Previously uploaded under my old moniker SammieWrites.

When the Masks Come Off
Prologue
Night of the Phantom

The sirens wailed nonstop across the casino deafening the incessant chatter amongst the customers. Some had the sense to head for the exit, others stayed rooted in place as the security personnel weaved in and out through the crowd. Each guard wore a two-piece black suit and tie with their earpieces on for communication.

Three gunshots echoed across the room prompting a few frightened screams. "Quite the audience we have tonight," an unknown voice projected across the room. "I do love being on center stage. Hope I don't disappoint."

Heads turned and glanced up, gamblers, casino goers, and the security guards, looked up at the chandelier in the center of the room. It hung about halfway down the room's height with a flat surface facing the ceiling. A figure stood on the chandelier, slipping a pistol into their coat pocket, then held onto the suspension wire that kept the fixture up. In their other hand, they cradled a briefcase, tucked under their arm.

It was easy to see that the person on the light fixture was a young woman despite the long coat she wore. Her light-colored hair and the white-and-black, bird-like domino mask on her face stood out amongst the black and dark greys on her person. Perhaps some saw the confident smirk on her face as her eyes scanned the crowds. Perhaps others noticed the mystique of a girl in a mask. Or perhaps they simply noticed the illegal firearm she shot off. Upon spotting the men in the suits heading towards her, she spotted one muttering something into his earpiece.

Perfect.

The girl fluffed her hair and used her free hand to take the flap of her coat between her thumb and forefingers. And then, as though she were a lady in a European period film, she swept one leg behind the other and dipped herself in a curtsy. "And this is where I bow out."

She turned on her heel and with a slight bend to her knees, she leaped up to the next light fixture, backflipping onto the surface.

"Good work, Joker," she heard Mona say, "now get running!"

Joker landed on the fixture and broke out into a sprint forward. Two more light fixtures were ahead over. The instincts she'd developed for most of her life took over as she gracefully leaped from one fixture to the next. All Joker had to do was simply hop from one fixture to the next, but if Joker proved anything within the last few months, she'll take any opportunity to show off with a split leap. "Yeah, I know. But I'm clearly an idiot, so tell me that again."

She heard one of the boys snicker. "But I have to say," continued Mona, "drawing attention to yourself like that was an excellent move."

"I thought so myself."

Landing on a semi-circle fixture with a glass pane, Joker spotted a trio of men in black suits hurrying to the very foyer she was headed for. "For fucks sake," she hissed under her breath. "Oracle, I need to change route."

"No worries,"Oracle piped confidently. It was her ability that allowed the group easy communication across the casino without typical devices. "Just give me a moment and I can pull one up for you. Everyone else, head to positions. Use Route B!"

Joker moved straight ahead, coming across a line of arched pillars until she landed on the sturdier floor of a rounded balcony. If she had to guess, she'd say that was where the bar was.

Two of the guards cut off Joker's path. But before they could do anything, their bodies started to twitch and convulse. Their conventional human skin turned into tar-like muck. Their distinct faces became generic, featureless blue masks.

The confident smirk returned to Joker's lips as she placed the briefcase at her feet and kicked it aside. She bounced briefly on the balls of her feet and held her palms out flat as she performed a series of handsprings towards the Shadow. On the very last handspring, Joker used the momentum to gain a little added height and landed bracing her feet against the Shadow's shoulders. Her red-gloved hand slapped over the blue mask, her fingers dug under the edge, pulling at the mask until it came off with a pop.

Joker leaped off the Shadow's shoulders as its shape changed into a large mechanical bull-like creature with a white cravat and a lower body that was an odd combination between a centaur and a naga.

Reaching into her coat, Joker pulled out a thin black stick. A wide red ribbon began to pool around at her feet, in one sweeping gesture, Joker circled her arm at the elbow, circling the ribbon around her head twice. After the second circle around her head, she started to move her arm to the side and began circling her wrists, creating three to six coils of ribbon circling her forearm. "Comparing power levels…" Oracle spoke more to herself than to Joker. "All right, no threat, not even a challenge. Go get 'em, Joker!"

Joker nodded her head as though her accomplices were right beside her. Slowly, she brought her arm down, gathering the ribbon in her hand with the stick as it fluttered down. The fingers on her opposite hand gently touched the smooth surface of her mask. Blue-white flames quickly ate away at it, revealing her face beneath. "Arsène!" Joker called as the fire bloomed over her eyes. "Ravage them!"

