Act 2

The Mysterious Movie Theater

Ken's head was throbbing painfully. God, what had hit him? Ken slowly opened his eyes and he tried to shift in a more comfortable position. But he… couldn't.

Ropes were tightly bound around his torso, completely immobilizing him.

Then the memories came flooding in… Landing in that weird Shadow nest, fighting the Shadows, running into that huge Shadow, and him getting knocked out, trying to save Haru.

"Ace?" Haru whispered to him, and he turned to see that her eyes were filled with relief.

She was also tied up. Then she glared at him, making him gulp a little. An angry woman… that was never good. He avoided angering his female senpai for a reason, especially after seeing how dangerous Yukari-san was when mad.

"I told you to get to safety," she whispered fiercely, all while glaring at him. "Why didn't you listen?!"

"I couldn't leave you," Ken whispered back. "Especially after you got knocked out…!"

Haru's shoulders slumped, the anger visibly draining out of her.

"I suppose that I'd react the same way," she mumbled out. "But still… we… messed up…"

"I'll say," Ken muttered.

He tried to wriggle his arms a little bit, in hopes that he would be able to loosen the ropes around him. Damn. Maybe he should've listened to Akihiko-san and let the older man teach him how to escape from being tied up. (In his defense, this kind of situation wasn't exactly common.)

"So you're awake."

Ken turned his head to see that a man with garishly bright clothes was approaching them, flanked by two officers. He reminded Ken of that American superhero… what was he called again? Amazing-man?

Haru's breath suddenly caught before she squeaked out, "M-Mr. Kamoshida?!"

"What?" He frowned at that, cocking his head. "Mr. Kamoshida? I'm Kamoshidaman!"

"What a difference," Ken said flatly.

He scoffed, waving the cops over. One of them seized Ken by the shoulders, hauling him up to his feet. Another did the same to Haru.

"What a boon, though…" Kamoshidaman mused on it. "Two of the villains terrorizing the fair Kamo City… right in our hands…"

"What should we do with them, Kamoshidaman?" one of the cops demanded. "We could use them to lure their friends, can we not?"

"We could…" Kamoshidaman agreed. "But we're operating on the assumption that the others would actually care about their comrades."

"Of course they do!" Haru interjected. "They're our friends and comrades! They're…" her breath suddenly hitched, "…the best friends I could ask for."

Kamoshidaman just tutted, shaking his head. "And I have to wonder how exactly a delicate lady like yourself got entangled with crooks… to the point of becoming one."

"And what makes you such a hero, then?" Ken challenged. "You're the one who has us tied up!"

Kamoshidaman scoffed. "Such bravado," he huffed. "Why are you a thief, then? Doesn't justice appeal to you? At all?"

Ken stared at him, squarely in the eyes. He wasn't impressed with Kamoshidaman's attitude. Not in the slightest.

"Don't talk to me about justice," he said flatly. "And for the record, I don't see a hero. All I see is a self-righteous bully who tries to steamroll anyone who talks back to him."

"Why you…!" Kamoshidaman gasped.

"How dare you talk to Kamoshidaman that way?!" one of the cops demanded before giving Ken a shake. "He is justice incarnate! He'll see to you that you're punished!"

"No," Kamoshidaman said firmly. "I must… think over how exactly to punish these two disgraceful criminals."

"Go ahead and try," Haru spoke up. She glared defiantly up at Kamoshidaman. "…We've dealt with worse than the likes of you."

"Hmph!" He turned his nose up at her. "We'll see about that."

He then stalked off, grumbling to himself.

"Honestly! The youth these days are so… so… disrespectful! Questioning everything!" he huffed out.

Ken rolled his eyes at that.

"He's just begging for disrespect," Ken muttered.

Haru bit her lip. "What do you think he's going to do to us?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know…" Ken answered. "But I think he'll try to be very… bombastic about it."

"What makes you say that?"

Ken snorted. "Just look at his outfit."

Haru just giggled. "It's certainly… colorful." But then her amusement quickly died. "…I hope everyone else is okay," she murmured. "You saw everyone get to safety, right?"

"Yes…" Ken answered. "I made sure that Oracle and Queen got to safety personally."

"…What did you do, Ace?"

