The sound of the alarm blaring was the one thing that snapped the patrons of the casino out of their selfish ambitions. It made them uneasy and they shuffled about with a tone of uncertainty. A black shadow swiftly moved up above. They could hear it moving on top of them, but they couldn't discern where it was coming from. The casino was silent except for that movement. "There's something here…!" A cognitive person said, looking around anxiously. Men in black suits strolled into the casino, glancing around for the target in question.

The shadow continued to move around before finally finding a good place to stop. Directly under the skylight with the moon shining down on top of him. Joker, leader of the Phantom Thieves stood with the suitcase containing the Treasure in his hands, letting everyone see him.

"There he is!"

"He's here. Move in immediately." An agent spoke into his earpiece. The moment they spotted Joker was the moment they acted.

"Heh…" Joker grinned. Now that he caught their attention, it was time for the game to continue. So he swiftly moved from his position, letting the chase begin.

"Good! Now get running!" Mona shouted from Oracle's communication line.

"This is our only chance!" Crow shouted.

"Stay calm! You can get away now!" Oracle reassured him.

"We'll retrieve the briefcase on our end." Queen said.

"…suspects…not confirmed…hold positions…"

There it was again. Oracle picked up that transmission once more. "Huh…what was that…?"

"Don't worry about us! Just concentrate on getting away!" Mona said.

"Their formation has a gap in it you can exploit. You remember what I taught you, yes?" Dragon questioned, her tone holding clear expectations for Joker. "Escape should be easy for someone such as yourself."

"Don't worry, I got this." Joker reassured the group. For now, he was making his way along the scaffolding on the second floor, well above the reach of anyone who wanted to catch him.

"But I have to say, showing yourself above that crowd was an excellent move." Mona complimented Joker's quick thinking. Thanks to that, he and the others were able to slip away out of a different exit that Cognitive Makoto pointed them out to.

"I bet Skull couldn't pull that off so easily." Panther teased.

"Hey, I could too pull that off!" Skull defended himself. "Why you gotta single me out!"

"This happens because you have no sense for aesthetics." Fox said judgingly.

"We can chat later, we must escape first!" Dragon had to pull those three out of their conversation. Not getting caught was the most important thing for them right now.

A few agents managed to make it to the second floor, on level with Joker. They weren't too fara way, but unfortunately for them, they'd have to make a number of risky jumps if they wanted to catch up with him. All they could do was point him out to the others. "There he is!"

"Okay, time to get out of there! Run!" Oracle shouted.

"On it!" Joker nodded and scurried off. As it stood right now, none of his pursuers had a chance in hell of actually catching up to hi,.

"Okay…looks like the enemy's focus is on him. We can slip out of here." Mona told the others.

"Everyone remember where we're meeting up?" Noir questioned.

"No worries, I can guide you all!" Oracle stated proudly.

Joker kept going and eventually had to land on solid ground. The moment he did, two agents rounded the corner from the left and right. A third one appeared behind him, causing him to smirk as they had the illusion that he was surrounded. "Heh."

"Take 'em down, Joker!" Oracle shouted.

"You're in my way." Joker said before flipping backwards, landing on the shoulders of the shadow that appeared directly behind him. His gloved fingers tightened around its mask and he pried it off in a single, swift motion. A horned beast appeared, glaring down at Joker angrily. Unfortunately for that horned beast, Joker didn't have the time to play around. "Arsene!" Joker's mask burned away and Arsene appeared, flying forward to slash the Pryekeeper with his claws.

"GAH!" The Pyrekeeper growled while staggering backwards from the hit. "How dare you!?" The angered Shadow reared its head back before spewing a stream of flame from its mouth, with the intention of consuming Joker within these flames.

Joker, of course, had other plans. He flipped into the air, easily evading the breath of flame. Once in the air, he snapped his fingers and had Arsene fire off a burst of Curse Magic. This was an extremely effective hit that struck the Pyrekeeper in the side, nearly causing the horned giant to fall over. Before it could even recover, Joker dove down and slashed it across the chest with his knife, landing in a crouched position after.

"How could…this…" The Pyrekeeper never stood a chance. As it collapsed to the ground, it faded away.

