Narukami Yu stood up to his full height, towering over Rei and looking down at her. She looked back up at him with a bored expression, but one of her hands went to the place along the small of her back where she habitually kept her daggers during her Phantom Thieves days. It wasn't there, but habits died hard. "Amamiya-san," Narukami tried again. "I'm afraid I really do have to ask you to give up this nonsense. There are guards at the front entrance twenty four hours a day. Any attempt to leave the embassy will leave you exposed. If you come with me now, I can get you past the assigned police and ensure you'll be safe from whoever it is you're afraid of."

Rei snorted. "Narukami, you may be the strongest Persona user around, but you're blind if you think I believe you can do what you say you can. There's no way in Hell I'm listening to a monster who took to the mushroom treatment and damn near destroyed the world in the process."

"Mushroom treatment?" Narukami asked, surprised. "What do you mean?"

Rei rolled her eyes. "Kept in the dark and fed sh - "

"I know the saying," Narukami answered, his eyes narrowing. "Are you saying you think I don't know everything going on?"

"When's the last time you talked to Kirijo-san?" Rei countered. When Narukami looked slightly uncomfortable, she added "What about Aigis-san? Labyrs-chan? Heck, even Shirogane-san."

"Naoto is working on an important case she can't talk about." Narukami said easily. "It happens in police work."

Rei sighed. "Listen to yourself. I mean, really listen to yourself. Ultimately, that's your problem right there. That's how they got to you." His eyes narrowed at her. "Think about it. I heard about your Contract, in general terms anyway, from Labrys-chan. I can make guesses from there. In the end, you believe, deeply, in justice. Not just as a social construct, but as an idea. You only stepped in to do the work of the police when you were my age because they couldn't." She smirked. "Any objections?"

Narukami looked like he'd just been punched in the gut. "A little better than I'd like, I'll admit. But you still broke the law. Moreover, you violated people."

Rei sighed. "I never said I didn't. Or that I was necessarily one hundred percent right. But we had rules, Narukami-san," She took a seat. "Go on. This is going to take awhile."

"What rules." Narukami definitely wasn't asking a question. "Artists, students, teachers, engineers, politicians, celebrities...I looked over all of the known and suspected cases of Phantom Thief intervention, and there was no connection aside from the ones that ultimately led me to you."

Rei shook her head. "I'd say about 80% of your case files probably weren't on us. A lot of the time the rumor mill did a pretty good job. That was the first rule, in fact - stealing a person's heart is an extreme measure. All had to agree that we couldn't just nudge the authorities in the right direction and that harm was imminent if we did nothing."

Narukami raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Nonetheless, you still admit that you assaulted some people."

"Of course. The law allows intervention and force, even lethal force, to prevent one person from harming another unlawfully," Rei said with a shrug. "Sorry, you're not pushing my buttons here. What we did was right. Not a hundred percent, for sure, but on balance - "

"That's not for you to decide, man!" Narukami shouted.

Rei scowled. "Fuck you. A cop on embassy soil, threatening a foreign agent?" Narukami's jaw dropped, and Rei smirked. "Yep. Just signed up for de Militaire Inlichtingen en Veiligheidsdienst. Their brand new Department of Psychological Warfare." His expression changed from surprise to horror, and Rei giggled. "The name's provisional. And a joke - it's not an offensive unit, technically once I'm fully trained I'll be in counterintelligence. Specifically, it's the same job as the Kirijo group, just in the Eurozone - keeping an eye out for Metaverse problems."

"Wait, you called her 'Labrys-chan'. She recorded the incident in Shibuya and gave you a copy. Combined with the rumors, it would be enough to prove the existence of the Midnight - no, the Metaverse. And if you give it to the European powers...It'll be an international incident," Narukami said, in that peculiar tone of someone who isn't certain whether to be amazed or terrified. "You're still trying to 'reform society'."

Rei's smirk grew wider. "I will never stop until I'm dead. If I can't do it from within, and I can't use the Metaverse, I'll resort to politics. If that doesn't work...I'll think of something else. Unless you're willing to kill me." Then she turned serious. "The point is, all I have to do is get out of Japan and I'm safe. If you touch me in here, the paperwork will turn up to turn this into a mess that will bury your career."

Narukami pinched the bridge of his nose. "Then why talk at all?"

Rei needed a moment to think about it. "I think…" she began, speaking slowly. "That making sure you know the full story is important. For whatever comes next. Japan needs to change, because what happened to me, what you're trying to do to me, isn't an isolated incident. But I don't want it destroyed the next time some idiot decides to make a deal with a god, either."

"So what are you suggesting?"

Rei took a deep breath. "You were going to interrogate me at the station, before sending me to jail, right? Do it right here, right now. It's not like the official reports would show anything but we're both nuts, right?"

"You'll have to repeat yourself when I catch you," Narukami warned.

Rei smirked. "Narukami, you're not leaving this building until I'm long gone."

