I own nothing. Monika does.
Finally, it was time. The morning of the heist, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts all met in Leblanc's attic. Most of them came with strong looks of determination, ready to face whatever final challenges Sae Niijima's Palace might throw their way. The only exceptions to this were Sayori and Goro, who both had rather dark circles under their eyes, after being unable to sleep due to the anticipation and dread for what this particular Palace would reveal. Makoto also looked a bit tired, but that barely showed in her steely expression.
"The day has come. Are you all prepared?" Haru asked everyone with a serious tone. They were running on incredibly limited time now, and there was no good opportunity to stop for supplies.
"What of the calling card, Makoto?" Goro asked. After a few seconds of receiving no response, he looked down at the seated girl in concern. "Makoto?"
"I showed it to Sis… She took it from my very own hands…" Makoto answered, with that same stone cold expression, though her voice betrayed the true level of her concern.
"Makoto…" Futaba trailed off, looking down sadly.
"Nothing happened… after that, right?" Sayori asked, concerned for her friend. Though she had no reason to suspect Sae of anything truly despicable, she wasn't willing to put it past the woman with what she knew.
"She was getting ready to call her superiors about the calling card, but she got interrupted before she even could mention it," Makoto said, knowing that Goro and Sayori had specifically asked her to make sure Sae kept the calling card to herself.
"No… Well, that's good… But that isn't what I meant…" Sayori trailed off, now wondering if she had offended Makoto with her suggestion. Still, she was glad Goro's more secret plan could go on.
"Oh…! No… I'm fine. She almost seemed happy for a second," Makoto said with a frown, remembering Sae's offer for them to visit a hotsprings once this was almost over. Her smile had looked so genuine… It had honestly been a long time since Makoto had seen her sister make that expression.
"I understand how you feel, but we mustn't be so downtrodden," Yusuke said sympathetically, keeping his voice measured even as he did feel very sorry for his friend.
"Yeah… If we screw this up, we're done for," Ryuji said with gritted teeth, looking practically jittery with anxiety even as he was determined to see this through. "It's way more than losin' the place we belong… We could even lose our lives here, y'know."
"It will be alright. I want to save my sister, no matter what," Makoto said, the concern she spoke with melting away into a more somber, yet equally strong voice.
"Is everyone decided?" Morgana asked, causing everyone to nod.
"Mm-hm! It's time to settle the score!" Ann shouted, pumping her fists in the air.
"So much has happened since we first started… You guys have become quite the reliable team," Morgana commended, before looking to their leader. "All right, Joker! Let's steal this Treasure, and do our part to solve this mystery!"
Goro decided at that moment to say his piece, more to assure himself than anything, but still wanting to show the true gratitude he never thought he would ever feel, especially for this misfit group of thieves. "Indeed! I know we haven't met much success with catching the true culprit, but I am grateful to all of you for helping me to get this far! I promise, your efforts will be rewarded…" He released a shaky breath afterwards. Today is the day that the truth comes out.
"I'll be holding you to that," Akira said, though there was a levity in his voice that hadn't been there before when he talked with the detective. Maybe he was finally starting to move past the deception the detective had already confessed for?
Before Goro and Sayori could ponder this possibility further, Akira stood up from his seat and gave everyone an affirmative nod.
"Let's do this."
With no other tasks to accomplish, the Phantom Thieves went straight to the Treasure's location, using the elevator to get to the top floor and running up the staircase towards the bridge they had lowered, and then up those stairs to the Treasure's location. It barely took seconds, as Valiant was only vaguely aware that the entire journey was most likely them getting taken there, especially since Joker had them stop in a safe room for barely any reason at all.
However, Valiant had grown used to that trend a long time ago, and paid no mind to it as they ran up the precariously thin staircase up to the manager's floor, thankful that the bridge had railings. Still, it hardly did anything to quell the sense of danger she felt as she remembered the threat Shadow Sae had given to her and Crow on these very stairs.
It's just going to be like any of the other final fights we've had in Palaces. Still, I don't think I've ever specifically been threatened in a Palace before… It's terrifying, especially coming from someone like Sae… the girl thought, taking an anxious breath. They just had to last through this one last fight. Compared to what they were most likely going to face after this, she shouldn't be nearly as nervous as she was.
What actually awaited them on the manager's floor, however, didn't do anything to help her nerves.
"Where's the Treasure!?" Skull shouted, voicing what everyone noticed right away. The pedestal that had once displayed the large glowing source of distortion was now bare, and the Phantom Thieves looked frantically around the large room they were in.
However, they didn't get to look for long before a cold chuckle echoed across the room. "It seems you came, just as I had planned," Shadow Sae said, her voice dripping with overwhelming confidence and malice.
"As she planned…!?" Mona exclaimed, eyes wide with shock.
"This is a trap, then?" Valiant asked, her eyes darting around wildly, though she relaxed after a few seconds of not seeing anything new jump out at them.
"It would seem so," Crow remarked, noting the deviousness that leaked out of the Shadow's every punctuated laugh.
Fox frowned as he looked at the pedestal. "She put the Treasure here in order to lure us!"
"That must be why we could faintly see its shape…" Noir said softly, lowering her eyes in realization of their foolishness.
"No…" Panther moaned, slumping forward and shaking her forehead sadly. "And last time, I felt like we were one step ahead for once…"
"We haven't lost yet," Joker said coolly, getting over his shock to be the leader everyone else would soon need. They had walked into a lion's den, and he was determined to make sure they all walked back out.
The chuckles finally ceased as the group paused in their conversation, and the Ruler finally spoke again. "First off, allow me to compliment you. I never expected you would be able to make it this far…"
"We would much rather have the Treasure than your words of praise. Where did you hide it?" Crow asserted, not wanting to play the woman's games anymore. A coil of dread had settled into his stomach, listening to her talk as if she had already won.
Once more, the Shadow chuckled. Up the net set of stairs, mechanical sounds filled the air as a round door with red blinking lights twisted and slid open like a safe. "Come. We shall put an end to this once and for all… It is time I show you how true victory never comes easily… If you earn it, that is…"
"What does she mean by that?" Valiant asked, her voice hoarse. However, she shook away any worry. None of them had been expecting an easy fight. "No… It doesn't matter. It doesn't change our goal, after all."
