All rights to Miraculous Ladybug belong to Zagtoon, Method Animation, Thomas Astruc, and Disney. All rights to Persona 5 go to Atlus and Sega. This is my own creative work.
By late afternoon the clouds had parted to a beautiful sunset. Inside the hotel, the mood was as stormy as ever.
The red hue refracting off the glass was in direct competition with Ann and Ryuji's faces. What was once a lavish spread at the dining table prepared by the Grand Paris' finest chefs was now a carnage zone. Plates knocked over and the table all but devoid of any protein or sweets, now on the plates of the two teens who were gobbling it up like rabid wolves. The guests at nearby tables in their suites and finest wear were frozen with wine glasses at their lips nearly spilling over watching the two. Akira could barely repress a smirk at the two being the eternal odd people out.
"The hell's up with that lady!?" Ryuji snorted in between mouthfuls of the ribeye half caught between his teeth.
"'Subpar schoolgirls!?' 'Filthy swine!?'" Ann growled even with the decency to wipe her mouth… with her hand. "I ought to smack the living daylights out of her!"
"Excuse me…?" A woman in a frilly blue skirt asked. "Will you be… sparing any of the meat or dessert?"
"IT'S TAKEN!" They both screamed.
The other guests flinched, some even jolted for their seats. An uncomfortable number of them, in fact nearly all of them, started asking for their bills and a doggy bag. Their soles screeched across the floor with desperation for escape.
Makoto's head sunk a few feet into her shoulders. "Will you two please behave!?" She hissed to them. "You especially, Ann! I do not think I should have to remind you of what this might do to your image! You shouldn't even be eating sweets!"
Ann's head shot to their senpai's wide-eyed pallor with stuffed, crumb-covered cheeks.
"I HAVE A PERSONAL TRAINER!"
Meanwhile, the rest of the group settled on what remained of the buffet setting it onto their plates like scavengers on a battlefield. Yusuke grabbing a generous portion of seafood and vegetables, far beyond his usual fare of string beans and a cube of tofu if his hunger was that intense. Despite the… tears in his eyes, Akira noted, his attention was elsewhere.
He was turned to Futaba, who was wearing that porcelain mask of hers from her early days out of her room.
"Is that your…" Yusuke blinked. "How did you even pack that into your suitcase?"
"Trade secret." Her muffled voice spoke.
From out the double doors, Andre Bourgeois came in a fixed bow as if his spine was permanently bent over. The man, Akira looked on shrinking inward, was red-faced and sweating having run marathons between here and the lobby.
"Honored guests, I do so hope everything at the buffet is to your liking." The 'mayor' of Paris, if that could be believed at this point, meekly spoke. "We have prepared this feast all for your tastes. Nothing less than the finest here at the Grand Paris. Tell me, is everything of good taste?"
"Uh, yes…!" Akira noted.
"E-Everything is quite delicious!" Haru added near-simultaneously.
Ann and Ryuji answered with five more food things crammed into their mouths.
"Hey, Taka-moron!"
Chloe's shrill call came from the hallway entrance. A diamond-encrusted phone was in her hand with a finger sinisterly over what Akira guessed might have been the camera button. "What do you think is your most flattering angle if you have one? Wait till the public gets a load of this little piggy!"
She suddenly froze.
Akira had a good guess as to why the air was starting to tingle and the room was caught between melting or freezing over. It was something akin to a volcanic eruption along with a blizzard of cold shrapnel combined, threatening devastation to the unfortunate soul who dared trigger their awakenings. Out his peripheral, Major Bourgeois had made the wise decision to head for any point far enough.
Chloe pocketed her phone, huffing and storming off. A whimper came and she walked slightly faster.
Ann and Makoto huffed in turn and went back to their previous engagement. Ravenous growls and tired sighs came back to his ear. The rest of the group cleared their throats and went back to their business as well.
Haru finally spoke, after swallowing a bit of cauliflower on her plate. "So, um… what did everyone think of that boy? Adrien, I believe his name was?"
Akira caught the silent plea Haru signaled for in her gaze.
The quiet boy cleared his throat. "Oh, Adrien. The, uh, model boy. I thought he was a cool kid… He had this, this vibe to him, you know?"
