The discovery of an unknown Palace led to Kasumi's awakening. The pressure that those of Shujin were putting on her was too much to bear and she reached her breaking point, pissed off at the people forcing expectations on her and getting upset when she didn't reach them. She had no intentions of allowing anyone to disrespect the dream she shared with her sister Sumire. With Cendrillon, she was prepared to fight with her new resolve on the line. "I'm going all in when Cendrillon!"

"We'll show you how to do this. Nothing too reckless, okay?" Mona said.

"Yes! Please do!" Kasumi responded to Mona. No, it did not hit her yet that she was talking to a talking cat. She was too into the enemy in front of them to really notice.

"Follow my lead." Joker told the both of them. This enemy was unlike anything they'd ever seen, so they had to act swiftly but carefully. The Evil Synthetic Organism was not going give them the time to act. It reared its arms back, hurling gigantic fireballs towards the trio. They all split into different directions, the fireballs exploding into large pillars of flame when they struck the ground. Joker sprinted around, sliding to a halt while drawing his pistol, holding the shot to allow it to charge. "Fire!" He yelled, the supercharged bullet soaring towards the ESO, landing a direct hit against it, causing it to stagger.

Mona took this chance to strike, flipping in the air to land a downward slash with his saber. It was an effective hit that made the evil Shadow fly back. "Zorro!" Mona summoned Zorro to follow up. Instead of unleashing a wind attack as usual, Zorro instead punched forward, gloved fist striking it to send it backwards. "Now, Zorro!" He then followed up with a strong twister, but to his surprise the ESO managed to tank this attack completely. "No effect?!"

"For trespassing on our lord's site, you shall pay the price…" The ESO muttered before rushing towards Mona, aiming to slash at him with its arms. Mona was able to block the hit, but his small stature left him susceptible to being knocked into the air. Luckily he was able to stick the landing.

Meanwhile, Kasumi had yet to attack because she was simply in awe of her movement. "This…this is exactly how I want to move in my gymnastics…" It was so flawless, so seamless. She could do all the things she imagined so easily now! She jumped forward, using her new rapier to attack the ESO, surprising herself by landing a hit too. When it tried to attack her, she back flipped out of the way as quickly as she could. Everything she imagined, it was coming to fruition. It was incredible. "What is this…?"

"Valkyrie!" Joker called out one of his many Personas. The horseback riding warrior galloped forward with her twin blades, swinging them both at the ESO to knock it into the sky with her powerful charge.

Kasumi saw her opening. The situation just spoke to her as it all played in slow motion. Her mask burned away from her face and she pointed her arm forward. "Dance, Cendrillon!" Cendrillon reappeared behind Kasumi, drawing her arms back and she spun around. This sent numerous beams of holy light towards the ESO. It attempted to dodge, but the sheer number of rays were too much for it, causing it to get pelted and fall towards the ground as a result.

"This is our chance!" Mona yelled to Kasumi.

"For an All Out Attack!" Joker exclaimed.

"Okay!" Kasumi had no idea what they were talking about, but on an instinctive level, she was working with it. She, Joker, and Mona all charged the falling ESO, striking the helpless Shadow from all angles with a flurry of attacks. Kasumi landed the final blow, spinning around elegantly. "Beauty is devotion." The ESO let out a shrill cry of pain before it exploded. As soon as the battle was over, the blowback from her awakening caught up to her and she almost collapsed then and there, narrowly managing to stay on her feet.

"Are you okay?" Mona asked.

"I can't…be weak…anymore…" Kasumi grumbled, forcing herself to her feet. It was a struggle, she almost fell over, but she didn't. She refused to. A pretty astounding feat considering the only other person who hadn't collapsed from a full awakening like that was Haru.

"…Not bad." Joker said with a slight grin.

"I'm quite impressed, considering you just awakened to your Persona and all." Mona's eyes were wide. Kasumi had some impressive strength.

Kasumi looked right to Joker. "Amamiya-senpai, right?"

"…Yeah." Joker nodded.

"I knew it." Kasumi could simply just tell. "By the way…why are we dressed like this now?" Her costume change wasn't ignored, she simply didn't have the time to question it since they were in a fight.

"That's…a long story." Joker said.

"It's only natural this would be confusing to her." Mona nodded. But the leisurely conversation had to wait, because they were still in unknown territory and their fight caused a stir. So they could hear reinforcements rapidly approaching them. "Looks like they found us…"

"It's not safe here. Let's escape together. We'll explain everything then." Joker said, leading the way.

"Of course. I am right behind you." Kasumi nodded, quickly following behind Joker and Mona to exit this strange Palace.

.

.

The trio exited the Palace and returned to Odaiba. Kasumi looked around, unsure what to make of the situation. "Huh. We're back in front of the stadium…and my clothes changed back to normal, too."

