Begin!
~Normal POV
7/26 - Wednesday
Futaba's analysis of Sophia's code proved largely ineffectual last night. The most that she had been able to learn was that her creator had to have been very intelligent, because the code was so advanced that even she couldn't read through it all to comprehend it. (Saying it'd take weeks or maybe months.) Another odd thing she pointed out was the fact that Sophia's code lacked a programming signature. This was apparently commonplace enough to be noticeable. Futaba put it best in layman's terms, "Why work so hard on such a big project and then just not put your name on it?"
Sophia didn't seem to mind this. All she wanted was to be helpful to humanity. If she wasn't, then she would see herself having no purpose. But in order to become a good companion, she'd have to stick with the Phantom Thieves to learn about humanity with observation. Not that she had much choice in the matter, she was stuck in Akira's phone.
But worrying about her dilemma would have to wait. Today the gang met up in Shibuya for their trip to the Metaverse. Akira would never admit it out loud, but he was rather excited to see Ann in her thief suit again. He said he'd never comment on it though, so he planned to hold up that promise. Ann hated her thief suit.
Akira pulled out his phone. "Is everyone ready?"
"We've done this many times. I can't imagine anyone being fazed by this," Yusuke replied, smirking.
"Even so, we're short on intel. We'll just scout the general area for this trip," Makoto said.
"Doesn't appear to be anyone watching, go ahead, leader," Morgana said.
"One trip to the Metaverse, coming right up."
~...
Moments after activating EMMA, they found themselves back in the Jail in their Phantom Thief attire. They were back on the construction scaffolding they found yesterday overlooking the Shibuya streets. Despite the serious nature of their visit, they couldn't help getting distracted momentarily.
"Well, looks like we made it!" Futaba said, looking down at her suit.
"Goodness, I had almost forgotten this feeling." Yusuke said, feeling his sleeves. "The fusion of form and function… Truly magnificent."
"Hey look, it's Beauty Thief!" Ann said, laughing.
Haru made a pose while tipping her hat playfully. "My name is Beauty Thief!"
"I don't know, I'd say she lives up to the moniker," Ryuji said, smirking and crossing his arms.
"Thank you, Mr. Phantom Thief!" Haru replied, giggling and blushing behind her mask.
"Ohhh, I missed my suit so much! You have no idea how tempting it is to make this outfit in reality!" Futaba said, excitedly. "Alright, be brutal, how do I look, Inari?"
"Like a pair of goggles with legs," Yusuke said, in a deadpan voice. This only made Futaba crack up with laughter. She did ask him to be brutal after all, it seemed she was simply curious what he would say.
Akira couldn't help smiling as he watched his friends joke about the situation. He knew they would get over it soon, but it was fine to take a moment and have fun every now and then. As he wasn't paying attention, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He snapped his gaze to Ann standing beside him.
"Hm…" She said, quietly, while checking him out. "I don't know what I missed more, the coat, the mask, or the man wearing them…"
Akira chuckled. "I knew there was another reason I loved my outfit so much…"
Meanwhile, Makoto was getting a bit annoyed with their jokes. "Come on, you guys let's not fool around here…"
"Oh, my apologies, everyone bow before the Queen, lest you taste the fists of justice," Akira said, smirking.
Makoto held back a giggle at their behavior. "I was being serious!"
"We know, but still, there's no harm in loosening up a bit now and then. Now, check out the view." Akira said, gesturing to the street in front of them.
"That's the Jail?"
"Just what is that building?" Futaba asked, scanning the area as best she could. "This place is bonkers…"
Yusuke scowled at the sight. "Nothing escapes the atrocious color scheme of this place…"
"It looks like that because of Alice's cognition, right," Haru said, curiously.
"Then that's the stronghold of the queen ruling over this Jail- Its appearance certainly fits the notion."
Morgana tapped his chin in thought. "The buildings around it still look normal. It must have a limited range of distortion. We entered by the crossing down there yesterday. That's where we saw cop-Shadows attacking people."
"Yeah, they were taking these pink diamonds outta people's chests," Ryuji said, "The hell was up with that?"
"That may have been a Desire."