"We have to pursue her, Valiant. A few more steps, and we'll be where we need to be," Crow reminded her, giving her a raised eyebrow, attempting to cheer her up with his own awkward attempt at teasing.
"I'm supposed to be the one reassuring you…" Valiant mumbled with a pout, before shaking her head, refuting her own statement. "No, wait. We both do that. Still, stop stealing my words!"
"I believe it's a fair exchange for stealing someone's heart…" Crow said, before cringing and groaning. "Forget I said that cheesy line, actually. Let's just… actually… focus on doing… that."
"Quit it already, lovebirds! Can't you see she's mockin' us!?" Skull yelled, glaring angrily in the direction of the door. "We gotta go after her!" Everyone quickly agreed and began to dash towards the door that had opened.
Everyone except Oracle, who was stopped by something appearing on her monitors. She stopped and looked closer at where the something had been. "Hm…? This is… new." She had one monitor showing a gridlike pattern, showing her if any Shadows or otherwise were nearby. What had caught her attention was a bright red dot, indicating a high power level… But it was blinking, instead of staying steadily there like most other Shadows on her monitor. Disappearing and reappearing… Before she could look further into it, she heard Queen and Joker calling out for her to hurry up. "No time to investigate right now. I'll just have to multitask while I help everyone else out."
"Now we're all ready," Joker answered to Crow, just as soon as Oracle caught up to the rest of them/ Everyone gave her questioning looks, but she shook her head, not wanting to give them something else to think about. They had to focus their attention on defeating Sae and getting the Treasure right now.
"All right, then! Let's go!" Mona exclaimed.
"Sis… I'll protect you…" Queen said softly, catching the notice of all the Phantom Thieves, causing them to all look at each other in worry.
"As will I," Crow assured, causing Queen to tense in surprise, seemingly surprised at having his words invade her thoughts.
"Me, too," Valiant said, placing her hand over her heart, as if to make a pledge.
"...Thank you, all of you," Queen replied after a moment.
The group entered the new elevator that was waiting for them after going through the door, exiting to find what appeared to be a battle arena. The elevator snapped shut and sank into the floor, revealing a circular green floor, and a glass wall that revealed the night sky outside, glowing red lights lacing across it, with a giant imposing monitor blocking part of the view.
After a few moments, the Phantom Thieves snapped to attention as the monitor flicked on, Shadow Sae's face looming over them with a calm smile, as if to show the power she perceived that she held over them. The Phantom Thieves ran forward onto the gold platform where the elevator had once been, finally confronting the Shadow.
"What kind of game will it be this time?" Crow asked, making sure he looked nothing short of confident in his abilities, which he was. However, his more impressive ones would have to be saved for later. "No matter what you bring out, we will emerge victorious."
Sae rested her chin on her hand, giving the group a pitying smile. "You're making a grave mistake if you think you have me cornered. I only guided you here because this place allows me to fight to my heart's content."
Queen closed her eyes, not wanting to listen, not really wanting to accept that she would have to fight her sister. "Sis…" But it was to protect her, and to save her.
Shadow Sae looked somber for a second, frowning as she brought up painful memories. "When my father died in the line of duty, I hated his killer from the bottom of my heart." That sadness then turned into frustration, and she coldly continued, "Dying to uphold justice sounds virtuous, but the ones left behind have to clean up the mess!"
Crow couldn't help but feel personally attacked by that last statement, remembering that only a few short weeks ago, he had planned to do the same. Yet, all the same he only felt this way because he agreed with what Sae was saying. When someone dies, that doesn't erase their existence, or the consequences of their actions or death. He had learned that lesson for himself already, and a weight fell on his chest when he thought that he would be putting Valiant through the same situation. I'm doing the same as Sae, too…
Valiant, too, felt the same, with a weight sinking into her at the thought. What kind of mess did I leave behind? That thought came and went, with Valiant's eyes burning as she held back tears. Because, at the same time, none of this excused Sae's actions. It didn't excuse the utter heartbreak she saw in Queen's slumped form.
"Can you imagine the hardships I had to endure!?" the woman raged, snapping the two back into the present.
Crow, for all of his understanding, being able to relate to Sae, in that they were both using pain and grief to justify bringing pain onto others… Couldn't accept it. Thinking of Sae Niijima falling so close to the same mindset he once had… "Perhaps I had overestimated her. I thought her reasoning would have been more noble somehow."
He stopped when he caught sight of Valiant shaking her head, gesturing to Queen, who seemed more sad as the seconds passed. Crow quickly tried to recant his statement. "I… Sorry. I didn't-"
"She's lost control…" Oracle interrupted, saving the boy from the awkwardness.
"This is wrong," Noir stated, eyes downcast.
"Justice cannot yield to evil! I must win, no matter what!" Shadow Sae exclaimed. The Phantom Thieves did agree… with the first part of her statement. They would not let wickedness prevail, which was exactly why they were here.
"This is nothing more than self-righteousness…" Crow said, looking down at his feet.
"History is written by the winners, right?" Valiant said, repeating his words. "I think… it's just too easy to think that the cause you fight for is the one that is justified… Still, to go this far…"
"It's divorced from reality," Crow finished, causing the girl to nod.
"All we need to do to determine who is right… is battle," Shadow Sae stated, leering down at everyone. "Now, why don't we begin?" She brought one hand up and snapped her fingers.
The floor then began to sink, panels folding away to reveal a giant roulette table, already spinning wildly, shaking and rumbling as the floor shifted. The Phantom Thieves shouted in alarm as they looked at the arena in shock, not noticing the screen dim as Shadow Sae disappeared from it, reappearing on the battlefield.
"A clash of brute strength is simply uncalled for on this stage," Sae said cooly, lifting the brim of her hat with a smile as the Phantom Thieves whipped around to face her in shock.
"What is she intending…?" Crow asked, slightly panicked as he got into a guarded position, with his arms noticeable in front of Valiant, as if that was in any way an effective shield.
