(A.K.I.Y.O)

So far, this has truly been quite the bizarre turn of events. Never before have I decided to join a boys club and be just as motivated as they are. Awakening to my Persona was quite the thrill, it inspired me to forbid the use of corrupt charms and use what I knew about spirits to the team's advantage. Nowadays, I can sense both pure and corrupt sides of a human, no matter how impure they are, I can always find that light within them.

The same could be said about my visits to church, it used to be just the Sunday schools, but when I got old enough to grow out of it, I always went to the church with my mother. She uses religion as her motive to craft medicine, or rather drugs, for the good people of the world. I'm far past that business now, but I always feel that pure warmth upon entering those wooden doors. The seats were wooden, which felt very smooth and comfortable to me, and the glass windows, they were a sight to behold.

All of those many colors, swirling around and forming beautiful shapes, it gave me a spectacular sight to watch as the preacher talked about God, and I still never got tired of it to this day. I always took the train to the church, but when I tried it after I gained my sixth sense, there was too much of both to gain a clear head.

As a result, I was forced to get there by car, the windows of my rental vehicles helped a little to keep the impurities away. Now that I have developed my power to tune in into everyone's light, I take the crowded train and I don't mind a thing about it. Amongst the people who go to this church was Hifumi Togo, the Shogi queen. Her long black hair signifies a small but meaningful relationship, but I refused to make a move or else she'll think I'm weird in my current predicament.

Everyone who had gone to church was pure, which created a bright field of light around me. Any sign of corruption would be the black sheep in the herd, I can tell because of the corruption I once endured. The main reason I had awakened that day was because I wanted to see that little spark of light grow, and develop into something that is definitely pure.

In spite of my confusion, I managed to get along great with everyone. Hakaru is a nice man, he may be shy but his flame burns brighter than the sun when pushed to his limit. Jin'ichi is also a fascinating individual, he thinks he's cool but in reality he's actually a big softie for people like me. Naruki was certainly an unexpected new member, and I must admit that I was a bit surprised myself when the boys brought a real-life liger to the team, but he's just a misunderstood cat who needed to be more than just a lazy pampered pet.

And Takeyoshi, oh my Lord, Takeyoshi was the sweetest little child in the world. He did not deserve to suffer in the maze, even though I felt his corruption when he lashed out against Monigami, I still believed in him no matter what the circumstance. His backstory about the train he was in surely made me want to protect him, especially after what happened to the conductor.

Whoever is planning these mental shutdowns must be very wicked, but I can deal with things like that now. I've chosen to be a pacifist upon my own will, I shan't hurt a Shadow enough to kill, but I will use my own strength to make the others stronger within. That is my rebellious spirit, I choose to rebel with my own will and this is the best I can do with my strength.

Right now, we have a treasure to find, Takeyoshi said it was a 'Two yen bill' which meant it could be incredibly illegal. I might be running a little late, since the church doesn't let out until 12:00 PM. Fortunately, I somehow managed to get out at 9:50 AM then I could take the train to Shibuya and if I'm lucky, I'll get there before high-noon. And sure enough, I did. It's 11:45, and we have yet to enter the Palace. Gathering at the metallic clubhouse, I felt stronger than ever knowing that Monigami will finally atone for his sins.

Rushing in recklessly isn't an option, if we want to save him from corruption, we'd better give it our all. I may find these boys to be quite the handful, but they know exactly what to do when the going gets tough. I placed my faith onto all four of them, I may be the only one who's incapable of fending for myself, but if Takeyoshi can stay brave then I must do so too, for the sake of the world.

With my best charms at the ready, and the team's confidence at a maximum, we all began to dedicate our energy to stop Monigami and purify his corrupt soul and replace it with a beautiful flavor of purity.

(N.A.R.U.K.I)

It looks like I'm the only pet liger in the world, I'm about a year or two old and I don't think I'm stopping at it either. My current life is just the same as the other one, just a bit more careful with a guy like me. I get fed a steak once a day and I have plenty of water and milk to drink just like my previous life. The only noticeable differences were the clubhouse I now live in 24/7 and the fact that nobody has even abused me yet.

I've been told to keep quiet, which is exactly what I'm good at, and whenever I do speak, I taught myself how to meow so nobody gets suspicious. Sure everyone is out and about, and they only check up on me during their meetings at the clubhouse and at night, thus disrupting my privacy, but I'd rather take being alone than being with a bunch of cock-sucking lunatics.

