Chapter 7: Castle of Lust
"Wait!" Mona called out, stopping Joker, Skull, and Ann in their tracks before they could go off into the castle.
"What is it now? I was starting to get pumped!" Skull protested.
"We've humiliated the Shadow Kamoshida three times. There's no way the guards won't be expecting us now. Charging in headfirst again is suicide. We need some kind of strategy."
"Alright, but we still don't know anything about how the Castle's laid out, let alone where the Treasure is." Joker pointed out, and that's when Ann's face lit up.
"Well what if we had a map?" She suggested, and everyone turned to look at her.
"Whaddya mean by that? If this place is Kamoshida's heart, then why would his guards need a map?" Skull asked.
"When I got captured here the other day, one of the guards had to ask for directions to that room they took me too." The blonde explained, Mona started tapping his chin.
"Shadows still display individuality when under a Palace Ruler's thrall. If the Palace is big enough, then it stands to reason that some would make a map to avoid getting lost."
"Alright, so keep an eye out for a map." The Phantom Thief Leader instructed, getting a nod from the rest. "Good. Now, anything else we need to discuss, or can I have my moment back?"
"Well what about Ann's code name?" Skull chimed in, and Ann looked at him with a confused expression.
"Oh yeah, that's right. I almost forgot." Joker said, and Ann looked between the two of them.
"I'm sorry, my what?"
"Y'know, your code name! To keep your real identity a secret, like in spy movies. I'm Skull, she's Joker, and he's Mona." The former track star explained, and Ann nodded along as she crossed her arms.
"Alright, I understand. So what do you guys wanna call me?" She asked, and the three began to think. Well, Jolyne and Morgana began to think, while Ryuji let his thoughts wander...elsewhere as he looked over Ann's costume.
"Hehehehe…" Jolyne simply rolled her eyes and smacked him on the back of his head. "Ow!"
"Stay focused, Ryuji."
"I am! I was uh...I was thinking of her codename! Y'know, trying to think of something based on her clothes, like we did with me!"
"Uh huh. And what did you come up with?" Ann inquired, and Ryuji swallowed as all eyes were on him.
"Uh...Kitty Woman! Y'know, because she got the tail and everything!"
"Hmmmm...nope. Although I do kinda like the train of thought…" Ann mused. "See if you guys can't come up with something based on this?" And so Joker and Mona began to think.
"Catgirl?"
"Nope."
"Catwoman?"
"Pass."
"Dominatrix?"
"Hell no!" Ann sighed. "C'mon guys, I don't wanna be called some little cat or sex freak!"
"Well what do you wanna be called then?" Skull asked, and Ann looked over her costume. The mask, the tail…
"How about...Panther?" The rest of the team mulled over the name Ann had picked out for herself.
"Why 'Panther?'"
"I dunno, it sounds more...ferocious? Why do you call yourself Skull?"
"Fair point."
"I like it." Joker stated, getting a smile from Panther.
"Alright, so it's settled. Panther it is." Mona stated.
"Is there anything else we need to settle? Any last minute potty breaks?" When she got no answer, Joker turned towards the castle. "Then let's go."
West Building, First Floor
The door to the safe room opened, and out poked the head of the Phantom Thieves' Leader. "We're clear. Let's move." Joker instructed, and the four poured out into the hall. Rather than go the way they had come before, the group went right, towards a closed door at the end of the hall. Panther opened the door, and the entered the room. Inside looked like some sort of small dining room, with a table filling up the majority of the room. Inside were two shadows, though each Phantom Thief quickly took cover before they were spotted.
"What do we do? They're right in front of the door!" Panther whispered.
"Calm down. See those masks? All we gotta do is rip 'em off, and we can fight them without worrying about alarms."
"For once, Skull's right. We move on Joker's mark." With that, Joker began motioning towards them. Joker and Panther hid underneath the table near one of the guards, while Skull and Mona hid behind a pillar. As soon as the guard was in front of her, the transfer student emerged from under the table and jumped onto the Shadow's back, with Skull doing the same. They ripped off the guards' masks, jumping off as they dissolved into the black tar and reformed as monsters. The one Joker had ambushed turned into one of the lantern wielding pumpkin creatures from the dungeon, while Skull's morphed into some sort of demonic goat with two horns.
"In the name of King Kamoshida, die! Hee Ho!" The pumpkin creature yelled, a fireball shooting out of its lamp. Joker jumped to avoid it, but Panther remained in place.
"Carmen!" The Persona materialized behind her as her mask vanished, holding one of the heart guys in front of her. The fireball impacted the man, only for the ventilated mouth hole to absorb the blast, while the other heart man fired a similar fire ball at the creature. The blast knocked it back, allowing Joker to quickly finish it off with her pistol.
"Nice one Panther!" Mona called out, as he and Skull were dealing with the demonic goat. Skull swung his pipe at it and Mona swung his scimitar, but the demon was fast, dodging each strike effortlessly. Eventually, it swung its head, generating a massive blast of wind. Mona was unaffected, but Skull was knocked back against the wall. "Skull!" Mona called out, and while he was distracted, the goat head butted him, knocking him down.
"Oh no!" Panther yelled, and Joker sneered as her mask vanished.
