The familiar feeling of his muddled memories sinking beneath the surface again returned. Across from the table, Sae Niijima frowned, not in an accusatory way but more like he was a puzzle that she could wrap her head around.

"So that's what happened…" Sae said resignedly. "After changing the heart of a student at Francoise-Dupont, you then went for a teacher who worked there."

Akira barely shrugged. "There were more problems going on than just Lila Rossi. Someone else could easily have taken her and Chloe Bourgeois' places as the big bully under Bustier's thumb."

"That's true," Sae nodded. "If she didn't stop her methods with past students, it was unlikely she would with her current ones. Considering the School Board's presence at the school, though, even if you didn't act, she likely would have been found out on her own."

"Then why wasn't she when Lila was exposed?" Akira countered. "Paris' board of education probably would have kept her since she was a good poster woman just to help the school's reputation survive Lila."

Sae couldn't help but nod, seeing his point. "It seems no matter what country it is, there will always be shady dealings going on behind the scenes… and you nearly learned that the hard way if your story is true, didn't you?"

Akira grimaced. Of all the targets they went after, both in Tokyo and Paris, this next one that she was likely to bring up would be the most morally depraved one, nearly tied with Kamoshida.

Sae noticed his face, "It seems you already know who I'm going to talk about. It was a rather stark contrast from Caline Bustier, given their motives' focus on shame… or lack thereof."

Reaching into her bag again, she pulled up yet another file. This time the folder was stuffed full of papers, compared to the last few.

"When you finally went after this man, the Phantom Thieves were starting to make a name for themselves in Paris as well, some even calling them international heroes. Clearly the faster success was due to the fact that Paris was known for having decidedly good and evil figures already. To think you were one in the same this entire time…"

"Is it really that hard to believe?" Akira couldn't help but snark.

"From my perspective now… perhaps not," Sae admitted. "Regardless, let's move to your next target. The owner of a prosperous music company, who has worked alongside several well-known musical artists despite rumors about his methods and other activities…"

As Akira looked at the spread-out picture of the target's name, he revulsed at the fact that the man was dressed similarly to Sojiro.

"...Bob Jäger Roth."

Akira clenched his fists slightly. This man…

Sae narrowed her eyes at his reaction but smirked regardless. She herself was not a fan of this man.

"Roth was already on police radar for smaller misdemeanors, such as theft related to plagiarism, employee mistreatment, and other such things related to his records company. Nobody knew about his side business."

Once again, the prosecutor leaned close in and demanded, "Tell me. How did you find out about it?"

"Well, it didn't start with him right away. Remember how Eve joined us around the time in between Lila and Bustier's Palaces?"

When Sae nodded in understanding, he continued, "Well, something similar happened once more, and it's sorta related to a previous target. I figure you might take interest in this…"

Sae squinted at him, before saying, "Go on."

"Well…"


"Again?!" Sae exclaimed as the news flashed to reveal the most recent incident that transpired in Paris. This time it was a teacher that taught at the same school that the previous victim (Layla, was it?) went to. So much for Akechi's theory about it being the same group! Going after a foreign target once was one thing, but twice? It didn't seem logical! If they continued like this, foreign affairs could get involved, and that would make things even more complex when the time came to actually arrest the individuals responsible.

"Oh, dear," Akechi raised an eyebrow at Sae's reaction. "You haven't heard about it? The arrest got to the news a few days ago in France…"

"I've been… busy," Sae excused weakly, "But anyways, how did you hear about it?"

"I downloaded a news app for Parisian and French news," Akechi explained, "I even downloaded that akuma alert app while I was at it. I don't fault you for not thinking to do the same, though."

The bite at her proactivity was there regardless, and Sae knew it.

"I understand if you think the case with Miss Rossi was a one-time thing, but we can't be too careful with a group like this," Akechi explained further.

"You made your point!" Sae snapped, before taking a deep breath, "So did you find out anything? Something that could confirm if we're dealing with separate groups or not?"

"Unfortunately, no," the Detective Prince responded, looking down sadly. "Alas, I'll continue to look at what I can."

Giving his watch a once-over, Akechi said, "Speaking of looking at things… I should be going. Work or not, I am still a high-schooler."

Turning to leave, the detective paused one more time to look at her. "If memory serves correctly, you mentioned your sister is writing to a penpal in Paris. Perhaps you could ask her some questions, even if it's a long shot."

