Begin

~Normal POV

7/28 - Friday

It was a stylish and simple assault on the castle's defenses, but it worked just as intended. Once the wall was down, and all the Shadows coming their way were gone, they found a side entrance into the castle itself. Alice was nowhere to be seen inside, leaving them the opportunity to get to the roof. Morgana said the Treasure-like scent was coming from up there. The roof was flat and open with the crown-like structure atop it. Ahead of them was a colorful, lit up, stage that looked similar to the one Alice brought to her venues in reality.

"Now that I see this crown structure up close, it looks something like a birdcage…" Yusuke said, looking around.

"Yeah, it kinda does. Where's Alice?" Ryuji asked.

"She's likely still inside." Haru answered. "It seems we haven't drawn her direct attention yet. Even after all that commotion we caused in the street."

"What is that…?" Ann asked, pointing above them.

A hazy pink cloud of light hovered above them similar to a Treasure that hadn't taken shape yet.

"I think it's the thing we've been tracking," Morgana said. "It's not a Treasure."

"Shadows ahead!" Sophia warned.

They split off and ducked into hiding places around the area to eavesdrop. Two Shadow guards approached the center under the pink light with a pile of pink diamonds with them.

"Have you brought all the Desires?" One Shadow asked.

"Yes, sir. This is all of them so far."

"More are coming soon. Capture every last one of them, seize their Desires, and bring them here."

"Understood, sir."

"Those are Desires after all…" Morgana whispered.

"No mistake there," Akira replied, softly.

They watched as the Desires suddenly evaporated into the same pink light they saw above them and were absorbed into the light. The Shadows left after that, letting them come back into the open.

"What happened just now?"

"They said they were bringing the Desires here, right?" Haru said.

"So those jewels really are the Desires." Ann said, "They looked like they got sucked up into that light."

"Well, we know Alice is collecting them. This must be where they're being stored," Makoto concluded.

Morgana crossed his paws in thought. "This is just speculation, but what if that's the original form of a Desire? After all, Desires don't naturally have a single concrete form. Because we all find our own Desires precious, that could be why they look like gems here… When the people had their Desires seized by the Shadows, they consciously felt them being taken, so the Desires took form then."

"But what turned them back into that light? Their Desires are still stolen," Futaba said.

"Maybe Alice is considered their owner now that they're in her birdcage here." Morgana replied. "Alice doesn't believe they can be stolen back- that's why they turned back into their base form."

"Then if we reclaim the Desires and release them from this cage, the people may well return to normal." Yusuke suggested.

"One moment- how does one steal light," Sophia asked.

"Ah, right, we haven't told you that part yet." Akira said, "We use a calling card to make the Treasure take a physical form. We make the owner aware that someone is about to steal their Treasure, so it manifests for us to take. Theoretically, it should work the same here."

"Nothing is obtained without action; we must at least try it first." Yusuke said.

"Then let's finish securing the route and get outta here." Ryuji said. "I mean, it doesn't look like there's any extra security." He took a few steps forward.

This proved to be the worst thing he could have done. Upon trying to approach the stage, he was stopped by a briefly visible barrier of sorts. And touching it caused him to cry out in agony and quickly step back.

"Skull!" Haru cried, worriedly grabbing his arm and pulling him away from the barrier. "Are you ok, honey?"

"Owwww!" Ryuji whined. "I swear that just took a year off my life expectancy! I-I'll be fine, Noir- but geez, what was that?!"

"Hm, it's like some kinda invisible jail cell door. I don't register anything on my scanner, but it must be a fail-safe security barrier," Futaba said.

Sophia stared at the barrier curiously. "Hm… I hear something…" Despite how dangerous it seemed, she stepped forward and touched it.

What happened next was quite strange. They heard voices coming from nowhere. As if touching the barrier activated a recording of some kind. All of the voices were female and sounded like five different women were talking.

"Ugh, would you just go away?"

"What do you think you're doing, looking at the guys like that?"

"She is, like, such a waste of space, ya know?"

"Totally! She's such a loser, it hurts to look at her! Haha!"

"No… I just…"

The voices stopped there. Sophia removed her hand from the barrier and stepped back, seemingly in no pain from the shock.

"What the hell was that," Ryuji asked.

"You heard it too?" Haru said.

"It sounded like a memory," Sophia said, simply.

"Are you alright, Sophie?" Futaba asked.

