Heart of Justice

by ShadeJak

Teen detective Kyoko Kirigiri had strived to get into her father's school since she was a child, but one fateful night changed everything and she found herself forced to move and stuck on probation under false charges. But fate had other ideas, for her to take on the role of a trickster and topple corruption. Inspired by EpicLinkSam's P4/DR crossover fic "Nothing But The Truth"

36. Robbing The Bank

Heart of Justice Chapter 36

6/23

Once more, the Phantom Thieves stood at the gates of Kaneshiro's floating bank. From the look of things, Ace observed, though Kaneshiro had sent Makoto another reminder just after school that day, and he still seemed overly confident he had them in his grip due to there was no apparent security outside other then guards that were brutalizing and casting the living ATMs overboard but otherwise paid them no mind.

"Alright, before we begin, what's our strategy for this mission?" Queen asked, looking at the others.

"Strategy?" Skull asked, confused.

Queen blinked in surprise. "Were you just playing it by ear the entire time?"

"Yes and no," Ace answered. "I normally assess each area we happen to come across for danger or anything of note. Mona seems able to sense things in Palaces such as whether we are getting closer to where the Treasure is, or if there are "safe rooms" nearby."

"Safe rooms?" Queen asked.

"They're places in a Palace where the distortion is much weaker, like those smaller floors with subway vestibules we passed in Mementos," Mona explained. "Because of that, Shadows don't enter them and we can take a break and recover for a bit without any fear of being attacked."

"I see," Queen replied with an understanding nod.

"Annnd any Shadows we do run into, we ambush 'em and beat the shit outta them!" Skull added.

"From what I understand, and what you've told me, Ace, it sounds like Kaneshiro's Palace will have a lot to look out for. I'll gladly lend a hand in analyzing Mona's information and keeping an eye out for any obstacles to help with whatever orders work best," Queen said.

"I appreciate it," Ace said, glancing over at the Palace looming over them. She'd worked with other respected detectives in the past, but often trusted her own skills over others. This was potentially new ground for her.

"In that case, Mona, you ready to navigate?" Queen asked.

"Yes, Queen!" Mona said, saluting with his tiny paw and walking through the gates, coming to a sharp pause seconds later.

"Seems he has at least made the front door off-limits," Fox observed, noting how said door was now closed and boarded up.

"That's another thing," Mona explained. "If Kaneshiro's cognition changes, impassable doors or other obstacles can block our progress."

"Still, there's gotta be another way in," Queen noted as she looked around. "I refuse to believe Kaneshiro isn't without holes in his security with that kind of arrogance. Ace, what do you think? See anything out of the ordinary?"

Ace approached, giving a look around as she held her hand up, her hair billowing as scattered yen notes blew about in the wind. The windows all had metal bars over them, and there did not appear to be any more doors.

See anything out of the ordinary...

Ace closed her eyes a second, focusing, and suddenly reality became slightly dimmer, save for a glowing blue footsteps on the surface of the island that led right. Following, Ace tracked them to where a large golden square pedestal stood, with a gold piggybank statue sitting atop it and a plate attached to the front that also now emitted a blue light like the footsteps that led to it.

"Hm..." Ace brought her hand to her chin in thought as she regarded it, the others coming up behind her.

"Something up with this statue, Ace?" Panther asked, curious.

"Hey," Queen said, leaning in, "...it feel like there's a draft coming from under it?"

Ace crouched, down, tracing her gloved hand along the base of the pedestal. "It does," she said. "I think this placard may serve a purpose as well..."

"Like a secret entrance?" Queen paced around the statue. "There's a gap over here, that's gotta be what opens it!"

"That would be my theory," Ace said, reality returning to normal for her as she stood back up and placed her hand on the placard.

Pressing it in, Ace watched as the placard suddenly slid in, making a grinding noise as the pedestal suddenly began to slide backward, revealing a square opening with a ladder leading down.

"Alright!" Mona cheered. "We ready? That stuff we ordered from that TV show oughta be a help as well if we face anything that messes with our heads!"

"You ordered stuff on TV?" Skull asked.

"Yeah! Something called "Mental Floss"," Mona said. "Shadows have all kinds of abilities we need to be ready for. It supposedly helps you remain focused and remember stuff easily!"

Skull raised an eyebrow. "For real? Save me some for after! I can use it next time exams're comin' up!"

Mona gave no verbal response but elected to simply shake his head in silence while Ace, Fox, Panther and Queen had already gone ahead and Mona hopping down after, Skull bringing up the rear as he climbed down into the opening as well.

---

Reaching the end of the passage, a small ladder leading up awaited, with what appeared to be a round cover similar to a manhole.

"Hopefully that leads into the bank," Fox remarked.

Ace paused, her gaze on the cover and the light peering through the small air holes. and around the corners. "Mona, can you listen for Shadows?"

"On it!" the cat whispered, climbing up and pressing his ear against it. A moment passed as Mona listened closely, before smiling and shaking his head as he hopped back down with the others. "...I don't hear anything. Can't sense anything either, so I think we're clear."

"They could be waiting to ambush us," Queen said. "Let's be on guard, weapons ready."

Ace nodded. "Skull, you're the strongest, try and get it open and do it as carefully as you can. Fox, Queen, hold him in place."

"No prob!" Skull said, giving a thumbs-up as he climbed up the short rungs and pressed his hands against the cover, Fox and Queen coming over and pressing their hands against his back to keep him from falling. Within a few seconds, Skull was able to push the cover up and peer through the room it led to.

"Nothin' in here," he said, placing the cover on the carpeted floor and sliding it aside so he could climb through. "Looks like we made it inside!"

"It seems our plan went well, then," Fox said, climbing up after him and looking around.

"This place looks different, so I guess we're not in the lobby," Queen observed as she emerged from the opening next.

"So where did we end up, then?" Panther asked as she climbed out.

"If we can find a map, we'll know for sure! Let's look around and try and find our way to the Treasure!" Mona said, climbing out next, Ace bringing up the rear.

"From the looks of things, the Shadows aren't alerted by our presence yet," Ace stated as she looked around, seeing the area they'd ended up in had a hallway. "...Still, we'll need to stay on alert for whatever systems Kaneshiro has in place..."

Kyoko closed her eyes, reality around her going dim for a moment but there was no indication of anything out of the ordinary. Satisfied, the detective looked over at her teammates and gestured to follow as she led the way down the hall, reaching a corner where there was a set of stairs, and an archway that appeared to lead back into the lobby, but also something else...

"Whoa... what's that?!" Panther stammered, staring at what stood in the lobby in worry.

Standing in the lobby, alongside two guards, was a large dog easily reaching the same height as a grown man despite being on all fours. Its body was pitch-black, with glowing red veins and smoke trailing off its form, with a metallic skull-like mask covering the top of its face that a pair of sinister, glowing eyes peered through as it paced about.

"A shadow in the shape of a dog," Fox observed as he peered around the corner at it. "Seems this place has its own watchdogs, then..."

"I don't like the looks of this," Mona said, ears drooping as he, too, looked worried.

"'Cuz you're a cat?" Skull teased.

"H-Hell no!" Mona protested. "I-I mean, it could sniff us out and probably chase us real fast, so it'd probably be harder to hide or run from then regular Shadows!" he explained hastily.

As if to respond to that statement, the dog Shadow promptly turned, facing the group, resulting in a yelp from Mona.

"...I think we're spotted," Queen remarked dryly.

Ace took ready stance, glaring at the Shadow as it immediately bounded over, letting out an angry howl as its form burst apart in a cloud of black and red smoke, revealing a towering, two-headed, gold-furred wolf-like creature with shaggy green manes and a serpentine tail.

The Shadow let out another howl from its twin mouths, red smoke bursting around it as its gold eyes glowed brighter then before, breathing jets of fire from its mouths at the group and torching their surroundings.

"Whoa! This thing's tough!" Mona said, barely leaping out of the way and swinging his scimitar, but it seemed to have little effect on their foe.

"JOHANNA!" Queen summoned her motorcycle Persona, firing a blast of blue energy at the beast, but it, too, had no effect as it let out a low growl that sounded like a chuckle before one of its heads turned and breathed another blast of flame, striking Queen and causing her to cry out in pain.

"Cut it out!" Skull shouted, touching his mask as Captain Kidd appeared above him, ramming the huge creature to restrain it.

"It breathes fire, let's try the opposite!" Ace ordered. "Fox, with me! JACK FROST!"

"GOEMON!" Fox shouted.

The snowman and kabuki Personas appeared in unison, firing twin blasts of ice at their opponent and causing it to howl in pain and recoil under the added pressure of Captain Kidd's ship.

"It seems to be working!" Fox shouted.

"Keep it up!" Ace ordered.

Their enemy, however, then glared at them with its four eyes, letting out an angry snarl and forcing itself free, unleashing another pair of fiery streams from its jaws and driving the group back.

"For real, even after that?!" Skull protested.

The Shadow turned its attention at Panther next, snarling.

"No! Lady Ann!" Mona cried out, lunging forward and reaching out to her with his paw extended.

Ace then felt a hum from within her coat, reaching into its inner pocket she noticed the star Jose had given her was glowing, then reality itself suddenly grew blurry...

...And transformed into a field of flowers before everyone's eyes.

Panther looked surprised as an equally surprised Mona landed in her arms, a bouquet now in his paws with a pair of gun handles sticking out of it among the wrapped flowers.

"Lady Ann..." Mona said softly, his large blue eyes noting the weapons in the bouquet.

"I think I can use these!" Panther said with a grin. Mona leaped out of her arms as she turned and faced the confused Shadow whipping a pair of twin machine guns from the bouquet and promptly firing away in a frenzy, the star in Ace's hand glowing brighter as suddenly a large, cartoonish bomb appeared in Morgana's paws almost the size of himself, the cat cheered as he flung it at the distracted enemy, the bomb exploding seconds after and taking their foe with it, the two posing victoriously side-by-side after.

