AN: This is the start of my fully original Palace for this story, so I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 45: Conservatory of Neglect (Part 1)

October 13

King Paimon of the Ars Goetia was the most notorious of the Goetia royal family, having the most wives (and former wives), the most children, and the most power that not even the boldest of assassins would dare to come after him. He'd been at Lucifer's side as his right hand for millennia, studied the ways of science, art, and philosophy, and had some domain over earth, wind, and water. Sure, he had been ranked ninth in the original Ars Goetia, but he had proven himself to be the most loyal to the crown, and that came with benefits that outweighed those ranked even higher than he was.

"Imp servant, remind me what is on the schedule today," Paimon said as he walked down the vast, empty halls of his palace.

"You have planning for the upcoming Goetia Summit, sir," the butler, Reginald, said.

"Yes, that. Time to remind all the other families why they answer to me," Paimon laughed. He stopped his walk and looked to the wall, where a massive tapestry hung upon it depicting a large family tree. "Do you see this, butler? This is my legacy, the entirety of the Ars Goetia. Behold my many wives and many children, and their children. All one big, happy family thanks to me. Sure, we may have had to… do away with certain troublemakers, but it has always been for the betterment of my family."

"Yes, sir," Reginald nodded. He was used to hearing these tirades from his king, having grown dead inside from the rhetoric that frequently spewed from his mouth.

"Indeed, there is nothing more joyous than to look at this tapestry and-" Paimon suddenly paused, his eyes growing narrow as he leaned down to look at some of the lowest branches of the tree. "Servant, what is this spot here?"

"That would be your son, my lord. Prince Stolas?" Reginald recognized.

"Yes, yes, we married him off to House Andrealphus of something like that. The little swan girl," Paimon nodded. "But I was referring to the little spot right below them. Did they have another child that I was unaware of?"

Reginald felt his blood turn to ice. "Not that I recall, sir."

"Then could you explain to me why their daughter is still on this family tree?" he asked, pointing to Octavia's portrait. "This is an enchanted tapestry, imp, and whenever a member of the family dies their portrait is struck from the record. Now, I know it was only a fleeting few months ago, but I recall getting news that this grandchild of mine had died."

"P-Perhaps it was a mistake, my lord," Reginald said, trying to keep his composure.

"Hm… Butler, cancel my appointments. I have an emergency meeting I need to make with Prince Stolas," Paimon said before snapping his fingers and disappearing in a mass of red and black energy.

"…Oh dear. I must tell the prince right away," Reginald said, running to the nearest phone.

[***]

At the same time, Stolas was having a lovely afternoon with Duke Raoul, the two brothers chatting about their lives and connecting as siblings for the first time in… well, forever, really. They had never been close, but it was comforting for Stolas to have a family member besides his daughter to talk to on good terms for once. What was to be a normal day soon turned upside-down when his phone started ringing.

"Excuse me, Raoul. I have to take this," Stolas said as he picked up the old rotary phone. "Hello, Princes Stolas speaking."

"Young Prince, I have urgent news to tell you!" Reginald exclaimed.

"Ah, hello Reginald. How is life at father's palace?" Stolas asked. The butler had practically raised him from childhood so it was always nice for the prince to hear from Reginald.

"I'm doing well for myself, sir, but that is not important," Reginald said. "You told me to call you if King Paimon ever found out about the… incident with young Octavia."

Stolas almost dropped the phone in shock. "What!? But I thought we covered all our bases! We had a funeral and everything!"

"The family tapestry, sir. I knew we'd forgotten something," Reginald sighed. "Your father will be there soon, so I just called ahead to warn you."

There was a hissing sound in the air as a blob of red and black energy came into the room. "I think he's here now…" Stolas nervously gulped as he hung up the phone, both he and Raoul kneeling before their father as Paimon materialized in his masked owl form.

"Ah, Stolas and… the other one," Paimon greeted with a fake smile.

"Duke Raoul, father," Raoul said quickly.

"Yes, the one that studies the minds of humans. Fascinating work you do, I'm sure," Paimon said dismissively. "Stolas, I just found out that there may have been a… mistake in regard to your daughter."

"Yes, it was a shame what happened to my dear Octavia…" Stolas said sadly.

"Well now, that's funny… considering that her portrait is fine and well on the family tree," Paimon said, his fake smile falling away as she glared down at Stolas. "I don't know what kind of game you're playing, boy, but faking the dead of a Goetia is serious business."

"King Paimon, I swear that I don't know what you're talking about!" Stolas pleaded.

"Then explain to me what happened! The tapestry is bound to accurately tell without fail which of our family is alive and dead! You cannot fake a death in the family with that kind of magic in play!" Paimon shouted. "I'm surprised you managed to keep up this ruse for as long as you have… No tell me, where have you been hiding Octavia?"

"I… I can't tell you," Stolas said, standing up on shaking legs to face his father. "And even if you torture me, I will not give up where my Starfire is hidden."

"I think you misunderstand, Prince Stolas. I am giving you a chance to make up for your mistake," Paimon said ominously. "You see, the Goetia Summit is just around the corner, and it will look very bad on your house if it turns out you faked your daughter's death. Why, you might just end up like Queen Beelzebub and lose your position in the royal family."

"Not that she was part of the Ars Goetia…" Raoul muttered.

Paimon glanced at the duke with suspicion. "…You knew about this deception too, didn't you? Hm, I can make it so that you receive a similar punishment as well."

"You don't scare us, father," Stolas said boldly. "I am not afraid of being ridiculed by my peers anymore. And since when have you even cared about me or my family? You never come to visit, and you've never given a shit about my well being either. All I'm hearing are empty threats."