"Arsene!" The winged Persona appeared behind her, and flapped its wings. Instantly, some kind of needles began shooting out of the wings towards the Shadow. It dodged most of them, but a few managed to hit their mark.
"Fools! King Kamoshida will-!"
"Captain Kidd!" The ethereal pirate manifested above where Skull had landed, revealing that he had now recovered, shooting out a bolt of electricity that hit the demon and knocked it down. Skull picked up his shotgun and cocked it, while Joker and Panther surrounded it, guns drawn.
"Nice going, Skull." Joker complemented, and he nodded with a smirk as the demon looked between them, desperately looking for a way out. "Alright, now lets-"
"Wait!" Mona interrupted, having recovered from being knocked down and walking over to them, slingshot drawn. "This is the perfect opportunity for us to negotiate with it!" This clearly caused confusion to spread across the humans.
"Negotiate? What do you mean by that?"
"I mean this is our chance to get something out of it! Money, items, information…we shouldn't let it go to waste!" Mona explained. "Alright, Joker, take the lead!" Joker cleared her throat.
"Alright, uh…Demon Goat…thing…give us whatever you have." She demanded, and the Shadow seemed to he…searching itself?
"Hmmmm…me no have money." It spoke in broken, guttural speech.
"Ok then. Give us an item."
"Sorry. Me no have pockets." Mona looked shocked at this.
"Oh crap. This isn't going at all how I thought it would…" he groaned out. "I guess we'll just have to-" Before Mona could finish, the Shadow staggered, almost as if a shock had passed through its body.
"Me…me remember now. I am thou, thou art I. Me name is…Bicorn!" It declared and before anyone could ask what exactly that meant, Bicorn exploded into a flash of blue light. When it died down, a glowing domino mask similar to Joker's floated where the Shadow once stood, and the mask flew to Joker's face, merging with her mask in a flash of blue flame.
"Whoa! What was that?!" Panther asked, and Joker touched her finger to her mask.
"I…I don't know. I was just talking to it and it just…did that." Joker replied, and turned to the dumbfounded Mona. "Do you have any idea what that was?"
"None! I've never seen anything like that!" The flabbergasted creature answered, and Skull scratched his head.
"So how come it went into your mask? Does that mean you can summon it like Arsene?"
"Don't be an idiot, Skull. There's no way she could-" as Mona started to criticize the false blonde, Joker put her hand on her mask.
"Bicorn!" Her mask vanished, and instead of the winged demon Arsene, the two horned Bicorn appeared behind her, only now it was cloaked in some sort of blue light. The rest of the Phantom Thieves watched slack jawed as Joker grabbed the chains coming off it, and in a pillar of blue flame, it turned back to Arsene.
"The power to wield multiple Personas…incredible…just what else can she do?" Mona muttered out, and Jolyne thought back to what Igor had told her. Was this the Wild Card ability he had mentioned? She couldn't dwell on that for now. They had a mission, and they had to pull it off.
"We'll wonder about it later. Let's keep moving." She ordered, and the others all nodded and moved in.
An hour would pass of the group progressing in silence, and as they moved throughout the palace, a certain theme of 'long hallways' and 'small rooms' began to emerge. If this place is based on Kamoshida's heart, then he must have the worst imagination in the world. Jolyne thought to herself as they cleared the third long hallway in a row. Eventually, they reached a stairwell, climbing it to reveal…another long hallway.
"Sheesh, it just goes on and on…" She muttered, and they pressed on. Eventually, after about another half hour, the Phantom Thieves found themselves in some sort of library. Having already scoured the entire second floor, and dispatching a few of the guards, they had yet to find another stairwell, with Panther reasoning that the Library would hold their best bet.
"Ughhhhh this is hopeless." Skull groaned out, slumping at a desk. "How're we supposed to find a way out of here?"
"Don't be like that, Skull. There's got to be a way out." Panther reassured, while Joker and Mona looked around at the shelves of books.
"Hey Joker, I can feel some sort of draft over here." Mona said, standing in front of a wall of books.
"Think there's a way to get it open?"
"There's gotta be. Any ideas?" Joker pursed her lips, looking around the room at the walls of books. There seemed to be a gap in each wall, signifying a missing book. Hm, in a place like this, I doubt that's coincidence. Some kind of puzzle. I wonder…could there be a switch behind those holes? The transfer student examined the three gaps, and there did appear to be some sort of switch at the very back. Alright, so it looks like it needs a book to work. Except I bet it's not just any old book… she began looking around the room, looking at book titles and concentrating…when the room seemed to dim, her focus enhanced, and three books were highlighted in gold. It was almost like some sort of third eye had opened…
Jolyne went around and picked up the 'highlighted' books, noting the titles on the books. The King Book…The Queen Book…and the Slave Book…she read through the titles, and cracked open the King Book. Inside seemed to be a glorified biography of Kamoshida, talking about how he had risen to stardom and 'ascended to the throne of Shujin.' What a load of malarkey.
The Slave Book contained stories about individual members of the male volleyball team, including Mishima, that talked about how pathetic they all were. It went into great detail about how King Kamoshida had 'blessed them with his presence.' More like cursed them.