Most of the group righted themselves. The talk had the desired effect, as Ann and Ryuji were beginning to eat their food like normal human beings again. He and the rest of the group could hear the soft piano music from the overhead speakers, not to mention their thoughts once more. Honestly, Adrien was a nice kid, and there was a certain something about him that struck Akira, though that itself was no surprise. People were just collections of masks in his experience.
Morgana's black head popped from out of Akira's bag, huffing. "Hmph! I just hope he doesn't have any plans to get close to Lady Ann! It's always the pretty boys with something to hide."
"Should us boys feel flattered?"
"You know what I mean!"
Yusuke took another forkful of shrimp and broccoli. "He did mention some rather interesting things about that model Silva. I can't help but note his strange apprehension towards that Pernet woman as well…"
Akira and Morgana groaned. Ann was right back to stuffing herself. At least Ryuji stayed snapped out of it.
"About that, actually." Great, now Futaba was getting in on it. Those two needed to learn how to read a room. "I actually did a little light research afterwards. Pernet's not just some hoity-toity fashion critic with style like a traffic light. She's got her own brand, too."
Makoto blinked. "Wait, really?"
"Yup. She only signs on dudes, but those dudes end up hitting it big in the industry. Magazines, shows, even some TV deals, not to mention boatloads of moolah. In fact, that Silva guy signed on with her some time ago. Around the time they started dating."
They all looked to her, then back to their plates. The food was almost invisible or forgotten, though.
"You know," Ann began clearly, the red in her eyes now only from the red velvet walls. "Silva was already pretty big. Even before he signed on, he'd gotten a good amount of success. Nothing major, but enough. He was also known for being a pretty big activist. He worked on a lot of projects towards protecting the environment and endangered species."
"Heh, wish we could've met that guy…" Ryuji muttered.
"Yeah, he called it quits."
Ann and the others whipped their heads to the hacker. "Wait, what!?"
"Yup, called it quits. Done, finito, game over."
No one knew what to say to that. Well, they did, but didn't know why they couldn't say it.
"In fact, Silva cancelled all his ongoing projects. Just one day called the folks in charge and said 'thanks but no thanks.' No one could make heads or tails out of it."
The whole situation reeked of strange worse than the limburger cheese on the table simply reeked. They already knew from their few moments of seeing the man that he might have been a few trees short of a forest, but this was next level weird. Though there was the collective feeling amongst all of them – abrupt changes in behavior for the worse never led to any good signs.
Whispers came from behind them. In all their thoughts and the carnage Ann and Ryuji laid to the buffet, it was almost a shock that people were still in the room. Yet all eyes on them, and not so flattering words were surely being passed around.
"I think we should discuss this back in our room." Akira muttered.
Everyone nodded, set their plates to the side and headed out.
Morgana swiped his paw out the other side of the bag. "Wait! I didn't get to try the sushi!"
The Phantom Thieves all gathered back in the room, seated at the pit with brows scrunched in concentration. They were hunched over any magazine that had Silva's face or article on the phone that had mentioned his name. Between all their efforts, they'd gathered quite a bit.
Antonio Silva was once known as nature's guardian soul born into the world of man, whose heart beat with the forest. His early success as a model became the springboard for his environmental work, as he poured himself into any campaign that lent a hand to an ailing Mother Earth. Photos of and interviews with him from recent years came out of meetings with everything local groups to major organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund. Many of his photos showed him with endangered species such as the Sundra Tiger or African elephant, as calm as housecats with him.
Then Pernet stepped into the picture, and if Antonio Silva was once a life-giving tree of a man, he'd now burned into withered ash. Talks with him ended with things being thrown across the room and when talking of animals, the first thing that came to mind was fur pelts, authentic ones only. One could hardly tell the new Silva from the one that looked capable of smiling.
Ryuji's separate findings revealed social media was more shocked than anything. Withdrawing from his many charities and projects without answers, no one had anything to say. Nothing except for 'bring the old Silva back.'
"It's hard to believe such a drastic change could even be possible." Makoto muttered.
"It seems that on top of all this, Silva has called for the jobs of several people in the industry, including models from rival brands." Haru explained. "All of it is based on rather egregious charges, though."
"Either way, it's not like it's scored the guy points in anyone's book." Ryuji added.
"This change in behavior is suspicious," Akira said clasping his hands together. "No matter what way you look at it."
"For real…"
"So? What do you guys want to do?" Morgana asked as he leapt to the center of the table between them.
"What do you mean?" asked Akira.
