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

79. Black Mask Time! Joker's Comeback part 8

A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Persona 5- The Phantom Files! Welp, here we are. Anyone reading this should buckle in now, since if I'm correct, this chapter will have some rough scenes in it! And I don't just mean the eventual battles with a certain masked 'frenemy' (for lack of a better term) of the Phantom Thieves either. But you'll have to wait and see what I mean when the time comes! For now, let's get the disclaimer going, yeah?

Disclaimer: sithlorde1988 does not own the Persona series in ANY way, shape or form (Excluding the OCs Kusa/Draconis, Slim, Akira, Mimille, Lumine, Kyori, and any other random OCs that pop up during the story, all of which are made and thus owned by sithlorde1988 unless otherwise stated), and the actual ownership credit for the Persona series belongs to Atlus, Sega, and Koei Tecmo, so all ownership credit to them!

That said, anyone reading this who's a fan of either Akechi/Crow or Kusa/Draconis, this might be a rough chapter for you. On with chapter 79!

Chapter 79- Letters, Seeds, and Reunions! Behind the Black Mask! Joker's Comeback part 8

(Inside the Entertainment Hall safe room of Shido's Palace, with Fox, Skull, Panther, Joker, Noir, Mona, Queen, Sumi, Oracle and Draconis)

"So, how is everyone holding up after getting three out of the five letters of introduction?" Joker asked after calling a brief meeting with the group. Oracle spoke up with a smile.

"I'm OK! More importantly, everyone's A-okay, so we should be good to keep going!" Oracle said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"True. I just wish I knew why I kept getting this nagging feeling in the back of my mind like something crazy's going to go down after we get the fifth letter. Probably because Shido and/or Akechi laid a trap for us to cover the off chance we got them all, but that's just a guess. Either way, let's be very careful going forward, yeah?" Draconis said as Sumi, Panther, and Oracle all turned understanding looks onto Draconis as the former of the three spoke up.

"Ah. Is that why you've been so testy with Joker, among others?" Sumi asked Draconis who winced but nodded as he spoke up.

"Unfortunately, that's exactly why, Sumi. I've been worried pretty much since I got up. As Oracle no doubt knows, I've been having a recurring nightmare the past few nights about a certain Black Mask-ed person we all know of. Usually it's just him taunting us and threatening me, but this most recent one was unusually explicit.

Without going into much detail, let's just say it didn't end well, either for me OR for Oracle, in this most recent nightmare. And I don't like the idea that that's a very real possibility of things to come if we're not careful." Draconis said with a sigh as both Joker and Panther smiled at Draconis, patting him on the shoulder comfortingly while Sumi and Oracle took turns hugging him, the latter of the two redheads speaking up.

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised that you'd let that bother you. After all, even if you don't outright say so, I can tell you've gotten quite close to pretty much all of us, even if you do end up at odds with Skull sometimes, as well as occasionally Mona and/or Fox. Even then, I get the sense you still care deeply for us all, which is probably why the idea of your nightmares having any of us dying probably bothers you." Oracle said as Sumi smiled and spoke up.

"I can't say I blame him for feeling that way. I don't know how I'd handle it if I'd been having that type of nightmare." Sumi said honestly as Joker smiled and spoke up.

"Well, you do have keen instincts, Draconis. Maybe it's a warning that danger's coming for us. So we'll take this as a warning to be extra cautious." Joker said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. Back on topic, I see we're all still full of energy, so provided we pace ourselves, there's no reason we can't secure the Treasure route on this trip. Was that all you wanted to discuss?" Mona asked Joker, who nodded and spoke up.

"Yep. We might as well keep going so we can hopefully finish this run while we have energy to spare." Joker said as the group nodded and Fox spoke up.

"Hm. In that case, let us go. Let us be off." Fox said as Joker nodded and headed to the door, at which point Noir spoke up.

"Now, let's get back to work." Noir said as the group resumed their exploration of Shido's Palace. After smacking some strong Shadows around, Queen hit level 61. After some more battles, Joker's 'Lachesis' Persona hit level 51. After overpowering a strong Shadow, Panther hit level 61 while both Skull and Mona hit level 62. The level-ups gave Mona access to the heavy-tier Wind skill 'Magarudyne', making Mona smirk as he spoke up.

"Heh! Fits me like a glove!" Mona said as Draconis chuckled and spoke up.

"Fair. At least you didn't say that it makes you even more charming this time, so that's something." Draconis said conversationally as Zorro acquired 'Magarudyne'. On top of that, Fox acquired the medium-tier Phys skill 'Myriad Slashes', making Fox chuckle as he spoke up.

"Hehehe, what a skill!" Fox said as Sumi smiled and spoke up.

"Good job, Fox-senpai! That skill looks incredible!" Sumi said as Goemon acquired 'Myriad Slashes'. After defeating another strong Shadow, Skull hit level 62. After navigating around the next maze, the group traveled through a vent near the back where Oracle spoke up after the group emerged.

"Awesome, I sense a Will Seed nearby! We've turned into a group of lean, mean, seed-finding machines!" Oracle said as Sumi spoke up uneasily.

"Is that a good thing, though? Also, isn't this our second Will Seed for this Palace?" Sumi asked as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"Yep, it sure is! Only one more after this and we'll have the set! Good observation, Sumi." Draconis said approvingly. After Joker slashed through the vines on the door, the group advanced and seized the 'Green Pride Seed' from its pedestal. At that point, Draconis spoke up.

"Forgot to mention it before, but am I the only one who finds it ironic that Shido is the one who has the sin of Pride for his Will Seeds, considering that this is kind of a matter of pride for me and Joker both at this point that we take him down?" Draconis asked as Joker spoke up.

"That is rather ironic when you put it that way, Draconis." Joker said as Mona spoke up.

"I agree. Either way, only one Will Seed left to get, and two letters of introduction. We're making excellent progress on this run." Mona said as Oracle spoke up.

"Right? That's our second Will Seed! Way to go, Joker! Excellent find!" Oracle said as the group kept moving. After a bit more navigating, the group eventually emerged onto the next part of the area, marked as the 'Side Deck'. Not long after, Fox found a duct that was funneling out smoke that he coughed and spoke up on noticing.

"Ack! That's one odorous vent! Smells like an exhaust vent." Fox said as Draconis blinked at this and spoke up.

"Exhaust, you say? I wonder if that leads somewhere if we can turn off the exhaust?" Draconis mused, thinking it might be useful to note for future reference. After that, Oracle spotted another Safe Room nearby, and once the group went in, the 'Side Deck' was added to Joker's fast-travel list. After handling the Fusion Alarm that had tripped while navigating the maze, during which Joker managed to fuse the mighty Kohryu, or 'Coffee Dragon' as Joker had taken to jokingly calling it. *4*

Joker's reasoning for that nickname was rather self-evident, given it was the ultimate Persona of the Hierophant arcana, which he'd unlocked when getting Sojiro's Confidant link to max. Regardless, after handling the Fusion Alarm, the group continued exploring, eventually hearing a voice call out and stop them in their tracks.

"Hold it right there, punks." Joker heard, as the group wheeled around to see the cleaner from before walking up, still wearing the same pinstriped suit. Panther gasped as she spoke up.

"This doesn't look good! Also, hey, it's that scary guy! We didn't cause any more trouble, did we!?" Panther asked as Draconis shook his head while the cleaner spoke up.

"Nope, but that doesn't matter. You still beat the crap outta my men, and I can't exactly let that pass. I'm gonna have to avenge them." The cleaner said as Draconis spoke up.

"Oh yeah? Are you gonna avenge them, or are you just gonna send more of your men after us?" Draconis asked smugly, having a good idea of the answer. Skull nodded approvingly to Draconis' question as he spoke up.

"Truth, man!" Skull said to Draconis before he frowned and glared at the cleaner as he kept speaking.

"Wait, you're the one who attacked us, remember!?" Skull said as the cleaner chuckled and spoke up.

"Hmph, you sure do an awful lot of barkin'. Well, I guess I could let you off the hook this time. BUT! You're gonna have to survive against these guys first!" The cleaner said as Draconis swore and spoke up when another hulking commando Shadow appeared in front of the cleaner.

"DAMMIT! I hate being right! He sent more goons after us! We'll have to take them out if we want to proceed!" Draconis said as Mona spoke up.

"Fair. Let's get ready. Here they come, guys!" Mona said warily as Joker attacked the Shadow to start the battle. Though that battle would be rather short-lived when Joker spoke up.

"MOLOCH! COME OUT AND SMITE OUR FOES!" Joker called out as his 'Moloch' Persona appeared, nodded, and thrust its palms out at the group of Baphomets that had appeared at the start of the fight, causing a rain of Bless energy to crash down onto the Baphomets, knocking them all down as Joker signaled for an All-Out Attack, at which point the group nodded, hefting their weapons and swinging them for all they were worth, all of them damaging the downed Baphomets, before the screen cut to a shot of a smugly grinning Joker landing in front of the enemy and adjusting his glove as the enemies constricted and exploded into black mist while Joker spoke up.

"You gave it your best shot, but it wasn't enough. THE SHOW'S OVER!" Joker said as he crossed his arms and smirked as the battle ended. From the ensuing EXP gain, Noir hit level 62 and Oracle hit level 64. After the battle, Mona sighed and spoke up.

"Ugh, that was close. Phew, that's been settled for now." Mona said as Fox frowned and spoke up.

"I don't get it. We caused no trouble whatsoever, yet were met with the same end result of an attempt on our lives." Fox said as Draconis spoke up.

"Not quite true, Fox. If I recall correctly, the last time we saw that cleaner guy was before we ran into that douchebag that was playing the slots. Odds are the cleaner found out about us dusting that man. But in our defense, he had it coming for the smack he was talking about both Noir and her father. So that's probably why that happened. Also, let's not forget that once we deal with that IT company president's letter, we'll have to face the cleaner once more, this time to get the final letter of introduction. So we should be prepared since the cleaner will likely save his strongest goons for last if he's smart." Draconis said wisely as Skull nodded and spoke up.

"Truth, Draconis! Ugh, and on top of all that, that effing scumbag up and disappeared again!" Skull said as Queen frowned and spoke up.

"Hey! We should ignore him if our actions have no actual impact on the end results." Queen said as Sumi spoke up with a nod.

"Agreed. At least until we get the fourth letter of introduction. After that, all bets are off, since odds are we'll have to seek out the cleaner ourselves to get his letter." Sumi said as Queen nodded and spoke up.

"Good point, Sumi. Still, for now, let's focus on searching for the IT company president. I hope there are clues somewhere to his location." Queen said as the group kept moving. Once the group headed through the door on the other end of the deck, they found another mini-maze, but as they didn't sense any important items in it, they just ignored it and made a beeline to the nearby elevator, which Joker quickly called as the group filed into it. After riding it up, the group blinked at how blue and flashy the walls were in the room they came to, as Skull spoke up.

"Eh? What's this? Hey Joker, is this place part of the restaurant from before?" Skull asked as Joker ran forward and unlocked the locked door as the group walked thorugh and blinked as Skull spoke up.

"C'mon, man, really? Yep, we're back at the main hall." Skull said as Queen frowned and spoke up.

"And without any particularly useful information on the IT company president." Queen said as Oracle spoke up.

"He almost never leaves his room! Nobody's even seen him around!" Oracle said as Fox blinked at that and spoke up.

"Hm? Hold a moment, Oracle. If he 'almost never' leaves, does that mean there are times that he does in fact leave?" Fox said as Oracle spoke up.

"Wouldn't he have to head out to go to the bathroom? That's how it was for me in my room before Sojiro sprung for the en-suite bathroom upgrades. Cost him a pretty penny as I recall, but it was worth the extra convenience of not having to leave my room for the bathroom, save for the rare instances I wanted to, such as the night I met Draconis." Oracle said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"Yep, this is true. That was a rather fateful night for us as it turns out, wasn't it?" Draconis said wisely as Noir spoke up.

"That's fair. But there are restrooms in the rooms here, are there not? Hm, what about meals?" Noir said as Oracle spoke up.

"Heh, I actually did overhear some people talking about this when Draconis and I were fact-finding the first time we entered this Palace. Apparently this place has a setup where you make just one call, and food gets delivered to your room." Oracle said as Draconis and Joker blinked and exchanged shocked looks, both wondering if Oracle had really just figured out their way in. Joker spoke up at that point.

"And there's our in, Oracle." Joker said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"That's true, but who delivers the food? I doubt very much that the waiters do it." Draconis said as Queen nodded and spoke up.

"Both of you are right. I think you're especially right, Joker. Though this place is just a cognition, it has restaurants and bars as well. If the IT company president never leaves his room, someone must be delivering the food to him." Queen said as Sumi blinked and spoke up.

"Ah! So by that logic, if we were to ask around at the restaurant, we might be able to figure out which room is the IT company president's room!? That's so clever!" Sumi said admiringly as Panther nodded and spoke up with a closed-eye smile.

"Right!? Ohh, so you think we should get info at the restaurants too, Sumi? That could work. Nice idea, Sumi! You too, Joker and Queen!" Panther said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"I agree. Let's do it." Draconis said as the group kept moving. The group then turned around after Draconis mentioned an out of the way room they'd ran past to get to the main hall, which the group looked into and found it was in fact another Safe Room, which they entered. At that point, the 'Central Hall' was added to Joker's fast-travel list. As Joker looked around, he noticed that Skull, Noir, Sumi and Draconis had stuff to say. He walked over to Skull first and spoke up.

"Yo, what's bonkin', Skull?" Joker asked Skull, who groaned and spoke up.

"Aw, man! I'm so done bein' a mouse, Joker! How much more of this we got?" Skull asked as Joker spoke up.

"Not that much. We only have two letters left to get, and I don't think either of them require us to navigate a maze. Granted there was that mini-maze we ignored to get where we are now, but I don't see us going back that way. So cheer up, man. We're almost done." Joker said as Skull nodded while Joker walked over to Noir and spoke up.

"How are you holding up, Noir? I can't imagine it was easy for you to put up with what that TV company president said about you and your father." Joker said sympathetically as Noir smiled and spoke up cheerfully.

"I'm fine, Joker. More importantly, our next target may be difficult to find if we don't know where he is. So we'll have to find him first before we get his letter." Noir said wisely as Joker nodded and walked over to Sumi and spoke up with a smile.

"So, how's the Palace for you so far, Sumi?" Joker asked Sumi conversationally. Sumi smiled at Joker and spoke up.

"Overall? Decent. Sure, that womanizer gave me the creeps, especially when he tried forcing himself onto Panther. But we took him out easily enough. For now, we should focus on the IT company president, Joker-senpai." Sumi said as Joker nodded and walked over to Draconis, who Joker noted had an unreadable look on his face.

"So, you're worried about this Palace, eh Draconis?" Joker asked Draconis, who sighed and nodded while speaking up.

"Honestly? Yeah. I dunno why, but I keep getting this feeling like something bad's gonna go down once we get the final letter of introduction. I don't know what, but the feeling still nags at me, almost haunting my dreams, which is probably why I've had the same recurring nightmare on and off the last couple weeks." Draconis said honestly as Joker smiled at Draconis and spoke up.

"That's fair. I appreciate the honesty, Draconis. We'll do our best to make sure we all come out of this in one piece. Let's keep moving, yeah?" Joker said as Draconis nodded and Joker headed back to the exit of the Safe Room. After finding their way to the restaurant, Joker spotted a waiter nearby, which the group approached as the waiter saw the group and spoke up.

"Welcome. Will you be dining with us today?" The waiter asked as Noir spoke up.

"Um, is it possible to have meals delivered to my room?" Noir asked as the waiter spoke up with a nod.

"Ah, you mean room service. Yes, that is available only at the restaurant." The waiter said as Panther spoke up with a closed-eye smile.

"YES! Aha! So, is there one room in particular that always orders food delivery?" Panther asked as the waiter frowned and spoke up.

"Pardon, but why are you asking me this? I would like to see your boarding passes if you don't mind." The waiter said as Queen spoke up in a professional tone.

"O-Oh um, we've been asked to make a delivery. It's to the president of an IT company, I believe." Queen said as the waiter gave Queen an unreadable look before speaking up.

"Oh? Hm, let me think." The waiter said as Queen spoke up with a nod.

"Understandable. Well, he apparently never leaves his room, but Mister Shido has given us direct orders about this matter. Now then, this is a highly confidential matter, so we must take it to him ourselves." Queen said as the waiter nodded to this and spoke up, to Draconis' surprise.

"Ah, is that so? In that case, let me tell you the way to his room." The waiter said as he gave Queen the directions to the IT company president's room, at which point Mona nodded and spoke up.

"NICE! Well done, Queen! Just as I'd expect from you!" Mona said as Noir frowned and spoke up.

"Hm. Isn't this pretty close? I suppose it's just upstairs." Noir said as Fox spoke up.