Joker then took the Queen Book and opened it, only to almost immediately shut it with such force that it drew the attention of her companions. "Is something wrong, Joker?" Panther asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just…don't open that book. No matter what." Joker replied, blinking rapidly. "Good grief, I'm going to have to get my eyeballs bleached when this is done…" she muttered, and tucked the books under her arm as she walked towards the gaps. She set the King Book between books titled 'Rise of a Legend' and 'King's Game', the Slave Book between 'Yuuki Mishima' and 'Shinji Kobayakawa', and set the Queen Book between 'Ann Takamaki' and 'Shiho Suzui.' Almost as soon as Jolyne placed the third book in its slot, there was a *click* followed by the wall Mona pointed out to slide back, revealing a room that almost made them all sick. "Oh god…
Inside the room was not only a path out, but all sorts of sexual devices, ranging from ball gags to riding crops to a few things Jolyne didn't even want to think about. The worst part had to be the wall, as it was lined with pictures of female students.
"No effin' way…" Skull muttered out, looking at the photos. Jolyne, Ann, Shiho, the student council president…they were all up there, along with countless others.
"This is truly sick. Kamoshida's even more twisted than I though…" Mona muttered, and Joker noticed Panther standing with her fists clenched, almost visibly shaking.
"Hey." The green haired student placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "You ok?" Ann looked at the pictures, particularly the ones of shiho, took a deep breath, and nodded.
"Yeah, I will be. I'm just…I'm just ready to give that bastard what's coming to him." The model responded, when Skull noticed something on a shelf inside the secret room.
"Wait, is that…" he walked over to the shelf. "No effin' way!"
"What is it, Skull?" Joker asked, and Skull turned back to the group, holding a golden medallion that had a symbol of 5 interlocked rings on it.
"Check it out! It's that asshat's Olympic gold medal!" He answered, holding it towards the group. Needless to say, the other two teenagers were slightly awestruck.
"Whoa, so this is what a gold medal looks like…"
"Never thought I'd see one up close…what's it doing in here?"
"Because it's not real." The group ask truned to Mona.
"Say what now?"
"It's not the real medal. It's merely a cognitive duplicate." Mona explained, and the three humans almost seemed to deflate.
"Aw man. I was looking forward to beating him over the head with it…" Joker lamented, when a light seemed to go off in Panther's head.
"Wait a minute. Even if this ain't the real deal, then why's he keep it in here?" Panther mused, and this got the gears turning in Skull's head. He looked at the pictures in the wall, then at the 'medal', and then noticed faint white streaks on the medal…
"Ahhhhh!" Skull screamed, tossing the medal as far away from him as he could, before frantically rubbing his hands on his pants. "Gross gross gross gross gross…"
"Better him than me…" Panther whispered to Joker, who nodded in agreement. However, Mona noticed something about the shelf from where he was standing at Skull's knee. He jumped up and grabbed what was sticking out of the shelf, pulling down what looked like a large piece of parchment. Mona looked at its contents, and he grinned.
"Alright!" He held up the parchment for his companions to see: it was a map of the palace, with detailed outlines of the hallways and rooms. In the upper right hand corner, there was a circle marked 'tower' that had a large red crown drawn on it.
"Whoa, nice eye Mona!" Panther congratulated, and he almost seemed to blush.
"Oh Lady Ann, your praise is worth more than any treasure~"
"Hey, what about me? He wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't grabbed that…actually, let's not talk about what that was. Ever." Skull lamented, and Joker simply patted him on the back. Mona examined the map, noticing an area of the palace marked 'tower' that had a large red crown drawn on it.
"Hey Joker, take a look at this." She knelt down to look over Mona's shoulder, resting her elbow on his large head as she looked at the map.
"Think that's where the treasure is?"
"That'd be my best guess. It wouldn't be marked like this otherwise."
"Well, its not like we've got anything else to go on." Joker sighed out, and stood back up. Mona handed her the map, and she tucked it in her jacket. With that, the Thieves resumed their trek.
The Chapel
The Phantom Thieves had been progressing through the castle for almost an hour now, following the map. It was largely uneventful, save for encounters with a few Shadows, some of which Joker had managed to sway to their side and convert into a mask. Now, however, the quartet found themselves entering what appeared to be a large cathedral, with a large golden statue of Kamoshida spiking a volleyball in the center. "This guy's never heard of modesty, has he?" Mona remarked as they entered the room, looking around at the elegant-yet-garish stained glass windows behind the statue, which seemed to depict the King of the Castle at various volleyball games.
"Just when you think this place can't get anymore ugly…" Joker sighed, and looked around the room, almost seeming to squint.
"This layout…hey guys, doesn't this place remind you of anything?" He asked, and Oanther raised an eyebrow, before she looked around the cathedral as well.
"Now that you mention it, this place…kinda reminds me of the gym at school."
"Hey Mona, is this that cognition thing you talked about?" Joker asked, and Mona nodded.
"Exactly. Since the Palace is based off how Kamoshida views a physical location, in this case the school, it stands to reason that the way Kamoshida views specific locations will have an effect on how the Palace is arranged." The not-cat explained, and Skull scowled.
