Chapter 50: Into the Basement

Ω • Ω • Ω

•Willow•

"I'm telling you, Sonic could totally get past even the Buu arc. Archie Sonic is OP as hell compared to the Sonic from the games, he gets blasted, like, more than eight-hundred-thousand lightyears away in one comic and he just walks off the attack. And don't even get me started on Super Sonic."

Poking her head around the corner to peek into the kitchen, she watched Darling cook breakfast while arguing with Casey with a grin on his face, beating some eggs in a bowl with a whisk. She hid back around the corner and tapped her foot against the floor, puffing her cheeks out as she thought. Something was up with him, but she couldn't figure out what! Well, she had an idea, but she wasn't certain, so she crept back to their room, careful not to wake the twins.

Once she was in their room she took her phone from the nightstand and dialed Anty's personal number. Willow could tell that her husband was hiding something for a while now, but she was pretty sure no special anniversaries were near, and nobody's birthday was just around the corner… So, if he was hiding something, then Anty or Nocty would definitely know, and would probably confirm her theory!

Anty finally picked up on the other end. She would have felt bad calling anyone else since she knew it was late at night in Japan, but she knew her genius besty well, of course he'd be up right now, working on some science doohickey! "Since only a few people have this phone's number and only one of you would call at this hour, explain what you want quickly before I hang up, Sapph."

She giggled. "Hiya, Anty! It's Willow, actually!"

"Huh, wasn't expecting you to call at this hour, Flower-Power." She heard something crash on the other end of the line, and Anty began yelling at someone. "Goddamnit! Jakobs, you waste any more of that shit and I'm putting you on specimen observation duty! Tony, take over for him!"

"Oh, how's Tony doing?"

"He's fine. He's usually in R and D with with the Head Saturn but I needed an extra couple of hands for tonight's experiment… Anyway, what were you calling about, again?"

"Is Darling cheating on me?"

She could practically see it in her mind as Anty tripped over himself and caused probably a dozen things to crash to the floor. "Where the hell did you get that idea from?! He'd never… Unless he was possessed? Or fame got to his head? Has it? I'll kill him! Unless you've killed him already. Have you killed him?!"

She giggled. "I'm joking! No, he's been hiding something for a little while now, and I've been worried about him. Even Casey hasn't told me anything when I pick her up. I figured if it was something dangerous he'd tell you or Nocty about it, so I wanted to ask you!"

"Don't scare me like that, I thought I was going to have to Hammer of Dawn his dramatic ass. But, uh…" Anty cleared his throat. "Well, he is hiding something, but…"

"Alright, as long as he told you about it."

"Really? Willow, I know you're easygoing, but this is a bit much. You said it yourself and I confirmed it, he is hiding something from you."

She sat down on their bed, and a calm smile spread across her face as she closed her eyes. "If it was something really, really important he wouldn't hide it, he'd tell me. If he's hiding it, but told you, then it's because it could be trouble, and he doesn't want to worry me, right?"

"...Yeah."

"If he's being careful and sneaking around like he is, that means he's getting ready for whatever his Clairvoyance saw?"

"Precognition," Anty automatically corrected, "Uh, yes. He's been training with Noct much more frequently than he ever used to, and he pops by to discuss what he sees with me whenever another vision occurs. And I'd bet money he's training by himself as well."

"He definitely is, he teleported home just the other day and Casey was covered in Dinosaur blood. He might've been quiet, but I could never forget that smell," she laughed. "So, it's fine. I know if it becomes a real problem he'll tell me. Right now, he doesn't want me to stress about whatever it could be like he probably is."

"How noble," Anty snarked. "He's letting his wife have her peace of mind while Noct and I have to deal with his annoying visions."

She puffed her chest out and placed a hand on her hip, smiling smugly. "Yep! Those are my wifey privileges! Plus, I get to eat his cooking!"

"Oh, screw you." She giggled, hearing him scoff on the other end of the line. "I've got to go. Did you need anything else?"

