The kid was crying again.

Always the same. Always at complete random. Like some kind of child-shaped torture method. It wasn't the worst he had suffered. Not by a long shot.

But it was definitely the most annoying. The most persistent.

As fates went, winding up trapped in some messed up, half remembered back room of the Afterlife with only a small child for company was definitely not the best. He huffed and let smoke plume from his lips and nose. At least the fading memory of cigarette smoke was still holding up. It made the crying at least somewhat tolerable. Was there any point in engaging? It was always the same thing. No difference, like a broken record.

Of course, he always caved in.

"Pipe down, would ya? Givin' me a fuckin' migraine." His bark momentarily shut the child up. The reprieve was only temporary as - once again - the kid started to ball her eyes out like a fountain. The same shit again. "Jesus Christ, how many times do we gotta do this, kid?"

"I want my brother!"

"He ain't here!" His temper flared. He was falling for the same argument once again. Like he simply couldn't help it. His growling only added to the tiny girl's distress.

"Then I want Jackie!"

"News flash; he ain't here either! Guess you're fuckin' stuck with me." He yanked the aviator shades from his face and tried quelling the pulsing pain in his forehead. After spending so long stuck in the mind of Valorie Garcia, seeing her in this diminutive, helpless state offered a variety of conflicting feelings.

Pity among them.

Though annoyance was definitely the strongest by far.

"Why are you so mean, Johnny? You never say anything nice!" The child pouted. Her crying had finally stopped, only to be replaced with something equally annoying. The puffed up cheeks of a sulking toddler. The pulsing in his head grew worse as he growled a rough noise of irritation. The headaches had gotten a lot more frequent recently. So had Kid V's outbursts. Confusing was a complete understatement.

After V interfaced with Mikoshi and had her final conversation with him, Johnny thought it was over. He would join Alt and retreat into the Blackwall, probably to merge with her and become some weird, fucked up mega-AI. He could have sworn that's what happened. He had that memory of passing through. It was as vivid as his own death.

And yet here he was.

Locked in some weird stasis. Nothing changed. Everything repeated itself. V's child apparition most of all. Was it even V at all?

The woman Johnny knew wouldn't be so annoyingly hopeless. All her faults aside, V was definitely determined and capable. In a weird twist of fate, she became something more than a simple friend. More than a sister, even.

He often pondered their connection now that he was trapped in this limbo.

As useless and infuriating as the exercise was, it at least passed the time. If that even meant anything anymore.

For once, he decided to try a different approach with the kid. He kicked the chair opposite him, sliding it gently toward Kid V's little corner. "Plant it. You want Papa Johnny, let's give it a fuckin' shot." Surprised, the child gingerly poked one of the chair legs. She recoiled as if expecting something to jump out at her. When nothing of the sort did, she carefully got to her feet, dragged it closer to Johnny and clambered up onto its seat. "Alright, kid. I'm listenin' so spin it."

She clearly had no idea what to do. This was the first time Johnny had even considered a friendlier approach. In his own wallowing irritation, he had always just stonewalled her. After all, it wasn't like she was the real V. Just some pale, reductive imitation of her. Engaging with her with more than cold hostility would just be a waste of effort.

"Why… are we here?" Starting off strong. The kid asked the impossible.

"If I knew that, then we wouldn't still be here. I should be with Alt and you should be livin' your fuckin' life. I didn't give up a second chance at my own life so you could fuck yours up."

"I wanna leave…"

"Door's right fuckin' there." The chromed arm stretched out and pointed to the door. It was locked, of course. Another torturous fabrication of whatever hell this place was. Again, he sighed and sparked up another smoke. The pros of smoking via memory meant he at least never ran out. The cons were never actually getting the nicotine fix he needed.

The kid huffed again. "It's locked, asshole."

"Yep."

"I'm hungry."

This was going nowhere. Even if it was the most normal the kid had ever been. Johnny didn't know what was worse. The crying or the sulking. Both were playing his nerves like a violin. He leant back against his chair and slammed a foot on the table. "Cook up a memory or somethin' then. I ain't your dad, V." A long exhale of smoke billowed into the centre of the room.

All he had was memory. The reliving of past experiences was at least something.

It was only that, however. Memory.

The tiny kid whined a little at that. "My name is Valorie! V. A. L. O… uh… wait…" she quickly counted something on her fingers and muttered under her breath about Mama Wells. "R. I. E!" she finally finished with a look of pride and triumphant smugness.

As if spelling her name was in any way an accomplishment.

The two fell silent once again. Kid V lowered herself off her seat and shuffled back to her corner. And so the cycle would begin anew. Always the same. Johnny let a low grunt escape. Barely had he resigned himself to another stint of total silence when something strange happened.

It hardly registered at first. A slight rumble in the distance. Audible groaning of metal. Barely perceptible tremors under foot.

At first, he ignored it. Then it stuck in his mind. What the hell was that metallic grinding? What caused the tremor? Was there actually something out there? It sparked a budding sense of curiosity. He hadn't felt that in quite a while. The kid was unresponsive, now. Huddled up and gently quivering in her corner. It gave him the impression it was just in his imagination.

Something his mind had concocted to squeeze just that little bit more torture out of him.

But the fact alone that he had heard and felt something was enough. If there was something out beyond that damn door, he was going to get there.

A flash of silver chrome cut the air. With a clenched fist, he punched the metal door. A horrid clang resonated around the room. Kid V let out a yelp and started to cry once more. Nothing happened. The blow didn't even leave a scratch. "Fuckin' piece of shit." He launched a second blow. Then a third. Nothing.

Johnny growled and reared back for a fourth, futile strike. Though he was stopped by the sensation of something yanking at his trousers. "Stop! You're hurting my ears!" It was the kid. Pulling at the leather with a frowning, puffy pout.

"The fuck do you suggest, then? Sit on our asses for the rest of fuckin' eternity!?"