Raoul stood up next to his brother. "Indeed, and frankly you've done a poor job and maintaining the Ars Goetia as a whole. For too long now I've seen discontent within the royal houses of our order, the animosity and backstabbing. You're supposed to be our line to Lucifer himself, to be the one that establishes some order, but you have done nothing of the sort."

"How dare you talk to me that way!" Paimon roared, raising a claw to his children. "You speak as if you have a better idea of how to rule our family more than I do!"

"…Maybe I do," Raoul said calmly. "You've been in charge for too long, old man, and I think it's time that a new generation of royals take over the Ars Goetia and move us in a bold new direction away from the elitism you've allowed to corrupt our once noble houses."

Paimon brought a glowing claw down at Raoul… but stopped inches from his face. The masked owl dissipated the spell and turned around, flipping his cape dramatically. "I almost lost my composure there… but I have no need for violence. By the time of the Goetia Summit, I will have both of you stripped of your titles, powers, and assets and put new Goetia in your place. If you'd like to make your apologies, then bring me Octavia Goetia at the summit so that she can be properly betrothed."

"I will not let you marry off my daughter and ruin her life like you did to mine!" Stolas shouted.

"You don't have a choice in the matter, boy," Paimon said, glaring over his shoulder. "Bring me Octavia by the date of the summit, or else I'll tear apart all of Hell and bring her into my home where she can be raised properly as you have so clearly failed to do so." In a flash of magic he left, leaving the two brothers alone once more.

"…We have to tell Octavia about this," Raoul said.

"Yes. I have the feeling this will be a job for the Phantom Thieves," Stolas nodded grimly.

[***]

Octavia: Emergency meeting, everyone. Dad and Uncle Raoul need to speak with us.

Ryuji: Wait, are we finally gonna meet Ren's dad!?

Octavia: Don't get too excited. It sounds like they have a mission for the Phantom Thieves.

Loona: Well shit. What kind of heart do they need us to change?

Futaba: Maybe they know who the mastermind is?

Octavia: Doubtful. Just get here as soon as possible.

As the Phantom Thieves gathered at Octavia's apartment, they were all surprised when Haru showed up. "Haru! We were all worried about you!" Collin exclaimed.

"I'm sorry for worrying you… What happened to Father and everything that came after was a lot to process," Haru apologized.

"Girl you don't need to apologize. I know I'd be a mess if Blitz died," Loona assured her.

"Are you sure you're ready to come back to the team?" Morgana asked.

Haru nodded. "If Ren-kun's father needs our help, then I want to be there for the team. Besides, I've been keeping up with the chat log and it sounds like we have someone else helping with finding my father's murderer?"

"Yeah, Akechi is on the case. I told him to keep up the investigation while we deal with this," Ren said.

"Good. Even if he has a Persona, the guy ain't one of us," Ryuji said.

The gang entered the apartment, finding Stolas and Raoul were already waiting for them there. The duke had set up a ward of some kind on the coffee table in the room which was giving of an aura similar to that of the Metaverse. "Ah, there you all are…" Raoul greeted. "I'm glad you all could be here."

"So you're Ren-Ren's pops, huh?" Ryuji said. "Yeah, I can see the resemblance."

Ren looked at his father, the two sharing an awkward pause as this was the closest they'd been ever. "Hello, son," Raoul greeted. "I wish there were better circumstances for this meeting. I wanted to make our first meeting special, but plans have changed, unfortunately."

"For what Octavia was saying, this is an emergency. We can find another time for introductions when this ordeal is over with," Ren said.

"Good! I mean… I would like that," Raoul said. "Now then, in regard to calling you all here: we have a situation regarding our father, King Paimon."

"The guy that rides on a camel?" Futaba asked, getting weird looks from the others. "What? Ever since I found out that Via's dad was Prince Stolas, I did some research on the Lesser Key of Solomon. I didn't find anything on a Duke Raoul, though, nor does it say anything in there about Paimon having kids."

"There are some discrepancies in regard to what humans know about demons. I'm sure you've seen that with how certain Shadows based on the Ars Goetia differ from the ones you know, Octavia," Raoul explained.

"I do recall father having a camel in his menagerie when I was child…" Stolas mused. "Regardless of that, Paimon has found out about you still being alive, my Starfire, and he confronted myself and Raoul about it. He gave us his ultimatum: return you to Hell for the Goetia Summit where you will be betrothed, or Paimon will forcefully drag you back and force you to live under his house to become a "proper" heir while Raoul and I are revoked of all of our positions and power."

"Like Hell we're letting him take Via," Loona growled, the other Phantom Thieves nodding in agreement. "He's going to have to go through all of us if he wants her!"

"I admire your bravery, but King Paimon would crush all of you with no effort," Raoul shook his head. "Instead, I suggest a different method to put a stop to this plot. As Stolas said, Paimon will enact on his threat by the Goetia Summit, which is the twenty-third of this month. However, I believe inducing a change of heart would get him to drop the threat, amongst other things."

"Didn't the last demon we changed the heart of go a bit sideways?" Ann questioned.

"Indeed. When we changed Princess Stella's heart, it caused her to bo berserk in the real world as well," Collin recalled.

"It was a weaker form of a true demon state, however," Stolas pointed out. "I think if we stage a two-pronged attack against Paimon, then we have a change here. The Phantom Thieves will infiltrate his Palace- of which I'm sure a neglectful bastard like him has- while myself, Raoul, and IMP will wait for the change of heart to happen and neutralize Paimon when he goes on his rampage."