The man just shook his head, and opened up a folder. "All right. Your first victim."

"Second." Rei said. "Unless you made the connection with Kamoshida." She shook her head. "No, I'm not reliving that a second time today just to satisfy your curiosity. I'll see if I can get you the transcript, but the short versio - "

Narukami nodded. "I'm familiar with the case, of course. So, that was you as well?" He sighed, obviously disliking having his premises undermined so quickly. "Can I ask why, at least?"

"Why I did it or why I don't want to talk about it again?" Rei snarked. "Wait, no, the answer to both questions is the same. I was his last victim, or near enough."

Narukami shook his head. "I suppose I can't say he didn't have it coming."

"Soooo nice of you."

Narukami took a picture out of the folder. "What led you to target this man?"

It was a few days after they had divided the spoils from Kamoshida's Pal -

Narukami hit his head on the table. "I don't need your life story."

"Well, tough." Rei said. "Our hosts do. Do remember, you're here, being allowed to do this now, mostly because it frees up the staff to do their real jobs instead of babysitting me. There will be someone to edit the recording down later, but they wanted to hear everything, so that's what you get to hear."

It was a few days after they had divided the spoils from Kamoshida's Palace, and Rei had returned to the hospital in Shinjuku. Today found her in Saitou-sensei's main office, hugging her knees to her chest defensively. "I'm…"

"Rei-chan...that was hideous." Saitou shook his head. "And you were caught up in it? Did the police question you?"

"Yeah, but they didn't even bother arresting me. Not like they could pin anything on me - Kamoshida just insisted he was at fault and there was no blackmail involved." Rei squeezed herself even more tightly - that had been far too close.

Saitou just took some notes. "Rei-chan, how did you do it?"

Rei sputtered. "What? What are you talking about?!"

Saitou smiled. "Rei, please. I am a psychologist, psychiatrist, and your therapist of nearly ten years. You haven't normally been violent outside the dojo, but you rarely allow challenges to go completely unanswered. If Kamoshida hadn't held your life in his hands, I would have been in the unenviable position of needing to decide whether to inform the police you are a likely suspect in his murder." Rei's sputtering only increased. "...I'm kidding, of course. That would be a gross ethical violation."

Rei sighed, but said nothing for a very long time. When she looked up, she realized Saitou wasn't giving up. "Sensei….please understand, you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

He smirked. "Try me."

Rei looked her doctor straight in the eyes. "A tengu in disguise showed me a mirror world in Tokyo that reflects the most twisted thoughts and desires of the inhabitants. A magical cat led me through the school that Kamoshida's brain had twisted into a combination of a castle and those magazines everyone says I'm too young for - speculation on that last bit, but I'm pretty confident. I gathered up some friends, and we used magic to make our inner demons outer demons and stole the parts of Kamoshida's brain that were making him act that way in the fake world, thereby changing his behavior in the real world."

"...that makes as much sense as any other explanation for this I've heard," Saitou shrugged. "Admittedly, that's because people do not, in general, suffer attacks of conscience after years of getting away with misdeeds, which is all I've heard speaking with the other doctors at the office coffee machine. I have an alternate theory." Rei gave him a look. "You intentionally allowed yourself to be put in that position to gather evidence."

"That does sound a bit like me before the trial," Rei conceded. "But it wouldn't work now."

Saitou nodded. "I'm not certain whether you would have realized that. However, that's not the point. When you confronted this man with your pictures, what he saw was something he couldn't internally write off anymore, and convinced him to question his other actions."

"What, that he was rapng a 'boy'?" Rei asked sarcastically.

Saitou shook his head. "That might have been part of it, but no. I was referring to the fact that he couldn't pretend you were enjoying it."

Rei sighed. "That works better than my theory on the basis of fitting the established laws of science, yes." She sighed. "Anyway, this isn't what I wanted to talk about."

Saitou nodded. "I suppose not. Your guardian has given blanket approval for any treatment I deem necessary, since the study will pay for it." Rei raised an eyebrow. "A little bit of creative bookkeeping never hurt anyone." Rei just sighed. "So, since I require informed consent…"

"Whatever." Rei said. "I'm not getting any worse on the dysphoria front. I actually managed to shower with my eyes open this morning. Gotta maintain the spare parts until I'm ready to get them reinstalled properly, after all."

The doctor's eyes widened. "Rei that's...very good. I was afraid, especially with your history…"

Rei gritted her teeth. "It isn't fun, sensei, but I can't stay locked up for a year. I've started looking for another school in Tokyo, but unless I get a perfect score on the transfer exam it's looking like it'll be tough going."

"Very well," Saitou said. "If you run into issues, please don't hesitate to come to me. Post-Traumatic stress is very common, and is a disorder you most certainly don't need to deal with."

Rei finally noticed she had curled up and stretched her legs out until she was standing, forcing herself to smile. "Right, Sensei." She sighed. "That reminds me, need to find a temple that will let an out transgirl practice."

