AN: I made the official cover image of this story! I hope you enjoy my art. (Though I wonder who that mysterious biker guy at the bottom is...?)

Chapter 8: Castle of Lust (Part 1)

April 16

Ryuji: Hey, we're meeting up at the hideout after school, right?

Ann: Don't text me now. We're in class.

Ryuji: Woah! You mean you're actually listening to all this crap?

Octavia: Well, at least we know who's most likely to get expelled by failing grades now.

Loona: lol

Ryuji: Hey! It's not my fault none of this stuff sticks!

Ann: I know that feeling…

Ryuji: Anyways, hideout after school?

Collin: Where exactly is this "hideout"?

Octavia: The school roof.

Ann: Wait, we can still go up there?

Ryuji: Yeah, I'll let you in. Welp. I'll be waiting. Just come on up once school's over.

Ren: Gotcha.

Ryuji: I'm gonna fine you if you're late!

"Hey, Amamiya!" Mr. Ushimaru suddenly called out, pulling the teen's attention away from his phone. "You! Pay attention! Is that how you listen when someone's talking to you!?"

'Why do I feel murderous intent?' Octavia thought, only to flinch when the teacher beaned Ren right in the forehead with a piece of chalk! 'Maybe we should change his heart next…' the princess thought.

"That's what you get for daydreaming!" Mr. Ushimaru chided. "Kids these days have no respect for their elders."

"Good grief… Looks like you need more proficiency to completely dodge that," Morgana noted.

[***]

"Looks like we're all here," Ryuji said once they all gathered on the school roof after classes. "Mkay, let's get going!"

"Hold on, it's still too early for us to head to the Palace," Morgana said.

"But why? Don't we just have to steal the Treasure or whatever?" Loona questioned.

"Don't underestimate the dangers of that place," Morgana warned. "Even if we have a bigger team that I planned for, number won't be enough. We need to prepare."

"You'd think with our Personas that we'd be more than capable to get through the trials ahead," Collin said.

"That's exactly what I mean when I say don't underestimate it. Be overconfident and you'll die if you mess up in there," Morgana said seriously. "So again, we need to prepare before we head in."

"But… how exactly are we supposed to do that?" Ann asked.

"I'm glad you asked, Lady Ann," Morgana grinned. "First, we'll need to find better equipment for all of you."

"You talking about weapons? Oh, I know a kick-ass place!" Ryuji exclaimed.

Morgana nodded. "In that case, you can handle that side of things. The only other thing would be stocking up on medicine. Fatigue is unavoidable in a Palace…"

"And where can we get that… legally?" Octavia asked, choosing her wording carefully as Loona got a certain look on her face.

"Don't worry, I know just the place. I hope you look forward to it, Octavia," Morgana assured. "Now then, Ren and I have some business in Yongen, so let's head off for today!"

"I don't have any business," Ren noted.

Morgana rolled his eyes. "Just come with me! I won't be able to get close enough by myself!"

"I'll just tag along with you then," Octavia offered. "I do want to see what your district is like. Haven't gotten the chance to explore the city yet."

"See you at the apartment then, princess," Loona said as the gang broke off their meeting.

One crowded subway ride later and the trio of future shoppers were in Yongen. Octavia noted how much narrower the streets were in the area compared to where she was currently living. "Hey, remember that customer you met at Leblanc yesterday?" Morgana asked Ren. "The doctor who prescribes medication after a quick examination? She was sitting at the booth…"

"Yeah, I remember," Ren replied. "Though that's just a rumor…"

"I just realized something," Morgana said suddenly. "If she's the kind of doctor who gets sketchy rumors like that, maybe she'll help us out. She's somewhere in the neighborhood, right? Take me to her."

"You know these streets, so lead the way," Octavia added. After getting directions from sone of the locals, the trio went around the corner past the local bar, finding the place they were looking for. ""Takemi Medical Clinic"…" the Goetia read off the sign.

"This is the clinic that the chief mentioned," Morgana noted.

""Chief" is what Morgana calls my handler, Sojiro Sakura," Ren quickly explained to his cousin.

"Now, how can we get then to give us some medicine?" Morgana wondered.

"This place is pretty sketch… Maybe we should just leave," Octavia shrugged.

