Persona 5: The Phantom Files

by sithlorde1988

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

56. Awaken, Milady! Trapped Heiress part 6

A/N: sithlorde1988 here with another chapter of Persona 5- The Phantom Files! Not a whole lot to say on this A/N honestly, but I will say that me not starting back in on the fifth Palace last chapter was totally intentional. I decided to focus on some Confidant building for a bit as well as get one of the pairings started off for the story, and by started off I mean get them together. Anyone who read chapter 55 knows who I'm alluding to with this. That said, once we get through the Palace and one or two other things afterwards, we'll pretty much be done with Arc 5, and on to Arc 6!

And for those who mostly gave this a look for the romance/pairings, Arc 6 will probably be the arc for you since I have something planned in that arc that will serve as a catalyst, if you will, to get most of the pairings moved from 'complicated/not yet together' to 'dating', so be patient with me until then. For now, there's still a fair bit of Arc 5 yet to cover. But before that, let's hit up the disclaimer, yeah?

Disclaimer: sithlorde1988 does NOT own the Persona series in any way, shape, or form (barring the OC Kusa/Draconis and any other recurring OCs, which are also his that he made unless otherwise stated), and the ownership credit for the Persona series belongs to Atlus, Sega and Koei Tecmo, so all credit to them!

And without further ado, on to chapter 56!

Chapter 56- Return to the Spaceport? Awakening from Betrayal! Trapped Heiress part 6

(At Leblanc, in the evening with Ren and Morgana)

Ren and Morgana sat together in the attic of Leblanc pondering their plans, when Morgana spoke up.

"Ren, what's the plan? I know we have time in the deadline, but still, we don't want to leave that too long. Also, you're getting a bit short on yen again." Morgana said as Ren spoke up.

"Not sure. Although, now that you mention it, I just remembered I have a lottery ticket to check. I should go check on that." Ren decided, heading to Station Square to do just that, only to be disappointed when he found out his ticket was a losing one. He shrugged it off, shelling out 3,000 more yen for another ticket, figuring he'd make the money back once he hit up the next Palace. He was reminded to check the ticket in a week. After that Ren spoke up to Morgana.

"Well, that was a bust. Hmm, why don't we go put a shift in at the Ore no Bako? Haven't worked there in a bit." Ren said as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"That's certainly an option, Ren. If that's what you want to do, we can do that." Morgana said as Ren decided to do just that. He headed in to put a shift in at the beef bowl shop. It was a busy shift, but Ren got through it with some help from Morgana. Afterwards, the manager called Ren to his office and spoke up.

"My, my. Whoa, good work! It seems there were a lot of customers today, but you handled it well on your own! Thanks in advance! I paid you a little extra today. Good work, keep it up!" The manager said as he paid Ren 8,800 yen for his shift, which Ren happily pocketed, as that paid for the ticket he'd just bought and then some. After the manager left, Morgana spoke up.

"Man! You were amazing today Ren, dealing with so many orders! I'm sure it was rough, but I think you handled it all quite proficiently!" Morgana said as Ren nodded, feeling his Proficiency get a sizable boost, a big enough one even to increase it from rank 4, which was 'Masterful', to rank 5, which was 'Transcendent'. He also idly noted that his Proficency now read as 'Proficiency MAX', indicating he'd maxed his Proficiency stat. Morgana grinned and spoke up.

"Way to go, Ren! Now you just need to rank up your Guts, and you'll have maxed every aspect of yourself! Well done!" Morgana praised Ren, who nodded and spoke up.

"Thanks, Morgana." Ren said as Morgana nodded before speaking up.

"No problem, Ren. Ugh, phew, what a night! Well, I guess we should go home soon, Ren." Morgana said as Ren nodded, changing out of his uniform and heading back to Leblanc, where the two got comfortable for the evening, Morgana curling up on Kusa's chest happily as everyone dozed off for the night...

(The next morning, on the train to school with Ren, Kusa and Morgana)

Ren and Kusa frowned as they heard some office workers talking near where they were standing.

"Everyone is incompetent! Those Phantom Thieves need to hurry up and deal with Okumura." A middle-aged office worker said as one of his subordinates spoke up from next to him.

"Not just him, but ALL companies that exploit their employees." The subordinate said as the middle-aged office worker nodded and spoke up. Take out one, you gotta take them all out. It's only fair." The middle-aged office worker said as Morgana spoke up in annoyance.

"Man, why are they raking us over the coals?" Morgana asked as Kusa spoke up with a slight frown, visibly irritated with the brazen shots taken at him and the others.

"Good question, Morgana. But I don't know the answer to it, I'm afraid. That said, that guy was right about one thing. We do need to step it up a bit and get back to the Palace soonish since we took a few days to idle that we probably shouldn't have, but it is what it is. That said, the real question here, at least to me, would be what that guy thinks we are. I mean, it's not like we're some sort of hitmen or guns for hire. Although I get the sense that Ryuji in particular would probably like that idea." Kusa said as Ren nodded but said nothing as the rest of the ride went by peacefully...

(Later that morning, in class with Ren, Morgana and Ann)

"Okay, settle down! All right, everyone! Quiet down! I'm changing my lesson for today. Instead of a regular class, we'll be reviewing last week's materials. I suggest you listen carefully. But don't think you can slack off, okay? I absolutely won't allow it. No slacking off!" Kawakami said as Morgana smirked and spoke up so only Ren could hear.

"Hey! Oh, is that the signal? I think we can slack off today! Kawakami's been kind enough to give us this free time, so we'd better put it to good use." Morgana said as Ren nodded and reached into his bag for his copy of 'Master Swordsman', which he recalled he'd yet to start on, and decided to use his unplanned free time to start in on it. Ren then started reading from the book to himself, being careful to keep his voice down so only Morgana could hear.

"Hm, this says 'A heart without hesitance is the essence of bushido.' Interesting." Ren said to Morgana, who nodded and spoke up so only Ren could hear.

"Learning about the spirit of the samurai seems useful, but this book looks difficult, to be honest. Whoa, you still got time to read. Let's go a little further." Morgana said as Ren nodded and kept speaking so only Morgana could hear.

"Right, where was I? Ah, right, here we are. 'A heart that never backs down is the secret to bushido.' I see." Ren said. A short time later, Morgana spoke up.

"Seems like you're getting through that book quickly. That guide on speed reading really helped with that as well. Am I right? Well? How far did you get?" Morgana said as Ren shook his head and quietly spoke up.

"I got about 2/3rds of the way through, I'd say." Ren said as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"I see. Seems like you still have some pages left. You should continue this some other time." Morgana said as Ren nodded and tucked 'Master Swordsman' back into his bag as Morgana spoke up.

"Ahhh, that was great. We should thank Kawakami for this later." Morgana said as Ren nodded and the rest of class went by uneventfully...

(Later that afternoon, in class with Ren, Morgana and Ann)

As Ren and Ann sat in class, their phones went off to signify a group chat with Ryuji, Ann, Kusa, Yusuke, Makoto, Okumura, and Futaba, with Ryuji sending the first response.

"Hey, what's Akechi up to?" Ryuji sent as Futaba sent a response, followed closely by a response from Kusa.

"He's in hiding now that everyone turned against him." Futaba sent as Kusa and Yusuke sent replies close together, Kusa's coming through first.

"Exactly. But the fact remains that Akechi really only has himself to blame for it. After all, Ren will vouch that I warned him multiple times to drop those beliefs of his, so it's his own fault that his fanbase has turned on him. But I have to say, I wouldn't have expected you to be worried for him, Ryuji." Kusa sent as Yusuke's response came through.

"Public opinion has truly flipped between him and us, but I doubt he's given up." Yusuke sent as Ann sent a response.

"And if we don't hurry, the public will turn against us next. Not that some of us probably are bothered by that, right Kusa?" Ann sent as Kusa sent a response.

"You know full well by now that I don't give two shits about what the public thinks of us. I am strictly in this for the sake of it being the right thing to do and also for the sake of giving courage to those who need it, which as I recall was what someone said their goal was when they joined. Am I right, Ann?" Kusa sent as Ryuji and Futaba sent replies close together, Ryuji's coming through first.

"Truth! Ann did say that when she joined up. And also, I was more curious about why he's so quiet than concerned for Akechi, Kusa." Ryuji sent as Futaba's response came through.

"To what Ann and Yusuke were mentioning, there are already signs of that." Futaba sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"Then let's move! We can't go wasting our popularity!" Ryuji sent as Kusa sent a response.

"First of all, is popularity ALL you think about outside of picking up chicks nowadays, Ryuji? Secondly, I'd have to consult with Ren, but I believe the plan was to go back into the Palace soonish, possibly today?" Kusa sent as Okumura sent a response at that point.

"That'd be good if we're going back in today, to be honest. I'd like to stop my father as well, for everyone's sake." Okumura sent as Makoto sent a response.

"Considering Haru's circumstances, we must follow through with this." Makoto sent as Ren sent a response.

"Kusa is correct. Odds are good we'll be going to the Palace today, unless something comes up, which I doubt. So be prepared for that." Ren sent before putting his phone away as the rest of class went by uneventfully...

(After school, with Ren and Morgana)

"So, we're going into the Palace then?" Morgana asked Ren, who nodded before sending out a group chat to summon the others to the hideout, which was met with a chorus of affirmative responses as Ren and Morgana headed to the hideout...

(At the same time, at the Underground Walkway with Ann and Yusuke)

"Oh, hey, Yusuke." Ann said as she ran into Yusuke on the way to the hideout. Yusuke turned to face Ann in surprise.

"Ann? Fancy running into you here. Were you on your way to the hideout too?" Yusuke asked Ann, who nodded as Yusuke kept speaking.

"Ah. In that case, perfect timing." Yusuke said to Ann, who blinked in surprise as she spoke up.

"Huh? Whaddya mean?" Ann asked Yusuke, who spoke up with a smile.

"I've been working on a way to incorporate beauty into our fights, instead of merely doing away with our enemies each time and being done with it. And only a moment ago, I was struck with a bolt of inspiration." Yusuke said as Ann blinked and winced before she spoke up.

"Ah, is that right? So, that said, what did you mean by 'perfect timing', then?" Ann asked Yusuke, who spoke up uncertainly, surprising Ann a bit with what he said next.

"Ah, yes, that. So, my potential idea is good and all, but I'll require your help to pull it off. Would you please lend me a hand?" Yusuke asked Ann, who blinked but shrugged as she spoke up.

"Sure, but uh, if we're going to do this, I ask that this involve nothing too weird, all right?" Ann asked Yusuke, who smiled with a nod while speaking up.

"Have no fear." Yusuke said as he then proceeded to explain his idea to Ann, who actually looked impressed at what Yusuke had explained while she spoke up.

"Oooh, this sounds so stylish and fancy. Not to mention artistic! That totally sounds like something you'd come up with, Yusuke!" Ann said as Yusuke spoke up.

"True. Of course, if you have no interest, you're in no way obligated to help. I just thought you might be a good fit for it is all. I'm sure I can figure out someone else for it if needed." Yusuke said to Ann, who gave Yusuke a closed-eye smile while speaking up.

"No no, it sounds awesome! Oh, but, what if we tried doing this beforehand?" Ann suggested as she offered an alternative to a part of the idea that she'd figured out how to improve, making Yusuke look at Ann in surprise as he spoke up.

"Oho, not bad. We should definitely incorporate that into the attack. I never would've come up with that part on my own." Yusuke said in approval as Ann pumped a fist and spoke up with another closed-eye smile.

"Awesome! I can't wait!" Ann said excitedly. Yusuke smiled as he spoke up.

"Actually, to be honest? I want to try it right now as well! I truly hope the Star will grant us this boon." Yusuke said as Ann nodded and the two kept moving...

(A short time later, at the hideout with Kusa, Futaba, Morgana, Yusuke, Haru, Ryuji, Ren, Makoto, and Ann)

Once the group had gathered in the hideout, most of them blinked in confusion at the message which had popped up on their phones, which simply read 'Ann and Yusuke's Showtime has been unlocked.', making the group exchange frowns as Kusa spoke up while giving Ann and Yusuke an inquiring look.

"Since when do you two have a Showtime, anyways? The last time I checked, myself and Taba were the most recent pair to get a Showtime?" Kusa asked Ann and Yusuke with a slightly arched eyebrow as Ann spoke up to answer Kusa.

"It was a rather recent development, which happened on the way here. So now Yusuke and I are the most recent pair to get a Showtime." Ann said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"Ah, I see. That does make sense, to be honest." Kusa said as Ren called the meeting to order and Makoto spoke up.

"We need to change President Okumura's heart to save Haru and learn the truth of the shutdowns." Makoto said as Okumura spoke up.

"The day my father promised is October 11th, so that's our deadline I'd say. If that passes, I'll be sent off to that man, which I'd rather avoid if possible." Okumura said as Ann spoke up.

"Well then, let's go over how things are looking right now." Ann said as Yusuke frowned and spoke up.

"Are we not lacking information at present? We will not be able to create an appropriate plan like this." Yusuke said as Okumura spoke up.

"Let's try to be cautious of the Shadows on guard." Okumura said as Ann spoke up.

"Mm-hm, I wonder if we'll really be okay like this, though. Shouldn't we try to get a little stronger? We might want to fight them one at a time to gain experience. Being weak won't do at all." Ann said as Ryuji spoke up.

"Okay, that's enough for now! Well, that's basically it, yeah?" Ryuji said as Kusa spoke up.

"Indeed. And to your point, Ann, that's why the Shadows are there. If we do it right, we can use them to get stronger." Kusa said sagely. Ren then spoke up.

"And on that note, let's get back into the Palace!" Ren said as Futaba nodded from next to Kusa as she spoke up.

