Begin!

~Normal POV

7/29 - Saturday

Ann was the first to arrive at the hideout when summoned. She'd finished writing the calling card, most of today would be spent recording it, and tonight it would be broadcasted over all of Shibuya. Since that was where the Jail was, it should be fine to only target that area. This wasn't like Masayoshi Shido, where the entire country needed to wake up to what a scumbag he was. She greeted Sojiro politely before heading up to the attic.

She found Akira sitting on his couch reading one of his books. He immediately marked his place and set it aside upon seeing her arrive.

"Morning, beautiful." He greeted.

"Morning, cutie," Ann replied.

"I'm glad you're here first." Akira said, getting up and grabbing his bag of belongings. "I have something for you."

He searched his bag for a moment before handing her a small wrapped gift. "Happy anniversary, Ann."

"You remembered!" Ann squealed with joy. She wrapped her arms around him and covered him with kisses.

Akira smiled bashfully from all her affection, running a hand through his hair. "Hey, I gotta go on camera tonight… How am I supposed to send a threatening impression with lipstick all over me?"

Ann giggled. "If anything, it'll remind Alice that you're a taken man. And-" She went to pull something out of her purse to hand to him. "Happy anniversary!"

His jaw dropped. It was a copy of a book that he'd wanted for a while but had been very unlucky in being able to find it. "You found it?!"

"It took me ages to find a copy in Japanese. My mom had to help me out. I hope it's the right one-" She was interrupted by Akira kissing her.

"It is… Thank you, Ann, thank you so much." He said, hugging her close.

She hugged him back tightly. "...Too bad about today, huh?"

"Yeah… Sorry that we have to work on our anniversary."

"Oh, it's not your fault that the Metaverse is a bitch. Tell you what. Once the job's done, I could come over tonight…"

Akira smirked. "That sounds good to me…"

~...

Later that evening, Alice Hiiragi was sifting through her schedule, while listening to the news in her office. Her manager was out running errands for her, so she had nothing to take her frustrations out on. It had been a strangely quiet day for some reason. Nothing of any significance happened. She wasn't complaining really, but it was dull. All that was happening on the news was something about Madicce making a deal with Pineapple. Nothing she was concerned with.

"Let's see… Next week, I'm needed at…"

She glanced at the tv upon hearing something odd, it sounded like the picture cut out. Her jaw dropped when she saw that the newsfeed had been hijacked and replaced with the mark of the Phantom Thieves, with their Take Your Heart slogan under it. Of course she knew who they were. The whole country knew after all that commotion they made last year. But they'd been dormant since last December! Apparently, they were coming out of retirement to talk to the public again through distorted voices.

"Ok folks, listen up!"

"Good evening."

"Been a while, huh?"

"Perhaps you remember us."

"We are the Phantom Thieves."

"And we're back in action with a new heart in our sights!"

Alice chuckled to herself. "Oh, this ought to be good. Who's the poor bastard this time?" She took a sip of her tea.

"A wicked witch who treats people like toys. Alice Hiiragi!"

Alice spit out her tea all over her desk. "WHAT!?"

"You pretend you're a ray of light, but all you do is hurt people to indulge your own darkness. You're a bad person, and bad people need to be stopped."

"And all those Desires you stole?"

"Tonight, we're taking them all back!"

For a split second, a heavy shadowed image of a dark-haired boy in a trenchcoat and a white mask covering the upper half of his face was shown on the broadcast before he quickly covered the camera with a calling card addressed to her.

Alice stared at the tv in shock until the broadcast ended there. She'd never felt anger like this before. It was beyond words. "The Phantom Thieves… are coming after me?!"

"They're taking… my Desire? All the Desires I've collected?! No, you can't! I need those! That's what makes me the Monarch! I need those to… Without those, I'll… Alright, I'll wait for you. I don't want toys that don't do as they're told… I'll smash you for certain this time!"

~...

