Part two go!

"WHAT!?" The four other thieves yelled.

"They've been taken by guards, they just past us!"

"But how!?" Skull shouts. "We took them home earlier!"

"Maybe… maybe they have the same app we used to get here. You got it when you first arrived." Akira answered.

"It could be possible…"

"Oh no… don't tell me they got here on their own! Dammit! We let them out for safety and they just came back in by themselves!"

"... an app…" Noir mumbled to herself. "Maybe that means that I have it as well…"

"Regardless, this just now changed into a rescue mission! Let's go save them!"

~Lead the way Mona!~

Running out the door, the group of five ventured deep within the palace, following the guards that held one of the newly captured intruders. Aside from looting a bit more on the side, killing off a few shadows who got in the way, and having to backtrack a bit, they finally arrived at a door with two muffled screams echoing inside. Killing the last set of guards after they threw in the third intruder, the group of five opened the doors… only to catch the sight of many naked girls lying around the whole room.

"What the hell!?" Skull shouts. "Is this what he thinks of the girl's volleyball team!?"

"How indecent!" Noir added, looking away with a light blush on her face.

"Focus!" Mona hissed. "They're right there!" true to his claim, there in the room with them, was a prone Mishima, Ann and Shiho tied to x-shaped stands and shadow Kamoshida snarling at the newcomers, with shadows of the three students fawning over him.

"Why the hell do you twerps keep coming BACK!?" the ruler yelled in rage.

~why the hell do you wear a pink mankini, you fuck!?~

"Please get us down!" Shiho pleaded in terror. "I… I don't want to… to…"

"Just what's all this about!? I'll call the cops on you if you don't let us go right now!"

"I've been disrupted from my private time with my princess and mistress, and what do I find; a set of wannabe doppelgangers!"

~yeah, we'll be taking them back, if you don't mind. Just… shut up and give them back.~

"Just where do you get off, talkin' like that to ME of all people!?"

~I don't know, you tell me.~

"Enough of your quips, Reaper! We have some hostages to save!"

"Mishima! Are you okay!?" Joker yelled out, helping the blunette up from the floor.

"I-i'm fine, Akira…" he whispered.

"It's Joker in this place…" he whispered back.

"And why are you helping him up? He's a traitorous dog just like the rest of you!"

~ running around this shitshow wouldn't be called a traitorous thing speedoman.~

"You don't even know what I'm talking about and you still have the balls to speak to me this way!?" shadow Kamoshida snarked. "You should be aiming your weapons at him; he was the one who ruined your chances of living peacefully."

"What…?"

"...It's true…" Mishima mumbled, looking away with unyielding guilt. "... I did it…I leaked your files to the whole school…."

"WHAT!?"

~Jesus, Mishima, what the shit!?~

"I had to…" the blunette continued. "he threatened to go after my mother if I refused…"

"He threatened…"

~your mom…~

"For THAT!?" Skull yelled. "Now I'm really gonna kill your ass!"

"S-Skull! No killing remember!"

"First, he broke my leg and ruined the track team on purpose, then he abuses and molests the volleyball teams, now he's going after people's Loved ones!? Aw HELL NO!" Skull roared, raising his Metal Pipe.

"What's the point anyways? He just sat there and obeyed like the little bitch that he was, just like little Shiho here."

"W-wha?"

"I bet you just followed around because that's the only thing you're good for; following others."

~Fuck off, ya nutjob! Leave her out of this!~

"A wannabe bitch, a worthless waste of space and a wimpy coward; the trifecta of unbearable!"

"Alright, that's enough! Zorro! Garu!"

~right away!~ the spaniard outlaw echoed, materializing and swinging his blade, but was intercepted by a few of the guards.

"Kill them!" Shadow Kamoshida ordered. "But keep the girls alive; I might give them some reason to keep living before their execution."

"No!"

"P-Please help!"

~Fuuuuuuuu-~ Reaper yelled back, flying away as a group of guards dogpiled him again. This time, however, he got himself out… ~Nice try you- Baaagheaha!~... only to get knocked over yonder to the far side of the room!

"Reaper!"

"Crap, Not again!"

"O-oh my…" and once more, the group of thieves were surrounded by shadows.

"no...No…" Mishima stuttered, looking on at the scene before him, tears leaking from his eyes as he seemingly struggled in place. "I… have to help… but… but…"

"~familiar, isn't it?~" a calm, smooth voice echoed within his ears "~ standing here, gazing into the eyes of those you care for taken hostage in a dangerous scenario… it's just like her way back then…~"

"n-No.. NO!"