"I might know of one."

With the rest of the afternoon free, Rei made her way to Maihama station. Something bothered her about the place. A faint tug of memory, but she couldn't place it. After walking through the shops at the street level, she gave up and double-checked her passport, wincing. It took several more minutes to find a non-gendered restroom with a mirror to put her hair up, and washed off her limited makeup. Fortunately, she'd been thinking ahead and had worn her loosest pair of pants, but there was nothing to be done about the shirt. Then she made her way to the guest relations booth at the main Tokyo Disney hub. "Excuse me. I'd like to apply for an annual pass."

The man at the booth nodded. "Of course, sir. I'll just need to see your proof of Japanese citizenship." She slid in the passport - it had last been renewed a couple of years ago, and with the changes the hormones had started…"This is not you." He said.

Rei sighed. "It looks like my younger brother or something, right? Hormone imbalance - I assure you that, legally, I am Amamiya Ren."

His eyes narrowed. "Amamiya-san…" His voice was very skeptical at the name. "I'm afraid that if your picture doesn't match your person, it will be very difficult to help you. We would be happy to sell you day passes…"

"I plan to be here frequently," Rei explained patiently. "Please look more carefully, and you will see the passport is slightly older, but still valid. I also have a consent form from my father, pre-signed, here." She pulled out the legal document and presented it. "Downloaded from your web site."

"Sir, I can't accept your passport as vali - " the man was interrupted by a hand on his shoulder, an older man behind suddenly behind him.

Rei blinked, then bowed. "Miss," The man said, smiling. "I remember you from your last visit. Is there a problem?" Rei's eyes widened in surprise, but caught herself from addressing the logical issue with being remembered among the millions of guests at the theme parks. The manager gently pulled the clerk back. "Ichiro, I think you're overdue for your break. I'll handle the customers for awhile."

Rei swallowed. "I was just trying to buy a pass for the year."

"Yes, of course." He smiled and started typing her information into the computer. "Oh...dear, there appears to be an issue with the camera." Rei glowered, but the man chuckled, putting up the closed sign. "Not to worry, I'll have it fixed in about...oh...five minutes?" Rei grinned with sudden understanding, pulling down her hair and pulling out her compact, no longer caring about whether or not anyone saw. In three, she was looking and feeling more like herself, turning to the camera and smiling. "Now...hmm...that's odd, your name's smudged on the passport, and I just can't read such tiny handwriting, my eyes must be going. Amamiya…."

Rei's smile grew wider. "Rei, sir. As in 'beauty,' not 'spirit.'"

Ann was waiting for Rei near the submarine ride, tapping her foot. "I've been waiting for over half an hour."

Rei blinked. "Where's Shiho-chan?"

Ann tilted her head. "She said she couldn't make it. Something about the train fare…"

Rei adopted a troubled expression for a moment, then shook her head. "Sorry. I wanted to give you two a little time, then I ran into a problem getting a pass."

"Wait, you got an annual pass?" Ann seemed shocked. "You're not a little kid."

Rei blushed. "What? I loved this place when I could get here as a kid, but it's a four hour train trip. Only got to go once a year. The one good thing about having to spend a year in Tokyo was going to be being able to come here after school whenever I want. Not like I can do clubs, so plenty of time for homework." She shrugged. "May not get as much use out of it as I hoped, but…" She trailed off. "Wait, are you saying you don't have one?"

It was Ann's turn to flush. "Well, I got a couple of complementary ones from work, so I gave one to Shiho. But if you wanted to invite anyone else, you'll have to pay for them."

Rei grinned. "Well, except Haru-chan." She shrugged. "I know she's got money."

Ann smirked. "So, interested in her, are you?"

Rei shook her head. "Not...really. I joked about it, but she seemed more interested in Ren."

"...oh." Ann said in understanding. "Have you told her?"

"Ugh," Rei sighed. "I know I should but…You know what, let's forget my messed up life for a bit. What about you? First, what kind of rides do you like?"

Ann held up two front-of-line passes. "How about the big roller coaster across the park?"

"Sounds good." Rei replied with a smile. "Second...well, anything you want to talk about?"

"We're in," Ann said. "Shiho insisted."

Rei smiled. "Great. With Morgana, that makes four. Pretty sure Ryuji-kun's on it too. Not sure about Makoto-chan yet. She'll definitely be with us for exploring, but if we need to do any Palaces…"

Ann suddenly stopped and looked at something. "Oh, hey, we've still got a good while on those tickets…." And she pointed at a shop. Several girls, about eight or nine, were walking out ahead of their parents, giggling. Each one was dressed up in an elaborate dress, with their hair perfectly done up, and even minimal makeup as if from a photo session. "You know, the park's not busy today. I bet we can get a spot."

Rei turned beet red. "Uh...no, actually, we can't. They won't take us anyway…"

"Oh, c'mon," Ann said. "It's Disney. Bet they'll take anyone who pays up…"

Rei shook her head. "It's against the rules."

