A New Route

by Nevermore-the-Dragon-Sings

Something strange happens after Sayori is deleted. Now she's fallen into a new environment with no clue how she's gotten there. Luckily, a seemingly harmless detective has her back. Soon a new mystery arises, connections are made, and Sayori has to decide. Who should she trust? Unfortunately, not everything is as it seems.

45. Chapter 44

I own nothing. Monika does.

"We've almost got it!" Skull and Valiant cheered together.

Joker felt his eye twitch ever so slightly as he continued to move the pieces of their latest puzzled picture with the golden control panel. "We?" he asked sarcastically.

"Oh, sorry. You've almost got it," Valiant replied apologetically, Skull nodding in agreement. "Just… move that last piece to the left… No, your other left… there!"

The picture was now complete, marking itself as so with a satisfactory grating sound. Though the Phantom Thieves were happy with their accomplishment, they had a rather somber mood as they viewed the mural. The child pulling on her mother's clothes was most certainly Futaba. It was rather enlightening to see Wakaba Isshiki as well.

"Mom…" A small voice whined, echoing off the pictures.

"More voices…" Panther said sadly, wondering what new damper would be put on their day.

Poor Futaba… Valiant shuffled her feet, already knowing she wasn't going to like what she was about to hear. "None of this feels right…" She whispered.

"I'm… I'm tired of eating dinner alone all the time. It's always just convenience store bentos…" The small voice continued. The owner of the voice was already known, but the truth of this despairing feeling welling in all of the Phantom Thieves refused to make itself known.

"I wanna go somewhere. Take me on a trip!"

"The one clinging to her mother would be Futaba-chan, right?" Panther asked, her voice light, almost drowned out by the suffocating, sorrowful silence that had gripped on to everyone.

"Don't be so selfish!" A new voice spoke this time, that of a young woman… Wakaba herself. Though it was only a quiet moan, the intensity and anger in the voice made the group collectively shudder.

This doesn't feel right… Valiant repeated in her head, the phrase becoming a mantra to her. Not right at all…

"You know I'm working hard to support you, right!? Ugh!" The voice seemed to finally be finished, which caused the Phantom Thieves to let out a breath they didn't know they had all been holding.

The room began to shudder, and the beam of light connected to the gold panel swivelled over, reflecting it's light on the picture, thankfully causing it to fade out. The light now shown on the lock of the farthest door they could see. Judging by how far it was in the building, based off of how it looked on the outside at least, the Phantom Thieves all deduced they had arrived, or were near, the last door that needed opening.

"She seemed pretty angry…" Queen finally spoke. "Is that the maternity neurosis the voice from earlier mentioned?"

"I thought it was pretty normal for a child to want to spend time with their parents though…" Panther said thoughtfully, a sad sigh escaping her.

"Yeah," Skull agreed. "Looks like Futaba was a pretty lonely kid growin' up…"

Through all of this, there was a steady voice repeating the same thing to Sayori as she looked at the distant door that awaited them. It was gentle, the tone sounding like a windchime, yet pounding and insistent as it refused to let up. None of this sounds right… It's not just that it doesn't sound correct, right? There's something wrong with this whole picture that makes you feel this way…

"So these incidents compounded, forcing her mother to suicide?" Fox hypothesized.

Those words seemed to summon Shadow Futaba, looking somber and resigned, gazing calmly at the Phantom Thieves.

"... I must die."

"Huh?" Panther jumped back in shock at the Shadow's appearance. The others all turned warily, waiting for the next ambush attack that would inevitably strike them because of the Shadow's appearance…

Except Sayori, who looked at the Shadow strangely, almost inquisitively. This doesn't feel right… Yet, I've been faced with this face of resignation too many times… that I know…

"I killed her… That's why I'm here in this tomb…" The Shadow continued, unperturbed by the gazes sent her way.

"Don't say that!" Panther shouted angrily, insistent in her words as she gripped her fists.

"I will die…" Shadow Futaba and her words all began to fade out.

Sayori felt a tightness in her throat, and rubbed her face, feeling the salty tracks of tears and sighing. When did I even start crying…?

"Futaba-chan!" Panther shouted at the spot where the Shadow had disappeared. When she received no answer, the red-clad thief stamped her foot on the ground.

"Why'd she get so quiet all of a sudden?" Skull asked, his voice beginning to noticeable rise. "What happened to that snarky personality!?"

"Could her heart perhaps be growing weaker?" Fox asked.

"Don't phrase it like that!" Valiant cringed. "You're making it sound like she's going to have a heart attack!"

Fox apologized, noticing seconds too late that Valiant had turned away, shielding the tears and the fear spilling out of her.

"We have to hurry and save her!" Panther shouted in determination. The others couldn't agree more, and all began running towards the door they had just unlocked.

---

The door slid open to reveal… another door right behind it. It was different from all of the other dim emerald doors. This one had a glow to it, with caution tape and a "Do Not Enter" sign posted on the front.

"It's open… but what's this?" Panther asked curiously.

None of them had an answer for her. Luckily, Joker noticed a door off to the side. He ran over to it, revealing the safe room. They could come back to it if they had trouble solving this mystery.

After they were done with their quick breather, they charged out the door, invigorated and ready to face anything.

There were no other side doors or hallways they could go down to search for a way to unlock the door, nor was there a white contraption on it. For a couple minutes, the Phantom Thieves pondered if they had to run back and check if there were any rooms they might have missed.

However, the likelihood of this being the case, as stated by Queen, was "close to none," as they had been quite thorough in their search. This prompted Skull to begin banging on the glowing door, kick it lightly at the bottom with his foot, and at one point run up to it and try to kick it in, a boisterous warcry echoing off of the walls.

"This thing ain't openin'!'" He finally grumbled in defeat. "You sure there's no other way to open this around here?" He groaned and sank against the wall as Queen shook her head.

"I think you might be loosening it up," Valiant said encouragingly. "But I don't think it would be very smart to keep going at it like this, Skull. You'll burn yourself out before we manage to get anywhere with it."

Queen seemed to finally notice something, looking at the "Do Not Enter" sign closely. "Hm? This door…"

"It looks familiar...:" Mona pondered.

"All of these signs do seem rather out of place with the theme of this Palace," Valiant offered, crossing her arms and staring down at her feet. She twisted her lips, deep in thought…

Suddenly, it became rather obvious to everyone.

"Futaba's room!" Queen shouted in realization.

"Why ain't it openin'?" Skull asked, only to find that almost everyone was just as clueless as he was.

"It must be her cognition that nobody can open it." Mona explained.

"That doesn't really tell us how we can open it, though…"

Luckily, it seemed that the Palace ruler wasn't completely done with them yet, appearing before them with a thoughtful expression. "I'm surprised that you made it this far," Shadow Futaba spoke. "Beyond lies the Pharaoh's Chamber."

"So the Treasure's through here?" Skull asked, walking up to her slowly, not wanting to scare her away again.

The Shadow suddenly seemed nervous, looking down at her fidgeting hands, though she continued to speak calmly. "Indeed. However, you need my permission to open this door."

"Then open it for us," Skull replied with a tone of urgency.

"I cannot. You must have her invite you in," the Shadow spoke.

Valiant felt a lump in her throat, thinking back to the images she had seen once again. Things are beginning to connect in a weird, wrong way. But I don't know why… I wish I had let my friends in… Before he opened the doors himself… I can't change that now, so I'll make sure that Futaba doesn't suffer like I did! She glanced at the people in front of her, each determined to reach this one common goal.

The group was able to piece together for themselves the solution to their problem. However, they could already tell that getting the real Futaba's permission to open her bedroom door was going to be easier said than done.

"Considering that you made it all the way here, you may be able to do it…" Shadow Futaba admitted, rising up and fading away once again. When nothing happened afterwards, the Phantom Thieves were all struck by how quiet the Palace now seemed, the only sounds being that which the real Futaba claimed she often heard in the withering silence of her room… the closed door echoing static…

The Phantom Thieves quickly came up with their next course of action. They would return to reality once, and get a calling card and everything else they needed ready. Then they would go back to Sojirio's house and sneak in once again, and convince Futaba to open her door. Joker was in charge of creating any excuses they might need. Skull and Queen would write the calling card.

Valiant quietly offered help with writing the card if necessary, too lost in her own thoughts to sound too serious about it, despite her good intentions. The Phantom Thieves noticed this, and instead assigned her the simple task of making sure nothing too inconvenient or bothersome got in their way before they would set out to swipe the Treasure.

"Basically," Joker said, "keep the nosy detective off the trail."

With a new plan in mind, the Phantom Thieves made their way outside and deactivated the Nav. The journey back to "reality" feeling like an impatient weight on their shoulders.

---

"I'm home! And I bought groceries!" Sayori shouted, attempting to wave her arms happily, only for them to be brought down by the heavy bags hanging from her arms.

"You're back earlier than usual," Goro observed, crossing the room to take some of the bags away from her, specifically the ones containing fragile items like eggs and bread.

"You could say things got cut short," Sayori replied sheepishly. "We had to go home early because… my friend was a bit more tense than usual."

"So you all decided to give her space. Very admirable," Goro complimented, setting his share of the bags on the table. "Have you given your friend that poem I gave you?"

Sayori seemed to internally freeze, remembering the folded paper she had stashed in her pocket like a good luck charm. "No. To be honest, I guess I just haven't found the right time. My friends and I plan on visiting her for longer tomorrow. I'll give it to her then."

The detective nodded thoughtfully, masking the doubt, and slight emotional pain in his expression very well. "That's good… Since I can't give it to her myself, it would definitely mean a lot if you did it in my stead…"

Sayori had begun to sit in her usual spot, only to hesitate, her legs bent awkwardly in the air. "What's this about all of a sudden? Are you okay, Goro?" She tilted her head and frowned thoughtfully, before her legs finally gave and she fell into her seat

The detective didn't answer, simply sitting down in the chair farthest from Sayori with a tired sigh. "I'm like I've always been… I suppose…"

Sayori winced at his sulking, not liking it one bit. "Oh, come on. Don't be like that when we're about to make dinner. I know that you know I wouldn't just leave you alone like this without a good reason… I want to enjoy the time I have with you right now." She scooted closer to Goro, resting her chest on the arm rest and reaching forward to lightly tap the detective on the hand.