Upon entering the birdcage again, the gang found the first sign that Alice was affected by the calling card. Sparkling brightly above them, was a giant Desire in place of the pink cloud they'd seen before.

"It's ginormous!" Futaba shouted. "Why's it so big!?"

"At least it actually materialized for us," Haru said, smiling in relief. "Thank goodness…"

"That is a relief. I was worried our standard procedure wouldn't work!" Morgana said.

"Alright, Skull, get to hauling!" Futaba commanded, smirking playfully.

Ryuji gave her a deadpanned look. "Uh, no. Look at the size of that thing! Even if all 9 of us tried with all our strength, it ain't budging!"

"Yeah, what now? We can't steal something that big…" Ann said, worriedly.

"Maybe we don't need to-" Makoto started to say, but was interrupted by a noise coming from the stage in front of them.

Alice's Shadow came up to the roof from a secret elevator. She was sitting on her throne and watching them with intrigue. This was the first time most of them had actually seen her Shadow too, so many of them were momentarily fixated on how different she looked from the real girl.

"Well, looks like it's going to be a fight after all. Be ready," Yusuke said, as they approached the stage.

Alice ignored the comment and stood from her throne while smiling in a sadistic way. "Oh dear, you thought you'd just sneak in like that? And what exactly do you plan on doing with those Desires?" She paused and rested her gaze on Akira. "Hey you- Joker, right? Did you come back to me so you could be mine?"

"Hell no, lady." Akira answered, bluntly. He nodded beside him at Ann. "I'm here to stand back and watch my girlfriend kick your ass."

Alice glared at Ann in response to this information. "And what can she do that I can't?!"

"I can think of at least two things." Akira thought, smugly, but chose not to respond aloud.

"Alice Hiiragi, we know all about the horrible things you've done," Morgana shouted.

"You seized people's Desires by force and turned them into your puppets." Yusuke added.

"You toyed with people's emotions and made them mistreat one another!" Makoto said, clenching her fists in disgust.

"You even opened up stores so you could bilk the people you brainwashed!" Futaba said.

"We can no longer overlook the wicked changes of heart you've forced onto the people!" Haru shouted.

"The Phantom Thieves are about to beat the distortion out of you!" Ann added.

Alice took in all these comments without a care until Ann spoke. She blinked in surprise and stared down at the girl in disbelief. "...Takamaki-san? Is that you? Wow!" She smirked. "I almost didn't recognize you in that slutty getup!"

"I'm not wearing this by choice!" Ann replied, indignantly. "And if you wanna talk 'slutty getup,' look in a fucking mirror."

Alice ignored her. "You know, I have to admit, you are beautiful. There's no way you could understand. You have no clue what I've been through."

"You mean what happened to you at Shujin," Ann asked, bluntly.

Alice gasped. "Where did… How?!"

"We know all of it." Ann continued. "How you were bullied. How it was torture for you… But I still-"

"Oh. Ok… You found out." Alice interrupted, her tone stiff and bitter. "No matter how much I hide it, the past still comes back to me! How pathetic… What a mess!" She grinned evilly once more. "But that doesn't matter now. With this power, I can have everything. Everything I've always wanted… mine! And now, I'm gonna make you mine… ALL MINE!"

~...

Just as with the Palace rulers before, Alice underestimated the strength of the Phantom Thieves' teamwork. But she did put up a hell of a fight regardless. All their practice against the Shadows guarding the Jail had paid off. Alice dropped weakly to her knees before them, panting with exhaustion.

"No… How can I still not be strong enough?!" Alice screamed. "Why can't I change?! I'm not the victim anymore!"

Ann cautiously approached her. "Enough, Alice. If you keep going you'll just make yourself feel worse."

"How would you know!?"

"Because you've both suffered," Akira said, simply.