"What are you talking about?" Ann said again, trying to tug on Rei's wrist. "It'll be fun."

Rei shook her head again. "No, really, we can't…"

"Why not?" Ann asked.

Rei lifted her other hand to point at a sign which read '11 and under only.' "They don't stock our sizes."

Ann chuckled nervously. "Oh. Well, we can take you someplace for adults some other day. I bet you never got to do that one as a kid, huh?"

Rei winced. "N..no. It was the one thing in the park I was never allowed to try."

"Sorry."

Rei stumbled in through the door to LeBlanc, only barely remembering to lock it behind her, well after eleven o'clock. Morgana was sitting on the rear table. "What the heck kept you?"

"Well, the park closes at eight," Rei explained. "And I had some internet research to do. Stopped by a net cafe."

Morgana tilted his head. "Why not use your phone?"

Yu tilted his head in almost the same manner. "That's a good question. Why not use your phone?"

"Because," Rei explained patiently "Schools these days insist on the right to check your search history, app installs, social media, and basically everything else. Especially at Shujin. I couldn't be sure that I wouldn't be routinely checked so for anything I didn't want showing up where a teacher could see it I needed an alternative."

"I'm aware of the burner phones," Yu pointed out. "You could have used those."

Rei shrugged. "Phone data's way more expensive than a net cafe, and I was already going to have problems. We eventually got a real hacker on board to secure things, but that wouldn't be for a few months so I had to make do."

Yu nodded. "Okay, so what did you search for?"

Rei chuckled. "Trying to find out about the Metaverse, of course. I didn't find everything that day, but that was probably when I set certain things in motion. Will you allow me to speculate a bit?"

Yu considered that. "As long as it's clear when you do."

Elsewhere in Japan, a phone rang. A young woman of indeterminate age with long, flowing white hair picked up. "Hello."

The voice on the other end, also a woman, spoke brusquely. "Someone's tripped our search alerts. Unfortunately, we're still locked up here."

"I see. Where we talkin'?" The woman's Kansai dialect was thick, but not completely incomprehensible.

Her boss sighed. "Tokyo. Belly of the beast, I'm afraid. Are you up for it?"

"What's the plan?"

There was another long pause. "Officially, both of you have been decommissioned. There will be a shipment out to a warehouse in Yokohama."

The white-haired girl sighed. "What ain'cha telling me, boss?"

Again, the long pause. "We haven't been able to positively identify the target. We can't risk having both of you out there without knowing for sure you'll be rescued. But we can't act in the area ourselves. You're the only one with the equipment to handle this mission, and your body's been tested and is able to be inactive for long periods. Still, you might miss months or even years before anyone finds you."

The woman thought about it. "Ah can't say I like that...but I can't just sit here 'out of sight' forever."

"I'll make the arrangements, then," the woman on the other end of the line said. "You'll have a bank account and supporting identification. We can arrange anything you'd like, within reason."

"Well, always did wanna be a student council president."

That got a laugh from the other end of the line. "Maybe you'll get your chance after all."

In Rei's bedroom, a newspaper was slammed down on the card table. Shiho looked at Rei hopefully. "This one's good, right?"

Ryuji and Morgana were fighting over the DVD remote, Morgana wailing something about keeping the Shadows sealed away. Ann was paying more attention to them, trying not to laugh, while Makoto was joining Rei in a skeptical look. "An...import/export management company is opening a second major warehouse in Yokohama. Shiho-chan…" Rei was confused.

Makoto took the initiative. "I fail to see why this would be any of our business."

"Well, I mean, just look at the second paragraph!" Shiho said.

Rei shrugged and glanced it over. "'The original site has had a poor record of worker safety and several deaths.' All right. But it sounds like they're already looking into it. I'm not comfortable just taking over for the police on something this flimsy. After all, it could be that they're building the new warehouse because the old one's got problems."

Shiho shook her head. "My uncle says they're cutting corners on the new building too."

Makoto frowned. "So...this is personal?"

"Yes...no...yes and no…" Shiho finally said weakly.

Rei shook her head. "There isn't even a name, Shiho-chan. Iiiit's….not a bad start." Rei's voice made it clear she was trying to be encouraging. "But without a name, we can't start looking for a Palace. If you want the rest of us to consider a job, you need to do the legwork."

"But!" Shiho's protest was suddenly cut off by Ann's hand on her shoulder. "Wha- Ann?"

Ann nodded. "They're right, Shiho. I'm with you on the idea, but this just isn't enough to go on."

"But...how am I supposed to find this stuff out?" Shiho asked.

Rei frowned, considering. "Talk to your uncle some more, maybe. If they're incorporated, there needs to be a name on the paperwork. You could try looking that up, it's probably public record. Use a net cafe if you can."

"I see…" Shiho looked down at the newspaper. "Sorry for wasting everyone's time by calling a meeting."

