Persona 5: The Phantom Files

by sithlorde1988

Will cover the events of Persona 5 Royal, with the sequel set to cover Strikers. What happens when in addition to Ren being sentenced to go live in the care of Sojiro Sakura for a year after being sued for assault, his younger brother is also ordered to go and oversee him? How will this extra character change things? Read to find out! More info in chapter 1! Read and review! Enjoy!

90. Clash of Dragons! Reality Check part 5

A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Persona 5- The Phantom Files! This chapter is one that I'm sure many a fan of Kusa/Draconis have been (not-so?) patiently waiting for. In addition, this chapter will probably have the securing of the route to Maruki's Treasure, and by extension the end of the larger portion of Maruki's Palace. Granted, anyone who's played through canon Royal at least once knows, you end up coming back at least once more near the end of the deadline. But that's beside the point. That said, let's get the disclaimer out of the way now so it's taken care of.

Disclaimer: I, sithlorde1988, do not own the Persona series in ANY way, shape, or form (excluding the OCs Kusa/Draconis, Somasi/Slim, Kyori, Lumine, Mimille, Minako, Sinocard, and the Malefactor, all of whom are made and thus owned by me), and the actual ownership credit for the Persona series belongs to Atlus, Sega, and to a point Koei Tecmo (at least insofar as the spinoffs and such go, such as Persona 5 Strikers, the Persona 4 Arena games, and the various Dancing/Q games), so all ownership credit belongs to them!

And with that done and dusted, let me just say that this is one chapter I myself have been not-so-patiently anticipating, since a large chunk of the bigger change-ups to the third semester happen in here, at least the ones that pertain to Kusa/Draconis anyways. There might be one or two other change-ups in the wings for the finale of the story when that happens. However, considering that we're not quite there yet, we'll leave that at that for now. And now, without further ado, on to the start of Chapter 90!

Chapter 90: Clash of the Dragons! Rise of a Drake! Securing Routes and more! Reality Check part 5

(In the detention level of Maruki's Palace, with Group B, or Mona, Oracle, Panther and Violet)

"Jeez, why is this staircase so freaking long? I didn't think they needed to have the detention level down this far?" Panther asked with a frown as Mona spoke up.

"Probably, they did it to ensure that any prisoners who somehow broke free would likely run out of energy before reaching the exit, thus thwarting any potential jailbreaks. Too bad they didn't account for the possibility of external assistance when planning for that. Oh well, their loss and our gain, to be sure. Mwehehe." Mona said as Oracle smirked and spoke up.

"Good point, Mona. And according to this map, we're actually pretty close to the bottom of the staircase at this point." Oracle said, getting nods from Mona, Violet, and Panther. Right around that point, all four of them blinked as they could just barely hear a clearly livid shout of 'DAMN YOU TO HELL, MARUKI! HOW DARE YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF VIOLET LIKE THAT, YOU SICK BASTARD!?' from somewhere above them, making Violet and Oracle exchange wide-eyed looks, both having recognized the voice that had screamed as Joker's, making the former wince as she pulled out the comms call Oracle had made to keep in contact with Group A and speaking into it.

"Group A, can you read us? This is Violet calling. Come in, Group A." Violet said as Crow dryly answered the comms.

"Crow here. Let me guess, you heard Joker screaming his damned fool head off just now, right? To be fair to him, he had a very good reason for it, but I'll put him on if you want him to explain himself." Crow said as Violet nodded and spoke up.

"Mmm, please do, Crow-senpai. I'm curious what set him off like that." Violet said as Crow handed the comms call to Joker, who spoke up.

"Joker here. Sorry if I scared any of you just now." Joker said as Violet spoke up.

"Nah, you moreso startled me and Oracle rather than scared us, worried us really. What did you see that set you off like that, anyways?" Violet asked as Joker spoke up.

"Um, I may or may not have found a VHS tape of a certain someone's first meeting with Maruki, and I might've seen stuff in it that made me want to strangle Maruki for what he did." Joker said honestly as Violet winced and spoke up, ignoring the amused giggles from Oracle and Panther behind her as she spoke.

"Ah, so the next VHS was my first session with Maruki, eh? I see. And yes, everything on it was true. All I can say in my own defense was that I felt oddly freed after what he did, even if I don't entirely remember parts of it. And also in my defense, I was in a very fragile mental state at the time given I'd just suffered a rather painful loss not long before that day, as you might recall. But I appreciate you getting so enraged on my behalf, Joker-senpai." Violet said as Joker huffed and spoke up.

"Hmph. If you say so, Violet. But you do realize that what he did is basically mind rape, right? Not to mention, there's no chance in hell that he asked your consent before basically hypnotizing you with the power of subliminal suggestion into thinking you were your dead sister. Even if he had good intentions, that's still very unprofessional and beyond not okay! Not to mention all the repressed suffering it likely caused you after it was undone. That man's gonna be lucky if I don't have Crow help me tear him apart when we get done securing the route to his Treasure. How dare he take advantage of you that way!?" Joker said irately as Violet winced and spoke up.

"Yes, well, as much as I'm flattered at how indignant and pissed off you are on my behalf, isn't it against the Phantom Thief code to kill our targets, no matter if they deserve it or not? I seem to recall you and Draconis both had an issue with this once before when you first started out. Something to do with Panther and Draconis both having a near-miss with your first target where both got scarily angry at him? Also, is Maruki really worth getting into that sort of trouble over, even on my behalf? I'd rather have you out of jail and a free man, Joker-senpai." Violet said kindly but firmly as Panther and Oracle smiled at the gentle but firm rebuke Violet had given Joker as Mona spoke up at that point.

"I'm sorry to break up this touching moment, Violet, but we're at the bottom of the staircase! You'll have to call Joker back after we finish our mission!" Mona said as Violet nodded and spoke into the comms.

"Sorry to cut this short, but we're at the bottom of the staircase! Gotta go. Try to calm down if you can before we meet back up, Joker. For now, Group B signing off." Violet said as she closed the comms chat, at the same time that the Mona-bus pulled to a halt at the bottom of the staircase, at which point the girls exited the Mona-bus as it turned back into Mona, right as Panther pushed open the double-doors in front of the group, allowing them to proceed into the next room, which was basically a semi-long hallway with another double-door at the end of it. However, Mona blinked as he saw the burly-looking Shadow standing guard over the door and spoke up to get the girls' attention.

"Well, I think we found the guard for the detention level! Get a load of that Shadow over there!" Mona said as the girls looked over and gasped at the sight of the Shadow, right as Oracle spoke up.

"Whoa, that Shadow looks like a badass. If I had to guess, I'd say that the door behind it leads to the prisoner's cells. So we'll probably have to take that guy out to get to our target, if he's down here." Oracle said as the others nodded and charged forward, prompting the Shadow to blink at the quartet and speak up.

"Wh-What the hell!? How'd you find this place? And who are you people? Wait, are you the Phantom Thieves!? I didn't think you'd find your way down here? Well, it doesn't matter. Now that you've found this place, I can't let you leave here alive. Sorry, but you brought this on yourselves!" The Shadow said before shifting forms into the form of a Hastur, or a 'Warped Abyss' as Violet remembered it being called. At that point, a fight began! At the start of the fight, the 'Warped Abyss' spoke up.

"So, you've come to save the prisoner? I don't know if I want to call you brave, or completely idiotic! Either way, you'll have to get past me first!" The 'Warped Abyss' said to the quartet, as the fight began. Mona and Panther looked at one another and nodded as they spoke up.

"COME, DIEGO! SHOW YOUR MIGHT!/DANCE, HECATE!" Mona and Panther said as they called out their Personas. Behind them, Oracle and Violet nodded before also speaking up.

"SHOW THIS FOOLISH FOOL YOUR MYSTICAL MIGHT, SARUMAN!/LET'S GO, CENDRILLION!" Violet and Oracle said in unison as they summoned out 'Cendrillion' and 'Saruman' respectively. At that point, Mona spoke up.

"Oracle! Use Promethus to try and identify this enemy's weakness, if it has one! Violet, Panther! Focus on buffing and/or support while we identify the enemy's weakness! I'll try to see about downing it with a Critical in the meantime!" Mona said, taking charge for the fight, getting nods from the girls as they did their respective tasks. Oracle spoke up first.

"PROMETHUS, SCAN THE ENEMY! SARUMAN, TRY ALL YOUR SKILLS TO LOOK FOR THAT THING'S WEAKNESS!" Oracle called out as 'Promethus' and 'Saruman' followed orders quickly, the former hovering around the field to try and pinpoint a weakness and the latter charging up a burst of mystic energy with their wand, eventually hurling a massive bolt of Psy energy at the target, slamming into it for considerable damage as Mona and Panther spoke up.

"DIEGO, STRIKE! SHOW YOUR MIGHT!" Mona called out as Diego nodded, charging up and firing off a rocket-propelled glove from his rapier as Panther spoke up.

"HECATE, LET'S TRY PUTTING IT TO SLEEP!" Panther called out as Hecate nodded and cracked her mace on the ground to cause a wave of purple-pink bubbles to fly at the enemy, connecting as the enemy was put to sleep, right as a bolt of Bless energy crashed into it courtesy of Cendrillion and knocked it down with a strong 'Technical' hit, prompting Mona to look at Panther and speak up.

"Panther! Shall we try our special move to hopefully weaken the foe?" Mona asked as Panther smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, might as well, Mona! Ready?" Panther asked as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Always, Lady Panther!" Mona said as Panther and Mona spoke up as one.

"HA! IT'S SHOWTIME!" Panther and Mona said as their Showtime started! Mona smiled at Panther and spoke up.

"For you, Lady Panther! This is how I really feel!" Mona said, eagerly flourishing a bouquet of roses at a shocked Panther, who smiled and spoke up.

"Wow, thanks! It's JUST WHAT I NEEDED!" Panther said as she reached into the bouquet and produced her SMGs, which she then fired rapidly at the downed 'Warped Abyss', clocking massive damage as she and Mona spoke up while leaping up into the air.

"WOO-HOO! EAT IT!" Mona and Panther said as they flew upwards, while Mona kept speaking as he brandished a bomb from out of nowhere.

"AND HERE'S THE BULLET!" Mona said as he hurled the bomb down towards the downed enemy, where it hit and exploded in the enemy's face, dealing massive damage to it but not destroying it as the Showtime ended. At that point, the 'Warped Abyss' got to its feet and spoke up with a glare.

"Heh, not bad for a bunch of riff-raff. But you'll have to do better than that to defeat me. My lord selected me personally to guard this area, and I will not let him down without a fight!" The 'Warped Abyss' said with a huff as Oracle smirked and spoke up.

"Is that so? Too bad for you, those two aren't the only ones with a special skill up their sleeves! Violet and I can do that too! Can't we, Violet!?" Oracle asked as Violet nodded and spoke up.

"That's right, Oracle. Shall we show him our skill then?" Violet asked as Oracle smirked and spoke up.

"Violet, I was hoping you'd ask that! Mwehehe! Let's do it!" Oracle said as Violet nodded before she and Oracle spoke up at the same time.

"HA! IT'S SHOWTIME!" Violet and Oracle said as their Showtime started! As the Showtime started, Violet brandished her rapier and charged at the enemy while speaking up.

"Hmph! Time to make my point!" Violet said as she started jabbing her rapier repeatedly at the enemy, staggering it as Oracle smirked and spoke up.

"And now my turn! Taking aim, and NOW! FIRE!" Oracle said as she fired a burst from the wrist-mounted laser on her left arm, striking the 'Warped Abyss' in the face as Violet hopped backwards before getting beamed up into Promethus, only for Cendrillion to beam down in her place in a flash of light, at which point Cendrillion took aim and slammed a burst of Bless energy into the face of the 'Warped Abyss' point-blank before Oracle walked up, laser staff in hand, and spoke up.

"Heh, if you thought that was bad, wait until you see what I can do!" Oracle said as she hefted the laser staff and slammed the top end into the face of the 'Warped Abyss' to stagger it before bringing it around and slamming it into the 'Warped Abyss', striking it in the torso repeatedly before Oracle pole-vaulted off of the torso of the 'Warped Abyss' and landing under Prometheus, where she was also beamed up, only for Violet to beam back down, rapier first, drilling it right through the rightmost set of tentacles, shearing them clean off and dealing massive damage as Oracle beamed back down and spoke up.

"And now for the finisher! With the resolve of a former shut-in!" Oracle said as Violet beamed down and spoke up.

"Along with the grace of a competitive gymnast!" Violet added as she and Oracle both spoke up.

"WE END YOUR EXISTENCE! BEGONE!" Violet and Oracle said as Saruman then flew into view, dropping a massive sphere of Psy energy that he'd been charging up right on top of the 'Warped Abyss', hitting it with massive Psy damage that made it groan once before speaking up as the Showtime ended.

"U-Urgh. Damn. N-Not bad. Well done. You got me fair and square. Head on in. F-Forgive me, Lord Maruki." The 'Warped Abyss' said before swaying a bit, falling over face-down, and instantly dissolving into black mist the moment it hit the ground, ending the battle. After the fight, Mona spoke up with a resolved nod.

"Heh, not bad, you three. We beat that enemy. You've all improved a great deal from when you each first joined the group. But now let's get in there and try to save our teammate!" Mona said as the girls nodded and Oracle pushed the double doors open before the group headed into the next room. Once there, the girls all crinkled their noses in disgust at the odor that assailed their nostrils immediately on entering the room, making Panther wince as she spoke up.

**Trigger Warnings start here for the following: depictions of slightly graphic content, strong subject matter. Skip to the section marked *END OF TRIGGER WARNINGS* if you wish to skip this next part, otherwise read on at your own risk. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! TRIGGER WARNINGS START NOW!**

"Oh, eww! Did they REALLY leave their prisoners in here to not only rot, but eventually decompose after passing away!? Gross!" Panther said as Violet winced and spoke up.

"Unfortunately, it tracks way too much. After all, if the only ones down here for the most part are failed patients who Maruki deemed beyond his help, odds are better than fair he wouldn't want them to escape and draw attention to his plans. So it fits that he'd have them tossed down here and left to rot. The question now is, did he do the same to Draconis?" Violet asked with a frown as Oracle spoke up.

"Probably. But I think we can still save him if we find him fast! As such, I propose we split up and each search part of this room. Looking at it, it looks like this room has 4 rows of 5 cells in it, so each of us can take one row. Let's say Mona has the front row, I have the row behind Mona, Violet has the row behind me, and Panther has the back-most row?" Oracle suggested as the others nodded before Mona spoke up.

"Good idea, Oracle! Wait, what's that on that desk there?" Mona said, pointing to a stack of long objects on a desk to Oracle's right, making Oracle turn to face said stack as she spoke up.

"Ah, good find, Mona! These appear to be flashlights! Here, one each." Oracle said as she handed out flashlights to each of them, giving the smallest flashlight to Mona for obvious reasons. At that point, the groups headed off to check their allocated rows. With Mona, he checked the five cells allocated to him, only to frown as all five were empty to Mona's mixed disappointment and relief.

As for Violet, most of hers were empty, though she had to fight the urge to retch as she checked a couple of the cells she'd been assigned, as she quite clearly got a whiff of the rotting bodies in two of her assigned cells, making her have to check them with her light, only to let out a sigh of relief when she saw neither one was Draconis. She then quickly hurried to the edge of her row so as not to have to look at the cells more than she had to.

As for Oracle, she looked at her cells, only to sigh in disappointment as hers were all empty like Mona's. Finally, with Panther, she checked the first four of her cells, which were empty. On getting to the farthest cell back, she looked in, noticing a figure shackled to the wall. Frowning, she pulled out her flashlight to inspect the figure, which she noticed on closer inspection was wearing what looked to be boots. Frowning, Panther shone the light further up, her jaw dropping as she saw the steady rise and fall, albeit slightly slowed, of the figure's chest, making her gasp as she realized this figure was still alive.

On a hunch, Panther inspected the figure closely. As she looked closer, she realized she recognized the attire the figure was wearing, slowly shining the light up towards the figure's face, gasping as she saw a very familiar dragon mask which was still perched on the figure's face, even if part of it was visibly cracked on one side. Panther's eyes widened as she realized who she'd found in this cell, turning to call out to the others as she spoke up.

"MONA! VIOLET! ORACLE! OVER HERE! I FOUND HIM!" Panther called out, prompting the three aforementioned Phantom Thieves to scramble to her side instantly. When they were gathered, Panther spoke up.

"Guys, shine your lights in that cell. I think that's Draconis in there." Panther said as Oracle and Violet quickly did as asked, both gasping as they confirmed Panther's hunch. This figure was in fact Draconis. Oracle breathed a visible sigh of relief that he was still alive, even if she frowned at the slightly battered condition he seemed to be in, given his mask was cracked on one side, his coat was singed in a few spots, and one of his sides had what clearly appeared to be a burn mark on it, presumably from having a cattle prod pressed to it roughly. Mona then frowned as he spoke up.

"Yeah, that's Draconis, all right. But why is he shackled to the wall!? Isn't that a bit inhumane, even for a prisoner?" Mona asked as Oracle scowled and spoke up.

"Likely, this was Maruki's way of ensuring that he couldn't escape to try and warn us of what he was planning. But never mind that for now, you guys! Get back so I can break down this cell door!" Oracle said as she lifted her wrist laser and prepared to use it to slice off the hinges, only for Violet to speak up with a frown.

"Um, Oracle-senpai? I get what you're trying to do, but shouldn't we have our Personas out and ready to catch the door before it falls over onto Draconis? After all, these cells look a tad bit compact and small, so I'm quite sure that that cell door would hit him if it fell." Violet said as Oracle frowned and spoke up.

"Ugh, fine." Oracle said as she instead used her laser to pick the lock on the cell door, which sprung open instantly with a low scraping sound, at which point the group scrambled inside, and frowned at the sight of Draconis' hands and feet being shackled to the wall. Violet spoke up with a huff.

"Oracle, can your laser cut these shackles? We need to get those off him!" Violet said as Oracle spoke up with a nod.

"Yup! You and Panther get underneath him so you can catch him as he drops, since he's likely gonna drop fast once those shackles are off." Oracle said as Panther and Violet nodded and hurried to stand under Draconis, at the same time that Oracle took her laser to the shackles, which were easily sliced off, prompting the unconscious Draconis to slump to the ground.

Fortunately for him, Draconis managed to fall right into the outstretched arms of Panther and Violet, who unsteadily propped him up between the two of them as they guided him out of the cell and set him down on a conveniently-placed chair near the entrance of the room, waiting for him to come to. A couple of long minutes later, a low groan from nearby caught the quartet's attention as they turned to see Draconis' dark-brown eyes slowly slide open as he looked around and spoke up in a hoarse, slightly weary-sounding voice.

"Wh-Wha!? How did I get out of my cell? And where am I?" Draconis asked groggily as Oracle spoke up while smiling at Draconis.

"We busted you out, Draconis! As for who we are? I would hope you'd not forgotten us in however long you've been stuck here. Especially me." Oracle said as she ran forward to hug Draconis, whose eyes widened in recognition as he spotted Violet, Oracle, and Panther, all of whom were nearby. Unbeknownst to the girls, Mona had scurried off to scout the way back for further enemy reinforcements. Draconis then slowly spoke up.

"Wait, hold up. Oracle!? Is that you?" Draconis asked as Oracle nodded, wasting little time in capturing Draconis' lips in her own for a brief moment, making Draconis smile as he somewhat unsteadily returned the kiss briefly before pulling away as he kept speaking.

"I had a feeling you'd show up eventually. But is it really just you three? Where are Joker and the others?" Draconis asked as Violet spoke up.

"We had to split up for a time, since we ran into a fork in the road. Myself, Oracle, Panther, and one other chose to head down here to find you. The others kept going to clear a mental exam to open the path forward for us." Violet said as Draconis blinked and spoke up.