"They're helping us! They're gonna… ugh…" The kid stumbled back as if she had been struck by something. In a daze, she fumbled on the spot, rubbing palms against her scalp. Then she let out one of the most blood curdling shrieks Johnny had ever heard.

And that was saying something.

Kid V's body writhed in visual agony. She threw herself against the table. Then at the wall. Then she suddenly collapsed to the ground. Motionless. Not even breathing.

"Oh… fuck…"

It was so sudden, so violent, so unexpected, Lynn barely had a chance to register what the hell had happened.

By the time her senses had returned, she was already sprawled out, upside down on a theatre chair. The same one she had been sitting on when they entered V's Palace. She was back in the attic. Dizzy and aching all over, but in one piece. Everyone else was in similar positions. Like they had been picked up and dumped like dolls.

"Ow…" Lynn groaned and tried shifting herself back to a regular sitting position. "Everyone alive?"

A round of grunts and moans.

They were investigating the bar ruin. They had found a strange looking terminal that held a resemblance to that Mikoshi machine from Carson's Seedling. Though in this case, it was smaller and was glowing a faint lilac instead of an ominous red. Lynn recalled that a single touch triggered something. A tremor. Then one of those gigantic chains wrapping around that tower snapped off and fell to the lava below.

Then they were back here. In the movie theatre's attic.

"Fuck me… if this is gonna happen every time we do something in that place… count me out." River's tone wavered. From a glance, it was clear he was nauseous. A thin sheen of sweat. Heavy breathing. A slight shake to his movements. Lynn couldn't blame him for a second. She was in the same boat, after all. So too was everyone else.

"Let's… call it here. We need to… ugh… gather our thoughts and talk things through with V. But… maybe another day." Everyone agreed with Lynn's assessment. Even if their exit of the Palace wasn't voluntary, it had still taken a lot out of both the thieves as well as River and Judy.

With that said, Judy was looking around with worry evident in her expression. "Where is she, anyway? Hm? Oh, a note." A scrap of paper stuck to the makeshift coffee table held a scribbled few words. "Gone to Crossroads. Of course she has…" She smirked, "I'll give her a call." A quick tap on her phone and thus began the waiting game as it rang. It only took a few seconds before the call was answered. "Hey, babe, we're-... Oh, hello, Lala. Where is sh-... w-what?"

Time ground to a halt.

With eyes wide, jaw dropped and nothing but shaky breath forcing its way out of Judy's lungs, it was like everything had suddenly stopped.

The phone slipped from her hand and clattered against the cushioned seat. "N-no… nononono."

"Jude?" Gingerly, River reached out only for his hand to be slapped away. A lump formed in Lynn's throat. Her mind raced and desperately tried to reach any other conclusion than the obvious. The muffled voice from the phone continued. Acting fast, Lynn picked it up and silently ordered someone to take Judy to her room. Shiho and Ann took up the responsibility.

When Judy was safely away, she took a long gulp of air and placed the phone against her ear.

"..dy, are you there, darling?"

"S-sorry, it's Rin. Judy is… unavailable right now."

"Oh, the sweet little thing that accompanied dear V on her birthday. I… assume you know what this is about?"

"She's… gone, isn't she?"

There was silence. All but confirming without the need for a verbal reply. Lynn felt a large tear burst from her eye and run over her cheek. She hadn't known V for long, but that didn't stop it from hurting. Over the course of her brief Phantom Thief career, Lynn had become acquainted with death and the threat of it loomed over her each time she entered the Metaverse. That said, when it did strike, it was cold, callus and completely unexpected.

"The paramedics managed to bring her back."

"She's alive!?" Hope hit her like a freight train. Couldn't Lala have led with that? River perked up at the outburst. Relief mixed with apprehension churned away. From Lala's tone, there was going to be a solid 'but' on the edge of that statement.

"Yes… but she's in a coma. I thought it best she got sent to a facility close to where she lives, a lovely little clinic in Yongen Jaya. I'm with the doctor now, but Rin, honey… it's not looking good."

So the call was coming from right across the street. Lynn didn't know ambulances could take patients to private clinics.

There wasn't any time to complain, though. They needed to get over to Takemi's clinic. Quickly.

When the call ended, Lynn bolted for the door to Judy's room, burst through its door and loudly barked the order; "we're going to the clinic!" Judy was a complete mess. Makeup was trailing down her face as tears poured like a waterfall.

Both Ann and Shiho sat on both flanks, doing their best to hold it together. Although they were on the verge of bursting out with tears themselves. Meanwhile, Judy was muttering "we killed her" to herself over and over again. It almost set Lynn off again, too. She gritted her teeth and held it in.

"V's alive. Judy, she's alive."

"W-what…? No… we… killed her. We should never've gone into that fuckin' Palace."

"Don't give up, yet, Judy." Said Ann, her tone soothing and quiet.

It took a lot of effort and coaxing, but eventually, the three teens managed to get Judy to stand up and lead her outside. The techy wasn't thinking clearly. From what Lynn had heard, the woman had gone through a whole lot of loss. What made it worse is that V's mortality was a known issue. An ever present threat that loomed over the couple, preventing them from making any lasting plans.

But this wasn't the end. V was still fighting. Still clawing at life.

Lynn was determined to make sure Judy would have the future she wanted with V.

Even if she had to kill to do it.

"Shit. Fuck. Fuck. The fuck did I do?" Johnny paced up and down the small room. Had his outburst caused this? Had the attempt of escape killed V?

He looked down on the motionless crumpled form of Kid V. At first, she wasn't breathing and Johnny assumed the absolute worst. If this weird version of V had kicked it, then did that mean the real V had also kicked it? Then, a weird rush of relief washed over him. The kid started breathing again.

Still as a stiff, sure, but alive.

It didn't stop the panic, though. The repeated thought that this was his fault wouldn't go away.

"Calm down, Johnny-boy… think."

