Begin!
~Normal POV
The base of the tower was now covered in things that resembled roots of a tree, while looking like they came straight from Mementos. Blood red and grotesque… What was it with the gods and making everything look like this anyway? At least there was no blood raining from the sky this time. In fact, the merging seemed more or less contained to this particular area, for the moment. (They'd have to work fast to stop it from going any further.) They were not only in their thief suits once more, but Sophia was also here in physical form again. Ichinose was still with them too.
"Holy shit- what is all this?!" Ryuji asked.
"Well, it's repulsive for one thing…" Haru replied, looking around with disdain at the imagery.
"This is still the real world… right?" Ann asked.
"That ought to be the case, but it's growing harder to believe by the minute," Yusuke said.
"And look at our outfits too." Zenkichi pointed out. "What could have done this?"
"I'm also here now!" Sophia added.
"It happened again… Just like last year. The Metaverse is encroaching on reality," Morgana said.
"Encroaching-" Zenkichi asked. "Wait- this has happened before!?"
"Oh right, we're the only ones who remember…" Ann mumbled.
"Don't worry so much, Wolf." Akira said, "We'll tell you and Sophie all about it some other time. It's kind of a long story. That said, this place looks like a Jail to me… We should be able to find EMMA and stop her before she takes over all of reality."
"I have visual confirmation of the Ark above us." Sophia said, "We'll have to climb up there to reach it."
"It'll be too dangerous for you to follow us, Ichinose," Makoto said, "You should find somewhere to hide."
Ichinose snapped out of her thoughts while looking around at all the disturbing imagery. "Oh- um, ok. I'm sure I'd slow you down anyway."
Sophia stayed behind for a moment while everyone else went on ahead. "Well, mother, I'm heading out…" She said, brightly.
"Ah, right…" Ichinose said quietly. As she watched her start to follow her friends she called out. "Sophia?" Sophia paused and looked back at her. "Um… be careful…"
Sophia smiled. "Understood! Also, mother: I am not currently Sophia. I am Sophie, of the Phantom Thieves!"
Ichinose smiled a little. "Got it… Sophie…"
~...
"Here we go again…" Haru said, worriedly, as Sophia rejoined them a little ways into the tower. "I wonder if the gods hate us by now."
"Indeed." Yusuke said, with a tiny smirk, "To oppose yet another god… I suspect our karma's run deep down the drain."
"I don't even know if we can pay for all these sins!" Futaba added, playfully.
"Eh, it all depends on who you cheesed off." Zenkichi said, smiling nonchalantly despite the topic. "I wouldn't sweat it over some megalomaniacal app."
"Yeah, just some program that grew a big head and forced people to do its bidding!" Ann said.
"EMMA's no god at all." Sophia said, firmly. "Only an impostor!"
"I second that!" Akira replied, smiling. "Eh, I killed a god once already, I can do it again. Though I don't think I have the means to pull off my little trick this time…"
"Shame." Ann said, smirking knowingly. "Would have loved to see it happen again."
Makoto was busy surveying their surroundings. "Hopefully none of these tree roots get in our way…"
"If they do, leave it to me!" Haru said, cheerfully. "I'll mow them down with my trusty axe!"
Zenkichi side-eyed her nervously and whispered to Ryuji. "This is… normal for her, right?"
If there was one thing he learned fast during his short time as a Phantom Thief it was "Haru is terrifying." (Actually, all these girls were too!) Ryuji, however, was merely grinning dopily at his axe-wielding girlfriend as if she was the most amazing thing on earth.
"Yep, just normal, every day, Noir," Ryuji answered, quietly.
~...
Making it to the top proved fruitless right away. While they did find the Ark, they also found that the stolen Desires needed to manifest for them to even complete their mission. Upon calling Ichinose for advice, they were able to come to only one possible solution: Hacking into EMMA to send a calling card to each individual who had their Desire stolen. Any other day, hacking into the most advanced artificial intelligence ever created would have been impossible. But they had no other options. Calling cards wouldn't work on EMMA herself; she only thinks through logic and algorithms, and is incapable of being upset or confused beyond reason. (Unlike Sophia, who was made with a proper emotional response system.)