The Shadow saw this, and sneered at the two, Crow in particular. "I promised you that I would be waiting, and that I would destroy you all. Your irresponsible behavior will not be rewarded this time… "
"It's not!" Valiant defended, clenching her fists. She didn't understand why, but hearing the woman's dismissal stung. Still, even she could acknowledge that this position, with Crow standing in front of her like this while she complained like a child, wasn't how she wanted things to be. I need to get ahold of myself. I won't be able to fix anything if things stay like this… Stubbornly she stepped forward and stood next to Crow, getting into a battle stance as well. "We'll prove you wrong…!" She smiled at Crow, who looked apologetic, but she shook her head. She wasn't offended, and that was why he was apologizing. He would protect her no matter what, and he wasn't apologizing for that, and he shouldn't. She just wanted to be able to do the same for him.
"We don't want any damn reward you have to offer!" Skull shouted, standing in front of both of them to block Shadow Sae's view of the couple. Honestly, it was starting to piss him off how much the woman was trying to bother them, and trying to control all of them. "We aren't playin' your game, or followin' your rules!"
"Oh you will. There is no room for negotiation," Shadow Sae said, crossing her arms and grinning. "You will know soon enough." For a brief moment, her appearance distorted, showing a monstrous form just under the surface.
"What was that…!?" Queen asked, her voice shaking as her eyes widened in shock.
"Now… Come at me!" Shadow Sae shouted, spreading her arms as if to beckon them closer.
Queen trembled and looked down with a sob. She didn't want to fight with her sister… her family. Even if it was to protect her, it felt so horrible just seeing her like this, and knowing that the only way to make it stop was to fight…
She suddenly felt a hand land on her shoulder, giving it a light squeeze in an attempt to comfort. Queen looked to the side, expecting to see Valiant, but ended up having to look slightly upward, meeting Crow's unreadable expression. "You'll save her, right?"
Queen gasped, feeling slightly on edge by the touch, but all the same, she appreciated the detective's attempt at comfort. Her heart softened against her will, and she gave a quick nod, facing forward.
"All right everyone, be on alert!" Mona shouted, causing everyone to get into a defensive stance, ready to face the battle ahead.
"All right, let's do it!" Oracle shouted, her Persona hovering over the group as she focused her attention on Sae's Shadow.
Joker leapt forward and delivered what would have normally been a devastating blow, but Shadow Sae looked completely unaffected. It was almost creepy, watching her practically loosen her muscles and unrecoiling, completely unscathed. Everyone else cringed, before trying to attack the Shadow, as well, only to be also met with failure.
Shadow Sae gripped the brim of her hat, and the screen she had appeared on previously lit up, displaying a bet being produced for health. The roulette wheel began to spin even more rapidly, causing Oracle to shout in alarm as she prepared any boost she could possibly find for what the enemy might plan to do.
"Of course, acts of violence are forbidden here. One must follow the rules," Shadow Sae stated, making the Phantom Thieves recoil in dread.
"We already told you, there's no way we're gonna follow your rules anymore!" Oracle shouted angrily.
"That's fine by me. Such troublesome people will just face the penalty…" the Shadow replied, giving a coy smile.
"There's a penalty for not spinning the roulette. What should we do…" Oracle mumbled to herself, looking at the wheel nervously. What would happen? Already, everyone had tried attacking. Were they going to get penalized right now?
Joker seemed to think the same thing, ordering everyone to guard themselves for now. "We're going to need Valiant to guard everyone. While we're still waiting for Sae to make a move, someone needs to switch places with Valiant!"
"I'll back out and focus on support!" Mona volunteered, running away from his place in the front and letting Valiant take his place as he stood in the back with everyone else.
Before the girl could even make a move to shield anyone, Sae interrupted. "You will predict which pocket the ball will fall into. The time has come for your first round. Choose where you will place your bet!"
"Another game… it really does seem we have to play to stand any chance of beating her… But even then, she'll cheat…" Crow muttered, watching as the roulette wheel continued spinning.
"She'll just ignore us if we bring that up, though," Mona said from where he stood, raising an eyebrow.
"And she's making us bet our lives, too…" Valiant said softly, reaching for her shield and thinking of what she could do in the time she had to protect everyone. But even then, Shadow Sae was staring at all of them, and if she caught Valiant trying to do anything, she would accuse her of cheating.
"We'll have to go along with it for now," Joker said uneasily, looking at everyone in worry. Without a doubt he was going to lose this bet, and from what was on the screen, it was going to hurt his teammates.
"Keep an eye on the wheel, and try to catch how she might be cheating," Crow said solemnly, before looking at Valiant. "I don't expect you'll be allowed to help us defend ourselves at the moment, so let's just hope everyone has a healing item with them…"
"I'll cover everyone, too," Oracle assured quietly from within her UFO. "Joker, get on with it!"
"Well, how will you bet?" Shadow Sae asked impatiently.
Joker gulped nervously. For now, he had to play the safest bet he possibly could. "The ball will fall into a red pocket…"
Sae's smile only seemed to widen as she looked around the wheel. "Already you've made your decision? Let's see the results!"
Slowly, the wheel began to stop spinning, and the ball stopped rotating around, until it looked almost ready to fall in. Joker quickly used his third eye ability, keeping an eye on the ball as it began to fall forward. It's going to fall into a red one!
At the last second, however, he noticed that the ball hit something… covering the red pocket. It rolled off, instead falling into the black one next to it.
The floor beneath them lit up a previously invisible sign, stating that they had lost. Everyone cried out as they suddenly felt pain hit them from all angles, gripping and shaking them like they were mere rag dolls.
Valiant looked up, for the most part not feeling too bad. Her entire body ached, and it felt like the slightest touch on her skin would bruise, but she could still stand. Around her, most of the other Phantom Thieves seemed to be in a similar state of pain, but weren't doing too bad.
Two hoarse coughs drew everyone's attention over to Queen and Crow. Both were kneeling on the ground, hacking up vomit and what everyone feared might be blood, looking far more worse for wear than the other thieves. Oracle and Mona both looked worried, exclaiming to everyone that they were very close to passing out or worse.
"Everyone else still has over half of their health left though… For a low risk, safe bet, these two look more like they would for a dangerous bet…" Oracle trailed off. Valiant was practically frozen in place, the only thing stopping her from completely abandoning her post being both of the other two insisting that she stay in place. In the background, Sae seemed to think the situation was absolutely hilarious, giggling at the disarray that the team was suddenly thrown in.
