"Well, as you've often shown, you have quite the intuition, Joker."

An afternoon trip into the metaverse, no more time wasted, just getting to where they needed to go, getting what they were after and getting out. That was the plan. The first part of it went just fine. Travelling to Yongen right after school, diving into the metaverse right in front of the Sakura house. And right there in front of the four of them was the greatest possible sign that they were on the right track.

Not an enormous pyramid, nor (thankfully) any kind of expansive desert to traverse. The loose relationship between real world space and metaverse space was perhaps one of the strangest things about it. Joker could imagine Morgana spouting something about great distortions having great impacts on the world around it, not just in shape but also dimensions. But, here there was no great distortion. Futaba was exactly who she was supposed to be. And her old self, her old soul, was exactly where Joker assumed it would be.

But perhaps a mind without a body to inhabit was itself a distortion in this world, of a sort. Because while there was no great pyramid, it was clear Futaba's self had a great impact on this place. A vault. A very Egyptian vault, with mild technological trappings. "It's like her palace, but much smaller," Joker observed aloud. "This is definitely the place."

"Is that how you knew it would be here?" Violet asked, "It's the same place her palace was?"

"It was one of the reasons," Joker nodded to her, "More importantly, she was a hikikomori. For years, her whole life was her bedroom. It was her palace because it defined her existence. It was baked into who she was as a person. And if it represented who she was, both in the old world and in this one–"

"Then it would also be the place her old self would naturally gravitate to," Naoto nodded along. She took a cautious look up in the direction of the behemoth that hung far, far above them even now. "Though it's perhaps lucky for us that our enemy didn't simply bind them to herself somehow so we couldn't retrieve them."

"Hardly," Crow spoke up with folded arms, deliberately not looking the same way as Naoto. The thing above them didn't deserve nor require acknowledgement. "This is a game, is it not? A game with the fate of the world at stake. She must appear to play by the rules and give us a chance at victory, even if she subtly guides us towards failure." He smirked at Joker. "It's what I did, after all."

"You mean what Shido did," Joker immediately countered.

"Tch."

"So... How do we get in?" Violet asked, both as a genuine question and to stop an oncoming argument. The place was a giant wall of sandstone blocks that covered two city blocks. There didn't even seem to be an entrance.

"I'm sure I can find an entrance given some time," Naoto offered.

Their leader strolled along the wall of the vault, not examining it particularly closely. But even so, "Hm." He stopped at a point that would be approximately where the Sakura house would be in the real world, reached between the sandstone blocks. Announced by a click, the wall rumbled, the stone wall opening a few feet to Joker's right. "There we go."

Naoto stared at him as though he grew a second head. Which as far as she was concerned he must have to have figured out the entrance that quickly. "How did you do that?"

"Hm?" Joker looked her way and saw her stunned expression. "Oh, you do this sort of thing enough times you get a knack for it I guess. I had good teachers." And the Third Eye. But he didn't really feel the need to mention that part. It seemed the unnatural perceptiveness hadn't gone away, despite the being that gave it to him no longer existing. Not that the thief would complain. It was an incredibly useful ability.

"Well, consider me impressed," the detective said in praise, before gesturing at the now accessible entryway. "Shall we?"

Joker nodded. Stepped forward into the entrance and–

"Access denied."

"So much for your knack, Joker," Crow verbally poked his rival. He examined the small space before the heavy stone door that blocked their path. A security console marked one side of it that at least fit the anachronistic theme, but, "Was that voice familiar to you?" he asked as he stepped into the small space himself.

"Access denied."

"Yes, that one."

Naoto followed the two. "It does resemble the voice from–"

"Access denied."

"Yes, thank you. From the love hotel."

Violet was the last to join them. "Those speakers are the same ones as–"

"Access denied."

"Alright, you can stop that now!" Violet groaned. "So it's probably her doing? She has to put things in our reach but doesn't have to make it easy, huh?"

"Perhaps we search for an alternative entrance?" Naoto suggested.

