"..."
"...Did we break him?" Alix asked, concerned as Nathaniel sat silently in their booth at a small cafe. It was the following day, lunchtime for Paris and the Parisians had just finished giving Nathaniel the 411 about the Metaverse and their role as Phantom Thieves, with the Tokies listening in over Alix's phone.
"Just… give me a second," the redhead muttered, sounding a little dazed.
"It is a lot to process, isn't it?" Yusuke said from the other end.
After a few more seconds, Nathaniel took a deep breath before saying, "That explains why you didn't go for Hawkmoth… knowing you now, Marinette, I'd have thought you'd do the bastard first."
"Trust us, he's on our hit-list, but without knowing his identity, there's unfortunately not much we can do," the designer muttered in frustration.
"And you absolutely have to have those keywords to go after someone?" Nathaniel asked.
"Unless the target is in Mementos, yes," Morgana confirmed.
"If you don't mind my asking…" Marinette piped up almost timidly, "How did you figure it out?"
"I was sketching Ladybug and saw you nearby. I thought to myself, 'hey, what if I based my drawings of Ladybug off of Marinette? They seem pretty close physically…'"
Scratching the back of his head, he finished, "I think you know where things went from there…"
"It also could have just been a coincidence that Marinette and Ladybug's features were so similar," Kagami pointed out.
"Yeah, At first, I thought that too, but after Lila's confession, everything just suddenly made sense. Why you were so insistent that she was lying, your general dislike of her, everything!"
"No sense dwelling on it now," Luka reassured him, "We still intend to change Caline Bustier's heart. No pressure or judgment, but would you like to join us?"
"Are you going to do something to me if I don't?" Nathaniel asked, more out of curiosity than accusation or fear.
"Hell, no!" Ryuji exclaimed. "We'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone, but you really don't gotta join us."
"The man I saw as a parent mistreated me much like your mother, Nathaniel," Yusuke said sorrowfully, "While I desired to change his heart - and did - I would understand if you did not want to be part of that."
"Man… Hawkmoth's akumas are already a wild ride," Nathaniel shrugged. "But the part of me who wants justice won't be quiet, nor do I want it to anymore. I'm in!"
"How dramatically worded," Kagami laughed, "Are you sure you should be doing the drawing and not the writing instead of your beau?"
"I can," Nathaniel said, "It just takes me longer."
"Besides," he near-gushed, "Marc is a lot faster at it and seems to know just the right words for our works."
The Tokies cooed adoringly, causing another part of his body to be red.
"Marinette was right!" Nino laughed. "You two are meant to work together!"
"Oh! Come to think of it… Marc doesn't know about this, right?" Makoto asked, "I mean, when we put up the calling cards for the aforementioned brat, you said he stayed over at the bakery."
"Why would Marc know about this?" Nathaniel asked.
"Oh…" Nino blushed, "We used him as mine and Mari's alibi. Since we knew we'd be the primary suspects, we needed suspicion to be thrown off of us. Sorry about that…"
"It's cool." Nathaniel grinned savagely, slightly reminding them of Shadow Bustier's vicious yet innocent smile. "If worst comes to worst and he ever finds out, you'll apologize, and we'll call it even."
"Y-Yeah, dude! Totally!" Nino, Kim, and the others nodded rapidly.
"Now…" Nathaniel said, "did you guys have a visit to the… Palace, I think you called it… planned today?"
"Yeah," Akira nodded, "It's after classes for both of us, though, so you'll have to wait a little longer."
"Damn…" Nathaniel said, before shrugging. "Eh, whatever. Where do we meet?"
"Well, you guys meet up at Marinette's place, but we meet at Akira's."
"Oh, yeah! Leblanc, right?" Kim asked. "While I wasn't too focused on it at the time, that coffee smelled delicious!"
"I wasn't aware you liked coffee," Alix said suspiciously.
"I don't! I just like the smell. I don't mind coffee-flavored ice cream, though."
"Was it from Andre's or some other place?" Marinette asked curiously.
"Andre's?" Futaba asked.
"Well-"
"Sorry to interrupt, but time is ticking now," Alix said, pointing to her phone before they could explain. "Classes start soon!"
