The Phantom Thieves knew they would have to go through all four theaters in order to get through the golden double doors. So, it didn't matter which one they started with. They only hoped they could make it through without getting injured or, worse, getting themselves killed. They had somehow had their healing and revival abilities taken away from them, as well as the medicine that they were provided with when they first entered the Metaverse. Without them, they would have to be a lot more en guard and prudent than usual. It wasn't just their lack of medicinal remedies that was a concern. They had never set foot in the Palace of a Persona user before. They could only imagine what dangers lurked around the corner or what curveballs could be thrown at them. By this point, the group was already so far past the point-of-no-return, they had no clue what the line looked like when they had crossed it. Not like they had any intention of going backward anyway. They were willing to walk through Hell itself for Akira Kurusu.

"So, which one do we go in first?" Rise asked.

"Why don't we split up? That way we can get multiple done at once?" Ryuji suggested.

"No. We have no way of healing and no idea what to expect," Yu said firmly.

"Silver is right," Makoto began. "It'd be best if we stuck together."

"Agreed," Haru nodded. "We're stronger together, anyway."

"The good news is, Venus and I might not be able to give healing boosts, but we can still send out attack and defense buffs," Futaba informed them.

"Well, I suppose something is better than nothing," Yusuke said.

"We'll manage. We've seen Akira take on shadows all by himself without breaking a sweat," Ann remarked. "Even Mementos targets."

"Oh yeah, remember the couple that was extorting Kawakami? Akira went berserk on them," Futaba snickered.

"Or when he rushed to save Violet back in Kaneshiro's Palace. He sliced through the shadows like they were tissue paper, hehe," Ryuji chuckled. "Man, that guy was beast, back then."

"This isn't the time to reminisce," Sumire began. "We have a mission to accomplish." She proceeded to look around the area where they were seated and noticed that someone was missing. "Hold on, where did Mona go?"

"I'm here!" Morgana said as he came running back into the conversation. "Sorry about that."

"What is that, Mona-chan?" Haru noticed Morgana was carrying a flyer of some kind.

"Not sure, but it looks like a guide to the movies that are playing," he replied as he handed it to Sumire. "Check it out." Sumire unfolded the flyer.

"'Drunken Lust'…? 'Police Brutality'…? What are these?" she asked; the others didn't know what to think.

"They kinda sound like movie names, but some pretty fucked up ones," Ryuji said.

"Like…home movies?" Makoto wondered. Everyone looked at her with wide eyes.

"You're kidding, right?" Futaba raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry, t-that was the first thing that popped in my mind."

"No, that can't be the case!" Rise said firmly. "Obasan and Ojisan never mistreated Akira and Tetsuya. They were great parents," she vehemently defended before looking down. She knew better than anyone currently present. As much as she loved her own mother and father, the pre-idol days that she spent with the Kurusus were among the best of her life.

"We believe you, Venus," Ann said, shooting her a soft smile.

"At this point, I would have a harder time believing the opposite," Yusuke added before looking back at the flier. "But what could these mean?"

"Only one way to find out," Yu said, taking the flyer and putting it in his pocket. "Come on, let's go."

They walked down the hallway and entered the theater where "Drunken Lust" was playing. As they walked through the doors, they saw a film poster. It depicted a shady-looking man, holding a brown bag with a bottle of something, likely booze, creepily eyeing a pair of familiar-looking women who were walking alongside Akira Kurusu.

"W-Wait a second…Violet…" Futaba shakily began as she tugged on Sumire's arm. "Th-That's us," she said as she stared at the poster.

"…and that man…" Sumire began, putting a hand over her mouth. "That's one of the two men that assaulted Akira back in March." Futaba went on to hold Yusuke as she recalled that night.

"WHAT!?" Everyone turned to Rise, who looked shocked. "Why didn't you tell me about this!?" She looked at Sumire.

"I'm so sorry, Rise-san," Sumire began, disregarding the code names for now. "To be honest, it didn't cross my mind…" she trailed off.

"It didn't cross your mind?" Rise callously repeated, her hands on her hips.

"Look, can we please discuss this later?" Makoto began. "I promise you, Rise-san, we'll tell you everything after we save Akira." Rise had more she wanted to say, but she bit her lip and agreed with Makoto. This was not the time to be fighting with each other. Sumire apologized once more, and Rise accepted her apology before offering one her own for snapping at her. She knew Sumire meant no ill-intent by keeping it from her. Like she was one to talk after keeping Akira's seizures from Kairi.

"Y-You're right. Sorry, I lost my cool there for a second," Rise said.

"It's all right, we understand," Sumire replied.

"We truly are terrible at communicating…" Yusuke, exhausted, put his hand up to his mask.

"You're telling me…" Ryuji agreed.

The Phantom Thieves entered the auditorium and walked down a dark hallway before reaching the room. They found themselves on a platform in front of what they assumed was the movie screen, but was hidden behind a velvet curtain. There was also a lighting rig above them, which didn't make sense in a movie theater. Like most of the rest of the Palace's aesthetic, the hall was reasonably vintage-looking. The room was utterly flat, and there was no incline for the seats. The floor was carpeted in black nylon with red and gold chain embellishments. The walls were lined with candle-light fixtures, and the wallpaper was the same as the carpet.

