A/N: Hey, this is a new approach with palace exploration because I think writing about going through the palace puzzles is boring. So if you wanted to see a shit ton of fight scenes, then I'm sorry to disappoint but I'm also not…
Anyways, let go...
Welcome again, Wanderer…
Hello again, creepy voice in my head.
I see that you've established your first true bond. The Fool Arcana, similar to your own but has the unlimited potential. This will be quite useful in your journey.
About that… what was that yesterday? I was just talking to my friends and that… happened.
That is the result of your special ability known as 'The Doppelganger'. A skill similar to your companion's, known as 'The Wildcard'.
Wildcard? Do you mean Akira? Does that mean I can summon more than one Persona like him?
Not quite. But first, you must find your Persona's true name before being able to access the power of the Doppelganger.
I… don't know how to do that though. That bastard won't tell me.
That is something you must find out for yourself. But I'll leave you with this, you will need to rely on your fellow rebels to hone your power. May we meet soon…
Day: April 18th: Monday
Time: Early Morning
Location: Shujin Academy
Akira Kurusu walked by himself to school, Morgana hiding in his bag of course. According to Kyotaro, it would be best to make sure they wouldn't be seen together until the mission was complete. He also claimed he had something else to bring into the duffle bag alongside their equipment, though he wanted to keep that a surprise.
As Akira approached the school entrance, he noticed a familiar mop-head greeting students. A large grin plastered onto his face as he did.
"Good morning. C'mon, hurry and get to class!" He said with enough saccharin in his voice that would make one sick.
He turned to see Akira watching his display, his face dropping into a mild expression. "Good morning."
"Good morning." Akira responded with a smirk before walking up the steps.
As he walked up, Kamoshida whispered to him. "That admirable behavior won't do you any good once you're expelled…"
In his stride, Akira found it difficult not to let out a smile. He murmured to himself, "And that front you put on, won't save you from us…"
TAKE YOUR TIME
Kyotaro lazily tapped his desk at a soft volume whilst they waited for school to be over. All his mind has been stuck on was knocking Kamoshida off his throne. And it seemed like it was the same story for Ryuji, as he noticed him send out a group text.
[Ryuji S.] So I saw Kamoshida at the school gate this morning.
[Ryuji S.] He was just standing there looking at me with this shit-eating grin on his face.
[Akira K.] Ditto, I was even brought in for a talk about 'The Dangers of a Lack of Supervision' because of him.
[Ann T.] Urgh, that's so annoying. He must be trying to get under your guys' skin.
[Ryuji S.] Honestly, it's gettin' me even more fired up about this.
[Kyo W.] Good, we're gonna need that energy.
[Kyo W.] Speaking of 'need', I slipped the duffle bag in my usual spot. As soon as we're released, I'll get it as fast as I can so we can deal with him as quickly as possibly.
[Ann T.] Yeah. I want to see that bastard pay for what he did to Shiho.
[Akira K.] Alright, head straight to the rooftop. That's where we strike.
[Ann T.] Let's do our best!
Kyotaro slipped the phone back into his pocket, letting out a faint smile as he looked down to his desk.
"Hey Watanabe!"
Uh oh… Bad idea to text during Ushimaru's class.
TAKE YOUR TIME
After meeting up on the rooftop, the five thieves gathered their inventory and went on into Kamoshida's castle. Though not without a few jabs at Kyotaro after seeing him hobble upstairs with a large mark on the center of his forehead.
"Pretty sure yours is bigger than mine was..." Joker laughed as he saw Ghost still rubbing his forehead. Their fellow thieves also snickered when they saw the bruise.
"Can we not talk about this anymore?" He sighed before turning to… Ann. "So, what's her codename going to be?"
Ann tilted her head at that, "Codename?"
"Yeah, I'm Skull, he's Joker, there's Ghost, and that's Mona."
"It helps if you base your name off of your costume," Ghost shrugged.
Skull rubbed his chin in thought, "With that tail and outfit, I was thinking…. Sexy Cat!~"
"Uh, no way in hell." Ann sighed before furrowing her brows in thought, "Oh! What about Panther? That sounds cool, right?"
"Why a panther, in particular?" Ghost questioned.
"Because… it sounds the most ferocious?" Ann figured with a weak smile.
