Joker sat in the Crimson Room, looking down at his protege. "All right. It's been a week and a day since you've gained your Persona which was still a foolish idea to go alone, let alone with a civilian who knew nothing about what was happening. But regardless, now we will run operations whenever we are in this space. Here, I am not Ren, or Mr. Amamiya, the Groundskeeper. I am Joker, Leader of the Phantom Thieves. In three years, when I am gone, only then will you be Leader."

Hermione nodded. "Yes, Joker."

"Good. Next, something lighter. We need to come up with a name for you. Who knows what calling each others' real names will do in this other Realm?" Joker cracked a grin as he saw his student's eyes light up. "You can't use your Persona's name either. Eventually, you Hermione, will be able to use multiple and it wouldn't do for your team to call out a jumble of names. Think about it for a bit." Joker then sighed before turning around. "Now for you."

"Me?" Harry asked.

"Yes, you." Joker ran a hand through his hair. "You went in headfirst into a damned Shadow Nest without knowing what you were getting yourself into. Mr. Potter, if I had the power, I would put you into detention for a month for doing something so reckless."

Hermione looked as if she wanted to say something, most likely about him actually having the power to do so, but was silenced from Joker's glance. Harry spoke up. "I would do it again, sir. I can't lose Hermione. She's my best friend."

Out of the corner of his eye, Joker saw Hermione blush. He gave a short laugh. "And that's the only reason I'm letting you come with us again. That and the fact that Lupin says you're the best in his class. Something about a boggart? Either way, your own prowess and that you held your own last time makes it a safer suggestion. Eventually, you might even join Hermione's team. After some training, and we'll look into getting you a safer route of Persona usage. For now? We are going to enter the forest."

Hermione perked up. "The Forbidden Forest?"

"No, through the portal over there." Joker gestured behind him, the same portal they used last time. "As far as I'm aware, it's not anyone's Palace, since we haven't seen anyone else there. Listen up! Anyone we end up seeing in any of these Palaces is not the people you know. They are a cognitive version of how the Palace's Owner sees them. They aren't your friends or relatives. You can't help them if they're in pain. You two ready?"

Harry brandished his wand. "Ready."

Hermione pumped a fist. "Ready, Joker!"

Joker smirked. "It's showtime!"


Going through that portal was still a different sensation. Now, with no adrenaline running through her veins, it was much more noticeable for Hermione. It was like a strange weight was placed on her shoulders, not uncomfortable, but noticeable like putting on a jacket.

Hermione took a step and stumbled. She looked down as she caught herself, noticing her mask, one similar to Joker's except a dark blue. The Wild Card noticed her appearance changed as well. Her trainers were no longer on her feet, instead replaced by thick-soled boots, causing her to be unbalanced in the first place. She noticed more than just the footwear and the mask; her casual pants were instead dark blue slacks, and her pink sweater was covered by a deep blue vest with a cloak covering that. "Whoa! When did that happen!?"

Harry spoke up first. "After you ripped your mask off, and summoned your Persona. The blue fire surrounding you covered you up. When the fire faded, there you were, dressed like-"

"A Phantom Thief. You are wearing the outfit of your rebellious heart. This is what your heart feels a rebel looks like." Joker interrupted. "Now, until you both have code names, I will refer to you as your Persona, Hypatia-" The original thief gestured to her," and Seeker for your Quidditch Position. I will follow behind and only assist as necessary. Since this will be your team Hypatia, you are in charge."

Hermione nodded. "Okay, Joker. Seeker, wand at the ready." Seeker nodded.

Joker spoke up again. "Hypatia, touch your mask and think of your weapon. You will feel it begin to pool in your hand. Eventually, your power will grow enough that you can manifest it without your mask. Like so." The man twisted his bright red gloves, and suddenly a wicked-looking knife appeared in his right hand, and an ornate handgun appeared in his left. Hermione heard Seeker take in a breath.

"Whoa! You have a gun!?"

Hermione spoke up. "Joker, you should see if it works. Har- Seeker, used to own a watch back in our first year, but all the magic around us made it stop functioning."