"True. It seems to be above the side deck we passed through earlier. Is there a way up somewhere?" Fox asked as Oracle spoke up with a frown.

"No way! Honestly, guys, I doubt this is gonna be any use. If it were me, I'd never open that door." Oracle said as Panther spoke up with a frown.

"Well, that's no good! What are we gonna do!?" Panther said as Mona spoke up with a frown while wincing.

"Ugh, if only there was a way in besides through the door, but I doubt there is." Mona said as Panther spoke up while Draconis got a contemplative look on his face.

"Hm. In any case, should we head back to the side deck? Not that we'll be able to get in from there if we do find a way up." Panther said as Draconis blinked before speaking up, eyes wide in realization.

"I dunno about that one, Panther." Draconis said before turning to Queen and Mona, who were handling the map that they'd put together, as he kept speaking.

"Queen, Mona, does that map allow for the possibilities that these rooms have windows that lead inside the room? Because I would be very shocked if there wasn't at least one window to let the person see outside of the ship." Draconis said as Sumi blinked and spoke up.

"And you think we could find a way in through said window? Draconis, that's genius! But it depends on if Queen-senpai and Mona-senpai can find a window or not." Sumi said as the group kept moving. After retracing their steps, the group emerged back on the side dock as Queen spoke up.

"Hey! Well, we've reached the side deck, you guys. Now what?" Queen said as Mona spoke up.

"If getting this door open is impossible, we'll just have to find another route inside. It's the room directly above here, right? Hmmm, I wonder if maybe Draconis had a point when he mentioned the possibility of being able to go in through a window." Mona said as the group kept moving. After swatting aside a Shadow that was in the group's way, both Joker and Draconis hit level 63. Joker grinned and spoke up.

"Well, well. I leveled up!" Joker said happily as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed you have, Joker. Let's keep moving, yeah?" Draconis said as the battle ended. As the group got closer to the edge of the side deck, Draconis blinked and spoke up.

"Um, guys? Am I imagining it, or does that ledge there look like we could climb up it?" Draconis said as Joker looked, and sure enough, the ledge Draconis looked at was climbable. Joker smiled at Draconis and spoke up.

"Heh, good catch, little bro! That's a climbable ledge, all right!" Joker said as he leapt up to the top of the ledge, making Queen speak up with a closed-eye smile.

"Hm, I see. Interesting. I never would have thought to climb up from outside. Very clever, Joker. And well spotted, Draconis." Queen said as Oracle chuckled and spoke up.

"Mwehehe! I'd buy that. I mean, we ARE phantom thieves. We can use places that normal guests don't have access to." Oracle said as Sumi nodded and spoke up.

"That is true. Good observation, Oracle." Sumi said as the group kept going up the ledges. While climbing up, Skull turned to Queen, who was the only one yet to climb up, and spoke up.

"Hey, I just smelled smoke from the area we climbed up on. Is that supposed to happen?" Skull asked as Queen smiled and chuckled while speaking up.

"Well, we ARE on a ship. It follows that it needs a source of power. And that smoke could be steam. Which means that there could be an engine room behind that smoke. Which makes Draconis' previous theory about that being related to the final letter more plausible." Queen said, not seeing the wince on Draconis' face at the mention of an engine room as the group kept climbing. After a bit, Joker found a spot to use his grapple hook, which took him up to an even higher ledge as a result while Skull spoke up.

"Dude! This ship is freaking huge, isn't it!?" Skull said as Panther nodded and spoke up.

"True, but the view is terrible." Panther said as Draconis chuckled and spoke up.

"That's a good point, but let's not forget this is the Palace of a deluded madman who has ambitions of world conquest, Panther." Draconis said wisely as Sumi spoke up.

"Well said, Draconis. But let's keep going." Sumi said as the group kept moving. After a bit, Mona's ears twitched and he spoke up.

"Oh? I'm sensing something nearby! Could it be what I think it is?" Mona said as Draconis spoke up.

"Could it be the final Will Seed of this Palace?" Draconis asked as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"I think so, Draconis. Joker! Another of those doors are nearby!" Mona said. As the group entered another section of the ship, they found a tough-looking Shadow in front of a viney door. Skull gasped and spoke up.

"Whoa! Oh, there's a guard up ahead, it seems. But is that one of those you-know-whats there, too?" Skull said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"Yes, probably the final one of this Palace, too. So it seems we have to defeat that putz to get it." Draconis said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"That's correct, Draconis. And Skull, seems like it. I'm getting that feeling again. That's a you-know-what all right." Mona said as Sumi blinked and spoke up.

"A you-know-what?" Sumi asked, her nose cutely scrunched up in confusion as Joker smiled and spoke up, leaning in to whisper in Sumi's ear so only she could hear.

"They mean one of the Will Seeds. Usually, the last one of the trio is guarded by a tough enemy, so it often comes with a battle attached." Joker said as Sumi nodded and spoke up while smiling prettily at Joker.

"Ah, I see. Thank you for the explanation, Joker-senpai." Sumi said as Joker nodded while Mona spoke up.

"Exactly. We're in for a tough battle first, though. Are you ready?" Mona asked as Joker spoke up.

"Let's do this!" Joker said as the group charged forward as the Shadow frowned and spoke up.

"Would you shut up about the you-know-whats already and-OH! Whoa, giant rats! That tears it! I'm gonna you-know-what the whole lot of ya!" The strong Shadow said as he shifted forms into that of a Kali as Mona spoke up.

"Uh-oh. Incoming!" Mona said as the battle started! Joker, Skull, and Draconis nodded before speaking up in unison.

"SCATHACH/SEITEN TAISEI/THAILOG! ATTACK!" Joker, Skull and Draconis said as their respective Personas appeared and swung their weapons, or fists in Scathach's case, and clocked massive damage on the enemies. After some time had passed, and only the Kali remained, Skull looked at Fox, who nodded and spoke up.

"Shall we give them a lovely coup de grace?" Fox asked Skull, who nodded as the two spoke up in unison.

"IT'S SHOWTIME!" Skull and Fox said as their Showtime started!

"Ugh, I'm runnin' on empty, man!" Skull said as he sat across from Fox in what appeared to be a diner setting as Fox smiled and spoke up.

"No problem! Behold! I POUR MY SOUL! INTO THIS BOWL!" Fox said as he added seasoning to the ramen bowl he was working on before setting it down in front of Skull, who cheered as he spoke up.

"All right! What a master! This is so good-EGH?" Skull said as he noticed the downed Kali looking in almost hungrily and frowning as he and Fox pulled their guns and took aim as Skull snarled and spoke up.

"I'M TRYIN' TO EAT HERE!" Skull said as he and Fox opened fire on the Kali, Skull pulling the pin on a nearby grenade and tossing it at the Kali while he and Fox unloaded clips into the stunned enemy, speaking up while tossing the grenade.

"HERE YOU GO! MY TREAT!" Skull said as the grenade flew right into the face of the Kali, managing to be hit by one of Fox's bullets, making it explode in the Kali's face, making it dissolve into black mist as Skull returned to happily scarfing down the food in front of him.

"Oh man, that's damn good!" Skull said as the Showtime and the battle ended. After the fight, Noir sighed and spoke up.

"Whew, that was close. Thank goodness we didn't get you-know-what'd." Noir said as Mona nodded and spoke up with a closed-eye grin.

"Yeah! And now that the path's clear, let's grab that you-know-what!" Mona said eagerly as Draconis groaned and spoke up.

"Be that as it may, I'm gonna be just as glad to not hear the phrase 'you-know-what' uttered anymore after this for a while." Draconis said bluntly as the group kept moving. After Joker sliced the viney door open, the group ran in as Joker seized the 'Blue Pride Seed' from its resting place. Afterwards, the three Will Seeds of Pride appeared, fusing into one as they became a three-faced skull that hovered in the air as the 'Crystal of Pride'. Sumi gasped at this and spoke up.

"Ohhh! So that's what you meant by combining together to form an accessory, Joker. That was surprisingly beautiful for what the finished product wound up being." Sumi said as Mona spoke up.

"Very good, Sumi! That's right. Oh, but that was the last Will Seed of this Palace!" Mona said as Draconis spoke up.

"Good. Now all that remains is those final two letters of introduction! And maybe whatever the eff else awaits us after that. I doubt that my instincts would be warning me that danger is waiting for no reason, after all." Draconis said as the group nodded and kept moving. The group found another elevator on the other end of the hall, but it didn't work when Joker tried calling it. Panther frowned and spoke up.

"Huh, no response. You think it's broken? Hellooooo?" Panther said as Mona spoke up.

"Hm, how odd. Well, I don't want us to touch something and cause any trouble by accident. Let's just leave it alone." Mona said as Panther nodded with a closed-eye smile as she spoke up.

"OK! Fine by me. Let's just forget about it!" Panther said as the group kept moving. After going up the ledges on the left, Fox spoke up.

"Hm? It seems the target's private room lies just ahead. And just as Draconis suggested, there are windows in each room. I think he was actually onto something when he suggested we use the windows to get in. That said, let us hope the target keeps his window open." Fox said as the group kept moving. After beating some respawned Shadows, Queen hit level 62 while Joker's 'Seth' Persona hit level 60. After hopping over some ledges, the group reached a room with an open window, at which point Oracle spoke up.

"An announcement! The cabin the target's in is right there, everyone!" Oracle said as Fox nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed, I can sense someone within its walls." Fox said as Mona turned to Joker and spoke up.

"Hm. What should we do, Joker?" Mona said as Joker and Draconis exchanged a look before the former spoke up.

"We check it out, of course." Joker said as Mona smiled and spoke up.

"Yeah! All right, here goes." Mona said as the group looked through the window, where a large group of people were gathered inside the cabin. Fox then spoke up.

"That must be the IT company president." Fox said as the others nodded before Oracle surprised everyone with what she said next.

"I'm gonna go!" Oracle said as literally everyone else on the balcony turned to look at Oracle in surprise. Noir then spoke up.

"By yourself?" Noir asked Oracle, who nodded firmly as she spoke up.

"Mm-hm! He'll be on guard if we all go together, so a group assault is right out, at least for now. And I feel like the less people who go in there, the better." Oracle said as Draconis frowned before he spoke up while looking directly at Oracle with his arms crossed.

"I'll be honest with you, Oracle. I'm skeptical about sending you in there on your own. But at the same time, I acknowledge and recognize you've come a very long way from the almost adorably shy, introverted shut-in you were when we first met. So if you say you want to go in there alone, then I respect that decision and support it. However, keep in mind we're all going to remain close by if you need us at all. Even if I'd rather go with you to have your back, this is something I have to trust you to handle for yourself." Draconis said to Oracle, who smiled at Draconis and spoke up.

"Wow, thank you Draconis! I'm impressed you're that comfortable letting me do this on my own! Also, this is IT stuff! This is my time to shine!" Oracle said as Queen turned to Joker and spoke up, though Draconis heard what she said.

"Should we leave it to her?" Queen asked Joker, who turned and exchanged a nod with Draconis before he spoke up.

"It is a risk, granted. But I agree with Draconis on this one. This is something Oracle has to do herself. Not just because she asked to, but because who would know the mind of a shut-in better than another shut-in, especially when aforementioned other shut-in is one that's dating a former shut-in? I feel like Oracle's uniquely qualified to handle this. Besides, if Draconis can agree to this, I don't think either of us has room to object, Queen." Joker said. Oracle huffed in annoyance, mistaking Joker's agreement for reluctance as she spoke up.

"I can do it! Heck, even Draconis believes in me! That said, it's like that one show where the kid goes shopping alone for the first time. Hehe, this is gonna be tough." Oracle said as Skull grinned and spoke up. *1*

"Heh, she's feelin' good enough to joke around, so maybe this'll be fine after all!" Skull said as Panther turned to Oracle and spoke up.

"I have faith in you, Oracle. That said, even though Draconis likely already said it, I'll say it again. We'll be close by the whole time, so just yell if things get dangerous, okay?" Panther said to Oracle, who merely saluted before walking in through the window, making the IT company president gape at the arrival of Oracle as he spoke up.

"What the!? Who're you!?" The IT company president asked Oracle, who gulped as she spoke up.

"P-P-Pardon my entrance sudden!" Oracle said as the IT company president blinked and spoke up.

"Those clothes look different. Er, I-I mean, why did you come in from the window!?" The IT company president asked Oracle, who huffed and spoke up with a frown.

"W-Well, the door's locked, and you weren't answering! How else am I supposed to get in here? Oh, but I get how you feel! There's totes nothing better than relaxing in your own room!" Oracle said as the IT company president blinked and spoke up, not hearing the low growl from outside at what he said next.

"A-A girl?" The IT company president said as Oracle nodded and spoke up, looking at the IT company president as she spoke.

"You're an IT guy, right? I can tell we talk the same language!" Oracle said before sitting at the table and pulling out her laptop to show her programming off. The IT company president frowned at Oracle before he walked over to her and spoke up.

"That's not what matters here. Just who are-Huh!? Is that your laptop?" The IT company president asked, clearly impressed with Oracle's laptop. Oracle chuckled as she spoke up, amused at the IT company president's reaction while she spoke.

"Hehehe, I knew you'd like that. This little guy caught your attention, huh? I made it myself!" Oracle said as the IT company president's jaw dropped as he saw the screen of the laptop and spoke up in shock.

"This is amazing, to be honest. To think you could do this much on a mobile device like this. It's truly staggering." The IT company president said as Oracle spoke up.

"Heh, wanna see the benchmarks? It can pump out some awesome numbers. Although normally I just use this one as a sub-processor when I'm hacking into a tough system." Oracle said as the IT company president spoke up in surprise.

"Hacking? Do you mean like cyber attacks?" The IT company president asked Oracle, who nodded and chuckled as she spoke up.

"Mwehehe! Hehehe, pretty much. Ever heard of Medjed?" Oracle asked the IT company president, who spoke up with a nod.

"Well, of course." The IT company president said as Oracle grinned and spoke up.

"Try not to be surprised by this. Actually, be surprised. I am Medjed! I'm the one who took down the fake!" Oracle said as the IT company president gasped.

"Huh?" The IT company president said in surprise as Oracle smirked and spoke up.

"Don't believe me, huh? Here, this is proof." Oracle said as she pulled up a server on the screen and showed it to the IT company president, who gasped and spoke up.

"This is the project server! You identified all of them!?" The IT company president said to Oracle who smirked and spoke up.

"Impressed? If you want my skills, I'll need a letter of introduction." Oracle said as the IT company president frowned at that and spoke up.

"Man, how surprising. To think the website we prepared got crushed so easily by a mere child. It's unbelievable." The IT company president as Oracle gaped in shock and spoke up, her eyes wide.

"Huh? Y-You prepared it?" Oracle asked the IT company president, who sighed and nodded as he spoke up.

"Yeah, that's right. Why did you have to go and destroy it?" The IT company president said as Oracle bristled at this and spoke up.

"Because I'm a Phan-err, ahem! I-It was just because I couldn't forgive someone using the Medjed name without permission." Oracle said before her expression turned serious as she kept speaking.

"So, why'd you send Medjed after the Phantom Thieves?" Oracle asked as the IT company president spoke up.

"There was no reason to choose Medjed, per se. Their popularity was convenient for us though. Heh. We knew the Phantom Thieves couldn't target an anonymous group, after all." The IT company president said as Oracle frowned and spoke up.

"That's why you prepared it?" Oracle said as the IT company spoke up, his next words drawing a pair of almost-audible gasps from outside.

"Medjed's defeat was supposed to be an act, so their actual fall was quite a shock to me and Akechi-kun. We were planning on shutting it down anyway though, so it really didn't conflict with our plans. The Phantom Thieves must've enjoyed their moment in the spotlight, not knowing it would be so short-lived. You see, you gotta abuse a tool like the internet. Well, the word 'abuse' doesn't really describe it. The real charm comes in making use of the internet in innovative ways that circumvent legal restrictions." The IT company president said as Oracle frowned and spoke up.

"Grr! You little creep!" Oracle said as the IT company president chuckled as he got up in Oracle's face while he spoke up.

"Heh, I'm sure you understand. You're Medjed, after all. Isn't it wonderful manipulating all those information-illiterate idiots!?" The IT company president said as Oracle frowned at the close proximity that the IT company president had to her, unaware of Sumi, Skull and Fox all having to work together to restrain Joker and Draconis from charging in and fighting the IT company president when the group saw him get up close to Oracle. Oracle then growled and spoke up.

"Ugh, for real!? What a third-rate fool." Oracle said as the IT company president frowned and spoke up.

"Huh?" The IT company president said in confusion as Oracle spoke up once more, not hearing Draconis burst out laughing from outside at what she said next.

"Not only are your skills third-rate, but you stink worse than a third-rate person. Don't treat me like we're equals. I'm gonna reform society!" Oracle said as the IT company president scoffed and spoke up.