"So he thinks that the gym is some sorta church, where everyone comes to worship him?"
"Makes sense, given how we had that big volleyball rally the other day. So, Joker, where to next?" Panther replied, and Joker took out the map and examined it. According to the map, they were still on track to reaching the Treasure, with the Tower being right next to the Chapel, but save for the way they came in, Jolyne could see no exits. They were so close, and Jolyne really didn't want to risk retracing their steps. There had to be a way to get to be Tower…
"Halt, intruders!" But that would have to wait, as a hostile voice cut though the air. At the feet of the large Kamoshida statue, two golden armored guards appeared. "For crimes against our glorious King Kamoshida, you will pay for your crimes!"
"Ughhhh, more of these guys? Great…" Skull groaned out, and the two gold guards exploded into pools black and red energy. When the energy reformed as a solid shape, both Shadows now stood as red clad knights with horned helmets and fur trim on the shoulders. They now rode atop black horses, and each carried red spears.
"Take 'em down!" Joker ordered, and Carmen materialized behind Panther, firing two fireballs at the charging knights, only for them to shrug them off like they were nothing. The quartet jumped to avoid the charging Shadows, with Mona and Joker facing one and Skull and Panther facing the other.
Joker took out her gun and fired at the Mounted Knight, pulling the trigger until the weapon clicked empty. However, while the Mounted Knight was slightly staggered, it was largely unaffected by the attack. Mona leapt at it and swung his scimitar, only for the Knight to block it with its spear. Mona was knocked back, although he was able to bounce off a pillar and land on his feet. "Show your might, Zorro!" The cartoonish swordsman appeared behind him, swinging its rapier and generating a blast of wind. The Mounted Knight was pushed back by this, having to visibly brace himself, and that's when Joker made her move. Fireballs shot out of the Knight's spear, but Joker managed to dodge most of them. She leapt up into the air and swung her dagger, slashing through the knight's armor and causing black blood to gush out as Joker landed on the ground. However, the Knight still had some fight left in him, as he swung his spear at joker, the flat end catching her in the chest. The resulting blow knocked her backwards into a pillar. "Joker!" Mona cried out, and Zorro charged the wounded Knight, finishing it off with rapid stabs from its rapier. As it dissolved into black ash, Mona ran over to Joker, who was slumped against the pillar. "Joker, are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm…I'm fine." Joker responded, Mona looked her over, especially her chest, where the Knight's spear had hit her. But no matter how hard Mona looked, he couldn't find any sign of injury. Although he noticed what looked like a light blue shimmer crossed in front of her chest, before it faded away. Joker placed her hand on Mona's hand, using him as leverage as she stood up, popping a painkiller into her mouth.
"C'mon, Skull and Panther probably need-"
"Whoa, are you ok?" Skull's voice called out, and the two looked over to see Skull and Panther running up to them, looking none the worse for wear. The Mounted Knight they were fighting was nowhere to be seen, save for a few crushed pews.
"I'm fine. What about you two?"
"Oh, we're fine. Skull just zapped the big guy with Captain Kidd and that knocked him down for us to finish him off win our guns." Panther explained, and held up what looked like a small, round stone. "He dropped this when we beat him. What do you think it is?" Joker took it from her, turning it over in her red gloved hand.
"Not sure. Mona, check and see if the one we fought dropped one." Mona nodded and trotted over to where they had felled the Mounted Rider, returning holding an identical stone. Jolyne took it and rolled them over in her hands. They kinda looked like eyeballs, which freaked her out more than a little bit.
"Maybe they're like, some sorta key or something?"
"Don't be stupid, Skull. What sort of door could possibly have a key like this?"
"Hey, you never know. It's not like anything else the past week has made any sense. Hell, you're a talking cat."
"I'm not a cat!"
"I think I'll side with Skull on this one, Mona. It definitely wouldn't surprise me." Joker said, tucking the stones into her coat.
"We still need a way out, don't we?" Panther asked, and Joker nodded.
"We're right next to the tower where the Treasure is supposed to be, but I can't think of a way to get there without backtracking."
"No thanks. I don't wanna risk bumping into that loud mouthed 'king' again."
"Well, Skull, I don't see any way up there. Do you?" Mona asked, and Panther began looking around, before gasping and pointing.
"Look, up there!" They looked the direction of where she was pointing, squinting until they saw a plate glass window with a sizable gap in it behind the statue. Through the hole, they could see the red skies that surrounded the Palace. "That should let us get up to the roof, right?"
"It could, but how do we get up there?" Mona stated, and Joker furrowed her brow as an idea began to form in her head.
"God I hope this works…" she muttered to herself, and began walking over to the statue. Arriving at the statue of Kamoshida, the leader took a deep breath, held her right hand towards the top, and began unraveling her hand into strings. The strings began moving upwards towards the statues head, her arm unraveling the higher they went. Eventually, one she had unravelled past her elbow, the strings reached the top of the statue. Condensing to form a rope and a 'hand', they grasped the statue, and Jolyne turned back to her companions. "Start climbing. I don't know how long I can hold this."
"Whoa, nice goin' dude!" Ryuji congratulated as he and Morgana walked over to her, while Ann stood slack jawed.