"Well, that's good enough for me." Joker nodded before he turned to the castle with a sly smirk on his face. "Let's storm this castle!"
TAKE YOUR TIME
The five moved through the castle. Sneaking past shadows and getting some spare treasure on the way. The goal was to find the route to the manifestation of Kamoshida's desires but it seemed like they were getting nowhere. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
The castle seemed way too disjointed, the room didn't have a clear path. It was impossible to tell if they made any progress whatsoever.
"Man, we're doomed…" Skull groaned as after moving through ten rooms that looked the same. "Ugh… Where is this damn thing?!"
"Yeah…" Panther sighed as she stretched out her legs, "It feels like we've gotten nowhere."
"The castle's distortions seem to be muddling with the path," Mona figured as he gazed around the room. "If we were able to understand Kamoshida's cognition, understand where his palace sprouted from then maybe we might be able to find the treasure."
The five stopped when they came to a large room. Guards roamed around as they guarded a door covered in ivy at the far side. Mona leapt in excitement at the sight of it.
He whispered to the four of them. "Right behind there is something that just might help us. I can sense it..."
"And… You know that how?" Skull shrugged, "Whatever… We haven't made any progress since we got here. Whatever helps, helps…"
Joker rubbed his chin as he saw the many guards that circled the place. "It'll be difficult to get through with these shadows."
"What about that?" Ghost pointed up to a titan of a chandelier that hung the room. "If we send that thing down on all of them, we could possibly take them out no problem."
Panther smiled, "Sounds like a plan! But… How are we gonna knock it down? I don't think our guns will be able to cut through metal as thick as that."
"Actually, I have something that might." Ghost pulled out a large bundle of explosives. "I was making smoke bombs a few days ago, and I came out with this thing. It seems entering this world also brought a bit of punch to it. Before, It looked more like a bundle of duct-tape and firecrackers."
"As awesome, and kinda scary, that is…" Joker looked up to how high the chandelier actually was, "How are going to get this to there?"
Mona snickered as he turned to Joker, "I actually have just the thing for that…"
The cat took his wrist and slipped on a bang around it. The sounds of clicking came from it once it connected to Joker's glove. He turned to Mona, "What did you just strap onto me? Now my left hand just feels heavier than my right…"
"Just something I was working on during my stay at LeBlanc," Mona's lips gave a proud curl upwards, "What would a Phantom Thief be without a grappling hook to help him maneuver through a Palace? I was only able to make the one though…"
"Welp, guess you're lighting the fuse." Ghost said as he handed Joker the bomb, "Just strap the thing onto it and snap the red wire, make sure you're a good distance away…"
"Gee, what a great gift…" Joker deadpanned as he pointed his hand to the roof. But before he did anything, he realized something. "How are we going to get them all? Don't they need to be under it?"
Mona stepped up at that, "Guess that's our job, we'll reign them in for Joker. And when we give the cue, you send it. Alright, guys?"
The four thieves nodded at that. Getting into position, Joker readied his arm and pointed it to the chandelier's chain. Ghost handed out smoke bombs for everyone to use, though he insisted on keeping the majority. And once Joker zipped upwards, they leaped into action.
Skull, Panther, and Mona used their personas to push back the shadows into the center of the room where the chandelier hung. After that, Ghost was the first to toss out bombs to the shadows‒ causing them to be dazed to the continuous beat down of small explosions sent their way.
"Hey, captain!" Ghost called out, "Send it!"
After the sound of wire zipping, came a large explosion that destroyed the chain holding up the large pendant of the room. It crashed down onto the shadows, crushing most of them‒ some left weakened by the attack. And with enemies knocked down, it meant one thing…
"Looks like it's time for an All out-attack!" Mona called out. Ghost, Skull, Panther, and him leapt into the air. The four turned into a blitz that continuously rained down strike to the dazed shadows.
Mona landed onto a swivel chair that faced the silhouettes of their enemies. He turned around with a cigar in hand as a backdrop formed. Film tape of his image as scrolled by underneath a large cat stamp that readout,
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
"Hey, I thought I was in charge of saying when to use that." Joker smiled as he walked over to the four of them.
"Sorry, but I wanted to see how mine looked." Mona rubbed his chin, impressed by what he did. "All-in-all, very satisfied…"
Skull laughed as he wrapped an arm around Ghost, "Too bad this guy hasn't seen his yet!"