"~You want to help, but your fear of the past haunts you into silence… but that is merely a fabrication. You want to help them, do you not? Then throw away this fearful facade.~

Meanwhile, Shiho looked onwards at the very same scenario.

"No… is this… how I die? Being worthless to the end? I couldn't help anyone… I couldn-"

"she's doing whatever she can do for your sake! Don't throw that all away! Don't throw HER away!" Ryuji's words from before echoed through her mind.

"No.. Ann, I don't want to throw her away… Not now.. Or ever.…"

"~then don't~" a feminine voice entered her mind. "~ don't call it quits just yet, there are still things you've yet to achieve on your own… you say you have no meaning? Then grab fate by the reigns and make up your own!~"

While this was going on, Ann looked at the approaching knights, swords raised, in fear.

"Is this.. How we're going to die? My punishment for… what happend to Shiho…? " she whispered. "Shiho… I'm so sorry…"

"Ann! Mishima! Shiho! Don't give in!" Joker shouts, backstepping from a guard swinging his blade.

"Huh?"

~this asshole's just making you feel bad! You guys can do this!~

"Don't let this Dickbag get you down… we can do this… Together!" Skull shouts, blasting some of them back with Zio.

"... you're right." all three students answered simultaneously.

"Letting this piece of shit toy with me… what was I thinking…!?"

"Letting others walk all over me… that's isn't the way to go..."

"Letting people say I'm worthless… I-I'm not worthless..."

"Quit your bitchin'! slaves should behave an-"

"SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!" all three shouts together.

"I've had enough of this…"

"I'm not worthless… and I won't take it from anyone anymore!"

"I'm done with this… No more wussing out!"

"~right answer. But of course it was; I know you better than anyone else. Now why don't you have your brawns join your brains like they're meant to be?~"

"~splendid! This is only the first step, now come forth, your journey shall be legendary!~"

"~My… it's taken far too long…~" a third voice said, echoing through Ann's mind, all three writhed in pain at the voices in their heads.

"~tell me… who's going to protect her if you don't?... forgiving him was never an option...such is the scream of the other you that dwells within…~"

"~I am thou, thouartI~"

"~Take up thy soul and pierce the world to victory, cry out thy name in pride and glory~"

"~Succumb to thy fury and help the helpless… just like you did all those years ago…~"

"~we can finally forge a contract… and end this man's reign once and for all…~"

"I hear you… Carmen." Ann whispered. "You're right… no more holding back!"

"Right… no more… I won't forgive you… I will NEVER FORGIVE YOU!" Mishima roared, unyielding rage poured out the male as he bared his fangs at the shadow.

"I shall prove I am useful… or go down trying… and Nobody is going to stop me!" Shiho screamed with a burning resolve, a burst of blue flames surged through the three, making the two girls free themselves as three masks formed on their faces. A red cat like mask for Ann, a band like mask for Shiho, and a demon looking mask for Mishima.

"~there you go… nothing can be resolved by restraining yourself. Understand, then I'll gladly lend you my strength!~"

"~ very good. Now, Take up thy weapon and strike the wicked, for the glory of thy life!~"

"~Another spectacular answer. Now go! Raise thy fists and paint the world RED!~"

"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGH!" All three screamed, ripping off their masks with blood flying everywhere, soon all three burst into azure flames, forming a triad of infernal light.

"WHAT THE HELL!?"

~OH SHIT!~
"Not Again!" Kamoshida whimpered.

The light faded down with astonishing results; three more entities were now seen within the room. One had the appearance of a femme fatale dancer, dressed in a luxurious red gown with two humanoid puppets with heart shaped heads chained together near her. The second, a female knight with various knives, plates and an odd looking curved spear in her hands. The last of the three appeared to be a teen male with glasses wearing a cross between a wizard's garb and a strategist uniform, various floating hand like contraptions orbited around the male.

That wasn't the only change, however, all three students stood triumphantly, each wearing different sets of clothing entirely. Ann's was changed into a vermillion skin tight leather suit with a cat like tail, Mishima took on the appearance of a monk fighter's gi with a demonic looking set of features, and Shiho's change of clothing looked to be a cross between a kunoichi garb and a knight's armor, with most of it ninja esque with added knight greaves, pads, and breastplate.