"Okay, glad it's gone but... what was that just now?" Skull asked, astonished as the flowery meadow vanished and returned the group to the bank.

"I think it had something to do with that star that strange child in Mementos gave us," Ace observed, holding the trinket up.

"Like a wish or something?" Panther asked, looking at it and noticing it had gained a more shiny luster.

"It's gotta be!" Mona said, looking over at her with an eager and proud feline smile. "...Maybe it was the fruits of our working together, Lady Ann!"

"Wait, what's this about a strange child and that star?" Queen asked, confused.

"There was this weird kid in Mementos we ran into a few times," Skull explained. "Kinda looked like a puppet or somethin' but he seemed nice enough. Gave us this thing said it'd grant our wishes... or somethin'..."

"Then maybe... it reacted to a wish by Mona to fight alongside Panther?" Queen asked.

"Wish-granting stars," Fox observed. "We continue to run into one strange phenomenon after another in this "Metaverse", it seems..."

"Ya think if Mona and Panther were able to suddenly get a moment like that, we could have it happen with the rest of us, too?" Skull asked, looking over at Ace.

"It's certainly possible," Ace replied, pocketing the star again and bringing her hand to her chin as she mulled it over. "...For now, it seems we've been blessed with some kind of miracle, but I suspect it best we not be too dependent on it. We don't know if or when its power will help us out of a situation, again."

"Ehh, guess you're right," Skull said, "Still, that'd be totally sick if it happens!"

Ace couldn't help but smirk faintly at the thought. "Perhaps. In the meantime, let's continue our infiltration..."

---

The Thieves came to a pause after managing to cross the lobby, barely sneaking past the Shadows that had appeared but fortunately the guards had paid them little mind, now, as they focused on escorting more walking ATM cognitions that filled the seats. Ace scowled a little at the thought of it, whatever Kaneshiro's way of getting away with it this long and trapping so many people, she'd get to the bottom of it.

Her attention changed, however, at the corner of the hall at the end of the lobby, where a guard was entering an elevator as it closed behind him and went down.

"This place must have lower floors," Panther observed, peering around the corner.

"There's no control panel, though," Ace remarked, noticing the lack of buttons normally accompanying a set of elevator doors.

"There's a small camera above it," Queen stated, noting a lens where the dial determining what floor the elevator was on was. "It must mean whoever goes in has to be approved by whoever's looking through that camera first for it to open."

"Then there'd have to be a security office nearby controlling it," Ace replied. "In the real world, Kaneshiro is very selective about who gets to meet him, it makes sense the same would be said for here as well, especially if whatever's down there is very important to him."

"That's gotta be where the Treasure is, then!" Mona said. "Pretty simple screening method, but I gotta admit, still pretty effective."

"That'd be my guess," Queen said. "Kaneshiro clearly doesn't want just anyone going down there, after all."

"Then we just gotta find this security office and open the doors from there, right?" Skull asked.

"From the look of it, yes. Let's make that our next objective," Ace replied, her attention turning to a flight of stairs nearby. "Let's look around upstairs, first."

Leading the way, Ace and the others went up the stairs, pausing as they found another doglike Shadow guarding the hall. Taking position behind some columns, Ace waited for the right moment to spring on to the canine's back and tear its metallic mask off. As she leapt away, the Shadow melted into a mass of red and black ooze that spawned another two-headed wolf and this time flanked by a pair of fairy-like humanoids with wild blue hair and plate armor over skintight purple bodysuits.

"Let's wrap this up quick!" Mona ordered. "ZORRO!" the swordsman Persona immediately appearing above him and summoning a boxing glove that socked the large wolf in both its faces, causing it to stumble back in surprise.

"JOHANNA!" Queen shouted, her motorcycle Persona unleashing powerful blue energy blasts at the enemy, sending both fairies to the ground in a daze.

Recalling the last fight with one, Fox brought his hand to his mask. "GOEMON!" he shouted, his own kabuki Persona breathing out an intense blast of cold from his pipe and causing the two-headed wolf to collapse and crumble away in a burst of smoke as it struggled to recover from Zorro and Johanna's attacks.

"W-wait! Please!" one of the fairies protested, holding its hand out anxiously.

"What do you want?" Ace asked, stepping forward and pointing her gun at it.

"Maybe... we can make a deal? Please, I don't want to die here! I promise I won't tell Mr. Kaneshiro!" the fairy pleaded.

The others looked at Ace, who kept her gaze on the downed foes. "Then will you lend me your power?"

The fairy chuckled a little. "No bribe, huh? Well, depends... I wanna know who I'm dealing with first."

"We don't have time for this," Queen stated, annoyed.

Kyoko gazed down at the fairy. "You heard her."

"And you're kids! If you think I'm the worst Mr. Kaneshiro's got, you won't get far at all!" the fairy replied. "For that alone, I'd consider you as reckless as just saying yes! Now what made you wish for my alliance?"

"I don't underestimate him at all," Ace replied. "I'm fully aware of the power he has, and so I'll take any I can get."

"Well, that's bold of you!" the second fairy said with a laugh. "Bold, but good to see you've got some insight!"

"That said, doesn't it seem ridiculous to think a would-be victim whose been nearly killed would be receptive to such a demand?" the first one asked.

"You pleaded with me for mercy, and I accepted, I see no reason to take issue over it," Ace replied.

"I suppose if it is to my benefit..." the fairy started, only for her eyes, as well as her companion's, to widen in realization. "I-I remember, now! I'm no Shadow! I'm a being from the Sea of Souls!"

The fairy's wings fluttered, taking her back into the air as she hovered before Ace. "Thank you for sparing me. I will now lend my power to your mask! I am thou, thou art I... call me "High Pixie" and use my power well!"

In a flash of light, the High Pixie vanished, disappearing into Ace's mask. The second one fluttered up as well, smiling.

"...And allow me to add my power to it as well..." the second one vanished as well into a ball of light that flew into Ace's mask, and she could sense the power of her newly-acquired High Pixie grow stronger.

"Nice work, Ace!" Mona cheered. "A new Persona, and got the other one to make it stronger!"

"Kaneshiro doesn't stand a chance!" Panther said with a smirk. "So, shall we keep going?"

Ace nodded, leading the way through a hall and pausing, closing her eyes a moment and allowing the Third Eye sense to tell her something valuable was nearby. Noting a small piggybank decoration on one of the desks, Ace slapped it off the table, sending it to the ground where it shattered on impact. An aquamarine gem lay among the shards which the young detective immediately picked up and pocketed. Hopefully it'd be worth something at Untouchable.

"...So, these Palaces have valuables, too?" Queen asked.

"It does certainly help in funding our operation," Fox said with a smile.

"We may find stuff in chests as well," Mona said. "Great job on your intuition, there, Ace! Like a real Phantom Thief!" he said approvingly.

Ace couldn't help but give him a faint, but amused smile before returning her attention to the path ahead. There'd been no Shadows nearby enough to be alerted so she proceeded onward, dashing behind furniture and darting behind corners as she moved to avoid detection and eventually coming to a switch that opened a large shutter door that opened up to a passage leading back downstairs. A convenient possible shortcut, though Ace didn't expect much use of it for the time being and turned around to investigate the rest of the upper floor. By her suspicions, the means of opening the elevator was most likely somewhere here, though aside from a locked doorway she didn't see anything of interest.

Closing her eyes again, Ace focused, and open reopening a faint blue glow came from a vent near some pipes. Scaling them, Ace carefully climbed into the ducts, followed by the others.

"Ick, I hope there's no spiders in here," Ace heard Panther mutter behind her.

Queen giggled in response. "We need to lay low, so let's push past our fears and keep moving onward!"

Ace paused, peering through an opening at the end of the cramped passage that lead into what appeared to be a control room full of monitors and a terminal desk, a Shadow guard present and watching them intently.

"What'll we do, Ace?" she heard Mona whisper as she felt him crawl under her to peer through.

"Take him out. Everyone ready?" she asked quietly.

"You bet!" Skull said.

"You can count on us!" Fox replied.

"I think we've got this!" Queen answered.

"Ready when you are!" said Panther.

With a nod, Ace crawled from the vent quietly, rolling across the pipes and pulling off a three point landing on the carpeted floor on her knee. The guard turned in surprise just in time for Ace to spring into the air over it and land on its back, grabbing its bug-eyed mask and tearing it clean off in a single stroke.

The Shadow cried out as it exploded into a mass of black ooze that spawned four horse-like Orobas.

"JACK FROST!" Ace cried out, recalling her own Orobas' strengths and weaknesses as she summoned her snowman-like Persona that breathed out a mighty blast of cold on her foes. The horse-man creatures whinnied in pain as they stumbled back.

"FOX!" Ace leaped back, her palm striking the boy's as he leaped forward.

"Of course! GOEMON!" Fox yelled, summoning his Persona that fired a cold blast of its own, inflicting further pain upon their enemies.

"Alright! They're on the ground! Everyone, let's finish them!" Queen declared, the group immediately taking out their weapons of choice as they leapt into the air and struck their foes in a flurry of attacks, leaving only smoke in their wake.

"Phew! That was..." Queen chuckled a little as she stood back up, before just suddenly breaking into laughter.

"You alright, Queen?" Panther asked.

"I'm fine," Queen replied. "Mission or not, I have to admit I'm rather enjoying this."

"I getcha!" Skull said with a grin. "You kinda feel like a superhero or somethin'!"

"Something like that," Queen said with a nod. "Between Mementos and this, it's certainly exhilarating. You get that feeling, Ace?"