Rei shrugged. "Nah, you guys are my buds, we shouldn't need an excuse like business to get together." Her attention turned to Morgana and Ryuji. "Hey, you two, don't damage that. There's no control panel on the TV, I need it to last at least a few months until I can slip a replacement by Boss." She took a deep breath. "Besides, there is something we're going to need to talk about. Morgana, you have the floor."

The cat jumped up on the table and coughed. "Uhm, yes. So, there's stuff I haven't told you yet. You see, there's another side to the Metaverse besides just Palaces. It's called...Mementos.

"Mementos is kind of the base of the Metaverse," he continued. "It's basically the Palace for everyone who doesn't have one of their own. The top levels are in the Tokyo subway system, but when you go into the tunnels it starts going downward. It's also where Shadows start to rise up on their way to making Palaces."

Makoto's jaw dropped. "Are you proposing that we preemptively start tinkering with people before they actually become sick enough to require intervention, Morgana-san?! Didn't you see what happened to Kamoshida-sensei? Absolutely not. We need to be careful with this power, not warp every person who might become a psychopath."

Rei nodded. "Agreed. I want to explore Mementos, of course, but…"

Morgana's ears drooped a little. "It's not like they're not distorted at all, they've just started the spiral. If we can defeat their Shadows before it becomes too dangerous, shouldn't we try?"

Rei sighed. "I'm willing to hear about the process, but do you have an example, or at least a target?"

Morgana nodded. "I checked out the Shujin students' social media. The ones I could find anyway. There's a lot of complaints about a Takanashi Daisuke. Apparently he's beating up weak students and taking their lunch money.

"So?" Makoto frowned. "I can deal with this in my capacity as Student Council President."

Rei bit her lip. "You can, but there's no proof so it might be difficult. We need to take a look at how this works anyway, right?"

Makoto nodded. "I suppose….but we can't just send a calling card like last time."

"Fortunately, it doesn't need to come to that," Morgana said. "A simple email or something left on his social media accounts will do, as long as he doesn't have a Palace."

Ryuji grinned. "Yeah, man. I'm all for checking it out. If we don't have to spend a week on sneaking through the place, so much the better."

Ann and Shiho made definite affirmative noises. Makoto finally sighed. "I surrender. At least as far as checking it out. We can re-evaluate if the Shadow isn't that bad. After all, Rei's Shadow is fairly harmless, at least by comparison with Kamoshida."

Makoto looked back over her shoulder once she realized she was being followed out of LeBlanc. "Rei-chan, I don't think - "

Rei shook her head. "No business, I promise."

Makoto was skeptical. "I see...then why ar - "

"Makoto-chan, why didn't you come to Disney?"

Makoto flushed heavily. "Eh...well, because I was studying and - "

Rei shook her head. "It's not that I didn't have fun with just Ann-chan. But I kinda wanted everybody there. I wasn't thinking about ticket prices, so I know why Shiho and Ryuji didn't make it. Buuuut…." She turned a critical eye over Makoto. "You have enough for a fresh, to-code uniform to wear every day to school. Two weeks worth, unless I miss my guess. You also have time to hand-prepare meals. I'm pretty sure Ryuji-kun's doing some kind of part-time job, though don't ask me who's hiring him. Off-books. One of the reasons Ryuji doesn't wear his uniform? I'm betting he doesn't have enough for a full set and the shirts are wearing thin. He's just using the 'gone Yankee' thing as an excuse."

Makoto raised an eyebrow. "And Shiho-chan?"

"Still working on that one. But the point is, I'm sure they don't have money to throw around and I was kinda insensitive." Rei took a deep breath. "You don't have that problem. If you'd protested that was it, I'd have believed you, but you reached for the 'homework' excuse. So. . . "

Makoto actually blushed. "I was . . . trying to discourage you from wasting time when you could be studying to improve your cover."

Rei snorted. "I'm going to fail civics. Hard. Don't care, I'll ace the university exams no matter how much the bastard tries to twist things." At Makoto's skeptical look, she sighed. "He's made it perfectly clear to me that as long as I'm a 'boy who wants to wear dresses', I'll never be an acceptable citizen and his grading will reflect that."

Makoto was trying to pick her jaw up off the ground "Still, that's - "

Rei shook her head. "A subject for another time. Kabayokawa has a Palace, we can talk about dealing with him after we get a few more under our belts." She held up a hand. "The point is, I'm studying to be a doctor and have the grades to reflect it. Which you should already know, since you have access to my records and would have checked as part of your sabotage." Makoto made a strangled sound. "Makoto-chan, you're stalling. You didn't want to go to Disneyland. If it's personal, that's fine but I'd rather know so I won't try to ask you again."

"I just...don't think I'd have fun." Makoto finally admitted.

Rei tilted her head. "Why not?"

"Well…" Makoto flushed as Rei leaned in closer, looking up at her with a tilted head. "I mean, it's for little kids, right?"