"Arise, Joan of Arc!, I call upon thee to strike down my foe!" Shiho commanded, the knight being bowed in response. A light shone on her hand seconds later, revealing an odd looking crossbow in her grasp.

"Kamoshida! I will desecrate your corpse when I'm done with you!" Mishima growled, his fist glowed a dark purple as he stalked towards the terrified shadow.

"Alright, let's take them all down Carmen!" Ann shouts, the femme fatale nodding in agreement. "You've taken everything from us… you tried to destroy us… now it's your turn!"

"Joan! Rapid Fire! Save our friends!"

"Artemis! Fury Fist!"

"Agi Carmen!

Waves of light beams, energy fists, and fireballs flew everywhere in the room, killing off most of the shadows, and leaving behind only the shadow king, his gold knight and a few stragglers.

"I'll put an end to your reign… I'll rob you of everything!"

"How dare you… enough of your insolence!" the gold knight and straggling guards morphed into… a demon sitting on a toilet… (I wouldn't have made it up if i tried)

"Huh… uuwaahahha!" Kamoshida yelped in fright, running out the room and leaving the pooping demon to the eight fighters.

"How dare you deny king Kamoshida's love, you selfish lass!? Pay for your insolence with your lives!" the demon bellowed.

"That dirtbag just sees women as sexual outlets!" Ann retorted. "Don't make me laugh with this "love" bullshit!"

"Come closer so i can clog up that toilet with your face, you scumbag!" Mishima growled, clenching his fists readily.

"Let's defeat this monster!" Shiho exclaimed, aiming the crossbow

"Yeah! Let's give 'em Hell!"

~mind if we joined!?~ Reaper announces ,the earlier five joining the group…

"Knock 'em down! AGI!"

"Zio!"

"FURY FIST!"

"Eiha!"

"Garu!"

"Frei...La!"

"Rapid Fire!"

~Kouha!~

A multitude of attacked came all at once, and overcame the squatting fiend, while it wasn't enough to kill it outright, it was able to stagger the foe.

"Now! All out attack!" Mona said as he, Joker, Skull and Reaper lunged at the demon, damaging him every which way, in the middle of this, Mishima joined in, followed by Noir, Ann and Shiho. Soon everyone was dealing massive damage to the demon, which was, this time, able to finish off the shadow.

"I-impossible…" the demon bellowed, dissolving into black ashes as it breathed its last breath.

"H-hey! Where'd that perverted freak run off to!?" Ann shouts.

~the wuss ran out on us when we were fighting that shit demon!~

"Hurry Afte-" Mishima barely got out before slumping down to one knee. "W-what's happening!?"

"O-Oh no…" Shiho mumbled, nearly collapsing herself.

"What's going on!?"

"You've probably used up all your energy for the awakening to your persona and fighting the shadow…"

"More importantly!" Skull intervened. "Why'd you come here!? We took you guys out for your own safety!"

"Hey, is that how you speak to a lady!?" Mona shouts back, once again causing the two to initiate another squabble.

" by the way… what is that thing? Is it alive…? How can it talk?"

"And… where the hell are we!?"

"Calm down. I have some friends who'll explain everything. We just need to get to a door." Joker announced, pulling out the velvet room key and walking to the door from earlier.

~everything's fine now, so don't worry.~

"How are we supposed to calm down!?"

"... is now a good time to go over our new outfits?" Shiho asks, causing the three to look down at themselves in shock and curiosity.

"Why am I dressed like this!? When did I-"

~you're just now noticing the clothes change!?~

"Ugh, what's with this!?"

"I said calm down." Joker said, walking back to the group. "I've opened our gateway. Let's take this conversation to a more… fitting place."

"Welcome back Trickster and friends." Philemon greeted. "Once again, you have graced us with more comrades. I see that most of them have awakened to their power."

~Yeah, it was kind of unexpected, but not entirely unwanted.~

"I see… and I presume you want me to address the situation to your newfound comrades?"

"Would you mind?"

"Not at all, Trickster, anything that aids your quest will take top priority, whether it's explanation or execution... Now, If you mind, go speak with Igor; he is over there with a present we've made for you. I shall inform your new guest on your predicament."

Nodding, Akira, Ryuji Morgana and Arata (they're not in the palace anymore, so real names now) walked over to the far side of the room, locating the butterfly next to a separate table with about four chairs next to it.

"Greetings, Trickster, and to you as well Chariot, Morgana and Reaper."