"...We seem to be in some kind of monitoring room," the young detective answered, though not responding to the brunette's question. "Still, I'd expect Kaneshiro has some extra security measures to ensure only his guards can get around with little trouble..."

"Hey, check this out!" Skull said suddenly, approaching the desk and taking a small card off the table. "Looks like some kinda keycard!"

"There's a map, here, as well," Fox stated, approaching the opposite the control panel, where a locked door, presumably the one the group had passed in the hallway, also stood with a card scanner next to it.

"From the looks of it, there's a large basement area underneath the main part of the bank," Ace observed, approaching the map and looking it over.

"Just like our hunch earlier, something tells me that's exactly where the Treasure is!" Mona said, hopping up and removing it from the wall.

"Let's start by seeing where this keycard lets us go," Ace said, holding her hand out and Skull passing the card to her. Approaching the scanner, Ace slid the card in and without a resounding beep, the lock gates over the doors receded into the walls. Pushing the doors open, Ace found herself back in the hallway.

"With any luck, this card will work in other places as well," she said.

"I don't remember one for the elevator, though," Queen said.

"For now, we can see if there's any other doors it can open. I think I remember another one on our way back here," Mona said. "Lead the way, Ace!"

Nodding, the young detective lead the way, back through the hallway and past the balcony where another gated off door was. Blinking in curiosity, Ace paused and peered over the balcony, putting her hand to her chin in thought a moment before sliding the card into the scanner. The doors opened, leading to a small room with metal grating over the floor in the middle, where two large pulleys with chains sat on either side. A grinding was heard shortly after as a shape rose up from below, stopping a few feet below the grating.

"Hey! I think we're above the elevator, now!" Mona said.

"You're right. I think it is," Queen replied.

"Think this'll take us to the basement?" Panther asked.

"From what I saw on the map, there's a floor below this one, as well, connected directly to the basement," Ace said. "I've no doubt the bulk of his security will be waiting there, as well."

"True, but we are certainly making progress," Fox said. "It looks like we can get through this emergency exit panel in the grating."

"Guess we better hurry while it's still up here!" Skull said.

"For all we know, it could be occupied, so it may be best we ride it down from on top of it," Queen suggested.

"That may be the best approach," Ace replied. "Once it stops, we'll climb through and continue."

"Well, let's go then!" Panther said, she and the others hopping down on top of the elevator as Ace paused a moment, her gaze turning to the open panel before joining them.

"Something up?" Skull asked.

"The panel was opened before we got here," Ace remarked as she glanced back up at the opening. "And the keycard you found, it was sitting on the table instead of in that guard's possession."

The elevator let out a metallic groan as it became active and began its rapid descent downward.

"What about that?" Mona asked.

Ace folded her arms. "Just... a hunch. I'll explain when we're somewhere safe."

"At any rate, I heard the doors open under us," Mona interrupted. "We ready?"

"Hang on," Ace said, noticing an open air duct nearby. "This may provide the more subtle approach..."

"Well, if we're going that way, let's hurry!" Mona said, the group filing into the ducts with Ace leading the way.

"Think this is the basement?" Skull asked once the group emerged and looked at their new surroundings. It didn't look much different from the upper floors of the bank, just less lavish and no ATM cognitions to be found. The lighting was also somewhat dimmer.

"I would imagine it must be, or the way to it," Ace replied.

"Attention all security!" a familiar voice suddenly cried out on the intercoms.

"Kaneshiro!" Queen hissed through her gritting teeth as she clenched her fists.

"It appears some rats have infested my bank!" Kaneshiro's voice declared from the speakers above. "Under no circumstances are they to be allowed to proceed further down! Strengthen security as much as you can, understood?!"

"It seems painfully obvious, now, that the Treasure is down here," Fox remarked dryly.

"How're we gonna get an idea where it is, though?" Panther asked. "The map showed there was a big basement area but I don't think it gave a lot of details about it."

"We'll need to see if there's another one for this floor, then," Ace replied.

"In the meantime, I think there's a safe room nearby!" Mona said, his ears twitching and gesturing to the hallway on the right with his paw. "...If Kaneshiro's tightened his security, it may be best we break first."

---

"You wanted to know what caught my attention regarding the open panel and that keycard that seemed a little too important to just be left on a table?" Ace asked, looking over at Skull as the others had sat down in the available seats in the safe room, which appeared to be an unused office.

"...It's possible a Shadow guard simply spawned there. Someone came up through here and may have left it there after locking everything back up and snuck back through the ducts," she explained. "There's no reason a Shadow guard would have to do those things on their own if they serve the Palace Ruler. It'd be counterproductive to put needless obstacles to their tasks."

"Do you suspect it was someone else?" Fox asked. "Perhaps this intruder Madarame's Shadow encountered?"

"It's certainly possible," Ace replied, folding her arms. "Which leads me to another question, if it is, why didn't this person kill Kaneshiro?"

"Maybe this place was too dangerous for 'em and had to bail?" Skull offered.

"It's certainly possible, but this intruder made it to Madarame's Shadow and intimidated him at some point," Ace continued. "If this person in the black mask did the same with Kaneshiro, there's a link. One I can't determine yet, but a link regardless."

"You think..." Queen brought her hand to her chin. "...You think this person may have some connection to why the Kuzuryu's haven't shut down Kaneshiro's operation?"

"He's mentioned having connections for years," Ace replied. "...These incidents have gone on for about as long, as well. If there's a link, it leads to another question I've had regarding the culprit... what if this person managed to intimidate the Kuzuryus into submission through the Metaverse? Psychotic breaks and mental shutdowns that can't be predicted or explained in the real world? Whoever can do that is both very powerful and connected, but it still leaves the question if this intruder in the Metaverse is the mastermind... or merely the weapon."

"Sooner or later, I'm sure we'll find out," Queen said. "Once we got Kaneshiro's Shadow cornered, maybe he'll tell us something!"

"It's worth a try," Ace replied. "If he can tell us anything about this intruder, it'd potentially bring us closer to solving this."

"You don't think this person's still here, do you?" Panther asked, concerned.

"It doesn't appear to be the case or we'd have likely run into them by now," said Ace. "If there's a link between Madarame and Kaneshiro, as well as the fame the Phantom Thieves are getting, I doubt this person would waste the opportunity to engage and eliminate us."

"It's probably for the best," Mona said. "Whoever this is has been at it way longer then any of you. Who knows how dangerous they could be, even with your power to use multiple Personas, Ace!"

Ace sighed, glancing back at the door with a hint of a bitter scowl. "Still, it also concerns me how this person acquired the power we have and the understanding of how to use the Metaverse to influence the real world." The girl's brow furrowed behind her white mask. "I have every intention of catching this person. They may be able to answer even more about all this as well."

"If we just knew who this person was in the real world, that'd sure make it easier," Panther sighed.

"In the meantime, let's bring down Kaneshiro!" Skull said. "Once that happens, we don't gotta worry about our debt to 'em, and neither does anyone else that asshole's got in his grip!"

"...And in doing so, the Phantom Thieves' justice will be even more believed," Fox said with an approving smirk.

"Which will also be the key to further exploring Mementos!" Mona said with a smile of his own. "You good, Queen?"

"I'm definitely ready, yeah!" Queen said, standing back up, the others doing so as well.

Ace smiled faintly at her team. Even if her primary foe may have currently been beyond her reach, they still had their mission, here, that they were going to put their all into.

"Let's go."

---

"Whoa, what's that!" Mona suddenly cried out as the Thieves turned a corner in a series of hallways that seemed like a labyrinth after leaving the safe room, the cat gesturing to something near the ceiling with his paw.

"Security camera," Ace observed, her gaze tracing further down the hall and noticing there was more then one. A lot more. "Kaneshiro wasn't lying when he mentioned this place's security."

"This is bad!" Mona said. "I bet this'll cause a lot of problems if we're spotted on them!"

"...Likely it'll bring a whole slew of Shadow guards our way, no doubt," Queen added.

Ace studied the cameras a moment, and where they seemed to be pointed, and noticed a control box that seemed to be at the end of the hall as well. Closing her eyes a second, Ace recalled the hidden laser guards of Madarame's Palace. With any luck, it'd work here, as well.

Opening her eyes as they now flashed gold behind her mask, Ace could see blue, slanted cones of light connecting from the floor to the camera lenses, signifying their apparent range. "Follow me," she said softly, her gaze on the path ahead. "Move exactly as I do..."

The young detective raced forward, pausing before reaching the cameras and carefully moving beneath them as she hugged the wall. She paused again as two were now on either side as she moved cautiously between them, low to the ground and out of the faint blue beams of light. Seconds after, she relaxed, her vision returning to normal as she reached the control box, the others behind her as she took out the keycard from her coat and inserted it in.

A faint honking sound came in response, signifying it was denied.

"It's a control box alright, but it also seems also to provide power to the cameras in this hallway," Ace observed.

"Won't take the keycard, but it's basically a battery box for these cameras, so maybe we can just break it?" Skull asked.

"That... might actually work, Skull," Mona remarked.

"Well don't wanna have to do all that dancin' again, let's give it a go!" Skull said, his mace appearing as he promptly slammed it into the control box. The box exploded in a burst of sparks and damaged circuitry as it let out a low drone of its power going out.

"Hey, look!" Queen said, pointing behind them, and sure enough, the cameras had shut off, their frames drooping downward and clearly now inactive.

"Hey, check it out! It worked!" Skull said with a chuckle. "Sometimes when all else fails, you just gotta hit shit, ya know!"

"Crude, I admit, but I suppose one needn't complain about positive results," said Fox.

"Definitely not!" Panther said with a giggle. "So, guess it's time we keep going!"

---

"HIGH PIXIE!" Ace cried out, her newly Persona raising its hands at the very formidable red giant resembling one they'd faced before escaping the Palace the other day. Nothing seemed to be doing the trick, though and it'd managed to get in a few good hits as well.

