Heart of Justice Chapter 10
The swirling, reddish-pink sky once more churned above the small group like an otherworldly maelstrom, bathing Kamoshida's castle in its unnatural light, its front gates still locked shut. Once more, Kyoko noted that she and Ryuji were in their thief costumes, and Morgana was once more a cartoonishly-proportioned anthropomorphic version of a feline. And speaking of felines...
"Daaaaamn!" Ryuji crooned, looking Ann over as she now was donning the skin-tight, cherry-red leather suit again, with its hot pink gloves and thigh-high boots, the upper part of her face now concealed by the red cat mask.
"Hm, what's up?" Ann asked, turning around.
"Nothing! Just... we were thinking we gotta come up with a codename for you!" the blond boy pointed out.
"Well, considering the costume," Morgana mused.
"She does have the tail and the mask and all," Ryuji remarked.
"Hold the phone, what's all this about codenames?" Ann asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
"In a Palace, we refer to one-another by codenames," Kyoko explained, folding her arms. "...Using our real names out loud can affect Kamoshida's cognition and make him grow more suspicious of us, and cause more problems in the real world."
"I see," Ann replied, looking down at herself but then putting her hand to her chin in thought. "In that case, how about "Panther"?"
"Panther?" Ryuji asked.
"Yeah, it's ferocious and... it sounds cool?" Ann asked, a big smile on her face.
"Like a cougar?" Morgana asked eagerly.
Ann's expression fell quickly. "I'll only tell you one time to never call me that again," she replied in an icy tone.
"What's wrong with a cougar?" Morgana asked innocently. "Isn't that also a big ferocious cat with a cool name?"
"Heh, it has other meanings, Mona-Mona. I'm surprised you wouldn't know, being a cat yourself and all," Ryuji said as he struggled to contain his laughter.
A growl intended to sound angry but came off as adorable came out of the catlike creature. "I am NOT a cat!" he protested.
"At any rate," Kyoko began, looking over at Ann. "I'm called "Ace". Ryuji is called "Skull", and Morgana is "Mona"."
"Got it!" Ann said, smirking. "Let's just go with Panther, alright? I like it, so that's what I'm choosing." the blonde looked back at the castle entrance. "I'm ready when you are. Let's go bring down that bastard."
"Right! Let's do this!" Ryuji cheered.
"It's game time from this point forward, everyone!" Morgana explained. "Once we go in, codenames. I'll be teaching you guys the basics of infiltrating a Palace as we go. Follow me..."
As the group began to make their way to the entry point by the side of the castle they'd used earlier, Kyoko paused as a bright flash of light went off all around her, causing her to pause in her tracks as the Palace suddenly became bathed in a blue light. She saw the others had not seemed to notice, however, and were continuing on their way to the small opening.
"Inmate..." Justine's soft voice prompted Kyoko to look over to her side, noticing the small guard standing by an open doorway with a barred jail cell gate leading into a blue abyss. "My master would like to speak to you. Please, come along..."
Kyoko glanced back at her friends, who did not seem to notice the blue light or the fact she was not standing with them.
"You needn't worry. This will not take long," Justine stated, gesturing into the empty blue void beyond the doorway.
The young detective gave the childlike entity before her a brief stare.
May be best to play along for now... she mused to herself as she silently walked forward and entered, a sudden feeling of weightlessness taking her as she felt herself begin to fall through blue light, the only shapes around her being phantom chains that passed through her body like ghosts, before the light began to fade, and the familiar shape of the prison cell formed around her, along with the equally familiar ragged prison scrubs and shackles. At the center of the panopticon prison was the grinning, long-nosed warden, drumming his spindly fingers on the wooden desk he sat before, his bloodshot eyes seeming to stare right into the girl's soul as he let out a deep chuckle.
"Welcome back," the warden declared, his booming, guttural voice seeming to reverberate through the entire prison as the wide grimace on his face never wavered. "I am pleased you have heeded my words... you truly do make it worth rehabilitating you!"
Kyoko's eyes narrowed into a sharp glare. "I want an explanation. I can tell you're keeping things from me..."
Igor simply chuckled again. "I am not attempting to withhold information from you, Trickster... I assure you, all will be explained in due time."
Kyoko's glare did not lessen. "You won't hide it from me forever..."
Caroline promptly slammed the bars with her baton, causing Kyoko to jump back, nursing her hands where the shock had gone through. Her only relief was the burns that covered them did not give their usual sensitivity she'd since grown accustomed to, here.
"You DARE talk back to our master, inmate?!" Caroline snapped, twirling the electrified baton in her hands and glaring dangerously at the imprisoned girl with her one good eye. "Speak like that again and see what happens!"
"Be still, Caroline," Igor said, raising his hand. The youthful guard glanced back and pouted a little as she lowered her baton. Lowering his hand, the warden's gaze met Kyoko once more and he spoke again. "Trickster, once you have discovered allies that share your ideals, and discover your place in reality... only then, will you truly be ready and possess the understanding as I explain it all. There is much, however, you must learn for yourself to achieve this, and I have no doubt in your ability to do so."
Kyoko scowled. She wasn't sure if she was being given some form of encouragement, or if the warden was attempting to lower her guard through flattery. Either way, it was evident she was not in a position to demand answers, though as a detective it was her nature to seek them out. It frustrated her to continue to be forced to dance to this otherworldly being's tune and play by his rules, for better or for worse.
"Do not be so distraught," the warden said, his tone softening if only slightly. "...for the reason I have summoned you here was to introduce you to the aid we are providing."
Kyoko would have folded her arms to go along with the suspicious glare she continued to give, had the shackles around her wrists not weighed them down so much. "And what would that be?"
"I'm certain you've noticed your ability to take in new Personas, and wield them as your own?" Igor asked, resting his chin in his palm as he continued to drum his fingers with his other hand. "This, Trickster, is due to your potential in wielding the power of the Wild Card."
Kyoko gave a nod. "Yes, the wild card, in a deck it can be used in place of any other card. In essence, it is compatible with all others..."
Igor chuckled. "Indeed, it is given this name because it is a power of pure potential that holds limitless possibilities," he explained. "And my Velvet Room also exists to assist in nurturing that potential."
"And how would you go about that?" Kyoko asked.
"First, we must execute your Persona," the warden responded.
Needless to say, that had not been an answer the young detective had expected to hear. She'd not been entirely sure what to expect, but doing away with the being that she had relied on in the metaverse came off as rather counter-productive. Igor seemed to know what she was thinking, however, as he let out another guttural chuckle.
"Do not be alarmed. Personas are merely... personalities that exist within you," he explained. "Thus, you are only discarding old, obsolete personalities, to have them be reborn as new ones..."