"What…how…what the hell is this?!" She asked, and Morgana turned back to her.
"That's right, we forgot to tell you about this. We don't know how, but basically, Joker can turn her body into these strings that serve a variety of purposes, from lockpicking to eavesdropping. I guess we can add rappelling to that now." He explained, but the red-clad blonde was still confused.
"But…how? How's her body do that?"
"It just works. Now can you guys hurry up, before my arm gets tired?" Joker called back, and Skull tested the 'rope', pulling on it a bit. "Hey, watch it! That's still my arm, y'know."
"Sorry, sorry." He apologized, and began to climb up the rope. Joker did her best to conceal the strain on her face, watching as he climbed up her 'rope.'
"Jeez, Ryuji, lay off the ramen!" She groaned out, and Skull soon reached the top, climbing in top of the statue's head.. Mona was next, jumping onto her shoulder, then jumping off onto the rope. He was significantly lighter than the skull-masked blonde before him, though it was slow going as the not-cat had to make use his stubby little arms and paws to climb. Eventually, he reached the top, joining Skull at the top. Panther had watched them climb up, a look of uncertainty remaining on her face.
"So I take it this isn't related to your Persona?" She asked, and Joker shook her head.
"Pretty sure it isn't, since I can do it outside of the Palace too. Haven't exactly had much time to figure this all out." Joker explained, but Panther still looked uncertain as she looked the rope up and down. Joker put her free hand on the red leather clad woman's shoulder, and gave a reassuring smile.. "Hey, don't worry. If I can handle Ryuji, then you'll be fine." Panther returned the smile.
"Alright, if you say so." With that, Panther took hold of the arm rope, and began to climb. Once she was above Joker, Joker looked to the side and began whistling.
Don't look up don't look up don't look up… Joker told herself, glad none of her teammates could see the red spreading across her face under her mask. After a few minutes, Joker felt a tug on her arm/rope, looking up to see her fellow Phantom Thieves standing at the top.
"Yo! You ready?"
"Whenever you are!" She called back up, and they began slowly pulling her up by her arm/rope. Once she reached the top, she pulled herself up and unraveled the rope, the strings reraveling back into Jolyne's right arm. Panther's nose crinkled as she took a few sniffs of the air.
"Does anyone else smell… is that soap?" Panther asked, and the others sniffed the air.
"Oh yeah, now that you mention it, I kinda smelled this back in the dungeon, when Joly…I mean Joker found us a way out. I was still pissed from seeing what Kamoshida was doin' to the guys he had down there, so I didn't bring it up." Skull answered.
"Guess it's just part of that weird power." Mona answered, and they all turned to look at the hole in the window. After counting to three, Joker jumped the gap between the statue, grabbing onto the sill and pulling herself up. On the outside of the church there was a small ledge for them to walk upon, with a large roof being visible right next to a large tower.
"We're almost there. Let's just move one at a time." She called back, and the other three nodded. She pressed herself against the castle and shimmied along the ledge towards the roof, with Mona, Panther, and Skull respectively following after her. They soon reached the roof facing the tower, with a single wooden door on the tower.
"We're close enough now that I can feel it. The Treasure is definitely up there!" Mona exclaimed, and Skull grinned as he pumped his fist in the air.
"Hell yeah! Hope you're ready for us, you bastard!" He cheered, and Panther smiled as well.
"Almost there…I'll make him pay, Shiho…" she whispered to herself, and Joker approached the door, kicking it open to reveal a red spiraling stair case.
"Alright everyone, homestretch. Let's go!" The transfer student turned Thief ordered, and they all began running up the stairs. When they reached as far as they could go, they went through another door, being faced with a spacious, extravagant room once again. However, as opposed to the rooms below, the floor up here was tinged in purple light, various cracks appearing in the floor with rubble that seemed to float.
"Whoa, what's going on here?"
"The distortion is particularly strong up here, probably due to the Treasure's presence." Mona explained, and Joker noticed a staircase leading upwards.
"There!" She pointed, and they ran over to that staircase. As they arrived at the next floor and the next room, they saw several guards stationed around the room, along with several statues of female torsos decorating the room. The Phantom Thieves wasted no time, taking cover behind the garish statues as they progressed through the room, avoiding detection of the knights as they approached another staircase. Climbing the staircase, they found themselves faced with two options: either progressing through the hallway towards the next staircase, or going to the left across a suspended bridge, leading to the other side of the hall. When the group tried going the way of the former, however, the floor seemed to rise up, blocking their path.
"Well, guess we don't have any choice." Mona said, and Joker nodded, stepping across into the bridge to her left However, as soon as she stepped foot on to the bridge, she heard a small click, and jumped backwards to avoid a bladed pendulum. Several bladed pendulums began to swing back and forth all along the bridge, cutting them off.
"Shit!" Joker cursed.
"There's gotta be a way through there! Maybe if we time it right?" Panther suggested, and Mona shook his head.
"No one's that fast. We'd be chopped to pieces." He said, and looked at the raised floor that went all the way to the ceiling. "And I don't think we'll be able to go that way."
"Dammit! We're so close too!" Skull groaned, and that's when Joker noticed a bust of Kamoshida next to the doorway. Memories of their time in the dungeon flashed through her head.