"Let's try disorienting it, somehow! Maybe that'll weaken it!" Queen shouted, standing back up from the blow she'd taken.

"DORMINA!" the High Pixie thrust its hand forward, purple mist forming around the giant as it collapsed to its knees, forced into a slumber.

"Perfect! We should be able to knock it down like this with a well-aimed hit!" Mona declared. "ZORRO!"

The top-heavy swordsman Persona appeared, summoning a boxing glove that socked the giant in the face, waking it but also knocking it to the ground in a daze. All as one, the Thieves leaped into the air and finished it off with a flurry of blows.

"Seems we're past the weaklings," Ace said, standing back up and adjusting her gloves as she glanced back at the smoke left behind by their destroyed enemy.

"We can't get cocky, though," Mona said. "The Treasure's still a way away from what I can tell."

"And this place is absolutely full of guards and cameras," Fox observed as he looked down a hallway where there was a flight of stairs.

Ace immediately took the lead, and eventually came upon a larger room with green carpet and marble walls with two sets of stairs and a hallway blocked by bars. Along the walls and were more cameras, as well as laser towers below them and adjacent against the railings.

"Think that leads to the Treasure?" Panther asked.

"Most likely," Mona said quietly. "That map we saw when we took out those power boxes says we can go down from here."

"I can see a Shadow, sounds like it's talking to someone," Panther replied.

"Let's get closer," Ace said, hugging the wall as she crept closer, followed by the others, her Third Eye sense detecting no active security systems presumably from their earlier venture of breaking every power box they could along the way.

"He said something about... two keys," Panther whispered, listening.

"Can we get closer?" Queen asked. "That might be important."

Before any of them could, however, there was the sound of footsteps retreating down the blocked hallway, and immediately the cameras and laser towers cut on.

"Ace! Panther!" Skull cried out, noticing the young detective was now pressed against the wall between two active cameras.

"If we move, they'll probably come back and call reinforcements!" Ace warned. "Stay still!"

"R-really trying!" Panther stammered. Needless to say the space the two of them were confined to did not offer any movement and left both pressed tightly against eachother.

"There's got to be a power box nearby! They wouldn't just have one far away from here!" Queen ordered.

"Over there!" Mona said, pointing down one set of stairs leading down to another leading up to the adjacent wall with his paw. "Maybe that one will shut them off!"

"On it!" said Skull, taking a quick look to make sure there were no cameras present and making a dash down the stairs. He stopped short, however, when he saw there was a laser tower in front of him. It did not appear to have any red bars passing between them, though.

"Careful! They may be the kind you can't see!" Queen warned. Ace closed her eyes a second and focused.

"She's right! Think you can hit the power box from where you are, Skull?"

"Hm, think I gotcha!" Skull said with a grin, summoning his shotgun and taking aim at the power box, firing a pair of rounds at it. The power box exploded in a burst of sparks and smoke, Skull's aim having served him well, as all the cameras save two blocking access to either side of where the barred doorway was immediately shut down.

"Nice work, Skull!" Panther cheered.

"Hey, if it's breakin' stuff I at least gotcha covered, there!" Skull said with a laugh. "...Not that I'm complainin' 'cause that's always fun!"

"That was certainly a close call," Ace said, letting out a faint sigh of relief now that she could move again as she and Panther immediately rejoined the others.

"Let's move before someone comes looking for us! We probably made some noise," Fox said, the group immediately heading for another set of stairs leading further down to where it appeared a large vault door sat waiting for them ahead.

"Whoa, a vault?!" Skull asked, eyes wide with surprise as he looked it over. The vault door had two large wheels and several bar locks on it, presumably for added security.

"The map we saw suggests there's a great deal more beyond it, too," Queen said. "But no doubt this is where we need to go if we're going to reach the Treasure."

"So it's more a partition of sorts, but we'd need to open it first," Fox mused. "...Likely with these terminals..."

"By my assertion," Ace remarked, noticing two scanners alongside the vault on either side. "...We'll need to find a way to reach the guard from earlier. Those two keys you heard him talk about are probably what we'll need to get in, Panther."

"This place sure is a headache, I'll say that much," Panther sighed, looking back at the hallways. "Kaneshiro really leaves little to chance doesn't he?"

"No bank would," Queen said.

"Gotta agree with Panther, this crazy security's gettin' on my nerves!" Skull grumbled.

"At any rate, we should start looking. I don't think there's much else we can do, here, for right now..."

---

Ace sighed as the group returned to the large room with the barred doorway and the vault. "I will admit," she said quietly, closing her eyes for a second and taking a breath. "...I agree with your earlier sentiment on this place's security, Skull."

"Still, good thing we held on to that keycard," Queen said. "It seems to work on the locked doors down here like it did getting us into the elevator."

"Which adds more to my earlier theory," Ace said.

"Either way, the cameras are finally off!" Mona said. "Let's head up to where those Shadows are! That arch is still barred off so they're probably still there!"

Nodding, Ace lead the way up the stairs and crept close to where the door arch was once more, her gaze briefly eyeing the cameras that had now been shut down as she peered around the corner for any sign of activity.

Up ahead was another control room, similar to the one where they'd found the keycard. Within were two Shadow guards, though they were noticeably more burly-looking then the others, and wearing bright yellow swat gear with black vests and helmets, their bug-like masks' eye lenses and red batons glowing brightly as they talked.

"So, about those intruders Mr. Kaneshiro was talking about," the one on the left said.

"You really that concerned?" the one on the right asked sternly, leading its companion as they approached, stopping at the barred arch. "Don't be. We have the keys they need, so as long as we got 'em in here, there won't be any problems. No one's gettin' past the vault door downstairs without 'em!"

As soon as they were gone, Ace brushed back her hair, looking at her fellow Thieves. "It seems they have the keys we need to get past that door."

"We gonna lure 'em out and beat 'em up, then? Seems like it's the only way we're gettin' 'em at this point," said Skull.

"That may not be the best approach," Ace said, bringing her hand to her chin as she leaned against the wall, thinking it over. "They both looked noticeably larger and stronger then the Shadows we've encountered here, so far. It's probably why Kaneshiro left them with the task of guarding those keys."

"Fighting them both would be tough, and one could just run off and sound the alarm," Panther said. "So, what should we do, then?"

"We need a way to lure them out individually, and keep them isolated from eachother," Ace explained. "...That way we can ambush one at a time, which I'm certain all of us can handle without wearing ourselves out, and the other won't be aware of what's going on and call for reinforcements."

"Maybe we could use the control room upstairs from earlier?" Queen asked. "There was communication equipment there and it'd make sense they'd be able to contact one-another that way! We could lure one of them up, and then deal with the other one after the first one's neutralized!"

"That would definitely be safer then fighting both at the same time!" Panther said with a smile.

"There was an emergency stairway leading back up to the main floor, so we can probably take that," Fox said.

"Then we ready to head back up and give this a try, leader?" Skull asked, smirking at Ace.

Giving a nod, Ace led the way back upstairs, a plan now in motion.

---

"Okay, once I call the first one up, be ready," Queen said, preparing to switch on the microphone at the control desk.

"You can count on us!" Skull said with a thumbs up.

"No problem!" Panther said, smirking as she got her whip ready while Ace quietly adjusted her gloves.

"Mona, Fox, you'll be our backup. Fox, get the Shadow from behind if it gets the advantage, Mona, handle support and heal us if that happens."

"I'll do my best," Fox said.

"Bring 'em on!" Mona cheered with a happy meow.

"Alright, let's do this. Stay quiet." Queen flipped the switch at the desk and turned the microphone on. "Come in, security room! This is the monitoring room! The intruders are here! Requesting backup! One should be enough! The other, remain at post!"

On one of the screens showing the security room, one of the large guards approached the microphone at their own desk.

"Roger that! I'll be right up immediately!" the Shadow responded.

"Let's get into position! That guard will be up here any second!" Queen ordered.

The thieves quickly assumed their hiding places and seconds later, the doors burst open as one of the towering, yellow-clad guards entered.

"Wh-what?! There's no one here!" it protested.

"Not exactly!" Skull said with a grin, brandishing his mace.

"A trap!? You bastards!" the guard protested as Panther, Ace, and Queen joined. "We'll see how far this prank of yours gets you!" it declared, the ground rumbling as it broke apart into bubbling red and black before reshaping itself into a ten-foot-tall, blue-skinned horned humanoid in a white gi with black spiraling patterns on it, purple arm bracers, and brandishing a double-bladed sword. The most peculiar feature, however, was the gaping hole where its face should have been as it let out a loud bellow.

"Look out!" Queen shouted as the Shadow spun its blade at an impossible speed, unleashing a ferocious tornado at the entire group that sent them rocketing into the wall.

"Can't... move...!" Ace ordered as she and the others continued to feel the intense force of the wind beating against them and pushing them against the wall.

"Captain... Kidd...!" Skull managed to reach for his mask, and the pirate Persona rose up above him and fired a blast of lightning from its cannon arm.

Immediately, the Shadow's assault halted as it stumbled back from the lightning.

"Nice!" Panther said, getting to her feet despite the fatigue from the attack she and the others endured. "CARMEN!"

The dancer Persona appeared as well, doing a spin of its gown and unleashing a powerful blast of flame at the enemy, causing it to stagger, visibly in pain from the attacks. The Shadow let out an angry growl as it raised its weapon, spinning it again as a red light engulfed it.

"HIGH PIXIE!" The fairy Persona rose up above Ace as she stood, green fog engulfed the Shadow as it prepared another devastating tornado attack, only for it to grip its head in pain, looking disoriented.