"All right, let's go!" Futaba said as the group headed back into the Metaverse...

(Inside of President Okumura's Palace, with Panther, Fox, Joker, Draconis, Oracle, Mona, Queen, Skull and Beauty Thief)

"Do you have a minute, Joker? We didn't have any problems last time until that authentication device. Let's head there first." Queen suggested. Joker nodded before he spoke up.

"Fair enough. Also, before we get going, now that we're all together, I think we'll have our front lines for now be Skull, Mona, and Draconis with myself, while Panther, Queen, Fox and Oracle keep guard on Beauty Thief in case any Shadows try to jump her while she's coming into her full powers. Agreed?" Joker said as the group nodded and the necessary tagouts were made so that the group was Joker, Draconis, Mona and Skull on the front lines, then Panther, Fox, Queen, Oracle and Beauty Thief on the reserves with Oracle also providing navi support for now inside of Necronomicon. After a bit of walking, the group got back to the room with the scanner, where Skull spoke up.

"I was wonderin' this last time we were here, but what is this thing shown in the middle as a hologram? A frisbee?" Skull asked as Oracle shook her head and spoke up.

"Nah, looks more like a hamburger bun to me. I mean, we're dealing with Big Bang Burger here." Oracle said as Draconis spoke up.

"True, but at the same time, that looks awfully high-tech for a hamburger bun. Honestly, considering you have one yourself, would I be wrong to guess that that could in fact be a UFO?" Draconis said as Queen spoke up while nodding approvingly to Draconis' musings as she spoke.

"Draconis does have a point. Either way, I'm sure it'll become clearer as we proceed. Come on, let's go." Queen said as the group kept moving. Once they got to the biometric authentication door, Queen spoke up.

"Umm, so for the door in question, how do we get past it?" Queen asked as Beauty Thief nodded and spoke up.

"Leave it to me." Beauty Thief said as she stood in front of the door which eventually opened up, making Oracle smirk before she spoke up.

"Haha! That biometric scanner's useless now that we've got his actual family on our side!" Oracle said as Draconis chuckled and spoke up.

"True that Oracle, but you say that like you couldn't have probably brute-forced us past it with one of Necronomicon's bombs. I mean, it's not like the doors are boom-proof, right?" Draconis pointed out as Oracle huffed and spoke up.

"You're correct, I think. But at the same time, we'd have to move pretty far back to not be caught in the blast radius ourselves! I mean, you should've seen how tore up my outfit was the last time I tested one of Necronomicon's bombs out! I'd rather not do that again unless it's absolutely necessary." Oracle said as Draconis nodded before speaking up.

"Fair enough. I was just trying to offer ideas. My bad." Draconis said as the group walked through the door, after which Skull turned to Beauty Thief and spoke up.

"By the way, you seemed real fired up back when we first met. Was that an act Mona put you up to? Y'know, all that stuff with the beauty thingy?" Skull asked Beauty Thief, who winced as she spoke up.

"That was, um, the truth is I was trying to be a heroine of justice." Beauty Thief said as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"Uh, for real? Is that a joke?" Skull said as Panther frowned at Skull before she spoke up.

"You moron!" Panther said as Beauty Thief spoke up with an unreadable look on her face.

"Ever since I was young, people around me have never seen me for who I really am. They would be kind to me just to please my father, and would get money and presents in exchange. Adults, teachers, even friends, everyone. It seemed like everyone smiled at me for their own personal gain." Beauty Thief said as Queen frowned before speaking up.

"So that's why you kept the details of your family a secret at school, Beauty Thief." Queen said as Draconis spoke up.

"Can you blame her, Queen? If I'd been in her shoes, I'd have probably done the same thing." Draconis said sagely. Beauty Thief turned to the others and did a closed-eye smile as she spoke up.

"But the female superheroes I used to see on TV were so great! They always fought for others, not themselves. And they were always happy. I wanted to be just like that! Even though I knew it was a fantasy, I couldn't help myself. I still looked up to them." Beauty Thief said as Skull grinned and spoke up.

"That's fair. Everyone goes wild over heroes at some point. It's fine havin' someone like that on our side, right Joker?" Skull said as Joker spoke up.

"Of course it is. The more, the merrier. Besides, she did us a great service by looking after Mona while we were at odds, so for that alone she deserves to be part of this group, to say nothing of how useful she'll prove to be. But that's still her choice to make in the end." Joker said. Before anyone else could respond, another voice spoke up.

"What are you doing here!?" The group heard as they turned around to see what looked to be a high-tech Shadow walking towards them, though Draconis' eyes narrowed as he got a closer look at the Shadow, as they had a helmet over their head, albeit a clear one that gave a good view of their blue face, yellow eyes, black hair and the odd bronze bit protruding from the outside of the helmet. In addition, the Shadow sported a black cape with a red interior, futuristic gauntlets, a very high-tech chestplate, and a full black outfit behind it aside from a pair of dark grey gloves. Beauty Thief blinked and spoke up.

"Huh? Huh!?" Beauty Thief said as Oracle and Draconis both huffed, the latter speaking up first with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, HELL no! The Palace ruler this time is rocking a look that's a cross between Darth freaking Vader and Minion from Megamind!? The absolute eff? Not cool!" Draconis said as Oracle nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed, Draconis! I give that cosplay a 4 out of 10, and that only because the futuristic vibe is epic. Otherwise, that's a terrible attempt at imitation!" Oracle said as Panther nodded and spoke up.

"I third what they said! This is insane on so many levels!" Ann said as the Shadow spoke up in a mechanical voice.

"I thought I told you not to associate with vulgar people!" The Shadow, which Draconis idly wondered if it could be President Okumura's Shadow, said as another individual walked up next to the Shadow and Skull growled before speaking up as he also recognized the figure, as it appeared to be Haru's fiance.

"That bastard!" Skull said as Beauty Thief gasped and spoke up in horror.

"Him!? Did he come into the Palace too!?" Beauty Thief said as Mona spoke up.

"No! He might look the same, but that isn't the real person. Remember what I explained to you earlier?" Mona said to Beauty Thief, who blinked and spoke up.

"You mean about the cognition thing?" Beauty Thief said as the Shadow spoke up.

"What are you mumbling about? The Shadow said. Beauty Thief walked over to the Shadow before speaking up.

"Do you recall what I said before? That I would do my best for you? This is my answer to that!" Beauty Thief said as Draconis spoke up.

"Beauty Thief, is that Shadow your father's Shadow?" Draconis asked Beauty Thief, but was ignored as the Shadow spoke up.

"Are those intruders the rumored Phantom Thieves? Ah, I see!" The Shadow said, laughing maniacally. He then spoke up, his next words making Draconis and Joker both frown.

"You're handing them over to me as a plea for forgiveness! 'Overcome failure at any cost, even if it means betraying others at times.' Impressive. You truly embody the Okumura motto!" The Shadow said, making Joker and Draconis exchange confused looks as the Shadow kept speaking.

"Very well. Join me!" The Shadow asked as Beauty Thief spoke up.

"Why do you only ever think about gains and losses!? That's why the company has a bad reputation, Father! All because you treat people like they're tools!" Beauty Thief said as Joker and Draconis blinked, both sure now that they were looking at President Okumura's Shadow, who scoffed as he spoke up.

"To gain, you must give. Most importantly, one must be resolved to give even more if they wish to stand above others. We are on vastly different levels, my daughter. And soon, I will rise to a new stage. That being the stage of the political world!" President Okumura's Shadow said before he kept speaking.

"The cold reality of kicking people down is a part of business! Virtue and sentiment are for losers." President Okumura's Shadow said. He chuckled ominously as he kept speaking.

"Okumura Foods shall be the foundation of my victory!" President Okumura's Shadow said before Queen gasped as she spoke up.

"No! His company is just a stepping stone to him!" Queen said as the cognitive version of Beauty Thief's fiance spoke up.

"Mister Okumura, we don't need a girl who's been soiled by thieves. Unless you make some compromises, I can't introduce her to my father." The cognitive version of Beauty Thief's fiance said as President Okumura's Shadow huffed and spoke up.

"Oh? Well, she needn't be your lawful wife anymore, I suppose. Take her as your lover, or whatever it is you desire." President Okumura's Shadow said, making virtually all of the Thieves' jaws drop at this before the cognitive version of Beauty Thief's fiance spoke up once more, his words making Draconis and Skull glare at him.

"Very well, President Okumura. I accept." The cognitive version of Beauty Thief's fiance said as Beauty Thief blinked and spoke up in shock while striding towards the cognitive version of her fiance and President Okumura's Shadow..

"Lover!? I was raised under this company's wealth my entire life! I even accepted a political marriage for you. This is NOT what we discussed!" Beauty Thief said before she kept speaking, her words further confirming Joker and Draconis' suspicions.

"Father! You want me to be that man's plaything just to satisfy your own ambitions?" Beauty Thief said as President Okumura's Shadow spoke up.

"Hmph, why fret? You should be overjoyed that you're fulfilling your role as an Okumura daughter. This is the only value you've had from the very beginning." President Okumura's Shadow said as Draconis hissed and spoke up.

"Bastard! He'd use anything he has at his disposal to get what he wants, even if it means hurting those closest to him! What kind of an effed up dad does that!? Much less lets an equally messed up man be his daughter's fiance!? Whether this scumbag's actions are politically motivated or not, there are some things that should be sacred! Family being one of them." Draconis huffed as Fox spoke up.

"I agree. So, it seems that even his own daughter's life is a commodity to him." Fox said as Beauty Thief dropped to a knee before speaking up.

"I can't believe it." Beauty Thief said as the cognitive version of her fiance walked forward and spoke up.

"Now, why don't you come with me, and we'll go back to my place?" The cognitive version of Beauty Thief's fiance said before shifting forms into that of a robot as he kept speaking.

"Let's have fun! I'll play with you until I get bored! Ooh, a high-school fiance, and the heiress to a renowned conglomerate like Okumura Foods? What a turn-on!" The cognitive version of Beauty Thief's fiance said as Skull and Draconis spoke up in unison.

"YOU BASTARD!" Skull and Draconis both snapped as Beauty Thief spoke up at that point.

"So vulgar, even now." Beauty Thief said as Mona spoke up in horror while Beauty Thief got to her feet.

"No! Haru's Persona won't stand a chance against that-" Mona said as Oracle spoke up.

"Don't worry!" Oracle said as Beauty Thief's Persona formed a dome around Beauty Thief, protecting her, and the others, from harm as Oracle kept speaking.

"She hadn't awakened to her real power, that's all!" Oracle said as the group got a glimpse of Beauty Thief's Persona. She was a traditional lady, wearing a dark-pink ballgown with accents of brown, purple, and dark pink, a flowing pink skirt, darker pink gloves, and holding a pink mask over her otherwise invisible face. The cognitive robotic version of Beauty Thief's fiance spoke up in disbelief as Beauty Thief grabbed her head in pain.

"How dare you!" The robotic cognitive version of Beauty Thief's fiance said as Beauty Thief fell to her knees once more while holding her aching head.

(Awakening Start-Beauty Thief)

"I see you finally made up your mind, didn't you, my dear, fated princess. Freedom for you must stem from betrayal. If you still yearn for it now, then you must not err. Now tell me, dear fated princess, who shall you betray?" Beauty Thief heard in her head as she spoke up in a resolute tone.

"My heart has been set for some time now, so you should know." Beauty Thief said as the voice in her head spoke up once more.

"Yes, that gaze, so wonderfully resolved and determined! I can finally display my true strength! Now princess, vow to me! I am thou, thou art I, and together, let us adorn your departure into freedom with a beautiful betrayal." The voice said as Beauty Thief got to her feet in a flurry of rose petals. As Beauty Thief did a dynamic pose, the being next to her opened her skirt to reveal a pair of massive looking miniguns hidden in her gown, making Skull jump back in shock, speaking up.

"Geez! The eff is that!?" Skull said as Draconis spoke up with an amused smirk on his face.

"If I had to guess? I think we're seeing another femme fatale awaken." Draconis said as Oracle, Queen and Panther all nodded their agreement while Beauty Thief spoke up.

"Farewell, dear Father. I am no longer your subservient puppet! Nor will I turn on the people who've had my back multiple times recently when I needed it! Unlike you, these people were willing to put themselves at risk to protect me when that man over there that you picked for me tried to publicly abuse me and kill another of my friends who tried to protect me. So if the choice is between the father I almost don't recognize anymore and the group of people who saved my life more than once, I think it's an easy choice to make. I side with the Phantom Thieves!" Beauty Thief said resolutely as President Okumura's Shadow frowned and spoke up.

"Hmph! Then so be it, Haru. You're worthless." President Okumura's Shadow said as he turned and left the room, stopping to address the robotic cognitive version of Beauty Thief's fiance as he left.

(End Awakening-Beauty Thief)

"Hmph. I no longer have need for them. Deal with them how you wish." President Okumura's Shadow said as he left the room, leaving the robotic cognitive version of Beauty Thief's fiance alone with the Phantom Thieves. He then spoke up, looking at Beauty Thief as he spoke.

"You poor thing, come with me. I'll toy with you until you break!" The robotic cognitive version of Beauty Thief's fiance said as Skull and Fox strode forward, Fox speaking up.

"I don't expect a cretin like you to come to reason at all." Fox said as Skull nodded and spoke up.

"Uh-huh. We shoulda just told you this from the start, asshat." Skull said as Mona spoke up to finish Skull's sentence.

"We are the Phantom Thieves, here to take your bride!" Mona said as Draconis spoke up, cracking his knuckles excitedly while he spoke.