"Silva's actions and words show all the tell-tale signs of a Palace. At least, it looks to be that way." The black cat turned away, his ears flattening on his head.
A Palace. The very word sent a jolt down each of their spines like a gunshot to the chest. It stirred familiar flames inside, an old smolder that was building back up into a burning call to arms moving their limbs outside their thoughts. Akira's fists grabbed the folds in his pants as if to tame those flames.
Yusuke cleared his throat, calling his and everyone's attention back. "Even if that is the case, what can we possibly do? None of us possess the Meta-Nav anymore. Our endeavors as thieves are a thing of the past."
"Actually, that shouldn't be a problem." Akira said smirking.
"Wait, what?" Ann asked.
The leader turned to Futaba and gave a nod. The girl in question hopped to her feet grabbing her phone and flicked her finger over. Showing it to the others, the screen now had what looked to be a black smiling face with an eyeball.
"Da-da-da-da! Presenting, courtesy of your friendly Alibaba, the man-made Metaverse Navigator!"
"WHAAAAATT!?"
The team's combined yell echoed through the room. A knock came on their door.
"Is everything alright in there?" A thick French-accented voice asked.
"Uh, yeah, we're all good!" Ann yelled back in French.
"Very well…"
Closing in, everyone turned to the resident hacker with eyes bulging. Ryuji, minding his volume for once, whispered furiously. "The heck!? You made your own Meta-Nav?"
"Yup. I got back my mom's cognitive psience notes after the whole Shido fiasco and got a good look at 'em." Futaba gained that wild look and crafty grin whenever talks leaned into her subject of interest. "That's when I thought 'Egads! What if I try to program all this into an app!?' A few days and a dozen or so cups of instant yakisoba and orange juice later and wha-bam! One custom-made Meta-Nav with a personalized design! Achievement unlocked!"
"Okay, okay, but… you made… a Meta-Nav." Ryuji shook his head. "For real!?"
"I really have to agree with Ryuji." Makoto muttered bracing her no doubt spinning brain with a hand. "The Meta-Nav wasn't like any other phone app. It wasn't even an app – you said so yourself!"
"Moreover it is rather difficult to believe access to an alternate world can even be programmed into a phone app to begin with." Yusuke added silently.
"Eh, it can happen. Just seems like a sequel-esque idea to me."
Akira's hand rested on Futaba's shoulder. "We can grill about the details later." His palm sucked out the excess energy as he pulled her down to her seat again.
Haru nodded. "Yes, we should focus on the matter at hand. Silva's disturbing behavior makes him a likely candidate."
"Alrighty, then!" Futaba opened the app to a similar designed list of fields and the mic on. "Antonio Silva!"
"No candidate found."
Everyone blinked.
"Uh… Antonio Silva?" Futaba vocalized again.
"No candidate found."
"Wait, what the hell?" Ryuji asked, dumbfounded. "He doesn't have one?"
"How can that be?" Haru added. "His actions show all the signs."
"Do they?" Makoto noted. "All of our previous targets not only had loathsome personalities, they engaged in criminal actions. Their deeds and characters were longstanding, built over a long period of time due to certain events."
"Oh, yeah…" Ryuji breathed, nodding. "This Silva guy ain't exactly doin' anything wrong. In fact, he was a pretty cool guy before. He just gets pissed off a lot now."
"…And that's what we haven't been considering."
The others tuned to him and his voice, quiet but commanding attention. The thief leader sat with his gaze to his hands, notes and details pulled from folders in his memory. Akira's contemplative gaze, hidden behind his glasses, soon turned to all of them and scanned across the room. "There's something we're not discussing here."
Morgana, his partner by twisted yet humble fate, seemed to read his thoughts. The non-cat nodded and answered. "That's right. Think back to what we heard from Adrien. Silva's erratic behavior only began around the time he started dating Camille Pernet."
At the mention of Pernet, Ann snapped to attention. Her glare and tensed shoulders kept Akira's eye on her. "You mentioned her before, all that stuff about how she only works with male models. That sounds a little fishy to me."
"Doesn't she employ women as well?" Haru asked.
"Checked her whole roster of active models. Nothing." Futaba shook her head and curled into the seat. "All she's got are dudes. What's more, in recent years, the majority of all the successful models have been under her brand name only."