"I… er…" Ken looked away. "I may have… pushed them through the portal…"

"Oh, Ace…" Haru sighed. He didn't even have to look to know that Haru was shaking her head. "You do realize Queen isn't going to be happy with you, right?"

Ken just cringed in response to that. He had done that to protect both Makoto and Futaba but… He knew that Makoto was most likely furious over the whole thing. He was not… looking forward to that.

The movie theater looked rather… normal. There was a concession stand, stocked with all kinds of snacks. A popcorn machine, a soda fountain… there were also some memorabilia, such as special cups and T-shirts. Bright balloons were tied to the counter, hanging above the mentioned snacks.

There was just… nobody here. And there were other unanswered questions… one being… why did they revert to their civilian selves and yet Morgana remained in his Metaverse form?

"Oh, that looks rather delicious," Yusuke commented, pulling Makoto out of her musing. He was staring longingly at the food. "Could we…?"

"Yusuke!" Anne reprimanded, hands on her hips. "You know that we can't do that! That's stealing!"

"Yes, and it's not like we're thieves," Ren quipped, only to shrink back at Anne's stern glare. "E-Er, just kidding."

"I'm sure you are," Makoto murmured.

She couldn't help but look back longingly towards the theater they had come from. She really wanted to go back…

Ryuji just snickered before making a whipped sound. "Anne's got you on a tight leash, huh?"

Akechi coughed, looking awkward at Ryuji's teasing.

"Let's move on, shall we?" He then rubbed his chin for a moment. "Shall we split up a bit? We can cover more ground that way."

Makoto nodded. "That's a sound idea."

"Um… I can check out the ticket machine." Futaba pointed there.

"I will accompany you," Yusuke announced.

"Uhh… I'll try seeing 'bout finding an exit," Ryuji said.

Morgana and Akechi decided to go with him, leaving Makoto alone with Ren and Anne.

"Let's go searching the other rooms," Anne suggested with a smile. "There has to be someone playing the film, right?"

"…Right," Makoto answered with pursed lips. "I have to wonder what that's about…"

"…Hey." Anne lightly touched Makoto's shoulder. "I know you're worried, but you can't have all your focus on Ken and Haru, okay? We need to gather information."

Makoto closed her eyes. "…I know. I'm sorry but I'm just…"

"You don't have to apologize," Ren said. "It is pretty worrisome with that strong Shadow, I have to admit…"

"…And it's not like I won't have my own turn," Anne said, turning sad eyes towards Ren.

A heavy silence filled the air. Their plan to trick Akechi. It required Ren to be captured by the police and who knew what they were going to do with him. Makoto could only pray that their plan worked. So much was riding on it.

"Anne…" Ren took her hand, squeezing it. "I'll come back to you… I promise."

Anne just squeezed his hand back, smiling at him. "You better keep that promise, Ren."

"I will. And we'll save Ken and Haru," Ren said, before he threw a teasing smile towards Makoto. "But think of it like this, Makoto. You'll get to give a nice little reunion kiss to Ken after all of this. I promise I won't look. Can't say about everyone else, though."

Makoto felt her face redden. "I, um…" she stammered out.

Okay… she and Ken had a bad track record with that. Shinjiro-san had already walked in on them kissing twice, and Haru had walked in on them as well. It wasn't her fault! When she kissed Ken, her mind tended to go… elsewhere.

"Ren!" Anne then pulled her hand out of Ren's, smacking his shoulder. "Enough teasing," she scolded. "Come on, investigating time."

She mouthed sorry at Makoto, before dragging Ren along with her. Makoto trailed after them, only for all three of them to stop in front of a door that read Authorized Personnel.

Ren tried the doorknob, but the door didn't budge. "Hmm… Maybe I should use a lockpick?" Ren then reached into his pocket, only to come out with nothing. "Damn!" He scowled. "I don't have my lockpick on me… And it took me forever to get the materials for that unbreakable lockpick…"

"Maybe Morgana can pick the lock?" Makoto mused.

"Maybe…" Ren said.

Anne shook her head. "We probably should try and find some more info first. There's still not a lot we don't know about this place…"

Ren nodded. "Yeah, you're right, Anne. Come on."

So they continued their search. They found another door, and entered in. This… seemed to be the projection room.