Overall, it looked like one giant, elegantly designed prison cell with an IMAX movie screen as "entertainment." What really caught the attention of the Phantom Thieves, however, was the seating. The seats themselves were also old rather than modern and made of wood. It wasn't entirely clear exactly how many seats there were, but it was significantly less than any of them had seen from movie theaters in the real world. But the real kicker was that they weren't empty; instead, they were all filled with a whole bunch of familiar faces. It was a nearly a fully packed auditorium of those who knew Akira, both intimately and in passing.

"What the…that's us…" Ann said, confused. The Phantom Thieves scanned around the auditorium and spotted cognitive versions of themselves in their regular street clothes, as well as all of Akira's confidants. Ones he had seen recently, and those he hadn't seen in a while, like Shinya Oda, Hifumi Togo, and Yoshida Toranosuke.

"Woah, look over there…" Futaba began pointing. "There's Sojiro…and Kawakami…"

"…Shiho?" Ann noticed her non-thief best friend.

"I see Takemi-san…and Doctor Maruki…" Yusuke spotted.

"And Sis…" Makoto spotted Sae.

"Isn't that that reporter chick?" Ryuji asked as he spotted Ichiko Ohya.

"Wait, over there…" Rise pointed to the third row. "That's me…and there, Obasan, Mom and Dad…" She spotted her aunt and her parents.

"…and Chie, Yukiko, Kanji, Naoto, Nanako, Dojima, even my parents…" Yu noticed as he scratched his head. His parents being there proved it wasn't just old faces filling the seats. There were also new ones, like Doctor Takahashi and Professor Nagata.

"There, look…" Ann pointed to the fifth row. "There's Riku…"

"…and Doctor Kimura…" Sumire added. The cognitive audience sat in their seats with blank, expressionless faces, not moving a single muscle as they stared directly in front of them at the velvet curtains.

"Mona, what is this?" Rise asked, feeling uncomfortable, as was everyone. "What are they, shadows?"

"I think they're cognitive beings. If I had to guess, they're probably how Akira sees the people around him," Mona explained.

"He sees us as passive, emotionless beings?" Yusuke pondered. "Truly saddening…" he said as his heart grew heavy. Suddenly, the lights went down, and the curtains were pulled aside, revealing the movie screen. The cognitive audience started shouting at them.

*DOWN IN FRONT!*

*OUT OF THE WAY!*

Then, a familiar voice spoke through a speaker from up in the projection room.

*Guys, what are you doing?* The group recognized the usher's voice. *The movie can't start until you sit down,* he said before switching the speakers off.

"This really does feel like a prison," Yu commented. There were precisely ten seats at the center of the front row. Not exactly the best seats in the house for a movie theater. The Phantom Thieves reluctantly took their seats and looked up at the screen as the projector switched on. The old school film-reel countdown came on before they heard Akira's voice say in a tired, monotone voice at the count of two:

"…it's showtime…"

The film began; the screen showed Akira, Futaba, and Sumire's encounter with the drunken men back in March. Sumire and Futaba squirmed in their seats as the scene unfolded precisely how they remembered it.

"Hey, dinnt ya hear me…? I sait, wher ya goin?" the drunk man from before said.

"None of your business. Beat it," Akira responded.

"Wasn't talkin to uyu, shithead. I wase talken to the two hot pieces of ass in betwen ya. Why you girlies with him, dontcha wanna real *belch* men?" the other man said.

"Like I said. Back. Off." Akira clenched his fists.

"Or what?" the first man said.

"Akira, let's just go," the Sumire in the film said.

From then on, it was hard to watch. One of the men grabbed Sumire's behind, causing her to yelp, sending Akira in a blind rage as he dropped the fatty tuna he was bringing back for Morgana, and lunged at the man, decking him in the face and knocking him to the ground with a single punch. A punch that Ryuji was, unfortunately, all too familiar with. None of that mattered to him anymore, however. He tightly gripped the arm of his seat in anger as he and the others watched Akira getting pummeled by two drunken men and have his first true seizure.

"Akira! NO!" Rise smothered her gasp of terror. Some were enraged, some were sad, Rise was both. She was angry at the men, while she leaned forward and cried small tears in her hands for her cousin. Yu put an arm around her to comfort her. He didn't know Akira as well as the rest of them, but he wanted to get the bastards who did this to Akira. As it turns out, he wouldn't have to worry about that as the film jumped forward to another scene.

"Hey! Amamiya, right? What'll it be?" the setting changed from a back alley to Akira walking into a lonely, crept-looking tavern and sitting at a bar, talking with the bartender. Everyone was confused at why he called Akira "Amamiya," except Mona. He began to feel guilty as he realized what this meant. Akira and the bartender had their back and forth.

"Just a beer, please."

"Blond or draft?"

"Doesn't matter."

"Comin' right up."

"Thanks." Akira downed it in one. "Another round, please?"

"Bad day or really thirsty?"

"Yes."

Confused and concerned, the Phantom Thieves watched as Akira drank an entire beer and ordered another under a pseudonym. The look of emptiness on his face was a prime example of show-don't-tell visual storytelling. Akira didn't look sad, but the Thieves could tell that he was hurting on the inside, and not just because they were quite literally inside his heart at the moment. The cold, dead look in his eyes said it all. Their confusion turned to fear as they noticed what Akira noticed. The two men from minutes ago were sitting at a booth, one of them threatening to do God knows what if he ever saw Akira again. Like what happened in real life, after the apologetic one left, the other went out in the alley to take a piss. Akira finished his drink and followed him out.

"What the hell is he doing!?" Ann yelled at the screen.

