Sunday, 16 October 20XX, Daytime

Path of Adyeshach, Mementos

With the recent defeat of Kunikazu Okumura's Shadow and the increased public attention his change of heart brought to the Phantom Thieves, for good or for ill, a new passage had opened up in the depths of Mementos. Its reddish-hazed, bone-strewn scenery made for an unsettling ambience, even more so than the last section they encountered. Despite their unease, Oracle's scanning and Mona's instincts led them on a direct route to an out-of-the-way section that appeared unusually twisted, as if a strong desire was warping the world around it. A swirling vortex stood in front of the van that was Morgana's form in Mementos. "That's the place," Mona spoke through his speakers. "You guys ready?"

"Let's do this," affirmed Joker. He nodded to Queen, who drove them through the vortex.

On the other side, beyond the buffers that terminated the train tracks underneath them, they came across a man standing alone on a stretch of flat, stony ground. Amidst the dark energy emanating from under his feet, Panther instantly identified him from his mismatched suit. "That's him," she confirmed. "Aramaki."

Joker nodded and grunted in approval as he and the others stepped out of the cat-van, which poofed back into Mona's anthropomorphic Metaverse form. The Thieves formed up behind Joker, and followed him to face the Shadow Aramaki. From the way the Shadow instantly let his attention lay upon Panther, he was not looking for a fight just yet. "Lookie lookie," he mused aloud, "what do we got here? Those legs… That red latex… And you're white...ish! You got just the exotic appeal I like!"

By now, Panther was used to the differences between Shadows and the real people they represented. This cognitive version of Aramaki had no knowledge of the real Ann Takamaki, even if he could identify her behind her mask. But she had not been addressed directly in such a manner, and that threw off her composure. "A… Are you talking to me!?"

"Yeah! Now how's about you ditch those weirdos and give me a private dance?"

Before Panther could argue, Skull snapped back, "Weirdos? Are you effin' kidding me?"

"So," Fox mused aloud, "your fascination with oriental dance is naught but a fetish. You are crushing the dreams of those women who see it as more than that!"

"We're shutting you down," Panther affirmed with vigour, "for the sake of all those girls you've enslaved!"

"Enslaved? Ha! You don't know the meanin' of the word!" As he said this, Shadow Aramaki dissolved in a burst of dark, flame-like energy, and immediately reformed himself as a Raja Naga, a powerfully-built man with the lower body of a giant snake. The Phantom Thieves lined up to face him, with Joker calling Mona, Skull, and Panther with him to the front lines. Fox, Queen, and Noir took cover behind random objects, and Oracle beamed herself into Necronomicon, as per usual. No sooner did they get into formation than the snakeman lifted his arms and chanted in an indecipherable language.

Upon the end of his incantation, two more figures were summoned to his side. They were slim, statuesque women with unearthly yellow skin. They wore silken, midriff-baring robes, accented by arrays of red beads, and atop their heads stood golden crowns with skull ornaments. With long, curved swords held in each of their hands, they stood ready to attack.

"Those are Dakini…" Queen mused as she surveyed the situation from afar. "In Hindu mythology, they are servants of Kali, the destroyer goddess."

"If I'm not mistaken," added Fox, "the name 'Dakini' means 'sky dancer' in Sanskrit. Quite a fitting appellation, considering Aramaki's line of business." Even he had to smirk at this coincidence.

"Uh… Fox?" argued Panther. "Something tells me they're not here to dance for us… Hey, Oracle?"

"Yo!"

"You got any dirt on these… things?"

"Let me see…" Aboard the Necronomicon, Oracle consulted her ship's on-board Shadow database. It scanned the identities of the three monsters, but came up with no results. Apologetically, she admitted, "Sorry, I've got nothing! You're on your own!"

"Even if we did know their weaknesses," Joker thought out loud, "powerful Shadows like these tend to have unique abilities compared to more common monsters of the same type. Everybody, stay on your guard!"

"Roger!" called Mona. Taking the initiative, he called out for his own Persona, Zorro. Channeling its might, he threw a Miracle Punch at one of the Dakini. The impact of the punch transcended Mona's own tiny body, and struck the monster with such force that she doubled over and crumpled to the ground. "Yeah, critical hit!" he cheered. "Skull, finish her off for me!"