Upon getting into EMMA's server room, they found the place surprisingly free of Shadow-guards. All that was here was a bunch of equipment, and a center table with a computer. There was also a mic for vocal input.
"Well, we're here… It's up to you, Oracle. Can you do it?" Makoto asked, unsurely.
"Of course I can." Futaba replied, smugly. "The Metaverse is my bitch." She set her laptop on the table and plugged it into the mainframe.
For a while, the only sound in the room was the clicking of Futaba's keyboard as she worked. When she was in the zone, it was better to avoid distracting her. But after a few minutes of working…
"Damn it!" She cursed loudly.
"What's wrong?" Akira asked.
"I'll spare you the technical talk- I found a hole in the system, but the security protocols close it up too fast before I can get in!"
"Is there any way I can help, Oracle?" Sophia asked.
"No, Sophie-" Futaba said, firmly. "She might fry your circuits if you try to connect to her." Sophia took the hint and backed away.
"It's frustrating that we can't lend any assistance…" Yusuke said, quietly.
Behind them they didn't hear the door open, being too engrossed in watching Futaba work. But their attention was drawn to it by the sound of a soft voice.
"Hey there… Could I maybe lend a hand?" They turned to see Ichinose had come to find them.
"How did you get here?" Makoto asked.
"Didn't you run into any Shadows?" Ryuji added.
Ichinose approached them. "Looks like I still register as EMMA's ally to them. They acted like I wasn't even there. Um, Joker- right? Would you mind if I helped out?"
"Can you pull it off?" Akira asked.
"She can definitely do this." Sophia said, "Have faith in her, Joker!"
Akira smiled. "Then by all means, have at it."
"Thank you, Joker." Ichinose said, smiling. She went to Futaba's side obediently.
"So, the hacker once feared by the entire world has teamed up with a super genius A.I researcher…" Yusuke commented smiling.
"Talk about one helluva turnaround!" Ryuji said, brightly.
It took a few more minutes of Futaba and Ichinose working together on the laptop before they finally finished their task. Every phone with EMMA installed on it had been hacked to display only their logo to get everyone's attention down there. Having no time to write a script for this calling card before this, they chose to simply wing it. Futaba set up her voice distortion program as Ichinose stepped back to watch with a smile.
"Attention!" Futaba said into the mic. "You know the logo by now, right?"
"We are the Phantom Thieves." Makoto said.
"And we've got a big announcement for everybody!" Haru added.
"Our target this time… is you!" Ann said.
"You've all been made sheep." Yusuke said, "A mechanical god has usurped what self you had… And you let it happen."
"Do you really want someone telling you what your own life is about?" Zenkichi said.
"All of you have paths only you can take…" Sophia said, "But you make your own choices to get there!"
"That's why we're here." Morgana said, "We're going to snap you out of this!"
"You don't owe this dumb god your Desires!" Ryuji said.
"The Phantom Thieves are taking them back!"
~...
"Everyone, together!"
"Let's go!"
"But why… I am… the god who would guide humanity…"
It was a long and arduous fight but in the end, they had emerged victorious against yet another false god. They could see all the Desires falling like snow around them, going back to their respective owners in the city below.
"Is it… finally over?" Yusuke asked, tiredly.
"Mhmm, no mistake there." Futaba answered. "I'm not picking up any enemy readings."
"So…?" Ann said, knowingly.
"HELL YEAH! WE DID IT!" Ryuji shouted.
His excitement was followed by cheers from everyone else as well. Ann even gave Akira one last victory kiss. This would go down as a very memorable summer vacation for all of them, for sure.
"We scraped by…" Makoto said, smiling. "That was unbelievably rough."
"That should have taken care of the Jails too." Morgana pointed out.
"Top notch work, you guys." Zenkichi said, smiling. "That was some legitimate hero action back there."
"Why are you talking like you weren't there?" Futaba asked, cheekily. "You're a hero too, Wolf!"
"As well as Sophie." Yusuke added, warmly.
Sophia was momentarily distracted watching the sky in the distance as something was on her mind. "Oh- sorry…" She smiled at them. "I'm a… hero. A knight in shining armor. That doesn't sound too bad at all, right, Joker?"
