"Ding, the High Rollers floor," Makoto said, as she, Sae and her Shadow stepped out of the elevator. "Over there's the House of Darkness, and over there is the Battle Arena. Do you want to see me in action? You know, get a taste of how the Metaverse battles usually look like."

"It's a controlled environment," Shadow Sae added. "There will be a challenge, but no danger."

"I really, really don't want to," Sae said, "I'm already having nightmares about you not coming back home from all this."

"You don't have to worry, really. There were always at least five other folks backing me up."

"And one murderous psycho," she scowled.

"Come on, Haru isn't that bad."

Judging by the prosecutor (and her Shadow's) terrified expression, the joke didn't land. "...you mean there's more than one?"

"Okay, in all seriousness," Makoto showed her palms in a defensive gesture, "Haru does have a minor sadistic streak, but she also has a strong moral code and I trust her with my life. And as for Akechi… well, even with the gun fiasco from yesterday he remains firmly on our side. He's less problematic than expected." Beat. "But, you know, I don't hold a personal grudge against him like Jo- Akira, Haru or Futaba could, to me he was just a smug prick."

"He tried to kill you in Shido's Palace!"

"Eh, it was a challenge, but nothing we weren't ready to take on." The president grinned sheepishly. "Your Shadow tried to do the same thing to me last month, and I still love you."

To call that an emotional critical hit would've been an understatement. The prosecutor turned to her Shadow. "Could you leave? I want to talk to Makoto in private."

She looked at her, mildly puzzled. "I'm literally your inner self, I know all your private thoughts."

"You still make me uncomfortable, please leave."

"I know what you'd do the moment I left - hug Makoto tightly and tell her-"

"Get out!"

"Alright, fine." She rolled her eyes. "Feel free to call on me when you're done with sisterly love." She marched up the stairs and disappeared behind the door leading to the Bridge of Judgement.

"So-urgh!" Makoto expected a hug. She expected air squeezed out of her lungs. She didn't expect her sister to start quietly sobbing after a moment. "Sae?"

"I'm sorry." She sniffed. "I've been a bad guardian and a bad person."

"I've seen worse, really," the president patted the prosecutor on the back. "No, I really did, one guy saw all the other people as walking ATMs." She reached into her pocket. "Do you want a tissue?"

Sae pulled out a single tissue from the pack, wiped off her tears and blew her nose with a rather undignified sound. The two sat down on the stairs leading to the manager's floor and just sat there in silence for a moment. "Do you think Akechi was right?" Sae finally asked, pulling out a fresh tissue. "That redemption is just a lie and people don't change?"

"Keep in mind he was talking about redeeming himself, and he hates that guy." She chuckled at her own joke.

"But we aren't talking about him, we're talking about me," she countered. "While sitting in some sort of… magical living manifestation of my flaws and issues. How do I even begin to unwrap that?"

"Look," Makoto put her arm around her shoulder, "I know it's overwhelming, but a Palace is just a display of a distorted desire - not an end-all proof of you being a bad person."

"And the fact that five out of six other Palace owners were crime lords, rapists and conspiracy leaders is just a coincidence, isn't it?"

"The sixth was a teenager unfairly blamed for her mother's death, unable to deal with her grief," the president replied. "Yes, you have done questionable things, but there's nothing preventing you from learning from your mistakes and not repeating them."

"You're only saying that because we're family." She looked at the floor. "Even after I had called you a burden."

"Haru and her father were also family, and I can't imagine that dipstick trying to cheer her up." Pause. "Do not tell anyone I said that, please." She pulled her closer. "But seriously, the fact that you acknowledge your errors and want to make amends, starting with getting Akira out of the interrogation room, proves beyond doubt that you can be a good person."

Sae opened her mouth.

"Beyond. Doubt." Makoto interrupted. "I swear, I will hug you to death if you won't accept that there's some good in you."

"And all that without getting your Treasure stolen."

The two sprung up and raised their guards in perfect sync before realizing it's only Shadow Sae standing behind them.

"How did you-"

"This is my territory, Makoto." A cocky smile appeared on her face. "And years of coming back late from work give you a heck of a light step."

"Didn't I ask you to get out?" Sae scowled.

"You did, but you also want to leave immediately, and I want to have a word with Makoto before you do."

The prosecutor glared daggers at her Shadow, before pointing at her own eyes and then at her, and then took a step back, implicitly giving her permission to speak. She turned to the president. "If you remove the Treasure from a Palace, the place disappears, correct?"

"Well, according to Morgana…"

"The cat?" the two Saes said in unison.

She nodded. "Yeah, the cat. According to him the Treasure needs to be taken the day after the calling card was sent. If it's still inside by the end of the day, well, the Palace remains standing, as you can see."

"And what if you took the Treasure after that window?"

Makoto shrugged. "I don't know."