In response, Joker pointed the gun up and pulled the trigger. A loud booming shot echoed through the forest around them, with both Hermione and Seeker wincing and massaging their ears. "Seems it works fine. Oh yeah, before we go, do some light stretching you two. The last thing we need is to be running from an enemy and to cramp up."

Hermione nodded and started to stretch with Seeker. While they did some basic stretches, Joker's were much more intense, being more flexible and aerobatic then they were. Once they were all done, Joker twirled his hand around, his knife reappearing in it. "Hypatia, you take the lead. Give Seeker and myself Orders, and we will follow them. I will only take over if you ask, or if you go unconscious. Remember, we are here for training. We have no overarching goal, but I will say that we must have at least three engagements with shadows before we leave."

"Got it. Thieves, form up!" Hermione stepped forward, facing the path that she and Seeker took previously. She felt Joker move up to the left of her, and Seeker mirroring his actions on her right. "Let's go." The Wild Card took off on a jog, followed by her team. It was only a few seconds before they noticed a dark silhouette of a disfigured man facing a tree. Joker slid behind a nearby tree silently. He gestured to Hermione and Seeker, moving two of his gloved fingers back and forth in front of his eyes.

Watch me, he seemed to be saying. So Hermione froze and crouched, Seeker following suit. They've snuck around Hogwarts for the past two years, so while they weren't experts at stealth, they were at least experienced. The two students watched as Joker shot forward, almost floating towards the Shadow, before stomping on its shoulders and reaching down to its face. "Show me your true form!" There was a snap, as it's head sharply turned and the Shadow's mask came with Joker's hand. He crushed it above the Shadow, raining light blue pieces down upon it, before leaping off. Hermione took that moment to rush forward and summon her weapon. Seeker took up a spot in between Joker and herself. "That was a preemptive strike! We only have a few moments to attack before it gains its bearings, so Lady Hypatia, go forth!" The man trembled and collapsed, spazzing then exploding in black ooze. Then, two enemies appeared, both the mouth enemies that they've fought previously.

"Hypatia!" Hermione called out, pulling off her mask. "PSY!" The colorful explosion circled one of the mouths before impacting into it, causing it to float back a bit in pain. "Seeker, Go!" She called out.

"Glacius!" Seeker cast, a large shard of light blue ice shot forth from his wand, stabbing through the already wounded mouth Shadow. Almost immediately after the spell was cast, Hermione looked to the other Shadow.

"Joker!"

"On it." Hermione barely recognized it when he zoomed past her, knife striking out and cutting the Shadow in two. It faded away into nothingness, leaving only the wounded one. Her teacher jumped back next to her. "Now's the time for an All-Out Attack!" She felt a surge of strength go through her, a swelling of power.

"Agreed!" She charged forward, swinging her Halberd down into the Shadow, as Seeker slammed his fist into the side of it, and Joker stabbed it hanging out tongue. When all three moved back, Joker flicked his wrist and took aim with his intricate gun. A loud P-TAFF sounded and echoed in the forest.

Joker smirked, pulled on each of his gloves to make sure they were on correctly. "The Show's Over." As soon as the experience Persona user finished speaking, the remaining Shadow exploded into black Ichor. In the pile of goo, something glinted.

"What's that?" Seeker asked, taking a cautious step forward. He reached into the goo and pulled out 2 sickles.

Hermione gasped at the implications. "Is it really? This could ruin the economy!"

"Queen thought the same too, but that's not the case. All the currency found in these Shadow Nests is lost in the real world. They become found by you when you leave the nest. Usually, the stronger the Shadows, the more likely how shitty of a person they are. And the stronger the Shadow, the more money they lose. You can use the coins found here to fund your thievery, to purchase supplies and the like. Once we get you to fill out your compendium, I'll charge you for them if it makes you feel better." Joker explained. "The Velvet Room usually helps out those in other dimensions that need it. I can use the money to make a base of operations for you all later before I leave. Even if you do stop Erebus from growing stronger, it will help to still have Persona users in this dimension to prevent it from happening again."

Another Shadow man crept closer out of her field of view. Hermione pulled out her wand. "Carpe Retractum!"She cast, as the magic shot out a faint red beam gripping onto its mask. She yanked with all her might. "I'll unmask you!" The Priestess ripped off the face cover as the Shadow man morphed into a blob with a different mask on it. "Hypatia! Bash!" Again her Persona appeared, and the giant fair-skinned woman floated by her, dropping her heel into the blob. "Seeker!"