"I know… I guess lately… Everything has been feeling familiar...:" The detective wrinkled his nose, as if that word were unfit to describe what he was thinking about.

"How?" Sayori asked, staring at him now, a sad gleam in her eyes.

"I've been remembering things so much more clearly, lately. A few months ago, if I were to look back, I'd remember my mother as a completely different person. Her personality was the same, but I would always think that she was just like everyone else… At least in how everyone viewed me, when she was around," the detective laughed bitterly to himself, before turning to see Sayori's curious gaze following his every movement.

"Why don't you think that way anymore?" Sayori asked, her wide, innocent eyes somehow gluing him to his spot, making him unable to look away from her.

"Well," the detective cleared his throat, adjusting the neck of his shirt, not able to hold back the blush of embarrassment. "This is going to sound rather ridiculous…"

"Try me."

"Well… What do you think of me, Sayori?"

The full weight of the question seemed to sink in fully when she noticed the sudden shyness that had taken hold of the detective. Does he really put that much weight into the fact that I remind him so much of her? Sayori hummed to herself thoughtfully upon realizing this, knowing she had to think carefully about her answer. Goro thrived on compliments, but he would know if she wasn't being honest, or completely truthful. With all of her suspicion she now had of him, she had to be creative with it. Though almost all of her thoughts of him were positive, there was still the slightest bit of doubt brought on by the few instances she had of his suspicious behavior.

He's been waiting for this answer for so long now… Probably even before he asked it he wanted me to answer this for him, Sayori thought guiltily, directing her gaze to her feet, the tightness in her throat making it hard to answer. Hesitantly, Sayori glanced back at Goro. Though he looked at her with his usual charming grin, she noticed his near perfect posture slowly beginning to wilt as she hesitated.

After what felt like hours, but was in fact less than a minute, Sayori finally felt she had the right words to say. She took a deep breath, before giving the detective a smile, which was both real, and happy. "Goro, you are you… And the fact that even after everything you must have gone through, you still can't completely hide yourself away under your charming TV pretense… I feel so happy, because I'm not afraid when I know that I can still count on myself to make even the rainiest of days brighter for you, and get to see the real way you smile." And it was true, whenever she saw him on TV, he looked like a wax statue or a doll, light never seeming to reach his eyes. It was a shame, because his eyes sparkled like gemstones when he was really, truly happy.

The detective nodded thoughtfully, about to respond, when Sayori chuckled and shook her head. She wasn't done yet. Goro seemed shocked by this, as though he expected there wasn't much else to say.

"I remember, I was so sad when I got so close to someone I loved for so long. I couldn't understand why, but I always felt like a burden for sharing those feelings with him, and regardless of how he reacted, I felt horrible about myself…" Sayori felt tears at the corners of her eyes at the thought of what that eventually lead to, and the uncertainty it brought. Despite this, she swallowed the lump in her throat, smiled, and continued. "I don't feel that way with you, because I can see that my efforts to be happy, to make everyone else happy, are working."

She was no longer staring unknowingly through a hole in the wall, in a vacant, broken world. Sayori was not frictionless in the void around her… She had an impact… and now she could open her eyes and see it for herself.

Sayori seemed to be done, so Goro opened his mouth to speak, only for her to quickly add something that made both of them blush red as Sayori laughed at herself.

"I like your smile, it's so cute when it's real."

The detective chuckled a bit as well, before pondering her words.

"So… You feel happy… When you feel that you know I'm being the real me?"

"Well, it's more like when I'm around you… and you're not grumpy and sulky… Though I think I have a soft spot for those times too…" Sayori seemed to be thinking more about this, and was about to continue, when Goro held up a hand for her to stop.

"That's enough, Sayori. That's all I really needed to hear…" The detective smiled to himself, making Sayori grin with satisfaction, savoring the small moment that was quickly overtaken by a barely acknowledged despair.

"You really do remind me so much of her… And now it's all so clear that you two probably think the same way too," Goro sighed in what was, oddly enough, disappointment. "If you don't think lowly of me because of what I am, someone who others used to always view as a mistake, then she must not have either. Maybe I wasn't the burden I always thought I was… But that also makes things so much more confusing…"

"Hm?" Sayori leaned back into her seat, feeling confused, not really sure where he was going with this, yet also getting an eerie feeling in the back of her head. All the while she kept a close gaze on Goro, who was slowly starting to curl up and wilt.

"It's not worth thinking about… What's done is done. But... I also know one other thing… That both of you would be disappointed in me…"

"Huh!? What's this all about?" Sayori asked in shock. She sprung up from her seat and bounded over to the detective.

Goro didn't answer, a new train of thought running through his mind and crashing into every preconceived notion he used to have. If my mother never saw me in such a negative way before… than she'd probably hate me for all the things I've done in her name… And Sayori would hate me too…

Sayori put a trembling hand on Goro's shoulder, nervous about what new thoughts could be vandalizing his mind now. However, he hardly seemed to notice the affectionate gesture. The detective instead slowly got up from his chair, trudged to his room, and shut the door.

He didn't even say goodnight… Sayori thought sadly to herself later, lying perfectly still on the couch. Slowly, her eyes slid shut as her body finally relaxed. She was too tired to be scared about what the next few days would bring. She could only silently wonder, hope, and dream about a new beginning for those she held dear.

---

Everyone sat at Akira's table with an expectant posture. Everything was ready. All they had to do was get Futaba to invite them in. This of course, was one of the main subjects of their meeting. How exactly were they supposed to do that?

"We'll be honest," Akira said resolutely.

"Yes, that is the best course of action," Makoto agreed.

"Yeah!" Sayori said happily. "She was really brave to even seek us out in the first place, so being honest with her is the least we could do. Besides, after everything we've seen inside her Palace, I would like to be friends with her. I don't want to be mean by bribing her or whatever other thing we could do."

"So are we just gonna go up and tell her point blank that today's the day we steal her heart?" Ryuji asked incredulously.

"Exactly," Makoto said. "It's rather straightforward." She went on to explain her thought process, making sure everyone understood what she was getting at.

"... As Sayori said, Futaba was brave enough to contact us, despite her discomfort with being around other people. Surely, the desire to have her heart stolen will lead to her opening her door and letting us in."

"You're right," Ann agreed. "Our feelings should get through if we just try and talk to her."

"All right! I believe in Futaba!" Ryuji cheered. "C'mon, let's get this done!"

Everyone nodded in agreement, and the group set out to once again sneak into Sojiro Sakura's house.

---

"How long will you continue blaming yourself and shutting yourself away from the world?"

Futaba, already quite shocked from the giant glowing red mirror image of herself just floating around in her room, could only give a question in response. "Blaming myself for what?"

"For your mother's death."

Futaba looked away from the copy with a horrible mixture of hesitation and sadness. The copy, this "other Futaba" that it claimed to be, took this look as a prompt to continue.

"Don't you think it's time you grasped the truth of that moment? What happened before your eyes… What happened to your mother…"

"The truth…" Futaba trailed off, looking quite conflicted.

"Why did you choose to rely on the Phantom Thieves?"

"That's…"

The Futaba copy seemed rather impatient with the hesitation her other-other self was showing.

"Are you simply going to shut yourself in and do nothing? Are you going to avert your eyes from the true answer… We have both met them… Whether you want to believe it or not. Allies and enemies alike… We faced them together. If you don't grasp the truth of this, I will kill both of them, indiscriminately in your world."

With those words, the other Futaba vanished, leaving the orange-haired girl alone in her room to consider this.

"I-I… What should I do…?" Futaba asked herself helplessly.

---

"There's no mistaking it," Morgana said. "This is the same door as in the Palace."

Makoto took the initiative, knocking on the door. "Hello, Futaba? You're there, aren't you? Please answer us."

"I doubt she'd answer…" Morgana commented, looking unimpressed.

"We'll probably have to text like last time," Sayori guessed. The others all nodded, so Makoto tried again.

"Alibaba, we know you're there. It doesn't matter if it's through chat messaging. Just answer us."

Akira's phone vibrated, and he quickly got it out. Everyone eagerly tried to get a look at the small phone screen.

"You should have told me you were going to come here."

"Sorry we came here unannounced," Sayori replied. "But if we're going to steal your heart, you need to open this door for us… Okay?"

"We can't change your heart otherwise!" Makoto said urgently. "Please let us in…"

"Not OK! I'm not mentally prepared!"

Akira sent a message in reply, conveying an even greater urgency to open the door.

"Easy for you to say…"

"Futaba-chan…" Sayori said gently, putting her face against the door and making her voice slightly muffled. "I know it's weird, but you told us you have to invite us in… Well, I guess it was kind of you, but actually deeper down… I'm not making sense at all…" The pink haired girl lifted her face and slammed her palm against her forehead.

"What she's trying to say is, deep down… You want to open this door…" Makoto explained. "Right?" Sayori quietly composed herself as the brown haired girl made her own attempts to get through to Futaba.

"Futaba… I know it's hard… but I promise, you'll be helping everyone, including yourself, if you do this," Sayori said with a reassuring smile. "Don't make a mistake you can't fix… Open the door so we can make the storm clouds, static, and all un-truths disappear."

"Sayori is weird… Give me some time…"

---

A few minutes later, Makoto knocked on the door. "Time's up, Alibaba."

"All right, I'll open it now."

The Phantom Thieves watched with bated breath as the doorknob was slowly twisted, and the door itself creaked open slightly a second later. Not sparing a second, the group walked in.

The room they found themselves in was very messy, dusty, and overall looked like an unfit place for a young girl to live. The group looked at research papers warily, wondering what the complex language meant. The room was packed with everything, but one thing was missing.