"Nope! Have fun with your experiments! Bye-bye, Anty!"

"I don't know how much fun dealing with the acid currently eating through my laboratory floor could be, but sure, whatever… Goodbye, Flower-Power." She hung up and smiled, before walking back downstairs to the kitchen. She had been pretty sure from the start that was what had been going on, but it never hurt to be certain. When she got back to the kitchen, Darling was finishing up their breakfast, with the table already set.

She crept closer, before leaping at him and hugging him from behind. "Morning, Darling!"

He barely even budged, and she pouted that she hadn't gotten the drop on him. He just chuckled, carefully putting the pots and bowls down to turn and hug her. "Good morning, Sunshine."

"So, omelets?"

"Yup." He pulled away and grinned down at her, dark brown eyes twinkling. "You know, Moon and Diamond are at that age where they'll be questioning how I'm back in Onett while also needing to be at a game halfway across Eagleland… so I'm constantly Enhancing myself to hear if they've woken up to Teleport out if they come down, yeah?"

"I know!"

"So… You do realize that meant I could hear your entire conversation with Four-Eyes from down here, right?"

"Obviously!"

Darling rolled his eyes, his grin widening. "Right, just wanted to make sure."

Willow shook her head and leaned up to kiss him. "Don't worry, I know whatever it is you're doing, you're keeping it a secret so I don't panic or anything. I don't blame you. Because I know as soon as it became real trouble you'd have told me all about it, and if it's too much you'll run back here to get me, Nocty, and Anty so we can deal with it together!"

"The whole point of me trying to keep it secret and getting ready was so that I wouldn't have to get all of you involved," he answered. "I'd hoped I could deal with it easily, whenever it comes to pass, then never worry about it again. It's not something to be excited about…"

She smiled. She could tell he was lying, more to himself than anyone else. Whatever was going to happen, he was looking forward to it, but he was trying to tell himself that he wasn't. But if he didn't want to admit that, it was okay. Everyone had something they didn't want to tell anyone else about, even those closest to them. "Well, whatever you're getting ready for, good luck. And when it turns out to be too much for you to handle alone, we'll be ready and waiting to save your butt!"

"Oi, my butt will never need saving! But if you really want some of the glory that bad, then I guess I could let you help out when the time comes," Darling sniffed, acting aloof. A second passed and they both laughed before he picked her up and plopped her down on one of the seats at the kitchen table. "Now come on, let's eat before the twins wake up. I don't want to have to vanish before we get to have breakfast. And I made sure to make enough for them to eat as well when they come down. Maybe you can try to convince them it was your cooking," he smirked.

"I'll have you know my cooking is at the very least mediocre, sometimes!"

"It's a great poison, I'll give it that," he nodded sagely.

"You take that back!"

"Never!"

Ω • Ω • Ω

6/27, Monday

DEADLINE: July 9th

DAYS UNTIL PICS LEAKED: 12

Steal Kaneshiro's heart.

•Akira•

As soon as classes were finished He gathered everyone at the hideout as quickly as he could. "The elevator, from the previous times it's descended on Mondays, will be in motion soon. "We've got to get in and jump onto it ASAP."

"Gotcha, Aki!"

Everyone promptly agreed, seeing the necessity for speed. Finding as secluded an alley as they could, they moved into the Metaverse before Mona quickly transformed into a bus and they climbed in. They sped through the Palace version of Shibuya and then up the ramp into the Bank. Once they'd jumped into the hidden tunnel leading to the bank's secret entrance he began moving everyone around.

Mona and Panther were placed on the advance team after being stuck as auxiliaries during their last infiltration, joined by Fox, while Skull and Queen hung back. They wasted no time when they entered the Palace proper, running up the stairs and slipping past patrolling Shadows where they could.

"There's a Shadow ahead," Mona noted. "Can't sneak around that one… Should we ambush it?"