That being said though, in the first few days I got to know the new team, I've gotta say this job fits me like a glove. I have no idea why I turned into 'muscular-buff-mc-cat' or a fucking monster truck, and I'm not complaining about it either. Now I can express my feelings out in the open because these guys are the only ones who can understand me better.

Hakaru may be a coward, but he must have nerves of steel to push himself towards danger like that. Jin'ichi is also kinda a tough guy, after hearing that some bastard named Kamoshida ruined his life, I kinda felt like that Kamoshida was one of those people who would suck a dick and frame that dick for rape. Luckily, those Phantom whatchamacallits 'changed his heart', whatever that means.

The lady was quite the enthusiastic kind of gal, her hugs and touches felt smooth and comfortable and she's too gentle for the world of Mementos Lane. But still, she manages to provide a bit of support such as when I got that sudden feeling of depression. And that Takeyoshi kid? I wasn't there to see him slip into madness, but they managed to set his mind straight. Unfortunately this meant they teleported me back out of the Temple thing, and they cheated me right out of a good hit.

As for me, I honestly don't think I want to die anymore. This whole time, I believed the lies that I was an abomination against humanity. But now that I've awakened to the truth, I still kinda blamed humans for my descent, but at least some humans cared for me.

Maybe once this is all over, I can probably learn to like humanity, that's something I've never been able to do alone. But with these guys by my side, it makes me all the more welcome to do what's right for a change. Oh, here they come storming in and disturbing my privacy. Oh well, this last heist better be a good one. Then I can get back to catching some z's...

(J.I.N.I.C.H.I)

I've gotta say, for a bunch of rookies, we've been doing outstanding so far. We saw some new sights, we had lots of fun, and we learned from our mistakes. I'm quite surprised we managed to get at least that close to Monigami's heart, I never thought I'd become the very team we'd inspired to be, but here we are. In response to the big mission we had, Kaito and I have been gun collecting and tool salvaging so that we're ready for anything.

On that little wooden table indoors, Kaito and I got the goods ready. "I got this from that gun store you told me about, and the business seemed a bit welcomed that I come there every Tuesday. A machine gun model, I hope you like it." I did like it, Daddy-O. The grip of the model feels realistic, it feels pretty tight, and it's perfect for shooting mass amounts of bullets in seconds. "Heh, this thing would be perfect to bring to school, not that I will ever bring one. Say Kaito, is that bazooka you told me about ready?"

"I just managed to piece it all together yesterday, here you go." I've been working hard in my downtime to make life easier for us in the Palace, case in point: the bazooka we've made. It's like a big stinking hole that's shaped like a tube, but it has grips on it like a real gun, it's supposed to shoot rockets and stuff, but we've made sure it won't shoot anything by dismantling the things that make it work.

"Thanks a lot Kaito, these two puppies are going right on my wall." "Wait a minute Jin'ichi, did you like the liger I gave you?" "Yeah! I loved it! I haven't showed him off at school, because I know he won't like it, but I'm taking great care of him!" "I'm glad that you're happy, but wasn't your original plan to take him with you and surprise everyone?" "Nah, he's too pampered to be ready to enter society, he needs to unwind first so that he becomes ferocious enough for the job."

Kaito nods his head as he knows exactly what I'm talking about: "I get yah, you want the liger to be less pampered and more free to be who he is. Those rich people back there sure didn't treat him well, I could smell piss and cum all over the guy." "Exactly, if the school saw something like him, they'd kick us out. I'd give it about a year or two more before I let this guy roam about." "Okay, make sure you keep up on your studying or else the deal is off." "Okay pops."

Remember that little deal we had? It's still going strong, I've lost track of how many days it's been since the change, but I can tell that this was certainly a change for the better. I was already free, I got to do whatever I wanted, but the only thing missing to that smoothie was a hint of love. I never felt like I wanted to protect someone other than the 'poor boys' before, and when I finally snapped, I did it for them. They gave me the reason to snap, and I owed Harry a favor for helping me.

Now after all that, we've still got one last thing to do before Monigami clears his name. Steal that Treasure, and save him from himself. Eventually, the gang gathered together at the clubhouse for one last preparation meeting. Akiyo ran a bit late, due to getting out of church early, but Takeyoshi was prepared. He had that little poker-face of his that told me that he did something good, so I asked him: "What's with the smirk?"