*SHHH* the cognitive audience shushed her. Back on the screen, Akira and the drunk man got into a fight in the alleyway. Akira managed to get on top of the man, but one eye-rake and one kick to the gut later, and the shoe was on the other foot.

"That BASTARD!" Ryuji slammed his fist down on the arm of his seat. In real life, the man stopped there and began to gloat before being knocked out by the bartender. Instead, the man continued to beat Akira down. Some Thieves had to look away. Those who did saw that none of the cognitive audience reacting to this in any way. Just watching a teenager getting assaulted. It made them uneasy. The bartender never showed up to save Akira as he had in real life, unbeknownst to the group. Instead, the man started spouting.

"You fucked with the wrong bull, you little shit!" The man's eyes turned yellow as he grabbed Akira by the hair. "You've had this coming for a long time. You're a dead man, kid…"

And then…nothing. The projector switched off, and the lights came back on. The Thieves got up out of their seats, shaken by what they had just seen, and looked behind them. The cognitive audience remained unbothered and unmoved by what they just saw.

"How can they not react to this in any way!?" Ann angrily asked.

"This is bullshit! That was their friend up there!" Ryuji yelled as he kicked the seat he was just in; the usher came back on the speakers.

*Will you stop kicking shit, blondie!?* he said before disappearing again.

"Fuck you, man!" Ryuji angrily retorted. Makoto and Haru comforted each other, while Yusuke comforted Futaba. Rise was shaking in her boots and felt like she was going to throw up.

"What the hell did we just watch?" Yu asked.

"If I had to guess, I would say it was one of Akira's memories. A pretty recent one too…" Morgana trailed off.

"That man…" Sumire quietly began. "H-He said… Akira was a dead man…" She was disturbed and on the verge of breaking down. However, before she could, the Thieves heard a noise from behind them. They turned around as they watched the movie screen being lifted up like a backdrop, revealing a person facing away from them. The figure turned around and, standing before the Phantom Thieves, was the drunk man from the film, smiling.

"Y-You gotta be shittin' me," Ryuji said as he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

*I'm not shitting you, kid!* the man said, still smiling. The Thieves were angry at the sight of him.

"Y-You attacked our friend, you asshole!" Makoto angrily yelled.

*Like I said, he had it coming! When I find him, that kid is a dead man.*

"Oh, fucking big man, beating on a defenseless kid. Fuck you!" Rise shouted furiously.

*Don't give me that shit! You saw what happened up there! That little bastard hit me first, both times. I just gave him what he deserved. Didn't you watch the fucking thing!?*

"We did, and the only thing we saw was a disgusting, vile man harassing young women and attacking an innocent teenager who stood up for them," Haru told him.

*So, that's how it's going to be, huh? Hmph, fine,* the man grinned before he began to change. *First you, then him.*

"Guys, be on guard! He's transforming!" Futaba warned them.

*Maybe I'll keep the babes alive for some fun later, hehe…*

"You despicable monster…" Yusuke said. The man chuckled before he disappeared into a puddle of black goo before reemerging as a shadow.

"Shit…" Yu sighed as he saw the monstrous form the man took on. "…Mara."

"Not just a regular Mara, either…" Futaba began as she scanned the phallic demon before them. "He's different and a lot stronger than usual; everything is buffed. It's like he's level 99 or something."

"Venus, Oracle, stand back! Everyone else, get ready to attack!" Yu ordered.

*I'm looking to get some action! And that's exactly what I'm going to take from those pretty pieces of ass in front of me!* the man laughed as he creepily gawked at the female members of the group.

"SHUT THE HELL UP! YOU DISGUSTING PIG!" Sumire furiously shouted; she had never felt this angry before.

"You're going to pay for what you did to our friend!" Ann added.

"Nobody fucks with the Phantom Thieves!" Ryuji screamed as he got out his lead pipe.

The Thieves all got out their weapons, and the fight was on. Like Futaba had warned, this Mara was more potent than the group expected. It repelled Psychic and nullified Gun and Curse attacks. Ann tried Agidyne, a fire-based attack, but unfortunately, he absorbed it. Mara cast Mapsiodyne, a psychic attack, which hit a few of them but didn't do too much damage thanks to defense buffs and an evasion boost courtesy of Oracle and Venus.

"JOHANNA!"

"CAPTAIN KIDD!"

Makoto and Ryuji teamed up for a Freidyne/Ziodyne combo which did a decent amount of damage, but not a whole lot. Mara managed to hit a Brain Buster physical attack, which inflicted Brainwash on Makoto and Morgana. Thankfully, Haru and Sumire used Harissen Recovery on both of them before it was too late. Ryuji's next electric attack managed to shock Mara.

"Mona!" he yelled out.

"I'm on it!" Morgana grinned. "ZORRO! SHOW YOUR MIGHT!" He summoned his Persona and hit Mara with a wind/shock combo that did massive technical damage, but somehow didn't knock him down.

"CENDRILLON!" Sumire managed to knock Mara down with a Sword Dance physical attack, but he got back up instantly.

"I don't get it!" Rise was befuddled. "How can he recover that quickly!?"

"He's persistent; I'll give him that much…" Futaba begrudgingly added.

"Wait, I got an idea," Yu said.

*Annoying little shits! DIE ALREADY!* Mara was getting agitated and reckless. He went for another Brain Buster but missed entirely.

"CARMEN! DORMIMA!" Ann put Mara to sleep. "He won't be out for long!"