"No. Stay in hiding," he ordered. Backtracking a safe distance, he pulled out his gun. "PSI Mimic α." Then, he pulled the trigger.

"What was that?!"

"Investigating!" When the shadows that had been incidentally blocking the path rounded the corner, they saw Joker pointing a gun straight at them. "Contact!"

Everyone felt a shiver run up their backs as the security level rose… But it didn't matter much, as they'd already snuck ahead after the guards had passed them, and they were now distracted trying to beat up the intangible illusion. He grinned as he opened the door to the elevator maintenance room and ushered everyone inside before they ducked down onto the elevator's roof.

He pulled out his phone and checked the time. While none of its apps may have been working besides the Nav inside the Metaverse, it could still tell him that much. From what he'd put together, the elevator should be descending within the next fifteen minutes. He glared at nothing as he anxiously waited for the time to pass by, and while it certainly was passing, it did so slowly.

Fifteen minutes ended up passing, then another five minutes, but just as he was becoming pessimistic, the elevator wobbled and began its descent. "Whoa, we're going down! Dude, you were right!"

"Never doubted it," he chuckled nonchalantly, adjusting a glove.

"You were totally about to start panicking," Panther laughed.

"That is completely false!"

"You were beginning to sweat," Fox murmured.

"I do not sweat!"

The elevator stopped before they could continue the argument, and everyone quickly snuck through a vent that led out onto several wooden beams that they hopped down from. "So, this is the basement, huh?"

Before he could respond to Skull, the announcement system crackled and Kaneshiro's voice once more interrupted the smooth music. "Listen up! It looks like some rats have infested this place! Under no circumstances let them further down! Strengthen security as much as you can! Understood?!"

"It seems painfully obvious where the Treasure is now…" Fox murmured.

"But that map from earlier doesn't show that much… I wonder if there's another one somewhere."

He shrugged at Panther. "I'm just wondering how he somehow knew we'd reached the basement."

"Maybe it's like Madarame's where he knew we were in the paintings."

"In any case, heading down should be the best move. Let's keep our eyes out for a map while we explore."

Right by the elevator was another Safe Room, but considering they hadn't fought since entering the Palace they did not need to rest inside it. To move forward they had to sneak down a narrow hallway, filled with security cameras.

Thankfully, because it was a Palace, the cameras didn't cover the entire hallway, leaving small gaps for them to slip through. "I see… because the cognition of 'cameras not being able to see everything' that is usually in movies such as heists, these cameras have small ranges of view…"

"Pretty much," he answered Queen.

"Oooh, that makes sense," Skull muttered to himself.

Making their way through more rooms, past several cameras, and through multiple Oni, but when they attempted to ascend a staircase he quickly threw his arm out to stop Panther from walking right into a pair of cameras. "Look out. No blind spots on these."

"How are we supposed to get around, then?"

"There might be some kind of security room where we can shut them down," Mona answered Fox.

"There was that other hall we could try going down," he spoke as he looped his arm around Panther's back to lead her down the stairs away from the cameras. "I'm sure there'll either be a way around or the security room Mona mentioned."

"Good idea," Panther spoke, cheekily grinning at him as she pinched his hand and pulled him off her. He just winked back, and they began backtracking.

"Shadows ahead," Fox soon spoke as he peeked around a corner.

"Ready up." He leaned over Fox's shoulder, spotted the patrolling Shadow, and pulsed some PSI. Using Shadow he burst forward and landed on its shoulders, grabbing its mask and tearing it off. "I'll reveal your true form!"

He jumped away as the guard trembled, before bursting into black ooze that reformed into… Black Ooze. Three of them began groaning as they crawled towards him, looking like his Slime Persona, but their goo a deeper black in coloration. One gurgled and then burst forward, trying to crush him.

He grinned and jumped to the side, unloading his gun into its side. The bullets sank into its body but didn't do much else until a Bufu thanks to Goemon froze it in place. It had resisted it at first before the cold overtook it and transformed it into a Shadow popsicle. "Nya!" Mona descended onto it, trying to get some damage in while it was stuck, while he and Panther charged the other two.

