After Keiko, Mallory, Ryuji and Morgana entered the world of Kamoshida with the use of the Metaverse Navigator on their phones (and their uniforms promptly change to their alternate outfits), they then look around the area for any signs of enemies, saw none and they turned to glance at each other.
"All right! Time to bust on through!" said Ryuji excitedly to Keiko, Mallory and Morgana (who nodded in unison to him).
"What is this!?" yell Ann in shock suddenly from nearby them (which make them flinch and gasped in surprise) before they turned to glance at Ann just as she approach and stopped in front of them.
"T-Takamaki!?" sputtered Ryuji.
"What the? How did she get in here?" said Mallory with a disbelief look on her face.
"I had no idea, Maly." said Keiko with a shake of her head.
"Those voices… Sakamoto!? Caelum!? And… are you Amamiya!?" said Ann as she glance even more in shock at Keiko, Mallory, Ryuji and their outfits.
"Wh-Wh-Why are you here!?" demanded Ryuji.
"How should I know!?" Ann snapped back at him before she look around at their surroundings. "What's going on? Hey, where are we…!? Isn't this the school!?" asked Ann in disbelief to them (while Morgana stared at her with a dreamy look on his face which Keiko noticed with an unimpressed look on her face).
"Hello, earth to Morgana. Snap out of it." said Keiko as she waved her hand then snap her fingers in front of Morgana to snap him out of it and he did.
"O-Oh, sorry about that, Madame Keiko." said Morgana apologetically to Keiko before he glance at her, Mallory and Ryuji. "I see. Perhaps she was dragged in because of the app thing. If multiple people can enter with the person who uses it, it stands to reason that it'll pull anyone nearby into it." explained Morgana.
"For real…?" said Ryuji.
"I see, no wonder." said Mallory with a deadpan look on her face.
"Wait, so THIS is related to Kamoshida!?" asked Ann as she glance at them again after she's done in looking around the area.
"That is none of your concern, Takamaki-san. You need to leave now. This place is dangerous." said Keiko warningly to Ann.
"No, I refused!" snapped Ann firmly to Keiko.
"The Shadows are going to find us if you make a scene." said Morgana slightly sternly to Ann.
"No way! It talked!? Oh my god, it's a monster cat…!" babbled Ann as she flinch and had a freak-out look on her face as she glance at Morgana.
"Monster…?" said Morgana as he gaped and widened his eyes in shock at Ann for calling him a monster cat.
"Pfft." snorted Mallory with an amused look on her face at Ann calling Morgana a monster cat.
"You three better explain to me what's going on! I won't leave until you three do!" demanded Ann as she glared at them (which make them sighed in unison before they glance at each other, at a brief loss on what to do with Ann).
"What are we going to do about her now, Keiko? Should we tell her?" asked Mallory as she glance at Keiko.
"No, we shouldn't, Maly. There's no need for her to know even though she's being dragged into this world because of us. One or two of us need to force her out somehow, whether she like it or not." replied Keiko firmly to Mallory.
"Fine, Keiko. I guess Mallory and I'll force her out. But… how're we supposed to do that?" asked Ryuji confusingly to Morgana.
"Just take her back the way we came in. That's how it worked last time, right?" replied Morgana as he shrugged his shoulders to Ryuji.
"O-Oh yeah." said Ryuji in surprise to Morgana before he glance at Mallory. "Can you lend me a hand, Mallory?" asked Ryuji.
"Sure, Ryuji. Even though I do feel a little bad about forcing her out but we have to do it." replied Mallory quite resignedly to Ryuji.
"You two better hurry up and get her out of here. Or else we won't be able to deal with Kamoshida." said Keiko to them both and they nodded to her before they glance at Ann.
"What're you-" Ann began saying to them.
"We'll explain after everything's over, Takamaki!" said Ryuji, cutting off Ann's words before he and Mallory approach and grabbed hold of her arms and they dragged her (which make her instantly protesting and struggling to free her arms from their grip to no avail) toward the other end of the drawbridge, pushed her out of the Metaverse world before they turned around and walked back to Keiko and Morgana.
"It's done and she's out, Keiko." said Mallory to Keiko (who nodded to her).
"We better be careful from now on when we use that app…" said Ryuji.
"You should have checked the tools you used! Why do I-the one who was just watching- know more about it than you two!?" snapped Morgana as he jumped and glared at both Mallory and Ryuji.
"Well, sorry about that, Morgana." said Mallory sarcastically and apologetically at Morgana.
"Sh-Shuddup!" said Ryuji as he look away in embarrassment.
