"So the new contender has finally made his move," Igor said with a dry chuckle. "How delightful."

The master of the Velvet room watched with sick amusement as the Trickster and his band of thieves battled against the unnatural, undead monster that has invaded Mementos. Even Shadows avoided the presence of this new enemy as if they already knew that it's very existence meant their doom.

This mindless, brute creature was nothing more than a mere pawn, but he found it entertaining nonetheless.

While the presence of this new contender has proven to be an annoyance, Igor did not deny that it also made the game even more interesting to watch. This threat will no doubt present a challenge to the young thief's Rehabilitation.

Undoubtedly, the difficulties that he will now face have been doubled, and his fate is now shrouded in mystery.

Igor's bulging, bloodshot eyes displayed amusement. "Everything is up to the Trickster and the girl from another time. Only will their actions be able to unveil the mastermind behind these distortions."

…or die trying.

Chapter 5: An Old Enemy

One of the enemies from her world—the great warrior, Tigris—has appeared before them.

Lucina had to fight the trembling of her legs at the bare sight of one of the monsters that she thought she had left behind. But now it was standing right in front of her, holding the same bloody battle axe that has taken the lives of countless people and friends alike.

"N-no, this… this can't be…" she uttered in disbelief, almost losing her voice.

Having seen her eyes being overshadowed by terror, Joker could no longer remain silent. "You know what that thing is?"

As if pulling her out of a trance, an uncontrollable amount of rage began to fill her vision.

In an instant Lucina leaped forward, intending to thrust her sword into the belly of the Deadlord. She roared in anger as she aimed to cut its repulsive flesh, but the monster stood unflinching as it effortlessly blocked her attack with it's great axe.

The strength of the Deadlord was such that she lost her footing a moment after her attack collided.

Lucina clenched her teeth as she tried to regain her balance—but Tigris was already upon her. There was no chance for her to dodge nor parry the attack. She was about to be cleaved in half–!

"Jack Frost!"

A chilling blizzard came out of nowhere to freeze the Deadlord's arm and axe all together, stunning the creature and giving Joker enough time to catch her in his arms, getting her out of harms way.

She yelped in surprised—especially when his face got so close to hers.

"Are you all right?"

Lucina found herself hesitating. "H-huh, y-yes… I am fine…"

A faint blush colored her cheeks when she realized that she could hear his breathing. Lucina knew that now wasn't the time to have such frivolous thoughts, but a small part of her could not help but feel mesmerized at being held in such a compromising way.

She didn't want to admit that she was slightly disappointed when he let her down.

"Don't ever try that again," he warned her.

"I'm–I'm sorry… I allowed my emotions to get the best of me."

"That's alright. We're a team, remember?" He told her with a knowing smirk. "And we are gonna take this thing down together."

Joker's words somehow managed sooth her mind. He was right, they were all a team now. She took a moment to calm herself down, taking a deep breath before she gave him a firm nod in return.

Mona and the others quickly joined them.

"Okay, I think we asked this question already…" Skull said calmly before he blurted out, "BUT WHAT IN THE EFF IS THAT FREAKIN' THING?!"

"I'll explain later," Lucina said after she composed herself. "Let's defeat this fiend first and then I'll tell you everything."

"I guess we don't have much of a choice," Panther grumbled.

Mona nodded in acceptance. "Your call, Joker."

Breaking it's arm out of the ice, the Deadlord roared in anger. It's bloody-red eyes glared at the group with nothing but pure hatred. It's sights were fixed on Joker as it charged at him at full speed.

The masked thief leaped back, dodging the attack and giving Lucina an opportunity to strike.

She slashed Falchion across the Deadlord's chest, but the undead didn't react. It turned its attention towards the blue-haired princess and tried to attack. However, a quick volley of gunshots were fired, pushing the monster back.

Panther and Skull were holding their smoking guns with their aims set on the walking corpse. Their weapons didn't do much damage, but their goal wasn't to hurt Tigris, but to act as a distraction.