"Oh you guys are gonna love what I did! The idea of a calling card came to my head just this morning, after I was done with my breakfast, I gave the card to Monigami that said: 'Monigami Peroski, the chubby kid of gluttony, you are responsible for turning innocent lives into nothing, causing multiple public faults, and hunted down several rare species for your amusement. This madness will not stand, we'll steal your heart and make you confess your crimes. Signed: The Phantom Crusaders'! How did I do?"

"You did surprisingly well! It almost sounded like an official calling card!" Damn right Harry, that kid already knew what to write down, especially after he showed Takeyoshi the calling card he had for reference. I clapped for the kid as I unpacked the weapons for the heist: "Yeah! Great work kiddo, but I think it's time we got some weapons ready. A big heist like this deserves only the finest of the big guns."

"So, you plan to arm us with weapons because you know how dangerous this place can get?" Akiyo asked while sipping on some lemonade. I could only nod as I gave Akiyo and Naruki their weapons. Harry and Takeyoshi already have their weapons all ready, and I called dibs on the machine gun, but those two need some extra form of protection. So first things first, I gave Akiyo an empty plastic bubble wand I found the other day.

"Here you go princess, if I'm right about this, that wand can harness the power of water and use it to your advantage." Akiyo takes a look at the wand for a bit, she studies its layout and shape, and after a bit she says with a little thankful smile: "Thank you Jin'ichi, I'm sure I'll find this to be very useful, despite its size." Yeah. I could only find the small one for right now, so it'll have to do. She really seems to like it, any other girl would turn me down, but this one seems to like her best choice of weapon.

Now I give the liger the bazooka, and he just looks at it from multiple angles making sure he's not dreaming. "Um… what's this?" Naruki asked while pretending not to care, it looks like this guy has never heard of a weapon before. "It's a bazooka, Shadows are going to be plenty and judging from the texts HEX sent me, I'd say these fake guns look real enough to work." I replied.

Harry immediately praised me after saying that. I'll tell you right now, he is the master of compliments everybody. "Oh I get it! If it looks real, it is real! That's so genius of you Jin'ichi!" "Yeah, I know." I said like a genius would.

Naruki shook his head, as he wondered how he was going to fit that in his mouth: "Um, you'd expect me to use that thing? I think I'd rather stick to my muscles, thank you. Besides, we literally have no time to practice anyway, it's almost high-noon." The cat makes a good point, so I'll just leave the bazooka on the table for now, not that anyone will see it, and let Harry do his thing: "*Gasp* That's right! We have to get back to Monigami's mansion! Just, not too fast okay dude?" Isn't that kinda the point Harry?

So Harry pressed the buttons, and we ended up in that crazy red highway lane once more as we became our alter-egos of the Cognitive World. Takeyoshi puts on his pirate costume and it becomes 10% more pirate once he becomes Scalawag. Naruki stands taller than us and becomes Liger. Akiyo dons her mermaid-like suit as she becomes the mystical Siren. Harry gets a neato super-suit and becomes the Hero.

As for me? I become Gremlin, the badass punk who is always on the verge of breaking. With no time to lose, Liger becomes a monster truck and I stomp on the gas hard. Fortunately, there's no set speed limit, that must be representing that some cops think people can get away with crimes. After the loop de loop, we came to the toll booth only to find the toll guy sleeping on the job with a newspaper on his head.

Annoyed at the slacker, I clapped to wake him up so that he can take our money. But he once again said something quite unexpected with what felt like the dullest voice in the world: "Are you the ones doing the heist? Master Monigami has been expecting you. I'll let you guys in free if it means I never have to sit here again." Damn, this is what people think of toll guys huh? At least he's better at his job than some people.

He then unethically grabs the microphone and announces over the speakers: "Attention all Shadow Selves, who actually go here, please take the emergency exit, a heist is about to happen and I wouldn't want anyone hurt around here. Welcome, for the last time, to the Mansion of Gluttony. A child who acts like a spoiled brat, babysitters gone mad, and more await you inside. The treasure you seek is in the 'Hall of the Gluttonous Pig', secure it and claim your victory… or don't and kill him, it doesn't matter. Just be careful about your enemies, and try not to die."