Here was the start of the old paper trail that never led to anywhere but the worst of humanity. The trail that was too often swept under the rug. Problematic actions were the first, and in the eyes of the everyday person, the only sign that one saw the world through a distorted, borderline psychotic lens. Camille Pernet already left a bad enough impression in their views that any shady rumors were practically road signs evolved into a billboard with neon lights. The overhead lamps almost dimmed as they delved further.
"Looked into it a little more on the elevator ride up." Futaba's nonchalant air leaked from her voice in spite of the mood as she swiped her finger over her phone to a saved page with various links. "There's a lot of word on the sly here. Supposedly, any female models with Pernet get fired out of the blue. Private details getting leaked, random-ass scandals, all sorts of bad stuff. Not to mention there's the on again, off again stories of sexual harassment."
Ryuji scoffed. "Makes sense. I mean, we're talkin' models here."
"I think I'm seeing where you're going with this…" Makoto shook her head holding herself. "Pernet may be staging such scandals to ruin the reputation of female models and remove them from the industry."
"Wouldn't such a thing be damaging to herself as well due to association?" Yusuke asked.
"Not if she frames it just right for the public." Morgana noted. "No doubt she considers that."
"There's more." Futaba's finger scrolled down her screen as she spoke. "According to some, Pernet's even involved in scandals regarding her competitors. It's what keeps her up at the tippy top."
"Well, this works out just fine."
Ann was now on her feet with her fists clenched tightly enough to draw blood. "I was ticked off at that snob enough before. If she's hurting people just to coddle up to pretty boys, we've got a majorly good reason to take her down."
"Hell, yeah!" Ryuji pumped his fist as he rose beside her. "Pernet's as rotten as they come! We got ourselves a target."
"Well, then…" Akira side-glanced Futaba. The young hacker turned to the Meta-Nav again.
"Camille Pernet."
*BEEP*
"Got it." Futaba smirked.
"Alright, then. Business as usual." Yusuke leaned in. "Where would the location of her Palace be?"
"It's likely to be some place where someone of her standing has influence." Haru cupped her chin to her fingers in thought. "Considering she is a guest of Mr. Agreste and a renowned fashion critic, someplace related to that."
"If we look at it as a place where she wants to showcase her dominance over the fashion world, how about the Grand Palais?" Makoto suggested. "It's commonly used as an exhibition hall for fashion shows here in France. Various events are held there as well."
"Candidate found." The app rung. A pulse of otherworldly energy was felt vibrating in the air.
"Two down!" Ryuji cheered. "Now, the distortion."
"Wait, what the heck!?"
They all jumped at Futaba's yell. Darting her glance around at each of their stares, she flipped the phone over in her hand. They all inspected the phone screen, minding the stylized design of the app in red and black spirals befitting their aesthetic, in Yusuke's words. What made their jaws drop was at the bottom of the screen.
There were two fields for distortion.
Eight mouths hung loose from their jaws with cracks of voices coming through every now and again. One manner of utterly warped thought was enough to set the background for the more interesting Palaces. They could certainly attest for doing things that they could say weren't even on the bucket lists of most teenagers. Moreover they were expectant that even a man-made Meta-Nav was sure to border on the edge between strange and ludicrous.
But this…
"W-What in the-!?" Morgana yowled. "There's no way for a person to have two distortions! It's just impossible!"
"What on Earth is this…?" Yusuke cupped his hands to his chin, appearing calm but with eyes widened. "Do you suppose this might be a sign of some mental instability?"
"Futaba, what is going on!?" Ryuji shouted. "Your app don't got any glitches or anything, does it!?"
"D-Don't look at me!" The girl responded. "This is the first time I've even used it! I didn't even have time for the beta before we started packing!"
"So, what? This thing ain't even tested!?"
"Guys, cool it!" Everyone turned to Akira. Their leader had his hand on Futaba and taken the phone from her hand. The two empty fields in the area almost evoked a chill from him, but he wore skin as well as any mask. "Maybe it is a glitch. Either way, let's not dwell on it."
"Akira-kun's right." Makoto nodded. "Let's focus on Pernet's keywords for the moment. We could well be overreacting to a bug. Perhaps it will still only take one word."
Ann crossed her arms and leaned into Akira with the phone in his hand. "Well, I've got a good guess. That Pernet acts like she's some sort of goddess and looks down on everybody like they're just flawed creations. I'd have to think she sees her little domain of the perfect as 'heaven.'"