Everyone snapped their attention to Sophia's voice. She was standing near them in physical form again. Her hood was up, but she wasn't wearing her visor so they could see her face. Standing beside them in person, she appeared to be a bit shorter than Futaba. While they were stunned she took the time to examine them in their Phantom Thief attire. Everyone looked so different and unique. It seemed outfit coordination wasn't on their priority list.
"Yo, Phantom Thieves."
"Holy crap, an actual A.I. in human form!" Futaba squealed.
"Wow, you're so cute, Sophia!" Haru gushed. "I love your hair!"
"Such a fascinating form you've taken…" Yusuke said, framing her with his fingers.
"I've never seen an outfit like that… Can I try floofing it!?" Ann asked, smiling.
"...Floofing?"
"I think she means she wants to get a feel for the fabric of your clothes while hugging you, Sophia," Makoto said.
Sophia promptly shook her head. "Request denied. I am neither a child nor a pet." Ann frowned in disappointment.
"Hm, how does age work for an A.I.?" Yusuke asked. "If I had to make a guess, you don't appear much younger than us."
"That's a whole different debate; better to drop it for now," Akira said, "So what were you saying about a Desire?"
"That is the term used by Shadows here, Joker." Sophia replied. "They say things such as, 'Seize their Desires!' And, 'We must offer these Desires to the Monarch!' Based on their language and behavior, I speculate the aforementioned jewel was in fact a Desire."
"Alice mentioned Desires too; then she must be the Monarch." Morgana said, conclusively.
"But these Desires, are they actually made up of the things people desire," Haru wondered aloud.
"More importantly, what use would you have for them," Makoto asked. "Hm… Are you sure the people you saw were real humans? Couldn't they have been people's Shadows? If real humans were captured in this Jail, there would be a huge commotion about it, right? Groups of people going missing out of the blue?"
"Yeah, that kinda news would be all over the internet," Futaba added.
Regrettably, they hadn't considered that possibility. But now that they heard it, it made more sense.
"What are Shadows?" Sophia asked.
"A Shadow is the part of you suppressed within your subconscious," Morgana answered. "It's basically your other self."
"Does that mean their main selves are alright?"
"No, if something happens to your Shadow, it'll affect the real person too, and vice-versa. The Shadow and the real self are two sides of the same coin," Morgana said.
"Then if a Desire is taken from someone's Shadow, what happens to the person in reality?" Yusuke asked.
"Whatever it is, it can't be good…" Futaba said, shuddering.
"We've only witnessed the cognitive world's side of things. Until we find out how it affects the real world, we can only know half of what's going on. We'll have to start by investigating Alice and her victims."
"Right, plus, if we make the wrong move in the cognitive world, there's a chance Alice could have a shutdown…" Ann said, frowning.
"Then we'll have to find a way to get dirt on her. But how? Crashing a random store opening probably only works once," Ryuji said.
"Let's go back and figure that out. No use standing around here too long," Akira said. "Shadows might spot us eventually."
~...
With how little time they spent looking into the Jail, barely any time had passed in reality when they got back. This was perfect, as it left ample time to get to work right away.
"We'll have to start by doing this the usual way," Futaba said, "Rumor mills, looking for anything shady about Alice, gossip about her being abusive, or other messed up stuff."
"Then let's split up and cover central street and the station. We'll meet back here in an hour. Futaba, you can handle the online search," Akira said, knowing that dealing with strangers was still out of the question for her.
"Yes, sir! I've got the web-crawling covered!"
"But if we're ever to gain conclusive proof of any rumors, I believe we'll need direct access to her at some point," Yusuke pointed out.
"Direct access to a popstar sounds awfully tough…" Haru said, frowning.
Ann had been remarkably quiet since they exited the Jail. She seemed to have a lot on her mind. It wasn't hard to see why. Alice Hiiragi was a fashion designer. This was practically messing with Ann's occupation. In fact, if they weren't discreet enough there was even a chance she might lose her job. Assuming Alice had that much pull with agencies.
"Uh… about that…" Everyone turned their attention to Ann. "I… may get to meet Alice tomorrow…"
"For real!?"
"Since when?" Akira asked.
"Well, I had asked the modeling agency's president if I could meet her sometime… I heard she'd be on an interview show nearby, so I asked if I could visit the set. I was hoping to learn from her by watching her in action… I gave up on it after making plans with you guys, but I might be able to get the ball rolling again in time… But I'm not making any promises! And there's no way we'd be able to approach her either. Plus, our full group is too big; it's bound to raise questions. The most I could bring is one more person…"
"...I'll go." Akira said.
