"Why is this door's locked and where does it lead to, Ribbon?" asked Akemi curiously to Ribbon about the locked red metal door.
"BEYOND THIS DOOR IS THE RESEARCH LAB USED BY SPECIALISED WORKER ROBOTS. UNITS WITH SEVERE ERRORS ARE SENT HERE TO BE DISMANTLED AND ANALYSED." replied Ribbon.
"Dismantling… You mean they tear them apart?" said Noir.
"That's terrible!" said Akemi with a horrified look on her face.
"Yeah, I agreed with you, Kanzaki. That's even worse than dying… It's like they're being executed." said Oracle.
"How do we get inside? It seems to be locked." said Fox.
"TO UNLOCK THIS DOOR, PLEASE COME THIS WAY." said Ribbon before she turned them around and bring them toward 3 elevators with 3 "Power", "Knowledge" and "Adaptation" words slowly spinning around in each of the 3 elevators.
"What's goin' on here?" said Skull with a confused look on his face at the 3 elevators.
"THESE ARE THE ENTRANCES TO THE INSPECTION FACILITIES FOR ALL MASS-PRODUCED ROBOTS. BEYOND EACH OF THESE ELEVATORS IS A SWITCH TO RELEASE THE LOCK ON THE LAB ENTRANCE. ONCE ALL 3 SWITCHES HAVE BEEN PRESSED, YOU WILL GAIN ENTRY INTO THE LAB." explained Ribbon.
"Of course it wouldn't be easy for us to just unlock the door to the lab, why am I not surprised?" thought Jester sarcastically in her mind.
"What are those words printed on them? "Power", "Knowledge" and "Adaptation"… What's all that about?" asked Panther curiously to Ribbon about the 3 spinning words in the elevator.
"YOU WILL FACED INSPECTION BASED ONN THOSE 3 ATTRIBUTES." replied Ribbon.
"Well, I get "Power" and "Knowledge," but what's the "Adaptation" one?" asked Kanji in confusion to Ribbon about the "Adaptation" elevator.
"IT IS AN EXAM DETERMINING ONE'S ABILITY TO PERFORM DUTIES, EVEN UNDER EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCES. UNLESS ALL 3 STANDARDS ARE MET, YOU WILL BE DESIGNATED AS DEFECTIVE AND DENIED ENTRY." replied Ribbon.
"Basically, they're similar to vocational ability tests and qualifying exams. It seems this won't be easy…" sighed Mitsuru with a troubled look on her face.
"What about you, Ribbon? Do you think you can pass these 3 tests?" asked Miyuki as she glance at Ribbon.
"I BELIEVE MY PROBABILITY IS LOW, CONSIDERING HOW I WAS DESIGNATED ERRONEOUS DUE TO IRREGULARITIES." replied Ribbon sadly to Miyuki.
"Oh, I see." said Miyuki as she look away.
"But, getting past these is our only way… is it even safe for humans to go in there?" said Akemi with a concern look on her face.
"THERE IS NO DATA ON THAT." said Ribbon sadly to Akemi.
"I suppose that makes sense-there aren't any humans in this world. So, what should we do?" said Yukiko concernly as well.
"What else? We'll just have to be brave and go in-even if we don't know what'll happen. Don't worry, I'm sure we can aced these 3 tests somehow." said Miyuki confidently to Yukiko.
"Whoa, now that's confidence… How gutsy of you, Miki-tan!" said Junpei proudly at Miyuki.
"Ah, a claim befitting a phantom thief! We've gotten through countless scrapes like these with the exact same attitude!" said Mona proudly to Miyuki as well.
"Ugh, please. There's already enough of you being phantom thieves without adding her as a new member too." thought Crow in exasperation in his mind at Mona.
"I'd expected infiltration to be your forte. We should definitely turned to the phantom thieves for guidance on this mission." said Naoto with a small nod of her head.
"Then we've got our orders! Everyone, time to roll out!" said Miyuki excitedly and confidently to them.
"Well, enough mulling over shit since it's ain't my thing, either. Let's get in there." said Shinjiro.
"I hear you-standing around here chatting all day isn't going to do us any good. Let's go." said Akihiko.
"Seriously, you two… However, they do have a point: we don't have time to waste. How should we handle these exams, Jester?" said Mitsuru as she glance at Jester.
"How about we split ourselves into 3 groups, Kirijo-san?" suggested Jester.
"Oh, that's a good idea, Jester!" said Panther as she smiled and nodded at Jester.
"Indeed-let's do that. It'd much more efficient than the alternative." said Mitsuru in agreement with Panther at Jester's suggestion.
"I'll handle the "Power" exam. Are you 2 good with that one too, Shinji, Junpei?" said Akihiko to both Shinjiro and Junpei.
"Quit makin' decisions for me, moron. Tch… Fine. I guess I'll give you a hand." snapped Shinjiro as he scowled at Akihiko before he reluctantly agreed to do the "Power" exam with him.
"No objections here, either! A man's gotta take challenges like this head on!" said Junpei excitedly to Akihiko.
"Kanji-kun and Chie-chan are "Power" types too, right?" said Yukiko as she glance at both Kanji and Chie.
