A/N: sithlorde1988 here with another chapter of Persona 5- The Amamiya Files! I took a small gap after the last chapter to relax after I had to split the last chapter across two separate days of typing to get it done! But hopefully I have it back where I can get it done in a single day again! That said, the aim here is to get through the first Palace within the next chapter or two (three tops!) so I can start the next arc to some extent after that.
And yes odds are each separate Palace will likely have its' own arc to go with it (with the possible exception of the fourth Palace, but that's not for certain if I'll skip an arc on that Palace or not so we'll say maybe on that one for now) but staying on topic, the story should hopefully not be as large in terms of story chapters to Palace ratio. Hopefully being the keyword there. But we'll see what happens. Anyways, let's get to the disclaimer right now before I forget!
Disclaimer: sithlorde1988 does not own the Persona series in any way, shape or form (aside from the OC Kusa/Draconis who he DOES own) and all credit for owning the Persona series belongs to Sega and Atlus (and Koei Tecmo to a point in the case of the Strikers/Scramble chapters when we get to them) so yeah they get credit for owning the Persona series!
And with that disclaimer of sorts out of the way, let's go ahead and get on with the next chapter!
Chapter 9- The Infiltration Continues! Seeds of Will! Phantoms Awaken part 9
(Kamoshida's Palace, East Building 3F safe room, with Joker, Skull, Mona, Panther and Draconis, neutral POV)
Joker looked at the others before nodding and walking over to the door and subtly nodding again as the others stood up and Mona spoke up.
"Let's go." Mona said as the others nodded before resuming their infiltration. After a bit they found and ambushed another Shadow, in this case a 'Mad Marsh Horse' as it was identified in-battle. After some trial and error, Joker managed to stumble upon the Mad Marsh Horse's weakness to Lightning. After seeing this, Joker and Skull downed the twin Mad Marsh Horses as the less weakened Mad Marsh Horse looked at Joker and spoke up.
"What you plan to do to me?" the less weakened Mad Marsh Horse asked Joker as Mona spoke up after looking the Mad Marsh Horse over.
"What's this Shadow so damn happy about? Let's just play along." Mona said to Joker who nodded as he turned to the less weakened Mad Marsh Horse as it spoke up again.
"...Human, you dumb. This territory ours. Why you keep trampling here? What you humans thinking?" The less weakened Mad Marsh Horse said in broken English. Joker stroked his chin in thought before speaking up after a moment.
"Oh, right. Should I take my shoes off then so I'm not trampling as much?" Joker asked the less weakened Mad Marsh Horse who chuckled as it nodded and kept speaking.
"Okay, take shoes off... if you feel no shame. Young human, me see you make effort to talk to me. There something you want to say to me, right?" The less weakened Mad Marsh Horse said to Joker who thought about it before nodding.
"Indeed there is. I want you, both as a friend and because your power is incredibly impressive." Joker said respectfully. The less weakened Mad Marsh Horse chuckled again as he spoke up, Joker noticing the set of yellow music notes that went up over the Mad Marsh Horse's head as a result of his response before the Mad Marsh Horse spoke.
"Me not know if you joking or serious...Me not sure why, but you not seem like stranger to me...Hrm! Me remember now...! I am thou, thou art I! Me am not a shadow that belongs here. me exist in the sea of souls of humans! Me am Kelpie. My power is your power...Use it how you want." The now-renamed Kelpie said as it became Joker's new mask and flew into Joker. After a bit, Joker chose to get rid of Mandrake for Kelpie, at which point Mona spoke up.
"Wow! Your power is incredible, Joker!" Mona said in awe and respect as the battle ended. As the group kept moving, they ambushed another Shadow. As a result of this battle, Panther leveled up to level 7 and gained the skill Dormina. Panther then smirked as she spoke up with a grin on her face.
"I got a new power!" Panther said happily. After the battle, the group kept moving. After a bit, they spotted a treasure chest being guarded by a strong Shadow, making Mona speak up with wide eyes as he saw the chest.
"Oh! A treasure chest! Let's open it, Joker!" Mona said as Draconis then spoke up chidingly.
"Now, now. As much as I agree with your desire to raid that chest, let's not ignore the fact that there's a strong Shadow protecting it. Might I suggest we dispose of the Shadow before we get the chest?" Draconis said dryly as both Mona and Joker nodded and the latter ambushed the Shadow, or Brutal Calvaryman as the battle screen identified it. After wearing it down a ways, Joker got it to speak to him, at which point he shrugged and spoke up as well.
"I don't always seek to destroy Shadows like you. Just give me an item and you're free to go provided you also forget you saw us. Fair enough?" Joker said to the Brutal Calvvaryman who nodded his agreement as he spoke up.
"Fair enough. Here, have this Sooty Heavy Armor. Don't be shy. Sonny, you still got a ways ta go. If it's in the stars though, we'll meet again." Brutal Calvaryman said as Joker got the Sooty Heavy Armor, after which the Brutal Calvaryman spoke up again.
"Y'know, this belonged ta my late wife, but I want you to have it. Yer just a kid, so actin' rash is usually fine, but you better behave in front of King Kamoshida. Bye now!" the Brutal Calvaryman said as he retreated. After the battle, Skull reached level 7. The group then kept moving and opened the now unguarded chest, which yielded a Judge Mace. Skull smiled as he looked at the Judge Mace and spoke up.
"Whoa...Ooh, that looks stronger than what I got now! Lemme use it already, Joker!" Skull said to Joker who thought about it before nodding and speaking up.
"If it's stronger than what you have and you can equip, then I don't see why not? Go right ahead, Skull." Joker said and offered Skull the Judge Mace which he promptly equipped before smirking as he spoke up once more, an eager grin on his face as he spoke.
"Alriiiight! Time to whoop some ass!" Skull said as the group kept moving. As they headed back down the hall the chest was in, Joker blinked as he spotted a door to his right he hadn't noticed initially, and wasted no time in opening it as the group went into the new room, Panther frowning as she spoke up once they were inside the room.
"Whoa, it's so musty..." Panther said as Mona nodded while speaking up.
"A library, huh? This definitely seems fishy. " Mona said as Skull frowned while speaking up.
"Whaddya mean?" Skull asked as Draconis frowned and spoke up at that point.
"Really, Skull? Think for once. It's a library, in a Palace belonging to a muscle-obsessed bodybuilder. Why would someone like that need a library in their Palace, Skull!?" Draconis said dryly as Mona nodded approving before speaking up as well.
"Precisely, Draconis. Also, come on, it's a library in a castle. There has to be some kind of secret mechanism in here." Mona said as he turned to Joker while still speaking.
"Let's look around, Joker." Mona said to Joker who nodded before speaking up.
"I agree. Let's look around. And Draconis, please wait until after the Palace is infiltrated if you're gonna beat up Skull. He is rather important to the mission after all." Joker said to Draconis who huffed as he spoke up but also nodded while he spoke.
"I wasn't gonna beat Skull up, Joker. Ream him a bit for not using his brain more, but not beat him up. So let's look around." Draconis said as the others nodded and the group looked around the library. Joker then used his 'Third Eye' and spotted a gap in some books which he investigated, Skull looking over his shoulder and speaking up as he looked at the books.
"Let's see... 'The History of Kamoshida'...'Tracing Kamoshida's Steps'...'Kamoshida's Heroisms'...'Kamoshida's Law'? What the hell!? All these goddamn books are about Kamoshida!" Skull said in surprise and annoyance as Mona spoke up at that point, remembering something.
"That reminds me, we found a book earlier, didn't we?" Mona asked Joker who frowned as he spoke up.
"That's true, but do you think it's related to this?" Joker asked Mona who nodded and spoke up again.
"Yeah, something might happen if we put a book in here..." Mona said as Joker nodded and spoke up again.
"True, but I think for now we don't have the correct book so let's ignore this spot for now." Joker said as Mona and Skull nodded and the three moved elsewhere as they saw Draconis looking at a pile of books in the middle of the room, Joker frowning as his Third Eye showed one of the books glowing, prompting him to walk over and look at the topmost book of the pile, making Draconis and Mona blink as they looked at Joker. Mona spoke up at that point.
"How suspicious..." Mona said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.
"Yeah, I got a real sketch vibe off of these books too but I couldn't find anything shady or dodgy about them. But if that top book piques your curiosity Joker, let's bring it with us!" Draconis said. Joker nodded and pocketed the book, which was titled 'The King Book'. Panther then spoke up after seeing the title over Joker's shoulder.