"Heyyy, you'll never guess what we found!" Ryuji barged in just moments later.

"Ryuji, be careful!" Morgana chastised. "You can't just stomp around like a bull in a tea shop!"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Ryuji snapped out, glowering at Morgana.

"That's enough, you two," Makoto chastised with a frown.

Akechi coughed. "As Ryuji-san stated, we've found something very… interesting. We'll show you after we've investigated this area. What about Futaba-san and Yusuke-san?"

"Right here," Futaba announced, closely followed by Yusuke. "The ticket booth was a total bust. I mean, the machine looks workable and all, but it wouldn't give us the goods!"

"Perhaps if we paid…" Yusuke mused.

Makoto tuned out the banter, her eyes drawn to a… creature. "Ah…" She cleared her throat. "…I believe there is something here worth our attention."

"Whoaaa, what is that?!" Futaba yelped, before she latched onto Ren's arm.

"A Shadow…?" Akechi questioned.

Its body seemed to be made of black goo. She remembered talking to Ken once, about the differences between the Shadows of the Metaverse and the Shadows of Tartarus, shortly after he told everyone about his past as a Persona-user. Ken had described Shadows taking on a form of black goo as they wandered Tartarus. Was this similar?

"It… doesn't look like an enemy at least?" Anne offered.

Ren gently untangled Futaba's hand from his arm. "I'm going to try touching it," he announced.

"Are you for real, man?" Ryuji yelped, eyes growing wide.

"Gotta investigate, right?" Ren replied.

"Be careful, Ren," Morgana cautioned. "Lady Anne is right in that it doesn't seem aggressive but…"

"I will," Ren said, before stepping forward. Futaba quickly latched onto Anne as Ren closed in on the creature. He then poked the… humanoid figure. It staggered back, a sound like rubber being stretched echoing in the small room.

"You okay, RenRen?" Futaba asked. "It just goes 'boing boing'?"

"…It's certainly strange," Makoto said.

There were so many questions floating in her mind, the primary being 'Just what was this… thing?'

"Hello?" Anne flashed her usual friendly smile at it. "Can you hear me?"

But it just stared blankly back at Anne.

"It looks like a doll of some sort," Yusuke remarked. "With how it doesn't react or speak at all…"

"But why would such a doll be in the projector room?" Akechi asked.

"That's the million-yen question, ain't it?" Ryuji frowned.

Morgana sighed. "Come on, we've got no answers here… Let's show you what Ryuji, Akechi, and I found."

"Ah, yes." Akechi perked up at that. "Let's go, everyone."

So Morgana led them to a padlocked door. It was honestly…

"Super overkill, right?" Ryuji finished her thoughts.

There were four locks to the double doors. Though the locks were certainly… bizarre. The lock that drew Makoto's attention the most was the big golden lock. The keyhole was shaped like a music note.

"Have you tried unlocking them, Morgana?" Ren asked, rubbing his chin.

"I've tried." Morgana shook his head. "But I can't even insert my lockpick."

"So we have locks and no keys…" Makoto concluded, before she sighed. "The mystery keeps on getting bigger…"

Yusuke rubbed his chin. "Though it is strange. Why is there truly nobody here save for us? Movie theaters are a popular place to convene, especially for those our age…"

"W-Who cares about that?" Futaba yelped. "Abduction and confinement confirmed! How are you guys not freaking out at that?!"

"We just need to find the keys, don't we…?" Anne asked. "There's no need to freak out, Futaba!"

"We tried searching, but came out with nothing," Akechi sighed.

"What about… the theater we came from, then?" Ren asked. "I think that's the only place we haven't looked. Sound good, yeah?"

At the several nods from everyone, Ren took that as his cue to lead everyone back to the theater.

Makoto found herself looking around, hoping that Ken and Haru would be there. But… of course, they weren't. They were still trapped in that strange Kamo City…

She just hoped that Ren would decide that they could go back to Kamo City so they could begin their search.

The theater was just as creepy as it was the first time.

"I have to wonder…" Yusuke tilted his head. "…Do you think there are spirits lurking about?"

His inquiry immediately made Makoto go rigid, and she nervously looked around.

"W-Why did you have to say that, Inari?!" Futaba clamped her hands over her ears. "It's not true… It's not true," she chanted to herself. "Inari's just being… stupid Inari!"