"Are you sure, Akira?" Ann replied, worriedly. "What about-"
"It's fine. I'm leader, so it makes sense if I go with you. And if she really is as much of a bitch as her Shadow, then I can't let you face her alone."
This made Ann smile. That was classic Akira, always looking out for everyone else's well-being over his own. Especially when it came to her. "Ok, but don't try anything funny. I could get in trouble if you do…"
"I'll behave," Akira said, smirking. "Now then, let's get to investigating."
~...
Wandering through central street proved useful in several ways. Akira quickly learned that lots of women hated Alice. Given that she had a bias towards giving men her keyword cards, it made sense that she'd be less than favored with much of the female population. By a stroke of luck, Ryuji managed to find one of the guys they saw get attacked in the Jail, proving Makoto's guess that they were indeed just Shadows. Upon meeting up again, his description of the person's behavior gave them a general idea of what Alice was doing to her victims.
"They were acting super weird. Totally crazy for Alice! They're even getting loans so they can buy shit at her store. That's pretty messed up…" Ryuji explained.
"I saw others behaving similarly," Yusuke said. "People are wholly devoted to her, as though she were a divine entity."
"I managed to overhear that there was this one couple who broke up because the boyfriend bought everything Alice related he could find," Ann added.
There was a pause while everyone took in how insane that was. "I've never been more thankful for our powers protecting us…" Ryuji said, quietly.
"And there have even been people let go from their jobs because they weren't Alice fans," Makoto added. "I found out from the movie theater downtown."
"Shit, imagine having to explain that in your next interview…" Akira said. "Futaba, what'd you find online?"
"There's been several reports of Alice fans straight up assaulting outspoken critics of hers."
"Sheesh…"
"Well, that settles it," Akira said, conclusively, "We know what's happening now. She takes people's Desires, and that causes them to become obsessed with her in reality. She specifically targets men, regardless of whether or not they're in a serious relationship, probably not even caring if they have a different sexuality. And because of this obsession with her, lots of women say she's nothing but a vile bitch."
"Then we have to do something…" Makoto said, worriedly.
"Makoto, are you worried?" Ann asked, "I mean, what if Seiji gets caught by Alice?"
Makoto frowned. "Even if I told him that I'm a Phantom Thief, there's still only so much I can do to protect him… But it should be fine if we work fast. He's never mentioned her before. With the Metaverse involved, we're the only ones who can help. I just hope you can get all the intel we need with your spying tomorrow…"
~...
7/27 - Thursday
Akira woke up a bit earlier than usual the next morning. He checked today's date and smiled to himself. There was time before he had to meet up with Ann to go to the tv station. He needed to stop somewhere first. A special occasion was coming up, and he couldn't afford to waste the opportunity for this errand while he still had it. He let Morgana hop into his bag and went downstairs.
The shop was mostly empty at the moment, except for one lone customer at the counter. A man, roughly in his 40's, was eating a plate of LeBlanc curry eagerly, as if he hadn't eaten any food in days. He was oddly distinctive looking to Akira. This was mainly due to the fact that he was dressed in a clean black suit and tie, but his dark brown hair was a long shaggy mess that almost reached his shoulders. He had a short beard on his chin, and square glasses without frames. His eyes were narrow and sharp.
"Good morning," Sojiro greeted, behind the counter. "Ya heading out already?"
"Yeah, I gotta meet up with Ann," Akira replied, smiling despite knowing this meetup wasn't for personal reasons.
Sojiro smirked. "Ohhh. Have fun. And don't stay out too late."
"I won't, Boss." Akira walked past the suited customer without a second glance. It didn't matter, the man was so engrossed with his curry he barely registered their conversation anyway.
~...
Upon finishing his errand, Akira met up with Ann for their trip today. It shouldn't take all day, she said the interview would be happening live so they would be fine to leave afterwards. Still, going to the tv station did give Akira his share of bad memories. And going here to investigate Alice wasn't helping. Morgana had chosen to tag along, just in case. It did prove to be a useful decision last time.
"Hey, Akira!" Ann greeted, brightly.