"Excellent! Looks like it's been confused!" Queen cheered. "JOHANNA!" Her motorcycle Persona appeared with her, firing a powerful blast of intense blue energy at it "Again, Skull!"

"You got it! CAPTAIN KIDD!" Skull cried out, summoning his Persona once more as it again blasted the Shadow with a bolt of lightning, sending it to the floor.

"He's tough, over here, Skull," Ace said, holding her hand out as Skull leapt back, his palm slapping hers as she stood, a cold glare on her face as she stared down their foe. "...SHIISAA!"

The doglike Persona howled and delivered another brutal blast of lightning upon the enemy, causing it to howl in pain and look noticeably more weakened.

"Now's our chance. Let's finish it off," Ace ordered, the Thieves taking position as Mona and Fox joined them, and as one leapt into the air, striking the Shadow in a fully of blows and leaving behind nothing but a burst of dissipating smoke, and a strange gold key.

"Hey, looks like he had one of the keys with him!" Mona said with a smirk as Ace picked it up and slid it into her coat.

"Let's deal with the other one, now," Ace said, examining the monitors and noticing the other guard was still waiting in the security room, and the bars that had once blocked off the archway were still open presumably for when the guard returned.

"What's going on up there? Is the matter resolved?" the guard's voice inquired on the intercom.

"Yeah! We're good. He's on his way back down, now!" Queen said into the microphone.

"Very well, I'll leave the gate open, then," the guard responded.

"He won't be as much of a problem with his partner gone," Queen said with a smirk after cutting off the microphone.

"In that case, if we're good to go," Mona said, "...Then lets head on back down to the security room and finish him off!"

---

"No kiddin'... those guys WERE pretty rough," Skull said, running his hand through his hair after the second guard that had been waiting in the security room finally fell.

"Kaneshiro seems to be in no shortage of capable guards," Ace said as she took up the remaining key. "Now that we have both keys, we should be able to finally proceed."

"Oh! There's another map, here, too!" Queen said, walking over to the adjacent wall and removing the map within the frame. "It looks like there's an elevator further down past the door we need to go through."

"Then it's gotta be the deepest part of the Palace, the Treasure should be there!" Mona said.

"Are we prepared, though?" Fox asked. "It looks like there's a large area beyond the partition."

"We have little choice in the matter," Ace said. "The longer we wait, the more opportunities we give Kaneshiro to harass us or decide he wants to collect sooner."

"Let's at least see what's ahead!" Panther said. "We've come this far already!"

"I suppose you're right," Queen said. "We can't let Kaneshiro ensnare anyone else either if we can help it..."

Heading back outside the security room and down the stairs where the vault door waited, Ace handed Skull and Panther the two keys. "If this is anything like other high-security places with two key slots, you'll need to turn them at the exact same time."

"Got it!" Skull said, gripping his key in place after putting it into its corresponding slot. "Ready Panther? On three!"

"One..."

"Two..."

"Three!"

In unison, the pair turned the keys, and with a loud hiss, the vault door's gears turned with a heavy grind, the bars and locks receding as the door opened and slid apart into the surrounding frame.

"Well, it may have taken some time, but we've managed to force it open!" Fox said proudly.

"Well done, everyone," Ace said, folding her arms and smiling faintly to her teammates.

"I agree, it took plenty of cooperation from the whole team to make it possible!" Queen said with a smile of her own.

"Dude..." Skull murmured as he slowly walked into the hallway ahead and looked around in awe, causing Ace and the others to follow him in, curious.

"What the hell... there's money all over the place!" he said.

Skull's assertion was entirely spot-on. The Palace's surroundings had changed significantly: Gone were the lush carpets and marble walls in favor of metal columns supporting a metal bridge with glass panels on the floor that showed a vast pit filled with cash. More yen notes were littered about the bridge as others continued to drift down along the sides like snow through vents in the ceiling, landing softly into the filled pit below. Two vestibules stood on either side of the bridge that were framed in glass panel, and the place was bathed in a sickly green light similar to what the fan on the bottom of the bank's metallic island that kept it in the sky emitted.

"Look at it all," Panther gasped.

"All of this, he took it from the weak," Mona said disapprovingly as he shook his head.

"All these glass panels and windows, I imagine Kaneshiro certainly enjoys getting to look at his ill-gotten fortunes every chance he gets," Fox remarked.

"If he's accumulated such wealth in real life, I suppose it's entirely feasible he can find the right people to pay to keep the law and the Kuzuryus off his back," Ace said, her hands clenching her folded arms tensely.

"You hear how money can't buy happiness... but there's a lot of things it could afford, I suppose," Panther said.

"People like the Togamis are proof of that," Ace replied, brushing back her hair. "...It lends more to my theory... there has to be a connection going on here, something Madarame may have dipped his hands into as well if we're right that our black-masked culprit has been here, too. Using the Metaverse produces an untraceable way to assassinate someone, or set certain things into motion such as learning secrets or confessing to crimes. Whoever is granting someone like Kaneshiro, who'd normally be low-tier, this kind of protection probably isn't cheap at all."

"Either way, Kaneshiro's going to pay for this," Makoto hissed, her tone venomous with disgust at the sight before them. "For my father, and my family's sake, I refuse to let this continue!"

"That goes without saying," Ace replied with a nod.

"Think maybe he wants to be the new top dog in the underworld if the Kuzuryus won't touch 'em?" Skull asked.

"It's very possible," Ace replied, bringing her hand to her chin in thought. "There's a chance he's trying to prove his worth as a replacement, right now, to whoever he's been dealing with. Whatever Kaneshiro's ultimately after, or what this person gains from associating with him, here... I'm certain we'll find out."

---

Ace touched the bridge of her white mask as another fairy-like Persona, Leanan Sidhe, added its power to her own. Another two-headed wolf that had identified itself as Orthus had joined as well prior, replacing Ace's Eligor. However far they made it, she made a mental note to visit the Velvet Room soon to see what new ones she could fuse for herself as there was no telling what Kaneshiro would have in store for them once they sent the calling card.

"According to the map, the elevator should be right around the corner, Ace," Queen said.

"Then let's go," said Ace, leading the way down the darkened hall to where a round glass tube which the desired elevator sat within. Approaching it, Ace touched the down button and the blue metal doors immediately slid open, and soon the group found themselves on a lower floor that had gray marble walls and a carpeted floor similar to one on the upper levels.

"Careful, there's some strong Shadows patrolling this area!" Mona whispered urgently, his ears twitching in alarm. "Though I can sense a safe room nearby, too!"

"Well, let's hurry... I'm definitely startin' to feel it, now," Skull said, nursing his shoulder.

The Thieves carefully made their way across the halls, dashing behind pedestals and columns that provided cover from the imposing Shadows wreathed in red smoke and checking some of the decorations for things to pawn off later as well as some locked chests containing a new mace for Skull and a pair of knuckle dusters for Queen, Ace and the others finally stood before a pair of hazy doors and entered.

Almost immediately, the group flopped themselves down in the available seats.

"How are we on progress to the Treasure, Mona?" Queen asked.

"It's pretty close, I think. I saw a door on the other side. It can't be that far beyond it!" the cat replied.

"I admit, this infiltration has been very taxing," Fox said, leaning back in the chair he'd taken. "Between the security systems and the formidable Shadows Kaneshiro employs..."

"...Queen, are you alright?" Panther asked, looking over at her.

Queen took a few breaths, feeling more burned out then she'd have liked to admit, no matter how much she wanted to continue.

"I'm fine," she said firmly.

"We should probably leave. Kaneshiro hasn't made any major moves and we may not survive the rest of the way in if you're this worn down," Mona said, looking concerned, now, as well.

"No, I have to stop him," Queen said, clenching her fists on the table she was now leaning against. "What he's taken from me, I can never get back! The message that asshole sent me, today? He said he'd have me... he said he'd break into my home and have me dragged to his place to be auctioned off if I don't pay up soon... Then he had the gall to say I should thank him for what he did to my father since he wouldn't have to see it..."

Mona's ears drooped, sighing as he took in her words. "Queen..."

"I'm for continuing, myself." Ace replied, rubbing her temples to fight her own fatigue. "If we're this close there's no reason to turn back, now."

"Kaneshiro is truly a rotten excuse of a man," Fox said, "...But that said, if we are indeed going to continue, we should be mindful. If the Treasure isn't far off, Kaneshiro likely has something in store for us as his final line of defense to protect it."

Fox is right," Skull said. "You've been throwin' Persona attacks left n' right this whole trip, especially, Ace."

"How're our supplies looking?" Mona asked. "Anything that can keep us going a little longer?"

"I have some stimulant medicine from the doctor's near Leblanc," Ace said, taking out a red bottle from her coat.

"I think it's best Ace and I take some, and share the rest with whoever's most able," Queen said. "Everyone else, stay at the rear."

"You sure about this, Queen?" Panther asked.

"I'm positive," the other girl replied firmly. "I won't... I won't go in blind like last time. I just... I want to see this through. That way if Kaneshiro changes his mind, then we'd be in a position where we can send the calling card and shut him down."

"Can't argue with that logic," Skull said, standing up. "Let's see this through, We'll have your back!"

"Let's get this done," Ace said, taking a sip from the medicine bottle and passing it to Queen.

---

No sooner had the group stepped out of the safe room door when Queen spoke up immediately.

"Look!" she whispered, pointing ahead to where another elevator was.

Or more precisely, who was in front of it.

Ace's brow furrowed as she immediately recognized Kaneshiro's silver-suited Shadow, standing by the elevator and facing away from them, accompanied by another large, burly guard similar to the two that had been guarding the keys earlier.

"That Shadow he's with looks pretty tough. What's the plan?" Mona asked.