Akira still had his arm around Ann's waist as he shrugged and replied. "Well, the Phantom Thieves aren't exactly knights in shining armor, but no, it doesn't sound bad at all."
"A knight in shining armor, huh?" Zenkichi said. "Never expected my little joke to actually come true."
Before anyone could make any more quips, the ground started shaking below their feet. The fusion was undoing itself at last and the Metaverse was going to disappear again. They all rushed to the exit. Sophia took a detour from the others to pick up Ichinose on the way, but they all made it back out just in time as reality returned to normal.
~...
8/29 - Tuesday
Upon returning to the fixed reality outside the Radio Tower, they saw that morning had come at last. That sure was a long night. Ichinose was out safely with them, and Sophia was back in Akira's phone. Morgana got to continue staying in reality again this time, proving that he really was stuck with them for life. All around them, civilians were going about their lives like normal. And only a handful of people would ever know what transpired last night. But that was a good thing. If the world was ever distorted again, it was best that the truth of it remain, for the most part, a secret. A quick check on their phones ensured that EMMA was indeed purged from them too, along with the Metaverse.
"I'm glad you all made it back in one piece." Ichinose said, smiling.
"And same for you!" Futaba replied.
"It looks like everyone's gone back to normal…" Ichinose said, looking around. "They don't remember what happened to them, do they?"
"Correct-" Yusuke answered. "At least, whatever events took place while their Desires were gone."
"I see…" Ichinose frowned. "I'm… so sorry for all the trouble I caused you guys."
"Mother…"
"My apologies, but I'm going to head out now." Ichinose said, quietly. "I- have a lot of thinking to do."
"Are you sure you're ok by yourself?" Ann asked.
"Yeah," Ichinose replied simply. "I'm going to head back home to Shibuya… It's been years since the last time I was there. For a long time, it was just the place where I stashed away everything from my past, but… now, I need to go back. Well, be seeing you…" She turned and walked away before they could protest.
"I wonder if she'll be alright…" Haru pondered aloud.
"She'll be ok," Akira said.
"People can get all caught up in what others have to say, and wind up forgetting what they have to say for themselves." Zenkichi said, wisely. "At the same time, just a few words can end up being a lifeline to somebody, too. I'm sure you were able to talk sense into her, Sophia. Just give her some time to process."
"You got it." Sophia chimed. "Thanks, Zenkichi."
Zenkichi smiled. "Well, not to bite her style or anything, but I ought to say my goodbyes too."
This didn't sit well with the gang. "What's the rush, gramps!?" Ryuji asked.
Zenkichi chuckled lightly at their worried looks. "We may not have brought a god down to the station, but we did find the culprit behind this whole mess and foiled the entire scheme. I'm sure the bizarre incidents are in our past now- and thanks to the Monarchs' confessions, you're all in the clear. That means our deal's through."
"What do you mean by that?!" Futaba whined. "Don't say such sad stuff, Zenkichi…"
"Never forget, Zenkichi, you're a Phantom Thief now." Akira said, smiling.
"Come on, Kurusu…" Zenkichi said, scratching his head sheepishly. "You remember I only met up with you guys so I could use you, right?"
"Yeah but you didn't really have a choice, did you?" Ann said.
"If anything, you were our most valuable asset," Yusuke complimented.
"Yeah, we owe you an awful lot, Zenkichi!" Futaba added.
Zenkichi sighed, smiling a little. "Thanks… You know, it really was great meeting you all. To be totally honest? I was originally jealous of you. Since my line of work means a lot of wasted effort getting things done, your direct results sorta felt like cheating, in a way. It was really bugging me for a while there… But at the end of the day, not only did you guys recuse me, but you literally saved Akane's life. That's what opened my eyes, and showed me the things I needed to do… The things I'd lost sight of over the years. I guess… my heart got changed before I could even see it coming."
"That's kinda how we operate." Akira replied, playfully.
"The feeling's mutual-" Makoto said, "You taught us an awful lot too, you know. Like the challenges you can face when trying to live by your beliefs."
"As well as the pains of child-rearing," Yusuke added, smirking.