"Hey, we can't back out now after coming all this way!" Morgana chided.

"Then we'll just make something up," Ren suggested.

Octavia sighed. "I guess that's the only choice we have, then…"

"We'll just have to go for it," Morgana nodded. "All right, let's step inside."

Inside the building was a small room, a single bathroom on the far wall along with two opposing rows of benches, a stand of old newspapers for patients to read while waiting. At the front desk was a lone woman, wearing a medical coat but having a distinct punk look to her. 'Seems more like a doctor you'd find in Hell than a professional…' Octavia thought.

Ren approached the desk to talk to the doctor, presumably the Takemi this building was named after. "…Is this your first visit?" the doctor asked, looking at the teen. "I feel like I've seen you somewhere before…"

"At Leblanc," Ren reminded her.

The doctor hummed. "Well, whatever… So, what are you here for today?"

"I have a chronic disease…" Ren said.

The doctor and Octavia gave Ren a flat look. 'Did he seriously pick that of all things!?' Octavia screamed internally.

"…Fine," the doctor sighed. "Please head to the exam room."

'Holy shit, that worked,' Octavia thought. She made a coughing noise to get the doctor's attention. "I'm a family member, so I'd like to sit in on the exam," she said.

"Fine," the doctor shrugged. The two cousins entered the exam room, the doctor meeting them from her end. It was a small room with a medical bed and a simple desk setup. Ren explained his "chronic illness" to the doctor, who took some notes as she did basic checkup procedures. "…In a case like yours, it's usually just due to stress. I'm going to prescribe you some pain relievers, okay?" Ren nodded, only for the doctor to remember something. "Actually, I still need to restock those… So, let's go with sleeping pills instead. Sleep is the best medicine, anyway. Which type of pill do you want, a sweet-tasting one or a bitter one?"

"That all you have?" Ren asked.

"Huh? You're the patient here, you know. Do you think you should be telling me how to do my job?" The doctor gave Ren a stern look. "…So, it's just like I thought."

"Like what?" Octavia questioned.

"You're not sick at all, are you?" the doctor said. "I'm not as dumb as I look, you know. I'm guess you're here because you heard the rumors about me, huh?"

"Are the rumors true?" Octavia asked.

The doctor shrugged. "Whos' to say? But as a result, all I get are patients with ulterior motives now." Ren looked down in embarrassment. "I guess high school kids have it tough nowadays too, huh?" The doctor sighed. "Well, fine. I'll prescribe you some medication."

"Really?" Octavia said, surprise in her tone.

"But only medication that will help you recover your health," the doctor said. "I guess it's fine. You seem pretty earnest, and neither of you look like you'll be any trouble. This is my private practice. All the medicine I dispense is original. I have a license to make my own formulas. You've likely seen them being sold at various hospitals. It's your responsibility to take care of yourself. So if that's okay with you, stop by anytime."

"That'll really help," Ren said, giving a small bow.

"Great. It's nice that you're so quick on the uptake… Saves me the hassle," the doctor said. She looked at the teen thoughtfully. "You're a pretty weird kid, you know? I wonder what you two are going to use the medicine for…" That made the cousins look nervous. "Well, as long as you don't cause me any trouble, It's not my problem…"

Obtaining some medicine from the doctor, the two left the exam room to find a man in a business suit just outside. Ren stepped aside to let him in, but both of them stopped when they heard the conversation happening inside. Octavia leaned against the door to get a better listen.

"…What's the reason for your visit?" the doctor asked. "Do you have a cold? Stomachache? Athlete's foot? Whatever it is, you'll need to take a number…"

"Enough of this!" the man shouted. "You're the only one who could have developed that type of medicine."

"I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about…" the doctor said.

"Don't play dumb with me," the man scoffed. "Rumor has it, it's a drug so potent it can give a person unlimited power."

"Really? That's news to me," the doctor snarked.

"Developing experimental drugs, medicine, and herbal remedies violates all heal regulations," the man stated. "Are you attempting to create a super-stimulant? A drug like that will only become a social issue."