The pulse of mental force permeated the air again. Flashes of the very realm Pernet envisioned could almost be seen. Their hotel room was set into a dull shade but with a blinding flash at the same time. Its sudden brilliance forced them all to blink or shake their heads.
Morgana, eyes gleaming, recovered first. "Incredible, Lady Ann! You guessed it on the first try! You're so amazing…"
Akira pressed the button for access.
Nothing.
"It's still not working…?" Haru asked, sweating.
"So then, it truly does require two distortions?" Yusuke wondered.
The silence vice-gripped their forearms. Ryuji swallowed and growled. "Ah, the heck with it! Somebody make another guess!"
Grasping at straws of understanding, the others complied. The underlying question was, how does a person see the world in two distinct ways? There could be exceptions to places or people or things, the effects of childhood memories or trauma, or another passion she secretly harbored. An enormous public reputation, scant rumors, strong secrecy, and the prodigal child called logic born from psychology scratched all that off.
There was nothing left but to make random guesses. It became a pinball game of thoughtless answers with no point or trajectory. 'Jail' was one guess, 'hospital' was another, 'cavern' was another still. Each one came up the same, with veins throbbing on their heads at the repeated rejection.
Ann exhaled, loudly. "This is getting us nowhere…"
"Actually, there's something else we need to consider." Morgana spoke, sitting up straight. His tail flicked as he looked Akira in the eye. "The matter of what Pernet might have done to Silva. The two distortions aside, that's another abnormal factor."
"What do you mean?"
"As you all know, a Palace is the manifestation of the distorted cognitions within the mind of a person with strong desires. Regardless of the circumstances of its creation, it doesn't grand the person any kind of special abilities. Distortion is what it is, and all it is."
Ann sank into the velvet cushions again. "Yeah, but what else could have happened? It's not like she had this world-changing chat with him, did she?"
"Perhaps some kind of major event happened that changed his viewpoint…" Yusuke mused.
"You don't think Silva's just uber messed up 'cause he's constantly being turned into a supervillain, do you?" Ryuji asked.
"I don't really see how any of that could have so drastically changed his viewpoints." Haru spoke. The others saw her head bow, fading into old pains. "To think that he would become such a different person that he would discard all the enthusiasm he put into his work. Honestly, I am quite disappointed that he would give up on the rainforest."
"Candidate found."
The group startled. The pulse came once more, even stronger this time. Distortions weighed the atmosphere down around them. In the blackness, trails of substance ran along their feet, tearing through the couch and breaking the marble floors.
"Wait… the second keyword is 'rainforest?'" Makoto stammered.
"She sees the venue as… heaven and a rainforest?" Yusuke murmured.
"Maybe this lady is mental…" Ryuji commented snidely.
"Well, now I really want to get a look at this place." Akira spoke, standing. He pressed the button on the nav. The familiar sense of the world around them melting and spiraling into something else that made their senses churn and vanish began. They braced themselves for whatever was to come.
"Beginning navigation."
Once their perceptions had been set right, the first thing they had caught was the vines snaking around their feet. Akira lifted his foot and shook off the coil that had caught it. Ryuji and Futaba near tripped over their own feet with the thick brambles reaching to their ankles. It was an instant reminder of Pernet's strange second keyword. It was utterly confusing. The only connection between Pernet and a rainforest would likely have been her desire to give nature a makeover for the grievous sin of clashing green with brown hues.
True to any Palace, Morgana's appearance had changed. Their little normal black cat had been turned into the large-headed mascot of the Phantom Thieves, his collar morphed into a dashing scarf and a belt filled with gadgets. Their little guide zoomed out the door in a cloud of moss and dust.
They followed him through the double doors down the hall and to the fire escape. An emptiness had come into the entire hotel, where moss and vines engulfed the once splendorous grandeur out of memory and existence. The red velvet walls and golden trimmed carpets were lost to foliage like vision lost in shadows painted a dirty green. Ascending, the steps nearly crumbled with the weight of eight sets of feet running across them. They'd had to catch each other as pieces broke off into a leafy abyss. Ann had almost bumped her head on a massive tree branch that jutted from a broken wall behind her.
They reached the fire escape and burst it open. The calm night sky was swallowed into clouds of warped thoughts, turning into a sinister red storm. At least, red was the assumed color. The Phantom Thieves all shielded their eyes turning to wards the source of a blinding light.
"W-What the hell!?" Ryuji shouted.