"Futaba?" Sayori called. "I know we might seem scary… But do you really have to hide from us?"

There was a creak from a nearby closet, and everyone turned to it in alarm.

"She'll shut herself in to the bitter end, hm?" Yusuke questioned, unimpressed.

"Even if that door's opened up, we'll get stopped again inside," Morgana said. "I bet a fence or something formed right in front of the Treasure now."

"Th-This makes no sense!" Futaba suddenly shouted from inside the closet. "Explain yourselves!"

"Whoa, she talked…" Ryuji said, genuinely shocked.

Makoto, as the best explainer of the group, did her best to tell Futaba what they were trying to do in the simplest way possible. Nobody expected the girl to understand what it meant, since none of them had understood it without Morgana's help. However, it was quickly revealed that Futaba was still full of surprises.

"So basically, my cognition is being a hindrance, keeping you away from the core of my cognitive world?"

"Huh? She understood it?" Ann asked.

"Wow! Maybe you're the psychic," Sayori complimented the orange haired girl.

"You're weird… Things are making more sense now because of that… Oddly enough."

"Why do you know about the cognitive world?" Makoto asked nervously. "Who are you?"

Futaba didn't answer, instead making a hesitant grunt.

The Phantom Thieves all looked at each other and nodded, except for Sayori, who had no idea what they were about to do. She was rather shocked, and quite worried, when they began to ask the girl even more questions. However, she was even more shocked when it seemed to have the desired effect they were all going for, instead of making her more adamant to hide in her wooden cave.

"Why'd you call yourself Alibaba and make things more complicated?" Ryuji began. "If you wanted help, you could've just asked for it."

Futaba mumbled something, none of the Phantom Thieves able to make it out.

"Futaba, I know it's hard, but can you speak up?" Sayori asked, smiling sweetly.

Futaba grunted angrily. "'Cause I was embarrassed." She seemed to be getting rather impatient with the group, and Sayori suddenly got a sneaking suspicion of what they were trying to do.

Are they asking her all these questions on purpose, so she'll get fed up with us and stop hiding just to get rid of us? Sayori was both horrified and impressed with the devious tactic. I'm so weirdly proud right now…

Suddenly Ann started speaking. If anybody could get somebody to reveal themselves just to get another person to stop talking, all of them could probably do it on their own… but Ann was definitely a good bet.

"I think I get it. Asking someone for help isn't that easy…"

"Futaba, what do you know about the cognitive world?" Sayori chimed in. "I don't think any of us have an expert knowledge on it… so maybe you could help us out?"

"How do you know about the cognitive world?" Makoto also asked.

"'Cause I knew about it," came the short reply.

"Oh… That reminds me," Ann continued. "Boss was talking about "cognition" or something before, right?"

The people in the room began to talk among themselves, completely ignoring Futaba, still hiding herself away behind the wooden door. Their tactics were working, as Futaba sounded rather irritated next time she spoke.

"Cognitive psience with a PSI in front! Less science, more supernatural. That's important," she explained.

"Well that certainly got her attention…" Yusuke remarked. "It seems we're on the right track."

The questions continued. After asking the girl more about cognitive psience, and getting no response, everybody began to think they should do this later… That is, until Ann finally put her foot down.

"Hold on," she said with a stubborn determination. "Futaba-chan. Did you really kill your mother?"

Everyone looked at her in shock, but she continued with no qualms. "Wasn't her death an accident? What actually happened? Maternity neurosis?" Her voice was now beginning to rise. "Is that really true?"

"Ann," Yusuke whispered in warning, only for Sayori to chime in as well.

"Futaba, you might think I'm weird, or that we're all weird… But we saw your heart, and it didn't make any sense. Nothing adds up with what Boss said…" Sayori fidgeted with her hands, nervously adding, "I'm really worried about you, because this kind of thing shouldn't be as common as it's turning out to be." I understand that each place I go to is going to have some sort of conflict, because that's just how these things work, but why does that always seem to involve my friends being tortured and feeling miserable…?

Ann continued with her own questions as Sayori began to check out of the conversation. "We saw what you're heart was like, but we still can't figure anything out. The mother that Boss told us about is completely different from your cognition." There was a moan from inside the closet, and Ann was encouraged to continue. "We want to hear the truth from your mouth."

"M-My mom… was…" Futaba struggled to speak. "The… one who killed her… was… Nngh…"

"It's possible that she can't remember because her heart has become distorted," Makoto hypothesized.

Ann looked down and nodded in understanding, disappointed in herself. "I'm so sorry, Futaba-chan. I, um… A lot happened, so… I'm sorry."

That finally seemed to do the trick, as Futaba burst out of the closet all of a sudden. "Th-There! Now steal it!" She shouted, holding up her trembling arms in a surrendering gesture.

The team looked in shock, before awkwardly explaining that they weren't going to steal it at that exact moment. Futaba looked down in understanding, before dejectedly going back to her hiding spot.

She had still let them in that far, so stealing the Treasure was now assured. They decided to give her a brief explanation of how they entered the cognitive world upon her prompting and then left the room. Ryuji remembered at the last minute to give her a calling card, and Morgana decided to stay behind to make sure Futaba would read it.

"Thank you, Futaba-chan! We won't let you down!" Sayori called into the room before sliding the door shut. I promise, everything will get better… I'll make sure of it.

---

The pyramid was the same as it ever was, but all of the Phantom Thieves could feel the high amount of tension in the air. This was the final day of this Palace. Afterwards, they were leaving it in Futaba's hands to stop Medjed for them.

Despite the validity of the fake Medjed, Valiant felt worried about how exactly the conclusion of this Palace would go. As they looked up at the intimidating structure, they all wondered what exactly they would face in the Pharaoh's Tomb.

"The Palace's security level is so high I can feel it from all the way out here," Panther commented as they all exited the Mona-bus.

"Futaba seemed totally up for gettin' her heart stolen… What's up with this?" Skull asked, gesturing towards the Palace on high alert.

"Something about this place really is unusual," Mona said. "Either way, there's only one thing for us to do now that we've sent the calling card!"

"Hell yeah!" Skull agreed. "No matter what we gotta face, we're gonna take that Treasure for sure!"

Everyone gave their own shouts of agreement, the excitement palpable as they ran to the Palace and entered, running up the large staircase.

The panels of the last door slid open easily, and they all felt some relief in that, yet there was also a tension in the air, as they knew they were about to face the hardest part of Futaba's Palace.

"The Treasure is up ahead!" Mona shouted. "Let's finish this!" With that said, the group rushed through the door, hoping they were ready to face whatever challenges they might find there.

At the last second, Valiant glanced back through the doorway, a small pinprick of suspicion running through her at the mostly abandoned hallways. There was an air of foreboding, and she couldn't help the nervous sweat that trailed down her face.

What will happen now…?

---

Goro Akechi was once again crossing into the Metaverse, bike handles held firmly in his grasp. Chances were that it was the last day Futaba Sakura's Palace would be here. Judging by the high levels of security he could feel emanating from the pyramid, the detective knew without a shadow of a doubt that he wasn't going to be able to avoid any fights.

He carefully hid his bike behind a pile of stone, and entered the Palace quietly, intent on investigating on his own terms. The currently red-masked detective had his own business here.

If I'm ever going to get any peace of mind, I need to fully understand all of the damage I really have done… Even if I'm not wanted here.

That was a fair enough thing to want, but Goro Akechi had never known when to quit, especially when it came to the Metaverse it seemed. Hopefully, he could take a quick look around the Palace, while the security was focusing its attention on the Phantom Thieves.

If whoever was here still is, I need to at least try to find them with the time I have left. I need to get Sayori out before the worst comes… I won't be able to handle her finding out about the truth of this place… and me.

With that thought in mind, Goro Akechi closed the door shut behind him and began the search of the Palace from square one.

---

The Pharaoh's Tomb was darkly lit and crawling with guards. They were unavoidable obstacles, lying just above the simple hallway in a space they reached with a rising platform, not unlike an elevator. The open space they found themselves in had a red, heavy energy that made all of the Thieve's heads spin, similar to the pressure of travelling to and from the Metaverse. The only difference was the lack of cold in the tops of their ears as the blood rushed out of their heads. Simply put, they didn't feel like passing out in this area.

This was an incredibly good thing, because as mentioned before, the Shadows that were there to greet them were incredibly powerful, and incredibly hostile. The Phantom Thieves noticed this immediately upon arrival, and made sure to keep a firm grip on their weapons as they began running and jumping on the stone platforms, passing by the floating projections of computer text that received attention only when the group felt they had a moment to look.

These moments were rare, as Joker almost immediately ran up to a nearby Shadow and removed its mask, precluding the possibility of it getting the jump on them. Now the Phantom Thieves had the first move, which was an advantage against the powerful enemy.

This Shadow would be the first of many in the final stages of Futaba Sakura's Palace, yet the difficulty of it confirmed the uphill status that they were all well aware of. Yet through the power of their wills, the Phantom Thieves continued to carry out the final stages of this operation with unparalleled wit, skill… and most importantly, flair.

Valiant felt plain in comparison as she watched her friends perform the grandiose moves they had been made to perform. However, she was also aware that she had the natural skill to glide across the room whenever she herself went in for a physical attack. Perhaps it was because of the setting where she truly belonged, where she slid across the screen with the occasional bounce. Or maybe it was because those long months of practice were paying off, because she felt that she was truly in her element as she watched Panther and Queen deal the finishing blow to this particularly unlucky Shadow, for neither of the girls were taking any nonsense on this important day. And the pink haired thief shared those same determined sentiments as the Phantom Thieves launched into their All-Out-Attack, tearing through their enemy like tissue-paper.

Two down, a lot more to go…

The Phantom Thieves couldn't wait.

---

He was fairly certain he had looked at every square inch of this pyramid, excluding the place where the Phantom Thieves were obviously at. It was rather unnerving, because at any time they could be finished with their operation, causing the Palace to collapse as a result.