"You're really persistent, you that?" the doctor said. "I'm just a quack…"

"The police may not be taking action, but I imagine they media will soon pick up on it," the man threated. "You intend to ruin my reputation again, huh? You're a disgrace to the medical community." The doctor scoffed. "What's with that look? That was your mistake, was it not? I won't be responsible for your criminal actions. Dispose of that "medicine" immediately and resign. The name "Tae Takemi" will never-" The man cut himself off. "Hey, is somebody there!?"

"And now we leave," Octavia said, pushing Ren out the door before the man could investigate.

"Geez, they almost caught us," Morgana said, popping back out of Ren's bag. "Sounded like they were talking about something dangerous… Could that woman be hiding some extra strong medicine…?"

"Still seems sketchy," Octavia voiced.

Morgana shrugged. "Maybe, but it could come in handy at the Palace. Let's get hat woman to cooperate with us. All right, let's come back when that man isn't here. We shouldn't involve people who have nothing to do with this. Keep the Phantom Thieves a secret, okay? Anyway, good work! That went really well!"

"Next time you come here, call me up," Octavia requested. "I want to talk to that doctor again. She seemed… intriguing…" Her phone buzzed as the group chat was updated.

Ryuji: So you know that sore I mentioned, with the model guns? It's in Shibuya. I can go with you if you want.

Ren: Sounds good.

Ryuji: Sweet. Welp, let's figure out where to meet. You at least know how to get to Shibuya Station, yeah?

Ann: Hey, I can't make it. Can I trust you guys to check the place out for me?

Ryuji: You can't come?

Ann: Not tomorrow. I made plans to go see Shiho in the hospital.

Collin: I'll be going with her as well.

Ryuji: Ah, gotcha. Don't worry, we got this.

Loona: I'll keep these two dorks in check, Ann. Plus I've gotta see how these model guns compare to what we got in Hell.

Ryuji: Well, seeya in Shibuya, Ren and Loona! I'll be in front of the station!

"We might be able to get our hands on some decent stuff if this store really has model guns," Morgana mused. "Well, we can leave that for tomorrow. Let's go home!"

"See you later, then," Octavia said, waving goodbye to her cousin as she went to catch the train to her own destination.

[***]

April 17

Loona and Octavia met Ren and Ryuji outside Shibuya Station the next day. "Looks like you made it," the blondie said. "The shop's on Central Street, so we gotta go through the Crossing to get there!"

"Let's go underground," Ren suggested.

"Oh? Sounds like you already know your way around Shibuya," Ryuji said, impressed. "But the place we're looking for is right at the entrance to Central Street, so it'll be faster if we just use the surface roads. Alright, let's get going!"

"I'm curious what his shop will be like," Octavia said.

As the gang made their move to the Crossing, they stopped when a strong voice was heard speaking to passersbys. "Everyone, wake up! This country is twisted!" The speaker in question was an older gentleman in a suit with a red polka dot tie and a green sash. "While Japanese society may appear to be thriving, many young people have not been as blessed as their elders. They have no jobs, no savings, no financial security whatsoever… These young people should be tackling their futures head-on, but instead, they're too busy merely trying to survive."

"People give speeches all the time," Ryuji rolled his eyes. "Plus, politics are pretty boring, anyways."

"True that. Be lucky you don't have to deal with royal politics," Loona nodded.

Octavia and Ren both lingered on the man's speech before moving on to their destination. Going across the Crossing, the gang made their way to Central Street, Ryuji taking the lead. "Follow me. The shop can be pretty confusing to find sometimes," he stated.

The gang did as such, though Loona did end up threatening a weirdo that was offering to give then a well-paying job. "Don't ever accept work from shady guys like that," the hellhound warned. Ryuji brough the group to a back alleyway, where a small shop with a neon green sign was seen. ""Untouchables"?" Loona read the sign.

"This is it," Ryuji nodded. "Pretty legit, huh?"

"What is it with all the sketchy places we keep ending up at?" Octavia wondered aloud.

"Right? To be honest, it'd be a bit scary to go in alone…" Ryuji admitted. "Anyways, let's check out what's inside. Oh yeah, before we head in… you know anything about guns and shit?"

"I'll tell you what I know and what to and not to buy," Loona said. "My da- Blitz didn't train me to be an assassin just to be shit with weapons, after all."

"Woah, your dad's an assassin in Hell? Hardcore!" Ryuji pumped his fist.