"Shit!" Kim jumped a little. "Well, we should be going. See you guys in a few!"
The Tokies nodded and waved goodbye as they logged off.
Nodding among themselves, the Parisians headed to their respective schools - Luka to his lycée and the others to their collège.
Classes went by, and it didn't feel like long before the Tokies & Parisians were back in Bustier's Palace.
"So, thoughts on the newbie's codename?" Oracle reminded everyone.
"Codename?" Nathaniel asked.
"Yeah," Viper nodded, "We all use them when we're in the Metaverse. We're thieves, after all."
Nathaniel's eyes seemed to sparkle. "Oh, really? Whoa, cool…! Hm, I wonder if our comic could incorporate that-"
"Oi! Focus, redhead!" Skull interrupted.
"Oh, right! Sorry!" he blushed, a little embarrassed.
"Redhead…" Ryuko mused. "Would Red be an acceptable codename?"
"What do you think?" Beat asked the artist, "I like it, but it's your call!"
"...Yeah, I can work with that," the newly-dubbed Red smirked.
"Sweet! It's official now!" Jack cheered, throwing an arm over Red's shoulder.
"I can't wait!" Red said genuinely.
"You think we can get to the Treasure today?" Panther asked Mona.
"It would take a longer stretch than usual, but I think it's possible." the not-cat answered.
"If we don't, it's not the end of the world either," Chance said, "The Principal Elections are still about a week and a half away."
"Oh yeah, I completely forgot about that!" Beat exclaimed, "Mme. Bustier hasn't really been talking about it much, huh?"
"Probably doesn't want to pressure us to vote for her," Jack reasoned, "Or she's confident enough that she'll win that she hasn't brought it up."
"Either way, let's just hope we don't run into any areas that are locked in the real world," Panther said, "Things would get way too complicated if that were to happen."
"'Open in the real world'?" King asked.
"Palaces always mirror how the person perceives the world around them. There could be certain areas that can only be accessed by changing things up in the real world in order to change their cognition," Oracle explained.
"For example, the time we went after Madarame, there was a door that he kept locked at all times in the real world. However, when we, or more specifically, Mona and Panther, opened it in the real world, it was able to open in Madarame's cognition, because the room was not accessible to more people than himself in real-time," Joker explained further.
"Makes you wonder if we had Chance and Viper on our team during that time if we would have had to go through the trouble," Skull wondered, "I mean, now, if a door's locked, the kwamis can open it for us now."
"But if we hadn't done that, we likely never would have recruited Fox to the team," Mona reminded them.
"True," Fox nodded as they progressed through the hall beyond the Failure Room, "It was only after seeing that room and being brought into his Palace that I was able to stand up to Madarame."
"Shadow up ahead!" Queen whispered harshly. Sure enough, a guard was standing in front of the next door.
Nodding, Joker dashed up to the Shadow and slashed at it with his dagger, causing it to begin transforming into a trio of Shadows.
Two of them were identical; clad in yellow furs with black spots and holding comically large (and not-so-comically sharp) writing utensils, the Scrivening Cheetah-Chicks growled at the Phantom Thieves. However, another one - a three-eyed womanoid in heavenly garb and heavy eye-makeup - was the one who moved first. The third eye - which sat above the space between the other two eyes - began to glow before the Phantom Thieves found themselves bathed in a green light that made them feel slightly weighed-down.
"Kamu Susano-o!" Fox cried, "Masukukaja!"
The Persona's accuracy- and evasion-raising spell reverted the team's stats back to normal.
"Peruggia!" Red called, stretching slightly with one hand as he ripped his mask off with the other, "Mabufula!"
Spinning the painting around his hand, Peruggia's magic had several ice attacks slamming into the Shadows, causing the Scrivening Cheetah-Chicks to fall to one knee, the other knee being barely held up by the writing utensil.
"Nice one, Red!" Jack commented with a grin. "Now, let me handle the last chump!"
Summoning Atalanta, she commanded, "Freidyne!"
With a thrust of her spear, a mighty blue explosion rocked the room, destroying the Perception God in one fell swoop.