Mona leaped up to give Skull a high-five as he called out, "You got it, Mona! Captain Kidd!" The red mask on Skull's face burned away in painless blue flames, and behind him arose his Persona. Skull pointed at the downed Dakini and shouted, "Assault Dive!" His pirate-ship Persona dove straight at her, bow-first. As its prow skewered her squarely in the chest, the Shadow wailed in pain and dissolved into primordial gloop. Skull pumped his fist up and cheered, "Aw, yeah!", the mask re-forming on his face. His victory was short-lived, however, as the other Dakini struck at him with her dual-wielded blades.

Mona caught this attack out of the corner of his eye. "Skull!", he called, "be careful!"

"No ****, Mona!" he argued angrily.

"Enough of this…" Joker grumbled. Summoning one of his own Personas, Lachesis, he cast a Marakunda spell on all of the monsters. "Guys, I've lowered their defences," he instructed to his teammates. "Hit 'em with whatever you've got, and find their weaknesses!"

"You got it, Joker!" Skull had recovered from the Dakini's attack, and called Captain Kidd forth once more to attack with Mazionga. Out of thin air, a series of lightning bolts struck both of the remaining monsters. The Dakini convulsed in pain from the electricity coursing through its body, but the Raja Naga seemed unfazed. "He ain't weak to electricity?", Skull said in disbelief. "You gotta be kiddin' me!"

"Let me try, Skull," offered Panther. Pointing to the Dakini, she said, "Carmen… Maragion!" As her own Persona blinked into existence, bursts of fire exploded point-blank in front of the monsters. This hurt the Raja Naga considerably more, but the Dakini, conversely, showed fewer signs of damage.

Not good… thought Joker. One of these guys is immune to lightning, and the other's strong against fire. I should call in some replacements… Fox and Noir should do nicely.

Before he had a chance to swap in any of his reserve teammates, he felt a change in his cognition. Oracle had hacked the Metaverse to bringing him and his active party members more in-tune with the cognitive world around them. They all felt charged and focused, so they would be able to do more damage with their next attacks. Power coursing through his body, Skull called back, "Yeah, this rocks! Thanks, Oracle!"

Joker, on the other hand, was more concerned. If he sent any of his current fighters off to the sidelines, whomever filled in the gap would not have the same strength buffs. Then again, there were no guarantees he could exploit his enemies' weaknesses with Fox's ice or Noir's psychic powers either. Besides, he had recently been experimenting with this kind of strategy to dish out stronger attacks. For the moment, he merely looked in Skull's direction and warned, "Don't get too confident, Sk- Aah!"

The Raja Naga had just blind-sided him with a strike to the head. Mona spotted his leader cradle his head in pain and asked, "You okay, Joker? Want me to heal you?"

"Yeah, it's fine, Mona…" Despite his words, the shock and pain of the blow hurt Joker more than he cared to admit. He cradled his head with one hand, where a narrow trickle of blood had started to flow, indistinguishable from the red colour of his gloves. Still, it would be nothing to have Mona cure this little injury.

"Just don't push yourself too hard, okay? There's no shame in asking me to…" Mona trailed off as his attention drifted to the Dakini, who was sensuously swaying her hips from side to side. Joker stole a glance of his own at the dancing demon lady, as did Skull and Panther. No music was physically playing from anywhere, but some sort of rhythmic sensation pulsed within the minds of her onlookers, its tempo matching her movements. As the heroes stared on, their unblinking gaze tracking the gentle rocking of her belly button, an additional voice played in their heads. To the unaffected onlooker, the monster would appear to be speaking in an unfamiliar language, similar to that of the male beast who had summoned herself into being. But to her victims, it reverberated within their minds, crystal-clearly, in plain Japanese.

Gaze upon me… Follow my lovely belly… Watch it move back and forth… back and forth… You want me… I am your heart's desire… I am yours… But only yours. Prove your devotion to me, and strike down any who would stand in your way!