"All right, you two. Calm down now." said Keiko calmly as she raised her hands to placated them. "Now that Takamaki-san's gone, we can get back to focusing on the Palace."
"Right." said Mallory as she nodded at Keiko.
"Geez, Takamaki found out right when we were startin' off… We gotta deal with this fast!" said Ryuji.
"That girl's name is Ann Takamaki, right?" asked Morgana as he crossed his arms. "Lady Ann… another girl as pretty as Madame Keiko…" muttered Morgana dreamily under his breath before he shake his head to snap out of it again and they turned to glance and staked out near the drawbridge of the castle.
"The Shadows have noticed us. You three better brace yourselves, got it?" warned Morgana firmly to them and they nodded to him before he glance at Keiko. "We're counting on you, Joker!" added Morgana to Keiko as he jumped a little.
"Joker? That a nickname?" asked Ryuji as he, Keiko and Mallory frowned in confusion at Morgana.
"Why are you calling her that?" said Mallory.
"Don't refer to it in such a lame way. It's a code name. What kind of stupid phantom thief would use their real name!? I'm not down for that!" complain Morgana as he shake his head in slight anger at both Mallory and Ryuji. "And there's no telling what kind of effect yelling our real names will have on the Palace… It's just a precaution." added Morgana.
"I see. That does sound safe and you've made your point, Morgana." said Keiko as she nodded in understanding and agreement to Morgana.
"Why, thank you, Madame… I mean, Joker." Morgana corrected himself as he smiled at her.
"So, why's she Joker?" asked Ryuji.
"Because she's our trump card when it comes to fighting strength." replied Morgana.
"Joker, huh? Not bad at all." said Keiko with a confident smirk on her face.
"It's settled then!" said Morgana before he glance at Mallory and Ryuji. "Next up is you then Ryuji, Miss Mallory. You'll be… Let's see…"
"How about "Flora" or "Green" since she look and dress like one?" suggested Keiko in a teasing tone of voice.
"Uh uh. No way, Keiko. Let me think of a codename for myself." said Mallory as she shake her head in denial at Keiko's suggestion before she closed her eyes to think about her codename and come up with one. "How about "Countess" instead? What do you all think?" suggested Mallory.
"Countess, huh? That's not bad too, I like it." said Keiko approvingly at Mallory's codename for herself.
"Alright then, now it's your turn, Ryuji. You'll be… "Thug"." suggested Morgana to Ryuji as he crossed his arms.
"Are you pickin' a fight with me!? I'll follow Mallory's example and choose it myself too!" snapped Ryuji as he scowled at Morgana. "I want my codename to follow the mask I'm wearing too. I kinda like it so let's name me after my mask." suggested Ryuji as he glance at both Joker and Countess.
"…Very well, then. You'll be "Skull"." sighed Joker to Skull while Countess nodded in silence.
"Ooh! That sounds awesome! I'm Skull!" said Skull excitedly to himself and to them before he calm down and gestured to Morgana with his feet. "What do we do about this one's codename?" asked Skull.
"I don't know. What do you think?" Joker asked back to Skull.
"Hm… How about "Mona"?" suggested Skull.
"Well, if Joker thinks it's easier to call me that, then I'll go with it." said Morgana (now Mona) firmly to Skull as he glance at Joker. "All right. From here on out, we're Joker, Countess, Skull and Mona. We need to be absolutely thorough about using those codenames from now on!" added Mona firmly to them and they nodded in agreement to him before they turned and head up the drawbridge toward the opened ventilation shaft, got on and climbed through and into the castle and landed back into the room filled with bookshelves and tables.
As Joker, Countess, Skull and Mona cautiously opened the door and quietly stepped out into a hallway, they suddenly heard several voices chanting out loud in unison to their right and they turned, quietly walked forward and hide behind doors and peek out at the large foyer room.
"Praise be to King Kamoshida! Death to the intruders!" chanted the voices of a group of knights standing at the bottom of the stairs to Shadow Kamoshida (who's standing on the steps of the staircase and staring down at them with fake Ann standing closely behind him).
"W-What the hell!?" sputtered Skull in surprise.
"Be quiet, Skull! Looks like Kamoshida is about to say something to them." hissed Joker quietly at Skull.
"Those intruders the other day were quite entertaining. However, I can't allow those trash to barged into and ransack my castle! Strengthen the securities! Kill them on sight except for the girls! I'll reward whoever bring me their heads and capture the girls alive." Shadow Kamoshida told and commander them.
"Praise be to King Kamoshida! Death to the intruders!" yell the group of knights in unison again to Shadow Kamoshida.
