IMPORTANT PLEASE READ: THE PREVIOUS CHAPTERS HAVE UNDERGONE HEAVY EDITING. IT MAY BE IN YOUR BEST INTEREST TO RE-READ THE ENTIRE WORK BEFORE READING THIS CHAPTER. THANK YOU! IMPORTANT PLEASE READ!

Hamuko sits in a booth at Big Bang Burger, eyeing the boy across from her whose life she had just saved. The second they left the Palace, he had reverted to his pleasant façade and has not yet given it up, but then – they are in public. Nonetheless, there is something sharp to the way he's looking at Akira, like he's just bursting for the opportunity to go on a half-crazed rant about how stupid they all are for saving him.

Well, how stupid she is for saving him.

His glances at her are anything but subtle, for understandable reasons. She just appeared out of nowhere one day. He's been a part of the Phantom Thieves story from nearly the beginning, as far as she understands, even with not joining until after she was found in the Metaverse. She's an anomaly in the story he planned out – a butterfly flapping its wings over the sea.

"You can't come with us to change his heart," Akira is saying. "We can't prove that cognition won't be out to get you."

She feels the other, heavily implied meaning in Akira's tone – Akechi cannot come with because of the chance that he will kill Shido, rather than let them steal the treasure. They are dancing around this topic with impressive skill. There is some concern on her part that if they bring it up, he will drop the pleasant act entirely. Akira seems to feel the same.

Then again, they're in public. If that isn't a saving grace on its own, the chance of Akechi being noticed and therefore quickly found by Shido's minions – conversing with the Phantom Thief that should be dead at this current moment – is. Still, she'd rather they dance around the issue as much as possible.

Akechi leans back in the booth with some amount of barely perceived attitude, seemingly ignoring the unvoiced implications. "Would it not be prudent to have an extra member, given the difficulty of the Palace so far?" he says with a measured tone. "I know you were having some trouble towards the end."

Their trouble was Akechi himself, but no one brings that up. In fact, she's only half sure that the rest of the Phantom Thieves – sans Futaba and Haru, who would rather not be anywhere near Akechi – are even listening. They all seem to be plenty distracted joking around and eating fast food. It seems as if they have collectively decided to leave the serious talk to the only person Akechi might hypothetically listen to. Though, it may be that the only Phantom Thief allowed to speak in public about their Phantom Thief business is Akira. That seems like a rule that would exist, considering Ryuji and Ann.

Akira, for his part, is doing an amazing job at not outwardly showing his frustration with Pleasant Akechi. "We have Hamuko for that. You can't come."

Akechi opens his mouth to dispute this – probably to state that she was there for the part they were having trouble with, so obviously she can't be of that much help – but she shushes him. "There's no way to make this sound like a good idea to us."

There's a disgruntled sound, but he does not argue the point. "So what do you intend to do with me? There's no way you'll let me out of your eyesight now."

Hamuko's phone buzzes – a phone call. "Excuse me. Akechi, will you join me outside?"

The chatter from the rest of the Phantom Thieves dies down, and everyone exchanges dubious looks. Akira gives her a calculating look, then motions his head for Akechi to go. Akechi, for his part, does not seem too happy about this new turn of events, but gets up and follows her anyway.

(He doesn't much like her, after all. She's an enigma, the one mystery he'll never be able to solve.)

She leans against the outside wall of Big Bang Burger, signals for Akechi to wait a moment, and answers her phone. "Hamuko speaking."

"I just read your message," Kirijo's voice sounds from the phone. "We can put him in protective custody, but only if he cooperates. I won't risk anyone's life for this."

Hamuko shoots a look at Akechi, who is standing there impatiently with his arms crossed. "Well, he might give you some trouble, but if he knows what's good for him, he'll cooperate." His gaze narrows and she can tell he's very close to no longer caring they're in public.

Kirijo hums for a second. "I'll send someone over if you're ready now."

"Let me talk to him first. I'll let you know," Hamuko says and hangs up. She puts her phone in her bag and turns to face Akechi. "You asked what we're going to do with you."

He looks at her suspiciously. "I presume Kurusu and the others don't know about this."

"They know – " she pauses and shifts her claim. "They are aware I know these people."

"And these people are?"

"Adult Persona-users," she says. "The Shadow Operatives."

He goes wide-eyed for a split second and lets out a short laugh. "You know the Kirijo Group. What a surprise."