"Nice one, Panther!" Yu complimented. "Fox! Heads up!" he shouted before switching his Persona to Kohryu and used Concentrate on Yusuke, who nodded in thanks, buffing his magic attack just as Mara came out of his sleep.

"GOEMON! BUFUDYNE!" Yusuke hit the Mara with an ice attack strong enough that the demon was frozen in place.

"I got this one!" Ryuji shouted. "CAPTAIN KIDD! GOD'S HAND!" Through the powerful physical attack, Ryuji landed massive technical damage and knocked Mara down. This time, he stayed down.

"Violet! Panther! Noir! With me for an All-Out Attack!" Yu shouted. He began to run forward towards the downed Mara before seeing the Phantom Thieves fly past him as they began wailing on Mara. "Woah…" He was surprised and rather impressed, but there was no time to admire their technique. He rushed in and got his own hits in, all of them slashing at the demon with their melee weapons. Afterward, Mara was weak and had nothing left.

"Next time…" Sumire dealt the killing blow to Mara, slicing the "head" clean off with her rapier. "…take the hint," Sumire venomously said. She turned back to the others, who were in awe. "What?" she asked.

"O-Oh, nothing…" Ann stuttered. "I-It's just…"

"DAMN! That was badass!" Ryuji excitedly shouted. "But kinda tough to watch…" he trailed off as he uncomfortably crossed his legs.

"I've never seen you so deadly, Violet," Haru couldn't help but giggle.

"Yeah, you went full-on savage on that creep, Violet!" Futaba added. "Way to go!" Sumire softly smiled as she beamed with pride on the inside.

"Is everyone all right?" Makoto asked.

"Eh, nothin' too bad. That Brain Buster did some damage to my arm, but otherwise, I'm still near a hundred percent," Ryuji said.

"Pfft, of course, that slimy prick would transform into Mara," Yu muttered.

"Very odd choice of words there, hon,'" Rise nudged him. "But what was that exactly? Cognition or shadow?"

"I think…it might've been both," Morgana began as the others looked at him. "I don't quite know how to explain it, but at first, I thought it was just a cognition."

"Like Noir's creepy fiancé back in Okumura's Palace?" Ann asked.

"Right, but then, he transformed into that demon we just fought. Similar to the shadows we faced in Mementos." Morgana rubbed his head in confusion. "To be honest, I have no clue exactly what that was. Everything about this Palace is topsy-turvy…"

"Hey, what's that?" Rise's eye caught a gleaming golden chain.

"It looks like a door. Maybe something Mara was guarding?" Yu wondered. "Let's check it out."

As the group approached it, one of the stage lights from the lighting rig shined on the lock in the center, causing it to disappear. The chains loudly snapped off and fell to the floor. The Thieves slowly approached the door as it slowly opened on its own, revealing a room covered in red and black, pulsating veins, and a skull-like treasure laying atop of more veins at the center. Yu walked over to the item, picked it up, and inspected it.

"What is it, Silver?" Makoto asked.

"No idea," Yu responded. "Mona, have you seen anything like this before?" he asked, handing the treasure to the feline.

"Nope, this is also new." Morgana was in the dark about what this artifact was. Suddenly, the Phantom Thieves felt a burst of energy flow through them.

"Woah!" Ryuji began. "My arm feels totally better!" he said, as he moved it around.

"Did we just get healed up?" Ann asked.

"Seems like it," Rise said as she checked everyone's stats. "Everyone is either in or near-perfect condition."

"I don't know what that was, but thank goodness for it," Haru beamed.

"Hey, look!" Sumire said, looking behind her. The Thieves turned around and watched as the cognitive audience all silently disappeared one by one. The seats that were once filled were now empty.

"Well, the show is over," Yusuke said.

"Let's keep going. We've got one down and three to go. Now we have an idea of what to expect," Yu said.

"Right. Let's move on," Sumire added.

The Phantom Thieves exited the theater and went back out into the lobby. Rise, still trying to process what she had just witnessed, was dragging her feet as she lagged behind everyone else. The others continued out while Yu walked over and put a comforting arm around his wife.

"Hey, I know that was hard to watch, but we're going to make sure he gets through this, okay?" he said comfortingly.

"I know…" Rise silently nodded. "It's just… I can't believe he went through all that, and I had no idea…" she said as they rejoined the others in the lobby.

"I understand how you feel, Venus," Ann said. "I can't believe he was drinking, and we had no idea."

"Hrrrnnn…" Morgana made a low groaning sound; everyone noticed.

"Mona-chan? What is it?" Haru asked.

"…I'm really sorry, you guys. I should've told you sooner…" the feline looked down in shame.

"What do you mean? Did you know about this?" Yusuke asked; Morgana silently nodded in shame.

"I didn't know about the assault…but I knew Akira was drinking." He couldn't see them, but he could feel the looks of disapproval the Phantom Thieves were giving him.

"How long have you known?" Makoto asked.

"…since June."

"You kept that from us for that long!?" Ryuji asked.

"Mona-chan…why?" Haru asked.

"I was afraid that if I told you guys, he would push us away and cut us off completely. He was already so distant from us that I was afraid this would be the straw that broke the camel's back," Morgana said before looking back up.

"You still should've told us," Ann began. "He's our friend, and we don't want him to go through this tough time by himself."

"But that's what happened," Morgana began. "That's part of the reason why we're here now. Because we didn't do anything. And even so, Palace or no Palace, you all have to admit that our relationship with him was hanging by a thread, not just with me, but with everyone, even Violet." Everyone turned towards Sumire.