"Huh...'The King Book'? What is this?" Panther asked as Joker shrugged and the group kept moving. Joker then went back to the gap he'd looked at with Skull and Mona and inserted 'The King Book' into the gap, figuring it was probably meant for the gap. Joker then found another gap with his Third Eye and looked at it. Panther then looked at the books and spoke up as well.
"Is this...? There are all sorts of books here...The titles don't have any rhyme or reason to them." Panther said before frowning as she looked at one of the books and spoke up in surprise and shock.
"Wait, what!? Huh? This book...has Shiho's name in the title...! Wait...It's not just this one! All of the books here are about female students!" Panther said as Skull frowned as he looked at one of the books in particular, grimacing as he read the title while speaking up.
"Ugh...'Ann Takamaki: The Charming Doll.' Holy shit..." Skull said as Panther whipped her head towards him as she heard her name.
"Ugh...What the heck is this!?" Panther asked. Joker frowned as he spoke up.
"I agree that this is all disgusting and beyond cringe-worthy, but at least I know for sure which book goes here." Joker said as he inserted 'The Queen Book' into the gap. Joker found a third gap on a different shelf as Mona spoke up.
"Hm...Wait a second. The books on this shelf seem familiar." Mona said as Skull looked over Mona's shoulder before his eyes widened as he spoke up.
"Of course they do...These're the names of the volleyball team members! Wait, what the hell!? All of the titles are boys from our school!" Skull said as Mona and Draconis frowned and the latter spoke up with a frown.
"Hm...Well, I'll be damned! Skull's correct for a change! They are all about the volleyball team! Wait...hold on? This one's not a volleyball player. Am I right, Mona-sensei?" Draconis asked Mona who looked over Draconis' shoulder at the book and nodded while laughing as he spoke up.
"Indeed it's not, considering last I checked this guy was on the track team, not the volleyball team. 'Ryuji Sakamoto: The Vulgar Ape.' This one here's apparently for Skull." Mona said as Draconis and Joker looked at each other and had to keep from laughing at the title since Skull was next to them, but also they were annoyed at Kamoshida insulting Skull, who promptly snatched the mentioned book out of Mona's hands, ignoring the indignant 'HEY!' of protest Mona gave as he frowned at the book before tossing it aside as he spoke up with an angry frown.
"That bastard! Who the hell does he think he is!?" Skull asked. Joker winced as he spoke up, looking sympathetically at Skull as he spoke.
"With all apologies to you Skull, I think I know which book goes in here." Joker said as he inserted 'The Slave Book' into the gap. After that, a chime was heard and the nearby bookcase slid aside to reveal a hidden area which made Skull jump as he spoke up.
"Gah!? Whoa, it opened up!?" Skull said in surprise as Draconis and Mona nodded as the latter spoke up with a smile.
"You got it, Joker! Let's take a look inside!" Mona said as the others nodded. Once they looked in the room, Skull cringed before speaking up.
"Ugh... The hell is this room? There's tons of pictures of Suzui in here!" Skull said before frowning as he looked closer and spoke up again.
"Wait...it's ALL pics of her?" Skull said in shock as Panther gently shoved him aside to see for herself. When she saw the pictures, she gasped in mixed shock, horror and revulsion. At the same time Draconis and Joker both frowned at Panther's reaction while the latter put a comforting hand on Panther's shoulder as both the former and the latter spoke up.
"Ugh, what is this, some sort of sicko shrine to Suzui-san!? Dammit! If not for the fact it'd give our presence away and cause problems, I'd say let's burn this room to the ground, but that would unfortunately so be counterproductive." Draconis said angrily, crossing his arms as he huffed while Joker spoke up to Panther.
"Are you going to be okay, Panther?" Joker asked Panther, looking concerned for her. Panther looked over at Joker before softly smiling as she nodded.
"Y-Yeah...Thanks. If anything...I feel even MORE motivated to do this now." Panther said as Draconis nodded approvingly.
"Good. Use your likely anger at that dirtbag to keep you going forward, Panther, but don't let it consume you. Make no mistake though, Kamoshida's got one hell of a reckoning coming when we change his heart!" Draconis said confidently as Mona nodded approvingly.
"Well said, Draconis. Anyways, I'm sure it'll feel awful, but we should search this room. There has to be SOMETHING in here if he was hiding it with such an elaborate trick." Mona said as everyone nodded, and the group looked around until Joker's third eye led him to a shelf on the left side of the hidden area, which he examined. Joker then reached in and grabbed what was labeled as 'Kamoshida's Medal'. Panther frowned and spoke up as she saw the medal.
"Is this...a medal?" Panther said as Mona nodded and spoke up.
"Mm-hmm, but wait...That size, and that shape...I think that's our key!" Mona said before speaking up again while looking at the group.
"Remember that round indentation we saw back near those bars?" Mona said as Joker and Skull nodded while Draconis spoke up with a smirk.
"Ah, yes...If I recall correctly, wasn't that the indentation Skull missed when he saw one of those handles and suggested pulling it?" Draconis said as Skull frowned but nodded as Panther also nodded while speaking up.
"That's correct, but more importantly...Wait, there's something under the medal too." Panther said as Joker grabbed the indicated map as Mona spoke up.
"Oh! It's a different map from the one we have! This is lucky...Let's take it with us!" Mona said as he fitted the new map to what was already there before smiling as he kept speaking with a pleased tone in his voice.
"Aha! Our map's complete now!" Mona said as Skull spoke up sounding intrigued and curious.
"So is it gonna tell us where the Treasure is?" Skull asked Mona who nodded as he pointed to a section of the map labeled 'Tower: Throne Room' and pointing to a room in the back of said throne room as he spoke up.
"Yeah, look. It has to be here..." Mona said as Draconis frowned as he spoke up uncertainly.
"Uh, Mona-sensei? Your eyes are doing that glinty thing again." Draconis said as Panther spoke up.
"More to the point, that's a weird-shaped building...Could it be a tower or something?" Panther asked Mona who nodded and spoke up, his eyes back to normal as he spoke.
"Draconis, thanks for pointing that out but that usually happens when I see treasure. And Panther, yes it is. Anyways, considering our current position...I'd say we're about halfway there." Mona said as Skull spoke up, cutting Draconis and Joker off as he spoke.
"All right! Let's hurry over there!" Skull said, but Mona spoke up with a shake of his head in the negative.
"No. Now that we know how much we have left, we can calculate the best way to pace ourselves. Let's keep exploring, but take breaks when you need to, Joker." Mona said as Joker nodded his understanding and the group kept moving. As the group made to leave the library, they were stopped by a guard walking in and spotting them.
"...Hm? Hey! What are you doing!?" The guard said, rushing up to the group as Mona spoke up in annoyance.
"Dammit! Of course they spot us now..." Mona said in irritation as Skull smirked and spoke up.
"If we wanna head back, we'll hafta go through this guy... Time to make a path!" Skull said as Draconis nodded his agreement and spoke up, a smirk on his face as he spoke.
"I couldn't agree more, Skull. And considering how pissed off what we found in this room got me, this Shadow might just be a good outlet for that anger. So I agree, let's get 'em!" Draconis said, as Joker attacked the guard to start the battle. As the guard changed into its' Shadow form, the group blinked at the multi-colored form that emerged from the puddle that the Shadow had materialized from as Mona spoke up in surprise.
"No way! Oh, is that...!?" Mona said as the group looked at the multi-colored Shadow. Skull then spoke up.
"What's up with that one? It's mumblin' to itself, but... It's not makin' any moves." Skull said as Mona spoke up warningly as the group took battle-ready stances.
"Be careful. If my prediction is correct, that one's a bit problematic for us." Mona said as Draconis winced as he spoke up.
"And considering that your predictions have almost always been correct thus far, I think we should be prepared for a problematic battle." Draconis said warily. Skull nodded.
"Alright, then I'll go take care of it!" Skull said as Mona nodded before speaking up from on Draconis' shoulder where he was resting.
"Just be careful!" Mona said to Skull who nodded as he attacked the Shadow who took little damage making Ryuji blink, sputter, then speak up in shock.
"Whoa, what the hell!?" Skull said as Mona blinked and then spoke up.
"It started moving AFTER we attacked it...Looks like it's exactly what I expected. Once we take it down-" Mona said, cutting himself off to tag out with Draconis as he looked at Skull and Joker while speaking.
"Hey, you two! Watch this!" Mona said as he attacked the multi-colored Shadow, destroying it and making it explode as he tagged back out with Draconis as Skull blinked and spoke up.
"What the...It exploded!?" Skull said in shock. Mona nodded.