"What was that?!" Yusuke snapped at her. "I am far from stupid! And how many times do I have to tell you to cease with the use of Inari?!"

"Oi, settle down," Ryuji said, before casting a look at Makoto.

Normally Makoto or Ken would scold Yusuke and Futaba for their intense bickering, but since Ken was currently MIA and Yusuke had freaked Makoto out with his spirits comment…

"Ryuji's right, you know!" Anne chided, resting her hands on her hips. "I-I mean, come on… spirits? Pffft!" She waved her hand, before smiling kindly at Futaba. "Come on, that's just ridiculous!"

"Yes, scientifically speaking, spirits have never been proven to exist," Akechi added. "There's no need to worry."

Futaba just huffed, shooting Akechi a dirty look. "Uh-huh. And scientifically speaking, it's impossible to go into a physical manifestation of someone's psyche."

Ren snorted at that. "Taking a leaf out of Ken's book, huh?"

Akechi just smiled sheepishly. "I suppose that's true."

"Everyone, be on your guards!" Morgana suddenly barked out, before he jumped onto the top of one of the theater seats. "There's someone here…!"

"Nooo!" Futaba yelped. "T-There's a ghost!"

It… It wasn't a ghost. There were two people. One was a tall, elegant dark-haired woman clad in white and had a white lily in her hair. The other was a petite girl with shoulder length white hair and bright red eyes.

"Who the hell are you two?!" Ryuji demanded, storming down the aisle. "Answer us, dammit!"

"That's far enough," the woman said sternly, before drawing the girl closer to her. She then held her arm in front of the girl, as if she was shielding her. "You're frightening Hikari-san. I must ask that you stop that."

"So… you're not enemies?" Anne asked slowly.

The girl just stared at them with wide eyes, before she tugged at the woman's sleeve. She whispered something to the woman, but the woman held up a hand.

"We should really introduce ourselves, Hikari-san," she said. Then she looked back to them. "My name is Nagi. I am the curator of this movie theater."

"So this theater… isn't abandoned?" Makoto asked. "Forgive us for that assumption, but we explored the area and did not come across anyone but the two of you."

"Not even someone running the concessions stand," Yusuke lamented.

"Yusuke, shhh!" Anne shushed.

"It's quite all right," Nagi reassured them. "I was just as surprised as you to discover that the movie theater was absolutely abandoned! You see, I was running the theater as usual, when I fell unconscious. When I came to… all the customers had vanished without a trace. All save for Hikari-san."

She gestured to the girl, Hikari. Ren couldn't help but feel a little unsettled with how she was staring at them.

"…I see," Ren said. "So the mystery keeps getting weirder and weirder."

What did they have in common, though…? Maybe they were Persona-users too then?

…Maybe then the Shadow Operatives were somewhere in Kamo City too, then. Yeah, that was a dumb guess. He had no proof of them getting dragged in here was because they were Persona-users.

"That being said…" She quickly bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you, even though the circumstances aren't quite… pleasant."

"Um… meet to nice you!" Futaba stammered out, before shaking her head vigorously. "No! I-It's nice to you meet! Argh!"

She smacked her forehead, before letting out a whimper.

"That was… interesting," Akechi remarked.

"Akechi-kun…" Makoto frowned at him, as Futaba hung her head. "Futaba's still working on socializing…"

"Hey, it's okay, Futaba!" Anne was quick to console Futaba, rubbing the shorter girl's shoulder.

Yusuke coughed. "Moving on…"

"Um… it… it's…" Hikari stammered out before she gave up. She stared down at the floor as her entire body trembled.

"Seems like you have a kindred spirit, Futaba," Ren remarked.

"Hey!" Futaba flashed him an annoyed glance, before looking back to Hikari. "…What's wrong, though? You're shaking so much…"

"It's likely from the shock," Nagi explained. "I've been staying by her side, in hopes that it'll reduce her anxiety." She then bowed her head. "Ah, but your expressions belies some… concern. What's the matter? Perhaps I can help…"

"Two of our friends, Haru and Ken, have gone… missing," Yusuke explained. "We were… disoriented, so we decided to explore the area so to regain our bearings."