"And to beat some sense into you, if that's possible. Either way, bring it!" Draconis said as the fight began! The robotic cognitive version of Beauty Thief's fiance spoke up.

"Those who steal from others need to be severely punished." The robotic cognitive version of Beauty Thief's fiance said as he summoned a pair of robots to assist him. He then leered at Beauty Thief as he spoke up.

"Haru! Be a good girl! Come be my toy!" The cognitive version of Beauty Thief's fiance said to Beauty Thief as she spoke up.

"Hmph! I have no intentions of talking to you, my fiance! For the sake of changing my father's heart, I cannot lose!" Beauty Thief said as Draconis spoke up.

"Nor will you! We've got your back, Beauty Thief! This dirtbag's got a reckoning coming!" Draconis said as Queen spoke up in disbelief.

"So this is Haru's true power. Incredible!" Queen said as Mona spoke up.

"Haru, you're so determined and resolved! All right let's do this! Time to pummel that scummy jerk!" Mona said as Draconis spoke up.

"As much as I want to remind both you and Queen that we don't use real names in the Metaverse, Beauty Thief doesn't strictly speaking have a code name to use either, so I can't really lecture you on it for now, Mona. But let's try referring to her as Beauty Thief for now just to be safe, unless Beauty Thief has objections to that?" Draconis said as Beauty Thief shook her head.

"No, that's fine! Let's fight that jerk!" Beauty Thief said as the fight began! After a few volleys of attacks which included Beauty Thief giving an excellent display of her skills with both an axe and surprisingly enough a grenade launcher, the group initiated a Hold-Up, after which the All-Out Attack was initiated where the group pummeled the enemy until the screen cut to a still of Beauty Thief sitting at a table, sipping a cup of tea as the screen showed a pink screen with a fancy tea table and the word 'Adieu.' in really fancy script on the top-left corner of the screen.

At that point, the group watched in surprise as the barrage of attacks made the cognitive robotic version of Beauty Thief's fiance twitch in place before toppling to the ground where he laid, not moving, ending the battle. From the EXP gain that ensued, Joker and Draconis hit level 37, every other thief aside from Oracle hit level 36, and Oracle hit level 34. Joker's Flauros Persona even hit level 23. Joker smirked and spoke up.

"All right! Not only did we put that scumbag in his place, I leveled up!" Joker said as he leveled up. And from the level ups, Flauros learned the buff skill Rebellion and the Physical skill Cornered Fang. Queen spoke up.

"A new skill! Put it to good use!" Queen said as Flauros acquired Rebellion but passed on Cornered Fang. In addition, Johanna gained Defense Master, making Queen speak up once more.

"Oh, a new skill! Can't wait to try it out!" Queen said as Johanna acquired Defense Master. After the battle, Beauty Thief spoke up as the robotic cognitive version of her fiance dissolved into black mist.

"I did it! I won! I did it, Mona-chan!" Beauty Thief said as Skull grinned at a closed-eye smiling Mona and spoke up.

"What were you sayin' about her Persona bein' weak?" Skull said to Mona, who shrugged as Beauty Thief gasped on seeing that the cognitive robotic version of her fiance was gone.

"Ah! He disappeared! Is that okay?" Beauty Thief asked as Panther frowned at Mona and spoke up.

"Are you sure you taught her how things work in here?" Panther asked Mona, who winced as he spoke up.

"I did teach her about it! Or, so I thought. Maybe I missed a few things though." Mona said as Oracle spoke up.

"What's the point if she doesn't get it?" Oracle asked as Queen chuckled and spoke up.

"Don't worry. Cognitive beings have no correlation to their real-world counterparts. You'll see when we get back. I guarantee he'll be okay." Queen said as Beauty Thief spoke up.

"Then, he's not dead?" Beauty Thief asked as Fox nodded and spoke up.

"That's right." Fox said as Skull spoke up with an excited grin.

"Dude, does this mean we got a new teammate?" Skull asked as Draconis huffed and spoke up.

"No Skull, it means she just awoke to her powers for that one specific circumstance. Yes, it means we've got a new teammate. Provided, of course, Beauty Thief is okay with that." Draconis said dryly, though he did have an amused smirk on his face at the visible amounts of childish excitement on Skull's face. Skull nodded and spoke up.

"Good point. That said, good to have ya, uh, what do we call you? Beauty Thief?" Skull said as Mona spoke up.

"No, she already has a code name. She just went with Beauty Thief for the sake of simplicity. She has a different code name that she was waiting to reveal until she fully awakened her Persona." Mona said as Beauty Thief spoke up.

"Indeed. You can call me 'Noir'." The now code-named Noir said as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"Uhh, Noir?" Skull said as Draconis spoke up.

"Yeah, Skull. Noir. Y'know, the French word for black, assuming my limited knowledge of other languages isn't wrong?" Draconis said as Noir nodded and spoke up.

"No, that's quite correct, Draconis. Noir means black in French." Noir said as Draconis grinned and spoke up while triumphantly pumping a fist.

"Hell yeah, got it right! Let's go." Draconis said as Oracle huffed and spoke up fondly, playfully swatting Draconis lightly on the arm while she spoke.

"Why are you such a dork sometimes, Draconis?" Oracle asked as Draconis chuckled and spoke up.

"I dunno. Because it's fun to be random at times? Nah, but for real, you know you like it, Oracle." Draconis said smugly as he crossed his arms while Oracle spoke up.

"I hate that you're right. And tone done that condescension, Draconis. Unless you're trying to sound like Akechi, that is." Oracle said as Draconis huffed and spoke up.

"Hey now, I take offense to that comparison! Don't lump me in with that egotistic jackass! I might mess around with confidence here, but I'm not that overconfident that I stare down my nose at others! Besides, do you see me being arrogant enough to run around with however many vapid effing fangirls Akechi-kun likely has hanging off of him? That comparison was in poor form, Oracle." Draconis said as Noir giggled and spoke up.

"You two are cute together . But back on topic, I'd like to be a heroine of justice, but the Phantom Thieves are on the darker side of the law. I chose the name Noir to remind me of that." Noir said as Mona turned to Skull and spoke up.

"And there you have it." Mona said as Panther spoke up uncertainly.

"OK? Well, as long as she's into it, that's what's important, I suppose." Panther said as Fox spoke up.

"Indeed. She created quite an elaborate backstory. As a man of the arts myself, I must confess myself impressed." Yusuke said as Queen did a closed-eye smile and spoke up.

"Heh, Noir. I like it. It conveys a dignity that won't bow down to others, as well as a rebellious spirit toward society." Queen said as Noir smiled and spoke up.

"Thank you." Noir said as Mona spoke up.

"Don't let your guard down, Noir." Mona said as Draconis nodded approvingly before he spoke up.

"Agreed, Mona. Noir should be on her guard at all times. Her powers are impressive, but there'll always be someone stronger, hence why I always say we should never get too full of ourselves, lest it come back to bite us squarely on the individual and collective asses eventually." Draconis said sagely. Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Your blunt choice of phrasing aside, that's pretty good advice, Draconis. And Noir? Our trip through the Palace doesn't end until we steal the Treasure, after all." Mona said as Noir did a closed eye smile and gave the not-cat speaking to her a mock-salute while she spoke up.

"Yes, sir!" Noir said as Oracle frowned before she spoke up.

"Someone's talkin' all big again, methinks." Oracle said as Draconis smiled and spoke up.

"True, but at least he's relatively happy again, and not all miserable and surly like he was before. So I think we can allow him a bit of an ego stroke in this one instance if it keeps him cheerful. Besides, between you, me, and Joker, we can keep Mona's ego in check if it gets too inflated, so relax, yeah?" Draconis said with a smirk as Oracle nodded and spoke up while giving Draconis a coy smile.

"Yeah, you're probably right, Draconis. But then again, you rarely are wrong that I've seen." Oracle said as Noir spoke up.

"Come now you two, let us continue forth! You can flirt on the way!" Noir said as Draconis and Oracle both sputtered incoherent denials, both red-faced from Noir calling them out on their banter with one another, making Joker grin as he spoke up.

"HA! Knew that would happen! Pay up, Skull! I believe you owe me 2,500 yen per our bet?" Joker said as Draconis spun around to face Joker, eyes narrowed as he spoke up, pouting slightly as he spoke.

"BET!? You and Skull bet on Oracle and I? What the eff, Joker? Would you like it if I'd bet with Mona and Oracle on you and Yoshizawa?" Draconis said petulantly as Mona spoke up, trying to keep the group on track despite the amused smirk on his face at Draconis' rare display of childish pouting as he spoke.

"Focus! We have a Palace to go through! Joker can pocket his winnings, then we have to keep moving! And Draconis, I think that was Noir's subtle way of saying she approves of the two of you. So don't get so worked up about it." Mona said rebukingly as Draconis nodded before resuming his place next to Oracle as he spoke up.

"Fair enough. Let's keep moving, yeah?" Draconis said with a wry grin as Oracle nodded her agreement and spoke up with a smile of her own.

"Yup, but first I believe I see an elevator over there. Let's use it!" Oracle said as the group kept moving to the nearby elevator and riding it downward to a new section of Okumura's Palace, where they could see more of the spaceport view as Mona spoke up.

"Whoa, look at that!" Mona said as Draconis spoke up while crossing his arms.

"For real, Mona! This place has such a heavy sci-fi vibe to it! I mean, President Okumura's Shadow looked like an effing love letter to Star Wars and Megamind! And all these robots? Can you say wanna-be Battle Droids?" Draconis said as Oracle nodded before she spoke up, glad that Draconis had the same thoughts on the Palace as she did.

"Thank you! I'm not the only one who got strong Star Wars vibes off this place! I was right to be curious about your reaction Draconis, it would seem. Mwehehe." Oracle said as Mona spoke up, smirking at the twin pouts his next remark got from Draconis and Oracle while he spoke.

"Anyways, ignoring the lovebirds over there, I can smell the Treasure over in that direction there. It's probably in that building!" Mona said as the shot panned out to show a building a ways in the distance before Fox spoke up, ignoring the sputtered denials of the red-faced Oracle and Draconis, both of whom were glaring at the grinning not-cat while Fox spoke up.

"Hm, that seems quite far off from here. It is difficult to ascertain the shortest route there as well." Fox said as Queen spoke up.

"We'll just have to keep going on whatever path we find for the time being. In the meantime though, let's go." Queen said as the group kept moving. While attacking a Shadow, Joker went in for his All-Out Attack, only for the screen to abruptly cut to a shot of Necronomicon hovering over the enemy as Oracle dropped down in a beam, bomb in hand as she tossed it down next to the Shadow, only to blink in disbelief as it didn't go off right away, leading to her scrambling over to tap the bomb.

After that, Oracle wasted little time leaping away as the bomb exploded on the shocked Shadow who dissolved into black mist as Oracle posed on the screen which showed an 8-bit image of a skull and headphones under the words 'GIT GUD' as Oracle winked while sticking her tongue out playfully despite her glasses looking cracked in the shot as she did a thumbs up and spoke up.

"Got 'em! Mission complete!" Oracle said as Draconis blinked and spoke up in shock, jaw dropped slightly as he watched the All-Out Attack from Oracle.

"Damn, Oracle! I knew your All-Out Attack would be unique, but not that it would be explosive. Nice!" Draconis said as Oracle smirked and spoke up.

"Thanks! Sometimes nothing puts an enemy down quite like a dose of 'Here Comes The Boom!' to the face. I just wish I could fix it so my glasses didn't always get cracked from the kickback, though." Futaba said as Draconis laughed and spoke up while high-fiving Oracle.

"Nice reference! Only, you missed the chance to finish that All-Out Attack by saying 'How do you like me now!?' as is often said at the end of that song. Otherwise, well played." Draconis said as Oracle giggled and spoke up.

"I left that bit out on purpose, since I felt it was too flashy." Oracle said as Draconis nodded, speaking up with an understanding smile.

"I see." Draconis said as the battle ended. At that point, Oracle spoke up as the group went past a room.

"Hm? The effects of cognition are low here. Is there a Safe Room nearby?" Oracle asked as Draconis nodded his agreement while speaking up.

"Most likely. That's usually the case." Draconis said as sure enough, the nearby room was a Safe Room that the group filed into as Mona spoke up.

"Ah, a Safe Room. Huh, surprised this Palace has them, but whatever. Looks like we can use this place to rest if needed." Mona said as the 'Facility Passageway' was added to the fast-travel list for Joker. Mona then kept speaking.

"This should make a good temporary base. We can resume our infiltration from here if we take a break, too." Mona said as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"Fair enough. Let's use this place for a quick breather, but let's not take too long since we are in the middle of an infiltration here." Joker said as the group nodded. Eventually Joker walked over to Oracle and spoke up, seeing her messing about on her laptop.

"Having fun over there, Oracle?" Joker asked Oracle who nodded her agreement before speaking up.

"Right, right! Anyways, Noir admiring all those female superheroes like she does, I can relate. I know exactly where she's comin' from!" Oracle said as Draconis spoke up from where he was leaning against the wall near Oracle.

"I'm sure you can, given you were a shut-in for a time, so you'd have had plenty of time to see said superheroes on TV, Oracle. And now look at you! As good as a superhero yourself! Talk about coming a long way, yeah?" Draconis said, crossing his arms with an amused smirk on his face as Joker smirked and spoke up.

"Oh? Should I move on so the two of you can have a private moment, then?" Joker said to Draconis, who huffed and spoke up.

"Shut up, Joker. I was just acknowledging how far Oracle's come! Do I look like the type of guy to flirt with a girl in the Metaverse!? That'd be far more a move that Skull would make, and we both know it!" Draconis said bluntly as Joker nodded and kept moving. He eventually moved over to Fox, who chuckled to himself as Joker walked up and spoke up.