"Whatever," He pushed aside his arm in a huff, "I'll have my chance in the spotlight, just you wait!"
The newest of the thieves spoke up, "Uh guys, the thing behind the door?"
"Oh, right…" Mona bowed in head in slight embarrassment before a love bug hit him once more. "You're so attentive, Lady Ann… We wouldn't get this far if it wasn't for you."
Amidst that whole scene, Joker walked through the busted in door‒ thanks to the aftermath of that crash ‒and gazed over an odd seed shaped like a skull. The strange pod gave odd whispers as he loomed over it, the voice of Kamoshida. It let out lustful moans, causing Joker to cringe. Once he picked it up from its podium, he thankfully got it to stop.
"Hey," Joker called out to his team, shaking the pod in his hand. "Mind telling what this is?"
Mona nodded, "What you are holding is a Will Seed. The coalesced desires that helped sprouted Kamoshida's palace."
With that, the thieves began to notice how the room around them began to change. As if on Mona's cue, their palace had shifted into this strange sight.
The colors turned to gray and the space around them had shrunk. The five of them were between ailes of seats that were filled with faceless people, watching intently at what was in front of them. The thieves looked around the room to see what was similar to a TV set. They all turned to Joker, who was focused on the lack of a Will Seed in his possession.
"What happened here?" Panther asked as they continued to gaze around the room.
"Did Kamoshida's cognition change?" Ghost asked as he attempted to touch one of the people seated, his hand passing through them like air. "Wait, I thought cognition people are supposed to be tangible. What is this?"
Before anyone could speak further, the sounds of spotlight turning on caught their attention. The five turned around to see three people seated in front of a filming station. One of them, a familiar ripped mop-head. However, he carried an air of youth with him. No signs of wrinkles and skin that seemed to glow.
"What part of the castle is this shit?" Skull asked Mona, to which he only got a shrug in response.
"The ad is about to end!" The stage crew announced before counting down from ten. With each drop of the number, Kamoshida stirred in his seat. He kept his arms folded and his legs twitched at the countdown.
"The next segment on the show! 'The Person I Want to Meet'!" The tv announcer said in a cheery voice that drew in viewers. "In honor of this year's World Championship, which will be held for the first time in four years, we bring you to the captain of the men's volleyball team‒ Mr. Suguru Kamoshida!"
"Hello… I'm Suguru Kamoshida." He greeted with a subtly meek voice.
"That's Kamoshida?" Skull voiced aloud, not a single person in the crowd hearing him. "He seems so… young."
"Let's be quiet," Morgana whispered to the group, "I think we should pay attention to this."
The host looked to the athlete with an impressed smile on his face, "You know, it's not all that often you see someone gain so much traction in their first outing of their career and still retain it. How incredible are you, Kamoshida-san?"
Their guest waved off with a sheepish smile, "Oh, no no… I'm nothing special."
"Now don't you be so modest," The hostess beside him laughed, "You've done quite a lot in your career; not only numerous advertisements but you've also donated plenty of money to your hometown highschool."
"Yeah, you don't see the average person doing that." The host nodded his head, their compliments caused Kamoshida to turn his head away with an awkward smirk.
"But we've been dancing around the question for too long," The host announced to the audience before turning back to their guest, "Kamoshida-san, in that last match of yours‒ how did it feel at that moment of victory? Can you describe it for us?"
"Hm, how to describe it?" Kamoshida looked to the ground in thought, "I guess it was just… 'I won! Woo!'. I was just happy, no other way to describe it."
"What about the pressure?" The host brought up, "I'm sure your role has very taxing responsibilities."
"Indeed. Not only do you have to take care of yourself, but your teammates as well. That's the trait of a good leader. You have to keep your focus in the heat of it all. Though it can be exhausting for me."
Kamoshida let out a chuckle, "Sorry, I'm rambling… I-I'm not good with crowds like this."
"I couldn't tell," The hostess beside him gave a smile that caught him off-guard, "When you were receiving the gold medal at the press conference, you looked like a natural- dare I say, handsome."
The host leaned forward with a grin, "Seems you have a fan here, Mr. Kamoshida. My co-host has actually been a fan of volleyball since highschool, and she's taken a liking to you in particular."
"O-Oh, really?"