A red and black, vaguely human, vaguely feminine figure appeared behind Joker in a flurry of similar blue flames. The figure lowered itself into a genuflect as the Shadow was taken out with an Eigaon curse. The Shadow stumbled back, dazed. Fluidly, Joker's mask materialized back on her face, which caused the red and black creature to vanish. Joker tossed her ribbon into the air, juggling her gaze between the ribbon, and the Shadow, she moved towards the Shadow, performing several chaîné turns.

Approaching the Shadow, Joker effortlessly caught the ribbon stick on the last turn. She brought her back leg up into a scorpion split, her upper body lower even with her hips. She moved her wrist up and down enough to create a wave pattern out of her ribbon. White energy hit the Shadow once, twice, thrice, and it disappeared into black miasma. As fast as Joker could she placed her ribbon back into the inner pocket and hurried for the discarded briefcase.

Before she could celebrate her minor victory, another Shadow approached her, bringing down a sparkling police baton. Flipping backward, Joker kicked the baton out of the Shadow's hand. Landing upright, she turned on her heel and sprinted forward. She jumped up, using the balcony railing to hive herself added lift and leaped onto a light pillar. Pulling off similar maneuvering, Joker leaped into the foyer above it.

"Showoff,"she heard Panther tease.

"Okay, this works out," quipped Oracle. "Go through that door behind you."

Joker looked over her shoulder first before she turned to find a door marked 'employees only.' It was not long before she found herself in the back rooms of the casino. She ducked out of sight when she spotted one of the guards at the end of her path. The guard was speaking with someone on his team through his earpiece. "Yes, understood. I'll continue the search."

Lowering his hand from the corresponding ear, the guard took off down the direction Joker had just come from. Unaware that the person he was looking for was crouched behind the casino's laundry cart. Once the agent was out of earshot, Joker stood back up and headed straight for the stairwell at the end of the hall.

At the head of the stairs, Joker plastered her back against the wall, keeping an ear out for any voices or footfalls from oncoming agents. Realizing the coast was clear she went to the window, once again plastering her back to the wall. She peered on the glass, spotting the rows of people at their computers a. Security was no doubt doing what they could to find Joker and the others.

"She's not alone! Find the others and kill them all!"

Crap.

Joker continued her trek, unnoticed by security as she walked right past them. Coming up to another flight of stairs, Joker vaguely noticed the briefcase growing heavy in her arm. The stairs lead her to a hallway with a metal door at the end. She threw her free arm forward as she approached it, throwing the door open. Joker nearly toppled over the banister overlooking the more higher-class shindigs in her rush. Her eyes scanned the scene below her and her shoulder relaxed. "Something wrong?" asked Oracle. "The exit should be up ahead."

There wasn't a way out, not without dropping herself into the middle of the crowd and running off the door. Joker lifted her gaze back up to find a multi-colored stained glass window, directly in front of her. Oracle couldn't mean that, could she? "There?" she asked wearily.

She heard Oracle let out a sound of discomfort. "That's just how it is…! You didn't really expect to be able to walk through the front door after all, did you?"

"No, I was expecting a fire escape."

"Wait can you even make it?"

Joker bit the lower corner of her lip as she scrutinized the area. "Yep," she said devoid of any sarcasm.

"There she is! Over there!"

Peering over her shoulder, Joker spotted three guards, their guns drawn and aimed for her. "No escape!" shouted one of them.

A plastered smile formed on Joker's lips. Once again, she held the flap of her coat between her thumb and ring fingers in her free hand. She cursed again. Fluidly, Joker turned towards the banister, placed her free hand firmly on the surface, and pushed herself up. She ran effortlessly atop the banister, literally cutting a corner as she approached the edge to save a little time. She then stopped in front of the window, Joker raised her free hand to the top of her head, then swiftly lowered it in a salute.

And then she threw herself out the window.

She used the briefcase to shield her face as bits of colored glass flew around her. She maneuvered herself in midair, rolling onto her feet upon landing. As soon as she stood up she had to shield her eyes again when several strong lights aimed at her. And behind the lights were a line of police officers.

"Enemies here?!" Oracle asked in disbelief.

"What's wrong?" demanded Skull.

"These readings… It can't be!"

"What happened!"

"Oh no, oh no!" chanted Oracle.

Joker pursed her lips to the side. The police, armed and ready to take action surrounded her, their spotlights aimed directly at her. Her eyes scrutinized the area, searching for any possible means of escape. Maybe not even an honest escape, just a distraction before the police could find the others. The unattended fire escape was the first thing she saw. "Sorry," Joker muttered.