"This was your location before we entered the Metaverse. We just came back." Morgana said.

"Come…back? Did we just go somewhere…?" Kasumi didn't understand.

"Uh…" Morgana began to metaphorically sweat. There was simply no way they could get out of this without explaining to Kasumi the whole story.

"Please, tell me. I need to understand what just happened to me…" Kasumi had a stern look.

"Let's tell her." Ren said. "We also don't have much of a choice."

"You're right." Morgana agreed. "Okay. I'll tell you everything from the beginning." So Morgana had to explain it all from the top, from the very beginning.

Kasumi was slowly wrapping her head around everything. It was a lot to take in, but she felt like she understood it. "A Metaverse…with Palaces…and Personas…"

"I'm sure it's not easy to wrap your head around it in one go." Morgana said.

"Normally I wouldn't believe something like that, but considering what just happened to me…" Kasumi then smiled. "But wow, you're really good at explaining things, Mr. Kitty!"

"I'll let that last part slide this time…" Morgana mumbled. "Besides, isn't there something else that should be surprising you?"

"Something else…?" Kasumi pondered then it hit her. "A CAT IS TALKING!?"

"There it is!" Morgana said. "And I'm NOT a cat. I am Morgana!"

"I see…" Kasumi was taking note that the cat did not want to be called a cat. Interesting. "Well, since you seem to know a lot more about this than I do, maybe I should call you Morgana-senpai."

"Hah, that'll be interesting." Ren gave a slight chuckle, before handing Kasumi the charm she dropped in school. "This is yours. You dropped it earlier."

"You came all this way to return this…? Thank you so much…" Kasumi smiled at Ren, taking her charm happily.

"You looked down this morning. Was everything okay?" Ren asked.

Oh, right. "I didn't have the chance to tell you about it. But I got third place in my last meet. Of course I'm not happy about it, but it looks like the school is even more disappointed." Kasumi explained. "I was summoned to the guidance office this morning, and they warned me they may revoke my honor's student status. It would be due to my own inability to succeed in gymnastics, so I have to say, it isn't an unfair consequence. But I overhead the vice principal talking about how I'm a useless waste of effort."

"…That's Shujin for you. If it doesn't make them look good, they'll ready to throw it out…" Ren said. Those rumors about the school threatening Kasumi's status were true after all.

"And I dragged Dr. Maruki into this mess as well, snice he was with me when I got the news. That's what really got to me." Kasumi said. "So I ended up coming here and all of a sudden I was in that strange place. But I'll be just fine now. I feel like whatever happened in there helped me to get over it. I'm going to realize my dream for sure!"

"I know you can." Ren gave her a nod of encouragement.

"Seems like you're on the up and up now." Morgana nodded. But he had a question… "How did Yoshizawa end up finding a Palace in the first place? Based on what she's told us, it was pure coincidence…"

"Hey, do you have an orange eyeball app on your phone?" Ren asked Kasumi. "We can check who it belonged to."

"Um. Let me check…" Kasumi was trying to check her phone, but of course, the blasted thing wasn't working when she needed it to. "Sorry, it won't work. The battery's dead. It's been acting up for a while now…I know I should get it checked out…"

"Well, it's not like that was a Palace we were after. So it's no big deal." Morgana ultimately shrugged it off. "We couldn't make its ruler our target without a unanimous decision anyway."

Right. That left Kasumi with one big question. They explained all of this after all. "Um…I've been meaning to ask. Are you all the Phantom Thieves?"

"…You caught us." Ren wasn't going to fight it. It was going to be hard to deny since they had to explain the Metaverse to her.

"I knew it….wait! so when we were with Akechi-san, I basically told the Phantom Thieves themselves that I don't agree with what they're doing?" Now Kasumi just felt completely embarrassed. "I'm really sorry…"

"Don't worry about it." Morgana shook his head. "So…Ren, what's your call? Considering what she knows, wouldn't it make sense to make her a Phantom Thief?"

"Me, a Phantom Thief…?" Kasumi pondered this. "I wonder…"

"It's fine, you don't have to make any decisions right now. In fact, it's probably better you don't make any decisions until you learn about what it is we actually do." Morgana presented the option. In the end, it was up to Kasumi to decide.

"…I…I am unsure how I want to respond. On the one hand, when I awakened my Persona, I realized that I cannot keep obsessing over my shortcomings in gymnastics. But on the other, I also realized what it felt like to move the way I wanted. I felt at my best when I got to fight and support you, Amamiya-senpai. And more than anything, I want to repay you for all you've done for me."

"So…what are you trying to say?" Ren tilted his head. It didn't sound like a no, but it didn't sound like a yes either.

