The second Prison Keep was in the area where Miyabi Park would be in the real world. The Phantom Thieves made their way through the area with little difficulty, wiping out the mobs that attempted to stand their way. Oracle just finished hacking into a terminal that led the way to the second Prison Keep, and they dealt with the reinforcements that tried to stop her. "Whew. It feels nice to get back into the swing of things." Dragon said while swinging her staff around. It felt just as natural as it did in the past.

"I feel as though I'm back in fighting shape." Fox said. "I will admit, the Shadows here are a bit stronger than I anticipated, however."

"Probably because it's been a while." Joker responded. "I doubt we're actually as strong as we were when we were last in the Metaverse."

"I think that's about right." Mona said. "We've retained our Persona power and all, but it's only natural to fall behind a bit when you're not doing this as frequently. Plus, the Shadows do seem a bit stronger already as well. But as long as we keep this pace, I'm sure we'll be just fine. After all, we have the numbers."

"It is a pretty big group…" Queen glanced around. "Considering our size, it is still best to move carefully and as needed. All of us can contribute to a fight, but moving around as such a large group will no doubt draw unwanted attention." As she said this, they stepped forward through the path that led to the second Prison Keep, and the moment they did, an Archangel appeared in front of them.

"How did you get in here!? Where are the guards!?" The Archangel questioned.

"Oh. We took most of them out already." Panther said while pointing behind her. She answered the question a little too honestly for the Archangel's liking.

"How dare you! In the name of Her Majesty, you shall go no further!" The Archangel unsheathed his blade and charged forward, only to be intercepted by Fox's blade. "Huh?"

"Unfortunately for you, you are in our way. So we will be removing you one way or another." With another fierce slash, Fox managed to push the Archangel back, much to the Shadows annoyance. "Gorokichi!" Fox's Persona appeared, flying through the air to slash at the Archangel to further push him back.

"Gah!" The Archangel cried out before regaining himself in the air. He held his sword up, numerous spheres of light forming all around him. "Face judgement!" He pointed his sword forward, unleashing these spheres towards the Phantom Thieves.

"Aegis!" Bella appeared in front of Dragon, holding her shield forward as the spheres of light exploded against her. There was a blinding light that filled the area for a brief moment, before Panther and Joker leapt from it.

"What?!" The Archangel gasped.

"As long as Dragon stands…" Joker began, summoning Pyro Jack by his side.

"You're not getting past us!" Panther finished, Celestine appearing in front of her. The combined efforts of Pyro Jack and Celestine created a gigantic fireball that struck and exploded against the Archangel, sending him into a wall.

"Grr…" The Archangel didn't appreciate this from intruders. So in a burst of anger and desperation, he flew forward while Panther and Joker were in the air. He twisted his body, slamming his blade into the both of them with enough force to send them crashing to the ground. "How dare you defy Her Majesty!"

"Agh!" Joker grunted when he hit the ground.

"That hurt…" Panther felt that blow pretty hard.

"Are you two okay?!" Sophie asked.

Dragon lifted her hand into the sky, before pointing it at the Archangel. "Megidoloan." An explosion of almighty magic occurred on the Archangel in that moment. It was a little over the top and very destructive, but seeing Panther hurt like that just triggered an instinctive reaction. When the explosion faded, the Archangel was no more. "…Perhaps I over did it a little."

"I don't see the problem. I think you handled that perfectly." Of course that would come from Noir.

"Geez." Skull rubbed the back of his neck. Once again, his assertion that the girls on the team were not only scary, but also outnumbered them, was still true.

"And that's why we don't mess with Dragon." Oracle nodded a few times, just trying to brush that whole thing off.

"…I guess we should begin climbing the tower now, huh?" Violet was already on the way. The others followed her up the tower to grab the second core. She held it in her hands, staring at it quizzically. "This is…a magazine?" Alice was on the cover on it, and the words at the top read UN UN.

"She made the cover of UN UN?" Noir said with a surprised gasp. "That's a really famous magazine."

"I don't even think Mika's made it onto that yet, and I know she's just dying for it. I guess that's another reason she doesn't like Alice…" Panther muttered to herself.

"A widely recognized symbol of power. Mona's theory is being proven with each turn." Fox surmised. There was a connection after all.

"…And she would've been famous if she hadn't been doing all of this…" Once that thought hit her head, Panther couldn't help but frown.