From behind, Mona leaped with his scimitar in hand and aimed for the base of it's neck. His attack moved as fast as lighting, but the Deadlord's skin proved to be more resilient that what he expected and his weapon bounced back.

"Wh-whaat?!"

The small thief tried to get away, but a hand managed to get a hold of him.

"Mreow!" Mona cried out in pain. "H-help! This thing has my tail!" Tigris brought the smaller thief to the level of it's face and roared—the heavy rotten stench invaded his sensible nose and almost made him throw up in disgust. "And… AND IT STINKS!"

"I'm comin' Mona!" Skull called out, rushing in to help the little guy.

Seeing the blond coming towards him, the Deadlord met him head on. Club clashed against axe in a contest of strength. While Skull battled the Deadlord, no one saw Joker sneaking in the shadows until it was too late.

The masked leader managed to slice through Tigris' arm, forcing the monster to let Mona go. Lucina acted quick and was able to catch the feline.

Mona gave the petite princess a grateful look. "Th-thank you, Lucina."

Once everyone was clear, Panther summoned her Persona. "Don't hold back, Carmen!" She yelled, casting Agi and fire rained down on the Deadlord. It far was tougher than expected as the fire didn't killed it, but it still managed to weaken it.

Seeing the opportunity, Joker called out, "Lucina!"

"Right!"

The two rushed in towards the now vulnerable Tigris.

Both knife and sword sliced across Tigris' body, to which it let out a one final dying screech before it finally fell down to the ground.

Everyone stood still, waiting for it to get up again—but the moment never came. It's corpse laid down without moving.

The battle was over.

Panther let out a sigh of relief. "I… I think that was it."

"Geez, I'm just glad that shit is finally over," Skull said, rolling his sore shoulder. "This guy was way stronger than the other ones."

Lucina nodded. "Yes, Deadlords are quite formidable, but I'd say we handled the matter pretty well."

The moment she said that, the ground began to shake once again. Everyone understood what that meant—more Shadows were on their way.

"Guess that's our cue." Mona bounced before transforming into his vehicle form. "C'mon everyone, we're out of here!"

The thieves and the princess left without wasting a second. However, they were oblivious to the dark presence that has been watching since the very start.

An obscure shadow reached Tigris' defeated corpse and drowned it in the darkness. The figure then spoke with malice. "So, the exalted girl still lives. Tch, those pesky pest don't know when to roll over and die," the malevolent voice echoed across the empty tunnels. "Very well, this should be an interesting reunion."

With those last words, the figure vanished without a trace.

Take Your Time

The trip back was a silent one.

The events that unfolded were still fresh in everyone's mind, so nobody said a thing. It was like everyone needed a moment to process everything that just happened. Well, almost everyone…

A brash voice broke the silence. "So, you gonna explain what the eff just happened?" Skull asked.

Knowing what was coming, Lucina made up her mind. "What happened here is… a little hard to explain, but in order for all of you to understand what that thing was, I'd have to tell you about my world first," she spoke with a grim tone. "And the disaster that has befallen upon it..."

"Your world?" Mona's question came from the radio, having noticed the curious choice of words.

"That's correct," Lucina said. "While it's true that I hail from a different time, my time here has made me realize that I am not from this world either. To be clear, I came from a time that has yet to unfold. One where the situation is rather… dire."

Panther's curiosity got the better of her and asked, "What happened?"

Lucina grimaced as memories flooded her mind. "The Fell Dragon happened." There was venom in her voice when she spoke "…It was Grima. That wretched monster began a massive campaign to annihilate all life with his hordes of undead, like the one you just saw," she explained. "With his army of Risen, he seized control of my world and plunged it into despair."

"I… I'm very sorry to hear that…" the blond said, feeling regretful for asking.

"It's all right," Lucina reassured her with a sympathetic look. "You deserved to know, and like I told Joker once, I don't mind speaking about such things—at least not anymore."

"Geez, that sounds tough though," Skull said with a complicated look. "But I still don't get that portal-thingy you came out of." He voiced the question that has been bothering him. "I mean, that shit was some serious crazy stuff..."