"Hey, gorgeous," Akira replied, giving her a quick kiss. "Ready to go?"
"Mhmm." Ann grabbed his hand and led the way, "You took a while to show up."
"Apparently, he had to run an errand." Morgana teased, poking his head out. Akira nudged his bag to get the cat to be quiet. Ann didn't seem to notice.
Upon reaching the tv station, the two were allowed onto the set. They found seats in the middle of the crowd, close enough to see but not close enough for Alice to spot them right away. She was likely to recognize Akira from the other day. After a few moments, Alice walked out to greet the two show hosts.
"Holy crap, she really is adorable…" Ann whispered.
"In that getup? Not even a little." Akira thought.
"And now onto the hottest meet and greet segment of the show." The female host began. "We have a special guest with us today. She has taken the fashion world by storm and conquered it! Please welcome the designer, Alice Hiiragi!"
"Thanks for having me," Alice said, cheerfully.
"Thank you for joining us, Alice." The male host said, "You sure have been keeping busy these days, haven't you?"
"It's only thanks to all my fans that I've been able to do what I do."
"And what a number of fans you have! Talk about strong support! Am I wrong to presume that you designed the outfit you're wearing today?"
"It's just so cute, very expressive." The female host added.
"Thank you so much." Alice said, petting her skirt modestly. "The theme of my current line is Alice in Wonderland. I feel like fashion is a rare and beautiful thing that can take anyone into a world built on their dreams. You can find a side to yourself that maybe you didn't know you had… Fashion can do so much for us. I try my hardest to focus on that whenever I design a new piece."
"Such wise words from a successful industry veteran! What inspiration originally spurred you into fashion, if you don't mind?" The female host asked.
Alice frowned. "To be honest, I was very shy growing up. I didn't have any friends at school. I would get so lonely. I wanted to change so much, but I just couldn't figure out how to do it. Then one day, I saw the most beautiful dress in a shop window. When I tried it on, the whole world felt new! It was like I was hit with this blinding ray of light. I really can change! That's what wearing it made me think. I strive each day to give that same feeling to every person who tries on one of my designs. I want to give that ray of light to others! That's what inspired me to enter the fashion industry."
Akira glanced at Ann, noticing her shifting uncomfortably in her chair. He knew that Ann was very passionate about her profession as a model, and he supported her entirely on that. She once told him that she too wanted to be a ray of light for people, like he was for her. Someone who inspires others with their trust and support. To hear someone they knew had a distorted heart say something so similar must have cut deeply. Akira quietly grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Ann gave him a small grateful smile, before they turned their attention back to the interview.
"Now I can see why the young people love you so much!" The male host said. "How do you handle all the dating… rumors…"
They watched in confusion as the man's eyes suddenly glazed over with a dreamy stare. As he tried to speak again his voice was softer, and he spoke slowly as though he had suddenly forgotten where he was. This only confused his co-host as she tried a few times to get him to snap back into it.
The male host then snapped his gaze to Alice and proceeded to drop to his knees before her. "Alice! I… I love you, Alice! Please spend your life with me!"
"What?!" Alice shouted.
"Uh, hey, what is all this?!" The female host asked. It was common knowledge that the two co-hosts were actually engaged; making this whole situation even more bizarre and hurtful.
"I didn't realize until now… I love you!" The man shouted, still on his knees.
"Uh, this is really out of the blue…" Alice said, confusedly.
The female host seemed to think this was part of some kind of improv bit. "Stop it! This bit is going on a little too long…"
The man grabbed the hem of Alice's dress and stared up at her with pleading eyes. "I mean it! I can't live without you!"
"What the hell?!" The co-host shouted, finally breaking her composure entirely. "What about me, asshole?!"
"I'm begging you, Alice, PLEASE!"
"Shut up already! What happened to you?!"
The staff quickly cut the live feed to commercial and cancelled the rest of the interview on the spot. Right before they ushered the audience out of the studio, Akira noticed Alice had a tiny satisfied smirk on her face.
~...
Once they were free to leave, the two retreated to the empty halls outside to talk about what they'd just witnessed.
"That was… enlightening…" Akira said, thinking. "Amazing how she didn't even have to touch him for it to work; it just happened…"
"That was… live on tv, right?" Ann asked.