"I… I'll do that," Sae nodded along almost dumbly. "Have a good day, Akechi."


The SIU director grimaced as he listened to the rant over the phone.

"I said this before, sir! International cases like this are a delicate matter," he said as calmly as he could.

The voice on the other end shouted something at him again.

"Yes, well, we can certainly deal with our group. I'll talk to our man about dealing with a certain… associate of ours in due time. It may not be best to do that now, but with the ratings on the Phan-Site building…"

The voice said something again, slightly less loud.

"Of course, sir. We're doing our best to help you lead Japan in the right direction."


"Say what? You can change people's hearts even if they don't have a Palace?" Kim asked, eyes wide. "I thought that was a must to do that or something!"

"Well, yes and no," Morgana explained from Futaba's computer at Leblanc, "People like Bustier and Lila did have a Palace, but it was solely their own. What we're talking about is a Palace that's made up of everyone's cognition all put together."

"How do you think we found out about M. Garçon?" Marinette asked with a smile.

"You did mention that he was one of Bustier's old students," Nathaniel admitted, "I guess it would make sense that he had some problems. He seems fine now, though."

"He wasn't at first," Yusuke informed, "his name was posted onto the Parisian Phan-Site. He was impatient and even borderline abusive with students from his old school."

"Really? Wow…" Kim muttered.

It had been about a week since Garçon and Reuter had joined the Françoise-Dupont staff and they were quickly becoming quite popular amongst both the students and staff. Garçon was always available for additional questions and would sometimes play soft music during work periods. He had an interactive way of teaching history too. Next week he mentioned they were going to reenact some events from the French Revolution.

The only rule he insisted upon that they hadn't liked at first was that he didn't allow notes to be taken on computers or phones, saying that handwritten notes helped memorize facts and events faster than typed. Some students argued they needed their phones out so that the akuma app could alert them to danger, but that was quickly countered with the fact that he would have his phone on the entire class, so they'd all be alerted at once should the app activate. Plus, said phones were in their pockets, anyways.

He did encourage them to recopy their notes onto computers outside class if that helped them, though. But in class, anything with a 'screen', as he referred to them, was either put away or turned off. He didn't even care how notes were taken as long as it was on paper. The prime example for that was when he caught Nathaniel doodling during a lesson. He pulled the artist aside after class, and the group found out after that Garçon encouraged Nath to keep doing it, as long as the drawings were about the lesson.

"Try making a comic about Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette from the lecture notes, for example," he had suggested.

Markov, however, was a bit of a problem, as while he wasn't a computer, he was a potential disruption. Eventually, a compromise was made: Markov could stay out as long as he didn't disrupt the class. Plus, he could answer questions students had and assist them on worksheets if Garçon himself didn't know the answer or was otherwise occupied. Good old Markov practically became the class' unofficial teacher's assistant.

"After all," Garçon had laughed, "Nobody knows everything! It's best not to pretend anyone can."

"So every time you defeat a larger Palace, then you can explore more of this Mementos place?" Nathaniel asked.

"That seems to be the case," Makoto nodded, "Since it's the cognition of the masses, how they perceive us as a group will affect Mementos as a whole."

"Come to think of it, how long until we actually reach the bottom?" Nino asked, "I mean, we are already able to go pretty deep aren't we?"

"We have no idea about that…" Ryuji shrugged helplessly, looking at Mona to make sure he was right, and the cat nodded sadly, "if we did, we'd tell you. We do know that we get closer every time a new Palace is taken out."

"Not that we want to sound rude, but how are you so certain there is a bottom?" Kagami asked, "As Nino said we've traversed fairly deep already."

"Well, like we said, all Palaces have a core that's keeping them intact, and since Mementos is a type of Palace, that means that there's a Treasure somewhere holding the Palace together," Mona explained again, "The more people who accept and acknowledge us, the more they'll trust us and the further down we can go."

"It's why we're working so hard to gain the trust of the public," Ann said, "If that wasn't essential, we wouldn't be making such a huge deal about it, but it's necessary for our mission."

"...Alright, you guys haven't been wrong so far," Alix finally sighed. "So… who's next on the list? You guys said you had some lined up?"

"Let's see..." said Futaba, who began typing on the laptop, "We've got a James Faulkner, who's apparently been committing corporate crime… a Shoichi Oyamada who's been threatening one of Akira's buddies…"

"If you don't mind me speaking up…" Luka suddenly piped up, "there is somebody I was hoping to go after as well…"

"What's up?" Ann asked. "Do you have another target in mind?"