"He's not my dad," Loona rolled her eyes. "Anyways, if you can't figure out what you want, just ask the guy behind the counter. Let's go in already…"

Stepping inside the airsoft shop, the place was filled with replica weapons and gear, even having a small vending machine just by the door. A touch-looking guy manned the counter, wearing a trench coat with a hat and noise-canceling earmuffs. "You know what you want yet?" the man asked in a gruff voice.

"Got any suggestions?" Loona asked, leaning on the counter.

The man eyed her with skepticism. "You looking for recommendations? I dunno, just buy whatever looks interesting to you."

"Ugh, some customer service…" Ryuji scoffed.

The man side-eyed the blondie before sighing. 'Fine, whatdayya want? An automatic? A revolver?"

That caught Ryuji off-guard. "Uh, automatic…? Dude, why're you talking about cars now!?"

"He means what rate of fire you want, dumbass," Loona said, flicking Ryuji's nose. "Automatic means you hold down the trigger for continuous fire until you use up the clip, while the opposite would be manual fire, where you have to pull the trigger every time to fire."

The manager smirked. "She knows her guns. Listen kid, this here's an enthusiast shop. My regular'll be mad if I let a causal like you hang around."

"I'm not a freaking casual!" Ryuji shouted. "I bought shit from here like, last week!"

"Huh, can't remember you," the manager shook his head, making Loona cackle.

"You bastards…" Ryuji grumbled.

The manager turned to Ren and Octavia. "And you? Looking for something?"

"I'm good," Octavia shook her head. 'My staff can fire off magic bolts, so that should be a good replacement for needing a firearm,' she thought.

"Something that looks real," Ren replied.

"…Oh? You guys planning a nice big bank robbery or something?" the manager mused.

Ryuji backed up in shock. "Th-That ain't it! We just like how they look, is all!"

The manager shrugged. "Anyways… you shoulda said before you four're enthusiasts. I'm always up for helping fresh faces." He sat up to properly look them in the eyes. "Some precautions first though. Don't go around pointing 'em at other people. Keep 'em in a bag or something if you're outside. Oh, and don't let the fuzz catch wind of you having 'em. I don't need them coming around here."

"We hate cops," Loona said with a grin.

"How about that? Me too," the manager nodded. 'This guy has more of my respect now,' Loona thought.

"Now, if you look close, you'll be able to tell these're models. Real guns feel… different," the manager explained. "Maybe someday I'll show you the real good stuff though- if you got the guts for it, of course." He stood up from his chair. "But for now, you get the beginner selection. Just sit tight, I'll bring 'em out."

"We did it, guys," Ryuji said as the manager went to the back. "We totally gotta go for some fancy shit, right? I want 'em to shine! Oh, and here's the cash for mine. Pick me out something good!" Ryuji handed over some money to Ren.

"You know I can just pay for anything you guys need, right?" Octavia questioned. "That's what I did for the meds."

"What? Then give me the cash back, dude"! Ryuji said, making a grab for it.

Ren quickly pocketed the cash. "No, it's mine now. I'll make sure it goes to the team, though."

"You can cry about it later, blondie," Loona laughed.

The manager soon came back with a selection of weapons for the gang to pick from. Ren picked up new guns for himself, Morgana, Ryuji, and Ann, while also picking out a new collar for Morgana (the not-cat explaining that it would become armor inside the Palace). Octavia and Loona didn't feel the need to buy anything, but the hellhound did pick an extra-large clip that would fit perfectly into Blitzo's gun.

"Oh yeah. There's something you should know," the manager said once they were done shopping. "I don't buy off any model guns from other people, so keep that in mind. I don't wanna deal with any problems buying something that's already been modified. And that's all I gotta say."

"After today, I'll leave Ren-Ren here with choosing the gear from now on. Get me the strongest looking one!" Ryuji said.

"Again with that nickname," Ren sighed.

"See you guys tomorrow," Octavia said.

As they left, Loona looked back at the shop manager. 'He kinda reminds me of Blitz, but like a cooler, more mob boss version of Blitz,' she thought.