"I'll explain later! Focus on the battle for now!" Mona said as Joker, Panther, Skull and Draconis nodded as they focused on the remaining Shadows. After Joker destroyed the remaining shadows with Pixie, a 'Caution! Caution! Caution!' icon flashed in front of the group in red lettering as three more Shadows spawned in in place of the defeated ones, one of them being another multi-colored Shadow. Mona gritted his teeth as he spoke up.
"There's another one like from earlier...Haphazard attacks will only make things tougher for us. It's probably best to take it down fast by striking its weakness and getting to blow up. Alternately we could put it to sleep or make it unable to move, then just deal with it later." Mona said as the others nodded. Joker and Skull then used their Electric skills to destroy the multi-colored Shadow which made it explode and drop a 'Bead' while destroying the other two Shadows in the process of exploding, ending the battle. After the battle, Panther gasped as she spoke up.
"Whoa...this is amazing! I've never seen a Shadow get that intense..." Panther said as Mona nodded before speaking up.
"I call those scary ones Disaster Shadows." Mona said as Draconis nodded approvingly before speaking up.
"Well, given what we've seen of them so far, I'd agree with that name choice, Mona-sensei. It's fitting if nothing else." Draconis said as Skull spoke up.
"They really are scary...But just so long as we handle 'em right, we oughta be able to make 'em useful to us, right?" Skull said as Joker, Mona and Panther nodded while Draconis nodded and then spoke up.
"Fair enough, but Skull? Think about your word choice before you speak! That could've very easily been taken badly out of context!" Draconis said chidingly as Skull blinked and spoke up.
"Oh?...Oh! Oh crap, my bad! I didn't even think about that connotation when I said that! Good point, Draconis. Sorry." Skull said as Draconis nodded as he spoke up.
"It's fine, just be more conscientious of your wording from now on, Skull." Draconis said as Mona spoke up.
"Mweheheheheh! Right! If we run across any more of those, I say we focus on them first!" Mona said as Joker nodded and spoke up.
"Agreed. From now on, any Disaster Shadows we run across take first priority for destruction in battle." Joker said sagely as the others nodded agreement and kept moving. As they moved to leave the library, Panther spoke up as she recalled something.
"Ah! Oh, know what? We never ended up using that weird bodybuilding book." Panther said as Skull nodded and spoke up.
"Oh yeah, that one with the 'muscle secrets' bullshit..." Skull said, trailing off as Panther spoke up.
"Yeah. I wonder why we haven't used it yet..." Panther said as Mona spoke up.
"Well, I get what you're saying Panther, but our focus right now should be on pushing further into the Palace." Mona said, turning to face Joker as he kept speaking.
"If you get a hunch on where this book goes, let us know, okay, Joker?" Mona said as Joker nodded and spoke up.
"Got it. Honestly, I already have a vague idea of where it might go given there was another shelf we passed elsewhere that had a gap in it that might be where that book goes." Joker said as the others nodded and kept moving. As they made their way around the room (jumping another Brutal Calvaryman and destroying it in the process and gaining more Sooty Heavy Armor for their efforts), Joker spotted the bookcase he had mentioned. He then got the others' attention. Skull blinked as he saw the shelf.
"Oh crap, that's right. I forgot about this one. The muscle bookshelf..." Skull said as Joker nodded, moving to insert 'The Beefcake Book' as Mona spoke up.
"So that's where you're gonna try the book?" Mona asked Joker who nodded and proceeded to try and insert the book, only to frown as it didn't slide in all the way. Skull frowned as he spoke up at that point.
"Huh? Izzat one no good there?" Skull asked as Draconis rolled his eyes and spoke up.
"Nooo, Joker just totally imagined a gap there, Skull. Clearly there's something in the gap Joker didn't see before." Draconis said dryly as Panther nodded.
"Maybe there's something stuck in that spot. Why don't you try reaching in there, Skull?" Panther said as Joker pulled the book out enough for Skull to reach in as he nodded and spoke up, reaching out his arm as he spoke, and blinking as he felt something in the gap.
"Huh, I'll be damned! There IS somethin' in here!" Skull said as he removed the obstructing object before looking at Joker and speaking up once more.
"There we go. Oh, sweet. Here, you can have it." Skull said to Joker, as he pocketed the obtained 'Protein' for later. Mona spoke up with a smile.
"No secret switches in the bookshelf but we did get something useful out of it...I'd still call that a win! And an extra pat on the back for Joker for scouring every last corner of this hall! Keep that up as we progress through the palace, all right? Now let's get back to the infiltration!" Mona said as Joker nodded and the group kept moving. After going around the other corner towards the locked area on the map, Mona spoke up as the group found the handle once more.
"Joker! If we activate the device, we should be able to open the door." Mona said as Joker nodded and spoke up.
"I agree. Let's use the medal." Joker said as he slotted the medal into place as the chain slid down so Joker could pull it opening the door up as Skull grinned and spoke up.
"All right, sweet! Looks like it worked." Skull said as Panther nodded as she spoke up.
"Now we can keep going!" Panther said happily as Draconis nodded sagely as he spoke up.
"Agreed. Let's keep going guys. The further in we get, the closer we get to taking down Kamoshida." Draconis said as Mona nodded and spoke up.
"This must lead somewhere important. Let's go!" Mona said as the others nodded and the group kept moving. Once they went through the opened door, Mona spoke as they moved down the hall, his ears perking up.
"Oh? This feeling...There might be a safe room." Mona said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.
"I'd believe that. But that's up to Joker if we check it out or not." Draconis said. Joker nodded and checked the area that Mona had mentioned, and sure enough it was a safe room. Mona smiled as he spoke up while looking at Joker.
"This looks usable. Let's take a break, Joker." Mona said. Joker nodded and the group had a quick consultation. After the usual dialogue for asking how the group was, Joker spoke up once more.
"Since we're all doing about the same as before, how's our progress?" Joker asked the group as Panther looked down. Skull frowned as he saw the look on Panther's face and spoke up, looking at her in concern.
"You still thinkin' about that room we saw earlier?" Skull asked Panther as Draconis huffed before speaking up.
"Of course she is, Skull. After all, that room had nothing but pictures of Suzui-san in it, and I'm nearly positive some of those pictures were taken in rather compromising positions." Draconis said, shuddering at the implications of those pictures. Panther nodded as she spoke up.
"Exactly, Draconis. But to your question Skull, yes I am. My mind just keeps going back to what Shiho must have been going through..." Panther said as Skull nodded and turned to Mona as he spoke.
"Yo Mona, where we at right now?" Skull asked Mona who blanched at the question.
"Huh? W-Well, I'd say somewhere around halfway through..." Mona said as Skull nodded before looking at Panther as he gave her an encouraging smile as he spoke up.
"You hear that? Just gotta go the other half and then we can get revenge for Suzui!" Skull said as Draconis nodded, gently giving Panther an encouraging pat on the shoulder making her blink as she looked up and nodded, having let her mind wander on thoughts of her and Shiho, and how much she had let Shiho down by not realizing what was going on sooner. Panther then spoke up as she gave Skull and Draconis a grateful smile while she spoke.
"Yeah...you're right. Sorry for being such a downer. I'll do my best from now on!" Panther said as Draconis gave Panther an understanding smile before speaking up.
"Hey, no need for apologies, Panther. How you feel is perfectly understandable given how close you and Suzui-san are. If it'd been me, and Kamoshida was doing this to someone I had a crush on, I'd be probably as pissed off as you are. And I'll be honest, I only think of Suzui-san as a friend, which she's barely that since Joker and I only spoke to her the one time the day before...well, you know. Anyways, I only think of Suzui-san as a friend/acquaintance, and I'm pissed at what Kamoshida did to her. So don't feel bad that you're upset at that dirtbag! That just makes it that much more imperative that we make him answer for what he's done!" Draconis said confidently as Mona, Joker and Skull nodded while Panther nodded, smiled and then pulled Draconis into a brief hug as she spoke up.
"You're right, of course. Thank you, Draconis. Now let's go get that dirtbag...brother." Panther said as Joker and Skull gaped at Panther's remark while Mona nodded approvingly to Draconis as he spoke up.
"Ah, I see I'm not the only one who has a certain gentlemanly charm to them. Well played, Draconis." Mona said approvingly as Draconis rolled his eyes and spoke up.