"Yeah, I can't believe he spilled his beans like that." Morgana said, popping onto Akira's shoulder. "Even I thought he went overboard with it."
"Then… that host got his Desire taken by Alice… didn't he?"
"There's no other explanation. I'm sorry, Ann." Akira answered, gently.
"No, you're right… No professional host would do something like that. He definitely wasn't in his right mind," Ann said.
"It was like he was being controlled," Morgana said.
"That's right! His personality changed like when someone's heart gets stolen! Maybe Alice can control anyone whose Desire she steals."
"That sounds like a very plausible explanation…" Akira shuddered at the possibility that he could have ended up the same had it not been for their powers protecting them. To lose someone so precious to you against your will. It was a truly horrifying thought.
"So she controls her fans by stealing their Desires. We know that much now."
"But… that means…"
"She is guilty," Akira finished.
Ann looked quite disappointed. "Yeah… Alice said… she wants to be a ray of light for people. That's what I've always wanted too… I read about her in a magazine once, and… I just really felt where she was coming from. It's why I asked to come to the show in the first place. I wanted to see her in person. But now… I wonder if it was all just…" She didn't finish her thought.
"Hey, I get it…" Akira said, wrapping his arms around her in a gentle hug. "People aren't always what they seem. We know that better than anyone, but it's ok to still be disappointed by it."
Ann smiled a bit. "Thanks, Akira…"
Before their conversation could continue, they heard the sound of footsteps coming towards them. Along with gleeful laughter and Alice's voice saying. "Oh, man, that was great!"
Akira quickly pulled Ann around the corner so they could eavesdrop. Carefully peeking into the hall, they spotted Alice walking with a man in a suit, presumably he was her manager or assistant. Alice looked to be in an exceptionally good mood.
"Miss Alice! This is a public hall! Please, you must keep your voice down." The man pleaded.
"Eh, it's fine." Alice replied, dismissively gesturing around them. "See? No one in sight. Anyway, did you see that lady's face? She totally lost it up there! All those cushy, talking head types make the best faces when things finally stop going their way."
"Miss Alice… Do you think you could stop doing these things…?" The man asked, timidly.
"Huh? What do you mean? I was the victim on stage. What is it that you want me to stop doing?"
"I- I don't know how you're doing it, or why… But after seeing all that… There has to be something…" The man tried to explain.
Alice gave him a sadistic smile. "Oh. So you want me to punish you again?"
The man flinched and started backing away from her in fear. "Please, no! I'm sorry!"
He wasn't watching his footing and slipped, falling back flat onto the floor. Alice took her opportunity and stepped on his chest, putting down enough pressure to make him groan in agony. Just like her Shadow in the Metaverse…
"Oh, whoops!" Alice said, in an uncaring way. "What a terrible accident. Just like what happened on the set. A terrible accident. I'm still upset over it, too, you know. Isn't it your job to take my side? Or are you asking to end up broken, like my last manager? Do you want to get stuck up in your room like he is?" She ignored his pitiful cries for her to stop. "Well, it doesn't matter anyway. I don't want toys that don't do as they're told."
This was a first for them. To see a distorted person act exactly the same as their Shadow. It was usually unheard of. The Shadow was supposed to be the side that one doesn't want to see of themselves. Even if they knew they were that way. If anything, this was definitive proof that the rules of the Jail worked differently than the rules of Palaces with their past foes.
"Please! Stop!" The manager said, feebly.
"Then beg me to forgive you until it hurts as much as you hurt me with your words." Alice commanded. "Why don't you do what you did yesterday? Grovel with your face all messed up with snot. I'll take another video if you like. Come on, beg! Do it! Do it! I'm not going to stop until you do!"
Ann couldn't take another moment of this. Without warning, she quickly ran into the hall, and called out to get Alice's attention. Akira followed her, seeing no alternative but to directly confront her.
Alice removed her heel and turned to them in surprise, allowing her manager to get to his feet before she could do that again. "Ah- Who is this?" She asked, pretending that nothing odd had happened.
"Cut the sadistic crap; you could have seriously fucked him up," Akira said, bluntly.
"It was way too far!" Ann added, glaring at her in disgust. "You said you wanted to be a ray of light for people. How the hell does that help?!"
