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

84. Of Gods and Truths! Velvet Truths part 2

A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Persona 5- The Phantom Files! Hard to believe we're less than 20 chapters out from this story hitting 100 chapters posted! If that happens, that'll be nuts, since I've never before done that with any of my stories! Granted, I have plans for a special one-shot to happen after I get to chapter 100, but you'll have to wait until we get that far before I post it (and by get that far, I mean until chapter 100 is both typed out AND uploaded), so yeah.

Suffice it to say, the one-shot in question may or may not be focused on a certain as-yet unmentioned side mode exclusive to Royal. Anyone who was paying attention probably recalls the teaser I did of it in chapter 69. If not, you'll understand once the one-shot goes up! But anyways, let's hit up the disclaimer so we can get this chapter going!

Disclaimer: sithlorde1988 does NOT own the Persona series in ANY way, shape or form (excluding the OCs Kusa/Draconis, Somasi/Slim, Kyori, Lumine, Mimille, Akira, Minako, and any other OCs that may appear during the story, which are all made and thus owned by sithlorde1988, unless otherwise stated in an A/N) and the actual ownership credit for the Persona series belongs to Sega, Atlus, and to some extent Koei Tecmo (granted the latter mainly is only credited with owning Strikers, which at this point is confirmed to have its own separate adaptation coming later on, but I'm listing it here for both the sake of posterity, and so I remember to list them when doing that story's disclaimers. After all, easier to do something if you're in the habit of doing it, am I right?), so all ownership credit is given to them!

That said, on with the chapter! Keep any eye out after the chapter, since there might be a longer A/N at that point!

Chapter 84- To the Depths! Infiltrating Mementos! Velvet Truths part 2

(In Mementos, at the entrance, with Noir, Skull, Queen, Mona, Joker, Panther, Fox, Sumi, and Oracle)

"Okay, it's time! We're about to charge into the depths of Mementos! But before that, let us settle our front lines! For at least this first part, I want Mona, Skull, and Panther up front with me, while Queen, Fox, Noir, Oracle, and Sumi all are on backups but can be called into battle at any time, so be prepared!" Joker said decisively as the group nodded, and the necessary tagouts were made so that Panther, Mona, and Skull were all up front with Joker. After a bit of time had passed, while exploring the new path in Mementos, Joker hit level 65 while fighting some Shadows. Joker smirked as he then spoke up.

"Heh, well, it's a step forward!" Joker said as Oracle frowned at this and spoke up.

"I get you leveled up and all, but somehow it's not as much fun hearing you brag when Draconis isn't here to give you grief for it. And I somehow suspect Sumi's not in a mood for playful banter." Oracle said as Sumi giggled and spoke up.

"You're not wrong, Oracle. But at the same time, Joker-senpai is my boyfriend. So I do have to be at least a bit supportive of what he does. That said, good work Joker!" Sumi said cheerfully as Joker's level went up. While running down Shadows, Queen hit level 64. A short time later, while running down even more Shadows, Fox hit level 65 and gained the heavy-tier Ice skill 'Mabufudyne', making him smirk as he spoke up.

"A new skill! I'd like to try this out soon!" Fox said as Kamu Susano-o acquired 'Mabufudyne'. Not long after that, Panther hit level 64 while hitting Shadows. On the next floor, Skull frowned as he spoke up.

"Hey, how deep are we?" Skull asked as Oracle spoke up.

"Honestly? Well, you're in the third area on this floor. That makes it the 55th floor overall." Oracle said as Sumi blinked and spoke up.

"Wow, 55 floors in!? That's a lot! I wonder if this place hits the triple digits in terms of total floor count?" Sumi asked in confusion. Skull shrugged and spoke up.

"Who knows, Sumi? That said, huh. So we passed the big five-o, did we? Man Mona, you were right. This place is astrologically big, or whatever you said." Skull said as Mona blinked and spoke up.

"Do you mean astronomically? Oh, never mind. Well, to be honest? I'm surprised too, Skull." Mona said as the group kept moving. After a bit of moving, and finding a Shadow to run over, Mona hit level 65. After running down more Shadows, Joker's 'Seth' Persona hit level 65. After running over another Shadow, both Skull and Noir hit level 65. Not long after, Oracle hit level 67 after the Mona-bus destroyed another Shadow. Surprisingly, the level up gave Oracle a new skill for Prometheus in the form of 'Subrecover SP EX'. Oracle smirked at this and spoke up.

"Mwehehe! Behold, the new me!" Oracle said as Joker frowned and spoke up.

"Oh, so it's not fun if I show off on a level-up, but it's fine when you do it? That's kinda rude, wouldn't you say, little sis?" Joker said in a mock-offended tone, making both Sumi and Oracle giggle as the latter playfully yet childishly stuck her tongue out at Joker, making the others laugh at the childish outburst as Oracle spoke up.

"Perhaps! But unlike you, I'm our oh-so-adorable navigator! So I have a fair bit more carte blanche for stuff like this than you do. Also, we both know Draconis enjoyed seeing me show off, so don't give me grief if I decide I'm doing so in his honor, big bro." Oracle said, making Joker blink but nod as the group kept moving after Promethus acquired 'Subrecover SP EX'. After going down a couple of floors and finding more Shadows to eliminate, Joker hit level 66, and his 'Lachesis' Persona hit level 54. Joker smirked and spoke up.

"All right! Power courses through me!" Joker said smugly as his level increased. After hitting another Shadow, Queen hit level 65, and Joker's 'Kali' Persona hit level 69, the level-ups giving Queen the high-grade healing skill 'Mediarahan'. Queen smirked and spoke up.

"I've awakened to a new power!" Queen said as Johanna acquired 'Mediarahan'. After doubling back to the entrance and dealing with a Fusion Alarm, during which process Joker got a powerful Magician Persona in the form of 'Surt', the group reached a rest area and kept moving. After recruiting a Treasure Demon by the name of 'Emperor's Amulet', Fox hit level 66. After hitting more Shadows, Panther hit level 65. Not long after, Noir hit level 66 off of destroying more Shadows. On the next floor Skull sighed and spoke up.

"Ugh, dammit. This place keeps goin' on and on, doesn't it?" Skull said as Panther nodded and spoke up.

"Right!? Hey, where are we right now?" Panther asked as Oracle spoke up.

"Umm, I believe this should be the halfway point. There's still another half to go." Oracle said as Skull huffed and spoke up.

"Riiiight. Another half, she says. As if it's not already been a slog and a half getting this far." Skull said huffily as Joker spoke up.

"Cut Oracle a break, Skull. She's trying her best here. And since Draconis isn't here to defend her, I'll do it on his behalf, since Oracle's as good as the little sister I never had." Joker said simply as Skull nodded and backed down as Panther frowned and spoke up.

"Don't focus on that, Skull! It'll just make it seem longer!" Panther said as Sumi spoke up with a smile.

"Right, Panther-senpai? Let's think of it as another floor closer to our goal!" Sumi said optimistically as the group kept moving at that point. After running down some nearby Shadows, Mona hit level 66. After running down even more Shadows, Skull hit level 66 while Oracle hit level 68. After heading back and dealing with another Fusion Alarm, Joker blinked on seeing Caroline standing by herself off to the side of the Velvet Room. When Joker approached Caroline, she huffed and spoke up.

"What!? Y-You still want to get out of this situation even after everything that's happened to you, Inmate!?" Caroline asked as Joker spoke up.

"Of course I do. I'm not going to give up on possibly being able to still see my rehabilitation through to completion! If nothing else, I owe you and Justine that much for being with me to this point and after all you've done for me." Joker said. Caroline sighed at this and spoke up.

"Of course you do. That's right, though. It's no surprise that you're trying to do this. After all, guiding inmates along in their rehabilitation is our duty as wardens. Okay. I'll help you a bit." Caroline said as she waved her baton and to Joker's surprise, his spirit and health felt as if they were somewhat restored. Caroline blinked at the shocked look on Joker's face and frowned as she spoke up.

"What was that!? You surprised!? Something like that is nothing for us! Come back here if you get wounded again, Inmate!" Caroline said as Joker shrugged and nodded his agreement, being pleasantly surprised to find that Caroline had healed him and the others to full. The group then kept moving after Joker returned to the rest area they'd left off at. After heading down a floor, Oracle spoke up with a resolved look on her face.

"Joker! According to my research, you're nearing the end! Go, go, go! You can do it!" Oracle said as Skull spoke up with a frown.

"Hey, y'know, sometimes I thin I wanna try bein' the naviga-" Skull said as Mona and Oracle both cut him off.

"Sorry, no can do, Skull." Oracle said as Mona chuckled and spoke up with a smirk.

"What Oracle said. And we're not saying this to be mean to you. We're saying it because being the navigator is a lot of responsibility. And with all due respect, I don't think you're cut out for it." Mona said as Skull scowled at the not-cat and spoke up.

"Man, shut up! You shot me down way too fast, you two." Skull said as Queen patted him on the shoulder comfortingly and spoke up.

"That's because they are trying to look out for you, sweetie." Queen said as Sumi smiled and spoke up.

"Besides, you're much more suited to being the muscle of the group, Skull-senpai! With all respect to Queen, you look so cool kicking Shadow butt out there! I think that's your true calling!" Sumi said encouragingly as Joker and Queen nodded approvingly to Sumi's attempt to cheer up Skull, who smiled at Sumi and spoke up with a grin.

"Heh, ya think so, Sumi? Thanks. I do feel a bit better now. All right, let's do this!" Skull said as the group kept moving, Joker smiling proudly at Sumi for her efforts. After beating some Shadows, Queen hit level 66. After beating more Shadows, Joker hit level 67.

"NICE! Power courses through me!" Joker said as he leveled up. Sumi smiled and spoke up.

"It's nice that you're leveling up and all, Joker-senpai, but maybe this isn't the time to be TOO show-offy with it? I get you're trying to lighten the mood, but maybe try to tone it down just a smidge? After all, Draconis did always make it a point to mention how you were a bit flashy with your level ups." Sumi said while smiling at Joker, who nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah, maybe you're right, Sumi. But at the same time, I need all the strength I can get if I'm going to be in a position to best guide us all through this safely. I'd rather not see anyone else be taken from us if I can help it, to be honest." Joker said as Sumi gently hugged Joker and spoke up.

"Don't worry, Joker. None of us are going anywhere. And I have faith, pun not intended, that we'll reunite with Crow and Draconis someday. I'm not sure why I feel that way, but I do." Sumi said as the group kept moving. After defeating more Shadows, Fox hit level 67. After eliminating a strong Shadow, Panther hit level 66 while both Mona and Noir hit level 67. After beating another powerful Shadow, both Skull and Queen hit level 67, while Oracle hit level 69. The level-ups gave Skull the heavy-tier Elec skill 'Maziodyne', making him smirk and speak up.

"Oh, sweet! A new move! Whaddya think!?" Skull asked as Queen smiled and spoke up.

"Not bad, sweetie. You're another skill closer to your full potential. Well done." Queen said as she kissed Skull on the cheek, making him flush red in shock, and making Joker and Sumi laugh at the embarrassed look on Skull's face as Seiten Taisei acquired 'Maziodyne'. After beating another Shadow, Joker hit level 68. He spoke up.

"Nice! Level up! One more, and I join Oracle on the meme level!" Joker said, referring to the fact that Oracle had previously hit level 69. Oracle chuckled and spoke up.

"Mwehehe! You mean the 'NICE' level?" Oracle said teasingly, making Joker nod as his level went up. Sumi shook her head and spoke up.

"Oh boy, Oracle does that too? I don't know how Draconis dealt with it for so long." Sumi said in a mock-exasperated tone, making Panther chuckle and speak up.

"You forget, Sumi. Joker is Draconis' brother and Oracle is his girlfriend. But if we're all being real, I think Draconis is a bit more serious about Oracle than that. But that's just my opinion. For all that he was teasing Joker about you and him getting hitched, I wouldn't be surprised if that was his way of projecting onto Joker." Panther said with a giggle as the group kept moving. After beating some more Shadows that had a Treasure Demon among them, Fox hit level 68. After beating another Shadow, Noir hit level 68 and Panther hit level 67. The level-ups gave Noir the passive skill 'Gun Amp', making her smile as she spoke up.

"Oh, a new skill! Now I can work even harder!" Noir said happily as Milady acquired 'Gun Amp'. On the next floor, Oracle spoke up.

"Hey, the next area down there is giving me a different reading. I'm sure that's the goal!" Oracle said as Skull spoke up.

"I really hope so, Oracle. We've been at this a while now. But I know we have to see this mission through, since we've passed the point of no return, so to speak." Skull said as Mona frowned and spoke up.

"Skull, I realize it's getting rough, but try and hang in there, yeah? I'm sure Oracle's right about us being at the goal. So don't give up yet, okay? I might tease you a lot, but you're really a tough guy. And I admire your resilience and fortitude. So try and keep at it a while longer, yeah?" Mona said as Skull smiled at Mona and spoke up.

"Heh, hell yeah! I knew you cared, Mona. All right, let's go!" Skull said as the group kept moving after the females in the group all smiled at the rare moment of bonding between Skull and Mona, resisting the urge to ruin the moment by all saying 'aww' together. Not long after, both Mona and Queen hit level 68 after destroying a Shadow. After defeating a stronger Shadow, Skull hit level 68 and Oracle hit level 70. From the level-ups, Oracle's 'Saruman' Persona picked up the high-grade healing skill 'Mediarahan', making Oracle smile as she spoke up.

"Mwehehe! I might have lost the 'NICE' level, but I got a very sweet healing move from it! Check me out now!" Oracle said happily as Joker spoke up.

"Nice one, little sis! That'll be helpful for whenever you're on the front lines." Joker said approvingly as Saruman acquired 'Mediarahan'. After reaching the next floor, Mona spoke up.

"Oh! Look, it's that wall." Mona said as Noir spoke up uncertainly while looking at Joker.

"Do you think it'll open?" Noir asked as Joker spoke up while looking at Noir.

"One way to find out, Noir." Joker said as the group kept moving. After examining the nearby wall, it opened up, at which point Skull blinked and spoke up warily.

"H-Hey, so uh Morgana? This shit here's the door to the depths, right?" Skull asked as Queen spoke up.

"It should be, sweetie. Why, what's wrong?" Queen asked as Skull spoke up bluntly.

"I dunno, it looks just like all the other ones did. I was thinkin' it's a little disappointin', that's all. Egh, maybe we worked too hard to get down here or something." Skull said as Fox frowned and spoke up.

"Be that as it may Skull, the lack of unforeseen circumstances is nothing to complain about. Let us continue." Fox said as Sumi nodded and spoke up.

"I agree with Fox-senpai. The sooner we continue, the sooner we can reach the depths and hopefully seize the Treasure. That is our mission here today, right?" Sumi said warily as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"That's correct, but don't forget about the other aspect of things, Sumi. If we do succeed, we'll still have a potential price to pay afterwards. So let us proceed cautiously." Joker said as the others nodded and the group kept moving. After moving down to the next layer, Skull blinked and spoke up.

"The hell is this supposed to be?" Skull asked as a wide-eyed Oracle spoke up.

"It's some big, fossil-looking thing, if I had to guess. And if that's the case, that only means one thing. It's possibly our target, and so must be the Treasure." Oracle said as Fox blinked and spoke up.

"Wait, look on the side, you guys! It's the train running down to Mementos. So this is where that crowd of people was trying to reach?" Fox asked as Queen blinked and spoke up in surprise.

"People are walking in and out of there, so the other side of the wall must be where they were headed. No, wait! It's not a wall, but a giant door?" Queen said in shock. Skull nodded his agreement as he spoke up.

"Seems that way to me, babe. I guess that means the Treasure's not here. C'mon, let's stay focused!" Skull said as the group kept moving. After running up to the 'door', Skull frowned and spoke up as the group examined it.

"Is this thing seriously a door? How're we s'posed to get past here?" Skull asked uncertainly as at that moment, the door opened up, almost as if in response to Skull's question. Mona blinked at this before speaking up.

"It opened straight away, did it? I bet that means the inner depths the Meta-Nav was talking about before are right ahead." Mona said as Oracle frowned and spoke up.

"Hold on. The door only opens from this side, doesn't it?" Oracle said as Panther blinked and spoke up.

"Wait, for real? What do you mean?" Panther asked as Oracle spoke up.

"Well, I took a quick peek at the mechanism inside the door, out of curiosity. And it looks like you can only open it from here. We can get in, but nothing can get out." Oracle said as Queen nodded and spoke up.

"I see. It's as though whatever lies within has been locked away for some reason." Queen said as Noir blinked and spoke up in shock.

"Wait, so you're saying that the people going in there are choosing a life of imprisonment?" Noir asked as Fox frowned and spoke up.

"I have never felt such eeriness before in my life. What is this place?" Fox asked as Mona spoke up resolutely.

"We'll find out once we reach the depths. Come on, let's go." Mona said as the group headed through the open passageway. Once they were in the next area, Skull gasped and spoke up.

"Gah! The hell is this place supposed to be?" Skull asked as Panther spoke up while wincing.

"It's so creepy in here, isn't it?" Panther asked as Fox frowned and spoke up as he noticed something else.

"So those strange pipes tunneling through Mementos were originating from down here after all. You know, I have been considering this for some time. And to be honest, they remind me somewhat of veins." Fox said as Panther gasped quietly and spoke up.

"No way! More importantly, what's up with this scenery? What kind of distortion is this? I mean, what does everyone think this world is, anyways!?" Panther asked as Sumi spoke up with a frown on her face.

"Good question, Panther-senpai. If I had to guess, I'd say they see this place as an asylum of sorts, given how some of the areas out in the distance slightly resemble isolation cells." Sumi said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Well observed, Sumi. But that said, back on topic. Calm down, Lady Ann. The Treasure is definitely here, and that's what's important now." Mona said as Joker frowned and spoke up.

"Lady Panther, you mean? I don't think you get to skip out on being thorough on using code names just because this might be our final mission, Mona." Joker gently but firmly rebuked Mona, who winced as he spoke up.

"Oh crap, you're right! Sorry. I should be more careful. And I can sense something else. A tremendous presence that's coming from much deeper within this area, possibly from the bottom of the area." Mona said as Queen sighed and spoke up.

"But be that as it may Mona, I don't know that I want to find out what that may be. But nonetheless, we must harden our resolve. That said, it's time to head for the depths!" Queen said as the group kept moving. After moving forward a bit, Skull frowned at the group of people gathered in front of the group and spoke up.

"C'mon, man! Whoa, shit. This ain't good. There're a ton of 'em gathered here." Skull said as Mona spoke up.

"True. It looks like they're all trying to get past that door." Mona said as Panther frowned and spoke up in surprise.

"Perhaps, but why's it so crowded?" Panther said as Oracle gasped quietly and spoke up.

"Oh! This is interesting. It looks like the door's keeping them all out. We'll have to try and look for another way in." Oracle said as the group kept moving. After finding a path around the side, which involved a lot of athletic jumping over gaps and a few flips here and there, Oracle spoke up as Joker got onto a ledge leading into a window illuminated by red light.