"I think it's only fair that I learn what the Phantom Thieves do. I know the type of person you are, Senpai…so I feel I was wrong to misjudge them back then." Kasumi said. "I don't know if I can fully devote myself to your endeavors just yet, but I want to help you just like you've helped me, even if it's just once. So if you are in the middle of something…please let me assist you. I think…I can get better at my gymnastics as well, if I can move as easily in realty as I do in the Metaverse."

"Is that a yes?!" Morgana's eyes lit up. Since his self-doubt days were over, he was more than willing to welcome a new member into the Phantom Thieves. It felt like they were bolstering their numbers a lot lately.

"Sort of. I plan on focusing on my gymnastics, but I want to see and experience what the Phantom Thieves do for myself. I want to understand why you do what you do, Amamiya-senpai." Kasumi was resolute in this decision. "So please, even if it's temporary…let me join you."

"I can't say no to that." Ren nodded. "I'll send you a text later of where we can meet tomorrow."

"Okay. I'll see you all tomorrow then!" Kasumi gave a smile and nod, walking off with a spring in her step. Her awakening opened her eyes and she was ready to continue moving forward.

Morgana turned to Ren once Kasumi left. "So…how are we going to break the news to the others?"

"Guess I should tell them…" Ren said while pulling out his phone.

Ryuji: Yo, Ren. Where are you?

Futaba: I tried texting you earlier and you didn't respond.

Ren: Sorry, something came up.

Haru: Is everything okay?

Ren: Yeah. I think Morgana and I just found someone new to add to the team.

Ann: Really!? Who!?

Ren: It's a surprise. You'll meet them tomorrow.

Makoto: Is it someone we can trust?

Ren: Of course.

Yusuke: I cannot help but be curious now…

Hifumi: Me as well…

Ren: We'll meet up at the hideout tomorrow. We'll go back into the Palace then too.

.

.

September 22nd.

The group gathered at the hideout in Ren's room after school. Ren told them to go ahead and wait for him there, while he grabbed their surprise new member. Downstairs, Ren walked in Leblanc with Kasumi. "So this is the place you were telling me about…?" Kasumi said while looking around, immediately enjoying the atmosphere of Leblanc.

"Yup. I live here." Ren said with a nod.

"Another friend?" Sojiro was behind the counter. Business was just a little slow at the moment, so he could take the time to properly greet another one of Ren's friends.

"Hello!" Kasumi walked forward, giving Sojiro a respectful bow. "My name is Kasumi Yoshizawa, a first year at Shujin."

"I see. It's nice to meet you. I'm Sojiro Sakura, but everyone just calls me boss." Sojiro replied with a slight smile before looking at Ren. "Your friends already got here. So go on up already."

"Right. Come on up." Ren said while leading the way upstairs.

"It was nice meeting you, Boss!" Kasumi smiled while following Ren upstairs. When she did, she saw all of Ren's friends from Hawaii. "Oh…!"

"Yoshizawa-san?" Makoto brushed some of her hair behind her ear.

"Wait, is she…?" Ryuji pointed in shock.

"That's right." Morgana wormed his way out of Ren's bag, landing on the table in the middle of the room. "Kasumi is going to be our new member!"

Kasumi blinked a few times. In hindsight, it made sense that if Ren was a Phantom Thief, so it only followed that his friends were too. But she was still surprised; there were a lot of Shujin students here. "Hello again. I am looking forward to working with all of you." She bowed to the group. "But I should clarify…I don't know yet if I will be a permanent member or anything, I still want to focus on my gymnastics, but I wanted to see for myself what the Phantom Thieves truly do." She then look to Futaba, who was the only one she hadn't seen. "Oh, hello..! I'm…"

"Kasumi Yoshizawa, I know. I'm Futaba Sakura…nice to meet you." Futaba said a bit nervously.

"That is a fair notion." Yusuke nodded to Kasumi's condition. "But we will gladly have you while you're here."

"But before we get started…I will need a quick summary of the situation. I know the Phantom Thieves are a hot topic right now, along with Okumura Foods. But I haven't had the time to really get into the details…"

"Don't worry. We have all the details for you." Makoto said with a nod, turning to Haru. "I'll explain the basics, and you should be the one to explain the situation with your father. It's only right."

"Okay. I appreciate that, Mako-chan." Haru nodded.

So then Kasumi was informed of the situation. How the Phantom Thieves stole hearts, their operation with Haru and Okumura's Palace, and their end goal of trying to figure out who was behind the mental shutdown incidents and how to stop them. The group was good at explaining so Kasumi was able to grasp the situation. "I see…I was a little worried about the public response. I had a feeling they'd start trying to push for the Phantom Thieves to solve all their problems…"

"That ain't what we're tryin' to do though." Ryuji said. "Especially not right now. Dealin' with Haru's situation is more important."