"Right!" said Kanji as he nodded at Yukiko.
"Ooh, I know! I'll accompany Chie-chan to the "Power" exam!" said Teddie excitedly and in agreement with Yukiko about going to the "Power" exam with Chie.
"You're volunteering me!? But what about Akemi and Naoto, the last 2 girls on our team?" said Chie with a surprise look on her face before she pointed her finger at Naoto.
"Well, "Knowledge" and "Adaptation" aren't exactly your strong suits…" said Yosuke sadly to Chie.
"Wha-Aw, man… I can't argue with that…" groaned Chie with a dejected look on her face.
"There, there, Chie…" said Akemi as she softly patted Chie's back to console her a little. "How about I accompany you into "Power" too?" suggested Akemi reassuringly to Chie.
"You well? Thank you, Akemi!" said Chie in joy and relief at Akemi coming with her.
"You're welcome, Chie." said Akemi as she smiled at Chie.
"Oh, then if that's how we're deciding, I'll go to "Power" too. No other choice for me here." said Skull.
"Count me in too. Since I'm a military-trained guy and all…" said Paladin.
"I suppose Oracle and I should take on the "Knowledge" exam? I'm confident with any simple intelligence problem…" said Queen.
"I'll choose "Knowledge" as well. I've studied the general matters of imperial governance." said Mitsuru.
"I'll choose "Knowledge" too, little cousin." said Spade as he glance at Oracle.
"Sure, Spade." said Oracle as she nodded at Spade.
"Don't forget about me! I'm the brains of the Phantom Thieves!" said Mona.
"Then I count for "Knowledge" too! I'm the chief of operation for the investigation team, y'know." said Yosuke.
"Huh? Really? Since when?" said Yukiko with a confused look on her face.
"Since the first day, dammit! Right, you guys?" said Yosuke as he scowled at Yukiko before he glance at Akemi, Chie and Teddie.
"Well, I suppose so, Yosuke-san." said Akemi with a hesitant look on her face (which make Yosuke look away with a disappointed look on his face).
"Allow me to go to "Knowledge" as well. I may be of some use." said Naoto.
"Then the last one is "Adaptation"… I think I can manage that, since I deal with customers every day." said Yukiko.
"Ha… I'm quite confident when it comes to adaptability as well. My creativity shines no matter the circumstances I'm in, and I manage to feed myself on foods even when I had no money." said Fox confidently to Yukiko.
"Fox…" thought Jester as she slowly shake her head at Fox.
"Anyway, jokes and common sense aside… Fox will go to "Adaptation"." said Queen.
"Mind if I join in? I've lived both overseas and in Japan, so I think my adaptability is pretty solid." said Panther.
"I'll go to "Adaptation" as well. I think I'd be a better fit there than with the other options." said Noir.
"Koromaru and I will go that way too. That'll balance out the number of people." said Ken while Koromaru let out a bark sound.
"I think I'll go to "Adaptation" too. I'm in the Archery club, so I think my focus will come in handy…" said Yukari.
"Where do you want to go, Ribbon? Are you proficient in any of these?" asked Oracle as she glance at Ribbon.
"I AM AN AVERAGE, GENERAL-PURPOSE UNIT. THUS, I HAVE NO SPECIALISED SKILLS. WHAT SHOULD I DO?" said Ribbon with a hesitant look on her face.
"You can come with me, Ribbon." said Jester.
"She will?" said Panther as she glance at Jester.
"I'd feel better if you were with her, Jester. You take care of that lil' robot." said Oracle gratefully to Jester.
"JESTER-SAN, I AM IN YOUR CARE." said Ribbon thankfully to Jester.
"Jester and Miyuki are left… This is just an idea, but what do you all say to the 3 of them act as the 3 teams' leaders?" suggested Crow.
"Oh, yeah… They have to join which 3 teams." said Panther.
"Sensei is always our leader, so she'd be a perfect actor for the role!" said Teddie excitedly to them.
"Right-I can definitely vouch for his leadership. Isn't that right, partner?" said Yosuke happily to Akemi.
"Yeah, you are, Yosuke-san." said Akemi as she nodded at Yosuke.
"And how about you, Miyuki Arisato? You mind being the leader that you say you are?" asked Crow calmly to Miyuki.
"Of course I don't mind, Crow." replied Miyuki as she nodded at Crow.
"Um… what should we do?" said Yukari as she glance at Junpei.
"It's more than fine by me! Having a pretty girl like her as our leader is great!" said Junpei excitedly to Yukari about Miyuki being their leader.
"No issues from me either. If anything were to go down during the exam, all I'd have to do is provide her backup." said Akihiko reassuringly to Yukari, which make Koromaru barking happily at him.
"I agree. It almost feels natural to see her as a leader…" said Ken in agreement with them about Miyuki being their leader before they all glance and asked Miyuki on whether she'll be their leader, which she think about it for a few seconds then agreed to it.
After Miyuki agreed to be their leader, Akemi and the others glance at Jester and asked her on which 3 exams she'll go to and she decide on "Adaptation" exam before Jester, Akemi, their friends, Jester and Miyuki split up into three groups and went into the 3 elevators for the 3 exams.