It looks like Sae had a personal vendetta against Queen and I… Crow thought to himself, unable to articulate his words as he continued to cough and hack. It felt like his body was on fire, making him want to faint and escape the pain. But he wasn't succumbing to that, yet, so he stood up on shaky legs and tried to get his coughs to stop, Queen following his lead as tears involuntarily trailed down her face. It was alarming, seeing one of the team's strongest members brought to tears like this.
Already, Oracle was working on giving the two a health boost, all while Joker considered what he had just seen, while also debating if he wanted to make the two most injured team members go to the back of the group to recover. Somehow, though, he knew the two would refuse, since this was an incredibly personal matter for both of them. At the very least, he quickly put together what Sae was doing to cheat.
"There's a glass lid," Joker stated, a plan forming in his head as Oracle sent a beam of blue light down, giving everyone slight relief from the pain. Crow and Queen were still in the worst shape, though, but at least neither of them were coughing.
"It did look like the ball floated for a split second there…" Mona trailed off, eyes wide.
"How humiliating…" Crow trailed off, his voice still hoarse.
"Let's catch her in the act so she can't talk her way out of it!" Oracle suggested.
"We're going to have to shoot the glass lid...:" Joker trailed off. "Crow, you and Queen got the worst of the punishment… So I'd rather not have you guys in the arena where you could get hurt even more…"
"Crow is probably a better shot than Queen is," Valiant said, honestly. This was probably a slightly good way of easing everyone into the truth about him… Not to mention it was also just a very true, helpful fact to know.
"Yeah. I'm more suited to short-range combat," Queen agreed.
"Are… Are you sure this is the best idea…?" Crow asked, feeling tired and resigned. Even while he felt so weak and in pain, he could definitely make the shot, but he wasn't quite sure he should show off this skill now of all times.
"We cannot allow this cheating to continue…" Noir said, trying to give him an encouraging look.
"Alright," Crow assented, sighing as Valiant smiled. She seemed happy for some reason, and he couldn't understand why, at all. "I can get us the win, so don't bother with worrying about the risk." Even as he felt like he was being cornered, he couldn't resist the urge to want to show off. In a way, it felt nice to finally use this skill for something not wicked.
He quickly dismissed himself to find a good place to shoot, keeping his fake gun in hand. It was only a toy, but it would work just as well in this place to break a pane of glass. Crow quickly hid behind one of the fake plants that sat around the border of the roulette wheel, behind Sae where she couldn't see him. He waved his hand to signal that he was in position, and strained his ear to hear what bet Joker would make.
Too bad we're only betting money this time, Crow thought to himself as the screen lit up once again. He watched as Valiant wasted no time in erecting her usual shield spell on everyone. Even he could feel the effects, in case he was somehow caught. He got in position to aim as Shadow Sae finally announced that it was time to bet again.
Joker stood up straight and practically announced his results at the top of his lungs, and Crow cringed. Thankfully, the Shadow didn't seem to catch on, and Crow aimed for the first series of numbers, keeping every number one through twelve and their location in his memory. Keep in mind where the ball is going, and…
The wheel stopped, the ball rolled around as it got closer to the pockets, and Crow fired his gun the second he knew where it was heading. The ball landed solidly in pocket twelve, and the roulette wheel announced that the Phantom Thieves had won.
'Wh-WHAT!?" Sae's Shadow exclaimed, collapsing forward as though she had been physically hurt, even though she had only lost money.
Oracle chuckled mischievously. "Joker!" she shouted, causing the leader to draw his gun and start a holdup against Sae. Crow slid down the side of the wheel and ran to join in, holding his gun up to the woman, a sick feeling welling in his stomach the entire time.
"You did great!" Valiant praised, and Crow at least felt happy about that. The only time she would ever have to see him using this unsavory talent was with a pane of glass. The girl had no qualms about it whatsoever, too.
"What was that about fair and square!? You were totally cheating!" Oracle shouted cockily. Shadow Sae only groaned and growled, not answering to the girl's accusation. "You coward! What're you so quiet for!? Say something!"
"You also set up conditions for a high risk bet against a couple of us, when I only selected a low risk bet," Joker stated, noticing that out of all of them, it was only Queen and Crow that were hurt so badly.
"Shut up… SHUT UP!" Shadow Sae screamed angrily, sitting up on her knees and glaring at everyone like a cornered animal.
And like the saying goes, even a cornered mouse will bite a cat, and the same could be said for Sae as her form began to distort, humanity dissolving in a cloud of black smoke in her last ditch attempt to win. A giant, rusty-armored robot sat in her place, standing up and letting out a ferocious roar, showing off a machine gun like contraption on one arm, while her other held a long, rusted sword.
"S-Sis?" Queen stuttered nervously.
"Cheating!? Unfair!? Silence! This is MY world!" Shadow Sae raged, panting like a rabid animal barely contained. "If you want a fair fight, then to hell with the game! I'll crush you by force. Fair and square, just as you like!"
"This… is my sister's true nature!? No…" Queen lamented, closing her eyes.
"We're finally back to a normal fight… Good luck, everyone!" Oracle shouted, rising higher in the air to remain out of the enemy's now higher reach.
The Shadow wasted no time in attacking, charging straight over to deal what would have been killing blows, had it not been for the shields set in place. However, Valiant had found most recently that her shields were easily broken when facing a Shadow more powerful than normal. It felt like she was getting stabbed when her defences were already beginning to crack, as Sae swung angrily at Crow and Queen. Both barely managed to dodge, getting small cuts from the robot, but they were wounds all the same.
When it was finally their turn, Joker quickly got to work on lowering the Shadows defense, while Valiant brought her shields back up as best as she could. Crow and Queen both decided to brush off their injuries for now, ignoring when the other Phantom Thieves yelled at them not to be so stubbornly self destructive.
The two both rushed over to Sae to try to hurt her in some way, but were blocked by the giant sword that fell in between them like a wall. The Shadow then went on the offensive, raising her gun, which was already basically pointed at Joker. Everyone heard the click of a safety being taken off as the barrels attached to her arm began to cycle around Sae's arm, preparing to fire what would have been a devastating shot. Valiant tensed, before running over to Joker's side to block the blow with her own shield. She watched nervously as Shadow Sae took aim…
And swung her arm in the other direction. The hand hit Crow and Queen, who were still standing very close from their failed attack, with the destructive force of a battering ram. The two went flying back, and everyone let out a collective scream. There was nothing they could do to stop their inevitable collision with the wall behind them.