The warden snapped his finger, and in a flash of blue flames, a pair of old guillotines appeared next to him, strange glyphs engraved on their blades. "By discarding your old identities, you give way to new ones. Hence, we call this process "execution". To be more accurate, it is a... fusion... of your Personas. When you sacrifice two Personas, they will combine, and be reborn as one more powerful then the ones who preceded it."
Justine stepped forward to the cell, holding up her clipboard as the names of Irene, as well as Pixie and Bicorn, the Personas the young detective recalled she had welcomed into her heart over the last trip in the Palace appeared on the parchment attached to it in glowing blue letters. The glow, however, was faint.
"I only have three," Kyoko stated.
"And as you can see, none of them, as they are, overly strong," Justine explained. "This is where our service comes in..."
"So listen up as we explain, inmate!" Caroline snapped, walking towards the guillotines and leaning rather impatiently against one of them.
"Now, allow me to explain something of great importance," the warden said, his fingers drumming at a more precise rhythm. "You recall how I mentioned forming bonds with others? Personas are the power of the heart. The stronger your bonds with those who become Confidants to you, the stronger your Personas will become, as will the potential to fuse new, stronger Personas with our service. Take a look at Justine's registry once more..."
The young detective's gaze returned to the parchment on the clipboard, and next to the faintly glowing names she saw the words "FOOL" next to Irene, "LOVERS" next to Pixie, and more faintly, "HERMIT" next to Bicorn.
Kyoko recalled the moments where time would seem to stand still as she heard a voice speak in her mind, describing a Tarot arcana as she began to connect with her new teammates and others. The Fool through the warden, the Chariot through Ryuji, the Lovers through Ann, the Magician through Morgana, and recently, Death through the doctor. It stood to reason she would find more...
"I believe I understand," Kyoko said at last.
"Wonderful," Igor replied. "Now let us start by fusing your first Persona. At this time, you have already grown beyond need of it. Choose the one to fuse it with and we shall handle the rest."
Kyoko stared down at the registry as Justine took out a quill pen and check marked next to Irene's name, and next to Pixie and Bicorn's names, two new names appeared. One of them corresponded to the arcana of the Chariot, the other, the Priestess. The latter looked written in simple black ink, the former, however, held a blue glow as it bear the name "Agathion". The radiance was more then enough to tell her what the wisest choice was.
"This one," she said, bringing her hand up to point to the glowing name despite the weight of the shackles.
"So be it," Igor stated. "Girls? Let us begin..."
A blue light emerged from Kyoko's chest, hovering out of the cell and stopping before her like a radiant firefly, growing brighter and brighter before the shape of Irene suddenly hovered before her. The apparition brought a gloved hand to where its mouth should be as it let out a mischievous chuckle.
"I am Irene, the other you that exists within," the entity said. "Though, for now, I disappear and it may seem we are parting, know that I shall always be at your side. When your journey nears its end, we shall meet again!"
Without another word, Irene drifted over to where one of the guillotines sat. A second later, another light emerged from Kyoko, drifting towards the second guillotine before forming into the Pixie she had encountered and taken into herself. It looked at her with sad eyes, before lowering its head as it silently accepted what must now be done. Looking at the forlorn being, despite Igor's words Kyoko felt pity towards it.
The two guards snapped their fingers, and large blue cloaks appeared in their hands that they tossed over the two Personas, chains suddenly forming around the cloaked beings to bind them as they drifted towards the waiting blades. The V-shaped glyphs on the blades glowed brightly before they came crashing down, the bound Personas burst into blue light right as the blades reached them, the two lights drifting together after into one. Kyoko looked away as a bright flash came forth as the lights joined, and as it faded there now hovered a new entity.
The young detective blinked. Compared to Irene, this new Persona looked far less impressive, being a small golden urn with a pentagram engraved upon it, with a small, chubby creature resembling some blue, horned infant with bulbous orange eyes with slit pupils like a cat's peering out of the opening.
"Hello! Me Agathion!" the creature said in a cheerful upbeat voice as it floated before her. "I'm gonna be your new mask, now! Use me! Use me! Use me!"
Vanishing in a cloud of smoke and swirling light, it flew into Kyoko's chest, and the girl looked down, to where her heart would be, as she felt a new strength within her, but also traces of Irene and Pixie's power as well.
"Most impressive," Igor stated, regaining the girl's attention and prompting her to look back up at him. "A new Persona, born from the body and blood of the old, has given you new strength! Continue to gather more Personas you come across, and bring them here, where they may be used to give birth to new, stronger Personas! Developing your powers is essential, if you are to complete your rehabilitation, and stand against ruin..."
"The stronger the Personas you gather, the stronger the ones you will be able to create from them will be," Justine said, putting away her registry.
"So get on it, inmate!" Caroline snapped.
"I can sense the rebellion in your heart, Trickster," Igor said, his grimace seeming to grow a little. "It grows ever stronger, particularly since you have pledged to overthrow the ruler of the Palace..."
"He can't be allowed to continue hurting others," Kyoko replied, cold determination in her voice. "The ones who should be protecting the people he's preyed on have turned a blind eye to his crimes no matter what he does..." The girl grit her teeth, remembering how she'd ended up in her situation and enduring a year-long probation. "If we don't do this, he'll never be stopped."
Igor chuckled in response. "Your rehabilitation is indeed going very smoothly. A truly joyous fact. For this, I have prepared an additional gift for you, do accept it and use it well..."
Kyoko heard the sound of a chain shattering, as she felt a stronger sense of connection to the warden sitting before her.
"This gift is called the "Third Eye", it is a thief's skill. With simple focus, it allows one to tap into their sixth sense, and see that which normally cannot be seen hidden in the darkness," Igor explained. "I believe you have all you need for now, may you continue to devote yourself to furthering the completion of your rehabilitation!"
"Now get going! We'll come for you again when we have need of you!" Caroline said sharply as the Velvet Room began to slowly fade all around Kyoko, a familiar sense of weightlessness as once more found herself drifting within a void of blue light and ghostly chains...
"Hey! Earth to Kyoko!" Ryuji's voice said as focus returned and Kyoko's vision was once more filled with the sight of Kamoshida's repulsive castle, her thief attire and mask once more adorning her in place of the prison scrubs.
"You alright?" Ann's voice asked, prompting the pink-haired teen to look over.
"We were about to go in and noticed you spacing out over there. You alright?" Morgana asked.
Kyoko blinked. Had they not seen her step through that gateway? She noticed it was gone, now, with only the faintest hint of traces of blue fog, though this, too, seemed to have gone unnoticed by them. She recalled what Justine had said, perhaps they had something to do with why her companions had not seen anything that had transpired. Returning her attention to the task at hand, the girl gave a nod. "I'm fine," she said, running her hand through her hair and brushing it back. "Let's go."