"Carmen! Maragi!" A wave of fire spread over the battlefield and the Black Ooze's vanished from sight, before one shot through the wall of red and slammed into Panther. Before he could help her, the second launched at him and he was quickly covered in the goop.

"Disgusting little—!" He quickly shut his mouth before any goo could get in, and reached up to his mask. 'Leanan Sidhe!' Responding to his mask being ripped off and his internal shout, the Celtic fae appeared with a disdainful look on her face for the revolting creature.

"That's enough from you, foul one." She then launched a Psio that sent the Shadow flying with a pained warble. She then offered him a hand that he gratefully took as he stood, using his other to wipe off his mouth. "Are you alright, my dear?"

"Fine! Panther, you good?!" A pillar of flame exploded up and threw the black ooze back.

"Yeah! Ugh, these things are so annoying, my whip doesn't do anything!" He just chuckled at her response, while Fox and Mona ran up to them, having shattered the frozen Ooze.

"It looks like that psychic attack hit it hard," Queen called as she stood in cover at the backline with Skull. "Do you have any psychic attacks that can hit both at once?"

"Yeah, but it'll be a waste of energy on only the two of them! Flauros, Giant Slice!"

"Goemon, strike!" Both Personas rushed forward and hit the Shadows hard, sending them sailing back.

"Zorro, show your might!" Then a massive gust of wind tore the weakened Shadows to shreds, sending splatters of ooze all over the room. And, after a moment, they disintegrated and floated into the wind. "Yeah, victory!"

"Easier than cleaning my brushes," Fox chuckled.

"Yeah, because you weren't the one being smothered by a slime monster…" Panther grumbled. He snickered, then looked away as she turned to glare at him.

"Onwards." Creeping along and past more Shadows, or going through them if they weren't able to sneak around them, they eventually reached an empty room that only had a box on the wall. "Who the hell dedicates an entire room to a…" He read the plaque above the box, which had the words 'Camera power supply'. "...Seriously?"

"I guess it makes sense the Metaverse would have something like this, but… seriously?"

"I suppose we should learn to stop questioning it at this point. Didn't you tell me there was an off switch for an entire room of lasers in Madarame's Palace?"

"Come on, guys, you should be used to it by now," Mona smirked while wagging a finger. No, wait, they weren't fingers, considering it was a paw they were on… wagged a claw? We're they still considered fingers? Or toes…?

…This was going to irritate him for some time now.

Could we, perhaps, focus? Arsène asked dryly, amusement tainting his voice.

He shook his head before approaching the power box. "So, do you know how to turn it off?" Queen asked.

He reared back and slammed his shoe into the box, causing it to shatter and shoot out sparks.

"...Alright," she sighed.

"You really should be more graceful with these things, as a Phantom Thief," Fox hummed.

"Queenie rides a fuck-off motorcycle, I don't think I'm the one that needs to be told to be graceful," he smirked as he clapped Fox's shoulder, walking past.

"D-Don't call Johanna that!"

Skull just snickered. "Nah, he's just jelly you got a badass motorcycle."

"Don't you start with me, I remember you being jealous over my thief attire!"

"Who'd be jealous over your birthday party magician's outfit?!"

"Can we please focus?" Mona groaned.

Ω • Ω • Ω

An expansive room followed the hallway that the now open stairs led to, and he could see multiple cameras all around the room.

"According to the map, we should be able to head down from here…."

"Hey, did you hear?" Everyone quieted when they heard a Shadow speaking, and strained their ears. "It sounds like those intruders are wreaking havoc in here. So this floor's… and Kaneshiro-san ordered us to…"

"Yeah, but still… I mean, with these two keys… to happen?"

"Huh? Keys? The hell're those Shadows talkin' about?"