"…It's true…" she reluctantly admitted, rubbing her arm. I've barely seen or talked to him in the last couple of months…and I was starting to worry that our relationship might be ending… I was planning to talk to him during this trip."

"Wait, don't tell me you two were going to-" Rise began before quickly getting cut off.

"No! Of course not!" Sumire adamantly said. "I don't want to break up with him. I love Akira; he makes me so happy, and I don't want to lose him…"

"Anyway, after what we saw in there, I feel like an idiot. I should've said something," Morgana continued. "I'm sorry, you guys." There was a bit of silence as everyone processed what they just heard. Though he believed his intentions were good, Morgana still felt terrible about keeping something like this from them. Especially after everything that's happened in just the last twenty-four hours alone. Sumire was the first to say something.

"I forgive you, Mona," Sumire said; Morgana looked up at her.

"Y-You do?"

"Yes," Sumire nodded. "It doesn't matter anymore. What's done is done. What matters now is saving Akira; we can't do that if we dwell on the past."

"Violet is right. It doesn't matter now; once we're done here, we'll all make sure Akira gets the help he deserves," Yusuke stated.

"The help we owe him," Makoto clarified; the rest of the Thieves nodded. Rise couldn't help but softly smile.

"Akira's lucky to have friends like you guys if you're willing to go through all this for him," she said, the Thieves smiled as well.

"Oh, hey!" Ryuji began. "Why don't we try that weird treasure thing we got on the door over there?"

"Good thinking, Skull," Yu nodded. "Let's go."

The Thieves made their way to the golden double doors at the end of the hallway. They pulled the skull artifact out and tried it on the door. Unfortunately, it wasn't exactly a traditional key, but both the treasure and the double doors did react slightly when near each other.

"Okay, so it looks like we're on the right track," Morgana said as Yu held the weird artifact up to the door. "So, what's next?"

The next theater they entered was for a film called "Police Brutality." Yu and Rise had no idea what to expect, but the others did when they saw the poster, which depicted Akira in an interrogation room, covered in bruises and marks, and a single fist in the foreground.

"This must be what happened to him after being captured in Niijima-san's Palace," Haru pondered.

"Jeez, I still think about how Akira looked when he showed up at the café after that," Ryuji rubbed the back of his neck.

"He could barely walk…" Ann whimpered. Her slightly at the thought of the state Akira was in after returning to Leblanc.

"What are you guys talking about-you know what, I don't wanna know…" Rise took a deep breath. "I have a feeling I'm about to get filled-in on what happened anyway."

They entered the auditorium, and it was identical in every way to the first, right down to the exact placement of the cognitive audience. Once again, they took the not-so-best seats in the house, the lights went down, the curtains were pulled aside, and Akira's voice called for showtime. This was the Thieves' second film of the night. The way it started didn't promise anything better than the last one.

The film began in the Casino of Envy, Sae Niijima's Palace. Makoto couldn't help but look back at the cognitive version of her sister to see if the film elicited any reaction from her, but like all the others, cognitive Sae remained unmoved. Akira as Joker had just made his stylish but reckless escape out the casino's window and found himself caught in an ambush as a squad of law enforcement had somehow entered the cognitive world. He tried evading the assault team by climbing a nearby fire escape, but found himself getting knocked off after meeting the butt of a rifle. Rise winced at his fall.

"Wait!" Yu began. "So, that's-"

*SHHH*

"…sorry…so, that's Akira?" Yu posed the question to Sumire left of him in a quieter tone of voice.

"Yes," Sumire nodded. Yu also felt a bit ridiculous that he just apologized to a figment of Akira's imagination. Next, on the screen, Akira was getting his mugshot taken. In the final shot, he couldn't help but flash a cocky smirk as he knew this was all part of the plan he and the Phantom Thieves had set up in order to trap Goro Akechi. The group couldn't help but snicker at their leader's subtle mugging to the camera. If anything, it felt good to see Akira smile again, even if it was only for a fleeting moment. Sadly, the rest of the film wouldn't be much better.

"Are you done!?" A man in a suit came bursting into the room. Akira assumed him to be a detective of some kind.

"Yes, sir. You can take him to the interrogation room now," the officer said.

"Good, it's about damn time." The detective handcuffed Akira's hands behind his back and took him away. As they were walking down the hallway, the detective noticed Akira's sly smile. "What the hell are you looking so smug about?" he asked him. Not wanting to push his luck, Akira quietly put his smile away. They entered the interrogation room. The detective sat Akira down on the chair. In the room stood two other men in suits. "How long until the document gets here?" the detective asked.

"They're working on it right now. We've got some time," one of the suits responded, the detective smirked and turned toward the prisoner.

"Hmph, good." Suddenly, Akira had a gut feeling that maybe these guys weren't cops, or if they were, they weren't the honest type.

"So…do I get my phone call…?" Akira joked.

"Hmph…" The detective was cracking his knuckles and Akira was sitting in a chair with his hands handcuffed behind his back. Pissing him off was probably not the smart thing to do. "I wouldn't bother crying out for help if I were you…no one's coming to save you."

*BAM*

Akira's suspicions were confirmed when the detective punched him straight in the gut. His breathing was cut off, and he struggled to find it again. Had the detective gone for a second gut-punch, Akira might've died right then and there and saved Akechi the bullet. The Thieves gasped in horror.

"…" Sumire tried to speak, but couldn't find the words, nearly choking on her own breath.