"Hey, Mona. Can't we just charge forward, beat the crap out of those knights and him and call it a day?" said Skull quietly as he glance at Mona.
"Are you an idiot? That would be suicidal of you if you do so. And I'm sure you don't want a repeat of last time." snapped Mona quietly as he (and Countess) glared at Skull. "Besides, don't you want him to confess his sins?"
"Mona's right, Skull. We'll make him pay for what he did to us, Suzui-san, Takamaki-san, Mishima-kun and the members of the volleyball team right after we find where his Treasure is and steal it." said Joker coldly to Skull.
"Fiiiine. So, where is it?" said Skull as he rolled his eyes a little.
"It has to be somewhere within the depths of this castle. Let's infiltrate further in while he's out here!" Mona told them before they quietly stood up, turned and walked away from the opened doorway toward the other closed doorway opposite the one that they just came out from and as Joker opened it, they saw another knight standing in the room with his back to them and they quickly retreat and hide behind the hallway wall.
"Dammit, there's a guard over here too… Whaddya wanna do, Joker? Should we kick it's ass?" said Skull with a scowl look on his face before he asked Joker on what to do.
"Let's do it." said Joker as her daggers manifest in her hands.
"Hold on…" interjected Mona to them before they could fight the knight. "Hmmm… this might be a good opportunity to teach you another new skill… All right, Joker! Are you ready to take it down?" added Mona firmly to Joker.
"Yeah, I'm ready, Mona!" said Joker as she stood up, charge toward and jumped onto the knight, grabbed and ripped off his helmet before she quickly jumped off as the knight burst into red and black liquid and turned into a small flying fairy.
After the knight change into a fairy, Mona then proceed to teach and explain to Joker, Countess and Skull about another use for Hold Up skill other than defeating enemies which is able to communicate with the Shadows and told them to hand over money or items after they're knocked down. After Mona's done in explaining to them, Joker then pull out her handgun, aim and fire a bullet at the fairy and knocked her down before she, Countess, Skull and Mona rushed forward, surround and pointed their weapons and guns at the fairy.
"Seriously!? You guys are the intruders that King Kamoshida was talking about…?" said the fairy as she glance at them in surprise. "It can't get worse than this… What're you going to do to me!?"
"We won't do anything to you if you gave us some items." demanded Joker coldly to the fairy.
"Huh? So you'll let me live if I just give you something?" said the fairy hopefully to Joker.
"Well, something along those lines… Now let it be money or items. Just cough it up!" demanded Mona threateningly to the fairy.
"B-But, this happened so suddenly… I actually don't have anything on me… I-I usually do though, you know!?" stammered the fairy fearfully to them.
"W-Wait, what? Oh… This isn't how I was planning this to go." said Mona with a bewilder look on his face. "Uh… Anyway, it can't be help if that's the case. Time for you to go to hell then." added Mona to the fairy.
"W-Wait!" protested the fairy frantically to Mona.
"Sorry. But we're in a hurry." said Countess apologetically to the fairy as she raised her spear at the fairy.
"No, wait up! Can't we work something out? Don't kill me, please! Won't you let me go?" pleaded the fairy.
"Sorry, you choose the wrong enemy today." said Joker as she shake her head at the fairy.
"Wow… you sure sound and act confident. But I'm the same way. In any other situation, we'd get along really well. Whoa, I feel different! Something's happening!" said the fairy coolly then confusingly to Joker.
"What the…!? What's going on!?" exclaimed Mona as he, Joker, Countess and Skull widened their eyes in surprise at the fairy.
"… 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 soul… My real name… is "Pixie"!" proclaimed the fairy named Pixie as she flew up from the floor. "I'm Pixie! From now on, I'll live on inside your heart!" added Pixie before a bright blue light glowed out and enveloped her entire body before she transform into a perfect white copy of Joker's mask, flew toward Joker and let itself be absorbed into her mask.
"This feeling… It feels like I've just gained a new power of Persona." thought Joker in surprise then smugly to herself.
"What was that just now…? What happened…!?" asked Mona in surprise at Joker.
"Wh-What the hell was that about? The enemy glowed, change then got sucked into Joker's mask!" asked Skull as he and Countess turned to glance at Mona with shock looks on their faces.
"How is it possible, Mona?" said Countess.
"I-I have no idea! I wasn't expecting it either…" replied Mona in surprise to Countess and Skull and none of them noticed another knight coming down the hallway and saw them in the room.
"Intruders!? Halt!" said the knight threateningly to them as he run into the room toward them and they quickly turned to glance at the knight.
"Crap, another one noticed us!" said Skull in surprise to Joker, Countess and Mona.
