The Phantom Thieves cornered Shadow Okumura just before he could escape on Project Utopia. But they weren't in the clear just yet, there was a 30 minute timer before the launch initiated, meaning they had to defeat him before the space station collapsed with them inside of it, while Shadow Okumura planned to leave. Obviously, the Phantom Thieves could not allow that, and Noir was going to make sure she changed her father's heart no matter what. "It's time you surrender, Father!" Noir demanded.
"Yeah man! It ain't lookin' good for you!" Skull said confidently. "We got you outnumbered 10 ta 1!"
"Give up? Outnumbered? I'm afraid you're sorely mistaken." Shadow Okumura said while lifting a hand up, snapping his fingers. "Try saying that after you've taken down my company's elite soldiers." Numerous tubes dropped down from above, causing the group to back away for their safety. From these tubes, the blue worker robots the Phantom Thieves fought throughout the Palace appeared, all ready and unwilling to fight, yet doing so because it was their job. The Phantom Thieves had 10 to their numbers, so Shadow Okumura decided to double that with his workers and go for 20 standard employees. "Go, my employees! Be the foundation upon which my victory is built!"
"Is he for real right now!? He's not even gonna fight us himself!?" Panther was sick. Even when he was back against a corner, Shadow Okumura was really sending his employees to fight for him!?
"Unfortunately, it is a solid tactic. Sending all of the pawns to protect the King." Dragon wasn't surprised that Shadow Okumura would employ this tactic; self-preservation at all cost. "But he is using this technique out of cowardice to stall for time! It may be a valid tactic, but it perhaps the worst one of all!"
This just gave Shadow Okumura an idea. "Now, my devoted employees! Targeting them at random won't do the trick! You have to take each one out individually – here, target that one first!" His finger pointed directly at Dragon. "Clip the wings of that obnoxious, know it all reptilian freak!"
Dragon blinked. Everything about that sentence just felt extremely wrong to her. "M-ME?!" Was ultimately her response to being singled out like this. Her eyes went wide as the robotic employees actually started to march towards her. "W-Wait a moment, this is uncalled for!? Are you truly that mad at me for calling you on lies!?" She pulled her staff out, preforming a wide swing to strike a number of the robotic employees, but she forgot that they were used to harsh working conditions and being abused. So they just kept moving after her attack. "Ack!?" That didn't work, so she was about to resort to using magic, which still, always exhausted her whenever she used it.
"Back off!" Panther jumped forward, swiping her whip forward at the incoming gang of robots. Pillars of fire emerged from her whip, blowing back a sizeable number of the working employees, but they still kept marching forward despite this. While this shouldn't have been anything new, Panther was still shocked at the fact they were taking this much of a beating. "They're more durable than the previous ones!?"
"That's because they know what will happen if they even think about breaking down in front of me!" Shadow Okumura stated. "When I am watching them, they have no choice but to work, work, and WORK!"
Noir tightened her grip on the handle of her axe. She then jumped forward, swinging her weapon to and fro to mow down most of the robotic employees coming Dragon's way. "This is exactly why I have to change your heart!"
Skull and Joker were running forward. Since the robots were focused on Dragon, as per Shadow Okumura's order, they figured they could use this chance to attack the man himself. "You're wide open!" Skull yelled, raising his club into the air, while Joker drew his knife back.
Before they could get too close, two robots stood in their way, taking their attacks! "What?" Joker voiced his surprise, before the robots struck back at him and Skull. It was a surprisingly strong attack all things considered, forcing the two of them to slide backwards. "Gah!"
"What the hell!?" Skull grunted.
"Joker-senpai! Skull-senpai, are you two alright!?" Violent asked.
"Just fine. They surprised us is all." Joker replied.
"It doesn't seem like they're willing to let Okumura get hit. They're shielding him to the best of their ability." Oracle reported. "We won't be able to deal with him until we deal with his forces! But I have you guys covered!" Oracle grinned, pressing a few buttons while inside Necronomicon. "Attack up!" She cast Matarukaja on the entire group, increasing their attack power to allow them to properly damage the resilient robots.
"Just what I needed!" Noir said while her mask burned off, calling Milady. "Milady, open fire!" Milady followed that command, her dress opening up to fire off her large weaponry. Numerous explosive shells were unleashed, blowing the robots in every which direction, scattering them across the arena. They still weren't down, but they were struggling to get back up. "Even still…!?"