"With all due respect Mona-sensei, that had NOTHING to do with being gentlemanly. That was purely just me empathizing with Panther and wanting to comfort her. And as she said, we've kinda started to see each other as siblings of a sort, to a degree. Besides, I get the feeling she prefers to look at me as a brother more than anything else, considering I'd wager that Kamoshida's actions probably have lowered her opinions of men by quite a bit. In fact, I wouldn't even be surprised if his actions might drive Panther towards considering an interest in women down the line. And if she does, that's entirely her choice to make and not for us to judge her on. Am I right, Joker and Skull?" Draconis said, crossing his arms as he gave the two named Phantom Thieves a pointed glare as Joker and Skull nodded approvingly.
"Of course. I would think no differently of Panther than I do now if she were to be attracted to women rather than men." Joker said smoothly as Skull nodded.
"Yeah, what Joker said. I have no beef whatsoever with lesbians and bisexuals. So if Panther ends up not entirely straight, it's fine by me." Skull said approvingly as Mona nodded and then spoke up.
"I agree with Skull and Joker. Panther is still Panther, no matter what choices she might make with her life." Mona said agreeably as Draconis nodded and spoke up again.
"Just keep in mind that until you get your human form back, you should abstain from trying to make a move on Panther, just to be on the safe side Mona-sensei." Draconis said sagely as Joker and Skull laughed at the affronted look on Mona's face as he spoke up.
"I know that, Draconis! At least you don't call me a cat like Joker and Skull do." Mona said as Panther smiled.
"I appreciate the support, guys. But let's keep moving. Kamoshida's not gonna change his own heart after all." Panther said as Mona nodded approvingly as Joker spoke up.
"Okay, that being said, I think we're good to keep going." Joker said as the others nodded and Panther spoke up once more.
"Well, I think we're done here." Panther said as the others nodded. Joker then walked to the safe room door and nodded to the others who nodded back as Draconis and Panther spoke up.
"Guess that means it's time to move out. Sounds accurate enough." Draconis said approvingly as Panther then spoke up.
"Okay, let's move on!" Panther said as the group kept moving. In the next room after they kept moving through the opened area, they found what appeared to be a cathedral as Mona spoke up, looking at Joker as he spoke.
"Joker! Wait, hold on Joker! This place is huge... yet there are no guards? That seems suspicious..." Mona said warily as Skull spoke up.
"But the Treasure's up ahead, right? We don't got a choice but to keep goin'." Skull said as Mona nodded before speaking up.
"I guess that's true... but we need to make sure we're ready for whatever might be ahead." Mona said as he turned to Joker and kept speaking.
"What do you think, Joker? Should we continue onward?" Mona asked Joker who stroked his chin contemplatively before speaking up.
"I don't see why we shouldn't continue right now. We'll just have to be cautious with those of us with low stamina, that's all. So let's go." Joker said decisively. Surprisingly as the group ran into the 'cathedral', it flickered to show a shot of a part of Shujin Academy that didn't at all resemble a cathedral, making Panther blink as she spoke up.
"Wait, was that...the gym?" Panther asked as Joker and Draconis blinked before shrugging, not sure of that themselves, but surprisingly it was Skull who made the connection in this instance as he spoke up.
"Wait, I get it...The gym's some kinda holy place for him. He's a god there." Skull said as the group approached the statue of Kamoshida, Draconis huffing as he spoke up.
"Hmph, talk about sacrilege. I don't care if he IS called a god at sports. No one is truly a god among humans. No one, that is, except for whatever higher power you might choose to believe in. But I'll leave that at that for now since we're here to stop Kamoshida, not get into a debate of religions. Besides, I feel like Mona-sensei doesn't want to hear it." Draconis said as Mona nodded before Panther spoke up.
"No, sacrilege is definitely correct Draconis. I can't believe he can think like that...ESPECIALLY after what he did to Shiho..." Panther said as Draconis frowned before leaning in to whisper in Panther's ear briefly.
"You don't have to lie to me, but you can also tell me to back off if I'm out of line asking this, but you have feelings for Suzui-san, don't you Panther?" Draconis quietly asked Panther who blinked at the question but simply nodded to it to answer Draconis who nodded back.
"Gotcha. Even more reason to make sure Kamoshida answers for what he did, Panther." Draconis said at a more audible level as Skull nodded, before speaking up angrily.
"God, that bastard makes me so freakin' sick! Just you wait, Kamoshida!" Skull said as another voice spoke up at that moment from behind the group making everyone jump as they turned to face the speaker.
"I see...So YOU're the ones who tampered with the library. It seems my time waiting here has paid off..." The speaker said as they revealed themselves, surprising everyone as it was the captain of the guards! The captain of the guards then kept speaking, pointing at Skull as he spoke.
"Just as that ape there said, this place is a holy ground for our great King Kamoshida. It is preposterous for miscreants like yourselves to come waltzing in like this!" The captain of the guard said before shifting forms into what Joker was sure was an armored angel. The Shadow that replaced the captain of the guard then spoke up.
"You will pay for foolishly defying King Kamoshida...with your lives!" The Shadow said as Mona frowned and spoke up.
"I knew this would happen! Well, we don't have a choice! Let's take it down!" Mona said as the others nodded and the battle began. After the battle (which was rough to be sure, but in the end was won largely thanks to a combo of Joker's Tarukaja and Skull's Lunge with chip damage from Draconis and Panther) Joker reached level 8 and smirked as he felt his stats increase.
"All right, level up!" Joker said as he leveled up. After the battle, Skull started panting as he spoke up.
"Huff, huff...whew, didn't realize those things could be that tough..." Skull said as Mona nodded and spoke up.
"Yeah...It looks like he's making a concerted effort to stop us now." Mona said as he looked at Joker and kept speaking up.
"Joker, I've helped you learn a few different things so far, but there's no more time for lessons. I'll compile some info you'll need to know for battle, so be sure to take a look later." Mona said as a bunch of tutorials were added to the list of available battle tutorials for Joker and the others to peruse at their leisure. Right after that, a huge swarm of Shadows materialized out of nowhere, scaring the group considerably as Skull jumped and spoke up.
"Crap...More of 'em..." Skull said as Panther blanched and spoke up.
"What should we do? Head back?" Panther asked and Mona shook his head in the negative as he spoke up.
"No, the Treasure is definitely up ahead, and there has two be a path to it somewhere. See anything that could help us zip by here? Keep your eyes sharp!" Mona said as Joker nodded, whipping out his grappling hook and grappling up to a platform just above the statue of Kamoshida, zipping the group away from danger just in the nick of time. After they were out of danger, Mona spoke up with a smile at Joker as he spoke.
"...Whew. That was close. Good going, Joker! That was some expert grappling. And now we can investigate the area! Let's get to it." Mona said as the others nodded and kept moving. After a bit of navigating around and moving from room to room, eventually they stopped over an area where it looked like two balconies looked at each other. Skull frowned as he spoke up, seeing a handle on one side of the two balconies.
"Huh? The hell is that?" Skull asked as Draconis blinked at what Skull was looking at and then spoke up looking intrigued.
"If I had to guess Skull, I'd say that's a grapple point, and if it is, that likely means there's something of value on the other side but that's just a guess." Draconis said as Mona nodded and spoke up.
"How suspicious. And you're absolutely right, Draconis! Looks like we might've found something! Let's check it out, Joker!" Mona said as Joker nodded and the group headed towards the grapple point, with Skull speaking up once they were there.
"That looks pretty shady. There's definitely something fishy over there. There's vines growin' on the door too." Skull said as Mona nodded as he spoke up.
"Yeah. By the looks of it, no one's been in there for a long time." Mona said as Panther frowned and spoke up.
"I wonder what's over there...Should we take a closer look?" Panther asked. Draconis nodded as he spoke up.
"We definitely should, Panther. If nothing else, maybe it's more treasure chests, or possibly a safe room or something to that effect. Either way, worth looking into in my opinion. And if worst case there IS guards there, we should be able to take 'em out if we're careful." Draconis said as Mona nodded as he spoke up.
"Agreed, Draconis." Mona said before turning to Joker as he kept speaking.
"Hey, Joker. Do you see that handle-like thing at the top of the arch?" Mona asked as Joker nodded, allowing Mona to keep speaking.
"You might be able to get to the other side if you use your grappling hook there." Mona said as Joker nodded before grappling across the gap, chopping down the vines with his trusty dagger and pushing the doors open, allowing the group to walk into the room. Once inside, Panther spoke up.
"This room seems different from everywhere else we've seen so far..." Panther said as Skull nodded before speaking up.
"Yeah, AND there's something super-suspicious over there..." Skull said, pointing to the object at the end of the room, which on first glance looked to Draconis and Joker like a cross between a skull and a potato. Mona blinked at the object as he spoke up in surprise.