"I wasn't able to pick up everything they said," Queen frowned. "If only we could get closer…"

"I wish. This place is covered in cameras," he sighed as his eyes glowed with PSI.

"Well, it might be too dangerous to get any closer considering the Shadows in there… If they have keys, they're probably pretty tough, right?"

"Panther has a point," Fox nodded.

"Either way, there's nothing we can do about it at the moment. For now, let's focus on finding a way down," Queen advised.

Exploring the room they found several powerboxes for the cameras, and they shut them down one at a time with a kick for each as they found them. As they descended through the room they eventually found a massive metal door, with two terminals on either side of it.

"The hell? Is this some kinda vault?"

"It's a pretty sturdy-looking door," Panther noted.

Pulling out their map, he and Queen looked it over. "Well, there's a great deal more beyond here…"

Fox cupped his chin and nodded. "Then this is not a vault, but a partition of sorts. The terminals there must be how you operate it."

"I'm betting five thousand yen that you need the keys those Shadows were talking about to open it," he laughed.

"Meaning we'll need to defeat them and take their keys to get beyond this area…"

"For real? Ugh… it's such a pain in the ass how secure this place is."

"It's a bank, Numbskull."

He cut in before the two could begin bickering again. "Let's shut down the last of the cameras then see if we can get into that room, or at the very least eavesdrop on those Shadows some more."

After agreeing, they were once more on the move. They explored some more and eventually opened a gate that revealed a shortcut to the Safe Room that had been just outside the elevator. They battled their way through another set of dog and fae Shadows, shut down more cameras, and after using their grappling hooks to ascend to a higher ledge, found a patrolling Savage Enemy.

"Queen, keep a close eye on this battle, Savage Enemies can be devastating if you lower your guard. You and Skull should be ready to jump in if it starts becoming… problematic."

"Roger that, Joker."

"Gotcha."

He nodded and turned back to the Shadow. "Now then…" Once the Shadow was in range, he leaped up onto its back. "Show me your true form!" Once the mask was ripped off and he jumped back to a safe distance, the Shadow exploded into a massive, gray-skinned humanoid with horns, ropes binding its torso, and no arms. The second it saw him it roared and charged forward, causing his eyes to widen at its surprising speed. "Shit!"

He barely managed to roll to the side in time while pulling out his gun, and unloading the magazine into it. Panther and Mona joined in, launching an Agilao and Garu towards the Shadow. The winds kicked up the fire and the Shadow roared in pain before a bolt of lightning shot out of its mouth and struck Mona. "NYOW!"

"Mona!" The not-cat was sent flying from the blast, and Fox quickly unsheathed his blade. The ice user sped forward and with a single slash cut across its chest, slicing some of the ropes and letting out a small spurt of black blood, before sliding between its legs and cutting its thighs. The Shadow snarled and tried to turn and crush him so he jumped back while ripping his mask off and summoning Goemon.

As the Persona unleashed a Bufu on the Shadow Panther healed Mona, while he adjusted a glove and sprinted at the Shadow and Fox. The Shadow began freezing up from the cold winds and he jumped up onto its back while stabbing down with his dagger. It sunk deep into the back of its head while Fox shot forward and buried his katana into the Shadow's stomach.

The bound enemy coughed up black blood and tried to kick Fox away, before Goemon grabbed his user and tossed him to safety, before slashing down with his axe-pipe. It dug deep into the Shadow's leg but the monster ignored it, tackling Goemon.

Joker yelped from his position on the Shadow's back as he held onto his dagger while the Shadow managed to overpower Goemon before its body began crackling with yellow energy. "Oh shit, back up!" He managed to jump back, and Fox's mask reformed as Goemon faded away, but they weren't far enough to avoid the massive burst of electricity that exploded out of the Shadow, striking everything around it.

Brace, Trickster!

He cried out in agony as lightning coursed through him. He practically bent over backward, body twisting in pain until an explosion of fire erupted under the Savage Enemy. Panther approached, her eyes blazing with anger, as well as literally blazing with cerulean flame as Carmen stood behind her, constantly launching balls of explosive fire.

