Joker and Violet, refreshed, relieved and relaxed, carefully wandered the hallways of the cognitive modelling agency. Oracle was a constant voice in their ears guiding them to the green room the rest of the thieves had taken over. On the way, the pair worked to test the opportunity they were given by their escapades. They quickly found out exactly how complete the benefits were for their purposes and as a result, put a hold on returning to the others. Instead, they quickly scoured the lower few floors of the building for valuables first.
"You took your time," Crow groused as the pair finally walked in through the safe room door. "Felt the need to indulge before returning?" Violet blushed a dark red, misinterpreting what he meant.
"Phantom thievery doesn't come cheap, you know," Joker shot back smugly. "If we're just handed a chance to pad our funds a little I'm not going to turn my nose up."
"Oh," Violet sighed, realising her mistake. She saw the closest person to her, Ann, wrinkle her nose.
The blonde looked between her sort-of boyfriend and the redhead and sighed herself, then reached into her purse. "Here." In her hand was a stick of breath mints, the open end pointed at the redhead.
Mortified, Violet took one with a humiliated, "Thanks," before doing her best to hide her face.
"So," Ace spoke up, "Did you gain any valuable intelligence?"
As an answer, Joker held up the agent shadow's access card between two fingers. "Full access to the first four floors of this place. So long as I'm holding it, the shadows won't bother us unless we try to get up to the business floors."
"Well, at least it made the beginning of this undertaking easier," Crow sighed. "Though I cannot say I approve wholeheartedly." He leaned forward in his seat, watching the thieves' leader keenly. "Would you not say that the methods you undertook are playing directly into Xochiquetzal's hands? Her entire purpose within this little game is to see us accept her way, her world, as superior. Engaging in debauchery to avoid conflict is precisely what she wants."
"Wait," Oracle cut in, "How did you know they–!"
The villainous detective only sent her a flat look. "You can monitor them remotely and your reactions are rather telling. You giggle like a lecherous old geezer."
"I can't deny it's a danger," Joker admitted freely, bringing things back to Crow's point. "She wants us to see the world the way she does. To see love and sex as beautiful, natural, spectacular and mundane as she does. She can't fully do that. She's a goddess. A concept made manifest. There's no way she could get us to fully embrace her way of thinking because to do that we'd have to stop being human. The self-actualisation of being a persona user undermines that. So long as we hold on to who we are, she can't take it away from us."
"I would hate to ruin a speech when I'm so fond of them," Ace interrupted, "But my experience runs counter to what you're saying. Overwhelmed by lust and charmed until my persona abilities were denied. They can be stripped away."
"By force," Joker countered. "The shadows primed you for that through multiple fights and ignoring your own symptoms. I'm not saying there isn't a danger, I'm saying if we're smart, aware and cautious, we can mitigate the risks. We stay aware of our priorities and in control of the encounters. The alternative is what happened to you." Something they couldn't reliably avoid. There hadn't been counters to ailment boosts in the old world and to their knowledge, there still wasn't in this one. Even with the added effect. Though perhaps it was a good reason to pay his favourite doctor a visit.
The more heroic detective folded her arms and bowed her head. "So we either enjoy ourselves on our terms or risk them wearing us down until they can make us." Slowly, she nodded as she looked back up at the rest, focusing mostly on Crow. "Given my experience with it, I agree staying in control of things is the better option. So long as the participants consent, of course."
Crow didn't seem fully satisfied with the conclusion, but made no further argument against it.
"So what happened with your group?" Joker asked Oracle.
"Meh, nothing much," she shrugged. "The shadows led us here, then left."
Joker frowned at that. "No problems at all?" They could probably use that in the future. Making a good argument would have the shadows go along with things if it followed the logic of the setting. Even if it wasn't for lewd purposes as the goddess who influenced these places intended, the shadows still held a logic of their own that they would follow.
"None," Crow confirmed. "At least for the length of the trip here. I scouted around a little on my own while more of Takamaki's memories played out. The shadows were as hostile to me as ever."
"More flashbacks?" Joker asked his sort-of girlfriend.
