Miss Violet: Hello Double Heist ends in this chapter with two massive battles. Let's not waste any time with the introduction. Let the Lesson begin!

Persona V: Reversing the Wheel of Fate
Chapter Seventy

[Opening Scene: Brothel of Fraud – 99th Floor (The Queen's Chamber)
Theme of Boss Battle: Master of Shadow from Persona 3]

Golden Snakes lashed out toward the Phantom Thieves, causing them to split up in different directions, with Noir jumping left, Pawn rolling right, and Mage skating up into the air after grabbing Mona. "Do not run!" Lilith shouted as her hair of snakes rose into the air and hissed as their eyes flashed blue while Lilith's body and throne shimmered a bright amber light.

"Mabufudyne!" Lilith shouted as four large boulder-shaped ice flew from the mouths of her snake hair and toward the thieves.

Mage skated high into the air as Mona looked back at the two large ice boulders and said, "Man, she really threw those things hard!"

"And they are gaining," Mage added. "But at least it's just two large bo—" Mage was cruelly interrupted as the boulders exploded into branches of ice, that raced towards them faster than the boulders had done previously.

Mage and Mona screamed in horror before Mona shouted, "Zorro: Blow them away!" A green tornado appeared behind the fleeing Phantom Thieves and then exploded into blades of wind as Zorro appeared.

Zorro swung his rapier toward the rapidly spreading ice attack, but to their horror, Garu was too weak for the ice attack, and the ice tree quickly overcame them, freezing them both within its frozen branches.

Pawn skidded on one knee as she shouted, "Ching Shih! Makarakarn!"

Behind her, the air rippled as if a pebble was dropped into a surface of water, only for the ripples to freeze and then exploded as Ching Shih walked out from the void.

Ching Shih shielded Pawn's body with her hudiedao sword in front of Hifumi, and rapidly spun it, causing a forcefield made of rippling soundwaves to appear. The large-sized chunk of ice slammed into the shield and quickly spread around it until it looked like a crystalized tree.

However, the crystalized tree began to vibrate as golden ripples flowed over the surface of the ice attack, where it then shattered into pieces, leaving Pawn unharmed as the shield evaporated around her.

"Zan!" Pawn then instructed, which caused Ching Shih to aim her flintlock pistol and fired a golden bullet toward Lilith, who motioned her head to have a snake on her throne take the bullet.

The snake took the bullet, causing its skin to twist as a ripple of golden light flowed against the upper half of its body before it was shredded by the vibrations of the bullet. Lilith chuckled and shouted, "Child, if that is all you've got, then consider yourself my slave for eternity!"

Pawn scowled and charged toward Lilith.

Noir landed on the ground and commanded "Milady, Triple Down!"

Ethereal red roses swam around Noir's form and with a burst of wind, Milady stood before the duo, laughing as a Gatling gun slid out from beneath her dress. The bolder of ice exploded into a crystalline tree, with its branches rapidly reaching toward Noir and Milady.

"Have a taste of death, dear Lilith!" Milady exclaimed as the gun began its rapid fire, piercing through the large tree of ice with ethereal rose-red bullets and toward Lilith.

"How amusing," Lilith smirked and lifted her right hand, to have another snake shield her from the attack, causing the snake to be riddled by bullets before it was destroyed. Lilith then pointed at Milady, causing seven snakes that swarmed on Lilith's throne to dart toward Noir.

"Fire again!" Noir commanded as Milady immediately fired her Gatling gun, causing the snakes to be riddled with bullets. However, some snakes did get through and managed to slash at Noir's body, causing her clothes and blood to fly as she attempted to shield herself with her giant axe.

"Noir!" Pawn shouted in alarm. Pawn attempted to run toward Noir but Lilith smirked and sent three more snakes on her throne to dart out toward Pawn.

Pawn skidded to a stop, twirled her parasol in front of her while opening it up, revealing the steel that lined the top, and spun it, causing the top of the parasol to spin as the steel sliced through the snakes' barrages.

Pawn smirked and shoved herself forward, causing the parasol to rebuff the three bleeding snakeheads, causing them to fly back into the air.

She then gripped the end of the parasol and pulled on it, revealing her blade as she turned around, leaving herself temporarily unguarded as she called, "Ching Shih: Rising Slash!"

Ching Shih returned behind Pawn, following Pawn's movements as she completed her turn and performed a diagonal slash, causing a brilliant slice of gold energy to cut through the bodies of the extended snakes.

Pawn immediately darted toward Noir, jumped in the air, and with her blade in the air, she shouted, "Myriad Slashes!" Ching Shih appeared behind her and both of them performed a downward swing, causing several golden slices to appear at the snakeheads before a final one finished them off.