"Sumi? You're here too?" Draconis asked as Violet spoke up with a nod.

"Yep, I'm here too. But, my code name's not Sumi anymore. We changed it to Violet recently." Violet said as Draconis spoke up with a nod.

"Ah, I see. You finally accepted your true self, did you? I'm proud of you, as I'm sure Joker also is. Hopefully he didn't take it too hard when he found out." Draconis said after processing what Violet had said before he kept speaking as he registered another bit of Violet's initial response to his inquiry about the others.

"Wait, you said that your group was you, Panther, Oracle, and one other? Where's the 'one other'?" Draconis asked as, at that moment, Mona walked back into the detention room as if summoned by the question, looking at Panther and Violet as he spoke up, not seeing the wide-eyed Draconis looking at him as he spoke up.

"Well, our path back seems to still be clear, so once he's good to move, we can get started on getting back to the oth-Eh!?" Mona said, blinking as he noticed Draconis looking at him, but all he would have time to do would be blink before he found himself being wrapped in a gentle but firm one-armed hug as Draconis spoke up in a mix of relief, annoyance, and elation as he carefully one-arm hugged Mona for all he was worth.

"MONA!? You're alive? Whew. Oh, thank God you're okay! I thought you were dead when I heard you telling the others good-bye before, you know! How dare you scare me like that, little bro!? Not cool! And yet, somehow I'm not surprised you'd be the 'one other' Violet mentioned before. Dunno why I half-expected it to be Crow at all. This group makes perfect sense. So if it's you four here, then I take it Joker's group is himself, Fox, Queen, Noir, and Skull?" Draconis asked as Mona spoke up.

"Them, plus one other. It's actually kind of ironic that you mentioned Crow, since as it so happens, he's also with Joker's group right now. But right now, their group just got done getting the info needed to disengage what I believe to be one of the last holo-locks standing between us and securing a route to Maruki's Treasure." Mona said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"Fair enough. And I'm glad you all stopped calling Maruki 'Doctor'. Otherwise, I'd have had to insist that all of you do so, since that man is not at all acting like a doctor should! Regardless of what he did to Violet, and really to all of us except Crow and Joker, that crazy man also stole some of my blood and what I believe to be a considerable amount of my energy, considering that I've been spending that whole time I was chained up conserving my strength for when you guys found me.

Truth be told, I'm just hoping I still have the ability to summon Thailog, considering I'm nearly positive that the energy sample Maruki's Shadow swiped from me was the power of my Persona. Granted, I have very little clue why he'd need the energy of a Persona-user to be honest." Draconis said as Violet's eyes widened and she spoke up after uttering a muttered swear word, to Draconis' mixed shock and amusement.

"I wonder if what you just said has anything to do with the fact he has a great big armor suit patrolling around to do his bidding? I think the pilot of it called it the 'Malefactor', if I recall right?" Violet said as Draconis' eyes widened behind his mask as he spoke up.

"Wait, did you say 'Malefactor'!? I wonder if this is related to what I heard him saying to himself before about an 'Operation: Malefactor' when I agreed to assist in his research before. Granted, I only agreed to that so he would hopefully leave you all out of his plans, which in hindsight was never going to happen.

So that's one more instance of me being an overly-trusting moron, it seems. But never mind that now. We need to move it! If I'm right, Joker and the others might be walking into a very dangerous trap, and one that they could be very much in over their heads with!" Draconis said as he struggled to stand up, eventually managing to unsteadily get to his feet as Oracle spoke up while she and Violet caught Draconis mid-stumble.

"Whoa, hey, easy there, Draconis! Violet and I have got you." Oracle said as she and Violet moved to either side of Draconis to help steady him as the group filed into the Mona-bus and started the long journey back up the steps, Panther sitting up front in the driver's seat with Violet riding shotgun while Oracle and Draconis had the back to themselves, the former letting the latter rest his head on her shoulder during the trip up the steps to try and give him a bit of a power-nap, the whole group hoping they could reach Joker and the others in time...

(Meanwhile, back up with Joker, Crow, Skull, Fox, Noir, and Queen)

After taking a brief break in the nearby Safe Room to plan their next move out, the group decided to head towards the next holo-lock to try and unlock it. As the group found the room with the holo-lock, they were only minimally surprised to find their path forward being blocked by a strong-looking Shadow as well as the Malefactor, prompting Crow to grunt as he spoke up.

"Urgh, dammit! Of course Maruki sent an effing welcoming committee to stop us from using the holo-lock! Joker! Tough-looking Shadows at 12 o'clock!" Crow said as Fox nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed. It seems that the two appear to be intended to play spoiler to our continued forward progression. As such, I surmise we should prepare ourselves for a fight if we're to move forward." Fox said as Crow nodded and spoke up.

"Well said, Fox. Joker, these two look like they mean business, so this won't be an easy fight. Are you prepared to face them?" Crow asked as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"We're as ready as we'll ever be, Crow. Let's just get this over with. The sooner we get them out of the way, the sooner we can continue on our way towards securing a route to the Treasure." Joker said bluntly as Crow smirked and spoke up, an impressed look on his face as he spoke.

"Well, well. Looks like Joker's in a bloodthirsty mood. I must say, I approve. But I might be one of the few in this room that does. Very well, let's do this!" Crow said as the group charged forward, prompting the strong looking sentry Shadow to speak up in surprise.

"Are you guys supposed to be the Phantom Thieves!?" The sentry Shadow asked as the pilot of the Malefactor laughed and spoke up from inside the cockpit of the Malefactor.

"Technically, this is only around HALF of the Phantom Thieves. I can't help but notice they seem to have lost a few of their number, notably including their go-to navigator. Mayhaps I took those two girls out of commission when I nailed them with that rocket fist attack before? If so, good. Two less targets to worry about. I have a feeling there's a reason that those two, along with the two Thieves in cat costumes, aren't here. But for now, let's worry about the ones we can take out and wait to see if the rest turn up." The Malefactor's pilot said with a dry chuckle as Crow huffed and spoke up.

"Oh, shut up already. And as I recall, we've kicked your miserable freaking backside twice already, so I don't see how you think this time will be any different? That said, we're here to destroy the phony utopia your boss is trying to make, so would you two peons mind getting out of the way?" Crow asked as the sentry Shadow huffed and spoke up.

"Foolish rebels! You won't take one step past here!" The sentry Shadow said as the Malefactor's pilot spoke up once more with a chuckle.

"Damn right they won't! You and I are going to put an end to their meddling ways, here and now! And Crow? To your comment before, this time WILL be different! You see, THIS time my lord has seen fit to disable the 'Emergency Exit' subroutines that were in place before, so this time around, we're fighting this out until one of us takes the other one out, so you better be prepared for a long and drawn-out struggle!" The Malefactor's pilot said as the sentry Shadow nodded before shifting forms into that of a being that Joker recognized as a 'Surt', before a fight began! As the fight began, Joker spoke up.

"COME, LUCIFER! LET US SHOW THESE FOOLS OUR ALMIGHTY WRATH!" Joker said, summoning out his 'Lucifer' Persona, who nodded and waved a hand, causing an absolute torrent of energy to rain down on the enemies, clocking some impressive Almighty damage as Fox jumped in with a follow-up where he brandished his sword and swung it in a side arc, causing a massive crescent moon of Ice energy to fly forward and slam into the two enemies, downing them as Joker called for an All-Out Attack, which clocked impressive damage. At that point, Joker spoke up.

"Skull! With me! We're buffing everyone!" Joker said as Skull nodded and the two used their Personas to buff the group's Attack and Accuracy/Evasion. After that, the group nodded as they spoke up.

"EVERYONE! ATTACK!" Joker called out as the group, plus Noir and Queen who were on backups, nodded.

"CHARGE, JOHANNA!/LET'S DANCE, MILADY!" Queen and Noir called out as they summoned out Johanna and Milady respectively. The group's Personas then all spoke up.

"Well, it seems we're forced to work together to swat these pathetic vermin aside like the worthless flies they are. Well, if we have to work together? Then so be it." Lucifer said dryly as Loki smirked and spoke up.

"Couldn't have put that better myself. The rest of you ready?" Loki asked, getting nods from Kamu Susano-o, Seiten Taisei, Johanna, and Milady as they all spoke up.

"HERE WE GO! POWERS OF PHYS AND ALMIGHTY, GO!" Lucifer said, starting the combo off with his 'Morning Star' and 'Gigantomachia' skills to add Almighty and Phys energy to the newly-formed sphere as Loki spoke up.

"MY TURN TO BREAK THE ENEMY! POWERS OF CURSE AND GUN, GO!" Loki said as he added his 'One-Shot Kill' and 'Eigaon' powers to the sphere, which now glowed four different colors. Seiten Taisei then spoke up.

"HAH! POWER OF ELEC, COME FORTH!" Seiten Taisei said as he added his 'Ziodyne' to the mix, adding Elec to the sphere as Kamu Susano-o spoke up.

"AND NOW MY CONTRIBUTION! POWERS OF ICE, FLOW FROM ME!" Kamu Susano-o said, adding 'Bufudyne' into the sphere, making it glow brighter as Johanna spoke up.

"HMPH! DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME OR MILADY JUST BECAUSE WE'RE TWO OF THE ONLY FOUR UNEVOLVED PERSONAS IN THIS GROUP! POWER OF NUKE, RAGE!" Johanna said as she threw an 'Atomic Flare' into the mix, making the sphere grow bigger. Milady then spoke up.

"WHAT JOHANNA SAID! TIME TO SHOW YOU SOME GRACE! POWER OF PSY, FLOURISH!" Milady called out as she threw a 'Psiodyne' at the sphere, which grew larger. At that point, two more of Joker's Personas in 'Unicorn' and 'Quetzalcoatl' stepped up to speak up, Unicorn going first.

"HEY, DON'T FORGET ABOUT US! ALLOW US TO SUPPLY THE MISSING ELEMENTS! HEH! POWERS OF FIRE AND BLESS, GO FORTH!" Unicorn called out as he fired a 'Kougaon' and 'Agidyne' from his horn into the sphere, which grew still larger as Quetzalcoatl spoke up.

"AND LAST BUT NOT LEASSSSST, POWER OF WIND, MANIFESSSSST!" Quetzalcoatl called out, adding a 'Garudyne' to the mix as the sphere reached maximum size and glowed all the colors of the rainbow as all the gathered Personas spoke up as one.

"HERE WE GO! MAX ELEMENTAL BLAST!" Lucifer, Loki, Seiten Taisei, Kamu Susano-o, Johanna, Milady, Unicorn, and Quetzalcoatl all cried out as they fired the massive sphere as one, watching as it flew forward and slammed directly into the 'Flame Giant' as the battle identified the Surt, and the Malefactor, hitting both for massive damage and destroying the 'Flame Giant'. At that point, Joker and Crow saw the Malefactor struggling to get up and smirked as Crow spoke up.

"Heh, looks like this pathetic tin can's just about done. Shall we put it out of its feeble misery, once and for all?" Crow asked as Joker nodded with a grin.

"Thought you'd never ask, Crow. Let's do it!" Joker said as he and Crow spoke up in unison.

"HA! IT'S SHOWTIME!" Crow and Joker said as one to start their Showtime! As the two assumed runner's stances, Crow spoke up.

"YES! YES! MORE! I LIVE FOR THIS!" Crow said euphorically as he and Joker dashed forward towards the Malefactor, Joker zip-lining over Crow's head as he flew past him. Joker then spoke up as he flipped down towards the Malefactor while pulling his pistol out of his coat pocket.

"CROW! AIM FOR THE TORSO! HIS STABLIZERS SHOULD BE THERE! IF WE CAN HIT THOSE, WE CAN TAKE THIS THING OUT!" Joker said as Crow nodded, rushing forward with his jagged bolt sword, for lack of a better description of his ultimate sword, in hand, smirking sadistically as he spoke up.

"HEH! I LIVE ON EATING PIECES OF SHIT LIKE YOU! TASTE MY WRATH!" Crow said as he started hacking furiously at every inch of the Malefactor he could reach, clocking a lot of damage as Joker flipped down next to Crow, took aim, and fired a bullet right into the very center of the Malefactor's torso, enjoying the audible cracking sound that followed as he and Crow turned and walked off, the latter speaking up.

"HMPH! WHAT A WASTE OF MY TIME! THAT BUCKET OF BOLTS WAS PATHETIC!" Crow said as the Showtime ended. At that point, the Malefactor started sparking visibly as electricity flowed from its frame as a voice spoke up from the cockpit.

"DANGER! DANGER! CRITICAL DAMAGE SUSTAINED TO THE MALEFACTOR! PILOT MUST EVACUATE THE MECH IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THE MECH SELF-DESTRUCTS! REPEAT, ALL PERSONNEL MUST EVACUATE THE MECH IMMEDIATELY!" The computerized voice from before spoke up as the pilot swore inside the cockpit and spoke up.

"ARE YOU FRICKING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW!? DAMMIT! UGH, FINE! COMPUTER! INITIATE THE 'DETACHED DETONATION' SUBROUTINES!" The pilot called out as the battle ended with the now massively-sparking Malefactor slumping to the ground to end the battle. From the ensuing EXP gains, Oracle hit level 90, and Queen hit level 91. Additionally, Joker's 'Norn' persona hit level 66.

After the fight, the Malefactor started visibly shaking as first the arms, then the legs, then the torso all started flying off behind the Malefactor to harmlessly explode, eventually leaving just the helmet of the Malefactor, which was slowly lifted up as the pilot spoke up, his voice not as mechanical now, making the group blink at the sight of the gradually revealed body of the Malefactor's pilot as he spoke.

"I see. So it's come to this, then? So be it! You might have destroyed the Malefactor, but you've not beaten ME! So now the real fight starts!" The pilot said as he threw down a flash bomb to cover up the grunt he made as he tossed the helmet off behind him where it exploded, and when the flash receded, in the place of the Malefactor stood a dark-skinned male with hair of a similar color to Noir's, but of a similar hair-style to Draconis'. Joker and Crow gasped at the apparent identity of the pilot as Joker spoke up in a mix of shock and disbelief.

"Wait, WHAT!? YOU'RE THE PILOT OF THE MALEFACTOR!? BUT HOW?" Joker asked as Crow scoffed and spoke up.

"Joker, you're an idiot if you think that's him! For one, we both know that Draconis has only slightly tanned skin. This guy's skin tone is much too dark to be him! Also, when have you EVER known Draconis to wear anything crimson?" Crow pointed out dryly as Joker blinked and realized that Crow was correct. While at first glance, the pilot of the Malefactor appeared to have the same build and facial structure as Draconis, a closer inspection revealed that he had not only a darker skin tone, but he was wearing a crimson muscle shirt and dark grey jeans, with black combat boots, as well as studded black wristbands. Joker huffed and spoke up.

"SPILL IT! WHO ARE YOU, AND WHY DO YOU LOOK LIKE DRACONIS!?" Joker asked the pilot of the Malefactor, who chuckled and spoke up.

"HA! Did you seriously just compare me to a weakling like HIM? Absurd! Unlike that fool, I have the backbone and resolve to do what's necessary to help fulfill my lord's vision of the ideal reality! And since you lot continue to insist on standing in the way of that, then you leave me with no other choice than to take you out myself!

And given your group currently entails an egocentric fuckboy, a leader who's practically a mute, a quirky weirdo of an artist, a socially-inept biker-looking berserker posing as a student council president, the sadistic heiress to a multi-million dollar food chain that lets her douchebag fiance push her around, and a vulgar, idiotic, brain-dead monkey who calls himself Joker's best friend. Put together as one package, you have the recipe for a pathetic and washed-up group of has-beens!

But don't take my word for it! Let me show you just what I mean! And so you know, my name is Asuk! Remember that name as I kill you!" The now-named Asuk said as a crimson mask then manifested on his face in the shape of a dragon's mask, moments before a flash of crimson light preceded his attire being replaced by a similar set of attire to that worn by a certain still-missing Phantom Thief as Asuk laughed at the shocked looks on the faces of Crow, Joker, Skull, Queen, Noir, and Fox, and then spoke up.

"SURPRISED? Don't be! As I was created of the essence and genetic code of the one you call Draconis, I also have a version of his powers at my command. Including this!" Asuk taunted the group as he pulled the crimson mask off his face with a burst of black energy before he kept speaking.

"AND NOW TO SHOW YOU MY FULL POWER! HA! COME! GUAMS!" Asuk said as he tossed his mask up into the air where it burst into a flash of crimson light, and when the light receded, hovering next to Asuk was an eerily familiar giant dragon, though where the version Joker and the others recalled was mostly black, gold and slight hints of red, this version was mostly crimson, with accents of black, and trace amounts of platinum on the body. Asuk then kept speaking.

"Behold, my Persona! Like you all, I too can wield a Persona! And now it's time to use his fury to strike you down!" Asuk said as another voice cut in before Joker or the others could speak up.

"LIKE HELL WE'LL LET THAT HAPPEN, SINOCARD!" Joker and the others heard behind them, before gasping as they saw Panther and Mona come running up to join them, at which point Mona looked at Joker and spoke up.

"Hang on, Joker. Violet and Oracle are coming, and they've got backup with them." Mona said as Joker only had time to blink in confusion before he saw Oracle and Violet step into view. But the bigger shock was the third individual being unsteadily supported between the two redheads. It was Draconis! Draconis glared at Asuk before he spoke up, his eyes narrowed in a mix of fury, disgust, and most notably revulsion, while he spoke.

"I see. So THAT's why Maruki needed my blood and energy!? How dare he use that to create an inverted clone of me? That bastard!" Draconis spat as he struggled to walk forward to stand with Joker, Crow, Skull, and Fox, the former two catching him and helping him stay upright. Asuk laughed at Draconis as he spoke up, the look on his face clearly conveying the mixed amusement and derision he felt at the sight of Draconis struggling to take more than a few steps forward.

"Ah, I see you managed to find and spring my worthless other half from his confinement. Good, this makes my job easier. After all, now I can dispose of ALL the Phantom Thieves at once! After all, wouldn't want to leave the blonde lesbo, delusional cat-boy, deranged red-head, and mentally damaged but sexy ginger out of the destruction! And I doubt very much that ANY of you have the power to stop me." Asuk said as Draconis glared at Asuk and spoke up.

"Oh, really? News flash, asshole! You might have been created from me, but I assure you that you didn't get nearly ALL of my powers from your creation. And you cannot, no, you WILL NOT be able to stop all of us working together! So give it your best shot if you think you can do it! Even if it destroys me to do it, I will not let you touch these guys! I may have had a hand in creating you, but that doesn't mean I can't take you out as well!" Draconis said as he unsteadily walked forward to tug at his mask, eventually succeeding in separating it from his face with a massive grunt of pain as it ripped free, leaving a bloody mark in the shape of his mask on Draconis' face that bled freely as he lifted his mask up and spoke up.

"And now to show you what I mean! Let's go, urrrgh! COME! THAILOGGGGG!" Draconis called out as he tossed his mask up into the air much like Asuk had done, but unlike when Asuk did it, Draconis' mask merely cracked further as at the same time, his Phantom Thief attire also cracked all along the outfit, moments before both the mask AND the outfit exploded in twin bursts of green energy, eventually causing a sphere of green energy to wrap itself around Draconis, concealing him from view, and prompting Violet, Crow, Joker, and Oracle to gasp as they spoke up.

"No way! What the hell? Did he just-?" Crow called out in shock as Oracle spoke up.

"I don't know, Crow. But I can only see this green sphere. Could he..." Oracle said as Violet spoke up to finish her thought.

"...be okay in there? Was that what you were about to ask, Oracle-senpai? To be honest, I have no idea. But I think he'll be fine in the long run." Violet said as Joker spoke up while looking at the sphere.