[***]

That night at the hospital, Collin snuck into Shiho's room in his true form, being invisible to all of the hospital staff. Visiting her earlier that day had been hard on the sheep, and now he felt like he needed to speak with her alone. "Shiho? I don't know if you can hear me…" Collin said, hovering over her comatose body. He sighed before continuing.

"I'm sorry that I didn't realize what was going on between you and Kamoshida. I always think the best of authority figures that I can be blinded to any wrongdoings they've committed. I promise that I will try not to let that happen again…" He closed his eyes. "Ann and I are going to make this right. When you finally wake up, Kamoshida won't be a problem for anyone else at school again."

The cherub put his hands together and whispered a prayer. "Oh Father in Heaven, though I have sinned before and been banished from your realm, please hear my words. This girl is an innocent soul who was driven to commit an unforgivable act by a greater evil, so do not judge her for that rash action. Please give me the strength to overcome this evil, and please send your healing light to life the darkness from her soul. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen."

As Collin left the room, Shiho seemed to stir in her sleep. She could only hear faint voices, but her body soon calmed as a dim purple light washed over her. "Collin… Ann…" she mumbled.

[***]

April 18

Ryuji: So I saw Kamoshida at the school gat this morning. He was just standing there looking at me with this shit-eating grin on his face.

Ann: Ugh, that's annoying… He was probably mocking you.

Ryuji: Honestly, seeing that got me even more fired up about this. We're definitely gonna pull this off.

Collin: Yes! I'm worried about Shiho, but the mission should come first. That is the best way to help her, after all.

Ann: I won't let myself get exhausted like last time, either.

Loona: Hey, won't didn't Lambchop or I get exhausted when we first summoned our Personas.

Ren: Same happened to me.

Octavia: Probably has something to do with our demonic/angelic nature.

Ryuji: Lucky. Anyways, the board meeting's May 2nd, right? We just gotta take care of him before then.

Ren: My mind is made up.

Octavia: Same.

Ann: Me too! I'll do my best. No going in without me, OK?

Collin: We'd never leave you out, Ann!

Loona: Let's kick some Shadow ass!

Ryuji: Hell yeah! Ren, you better let us know if you're going into the Palace.

"I hope you all understand that our time limit is May 2nd," Morgana stated to the gang once they got to their rooftop hideout.

"We basically just have to go to that castle and steal the Treasure from Kamoshida, right?" Ann asked.

"But wait, what even is a Treasure? I wanna know that before we do anything," Ryuji said.

"A Treasure is the physical form of the Palace ruler's distorted desires," Morgana explained. "In other words, it's the core of the Palace. Once we steal it, the Palace will crumble… I think. Having said all that, even I don't know what Kamoshida's Treasure will be."

"And where can we find it?" Collin asked.

"There's no way of knowing that until we go in and find out," Morgana shook his head. "But if I had to guess, I'd say he has it locked up somewhere in the depths of the Palace."

"Look, all we have to do is find the Treasure, right?" Loona said. "Sounds easy."

"Sure, but there's just a lot we won't know until we go in…" Morgana warned. "In any case, our objective is to find the Treasure's location somewhere in the Palace. Make sure we go about this with time to spare so we can avoid any unforeseen circumstances. I expect great things from you guys."

"Same to you, Morgana," Octavia nodded.

[***]

Palace Entrance

Once inside the Palace, Skull couldn't help but admire Ann's Phantom Thief outfit. "But damn…"

"What's up?" Ann asked.

"N-Nothing. I-I was just thinking we should choose a code name for you too," Skull stuttered.

"A code name?" Ann questioned.

"I'm Skull, he's Joker, she's Omen, she's Lycan, he's Templar, and that's Mona," Skull explained, pointing to each of them.

"Good job remembering our names this time, Skull," Lycan said sarcastically.

Mona looked over Ann. "Judging by your costume…"

"I mean, she's got that tail and stuff, so…" Skull mused. He turned to Joker. "Whadda you think, Ren?"

"Kitty Woman," Joker responded, making Omen choke on her spit.

Ann flinched at that as well. "Wait! Is that what you're going to call me from now on!? I am so not down with this!"

"What do you want to be called then?" Lycan questioned. "It'll only get worse from here if you don't pick one yourself…"

"Um, something better than just a little cat…" Ann said. "Maybe… "Panther"? That sounds pretty cool, doesn't it?"