"All right! Huh, it looks like we can go in through here too. Be careful, okay?" Oracle said eagerly as Joker nodded and the group headed through the window and kept moving. After leaping down, Noir frowned and spoke up.

"Um, I'm not sure why, but I'm getting a bad feeling from this place. I wonder why that could be?" Noir said as Panther spoke up with a smile.

"The Shadows out front were trying to get in here, right? What could it be that they want to get at so badly?" Panther said as the group kept moving. Skull huffed and spoke up after a moment.

"Tch! There're bones everywhere here too." Skull said as Joker spoke up.

"Probably they're placed for effect, if I had to guess." Joker said wisely as the group kept moving. After a bit, the group entered a semi-enclosed hallway, where Oracle blinked and spoke up.

"Hm!? What is this place?" Oracle said as the group frowned at the sound of the various murmurs of happiness they could hear around them. Oracle kept speaking.

"Wha? Are those actually chains on them? Wait, is this a prison!?" Oracle asked as Skull spoke up.

"Possibly. But if so, who's captured here?" Skull said as Queen spoke up warily.

"Technically speaking, I would say it's someone's Shadow, most likely." Queen observed as the group moved forward for a closer look, at which point Noir spoke up.

"They're saying something, you guys." Noir said as one of the male prisoner Shadows saw the group and spoke up.

"C'mon, don't be out there and come on in." The male prisoner Shadow said as a female prisoner Shadow spoke up.

"Don't open the cells, okay!? I have no intention of leaving this place!" The female prisoner Shadow said as Fox blinked and spoke up.

"What? They feel safe being here? What're you saying? You're being kept in a prison." Fox said as Mona frowned and spoke up.

"This reminds me of Kamoshida's castle, to be honest. They're like the 'slaves' we saw there." Mona said as an elderly prisoner Shadow spoke up.

"That's right, you know. This place is the best in the end. In the depths within is a system that grants desires of all sorts." The elderly prisoner Shadow said as Panther blinked and spoke up in shock.

"A system that grants all sorts of desires?" Panther said as Oracle blinked at this, but Skull spoke up before she could voice the thought she'd had.

"Something like that exists? Here!?" Skull asked as Queen frowned and spoke up.

"It's no use. You can't reason with these people." Queen said as Fox frowned and spoke up.

"They're truly 'distorted', just like the scenery here is." Fox said as the male prisoner Shadow spoke up.

"You end up searching for stuff or being troubled because you're outside the prison. There are things you don't need to know to live on." The male prisoner Shadow said as the elderly prisoner Shadow spoke up.

"He's right. Things like the details on the system, the locked 'Quarantine Cell', things like that." The elderly prisoner Shadow said, making Queen blink at the mention of a Quarantine Cell, prompting her to speak up.

"Quarantine? Who's locked in there?" Queen asked as the elderly prisoner Shadow spoke up.

"Supposedly a great and truly dangerous criminal, but who would want to check a place like that? Come now, we don't have to chat like this. Why not come inside?" The elderly prisoner Shadow said as Oracle noticed the pensive look on Mona's face and spoke up.

"Huh? Are you all right, Mona?" Oracle asked Mona, who blinked and spoke up.

"Uh, I'm not sure?" Mona said, but at that point, another voice reached the group's ears.

"Hm? Why are you out and about? Where are your restraints!?" The group heard, spinning around as one to see a guard Shadow looking at them. Skull blinked and spoke up.

"Oh crap, that's not good!" Skull said as another guard Shadow approached and spoke up.

"Removing your restraints is not allowed. Outsiders, no matter who they might be, must be eliminated!" The second guard Shadow said as the two guard Shadows shifted forms into monster forms, specifically that of monsters that Joker recognized as 'Melchizidek' Shadows, having had the chance to fuse one previously. After that, a very brief battle ensued, wherein the group defeated the enemies in one turn with a combo of Mona's 'Magarudyne' skill and his All-Out Attack finisher. From the ensuing EXP gain, Fox hit level 69 and gained the severe-tier Physical skill 'Vorpal Blade', making Fox smile as he spoke up.

"Oh! My Persona has learned a new skill!" Fox said as Joker spoke up.

"Heh, not bad Fox. I think that's our first severe-tier multi-target attack skill." Joker said as Kamu Susano-o acquired 'Vorpal Blade'. After the battle, Fox spoke up with a frown.

"Tch, that was careless of us. It should be no surprise that a prison has guards." Fox said as Skull blinked and spoke up.

"Wait a sec, guys. This is everyone's Palace, right? Not like Kamoshida's castle, where it was just his Palace? If that's true, then who's keeping those people here?" Skull asked as Noir turned to Mona and spoke up.

"Do you know, Mona-chan?" Noir asked Mona, who frowned as he spoke up, not seeing the others all turn to face him as he spoke.

"Ahh, I remember now. I've actually seen this place before." Mona said as Panther frowned at this and spoke up as the rest of the group had stunned looks on their faces.

"Hold on though. It wasn't open before we came here today." Panther said as Mona spoke up.

"Sorry, Panther. It's just a sense I'm getting. Still, that said, it feels like I'm really close to remembering something important about myself, though I don't know what that could be." Mona said as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"Y'know, comin' in here was what you wanted from the beginning. We just gotta keep movin' on!" Skull said as Fox nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. Skull has a good point. On top of that, I'm curious to know who the ruler of this place is." Fox said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah, that's true, Skull. You're right. And Fox, I agree. We should keep going." Mona said as Noir blinked and spoke up.

"Wait, what about these people?" Noir asked as Queen spoke up gently but firmly.

"Leave them be. Much like what Mona said before, they'll be taken care of if we erase Mementos." Queen said as Oracle frowned and spoke up.

"Hey, it's dangerous to keep standing around here! Let's keep going!" Oracle said as the group nodded and kept moving. After moving around and taking out a bunch of Shadows, the group eventually stopped in front of what appeared to be a wall that was glowing an ominous shade of red, with parts that flashed neon red. Oracle blinked at this and spoke up.

"Hold on. What is this supposed to be? Joker, try activating it." Oracle said as Joker nodded and touched his hand to the visible indentation in the wall, which then flashed from red to yellow, making all the nearby panels but one turn yellow as well, making Skull gape and spoke up.

"Gah! Whoa, what the hell!? What's goin' on!?" Skull asked as Oracle spoke up with a frown.

"Calm down, Skull. It doesn't seem like it's a trap or anything." Oracle said as Sumi nodded and spoke up.

"I agree, Oracle. Also, the way the colors changed was kinda pretty, in an ominous sort of way." Sumi said as Joker chuckled at Sumi's reaction while Oracle spoke up.

"True. Hey, try touching it again, Joker." Oracle said wisely as Joker nodded and touched his hand to the same indentation as before, making the yellow panels deactivate as the wall changed from yellow back to red. Panther blinked at this and spoke up.

"Hm? It's back to normal? Just what was that all about?" Panther asked as Oracle spoke up uneasily.

"Hmmm. There seems to be more to this prison, but right now this is a dead end for some reason." Oracle said as Fox spoke up at that point.

"I see. Then this must be a security system. Will we be able to proceed if we disable it?" Fox asked as Oracle spoke up.

"Good question. If I had to guess? Prolly. I'll need you to look into it a little more though. All right, do it again, Joker. It looks like touching it turns it back off, so it can't be that dangerous, right!?" Oracle said decisively as Joker nodded. After turning the puzzle back on, the first yellow spot Joker stepped on changed colors from yellow to blue, making Skull blink and speak up.

"Ooh, it's a different color!?" Skull said as Sumi nodded and spoke up.

"Seems that way, Skull-senpai. And that shade of blue is so pretty, too." Sumi said as Oracle spoke up.

"I see. So the color of a spot changes when you walk on top of it, eh? Joker, try making the entire floor blue for now." Oracle said as Skull blinked at Oracle and spoke up.

"D-Dude, you have any idea what that's gonna do? Are you sure it'll be safe?" Skull asked as Oracle spoke up again.

"Eh, all great things start with a leap of faith! The decision is yours, Joker!" Oracle said as Joker nodded and kept stepping on tiles. After a bit, he doubled back onto a blue tile, blinking as the tile changed from blue back to yellow, prompting Fox to speak up.

"Ah, so when we step on a blue spot, it turns back to yellow?" Fox said as Oracle spoke up.

"Yup. Looks like the color goes back and forth every time you step on a particular spot." Oracle said as Joker blinked and spoke up, getting an idea.

"Every time, you say? I wonder if the floor would react if we tried jumping diagonally from one spot to another? Maybe we can cover more ground if we apply Sumi's gymnastic skills?" Joker suggested as Sumi thought about it and shook her head before looking at Joker and speaking up, a smile on her face as she spoke.

"I like the idea of using my gymnastics to solve this puzzle, Joker-senpai, but I'm not sure if it'd work the way that you think it will. What if I accidentally hit two panels at once when I did my flips? That would likely be counter-productive in the long run. But I appreciate the thought." Sumi said with a smile as she patted Joker on the shoulder appreciatively as he kept moving. After a bit, Joker changed the spot he'd stepped on back from yellow to blue, while changing the other tiles to blue, making the wall change colors from yellow to blue, causing Fox to blink and speak up with wide eyes.

"Hm? The device is radiating a vibrant blue light, is it not?" Fox said as Sumi nodded and spoke up.

"Yup. It also appears to have hints of pink and purple in it as well, which are very eye-catching." Sumi said agreeably as Oracle nodded before her eyes widened briefly in realization before going back to normal as she spoke up.

"Ah, I see. Aha. It's probably connected to the color of the floor somehow. So since we changed all the spots on the floor to blue, the device's color changed too. Joker, try touching it now." Oracle said as Joker nodded and touched the indentation again, making the lights all shut off as the wall lowered down to reveal a path forward, at which point Skull smirked and cheered before grinning as he spoke up.

"Yeah! Whoa, it opened! You did it!" Skull said as Oracle spoke up.

"I see. So that device is not only a switch, but also the wall that's blocking our path." Oracle said as Noir spoke up with a nod.

"I see. Well, that's a pretty elaborate device then, wouldn't you say?" Noir said as Fox spoke up.

"I agree. Then again, it is only natural that security is tight in a prison. Then again, no inmates actually wish to leave that I've seen." Fox said as the group heard a voice nearby speak up.

"They've broken through our safety net! Head to the scene at once! Don't let them escape!" A warden said as some Shadows spawned near the group, making Skull growl and speak up.

"Dammit! Ugh, can't you just try takin' it easy on us this time!?" Skull said as Queen smiled and spoke up.

"Why would they do that, sweetie? That'd be too easy. We'll just have to take them out before they can do the same to us." Queen said as the group kept moving. After fighting most of the spawned-in Shadows off, Joker hit level 69.

"Ah! I leveled up! I'm now level 69, or the 'NICE' level!" Joker said as Sumi spoke up.

"I can't believe that you, of all people, know of that meme, Joker-senpai. Yet I find it oddly adorable that you're a fan of it. I would've moreso thought Skull-senpai would be into that meme, if I'm being honest. Um, no offense, Skull-senpai." Sumi said as Skull spoke up.

"Nah, I'm not offended, Sumi. So now that's Joker and Fox in the 'NICE!' level club, and Oracle out of it. Sweet." Skull said as Joker's level increased. After a bit, Joker found an indentation on a nearby wall that he realized was actually a door handle, allowing him to open the path to the next area which the group went to. After moving down a few ledges and beating more Shadows, Noir hit level 69. Afterwards, the group noticed a similar sort of wall to the one from before, making Skull scoff and speak up as Joker examined it.

"Tch, is this the same kinda thing as earlier?" Skull asked as Oracle nodded and spoke up.

"Mm-hm. It should be for the most part. Give it a try, Joker." Oracle said confidently as Joker hit the button and some of the floor panels lit up though one was blue instead of the yellow that the other tiles had turned. Skull blinked at this and spoke up.

"Huh? Hey, that spot on the floor's already blue." Skull said as Oracle spoke up.

"It's fine. The mechanism should still be the same though. We just need to make all of them blue in the end." Oracle said as Joker nodded, quickly changing all the tiles to blue and deactivating the wall, opening the path forward as the group kept moving. After a long battle with some Shadows, Panther hit level 68 and gained the passive skill 'Fire Amp', making her smile as she spoke up.

"Oh, a new skill! I gotta use this next time!" Panther said as Hecate acquired 'Fire Amp'. After beating another Shadow, Oracle blinked as she noticed an odd reading from the wall near Joker.

"Oh, is that a Safe Room nearby?" Oracle asked as Joker shrugged and went to the wall, finding another handle to open it. When he did, the group went in, and sure enough it was a Safe Room. At that point, the 'Upper Passageway' was added to the fast-travel list for Joker. After he went back to handle another Fusion Alarm in the Velvet Room, during which Joker got a lot of useful stuff, including 'Vohu Monah', the ultimate Persona of the Councillor Arcana, Joker noticed that Mona, Fox, Panther, and Queen had stuff to say, so he walked over to Mona first and spoke up.

"You all right, Mona?" Joker asked Mona, who looked at Ren and shrugged as he spoke up.

"Honestly? I'm not sure. Was I trying to come to this prison? Ugh, I don't know anymore, Joker." Mona said as Joker spoke up.

"Cheer up, Mona. Whether you were trying to come here or not, we're here for you. So don't feel that you have to handle this alone." Joker said, patting the not-cat gently on the head before walking over to Fox and speaking up.

"Pretty crazy place so far, eh Fox?" Joker asked as Fox nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed. To think a place like this exists deep in Mementos. it must be like an unconscious prison in the masses' consciousness, if I had to guess." Fox said as Joker spoke up.

"I agree. And while we're here, I think I'll make use of your talents and ask you to duplicate this 'Heat Riser' skill card for me, if you don't mind." Joker said as Fox nodded, performing the requested duplication, allowing Joker to use the resulting Skill Card to teach 'Heat Riser' to Vohu Monah, letting him take advantage of the 'Positive Thoughts' trait that Vohu Monah possessed, which increased the duration of support skills cast on allies by 2 turns. Afterwards, Joker walked over to Panther and spoke up, smiling at Panther as he spoke up.

"How about this area we're in? Pretty crazy, right sis?" Joker asked Panther, who nodded as she spoke up.

"Agreed! This is amazing! Those vein-like things in Mementos were all gathering here in the prison, huh? Interesting." Panther said as Joker spoke up.

"Seems like it." Joker said before walking over to Queen and speaking up.

"Why the frowning face, Queen? I'd think you'd be happy we're making steady progress so far." Joker said as Queen sighed and spoke up.

"I am. I'm just annoyed at those puzzles we had to solve to get this far. Those shining tiles are a nuisance, if you ask me. It doesn't seem to summon enemies when we make a mistake, so let's not rush through it." Queen said as Joker spoke up.

"Understood. We can take our time on puzzles from here on out." Joker said before heading to the door to resume the infiltration of the Mementos Depths. Once he reached the door, Noir saw Joker moving to leave and spoke up.

"Ah, are we leaving? If so, let's go!" Noir said as the group kept moving. After a bit of forward progress, the group came to an area where all that could be seen was ledges and a longer swooping path leading downwards, making Skull gasp as he spoke up.

"Whoa! Wait, what the shit is that!?" Skull asked as Fox spoke up.

"It truly seems to go on ad infinitum, doesn't it? Where does it lead, I wonder?" Fox asked as Sumi blinked at Fox's words and spoke up.

"Umm, ad infini-what? I don't know what that means, Fox-senpai." Sumi said as Joker spoke up.

"I'm not 100% sure on this, so don't take this as fact, but I think Fox was saying that the path seems to go on endlessly." Joker said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"That's absolutely right, Joker. That said, I never expected there would be this much here for us to explore. But the Treasure's presence is getting stronger. We're going in the right direction for sure." Mona said as Sumi smiled at Joker and spoke up.

"Ah, I see. That makes sense. Thank you for the explanation, Joker-senpai." Sumi said gratefully as Joker nodded while the group kept moving. Once the group approached the path, Mona frowned and spoke up.

"Get in! We don't have time to go down on foot!" Mona said as he turned into the Mona-bus so the group could take a quick ride down the path to another section of the Mementos Depths. After getting out of the Mona-bus, the group continued forward on foot, before reaching another set of cells, at which point Panther gasped and spoke up, seemingly recognizing some of the prisoners.

"What!? You're HIM!?" Panther said as the shot cut to the prisoner that Panther had gasped at seeing, as it was none other than one Suguru Kamoshida! Skull gasped at this and spoke up.

"K-Kamoshida!?" Skull said as Fox blinked as he recognized what appeared to be his former sensei, Ichiryusai Madarame, in the crowd.

"Sens-No, not Sensei. Madarame, you're here too?" Fox said as Queen gasped when she spotted Junya Kaneshiro in the crowd.

"Guys! Kaneshiro's over here." Queen said as Sumi blinked and spoke up.

"Wait, aren't those three all former Palace rulers that you guys told me about when I joined!? Why are they here!?" Sumi asked as Oracle spoke up.

"Good question, Sumi! But the better question would be this. Is President Okumura here too!?" Oracle said, as Joker spoke up.

"Not only that, but will we see either your Shadow or that sphinx approximation of your mother here!?" Joker asked as Oracle spoke up.

"Considering my Shadow became my Persona, I doubt that, Joker. And I believe we all watched that sphinx creature dissolve into black mist before." Oracle said as Noir frowned and spoke up.

"I didn't, because I hadn't joined yet. And I think the same is true for Sumi as well. That said, Father isn't around anymore, so I'd be shocked if he was here." Noir said sadly as Oracle winced, realizing the faux pas in her question and spoke up sheepishly.

"Oh, right. Sorry, Noir." Oracle said apologetically. Noir smiled at Oracle and spoke up.

"No, it's okay. You legitimately forgot about that, so I don't blame you. But more importantly, look there." Noir said, pointing to a spot in the opposite direction, and when the group looked in that direction, they gasped as they saw a familiar bald-headed male with a shackle around his right ankle. Queen gasped as she spoke up.

"What the-!? Masayoshi Shido! Why is he here, and not Sis' Shadow!?" Queen asked as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"The hell's goin' on!? These guys shoulda had a change of heart from their Palaces disappearin'!" Skull said as Mona blinked and spoke up.

"Not if these are the defeated Shadows that were supposed to have returned to their real selves, they're not. And if that's the case, then that explains why the Shadows of Oracle's mother, Noir's father, and Queen's sister are all not here, since the first one was destroyed by Joker and Draconis while saving Oracle, the second was gunned down by Crow despite Draconis' best efforts to save him, and the last never really had her Treasure taken, and thus had no reason to return to her true self, meaning Queen's sister effectively wound up changing her own heart in the end." Mona said as Kamoshida's Shadow spoke up.

"Mm, your bod's as great as always. C'mon, come closer." Kamoshida said as Panther frowned and stamped her foot irately as she spoke up.

"EW! You creep!" Panther said as Kamoshida huffed and spoke up.

"Hmph, clearly you have no sense of humor. I'm joking. I don't want any more trouble. I finally get to live without having to think for myself now." Kamoshida's Shadow said as Madarame's Shadow then spoke up.