"Fox-senpai, let's finish them off!" Violet said while having her rapier at the ready.
"Indeed!" Fox nodded while drawing his katana. The two then sped off, showing that they were easily the fastest members of the team. Fox and Violet weaved through the scattered robots while slashing their swords at their broken down bodies. It only took a few seconds for them to do this, and the robots then exploded, all 20 standard employees were down.
"Whoa, so fast!" Mona gasped.
"It's nice to have people with that amount of speed on our side." Queen had a reassuring smile.
Dragon let out a quiet sigh of relief. "Being targeted like that was not fun. Panther, Noir, thank you for covering me." But they weren't finished yet. They were only just getting started.
Shadow Okumura just groaned at the ineptitude of his base employees. "Seriously, how useless can you all be!? Whatever's become of company loyalty?"
"They fought for you with their lives, and still you look down on them!?" Noir growled.
Ah…that actually gave him a perfect idea. "Very well then! HARU! Teach our employees how demonstrate company loyalty properly!"
"Huh!? Like hell she's gonna do that! She's fightin' with us, or are you too slow to pick up on that?!" Skull asked. But…Shadow Okumura was not talking to Noir.
Cognitive Haru walked forward, donning a bright pink space suit and her skin was blue, just like Shadow Okumura's. Even with her somewhat robotic appearance, she was the second most human thing in this Palace. "Yes, Father!"
"H-Huh!? ME!?" Noir gasped. She was wondering about the cognitive version of herself, but she had no idea it would look like this.
"My Haru faithfully obeys my orders." Shadow Okumura looked Noir right in the eyes, his tone smug and demeaning. "After all, she's nothing like your charlatan!"
Noir faltered for just a moment. "So…that's my father's cognitive version of me…"
"Hey, don't let this get to you!" Oracle exclaimed. "Just remember, once we take Okumura down. It'll all be over! Let's wrap this up quick!"
"Not happening." Shadow Okumura said. "You shouldn't have underestimated the strength of my company. Employees, fall in line!" He snapped his fingers once more, summoning even more employees to take to the battlefield. These were still standard worker robots, but they were the yellow versions now, signifying some difference in rank. While he managed 20 before, the forces of these yellow ones were 15.
"Even more!?" Noir gasped.
"Every problem can be solved with more manpower." Shadow Okumura stated smugly. "That is the strength of my company!"
"Happiness based on the sacrifice of others isn't true happiness!" Noir shot back.
"What do you know!?" Shadow Okumura yelled.
"There are no flaws in my father's logic." Cognitive Haru stated. "Everything he says and everything he does is always correct. It is you who are in the wrong, for you do not understand what he does or why."
"That's a good daughter. Now I can take pride in my work." Shadow Okumura grinned.
"You…" Noir's grip on her axe was so tight, her arm was trembling.
"While we're at it, why don't we get rid of her first!" Shadow Okumura pointed at Noir. "Target that one! The cheap phony with the face of my daughter!"
"C-Cheap!?" Noir couldn't believe it. Now she was the stunned one was the yellow robots came marching, and they were moving even faster than the blue ones! Noir was about to attack, but then her stomach betrayed her. It growled loudly and felt tight. Her eyes widened and she fell her knees, arms wrapped around her stomach. "M-My stomach…what happened?!"
"That is the price you pay for defying me." Shadow Okumura said with his hand raised, clearing being the one responsible for afflicting Noir with such hunger. This made her easy prey for the incoming robots.
Just as a robot was about to strike Noir, Violet parried the strike with her rapier, pushing the robot back to stand in front of Noir. "Noir-senpai, are you alright? Don't worry; I won't let them lay a robotic hand on you!"
"I'll protect you, too!" Mona said while bouncing in place. Noir wasn't the only one affected; Skull, Fox, Panther, and Dragon were also suffering from this aliment as well. They were too hungry to muster up any energy aside from groans of discomfort.
"It looks like he cast some sort of attack that pushes you to extreme famine. Watch out!" Oracle warned, looking for a way to cure Noir's condition so she could be back in the fight.
Joker dug into his coat pocket, tossing several capsules at those ailed by hunger. It was medicine from Takemi's medical clinic, so he knew it would be effective. "Take these, it'll help." Joker said before standing next to Violet, Queen, and Mona, while Oracle provided support. They had a lot of robots to fend off and defeat while the others were recovering from their forced hunger status.
