They finally found the Treasure to Shido's Palace. Now all that was left was to leave and prepare the calling card. Before that, however, Noir and Oracle planned on giving Akechi his just desserts. With some quick thinking and action by Oracle, and Violet, they were able to escape Cognitive Akechi's ambush and lock him the boiler room below decks. Noir stood over Akechi, glaring deep into his soul. Her father's killer was at her mercy, yet after everything that just happened, she felt some empathy for him…as much as she hated to admit it. "I will never forgive you for what you did to my father."

"I don't expect you to." Akechi replied while looking up at Noir. After being defeated and somehow still alive, he wasn't exactly sure what to feel in the moment. The animosity in his eyes died and was replaced with uncertain emptiness. "So I can only ask what you intend to do about it. Will killing me make you happy?"

"…." Noir was silent, her hand gripping the handle of her axe. "When I learned the truth, I thought that would. But after what just happened, I hate to say that I feel a twinge of sympathy for you."

Oracle swallowed the lump in her throat. She was content with allowing Noir to do all the talking, but this involved her too. So she overcame the anxiety and stepped forward. "I…I feel the same way. Honestly, if you do plan on working with us to bring Shido down…I can't say the thought of being around you doesn't make my stomach churn. Working with the person who killed my mom? There's a part of me that doesn't want to do that…but seeing how Shido thinks of you, seeing how you really feel, I can't just turn away from that either."

"Do you still believe that it doesn't matter where I start over?" Akechi didn't move. He felt like if he tried, Noir would just push him back down.

"…I still do." Oracle gave a slight nod. "I'm not going to back on that. You've done a lot of bad things. You've ruined lives and destroyed families, but it's never too late to do the right thing. What do you want to do, Akechi?"

"I want to destroy Shido, you know that." Akechi replied, his gaze drifting elsewhere. Learning that he was next on Shido's list to get rid of opened his eyes. Would he even have had a chance to get his revenge the normal way? Was everything he attempted to accomplish for nothing in the long run? He didn't know anymore. He expected to die in the boiler room and throw all of that away. Dying with that doubt seemed better than living with the uncertainty that now plagued him.

"Like I said, you won't be leaving this Palace a free man." Noir didn't look away from Akechi for a second. "If you truly want to stop Shido…then answer me one question. Do you regret killing my father and Oracle's mother?"

"…." Akechi fell completely silent. That wasn't a question he could answer right now, not when his mind was the way it was. But that word regret kept popping up in his mind for a while now. It plagued him for reasons he couldn't understand why. Did he truly regret those actions…? "…" Ultimately, he couldn't answer. He knew damn well that 'I don't know' wasn't an acceptable answer, considering the damage he did to Noir and Oracle's lives.

"Can't answer? I see." Noir sucked her teeth. "Fine then…from this very moment, your life is mine. If you want to stop Shido, then you'll have to do everything I say."

"Pardon?" Akechi blinked, becoming very confused by Noir's demands.

"You've done too much damage to be left alone as a free man." Noir said. "Even now, I still don't trust you. If you want to stop Shido, you have to do what I say, when I say it. That starts with turning yourself in once this is all said and done…and that's just the beginning. This is the least you can do after you killed my father for your idea of revenge. If those terms aren't acceptable, I don't mind throwing you back inside the ship with the Cognitive you."

"…Yeah, what she said." Oracle couldn't sound nearly as threatening or imposing as her friend, but she had the same sentiment. The others only watched. It's all they could do.

Akechi let out a dry laugh. "So my strings still aren't my own? Wonderful." He was still capable of sarcasm, but he slowly sat up now. Of course hd didn't like the idea of being under someone's thumb, yet, it was unfortunately his only choice at the moment. So he would swallow that bitter pill for now. "If that's what it takes for me to stop Shido, then so be it. We have an agreement."

"Wait, are you sure about this?" Fox questioned. "There is a chance he could betray us again."

"He's not lying, though…" Dragon mentioned.

"Rat you out again? Don't be ridiculous." Akechi scoffed at the notion. "What am I going to tell him? I failed to kill the Phantom Thieves Leader? If I reported to him with that news, he may get rid of me sooner than he planned. I may have this power in the Metaverse, but in reality, Shido holds more. You've seen his connections as you traverse this ship. He can sneeze a high schooler off the map. Not to mention, your prodding around here in his Palace has begun to affect him."

"…How so?" Joker asked.

"I knew something was off when he mentioned the word anxiety. Today was the first day that I've heard him utter that word. Clearly, he's beginning to enter a vulnerable state and is unaware of it." Akechi explained. "If something goes wrong, who knows what course of action he may take. I know now that I am no longer as safe as I thought I was."

Akechi made several good points. Still, the Phantom Thieves were uneasy. "…What should we do?" Violet asked. "Should we trust him?"

"Betraying us a second time would put him at risk." Mona summarized Akechi's explanation. "If he means what he says, it's in his best interest to work with us for a while longer."

"But I want him in jail after we're done." Noir quickly added. She despised the thought of Akechi escaping consequences for his actions.

"So you're granting me a mercy by allowing me to confront Shido with you…" Akechi understood.