"Heh, I swear, you're so mysterious, sometimes," Ryuji said, earning him a silent stare from Kyoko. "Eheh... nevermind. Just mean I can never really tell what you're thinkin' a lotta the time."
A faint smile appeared on Kyoko's stoic face. "Then perhaps I've not lost my touch despite circumstances. Shall we proceed?"
"Right away, Ace! We're counting on you!" Morgana cheered. "We'll make our way to that safe room we found last time. From there, we'll continue our infiltration!"
"Safe room?" Ann asked.
"I'll make sense when you see it," Ryuji replied. "Let's head on in!"
As one, the four of them made their way to the opening near the windows, Kyoko glancing back once at where the doorway had been and noticing Justine standing there, watching them silently as they climbed in through the waiting opening.
"So... this is that "safe room" you told me about?" Panther asked, looking around the small room as it briefly shifted from the interior of a medieval castle to a normal Shijin Academy classroom.
"Yup, it's a gap in cognition, where the distortion is at it's weakest," Mona explained. "Shadows won't come in here, and we can stop and catch our breath, and assess our progress!"
"Totally makes no sense to me, but alright," Panther replied, watching as one of the ornate walls briefly became a blackboard before shifting back.
"In our experience, we have found it best to take things as they are," Ace explained. "This world is shaped by cognition, or more precisely, Kamoshida's and how he sees the school. The rules of our world don't apply here."
Panther scowled in disgust. "...It's really no surprise someone as full of himself as Kamoshida is would see this school as his castle," she hissed.
"Yeah, tell me about it!" Skull replied. "I said the same thing once I learned the deal about this place!"
"As we are now, Morgana, can you sense the Treasure at all?" Ace asked.
Mona's ears twitched and he gently sniffed the musty air. "Hmm... I can sense its presence, but it's pretty far away. I think we got quite a ways to go before we find it."
"I see," Ace replied, making her way to the doors and pushing them open. "Then we should get moving..."
"Ha! They were nothing!" Panther cheered as she raised her uzi up with pride while the Pixie Shadows that had been blocking their path dissolved into black smoke. "I could definitely get used to this!"
"Glad you like it, Panther!" Mona swooned as the group proceeded to exit the dining hall of the castle. "Improving ourselves is important, but our real strength and key to our survival comes from operating as a team."
"I'm still growing accustomed to that, again," Ace mused aloud as they ascended a spiral staircase and found themselves before a brightly-lit hallway.
Has it really been three years...? She thought to herself.
"Hm?" Panther inquired.
"It's nothing. We have more pressing matters," Ace stated.
"Hey, I can sense a Shadow up ahead! Get ready!" Mona whispered. "If you sneak around that furniture, ambushing should be easy! The guards won't spot us if we lay low!"
With a nod, Ace focused, picturing herself moving with stealth and speed to her destination, a large crate up ahead, and in a blur of motion she was suddenly behind it. Up ahead, she could see another armored guard facing away, oblivious to her. Skull and Panther looked at one-another, then followed suit, moving in a blur of motion as well, the cover seeming to hide them perfectly as Mona came up behind them. Ace looked back at her teammates and gave another nod before darting over to another crate on the opposite wall, bringing her closer to the unsuspecting guard. Now was her chance.
Leaping over the crate, Ace landed on the guard's back and reached over, gripping its mask tightly in her hand as she tore it off, backflipping off the guard with the Metaverse-induced finesse of a professional acrobat and landing in a kneeling position as her companions rushed up behind her. The guard exploded into a puddle of red and black ooze before reforming itself into a Bicorn, a Pixie, and one of the lamp-wielding jack-o-lantern creatures Ace remembered encountering on her and Skull's earlier visits to this place.
Without missing a beat, Skull summoned his shotgun, firing at the Pixie and destroying it in a single blast. "HA! I'm on a roll!" he cheered as he summoned Captain Kidd, who proceeded to unleash a volley of lightning on the Bicorn, knocking it to the ground, dazed.
"Heh, you actually pulled it off, Skull!" Mona remarked as he and Panther whipped out their slingshot and Uzi and tore the Bicorn down before it could stand, and it, too, exploded into a cloud of smoke.
The jack-o-lantern looked over at where its companions were, then back at the group standing before it, looking noticeably afraid but then, taking a chance, hovered over to them.
"Please! Don't be hasty, now! I-I surrender!" it protested, backing away as Panther, Skull, and Mona held their weapons at it.
A faint smile on her face, Ace walked forward, seeing an opportunity had arisen. "Will you lend me your power, then?"
The jack-o-lantern creature seemed to relax noticeably. "Y-you mean it?" it asked, a bit of caution in its voice.
"I do," Kyoko stated.
The jack-o-lantern hopped about in the air with excitement. "You have my gratitude for sparing me!" it said. "I remember, now... call me Jack-O-Lantern! From now on, my power is yours to use as you see fit!"
The small entity glowed brightly, transforming into a swirling blue light that flew into Ace's mask, and the young detective felt its power added to her own.
"Nice! A new mask, Ace!" Mona cheered.
"What's that about?" Panther asked.
"For some reason, Ace can use multiple Personas, and collect new ones from Shadows we defeat," Mona explained.
"That's pretty cool," Panther said with a smile.
"Yup, that makes her our "Ace in the hole"!", Skull replied.
"Right, Skull. I'm the one who came up with that, you know," Mona grumbled.
"So how come?" Panther asked, looking over at Ace.
"I'm not entirely certain of all the details," Ace replied, choosing to not discuss the strange prison and its warden, least of all right now.
"Well, no point lookin' a gift horse in the mouth, ya know?" Skull said with a laugh.
"...And that one we were fighting just sorta gave up and begged for its life?" Panther remarked.
"Shadows have emotions, too, just like humans!" Mona explained. "The stakes are down enough, they can get scared and surrender."
"At any rate, let's continue," Ace said, continuing down the hall.
The group soon found themselves in a large chamber, its entire middle and the passage leading further into the castle, however, was blocked off by iron gates. Peering through, Ace noticed something sitting on a table at the middle of the gated-off section of the room, and nearby on the columns were hanging levers.
"It seems these levers are the key to opening these gates," Ace stated, bringing her hand up to her chin in thought. "However, things are rarely so simple as that. Especially if Kamoshida is going this far to protect what's in there."
"How do ya gather that?" Skull asked.
"Museums, as well as mansions containing valuables often have security systems that look simple to the untrained eye, but carry hidden complications to prevent them from being stolen," Ace replied.
"Oooh, I used to watch movies about this kind of stuff!" Panther said with barely contained excitement. "So, what do we do?"
"There's nothing out of the ordinary in here that I can see," Mona explained. "But that doesn't necessarily mean there isn't. Ace, think you can put those detective skills to use?"
"Hm," Ace paced around the room, narrowing her eyes for any peculiar signs, but there seemed to be nothing.