Miles away from the rooftop they were on, across miles of Parisian architecture devore by jungle, floated a massive castle in the clouds. Its radiance reflected between pillars of gold and silver and the massive halo above it stung at the eyes. It hummed a maddening hum, an operatic tone of vanity. Behind their arms shielding their visions, they could see the clouds around it churn and swirl into the streets below, dissolving into a glittering sheen. It gave a sheen even to the bark of the surrounding trees.
"The clash between themes is stinging to the eyes." Yusuke fumed, turning his back to the Palace proper. "There is no harmony, no sense of unity in this abhorrent realm. It is demented even by the standards of Palaces."
"How can two different distortions even exist to begin with?" Ann questioned.
"Wait, something's coming!" Haru yelled.
A large shape swooped by them, far too large to be any sort of jungle bird. They ducked down before whatever it was could knock them upside the head. They all rose to gander at the creature and gaped.
It certainly wasn't a jungle bird. It was too furry, with limbs too plump, and heaving with every beat of its… wings. A gorilla, a winged gorilla, hooting and grunting as any gorilla would. They followed the hybrid creature as it sailed clumsily across the sky towards the Palace.
Futaba shook her head. "Jeez, now I've seen everything."
"Wait," Akira held out his hand. "It's saying something."
They listened in, making out words in the gorilla's grunts. "Ooh, ooh, see the goddess." "Become disciple, ooh, ooh." "Me ugly, ooh-eeh-ooh." "Goddess make me pretty, ooh-ooh."
"The goddess will… make her pretty?" Yusuke mused. "Wait, this 'goddess' must be referring to Pernet, right?"
"Become her disciple, make her pretty…" Haru wondered. "Pernet owns her own fashion brand, so that means…"
"They want to join her brand and become part of her 'heavenly kingdom.'" Makoto surmised. "In other words, these are likely how all those aspiring young female models are viewed by Pernet."
"For real!?" Ryuji stomped his foot and shoved his hands into his pockets, kicking up dust. "She thinks those girls are all a bunch of dirty stinkin' apes!?"
"Okay, this lady is dead meat!" Ann yelled.
"I have to admit, even I've never seen anything like this. But despite everything, we've managed to infiltrate Pernet's Palace." Morgana hopped onto the railing and turned to address them, Akira specifically. "What do you want to do? Should we head over and scope it out?"
Akira cast a line of focus across the horizon, glaring at the gaudy Palace as though it were mud. Its faux glitter drew a number of those winged apes towards it, luring them with false visions of dreams achieved. No doubt inside must have been several winding pathways and routes like the strings of promises Pernet made to unsuspecting victims. He shut his eyes with a thousand thoughts running behind closed lids.
"We've had a big day already." He spoke with his back turned still to the group. "Let's pace ourselves. We'll start exploring tomorrow."
"You sure?" Morgana asked.
Akira nodded.
At least now they had an idea of what they were up against.
And done. A little shorter this time, probably because it was mostly a Phantom Thieves-centric chapter. At the very least, we're getting the ball rolling.
A lot of you will likely be scratching your heads at what happened here. Two distortions? Normally that shouldn't be possible, and you'd be right. Let's just move this story along and see how many can put the clues together. Maybe some readers already have an idea. Just know that I am going somewhere with this.
I am a bit on the ball about doing a whole chapter solely based on the exploration of the Palace. On the one hand, I know it's cool to see the Thieves move about, but this isn't JUST a P5 story. I have to put focus on the Miraculous characters as well. The next chapter will see them cross paths again, all leading up to the eventual meeting and team-up. I do just want to focus on the important parts. Also remember, they are thieves, so they must do this craftily, rather than just look around and fight Shadows.
I am also getting stuff in the works for another story, a Digimon story. Then there's also my latest HTTYD fanfic that I want to get back to after leaving it aside for a test reaction. I think it did well enough. Eventually, I will be alternating between updates for those three, so you know.
Onto the reviews:
edragom46: Hopefully you got my PM about the correction.
ENDDRAGON369: Yes, yes it is. I've been on something of a Digimon fancraze in the last few weeks, thanks to all the Digimon stuff coming out. I'm channeling all that into my next story.
Tora Lych: I know she has orange hair, but I believe red-head is the commonly used term. I never got it myself, but eh.
Nighthawk6595: Soon enough, my friend. Soon enough.
As always, review, favorite, follow! Until next time!