Play: Backside of the TV - Persona 4
He and Mona continued down the streets of the other Inaba, what they had thought was the direction of the Inn.
But they had walked for what felt like forever, and they weren't making any progress. It was as if the town's shape and the structures were changing as they moved through the streets and alleys.
Shadows had become a non-issue for them. Knowing all of their arsenals was available to them was valuable knowledge and had made fighting the Shadows in this new world a complete cakewalk.
There was one point in their journey through the distorted town where Shadows had surrounded them in the streets that did give them a bit of a scare, but with their Personas and guns at their hands, it was nothing for them.
Even if they were only two, they were still Phantom Thieves for a reason.
…
As they passed what should have been where the Inn was for the fourth time, Mona huffed in frustration.
"I don't get it! This is where the Inn should be! Why is it not showing up?!"
Joker looked at the buildings to their side and thought to himself, "We've already passed this area multiple times, but the Inn appears to have moved locations…"
"Is there a detail we missed on the way here?"
Mona shook his head, "We shouldn't have. Everything on the path here has been the same apart from this."
"If the Inn has moved places...do you think some of the other places we've been to have?"
"Maybe. Should we go and check?"
"I think it's at least worth a shot."
"Alright, well lead the way."
…
The two of them came across the intersection they had been at earlier, across from where the Junes store had been.
Only this time, it too was no longer standing where it was supposed to.
"Junes is gone as well…" Joker said quietly.
"We should try the station next."
They walked down the road for a little and ended up outside of the station. Sure enough, much like the first two landmarks, it had vanished.
"What is going on?" Mona said, crossing his arms to think when they were outside of the station, "The Inn, that Junes store, and now the station? It's like every major landmark in this town is just vanishing."
Joker turned back and said, "There's one more place we haven't checked yet."
"Where else have we be-,"
He then remembered, "Oh yeah, the police station! Good thinking, Joker."
Joker said nothing and just waved Mona along, "If this doesn't work, then I don't know where we should go."
"We have to have faith. There has to be someplace we know that's still left."
Stop: Backside of the TV - Persona 4
They approached the police station, but Mona stopped for a second.
"Hold on…"
Joker looked down at him, "What's the matter?"
"I'm...starting to sense something...something strong…"
He turned towards Mona, "Is it an exit?"
He shook his head, "No, it's not that...it's a…"
Then, his eyes widened, "C'mon!"
Mona then started running forward, much to Joker's surprise. He did follow, but not without yelling towards Mona, "Whoa, slow down!"
"Damn cat…"
…
After running for about a block, Mona stopped. His eyes were fixated on...something.
Joker caught up and stopped next to him, "Don't run off like that without me. Now, what is it that-,"
He looked up and saw what Morgana was looking at.
Play: Disquiet - Persona 5
In place of the police department was a massive building with tall fences and searchlights surrounding it. It looked like a prison, but with much more grandiose and scale.
"A Palace…" Joker quietly said in shock.
Then, his phone buzzed. He pulled it out, and the Metanav was open.
"New destination received. Saving record…"
Mona looked up at Joker, "So the Nav was picking up Palaces from the TV world…"
"Yeah, but…"
He looked back up, "This doesn't look like a castle to me…"
"You're right. I dunno who the Palace ruler is, but it certainly isn't Mrs. Amagi. Does the Nav say anything about it?"
Joker checked the details. The only words to describe the location was "prison" and "Inaba P.D.".
"No, no name. Just "prison" and the police department."
Mona looked back to the Palace, "Well, we can't just let this go unnoticed. We need to at least infiltrate the perimeter and scout out a little bit."
Joker sighed, "So much for finding an exit…"
"We won't be long. We just need to find out a little bit about what's going on inside. When we reach a safe room, we can hop right back out and keep searching for a way out."
"Right," Joker responded, sliding his phone back into his pocket and looking back towards the Palace, "Let's go."
Stop: Disquiet - Persona 5
Play: Welcome to the Jail - Persona 5 Strikers
They were standing on the nearby rooftop from the main checkpoint now, overlooking the entrance and the nearby streets. The checkpoint was being watched by two Shadows. The Shadows took the form of security guards, with riot gear and body armor. They still had the large masks that all Shadows wore over their faces.
"Alright, time to begin our infiltration. Do you see anything on the streets?"
Joker gave the road one last look before saying, "Streets are clear. Only those two Shadows on the checkpoint still."