Rei grinned. "Yeah, there's some of that, but have you ever been?"

Makoto gulped. "Not for years. Not since…"

Rei shrugged, but didn't push. "If you don't want to tell me it's fine. Whenever you're ready." She stretched out. "Of course, if I can't get you into Disney willingly, we're going to have to get Ryuji-kun into a nice restaurant for our celebration."

Makoto actually nodded. "Let's do that."

The teens had found an out-of-the-way corner of the main train station in Shibuya. Morgana jumped out of Rei's bag and looked up at them. "Okay, so, this is pretty simple. Once we've sent notes to the Mementos targets, their Shadows should ping the Metaverse Navigators on your phones. I can already sense our target, so open up the navi and check."

Ryuji was quickest on his phone. "Fer real?! And you sent the message?"

"Yep."

Makoto frowned. "Does it go away?"

Morgana somehow managed to give a feline shrug. "Not for a few weeks at least. Months at the outside. Palaces are self-sustaining, so the defenses build up and hide the Treasure quickly, but without one the Shadows have to defend their Treasures on their own. And they're still paranoid. This might speed up forming the Palace, but it's the only way to check whether it's going to happen."

Rei sighed. "You can't measure speed without changing direction, and you can't measure direction without changing speed."

"Exactly," Morgana replied.

Ryuji frowned. "I dunno, this is all over my head. Can't you just, like, look?"

Rei waved it off. "If you haven't covered it in physics, I'll tutor you later. It's just an analogy anyway."

Ann frowned. "This means we need to be even more careful in the future, but I guess with a bully…"

"Right." Morgana took control of the conversation again. "I already told Rei and Makoto this part, but if you need to get to Mementos, just type it into the Nav without any other data."

Rei grinned. "Actually, here's something I want to try first." She pulled it up. "Mementos. Shinjuku."

The Navigator pinged. "Now entering Mementos. Please follow directions to your destination." The world shifted around them as Rei's phone shifted to a typical GPS screen in red and black.

"Cancel navigation," Rei prompted, after looking at the map. "...well, it works but I think it'd be faster to walk than try to take that train."

Shiho tilted her head. "What's wrong with it?"

Rei shrugged. "It looks like all the trains go to the same place, but it's not labeled. I'm guessing it's a train station, but if you have to go all that way down it's not worth it. Anyway, let's head down to the platform…"

They followed Morgana, but there was only one platform with any access to the station, which dead-ended there. They could look across to see countless people on the opposite platform, which appeared to be a proper part of the loop that went through the station in the real world. The trains went through like clockwork, every thirty seconds, picking up as many people as would fit. But there were always more. Ryuji tilted his head. "Where are all of them going?"

"The station at the bottom?" Ann asked.

Makoto blew out some air in a soft breath. "Must be. But this isn't what we're here for. Where's our train?"

Rei looked down the dark tunnel. "...I think these are the maintenance tunnels. No regular service."

"Ah, man!" Ryuji groaned. "This place is huuuuuuge! How are we supposed to get around?"

Morgana smirked. "Looks like it's time for me to show off another of my many talents." Now in his anthropomorphic form, Mograna was standing on his hind legs. He leaped, did a backflip...and when he landed, he had grown. The van was sleek, black just like his coat, and his blue eyes created headlights that lit up the darkness. "Tah-da!"

"...Never was a big fan of Miyazaki," Rei quipped. "But I'll take it."

They piled in, Makoto automatically sitting behind the wheel. "Morgana, can you take the wheel?" she asked.

Morgana shrugged. "I can do simple stuff," he said "But I do need a driver."

Once they passed over the threshold, the Thieves' masks appeared, followed quickly by their outfits. The endless tunnels were dark, lit only by red maintenance lighting. Every so often the van passed a patch of inky blackness on the walls, with long tendrils that looked like they might lash out at the vehicle if disturbed, but nothing ever happened. A broken cable cross the tracks at one point, which were not the greatest terrain for a wheeled vehicle. By the time they reached the next station, everyone was ready for a quick break.

The Shadows stalking them all the way through did not help, but Joker still insisted on stopping to pick up every bit of copper and silver along the way, and check all the boxes. Nothing gave them any real trouble.

Until they reached the second platform. The stairs further down had more of the ominous red lighting, but this time it was also pulsing like a heartbeat. Joker held up her hand to signal a stop, somewhat unnecessarily. She tilted her head, then let the Sight take over her senses.

All she heard was crying. With a frown of puzzlement, she started to creep forward, sticking to what little cover there was. At the far end of the lower platform, a wall covered in runes blocked what would be the path to the stairs up. And right in front of it was a Shujin student, wearing the boys' summer uniform. He was hunched over, hugging his knees and crying.

Unfortunately, with a full six of them, there was no way to get down the stairway without being seen or heard. He stood up, turning his back to them. "You're those Phantom Thieves, right? Well, I didn't do anything wrong. You have no right to do anything to me."