He checked the kid's pulse. She was, indeed, alive. Merely unconscious. Despite the weirdness and shock, this was at least a break from the cycle. Something new. Even if it was something inherently bad.

Something must have changed.

Had that crack always been there?

Johnny's eyes narrowed and locked onto the small tear in the concrete wall. The once stagnant air had been disturbed. Wisps of dust curled around the miniscule opening. Thin and completely useless as an exit, but it was still an opening. Whatever that disturbance earlier was, it had set something in motion.

Also, V had said something interesting before she collapsed.

"They are helping? Who the fuck is they?" He grunted, letting a cloud of smoke briefly consume his vision. "Could'a been more specific. Fuckin' ey, V…"

Smoke danced in the air, blowing by on the evening breeze. Without even waiting a moment, Judy had already taken another long inhale. Lynn tried not to let the cigarette smoke bother her. It took monumental effort to keep from coughing, but she really didn't want Judy to be alone right now.

After seeing V's unconscious body wired up to machines like that, the techy almost threw herself into another breakdown.

So, now Lynn, Judy and Morgana were standing alone in the alleyway. River had taken it upon himself to converse with Takemi and the rest of the thieves had gone their separate ways for the day. Judy was definitely in no state to discuss the actual logistics and care expenses for someone in a coma, and if Lynn was being honest, she didn't think River was, either.

As callus as it made Takemi seem, at least Lynn could understand the sheer cost. Especially considering V had no insurance and no actual ID on this side of the Metaverse.

Still, at least V was breathing.

"Fuck… she better pull through. Flatline her myself if she gives up." Judy finally spoke up for the first time since the news dropped. With a final puff of her cig, she tossed it to the ground and stamped it out. "Did we do this?"

Morgana quietly coughed from the last puff of smoke before humming to himself. "I… can't say for sure…" the cat struggled with the thought. Eyes narrowing, concentration rattled his tiny features. As a result of Lynn's mind trying to distract itself from the situation, she couldn't help but find the sight of a cat concentrating like a human so fascinating. "Whatever we triggered - that big chain - it must have had some huge cognitive kickback to it. Like a shock to the system. Maybe that's what happened?"

"Fuck if I know…" Judy let a frustrated sigh escape. She leant against the cool brick wall and let herself look off into some far reaching distance. "Feel like we just made things worse for her…"

Again, Mona hummed. His tail flicked as he thought, eventually curling like a fist as frustration set in. "Just before we were ejected, I got this weird feeling. A sense of relief and gratitude. It's… kind of hard to explain, but it felt like V's cognition wanted us to trigger that chain." Judy kept her attention on the distance. Not responding.

Her jaw line twitched and her breathing betrayed the fact she was still teetering on the edge of another breakdown. This wasn't the time for this conversation. Not when everything was so fresh.

As such, Lynn tried taking Judy's mind off of the night's events. "Say, Judy, V mentioned you're a deep water diver?"

The techy's shoulders tensed. She didn't give an answer for several seconds. "Yeah. It's how I unwind. Fuck, I'd do anythin' to loose myself in a dive right now…" The tension loosened and the beginnings of a smile tugged at her lips. "Not really sure how it started, though. Just always liked discoverin' shit. My hometown got flooded when I was a kid, so maybe that's it."

"Can I ask what happened?"

"Corpos happened." A look of disgust. "Assholes bought out the land and tried forcin' us out. They wanted to turn our town into a fuckin' resevoir. Well… they got their way in the end. They got their fuckin' resevoir. For all of five minutes. Now Laguna Bend is just a giant lake of toxic water." She sighed and lit up her third cig of the night. Despite the anger and sadness in her story, Judy couldn't help but smile. "It was actually where Valorie and I had our first date. Hah, she'd zero me if she heard me call her that. Fuckin' damn relic. Hasn't the girl done enough?"

"So that's V's real name." Mona's ears flicked as his eyes lit up. A weird thing to get so excited about, but then again, this was a conversation meant to lighten the mood.

With that said, the story of Laguna Bend weighed heavily in the air.

"You didn't hear it from me, yeah?" The glare said it all. Why V was so against the name was a mystery, but now wasn't the time to ask. Nor did Lynn have any right to in the first place. Whatever the reason was, it sounded incredibly personal. "Mi Calabacita…" the woman muttered the phrase with a fond smile. Spanish, if Lynn wasn't mistaken. Not that she actually understood it. "What about you? Iron, huh? Weird choice of hobby for a young girl like you."

Lynn was very well aware of the unorthodox nature of her interests. Most of the girls she knew were interested in more standard things. "My dad's the one that introduced me to Airsoft. He brought me to an open day on a whim. Been hooked ever since. I have no clue where the nickname came from, though."

"It definitely suits ya!" Judy actually managed to chuckle. "You're pretty devilish when you wanna be, kid. You could even give V a run for her money."

Bashful, Lynn turned away to hide her blush. Honestly, the whole thing made her sound like some sadistic villain.

"Anyway, I appreciate what you're doin' Lynn. But… I think it's time we went back in. I'm feelin'... better. Whatever the fuck that means anymore. Thanks, you two." The mood quickly shifted, the levity was over. Hopefully, it helped at least a little. Silently and somberly, they made their way back inside. Whatever River and Takemi were discussing seemed to have come to a close as they now were lingering around the clinic's waiting area.

The ex-cop took a brief glance at Judy, noted that she was a lot less hysteric and gave Lynn a silent nod of appreciation.

"As I was saying to Mr. Ward, I really don't have the necessary resources here to keep a coma patient for the long term." Takemi started off strong. Judy's shoulders immediately tensed and she took to holding herself awkwardly. Without skipping a beat, Takemi continued. Notably, her tone had shifted to an attempt to be sympathetic. "As far as her tests show, she's stable. However, that can change at any moment." The doctor paused and lightly tapped her clipboard to her forehead. "I can monitor and treat her for one week. That's all I have the capacity for. After that… all I can do is recommend some hospices."