"Ace will lead the attack. Fox, you and Skull will be our muscle, I have a feeling brute force is gonna be a necessity, here, so I'll take offense as well. Mona, you and Panther hang back and provide support to keep us going if necessary. If we get overwhelmed... we run," Queen explained.

"Works for me. I wanna try this baby out!" Skull said, brandishing his new mace."

"Heh, likewise!" Queen said, her own new knuckle-dusters appearing.

"Everyone ready, then?" Ace asked.

"As we will ever be." Mona said.

Taking a breath, Ace led the charge, Queen close behind and the others following after as they quickly advanced on the waiting enemy.

"Kaneshiro!" Queen shouted, seething with anger once they'd gotten close enough. The crime boss turned, facing the group and gritting his teeth in anger.

"Y-you brats!" he snarled. "How the hell did you make it this far?! What about my security?!"

"Heh, all that? Piece'a cake for the Phantom Thieves!" Skull said with a playful grin.

"I wouldn't say it was that simple," Fox muttered.

"Is that so?" Kaneshiro sneered, rubbing his hands together. "Well, you're not getting to this elevator, you got it?! This guy right here's my best!"

"Would I be correct in assessing your Treasure is just down below?" Ace asked, folding her arms.

"My Treasure, young lady, is not for Thieves like you to get your grubby hands on!" Kaneshiro said with a chuckle before turning to the large guard. "Hey! Finish off these vermin and don't let them get to this elevator at any costs, got it?!" he snapped.

The guard immediately stepped forward, its body twitching and jerking before exploding into a puddle of black and red ooze that reshaped itself into not one, or two, but three beings. The one on the right looked like the faceless entity that one of the key guards had become, the other on the left resembled the creature that had led Kaneshiro's guards when Queen's Persona had awakened and the other key guard. The one in the middle, however, was a new one: A towering, muscular humanoid with green, and white ceremonial sashes and red pants, its body and face covered in gold plating resembling armor and a large crownlike crest on the back of its head.

"Meet my oni trio, Phantom Thieves!" Kaneshiro taunted from behind the transformed guards as he spun sharply on his heel and fled to the elevator as it opened, stumbling on the way. "Boys, thrash 'em! I've got other matters to attend to!" he declared, the doors closing and Kaneshiro disappearing down below.

"These guys look pretty dangerous! Get 'em Phantom Thieves!" Mona cheered.

"That blue one was trouble last time!" Panther shouted. "CARMEN!"

Panther's dancer Persona appeared, and a purple fog engulfed the faceless blue oni, causing it to fall into a slumber.

"JOHANNA!"

"CAPTAIN KIDD!"

The two oni on the sides immediately toppled in a daze from the Personas' nuclear and lightning attacks.

The remaining one in the center, however, suddenly dashed forward, swinging its arms into the ground causing a shockwave that sent the Thieves flying back as it let out a cackle.

"Damnit!" Skull cried out.

Ace glared at it as she got up, the other two now standing as well. The horned oni swinging its blade at Queen who kept ahead of it on her motorcycle Persona while Fox and Skull were on the defensive against the faceless blue oni's brutal wind attacks that sent the latter flying into a wall while the other struggled to summon Goemon.

"Look at you! You'll NEVER get Mr. Kaneshiro's Treasure!" the gold oni declared, clenching its fist as red energy erupted around it and its companions.

"We'll see about that! LEANAN SIDHE!" The seductive blonde fairy appeared above Ace as she spoke her name, tapping her instruments together as a barrage of technicolor florescent orbs flew at the creature, causing it to recoil in pain.

"SKULL!"

Ace turned sharply at Panther's cry, seeing the blond boy get knocked out cold by another wind blast from the blue oni.

"My last one! Don't waste it!" Mona shouted. "ZORRO!"

The swordsman Persona swished its blade, green light engulfed the unconscious Skull as he began to stir.

"Someone get the nameplate of that truck?" he asked, rubbing his head and grabbing up his mace, wincing when it occurred to him what had happened. "Oh, you're SO goin' down for that!"

"Indeed! GOEMON!" Fox shouted, his kabuki-styled Persona unleashing a powerful blast of cold at all three foes, the gold oni and the blue oni now frozen in place.

"Annnnd TAKE THIS!" Queen shouted, whirling around on Johanna as she fired a blast of blue energy at her own foe, destroying it where it stood and her own Persona vanishing as Queen fell to the ground, fatigued.

"CAPTAIN KIDD, SHATTER THIS SONOVABITCH!" Skull ordered, his pirate Persona appearing above him and ramming into the frozen blue oni, shattering it to pieces on the spot and the fragments dissolving into dust.

"Let's make it count!" Panther cried out, summoning her uzi, Fox and Ace taking their own guns out as well and taking aim at the frozen gold oni that remained.

"FIRE!" Ace ordered, the three of them letting loose a barrage of gunfire at their enemy causing it to topple to its knees.

The oni, however, though weakened, was not finished as it let out an angry bellow and charged at Ace, grabbing her by the throat and lifting her off the ground.

"ACE!" Queen shouted.

"D-damnit..." the young detective gasped as the creature held its grip on her and let out a low cackle.

"I gotcha, Ace! Capta-"

"Wait, Skull!" Mona shouted. "We don't wanna hurt Ace, too!"

"Wanna save your friend? It's gonna cost ya!" the oni sneered.

"The hell you mean?!" Skull protested, though noticing Fox was out of its line of sight and already moving.

"Mr. Kaneshiro loves new playthings! Any ladies wanna take her place?" the gold oni asked with a laugh.

Ace looked over at her friend. "...Do it..."

Skull could see she was looking at him. The gold oni looked confused as the masked boy's features hardened.

"CAPTAIN KIDD!"

A bolt of lightning struck the Shadow, it and Ace crying out as electricity surged through them and the towering oni dropped her, jerking and twitching from being shocked.

"Ace! We gotcha!" Skull said, rushing over with all his might and narrowly catching his friend as she fell, Panther, Mona, and Queen rushing to his side to help brace her as she winced in pain, barely still conscious.

"GOEMON!"

Fox's Persona loomed behind the stunned Shadow, summoning a large blade and swinging it down, cleaving the enemy in half and its remains dissipating into smoke seconds after. "Ace! Are you alright?"

"Let's get her back to the safe room!" Mona ordered, the others complying as they helped pick their leader up and make their way back as fast as they could.

---

Ace's breathing slowed down, the pain fading as she sat up on the table she'd been laid upon, green light fading around her as Panther lowered her hand from her mask.

"With us, Leader?" Panther asked with a smile.

Ace gave a nod. "Yes, I believe so."

"That was a close call," Queen said.

"With any luck," Ace said, climbing off the table and adjusting her gloves, "...This means the rest of the path to the Treasure is clear."

"Speaking of, I happened to notice this after the fight was over," Fox said, reaching into his pocket and taking out a small red booklet. "It seems Kaneshiro dropped it when he was leaving, it looks like some kind of journal."

Opening it, Fox looked it over, raising an eyebrow behind his mask. "It's letters and numbers. I'm not entirely sure what to make of it..."

"Let me see," Ace said, approaching and taking it. The young detective studied the assortment of mentioned letters and numbers, all the former equaling to something of the latter judging from how it was written. "From the looks of it, I'd say it's some kind of code. We'd better hold on to this..."

"Are we ready, then? I can sense the Treasure's waiting just down the elevator!" Mona said.

"You sure, Ace? Got pretty roughed up back there," Skull said.

"We're close," the young detective replied as she pocketed the diary. "Considering what we're dealing with and that the map suggests the elevator leads to the innermost part of the bank and the Treasure... as far as I'm concerned, there's no turning back, now."

"Well, you're the boss," Skull said with a shrug.

"We'll want to take it carefully, though. I'm pretty much spent, now," Mona said.

"Same," Queen said. "But I want to see this through as well."

"Well, then let's do that, then!" Panther said with a smirk. "Just... try not to scare us half to death like that again, alright, Ace? I dunno if I can heal you again."

Ace closed her eyes, letting out a small sigh and managing a smile despite her fatigue as they reached the elevator. "...I'll do my best."

Pressing the switch, Ace and the others boarded once the doors opened, and soon were on their way down.

"Hey... l-look!" Mona stammered, looking down below through the elevator's glass windows behind the rest of the group.

"What the hell?!" Skull gasped, staring, now, as well.

Down below, a massive, circular complex awaited. Surrounded by metal panels that were similar to the outer surface of the artificial island the bank floated on, was what appeared to be a circular maze of tall, metal vault deposit boxes, some of them blocking the path that seemed to lead towards the center, where a shimmering light emitted from.

"How messed up is this guy?!" Skull asked, getting closer to look. "Are these all vaults?!"

"By my deduction," Ace said, "...the Treasure is likely located right at the center of the maze, where that light is coming from," she said, pointing.

"The way there is blocked by several walls, though, how will we get there?" Panther asked.

"Hold on," Queen said, approaching the windows. "The shape of this room... these columns feeding into some of the walls..."

"...Like the inside of a combination lock," Ace remarked.

"Yes. It is exactly like the cylinder of a combination lock. We need to open a path just like when a key aligns all the discs in the cylinder to make it to the center." Queen said as the elevator came to a stop at the floor and the doors slid open to what appeared to be a large wall of vault boxes, with a small terminal at the front.

"Hm..." Ace approached, switching the terminal on.

"The lock is currently engaged. Please enter the requisite PIN," a mechanized voice ordered from the terminal's speakers.

Ace's gaze moved to a word engraved above the terminal that read "RICH".

"Rich? Just how obsessed can one man be with his money?!" Queen asked, disgusted.

"I think it's a clue regarding the number combination," Ace explained, noting the numbers on the terminal's keyboard similar to that of an ATM machine's. "Fortunately for us, Kaneshiro had left in such a hurry..."