"Tch, how absurd! What a stupid idea. Don't tell me you destroyed my website for this so-called 'societal reform'?" The IT company president asked as Oracle nodded and spoke up.

"That's right! It's because I'm a member of the Phantom Thieves!" Oracle said brazenly as the IT company president gasped and spoke up.

"What?" The IT company president said as Oracle spoke up with a huff.

"Picking on the weak and calling that innovative? Looks like I just gotta ban the guy at the root of all this madness-Shido! Now, you're gonna give me that letter of introduction!" Futaba said as the IT company president laughed and spoke up.

"HA! And why would I?" The IT company president asked as Oracle sputtered and spoke up.

"I, uh, H-How about a computer competition for it!?" Oracle asked as the IT company president huffed and spoke up.

"Huh? Don't be ridiculous! I'd rather just kill you!' The IT company president said threateningly as Oracle raised her voice and spoke up, unaware of Joker and Draconis both hearing this and breaking free of Skull and Fox's grasp as they charged towards the window, the others following close behind as they heard Oracle's yell.

"G-Guys!" Oracle called out, giving the signal for the others to come in. After a couple moments, the rest of the group filed into the room, Noir sighing and speaking up while Joker and Draconis both gave intimidating glares to the IT company president, the latter looking ready to fight the IT company president.

"So this is still what happens in the end, despite our attempts to negotiate for it peaceably." Noir said as Mona spoke up.

"Well, now that we know he has one, this should be the easiest way to get it!" Mona said as Oracle leapt up and stood next to Draconis, who glared at the IT company president and spoke up.

"I'm down for that, Mona! This pissant is about to get a lesson in why threatening one of us is a VERY bad idea! Especially when the one of us in question is someone I'm very close to! I take personal offense to that sort of thing!" Draconis said angrily as the IT company president huffed and shifted forms into an Oberon, summoning two Titanias to assist him as the fight began! At the start, Joker and Draconis nodded as they spoke up together.

"SCATHACH/THAILOG! COME FORTH/REVEAL YOURSELF!" Joker and Draconis said as they summoned their Personas, both of whom nodded and rushed forward, punching/slashing furiously at the trio of enemies, cutting down the Titanias and damaging the Oberon, who frowned and summoned more Titanias to take the defeated ones' places after trying and failing to strike Mona down with Hamaon. After that, Skull stepped up and spoke up.

"My turn! SEITEN TAISEI! SHOW US YOUR MOVES!" Skull called out as Seiten Taisei appeared, and after a nod, he raised his staff and made a rain of lightning come down, destroying the other two Titanias, and leaving the Oberon to go down on one knee as Skull stepped aside for Draconis to step back up and frown at the downed Oberon as he spoke up.

"And now for you, you little pissant! It's high time that you were taught a little respect! But I wouldn't dream of denying Oracle her chance at helping me. What do you say, Oracle? Wanna end this fool together!?" Draconis asked Oracle, who smiled and nodded as she spoke up.

"Mwehehe! I was hoping you'd ask, Draconis! Let's get 'em!" Oracle said as Draconis smirked and nodded while the two spoke up.

"HA! IT'S SHOWTIME!" Oracle and Draconis said as their Showtime started! Draconis then glared at the downed Oberon as he brandished his staff and spoke up in what he hoped was a very intimidating tone.

"Hey, pissant! Ever hear of a little something called 'HERE COMES THE BOOM'!? If not, let me show you!" Draconis said as he hurled his staff up in the air at the same time that Oracle called forth Necronomicon and Nostradamus to summon a bomb, expecting to have Draconis use some Almighty flame to light the fuse per usual, but instead Draconis caught the bomb in his hands, looked up at Thailog, and spoke up.

"THAILOG! THINK FAST!" Draconis said as he hurled the bomb up into the air towards Thailog, right as his staff came down and he caught it one-handed. Thailog nodded and used a snap of his fingers to ignite the bomb with his Megidola, which then dropped down right in front of Draconis right as he hefted his staff in both hands like a bat, taking aim and swinging it at the falling bomb, launching it right at the horrified Oberon, right as Oracle took aim with her wrist laser and chuckled as she spoke up.

"Mwehehe! Now it's my turn! Taking aim, and, NOW! FIRE!" Oracle said as she fired her laser at the bomb, hurling it directly into the Oberon's face, where it exploded at the same time that Oracle and Draconis both spoke up.

"HEH! HOW DO YOU LIKE US NOW!?" Oracle and Draconis said as the bomb literally detonated in Oberon's face, who could barely do more than blink before dissolving into black mist as Draconis chuckled and spoke up.

"Mwehehe! Just as we calculated! And here I thought my Persona evolving would eff up the entire formula for our Showtime. Not only did it not eff up said formula, but in fact, it actually made it even better, I'd say. Also, GOOD RIDDANCE TO LOUSY PISSANTS!" Draconis said as Oracle nodded, cutely winking as she gave a thumbs-up while both the Showtime and the battle ended. From the ensuing EXP gain, Fox hit level 63, Panther hit level 62, and Joker's 'Lachesis' Persona hit level 52. From the level-ups, Panther gained the support skill 'Concentrate', making her smile as she spoke up.

"A new skill! I gotta use this next time!" Panther said as Sumi smiled an approving closed-eye smile at Panther and spoke up.

"Ooh, that skill looks really powerful! Well done, Panther-senpai!" Sumi said as Hecate acquired 'Concentrate'. After the battle, Oracle smiled and spoke up.

"Okay-dokey! We got a letter of introduction!" Oracle said before glaring at the IT company president as she kept speaking.

"Making that fake Medjed wasn't the only bad thing you did, right? I want to hear your biggest secret." Oracle said as the IT company president spoke up while holding his stomach, clearly in pain from the Showtime that had been used on him.

"The cognitive psience research that Mister Shido requested-" The IT company president began before Oracle glared at him and spoke up, ignoring Draconis chuckling behind her at how much her glare was similar to the glare Sojiro often gave both Joker and Draconis at times. *2*

"What did you do!? Spill it!" Oracle asked as the IT company president winced and spoke up.

"After extracting every last scrap of the research, I deleted every last scrap of the original data. After that, I encrypted everything we had and put it on a domain inaccessible to normal people. Don't get me wrong, though. I don't know anything about all the mental shutdowns." The IT company president said as Mona frowned and spoke up.

"Shido, that madman! What the hell was he researching?" Mona asked as Draconis sighed and spoke up.

"Knowing him? Probably nothing good! Between Shido-san and Akechi-kun, I almost regret finding out the truth of my paternity. But at the same time, I'm glad I know, since at least now I know for sure who my father is." Draconis said wisely. Oracle frowned at this and spoke up.

"I know he's your father, Draconis. But even still, that's irrelevant right now! No matter what his research subject was, we won't let him abuse it!" Oracle said as the IT company president gasped at the mention of Draconis being related to Shido, but was ignored by the Phantom Thieves as they began to file out of the window...

(Back in the real world, in the Shibuya underground accessway with Akechi)

"Every media outlet is vouching for the inevitable Prime Minister Shido. The public loves you too." Akechi said to Shido, who he was on the phone with. Shido spoke up.

"True, but we've only made it this far thanks to you." Shido said, making Akechi smile as he spoke up.

"Truly? I'm honored to hear that." Akechi said honestly as Shido spoke up once more.

"Now then, having gotten that bit of pleasantry out of the way, I have a favor to ask of you." Shido asked Akechi, who blinked and spoke up.

"Oh? And what might that be?" Akechi asked Shido, who spoke up.

"It's about the loyal customers of our mental shutdown business. How about you dispose of all the ones you think are suspicious?" Shido asked Akechi, who frowned and spoke up, an annoyed look on his face.

"Right at this moment? But the election is coming up soon." Akechi asked as Shido spoke up.

"Correct. The earlier, the better." Shido asked as Akechi frowned and spoke up.

"Why so suddenly? Did something happen?" Akechi asked as Shido frowned and spoke up.

"Nothing in particular. But if something were to happen, it would already be too late." Shido said as Akechi spoke up.

"I can understand why you might be nervous, but why not stay calm and hold off until after the election?" Akechi asked as Shido spoke up.

"Because I'd like to take out all of the trash before my inauguration as prime minister of this nation. For the sake of absolute victory, I need all roots of anxiety to be pulled as soon as possible." Shido said as Akechi got a worried look on his face at this and spoke up.

"Anxiety? You've never mentioned such things before now, have you? Um, can I ask you something, Shido-san?" Akechi asked as Shido growled and spoke up.

"UGH! Do you understand what it means to cross me!? Just do as I ask. I'll be counting on you." Shido said as he hung up abruptly on Akechi, who frowned and spoke up.

"Hm? This is all too sudden. Unless-! Could it be possible? Methinks it might be high time to finish what I started last month. And I know of a certain long-winded prick who's been long overdue to get put in his place, especially after he had the gall to get in my way while I was doing a job." Akechi said with a frown, pulling out his phone to head into the Metaverse...

(Back inside of Shido's Palace, outside the IT company president's room, with Joker, Mona, Skull, Draconis, Panther, Fox, Queen, Oracle, Noir, and Sumi)

"Aw yeah, we got the fourth letter! He might've been a third-rate guy, but he still had one somehow!" Oracle said as Skull grinned and spoke up.

"Just that cleaner dude left then. Wanna go cause a scene somewhere and lure him out?" Skull said as Queen sighed and spoke up in a gentle but firm tone.

"Skull! As I've already said before, we should avoid doing that if we can." Queen said as Noir frowned and spoke up.

"But we've gone everywhere on the map. Is there any place we haven't checked out yet, aside from the area we can't access yet?" Noir asked as Joker and Draconis looked at each other and nodded as Joker spoke up.

"There is. Remember that steam Fox and Skull mentioned while we climbed up here? That probably leads to the engine room. And if Draconis and I are right in our thinking, that's probably where the cleaner sets up shop, as it were. So we should probably check there." Joker said as Fox blinked and spoke up.

"Hm? I don't recall ever passing by such a place." Fox said as Queen gasped while looking at the map and spoke up.

"That reminds me! Wait, I found something on the map. Joker and Draconis are right! According to this map, there's a hidden path near where we climbed up, and according to the map, it leads right to the engine room. Also, remember how you were wondering about that smoke earlier, Skull?" Queen asked Skull, who frowned then gasped as he nodded in recognition.

"Oh yeah, I remember that. Now where was that?" Skull asked as the group kept moving. After climbing back down, Joker spotted a vent that was emanating steam. Queen blinked at this and spoke up.

"This way! We've found it. This most likely leads into the engine room." Queen said as Oracle nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. I'm getting a reading from inside, but I can't tell if it's him." Oracle said warily as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"Tch! Huh? We ain't gonna be able to get in like this. You wanna try forcin' it to open, Joker?" Skull asked Joker, who spoke up.

"Let's bust in there. If we're right, our final letter of introduction awaits us in there." Joker said as Panther cheered and spoke up, a determined look on her face as she spoke.

"YES! Okay, let's do it!" Panther said as Joker nodded, and used his boot to kick the vent open before the group crawled into it, following the passage until they found a spot to look outside of the vent, which the group did, making Skull gasp at what the group saw and speak up.

"WHOA! Look, there's that bastard!" Skull said as Fox spoke up with a frown.

"Yes, but his men are with him too. Exiting here will land us directly in front of them. There will be no chance of escape at that point. What should we do, Joker?" Fox said as Joker spoke up.

"What else? Let's go. Sooner we deal with them, the sooner we can start figuring out how to make that cleaner give us the final letter we need." Joker said as Fox nodded and spoke up.

"Let's go! Very well. We shall jump in!" Fox said as the group leapt down and landed in front of the surprised cleaner, who blinked and spoke up.

"Wh-What the!? Whaddaya want? You come lookin' for trouble?" The cleaner asked as Joker spoke up.

"Just hear us out, please." Joker said, trying to reason with the cleaner, who frowned and spoke up.

"Shut it! This place is off-limits, moron!" The cleaner said as Panther winced and spoke up.

"HEY! This doesn't look good! Crap, this guy might be just a cognition, but he's damn scary!" Panther said fearfully as the cleaner huffed and spoke up.

"Tch! I'm too busy to deal with you punks now. I'll be leavin' that to my men here." The cleaner said as Skull scoffed and spoke up.

"Tch! Again? This had better be the last time!" Skull said as Joker slashed at the Shadow to start the battle! Once the battle started, Oracle spoke up.

"We've fought these guys before! I recall they're weak to Bless attacks!" Oracle said as Joker and Draconis looked at each other, the latter speaking up.

"Bless, eh? Yeah, I think that might work." Draconis said before looking at Joker and Sumi as he spoke up.

"Joker! Tag me out with Sumi, since if I recall correctly, she knows quite a few Bless moves!" Draconis said as Joker and Sumi nodded, the latter tagging in for Draconis, speaking up as she did so.

"HA! Sumi, tagging in!" Sumi said as she joined the battle. She then looked at the enemies and smirked as she spoke up.

"Heh, I got this! COME, CENDRILLION! SHOWER OUR ENEMIES WITH YOUR DIVINE WRATH!" Sumi said as she summoned out Cendrilliion, who nodded and waved her hands, making a wave of Bless energy flow out and smack into the four Baphomets that had been summoned, downing them and dealing heavy damage, especially when Joker's 'Moloch' Persona was summoned to also rain Bless energy down on the enemy. At that point, Sumi smirked and spoke up.

"Nice job, Senpai! I think we know what comes next!" Sumi said as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"Yep! EVERYONE! Prepare for an All-Out Attack!" Joker said as the others nodded, all rushing in to slash/swing at the downed Shadows to inflict lots of chip damage, before the screen cut to a shot of Sumi twirling into view with a ribbon in one hand, smirking as she spoke up while whipping the downed Shadows as she twirled past, watching them all dissolve into black mist as she spoke up.

"Heh. STUCK THE LANDING!" Sumi said as the backdrop showed the ribbon twirling up above Sumi's head to turn into a blue banner, where the words 'BEAUTY IS DEVOTION!' was written above Sumi's head in flowing black script as she did a partial twirl and posed to end the battle. From the ensuing EXP gain, Mona hit level 63. After the battle, Panther frowned and spoke up.

"We did it! Now where is he!?" Panther said as the others looked around before Mona gasped and spoke up.

"Look, over there!" Mona said as the group noticed the cleaner further ahead, fleeing towards a room near the back of the hall. Skull huffed and spoke up.

"Dammit, we're not lettin' him escape! Let's take that letter by force if we gotta!" Skull said as the group kept moving, excluding Draconis who blinked as he looked around the area, not seeing Oracle frown at this and speak up.

(POV shift-Draconis' POV)

I looked around the area, frowning slightly even as I internally gasped as I realized with a start that this place was eerily similar to the engine room I'd often seen in my recurring nightmare. I then shuddered, realizing that this likely meant my dream had in fact been a potential warning of things to come. I then blinked as I heard my name called, looking over to see Oracle giving me a concerned look as she spoke up.

"Draconis? Are you all right? You've been kinda zoned out since we reached this engine room." Oracle asked me as I looked at her and spoke up.

"Honestly? I'm a bit unnerved. This place looks a LOT like the place we were at in that nightmare I keep having." I said as Oracle frowned and spoke up.

"I see. Well, let's focus on the final letter for now, and then we can deal with what happens next when we come to it." Oracle said as I reluctantly nodded before we followed the others towards where the cleaner had fled.

(POV shift- neutral POV)

After Draconis and Oracle caught up to the others, Joker frowned as he saw the cleaner enter a room and close the door, immediately trying to open it before growling and shoulder-barging it when it wouldn't open, making Skull growl as he spoke up.

"Agh, dammit! He locked the door!" Skull said as Queen frowned and spoke up.

"This won't do. We can't exactly give up on the letter either, now that we've come this far. Is there some other way to get in that we've not seen?" Queen asked as Sumi spoke up with a smile.

"Probably. If anyone's equipped to find it, it's Joker-senpai. So let's trust him and his Third Eye to show us the way." Sumi said with a sweet and sincere smile that Joker returned smugly as the group kept moving. After a bit, the group found a vent that they crawled into, going in single-file. After following the path, the group found a spot to look down into the room below, which they did as Panther frowned and spoke up.

"Hey! There he is! We've definitely cornered him this time!" Panther said as Noir spoke up, not seeing the slight wince on Draconis' face at what she said next.

"This will be our final letter of introduction! We must get it!" Noir said as Joker smirked and spoke up.

"I agree. Let's clean this mess up, here and now." Joker said confidently as Fox nodded and spoke up.

"I concur! Very well! It is time we put an end to this charade! LET'S GO!" Fox said as the group leapt down into the room below as the cleaner frowned and spoke up.

"Tch! What?! You punks are still here? Don't tell me you snuck in again!?" The cleaner said before he frowned and spoke up.

"You guys just don't know when to stop. Is the hit on me really that big?" The cleaner said before he removed his shirts, revealing both a chiseled physique to rival Draconis' own, as well as some ominous looking tattoos on his shoulders. At that point the cleaner frowned and spoke up.