"Ugh…my stomach betrays at the worst time…" Dragon groaned.
"For effin' real…" Skull grunted.
The robots were still marching towards Noir, so Queen was going to disrupt their formation. "Let's charge, Johanna!" Her Persona appeared and she mounted it, revving the bike before driving off at full throttle. Queen slammed Johanna into numerous robots, plowing through them with no trouble at all, but they were still incredibly resilient despite this. "Even after that, they're barely budging…"
"Valkyrie!" Joker summoned Valkyrie, allowing the warrior to charge forward on her stead with her twin swords. She galloped across the circular platform, slicing and dicing the robots, who could only take the attack, recoiling but still forcing themselves to move despite the damage sustained. They kept marching towards Noir as per their orders.
Mona joined in, turning into the Mona-car and driving forward at full speed. He, Queen, and Valkyrie completely stampeded the golden robots without giving them a chance to pause. Mona was the one who knocked all 15 into the air with a quick pivot, a burst of wind following to keep them trapped in a cyclone. He popped back to normal, turning to Violet, who was standing on the defensive for the temporarily fallen Thieves. "Violet!"
"I know!" Violet's mask burned off and she stuck a pose, calling out Cendrillon. "It's time for all of you to take a break!" Cendrillon spun around, creating numerous rays of light that remained suspended in the air, until Violet snapped her fingers. This caused the rays of light to shoot down towards the airborne robots, piercing them all in several locations, forcing sparks to fly from their bodies as they hit the ground. "Did that do it!?"
Surprisingly…no. The robots still slowly got up, but they were clearly on their last legs. "They persist even now?!" Queen grit her teeth. This was WITH Oracle's attack buff. If these robots continued to endure their attacks like this, there was a high chance they would run out of stamina before they got to the end of this robotic assault.
"Hey, what's the hold up!? Can't you scrap heaps do one simple job?!" Shadow Okumura grew irritated that they had yet to do the task he demanded of them. So it was time to switch up his orders. "You!" He pointed at one robot, snapping his fingers as a piece of paper suddenly materialized on one of the yellow robots. "You will give your life for my cause, do you understand me!"
"Yes, sir!" The robot saluted, its body starting to glow.
"W-What did he just do!?" Mona asked.
"This is bad! He set an order for it to self-destruct!" Oracle reported. That yellow robot was quickly marching forward now.
"This is bad!" Queen said.
Just as the yellow robot threw itself forward, a shield appeared before everyone. Dragon was back on her feet, Belle Star defending everyone from the ensuing explosion that followed. "Aegis!" This single explosion did result in a chain of them, but Dragon was able to protect the group from it all. Still, all she did was reduce the damage and absorb the remainder of it, so she staggered back quite exhausted afterwards. The robots were all sacrificed on a whim of an order, just like that.
"Dragon-senpai! Are you well?!" Violet asked worriedly.
"D-Do not worry about me! This is less painful than what my stomach endured." Dragon said with a slight smile.
"Sorry 'bout that." Skull cracked his knuckles. "But we're back in the game!"
"You'll pay for that cheap trick!" Panther growled.
"I'm used to such hunger…" Fox mumbled.
"Even then, they still couldn't obey orders. How incompetent." Shadow Okumura sighed.
Noir pointed at Shadow Okumura angrily. "You made them sacrifice their own lives for you, and still you see them as worthless?! What happened to you, Father! You were not this kind of person in the past…!"
"Those people gladly threw me under the bus when it was convenient for them! Why should I care about what happens to them? If they're not putting for their greatest efforts in improving Okumura Foods, then I could not care less if they died or not! This is all for my sake and nobody else's. They chose to turn their backs on me, so I will do the same!"
"I know you know that's not right!" Noir exclaimed.
"I don't need to hear any more of this, damned thieves! Chief Clerk, come out here and deal with this!" Once again, Okumura snapped his fingers and now, 10 tall, slim, red robots appeared from the tubes that dropped down. "Target that one, next! The one wearing the skimpy black leotard!"
"ME!?" Violet pointed at herself.
"Looks like we're finally making progress up the company latter." Joker said with a slight scoff.
"Guys, no time for jokes! 20 minutes left!" Oracle reported.
"There are no flaws in my father's logic." Cognitive Haru repeated. "You would do well to remember this, you cheap imitation. No daughter of Okumura would turn against her Father."