"This isn't part of the interrogation, by the way…" the detective began. "I don't need to ask you anything. I'm just going to show you your place," he said before commencing his assault on the handcuffed teenager; repeatedly striking at his head, face, body, you name it.

"…oh, God… I'm definitely going to puke…" Rise said, leaning forward in her seat.

"How could they have been so cruel!?" Yusuke shouted.

The Phantom Thieves were appalled at what they were seeing. They remembered the state Akira was in when Sae brought him back to Leblanc. Sojiro carried Akira with one of his arms wrapped around him from the trunk of Sae's car, since the kid could barely stand on both legs. Sojiro noticed Akira was limping on one leg; seeing that along with everything on his face made him angry. As soon as Sojiro got him inside, Akira collapsed in front of everyone, and they all rushed to help him up. The Thieves were furious at what the police had done to their friend, but more so, they were heartbroken at what he had gone through, and seeing it for themselves, on a big screen no-less, didn't help or make it any easier of a pill to swallow.

"A-Akira…" Haru quietly whispered in sadness.

"I… I-I…" Makoto had no words, just tears in her eyes.

"I-I can't watch anymore…" Futaba cowered in her seat.

"No…stop it…" Ann quietly said through muffled sobs.

They watched as the detective, or whoever he was, beat Akira to a pulp for what felt like an eternity. The violence was ugly; it was a borderline snuff film. The only upside is that the group knew that they would likely be fighting the detective as soon as the lights came back on, and every punch he landed on Akira fueled their rage and desire to kick this rotten son of a bitch's ass. From there, they brought out the syringes with the truth serum, or whatever it was, and injected both into Akira. He felt like a green, poisonous fire was devouring his brain. His mind turned to steam. Akira was no longer in the Metaverse, but he felt the shadows chasing after him, pulling him into a green inferno, closing in for the kill. He thought he was going to die. All he could do was hold on, as long as hard as he could.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Yu angrily huffed. The film switched to Akira's point of view as it faded to black. It immediately came back once the suits splashed him with water to wake him up. Akira felt the green fire slowly disappearing from his mind, leaving even more marks on his already heavily scarred soul that would never fully heal. His body was drenched in cold sweat, tired as a worn-out shoe and sick as a dog. The constant feeling of needing to throw up but not being able to. It felt like it took an eternity for him to finally open his eyes up all the way, but once he did, the detective was standing right in front of him.

"No dozing off." Akira looked around, confused, like he had no idea where he was, why he was handcuffed, or why his body was aching the way it did, but he was clearly scared. The detective shook his head. "You still don't get it, do you? GIVE IT UP!" He walked over and kicked Akira in the gut once more, knocking him off the chair and to the ground. As a police officer himself, seeing this made Yu sick.

"Those bastards!" Yu clenched his fists in anger when he saw the detective place his foot on top of Akira's head. Seeing this made the Thieves were uneasy. They remembered Akira clutching the side of his head for days, even weeks afterward.

"Come on," the detective began. "Cooperate. Or what, you want another shot?" He looked behind him when noticed Akira was staring at something. "Huh? What about the camera? Are you thinking it can be used as evidence?" He grabbed Akira by the hair like he expected him to answer, which he didn't. "Hey! Didn't you hear my question? Answer!" he said before kicking Akira in the gut once more. The sounds of Akira gagging, and coughing made Sumire do the same.

"V-Violet?" Haru worriedly asked; Sumire didn't respond, instead, she reluctantly kept watching the film. There then was a knock on the door of the interrogation room. One of the suits opened it slightly and was handed a clipboard with a piece of paper on it before closing the door. The suit informed the detective that the confession had arrived. The detective read Akira the list of his charges brought upon him and forced him to sign the confession under his name. Akira stubbornly refused, batting the clipboard away.

"I see…" the detective began. "I need your hand to sign this, but…"

*STOMP*

"URGH…!"

"…I don't care if you end up losing a leg." The detective stomped on Akira's leg. Ryuji flinched as he was reminded of what Kamoshida did to his leg in the past.

"I'm gonna kill that fucking son of a bitch!" Ryuji yelled in furious anger. The pained sound Akira made was more fuel to the Thieves' burning rage. Once the confession was reluctantly signed, the detective and the suits put Akira back in the chair and moved the table back in the center of the room as they were informed that a prosecutor would be coming by shortly. The suits left out the door, while the detective looked back at Akira.

"Don't think I'm done with you yet, kid. When I get back, there'll be Hell to pay," he grinned. Akira weakly looked up at him and saw his eyes turn yellow, just like the drunk from earlier. "I'll see you soon."

"Oh, we'll see you very soon, all right…" Morgana glared at the detective on the screen. The detective swaggered out of the interrogation room, proud of himself for beating up a high schooler with his hands cuffed behind his back as the door closed behind him, electronic locks clicking into place.

Everyone makes mistakes. Akira's hadn't been to crack a joke at the detective, he would've pummeled him regardless. It hadn't even been to trust Akechi. Akira was in a world of pain. Some might say that willingly taking the fall was a dumb move, a mistake that could've been avoided, but it had to be done. Despite everything, Akira couldn't bring himself to stay mad at Akechi, guessing that he had a soft spot for the Detective Prince not called Naoto Shirogane. Nevertheless, when someone decided to use his head as punching bag and his stomp on his leg like it was a cigarette butt, Akira was sore, and his opinion of Akechi soured slightly. The projector switched off, and the lights came back on. The Thieves got out of their seats.