"I… understand." Judy took a long intake of air. She grew more and more tense with each second she took to think. "Would it be ok if I stayed with her? In case she wakes up, y'know?"

Takemi actually cracked a smile.

"Sure thing. As long as you don't mind sleeping on the old couch in the room I've got her in."

"Can't… fuckin'... see…" Johnny grunted and struggled. Standing on a chair wasn't enough to reach the crack in the wall. As tall and lanky as he was, he had to resort to standing on his tiptoes just to get to eye level. Even with that, there was barely a sliver of an opening to peek through. "Shit…" He gave up and hopped down to solid ground. Even if he could see out through the crack, what good would that have done? Still, this was probably the most he had moved in quite some time. The stiffness in his joints hit full swing. The weight of his chromed arm pulled at his clavicle like it used to when he was alive. Even his breathing felt somewhat laboured after the physical activity.

For the last year or so, he existed purely as a digital engram. A cluster of data stuffed into a biochip which was then - in turn - stuffed into the head of a wannabe legend. He was effectively a ghost. Now, he felt real. He could touch things for himself. His body reacted to physical activity. It hadn't crossed his mind until now. Not that it really helped him. No, there were some more important things to consider. Like what to do with the still unconscious kid laid out on the table. Leaving her on the floor just felt cruel. "Gonna wake up any time soon?" His irritation was met with silence. "No? Well… fuck me then."

His attention drifted back to the crack. The idea of damaging it further crossed his mind. He could use the chairs as makeshift hammers. Swung properly with his chrome would do some decent enough damage. But at the same time, what if it just made things worse? It could have been a load bearing wall. Knocking it down could have caved the whole room in. No one would win if that was the case.

"Pfft… who needs caution? Never was my strong suit."

With any doubt cast aside like trash, he picked up a chair, readied himself, then swung.

Hard.

Wednesday - June 1st

"Hot…" Fanning with a small notebook barely had an effect. Lynn was indeed suffering. The fresh June sun had started off strong with a damn heat wave. "God… I need the summer uniform soon…" Even the shade of a tree in the courtyard didn't do much to fend off the heat. Her only consolation was the lack of any lava.

That prompted a grimace. It brought her back to the reason for this meeting.

Huddled around a phone, Lynn, Ryuji, Ann, Shiho and Morgana tried keeping their voices as quiet as possible. The same couldn't really be said for the two people on the other side of the phone.

River and Yusuke - calling from Leblanc - didn't have that luxury.

"Anyway… how's Judy holding up? I hope she at least got some sleep." Lynn was met with a rough hum. She might not have been able to see River's expression, but it didn't take a genius to guess. Shortly after turning in for the night - just as Lynn was about to drift off to sleep - River had called. Judy had apparently suffered a bad panic attack. That meant a second trip to Takemi's clinic.

It was a dream that triggered it.

Lynn felt for her. It definitely wasn't easy to deal with something like this.

"Takemi and I eventually got her back to sleep. Thanks, by the way. That Leblanc hot coco was just what she needed."

"Always helped me." A sense of pride washed over the teen. Misplaced as it was. All Lynn did was heat up some milk and mix in some of Sojiro's cocoa powder. Despite that, it was nice to hear that Judy felt at least somewhat better because of it. "How are you holding up, River?"

"Been better. My best friend's in a coma."

Perhaps she should have expected as much. The sudden shift in tone said far more than what the ex-cop likely intended. The guy was just as shaken as Judy. Barely keeping it in, yet forcing himself to push through. Likely a byproduct of being an ex-cop. Especially an ex-cop from Night City. It was incredibly unhealthy to bottle everything up, but Lynn could only trust that River had some way of processing everything.

Shiho stepped up to bat. Ever the reliable bridge. Meek as she was, she definitely had a way of keeping things on track. "That's what we're going to talk about, right?" Everyone nodded in agreement. With an appreciative nudge, Lynn took over with a soft smile.

"We have one week to do something. Mona and I were thinking things through pretty hard last night." The cat nodded with a prideful smirk. Even with the severity of their situation, his usual disposition had returned. It was actually good to see. They all needed a little confidence right now. "We've come up with a theory. If we removed all those chains, perhaps it would knock that Relic tower loose. We triggered one already, which Mona sensed was a necessary shock to V's system."

"V's cognition is in a state of flux. Not only that, there's that Relic tower. I think it's a parasite that needs removing, like a tic. Sadly, that means having to be a little rough and drastic." Mona added.

"I don't really get it…" Like usual, Ryuji's head was spinning. Oddly, it was Ann who came to the rescue, this time.

"It's like pruning a sick tree!"

That sparked a moment of clarity. The boy immediately understood. "Oh, I get it! We just gotta cut off the shitty branches so the rest of the body can do its thing and grow better."

"Once again, Ryuji, your inconsistent understanding of these things both confuses and infuriates me."

"Hey, it ain't my fault your explanations are so confusin'! Talk about useless!"

"Wha- I'm not useless, you idiot!"

"I know, I know. Relax, Mona, you know I'm just messin' around."

With a frustrated growl, Morgana let Ryuji off the hook. At least, that's what Morgana wanted it to look like. Everyone knew the two wouldn't have their friendship any other way.

"This is fun and all… but can we get back on fucking track, please?"

Yusuke was next to speak. "Yes, we should formulate a plan. As I understand it, our goal is to remove the tower. However, what then?"

"Good question, Yusuke," Mona hummed to himself for a moment, "we need to get inside and find out exactly what the source is. After that… we'll have to decide on a course of action. Best we focus on pruning that Relic for now."

"Alright. I'd like to officially request the Phantom Thieves to save my best friend's life." River's voice had become resolute and unwavering. Lynn could have done without him dropping the thieves' name, but she let it slide. Just this once. In silent discussion, she looked to each of her comrades. Each one returned with a determined nod.

"What do you say, Yusuke?"