It was frustrating to say the least. Any secrets or details Akechi could have uncovered about the consequences of his actions had been found and activated by the Phantom Thieves already, leaving him with the dry experience of wandering through the place, brutalizing Shadows, and reaping absolutely no benefits from it.

Why would he ever consider finding details about the trauma he had inflicted on a poor person and her family beneficial, you may ask? Goro wasn't quite sure either, though he was growing suspicious that he simply enjoyed making himself miserable. Maybe Sayori being in his life was too much of a good thing, and whatever messed up part of him that could cause a person to lose all of their inhibitions was trying to correct it.

And all I've found is a stupid letter from something completely unrelated to that!

Also, there was something in the back of his head urging him to continue forward, unprocessed and unaccessible, but still definitely there. If he could just find that one thread to pull, he could unravel this entire mystery and get out of here before he was caught.

This was how he found himself in the gold lit room, staring at the giant glowing orb shining through the many opened doorways of the Palace. It was a curious contraption that the orb and its stream of light were attached to, but that was really the only thing remarkable about this room.

Except for the whispers.

Quiet voices echoed up and down and all over the walls, disorienting the unwelcomed, and off duty, mercenary. He couldn't make any of the voices out, unable to recognize even a single word of what was being said. It turned that unprocessed thing in the back of his mind into a physical irritation. It was an itch he couldn't scratch, a sore he couldn't rub, and it was maddening.

Goro Akechi was, on the surface, your everyday, average, child detective. So with nothing else in sight to satisfy his aching curiosity, he messed around with the giant orb-containing machine. He poked and prodded at it. At one point he kicked the side of it to see if that would cause it to repeat whatever it had shown to the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. But nothing happened. Even the control panel seemed to be locked in place.

Goro Akechi was also, on both the inside and outside, an idiotic fool. So that was why when he looked at the bright stream of light, which shone with such an intensity that he couldn't look at it directly for more than a few seconds, his only thoughts were, This could only lead to good things.

And he touched it.

It was a wonder why his Persona wasn't Steve Irwin.

Instantly, a million thoughts and recollections shot across his brain, coming and going in less than a millisecond. He had only a few bits and pieces to grasp onto, leaving the rest of his brain muddled and weak. The million voices that must torment Futaba Sakura on a daily basis swam through his head, causing bile to rise in his throat.

But at the helm of it, surprisingly, were the two voices of women long passed from this world, echoing and bobbing on the waves of Goro's thoughts, making it impossible to recollect anything other than the fact of their presence in his mind. There weren't even any words to hang onto, just the knowledge that they were there.

Looks like I've found a lead, Goro Akechi thought groggily.

---

The room was incredibly dark, lit only by the glowing green panels that decorated the floor and nearby coffin. The silence was incredibly heavy in the tomb, a complete contrast to the large chamber the Phantom Thieves had just come from. As they all stood in the dark, silent room, a collective chill went down their spines at the knowledge that anything could jump out at them from the dimly lit corners. Still…

"The hell? This ain't what I was imaginin'!" Skull remarked with a raised eyebrow.

"Were you expecting a mountain of treasure or something of that sort?" Fox asked, sarcasm heavy in his tone as he turned his head in Skull's direction.

"It's not as bad as what I expected to find in here…" Valiant murmured, glancing nervously at the large, suspiciously coffin-shaped box. She, of course, knew it was a coffin, but simply didn't want to accept it for fear of what that coffin might contain.

"Are you still goin' on about corpses, Val?" Skull attempted a teasing smirk, though he also felt that such a thing would be a rather fitting thing to find in a tomb.

"N-No!" She stuttered, stamping her foot in stubbornness. Of course, something she wouldn't dare speak out loud was exactly what Skull was proposing. She was still going on about corpses inside her own head, because of one important fact. We haven't run into the final obstacle in this Palace. Is there going to be some Zombie or Mummy horde waiting for us as soon as we get out of this room?

Little did she know that it was going to be much, much worse.

"There IS that over there," Panther commented, nodding towards the glowing green coffin. "While I doubt there's an actual body in there, or a bunch of gold…"

"The Treasure must be inside," Queen concluded.

"That's it…" Skull sighed in disappointment. "I was hopin' for something a bit more exciting."

"Don't say something like that, Skull!" Valiant shouted, not at all thrilled by the mounting tension around her. It was like an energy in the room, and just by being in the midst of it the pink-haired girl knew that they were about to be jumpscared. "You're going to jinx it!"

"You need to relax, Valiant," Mona said as he excitedly hopped up to the large coffin. "It shouldn't be news that Skull is one of the dullest knives in the drawer…"

"Hey!"

"But as long as we're all quiet and sneak this Treasure out cautiously, we won't have a problem at all," The cat-creature said in a reassuring voice, though Valiant was hardly comforted.

Skull, perhaps already used to having his intelligence insulted by Mona, had shaken off his anger, replacing it with excitement. "All right, let's take it!" The blond walked casually up to the large coffin.

"Be careful," Fox warned, crossing his arms.

Mona, meanwhile, was freaking out. "T-Treasure!" He seemed unable to contain himself, running over excitedly to join Skull at the coffin.

Just as the two reached it, a loud bang was heard from above everyone, a loud, shrill roar accompanying it. Everyone looked up in alarm.

"There's something here…" Fox said lowly, as everyone got into a defensive stance.

That's what I've been trying to say! Valiant internally screamed. Wait… Didn't Futaba's Shadow say something the first time we heard noises like this? When we first came here, she said something like…

All of a sudden, the rooftop stones of the pyramid were ripped away, letting sunlight stream into the previously dark room. Everyone stumbled around, making small screams of surprise. The Phantom Thieves looked up into the huge gaping hole, waiting for whatever had created it to reveal itself. Dust particles shone in the light, and they were all Valiant could really keep her eyes on as she slowly remembered what Shadow Futaba had warned them about.

"My mother lives here…" Was what she had said. The memory of it came just as the beast revealed itself. A very large, very human head. It was probably the most terrifying thing Sayori had ever seen up until now. For now they could only see part of the hair and the eye. However, the large, monstrous eye that glared down at them promised the size of the monster they were about to face.

And Sayori screamed just as the monster itself started to shriek out the name of the Palace's owner.

"Fuuuuutaaaaaabaaaaaa!"

---

"If I use this, I can change my heart?" Futaba asked, her voice wavering despite having calmed down after receiving all of the overwhelming visitors. She was crouched in her chair, investigating the strange red app that had appeared on her phone right before the Thieves had come. She supposed it was lucky that they had told her what its purpose was so easily. If she were them, she probably would have kept its purpose in the dark no matter what. Not that they thought she had the app to begin with.

Upon closer inspection, she found a small megaphone like icon upon activating the app, accompanied by small bars and a line of text underneath.

"Vocal input…?" Futaba trailed off. For an app that could almost magically transport you to a world inside another person's heart, this wasn't what she was expecting. But then again, she had no idea what to expect in the first place, so she might as well accept the absurdity of her situation and move on.

"Fu-" She hesitated, already anxious about what would happen. But despite everything she already knew to be truth, Futaba felt that she needed to see it with her own eyes, if she truly wanted to find out the truth and confess it with her own mouth. If only she knew… If she had a nickel for every time someone wanted to see the state of her mind simply for the purpose of seeing it, she's have at least two nickels.

It wasn't much, but it was still strange it had happened twice, if you counted Futaba herself.

So with this goal in mind, Futaba spoke clearly. "Fu- Futaba Sakura…"

There was a beep.

"Sojiro Sakura's house…"

Another beep. Candidate found.

"And then… Something about 'distortion'..." Futaba wracked her brain, searching for anything the Phantom Thieves might have said. She shook her head, as if that would jumble the memories loose. "Distortion… Distortion…"

As if by some cruel twist of fate, Futaba could already recognize the writhing, painful feeling as her mind began to cloud over and fill with voices. "Not again…"

It was always agony, listening to the voices of people she had once believed to be close family and friends, accusing her of a crime that had affected her as well. However, the timing and force of this incident hardly seemed coincidental to Futaba. Could it be that this was yet another obstacle in her way, trying to stop her before she entered her cognitive world?

Amidst the normal voices accusing her, Futaba could have sworn she heard a new voice, never heard before by her… So it was strange that it was in her memory in the first place.

"You killed her!"

"You're a plague!"

"Don't… Strain… You-"

"It's all your fault!"

"No!" Futaba got up from her chair and ran out of her room and into the hallway, slamming the door as she went. Upon entering the place the Phantom Thieves had spent so much time trying to coax her out, it suddenly hit her. "That's right… I remember now," Futaba said as she looked around. "Back when they were here, I- I messaged 'tomb' in the chat and…"

The world around her blurred.

Input accepted. Searching for route to destination.

"I can go in now?" Futaba asked, looking at her phone once more. Once again, the voices began to invade, and this time, the new voice became rather insistent about its presence.

:Don't strain yourself. Don't strain yourself… We wouldn't want you to repeat her deja vu…

If the voices from before had been insistent and evasive, this one was just plain annoying. Combined with the already constant voices that were unbearable, Futaba began to break down.

"I can't take this anymore!"

Beginning navigation.

---

The entire Palace seemed to tremble, causing Goro to stumble and fall ungracefully onto his behind. For a second he considered the possibility that the Phantom Thieves were finishing their task and the Palace was collapsing as a result. He looked out into the main hallway and found bits of debris and dust falling from the ceiling, which only provoked his suspicions all the more.

He was about to call this entire self assigned operation of finding out information he needed (or at the very least, really wanted) to know a lost cause, and bolt for the door. However, that was put to a firm stop when a very shrill roar could be heard from above the Palace, followed by even more rumbling and a crashing sound, and a blood curdling scream.

Sayori's blood curdling scream…

With reckless abandon, Goro hopped down from the floor he was previously on and charged up the stairs, not really knowing what he was planning on doing when he got to Sayori's location, but determined to do something, anything, nevertheless.