She can't decide whether she should be surprised that he knows about the Shadow Operatives. On one hand, they feel like something that would be a secret. On the other. . . well, Akechi worked in the Metaverse for a reason. It makes sense that Shido might be invested in other versions of the same phenomenon. "You know about the Shadow Operatives?"

"They're a government-sanctioned organization," Akechi says. "Dedicated to Shadow activity. They piss Shido off to no end."

"So you'll go with them."

He frowns a little. "I didn't say that. . . Unfortunately, it seems to be my only option."

Akira comes out of the doors behind Akechi. He looks a little worried, which is understandable. He must have had a set period of time in mind for their talk. It is not as if Akechi is the most sane and safe person to be around. "You guys okay out here?"

Hamuko smiles at him. "We're good. We can go inside now, if Akechi accepts my offer."

Akechi looks between the two of them, gives a profoundly irritated sigh, and nods. "Alright. I am still holding you to your promise, however."

She follows them back into the restaurant, where the rest of the Thieves are waiting patiently. Well – she says patiently. She has the feeling that they have not been waiting all that patiently. They all seem hesitant to let her make her own decisions about her safety, which she guesses is understandable. Having no memories makes her more vulnerable.

But also, she's older and more powerful than them, so it's rather annoying.

The three of them slide back into the booth and she pulls her new phone back out to give Mitsuru the okay. There's a tense silence – they are waiting for an explanation. She shoots a look at Akechi and starts explaining. "You remember Shinjiro?" she asks Akira and Morgana. At their nods she continues. "He knows some people. They're coming to get Akechi."

This is technically not a lie, but it's clearly not the full truth either. Now, whether she will be allowed to tell this vague mistruth is up to Akechi. He knows exactly who she is talking about and who is going to be protecting him. There's a strong chance he knows there is more hidden behind her misdirection, too.

Akira turns to Akechi. "And you agreed?"

Akechi gives Hamuko a calculating look before giving his answer. "The Kirijo Group is outside of the realm of Shido's influence."

The Phantom Thieves take this at face value and do not question it further, thankfully. They trust her. Perhaps they wouldn't, if they knew about the Shadow Operatives, but that is a sacrifice she is willing to make. Anything to make sure everyone remains safe.

Conversation turns back to mundane things as they wait for whoever Mitsuru is sending to collect Akechi. Hamuko tunes them out and eats her food. She can feel Akechi's eyes on her. She pretends she cannot. He knows nothing about her, she knows. It frustrates him.

Movement near the entrance catches her attention. Sanada Akihiko walks in, followed by a man in a baseball cap that seems familiar. Sanada is, thankfully, wearing civilian clothes instead of his police uniform. The uniform would've drawn attention, which is the last thing they want right now.

They pause in the entryway for a second, eyes searching, until they finally land on Hamuko and make their way over. "Mitsuru sent us," Sanada says as he approaches. "This him?"

"Akechi," she says. "This is Sanada Akihiko. And. . ." she sends a puzzled glance to the other man, who sticks out his hand for her to shake.

"Iori Junpei," the man says, grinning. "But you probably remember that."

Magician. Rank 10. MAX.

A woman hunched over a body, blood soaking her white dress –

She flinches away from his hand involuntarily, and his face drops. "I'm sorry," she says. "It was just – never mind. You said Iori?"

He nods a little, but his full grin does not come back. "They weren't kiddin' when they said you don't remember anything, huh? Guess this is what it felt like for you back when –"

"Iori," Sanada cuts him off. "We're just here to pick up Akechi and go. The longer we stand here, the more likely he'll be spotted. I'm amazed you all have managed to be here for so long in the first place."

The Phantom Thieves say nothing. That leaves it up to her, though she supposes these are her people. It makes sense that they'd leave it up to her. "It was sort of necessary," she explains. "Thank you for this, Sanada-san, Iori-san."

"Aw, man," says Iori. "You'll call Mitsuru by her name but not us? That's low, dude."

"Iori," Sanada says again, firmer this time. "She can call us what she likes."

Hamuko hesitates for a second. She can see the sad looks in their eyes, even though they're both trying to hide it. She wonders briefly what Iori was going to say about before, but she knows she can't have the answer. Not now, at least. "Thank you," she says softer. "Akihiko, Junpei."