Oracle, and the other reserve members, also looked on the unfolding situation with great curiosity. "What's going on…?", she mused aloud. "Is she… dancing?" The filters through which she witnessed the outside world protected her from the Dakini's hypnotic spell, but that was the least of her worries. "Oh, crud!", she gasped. "It's a Brain Jack attack! She's brainwashing you all!" As Oracle spoke this warning, an even worse thought had crossed her mind. Since she had just amplified the strength of their next attacks, the team could, almost literally, tear themselves apart! Especially Joker, who wasn't in the best of conditions already. If the other Thieves turned their weapons on him, he would be done for! And all because she had tried to meddle in the battle herself! "No…" she wept, "we're screwed… I can't watch!" She hugged her legs, buried her face in her arms, and let the wavering tears flow from her eyes.

On the battlefield below, Mona developed a murderous gleam in his unfocused eyes. While Joker was still transfixed upon the dancing Dakini, he slashed his curved sword across his back. Joker screamed in pain and knelt to the floor, only to turn his head and stare back at the mutant cat. "You think you can toy with me, you little…!" Leaping from his crouched position, he drove his knife down the top of Mona's oversized head.

"Myeeeooow!", Mona yelped in agony. Before Joker could pull the knife out, Mona senselessly ran about, dragging his attacker with him. This farcical display of betrayal elicited a discrete chuckle from the Raja Naga. All the while, the Dakini's voice repeated itself endlessly within each of their heads. Yes… my slaves… tear him limb from limb!

But there was one fighter who hadn't fallen victim to the Dakini's spell… and of all people, it was Skull. "Brainwash my friends, will ya?" With fury in his heart, he leapt at the demoness and brought his metal pipe crashing down upon her skull. The impact dissolved her into a lifeless puddle, just like her comrade before her, but the worst was far from over.

Despite the demise of the Dakini who had brainwashed her, Panther was still under the effects of her spell. Bearing a malicious grimace, she stepped toward Joker. Do it… teased the voice within her head, kill the Joker… kill the Trickster! Joker looked on Panther's glossy red boots stepped into view. Too weak to turn his head up to face her, but still consumed by malice, he spitefully spat at her feet. Panther seemed not to notice as she stretched out her whip and murmured the mantra looping within her head. "Kill the Joker… Kill the Trickster!"

Joker groaned, "Just try me, you b-"

"Panther! Snap out of it!"

His dare was interrupted by the sound of a sharp slap. The source of that slap was none other than Skull. He had procured a comically-oversized paper fan from who-knows-where, and smacked Panther in the back of her head with it. "A Harisen Recovery…" Noir softly narrated for the other reserves. "That should break the Dakini's spell on her!"

"Huh?" Jerked upright from the sudden sound of Skull's Harisen Recovery, Oracle nervously peeked up at the scene unfolding before her. She saw Panther standing over the badly-beaten Joker, trying to understand the situation she had just woken herself up to. From the looks of things, she once again had agency over her own actions. "It's a miracle!", Oracle shouted with joy. "Panther, find some Relax Gel! We've got to cure Joker and Mona!"

"No!", Panther protested, "that… that thing will just attack us again! If he hits Joker, we're done for! I have to end this here and now!" Her mind still sharp from the concentration hack Oracle had performed, she willed her Persona into being one more time. Pointing to the Raja Naga, she shouted at the top of her lungs, "Aramaki! You want your dance? You'll get your ****ing dance! Carmen… Agidyne!" As soon as she gave the command, a roaring column of fire erupted from beneath the monster's underbelly. It roared in anguish as he was consumed by the inferno, until finally his screams cut off, the flames subsided, and there was nothing left where it once stood.

With the demise of the threats, the brainwashing spell Joker and Mona were ensnared in finally dissipated. Joker blinked several times to adjust his vision. He asked, "Is it… dead?", but the effort of speaking sent a ripple of pain through his mortally-wounded body, and he hissed in agony, collapsing to the ground.

The remaining party members cautiously emerged from their cover. "Oh my gosh!" Noir gasped, running to Joker's side. "Are you alright?"

"They will be," answered Queen. "Johanna!" Her motorcycle Persona formed itself from between her legs. "Mediarama!" With that command, she drove a lap around her injured allies, releasing healing magic that mended their wounds and invigorated them anew.