"I owe V, River and Judy a lot. More than I could possibly hope to repay. Saving the life of a comrade is a noble cause and one I am fully determined to aid in. You have my sword and my strength."

"Then it's unanimous. Our next target will be V. Let's spend today preparing and gathering supplies. Tomorrow, we storm the volcano."

"Hell yeah!"

"Thanks, Rin. Thanks everyone. Judy's sitting this one out for… obvious reasons. As am I. Don't worry about following up with Ishida, I'll take care of it."

A sad sight. Crumpled and mangled chairs laid strewn across the cold floor. Along with an out of breath Rockerboy. Splayed out, catching his breath, Johnny took a glance at his progress. Not a single inch. He barely even managed to scratch the surface.

"Fuck you, wall…" he grumbled, letting his head rest on the ground. "I could use a chunk of C4 or some fuckin' power tools."

It was like the room itself was mocking him.

Was this some kind of personal hell? Was this a fabrication made by Alt to punish him? He definitely deserved as much. If this was the Blackwall's doing, it was completely out of his comprehension. He barely even understood the Relic's basics, let alone a realm of digital eldritch horrors. But if this was some kind of punishment, why was V here in the body of a little kid?

"Who fuckin' knows…" he blew up into the room and watched as dust danced and pranced in response.

Maybe he was just going crazy.

Rogue would have argued he had always been crazy. She was right. Robert John Linder was never the most stable. Always itching for a fight, wanting to lash out at everything. When the Corporate war rolled through, he was all but chomping at the bit to enlist. A reason to vent his anger, energy and need for the thrill. What he got was a whole lot more anger, resentment and hatred. The atrocities inflicted by the corps was enough to make even a statue puke.

Samurai was his way of channelling that hatred into something people could resonate with. Music was magical like that. Even if actually saying something that cliche made Johnny's stomach crawl.

Self reflection aside, all Johnny had managed to accomplish in his life was to alienate almost everyone close to him.

It was pointless to dwell on it now. There were no more second chances.

The one he was given was only thanks to a bunch of data and the altruism of its host. Without V, Johnny would never have been able to give the closure everyone deserved. Rogue, Kerry, the band, hell even Alt.

To try and shake the existentialism of it all, he sparked up another cig. Still sprawled on his back, the smoke drifted up in mesmerising patterns. It did little to help, yet he continued regardless. Anything to not think about his failings for even a simple few minutes. "If this really is hell, they fuckin' nailed it."

He spared a glance up at the young girl. Still completely unconscious.

He was actually starting to miss the crying outbursts and miniature, cyclical arguments they shared.

"Five stars… would fuckin' self torture again."

Thursday - June 2nd

"Fox, on your left!"

"Skull, watch out, a Greater!"

"Whoa! Mona, could I get a heal?"

Conflict raged on the slopes of the volcano. The creepy morgue Shadows had grown in number and aggression since their last incursion. It was almost immediate. Upon arriving, they were beset by a large force. The Greater Shadows had wasted no time in transforming this time, too. A fighting force of several Orthrus' and Rakshasa. Powerful creatures in their own right, but when fought as a group like this, they were down right scary.

Steel met steel, sending sparks scattering through the hot air. Joker's knife was barely holding back the blades of a Rakshasa. It reared back for another attack. A flash of metal lunged forward. She fell for the faint. The blade stopped mid lunge, only for the second to slash down across Lynn's torso.

The blade didn't manage to cut through her protective barriers. Even still, it hurt. Jumping away, she levelled her Beretta and let loose a barrage of gunfire. In a dazzling flourish of movement, her foe deflected each shot. It laughed and rushed forward. Straight into a blast of cursed fire. It did little to slow the creature down. But it was enough.

"Fox, now!"

On her order, Yusuke dashed elegantly through the air and brought down a frigid strike. Frost crackled from his blade as it bit deep into the Rakshasa's hide. It screeched in agony. Its form could no longer hold and with a final flourish, Yusuke finished the fiend off.

He gave a bow and leapt back into the fray.

"Joker, assist!" Shiho's voice called out amidst the conflict. Both her and Ann were facing down three Orthrus. One of the two-headed creatures was on the back foot, with the other two attempting to cover it.

Joker kicked off in a sprint, slashing and shooting several Lesser Shadows in her way.

"Arsene, cut them up!" Lynn called out, leaping in the air. Rather than outright summoning the spectral thief, his power emanated from Lynn's body. She threw herself into a spiralling swing. A massive force of raw energy crashed down along with her. The small karambit knife had - for a split second - transformed into a huge spectral cleaver.

The wounded Orthrus stood little chance of dodging. Joker's attack left it completely severed in two.

Together with Shiho, Lynn followed through with a two-pronged attack of cursed fire and purging light. That was enough to eradicate the second Orthrus. The third, however, had pushed the advance toward Ann. Gnashing teeth struck out, trying to make purchase in flesh. Instead, its jaws clamped down on naught but thin air.

Ann was incredibly flexible to begin with. The added boost of power a Persona could provide had turned her into a finely tuned acrobat. It was childsplay to lunge into a back flipping cartwheel.

The motion followed into a spinning kick, striking hard against one of the creature's heads. It knocked it off balance, yelping as it tried to regain its footing.

Panther was far too quick for it. Like her namesake, she pounced and stomped her heel down hard against the other head. The beast was pinned under her step. Its other head tried biting Ann's leg, only to be met with the barrel of three different firearms. Lynn could see its eyes widen in fear as the three girls opened fire. Reducing the beast to a vaporous husk of its former self.

There was a quick nod from both Ann and Shiho in thanks. Dashing off, the two girls engaged with a group of Lesser Shadows.

Eventually, the battle drew to a close. The last of the Shadows fell and the mountain side fell quiet once again. With the adrenaline wearing off, the sheer heat of the magma hit everyone all at once. Lynn fell onto one knee and did her best to catch her breath. It was like standing in the middle of a desert.