"That's...C'mon, follow me!" Mona said as he walked forward, the others close behind as they approached the object which was being heled up by an ominious looking set of red and black vines. Panther frowned as she spoke up.
"What IS this?" Panther asked as Mona hopped up and down happily as he spoke up.
"Just what I thought...A 'Will Seed'." Mona said as Draconis and Joker exchanged surprised looks at Mona's remark before both spoke up.
"A Will Seed?" Draconis asked in confusion as Joker then spoke up.
"You know what this is, Mona?" Joker asked Mona, nodding approvingly to Draconis' question. Mona nodded as he spoke up.
"Palaces are locations that grew distorted from their original forms due to their rulers' cognitions. When such distortions coalesce into form, this is the result- I call it a 'Will Seed'." Mona said as Skull frowned before speaking up, trying to understand what Mona had just said.
"Distortions... coalesce... into Will Seeds..." Skull said, seeming to partially grasp the idea if not entirely. Mona sweatdropped and winced as he spoke up.
"Should I try explaining that again?" Mona asked as Skull huffed before shaking his head in the negative and speaking up.
"Ugh, just forget it! That's a Will Seed. Movin' on..." Skull said as Panther spoke up.
"So, what do we do with it?" Panther asked as Mona smirked before answering Panther's question.
"We take it. It may not be as prized as a Treasure, but it's still quite the rare find. Making it ours will only do us good...I think." Mona said as Draconis facefaulted before speaking up.
"You think? While I agree that it's probably a good thing to take it, what if taking this somehow sets off some sort of trap or something? We should be careful when taking these Will Seeds, I think." Draconis said huffily. Panther nodded her agreement as she spoke up.
"Umm, is it really okay to take it?" Panther said as Skull huffed and spoke up.
"I agree with Draconis on this one. Nothin' shitty better happen when you take it-like some trap goin' off, or we all end up cursed..." Skull said. Draconis laughed and spoke up.
"First of all Skull, does this LOOK like a pyramid or anything else remotely Egyptian in nature?! That said, I doubt we'll end up cursed. A trap going off or an ambush, on the other hand, are far more likely to happen in my opinion. We should be careful if we take it." Draconis said as Joker nodded and spoke up.
"That's true, Draconis. But don't forget what our parents once said to us: 'Nothing ventured, nothing gained.' That being said, I'll give it a try anyway. You guys can stand clear if you want so in case something does happen as a result you can be ready to step in and save me if applicable." Joker said as he carefully lifted the skull-shaped potato, or 'Will Seed' as Mona called it, out of its' pedestal, and smirked as he got the 'Red Lust Seed' as it was called. Mona then spoke up.
"Nice! The Will Seed is ours!" Mona said. After a bit of nothing happening, Skull spoke up warily.
"I guess... nothin' happened?" Skull said uncertainly. Mona nodded as he spoke up.
"Exactly. There are more of these around here somewhere...As far as I can tell, there are two of them left." Mona said as Skull blinked and spoke up.
"Huh? How can you tell? You smell 'em or somethin'?" Skull asked as Panther spoke up excitedly, having an idea of her own.
"Yeah, like how dogs can-Oh, but you're a cat." Panther said to Mona as Draconis huffed.
"Wrong again, Panther. Mona-sensei only LOOKS like a cat because he was cursed by distortions to lose both his memories and his true form. He's actually an honest-to-god human, or so he says. None of us have seen his true form yet so I just take him at his word for now since after all, they say the one who knows someone's body best is the person whose body it actually is. So if Mona-sensei says he's a human, I believe him. After all, he's not steered us wrong yet, has he? So I for one trust him completely." Draconis said honestly, nodding respectfully to Mona who smiled at Draconis before huffing as he pouted at Panther and spoke up.
"Not you too, Panther! I am NOT a cat! And thank you Draconis, nice to know at least ONE of you guys respects and appreciates me around here. Maybe two since Joker hasn't really shown where he stands one way or the other when it comes to me thus far." Mona said with a pout as Draconis nodded to Mona.
"You're welcome, Mona-sensei. But you have to be fair here, your current form is going to lend itself to a lot of people confusing you for a feline when they first see you, and the fact all anyone who hasn't heard you speak in the Metaverse will only hear you meowing isn't going to help that misunderstanding in any way whatsoever." Draconis said honestly. Joker stroked his chin contemplatively before speaking up.
"While the debate of what Mona is or is not is a fascinating one to be sure, weren't we in the middle of something here? We should get moving." Joker said. The others nodded and started walking towards the exit except for Mona who spoke up without noticing the others walk off.
"I just SEEM like a cat..." Mona said as Draconis nodded before calling back to Mona.
"Yo! Mona-sensei, hurry it up before you get left behind on accident!" Draconis called to Mona who blinked and nodded before sprinting off to catch up to the others as they kept moving. After they explored a nearby room (managing in the process to Ambush and defeat a Shadow which got Pixie to level 3, Mona to level 8 and Draconis to level 7 and got new skills for Pixie in the form of Patra) the group eventually found the stairs leading up to the next area, in this case the roof. Initially the group raced down towards the bottom of the staircase only to stop short of the bottom as they saw a locked chest and a strong Shadow, deciding to skip out on both as they were out of lockpicks to pick the lock on the chest. Instead the group raced out onto the rooftop as they looked around and Skull spoke up.
"Hey take a look at that!" Skull said as Mona jumped up and down excitedly as he spoke up.
"Oh! That matches up with the map. There's no doubt that's the tower we're headed for." Mona said as Panther spoke up at that point.
"So the Treasure's up there!" Panther said happily as Draconis spoke up with a wary nod.
"It seems that way...but I doubt it'll be as simple as scaling the tower and securing the route. Odds are we'll have plenty of opposition standing in our way every step of the way up that tower. But yes Panther, the Treasure is likely as not up there! " Draconis said as Skull cheered before speaking up.
"Hell yeah, we did it! So...where's the entrance?" Skull asked right as a bunch of Shadows spawned in near the group making Draconis facefault and swear under his breath.
"Dammit, I hate it when I'm right...ugh, and enter the aforementioned opposition." Draconis deadpanned. Skull nodded as he spoke up.
"Ugh, not again..." Skull said as Mona spoke up with a frown.
"It's no surprise that security would be tight around here. But as they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained! Let's go, Joker!" Mona said as Joker frowned and spoke up.
"I believe by 'they' you mean you heard me quote that saying from mine and Draconis' parents, Mona. But I agree, let's go." Joker said with a nod as the group moved to attack the Shadows. Or they moved for it, until Joker noticed a grappling point or two nearby, using them to scale clear up the roof in one long jump making Mona and Skull blink in surprise after they landed safely.
"Dude...holy shit, you made it all the way up to the rooftop in one go!" Skull said as Mona spoke up.
"That's amazing! Let's keep up this pace! Let's keep going Joker!" Mona said as Joker nodded. The group then moved up the tower more until they got to an out of the way most of the way up the tower where Mona's ears twitched and Skull frowned as he spoke up.
"Another of Kamoshida's Will Seeds, eh? Not for long-let's take it for ourselves!" Skull said as the others nodded. Joker then cut through the vines, walked into the room and seized the Green Lust Seed. Skull cheered as he spoke up at that point.
"Yes! That's the second Will Seed!" Skull said happily as Draconis spoke up at that point.
"Indeed, and from what Mona-sensei said, only one more Will Seed should remain for this Palace. My question then becomes this: What happens when we get them all, if anything?" Draconis asked making Joker, Skull and Panther exchange uncertain looks as the group kept moving, both curious and wary of the answer to Draconis' question.
After navigating back to the vent they'd crawled through to find the route up to the second Will Seed, the group then emerged where they'd started and hopped down to find a door which Joker pushed open and they walked through to a new room where the aesthetics of the room were very purple and very ominous. Panther blinked as she spoke up.
"Wh-What's going on!?" Panther asked as Mona spoke up, a stern frown on his face as he spoke.
"The distortion is getting stronger...The Treasure has got to be nearby!" Mona said as the group nodded and kept moving. After taking a side passage, they found a door and Panther spoke up once more.
"Huh...? What's this...?" Panther said as the camera panned to show another passage that was otherwise not easily visible. Skull then spoke up.
"The hell? Is it a trap?" Skull asked as Mona smiled and spoke up.
"It could be a hidden room. Let's check it out, Joker!" Mona said as Joker nodded and the group kept moving, walking into the hidden room and finding a lever on the platform which Joker pulled to reveal the 'platform' was in fact an elevator which carried the group downward. Once it stopped, the group got off and looked around as Skull spoke up.