"Joker!" Fox shouted as Joker sprinted to the right.

The instant she took a step, the police front line moved in after her. A few meters in front of the ladder, Joker needed a jumping start to reach the first rung. This action and the action of pulling herself up should have been an easy act for her. But not so much when she still had the briefcase in her arm.

Climbing about halfway up, Joker made the mistake of looking down to find her pursuers falling over themselves to climb up after her. Several dozen officers and one ladder were bound to be a few traffic jams. But when she looked up, Joker realized too late that a line of officers – did she dare guess they were snipers – waiting for her when she reached the top.

The gunman waiting at the head of the ladder repositioned his gun before he slammed the butt into Joker's face. The force knocked the wind out of her; her hand slipped from the rung and she found herself free falling. The briefcase slipped from her grasp, landing a few meters away from where Joker ultimately landed.

Winded, she was not given the chance to process what happened before she was forced down on her front. Her arms were held firmly behind her back with someone's knee planted firmly behind her shoulders. The chief of police approached her, looking down at the sorry sight in front of him. "Wasn't expecting some little girl," he confessed, lowering himself onto one knee. He gripped Joker by the chin, forcing her to look up at him. "You have your teammate to thank for this. You were sold out."

"Wha…?" He released Joker's face and stood up.

One of the officers released Joker's right arm and pulled it up. A rush of panic claimed her before rational thought. She squirmed against her captor chanting 'no, no, no,' over a metallic tinkling.

"Suspect confirmed. Cuff her!"

"Guess the drug was too strong. Wake her up!"

A sudden splash of cold water brought back a near-familiar sense of panic within her. Water rushed down her nose, causing her to sputter and cough. She blinked, rapidly at first, but then she squeezed her eyes shut for a few seconds before opening. Still, her vision wouldn't clear up.

She ached from the waist up. Her left eye was throbbing, the skin in the lower corner turning an ugly shade of purple. It slowly came back to her, she was punched in the face by one of the agents after they made a rather lewd comment towards her. She retaliated by spitting in the agent's face. The shiner felt worse than the blows she took to the chest. All the aches she received came back all at once.

"No dowsing off!"

She blinked rapidly and tried to break free of her restraints, only to be met with the metallic tinkle of the chains and the cold sensation around her wrists. A slight wave of panic gripped her, she couldn't see clearly; she was in an unfamiliar room, though she had a good idea where she was. Hadn't she been somewhere like this before?

Her memory was still a bit fuzzy. The last thing she could remember was the sheer amount of fear that overtook her when the second needle was forced into her neck.

Why wasn't her vision clearing? No matter how many times she blinked the haze wouldn't clear up. She put on her contacts this morning… No. No, she'd been wearing her glasses for months now. So why didn't she have glasses on now?

Looking down at herself, she saw the dirtied black blazer with the white sleeves of a turtleneck poking out, and the red and black plaid skirt of her uniform. That's right, the police confiscated her glasses and the scarf scrunchie she used to tie her hair back. They checked her blazer thoroughly before they allowed her to keep it.

"You still don't get it," said the agent. He grabbed her roughly by the face, forcing her to look up at him. There was a heat in her face that traveled to her ears. "Game over. You lose. Give it up!"

In the last three words, he released her, and brought a foot up to her chest, kicking her in the solar plexus with as much force as he dared. The wind was suddenly forced out of her; the force of the blow was enough to knock her chair over and her right out of it. Coughing, she brought her legs to her chest. "Lemme tell you how this is going to work, sweetheart," the agent grabbed her by the hair, forcing her to sit up, "either you cooperate, or you're getting another shot. Take your pick."

Her eyes looked past the agent at the red light in the corner. A security camera, perhaps? Her brow twitched, something was trying to resurface in her memory...something important… Something wasn't…

The agent, realizing where her gaze was held, looked behind him. "So, you still haven't figured it out, have you?" The agent released her hair abruptly, causing her to fall back upon release. "There are no laws to protect criminals like you. Man or woman, you're not above the law."

For a moment, her brow furrowed, that one sentence brought the heat back in her cheeks. It pissed her off. She didn't have the chance to contemplate a response before the agent dropped another kick into her gut. Bringing her knees back to her chest was the only thing she could think of to remotely ease her pain. She started coughing again, damn it, she still felt the pain from the last kick.

Turning on his heel, the agent reached a hand out towards one of his coworkers, who handed him a black clipboard. "Obstruction of justice, blackmail," the agent read aloud, "defamation, possession of weapons, and...manslaughter. Talk about the works. To think all those crimes were lead by a girl like you." The agent chuckled to himself. "Surprised me with that one I was always under the impression you would have been some snot-nosed boy. But I suppose crime knows no gender. And you were be enjoying every second of it, huh?"