This kinda reminds me of that bust by the drawbridge. I wonder… The black clad leader walked over to the grinning bust and pulled down on its jaw. Just like the one in the dungeon, the jaw pulled down, but unlike the dungeon, nothing happened. "Dang…" she muttered under her breath, when the green haired woman noticed something about the statue: it was missing its eyes. A light went on in her head, and Joker's red gloved hand went into her coat, pulling out the stones that they had taken from the Mounted Knights in the cathedral. Going off her gut feeling, Joker placed each stone in the eyehole, and to her elation, the stones fit perfectly into the holes, emanating a faint yellow glow as they clicked into place. Taking a deep breath, she pulled on the jaw…and the pendulums stopped swinging.
"Whoa! Nice job Joker!" Mona cheered.
"Looks like Skull was right about those being some kind of key." Panther said, and he sheepishly grinned.
"Aw, it was nothin'!" He said, and Jolyne patted him on the back.
"Good call, Skull. Alright, let's keep moving." She said, and they crossed the bridge to the other side of the hallway. The corridor circled back around to where the floor had risen up to block their path, revealing an open doorway that held yet another stair case. However, this one was different, as instead of being a spiral, it lead straight up. The Thieves began to climb, eventually reaching the top and being greeted by an extravagant hallway that was even more ornate than the other ones. As soon as they entered the hall, Mona shuddered.
"This feeling…the treasure is definitely on this floor!" He said, running over to a nearby doorway. The others followed after him, taking cover and peering past the doorway. They were greeted with the sight of a spacious, extravagant room with a large throne in the center. In the throne was none other than the Shadow Kamoshida, with several guards kneeling down in front of him.
"Over the last few hours, we've gotten reports of a number of our guards going missing. This can only mean one thing: those good for nothing Thieves are back!" The King bellowed, rage contorting his already distorted voice. "I won't allow this defiance to stand! You are to kill them on sight, no exceptions! Any who allow them to escape-" as the Shadow began to rant, the Thieves turned to each other.
"See that painting behind him?" Mona said, pointing to a large painting of a shirtless, overly muscular Kamoshida on a horse with a sword. "I'm definitely sensing the treasure behind that."
"So we just need to get there. The question is how?" Joker asked, and Panther spotted a raised balcony that encircled the throne room.
"What about up there?" She pointed, and Mona nodded.
"That'll do it. Remember, stay in the shadows." He instructed, and they began to move. They found a hole in the wall, jumping up and sneaking through it onto the balcony. As Kamoshida ranted and raved about what would happen if any of the guards let them escape, they stayed out of sight, slowly sneaking around towards the painting behind the throne. Luckily, all the guards still had their heads bowed in reverence, so they didn't notice the students-turned-Thieves sneaking behind the throne. As they neared the painting, Joker began to focus, trying to activate the 'Third Eye' she had used in the library. It worked, and through her dimmed vision, Jolyne saw a yellow outlined brick next to the painting. Motioning to her companions, Joker pressed the brick, and they all began to gently push. The painting began to swing around, and once they were past the doorway, they shoved it close. However, just before it could slam shut and give away their position, Skulk braced himself against the door, grunting as he stopped its sudden swing. Joker and Panther slowly pulled it shut, the painting sealing with a light *click*. Kamoshida paused in his rant at the light click, getting up and turning around to see that there was now a painting of him standing victorious in gold armor, holding a volleyball in one hand and 'Ann' in the other. He squinted for a second, before he sighed.
"Guess I forgot to shut it all the way last time. Wind must have blown it closed." He muttered, and turned back to his guards. "Now, where was I?"
Behind the painting, the Phantom Thieves let out a light sigh. "Man, that was close…" Panther groaned, and Skull nodded in agreement, only to let out a small yawn as a wave of fatigue washed over him.
"Oh man, anyone else tired?" Joker nodded, covering her mouth as she yawned.
"Now that you mention it, yeah. All this Persona using, fighting, and sneaking takes a lot out of you."
"Hmph. Amateurs. I can still keep going!" Mona jeered, although he was looking a little disheveled himself. He motioned for them to follow him. "C'mon, the Treasure's this way. Let's go." He instructed, and they all followed him. Soon, they were all left slack jawed as they stared at a huge mountain of gold items. Crowns, swords, necklaces, rings…if it was exquisite, then it was here. But what was most eye catching had to be what was in the middle: a large, shapeless, white light, that had a light film surrounding it almost like a bubble.
"Whoa…is this the treasure?" Joker asked breathlessly, the white light bathing them in its glow.
"Correct. This is the manifestation of Kamoshida's distorted desires, the heart around which this Palace was built." Mona answered. "If we take this, then we'll bring about a change of heart in the real version of Kamoshida."
"Then what're we waiting for? Let's go!" Skull said, and made to grab the Treasure…only for his hands to pass right through. Mona sighed, watching as he fruitlessly tried to grab it.
"We can't steal it now, dummy. Desires have no solid form. We'll have to send a Calling Card and make it manifest." Panther pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow at this.
"A Calling Card? What's that?"