"No!" Oracle screamed, before slamming her fist down onto her keyboard. The floor lit up green, and the two suddenly stopped, seemingly in midair, and falling slower to the ground then gravity should allow. They were still definitely injured, but it was better than being completely knocked out, or worse.
"Good job, Oracle!" Joker shouted, as Valiant attempted to run over to the two to check on them, but was quickly stopped by Shadow's Sae's blade blocking her path like a massive wall. Meanwhile, Panther got up on her feet and quietly tiptoed over, Mona trailing behind. The two quickly got to work on healing the slumped over Queen and Crow, who looked ready to pass out the longer they tried standing up.
"What's going on?" Noir asked, looking as Shadow Sae glared with malice at the detective and her sister.
"It seems she has a particular vendetta against Queen and I," Crow explained, looking troubled by this information. "This could cause problems in our earlier strategy."
"You should switch places with one of us," Fox suggested, causing Queen to look down dejectedly.
"It would be real bad if we needed to keep focusing on healing and protecting you two. We couldn't land any hits," Skull grumbled.
"I don't think she's going to ignore them, even if they did back out of the fight," Valiant argued, looking at the metal beast before them. "And… you guys want to face her, right?"
"I feel like I need to," Queen answered, looking down sadly, while Crow sighed.
"I feel the same, but I could…"
"I have an idea," Valiant said brightly. "You guys have a better chance of beating her than I do, and I think Sae is attacking you two because she knows you're strong. She could attack anyone who takes your spot."
"What are you planning to do?" Crow asked, giving her a worried, and incredibly suspicious look.
Valiant didn't respond, instead looking up at the UFO still hovering above them. "Hey, Oracle! Shield them for me!"
"Aye aye!" Oracle shouted back, though she sounded hesitant.
Valiant nodded, before turning to Sae, and shooting her own gun at the sky, the loud bang catching the Shadow's attention. The girl then took off running towards the edge of the battlefield, shooting a few more bullets, much to everyone's confusion. Hopefully I can distract her, and let everyone else attack her. Sae has just as much of a reason to hate me as she does Crow, after all…
Joker once again boosted everyone's attack, and the remaining team began to talk quietly about a battle strategy as Valiant began to yell at Sae.
"Hey, why are you giving those two such a hard time!?" Valiant shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth. "They don't deserve such harsh treatment compared to everyone else!"
Sae looked at her for a moment, before snarling. "I have no words to say to a nuisance like you…!"
Nuisance…? Valiant thought to herself sadly, before noticing the Shadow begin to turn around, intending to attack the group again. If that's how you see me… Valiant used her last "bullet," getting the large form right between the shoulder blades, causing it to turn around and swing at her. She managed to dodge just in time as the large sword swept across the arena. The rest of the thieves looked ready to intervene, but she shook her head, hoping they could see it. She needed to understand Sae.
"How have I ever been a nuisance to you?" Valiant asked, barely remembering to raise her voice. "You keep calling me that, but I don't understand! What did I do to get in your way?"
"You're just some foolish child…! Stop bothering me already!" Sae looked angry, roaring and running towards the girl standing alone, raising one of her hands. This time, Valiant wasn't as lucky, getting knocked off her feet and crashing to the floor in her attempt to dodge.
I need to put my shield up… Valiant thought to herself as she watched all of the Phantom Thieves on the other side of the arena. They had all seemed to share a single nod, and she knew they had come up with a plan. She just had to last until they could complete it.
"Alright, I think I get it… Just like this entire Palace would suggest… You're just jealous!" Valiant screamed, causing the monstrous Sae to physically freeze, before turning her head slowly towards the girl. Someone could cut through the murderous intent with a knife.
"You think I'm jealous… of you!?" Sae shouted, looking ready to start swinging again.
"No! You're jealous of everyone! While we're here, actually trying to do some good for justice and society, and trying to live our lives, you're here, cheating and lying and acting like your opinion is the only one that matters! What a miserable existence!" Valiant screamed, her voice betraying how saddened by this she truly felt.
"SHUT UP!" Sae raged, swinging at the girl once more. Valiant held her shield up, hoping she could at least use it to break some of the momentum she was about to get hit with.
"You're lonely… aren't you? Sad that he didn't take your advice seriously about me, and upset that your sister is on his side, too... " Valiant mumbled to herself, expecting to get brutally crushed halfway through the sentence. However, after a few seconds passed, she noticed that the Shadow had frozen once again, and the girl knew she had discovered what was going on.
"Fight all of us equally… fair and square… Those two only hurt you as much as the rest of us… We all just want to hel-"
Valiant was swept aside, crashing into one of the potted plants on the edge of the arena, thankfully falling unconscious as soon as Sae's armored hand slammed into her. Even as the Phantom Thieves internally panicked about their friend getting knocked out so quickly, they had confidence in what Joker had planned.
Fox quickly stepped into the fight, taking off his mask and releasing Kamu Susano-o. In only an instant, the hand that held Sae's large sword, as well as the sword itself, froze solid. Queen followed up his attack, using her heavy duty gauntlets, as well as her own Persona, to attack, she ran up and gave several decisive jabs, and the large sword shattered.
The Shadow screamed, out of both pain and frustration as the icy-metal shards scattered across the ground. Joker and Crow observed the situation for a few more moments, and once satisfied that Sae wasn't going to attack them in a fit of rage, the two began the next step of their attack.
Crow took off his own mask, releasing Robin Hood, just as the Shadow began to calm down. The Phantom Thieves all covered their eyes as a burst of light shot from the Persona's bow, dealing damage to the Shadow in the same instance that it blinded it. Joker followed up with an attack from one of his own Personas, freezing Shadow Sae's other arm.
Now, it took a lot of strength to break the thick layer of ice forming on her other hand. However, after knocking it against the floor, it soon began to crack. When it was clear she could not break it any further than that, the Shadow tried using its other, now swordless hand to attack. Unfortunately for her, each of the Phantom Thieves easily dodged the attack.
Now it was Fox's turn to keep the ice on it's other hand fresh, though the weapon was too thick for it to be easily broken, they could at least keep it from being used against them. All the while, the group continued to steadily chip away at the Shadow's health.