"I mistakenly thought myself talented for so long, but now I think I'm a fool for wanting too much." Madarame's Shadow said as Kaneshiro's Shadow spoke up.

"Heh, it's no wonder people who can't take a hint get yelled at so often. I'm done actin' like a big shot. Who cares if I'm stupid? It's not like you get punished for being dumb. Nobody needs to strive to be more than they really are." Kaneshiro's Shadow said, making the group blanch at how monotone and subdued all three Shadows had sounded as they spoke. Fox winced and spoke up.

"These people seem completely different than they were before, don't they?" Fox said as Sumi spoke up uneasily.

"I'll take your word for it on that, Fox-senpai, since I wasn't with you for any of their Palaces." Sumi said as Queen spoke up.

"You didn't miss out on much, Sumi. Just some childish antics with Joker, Draconis, Skull, and Mona. That said, I don't think it's because they had a change of heart though, to be honest." Queen said as Mona frowned and spoke up.

"Wait, hold on. Have they chosen a life of captivity after they lost their distorted desires?" Mona asked as Shido's Shadow spoke up at that moment.

"Unfortunately, Okumura isn't here with us. Nothing can be done for the dead, as I'm sure you're all aware. Truly unfortunate, that. I know it doesn't change anything, but I'm sorry." Shido's Shadow said in a genuinely remorseful tone as Noir frowned at the mention of her father and spoke up.

"While I'm glad you seem to be remorseful, that doesn't change what you've done. That said, yes, I know. Thank you for the details." Noir said, glaring at Shido's Shadow as she kept speaking.

"Now if you don't mind, what in the world is this place?" Noir asked as Shido's Shadow spoke up.

"I don't know much about that, but from what I know, this place is supposedly called the 'Prison of Regression'." Shido's Shadow said as Oracle blinked and spoke up.

"R-Regression?" Oracle asked as Shido's Shadow spoke up with a slight frown on his face.

"Yes, Regression. Honestly, I know you're smart enough to know what that means. Otherwise, I worry for my son, if you truly aren't smart enough to know what regression means. That said, look around you. More importantly, does this look like captivity to you? Why, it's the exact opposite. The utmost freedom is available to anyone who desires it here. This is the freedom to not make decisions anymore. The release from having to think for yourself." Shido's Shadow said as the group gasped as he kept speaking.

"It is far more marvelous than the country I wished to create. My only regret, aside from all the people I've hurt and lives that I've ruined, is that neither Kusa nor Akechi, or rather Draconis nor Crow, are here to see it with us." Shido's Shadow said as the group gasped, even as Noir and Oracle glared at Shido's Shadow for bringing up the two missing Phantom Thieves as he had. Noir then spoke up.

"Release from having to think? But that's death/oblivion, isn't it?" Noir asked as Shido's Shadow spoke up.

"True. However, there are some fools who cannot stay put in this place. In other words, they are escaped convicts of a sort. Of course, I'm talking about our past selves. Such people are segregated from this peaceful world and locked away in their own Palaces." Shido's Shadow said as Queen gasped and spoke up.

"So those are the Palace rulers, then." Queen said as Kamoshida's Shadow spoke up.

"Heh, I really gotta thank you for changin' my heart. I got to come back here, after all." Kamoshida's Shadow said as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"We changed their hearts, but instead of sending them back to their real selves, we sent 'em back here?" Skull said in confusion as Fox frowned and spoke up.

"I don't understand it at all. Just what have we been doing by using the cognitive world?" Fox asked as Joker frowned and spoke up.

"I think it's too late to ask that now. But I know we've been doing the right thing so far. If nothing else, I have to believe that for the sake of those that were lost getting this far." Joker said resolutely. Fox nodded and spoke up.

"That's true, but have we really been doing the right thing?" Fox asked as Skull frowned at Fox and stamped his foot while speaking up.

"Dude, this ain't the time to be gettin' confused! We're here as the society-fixin' Phantom Thieves today!" Skull said as Queen nodded and spoke up while turning to face the Shadows of the former Palace rulers.

"Skull's right! But more importantly, having the freedom to not make your own decisions only means that someone else is controlling you! Tell me, if you can. Who is the ruler here? Who made all of this?" Queen asked as Shido's Shadow frowned and spoke up.

"Tch, what an odd question to ask. It should be obvious, little lady. Every member of the general public." Shido's Shadow said as the group gasped at this and he kept speaking.

"Seriously? Haven't you learned anything in school? The collective ruler of a democratic country is its people. Surely, at least SOME of you realize that. I know that if he were here, Draconis at least would have known that." Shido's Shadow said as the group frowned at Shido's Shadow once more bringing up Draconis as Skull spoke up, stamping his foot in annoyance as he spoke up.

"D-Don't lie outta your ass like that! I mean, there was a guard here earlier! That means someone's gotta be lookin' out for you guys, right?" Skull said as Shido's Shadow scoffed and spoke up.

"Hmph, you may be right. We are the ones 'looking out' upon everyone else." Shido's Shadow said as Panther gasped at that and spoke up.

"No, that can't be." Panther said as Queen spoke up in confusion.

"So, if we're understanding you correctly, the ones who least want the prison to be tampered with are in fact the prisoners themselves?" Queen said as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"It don't matter what this guy's talkin' about, if you ask me. We're gonna erase all of Mementos anyways. C'mon, let's get goin'!" Skull said before turning to face Mona as he kept speaking.

"Mona! The Treasure's in the deepest part, right!?" Skull asked as Mona didn't answer right away, instead looking around the prison in an almost anxious way. Oracle blinked at this and spoke up.

"Mona?" Oracle asked as Mona spoke up.

"I do remember this place now, somewhat. I saw the humans trapped in here before, and realized I looked different than them for some reason that I couldn't put my finger on. Oh, that's right! That's when I started to think I wanted to turn into a human!" Mona said as Queen looked at Mona and spoke up.

"Is that why you thought you would regain your true form if we destroyed Mementos?" Queen asked as Mona spoke up.

"Sorry, Queen. I can't answer that yet. I'm still missing a lot of my memories, as it turns out. But I know I randomly started checking a bunch of Palaces for some reason. Then my next memory is about that bastard Kamoshida's Palace." Mona said before his eyes widened as he kept speaking.

"Oh, yeah! I'm starting to remember more!" Mona said as the voice of the guard captain reached the group's ears.

"What are you doing here?" The guard captain asked as Panther spoke up in shock.

"No way! Guards again!? And there are more of them this time!" Panther said as Mona spoke up.

"Dammit, not again! We got careless!" Mona said as Queen spoke up.

"Let's run!" Queen said as the guard captain spoke into a walkie-talkie.

"I've discovered some escaped inmates! Catch them at once!" The guard captain said as he and the other two guards with him charged the group, at which point Skull scoffed and spoke up.

"Tch, they just had to come pilin' out, didn't they? Let's do this!" Skull said as the group kept moving. After destroying the swarm of guards, Skull, Mona, and Queen all hit level 69 from the ensuing EXP gains. The level ups gave Mona access to the passive skill 'Wind Amp'. Mona smirked and spoke up.

"Heh, fits me like a glove!" Mona said as Sumi smiled and spoke up.

"I'm sure it does. Well done, Mona-senpai!" Sumi said as Mercurius acquired 'Wind Amp'. After that, the group kept moving. After beating up a lot of Shadows, Oracle hit level 71. After beating more Shadows, Fox hit level 70 while Sumi hit level 69. After beating more Shadows, Panther hit level 69. After the fight, Joker noticed a side path past the Safe Room that Oracle pointed out, which he led the group down. After a bit, Skull gasped as the group found a strong Shadow there. Skull then spoke up.

"Dude, no way. That one looks pretty freakin' strong, doesn't it?" Skull asked as Queen nodded and spoke up.

"It sure does, Skull. No, wait! There's something behind it. Could it be protecting that, I wonder?" Queen asked, pointing to an object sitting on a pedestal behind the Shadow. Noir noticed this as well and spoke up with a frown.

"Queen's right. There's something shining back there, all right. What could it be, though?" Noir asked as Sumi blinked and spoke up.

"I wonder...Could it possibly be a key of some sort? Or perhaps it's this place's version of the Will Seeds?" Sumi asked as Fox spoke up while looking at Joker.

"That's very possible, Sumi. Either way, if it is worth being protected, it should be safe to assume that it's of value to us. That said, what do you think, Joker? Shall we defeat it and take whatever it's protecting?" Fox asked as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"I agree. Let's go. I believe Sumi when she thinks that it could be a key of some sort. So let's beat that thing and seize it for ourselves!" Joker said as Fox nodded and spoke up.

"Understood!" Yusuke said as the group charged up to the warden, who spoke up.

"Hmph, I see. You must be the outsiders I've heard so much about. I've been waiting for you." The warden said as Joker spoke up.

"Sorry for the wait. Better late than never, right?" Joker said. The warden scoffed and spoke up.

"Hmph, you're shameless. How dare you give me that lip when you've intruded this far into here. No matter. Your futile struggles will change absolutely nothing. Now it's time you go back to your cells and get chained down!" The warden said as he changed forms into a being that Joker didn't recognize, as a fight began! After the ensuing fight, the EXP gains brought Joker, Noir, and Queen all to level 70. Joker smirked and level up.

"All right! Once more, my level has gone up!" Joker said as his level increased. After the fight, Joker approached the object the Shadow had been protecting and examined it to procure the 'Vermilion Disk' from its pedestal. Afterwards, Sumi smiled and spoke up.

"Yay! We got it! And I think it might actually be a key, now that I look at it more." Sumi said as Queen nodded and spoke up.

"I think you're right, Sumi. But the question is, for what? Hm, I wonder. What do you think this could be used for, if anything?" Queen asked as Skull spoke up.

"Good question, babe. But who knows? It'll prolly come in handy though. I mean, that strong-ass Shadow was guardin' it. It wouldn't have done that for no reason." Skull said as the group kept moving. After retracing their steps to get back where they'd entered the side path from, Joker led the others into the Safe Room Oracle had found previously. Once inside, the 'Middle Passageway' was added to Joker's fast-travel list.

After heading back out, Joker found another path, and while using it, Joker noticed a spot on one of the walls of the raised section in the middle of the path that the 'Vermilion Disk' might fight into. Blinking at this, Joker slotted the disk into the depression, and sure enough, a door opened up to reveal another spot to step on. The group kept moving.

Afterwards, Joker found another panel, that he touched to start another tile puzzle, which he quickly solved, lowering the area to reveal a path forward. After going into the revealed door, the group found an area similar to the previous one they'd ridden down to reach the section they were currently in. Panther frowned as she saw the path leading downwards and spoke up.

"Seriously? It's still going further down from here?" Panther asked as Queen frowned and spoke up.

"Seems like it. And we're so far underground at this point, it's hard to believe." Queen said as Fox spoke up.

"Uh, I hope we don't suddenly find ourselves in a giant pit of lava out of nowhere." Fox said as Sumi frowned and spoke up.

"Lava!? What do you think this is, the lake of fire? I think you're over-thinking things, Fox-senpai." Sumi said as Skull spoke up.

"Regardless, he's right that we should be careful. But still, we gotta keep going!" Skull said as Mona nodded agreement and the group kept going towards the start of the downward path, where Mona once more became the Mona-bus, to ferry the group downwards, where the start of another section awaited. This time, when racing into the closed-off section, Noir gasped as she noticed an object on one of the walls and spoke up.

"Guys, look. Doesn't that cell seem, I don't know, different from the others?" Noir asked as the others looked at the cell and Queen blinked and spoke up.

"Wait, hold on. Could this be that Quarantine Cell we were told about before?" Queen asked as Fox spoke up.

"Perhaps, Queen. And if so, they say that supposedly the most sinful, most dangerous inmate is held within its confines." Fox said as Mona blinked and walked forward, speaking up with an unreadable look on his face as he spoke up.

"This, could it be? This place smells familiar for some reason that I can't put my finger on." Mona said as Noir blinked at Mona and spoke up.

"Um, Mona-chan?" Noir asked, but Mona ignored her as he kept speaking.

"No, there's no mistake. This is it. I don't know how I know this, but I was born here." Mona said as the others all looked at Mona in shock as Noir spoke up.

"Born? Inside the prison?" Noir asked as Panther gasped and spoke up.

"Wait, then are YOU the dangerous inmate, Mona!?" Panther asked as Mona shook his head and spoke up.

"No, I can confirm that the inmate wasn't me, Panther. But I remember this place for some reason. Someone created me here, for a reason I don't yet recall. No, wait. I think it was to guide all of you somewhere." Mona said as Noir blinked at this and spoke up.

"Guide? And who is this someone?" Noir asked as Mona frowned as he tried to recall, but groaned and spoke up after a bit.

"Ngh, it's no good. I can't remember that. Damn it, this sucks! I'm so close to recalling everything! But my memory is too foggy to fully recall everything still." Mona said as Skull spoke up.

"Y'know, hearin' all this just makes me wanna know what's inside." Skull said as Oracle blinked as she heard Thailog's voice inside her head at that moment.

"Oracle, can you hear me? If so, be careful! You and the others are near the bottom of the Mementos Depths! But you've yet to fight the strongest guardians of that area! Be on your guard! Also, don't worry about Draconis. He's still alive. I can at least tell you that much. Past that, there's little else I can tell you. But stay focused on your mission for now! If fate has it in store, you and the others will see Draconis again." Thailog said in Oracle's head, making her blink in confusion at what she'd heard. But before she could even begin to process Thailog's words, the voice of another guard captain reached their ears.

"We found them! The escapees are in front of the isolated cell! Alert! Alert! Capture them at once!" The guard captain said as he and the Shadows with him shifted forms into monster forms that Joker didn't recognize as a battle started! At the start of the battle, Oracle spoke up.

"Crap, we're surrounded! We gotta win this, guys!" Oracle said as the battle started! After the fight was over, the ensuing EXP gains brought Skull and Mona to level 70, and brought Joker's 'Arsene' Persona to level 34. After the battle, Queen spoke up.

"This place seems to be on high alert now. We should keep going." Queen said as the group relaxed as Fox spoke up.

"True. Given how important this cell appears to be, the depths of Mementos must be near. That said, Mona's memories may return if we continue on. Whether or not those memories are good ones or not remains to be seen." Fox said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah, you're not wrong, Fox." Mona said as Skull spoke up with a smile.

"Cheer up, Mona. We'll hopefully get you your memories back soon, yeah? That said, so, we're finally gettin' close to the public's Treasure, huh?" Skull asked as Mona smiled at Skull before frowning as he spoke up.

"Thank you, Skull. You're all right. That said, now that I think about it, it makes sense Mementos would connect to some place like underneath Shibuya. Everyone crams themselves into packed underground boxes everyday without any complaints at all. And from my standpoint, those are the true inmates of Mementos. It's no surprise the places are connected." Mona said as Queen spoke up with a frown.

"You know, the voices of the public may have led the Phantom Thieves on more than any criminal could." Queen said as Skull nodded, pumping a fist as he spoke up.

"Seriously, babe! Let's hurry up and steal that Treasure so we can crush Mementos!" Skull said as Noir spoke up.

"We truly are reforming society, aren't we? Heh, let's go!" Noir said as the others nodded and the group kept moving. While clearing out the nearby Shadows, Joker's 'Genbu' Persona hit level 14 and gained the skills 'Mabufu', 'Patra', 'Resist Forget', and 'Defense Master'. Skull smirked and spoke up.

"Oh, wow! A ton of new skills! Nice!" Skull said as Genbu acquired 'Mabufu', 'Patra', 'Resist Forget', and 'Defense Master'. After clearing out more Shadows, Fox hit level 71 and Oracle hit level 72. Afterwards, the group found another Safe Room that Joker led them into, getting the 'Lower Passageway' added to his fast travel list as a result. After going to and from the Velvet Room to take care of another Fusion Alarm, Joker noticed on his return that Skull, Noir, and Oracle all had stuff to say. To start, Joker walked over to Skull and spoke up.

"What's bonkin', Skull? We're making some good progress, yeah?" Joker asked Skull, who nodded before frowning as he spoke up.

"That is true, Joker. However, there're more of those guards here than at the entrance. We gotta get ourselves ready." Skull said as Joker nodded and went over to Noir, speaking up once more.

"What's on your mind, Noir? You look like you have something bothering you." Joker said as Noir frowned and spoke up.

"Hm? Oh, I was just thinking. I wonder what it's like in the Quarantine. Mona-chan was saying that's where he was born before, wasn't he?" Noir asked as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"That's true, he did say that. Go figure that it'd be the one dungeon that Draconis is absent for that we learn the truth about Mona in." Joker said before walking over to Oracle and speaking up.

"So, how are you holding up, little sis?" Joker asked Oracle, who looked at him and spoke up.

"Hm? Oh, I'm holding up pretty well, all things considered. I wonder what Mona meant before by 'A Quarantine'? What exactly happened to Mona in the past?" Oracle asked as Joker frowned and spoke up.

"That's the million-dollar question right now, so to speak, isn't it? I think we all want to know that. And to be honest with you, a small part of me is disappointed that Draconis isn't here to be able to learn the truth about Mona with us. But I suppose we can always tell him about it when we see him again." Joker said as Oracle smiled and nodded while Joker headed to the exit of the Safe Room, where Fox spoke up.

"Hm? Ready to go, Joker? Okay, let's go." Fox said as the group kept moving. While clearing out the next wave of Shadows, Noir hit level 71 and Panther hit level 70. After beating more Shadows, Joker's 'Arsene' Persona hit level 35. After beating another Shadow with Mona and Noir's Showtime, Joker's 'Arsene' Persona hit level 36. After beating another Shadow, Joker hit level 71 and smirked as he spoke up.

"All right! Level up!" Joker said as his level went up, not really trying to show off in that instance. After a bit, Joker found another panel, which he turned on to reveal another light-up tile puzzle, though Oracle frowned and spoke up as she saw the puzzle.

"Hm? Huh? The light on the floor's kinda different from the ones we've seen so far, Joker." Oracle said as Joker nodded while Sumi spoke up.

"True, but keep in mind Oracle-chan, we are pretty far down, so it somewhat makes sense that they'd bump up the difficulty of the puzzles here to try and trip up any intruders who get this far. So I, for one, am not that surprised at the light being kinda different." Sumi said as Oracle and Joker nodded as the latter started working on the puzzle. Fortunately for Joker, he noticed the invisible floor behind where he was standing, so he was easily able to finish the puzzle, revealing the path forward after he hit the now-blue panel, which made the path forward open up. Oracle gasped at this and spoke up.

"Ohh, so that was the gimmick! Had Joker taken more than a few steps to solve that, the puzzle would've reset itself and he'd have had to try again! Luckily, that wasn't the case here! That said, ooh, it opened! That's our Joker!" Oracle asked as Queen frowned and spoke up.

"True, but what could those patterns on the floor have meant, I wonder?" Queen asked as Oracle spoke up.

"As I said before, I'm pretty sure I figured it while I was watching Joker work. There is a limitation to the puzzles in this area. You can only change the colors up to ten times. Any more than that, and we'll have to start over, as I said before." Oracle said as Panther gasped and spoke up.