"You're bringing the imps in for this?" Makoto questioned.

"Yes. After your encounters with them when you faced Kaneshiro, I noticed that the potential for a Persona had awoken inside of them, as it did with Stolas as well," Raoul nodded. "We don't have time to have then fully awakened and join you in the Palace, but I do have some connections in the human realm that will help get around that."

"Sounds like you guys have this all figured out. Okay then, let's change a demon king's heart!" Ryuji grinned.

"It's going to be hard to find time for that, considering how close we are to finals," Makoto hummed in concern.

"That's where this rune comes in," Stolas said, pointing to the rune on the coffee table. "Raoul was telling me about some past ordeals that humanity has faced, and one of them involved a phenomenon known as "The Dark Hour," a secret hour of the day that happens at midnight. While the event that created The Dark Hour is gone, this rune will simulate the effects of it and give you all extra time to complete the Palace. You won't even have to worry about losing sleep!"

"That's good… but I don't want any of you slacking off in your studies despite the extra time we have, got it?" Makoto said, giving an intimidating look to Ryuji.

"Why are you staring at me for!?" Ryuji exclaimed.

"This is advantageous for us. Not only having extra time to complete our objective, but seeing as the heart we're changing is in Hell, that means we can do so without arousing suspicion here on Earth," Yusuke noted.

"We'll have to have our team meetings at night, though, since the spell only works at midnight," Octavia said. "Dad, can you have it so the gang can quickly regroup here at my place during our infiltration? I don't need them getting in trouble sneaking out at night."

"It shall be so, my Starfire," Stolas nodded. He then remembered something. "Oh, I almost forgot! Since humans aren't allowed to enter Hell before their time, all of you will be needing demon disguises to enter our realm, even in the Metaverse version of it." The prince pulled out gemstones and handed one over to Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Futaba, Haru, and Collin. "Ren, Octavia, Loona, and Morgana will all be fine, but these stones will allow the rest of you to take on demonic forms to pass through the barrier between realms. I've also added the transportation spell that Octavia just requested. Do take care of them, as it took a lot of convincing of Asmodeus to get them on such short notice."

"I wonder what kind of demon my disguise will me…" Haru inquired.

"I think you'd fit right in with the Goetia, Haru," Loona said. "I'm more interested in what Lambchop is going to be." That made the cherub blush a bit.

"Tomorrow is when we'll start the infiltration," Ren said. "Can we trust on you to help us with the keywords for Paimon's Palace."

"I'll return tomorrow to give you the information I could gather," Stolas nodded.

"We'll do our part in Hell as well. Good luck… son," Raoul said, giving Ren a fatherly smile before the two departed.

"You heard them. Let's meet up tomorrow with those fancy new crystals and enter a new Palace!" Morgana cheered.

"This is our tightest deadline yet. Good luck, everyone," Collin said.

Haru: I forgot to ask at the meeting… did you all target the principal?

Ann: Of our school? No, why do you ask?

Haru: a prosecutor came by the other day and I overheard her mentioning a calling card being found in his office…

Loona: First I've heard of it. I bet it was Akechi before we sussed him out…

Ryuji: Can't say I miss the guy, but this plus the backlash we're getting online for "killing" Okumura freaking sucks…

Octavia: Well Akechi is on our side for now. We'll have to trust him to get information out of Makoto's sister to figure out the true culprit.

Ren: Stay strong, everyone.

[***]

October 14

The next night, as the clock got closer to midnight, the Phantom Thieves used their newly acquired gems to portal to Octavia's apartment where she, Loona, and Collin were all waiting alongside Stolas. "I should have mentioned this yesterday, but I will be needing to take those crystals back after this business with Paimon is over with," Stolas said. "It's for your safety as much as it is for mine. I don't want any of Heaven's forces finding out about you using demon-gifted objects. I may be a demon but I'm not out to steal your souls."

"Good. I wouldn't let you take my friends' souls in the first place," Octavia giggled. "So, what information did you find, Dad?"

"Let's get the Meta-Nav up first," Ren said, pulling out his phone and going over to the Mortis section of the app. "I thought that, since we're dealing with another demon target, that we'll need to use Mortis to access Paimon's Palace."

"Name match found!" the Meta-Nav chimed.

"Well at least that confirms he has a Palace," Ryuji said. "Now what did we need next…? Oh yeah! His location and distortion."

"The location should be easy. It has to be the House of Goetia, since that's where he lives and where the Goetia Summit will be held at," Octavia said.

"Location confirmed!" the Nav replied.

"We're really on fire with this one!" Ann cheered. "So now we just have to figure out what he sees his house as, right?"

"It's safe to assume that it won't be something as simple as a castle or fortress, considering that's what his house already is," Yusuke mused.

"We should probably rule out any of the other Palaces we've already taken down as well, since I get the feelings that the Metaverse doesn't like to double up on Palace distortions," Loona added.

"That takes out a castle, museum, the entirety of Tokyo, a tomb, and a space station," Morgana stated.

"Hm… You said he likes camels, right? So what about a desert, or an oasis?" Collin suggested.

"I hope we don't have to deal with another desert…" Ryuji groaned.

"Nothing matched there," Ren shook his head. "Stolas, what information about your father can you give us that could help out?"

"From what Via has told me, the distortion is whatever delusion the person with the Palace sees themselves as, right?" Stolas recalled. "In that case, Paimon has always touted himself as the originator of the Ars Goetia family and put himself at the top. If you ever have the displeasure of being in his house, no doubt that he'll go on and on about his perfect family tree, no matter how many branches he has to prune to keep it that way."