"Why are you chuckling like that, Fox? Or do I want to know?" Joker asked as Fox spoke up.

"Hm? Oh, I was just taking in the irony of our situation. We just had that out-of-this-world encounter in the previous Palace, and now we're in space, of all places! Palaces are absolute treasure troves for my work." Fox said as Joker nodded his agreement as he spoke up with an understanding smile.

"If you say so, Fox." Joker said as he moved on to speak to Panther, who smiled at Joker as she spoke up.

"Hey, Joker! So with Noir's Persona fully awakened, we're way stronger now!" Panther said as Joker nodded his agreement before he spoke up.

"That we are, Panther. That we are." Joker said before walking over towards Queen. Joker frowned at the bothered expression on Queen's face and spoke up.

"Queen? What's wrong?" Joker asked as Queen spoke up.

"Hm? Oh, sorry, I'm just frustrated at what President Okumura's Shadow said about Noir, that's all. I mean, using his own daughter like she's just some sort of stepstool!? How messed up can you get!? We just have to change his heart!" Queen said as Joker smirked and nodded his agreement before he spoke up.

"I couldn't agree more, Queen. We're going to change his heart for sure." Joker said as he moved to the center of the room. After a moment, Joker changed his mind and walked to the door as Draconis spoke up.

"Ah, we're continuing our infiltration? Very well." Draconis said as the group kept moving. After beating up and recruiting Koh-I-Noor (or the Treasure Demon of President Okumura's Palace), Skull hit level 37 and Oracle hit level 35. After having Oracle show off her All-Out Attack a few more times against Shadows, Mona hit level 37 and learned the mid-tier group Wind attack 'Magarula'. Mona smirked as he spoke up.

"Heh! This new skill suits me!" Mona said as Zorro acquired 'Magarula'. After following a vent to another area and doing a bit of grappling, Mona spoke up.

"Oh? Hold on! I'm sensing a Will Seed nearby!" Mona said as Noir blinked and spoke up in confusion.

"A Will Seed?" Noir asked as Draconis spoke up to answer Noir's question.

"In a nutshell, every Palace has a trio of objects that we've taken to calling 'Will Seeds'. These 'Will Seeds' are objects that, when collected, combine together to form a new accessory, usually modeled after one of the Seven Deadly Sins, with the notable exception of Madarame's Palace, which was based off of Vanity." Draconis said to Noir as Mona spoke up.

"Exactly, and to some, they're almost as valuable as a Treasure!" Mona said as Noir blinked and nodded her understanding before she spoke up.

"Ah, I see! So no reason not to collect them, then!" Noir said as the others nodded while reaching a door where Oracle spoke up.

"Oh, a Will Seed! Let's snatch it!" Oracle said as Draconis spoke up with a grin on his face.

"Nice, already at the 1/3rd point for this Palace! Gotta love it!" Draconis said happily as Joker slashed through the holographic tape and opened the door, where the group marched forward as Joker seized the 'Red Greed Seed' from its' pedestal, making Draconis scoff as he spoke up.

"Figures it'd be Greed this time. No offense to Noir when I say this, but I could see her dad being the type of scumbag to be motivated by greed. In any event, just two Will Seeds remain for this Palace." Draconis said as Oracle and Mona nodded their agreement, the latter speaking up.

"Right? There's our first Will Seed! Let's keep it up!" Oracle said as Draconis nodded.

"Agreed. Let us carry this momentum forward, yeah?" Draconis said as the group nodded and kept moving. After taking another vent back the way they came, the group ran into a blocked door as Queen spoke up.

"Hm. It won't open. That's odd. Will we need Noir's help once more?" Queen asked as Oracle shook her head and spoke up.

"No, this one isn't a biometric authentication, but even so, it might be hard to open it from here. We'll probably need to look for a server or a terminal if we wanna break through. And yes Draconis, before you say anything, this door IS boom-proof." Oracle said as Draconis chuckled and spoke up.

"Wasn't gonna ask this time, Oracle. But thanks for the advance confirmation. Saves us both some time, I think." Draconis said with a nod. Skull sighed and spoke up.

"A server, huh? Ugh, can't we just have one Palace that doesn't require a ton of leg-work?" Skull said as Draconis huffed and spoke up.

"Suck it up, Skull. We'll get through this like we've gotten through everything else so far-with a lot of resolve, grit, determination and just a smidgen of good ol' maximum effort!" Draconis said as both Joker and Mona groaned, the latter speaking up.

"Of course Draconis waits for the sci-fi Palace to crack a Marvel reference!" Mona said huffily as Draconis stuck his tongue out childishly at the not-cat, ignoring the giggles his reaction got from Panther, Oracle and Noir as he spoke up.

"Shut up, Mona. I'm allowed to reference kick-ass movies if I want to! And Deadpool freaking ruled! Not to mention it was hilarious!" Draconis said as Joker huffed at Draconis' predictable reaction before grinnng as he spoke up.

"Yeah, yeah. We get it. You like funny dudes with big swords." Joker said with a smirk as Oracle spoke up.

"Hey, cut Draconis a break, Joker! Is it his fault that Ryan Reynolds makes a good 'merc with the mouth' as the rap at the end referred to Deadpool? Not to mention that man can rock spandex like no one's business!" Oracle said with a smirk as Draconis huffed before he crossed his arms, gave Oracle a fond smile, and spoke up.

"Why doesn't it surprise me you were only watching the movie for the eye candy, Oracle?" Draconis said as Queen spoke up.

"As amusing as this banter is, can we keep moving?" Queen asked as Draconis and Oracle nodded sheepishly and the group kept moving. When they went to try the other door, they saw it appeared to be a sliding glass door, making Fox sigh as he spoke up.

"Hm, another different type of door. This is rather troublesome, especially if this door won't open either." Fox said. Queen nodded as she spoke up.

"Good point, Fox. Are we going to keep coming across locked doors with such frequency? Can you help us out here, Oracle?" Queen said as Oracle frowned and spoke up.

"Yeah, I could probably manage if we can find a security server and the associated terminal. However, until we do? My hands are rather unfortunately tied, so we'll have to keep going as we are for now." Oracle said as Joker nodded and the group kept moving. After smacking some more Shadows around, Noir hit level 37, but gained no skills. Eventually, the group found themselves back at the entrance, at which point Joker slipped off to the Velvet Room to take advantage of a Fusion Alarm.

Once he did so, he got quite a lot of of the Fusion Alarm, the results of which not only enabled him to get his hands on Unicorn, a Faith Persona which Joker had been wanting to fuse for some time, but he was also able to create the requested Hecatoncheires with 'Masukunda' for the twins. When he went to speak to the twins, Justine blinked and spoke up.

"Oh? I see you have brought us the Hecatoncheires with 'Masukunda' as we asked." Justine said as Caroline spoke up with a smile.

"See? You can do it! You managed to do all three assignments, and you didn't once try to give up! Not bad!" Caroline said as Ren had a seat on the floor. At that point Caroline spoke up once more.

"Hmph! Not many tasks left. We might be getting close to finding out the hidden goal behind that list. Heh. Y'know, thanks to you, I'm actually starting to look forward to seeing what happens." Caroline said as Justine giggled and spoke up.

"Your attitude has shifted quite considerably, Caroline. I see now that the harsh mask you wear during the fusion ritual is nothing more than a facade." Justine said with a smirk as Caroline blanched and spoke up.

"Wh-What!?" Caroline sputtered as Justine smiled before she kept speaking.

"Perhaps in your heart, you have longed for the days the Inmate would come to fuse the specified Personas." Justine said teasingly as Caroline huffed and glared at Justine before she spoke up huffily.

"Th-That's not true! And what about YOU, Justine!? You've been awfully chatty lately!" Caroline said as Justine chuckled before speaking up.

"Heh, I suppose you are correct." Justine said as Caroline blinked and recoiled in surprise before speaking up.

"I'm stunned. I've never heard you laugh before, Justine. This is a first for me." Caroline said as Justine nodded and spoke up.

"We have both clearly changed quite a bit recently. Perhaps my hypothesis is true after all." Justine said as Caroline gave Justine a confused look that prompted her to keep speaking, seemingly addressing Ren as much as Caroline while she spoke.

"We have thought that if we were to complete the list, we would bring the light the intent of its creator, whomever they may be. We have overseen the inmate, all the while considering the changes that have begun to appear within him of recent. However, even so, can it truly be said that the inmate is the only one who has changed?" Justine said as Caroline blinked in surprise while Justine kept speaking.

"The completion of these tasks has also had a great impact on both my consciousness and my memories." Justine said as Caroline blinked and spoke up.

"No way, are you trying to say the list isn't supposed to change the inmate at all, but rather it's meant to change ourselves!?" Caroline asked as Justine sighed and spoke up.

"Alas, I have no proof of that one way or the other. However, if this list represented the will of our master, why has it fallen into our hands and not remained in his?" Justine asked as Caroline shook her head while speaking up.

"This has gotta be some kinda joke. You're telling me somebody made it, not to change the inmate, but so that they could change, out of all people, us? But if that's true, why?" Caroline asked as Ren considered speaking up, but wisely remained silent, figuring it wasn't his place to speak. Caroline went to look at Ren, figuring he had something to say but had refrained out of respect, only for her to grab her head as she spoke up.

"Urgh, it hurts. And wh-what's happening!? I can hear a voice speaking to me in my head for some reason. W-Wait, I recognize this voice! Urgh, why do I recognize this voice?" Caroline said as Justine gasped and spoke up.

"Caroline!?" Justine asked as Igor suddenly spoke up, to both twins' surprise.

"What seems to be the matter? You are behaving quite abnormally. Does something trouble you?" Igor said as the twins turned to face him and Justine spoke up.

"O-Our apologies, Master." Justine said as Igor spoke up.

"Is the inmate proving to be too horrible a subject for you?" Igor said as Caroline spoke up, surprising not only herself, but both Ren and Justine as well, with what she said next.

"No, the fault does not lie with him. If you must reprimand anyone, Master, let it be us." Caroline said as Justine spoke up in shock.

"Caroline, what're you saying?" Justine said. Igor nodded and spoke up.

"Heh, I see. Very well, continue onward with his rehabilitation." Igor said as the twins turned back to Ren and Justine spoke up.

"Inmate, please accept our deepest apologies for that brief loss of composure. Now then, as you have completed three tasks, let us bestow upon you the next reward. We will now grant you access to the Guillotine Booster." Justine said as Caroline spoke up.

"Think of it as a way to increase the number of Personas you can make with the Group Guillotine. Plus, now you can perform some extra-strong fusions using five or even six Personas. You should be able to figure it out with some effort, Inmate. I mean, you've come this far, right?" Caroline said as Justine spoke up.

"We expect that you will put its services to good use." Justine said to Ren, who merely nodded to convey his agreement with Justine's request, feeling his bond with the twins grow deeper still even as he sat on the floor of his cell.

At that moment, the 'Strength' card appeared in his mind's eye, the 'VII' becoming a 'VIII' to signify that his Strength Confidant link with Justine and Caroline had reached rank 8. As a result of the rank up, the twins had allowed Ren the ability to use the 'Guillotine Booster' which, just as the twins said, increases the possible fusions of Personas in the Group Guillotine. Afterwards, Caroline spoke up.

"Hmph. So I guess we've changed, huh? That much is clear. Strength, which in and of itself is the eleventh arcana, which near-evenly splits the major twenty-two in half, despite technically being the back end of the first half of the major twenty-two arcana. The awakening of the unknown, or to use a more specific example, a solitary woman calmly coming to face a lion, or perhaps an example you might appreciate, a sphinx or dragon." Caroline said as Ren blinked while Justine spoke up, surprised at the almost indirect, if clearly unintentional, reference to Oracle and Draconis while Justine spoke.

"Caroline. Let us assign the inmate his next task before we discuss this matter any further. If this list is meant to change us, that change must surely be important for us just as much as it is for him." Justine said as Caroline blinked then nodded as she spoke up.

"Oh? Eh, fine." Caroline said before she turned to Ren as she kept speaking.

"All right, Inmate! It's time for your new task! Oh, and your next reward is gonna be incredible, so you've gotta do two tasks before you can have it!" Caroline said as Justine pulled out the clipboard and spoke up.

"Listen well! These next two tasks are the final two tasks on the list, and accordingly, these next two tasks shall also be the most difficult you have faced to this point. On to the first assignment before your next reward, Inmate. Try to harbor a Bugs with 'Samarecarm' inside you." Justine said as Caroline chuckled and spoke up.

"We'll be waiting for you. Though I know you won't give up just 'cause it's hard!" Caroline said as Ren nodded. After a bit longer, Ren left the Velvet Room. While battling some Shadows, Panther turned to Fox and nodded as they looked at each other and nodded.

"Let's do it, Fox! I'll help you get revenge!" Panther said as Fox nodded and the two spoke up in unison.

"IT'S SHOWTIME!" Panther and Fox said as they leapt up to start the Showtime at which point Fox glared at the Shadows and spoke up.

"Be silent! You stand before our princess!" Fox said as he and Panther posed before Panther flicked her whip to knock up sections of the tile in front of Fox, who then pulled his sword, spun it in the air and then sheathed it once more as he spoke.

"I, am, HER SWORD!" Fox said as he sheathed his sword in an epic manner before a bunch of damage hit the Shadows, making the target dissolve into black mist, at which point the rest of the group mopped up the remnants. While working the Shadows in the area trying to find the correct path forward, Joker's Flauros Persona hit level 24 and learned the passive skill 'Heat Up', at which point Draconis spoke up.