"Whoa, that sounds rough! And you solved a puzzle like that on your first try, Joker! That's seriously incredible!" Panther said as Oracle smirked and spoke up.

"Mwehehe! Are you really that surprised, Panther? After all, let me remind you that Joker's brother was the genius who was able to work through most every puzzle we've run into up to this point." Oracle said, trying not to get sad at bringing up the still-absent Draconis. Sumi saw this and patted Oracle on the shoulder comfortingly while speaking up.

"It's okay, Oracle. We all miss him too. But I know he'd want us to keep going. Draconis is a selfless guy like that, as I'm sure you're well aware." Sumi said reassuringly as Oracle nodded while the group kept moving. After defeating some nearby Shadows, Joker's 'Genbu' Persona hit level 18 while Queen hit level 71. The level-ups gave Queen access to the passive skill 'Nuke Amp', making her smirk as she spoke up.

"That's a new skill! Let's try it out!" Queen said happily as Johanna acquired 'Nuke Amp'. Afterwards, Joker went through the nearby door. While clearing out the Shadows in the next area, Joker's 'Arsene' Persona hit level 37. After proceeding more, the group came to a tile puzzle that Joker failed to solve, making Queen blink as she spoke up.

"Wait, this is impossible! Hold on, I'm sure of it. It's impossible to solve this in less than ten moves." Queen said as Fox frowned and spoke up.

"Are you certain about that?" Fox asked Queen, who nodded and spoke up.

"Yes, absolutely. Taking the shape and number of spots into account, no route could be completed that quickly. Having said that, there seems to be another device in this room. Why don't we try that first?" Queen asked as Sumi smiled and spoke up.

"Ah, so there is. Well spotted, Queen-senpai! Joker-senpai, let's listen to Queen-senpai on this, since she's our current tactical expert with our other tactician unavailable at the moment." Sumi said decisively as Joker nodded and the group kept moving. After clearing out an out-of-the-way Shadow, Joker's 'Arsene' Persona hit level 38, while both Skull and Mona hit level 71. The level-ups gave Skull access to the medium-tier Physical skill 'Agneyastra', making Skull grin as he spoke up.

"Hell yeah! A new move!" Skull said as Seiten Taisei acquired 'Agneyastra'. After that, Joker managed to disable all three tile puzzles in succession, opening up the path forward, at which point Fox smiled and spoke up.

"All right! Perfect, the security is disabled!" Fox said as Panther did a closed-eye smile and spoke up.

"About time, too! Now we can keep moving forward!" Panther said as Noir smiled and nodded as she spoke up.

"YES! Nicely done, Joker!" Noir said as Sumi giggled and spoke up.

"Joker-senpai did do good, didn't he? But I can reward him for it later. Hee hee! For now, let's keep on going." Sumi said with a mischievous giggle, smirking at the visible shudder she could see Joker give at the unspoken implication of her words, which luckily for them both went past without getting commented on by the rest of the group as they kept moving.

After proceeding forward, Oracle spotted a Safe Room, which when entered, added the 'Bottom Passageway' to the list of places Joker could fast-travel. After entering and exiting the Safe Room, the group moved forward to see a path leading down over what appeared to be an open pit, making Skull groan and speak up.

"Oh, c'mon! The hell is this?" Skull asked as Queen frowned and spoke up.

"Your guess is as good as mine on this one, sweetie. That said, it's huge! And I'm not just saying that either. I didn't realize such a gigantic place existed here, to be honest." Queen said as Noir frowned and spoke up.

"Ah, I see. Is this place what I think it is? Is this where everyone's Treasure is held?" Noir asked as Mona nodded resolutely and spoke up.

"Yeah, that should be the case." Mona said as Fox winced and frowned as he spoke up.

"But this ominously bizarre air about it feels out of place. It almost feels like a temple of sorts. Although, the question is, what would it be a temple to, precisely?" Fox asked as Skull winced and spoke up.

"Look, th-there's no point freakin' out about it now! C'mon, let's go!" Skull said as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. Onward, everyone! Let's seize that Treasure!" Joker said as the group kept moving, heading forward to a point where Joker used his grappling hook to zip over to another platform, where the group slid down a slide into another section of the Mementos Depths. After finding some platforms to hop down, Joker led the group to the entrance of the lowest point of the Depths, where Mona spoke up.

"Hm, this is it. The depths of Mementos is likely what awaits us down there, everyone. That said, are you ready to descend, Joker?" Mona asked Joker, who nodded and spoke up.

"Sure am, Mona. Let's go. We have to do this, not just to keep our word to Queen's sister, but also to avenge those who sacrificed themselves so we could get this far. We owe it to our fallen comrades to do this! Now let's go get that Treasure!" Joker said resolutely as the group descended to the lowest point of the depths, where all that awaited them was a giant mechanical cup-like object, with lots of red searchlight-esque beams coming off of it that moved up and down, making Skull gasp as he spoke up.

"Uhh, what the hell!?" Skull said as Fox frowned, looking at all the cells around the group as he spoke up.

"Yes, that is abhorrent, but look at how many there are around us. Are these all prison cells?" Fox asked as Oracle spoke up.

"Good question. And another good question is this. What's that thing in the middle?" Oracle asked, seeing what Skull had seen. Panther frowned and spoke up.

"No clue, Oracle. But whatever it is? It looks disgustingly grand to me." Panther said as Sumi nodded and spoke up.

"I agree, Panther-senpai. It's almost obscenely gaudy with how flashy it looks." Sumi said as Fox nodded before looking around and speaking up.

"Well put, Sumi. But also, there are no other passages leading out of this room that I can see. It appears this is our final destination, everyone. This is the depths of Mementos." Fox said as at that same time, Oracle winced as she heard Thailog speak up once more in an insistent tone in her head.

"ORACLE! If you can hear me, exercise caution from where you are. From what Nostradamus showed me shortly before Draconis and I got separated from the rest of you, you're about to go up against a very formidable opponent. So take ALL due precautions if you hope to win! But I doubt that even a god, whether it's a wanna-be god or not, can stop the Phantom Thieves! Draconis and I are both rooting for you guys, so do your best!" Thailog said as Oracle winced at how audible his words were in her mind. At that point, Noir spoke up, catching Oracle's attention as she spoke.

"In that case, is the Treasure of Mementos in here somewhere?" Noir asked as Joker spoke up.

"That should be the case, if this is our final destination. Assuming, that is, that there aren't any hidden areas that Fox missed on his cursory glance around this room." Joker replied. Mona nodded in response and spoke up.

"I think you're right, Joker. I've never been here before now, but I can sense it. Yes, there's no mistaking that presence. If we get rid of it, we've fulfilled our mission." Mona said, before briefly groaning and then shaking his head as if to clear his mind before he kept speaking.

"And not only that, but if we get rid of it, the public should come to its senses! And with any luck, we can do so without causing any negative consequences to our missing allies, wherever they might be." Mona said as Sumi gasped and spoke up.

"Are you sure, Mona-senpai? That would be ideal if we could seize this Treasure and not lampoon Draconis and Crow in the Metaverse somewhere." Sumi said as Fox nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed, Sumi. That being said, however, look at this thing! Not only is it massive, but something that large will be impossible to carry out of here." Fox said as Skull pumped a fist and spoke up.

"No problem, Fox. We just gotta make it disappear, right? If we can't move it, then we'll just hafta destroy it!" Skull said as Joker gasped and spoke up.

"Destroy it!? Is that even safe!? The last few times we've changed our targets' hearts, for the most part we didn't destroy their Treasures. Granted, there were a couple of cases, such as Oracle's and Queen's sister's, where we didn't actually steal the Treasure per se, yet their hearts changed anyways. I've never had to destroy a Treasure before. What's to say that we couldn't accidentally cause the masses to have mass mental shutdowns if we destroy the Treasure?" Joker asked warily as Mona smiled and spoke up while patting Joker on the arm comfortingly.

"Yeah, I hear your concerns, Joker. But I agree with Skull here. I think that will work." Mona said as Panther frowned and spoke up.

"Be that as it may Mona, let's not forget the potential consequences of doing this. Once we do that, the entire Metaverse is going to disappear along with anyone trapped inside it, right? This is finally it, then. Our final battle as Phantom Thieves." Panther said as at that moment, alarm sirens started blaring as Oracle blinked and spoke up.

"Eh!? Oh. I guess it's no surprise that we've been discovered. And I'm not surprised. After all, I doubt very much that that thing isn't gonna sit back and let itself get destroyed." Oracle said as a bunch of voices could be heard crying out in protest at that point, making Fox frown and speak up.

"Not only that, but even the inmates are starting to liven up. How eerie. And I have to wonder. Are they planning something?" Fox asked as Skull spoke up while pumping a fist again.

"Even if they are, that must mean this thing's gotta be the Treasure. They saved us the trouble of checkin'!" Skull said as Queen frowned and spoke up.

"No, wait. Hold on. Something's off." Queen said as the others blanched and looked at Queen, who kept speaking.

"Think about it. Shido said the masses are allowing themselves to be held captive here, didn't he? Could they truly be operating this gigantic system that eliminates intruders on its own? The prison guards and soldiers were very organized too, if I recall correctly." Queen said as Fox frowned at this and spoke up.

"Are you trying to say that someone else rules this place? Is it not the public?" Fox asked. But before anyone could reply, an ominous-sounding laughter echoed around the room, making the group look around in alarm as Panther spoke up.

"Oh! What was that!?" Panther asked as Skull spoke up with a frown.

"We don't have time to worry about that! Leave it for later!" Skull said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"I agree with Skull. All right, guys! We better not lose now!" Mona said as a battle started! As the battle started, Mona looked at the group and spoke up.

"Let's hurry up and destroy this thing! Everyone, please! Give it your all!" Mona said as Oracle nodded and spoke up.

"All right, let's do it!" Oracle said as the battle commenced. The group wasted little time in leveling their strongest attacks at the object in the middle of the room, clocking a good bit of damage, but after a bit, the voices of the inmates rang out around the group.

"STOP! STOP!" One of the inmates said as another inmate's voice could be heard.

"Don't touch the Holy Grail!" The other inmate, a female by the sounds of their voice, said. Mona blinked at this as Oracle spoke up.

"The Holy Grail? Is that what that voice just said?" Oracle asked as in response, the object glowed with a huge set of light flashes, and before the group's stunned eyes, the object healed off all the damage that the group had inflicted, and then some. Oracle gasped at this and spoke up.

"NO WAY! What was that!?" Oracle asked as more inmates could be heard speaking out.

"Leave the Holy Grail alone!" One of the inmates said as another inmate spoke up at that point.

"As long as we're here, the Holy Grail will never perish!" Another inmate could be heard shouting as Oracle gasped in realization as she spoke up.

"Don't tell me, you guys. Are the inmates giving it their strength and healing it!?" Oracle asked as the battle ended at that point, and Skull spoke up with a frown.

"Gah, dammit! This is never gonna end!" Skull said as Sumi spoke up.

"Calm down, Skull-senpai! We can't give up hope!" Sumi said as Fox spoke up.

"Be that as it may Sumi, it does seem hopeless if there are this many inmates supporting it so unconditionally." Fox said as a godlike voice rang out at that moment.

"You fools. Human, yet wishing to eradicate the desires of humanity for whatever reason." The group heard as Panther gasped and spoke up in confusion.

"Oh! Who's that!?" Panther asked as Sumi frowned and spoke up, confusion in her expression as she spoke.

"That's a good question, Panther-senpai. But it sounds like it's coming from that object we just tried to destroy." Sumi said as the godlike voice spoke up again.

"Never mind who I am. Repent." The godlike voice rang out once more as Queen gasped, realizing the voice seemed to be coming from the Treasure itself. Queen then spoke up.

"Oh! The Treasure's talking!?" Queen asked as the Treasure spoke up once more.

"Indeed. I am revered as the granter of dreams for all who behold me, no matter who they might be. A being most commonly known as the Holy Grail, to put my name in terms you might understand." The apparently-named 'Holy Grail' said as Noir blinked and spoke up.

"The Holy Grail, hm?" Noir asked as the 'Holy Grail' spoke up once more.

"Correct. But more to the point, The Prison of Regression is representative of the collective desires of humanity. They wished to be chained down, surrender their cognition, and neglect the world around them, as is expected of the indolent masses. These feebleminded commonfolk will make your 'social reform' all for naught." The 'Holy Grail' said as the group gasped while the 'Holy Grail' kept speaking.

"The shared heart of the masses has fallen into an excess of indolence and transformed into a prison." The 'Holy Grail' said as the voices of the inmates could be heard seemingly praising the 'Holy Grail', making Skull frown as he spoke up.

"Dammit, why!? They're worshippin' that thing!" Skull said as the 'Holy Grail' spoke up.

"Correct. Thus, in the end, the only suitable end for them is to perish within the prison they wished for themselves." The 'Holy Grail' said as a bunch of lights started glowing on it as Mona frowned and spoke up.

"Get ready! Here it comes!" Mona said as Skull smirked and spoke up.

"Hell yeah!" Skull said as the battle started up once more. As it started back up, Oracle frowned and spoke up.

"Damn that thing to hell! Let's break it for sure this time!" Oracle said as the group started assaulting the 'Holy Grail' once more as the battle resumed. After clocking a lot of damage, the inmates cried out once more.

"Stop! Stop it right now!" One inmate said as another spoke up.

"Leave the Holy Grail alone!" The other inmate said as the rest of the inmates chanted their agreement, invoking the 'Will Of The People', a move which healed the 'Holy Grail' back to full health, making Oracle gasp and speak up.

"No way, it can't be! Did it heal again to full!? Guys, we can't lose! Keep attacking!" Oracle called out, even as she heard Thailog's voice in her head.

"Oracle, listen to me! You're just wasting everyone's energy having them attack repeatedly! That thing has a weakness, but until you find it, you're only wasting your time attacking! Surely you're smart enough to realize that unless you can cut the source of the healing, any attacks that you or the others attempt to use, while able to damage the enemy, are ultimately going to amount to being little more than a waste of time?" Thailog called out in Oracle's mind, but was ignored as Oracle noticed something as she spoke up.

"Huh, what the? Wait, its color is changing." Oracle said as the battle resumed. After clocking a bunch more damage, another inmate's voice could be heard speaking up.

"Ah, that sheen! Let it last for all eternity!" The female inmate said as the 'Will Of The People' was once more invoked, healing off all the damage that was clocked. Oracle groaned at this and spoke up.

"Ngh, what!? Not again! I knew it. Every time that thing heals, its color changes afterwards." Oracle said as the fight kept going. After clocking more damage, the inmates spoke up again.

"I said STOP!" One inmate said as another spoke up at that same point.

"That's our Holy Grail!" Another inmate said as the 'Will of The People' was once again invoked, healing off the damage the group had inflicted. Oracle frowned and spoke up.

"W-Wait, hold up! It's gonna get totally healed again! No fair! This is cheating!" Oracle said as Thailog's voice once more rang out in her mind.

"Oracle, listen to me! It's not cheating if you guys aren't trying to cut off the healing! If you can do that, you might have a chance of defeating that thing! But you can't win if you keep just attacking recklessly! I know you're anxious, but think! Draconis and I both know you're not that impulsive to rush into things recklessly!" Thailog gently but firmly rebuked Oracle in her mind as the battle ended once more. At that point, an inmate's voice spoke up.

"STOP THAT, YOU THIEVES!" The inmate said as the rest of the inmates started chanting in unison.

"GET OUT OF HERE! GET OUT OF HERE! GET OUT OF HERE!" The inmates chanted over and over as Mona winced and spoke up.

"Dammit! If this is really how people feel, there's no way we'll be able to steal their hearts as we are. We've come here for nothing, you guys!" Mona said as Noir frowned and spoke up.

"This is horrible, you guys!" Noir said as the 'Holy Grail' spoke up at that point.

"You imbeciles are intoxicated by an undesired 'justice' that only you seem to want. This is the will of the children of man who have fallen into sloth. My shine is proof that they desire my existence. As long as humanity yearns for me, I shall never perish, despite your best efforts to eliminate me." The 'Holy Grail' said as Queen frowned and spoke up.

"Is this really what everyone wants? To stop thinking and be guided by the Holy Grail?" Queen asked as Joker frowned and spoke up.

"Whether that's the case or not, we can't accept that! We came here to steal the Treasure of Mementos! And that's what we're gonna do, no matter what! We swore to your sister that we'd succeed in this mission, so we cannot accept failure!" Joker said resolutely. Queen nodded and spoke up sadly.

"Yes, you're right, Joker. It's so frustrating that it makes me want to cry from our apparent failure. But I refuse to agree! No. I will NEVER agree!" Queen said as Mona jumped up and down and spoke up.

"Agreed, Queen! The humans I look up to aren't like that at all. No matter how painful reality is, it's all over if you don't try to change how things are! And I'm not the only one who believes that. Everyone here agrees with me on that. We don't want to turn back into the people we used to be! That's why we risked our lives coming here, and why our missing comrades made the sacrifices they did!" Mona said resolutely as Noir gasped and spoke up.

"Mona-chan, how profound of you!" Noir said as Panther nodded and spoke up with a closed-eye smile.

"He's right, though!" Panther said as the 'Holy Grail' scoffed and spoke up.

"Are you sure that's correct!? From where I sit, humanity already wishes for their distortions to be actualized. In fact, even as we speak, there are those who are actively out seeking the power to make such actualizations a reality. And it is one of those same individuals who is holding one of your own as their prisoner to try and achieve the power to make their ambitions a reality. That being said, I am merely the being that will ultimately grant those wishes, through the power I possess. Now, it is time that I refrain from my place in this world, and begin to encroach upon reality itself." The 'Holy Grail' said as it started pulsing an ominous blue light while Skull frowned and spoke up.

"WHAT!? That's a load of shit!" Skull said as Queen gasped and spoke up.

"Encroach? What is it gonna do!?" Queen said as Sumi frowned and spoke up.

"Nothing good, that's for sure, Queen-senpai! And am I the only one who caught the reference which that thing made to Draconis in its previous words!? It sounds like it knows where Draconis is. And if what it said is true, he could be in serious trouble! After all, it's rare that someone using a hostage to gain power ends well for the hostage. But if anyone could make it through that, it's Draconis! As for Crow, I don't know if he's with Draconis or not." Sumi said as Panther nodded and spoke up.

"Good point, Sumi. Oh! Hey, this doesn't look good!" Panther said as Oracle frowned and spoke up.

"No, Panther. No it doesn't look good at all. Ugh, I've got a bad feeling about this, you guys." Oracle said as Thailog's voice once more rang out in her head.

"The 'Holy Grail' isn't wrong! Draconis just ran into the Ruler of the Palace he's being held in. Oddly enough, he referred to him as 'Doc', whatever that means? But in any case, the ruler is trying to entice Draconis to assist him in his research, whatever that entails. So I get the feeling that Draconis might be in very real danger soon!" Thailog said in Oracle's mind. At that point, the 'Holy Grail' started crackling with ominous noises and lights. Fox blinked and looked at Mona as he spoke up.

"Mona! What should we do!?" Fox asked Mona, who hopped up and down, glaring at the 'Holy Grail' as he spoke up angrily.