However, any plans or desires to help his distressed companion were put to an immediate stop when the last door slammed shut right as he was about to enter it. If the detective hadn't jumped back in time, the crushing force of the door slamming back down certainly would have crushed him.

Goro stared at the door in stunned silence, bile rising up in his throat as he heard the sounds of combat from above. Loud crashes, thuds, and even gunshots were heard. But even from all the way down here, Goro could tell just by the cries of anguish that the Phantom Thieves were currently fighting a losing battle.

With little to no other choice, he abandoned trying to enter through the door and went to search for another way in, as futile as it sounded. Though at this point, he knew if he couldn't find another way to Sayori's location from here, he would gladly go outside in the blazing heat and scale the entire, stupid pyramid.

And maybe he would. This entire operation had been pointless. It didn't matter what he found out here, because it wouldn't make any difference in what he would have to continue to do in the future. He would probably be Masayoshi Shido's hitman for the rest of his life, however short that may be. It had been foolish of him to act on his morbid curiosity, and unnecessarily cruel to insert himself into the heart of one of his victims.

All of a sudden, there was an earth shaking thud coming from above, as if whatever was attacking from above was a mallet, pounding on the Phantom Thieves, and the Palace itself, like it was a nail it needed to drive into the ground. There was yet another long and loud shrill, though this time Goro could just barely make out what it was saying.

"'Futaba?'" He silently questioned. Despite the heavy layers of distortion that made the voice sound like some ungodly bird monster, the detective found it almost familiar.

And just like that, the words from years past began to form in his head.

"Will this be enough?"

"Yes… I should be able to get the food I need for this week. Thanks…"

The Palace went fuzzy for a few minutes, and by the time Goro Akechi was fully aware of his surroundings again, a deep rooted fear was blossoming in his chest and nearly paralyzing him.

"It can't be…" he murmured, before another crash from above had him racing down the stairs with the full intent of climbing the large structure from the outside. At least he wasn't wearing black for this particular endeavor.

---

Futaba looked around, wide eyed. "So this is inside my heart…" She remarked quietly to herself. It wasn't quite a statement, but it wasn't a question either. The room she found herself in was enormous, with distant, slightly blurry text passing by on the walls. Futaba squinted at it, and to the untrained eye it would have looked like nonsense. But Futaba was not untrained. From the few glimpses she was able to get of the wall, already the young hacker was developing a better understanding of how cognition worked.

She noticed a particular section of text that caused her eyes to widen in even greater alarm, so much so that it hurt after a few seconds of looking. Futaba looked away for a moment and blinked a few times, relaxing the muscles in her face. "I didn't think my heart would be like this…"

Futaba turned towards the same section of the wall where she had seen such a suspicious piece of information, but it had disappeared… replaced with the rapidly shifting piles of text and information. With that lead having gone cold, Futaba began to hesitantly walk forward, hands behind her back, as she swivelled her head back and forth, looking around at the strange room. It was like a small child browsing the aisles of a toy store, looking for something that interested them, though at the same time, not truly caring if they found it.

Before she made even ten feet of distance from her starting point, a large, dulled painting slammed onto the ground with a loud THUD! Futaba recoiled in alarm, though the painting was a safe enough distance away that she hardly needed to worry about getting crushed. "Huh!?" She gasped, stumbling backwards a few feet.

"Do you remember?" Floating to the ground was that same mirror image of herself from earlier, though now she was less faded, lacking that red aura from earlier.

And Futaba did remember, as she looked at the same mural the Phantom Thieves had discovered not long ago. "This is the suicide note… The men in black suits read it right after mom died…"

"That's correct. Look at the next one."

And Futaba looked at it. Bad memories caused her skull to pound as she sunk to the floor, remembering all of the details of the worst day of her life in vivid detail, from the heart-stopping moment when she realized her mother was suddenly no longer holding her hand, to the loud CRUNCH that had shattered her entire world.

Another thud. "That's right. Now the next."

Futaba was trembling, kneeling down on the floor, filled to the brim with utter despair and fear. "No…" She murmured weakly, unable to lift her head.

"Don't run. I thought you made your mind up after you talked to the Phantom Thieves, and after you decided to get so invested in their lives. Accept your reality," the doppelganger spoke these words calmly, yet at the same time portraying a confidence Futaba had never thought she would ever be capable of having for herself.

It was strangely encouraging.

"OK… I'll look." Futaba stood up, and began to describe the events that she remembered from this particular day. "It's me complaining… Mom scolded me for bothering her…"

"Yes."

"I knew it," Futaba cringed as she spoke, her voice was beginning to waver. "It was me who killed Mom. I was a bad daughter… I was a bad daughter… I weighed her down, and she hated me for it. It's just like I remember…" She out her hands over her eyes and began to cry.

If Futaba had been looking around her at that moment, at the travelling text on the walls, she would have noticed the abnormal way they began to act, moving faster and faster, as if reacting to this admission with its own separate conscience. It did this for several moments before it slowed down and eventually stopped all together. An area in the shade wavered. It was Futaba's Shadow that took notice of this, scowling slightly before directing her attention to her real life self.

"Are you sure?"

Futaba looked up from her hands with a sniffle. "Huh?"

"Remember everything. Don't avert your eyes. When did this happen?" The Shadow was stern, prompting Futaba to continue.

"Just a little before Mom died…" Futaba replied, rubbing her arm and looking down timidly. "I whined about wanting to go on a family trip… But she scolded me and said no…"

Shadow Futaba nodded, "Was that all she said?'

Futaba now shifted her hands behind her back, looking as if she was reciting a speech from memory. "Mom said, 'I'm too busy right now. I need to finish my cognitive research as soon as possible.'"

"And what did you do?"

Futaba felt ashamed to admit it, not even considering that the Shadow probably already knew the entire story. "I threw a tantrum. Told her she thought her research was more important than I was. That's when she scolded me…"

The Shadow now grew more insistent, knowing this was the part that would make or break everything they were trying to do. "What did she say afterwards? There was more."

Futaba felt chills crawling across her spine as she struggled to remember. The knowledge she was trying to grasp just outside of her reach. As she finally found what she was looking for, she couldn't help but question if that was even the truth.

"Did she say… 'My research is almost over. Once it's finished, we can go wherever you like,'?" Futaba's eyes slowly widened. What she was saying made so much sense, yet at the same time it made none at all, yet the words continued to flow out of her. "'I'm sorry I've left you alone for so long, Futaba. Please try to understand though. This research is really important. I need to complete it, even if it costs me my life.'"

"Did she hate you?"

"She didn't…?" Futaba was still in doubt, yet it felt right to her the more she thought about it. She looked up to the mural before her, noticing something about her mother was changing. She gasped as she realized what it was.

"W-What? She smiled…" Futaba murmured, taken aback as she distantly recalled the actual memory of this happening.

However, before it was fully realized, her head began to pound once again. Futaba found herself kneeling on the ground, desperately grasping at her head and yanking at her hair. "Which is true!?"

"Your memory is…"

When Futaba looked up again, her Shadow self was gone. A loud roar was heard in the distance as the room shook. Though it barely sounded like a word, Futaba could tell clear as day what the roar was.

"It's calling me?" She questioned to herself, before heading towards the source of the noise without a moment of hesitation, questioning all the while why this was.

---

The Phantom Thieves were all kneeling on the ground. The cognition monster from before doing such a number on them that they were probably lucky to even be alive.

Valiant felt sick as she glanced at all of her friends out of the corner of her eye. She had been knocked flat onto her face, by that giant disturbing creature. The heat of the desert sun outside of the Palace was beating down on all of them, making them all hot and sweaty. Valiant felt that if they didn't finish this battle quickly, it was very likely that she was going to throw up. This wasn't helped by the fact that there was a large scrape across the bridge of her nose, so bad that she could feel blood lightly trailing far enough down her face that she could smell it.

Her companions were all in a similar shape, Skull the only one able to get onto his feet, heaving and panting as he did so. "The hell!? We ain't doin' shit to it!" The crass boy remarked.

Valiant was about to attempt to lift her head and retort, or perhaps offer blind encouragement despite the obvious fact that they were in deep trouble, when Joker and Queen both noticed something emerging from the dust and debris that made them gasp. This caused the others to follow suit, leading to similar reactions.

When Sayori saw Futaba, she honestly thought she would be more surprised. However, the only thing she was surprised at was her own lack of reaction. After all, she should have expected this from past experience, both personal and from patterns. Not to mention, she felt more than a little dizzy from the previous battle, barely able to keep her head up from its now risen position.

"You came into your own cognitive world?" Queen asked, standing up in alarm. The others were less shocked, already having witnessed this once before. Queen had heard the story, but apparently seeing it in person was another thing entirely.

Futaba hummed in response with a slight nod, hands behind her back as she looked at the sorry state the Phantom Thieves of Hearts were now in. She began to step towards them as Mona began to review what had happened the last time.

"If that happens, then…"

He was interrupted by another roar from the flying beast above. The terrifying griffin like beast with a red body and a woman's head, was quite the sight for all that could see it. And Valiant couldn't see it, because she was currently on all fours trying to scramble back onto her feet, but her low health, couple with the exhaustion she was in, was making it very difficult. Mona went over to heal her just as Futaba looked up at the odd monster.

"That's…" She stepped closer to the group, both to get a better look and to be closer to a source of protection, when all of a sudden she crouched low to the ground and began to scream and whine in pain.

Perhaps it was just the delirium and possible fever, but Sayori swore she saw the air around Futaba turn pink, outlines of different, hateful people pointing accusing fingers at her. Futaba hugged herself from her spot on the ground, whimpering a quiet "No" in response to something nobody else could hear.

As the entities of accusing people continued to appear in Sayori's peripheral, Futaba finally was on her hands and knees, bombarded by the cruel voices that now only she could hear. Yusuke was suddenly at Sayori's side, lifting her up off the ground and letting her lean against him as everyone stared at the ginger haired girl in concern.