Noir was so tempted to throw her axe at her cognitive version. While there was a time she did think like this, that time passed. If this is how she sounded in the past…shaking her head, she glanced at Mona and smiled. "Mona-chan, I think now is a good time for us to do 'that'!"
"Wait, right now!?" Mona waved his arms around a bit, but then nodded. He always liked a chance to show off. "Let's do it, Noir!"
"IT'S SHOWTIME!"
The power of Showtime was an extremely helpful one, the Wishing Stone allowing them to put their ludicrous ideas to work. The scenery changed briefly, a brightly colored city backdrop appearing as Noir and Mona jumped from over a building. Noir winked while grabbing the tip of her hat as she descended, Mona hitting the ground first to transform into a bus, which Noir landed on as he drove forward. Noir then pulled out her rocket launcher, smiling at the group of Chief Clerk robots. "You've been bad." She utters before clicking the trigger several times to fire off three robots. She then jumped off Mona, who drove into the robots just as the missiles collided with them, resulting in a gigantic explosion. "Oh…! Mona-chan!"
Mona was on the ground, but he lifted an arm up. "I'm okay."
As for the Chief Clerks, they were sprawled and scattered about on the ground, struggling to get up. "Now, strike while they are down!" Dragon exclaimed.
"Already on it!" Skull said as he and Fox rushed ahead, their masks burning off. "Saiten-Taisei!"
"Kamu-Susano-o!" Fox and Skull called forth their Personas at the same time. Kamu-Susano-o stabbed his sword into the ground, frost covering the arena to freeze over the robots and keep them stuck to the ground. That's when Saiten-Taiset followed up, releasing a potent bolt of lightning to strike the robots while they were frozen. It was an effective combo, but these durable robots broke free from the ice, slowly sauntering their injured bodies towards Violet as ordered. She even had to evade a stray, weak punch from one of them, back flipping to do so.
"Are you shittin' me!?" Skull groaned.
"Carmen!" Panther called.
"Lilith!" Joker called his out at the same time as Panther. Lilith and Carmen floated side by side, arms extended, hands pointed outward as they made use of Agidyne. Their combined efforts resulted in a gigantic wave of fire that consumed the Chief Clerks, burning their bodies severely, putting them on their last legs.
Queen saw this opening and drove Johanna in a quick circle, numerous orbs of nuclear magic appearing above her. "Take this!" Those orbs crashed down on the burning robots, completely destroying the robots. "That takes care of them…"
"Dammit!" Shadow Okumura snarled. "Hey, Section Chief! Get these loudmouth brats out of my sight!" Once again, the process repeated. Tubes dropped down, 8 robots identical to the Chief Clerk appeared, although they were a shade of dark blue compared to red. "Any wo disagrees with my vision will be struck down as an example!"
"There's more…?" Queen didn't like the direction this was going. How many robots were they going to have to take down!?
"This doesn't bode well…" Dragon said quietly.
"My father's words are absolute!" Cognitive Haru exclaimed.
"That's right, Haru! One must strike the enemy while the iron is hot!" Shadow Okumura grinned towards the Phantom Thieves, snapping his fingers once more. Every time Cognitive Haru agreed with him, it gave him a boost, which he used to hinder the Phantom Thieves. A widespread Marakunda was cast, softening the Phantom Thieves for any future blows his employees may land. "Let's see you try and endure this one! You'll run out of steam before I run out of manpower!"
"Wanna bet!?" It was Oracle's time to shine and support the team. "I got you guys covered!" She could tell that the team was starting to get a little tired from how much energy they had to expend in this battle, so she employed recovery magic to rejuvenate everyone and also restore their defenses. "Is everyone okay?"
"I'm in tip top shape now!" Violet answered.
"I'm very grateful!" Noir nodded.
Shadow Okumura was unpleased, but also undeterred. "Target that one next! The slutty-looking woman in red!" He pointed directly at Panther when he said this, not mincing his words.
Panther stopped in her tracks, blue eyes staring at Shadow Okumura with malicious intent. "WHAT did you just call me?"
Dragon reacted the same way, green, venomous gaze burning into Shadow Okumura's soul. "What did you just call her?"
"Oh, you shouldn'ta done that, asshole." Skull shook his head. Shadow Okumura pressed the wrong button.