Iori brightens a little at this. Akechi gets up with little to no commotion and gestures for them to lead the way. He's clearly frustrated with the turn of events, but – perhaps it is better that he is frustrated and cooperative than frustrated and murderous. There must be some twinge of regret left in him.

. . . He had said he wishes he met Akira earlier.

Perhaps this is repentance.

"I'm going to head home," she tells the Phantom Thieves soon after Akechi disappears out the door. "It's a big day tomorrow, right?"

She isn't on the calling card, nor is she associated with the Phantom Thieves in any official sense. She's not sure even Akechi ever found out what her relationship to them was. They agree to meet on their way to the Diet Building, instead of Hamuko putting herself in danger by waiting with them for Futaba to finish hacking.

She catches up with them in Central Square. The big screens – usually reserved for advertisements and, moments earlier, for the calling card – are playing an announcement from Shido himself. She squeezes between the crowd and stands casually next to Akira, who gives her a sideways smile from underneath his hood.

"Think it worked?" he asks her, nodding up to the screen.

"Oh, I'm sure he knows we're coming now," she says. "Is that all that we need?"

"Yup." He turns on his heel and starts walking away. The Phantom Thieves trail behind him. Hamuko sends one more look up at the screen and follows them. She makes sure they're all in front of her before opening her (newer) new phone and sending Mitsuru an update on the situation.

Hopefully, this goes without a hitch and she won't need to call them in.

The Diet Building isn't all too far from Central Square, and they get there rather quickly. There are people crowding outside of the building, and they waste no time in entering the Palace. Any longer lingering outside is another chance for Akira to be recognized and caught.

She still gets caught off guard by her surroundings, but she follows the Phantom Thieves obediently as they make their way to the room that has the Treasure in it. "Any chance this won't turn into a fight?" she asks.

Makoto winces. "I don't think there's any chance of us doing this one stealthily."

She takes a deep breath and follows their lead into the elevator. This is fine. She's more powerful than them – worst comes to worst, she'll interfere more directly than she has been. She'd rather not, but then she also would rather none of them die in the process of doing this.

Shido is standing calmly at the center of the room, waiting for them. Hamuko tries not to pay attention to what he's saying – listening to Akechi last time threw her headfirst into memories that almost incapacitated her – but it's hard not to when he's the center of attention. "Sacrifices are inevitable in the path of reform," he says.

Her head feels like it's about to burst open.

A man in a tan suit stands at the top of a set of stairs. Behind him, rising to impossible heights, stands an even more impossible structure, twisting and turning and jutting out in awkward ways. A woman stands next to him, blank-faced and out of place – there is something off about her.

"If you follow me for just a little while longer, you, too, will find salvation," he says with an unsettling smile.

She forces her eyes shut and back open. Shido is still talking, but it's clear some time has passed. This is not the time to be remembering things. She needs to be focused right now. She needs to be able to intervene if necessary.

Shido smirks. "The ignorant masses only care about their personal happiness. I am merely granting that for them."

Her hands are bound on a cross, looking out upon a rooftop. She can hear her friends waking up around her but cannot look to see them. "Death as deliverance," says a man held by the strange-looking woman. "That is not an ideology anyone should ever embrace."

"Fool," says the tan-suited man. "You are but a nuisance now. Aigis!"

The strange-looking woman's hands click. Mitsuru's voice calls out from beside her. "Wait! Please, Aigis, no!"

Aigis winces and lets go. Her movement is unsteady, like she is forcing it to happen against her own body's will. "I. . ."

The tan-suited man pulls out his own gun and aims it. "I'll do it myself, then."

"Savior!" orders Akira. "Let's go!"

Hamuko shakes the memory out and immediately falls into position. Hopefully no more memories com. She can't afford to be a distraction right now, of all times. The Phantom Thieves are climbing a structure that seems to be rapidly closing. She immediately starts following, hoping that somehow the Metaverse logic applies to her, too. She's not sure how long it's been since she has needed to be this physically fit.

Shido is at the top, sitting atop a golden lion, now wearing a ruler's uniform. Time to fight, then. This will be her first "Boss" of sorts, but she can see what they meant when they said it will be difficult. She pulls her evoker from where it is tucked in her skirt and prepares herself.

"Physical attacks won't work!" Futaba calls. "Use magic!"

She falls back to where Futaba is and lets the battle happen.

