Begin

~Normal POV

Once the angry islanders realized the car was empty, they ran off searching everywhere for them. In their hiding spot everyone was clinging to each other out of fear. The islanders had seemed so friendly when they arrived. Now they were hunting them like animals… It was quite the drastic change. And why did they only start at nightfall? They had plenty of opportunities before when they were simply hanging out on the beach all day.

"Dude, what the hell is going on?" Ryuji whispered, once they were sure the mob was out of sight.

"I don't know, but at least they didn't destroy the car…" Haru said, quietly, clinging to his arm for safety.

"Yeah, no kidding…" Akira muttered. "We'd have been shit outta luck…"

"I thought the townspeople were a little weird but this is a whole new level…" Ann said, fearfully.

"They said something about defiling hallowed ground. But we didn't do any such thing…" Makoto said, curiously.

Akira racked his brain. "...The lab…" He said, thoughtfully. "We kept asking about the lab… And when we found it, there was that straw festoon on the entrance."

"That's right… We saw it then proceeded further anyway," Yusuke said, quietly.

"What's so fucking hollow about some lab?" Ryuji asked.

"And even if it is hallowed, that doesn't explain how they're acting at all!" Ann whisper-shouted. "They look like they want to kill us! It doesn't matter how we look at it, these people have lost their minds!"

"Could it be that they're… brainwashed?" Haru asked, nervously.

Akira nodded. "I'm getting that feeling too. There must be a Jail here after all…"

"But Sophia said she can't smell a Jail," Ryuji pointed out.

"Correct." Sophia replied, softly. "I cannot smell any Jails here."

"However, you did also say you got a bad feeling from this place." Yusuke said, "Considering our current situation, I can only assume it's due to a changing of their hearts."

"Nobody tried to attack us all day though…" Ann said.

"Perhaps there really is something on this island- something even Sophia can't detect." Makoto said, worriedly.

"What do we do, leader?" Morgana asked.

Akira thought for a moment. There was only one viable option that would lead them to the truth. "I think we should take a closer look at that lab."

"Won't there already be brainwashed locals there?" Ryuji asked, nervously.

"Actually… Kurusu's right." Zenkichi said, thoughtfully. "That idea is smarter than it sounds. It's pretty obvious based on how they treat the place, there's something fishy there. No matter where we go on this island, they'd catch us eventually. Why not strike at the heart of the matter right away?"

"Do you mean a Jail?" Makoto asked.

"However, there is no Jail." Sophia insisted.

"Sure. There's no Jail, but I'd bet we'll at least find something in their holy land." Zenkichi reasoned. "And it sure sounds like a better plan than waiting around in the bushes until they find us."

Nobody could argue with that logic.

~...

As expected, moving from their hiding spot did eventually get them spotted. They had to take the long way back to the lab to avoid getting caught. But they made it after running for some time. When they arrived, they were shocked to find the place free of any guards. This was the one place they expected to be protected. It didn't look right…

"Did- Did we lose 'em?" Ryuji said, panting. He took a moment to hit his bad leg from all the running.

"Looks like it…" Zenkichi answered, doubled over and out of breath.

"You alright," Akira asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine- don't worry about me… It's just been a while since I ran that fast." Zenkichi said, standing up straight again. "When you get to be my age, you'll realize that stamina isn't your thing anymore."

"And what age would that be?" Ryuji asked.

"I'm not answering that question!"

Before they could try to figure out a way to get inside the complex, the sound of approaching footsteps alerted them. They quickly ducked into a hiding spot in some nearby trees. One of the crazed islanders came up the path and walked up to the security gate.

"What's he doing?" Haru whispered.

"I can't tell from here…" Makoto whispered back. It appeared the man was doing something with the gate but it wasn't clear what.

"This could actually be good for us." Zenkichi said, softly. "There's only one guy. If we capture him, we might be able to question him."

"You need help?" Akira asked. "He might be armed."

"It's too risky. That's why you kids are gonna stay here; I'll do it myself."

"Doing it by yourself, gramps?!" Ryuji whisper-shouted.