Pawn landed beside Noir, who panted, her skin looking a sickly green. "Are you alright?" Pawn asked.

Noir shook her head and smiled at Pawn. "Just caught me flat-footed. Won't happen again," Noir promised.

"Don't stop now! Mafreidyne!" Lilith shouted as she raised her right hand. Lilith's hair of snakes rose into the air and hissed as their eyes flashed pale blue and once again, Lilith's body and throne shimmered a bright amber light.

But Pawn noticed something. In the snake hair of Lilith, there was a small amber orb being held within a snake's jaw.

And she saw her five-year-old self within it.

However, she couldn't ponder what that meant because seconds later, a flash of pale blue energy shot down from the air in front of the pair, and both Noir and Pawn were sent flying from explosions of pale blue energy.

The two skipped across the ground as if they were rocks against the surface of a pond, and then skidded to a stop, with Noir on her back and Pawn on her stomach."Don't tell me that's all you have?" Lilith taunted.

Pawn slowly picked herself up and glared at Lilith, who smiled in response. "Because this is long from over," Lilith continued.

"On that," Pawn started. "We agree!" Pawn then charged at her mother's shadow with a scream as Lilith's body shimmered with amber light, preparing for another attack.

[Scene Change: Museum of Vanity - Courtyard
Theme of Boss Battle: Master of Shadow from Persona 3]

A massive inky explosion rocked the courtyard as Joker's body flew from the smoke, his entire body covered in ink, making him look more like a shadow than his normal self. Following him out of the smoke was Madarame, who now wore an emerald kimono, with leaves fluttering around him.

Emerald Madarame cackled as he shouted, "Disappear from my sight without a trace, like dust scattered in the wind! Maelstrom!" Emerald Madarame swung his left arm and a twister of wispy green ink and leaves that reminded Joker of the wind flew toward him.

Joker gritted his teeth and shielded his face as the twister slammed into him, with the leaves slicing at various parts of his body, before he was picked up off the ground and launched into the air.

Emerald Madarame jumped into the air with a trail of inky leaves fluttering behind him. Despite the pain, Joker smirked and shouted, "Weakness….Identified. Pixie: Electrocute!"

Lightning formed around his right hand, and with a burst of electricity, Pixie appeared at the edge of his finger. Her eyes narrowed as her body became encased in lightning before she darted towards their enemy at top speed.

Pixie's body slammed into Emerald Madarame's chest, causing him to wail in agony before it exploded into an inky black substance.

Unfortunately, a Madarame wearing a cobalt blue kimono appeared through the substance and shouted, "Foolish brat! My brilliance is as deep as the depths itself, and I will enjoy drowning you in it! Plunging Misery!"

Joker's eyes widened as water swarmed around him and trapped him within an orb of inky blue water. Joker struggled, using his knife to try and puncture the orb as he struggled to keep his breath. Suddenly, the orb closed in on him and exploded, sending spikes made of water to pierce his body.

"Joker!" Panther screamed in alarm as she watched her brother fall, only to jump back to avoid the inky frost-blue spikes that exploded from the ground from the Madarame wearing an ice-blue kimono. "Carmen: Incenerate!"

A pillar of ethereal flames exploded from the ground as Carmen stepped out of it, her eyes glinting in fiery delight, while her ensnared captives crawled after her on their hands and knees. With a wink of her right eye and a swing of the heart-headed shadow's thorny chain that Carmen held in her right hand, a fireball was thrown at the frost-blue Madarame.

Frost-blue Madarame shouted, "You dare defy an esteemed elder? May you be frozen in fear! Silent Snowscape!" Frost-blue Madarame stomped his right foot against the ground and twisting branches of ice flew toward Panther.

Panther's eyes widened as she shouted, "Carmen: Maragi!"

Carmen appeared once against and with a puff of smoke from her cigar and swing of ensnared man on her left, multiple bursts of flames stretched out in front of Panther, melting the ice branches that were inches away from freezing Panther.

Unfortunately, a branch of ice managed to sneak beneath her cloud of flames and darted up to pierce her left shoulder, causing her to scream a white-hot pain. "Carmen: Heal him!" Panther managed to scream as ice coated her body.

Carmen appeared and threw out her hand, sending particles of orange-red light to Joker, healing him from his wounds before she was forcibly banished due to Panther's body being trapped within a block of ice.

Joker opened his eyes and landed on his feet and panted as Cobalt Madarame and Frost-blue Madarame stood before him.

Joker turned to Panther's frozen form and felt rage take over him. Without hesitation, he charged forward to engage while Fox and a Madarame wearing a ruby kimono ran across from one another, with Fox's katana clashing against Ruby Madarame's flame katana.