Her head is pounding again.

"Ten years. . . I've wasted ten long years!" says Ikutsuki in disdain. "I am not like your father. I won't make any exceptions!" He levels the gun at Kirijo. Two gunshots sound out, both ringing true.

"Father?" Mitsuru says quietly. "Father!"

He does not reply.

"Aigis," says Ikutsuki while holding his own wound. "We'll end this now. Execute the sacrifices."

"Savior! We need healing!" calls Futaba from beside her.

"Messiah!" Hamuko shouts, bringing her Evoker to her head. "Salvation!"

She makes sure everyone is up and moving before turning back to her thoughts. Ikutsuki Shuji is dead now, she knows. Why is she remembering him now? Out of all the memories to have right at this moment, this one seems to be the least relevant. She files it away to deal with later and turns her entire focus to the matter at hand.

It turns out to be a long fight. Thankfully, her little bout of being rendered useless by headaches and memories seems to be over for now. She remains in the back and heals when she needs to, making sure to also restore her magic with items so she can continue healing when necessary.

Eventually, after many, many, heals and attacks, Shido's Shadow falls. "So you're the one unifying them," he says. There is a hidden meaning in the words that she cannot seem to glean. The Phantom Thieves say their final words – though Hamuko has no idea what most of it means – and then, apparently, it is time to run.

The ship is exploding, which is not something she expected. They told her that the Palace would collapse, but this. . .

She watches as Ryuji runs and lowers a boat for them to escape in, and as he disappears in an explosion. This is the opposite of what was meant to happen. Her coming was meant to keep everyone safe –

They end up outside the Diet Building, sans a member. Everyone looks around for Ryuji, but he doesn't seem to be there. The Phantom Thieves start mourning. She can't help but feel at fault, though she knows there was nothing she could've done.

"Man, that was close," Ryuji's says as he walks up.

Hamuko tunes out Ryuji being scolded. They did it. Everyone made it out, everyone is alive, and Shido's heart is, hopefully, changed. For now, that is enough. They part ways, for now. Lay low until the change of heart takes effect.

She walks with Akira to the train station. "About all that, back there. . ." she starts.

"I'm on probation," he explains. "For preventing him from assaulting a woman. He pressed charges."

"Oh."

He gives her a look. "Are you okay? You kept freezing up before the battle."

"Just memories," she says with certainty. "I can't promise it won't happen again, but –"

"That was our last change of heart for a while, anyway. We need to get to the Depths of Mementos, right? We promised you. There's nothing big like that in Mementos."

She winces. "About that. . ." she tells him about her dream. They have a right to know about at least that if they're really going to be going to the Depths. They walk in silence for a while as Akira processes what she said.

"It doesn't matter," he says eventually. "You said it yourself. This isn't your story. If you end up not being able to help. . . that's fine. I'd rather you get your memories back, even at the cost of having you for backup."

"Thank you, Akira."

"And we'll rescue your brother, if that's where he is," he promises. Morgana, who had remained silent for most of their conversation, chimes in an agreement, and they part ways on that note.

Shido confesses a week later, right after being elected the country's leader. Nothing changes. The "scandal" of him being a murderer seems to not matter to the public anymore. In fact, there's no talk of the scandal at all. Why has nothing changed? Something has gone horribly, horribly wrong.

What happened?

"My request for a case was denied," Niijima Sae tells them on the 23rd. "There is nothing more I can do."

"So what do we do," says Ann, "change the hearts of all Shido's followers?"

Morgana perks up at that. "Maybe not his followers, but Mementos. . . it's the source of the public's desires. If we could change the cognition in Mementos –"

"We need to get to the Depths anyways," Akira nods. "If Mona thinks there's a Treasure, it makes sense that the Depths would be where it is."

"Do you think that would work?" Makoto asks.

"No point in not trying," Akira answers.

"You need to realize something, though," Morgana says. "Mementos is the source of the public's desires. If we steal the Treasure. . ."

"If we kill all twelve full moon Shadows, the Dark Hour should disappear."

"You'll lose the Metaverse," Hamuko realizes. "Palaces, Mementos. . ."

The Phantom Thieves mull over this for a bit. She decides not to interfere – her story might've included getting rid of the Dark Hour (which is probably the name for the strange midnight phenomenon), but their story requires the Metaverse to continue. This is their decision to make.