"No problems here." Sophia answered. "However, I did figure something out. That memory we heard is the key to the barrier. This cage is currently locked." She pointed above them at a shiny gold padlock sitting on the cage structure. "It will require a key, which we will find in the room those voices came from. It will likely be some sort of secret room. But we can't find this room here. We need to return to reality for that. The room has been isolated from the rest of the Jail; its entrance exists only in the real world."

"...How'd you know all that?" Ryuji asked. "One of your programs or something?"

"I do not know… I merely sense it."

"Hm… Maybe the lock on this cage is somehow linked to a lock in Alice's heart?" Morgana said. "If Sophie's right, what we just heard is a memory of the Monarch… That means it's extremely important to her. I have a feeling that memory's acting as the lock on her heart, keeping us from getting past that door. It's kinda similar to how we had to change the cognition of Palace rulers by showing them something in reality first. It's only natural that the 'key' would be somewhere no one would find."

"If we can't reach the secret room in the Jail, then where do we look for it?" Makoto asked.

"School…" Ann said, quietly. She saw the confusion on their faces and clarified. "Those voices, that tone. 'Looking at guys like that.' Alice said in the interview that she had no friends at school; it makes the most logical sense."

"Brilliant deduction, Panther," Futaba complimented.

"...I'm just no stranger to hearing that kinda stuff, is all…" Ann replied, looking downcast.

~...

It was still daytime when they returned to reality. It sounded like the best place to search would be wherever Alice had gone to high school. Futaba immediately went to work looking it up for them while they waited in the station accessway. There was just one problem…

"There are no results!?"

"The fuck? But- isn't stuff like 'where celebs went to high school' easy to find online," Ann said.

"Usually, yeah! But this time? No hits, even on underground sites." Futaba said, scrolling through her phone. "All I'm seeing is fake info from deluded fans. Even if she changed her name, there'd still be traces of that somewhere!"

"There's shit even you can't find, Futaba?!" Ryuji asked.

Futaba put her phone away. "This reeks of a serious scrub job. Someone, probably her, intentionally hid her past."

"That's quite the setback…" Yusuke said, "If we don't discover Alice's alma mater, we'll never find a way into that secret room."

"But isn't it impossible to just erase stuff from the internet on your own," Ann asked.

"It is." Akira said, "Once you post anything at all, even if you delete it later, someone will have already seen it and decided to save it for themselves. A process that takes less than a second to happen."

"Could Niijima-san look into it for us?" Haru asked. "She might have access to intel we couldn't gather ourselves."

Makoto shook her head sadly. "Personal information and histories are legally protected. I doubt she'd readily agree to hand that over to us. Even if we told her what was going on."

"Yeah… asking her isn't gonna fly…"

"I hear ya there. I really don't want to wind up on the other side of a table with her getting all 'answer me!'" Futaba said.

"Don't worry, none of you will ever have to see the other side of an interrogation room as long as I'm around…" Akira said, gently.

"Ah, ok- Alice Hiiragi's school."

They turned and saw Zenkichi stroll up to them without a care. He greeted them with a polite smile, trying to pretend that he hadn't just revealed he was eavesdropping.

"Ah, Inspector Pain-in-the-Ass," Akira said, bluntly, "Listening in on private conversations that have nothing to do with you? How shady."

"Hey, I'm not shady- am I?" Zenkichi said, looking a bit disheartened.

"Yes. Quite." Haru said, with a smile.

"You kids are something else…" Zenkichi replied, "Would you quit saying that kinda stuff with that smile on your face?"

"Get used to it!" Haru replied, in a sing-song voice.

"Now, what do you want?" Ryuji asked, glaring at the cop with disdain.

Zenkichi looked exasperated. "Come on, enough with the cold shoulder. You know I'm trying to help you out."

"You, help us?" Ann said, dryly, crossing her arms. "I'd say you're joking, but it's not funny."

Zenkichi sighed. He could see this conversation wasn't going anywhere fast. "Look, you want to know where Alice Hiiragi went to school, right?"

"Ah, you're stalking us now?" Akira said, "Not even a little bit surprised."

Zenkichi actually chuckled a bit at that response. "Stalking? Now there's an accurate description of PubSec if I've ever heard one. For some reason, there's almost no personal info on Alice Hiiragi. Especially prior to her debut- that's just a big old blank. Since this is giving you all such a hard time, I've swooped in to lend a hand. Intel on Alice would be no sweat for me over in PubSec. So how about it? Want some help?"

"No." Akira replied, flatly.

"Just a little more time and I'll get it myself." Futaba added.

"Great, happy to help-" Zenkichi then realized what they'd said, "Wait, come on now! This is a real deal connection here! Just be grateful and take the intel!"