"It's my fault… It's my fault that Mom…"

"Futaba…" Sayori whimpered, tears starting to leak out of her eyes. Queen crossed the space separating herself from Futaba and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"That's right! You killed me!" the giant monster screeched as the Phantom Thieves whipped around to look at it… or "her".

"Wait!" Fox exclaimed, suddenly jumping. "Is that monster her mother!?"

Valiant finally managed to find her strength and carefully stood up on her own. Fox's surprise had caused a painful jolt to shoot through her left leg. "I-I think so. I guess the face somewhat resembles the picture…"

Mona nodded in confirmation, explaining what this meant… That Futaba's mind had created the cognition based off of her distorted desires and undeserved guilt.

The monstrous beast began to scream and rage, further fueling Futaba's tense and pained state. "You are nothing but a demon who stood in my way! I wish you had never been born! That way I could have announced my results without having to waste my time on you! I poured my heart and soul into that research! It would've been the discovery of the century!"

"What does she mean by that?" Queen asked, still trying to comfort Futaba.

"Could she be talking about cognitive psience?" Mona guessed.

This is too hard to believe that someone would care so much about their research… In such a blatant way at least… Especially since Futaba cares so much about her mother, enough to wish she were alive again… Is this that feeling I've been getting? Sayori thought to herself as she glanced back at Futaba. It was like placing a filter over her eyes. The world around Futaba was now a deep magenta, the number of shadowy looking people surrounding her continuing to increase, most likely drowning out the comforting words Queen was trying to say

"You're going to die! There's no meaning to your life! No one needs you!" The cognition continued, and to everyone's horror, Futaba began to repeat it.

"Nobody cares about me…"

"Futaba, don't listen to her! She's lying!" Valiant shouted, stumbling over to the girl haphazardly. "We all care about you! I care about you! Even somebody you've never met cares enough about you to let you have something he's treasured!" The black clad thief reached for her pocket, only to remember that the poem she was looking for was in the pocket of her regular clothes.

Nobody could hear the voices repeating in Futaba's head, and nobody except Sayori could see the layers upon layers of distortions surrounding her. Yet everyone remained eerily quiet as they did their best to comfort her from the outside. Soon enough, the distortions all became the same woman currently flying in the sky, reaching out for her daughter like some wicked witch in a fairy tale.

"Hey, we're gonna be in deep shit if this keeps up!" Skull warned.

"So because she thinks she killed her mother… and because she thinks she deserves to die… Futaba gave birth to a Palace where her mother wants her dead?" Queen said, trying to put these horrible facts into some sensible order, trying to find a solution amidst the madness.

Panther tried to get through to Futaba next as the girl began to writhe more frequently. "Futaba-chan, look! There's no way that monster is your mother! It's just an illusion you created!"

"B-But…"

"Futaba, please! It's not real!" Valiant shouted. "Nothing is real… in here," she caught herself just in time.

"She never abused you, did she!?" Queen questioned, trying to remain calm. "Boss told us! He said she did her best to raise you alone!"

"Isn't this a false memory that's been imprinted upon you?" Fox asked.

"A false memory?" Futaba asked herself, seeming to recall something, before grunting in pain. "M-Mom… I-I…"

Before things could go any farther, a familiar face floated into existence, landing on the ground. Futaba's Shadow now had the reigns, deciding that whatever these visions of people were, she had had enough of them. "Futaba Sakura! Remember!"

What happened next was for Futaba's eyes and ears alone. It was her awakening, so Valiant found herself looking away from the disappearing images of people, as her Shadow stood before her. There was tightness in Valiant's throat, knowing exactly what was about to happen. There was pride welling up inside her, making her feel warm and fuzzy on the inside, yet strong all the same.

Suddenly the girl slowly rose to her feet, declaration building in her throat.

"Futaba-chan?" Panther asked in concern.

Futaba grabbed at her head and began to groan in pain once again, and for a second everyone was concerned that whatever her Shadow had done hadn't worked.

"That's right," Futaba mumbled in response to something. "I knew, but I…"

Cognitive Wakaba once again tried to intervene. However, it fell on deaf ears as everyone else seemed far more concerned with Futaba. The blast of wind the beast sent their way blew them all back, something no one was prepared for, but Futaba stood defiantly against the powerful wind.

"I won't let those distorted lies deceive me anymore…And I won't be led astray by other's voices either… I'm going to trust my own eyes and my own heart to distinguish the truth from the lies." She glared furiously at the cognition before her. "There's no way you're my mom! You're just a fake created by those horrid adults!"

"I'll… I'll never… I'll never forgive them!" Futaba Sakura finally screamed. Her Shadow emerged and began to change and shift into a small glowing green device, resembling a UFO with a stone gargoyle on top. Alien-like tentacles slithered out of it and latched onto Futaba's limbs, lifting her up into the craft. The girl seemed completely at ease as this happened, so Valiant forced her heart, which was racing with worry, to relax.

Yet at the same time, a chill caused her to shiver, despite the desert heat. Once again, the noble-themed thief's instincts were sounding warning bells in her head.

However, she didn't have time to dwell on it, for they soon received confirmation that Futaba was fine inside her new Persona. With that, their battle with the Cognitive of Wakaba Isshiki resumed.

---

The force of the wind was enough to knock him all the way back to the bottom of the pyramid, yet Goro Akechi found himself unwilling to give up. It didn't matter how many bumps and scrapes and broken bones he could receive, he knew in his heart that he needed to get up there!

It was one of the few times in his life Goro could listen to his inner voice and completely trust it. He could see the beast attacking the Phantom Thieves from where he stood at the bottom of the pyramid. It was disturbing to look at, with the body being that of a barely defined flying lion with large eagle wings, and the head being a highly detailed face of a woman all too familiar to him. Goro Akechi had, after all, been staring at this ghost's face a lot these past few weeks.

The detective took a few deep breaths, in through his nose, and out through his mouth. He had seen the beast dive at the top of the pyramid earlier, and had nearly had a panic attack when he realized that that was definitely where Sayori and her group of friends was located.

When he had calmed down enough, he once again began to walk up the clay bricks of the pyramid. He had tried more often than he should have to walk up them like steps, but the heavy wind that the creature's wings produced had him grasping desperately at the bricks each time. More often than not, he would be unable to grab hold on time, and go tumbling right back to where he started, just like that stupidly determined spider from that nursery rhyme one of his foster parents had sang to him once. Ugh. Those people seemed to think the terrible fate that had befallen his mother, and himself by extension, was hilarious, and had mocked him constantly for it.

Incompetant fools… They didn't even know how to raise their own kids, he thought grimly to himself. It was a desperate distraction as he looked up at the monster woman's head above him and noticed features of it that he hadn't noticed in the case file. It disturbed him more than anything how those features seemed so familiar to him, and yet he couldn't figure out why. He hadn't been close enough to her when he had killed her, having shot her from a distance.

There's no reason to think about that now, Akechi tried to convince himself. Just get to the top of this stupid pyramid and make sure your clumsy girlfriend hasn't gotten herself maimed…

He really was a good liar. He was able to convince himself that his recognition of Wakaba Isshiki wasn't important, right up until the moment a giant arrow shot out from the top of the pyramid, hitting the griffin center mass. She fell on top of the pyramid, and Goro heard the sounds of combat from above as the Phantom Thieves began to attack.

Unfortunately, the rest of her body fell right where Goro was trying to climb up, trapping him underneath. He had room enough to breathe and look up, seeing her huge, weakened yet angry face breathing down on him.

Despite being lucky enough to not be crushed, Goro hardly felt concerned about that. The monster finally seemed to recover from being knocked out of the sky, flapping her massive wings and creating a mighty wind. If he hadn't been shielded by her body, the detective once again would have been knocked to the ground.

Right as she was about to lift off her from the ground again, her huge black, veiny eyes swivelled around and fell upon Goro briefly, for a moment looking like a stern woman merely scrutinizing him, if not for her massive size. The detective felt himself involuntarily curling in on himself, wishing he could hide behind his mother's long skirt as the large woman inspected him with the same judging eyes that everyone else always directed towards him, just like all those years ago…

And that's when it hit him, knocking his head loose and spilling out his insides as realization filled him.

Oh… Oh God it can't be… This is… Wakaba Isshiki is…

The griffin shrieked again and took to the skies, leaving the stunned detective curled up and trembling, trying to process the truth that he had finally been able to remember.

---

Valiant smiled as the first arrow from the ballista met its mark, knocking Cognitive Wakaba out of the sky and in perfect range for an attack. "Good job, Panther!" Valiant called out, the red clad thief giving her a thumbs up from behind the ballista before running to join them in their assault.

They went all in, attacking with all of the weapons they had on hand. Guns, swords and shields, and Personas were all utilized, Futaba giving helpful boosts whenever the griffin tried to attack them. With these skills, the Phantom Thieves quickly launched an All-Out-Attack, dealing damage to the griffin, causing it to retreat back into the sky.

At the rate we're going, we'll probably only need to shoot her down one or two more times, Valiant thought optimistically. When it was her turn again, she quickly healed her comrades of their injuries, her own having gone numb thanks to Mona. Next, her intended move would be to put up a nice shield to protect them, but Futaba was already handling that for her.

It was just in time, for Cognitive Wakaba decided to release a loud scream, much more powerful than all of her others, forming a powerful vortex that could have blown them into oblivion. When that didn't work, the beast swiped its giant clawed paw across the top of the pyramid. When that barely did anything, the Cognitive began to circle around them, hostile.

Panther once again went to control the ballista, and the cycle repeated itself all over again. The Cognitive seemed to be getting dizzy, for its eyes rolled around in its head as the group continued their attack.

"We're so close!" Panther said in celebration as she jumped away from the beast, letting Mona jump in after her.

"And then the Treasure is all ours," The cat creature said dreamily.

The Phantom Thieves had brought the monster's health down to nearly zero, and were about to finish her off with one big final attack. As if in one last ditch attempt to preserve itself, it began to speak.

"Futaba… Futaba… If only I had never birthed you!"