"Friends…?" Hikari questioned.

Ren couldn't help but frown. Something had flashed in her eyes, but it had disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. He couldn't quite put his finger on what exactly it was.

"What do they look like?" Nagi inquired.

"Oh… um…" Anne twirled a finger around one of her twintails. "Haru has superrrr curly light brown hair! Like a sheep or a…"

"I'm sure Haru will appreciate being compared to a sheep," Ren couldn't help but tease. "How are you going to describe Ken?"

"Oh shush!" Anne glared at him.

"Why not have Yusuke sketch out portraits of them?" Makoto suggested. "I'm sure that he'll be able to capture them well."

"A sound idea but…" Yusuke shook his head. "…I lack a pencil and paper."

"Allow me to fetch you some then," Nagi said. "Give me a moment, please."

She then left, Hikari following her closely.

"…What do you think?" Morgana asked.

"They seem nice enough…" Ren said. "…But I dunno. Appearances aren't everything."

"Nagi-san does seem concerned about Ken and Haru, though…" Makoto commented. "I hope they're friends."

"You don't hafta say that twice," Ryuji grumbled out.

That was when Nagi and Hikari returned, Nagi handing Yusuke a notebook and a pencil.

Yusuke then bent over his work, the only sound in the room now being the scritch-scratch of his pencil. When he finished, he held up his work.

"Nice work as always," Ren complimented.

"You really captured them, Yusuke!" Anne explained.

"My thanks," Yusuke said with a smile.

"Both of their hair is… distinctive," Nagi remarked. "But that being said…" she then trailed off as Hikari suddenly gasped.

"It… It's…!" Hikari then shrunk back when she realized that they had all turned their attention on her. She gestured for Nagi to bend down, and she began to whisper frantically to the dark-haired woman.

"Why not just tell us?" Ryuji grumbled out.

"Don't you remember what Futaba was like when we first met her, Ryuji?" Makoto asked. "She would barely look us, not to mention that… face mask."

"Hey!" Futaba cried out. "I had to send in like a gazillion postcards to win that! Don't insult it!"

"Not to mention that you must terrify her, Ryuji," Morgana ribbed.

"Aw shuddup, you dumb cat!" Ryuji growled out. "I'm not the one who's been called a monster cat multiple times!"

"Ghhh, why do you have to bring that up?!"

"These two are certainly… lively," Akechi said.

"That's enough, you two," Makoto sighed, before shaking her head. "Honestly…"

"Wouldn't be Ryuji and Morgana if they weren't arguing about something," Ren said, tucking a hand in his pocket. "If they stopped bickering, the sky might turn green."

"Hikari-san brought it up before, but… you were inside the movie before," Nagi suddenly spoke up.

"Inside… a movie?" Ren asked.

"We saw your two friends being captured," Nagi explained. "And we saw the rest of you until you abruptly disappeared. I suppose this explains that."

"But in the movie…?" Futaba shook her head. "That makes… negative sense."

"It is quite strange, I must admit," she conceded. "As for your friends' whereabouts…"

Nagi pursed her lips, before her lips formed a deep frown. She seemed to hesitate for several moment before steeling herself.

"I'm afraid that they were captured by a character named Kamoshidaman."

"Kamoshidaman…!" Anne gasped out.

"What the HELL?!" Ryuji exploded, his face turning bright red with rage. "We kicked his ass months ago! How many times do we have to kick him to the curb for him to learn his frickin' lesson already?!"

Though honestly, Ren didn't blame Ryuji for getting so pissed. Kamoshida was absolute scum. Tried to force Anne to sleep with him, broke Ryuji's leg and ruined his dream of becoming a track star, and Kamoshida ruined Ren's chance of a fresh start.

"Kamoshida…" Makoto said softly, looking down at the ground.

Ren winced. Even though it wasn't her fault at all, he knew that Makoto deeply regretted not looking closer at Kamoshida's actions.

"But Kamoshida… he lusted and desired after the female students, did he not…?" Yusuke questioned. His eyes grew wide. "Then if Haru's with him…"

"Oh god." Anne's eyes filled with horror. "He better not touch her, or I'll turn him into ashes…!"

But then a sudden whirring sound filled the air, making them look up.

"What is this?" Yusuke asked.