"Hey, Noir?" Yu asked Haru.

"Y-Yes?"

"I get now why you don't like cops." Haru couldn't help but look down at that.

"I do not know which was worse, this one or the previous film," Yusuke said, shaking; unable to process what he and the others had just seen. Rise had no words, neither did Sumire. The latter had rushed to Leblanc the day after Akira was brought back from being tortured and nursed the boy she loved back to health. As she did, he told her everything they did to him, or whatever he could remember at least. She never thought she'd see the torture he suffered firsthand. Makoto somehow managed to regain her composure and tried to rally up the troops.

"Look, I know we're all shaken up after seeing that, but we still have to get ready for a fight."

"Queen's right," Ann said after taking deep breaths. "If anything, I'm even more ready than before."

"So then, what's the plan for this guy?" Futaba asked.

"Well, we don't know what Persona he's going to turn into, so it's hard to come up with a plan," Morgana said; Ryuji huffed as he pulled out his firearm and began loading up. Everyone curiously looked at him.

"Uh, Skull…? W-What are you doing?" Rise asked. Ryuji didn't look at anyone as he focused on reloading his shotgun.

"I've got an idea…" Ryuji looked scary in the eyes of the others. He was clearly enraged, but speaking very calmly, gritting his teeth and huffing loudly; almost like a psychopath. Even Morgana thought twice about calling him a monkey. "If that fucking bastard wants Hell…" He finished loading his shells and looked at everyone as he pumped his shotgun with one hand, Hollywood-style. "… He's gonna get it."

The cardinal rule with going after someone with the intent to avenge a friend or family member was to never make it personal. Ultimately, that's what it always ended up being—it did with the Phantom Thieves. Eventually, it was time to fight. The movie screen once again went up and revealed the shadow/cognition of the detective.

*Well, well, what do we have here?* the detective asked as he turned around. *I don't know who the hell you-*

*BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG *

Before the detective could finish his sentence, he found himself receiving a hail of bullets courtesy of the Phantom Thieves. They fired as fast as they could pull their respective triggers. It ended with Haru firing a single round of her grenade launcher. The subsequent explosion kicked up a puff of smoke that obscured their view for a moment.

"That's for our friend!" Haru yelled out.

"EAT SHIT AND DIE, ASSHOLE!" Ryuji shouted.

"Eye for an eye! To Hell with you!" Yusuke added. As the smoke cleared, the detective had transformed into Satan, seemingly unaffected by the bullet barrage he had just been on the receiving end off.

*Well, now, that wasn't very nice…* he growled.

"What the hell!?" Ann was shocked. "H-How are you still alive!?"

"Damn…" Futaba said as she scanned the Persona. "He's resistant to Gun attacks."

"Unfortunately, he's still got more than two-thirds of his health," Rise added.

"You gotta be shittin' me…" Ryuji huffed in disbelief.

*I'm going to take a shot in the dark here and assume you guys are the rest of the Phantom Thieves?* Satan asked.

"That's right, and that was our friend you assaulted!" Sumire said, glaring at him.

"Some cop you are. You make me sick!" Yu shouted. The Phantom Thieves all stared him down. It wasn't fear in their eyes; it was fury.

*Heh, I should've figured. Well, I'm glad I get to take a crack at the rest of you. In this form, I'll do to you what I did to him, but a hundred times worse,* Satan snarled.

"That's what you think, but in reality, you've got nothing on us," Makoto began before Morgana took over.

"We are the Phantom Thieves! And we will make you PAY!"

Like Mara, before, Satan was more robust than normal, and he was already a tricky bastard. Gun attacks were out of the question, so the Thieves hit him with all the magic they had. Once again, Rise and Futaba showered them with as many defensive, offensive, and evasion boosts as possible. Satan charged at them with Physical attacks, which the Phantom Thieves managed to avoid due to them being quick on their feet.

"Fox!" Rise called out. "Don't use Ice attacks; he'll repel them." Yusuke nodded in response. Unfortunately, this distraction caused him to get struck with a physical attack known as Black Viper, which hit him pretty hard.

"FOX!" Futaba shouted in fear as she watched her boyfriend fall to the ground.

"I'm all right! Haha, argh…" Yusuke shrugged it off. He was hurt, but it would've been a lot worse if it weren't for the boosts.

"Fox, fall back!" Futaba yelled; she was fired up. "EVERYONE ELSE, HIT HIM WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!"

"CAPTAIN KIDD!"

"MILADY"

"ZORRO!"

Ryuji tried Thunder Reign, Haru tried Psychokinesis, and Morgana tried Panta Rhei; their strongest magic attacks. All three hit Satan, but sadly, he kept regenerating health.

"CARMEN! INFERNO!" Ann summoned her Persona and launched a fire tower at Satan, which he nimbly dodged.

"What the hell!? He's usually not this agile!" Yu muttered aloud; then it hit him. "Wait! That's it! Someone put him to sleep!" He ordered.

"Panther!" Makoto shouted.

"On it!" Ann nodded. "CAMREN! DORMINA!" She successfully managed to put Satan to sleep.

"I'm going to strike this son of a bitch hard; give me one second…" Yu said. "KOHRYU! CONCENTRATE!"

"Heads up, everyone! Your defense boosts are almost gone!" Futaba warned. Unfortunately, before Yu could hit his attack, Satan recovered from his sleep and went for Black Viper once again.

"EVERYONE, LOOK OUT!" Makoto yelled out, not realizing the attack was coming for her.