"DRACONIS! You better not get yourself killed in there, you fool! You have a lot of apologies to give and amends to make for your unplanned disappearing act! So you're not allowed to die here, dammit!" Joker called out as Draconis' voice echoed from inside the sphere as he spoke up in a tone that was a mix of resolved, contrite, and determined.

"I realize that, Joker. But at the same time, I cannot in all good conscience allow a pissant like that to run around wielding MY powers in the name of Maruki's false effing utopia! So I will do what I must to stop him, no matter what! Because that's what a REAL man does! He's willing to put it all on the line to protect those he cares about...no. TO PROTECT THOSE HE LOVES!" Draconis said before grunting as he felt the familiar ache in his head as Thailog's voice spoke up to him.

(True Awakening Start-Draconis)

"Well, well. It took you long enough to get to this point, eh Kusa? But at last, you finally realize what it means to not only acknowledge and make peace with every aspect of yourself, but how to be truly selfless. It is these qualities, along with that inexhaustible resolve of yours that has proven you worthy to finally step into your true powers, Draconis. Now, allow yourself to remember the true time of your powers being awakened!" Thailog called out as Draconis cried out in pain as he felt previously-repressed memories resurfacing...

(Flashback-unspecified amount of time prior to current moment, in the Velvet Room with Igor, Lavenza, and a younger Draconis)

"Good, good. His power is the real deal. I think we've finally found a worthy recipient of the Chaos Drake powers, Lavenza." Igor said as Lavenza smiled and nodded as she spoke up.

"Indeed we have, Master. But what're the odds that he'd be the one person who has a blood relation to both the Trickster AND to the Black Mask? Kinda interesting, wouldn't you say?" Lavenza asked as Igor chuckled and spoke up.

"I think the term you wanted was either 'cosmic' or 'fated', Lavenza. But yes, it is a rather interesting coincidence, to be sure. I had no clue that was the case. But I think this young man can handle these powers in time. Even if, for now, we have to seal them inside him until such time as he's prepared to handle them. But I believe he has the potential to be great." Igor said as Lavenza nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed, Master. I quite agree. Let us proceed, then." Lavenza said as Igor nodded and threw a lever, causing a crackle of green energy to flow into the young man currently strapped to a table in front of Lavenza, and only the fact that there was a gag in the young man's mouth kept him from crying out in pain from the shocks currently hitting him as the powers were instilled into him. After a bit, the gag was removed as the shocks ceased and Lavenza smiled at the young man and spoke up.

"Ah, I see you're awake still. Tell me, how are you holding up, young Kusa?" Lavenza asked the young man, now revealed to be a younger Kusa, who groaned and spoke up.

"I think I'm okay, but I feel like I was strapped to an electric chair and released mid-shock. Was it supposed to be so painful?" Kusa asked with a frown as Lavenza giggled and spoke up.

"Probably not, but the fact you withstood it confirms that you are indeed the chosen wielder of the Chaos Drake powers. But for now, you aren't quite ready yet to handle their strength, so we'll have to seal both the Chaos Drake powers AND your memories of this meeting away for now, until such time as you're ready to remember them both. But know that you'll always be welcome in this Velvet Room." Lavenza said with a sad smile as Igor walked forward and waved a hand over Kusa's face, making him slump over unconscious as Lavenza shoved a key into Kusa's pocket as Igor went to work sealing Kusa's recollections of the Velvet Room and of the Chaos Drake powers, leaving him oblivious as to what had just transpired as he was sent back to the real world rather unceremoniously...

(End flashback, back in present with Thailog and Draconis)

"Ugh, so that's why I had that odd key in my pocket when I came to that day. I remember it all now. Thailog! We have to awaken our full power to save the others! There's no other choice! If that means we have to re-forge our vow, then so be it!" Draconis said as Thailog smiled and spoke up.

'I quite agree, Draconis. Let us re-new our vow. I am thou, thou art I...Together, let us reach our full potential and stop the plans of those who would seek to plunge our true reality into a state of distorted and false utopia! For it is only through you and your friends rallying together that the ambitions of the one you call Maruki can be undone! Now, awaken to your true powers and form!" Thailog called out as Draconis nodded and punched through the sides of the energy sphere.

From there, what happened next would end up shocking the others, who could only see the arms protrude out of the sphere, gasping at the sight of the dark-grey jacket sleeves being paired with dark-green fingerless gloves, followed by a pair of pant-clad legs bursting through the bottom of the sphere as the group got a glimpse of the dark-grey dress pants and silver combat boots on Draconis, as the top of the sphere burst open to reveal Draconis' face, now fully healed of the previous bleeding that had been present as the rest of the sphere exploded in a flash of light.

And when the light receded, Draconis' arms spread, revealing a dark grey dress jacket, over which was a dark-green chestpiece that also flowed over the back of Draconis' shoulders, which were now covered in spiky platinum shoulder pads, making Joker and Crow gasp at the similarities between this new ensemble and Crow's original Phantom Thief attire.

Finally, to complete the new attire, a new mask materialized over Draconis face, in the shape of a sleeker dragon mask, but in a similar shape to Crow's original Phantom Thief mask, but unlike that mask, this one was a darker shade of green. And as the group watched, a headband materialized on the forehead of the dragon mask, a silver buckle appearing on the headband with a small yin-yang engraved onto the buckle, making Mona and Joker gasp as they spoke up.

"Whoa! So that's the-?" Joker asked as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Yes, Joker, I do believe that is what you think it. I think we just found the Chaos Drake!" Mona said as Draconis straightened out and glared at Asuk, or Sinocard, as he spoke up.

"YOU SEE NOW, SINOCARD!? I'm not beaten yet! You and your lord might have thought you got the better of me, but not even close! I have a lot more in me! And even if I have to fight you bare-handed, you're not laying a finger on my friends...no, on my family! So prepare to fight!" Draconis said as Joker remembered an important detail and reached into his coat to produce a gleaming platinum staff that was dark green on the tips and made to be wielded one or two handed, tossing it at Draconis as he spoke up.

"DRACONIS! THINK FAST!" Joker said, tossing Draconis his ultimate staff, the 'Rod of Gaia', which Joker had obtained from itemizing 'Atlas' during a Fusion Alarm. Draconis smiled as he reached one hand out to catch the oncoming staff, hefting it in both hands and smiling at how it fit.

(True Awakening End-Draconis)

"Ahh, that's better. Now to finish this!" Draconis said as he glared at Sinocard before charging into battle as Joker, Crow, and Skull ran up to join him as the fight started! At the start of the fight, Sinocard spoke up angrily.

"HOW THE HELL ARE YOU STILL ABLE TO FIGHT, DRACONIS!? My lord was sure he drained most of your blood and energy." Sinocard said as Draconis smirked and spoke up.

"Well, that's where both you, and Maruki, are wrong! You only drained most of my energy. He barely drained any of my blood. Also, if he was truly trying to use you to fool people into thinking he'd turned me against the others? He'd have realized that I evolved my Persona since the last he saw me. But don't take my word for it! SEE FOR YOURSELF! THAILOG, MANIFEST BY MY SIDE!" Draconis called out as he summoned Thailog to his side for the first time since his fight against Crow. At that point, Joker, Skull and Crow spoke up as well.

"OUR TURN! COME, UNICORN!/LET 'EM HAVE IT, SEITEN TAISEI!/COME! LOOOOOKKKKKIIIIII!" Joker, Skull, and Crow called out as they summoned Unicorn, Seiten Taisei, and Loki, respectively. At that point, Draconis looked at the backups and spoke up.

"Don't just stand there, you guys! Get in here! We're fighting this fool together!" Draconis said as the others nodded, running forward as they spoke up.

"RIGHT! SHOW YOUR MIGHT, DIEGO!/DANCE, HECATE!/KAMU SUSANO-O, STRIKE!/CHARGE, JOHANNA!/SHOW THEM YOUR MYSTICAL FURY, SARUMAN!/COME, MILADY!/LET'S DANCE, CENDRILLION!" Mona, Panther, Fox, Queen, Oracle, Noir, and Violet all said as they summoned their respective Personas as Thailog turned to the others and spoke up.

"Let's not waste time here! We need to combine our powers together!" Thailog called out as the others nodded and spoke up.

"RIGHT! LET'S DO IT!" Unicorn, Seiten Taisei, Loki, Diego, Hecate, Kamu Susano-O, Johanna, Saruman, Milady, and Cendrillion all said as they charged up their attacks.

"I'll START! POWER OF PHYS, GO!" Thailog said as he fired his strongest 'Agneyastra' into a barely-visible sphere, making it take a more visible form as Unicorn spoke up.

"My turn! Psy Power!" Unicorn said, firing a 'Psiodyne' from his horn into the sphere, which grew larger as Seiten Taisei spoke up.

"Let's go! Power of Elec, strike!" Seiten Taisei said as he fired a bolt of electricity into the sphere, making it grow larger as Loki spoke up.

"I'll break them! Power of Curse, Manifest!" Loki said as he fired an 'Eigaon' into the sphere, making it grow as Diego spoke up.

"Heh, now to show my might! Power of Wind!" Diego said as he fired a 'Garudyne' into the sphere, making it grow larger as Hecate spoke up.

"Time to heat it up! POWER OF FIRE, RAGE!" Hecate called out, firing an 'Agidyne' into the sphere, which started glowing multiple colors as Kamu Susano-o spoke up.

"And now for my contribution! POWER OF ICE, FREEZE!" Kamo Susano-o said as he fired a 'Bufudyne' into the sphere, making it get even larger as Johanna spoke up.

"MY TURN! POWER OF NUKE, RAZE THE ENEMY!" Johanna called out while firing a 'Freidyne' into the sphere, making it grow larger as Saruman spoke up.

"And now for a mystical move! POWER OF ALMIGHTY, FLOW FROM ME!" Saruman called out as he waved his staff, firing a 'Megido' into the sphere, making it grow larger as Milady spoke up.

"Time to dance! POWER OF GUN, strike the foe!" Milady called out as she fired a 'One-Shot Kill' into the sphere, making it grow ever larger as Cendrillion spoke up.

"And now to put the finishing touches on! HA, POWER OF BLESS, DANCE THROUGH ME!" Cendrillion said as she waved a hand and fired a 'Kougaon' into the sphere, which reached maximum size and glowed the colors of the rainbow as the Personas all spoke up in unison.

"HA! POWERS OF THE ELEMENTS, UNITE! PHANTOM ELEMENT BOMB!" Thailog, Unicorn, Seiten Taisei, Loki, Diego, Hecate, Kamu Susano-O, Johanna, Saruman, Milady, and Cendrillion all called out in unison as the massive sphere of energy flew forth and slammed into Sinocard, who skidded backwards with a grunt as he took a lot of damage before speaking up.

"Hmph, not bad for worms. But not nearly good enough! COME, GUAMS! SHOW THESE FOOLS THE HEAT OF YOUR CURSED FLAME! UNLEASH THE MEGI-FLARE!" Sinocard called out as Guams nodded, rearing its head back before breathing out a white-hot torrent of Curse flame at the group, which slammed head-on into Cendrillion, forcing her backwards as Loki leapt forward to absorb the attack for the rest of the group as Arsene appeared to help Cendrillion to her feet, getting a grateful smile from the blonde-haired female Persona as she returned to the others. At that point, Draconis turned to the others and spoke up.

"Shit, that did more damage than we planned on! I think that this is no time to hold back! We need to break out our group strike and clock as much damage as possible! Who's with me!?" Draconis said as the others all nodded and spoke up in unison.

"WE ARE!" Joker, Mona, Skull, Panther, Fox, Queen, Oracle, Noir, Crow, and Violet all said at once as they spoke up with Draconis.

"HA! IT'S SHOWTIME!" The whole group exclaimed in unison as their group Showtime started. Draconis then spoke up.

"EVERYONE! Remember what I told you before! If we focus on our arcana, and believe in our Personas and each other, all things are possible! Now let's show this fool what I mean by that! Joker, start us off!" Draconis said as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"Right! POWER OF THE FOOL!" Joker said, causing a crimson flare to appear in front of the group as Mona spoke up.

"Mwehehe! POWER OF THE MAGICIAN!" Mona said as a grew flare joined the crimson one, enlarging the resulting sphere as Queen spoke up.

"Here we go! POWER OF THE HIGH PRIESTESS!" Queen said as a dark-blue burst of energy flowed into the sphere, making it grow as Noir spoke up.

"Oh, allow me! POWER OF THE EMPRESS!" Noir said as she manifested a purple sphere of energy which joined the now multi-colored sphere while Fox spoke up.

"NOW! POWER OF THE EMPEROR!" Fox said as a light blue burst of energy joined the ever-growing sphere as Panther spoke up.

"Hee hee, how about this? POWER OF THE LOVERS!" Panther said as a pink burst of energy was shot into the sphere as Skull spoke up.

"GET WRECKED! POWER OF THE CHARIOT!" Skull said as a yellow burst of energy flowed into the sphere as Crow sighed and spoke up.

"Ugh, if I must. I find this trite, but so be it. POWER OF JUSTICE!" Crow said as a cream-colored energy stream went into the sphere as it grew and Oracle spoke up.

"Take this! POWER OF THE HERMIT! BOOM!" Oracle said as a light-green energy stream flowed into the sphere as Violet stepped up and spoke up.

"Don't forget me! POWER OF FAITH! HA!" Violet said as a red energy stream joined the now massive sphere as Draconis spoke up.

"Hm, and now for the finishing touch! BEHOLD! THE POWER OF THE WORLD!" Draconis called out as a dark-green energy stream flew into the sphere, completing it and making it grow massive as Draconis kept speaking.

"Good, it's ready! Now's my chance! HA!" Draconis said as he hefted a throwing knife, tossing it directly into the energy sphere, to the shock of Crow and Sinocard, as the energy was slowly absorbed into the blade of the throwing knife, which then expanded the knife to the size of a two-handed broadsword which Draconis hefted in both hands as he spoke up with the others.

"You see, Sinocard, you and your lord's biggest flaw is that you think you can handle this alone! As you're about to find out, there's strength in numbers! But don't take my word for it! SEE FOR YOURSELF!" Draconis said as he spoke up with the others.

"HA! MAX ARCANA STRIKE, GO!" Joker, Mona, Skull, Draconis, Panther, Fox, Queen, Oracle, Noir, Crow, and Violet all said in unison as Draconis swung the massive two-handed sword in the direction of Sinocard as the resulting wave of rainbow-colored energy flew into Sinocard, slamming hard into Sinocard's mid-section and dealing massive damage to both Sinocard and Guams, dropping the former to a knee as he panted in exhaustion as Draconis slammed the sword into the ground and spoke up.

"HOW'D THAT FEEL!? You were struck down by our combined power, Sinocard!" Draconis said as he strode forward, extending a hand out to help Sinocard up, who sighed as he spoke up.

"Gah, that hurt. Impressive. I suppose now you're going to finish me off, as you've won?" Sinocard said as Draconis shook his head and spoke up.

"I could do that, but you've clearly surrendered, so where's the honor in killing a defeated enemy? I'm not about that at all. Besides, I'd only be weakening myself. After all, whether I like it or not, with you being made of my blood and energy, that makes you a part of me for all intents and purposes. So, as much as what you said about my family hurts, I can't deny that those were all opinions I had of each of them at one time or another.

Even so, I have to accept that just as I am thou, thou art also I. In other words, you and I are one, Sinocard. And we shouldn't have to be fighting each other like this. I know you were created to kill the Phantom Thieves, but surely that can't be the only reason you want to have for living?" Draconis said as Sinocard frowned at the question and spoke up.

"I truly don't want that, no. But what do I do now? My lord made it quite clear that if I couldn't defeat you this time, I had no business coming back." Sinocard said with a sigh, being surprised when Draconis looked him in the eyes and spoke up.

"So don't go back to him, then. I know it might be a bitter-sweet way for our struggle to end, but we were originally both one being. So if you can't return to your creator, why not allow yourself to be one with me once more? Together, we can make Maruki see the error of his ways. What say you, Sinocard? Will you return to me and give me back the power that was taken from me?" Draconis asked Sinocard, who frowned, before ultimately nodding as he walked forward towards Draconis, arm extended, which Draconis matched as the two eventually collided into one another, Sinocard sighing as he was re-assimilated into Draconis, but not before speaking up one last time. *1*

"Very well, I concede. Take back your power, Draconis. But promise me one thing. Promise me you'll put our power to use in making Maruki's Shadow see the light, as you did for me. If you can do that, then I bid you farewell." Sinocard said as Draconis nodded once before feeling the energy that was stolen from him rush back into his body. After Sinocard was assimilated, all that remained where he once stood was 'Guams', who nodded at Draconis as the battle ended.

As Draconis smiled, he felt a massive surge of EXP flow into him, allowing his level to surge all the way from 64, where it was when he'd been captured, up to 89, which was where Joker's level was. From the levels, Thailog picked up four new moves in the passive skills 'Drain Fire' and 'Almighty Amp', the severe-tier Physical skill 'Deadly Fury', and the severe-tier multi-target Almighty skill 'Megidolaon', making Draconis smirk as he spoke up.

"Hell yeah! Four skills for the price of one battle! Not bad, yeah?" Draconis said as Oracle smirked and spoke up.

"Heh, I missed that slightly cocky tone of yours, Draconis. And yes, those are all good gets." Oracle said as Thailog acquired 'Drain Fire', 'Almighty Amp', 'Deadly Fury', and 'Megidolaon', after which Draconis spoke up.

"Fair enough. But also, nice! At long last, Thailog's Almighty power has reached its' maximum potential!" Draconis said as the others just nodded. After the battle, Draconis turned to 'Guams' and spoke up.

"Wait, how are you still here if I assimilated Sinocard into me?" Draconis asked as Guams bowed before a flash of light changed his color scheme to normal, revealing that 'Guams' was in fact 'Smaug' the entire time, albeit corrupted and re-purposed. At that point, Smaug spoke up.

"Thank you, Draconis. Because you were able to conquer and re-assimilate Sinocard, you broke the hold Maruki's Shadow had on me, and now, at last, we can reach our true power, as we were both meant to do all that time ago." Smaug said as he turned to Thailog, who merely nodded his understanding as the two resonated and fused together before the stunned eyes of the group, and where Smaug and Thailog had once stood, now stood a massive dragon, easily at least three times the size of Smaug and Thailog both, whose glittering black scales were accentuated by the visible purple underbelly and striking green eyes that the new being had. At that point, Draconis spoke up in shock.

"No way. Is this my new-no, not my new. My TRUE Persona!?" Draconis said in surprise as the new being nodded and spoke up.

"Correct. When you broke the limiter on your powers and awoke to your true powers, you also enabled me to regain my true form. Remember my name, Draconis. I am Malefor. And together, let us show our enemies that our might has no limits!" The newly-evolved Malefor said confidently as the full group's phones pinged to signify that Draconis' 'Thailog' Persona had transformed into 'Malefor'. At that point, the skill screen came up to show that the new evolution also had come with two new moves in the form of 'Draconic Flare', and 'Chaos Aura', the former of which was an attack skill and the latter was a support skill. *2*

After that, the group all blinked at Draconis as they all took in the fact that their group was now all together for the first time. At that point, Violet smiled and spoke up.

"Whew, that was a rough one. But we did it!" Violet said with a closed-eye smile as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed we did. We never have to worry about Sinocard or the Malefactor ever again. They're both gone for good. But I gather I've missed a good bit while I was captured. You can fill me in on it later, since I get the sense that this isn't the time for catching up." Draconis said as Violet nodded and spoke up.

"That's true, Draconis. Even so, everything on here is unusual. Not only that, but those last couple of fights we had were so bizarre, though. Like why did we have to do all that?" Violet asked as Fox scoffed and spoke up.