It took Lucina a moment to understand what the blond was referring to. "What you saw was the result of a last-resort ritual that we performed in order to go back in time to prevent Grima's rise to power," she explained. "That's what brought me here, though I wasn't expecting for one of Grima's servants to be able to follow me. And I hate to say it, but perhaps more of them made it across as well."

"We fought a bunch of them the day we found you," Joker informed her. "They weren't as strong as this particular one, but they were nothing to mess around either. That pretty much proves that there's more of them out there."

She bit her lip in frustration. "I was afraid that would the case."

"What's the deal with those things anyway? Skull asked. "Are they like zombies or something?"

Lucina shook her head and answered, "Unfortunately not much is known about the Risen other than they serve Grima without question. There are old legends that mention them a couple of times, but those are rather vague, so they're not the most reliable source."

"Oh, shit… so we know next to nothing about those things," Skull complained.

"At least we have Lucina here to help us out," Panther reasoned. "She's the one that knows the most about them, so we should be able to avoid any unpleasant surprises."

The petite princess smiled in agreement. "I would be honored to lend you my aid in anything you need," she said, though she found it odd how open she acted in front of the group—similar to how she felt when she spoke with Joker.

It was as if she didn't feel the need to hide anything from them. Like she could trust them. And since she wasn't in her world anymore, there were no repercussions for talking about her future either, so to have someone listen to her story felt like she removed an unbearable burden from her shoulders.

Joker took his attention away from the road. "Was the situation in your world really that bad?"

The thief saw a complicated look reflect in Lucina's eyes before she spoke with slight hesitation.

"My world was already on the verge of destruction," she said with a somber tone. "Every battle saw us driven back. I lost far too many friends throughout the years and then…" There was another small pause. They understood that her memories must be too painful for her to simply share them straight away. "…After my father passed away, it was up to me to lead my people and keep them safe during the war, but at that point we were no longer fighting to win, but to survive..."

Everyone took her words differently. None of them could understand the amount of pain and sadness that she was forced to endure, but they at least grasped how dreadful of an experience it must have been to live through the hellish nightmare that she described.

Joker in particular still remembered the conversation they had together back in Leblanc during her first night. The words she told him about her father and what that sword meant to her were still fresh in his mind.

His eyes drifted to the weapon—the only memento Lucina had of her father. And just like that night, the emotional mask that she used to hide her feelings was starting to show signs of cracking.

"It was harsh, but we did our best to keep everyone alive," she said before her brow furrowed. "But everything was just a game to him. The reason of our survival most often than not was due to Grima's sadistic enjoyment of hunting us down one by one, playing with us rather than just killing us off from the very start." Sadness and frustration began to overtake her features. "But in the end it was all for nothing. I failed my duty, and only a handful of us were left by the time we performed the ritual."

"That's eff…" Skull mumbled. "I knew you told us it was bad, but damn, that's one helluva world."

Panther had to hold back her tears after listening to her tale. Hearing just how horrible Lucina's world was made her feel even more sympathetic for her. "I had no idea you had it so hard. I… I don't know what to say, but I'm so sorry you had to go through that..."

Mona agreed. "Yeah, I can't even imagine how it must have been to grow up in a place like that, but I guess it does explain how you're able to move like that."

Lucina gave them a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

"He's talking about how you dealt with those Shadows from earlier," Panther clarified. "I admit, I too was impressed by how strong you really are, and the way you and Joker synchronized your moves was on a whole different level! I was honestly awestruck the whole time I was watching!"

"Panther is right. While you may not have a Persona, you're still a lot stronger than what I first gave you credit for," Mona complimented her. "You will no doubt make a fine addition to our team."

The time traveler had no idea what to say. She wasn't used to getting compliments, so she adverted her gaze from the group, doing her best to hide her reddened cheeks.

"…Th-thanks."

While this happened, somethingabout what she said stuck with Joker. "There's another thing I meant to ask," he said without missing a beat. "A moment ago you said that you lead your people. Were you the leader of some sort of group?"