"It's burning up," Queen shouted, "Mona!"

"Already on it! Zorro!" A Garu- no, it was stronger, so the next step up from a Garu struck the Shadow hard and the firestorm erupted. "Garula! Now, Panther!"

Mona and Panther felt a burst of energy as they ran towards the Shadow, Carmen melting back into her mask as she cracked her whip. "You'll pay for what you did to Joker!" The bank faded away as they activated their Showtime, and he took the opportunity to close his eyes a moment and catch his breath.

When he heard the bomb go off he jumped to his feet, clutching his dagger. If that Shadow was still alive, he'd need to be ready to move. And, unfortunately, it seemed like it still was. It was definitely unsteady, but it was still alive. "Diarama!" Nigi Mitama flashed into existence, and he felt his muscles relax. "Now, Giant Slice!" Flauros charged towards the Shadow and tackled it, winding up and then slashing with his claws.

It stumbled back into a Rising Slash thanks to Goemon, and the Shadow snarled as it tried to launch a lightning bolt at him. Goemon dissolved to avoid it and Fox leaped to the side before Mona jumped forward and summoned Zorro. "Lucky Punch!"

The Persona stabbed forward with his fencing blade, and a cartoon boxing glove materialized, before striking the Shadow hard, sending stars flying. It was visibly dazed, and Joker grinned at the result. "Let's go! All-Out Attack!"

Mona cheered as they unleashed everything they had on the Shadow, slicing, stabbing, and striking. "Time for some bloodshed!" Once they finished and the Shadow was wobbling, Mona struck his pose with a grin as it erupted into black blood. "Cleanup complete!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and began healing each other. "I can see why you described them as devastating. That Shadow took a lot of punishment…"

"They hit crazy hard too," Skull muttered.

"Always be careful in a fight with them," he advised. "Now come on, let's keep moving."

Ω • Ω • Ω

After locating a Will Seed, unlocking several doors that could act as shortcuts around the basement, destroying the last powerbox for the cameras, and negotiating with some Shadows to join him, he now had a Nekomata and Oni Persona and they could eavesdrop on the Shadows holding the keycards.

They backtracked to the gated-off room and huddled around the door to listen in. "About those intruders," one of the Shadows spoke.

"Oh? Are you really that concerned? Don't be. We have the keys they need, so things should be okay as long as we protect them."

They backed away from the door, and Skull pounded his fists together. "So, they're carryin' the keys we need, like we thought!"

"Confirming what we already assumed, but it's still important to have that confirmation so we do not waste energy fighting them if we didn't need to,"

"So, we beatin' 'em up an' takin' their keys?"

Four apostrophes in one sentence. Is that a new record?

I think so,' he chuckled.

"Really, Numbskull? Just look at 'em. They're not your average Shadows. Anyone in charge of such important keys must be extremely strong."

"Dealing with both of them at the same time could be hard," Panther murmured as her tail swished back and forth. He absently watched and wondered how it worked. "Plus, if we try to bust down that door they might sound the alarm."

"So we need to draw them out, but somehow split them up…"

"And how are we to do that?" Fox questioned.

"While they are protecting those keys, if we cause a large enough ruckus, we might be able to draw them out… I'd suggest using the monitoring room to send a message requesting backup, but we wouldn't be able to return to the basement for the rest of the day."

"At the very least, it'll be safe to make some noise after defeating most of the Shadows around here," Mona nodded, "so we could easily draw them out. The problem is splitting them up."

What about thy PSI?

'I suppose there's a couple ways I could use it, but… Hm…' He turned to Queen. "Any ideas on how we could separate them?" He asked with a smile.

Realizing he was encouraging her, she lifted a hand to her chin in thought. "Alright… Joker, what are your psionic abilities again?"

