She screamed fearfully as she was forcefully taken into the castle, kicking and punching at her captor. 'Someone help me!' She prayed fervently.