"Listen here! I don't know who or what you are, but you can't keep arbitrarily deciding all this on your own. Humans aren't all stupid like you say they are!" Mona said as the 'Holy Grail' scoffed and spoke up.

"Hmph. Indolent, foolish humans. You shall offer your hearts to me soon enough." The 'Holy Grail' said ominously before firing a blinding laser at the group, making the room flash white briefly as the screams of the group echoed before silence replaced the yells as the 'Holy Grail' spoke up once more.

"Now, the time for the fusion has come at last!" The 'Holy Grail' said as the group caught its' breath after being knocked to the ground. Fox gasped as he saw parts of the floor around the group turning neon pink and spoke up.

"Hey, the ground's changing color!" Fox called out as the group looked down and gasped as Sumi spoke up.

"NO WAY! Fox-senpai is absolutely right!" Sumi said as Noir nodded and spoke up.

"Not only that, but it's vanishing!?" Noir said as Skull grunted and stood up straight as he spoke up.

"Urgh. Hell no! We didn't come all this way to fail here!" Skull said defiantly. But it was for naught, as the entire floor lit up pink as the room was engulfed in a flash of white light, as another ominous voice spoke up.

"Mor...gana..." The voice called out as Mona gasped and spoke up.

"Huh!? Who's that!?" Mona called out in alarm as the voice spoke up.

"You...are...my..." The voice said as Mona winced and spoke up.

"N-No way, is that true!? Oh, I see. So that's how it was, eh? I remember everything now, finally." Mona said as the screen flashed white once more...

(In the real world, in Shibuya with Haru, Ryuji, Kasumi, Ann, Ren, Yusuke, Makoto, Morgana, and Futaba)

As the group yelled in shock, most of them hit the ground as Ann spoke up with a wince.

"Ow, that sucked." Ann said, before gasping as she saw several of the group knelt over in pain on the ground and spoke up.

"Oh! Is everyone okay!?" Ann said as the people on the ground got up while Ryuji groaned and spoke up.

"Owww, dammit! Of course we are!" Ryuji said as Futaba gasped and spoke up.

"Oh! Hey, our clothes are back to normal!" Futaba said as Kasumi gasped and spoke up.

"Not only that, but Mona-senpai is back to normal too!" Kasumi said as well. The others all looked shocked at this until Morgana spoke up.

"Guys, look!" Morgana said as the group looked around and gasped as Haru spoke up in shock.

"Huh!? Shibuya?" Haru said as Yusuke blinked and spoke up.

"What? We're back!?" Yusuke said as Kasumi frowned and spoke up.

"Seems that way, Yusuke-senpai. But why are we back here!?" Kasumi asked as Morgana frowned and spoke up.

"I think that's obvious, Kasumi. We didn't come back ourselves though, that's for sure. We must've been driven out by the Holy Grail." Morgana said as Makoto turned to Ren and spoke up.

"Did we lose?" Makoto asked as Ren frowned and spoke up.

"The battle, maybe. But we've not lost the war yet! We can't give up." Ren said resolutely. Makoto nodded and spoke up.

"I know that, but Ren, maybe it's time that we accept that we can't defeat the Holy Grail?" Makoto suggested as Kasumi frowned and spoke up.

"WHAT!? Am I seriously hearing that from you right now, Makoto-senpai!? You're the last person I'd expect to hear quitter talk from! We can't stop yet! We've got a mission to finish! And I will be damned if I let the world end like this on Christmas Eve, of all days! No, I won't just be damned. I refuse to let that happen!" Kasumi said firmly as she huffed. Futaba blinked as she heard the sounds of rain and spoke up.

"Huh? Wait, huh? Whoa!" Futaba said as the ground started being coated with what appeared to be pink rain, only for ominous looking bone tendrils to shoot out of the ground moments later where the rain had it, making Futaba gasp and jump backwards in shock, almost bumping into Makoto in the process. The group gasped as they saw the skeletal looking structures shooting up all over Shibuya. Eventually, a shocked Makoto spoke up.

"What the heck!? Mementos here in the real world, and of all places, in Shibuya? Oh! Is this what it meant by 'the fusion'!?" Makoto asked as the others shrugged.

(At the same time, on a train with Mishima)

Meanwhile at that same time, Mishima was riding a train across town and frowned as he looked out the window and looked on, gasping as he saw what had become of Shibuya, somehow able to see the skeletal structures.

"Ah!?" Mishima said as he looked down and saw pink liquid seeping through the cracks in the train doors, making him jump backwards as he spoke up.

"Ah! What's going on here!? What is all that!?" Mishima said in horror, frowning as it seemed like only he could see the liquid and skeletal structures. Mishima frowned as he kept speaking.

"God, how come they're not seeing any of this at all?" Mishima asked himself.

(Meanwhile, at Leblanc with Sojiro)

At that same time, over outside of Leblanc, Sojiro gasped as he brought out a box of bottles, frowning as he saw the structures and rain and spoke up.

"Oh! What the hell is going on out here?" Sojiro asked no one in particular.

(Back with the group)

Morgana hopped up onto a ledge to get a better view and avoid the rain. He then spoke up as he saw the ominous looking bone archways.

"No. To think this would happen to Shibuya. It's unreal." Morgana said as Ryuji gasped and spoke up.

"WHAT!? No way, man. You gotta be shittin' me!" Ryuji said as Ren chuckled and spoke up.

"Since Kusa's not here, I'll say it for him. I wish I was, but I shit you not, good sir." Ren joked, referring to the joke Kusa had cracked back when he and Kusa first met Ryuji during Kamoshida's Palace. Afterwards, Ren looked up at the sky, wondering what he and the others had brought on not only themselves, but all of Shibuya, from their failure to stop the Holy Grail.

(At the same time, elsewhere with Hifumi)

"Oh! What the heck!? Is this scenery I'm looking at for real!?" Hifumi asked as another voice spoke up nearby.

"What on earth!? This is impossible! Why doesn't anyone notice this!?" Yoshida said from behind Hifumi.

(Back near Leblanc, with Sojiro)

"Wh-What the hell is happening here? " Sojiro asked in disbelief.

(At the same time, in another location with Sae)

"I can't believe this is happening! Why is everyone acting normal!? Don't they see this!? God, I hope those kids are safe right now." Sae said to herself.

(Back with the group again)

"Man, what great weather. Wanna go for a drive?" The group heard a male college student say from nearby before they heard a businessman speak up on his phone.

"Hello? Yes, it's about tomorrow's preliminary meeting that was scheduled." The businessman was heard saying to someone on the other end of his phone as a geeky man spoke up.

"Wow, the announcement for the new smartphone is tonight! Isn't Madicce's work amazing!?" The geeky man said as a flashy woman spoke up from nearby. *2*

"Man, what were the Phantom Thieves all about, anyway?" The flashy woman said as an easygoing man spoke up.

"Oh man, hearing that brings back memories! I feel so dumb for even believing they existed." The easygoing man said as a knowledgeable woman spoke up.

"It was fun news, though. Well, I doubt anyone believes they're around anymore." The knowledgeable woman said as Yusuke spoke up.

"Why isn't anyone noticing this abnormality?" Yusuke asked as Makoto frowned and spoke up.

"It's probably because they don't feel that it's odd at all." Makoto said as Futaba winced and held her head as she dropped to her knees, groaning in pain,as Ryuji caught her and spoke up.

"Futaba! What's wrong!?" Ryuji asked as Futaba looked at Ryuji and spoke up, ignoring that Ryuji's hand was on her back for the moment as she spoke.

"Ohh, I don't know why, but I feel so woozy right now. Nngh, what's going on?" Futaba said as Ann stumbled over and spoke up.

"Futaba, grab on! Nngh!" Ann said before dropping to her knees as well with a grunt that Futaba matched. Haru gasped at this and spoke up.

"Ann-chan!? Nnh, what the heck?" Haru said before she and the others fell to their knees, all grunting in pain. Kasumi gasped and spoke up.

"What's going on? Why are we all feeling so weak all of a sudden!?" Kasumi asked as Makoto frowned and spoke up.

"Good question, Kasumi! Is this possibly an act of punishment by the Holy Grail, too?" Makoto said as everyone was on their knees by this point. Ryuji growled as he bunched a fist up and spoke up.

"That effing son of a bitch! What's this creepy-ass shit about-Ugh!" Ryuji said as he fell to the ground and groaned as he spoke up.

"Ow, that hurt. Huh? Aaaaaaaaagh! My effing hand is disappearing! My hand!" Ryuji said, looking horrified as his hand seemed to start vanishing in that moment. Ann turned to face Ryuji in concern as she spoke up.

"Ryuji? Agh!" Ann said as she fell down at that point. To her horror, both her leg and the hand of a horrified Makoto started vanishing as Makoto spoke up.

"This can't be real, right?" Makoto asked as Kasumi frowned and spoke up, kneeling at this point to try and prevent herself from falling if possible.

"I dunno, Makoto-senpai. It seems pretty real to me. Gah!" Kasumi said as her legs gave out from under her, making her gasp in horror as she looked down and saw her right arm starting to vanish, making her give off an involuntary scream as she saw her arm seemingly vanishing. Ren gasped at this and spoke up.

"Sumi! Hang in there, please!" Ren said, clearly horrified at the sight of his girlfriend seemingly vanishing. Yusuke groaned as he spoke up next.

"Gah! What is happening to us?" Yusuke said as he held his right arm, which was vanishing just like Kasumi's. Haru gasped as she spoke up, both of her hands vanishing at that point.

"No, this can't be! No!" Haru said as Futaba groaned and spoke up.

"My body's vanishing! It's literally disappearing as we speak!" Futaba said in horror as Morgana spoke up.

"No! Don't tell me! This isn't-?" Morgana said before being interrupted by a familiar ominous chuckle as the 'Holy Grail' spoke up.

"Indeed. This isn't my doing. You imbeciles are about to disappear from the people's cognition." The 'Holy Grail' said as Ryuji groaned and spoke up.

"Ugh. That damn voice!" Ryuji said as the 'Holy Grail' spoke up.

"Mementos and reality have become one, as they were meant to do. Thus, those who have disappeared from cognition cannot exist anywhere." The 'Holy Grail' said as Ryuji groaned and spoke up.

"Disappear, my ass! What the hell! AAAA-!" Ryuji said, being cut off mid-yell as he suddenly vanished from view, making Ann gasp as she spoke up.

"Oh! Ryuji!" Ann said in horror as she also vanished. Yusuke frowned as he spoke up.

"Is this really it? Augh-!" Yusuke called out as he too vanished while Futaba spoke up.

"No! No-!" Futaba said, being cut off mid-yell like Ryuji was as she too vanished. Makoto turned to Morgana as she spoke up.

"Morgana, tell me. Where did we mess up? Where did we go wro-?" Makoto asked, vanishing mid-sentence so she couldn't finish her question. Haru gasped and spoke up.

"No! Ah, Makoto! Aah, come back!" Haru called out as she also vanished before the eyes of a horrified Morgana. Kasumi gasped in horror as she spoke up.

"NO! Haru-senpai! Why is everyone-?" Kasumi called out, but like most of the others, she was unable to finish her sentence before vanishing before the devastated eyes of Ren, who gasped and spoke up while looking at Morgana, who was the only other one who hadn't vanished yet.

"NO! KASUMI! NOOOO!" Ren said in horror as Morgana looked at Ren and spoke up in a somber tone.

"Ren, be honest with me. Is this all my fault? Because I was the one that brought you all there?" Morgana asked as Ren looked Morgana in the eyes and spoke up while gently holding the closest not-cat paw to him.

"Morgana, listen to me! No matter what happens here, this is not now, nor will it ever be, your fault! This is all the fault of the 'Holy Grail'! We all know that! That said, what's going on? Why is everyone vanishing one by one? Are we next?" Ren asked Morgana, who spoke up while sadly looking Ren in the eyes.

"Ren, thank you. I promise, I didn't mean for this to happen. I-I'm so sorry! I'm sorry, Ren. But it looks like the mission's gonna go down as a failure in the end." Morgana said as Ren gasped in horror as Morgana vanished before his eyes. After a moment, Ren shuddered before laying on his back and speaking up once more.

"NOT YOU TOO, MORGANA! NOOO! Gah, how could this have happened! Dammit! Kusa, if you can hear me, we've failed you. I'm sorry, brother. Please... forgive-!" Ren said, vainly reaching his hand up to the sky as if trying to reach out for Kusa's hand before vanishing, much as the others had. Unbeknownst to Ren, two different figures would see this whole thing, and have differing reactions. The first of the two figures, clad mainly in a cream-colored hooded cloak, spoke up in disbelief.

"NO! I'm too late! Dammit, I failed to save any of them! And even after I promised him that I'd do my best to save them! WHY!?" A hooded figure said, his head lowering as tears fell from his eyes as he bemoaned his failure to save Ren and the others. At the same time, another figure, this one with brown hair and glasses, frowned as he spoke up to himself.

"Truly unfortunate. It seems, in the end, even the Phantom Thieves couldn't save the world. Was Kusa's faith in them misplaced!?" Maruki asked himself with a frown, blinking as he saw what looked vaguely like Akechi vanishing into the crowd at that moment, making him wonder why Kusa wasn't among the group that vanished. Unbeknownst to him, Kusa had been spared the fate of vanishing due to the fact he was currently being held prisoner inside of Maruki's own Palace.

As Maruki shook his head and walked off, the camera panned skyward, showing the masses going about their days, completely unaware of the fact that several youths had just vanished into thin air in the middle of broad daylight. The shot then panned out further to show the ever-expanding array of skeletal structures that surrounded Shibuya as the skies turned an ominous shade of pink above the ignorant masses...

(A short time later, in the Velvet Room, with Ren, Igor, Caroline, and Justine)

Ren groaned as he came to, eventually getting to his feet as Igor spoke up in a regretful-sounding tone.

"Alas. In the end, your rehabilitation was not carried through. It appears I have overestimated you, Inmate." Igor said as Ren looked up and spoke up.

"What happened, Igor? Where are my friends? Why am I here?" Ren asked. Igor chuckled a familiar, ominous chuckle as Caroline smacked the bars of Ren's cell and spoke up.

"You incompetent prisoner!" Caroline rebuked Ren as Justine frowned and spoke up.

"In the end, it seems that the assistance that we provided was all for naught." Justine said as Igor spoke up with a dark chuckle.

"Heh, humans are more apathetic than I imagined. And more foolish than I had thought them to be. The world will soon see its ruin, and there's not a thing you can do to stop it." Igor said as Ren frowned and spoke up.

"Ruin, you say? Am I in purgatory after dying?" Ren asked warily. Igor smirked and spoke up.

"No, you're still alive, at least for now. You have lost the game. You were meant to bring change to mankind as a Trickster, but it seems that was too much for you. In accordance to the game's rules, the defeated must pay a price. Your life is forfeit." Igor said darkly as Ren, Justine and Caroline all gasped at this as Igor kept speaking.

"I sentence you to be executed." Igor said as Caroline gasped and spoke up.

"What!? Executed?" Caroline said as Igor smirked and spoke up.

"Indeed. God's decree is absolute, after all." Igor said as Ren frowned and spoke up.

"God's decree? But you're not God? That's sacrilege!" Ren said as Igor chuckled and spoke up.

"It doesn't matter what you say, Inmate! My experiment has come to naught, in the end. Everything is over." Igor said before turning to Caroline and Justine as he spoke up.

"Grant that man a swift death." Igor said to the twins, who exchanged a look of horror. Caroline frowned and lowered her head as she spoke up.

"I hate that it's come to this, but very well. If that's what our master wishes, then so be it." Caroline said as Ren turned a wide-eyed look of horror on her as he spoke up.

"Wait, what!? You're going to execute me? After all we've been through together? And all that I've shown you about the world outside this room?" Ren said in disbelief. Caroline frowned and smacked her baton on the bars of Ren's cell as she spoke up.

"It's nothing personal. I-It just means that you weren't an upstanding prisoner!" Caroline said as Justine frowned and spoke up.

"That line of thinking may be true, Caroline. But at the same time, I feel like it's also wrong." Justine said as Igor frowned at the twins and spoke up.

"What is the matter? Carry out his sentence at once." Igor said authoritatively as Justine looked at Caroline in horror and spoke up.

"Are we really going to kill him?" Justine asked, a conflicted look on her face. Caroline frowned and spoke up.

"Don't falter now! It's all his fault for losing the game!" Caroline said while frowning as she smacked her baton on the bars of Ren's cell again, only for the bars to vanish when her baton made contact, causing Ren to stumble and fall out onto the ground before the twins, a look of horror on his face as Caroline kept speaking.

"All right, Inmate. We now proceed to the execution of your sentence." Caroline said as Ren frowned and spoke up.

"I can't die yet. The game's not over. But more to the point, where are my teammates?" Ren asked the twins. When they didn't answer, Ren frowned as he realized that at the rate things were going, the twins were likely to kill him. Ren had to do something to prevent that. He then struggled to his feet, where his Phantom Thief attire re-materialized around him, to the shock of the twins. Caroline frowned at this and spoke up.

"How insolent of you! To think you'd still show your rebellious will after all that, Inmate! Well, whatever. It changes nothing! Ready, Justine?" Caroline asked Justine, who sighed, pulling her cap over her eyes slightly as she spoke up sadly.

"Honestly? No, I'm not. I'd rather not kill the Inmate. However, if our master orders it to be so, there's not much I can do." Justine said before looking directly at Ren as she spoke up.

"Inmate, I'm very sorry, but once our Master orders something, it must be done, whether we like it or not. Even if I wanted to refuse, I couldn't. But even then, it cannot be helped." Justine said regretfully as Caroline scowled at Ren, speaking up as she assumed a battle-ready stance.

"Let us show our strength to this insolent prisoner who just doesn't know when to give up." Caroline said as Justine sighed and nodded as she spoke up.

"Very well. Understood." Justine said reluctantly. Justine and Caroline then spoke up together.

"DEATH TO THE CRIMINAL!" Justine and Caroline said together as a battle started. As it started, Caroline spoke up authoritatively.

"Don't resist, Inmate. Just accept your sentence!" Caroline said as Justine sighed and spoke up.

"She's not wrong. One's final moments should be spent in good grace!" Justine said as the battle started. Ren went to move, but found he couldn't. The twins then proceeded to level a bunch of attacks at Ren, who somehow stayed upright through them all, making Justine gasp as she spoke up.

"This power? Could it be? Caroline, it's just as I thought!" Caroline said as Igor spoke up from the sidelines.

"What's the matter?" Igor asked as Caroline frowned at Justine while speaking up.

"Justine! I told you not to falter! Are you going against our master's orders!?" Caroline asked as Justine sighed and spoke up.

"Ngh, I don't know." Justine asked as Caroline kept attacking with Justine, leveling more damage at Ren, who winced, but somehow withstood the onslaught once more, making Justine frown as she spoke up.

"No, this isn't right. This isn't right at all. Our duty isn't to kill him! Caroline!" Justine said, now feeling a resolve inside of her that Caroline was shocked by, making her wince as she spoke up.