"Panther…" Queen also frowned. "Then what reason did she have? Did she even have one at all?"

"Whatever the reason is, I'd like to know." Violet said.

"There's only one core left." Oracle reported. "It's located at Bunkamachi."

"Oh, that's quite the cultural hotspot." Fox said. "It is home to a large ballet hall as well."

"Ballet?" Sophie questioned. "Oh – I've got it. Where wealthy people have others park their vehicles for them."

Fox and Noir cleared their throats. "That's valet, actually…" They both responded at the same time, correcting Sophie on her misunderstanding.

.

.

On their way through the Jail once more, the group noticed something strange in the next area. They were to locate a few generators to flip the power to a terminal on, so Oracle could hack it properly. They found one and managed to flip it, but as for the other two… "Strange." Sophie tilted her head.

"Did you find one?" Violet asked.

"I did. But it was already on." Sophie replied. "I have not yet made contact with it."

"Seriously?" Panther decided to take a look as well, along with Joker and Noir. "Wow, it really is on…"

"…Did someone forget to turn it off?" That was the only thing Joker could think of.

"…" Oracle furrowed her brows. Something about this wasn't right. But she could think about that later. With no evidence to back up any theory she could have, it was best to just focus on the mission ahead. "Well, that means I can hack the terminal now! Just give me a few seconds and I'll crack that bad boy open like nobody's business!"

.

.

It wasn't long before they reached Bunkamachi. Every place where Alice's influence reigned strongly resembled Wonderland in some way. They could spot the final Prison Keep in the distance, but… "The walls are just as high as the others…" Skull groaned.

"I don't see any way inside either. I suspect the gates are going to be locked as well." Fox said. It was an educated guess considering what they've been through so far.

"Hmmm…" Dragon decided to start leaping up to gain some elevation. The others followed suit so they could better survey the area. "Where to find a point of entry…"

"What about the Ferris Wheel?" Joker pointed off to the distance. Up ahead, there was a powered down Ferris Wheel with a line that led directly to the Prison Keep.

"I dunno. The line doesn't look taut enough for us to use." Oracle said. It was a good idea, but so long as their wire wasn't sturdy, it wasn't worth the risk.

"What if we turned on the Ferris Wheel?" Panther suggested. "That should tighten the line up for us to use, right?"

"Brilliant idea, Panther!" Mona said with a wide grin.

"You know, that truly could work." Queen nodded. "Let's try it out." So they went off to the Ferris wheel, carefully creeping around any security that stood in the way. They've done a lot within the Jail already, so it was no surprise security was starting to get on high alert.

They made it to the Ferris Wheel controls, where thankfully it was on. Skull let out a sigh of relief. "And here I was thinking we'd have to go huntin' for more generators."

"Nope! Everything's already taken care of." Oracle smiled, pressing a few buttons to turn the Ferris Wheel on. It began to spin, thus tightening the wire properly so they could use it as a wire.

"It did work! Your idea was excellent, Panther." Dragon gave Panther a smile, and she gave a sheepish one in turn. "Let us go!" With that, the Phantom Thieves climbed aboard the wire and rode it all the way down into the final Prison Keep, completely skipping conflict down below.

At least…so they thought. But there was a Shadow waiting for them in front of the final object. This Shadow was different from the others; while it did pose as basic security, there were blue sparks around it. "Stop!" Oracle held her hands out, causing everyone to stop and not take a single step closer. "That Shadow is crazy power…! A cut above the ones we've fought here so far!"

"I guess this is the head honcho of security." Joker said while crossing his arms.

"If you intend to defile Her Majesty's rule, you must get through me first." The Dire Shadow spoke, before transforming into a Killer Teddy Bear. This grotesque bear floated above the Phantom Thieves. "But only four of you at most will get to fight me at a time."

"It doesn't want to fight all of us?" Noir blinked.

"If any more than four of you attempt to strike me down, I will have security flood this location in an instant." It was a threat from the Killer Teddy Bear. The last thing the Phantom Thieves needed now, when they were so close to disabling the search lights, was for their efforts to be halted. That, and the Dire Shadow was clearly confident in its abilities.