"We're sorry." Haru said, grinning widely. "We just have zero trust in the police!"

"I told you to stop smiling when you say that…"

"She doesn't have to listen to you." Ryuji said, smirking. "And neither do any of us."

Zenkichi grumbled in annoyance. It was understandable that they'd be less than accommodating, but still. The lengths they went to was getting a bit absurd. They clearly had no intention to yield on this matter.

"Fine… I've gotta earn your trust first… I get it. Alice Hiiragi went to Shujin Academy."

"She went to Shujin?" Ann asked, not really sure if she believed him.

"And don't forget it-" Zenkichi said. "Cause you owe me one now-"

"We don't owe you jack shit." Akira interrupted. "Now, if you're done here, kindly leave me and my family alone. We have a busy schedule."

Zenkichi put up his hands in surrender and walked away. Once he was out of sight, Akira pulled out his phone. (They weren't ready to introduce Sophia to anyone just yet. It was better to keep her to themselves.)

"That bastard is trying my patience…" Yusuke said, bluntly.

"That was so fucking stupid… First he says there's no record of Alice's past, then he turns around and gives us an answer? After he just said he didn't know either? How the hell does he think we're gonna take that?" Ryuji said.

"The only explanation for him already knowing would have to be that the police have eyes on her as well…" Makoto said. "Which means… in some way… that he is on our side…" She looked suddenly worried. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to say-"

"It's alright, Makoto." Akira said, gently. "You didn't offend anyone." He didn't look at all enthusiastic when he added. "Sadly… It's the only lead we have… Let's try it…"

~...

Shujin looked the same as ever when they arrived. They were lucky it was summer vacation, otherwise they'd have had to deal with teachers wondering what they were doing standing around outside a closed school. No one else was around either, leaving them totally safe.

"I'm not seeing anything weird," Ryuji said.

"I have no doubt this is the place." Sophia chimed. "This place gives me the same sensation as when I touched the birdcage."

"To think this is what would bring me back here…" Makoto said, sadly.

"Indeed… I had no idea Alice graduated from Shujin," Haru added. "You would think the school would make that common knowledge."

"I can't imagine Shujin is very proud of their 'celebrity graduates' anymore." Ann said, in a cold tone.

"Mm, good point." Makoto replied.

"That is sound reasoning." Yusuke said. "But we know that Alice is trying to hide a secret here herself. Perhaps she had a past here that she personally wanted to erase. Those voices we heard in her Jail- those cutting words and that painful cry… It was difficult to tell whether she was one of the instigators or the victim of such bullying. However she experienced it, it left such a gaping wound in her heart that she refuses to even acknowledge the truth of the matter."

Ann looked downcast at his observation. She appeared to be rather affected by the situation. "So, if this is it, how do we get in?"

"We may not be in Shibuya, but this place is still linked to its Jail. Inputting the proper EMMA keyword should permit access as usual," Sophia answered.

"Keyword: Wonderland."

"Keyword successfully entered. Beginning navigation."

~...

Once they'd stepped into the Metaverse, they found themselves in a normal looking school classroom. It was open and spacious because of all the desks being piled up against the walls. Outside the windows were cell bars that looked similar to areas they'd seen in the Jail. There was no one here, yet their attire changed upon entry, signifying they were still considered a threat.

"It's a classroom?" Morgana said, confusedly.

"Is this what a school looks like?" Sophia asked, looking around curiously. "It's rather different than how the internet makes it appear."

"It looks so normal but the cognitive distortion is really strong here…" Morgana said.

Before they could try to search the room any further, something strange happened. A girl dressed in a Shujin uniform appeared before them, sitting on a pile of desks. This caused Makoto to scream, and quickly duck behind the group for safety. Despite her powers, she was still rather afraid of things relating to the paranormal. But it seemed like they were merely looking at another Shadow instead of a ghost.

"Are you seriously crying?" The Shadow spoke, in a high and mighty tone. It didn't sound like she was addressing them specifically though. "How pathetic, trying to get us to go easy on you. You tricked him the same way, too, didn't you?"

"No, I… I'd never do that…" A disembodied female voice replied.

"What is this…?" Ann asked, fearfully.

"God you're disgusting!" The Shadow shouted. "Seriously, why are you still alive? Do us a favor… and die already!"

~...