Alice laughed nervously at being caught. "Oh, that? We were just playing around! Weren't we?"
Her manager replied with a quiet, "Yeah…" Though the look on his face showed he was very grateful to them for stepping in.
"So, you'll go get the car now?" Alice said, nonchalantly. Once the man left, she turned her attention back onto them. "Hang on… Are you Ann Takamaki?"
"You know who I am?"
"Yeah!" Alice said, smiling brightly again. "I know all the models! I read every fashion magazine the day it comes out!" She glanced at Akira. "And who's this handsome devil?"
"My boyfriend." Ann answered, bluntly. "But that's none of your damn business."
"Whoa, really? …Oh, that's right, you did say something about a boyfriend in an interview once, didn't you?" Alice paused to check Akira out once more. "I gotta say, Takamaki-san, you got good taste. And you know something else? I really admire you. Would you like to be friends? You've obviously got EMMA, right? My keyword is-"
"Don't bother." Ann interrupted. "I'd never accept someone who treats another person like that."
"Aww, too bad." Alice said, unfazed. "But I appreciate the honesty. What about you? Would you like to be friends?"
"Hell no." Akira answered, firmly.
"Aw, two in a row…" Alice put away her phone. "Hang on… didn't I see you at the 705 the other day?"
"You must be mistaken," Akira said.
"We're done here. Let's go, honey." Ann said, grabbing Akira's hand and dragging him along with her to get away from this vile woman as fast as possible.
Before they left the hall entirely however, they heard Alice talking to herself for a moment. "I know I gave him one of my cards… Why doesn't he obey?"
~...
Ann didn't speak the whole trip back to the hideout. The most she would do is mumble occasionally but Akira couldn't make out what she was saying. Once they'd gotten back to LeBlanc, they found everyone already waiting in the attic as instructed. The second that they were back in the hideout, Ann spoke again.
"That bitch is a disgrace to the fucking industry!"
Futaba looked up from her keyboard. "Well, damn, tell us how you really feel."
Akira let Morgana hop out of his bag and went to set up his phone stand so Sophia could join the conversation. "It was pretty bad…"
"We saw," Makoto said, "Part of it at least. Boss let us watch the interview downstairs since there were no other customers. What on earth did she do to him?"
"There was more than just the interview," Ann said. They took a moment to explain how they'd seen Alice treat her manager. "Sorry about storming out like that, Akira… I was just so upset…"
"It's ok; I was more than happy for a chance to leave, too." Akira replied, patting her hand reassuringly.
"You did a great job finding information though; that's something to be happy about," Haru said.
"From what we saw, it seems she knows that adding people on EMMA lures them into her Jail," Morgana said, "The question then becomes, how much of that power is she even aware of? I doubt she knows anything about cognitive psience. It's a pretty niche subject."
"And the other question is motive," Makoto said, thoughtfully. "I can't imagine such awful behavior doing her any good."
"It doesn't have to," Ryuji said. "Sounds to me like it's the same as Kamoshida: just doing it for the hell of it and damn the consequences."
"That's a solid comparison…" Ann said, softly. "She seemed to be having a blast being such a bitch."
"And she has the gall to set up that kind of tragedy on live tv," Morgana said, "She's totally not in her right mind anymore. The longer we leave this be, the more victims that pile up."
"Considering her support levels, that's already gotten to be quite a pile," Futaba added.
"Then we have to intervene," Akira said, firmly, "We can't simply leave this alone after all this effort."
"But how?" Yusuke asked. "Is there a Treasure in her Jail?"
"I'm picking up a faint scent of something Treasure-like, but that's all," Morgana answered.
Sophia chimed in. "What is a Treasure?"
"It's the condensed core of a ruler's desires. That's what gives birth to a Palace and powers it." Morgana said, "Usually we just take the Treasure to trigger a change of heart in our target."
"Interesting." Sophia said, thinking. "What if there is no Treasure there?"
"Then we'd be incapable of doing anything. Without a Treasure to steal, we wouldn't be able to change Alice's heart," Ann replied.
"Sounds like we should just track the Treasure-like scent for now. It might give us a clue," Makoto said.
"Question, why must we change Alice's heart," Sophia asked.
Given that Sophia was still getting accustomed to the group, this question shouldn't have surprised them as much, but it did anyway. She didn't seem to grasp what their goal was.
