A/N Another Friday, another chapter. Not much else to say other than next Friday will be another chapter. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Persona, or any of its characters, and I make no money off of this.
Chapter 16
'Wait, there's no way that can be Shiho. That'd—'
Panther's thoughts were interrupted by a throbbing pain emanating from her head. It pained her to even keep her eyes open, causing her to wince and nearly fall to the ground on account of its sudden and severe nature.
"What's wrong?!" Shiho cried out in worry. "Ann, what's happening? A-Are you okay? Here, let me help you."
The blonde managed to pry a lone eye open, though it did her little good. Her surroundings seemed to shift back and forth with ever blink of her eye—one second being the fog and another seeming to be her own room back in the real world. It was as if her grip on reality itself was slipping away.
Though she could hardly fathom exactly what was going on, her conscious mind still loosely understood what needed to be done. Thus, in a fit of desperation or a demonstration of her absolute conviction, she willed Carmen to fire the attack.
An incredibly large pillar of fire erupted at the room's center, shooting into the sky as far as the eye could see. At its center, the shielded Shadow heart braced itself as best as it could, though ultimately even the best defense it could muster buckled under the pressure of the blazing inferno. Shortly thereafter, the heart became little more than ash, and the fog that had previously coated everything in the room dissipated entirely.
When the fire finally died down, Ann felt weaker and more exhausted than she could ever recall feeling in recent memory. Through willpower alone, she stood on her feet and scanned the room, seeing both Makoto, Yukiko and Rise in the process of slowly picking themselves up off the ground.
Now having the benefit of knowing her friends to be safe, she let herself collapse to the floor on her hands and knees, breathing heavily all the while. Beads of sweat dripped from her cheeks, a testament to how much of herself she'd put into her finishing blow.
"What happened…?" Rise uttered confusedly. "Well, at least my head isn't throbbing anymore."
"Same here," replied Queen.
"I wouldn't say I'm at a hundred percent, but definitely better than before," Yukiko remarked.
The three managed to pick themselves up, thankfully no longer under the mental assault brought on by the fog they'd experienced just a short time ago. Two of them in particular were quick to notice the state Panther was in and even in spite of their own mental fatigue. They rushed to her side on reflex alone.
"Ann, are you okay?!" Queen cried out.
"The Shadow's didn't get to you, did they?!" a worried Rise pressed.
"No, I'm fine," Panther replied, doing her level best to get her breathing under control. She managed to crack a smile. "I'm gonna need a minute though."
"If you're able to make jokes like that, you're fine," Queen said, chuckling to herself and managing a smile of her own.
The blonde's teammates set about helping her back up on her feet, managing to do so with relative ease though she still found herself leaning on Makoto's shoulder.
"Hmm," muttered Yukiko curiously. "If the heart is gone now, then why is the maze still here? Shouldn't—"
Her words were met with a rumbling that erupted in all directions. The maze's walls started to sink back into the ground, and the previously dark red cloud-ridden skies of the Metaverse were soon replaced with the roofing of the warehouse in which everything had started in the first place.
"You guys!" Chie called out.
The squad of female Persona users were greeted by the sight of the rest of their team rushing towards them, clearly relieved to see they were safe.
That being said, the state that Ann was in—exhausted and still propped up by Makoto—drew a few concerned looks, particularly from those closest to her in the case of Ren and Ryuji.
"Relax," Panther said, waiving off the worried glances. "I'm fine. I'll be alright in a few, trust me."
"Glad to hear it," Joker replied.
"Well, the maze is gone, so… what now?" Rise inquired.
Yosuke and Chie shared a look that went unnoticed by most. He was giving her an almost shit-eating grin while she in turn glared at him heavily as if daring him to crack a joke at her expense.
It was clear that specifically how the maze first appeared in the first place was fresh on their minds.
"Do youwant to tell them or should I?" Yosuke asked.
"If you tell it, can I assume you'll be an ass about it?" Chie shot back, her eyes narrowing even more so.
"Of course."
"I see. Then you've chosen death."
"Fine, fine, don't be such a spoil sport," Yosuke replied with a roll of his eyes. "We found a latch at the center of the room that looked like it went somewhere underground."
"It was right before the maze actually showed up," added Morgana. He looked at the ground curiously. "I think we're actually standing on it right now."
The crowd dispersed and went about finding the creases so as to track down the means to open it. Moments later, they did just that, giving way to what appeared to be little more than a small box with an empty space.
"…that's it?" Skull asked in disbelief.
"Seems kinda anticlimactic after the whole maze thing," Kanji remarked.
"Do keep in mind that in the Metaverse, things are often not always as they seem," spoke Naoto.
The ace detective walked up and started to examine the spaces contents. Finding no hidden pressure point within, she turned her attention to the latch itself, where she quickly found exactly what she'd been looking for. The underside contained a small button at its center that inconspicuously blended with the bland coating.
After she'd pressed it, a large rectangular structure with the appearance of an elevator rose up from the far-end of the warehouse.
"Just how much hidden shit is in this place anyway?" Kanji wondered aloud.
"If I had to guess, probably more than we'd like," Naoto mused. Turning to the others, she asked, "So, shall we go?"
Knowing they had no other options available, the Persona users made their way onto the massive elevator without issue. The gates then closed and they started to sink into the ground. The drab and eerie atmosphere maintained itself for quite some time as they continued to sink deeper and deeper into the earth.
"Just how far down is this thing takin' us?" asked Skull.
"Its massive size is also quite curious as well," Fox remarked.
"I'm unsure of where the stop will be, but the size makes sense," Queen stated.
"True," said Naoto in agreement. "After all, if this is the White Masks main base, they'd need to be able to get their transports in and out with relative ease."
"Hey, ya know, that's actually got me thinking…" Yosuke began. "How exactly can they manage to do all of this? With the whole maze and the hidden elevator shaft… isn't it kinda weird?"
"Yeah, now that I think about it," Chie uttered, a thoughtful expression plastered on her features. "I doubt there's an underground to this warehouse in reality, so if the Metaverse is supposed to be based in reality, how is this even here in the first place?"
"I believe a few moments more will be all we need to confirm exactly why that's the case," Naoto stated.
Shortly thereafter, the elevator came to a stop, and once its steel gates opened, they were given passage to a massive lobby-like area. Although it was very mechanical in aesthetic—the predominant colors being gray, silver, and an undertone of white—its brighter nature was a sigh for sore eyes relative to the rest of the Metaverse they'd seen thus far.
"This is certainly different," Sae remarked.
"And then some," said Rise. "It looks like there's a big window over there at the end. We should probably go take a look."