Lucina was taken by surprise by the question, but she answered nonetheless. "Not exactly. I am the first princess of the Halidom of Ylisse," she answered, much to everyone's shock—and even Joker's. "My father was the Exalt—the king, if you would. You could say that I am considered royalty, though I don't go by any formal titles anymore."

For a moment there was silence, until…

"Y-you're a princess?!"

Take Your Time

Not long after they made it back to the real world did Ann took note of how sweaty they all were after their excursion.

It wasn't surprising considering that they spend the whole day down in Mementos, which is why she later proposed the idea of going to the public baths right next to Leblanc.

Lucina wasn't sure what to expect when she agreed. She's been meaning to wash herself for the last couple of days, and now was a good opportunity as any to do so—that, and she also found the idea of enjoying a warm bath too enticing to pass up.

Ann of course, knowing that Lucina only had one set of clothes, agreed to lend her some of her own. The blue-haired princess didn't feel comfortable accepting her kind offer, but the blond didn't gave her much of a choice and was forced to accept.

In the end it all lead to the two of them sitting completely nude in a bath that was several times bigger to what she was used to. Her face was practically burning hot and she wasn't sure if it was due to the warm temperature of the water or her own embarrassment. It was probably both.

It was rather late, so they pretty much had the place all to themselves, and Lucina was glad for that.

She wasn't sure if she could handle being naked in front of strangers. Not even in her own world did she ever shared a bath with anyone—not even the others girls. Being here with Ann however, while embarrassing, was more bearable than the alternative.

The model stretched her arms with a pleased groan. "This is the best!" she said with a smile. "Nothing beats a hot bath after a long day of work. Wouldn't you say so, Lucina?"

"…Huh, oh, y-yes," she stuttered, trying to not look at Ann's direction.

Aside from feeling exposed, let it not be said that she was feeling more self-conscious about herself than normal. She would never feel ashamed of her own body, that was a ridiculous thought, but she couldn't help but feel a little envious of the blond's more developed figure.

While smaller than the average woman, she had a well toned body with subtle muscles and smooth pale skin. Even so, she did not failed to recognize her lack of more feminine traits such as broader curvy hips or even a bigger chest. She wouldn't usually give that kind of stuff too much importance, but a part of her had always lamented not being as pretty as some of her fellow Shepherds.

If Ren saw me like this, I… As soon as she realized what she was was thinking, she quickly shook her head. She was thankful that the boys had their own section, otherwise she wasn't sure how she would have handled that sort of embarrassment.

With a sigh, the blue-haired princess softly spoke, "I apologize if I'm not the most comfortable person to be around. Despite the tranquility of the place, I still find it rather hard to feel at ease," she said. "I have fought my hardest each and every day, but never before did I ever got the chance to relax like this. It honestly feels… unsettling."

Ann gave Lucina a gentle look. "I guess you're probably not used to this sort of thing, but try not to think too much about it, okay?" Ann said reassuringly. "The whole point of being here is to let yourself go, so try to forget about all that stuff and just take a deep breath. At least hat's what I always do."

"I thought the point of coming here was to wash ourselves," Lucina said with a deadpanned look.

"But where's the fun in that? C'mon, you can take a regular shower for that," Ann replied with a small laugh. "In here we get to enjoy the hot water, chat all we want and enjoy each other's company. You know, that sort of thing."

"Hmm, I suppose I can see the appeal to that…" The blue-haired princess pondered for a moment before she replied, "You're right, sorry. I'm just not that good at… relaxing, but guess it's fine to have a little fun every once in a while."

"See? Now you're getting it!" Ann said cheerfully while she gestured for Lucina to come closer. "Here, let me help you wash your hair."

"Wh-wha–?" Lucina stuttered at the unexpected offer. "Th-there's no need for that…"

"C'mon, you can do mine after!"

Time passed by and Lucina was forced to sit in front of Ann. The blond was rubbing shampoo all the way to the tip of her azure locks, being careful as to not let it get in her in her eyes while moving her hands in a gentle manner.

Lucina sat there with a flustered face—all her excuses were thrown out of the window.