Her voice was bitter as she answered. "Kamoshida."
He winced. "Sorry."
She shook her head. "It's fine. It was all pretty much the same. Not happy about seeing how stupid I was all over again, that's all."
The thief frowned. Not at her or for what she said, but for what he knew was still coming. The divergent point in her two lives. And he wasn't referring to her relationship with him. He should tell her, he knew. She didn't need to go into this blind–
'I wonder if you will allow others the same freedom of choice when they are not so certain to follow your preferred course.'
No! This wasn't the same as that! But... What would telling her early help anything? Much as he could say it wouldn't be to manipulate her, or that he was just countering the goddess' actions before she could make them... For as much as he could hold distaste for her actions, Xochiquetzal was playing fair. She wasn't editing what happened to suit her motives. She hadn't lied to them. She readily, gleefully answered all of their questions. She hadn't stuck her real intentions and methods in the bowels of Mementos. The memories were all legitimate. Accurate. He was worried about that particular moment because he knew it would put the old world in a poor light. And it would, because it was something Ren considered inarguably worse about the old world.
And so... He said nothing.
"So, business floors?" Ann asked, wanting to move things away from her unpleasant memories.
Joker accepted the redirect of the conversation. "Right. We've got one way up. An elevator."
"No stairs?" Oracle asked, sounding relieved.
"There are stairs," Violet granted with a tilt of her head, "But they don't go anywhere. Just an empty void."
"How strange," Crow muttered.
"I can only guess why, but I've got a hunch it's because of how Ann sees this place," Joker nodded in the blonde's direction. "This is a focal point of her modelling career. She's been to the lower floors of the Sky Tower for meet and greets, and the top for getting down to business of shoots. Everything in the middle might as well not exist."
Ace looked to Ann, seeing the blonde nodding with pursed lips. Seeing the host's agreement as it were, she nodded herself. "A... Reasonable conclusion, though one we cannot prove. But it doesn't matter to our goal of simply taking Miss Takamaki's memories back."
"Indeed," Crow agreed, standing. "Pursuant to that, Joker, shall we get back to fulfilling our purpose here?" the villain asked, the 'finally' left unsaid.
"Sure," the leader acknowledged, turning with a flaring of his coat. "Everyone stick close. We don't know how far away from the access card is too far."
The group of six moved in a small cluster, two rows of three. Crow, Joker and Ace, and behind them Oracle, Ann and Violet.
"So..." Ann tried to strike up a conversation, but hesitated to bring up what she wanted to speak on. "Did... Can I ask what happened? You know, with you and Joker?"
"N-Now?" Violet squeaked.
Ann winced. It wasn't an ideal time but they were just walking. "It's just... I mean I know how those camera tests can go in the real world. I don't want to think you did something you weren't comfortable with because of me. I mean it'd be indirectly but this place is still here because of me."
"It's fine." When she put it like that the gymnast felt a little better talking about it. She knew Ann had no reason to feel guilty. "I knew what I was doing and I volunteered to do it. I don't regret it at all."
"Neehee! I bet you don't!" Oracle giggled behind her hand. "Wish I knew you were such a good suckslut before! I'd've asked for pointers!" The smaller redhead moved around Ann to speak in a not so quiet whisper. "Hey, how did you take the whole thing in your throat like that? Every time I try it makes me gag."
"I... Umm..." Violet looked away. "I just relaxed and let him do what he wanted. I got used to it eventually."
"Heheh, you did more than get used to it if you asked Joker for seconds!"
The gymnast's cheeks flushed as bright as her hair but she didn't deny it.
Ann blinked in surprise and confusion. "Oh. Well... Good! Guess I got worried for nothing then." Her words would perhaps have been more convincing had she not sounded so put out while speaking them.
The elevator was guarded. Of course it was. But with the benefit of a competent navigator and the group's strength it was easy to overwhelm the guards and pass. Crow was dosed fairly heavily by a kiss from a Leanan Sidhe that left him with a tent that wouldn't go away. But otherwise the group were none the worse for wear as they ascended. With a bell, the elevator doors opened at the highest floor it could reach.