They did just that, at which point the Persona users would get their first glimpse into the scope of the facility they found themselves in. They saw massive structures interconnected in what could only be described as a brutally efficient manner. In spite of its scale, the architecture seemed to waste none of it. The sight dwarfed even their wildest expectations, at least for the most part.
"Holy shit…" Skull said in sheer amazement. "This place is freakin' huge!"
"It honestly reminds me of a Palace," Panther couldn't help but say.
"It feels just like one too. The space is distorted to an incredible degree," Morgana cut in.
Naoto had assumed as much, that being the only explanation she could fathom that would account for the massive reality-bending size of both the maze and the underground facility itself.
"Hmm…" Oracle muttered at her phone. "Nah, not seeing anything in the app. If this place is a Palace, it's not showing up as one like it used to."
"Wouldn't be much of a secret otherwise," Chie reasoned.
"True, but it's still weird," Oracle replied. "And we didn't need a keyword or anything to get here."
"I think the maze was more than enough of an obstacle…" Yosuke stated.
"Agreed," said Panther.
"Hey if it is a Palace, then wouldn't that mean there's a treasure somewhere here?" Skull thought aloud.
"Actually…" Morgana trailed off.
The black-furred Shadow focused as best as he could, though in the end his sensory abilities picked up nothing worthy of note. It was an odd feeling to be able to sense such distortion and not to have such twisted desires echoing from its center.
"I don't feel the presence of a Treasure here," the feline stated.
"That's rather strange. Do you suppose its perhaps hidden?" mused Fox.
"There's no way of knowing, but in my experience, Treasures hold such a strong pull that you really can't hide them."
While some were mulling over other possible explanations, the detective among them believed she may have had a workable theory.
"A Palace is an isolated distortion in the Metaverse and a Treasure is simply the impetus for its creation, correct?" Naoto inquired, simply wanting clarity.
"More or less, yeah. Negative emotions usually form around an object that represents a Palace rulers twisted thoughts—a Treasure—and those emotions become stronger until they warp reality and give way to the creation of a Palace," Morgana answered.
"Then would it not also be possible for a distortion to form without the use of a Treasure?" Naoto reasoned. "Such would also explain why this location likely doesn't exist in any form in the real world. It would be a distortion within even distorted space, if you will."
Morgana thought deeply on the matter, his head almost spinning at the concept. It was true that distortions in the Metaverse did not require a Treasure to occur, though the fact remained that he'd yet to encounter such a case.
"W-Well, I mean… perhaps in theory, yes. Although even then, it would still need a core of some kind and someone to 'rule' over it. Changes like this don't just happen out of nowhere."
"Like the heart in that maze," Yukiko reasoned.
"Yeah, exactly," said Panther. "But that makes things easier if that's actually the case, right?"
"How so?" asked Chie.
"For starters, we wouldn't need a calling card," Joker cut in.
"Oh right, you guys needed to use those to get the Treasure to appear in the first place," Yu thought aloud.
"Right," said Queen, nodding along. "It also makes it easier in the sense that we can simply destroy the core once we find it."
"Is that different from what you guys usually do…?" Yosuke asked curiously.
"Actually, yeah. A Treasure is what holds a Palace together. So, theoretically, destroying it would also get rid of the Palace, but if you did that, then the ruler would probably lose their will to live and… well, you get the picture," explained Joker. "That's the reason we would always steal the Treasures in the first place."
"So then all we need to do is find where the core is," mused Yu.
The gray-eyed lawyer instinctively looked towards Rise, who noticed and in turn called out her Persona to scan the area. Sadly, however, she was unable to come up with anything of significance.
"Well, I'm getting readings on plenty of enemies nearby, but this place is too big for me to scan from this position. There's just too much interference," Rise answered.
"What about you, Ora…" began Skull. It was then that he noticed the orange-haired hacker wasn't present in the huddle. He looked around confusedly, as did several others. "Uh, Oracle?"
"Over here!"
Futaba had called out from a nearby terminal which she seemed to have already hooked herself up to in an effort to, presumably, gather information on the facility and its layout.
"So, uh… you find anything?" Skull asked.
"Oh yeah," she replied, grinning madly. "All of you should come over. Boy have I got somethin' to show you."
Her fellow teammates did just that and were at her side in seconds, though she herself was still typing away like a maniac as they did so.
"Aaaand bam!" Oracle exclaimed.
A diagram of the facility's layout appeared on the terminal's screen, the detail of which shocked most everyone present. It had everything from room and hallway names to enemy and patrol group identifiers.
"Nice work," Joker said.
"I try," replied the navigator with a wry grin. "Well, I say that, but this was actually a hell of a lot easier than I was expecting. I didn't even have to look all that hard for this info. In fact, if I didn't know any better, I'd say the White Masks were banking on this place never being found in the first place."
"Either that or expecting the maze would be more than enough to keep intruders out," Queen mused.
"Convenience aside, what can you tell us about the core?" Yusuke questioned.
"Good question. And while I don't know exactly where it is…"
The screen zoomed in on one room that was particularly deep within the presumed Palace. However, it possessed neither a name nor an identifier of any kind. It was just a series of question marks where one would have been.
"This is basically as far in as you can get, and it's also the only room without a name. If I had to bet money on where a core would be, this'd be it," Oracle stated.
"Can you go back to the larger diagram please?" Queen requested.
The moment that the orange-haired teen did so, both she and a few others glared at a very clear and evident problem. It became apparent that the path to the likely location of the core went through many heavily-guarded areas. That, and by nature of the Palace's layout, it was a large distance away from a room labeled 'Subject Containment'.
"That complicates things," sighed Naoto. "We'll need to split up and prioritize saving the kidnapped victims, and in doing so we're leaving whomever is headed to the core short on manpower."
"Sorry to be the bearer of even worse news, but we've got a whole 'nother problem to worry about," said Oracle with chagrin. "If we get caught, it's extremely likely that they'll wipe all the data from their computers, if not outright destroy them out of an abundance of caution like they did before."
"All this thinkin' is givin' me a headache…" Skull groaned boredly.
"I hear ya," said a sympathetic Yosuke.
"It hasn't affected me," Teddie remarked, a bit of pride in his tone.
"That's because you don't think. Period," Yosuke replied with narrowed eyes.
"Guys, focus," Chie scolded.
The peanut gallery went quiet as the group at large attempted to devise the best plan to crack the fortress wide open. At the very least, they were able to come up with the prerequisites.
"Our first priority should be rescuing the kidnapped victims. I think we can all agree on that, right?" Queen began, eliciting a nod from most everyone present. "Our next priority would be to secure any stored data this Palace has. Oracle, any idea where that might be?"