Panther cracked her whip, flames igniting around the weapon. She already had to deal with enough of the name calling back in the earlier days of Shujin, but she absolutely did NOT have to take it from Shadow Okumura. She moved passed that, and he was going to receive her ire for calling her that. "You want a piece of this?! THEN COME AND GET IT, DICK!" Panther yelled at the top of her legs, swinging her whip wildly at the numerous Section Chief robots, not even giving them a chance to counter as she unleashed her ire on them. The robots were left to feel the heat under the relentless assault of Panther's blazing whip. "Carmen!"
"Belle Star!" Dragon summoned her Persona at the same time as Panther. Belle Star drew her sword back, while Carmen ignited a blaze within her hands. That blaze transferred to Belle Star's sword, wrapping in flames. "Blazing End!" Dragon brought her arm down, Belle Star mirroring this action to swing her sword down. The blade struck floor, resulting in a large explosion of flame that knocked the Chief Clerk robots into the air. "Mona!"
"I got it!" Mona ran forward, flipping to land on Dragon's hand, a Baton Pass happening in that moment. Dragon then pushed her arms up, throwing Mona sky high so he could attack. "Zorro, show your might!" And so Zorro appeared, swinging his rapier in a Z formation to create a gust of wind. This tornado trapped all 8 Chief Clerk robots within it.
"What do you think you're doing?! Hurry up and attack again!" Shadow Okumura yelled. "Do not let that bizzare black and white thing get the better of you!" But it was too late. Mona's attack completely destroyed the Chief Clerks when they slammed brutally into the ground, smashed into a million pieces. "Apparently none of you can do anything right! Your time has arrived, Chief Director! Go forth and show them the weight of the cooperate elite!" Once again, more robots were summoned. The top of the latter now, 4 Chief Director robots appearing. "Now, target that one! The obnoxious blonde one!" He pointed towards Skull.
"Oh, is that how it is, ya bastard!?" Skull said.
"I won't let some petty thieves stand in the company's…no, in MY way!" Shadow Okumura exclaimed.
"My father's words are abso-" Before Cognitive Haru could finish her encouraging words; a bullet flew past her, causing her to yelp and stop. "Huh!?"
"…I missed." It was Dragon. She took a shot with her sniper rifle, but ended up faltering a bit since she didn't like the thought of shooting at Haru, fake or not.
"HAAAAAH!" While Cognitive Haru was distracted, Noir attempted to cleave her in half with her axe. The cognition was able to evade this in the nick of time, but Noir's power was noticeable as her axe left a mark on the ground.
The Chief Director Robots began to march towards Skull and he just grinned. "Mona, pass it over!"
"On it!" Mona scurried over towards Skull, leaping into the air for their hands to collide. The baton was passed, empowering Skull even more since this continued on from Dragon and Panther.
"COME GET SOME!" Skull's mask burned off as Seiten-Taisei dropped down, slamming his pole in the middle of the group of robots. Immediately after this, a potent discharge of electricity fanned out in all directions, paralyzing the Chief Directors and prevented them from moving. Skull then darted towards Fox, passing the baton once again. "You're up, dude!"
"But of course!" After receiving the baton, Fox held his hands up in a landscape formation, getting the perfect view of how he wanted to approach this. Not even a second later did he dash off, Kamu-Sussano-o appearing alongside him, a trail of ice following his every step. Fox sprinted by every single Chief Director robot while slashing his sword, freezing them over instantly while they were still stunned.
"What are you doing!? Do not get outdone by the odd one in the fox mask!?" Shadow Okumura grunted, watching as Fox passed the baton to Queen. "Break out now and attack that one! The barbaric woman with dark hair!"
"Barbaric?" Queen let out an offended scoff, cracking her knuckles. "I'll gladly show you how barbaric I can be then." Johanna was summoned and Queen drove off, driving in circles around the frozen Chief Directors. Each complete circle was faster and faster, a blue tornado appearing around the robots. Queen then jumped into the air, drawing her fist back. "FISTS OF JUSTICE!" She yelled, diving down while punching at the ground. This caused a dome of nuclear magic to erupt outwards, incinerating the Chief Directors on the spot.
"How irritating. It seems ordinary employees are unfit for this job." Shadow Okumura knew better than to rely on them, but it was worth the effort anyway. "Executive Director, come to me!" From the tube, the biggest robot of all appeared, clad in black. "Now then, fulfill your duty as my right-hand man! For the eternal prosperity of Okumura Foods! Now then! Take out their leader, that pompous man in the black coat!"
"Pompous? Is that the best one you got? You want me?" Joker said while grinning. "Bring it on."