Sae continued to try pleading her distorted reasoning. "As long as you win, it doesn't matter what methods you use! Don't you all think the same!? You're controlling the hearts of others in order to achieve your own goals!"
However, the Phantom Thieves had been through this routine many times. Always, their opponents tried to make them out to be the true villain, and always, they could defend themselves, or simply ignored their adversary, knowing it was only excuses that they offered.
"It's not for us! We only do it to help others who are suffering!" Queen shouted, desperately trying to convince her sister of their true motive. However, the battle only continued as the Shadow finally managed to break through the ice, unleashing a hail of bullets on everyone.
Crow looked over at Joker. "Perhaps Panther could use her fire to destroy the gun, or Skull could strike her with his lightning somehow?"
"You want to go check on her?" Joker asked, to which the detective nodded. Joker immediately agreed. "Panther, Skull, switch places with Crow! Skull, you'll be Panther's adjutant!"
"Roger!" Skull shouted, while Panther picked up Mona and threw him at Crow.
"Hey! That was blatant mistreatment!" Mona shouted in shock, a broken-hearted look on his face.
"Go with Crow to make sure Valiant is alright," Panther said, looking impatient as she took off her mask and released a wave of fire, superheating and heading straight for the armored Shadow.
"Let's go," Crow said simply, grabbing the cat-creature and placing him on his shoulder. It seemed that being a cat in the real world meant Mona was still as light as one in the Metaverse, as he was much lighter than the boy had expected, and he ran quickly over to check on Valiant's condition.
Miraculously, the girl didn't have any broken bones… or at least none that were visibly obvious. Crow and Mona lightly touched her chest area, inspecting to see if her ribs or spine had been damaged.
"She slammed right into that vase…" Mona said quietly, looking more worried than impressed at how well the girl was after such a devastating blow. "Luckily Zorro's healing should be able to make sure your bones are in the right place. Still, it's better to be safe than sorry."
"I imagine it will still hurt for a little bit. We should take our time in waking her up," Crow suggested, clearing matted hair away from Valiant's face.
While the two focused on that task, the rest of the thieves continued to whittle away at Shadow Sae's health. At one point, she tried to place a bet again, only for Oracle to angrily call her a sore loser.
"I never lose, even in games of pure luck! Let me prove it!" the Shadow yelled angrily.
"So she's not going to cheat anymore…" Crow observed quietly. "Perhaps they should take that bet…"
"I think they're going for it," Mona observed as he had Zorro hovering in front of him, waving his rapier around, looking more like a music composer than a swordsman as he healed Valiant's many injuries.
A second later, the ball began rolling and the roulette table began to spin. As luck would seem to have it, Joker guessed correctly, and Mona's healing got even faster. After a few seconds, Valiant opened her eyes, blinking rapidly as harsh light invaded her vision.
"Did we win?" She asked, the loud noises, blaring lights, and sounds of battle letting her know exactly where they were.
"We're getting close, thanks to you," Crow answered, causing the girl to lightly blush as she groaned and tried to sit up.
"I will win!" Sae screamed, slamming her now swordless hand on the ground. "Justice can only be on the side of the victor!"
"So noisy…" Valiant mumbled, a soft frown appearing on her face as the Shadow still continued to fight.
"Let's get you down from here, in case Sae decided to bet again," Crow suggested. "We can watch the show."
"You have a weird idea of what a show is," Mona commented with wide eyes, helping Valiant to sit, and then to stand up.
"She's awake!" Oracle shouted, having a bird's eye view of the entire battlefield. The little UFO seemed to shake as the girl inside jumped for joy.
That fact did motivate everyone else into fighting, and the Shadow began to slump over after losing so much energy, and receiving so many injuries.
"I… I just need to win…" Sae said weakly, panting heavily. "As long as I can win… That's all that matters…"
"Sis…" Queen whispered, sorrowful conviction filling her.
Joker took one look at her and nodded, letting her take over the fight. One more good hit, and Sae would be defeated.
Noir sat in the back, but was quickly called to replace Panther and Skull, who both needed a break. The girl grabbed her axe and went up to Queen's side, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Mako-chan, thank you… I know it's hard…"
Queen swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded, taking off her mask. Anat appeared, raising her arms and unleashing a powerful, final attack.
Valiant, Crow, and Mona got down to the floor of the battle arena as Sae's Shadow finally collapsed. "It looks like we made it in time," Mona commented, before running ahead to reunite with everyone else.
Crow took a deep, shuddering breath as he kept walking forward, letting Valiant lean on him for support, though they both knew it was now for comfort more than it was that she was having trouble staying balanced.
"It's alright, Goro. After we steal the Treasure, the Palace will collapse. Everyone is going to be too focused on escaping for you to explain right now," Valiant quietly assured, resting her head on his shoulder. "We probably shouldn't talk about that stuff in the Palace, in front of Sae's Shadow, anyway."
"I wish we could just get it over with," Crow said quietly, already knowing what Valiant told him. The anxiety only grew as he continued to wait.
"We will," Valiant said, looking as the metal monster before them dissolved back into the human looking version of the Shadow. "Let's deal with this first, though."
"Right," Crow silently agreed, finally joining up with the group just as Sae began to lament.
"So I've lost…" Shadow Sae said with a voice full of regret as she looked at the group of teens who had managed to beat her.
"Sis!" Queen shouted, running up to the Shadow and kneeling in front of her, hoping one final time that she could convey the message her sister desperately needed to hear.
"She's going to be okay…" Valiant mumbled, smiling happily. It turned into a frown as she noticed Crow's troubled frown.
"As long as she repairs her relationship with her sister… I think I will be okay with whatever happens," Crow spoke softly, looking at the reunion with no filter on his face. To see this tearful reunion… made his chest ache. Hopefully she can help the Phantom Thieves, too, though… The strategic thought rose above the melancholy that had made its home there.
"We'll go grab the Treasure," Skull said, sounding awkward as he and Fox left the group to go retrieve what they had all come here for.
"Makoto…?" Shadow Sae asked, so many questions and words that she wanted to say overwhelming her thoughts.