"Basically, we warn him that we're going to steal his heart!" Mona said with a grin, while the others looked confused. "Like I said beforehand, desires have no solid form, largely because the person the Palace belongs to sees them as a part of them. However, if that person becomes conscious of the fact that their desires are in fact something that can be stolen, then it affects their cognition and causes their desires to manifest as a Treasure." Joker and Panther were listening intently, while Skull looked a little lost, but didn't say anything.
"So why didn't we send this Calling Card thing before we started? If he knew we were coming for him, then we could just take this thing and call it a day." Skull asked.
"Because once the Calling Card is sent and the Treasure is given solid form, then the Palace and its ruler will be on high alert. Guards would be everywhere. We'd have never been able to make it through here in one day like we did."
"Then why couldn't we have just come back?" Panther asked, and Mona's grin vanished.
"Because once we send the calling card, we'll only have 24 hours to act, and we only get one shot." Their eyes all widened at this. "If we threaten someone that we're going to steal their hearts, and then nothing happens, then they'll write us off if we try again."
"That's…a pretty huge bomb to drop on us, Mona." Joker said. "Why didn't you tell us all this at the beginning?"
"Because this is your first time. The pressure of knowing that we only have one chance to do this would've inadvertently caused someone to slip up and make a mistake." The not-cat explained, and his grin returned. "But now I see that was a mistake. You've all performed beyond my wildest expectations. Even you, Skull." Panther smiled at him.
"Thanks, Morgana. You were pretty great out there too." She said, and he blushed.
"Oh Lady Ann, I don't hold a candle to you. You're so amazing~" he purred out, and Joker looked at the treasure.
So this is Kamoshida's desires, huh? It's almost kinda beautiful, in its own demented way. Jolyne thought, and clenched her fists as she thought of everyone who had been hurt because of these desires. Ryuji, Ann, Mishima, Shiho, the members of the volleyball team…everything bad that had happened to them had been because of this. Jolyne was going to enjoy snatching the treasure right out from under his nose. "Morgana, have we done everything we need to?" She asked, and he nodded.
"Yes. We've located the treasure and secured an infiltration route. All that's left is the Calling Card."
"Then let's call it a day. We'll rest up, and tomorrow we send the Calling Card and steal his treasure. Is that good with everyone?"
"I am. I'm ready to make him pay for everything he's done!" Ann said, determination burning in her eyes.
"Dude, do you even need to ask? Hell yeah I am!" Ryuji stated, and jabbed a thumb into his chest. "I'll take care of the calling card tonight." Panther let out a small chortle at that, before she caught herself. "Something funny?"
"Hm? Oh, it's just…are you sure? Arts and crafts was never your strong suit." Panther lamented, and he huffed indignantly.
"Well do you want to do it?"
"Hmmmmm…no thanks."
"That's what I thought. Joker?"
"I'm good. Go nuts." Joker said, and he grinned, only for Joker to hold up her hand. "Just…try not to make it too personal. We don't want to tip him off that it's us."
"Got it." He said, and they all looked at the Treasure.
Ryuji thought of what Kamoshida had done to the track team. He thought of the ache he still felt in his right knee, and of the limp he still walked with. He thought of how Kamoshida had ruined his future and countless others.
Ann thought of Shiho. Thought of her jumping off that rooftop and the sickening sound she heard when she landed. Thought of how Ann had done nothing to help her friend, and had inadvertently brought her to Kamoshida's attentions.
Morgana thought of his missing memories. Thought of the people he had met since coming to this palace, and how helping them might lead him to the life he had lost.
Jolyne thought of everyone Kamoshida had hurt. Ryuji, Ann, Shiho, Mishima, countless others…making her a pariah was nothing compared to what they had gone through. All because Kamoshida still thought he was entitled to their suffering. It was time to put an end to that.
Joker turned away. "Cmon, I saw a safe room a little ways back. Let's head home."
Monday, 4/18/20XX, Evening
The bell above LeBlanc's door chimed as Jolyne pushed it open, being greeted with the sight of Sojiro wiping the counter. "Welcome back. Anything exciting happen at school?" Sojiro asked as he finished wiping the countertop.
"Same old same old." She neglected to mention how she and her friends, including the cat in her bag, had infiltrated an otherworldly castle generated by a volleyball coach's perverted desires to try and steal said desires. All to avoid being expelled and sentenced to a very lengthy prison sentence.
"That's good. Once you get set in a routine, it'll be easier to stay out of trouble." Sojiro stated, and Jolyne looked around the empty cafe.
"Slow day?"
"Yeah, but Monday's usually are." He answered, taking a sip of coffee. "So, you talk to your dad the other day?" He asked, and Jolyne felt a lump in her throat.
"I uh…I tried, but I just got his voicemail. He must've gone home." She lied, but Sojiro didn't seem to buy it.
"Uh huh. Guess you'll just have to call him another time." Sojiro suggested, and he left it at that. "So, you hungry?" Jolyne looked up at this, a curious expression on her face.
"A little. Why?" In the week she'd lived at Leblanc, Sojiro hadn't offered to feed her, instead leaving her to get her meals on her way to and from school.