"Pruning…" Haru hummed.

"Do you have an idea, Haru?" Makoto asked.

"That wording made me think if perhaps King Paimon saw himself as a gardener of sorts," Haru voiced to the team. "If you think about it, a gardener has control over how they present their plants, and some become so obsessed to make it perfect for others to admire and see how great their skills are. Relating that to Paimon, wouldn't him keeping the Goetia in line with his vision be like a gardener trimming his plants to perfection?"

"That does make some sense in a way," Futaba nodded. "It's better than any ideas that were coming to my mind, at least. So if that was the case, would his Palace be a greenhouse or a garden?"

When there was no match made, Octavia started thinking deeply on the subject. "I think Haru might be in the right track. Grandfather was just as obsessed with his garden as he was with his perfect image, but maybe we just need a more "sophisticated" word for it."

"Like a conservatory?" Stolas asked.

"Distortion match found! Beginning navigation…" the Meta-Nav said, before a Metaverse portal opened up in the nearby wall.

"You know, I'm really glad that Mortis doesn't just drag us into the Palace like the Nav usually does," Ren mused. "Well then, it's time for us to go in, team."

"I'll be waiting here to keep the Dark Hour spell active," Stolas said. "Please do be careful, children. I shudder to think what dark secrets my father has been hiding in his mind."

"We will, Dad, but don't worry. We're the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, and we always make it out okay," Octavia assured him before they all entered the portal into Paimon's Palace.

[***]

Location: Conservatory of Neglect

As soon as they stepped through the portal, the human Phantom Thieves and Collin were all wreathed in blue fire as their demon disguises kicked in. While they kept their usual thief outfits, their species had all completely changed. "Woah, check me out!" Skull exclaimed, looking at his new appearance. He was now a skeleton man with metal bones and eyes that crackled with electricity.

"Yep, you're a real bonehead now, Skull," Mona laughed.

"Hm… I don't really know about this…" Panther said, nervously looking at her new appearance. She was now a succubus, with a spaded tail replacing the fake on her costume and gaining bat wings on her back and tall pointy horns on her head. "Did this disguise make my costume tighter too…?"

"You're a succubus, demons that drain power from people that lust over them," Omen said. "…Wow, Hell really had a sick sense of humor giving you that as your disguise. I'm so sorry about that, Panther."

"It's fine. If anything, I'll just use it to keep up my charm and not let anyone use me solely for my looks," Panther replied.

"So strong of you… You always overcome the worst circumstances, Lady Ann!" Mona praised.

"Curious… I seem to have become a kitsune," Fox mused, pulling at his tail and ears. "Even my mask has changed colors to stand out from my white fur."

"You're a real Inari now, Fox," Oracle laughed. She had changed into a hellhound, which Octavia noticed made her look a lot like Loona, save for her long orange hair still remaining.

"You're a ball of fluff now too, Oracle," Lycan laughed as she gave her a playful noogie.

"Oh yeah, right behind the ears… That feels good…" Oracle sighed, her tail wagging with pleasure at getting scratched in that particular spot.

"I'm a cat demon, I think…" Queen said, inspecting the two-pronged cat tail now sticking out of her backside and staring at her fluffy paws. "I hope this doesn't affect me being able to use my Persona…"

"It looks like you turned into a Goetia demon after all, Noir," Joker noted. Indeed the newest Phantom Thief was now a bird-like Goetia demon, specifically looking like a Green Pheasant.

"Oh my… This feels strange, but kind of fun in a way," Haru gasped. "What about you, Templar?"

"I-I don't want you all to see me like this!" Templar exclaimed, hiding behind Noir. She stepped out of the way and pushed the cherub in front of her, revealing that he had become a Baphomet demon, a sheep-like race with black wings, goat-like eyes, curly ram horns and a ball of fire perpetually floating over his head like a candle.

'Heh, he's really cute… as a demon!' Lycan thought, blushing at the cherub.

"I wonder if this is the form you'd take if you ever became a Fallen angel," Omen mused.

"Let's not think about that…" Templar groaned. "We do have a Palace to infiltrate right now, remember?"

"Right. Let's see what we're dealing with," Joker nodded.

With their new demon disguises in place, the Phantom Thieves looked over at their next target, Paimon's conservatory. True to its name the structure took the form of a massive greenhouse, a large domed structure with elements of ancient architecture built into the dome. There was an obvious entrance into the building, but the team weren't going to just go in through the front door. Looking around for another way in, Mona noticed an opening in one of the panels on the dome.

"I bet that's an opening we can slip through," the not-cat said. "Think you can grapple up to it, Joker?"

"Piece of cake," Joker replied with a grin.

One grapple later and the gang was inside the conservatory, specifically the Main Dome. It was made to look like the forests of the British Isles, with dense trees broken up by patches of colorful flowers and other exotic plants. "This is a wonderful place… I could spend hours in here finding inspiration for a new painting," Fox mused.

"It looks like something out a fairy tale…" Panther said in awe.

"As nice as it looks, we have to stay focused on finding the Treasure," Queen reminded them.

"You mean that Treasure?" Skull asked, pointing ahead on the path. The gang looked to see a massive tree sitting in the dead center of the garden, large vines travelling up its trunk and wrapping around what looked to be a hole cut into the center of the tree. Within the whole was the clear sign of an unmaterialized Treasure, if Mona's eyes flashing with hunger didn't tip them off as well.

"Damn, this has to be our easiest Treasure yet!" Lycan said with a grin.

"Not so fast. Those vines are protecting it. I detect that we'll have to get rid of them first before we can get a chance to nab the Treasure," Oracle said.