"My guess is the control room, which is riiiiight… here."
"Another place swimming with patrols," Yu muttered.
"A distraction could work to pull them away easy enough," Joker reasoned.
"Volunteering already?" Panther giggled. "Or are you just looking for another opportunity to show off?"
"Well…"
"A firm no, I'm afraid," Naoto stated pointedly.
"I'll have to agree," said Queen. "At a bare minimum, you two will need to head straight to the core. Dealing with Shadow is the primary concern in that venture, and anything less than the two of you at full strength won't be enough to take him down."
"They'll have backup," Yosuke uttered with a grin, hanging his arm around his friend's shoulder. "I've got your back as always, partner."
"Same here! I always got my bro's back," said Skull, mimicking the brunette's gesture.
Touching and genuine as their sentiments were, it remained the case that putting too many in the team heading to the core posed to great a risk to their other two main objectives, a point that several were all too quick to realize.
"Actually, I have something else in mind…" Naoto spoke up. "We'll need a total of three teams for each of our primary objectives. If we can position ourselves effectively and coordinate several distractions in tandem at key locations, we can move on all three and minimize our risks of failing to secure them."
"I agree," Sae commented. She ran her finger across several focal points, marking them on the terminal. "I would imagine these two locations to be the best suited for drawing the White Masks out.
"Agreed," said Queen. "The only question is: Outside of Joker and Yu-san, who does what?"
"Oracle will definitely have to head for the control room," Joker reasoned.
"Hmm, and I've played enough video games to know there's probably a big, bad mini-boss waiting there to stop any intruders," Chie said.
Her words drew an amused laugh from team's latest addition.
"Apologies, I just found it funny that it could be that straightforward and predictable," Sae explained.
"Actually, it usually is," Yu answered. He turned to his fellow Fool. "I take it it's the same for you guys?"
"Big time," replied Joker.
"I see…" muttered Sae, somewhat baffled by the simplicity. "In that case, I volunteer to head to the control room with Oracle. If I can't be a part of a frontal assault, I may as well pull my weight this way."
Hardly anyone took issue with that outcome. After all, they'd seen her handiwork up close and personal by that point.
"I shall accompany you as well. Subtlety will be of the utmost importance when it comes to that area, after all," Fox added.
"No objections here," Yu stated, echoing the rest of the team's sentiment.
"Hmm… this appears to be where they stash their vehicles, right, Oracle?" Queen inquired, pointing to one of the locations her sister previously marked.
"Yep."
"In that case, I'll volunteer to head here. Presumably, the terrain will put Johanna and I at an advantage," said the brunette solemnly. "Although that has a drawback of allowing me to take only one other person. I believe Panther would be the person for the job."
"Huh? I mean, okay, but why me?" asked the blonde confusedly.
"Firepower, most likely," giggled Rise, smiling coyly as she did so. "Or do I have to remind you about the Shadow heart already?"
"Point taken," Panther replied, bashfully rubbing the back of her head. "Either way, count me in!"
"The other two distraction teams will require a good deal of muscle," Naoto reasoned. "Skull and Kanji can head here backed up by Teddie and Morgana. That leaves Chie, Yukiko, Rise and I to tend to those that were captured while Noir and Yosuke secure a transport for us to load them on for safe passage."
"Sounds like a plan to me!" Noir cheered energetically.
Queen sweatdropped at that particular assignment, though she hesitated in speaking up and as a result would not be able to do so.
"Then let's get going," said Yu, a confident smirk flashing from ear to ear.
White Mask Palace: Section 5A, Outside Unedified Area
The two Wild Cards leaned calmly against the walls of an innocuous storage room, listening calmly across the airwaves for the order to move. Although both were traditionally comfortable with silence, it was clear that neither were in this case.
This appeared to especially be the case with Ren, who constantly took out his dagger and twirled out about stylishly just to calm his growing nerves.
"Not used to fighting without them, right?" Yu quietly asked.
"…yeah," replied Joker, chuckling at himself. "It's just weird to be sitting around in the Metaverse without them right around me."
Truthfully, Ren noticed the silence to be of a different breed than he was used to. In Palace's whenever they entered a Safe Room, things were typically just as quiet as they were right now. Evidently, the two silences hit differently.
"Yeah, I know how you feel," Yu stated somberly. "They can handle themselves though—both you and I know this. Just keep reminding yourself of that instead of just thinking about the worst-case scenario."
"Are you sure you don't have ESP?" Joker quipped.
"Ya know, it's funny you should say that. I was never tested for it, so I can't say I'm not."
"I don't like that you're as sarcastic as I am," Joker said with a slight laugh underpinning his voice. "Thanks though. I appreciate it, really."
"Anytime," replied Yu, sporting a friendly smile.
"How do you think the others are holding up?" Joker offhandedly questioned.
"Well, Oracle, Avenger, and Fox are probably fine," Yu reasoned. "I don't think we have to worry about Naoto's group either. Queen and Panther are more than capable as well, and the same goes for Noir and Yosuke."
"I noticed you left out the group with Skull, Yosuke-san, Morgana, and Teddie…"
"…I might've."
"They'll probably be fine, right?"
"Hopefully, yes."
"…yeah, hopefully."
A silence gripped the conversation if only for a moment.
"We might be screwed," said Joker.
"That is a distinct possibility, yes."
White Mask Palace: Section 2B, Airducts
"This feels so cool! I've never been able to crawl through a vent before!" Teddie exclaimed cheerfully.
"Yeah, well here's your chance to be quiet while crawling through a vent!" Yosuke softly hissed.
"And would ya quit headbutting my ass already?!" Skull exclaimed.
"I'm sorry, Skull! I'm just beary excited. The only other time I got close to doing this was at the Junes back in Inaba, but Yosuke ending up yanking me out and yelling at me for half an hour."
"Teddie," Kanji all but growled out. "Shut. Up."
"Okay, okay~."
"Oh brother…" Morgana sighed from the front of the pack.
The group gradually made their way towards their destination as outlined by Oracle. In doing so they eventually came near one of the patrols, hearing their loud, thunderous footsteps a mile away. Morgana motioned for them to pause and keep completely silent, obviously so as to take no risks in alerting the guards to their presence.
"…looks like we're in the clear," whispered Kanji.
"They've moved down the hallway. I can tell by the smell," Teddie said, thankfully keeping his voice quiet as well.
"Then let's keep moving. The exit should be just up ahead," Skull added.
A minute passed and they managed to arrive at a large ventilation shaft, exactly as instructed. With that, they set about contacting their teammates.