"Kyoko-chan," she remembered her grandfather telling her sternly years ago. "In any investigation, there is always a trail to follow, if you just look hard enough..."
Another instruction she'd heard, far more recently then came to mind...
"The Third Eye... With simple focus, it allows one to tap into their sixth sense, and see that which normally cannot be seen hidden in the darkness..."
Ace closed her eyes a second and took a breath, picturing in her head what it was she wanted to find. A trail.
For second, hand prints appeared on one of the levers, bathed in a faint blue light. Looking down, Ace saw that was not all, there were footprints, leading around the room in a path. Bringing her hand to her chin as she pondered this, Ace looked back at how the footprints led into the room and to the lever before her before proceeding further into the room around the gates. "Hm."
Reaching forward, Ace pulled down the lever in front of her, then followed where she'd seen the footprints lead, their image shimmering briefly before fading once more in front of a lever on the other side of the room. Approaching the second lever, the young detective gave it a firm tug, and immediately the gates rose up, allowing them access to the table and the hallway that led further into the castle.
"Alright! Awesome, Ace!" Skull cheered, playfully nudging her shoulder with his fist. "How'd you do that?"
"As you already know, I am a detective," Ace replied with a faint smirk as she brushed her hair back.
"Let's see what he was guarding!" Mona said, hopping up on to the table to inspect what lay there. "It's a map!" he said, taking up the parchment and looking it over.
"Think it'll lead us to the treasure, Mona?" Panther asked.
"Doesn't look like it. But we will have a better idea of the topography of this Palace, now!" the cat replied. "From the looks of it, we'll want to head through this door if we're going to proceed any further... and it leads through the main hall, too. Let's go check it out!"
"Whoa... better keep clear of that one!" Mona whispered, pointing down below them where a guard, wreathed in red smoke stood before the doorway leading outside.
"Heh, that bastard has no idea we snuck in the other way!" Skull said with a chuckle.
"Keep it down, or it'll hear us!" Mona snapped quietly.
"Right, so how do we get across?" Skull asked.
"Easy!" Mona said with a sly grin as he gestured to the rafters and chandeliers hanging right near the balcony they stood on. "Both stealthy, and stylish, as a phantom thief should be!"
Ace stared up at them, they seemed to have sufficient support, but she couldn't be sure. "We'll go one at a time. Less weight."
"Works for me," Panther said.
"Lead the way, Ace!" Mona stated, a wide grin on his face as he gave her a nod of encouragement.
Taking a breath, Ace leapt forward, the Metaverse's influence and a clear goal in mind and the teen crossed the rafter and chandelier with flawless grace before landing on the adjacent balcony. Turning around, she watched as her companions followed her across and landed next to her.
"Whoa, okay, that got a little scary for a sec," Skull remarked.
"Just have a clear goal in mind and there's little you can't do, here!" Mona replied. "Though telling you to focus may not be so easy..."
"Hey, shut it, Cat!" Skull snapped as the group proceeded further into the otherworldly castle.
Before Mona could retort to the hated term, he froze in place, his ears twitching as he sniffed the air. "Hey... I'm sensing a safe room nearby... we should find it before we go any further."
"The more safe rooms we can secure," Mona explained as the others sat themselves down, the easier our infiltration will be, especially for the last part."
"Last part?" Panther asked.
"Yeah, once we've found the Treasure's location." Mona replied. "It's gonna make a lot more sense if I explain it when we get there, you'll just have to trust me on that!"
"Very well," Ace replied. "Speaking of the Treasure, can you sense it?"
Mona shook his head. "It feels a little closer, but not by much. Hope you're all still up to it."
"Hell yeah, I am!" Skull said, clenching his fist. "I'm not leavin' till we find this thing. No two ways about it!"
"Likewise," Panther said. "The sooner Kamoshida is dealt with, the better. I've still got plenty of energy."
Ace looked at her companions, unable to hide a small, genuine smile as she turned around to face the doors once more. "Then we will make it happen."
"Now look, we're gonna have a lot of Shadows between us and the Treasure," Mona explained. "It'd be foolish and wear us out if we just take out every one we come across. If we can observe them, we may get an idea of their strength, and find an opening to pick off the easier ones to clear a path for us without the the tougher ones sensing us. Studying them from a distance can help ascertain that about them. Let's try that from this point on when we can."
"Understood," Ace replied, pushing the doors open. "Let's go."
"Gotta say, this one kinda looks like you, Mona!" Skull joked as he fired a shot at their enemy, knocking it backward.
"Very funny, Skull!" Mona retorted as Zorro's wind spells toppled a gray catlike creature in a red plumed hat, cape, and pirate boots wielding a sword.
"Heh, no trouble at all!" Mona cheered. This guard had been a perfect target and Ace did not disappoint.
"Alrighty, Shadow! Time ta plead for mercy!" Skull taunted, pointing his shotgun at the fallen creature.
"Wait! I'm scared!" the creature pleaded. "Oh, what should I do?"
Ace immediately stepped forward, her pistol pointed at the cowering being. "Lend me your power."
The catlike entity cocked its head and chuckled. "Let's chat, first, then I'll decide on if you deserve it!"
Kyoko's brow furrowed behind her mask.
"So tell me, ya get good grades at school? I'm a kid, too, you know!" the creature stated with a smirk.
"What the hell's that gotta do with-" Skull started.
"Shush!" Panther ordered.
"All the time," Kyoko replied to the creature. "...Even PE."
The catlike being let out a merry laugh. "Smart girl! I like that. But why'd you come down here? Don't kids got better things to do?"
"It can wait," Kyoko replied, prompting another laugh from the creature.
"Wow, someone's dedicated, just like... me..." the creature's eyes widened in realization. "Wait! I remember, now!" Standing back up, the creature twirled its cutlass and struck a pose. "The name's Cait Sith, miss! Doncha forget it, 'cause now, my power's yours!"
The creature, Cait Sith, glowed brightly before transforming into swirling light that flew into Ace's mask, adding another new Persona to her growing roster.
One encounter seconds later, and she had acquired a fifth through a troubled housemaid spirit with a preference for ice-based spells called Silkie, courtesy of Panther, and her newly-acquired Cait Sith's own fiery power.
"Well, this..." Mona stared at the spiral staircase ahead of the group that had a rather large section of it missing. "...May be a perfect opportunity!" he said, his face lighting up.
"Whaddya mean? I don't think we're goin' any further this way," Skull replied. "I get the Metaverse lets us do stuff we can't do in the real world, but I doubt flyin's one of 'em."
"True," Mona said. "...But look up there! See those engravings on side of the staircase, further up?"
Craning their necks up, Ace, Skull, and Panther noticed some statue heads carved into the side of the staircase, with rings hanging from their jaws.