"The fame has been unsettling…" Hifumi admitted. "But we haven't allowed it to dictate our actions. We are only acting because this is what we must do."

"The public reaction is gonna be visceral either way…but this isn't about them right now." Futaba pushed her glasses up. She was a little apprehensive about Kasumi just by the principle of her own personality, but she felt like she could warm up to her quickly. If they were going to be teammates, she could put in the effort to try and get comfortable around her.

"Hopefully we can take down two birds with one stone when we do this!" Ann was smiling. "If we have more help, it should be a cinch!"

"I see…" The Phantom Thieves as a whole were a little different than what Kasumi expected. But it was a good thing. "Then I will do what I can to help you in this operation. Oh! But before we start…I have one question for the Shujin students here…"

"What's up?" Ren asked.

"Was it the school that pushed you like they did me…?" Kasumi was only curious. It was no surprise to anyone, least of all the students of Shujin, that the school was a toxic environment.

"Yeah." Ryuji just nodded. "'Cept for Haru. But for Ren, Ann, Makoto, and I? The school definitely pushed us into a corner in some way…but we all decided to fight back."

"That's why we started the Phantom Thieves. To help as many victims as we could and give them courage." Ann continued off Ryuji.

"We aren't sure it'll work for everyone, and things right now are very hectic, but our goal is still the same. We want to help people." Makoto added. "Some of us want revenge, or have people we want to save…there were a lot of factors that contributed to everyone's awakening. For us at Shujin, the school just happened to be a big one."

"I understand." Kasumi balled her hands into fists. Everyone was resolved in some way; she could see it in their eyes. They weren't doing this for the fame or superficial reasons. So Kasumi felt alright with placing her trust in everyone. "I am sorry for keeping everyone waiting, then. I will try not to slow you down in this operation!"

"Alright. Let's get going." Ren said, signaling everyone to get ready to go. They were going back to infiltrating the space station!

.

.

Back into Okumura's Palace they went. The group was pretty big now with a staggering 10 people. When everyone looked at Kasumi's outfit, they couldn't help but notice the similarities to Joker's own. "Is there something on my outfit?" Kasumi asked, staring at the curious gazes on her. She already knew everyone's codenames from what she was told on the way there, so there was no need for those secondary introductions.

"We were…just thinking that you needed a code name!" Panther said quickly. "But…this one won't be easy…"

"Yeah, this one's also hard." Skull said. "Leotard…?"

"How do you keep coming up with such simple, bad names…?" Mona shook his head.

"I was only good with my own name." Noir poked her fingers together.

"…Violet?" Joker put a little bit of thought into the name. It was still a shot in the dark for the most part, but it had some positive reception.

"Oh, I like that name. Violet it is." Kasumi said with no fuss. From this point onward, she would be dubbed Violet whenever they were in the Metaverse. "So…where do we begin? I suspect you've been through here before?"

"Mostly." Fox said, pointing ahead. "We got through a door that only Noir could open. We didn't get too far after that. But today our progress will be unobstructed."

"We should restart our infiltration from that door." Queen said. "We'll finally go beyond that door and get an idea of what it is we're working with. With that as a good place to start, the group carefully made their way to the point they stopped. While security was still a problem, there were no signs of Shadow Okumura of Cognitive Sugimura. It appeared that they officially dealt with the latter and he wouldn't be coming back.

"So…cognitive beings that are destroyed do not revive…" Dragon mumbled to herself. She then glanced at Oracle, who was oddly silent the whole time. Almost like she was focused on something. "Oracle, is something the matter?"

"Huh? Oh, no. Nothing yet." Oracle said with a nod. "I think I picked up a reading, but it's gone now. Nothing important, but you can never be too careful. But if it's something serious, I'll let you guys know ASAP, promise."

"Gotcha." Dragon nodded. Their trek carried them to an elevator that went down. This brought them to an different level of the spaceport, where numerous buildings were off in the distance.

"Whoa…this place is huge…" Violet just now understood the scope of this Palace. The fact they were in space was already shocking enough, but the size of this building had her in shock. "Where is this…Treasure you mentioned, Mona-senpai?"

Mona walked forward, pointing at the building all the way in the back. "I can sense the Treasure over in that direction. Probably in that building!"

"That's quite a ways off…" Fox remarked. "And it's going to be quite difficult to ascertain the shortest route there as well."

"It appears we'll just have to go with whatever route we can find." Queen said. They didn't really have a choice in the matter.

"We have to move forward." Noir said with determination. She would not falter at all when it came to her father's change of heart. This was something she needed to do, no matter how difficult it was. So she was going to lead the way, despite not knowing which way to go. Nobody could judge her because they didn't have any leads either. "I am going to change your heart, Father. No matter what it takes…"