"This is Mona reporting in," said the feline. "We're in position and awaiting the order to make our move. What's everyone else's status?"
White Mask Palace: Section 9A
"Copy that," replied Oracle, whispering on account of the lingering footsteps from an enemy patrol that had just passed. "Fox, Avenger and I are in position outside of the control room."
The trio had managed to find a safe-haven in the form of a large supply room which, thankfully, no one had needed to use in the short time they'd been there. Though that wasn't the say they hadn't had their fair share of scares with the number of White Masks roaming the area.
"Joker and I are in position too," Yu's voice called out over the comm link.
"This is Naoto. We're ready on our end as well."
"Great," Oracle said with a grin. "And no alarms so far. Queen, Panther, Yosuke, Noir—the four of you are all that's left. What's your status?"
White Mask Palace: Section 7A, Vehicle Hub
The storage area for the White Mask's vehicles had such a large surface area that it would make most hanger's blush. The sides were lined with large, military-style transports and an assortment of what appeared to be motorcycles. Patrolling its center were an ever-present batch of guards who were busy making their rounds.
"Anyone else getting antsy just sitting around here?" one of the White Masks guards asked to a number of his close by comrades.
"I get what ya mean. Heh, never thought I'd say this, but I miss going out for those field tests."
Another was quick to reply, "The boss said we have everything we need already, so there's no need to risk it for now. Relax, we'll be up-top soon enough once the heat dies down."
"Yeah, yeah…"
The Shadows' boredom was clearly beyond bored and entirely unalert, though the two Phantom Thieves that moved about in the Shadows of the vehicles were more than happy to take advantage of.
Makoto directed Ann forward at opportune times, placing themselves near the center of the room, still keeping the Shadows unaware of their presence. They waited for the group of enemies to be well out of earshot before speaking to one another.
"Looks like we're in the clear," said Panther.
"Seems so," Queen replied. She opted to inform the navigator of their progress. "We're in position, Oracle."
"We're tucked away too and waiting for an opening," Yosuke stated.
"Then it looks like everyone's in position,' Oracle stated, excitement clear in her tone. "Skull, Kanji, Teddie, Mona—care you do the honors?"
"Nothin' would make me happier," replied Skull.
White Mask Palace: Section 2B, Airducts
"Alright boys n' bears, ready to get this party started?" Skull asked with a wicked grin spread from ear to ear.
"I was born ready!" Teddie cheered.
"I'd tell ya to keep it down, but looks like the time for bein' quiet is over," Kanji mused. He soon had a leer that matched his younger blond-haired friend. "And then again, that's just the way I like it."
With a firm kick, he shot the casing of the airduct into the floor, sounding off a loud metallic thud that could likely have been heard several hallways over. With the enthusiasm of a boxer about to get into the ring, he then jumped down through the opening alongside the others.
"Damn does it feel good to be outta there," Skull said, stretching his limbs for the first time in what felt like an eternity.
"Did you hear something?"
"Yeah, I think it came from over there…"
"Let's check it out."
"…gentleman, looks like we've got company—the Shadow kind," said Kanji. He cracked his knuckles. "Skull, you and I take the left. Mona, Teddie, you two can take the right."
The first group of guards to make their way to the hallway had the unfortunate luck of doing so on the side guarded by Kanji and Ryuji. They quickly raised their assault weapons at the pair.
"Intruders!" one cried out. "Don't move, unless you—"
A titanic fist and the literal side of a pirate ship slammed into each side respectively, the force of which sent them flying into the end of the hall. They slammed into the metal frame, denting it before ultimately succumbing to the blow and dissipating entirely.
"Zoro!"
"Kintoki-Douji!"
The other side was little different, though the mascots had opted to use spells over physical force to overwhelm the approaching Shadows. A flurry of ice and wind felled the squad in an instant.
"Think that got their attention?" Skull asked, resting his mace over his shoulders, his wicked grin still ever-present.
A red flashing light and a high-pitched alarm soon went off in the area. Normally that may have been cause for concern, but its presence only made the group of Persona users all too content.
"Yep, I think so," said Kanji.
White Mask Palace: Section 7A, Vehicle Hub
The intense shriek and red flare of a warning siren echoed through the vehicle hangar. Needless to say, it quickly captured the attention of the patrolmen.
"Huh? The alarm?" One of the Shadows uttered in surprise.
"Seems like we've got intruders in Section 2."
"Looks like that's our cue," said Queen.
She turned to her blonde friend, taking note of the determined look in her eyes. It was clear that she needn't even ask if she was ready to do her part.
"Right. I'll be counting on you," Panther replied.
The red-clad Phantom Thief sprinted towards the center of the hangar, quickly capturing the attention of the guards who for the moment didn't know who or what she was. That split-second was all she needed.
"Carmen!" Panther cried out.
Her red and black partner appeared in a burst of blue, fiery energy and immediately let off a series of attacks on the right-most row of motor bikes. A single and seemingly small ball of red-hot fire slung towards the cycles, culminating in a massive blast that destroyed most of them outright and sent metal chunks of what remained flying in all directions.
"Over there, an intruder! Control room, we have another intruder in Section 7!"
As the enemies approached, Ann launched as many attacks as she was able on the gargantuan military-style transports, taking out the front tires for a majority of said vehicles that lined the hangar's right side. She came under gunfire shortly thereafter, forcing her to begin her retreat.
"Stop her! Don't let her get away!"
Dozens more White Mask guards started to enter the room, likely all being frontline Shadows of the same generic variety as those that were already attacking her. That, however, was what the Persona users were counting on.
Queen waited for an opportune moment where the patrol of Shadows was directly in front of her, still blissfully unaware of her presence on account of their laser-focus in chasing down Panther. She revved Johanna's engine and charged forward, smashing into their torsos with the side of her bike. They were sent flying, most dissipating and others taking their sweet time in getting up out of necessity.
"Panther, on your six!" Queen shouted.
She rushed forward and drove straight towards her comrade, catching her hand as she sped by and effectively allowing the blonde to saddle herself on Johanna directly behind her. They sped away in the blink of an eye, leaving the foot-bound Shadows firing at them in vain.
"Come on, we can't let them escape! Get on the bikes and the transports and go after them!"
The one Shadow's orders quickly had the others rushing off to do exactly that. In groups and bunches, they mounted the hangar's vehicles, racing after the intruders without delay.
Many additional Shadows poured into the room, mounting the motor bikes and manning the transports in much the same way as their comrades. Eventually, however, everything had died down to the point that the flaming wreckage from Ann's onslaught were the only things approaching activity in the area.