"We can do those other ones, certainly…" Luka scratched the back of his head, "Marinette, remember when I was akumatized into Silencer?"

"Shit, for real?" Ryuji gawked. "Man, fighting an akumatized Viperion or Kobra musta been tough!"

"This was before even Viperion became a thing," Marinette explained, assuaging the Tokies' fears, "I remember, Lu. Where are you going with this?"

"How does going for XY - a pompous song-plagiarist who almost stole some of Kitty Section's songs - sound?" Luka smirked, elucidating for the Tokies.

"I think I've heard of him…" Akira said distastefully. He had a bit of an interest in music, and had made many a conversation with Luka and Nino about their songs. "I didn't like his music very much when I heard it… and that's phrasing it nicely. I can see why he'd go around stealing other people's works…"

"Other than being a massive honking douchebag?" Alix grumbled. She'd heard all about what had happened from Juleka and Rose during a girl's night out before she joined the Phantom Thieves, and she had not been pleased.

"He reminds me of Chloe a bit," Kim laughed, "a male version of her, anyway."

"At least changing his heart could help him actually try to come up with some original stuff," Nino said, "Maybe the reason all his music sucks is because it's all ripoffs of other artists!"

"His father isn't exactly a picture-perfect member of society either," Kagami added, "It could be a combination of bad role models, parental pressure, and lack of inspiration."

"Well, let's see about going for those three today," Morgana nodded, the rest of the Tokies doing the same, "Any objections to any of our targets?"

When nobody spoke up, the group began their trek into the Metaverse.


It hurt. It hurt so much.

It felt like she couldn't do anything without thinking of what he'd done to her. How he'd ruined her.

Even after she'd gotten away, she felt like eyes were on her at all times. Judging her, labelling her, branding her. Even if that wasn't her fault, they would forever be this way and it hurt.

The place she'd escaped to was full of understanding, better people, but it was still a prison at times for her, and she was not free from the torture her mind inflicted on her.

Sure, her girlfriend had her back - she'd even been one of his victims, too - but it wasn't the same. That kind of support only went so far, especially when they were so far away from each other now.

"Here we go," she said almost emotionlessly to herself as she exited one of Tokyo's shops, "Mementos for my family and-"

The world erupted into red and black around her.


"...YOU'RE A CAT-BUS!" Red unexpectedly squealed, causing everyone to jump and turn to see the starstruck face of the usually shy and introverted artist.

"Oh, boy…" Jack grumbled, but she was only hiding her own mirth as the ginger thief continued to obsessively inspect Mona's vehicular form.

"Red! Get a hold of yourself!" Mona yelped as the starry-eyed artist gazed through one of the windows.

"You're no better than Inari," Oracle smirked, receiving a slight whap on the back of the head from Fox.

"I won't deny that this is pretty cool," King shrugged, "I'm guessing you're how we're going through this place?"

"Pretty much," Oracle nodded. "It would take way too long to walk."

"Especially if we run into that special Shadow he told us about," Panther added.

"Right, so let's get going before he finds us up here!" Beat said hurriedly, ushering their newest members on board. Surprisingly, they all were able to fit thanks to the new rows of seats.

Since their last visit into Mementos, Mona had truly earned the alias of Mona bus . He was shaped more like a bus than the van he'd once been, but he looked the same regardless.

"Man, is this what being fat is like for humans?" Mona wondered out loud.

"You're not fat, Mona," Chance smiled, "just… built bigger now. Besides, there's no shame in being heavier."

"Right, right," Mona chuckled, "I guess I feel more bloated than fat. Like Americans after an average meal, or so I hear about their portioning."

"No arguing there," Panther said, having lived in the United States for a short time.

After several twists, turns, several escalators, and a thankfully fast takedown of Oyamada's Shadow, the team came across a new set of doors, with a lone figure standing in front of them.

"There's our first target, from the looks of it," Queen stated.

"Who's this guy again?" Skull asked.

"James Haydn Faulkner," Oracle supplied, "he's been doing dirty business - pun not intended - that nobody's been able to fight him about."

"Something about legal loopholes, if memory serves," Queen recalled. "He tricks financially struggling people into signing contracts in his company that allow him to practically stiff them of pay while keeping them working for him."

"How disgraceful," Fox commented with a frown.