"You guys, spit it out! What clan are you from?" The cleaner asked as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"Um, clan?" Skull asked before turning to the others and sweatdropping as realization set in and he kept speaking.

"Hold up! Does he mean like, yakuza clan?" Skull asked as Oracle gasped and spoke up.

"Wait, does he 'clean up' problems by making people disappear?" Oracle asked as Panther gasped as well and spoke up.

"Crap, is this for real? Is he really yakuza!?" Panther said, moments before Oracle, Sumi and Queen all barely had time to yelp in surprise as they were gently pushed behind Draconis, Joker and Skull respectively as the three stared down the cleaner. Sumi blinked at Joker as she spoke up.

"SENPAI!?" Sumi said in surprise as Joker shushed her with a look that was very serious as Fox swore and spoke up, to Skull and Draconis' surprise.

"Ugh! It seems that bastard Shido has close ties to the underground as well as the political arena." Fox said as Queen frowned and spoke up.

"How are we supposed to get the letter of introduction from him? Do we have to prove our worth?" Queen asked as the cleaner frowned and spoke up.

"Hey! I'm a busy man. I gotta deal with cleanin' up problems and all them mental shutdowns, after all. If you got business with me, just spit it out already." The cleaner said as Joker frowned as he spoke up.

"Very well, as you wish. We're here to see about acquiring a letter of introduction from you so that we might seek an audience with Mister Shido himself. So in the interest of that, how much for a letter?" Joker asked, figuring bartering for it was a good first step. The cleaner scoffed and spoke up.

"A letter of introduction? Why the hell would I give you one?" The cleaner said defiantly as Queen sighed and spoke up.

"As I expected, he won't just give it to us." Queen said before Panther spoke up, making Fox, Oracle, Draconis and Sumi all blink at what she said next.

"Umm, wait a minute! Actually, we're here to suggest a tattoo design for you." Panther said as the cleaner gave Panther an intrigued look as he spoke up.

"A tattoo?" The cleaner asked as Panther nodded and pointed at Fox as she spoke up.

"Yep! Th-This guy is great at drawing. He draws pretty much anything! H-He's an artist!" Panther said as Fox blanched at what Panther was suggesting as he spoke up irately.

"WHAT!? What is the meaning of this!? I have no intention of designing a simple tattoo!" Fox said as Panther spoke up with a wince.

"I thought you'd be able to do it, Yusuke, since art's kind of your thing." Panther said as Fox frowned at this before Joker frowned and spoke up.

"PANTHER! Code names!" Joker gently but firmly rebuked Panther as Draconis sighed and spoke up.

"Ugh, and just when Skull finally got into the habit of addressing everyone by code name too. Please tell me we're not going to have that problem with Panther now?" Draconis said dryly, groaning as he crossed his arms in annoyance. At that point, the cleaner frowned at the group and spoke up.

"What're you squabblin' about?" The cleaner asked as Skull spoke up, making Draconis facefault at what he said next.

"Yusuke, draw something! Art's art, ain't it!?" Skull said as Joker glared at Skull.

"NOT HELPING, SKULL!" Joker rebuked Skull as Draconis lightly groaned and spoke up.

"Give Skull a break, Joker. At least, he's gotten a lot better about forgetting code names. So I feel we can forgive him this once. Besides, technically it's Panther's fault, if anything, since she started that whole situation by calling Fox the wrong name." Draconis said, aiming an unimpressed glare at a wincing Panther. Fox frowned at this and sighed before speaking up.

"What? I don't want to-Ugh! Very well. May I at least decide what I will draw?" Fox asked as the cleaner shook his head and spoke up.

"Uh-uh. I won't accept anything 'cept a godly phoenix fitting my godly personality." The cleaner said as Draconis huffed and crossed his arms as Fox spoke up.

"A phoenix? Really? I'd rather draw something else, if possible." Fox said as the cleaner smirked and spoke up.

"What's this? Makin' excuses now, mister 'artist'? You're all talk. People like you are a dime a dozen." The cleaner said as Fox huffed and spoke up.

"Excuse you!? I am NOT all talk! I can draw anything you want." Fox said indignantly. He then kept speaking.

"Bring me a brush and a piece of paper." Fox said as the cleaner signaled to one of his men to get the requested implements. Once the paper and brush were procured, Fox got to work, eventually painting a picture of a Japanese-styled phoenix. After he finished, Fox smiled and spoke up.

"And there! It's finished." Fox said as Skull frowned and gritted his teeth as he spoke up, glaring at Fox while he spoke.

"Dude! This is totally not gonna work for a tattoo, Fox!" Skull said as Panther frowned and spoke up.

"Is it a monster? It has some kinda crazy aura or something." Panther said as Draconis spoke up.

"No, it's clearly an Oriental/Japanese-styled phoenix drawing. You can clearly see the bird if you look at it long enough." Draconis explained to Panther. Noir spoke up.

"Ah, I see. Truly, um, how do I put this? Ah! A truly explosive piece of artwork." Noir said as Fox smiled at Draconis and spoke up.

"Ah, you get it! This is my perception of a phoenix." Fox said, nodding approvingly at Draconis. Mona winced and spoke up.

"There's no way this is gonna work, Fox!" Mona said, only to be proven wrong a moment later as the cleaner smirked and spoke up.

"Hm? I ain't seen nothing like this before! I like it!" The cleaner said as Fox gave the cleaner a closed-eye smile and spoke up.

"Thank you." Fox said happily as Queen blinked and spoke up.

"It seems like, for the most part, it went well?" Queen said as Draconis sighed and spoke up.

"It went well so far, at least. We're not in the clear yet, Queen." Draconis said sagely. Fox then looked at the cleaner and spoke up.

"Well then, I request a letter of introduction." Fox said to the cleaner, who nodded as he spoke up.

"Hmm. OK! But on one condition, kid. I want you to be my personal tattoo artist." The cleaner said as Mona spoke up.

"WHAT!? He wants to recruit you!?" Mona said in shock as Fox frowned and shook his head as he spoke up.

"I decline." Fox said quickly, ignoring Skull, Mona, Draconis, Sumi and Joker all facefaulting behind him. The cleaner smirked and spoke up.

"Is that so? No letter for you, then." The cleaner said as Fox frowned and spoke up.

"Very well. I must decide on my own path as an artist. I will not receive aid from others any longer when it comes to my art. Now, if you understand, hand over the letter. Otherwise, we'll just have to take it by force. By the way, you're more of a feral pigeon than a phoenix." Fox said bluntly to the cleaner, who frowned at Fox and spoke up while both Joker and Draconis groaned at Fox's sternly-worded response.

"What the-!? You cocky-ass bastard! I'm gonna destroy you! I'll rip you open and tear out your insides!" The cleaner snarled as Skull winced and spoke up.

"We're still gonna fight after all that!?" Skull asked, only to be ignored as the cleaner shifted forms into a monster that Joker had never seen before as the battle began! At the start, Joker and Draconis nodded before both spoke up.

"SCATHACH/THAILOG! COME FORTH/REVEAL THYSELF!" Joker and Draconis said as they summoned their strongest Personas to fight the unknown enemy. Scathach and Thailog nodded as they brandished their fists/weapon and charged at the enemy, clocking a lot of solid damage. At that point, Fox stepped up and spoke up.

"My turn! GOEMON! STRIKE!" Fox said as he summoned out Goemon, who nodded and waved his pipe around, causing a torrent of icy energy to smack into the enemy, staggering it for a lot of damage as Skull stepped up and spoke up.

"Heh, my turn! SEITEN TAISEI! ATTACK!" Skull said as he summoned out Seiten Taisei, who nodded and brandished his staff as torrents of lightning cascaded down onto the enemy, hitting it for crazy amounts of damage as Mona stepped forward and spoke up.

"My turn! COME, ZORRO! SHOW YOUR MIGHT!" Mona said as Zorro appeared with a nod, waving his rapier around and summoning a rather large cyclone to sweep up the enemy and spin it around before slamming it into the ground, leaving it dazed as Panther looked at Fox and spoke up.

"I saw how much that guy pissed you off earlier, Fox! Ready to take your vengeance!?" Panther asked as Fox nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed! Let us show him our fury!" Fox said as Panther nodded and both Fox and Panther spoke up at once.

"IT'S SHOWTIME!" Fox and Panther said as their showtime started! Fox then smirked as he wrapped a hand around the hilt of his sword and spoke up.

"Kneel! You stand before our princess!" Fox said as Panther giggled, spinning around an umbrella playfully as she spoke up while she lifted it up before tossing it aside to heft her whip and use it to whip several tiles upwards at the same time that Fox unsheathed his sword and spoke up.

"Hee hee! The sharper the thorns, the fiercer the onslaught!" Panther said coyly as Fox spoke up.

"Prepare yourself for your demise, vile fiend!" Fox said as he then quickly reversed his grip on his sword and re-sheathed it, at the same time that many slashes appeared on each of the tiles, as well as the horrified enemy, who could only gasp as he slumped over and dissolved into black mist as both the Showtime and the battle ended. From the ensuing EXP gain, both Skull and Noir hit level 63, both Draconis and Joker hit level 64 and Oracle hit level 65. Joker then smirked and spoke up.

"ALL RIGHT! LEVEL UP!" Joker said smugly as he leveled up. From the level ups, Oracle learned the support skill 'Masukukaja' for Nostradamus, making her smirk and speak up.

"Mwehehe! Nice, a new skill!" Oracle said coyly as Draconis spoke up.

"Very nice, Oracle. I believe that's now all three group buff skills at your disposal!" Draconis said as Nostradamus learned 'Masukukaja'. In addition, Skull gained the support skill 'Charge', making him smirk as he spoke up.

"Hell yeah! Check out THIS new skill!" Skull said happily as Joker clapped Skull on the shoulder approvingly and spoke up.

"Nice one, man! That's a sweet-looking move!" Joker said as Skull grinned and fist-bumped Joker while Seiten Taisei acquired 'Charge'. After the battle, the cleaner shifted back to normal and laughed as he spoke up.

"Haha, you punks're tough! I like that! You've got some backbone! All right, I'll give you my letter. Normally, I'd have to 'clean' you guys up for messin' around on the ship, but to be honest, there's no point now." The cleaner said as Fox blinked and spoke up.

"Hm? You're letting us go?" Fox asked in surprise. The cleaner nodded and spoke up.

"Yep. This place ain't gonna last much longer if powerful soldiers like you guys got in here. Heh, time for me to jet. The captain was great n' all, but he's gonna have to go down with this ship alone. See ya later, kiddos." The cleaner said as he turned and left after handing Joker the letter. Once the cleaner was out of sight, Fox blinked at this and spoke up.

"Huh. Well, that was an unexpected response for a cognitive creation, wasn't it?" Fox asked as Noir nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed. Politicians never get too close to their shady connections. They must have only been linked monetarily." Noir said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Hm. That must be it." Mona said as Panther nodded and spoke up.

"Well, we finally have all five. We need to use these to get into the main assembly hall, right?" Panther asked as Draconis frowned and spoke up.

"Assuming that our trip back is as simple and unexpected as we hope for, yes. But if this nagging feeling in the back of my head is any indication, somehow I doubt we should expect it to be that easy, Panther." Draconis said uneasily, his expression clearly betraying the mixed anxiety, unease and apprehension he felt at that moment. Sumi smiled at Draconis and spoke up.

"Cheer up, Draconis. We're heeding your instincts. We won't be careless on the way back." Sumi said reassuringly to Draconis as Oracle lightly hugged Draconis to try and comfort him as Noir looked at Panther and spoke up with a nod.

"Yes, that's right. And I believe that will be where we find the Treasure. We've been to most other places to gather the letters, so there's almost no doubt about it." Noir said as Skull nodded, cricking his shoulder as he spoke up.

"Truth! We're gonna take his Treasure, no matter what!" Skull said as Queen nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. As I'm sure you all know, the importance of this particular card is unlike any that's come before. Once we send it, our opponents will know that Joker, who they presumed dead, is in fact still alive. We will be putting our backs to the wall at that point." Queen said as Fox nodded and spoke up.

"True. If we lose, our lives will truly be over at that point." Fox said as Noir spoke up.

"Agreed. We can't let that happen, can we!?" Noir said as Sumi frowned and spoke up.

"No, we cannot! We've come too far to let ourselves fail now! Plus, I would hate to see us all lose everything this close to the end!" Sumi said firmly as Draconis sighed and spoke up.

"Be that as it may Sumi, I think we're all forgetting one rather big hindrance that we've not dealt with yet." Draconis said as Joker looked at him and spoke up.

"You mean Crow, don't you? You think he might try and attack us to stop us from getting to the Treasure, don't you Draconis?" Joker said as Draconis nodded his agreement before speaking up with a look on his face that was a mix of wary, anxious, and on edge.

"I do. And to be honest with you all, the crux of my recurring nightmare involved us coming face-to-face with none other than Black Mask. So I get the sense that our biggest challenge for this Palace has yet to truly begin. So, let us all be on our guards going forward, yeah? I know I give a lot of you grief, but I still care about you all, and would hate to see anything happen to any of you. So let's be as careful as possible." Draconis said honestly as Joker smiled and clapped Draconis on the shoulder comfortingly as he spoke up.

"Relax, Draconis. We'll be careful. Now, if there's no objections, I say it's time for payback. Who's with me?" Joker said firmly as Fox blinked at Joker and nodded as he spoke up.

"Ah, yes. This is not just a Phantom Thieves matter for you. It is also a personal matter." Fox said as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"Correct. Not only are we about to confront the man who was responsible for getting me sent out to Yongen-Jaya on probation, but also the man who likely fathered Draconis by forcing himself onto our mother. So in that respect, it's just as much a personal matter for Draconis as it is for myself." Joker said wisely as Mona nodded, speaking up with a resolved look even as virtually all of the female Phantom Thieves gasped as one at Joker's implication of Draconis being the product of non-consensual relations, while both Skull and Mona frowned at the implication that Shido was similar to Kamoshida.

"I see. Then it's decided." Mona said as Queen frowned and spoke up.

"The real question is, how and where do we send the calling card?" Queen asked as Panther smirked and spoke up with a smile on her face.

"How about we make it super flashy? Our whole big plan was all setting us up for this moment, you know!" Panther said as Fox spoke up.

"Indeed. Actually, it must be theatrically done. A minor leak will only be crushed by Shido's influence." Fox said as Noir spoke up.

"Hm, maybe it doesn't have to be in the form of a letter this time." Noir said as Oracle chuckled and spoke up.

"Hehe, in that case, it's finally my turn to steal the spotlight." Oracle said as Queen frowned at her and spoke up.

"Hm? What's the matter?" Queen said to Oracle, who chuckled and spoke up.

"Mwehehe! Heeheehee, oh, it's nothing." Oracle said as Fox spoke up.

"Indeed. Well, there's no use in thinking about it here. Let's head back for now." Fox said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. Also, we've done it! We have all five letters of introduction now! It was quite the feat, but we can finally open that door! Let's take the Treasure!" Mona said as the rest of the group nodded and kept moving, even though Oracle and Draconis lingered behind the others a bit as Oracle looked at Draconis and spoke up.

"Are you okay, Draconis? You've not said much since Joker dropped that bomb about you possibly being conceived as the result of forced relations." Oracle said as Draconis sighed and spoke up.

"Honestly? I'm bothered by that. But I had a feeling that might be the case, given how reluctant my mother often is to even speak of my father. But also, my instincts are all screaming at me that we're about to head into a trap." Draconis said before looking Oracle in the eyes and speaking up.

"Still, at this point, I don't see how we have any choice but to spring that trap. We'll just have to take care to keep any potential damage from said trap to a minimum if possible." Draconis said as Oracle nodded and spoke up.

"I agree. But we better catch up to the others before they leave us behind." Oracle said as Draconis nodded and the two sprinted to catch up to the others as they left the room they had been in, preparing to head back to the nearest Safe Room. However, as soon as Draconis and Oracle caught up to the rest of the group, Draconis winced and frowned as he spoke up, his ears suddenly picking up the sound of movement from above him.

"Guys! Look out! I think we've got company!" Draconis called out to the others, who frowned, moments before a figure leapt down from the ledge above the group and landed gracefully in front of Joker and Skull, who both gasped as they recognized the new arrival.

"Well, well. Look what we have here. Long time no see, Joker." Crow said as he strode forward so the rest of the group could see him, prompting Skull and Draconis to gasp as Skull swore and spoke up.

"Wha-!? YOU!?" Skull said as Draconis huffed and swore while he spoke up.

"Son of a bitch! I KNEW my instincts were screaming at me for a reason! What do you want, Crow!? Here to finish what you started!?" Draconis spat irately at Crow while Oracle gasped and spoke up.

"CROW!? Why's he here!?" Oracle said as Crow scoffed at the question and spoke up.