"Simplified, Rebellion is an explosive blast, Mimic creates an illusion, Shadow allows me to jump several meters from cover to cover, or even onto an enemy, and my Third Eye lets me see things that are hidden, the strength of enemies or allies, and clues depending on what I need."

"Okay… how about when we draw them out of this room, we draw them over here to the side. Then, Joker throws a Rebellion between them. Hopefully, the explosion will throw one Shadow into the wall and stun it, and the other over the ledge. Joker, you'll follow it and start distracting it, while the rest of us fight the other Shadow. If you can hold off until we've finished ours, we can all fight the second together."

"Well, it relies on a bit of luck to work," Mona frowned.

"And Joker will have to fight all on his own," Panther added, worried. "Will you be alright?"

He just grinned. "Come on, Panther, have some faith in me."

"I just worry, Joker."

"Eh, he'll be fine! It's just one Shadow, no way it can keep up with Joker!"

"It sounds risky, but I agree with Skull. Joker should be able to hold out until we've finished the first Shadow."

"Alright, if we're all in agreement, then let's do this. Everyone, into positions!"

Ω • Ω • Ω

"H-Hey!" Gunshots went off. "We need backup! Is there anyone that can help?! These intruders are—!" More gunshots drowned out the words.

The gate that had been keeping the Shadows safe from them rattled open, and the two sprinted out, looking around for whoever was panicking. Before they could do anything, he grinned and jumped down from his vantage point above the door, hands glowing black, red, and silver. "PSI Rebellion ɑ!"

The explosion worked to separate the Shadows, one sailing over the nearby railing, while the other was sent flying back. It didn't slam into the wall and become stunned, but it was blasted back into the room they had come out of. Good enough. He dropped down from above the door and jumped onto the railing, turning to wink at his Thieves. "Have fun with your Shadow!"

Before they could respond he leaped down, twisting midair to land lightly on his feet as the Shadow he was about to kite for the next few minutes exploded into its new form. It… almost looked like a blue and white version of the Oni Shadows they had been fighting throughout the bank, with a similar weapon and look, but with a hole in their face.

"You dare challenge— Ngh?! What is this disrespect?! You'd fight me on your own?!"

"Yeah, I know," he sighed dramatically. I should let you call some Shadows for backup, right? You've really got no chance fighting me one-on-one after all." The Shadow roared in anger, and his face slipped into a grin as he burst forward and flipped over the Shadow's weapon, placing a hand on their head to boost himself over and behind them. "Well, catch me if you can~!"

Thou art having too much fun with this.

'Probably!' He ripped his mask free and summoned Oni, the demonic Persona roaring as he swung his blade. The blue Shadow spun and blocked with its own weapon and they clashed with a shower of sparks. Joker twirled his knife as he sprinted around the Oni and the Shadow, before closing in and slashing at the blue and white monster's leg with the dagger.

Thanks to being preoccupied by his Persona the Shadow was incapable of dodging or blocking, and the slash cut into its thigh. Ice began creeping up its leg, and with a snarl the monster pulled back, letting Oni overextend and bringing its weapon around to smash it over the back of Oni's head.

He winced from the pain feedback and let Oni dissipate before the Persona could be run through with the twin-sided blade. "Alright, looks like I'm going to be dodging for the next few minutes instead of fighting…"

His lips curled into a smirk. "Fun."

Ω • Ω • Ω

•Morgana•

"Nya!" He jumped back, putting distance between him and the blade. The Shadow, a gray and light-blue creature with long black hair that looked similar to an Oni, certainly was a tough one, and without Joker's versatility it was going to be a hard battle, but with him leading them they would take it down!

"Look out!" Panther heeded Fox's words and managed to avoid a Bufala, a burst of ice exploding from the ground where she'd stood just a second before.

"Fox, Skull, get in close! Panther hit it with an Agilao! It should be weak to fire if it's throwing around ice like that!"