"I'd actually liked to ask you a bit more, when the cameras are off." The hostess tucked away a strand of her long hair behind her ear. "You don't mind, do you?"
"Hey hey hey! What are you waiting for!" The host encouraged, "The lady asked you a question, what do you say?"
Kamoshida turned his head away, unable to process this sudden situation.
But once he did, the room froze. The people at the front began to dissipate in front of the thieves' eyes, as well as the crowd around them. Once it all disappeared, it revealed the same large room that they were in before.
"What the hell was that just now?!" Skull exclaimed. "Why was Kamoshida actin' like that…?"
Joker rubbed his head in thought before throwing out an idea, "Was that a memory?"
"Seems like it," Morgana nodded his head. "The Will Seed must have shown it to us, and by showing it to us…"
The five walked into the corridor, witnessing what had happened. What looked like a series of multiple branching paths, had changed into a single corridor.
"It's helped guide us through the palace," Morgana rubbed his chin, "But there has to be more of them. If we can find all of them, the route to the treasure will reveal itself… I think."
"There he goes with 'I think' shit again," Skull turned to Joker, "So, what do you think?"
"May as well," He shrugged, "If it means finding the treasure sooner, then who am I to protest?"
TAKE YOUR TIME
After going through the castle, the five found it to be somewhat easier to navigate through. They seemed to have been running into chest more often and they were able to sneak by enemies without much trouble. And yet, there was no sign of Kamoshida's treasure.
Currently, they were scaling up the ivy infested walls outside the castle. The five hopped through the large window and massive room with paintings of Kamoshida above them. Amongst these self-flagellating artworks, they noticed a door covered in ivy. The thieves immediately walked through once they saw it.
"These Will Seeds kinda creep me out," Skull said, "I mean, I get that we have to since it helps us get through the castle but… I don't wanna see that bastard's past."
"I get what you mean," Panther discontentedly nodded along, "In that memory, Kamoshida seemed so… human. I feel nothing but hatred for him but…"
"We'll figure it all out later," Joker reassured as he picked up the Will Seed from its podium.
Once again, the room changed to gray. They found themselves in a high rise hotel room, where they saw Kamoshida on the floor. He looked to have been pleading to the same hostess from before, who clung onto herself in defense as she slowly stepped away from him.
"P-please, I'm-I'm so sorry!" He bowed his head as his body trembled. "I swear, I didn't… I just had too much to drink. I would have never!-"
"Well, you did!" She backpedaled away seeing Kamoshida get up, "I can't believe that you'd be that kind of person to just…"
"I beg you, don't tell anyone about this!" He brought his hands together as he kneeled, "My career will be ruined if this comes out. I'll be betraying my companies, my fans, I'll have nothing left…"
The scene flashed before their eyes. Now, they saw a melancholy Kamoshida‒ sitting on the bedside, ashamed at what he had done. A man spoke to him from behind the door, asking him what had happened. To which he could only reply with a meek voice.
"I understand," The stern voiced man outside said, "We'll take care of it…"
"Please, just… call the police." Kamoshida sighed as he looked to the ground.
"Let's not be rash," The business man assured, "I said we'll take care of it, don't worry. It'll be like this never happened."
The memory dissolved, returning the thieves back to the castle. The five looked at each other, their faces tense at what they saw.
"That TV woman, that was Kamoshida's first victim." Mona voiced his thoughts.
"Yeah, but…" Ghost rubbed the back of his head, "He actually seemed sorry…"
"What changed? What made him the total asshole he is now?" Skull growled and kicked the ground.
Mona furrowed his brows in thought, "The Will Seeds are supposed to show the origin of distorted desires, and that it tells me there's one last piece of the puzzle left."
Joker nodded as he readjusted his gloves, "Then let's find it."
TAKE YOUR TIME
"This is it…" Ghost said aloud as they found another ivy covered door, "It has to be, right?"
"Yeah," Panther scowled at the thought, "I want to see it. I want to see what made Kamoshida into a monster, and what made him think that abusing all of us at Shujin was okay..."
Skull pushed past the door, and picked up the Will Seed himself. His expression sharp as he saw it dissolve, "Let's see it, you bastard…"
The thieves found themselves in a restaurant in Shibuya, where they saw Kamoshida seated across from a well suited man. The athlete kept his gaze onto the table as he had the look of death written across his face, "I'm so sorry, what I've done… I've hurt so many people. My representatives, my fans, and her."