"I don't think my whip can reach that far," Panther replied.
"Phantom thieves are more stylish then that, Lady Ann!" Mona said with a smirk. "...And I know just what'll do the trick!"
The catlike thief reached into his utility belt and pulled out a small box-shaped item with a wrist strap, and handed it to Ace.
"And this is...?" the girl asked, looking it over.
"Put it on your wrist. It's a little something I worked on in secret. A grappling hook! Aim and fire it, and it'll let you zip to hard-to-reach locations in a flash!"
"Ooh! Just like Batman?" Panther chirped in excitement.
"Who?" Mona asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion. Panther noticed the others seemed unaware of the reference as well.
"...Nevermind," Panther replied, shaking her head and muttering in disappointment.
"Uh, anyway, what about the rest of us? We get one, too?" Skull asked.
"Unfortunately, no. I could only make one," Mona replied. "But don't worry, just hold on to Ace when she fires it and it can carry all of us with no problems!"
"Wouldn't we weigh her down?" Skull asked, looking over at Ace as she strapped the device on her wrist.
"This is the Metaverse, remember?" Mona replied matter-of-factly. "Now let's do this so we can keep going!"
Looking up at one of the rings hanging from the side of the staircase, Ace carefully aimed her hand, and with a press of a switch, a hooked cable fired out, far longer then such a small device would have been expected to hold as it suddenly hooked onto the gargoyle, her companions grabbing on and all four of them were immediately flung up into the air and flipped over the rail onto the much more intact stairs further up.
"Holy SHIT! What WAS that just now?!" Skull whimpered, his eyes wide with shock.
"Wow!" Panther cheered. "You really can do a lot of things here if you just think you can hard enough!"
"It would appear so," Ace replied.
"And good news, I can sense a safe room nearby!" Morgana said.
"What is this place, some kinda library?" Skull asked, looking at all the books adorning the walls.
"Didn't think someone as pig-headed as Kamoshida was the type to read a lot," Panther replied.
"Hell, I'm pretty sure I read more then he does!" Skull said, looking around at the walls of tomes and texts.
"There seem to be three conspicuously empty spaces," Ace observed as she looked at the walls that made up the rest of the room, each with a bookshelf which took it up entirely and sporting a total of three empty spaces. A brief moment of focus, and she saw the brief shimmer of footprints leading behind the largest bookcase. Walking over, she pressed against it, but it didn't budge. Bringing her hand to her chin in thought, the young detective looked at the four spaces, then at four books on the nearby table stacked atop one-another and picked them up. "Beefcake... Slave... Queen... King," she said as she looked them over, reading the titles aloud.
"Hey," Skull called out, looking at a small plaque on one of the bookcases. "This case says "History of Kamoshida" on it..." The blond boy looked over the tomes that filled it. "Kamoshida's Heroisms"... "Kamoshida's Law"... "Tracing Kamoshida's Steps"... the hell?! All these goddamn books are about that asshole! Makes me wanna puke!"
"And this one..." Panther grimaced in disgust at the plaque on the shelf. "It says "Lovers of Kamoshida"..." her eyes widened in horror. "Shiho's name's on this book..." she looked at a few of this others. "A bunch of the female students' names are on these books... yours, too... even mine! "Ann Takamaki: The Charming Doll"!?" She shook her head and immediately faced away from it. "I don't even want to look anymore!"
"This one's plaque reads "Subjects of Kamoshida"," Mona called out from another bookshelf as Ryuji came over to look.
"Dude, this one's got Mishima's name on it," Ryuji said, pointing to one of the tomes before reading the titles of the others "Shit! The other volleyball team members are in here, too! There's a whole buncha names of the boys from our school!"
""Ryuji Sakamoto: The Vulger Ape"," Mona said as he looked at one of the volumes. "There's one for Skull."
"That bastard! Like he's one to talk!" Skull snapped, gritting his teeth as he looked at the offending title.
Ace looked at the bookshelves, and at the books before her. There were three spaces, so three of the four would go in. The first bookshelf was about Kamoshida himself, the second about the girls he obsessed over, and the third about the boys he abused. It all quickly fell into place. "Skull, put this one in the History section," she instructed, handing Skull the King book. "Panther, this one for the Lovers section," she said, giving her the Queen book before giving the Slave book to Mona. "The Subjects section."
As one, the three thieves placed their respective books into their respective shelves with a resounding click, and with a low rumble from the wall Ace had investigated footprints near earlier, the bookcase split in two and slid apart like a pair of doors, revealing a candlelit chamber behind it. Closer inspection, however, quickly revealed something far more abhorrent then what the bookcases had provided.
"The hell is this room?!" Skull cried out as he walked in.
"Oh my god..." Panther brought both hands to her mouth as she shuddered audibly. Ace's eyes narrowed in disgust at what lay within the small room.
Pictures of Shiho Suzui, nailed all over the walls, many of them in sickeningly lewd and indecent poses. One nailed to a wooden x-shaped rack showed a picture of her looking absolutely terrified, prone on the ground and with one of Kamoshida's hands in frame gripping her neck and the other in frame reaching under her gym shirt.
Skull looked away in disgust, his hands clenching tightly into fists "That son of a bitch..."
Panther fell to her knees, her eyes threatening to water as the image from the photograph burned its way into her mind. "H-he... he really did..."
Ace took several breaths, her hatred for this man was stronger then ever. She'd deduced what had happened to Suzui, but seeing it... even an image of what Kamoshida had done to her, Ace could feel the rage boiling under the surface, threatening to burst forward if she let it. Looking at her companions, she could tell the others felt the same way. "We'll make him pay for this." she said, her tone seething.
"Yeah, we will," Panther said, gritting her teeth and tearing the photo from where it had been nailed to, crumpling it in disgust before tossing it in the corner as she stood back up. "That monster's not going to get away with this!"
"Damn right," Ryuji snarled. "I'm more motivated then ever to take him down, now."
"Still, we need to search this place," Mona said. "There's a reason Kamoshida went through the trouble of hiding it."
Ace noticed something shining in the corner on a nearby shelf and approached it. Picking it up, she saw it appeared to be some kind of medal. "I suspect this is what we're looking for. It may go to something."
"Well, it's gotta be useful if it's in here! We better take it, then!" Skull replied.
"Hey, there's something else underneath it!" Mona pointed out, picking up a piece of parchment. "It's another map! And look!" He pointed to a spot on the map with his paw, where a small icon resembling a treasure chest was. "That has to be it! This is where the Treasure's gotta be!"
"Behind the throne room," Ace read aloud as she looked over the map. "How fitting, if predictable."
"It looks like it could be a tower or something," Panther remarked.
"We should be over halfway there, now!" Mona said.
"I don't give a shit where we are. I say we get this done right now!" Skull replied.