"Huh? Why?" Skull questioned.

"Cause it sounds more… ferocious?" Ann tried to justify.

"She's a cougar…" Mona sighed, making Omen gag once more. 'This cat will be the death of me…' she groaned.

"Oh god, that's even worse that Joker's suggestion…" Templar coughed.

"Don't call me that!" Ann, now Panther, shouted. "More importantly: Kamoshida!"

"Oh, right. Let's go!" Skull said. "All right, let's start fresh and get going!"

"It's game time from this point forward," Mona stated. "I'll teach you guys the basics of infiltrating a Palace as we go."

As the gang moved forward, Joker and Omen paused as the world flashed blue. Time seemed to freeze everyone else in place as they turned to see a blue jail door appear before them, a young girl in a warden uniform standing by. "My master would like a word with you," the girl said.

Joker stepped forward, only for Omen to put a hand on his shoulder. "That doorway… It gives me a feeling of dread," she said.

"I'll be fine. Stay here," Joker said, gently taking her hand off his shoulder and entering the door, the girl following behind and slamming it shut.

Omen waited a few moments, and soon enough Joker returned, looking a bit shaken. "You okay? You seem shaken and… Your Personas, they changed!"

"The people in that room gave me the power to fuse my Personas together," Joker explained. He clutched his hand tightly. "I can resummon them as well but for now… Arsène is gone."

"Something wrong?" Mona asked, coming over with the rest of the gang. "You were just standing around all of a sudden."

'So they can't see the door,' Omen realized.

"Why're you spacing out like that?" Skull questioned. "It's kinda hard to tell what you're thinking sometimes."

"Let's just say he's a man of high caliber," Mona shrugged. "We're counting on you, Joker!"

Heading to the Westing Building Safe Room, the Phantom Thieves started their infiltration from there. Mona provided some tools to use in case they ran into trouble as well (though where he kept then when not in the Palace was a mystery Omen didn't want to figure out). The not-cat even explained the super useful technique known as the Baton Pass: whenever one of them knocked down a Shadow, they could "pass" their extra move to one of the other Phantom Thieves. This not only made their "turns" more efficient, but also increased their attack and magic power with each pass. This was sure to make future battles more exciting and lean in their favor.

As they went up the floors of the building, Mona also taught them the skills of hiding in the shadows to avoid enemies and to get the drop more easily on them. Joker got a hang of this quickly, making Omen wonder if his Goetia nature played any part in his new proficiency. It was like something out of a movie, but everyone agreed it was very stylish and very cool.

That wasn't the only new skill Joker had, however. Using what he called his "Third Eye", their fearless leader was able to see things the others couldn't, including following the footprints of a guard to figure out the order to pull some switches within one of the rooms. Inside the guarded room turned out to be map of the Palace, which was sure to make this infiltration go way more smoothly than before (though Mona noted it was only one half of a complete map- they'd need to find the other half further in).

Finding themselves back in the Central Hall, the gang didn't let a barred door stand in their way was they climbed up across the chandeliers to the other side. Entering the East Building now, the Phantom Thieves encountered another barred door puzzle, pulling the correct switches to proceed onwards. The next room, a dining hall, had a more complex version of the puzzle, with the gang having to crawl through a vent at one point to pull the right lever. They did encounter another locked door, but a nearby vent proved to be the solution this time.

The Phantom Thieves even managed to ambush and enemy from above, surprising it so much that it begged for its life, getting an item off it before it fled. Their next obstacle was a bit more troublesome, however: a caved-in staircase blocked them from moving forward.

"Man…" Mona moaned. "Looks like it's in pretty bad shape…"

"Uh, I don't think we're going any further this way…" Skull noted.

"Should we check somewhere else?" Ann questioned.

"Wait- look up there!" Mona said, pointing to a but near the top of the stairs.

"Wait about it? Want to throw a rope up and climb up?" Lycan scoffed.

"Phantom Thieves do things a bit more stylishly than that…" Mona said. "And I know just what'll do the trick." Pulling out a tool, Mona gave it to Joker to attach to his wrist. "Good- seems like it fits properly."

"What is this thing?" Joker asked, looking at the device.