"Or we retrieve someone who would have access," Crow suggested in turn, giving Joker a significant look. "Surely we both know where this is going, Joker. It isn't like you planned to keep her ignorant of this. And you supposedly chose our first target specifically because she already has a persona."

The leader sighed. It felt like they were playing into her hands, but, "Let's return to the real world. I'll message her."

A half hour later, four teenagers were standing in the alleyway just outside of the Sakura house, doing their best to look inconspicuous. It was helped by at least one of them being a local who was known in the neighbourhood as a friend or adopted member of the family, depending on whom you asked.

And then they were joined by a fifth. Futaba, still in her uniform. And happy to see at least one of the people Ren was with. "Ren! Hi! Are you gonna... Introduce..." Her eyes moved from Ren, to Sumire, to Naoto, to Akechi, then narrowed. "Okay Ren I know I pushed you to bring girls home but I'm not interested in other guys. Those two can go away." She looked again to Naoto. "No offense. I'm sure you're nice." And back to Akechi. "All the offense. You're a jerk. Jerkechi."

Ren did his best to suppress his laughter at Akechi's expense. "Futaba could you come here for a sec?"

She narrowed her eyes, "Why?" Even though she felt the need to ask, she did cautiously draw nearer.

Ren tapped at his phone. "Beginning navigation."

"What?"

The strange warping effect as the group traversed from the real world to the metaverse was as brief as ever. It only gave Futaba enough time to consider potential answers for her own question before she was quickly confronted with the correct answer. The familiar sandstone edifice before her that represented who she used to be. "No..." She felt uncertainty grip her heart, sought solace in her boyfriend's arms as she hid from the sight by burying her face in his chest. "No no no no no! It's not back! I'm better! I'm better!"

The others looked away from what should probably have been a personal moment.

"Sh, sh, shhh!" Ren soothed her, stroking her long, red hair. "You are better, it's okay. The fact that you're out here and not in there proves it, right?" he asked. Logic always worked better for her than empty assurances. "That behind me is something completely different and... Something we need your help with."

"It's not my palace?" she asked with hope.

"No. What it is, well, it'll take some explaining."

And explain he did. From waking up to a wholly different reality, to finding Akechi was alive again, to confronting Xochiquetzal and getting the memories of this world forced upon him. And their conclusions for how to play this out.

Futaba glared at the sky, at the giant figure hovering far above. "So it's another one."

"Yes," Naoto interjected, "Though in this case it seems one who has already claimed victory."

"And that was why you were acting so weird on the first day of school," the small girl continued, having heard the detective's words but not concerned herself with acknowledging them. "You were... Like a different person. But I guess to you I was a different person."

"It was pretty weird to wake up to Sojiro telling me to cheat on his daughter."

She hummed, relaxed into his arms. "A world where everyone gets tied down to one person. So weird." Her head tilted up so her eyes would meet his. "And yet you went along with me anyway," she grinned up at him.

"Well by then I had this world's memories, but," his hand settled at the nape of her neck, "Even if I hadn't I would've gone along with it anyway. Whatever it took to make you happy."

"Aww!"

Crow rolled his eyes at the display. "Can we move things along?"

"Shut up, Jerkechi!"

"Codenames."

"Shut up Bird Brain!" Futaba quickly corrected. "We were having a moment!"

"You've had several moments. I'd like if we could stop wasting them and get back to business."

"Why's he involved again?" Futaba demanded of her boyfriend before looking over her shoulder to glare at the black-masked boy. "I still haven't forgiven you for bailing on Joker after we saved the whole friggin' world, no thanks to you!"

"Well in this world I cared not the slightest bit about your boyfriend's plight," the unrepentantly villainous member of the phantom thieves shrugged. "He was just a pawn, the same as the rest of your ragtag group. Though I'll have you know in my first life I did help Joker with avoiding his arrest. Posthumously, granted. And it didn't stick. In that life we were much closer to rivals I'd like to think. He was someone I can respect. It's that version of Joker that I'm here to help."