"Well, like I said, Monday's are slow, and I don't think I'll get any more customers tonight. I just brewed some fresh curry, and I don't want it to go to waste." He pointed over to a large, earthen pot resting on the oven. "Well? Do you want some or not?" Jolyne purses her lips as she thought for a moment, before her stomach growled and decided for her.
"Sure, if you're offering." She answered, and Sojiro's stern countenance was broken the corners of his mouth tugging upward into a small smile.
"Good. Take a seat." He instructed, and Jolyne sat herself at the bar, setting the bag with Morgana in it down by her stool.. "So, you've made yourself some friends, huh?" He said.
"Yes sir."
"Anyone I might know?"
"Do you know anyone named Sakamoto or Takamaki?" Sojiro thought for a minute, before shaking his head.
"Can't think of anyone with that last name. So, mind if I ask what you've been doing with them that has you out until night?" Jolyne raised an eyebrow at this, watching as he stirred the curry.
"I thought you didn't care what I got up to?"
"Ever hear of small talk? Sheesh, you're just like Futaba…" he muttered that last part out under his breath, so softly that Jolyne couldn't hear it.
"Well, if you must know, they've been showing me the city. Helping me figure out my way around so I don't get lost again." Jolyne 'answered.'
"Uh huh. And one of these friends is a guy, correct?" Sojiro asked with a hint of mischief in his voice, causing Jolyne to roll her eyes.
"Like is said, it's nothing like that. He's just a friend. He's not my type anyways."
"Uh huh, gotcha. Now, you don't have to answer this if you don't want, but when you say not 'your type…'" Sojiro's voice trailed off, and Jolyne narrowed her eyes as she followed his train of thought.
"Yeah, I'm not into guys that much. That a problem?" She asked defensively, and Sojiro merely held up his hands.
"Hey, no worries here. I don't care one way or another who you love or how. As long as you stay out of trouble, it makes no difference to me." He answered, and Jolyne let out a sigh of relief she didn't know she'd been holding in.
"…thanks." Sojiro nodded, and began ladling the curry into a plate, before setting it in front of her along with some silverware.
"Careful. It's hot." He warned, and Jolyne took a big sniff of it. It smelled incredible, the scent of all the different spices mingling together to make her mouth water. Jolyne took a spoonful of curry, examined it…and took a bite.
Whenever she visited her uncle Josuke in Morioh, he always took her to an Italian restaurant where the meal was custom tailored to the guest by the chief.. Every meal Jolyne had eaten there consistently put every other meal to shame. But next to Sojiro's curry? Tonio Trussardi didn't hold a candle. The curry was the the single greatest thing she had ever tasted. The spiciness of the curry helped seal the flavor in and unpack it for her tastebuds. Her mind was racing trying to come up with new words for how delicious the curry was. Angels sang in the distance as her eyes watered, her mind transcending to a higher plane of existence that could only be attained through tasting truly great food…
"Well?" Sojiro asked, bringing her back down to earth. Jolyne remained silent for a moment as she swallowed…before digging into the curry, consuming it like she had been starved for a month. "Hey, slow down! You're going to burn yourself, ok?"
"Sorry, it's just…it's so GOOD!" She stated, and upon seeing the childlike expression on her face, Sojiro let out a good, hearty laugh.
"Well, I'm glad you like it." He said, and gears began turning in his head as he watched her devour the curry. "Hey, what have you been eating for breakfast?" He asked, distracting her from her eating.
"I've just been getting a breakfast bar on the way to school." She answered, wiping away some curry that was dribbling down her chin.
"I figured it was something like that." He said, stroking his goatee. "Growing kid like you needs more than some measly breakfast bar. How about you and I make a deal?" The restaurateur asked, piquing Jolyne's interest.
"Go on."
"Lately, I've had a few ideas rolling around about new curry recipes I could try. The only thing is, I have no idea how people will react. So, what I'm proposing is that, in exchange for providing you breakfast every morning, you tell me if any of these new recipes are any good or not." Sojiro explained, and Jolyne didn't even hesitate.
"Free breakfast in exchange for being a taste tester? Count me in." She answered, and Sojiro smirked.
"It's a deal then." Sojiro extended his hand, which Jolyne gladly shook, before she returned to her meal.
Some time later, she was sitting in the attic with Morgana, who she had managed to get some curry for. Her phone chimed, and she saw a message from Ryuji in the group chat.
RS: *attachment*
An image loaded onto her phone of a bunch of red construction paper, markers, and scissors.
RS: see you guys tomorrow!
"I hope that idiot doesn't mess things up for us." Morgana said, reading off of Jolyne's phone.
"I'm pretty confident he won't. Ryuji hasn't let us down yet." Jolyne replied, and yawned.
"You should get some rest. Tomorrow's going to be a big day." Morgana suggested, and Jolyne gave him a thumbs up as she yawned again.
"That's a really good idea." She yawned out, and began to get her pajamas on, before getting into bed.
Tomorrow's the day…we'll make him pay for what he did. She thought to herself, as her eyes drifted shut and she went to sleep.
A/N: Sorry if things seemed a bit rushed. The first palace is by far my least favorite, mainly because of how monotonous it was, and I wanted to get through it as fast as possible. See you guys next time.