Doing an All-Out Attack would have been easy from there, but Joker chose - and managed - to try and recruit one of the Scrivening Cheetah-Chicks, learning her name was Seshat.
"Sweet! A new mask, Joker!" Jack cheered.
"How are you feeling, Red?" Viper asked.
"Like I'm Tom Bruise from Mission: Implausible," he answered with a grin.
King laughed out loud, "Never thought of it like that!"
"Too bad we don't have any of the cool gadgets they use in the films," Oracle lamented with a giggle.
"I would have enjoyed tasering Kamoshida…" Panther smirked brutally.
Skull laughed this time, "So long as you saved a bit of his ass for me!"
"Wording, Skull," Queen admonished teasingly, causing Skull to involuntarily shudder a little at the thought of Shadow Kamoshida's thong.
"Anyway, let's keep moving. We can geek out about spy movies some other day," Chance said.
The team nodded; with that, they opened the door and found yet another long hall; thankfully, there were no guards around to waste their time.
"...Is it just me who's weirded out by the lack of guards, or…?" Beat asked cautiously.
"You're right, it is a little weird," Queen agreed, "The security should increase the closer we get to the Treasure itself."
"Meaning there may be another form of security," Joker frowned, "All of you, be on guard."
"I'm not sensing any trapdoors or anything," Oracle called out from Necronomicon. "I think I know why there are no guards here!"
"And that is…?" Viper gestured to go on.
"We're in Shadow Bustier's quarters," Oracle answered thoughtfully. "The Shadows won't want to bother her here unless there's a really good reason to do so!"
"Or if she calls them here herself," Ryuko reminded them, "After all, she's the head warden."
"Let's hope she doesn't do that if we're caught in here..." Jack shuddered.
"I think we should hurry while we're here," Joker said, opening the door they'd reached at the end.
They found a simple, monochrome office room on the other side. There was a single desk in the middle, and on the other side of the room sat the weird mass of energy that would become the Treasure.
"...This seems more like a CEO office than a prison warden's," Chance observed.
"Should we wreck the place?" King wondered, cracking his knuckles.
"Bad idea," Mona said, swatting the back of King's right knee, "She'll know we've reached here before we even get the chance to send the calling card."
"So, where's the Treasure?" Red asked. Ryuko, Jack, & King looked equally confused.
"That over there," Viper pointed towards the spherical mass.
"Huh?" Jack gasped, "But… Lila's was a crown! How's that Bustier's Treasure?"
"Originally, Lila's Treasure looked like this, too," Panther explained, "It became the crown we stole after she read the calling card."
"So the calling card makes the Treasure appear in a stealable form?" Ryuko questioned.
"Yes, it changes the Palace ruler's cognition," Fox explained, "When they become cognizant that the Treasure could be stolen - which is brought about by reading the calling card - it changes into its true form that we can take."
"I think I get it…?" King said, a little unsure.
"Just roll with it," Skull reassured, "it'll work. Trust us!"
"Two to three years ago, I would have doubted you," Red admitted, "but I believe you."
"Thanks to all of the akumas, we've seen crazier stuff than this, huh?" Beat said with a grave chuckle.
"Exactly," Red nodded.
"All right!" Mona cheered, "Infiltration route secured! Now we just need to decide when to send the calling card out!"
"Right!" Chance said, "If I recall correctly, the next time all of our schedules work out is in about four days. We can make a plan then!"
"That work for you, Red?" Viper asked, remembering that Red's schedule was yet to be adjusted for.
"Yeah, I think so," he answered after a small while of thought, "I'll double-check though."
"Let me know as soon as possible!" Chance said urgently.
"Will do!"
And thus, for what would be the semifinal time, the Phantom Thieves exited Bustier's Palace.
AN: Sorry if this seemed rushed, we're trying not to make that the case. And not to worry, there will be a little bit of drama still to come before the actual Treasure is stolen.
Also, on another note, I created a TVTrope page for this fic, so if anyone is interested in contributing, please do so. I literally just started it so there isn't much there right now!
R&R and we'll see you next time!