Unfortunately, Crow's pleas of, 'good intentions' fell on deaf ears halfway through as Futaba became far more interested in her clothing. Her school uniform. "Why aren't I in my phantom thief outfit? Oh, no wait, I get it. I'm supposed to be here since this place is for me and I can't rob myself."

"That might pose a problem," Violet spoke, drawing Futaba's attention.

And not for what she was saying. "Daaaaamn!" the redhead leered, looking the gymnast up and down, just barely managing not to drool.

Her fellow redhead was torn between her two sets of instincts. One that told her to be distinctly uncomfortable with that kind of open lust, and the other that understood it was an expected part of wearing revealing clothing while having a body trained for grace and agility. The end result of that conflict a frustrated flush and fidgeting hands.

"Futaba," Ren warned.

"Oh, right, sorry. What were you saying? Oh, the clothes thing. Nah, it's fine. I'm support anyway so I'll be stuck in my persona the whole time."

"Your persona that you can summon by...?" Crow asked, tapping his mask.

Futaba felt at her face and found that no, there was no mask there either. "Huh." But there was something there. Which she grabbed and flung away. "Persona!" Her glasses flew out of her hand.

Nothing happened.

"... I needed those."

Ren, who had leapt to catch the suddenly airborne spectacles before they could hit something and potentially break, gently placed them back on her face.

"Thank you," she said, adjusting them before giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Your good boyfriend karma just went up. Okay, so... No persona I guess. Ugh, I don't wanna be an escort mission! And Bird Brain is one of the ones protecting me? This is the worst!"

"Oh I won't be protecting you, I can assure you of that," Crow promised. "I'm sure Joker can manage just fine carrying our powerless tagalong."

"Okay, you can stop talking to me! New members!" she pointed at the two others in the group. "New members need new codenames!"

"Ah, I already have one. I'm Violet, nice to meet you," Violet introduced herself with a bow.

Naoto was far less eager. "I'm not exactly enthused about being considered a member of a group of thieves. Also, isn't it entirely pointless to use codenames given our enemy knows exactly who all of us are to the point of holding a version of our minds hostage?"

"Yes," Joker agreed without hesitation, but then smirked. "On the other hand, tradition."

To her credit, Naoto rolled with it and smirked back. "Hmph. Very well. If that is how things are done here then... Hm... Perhaps 'Holmes' would suffice."

"Ayy, I like it!" Futaba was instantly enthusiastic, making strange signs with her hands. "What up, Holmes! Set to bust into the crib of this fine chica?"

Naoto stared at her, Violet stared at her, Crow stared at her, Joker stared at her and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Maybe you should choose something else. Also, Futaba, please never say anything like that ever again."

"Psht, don't get all up in my grill just 'cos I'm beautiful."

He was fairly certain that was very, very wrong for whatever she was going for, but as long as she never did it again he could be happy.

"Very well. Then..." Naoto seemed to struggle for another option. "Poirot? No, too much of a mouthful. Morse? Spade?"

"Those are some random suggestions," Violet observed.

"She's naming famous detectives from literature," Crow informed her with a dismissive and bored wave.

Futaba's head whipped in his direction. "Wait, she?"

"Hm," Naoto hummed with a grin. "Now that he mentions it, my junior has a point. I shouldn't need to take a moniker for another great detective as I am one myself. An ace detective, if you will. Ace. I think that should suffice."

"So long as we can get a move on," her so-called junior sighed.

"Fine fine!" Futaba brushed past him and everyone else as she headed for the entrance, "Don't get your tighty-whities in a knot, I'm going."

"Access granted! Welcome Futaba!"

"Super creepy," she muttered as she heard the automatic greeting on crossing the threshold, "Also weird to be welcoming me to a place that's supposed to be me. Super rude! You're supposed to apologise for the intrusion when you put a bunch of unwanted electronics and surveillance in someone else's stuff! Sojiro taught me that!" She paused for a moment, then turned back to her boyfriend. "I'll... Totally get around to removing all the cameras and stuff at the cafe by the way. Promise."

As ever, Ren didn't really believe her.

The screen next to the door lit up. "Please input password?" Futaba read aloud.