"You took my father's future from him, but I'm not pushing the blame solely on you anymore." Noir turned her back to Akechi. "Shido is the one who made the decision. He's the one who decided my father had to die, all because of some blowback. You're good at taking futures, so I'm going to use that to my own end and make the man who ordered my Father's death pay. And let it be clear: I don't trust you. But I trust Dragon when she says you aren't lying, and we've already defeated you. So we can do it again if we must."

"…Eesh." Skull rubbed the back of his neck. No one faulted Noir for her anger, but hearing her say that was chilling. Shaking his head, he then gave a smirk. "We'll make sure that asshole pays for everything he's done!"

"Yeah!" Panther agreed. "But….right now, I'm so freaking beat."

"Me too…" Queen let out a heavy sigh. "We're in no condition to do much right now."

"So let's head back." Joker said. "We can regroup at Leblanc tomorrow. It's almost time for the last trains anyway."

Akechi fully stood up now. "I'll stay out of your way and keep to myself…"

"Ah…we have to add him to the real group chat now, don't we?" Violet turned to the others.

"I guess…" Skull let out a sigh.

.

.

Ren returned to Leblanc, tired. It was already closing time, but there was one thing he had enough time for. Kawakami arrived to Leblanc in her maid outfit, to avoid being recognized. A teacher going to a student's residence at this hour would raise some eyebrows, and she wanted to avoid that. Kawakami walked up to Ren's room with a bag in hand. "I bought the stuff you wanted."

Ren was at his workbench, working on a few Thieves Tools. The battle with Shido was rapidly approaching so he wanted to be prepared. "Thanks." Since Ren was 'dead' to the public, it wasn't too wise for him to spend too much time out. Just in case. That said, he still had things he needed to do, and luckily Kawakami was willing to lend him a hand.

Kawakami took a seat on the couch, handing the bag to Ren. "It's a lot of weird stuff…but is everything okay?" She asked, giving him a concerned look. Even though she knew that he was okay, hearing the news that the Phantom Thieves leader died was still nerve wracking.

"I'm alright. Things are about to hit the climax…" Ren said, giving Kawakami a reassuring smile. "We're going to settle this once and for all."

"I see." Kawakami did feel at ease with Ren's smile. She was worried about him as a friend and a teacher. There was only so much she could do in her position, however. She lifted a hand and started to pet Morgana, who didn't move away. "I don't know entirely what's going on, but I know you'll be able to see it through to the end. If you need anything else, let me know. And let me know when I can expect you back in school. Playing dead isn't an excuse to stop your studies."

Ren started to sweat. Truthfully he wasn't thinking about school much these days. Kawakami just gave him a nice reminder. "Don't worry, I'm studying." He lied in her face in a quick panic.

Kawakami just had a coy smile. She knew that Ren was lying, but he was under enough pressure as is, so she decided to let it slide…..for now. "You better." She then stood up and dusted her maid outfit off. "Do you want a massage before I go? You look exhausted."

Ren had to think for a moment. Well…it wouldn't hurt. "Okay, sure." Ren nodded in agreement. But about five minutes later, when he was on his stomach, he was absolutely flabbergasted at the amount of pressure Kawakami was capable of applying. "What in the world is this!? She's so strong!?"

"Wow, you're so stiff…" Kawakami was surprised, kneading the muscles in Ren's back to loosen him up. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing!" She was applying plenty of force and Ren wasn't prepared for it at all.

"S-Sure…I trust you…" Ren wasn't sure if he'd last. But when Kawakami finished, he felt all the stress and tension and leave his body. Kawakami really knew what she was doing. "Holy…."

"All done!" Kawakami smiled. "I have to get going now. But don't be afraid to call me again if you need anything." With that, Kawakami made her exit.

"…Why didn't I ask for this sooner?" Ren rubbed his back, a look of complete disbelief on his face. He felt like he had the energy to stay up all night…!

.

.

November 27th.

It was a Sunday, so nobody had school. Ren woke up and went downstairs to greet Sojiro. Futaba was already there. "Hey, morning."

"Morning. How did things go?" Sojiro asked.

"We're just about ready to attack, but we still have to iron out a few more details." Ren explained. "Speaking of details…we're bringing someone in. So promise me you'll stay calm."

In Sojiro's experience, that was never a good thing to hear. "What's happening?" The doorbell chimed as someone stepped through the door. It was Haru who arrived first…and she dragged Akechi with her. "…What? Why'd you bring this guy here? Didn't he try to kill you!?"

"Yeah, he sure did. But he's harmless now. We had a…chat." That was the best way Ren could explain it.

"We kicked his butt." Haru said with a smile. "And now he's doing whatever I tell him to."

"Okay." Sojiro was just going to accept that at face value and not ask questions.

"…" Akechi didn't say anything at first. "It was a humbling experience. And I cannot go back to Shido now. If he learns that I failed in my mission, he would get rid of me…granted, that was his plan from the very beginning."