A brief cool breeze brushed against her cheeks. Yusuke had begun an attempt to cool the air down with the use of his Persona. It felt incredibly good for the moments he could keep it going.

"Save your strength, Fox. Let's keep moving." Lynn couldn't have one of the team completely drain themselves so soon into their first, proper incursion. They would just have to tough it out until they found a clear infiltration route. Without Judy, the front entrance was probably no longer an option. Not without unnecessary conflict, anyway.

Luckily, River had provided the thieves with a printed copy of some old building plans for the Afterlife. Of course, they were only public record documents that were - according to the ex-cop - over fifty years out of date.

In a bid to at least stave off some of the heat, the group took shelter under a large, jutting shard of rock. It gave them enough reprieve to stop and take stock.

Unfurling the documents, Lynn hummed to herself. "The plans say there was a service elevator where they used to receive corpse deliveries. Now that it's a bar, they use it for stock and supplies. Seeing as the Afterlife itself is a sub-street venue, it makes sense for the street level deliveries to have their own entrance." She pointed to a spot on the floor plan on the back of the building. "I think our best bet is to find that elevator - or its equivalent - in this version of the club and use that as our incursion point."

"I agree. We should be careful not to attract too much attention from the Shadows." Mona rubbed his chin with a thoughtful hum. "This heat is no good for drawn out combat, as we just figured out. I feel exhausted already and we haven't even started."

"I'd usually make a joke right now… but damn, I'm in the same boat. So hot…" Ryuji barely had the energy to muster a grin. The one he did manage to force out quickly morphed into a frown.

"Indeed. The heat is quite debilitating…" said Yusuke.

"Really? I'm totally fine, though." Ann was completely clueless. It must have been nice. Carmen was naturally resistant to the fire powers of Shadows.

Lynn gave a sigh. She folded up the plans once more and took a long swig from her personal water canteen. Ryuji followed suit with his own and so did Shiho. It was a good call to buy everyone their own yesterday. "Let's move out, Panther, you take point on this one, ok?" Lynn's order was met with an enthusiastic salute.

Their trek was laborious, to say the least. Not only was the scorching heat draining their energy, they also had to regularly detour around large pools and rivers of magma. It slowed their progress considerably. Even Ann started to feel the strain.

They were teenagers. Not professional mountain climbers.

Even professionals would call this endeavour futile. Idiotic. Yet the thieves had to make their way no matter how tough it became. They made a promise, after all. Even with exhaustion dragging their steps, all six of them were full of determination. Finally, after what was likely several hours, a small, barely visible cave entrance came to view. Creeping out from within the scarred rock formations. Wholly unremarkable.

At first, the group almost missed it. As they drew closer, Yusuke - with his keen eye on full display - gestured to the cave's mouth. Ceramic, grimey tiles intermixed with the charred rock. Just like the front entrance with the bouncer.

Only, this one was devoid of any guards or branding neon.

As far as back entrances went, this definitely fit the bill. A wave of relief washed over the whole group. Passing the threshold instantly shifted the ambient temperature to a much more comfortable level. The hike had completely worn the teens out, but now that they were here, their excitement perked them right back up. If only for a brief moment.

The passage bent and snaked in a narrow path. It forced them into single file and for a while, tensions and fears of ambush rose.

After a minute of cautious walking in the unlit cave, they rounded a corner and found themselves in a moderately sized room decorated in neon lights and memorabilia of various bands. The most prominent of which was a group called Samurai. "Ain't that the band that Kerry guy was a part of?" Ryuji picked up a vinyl record sleeve, emblazoned with the face of an Oni. Half flesh, half mechanical. The name was at least somewhat familiar. V had mentioned it on occasion.

The display aside, the room had seen better days. It wasn't in ruins like the other sections they had seen in that large cavern with the relic tower. Not to mention the area looked visually more stable.

"This must be a little fragment of V's cognition that has yet to suffer any major damage." Mona muttered almost to himself. He hopped up onto the table and inspected some of the items. A few bits of merchandise. Photos of concerts. Signed bits of card. All seemed completely innocuous and mundane. Until Mona picked up an advertisement flyer for the Afterlife. "Pay tribute to the Overlord and earn her assistance in all that troubles you. Fortune for Favour!" The cat scratched his head in mild confusion as he read the paper. "I… guess that sums up V's job description. Still, what's with this Overlord business? V doesn't strike me as the kind of woman to go around calling herself an Overlord…"

At least the flyer included a small map detailing some key areas. Including the ruin they had visited previously.

Joker approached a sliding wrought iron gate and peered through into the darkness beyond. "Whatever the case, there's our service elevator. Or… rather… mine shaft?" The screeching of slightly rusted metal shattered everyone's ears as Lynn dragged open the gate. It led into what could only be described as a portal to the abyss. The shaft didn't seem to have an end in either direction. Only the cables of a pulley system dangled in the centre. From the loose and gentle swinging, Lynn assumed there was no counter weight attached. However, when she reached out and tried tugging the cables downward, they refused to move an inch. "It… looks like these'll handle our weight."

"For real…? We gotta climb ropes now? This place is killin' me…"

For the first time in a while, Lynn caught a glance of a wry smirk on Shiho's features. "Skull, this should be nothing compared to what He used to do to us." The smirk quickly turned into something more like a concerned smile. "We've come this far. We just crossed a whole volcano!"

"Which did, in fact, kill me. I'm a ghost now. Ghost Skull and his Ghost Captain Kidd." The boy sighed, clapped his hands on his cheeks and straightened himself up. "Whatever, does that map show a Safe Room nearby?"

Mona hummed, examining with intense concentration.

"It looks like the nearest one is… oh! On the level below us."

"I guess that's better than above us… ok, let's take this slowly. I'd rather we didn't accidentally fall into an endless oblivion."

"Could'a done without that image, Joker…"

Something was wrong.

Or perhaps right?