"It's easier to see than to explain. Why don't you take a seat?" Nagi suggested, before gesturing to the plush seats.

They quickly chose their seats and moments later, the trailer began to play.

"Seriously what the hell was THAT?!" Ryuji yelled, leaping to his feet. "Kamoshida… a hero?! Yeah, and Anne's gonna give up sweets for good!"

"It… It was Kamoshida, wasn't it?" Anne asked.

"Sure looks like it…" Ren shook his head. "Even though it's the exact opposite. What a load of shit."

"I beg your pardon… but who is he?" Nagi asked.

"He's… our old PE teacher," Makoto said, her expression downcast. "But despite being a teacher, he treated the students horrendously…"

She then turned sad eyes towards Ren, Ryuji, and Anne.

"He targeted Ren, Ryuji, and Anne in particular," she added sadly.

"Seriously!" Anne huffed. "And what's up with that goofy costume?! It's practically searing my eyes!"

"What of the other movies here, though?" Yusuke asked.

"This is the only one playing right now," Nagi said. "Ever since I woke up… Doe has been playing that movie and that one alone."

"…Doe?" Ren asked.

"Ah, have you met the projectionist?" Nagi asked.

"Wait, he's alive?!" Futaba yelped. "It's not a doll?"

"He only appeared when the anomaly struck," Nagi explained. "We know not of his intentions for now… he seems harmless."

"But Doe…" Makoto said slowly. "Is that a reference to John Doe?"

"John Doe?" Ryuji asked.

"It's a placeholder holder name, Ryuji," Ren said. "Mostly for unidentified male corpses, in autopsies and police reports."

"Color me impressed, Ren-san," Akechi complimented. "I didn't think you'd know that."

"I tend to surprise you a lot," Ren quipped.

And hopefully they would be able to spring the biggest surprise on him in just a few weeks…

"Has this Doe person done anything besides screening this film?" Yusuke asked.

"Nothing at all." Nagi shook her head. "He doesn't react or say anything when we try to talk to him. He's truly a mystery… so we do our best not to interact with him."

"…A lot like me, then," Futaba mumbled out.

Ren looked at her. Futaba… She had grown a lot in the past couple months since he had met her but… he could see why it'd be on her mind.

"But the movie Doe's playing… why is Kamoshida in it?" Morgana said. "Could there be a connection with Doe and Kamoshida?"

"Or perhaps it's the theater and Kamoshida that have the connection?" Makoto suggested.

"No… no, it's not quite like that," Nagi said. "You see, the film became Kamoshidaman at your arrival."

"Became…?" Ren asked.

What was that supposed to mean?

"Wait, so Kamoshida isn't the star?" Anne asked.

Nagi nodded. "The plot was the same, but the name and face of the hero were completely different…"

Was this the power of cognition? They did pop out from Mementos…

"So the question is… how could that happen?" Makoto mused, rubbing her chin. "A movie character changing form completely, so to speak… how is that even possible?"

"It must be tied to the anomaly," Yusuke said.

"Not to mention your own leaping out of a movie," Nagi said.

"That must've happened when we escaped." Ren looked towards the movie screen. "And why we were lying on the movie theater floor."

"Yes, it gave us quite a fright." Nagi nodded. "Hikari-san in particular. We had rushed to hide as you began to stir…"

Akechi shook his head. "Come now, you can't really believe this. I know that we've seen some bizarre events, but jumping in and out of a movie? That is just ludicrous."

Ren smothered the urge to smile. Well… they had jumped in and out of a TV. Not much of a difference.

"I'll prove it to you," Akechi declared before marching up to the screen. He then pressed his hand against the screen, only for his hand to slide in.

He then stumbled backwards, eyes wide.

"What on earth?!"

"So much for proving it to us, huh?" Ryuji snorted.

"You don't seem very surprised," Akechi said.

"We've seen a lot that you haven't." Ren shrugged. "What was one more physics defying occurrence?"

Anne let out a nervous giggle. "We've really seen a lot of crazy stuff, haven't we?"

"…I see." Something flashed into Akechi's eyes, but then he coughed before straightening himself up. "So… I suppose we'll have to go into the movie and save Haru-san and Ken-san."