A ventilation shaft popped open almost gingerly near one of the walls, allowing two Persona users that had remain hidden up until that point to make their move.
"Coast is clear, it's safe to come out," announced Yosuke.
He turned to offer a hand to the fluffy-haired heiress which she in turn graciously accepted as she exited the shaft.
"Thank you," Noir replied. "Now then, onto business."
"Easy enough. All the transports are the same size, so…" Yosuke mused, cubbing his chin in thought. "Eeny, meeny, miny, aaand mo!"
"I suppose that's just as good a method as any," Noir stated with a giggle.
The pair quickly made their way in from the back, doing their best to take stock of exactly how much space they would theoretically have. The sides held at least fifteen seats each.
"Nice, we should have plenty of room," Yosuke said, pumping his fist triumphantly.
"Indeed," Noir uttered. As they made their way towards the front, she couldn't help but ask, "Do you have a preference on who drives?"
"Meh, not really," replied Yosuke in an uncaring tone. "Why, did you want to?"
"Well, only if you're okay with that."
"Yeah, sure thing. Go for it, Noir," he replied with a friendly smile.
Once they were seated, the heiress set about starting the car up. Thankfully, the controls were remarkably similar to an ordinary car in spite of the vehicle's outlandish appearance.
"All set?" Yosuke asked.
It was then that the young man caught a glimpse of the looks that now graced Haru's features. Her typically calm and pleasant demeanor now oozed an almost twisted sense of excitement. It only worsened as she gripped the wheel, which naturally had him sweating bullets.
"Uh, Noir…? You good?" Yosuke questioned nervously.
"More than good," she replied, her voice sending a chill down his spine. "I've actually been looking forward to trying out some new driving techniques."
'…excuse me?' Yosuke wondered.
His concerns were well founded as a moment later Haru peeled out of the parking area at frightening speeds. Yosuke whipped back and forth on the passenger's side at the subsequent stop, only to then slam back into the seat itself when the gas pedal was floored and they started to take off.
"Alright, now we can really get going!" Noir cried out, clearly elated.
The engine started to roar as they barreled down the facility's hallways. Every twist and turn came at such high speeds that the young Junes manager felt like he may as well have been in astronaut training.
"Uh, N-Noir, d'ya think you could maybe slow down a little?!" Yosuke exclaimed.
Sadly, his request fell on nearly deaf ears on account of the roaring engine that bellowed as they charged through the Palace.
"What? Did you say something Yosuke-san?"
"I said—"
A slight bump in the roadway nearly sent him flying out of his seat, though he held onto it for dear life all the while.
"I said slow down!" Yosuke shouted.
"Huh? I can't hear you," replied Noir.
"What?!"
"Huh?!" Noir asked confusedly, her eyes still on the road ahead. "Ah, we're coming up against another turn. Hold on tight!"
Though Yosuke could not fully hear what was said, he had working eyes and could see a sharp turn coming ahead. Given that they had still yet to slow down and showed no signs of doing so, he knew what was about to follow.
Naturally, he started to say his final prayers.
White Mask Palace: Section 1A, Outside Subject Containment
"…they're on the move," announced the redheaded idol, peering through the vizor of Kanzeon even as she and the other remained hidden from sight.
"So far so good then," Naoto thought aloud. "Yukiko, Chie, are you two ready to go?"
"Locked and loaded!" Chie replied with an eager grin gracing her features.
"You'll need to be," Rise said. "I'm sensing a good number of White Masks up ahead. All of them are human, and some are Persona users."
"How many?" Naoto questioned.
"My best guess is about a dozen and half of them are have Personas."
"I like our odds," Chie confidently proclaimed.
"Same," Yukiko chimed in.
"Don't be too overconfident. Remember, we're in the enemy stronghold, so there's no telling what tricks they have up their sleeves," cautioned the blue-haired young woman.
Several nods of understanding came in response, after which the squad made their way down the hall and crept within spitting distance of the containment center. Naoto took a small mirror from her blazer pocket and used it to peer down the hall, getting a good view of the layout without raising too much suspicion.
"The coast seems clear, we should move in closer to get a better look," Naoto whispered.
They did just that and managed to enter the room, hiding behind a series of bulky devices near the entrance. The men in the room present failed to take notice of their presence in large part due to the ever-blaring alarm.
"Does this thing ever shut off?" one of the men asked, his voice filled with agitation. "I've had bullet wounds that healed faster."
"Just ignore it," replied another.
"He's right. We've got more important stuff to take care of, just let the Shadows take care of—Ooof!"
The speaking White Mask was kicked in the side of the head and sent flying across the room, landing on the ground and groaning heavily. Several turned to face the attacker, only to then be assaulted by another.
Naoto's Persona flew across many of the White Masks at incredible speed. Sukuna-Hikona's laser sword incapacitated many of the guards even as they reached desperately for their weapons.
Two of the Persona-wielding guards were quick to react, reaching for his mask and whisking it across his face. A blue fire did away with the respective mask's bottom portion, leaving their jawlines visible though the rest of their faces remained hidden as he called forth their other selves.
"Melchizedek!"
A twin pair of winged beings clad in golden armor and a purple jumpsuit came forth and rushed towards Hikona without relent. Much to her wielder's surprise, they managed to latch onto her sides and pin her in place against a wall.
They readied to launch a series of powerful attacks with their fists brought to bear, and were they to land, they likely would have done a good amount of damage. However, it was not meant to be, at least if a certain police officer had anything to say about it.
"Tomoe!"
The legendary female warrior beat back the two-winged demons with relative ease, breaking them off of Sukuna-Hikona with pure force. The wielders of the two Personas recoiled at the blows, though before they could rally to counterattack, a small ember hovering at their caught their attention. They stared at it confusedly, unable to make heads or tails of its presence.
"What the—"
A controlled explosion erupted from directly in front of them, eliciting a pained scream as they shot up into the air before crashing back down onto the floor. Yukiko, content with the outcome, waved her fan and smile pleasantly at the sight.
"That takes care of that," Chie stated.
The brunette brushed off her shoulders in a casual manner, earning a laugh out of Yukiko and Rise while the detective rolled her eyes in amusement.
"Hey, wait," Yukiko uttered, cupping her chin in thought. "Didn't Rise say there were a dozen? If so, we're one short."
A powerful burst of darkness shot towards the group without warning. The lone White Mask that acted as the perpetrator watched with a sickening smirk beneath his veil, savoring every moment as his Persona continued to pile on the pressure.
He expected an explosion, though to his surprise the energy seemed to clump together in a sphere.
"What the…?"