As the strength flowed once again through his body, Joker stood up and felt himself where he had taken damage. He felt no sign of any cuts or bruises. Looking down at Mona, he brushed his head where he had stabbed him only minutes before. All the fur covering that spot masked the true extent of the damage, but from what Joker could detect, Mona's injuries had also abated.

Oracle beamed down from her spaceship Persona. "Guys," she regretfully announced, "I'm sorry for almost getting you killed. If it weren't for my little assistance, I wouldn't have put you all in so much danger."

"Aw, don't worry about it, Oracle!", Panther said as she gave her ally a comforting hug. "I wouldn't have been able to take down that beast so soon if it weren't for your boost!" Looking back to Skull, she added, "And thanks to you too, Skull. If you hadn't snapped me out of that, I… I don't want to imagine what would've happened…"

"Ah, don't worry yourself, Panther," replied Skull, "I'd do anything for my buddies!" He nervously scratched behind his head and walked up to the two girls. "And by the way, Oracle, I just wanna apologise for what I said to ya when you told me about… you know. I didn't know nothin' about belly dancing back then. I'm sorry for being such an effin' idiot."

"You mean, more of an idiot than usual?", Oracle teased. Watching him tense up for a second, she laughed and added, "Only kidding, Skull! Apology accepted!"

"That reminds me…" said Joker. He turned around to find Shadow Aramaki, back in his original form, standing with his head hung in shame. Aiming his pistol at him, Joker asked, "Why do you keep making all those promising young dancers take part in that perverted spectacle you call belly dancing?"

In his defeated state, the Shadow Aramaki was somehow no longer able to lie about his desires. "I've always liked belly dancing, but I don't know that much about it, 'neither… I just like it because it's exotic, or something."

"There's more to the art of raqs baladi than that."

"So what? You're tellin' me it's only right for belly dancing or whatever you call it to only be shown as art?"

"I never said that. But some of those dancers you've 'hired' won't get the chance to follow their dreams with you forcing them into sleazy roles for your own gratification. Why won't you let them quit?"

"I just wanna keep them around so I can enjoy some of that action at my beck and call."

"Action?", Panther interjected. "Wait a minute! You're not doing anything… personal with them!?"

"Depends on what you mean, but… yeah."

"Oh my God…" she gasped. "What about Atsuko Saito?"

"Her? You mean Atsu-Atsu? I haven't touched her, yet."

Panther breathed a sigh of relief as Skull chimed in, "And what about the money you're keepin' from them?"

"It's… Yakuza business."

"I knew it!"

"I'd give it back, but…"

"Find a way," demanded Joker. "You don't have to let them go, unless they want to, but let them wear what they want. Let them dance how they want. You'd be surprised how much attention they can still draw."

Oracle stepped up. "I'll tell you something my teacher told me. 'Belly dancing isn't meant to be sexy; it just happens.' Think about that."

Once these words sunk in, Aramaki faded into an orb of pulsating light, the Treasure left behind by his Shadow. Joker grabbed at it, and it transformed into a bundle of green clothes. Mona leapt up onto his shoulder for a closer look. "What did he leave behind?"

"I don't know…" He unfolded the clothes, which turned out to be a pair of baggy pantaloons and a silken bra.

"Ooh, it's a Battle Bedlah! We should have Lady Ann try it on!"

"H… hey!", Panther protested. "Don't I get a say in this?"

Joker smirked at the thought, but shook his head. "Sounds tempting, but it doesn't look like it'll offer that much protection."

"Oh!", Futaba chimed in, "why not give it to me? I don't fight on the front lines, and it gets kinda stuffy up in Necronomicon, too!"

"You sure you're okay with that?"

"Uh-huh! In fact, that reminds me of something I wanna tell you guys sometime…"

As the re-transformed Mona drove them back into Mementos proper, Oracle described her dream, leaving out some of the more troubling elements, but capturing her friends' imaginations with the mental image of Alibaba, the second Phantom Thief identity she had dreamed up for herself. She knew it would never actually happen, even ignoring the prospect of taking on a second Persona, but nonetheless it gave her confidence and determination to help out her allies, and in herself.