"Wait, please," Nagi interrupted. "If you're going inside the movie once more, wouldn't it be prudent to make preparations? Come, let's see what we can do."

Ren shared an uneasy look with his friends, but he nodded. "Okay. Lead the way, then."

Kamo City was a far cry from both Mementos and the Palaces. And they had to change their usual operation. Ren had felt a bit uneasy of how different Kamo City was with their usual experiences, so he decided to add one more person onto the active team.

And Futaba's powers… they were hampered, somehow. She couldn't come into contact with Ken and Haru. Futaba usually accompanied them in their forays, but after discussing it, they agreed that she should remain in the theater. She couldn't even get a good image of what the floor looked like. Fortunately, Hikari had given them a notebook and Ren was slowly sketching out a map for them.

But god, Makoto didn't realize how much they had relied on Ken's advice on the Shadows' weaknesses. It was a little annoying to figure out the weaknesses.

Their slow progress was… aggravating. Makoto couldn't help but feel antsy as they continued forward. Where had Kamoshidaman taken Ken and Haru? Were they okay? She hoped that Yusuke's speculation was off.

"This is looking like the last of it," Ren said, studying the map closely. "Just this one area—"

"Waaaaaaait!" Futaba suddenly interjected. "Be careful! I sense Shadows! And two people there!"

"Two people?!" Ryuji said excitedly. "That's gotta be Noir and Ace then!"

"Are they surrounded then?" Anne said, a worried frown on her face. "Joker! Let's go save them!"

"Nicely put, Panther!" Ren nodded firmly. "Let's go!"

They pushed open the door, only for a shriek to pierce the air.

"Go. AWAAAAAAAAAAAAY!"

"LEAVE US ALONE, STONE MONSTERS!"

Makoto gasped, wide eyes affixed on the two young children cowering in a corner.

"That's…!" Yusuke choked. "What are Takeba-san's children doing here?!"

Miyuki and Kaito Arisato… Yukari Takeba's six-year-old children, fathered by Minato Arisato, her deceased boyfriend and the leader of SEES. Everyone but Haru had met them back in August, during Futaba's first outing… But why were they here?!

"Questions later, Shadow ass kicking now!" Ryuji shouted. "We've gotta save 'em!"

The Shadows resembled boulders. That meant that Yusuke and Ryuji may struggle a bit…

They unleashed their attacks, but somehow one of the Shadows managed to dodge all of them. And it turned its attention on the two frightened children.

Not on her watch.

"JOHANNA!" Makoto shouted. Johanna's engine roared in her ears as she blasted forward on her Persona. She skidded in front of Miyuki and Kaito, before leaping off her Persona and swinging her fist.

Pain exploded in her arm and Makoto bit on her lip hard so she wouldn't scream.

"Dance, Carmen!" Anne cried out, summoning her Persona.

Flamenco skirts whirled as Carmen spun for a moment, unleashing a series of fireballs.

"GO, CAPTAIN KIDD!" Ryuji bellowed and a moment later, Captain Kidd slammed into the Shadow. The force wasn't enough to send the Shadow flying, like in most cases, but Captain Kidd still managed to send it skidding backwards.

An arrow of light pierced the Shadow a moment later, killing it.

"Nice, Crow!" Futaba complimented. "One down, two to go!"

Makoto exchanged a look with her friends, before they rushed to go rejoin Ren to kill the other two Shadows.

It was frustrating to see how much power they had lost… Makoto couldn't help but think that any one of them should have been able to kill these Shadows if they had their power level before arriving here. But with them working in tandem, they were able to kill the Shadows.

"I'm so glad that we were able to dispatch them quickly…" Akechi said, dusting himself off. "Though that being said… Takeba-san's children… Why are they here?"

"We're right here!" Kaito grumbled, while Miyuki turned away from Akechi with a huff.

Makoto approached them before crouching to their level. "Are you okay?"

They did look okay, though their clothes were a bit… dirty. And Miyuki's blue hair was a bit tangled…

Miyuki and Kaito resembled their father quite a bit. Kaito had their mother's brown eyes, however.

"Um…" Miyuki slowly nodded.

Kaito then tugged at her sleeve. "Miyu, isn't she Uncle Ken's girlfriend now?" he said in a loud whisper.