"That's just a little something I've been working on in secret," Mona explained. "The grappling hook lets you zip to hard-to-reach locations in a flash. You'll see what I'm talking about when you test it out. Go head, give it a try."

Joker nodded, looking up at the bust and firing the grappling hook. In a flash he zoomed up to the other side of the stairs, impressing everyone. "Guess you really can do anything you put your mind to here," Panther mused.

"I would have offered to fly you all up, but I'm not strong enough to carry each of you without getting tired," Templar sighed.

Now that the obstacle was out of the way, they could all move onwards. In the next room was a Shadow with an ominous aura, which Mona noted as being more aware of its environment as well. The Phantom Thieves wisely decided to avoid the powerful enemy until they had enough strength to deal with it. Navigating around the area, Omen noticed some out-of-place books and picked them up, assuming that they would be useful later. Eventually the gang did find a library in the area they were searching.

"What, it's so musty…" Panther noted.

"A library, huh? This definitely seems fishy," Mona said.

"What are you on about?" Lycan raised an eyebrow.

"Come on, it's a library in a castle. There has to be some kind of secret mechanism in here," Mona stated. "Let's look around, team."

The team got to inspecting the library, noting that some shelves bore similar themes to that of the books Omen had been collecting. One one shelf was a list of the boys on the volleyball team (Mona was amused by the book "Ryuji Sakamoto: The Vulgar Ape" much to Skull's chagrin), which is where Omen put the "Slave Book". The next shelf was all about female students (Ann's book was titled "Ann Takamaki: The Charming Doll" much to her disgust), with Omen putting the "Queen Book" in place. Finally, the last shelf they inspected had books all about Kamoshida, so there was no question that the "King Book" fit perfectly into place.

With all the books in place, a shelf moved out of the way to reveal a secret room in the library. Inside if it was a weird shine/sex dungeon of sorts that gave the gang shivers. "Ugh… the hell is this room? There're tons of pictures of Suzui in here!" Skull noted. "Wait… it's all pics of her?"

Panther and Templar both looked disturbed by the sight. Joker gave a firm look to his allies. "We'll make him pay for this," he assured them.

"Yeah…" Templar nodded.

"Definitely," Panther agreed. "I feel even more motivated to do this now…"

"I'm sure it'll feel awful, but we should search this room," Mona suggested. "There has to be something in here if he was hiding it with such an elaborate trick."

Looking around the room, Lycan noticed an odd glint on a shelf and picked up. "Is this… a medal?" she asked aloud.

"Well, it has to be important if he hid it in here," Templar noted.

"Then we'll take it for ourselves," Omen said with a nod.

"Wait, there's something under the medal too," Panther noted, picking up a piece of paper.

"Oh! It's a different map from the one we have!" Mona exclaimed. "This is lucky… Let's take it with us!" Putting the two maps together, the not-cat gave a satisfied nod. "Aha! Our map's complete now!"

"So is it gonna tell us where the Treasure is?" Skull asked.

Mona pointed to part of the map labeled as Tower: Throne Room. "Yeah, look. It has to be here…"

"that's a weird-shaped building…" Panther noted. "Could it be a tower of something?"

"Considering our current position… I'd say we're about halfway there," Mona said.

"All right! Then let's head over there and get that Treasure," Lycan said, pounding her fists together.

Mona shook his head. "No. Now that we know how much we have left, we can calculate the best way to pace ourselves. Let's keep exploring, but take breaks when we need to."

As they went to exit the room, the gang was jumped by a Shadow, leading to a battle with two Bicorn and… an odd-looking Bicorn that radiated dangerous energy? "What's up with that one? It's mumbling to itself but… it's not making any moves," Skull said.

"Be careful. If my prediction is correct, that one's a bit problematic for us," Mona warned.

"Alright, then I'll take care of it!" Templar said.

"Be careful, dumbass," Lycan said, rolling her eyes.

Templar attacked the weird enemy with his spear, which then retaliated with its own attack that he just barely managed to dodge. "Whoa, that was close!"

"It started moving after we attacked it…" Omen noted.

"Looks like it's exactly what I expected," Mona nodded. "Once we take it down- Hey, everyone! Watch this!" Mona attacked the enemy again, and once it lost all of its health, it exploded, doing major damage to the other enemies!