"H-Hey, where are we?" Skull asked as the group shrugged and kept moving. After walking around a bit, the group cringed as they saw a painting of Kamoshida in his Metaverse outfit looking crazed as he laughed evilly while flexing his exaggerated muscles. Panther cringed as she spoke up.
"What the heck...? This is disgusting..." Panther said as Draconis nodded.
"Disgusting is the right word for it. If not for the fact it'd give us away, I'd have Skull or Joker toss me a lighter or some matches so I could burn that effing eyesore and make it so we don't have to see it anymore." Draconis said dryly, Joker and Skull smirking as they nodded approvingly to Draconis' reaction while Mona blanched and spoke up.
"O-Okay, Draconis' pyromaniacal tendencies aside...either way, it's kind of strange that this would be our dead end." Mona said as Draconis huffed at being called a pyromaniac as Joker laughed at Mona calling Draconis a pyromaniac, which Joker thought was both ironic and extremely accurate to Draconis' code name given that dragons often breath fire, before he walked forward and examined the painting, blinking in surprise as the portrait swung aside to open up and spit the group out elsewhere, getting a look of surprise from Skull who spoke up.
"Huh? This looks familiar..." Skull said as Mona groaned and spoke up.
"It's the entrance hall. Have you already forgotten!?" Mona asked Skull who blinked then nodded.
"Oh, right." Skull said as Panther spoke up.
"I didn't realize we would end up here..." Panther said as Skull spoke up once more in surprise.
"Hey, look! There used to be tons of soldiers wanderin' around, but I do't see any of 'em now..." Skull said as Panther nodded and spoke up.
"Actually...this may be the chandelier area, but something about it seems different somehow." Panther said as Mona spoke up.
"Exactly! Maybe now we can spot something new!" Mona said as the group kept moving. After a bit, Joker saw an area on the map to the group's left that hadn't been explored before, leading the group there to find a handle by itself that his 'Third Eye' revealed to be suspect so he pulled the handle, getting a chime sound and the sound of gears moving, getting Panther to speak up.
"Oh! Something's moving... are those gears?" Panther asked as Mona nodded before speaking up.
"Exactly! Nice observation! I see. I bet we can access an area that we couldn't before. Good eyes, Joker!" Mona said as Joker nodded appreciatively as the group kept moving. After they took the picture back the way they came, they found an area that led downwards, and stopped short at the sound of gears moving as Panther spoke up.
"Oh...that sounds like the sound of gears moving! Could that mean..." Panther said traling off as Skull spoke up.
"Oh, I get it! Now we should be able to go further than we could before!" Skull said as the group kept moving. After they pulled the nearby lever, the elevator descended downwards towards the bottom of the castle, at which point the group got off and kept moving around. After a bit Mona spoke up.
"Oh! That feeling...Could it be...? Could one of those doors be nearby?" Mona said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.
"Considering we have one Will Seed left to find in this place, I wouldn't be surprised if this was that last Will Seed's location. It's out of the way enough for it at any rate." Draconis said as the group nodded and kept moving. As they moved towards the end of the suspicious area, Skull spoke up suddenly.
"Hey! Over there." Skull said as the camera panned to another captain of the guard standing in front of a viney door. Panther then spoke up.
"That viney door...We probably need to get in there, but it's guarded pretty well." Panther said as Draconis spoke up.
"If that's the case, then that's probably our final Will Seed for this palace in that door." Draconis said as Mona nodded and spoke up.
"Oh, man...And right again. I can sense a Will Seed beyond the door, but... it's gonna be rough going." Mona said as the group kept moving. Mona spoke up as the group approached the door and the Shadow guarding it, looking at Joker as he spoke.
"Looks like this one's extra tough...Joker, are we doing this now?" Mona asked Joker who blinked but quickly nodded.
"We sure are. We'll just have to be extra careful while fighting, that's all." Joker said as the group approached the Shadow who spoke up.
"There you are! You're not taking another step!" The Shadow said as Panther spoke up.
"What!? I guess we'll just have to step on YOU first! Let's do thi-" Panther said before being cut off by the Shadow transforming into a green and red gelatinous mass which resembled a mushroom making Panther cringe as she spoke up in disgust.
"A-Ahhhhhhhhh!" Panther said as she screamed. Mona then spoke up.
"It's coming!" Mona said as the Shadow attacked! After the battle (which was long but winnable thanks to the enemy not resisting Physical attacks despite resisting most everything else), Skull, Panther and Draconis all reached level 8, the latter gaining a new skill for Smaug in the form of Tarukaja, a buff skill. Draconis smirked as he spoke up while getting a new skill.
"Excellent! Another new skill to add into Smaug's ever-growing array of useful talents! I love it!" Draconis said happily. After the battle, Skull spoke up.
"Hell yeah! Let's swipe this Will Seed and get outta here!" Skull said happily. Panther nodded as she spoke up.
"Agreed! I am SO done with this place..." Panther said as Draconis and Mona nodded understandingly as the latter spoke up.
"We're all almost through here-just hang in there, Panther." Mona said as Panther nodded while Joker moved forward to chop down the vines blocking the door. He then seized the 'Blue Lust Seed' from its pedestal. After that, the three seeds resonated together before spinning around as they combined into a more metallic, three-headed item, which was referred to as the 'Crystal of Lust' which Joker then received, smirking as he spoke up.
"Well, I'd say this answers your earlier question about what happens when we get all the Will Seeds of a Palace, Draconis. They become an accessory we can then use." Joker said smugly as Draconis nodded while speaking up.
"Indeed. I wonder if we get something like that from all the palaces, or if they all give different stuff for getting their Will Seeds?" Draconis mused. Skull then spoke up.
"Whoa, what the hell was THAT!? It got all...I don't even know how to describe it...C'mon, Mona! You never told us what these Will Seeds'll do!" Skull said to Mona who had gotten wide-eyed in surprise at what he'd seen before speaking up in shock.
"So THAT's what happens...I never expected tha-I mean I never expected anything less than that to happen!" Mona said as Joker and Draconis exchanged deadpan glances at one another before both spoke up.
"You were totally caught off-guard by that too, weren't you Mona-sensei?" Draconis asked Mona who blinked at the question as Joker spoke up.
"Honestly Draconis, I bet you had no clue either. But at the same time, that's our Mona." Joker said with a smirk. Mona blinked at Draconis and Joker before speaking up.
"Well, ehehehehe, I am quite brilliant! ...Nah, you're right Draconis. I had no clue that would happen. But I'm also not surprised that it did. Anyways, what really mattes is the power I'm sensing from it. Maybe it could give us an upper hand somehow in the future?" Mona said uncertainly as Panther blinked and spoke up in surprise.
"Wait, we're just...taking it? I'm not totally sure that's a great idea..." Panther said uncertainly as Mona spoke up.
"Listen up! A phantom thief makes use of any available tool to accomplish a mission. Who knows what we'll find next? If we find ourselves in a situation where this could be useful, let's see what it can do!" Mona said as the others nodded and kept moving. As they kept going up the tower, they fought off many Shadows, and in the process of so doing, Joker hit level 9. After a bit, the group went to explore a hallway with a chest only to leap back as they nearly got sliced up by a row of pendulums in said hall. Panther's eyes went wide as she spoke up after they got safely out of range of the pendulums.
"Whoa, that was close! Wait...What is this...?" Panther asked as Mona spoke up seriously.
"It's a classic security measure. My tail might be in danger if we try to force our way through..." Mona said as Skull nodded while speaking up.
"Oh yeah, same for Panther's. So...what do we do? No way we're gettin' through here as is." Skull said as Draconis spoke up.
"I think we'll have to find another way around or hope to find a switch to stop the pendulums." Draconis said as the others nodded and kept moving. Joker then frowned as he spotted another Kamoshida statue much like the one he, Skull and Draconis had ran into way back when they first entered this Palace, even before awakening to their Personas. Skull then spoke up with an intrigued look on his face as he looked at the statue.
"Yo, you think this controls those swinging things!?" Skull asked Joker who shrugged and reached into the mouth to pull the chain inside, only for there to be no reaction. Mona frowned as he spoke up, not surprised by the lack of reaction from the statue.
"I didn't think it would be that easy. We'll probably need some kind of key for it..." Mona said as Skull groaned before speaking up.
"We gotta look for a key again? What a pain in the ass..." Skull said as Panther frowned while she spoke up.
"Where would it be though? There weren't any suspicious rooms on the way here." Panther said as Mona turned to Joker while he spoke up.
"Hm...What do you think, Joker?" Mona asked Joker who exchanged looks with Draconis before he stroked his chin contemplatively before finally speaking up.