The twisted matter was propelled outwards in all directions, revealing a visible barrier shimmering around the female Persona user's courtesy of Kanzeon. Once it dissipated, he readied his Persona once more to retaliate.
"Neibiro—"
He hadn't even the chance to fully utter the demon's name before a blast of fire slammed into his torso and shot him directly into the wall. The man groaned as he slid down, barely able to move, let alone continue the fight.
"Okay, now we're done," Chie mused. She turned to their navigator, offering a cheerful smile. "Nice save, Rise!"
"Just trying to pull my weight," she replied in an upbeat tone.
With that done and the White Masks incapacitated, they rushed to take inventory of the kidnapped victims present. Naoto, naturally, was the one to lead the effort given that she had all but memorized those that had gone missing by that point.
They were situated and strapped down on tables grouped up in bunches by the far end of the room. Though it looked far from comfortable, the fact that each was unconscious rendered that a moot point.
"Are they knocked out, or…?" Chie uttered.
"Yes, it appears so," Naoto replied. "Those instruments over there monitor their vitals. Thankfully, they're perfectly fine."
"Minus the whole being unconscious thing," Rise added half-jokingly.
"Perhaps so. In any case, we'll need to wait for Yosuke and Noir to arrive."
"Hopefully they'll be here soon," Yukiko thought aloud.
The abrupt sound of steely gears resounded from the entrance as several layers of metal doors slammed shut. Their attention was torn towards the room's far wall where a defeated White Mask chuckled weakly as his hand retracted from a giant red emergency lock switch.
"I would be far more concerned about yourselves…"
With that, the White Mask's body went limp, clearly evidence that it took all he had left to pull the lever. They rushed over towards the emergency switch within seconds, only to realize that it seemed only to serve the one purpose.
"Dammit," Chie hissed. "We've gotta figure out a way to get this open before Noir and Yosuke get here!"
"True. I have some tools with me, so perhaps I can…" Naoto spoke, only to be cut off.
A latch in the ceiling started to open, the size of which was noticeably dauting. The Persona users instinctively prepared for a formidable foe to emerge from it, adopting battle-ready stances well in advance of anything actually showing up.
To their immense surprise, a being far smaller than the latch would have them believe dropped down into the room. A Shadow crafted in the image of a king emerged, possessing dark-gray skin, red, satin robes, a distinguished white moustache, and hair akin to a powdered wig. Naturally, a crown also stood atop its head and a scepter took its place in its right hand. Overall, it's appearance was almost cartoonish in nature, and its diminutive size—being no taller than Futaba at best—did very little to reduce that image.
"…uh, what?" Chie wondered.
"It's a King, but I'm not getting a read on any of its affinities or abilities," Rise stated.
The Shadow took notice of them, though what it proceeded to do thereafter shocked the squad even more so. It began to goofily dance around, not even so much as looking at them while it did so.
"Ya-hoo!" it cheered.
"What the hell is this? That sounds straight outta Mario or something…" Chie remarked.
The kung-fu expert couldn't help her deadpanned expression and the other three fared little better. It was becoming rather difficult to take the Shadow's intrusion seriously.
"Do we… do we still fight it?" Rise wondered aloud.
An instant later, the King's dance culminated in the raising of its scepter. At this point, three separate puffs of smoke appeared, giving way to three hulking Shadows that appeared far more intimidating than their cartoonish summoner.
On each flank was a massive knight-like being, having the mask of a Shadow and heavy metal armor as it rode atop a phantasmal steed sporting a long sword-like horn atop its invisible head. A lance made its way into each's right hand, which they appeared all too ready to put to use.
The final Shadow, however, was far more imposing. Its height spanned almost the entirety of the room's available vertical space, being at least double if not triple the size of its comrades. The Shadow was garbed from head to toe in thick, steely, silver armor, while its weapons of choice were a massive, towering shield in its left hand alongside a massive hammer in its right.
"I'm gonna go with yes," Chie finally replied.
"Ya-hoo!"
White Mask Palace: Section 9A, Storage Room
As the White Masks scrambled to head towards the 'intruders', Futaba and company sat quietly and awaited their opportunity to make a move. Eventually, the shouting and rapid pounding of boots on the hallway outside had died down, though the navigator was by no means careless enough to take that at face value.
A subtle buzzing sound grabbed the attention of her comrades who easily gathered from context what she was doing.
"What do you see?" Fox asked plainly.
"Well, I've got good news and bad news," Oracle replied. "Which do you want first?"
"Bad news," Sae immediately answered.
"There's still one hell of a powerful White Mask lurking in the control room just like we thought. As best I can tell, he's also a Persona user," Oracle stated with a scowl. "Though the good news is the distractions are working perfectly. The White Masks aren't near the control room in anywhere near as great a number."
"Meaning the 'mini-boss', as you say it, would be the one obstacle left," Sae mused.
"Right."
"Are you able to gather any information other than their power level at this point?"
"That's a big ol' negatory, Inari."
Though the question remained open as to how they would proceed, and to that end, the eldest of the Nijima sisters began to eye up a ventilation shaft just across the hallway.
"Oracle, is there an air duct that leads into the control room?"
"Hm?" muttered Oracle. She began to check the data from the map she stored away earlier. "Yeah, there is. The entrance to it is a few corridors away."
"Perfect," she replied with a smirk. "You two head there. I'll take the control room from the front and draw the Persona user away so that you can get to work securing the data we need."
"Avenger, are you sure about this?" Fox pressed.
"Entirely so," Sae stated firmly, her eyes as hardened as they came. "You just make sure to protect Oracle from whatever White Masks remain."
"Very well, then I shall do just that," he replied with a solemn nod.
"Then I'll head out. You two get into position and wait for an opening to enter, okay?"
"Right," said Oracle, a bit of nervousness making its way into her voice. "Good luck out there, okay?"
"Hmph," Sae scoffed amusedly. "I've never once depended on luck in my life."
As the crimson-eyed Persona user took her leave, both Futaba and Yusuke could only marvel at her absolute confidence.
"I truly wonder what one must do to become so self-assured…" Fox thought aloud.
"Dunno, but that chick is one hell of a badass, that much is for sure," Oracle replied. She quickly broke out of her momentary awe. "A-Anyway, we should get going too."
White Mask Palace: Section 9A, Control Room
Several of the White Masks manned terminal stations throughout the area, their pace appearing to be thereabouts of a mile a minute as their fingers frantically danced across the interfaces.
A lone figure stood calm in the midst of the chaos, taking his place at the room's center, appearing as if even a bomb going off then and there wouldn't so much as phase him in the slightest.