Taking out the diary, Ace opened to where the letters and numbers had been written down, entering the corresponding numbers as listed to the letters that would spell the word out and hit Enter.

A loud rumble was felt beneath the floor, prompting the group to look to where a glass panel on the floor revealed a large metal key that emerged from below where the elevator had stopped and into a slot behind the terminal and turned. Immediately, the vault walls raised up slightly and shifted before their eyes, moving to the left and part of them lowering into the floor to reveal an opening.

"Sweet!" Skull cheered. "The whole vault just moved? Looks like we're gettin' closer!"

"MONEY! I NEED MORE MONEY! I MUST GROW RICHER...!"

The Thieves paused at the sudden sound of Kaneshiro's voice booming anxiously around them. Oddly, however, there was no sign of any intercom speakers, as if his voice simply came from the chamber itself.

"...SO LONG AS I'M RICH, I CAN DO ANYTHING!"

"What the...?!" Panther gasped in alarm. "Is Kaneshiro watching us?!"

"That doesn't seem to be the case, this place reflects his distorted heart, so we may be hearing his inner thoughts considering how close we are!" Mona said.

"Then money really is the only thing that matters to him," Ace said, bringing her hand to her chin in thought. "Still, it doesn't explain everything... what is his ultimate goal?"

"I guess we need to go deeper and maybe we'll find out," Queen said.

"Really pisses me off!" Skull said. "The guy blackmails tons'a people outta everything they got and it's still not enough for him?! What a douche!"

"Still, the means of progressing further has been cracked thanks to this little oversight on Kaneshiro's part," Fox said.

"Indeed, it would seem so," Ace said. "There's likely another terminal ahead judging from what we saw coming down here, so let's go look around..."

It did not take long, as the group made a left turn to where another terminal waited, the word "REAP" engraved above it.

"Reap, like to harvest?" Panther asked, frowning. "Why put that as a password?"

"I imagine it goes back to those cognitions we saw that looked like ATMs," Mona said, scowling. "He views all the money they carry as his, and when he withdraws it out of so many of them, it's like a harvest to him."

"How unsightly!" Fox snapped. "Given how rotten to the core we already know Kaneshiro to be, I suppose it's hardly too surprising he would!"

Without a word, Ace studied the keypad as she took out the journal again, typing in the proper number combination for the PIN, and a second later, the rumbling resumed and from a glass panel nearby, another key emerged and turned, causing the vault walls to shift again and form another opening, lined up in front of the previous one.

"Hey, it worked!" Panther cheered. "Looks like this thing basically opens up a path to the Treasure the more of these we solve!"

"-TCH!- THIS ISN'T ANYWHERE NEAR YOUR QUOTA FOR THIS MONTH!" Kaneshiro's voice boomed angrily around them. "DON'T GIMME YOUR EXCUSES, GIMME EVERY LAST YEN YOU REAP FROM THOSE IDIOTS!"

Fox looked around, listening to Kaneshiro's words. "The voice again..."

"I'LL MAKE YOU UNDERSTAND IF YOU DON'T GET IT! PEOPLE WHO CAN'T EARN MONEY ARE WORTHLESS TO ME!"

"He's truly pitiful," Queen said, shaking her head. "It's clear he values making money more then he does human life..."

"So he uses his men to make him richer, he pays off someone to make sure he can keep committing his crimes," Ace said, glancing around. "It'd make sense he'd have very high quotas when there are those he needs to pay off to do so. Still..."

"At any rate, let's see what the next one says! There's no denying we're almost there!" Mona urged as he rushed ahead, crossing another glass panel and turning around a corner formed by the next set of circular metal aisles, Ace and the others following till they found another terminal waiting for them.

"This one reads "HUGE"," Fox read on the engravings above the terminal. Taking out the journal, Ace studied the numbers and letters to decipher the next PIN number that corresponded to it.

A tremor shook the vault once again as there was movement below, followed by the rows that made up the aisles shifting about once more to open the path even further in nearby, another section made a straight line.

"THIS ISN'T ENOUGH...!" Kaneshiro's voice echoed around the Thieves.

"Does he sound... afraid, to you?" Queen asked, noting the anxiety in his voice.

"He does, actually," Fox said, listening as Kaneshiro's voice spoke up once more.

"N-NO! IT'S NOT ENOUGH! I NEED TO HAVE A HUGE PRESENCE!" his voice cried out.

"What, now?!" Skull wondered aloud.

"I'M DONE HAVING PEOPLE WALK ALL OVER ME!" Kaneshiro's voice continued, it growing more spiteful with every word. "...IT'S MY TURN NOW! I'LL SHOW 'EM HOW IT'S DONE! AFTER SHIBUYA... I'LL FEAST ON ALL OF TOKYO!"

"..."His turn"...?" Panther mused. "Did something happen to him that made him like this obsessed with money?"

"That's not important," Ace said coldly as she listened to Kaneshiro's words. "There's people in Shinjuku who are falling under his control, now, too. He's never going to stop."

"He's just spreading and feeding off more and more unsuspecting victims, like a disease!" Queen seethed, clenching her fists. "Every step we take is strengthening my resolve to end him!"

"Indeed, whatever he believes he was subject to in the past, he cares nothing for the people he tramples upon, himself," Fox agreed.

"Well, let's see how far we can get, now!" Mona said, noting the open path.

Ace nodded in agreement and led the way, the group then finding two simpler terminals that required arrow keys pushed in a correct sequence to properly line up the next set of walls and adding two new open sections to the path ahead.

The thieves paused at what awaited them beyond.

"Duuuuude!" Skull gasped in awe at the latest set of walls which were composed of what appeared to be gold lockboxes. "...Look at all these... are they... gold storage?!"

"Kaneshiro really seems to have gained an obscene amount of money, perhaps he intends to make sure its value never declines," Fox replied. "As an artist, this does bring something to mind, though... Ace, travelling through this Palace, do you, a detective, recall seeing anything of true value? Anything that looked like what might be a personal touch to him?"

Ace brought her hand to her chin as she thought back on their infiltration. There was certainly a lot of décor, but it was rather generic, more befitting of a business or an office rather then the antiquities or luxuries those with a great deal of money would buy, even for the sake of impressing others. "...No, the more I think back on it, I haven't. If Madarame's Palace was excessive in its décor to emphasize his hidden wealth and materialistic desires he indulged in under a humble exterior, this place would be the opposite. Upscale, but otherwise bland and generic for someone openly obsessed with being rich. The wealthy buy expensive things to show off their money but it tends to be things that are of interest to them. The only thing Kaneshiro seems to have invested in is the security measures of this place."

"So... aside from paying off the right people so his operations aren't interfered with, perhaps all Kaneshiro wants to do with all this money is hoard it," said Queen, shaking her head. "I guess we can discuss the matter later, there's probably another terminal nearby."

"With the way this place looks, it should hopefully be the last one, too!" Mona said. "It looks like this wall's a complete enclosure, though. The Treasure's gotta be inside so let's find the terminal!"

The terminal in question thankfully was not hard to find, situated directly behind the enclosure and down a set of stairs, flanked by two gold piggybanks and walls of gold lockboxes.

"GOLD," Panther said, reading the engraving. "I guess that's pretty straightforward, isn't it?"

"It is hardly surprising," Ace replied, approaching and taking the journal out once more. A few seconds later, the final PIN was inputted, and the ground began to tremor once more, though this time not only with the sound of a wall lowering, but something else rising out of the floor as well. Making their way back out, Ace and the others immediately took note of a large cylinder rising into the ceiling, and leading the way around the enclosure to where an opening now was at the front, they were greeted by another elevator that now stood open and waiting within, its exterior patterned with yen notes.

"Well, I'd say we got it right again!" Skull said with a laugh. "The Treasure's gotta be just down there!"

"It's definitely down there!" Mona said with a wide grin. "I can sense it loud and clear, now!"

Before the Thieves could take another step, though, Kaneshiro's voice once more echoed all around them, letting out a sinister, lustful chuckle.

"Heh heh heh heh... This beautiful, lustrous gold sheen..." he crooned, his voice softer, but no less sinister. "It's priceless... it's worth more then any twelve of those losers... this... this is the fruit of all my hard labor!"

"That asshole's celebratin' robbin' all those people?!" Skull protested indignantly. "That guy really needs to get his brain checked!"

Kaneshiro's laughter reverberated off the metallic walls surrounding them.

"Oh, how I've changed! I'm no longer that dirt-poor, pathetic loser from the slums everyone would always point and laugh at!" Kaneshiro's voice bellowed. "...WITH THIS MUCH, I'LL BE INVINCIBLE! OMNIPOTENT! EVEN THE KUZURYUS'LL WILL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO RESPECT ME, NOW!"

Ace grit her teeth, her head turning sharply away as Kaneshiro's words made her think involuntarily of the privileged life she'd had in the Kirigiri Estate, even if it looked less and less ideal the more time went on.

"Ace?" Mona asked, concerned.

The young detective was silent a moment. "These words came from his heart, so he must at least believe them," she said coldly.

"Not everyone's born loaded or excels in some talent that gets 'em a golden ticket to Hope's Peak and a rubber stamped good future," Skull said, frowning and looking unsure what to think as well after what he'd heard. "It sounds to me like he still thinks he's some poor weakling underneath."

Ryuji's observation caused Ace to find herself thinking of Maruki's words, way back in her first session with him.

"I certainly agree that Kaneshiro is a wicked man who has committed truly unforgivable crimes, yet I sometimes feel if I'd not met all of you, I'd have grown greedy and selfish like Madarame under the belief it was necessary to survive and prosper," Fox said. "I believe we've all become familiar at some point with how an apathetic society can lead to feeling very alone when plagued by misfortune, especially when bad people seem to succeed where you do not."

"An apathetic society I choose to become part of at one point, for that reason," Queen said, shaking her head.