"Any guesses on where we need to get to?" Violet asked quietly. "Where Ann's memories might be?"
"Where else?" Oracle asked. "This is supposed to be a big, fancy company building. So naturally the grand poobah's office is the place we want. The head honcho. Top dog. Big boss. Naked snake. Raiden... What were we talking about?"
"Fighting!" Ace exclaimed as the group surrounded a small group of shadows.
"Oh, right, sorry. Uh, that one can make the sexy fog."
"Thank you, we noticed," said Violet, coughing in the middle of said sexy fog.
The decor of the business floors were not exactly what the group had imagined on their way up. They were close, but of course the nature of the Metaverse made things a touch more explicit in what the place represented. In this case, the agency had the look of a mostly standard office building with the key difference of many, many displays. Some were of magazine covers, shoots done for online promotion. Others were less the finished product and more notation of trends or quality control. The walls were littered with pictures of men and women in various states of undress, each with notation of what kind of look was 'in' or 'out'. Often identical features were considered both in and out at the same time depending on which part of the wall one was looking at.
To the thieves it was strange. But Ann simply looked at two contradicting declarations of what was popular and snorted with laughter. On seeing the confused looks, "It's literally a business about chasing trends. That goes for both fashion trends and modelling trends," she explained. "What were you expecting?"
The search continued, once again returning to using stairs as there appeared to be no elevators that would give them easy access to the top floor. It was at the top of one of these staircases that they found another safe room.
And another flashback. A familiar rooftop scene. Familiar for Joker at least. It went rather differently in Ann's memory. Shiho finally returning to school, to see the place where she had felt so consumed by what had been done to her that she felt a need to escape from life itself. And so this Shiho overlooked the edge of what was simultaneously a balcony and a rooftop ledge. Remembering who she was in that fateful, desperate moment. And then telling Ann how much she was inspired by seeing her friend try so hard. To dream. To push herself. Inspired by just how strong she believed Ann to be.
"Shiho... I'm not strong. I'm nothing without you." On the verge of tears. "I'm just a lonely, scared girl."
"Ann... I'm sorry... For deciding to transfer schools."
The real Ann's eyes widened. "What?" She listened as best she could as the memory version of her told her best friend about all of the amazing things she was going to do to inspire her. To keep living life to the fullest. The hug goodbye. Shiho saying she loved her. "No no no no no! This isn't right! She didn't leave!" She whirled on Joker, angry and confused. "Did she?"
"Victims like her had... A harder time, once what happened was made public," Joker explained. Or rather, only half explained. He told himself it wasn't the time for a more full explanation. But in reality the full explanation would only make things worse. But regardless of his hesitation, he knew she deserved to know the full truth. And he knew Xochiquetzal would think so too. "There was less sympathy, so it was easier to move somewhere else and start over than be treated like..."
"Used goods," Crow supplied the term Joker was unwilling to use. As evidenced by Joker's wince and choice not to correct him. "Had she stayed, your friend would have been seen as soiled. No longer worthy of respect as a woman."
"That's going too far," Joker finally stepped in again. "Things were changing but culture changes slowly. After everything she went through, she decided not to put herself through more if she could avoid it."
"... I see." The blonde didn't seem inclined to elaborate or speak her thoughts aloud. She seemed more intent to secure her feelings on that knowledge on her own.
It was judged worthwhile to take a break for a short time. To let everyone take a breather and gather themselves. After all, they were close to their goal. They needed to be in good physical and mental shape to take on whatever Xochiquetzal would throw at them at the last hurdle. Once so gathered, the group pressed on, fighting their way to the top floor of the landmark-turned-skyscraper. There were fewer enemies throwing around lust-based attacks than they had expected. Not none, but fewer than expected. Ace posited a theory that shadows that would have favoured such tactics might have been on the floors they bypassed, the nature of those floors being based around appeal while the business floors were more clinical.
Finally, the group ascended the final staircase, passed by a reception area with a secretary shadow. One that not only didn't attack but actually buzzed them through the large double doors beside her.