"Keep up the pressure and you can take it down fast!" Oracle said.
Queen drove towards Violet, extending her hand out. The two passed off the baton yet again, Violet feeling more power than ever. "If you want to get to Joker-Senpai, you have to get through me first!" Violet summoned Cendrillon, allowing her to fly forward, stabbing at the Executive Director with numerous rays of light. It was bulky, enduring the attacks while rushing towards Joker, although it was slowed down by Violet's onslaught. Once Violet felt like she'd done enough, she flipped a few times, flying over Joker while extending her hand, passing the baton off to him.
"Thanks." Joker said while staring at the incoming Executive Director. It reared an arm back to throw a punch at him, but Joker was prepared for this. "Hecatoncheires!" The multi-arm titan appeared before Joker, using one arm to stop the punch. The Executive Director naturally used its other arm to attack, but it was stopped cold by another arm. Now restrained, Joker let out a slight 'heh' before amplifying the power of his next attack via Charge. "Let's go! Swift Strike!" While restraining the Executive Director down, Hecatoncheires used its other arms to aim a series of high speed punches all over the robots body, its herculean strength shining as it made quick work of Shadow Okumura's right hand robot. The final punch was so powerful it tore the Executive Director from the grip, its body breaking apart, several pieces now lying on the floor.
Shadow Okumura was completely dumbfounded. "What…!? Even him…!?" This couldn't be the end. He had to have more employees to throw away somewhere. "Grrr…someone!? Is there anyone here!?" More tubes dropped down from his order but…no employees showed up. "W-Why isn't anyone coming!? I don't understand?! How did such a meager force outlast all of my employees?!"
Noir narrowed her eyes, staring at Shadow Okumura and her cognitive self. But…she could hardly give her Father a stare with malice. It was sad to her, watching him struggle so much. At long last, the karma of all his actions finally caught up to him. "Father…you've been forsaken even by your own employees. We lasted this long because we're a team…we work together. You just throw people at a problem, no matter how exhausted they are, and demand the best results. Joker, I think it's time we ended this."
Shadow Okumura wasn't finished yet, no. He couldn't be finished when he was so close! "Dammit! If that's how it is…" He still had one person left…one more person he could throw away. "HARU! I command you to go forth! Show them the mighty of our company!"
"Yes, Father!" Cognitive Haru responded without missing a beat.
"Okumura Foods will be gutted if I fall! Do you grasp the situation here, Haru?"
"Of course, Father!" Cognitive Haru saluted.
"Well then, PROTECT ME! Even if it costs you your life!" Shadow Okumura demanded.
"As you wish, Father!" Cognitive Haru nodded and stepped forward, lunging at Noir. Noir brought her axe forward, the two clashing. "I will protect my father no matter the cost, for that his is wish! I will do as he commands, for that is the role of an Okumura daughter!"
Noir clenched her teeth, pushing Cognitive Haru away from her. She didn't think her heart could break anymore, but the way her father's Shadow treated that version of her… "So…this is how my father sees me. Nothing more than a puppet that dances when ordered…"
"…My mother…views me the same way…." Dragon was angry, but also sad for Noir. Watching Cognitive Haru bend over backwards for Shadow Okumura reminded her of her own cognitive version. It was the same thing.
It was time for the final gambit. "Haru! Self-destruct! Detonate and take those damned thieves with you!" That was Shadow Okumura's final order to his daughter. When backed against the way, he would throw away anyone, even his own daughter, for his own well-being.
"Is he for real!?" Panther gasped.
"He's willing to sacrifice his own daughter?!" Oracle couldn't believe it. But she then recoiled as Cognitive Haru let out an electromagnetic wave. "Agh…she jammed my radar!?" She couldn't see anything; all the dots that represented the people on the battlefield were scrambled and she couldn't make sense of it now.
Noir's eyes narrowed and she glared at her cognitive self. If her father said jump, Cognitive Haru would jump, no matter how high she was demanded. If her father said blow up, she would…but Noir wasn't going to let that happen. "I won't give you the satisfaction."
"But Noir, that's…!" Oracle was a little hesitant. It sounded like Noir was planning to destroy her own cognitive self, which was a little unnerving.