"It can never be that easy, can it?" Panther sighed.

"Well, at least we know what do. If we follow where the vines go, then we'll surely be able to find their source and get rid of them," Templar said.

"Like digging up weeds. Cutting off the top won't do anything; you have to dig out the roots to get rid of them completely," Noir added.

"Hm… Is it just me, or do the vines look like the Will Seed vines that surrounded my mother when we faced her Shadow?" Omen asked.

"Now that you mention it, they do look similar," Queen nodded. "Do you think it's just a coincidence, or could there we something more to it?"

"It's too early to say, but we should follow the vines and see where they lead us," Mona said.

"Wait! I hear someone coming this way," Lycan shushed the team. The gang all hid behind some of the nearby topiary sculptures as Shadows dressed as butlers and maids came down the pathway, followed by the Palace Ruler.

"Yes, another day in my perfect garden," Shadow Paimon said. The Shadow was wearing a Shakespearian-style outfit, his presence acting as if he was a fairy king of this artificial forest. "And how are my subjects doing?"

"All is well in your realm, King Paimon!" the servant Shadows replied, bowing.

"Yes. Good, good. Now then, while I admire my handiwork, I need you all to make sure the private gardens are all secure," Shadow Paimon ordered. "No one must enter them, not even you. Am I clear?"

"But, sir what about-?" the Shadow was cut off by Paimon ripping the Shadow in two.

"Do not question my orders! I am your King, and you will do as I say!" Paimon roared. He then regained his composure as he gave a sinister smile to his subjects. "Now, do as you were told and don't ask questions. Go it?"

"Yes, King Paimon!" the Shadows exclaimed nervously before running off.

"Yesh, if he's that scary in here, then I don't want to imagine what he's like in person," Queen shuttered.

"Luckily we can leave that part to Dad and IMP," Omen said. "But those private gardens he mentioned… Those sound like places we should investigate."

"As luck would have it, the nearest one to us is on the path towards the first Will Seed vine," Oracle said. "Let's get to it, gang!"

The Phantom Thieves rolled out from there, sneaking around the conservatory and taking out Shadows that got in their way. The Shadows of this Palace took the form of demons of the Ars Goetia as well as other Hell species such as Imps, Succubus, and Hellhounds. The nature of the garden also made it so there was little space to jump between hiding spots, meaning the Phantom Thieves had to be careful when sneaking past any high-level enemies in their path.

Eventually the gang exited the main dome of the conservatory and entered the Garden of Heirs, which took the form of smaller, individual greenhouses within a desert area, the "sky" above reflecting a full moon night.

"Woah, this place is completely different from the last one," Skull said in awe.

"I believe that each of these smaller domes is meant to simulate a particular climate, which this one being a desert," Noir replied. "Although it is odd to have a desert of all things be a part of a greenhouse…"

Ugh…" Futaba growled, looking at her readings in frustration. "All this sand is messing with my tracker. We're going to have to find another way to figure out which of these greenhouses has the Will Seed in it."

"I can sense that it's in this room, but it would take forever to check each one and not get caught," Mona frowned. "There's not a lot of cover to sneak around, either."

"Hm… Do you think Joker's ability could help us here?" Fox asked. "He has been able to detect the unseen in the past."

"Right, my Third Eye," Joker nodded. He focused a bit before opening his eyes again. "It's hard to see, but there are markings on each of the building I can only see with my Third Eye. They're numbers of some kind but made with I's and V's."

"Roman numerals," Queen recognized. "Is there any significance between Paimon and Roman numerals?"

"The Goetia families all use Roman numerals to denote which house they're a part of," Omen replied. "For instance, Paimon is House 9, and father is House 36. Although that only accounts for the 72 "official" houses…"

"If I had to make a guess, would it be right to assume that the Will Seed would be in Prince Stolas' house?" Fox asked. "After all, he is Paimon's son."

"That's a good place to check first for sure," Mona nodded. "Okay team, let's find greenhouse 36!"

Back on the trail of a lead, the Phantom Thieves made careful movements across the sand, silently thankful that it was night within the dome, so they didn't have to deal with intense desert heat like back in Futaba's Palace. Taking out a few Shadows along the path, Joker's Third Eye eventually led them to Greenhouse #36, with a hatch on the roof letting them drop inside.

"Here it is, Stolas' greenhouse," Templar said.

"I'm guessing that this place represents how Paimon views Stolas," Panther said.

"Makes sense to me. That's how things usually go in Palaces," Lycan nodded.

Looking around the room, the most alarming thing about it was the number of dead plants within. Some had their pots shattered or knocked over, while others looked to have died due to a lack of sun or water. It made Joker cringe at the all the dead plants, and he made a mental note to water his plant when they got home.

"One, two, three… I'm counting twelve dead plants in here, all the same type of plant," Oracle said.

At least this one's alive… at least for now, "Noir said grimly, looking at the plant in the back of the greenhouse. It was certainly alive, but it was clear the plant had seen better days. The plant in question was a Nightshade plant that was being strangled by the vines of a Will Seed, its berries turning rotten and its leaves starting to droop.

"…This plant… It must be how Paimon sees my dad…" Omen said.

"It looks so sad…" Panther noted.

"That's because Paimon never gave a shit about Dad once he married him off to Mom, if even that. All that matters to Paimon is that the Goetia all stay in line as high nobility," Omen said bitterly. "I never asked to be royalty, but I also know how to do my own thing without getting called out for it… After we change Grandfather's heart, I want to make a change in Hell so this doesn't happen to anyone ever again."