"I don't think it's wrong to bring light to evils which can't be judged by law," Queen said immediately, having thought over what she wanted and needed to say ever since Crow had reassured her before the battle. "That's all the Phantom Thieves have been trying to do, too. But these aggressive investigations? Twisting the truth for your own personal gain…?" The girl shook her head in denial of those methods. "Please… You have to think back to the feelings you had when you first wanted to be a prosecutor. Think about your justice, Sis."
"My justice…" Sae trailed off.
"Try to remember how you used to be…" Queen urged desperately.
"How I…" Shadow Sae trailed off, a thought occurring to her as memories of all she had done wrong came to her. "You are… All of you are right… I shouldn't have looked down on you the way that I did… I should have… been more fair... " The Shadow's own blurry memory of a small girl pleading for reason with her… Someone like that wasn't a nuisance… At the very, very least, someone in Sae's position shouldn't view people like that as nuisances, but as people to protect, and serve, and listen to… So many regrets… I need to do my best to remember… For people like that… For my sister…
She did listen to all of us eventually… and to me, too… I guess, Valiant thought to herself uncertainly, unable to hear the Shadow's thoughts and know exactly what she was thinking.
"Niijima-san… She's just like my father…" Noir said quietly, looking down at the floor. "What caused them to change like this…?"
I've seen so much of this over the past few years… But for some reason, Sae… Makes me sad… It reminds me of something… someone… some people... Crow thought, the tightness in his chest getting worse as he held Valiant's hand, trying to banish the sadness in his chest with the happiness and pride he had felt, seeing the girl face herself and win… But this feeling… went even deeper.
"Even though their own desires were the cause, succumbing to such distorted thoughts is strange…" It's not even that Sae makes me think of Sayori in particular… But Haru's question… What had caused her to become so distorted in the first place… And also… Just on the edge of memory, but out of reach, his heart hurt… so much.
"Maybe… there's another reason… One we don't even know of, yet…" Valiant trailed off, squeezing the detective's hand, searching his face as the boy stared off into the ether. We're going to find the answers… together. I'll be there for you… So don't feel too bad, Goro.
"We found it!" Fox suddenly shouted, him and Skull walking back to them with a large briefcase that must have held Sae's Treasure.
"The investigation will now be able to proceed. The suspicions against you will be lifted as well," Crow stated with finality, looking at the Treasure, doing his best to keep that feeling of pride in what they had all accomplished with him. "This deal we made… truly was a great experience for me…It's still hard to believe that I was able to work alongside you… That you would accept me onto your team."
"Are you interested in staying then?" Joker asked.
"Besides," Panther added, "we never did find the Black Masked person we were looking for… Noir's reason for letting you stay was to track down her father's murderer, so you still have business with us."
"You're tacking on so many reasons… It's almost like you all want me to stay…" Crow trailed off, noticing Valiant smiling softly. She must have believed her friends would do this from the beginning. He could have spent an eternity spouting admirations about her… but in the end he simply felt lucky to have someone with so much trust, and love, and hope…
"It was honestly really fun," Noir said happily. "I feel like we all learned a lot about you… Or at least a few things, but we can keep adding onto that!"
"Not to mention, it was funny watchin' you go crazy sometimes… It was scary other times, though," Skull added, rubbing his head sheepishly, but still, he wanted to be as honest as he could.
"Well… I had honestly planned on staying with your group from the very beginning… if I was allowed, which I suppose I clearly am," Crow said, a small grin forming on his face after hearing the thieves say that they were okay with it. However, his expression soon turned serious, and Valiant gave him a reassuring look. Any moment now, the Palace is going to collapse. I can't say everything right now, but I need to allude to it…
"I have other goals that I need to accomplish… and I firmly believe I can only accomplish them if I stay with your group…" Crow's hands began to shake, so he clenched them into tight fists so that he could concentrate. "I… have something incredibly important to tell all of you when we leave this Palace…"
"Hm…!?" Oracle suddenly perked up, the mysterious signal on her monitor beginning to act strange once again. Instead of merely blinking in and out, though, it began to grow, red, green, and blue pixels expanding out and covering her whole screen, multiple signals lighting up all at once. Without warning, the Palace security went back up and more and more Shadows materialized on her screen, though she had a hard time telling if that was what was really happening, or if it was a result of this strange signal messing with her system. "Something's wrong! There are a ton of enemy readings! And this one spot on the map… There's something else here!"
"What…!?" Crow asked, his voice almost quiet with shock as Oracle brought up her monitors for all to see, switching between camera shots to show that Shadows were indeed materializing, before bringing up a map to show the odd signal near the corner of the map, near the elevator on the second floor.
"Something… or someone?" Noir asked, her voice suddenly cold and quiet.
"In Okumura's Palace, you got a similar signal, right?" Queen asked, observing as the dot in the center of the pixelated mess blinked. "A signal that disappeared from your screen… It couldn't have been Crow, since he doesn't have the ability to do that… right?"
"It's gotta be Black Mask, then!' Skull shouted, causing Crow to freeze at the cruel, cruel irony of it all.
"Wait…" Crow trailed off as Valiant shared a look with him. The messenger was probably giving me notes when I failed to remain on Oracle's screen consistently in Okumura's Palace… So it must be them!
"What should we do, Joker?" Fox asked, looking at the Treasure that Skull was still holding onto. "We need to get the Treasure out of here…"
"This might be our only chance to confront Okumura's killer, though," Queen stated, looking at their other recent addition to their team.
"We should go after them!" Valiant shouted, fists clenched. Queen is right, in a way. This might be our best chance at finding the messenger!
"No… This entire situation is far too suspicious," Crow stated, crossing his arms, causing Valiant to look at him in shock. "This signal just suddenly appeared, and made such a spectacle that Oracle would obviously notice… and just as we obtained the Treasure. This is a trap, and an incredibly bad one at that."
"If it really is a trap… We can't let them get a hold of the Treasure," Mona said with his ears drooping sadly, glancing up at Crow.
"But… we can't let this opportunity pass us by," Panther argued, her tone filled with a sadness that she knew this point couldn't really be argued.
"We… We could split up," Queen said, voice low as she looked down, already shaking her head. "We could put one person in charge of getting the Treasure out of the Palace, while the rest stay together and chase down whatever, or whoever, is doing this…"
"But… Now that we've stolen the Treasure, we should all stay together. The Palace will start to collapse soon, will it not?" Crow argued.