"Agreed," said Ace. "We've already come far."
"My thoughts exactly. There's no way I'm turning back, now!" Panther stated.
"In that case, let's keep moving!" Mona said, heading out of the shrine and towards the doorway.
"All things considered, we're doin' pretty awesome, aren't we?" Skull said, flexing his arm as the group emerged from the library.
"I'll pat myself on the back once Kamoshida is dealt with," Ace replied.
"Yeah, I get ya..."
"Hey! There's a door we haven't been to at the end of this hallway!" Mona said, gesturing ahead with his paw.
"Well, let's go check it out!" Skull replied, the group immediately hurried down the hall, coming to a stop as they noticed something different about it.
"Hm, it's barred, but this lever here..." Mona mused as he looked over at the pull lever next to the door at the end of the hallway they'd come down. "It's circular... hey! Maybe that medal you found, Ace? Let's try it!"
Stepping forward, Ace took the medal from the repulsive shrine the group had come across earlier and placed it into the round indentation under the level. Immediately the gargoyle the lever hung from lowered itself, placing it within reach to be pulled.
Giving it a firm tug, Ace watched as the iron bars lifted off of the door and it slowly opened.
"Let's hurry! I can sense a safe room nearby!" said Mona as he made his way down the hallway ahead.
"What... the hell...?" Skull muttered as Ace opened the door adjacent to the safe room's that lead into what appeared to be a massive cathedral. Or it would have been, if not for the towering, unsightly statue of Kamoshida in his scant, royal garb that stood at its center at the end of several rows of pews. "You gotta be kidding me..."
"No guards for such a big room. Very suspicious," Mona mused.
"Indeed, this seems far too easy," Ace replied.
"Hey, we gonna complain? There's only one way we're gettin' to the Treasure and it's clearly through here!" Skull snapped.
"True, keep our guard up, though, just in case," Mona replied.
As the small group made their way to the center of the cathedral, however, they noticed their surroundings begin to shimmer, and for a moment, it had changed to a far more familiar setting.
"Was that... the gym?" Panther asked, staring agape as she looked around as it shifted back into Kamoshida's perversion of a cathedral.
"I get it," Skull snarled. "The gym's like a holy place where he's worshipped! In that bastard's head, he's like a god there!"
Panther grit her teeth in rage. "I can't believe he can think like that, especially after what he did to Shiho!"
"It's no surprise," Ace remarked. "The way this school completely bends the knee to his every wish, the way it celebrates him and lets him get away with anything no matter what he does..." Her gaze narrowed into a livid, icy glare as she looked at the gigantic monument to the man's likeness. "How can it be anything else in this disgusting place?"
"GOD, that bastard makes me so freakin' sick!" Skull growled, clenching the mace that appeared in his fists as he glared hatefully at the statue. "Just you wait, Kamoshida..."
"...I see," a deep, reverberating voice bellowed from within the cathedral. "So you're the ones who were snooping around the library... It seems my time here has paid off!"
In a burst of red smoke, a golden-armored knight captain suddenly appeared before them at the base of the statue.
"It's just as that ape says," the captain declared. "This place is the glorious King Kamoshida's holy ground! You miscreants think you can simply waltz right on in here?!"
"Well, looks like we're gonna just have to force our way through!" Mona said with a grin as he drew his scimitar.
"Fine by me!" Panther said, cracking her whip.
"Hell, yeah!" Skull said, summoning Captain Kidd.
"Let's take them down!" Ace ordered, taking aim with her pistol as the captain burst apart into a puddle of red and black ooze that reformed itself into a large, veiny, green, severed...
"Ugh, gross!" Panther protested as the Shadow fully took shape. Skull stared in disbelief at what he was seeing. Kyoko silently closed her eyes in disgust at the creature before them that was a very stark contrast to the form it first confronted them in.
"I, the Torn King of Desire, will make sure you pay for foolishly defying the wishes of King Kamoshida... with your lives!" the green and very phallic Shadow with a wide, drooping mouth snarled in a sickening, guttural voice as it straighten itself upward and let out an enraged howl.
"Get ready, everyone! It's coming!" Mona shouted, raising his blade, the others stepping back and doing the same with their weapons. The Torn King of Desire let out an angry, burbling cry as its fleshy form quivered before it charged forward and rammed itself at Panther, knocking her back as she cried out in pain from the hit, barely able to stand as it quickly slithered back to get distance.
"Me... of course it goes for me," Panther grumbled as she nursed her injuries.
"I got you, Panther!" Mona yelled. "Zorro!"
A green light bathed Panther, and she felt herself reinvigorated as the pain quickly went away.
"It is my task to spread Kamoshida's love! You heretics shall learn your place!" the grotesque entity croaked.
"Like hell, you sonovabitch!" Skull declared, "Smack this cocky bastard!"
Captain Kidd's ship suddenly flew straight at the Torn King of Desire, ramming into it hard and knocking it back, though it recovered quickly, striking back at Skull the moment Captain Kidd vanished.
"Hm," Ace mused, noting its tough resistance to their blows. "Jack-O-Lantern!" she called for the small pumpkin-headed persona as it promptly waved its lantern and eldritch energy crackled around the group's opponent, causing it to falter. "Its defense is down, hit it with all you've got!" she ordered.
"Hang on, lemme see if this works!" Panther shouted, bringing her hand to her mask. "Carmen! Make it go down!"
The dominatrix-like Persona twirled its gown and purple fog engulfed the flaccid monstrosity, causing it to droop even further into an almost amorphous form.
"Nice, Panther! It's out cold!" Mona cheered. "Let's go!"
"On it! Eat this!" Skull shouted, getting up and firing his shotgun at the Shadow, causing it to recoil back and stunning it.
"Cait Sith!" Ace cried out, summoning the feline Persona that promptly swung its blade, striking the opponent in the chest and causing it to stagger back, quivering in pain.
The Torn King of Desire let out a guttural gibbering, slithering at Ace at remarkable speed as she leaped out of the way barely in time, knocking her off balance as the Shadow plowed through several pews and spun around, crying out as it raised itself up again, the Shadow snarling angrily at its adversaries as it prepared its next move.
"Uh oh! It's gonna go on the assault again! Let's finish it off quick before it comes at us!" Mona ordered, whipping out his slingshot.
"Way ahead of you!" Panther declared, summoning Carmen once more to inflict its spell that put the creature into a magic-induced slumber once more.
"NOW!" Ace cried out. All as one, the group followed suit and unloaded their ammo into their foe in rapid succession, the Torn King of Desire unable to react as the spray of bullets struck it repeatedly till it collapsed to the ground with a resounding crash, its body dissolving into a cloud of smoke that dissipated shortly after.
"Damn, he put up a fight, didn't he?" said Skull, wiping some sweat from his brow while Ace stood herself back up.