"A password too?" Violet asked, "Is this all still counting as fair play at this point?"

"No, I got it," Futaba promised, entering the first character, it appearing on the screen. "Wha–! No censoring?! Not cool! Okay, you guys have to look away!"

"Oh can we please just–!" Crow moaned again.

"Cram it, Bird Brain, this is serious business!" Ren forcefully about-faced Crow as the two other girls politely turned around. "Okay, da, da da da, daaaah da!" A quiet rumble as the door lock released. "Alright! We're good to– Wait, wait!"

Most of the others had already turned around to clearly see that the password she entered didn't disappear after she entered it. Not that it meant much to them.

'|=(_)7484 4|\/|4|\/|174'

"What in the world is that and why did you think I would care?" Crow asked, but didn't wait for an answer, striding past her to enter the vault now that it was open. Violet offered her a supportive pat on the shoulder as she passed by. Joker and Ace brought up the rear, bringing the suddenly bashful girl with them. In hindsight, Futaba understood that assuming any of them could translate a pretty much dead internet cipher on the spot was maybe a little much.

Inside was about what the thieves had expected. A palace-like interior. A maze of bronze age traps and trials. Thankfully it was quite small. Much smaller than the great pyramid Futaba's cognition had created previously. Winding corridors separating perhaps only a dozen rooms. Mercifully simple to navigate despite not having a proper navigator. And every once in a while the group would be interrupted in their exploration by voices. By images.

'I wanted to escape. But I knew I never would. The voices. They told me over and over again how horrible I must have been. That it was all my fault. I believed them. I thought I deserved to rot in that tomb for what I did to Mom.'

Futaba clung to Joker's arm as she watched an image of herself sat on the floor, knees drawn into her chest, covering her head and rocking back and forth. All the while begging the voices to stop.

And then it disappeared.

"I see," Ace mused aloud, "Because these places are formed around a single uncontained psyche, the memories and feelings of it leak out into the space it created."

"Ace," Joker spoke warningly, "We can analyse later. Let's just, get this done as quickly as we can," he urged, stroking his girlfriend's hair as she relived some particularly unpleasant memories.

The detective looked ashamed. "Ah. Of course. My apologies."

The shadows by comparison seemed a far lesser threat. After so many battles all of the persona users were more than strong enough to take on the lurking id that wandered the corridors. The only great difficulty was in not having someone able to guide them to act efficiently. Futaba tried, but without her persona to act as a database it all came down to basic memorisation, figuring out every shadow's weakness all over again. And there was one other difference... The shadows were... Not quite the same. They were all familiar creatures to the ones from Futaba's palace certainly but Joker was fairly certain they didn't all know ailment susceptibility techniques, nor did half of them know charm skills. The effect of the changed world, Crow theorised, or possibly the work of their enemy. It was impossible to know for sure.

They had all been hit at least a couple of times by Stagnant Air. At the time it hadn't seemed much of a concern beyond the immediate. But it was only after a certain battle with multiple Andras, each one seeming intent to hit Ace with Foul Breath over and over again did the group start to suspect there was more to it than simply weakening their constitution.

"I'm fine," she insisted.

"N– Ace, you look like you're burning up and you're breathing pretty hard!" Violet spoke out of concern.

"I'll be fine," the detective amended without thinking. "It was just difficult to breathe with those fumes constantly bombarding me. It will pass." She was confident of that much. They didn't need to know the particulars of what she was feeling. Just that it would pass and wouldn't impede them.

And so they continued, pushing further and further through the memories of Futaba's alternate. Thankfully all they saw by this point were her memories of being a part of the Phantom Thieves. Much happier memories, much easier to digest as she began to come out of her shell and fall for the boy who was by her side through it all.

"Is it me or is this all remarkably easy?" Crow asked aloud as they neared what they believed was the final chamber.

"Bird Brain!" Futaba exclaimed accusingly. "Did you want it to be harder?! Because what you just said made that happen!"

"Pardon me for having a little concern when we face far less resistance than we should," Crow argued back. "This world belongs to our enemy. If we're having this easy a time of it then I can only assume we're being lured into a trap."