Alice sobbed quietly, staring up at Ann with a look of envy. "I just can't compare to someone like you, Takamaki-san… All my life. I'm no match for the real winners… and I tried so hard to change! But I was still made fun of- still bullied… I just wanted to stop being miserable! I poured my heart into fashion and worked to get so far! But then… she showed up again, and started running her mouth about my past… She told everyone what a pathetic little shit I was! That's why I took it all from her! Her boyfriend, her social circle, everything! And that still wasn't enough for me!" She screamed, tears filling her eyes. "It wasn't just her. Everyone that talked behind my back, all the people who just stood there while I was getting… I'll destroy every single one of them!"

"So this is a wound in the heart…" Sophia said, quietly.

"This power lets me get revenge… So I…"

"You became the bully, right?" Ann said. "You idiot! What good does that do?! Now you're just as bad as the people who made you suffer! Is that how you wanna live? Like one of those bullies?! Didn't you want to be something else? A ray of light for others- and for yourself!"

Alice gaped at her in shock at the bluntness of her words. Ann could be quite firm when she wanted to be.

Ann knelt before her, to look her in the eyes. "Don't give up because of those selfish bastards!"

Alice thought for a moment. "Takamaki-san…" Her tears spilled over. "You're right… I wanted to rescue them… All the people like me… going through the same thing… But I…" She sobbed.

"It's not too late to change," Akira said, gently.

Alice looked between the two of them, with tears streaming down her cheeks. Ann was right. She wanted to help people, and instead it ended up like this… With her making others as miserable as she is… She couldn't remember the last time she'd been shown such kindness from anyone. And this Joker guy? Ann was lucky to have him. He seemed so nice to think she should be given a chance, too. Even after how badly she treated him. It was easy to see why two such noble people found happiness in each other. It seemed there was only one option left.

She reached up with shaky hands and removed the crown she was wearing, and placed it on the ground between her and Ann.

"Takamaki-san… I- I want to apologize to the people I've hurt and start over…"

Ann smiled. "I'm sure you can turn it around. I've been through a lot of the same things. But thanks to my best friend, and the Phantom Thieves, I was able to stand up for myself and do the right thing. You're never alone. Once you're back to your real self, let's be friends, ok?"

"Really…?"

"Uh huh!" Ann replied. "I mean, I totally love Alice! We even share the same dream!"

Alice stared back at her with tearful, appreciative eyes. "Thank you… I'll go back now, where I belong…" She then vanished in a flash of light, returning to her body at last.

Ann stood up and smiled at Akira. He gave her a side hug in response. They hadn't failed in their mission, they made Alice see the light.

The Jail started to shake violently, reminding them this place would collapse now. They quickly ran to get off the roof, as the giant Desire fell to the floor and shattered into a ton of smaller Desires again. The cage around the roof disappeared too. And the smaller Desires flew away in a shower of pink diamonds across the Jail. They watched from a safe distance in the streets below until the Desires were no longer floating around. All the people's Shadows who were trapped in the Jail had vanished too.

"Whoa… that was fucking amazing…" Ryuji said, in awe.

"Did we just witness the Desires returning to their rightful owners?" Yusuke asked.

"That's what it looked like to me. Everyone who got a Desire disappeared afterward…" Ann said.

"I hope that means their real life counterparts are returning to normal," Makoto said.

"Only one way to find out," Akira said, shrugging.

"Uhhh, guys?" Morgana said, getting their attention. "Why isn't the Jail collapsing?"

They looked around to confirm that notion. Indeed, Alice's Shadow had left, the Desires were returned, and the birdcage was destroyed, but the 705 still looked like a castle. And the streets around them were still cloaked in the Metaverse's effects. They even still had their thief attire on, indicating they were still a threat. There were no visible Shadows here at the moment, but the place was totally intact…

"But that giant Desire blew up!" Futaba said, "Like 'PWAAAH!'"

"Whenever we stole a Treasure, we'd have to leave the Metaverse entirely, right?" Ann said.

"Yeah, we always had to haul ass outta there," Ryuji answered.