"It's okay," The business man reassured, "We've already settled that matter. We already talked to her, she won't be talking about it."
"Huh? You mean…"
The suit smiled, "You can continue being 'the ideal athlete'. You see, Mr. Kamoshida, our company has done well since you joined us. It's our job to keep you safe so that business keeps going, all you have to do is just play the role of sports star. Or is that too much pressure for you?"
"Not at all…"
"Well, if any other matters like this happen just make sure to discuss it with us." The man sat up from his seat, "You deserve that much with your work ethic, no?"
"But…"
"Just trust us," He turned to the door, "It's for everyone's best interests."
After he left, Kamoshida began to reflect on those words. "Everyone's best interests… I deserve… Yeah… yeah, I do…"
The scene dissolved, leaving the thieves speechless at what had transpired.
Skull scoffed with his hands in his pockets, "People like that, just create even shittier people like Kamoshida…"
"Hey Mona…" Ghost turned to the smallest of the thieves, "The castle should be more clear, right? That's what you said?"
"Yeah," The cat nodded its head, "We should get going, the treasure should be easy to find now."
The four turned to Panther, who stood stiffly after witnessing those memories. She suddenly turned around, her eyes sharp as she walked towards the door. She said to them in a low voice that seeped with vexation. "Come on, let's get that treasure…"
TAKE YOUR TIME
The five easily made their way to a dark corridor, at the end of it was a pair of large sturdy doors that seemed to have been inviting them in. Skull put an hand of the door with an excited smile on his face, "Something's tellin' me that this' the place!"
Ryuji called forth Captain Kidd, launching a Lunge attack that forced it open for them. Behind the doors, was a large room of gold coins. The floor buried underneath it all and numerous pots of gold were filled with them.
But what stood out in this mess of gilded material was an odd cloud. It hovered above the center of the room in chromatic colors. The thieves walked in, examining what was before them.
"What is this thing floating here?" Panther asked as she attempted to reach out and touch it, her hand passing through it's intangible state.
Mona snickered as he stepped on top of a golden cup below it, "That is what we came all the way here for, the Treasure!"
"Some… weird cloud thing?" Joker asked. "Kind of underwhelming…"
"Actually, I was going to tell you more about this when we made it this far," Mona began, "Simply finding the Treasure isn't enough. We'll need to make it materialize before we can steal it."
"What do you mean by that?" Ghost lowered his eyes to meet with Mona's.
"Desires have no physical form by nature. Hence, we'll first need to make the real person aware that their desires are in fact a Treasure. Once they're conscious that their desires might be stolen, the Treasure will finally show itself."
Panther brushed back one of her twintails as she asked, "But how do we do that?"
"We warn them," Mona stepped off of the cup as he continued, "Tell them, 'We're going to steal your heart' by sending them a calling card. Once we do that, the treasure will appear for certain! ...I think."
"That again?" Skull sighed before his spirits began to lighten up. "Either way, sounds like it's worth givin' it a shot!"
"First, we're going to have to send him the calling card in reality. Meaning we have to leave for now." Mona shrugged as he began walking towards the door. "Once he reads it, we have to snatch the Treasure on the exact day."
Joker smirked as he curled his fingers around his chin, "Seems like a plan! Alright, let's head back and get some rest. Then, we take Kamoshida's heart!"
TAKE YOUR TIME
The five snuck around the castle to head for the exit. Strangely enough, there were very few shadows roaming around. A possible result of them finding Kamoshida's Treasure location, they figured.
"Things went pretty smoothly," Ghost laughed as they were about to turn the corner into the great hall. "Hopefully we can end this quickly next time."
"Next time?" A familiar sly voice laughed once they stepped into the large room. Turning their heads to the stairs, they saw Shadow Kamoshida standing above them. Numerous guards at his side with their swords raised. The king of the castle let out another distorted laugh at the sight of the thieves.
"No, there won't be a next time…"
A/N: So yeah, I brought back the Will Seed memory concept since I thought it was neat. Unfortunately for me, I'm going to have to write memories for the other palace owners‒ which will be a problem for me because I'm an unoriginal bastard but away we go…
So yeah, see you next chapter...