"I'm forced to agree," said Ace. "We're here, this easily, without a navigator and less than ideal cohesion. I can only assume we were intended to succeed."

"Of course you were!" The group whirled around, searching for the source of the familiar voice as Joker moved Futaba behind him. "How could I not want you to succeed? Such a daring attempt to bring back a lost love!" She faded into view, as intact and human as the first time they had seen her. "And now here you are. Defending her like her devoted knight in dark armour. Oh how gallant!"

"So you can simply appear wherever you want then," Violet concluded. "I guess you can also listen in on everything we say?"

"This is my world," the image of the goddess shrugged, "I can do whatever I wish. And nothing held my attention more than this little daring escapade. You were certainly in a hurry were you not? So eager to return to your drab and loveless world that you would not even take time to taste the fruits of this one? Or..." she smiled, a knowing little smile, "Was it the guilt? Knowing that with the perspective you have, you could not bring yourself to go ahead with what you really wanted without letting your dear love in on the truth."

"Guess my motives all you want," Joker responded, one hand on his gun holster, "It doesn't change what I'm going to do."

"Of course not. Humanity will do as it will. But of course, you are no longer the guest of honour. Not today." Her attention turned to the bespectacled redhead not quite hiding behind the dark-haired thief. "Futaba."

"Sex goddess," Futaba greeted her in return. "Nice glasses."

"Thank you!" she accepted the compliment without shame. Not denying the title given to her in the slightest. "Futaba, I am so proud of you."

The phantom thieves blinked almost in unison. "What?" Futaba asked.

"How could I not be proud? You are here, barely understanding what these people are even fighting for. And why?" There was undisguised warmth in her expression as she pointed at Joker. "Because he asked you. That was all that you needed. How could I not be proud to see such a display of unwavering trust and devotion?"

"You know, when you say it like that it sounds more like dependence and obedience."

"On the contrary!" Xochiquetzal immediately denied, "Your boyfriend's change in perspective has only proven as much. You wished for him to expand his horizons yet he refused, but you did not give in. You worked to convince him of your desires. That is no sign of obedience, it is a sign of seeking mutual support and understanding."

"But," the goddess continued, "Even as ignorant as you are of what you seek to do, I cannot let you do as you please. I would ask you to turn back, but I know you will not. You have my apologies Futaba, but I cannot let you retrieve those memories. Do not worry. Soon you will wake up and this will all have been a bad dream."

The goddess faded into nothing. And the moment she was gone, a heavy thud filled the chamber as a giant coffin slammed into the floor from above. From other holes in the ceiling slithered several Lamia.

"Not good!" Futaba squeaked.

And the battle opened with the coffin opening to release another Stagnant Air.

"Not good," agreed Naoto with a groan.

"Everything we've got! Don't hold back!" Joker ordered. He had long learned what exactly his current team were capable of. Namely, they were all capable of the exact same magic. Light, dark and almighty. Which left him to do most of the heavy lifting when it came to getting this far. But here, there was no reason to keep anything in reserve. He remembered enough about Mot that dark spells were out. Aside from that it was all fair game. Just a matter of destroying these enemies while he played healer, get Futaba's memories and then get out.

It all seemed to be going well at first. Crow managed to crush three of the Lamia quickly, leaving only four. Violet's persona sliced one to pieces. Ace, disoriented but aware, emptied her revolver into another.

And then it happened.

All at once, the Lamia unleashed charm skills. One at Crow who managed to evade it. Two at Ace. Who didn't. For either.

Joker could have sworn as he looked at her, his mind already cycling to a persona with a curative effect, he could see hearts in her eyes behind her mask.

And finally. The coffin moved. Not to attack. Not to do anything. All it did was open to reach out a hand, and beckon at Ace.

Her loose coat, her mask, the entirety of her thief outfit disappeared all at once as she let loose a beaming smile at the beckoning hand. "Yes," she breathed, stepping forward in her school uniform. "Take me!"