~Hey Igor.~ Arata greeted. ~Phil mentioned something about a present you two made, then told us to come to ya.~.

"Indeed we have. I present to you; the Inhibitor Ring." The old butterfly scooted off to the side, revealing a single black ring with a blue stone on the top. "Apologies, this is the only one we've managed to make so far. It will be the very thing that grants you access to one of our new facilities for you; the power of synchronization."

"Oh, Yeah… you said that we needed more spirits to have access to the facilities… did that have to do with my Wild Card ability?"

"Indeed Trickster. The powers of the Wild Card are numerous, but a common ability of this power is the capture and usage of spirits. They take take the form of Personas for you to use. I assume you already have a few?"

"Yeah we do!" Ryuji cheered lightly. Akira nodded and opened his palm, then focussed as several masks appeared out of his hand.

"As expected of the Trickster. Let's see… a Pixie, a Bicorn, a Pyro Jack, and a Mandrake, not a bad starting collection."

"You mentioned other facilities including this synchronization thing, could you tell us more about it?" Morgana asked.

"Of course; our three facilities are relatively new, so even we aren't able to fully utilize it's maximum usage at the moment, but they will still be useful nonetheless. Synchronization, the first facility, will center around this ring. As long as you wear it, then you will be able to synchronize with a persona, granting the user with even more power. I shall explain more when the time is right. The next facility, Dismantling, is a bit unfortunate, but necessary. It requires you to take a persona and break it down, granting you items, ingredients and even some miscellaneous additions as well. However, you will lose the Persona forever."

"Wow really?"

"Yes, it is a bit like one of our older facilities, however this is one of two ways you can gain ingredients, which is used for the third facility; Assimilation."

"Assimilation…?" Ryuji repeated.

"Correct, by using special items, Ingredients we call them, you can enhance and upgrade a Persona, weapon, armor, and even certain abilities manually. There are two types of ingredients, normal ingredients for enhancing and catalysts for upgrading, and two ways to obtain them, by dismantling or finding them in the world."

"...um… "

~One lets you combine with your persona, the second breaks it down into items and stuff, and the third uses some items to make them stronger.~

"Ah… right."

"Hmm… what do you lot think?" Akira asked the floating masks.

"I'm ready for anything!" "Jack wants to help master!" "as unfortunate as it is, I shall do what I must if it's to aid you." "Uhn… Uhn.." the four additional persona answered.

"Alright. I'll use these facilities, but only on those who volunteers for it; I'm not going to do it if they don't want to." Akira continued.

"As expected of the champion of humanity. Well then, I shall begin the operation."

~wait, you can do that?~

"I may have my power sealed away, but that does not mean i am truly powerless." Igor answered. "Let us begin…"

After a few minutes of going over the procedure, dismantling Pyro jack and Mandrake, and enhancing Arsene, who gained two rare abilities called Drain Bless and Deathtika, (Igor mentioned something about specific ingredients for specific persona can bring forth never before seen power.) the four persona users reunited with the other four after Philemon finished speaking to them. With a few more minutes of adding their input and plan to the mix, everyone's conversation now turned to a new topic.

"Hey… are you guys alright?" Akira asked.

"Y-yeah… it's a lot to take in." Ann answered.

"Demiruge… Wild Card… Confidants? I can't keep up with this info." Mishima groaned, Shiho nodding in agreement.

"I agree with that, but still, you're being used in a rigged gamble… and the whole world's at stake. I can't just let that stand now that I know of this." Haru continued.

~Yeah, and as Phil probably already mentioned, we can literally weaponize friendship to beat him.~

"I know that too, it's just…" Ann replied.

"Just what?" Ryuji egged on.

"E-everything's happening so fast… I don't know if I can readily accept you as a friend THAT quickly."

"Wha-"

"Can it, moron, she said THAT quickly." Morgana hissed.

~Then you just need a little time to get to know him first, right?~

"Pretty much… Arata right?" Ann nodded. "I know this may sound selfish… and wrong given the situation, but.."

~Hey, hey, you don't have to force a relationship to happen. Besides, that won't work anyway; the bond needs to be genuine.~

"Thanks, I know this isn't the right time, with your life and the world at stake, but I'll still help whenever I can."

"Same here." Shiho added. "You lot saved me from making a big mistake… I wish to thank you by helping you in this game your in."