"Ooh, nice! Looks like you just picked up a new skill! Make sure you get the most out of it, Joker!" Draconis said as Flauros acquired 'Heat Up'. After a bit, Joker led the group back towards where they'd gotten the first Will Seed, remembering an odd panel there, which on inspection was the terminal they needed, making Oracle's eyes widen as she spoke up.

"Really!? Is this a terminal? Could this place be, out of all things, a server room!? Mwehehe, if that's the case, then watch this, everyone!" Oracle said as she did some hacking before she chuckled.

"Mwehehe! All right, that should've opened up a buncha doors! I managed to grab a map of the place, too." Oracle said as Joker acquired the new map. Noir then spoke up.

"That's incredible! This means our infiltration deeper into the Palace should be easier, yes?" Noir asked Oracle, who frowned as she spoke up.

"I dunno about that, Noir. There are three more areas ahead: the barracks, the factor and the airlock area, which sounds rather ominous." Oracle said as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"No kidding. That sounds like a lot of ground for us to cover on foot." Joker said. Skull nodded as he spoke up.

"Yeah, and what're they makin' in that factory? Burgers?" Skull asked as Draconis spoke up in a distinctly unimpressed tone, crossing his arms as he spoke.

"Wouldn't surprise me one bit if that was the case. After all, Okumura Foods is the owner of the Big Bang Burger chain, from what Oracle showed me once on her computer, so it would track they're probably processing their ingredients in that factory." Draconis said sagely as Oracle smiled and spoke up.

"Actually, I found one other interesting file when I was cracking into the system. It's called 'Project: Escape to Utopia', for who knows why. There was some kinda blueprint inside too. It looks like whatever they're making for it is ginormous. That factory can't just be for burgers, even though it would make sense for that to be the main thing being made." Oracle said as Queen gasped and spoke up.

"This is insane! Escape to Utopia, you said? Hm, what do you think that's supposed to mean?" Queen said as Draconis frowned and spoke up.

"I can't say for sure, but I recall one time watching an anime with Oracle, even though she nodded off fairly early into it, which I don't blame her for, where the main bad guy created a spacecraft under their base with the intent of using it to flee into space to chase after their long-lost enemy race to exact some millenia-old revenge plot or other.

If this is anything like that, then likely 'Escape to Utopia' is a metaphor for Okumura's plans to ascend to another plane, and extend his reach beyond what it currently is. Either way, it can't possibly mean anything good if it's kept where it can only be glimpsed by cracking." Draconis said with a contemplative look on his face as Oracle smiled and spoke up. *1*

"Good theory, Draconis, but I'm pretty sure there's a difference between 'Escape to Utopia' and 'Project Exodus', which is what you were thinking of. And no, I didn't sleep through all of that series. Just the first couple seasons, but in my defense, I hadn't really built up as much stamina yet back then, plus you underestimate how comfy you can be to lean on, Draconis." Oracle said as Draconis smirked and spoke up.

"Oh? So you admit I'm comfy to lean on, do you? Nice to hear how you really feel, Oracle." Draconis said teasingly as Skull chuckled and spoke up.

"As much as I could sit and watch you two flirt like this for hours, it ain't gonna matter if we can steal the Treasure and make this Palace disappear! Let's hurry!" Skull said as Joker nodded and the group kept moving, Oracle lightly punching Draconis on the arm with a mock-offended huff as the group kept moving. After getting back to the sealed areas, Joker tried and failed to hit a button, making Skull speak up.

"Hey, don't this look like an elevator? It ain't doin' anything, though." Skull said. Queen spoke up.

"True, but it doesn't seem to be out of order either. Perhaps it's at another floor. Let's try coming back later." Queen suggested as the group kept moving. A bit further on, the group ran across a door that refused to open for them, making Skull huff as he spoke up.

"Ugh, it still ain't opening' even after all of Oracle's tinkerin'!?" Skull said as Draconis spoke up.

"Be fair here, Skull. Even with as gifted and incredible as Oracle is, no one's perfect. Besides, I didn't see Noir trying to open it, just Joker. So that might be part of why it's not opening. Even then, Oracle's done amazing just to get us as far as she has already." Draconis said sagely. Skull nodded and spoke up.

"Fair point, Draconis. I wasn't tryin' to doubt Oracle anyways. I appreciate what she does. That said, this bastard really doesn't trust anybody, huh?" Skull said as Panther frowned and spoke up.

"Skull! First of all, language in front of ladies! Second of all, that's still Noir's father you're talking about! At least don't bash the guy around her!" Panther rebuked Skull as Noir shook her head and spoke up.

"It's all right. Father is clearly guilty of some horrible crimes here. As such, that's why we will stop him." Noir said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"And we will stop him. Have no fear of that, Noir. Between Oracle's skills as a tech/cracking goddess, Joker and Mona's instincts, and the rest of us, we've got a really strong group here. So I doubt very much that we'll be stopped by much of anything if we can help it." Draconis said as Queen spoke up.

"Good point, but even so, we'll still need to think of a way to get past here though. Can you figure something out, Oracle?" Queen asked Oracle, who got a thoughtful look on her face before she eventually spoke up.

"Well, if it's not a normal lock or a biometric one, I think it might use rank-based authentication. Basically, you've gotta be at least a chief director to get through here." Oracle said as Draconis spoke up.

"So in other words, time to go around hunting employees to snag IDs from. Seems simple enough." Draconis said as Panther spoke up.

"True. So even the robot employees have positions and ranks, huh? What are we supposed to do about this?" Panther said as Joker grinned and spoke up.

"I dunno about the rest of you, but I like Draconis' idea of hunting employees down and snatching their IDs. Probably would be the fastest way to get the job done, even if not the easiest." Joker said. Noir gasped before she nodded and spoke up.

"Oh, perhaps it is that easy? Also, you mean an employee ID? Those are used to authorize entry in the real world company as well." Noir said as Panther gave the trio a closed-eye smile while speaking up.

"You three are so smart! That's gotta be it!" Panther said as Queen giggled and spoke up with a closed eye smile.

"Perfect! Then it's decided. Let's find an employee with the rank of chief director or higher and take their employee ID!" Queen said as Draconis and Skull exchanged excited grins as Skull spoke up.

"Sweet! You thinkin' what I'm thinkin', Draconis?" Skull asked Draconis, who smirked before he spoke up.

"You mean aside from the fact that Phantom Thief girls are some of the smartest and best girls around? Probably. You were thinking that it's head-huntin' time, yeah?" Draconis asked Skull, who fist-bumped Draconis and nodded while he spoke up.

"Hell yeah, man! Head-huntin' time! And the best part? We're also training up in the process, since the odds are pretty effin' good those employees are Shadows." Skull said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"Good point, Skull. Let's do it!" Draconis said to Skull, who nodded as Queen discreetly turned to Oracle and whispered so only she could hear.

"Remind me again why you and I had to pick the two hot-heads to fall for, Oracle?" Queen asked Oracle, who smirked deviously before she spoke up so only Queen could hear.

"Probably because Skull's got a heart of gold and is a good guy despite his non-charming and dull exterior, while Draconis is built like legit eye candy, and oozes charisma with everything he does? Nah, but for real, probably because they're hot?" Oracle said bluntly, making Queen blink at Oracle before just nodding and speaking up.

"Fair point. But let's keep that between us, yeah?" Queen said, slightly red-faced at Oracle calling her out on why she fell for Skull, which was his heart of gold. Joker smirked at Oracle, having heard her 'built like legit eye candy' remark about Draconis, and spoke up.

"Is that going to be a running gag now, you and Draconis subtly complimenting each other while taking turns avoiding the clear and present chemistry and attraction you both have for one another? Because for real, I could do without hearing that about my brother, especially from someone who's as good as the little sister I never had." Joker said to Oracle, who chuckled nervously before speaking up.

"Eheh, maybe? But also try not walking so close if you don't want to hear us girls having girl talk?" Oracle suggested to Joker, who nodded at that and spoke up.

"Fair point, Oracle. Not sure why Queen and Skull aren't like this with one another, even though you and Draconis are like this all the time?" Joker said as Queen spoke up with a flustered look on her face.

"Be quiet, Joker! And also, Skull's kinda a bit dense about girls, I think." Queen said as Oracle laughed and spoke up.

"Be fair, Queen! That man's denser about the ladies than most 10-year olds in a lot of anime I've watched! Hell, I think I recall an anime or two where there were 10-year olds that were smarter than Skull when it came to the ladies." Oracle said as Draconis spoke up. *2*

"That one doesn't count Oracle, since those girls practically spelled it out for him! Besides, that anime's not realistic anyways! How often does a 10-year old boy get put in charge of teaching a class of teenaged girls who're much older than him? Even I could tell you that anime's a recipe for low-key heaping helpings of fan-service, along with the manga it got." Draconis pointed out. *3*

Oracle nodded agreeably to Draconis' remarks as she spoke up.

"Fair point. But my initial point about Skull having less street cred than most 10-year olds stands!" Oracle said as Draconis chuckled and spoke up.

"You're not wrong there, Oracle! As I recall, that pro gamer 'The King' is about 10 years old, and he could probably have loads of ladies hanging off him if he wasn't practically married to Gun About. So I could see that being the case." Draconis said as the group kept moving. As the group returned to the elevator, it came down, and a bunch of robots came out, making Skull blink as he spoke up, looking at Draconis as he spoke.

"Dude! Look, there's a ton of 'em now. You wanna start takin' their IDs?" Skull asked as Fox shook his head and spoke up from nearby, having heard what Skull asked Draconis.

"Not yet. If we go instead to their origin, there should be even more 'employees' for us." Fox said as Queen nodded and spoke up.

"Oh, great idea Fox. That should make it even easier to find a chief director! Let's head over there, Joker." Queen said as the group kept moving, getting into the elevator and taking it upwards where they found themselves on a higher floor. Once they got towards the next elevator, Skull spoke up.

"Hey, so how're we gonna go lookin' for this chief director thing?" Skull asked as Oracle smirked and spoke up.

"I did a scan of the area, but there are multiple large readings around here. They're definitely different from normal robots, so it's prolly one of them." Oracle said as Noir spoke up.

"So we'll need to find which one is the real one? But how exactly will we do that, I wonder?" Noir said as Joker suddenly hid the group as Mona spoke up.

"Joker, look! It's them!" Mona said as a pair of robots ran forward and spoke up.

"HURRY, HURRY!" A panicking robot said as his rushing friend spoke up.

"GO! WE CAN'T BE LATE!" The robot said as the two ran towards the room on the left, as Panther spoke up while the camera showed four smaller blue robots and a big red robot.

"Look, in that room! There's a bunch of other ones like it!" Panther said as Fox spoke up.

"By all appearances, that massive red robot must be quite important." Fox said as Queen spoke up.

"You're right. That's true. Even if it isn't a chief director, it might have some intel." Queen said as the group kept moving. After charging into the room with the robots, a voice spoke up.

"HEY! YOU OVER THERE! WHO SAID YOU COULD STOP WORKING!? IF YOU AREN'T DOING YOUR JOBS, I'M THE ONE WHO GETS CHEWED OUT BY THE SECTION CHIEF, YOU KNOW! AND I'M SICK OF HIM CALLING ME 'USELESS'!" The red robot snapped at the blue robots as one spoke up.

"EEK! YES, CHIEF CLERK, SIR!" The humble robot said as a listless robot then spoke up.

"HE'S GOT A POINT. THE SECTION CHIEF'S CALLED ME 'USELESS' A NUMBER OF TIMES TOO. IT'S LIKE A CATCHPHRASE OF HIS OR SOMETHING." The listless robot said as a sleepy robot spoke up.

"SHEESH, I WISH HE WOULDN'T YELL AT US SPECIFICALLY, TO BE HONEST." The sleepy robot said as the listless robot spoke up again.

"WHAT DOES HE EXPECT TO GET OUT OF ME BY CALLING ME 'USELESS' ALL THE TIME, I WONDER? IF I WORK ANY HARDER THAN THIS, I'LL BREAK DOWN." The listless robot said as the chief clerk saw the group and spoke up.

"HM? WHO ARE YOU!? GET BACK TO YOUR STATIONS! I'M THE ONE WHO GETS IN TROUBLE IF YOU AREN'T DOING YOUR JOBS, YOU KNOW!" The chief clerk said as Skull spoke up.

"Dude, we don't even work here." Skull said as Queen spoke up with a huff.

"Skull, I respect and admire your work ethic a lot, but would you mind staying focused? Excuse me, we have a matter to discuss with the chief director, if possible." Queen said as the chief clerk blinked and spoke up.

"WHAT? A MATTER WITH THE CHIEF DIRECTOR? LOW-RANKING GRUNTS LIKE YOU COULDN'T POSSIBLY HAVE BUSINESS THAT IMPORTANT! NOW, YOU'RE GOING BACK TO YOUR STATIONS, EVEN IF I HAVE TO USE FORCE!" The chief clerk said as Queen sighed and spoke up.

"Well, it was worth a try. Get ready, everyone!" Queen said as the battle started. The chief clerk spoke up.

"IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF SLACKERS LIKE YOU THAT THE SECTION CHIEF IS SO RUDE TO ME! HE'S ALWAYS CALLING ME 'USELESS' OR 'UNRELIABLE'. ISN'T IT SO UNFAIR THAT I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS TO DEAL WITH THIS ALL THE TIME?" The chief clerk grumbled as Oracle spoke up with a chuckle.

"Sounds like this guy REALLY doesn't like the section chief. Let's try and pump him for information, Joker!" Oracle suggested as Joker looked at the chief clerk and spoke up.

"Excuse me, but what's the section chief like?" Joker asked, feeling like it was obvious that the chief clerk hated the section chief. The chief clerk smirked and spoke up.