"Oh," Violet let out a short gasp as the doors opened to reveal the company president's office. One wall made up of half-windows, the opposite wall covered by indistinct pictures of what might have been prize pictures from the company's history, a thin, off-white carpet only covered by a fashionable desk with minimal profile. Not made of expensive wood but instead of patterned glass. A piece of furniture that screamed fashion over function.
"This looks just like the office of my first agency's boss," Ann observed. "I only saw it once when I was first starting out as a model. She knew who my parents were and wanted to use me as a way to get her company a leg up in the industry." She smiled wanly at the memory. "I didn't have as much pull with them as she expected. Pretty sure the office wasn't this big but it sure seemed like it when I was fourteen."
"Bingo!" Oracle called out excitedly. "Check out the wall! There's a safe!"
"I suppose that would be our prize then," Ace acknowledged.
"Mm-hm. Oh, also the sex goddess is in that chair waiting to do a villainous chair-turn."
A sigh of disappointment confirmed the navigator's words a moment before the chair swivelled around, revealing Sachiko sitting with her legs crossed in fashionable business attire. "You can take the joy out of moments such as this like that, dear," the goddess sighed, leaning her elbows on the glass desk.
"Would you like to try it again?" Crow offered. "We could pretend to gasp in astonishment as you reveal you are exactly where we expected you to be."
"No," the goddess stood, stepped carefully in her high heels around the desk, her hands clasped in front of her. "No, I do not think that will be necessary. Perhaps another time."
"So is this the part you tell me how great this world is compared to the old one?" Ann asked, hands on her hips. "How much better off we are with you in charge?"
The goddess hid a giggle behind her hand. "I am not 'in charge'," Sachiko corrected gently with an amused smile. "I merely guided humanity down a more fruitful path. A more compassionate and loving path. And now they follow my teachings, becoming better people for it. They have built a brighter and more honest world. You should know, Ann Takamaki. You have experienced it yourself. Would you rather the world where you swallowed your growing feelings for him?" the goddess' avatar asked with a nod Joker's way. "It was not an easy path to walk, but you walked it gladly. You know he would gladly return your feelings. A beautiful tripartite relationship." Her eyes flicked to Violet. "Or more."
"Hmph. So what? You're saying I can't have that in the old world, even knowing what I know now? I don't care what my other self says. I'm gonna take my happiness no matter what."
The avatar's smile turned sad. Pitying. "And you would be scorned for it. Scorned by a world that would believe you to be a desperate fool. A world that would believe without doubt that love is inherently a jealous thing that cannot be shared by more than two. The world would see you as a harlot mistress. Either a parasite feeding off another's relationship, or a weak woman taken advantage of by an adulterous cad. That world would see you all as wrong. As a stain among civilised people. The philanderer, his whore and the powerless girl whose trust he abuses."
Ann scoffed. "You think that scares me, lady? I thought you knew our history. We've all been through judgemental assholes talking trash about us. I got called Kamoshida's bitch behind my back and it wasn't even true. You think I'd be bothered getting called Joker's bitch when it's true and I'm proud of it?"
"Trust Ann to be forthright about things," Joker muttered, not sure where she got the part about calling herself his bitch but she was on a roll and he wasn't about to stop her.
"Ahh, Suguru Kamoshida," the goddess sighed with regret. "A man consumed by his own ego. I regret not making people like him an impossibility. But he instead now stands as one of many examples of what it means to abuse the privilege of sexual intimacy. He proved himself to not deserve it, and so he had it removed. A fitting punishment, would you not say? Much more appropriate to his crime. After all, such a severe betrayal deserved an equally severe penalty. Meanwhile in the world your former lover is so desperate to return to–"
"Save it," Ann snapped. "I don't care what happened to him after. I wanted him to face justice for his crimes, whatever form that would take. If I wanted to see him suffer I'd've put an end to him myself! Getting his balls cut off, whatever happened in the old world, I don't care! That wasn't the point!"