Right after that, however…Arsene turned to Joker. "You have progressed well through your recollections. Last spring, you awakened to this furious power. Now, your fate will soon be determined. Recall everything…remember the bonds you've forged with your friends. If you are fated to continue past this point, I will surely see you again…" And then, Arsene faded…

"W-What the hell…" Joker was stunned. That…never happened before…

Oracle was keeping an eye on Joker's progress. She was able to tell when the battle was over, but the tension of the situation prevented her from making any jokes how that was hardly a fight. They were on a strict timer and had to get moving. "Okay, pull out before the backup gets here!"

Speaking of backup, the two shadows that tried to corner Joker attacked. They attacked him with stun batons, but Joker was far too nimble. Every time they swung at him, he was able to easily evade with a duck, a dodge, and a flip. A backflip contained all the momentum he needed to propel himself to some platforms above him, and then to the next floor, entering a hallway that led to the back corridors of the Casino.

"You can get out that way! Go! Hurry!" Oracle ushered Joker to keep moving and he was. "What the…something is coming your way…!"

.

.

"Dude, can he even hear us!?" Skull frantically questioned. He and the others were near the back end of the casino, but still inside. They had a little ways to go before they could slip outside.

"Don't worry, I'm picking up everyone's voices!" Oracle said. All this running was a little exhausting considering she lacked physical stamina, but that was no excuse to stop running. "And Joker's still running too, I think we can pull this off!"

"Better sooner than later." Crow said while glancing around. "Even if we manage to escape from the back, this could not have worked out more perfectly. You have a welcoming committee waiting for you outside, Joker…"

"Tch, we got away from those guys in black, but there's still more of them…" Skull complained.

"We should be able to slip past these few numbers. Keep close and don't stray!" Dragon told Skull. They can complain after they escape.

"Wait!" Queen came to a halt and so did everyone else. They had to jump across some platforms if they wanted to keep going, but that wasn't the worst part. It seemed some Shadows were lingering around the back, just in case someone tried to break through. "Looks like we have a problem…."

"It appears as though all of the security isn't focused on Joker." Fox grit his teeth. "How do we proceed?"

"We don't have the time to stand and wait!" Noir took the lead, pulling out her rocket launcher. "We have to break through them, right?" She wasn't wrong. Time spent talking about how to escape could be better used TO escape. So without waiting for anyone's approval, she took aim and clicked the trigger. A rocket flew from the weapon and flew towards the Shadows, exploding and knocking them down, or killing them in an instant. "Go!"

The others didn't waste any time, quickly hopping along to cross the gap. Dragon pulled out her sniper rifle, taking aim at an airborne shadow that didn't die from the explosion. She finished it off with a swift headshot to prevent it from calling backup. "There…!"

"Nice, Dragon!" Panther grinned.

"I must say, your aim has gotten much better." Crow complimented.

"I appreciate that, but now is hardly the time!" Dragon said. She was right.

"It shouldn't be much further for us now…" Mona said as Skull kicked the door open. No time for subtlety.

Crow then narrowed his eyes, focusing on something that Oracle said. "You said something was coming Joker's way. That's not good, is it?"

"Probably not…" Oracle shook her head. But she was lying, she was familiar with this reading by now. She just couldn't say anything about it to Crow. "It feels like another person…"

"Could it be the one in the Black Mask? If Joker ran into him now…" Crow grumbled, feigning concern.

"Joker's gonna be just fine!" Panther exclaimed. "We just have to believe in him!"

"Yes…I suppose you have a point." Crow turned his head away, fighting the urge to smirk. "Belief will only get you so far. The end of this chase has already been decided…"

.

.

Joker sprinted through the corridors, coming to a halt after opening a door. He quickly crouched down because he saw an agent through the glass, but that agent was unable to find him. "Where'd they go!? Damn! No confirmation on the suspect's location." And so that agent ran off, searching for the elusive Phantom Thief.

Joker kept going and rounded a corner, only to quickly stagger backwards and hide. There was a man blocking the way. "Damn…" Only one thing to do. He had to swiftly move between the creates scattered about in the hallway to stay hidden. If he was smart about this, he could easily make his way past this man impeding his progress.