"YOU REALLY WANNA KNOW? TO BE HONEST, 'INSUFFERABLE' IS PROBABLY THE MOST ACCURATE WORD FOR HIM! HE HAS THE NERVE TO CALL EVERYONE USELESS DESPITE HIM BEING THE ONE SLACKING OFF ALL THE TIME! DAMMIT! IF ONLY THE SECTION CHIEF WOULD JUST DISAPPEAR, I'D BECOME A SHOO-IN FOR A PROMOTION AROUND HERE." The chief clerk said as Joker spoke up, an idea occurring to him that had him grinning slyly.

"Y'know, I could probably help you out with making that happen, IF you in turn either give us directions to the section chief or at least give us more information about him." Joker said as the chief clerk looked at Joker in surprise while Oracle and Draconis both grinned at how easily Joker was playing the chief clerk, who then spoke up.

"YOU WHAT!? YOU MEAN YOU'LL REALLY GET RID OF HIM FOR ME? HOLD ON! NO, WAIT! YOU'RE LYING! YOU JUST WANT INFORMATION ON THE SECTION CHIEF! DOES IT MATTER? ARGH, DAMMIT! I COULD GET RID OF THE SECTION CHIEF SO EASILY WITH MY 'WIND' POWER! BUT, I'M NERVOUS. I'M JUST TOO SCARED TO ACTUALLY DO IT, THE COWARD THAT I AM! UGH!" The chief clerk said as Oracle smiled as she spoke up.

"Mweheheh, so the section chief is weak to 'Wind', is he?" Oracle said as Draconis nodded his agreement and spoke up.

"That's what I heard, Oracle." Draconis said before turning with a grin to Mona.

"You hear that, Mona? Looks like our chance to flex our stuff since we're the main Wind users here." Draconis said as Mona nodded agreeably. Oracle smirked and spoke up.

"Ignoring Draconis' usual brand of adorable dorkiness, we didn't get any deets on the chief director, but this is still good! That said, looks like this guy's done chatting, so let's clean up, Joker!" Oracle said as Joker nodded. Eventually, the group dispatched the group of robots, the ensuing EXP gain bringing Joker's 'Genbu' Persona to level 10, and both Panther and Fox to level 37, the level up giving Genbu the skills 'Patra', 'Resist Forget', and 'Mabufu'. Noir spoke up.

"That skill looks useful! Well done!" Noir said as Genbu acquired 'Patra', 'Resist Forget', and 'Mabufu'. Additionally, Fox gained the passive skill 'Counterstrike'. Fox smirked and spoke up.

"A new skill! I have to try out this skill soon!" Fox said as Goemon acquired Counterstrike. After the battle, the group obtained a 'Chief Clerk ID' as Noir spoke up.

"Oh, this must be an employee ID card! Let me see it. Right, this says 'chief clerk' on it." Noir said as Queen spoke up.

"But we're looking for one that's 'chief director' or higher, yes?" Queen said as Draconis spoke up.

"True, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't keep ahold of this one. After all, it could still come in useful." Draconis said as Oracle nodded and spoke up.

"Very perceptive, Draconis. This one should definitely be okay for now. At the very least it'll help us get to some new places." Oracle said as Fox nodded and spoke up.

"Yes, we can now enter areas restricted to those of chief clerk rank or lower now." Fox said as the group kept moving. After a bit, the group found another safe room, which they entered, adding the 'Barracks' to the fast-travel list for Joker, who took a cursory look around the room before noting that Skull, Noir, Fox, Draconis, and Mona all had stuff to say. Joker then shrugged before he walked over to Skull, deciding to speak with him first, and spoke up.

"What's bonkin', Skull?" Joker asked Skull who chuckled and spoke up with a look of regret on his face behind his mask.

"Man, it was so weird without Mona around, Joker. I shouldn'ta mouthed off to him as bad as I did. Oh, but don't tell him I said that, okay? It'd be pretty embarrassin'." Skull said as Joker nodded, wisely not pointing out that Mona was right in front of Skull and could probably hear what he was saying. Joker then walked over to Noir and spoke up.

"You look troubled, Noir." Joker said as Noir nodded and spoke up.

"Um, to be honest? Even I'm not sure what my father's been thinking recently. But I do know we must stop him, and as such, I ask that we keep going, Joker." Noir said as Joker nodded and walked over to Fox, who seemed to be in thought, and spoke up.

"You look upset, Fox. What's up?" Joker asked Fox, who spoke up after realizing Joker was speaking to him.

"Oh, don't mind me. Just thinking about how much I want to look President Okumura in the eye and say 'You sicken me!' to him. That said, I don't think this place is Utopia to anyone, based on appearance alone." Fox said as Joker nodded and kept moving, walking over to Draconis, who was leaned on a pillar next to the door near Oracle, who was kicking her feet up happily as she worked on something at her laptop.

"Heh, you're still sticking close by her side, eh Draconis? When are you two going to finally admit that you have it bad for each other and just ask each other out already?" Joker asked Draconis, who frowned and spoke up.

"Hmph, shows what you know, Joker. For all that she's doing well, Oracle's still only relatively fresh out of her shell. And besides, she herself said she needs time to figure things out, so I'm trying to respect her wishes. After all, not all of us are as shameless and blatant in our displays of affection like you and Yoshizawa are. You're lucky you already mentioned taking her to the school dance if it happens, so I can't give you grief about taking your own advice. That aside, am I the only one who feels like President Okumura needs to have his ass beat before his heart gets changed? That man is sick and depraved!

I mean, who uses their own daughter as a friggin' bargaining chip like that!? I'd like to think that if either of us ever got far enough in life to not only find girlfriends, but then have the further luck to end up starting families with said girlfriends, that we wouldn't be so callous as to treat our children as mere pawns or bargaining chips! If nothing else, our mother taught us that a real parent cherishes and protects their kids!

And even if I never knew my dad, I'd like to think I'd at least be in my kid's life if I ever had one. Jeez! But for now, let's focus on taking out this Palace. The more I think about President Okumura, the more I want to throttle that bastard. Noir's dad or not, what he's done is not okay! And I will probably flash on him if he tries coming anywhere near Oracle." Draconis said huffily as he crossed his arms and Joker spoke up, wisely deciding not to question what Draconis had just said.

"Fair enough. I'll leave you to your thoughts, Draconis." Joker said as he walked over to Mona and spoke up.

"Nice to have you back on the team, Mona. I missed you. And, um, sorry for shouting at you like I did before. But getting back on topic, how about this Palace so far?" Joker said to Mona, who smiled and spoke up.

"Aww, I'm glad you missed me. And I forgive you. That said, finding the Treasure's gonna be even easier than ever, thanks to Futaba getting us that map!" Mona said as Joker frowned and spoke up. *4*

"Mona, you know full well we use code names here, so you meant to say 'thanks to Oracle' there, didn't you?" Joker rebuked Mona, who winced and spoke up.

"Crap, you're right! Forgive my impudent slip of the tongue! I'm becoming more like Skull the longer I hang around him! Though, that's not necessarily an entirely bad thing, heheh. Oh, but maybe don't tell him I said that, yeah?" Mona said as Joker nodded and moved towards the door. At that point Skull spoke up.

"Ah, ready to continue? Okay, let's go." Skull said as the group resumed their infiltration. After smacking more Shadows around, Queen hit level 37. After smacking around a strong Shadow, the EXP gain brought Joker, Draconis, Skull, and Mona to level 38 and Oracle to level 36. Joker smirked as he spoke up.

"Awesome! Once again, power courses through me!" Joker said as he leveled up. On top of that, Nostradamus acquired the group buff skill 'Matarukaja', making Oracle speak up.

"New move! Woot, woot! Very nice." Oracle said as Draconis chuckled and spoke up.

"Hey look, Smaug has that move too. Does that make us twinsies?" Draconis joked as Oracle huffed and spoke up.

"Not even close, which is good, considering I'm pretty sure neither of us are into incest, after all." Oracle pointed out as Draconis chuckled nervously before speaking up.

"Good point, Oracle. Hadn't thought about that detail very much when I cracked that joke. My bad." Draconis said sheepishly as Nostradamus acquired 'Matarukaja'. After the battle, Mona spoke up.

"Shadow eliminated! Nice going, Joker!" Mona said as the group kept moving. After battling some Shadows, Noir hit level 38, and gained the support skill 'Tetrakarn'. Noir smirked as she spoke up.

"This will help me do better!" Noir said as Milady acquired 'Tetrakarn'. After beating back and recruiting a Girimekhala Persona, the ensuing EXP gain brought Oracle to level 37. After that, the group found some authentication doors, which opened up with the Chief Clerk card they'd previously acquired, making Noir speak up.

"Yes, it opened! I'm so glad!" Noir said as Oracle spoke up with a smirk.

"We might end up getting a chief director ID eventually if we keep getting higher and higher ranks!" Oracle said as Draconis smirked and spoke up.

"I see. In other words, time to grind out some ranks, methinks. Mwehehe." Draconis said as Oracle blinked before speaking up.

"How is it I've been doing that laugh longer than you Draconis, yet you can already almost do it better than I can?" Oracle asked Draconis, who shrugged and spoke up.

"No clue. If I had to guess, prolly because I'm a quick study and because I learned from the best?" Draconis said with a shameless wink at Oracle, who huffed cutely before speaking up.

"Yes well, be that as it may, shameless flattery does not excuse the Padawan from becoming the Master, Draconis." Oracle said as Draconis spoke up.

"I realize that, my Master. But take that as a compliment to how good of a teacher you are that I was able to catch you so quickly." Draconis said sagely as Queen spoke up.

"Yes, well, back on topic, I agree with Oracle. Let's go about this one step at a time. And yes Draconis, that may well involve grinding to a point." Queen said before turning to face Joker as she kept speaking.

"Oh, and if you're feeling tired, be sure to stop in at a safe room, Joker." Queen said as Joker nodded and the group kept moving. After walking through the doorway, the group spotted two rooms with tall light blue robots, making Mona frown as he spoke up.

"Now we've got two blue ones here instead of just the one." Mona said as Panther blinked and spoke up.

"Oh! Hey, wait a second. Are those two giving orders to the other robots? You guys think they might be the chief director or section chief?" Panther asked as Draconis spoke up.

"If I had to guess, more than likely they'd be section chief. I get the sense the chief director's gonna be a bigger robot, both figuratively and literally." Draconis said as Oracle nodded and spoke up.

"My thoughts exactly, Draconis. It's prolly the section chief. I'm sensing something big further down. That one's gotta be the chief director. And to paraphrase what Draconis just said, 'There's always a bigger fish', or in this case a bigger robot." Oracle said as Draconis chuckled and spoke up.

"Heh, maybe it's because of the theme of this Palace or something, but I feel like we're cracking off all the Star Wars references here, Oracle. Not that I'm complaining, because Star Wars is epic. But still." Draconis said as Fox spoke up.

"Maybe next time the group has a huge party, we can make it a Star Wars watch party? But back on topic, I'd say that ideally, we should secure the ID of the highest-ranking one here." Fox said as Noir nodded and spoke up.

"Yes, I agree with Fox. We can't reach the chief director with the ID we have now." Noir said as Skull grinned and spoke up.

"In that case, then let's just beat one of 'em and swipe what we can!" Skull said as Draconis spoke up.

"Why beat up just one, when we can beat them both up and double our chances?" Draconis asked as Oracle shook her head and spoke up.

"Hold up, Draconis. As much as your enthusiasm and determination are admirable, there's a problem with that logic. Namely, the fact that the reading's not super clear, but even so I'm pretty sure only one of them's a section chief, and the other's a fake." Oracle said as Fox spoke up.

"So only one of them has our key. What's the plan? Shall we simply crush both of them?" Fox asked as Queen shook her head and spoke up.

"No. There's no need to waste our energy like that. If we can talk to each one and compare what they say to the intel we have on hand, we should be able to try and narrow it down. And with any luck, that way we might be able to tell which one is the section chief." Queen said as Joker nodded and the group kept moving. After picking one of the robots at random, the group charged into that robot's room as a voice spoke up.

"HEY! WHAT IS WITH ALL THIS RUCKUS!? WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE RIGHT NOW!?" The robot in front of Joker said as Joker spoke up.

"Sorry. Just looking around." Joker said casually. The robot huffed and spoke up.

"ARE YOU SERIOUSLY APOLOGIZING TO ME? UGH, AND YOU HAVE SUCH STRANGE ATTIRE, TOO. VERY ODD. NOW THEN, WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN HERE? THIS IS NOT SOME SORT OF PLAYGROUND FOR YOU!" The robot said as Joker spoke up again.

"We're looking for the chief director." Joker said bluntly. The robot frowned and spoke up.

"THE CHIEF DIRECTOR, YOU SAY? WHY WOULD PEOPLE LIKE YOU BE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE LIKE HIM!? HE'S FURTHER IN, BUT I TRUST YOU SCHEDULED A MEETING!" The robot said as Queen spoke up.

"It's time we make our decision, Joker. What do you want to do? Should we fight him for his employee ID?" Queen asked Joker, who shook his head and spoke up.

"No, we should leave. I didn't see anything, temperament aside, to suggest this is the robot we want." Joker said. Mona smiled and nodded as he spoke up.

"I agree. That said, so you don't want to fight right now? Then let's retreat!" Mona said as the group retreated from the room and kept moving towards the other robot's room. Once there, the robot there spoke up.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? GET BACK TO YOUR WORK STATIONS. USELESS EMPLOYEES WILL BE DISPOSED OF AS SCRAP." The robot said as Queen spoke up.

"Hold on a second. We're actually looking for the chief director." Queen said as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"What Queen here said. We're with human resources. We've received a number of complaints about the chief director's conduct, so we've been sent to assess things for ourselves and take action if needed to correct the situation." Joker said. The robot frowned and spoke up.