"Looks like we don't have a choice but to play by it's rules." Queen disliked the idea, but anything was better than being overrun by Shadows. "I suppose this is how the last line of defense will act…"

"Don't worry about it." Skull said while rotating his arm. "Four is just fine! Right Joker?"

"You got it." Joker nodded. "Mona, Fox, let's make this quick." The girls got to have their fun earlier, so it was the boys' time to show off.

"You can do it, Senpais!" Violet cheered. The girls were fine standing back, but if on the wild chance things got hairy, they would intervene.

"HAH!" The Killer Teddy Bear spun around, sending multiple orbs of psychic energy towards Joker, Mona, Fox, and Skull to strike them down. Mona acted fast, pulling out his slingshot and firing off multiple pellets at once. These pellets flew out in a spread shot, colliding and exploding against the Mapsio attack, creating an explosion within the Prison Keep.

With smoke serving as cover, Skull used this as his chance to attack. "William!" His masked burned away and the pirate captain appeared before him, firing off multiple bolts of lightning towards the Killer Teddy Bear. Unfortunately for him, the Dire Shadow was fast, evading each shot of lightning before retaliating. The Bear flew forward, slamming its fist into Skull's crossed arms. The impact was strong, and Skull found himself sliding before tumbling onto the ground. "Gah…!"

"Take this!" Fox and Joker attempted to strike the moment the Bear knocked Skull down, but a pool of darkness spawned underneath the Bear, hands flying out from all directions to swat the two Phantom Thieves down with force. They stuck the landing, but they felt the impact of those hits. "I see…this one truly is not like the others."

"It was nice confirming that." Joker said with a slight grin. Now he could start feeling that old rush again. "Mona, hold it down!"

"Got it!" Mona said. "Diego!" His Persona appeared, thrusting his rapier forward to create a funnel of wind to strike the Bear. The Bear was still swift, flying all around the Prison Keep to evade Mona's attacks, much to the cat's annoyance. "Hold still!" And then, a bolt of lightning caught the unaware Bear by surprise, courtesy of Skull and William.

"Yeah, you didn't like that, did ya!?" Skull said with a grin.

"Not bad, Skull." Mona said with a huff, before pushing the offensive. Diego moved forward, punching at the Bear to take advantage of its shock, and slam it into the ground. "Take that!"

"Gh…" The Bear slowly picked itself up. Then, multiple blasts of nuclear magic were sent their way. The blasts were so widespread; the girls nearly got caught up in it as well, if not for Dragon's last second defense.

"Hey, you stupid bear! If you hit us, we're gonna say screw your stupid rules!" Panther shouted.

The boys were able to mostly avoid the nuclear explosions, with a few aftershocks getting them here and there, but they also weren't stopping, so he went on the offensive to turn the tide. "Raoul!" Raoul appeared before Joker, firing off multiple blasts of curse magic to meet the opposition in the middle. "Fox!"

"I'm on it!" Fox lunged forward after casting Sukukaja on himself, giving him a potent boost in speed. The Bear had fast reaction times, but he was faster now. So by the time he lunged from the smoke, he caught their foe by surprise with his frozen sword. "I will put you to the sword!" Fox landed a direct hit, the Bear recoiling from the blow, and thus being thrown off balance. Which meant…

"NOW!" The four Phantom Thieves jumped the Killer Teddy Bear at once, striking it with all kinds of blows. Joker's knife, Skull's pipe, Mona's saber, and Fox's blade. The four of them then landed in front of the Dire Shadow and struck a pose. "And that is the curtain call." Fox said, as the Dire Shadow exploded and faded into nothing. That was a victory for the Phantom Thieves.

"Nice work you guys!" Noir clasped her hands together. "I was never worried, but I did want to take the Bear to my axe." A shame, but there wasn't much that could be done.

"Now then, let's see what this last item is!" Oracle was eager to find out. It was… a CD.

"The last core is a CD?" Dragon tilted her head.

"Oh, I recognize that album." Noir said after giving the CD a good look. "Its songs are on plenty of advertisements these days."

"That's Alice's biggest album. The one that's been at the top of the charts for weeks now…" Panther didn't enjoy the pieces being put together.

"So…'zat means it's a scam? Did she blow up because she changed so many hearts?" Skull asked. It was a valid question, but not one Panther wanted to answer just yet.

"I wonder…" Violet was thinking about it. If Alice truly did change into someone so sadistic and cruel, she also wanted to find out why.