"Still, I have to wonder what all these other dead plants symbolize…" Fox hummed.

Joker gently pushed the Nightshade aside to find the Will Seed hidden behind it. Plucking the seed from its stem, the vines quickly withered away, freeing the plants inside the greenhouse and causing the entire structure to shake. "I think that's our signal that we broke through the first layer of vines," Oracle said.

"Stolas, Stolas, Stolas… always the problem child you are…" the voice of Paimon spoke. "How many times will you remain neutral on the politics of Hell? Are you not one of the mighty Goetia? Maybe this time I'll get things right with you. After all… the thirteenth time's the charm."

The doors to the greenhouse suddenly burst open as Shadow guard stepped in. "What the-!? Thieves! Thieves in the greenhouse!" they shouted.

"Not today!" Lycan retorted, pulling out her gun and shooting the Shadow's mask off. It transformed into a leopard with griffon wings, becoming the Winged Spotted Prince that roared at the team. "Looks like we have a fight on our hands."

"Let's do this!" Skull cheered, pulling out his shotgun and pumping the Shadow with lead.

"Mothman!" Joker called, summoning his Persona and casting a Ziodyne spell on the Winged Spotted Prince, causing it to become paralyzed and knocked down.

"It's weak! Time for some bloodshed!" Mona shouted as the gang jumped in for an All-Out Attack. It was easy to take care of the Shadow from there, with Joker and Skull exploiting its weakness while the rest of the team used technical skills to hit the enemy when it was paralyzed. In no time at all the Shadow was down, though the alarm had still been raised on them.

"Sounds like more guards are coming. Luckily, I can sense a Safe Room nearby," Mona said, leading the gang to said spot.

"I wonder what that voice was all about," Queen said. "Paimon was talking as if Stolas wasn't the same one we knew."

"Dad is pretty neutral when it comes to politics," Omen noted.

"Probably why he's always on everyone's shit lists. Hell doesn't it like it if you don't take a stance," Lycan said.

"Hm… I know that the Ars Goetia are made up of Fallen angels that rebelled alongside Lucifer, but the Stolas we know doesn't fit the description of what the Stolas back then was described as," Templar said.

"So? Maybe having a kid mellowed him out a bit," Skull suggested.

"No, Dad was always described as being a more neutral demon… Wait a minute, my dad was born, not Fallen!" Omen gasped.

"So Paimon being his father isn't metaphorical, but biological?" Fox asked.

Omen nodded. "Those dead plants make a lot more sense now… Each of them was a previous Prince Stolas, with my father being the thirteenth demon to take the name and position."

"From the state of that greenhouse, I believe that Paimon was never satisfied with how the past Stolas' turned out," Noir said. "It's sad, really… If he had been more attentive, Stolas could have turned out to be the son he wanted."

"Paimon is too much of a narcissist to give that much care," Lycan scoffed. "From how his Shadow reacted to being talked back to, I bet some of those past Stolas' were taken out by him hand."

"How horrible…" Panther frowned.

"And if we don't stop him before the Goetia Summit… He's going to turn me into his next victim," Omen said with dread. "I was conceived as a precautionary heir, meaning that I'll become Stolas the Fourteenth if we fail."

"That's not going to happen, princess," Lycan said.

"Yes, we'll take his heart before then," Joker agreed. "But the security level is way too high for now. Let's escape while we can and come back another night."

[***]

October 15

Futaba: Things are looking rough online…

Ryuji: They're calling us a bunch of murderers.

Makoto: All the celebrities who supported us are being criticized now too.

Futaba: It's all gone up in flames… People are posting about this stuff everywhere.

Yusuke: I highly doubt that anyone who supported us did so honestly. There must have been many who simply went with the winning side.

Futaba: I get mixed feelings about this when you put it that way.

Ann: It does make me think a lot of things…

Octavia: I can think of a few that'll support us still. The bonds that Ren has made can't break that easily.

Collin: Besides all that, we need to focus on dealing with Paimon first. Akechi will keep the investigation in the human world going.

Ryuji: I can't believe we have to rely on freaking Akechi for that…

Makoto: We can't make a move when we don't have any leads.

Ryuji: What're we supposed to do then?

Octavia: First, we deal with Paimon and our exams. Then we figure out the rest.

Ryuji: Ugh, there's no way I can focus on exams like this.

Futaba: Can you ever?

After school, Ren decided to hang out with Collin, the two going to the Tokyo Skytree to hang out. "It's really beautiful, seeing the world from up here," Collin said, looking out the window. "I mean, you can see a lot in Heaven, but it's up so high that you can't really admire the Earth like this."

"You still planning on going back after all of this?" Ren asked.

"…I know that I've been saying for a while now that I would once the ordeal was over with, and that I would put in a good word for Keenie to go back home, but after everything we've been through with the Phantom Thieves, I think there's still more work for me to do here on Earth," Collin replied. "There's also the fact that apparently I was sent to help Akechi and not you, which is a whole other can of worms…"

"You worked for a company that helped people on Earth, right? Do you think you were sent to guide Akechi to the right path?" Ren asked.

Collin hummed. "Maybe… but then again, the head of the cherubs, Deerie, has always had a thing against us at CHERUB. Cletus might have gone behind her back to get the organization started, and us screwing up during that one mission gave her all the excuse she needed to kick us out of Heaven. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if she sent me on a fool's errand."

"Sounds like she could use a change of heart," Ren said.