"AND? HURRY UP AND STATE YOUR BUSINESS. I'M VERY BUSY. I DON'T HAVE TIME TO SPEAK WITH WORTHLESS EMPLOYEES." The robot said as Joker spoke up.

"Worthless, you say? You the section chief, by chance?" Joker asked the robot, who huffed and spoke up.

"YOU HAVE SOME NERVE, MAKING DEMANDS OF YOUR SUPERIOR. YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO PROPERLY SHOW RESPECT. THIS IS WHAT I MEAN WHEN I SAY YOU'RE USELESS!" The robot said as Fox spoke up.

"Listen to you, calling everyone useless and worthless. Have you thought about those on the receiving end of your verbal abuse?" Fox asked the robot who huffed as it spoke up.

"IF YOU WANT TO COMPLAIN, YOU SHOULD DO SO AFTER YOU PROVE YOUR USEFULNESS. AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, I DON'T RECOGNIZE YOUR FACES. DO YOU REALLY WORK HERE? I HAVE MY DOUBTS." The robot said as Queen spoke up.

"It's time to decide, Joker. What should we do?" Queen asked Joker, who nodded.

"Let's fight this guy. The fact he was constantly calling us useless and worthless alone tells me he's likely the section chief. Besides, I feel as if Draconis might take exception to this guy claiming to be our superior, so I wouldn't dream of denying him the chance to throw hands with this robot." Joker said as Draconis nodded and spoke up, glaring at the robot in front of the group as he spoke.

"You're damn right I take exception to that! He is no superior of ours, that's for damned sure! And more to the point, no one calls us useless and gets away with it!" Draconis said with narrowed eyes as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Right! There's no need for any more discussion. Let's take him down!" Mona said as the battle started. At that point, the 'Corporobo', as it was identified, spoke up.

"HUH? WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? ARE YOU TRYING TO PICK A FIGHT WITH ME!?" The Corporobo said as Draconis spoke up.

"No, we're totally trying to kow-tow at your feet! Yes, we're picking a fight with you, you bastard! I don't care how puffed-up your ego is, you are NO superior of ours!" Draconis said as Oracle huffed and nodded her agreement as she spoke up.

"Agreed, Draconis!" Oracle said to Draconis before turning to Joker.

"Here's another bossy-looking one, so as such, our next move is clear. Joker, let's work him over for some info!" Oracle said as the Corporobo spoke up.

"DO YOU HAVE SOME SORT OF BUSINESS WITH ME?" The Corporobo asked as Joker spoke up.

"Where is your chief? It's actually him we have business with." Joker said. The Corporobo spoke up.

"OH, THE CHIEF, YOU SAY? HMPH, IF YOU CAN EVEN CALL HIM THAT! HE DOESN'T DO A SINGLE THING RIGHT!" The Corporobo said as Oracle spoke up, a look of surprise on her face while she spoke.

"Ohh, so that's how it is? Well! Sounds to me like he's got some beef with the chief. Heh, in that case, Joker! If you play him right, he might dish some useful details!" Oracle said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"Good thinking, Oracle." Draconis said as the Corporobo spoke up at that point.

"ALL HE'S GOT IS HIS RANK! HE WALKS AROUND ALL HIGH AND MIGHTY, BUT HE'S NOT ALL THAT! HE DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A CLUE THAT I KNOW HIS WEAKNESS!" The Corporobo said as Joker spoke up.

"Wow, that's actually rather impressive." Joker said as the Corporobo spoke up.

"I KNOW, RIGHT? GLAD YOU AGREE! SAY, YOU WANNA HEAR IT? THIS IS HUGE, SO NO TELLING ANYONE ELSE, GOT IT? THE CHIEF IS WEAK TO PSYCHOKINESIS! NOT EVEN HIS INDUSTRIAL-STRENGTH PLATING CAN SAVE HIM FROM IT! OH CRAP! MAYBE I SHOULD'VE KEPT THAT ONE TO MYSELF, I THINK." The Corporobo said as Oracle grinned and spoke up, before her grin turned to a determined frown.

"All right, nice! A classic slip of the tongue! I don't think he has any useful dirt, so let's just mop the floor with him real quick!" Oracle said as Draconis grinned and nodded before he spoke up.

"Mop the floor with him, you say? Can do! Maybe we should keep our move on standby just in case." Draconis said as Oracle smiled and nodded her agreement while the Corporobo spoke up in a panicked-sounding voice.

"AUGH, NO! WAIT, WAIT, WAIT!" The Corporobo said as Oracle spoke up.

"Any boss that lets their employees suffer deserves the same thing! That's just common sense! Let's get 'em!" Oracle said as the battle began. After a bit where the group destroyed the minor robots and damaged the taller robot, Draconis and Oracle looked at each other and exchanged a nod as Oracle spoke up.

"So it's just the chief left, eh? Wanna let him have it?" Oracle asked Draconis, who grinned and nodded as he spoke up.

"Thought you'd never ask, Oracle! LET'S GET 'EM!" Draconis said with a pumped fist as Oracle nodded and the two spoke up in unison.

"IT'S SHOWTIME!" Draconis and Oracle said as their Showtime started. Draconis waved down Oracle, who was riding in Necronomicon, and grinned up at her while he spoke up.

"HEY ORACLE! PASS THE BALL!" Draconis called as Oracle nodded from inside Necronomicon and spoke up.

"YOU GOT IT! ONE ROCK, COMIN' UP!" Oracle said as a bomb dropped into Draconis' outstretched arms, as he darted over towards the approaching Smaug and leapt on top of him, before he spoke up.

"SMAUG! LIGHT ME!" Draconis said as Smaug gave the bomb a weak shot of Megido flame, lighting the fuse as Draconis darted over towards the horrified section chief and grinned ferally as he spoke up.

"OI, BUCKET OF BOLTS! YOU SAY YOU"RE OUR SUPERIOR!? I GOT ONE THING TO SAY TO THAT! HAVE A TASTE OF MY WRATH! READY, ORACLE?" Draconis said as Oracle nodded and the two spoke up in unison as Draconis did the Hadoken hand motions while they spoke.

"HERE COMES THE BOOM!" Draconis and Oracle said as Draconis hurled the bomb at the horrified section chief, Hadoken style, where it hit him literally in the face and exploded on impact, making the chief barely have time to blink before he dissolved into black mist while Draconis and Oracle fist-bumped and the latter spoke up.

"Mwehehe! Scratch one over-sized toaster oven!" Oracle said as Draconis nodded before putting an arm around Oracle and grinning as he spoke up. *5*

"Indeed. I guess you could say my wrath was too 'explosive' for him?" Draconis joked as the others groaned at the pun while the battle ended. The ensuing EXP gain brought Joker's 'Suzaku' Persona to level 21, and got it the skill 'Matarunda', prompting Queen to speak up.

"Let's see that in action soon, okay!?" Queen said as Suzaku learned Matarunda. After the battle, Joker found an ID on the ground and scooped it up, gaining the 'Section Chief ID', prompting Noir to blink and speak up.

"Oh! It's an ID! This should get us through the gates." Noir said as Skull spoke up.

"So that one was the what, Section Chief? Or somethin'? Ugh, why can't the big boss just come to us for once?" Skull asked as Draconis spoke up.

"That'd be far too easy, Skull! Also, be careful what you wish for." Draconis said sagely as the group kept moving. Joker then used the newly-gained ID to open another nearby door as Noir spoke up.

"Great! This one's open as well! I'm so glad!" Noir said as Oracle spoke up.

"Agreed. That said, we've gotta be close to the end, right? Chief director is usually directly above section chief!" Oracle said as Queen spoke up.

"Don't forget to be conscious of your condition, everyone. If you're feeling tired, be sure to rest at a safe room." Queen said as Draconis spoke up.

"Sure, sure. Be that as it may though, Oracle has a point. We shouldn't have many more ID's to nab at this point." Draconis said as the group kept moving. As the group headed into the next passage, Oracle spoke up.

"That's-? Hold it, guys." Oracle said as the camera panned to a room that had just small robots in it before Oracle kept speaking.

"This room's different. I can't sense anything weird inside. As such, it's probably safe to assume there aren't any high rank robots in here." Oracle said as Skull spoke up.

"Well, sounds like there's no point checkin' it out." Skull said as Mona shook his head and spoke up.

"Not quite. If we don't have any bosses watching, that might just be an opportunity to get something good." Mona said as Oracle gave Mona an impressed look behind her visor as she spoke up.

"Ohh, I see. Good point, Mona. Joker, let's sneak by them and listen in on their conversation." Oracle said as Joker nodded and the group kept moving. Once in the room, the group eavesdropped on the robots.

"IF I GET TOO CLOSE TO THE CHIEF DIRECTOR, HE'LL SAY STUFF LIKE 'BACK WHEN I WAS YOUNG' AND SO ON." The nearest robot said as Skull spoke up.

"Whoa! Huh, interestin'. So we're basically eavesdroppin' on 'em, it seems like." Skull said as Oracle nodded and spoke up.

"Yep. It's a divine skill of mine." Oracle said as Draconis smirked and spoke up.

"Heh, divine is right. But then, I already knew you were a tech goddess, so that tracks, Oracle." Draconis said smoothly as Oracle flushed slightly behind her visor at the compliment as Panther huffed and spoke up.

"Impressive. I can see how you managed to wiretap Leblanc for so long with skills like those, Oracle." Panther said as Oracle spoke up.

"That? Oh, that was nothing! Someday I'll show you what REAL wiretapping is. Mwehehe! And Draconis, can you not compliment me like that? You make it difficult to keep a straight face with all that flattery." Oracle said as Draconis nodded before giving Oracle his best contrite look as he spoke up.

"Sorry, just felt like being proud of you for a bit. I'll try to dial back the shameless flattery. Besides, it does seem kinda unfair to Skull and Joker that I'm the only one who really gets to banter like this with their crush, as it were. Though, I find it ironic that Skull hasn't done the same considering his crush is just over there next to Joker." Draconis said as Queen blinked and spoke up.

"Shut up, Draconis! Need I remind you that Skull is oblivious to anything relating to love?" Queen said as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"That's rich, coming from you. When was the last time you had anything remotely resembling a love life, Queen?" Skull asked in an annoyed tone as Queen spoke up.

"That's irrelevant, Skull! Besides, i-in any case, there's no denying that this is a smart move. We'll just have to obtain information from the group about what their boss is like." Queen said, looking away as her cheeks pinked slightly, making Oracle grin as she spoke up.

"Oh-ho, what's this now? Does Queen have a thing for bad boys? Mwehehe." Oracle asked as Draconis chuckled and nodded his agreement before speaking up with a sly smirk on his face.

"Well, her outfit IS basically that of a biker, so it'd track that she likes her men bad to the bone." Draconis joked as Skull spoke up.

"Shut up, Draconis. You have no room to talk about Queen's taste in men, when your taste in ladies is apparently thin, slender and red-headed, not to mention brainy and nerdy." Skull said as Draconis laughed and clapped Skull on the shoulder agreeably before he spoke up.

"I'll give you that one, but I had no idea you watched Oracle so closely to know all that about her. Let's agree to each mind our own business and not poke fun at the other, yeah?" Draconis said as Skull nodded, both ignoring the now red-faced Queen and Oracle as Fox spoke up.

"Hold a moment! There appear to be a few of them further in. Let us go obtain their information as well!" Fox said as the group kept moving. One of the other robots mentioned how the Chief Director always says that 'THIS COMPANY IS THE 'BEST OF THE BEST' AND I'M THANKFUL TO BE ABLE TO WORK FOR SUCH AN ELITE ORGANIZATION', to Draconis' amusement as he coughed what sounded vaguely like 'pussy-whipped sheeple' under his breath, which only Skull heard if the grin on his face was any indication. After getting the rest of the info, Queen spoke up.

"Hm, it seems as if we've heard a good amount at this point. What do you think, Joker?" Queen asked Joker, who spoke up.

"I didn't get all that that much out of these four, but I don't think we'll get much more out of them either, so I'd say I know all I need to know." Joker said as Queen nodded and spoke up.

"Then let's get out of here before we get caught." Queen said as the group kept moving. In the next room over, the group found a hulking green robot which spoke up on seeing the group.

"HMPH, WHO ARE YOU!? WHAT ARE TINY BRATS LIKE YOU DOING HERE?" The big robot said as Joker spoke up.

"Does it matter? Are we in the way?" Joker asked. The big robot huffed and spoke up.

"OF COURSE! WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!? THIS CORPORATION IS THE 'BEST OF THE BEST': OKUMURA FOODS! YOU SHOULD NOT BE HERE! AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHO ARE ALL OF YOU!? HOW DID YOU GET IN!?" The big robot said as Joker grinned and spoke up.

"That's a trade secret, I'm afraid. Strictly on a need-to-know basis, and you don't need to know." Joker said as Draconis quietly stifled a laugh at Joker's response. The big robot huffed and spoke up.

"A SECRET!? WHAT KIND OF FOOL DO YOU TAKE ME FOR!? ALTHOUGH I DID HEAR ABOUT AN UPCOMING SECRET INSPECTION, NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT. WHAT IF YOU'RE THE INSPECTORS? HMMM, THEN AGAIN, YOU LOOK A LITTLE TOO SUSPICIOUS TO BE INSPECTORS, DON'T YOU?" The robot said as Queen spoke up.

"Joker! It is time we make our decision. What do you want to do?" Queen asked Joker, who spoke up.