The Shadow put up a fight but they won in the end. Once it was gone, it left a gold padlock on the floor where it once stood. It looked identical to the lock on Alice's birdcage. Ryuji reached down to try to pick it up, but as he did, the lock shined brightly for a moment before cracking and shattering into nothing before them. The second it was gone, the room started shaking violently for several moments before stopping.

"What was that rumbling…?" Makoto asked.

"The birdcage in the Jail is now unlocked." Sophia said. "We will be able to access it. It appears our most recent target held the key."

"In other words, we defeated the warden guarding the key just now," Yusuke said.

"That's what it seems like but there's a problem with that." Akira replied. "Why did the warden have the key and not Alice's Shadow herself? Wouldn't it be smarter to keep such an important key on you and never let it out of your sight?"

Nobody could argue with his logic. If Alice had simply done that, then she'd be unstoppable. Delegating the task to a Shadow didn't seem that unreasonable, but it was definitely a questionable move.

"In any case, we have it now. And we wouldn't have done it without you, Sophie!" Ann said, brightly.

"Have I been helpful to the Phantom Thieves?"

"Mhmm! You know it!"

"Praise accepted!" Sophia said, humming her usual tune with joy.

"We'll praise ya more later," Ryuji said, "We got a birdcage to bust open."

~...

It was evening when they got back to the hideout. Deciding how to write the calling card shouldn't be too difficult. They merely had to use the same logic that worked on making the Treasure materialize. However, there was a small discrepancy that merely freeing the Desires might not actually change Alice's heart…

"But making the Desires manifest would create a high possibility that we'll encounter her Shadow there. Whether through words or fists, don't we still have the opportunity to change her heart via her Shadow?" Yusuke asked.

"That's true… The best course of action would be to simply talk her down, but that's never really worked for us before," Makoto said.

"But we have to try!" Ann shouted, firmly. "Even if we have to take her head on-!" She stopped once she noticed all their concerned expressions. "Oh… sorry… I-I know that's the dangerous approach but… if you guys are up for it… It's- It's just, I want to rescue Alice, too. Not just her victims. She said she wants to be a ray of light that could inspire people suffering through life…"

"You mean when she was on tv? I don't know if she meant all that…" Ryuji said, doubtfully.

"Well, I do." Ann replied, bluntly. "I get why she said: because of all the bullying in her past. I mean… doesn't it seem like we saw part of Alice's trauma in her secret room?"

"Trauma?" Sophia said, quizzically.

"It's like an invisible wound in a person's heart," Haru explained. "It comes from living through painful experiences."

"Maybe that trauma is the whole reason the Jail formed," Ann suggested. "Maybe she was once like us? I know it doesn't excuse the things she's done, but… I think she sees what she's doing as some kind of revenge- against the kind of girls who treated her badly."

"Stealing someone's dude right in front of her is revenge to Alice?" Ryuji asked, "That's pretty sick…"

"And that host wasn't even being rude to her at all when it happened," Akira pointed out.

"Plus, her Shadow's operation is way too massive for that to be all. She has too many victims already." Futaba added.

"Perhaps she simply kept escalating because no one was there to stop her?" Haru said, "Becoming a Monarch must create an awful amount of distortion."

"All that only makes me want to help Alice more." Ann replied, fiercely. "If her heart's grown that distorted, then I want her to at least remember how it feels being a ray of light for somebody. Is she beyond helping at this point? I don't know… But there has to be someone who at least tries! We can't just abandon Alice!"

Ann had a very good point. Alice could be a victim they didn't save in time. Not that they could have, but that didn't mean they had lost their chance. If there's a chance that she wants to stop, then there's a strong possibility that she doesn't know how without a proper change of heart. It won't erase what's been done, but it'll break the cycle.

"Ok…" Akira said, making Ann perk up. "We won't abandon her. If she truly hasn't gotten to the point of no return, then we can still make her see the light."

"Thank you, Akira…" Ann said, smiling.

"We'll have to be careful though." Akira added. "If memory serves, this is usually the part where they try to fight back directly. And even if she wants help deep down, I highly doubt that she'll be willing to let us walk away with her stolen Desires. If there's a fight: ensure that we don't take her life."

"...Do you think I could write the calling card this time?" Ann asked, sheepishly. "There's something I want to tell her personally…"

"Of course," Akira said, "You deserve the right."

"Thanks, and Sophia, you can help me with the phrasing since this is your first card, you deserve to help make it."

"Ok! But how will we deliver it?" Sophia asked.

"Futaba, I think you're uniquely qualified to answer this question," Yusuke said, smirking.

Futaba started giggling evilly. "I'll fire up the cannon…"

~End of Chapter