"We can ask her ourselves when we storm her castle!" Dragon boasted. "It is time we put a stop to her madness."

"We took out the searchlights, right?" Joker looked towards Sophie, who nodded.

"Correct – the search lights should be off now." Sophie confirmed.

"Good. We have to stop her as soon as possible now." Mona was ready for this. They all were.

.

.

But within the Castle, Shadow Alice herself wasn't so amused. "What's with all the commotion out there? It'd better be good." The two Shadows standing before her were already too nervous to deliver the news.

"Well…the group we dumped underground returned." One Shadow reported. "It's possible the other intruder is with them as well…"

"Those boys and girl from the other day?" Shadow Alice scoffed. "Come to get back at me, huh? I can't seize their Desires – they're all useless to me. But really, couldn't you handle something so simple on your own?"

"Our deepest apologies…."

Shadow Alice rolled her eyes at the pathetic apology that she had the displeasure of hearing. "Ugh, you're alllll USELESS. So, get it done, or I'm getting rid of you." She stood from her throne, twirling her baton with violent intent to get her point across. "Well? Anything to say?"

"W-We'll take care of it…!"

"Great! I can't wait." Shadow Alice mused. Once the Shadows left, Alice hummed in an amused manner. "You're a real surprise, Joker. Now I'm starting to want you all to myself…I'm sure it'll ruin that girl who tried to strike me too…" Ah…she was going to have so much fun with this. Things were going her way, and she was doing everything in her power to ensure it stayed that way.

.

.

With the searchlights finally taken care of, the Phantom Thieves planned to rush Alice's castle as fast as they could. They were in the Shibuya Crossing when suddenly numerous lights flashed on them and alarms blared loudly. "W-What the-!?" Panther gasped.

The gate to Alice's Castle closed shut, and dozens upon dozens of Shadows appeared in front of it protectively. "Crap! Roadblock!" Oracle yelped.

"So much for the front door…!" Dragon grit her teeth.

"Look at their numbers…" Queen said. They've handled such numbers before, but this situation absolutely did not call for a fight.

"Dammit, what is this!? We can't reach the castle like this!" Skull shouted.

"We'd just finished off the searchlights too…" Noir pouted.

"I guess we did do a lot in here. Looks like we finally got Alice's full attention." Mona grunted.

"I think this calls for a full scale retreat. If we fight, we'd crash from exhaustion sooner or later." Dragon suggested.

"Just what I was thinking. We can come back another time." Joker said. Everyone was fine with this idea and opted to retreat for the time being. There was no point in continuing the fight when the situation was skewed out of their favor.

.

.

By the time the group returned to reality, and in Yogen, it was already night time. "It's grown quite late, hasn't it?" Haru didn't realize how much time passed. It was around noon when they entered Alice's Jail.

"Man, what are we gonna do? That wall ain't coming down anytime soon…" Ryuji was pressed on how they could overcome that wall. If they couldn't, their operation came to a complete standstill.

"Wait," Yusuke said. "A more pressing issue's arisen…" His stomach growled. "I'm quite famished."

"You know…I'm pretty hungry too." Sumire rubbed her stomach. "I didn't think we'd be finished this late…"

"Oh, wow, what an issue! Come on guys, get serious…" Ryuji said this and then his stomach roared too. How embarrassing. "Okay, I'm pretty famished too."

Haru giggled at this. "Let's get something to eat. We can't have any good ideas on an empty stomach."

"Hungry? I'll find a restaurant for you." Sophia said from Sumire's phone.

"No need!" Futaba shook her head. "Our destination's already set. Sojiro's curry or bust! I bet he'll hook all of you up too!"

"I'm beginning to understand why PE is the class you struggle with the most…" Hifumi sighed and shook her head. A diet of curry only was not a proper one for physical excursion. Like she could talk, though.

"Hey, it worked for me." Ren shrugged.

"Take it easy on Boss." Makoto said with her own sigh. "He's already treated us plenty." She didn't want to get TOO much from Sojiro, she'd feel bad even if he offered.

"Ehhh…I don't even care…"

"What's that…?" Morgana's ears perked up at the noise. "A fight?"

A drunken office worker was stumbling down the street, a coworker trying to calm him down. "All those stupid co workers *hic* making me look like crap…."