"Man, why the hell do I gotta listen to Monamona? I can totally fight on my own!" Even with his complaining, Numbskull and Fox charged forward, bringing their hammer and sword around and swinging out at the Shadow. It jumped back to avoid them, but unfortunately for it, the Shadow couldn't avoid the fireball launched by Carmen.

He grinned at the sight of the flames erupting against the Shadow… and then it sprinted out of the explosion and tackled Skull, as Fox was quick enough to dodge out of the way. "Skull!" Panther gasped.

"Ah, shit!" With its free hand, the Shadow had Skull by the neck and slammed him into the ground. "Get this guy off me!"

He quickly pulled his slingshot and launched several pellets, and the Shadow dragged Skull up and into their path. "Crap!"

"Ow!"

"Ha!" Fox appeared behind the Shadow and slashed at its neck. The katana dug into its neck partway before becoming stuck and the monster roared in pain, letting go of Skull and reaching back for Fox.

The boy narrowed his eyes and in a surprisingly acrobatic move leaned back, slipped his katana from the Shadow's throat, and rolled over its shoulder towards his front where he ripped his mask free to summon Goemon. "Rising Slash!"

The blow sent the Shadow flying back, blood spurting from its half-chopped-off neck. It managed to catch itself, flipping midair and landing on its feet before sweeping through the air with its weapon to send missiles of ice flying toward them.

His eyes widened, seeing too many to dodge. "Everyone brace!"

"Not on my watch!" Queen suddenly flew over him riding Johanna. "Varja Blast!" She somersaulted on her bike and slammed it down, the explosive force sending the Mabufu careening away, coating the walls and floor around them with ice instead.

"Nice save, Queen!" Panther cheered.

"This thing is tough," he spoke with a wince, watching as the Shadow rolled its shoulders and began approaching them.

"Mona, if it uses that attack again, have Zorro deflect it with its winds." He facepalmed, wondering why he hadn't thought of that. At the same time, he summoned his Persona to cast a Dia onto Skull. "Fire doesn't work especially well, so we'll go with technical attacks! Panther, be ready to put it to sleep! Skull, stay in front, we'll keep its attention on us! Fox, keep moving, if you find the opportunity, finish that slice and cut off its head!"

Skull cracked his neck and grinned, stepping forward. "Got it, Queen!"

"I can do that." Fox jumped back behind them, hands on his katana handle and sheath.

Seeing that she was taking charge, he hurriedly jumped up and down. "A-And I'll be ready to attack when necessary whenever I'm not blowing away those Mabufu missiles!"

He wasn't sure why he was feeling uncomfortable with Queen taking charge, maybe because he was supposed to be Joker's right-hand man? Either way, he needed to focus on the fight at hand!

The Shadow roared and Queen narrowed her eyes as she revved Johanna's engine. "Let's get this over with then go assist Joker!"

"Yeah!"

Thicc portion of this chapter all dedicated to the Palace. Not sure how much of the next chapter will be the same, might save the Vault for a third infiltration since it's been a couple of hours since they've entered the bank.

I'm trying not to go too in-depth when it comes to character descriptions during a Chosen Four POV section, I want to save those for when Akira or the other thieves actually interact with them in person, like when Akira spent some time with Anthony and he got a short description in chapter eleven. I feel like it makes more sense than any of those four characters describing one of the other four after knowing them for more than twenty years.

Also, Willow POV. She's grown a bit from acting as childish as she did in BBOH, but clearly, her personality hasn't changed all too much, she's still pretty happy-go-lucky. Like how Noct and Anthony became less uptight, Sapphire and Willow became a bit more adult. Duh, they grew up. But their core personalities are still generally the same.

Since I've made it so that the Thieves can't control the elevator, they couldn't use the plan of seperating the Shadows by calling one up to the monitoring room, so I improvised. Getting some hints of Morgana beginning to feel the 'useless' bug that Makoto's gotten over, with her taking charge while Akira's gone, but it hasn't gotten too serious yet.

So let me know what you think of the chapter, or just leave a 'nice,' both are always great to read. See y'all next time!