Ace stared at the elevator for a second, "I imagine I wouldn't have paid him much mind at all, either, were I around during whatever youth he may have experienced, any more then my grandfather would have." She folded her arms. "Almost anyone who wasn't immediately beneficial to an investigation was of little importance to me back then..."

"Well, it definitely sounds like it's made Kaneshiro is very insecure about himself," Panther said, "...Like he's got to look like a big, wealthy businessman so he can make everyone give him the respect he feels he never got before, no matter how terrible the things he did to get there are."

"Regardless, understand I have absolutely no sympathy for this man after all he's done. I'm no stranger to unrepentant criminals trying to blame society for all their bad choices and whatever happened to him in the past, it doesn't excuse his crimes in the least!" Ace said sternly, finding her resolve again.

Queen shook her head. "You're right that there's no forgiveness for this cruel, despicable parasite of a man," she said. "I can safely say I'll never stop hating him for what he did, but... maybe one day, after this is all over, my heart might eventually pity the child he may have once been that no longer exists."

"Yeah, true... doesn't change he's now a shitty adult criminal who deserves to pay for his crimes!" Skull said.

"Well, we gonna keep talking, or go find the Treasure? It's just up ahead!" Mona said.

"You're right. Let's finish our infiltration," Ace replied with a nod, leading the group into the elevator, pausing briefly as she noticed the yen patterns on the shaft exterior bear the man's face on them, before stepping inside and hitting the down button.

The trip down was thankfully brief, the doors sliding apart to reveal a spacious, open money vault. More lockboxes lined the walls, a wheeled metal ladder was positioned near one of the open doors presumably for reaching the combination lock, and loose cash was strewn carelessly about on the gray, tiled floor as a few yen notes rained down gently like confetti. None of this held the group's interest for long, unlike the hazy, glowing mass sitting in the center of the room.

"Yup! Just like I sensed! The Treasure's here!" Mona said, trotting excitedly over to the shimmering blob.

"It barely looks like anything," Queen said.

"Now that we've made it all the way through, we need to send him the callin' card first!" Skull reminded her.

"Right, you mentioned that," Queen replied. "So it materializing comes from making Kaneshiro perceive the core of his distorted desires in a physical form that we can steal. Pretty bold trick, considering who we're up against."

"We'll defer to you regarding the time, Ace," Fox said.

"I appreciate it," Ace said, folding her arms as she stared down the formless mass before her. "Kaneshiro is more dangerous then our previous targets and has plenty of eyes in Shibuya, so when the calling card is issued, we need to act immediately because there's no telling what he'll do once he's feeling genuinely threatened."

"So long as we steal his Treasure, though, we'll change his heart and free everyone from his grip!" Mona said with a smile.

"Indeed," replied Ace. "...For now, let's leave immediately before he catches us here."

"Don't gotta tell me twice! Think I'm gonna pass out once I get home!" Skull said with a laugh.

"Heh, you're not the only one," Panther said with a tired smile.

"I think getting this far's made me feel better," Queen said, smiling in relief but clearly worn as well. "We have the advantage, now, that much is clear, even if he doesn't realize it."

The a mutual nod of agreement, the Thieves headed back to the elevator to make their way back to the real world.

---

It was night when an exhausted Kyoko entered the Leblanc café, giving Sojiro a tired smile and a nod as he greeted her before she headed upstairs with him saying he was going to head home, now. As if on cue when she sat down on her bed, her phone suddenly chimed.

[Hey, Kyoko! Any ideas of when we wanna send the calling card?] Ryuji had messaged in the group chat.

[I gotta agree. Probably the earlier the better] Ann messaged.

[As we discussed, there is no assurance he will keep his promise, after all] read the message from Yusuke that appeared after.

[Do you have any thoughts on the matter, Makoto?] he added.

[Personally, after what he's done to me, I can't wait to send it] Makoto replied.

[My father deserves that closure, and we'll be able to free everyone else he's been tormenting as well] she added.

Kyoko reread the messages again. As good as it was to see her friends fired up on stopping Kaneshiro, the fatigue she felt from the effort the group had taken in infiltrating Kaneshiro's well-fortified Palace in a single trip had made her consider an important matter that made her think back on how they'd pressed on. Some of it, admittedly had been luck.

-To be frank with all of you, unless Kaneshiro sends a message that he's changed his mind and wants us to pay him immediately, I think it best we take tomorrow off to recover and prepare. she replied.

[You sure about that?] Ann asked.

-I pushed us very hard today. We had an extremely close call with those guards before we reached the vault. Kyoko replied.

She took a moment, drawing in a breath before continuing.

-I'm not good with apologies, but I feel it's necessary I concede to that. she added.

[I feel I owe an apology as well, it was very hasty] Makoto said.

[Had we run into more Shadows, I'm not entirely certain we'd have been able to continue, or if I would have put us in danger.]

[We're alive and we made it to the Treasure. What's done is done] Yusuke replied.

-Kaneshiro's Shadow will likely be guarding his Treasure when we come for it if it's like our previous heists. We need to be ready for that. Supplies. Whatever else. she replied.

[Let him try! I honestly wouldn't mind a chance to beat him to a pulp for all the shit he's done!] Ryuji responded.

[It may sound crass of me, but I fully share that sentiment!] Makoto replied.

-That matter aside, I want to see we can find out about his mysterious benefactor. Kyoko messaged back.

-We can't interrogate him in the real world, but there's a chance his Shadow has met this person or knows something. she added.

[That'll be part of the plan then] Makoto answered.

[Damn! Well guess I gotta step up my game!] Ryuji messaged.

[Anyways, think I'm about to pass out! Night!] he added a second after.

[Same. I'll be ready when you all are!] Ann responded.

-Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow at school. Kyoko messaged, putting away her phone after as Morgana climbed out of her schoolbag.

"Well, that was quite a trip!" the cat said, walking across the bed and arching his back to stretch as he let out a yawn. "You look ready to pass out, too!"

"Do I?" Kyoko asked, gazing back at him as she willed herself to stand again and went to her boxes to change clothes.

"Still, you pressed on even as we were getting down to our last legs," he said. "You have a lot of determination, Kyoko!"

The young detective closed her eyes, giving a small sigh. "It's necessary for a detective to be tenacious."

"Clearly a phantom thief as well!" the cat replied. "I do watch you work, both solving obstacles and having that drive to see justice done. But there's something else..."

"What would that be?" Kyoko asked, glancing back with her sharp, but curious gaze.

"...I think you enjoy it, too," Morgana said, giving as much of a smile as a cat could while the end of his tail slowly waved.

"Acting as an outlaw when my profession involves upholding it?" Kyoko asked, her lips now in her normal, impassive frown.

"You've seen the people this "law" you upheld protects," Morgana said as he sat up before giving a nod. "If I experienced that kind of injustice, I'd want to show them how it's done, too! Plus, you're a detective, so in a way you're still fighting to uncover and expose the truth!"

Kyoko closed her eyes again, mulling the cat's words over and giving a faint smile as she sighed again. "...Perhaps... yes. Perhaps you may not be wrong in that regard..."

"Ha! I knew it!" Morgana said with a mischievous chuckle.

Finished changing, Kyoko switched off the light and climbed into bed. "...For many reasons."

"Oh?" Morgana asked, finding a spot near Kyoko atop the covers and curling up.

"The more I look back on my life and who I was before, in a lot of ways I was..." She sighed, it was uncomfortable to admit. "...My detective skills are my pride and joy. I should have been in Hope's Peak by now, confronting my father and mingling among other prodigy students, but the past several months have made me feel..."

She went quiet a moment.

"Feel what?" the cat asked, curious.

Kyoko's gloved hand clenched her cover slightly, as thought she hated to think the word that came to mind towards herself. "...Naïve to certain things... I'm supposed to be well-read. I'm supposed to deduce and analyze crimes and their culprits, and I do, but now..."

"You're questioning a lot, aren't you?" Morgana asked. "...I know how that feels..."

Kyoko was silent again.

"...Who am I if I'm anything other then the Kirigiri heir?" she asked softly.

A disgrace like her father, her grandfather had told her. Before she'd left for Yongen-Jaya, her grandfather had told her to think very carefully of what choices she made for the year as she was on thin ice, lest she finish condemning their name and all it stood for with foolish and impulsive behavior.

"Kyoko, ask Yusuke, Makoto, Lady Ann, even Ryuji! I bet they'd have a lotta answers which have nothing to do with that!" Morgana said reassuringly. "I believe I've already told you what I think! When I'm finally human again, I hope I'm some of those things, too!"

Kyoko gave no response, but she felt a warmth in her from the cat's words as she closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift off to sleep. Tomorrow would be another day, and Kaneshiro would soon learn it would be his own that were numbered.

---

A/N: Like HELL was I going to detail the tedious back-and-forth adventures of lower-floor-puzzles of Kaneshiro's Palace. Anyways, I finally got this chapter done and Kyoko and the gang have successfully infiltrated Kaneshiro's Palace! Thanks everyone for your reviews and all they always keep me going!

0 - The Fool: Rank 5

I - The Magician: Rank 4

V - The Hierophant: Rank 4

VI - The Lovers: Rank 5

VII - The Chariot: Rank 6

VIII - Justice: Rank 2

XI - The Strength: Rank 3

XII - The Hanged Man: Rank 2

XIII - Death: Rank 4

XIV - Temperance: Rank 2

XVIII - The Moon: Rank 3

XIX - The Sun: Rank 3

1 - The Councillor: Rank 4

? - Faith: Rank 2

Kyoko's Personas: Shiisaa, Kusi Mitama, Suzaku, Jack Frost, Ame-No-Uzume, Orobas, Flauros, High Pixie, Leanan Sidhe, Orthrus