It was a struggle for her to remember the crimes he listed, though some did strike a chord with her. The mentions of illegal weapons and defamation almost made her smile on impulse.

"It's about time you knew your place," the agent said before he signaled to his partner.

A second agent approached her, unlocking the cuffs around her wrists; he grabbed her by the arm and forced her to sit up. She looked down at her hands, matching red marks circled her wrists from the cuffs being on too tight. She rubbed her hands together for a moment, trying to reassure herself that she hadn't lost feeling in her fingers. The original agent held the clipboard out to her. "Sign here. It's a confession under your name."

She stared at the clipboard; the characters written on the page were nothing but black blurs to her. In a moment of defiance, she batted the agent's arm away and the confession with it. The agent grinned briefly. "I need your hand to sign it, but…" Without warning, he stomped on her right leg, a little too close to her knee, and put his weight on it. She let out a strained cry, panic rising in her chest, she needed to take care of her legs. "I don't care if you end up losing a leg, girlie. Your choice."

When the agent finally removed his foot from her leg she dared to bend the appendage at the knee. Bastard could have broken her leg!

The agent shoved the clipboard into her hand and got out a pen for her. As she reached out for it, the agent grabbed her by the collar of her shirt. "Don't expect to walk out of here in one piece, sweetheart," he said in a hushed tone. "We're going to make you understand… One must take full responsibility for one's actions."

"You say that now…" she said with a hoarse voice, "but we both know you're not going to follow your own advice when you're the one under fire."

The agent struck her across the face, the force knocked her back onto her side. The strike irritated her already injured eye. "We'll see how long that attitude lasts. Now get to signing! Don't make me repeat myself."

She sat up, trying to ignore the throb in her eyes and the oncoming headache. She placed the pen tip by the tiny 'x' at the bottom of the sheet and proceeded to sign her name.

日下部 千夜
Chiyo Kusakabe

Sae Niijima kept her head high and her eyes forward. Her bag gently taped against her side with each step she took. Her destination was not that difficult to find, the security guard and one of the police detectives were a dead giveaway. "Excuse me," the detective said, as Sae approached, "this area is off-"

"I'm Niijima, from the Public Prosecutor's Office," she introduced quickly and with no-nonsense."

"The Prosecutor's Office?" the detective asked skeptically. "And what business do you have here?"

"Just let me through; it's urgent. There's something I need to confirm with the suspect."

"I believe this case is no longer in your jurisdiction, Niijima-san. Besides…"

"Your Prosecutor Sae Niijima?" they heard. Sae turned to find an older man behind her. Likely a superior in the force. "There's a call from your director. Hurry in and get it over with. Frankly, you're being an inconvenience."

A buzz came from Sae's pocket, instantly she dug out her phone, pressed the accept button, and held it up to her ear. She didn't need to see the ID to know who was on the other line. "I thought I told you to stand by," Director Kodaira with a sigh.

"I'm responsible for this case," Sae argued," and yet I'm not even being allowed an interrogation?!"

"I'm calling because I knew you'd bring it up."

"I will not be convinced until I confirm it for myself. This is my case."

She could almost hear Kodaira throw up his hands in defeat. "Good luck to you then. I won't be expecting much, though."

Sae ended the call and put her phone back in her jacket pocket. "I forgot to mention something important, Prosecutor," said the senior detective. "Your time will be cut short. I cannot permit you to speak with her for long. It's for your own sake. Her methods are unknown. After all, we don't know if it's safe to simply meet and speak with her."

"Understood," Sae said coldly.

Kusakabe was seated at the metal table, looking worse for wear. Her left eye was bruised in the corner of her left eye, her lower lip had been split, a small trail of dried blood ran from her nose, her hair was down and disheveled. Her school blazer carried a few dirt tracks across her sleeve and her tights might have been ripped at the knees. The look in Kusakabe's eyes was unlike anything Sae had known of her. Vacant, wandering; in their few previous meetings, Kusakabe normally had the eyes of someone determined, but still earnest. Whatever happened in here had beaten her down.

"I didn't expect it'd be you," Sae confessed solemnly. Kusakabe was someone Sae herself had had a few conversations with, one of her younger sister's friends. The last fact, in particular, was something Sae had to force from out of her thoughts. Sae couldn't be utterly sympathetic towards Kusakabe; whatever her intent and reason, Kusakabe was a criminal.