"No doubt, it was Maruki's plan to try and trip us up with what he figured to be an unstoppable enhanced Shadow clone. Too bad for him, he made the fatal mistake of underestimating Draconis' true power, as well as our unbreakable bond as a team. Those are what won us these last couple of fights. Even so, changing people's cognitions and rewriting their realities as happy ones? While there's no doubt he may consider this a form of treatment, I don't think all his patients would agree. As for me personally, I would not only disagree, but I would assuredly decline such a procedure for myself." Fox said as Queen nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed, Fox. But that's not important now. The important thing here is that we're finally all together. That said, let's move out. We need to stop Maruki." Queen said as Draconis nodded and spoke up, a look of genuine shame and remorse on his face as he spoke.

"Well put, Queen. I agree. For what it's worth, I apologize to everyone for the hurtful things Sinocard said about you. They may have been his words, but those were admittedly opinions I had at one time, but that was before I got to know you all better. So I hope none of you hate me for what he said." Draconis said contritely as the others all took turns reassuring Draconis that there were no hard feelings as the now-reunited group kept moving. Joker then spoke up as he recalled a detail that he needed to attend to.

"Before we keep going, we need to re-address the front lines. For now, I want Mona, Crow and Draconis up front with me. The rest of you are on backups." Joker said as the group nodded, making the necessary tagouts to allow Mona and Crow to join Joker and Draconis on the front lines as the group kept moving. As the group reached the holo-lock, the mechanical voice from before spoke up.

"Security lock currently engaged Please answer the following identity authentication question: 'How do many adolescents react when they are close to another who is more talented than themselves?' Get it right, and you may proceed." The mechanical voice said as Joker gritted his teeth and spoke up in annoyance.

"Unfortunately, I know the answer to this is 'By wishing to be that person', thanks to what we saw of Violet and Maruki." Joker said, confusing Draconis, but before Draconis could voice his confusion, the lock disengaged and the mechanical voice spoke up once more.

"Authentication complete. Disengaging lock." The mechanical voice said as the doors opened up and Violet spoke up.

"Wow, Joker-senpai. We did it. But, um, well, I never thought I'd be the password to someone else's security like that." Violet said as Draconis spoke up.

"Um, not to be rude, but does someone want to fill me in on exactly what the hell Joker and Violet are referring to?" Draconis said in confusion as Joker spoke up.

"Right, you weren't here for that part, Draconis. While Violet, Mona, Oracle, and Panther were off saving you, the rest of us saw a video of Violet's first therapy session with Maruki, the day he basically altered her memories to make her believe she was her dead sister Kasumi, instead of her actual identity of Sumire. I don't care what anyone says, that's effing mind rape." Joker said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"I see. And Joker, while you're correct, maybe dial the anger back until we've secured our Treasure route? That way you can vent it on the one who deserves it, or more bluntly put, that way you can take your frustrations out on Maruki himself. And truth be told, I wouldn't mind a piece of that myself, especially after he basically left me for dead down in that detention level." Draconis said as the group kept moving. The group then filed into an elevator, which took then downwards, into a new location. The group gasped as they took in how serene, sacred, and holy this new area felt as they kept moving. After finding what appeared to be a console, Fox blinked and spoke up.

"Where the heck are we?" Fox asked with wide eyes as Crow huffed and spoke up.

"Hmph. What a change in scenery. We were just in a science lab, and now we're in what appears to be a paradise." Crow said as Fox spoke up with a frown.

"Quite. It's almost as if we're in-" Fox said before Skull cut in and spoke up with wide eyes.

"GAH! Whoa! Look over there!" Skull said as the group looked where he was pointing, only to see what appeared to be people floating away upwards towards the sky, making Violet blink as she spoke up.

"Wait, what? Uhh, those people are floating away, aren't they?" Violet asked as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"Seems like it to me, Violet. What the heck is this supposed to be, the effing rapture!?" Draconis said as Violet's eyes widened and she spoke up.

"WHAT!? What on earth is going on!?" Violet asked as Crow chuckled and spoke up.

"Good question. Truthfully, I have no clue either. But one thing's for sure. Whatever it is, it most likely has to do with Maruki's cognition in some way. I'd say he believes that anyone who undergoes his 'treatment' winds up feeling downright rapturous." Crow said as Mona and Draconis frowned, the former speaking up.

"So he actually thinks he's sending them to paradise? Hmph. Maruki must really be convinced he's doing the right thing." Mona said as Violet sighed and spoke up.

"Ugh, true. Maruki, where did you go so wrong? You used to be such a kind man." Violet said sadly. Draconis smiled at Violet and spoke up.

"Yes, it is true that at one point, Maruki was a nice person. But the way I see it? That means one of two things. Either a)Maruki was never truly a nice person and what he did for us all was an act, or b)He's truly lost himself that far that he truly believes he's doing the right thing. Either way, he has a reckoning coming, that's for sure. He can't do what he did to all of us, but especially to you and I, and get away with it." Draconis said as Violet nodded and spoke up.

"I see. Hey, Mona-senpai, the Treasure's above this room, right?" Violet asked as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah, that's right. I think we're pretty close." Mona said as Oracle spoke up with a smirk.

"True, but the real problem is actually getting up there." Oracle said as the camera panned to show some steps nearby with a hole in the middle of them, making Skull gape and speak up with wide eyes.

"Whoa! There's some stairs all right, but there's a big ol' hole in the middle of 'em, too. But they also got thick-lookin' vines growin' outta both sides too, I notice. Thin we can use those somehow?" Skull asked as Queen and Draconis both shook their heads, the former speaking up.

"Sorry, sweetie. Your thought was good, but the fact is we don't know if they'll support our weight, and I'd rather not take any unnecessary risks, especially now that we're finally all together. But you are right about one thing, and that's that the steps do extend partway upwards, so there should be some method to turn them into safe passageways. Or at the least, that's what our prior Palace experience makes me think." Queen said as Draconis spoke up with a nod.

"Agreed. I get the sense this is probably going to be our puzzle for this palace, since every other Palace we've been in that I know of has had a puzzle of some sort in it. For Kamoshida's, it was that bookcase puzzle. For Madarame's, it was that hunt for the real 'Sayuri' among the fakes. For Kaneshiro's, it was those stupid word problems that we had to find the clues for. For Oracle's, it was that binary code we had to crack.

For Noir's dad's Palace, it was that airlock puzzle near the end that we had to figure out, along with that mini-puzzle with the conveyor belts. And for Queen's sister's Palace, it was that mini-puzzle where we had to help Oracle find the correct terminals and navigate that super-dark maze. And finally, for Shido's Palace, it was that thirce-be-damned rat maze that we had to get through several times while toggling those ugly-assed Shido statues to be able to navigate the maze correctly. I have no clue if the 'Palace' you all had to go through to fight that bastard Yaldabaoth had a puzzle in it or not, but I'd figure it did." Draconis said as Oracle nodded and spoke up.

"Yep, the Mementos Palace had a light panel puzzle that Joker managed to solve rather handily. So I'd agree with you that this is probably the puzzle for this Palace." Oracle said with a smile as Crow looked at the device in front of the group and spoke up with a smirk.

"I must agree with that assessment, you two. And it looks like there may be a device for doing just that right over there. Think it could help?" Crow asked as Noir spoke up with a frown and a nod. *3*

"Um, that sounds accurate, at least. Well, what say we don't waste any time then?" Noir said as the group kept moving. After Joker inspected the device, Violet frowned and spoke up.

"Err, what is this?" Violet asked as Crow spoke up.

"It's a light control switchboard. it's for adjusting the brightness of the colored lights." Crow said as the camera panned over to a spot where the stairs were fully extended, a green light illuminating the archway near the base of the steps as Crow kept speaking.

"See the light on that gate in front of the stairs? Right now, the color on the dimmer switch panel matches that of the light. Now that I take a closer look, the vines appear to form stairs where the light is shining. That said, I believe we'll be able to change the available paths if we alter the lighting." Crow said as Draconis blinked and spoke up.

"Ah, I get it. So you think we'll have to make the panel match the colors over the vines to open paths forward? Ingenious, if true." Draconis said as Mona nodded and turned to Joker as he spoke up.

"Hey! All right, Joker, now's your chance! Try out the dimmer switch and change the color scheme of the lights!" Mona said as Joker nodded, toggling all the colors at once so the panel glowed a brilliant white. After exiting the panel, all the stairs extended, making Violet gasp as she spoke up with wide eyes.

"Oh! We fixed the stairs!" Violet said as Queen nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed. It appears the vines grow whenever the color of light matches the color of flowers. The switch also seems to affect any lights in the immediate area. I wonder if there are any more of them elsewhere in here, to be honest." Queen said as Draconis spoke up.

"Hm. If there's one here, I feel like it's a safe bet that there's at least a few others through out this area." Draconis said as Skull chuckled and spoke up with a grin.

"Hah! Point is, we can use these light switch thingies to make the vines grow, right? Let's get to work, Joker!" Skull said as the group kept moving, while Draconis lightly rubbed his forehead from the slight migraine Skull's remark had given him. Crow saw this and smirked as he spoke up so only Draconis could hear.

"Heh, you're as annoyed with him as I am, aren't you?" Crow asked as Draconis blinked, but nodded by way of response as the group kept moving. After exploring the immediate vicinity and looting a few chests, the group eventually found the way forward blocked by a mass of vines, making Mona frown as he spoke up.

"Ugh. First the stairs, now a wall of vines? How else is he gonna block our way?" Mona asked as Crow spoke up.

"I think I see what's going on here. We grew stairs out of fines by manipulating light switches, yes, but wouldn't that mean that we can make our way forward become blocked if we do it wrong? That said, if we were able to figure out how to open the way forward with the stairs, shouldn't we be able to do the same with this wall?" Crow asked with a frown. Draconis pondered Crow's question for a moment before nodding his agreement as he spoke up.

"That would make sense, yes. But I suppose for now, let's head back to the device and figure out what we can do." Draconis said as the group kept moving. Joker then noticed another panel near the wall that only had red lighting. Shrugging, Joker deactivated the red light, and the wall retracted, making Mona smirk as he spoke up.

"YES! The wall's gone. Now we can keep advancing! Man, but this is a lot to remember. Turn lights on to make sets of stairs, turn lights off to get rid of walls. Sheesh, how complex can you get?" Mona said as Draconis smirked and spoke up.

"I'm sure we'll figure it out as we go, Mona-sensei." Draconis said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"True. Still, I wish we could just crank all the dials and be done with this." Mona said as Crow spoke up with a frown.

"True. But not only that, we only had access to the red lights here. Should we find any additional switches, I doubt we'll have access to all the colors there, either. That's something we'll have to keep in mind going forward." Crow said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed it is. But for now, I think our best bet is to keep moving, yeah?" Draconis said as the others nodded and the group kept moving. After eliminating some Shadows in the group's path, Joker's 'Arsene' Persona hit level 53, while Panther hit level 90. While fighting more Shadows, Draconis managed to hit a lucky Critical with Malefor's 'Deadly Fury', downing the last enemy as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"Good, this is a good chance to see if your All-Out Attack is different now that your Persona has once again evolved, Draconis. LET'S GO! ALL-OUT ATTACK!" Joker called out as the group rushed forward to slash at the enemy for all they were worth, and eventually the screen cut to a shot of Draconis slamming the butt end of his staff into the enemy's torso before pulling out his throwing knives and taking aim at the enemy sticking three of them in a line on the enemy's torso as it spurted out black liquid while Draconis posed epically and spoke up.

"Heh, get the point now!?" Draconis said in a slightly sadistic tone as the screen flashed to a shot of Malefor flying into view, curling up contentedly next to Draconis while his wings folded out upwards to reveal the words 'IN CHAOS WE TRUST' written in flowing red ink that surrounded the caption in a circle which clashed slightly with the purple undersides of Thailog's wings as the battle ended. From the ensuing EXP gains, both Joker and Draconis hit level 90 while Fox hit level 91. Joker spoke up in a somber tone.

"With this power, my strength grows. And with it, I grow ever mightier." Joker said as Draconis blinked and spoke up.

"Wait, hold up. Have you been working on new lines while I was gone, Joker? Impressive, if true. But I get the feeling at least a bit of the credit here belongs to Crow." Draconis said as Crow smirked and spoke up.

"Only insofar as I gave him pointers on how to dial back the show-off factor a tad. Otherwise, it's all Joker." Crow said as Draconis nodded approvingly as Joker's level increased. After the fight, the group found another panel as Skull spoke up.

"All right, let's keep up the pace! Hm?" Skull said while blinking as he saw appeared to be a pink light by the current set of steps as he kept speaking.

"Um, we gotta match the color of the lights with the flowers, right? Soo, does anyone remember seein' a purple switch yet?" Skull asked as the others blinked before Queen's eyes widened and she spoke up.

"Hold on, I may have thought of something! This is just a guess, but I think we can just create that color with the switch. If we can turn on multiple colors at once, the light should blend to create a new color. The red and green lights are on right now, so if we adjust those properly, we should end up with the requisite purple." Queen said as Draconis blinked before speaking up with slightly widened eyes.

"Oh, that's purple!? Crap, I thought it was pink. I guess that's why Fox is the artist in the group. He's good with colors, isn't he?" Draconis asked as Fox nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed I am. Ah, so secondary colors are involved. Blending colors together to reveal our path forward? What a captivating puzzle." Fox said as Queen spoke up.

"Looks like the switches even have notes attached to help us with the color blending. Care to give it a try, Joker?" Queen asked as Joker spoke up.

"I suppose I could give it a go. I feel like I'm slightly robbing Fox by doing this, though, since he's the artist among us. But I suppose it is what it is." Joker said as the group kept moving. After defeating another Shadow that was patrolling, the ensuing EXP gains brought Mona to level 90, Skull to level 91, and gave three of Joker's Personas level ups in the forms of 'Arsene', 'Macabre', and 'Norn', who hit levels 54, 82, and 67 respectively. As the group continued on, they stopped on noticing what appeared to be a massive staircase in the distance, making Panther's eyes widen as she spoke up.

"Hey, look! A huge staircase!" Panther said as Violet nodded and spoke up with a smile.

"Looks that way to me too, Panther-senpai. That said, it appears to stretch all the way to the top of the buildings. If I had to guess, I'd say that's probably where the Treasure is being kept." Violet said as Draconis scoffed and spoke up.

"Hmph. Figures Maruki would keep his Treasure at the topmost point of his Palace. Seems like the sort of high-and-mighty bullshit he'd pull." Draconis said dryly as Crow chuckled and spoke up.

"Heh, I quite agree, Draconis. I think I could quite find myself getting used to this new edgier you, truth be told." Crow said as Draconis merely nodded as Queen spoke up.

"Be that as it may Crow, we're almost there. Let's keep moving, Joker." Queen said as the group kept moving. As Joker moved to hop across some ledges, Noir frowned and spoke up.

"Hey! Joker, we all agreed the Treasure is at the top of that large staircase, didn't we? Shouldn't we go in that direction instead?" Noir asked as Draconis spoke up.

"That might be true, Noir. But would I be correct in assuming that Maruki's Palace has Will Seeds in it? Perhaps Joker was sensing one in this direction? You should really trust him more, I think." Draconis said as Mona spoke up.

"I don't think it's a question of whether she trusts him, Draconis. That said, Noir does have a point, buuut, I DO also sense a Will Seed over there in the direction Joker's headed. What sort of Phantom Thieves would we be if we ignored it? If may be a good idea to check out the area if we get a chance. It's entirely up to you though, Joker." Mona said as Joker nodded his agreement as did Draconis while the group kept moving. As the group worked down towards the Will Seed, Violet spoke up.

"Aha, we've found a Will Seed. Let's grab it." Violet said as the group kept moving. After disabling all the colors, the path to the Will Seed opened up. Unsurprisingly, the group found a tough looking Shadow guarding the Will Seed, prompting Violet to blink and speak up.

"Hm. That Shadow looks really strong, Joker-senpai. I realize we'll probably have to fight it, but let's make sure we're well-prepared before the fight. So what do you say? What do you wanna do?" Violet asked as Joker spoke up.

"I think we're as ready as we'll ever be. So let's do it." Joker said with a firm nod. As the group charged forward, the Guard Shadow spoke up.

"Hmph! If it's not the fools who spurned the master's generous reality recently. You're going no further. Turn back if you value your lives!" The Guard Shadow said as he shifted forms into that of a Fafnir, making Violet frown as she spoke up.

"Not today! We're taking the treasure you guard whether you like it or not! Let's go, everyone!" Violet said as the group charged into battle with the Guard Shadow. The group charged forward and summoned their Personas, spreading a mix of buffs and de-buffs for both sides of the field. After Crow and Joker used their Showtime to clock massive damage on the 'Fafnir', Oracle got Draconis' attention as she spoke up.

"I know it's been awhile since we did this, but you wanna break out our move for old time's sake, Draconis?" Oracle asked Draconis, who smirked and spoke up.

"Oracle? I was hoping you'd ask. Let's do it!" Draconis said as she and Draconis spoke up in unison.

"HA! It's Showtime!" Oracle and Draconis said as their Showtime started! As it started, Draconis spoke up.

"Oracle, you know what to do!" Draconis said as Oracle nodded, gesturing towards Prometheus, who dropped a bomb into Oracle's arms as she tossed it towards Draconis, who turned to Malefor and spoke up.

"Malefor, light that for us, would you?" Draconis said as Malefor just nodded and breathed a minor stream of Almighty flame at the bomb, igniting the fuse as Draconis turned to Oracle and spoke up.

"Oracle! Toss it up!" Draconis called as Oracle tossed the bomb up while Draconis took aim with his staff, winding it up like a baseball bat as he spoke up.

"HERE GOES! BATTER UP!" Draconis said as he swung his staff at the bomb, connecting solidly with it as it flew into the face of the horrified Fafnir as Oracle spoke up.

"And now, to finish you off. FIRE!" Oracle said as she fired her wrist laser at the bomb, making it explode in the face of the horrified Fafnir as it could only dissolve into black mist as Draconis and Oracle smirked and spoke up.

"HA! HOW DO YOU LIKE US NOW!?" Draconis and Oracle both said as they slammed their staves into the ground at the same time that the bomb detonated and destroyed the enemy, ending both the Showtime and the battle. From the ensuing EXP gains, Crow hit level 90, Violet hit level 91, and two of Joker's Personas gained levels in the forms of 'Gabriel' and 'Norn', who hit levels 85 and 68 respectively. After the battle, Violet spoke up.

"Well, we took it down somehow. I think we can get to the Will Seed now." Violet said as Crow nodded and spoke up.

"Tch, might as well grab it. No sense leaving something we can use behind. After all, it's ours now." Crow said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"I quite agree, Crow. Let us claim our prize!" Draconis said as the group kept moving. After Joker cut down the vines blocking the way, the group stormed the room and seized the 'Blue Sorrow Seed' from its pedestal, to Draconis' surprise. He then spoke up.

"Wait, you guys already had the other two before this? Impressive." Draconis said as like every other trio of seeds before this, the Will Seeds of Sorrow combined together to form the expected three-headed skull-like object, which Joker took to get the 'Crystal of Sorrow'. Afterwards, Violet spoke up.

"That's the third Will Seed. I never would have guessed Maruki's desires would take this form." Violet said as Draconis scoffed and spoke up.

"I probably would. But never mind that man now. Let's keep moving!" Draconis said as the group kept moving. After figuring out a bunch of light puzzles, the group found a panel where Joker simply turned all three lights on, allowing the panel to glow white and reveal the path forward, making Skull grin as he spoke up.

"Yesss! The finish line!" Skull said as Draconis smirked and spoke up, his arms crossed as he spoke.

"Heh, about time we close in on the Treasure's location." Draconis said as Violet spoke up.