"Perfect. I don't see any other entrances, so I guess we should try the main checkpoint. Let's go."
The two of them jumped off of the roof and ran towards the checkpoint.
…
The Shadows saw them slowly approaching and stopped them.
"Halt!" One of them said in a low, male tone, "Only authorized personnel are allowed through here. Do you have proper clearance?"
"We have personal access from the chief himself. Let us in."
"The chief's word has no bearing here. Unless you show proper clearance, then I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
Mona whispered, "We don't want a confrontation this early. If you can't convince them to let us through, then we should just find another way."
"But there isn't another way…" Joker whispered back.
"Damn it…"
Joker's hand hovered over where his gun was holstered.
"If you have no business here, then we advise you to leave."
"That won't be necessary…" Joker said quietly.
He then pulled out his pistol and quickly fired off two shots at the Shadows.
…
The Shadows faded into dust, and Joker holstered his pistol.
"While those shots were impressive," Mona said while walking up to him, "It's gonna draw attention to this area. We need to get inside and secure a safe room."
Joker and Mona ran through the checkpoint and towards the prison's main building.
"It'd be foolish to go through the main entrance. Find another way in!"
The two of them surveyed the nearby area, Joker eventually finding a window that was partially opened to the right side.
"Over there."
"I'll take it. Let's get inside."
The two of them moved over to the window, pushing it fully open and hopping inside.
…
They had jumped into some sort of small office, seemingly abandoned with how trashed it was.
"Doesn't look like the Shadows have noticed us yet. Let's keep it that way."
Joker slightly opened the door into the outer hallway, peaking for Shadows.
"We're clear. Let's keep moving."
Joker moved slowly into the hall, Mona directly behind him. The two of them then ran down the hallway, further into the prison.
They finally reached the main holding area. Some Shadows were patrolling the floors outside of the cells, while the cells all remained empty.
Mona pointed out that last fact to Joker, "There are no prisoners, but I'm seeing a ton of guards. Be careful."
Most of the guards were patrolling the high floors, but Joker still advanced through the cell block with caution. There were three floors in total, including the one they were walking through. It looked as if the cells above were also empty.
They found a staircase close to the cafeteria and decided to check the high floors.
Arriving on the second floor, they were greeted by another set of hallways with a few offices.
…
Joker whispered back to Mona as they continued, "You sensing anything?"
Mona shook his head, "It's really weird, actually. I'm not sensing a Treasure or anything nearby…"
Joker immediately stopped, looked back at Mona, and said, "Really? Nothing at all?"
"Nope. I'm sensing a safe room nearby, but no Treasure."
"Is...this even a real Palace?"
"Look around you! Of course this is a real Palace!"
"Although…" Morgana said with disappointment, "If there's no Treasure, then...what are we even supposed to steal?"
"Let's find that safe room and work things out from there."
"Okay. Let me lead the way."
Mona moved ahead of Joker and led him down the halls, towards the supposed safe room.
Eventually, they found a wavy office door, and they entered the room, no Shadows nearby.
…
"Okay, we need to talk about this situation."
Mona hopped up onto the table in the middle of the table while Joker sat down in one of the chairs at the table.
"So, what do we know?"
Mona started, "We know we're in a Palace that's a prison based on the Inaba police department. There's a lot of Shadows patrolling the cell blocks, but there's nobody in the cells. Not that there would be people, but not even cognitive people. Even if we're in a small town, you'd think there'd be some crime, but that's not the point. The biggest problem is that...well, I can't sense a Treasure in this place."
Mona then sighed, "What's the point of being a Phantom Thief if there's no Treasure to steal?"
Joker spoke when he finished, "Could it have something to do with the Palace owner? Maybe they've got it hidden."
"It could be, but I would've been able to sense it by now, regardless of what level it's on in the Palace."
"Remember Mona, we're in uncharted territory. This isn't like any of the other Palaces we've encountered, outside of maybe Kamoshida."
"Kamoshida was different. You may not have known you were entering, but you still used the Metanav just like anywhere else. We only found this Palace because we walked around the fake Inaba."
"That's all true...should we try finding the Palace owner?"
Mona shook his head, "We can deal with that another time. We've done enough scouting to get a good start. Let's head out of here and keep looking for an exit in town."
Joker nodded and stood up, "Sounds like a plan."