"I'll do it," Joker suddenly said.
"What!?" Valiant cried, grabbing the leader by the shoulders. "You heard him! While I agree we need to find out what that thing is, we should stick together!"
No one else stepped up to speak or object along with her, and Valiant found that strange. They should all be against this, too… Right? We've never split up like this…
"Let him do it," Skull suddenly said, causing something in Valiant to wither, making her feel sick to her stomach as an odd dread settled inside of her. "He's quiet, but once his mind's made up, he's not gonna take no for an answer." The blond walked up to Joker and handed him the case that held Sae's Treasure. "...I'm sure you ain't gonna die. It's you we're talkin' about."
Die…? What are they talking about? We're the ones going after some strange signal that's messing up Oracle's map! Nothing is making sense right now! Valiant clutched her forehead tightly, wanting to scream in confusion. She looked to the side and noticed that Crow… Only Crow looked just as confused as she did, at least from her own interpretations.
Crow noticed Valiant's distress immediately, as no one else looked like they were about to break down from such stress, and walked over to her, placing a calming hand on her shoulder, before trailing her arm and holding her hand once again. It feels like we're all out of the loop… And everyone else is simply content to accept that they have no choice but to accept their leader's decision… I would hardly call that unanimous… He pushed these thoughts deep down after a moment of rumination. "We have no time for panicking, Valiant. We need to do what we can, and then get out of here before the Palace collapses around us."
"Do what we can?" Valiant asked softly, too emotionally drained and confused to process what it was she could do right now. After a moment to catch her breath, it did occur to her. "You mean chasing after the thing on Oracle's monitor?"
"Precisely. Everyone seems to have made the decision before us, so I think all we can do right now is agree in order to get this over with more quickly. Besides, you wanted to go after that thing, right?"
Valiant just wanted to melt into the floor and die. Every single part of her disagreed with this turn of events, shaking and twitching and shivering with this indescribable dread that she was once again making a mistake.
But again, what choice did she have?
"...Okay," Valiant whispered, before looking over at Joker for a moment, wanting to give him her best wishes… But stopped after a moment and looked back into Crow's eyes. It was so painful to see that he was just as confused as she was… "Everything… will be okay…" It has to be…
Crow gripped her hand tightly and walked over so they were closer with the rest of the group. They all watched as Joker gave a short wave, a polite salute, and dashed off in the opposite direction, listening to Oracle's directions to get himself and the Treasure out of the hospital.
While Oracle gave vocal instructions to Joker, she entered her Persona once more and hovered slightly above the group, leading them in the direction of the strange signal on her map. She took them on a twisting and turning route, down halls, through vents, and at one point down the elevator until they once again found themselves on the first floor, keeping hidden from the crowd of enemy Shadows by staying in the backrooms.
"If I'm remembering the map correctly… that person… thing… whatever it is, has definitely moved since we started chasing after it…" Valiant thought to herself as they found themselves running from a particularly high level Shadow.
Crow looked up at the ceiling of the Palace with suspicion. "Do any of you find it odd…?" He put his hand on his chin as everyone froze at the loudness of his voice and turned to him.
"What?" Panther asked, walking over and leaning her elbow on Valiant's shoulder… a gesture which the girl found odd.
"We've taken the Treasure… By now the Palace should have started collapsing, right?"
"Did something go wrong with Joker?" Valiant asked, suddenly looking over at Oracle with worry.
"She's still giving directions not meant for us, so he must be alright," Fox assured, patting the girl on the shoulder.
And not removing it…? Valiant was starting to feel uncomfortable, and looked over at the artist to ask him to politely remove his hand. The boy knew they were friends, and Valiant trusted him, but he was definitely clueless when it came to boundaries. It could have also had something to do with the growing ache of dread in her stomach, as well as Panther's elbow leaning into her shoulder making it start to ache.
Oracle suddenly stopped giving directions to Joker, addressing the rest of the group directly. "He's outside of the Metaverse now… and that signal is getting farther away from us. Not to mention the Palace…"
"Suffice it to say… Should we start running?" Crow asked.
He got his answer as a group of Shadows materialized out of nowhere behind group began to run, with Panther moving down and grabbing Valiant by the wrist, Fox following suit a moment later. The two were incredibly fast, running all the way to the front of the group as Oracle led them towards their intended target.
It feels like I'm being herded right now, Valiant thought to herself, a frown forming on her face as she thought about the situation. With that signal on the map moving, Oracle leading us towards it, and those Shadows behind us, it feels like we're being corralled towards a certain point in the Palace…
And with Panther and Fox making me run with them, in the front of the group… Valiant looked behind her, seeing Crow near the back. Noir and Queen made sure he wasn't left in the group's dust, but still…
Valiant tried to slow down and get towards the back, but her friends kept a tight hold on her making sure that just like Crow, she wouldn't fall behind.
So busy was she, looking backwards as Crow struggled to stay with the group, that she barely heard Oracle begin to speak.
"-ter we turn this corner, we'll be right on top of this sig- Huh?" Oracle cut herself off. "The signal disappeared for good! And the map is back to normal!"
Just as the group processed this information, they ran around the corner of the hallway, and began to feel dizzy as reality warped, bended, and reshaped around them. They all recognized this feeling. They were leaving the Palace!
Everyone's vision came into focus almost immediately, as they all began to question how exactly they had left. They hadn't been anywhere near an exit point in the building, right? The group all huddled together, trying to get their bearings straight. The city was dark around them, as night time had settled over the city long ago.
The first thing they noticed was that they were hidden around a corner of a building, which itself was probably about two buildings away from the courthouse.
The second thing was that aside from the darkness of night, their surroundings were being lit up by red and blue lights. This caused everyone to internally panic, thinking they had all been caught, only to be calmly shushed by Makoto and Goro, who were peeking around the corner to see what was going on.
What they saw sent them both into shock, with Makoto ducking back into the corner almost immediately, while Goro stood there, frozen as panic seized his insides.
Akira was pinned to the ground, his hands cuffed behind his back, and a crowd of police officers surrounding him on all sides. At the front, talking casually to a few officers and sipping from a steaming mug, was none other than officer Rando Yaguchi.
I hope you guys liked the chapter. Leave a review if you feel inclined, and I'll see you all next time!