"I have to say, you have some really beautiful hair, you know?" Ann complimented her with a gentle smile. "I'm honestly kinda jealous."

"Th-thanks…" Lucina blushed. "…I find yours quite pretty too."

Ann chuckled. "Thank you, Lucina. And you know, after listening to everything you said about your world, I'm surprised you were able to take such good care of it," Ann said before her face adopted a mischievous look. "Could it be that you were making sure it looked good for someone special."

"Wh-what–?"

"You have to tell me!" Ann leaned closer to her face. "Is there anyone you like? Maybe amongst those friends we're looking for?"

"Um, I haven't given it that much thought before," Lucina said with a nervous look. "I've always been busy with other things, so relationships of that type have never really crossed my mind."

"C'mon! I'm sure you have someone you're at least a little bit interested," Ann insisted. "Even a small crush would be nice to know!"

"W-well…" No one came to mind who might fit that description. While she was close to all her friends, she never got romantically involved with anyone. Her way of life could never allow for something like that to occur, so she always kept things professional.

However, listening to Ann's words unconsciously brought the mental image of a certain black-haired boy to her head—a thought which she quickly dispelled.

"I… I don't think I have, no…"

"Then what about Ren?"

"…uh?"

"I've seen the way you look at him. Your face is practically screaming that you like him," Ann teased her, much to Lucina's embarrassment. "You can tell me, right? I swear that I won't tell anyone!"

"But I… I don't see him in that particular way." Lucina tried to hide the strong blush that surged over her cheeks. "I am very grateful to him, and I will admit that he took my breath away a couple of times when I saw him leading the group and the way he fought the Deadlord," she explained. "He's without a doubt a strong leader and I respect him for that, but I don't hold any feelings deeper than that..."

"Really?"

"…Y-yes."

"Hmm, could have fooled me," Ann mumbled in disappointment. "I mean, yeah, at first glance you'd think he's a quiet person with little to say, acting all serious and all. But honestly, he's more than just that," she said before her eyes softened. "That guy won't hesitate to stand up for what's right, even if he has to pay the price."

Lucina listened intently. This was the first time Ann has ever opened up about something, and she couldn't help but feel a little curious about what she had to say about their leader.

A weak smile graced her lips. "I learned his kindness first hand, and before I knew it, I had told him everything that I never dared to speak about to anyone before. He listened the entire time, but that was enough to give me peace of mind."

There was a lot of emotion in the way Ann spoke. It was clear that what she was saying meant a lot to her. There was pain and sadness, but also warm and gentleness. It was surprising how Ann could speak so fondly of someone and yet look with so much remorse.

"Eventually he started opening up to Ryuji and me, and I'm still kinda shocked by the burdens that he carried." A determinate look flashed across her eyes. "That's why it's my turn to listen to him now, whether it's the things that have hurt him or those he finds dear, I wish to know them all…"

Having listened to Ann made Lucina deeply consider how she saw leader of the band of thieves. He always showed a stoic and distant front, yet he displayed a gentle and caring nature when it came to his teammates and even her. It was as if he was working to fill the roll of a perfect leader, and she will admit, he was pulling it off spectacularly, but maybe there was more to it than simply that.

She felt as if there was a deeper meaning behind all this, and her conversation with Sojiro in regards to his circumstances made her wonder even more. She wanted to know about his past, but it somehow didn't feel right to ask him.

This day has left her with so much to think about.

Chapter End

Confidant: Lucina

Arcana: Aeon

Rank 2

A time-traveler from a far land seeking to change the future. She and her companions traveled through time by unknown means and got separated.

A warrior from another time. You're currently helping her search for her missing allies. Shes aware of your identity as a Phantom Thief and seems to trust you. She's staying at the Sakura residence.

Thanks for reading this if you made it this far. I really appreciate the support. Thankfully I was able to release this much sooner than what I first anticipated, and hopefully I'll be able to do the same for the next one.

Next chapter will dive into the familiar plot with Yusuke's introduction and Madarame's Palace with a twist. I hope you're all looking forward to it.

I appreciate all your support and I wish you all a wonderful day.