"What gives, Justine? Why am I doubting myself? Is there really another duty left to us then!?" Caroline said as the battle ended. Igor frowned at the battle ending and spoke up.

"What's this? I believe I ordered his execution." Igor said as Caroline winced and spoke up.

"Agh." Caroline said as Justine also spoke up.

"Ugh." Justine said as Caroline spoke up once more while looking at Igor.

"Master, tell us the truth. Have you forsaken humanity?" Caroline asked as Justine spoke up resolutely.

"We are wardens-those who rehabilitate prisoners." Justine said as Igor frowned and spoke up.

"What?" Igor asked as Justine spoke up again, an unreadable look on her face.

"Something speaks to me in my mind. Our true duty is not to kill this man." Justine said as another voice, this one also feminine-sounding, spoke up.

"Help me, someone." The voice said making Ren gasp as he got lost in thought for a moment.

"What the heck!? I can hear someone's voice calling out for help. And it sounds very similar to the voice that called to me both when I awoke to Arsene's power, and when I was being interrogated by Queen's sister." Ren thought as he heard the voice once more speak out.

"Please, if someone can hear me, help me!" The voice rang out as Ren frowned while being lost in thought again.

"This voice, there's no mistaking it. I feel as if I've heard it somewhere before, possibly even more than once. But is it the same one I think it is?" Ren thought as he called out to the voice.

"Whoever you are, I can hear you! What should I do to help you?" Ren called out to the voice, which answered him, sounding a bit confused at the question.

"What should you do? Our desire is for you to complete your true rehabilitation, Trickster." The voice said as Justine frowned and spoke up.

"No. We are not executioners. That is the truth we had forgotten." Justine said as Caroline nodded her agreement and spoke up.

"I agree with Justine. We've decided on our course of action. We will not forsake humanity!" Caroline said, as Ren gasped when a familiar looking butterfly flew into the room and stopped in front of Caroline and Justine before vanishing in a flash of light as the twins groaned and held their heads as Caroline spoke up while looking at Justine in surprise.

"I never noticed it until now, but your right eye and my left eye? It's as if they're the same, but yet mirrored somehow." Caroline said as a third being appeared between the twins, this one a blonde-haired female with the same shade of yellow in her eyes as both Caroline and Justine. Afterwards, there was a flash of light that blinded Ren as he heard the voice from before speak out again.

"Ah, now is the time for our wish to be realized, at last!" The voice called out as the light receded and the twins looked at each other and nodded as Caroline got to her feet and spoke up.

"At last, I finally remember everything! Including how we were torn 'apart'." Caroline said as Ren frowned at this and spoke up.

"Torn apart, you say? I'm glad you remember everything, but you were torn apart?" Ren asked in surprise. Justine nodded and spoke up as she got to her feet.

"Indeed. We were originally one at some point. Yet we were torn asunder into halves, and it was done by a being with malevolent intent!" Justine said while glaring at Igor, who then started making a very eerily familiar sounding ominous chuckle, making Ren, Caroline, and Justine all turn to face him. Caroline blinked and spoke up in a much less aggressive tone than usual.

"So, we were captives, same as you, eh? Heh, how ironic. To think we'd learn that truth from a prisoner." Caroline said as Justine nodded.

"Agreed, but that's not important now. Let us reclaim our true form!" Justine said as Caroline nodded before turning to Ren as she spoke up.

"Hey, we'll give you your last job. Be thankful and obey!" Caroline said as Ren nodded before Justine spoke up.

"You must fuse us together, with your own hands." Justine said as Ren spoke up.

"I understand. So if I do that, that'll turn you back?" Ren asked. Caroline nodded and spoke up.

"Pretty much. That said, it's time you returned the favor for us assisting with your growth. Do it with care!" Caroline said as Ren nodded before Caroline and Justine spoke up in unison.

"NOW, FUSE US!" Caroline and Justine called out as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"As you wish, ladies. It's time to save you." Ren said agreeably as he fired up the guillotine for the twins, who fearlessly approached it and got into position as the guillotine swung down and executed them, making them fuse together in a shower of butterflies and a flash of light. When the light receded, in the place of the twins stood a singular girl with long blonde hair, two yellow eyes, a flowing blue dress with a matching colored headband with gold and silver butterfly clips on each end in her hair, white leggings and black dress shoes.

The girl also had a pair of long black gloves, and in one hand she held an enormous book. The girl's skin-colored lips were pursed slightly as she looked at Ren gratefully. After a moment, she smiled at Ren and spoke up.

"Thank you, Trickster. My name, or rather my true name, is Lavenza. As you likely know by now, I was torn apart by a malevolent will and took the form of those twins. I sought help before my body was split in two." The now-named Lavenza said as Ren blinked at this and spoke up.

"A malevolent will, you say?" Ren asked, both confused at this and stunned at everything that'd happened in the past few minutes. He then had a flashback to the most recent time he'd heard Lavenza's voice.

"If we lose you, the path to the Holy Grail will forever be closed. That's why you must recall the truth once more. And I beg of you, Trickster. Please save us!" Lavenza had said. Back in the present, Lavenza nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed. Truth be told, I believed in you. I knew that you would make it thus far." Lavenza said before frowning as she rounded on Igor, shocking Ren with what she said next as she kept speaking.

"And to the scoundrel who has swindled my master's name and appearance? Your lies shall work no longer now that my sight has been restored!" Lavenza said as 'Igor' chuckled and spoke up.

"Impressive. The game isn't over yet." 'Igor' said before hovering in place as an eerie red and black aura swirled around his feet as he hovered above the ground and kept speaking.

"Whether the human world is left as is or destroyed and rebuilt, it is all sport to me." 'Igor' said in a voice that Ren gasped on realizing he recognized. Lavenza looked at Ren and spoke up encouragingly.

"Be careful." Lavenza said to Ren, who nodded and spoke up while turning to face 'Igor', giving him a look of mixed confusion, disbelief, and shock.

"Wait, you're not Igor!? But if you're not Igor, then who, or what, are you!?" Ren asked in a mix of confusion and horror. 'Igor' smirked and spoke up.

"Let me see if I can make this easy for you to understand, Trickster. If I were to put it into words that you can comprehend, I am the Holy Grail that grants wishes to the people." The being who resembled Igor said as Ren gasped and spoke up.

"The Holy Grail!? Does that mean what I think it does!?" Ren asked in a mix of horror and shock, his eyes slightly wide. The being who resembled Igor chuckled and spoke up.

"No, not the Holy Grail. It may be more accurate to say that I am a god who responds to desire and holds dominion over man. I hoped seeing a righteous thief vanish evil would spur mankind to change their own indolent hearts. However, it was not to be. Instead, the result is as you know- the masses have made it so none of it has transpired. Hence, you and your associates' fate of being removed from the face of existence. Or, most of you were.

Oddly enough, two of your number were spared this fate. I believe that this is because one is trapped elsewhere in the Metaverse, and the other wasn't recognized as a Phantom Thief by the masses and thus was spared being wiped from existence as a result. That said, humans should be met with ruin, with all certainty. You brought forth that answer. But to be frank, Inmate, I believe it may be worth reevaluating you.

A human has reached the Holy Grail and has seen through my true identity to glimpse my true nature. You've surprised the god that I am often enough. That cannot be done by a foolish commoner. You truly were a prisoner that did not bore me." The being that resembled Igor said as Ren heard Lavenza's voice in his head at that point.

"I am thou, thou art I...Thou hast turned a bond 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 the Fool, granting thee infinite power..." Ren heard as the 'Fool' card appeared in his mind's eye, the 'IX' underneath the word 'Fool' becoming an 'X' to signify that his Fool Confidant Link with the 'Prison Master' had reached Rank 10, or as it was indicated on the card, 'MAX Rank'.

As a result of maxing out the Fool Confidant Link, Ren was given the power of 'Max Arcana Burst', taking the power of 'High Arcana Burst' and increasing it even further to increase the EXP bonus given by the 'Arcana Burst' ability. From there, the words 'FUSION UNLOCKED' appeared over the maxed out 'Fool' card, making Ren's phone ping with the notification that he could now fuse 'Vishnu', or the most powerful Persona of the Fool arcana. Afterwards, the being that resembles Igor kept speaking.

"Perhaps observing you a while longer may prove amusing. That said, I shall grant you an opportunity to make a deal with me." The 'God of Control', as Ren had finally determined the being who resembled Igor to be, said as Ren spoke up. *3*

"What is this deal you're referring to?" Ren asked warily. The 'God of Control' spoke up.

"Heh, let me explain. Should you wish it, I shall return the world to its prior state-one rampant with distorted masses." The 'God of Control' said as Ren blinked at this before getting lost in thought for a moment.

"Revert the world? Could it be telling the truth when it says that?" Ren mused as Lavenza's voice caught his attention as she glared at the 'God of Control' and spoke up.

"You forcefully dragged him into the Metaverse and imposed an ordeal he did not deserve upon him. Yet, you still intend on toying with him!?" Lavenza asked as the 'God of Control' spoke up.

"It is as I say. The Phantom Thieves will be praised and gain fame. The world will escape ruin as well. So, what say you, Trickster?" The 'God of Control' asked Ren, who frowned at this as he pondered his dilemma. On one hand, if he agrees to the deal, the ruined city will return to normal. However, if he does so, the people will remain trapped, abandoning their ability to think for themselves, truly becoming a mass of 'sheeple', to use a term once spoken by Kusa. But is that really how the world should be? Ren frowned at this before shaking his head and speaking up.

"As tempting as that deal might sound, I don't think it's in anyone's best interest to accept it. Therefore, I must respectfully refuse your offer. Not only because it's not right, but because it would be massively disrespectful to our missing comrades to dishonor their sacrifices in such a way." Ren said firmly as Lavenza smiled approvingly at Ren's response before she spoke up.

"Well said, Trickster." Lavenza said as the 'God of Control' huffed at this and spoke up.

"Such irredeemable foolishness from you, Trickster. You choose death for yourself? Very well. I have no need for you." The 'God of Control' said as he vanished in a swirl of red and black energy, leaving Ren and Lavenza behind to exchange confused looks at the 'God Of Control' taking such an abrupt and sudden leave from the Velvet Room.

Not long after, a giant orb of light materialized behind Ren and Lavenza, making them turn in shock as a burst of blue energy with swirling black tendrils started manifesting, before eventually resolving itself into the sight of a familiar-looking desk, with an equally familiar looking long-nosed man laid out unconscious on it. Lavenza gasped in recognition as she spoke up, recognizing the unconscious person.

"Master!" Lavenza called out as the unconscious old man groaned and sat up as he came to.

"Mmgh, what?" The old man said before blinking as he took in the sight of the Velvet Room. He then kept speaking.

"Oh my, can it be? It's been quite a while since I last stepped foot in this place, hasn't it?" The old man said before noticing Ren and speaking up in a rather pleasant-sounding, if distinctly elderly, voice.

"Oh, but pardon my rudeness, dear guest. Welcome to the Velvet Room. My name is Igor. I am pleased to make your acquaintance." The now-named Igor said as Lavenza smiled at Ren and spoke up.

"Do not be alarmed, Trickster. This is the true Igor. He is the rightful master of the Velvet room, the true aid to your journey." Lavenza said as Ren blinked and spoke up.

"Don't take this the wrong way Lavenza, but I'm so lost right now." Ren said as Igor chuckled and spoke up.

"That's fine. It may be difficult for you to understand this all at once." Igor said as Lavenza nodded and spoke up.

"I agree with my master. But if I were to summarize this, the 'fake' has left, and the 'real' has returned." Lavenza said as Igor nodded, smiling as he spoke up.

"Indeed, Lavenza speaks truly." Igor said as Lavenza smiled at Ren and spoke up.

"Thank you, Trickster. My master has returned, and you won against that malevolent god's temptation. Thus, you may be able to save this world that is headed toward certain doom. However, it will prove difficult to win with your power alone, Trickster." Lavenza said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"I know. My question now would be, what should I do to change that?" Ren asked. Lavenza smiled and spoke up.

"That's easy. Even if not all of them are here, you must release your teammates, with whom you've shared your conviction." Lavenza said as Igor chuckled and spoke up.

"This place exists between dreams and reality, mind and matter. This place is, as I've already said, the Velvet Room." Igor said as Lavenza spoke up.

"Indeed. And even though they're not here with you now, your teammates have not necessarily expired yet. Even the two who weren't brought here with you, I believe you called them Crow and Draconis? Even they haven't expired yet. Though your enemies, as well as the masses, believe the one you call Crow to be dead. That said, just as you were trapped here, the teammates who were brought here with you should be confined somewhere as well, Trickster. Since you've deepened your bonds with them, I'm certain you can release them. Once they-the Phantom Thieves-are all gathered here, we will tell you everything." Lavenza said as Igor looked Ren in the eyes and spoke up.

"Now go forth-to the people whom you should be facing the truth with!" Igor said as Ren nodded and Lavenza spoke up once more.

"The other Phantom Thieves should be imprisoned somewhere ahead. Please find them all and save them, Trickster. This is something only you can do at this point." Lavenza said as Ren nodded and started looking for his teammates. After finding a set of pathways leading to an area behind the room he'd been in, Ren found his friends all in various cells around the area. Eventually, he found the cell with Ryuji in it and approached it while speaking up, having decided to try his best to speak to them in the order that they awakened to their Personas in.

"There you are, man! I finally found you! What's bonkin'?" Ren asked Ryuji, who looked up in shock and spoke up.

"Yo, Ren. Looks like we're both somehow still alive and kickin', eh? But my question is, where are we at?" Ryuji asked as Ren spoke up.

"I'm not sure you'd believe me if I told you. So just come with me for now. Once we find the others, all will be explained to you. How's that?" Ren said. Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"Okay, Ren. If you say so. But man, this prison cell makes me think of when we first met, all those months ago. And remember how Shibuya was all effed up just now? But like, nobody was seein' any of it but us? No, it was more like they didn't wanna see any of it, if I had to guess. What the hell is up with people? So even all those people who were sufferin', and cheerin' for us to come and save them would, in reality, would've rather just had everything stay how it was? Did what we were doin' have any meanin' at all?" Ryuji asked as Ren spoke up.

"Of course it did, man. It might not seem like it, but it truly did. After all, not everyone was ignoring the situation. I'm confident that at the minimum, Boss and Prosecutor Niijima saw what we saw, and maybe some of my other Confidants too." Ren said as Ryuji chuckled and spoke up.

"Haha, you're so freaking tough, man. You not only made it through faking your own demise without flinching, you also soldiered on through the apparent losses of your little brother and one of your fiercest rivals. Y'know, back when I thought we were gonna die without learnin' the truth behind all of this craziness, I kinda felt for the first time that maybe we hadn't been doin' the right thing, to be honest. That maybe, we deserved to lose it all. You get me?" Ryuji said as Ren spoke up.

"I feel the same way. But we can't give up now, man." Ren said as Ryuji nodded his agreement before he spoke up.

"Heh, true. Now that I'm thinkin' about it, I started all this 'cause of how pissed off I was. Maybe it's never been about winnin', or anything like that at all. Maybe all I was doin' was just continuin' my own defiance while thinking I was doing the right thing." Ryuji said as Ren spoke up.

"Hm, I see. So you're giving up then?" Ren said to Ryuji, who blinked at Ren's words and spoke up.

"Ren, for real!? Haha, but you're right. I get it now, man. We're doin' this to make sure people don't gotta go through the same crap we did. It doesn't matter if they think we're just or not. We gotta do what we believe in!" Ryuji said, getting to his feet and rotating his arm to limber up as he kept speaking.

"Heh, and it's not like people think much of me anyways. That said, I'm gonna dash through this the only way I know how!" Ryuji said, closing his eyes in self-reflection as his Phantom Thief attire reappeared around him, like it had before. At that point, Ryuji chuckled and spoke up while stepping out of his cell.

"Heh, thanks. You got me outta prison, just like before. Thanks a lot, man. Y'know, it's kinda embarrassin' to say this, but I'm really glad I met you. All right, I'm done gettin' my ass kicked! That shiny bastard acts like it's some kind of god, and it pisses me off. I ain't gonna feel good 'til we deal with it! Let's head out. We're gonna take down that asshole, yeah?" Ryuji asked as Ren nodded before Ryuji spoke up again.

"Oh, hey. Hold up, Ren. Aren't the other Thieves 'round here too?" Ryuji asked as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"It would seem so, yes. I've seen enough cells to support this, at least." Ren said. Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"Truth! Joker, maybe they're stuck in the same rut I was stuck in. You go save 'em, okay? I'll stay here while you do. It don't seem like there're any enemies around, so I'll be fine. Sorry. And I don't know how to put this into words, but I'm kinda thinkin' you should go see 'em alone, man." Ryuji said as Ren nodded and kept looking for the others. After looking around, Ren found Ann in a cell near the back of the area, sitting on the ground with an unreadable look on her face as she folded her hands under her legs. Ren frowned at this and spoke up.

"Are you all right, sis?" Ren said to Ann, who looked up in surprise at hearing Ren's voice and spoke up.

"Oh, Joker. You're here. Thank goodness you're safe, brother." Ann said happily as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Same goes to you, sis. For now, come with me. I still have to find most of the others, but I've already saved Ryuji, so you're the second one I've saved. If possible, I'm going to try and save you guys in the order you awoke to your Personas in, just for the symbolism of it." Ren said. Ann smiled and spoke up.

"Oh, yeah. That's true. The rest of us, for the most part, are here too, aren't they? Huh, I see. So I'm not in heaven after all, am I? That means the hell that Shibuya turned into was all real, wasn't it? Heh, wow. I'm so weak. When I thought I was gonna die, I couldn't help it. I started trembling. I was just so scared. At that moment, nothing mattered. The justice of our actions was the last thing on my mind." Ann said as Ren spoke up reassuringly.

"Don't feel bad, sis. I was scared too, seeing all of you vanish before my eyes. No one could be prepared for that. But at least we seem to all be safe, to some extent." Ren said kindly to Ann, who smiled as she spoke up.

"Joker, you're right. You're so strong. You kept going even through a plan that might have ended up killing you and separating you from your girlfriend. Yet, look at me. I've always said I'm doing this for other people, but that didn't get me far in the end. Haha, it's no wonder we lost. Maybe I should've just behaved myself and stayed out of all this." Ann said as Joker frowned at that and spoke up.

"I don't believe for one moment that you buy that, sister! First of all, what about your girlfriend, Shiho? How do you think she's feeling right now!? Granted, she might not see any of what we saw, but I'm sure she at least can sense something's off with you." Ren said to Ann, who blinked in shock at Ren's words and spoke up.

"That's true. No, you're right, brother. I could never abandon her. And if I whine like this now, I'd just be betraying Shiho, and everything she and I have gone through together. And I refuse to hurt the woman I love that way. Wait, no. I'd be betraying myself!" Ann said as she got to her feet, a determined look on her face as she kept speaking.

"I could never forget how I felt that day. I'm sure of myself now. I never want anyone to have to go through what I did! I've made up my mind. I'm going to keep looking forward. Things like dying or losing aren't important now. All that matters is that I don't return to my old self. No! I'll never make a mistake like that again. I swear it!" Ann said as her Phantom Thief outfit reappeared on her as she smiled at Ren and spoke up with a closed-eye smile on her face while exiting her cell.