"Ventus!" He called out. Razor-sharp winds surrounded the blob, slamming into it and cutting it up.

The blob Shadow groaned and lurched forward, one of its arms trying to rip into her. Joker's form shot past her and stomped on the weakened and enraged Shadow. "Perish."

With a weak cry, the Shadow exploded into smoke, leaving behind three knuts and a sickle. Hermione breathed out most of her tension, before resuming their pace forwards.

"Wait," Seeker spoke up. "Erebus was that thing that showed up as your boggart, right Hermi-uh, I mean right Hypatia?"

She nodded. "Yes. That's the end goal Seeker. To weaken Erebus and make sure it doesn't Manifest."

"Shadows are the manifestation of the self that we reject. Erebus feeds off of Humanities negative emotions, so essentially, the more Shadows we fight, and the more we change society for the better, the weaker Erebus will get." Joker chimed in. "That's also what Palaces are. Palaces hold people's twisted desires- their negative emotions- and affect multiple people. Should we get rid of a Palace, we do a considerable amount of damage to Erebus' strength, much more so than just endlessly fighting Shadows. The Awakening that happened a week ago gathered quite a few Shadows, so it did a bit more than a regular fight, but those types of encounters are few and far between."

Seeker grimaced. "That's kinda crazy. And people are fighting something like that?"

Joker nodded. "Yes. For if Erebus were to be given free rein, all of life would be drowned in eternal darkness."

Hermione's eyes widened in recognition. "That's why Erebus sounded familiar! Erebus is the Primordial God of Darkness. I remember reading up on it on one of my trips to the library last year before I got petrified!"

Her teacher sighed. "That sounds about right. I've fought Yaldabaoth- the Demiurge of old Judaism, and the previous Wild Card fought Izanami-no-Okami, the 'incomplete' version of Izanami-no-Mikoto from Shinto myth. The one before him fought Nyx- the Goddess of Night, Thanatos - God of Death, and Erebus of Greek origins. Deities sure do seem to like messing in the affairs of Humans."

Seeker groaned. "I stand corrected. This is crazy." The two others laughed, and continued their quest forwards.

"Something is odd," Joker spoke up after walking a bit. "The area we are in seems familiar. Too familiar." With a flick of his wrist, he summoned his dagger and slammed it into the tree next to him, burying it to the hilt in it's temporary sheathe. "Don't move. I'll be back in ten minutes at most. If not, shoot up a flare or Psi, something to get my attention."

Hermione summoned her Halberd, just in case things went south. Seeker followed her lead with his wand, eyes shifting around for any movement.

A twig snapped behind them. Hermione tensed and readied her weapon for a quick thrust when Joker came out from behind one of the trees. "I thought as much. This is as far as we can go." The elder Phantom Thief took his knife out of the tree, wiping the sap off onto one of his sleeves. "Something similar happened to my group, except it was just a wall. In this forest, however, it seems to be enchanted. I walked straight for around ten or twenty steps, and here I am."

"I can research different spells and enchantments to see what is causing this. Once we have that answer, we can figure out a way around it." Hermione offered.

"Don't rush it, Hypatia. We aren't in any hurry." Joker ordered.

"Either way, we should head back. If we can't proceed, there's not much else we can do here except fight some weak shadows."

Seeker nodded at her words. "We can come in every now and again to get some practice fighting these Shadows."

"Never. Alone," Joker interjected. "They may seem weak now, but there is a Shadow out there called the Reaper. It uses the strongest of spells and somehow knows what your weakness is. If you hear chains, or you feel Death, run back to the entrance. Is that understood?"

After getting two affirmatives, the three Phantom Thieves left the Enchanted Forest.


"Hey Hermione, have you thought any more about your name?"

"Actually Harry, I haven't put much thought into it. I've been trying to figure out what could be blocking the way in the forest."

"Well, I was thinking, we are fighting the epitome of Darkness, right? So what if we call you the epitome of Light?"

"Aether." Hermione grinned at Harry. "I like it."