"I am no longer my father's subservient puppet! The real me is standing here, opposing him!" Noir held her hand out towards Joker, there was still a baton that needed passing. Wordlessly, Joker smacked Noir's hand with her own, passing on the baton for the last time. Noir summoned Milady, grapping the rim of her hat with two fingers, while dramatically pointing her other hand towards her Cognitive self. "If this is truly how my father perceives me, then I will destroy that cognitive once and for all!" Milady fired a powerful shot towards Cognitive Haru, piercing through her robotic body in a single blow, causing her to fall towards the ground.
"N-No…this can't be…" Cognitive Haru hit the ground, her gaze weakly going towards Shadow Okumura. A hand was stretched outward, desperately reaching out for the one person who could help her. "Father…please…help…"
Shadow Okumura grit his teeth as Cognitive Haru pleaded for his help, but not for the reason's one might thing. He was simply dumbfounded that his daughter failed to uphold his order…and Cognitive Haru vanished. "W-Wh…even Haru couldn't stop them!? I've had ENOUGH! SOMEONE GET IN HERE! ANYONE!" But no one responded to his desperate pleas.
"Father. It's time to end this. I hope you're prepared!" Noir looked to the others and they all nodded. "Everyone, on me!" The Phantom Thieves jumped forward at Noir's call, assaulting Shadow Okumura from all angles with an All Out Attack. Shadow Okumura had nothing left in him and was at the mercy of the Phantom Thieves. At the end of it all, Noir landed in the seat of a fancy table, taking a sip of tea. But her expression was one of sadness. "Adieu, Father…"
Shadow Okumura hit the ground, his chair destroyed, on his knees as the Phantom Thieves surrounded him. He was…defeated. He couldn't escape the fate of the Okumura Family. "…In the end, I am just one more in a lineage of failures." Sighing, he turned to Noir. "I will contact your fiancé and rescind the marriage arrangement. This may be the end of Okumura Foods as well…forgive me, Haru…"
Noir frowned, taking a deep breath, before crouching down to be at eye level with her father. "Father…please tell me…when did you change? What happened to make you this way…?"
Shadow Okumura kept his gaze on the ground. "Because there isn't a single person in the company that understands me. They don't understand the work I put in to keep this company afloat, everything I sacrificed to turn a small time business into a gigantic company. I shut down my father's shops because they never made the profit it needed! Everything I did was for the company, but there was not a single person who saw things my way. They all decided to throw me under the bus and blame me the first chance they had! Even Takakura turned his back on me and suspected me during those food scandals. That's when I knew that nothing I did was appreciated…I realized at that moment that I didn't need the company or the people in it. I didn't care what happened to them…as long as they could provide enough work to help me ascend to the political world that was all the value I saw within them."
"That's…" Noir didn't know any of this. Her Father never talked to her about these kinds of things…but it all must have happened when she was younger. The timeframe added up based on his words, because she vaguely recalled hearing about the scandal in Okumura Foods, but she was too young at the time ot understand, and this was when her father started to change. "I didn't know…you never told me anything…."
Skull then walked forward, asking the question they all had on their minds. "You were behind all the breakdowns and mental shutdowns, weren't you?"
"Or at least, you had a hand in them somehow." Dragon added.
"I admit…I spent large sums of money to help my company grow, and to crush business competitors…." Shadow Okumura confessed.
"That's not what he asked!" Dragon snapped.
"N-Not personally! I had a contract! All I did was make the requests to have them eliminated!" Shadow Okumura yelped.
"And if we put everything that's happened in this Palace together so far…it's looking highly probable that the one committing these acts is Black Mask." Queen surmised. Which then begged the question…
"Who was the one you formed the contact with?" Noir asked. But Shadow Okumura didn't respond, the emotional weight from his defeat collapsed on him at once and he began to sob. "Father…!"
"WARNING! SPACE STATION WILL COLLPASE SOON!" The AI voice declared.
"We're out of time!?" Fox grunted.
Violet jumped into the air, grabbing the capsule which held the Treasure before it could fully descend. "I have the Treasure! Are we escaping!?"
"We don't have a lot of time, we better hurry." Joker said.
"There's one more thing you have to tell us." Mona turned to Shadow Okumura. "Have you seen the face of the one in the Black Mask…!?" The space station rumbled. Their time was running short.
"We don't have time to get that outta him…!" Skull said with urgency in his voice.
"We'll just have to inquire about it in the real world." Queen said.
"Come on! My radar's still on the frits, but I can get us out of here!" Oracle told the others. They all started to flee, Dragon and Noir lingering behind.