"I feel like this is the guy, so let's fight him." Joker said as the battle began. After a short, but manageable fight, the EXP gains brought Panther, Fox, and Queen all to level 38. From the level ups, Panther gained the passive skill Fire Boost, and Queen gained the Nuke skill Mafreila. Panther and Queen spoke up.

"Wow, a new skill! Incredible!" Panther said as Queen spoke up with a nod.

"Agreed, I can't wait to try this new skill out!" Queen said as Carmen and Johanna acquired Fire Boost and Mafreila, respectively. After the battle, Skull chuckled before grinning as he spoke up.

"Heh, serves you right, bastard! That takes care of that!" Skull said as Oracle shook her head and spoke up.

"However, this guy's got nothing on him though. 1000% waste of time." Oracle said as Joker and Draconis blinked, the latter speaking up.

"For real!? Crap! Well, guess that means the real Chief Director is further in?" Draconis said as Joker nodded before Noir spoke up.

"Um, I-It seems their physical size doesn't necessarily correlate to their rank, presumably." Noir said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"That's fair. After all I recall hearing a song once where one of the lyrics mentions not judging someone by their size and talking about how someone small can pull off massive feats, so I'd believe the Chief Director being scrawnier than we'd think." Draconis said as Oracle nodded.

"His reference to a relatively obscure song aside, I agree with Draconis." Oracle said as Queen spoke up.

"True. In any case, The chief director must be somewhere else. That said, let's try looking in another room." Queen said as the group kept moving. In the next room, another big robot spoke up.

"HWA-HEM! WHO ARE YOU RASCALS? HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE? WHAT BUSINESS DO YOU HAVE HERE AT OUR 'BEST OF THE BEST' COPORORATION, OKUMURA FOODS?" The robot asked as Joker spoke up.

"Are you the chief director?" Joker asked bluntly. The robot blinked and spoke up.

"HM? OHH, I THINK I'VE FIGURED IT OUT. YOU MUST BE THE RUMORED PHANTOM THIEVES! GRAHAHA! VERY WELL, I'LL TELL YOU THE TRUTH. I AM INDEED THE CHIEF DIRECTOR! WHETHER OR NOT YOU CHOOSE TO BELIEVE THAT IS UP TO YOU. NOW THEN, THIEVES, IS THAT ALL YOU WANTED TO ASK ME?" The robot said as Joker blinked before speaking up.

"Hm, if you don't mind, let's talk about the past." Joker said as the robot spoke up.

"HM, HOW ADMIRABLE. YOU WISH TO HEAR OF MY SUCCESSES, YES? EVERYONE WAS HUMBLE LIKE YOU BACK 'WHEN I WAS YOUNG'. BUT YOUTH NOWADAYS, EGH NOT SO MUCH." The robot said as Queen spoke up.

"Joker! It's time to decide! What do you want to do?" Queen asked as Joker spoke up.

"Clearly, we fight him. At this point, there's no reason not to." Joker said as the battle began. After a short, but winnable, fight, the ensuing EXP gain brought Joker and Draconis to level 39, and brought Oracle to level 38, making Joker smirk as he spoke up.

"All right! Not only did we win that fight, but I leveled up!" Joker said as his level increased. Additionally, Oracle gained a new skill for Necronomicon in the form of the passive skill 'Subrecover HP'. Oracle smirked as she spoke up.

"Ooh, I'll give it a try!" Oracle said as Draconis spoke up with a grin.

"Not bad, Oracle. You're catching up rather nicely to the rest of us. You and Noir both. Well done, ladies." Draconis said as Noir and Oracle smiled. After the fight, Joker scooped up the 'Chief Director ID' that the Chief Director had dropped on his destruction. Noir spoke up with a smile.

"Perfect! We've finally found the chief director's ID card!" Noir said as Panther grinned and spoke up with a closed-eye smile.

"This means we go in that rank door downstairs now!" Panther said as Oracle hummed to herself and spoke up.

"Welp, let's go check it out! Take to make like a banana and split!" Oracle said as Draconis spoke up.

"Oracle, that was terrible. 'Make like a banana and split'? How forced of a line can you get? I mean, I get what you were going for, but wouldn't it have made more sense to go with something like 'make like the Roadrunner and make tracks'?" Draconis said as Oracle blinked before speaking up.

"That actually makes quite a bit of sense, Draconis. But don't ever criticize my puns again. That's MY job to criticize things." Oracle said as Draconis nodded wryly before grinning as he spoke up agreeably.

"Fair enough, Oracle. You're the navigator here, after all. Far be it from me to critique the brains of the group." Draconis said with a smirk as Queen huffed and spoke up.

"I think you mean the cyber-muscle, Draconis. I'm the brains of this group, the last time I checked." Queen pointed out in an offended tone. Draconis spoke up.

"Technically you're the co-strategist of the group alongside myself. But sure, we can call you the brains too, if it'll make you feel better." Draconis said as the group kept moving. After a bit, Joker used the new ID to open the remaining two doors in the area they were in as Noir giggled and spoke up.

"Yes, it opened!" Noir said as Oracle spoke up.

"Now we can move freely about this floor!" Oracle said as Queen spoke up.

"Perfect. We have the employee ID card we were after, so let's head downstairs when we're done here!" Queen said as the group kept moving. The group then took the elevator back down. Once they'd reached the door from before, Queen spoke up nervously.

"Um, we've brought the employee ID from a chief director. Will we be able to pass through now?" Queen said as Oracle spoke up.

"Of course! Well, I'm not entirely sure of that, so let's go with probably." Oracle said as Joker tried the ID and sure enough the door opened up. Skull grinned and spoke up.

"Hell yeah! Finally!" Skull said as Oracle spoke up.

"You know, it's a little odd when you think about it. To be honest, I thought President Okumura might be behind the mental shutdowns that've been happening. But we haven't found anything even remotely pointing towards such a secret so far." Queen said as Draconis spoke up.

"Like I said before, even if he himself isn't behind them, I'd bet good money that he might know the one who is. So it's still worth changing that scumbag's heart either way." Draconis said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed, Draconis. Something like that might be deeper in. Let's just keep going for now." Mona said as the group kept moving, with Joker using the elevator inside to head downwards. Once the group got back to the outside view, Mona did a closed-eye smile and spoke up.

"Look, that building is where the Treasure is! We're not far." Mona said as Skull spoke up.

"If it's seriously that close, can't we just go from outside? No point goin' through there." Skull said as Draconis spoke up.

"Skull, do you see any of us sporting anything like a jetpack? Also, odds are if we skipped part of the area, we might inadvertently skip over the second Will Seed. As such, we should follow the path in order to be safe." Draconis said. Queen spoke up.

"Hm, Draconis and Skull both have good points. That said, Skull's idea might be worth a try." Queen said as the group kept moving. As they kept moving, Oracle spotted a new Safe Room, which the group headed into as Fox spoke up.

"We found a new safe room." Fox said as the 'Facility Surroundings' was added to Joker's fast-travel list. Oracle then spoke up.

"Sweet, we can use this place as a temporary base to resume our dungeon crawling!" Oracle said as Draconis nodded. Joker then walked over towards Panther.

"You've not said much thus far. Why so soft-spoken, Panther?" Joker asked Panther, who spoke up.

"Oh, just been thinking, that's all. I mean, Chief Clerk, then Section Chief, then Chief Director? So many titles. I guess I kinda understand what they all are, but at the same time, is Chief Director really as high up as the IDs go? Also, which one's actually the highest rank? Do you have any idea?" Panther asked Joker, who shrugged, before moving on over to Mona and speaking up.

"What's got you so cheery all of a sudden, Mona?" Joker asked Mona, who did a closed-eye smile as he spoke up.

"Hahaha! Oh, just thinking about those titles we heard! Let's see, what section would I make a good chief of, I wonder? Oh, who am I kidding? I'd just hafta be the chairman!" Mona said as Joker spoke up.

"Sure, Mona. Sure." Joker said agreeably as he walked over to Fox and spoke up.

"Why the long face, Fox? Surely our continued progress is a good thing?" Joker asked as Fox nodded his agreement before speaking up.

"That is true. However, the aesthetics leave a lot to be desired. That aside, no one performs adequately for anyone THAT strict. I think we both know that." Fox said as Joker nodded, walking over to Oracle, who was working on something with her laptop, and speaking up.

"What're you working on there, Oracle?" Joker asked as Oracle giggled and spoke up.

"Oh, just a little personal project of mine. Mwehehe. But, in all seriousness? Way to score an ID, Joker! You just make me more and more proud to navigate you guys!" Oracle said as Draconis spoke up with a grin from his usual spot leaning against the wall near Oracle.

"Truth! But at the same time, you and I did a good chunk of the work, Oracle. Along with Noir and to a point Joker. So it was really a team effort." Draconis said sagely as Joker nodded. After a bit, Joker decided to use this Safe Room to let the group rest up a bit, and stretch their legs as it were...

END OF CHAPTER

A/N: And there we go, another chapter done and dusted! Granted, this is like the third chapter in a row I've had to spread out over the course of two days to finish, but sometimes life happens that way. That said, we're now deep into the thick of the fifth Palace! For timelining purposes, once this infiltration is done, hopefully by the end of next chapter, or the chapter after at the latest, the rest of the prep week will happen before the calling card, then the fifth calling card and Palace Ruler fight will happen.

And then after that, more filler-esque shenanigans will ensue to pad the gap between fighting Okumura and his 'change of heart', which should more or less bring up the end of arc 5, and set up the start of arc 6, which will be where one of the more unique Thieves starts to be a fixture in the game's plot. And also, Arc 6 will probably be where the majority of the story's couples are formed, even though one or two are more or less set up in this arc.

So there's that for people to look forward to! And thanks to all who follow and favorite this story, along with my reviewers, as your support is what encourages me to keep this project going! If you want to give input or feedback about this story or even just chat, feel free to PM me! I try to make it a point to answer my reviewers and/or PMs in a fairly timely fashion from when I see them, so feel free to leave a review or PM me with your thoughts/feedback/opinions/constructive criticism on the story! I always enjoy hearing from my readers! And until next chapter, sithlorde1988 out!

NOTES

*1* - That bit Draconis mentions about a plot to use a spacecraft to flee into space to chase a long-lost enemy race? Only anyone who's seen shows from 2003 should recognize that reference, or at the least any fans of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles should. That, and I could see Draconis and Oracle bonding over anime, among other things. So him making a reference like he did tracks.

*2* - Continuing the recurring gag of Draconis making references, only those who saw the earliest seasons of Pokemon should get the reference Draconis made here. And at the same time, I could see Skull being compared to Ash Ketchum in terms of overall obliviousness/denseness. It tracks.

*3* - And because we're continuing references, the series Draconis references here actually does exist. I believe it's called 'Love Hina' or something like that, but it does involve a 10-year old boy managing to end up appointed to oversee/teach a class of teenaged girls who all apparently find him really cute. Needless to say, I'm not wrong to infer that it's a bit of an erotic series too since I recall from it there were scenes of the girls stripping for various reasons (notably including an instance where they had to try to reduce their weight to get onto an elevator, leading to the teacher boy saying, and I quote, 'Boy, aaaaany excuse...', which implies the girls do that a lot, presumably to try and embarrass him.)

Though, I would be much surprised if he didn't end up attracted to at least one of those girls when he's older, if not all of them. I'm not sure if I'm right about it being called 'Love Hina' since it might also be called Nejima, since I recall my brother had at least one volume of both manga series a few years back. So if anyone in reviews knows the name of the series in question, feel free to let me know in the reviews or in PM, and I'll credit you for it in a future A/N.

*4* - This one actually isn't a reference per se, but moreso me noting how amusing it is that Skull and Mona have that much apparent influence on one another that they start to pick up each other's tendencies. Also, I find it ironic that the one time Draconis doesn't call Mona on code name stuff is the one time Mona gets Oracle's code name wrong, and would make the most sense for Draconis to correct him on it, but instead Joker corrects Mona on it. Ironic, yes?

*5* - Again, a bit of an older series referenced here. If you recognize this reference, then kudos to you for either growing up in the late 90s/early 00s like I did, or having good taste in stuff to browse on YouTube. Also, I find it oddly ironic yet appropriate that the character Futaba/Oracle quotes here was also the tech girl of her team. And both dabble in explosives as well, if Futaba's All-Out Attack is any indication.

CONFIDANT RANKS AS OF CHAPTER 56

FOOL (Igor/Prison Master) - Rank 8

MAGICIAN (Morgana/Mona) - Rank 8

PRIESTESS (Makoto/Queen) - Rank 4

EMPEROR (Yusuke/Fox) - Rank 5

HIEROPHANT (Sojiro/Boss/Coffee Daddy) - Rank 6

LOVERS (Ann/Panther) - Rank 9

CHARIOT (Ryuji/Skull) - Rank 7

JUSTICE (Akechi) - Rank 6

HERMIT (Futaba/Oracle) - Rank 2

FORTUNE (Chihaya/Fortune Teller) - Rank 2

STRENGTH (Caroline and Justine/Twin Wardens) - Rank 8

HANGED-MAN (Iwai/Weapons Dealer) - Rank 2

DEATH (Takemi/Back-Alley Doctor)- Rank 7

TEMPERANCE (Kawakami/Becky) - Rank 4

DEVIL (Ohya) - Rank 2

STAR (Hifumi) - Rank 4

MOON (Mishima) - Rank 5

SUN (Yoshida/Man Of The People) - Rank 8

JUDGEMENT (Sae/Prosecutor) - Rank 4

FAITH (Kasumi/Sumi/Yoshizawa) - Rank 5 'MAX'

COUNCILLOR (Maruki/Doc) - Rank 6

WORLD (Kusa/Draconis) - Rank 5 'MAX'

YET TO BE UNLOCKED: TOWER, EMPRESS