"I've been through enough training. I'll be fine." Zenkichi replied, smirking. "You guys stay put and keep an eye out for any of his buddies."

"Holy crap, gramps just got way cooler," Futaba said, looking shocked.

Zenkichi approached the man from behind and got his attention. After a moment the man tried to attack him, causing him to get quickly subdued by the inspector. Seeing that the coast was clear, the others stepped out of hiding again.

"Oh, wow." Zenkichi said, smugly, wiping his hands. "Watch your step there. You alright?"

"Not again?! You totally threw him on his ass!" Ryuji said.

"It was clearly self defense." Zenkichi argued.

"Sure… Anyway, he's out cold now. You'd better hope he doesn't remember what you did to him…" Akira said.

"Hey, look-" Ann said, pointing at the security gate stall. The sign on it was mostly the same except the date was changed to say the 19th instead.

"So that's what he was doing…" Zenkichi said, "Sounds like the staff is on permanent vacation, one day at a time."

"Totally not suspicious in the slightest…" Akira muttered, sarcastically.

"But why do this?" Makoto asked.

"To string along anybody who came here for the lab." Zenkichi replied, simply. "When someone thinks the staff is out for the day, they probably stick around the island. Like us. Then come night time, the locals descend upon whoever got too curious… To protect whatever's in there."

"Horrid tactics…" Yusuke commented, shuddering. "Let's hope there haven't been too many victims…"

While they talked, Futaba was busy searching the unconscious islander. "Hey- I got his phone." She said, standing up. "Yep, he's got EMMA… and… he only has one friend? Shuzo Ubukata."

"Sounds like that could be our Monarch," Akira said, "But if there is somehow a Jail here, we'd need a keyword. Can you find anything?"

Futaba searched through the phone. "There's an email here. 'Cordial invitation to serve as a tester of the EMMA system…' It has a keyword! Operation Oraculi. I don't recognize the address, it might be from the lab."

"The lab asked all of these guys to be EMMA testers," Zenkichi said, quizzically. "That's a far stretch…"

"But Ichinose told us that EMMA was brought to this lab at some point," Makoto said, "It's our only lead."

Morgana trotted back up to them. "Guys, they're posting guards outside the arch down there. We're stuck here unless we do something!"

"That settles it, the only way we're getting out of here with our skins intact is by jumping into the Metaverse. Inspector, you're coming too-"

"Back into the cognitive whatever? I don't-"

"It's either that or you wait around out here until they come looking for their buddy and wonder who did it." Akira added, matter of factly, gesturing to the unconscious man on the ground.

Zenkichi paled, though it was hard to see in the dark. "Ah- good point, let's go."

Akira opened the EMMA app on his phone and said. "Keyword, Operation Oraculi."

"Keyword successfully entered. Beginning navigation."

~...

There was indeed a Jail here. It was the strangest they'd seen yet too. It appeared first that they were now inside a building. Behind them was a sealed metal door that was presumably the exit back to reality. Everything was dark and eerily quiet here, they could hardly see anything around them. The walls were covered with loose ivy as if the place had been abandoned for some time. Cracks lined the walls and floor and the hanging lamps on the ceiling were all broken. Ahead of them was only a dark hallway, and they couldn't see where it would lead. As expected, they were already considered threats here too…

"Is this the lab?" Zenkichi asked, curiously. "It's kind of eerie…"

"Bad vibes here, guys…" Futaba said, nervously. "This place looks straight up haunted…"

This made Makoto whimper. She was shaking with nerves and looking around frantically for danger. Despite her age, and her fierceness when fighting Shadows, she still wasn't good with dark, creepy places like this. But she was trying to withhold her panicking.

"Queen, are you alright?" Haru asked, gently.

"Uh- yep!" Makoto replied, in a higher voice than usual. "A-All fine here!"

"You sure don't sound fine." Ryuji commented.

A loud clang broke the silence from nearby, causing Makoto to shriek and drop to her knees to curl up and sob in fear.

"Queen, it was just a can…" Ann said, soothingly trying to calm her down.

"Why is Queen panicking?" Sophia asked, staring down at her curiously.