"Isn't it obvious, Oracle? I'm here right now in order to, as Draconis put it, finish what I started. That said, hmph, not bad. I'm impressed that you managed to deceive me. It seems I underestimated your abilities." Crow replied bluntly before focusing squarely on Joker as he kept speaking.

"And as for you, Joker. You truly are interesting to me. You're quiet, yet you possess the courage and determination to take action. It's too bad. Under different circumstances, we could have been great rivals, possibly even legitimate allies, or perhaps even friends." Crow said as Joker scoffed and spoke up.

"Really? I was under the impression that you and I were already rivals, Crow." Joker said as Draconis scoffed and spoke up.

"Maybe in your mind, Joker. But somehow I doubt Crow sees it that way in his mind." Draconis said dryly. Crow chuckled at Joker and Draconis' responses and spoke up.

"Tch! Ahahahaha! How wonderful! You don't allow yourself to be enslaved by such things as human relations or past selves. Nor do you have any such restrictions on adding to your ranks to replace those you lose." Crow said before smirking as he turned to a stunned Sumi as he kept speaking, an almost-feral grin on his face as he spoke.

"Isn't that right, Yoshizawa-san!?" Crow said, making Sumi, Oracle and Mona gasp at how easily Crow had recognized Sumi. Sumi blinked and spoke up.

"Wh-What!? I know not who this Yoshizawa-san is that you speak of, Crow." Sumi said meekly, in a feeble attempt to try and trick Crow, but he laughed and spoke up.

"Please! Don't think such a pitiful bluff will fool me! I know full well you're Joker's girlfriend! Just like I also know that Joker fooled me into thinking he was dead!" Crow said as he smirked and kept speaking.

"I'm impressed. Though you're backed into a corner, you still keep on fighting. And so, your heart is always free. The exact opposite of mine. To be honest, I'm envious of you all. Still, I wonder why we couldn't have met a few years earlier, Joker. I think we could have really been good friends if we had." Crow said as Draconis scoffed and spoke up.

"Yeah, sure. And Joker would've totally had time for you while he was busy helping our mom snap me out of the shut-in phase I was in around that time. Don't kid yourself, Crow. You might have been better off if you and Joker had met earlier, but at the same time, I doubt it would've changed much, if anything, of what we've been through to this point." Draconis said as Joker frowned at Crow, getting the sense that Crow truly regrets this turn of events.

Yet, despite that, Joker got the feeling as if he understood Crow even better at that point. At that point, the 'Justice' card appeared in Joker's mind's eye, the 'VIII' becoming an 'IX' to signify that his Justice Confidant link with Crow/Akechi had reached rank 9, though no new skills came from the rank up. Afterwards, Panther frowned at Crow and spoke up.

"Akechi, why do you have to do this? We didn't do anything to you!" Panther said as Crow spoke up, ignoring Panther's question as he spoke.

"But, as much as the subject of what-ifs is interesting, it's no use talking in hypotheticals. That didn't happen in reality, now did it?" Crow said dryly as Queen spoke up, giving Crow a flustered look as she spoke up.

"Akechi! Why are you cooperating with someone like Shido!? Don't you see what this Palace looks like!? His true nature is-" Queen said as Crow chuckled darkly and spoke up, cutting Queen off mid-sentence as he spoke.

"Cooperating? Is that what you think I'm doing? What are you talking about? I don't care for Shido, or this country. All this is to make Masayoshi Shido, the man who is in fact my father, finally acknowledge me. Then, I will exact revenge on him." Crow said cynically as Fox and Draconis both gasped at this reveal, the former speaking up in wide-eyed shock.

"Shido is your father!?" Fox asked as Draconis dryly scoffed and spoke up.

"Of course Shido is Crow's father, Fox! Why doesn't it surprise me that I not only have a power-hungry bastard for a father, but a crazed, murderous traitor for a half-brother!? And here I thought Joker was the one who got shat on by their luck. Since when did it start happening to me!?" Draconis said dryly, ignoring the shocked look on Crow's face at his reveal. Crow chuckled dryly and spoke up.

"Exactly, Draconis. You get it. And Joker, do you remember before how I said to you and Draconis that my mother had been in a relationship with some good-for-nothing man? So, much like Draconis over there, I'm his bastard child. Both my existence, and that of Draconis, are nothing more than a pair of potential scandals waiting to happen. Besides, my mother's life turned for the worse after she had me. Over time, her health slowly worsened, she got sick, and then she died. I was a cursed child for her, too." Crow said as Panther winced and spoke up.

"That's horrible, Crow." Panther said as Crow nodded and spoke up.

"Precisely. I resented him, but he was already a high-ranking official by then. A kid like me could do nothing." Crow said as Draconis scoffed and spoke up.

"Maybe so, but surely that's not a reason to turn to a life of crime?" Draconis asked Crow, an unreadable look on his face as Crow dryly chuckled and spoke up.

"Does it matter!? All that matters is my revenge! But, back to what I was saying, that's when it happened!" Crow said, throwing his arms up and chuckling maniacally as he kept speaking, his face shifting so he had an almost crazed look while he kept speaking.

"That's when I learned about the cognitive world! Someone, be it god or demon, gave me a chance! I couldn't contain my laughter!" Crow said as Draconis spoke up.

"And you didn't think it was suspect that you were given this power out of nowhere, Crow!? I get you were ecstatic at the chance to possibly get your own back, but weren't you worried that such a power might have a steep price to pay for it!?" Draconis asked Crow as Skull swore and spoke up.

"Crow, you son of a bitch!" Skull said bitterly as Crow scoffed at Draconis' question and spoke up.

"Maybe you're right, Draconis. But who cares? My targets were all doing the same damn thing in this eat or be eaten world. All I did was remove their evil from society. How is that ANY different from the Phantom Thieves?" Crow said as Panther frowned and spoke up angrily.

"For starters, WE'RE NOT MURDERERS!" Panther said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"What Panther said! Also, we don't resort to such petty tactics as setting traps for others! We confront our problems head on, rather than use cowardly tactics to deal with them!" Draconis said huffily as he crossed his arms and glared at Crow, who scoffed and spoke up.

"Be that as it may Draconis, that's irrelevant. And Panther, SO WHAT!? It doesn't matter! Masayoshi Shido is finally within my grasp! Once he reaches the apex of his power and acknowledges me, I'm going to whisper in his ear when he least expects it. And, I will tell him the truth of who I really am! And that's when I-an utter disgrace to the world-will rule over him. I WILL PREVAIL!" Crow said as Fox frowned and spoke up.

"What a warped thought process you have, Crow. It's almost pitiable." Fox said as Draconis scoffed and spoke up.

"What!? Crow's thought process isn't pitiable, Fox! If anything, it's pathetic! Sure, Crow arguably got done as dirty as myself or Joker, if not dirtier. But even so, that's not an excuse to sell us out the way he did!" Draconis said before glaring at Crow, his voice raising slightly as he kept speaking, his eyes seeming to slightly glow with rage as he spoke.

"NOR IS IT AN EXCUSE TO TRY AND MURDER OUR LEADER, JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE SOME SORT OF GRUDGE AGAINST HIM! There are far better ways to settle such things than merely resorting to attempted murder, after all. For one, you and he could've fought it out like men! I've no doubt Joker would've granted you a full duel, had you asked! And why, you may ask? Because he's already agreed to do so before!" Draconis said as Crow gave Draconis a shocked look, making Draconis chuckle darkly as he spoke up.

"Don't look so surprised, Crow. I know all about the time you lured Joker into Mementos to try and fight him to the death! Luckily for both of you, you had the sense to know when to stop on that occasion! I get that you hate him, but surely you don't hate him enough to want him dead, right?" Draconis said. Crow scoffed at Draconis and spoke up, his tone dripping rage as he spoke.

"So what!? Yes, I fought Joker once in Mementos! But unfortunately for me, Joker came out on top that day! Much like he came out on top when I tried to kill him the day of his interrogation! Time and again, Joker always finds a way to mess up my plans! In just a few weeks, my plan would have come to fruition had nothing gone wrong. But noooo, you just had to interfere! But it doesn't matter anymore! I can still take it back, though. I'll just need to kill you all first." Crow said as Mona scoffed at that and spoke up.

"Sure, Crow. Whatever you say. Hmph, we won't get killed for something like that. You talk big, but you're really nothing more than a little kid throwing a temper tantrum!" Mona said as Crow growled at Mona and spoke up, not seeing or ignoring the trio of outraged glares his next comment would get from Joker, Skull, and Draconis, focusing solely on the not-cat at that point.

"Don't lecture me, you piece of shit! You're just a cat! What would someone like YOU know about me!? I am going to personally thrust Masayoshi Shido into a living hell." Crow said, before turning to face Joker as he spoke up.

"So, Joker, do me a favor, would you? Give it up! Just rest easy and die." Crow said as Draconis frowned at this and spoke up.

"Oh, please. Like a cowardly little piss-ant like YOU even has the balls to actually kill us all. I could see you having the balls to possibly finish off Joker, but I doubt you'd get farther than that before the rest of us tore you apart for taking our leader from us! So stop kidding yourself, Crow!" Draconis said irately as Joker gave him a warning look, making Draconis huff but wisely quiet down as Joker spoke up.

"If you say so, Crow. If you think you can do it, then let's finish this." Joker said bluntly, fed up with Crow antagonizing the rest of the group. Crow chuckled and nodded as he spoke up.

"Heh, I agree. There is no need to speak any longer." Crow said as Skull scoffed and spoke up.

"You sure sound confident, but don't go pressin' your luck. We already know all your tricks from back when you were workin' with us." Skull said as Crow scoffed and spoke up, looking at Joker as he spoke up.

"Joker, for shame. Tell me, how could you be so successful while having such an idiot as your partner?" Crow said snidely as Skull huffed and spoke up.

"Huh? Quit bluffin'!" Skull said as Draconis spoke up with a frown.

"Tch! Like you have room to be insulting Skull like that, much less Mona! As I recall, you were the one who had to come crawling to me so you could have yourself a Showtime while you were working with us." Draconis said as Queen spoke up.

"Be that as it may Draconis, I disagree with Skull. What Crow just said? That's no bluff. If he truly is behind the mental shutdowns, he's likely only shown us a fraction of his strength." Queen said as Crow chuckled darkly and spoke up.

"Very perceptive, Queen. I'll tell you all about my true power, in detail, while you die. You can take that knowledge with you to the grave." Crow said darkly as a pair of strong Shadows spawned in next to Crow, who looked at the Shadows and spoke up darkly.

"Kill them!" Crow said as the Shadows shifted forms into a white-clad warrior wielding a spear and a giant white lion, as the battle started! At the start, Crow spoke up.

"The mental shutdowns aren't the only incidents people are talking about. There are also the breakdowns which cause people to turn psychotic, creating accidents and scandals across Tokyo." Crow said as the group had flashbacks to the various shutdown incidents they'd heard about up to that point. Crow then kept speaking.

"And those cannot be explained unless the true culprit has the power to make people's hearts psychotic as well." Crow said before chuckling evilly as he kept speaking.

"Heh, that's right! It's my power, and it's one that you don't have!" Crow said mockingly as Oracle frowned and spoke up.

"He's gonna try something, you guys! Be careful!" Futaba said as Crow smirked and spoke up.

"Rather than explain it, allow me to show you! PERSONA!" Crow said as the form of a different Persona manifested behind Crow, being little more than a silhouette with a big sword and an evil-looking expression. Oracle's eyes widened as she spoke up.

"Wait, hold up. What was that!? That wasn't Robin Hood, you guys. Could it have been a different Persona?" Oracle asked as Draconis spoke up.

"Probably. It would track Crow probably has a separate Persona he uses for his alter-ego, assuming my theory about that is correct, anyways." Draconis said as Crow smirked and spoke up.

"Heh, even the feeblest existence can gain tremendous power once the chains on its heart are broken. That said, you'd better not underestimate these two." Crow said as he leapt away to let the now-frenzied Shadows deal with the group. Oracle gasped as she looked at the Shadows and spoke up.

"No way! What did Crow do!? The enemies are WAY stronger now!" Oracle said as the battle started. At that point, Draconis and Joker strode forward and spoke up.

"SCATHACH/THAILOG! COME FORTH/REVEAL THYSELF!" Joker and Draconis called out as they summoned out their current Personas. Scathach and Thailog nodded and charged forward, fists/sword brandished as they attacked the frenzied Shadows, dealing tremendous damage to the two. At that point, Skull and Mona nodded and spoke up.

"SEITEN TAISEI!/ZORRO! LET 'EM HAVE IT!/SHOW YOUR MIGHT!" Mona and Skull said as they summoned their Personas. Seiten Taisei and Zorro nodded as they brandished their staff/rapier and created a mixed thunder cyclone which surged forward, tearing into the enemies for massive damage, after which the rest of the group stepped forward and summoned their Personas, working together to eventually destroy the two Shadows. After that, Crow scoffed and leapt back into battle while speaking up darkly.

"Tch, well done. You're stronger than I gave you credit for, it seems." Crow said as Oracle blinked and spoke up.

"Huh? The power to turn people psychotic can be used on more than just Shadows? He used it on actual people too? Wow, this guy's out of his mind at this point!" Oracle said as Draconis looked at Oracle and spoke up.

"No, he's just massively distorted by thoughts of anger, resentment, and various other negative emotions. Let's be fair here. Unlike us, Crow hasn't really had anyone in his life he could lean on for support, and thus had no reason to turn away from the call of his inner darkness. So I'm not surprised that he instead embraced it. To be frank, had I not met all of you when I did, I don't doubt I could've ended up the same as Crow at some point down the line. So while I despise what he's done, I also empathize with what he's been through to a point. However, that does NOT excuse what he's done at all." Draconis said as Crow darkly chuckled and spoke up.

"So you say, Draconis. To be honest? Of course I didn't expect the lot of you to be defeated by the likes of them. Especially you, Joker. You have deceived me and escaped death, after all. That said, despite the advice Draconis gave me to the contrary, I wouldn't give up my chance to massacre you with my own two hands, especially when it's right here in front of me, ripe for the taking!" Crow said as Joker huffed and spoke up.

"If you think you're man enough to actually do it, then go right ahead, Crow." Joker said as Drcaonis frowned and spoke up.

"That is, provided you can get past all of us first! You see, unlike you, we aren't afraid to risk ourselves to protect others! Especially each other! I know you won't have a frame of reference to truly appreciate such a concept, but for us in the Phantom Thieves? We consider each other as good as family, and have one another's backs! Even if we end up at each other's throats at times, or let our tempers/egos get the better of us.

In the end, when push comes to shove, we're still willing to be there for one another. And that gives us a strength that a cowardly sociopath like YOU could never hope to match, Crow! So if you think you can take us all down, then BRING IT ON!" Draconis said threateningly as Oracle frowned and spoke up.

"Well said, Draconis! He's coming at us, though! Brace yourselves!" Oracle said as the next phase of the battle began! At that point, all of the Thieves stepped up to join Joker on the battlefield. As one, the entire group spoke up.

"SCATHACH!/ZORRO!/SEITEN TAISEI!/THAILOG!/HECATE!/GOEMON!/JOHANNA!/MILADY!/CENDRILLION! ATTACK!" The group all said as one, with their respective Personas appearing as one and nodding, all taking turns charging at Crow, pelting him with torrents of their respective elements, or with physical/Almighty damage in the cases of Scathach and Thailog. After all the attacks landed, a massively damaged Crow huffed at the group as he spoke up.

"Ngh, that was actually pretty powerful! Damn it! How could I underestimate you all?" Crow said before chuckling as he smirked at Joker and spoke up.

"Heh, I see! So none of us had shown our true strengths as yet, huh, Phantom Thieves!? That said, let me warn you on one thing. DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME!" Crow said as he reached for his mask and spoke up angrily.

"ROBIN HOOD! KILL THEM! PERSONA!" Crow said as Robin Hood appeared and fired a charged-up Megidolaon at the group, clocking quite a bit of damage. After the group winced and skidded back from the burst of Almighty energy, Draconis frowned at Crow and spoke up.

"Tell me, Crow. You say you're better than us. But have you ever stopped to consider the power of a united group assault!? I'd like to think you got a taste of it earlier when all of our Personas charged towards you as one. But what if you were hit with an even stronger power!?" Draconis said as he pointed a hand at Crow, the Star held in said hand, glowing when Draconis turned to the other Thieves as he spoke up.

"GUYS! I know this cowardly worm might technically be one of us still, but after what he put most of us through!? I think we should teach him a lesson, TOGETHER! WHO'S WITH ME!?" Draconis said as the others nodded in unison and spoke up as one. *3*

"HA! IT'S SHOWTIME!" Joker, Skull, Mona, Draconis, Panther, Fox, Queen, Oracle, Noir, and Sumi all said at once as their group Showtime began.