"That is most assuredly not happening now," Yusuke said, "If anything, it's grown eerily quiet. We convinced Alice to return to her body, yet the Jail still stands… If I were going to make a guess, I'd say there's a chance we haven't actually resolved the issue yet."

Akira was looking around thoughtfully trying to piece together an answer for what was happening. A Jail was truly different from a Palace. A Palace would collapse out of existence when the Treasure within was taken. But even if the Monarch of a Jail has a change of heart, it still stands. He didn't like the sound of that. It might very well mean the unfortunate idea that the Jail's existence was not directly connected to Alice's Shadow… Which would mean the root of the problem lay elsewhere. The question then became, how would they go about finding it? As much as he'd love for this to be over and to get back to enjoying their summer together, Akira knew that nobody would be able to rest easy as long as the Metaverse was here at all.

"I wonder how Alice will react…" Makoto said.

"We can find out back in reality," Haru replied.

"It would be nice if she could recall what happened here," Morgana said. "It's not entirely impossible for a Shadow to affect its owner after all…" He glanced knowingly at Akira.

"She might try talking to Panther," Ryuji suggested, casually.

"Maybe…" Ann said. "It was worth going that far for her to come to her senses… Alice really is a one-of-a-kind talent. And her dream is definitely something worth fighting for. I just hope she can remember how that dream first made her feel, so she can bring that feeling to the people who need it."

Akira snapped out of his thoughts and smiled at Ann. "Well said, Panther."

"I don't know if there's anything I can do to help her, but I at least want to be there for her…" Ann added.

"Fascinating…" Sophia commented, getting their attention. "Just as the Phantom Thieves predicted, Alice Hiiragi appeared to change her logic. This would not be possible had we simply defeated her. How did you predict the outcome?"

It was a little strange being asked such a question. Sophia was a great new friend and ally; having integrated herself into the team very nicely. But the fact that she was an A.I. with a limited experience with humanity made some of her questions sound harder than they needed to be.

"We didn't really predict it," Makoto answered, smiling softly. "Being able to change is what makes someone human."

Sophia thought for a moment. "Someone is human… because they can change…"

"The human heart is much more complicated than expected, isn't it?" Haru added. "Just when you think you've grown beyond your pain, the smallest thing can bring you back down again."

"The human heart is indeed difficult to comprehend. It's filled with mysteries…" Sophia said.

"Well, you're pretty high up there on the mystery charts yourself, Sophie my dear," Futaba teased.

"No, I'm-"

"'Sophie, humanity's companion,' right? We get it," Ryuji said, smirking.

Sophia smiled, realizing they were only teasing her. They seemed to like teasing each other often, she'd noticed. "You got it, Skull."

"We should probably head back now," Makoto suggested. "We can check on Alice in the morning."

~...

After parting ways with everyone for the night, Akira went back to LeBlanc. But before heading inside, he had to take care of one last thing…

"Uh, Morgana?"

The cat poked his head out of his bag. "Lady Ann is coming over tonight, isn't she?"

"Yeah… it's our anniversary, you know, so… please?" Akira said, sheepishly.

Morgana sighed. "I'll be at Futaba's… Don't forget to pick me up in the morning at least…" He hopped out of the bag and trotted off towards Sojiro's house.

Akira breathed out in relief. As much Morgana was annoyed by these occasions, it was nice that he was accommodating to his and Ann's privacy. Of course, the boy didn't want to think about what might happen once the two of them started living together… Well, perhaps they can work something out when that day comes. He went inside and found the shop already closed, good. He went upstairs and went to fix up his bed.

"Hey, Akira?" Sophia chimed, getting his attention.

"What's up?"

"Ann was very angry with Shadow Alice earlier. By the end, though, she appeared happy. Why is that? Wasn't she angry at Alice?"

"Well, they understood each other." He answered.

"Ok…" Sophia said curiously. "Anger is not just for hurting people. It is also able to save people."