"Considering Panther's right that we've combed every inch just about of this place thus far, it's doubtful there's a hidden room. And I doubt we would be able to get through there without a key. Therefore, I'm inclined to believe some of the Shadows probably have the key, or in other words an enemy has the key." Joker said. Mona nodded approvingly as he spoke up, agreeing with Joker's assessment of the situation.
"Mmm...I see. Hm...That probably would be the most likely scenario..." Mona said as Skull spoke up in surprise.
"An enemy? Y'mean one of them Shadows that's roamin' around? Dude, how many of 'em do you think there are? We can't beat the crap outta all of them!" Skull said as Draconis huffed before speaking up.
"Joker never said we had to beat up ALL the shadows, Skull! Besides, why would just ANY Shadow have the key for this specific tower?" Draconis pointed out as Mona nodded agreement as he spoke up.
"Well said, Draconis. The key is for this tower, so it would have to be one of the Shadows around here. On top of that, it would have to be a relatively high-ranking one." Mona said as Panther smiled and spoke up.
"YES! Then we just need to look for Shadows like that and defeat them!" Panther said as Mona nodded and spoke up once more, looking at Joker as he spoke.
"And that settles it! Let's do this, Joker! We need to find the Shadow with that key!" Mona said as Joker nodded and the group kept moving. As the group moved along the way they came, they fought most every shadow they ran into, getting Pixie to level 4 along with getting Skull, Panther, Mona and Draconis all to level 9, netting the Tarukaja skill for both Pixie AND Captain Kidd. After the most recent Shadow was defeated, it dropped an eye shaped object making Skull blink as he spoke up.
"H-Hey, that Shadow did have something...But what the hell is this? An eye?" Skull asked as Mona spoke up, his eyes glinting again as he spoke.
"Oh, I just figured it out! This must be how we stop those scythes!" Mona said as Panther blinked before speaking up.
"Oh yeah...Now that I think about it, that statue didn't have eyes..." Panther said as Skull sighed before speaking up.
"Ugh, how much grosser can he get? So this is gonna stop those things, huh?" Skull said as Mona spoke up again.
"Well, we'll need one more. Another guard probably has it. Let's try checking the other floors, Joker!" Mona said as Joker nodded while the group kept moving. The group then went down a floor, only to blanch as three high-ranking Shadows walked into the room. Skull spoke up, his eyes wide as he spoke.
"For real!? Crap...They all look like high-rankin' soldiers! Are we gonna have to beat all of 'em!?" Skull asked as Mona spoke up gently to correct Skull.
"That would work, but there should only be one actual guard captain among them." Mona said as he turned to Joker at that point as he kept speaking.
"Do you have any way to tell them apart, Joker?" Mona asked Joker who smiled and nodded, having an idea of exactly what to do. Mona smiled as he saw Joker's smile and nodded as he kept speaking.
"I'd think you of all people would be have the skills to figure out which is the real one." Mona said as the guards left the room and he spoke up once more.
"Looks like they're gone now...I'll leave our next move up to you, Joker." Mona said as Joker nodded and the group kept moving. After a bit of navigating, Joker found the correct guard in a very out of the way place and quickly relieved the guard of his guarded item, the Lustful Left Eye. After the battle, Skull spoke up with a grin.
"Sweet, we got both of that bastard's eyes! Let's go stop those swingin' things!" Skull said as Mona nodded agreement.
"That was so easy, I'm yawning!" Mona said as Draconis smirked.
"I had no idea you found these Shadows that boring, Mona-sensei." Draconis joked as Mona laughed.
"Good. Now let's keep moving." Mona said as Joker nodded and the group kept moving. After a bit, they returned to the statue from before, Mona speaking up as the group approached the statue, smiling at Joker as he spoke.
"We have both eyes now. Try putting them in, Joker!" Mona said as Joker nodded and slotted the eyes into place. As expected, a chime was heard and the pendulums stopped swinging making Skull grin as he spoke up.
"All right! We can get across!" Skull said as the group kept moving. After continuing up the tower (which also nearly ended badly for the Thieves but got Ryuji up to level 10 along with Draconis, the latter of which gained the skill Dia, making it so that only Skull lacked a healing skill of some variety) the group found a safe room, logged it for quick-travel purposes, and then leaped up a side path into the throne room at which point Skull spoke up.
"Okay! We're in!" Skull said excitedly before wincing and rubbing the back of his head where Mona slapped him before speaking up in a low hiss.
"Quiet down, you idiot!" Mona said as the camera panned to show Kamoshida sitting on his throne as Skull blanched and spoke up once more.
"Oh shit, it's Kamoshida...!" Skull said as Panther frowned and also spoke up.
"No...! And a ton of soldiers..." Panther said as the camera panned over to Kamoshida as he spoke up.
"How have you not captured the intruders yet!?" Kamoshida said to the guards as one of them prostrated themselves and spoke up.
"I apologize, my liege!" The armored soldier said, throwing themselves on Kamoshida's mercy as the shot panned back to Mona who spoke up to the others.
"I bet he'd never imagine we're in the same room as him. Come on, let's keep moving..." Mona said as the others nodded and kept moving. After a bit, the group found an out of the way area at the back of the throne room, quietly pushing the door open and sliding inside as they equally quietly shut the door behind themselves. After that, they walked forward to a sturdy-looking door where Skull spoke up.
"This sturdy-lookin' door's pretty promisin'. Let's head inside!" Skull said as the doors opened of their own accord, and when they went inside, everyone's eyes went wide at what they saw, but especially Skull who spoke up once more.
"Whoa, what is this place!? Holy shit! That Treasure thing's gotta be in here!" Skull said as the group walked up towards the middle of the room where an indistinct round shape was hovering in place above a giant gold trophy. Panther spoke up as she saw the object.
"Hey, what is this? It's...floating in the air." Panther said as Mona smiled, leaping up on top of the trophy as he spoke up.
"Hehe...That's the Treasure. We've finally found it!" Mona said as both Joker and Draconis spoke up.
"Are you sure, Mona?" Joker asked Mona as Draconis blinked before speaking up in surprise.
"Are you serious, Mona-sensei? The Treasure we were after is that cloudy thing?" Draconis said, clearly skeptical but Mona laughed as he spoke up.
"Just hold on a second. I was planning on telling you more once we made it this far. Simply finding the Treasure isn't enough. We'll need to make it materialize before we can steal it." Mona said as Panther, Joker and Skull all had question marks pop up above their heads while Draconis blinked and nodded.
"Whaddya mean?" Skull asked. Mona spoke up once more as he looked at Skull while speaking.
"Desires have no physical form by nature. Hence, we'll need to make the real person aware that their desires are in fact a Treasure. Once they're conscious that their desires might be stolen, the Treasure will finally show itself." Mona said as Draconis nodded his understanding before speaking up.
"Aha, I get it. So basically we have to call Kamoshida out and make him aware his number's up so we can steal his Treasure and thus change his heart?" Draconis said to Mona as Panther spoke up before Mona could answer Draconis.
"But how do we do that?" Panther asked as Mona smirked, looking at Draconis and Panther as he spoke up.
"You're half-right, Draconis. But more specifically, we warn them. Tell them, 'We're going to steal your heart.'" Mona said as Skull laughed before speaking up.
"So we're gonna send a calling card!? That's totally what a phantom thief would do!" Skull said as Mona hopped up and down excitedly as he spoke up once more.
"Once we do that, the Treasure will appear for certain! ..I think!" Mona said as Skull huffed and spoke up.
"That again?" Skull said. Draconis frowned as he spoke up once more.
"Do you have a better idea, Skull? If so, let's hear it." Draconis said dryly, crossing his arms as he looked expectantly at Skull.
"No, I really don't. But either way sounds like it's worth givin' it a shot!" Skull said as Panther, Draconis and Joker nodded while Mona jumped for joy again and spoke up.
"Our infiltration route is secure. All that's left now is to pump out a calling card in reality, then come back to take the Treasure!" Mona said as Panther spoke up.
"This is it, huh?" Panther said as Joker and Draconis exchanged a look before Joker spoke up with a smirk on his face.
"Let's do this. It's high time Kamoshida answers for what he's done." Joker said confidently yet with authority. Mona smiled as he jumped again and spoke up once more.
"That's the spirit!" Mona said as Draconis chuckled dryly as he spoke up.
"That's also so typical of Joker to take the flashy route with things." Draconis said with a laugh. Mona chuckled while speaking up.