"Because she's hurting people," Makoto said.
"So Alice only needs to be stopped. Changing her heart is unnecessary." Sophia replied.
"No, beating her Shadow won't help. Worst case scenario, it could wind up causing her to die in the real world," Morgana said.
Sophia went quiet for a moment. "Death…" She then nodded. "That is an acceptable outcome."
Her comment was met with cries of horror from her new companions. "WHOA! NO, NO, NO!"
"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Futaba shouted.
Sophia didn't understand why everyone was suddenly so agitated. "I'm humanity's companion. I'm supposed to determine the best choices for humanity. Alice Hiiragi makes people suffer every day. We should ensure she stops this as soon as possible. Why not do so?"
"Because it's part of the Phantom Thief code." Akira said, "We have rules too, Sophia, and the most sacred rule of the Phantom Thieves is that we never kill our targets. In order for the person to receive proper punishment for their crimes, they have to live; so they can face them. Killing them would only put their blood on our hands. And I think I speak for everyone here when I say, none of us could ever live with that kind of guilt. If they die, then people wouldn't see what made the person so terrible to begin with. We refuse to stoop to the level of our enemies. We steal the distorted desires of the wicked to make them change their ways. That way the people who've suffered don't have to live with it any longer, even if we don't know the victims personally. And in the process, we've even saved lives."
Akira chose to pretend he hadn't seen a few of them subtly wipe their eyes from his little speech. He glanced knowingly at Futaba, who was smiling gratefully at him. After all, today was the anniversary of them healing her own heart by collapsing her Palace.
"That's why we're the Phantom Thieves of Hearts," Haru said, brightly.
Sophia took in all this information silently before replying. "Phantom Thieves… of Hearts?" She perked up. "I've got it! Hearts! I lack a heart. That's why I don't understand the logic of the Phantom Thieves. If only I could understand how hearts work… If I did that, I could become an even better companion. Akira, may I join the Phantom Thieves? I need to learn more about hearts so I can become a better companion. If I do so, I am certain I will witness many things about the human heart, and about you all, too."
Akira didn't have to think twice. "We'd be happy to have you join."
"Thank you, Akira," Sophia said, smiling.
"Welcome to the Phantom Thieves!" Ann squealed, eagerly.
"We'll teach you everything we know! We're glad to have you!" Haru added.
"She's gonna need a codename," Makoto pointed out.
Akira thought for a moment. Technically, Sophia didn't have to worry about being arrested. Their main reasoning for using codenames was to hide their identities from other Metaverse intruders, and to keep the target's subconscious from picking up on their activities. That said, it was traditional in the world of thievery to go by a fake name on the job. But maybe in her case, it didn't have to be too different for it to work.
"What about… Sophie?" He suggested.
"That's basically her name though…" Ryuji said.
"I like it. I want to be Sophie!"
"If she likes it, then it sticks," Akira said, "And you guys should probably tell her your codenames too."
"Mine's Fox."
"I'm Panther."
"I'm Noir!"
"I'm Queen."
"And I'm Oracle."
"Ok. I've memorized them." Sophia said, "Are there any other rules I should know?"
"Yes. We never go after a target unless there is a unanimous vote from the whole team. It means that even if a person is distorted, we're not just picking people at random. We also have to have definite proof of the person's crimes before we choose to change their heart," Akira answered.
"Unanimous vote? Ok."
"You won't have to worry about this next one, but never enter the Metaverse alone. It's impossible to contact anyone in reality if something goes wrong. You must always have at least one person with you for backup."
"I do not think that will be a problem, but if there is a way around it, I will not use it."
"And finally, never turn your weapon on a fellow Phantom Thief. Any conflicts or disagreements are solved with words. We aren't just a team, we are a family. We are all equals here, and we will treat you the same. Not a single person in this room will ever let you down, I can vouch for that."
"I will remember that. Also, family? I thought you were all unrelated…" Sophia said, quizzically.
Akira chuckled. "Family isn't always about blood. Sometimes it can just be the people who care about you and want you in their life. We're not ordinary, but that doesn't mean we aren't still a family. We're just different."
With the addition of their first new teammate in a long while, and the return of the Metaverse, the Phantom Thieves were officially back in business.
~End of Chapter