"No matter what you say to me…" Futaba began, sounding almost downcast, but determined nevertheless, "I will live!" She quickly gave the last command to attack, Joker happy to oblige as he shot his gun directly into the monster's face. Cognitive Wakaba disintegrated into nothingness as she fell off the pyramid's surface.

---

"Futaba!" Queen shouted, running over to the orange haired girl now dressed in her own thief attire. A pair of goggles obscured her face, making it slightly difficult to read her expression, though it was obvious to everyone that she would be tired.

"Damn, you're freakin' incredible!" Skull remarked.

"That was so amazing, Futaba!" Sayori exclaimed, stars in her eyes as she bent down to congratulate the girl on her victory.

Instead, Futaba dusted herself off and stood on her own, only then noticing her new outfit. "What in the world? Ooh! It's totally skin tight!" She continued as she patted herself down.

A sudden flash drew everyone's attention to the other side of the floor. Materializing out of nowhere was a faded looking woman, who was very familiar to the group. However, unlike a few minutes ago, she was normal sized and had a human body. The Phantom Thieves were cautious at first, wondering if they would have to fight her too. However, it was soon revealed they had nothing to fear.

"Mom!?" Futaba said in alarm, wondering what was going on. The other Phantom Thieves were just as confused, mumbling to themselves in confusion.

"Futaba. Thank you for choosing to remember the real me," The ghostly woman smiled at her daughter.

Valiant felt something in her hearts pinch as she watched mother and daughter exchanging their last words. Chances were, Sayori didn't have any parents to remember in the first place, but she knew this wasn't envy doing this to her. Perhaps it was relief making her feel this way, because they had finally helped this girl. However, not even that seemed quite right.

Futaba and her mother parted ways, knowing that Futaba had somewhere she needed to be. They said their "I love you"s, and with barely two sentences edgewise towards the Phantom Thieves, Futaba Sakura left her Palace to go back home, leaving them to steal her treasure.

Or so they thought.

---

"Thank you for this, Wakaba. We really needed this money, especially since my last job…" The woman trailed off, shaking her head in anguish, not wanting to relive that experience.

"It wasn't any problem at all. After all, what are friends, and old college roommates, for?" The tall, black haired woman replied as she took a small sip of her coffee.

"I just wish there was some way I could repay you…"

"Don't worry about it. I did this because I wanted to. Single mothers should also stick together, in my opinion," Wakaba brushed it off, before a thought suddenly occurred to her. "There's an opening for a job at the daycare my daughter goes to. Perhaps you could try that next?"

The woman seemed startled, before she stared sadly down into her own cup. "I don't think that would work out. Don't people need a degree in child care or something to work at a place like that?"

"I suppose you're right," Wakaba sighed. "I still think it would be a good idea for you to try finishing school. It would be expensive, but better in the long run."

"I'm already swimming in enough debt at is it. And unlike before, I wouldn't be going on the generosity of my parents…"

Wakaba rolled her eyes, having heard this before. "Yes, your parents were very generous, leaving you all alone in a foreign country to fend for yourself and your small son."

"Where is my small son, anyway…" The woman trailed off. She got up and began to walk around the small room, peeking around corners and behind curtains. Wakaba smiled, knowing the one she was looking for was hidden under the very table they sat at, and that they both knew that was where he was hiding.

Finally, after a few minutes of her looking around, a small giggle could be heard from under the table. In one swift motion, Goro Akechi was whisked out from underneath the table and into the arms of his mother, who swung him around and began to tickle him mercilessly.

Wakaba said nothing as she watched this exchange, choosing to instead finish her cup of coffee. It was very obvious that this had happened because the woman before her wanted to change the subject, despite that subject being very important to discuss. Yet at the same time, Wakaba wouldn't object, because her friend needed all the happiness she could get in a cruel world that had left her behind a long time ago.

When the boy had finally settled down enough, the woman set him down on the floor. "Goro, I would like you to meet a friend of mine…" She raised a hand and gestured to Wakaba, who set her cup down and stood up, walking over to the boy with what she hoped looked like a kind smile.

Perhaps it wasn't, or perhaps Goro was simply intimidated by the first person to visit the small apartment in… well, ever, because he was quick to resume hiding, but this time behind his mother. His hands grasped tightly around the woman's skirt, looking like he wanted to find a hole and burrow himself deep into it.

"I don't bite…" Wakaba said, smiling softly. She got on her knees so she was at Goro's level. "You remind me of my daughter. She's shy too."

---

Goro sat at the base of the pyramid, rubbing his head as pain swept through his entire body. Everything hurt, from his feet to the top of his head. It felt like even his soul hurt as he tried to process the information going through his head. It hurt more than anything he had ever gone through, and he knew there were few things that could ever hurt more.

How… How did I not realize this sooner? He thought to himself, rising on trembling legs. He quietly went to the pile of rocks where his bike was hidden, knowing he was probably about to get sick, and not wanting to be there in case the Phantom Thieves suddenly appeared.

His mind was erratic, trying to find a solution to the problem he was now faced with. In the past, he would have simply tried to forget and move past the burden of his crimes, but now that he had finally remembered the truth, everything was coming back to him in visceral detail. It didn't feel possible at first, but as he sat there, leaned against a boulder with his head looking up at the bright desert sky, the truth settled in him with a migraine as punishment. Now there was only one question left to ask.

What are you going to do now?

He was already too deep into the Conspiracy to hope for a way out. Though at the same time, he probably wouldn't mind simply dying at this point. But then there was still the matter of Shido…

Just the thought of that man caused anger to course through him, but he wasn't thinking about revenge at the same time as thinking about him, which was rare. No, Goro was thinking that if he ended up dying with things this way, it would be very easy for Shido to pin all of his crimes on him.

And then what would happen to Sayori? She would probably be publicly scorned, and put through the same public torment his mother had gone through, and that could lead to one of the worst outcomes he could imagine for her. Goro gulped and looked over the rock, seeing a number of blurry figures carrying what looked like a large box. One of them was an unknowing Sayori, innocent and undeserving of the consequences of his decisions. Even if Shido didn't pin the crimes on him, he would most certainly be killed, leaving Sayori abandoned and stranded.

But at the same time, the thought of continuing on with his plans like nothing had happened made Goro's skin crawl with disgust. He couldn't keep this up, because in some way or another, he was going to die. And the only reason that sounded so unappealing now was because now there would be someone to miss him…

Or would Sayori even miss him, if she found out? His heart hurt at that question, but it was something he inevitably had to ask himself.

If I can't escape this situation entirely, than I have to at least find another way to complete my plans… my goal I've had for so long… He had worked too long and too hard to ever be able to completely abandon the idea of revenge. That was the sad reality of this situation.

If he completely abandoned the idea, than his mother's friend would have been killed for nothing other than to further Shido's agenda.

Goro Akechi had found himself between a rock and a hard place. It was clear now that the path he had taken led to a dead end, with no escape currently in sight.

The thought caused him to tremble even harder than before, or maybe that was the shaking of the Earth as the Palace began to collapse…

Shit! Goro grabbed the handles of his bike and swung himself onto it, quickly riding it away from the crumbling pyramid. At the same time, he began heading in the opposite direction the Phantom Thieves were going, hoping he was unseen. After a few minutes of absolute terror, trying to navigate his way through the falling debris, he began to feel the dizzying feeling of the cognitive world fading away and being replaced with the sounds, smells, and sights of reality.

I want a way out…

---

The Palace trembled violently under her feet, but Valiant kept running. Soon it would be completely gone, and the Phantom Thieves needed to be out of there before that happened.

There had been no Treasure, except Futaba herself. Once she had left them to their business, the Palace had begun to break down the second they opened the coffin lid to find nothing in there.

So perhaps I was right, and there would have been a corpse in there… Valiant thought to herself idly, nearly tripping over one of the pyramid stones they were running down. Thankfully, Queen noticed in time and grabbed her arm, steadying the pink haired girl before purposefully dragging her behind her.

"Mona, turn into a car already!" Panther shouted. When the cat creature failed to do that after five seconds, the blonde model grabbed him and threw him high into the air.

Mona landed on the flat ground, now fully transformed and way ahead of his teammates. The rest of the Phantom Thieves hurried to catch up, the sounds of destruction of the collapsing pyramid roiling in their ears. At the last second it seemed to push them forward and they all lunged for the Monabus. A hole appeared in the back of the vehicle and sucked them in.

Before Valiant was completely sucked she noticed something in the distance. It was a bright glaring light, perhaps the desert sun reflecting off of something. And this light was moving. Valiant wondered what it could possibly be as she crashed against the backseat, being jostled around as Queen began to haphazardly navigate and swerve through the large square boulders that fell around them. These boulders immediately seemed to dissolve into pixels when they hit the ground, making more room yet doing quite a job at distracting the driver.

That light… That glare of light was moving. Could it have been another vehicle with light reflecting off of it? No, a car would be too big for me to not see anything other than a glare… Valiant thought hard to herself, wishing she could stand back up and check, yet she was unable to, being slammed into the sides of the cat-vehicle every few seconds.

So something smaller than a car would be a… Oh! Sayori's eyes widened in shock as the cognitive world bled away. It was hard to feel anything other than surprise, as her head crashed into the ground and reopened the scab on her nose, along with all of the other injuries on her body that hadn't been healed before the Palace collapsed. She supposed she also felt pain, but she knew right at that moment suspicion should have been at the forefront of her mind.

They had landed right at the doors of Leblanc, a surprised Sojiro finding them outside. The group attempted to explain themselves, Makoto quickly distracting Boss by suggesting everyone get coffee.

"I'm not thirsty though," Yusuke said, not getting it. Makoto walked over and punched him in the arm, causing him to grunt in pain.

"We could get something else instead," Sayori suggested, knowing she had been banned from ever having coffee by Goro, Akira, and basically everyone. This included herself. Everyone nodded in agreement, except for Makoto, who politely excused herself, saying she had important business to attend to.