"Sometimes it's not enough… And you also have to know the right thing to say." Akira said. His thoughts drifted to a very specific scenario where anger helped reach the last dregs of humanity left in someone he detested with all his being… He wondered where that person was now.

"Consider." Sophia continued. "Anger saved Alice. If someone is in the wrong, anger can be used to show them the error of their ways. The human heart is such a mystery… But thanks to you, I've gained valuable experience. Thank you, Akira."

"No problem, Sophia." He heard a knock downstairs and set his phone aside before going down to answer it.

Ann greeted him at the door and quickly came inside before anyone saw. "Hey…"

"Hey, Ann." The two shared a quick kiss before heading upstairs.

Ann set her overnight bag on the couch. "Sorry that I didn't think to bring my stuff over this morning…"

"It's fine, we had bigger things to worry about." Akira said, "I'm just glad you were able to come."

"Me too; we deserve this after all our hard work."

"Ann? It is late. Why are you here?" Sophia asked.

The two teens turned bright red remembering they technically weren't alone still. This wasn't going to be a fun conversation…

"Oops… forgot about that…" Akira mumbled, sheepishly.

Ann giggled nervously. "Yeah, same…"

"Is there a problem?" Sophia asked, clearly not "reading the room" very well.

Akira ran a hand through his hair uncomfortably. "Uhh, Sophia, could you… do us a favor and, um… leave us alone for the night?"

"Yeah," Ann said, fiddling with her hair. "It's our anniversary and we… wanted to celebrate in private…"

"Anniversary?" Sophia said, mentally searching for the significance they were referring to. "That is a word which means to celebrate a particular event once a year, correct? What event are you celebrating?"

"We're celebrating the one year anniversary of the day we became a couple," Ann replied, still very embarrassed at their current situation.

"A couple…" Sophia repeated. She knew Akira and Ann had a special bond, from the way they treated each other differently than the other Phantom Thieves. Nobody was bothered by it so they must be very used to this information. Within seconds, she tracked down a definition of the word online to clarify what they meant. "...Oh!" She said, in realization. "I get it now! Sorry for the intrusion. I will not disturb you further. Good night!" Akira's phone screen went dark again. He turned his phone face down on the table just to be safe.

"Phew… that would have been awkward to explain…" Ann said, relieved.

"Sorry, I'd put her downstairs, but that would just get my phone stolen by a customer…"

"I know, but it'll be fine. I don't think she'll bother us…" The two sat down on the bed. "Akira, before we get too… distracted, um, I want to ask you something."

"I'm all ears."

Ann glanced at him unsurely as she tried to phrase her question. "...Are you… bothered by me being friends with Alice? I mean, the real her did say some things to you too. So, if it's a problem, I can make sure you never have to tag along-"

"I don't mind."

"Really?" Ann asked, looking shocked.

"Ann, your compassion is one of the reasons I love you." Akira replied, smiling warmly. "I'm more than certain that Alice with a change of heart won't be hitting on anyone else's man ever again. So, I don't mind if you want to show her the kindness you're so good at. Especially if it helps her in the process."

Ann hugged him tight. "Thank you, Akira…" Of course he said it was ok. She was a fool to think otherwise. Akira supported her endeavors and life choices, this was merely another one to add to the pile. And he was right. Alice was going to have a change of heart. She wouldn't be bothering him again now.

"Well, you know me, I'm just a big old softie…" Akira said, chuckling.

"And that's one of the reasons I love you," Ann said, kissing him.

He set aside his glasses before pulling her into his lap. Sure, they still had quite a bit on their plates to worry about. The Metaverse was still here, Sophia's existence was still a mystery, that pain in the ass cop was still a threat to them, and they didn't know how long it'd take for Alice's change of heart to actually take effect. But none of this mattered tonight. Tonight, they were a young couple in love spending their first year anniversary together.

Even after all their work on the heist, they never planned on getting much sleep tonight.

~End of Chapter