"I agree. I… I may have ruined your chances at Shujin, but I promise. I'll do whatever it takes to atone for what I did." Mishima stated. All of a sudden, a warm feeling washed over the group, and Akira heard the same voice from before…

I am thou, thou art I…

Thou has acquired new vows…

they shall become the wings of rebellion,

That breaketh thy chains of captivity…

With the births of the Lovers, Moon, and Knight arcana,

I have obtained the winds of blessing that

shall lead to freedom and new power

~Aaaaand we don't have to worry about that anymore anyways.~

"And you know this… how?"

~Soul Pact with Kira here. We practically share each other's souls. Comes with some risks, but it's worth it of you find the right person.~

"That reminds me… I've still got some questions." Ryuji proclaimed, looking at the male. "Just how long have you and Kira been together?"

~around like 5... yeah, 5 years.~

"How?"

~...well… maybe another time I'll go over the full story, but long story short, he saved my live twice, he almost died in an accident, and I repaid my debt to him by forging a Soul pact and saving him. We've been friends since.~

"...wow.. I… damn."

"Yeah, we don't really talk about it much."

"You said that the bond has to be genuine…" Mishima asked. "How could you tell when it's formed?"

"Well… I get this warm feeling inside me, then I hear a lady's voice…"

"A voice…" Igor whispered.

"It tells me that I've birthed something called an Arcana, then I feel stronger a few moments afterwards. It happened with Ryuji and Morgana."

~I'm able to hear it too, because of the soul pact, and with the bonds forged, I can see your souls a lot more clearly, just enough for my to unlock some of your potential.~

"That's… useful…"

Maybe you should return to your world." Philemon intervened. " you all must be exhausted after the events of today. We shall continue this in the next time that we meet."

"Yeah…"

~See ya guys.~ Arata waved off, the group of eight leaving the room.

"So, now that we're back…" Ryuji started, an eerily sweet tone in his voice.

~Oh god, what are you thinking about Boy!?~

"Time for a well deserved rage. And I know just the thing." Ryuji continued in the same sweet voice, which turned more monotoned as he went on.

"L-Look Ryuji, I-i know that we've disrespected your intentions, but… Ryuji?" Ann stuttered, but looked in confusion as Ryuji turn and walked off. "Did...did he just ignore me?"

"..."

"... wait…. OH CRAP!" MIshima yelled in panic, which prompted the Blonde to full on sprint in the direction he was going.

~What? What's going on!?~

"That's the direction of the PE faculty room!" Mishima shouts, running after the Blonde. A few seconds of realization cause the rest of them to follow suit.

"Dammit Ryuji!"

~Oh goddammit, why now!?~

"Ryuji, don't do something stupid!"

"Ryuji… RYUJI!?"

"Sakamoto, Please think about this!"

"KAMOSHIDA!" Ryuji roared, practically kicking open the door, the rest of the group joined shortly after.

"What do you want now, kid; I'm busy!"

"You bastard! Don't play it off like it never happened! We know what you tried to do with Shiho! AND for what you did to Mishima!"

"That is enough!" Kamoshida snapped, facing the group. Arata and Morgana suppressed a snicker at the teacher's half bandaged face.

"What you did… wasn't coaching… it was torture…" Mishima whispered.

"What did you say, boy?"

"You ordered me to call Suzui here…You tortured us… all of us.. On purpose!"

"You didn't stop there either…" Shiho chimed in behind the males. "You...you tried to..to…"

"What do you got to say for yourself!?"

"You're going on and on about things you have no proof of."

~Sakamoto, don't you FUCKIN' dare say shit about our recordings.~

"But." Morgana protested.

~shush! He doesn't know that we recorded stuff yet! Let's keep it that way.~

"You're simply just making stuff up because you're jealous that you aren't on the team, right?"

"Like hell i'd ever want to be in anything with you in it!"

"That's not what this is about and you know it!" Mishima growled, his rage seeping into his voice.

"Even if that's true- hypothetically speaking- what are you gonna do about it? A delinquent, a criminal, a wuss, an three ladies who should've minded their own business."

"Say that to my face you Asshole!" Ann yelled, Haru and Shiho holding her back.

"Shiho almost died because of you!" Haru added.

"You.. goddamn…!"

"This again?" Kamoshida sighed. "Do I have to act in "self-defense" once more, Sakamoto?"

"Self defe- you broke Ryuji's leg on purpose!?"