"Damn clueless brat... My fiery rage shall reduce you to mere ashes!" Ruby Madarame hissed as Fox blocked a swipe of the flame katana that would have taken his head.

"Enough of your egotistical rambling," Fox snapped. "My ice will render your flames obsolete and you will taste the wrath of those you preyed upon!" Fox immediately dashed backward to avoid the swing of Ruby Madarame's flame sword as he sheathed his blade.

"Goemon: Cut him down!" Fox commanded as he performed a sweeping slice with his katana. A mist of ice flowed with Fox's swing as it took the shape of a humanoid before it froze over and shattered into Goemon, who delivered a powerful slice that cut the midsection of Ruby Madarame.

Ruby Madarame screamed as the upper half of his body separated from the bottom half. "I'm taking you with me! Flame Dance!" Ruby Madarame spat with his dying breath as a fireball made of red ink flew from Ruby Madarame's left hand and slammed into Fox's body, sending the fire-covered phantom thief spiraling through the air.

Lioness, who used her shield to block a streak of lighting from a Madarame wearing an amber kimono, saw Fox's body sail above her and shouted, "Boudicca!" An orb of water appeared behind her before it took a humanoid shape before it exploded in water and ethereal blue energy, revealing Boudicca.

Boudicca turned and tossed a wave of sparkling blue particles at Fox, not only healing him of his wounds but putting out the fire on his body.

Lioness swiftly turned her attention back to Amber Madarame, and shouted, "Skewer him, Boudicca!"

Water formed in Boudicca's right hand, where she gripped it, causing the water to shapeshift into a spear, that she lunged at Amber Madarame.

Amber Madarame jumped back to avoid the lunge, sneered, and then shouted, "My brilliance strikes like a flash of lightning - and now you'll taste it for yourselves! Thunderclap!" Amber Madarame clapped his hands together, causing three thick bolts of ink-made lighting to fly down toward Lioness.

Lioness looked up and quickly jumped back, avoiding two of the bolts. However, the third one managed to slam into her chest, causing her to scream as an intense jolt of electricity flowed through her body.

Amber Madarame smirked and reared his right arm back as ink-made lightning gathered into his palm. Without warning, Lioness heard Fox shout, "Freeze him, Goemon!"

A ball of ice with spikes poking out of it flew past Lioness' shoulder and slammed into Amber Madarame's face, causing him to take a step back as he froze. Fox sped past Lioness as he gripped his hilt.

"Goemon!" Fox screamed as he unsheathed his katana, forming Goemon, who performed another powerful slice, taking off the head of Amber Madarame and causing both halves to explode into an inky black substance.

Lioness finally shook off the shock as Fox ran back to her and asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Lioness said.

The two looked back at Azazel, who was watching Joker battling both Cobalt and Frost-blue Madarame. "Go help, Joker. I shall handle my former master," Fox instructed.

Lioness nodded and darted toward Joker.

After watching Lioness charge off to help their leader, Fox charged to his further master. There was a time when he would have felt disgusted with himself for turning his back on the man.

But now, after everything that has happened, Fox only felt disgusted at himself for looking up to the man, and fury at the man for using, abusing, and even causing the deaths of so many.

Including his mother, the true artist of the painting that inspired him.

"Well, if it isn't the disgraced Ronin," Azazel spat as Fox skidded to a stop across from him.

"I'd rather be a disgrace than to dishonor my mother, and the true artist of the painting I love, by being enslaved by her killer," Fox remarked.

Azazel sneered as he summoned a gilded paintbrush that looked as long and as thick as a Naginata. "Impertinent brat! It seems you need a good whipping to make you kneel once again!" Azazel growled before charging forward.

Fox narrowed his eyes and ran toward his former master.

And when they met in the middle, the courtyard trembled from the clash.

[Scene Change: Shibuya – Big Bang Burger (Afternoon)
Theme of Big Bang Burger: Bing Bang March from Persona 5]

Ryuji Sakamoto was an anxious mess.

This was the first time he had ever sat out on a boss rush mission and he worried for his friends. He wondered if this is what Haru felt like when they fought King Kamoshida in the Metaverse. 'Just chill out,' Ryuji thought as he sipped his soda. 'Everyone is fine. Sure, they are probably fighting for their lives, but they're going to walk out of it alive and well. Just gotta have some faith in 'em….'

Yet despite his words and the delicious food he had finished eating moments ago, he couldn't fill the pit in his stomach.

Ryuji sighed and finished his soda, only to notice something outside of the restaurant.

It was Makoto, and she was with three other girls, and they seemed to be looking for something. "Huh, what the hell she's doing?" Ryuji asked himself as he stood up from the table and walked away from it.