Ann breaks the silence. "I think it's worth it. We're reforming society, right?"

"We have to," Akira agrees. "There's no other way."

They reach a consensus and explain the plan to Boss and Niijima, planning to reconvene tomorrow and finally reach the Depths. She is reminded of – god, her head hurts. She accepts Haru's offer of a ride home and crashes the second they get there.

Something niggles at the back of her head.

"If we kill all twelve full moon Shadows, the Dark Hour should disappear."

She shoots up and looks out the window. The moon is not full yet, but – she fumbles for her phone and clumsily types in her search. 'When is the next full moon?'

December 24th.

There is something ominous about this knowledge. The full moon does not mean good things to her, and it doesn't bode well for their mission tomorrow. The Depths of Mementos. . . it's going to be a long ride; she can feel it.

Pulling out the phone Mitsuru gave her, she shoots off a text.

24th. Full moon. Depths of Mementos. Shibuya.

Hopefully that's enough, because she's not sure how else to explain it.

She gets as much rest as she can and rallies herself up to meet in Shibuya the next day. The Phantom Thieves are all there waiting for her. Tensions are running high. This is going to be the last day they all have the Metaverse. She can understand how that might be upsetting.

The dead-end at the end of Mementos opens up into a large cavern. Veins, cages – leading down, down, down, into the very Depths. The Velvet Room door stands ominously at the top of the way down. Akira makes a move to go in. Hamuko pulls him back. Whatever Personas he has is good enough. She does not want him going in there.

There's a lot of climbing and navigating around to get to the bottom. She tries to keep up as best as she can, but she's not a Phantom Thief. She doesn't have the same agility. They pass more cells, with the public chained up. They whisper unsettling things. Hamuko tries to block it out.

They have to fight guardian Shadows after every cell they pass. Occasionally, the Thieves get distracted by the people in the cells, but she refuses to look at them. She doesn't want to think about the state of the world that got them here. She just needs to reach the bottom.

There are puzzles, but Joker solves most of them quickly. They are stalled by Shadows and cells and puzzles, but eventually, they are standing in the exact place from her dream.

Her eyes are pulled down to the base of the thing, where a huddled form sits on its knees, hands outstretched and chained. Her dream-self steps closer until she can see the shock of blue hair against the red and black background, now dimmed by dirt and grime. His eyes are closed, and his breathing is shallow.

"Minato," she breathes.

The Phantom Thieves do not notice her speaking, too caught up in the thing in front of them. "This must be the Treasure," Morgana is saying. "If we get rid of it, the public should come to its senses."

"So we gotta destroy it?" Ryuji asks.

A commotion starts. The Treasure is sounding an alarm. "Hold on," Makoto says thoughtfully. "If the public is being held hostage. . . who is keeping them here?"

A voice chuckles. It's the voice she heard in her dream. She ignores it. Akira finally takes note of Minato's hunched body and nods for her to run to it while they destroy the Treasure. She takes her window immediately – she hates the cross position he's been placed in.

Now that she's closer, Hamuko can see another body behind him. Blonde, with an unnatural air to it. . . "Aigis." Neither stirs. "Minato," she says, shaking him. "Minato, please wake up."

He stirs a little but does not show any other sign of life. Thank god he's breathing, at least. She changes her course of action and sets to work on the chains. Akira taught her how to pick locks, but she's not very good at it. It's going to take her a while.

Behind her, the battle rages on.

She takes a hairpin out of her hair and sets to work. She really is not very good at this. A light momentarily blinds her but goes away after a second. The voice starts talking. She ignores it – she does not want to hear what it has to say. She's already heard enough from the voice. She especially does not want to draw attention to herself, considering what she's doing.

Is the Treasure getting brighter?

. . . Whatever. She gets one of the chains undone. Minato's left half, now freed, slumps into her. She moves to better support him and continues on the next one, this time moving a bit quicker than before. She needs to get him to safety. Him and Aigis, but Aigis is already freed.

She spares a glance to the body behind Minato. Aigis does not stir.

She's a robot, an inner voice reassures her. She doesn't remember finding that out, but she trusts it. That makes Minato her priority. The other chain unlocks, and Minato slumps fully into her. "Minato," she says. "I need you to wake up now."

"Indolent, foolish humans," booms the voice. "You shall offer your hearts to me."

A light blinds her, and then there is nothing.