"Thanks, Joker. You helped me remember what's really important. I seriously treasure being able to be a part of your team!" Ann said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"We should get going, sister. I might have saved you and Ryuji thus far, but I've not saved all of us yet." Ren said as Ann nodded and spoke up.

"Gotcha, Joker! After all, it would be a disgrace to the Phantom Crew name, and to Kusa, as the one to coin said name, if we didn't take such a big Treasure! We're going to put an end to this, aren't we? Let's go!" Ann said before she kept speaking.

"Hey, about what you just said. I'm not the only one in this area, right?" Ann asked as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Correct. I've saved you and Ryuji so far, but I still have to find Yusuke, Morgana, Haru, Futaba, Makoto, and Kasumi." Ren said as Ann nodded and spoke up.

"Okay, understood. I'll wait here. Please go save everyone else. It's something only you can do as our leader, Ren. Good luck, bro." Ann said as Ren nodded and kept moving. After some careful navigation, Ren found Yusuke in a cell in the bottom right part of the cell area and spoke to him.

"Yusuke, you're safe!" Ren said as Yusuke turned to face Ren and smiled as he spoke up.

"Joker, you're here! As I expected, you appear to be safe and sound. However, where exactly are we?" Yusuke asked as Ren spoke up.

"That's a long story, Yusuke. The important thing for now is that you seem to be okay. Trust me when I say all will be explained once I find everyone and save them." Ren said to Yusuke, who nodded and spoke up.

"Yes, I understand. And I'm okay. Sorry to have worried you, brother. At first, I was surprised to see the masses chained in a prison, yet here I am as well, chained in a cell of my own. Considering the state of the real world at the moment, it is hard to say that we were even remotely helpful in the end. This situation looks rather bleak. Can we truly handle such horrid circumstances? All the Phantom Thieves can do is change the hearts of others. However the world outside has become a veritable hell. Nothing within our power can fix that, can it?" Yusuke asked as Joker spoke up with a frown.

"Level with me, Yusuke. You seem scared to me. Are you giving up?" Ren asked Yusuke, who shook his head and spoke up.

"Not at all. I'm merely acknowledging how powerless I am. The people of this world desired their enslavement. And that isn't all, either. They screamed at us for attacking the Holy Grail, defended it even. And even the criminals whose hearts we changed became meek followers of the Holy Grail because of us. Were we truly that foolish, risking our lives for a result nobody desired?" Yusuke asked as Ren spoke up with a frown.

"Not at all, Yusuke! What about your justice? Will that allow you to just lay back and accept the state of things without a fight?" Ren asked. Yusuke blinked at this and spoke up.

"M-My justice, you say? Ah, I see. Not that for someone else, but one strictly for myself, eh? That brings back memories. After all, when we first met, you and the others continued to impose yourselves on me, no matter how much I pushed you away. I will forever treasure what you and the others did for me." Yusuke said as he got to his feet and spoke up in a resolved tone.

"Very well! Just as art is meant to break boundaries, people should be saved, even if they frown upon it. That said, I won't allow the justice I believe in to be shaken any further!" Yusuke said with a frown as his Phantom Thief attire reappeared in a flash of blue, making Yusuke give Ren a closed-eye smile as he kept speaking while leaving his cell.

"Allow me to thank you, Joker. Being by your side truly gives rise to the greatest ideas!" Yusuke said as Ren nodded.

"Understood. That said, we should get moving. You're only the third one of the group I've managed to save, and I still have several others to save, not to mention we have a reality to save." Ren said as Yusuke nodded and spoke up.

"Ah, yes. We cannot afford to leave reality in the hellish state it's currently in. I will make use of my role as an artist and paint over the distortions of society!" Yusuke said as Joker nodded approvingly while Yusuke kept speaking.

"Well then, time to go and see this through. I'll witness with my own two eyes that this world isn't bound by some Holy Grail." Fox said before looking around and speaking up once more.

"Well then, are the others here as well?" Yusuke asked as Ren spoke up.

"I believe so. Outside of you, I've already found and saved Ryuji and Ann. I still have to save Makoto, Futaba, Kasumi, and Haru, though. And Morgana as well, if I can find him. I haven't seen him in any of the cells yet." Ren said as Yusuke nodded and spoke up.

"I see. Very well. As I thought, you have others to find. In that case, I will remain here on standby. I ask that you go save the rest of our teammates. I will be counting on you, Ren." Yusuke said as Joker nodded and kept moving. After looking around, Ren found Makoto sitting on a bunk in a cell in the top left part of the cell area, speaking to her.

"Here you are, Makoto." Ren said kindly as Makoto turned to Ren and spoke up in shock.

"Joker! Oh, what a relief. You're safe!" Makoto said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed. And the same goes for you, Makoto. For now, come with me. I still have three more team members to find after this before we're all here, four if I can figure out which cell Morgana's trapped in. I haven't seen him yet, however." Ren said to Makoto, who blinked and spoke up.

"Huh? I, um, don't know how to say. Oh, by the way. Why have you remained in your phantom thief attire while I am back in regular clothes? Could this mean that the will of rebellion is no longer within me? Ugh! Well, that may be true." Makoto said before leaning against the wall behind her as she kept speaking.

"We have to face that Holy Grail again, correct? Could you imagine defeating it, Joker? That monster has the support of the masses, and with it, nearly an infinite amount of power at its disposal. I have to be honest. No matter which way I approach the subject in my head, nothing points to our victory." Makoto said as Ren spoke up.

"To be honest? I'm not confident in our odds either. But I know this for sure. Regardless of the odds, we cannot give up yet! We owe it to those of us who aren't with us right now to keep fighting! Also, I believe if we think about it, we'll find a way to remove that power from play. That might well be our best chance of victory. Granted, I can understand you're frustrated, and confused.

But you're our best strategist. And I say that with apologies to Kusa, who is also a good strategist. But he even admitted you have a more well-rounded knowledge of tactics than he does. So by that logic, you're our best hope for victory, Makoto. No, you're our best hope for victory... big sis." Ren said, making Makoto blink in surprise as she spoke up.

"Joker...thank you. I think I finally, genuinely understand the pain my father and my sister were burdened with for so long. Victory against a single criminal is meaningless. In the end, the true enemy is society itself. And even against that foe, you still have to try to somehow emerge victorious. I don't know what to do, Joker." Makoto said as Ren smiled and spoke up.

"That's easy, sis. Believe in yourself, as I believe in you. And even if some of the others don't say it, I know they all believe in you, as well. Kusa wasn't wrong before, when he said we were becoming a family of sorts. We really are becoming like a family, our rag-tag group. Sure, a lot of us are dating one another, but we're all still close to one another like brothers and sisters, even those of us who are often at odds. So we have to believe in each other." Ren said wisely. Makoto blinked at that and spoke up.

"Believe, you say? I need to believe in myself? Hm, that's pretty wise, little bro. Heh, you got me. Regardless, this isn't a situation with a straightforward answer, by any means. But even if there is no clear solution, I'll just have to make one for us, with my own two hands." Makoto said as she got to her feet once more and kept speaking.

"Before you guys came along, my life was defined by rules, set on a path of someone else's choosing, and I was on the road to ending up a sycophant. But only a true loser would live such a rigid life! I am no loser! I will win, no matter what! Even if it means going up against the entire world!" Makoto said as she looked up, a look of resolve on her face as her Phantom Thief attire re-materialized on her in a flash of blue light as the bars of her cell vanished, allowing her to step out of her cell as she kept speaking, a smile on her face as she spoke.

"I'm okay. My resolve was shaken, but it's stronger now. I want the people of the world to see what you've shown me!" Makoto said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"And so they shall. Let's go, sister! Together with the others, we WILL find a way to triumph!" Joker said firmly. Makoto nodded and spoke up.

"Right! Thank you, brother. Having teammates you can trust is a great feeling. Shall we go? We can't let our last big job end in failure!" Makoto said as Ren nodded before Makoto spoke up.

"Hey, I just thought about it. If I was locked up, is everyone else locked up in this place as well?" Makoto asked as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"I can confirm this is the case. I've already found and rescued Ryuji, Ann, and Yusuke so far. I still have to rescue Futaba, Kasumi, and Haru, plus Morgana if I can find his cell. I've not found him yet." Ren said as Makoto nodded and spoke up.

"Ah. I knew it. Of course we're all here, other than the two who aren't here with us. Okay, I'll wait here. I ask that you go save the others. There's no doubt they're in need of your help as much as I was, if not more in some cases." Makoto said as Ren nodded and kept moving. After moving around, Ren found Futaba in a cell in the top-right section of the cell area, a forlorn look on her face. Ren idly noted another cell to the right of Futaba's, but ignored it for now to speak to Futaba.

"Little sis, you okay in there?" Ren asked Futaba, who looked up and smiled as she saw Ren, speaking up.

"Oh, Joker. You're here! I'm relieved to see you, big bro. Looks like we're both still alive." Futaba said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed, Futaba. I'm glad you're safe, little sis. I wasn't looking forward to having to tell Kusa I'd managed to lose you if something had happened to you. And we both know how protective he is of you." Ren said with a chuckle as Futaba looked at Ren and spoke up.

"That's true, but am I really safe, though? Shibuya is not in a good way, big bro. What happened? And more importantly, where are we?" Futaba asked as Joker spoke up.

"As I told the others, all will be explained in detail once I save you all. For now, trust me when I say that we're someplace safe, little sis." Ren said kindly to Futaba, who looked up and nodded as she spoke up.

"I see. I trust you, big bro. Still, I guess my fears turned out to be true in the end. The real world is a scary place, isn't it? Pain like this can never reach you if you keep yourself cooped up indoors all the time. Heh, who am I to think I can tell the people what to do? I mean, I used to be a shut-in myself for the longest time. Dammit, this sucks. I just wanna go home, if I'm being honest." Futaba said before looking up with an understanding look on her face as she spoke up.

"However, not only would making such a selfish request be a tall order, but even that would be tough right now. Besides, giving up would be too painful. And I know that I promised Kusa I would stay strong, so I owe it to him to not give up. You know, I think in the long run? I've changed. I don't know when it happened, precisely." Futaba said as Ren chuckled and spoke up.

"You mean it wasn't the day that a certain brown-haired, short-tempered little brother of mine happened to find himself in your house when you decided to go to the kitchen to stretch your legs, and you two met one another? I'd like to think a lot changed for you that day." Ren said jokingly as Futaba chuckled and spoke up.

"Heh, fair point, big bro. But I can't lie to myself. Furthermore, I can't let people suffer like this, even if I don't know them personally." Futaba said as Ren smiled and spoke up.

"Heh, I'm proud of you, little sis. And if he were here right now, Kusa would also be proud." Ren said kindly to Futaba, who blinked and spoke up.

"Grown, you say? Maybe so, but honestly? This all seems like a bit too much, even for us. But even then, I can't give up. But I know that's not what I want." Futaba said as Ren spoke up with a smile.

"Oh? And what do you want, little sis? I know you can do anything you want to, within reason." Ren said kindly. Futaba blinked and closed her eyes as she spoke up.

"I don't know. Wait, never mind. You're right, big bro. My heart has been set from the start. Above all else, I don't want to run away from this. I ran from my mom's death for so long, that I even misunderstood it after a while. Everything was just too painful for me to handle. But things are different now. I never want to be left in the dark again! And I've kinda settled into the role of guiding the way for our group. So, that's probably why my Personas are both a little bit special.

Because I not only want to protect those I care about, but I want to learn the truth. That's how I really feel! Well, I've come this far, big bro. I'll follow you wherever you go, on my own two feet! If nothing else, I owe it to Kusa to stay strong and do my part to help save this world, so that when we see him again, he can be proud of how far I've come since he last saw me." Futaba said as in a flash of blue, her Phantom Thief attire reappeared while the bars of her cell vanished, letting her step out and smile at Ren as she spoke up.

"You have such a strong heart, Joker. You've saved me yet again. Heh, I bet Kasumi knows it too, and that's why she was so quick to stake her claim to you. Not that you weren't equally quick to return the favor. Mwehehe. But in all seriousness? Thanks. I'm so happy. Like, so much that I can't even express it in my normal words! Anyway, we're going up against a god. I couldn't even leave my own room before, but now? We're gonna beat a god. I'm so pumped! And wait a sec, that's right! I just noticed that I got out of here on my own! Heh, tadaaaah! A real jailbreak!" Futaba said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Well done, sis. Unfortunately, we don't have time to celebrate. We need to go. Not only because there's a threat out there we have to stop, but I still have to try and find Kasumi, Haru, and Morgana." Ren said. Futaba smiled and nodded as she spoke up.

"Whoa, you're quick to act! That's what makes you so dependable, big bro! All right, time to get back at it!" Futaba said before blinking as she spoke up.

"Hey, hey! Joker, you think the others are captured somewhere in here, too? I mean, I'm pretty sure I heard what sounded like sniffling coming from the cell next to mine, so maybe one of the others is in there?" Futaba asked Ren, who nodded and spoke up.

"I'm sure they are. I've already found and saved Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, and now you. So if you heard sniffling, odds are fair it might be Kasumi, since she and Haru are the only two I've not yet found. Granted, I've not found Morgana yet either, but I didn't see him anywhere when I scouted out the area to try and locate you all while determining the order to save you in." Ren said as Futaba smiled and spoke up.

"I knew it was them. I was getting some signals that felt like them, you see. Anyway, I don't sense any Shadows in here, Joker. Anyways, you'll be fine even without my navigation. So, I'll be staying in this spot for right now, big bro. You gotta go save everyone else." Futaba said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"You got it, little sis! Hopefully I'll find Kasumi and Haru soon, so we can all look for Morgana together." Ren said as Futaba nodded. At that point, Ren heard a faint sniffling coming from the cell immediately to Futaba's right, walking over to it and gasping as he saw the familiar looking redhead huddled in the corner in her Shujin uniform, looking like she'd been sobbing for some time. Ren then frowned and spoke up.

"Sumi? Is that you in there? You don't need to be crying, you know." Ren said as Kasumi looked up at the sound of Ren's voice before walking over to him and speaking up, her eyes widening slightly in disbelief as she took in the sight of Ren's smiling face looking at her while she spoke.

"N-No way! Is that you, Ren-senpai!? Are you really here right now!?" Kasumi asked, walking forward so Ren could get a good look at his girlfriend, making him nod as he spoke up.

"Yep, it's me, Sumi. I'm glad you're safe. I was so scared I'd lost you back there. Please don't be sad anymore. I'm here now." Ren said kindly as Kasumi smiled prettily and spoke up.

"S-Senpai. Thank you so much. Heh, some help I was. I mostly stayed on the sidelines so far. Sure, I got a few rounds of time on the front lines, but I don't really feel like I contributed to our efforts that much. Kinda pathetic, isn't it?" Kasumi said sadly as Ren smiled and spoke up.

"Not at all, Sumi. You have no idea how much having you on the team has made me happy. And, if I'm being entirely honest with you? You're one of the biggest reasons I've managed to keep being strong for our team, even after the sacrifices that both Kusa and Akechi made for us. So do not sell yourself short. You're a far more wonderful person than you give yourself credit for, Kasumi. And I don't like seeing you be so down on yourself. After all, we both know you look so much prettier when you smile." Ren said as Kasumi looked up and spoke up.

"D-Do you really mean that, Ren? I'll be honest. Ever since we got together, you've become a large part of my reason for living. When I thought I'd lost you, for a brief moment, my world was rocked. But then, I remembered that I wasn't the only one who was reeling from your apparent death, and found the strength to keep going. And it wasn't that hard, since it's not my first time feeling like I'd lost a loved one. But I'm just as happy that you're still alive right now.

So thank you for not leaving me, Ren. After all, it's because of you I've come as far as I have. Not just as a Phantom Thief, but as both a gymnast and a person. You were the one to teach me to be confident in myself again. And I look forward to continuing to be able to share more fun memories with you for a long time to come. After all, if we give up now, we can't punish that dirty great golden jerk who claims to be a god! And I refuse to let someone like that have their way!" Kasumi said as Ren smiled and spoke up.

"There's the Kasumi I fell in love with. Never forget that indomitable spirit inside of you, and you'll go far. But you already know that I love you and will be by your side no matter what, for as long as you'll let me. Always keep that in your heart." Ren said kindly as Kasumi looked at Ren and nodded as she got shakily to her feet, walking towards Ren as she spoke up.

"You know? You're right, Ren. I need to not forget what I'm fighting for. I keep losing sight of myself, and it's kind of embarrassing. But then, you're always there to pick me back up again. So thank you, truly. I will always be grateful to have met you, Ren. Because to be honest? I love you, and probably always will love you, no matter what. So let's go kick that golden jerk's butt, together!" Kasumi said resolutely as she looked up into Ren's eyes, her Phantom Thief attire re-materializing in a flash of blue before the shocked eyes of Ren, who smiled proudly at his girlfriend's bold declaration.

At that point, the bars of Kasumi's cell vanished and she walked out to eagerly hug Ren, hungrily claiming his lips within her own for a passionate kiss, which Ren eagerly returned. After several long, but blissful, moments, the two broke apart as Kasumi kept speaking, her cheeks pinking slightly from having just kissed Ren.

"But for real, thank you so much, Senpai. Not just for what you've done for me so far, but for continuing to be there for me as we keep moving forward. Know that I'll always be by your side as well, Ren-senpai. But more to the point, would I be right in guessing that the rest of us are also trapped in here elsewhere?" Kasumi asked as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"That's correct, beautiful. But at this point, the only ones I've not yet saved are Haru, who is in the same area as Ann, and Morgana, who I've not yet found. So I still have to go and find Haru, to try and save her. Then after that, we can all go look for Morgana together. So be patient and wait here for me, okay? I'll try to be quick so we can all leave this area together." Ren said as Kasumi nodded and spoke up.

"You got it, Ren. I'll wait here for you as long as I have to. Now go do what you have to do, my love." Kasumi said as Ren nodded and headed off to go find Haru. As he'd said to Kasumi, Ren found Haru in the cell on the right-hand side of the area he'd found Ann in. He then walked up to her cell and spoke up, seeing the lost look on her face.

"Are you really that lost, sis? Please tell me I'm seeing things." Ren said teasingly as he spoke up, catching Haru's attention. Haru gasped and spoke up.

"Ah! You're safe, Joker! Oh, thank goodness!" Haru said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Yep, same to you, big sis. Fortunately, you're the last one I saw in this area, so once we get you out of there, we can all reunite and try to find Morgana." Ren said as Haru nodded and spoke up with a smile.

"R-Right, little bro. Still, considering everything that has happened to the city, I wonder if the citizenry is okay right now? Although, it seemed like we were the only ones able to see it from what I could tell. But you know? The moment I disappeared, I honestly thought I was about to die, Joker. But oddly enough, despite that, part of me wasn't afraid. I knew that was all I could do at that point, and looked forward to apologizing to Father face to face when I saw him again. Honestly, I thought I had changed, but I realize now that I still have no control over my life in the end. It makes me sick to think about it." Haru said as Ren frowned and spoke up.