Joker stood up. "That's not the way we've heard it. You're no better than Kamoshida."

"How dare you!?" the student shouted back. "It's their fault! If they don't want to be bullied, they should stand up for themselves!"

Panther growled. "'She wanted it'."

Angel picked up on where Panther was going. "'If they want to be on the team, they're willing to take a little abuse.'"

Skull, surprising Joker, actually grabbed onto the plot too. "Kamoshida made all the same excuses. You're just not as much of a big shot."

The boy turned around, his eyes glowing red. "Don't you dare gang up on me too! You're just a gang! You don't know anything! I'll do what I want!"

Joker glanced at Queen. She had not yet cast her vote, after all. Reluctantly, Queen gave a nod.

Takanashi's Shadow exploded, blinding the Thieves momentarily. When the room cleared, the high school student was gone. In its' place was a snowman, about half his height. The Shadow bounced around and cackled with the voice of a young boy. It wore a sweater hat with fake animal ears, and its' expression looked like a coal drawing on the snow that shifted as its' mood changed. The face even had cute little fangs. Although at that moment it still looked outraged.

Before any of them could react, the Shadow shot across the platform straight into Joker's stomach. She fell flat onto her rear, and her eyes went wide as she realized it was about to hit her there again, and braced herself.

It. Hurt. Further, she felt all her strength drain out of her and she rolled to one side. That's so weird… she thought. It's like . . . like I haven't eaten in a week…

When Joker didn't rise, Panther twirled. "CARMEN!" The answering flames from Panther's Persona did little more than annoy it. Their eyes met.

Suddenly, Panther couldn't feel her Phantom Thief outfit. She was naked, and Kamoshida was there in front of her, his chest bare. The sadistic gym teacher reached toward her. It was only a moment, but she screamed and backed away. Angel stepped between them, her spear out front and charging. She felt a glimmer of the same fear, but her spear rammed true.

"You don't understand!" The Shadow skipped away from Angel. His sights settled on Morgana, but Queen rode between them and got knocked off Johanna for her trouble. Whatever it was that the Shadow had done to Joker, it bounced up to try to do it again.

Joker put three rounds into it from her place on the ground. "I don't...don't need my strength...to use this…" She got up to her knees, keeping the gun trained on the Shadow.

It flickered and vanished again. Joker screamed "Form up! Circle! Back to back!" She reached into her pocket for one of her sweets while the others made their way to her.

She was too slow. The Shadow stole her food right out of her hand and devoured it. "Hey!" But it had gone again. "What's going on?!"

"It's . . . " Queen got into position next to Joker, her revolver drawn. "Why is it going after your food?"

Morgana was next. "Shadows reflect the desires of the real person….this guy must be starving all the time."

"That doesn't excuse beating up other students," Queen said. "Or even explain it on its' own, actually."

Skull took up his own spot opposite Queen. "Yeah, well, some kids don't got it that easy. I see how it is now. This guy ain't the only bully, he's just the fall guy."

Panther and Angel completed the circle. "And we fell for it," Panther said with a slight groan.

Angel shook her head. "Well, we'd never have gotten anywhere without checking. Let's finish this."

Joker brought her dagger up, looking around. "Does anyone see him?"

No one responded for a moment. "Did he run?" Morgana asked, his guard momentarily lowered. That was when the Shadow struck, bouncing Morgana out of the circle between Angel and Skull, and ending up in the middle. Joker froze, her head slowly turning around over her shoulder to see the snow-creature about to attack Queen. She twisted, trying desperately to put herself in the creature's path.

The entire platform erupted with black clouds. They weren't irritating, like smoke, but heavily oppressive. Even worse, they heralded a wave of pressure that threw the Phantom Thieves apart, sending Queen and Joker into the wall blocking their progress while scattering the others. Morgana nearly slid off the platform entirely. When the clouds vanished, someone new had appeared on the platform.

He was tall, taller than Skull, and dressed in a striped bodysuit that alternated black and purple stripes. His entire head was covered in something not unlike a motorcycle mask, and in his hand was a long, serrated blade. Joker was shocked. A weapon like that wouldn't cut cleanly. It wasn't designed to kill opponents, but to inflict screaming agony on victims.

And the blade was poised to strike down the Shadow. Joker didn't hesitate. There wasn't enough time to cover the intervening distance on foot. She ripped off her mask, and Adler appeared, parrying the strike of the black-masked man with her own stiletto heels.

The man looked directly at Joker. "A second ago this pathetic thing was going to kill your friend there." His voice was higher pitched than she was expecting, but there was an edge to it. She realized he was disguising it, but not too well. If it had been anyone she knew, she might have put two and two together - she moved in circles where altering the tone and pitch of your voice was common. She guessed he was lowering it to sound more menacing, but it wasn't really necessary. No one sane used a sword like that.

"It's…" Joker took a breath. "He's still a person. We weren't trying to kill him."