This may wind up bad but he just had to know what was going on.

[Scene Change: Shibuya Central Street (Afternoon)
Theme of Central Street: Downtown from Tokyo Mirage Sessions FE]

"None of his goons are out today," Eleonora commented as Makoto frowned.

Makoto and her group, which Eiko affectionately named the "Kaneshiro Hunting Squad," took to the streets of Shibuya to make their way to the location where Eleonora had to drop off her hard-earned money.

Makoto had also noticed that none of Kaneshiro's goons were on the street, which meant that either today was an off day for them, or something big was being planned. Whichever one it was, she didn't want to see the end result of it.

"That is weird," Oribe murmured with a concerned tone as moved close to Eleonora, who stepped in front of her with a protective frown.

Eiko tucked herself closer to Makoto, something Makoto took notice of with a faint blush. "Is it wrong to not feel safe, despite all the people around us?" Eiko whispered to Makoto as the leader of their group felt Eiko's right arm intertwined with her left arm.

"No, not at all," Makoto whispered back with narrowed eyes as she patted Eiko's arm. "But don't worry, I'll protect you."

"I know," Eiko whispered with a strange smile on her face.

The four girls turned a corner and Eleonora pointed to a building at the far end of the street. "That's the drop-off point," Eleonora revealed.

Makoto recognized the building.

It used to belong to the Go-Ryu Clan, which was a subsidiary of the Omi Alliance from what her Dad's old case files said. Well, until a man in a white suit came to it. It was abandoned two days later.

"He chose a good location," Makoto said. "We'll need to be careful."

"I'll say, that used to be Omi Alliance territory," A new voice commented, causing all four girls to jump before Makoto twisted around and kicked the offender in the stomach, only to realize that the owner of the voice was Ryuji.

Ryuji stumbled back and fell to the ground as he coughed and rubbed at the spot on his stomach from where she kicked him. "So, what did we learn?" Makoto asked.

"Not to sneak up on you?" Ryuji wheezed.

"Good boy," Makoto nodded as she held out her hand. Ryuji took her hand, allowing her to hoist him up to his feet.

"You know this guy, Makoto?" Eleonora asked.

"He's a friend of mine," Makoto answered.

"I didn't know you were friends with Sakamoto," Eiko commented as Oribe gave a friendly wave to Ryuji, who grinned and waved back.

"It's a recent friendship," Makoto remarked to Eiko and then asked Ryuji, "Now, what are you doing here?"

"I was at Big Bang Burger trying to take my mind off of things when I saw you and these girls walking around. I decided to be nosy and paid for it," Ryuji grinned as he rubbed the back of his neck. "So, what's going on?"

"It's nothing important," Makoto answered. She didn't want him to know about their mission. He, and the others, had far too much on their plates as it is with being the Phantom Thieves, and she needed to do this without them.

She had to prove to herself that she was not useless.

"Sure," Ryuji drawled. He then tilted his head and said, "Hey, some guys are entering the building."

"What?!" Makoto hissed with wide eyes.

She turned around and true to Ryuji's words, a group of men exited a car and walked into the building. "Come on," Makoto instructed her team and Ryuji as she ducked out of sight.

The rest followed her behind the wall, where Makoto peeked out. The last person that left the car was a short and overweight man with long slicked back brown hair, wearing a cheap purple suit with a black button down, a gaudy gold necklace, and a pair of Gucci sunglasses over his eyes.

"That's him," Eleonora whispered from beside Makoto. "Kaneshiro Junya…."

"Kaneshiro Junya?" Ryuji asked.

Makoto narrowed her eyes with sheer anger in her eyes.

For the first time since she was a child, she was looking at the man that murdered her father. "Do you often meet with him, Ellie-chan?" Oribe whispered.

"Not at all," Eleonora answered. "He's usually in some unknown location….. I wonder what bought him here…."

"Guys, whatever this is, it seems serious," Ryuji said.

"It is, Sakomoto-san," Eiko remarked.

Makoto's eyes tracked her target as he conversed with a taller man before the two walked into the two-story white building.

Ryuji had no idea how serious this was. As much as she wanted to storm into the place like her original plan, she couldn't allow her target to know that a noose was tightening around his neck.

But next time, when Eleonora had to make her drop-off, Makoto hoped she could enact her original plan.

"Come on, let's get out of here. We got what we needed for now…." Makoto murmured.

With one problem solved, she now had another one in Ryuji.

What was she going to do about him?

Miss Violet: Originally, this was so supposed to be so much longer but I lost all of my work and I wasn't able to get it back. Thankfully, I saved this portion but I'm pretty down about losing the rest of the chapter. I will have the next part to this done by the Saturday after next, I promise. Until then, class dismissed.