Johnny felt something deep in his bones. A shift in the equilibrium. He felt it only a short while ago but ignored it. At the time, he was preoccupied with bickering with the little gonk. Now, however, he had no such distraction. It was all he could think about now. The rockerboy sat up, focused and tried rooting the source of the sensation out.

From the outside, it looked as though he was attempting to meditate. Perhaps he was. Spiritualism aside, his attempts bore no fruit. The feeling had passed and he was once again left in total silence.

"... They're… hel…ping… nngh…" V's - or Valorie's - voice was sure as hell one startling occurrence.

The girl was still very much unconscious, but somehow managed to force some words out. "Great. Who the fuck is They? Kid? Fuck sake…" His lips stiffened. Again, she was absolutely no help.

He was just about ready to resign himself to another stint of nothingness when a sound - more like a force - shook through the room. A huge roar of rage, anguish and - if Johnny's ears didn't deceive - pure desperation. Some creature somewhere outside was in pain. It resonated through its screeching and roaring. Enough for even Johnny to experience a searing surge of pain in his head.

"I… don't… want them to… help… but I… need them… to." Again, Valorie mustered the strength to speak. Her face contorted and struggled with pain. Both his and her headache persisted for another few moments before it dulled. The roaring also faded to a calm silence.

It had passed. Whatever it was.

"The fuck is goin' on!?"

"Finally! Geeze… my hands are on fire!"

Ann's sentiment was shared by all. Even if it was a downward climb, the physical effort mixed with the exhaustion they already had made for one hell of a workout. Now that everyone was safely down the shaft and inside the Safe Room, they could try catching their breath.

The Safe Room was a small alcove with rocks and flat slabs serving as chairs and tables. The real world counterpart was likely a private booth for the bar's VIPs.

At least it had air conditioning.

However, something was still nipping at the back of Lynn's mind. The noise she heard during their descent. She didn't know what it was, how far away it was or if it was dangerous. All she knew is whatever made the noise was huge, angry and erratic. She looked over her comrades. They were in no state to push any further. Doing so would just cause more harm than good. Straightening herself up, she called for everyone's attention.

"We've secured a way in, so I think we'll call it a day here." Visible relief washed over each thief. Ryuji even let out a huge, joyful groan, letting his head lean back over his rock-seat's makeshift backrest. "That said, tomorrow we're coming right back in. I'll have Badges get us something for climbing and descending ropes. Maybe we should get some climbing tools too. Can't hurt. Some of our firearms are a little cumbersome, come to think of it. Not ideal if we're going to be climbing. Oh, I better give them a service too. All this heat is not good for their mechanics. Can't have our weapons failing on us mid-fight. So much to do…"

She wasn't really talking to the group anymore. Her mutterings continued and everyone else could only sit and watch the girl. Mercifully, Lynn snapped out of it after only a few minutes - a personal best. The glares of her friends acted as multiple metaphorical slaps to the face. It was time to leave things for today. So, before she could fall into another rambling tangent, the group exited the Palace and finally dispersed for the day.

The cool air of the early evening felt like heaven compared to the Palace. Coupled with Yongen-Jaya's close knit community vibe, Lynn let herself go in the moment.

Outstretched arms reached for the sky. It was probably a good idea to do some proper stretches before bed. But for now, a simple bit of movement was divine on her already stiff bones. A weight pressed against her shoulder. It was Mona. His paws propped him up on his perch. "We still have some time. We should go visit Takemi." Lynn suggested. A shake of the head surprised her.

"I'm exhausted. I'm going to go turn in for the night…" to put extra emphasis on his words, he let himself yawn widely. "Ryuji needs some more emergency medicine, so don't forget!"

With that, the cat hopped to the ground and slowly made his way toward Leblanc.

Usually, the waiting room of Takemi's clinic was pretty barren. Occasionally, there would be one - maybe two - patients depending on the weather.

Tonight, however, the clinic was - comparatively - a madhouse.

The waiting area wasn't full, but it was definitely busy. Takemi herself was nowhere to be seen. If Lynn was to assume, she was probably seeing to one of the many patients. Among the crowd were varying degrees of annoyance and impatience. At least toward the far end. Those that had been here the longest.

There was a familiar face nestled away in the corner. Much less annoyed than the rest and looking a lot healthier than the last time Lynn saw it. Junichi Moriyama. As Lynn walked in through the door, his face lit up and with a genuine smile he waved her over. The woman sitting next to him furrowed her brow and gave Junichi a pretty suspicious look. Amusingly enough, the man didn't notice at all. "Good to see you again, Miss Amamiya."

"Hi, Mr. Moriyama. Is Chi-Chi feeling any better?"

He nodded. That was good to hear. From what Takemi said about the little girl's condition, it did not sound good. So, hearing things were at least calmer gave Lynn hope Chizuru would pull through.

"Oh, this is little Chizuru's mother, my wife Yumi. Yumi, this is the girl I mentioned. The one who convinced Dr. Takemi to see our daughter." The woman's expression - which had only grown more suspicious up to that point - suddenly turned welcoming and understanding, like a complete one eighty in attitude. She smiled and held out a hand. Lynn was a little hesitant, but shook it nonetheless.

"You have my thanks, Miss Amamiya. I… wasn't exactly overjoyed with allowing Junichi to take our daughter to Dr. Takemi, but I was wrong. She's a good doctor. All those horrible rumours can't possibly be true." Although her manner of speech was on the formal side, Lynn could hear the motherly concern as clearly as day. The Moriyama family was quite obviously a loving one. "It was so lovely to see little Chizuru gush about her new big sis."

"Oh? I don't know about all that…" a blush dusted Lynn's cheeks. "Are you here for Chi-Chi now?"

Yumi shook her head. Her smile vanished in lieu of a concerned frown. One shared by her husband. Junichi shuffled uncomfortably before speaking. "It turned out it was Alpha-1. So Yumi and I are here to get tested." Well, that sounded like it sucked. At least the couple had an official diagnosis, though. That counted for something.