"We're so close to the Treasure now, you guys. But I'm also getting kind of nervous." Violet said as Draconis smirked and spoke up.

"It's cool, Violet. You don't gotta be nervous. We've got your back, sis." Draconis said, shooting Joker a thumbs-up behind Violet's back, which made Joker smile and nod as the group kept moving. The group then approached the massive door, which opened up as the group headed on in. Not long after, Oracle blinked and spoke up.

"Hm? Is there a safe room around here somewhere?" Oracle asked as the others shrugged before Joker found the Safe Room in mention and led the group inside. Once inside, the 'Twilight Corridor' was registered to Joker's fast-travel list. Upon looking around, Joker noticed that Crow, Fox, Panther, Draconis, and Mona had stuff to say. To start, Joker walked over to Crow and spoke up.

"Heh, how about this crazy Palace so far, eh Crow?" Joker said as Crow spoke up.

"I concur. This Palace has been rather crazy thus far, but we're finally nearing the Treasure. I suspect it's not far from here, to be precise. So let's press on, but be careful about it, Joker." Crow said as Joker nodded before walking over to Panther and speaking up.

"How're you holding up so far, Panther?" Joker asked as Panther smiled and spoke up.

"I'm doing well, but how about those stairs we just came up? They sure were pretty, but I wonder how Maruki sees them in actuality." Panther said as Joker shrugged and walked over to Fox as he spoke up.

"Something up, Fox? You seem bothered somewhat." Joker asked as Fox blinked and spoke up.

"Hm? Oh, sorry. Didn't realize you were standing there, Joker. But what to do? This place is beautiful, yet there's also a feeling of great emptiness in it as well. Could that be how this Palace's ruler sees it as well?" Fox asked as Joker shrugged and walked over to Draconis as he spoke up.

"How're you holding up, bro? Gotta say, it's nice having you back in the fold again." Joker said as Draconis frowned briefly before speaking up.

"I'm holding up pretty well, all things considered. Still, I'm not gonna lie to you, Joker. I'm probably gonna sleep like a rock tonight once we get home. Being chained to an effing wall for however long I've been gone is no way to live, especially when you add being denied food and water, and even having limited sleep to the mix." Draconis said as Joker frowned and spoke up.

"Wow, I didn't know you had it that rough, Draconis. But you're free now, and that's what matters." Joker said as Draconis smiled and nodded as Joker walked over to Mona and spoke up.

"What's up, Mona? You seem a bit bummed." Joker said as Mona sighed and spoke up.

"Ugh, to be honest? I'm a bit perplexed at what we just saw. I mean, come on! People are flying all over the place now? I get this is a Palace, but still. I guess anything really can happen here. Even so, that's all the more reason to stay on guard." Mona said as Joker nodded and headed to the door of the Safe Room. Queen looked up and saw Joker standing by the door, prompting her to speak up.

"We getting back to it, Joker?" Queen asked as Joker spoke up with a nod.

"Yep. I feel like we need to step it up just a tad since we've fulfilled part of our mission already, that part being Draconis' safe rescue. The fact that he got a second Awakening and a Tier 3 Persona as a result is just an added bonus, in my opinion. But that said, the quicker we secure the Treasure route, the longer we have to prepare for the final battle with Maruki's Shadow." Joker said as Queen nodded and spoke up.

"Got it. Let's get back to work, then." Queen said as the group left the Safe Room and kept moving. After a moment, the group saw a door, which Joker opened, revealing another room with a CRT TV in it, making Draconis scoff as he spoke up.

"Really? A CRT TV? Did Maruki's Shadow base these off the TV in the attic of Leblanc, by chance? Because I feel like that's a rather uncanny likeness to our TV, even if this one is smaller, and ours doesn't have a built-in VHS player." Draconis said as Joker blinked but said nothing as Mona spoke up.

"Good question, Draconis. I'm not sure of the answer to it, though. That said, looks like there's a TV over there, and not only that, but it looks like there's a tape in the player." Mona said as Crow sighed in annoyance and spoke up.

"Ugh. This AGAIN? I really hope it's the last one." Crow said as Queen frowned and spoke up.

"I feel like it will be the last one. But that said, I noticed that the tapes seem to be growing more and more recent, though. What do we have in store this time, I wonder?" Queen asked as Oracle quietly filled Draconis in on what he'd missed with the last few tapes, eliciting a grateful nod from Draconis as the tape played...

(Flashback-not that long ago, unknown location, with Maruki and an old man)

"Hmmm. So? What brings you back here, after all these years?" The old man sitting across from Maruki asked, his arms crossed as he spoke. Maruki spoke up as he glared at the old man and spoke up.

"That's a comprehensive study on the research you tried to shut down 'all these years' ago." Maruki said as the old man frowned and spoke up.

"I know how to read! What I meant was, why are you bringing this to me now?" The old man asked as Maruki smirked and spoke up.

"Oh, this is just a quick visit out of spite. I wanted to show you in person that I had found the 'concrete evidence' that you had discontinued my research over." Maruki said as the old man huffed and spoke up.

"Hmph, so it appears. I'll admit you've impressed me on that point, at least, though it's a moot point. I might be impressed, but such praise does nothing now-all this discussion is in the past. Why can't you just let it stay there and move on?" The old man said as Maruki frowned and spoke up.

"Ah, no can do, Professor. Cognitive psience has made too great an impact on this world to be abandoned like that." Maruki said to the old man, now revealed to be called 'Professor'. Professor then spoke up.

"What's that got do with with anything? What are you saying?" Professor asked as Maruki spoke up.

"The psychotic-breakdown incidents, the sudden changes of heart in adults that the Phantom Thieves claim to make happen. I'm nearly willing to call these events 'concrete evidence' of cognitive psience in action, Professor. How about you?" Maruki asked as the Professor gaped and spoke up.

"Oh!" Professor said as Maruki spoke up with a grim look on his face.

"And the one person pulling the strings in the background of this whole situation? None other than Congressman Masayoshi Shido. He seems to be confessing to all sorts of crimes now that the Phantom Thieves have changed his heart. Years ago, Shido took notice of my research, stole it away from me, and made others develop it for his own gain. Not only that, he used cognitive psience somehow to induce the politically motivated psychotic breakdowns. Now, you're heavily involved in that series of events that have happened. Aren't you, Professor?" Maruki said as Professor spoke up.

"What are you getting at? What are you planning on doing with me?" Professor asked as Maruki smiled and spoke up.

"Oh, nothing at all. As I said before, I only came here out of spite. That paper, or more simply put, my work, is going to change the world." Maruki said as Professor scoffed and spoke up.

"Tch. 'Change the world', you say? And where's the money for that? Where's the power to do it? You're no Shido! What can someone like you actually do?" Professor asked as Maruki frowned and spoke up.

"That paper there's just the first step. I've learned how to change the cognition of not just an individual, but all of humanity! And I WILL do it, no matter how long it takes!" Maruki said as Professor scoffed and spoke up.

"Gahhh, enough of this drivel, Maruki! Get out of my office! And, don't show your face here again! Hear me?" Professor said as Maruki felt reality flicker as he looked out the window and saw the sky flash red, making him gasp as he spoke up.

"Oh! What the-? What in the crap? What is this?" Maruki said as Professor looked out the window and frowned as he didn't see anything, speaking up in annoyance.

"Hmm? What's your problem now?" Professor asked as Maruki spoke up.

"Huh? You mean to tell me that you don't see this? The sky just-" Maruki said before being cut off as he heard a voice in his head speak up.

"Listen to me. The time has come." Maruki heard as he spoke up in shock.

"This voice, I've heard it before." Maruki said as he turned to see an indistinct being appear in the shape of a curved looking cross with an antenna coming out of the head and a mass of tentacles, making Maruki gasp as he kept speaking.

"Wha-!?" Maruki asked as the voice spoke up again.

"The time is finally at hand to realize your ambitions! I am the other you, dwelling in the realm of mankind's hearts." The voice said as Maruki blinked and spoke up.

"The other-? Did you say the other me? Wait-the realm of mankind's hearts, could that mean what I think it does? Oh! Are you telling me, this realm is what I think it is?" Maruki asked as the voice spoke up.

"Whether it is or not is irrelevant! You may have no knowledge of it, but I have been at your side for much longer than our current meeting would suggest. Finally, your reality and the sea of hearts from which I came have truly become one in this moment. Now, at last, the time for unjustly persecuted ideology is at hand. I am thou, thou art I..." Maruki heard as the being vanished from his sight, leaving him to gasp in confusion, unsure what to make of what he'd just heard. He then spoke up.

"That's it! At last, I understand. I now know what I've been missing! I finally get it. To think it'd be so simple! Heheh, how foolish I've been!" Maruki said as Professor huffed and spoke up.

"Hey! What are you mumbling about!? I told you to get out!" Professor said as Maruki nodded and spoke up.

"Ah yes, you did say that, didn't you Professor? Yes, as you wish. I'll be on my way. Finally, the time is at hand. Now, I can finally achieve my ambitions!" Maruki said as he left the room, leaving his research notes behind on the desk of a confused Professor...

(End of flashback. Back in the present, with Crow, Fox, Mona, Queen, Panther, Skull, Noir, Violet, Joker, Draconis, and Oracle)

"Ugh, dammit! Of course this goes back to effing Shido!" Panther said as Fox frowned and spoke up.

"To think he was the one who stymied Maruki's research that whole time." Fox said as Draconis sighed and spoke up.

"Yeah, this seems to be just another crime to throw at his feet. Crow, would I be wrong to assert that our father seems to have no shortage of crimes to confess to, that foolish fool that he is?" Draconis asked as Crow snarled slightly but nodded as he spoke up.

"Yes, that's a fair assessment. Mind you, I feel like that's a bit presumptive to still call him father, since he wasn't really around for either of our lives that much." Crow said bluntly as Draconis frowned but nodded as he spoke up.

"Fair enough, Crow. You have a point there." Draconis said as Oracle spoke up with a frown.

"Y'know, I've been wondering ever since we saw the earlier video, where he spoke of his research. Do you think there was some kinda connection between my mom's cognitive psience research and Maruki's?" Oracle said as Draconis spoke up.

"It's not impossible, Oracle. If I had to guess, I'd say maybe the two worked on it together every so often. But that makes it more tragic that only your mom was snuffed if they were working on it together." Draconis said as Crow scoffed and spoke up.

"I doubt very much Maruki was working with Oracle's mom on his research, Draconis. After all, Maruki likely has no prior recollections of her, so that makes it a fair guess that they've never even so much as met one another. That said, after he crushed Maruki's chance at researching the field, Shido had his own pawns do it for him instead like the gutless coward he is. Although, I doubt Shido's researchers knew anything about the subject in the way Maruki did. Furthermore, that sounds exactly like the kind of plan that man would scheme up." Crow said as Skull growled and spoke up while rotating his shoulder.

"Ugh, that bastard! Sorry, Crow and Draconis. I know he's your dad, but still! Er, wait, now's not the time to get pissed bout that." Skull said as Mona spoke up.

"Also, there's another thing about that video nobody's mentioned yet, I can't help but notice. Specifically, I mean the being that appeared near the end of the video. I'm nearly positive that being was Maruki's Persona." Mona said as Queen gasped in realization as she recalled another detail that they'd not mentioned.

"One other thing. If the sky did turn red like that sky in the video did, I wonder if that was the day we fought against the God of Control?" Queen asked as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"It's possible. Lady Lavenza did tell us that reality and Mementos were merged together during that time, after all. And as you've all seen for yourselves, a full awakening to a Persona can't happen unless you're in the Metaverse. That would mean Maruki really did awaken to his Persona in that video." Mona said as Queen's eyes widened in realization as she spoke up.

"And at the same time, he attained the ability to meddle with Mementos, and by extension, the cognition of the masses. So it is just as Lavenza had told us that day." Queen said as Noir spoke up.

"True, though the sheer number of coincidences necessary for this to happen is just astronomical." Noir said as Crow spoke up.

"True. But at any rate, now we have a better grasp of past events. I'm fairly certain that was a memory Maruki wouldn't have wanted us to have seen, either." Crow said as Joker spoke up.

"All we can do at this point is keep advancing." Joker said as Oracle nodded and spoke up with her fists pumped.

"Yeah, you're right, big bro!" Oracle said as Noir nodded and spoke up.

"That's true. We don't have the time for these questions anyhow. Let's go!" Noir said as Joker nodded and the group kept moving. As the group rounded the corner, they found a holo-locked door, where the familiar mechanical voice spoke up.

"Security lock currently engaged. Please answer the following identity authentication question: What happened to Maruki the day the sky turned red?" The mechanical voice asked as Noir spoke up.

"Hm? 'The day the sky turned red', eh? It must be referring to Mementos merging with the real world. That said, we'll leave the answer to you, Joker." Noir said as Joker nodded and turned to the door and gave his answer.

"The answer is that his Persona fully awakened." Joker said as Draconis and Crow frowned at the idea of Maruki being a Persona-user. But before either of them could comment, the mechanical voice spoke up once more.

"Authentication complete. Disengaging lock." The mechanical voice said as Crow spoke up.

"Hmph. It's open. Shall we press on? The Treasure is close." Crow said as Joker nodded while the group kept walking, only to stop a short time later as they spotted a strong-looking Shadow, at which point Oracle spoke up.

"There aren't any other readings past this guy that I can see. The map doesn't show any more areas beyond him, either. As such, I'm going to guess this is probably the final hurdle. This looks like a tough fight, so make sure everyone's in peak condition first! Ready, Joker?" Oracle asked as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"Of course we're ready, Oracle." Joker said understandingly as the group approached the Guard Shadow, who spoke up in shock.

"You!? I can't believe you've made it so far into this facility." The Guard Shadow said as Draconis spoke up.

"Get used to it, scumbag! Nothing's going to get in our way!" Draconis said as Fox nodded and spoke up.

"But of course, Draconis. As for you, Guard Shadow-san, you oughtn't underestimate the Phantom Thieves." Fox said as Violet nodded and spoke up with a frown.

"What Fox-senpai said! We're not backing down now. Let us through here!" Violet said to the Guard Shadow, who glared at the group as he spoke up.

"The time of salvation is almost at hand, you fools! I don't care if you did rescue the prisoner from the detention level, I won't let you interfere!" The Guard Shadow said as he shifted forms into a being that Joker vaguely recognized as a 'Siegfried', as the battle started. At the start of the battle, Joker, Crow, Mona, and Draconis all summoned their respective Personas and threw their strongest moves at him, clocking a large chunk of damage. After that, Crow looked at Draconis and spoke up.

"Heh, I hope you still remember the timing for our move, Draconis. This seems like a good time to break it out." Crow said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"I couldn't agree more, Crow. Let 's do it!" Draconis said as he and Crow spoke up in unison.

"HA! IT'S SHOWTIME!" Crow and Draconis said as their Showtime started! Crow glared at the downed 'Siegfried' and spoke up.

"NO MORE TIME FOR GAMES!" Crow said as he took aim at Siegfried's head while Draconis primed his throwing knives and spoke up.

"HMPH! LET'S MAKE OUR POINT, CROW!" Draconis said as he hurled his knives with uncanny precision, pinning Siegfried's hands and feet to the wall behind him as Crow and Draconis smirked and brandished their sword/knives and raced forward as if planning to charge at one another, eventually clashing weapons in mid-air. However, even though they both landed on the ground nearby unscathed, the blinking 'Siegfried' wouldn't be so lucky, as various wounds would burst open on his body, making him only have enough time to yell out 'Son of a-!' before dissolving into black mist as Draconis spoke up.

"DENIED! Target neutralized! Who shall we hunt next, Crow? That has me eager for more! I've never felt so alive!" Draconis said sadistically as Crow smirked while the two walked off-screen like total badasses as both the Showtime and the battle ended. From the ensuing EXP gain, Oracle and Panther hit level 91, Noir and Queen hit level 92, and Joker's 'Norn' Persona hit level 70. After the battle, Panther spoke up with a closed-eye smile.

"We did it!" Panther said as Mona got a closed-eye smile of his own and spoke up.

"YES! Nice! We're almost to the Treasure! Let's move!" Mona said as the group kept moving, hurrying around the corner to the waiting elevator, which they rode up to another garden-looking area, but this one was much grander looking, given that Skull's jaw dropped as he spoke up.

"What the hell!?" Skull said as Violet frowned and spoke up from next to Joker.

"This is Maruki's version of what I'm guessing is meant to be the Garden of Eden?" Violet said as Crow spoke up dryly.

"Well, if nothing else, this appears to be quite the paradise. I assume that Maruki's trying to convey that the world will turn into something like this if we let him abuse his research." Crow said as Noir winced and spoke up.

"A paradise, he says. Riiight." Noir said as the group kept walking, until Panther frowned and spoke up.

"Wait, but this is a dead end, right? And we still haven't found the Treasure yet." Panther said as Draconis spoke up.

"Maybe not in a solid form, no. But remember that most Treasures are often in an insubstantial form, usually that of a grey orb. Am I right on that, Mona?" Draconis said as Mona spoke up.

"That's correct, Draconis. And Panther? Look again." Mona said as he pointed upwards, to where the group could see a giant shimmering orb above them sorrounded by what appeared to be a tree, making Oracle gasp as she spoke up.

"For real? The shimmery thing?" Oracle asked as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Yep. No doubt about it, you guys. That's our Treasure!" Mona said as Draconis frowned and spoke up.

"For real? Why's it so much bigger than the other Treasures we've seen? Granted, I didn't get to see Shido's Treasure, but I'm sure it wasn't that big." Draconis said as Queen nodded and spoke up.

"Correct. It was nowhere near the size of this one. That said, if that's the Treasure, then that also means we've secured our route." Queen said as Skull pumped a fist and spoke up.

"All right! All we got left is sendin' the calling card-Oh, wait. How are we suppose'ta do that this time?" Skull asked as Noir frowned and spoke up.

"That's right. Maruki's been here in the Palace this entire time, hasn't he?" Noir asked as Draconis shook his head and spoke up.

"Not the ENTIRE time, no. I recall that for a brief period he left to go back to the real world, and he wasn't here right away when I was first captured." Draconis said as Crow nodded and spoke up.

"We'll take your word for it, Draconis. That said, I'm sure Maruki's well aware that the Phantom Thieves send out their calling cards the day before their heists. Considering his actions up until now, I highly suspect he'll attempt to directly intervene in some way that day, presumably by way of reaching out to one of us? If so, my money's on him trying it with Joker." Crow said as Fox nodded and spoke up.

"Good point, Crow. In that case, I'll leave the calling card in your hands, Joker. I think, since this is potentially our final calling card, you and Draconis both should write this one, since you have more reasons than the rest of us, aside from maybe Violet, to want his heart changed." Fox said wisely. Draconis spoke up.

"Sounds good to me, Fox. Granted, I have a lot to get caught up on probably once I get back to the real world, but I'll make sure to make time to help Joker with the calling card as well." Draconis said as Crow chuckled and spoke up.

"That's true. However, we could just set up an ambush and destroy him once he steps in our trap, too." Crow said as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"WHAT!? No way are we doin' that!" Skull said as Draconis spoke up.

"Seconded. As much as I like the idea of snaring that man in a trap, it's not the Phantom Thief way. Plus, he's not worth getting into trouble over, even if I agree with Joker wanting to tear him apart, limb from limb, for what he did to Violet." Draconis said as Queen frowned and spoke up.

"HEY! I don't care if you three are pissed at him! Our goal in coming here is to return reality to its original state, not to beat up Maruki." Queen said as Crow sighed and spoke up.

"Calm down, Queen. It was merely a joke. But I am amused that Joker and Draconis at least somewhat seemed to agree with me. After all, you're all well-aware that Maruki's influence on reality goes well beyond this Palace of his. If we make the wrong move in Maruki's Palace, then we could get eliminated outside the Palace, since we lack our Personas there. As such, it'd be a safer strategy to change Maruki's heart, just as you all wish." Crow said as Panther frowned and spoke up.