"I think he ought to be taught a lesson," Ryuko snarled.

"Right, let's go!" Joker exclaimed, before swiftly jumping from Monabus and approaching the Shadow.

"What do you want?" the Shadow snarled pompously.

"Mr. Faulkner," Queen addressed, "We're here to stop you!"

"What's the big deal?" Shadow Faulkner said confusedly. "Oh, you must be here about the contract things. Not my fault people don't read the contracts! You know what they say - read the fine print!"

"Bullshit!" Viper snapped. "You're taking advantage of people by doing that! It's unjust and illegal!"

"Only if you're caught," the Shadow Self shrugged, "and people are too stupid to look close enough to see what they're getting themselves into."

"'Only if you're caught,' you say?" Chance grinned. "Lila Rossi said the same thing, and I'm sure you've heard about what happened to her."

"It seems words aren't getting us anywhere," King said, cracking his knuckles, "Which is fine, 'cause I talk better with my strength!"

"Foolish children!" Faulkner growled before he burst into dark goop. The form he took - one Joker dubbed Treacherous Demolitionist - was a man dressed in Merry Men-esque garb, complete with the hat, mustache and beard of an old Catholic. He also had a gunpowder barrel held beneath his arm. The Treacherous Demolitionist glared at them from his backwards-facing pose, his neck twisted in a way that looked far beyond unnatural.

"Don't try to get in my way!" the Treacherous Demolitionist snarled.

"Oracle, analysis!" Joker ordered.

"From the looks of it, he's got two weaknesses, but the only one I can pick up is Wind. See if any other attacks work, too!" she reported.

"Krotos! Go!" Viper shouted, summoning his Persona, "Garudyne!"

Just as Oracle predicted, the storm of wind knocked the Shadow clean off its feet. Faulkner's Shadow attempted to get up, only for Mona to follow up with a Garula from Zorro that sent him flying further back.

"Is that all you got?" Panther taunted.

The Shadow growled. "I won't let you finish me off! Not this fast!"

"Seems like he's rather weak as foes go…" Queen mused. "I think the Shadows in Futaba's Palace were about this guy's strength!"

"Then we shouldn't have any trouble finishing him off!" Beat smirked.

"I don't know…" Red frowned, "Something's off."

"Well, he's still on the ground, so…" Panther shrugged, before charging the Treacherous Demolitionist with her whip. With no prior warning, he jumped back up and unleashed a Flash Bomb that sent Panther spiraling back.

"Panther!" Mona cried as she skidded back to the side of the Phantom Thieves. Ryuko and Jack immediately set out to help her up.

"Told ya!" Red exclaimed. "Didn't the file say he'd been exposed before but had been able to recover by going somewhere else and starting anew?"

"Yeah…" Joker nodded along.

"You're saying it translates over in the Metaverse, aren't you?" Mona realized. "Makes sense."

"Yeah. I mean, Bustier saw herself as a warden, and it was translated by her actions, right?" Red reasoned.

"So looking like he's been defeated is part of his strategy? That's irritating," Ryuko frowned.

"It can only translate so perfectly, though," Mona explained, "Kamoshida and the other Palaces owners didn't believe they could transform into their more monstrous forms during our final fights, but they did, didn't they?"

"Yeah…" Chance said, "we'll just have to do it the hard way, then."

"Fine by me!" Skull smirked. "Seiten Taisei, Assault Dive!"

Seiten Taisei's staff rammed into the Treacherous Demolitionist, knocking him to the floor again.

"Even if we can't All-Out Attack him, we can still get him while he's down!" Joker called out.

"That Physical attack did a ton of damage and hit his weakness, too!" Oracle exclaimed, "Keep at it!"

"Lê Lợi," King cried out, calling forth his Persona, "Assault Dive, like Seiten Taisei!"

Once again, the Shadow gasped in pain as he was walloped by a swing of Lê Lợi's sword, sending him crashing into the wall next to the door.

"Urk…"

"Is he down for good this time?" Beat asked.

"We can't be too careful until he returns to his Shadow Self," Fox muttered, "let us strike him hard!"

"Finish him!" Mona shouted as the team all leaped towards him. The Treacherous Demolitionist jumped up to avoid an All-Out Attack, an Agidyne boiling inside a hole in his barrel, only to get walloped by all of the Phantom Thieves' weapons at once.

"Yes!" Chance cheered as the Shadow Self finally faded back into Shadow Faulkner.