"Hey, are you sure he came this way? …Understood! I will continue the search!" The agent came up empty handed, but they were all certain Joker was so close. For now, this agent ran off, unaware that his target was only a few feet away from him. With the path clear, Joker started to run up the stairs…only to come to a halt once more. Another agent was blocking his path and it didn't look like he could get past this one so easily.

"Ugh! How many of them are there!?" This was starting to frustrate Oracle. There were far more agents scattered about than she expected.

"What's the matter?" Crow asked. "The security level will continue to rise if you take too long."

"I know! I'm just looking for an alternate route!" Oracle said.

"I found one." Joker looked up and found the perfect spot. He used his grappling hook to propel himself up to a higher floor. "I see a door."

"It's straight through the door!" Oracle was glad Joker found a way out. Joker was so close to escaping, now running through what appeared to be a storage room. Oracle then detected something that made him stop. "Joker, wait! There's an enemy right on top of you!"

Joker immediately backflipped as two shadows appeared in front of him. The moment he landed, several more spawned around him, completely surrounding him in a 1 vs 6 scenario. These Shadows actually had him surrounded and clearly he wasn't going to get out of this without a fight.

"Even you can't take this many….not right now…" Oracle grit her teeth.

"There are far too many…! Will he be alright…!" Dragon qorriedly asked.

"…I…huh…? That weird reading is on top of you too…!" Oracle warned.

That's when Violet slowly walked in from the other side of the storage room, her heels clicking along the floor. "Don't worry, Senpai. I'll end this right now.

"…!" Joker's eyes widen. He didn't expect to see Violet here. "Huh…?"

"Did you really think I was going to sit around and wait?" Violet said while drawing her rapier. She threw it across the room with precision, stabbing a Shadow in the chest from afar. The Shadow slumped over from the attack. With all attention on her, the Shadows began to attack. One swung its stun baton at her, but Violet was easily able to avoid it with her fantastic athletic prowess, flipping to the side. At the same time, she bent backwards, drew her musket, and fired, killing a Shadow instantly. With a few steps forward and a front flip, she aimed her musket at another shadow, firing it and taking that Shadow down, all while landing in a crouched position.

"…" Sometimes, it slipped Joker's mind how quickly Violet improved in such a short amount of time.

"Sorry for being late." Violet said while approaching the shadow she impaled, lifting her leg to kick her rapier from its chest, killing the Shadow while grabbing her sword. "It's been a while since you and I have fought side by side. It's my turn to help you now!" There were only three Shadows left; one transforming into an Arrogant Bird, while the other two were Oses. Violet and Joker stood side by side. "Let's do this, Senpai!"

"Right!" Joker nodded. Now the numbers were in their favor in a 2 vs 3 scenario. This was far more doable. The conflict started with the Arrogant bird creating a powerful cyclone of wind, shooting it towards the duo. Joker was able to dodge with ease, while Violet acted as if the attack wasn't even a nuisance, evading with angelic grace. "Arsene!" Arsne appeared and flew past the Arrogant Bird, confusing it briefly.

That was just a feint. All attention was on Arsene, when it really should have been on Violent. Violet's mask burned away and Cendrillon was summoned. "Let's dance, Cendrillon!" It was too late for the Shadows when they heard her. Cendrillon flew forward, aiming numerous, powerful slashes on all of the enemies within the blink of an eye. The severity of the strike was so much, they were all knocked down. "Now, Senpai!"

"On it!" Joker nodded. He and Violet lunged together for an All Out Attack before the enemy could even get their bearings straight. They wasted no time finishing off the enemies and the moment it was over, Joker let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks…you really saved me."

"I think that's the last of time?" Violet looked around, just in case.

"I…don't know what happened, but I take it that means you're okay?" It all happened so quickly, even Oracle needed a second to figure things out. But they were still in the oven, so they couldn't relax at all yet. "Wait, enemy backup is coming your way! You need to get out of there!"

"Please go, Senpai." Violet said while leaping up towards the window exit. "I'm going to make it harder for them to track you. You still have things you need to do, right?"