"Sir, we've lost contact with the patrols in section 2B. It looks like the intruders have beaten them back," one of the technicians stated.
"To be expected," he replied. "Contact the nearby patrols and tell them to pull back. Have them regroup in greater numbers in the surrounding areas before crashing down on them in numbers from all sides."
"Yes, sir."
"Hmm…"
The man in charge seemed to notice the curious humming even as the room's mechanical instruments flared.
"Have you found something?" the man asked.
"Maybe," his subordinate replied. "I'm seeing that the emergency lockdown has been initiated from within the containment center. I'm trying to get into contact with anyone stationed there, but—"
"The containment center?" he uttered in fascination.
"Yes."
The White Mask considered the possibilities only briefly, his body language still as calm as ever.
"Engage the lockdown protocol for Sector X and the control room immediately," he ordered.
"Sir?"
"It's quite simple, really. The attack on 2B is clearly a distraction to draw our men away from the containment center so that they could strike. However, if their only target was the containment center, why bother attacking sector 2B?" the man explained. "Hence the need to engage the lockdown portals in our most important areas before they too come under attack."
"Should we divert troops to the Sector 1A as well?" another inquired.
"No," he answered plainly. "If only for the fact that they are unlikely to defeat our security measure."
"Very well. Initiating shutdown."
"Prioritize locking down Sector X first."
"Already done, sir. Now engaging lockdown protocol for—Hnghh?!"
The technician's pained groan was accompanied by the sound of a body hitting the floor. Naturally, this drew the attention of the White Masks at large, finding a confident Avenger standing plainly in sight near the unconscious bodies of no less than five guards at the forefront of the room.
"An intruder!"
"Yes, thank you for the announcement," the leader of the group dryly remarked. He stepped forward, giving his full attention to the interloper. "Engage the lockdown protocol the second the two of us are out of the room."
His men were somewhat confused by his choice of words, though they quickly came to understand. In an instant, the man called forth his Persona and charged towards Avenger with everything he had. The beauty was effectively sling-shotted out of the control room, skidding across the floor until she finally managed to stabilize herself.
The White Mask's highest ranking member present stood tall just outside the door to the control room. He peered over his shoulder as if wordlessly asking why the door wasn't in the process of closing, and in turn they seemed to get the message.
"S-Shut the doors, now!" one of the frantic technicians exclaimed.
As the bulky metal doors began to shut, Sae picked herself up, glaring heavily at her newly met opponent. He drew his katana and entered a defensive stance, it being quite clear he intended not to move an inch until the control room's entrance was closed.
"To be honest, I'm surprised you withstood my attack," he uttered in a deadpanned tone. "I had intended to cut you down, you know."
"I don't break easily."
"I can see that. And what is your name?"
"No business of yours. That's what."
"Hm… very well, have it your way."
At a speed that exceeded even the blink of an eye, the White Mask called forth his Persona and sent it towards Sae yet again. The silver-haired beauty managed to dodge, though she found no opening to mount a counterattack. In fact, it was all she could do to evade the onslaught of blows that followed.
It felt never-ending, though luckily the enemy Persona's blades eventually struck into a wall, slashing it to pieces and lightly coating the immediate area with dust and smoke, thereby giving her an opportunity to duck away undetected.
'Dammit,' Sae hissed internally. 'I was expecting it this time, but it still did me little good. Just what the hell…'
Her eyes landed on a silhouette amidst the smoke before the Persona managed to retreat from reality. In the two prior attacks, it had been too fast for her to actually identify. With that one glance, however, she was able to recognize it almost immediately.
It's tall hat and dual-swords were a dead giveaway, after all.
'Well, that's unencouraging,' she sighed.
No additional time was given for her to gather herself as her opponent soon charged through the smokescreen with his sword in hand, slashing at her torso without relent. She brought her twinblade up and parried the blows well, even managing to flip his momentum with a powerful spinning strike that subsequently put him off balance. It was an opening she would not let pass.
"Astrea!"
The mythological goddess of justice appeared with her swords in hand. Her blades glowed, one white and one black as it slashed at the masked man as his body still twisted in an attempt to regain its footing.
"Yoshitsune!"
Two pairs of steely blades clashed with one another, culminating in a small eruption that forced both fighters back a fair distance. They managed to stabilize quite well, leaving no openings as they did so. Their Personas still stayed ever-present by their sides, appeared as defensive as their wielders.
They eyed one another analytically, neither wanting to make a foolish move in the aftermath of their last bout.
"…are you sure you'll not tell me your name?" The White Mask abruptly inquired.
"Avenger, now stop asking," she replied, her tone clearly one of annoyance.
"Apologies," he answered. "It's a preference of mine to know the names of a foe I deem worthy."
Both the White Mask and Yoshitsune charged, each going after the other-sides equivalent. Astrea brought up her swords and blocked the impressive flurry of strikes meanwhile Sae did the same as she was locked in combat with the enemy Persona user himself.
"I am Light," he stated offhandedly. "A pleasure to meet you."
He lunged, locking swords with Avenger's twinblade and forcing a momentary standstill as the two continued to apply pressure towards one another. Eventually, Sae broke the stalemate and forced her opponent back.
Astrea subsequently sent a burst of holy white energy towards him, and though the attack did cause a small explosion around his body, Light nevertheless emerged unharmed courtesy of Yoshitsune retreating to tank the blow.
"Charmed," Sae replied, sarcasm heavy in her tone.
Back in the Control Room…
"Lockdown is fully online," announced a technician.
"Do you think we should send him help?"
"No, our job is to make sure that we—"
The sound of a large metal object slamming against the floor caught their attention. As they soon discovered, the cause was a metal airduct cover that had fallen near the center of the room.
They proceeded to look up, though in doing so they were greeted with the sight of a descending Persona user in the form of Fox, who dispatched several of the White Mask technicians within the radius of his landing with style and grace.
Those guards that were posted near the corners of the room aimed their guns and started firing off a storm of bullets in an effort to take him down.
"Persona!" Fox exclaimed.
Goemon appeared and sliced the hail of bullets to pieces, allowing not a single shard of metal to come within an inch of Yusuke's body. The chambers of their guns were now had been emptied as well, leaving them wide open to a finishing blow.
The aspiring artist sent a flurry of blue shards towards each of the remaining White Masks, coating them in ice and freezing them in place. Though the chilled prisons shattered moments later, the men they contained were perfectly incapacitated and fell unconsciously to the floors of the control room.
Yusuke surveyed the area one final time, seeing no threats remaining.
"Oracle, the coast is clear," Fox called out.
"Coming down now! Get ready!"