"...Or the fact that there are still some decent cops out there," Akira said, genuinely. Without even the slightest hint of sarcasm or joking around. He was being completely sincere in his words.
Zenkichi smiled gratefully. "It's nice to hear that from you of all people… Ahem, anyway, at this point, I'm ready to take care of something that's been plaguing me for a long time…"
"You mean Owada." Makoto said, conclusively.
"Right. I got no reason to hold back anymore. I know what I have to do."
"What you have to do…" Sophia said, contemplatively.
Akira reached out his hand and said. "You got this, Zenkichi."
Zenkichi accepted the handshake with a smile. "Gotcha… But it's not like this is the last time we'll ever see each other. I'm sure we'll cross paths again soon enough."
"Oh, we definitely will." Ryuji replied, grinning.
"We'll make a point to do so!" Haru added.
"Just do me a favor," Zenkichi said, "Next time we meet, make sure it's not in an interrogation room, ok? But if anything does go down, feel free to reach out- I swear I'll do whatever I can to help."
"We know." Akira replied. "But you won't have to worry. The Metaverse is gone for good. We're back to just being law-abiding citizens."
Zenkichi held back a snicker. "You mean you were before? Sorry- couldn't resist the joke- Anyway, see you, Phantom Thieves- or no…" He smiled warmly. "You damn kids."
He turned and walked off, ready to settle his business with his nemesis at last, all thanks to their help. He couldn't have been more grateful. Meanwhile, seeing that the gang had nothing left to stop them, Akira told everyone to head home. They had to check on their homes and loved ones first and foremost after all. And tomorrow, they were to come to the hideout for a particularly important meeting.
~...
8/30 - Wednesday
The gang met at the hideout early in the morning. This meeting was for two reasons. One was to have a last little celebration together and the other was a final bit of business to take care of. Zenkichi had been kept out of the loop for this particular discussion. (For a good reason.) Once everyone was settled in and had enjoyed their party meal, (along with confirming that their home situations and loved ones were safely unharmed) they jumped right into work.
"Futaba, get out your computer." Akira commanded. "There's one more thing we need to take care of before this summer ends."
"Ready!" Futaba said, eagerly. "What should it say?"
"What are we doing?" Sophia asked.
"Just a little something for Zenkichi and Akane…" Ann said, smirking.
"Ohhh…" Sophia said, smiling.
"How about you put one in first, Futaba?" Makoto suggested.
Futaba thought for a moment before typing something of her own first. They went around the table, each putting something special in; Sophia included. While they worked, Sophia explained the reason why she had been so distracted after the battle the other day. She said that EMMA spoke to her telepathically before she died… Conceding defeat and saying the Phantom Thieves were right all along. It did make Sophia a bit sad not being able to make her sister see reason in the end, but it was ok now. It meant that EMMA wouldn't hurt anyone anymore.
Once their work was finished, they sealed it up in an envelope and Akira gave it to Sojiro to mail for them; which he was happy to do.
~...
8/31 - Thursday
Akira woke up with Ann under his arm again. She had spent the night last night, so they could have one last moment of pure alone time before he had to go home today. (Morgana slept at Futaba's, and Sophia wisely didn't disturb their precious night.)
Not long after getting up, the gang was planning to see Akira off at the station. (They had to give back the camper upon returning to LeBlanc so they had no means to simply drive him home themselves this time, sadly.) But nearly immediately after they all met up to do so, Ichinose called to request a meeting in Shibuya Square. They were happy to oblige her request.
On the way, they heard the news talking about Owada's arrest. They couldn't help being proud of Zenkichi for pulling it off himself. And they knew Akane could sleep easier because of it too. It was truly a wonderful occasion.
Upon meeting with Ichinose, she explained the truth behind her leaving so suddenly. While she did initially return to her old home, what she did afterwards was attempt to turn herself in to the police. This shocked them of course, as she'd already done enough to atone in their minds, but it didn't mean anything anyway. Naturally, the police didn't believe her story about an A.I turned god in the slightest! (She even tried getting Zenkichi to back her up, but he had merely denied the whole thing to keep her from getting in trouble.) Now the only thing she wanted to do was take a journey to learn more about hearts by interacting with people.