"We might as well find out." The Shadow reached into her pocket and pulled out a platinum poker chip. "I want you to take it."

She handed it over to Makoto, who inspected it in her hands. "If the Palace goes down, we'll lose access to the handgun."

"Truth be told, I don't think you should have it," the Shadow admitted. "I was there when you and the others described how it got mishandled twice in two days."

Makoto thought about it for a moment before putting the chip in her pocket. "Fair. I'll explain that to the rest of the team if I have to." She looked at her sister. "You wanted to leave, didn't you?"

"Yeah, if we can. I don't feel comfortable here."

"Allow me to escort you outside."

The three marched to the elevator, rode down to the ground floor, and marched out of the building. Makoto noted that the Palace didn't appear to collapse around them - a nice change of pace after the last time - while Sae avoided looking at the dejected cognitions on the way. When outside, the two guests waved to the host, and then one grabbed the other by her hand and they left the Metaverse.

"That was… an experience," the prosecutor muttered.

Her sister checked the app. "The Palace is still accessible." She put her phone back in her pocket and realized that the chip in her pocket turned into something more, for lack of a better word, bendy. She pulled it out and unfolded it. It was a photo of her and Sae, taken on holidays two years earlier, embracing each other with one hand and smiling at the camera. The prosecutor pulled out her wallet and opened it, revealing the exact same photo inside.

Cue a long, silent hug.

When Makoto was dropped off by her sister near the hotel, she noticed Sojiro and Ryuji going towards the hotel, each carrying a supermarket bag or two.

"See you later," she waved to Sae, then turned to the two. "Hello again. What are you carrying there?"

"Foodstuffs, mostly," the athlete replied. "As in, food we'll stuff in our mouths when watching movies on Futaba's laptop."

"Do you want me to carry something?"

"You can take one bag if you wanna."

The three entered the hotel and marched up to the correct floor. Sojiro opened the door with a borrowed keycard and they got inside the flat.

"Oh, Makoto's with you," Joker half-heartedly waved at the newcomers, as they placed the bags on the kitchenette counter. "Good, everyone's here and I wanna make a small announcement." He walked up to the door to Akechi's bedroom and knocked on it. "Goro, Yusuke, I want you in the living room with everyone."

The detective and the artist got out. "Why is there strawberry jam on your temple?" Sojiro raised an eyebrow. "And what I hope is a model Glock in your hand."

"Yusuke asked me to pose for a painting."

"Working title: 'Finally at peace'."

Akechi pointed at the artist. "I swear, this was his idea."

"Anyway," Joker spoke up again, "just to explain the name thing to everyone at once: legally, I'm Ren Amamiya. Akira's a nickname from school back in my hometown, and Kurusu is an alias I give to avoid hearing the same obvious joke whenever I introduce myself."

After a beat, Ryuji piped up: "Uh, and what's that obvious joke?"

Joker wearily sighed, then did a chef's kiss and put on an atrocious Italian accent: "Mamma mia, Ren!" A few people didn't stifle a giggle. "Yeah, go ahead, laugh. It was funny the first time I heard it. The fiftieth time, not-a so much-a."

"Is that all? May Akechi and I return to my art now?"

"The movie's almost torrented," Futaba pointed at her laptop. "You can stay and watch with us."

"With all due respect," the detective spoke up, "I would rather not get in the way of celebrations. I wouldn't want to upset people with my presence."

Mishima looked around. "...is anyone upset at you right now?" Beat, as he glanced at the group. "I mean, they don't look like it, but apparently they tried to shoot you twice."

Everyone looked at everyone else, checking the waters, before Joker spoke up "...I mean, you saved Sojiro and took note of our," air quotes, "'killing-is-bad spiel'. You've got all the reasons to celebrate with us, why would you upset us with your presence?"

"You are welcome among us," Haru added, "but if you feel uncomfortable in the crowd, you can stay in your room and nobody will judge you for it."

"Th-thank you. Crow, out," he saluted, then promptly retreated to his room.

"Can I finish my painting?" Yusuke shouted after him.

"If you keep your mouth shut while doing it," the detective shouted back.

Mishima raised an eyebrow. "Crow?"

"His Phantom Thief codename," Joker explained. "You know, how I'm Joker, Ryuji's Skull, and so on."

"So, do I get to pick one?" the Phanboy asked. "I mean, I didn't do much today, but I did something."

"Sure."

Mishima thought about it for a moment. "How does 'M' sound?"

"What does it stand for, Nishima?" Futaba asked, and got a sigh in response.

"So," Ryuji pointed at the bags on the counter, "who's gonna unpack the shopping?"

"I can do that," Joker volunteered. He reached into one of the bags and pulled out a glass bottle. "Um, is that vodka? How did that get in there."

"I bought it," Sojiro spoke up. "You wanted me to talk to Akechi, didn't you?"