"Shut the hell up, you son of a bitch!" Ryuji yelled, readying a fist. Before he threw a punch, however, Akira grabbed it in the nick of time.

"Why're you stoppin' me!?"

"Don't Ryuji, it's what he wants you to do!" Akira answered. "Don't let him get to you."

"Oh? You're stopping him? What a surprise." the teacher gloated. "There's no need to hold back. C'mon, sock one right here!, just don't be surprised when I hit back!... ohhh, right, you can't. Of course you can't!"

~Keep talking Speedoman! I'll plug up your Yapper right now!~

"Everyone present right now… will be expelled. I'm reporting all of you at the next board meeting."

This declaration promptly surprised all eight members immensely.

"Wha-!?"

"You can't do that!"

"Who'd seriously consider what scum like you say? You're just as responsible as these idiots are Mishima. A shame that three beauties will suffer the same fate as you clowns. Enjoy your last few weeks here while you can!

"W-wha!?"

"Don't act innocent; you were the one who leaked his criminal records, didn't you?"

"YOU threatened to go after my FAMILY if I didn't do as you said!"

"I don't have time for this, I've got expulsion papers to prep! Your futures are mine to take. Now get out of my sight!"

"You're not getting away with this, Asshole!" Ryuji roared, everyone practically dragging the blonde out the room.

After spending the rest of the day calming down Ryuji (and to a lesser extent Mishima), exchanging numbers and Text I.D.s, and pawning off all the stolen loot they've acquired, Akira, Arata and Morgana finally made it to leblanc's. However, there was a rather interesting addition to the usually empty cafe. Sitting in one of the booths of the coffee shop was a woman in a punk-rock style outfit, chatting it up with Sojiro.

"Thanks again for the coffee, Sojiro. This really made my day." the woman thanked, the barista in question nodding before noticing the three.

"Ah, you're back early…" the old man stated.

"Hey Soj, mind introducing me to the kid?"

"Kid, this is Tae, she runs a clinic near here. Tae, this is Akira, I'm his ward for the year." he sighed. "Why don't you head on upstairs? I'll clean up down here kid."

"Nice to meet you kid." Tae greeted.

"Likewise." Akira replied, nodding.

~My god, this is awkward…~

"Well, like Soj here said, I run a clinic near here. that being said, don't come running to me for no reason." Tae got up and headed out the door. "Thanks Soj, same time next week?"

"Sure." he answered. "Come back again." and with that, the Barista and the trio were left alone. "Alright kid, shows over, go on and head upstairs."

"Got it…"

Nodding one more time before making it to the stairs, they barely made it to the bed before his phone vibrated. Taking it out, the three joined in the recent chat.

Ryu: Hey guys, sorry about earlier…

Yuuki: i'm sorry for nearly starting a fight with you.

Floof: the important thing is, everyone's calm now.

Ann: but that leaves the entirely new problem; our expulsion.

Yuuki: don't worry about that.

RenRen: ...why?

Yuuki: I've hacked into one of the admin computers at the school… barely…

Yuuki: I've managed to find out the date for the next meeting.

Yuuki: we have until Feb. 2nd before our expulsion, so if we're doing your palace idea, then we should get it done before the month's over.

Shiho: well that's certainly… something…

Ryu: plus, it'll get us enough time for at least one more vid for our scapegoat.

Floof: scapegoat?

Yuuki: what are you on about now Sakamoto?

RenRen: We plan on stealing the treasure to make him confess,

RenRen: and to make sure we hid our traces of using the metaverse,

RenRen: we gather records of his misdeeds to use as a red herring

Ryu: that way, people will think he confessed out of guilt instead of us making him.

Ann: … that's actually a good idea.

Yuuki: how far along are you guys?

Ryu: well we got two recordings of volleyball practice…

Shiho: and a recording of that… event… from before I presume?

Ryu:...

Shiho: it's alright, Ryuji. I've connected the dots. Morgana and Arata were the ones who saved me, but I knew they came by for a different reason.

Ryu: sorry about that…

Shiho: it's fine, as long as that monster gets his just desserts.

"Tell them that we should find a hideout to have our meetings in." Morgana suggested. "We'll need someplace private to discuss our next order of business…"

RenRen: Morgana suggests we find a hideout.

Floof: ...what about the roof?

Ryu: oh yeah… that'll probably do.

Ann: why?

Floof: Ryuji and I are usually the only ones up there at all.

Yuuki: that could work. Alright, let's meet there tomorrow.