"Let's just say everyone's got their weak spot." Akira answered.

Zenkichi searched his pockets for a moment before pulling out a pocket sized flashlight and turning it on; making everyone look his way. "Brought it along…" He explained. "Thought I might need it for the search…"

"Good call," Ryuji said.

Ann helped Makoto back up and she seemed to calm down a bit from having a light source again. Zenkichi examined the area with his flashlight but nothing looked amiss here.

"Oracle, what does this place look like?" Akira asked.

Futaba pulled up her magic view screens (startling Zenkichi in the process since he hadn't seen her do it before) and replied. "Well, the good news is, it's not too big. I don't see any Prison Keeps… or even a birdcage… I think we're somewhere underground."

"No birdcage? Then where are the Desires being kept?" Ryuji asked. "And more importantly, I thought there wasn't a Jail here?"

"I thought so too." Sophia said, "But when Joker put in the keyword, I could smell the Jail again. It was as if the place was… sleeping, and it suddenly woke up."

"So, Jails can go dormant…" Morgana said, curiously. "Interesting…"

"As for the Desires-" Futaba continued. "I'd guess they're being kept at the bottom floor. Since the place is underground."

"And how many floors are we talking about here?" Yusuke asked.

"Not too many."

"Good enough for me." Akira said, shrugging. He turned to Zenkichi. "Alright, inspector, we need to search this area."

"Search…" Zenkichi replied, nodding. "Er, yeah- ok… Let's go-"

"Whoa, man, you crazy?!" Ryuji said, holding him back by the shoulder.

"What? I'm willing to help!" Zenkichi argued, "Is that a problem?"

"In theory, no, but in execution, yes." Haru said, worriedly. "You see, in the Metaverse, our powers give us greater stamina and agility. We can easily traverse obstacles that would be difficult for you as a normal person. You simply wouldn't be able to keep up with us."

"And it'll be hella dangerous." Ryuji added. "Keeping Shadows off ya would be taking up most of our attention."

Zenkichi sighed. "Well- what then? You want me to just stay here? That sounds just as dangerous!"

"Rest assured, inspector-" Yusuke said, "While you are in the Metaverse, you are under our care. And Joker would never allow someone under his protection to be harmed."

Zenkichi stared at Akira questioningly, silently asking if that were true. Akira smiled and nodded in response. The inspector felt that pang of guilt hit him once again… If only he'd been able to warn them, but he just couldn't bring himself to…

"If you want, one of us could stay behind as a bodyguard," Ann suggested.

"That will not be necessary. There are no Shadows in the immediate vicinity." Sophia pointed out, in a logical tone. "Gramps will be safe as long as he does not follow us further into the Jail."

Zenkichi conceded that this was a good enough option. "Ok… This is your territory anyway… I'll wait here then."

"We'll try to get back as fast as we can," Akira assured.

Futaba pulled something out of her pocket and handed it to Zenkichi. "Here. I know Sophie said it was safe, but just in case. The Metaverse scrambles with a lot of our normal tech but these comms work. Sophie doesn't need one since she's an A.I.- she can tune into our frequency on her own- so we had an extra. Just push that button and call for help if anything comes your way, and we'll be here in a heartbeat."

Zenkichi stared down at the comm device questioningly. "An… extra?"

"Traitor…" Futaba explained, simply. "Long story. Anyway, we'll be back."

Before they could leave, Zenkichi called out. "Wait!" He handed his flashlight to Akira. "Here… I don't know if you'll get to use it, but you'll need it more than I will at least…"

"Thanks," Akira replied, pocketing the flashlight.

Sophia perked up suddenly. "Huh?" She stared down the dark hallway intently, listening for something they couldn't hear. "I… I hear something…"

"L-Like what?" Makoto asked, nervously.

"Something… calling to me…" Sophia said, distractedly.

Without warning, she ran off down the hall by herself; causing everyone to quickly run after her, worried that she might get hurt. Leaving Zenkichi alone at last by the door.

He looked at the comm device again and frowned. "...A traitor, huh…"

~End of Chapter