The man...no, Joker decided, the boy tilted his head. "You must be new at this. Come on, then. If you think you're strong enough."

Joker blinked, Adler vanishing. "No offense, but I don't see what I have to prove to you."

"Nothing." The boy admitted. "But I can't let you get in my way, either. I've come too far just to have it screwed up by a bunch of naive kids."

Joker refrained from pointing out that the boy was almost certainly a kid too. She moved on Black Mask, trying a few experimental slashes with her back-held dagger.

And the boy just vanished away from each strike. What the?! Joker didn't lower her guard, but it did no good. Black Mask was just too good at taking advantage of the rules of the Metaverse. Joker knew she was the better fighter, but that didn't mean a damn thing when she was standing still compared to his speed. In desperation she summoned Adler again, trying to use some of her new powers to cloud Black Mask's mind.

A zebra-striped Persona appeared, restraining Adler with a hand on her wrist. It was humanoid, with twin ponytails that writhed like snakes and a sword strapped to its' back. A squeeze on Adler's wrist, and Joker screamed as the pain was echoed in her own. Black Mask grinned in delight. "Useless."

He immediately regretted that. While he was distracted with Joker, Queen had snuck up behind him and put a gun to the back of his head. The audible click of the safety coming off started the intruder turning around, but Skull slammed into him from one side in a shoulder tackle with a roar. While he was disoriented, Panther and Carmen spun about, flames appearing from below to hedge him in. "USELESS!" he roared again, and his own Persona looked like it was about to do something.

Angel, however, had gotten a lift to the ceiling from Norea, and was now dropping onto Black Mask's head with a scream of triumph, the spear pointing downward. The scream was a mistake, and the boy looked up to defend.

And then the Shadow leaped through the flames, and hit the interloper in the stomach before bounding away again. Doubled over, Black Mask pulled out a small spherical object and threw it at the ground. Angel slammed into the smoke a second later.

When it cleared, Black Mask was gone. Joker fell back to her knees, her weakness fully returning. Until she suddenly saw her strawberry tart right in front of her eyes again. She looked up in surprise at the Shadow looking her in the eyes. "...I don't want it anymore." He said. "...we're even, right?"

"...we are." Joker said slowly. "But you know you can't keep doing this to everyone else, right?"

The Shadow flinched. "But...if I don't, he'll keep hurting me. Maybe even worse."

"...let us worry about that." Joker said. "Who's hurting you?"

The Shadow, which Joker now knew to be a Jack Frost, whimpered. "You promise? It's Yoshimori Sakoda."

Joker's mask came off, and Rei smiled. "I promise. I hate bullies." She gave the Shadow a hug, as it slowly vanished. When it was gone, she stood up. "...well, that went well." She put her mask back on, and looked around. Where there had been a wall, now there were more stairs down. "...want to call it here for the day?"

No one disagreed.

The next morning, just outside Shujin, Rei saw a rather familiar face. Seeing Takanashi look around nervously, she stopped at the vending machines outside and feigned indecision. It was nonsense, of course. Her thermos had ambrosia in it, why would she need to drink anything else?

The other boy paced back and forth, when a third year snuck up on Takanashi and spun him into the wall. "Where's my money?"

"I'm done with you, Sakoda!" Takanashi shouted back. "I'm not beating up anybody else."

'Sakoda' turned beet red. He raised up his arm to strike at the smaller boy. "Guess I'll just have to take it out of your wallet instead." When he tried to swing, he suddenly found his wrist trapped against the wall. "What the -!?"

Rei dropped her voice to the 'Ren' register, but kept it as even as she could. "Sakoda-san, was that your name?" Both bullies went white as a sheet. "I believe you are going to go to class and leave your fellow students alone."

Sakoda recovered quickly. "I'll get you kicked out for assault, you freak."

Rei gave him a vicious smile. "Actually, I will not. Niijima-san."

Makoto stepped out from behind the vending machines, waggling her cell phone. "Thank you for your assistance, Amamiya-san. Now, please release him. This is the limit of what we can do as students."

"Of course, Niijima-san." Rei smiled and let go. "If you have any further need of a thug, I would be happy to substitute."

"Amamiya," Makoto scolded. "The proper term would be 'mercenary.'"

Rei ran with it. "Mercenaries are compensated well for their work. I'm only being paid in good will." Sakoda picked that moment, showing terrible judgment to take another swing at Rei, who ducked easily. "Vigilante, perhaps? I like the ring of that."

Makoto nodded. "And now you have attacked a student who was no longer threatening you, Sakoda. Please do not dig yourself in further. If I become aware that there are any other witnesses, there will be consequences." He ran. She smiled and turned back to Rei. "'Vigilante' is acceptable. I'll be sure to get a spotlight on the roof with a giant bat."

Rei turned to Takanashi and bowed. "I apologize. You are unhurt?"

The boy stared at her, trying to work his jaw. "You...why did you save me?"

Rei shrugged. "Why would I not?"