"LET'S BRING OUR POWERS TOGETHER! NOW! FOCUS ON YOUR ARCANA!" Draconis called out as Joker nodded and spoke up to start it off.

"Got it! POWER OF THE FOOL!" Joker called out, causing a flash of solid red to happen as a sphere of energy appeared in front of Joker as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"My turn! POWER OF THE MAGICIAN!" Mona called out as a wave of teal-green energy wrapped around the sphere, enlarging it as Queen spoke up.

"How about this!? POWER OF HIGH PRIESTESS!" Queen called out as a dark-blue wave of energy wrapped itself around the sphere, making it grow as Noir spoke up.

"Now for me! POWER OF THE EMPRESS!" Noir said, as a purple flash of light wrapped around the sphere and enlarged it still further. Fox then spoke up.

"Let me contribute to this artistic masterpiece! POWER OF THE EMPEROR!" Fox said as a light-blue wave of energy wrapped around the growing sphere, making it grow ever larger as Panther spoke up at that point.

"Let me get in on this! POWER OF THE LOVERS!" Panther said as a pink wave of energy wrapped around the sphere, making it grow larger as Skull spoke up.

"Heh, get a load of this! POWER OF THE CHARIOT!" Skull said as a yellow wave of energy wrapped around the sphere making it grow larger as Oracle smiled and spoke up.

"Mwehehe, that's my cue! POWER OF HERMIT!" Oracle said as at that moment, a solid green wave of energy flowed from Oracle's bodysuit and wrapped around the growing sphere, making it even larger while Sumi smiled and spoke up.

"Ah, and here's my turn to power this up! POWER OF FAITH!" Sumi said as a flash of bright red energy wrapped around the sphere, which was now rather massive as Draconis grinned and stepped back up to speak up.

"And now for me to put the finishing touches on! HA! POWER OF THE WORLD!" Draconis said as a dark-green wave of energy flowed from his staff into the sphere, making it flash the color of a rainbow as Draconis smirked and primed a throwing knife.

"Perfect, it's ready! HA!" Draconis said, tossing the throwing knife at the sphere, which was surprisingly absorbed into the throwing knife, causing the blade to extend outwards until it was the size of a two-handed sword, the blade flashing all the colors of the rainbow as Draconis grinned and hefted the blade while speaking up.

"You see, Crow, there's a saying that people have. It goes like this. What goes around, comes around! And now, you will be defeated by the very power you so sought to destroy! I, for one, find the poetic irony of it rather palpable!" Draconis said as he lifted the blade up and pointed it at Crow as he kept speaking.

"HA! And now to finish you! ARCANA STRIKE!" Draconis said as he leapt up into the air and swung the multi-colored blade at Crow, making a wave of rainbow energy slam straight into the stunned former Phantom Thief, causing him to fly backwards onto his back, making him grunt from the impact, making Draconis frown at Crow as he spoke up after sticking the blade into the ground and walking over to Crow and speaking up, thus ending the Showtime.

"HOW'S THAT!? HAD ENOUGH YET!? Or are you still going to persist in this feeble attempt at fighting us, Crow?" Draconis said as Crow frowned at Draconis defiantly before sneering at him as he struggled up to a knee and glared at the group as he spoke up after the battle paused once more.

"Tch! Damn it to hell!" Crow said sullenly while staying in a kneeling position as Mona frowned and spoke up.

"So, he's able to turn people psychotic, is he? I thought it was some special thing like the Nav, but it seems to be his own Persona's power." Mona said as Queen frowned and spoke up, giving Crow a pitying look as she spoke.

"I can't believe that the ability to control and drive others mad was born from within his heart, of all places." Queen said as Crow growled angrily as he struggled to get to his feet, eventually slamming his hands to the ground as he spoke up angrily.

"Tch! I'll kill you all, you hear me!? You're all gonna die!" Crow said stubbornly as Panther frowned at Crow and spoke up.

"Crow! Will you please stop!? You're fighting the wrong people! We both hate the same guy! Why do we have to go against each other!?" Panther said as Queen spoke up.

"Crow, surely you must realize in your heart that killing us won't make you happy." Queen said as Crow frowned at that and spoke up.

"But that's a lie! I have nothing else left aside from my revenge! As Draconis so aptly pointed out, I've had no one I could call a close friend my entire life, so why would I stop now, when I have a chance to prove myself better than you all!?" Crow said as Skull spoke up pleadingly.

"Crow! Listen to me! This ain't about what Shido says! You're your own person! You gotta know that!" Skull said as Draconis spoke up at that point.

"I think he does, Skull. But at the same time, he's so far consumed with hatred and bitterness, as well as a number of other things, I don't know that we can reason with him. Which is a shame, since for as much as I gave him shit for most of the time I've known him, I also have respect for him, since he never backs down from his beliefs or views, even if those views often put him and us at odds." Draconis said before looking at Crow while he kept speaking.

"Crow! No, not Crow. AKECHI! Listen to me! I know you've had a shitty lot in life, but killing us isn't gonna solve anything! As I said before, I used to be like you in that I too was full of bitterness, resentment and hatred, all because I foolishly thought everyone around me only wanted me around because I was Joker's little brother! But now I realize that they appreciate me for who I am, and I have a great deal of respect and fondness for all of these guys next to me!

Even if some of them drive me up the wall at times with their buffoonery. Despite that, I love them all like brothers and sisters, aside from Oracle, who is my beloved girlfriend! And I think deep down, if you'd let go of that festering hatred and resentment, you could realize that we all want to be your friends, even after what you've done to us! Sure, a lot of it is essentially unforgivable, but that doesn't mean we can't try to still leave the past in the past and move forward while starting over.

So Akechi, please! Let go of those negative emotions and let us give your life meaning, won't you? As much as I might despise your actions and your attitude, I respect you as a person. And I'd rather not be on bad terms with either of my half-brothers if I can help it. So what do you say, Crow? Let bygones be bygones?" Draconis said, extending a hand out to Crow, who scoffed and swatted it away as he spoke up angrily.

"Damn it all to the deepest part of hell! Why? Why can't I beat you?" Crow said as Oracle spoke up at that point.

"You know, it's funny. Sometimes I think about that fake Medjed that you guys made up to set us up, and I cringe. To be honest, it was the worst sort of trap to set. But if not for that trap, and for the persistent efforts of these guys, I don't think I'd be here right now. Uhh, basically what I'm trying to say is this. It might seem bleak and hopeless to you, but it doesn't matter where you start over! You can still toss all of this away and start over. You don't have to let your negative emotions rule you, Crow." Oracle said as Mona winced and spoke up, knowing his next words might strike a nerve but needing to say them regardless.

"And, whether you want to hear this or not, I think you need to hear it. Crow, you don't really hate Joker, do you? That smile before we fought just now, isn't that how you really feel?" Mona said as Crow looked up and spoke up in surprise.

"What!? What are you all talking about? Who says I want your help? OR YOUR PITY?" Crow said as Mona spoke up while wincing.

"Be that as it may Crow, follow your true feelings! Even if you think people hate you, or don't want you around, that's-" Mona said as Crow growled and spoke up heatedly.

"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP! Teammates!? Friends!? TO HELL WITH THAT! WHY AM I INFERIOR TO YOU!? I was extremely particular about my life, my grades, and even my public image, all so someone would want me around! I am an ace detective of justice! A celebrity!" Crow said as Noir sighed and spoke up at that point.

"Akechi-kun. You really are hurting deeply, aren't you? I know that the sweet and considerate person that you were when I first met you is still there. The charming, coy, and considerate gentleman who was there for me and stood up against those who spoke out against me. And, I saw you watching us and getting outraged at what we went through to get here, even if you won't admit to it. But what I want you to know most is this. Even despite what you've done, there's a part of me that truly respects and appreciates you. So you're not alone, Akechi-kun. Between myself, Draconis, and the others, we can help you try to heal from your pain. But you have to be willing to drop your guard and hatred long enough to let us help you." Noir said as Crow frowned at this and spoke up.

"Noir. I'm sorry, but even if you were trying to say you have a crush on me, I don't see how we could work out as a couple after what I've done." Crow said regretfully to Noir before turning to Joker and speaking up heatedly.

"But you, Joker! You're just some criminal trash living in an attic! So, how then? HOW DOES SOMEONE LIKE YOU HAVE THINGS I DON'T!?" Crow snarled as Sumi winced at this and spoke up.

"Crow-senpai, I had no idea you felt this way about Joker-senpai." Sumi said as Crow kept speaking.

"Of course I do! HOW CAN SUCH A WORTHLESS PIECE OF TRASH BE MORE SPECIAL THAN ME!?" Crow said as Draconis spoke up at that point.

"What did you just call Joker, Crow!? If anyone's trash here, it's you! You keep taking our attempts to reach out to you and help you and throwing them away!" Draconis said as Joker gave him a warning look, making Draconis huff but quiet down as Joker spoke up.

"Crow, that's not the case at all. I know it might seem like I have it better than you, but I really don't. As you said, I live out of an attic with Draconis and Mona, with most of Shujin, and probably most of Tokyo by now, thinking the worst of me because of a criminal record I didn't even earn. But unlike you, I don't let it get to me since I know I didn't do what I was accused of. So if I can overcome my struggles and circumstances, Crow, so can you!" Joker said firmly. Crow scoffed at Joker and spoke up while laughing sardonically.

"Heh, is that supposed to be your attempt at pity? YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Crow said as he flailed his arms in front of him, a flash of black washing over him to show a more imposing figure in Crow's place for a moment, making Queen and Draconis both gasp as the former spoke up.

"What was that!?" Queen asked as Draconis frowned and spoke up.

"Given the silhouette we just saw, I think we're about to finally meet the one we've been calling the Black Mask!" Draconis said before glaring at Crow as he kept speaking, feeling his body start to shake with a mix of fear, anxiety, and even anger.

"AREN'T WE, CROW! THIS WHOLE TIME, YOU'VE BEEN THE BASTARD THAT MADE A FOOL OF ME THE DAY I TRIED AND FAILED TO PROTECT NOIR'S FATHER FROM YOU, HAVEN'T YOU!?" Draconis asked, startling Oracle and Sumi, who happened to be standing the closest to him, when his eyes started flashing yellow briefly. Fox blinked at what the group had seen and spoke up.

"Wha-!? A black mask!" Fox said as the group, or at least the ones who were there for said flashbacks, flashed back to the times that Madarame had mentioned the Black Mask. At that point, Mona gasped and spoke up.

"No! Then what Kaneshiro said before after we defeated him about a criminal in a black mask, was he talking about you!?" Mona said as the flashback of Kaneshiro warning the group about the Black Mask played. After it finished playing, Queen frowned at Crow and spoke up.

"So, it's true! You were behind the mental shutdowns after all, Crow!" Queen said as Crow laughed maniacally and spoke up.

"Oh, this is great! You all know more about me than I thought! Especially you, Draconis! I'm surprised. This is actually a first for me, you know. I might even have to try my hardest against you." Crow said as Draconis frowned and spoke up.

"And somehow, that's when I get the most uneasy around you. The idea that you've not been giving it your all thus far unnerves me, Crow." Draconis said as Crow smirked and spoke up.

"That's the point, Draconis! Heh, you know something? I just came up with a fun little idea of sorts. Heh, I wonder how far I can go with this idea." Crow said as Queen frowned in concern and spoke up.

"Fun?" Queen said, but Crow ignored her to focus on Joker and Draconis in particular as he kept speaking.

"Heh, neither of you are satisfied with where we left it either, are you? Isn't this what you really wanted? Joker, you and I are going to strike and strike again until one of us is dead! TO HELL WITH HOLDING BACK! Ah, so delicious. Just picturing it sends chills down my spine right now. Heh, what Shido thinks of me? Haha! I don't give a shit what that bastard thinks of me! All I care about now, is KILLING! YOU! And why do I want to kill you, you might ask? Easy! To prove that I'm better than you!" Crow said maniacally as he stood up, massive waves of energy rippling off of him, the waves pushing the group further back as he spoke up evilly.

"Here, feast your eyes! I'll show you all who I really am!" Crow said before arcing back and laughing maniacally as he practically shouted the next two words he spoke.

"COME! LOOOOKKKKKIIIIIII!" Crow said as a massive wave of red energy shot up from where he was standing as a being with long dreads, an ominous-looking white and black body, and a massive sword appeared, giving the group a threatening gaze as Fox spoke up in shock.

"Again! It's that Persona!" Fox said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed! This confirms there's more to Crow than meets the eye." Draconis said grimly as Crow smirked and spoke up.

"Very perceptive, Draconis! Behold my true form! HAAAAAAA!" Crow said, discarding the form of Crow as a wave of black and white energy washed over him, making Noir frown and speak up.

"What's going on!?" Noir asked in shock as Akechi, no longer in his Phantom Thief attire, laughed cynically and spoke up.

"HA! Justice? Righteous!? Keep that shit to yourselves! You and your teammates piss me off!" Akechi said as his previous attire was replaced with a black and blue body suit that had a black flowing cape, and his previous mask was replaced by a black helmet in the shape of a raven, making Draconis gasp in recognition before growling as his eyes flashed full yellow and he hefted his staff and spoke up in a tone laced with a mix of rage, hatred, and cynicism, ignoring the horrified looks the others had at seeing Draconis actually lose it, and realizing for themselves that Joker wasn't kidding when he said it wasn't pretty to witness as Draconis spoke, his words practically dripping venom and hatred.

"YOU LOW-LIFE SON OF A BITCH! I KNEW IT! YOU'RE THE BLACK MASK! AKECHI, YOU BASTARD! I WILL END YOU!" Draconis said, charging forward as Akechi scoffed and spoke up.

"You? End me!? Laughable! LOKI! GET RID OF THIS PEST!" Akechi said as Loki waved his arm and his sword moved forward to intercept Draconis' staff, the force of the sword gradually straining on the staff until it started cracking and eventually broke clean in half, the pieces dropping harmlessly to the ground and dissolving into black mist as an amused Akechi laughed at the now disarmed Draconis and spoke up, finding the look of stunned disbelief and horror on Draconis' face truly amusing.

"As I expected! YOU'RE WEAK! YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO DEFEAT ME! NOW BEGONE, YOU FOOL!" Akechi said angrily as Loki lifted a hand to lift a stunned Draconis up, aiming him at the area behind where Akechi was standing and unleashing his power, sending a wide-eyed Draconis flying past Akechi, flying towards the window in the cleaner's former quarters, making Draconis swear profusely as he instinctively threw his arm down to slow his backwards flight, ultimately managing to get enough grounding to stop his backwards flight, causing him to eventually crash to the ground behind him with an audible thud, skidding to a rolling halt as he hit the ground and groaned as he laid on the ground in the room that the cleaner had been in, cradling the arm that he'd used to stop his momentum to his chest and wincing in slight discomfort while struggling to get up as Mona, Sumi, and Oracle gasped and spoke up at the same time.

"OH! DRACONIS!" Mona, Sumi, and Oracle said as they raced past Akechi to Draconis' side. As they reached him, Oracle looked at Draconis and spoke up.

"Draconis? Speak to me." Oracle said as Draconis weakly lifted his head to speak up.

"O-Oracle? Is that you?" Draconis asked as Oracle nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah, it's me. You look like you were hurt badly!" Oracle said as Draconis gently took Oracle's hand in his own, giving it a reassuring squeeze as he smiled at Oracle and spoke up, looking into her eyes as he spoke.

"I'll be fine, after a bit of rest. I was able to absorb most of the impact, but I think I snapped my left arm doing so, since I heard something crack in it as I landed. But I suppose that's what I get for being arrogant and trying to challenge someone I had no business trying to take on alone. But never mind how much of a stupid hothead I was back there. There's something more important to address now. Oracle, listen to me." Draconis said as he gently pushed something into a confused Oracle's palm and spoke up.

"I know we've been training you on the sly for some time now, but I think now is the time for you to put that training to the test. Use this weapon and help the others stop the Black Mask! Only by working together can you guys do it! Now go, my love. Go back and help the others! Leave me to rest." Draconis said as Oracle frowned and made to protest before nodding and speaking up.

"Very well, Draconis. As you wish. You'd better find your way back to me eventually, you hear me!?" Oracle said as Draconis nodded his understanding before his head slumped over and he passed out. Sumi and Mona both patted a devastated Oracle comfortingly on the shoulders as they spoke up.

"Oracle, we have to get back to the others. I don't know what Draconis gave you, but we have to trust it'll be strong enough to stop Akechi, or the Black Mask as we now know him to be. Let's go." Mona said as Sumi spoke up after turning away from the unconscious Draconis.

"Oracle-chan, I know how you feel right now. But we owe it to Draconis to stop Akechi-kun." Sumi said as Oracle nodded and followed Sumi and Mona back to the others where Mona gasped as he saw the sight of Akechi's Black Mask attire and spoke up.