"QUEEN!" Ann yelled, and she ended up taking the hit for Makoto. "AAARRGGHHH!"

"PANTHER!" Haru worriedly yelled as she watched Ann get knocked to the ground.

"ANN, NO!" Ryuji shouted as he frantically rushed over to Ann; Yu saw what happened and was not happy.

"You're going to get it now… IZANAGI-NO-OKAMI!" Yu clenched his fist and called upon his ultimate Persona; the one he used to save Inaba, seven years ago.

"Silver!" Rise yelled. "Watch out; your stamina is almost gone!" Yu ignored Rise and used his most potent attack on Satan.

"BY THE MYRIAD TRUTHS!" Using, his Persona's ultimate attack, Yu took out nearly all of Satan's health in one shot. "Violet! Sword Dance, NOW!"

"CENDRILLON! LET'S DANCE!" Sumire landed a critical hit on Satan that knocked him down.

"Queen! Mona! Noir! All-Out Attack, NOW!" Yu ordered. Makoto, Morgana, Haru, and Yu all launched into an All-Out Attack and wiped-out Satan for good, the demon disappearing into a dark puff of smoke. "Pfft…" Yu spat on the ground. "You play, you pay, you bastard," he said before turning back to Ann, who was lying on the ground in Ryuji's arms.

"Ann, come on! Please be okay!" He nearly began to cry, until he felt her squirming in his arms. "Ann? Y-You okay?"

"…what? No toiletries first-aid kid?" she softly smiled as she opened her eyes; Ryuji exhaled deeply.

"Ann! What the hell!? You almost gave me-HMPH…?" Before he could finish, she shut him up with a kiss. It lasted for about ten seconds before she pulled back.

"It's 'Panther,' silly. Remember our code names?" she playfully nudged him. Ryuji exhaled again, glad that his girlfriend was all right enough to crack jokes. The others came over.

"Panther? Are you all right?" Morgana asked.

"I'm fine, mostly. Fox?" Ann responded before turning to Yusuke as Ryuji and Yu helped her up. Yusuke was clutching his side.

"I'm all right as well… OW!" he exclaimed as Futaba hugged him before quickly pulling back.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it. I was too worried," she apologized.

"What about Satan?" Ann asked.

"Back to the fires of Hell," Yu replied before turning to Ryuji. "Sorry that plan of yours didn't work out, Skull."

"Nah, it's my fault…" Ryuji began, still holding Ann and looking down at the ground. "Seein' what that bastard did to Akira… I just lost it… I wasn't thinkin' straight…"

"Hey, don't worry about it," Rise began as she put a hand on his shoulder. "You were angry and disgusted, and you wanted revenge for your friend. I get it. I think we all do." She looked around at the others, who nodded. "Personally, I think it shows how much you care about him. And even if it didn't quite work out like we expected it to, it was a good plan, to be fair. And a pretty badass one to boot. Nice thinking, Skull," she smiled at him, causing him to blush slightly.

"I agree!" Sumire added with a smile. "Although, I think it might be best if we don't try it again…"

"At least, they weren't nullified. That would've been a huge waste of ammo," Futaba said.

"True," Makoto began, "we were lucky the demon was only resistant to Gun attacks. Imagine if he repelled them?"

"I'd rather not think about that," Morgana cringed slightly. At that moment, the light shined on the chained-up door that was behind Satan. "Come on, let's see if we can get Panther and Fox some help from that…whatever it is." They walked through the door and entered the room where the skull artifact was. Rise picked it up, and the same burst of energy went through them all. Ann and Yusuke immediately felt better.

"Everyone is doing all right, health-wise," Futaba said as she checked everyone's condition. "Stamina hasn't regenerated, though, especially Silver's, who's got almost nothing left."

"Damn," Yu muttered. "Victory Cry must be nullified as well."

"Well, anyway, two down, two to go," Morgana pointed out.

"How is everyone doing? Should we take a break and leave for now?" Makoto suggested.

"As much as I'd like to keep going, I do think we should stop for now. We do need to be careful of everyone else's condition," Sumire said.

"I agree." Haru began. "That was a rather close fight. Perhaps, we could come back tomorrow morn-" Then, suddenly, the speakers switched back on. It wasn't the usher; it was someone else.

*ALERT! WILL Seed MISSING! ELIMINATE THE THIEVES!* the voice shouted before the speakers turned off again.

"Will seeds?" they all wondered.

"Uh-oh, ENEMY READINGS! LOOK OUT!" Futaba yelled. They looked behind them at the auditorium. Rather than the cognitive audience fading away, they transformed into a large pack of shadows. It was hard to tell how many there were exactly, but it was a lot.

"Shit…it looks like we're going to have to fight our way out…" Yu said. "Everyone ready?" He looked around and saw the determined looks on their faces. "Then, let's show them what we're made of!"

Like Chandler Bing at a Wham! concert, the shadows rushed the stage; only with the intent to kill rather than to get up close and personal with the performers. The demons inside of Akira's heart grew restless and hungered for violence. The Phantom Thieves knew this—they were coming face to face with them. There would be no negotiating with the shadows; the group knew better. Both parties knew how this would end. In the same way Akira was feeling now, in pain and suffering, but not for them. They vowed to save Akira from his misery, and they couldn't do that with this clusterfuck of monsters in their way. The Phantom Thieves got their weapons out, adopted their fighting stances, and all screamed in unison at the top of their lungs:

"PERSONAAAAA!"