"Oh, it's okay sir…" The coworker said. He noticed the group and tried to wave them aside. "Hey! Kids! Get outta the way!"

"Just some plastered suit…" Ryuji groaned.

"Huh?" The drunken man looked over at the group. "Whadder these lil shits doin' out…" He walked forward, his eyes landing on Ann. "Hey…you're a real looker. Howzabout you'n I go back to my place an…" A creepy laugh followed suit.

"H-Hey, cut it out…!" Ann shook her head.

That's when Hifumi stepped forward, one arm placed in front of Ann, while the other held her hand, her green eyes narrowing into a glare at the drunken man. "…She's taken and not your cheap entertainment. I'm afraid you're going to have to look elsewhere."

"Fumi…" Ann's eyes widened a bit, followed by a soft smile.

"Great thinking, Hifumi! Making that guy think Lady Ann is taken will definitely get him to back off." Morgana said, not getting the hint.

"Um..." Sumire really wanted to correct him. But now wasn't the time.

Offended that this girl spoke up, the drunken man now glared at her. "Aw, you wanna fight?"

"I have spray in my purse and I am not afraid to use it…" Hifumi replied, refusing to back down on this matter.

"Please, don't work him up anymore than he is already!" The coworker of the drunken man did not want this situation to escalate.

"Aw, thassit! I'm gonna – I'm gonna teach y'all some manners!" The Drunk man said.

"If you don't walk away…" Makoto was going to intervene if she needed to, and it looked like she had to.

"Alright, break it up. That's enough." Zenkichi walked in from the direction of Leblanc. He was watching the situation and decided this was the best time to intervene.

"Who the hell is this?" The drunk man asked.

"Hmmm. How should I put this?" Zenkichi pondered for only a moment. "I'm just a knight in shining armor." And just like that, all of the tension in the air completely deflated.

"…Uh, what?" Ann blinked.

"You fancy yourself a knight?" Hifumi tilted her head.

"That's weird." Futaba added.

"Why did he say that…?" Sumire looked to the others. They had no idea.

"Yeah!? Well…I'm gonna punch yer lights out!" The drunk man stumbled forward with violet intent. He threw a punch, and that was all Zenkichi needed to retaliate, throwing the man on his ass and knocking him out cold.

"Careful now! Oooh, you really ate it there…you okay?" Zenkichi asked.

"Uhhhh…you totally knocked him on his ass…" Ryuji was in disbelief.

"Hey now, you saw that. That was legitimate self-defense." Zenkichi replied with a shrug.

"I can't help but feel like he's dancing on a fine line here…" Sumire said with a sweat drop.

"Hey, this is assault!" The sober co worker said. "Do you want me to call the cops?!"

And at that moment, Zenkichi flashed his badge. "I am the cops."

"Oh crap!? A cop! I'm so sorry!" And the coworker fled the scene, leaving the unconscious man on the ground.

"No, wait, take this guy with you!" Zenkichi shouted, but it was far too late. The man was gone. "Not a very good subordinate, huh? I guess this guy'll come to eventually." So he turned around to the group. "Well folks, you alright now?"

"We were handling it, but thanks I guess…" Ren said.

"It's no problem, it's my job after all." Zenkichi replied.

"Don't get too chummy." Yusuke narrowed his eyes at Zenkichi. "This man is most likely with Public Security."

"Ooh, good guess – although it may be common knowledge, considering the number of tails on you." Zenkichi said, gesturing behind them. "For example, you notice the one over there yet?" There was a man hiding behind the telephone pole, his cover completely broken now.

"Dumbass! What are you doing!?" The man grunted.

"Haha, sorry! My bad. Could you bring this drunk in for me?" Zenkichi asked, but the officer had no choice now that he was caught.

"What the hell is with this guy?" Ryuji couldn't believe it.

"Suspicion levels are off the charts." Futaba huffed.

"I agree, Futaba-senpai." Sumire nodded.

"I already don't like him." Haru also nodded.

"What does someone from Public Security want with us?" Makoto asked.

With all the stares he was getting, Zenkichi knew how to ease the tension. "Hey now, no need for those looks. I actually have a reason for being here." He looked directly at Ren. "Ren Amamiya, I need to speak with you." He then looked in the direction of Leblanc. "What say we grab some coffee over there? I heard their curry's pretty killer too."