"Justice, hm?" Sachiko hummed, nodding as she paced before the thieves. "I admit, justice is not a concept I hold in as high regard as I do the beauty of love." She stopped. Looked the blonde in the eye. "But this justice you speak of, does that extend to Shiho Suzui? She deserved justice, did she not? Abused by a trusted authority. In that loveless world your friend was so shamed and scarred by her experiences she had to move. Had to flee from her new status as 'used goods'. Was that justice? In my world she is granted the compassion and support she deserves."
Silence reigned. It was the best argument Xochiquetzal had for the sake of convincing Ann. There was genuinely no counter-argument. Shiho Suzui was left to suffer, had to pick up the pieces of her life alone in the old world. Ann had been the only consistent source of support. A lifeline she had clung to until she had to cast her aside as well. None of it was fair. None of it was right. Suzui deserved better but the world would never give it to her.
Ann's face however, looked as though it could have been carved from stone. "Compassion?" she asked, her voice displaying tightly controlled fury. "Support? What do you mean by that? Do you mean people trying to sweep it under the rug and pretend it never happened? Sending her a cheap 'Get Well Soon' card signed by the same teachers who ignored everything she was going through? Avoiding even looking at her when she came back to school? I thought things would change when that fat sack Kobayakawa died. Instead, the only compassion she got was everyone walking on eggshells around her! The only support she got was the teachers saying she didn't have to come to class if she didn't feel up to it, like that hid how they didn't want to even see her for how rightly guilty she made them feel just being in the same room! Pretending they were so sorry for what happened when no one gave a shit until it got found out! She got nothing but shit in either world so don't come to me pretending you fixed anything for her!"
Shiho Suzui's best friend stood, fists clenched, glaring hatefully at the goddess who could only stare back at this furious girl. For once, the goddess seemed utterly at a loss for words. There were no more speeches of love, of compassion, of understanding, of freedom from inhibitions. She simply stared... And then vanished in a swirl of red and black mist.
"Holy shit," Oracle breathed.
"Well that was... Effective," Ace felt compelled to say, not knowing what else to do.
Crow was laughing maniacally.
"Are you okay?" Joker stepped forward to ask, gently touching the blonde's wrist.
She sighed, closed her eyes and forced her fists to unclench. "Yeah. She just... She really pissed me off."
"I got that," Joker nodded, eyes wide behind his mask, then looking to where Sachiko had stood just a moment ago. "I think she did too."
"Well," Violet spoke up, forcing a smile, "We should go get what we came for, right?"
As if in answer, an explosion of shadow muck erupted at the other end of the room, breaking the glass desk in half. "Wishful thinking, that we'd avoided this," Oracle muttered, summoning her persona and vanishing inside it. "Wait... Wait, there's more! Way more!"
Outside the room, the secretary shadow burst, splitting into many individual forms. Many, many forms.
"Pixies?" Crow laughed as the tiny, winged women began to flow into the room. "This should be... Uh..." His voice trailed off as the flow of shadows continued. Dozens. And dozens more. "Ah. This might be a problem." There were so many it became hard to see with all of the tiny shadows flitting about the room. Most flowed to the other end, forming a cloud of shadows around whatever had appeared within the ruins of the desk.
The giggling was a cacophonous din that overwhelmed their ears, the flutter of wings and bodies an inhibition that totally obscured their sight. All they could do was attack, knowing they would hit a target no matter what. Explosions of magic burst all over, trying to cull the horde of fairies, Oracle doing her best to guide the other thieves so they wouldn't hit each other.
But blocking their senses wasn't the only threat the mischievous shadows posed. If they each could hear, the thieves would each have heard groans of unwilling arousal. The Pixies weren't idly flying about. They were targeting each intruder, harassing them, harrying them with touches, invading clothing to tease at their bodies, pressing lips to lips to deliver poisonous pink kisses that drove each thief to a new height of arousal.
The type of attack hardly mattered. Even the Pixies being resistant to Bless skills didn't hamper any of the thieves in taking down scores of the flying menaces. They were each so individually weak that anything would kill them. And so eventually, with all on the field panting with lust, the horde was cleared enough that they could see, hear, and think clearly again. Something the shadows weren't especially happy with and acted to correct. The shell of Pixies surrounding the main enemy began to draw away to flood the room again, sacrificing themselves to drive the invaders even wilder with lust. "Let's see what we're fighting against," Joker said quietly as the Pixie shield peeled away.