As though it were just waiting for permission, the coffin swung wide open to reveal the inky darkness within even as it was exposed to the light. From inside, that arm extended toward Naoto who gladly leapt toward it, allowed it to snatch her and retreat back inside of the coffin. The lid snapped shut.

"No!"

Inside the coffin, Naoto was content. Joyful even. She was right where she was supposed to be. Safe and protected within the embrace of her darling. No distractions of the outside world. Just the touch of her love's many hands as he tore at her clothes. He was impatient today! So eager to get at her body. Her shirt was shredded in seconds, her tartan pants pulled at the crotch and torn until just the legs sagged down below her knees. A hand caressed her face as another pair ripped open the bindings over her breasts before roughly beginning to knead them. Pinching and squeezing at the soft flesh. They tugged sharply at her diamond-hard nipples. She moaned all the louder. It was painful, but the sort of pain that scratched an itch that had been building ever since she... Since she started doing whatever she was doing before this.

"More! More please! Touch me more!" she begged, only to be silenced by a pair of fingers that dove between her lips. She sucked on them greedily, appreciatively. And in the same moment, more hands joined in to stroke at her exposed thighs, her belly, to dive between her legs and stroke her soaked folds. She was a virgin. Her love hadn't taken her yet. She ached for the day he would. But for the moment he was content to use his fingers to drive her wild with desire. Another hand slid a finger into her ass. She had never considered fun could be had there but with everything else he was doing to her it only became another harmonious note in the symphony he was playing on her body.

The teasing, the rough squeezing, the eager finger-fucking, it went on, and on, seemingly without end as her wildly lustful mind egged her on. She rode her love's questing fingers and hands to orgasm after orgasm. Always wanting more, begging for more, until she had nothing left to give of herself.

On the outside, Joker slapped Crow hard across the face. He had been similarly charmed and he wasn't going to give the shadows the chance to do anything else crazy. They were already down one fighter and they couldn't afford to lose another. Not when they still needed to rescue Naoto from inside the coffin.

Or so he thought. Right up until the moment Violet destroyed the final Lamia and the coffin opened once again, dumping a shuddering and near naked Naoto onto the sandstone floor. Her hips jerked as her fingers drove into her pussy, her tongue lolled out of her head, eyes rolled back as she experienced another shuddering orgasm.

Joker looked down at the usually strait-laced girl now driven mad with lust, tried to fight back his guilty arousal at the sight. "Kill it!" he ordered the others as he rushed forward to pull the still masturbating bluenette away from the fighting. "Seiryu!" The great blue dragon coiled above the addled girl, channelled rejuvenating energy into her, righting her spirit.

Naoto blinked, her eyes no longer marked by the effects of the charm spell. She blinked up at the handsome young man above her, reached up and pulled him down into a kiss.

Before she realised what exactly she was doing. "Ahh!" she squealed in an unusually high pitch for her as she pushed him away again. "Ahh!" as she realised her dishevelled and undressed state, covering her breasts with one arm and her... Well her privates were already covered by her hand's position. She rose to her knees, looking around. "What... Oh gods," the memories rushed in, reminding her of what just happened. And worst of all how much she enjoyed it.

"Wish I had time to be more considerate but can you move?" he asked, keeping one eye on the other two as they battled the coffin. The last thing they needed was someone else getting dragged inside.

"Just about," she confirmed with a wince, "I think it drained me of strength while I was inside." Suddenly, her thief clothing reappeared on her body, letting the girl release a relieved sigh. "Small mercies."

"Okay, stay back with Futaba and keep her safe. We'll deal with that thing," Joker promised.

"Very well."

The fight from then on was swift and brutal. On its own, this particular form of Mot couldn't do especially much to them. Dark spells were generally less than useful and the thieves slaughtered any Lamia it tried to summon with a newfound viciousness before they could even do anything worthwhile. Before long, the lid of the coffin broke, cracks formed in the walls and back, before finally the form of it collapsed into the dark mist of a destroyed shadow.

Joker sighed, partially in relief and partially in frustration, before he turned back to Futaba and Ace. "Alright. Let's get your memories back, Futaba."