"True. That said, once we send out the calling card, there will be no turning back. Just let me know when you're ready. We'll head back to the hideout and send out that calling card!" Mona said determinedly as Joker and the others nodded. After that, Mona spoke up once more.
"We've secured our route...So, what should we do now? Do you want to head out for today?" Mona asked Joker. Joker stroked his chin thoughtfully before replying.
"Let's leave. All that's left at this point are a few chests we missed, but we need Lockpicks for them I think, as well as beating up Shadows for experience but I'm quite sure we're all pretty drained, aside from maybe Draconis and Skull, but even they are at least a bit winded by now." Joker said as Skull and Draconis both nodded and spoke up.
"Yeah! Let's get the hell outta here before Kamoshida finds us!" Skull said as Draconis nodded before speaking up.
"Agreed. Besides, I think we'd be better served having rested up at least somewhat before sending the calling card so we can fight Kamoshida, if it comes to a fight, at closer to full strength." Draconis said sagely, getting nods from the others. And in a flash the group was back at the castle gate. Joker went to examine the return point as Mona spoke up.
"We've secured our route to the Treasure...Do you want to get out of here?" Mona asked. Joker nodded.
"Yeah, I think we're good here. Let's head back to the real world." Joker said. Skull nodded as he spoke up.
"Mkay, all we gotta do now is steal the Treasure that shows up, yeah? It's finally time." Skull said as Panther spoke up.
"But we need to send the calling card first. When should we do it?" Panther asked as Mona spoke up.
"Just hold on. Let's retreat for now, then we can talk more about that stuff back at the hideout. Oh, and well done today!" Mona said as the others nodded and left the Metaverse, but not before Mona spoke up once more as the group exited the Metaverse.
"YES! We finally secured our route to the Treasure! All we need to do now is send the calling card." Mona said as the group actually exited the Metaverse...
(Back in the real world, at Leblanc with Morgana, Kusa, Ren and Sojiro, neutral POV)
Sojiro looked up as he heard the doors open and nodded as he saw Ren and Kusa walk in to the cafe.
"Hey. You better not be up to any trouble. You make just one mistake and your life's over. Instead of hanging around, you should be studying or something. IF there aren't any customers, you can use the shop." Sojiro said as Kusa smiled and spoke up.
"Wow, that's rather generous of you, Sakura-san. Thank you." Kusa said as Ren nodded and also spoke up.
"What he said. But is anywhere fine? Also thank you, Sakura-san." Ren said. Sojiro grunted as he answered the question.
"Within reason, obviously. Don't touch anything in the kitchen." Sojiro said as Kusa and Ren nodded their understanding before Sojiro kept speaking.
"If you're gonna study, you can use that table. Just don't leave the place covered in eraser crumbs, all right?" Sojiro said as Kusa and Ren nodded and the former spoke up.
"Got it, Sakura-san. We'll make sure not to leave a mess if and when we use the tables to study, when there's no customers around, of course." Kusa said as Sojiro smiled and kept speaking up.
"Oh, that's right...One of my customers mentioned that the counter's a pretty comfortable place to read. Well, your time is yours to spend. Just make sure it's after my customers are gone. Or hey, if you wanna clean the shop, I'm not gonna turn you down. The cleaning stuff's in the bathroom." Sojiro said. Kusa nodded and spoke up again.
"Duly noted, Sakura-san. If and when Ren or I gets the time, maybe we'll give cleaning the place a go, but for now we're probably not gonna have a lot of time to help out, I'm afraid. But down the road a bit, our schedules should clear up a good bit so we'll have extra time to help out on occasion. Either way, thank you for your generosity." Kusa said respectfully to Sojiro who nodded his appreciation of Kusa's gratitude. At around that point, Ren and Kusa's phones went off to signal a group chat from Ryuji.
"You back home yet? I'm pooped...It hit me like a goddamn ton of bricks right when I sat down..." Ryuji sent, making Kusa frown as he read Ryuji's messages as Ann sent a response before Kusa could send a response of his own.
"Well, I guess we did walk pretty far in. I'm glad we found that Treasure thing though." Ann sent as Kusa sent a response of his own.
"Indeed. Now we just have to time our calling card right and we've all but changed his heart." Kusa sent as Ryuji sent a response.
"So Kamoshida'll turn into a good guy if we steal that, huh...Either way, it's up to you when we send the card, Ren." Ryuji sent as Ren sent a response of his own at that point.
"Understood. I'll keep that in mind and coordinate with Morgana on the best time to send the calling card, and then keep you guys informed as we make a decision on when to send the calling card, or if I don't, Kusa likely will since he'll probably be with Morgana and I when we coordinate when to send the calling card." Ren sent. After a bit, Ann sent another response.
"Call us over to the hideout when you're ready." Ann sent. Kusa smirked at Ren's response and Ann's before sending his own.
"Don't worry, Ren. In the unlikely event you and Morgana-sensei forget to inform the others when we decide on the time to send the calling card, I'll make it a point to do so via group chat so they both get it together. Also Ren, if we take our time to an extent sending the calling card, maybe you'll get a chance to get to know Yoshizawa-san better. Who knows, maybe you'll even get lucky and she likes you the way you like her.
Of course, I doubt she really knows you that well as yet, and that's if Kamoshida's not turned her against you like he might've tried to do to me by now after we called his ass out in his office. Speaking of that, who knew Mishima-san had such a backbone? I was impressed by his courage that day. And before you ask Ann, I can explain the details to you later via private chat if you're curious. But I think it'd take too long to break it all down in group chat, plus I get the sense Ren and Ryuji want to crash out for the night. While I could probably stand to get some rest myself, I'm still good to be up for a bit if need be. I don't know about you or Morgana-sensei, though." Kusa sent. Ren smirked as he sent a response of his own.
"Got it. I'll be sure to let you all know when Morgana and I decide on when to send the calling card. That said, nice work out there, guys." Ren sent. Ann quickly sent a response after that.
"See ya! And Kusa, I'll send you a private chat later so you can fill me in on that. I am honestly curious to hear what went down. Plus I wouldn't mind having some one-on-one time with you so I can get to know you a bit more. After all, if we're going to see each other as basically siblings, we should know a good amount about each other, am I right?" Ann sent as Kusa smiled before sending his own response back.
"But of course, Ann! I look forward to your chat." Kusa sent as he and Ren put their phones away. At that point, Morgana looked at Kusa and Ren before speaking up.
"The real challenge is coming up. I hope you're both ready." Morgana said as Kusa and Ren nodded before the former of the two spoke up.
"Of course we're ready, and even if we aren't, we can train on lower-tier Shadows in the Palace to get stronger, but I doubt we'll need much more if any of that." Kusa said confidently as Ren nodded. After that, Ren sat down and figured out a crossword, making Morgana look at him in surprise.
"Ah, I see. Oh, wow...Even I couldn't figure that one out. Maybe you got a bit smarter after solving these crossword puzzles." Morgana said to Ren who shrugged as his Knowledge stat increased. After that Ren and Kusa had seats at the table while pondering their next move...
END OF CHAPTER
A/N: And another chapter down and dusted! Best of all, we're finally near the end of the first Palace! I'd estimate at most it'll take another chapter or two to fully be finished (but that's also including Kamoshida's change of heart into the equation as well) so yeah, finally about to finish the first arc of the game. So I'm excited about that. And before anyone asks, each arc will likely encompass the events of one of the Palaces (plus an arc to cover a certain event that happens later in the events of Royal that I won't say here for sake of spoilers) so we have a few arcs still to go after this one before we even get near to finishing the Royal part of the story.
And then we still have the entirety of the Strikers/Scramble (apparently before being called Strikers, Persona 5 Strikers was called Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers) plot to cover, and only after that's done will this entire story be done, unless I get a crazy whim near the end of this story to have a few chapters of events following the characters post-Strikers.
But I doubt I will unless I take a very small number of chapters to finish the events of both Royal and Strikers. But if my current pace is any indication, I'm guessing it'll take me anywhere from 30 to 50 chapters to cover the events of Royal, and probably another 20 to 30 after that (possibly over 30 but not less than 20 hopefully) to cover Strikers, so at minimum the story as a whole SHOULD at least hit 40 chapters in length, maybe 50 or 60. At absolute most, it shouldn't go over like 80 to 90 chapters in length unless it takes more than 50 chapters to cover all of Royal. If it does then it could be up to or over 100 chapters in length, but only if it takes more than 50 chapters to cover all of Royal, which at the pace I'm currently going it might manage to do, maybe.
Either way, hopefully I keep you, the readers, enjoying the story the whole way through! And until next update, sithlorde1988 out!