"Gee, you think?" said Joker sarcastically to Skull (which make him scowled at her) as the knight shake, burst apart and reveal 2 horned horses.
As Joker, Countess, Skull and Mona got into their battle stances, Joker felt something like a new possibility stemming up from within her after their previous short battle with Pixie. Jester then summoned forth Pixie, uses Zio skill on one of the horned horses and knocked it down to the floor.
"I-Is that the Shadow from earlier?" asked Mona as he glance in surprise at Joker summoning Pixie out instead of Arsene. "Don't tell me… Did you take in the Shadow's appearance and powers as a Persona?"
"Looks like it, Mona." replied Joker as she uses Zio skill again on the other horned horse, knock it down as well before she and the others surround, raised and pointed their weapons and guns at the 2 horned horses.
"Ow, ow, ow… Whaddya think yer doin'!?" groaned one of the horned horses to Joker.
"Lend me your power." commanded Joker.
"So that's yer move? … Then I guess I'll talk first. I'll decide if I'm gonna help you after." said the horned horse as it tilted it's head at Joker. "So… Yer a student, right? Is it OK fer you ta just be hangin' around here like this? Hey. Why aren't you at school?" asked the horned horse.
"I actually finished school." replied Joker.
"So does that mean yer a workin' adult? Wearin' a mask like that? What kinda freaky job do you do?" asked the horned horse.
"That's not for you to know." replied Joker slightly coldly to the horned horse.
"Ugh, that hurts. Hey, if you got any medicine, lend me some. They're supposed ta work miracles, right…?" said the horned horse pleadingly to Joker.
"Sorry, I don't have any and you're starting to get on my nerves." said Joker warningly to the horned horse.
"Heh, look at you, acting all commander and cold. Reminds me of when-Oh!" said the horned horse to Joker before it had a brief surprise look on it's face and it stood up from the floor. "I remember who I am now. I am Bicorn and from now on, my power is yours to use." added the shadow named Bicorn to Joker before it change into a mask and absorbed into Joker's mask like the previous one.
"Yet another one came and went into my mask. First it's Pixie, now it's Bicorn?" thought Joker to herself.
"Holy, another one… Does that mean you can wield multiple Personas?" asked Mona as he glance up at Joker with surprise and awed look on his face.
"H-Hey, Mona! What was that about!? What did Joker do?" demanded Skull as he glance in confusion at Mona.
"She sealed the enemy's appearance and power into her mask, and made them her new Personas… I've never seen anyone do that before… didn't even know it was possible!" replied Mona still in amazement at what Joker just did twice to the Shadows.
"So she's unique and had an advantage in a way because she's able to wield multiple Personas other than her main one, Arsene?" said Countess to Mona (who nodded to her) as she glance at Joker with an awed then slightly envious look on her face too.
"Does this sound good for you guys?" asked Joker.
"Of course it is! Only one heart exists per person, so normally one person can only have one Persona! But what you did… is incredible! That ability of yours will give us a huge advantage in battle!" replied Mona as he smiled widely at Joker. "All right, try to do that even more if the opportunities arises! You two better help out too, Countess, Skull!" added Mona to them both.
"Got it, Mona." said Countess.
"Hell yeah! We'll hold every last one of 'em up!" said Skull.
"Hehe, I like you even more now, Joker! I really do have someone special on my hands!" said Mona excitedly and a little dreamily at Joker.
"Yeah, sure, Mona. Thanks for the compliment." said Joker as she gave a small smile to him before they turned to their right to opened another door, went down a hallway and past another sealed hallway (that had a long red carpet, empty knight armors standing on both sides of the hallway and leading toward a door), went into an armoury room filled with weapons, fought more shadows and Joker gained 2 new Personas at the same time (Pyro Jack and Mandrake), saw and opened a treasure chest lying on the table and pull out a silver spear (which Joker handed over to Countess to replace her first spear), opened another door, left the armoury and went down another hallway and they stopped in front of a door that looks different and wavered a little and Mona explain to Joker, Countess and Skull that it's a safe room before they went into the room.
XXXX
Meanwhile, outside the castle…
"This is that place from earlier…!" said Ann as she walked up to the castle and cautiously look around the place for her classmates and didn't any of them anywhere before she pull out her phone and glance down at it with a confused look on her face. "…What's up with this app? I just said the words Sakamoto said, and I ended up-" added Ann even more in confusion to herself.
"Princess!?" said the surprise voice of a knight suddenly to Ann.
"Huh!?" said Ann as she glance up in surprise at the 3 knights that run towards her before she let out a fearful scream when they take her into the castle with them.