Everyone except Makoto, Akira, Morgana and Sayori went inside Leblanc. The pink haired girl had suddenly remembered something, checking her pocket to make sure it was still there. Sighing with relief, she looked over to Makoto and Akira.

"Is it okay if I go with you guys to check on Futaba? There's something I need to give her… in person,"she said, remembering her promise to Goro.

"Of course," Makoto replied with a blank look, confused about what she might be talking about.

"Let's go," Akira added seriously. The other three nodded and followed him to Sojiro's house.

---

Everyone looked on in thoughtfulness as Futaba slumbered. Sojiro had explained that she got burnt out every so often, reassuring everyone that she would be alright. However, that still left one big concern to be addressed. The only thing they could do was wait and hope that Futaba would pull through and take care of Medjed for them.

After a little while of watching her sleeping peacefully, one by one everyone left the dirty bedroom. Akira and Morgana were the last ones left, looking curiously at the piece of folded paper Sayori had left before going back to her home.

"What do you think it says?" Morgana asked, poking at the paper with a paw.

"We shouldn't pry," Akira said, lightly scolding the cat. "Sayori said it was for Futaba's eyes only."

"I know…" Morgana sighed. "I bet it's another poem. I wish I could get a poem from Sayori. Everyone is always complimenting her on them after all."

"You could just ask…"

"But that's not the same as her giving it as a gift! I wonder if Lady Ann knows how to write poems…"

Akira sighed at his cat with a crush, before turning and leaving the room. It would be the first day of summer vacation that he had free, and he wanted to make the most of it by getting things together the night before. After all, he and Sayori had to plan a get together, with Goro Akechi invited as well.

Morgana followed the human, turning curiously towards the poem one last time before leaving too.

A few hours later, Futaba would wake up for long enough to notice the note and quickly read it.

"Plum Blossom's Lament"

A strand of wild plum blossom blooms on the side of an abandoned broken bridge,

The wild blossom bloomed in sorrow and loneliness…

… with no one to nurture, care for her, and no one to appreciate her unique beauty.

The lonely plum blossom…

emerges and perishes by itself…

The plum blossom cries alone under the fading dusk,

The heavy cold rain and cruel wind strike on her fragile, delicate petals,

She never thought about competing her beauty with other flowers,

But others hate and hurt her out of jealousy and discrimination.

In the end, all of her beautiful petals have been crushed into mud and dust,

All that is left of her in this world,

Is her scattered fragrance…

Futaba blinked twice at the paper. What a weird poem, she thought to herself, before promptly shutting her eyes and going back to sleep.

---

Sayori collapsed on the couch, the exhaustion from the day's activities having done quite a number on her. The apartment could have been mistaken for empty, if not for the fact that she could hear sounds from behind Goro's closed bedroom door. She wondered quietly to herself what he might be doing, and got up to knock on his door, too tired to be stressed about her thoughts from earlier.

She was right in front of the door, reaching up a fist to knock, when it was flung open itself. Thankfully it opened from the inside, so Sayori wasn't nailed in the face by the wooden door. What did nail her in the face, however, was the state she found Goro in.

"Why are you crying!?" Sayori asked, immediately closing the gap between them and reaching up to wipe at the offending red tear tracks on her boyfriend's face.

"I-It's nothing…"The detective said with a sniff, gently removing the girl's hands from the side of his face. "It's just allergies."

Sayori frowned as Goro refused to meet her eyes, not buying the excuse for a second. "I don't think so! Tell me what's going on so I can help."

Goro sniffed again, rubbing the palm of his hand over his face, attempting to get rid of the evidence that he had been ugly-crying less than a minute ago. "There's nothing you can do to help…"

"Oh yeah!?" Sayori asked with a smirk, accepting the unintentional challenge. She quickly, but also gently, grabbed his chin and turned him to face her, intent on showering him with all of the love and affection she had in her, which was a lot, when she was interrupted by a gasp.

"Sayori, your face!"

"Eh?" Sayori didn't know what Goro was talking about for a second. She put a hand up to her own face, wondering if there was something in her teeth, when all of a sudden she remembered. There was a big scab across her nose that had reopened half an hour ago. She inhaled through her nose and yes, she smelled blood.

Her eyes lit up in realization, prompting the detective to continue. "How did you get this?"

"I fell," Sayori replied simply. In actuality, she had been swatted at by a giant paw, the Cognitive Wakaba having batted at her like a cat toy.

"Uh huh, of course you were," Goro replied before releasing a heavy sigh and looking up towards the ceiling, as if asking the God of ceiling fans for patience. "Follow me so I can get you patched up."

At least he isn't crying anymore, Sayori thought to herself, closing her eyes in relief. This was interrupted when she failed to follow the detective into the bathroom, prompting him to go back to her and grab her by the arm, dragging her to the bathroom himself.

"What am I going to do…" he said with a sigh as he began disinfecting the wound, lightly dabbing at it with a cloth.

Sayori smiled, despite the stinging pain she now felt. "'What are you going to do with me,' you mean?"

"No, it's… Yeah, that's exactly what I meant," Goro replied, looking down at the floor with a tired look in his eyes and a heavy frown. He went back to the sparse medicine cabinet, coming back with gauze and a bright yellow bandaid.

He placed the gauze over the scab, which was thankfully not as bad as when Sayori first got it, thanks to Morgana. When it was covering the wound well enough, he placed the bandaid right over it and used the sticky sides to hold the gauze in place. "All done…"

Sayori smiled even wider as she stared gazed at the kneeling detective. Before he had a chance to get up, she leaned down and kissed him on the nose. "All better," She said with a giggle, springing up from her spot on the toilet seat. She went over to the bathroom mirror, leaving the blushing detective in his place.

"This kind of reminds me of one of the Harajuku people I see walking down the street," Sayori said as she pointed at the bandaid. "Goro, do you think I'd make a good Harajuku girl?"

Goro looked up at her, his face still a light red as he tried to envision the girl bedecked in colorful pins and accessories. This only made his blushing worse as he thought harder about it, looking down and shielding his face. "It depends on what style you're going for. Decora Kei would definitely suit you."

"It would, wouldn't it?" Sayori replied in agreement, looking back at herself in the mirror.

"You're paying for it if you're seriously thinking about committing to that style!"

"I know!," Sayori defended. "Though that seems difficult to maintain, so probably not…" Her grin finally seemed to be getting contagious, because Goro finally smiled back at her and got up from his seat on the floor.

"Still, one thing you should definitely take from that style is that everyone is always smiling," the detective mused. "Because if my smile is 'cute', then yours is radiant."

Sayori blushed now, feeling her insides turning to much as Goro finally walked up to her. In only seconds he had enveloped her in a tight hug, and she was startled to find that instead of the usual scent of cologne, the musk of sweat filled Sayori's nostrils.

That's odd, Sayori thought to herself, returning the hug and burying her face in his chest. She felt him rest his chin on the top of her head and begin stroking her hair, releasing a sigh of relief.

"I've missed you…" Goro murmured.

"I've missed you too…" Sayori replied. "But I'm finally free now, so everything is good." Or at least I hope it is…

Sayori was still very much worried about her bad habit of disappearing from existence, it had only stopped barely a week ago, right when they had entered Futaba's Palace. At the moment, all she could hope for was that the universe had dealt her a better hand now so she could enjoy the rest of her time here.

---

Futaba's deep sleep was not dreamless. In her head, she was remembering the sensation of awakening, and the dizzying lights that had revealed themselves to her in her Persona. The flashing words and numbers had gone by as fast as a spring breeze, and she gathered it all in her head.

She had found out something interesting this way. Aside from the Phantom Thieves that had been on the roof, there had been other entities like them in other areas of the Palace. She hadn't been able to tell at that time who they were, but she knew there were at least two.

And another thing, Futaba had noticed something different about Sayori when she had looked at her in that UFO, analyzing her as she hacked into her own cognition. She didn't know how or why, or even what this meant for Sayori, but upon analyzing her, she had discovered something very interesting indeed, listed right by her name.

"Sayori . chr "

I'll have to tell Sayori about it… When I wake up…

---

He was in a dark, cold room that reeked of blood and tears. Iron bars were in front of him, so thick that he could barely see the three figures on the other side, watching him intently. He tried to move from the bench he was sitting on, only to find himself chained to his seat, metal bonds binding his legs, arms, and body. He craned his neck and found that one was latched under his throat as well, tight enough to make him cough and choke.

From out of the corner of his eye he noticed a dark shadowy mass approaching him from inside the cell. He tried to get a better look, only to have a long sword levelled at his throat. It glowed black and violet in the pale light coming from the room outside.

Goro Akechi couldn't even say a word as a large hand grasped his chin and lifted his head up, further exposing his throat. In his last seconds, he was barely able to register that the gentle hand belonged to a male before a voice spoke, seeming to come from inside his head, as smooth as honey, yet cold as ice.

"This is your reward… For your faith in Justice…"

The hand holding the sword was swung back to gain momentum, and then went slicing through the air, going straight towards him.

Goro Akechi woke up from the nightmare, unable to even scream, for he was in so much pain.

It felt as if his very soul had been split in half.

Long time no see! As you can tell, this chapter was very long, mainly because after finally getting a laptop, my creative juices were flowing rather strongly. And, since I expected to be about ready for Okumura's Palace by now before my laptop broke, I wanted to make sure I got done with Futaba's Palace in this chapter. What I'd like to happen is that the next two chapters will also be similarly long, covering all of the events before Okumura's Palace. And I also plan on skipping most parts of Okumura's palace except for the absolutely important parts.

Also, some notes about this chapter. The poem I used is one I got from a web comic/manhua called "Phantom Paradise" by Rurisen. (There's also something else from this included in the chapter, if you can spot it). Also, if I ever get fanart of this fanfiction somehow, let it be here known that I would kill for fanart of Sayori and Akechi wearing Harajuku fashion together!

Anyway, I'll probably be back in a couple weeks with the next chapter. Please read, review, and I'll see you all next time!