"Wait, no way! HE CAN USE TWO SEPARATE POWERS!? Then everything we've known about Akechi, even his appearance, was a complete fake!" Mona said as Akechi chuckled and spoke up, smirking at Mona mockingly as he spoke.

"Caught on, have you? Took you long enough, you stupid cat! You're going down, here and now! I'll destroy you all! NONE OF YOU WILL LEAVE HERE ALIVE! Come, GO DOWN WITH ME!" Akechi said as Panther gasped and spoke up.

"No way! What's going on!?" Panther said as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"Gah! That bastard didn't do what I think he did? He made himself go psychotic! And given his outburst just now, I think he used that power on Draconis as well without meaning to." Skull said. Akechi then threw his head back and laughed psychotically as he spoke up.

"HA! Now, let's see you drop dead one at a time, in front of your precious friends! That fool Draconis was the first, since he made the mistake of trying to challenge me." Akechi said evilly as Oracle huffed and spoke up.

"HOW DARE YOU? Draconis is a lot of things, but he is NOT a fool! If anything, you're the fool here, for thinking you know him at all! He used the last of his strength to entrust this to me! So now I think it's time I put it to the test!" Oracle said as she revealed the object that Draconis had pressed into her palm, which was a golden hilt, oddly enough. However, when she hit the emerald-colored button on the hilt, twin blades of green light, similar to the shade of green on her bodysuit, sprung forth from either end of the hilt as the blades came to life. Oracle blinked and spoke up.

"Oh! It actually activated this time! Nice! Ready, Akechi!? Me and the others are going to do something about that twisted heart of yours! And we're gonna do it for Draconis!" Oracle said as Mona spoke up while Oracle joined Mona, Skull and Joker on the front lines.

"Oracle, I don't think he can hear you. Dammit, he's lost it! Here it comes!" Mona said as Akechi smiled crazily at the group as he lunged forward, yelling one word.

"DIIIIIIIIIE!" Akechi screamed out as the group's fight against the Black Mask started! At the start of the battle, Akechi brandished his own blade and spoke up.

"Trash of society, hear me! I will kill you! Destroy you! Crush you all into powder! TEAMMATES ARE NOTHING BUT TRASH!" Akechi said as Oracle spoke up at that point.

"That new Persona of Akechi's power is unknown. Everyone, be on your guard! Mona, you handle the navigation for this fight!" Oracle said as the fight began! Joker, Skull and Fox nodded as they spoke up in tandem.

"SCATHACH/SEITEN TAISEI/GOEMON! ATTACK!/LET 'EM HAVE IT!/STRIKE!" Fox, Skull and Joker said as they summoned their strongest Personas, who nodded as they triple-teamed Akechi, Seiten Taisei and Goemon slamming their weapons full-force into him as Scathach aimed a charged-up burst of Curse energy at Akechi, slamming it into him for respectable damage, even despite the clear signs he resisted Curse. After the triple attack, Oracle spoke up with a glare.

"And now it's MY turn! OH WISE PROPHET WHO SEES ALL, THE TIME HAS COME! SHOW YOURSELF, NOSTRADAMUS!" Oracle said as she summoned her combat-specced Persona in Nostradamus, who nodded as he waved his wand at Akechi, hitting him with a high-output torrent of electricity, making him wince as he glared at the group and spoke up.

"Ugh, damn you! You're all just a bunch of pieces of shit, who gather together and lick each other's wounds clean as a group! Anything goes according to you, if you say you're teammates! Look how far that got you when you fell right into our trap!" Akechi said as Sumi, Panther and Queen spoke up.

"OUR TURN! CHARGE, JOHANNA!/DANCE, HECATE!/GO FORTH, CENDRILLION! ATTACK!" Queen, Panther, and Sumi all said as one, with their respective Personas nodding and unleashing their strongest moves, clocking a sizable chunk of damage on Akechi, who glared at the group and spoke up once more.

"Why are you bastards looking at me like that, with such pity and judgement in your gazes!? I've succeeded until now, and I've done it all by myself, with no help from anyone! I don't need you! I don't need teammates! And I especially don't need any more family that hates me!" Akechi said as he glared at Joker. After that, Mona glared at Akechi and spoke up after Oracle slashed her double-edged beam sword at Loki to distract Akechi while Mona spoke up.

"How dare you call me a cat, Akechi!? I AM NOT A CAT! COME, ZORRO! Show this fool your might!" Mona said as Zorro nodded, appearing and hitting Akechi with a giant cyclone he whipped up from his sword, making Akechi be lifted into the air and then slammed hard into the ground. As he landed, Panther looked at Mona and spoke up.

"Since he insulted you directly, shall we finish him together?" Panther asked Mona, who nodded as he spoke up.

"Sounds good to me, Panther!" Mona said as Panther and Mona spoke up in unison.

"IT'S SHOWTIME!" Panther and Mona said as their Showtime started!

"Panther, this is how I really feel!" Mona said as he produced a bouquet of roses for Panther, who smiled and spoke up at that point.

"Wow, thanks! SUCH GREAT TASTE!" Panther said as she produced her SMGs from inside the bouquet, taking aim at a horrified Akechi as she started firing rapidly at him, spinning in a circle at first before she and Mona leapt into the air and spoke up.

"That was for you!" Panther said as Mona hefted a bomb and spoke up.

"AND HERE'S THE BULLET!" Mona said as he tossed the bomb down towards the stunned Akechi, where it exploded in his face, as Panther and Mona landed and fist-bumped and spoke up.

"WOO-HOO! GOT 'EM!" Mona and Panther said as Akechi groaned before staggering and slowly falling forward face-first and crashing to the ground, where he lay unmoving, to end the battle. From the ensuing EXP gain, Queen hit level 63. After the battle, Akechi groaned as he struggled to his feet while Skull sighed and spoke up.

"You ready to call it quits?" Skull asked Akechi, who frowned but reluctantly nodded as he spoke up.

"I know when I've been beaten. I also know I've had enough. Joker, you're so lucky. Lucky to be surrounded with friends like them. To be surrounded by teammates who acknowledge you as an equal and support you no matter what. And once Shido confesses his crimes, you'll all be heroes. As for me, people will find out my past deductions were nothing more than just charade. My fame and trust will vanish." Akechi said while chuckling weakly as Mona spoke up.

"Oh? I see. So you were turning people psychotic, then solving the cases yourself. And you did that by joining forces with Shido." Mona said as Akechi chuckled darkly and spoke up.

"It's true. In the end, it was meaningless. I couldn't be special after all, as it turns out." Akechi said as Skull looked at Akechi and spoke up.

"Dude, you're more than special. You do realize that, right?" Skull said as Queen winced and spoke up.

"It pains me to admit, but Skull's right. You truly are an exceptional combatant. For all that I say otherwise, the truth is that for all that you talk a lot, you have the skills to back it up. Not only were you going toe-to-toe with us, but your wit and strength far exceeds ours. Not only that, but as Draconis unfortunately demonstrated, you are far superior to any one of us in a one-on-one clash. We only defeated you by teaming up and working together. I was honestly rather envious of your natural ability. It was frustrating to see how much my sister trusted you, Akechi-kun." Queen said as Noir spoke up.

"Akechi-kun. I understand what you did to not only my father, but likely also Oracle's mother. And while I will admit that I find you attractive, that doesn't change the fact that I have no intention of forgiving you for what you did to my father. However, despite that, I sympathize with you. I wholeheartedly understand wanting to get back at the adults who took from you your whole life." Noir said as Fox spoke up grimly.

"Indeed. However, you chose the wrong way to do things. Not only that, but when you gained the power to fulfill that desire, you only used it for your own self-benefit." Fox said as Oracle nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. And Akechi? If you've got more than one Persona, maybe you actually have the same kinda power as Joker's." Oracle said as Joker spoke up.

"Or as yours. I recall you also have more than one Persona, Oracle." Joker said. Oracle nodded and spoke up.

"That's true, I do. But unlike you, my Personas serve two different purposes. On one hand, I have Necronomicon, who serves as my navigation Persona. On the other, I have Nostradamus, who serves as my combat-spec Persona. As for you, Akechi. Even if you have the same power as Joker, you didn't use it properly. Not only did you use it for evil, but you trusted no one, so you only got two Personas. One for your lies, and the other for your hate. Still, you thought that was enough, right? Believe it or not? That part, I totally get." Oracle said as Fox spoke up sincerely.

"You excelled at everything over us, Akechi. Yet despite that, the power of friendship and acceptance was the one thing you lacked. If you want further proof of that, I bring up the moment when you brutally struck Draconis down when he tried reaching out to you as proof. After all, he might have lost it and tried to attack you, but he was pushed pretty far before he got to that point. And you did proceed to smash Draconis rather forcefully into the area behind you as I saw." Fox said as Akechi grunted as he looked at the group but said nothing as Skull spoke up.

"Well, now that that's done, let's go back and get that callin' card ready!" Skull said before looking at Akechi as he kept speaking.

"Akechi, we're gonna take Shido down. What're you gonna do?" Skull asked Akechi as Panther spoke up.

"Even after what you did, it'd be a problem if you kept getting in our way. You wanna come along and help us settle things?" Panther asked as Akechi blinked and spoke up.

"I'm sorry, what? Are you all idiots? You should get rid of me once and for all, especially if you don't want me getting in your way. After all, what's stopping any one of you from ending up like Draconis?" Akechi asked before chuckling in surprise as he spoke up.

"Heh, you know something? You all are truly beyond my comprehension." Akechi said as at that moment, more footsteps were heard as what looked like a second Akechi walked out, making Skull gasp and speak up.

"What the-? Akechi?" Skull said in shock as Fox gasped and spoke up.

"Another one? Wait, is he a cognition?" Fox said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"That's right, Fox. That's Shido's cognitive version of Akechi!" Mona said as the cognitive Akechi laughed and pointed a gun at the kneeling Crow, making Panther gasp as she spoke up.

"Oh! What are you doing!?" Panther asked as the cognitive Akechi spoke up while glaring at Panther.

(A/N: For the purposes of clarification, from here on, the cognitive Akechi will be called Akechi, while the real Akechi will be called Crow)

"Silence! I'll deal with the rest of you later." Akechi said as Crow gasped and spoke up.

"No! Is that truly what Shido thinks of me?" Crow asked as Akechi smirked and spoke up.

"That's right. Captain Shido's orders are absolute. He has no need for losers. Well, no matter. This just moves the plan up a little. He was going to get rid of you after the election, anyway." Akechi said smugly as Crow gaped and spoke up.

"What!?" Crow asked in shock as Akechi spoke up tauntingly.

"Tell me, did you truly believe you'd be spared after all the murders you undertook? Or, don't tell me, did you really make that mistake? Were you actually feeling good about having someone rely on you for once? Oh by the way, the captain says its time you receive retribution for causing the mental shutdowns." Akechi said as Skull huffed and spoke up.

"What the hell, man!? That bastard's the one who put him up to it!" Skull said as Crow got to his feet and chuckled darkly while speaking up.

"Oh? I see how it is. Heheh. I was wondering how he'd protect himself if I used my power to tear through his Palace. Turns out you're how, as it happens. So he's making a puppet kill me in the end. Sounds like something he'd do." Crow said darkly as Akechi nodded and spoke up sycophantically.

"Yes, that's right. I'll do anything for Captain Shido. But look at yourself, you sad waste. You're the true puppet." Akechi said as Crow gasped and spoke up.

"Oh!?" Crow said in surprise as Akechi smirked and spoke up evilly.

"You wanted to be acknowledged, didn't you? To be loved? But the truth is you've been nothing but a puppet from the very beginning." Akechi said tauntingly to Crow as Skull growled and spoke up.

"Urgh! You little piece of shit!" Skull said as Queen gasped and spoke up.

"No! So this sad, pitiful being in front of us. THIS is how Shido thinks of Goro Akechi? It's reprehensible! No, it's too horrible!" Queen said as Noir spoke up.

"It's still not too late, Crow! We can still change his heart together! ALL OF US! Even if he's your father. No, BECAUSE he's your father!" Noir said as Akechi glared at the group and spoke up angrily.

"What's all this nagging about? Want me to take care of you first?" Akechi said threateningly as he summoned a small army of Shadows to back him up as Panther gasped and spoke up.

"No, it can't be! He's not alone! He has Shadows too!" Panther said as Akechi smirked and spoke up.

"You know what? I'm a generous man. I'll let someone volunteer to take his place. Who knows, you might delay his death." Akechi said as Skull growled and spoke up.

"Ugh, damn you to hell!" Skull said as Akechi spoke up with a crazed look on his face.

"You guys are all about doing things for others, aren't you? Oh, that's just the same as me. I'm going to take all the blame for our captain. I'll die for him too." Akechi said as Queen gasped and spoke up.

"No! This is what Shido thinks of Akechi-kun, even after making help with the murders!?" Queen said as Akechi turned to Crow and spoke up tauntingly.

"Here, I'll give you one last chance. Shoot them." Akechi said to Crow, who winced as he heard an echo of some of the words Draconis had previously imparted onto him replay themselves in his mind.

"Crow! I know you likely won't, but if you can, before you do something you'll likely spend the rest of your life regretting, ask yourself this: 'Is what I'm doing worth the likely consequences and amounts of blood you'll have on your hands if you go through with your plans? Also, can you live with yourself if you kill the people who might well understand you the most, namely myself and Joker!?

I believe that deep down, you know the answer to that question. But will you prove me right in the end? Or do you have the backbone and resolve to prove me wrong, Crow?" Crow heard, making his eyes widen as he realized what Draconis was getting at in that moment, making him hesitate on his plan to finish off the group before he chuckled darkly and spoke up in a bitter and slightly remorseful voice.

"Haha, how pitiful. In the end, I was such a fool." Crow said as he pulled a gun as Akechi smiled and spoke up.

"Yes, that's it! That's the you our captain wishes to see." Akechi said as Crow chuckled darkly and spoke up.

"Oh, don't misunderstand. YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S GOING TO DISAPPEAR!" Crow said dynamically as he pointed his gun at Akechi and shot him before firing a bullet at a nearby switch, making a mechanized voice speak up.

"The watertight bulkhead door has closed. All personnel within the partition wall, please evacuate at once." The group heard before a massive wall went up, separating Crow and Akechi from the others, the former of the two unaware of the fact that by putting a wall between him, his cognitive look-a-like, and the others, he had also trapped the unconscious Draconis on the same side of the wall as himself and his cognitive look-a-like. Oracle then gasped and spoke up.

"Whoa, what is this!?" Oracle said as Skull pounded on the wall and spoke up desperately, hoping to reach Crow.

"AKECHI!" Skull said as Crow growled and spoke up.

"What are you waiting for!? Hurry up and go." Crow said as Fox spoke up in shock.

"You fool! Are you trying to get yourself killed!?" Fox asked as Crow darkly chuckled and spoke up.

"Ha! The real fools in all this are you guys. You should have just abandoned me here a long time ago. You would have all perished for certain if you had tried to face these with me weighing you down, and I think you all know it." Crow said as he started coughing, making Queen gasp and speak up.

"CROW-KUN!" Queen said as Crow spoke up weakly.

"Ugh, let's make a deal, okay? You won't say no, will you?" Crow said as Fox frowned and spoke up.

"Why at a time like this!?" Fox asked as Crow spoke up, wincing as he realized an unexpected consequence of his hasty decision to raise the partition wall.

"Change Shido's heart for me. Do it in my stead. And also do it for Draconis, who is no doubt laying back here, unaware of what's going on. End his crimes for the both of us. Please!" Akechi said as Joker frowned and spoke up.

"First of all, Draconis had better be okay back there! Also, I'll hold on to your glove, Crow." Joker said decisively, making Crow gasp as he heard Joker mention the glove he'd thrown at him. Crow chuckled fondly and spoke up.

"Heh, are you for real!? After all this, that's what you have to say? Seriously, you really are something else, Joker. As for Draconis, I'm sure he'll be okay. After all, I saw him use his arm to brace his impact, so he's probably just unconscious and resting off his injuries. So I'm sure if fate has it in store, the two of us will meet up with you once again later on." Crow said solemnly as Joker nodded somberly, realizing in that moment that he could sense a solid bond between himself and Crow/Akechi, as the expected voice spoke up in his head.

"I am thou, thou art I...Thou hast turned a vow into a blood oath. Thy bond shall become the wings of rebellion and break the yoke of thy heart. Thou hast awakened to the ultimate secret of Justice, granting thee infinite power..." Joker heard in his head as the 'Justice' card appeared once more in his mind's eye, the 'IX' becoming an 'X' to signify that his Justice confidant link with Akechi had reached rank 10, which was denoted as 'MAX Rank'.

However, despite the fact Akechi was at MAX Rank, Joker got no new abilities for the rank-up, not even the typical Second Awakening that most Thieves got at MAX Rank. After that, the words 'FUSION UNLOCKED' appeared in front of the 'Justice' card, at the same time that a notification popped up on Ren's phone that he could now fuse 'Metatron', or the most powerful Persona of the Justice arcana. As the group made to leave, they heard Akechi groan in pain and speak up, presumably pointing a gun at Crow as he spoke.