After taking away his phone, then three decided to head to bed.

Saturday, January 16th

Cloudy

Shujin Academy

Afternoon

"Just where are those two!?" Ann growled impatiently. Six of the eight thieves were hanging around on the roof, as planned, but surprisingly, Ryuji and Akira were nowhere to be seen.

~Akira told me to meet up with you guys.~ Arata shrugged. ~something about losing his log journal.~

"Log journal?"

~he's supposed to write down everything he did for the year in a diary. Part of his probation. He made a second journal for the metaverse journey because of something about stress..~

"Well, that explains Akira, but what about Ryuji?"

Meanwhile, a minute after Ryuji and the others initially left classes, Sadayo Kawakami, the teacher he was in class with for the day, noticed a light vibration in one of the desks. Curiosity flooding through her, the teacher walked over to the table, only to find a simple phone, still on, vibrating inside.

"That Sakamoto…" She rolled her eyes, just before she was about to turn the phone off, however, a particularly curious text on the device caught her eye. "Take down the king? What?"

Looking around the room, she gazed back into the device in her hands. "I really shouldn't be doing any of this…" she whispered, but for some reason, she couldn't look away from the oddly out of place text in front of her. Looking around once more to confirm she was alone, she went back to her desk, and sighed lightly. "Well, maybe just a little bit.." she pressed the text, which opened up a set of messages with some attachments as well.

(Posted on Jan. 13th)

Ryu: hey man, you guys got anything yet?

RenRen: yep, Morgana and Arata got 5 minutes worth, plus a few pics.

RenRen sent volleycannon (jpeg),torture (jpeg) , and agonysession (mp4)

Ryu: that two faced bastard!

Kawakami nearly dropped the phone at the sight of the pictures. Volleyball members getting brutally bludgeoned by softballs and struck by poles and nets took up the screen. For the sake of her stomach, she scrolled past the video link, not liking the sense of dread from it, and continued reading.

Ryu: we'll be able to get that Kamoshita the justice he deserves with this.

RenRen: we'll keep trying to get evidence, you can work on finding those who'll testify.

Ryu: will do, gotta go.

(posted on Jan. 14th)

Ryu: any update?

RenRen: we got another vid, and some pics of him molesting the girl team.

Ryu: what!?

RenRen sent moreofthis (jpeg), painful (mp4), and perversion (jpeg)

Ryu: that prick's pickin' on both teams… but I never thought he'd try this!

RenRen: calm down, we'll get him, just don't blow our cover.

Ryu: I know, I know.

Kawakami was even more disgusted at the new set of images, especially the one where Kamoshida was seen sticking his hand in the female member's pants and shirts. Once again, she skipped over the video.

Ryu: just a few more, and we'll sent that asshole to jail like he deserves.

(posted yesterday)

RenRen: Ryuji?

RenRen: Ryuji we've got bad news.

Ryu: what?

Ryu: dude what happened?

RenRen: remember Suzui, that friend you mentioned?

Ryu: ...yeah, why?

Ryu: … Kira? Arata? Morgana?

Ryu: you're scarin' me…

RenRen sent hewillsuffer (mp4)

RenRen: Arata said they'll explain, just meet us near the vending machines.

opting to sate her curiosity one last time, she pressed the last video.. And instantly regretted it. 2 whole minutes of Kamoshida beating and sex assaulting Shiho was the only thing she saw, and the rather hilarious ending of a cat clawing his face ended the shocking post. This time, she almost lost control of herself, but she swallowed back the bile in her throat as she closed out the chat and turned off the phone. Placing it on the desk ,the teacher stared blankly at the room, a million thoughts echoed through her mind.

Just as she began pondering the new information, she heard a rapid set of knocks from the door to her side, a familiar tuft of blonde visible at the window. Panicing for a few seconds, she composed herself.

"Come in!" she shouts, Ryuji opening the door as he looks at the teacher apologetically.

"Sorry, Teach, I think I left my-"

"You left your phone?" she finished for him, gesturing the device neatly on the edge of the desk.

"Oh thank god!" he shouts, pocketing the phone, and thanking the teacher. "Sorry again." he turned to leave.

"Wait… I have a question.." Kawakami hastily answered, silently cursing herself all the while. "What… do you think of the teachers here?"

"Eh?"

"Like, which teacher's your favorite and which one's the worst?"