That was surprisingly better than the rest. I guess he too realizes that we're not holding back. But then he just starts packing his bags while the gate opens, he must really hate his job huh? I floor it again, stopped near the entrance, and nobody got carsick for once. "I'm surprised at you Hero, you didn't even barf once before we came here." Siren sounded like Hero barfing was a regular deal, but then he said with a forced smile: "Don't worry, I emptied my stomach before I came to the clubhouse…"

"So this is it? This is your last visit here?" We looked over to our left, well what do you know, Doll-Harry is back in full swing! Just yesterday we saw just his head screaming in agony, but now look at him. He's good as new, aside from a few stitches and bruises, he perfectly resembled the pathetic state Monigami thought of Harry. But thanks to that invincibility charm Akiyo gave him, he's been holding out fine all by himself.

"It's… Doll-Hakaru!!" Takeyoshi was the first to spring at the guy and he hugged him with tears in his eye. The rest of us followed in on the hugging game as we all felt that familiar fabric sensation we knew from him. "I'm so glad I'm okay. Has anything changed about you since then?" Hero asked while still hugging him with the kid and the lady. Doll-Harry replied, but the more he talked the more frowny he got.

"Well, Monigami thinks of me as a toy that's hard to break, and he only knows so much about you thanks to him eyeballing you every time you stopped at Shibuya to go shopping. He's only seen the cowardly side of you in the real world, when you proved to be a threat, his own thoughts about me started to warp into your own personality. That explains why I'm exactly like you in almost every way. But, why did you save me? I was perfectly fine in my cell, but you guys just kept helping me despite me being a fake version of your friend. Why? I just don't understand, you guys care about me so much, but why do you care for someone as pathetic as I am?"

He pushed away the group hug, but Harry smiled back at him and said in his usual comforting tone: "It's because you remind me of myself when I was scared of nearly everything. I still am today, but to think that this is what Monigami thinks of me, a coward who can't do anything right, that kid needs help. We're not changing his heart because of a mere grudge, we're doing this to save him from his own twisted desires, and to save those affected by it."

"Yeah! I'm more than just a kid you know, I had to learn to stand up to myself and stop myself from hurting Monigami too much. One of the main reasons why I wanted to help him was to see you again like this, and now I want to make sure he turns good, not for my sake, but for his sake as well." Yep, I think Takeyoshi is starting to pick up on his inspirational classes. He's handling this quite well, but Doll-Harry is still in the dark…

"Wait, you guys want to help him be a better person? That's insane, that man can't be stopped with mere words! I'm especially surprised at you Jin'ichi, that guy destroyed your mother's life, and you want to help?!" I nod to that question, this goes way deeper than just revenge, we learned that the hard way...

"Yep. Something tells me he's convincing himself that he loves this life, but we just need him to let go of his desires, that's all." Doll-Harry stops to think for a second, but then he nods shortly after, because he knows how terrible he's become: "Good point, I can't stop you guys from stopping him, but the least I can do is to help you help him. If you guys want to steal his heart, let me rally up the other Cognitions. I'll gather up the dolls and the jackasses, and then we'll see if Monigami can break our spirit!"

Naruki smirks, as he shakes Doll-Harry's flappy hand: "Heh. Don't fall behind though, we've got like one shot at this. We're counting on you." "Speaking of, should we go over the plan once more so that we can truly understand how we'll do this?" Akiyo asked. Harry and I nodded as we began to discuss the plan in its entirety.

I've gotta say, after coming so far, I'm gonna miss having fun here. The pool we swam in, the food we got drunk on, the biggest TV in the world, there's tons of things I'll miss. But I think I'll miss the doll of my mom the most, she felt so real, just like Doll-Harry, and knowing that she was broken was pretty much the most heartbreaking feeling I've had in a long time.

She's counting on me to avenge her, and everyone else who has fallen victim to that kid's twisted desires. Now that I have some new friends to call my own, I'm proud to say that we're going to do this right! It's all or nothing, win or lose, the ultimate showdown we've been inching towards. Failure is not an option, but kicking Shadow butt is one! I believe in you Harry, you've been able to pull us out of sticky situations before, and we've even helped you a little, but now's the time to pull through one more time. You can do this Harry, as far as I'm concerned, we're going all-in baby!