Collin laughed. "We've seen the hearts of humans and demons, imagine what an angel's heart would look like! But somehow, I get the feeling that we wouldn't be able to use the Nav to touch any hearts in Heaven. Besides, I still have this." He pulled out the contract Deerie had given him at the start of his quest. "It's a legal document detailing the agreement we made. While I may not have helped her intended bearer of "True Justice," I think assisting the Phantom Thieves will be more than enough in God's eyes to fulfill the contract."

"And I thought only demons made contracts," Ren chuckled.

"I'd love to see the look on Deerie's face when I actually complete this thing," Collin grinned. "But after I do that and get Keenie back in Heaven, I think I'll come back and do more humanitarian work, improving the lives of those that truly need help. I may not be able to change hearts on my own, but with how much I've grown thanks to all of you, I feel like I can make a difference now."

'I feel a strong resolve in Collin…' Ren thought. "Are you also thinking of staying so you can see Loona again?"

Collin blushed. "Right, you know about that… I've come to accept that I do have feelings for her, and I'm not sure if most in Heaven would approve of our relationship… But God hasn't struck me down yet, so there may be some hope for me. The real problem is if Loona will return my feelings."

"At worst she'd probably just laugh in your face," Ren pointed out.

"Yeah, it could be worse," Collin nodded. "You know what, Ren? The school spirit week is coming up, and I think I'll confess my feelings to Loona then."

"I'll hold you to it," Ren replied.

"Yeah… I love Loona, and I'll prove it to her or die trying!" Collin exclaimed. He paused for a few seconds before looking out the window again. "Good, I didn't get smited."

"Does God do that often?" Ren asked.

"Meh, it was more common in the Old Testament times. Having a kid helped him mellow out," Collin shrugged.

[***]

Hifumi: Do you plan on coming to the church today? I'll be here, playing shogi as usual. If you'd like, please stop by for a lesson.

Ren: I'll be there.

Hifumi: Understood. I'll be waiting.

Ren and Collin arrived at the church to find Hifumi in her usual spot, the girl perking up as she saw them. "I did what I could to prepare for the exhibition match," Hifumi told them. "After I confessed, I was scorned by the media. I bet everyone wants me to lose. However, I'm not going to give them the satisfaction. I'm going to win… with these very hands."

"Give it all you got!" Collin cheered.

"Of course!" Hifumi smiled. "Well, it's time. I have to go to the venue. You won't be able to go inside the match room, but you can watch over the internet, if you'd like. Now… I should be going."

The trio went to where the shoji match was being held, with Collin and Ren crowding over Ren's phone to watch the match. "Is this the end of the road for the Phony Princess?" the announcer said.

"She's getting pushed back quite a bit. It's only a matter of time now…" the co-announcer said.

"Hifumi's biting her lip. She doesn't seem to be doing well…" Ren muttered.

"Oh, now that was a masterful play!" the announcer praised.

"Perhaps her skills are the genuine article?" the co-announcer said in surprise.

"Oh no, that's not good. The next move will surely result in checkmate," the announcer gasped.

"She's getting pushed around the board…" Collin muttered. "What move are you going to make, Hifumi…?"

"I'm thinking "Phony Princess, Real Defeat" as the headline for our next article," the announcer said.

"…I concede," Hifumi said. Soon after that match she came out and sat with Ren and Collin. "I was utterly destroyed out there. It was as if an ant had challenged an elephant. A shogi player should know her limits. That the first time I have ever forfeited a match… I was so ashamed of myself. I didn't want to hurt the pieces any longer…"

"A very queenly decision," Ren said.

"You remembered?" Hifumi looked at him with surprise. "One must concede defeat with grace- maintaining dignity until the very end, as a queen should… But, I confess I am confused… I mean, naturally I am disappointed that I lost… But I still feel happy… as if a demon has been purged from me. The moment I realized that victory was impossible… I felt a strange peace. What's important is what I do from this point on…"

Hifumi gave a bow of apology. "I played so disgracefully in front of you… Perhaps you can just view it as an example of what not to do… And understand that there are times which require one to forfeit with valor and grace."

'I can feel Hifumi's growing trust in us…' Ren thought.

"Um, I've been thinking about this for a while… Let's make today your last lesson…" Hifumi said, looking down.

"What? Why?" Collin asked.

"Spending time with me has only brought you both pain…" Hifumi explained. "So this is goodbye."

"I want to become stronger," Ren said.

Hifumi looked at him with shock. "The things you say sometimes… Perhaps I should take a lesson from that ambitious nature of yours… If that is what you wish, then prepare yourself. Your training will be quite intensive. There may be things I can learn from you as well. I suppose this is a friendly rivalry for both of us… as irreplaceable shogi friends."

"If only I could be as good at shogi as either of you…" Collin sighed, getting a laugh out of the two of them. They all left for home after that, their friendship stronger than before.

[***]

October 16

At Untouchable, Loona and Ren arrived to do more work with Iwai. "So, you're here 'cause you saw my message, right?" he asked.

"You know it," Loona nodded.

"I need you to handle some chore around the place today. No getting out of it," Iwai explained. "There's also something I wanna talk about. Got time?"

"We'll make time," Ren replied.

"Okay. Get to work, ya little gun nerds," Iwai ordered. After doing their job, Iwai brough the two into the backroom. "All right, that's good for today. Oh, but… there's something I wanna talk to you about. It's about that secret Tsuda mentioned. There's more to it than my having been in the yakuza. I just wanna make sure you don't go saying something stupid if you run into Kaoru 'round here…"

"Got it," Ren nodded, Loona giving her own nod.