"So this is it. We're finally changing his heart, eh? If we steal Maruki's Treasure, everything'll go back to the way it was, right?" Panther asked as Mona spoke up.

"I don't know for sure, but most likely." Mona said as Joker looked at Panther and spoke up.

"Are you okay with that, Panther?" Joker asked Panther, who gave Joker a closed-eye smile and spoke up while pumping a fist.

"Yeah! Of course." Panther said as Noir frowned and spoke up.

"And besides, we've come so far, even managing to rescue Draconis. We can't just give up now." Noir said as Skull nodded and spoke up.

"Noir's right. We gotta stick to our own reality." Skull said as Queen spoke up while looking at Joker.

"About the time limit that was set. Maruki told you it was February 3rd, correct Joker?" Queen said as Joker spoke up.

"Yeah, that's right. I remember it vividly, since that was the day Maruki was trying to lure Violet into continuing to live as her sister instead of embracing her true self and trying to move on as her sister would've wanted her to do. Fortunately, Violet made the right choice in the end, and I'm proud of her for it. But the fact remains that Maruki's heart must be changed." Joker said bluntly as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah. Joker's right. That said, Maruki isn't like anything we've faced before now. We should get as strong as we can before that fight." Mona said as the group nodded before Violet smiled at Joker and spoke up.

"So, Joker. What would you like to do? If we don't have any other business here, should we go back to the entrance?" Violet asked as Joker thought about it and nodded.

"Yeah, let's go back. Technically, we missed a few chests, but those can wait. I'm not trying to push Draconis more than we have to, since he's probably still slightly drained from what he's been through. The sooner we can get him back to the real world so he can rest, the better." Joker said as Violet nodded her understanding and spoke up with a pretty closed-eye smile.

"That makes sense, Joker-senpai. Okay, let's head back and rest up." Violet said as Draconis frowned at Joker and spoke up.

"You don't have to cut this short on my account, Joker. I'm good to keep going for a while longer if you need to go back for those chests." Draconis said as Joker spoke up with a firm shake of the head.

"It's fine. They can wait. If anything, we'll come back for them when we go to change Maruki's heart." Joker said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"Very well then, as you wish. Let us head back." Draconis said as the group headed back to the entrance. Once there, Joker ducked into the Velvet Room to do a bit of last-second Persona management. Once done, he headed back to the return point, at which point Mona spoke up.

"I guess all we can do now is prepare for the Day of Fates, you guys. So, what now? Do you want to head back, Joker?" Mona asked. Joker nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah, we might as well go back for now. We can return later for the chests we missed. Doubtless they weren't anything that important anyways. We need to get back so we can recharge ourselves and begin our preparations for the final battle." Joker said decisively as his phone's MetaNav spoke up.

"Now returning to the real world from Maruki's Palace. Thank you for your hard work." Joker and the others heard as they started returning to the real world. While doing so, Mona spoke up with a closed eye smile.

"YES! We not only rescued Draconis, but we also secured our route to the Treasure! All we have left to do is wait for the promised date." Mona said as Crow scoffed and spoke up.

"Hmph, hopefully nothing happens until then." Crow said as Draconis spoke up.

"Always the skeptic, aren't you Crow? That said, I agree with you in this instance. We should be on our guard until the appointed day arrives." Draconis said as the group returned to the real world...

(That evening, inside of Leblanc, with Ren, Morgana, Kusa and Sojiro)

"Hm? Oh, welcome back, Ren." Sojiro said as Ren walked in, making Ren smirk and speak up.

"Nah, it's not just me this time." Ren said as the door opened once more and Kusa walked in, looking a bit banged up, but otherwise fine. Sojiro's jaw dropped as he spoke up.

"You found him!? Where was he?" Sojiro asked as Kusa spoke up with a weary-sounding chuckle.

"That's a bit of a long story, Boss. Suffice it to say I've been through quite the hellish experience these past, um, what day is it?" Kusa asked as Sojiro spoke up.

"It's January 14th of 2017." Sojiro answered as Kusa blinked but nodded as he spoke up.

"Right. I've been through quite the hellish ordeal for the past month and change that I've been missing. Suffice it to say, I'm glad Ren found and saved me with the others. However, I realize I have a LOT to make up for, both with you and probably at school. Actually, is Ren still in hiding? I forgot to ask before." Kusa said as Sojiro chuckled and spoke up.

"Nope. He's been free from that for about a month now. Not long after you fell into whatever trap Akechi laid for your group, Shido had a change of heart and confessed his crimes, so Ren was clear to go back to school. However, the prosecutor lady told me that she and Ren might still be used as scapegoats for faking Ren's demise. But she said she'd handle that bridge once she came to it. I'm just glad to see you're safe. And I'm sure Futaba's also glad to see you returned to her as well." Sojiro said as Kusa nodded before speaking up.

"And I'm glad to be back by her side, but for the next at least week, if not two weeks, I'm going to be hard-focused on making up for all the schoolwork and chores I missed out on during my unplanned absence." Kusa said as Ren smirked and spoke up.

"Yeah, probably after you take a fat power-nap to make up for the sleep you missed out on in that cell." Ren teased Kusa, who huffed and spoke up.

"Considering they were torturing me with cattle prods and other weapons, I'd say a lack of sleep is the least of my worries. But I will agree that I look forward to resting up tonight and getting my strength up more so I can throw myself more into catching up on everything I've missed." Kusa said as Sojiro nodded.

"That's a good attitude. Ugh, but I've been getting a lot of sociable customers lately. It's tiring me out, to tell the truth." Sojiro said as Ren and Kusa nodded before the former's phone went off to signify a private chat from Mishima.

"We got a really scary request. It says, and I quote, 'Kill me, please.' Like what the heck?" Mishima sent as Ren sent a response.

"The Phantom Thieves have a hard and fast rule against doing hits on people. So why would we kill this person because they want us to?" Ren sent as Mishima sent a response.

"I know that, Amamiya! But we can't just ignore it either, can we? The guy's name is Nao Minamoto. He lost both his parents really young, and he's had to take care of his little sister ever since. He's been working really hard at a part-time job to support them both, but I dunno. Maybe it got to be too much for him? Either way, right now, he hates his sister so much that he can't take it.

She's his only family, but even so, he can't control how he feels. At some point, he was so mad he shoved her, but she stumbled and fell. And I guess she got hurt pretty badly in the process. It was an unfortunate accident, but he says he can't accept that as an answer." Mishima sent as Ren sent a response.

"I don't blame him for feeling that way. Hitting a girl, ESPECIALLY one related to you, is NOT okay! We respect women as a rule in the Phantom Thieves, dammit! That said, is his sister okay?" Ren sent as Mishima sent a response.

"It seems like she's fine. He just thinks that if this time went this bad, there's no guarantee it won't go even worse next time. He'd rather just be killed. But changing his heart is bound to help somehow, right!? You need to kill off those negative feelings inside of him!" Mishima sent as Ren put his phone away right when Morgana spoke up, having read the chat over Ren's shoulder.

"Ugh, 'Kill me', huh? Sheesh, talk about a morbid request. Okay, let's go! Let's help him before he does something even more drastic!" Morgana said as Ren nodded, before his and the others' phones pinged to signify the receipt of the Mementos request 'O My Young Sister, I Cry For You'. At that same time, Ren and Kusa's phones went off to signify a group chat with Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Haru, Futaba, Akechi, and Sumire, with Ann sending the first response.

"Something's bothering me, you guys. So, we talked about how Maruki MIGHT contact us, right?" Ann sent as Makoto sent a response.

"Right. After all, it was our only guess. I really hope it's not the case, but there is a chance he may not show up before the deadline he gave us." Makoto sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"For real!? I didn't even think about that, to be honest." Ryuji sent as Akechi sent a response.

"While we can't discount the possibility entirely, I'd say the chances of that occurring are slim. The man sees himself as a downright saint, so I can't see him suddenly going back on his word. Wouldn't you agree, Ren?" Akechi sent as Ren sent a response.

"I'd say so. Granted, I'm still mad at him for what I saw him do to poor Sumire in that video. I know he probably had good intentions for it, but dammit, what he did is still mind rape in my opinion." Ren sent as Kusa sent a response.

"And by 'what you saw him do to poor Sumire in that video', you mean the video where he actualized Sumire's mind so she thought she was her dead sister, correct? For what it's worth, I agree that what he did was both highly unethical and more than a bit immoral. However, at the same time, have you stopped to consider how Sumire felt about that whole thing?

Sure, she might have been elated and even euphoric in the moment, but what's to say that she doesn't now look back on that time as a painful memory? I can respect you for wanting to look out for your girlfriend's well-being, but at least be sure to get her opinion too, so you can get all sides of the situation, Ren. Just putting that out there." Kusa sent as Sumire sent a response at that point.

"Good point, Kusa. And for the record, while it is a painful memory to relieve, it's not one that I'm going to break down over. That said, I don't mind Ren getting super angry on my behalf. It just shows how much he cares about me, and I appreciate him for it. That being said, Akechi-kun is right too. If he wanted, Maruki could just erase all of us from existence like Yaldabaoth tried to do." Sumire sent as Futaba sent a response.

"Sumire's right. And not only that, giving us all this extra time does us a lot of good on our end, too. For starters, we can look at this period of time before the promised day as one extended prep period, not unlike the one we took before Shido's Palace. And on top of that, there's still so much about Maruki's power that we don't understand." Futaba sent as Haru sent a response.

"That's true. We need to use this time well and prepare as much as possible." Haru sent as Yusuke sent a response.

"I shall take it upon myself to remaster our calling card into a true work of art." Yusuke sent as Kusa sent a response.

"Is this gonna be before or after Ren and I write it, Yusuke?" Kusa sent as Futaba sent a response.

"Does it matter, Kusa? Yeeeeeaaaahno, we're good there. But thanks, Inari." Futaba sent as Yusuke sent a response.

"What a pity, Futaba. And to your question, Kusa? Definitely after. After all, I really can't illustrate a blank calling card, can I?" Yusuke sent as Ren and Kusa put their phones away as Morgana spoke up.

"Yup! We don't know when Maruki will show up, but the deadline's not gonna change. Let's keep prepping until then." Morgana said as Ren nodded his understanding before he and Kusa headed upstairs as the latter set himself down on the sofa, before blinking at the fountain Ren had set up by the plant and speaking up.

"Wait, hold up. Is that a chocolate fountain, Ren?" Kusa asked as Ren looked where Kusa was pointing before laughing as he spoke up.

"Yep, it sure is. I got it as a gift from Ann after hanging out with her one day. I knew you'd get a kick out of it." Ren said as Kusa chuckled and spoke up.

"And you're not wrong, Ren." Kusa said as he felt himself yawn and speak up.

"Oh, look at that. I think that extra energy rush I got from my awakening earlier is wearing off. I think I'll turn in early tonight, if it's all the same to you, Ren. But don't feel like you have to keep quiet on my account, since you know I'm a deep sleeper once I get into a solid sleep." Kusa said as he laid down on the sofa after getting comfortable in his muscle shirt and boxers, while Ren smirked and spoke up.

"That's fine, Kusa. You probably need the rest anyways. I'll leave Morgana up here with you if you want, while I go and look into brewing some more coffee just in case." Ren said as Kusa nodded idly and spoke up around a yawn.

"That's fine. If Morgana wants to curl up with me, I won't stop him. This is as much his sofa as it is mine, after all." Kusa said as Morgana smiled and hopped up onto Kusa's chest to curl up, speaking up contentedly.

"Ahh, much better. I missed this." Morgana said as Kusa smiled, gently patting Morgana on the head comfortingly as he spoke up.

"Honestly? I missed it too, little bro. But I missed you as well. Don't you ever freaking scare me like that again, Morgana! I legit almost broke down crying when I thought you died, man." Kusa said, smiling as he pulled the blanket up over Morgana, leaving his head uncovered as he laid his head back and both he and Morgana near-immediately fell asleep while Ren slipped off downstairs to check out the coffee brewer. Sojiro chuckled as he saw Ren looking at the coffee brewer before he spoke up.

"Heh, looks like you're really getting into your job now. Wanna try takin' over the shop? Well, whatever, that's fine. All right, I'm headin' out to buy some cigarettes for a bit." Sojiro said as Ren started brewing the coffee, at which point Morgana padded downstairs, hopped up on a stool and stood up on his back legs to look at Ren's work, smiling as he spoke up.

"Whoa! Mmm! I love the smell of good coffee in the evening!" Morgana said as Ren had a seat next to Morgana after pouring himself a cup, smiling and pumping a fist as he spoke up.

"YES! Another finished cup!" Ren said as Morgana gave Ren a closed-eye smile and spoke up.

"Nice. The way you're drinking it makes it look delicious, Ren." Morgana said as Ren got himself 2 'Master Coffee' items for his efforts. Morgana then spoke up once more.

"Not that you need it Ren, but it looks like the chief's gentlemanly charm is still rubbing off on you, to be honest. Heh heh!" Morgana said to Ren, who shrugged as his Charm got a slight, but unneeded, boost. Around that point, Sojiro chuckled as he walked in and spoke up.

"Heh, looks like you're at it again, eh Ren? How's it going? Here, I'll have a sip." Sojiro said as Ren spoke up.

"Yes, please do, Boss. Grace me with your coffee-brewing wisdom." Ren said humbly as he offered the cup to Sojiro, who nodded and took a sip before speaking up.

"Mmm, this citrusy aroma about the brew is unmistakable. No doubt about it, this is Guatemalan Antigua. Confused? Let me explain! The volcanic soil of Guatemala is ideal for growing coffee. Guatemalan beans are ranked by their altitude of cultivation. Due to the rich minerals and nutrients in the soil, Antiguan coffee has a mellow acidity and a fresh aftertaste. Eh, yeah. This is delicious, Ren. I'm genuinely impressed.

Although, surely you realize by now you'll never completely catch up to me, right? My pride as a man, and as your mentor, won't allow it. Mmm, but that said, I like your coffee. I'm overjoyed to have a competent apprentice. Allow me to act as your lead for a little longer, if you would. I know you don't have all that much time left before you're due to go back home, but at least allow me to guide you as best I can while you're still here." Sojiro said as Ren nodded agreeably before Sojiro left and Ren put away the coffee dishes after he finished his cup, at which point Morgana spoke up.

"Well, that was rather surprising. That said, we should rest now, Ren. After all, we have a big day tomorrow." Morgana said as Ren nodded agreeably as the two headed upstairs for the night, the former curling back up on Kusa's chest and the latter getting into his pajamas before before laying down for the night...

(The next day, in the lower level of Leblanc with Sojiro, Ren and Morgana)

As Ren and Morgana sat around the cafe with Ren eating curry, Futaba walked in and looked at Ren nervously before speaking up.

"Um, hey big bro. 'Sup?" Futaba said as Ren frowned and spoke up.

"Aw, little sis. Why the long face?" Ren asked Futaba, who spoke up uneasily.

"It's nothing much. Just, to be honest? Something's been on my mind. For a while now, actually. Soo, can we talk about it sometime? Whenever's good for you." Futaba said as Ren nodded, getting a smile from Futaba as she spoke up.

"Heh, thanks, big bro. See ya later." Futaba said as Ren hustled up to the attic as Morgana spoke up.

"Well then, that reminds me. The home shopping program is airing today, Ren. You wanna check it out on the TV? Also, I noticed that Futaba was behaving strangely earlier. I can't stop thinking about it, to be quite honest." Morgana said as Ren nodded before he spoke up.

"True, but I need to focus on maxing out the Confidants that aren't yet maxed out first. Maybe once that's done, we'll check back with her?" Ren said with a shrug as Morgana spoke up.

"Makes sense to me. And I vaguely recall Kusa saying he was going to go take a walk or something. Knowing him, he probably went to hang out with Futaba though." Morgana said as Ren chuckled and nodded his agreement before deciding to go hang out with Haru as he'd noticed she was available. Once he got to the school, he found Haru working by the school gate. As he approached the gate, Haru looked up and blinked on seeing Ren, making her speak up.

"Ren-kun? What seems to be the matter? Do you need something from the roof?" Haru asked as Ren nodded.

"Yeah, pretty much. Please take me there." Ren said as Haru nodded and spoke up.

"Very well. I'm authorized to use the back entrance to the school. Come on, we can go in from that way." Haru said as she and Ren headed up to the roof. At that point, Haru spoke up.

"Say, Ren-kun? All that's left is to wait for the day Maruki mentioned, right? We have to stop him. But until then, I suppose I'll take care of the plants here. What are your plans, Ren-kun?" Haru asked Ren. After having Haru plant a 'Moonlight Carrot' crop, Ren spoke up.

"Since I've got you here, what say we hang out today, Haru? After all, what better way to use our prep time than to build up our bond a bit more?" Ren said to Haru, who giggled and spoke up.

"Is that so? Hee hee! Why, thank you. And good timing, too. Truth be told, I managed to secure an appointment to meet up with Takakura-san. If it's not too much trouble, I'd like you to join us, little bro. Do you have time today?" Haru asked as Ren spoke up.

"Certainly. I have time for you, big sis. Let's do it." Ren said. Haru smiled and spoke up again.

"Thank you. I'm sure I'll be able to express myself if you're there with me, Ren-kun. Well, I'll contact Takakura-san now." Haru said as Ren nodded and the two headed over to Haru's apartment to meet up with Takakura...

(At Haru's apartment, with Ren, Haru, and Takakura)

"So, you'd like me to try this?" Takakura asked as Haru nodded and spoke up.

"Yes, please. I'd appreciate it if you tried it, even if it's only to sample a taste. This wasn't made with particularly expensive beans, nor was it brewed by any sort of coffee expert." Haru said as Takakura nodded and took a sip of the coffee before he spoke up.

"Hm, how interesting. This flavor is quite enjoyable, even if it's not particularly outstanding. Interesting, to be sure. But anyways, what is it you wanted to discuss with me? Does it concern the company?" Takakura asked as Haru spoke up.

"Yes. My apologies for bothering you at such a busy time." Haru said as Takakura spoke up.

"That's fine. It's not a problem." Takakura said as Haru nodded before speaking up.

"Um, I suppose I should start at the beginning. To start with, the truth is this. As much as I don't like admitting this, after my father's passing, I couldn't bring myself to trust anyone at Okumura Foods." Haru said as Takakura blinked at this and spoke up.

"Oh? I see, I see." Takakura said as Haru got an ashamed look on her face as she spoke up.

"I'm sorry to say it, but that includes you as well, Takakura-san." Haru said as Takakura frowned and spoke up.

"Truly? That's quite cruel of you to say." Takakura said as Haru spoke up.

"I'm aware of that. Please, take my apologies for offending you. Now then, um, what I wanted to discuss is, um, how do I put this?" Haru said as Ren spoke up.

"Don't forget to breathe, big sis. I believe in you." Ren said encouragingly to Haru, who giggled as she spoke up.

"Hee hee, you're right, Ren-kun. Right, I'll be okay. So, to start with, Takakura-san? What do you think of that coffee? I grew the beans in my own garden, and even handled the preparations." Haru said as Takakura looked up in surprise as he spoke up.

"What did you say?" Takakura said as Haru spoke up with a wince.

"Truth be told, I honestly don't believe it's a particularly good cup of coffee, as cups of coffee go. But even so, I put my heart into making it. That's why I asked you here today, Takakura-san." Haru said as Takakura blinked but took another sip as he spoke up.

"Hm, I see." Takakura said, an unreadable look on his face as Haru spoke up.