"That's easy; that shitty gym teacher Kamoshida's the worst… and… if I had to guess… I'd choose you as the best teacher, I guess… well, the one I tolerate the most at least."

"O-oh…"

"W-Well, gotta go, thanks for finding my phone, bye!" Ryuji yelled quickly, running down the hall, and leaving a stunned Kawakami to herself...

Makoto Nijima was a lot of things, and she felt like understanding was one of her more prominent traits…

That was before she read the clusterfuck of chaos within this handwritten book she found.

At first, she found the book on the floor in the middle of the hallway, halfway opened and nobody near the object. Curiosity getting the best of her, she took up the book, headed back to the student council office, and decided to read the small book to pass the time. Now she wished she hadn't.

Gods…

Metaverse…

Palaces…

Shadows…

Persona… each page in the book she read added 20 more questions to her ever growing list, and none of it was answered when she got to the supposed end of it… she sighed, mainly because it kinda stopped at one point, which surprisingly made her a bit angry and frustrated. In any other case, she would've passed it off as a partially made fiction… but the surprising amount of detail and familiar names proved otherwise. This little amount information somehow… somehow managed to convince her that it's real, but she wasn't exactly sure if it was, and it frustrated her to no end. She was about ready to chuck it out a window before she bumped into someone…

Who just so happened to be Ryuji.

"Gah! What where you're goin- oh, Ms. Prez…" Ryuji growled, but mumbled when he looked at the person.

"Ah, Sakamoto… my apologies."

"Nah, I'm sorry, I wasn't lookin' where I was going."

"Hmm, well I guess we're both in the wrong then." she stated, her mind practically begging her to ask him. "Actually, I wanted to speak to you about something…"

"Really? I know I'm kinda bombing a few classes, but I'm still-"

"No, no it's not your grades… its something a bit more… personal." Makoto clarified, looking around the hallway. "I just want to know one thing."

"Oh, uh, sure thing… but can this be quick? I've got some friends that I'm supposed to meet up with…"

"Of course. Now…" leaning in, Makoto asked in a serious tone. "I found this journal near Kurusu's locker and I wanted to give it back, but… what I've read in there was astounding. I just wanted to see if everything in it was true or not since quite a bit of it featured you in it, along with this Arata and Morgana. So. what is this all about? Does all of this stuff about Palaces and Persona exists?" she then handed the book over to the blonde. For a strictly brief moment, Makoto saw a small but noticeable twinge of fear and panic on the male's face, but he managed to compose himself as quickly as it started.

"What? Persona? wha-OH, that." Ryuji started, surprisingly not a single stutter in his voice. "Now I remember, Akira wanted to make a game about gentleman thieves. I suggested he made a story first beforehand, and to use real life people as placeholders for when we make characters for it."

"A...game?"

"Yeah, I even suggested to use our names in it for now. Arata and Morgana are just names of his friends from his hometown."

"I see…" Makoto trailed off, she knows damn well that Ryuji was lying his ass off, but she said nothing about it.

"Well, thanks for finding it for him, prez I'll be sure to give it back to him!" Ryuji yelled, continuing his race down the corridor. Once again alone in the hallway, Makoto sighed in anew mixture of feelings. She knows that this stuff exists, and even knew that Ryuji made that lie to cover it up, but unless she had proof of what they're trying to do with it, she couldn't be fully satisfied. Also this could be potentially dangerous to other people, and that was something she wasn't going to let go. So with nothing else to do, Makoto followed after the Blonde.

And the second part is complete! Now Kawakami and Makoto are starting to get in on this and we're well over the halfway point. Can this continue? Probably.

Anyways, for those who're curious as to why I pumped out these chapters in rapid succession is because I have some form of reference-the actual game- to go off of. All my other fics are either originally created plot-wise or having a lack of reference for it, meaning it very loosely follows canon.

Also, an update for the persona speak!:

~hello~ = Arata

~hello~ = Arsene

~hello~ = Zorro

~hello~ = Kidd

"~hello~" = Carmen

"~hello~" = Artemis

"~hello~" = Joan

And the updated list of PTs:

Guaranteed-

Mishima

Shiho

Kawakami

Sojiro

Natsu (oc)

Yuki (oc)

? and ? (you'll see later on)

Hifumi

Tae

Sort of (debating)-

Tae

Sae

Yoshida

Shinya

Iwai

Chihaya

?

Probably gonna calm down a bit on this fic for now. Don't forget to like and review.

TBC