"Back when I was working with the Hashiba Clan, some crazy lady cam 'round our office. Must've been over ten years about," Iwai explained. "She had this baby with her, and the whole time she was there she kept going on about how she wanted to sell it. Figured she was just some cracked-up junkie looking for drug money. But then when I told her no, she sat the baby down and ran off. That baby was Kaoru."

"She just left the baby there?" Loona gasped.

"Thinking back on it, I'm still not really sure why I took him in… Not only did I have to leave the clan, but now I'm stuck running this shop I don't even like." Iwai laughed. "Every day's an uphill battle. I still haven't managed to tell Kaoru I was in the yakuza though…"

"You shouldn't lie to your son," Ren said.

"…Lemme ask you something. How would you feel if you found out your parents were wrapped up in some dirty shit?" Iwai said. "That's how my mom was. She'd spend every night out drinking, running around town with all sortsa guys. I couldn't stand to see her destroy herself like that. Often I wished I couldn't had someone else as my mom. So… I didn't wanna make Kaoru go through the same thing. I wanted to make sure he had a good childhood."

Iwai shook his head. "That's why I left the clan. I did everything according to the code, but now Tsuda's dragging me back… Once he remembered I run this fake gun shop, he came by asking me to make custom models for him. Though he wasn't really asking… The bastard forced me into it by threatening to tell Kaoru everything. Truth is, Tsuda's got all sortsa dirt. Not just on what happened when Kaoru was a baby, but on me and the rest of my family too. Who knows what'd happen if Kaoru learned the truth… Tsuda isn't gonna stop there though. I'm sure he'd go and tell everyone else he could. When it's all said and done, he's gonna try and take everything I have."

Iwai cursed under his breath. "If word gets out about my past, people're gonna treat Kaoru like he's no different than me. After all, everyone knows shitty parents end up making shitty kids… And once he's got that stigma, he'll be stuck with it. When shit goes wrong, he'll always be the one who gets blamed. That's how it was with me. That's why I turned to the yakuza. Nobody else would accept me."

He looked to the two teens. "That's also why I can't turn Tsuda down. He's just got too much power…"

"You're pathetic," Loona said, scowling at the man.

Iwai chuckled. "You got that right. I bet Kaoru's sick of having a weak-ass dad like me. Anyways, I was trying to stall Tsuda with bullshit prototypes while I figured out a way to stop him… But that bastard's real good at keeping his cards close to his chest. Plus, he caught wind of what I was trying to do and started keeping tabs on me 24/7. Thankfully, that's just about when you two showed up."

"Lucky for you then," Loona snarked, Ren giving a mischievous grin.

Iwai sighed. "Sorry for bringing all that shit up out of the blue. You prolly don't want anything to do with me after that, huh?"

"I'll stick around for the guns," Ren replied.

"Man… You're seriously into this enthusiast shit," Iwai laughed. "Oh, right. Just remembered I never gave you a reward for that info. You're right… How 'bout I give you a discount on the special menu? That should keep you quiet for a while. Pretty good deal, huh?"

'It feels like our bond with Iwai is growing even deeper…' Ren thought.

"…Damn, it's late. Should be getting home," Iwai said, sitting back in his chair. "Kaoru's been eating a ton lately after cram school. He's prolly gonna have another growth spurt soon. Anyways, I'm closing up for today. You should head home too."

'He's got a complicated past and thinks he's going to fuck it up for Kaoru if it gets out… I wonder if Blitz would think the same way if he had adopted me as a kid…' Loona thought as they went home for the night.

Confidant Rank Up

Confidant: Collin Pastor

Arcana: Sirius

Rank 9 Description: Collin has resolved to continue helping people on Earth even after his banishment is lifted. He also is waiting for the right moment to confess his feelings for Loona…

Rank 9 Ability: Protect- Chance to shield Joker from an otherwise fatal attack.

Author's Note

That's right, Stolas' father King Paimon is the target of the fully original Palace, the Conservatory of Neglect! I set up in the early chapters that it was important that other demons didn't know that Octavia was still alive, and now we're seeing why that's the case with Paimon threatening to steal her away and force her into an arranged marriage just like what he did to Stolas. The deadline is tight for this Palace, so Raoul and Stolas use a spell that recreates the effects of the Dark Hour from "Persona 3" to give the Phantom Thieves more time for infiltration. If this was a video game it would mean that you initiate things in the Hideout at evening time instead of during the afternoon.

On the subject of the new Palace, I went with a conservatory due to it providing a unique setting for the team to traverse through. Multiple bio-domes filled with unique plants and environments to sneak around, with Paimon's Shadow taking on a form similar to Oberon from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" as the ruler of this Palace. The Phantom Thieves also get demon disguises of their own to use in this Hell-based Palace, which would become unlockable costumes after you complete the infiltration of the Palace (Morgana, Loona, and Octavia would all get different outfits to complete the set since they don't have alternate disguises).

This Palace is bound to bring out revelations on the nature of the Goetia families, the first being that our Stolas is actually the thirteenth demon that's taken the name. In actual Ars Goetia lore Stolas is a fallen angel, so I thought it'd be clever to reconcile that fact by making the "Prince Stolas" name an inherited title, and one that Paimon has apparently had trouble with in the past. We'll see what other things this king has been hiding in his Palace soon enough...

Collin gets another Confidant rank this time, resolving to continue helping humans and realizing that Deerie might have set him up for failure. Hopefully our favorite cherub will get to rub it in her face when he does get accepted back into Heaven, and that he'll be able to confess his feelings for Loona soon. The whole "God mellowed out after having a son" bit is an actual joke I frequently tell my friends in real life that I wanted to incorporate in here.

Next time will the the other half of the Conservatory of Neglect, so stay tuned!