"Ugh, you bastard. How dare you shoot at me?" Akechi said as Crow struggled to his feet and spoke up.

"How ironic. So, my final enemy is a puppet version of myself. How fitting that my end technically comes at my own hand. Even though I know I deserve this for what I've done, I still can't help but hate the fact that it ends like this." Crow said as Noir screamed at that moment.

"CROW-KUN!" Noir said as Panther frowned and spoke up.

"Crap! Isn't there some way to get this open, Mona? After all, Draconis is still trapped back there with Crow and Akechi!" Panther said as at that moment, the sound of two gunshots was heard before one was heard being deflected by a projectile, at which point Oracle frowned and spoke up.

"How odd. I sensed three signals back there for a moment, but now I only sense two. One of the signals is totally gone. I'm only getting two of the signals, plus the signals of the weaklings." Oracle said as the group all gasped, realizing what had most likely happened. Panther gasped as she spoke up.

"No, could it be? Is one of them gone?" Panther asked as Mona frowned and lowered his head solemnly for a moment before lifting it up and speaking up resolutely.

"Come on, you guys! We can't let a rotten criminal like Shido do what he wants any longer! We can't allow him to succeed, no matter what!" Mona said as Skull growled and spoke up.

"Dammit! How could this have happened? How could Crow and/or Draconis be gone?" Skull asked as Queen sighed and spoke up.

"The how and why doesn't matter, sweetie. What matters right now is that we keep going and send that calling card, as Crow asked us to do. As such, we should keep going." Queen said as Noir nodded and spoke up.

"That's true. Crow did entrust us with an important task, after all. And we promised him we'd see it through." Noir said as a stunned and horrified Joker just stared at the wall, in shock that either his little brother or one of his fiercest rivals could be dead on the other side of the wall. Mona saw this and patted Joker on the shoulder as he spoke up to try and both reassure and motivate Joker.

"Let's go, Joker." Mona said as Joker reluctantly nodded and the group kept moving, unaware of what had really happened behind the wall...

(At the same time that the group was trying to get through the wall, with Crow and Akechi)

"So, you want to throw your life away that badly, do you?" Akechi said to Crow, who huffed and spoke up.

"Better I lose it while making a stand to put the likes of you in your place than have it ended by you or by that bastard Shido." Crow said dryly as he and Akechi pointed their guns at each other and fired. However, at the last moment, a lone throwing knife unexpectedly flew into view, blocking Akechi's bullet from hitting Crow, while Crow's bullet flew on unimpeded and struck true, continuing on until it embedded itself into the chest of a shocked Akechi.

The impact of the bullet had the result of making Akechi slump over to the ground where he dissolved into black mist, leaving a confused Crow to look around for the source of the unexpected and unlikely rescue he'd gotten until the truth of the knife's origin was revealed when a wincing but distinctly conscious Draconis walked up and looked down at Crow before extending his hand out once more as he spoke up in a much kinder voice than he'd had earlier, not seeing Crow wince as he saw the make-shift sling Draconis had made for his left arm out of his empty staff sheath while Draconis spoke.

"Whew, got here in time. Are you okay, Crow?" Draconis asked as he extended his good arm out to help Crow up, which a confused Crow took as he let Draconis help him to his feet, blinking in surprise at the unexpected intervention of Draconis as he spoke up.

"Wait, what? Draconis!? I thought you were on the other side of the wall with the others?" Crow asked as Draconis chuckled and spoke up.

"Nah, not quite. I don't think you recall doing so since we were both pretty well blacked out at the time, but you had Loki toss me back this way where I almost slammed into the wall in the back of that room behind me. So yeah, thanks for trying to kill me, Crow. But fortunately for me, I was able to use my arm to stop myself from falling. So, I might have fractured an arm in the process, but I saved myself from possibly sustaining worse, possibly even life-threatening injuries, so I consider it a worthy trade-off. As for you, no way in hell do you get to get off that easily, Crow!

If anyone's going to have the honor of besting you in single combat, it'll be me, or failing that, it'll be Joker. Now come, pick yourself up and let us make our escape, so we can tend our wounds and figure out what to do with you." Draconis said bluntly to Crow, who blinked but just nodded, not really wanting to argue with Draconis in that moment, as Draconis pulled a Goho-M from his pocket and tossed it down, whisking Draconis and Crow back to the front deck of Shido's Palace...

(Back with Joker, Mona, Skull, Panther, Fox, Queen, Oracle, Noir, and Sumi)

"Um, where are we?" Fox said as the group emerged from the door they'd exited through, unsure of where they were. Oracle frowned as she spoke up.

"It looks like we've come out on the side deck. We should be able to secure a route from here. Welp, let's head over and get to usin' those letters then." Skull said as the group made their way to the door they'd seen with the keycard slots, at which point Mona spoke up after Joker slotted all the letters into place.

"Hm. All right, are all of them in?" Mona said, making Joker nod as Oracle spoke up.

"Seems like it! Open sesame!" Orale said as the door opened up, making Noir speak up.

"Hey! The time is finally here, guys." Noir said as Queen nodded and spoke up.

"Yes, that's true." Queen said as Sumi looked over at a shocked-looking Joker and smiled comfortingly at him as she spoke up.

"Cheer up, Joker-senpai. I'm sure Draconis will be fine. After all, from what you told me once, he survived being stuck in Mementos on his own for several days just fine. So I doubt very much that Akechi-kun would have any better luck against Draconis than that." Sumi said reassuringly as Joker nodded gratefully to Sumi as the group kept moving. After Joker called the elevator in the next room, the group rode it upwards into a new room, with what appeared to be a giant daruma in the back, and lots of chairs all around, but also a familiar cloudy object in the middle of the room. Skull blinked and spoke up.

"Huh!? The hell is that!?" Skull said as Oracle blinked and spoke up in surprise.

"Oh! It's pretty rockin'!" Oracle said as Noir frowned and spoke up.

"So this place is the main assembly hall?" Noir asked as Queen frowned and spoke up.

"Um, P-Probably. Daruma are often used as symbols of election luck, plus everything else in here seems real enough." Queen said as Fox frowned and spoke up.

"Huh, that's odd. Looking around, there isn't a single person in here. Yet, it sounded as though there was quite the crowd inside when we heard voices through the door." Fox said as Panther spoke up.

"True, but given how this looks, this has to be the root of the distortion." Panther said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Yes. I'm picking up on the Treasure's presence as well. And I have no doubt that this place is where it'll appear once we send the calling card." Mona said as he looked at Joker and kept speaking.

"Well then, we've secured our route to the Treasure now. Should we leave the Palace, Joker?" Mona asked as Joker sighed and nodded reluctantly while he spoke up, clearly not wanting to think about having to leave the Metaverse without Draconis.

"I don't really want to leave like this, but we probably should do it. If nothing else, I feel like Draconis would be livid with us for dragging our feet like this if he were here." Joker said as Mona nodded while he frowned and spoke up.

"Yeah, I agree. I still can't believe he's not with us right now. That said, all right. It's finally time to send Shido's calling card out. This is the final chapter in our grand operation. And for both Crow and Draconis' sakes, we especially can't afford to back down from this now. Let's get fired up, everyone!" Mona said resolutely as Joker nodded and relocated the group to the entrance, unaware that he had just missed Crow and Draconis escaping the Metaverse together.

As the group reached the entrance, Joker sighed and led the group out of the Metaverse without a word, not seeing the sympathetic looks that Mona, Sumi, and Oracle all were giving him. Unbeknownst to the group, not only were both Crow and Draconis alive, but both of them had escaped the Palace ahead of them...

(At that same time, outside the Metaverse with Akechi and Kusa)

"Ugh, I still can't believe you saved me back here. Why did you risk yourself for me like that, Amamiya-kun the younger!? Especially after all the bad stuff I've done to those closest to you?" Akechi asked Kusa, who smiled at Akechi and spoke up kindly.

"That's easy. Sure, you've done some effed-up things, but I can see that deep down, you were doing them out of a fear of being rejected and hurt. And as I said before, i can relate to that. I used to be that way too, before Ren and I came out to Yongen and we met the others. I used to be a very cynical, snarky, spiteful little shithead. But then, I met Morgana, Ryuji, and the others, and gradually I started opening up to them little by little.

At that point, I realized that maybe working as a team wasn't so bad. I think that you, given the same chance, and if you're willing to embrace it, could find that same happiness someday, Akechi. Also, I don't know if you remember my saying so when you revealed the truth of your paternity earlier, but you and I both have the same no-good bastard of a father, so that makes us half-brothers. Therefore, that makes you family, whether you like it or not. And I don't leave my family behind if I can help it. Yes, you have hurt others I care about, most notably Ren and Futaba.

And you've also done your share of vile, despicable crimes to be sure, but I think I was right when I said before that you had the potential to not just be an evil, vindictive, hateful little shitbag who is always full of himself. Because, truth be told? I see a lot of myself in you, Akechi-kun. And I truly believe that the way you are now is almost exactly how I could've ended up had I not ended up becoming one of the Phantom Thieves with Ren and the others.

Sure, I told the others I joined so I could protect the weak and fight for what's right, but the truth is? I also joined so I could feel that I had somewhere I could belong, and be accepted for who I am, and not just for being Ren's younger brother. So I can't really be surprised that you've done most of what you've done to this point for that reason.

But even so, I can understand you were doing it to get Shido's-no, not Shido's. You were doing it to get our father's approval. So I can relate. Granted, I don't think it's going to be entirely worth basically selling your soul to make him notice you. If you ask me, Akechi, you're a pretty good guy yourself when you want to be, snarky douchebag moments and all.

So I'm not giving up on the idea of saving you from going past a point of no return that easily. And if you can't believe that, maybe we should relocate elsewhere to air our grievances with one another, preferably somewhere that our father cannot interfere if he manages to realize we're both alive." Kusa said as Akechi smiled at Kusa and nodded approvingly before he spoke up.

"Yes, I agree. We do need to settle this, Amamiya-kun the younger." Akechi said as Kusa chuckled and spoke up.

"I figured you might say that to be honest. Also, that reminds me. Akechi, if we're gonna be family, I think we need to start working on not being on a last-name basis with one another, don't you?" Kusa said as Akechi shrugged and spoke up.

"Perhaps you're right, Amamiya-kun the younger. Maybe we should consider being on a first-name basis eventually. I'll think about it. As for the other thing you mentioned, I think I know of a place. Your phone has the MetaNav in it, yes?" Akechi asked Kusa, who nodded and spoke up.

"Yes, that's correct. It has the MetaNav. Why do you ask?" Kusa asked as Akechi spoke up.

"Because my phone got shattered when it fell out of my pocket after that overpowered Showtime attack you hit me with. So we'll have to use yours to get into the Metaverse." Akechi said as Kusa nodded his understanding and spoke up.

"Ah, I see." Kusa said as Akechi spoke up once more, a smile on his face.

"Let me see it, will you?" Akechi said as Kusa shrugged but nodded as he handed his phone over to Akechi agreeably, as Akechi proceeded to quickly punch in some keywords into the phone and handed it back to Kusa.

"There, I've put in the keywords to an abandoned location that should be perfect for us to fight in. Now all you have to do is hit the button and send us into the Metaverse." Akechi said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"Very well, then. Let's do it." Kusa said as he activated the MetaNav, once more whisking Akechi and himself into the Metaverse, idly wondering as he did so if he was being naive in trusting Akechi to choose the location for their battle...

END OF CHAPTER

A/N: And boom, another chapter done and dusted! Yep, the infamous Black Mask sequence is now done and dusted! As for the sequence at the end with Akechi and Kusa, that's going to be setting up for a brief side-plot during Arc 9 involving the two of them. Without going into too many spoilers, let's just say it's setting up some stuff for a bit later on, when the Royal-exclusive content comes into play. As for the question of what will become of Kusa and Akechi, only time (and by time I mean future chapters!) will tell the story on that.

Also, before anyone asks why I said fans of Draconis and Crow might not like this chapter, it's because they both had pretty dark moments in it, plus I'd like to think they were both close to at their most enraged at one point in the chapter. So yeah, that's why that's the way it is. Next chapter will be the aftermath of the Black Mask debacle, and most of the group's reactions to it, as well as the most pivotal calling card yet! Can the Phantom Thieves successfully defeat the Shadow of Masayoshi Shido, even despite being short-handed once more? You'll have to wait for next chapter to find out!

But that aside, thanks to everyone who's supported this story thus far. After all, between all the views, favorites, follows, and even the generous amount of reviews it's gotten, this story is growing rather magnificently, and I have you, the readers, to thank for it! So thank you all for showing so much support for the story!

And feel free to keep showing your support, whether it just be through following/favoriting the story, following/favoriting me as an author, or even just leaving a review with your thoughts/feedback/opinions/constructive criticism on the story, as any input I get is much appreciated, as it lets me continue to fine-tune the story to make it better for the readers! So keep showing this story some love! Until next chapter, sithlorde1988 out!

NOTES

*1* - Not 100% sure on this, but Oracle's line about a kid going out shopping alone for the first time? I feel like that's technically a reference to the 90's movie 'Home Alone', which had Macaulay Culkin in it as an 8-year old boy who ends up accidentally left home alone after his family scrambles to get ready for a trip and forget he's sleeping in the attic as they hurry to the airport.

Kevin (the character Culkin plays) actually has to go shopping by himself multiple times in said movie. Pretty sure the first of those is the time when he asks the cashier a question about a toothbrush, sees his neighbor, panics, and runs for his life, accidentally shoplifting the toothbrush as a result. Overall, a very funny and classic movie. But yeah, pretty sure Oracle was referencing that with this line.

*2* - Prior to writing this chapter, I saw some YouTube videos online that were discussing a bunch of random fan theories about the Persona series. To my immense shock and disbelief, one of the theories listed on one of the videos was that Futaba was an illegitimate child of Masayoshi Shido, much like Akechi is confirmed in-game to be. For the purposes of this story, I choose to dis-regard that theory as invalid.

And frankly, when Futaba/Oracle goes around glaring at people like she did to the IT company president's Shadow in this scene, it's easy to figure she resembles Sojiro somewhat, lending credence to the idea that she could legitimately be Sojiro's biological daughter, albeit without her or Sojiro's knowledge. since her conception could be the result of a drunken hook-up between Sojiro and Wakaba, or Futaba's mother.

After all, Sojiro was clearly hot for Wakaba, as he himself states in canon Royal, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that he and Wakaba could've gotten wasted one night at a party and hooked up before forgetting about it. So we'll call that my head-canon at this point since Sojiro does say 'there's no father that I know of' when the group asks him about Futaba early in the fourth part of Royal.

*3* - Originally, I wasn't gonna slot this in here, but then I recalled while typing this part that I had a reader suggest to me earlier in the story that I should have a group Showtime happen with all of the Thieves, similar to a certain event that happens at the end of Strikers that I can't go into detail on for spoiler-based reasons. But that said, I figured this was a good chance to try something like that out. Granted, this is just a rough idea.

Still, shout out to AKANOS for suggesting a group Showtime. (or at least I'm pretty sure that was AKANOS who suggested that? Either way, shout-out to the person who made that suggestion, as it was a great idea.)

CONFIDANT RANKS AS OF THE END OF CHAPTER 79

FOOL (Igor/Prison Master) - Rank 9

MAGICIAN (Morgana/Mona) - Rank 9

PRIESTESS (Makoto/Queen) - Rank 7

EMPRESS (Haru/Noir) - Rank 6

EMPEROR (Yusuke/Fox) - Rank 7

HIEROPHANT (Sojiro/Boss/Coffee Daddy) - Rank MAX (10)

LOVERS (Ann/Panther) - Rank MAX (10)

CHARIOT (Ryuji/Skull) - Rank MAX (10)

JUSTICE (Akechi/Crow) - Rank MAX (10)

HERMIT (Futaba/Oracle) - Rank 7

FORTUNE (Chihaya/Fortune Teller) - Rank 5

HANGED-MAN (Iwai/Weapons Dealer) - Rank 6

DEATH (Takemi/Back-Alley Doctor) - Rank 8

TEMPERANCE (Kawakami/Becky) - Rank 8

DEVIL (Ohya) - Rank 4

TOWER (Shinya/Skilled Gamer) - Rank 4

STAR (Hifumi) - Rank 8

MOON (Mishima) - Rank 7

SUN (Yoshida/Man Of The People) - Rank MAX (10)

JUDGEMENT (Sae/Prosecutor) - Rank MAX (10)

FAITH (Kasumi/Sumi/*REDACTED*) - Rank 5 **MAX**

COUNCILLOR (Maruki/Doc) - Rank MAX (10)

WORLD (Kusa/Draconis) - Rank MAX (10)

**ALL CONFIDANTS UNLOCKED!**