"Don't be ridiculous, big sis! You have plenty of control over your life! Sure, you have scum like Sugimura in your life, but you can choose to ignore them! And I've seen first hand how much control you've gained over your life. So you need to cheer up and keep fighting, like I know you can. I believe in you, big sis." Ren said as Haru looked at Ren and spoke up.

"I'm sorry. I know you don't want to deal with all my whining, little bro. Be honest with me. You're going to try and defeat that thing again, aren't you? Don't push yourself to get me to come along. You can always leave me here if I'll slow you down, little bro." Haru said sadly as Ren frowned and spoke up.

"You? Slow me down? Don't be silly, Haru! That would never happen! And besides, you control your life now, no matter what anyone says. You're practically a grown woman, for all intents and purposes. And I'm proud of how strong you've gotten, big sis." Ren said as Haru blinked and spoke up.

"That's true. Yes, that's right. I was foolish to think you should abandon me. After all, even if I think there are times where I think there's nothing I can do, which is absurd, I'll never stop fighting for you, or our team! No, I won't give up anymore. Just as I betrayed my distorted father before, I will betray my boring former self now!" Haru said as her Phantom Thief attire reappeared on her in a flash of blue as the bars of her cell vanished and she walked out and kept speaking.

"Thank you, Joker. Before I met you, I had great admiration for the Phantom Thieves of Justice, and what they did. And as it happens, it's turned out you were exactly the person I always imagined you would be. You know, this is the second time you've rescued me. I've secretly longed for a situation like this." Haru said as Joker frowned while speaking up.

"A situation where you were saved by those closest to you? Or a situation where I sweep you off your feet? Because if it's the latter, I feel I must point out the fact that a)I have a girlfriend who I'm already committed to, and b)You technically still have a fiance. That being said, we should get going. The others are waiting for us." Ren said as Haru nodded and spoke up.

"Yes, you're right, little bro. I was just teasing anyways. But also, we haven't lost yet." Haru said as at that point, the voice of Lavenza echoed around the area.

"It seems you have managed to save all of your teammates that were back there. Now then, please gather in this room at once." Lavenza's voice could be heard saying, making Haru frown and speak up.

"Um, hm? What was that voice? Joker, have you already rescued all of the others?" Haru asked. Ren looked at Haru before wincing slightly as he spoke up.

"Not all of them. I found Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Futaba, Kasumi, and finally yourself. But even after looking all over this area, I couldn't find Morgana anywhere." Ren said honestly. Haru gasped at this and spoke up.

"Huh? WHAT!? You couldn't find Mona-chan? But why?" Haru asked as the group gathered in the main area of the Velvet Room per Lavenza's request...

(In the main area of the Velvet Room, with Igor, Lavenza, Mona, Oracle, Panther, Skull, Joker, Noir, Queen, Fox, and Sumi)

"What is this place?" A wide-eyed Fox asked. Queen blinked as she spoke up.

"More importantly, who are they?" Queen asked, gesturing towards Igor and Lavenza as she spoke. Igor chuckled at that and spoke up.

"Ah, permit me to introduce myself, dear guests. My name is Igor. I am the master of the Velvet Room." Igor said as Lavenza bowed and spoke up.

"And I am Lavenza, a resident of this place as well. We have been waiting for all of you." Lavenza said as Noir blinked and spoke up.

"Velvet Room?" Noir asked in confusion. Lavenza nodded and spoke up.

"Correct. Let me state ahead of time that my master has just been released from a long period of imprisonment. His powers have not fully returned. Though it may be presumptuous of me, I will speak on his-" Lavenza said as Panther interrupted, a frown on her face.

"Hey, where's Morgana?" Panther asked as Lavenza smiled and spoke up.

"Ah yes, I'd almost forgotten that Morgana came here with you. Would you like to see him?" Lavenza asked as Joker spoke up.

"Of course we want to see him. But more to the point, you know him?" Joker asked Lavenza, who nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed. He's right over there." Lavenza said as the not-cat in question waddled out of a cell behind the group, making them turn as one to see Mona walking over, Skull blinking and speaking up.

"FOR REAL!? That's where you were hidin'!?" Skull asked as Mona spoke up.

"I wasn't hiding here. I'm not fully sure of the specifics yet, since I'm still sifting through my returned memories, but I was born here. It was to dispel an evil being from man's spiritual world, in order to keep the peace." Mona said as Oracle blinked at this and spoke up in shock.

"Mona?" Oracle asked as Mona spoke up as if he hadn't heard Oracle speak.

"My role was to find the Trickster and help him defeat it. That's why I was created here by my master." Mona said, nodding towards the smirking Igor, who spoke up, finding the stunned look on the other Phantom Thieves' faces amusing as he spoke.

"Indeed." Igor said as a wide-eyed Sumi blinked and looked at Mona and spoke up.

"Wait, what!? You mean to tell me that the master of this Velvet Room is also your master, Mona-senpai!?" Sumi asked as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Yup. I really remember everything. When this place was about to be taken over, my master gathered the last traces of mankind's hope. And then, he mustered up his remaining strength to make me." Mona said as Lavenza nodded and spoke up.

"Mona is right. The entity that calls itself a god is a malevolent will that forces man into everlasting servitude. It hopes to attain eternal peace by filling reality with those who have stopped thinking for themselves. And that is the ruin of man that this evil god envisions." Lavenza said as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"I'm sorry, but um, I don't get what you're sayin' at all-" Skull said as Lavenza growled and spoke up.

"Oh, be quiet and listen! We don't have much time left!" Lavenza said as Queen blinked and spoke up.

"Wait a moment. The Holy Grail is, in actuality, a 'god'? I was wondering why it had a will of its own, but are you implying that it isn't a Treasure?" Queen asked as Lavenza shook her head and spoke up.

"No. As the distorted desires of the masses, it is most certainly the core of Mementos itself." Lavenza said as Noir spoke up.

"Then, if that's the case, did the Treasure become a god because people wished to be ruled over?" Noir asked as Lavenza nodded and spoke up.

"That is correct. To decide the fate of the world, it chose two people with potential and pitted them against each other. One-Goro Akechi-incited the masses' distortion. Had he won, the world would've been destroyed and remade. The other was a Trickster who would stand up against this. And that was Ren Amamiya, or Joker as you call him." Lavenza said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"That's right. Had Ren won, the human world would be left as is and man would be safe. Those were the conditions of the game-at least, that's what should've happened." Mona said as the others gasped at this as Lavenza spoke up.

"Mona is correct. That malevolent being knew that a revolution would not take place within indolent humans. After all, it is the masses' distorted desires incarnate. However, my true master believed in humanity. He believed that a Trickster would rise among the people and accomplish this change. But that evil entity laughed at the prospect, and sought to prove the powerlessness of man with the game.

And Ren Amamiya had great potential, which the malevolent being knew. That is why it approached Ren Amamiya. It helped train the Trickster, only to cast him into despair, using the masses who rejected their savoir. And in so doing, he tried to amplify the powers of both the Trickster and the Black Mask.

But my master knew that such a power could cause great devastation if either side got too powerful over the other. This is why, in his benevolence and wisdom, he used his power to seek out a third individual that possessed a strong moral compass and secretly provide them with the power to be able to keep the other two in check, should it prove necessary. However, this individual also had great potential in and of themselves, so as a further check and balance to keep the peace, this individual's power was sealed into two stages, one that awakened when they awoke to their Persona and became a Phantom Thief, and the other that is designed to only unlock when they have truly reached peace within themselves.

As such, his initial awakening wasn't as powerful as it might otherwise have been. Even so, he was gifted with a keen mind for tactics as a trade-off. Ironically, my master had no way of knowing until well after he'd chosen this individual that he actually has blood ties to each of the other two chosen individuals. Granted, when we forged his powers, my master had given him the unofficial code name of the 'Chaos Drake'.

However, these powers would be the second ones sealed behind the 'inner peace' threshold I mentioned before. So it's truly unfortunate that he wasn't able to make it here with you. My master and I would very much have enjoyed seeing his progress with our own eyes. But we have faith that he's still alive where he is now, and fighting to not let he who has him captive get too powerful, in his own way.

At least, he was able to achieve part of his intended purpose in seemingly taming the anger and angst inside of the Black Mask, albeit to a limited extent. That said, the game was likely the malevolent will's means to nip in the bud anything that would pose a threat. However, the malevolent will was kept unaware of the Chaos Drake's existence. And now that I think back to when I was separated, I felt a disagreement to the word 'rehabilitation'. Ah, of course I did. It was just a means for the fake to keep you under surveillance." Lavenza said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"It's as Lady Lavenza says. Basically, this guy was dragged into a game where the evil god rigged the outcome." Mona said as Sumi chuckled and spoke up.

"And this would probably be the part where if he were here, Draconis would be making a quip about how that tracks with how Joker's luck typically works. No offense, Joker-senpai." Sumi said as Joker chuckled and waved off the comment as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"WHAT!? Dammit, what the hell!?" Skull said as Lavenza winced and spoke up.

"Unfortunately, your real world has already been fused with Mementos. You do not exist because reality is replete with the cognition of those who deny the Phantom Thieves. It can be said that the world is one step away from the evil god's machinations. However, there is still hope, Ren Amamiya and friends. Now that the evil god's identity has been exposed, you can see your rehabilitation through to its completion.

Only you can leave this prison and save this distorted world and its captive people from themselves and the will of a malevolent god. Young man, guided by Morgana and worthy of the Trickster name, heed my words. You must challenge the evil god and reclaim your existence in reality. Are you up to the task?" Lavenza said as Joker thought about it and smirked before nodding as he spoke up.

"Of course I am. I refuse to let that thing win! Not after what it's put not only me, but everyone else in this room, and even our allies outside of here, through!" Joker said confidently as Skull pumped a fist and spoke up.

"Hell yeah! Truth, Joker! Let's destroy that annoying, shiny Treasure jerk for sure this time!" Skull said as Igor chuckled and did a slow clap while speaking up.

"Excellent. I am pleased to hear this. There is nothing to fear. You already possess the strength to oppose this evil god. Heh, I am truly looking forward to this!" Igor said as Lavenza smiled and spoke up.

"I wish you all good luck. That being said, our mutual friend knows where the exit is. Morgana, please guide them. And thank you for all that you've done. It's a cruel responsibility that's been cast upon you, my friend." Lavenza said as Mona nodded his agreement before bowing slightly to Lavenza while he spoke up.

"Certainly. I will accept your words of appreciation fully when everything is over." Mona said as he turned to the others and spoke up.

"Now follow me!" Mona said as he darted off with the others in tow. After a bit, Mona spoke up.

"Joker! Let's go!" Mona said as Joker ran up to the others, at which point Mona kept speaking.

"This way! It's up this way. Follow me!" Mona said as the group followed Mona up the stairs, at which point Skull spoke up on seeing the door in front of the group.

"What's this? It's one hell of a door, that's for sure." Skull said as Sumi blinked and spoke up.

"And, unless I'm wrong, I think we've seen this door before somewhere." Sumi said as Mona spoke up.

"Never mind that for now. The important part is, that's our exit. Come on, let's go." Mona said as the group followed Mona through the door, eventually emerging in the ruined Shibuya, where Panther blinked and spoke up.

"Huh? We're back in Shibuya again!? Oh, right, I remember now. This is where we were when our bodies disappeared." Panther said as Queen nodded and spoke up.

"Right. It seems like people still haven't realized that this abnormality has taken over the city yet." Queen said as the group nodded, before turning around and gasping as they noticed the door they'd come back through. Fox spoke up that point, eyes wide in shock.

"Look, the door we just came through. Haven't we seen this before, as Sumi said a moment ago? Yes, if I remember correctly, this is that Quarantine Cell we were told of." Fox said as the others blinked at this in shock before Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Yep, that's right. It was actually the Velvet Room, which had been swallowed by the distortions." Mona said as Noir nodded and smiled at Mona as she spoke up.

"You did say you were born in there, Mona-chan. It makes so much sense now." Noir said as Skull blinked and spoke up.

"Wait, hold up! So if we came outta there, does that mean WE'RE the criminals!? No, it's more like Joker is the dangerous criminal! Since he was kept in there!" Skull said as Sumi frowned and spoke up.

"Don't call Joker-senpai a criminal, Skull-senpai! He'd never do anything wrong or evil!" Sumi said as Morgana spoke up.

"Be fair with Skull, Sumi. He's not entirely wrong. Most likely, Joker had been under the malicious guidance of the evil god for quite some time. The Velvet Room originally existed to nurture the human mind, but after it was taken over by that evil god, it was sealed inside that bastard's nest. No, it was sealed inside Mementos." Mona said, before Oracle gasped and spoke up, seeing the almost ethereal yellow glow coming off of Mona.

"Uh, Mona? You have a point and all. But more importantly, why are you glowing!?" Oracle asked as Queen spoke up.

"More than that, Oracle! He's shining like a beacon!" Queen said as Mona spoke up with a resolute look on his face.

"It's probably because my memories have returned. I know what my duty is now." Mona said as a brown-haired man spoke up from nearby.

"Huh? Whoa. Do you see something over here shining? Wait a sec, wh-what's with those weirdly-dressed guys?" The brown-haired man asked as a coat-wearing woman spoke up at that point.

"You're right. I feel like, maybe, I've seen those costumes before somewhere." The coat-wearing woman said as a man in a business suit spoke up.

"Oh! Aren't they that group of masked vigilantes we've been hearing about? You know, the Phantom Thieves? I kind of remember seeing a silhouette of the on a jumbo-screen in the city recently." The man in a business suit said as the coat-wearing woman spoke up.

"The Phantom Thieves?" The coat-wearing woman asked as the brown-haired man gasped and spoke up.

"Oh yeah, that's right! I completely forgot about them!" The brown-haired man said as Panther gasped and spoke up.

"Whoa, this is different from how it was before. Do they see us?" Panther asked as Sumi frowned and spoke up.

"No, more likely they see the light coming off of Mona-senpai." Sumi said as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"Good point, Sumi. And even then, it doesn't seem that everyone sees us." Joker said as Queen nodded and spoke up.

"It doesn't seem to be everyone though. Only a handful of people in this large crowd." Queen said as Skull blinked and spoke up.

"Maybe Sumi is right, and it's cause of Mona's light!" Skull said as Noir cheered and spoke up.

"Either way, they remember the Phantom Thieves!" Noir said as Oracle gasped and spoke up.

"Oh! The key of hope seems to be Mona." Oracle said as Fox nodded and spoke up.

"I agree, Oracle. Mona, guide us. Where must we go?" Fox asked as Mona ran forward, his glowing suddenly stopping as he spoke up.

"Over there! The bastard from earlier should be in that temple!" Mona said as the group nodded and moved forward. At that point, they all nodded, knowing their most crucial battle was only just beginning...

END OF CHAPTER

A/N: And boom, another chapter, done and dusted! I got quite a lot more in here than I figured I would. I half-expected to only get to like half of the initial run into the Depths in this chapter, and MAYBE tease the Holy Grail's intro at the end. Instead, I got the whole run down to the Holy Grail, the scenes in the Velvet Room, AND the start of the mission to hunt down the Holy Grail in here!

Also, with regards to the whole 'Chaos Drake' bit that was mentioned regarding a certain absent Phantom Thief, let's just say that's setting up for one of the changes I have planned for the third semester and leave it at that for now. Anyways, let's get back on topic. And at this point, I don't think it's inaccurate to say that I'll be lucky if I can make this into a four-part arc! Odds are fair to middling that the next chapter could in fact be the finale of the Velvet Truths arc, making it a mere three parts in length!

But if that's the case, that's not a bad thing by any means. It just means we're that much closer to the arc with the Royal-exclusive content in it! And as some of my more observant reviewers have noticed, there will be some definite differences between the third semester as I adapt it in this story, and the third semester of canon Royal. So, look forward to that, since that will be when we finally have the full Phantom Thieves lineup brought together for the final Palace of Royal. So that's gonna be a fun thing to write.

That said, thanks to everyone who's supported the story so far, whether it be by reviewing, PMing their input, following the story, or adding it to their Favorite Stories list. All of the above is greatly appreciated, as it shows that people enjoy this story! And that's my goal as the one writing it, to ensure I bring an adaptation of Royal that my readers can enjoy. So by all means, continue supporting this story any way you can, even if it's just to add it to your Favorite Stories list and/or follow it.

But any reviews I get are welcomed, as it allows me to see what my readers think of the story. After all, I enjoy getting input from my readers, as it allows me to make my work even better. So don't be shy about leaving a review with your thoughts/opinions/feedback/constructive criticism on the story. I enjoy hearing from the readers. And until next chapter, sithlorde1988 out!

NOTES

*1* - As it turns out, after you get a certain scene that happens shortly before maxing out the Fool link, the name listed under the 'Strength' confidant changes from 'Twin Wardens' to 'Lavenza'. This is ironic, since I only just now noticed that when listing the Confidant ranks at the end of the chapter. Just a little bit of a fun fact I noticed that I figured I'd throw in for good measure.

*2* - Yeah, I threw a reference to Strikers in here. Why not? Plus I have a hard time believing that Madicce (if I spelled that company's name right) was only recently started at the time of Strikers, so I'm operating with the assumption that it was active during Royal, but working in a very behind-the-scenes capacity that was entirely unrelated to the plot of canon Royal. So just treat this as a nod to Strikers for now.

*3* - Technically, you CAN take the deal that the 'God of Control' offers you here. BUT, if you do so, it leads to a 'bad' ending and precludes you from accessing any of the new content that Royal adds in. So this could be considered another requirement for unlocking the third semester, is NOT taking the deal offered here by the 'God of Control'. Just putting that out there.

CONFIDANT RANKS AS OF THE END OF CHAPTER 84

FOOL (Prison Master/God of Control) - Rank MAX (10)

MAGICIAN (Morgana/Mona) - Rank MAX (10)

PRIESTESS (Makoto/Queen) - Rank 9

EMPRESS (Haru/Noir) - Rank 8

EMPEROR (Yusuke/Fox) - Rank MAX (10)

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

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

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

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

HERMIT (Futaba/Taba/Oracle) - Rank MAX (10)

FORTUNE (Chihaya/Fortune Teller) - Rank 7

STRENGTH (Caroline and Justine/Twin Wardens/Lavenza) - Rank MAX (10) *1*

HANGED-MAN (Iwai/Weapons Dealer) - Rank 7.5

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

TEMPERANCE (Kawakami/Becky) - Rank 8

DEVIL (Ohya) - Rank 6

TOWER (Shinya/The King/Skilled Gamer) - Rank 4

STAR (Hifumi) - Rank MAX (10)

MOON (Mishima) - Rank MAX (10)

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)

MAXED-OUT LINKS: FOOL, MAGICIAN, EMPEROR, HIEROPHANT, LOVERS, CHARIOT, JUSTICE, HERMIT, STRENGTH, STAR, MOON, SUN, JUDGEMENT, COUNCILLOR, WORLD

LINKS YET TO BE MAXED OUT: PRIESTESS, EMPRESS, FORTUNE, HANGED-MAN, DEATH, TEMPERANCE, DEVIL, TOWER, FAITH