"Yeah…" Joker nodded, unable to help but smile. Violet was pretty good at this. He could only assume her own solo investigation of the Palace led her to this location. "But you…"

"I'm not a Phantom Thief right now. I'm just being a little selfish." Violet said with a smile of her own. "So, because of that…I have no right to interfere. But there's only one thing I have to ask of you, Senpai…don't forget the promise we made, okay?"

"Don't worry. I'll be back soon." Joker said with a nod.

"Joker! You need to get out of there! Go, go, go!" Oracle would keep pestering him until he was safe. "Up those stairs!"

Violet and Joker exchanged one more look. Violet gave a slow nod before leaping out the window. She wasn't officially apart of the Phantom Thieves in this instance, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to help them anyway she could. After all, she and Oracle still had a private communication line. "Sorry about that, Oracle. You guys can yell at me later if you want, ahah…."

As for Joker, he left the moment Violet did. He continued to sneak through the corridors, overhearing someone wanting all of the Thieves to be hunted down and killed. Wonderful. He finally came out to the stop floor, staring across the only way out: the large glass pane window. "…."

"Something wrong? The exit should be up ahead." Oracle said.

"Through there?" Joker asked. The only way out was the window…?

"Ngh…that's just how it is…" Oracle grunted.

"After that commotion on the bottom floor, it's…" Queen began.

"It's completely closed off. …Are you gonna make it?" Panther asked.

"Over there!" It appears that a few agents finally caught up to Joker, all of them pointing their guns out towards him. "There's nowhere to run!"

Joker didn't say anything, but his expression said he had other plans. He jumped onto the railing, much to the shock of the agents, and began to spring along towards the window. Once he was in front of it, he gave the agents a taunting smirk. "See ya!" And then he dove right through the window, flipping around as shards of glass, gleaming in the moonlight, fell beside him.

"What a show off…" Oracle was rolling her eyes. Joker couldn't see it, but he felt it.

"Was there really a need to be so extra…?" Dragon groaned. It worked, but that seemed like a bit much to her.

"You're so reckless, you know that?" Panther also had to join in on the eye rolling.

Joker stuck the landing, rolling into a crouch as the glass shards fell around him. It looked like he finally escaped his pursuers…but that was only just the beginning. The second he landed, numerous lights lit up in his face, causing him to cover his eyes briefly. Who was waiting for him? Only dozens upon dozens of cops, all armed with riot gear. "…Wh…."

"What…these readings…!?" Oracle was shaken. "Enemies here…?! It can't be…!?"

"What happened?!" Skull demanded to know.

"An ambush?!" Queen gasped.

"But how!?" Dragon asked. "T-There are so many…!?"

"Joker, can you handle this!?" Mona asked.

"Joker!" Fox, Crow, and Panther yelled.

"Oh no…!" Noir gasped.

"CAPTURE HIM!" A policeman yelled.

Time to go. Joker immediately bolted off to the right, the policemen hunting him down. "They're actually here?" Policemen in the Metaverse, color him surprised. However…because they were in the Metaverse, outrunning them was no problem for Joker. They couldn't hope to catch up with him and he ran to a nearby ladder, quickly climbing up while the policemen below could only watch. "See ya…!" And as he climbed up…there were a few policemen waiting for him, all of them pointing their guns at him. "…Oh shit."

"HAH!" A policemen slammed the butt of his rifle into Joker's face. There was nothing he could do in his position.

"GAAAH!" Joker grunted, falling from the ladder and onto the ground. The moment he heit the ground, he was surrounded, pinned down, and cuffed.

"Suspect secure!"

"Huh." The policeman in charge approached the pinned down Joker. "Didn't expect to find some kid." He then crouched down, gripping Joker harshly by his hair. "You have your teammate to thank for this. You were sold out."

"Ngh…" Joker couldn't muster a response.

"Cuff him." The policeman in charge dropped Joker and he was firmly cuffed. "And bring him down to the station." As he walked back to the police car, he turned to look at Joker once last time, a menacing smile appearing on his lips. "This is where the curtain falls on your little show, Phantom Thief."