Sophia, despite initially saying she would be accompanying Akira and Morgana back to their home, changed her mind last minute and asked if there was some way she could go with her mother instead… To which, Akira was happy to let her do so. Ichinose needed her daughter now, more than ever. And Sophia needed to fulfill her promise to be her companion too. As a result, Futaba revealed a special surprise she'd been working on all this time: she invented a program to get Sophia out of Akira's phone and onto another at last, letting her move onto her mother's phone.
"Remember, you can always call or message us whenever you want, Sophia," Ryuji reminded her.
"We like to stay in touch as much as possible, and you're no exception!" Haru added, brightly.
"I will remember that!" Sophia said, happily. "Thank you all for everything!"
"You're welcome, Sophia." Akira said, smiling, "And remember, you're still one of us. Once a Phantom Thief, always a Phantom Thief."
"Forever?" Sophia asked.
"Forever!" Her teammates replied in unison.
Ichinose smiled warmly at them. "Futaba-chan, if you send me the details of your little program, I might be able to set something up so she can send herself over to any of your phones for a visit at some point. But it might take a lot of tinkering."
"Really?!" Sophia said, "Oh, I would love that!"
"We'd be happy to see you try it," Futaba replied.
"Just be sure you let us know first before it happens." Ryuji said, chuckling. "You wouldn't want to go popping over while any of us are in the shower or something!"
Sophia giggled. "Deal!"
Akira shook Ichinose's hand. "Take care of her for us, doc."
"I will…" Ichinose said. "Heh, after all… She's my baby. Good bye, Phantom Thieves…"
"Good bye everyone!" Sophia cried as Ichinose turned and walked off.
Once the two were gone, Ann reminded Akira that his train was going to leave soon. They hurried off into the station together.
~...
At the train platform, Akira and Morgana received many good bye hugs from everyone. Not like they wouldn't come back soon enough, but it was always a bummer having to leave. Akira had already promised himself that when he graduated high school, he'd move to the city for real to be closer to them and to go to college here, if at all possible.
"You make sure you come back soon, ok?" Ryuji warned. "Otherwise, I'll run out there and drag you back here myself!"
"You'd get tired too fast to own up to that threat." Akira teased. "But remember, you guys are always welcome at my place, too."
"Ah, your parents are always most generous to us…" Yusuke said, smiling. "I will take you up on that offer whenever I am able."
"And we'll see each other again on birthdays and winter break," Makoto pointed out.
"Of course!" Haru added. "We can even invite Zenkichi and Akane-chan along for our Christmas party this year!"
"Aww, hell yeah!" Ryuji shouted in agreement.
"And Ichinose, so that Sophia can come too!" Futaba added.
"Oh right," Ann said, suddenly. "Zenkichi never got to see the real hideout, did he?"
"Eh, we'll show him next time he comes by." Akira said, shrugging. "You know… maybe someday we can tell Akane-chan who we really are."
"I think she'd make us deaf from all the squealing," Futaba said, giggling. "But… I'd like her to know someday too."
"Maybe, but not yet." Makoto said, "We'll wait on that until she's ready."
Everyone agreed with her words. Akane was a wonderful fan, but they had to wait for her to be ready for such information first. It was only natural. Since it would mean outing Zenkichi's involvement as well.
Seeing that it was just about time to leave, the rest of the gang wisely stepped back to allow Akira and Ann a brief final moment.
"I'll come visit…" Ann said, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"You'd better…" Akira replied. The two shared one last good bye kiss. "I love you, Ann…"
"I love you too, Akira… Have a safe trip."
With that, Akira boarded his train with Morgana tucked safely in his bag. He managed to get a seat and set his bag in his lap. Morgana poked his head out as he sat down.
"Phew, one hell of a vacation, right?" The cat said.
"Yeah…" Akira replied, smiling as he pulled one of his books out to read. "But I wouldn't trade it for anything…"
It may have had a rocky start, but this was an awesome summer. The Phantom Thieves got to have one last big adventure together, even making some new additions to their family in the process. They were finally, truly, retired. And could enjoy the rest of their lives together in peace.
~End of Chapter