Noir stood up slowly, staring down at her broken father's Shadow. "…Only you can follow through on your own responsibilities. That is what you taught me, Father…"
"Noir…we must go." Dragon said.
"I…I know…" Noir followed behind Dragon, stopping for a moment to look back at her Father. Oh, how she wished they had the time…she wanted to say more…she needed to see him return to his real self, but if she wasted anymore time, she would die here and hold up the others. She couldn't do that, so she had to run.
Shadow Okumura remained on the ground. A quiet sigh escaped him and he started to stand up…and then a bullet pierced his chest, causing him to fall forward. "Ugh…."
"That was a close one." Black Mask said while approaching the downed Shadow Okumura. "I really must thank you, Okumura. If not for your diligent efforts, I never would've known they would strike today."
"Y-You…." Shadow Okumura knew who this was. But his body was so weak from that first shot and he couldn't muster the energy to turn around.
"Oh, don't be so heartbroken. It was always meant to be this way." Black Mask said, pressing the barrel of his pistol at Okumura's skull. "You should be ecstatic…you've singlehandedly allowed us to deal with the Phantom Thieves. You can die knowing that it was your downfall that contributed to their demise. So thank you, Kunikazu Okumura…your foolish desire to enter a world you had no business stepping foot in has been a great boon to us. Now…rest in peace." He finished the job, putting a bullet into Shadow Okumura's skull to kill the Shadow once and for all.
"Ha…ru…." Shadow Okumura vanished from that bullet.
As the space station collapsed, along with Shadow Okumura's dreams and ambition…Black Mask let out a maniacal laugh. "AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
.
.
It was far too close a shave. This Palace escape was only possible thanks to Morgana putting it in high gear…but they did it. Everyone managed to escape back into reality. "My heart is still pounding…" Haru said, panting heavily. That was an exhausting battle and confrontation, and it was just hitting her now.
"No kidding…" Kasumi let out an exhausted huff.
"We learned a lot…" Morgana said. "While Okumura isn't the culprit, he has to know who's responsible."
"He was requesting people after all…so he must know who the right person to call is." Hifumi surmised.
"Mm…." Haru mumbled something.
"Mom…" Futaba's voice was a little shaky.
Haru then glanced down at the ground, noticing the Treasure at her feet. It was a small, plastic kit of a spaceship. "Oh…this is…"
"This is the Treasure…?" Ryuji glanced at the box in Haru's hands.
"I remember something my father told me before he changed." Haru said. "He told me there was a model kit he wanted to buy, but no matter how much he begged my grandfather, he never got it."
"But…your family can get a million of those, though." Ryuji pointed out.
"Now, we could." Haru said. "But back then…Okumura Foods was just a small company under my grandfather. It seemed like the debt collectors were frequent visitors when my father was younger…"
"That explains a little bit…" Kasumi wasn't going to pretend that she understood completely. But she did get a better understanding of Kunikazu Okumura from that experience.
"Are you okay, Haru?" Hifumi asked.
"I will be." Haru said. Yet for some reason, she had a twisted, terrible feeling in her stomach. They did everything right… "By the way, when is the charge of heart supposed to happen?"
"We don't know exactly, but it should be soon." Morgana responded.
"That has been the case so far." Yusuke replied.
"I think we should take it easy until then." Panther yawned. That fight took a lot out of her. "I'm so wiped…"
"You all did great, though." Ren said with a grin. "What are you going to do with that model kit, Haru?"
"If…if you don't mind, can I give it to my Father?" Haru asked. "Maybe…it could help remind him about how things used to be. If that's alright with everyone…"
It does suck to hear that they are losing out on a Treasure, but nobody seemed to mind Haru's wish. "That's fine." Ren nodded.
"Thank you, everyone…" Haru flashed the group a soft smile. "I couldn't have done this without you all…"
.
.
Sometime later, the SIU Director was standing near his favorite window, on the phone with someone. "Yes, everything has all gone according to plan. Everything, from the Phantom Thieves targeting Okumura, to them changing his heart. We've lost a convinent source of income, but I'd rather not risk his connection to us coming to light. Okumura was not fit for the political world to begin with. He should have just behaved himself."
…
"Of course, without fail, sir. I've requested that he handle the matter. He seemed far too excited for it, but arrangements have been made. A sudden mental shutdown will occur at just the right time. We'll dispose of our disappointing connection and the Phantom Thieves at once. Two birds with one stone…hahahahahaha….!"