Stop: Welcome to the Jail - Persona 5: Strikers
The two were heading towards the exit, walking across the catwalks in one of the cell blocks.
"Did you establish contact with the checkpoint guards?"
Joker was distracted by the voices and stopped so he could snoop. The voices were coming from the ground floor.
He motioned for Mona to listen with him.
Play: Desire - Persona 5
A group of Shadows was standing in the halls of the cell block around a person, a person in a suit. Joker couldn't make out any more details, as he could only see the torso and legs.
One of the Shadows responded to the first question, "We haven't been able to re-establish contact with the checkpoint guards."
"Well, why not?"
"We're...sorry Warden. We're trying, but-,"
The source of the voice stepped forward towards the Shadows, allowing Joker and Mona to see all of their features.
And when they noticed, their eyes both widened.
Joker gasped before saying, "Narukami?!"
…
There he was, standing before all of the Shadows.
The man who had brought him to Inaba, Yu Narukami. He was in a dark suit and had the same dark, yellow eyes that Shadow forms were known for.
Shadow Narukami spoke in a distorted voice, "I don't give a damn about your excuses! Find out what happened to the checkpoint guards and find any intruders! If you don't, then you know what your punishment will be..."
"Yes, Warden!"
With that, the Shadows started dispersing, leaving Shadow Narukami to stand there alone.
…
"So, Narukami's Shadow is the ruler of this Palace…" Mona whispered.
"But...how?"
"Beats me...let's just get out of here. We can talk about it later."
The two of them were moving away from the catwalk, but Joker's gun had started to slip from where it rested.
It fell from its space.
It hit the metal floor, hard.
The metal made a loud ring.
Shadow Narukami noticed it and them at the same time.
Stop: Desire - Persona 5
Joker immediately looked down, saw his pistol on the floor, and saw Shadow Narukami staring up at them.
"This won't be good…"
Play: Run, Run, Run! - Persona 5
Shadow Narukami immediately pulled out a radio and yelled into it, "It's the Phantom Thieves! Capture them, now!"
Mona yelled, "Time to go, Joker!"
Joker agreed, grabbing his pistol from the ground and running away with Mona.
…
They reached another cell block and were about to run towards the stairs, but a Shadow appeared at the stairway in front of them. Another Shadow appeared behind them, blocking them in.
Mona shoved a door to their side open and yelled "This way!"
There was a window on the wall, and Mona jumped out and transformed into his car form. Joker jumped after him, landing to the side before immediately getting into the driver's seat.
The two of them drove off, leaving the Shadows and Shadow Narukami that exited the building. The Shadows that had guns on them started to fire at the two of them, but they were able to evade and continue driving.
They didn't stop until they got back to the streets of the cognitive Inaba.
…
Back at the prison, Shadow Narukami was smiling to himself.
"The Thieves have come for our hearts…" he said to himself, "Things are finally about to get interesting…"
Stop: Run, Run, Run! - Persona 5
The two of them stood there, catching their breath as they sat on the curb.
"That was...a fun exit…"
"Yeah…"
…
Joker pulled out his phone, checking the Metanav at the Palace details.
Sure enough, the name "Yu Narukami" had filled itself into the name category.
"I don't understand…" he started lightly, "Why is Narukami's Shadow here? And why does it have a Palace?"
"I dunno, but…it looks like we're gonna have to put Yukiko's Shadow on hold."
…
Joker continued to fiddle with the Metanav until he found a new option.
He pressed it, and a prompt appeared.
"Would you like to exit?"
"Huh? What's that?"
"I'm not sure…"
He pressed yes, and a stack of TVs appeared in front of them.
"Huh? What do these do?"
Joker stood from the curve and pressed his hand to one of the screens.
Sure enough, his hand went through the screen.
"I...think we can get out this way."
He started to climb through the TV.
…
…
…
He fell onto his face on the floor, the nice carpet blanketing his fall.
Ren got up, just as Morgana jumped through and landed on his feet.
The two of them looked around, noticing their new surroundings.
Back in their room, at the Amagi Inn.
…
"Wait, so...we could've left using the Metanav that whole time?"
"You have now returned to the real world. Welcome back."
"I guess so…"
Morgana just yawned and stretched, "Well, better late than never. What time is it anyway?"
Ren checked the clock. It read 3:52 A.M.
He had to be at the station by nine the next morning.
"Oh boy…"
It's gonna be a long day at the station later that morning...