She took a seat across the table from Kusakabe and got two things out of her bag. The folder of everything Sae had gathered on the Phantom Thieves case, and Kusakabe's Smartphone, confiscated with a few other items; her glasses, even a hair tie of all things. Sae saw the logic of it, the Phantom Thieves' methods were still unknown to them, no one was going to take a chance and risk Kusakabe pulling out a trick from up her sleeve. The Smartphone was obvious, but it was believed she could have some sort of tool stored in the thick frames of her glasses, or that she could use her hair tie as a weapon.

That last one seemed a bit like reaching to Sae, but she did agree that they couldn't be too careful with Kusakabe. "But at the same time, in hindsight, I can't say I'm totally surprised. Regardless, you'll be answering my questions this time."

With the case file atop the table, a glint caught Sae's attention. On the floor was an empty syringe lazily discarded and undisturbed. Suddenly, the look in Kusakabe's eyes made sense. If she didn't seem like she was there it was because she wasn't. "Those bastards," she muttered under her breath. She waved a hand in front of Kusakabe's eyes a couple of times. "Can you hear me? I know you've been through a lot, but almost anything can happen here. And I can't stop them. That's why you need to answer me honestly, and I don't have much time either. So what was your objective? What pushed you to commit these crimes?"

"So what was your objective?" Niijima asked. "What pushed you to commit these crimes?"

"What do you even want to know?" Chiyo asked irritably. "Sounds like a pretty clear-cut case to me."

"It's not an issue of whether or not it can be used in court," explained Niijima. "But as this is my case, I feel I should know the details. And luckily you're coherent enough to answer. When and where did you find out about that other world? How is it even possible to steal someone's heart? Tell me your account of everything, starting from the beginning."

Chiyo brought a hand to her forehead, her fingers entangled in her bangs. From the beginning? Could Chiyo even remember where all this started? It was a struggle just to remember how she ended up in this situation.

Something blue suddenly fluttered across her peripheral vision. It was a vibrant shade of blue and though she couldn't see clearly she could make out delicate wings. A butterfly? No, a blue luna moth perhaps? "A prisoner of fate yet again," said a gentle, boyish voice. "The game has been stacked against you, a future sealed in advance. Your chances of winning are almost none."

The moth began to circle the room as the voice continued to speak. "But as my voice has reached you, it's not too late to win this game and save the world. The key to victory lies within the memories of your bonds – the truth that you and your friends grasped. Remember when it all began? It was half a year ago now, on that spring day. For the sake of the future of your world as well as your own future you must remember."

Finishing its piece, the moth flew off, disappearing before it could fly into the wall.

Slowly, Chiyo nodded. She decided it was best not to force the memories out, but let them come to her as she gave her testimony.

"It started on the ninth of April," she began at length. "I was on my train to Tokyo…"

Authors Note: I have a sort of motto while writing this, "Look to P3P." So because of that, Joker has her own unique appearance, and this will feature a handful of new Confidants replacing other characters. Just a handful, I'm not rewriting everything.

Chiyo's appearance was modeled after Miyako Hotsuin from Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker. Influenced in part because I came across a few posts on tumblr comparing Hibiki's design to Akiren's. Chiyo needing her glasses to see is 110% me being salty that Akiren wears his glasses purely for *~SYMBOLISM~*. As a lifelong four-eyes, I can say I'd like to see more glasses-wearing main characters in mainstream games. Chiyo's given her own, separate name based off of me seeing P3's protagonist as Minato Arisato while FemMC is Kotone Shiomi. Two different people who just happened to end up in their situation by chance. (Also, as with her unique appearance, her unique name makes her stand out amongst similar fics.)

I don't have any specific reason behind the name Chiyo beyond 'I really like it and have been wanting to use it in something for ages.' Her surname, Kusakabe, however, comes from the main character in Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, Maron Kusakabe. Kaitou Jeanne was the series that introduced me to the concept of phantom thieves. Her weapon of a gymnastics ribbon, and Chiyo being into rhythmic gymnastics partially comes from Kaitou Jeanne. I created Chiyo just before Royal was announced and I couldn't stop laughing when 'Sumi was revealed. What were the odds?

As a couple of last notes; yes this will include Royal. Yes, I intentionally left out Violet's scene. I have plans for her. Romance will be a thing. And my eventual goal is to write up scenarios for Chiyo's other options in a side story...probably when this is done. But there will be a pair that's "canon". Big airquotes.

You can find me on tumblr at sammiewritesstuff