It was Crow who caught a glimpse first and horrible understanding dawned in an instant. What it was, the kind of danger it posed. "Look away! All of you, look away!" he ordered, shielding his own eyes even as the Pixies returned to harry him.
Flowers grew where he stood. A crown of them rested atop his head covering his hair that flowed like a golden river over his shoulders and down his back. Naked save for a flowing red ribbon that covered nothing at all.
"Gaze upon me! Glorious me!" the Narcissus demanded, tossing his hair and smiling proudly. "Witness my captivating beauty!"
"What do you think we're going to do, Crow?!" Joker demanded, "We can't fight it blind!" Though it was becoming a moot point as the Pixies once more obscured their vision, though not as effectively as before.
"Violet!" Oracle shouted.
The redhead had fallen to her knees, staring, captivated by the beauty of the golden-haired pinnacle of beauty. "He's so pretty..." she breathed. She didn't resist in the slightest as a swarm of Pixies descended upon her, picked her up and carried her limp body toward Narcissus.
The thieves could no longer see clearly, but they could hear.
"Yes. Come to me. You aren't as beautiful as I but I shall bless you regardless."
"Yes! Please! Bless me with that beautiful cock! Ahh! Yes! Yes! It's an honour to be used by someone as beautiful as you! I'm not worthy! Ah! I'm so sorry! My filthy body is staining it!"
"Fret not! Nothing can taint the glory that is I!"
The thieves carved away at the irritating gnats, but it was slow going. Each burst of magic felling a dozen was nothing to the hundreds still buzzing around them. "Joker! We can't leave her with him!" Ace insisted. "We need to clear these things out faster!"
A possibility flashed in Joker's mind. "I have an idea," he shouted back at her, "But you'll have to deal with Narcissus!"
"I have a plan for that!"
"Alright," the leader of the phantom thieves nodded, drawing on a persona he hadn't even considered using since his very first day in this world. "Mara! Brain Buster!"
The great evil one, the tempter appeared within the room, casting Pixies aside to take over the space. From its penile body, dozens of thin tendrils emerged, coiled and thrust outward. The small tentacles each chased down a Pixie. Ensnared her before shoving aside her leotard to plunge into her tiny pussy, fuck her vigorously for only a few seconds until she dissolved into a mask. Then the tentacle would seek out a new target. This scene repeated itself dozens of times, the single attack carving a debaucherous swath through the enemies and leaving a sticky mess on the floor in its wake. Soon, the field was clear enough.
"Joker!" Oracle shouted at him in affront, "You and I are gonna have a long talk about why I haven't been in a tentacle gangbang yet!"
"Narcissus!" Ace shouted, only looking at it out of the corner of her eye as she held up a mirror. "Wouldn't you rather be with him instead?"
Narcissus, with Violet lust-drunk and hilted on his cock, glanced up to see. Instantly his expression turned rapturous. "Who is this entrancing specimen that rivals, nay, surpasses my own exquisite allure!" Strong yet graceful hands grasped Violet by the waist and tossed her aside. "I must know him!"
"Just what we needed, thank you!" Crow praised Ace's quick thinking, blasting the bewitching shadow with everything he had as climaxing Pixies continued vanishing around him. Ace slid the mirror along the floor to rest at the shadow's feet. He simply knelt over it, staring obsessively at the image within it as the thieves wore his existence away to nothing.
The final Pixie fell, as did silence in the office. Joker didn't need to look within himself to know that he now held what might be the strongest Pixie to ever exist within the sea of his soul. However, that was a far lower priority than, "Violet!" He rushed over, rolled her over onto her back and fixed her leotard back into place. "Are you okay?"
"Hah... Hah..." the redhead panted slowly, her eyes unfocused. "Didn't... Get to... Finish..." she complained with a wince. It would almost be silly if everyone present weren't as wound up as she was. And to be interrupted mid-coitus on top of that...
"Come on," Joker offered, pulling her up onto shaky legs, "Let's get what we came for and then we can take care of you."