"I just hope we never run into anything like that, again," Panther muttered.
"Kamoshida's definitely making a concentrated effort to stop us, now," Mona replied.
As if in response to that, numerous bursts of smoke erupted all around them, forming into an entire platoon of guards, their blades drawn and prepared to fight.
"It would seem so," Ace observed, looking around at the armored foes that now surrounded them.
"Do we run?" Panther asked, looking about nervously as the guards drew closer.
"The Treasure's definitely not far! There has to be a path somewhere!" Mona shouted.
Ace's gaze turned towards the statue of Kamoshida, and the rafters nearby where one of the statue's arms was upraised. "Grab on to me!" she shouted, the moment her companions complied, the girl immediately aimed her wrist towards the statue's arm and fired the grapple hook, yanking them off the ground high into the air and up safely into the rafters.
"That was close!" said Mona, letting go of Ace's coat and hopping on to the platform they'd landed on. "Quick thinking, Ace!"
"They look pretty pissed," Panther remarked, gazing down at the guards as they scattered about down below.
"Definitely," Mona said. "Let's get going before they can find a way to catch us!"
Hopping down to a lower rafter, the group found a balcony where a door waited, leading down a long hallway that lead to another spiral staircase leading up.
"There's a draft," Ace remarked as she looked up the stairs. "I suspect this leads outside."
Rushing up the stairs to an open doorway, Ace's suspicions were proven correct. The full moon hung in an otherwise turbulent red sky that bathed the castle roof in a blood-colored hue. "Look!" the young detective pointed in the distance. On the other side of the roof loomed a tall, imposing castle tower. Iron rails wrapped around its walls with long spires jutting from them, and several lit windows dotted the sides, the crimson sky above giving it an almost hellish look.
"It matches the map," Mona said, taking a quick glance from the parchment he unfolded from his belt. "There's no doubt about it, the Treasure's somewhere in there!"
"Heck yeah! We finally did it!" Skull cheered. "So, where's the entrance?"
Without a word, Panther pointed straight ahead, where a whole squad of guards, bathed in red smoke, stood at attention.
Skull's head hung slightly in exasperation. "Aw, shit..."
"No surprise he'd have tight security in front of it," Mona observed. "We'll never be able to get past them in one piece..."
Ace brought her hand to her chin, looking over at the tower, and at the overhang roof above the entrance and stepped forward. "Grab on," she said.
"You got an idea? Okay, then," Mona said as he and the others complied. Ace thrust her hand out and fired the grapple shot once more, propelling them to the rooftop. "Don't let go," she ordered as she turned and fired it again once it had finished retracting, aiming for a nearby steeple. The hooked end shot forth once more more and wrapped around the iron spire, pulling the four further upward, their momentum swinging them around and flinging them on to a nearby parapet that led right to the tower.
"Awesome! Already on the roof!" Skull declared with a wide grin.
"Look! There's an open window right there!" said Mona, pointing ahead.
"Then let's head on in! Treasure, here we come!" Skull cheered as the group immediately dashed down the parapet and into the window.
"What the hell's up with this place?" Panther asked as she looked around. Even Ace was rather put off; the room's floor and wall seemed to continually shift and warp around them, breaking down and reassembling itself at random, other chunks of the castle simply drifted about in the air around them. The entire place was bathed in an eerie pink light that seemed to accentuate the indecent wall and column formations all around made in the shape of female bosoms that made the young detective crinkle her nose in disgust.
"The distortion's way stronger, here!" Mona explained. "We're definitely close to the Treasure, now! We just need to find a way up..."
As if to answer that, several stepping stones suddenly assembled themselves nearby, forming a spiral staircase leading up.
"May as well," Skull remarked, gesturing to the newly-formed stairs.
Reaching the top, the group soon found themselves in a curved hallway with a checkerboard tile floor and a pair of large white doors with gold trimming sat at the center, a prism of colorful light shone through the stain glass windows adding further illumination to the ornate halls.
"These doors no doubt lead straight into the throne room," Ace observed as she looked up at the massive doors from their hiding spot behind several crates as a guard walked obliviously by.
"Awesome, then the Treasure's just ahead!" Skull whispered excitedly. "...Just how do we open 'em?"
"Hey! Look up there!" Panther whispered, pointing to window on the left side above the doors, where some crates were stacked. "Talk about convenient!"
"There's also a safe room at the end of this hallway," Mona explained. "Let's go and secure it first before we press on."
Moments later, the four had climbed through the window and found themselves on a balcony overlooking a lavish throne room down below. Red carpets decorated its floors, rose bushes hung along its marble walls over columns carved into the shape of the female form. A golden throne with plush red cushions sat at the center in front of a tall staircase and positioned under a large golden chandelier. None of these, however, were what had caught the thieves' attention, though.
Down below, sitting back in his throne, one leg crossed over the other and resting his chin in his palm and surrounded by several of his guards, was Kamoshida's Shadow. More unnerving, however, was the harem around him. The scantly-clad cognition of Ann lay at his feet, swinging her legs back and forth as she looked around at the guards with a glassy smile, and on either side of Kamoshida stroking his shoulders and chest stood equally scantly-clad doubles of Kyoko, and...
"Is that... oh god..." Panther covered her mouth in horror.
"Yoshizawa..." Ace muttered.
Indeed, standing opposite the replica of Kyoko, was the transfer student, Yoshizawa, or to be more precise, a cognition of her. Her ponytail down and her body just barely concealed in red ribbons and the look on her face was far more immodest then the well-mannered girl Kyoko had become acquainted with could ever be imagined as making. The sight, along with her own double, came off as nothing short of repulsive and was enough to make Ace want to vomit, her earlier concerns having proven to be very much confirmed.
"Dude, her too?! That fucking pervert! Does he have any goddamn shame at all?!" Skull snapped, gripping the balcony railing tightly as he felt his anger and disgust grow.
"Shut up," Mona warned in a hushed tone. "Look at all those guards! You want him to hear us!"
"So," Kamoshida demanded, his golden gaze passing around at each of his guards. "Have you not captured those intruders, yet?"
"I apologize, my liege!" one of the guards replied.
"What do I even keep you around here, for?" Kamoshida sneered, raising his feet and propping them on the back of the cognitive Ann like an improvised footstool while the other two continued to caress him. "You're just barely more useful then the slaves in the dungeons!"
"Again, my apologies, your Highness!" the guard said frantically. The cognitive Kyoko tore a grape from a batch she picked from a nearby bowl and slid it into the King's waiting mouth.
"I don't need to hear apologies, you walking hunk'a shit!" Kamoshida snapped as he munched on the grape, spitting the seed into his palm and flinging it at the guard and prompting aroused giggles from his cognitive harem. "I need to have those pests captured!"