Sojiro narrowed his eyes towards Akechi. He was in the field of not trusting Akechi, but it seemed that Ren, Haru, and the others had it covered…even if he didn't like the idea of Wakaba's killer being in his store. "You're the one that decided to work for Shido. You should've known that would've been a possibility. It's Shido." Having said his piece, he decided to exit the shop. "I just remembered I have do so some shopping before we open up." So he left, just as the others piled in.

"This feels awkward." Kasumi said. The atmosphere in Leblanc did not feel great. It was largely due to Akechi's presence.

"No kidding." Ann agreed. Still, everyone took their seats. They had important matters to discuss. "So…how exactly are we gonna send this calling card? And when are we going to send it?"

"The first thing he's going to do is contact me." Akechi was taking the furthest seat away, since he figured nobody would want to sit near him. He was right in that assumption, yet Hifumi was the closest one too him. It was probably out of pity, he assumed. "But outside of communicating with the rest of you, I've gone dark."

"No more media appearance I take it?" Hifumi asked. Akechi nodded.

"There's another thing you should all take note of." Akechi crossed his arms, all eyes on him. "Shido has done extensive research in the Metaverse."

"Because he stole it from my mom." Futaba said, bitterly.

Akechi had no response and just decided to keep going. "Despite having no methods to stop me from rampaging in his Palace, he had a means to counter me. He hasn't shared all of his information with me, but I wouldn't be surprised if he has a method to stop a change of heart…or a way to kill everyone while we're within the Palace."

"You make a good point." Makoto stroked her chin in thought. "This is an opponent unlike any other. He knows how things work, and most importantly, he's not alone."

"We have to deal with his Shadow on top of that." Hifumi added. She knew there was no chance of them stealing Shido's Treasure without a fight. "But before we can even get that far, we don't know how to send the calling card."

"Yeah, that's gonna be tough." Ryuji was fresh out of ideas.

"Um…we can use a method from before, right?" Kasumi offered.

"Which method?" Morgana looked at Kasumi.

"We have to put it in a place he can see it, right? We don't have to deliver it to him in person." Kasumi said. She made an exceptionally good point.

"That's right, we did the same with Kaneshiro." Yusuke nearly forgot about that. Most of their calling cards were hand delivered, with only a few exceptions.

"And we did that with Kamoshida, too!" Ryuji was the one who took care of the very first calling card after all.

"So we have the idea, but not the method…" Ren leaned back in his seat. Shido was their strongest opponent thus far in more ways than one.

Futaba was on her laptop, grinning up a storm. While they were talking, she was preparing something. "I've got the perfect idea! We're going to launch a Futaba cannon at Shido!"

Naturally, Futaba got a few strange looks when she said that. "Futaba Cannon?" Haru tilted her head.

"That's right. It's gonna take me a few days, maybe the end of today at least, but you guys will love it. It'll be the perfect way to attack Shido, trust me!" Futaba was in the zone now. Just the mere thought of what she had in store had her so giddy.

"That's our Futaba. Always coming up with frightening ideas." Makoto said this with endearment. "But if that's the case, all that we need next is when to send it. What are your thoughts, Ren?"

"I know when I want to send it." Ren sat up in his seat, all eyes now on him. "We're going to do the same thing we did with Sae-san."

"Eh?" Ann blinked. "What do you mean…?"

"You want to send it at the last possible moment." Akechi clarified. "The same idea that I suggested."

"Yeah, but this time we don't have to worry about a police ambush." That was indeed a shot at Akechi. Ren kept going. "One thing that stands out is that Shido can probably prepare for us at a moment's notice, and we don't know how long his change of heart is going to take. We have to stop him before the election, and that's the best time to do it. If we tackle him just before the election, I bet it'll leave him extremely vulnerable."

"Of course! We mount an attack at the last moment." Hifumi liked this idea.

"Not only will he have to scramble for a defense, but it will limit his options as well." Makoto was smiling at this idea. "There wouldn't be enough time for him to recover either."

"I think this could work." Hifumi was confident in their chances. "I don't know how I can pass the time until then, but I feel as though that is the case every time."

"Hehehe…" Futaba let out a laugh that would make a gremlin jealous. "This is gonna be amazing! You guys are gonna love it. I'm going to start typing up a script too! So you all better memorize your lines!"

"Uh…?" Ryuji scratched his head. Just what in the world was Futaba planning?

Haru turned her gaze to Akechi. "Don't forget what happens when this is all over."

"Yes, I know." Akechi crossed his arms. "Once this is all over, I'll be telling my share of the story. But considering the fact I'm being given the chance to end Shido, I suppose it's a small price to pay." Prior to this moment, he did believe he was going to get away with everything he's done…but life wasn't like that. He was a naïve fool and he saw that now. He went down a path of darkness and destruction, and he really expected to emerge unscathed? No wonder Shido thought of him as a puppet.

"So it looks like we have a plan?" Ann asked.

"Yeah." Ren gave a firm nod, looking at everyone present in Leblanc right now. Morgana, Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Hifumi, Futaba, Haru, Kasumi…and now Akechi. It wasn't an easy road to get to this point, they had a number of ups and downs, but their final opponent was just over the horizon. Their final battle was approaching. "We'll pull the rug out from under Shido at the last second, and make sure he doesn't have the chance to stand up. Before December ends, we're going to take his heart!"