"...I really should have quit after the first time, huh?" Shadow Faulkner sighed.

"Have you learned your lesson? There's more where that came from if you ain't!" Skull warned.

"You should never have begun doing this," Joker frowned angrily at the fallen foe.

"Very well… I wish you the best, Phantom Thieves…" Shadow Faulkner said before fading away.

With the final farewell, Faulkner's Shadow vanished and was replaced by an orb of light that formed into a card. Joker quickly snatched it from the air.

"Flash Bomb, hm?" Joker mused to himself as he pocketed the card, "Not bad."

"All right!" Skull cheered, "Two down, one to go!"

"And a new area to explore for our troubles," Mona said as he approached the door the Shadow had been standing in front of. Sure enough, the door opened in front of him.

"A new area has appeared in the Depths," an automated voice sounded from their phones.

"So, will anything change, or does it mostly look the same from here?" King asked curiously.

"There will be more Shadows lurking around," Oracle said, "and they'll be stronger too."

"It seems to get darker the deeper we get too, from what I can tell," Jack observed.

"Less natural light makes sense," Fox nodded.

"So XY's Shadow is down there?" Red asked.

"I'm going to enjoy smashing him with my scimitar," Viper grinned ominously.

"Just don't go too overboard - we don't want to kill him," Chance chastised her boyfriend, but no one missed the slight gleam in her eyes.

"Anyway, let's go before he or his old man cooks up something crazy!" Beat said urgently.

"Right! Let's go!" Panther exclaimed as Joker led the way.


Her heart beat loudly in her ears, eyes bugged out and wide as another monster shuffled down the tracks.

Was this Hell? Did a car hit her as she was walking out of that shop? Surely not even the afterlife would be this cruel to her.

***** *****... a voice whispered in her ear. Turning in the direction of the voice, she looked up at the giant red-and-black portal that stood before her.

You wish to end your pain, don't you?

The voice was silky and smooth, reminding her of her girlfriend when she was flirty.

Her mind unhelpfully piped up, saying, And himwhen he had-

My point precisely… the voice returned, snapping her out of her thoughts, Come through the portal. I'll help you put an end to your suffering.

Slowly walking up to the portal, she hesitated for a few seconds before an inhuman screech caught her attention.

One of the monsters had seen her, and it began running towards her.

She'd been strong for a long time, unfazed by little, but this? This would scare just about anyone.

Letting out a shrill scream, she jumped into the portal, praying that whatever laid on the other end would be merciful.


Meanwhile, the Phantom Thieves had just finished a battle with some Undying Romantics and a Perception Goddess when that same scream echoed throughout the tunnels.

Panther went white. That had sounded like…

"Wait a minute… was that…" Skull gasped, recognizing the voice as well.

"What's going on?" Ryuko asked urgently, sensing the alarm in Panther, Skull, and Joker's body languages.

"MONA!" Panther all but screamed, "TRANSFORM, AND FOLLOW THAT VOICE!"

Mona - who was just as confused as the others - transformed regardless.

"Panther, what's wrong?!" Chance gasped once everyone had piled in.

"I could've sworn that scream sounded familiar…" Queen muttered, eyes wide as well.

"A Shadow Self's portal is up ahead!" Oracle called in. "There's also another presence there!"
"Oh, man, if XY's Shadow gets his hands on her…" Skull paled.

As the team skidded past the Shadow and jumped into the portal, a frustrated Jack exclaimed, "His hands on who?"

"Panther, being cryptic isn't going to help us fix the problem," a confused King said as they flew through the portal. "Cool down!"

The Monabus literally screeched to a stop once they were inside the pocket, Panther practically ripping Mona's door off to get out.

As the team looked at the Shadow Self, their eyes also fell on the near-identical form of the girl standing in front of the Shadow Self. They seemed completely oblivious to the extra company behind them.

"Oh, no ," Chance whispered.

This wasn't the place where XY's Shadow Self resided.

It was Shiho's.

And her Shadow Self was standing there right in front of her.


AN: So, a lot of stuff happened here. I know a lot of you were expecting us to move on to Okumura's Palace next, and we almost did, but ultimately, the two of us felt the need to tackle Bob Roth's Palace first. I hope we're able to do this despicable minor ML villain justice... brace yourself, it's going to get dark.

R&R, update the TVTropes page (we have a character page now!) and see you next time!