"Mind you, I'm not suggesting we need to put this level of effort into the Okumura Foods coffee chain. And I'm not suggesting we should put a halt to the plan either. But that does not mean, however, that I will let my company serve low-quality food to our customers." Haru said with a determined look on her face. What Takakura said next came as a surprise to Haru.

"You know, Okumura-san, this is very similar to the coffee your grandfather used to make." Takakura said as Haru's eyes widened slightly before she spoke up.

"Excuse me? What did you just say?" Haru asked as Takakura smiled and spoke up.

"You heard me. But truth be told, I used to be a regular at your grandfather's cafe. That's actually how I ended up joining the company to begin with. To be honest, I was strongly opposed to closing the cafe, even back then, but I didn't have the power to make that decision at the time. I was planning on naming the new chain after his shop to make up for that though. I'm going to create a business that is loved by customers and employees alike, just as his cafe was. A place where people can come to drink in the subtle joys of life." Takakura said as Haru blinked in surprise and spoke up.

"Is that right, Takakura-san? Is that so, then?" Haru said as Takakura nodded and spoke up.

"To tell you the truth, Haru-chan? I believe you have every right to distrust us. After all, things would have turned out differently if only someone had chosen to stand up to your father when he started making his more questionable decisions. Be that as it may, though, I can truly sense the passion you put into this coffee. It seems you really are like your grandfather." Takakura said as Haru sighed, giving Takakura a regretful look as she spoke up.

"I see. I'm sorry for being so rude to you before, Takakura-san." Haru said as Takakura smiled and spoke up.

"That's quite all right, Haru-chan. I must apologize as well, for encouraging you to abandon your shares. I thought they would be a burden to you that you weren't ready for, but I was clearly wrong. Haru-chan, if you'd like to, and if it's something you're interested in, why don't you take part in our next company meeting?" Takakura suggested as Haru blinked at that and spoke up.

"Me? You want me to take part?" Haru asked in surprise. Takakura nodded as he spoke up.

"Correct. The truth is, the rumors of my being pleased at your father's death were troubling, to say the least. I understand that not everyone agrees with the vision I have for this company, because that's more than fair. But I've spent great effort struggling against our board of directors to push Okumura Foods back on the right path. What I need is to communicate that thought as clearly as possible to the board. Just as you did with this coffee. Do you think you could assist me in accomplishing that? I want to rebuild this company from the ground up." Takakura said, surprising Haru, who spoke up.

"W-Well, I'm not sure how to respond to that. Um, your intent seems admirable enough?" Haru said as Ren spoke up.

"Give it all you've got, Haru. I have faith that you'll do great." Ren said honestly. Haru gave Ren a soft smile as she spoke up.

"Yes, you're right, little bro. O-Okay then!" Haru said as she turned to face Takakura, standing up as she kept speaking.

"Um, I would be glad to join you!" Haru said decisively as Takakura smiled and nodded approvingly.

"Excellent. Your grandfather would be proud of you, as would your father. By the way, the coffee was superb." Takakura said as Haru bowed politely and spoke up.

"You have my thanks! Thank you very much!" Haru said as Takakura winced and spoke up.

"Ah, and to be honest? It seems I made yet another misunderstanding." Takakura said as Haru blinked and gave Takakura a confused look as he kept speaking.

"Truth be told, I was under the impression that you were quite thrilled about the arrangement with Sugimura-kun, and that is why I was so insistent on hurrying the marriage. I wanted you to have all the support you needed going forward. But it appears as though you prefer the young man next to you instead.

And that's just as well, considering the fact that Sugimura-kun got into a lot of trouble recently after an article came out about him mistreating you and being abusive to animals. Apparently that angered a lot of our customers, and we were reluctantly forced to cut ties with both Sugimura-kun and his father for the sake of preserving the reputation of the company.

After all, we can't be seen affiliating with someone who abuses women and animals. And for what it's worth, you have my apologies for not seeing what you were going through until now. It seems I've let you down in a lot of ways, Haru-chan." Takakura said honestly, bowing politely to Haru, who gasped as she spoke up, not having a clue about the article about Sugimura.

"H-Huh!? Um, I have no idea where you got that idea, but Ren and I see each other as brother and sister. Besides, Ren's already dating a very talented up-and-coming gymnast who he's quite committed to. Truth be told, I wouldn't be too surprised to find out that he ends up making her his wife at some point a ways down the line." Haru said as Ren blinked at Haru's comment about him and Sumire, only just hiding a blush at the idea of Sumire being his wife at some point, as even though he'd joked about it to Yusuke and Ryuji before, he wasn't sure if he was even ready to consider such things as marriage. Ren's focus was drawn back to Takakura as he spoke up.

"Be honest, Haru-chan. What are your thoughts on Sugimura-kun?" Takakura asked as Haru frowned and spoke up.

"Honestly? I think he's an intelligent man, and a decent conversationalist at times, but truth be told? I have no interest in him romantically. I have no interest in being his wife either. I would much prefer to walk my own path. One in which the only person in control of my actions, is none other than me. Not my father, and not Sugimura-san." Haru said firmly as Takakura nodded before giving Haru a proud smile as he spoke up.

"Ah, I understand. You've grown so quickly, Haru-chan. I didn't realize you became such a strong, kind, mature woman. Once again, my apologies for not coming to see that sooner." Takakura said as Haru frowned and spoke up.

"But, if we do break off ties with Sugimura, what about the contract Sugimura-san made with my father before he died? He said the reparations will be immense if I refuse the marriage for any reason." Haru said as Takakura spoke up.

"Contract? I haven't heard a thing about this contract? Have you seen the document? Also, even if there was one, him abusing you the way he has is grounds enough to terminate the contract, since I'm quite sure there's a 'no-domestic violence' clause in it somewhere. Furthermore, I'm quite sure his abusing animals also violates the contract on his end. So I don't think you have to fear any reparations." Takakura said as Haru blinked and spoke up.

"Excuse me? Huh, you've not heard a thing about it? Well, now that you mention it Takakura-san, no. No, I haven't seen it." Haru said as Takakura spoke up.

"I see. And neither your father nor our lawyers mentioned it to me. It seems he was lying about that, and may have had the help of particular people within the company. You see, those who don't agree with my vision brought him into meetings with the hope that he would eventually take over. However, even if this scandal hadn't broken out, we really don't need a politician in our midst, particularly considering the humble roots of our corporation. As for the marriage cancellation, I'll handle it personally. It may take some time, but it will be done, Haru-chan. I promise you that, on my honor." Takakura said as Haru smiled and bowed once more before speaking up.

"Thank you, Takakura-san! You have my thanks!" Haru said as Takakura nodded before enjoying the rest of his coffee and heading home. After he left, it was just Ren and Haru alone, at which point Haru spoke up while looking at Ren.

"Ren-kun, today was a huge success. I was able to tell Takakura-san how I felt, and he actually understood. Not only about the company, but about Sugimura-san as well. I was so afraid that it was going to go badly. But now that it's over, I think it was honestly pretty simple. I only made it to this point because you were with me, though, little bro. So thank you, Ren-kun." Haru said as Ren spoke up with a smile.

"You're quite welcome, big sis. You did amazing." Ren said kindly. Haru smiled at Ren as she spoke up.

"Thanks, but you did well too, you know? Hee hee. Honestly, I'm not sure when an article surfaced about what Sugimura-san did, not only to me, but to Mona-chan, but I'm just as glad for it, since it seems to have helped make it easier to free myself of him. Anyway, um, to be honest? I only started trusting people again because you were by my side helping me. So, I want to return the favor. Please confide in me if you ever need help. I'll be there for you." Haru said as Ren nodded, feeling in that moment as if he could sense a strong bond of trust from Haru.

At that point, the 'Empress' card appeared in his mind's eye, the 'VIII' on it turning into an 'IX' to signify that his Empress Confidant Link with Haru had reached Rank 9. As a result of the rank-up, Haru had awakened to the power of 'Protect', enabling her to shield Ren/Joker from an otherwise fatal attack. At that point, Haru kept speaking.

"Oh, that reminds me! Takakura-san said something that was a little bit strange, didn't he? Th-Th-That I, well, that I like you, Ren-kun. Goodness, why would he say that to us?" Haru asked as Ren winced, knowing he needed to choose his words carefully at this point. Haru then kept speaking.

"Why do you think he said that, Ren-kun?" Haru asked as Ren spoke up.

"No doubt he mistook us for a couple. But truthfully, he saw us as good friends. I think he just added the remark about you preferring me to tease you a bit. Besides, you know full well I see you as an older sister anyways. I'm sorry if you have genuine romantic feelings for me, big sis. But you yourself told Takakura that I'm quite committed to Sumire.

And that's the truth. To be quite honest, I think Sumire's the one I want to be with long-term. Of course, I'm letting her have space for now to sort out her feelings after all that crap Maruki put her through, but I trust her to get through it in a timely manner." Ren said to Haru, who sighed but nodded as she spoke up.

"Oh, r-right. I see. O-Oh, okay. I get it, little bro. You're not only wise for your age, but you're probably right. Honestly, I think I just love you like a brother anyways. I mean, that's all we are in the end anyways, so that's probably going to be for the best." Haru said before sighing as she spoke up.

"A-Anyway, um, if you don't mind, I should go study now, Ren-kun. I have entrance exams coming up, after all. So I don't really have time to be sitting around here and chatting idly. But, um, Ren-kun? Thank you for today. You were a big help!" Haru said as Ren nodded and got up to go home after Haru disappeared into her room. At that point, he took the train back to Leblanc, where the phone rang as he got to the door, making Ren answer it.

"Hello? Ren Amamiya's phone, Ren speaking." Ren said before smiling as he heard Haru's voice on the other end.

"Hi, Ren. Sorry for the sudden call. There's something I really wanted to tell you though. After we met, Takakura-san told me my grandfather's blend recipe. I'm brewing some in my room right now, and it smells amazing, to be quite honest. If only you could smell it too." Haru said as Ren spoke up.

"Heh, you sound so happy, big sis. That alone tells me I'd enjoy it a great deal." Ren said kindly. Haru nodded and smiled as she spoke up.

"Yes! And it's all thanks to you. I'd never have found the courage to do any of this if I was alone. Frankly, I'd have just given up without trying at all, and never find out out how Takakura-san was feeling about any of this. So, if it's not too much, I hope you'll indulge a small gift, for fighting at my side through it all. Okay, good night." Haru said as Ren chuckled and hung up the phone before heading into Leblanc. As soon as he walked in, Ren's phone rang and he answered it.

"Hello? Ren Amamiya's phone. Ren speaking." Ren said, before blinking as he recognized Lavenza's voice on the other end.

"I apologize for the sudden call, but there is an emergency that must be addressed. I wish to check something, so I must ask for some of your time. I will be waiting in front of the door as always." Lavenza said as Ren hung up the phone and Morgana spoke up.

"Hey, hey! I see you've got some sooty armor, Ren. How about you wash that over at the laundromat? I think the second hand clothes store in Kichijoji will take them too, but we'd better do something with them." Morgana said as Ren shrugged and looked over his options. After looking his options over, and commissioning Kawakami to run a load of sooty gear for him, Ren opted to go hang out with Iwai. Once he got to the shop, Iwai looked at him and chuckled as he spoke up.

"Hah! Just who I wanted to see. Listen, somethin' crazy happened." Iwai said as Ren spoke up with a smirk.

"Oh? What's up?" Ren asked Iwai, who spoke up with a smirk.

"I got a call from Tsuda; I wanna tell you the details. You got some time?" Iwai asked as Ren spoke up.

"For you? Definitely. Let's hear those details, Iwai-san." Ren said politely. Iwai nodded and spoke up.

"Good call. Come to the back." Iwai said as Ren nodded and followed Iwai to the back of the shop. Once there, Iwai spoke up.

"Actually, that could work. Hey, you're exactly the person I was hopin' to talk to. Tsuda rang me up a while back. Told me to forget everythin' he was threatenin' me with. I honestly thought it was some kinda joke at first, but I ain't seen or heard from him since. Y'know, it almost felt like i was talkin' to the old Tsuda somehow. My sworn brother from back in the day. Hey, you think a guy can really go through a drastic change that quick?" Iwai asked Ren, who shrugged and spoke up.

"I dunno. He could have, but it's hard to say offhand." Ren said after a moment. Iwai chuckled and spoke up.

"Heh, what kinda answer is that? Mind, I ain't one to talk, but you should prolly think about takin' this a little more seriously, kid. Anyways, somethin' fishy is still goin' down for sure, but Tsuda changin' is a real load off my shoulders. Oh, and this prolly means our deal's through with, huh? I mean, your end of the bargain was drivin' Tsuda away, and to be honest?

Not only did you keep your end, but you went and did that and then some. One more thing, kid. I know I kinda fired you n' all, but d'you think you'd maybe wanna keep workin' here with me? I understand kids these days have sortsa commitments, so I get it if the answer's gotta be no, but at least think about it?" Iwai said as Ren pondered the question before speaking up.

"I mean, I guess I could consider it. Besides, my nights aren't nearly as packed as my days, so I'm likelier to have free time then. So I suppose I could consider staying on." Ren said in a non-commital tone. Iwai chuckled and spoke up.

"Heh, don't gimme that attitude. I know you wanna come back. Don't go expectin' me to make the job any easier for you though, y'hear? That said, I'll be countin' on you, kid. I mean, uh, I'm countin' on you, Ren." Iwai said as Ren nodded, getting a sense that his bond with Iwai was growing still deeper. At that point, the 'Hanged-Man' card appeared in his mind's eye, the 'VII' on the card changing to a 'VIII' to signify that his Hanged-Man Confidant link with Iwai had reached Rank 8, though no new skills were gained for the rank-up. Afterwards, Iwai spoke up.

"Good. All right, first order of business is takin' out the trash. C'mon, we gotta get rid of these prototypes. Disassemble 'em and wipe the prints off before we toss 'em though, okay? Oh, and I'm not lettin' you leave 'til they're done." Iwai said as Ren sweatdropped but nodded, doing the job without complaint, feeling as he did so that helping Iwai with his work has honed his Proficiency, netting him a modest, yet unneeded, boost to his Proficiency. After the job was done, Ren went to leave, only for Iwai to speak up.

"Oh, you headin' home? Well, see ya. Hey, you did some nice work today." Iwai said as Ren headed back to Leblanc, where the phone rang as he got to the door, prompting him to pause as he answered it.

"Hello? Ren Amamiya's phone, Ren speaking." Ren said as he heard Iwai chuckle on the other end before speaking up.

"Hey. What's goin' on? Also, about Tsuda? Let's keep an eye on him for a while. It seemed like he was on the level, but still, we can't be too careful." Iwai said as Ren spoke up with a nod.

"Understood. I can understand to wanting to be cautious in handling things. That's often how I handle my business as well." Ren said wisely. Iwai chuckled and spoke up.

"Good. Glad to see you've got a solid head on those shoulders. If anything bad happened, it'd already be too late. So, I'm just gonna hang back and run the store for a while. Safer that way. And that means that I'm gonna teach you all you gotta know about the business. Hope you're ready for it." Iwai said as Ren smiled and spoke up.

"Oh, I'm ready all right. You do recall the part where I mentioned that I used to collect guns, right? So I'm definitely up for learning about the business." Ren said agreeably as Iwai chuckled and spoke up.

"Good answer. Okay, then. I'm countin' on you, Ren." Iwai said as Ren hung up the phone and headed inside, where Kawakami was waiting with his finished laundry. Kawakami did a curtsy as she spoke up.

"Hiii! Thank you for waitinggg! Here you go, Master!" Kawakami said as Ren accepted his finished load of clothes, deciding to inspect them later. Kawakami then spoke up.

"All right, now that that's done, I'll see you later." Kawakami said as she left, leaving Ren and Morgana alone. Morgana then spoke up.

"Let's get to bed, Ren. I'd have laid with Kusa, but the chief took him back to the house so he could recover on the hide-a-bed there. But from what I heard, the chief doesn't expect it to take longer than a few days, with most of that time being Kusa getting his schoolwork and such caught up." Morgana said as Ren nodded and went upstairs with the not-cat to get comfortable for the night as the two laid down and went to sleep...

(The next morning, while waiting for the train to school, with Ren and Morgana)

Ren and Morgana were waiting for their train to school when they heard Ren's name called, turning to see Yusuke walking over as he spoke up.

"Ah, Ren. Good morning. Cold as always, isn't it, bro?" Yusuke asked. Ren nodded as he turned to face Yusuke while Yusuke kept speaking.

"But that's part of winter's charm, I suppose. The air is so pure and crisp in the winter. There's a strange sort of clarity to it all. As if everything's suddenly brought into sharper focus, both within as well as beyond ourselves." Yusuke said as Ren blinked and spoke up.

"That's rather profound, Yusuke. But are you okay? I doubt you stopped me just to wax poetic about the charms of winter." Ren said to Yusuke, who shook his head and spoke up.

"I wonder that myself. I'm not sure, to be honest. That said, there's no pressure, but can I see you again later? Just, I dunno, whenever you have time?" Yusuke asked as Ren nodded and Yusuke spoke up.

"Thanks. I'm in your debt! I'll see you later." Yusuke said as Ren nodded and got the train to school at that point...

(After school, in class with Ren and Morgana)

"Correct me if I'm wrong Ren, but didn't Yusuke look like he had something to say this morning? Let's go talk to him." Morgana said as Ren shook his head.

"Not yet. I'm pretty sure I know what he wants, and I have other Confidants to max out still. I'm going to try and focus on those first and foremost. Once that's done, I'll see what I can do about hearing the others out." Ren said as Morgana nodded his understanding. Ren then looked over the map to see who was around to hang out with. After a quick glance, he figured out that he could either rank up Takemi, Shinya, or Sumire. As much as Ren was tempted to rank up Takemi since he'd not done so in quite some time, he also hadn't gotten to rank up Sumire in quite a while either. Considering his options, he decided to go rank up Sumire.

After a quick pit stop in the Velvet Room to do his daily Persona management shenanigans, Ren headed to the promenade of Kichijoji, where he found Sumire examining some merchandise. Smirking at the easy opportunity presented to him, Ren walked over and spoke up, only slightly feeling bad for how visibly he made Sumire jump by speaking up.

"Hey there, beautiful. Nice to see some things don't change, yeah? But in all seriousness, how are you?" Ren asked Sumire, who turned around and spoke up.

"Oh, hi there, Ren-senpai. I'm okay. But to be honest? Now we're just waiting for Maruki to show up so we can send the calling card. And I feel so anxious about it. It's like waiting for a competition to begin, or something to that effect. Regardless, I know that we have to stop Maruki! I promise to give it everything I've got! That said, Senpai, can I be honest? I, um, how do I put this? I suppose the best way to put it is like this. I want to talk to you about something. Do you have time?" Sumire asked Ren, who smiled and spoke up.

"I've always got time for you, Sumire. So if you need to talk, by all means we can do that." Ren said kindly. Sumire shyly smiled at Ren's response and spoke up.

"Really? Th-Thank you! Um, but can we go elsewhere? It's a bit difficult to talk about it here, to be honest." Sumire said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Of course. We can go wherever you like to talk, within reason. So lead on." Ren said kindly to Sumire, who nodded and led him over to the roof of Shujin Academy, where they could be alone. Once there, Sumire spoke up.

"Um, Ren-senpai? How do I put this?" Sumire said before bowing as she kept speaking.

"I suppose to start off, I am so, so sorry!" Sumire said as Ren blinked and spoke up.

"Hm? You're sorry? You know you don't need to apologize to me, right Sumi?" Ren asked Sumire who blinked but spoke up.

"Oh, um, right. But I wanted to apologize anyways. After all, I'm sure seeing me trying to act like Kasumi must have been so painful and awkward for everyone to witness. Also, everyone must have noticed that I was acting strangely that entire time. They were probably being nice to me, knowing I'd just lost my sister and all. But even then, despite that, I had no idea I was even supposed to be sad.