"Wait, I—"
The orange-haired teen jumped down in a free fall, obviously depending on Yusuke to catch her. Though his somewhat panicked movements made it obvious he wasn't all that confident, he tried to position himself to help her stick the landing all the same.
Thankfully, he was able to do just that, managing to catch her in his arms without buckling.
"Nice catch!" Oracle cheered.
"Yes, I'm relieved."
"You and me both," she giggled.
"Truth be told, I was unsure I would be able to," Fox admitted, almost nervously.
He adopted a curious expression a moment later, lifting the young hacker up and down in his arms seemingly at random.
"Uh, what the hell are you doing? You're kinda creepin' me out," Oracle replied.
"Please, allow me to explain," he said in an even tone. "I was just thinking that I owe you an apology for the other day as it appears I can carry you quite easily. You're rather light."
The orange-haired teen's cheeks flushed, be that as a result of embarrassment at what Yusuke had just said or due to the fact that she realized he was still carrying her in his arms. Her awkward instincts, rearing their heads, she turned her head away and started to push off of his chest.
"Y-Yeah, thanks. W-We're good, you can stop now," Oracle stammered.
"Wait, if you—"
Though his words were meant to be ones of warning, Yusuke wouldn't get the chance to speak them. Futaba's mild squirming put him off balance and sent him on a trajectory towards the ground alongside the navigator.
The blue-haired young man had managed to catch himself with his arms and prevented himself from outright slamming into the floor. That proved to be quite the good thing too, as the floor wasn't what he'd have slammed into.
Beneath his arms and hardly more than a foot away from his face, Futaba lay frozen in place, her cheeks so scarlet it put the color red itself to shame. Her eyes were little more than tiny beads, something that Yusuke quickly took note of.
"F-Futaba, my sincerest apologies! I hadn't meant to—"
"N-No, no, that one was my bad!" she all but squealed out. "Just, uh… couldja get off me?"
"O-Oh, yes, of course."
Though they were quickly on their feet, the immense awkwardness still lingered. The absolute silence gripping the room only made it all the worse. Eventually, the navigator was the one to break it, saying something that she simply felt needed to be said.
"That never happened and we're never to speak of this again under punishment of death. Deal?" Oracle offered.
"Though that seems a tad extreme, perhaps it's for the best…"
"Good."
With that, the pair managed to move on as if it were business as usual. The hacking prodigy, true to her title, made her way to the large terminal at the back of the room and immediately set about monitoring the situation as best as she could.
"It appears the other two sections of note have been locked down as well."
"Not a problem."
"Then I take it you'll be able to open the sectors once more?"
"Oh I can do more than that," said Oracle, her tone filled with eager anticipation. "In the meantime, though, you should go round up all these randos and make sure they don't cause problems when they come to. I'll take care of the rest."
"Very well."
White Mask Palace: Section 5A, Outside Unedified Area
A lone guard walked down a hallway, his rifle drawn but held in a rather lackadaisical manner. He turned a corner on the same route he'd followed nearly a dozen times since his patrol started. His shoulder was quickly grabbed and before he could react, a fist slammed into his face.
He fell into the wall and groaned quietly as he fell ever-further into an unconscious state. Yu caught him and let him down gently, not wanting to bater him more so than he already had.
"That makes one down," Yu remarked.
"And a hell of a lot more to go," Joker replied. He peered down the corner of the hallway, glancing at the group of White Masks that stood by section X's entrance. "I'm counting at least fifteen. It should be easy enough to take them down in a straight up fight."
"We may not have to," Yu stated.
"How do you mean?"
Without answering, he took off his blazer and replaced it with that of the patrolling guard. He then proceeded to take his mask and weapon, looking back at his raven-haired comrade with a knowing expression under his new visage.
The trickster quickly gathered from context what to do.
"Got it. I'll be ready."
"Be right back then."
The now disguised Yu walked several steps out into the open and fired off several panicked shots down the other end of the T-shaped hallway. He then ran towards the entrance to Sector X, quickly catching the attention of the guards stationed there.
"What the—?!"
"Intruders! The intruders are here! They're coming down from over there!"
"Lock and load! Don't let them get away!" One of the men ordered.
As a group, they rushed forwards, turning the corner with their weapons at the ready. They grew understandably confused when their eyes saw little more than an empty hallway.
Joker proceeded to get to work and attacked them from behind, peppering each with a barrage of physical attacks courtesy of Siegfried. Needless to say, the White Masks were soon down for the count, having quite literally never seen it coming.
The silver-haired young man returned shortly thereafter, throwing the borrowed mask on the floor before changing back into his actual blazer.
"Nice work," Yu remarked.
"Not quite as nice as you're acting," Joker replied. He crossed his arms and adopted a wry grin. "And here I am, fresh out of Oscars to give out."
"You can owe me one," he chuckled. "C'mon, let's go."
The two managed to make their way to the entrance of the mysterious section of the palace with ease. However, just as they were about to cross the threshold of its entrance, a large door slammed down and sealed it shut.
"…that might be a problem," Yu blankly commented.
"Meh, not for long," Joker said with a careless shrug of his shoulders. He opened his comm link. "Hey, Oracle, can you hear me?"
No less than half a second after Ren had even spoken her name, the metal door started to raise back into the ceiling. The two Wild Cards watched in place with deadpanned expressions as the process finished and the path became open to them yet again.
"That was even faster than I was expecting," Yu thought aloud.
"Yeah, I didn't even get a chance to ask her to open it."
"I take it the door was what you were going to ask about?" Oracle's voice called out through the line. "It's open now, right?"
"Yeah, we're all clear," Joker replied. "Thanks, Oracle. We're heading in now."
"Roger that. Just… just be careful in there. Even from the control room, I can't find any info on what's up ahead."
"Thanks for the warning," replied Yu. "Still, whatever we find in there, we'll take care of it."
"Couldn't have said it better myself," Joker remarked with a cocky smirk.
A/N Aaaaand done. With that, we're done with part 1 of the final portion of the White Mask ark, and the last part will be posted Friday of next week as per usual.
Explanations:
The White Mask 'Palace': Technically it isn't a Palace in and of itself, but it acts similarly to one in the sense that it's a created distorted space. The main difference is that Palaces are usually limited to some degree by physical locations, while this obviously isn't based on a physical location whatsoever. Why and how would that be? Well, that explanation has story implications so it'll be a while.
Haru's Driving: For those of you that aren't aware, this is a joke based on the sequels to the P5 game. In Strikers, there's a scene where Haru gets to drive, and basically, she's a complete and total maniac behind the wheel. That holds true here as well. Will Yosuke live? Probably barely.