"Let's get moving while he's distracted," Mona whispered, leading the way further down the balcony and the others, with some hesitation from the display down below, followed to a door that waited at the top of the staircase behind Kamoshida's throne while he continued to scold his guards.
The hallway beyond brought the thieves to another large, wooden door, prompting them to come to a stop once they approached it.
"This study-lookin' door's pretty promisin'!" Skull stated.
"The map says the Treasure is right beyond here, correct?" Ace asked, looking down at Mona.
"That's right!" Mona replied with a nod.
"Well, let's open up and check it out!" Panther said with a smirk as they all approached, and all as one forced the large doors open, revealing a large chamber with a huge curtained window at the other end overlooking the moonlit sky. The floor, however, was completely covered in gold coins, jewels, chalices, and several trophies almost as big as Ace was stuffed with more gold.
"The Treasure's definitely gotta be in here, somewhere!" Skull said with a grin.
"But what's this, floating there?" Panther asked, gesturing to an odd, undulating mass of silvery fog gathered at the center of the room.
"That," Mona explained, "...Would be the Treasure!"
Ace raised her hand to her chin and cocked her head a little as she stared at the shapeless mists gathered before them.
"This?" she asked.
"Remember when I mentioned there was more I'd explain later once we got through?" Mona replied. "Well, now's the time!"
"Then explain, Mona-Mona," said Skull. "How the hell we take... whatever the hell this is, outta here?"
"I'm getting to that!" the cat protested. "You see, simply reaching and finding the Treasure isn't enough. We need to make it materialize before we'll be able to steal it."
"Okay, I'm lost. Whaddya mean?" Skull asked.
"Desires have no physical form by nature," Mona explained. "Hence, we'll need to make the real Kamoshida aware that his desires are in fact a Treasure. Once he's conscious that his desires might be stolen, the Treasure will then show itself!"
"Interesting," Ace replied, stroking her lower lip as her gaze remained on the amorphous energies.
"So how do we do this?" asked Panther.
"Quite simple, actually! We warn him!" Mona explained. "We tell him "We are going to steal your heart"!"
A small smirk formed on Ace's face. "Ah, a calling card... I'm rather familiar with this approach," she mused. "The thief sends a calling card to their target, a means of taunting them that they will rob them and cannot be stopped. A rather heavily romanticized modus operandi, but not as contained to the realm of fiction as one may think..."
"For real?! So we're gonna send Kamoshida a calling card?" Skull asked. "That is totally what a phantom thief would do!"
"Yup, and once we do that, the Treasure will appear in this very spot!" Mona replied. "...I think..."
"That again?" Ryuji grumbled. "Look, it's better then just giving up, right? We've already come way too far, now. It's totally worth giving a shot!"
"Agreed. He has to be stopped before he preys on anyone else," Ace replied, glancing back down the hallway as she remembered what she'd seen in the throne room.
"Then it's settled," Mona declared. "Our infiltration route is secured. All that's left now is to pump out a calling card in reality, then come back here and take the Treasure!"
"So this is really it, huh?" Panther asked, looking over at Ace.
The young detective folded her arms. "There's no other option," she said, her tone firm and set. "We absolutely cannot afford to lose."
"Damn right!" Skull said.
"Understand, once we send the calling card, there's no turning back," Mona warned. "Whenever you're all ready, just let me know and we'll meet at the hideout and prepare that calling card!"
Mona looked at the formless mass where the Treasure would appear, then back at the door, taking out a small capsule from his belt. "But for now, let's get outta here before Kamoshida finds us," he said, tossing the capsule to the floor.
Ace and the others looked around and discovered themselves back at the castle courtyard.
"Whoa, what just happened?" Panther asked.
"A little concoction of mine!" Mona said with a chuckle. "I call it a GOHO-M, it transports us back to the entrance of the Palace." his ears dropped. "I only had one left, though, before I met back up with you guys, so that was my last one so I wanted to save it for when we secured our route to the Treasure just in case Kamoshida tightened security on the way out, but I'll eventually be able to help you make them!" he said, looking up at Ace.
"Still, I'd say it's a job well done, huh?" Skull asked with a grin.
Ace turned and gave a small smile as she walked towards the ripples where the way back to the real world waited for them. "Yes, I suppose it is."
"Alright, let's retreat for now," said Mona. "We can talk more back at the hideout..."
The twisted reality that was Kamoshida's castle shattered as they passed through the ripples, and in its place once more stood Shujin Academy, and the three teens were once more back in their school clothes and now standing in the alley just outside the school.
"Whooooaaaah..." Ryuji let out a sudden and loud sigh as he pressed his hands on his knees to keep from falling over. "Dude, I feel like I could just pass out right here!"
"Yeah, I get what you mean," Ann said, rubbing her temples.
"All that exploring the Metaverse will do that!" Morgana, once more an ordinary cat stated.
Kyoko had to admit, she, too, felt absolutely exhausted to the point she doubted even coffee would do the trick as she caught her breath.
Speaking of coffee...
"I should probably get back home," Kyoko said, following Ann's example and bring a hand to her temple.
"You're right," Morgana replied with a yawn. "After that trip I think we're all beat, and we've still got time, so we can discuss this later."
"Whelp, in that case, I'll seeya all tomorrow!" said Ryuji as he immediately headed out of the alley, giving them a wave as he did so. Ann watched him leave before looking back at Kyoko and Morgana with a smile.
"All of this? Thanks for having me," Ann said.
"The pleasure's all ours, Lady Ann!" Morgana replied with as much of a smile as a cat could make. "The real challenge is coming up, so we'll need to all be ready!"
"I'm just looking forward to making that creep pay for everything he's done!" Ann stated, sliding her bag over her shoulder. "I better get home myself. Catch you tomorrow!"
Kyoko watched as her friends left, giving a glance up at the night sky before she, too, began the journey back to her new home...
A/N Thanks for sticking with me, everyone! I managed to get a new chapter out a lot sooner then expected, thanks to staying home a week due to unexpected illness. Hope you all enjoyed! Made it all the way through Kamoshida's Palace, even if I jumped around a bit and changed some stuff as I wasn't about to cover every last detail or we'd never get through. Though I'm following Royal, I've decided to leave out the Will Seeds. Originally they were going to have an even bigger role in showing the Palace Rulers' pasts leading up to their corruption, but only a few of those scenes ever got completed and were ultimately dummied out. Either way, hope you enjoyed the dungeon crawl, and check out EpicLinkSam's P4/DR Kyoko crossover fic "Nothing But The Truth" that inspired this one if you haven't already!
The Fool: Rank 2
The Magician: Rank 1
The Lovers: Rank 1
The Chariot: Rank 1
Death: Rank 1
Kyoko's Personas: Agathion, Bicorn, Jack-O-Lantern, Cait Sith, Silkie