Makoto felt her face flush. "I… I'm glad you're okay."

"Where's Uncle Ken, then?" Kaito demanded, his eyes scanning the area.

"Is he feeling yucky?" Miyuki fretted. "Uncle Shinji didn't say anything about him being sick!"

"It's just…" Makoto sighed, trailing off.

Just how could she word this…?

"Why don't we go back?" Anne suggested, listening to Makoto's silent plea for help. "We'll talk a little more and get some food in you. Sound good?"

"Okay…" they grumbled out in unison.

"UNCLE KEN'S IN TROUBLE?!"

Ren winced. Damn. They had some lungs on them. Then again, didn't all little kids?

They had waited until the twins had eaten their fill before telling them where Ken (and Haru) were.

"Don't fret," Yusuke said. "We will rescue them."

Miyuki puffed out her cheeks. "We're coming too," she declared.

"Um, what?" Anne let out a nervous chuckle. "C-Come on, Miyuki-chan. There's no need to joke."

"Miyu's jokes suck," Kaito mumbled out.

"THEY DO NOT!" Miyuki retorted, before she latched onto Kaito's hair and gave a yank.

"Hey, hey, no pulling!" Ryuji quickly interjected before he picked up Miyuki with ease.

"And the answer is no," Makoto said sternly. "You'll be in danger if you come with us. We have the means to defend ourselves.

Miyuki asked, "What was that? You were like… BAM! And BOOM! It was like… like…"

"You have superpowers!" Kaito chimed in, his brown eyes growing huge.

"…Sure, let's go with that," Ren said.

"YOU DO?!" Kaito gasped. "I want one!"

"Um, you're too young for it," Futaba said. "You've gotta be double digits before you get a P—er, superpowers."

"No fair…" Kaito grumbled with a pout. "But still! We gotta see if Uncle Ken's okay!"

"Out of the question," Makoto said, shaking her head. "And if you get in danger, Ken will be very upset that you got hurt."

"But… But…" Miyuki then puffed out her cheeks. "If you don't… we'll… follow you!"

"Come now, you're being ridiculous," Akechi sighed. "Niijima-san has a good point…"

On one hand, Ken would probably be furious if they took the twins with them. But on the other hand… if the twins followed them… they wouldn't know if the twins got hurt. It may be better if they took the twins inside the movies. Ren could have the people benched watch the twins.

"Okay," Ren said.

The twins looked excited but then Ren held up a hand.

"But you have to listen to everything we say. We're too tired and need to rest? You follow us back without question. Are we clear?" he said sternly.

"Uhh… you sure about that, buddy?" Ryuji asked. "I mean, Ken's prolly gonna kill us if the twins get hurt."

"I'm still against this," Makoto said firmly.

"Please… pleaseeeee!" Kaito begged, clasping his hands in front of her. He gave Makoto the big ol' puppy dog eyes. "We'll do whatever you say! Please say yes, Auntie Makoto!"

"Wha…?!" Makoto choked, her eyes wide. Her cheeks were bright red. "A-Auntie Makoto?"

"You're dating Uncle Ken," Miyuki said. "That means you're gonna marry him someday, aren't you?"

"M-MARRY?!" At this rate, Makoto's face was gonna become redder than a tomato. "That's—we just—"

"Are you planning on finishing any of those statements?" Futaba asked.

"We've just started dating!" Makoto cried out. "Marriage shouldn't be on the table for at least five—no, seven years!"

"Oh." Miyuki looked disappointed at that. "That's too bad."

"But we'll be good, promise!" Kaito added. "We won't run off!"

Makoto sighed, shaking her head. "If you promise not to run off… I suppose you can come."

"And besides, if Ken gets mad, we can just blame it alllll on RenRen!" Ryuji said cheerfully.

"HEY!" Ren glared at his best friend.

"I think that would be the best scenario," Yusuke mused. "A sound plan, Ryuji."

"Traitors, all of you…" Ren grumbled out.

You guys really surprised me with your enthusiasm about this! But as I've mentioned before, this is my side project. My main focus is still Ace in the Hole. That being said, I will try to update at least monthly.

And yes… Minato and Yukari's twins are gonna be involved in this! I do adore the two of them, but the main story doesn't allow me to write them much.