I didn't remember that my sister was gone. When my coach told me t 'think about who I really am' before, I thought it was just her being figurative. Something about my slump. I was just living my life, acting like I didn't even care that she was gone! I can't take this shame, Senpai!" Sumire said as Ren sighed before sadly smiling at Sumire as he spoke up.

"At least you realize it now, Sumi. But in all seriousness, it isn't all your fault. Sure, a small bit of it is on you for trying to run away from your pain, but the lion's share of the blame lies on Maruki's shoulders, and to a lesser extent the shoulders of not just your parents, but myself as well. The truth is, your parents and I knew about you acting like you were Kasumi since Christmas Eve, or at least that's when I found out about it. I'm figuring that your parents likely have known about it for a lot longer than that. But we chose to play along because we figured it was your way of coping with the pain.

Yet, instead of confronting you about it as I probably should have done, I chose to not say anything and let you suffer. And for that, I am truly sorry. That said, you can't blame yourself for Maruki basically violating your mind to convince you that you were your dead sister. That was absolutely not okay of him, nor was it at all professional. I'll admit I'm still trying to reconcile my anger at him for that, since I take your well-being and happiness quite seriously. So seeing that he did that to you pissed me off. So, I am truly sorry for not being a better friend to you, Sumire." Ren said honestly. Sumire blinked at Ren's admission before smiling sadly as she spoke up.

"Yes, you're right, Ren. I'm sorry for yelling at you before when you were trying to help me see the truth. That said, I realize that I have to reflect on everything I've done wrong. Truth be told, ever since we were kids, Kasumi was always the one who decided what I did, what I chose, where I went, and so on. I couldn't do anything without her, it seemed like. I suppose it's clear why my grades weren't going up much. I was never on Kasumi's level to begin with. I was so pretentious, so wrapped up in my own stupid little problems, acting as if nothing was wrong. Plainly put, I was too self-absorbed to do anything!" Sumire said as Ren spoke up.

"Don't beat yourself up, Sumi. You were coping with a bad situation in what you thought was the best way. We all make mistakes. But the question now becomes, what'll you do now?" Ren asked Sumire, who blinked at the question before speaking up, even as she smiled at Ren using his familiar nickname for her.

"Um, that's a good question. But can I talk to you? I'm starting to remember things from our past now. It's hard, but I'm trying. There's a lot, though. It covers everything, starting form when Kasumi and I first got into gymnastics up until just recently. I want to talk about how it used to be for Kasumi and me. Would you listen?" Sumire asked as Ren smiled and nodded before speaking up.

"Of course I'll listen, Sumi. You do recall that I told you before I want to be here for you in any way I can, right? So if you need an ear to vent into, consider me that ear." Ren said kindly as Sumire smiled and spoke up.

"Thank you. Well, to start with, Kasumi started gymnastics really early. And I was even younger, so I copied her in almost everything. I went to the class too. I was too little to really understand the sport or the rules, however. But everyone praised me when I did well. The coach would get me little rewards, like ice cream cones. We did our best trying to learn the moves and routines, since it kept getting us ice cream." Sumire said as Ren chuckled and spoke up.

"Heh, sounds like you two were close, then. Granted, I realize this is going to be painful for you, so don't feel bad if you have to stop and vent some pain now and again." Ren said kindly to Sumire, who smiled happily and spoke up.

"Yes, we were quite close. We were together every day. We ate our favorite ice cream together, we talked, we laughed, we shared our triumphs and hardships together. Those days were so fun. And one day, around when we started going ot junior meets, Kasumi asked me something. She said, 'If we can be number one in the world, does that mean we'd get all the ice cream we could eat?' And she said it all with a straight face, of course. She could be really funny sometimes. Hee hee! So obviously, I told her, 'Kasumi, you're a super genius!'." Sumire said as Ren spoke up with a nod.

"I see. For something that someone that young came up with, I have to say, it's rather clever. Or more simply put, that IS genius. Not to say that you're not also a genius, Sumire. Because you totally are." Ren said understandingly. Sumire smiled and spoke up.

"That's okay, Ren. I know what you meant. But thank you for the reassurance. That said, she really was a genius, though. Everything came so easily to her. And every day, she only got better. You remember what my coach said, Ren-senpai? That my, er, well, that Kasumi's greatest weapon was her boldness? Well, it's true. Kasumi was always so bold. She was like a beacon of confidence. So, I kept trying to get on her level. And I felt I was making a lot of progress on that front too.

However, I should've realized it wouldn't last. And one day, I realized I'd never catch up. It didn't matter how hard I tried. I'd have consolation prizes for the rest of my life. Kasumi was always the one up on the podium. But despite that, even when she won her ice cream, she never ate it without me. I always told her not to worry about me, but she still said she'd wait until we could enjoy it together. She really believed in me. She said we'd be the best in the world someday. She had her own practices to do, but she was always so busy helping me get better. She spent hours trying to help me." Sumire said as Ren spoke up with a soft smile.

"Far be it from me to comment when I never really got to know your sister, but from what you've told me, it sounds like she really cared about you. So never doubt that she likely loved you a great deal, Sumi." Ren said kindly to Sumire. Sumire nodded but frowned slightly as she spoke up.

"You're not wrong, Senpai. She was so kind and strong to most everyone she met. She was the perfect older sister. Or so I thought. I miss her so much, though. Kasumi's kindness was so inspiring, and so admirable. Yet at the same time, it was also somehow infuriating." Sumire said as Ren smiled and spoke up.

"Heh, I can imagine it would be hard to deal with. Sometimes our siblings have a way of meaning well but rubbing us the wrong way with the things we do. Take it from someone who has experience living with a sibling they're close to, Sumi. Not every day is going to be an enjoyable one. There will be days when you want to scream in frustration and punch something. But you have to learn to take the bad with the good, I think." Ren said sympathetically. Sumire nodded and spoke up.

"That's quite true, Ren. That said, she was always the one on the podium, surrounded by flashing cameras. But all I could do was watch from the shadows. I'm not Kasumi, nor will I probably ever be. I accept that, while realizing that wanting to be her is unrealistic, and that no matter what I do, I'll never be like her! If she'd just given up on me, it wouldn't have hurt so much! At least then people would stop trying to compare us!" Sumire said angrily as Ren smiled and spoke up.

"It must have been hard to tolerate that day after day. But what I don't think you realize is that Kasumi likely didn't want to give up on you. And if that's the case, I can't say that I blame her. You might not be a perfect person Sumire, but damn it, you're still an amazing woman! And even if it's a bit of work at times to be there for you, it's usually worth it to see that beautiful smile of yours when you're happy. As to you wanting to be like your sister, that's not a bad thing.

But you have to realize, even if it's not in the same things as her, you're just as good as she is, if not better! So you need to learn to let those feelings of inferiority go, Sumi. Also, I can see how you feel about all this, but have you ever stopped to consider how Kasumi felt about all this? After all, what's to say she wasn't thinking the same things you are, but with the change that she was trying to be an example for you?" Ren asked Sumire, who blinked before smiling as she spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Senpai. You're right, of course. I suppose I was just selfish, in the end, but I can't help how I feel. And the thought kept coming back. Every day, my mind went back to it. Everyone would be better off if I didn't exist. Either that, or I should just be Kasumi. She's the one people really want. Sumire's the one who's useless. Pointless. Who would care if she died? However, in a stroke of irony, rather than it being me, it wasn't me that died. I believed it should be me, but my sister died instead." Sumire said before starting to sniffle a bit as she kept speaking.

"Ugh! Why did she have to protect an idiot like me, Ren? I was helpless, and I watched her-" Sumire said as Ren looked at Sumire and spoke up with a slight frown.

"First of all, you are NOT an idiot, Sumire! That said, I know it hurts, but I believe she did that because she loved you so much she was willing to risk it all for you, which in the end was exactly what she did. But never believe that you were an idiot. That's one thing that you are not. As for your previous claim that everyone would be better off if you didn't exist, I call huge bullshit on that!

For starters, your parents would be devastated if you had never existed, since that would mean they wouldn't have any living children right now, and because even if you don't think so, they love you a great deal. Furthermore, I can say for a fact that myself and the rest of our group would've been much worse off if we'd not met you, if only because you've been such a vital part of our success to this point.

And more to the point, I myself would probably not be the same person I am today if I'd never met you. I know you don't realize this, Sumi, but you're a special person. I can only hope that in time, you'll realize just how wonderful you truly are. But getting back on topic, so what happens now?" Ren asked Sumire, who gasped at Ren's selfless words before speaking up in shock.

"Ren-senpai, is that true? I had no idea you felt so strongly about me. Regardless, I can't stop here. Now, I want to keep doing gymnastics as Sumire. I want to hit those heights Kasumi was aiming for. Otherwise, I feel like I'd never be able to face her. Please, listen to me! Will you keep going out with me now that i'm Sumire? I want you to hold me to this. To make sure I don't run away from who I am again." Sumire said as Ren smiled at her and nodded as he spoke up.

"I will. I'm going to make you a promise right here and now, Sumire. I will not let you run away from yourself again. Even if it takes a long time, you will hit those heights you aim for. And I will do all that I can to help you achieve that goal. I know that we can do it if we work together. And I intend to be by your side every step of the way." Ren said confidently. Sumire blinked at this and spoke up in shock.

"R-Really? Thank you so much, Ren. That's quite reassuring. Eheh, but now you must think I'm pretty lame after hearing all of this. But when it's all said and done, I guess that's Sumire. That's who I am. But I know that I have to be stronger. Both in my heart, and with my gymnastic skills as well." Sumire said before bowing humbly as she spoke up.

"Maybe we can start working on it some other time. But for now, let me reintroduce myself. I am Sumire Yoshizawa. And it's nice to meet you, again." Sumire said as Ren smirked and spoke up after Sumire straightened up.

"Very well, I'll play along. I am Ren Amamiya. And it's nice to meet you again as well, Sumire Yoshizawa." Ren said kindly, smiling at Sumire as he started to sense a deepened bond of trust from Sumire, knowing that this was a needed step for him and Sumire to take in order to strengthen their relationship.

At that point, the 'Faith' card appeared for the first time since being re-unlocked in Maruki's Palace, the 'V' on the card turning into a 'VI' to signify that his Faith Confidant link with Sumire had finally reached Rank 6. And as a result of the rank up, Sumire had awoken to not one, but TWO new abilities.

Firstly, she got the power of 'Follow Up', making it so that now every Phantom Thief aside from Joker and Oracle have the chance to perform a follow-up attack if Joker's attack failed to down an enemy. Secondly, Sumire awoke to the power of 'Fitness Talk', making it so that if negotiations with any sort of Shadow failed with Sumire in the front lines, Joker could re-attempt that negotiation. Afterwards, Sumire smiled at Ren and spoke up.

"Whew, that's a relief. I feel so much better with all of that off my chest, Senpai. I think this really helped me. Now I can focus on turning over a new leaf, and doing my best. Shall we go? Let's get some practice in until I have to go to club." Sumire said while giving Ren a very beautiful closed-eye smile as she kept speaking.

"That said, We'll be training even harder than before, Senpai. I'll be extra strict from now on." Sumire said as Ren gave a mock-shudder, even though in actuality he was quite excited to train with Sumire, since it meant more one on one time with her. Ren then endured a harsh training session with Sumire, but as a result, he felt as if his stamina had improved, netting him a boost to his Max HP as a result. Afterwards, Ren headed back to Leblanc, where his phone rang as he got to the door, and he answered it.

"Ren Amamiya's phone. Ren speaking." Ren said before smiling as he heard Sumire giggle cutely on the other end while she spoke up.

"Are you always such a dork when you answer the phone, Ren? Also, um, it's Sumire. Hello. I'd like to thank you for what happened earlier today. And I'm sorry you had to see such a pathetic side of me before. As soon as I acknowledged myself as Sumire, my gymnastics training started to fall apart, too. However, I suppose I should have expected it. I might not like it, but this is the real me, I guess." Sumire said as Ren spoke up.

"I'm sorry to hear your training started to fall apart. But as to that being the real you? I know you might not like it, but you're gonna have to learn to face it eventually. After all, you'll never be able to better yourself until you can face your shortcomings head-on and make peace with them. That said, I meant what I said before about being by your side every step of the way.

So don't be shy about coming to me if you need to be picked back up again. I'll do that as many times as I have to until you start to not only get better with your gymnastics, but you can start to eventually love yourself as those closest to you love you." Ren said honestly. Sumire blinked at the response, but smiled as she spoke up.

"Ren? You're right. And yes, I'm done turning my eyes from it. I need to move forward, even without Kasumi. It doesn't matter how painful it is for me, I'll accept everything. To start, I'll think about where Kasumi got her strength from. And what I can do as Sumire to try and make some of that strength my own. Furthermore, I'll calm down, and think all of this through. Thank you for listening to that, Ren. Okay, I'll talk to you again soon. Bye." Sumire sent as Ren hung up his phone and headed into Leblanc, at which point Sojiro spoke up.

"Yo, you're home. Oh, welcome back. You had a busy end of the year, didn't you? Make sure to treat your friends well. Also, don't worry about Kusa. I've got him over at the house sleeping the hide-a-bed while he gets caught up on everything he missed. I'm just as glad that he's back. I think we can both agree that things weren't the same without him around. I think even Morgana and Futaba are happy to have him back where he belongs." Sojiro said wisely before blinking as he kept speaking.

"Yo, that reminds me. Another box came for you." Sojiro said as Ren saw the box, at which point Morgana spoke up from in Ren's bag.

"Hey. What did you get?" Morgana asked as Ren spoke up after opening the box and claiming the 'Pick-Me-Up Tie', 'Physical Ointment', and 'Magic Ointment' from inside.

"Pretty sure this is the stuff I ordered off the home-shopping program yesterday. Wow, that's some fast shipping." Ren said as Morgana nodded.

"Agreed. But, uh, it looks like you got more deliveries." Morgana said as Ren found another box and opened it.

"Ah, right. I forgot I placed an order with Shady Cosmetics as well. That got here too." Ren said after realizing what was in the other box. Morgana spoke up.

"Oh, yeah, that's right. You bought stuff from Shady Commodities." Morgana said as Ren nodded. After a bit, Ren had a seat at one of the booth seats to ponder his next course of action, knowing that he was in for a long wait until the Day of Fates arrived...

END OF CHAPTER

A/N: And boom, another chapter done and dusted! And I got a good bit squeezed into it as well! Not only did I get all the way to securing the route for Maruki's Treasure, but I even fit in the hopefully much-anticipated return of Kusa to the story, along with both his true awakening AND his Tier 3 Persona being unlocked.

To anyone curious about why I chose what I did for the Tier 3 Persona, not only was it a good bit of wordplay considering the fact that the group had to overcome a massive suit of battle armor called the Malefactor, but also the fact he had to free his Tier 1 Persona from being used by Maruki to try and destroy the group, causing both himself and Smaug to awaken to their true powers in the process.

As for why Malefor? Well, it seemed like a good name for a chaotic dragon. Also, it makes for a nice nod to the Legend of Spyro trilogy, where the big bad of that trilogy is also called Malefor, though most just call him 'The Master' if I recall right in that trilogy. I've never actually played through it myself, other than parts of the first two games. But yeah, hopefully no one's offended by that choice.

Also, I managed to slip in a couple of Confidant rank-ups near the end of the chapter (Haru, Iwai, and Sumire), so that's something too, I suppose. That said, now we're in the waiting phase of the arc, so the next 2 to 3, maybe 4, chapters will be mainly filler with a bit of side-plot mixed in and potentially at least a small amount of original content as well. So there's that to look forward to.

Thanks as always to those who have reviewed the story, and those who have followed and/or favorited it, as your support is most appreciated! Feel free to keep supporting the story any way you can, whether it be through reviews, PMs, or just following/favoriting the story. I appreciate hearing from my readers regardless. Until next chapter, sithlorde1988 out!

NOTES

*1* - Heh, I'll admit I could've probably done this whole sequence of events a bit better, but hopefully I did this scene enough justice. Also, kudos to anyone who finds the Three Houses reference in this bit.

*2* - Draconic Flare is probably one of Malefor's strongest attacks. Similar to the 'Megi-Flare' that Guams used against the party while they fought Sinocard and Guams, Draconic Flare is a rare instance of Colossal-tier damage, in this case Colossal-tier Almighty damage. The literal description for the move goes as thus: 'Colossal Almighty damage to all foes with a low chance of Burn. Powers up after a Baton Pass.' To keep it from being too broken, this move, even with Spell Master in play, has a steep SP cost of 50 SP (100 SP without Spell Master applied), so it's a powerful move that costs a lot of SP.

As for 'Chaos Aura', it is also one of Malefor's best skills, hence being locked behind his evolution. The description for it reads as thus: 'Boosts Attack/Defense/Accuracy/Evasion/Critical rate for all allies for 3 turns, with a low chance of also giving the effects of Charge and Concentrate.' However, like 'Draconic Flare', 'Chaos Aura' has a steep SP cost of 80 SP (or 40 SP if you have Spell Master on Malefor), so it's a good buffing move, but comes with a significant cost.

*3* - Not gonna lie, almost forgot why I put this note. But I remembered that it was likely to comment on Crow's inclusion in this Palace. And before I get a lot of comments on how Crow's basically been the same as he is in Canon Royal thus far in the third semester for the most part, there's a reason for that that will be explained either later in this arc or during the final arc. But until then, just know that it's part of a side-plot involving Crow and Draconis. However, that's all I can say on that for now. Also, I have a plan for Crow and Noir, though it might not really take off until I get to the Strikers adaptation/sequel to this story.

CONFIDANT RANKS AS OF THE END OF CHAPTER 90

FOOL (Prison Master/Yaldabaoth) - Rank MAX (10)

MAGICIAN (Morgana/Mona) - Rank MAX (11)

PRIESTESS (Makoto/Queen) - Rank 9

EMPRESS (Haru/Noir) - Rank 9

EMPEROR (Yusuke/Fox) - Rank MAX (10)

HIEROPHANT (Sojiro/Boss/Coffee Daddy) - Rank MAX (10)

LOVERS (Ann/Panther) - Rank MAX (10)

CHARIOT (Ryuji/Skull) - Rank MAX (10)

JUSTICE (Akechi/Crow/Black Mask) - Rank MAX (10)

HERMIT (Futaba/Oracle) - Rank MAX (10)

FORTUNE (Chihaya/Fortune Teller) - Rank MAX (10)

STRENGTH (Lavenza) - Rank MAX (10)

HANGED-MAN (Iwai/Weapons Dealer) - Rank 8

DEATH (Takemi/Back-Alley Doctor) - Rank 8

TEMPERANCE (Kawakami/Becky) - Rank 8.5

DEVIL (Ohya) - Rank 6

TOWER (Shinya/Skilled Gamer/The King) - Rank 4

STAR (Hifumi) - Rank MAX (10)

MOON (Mishima) - Rank MAX (10)

SUN (Yoshida/Man Of The People) - Rank MAX (10)

JUDGEMENT (Sae/Prosecutor) - Rank MAX (10)

FAITH (Sumire/Sumi/Violet) - Rank 6

COUNCILLOR (Maruki/Doc) - Rank MAX (10)

WORLD (Kusa/Draconis) - Rank MAX (10)

MAXED OUT LINKS: FOOL, MAGICIAN, EMPEROR, HIEROPHANT, LOVERS, CHARIOT, JUSTICE, HERMIT, STRENGTH, STAR, MOON, SUN, JUDGEMENT, COUNCILLOR, WORLD

LINKS YET TO BE MAXED OUT: PRIESTESS, EMPRESS, FORTUNE, HANGED-MAN, DEATH, TEMPERANCE, DEVIL, TOWER, FAITH