"Woah! It… exploded!?" Skull gasped.

"I'll explain later! Focus on the battle for now!" Mona said. The gang finished off the other two Bicorn, but more Shadows came in to take their place, this one with another weird Shadow at the front. "There's another one… It'll make our battles harder if we attack it without strategic moves. Let's strike its weakness and blow it up or disable it with sleep or other statuses."

Joker summoned Agathion, one of his newly fused Personas, and cast Zio on the weird Shadow, making it explode and take out the other Bicorn as well! "We haven't seen a Shadow that… intense before," Panther said as the battle ended.

"I call those scary ones Disaster Shadows," Mona explained.

"They really are scary…" Skull shuttered. "But just so long as we handle 'em right, we oughta be able to make 'em useful to us, right?"

"Right!" Mona nodded. "If we run across any more of those, I say we focus on them first!"

As they exited the library and went to rest up the nearby Safe Room, Omen looked at the last book she had picked up. ""The Beefcake Book"," she read the title. Looking around, she noticed an empty spot on a nearby bookshelf. Reading the other titles, she realized that all of them had to do with muscles. "I wonder…" Putting the last book in place, Omen was confused when the book refused to go in. "Lycan, I think something's stuck in this spot," Omen called.

"I got it, princess," Lycan said, reaching into the slot and pulling out whatever was jamming it up. Grabbing the item, it turned out that it was a Protein. "Ugh, gross. You can have this, Joker," she said, tossing the bottle to him.

"It might not have been a secret switch, but there was an item inside. I call that a win," Mona said. "Great job figuring out the book puzzle, Omen!"

As the group got to the Safe Room, Joker called everyone around the table for a meeting on their progress so far. Skull noted how Panther and Templar were still a bit shaken up. "You still thinking about that room we saw earlier?" Skull asked.

"My mind just keeps going back to what Shiho must have been going through…" Panther sighed.

"We'll avenge her, Panther, just you wait," Templar said. He turned to Mona. "So, where are we in the infiltration now?"

"Huh? W-Well, I'd say somewhere around halfway through…" Mona said.

Templar smiled at Panther. "You hear that? Just another half to go and we'll stop Kamoshida!"

"Yeah… You're right," Panther said. "Sorry for being such a downer. I'll do my best from now on!"

"How about we stop the infiltration for today?" Joker suggested. "We have plenty of time to do this, so let's no waste all of our energy trying to power through this in one day."

"Sounds good to me," Omen nodded. With that the Phantom Thieves returned to the real world for the day, determined to get through the Palace the next chance they got.

Author's Note

Here we are at the first infiltration chapter! Since the Persona series is all about balancing school life and dungeon crawling, I wanted to do something similarly but breaking up each chapter into a "Phantom Thief" part and a "Daily Life" part. This way we can get through the Palaces and get some slice-of-life scenes at the same time.

We get to meet three future Confidants this time, and I've already decided that Octavia will be partaking in the Death Confidant while Loona will be helping with the Hanged Man Confidant. I think their personalities all will gel well, but I'm still open to hearing what Confidants you want the Helluva Trio (Octavia, Loona, and Collin) to interact with!

When it comes to Palaces, I'm going to try to split them up between two to three chapters for the infiltration and then do the Calling Card and boss fight as one big chapter. Kamoshida's Palace is a bit awkward, since it's so short that we got through half the dungeon so fast that where I was planning on cutting of the infiltration would have been too awkward. I'm writing these chapters as I play through Persona 5 Royal again, so that will help me determine where I end each day of infiltration. Though on a side note I tend to do my infiltrations all in one day, unless there's a story-related reason I can't advance further.

I've also decided that in Palaces I'll be focusing more on the puzzles and dialogue than battles. You don't need to know about every single battle the Phantom Thieves face, so the ones I do show will be unavoidable battles and mini-bosses. Writing the puzzles will be fun since I can have the entire team help out with them, rather than in the game where Joker does all the work.

Octavia does have a bad feeling about the Velvet Room. Wonder if she'll be able to grasp why that is...?

Next Time: The Palace infiltration continues as Ren and Octavia learn more about themselves and the back alley doctor.