However, that didn't explain why the waiting room was so busy all of a sudden. Yumi let out a short giggle. Almost as if reading Lynn's mind, she sheepishly spoke up. "I might have given my neighbour a glowing review of Dr. Takemi's diagnosis and her skill with treating our daughter. She's a lovely old woman, salt of the earth. She also loves to talk… so I imagine word got around and before you know it, Takemi's dark reputation more or less vanished overnight."

Lynn gulped at that. A cold shiver ran the length of her spine. "Somehow… I feel like I'm in trouble…"

"That's because you are. Office. Now." Takemi's stern, irritated order practically came from nowhere. Lynn nearly lept out of her own skin, fight or flight reflexes running wild. There was little point in fleaing, though. Not to mention the many sets of eyes watching her. Like a cornered animal, Lynn's mind raced for a way out. Only to come to terms with her impending doom. Her shoulders slumped. She didn't even dare speak up as she followed the order.

Inside the consultation room, Takemi was already firmly planted on her trusty desk chair. If looks could kill, Lynn would have been dead four times over.

"Sit." The doctor said, gesturing at the lone stool.

She did as she was told.

"Ever since you turned up, things have gone from peaceful to annoying. I don't like annoying."

"But… isn't more business good?"

"If I were a struggling family business, yes. But that's besides the point. Thanks to you, I've been far too distracted. Your little stunt with the Moriyama's has cost me too much time." Takemi appeared less angry and more on edge, now. Like something was eating her up.

Time to do what? Lynn's brow furrowed. Then, the clinical trials she had undertaken with Takemi sprang to mind. Development of a new treatment. Some weird disease that Takemi was all but obsessed over when behind closed doors. Then it hit her. "This is about that medical negligence case, isn't it? That young child."

A nod.

"Little Miwa. She has something called Crawford-Ende's disease. Rare. Incurable - apparently. It's a degenerative disease that causes certain cells in the body to indiscriminately attack other cells. Eventually, it'll reach the muscles and vital organs. You can probably imagine what that means." With a grim nod of understanding, Lynn could definitely see where this was going. Regardless, she motioned for the doctor to continue. "I was the head of a research team developing a treatment. I was also Little Miwa's private doctor. That was until Miwa was given the experimental, volatile version of the drug we were developing under my watch. She nearly died as a result."

"That doesn't sound like it was your fault."

"It doesn't matter if it was or not. I was in charge, which means any mistakes were my responsibility." As unfair as that was, it was the case no matter the profession. It was always the person at the top that got the flak, regardless of circumstance. "The man who went ahead with the procedure was - as you might have guessed - Dr. Oyamada. The very same doctor who insisted on Chi-Chi's bronchitis diagnosis."

At least that explained the sinister grin Lynn caught a brief glance of. A chance to steal a patient out from under her ex-colleague. A small bit of petty revenge, perhaps. Granted, that couldn't possibly be the only reason.

Lynn remained silent, letting Takemi know she was listening. The sentiment didn't seem to be lost on her as a brief smile crossed her lips. "You're a good kid," she muttered, "anyway, Oyamada was just another member of the team at the time. The official reports said that I gave him a direct order to give Miwa the drugs. All the blame was subsequently shifted toward yours truly. I was ousted from the position and a black mark was put on my record. The whole medical community knows of the monstrous Doctor of Death, Tae Takemi. After that, Oyamada managed to worm his way up to Chief of Staff."

Anger bubbled up in Lynn's throat. The whole thing was bullshit and anyone with half a brain cell could see it. Even still, it looked like Takemi had all but accepted her role. The villainess. Harbinger of death.

Was that really the case, though? Takemi was a lot of things, but carelessly cruel was not one of them.

"So… is Miwa…"

"For now, at least." Lynn didn't even need to finish her question. "If progress isn't made soon, that won't be the case for long."

"The trails I help with, it's for Crawford-Ende's isn't it?" Takemi confirmed with the smallest of nods. "Then let's keep going with them." The doctor's languid disposition slipped for a second. Surprise took hold and all she could do was tilt her head in confusion. "I want to help you help Miwa. Even if it means going against the entire medical board. You're the only one actually trying to do something about it. Despite being discarded and falsely labelled. No… in spite of that. Honestly; you're awesome."

Lynn could have sworn a faint dusting of rose bloomed over Takemi's cheeks. "Passionate, are we?" She gave a wry smile in an attempt to cover up the embarrassment. "I certainly won't say no. But I have to ask why you're so intense. You don't even know Miwa."

"A number of reasons," Lynn surprised herself with just how matter-of-fact her response was, like it was natural. "First, I owe you a whole lot. Especially now that you're taking care of V. Second, I can't sit by while an innocent girl suffers because of incompetent professionals. Third, screw medical politics. Fourth, I relate way too much with your situation to ignore it. Fifth, I have a problem with authority, so screw medical politics."

Takemi actually giggled at that. "You said that twice."

"Screw medical politics. There. Three times now. I'm a comedy genius."

"You're definitely a strange one, Amamiya… but thank you. I guess this makes up for swarming me with new patients. For now at least."

"Speaking of - I'll let you get back to it!" With a grin and a wink, Lynn dashed off before the doctor had any chance of responding. V took priority for now. It was a good thing that the door leading to her room was closer to Lynn than it was to Takemi.

Friday - June 3rd

Something felt different about the volcano's inner cavern. It felt more intense. The air itself seemed heavier. Even if the thieves were relatively used to the heat by now, it was still uncomfortable.

The relic tower was just as daunting as ever. Its presence loomed over the thieves serving as a reminder of their mission. Along with it, the stakes should they fail. For the first time, someone's actual life was the cost of failure. It set a heavy tone and Joker hated it. All she could do was use it and push her teammates forward.

Lynn eyed one of the closer chains, following it to its source. "Mona, what does the map say about those ruins?"

The cat dug out the flyer from his yellow sack and gave it a study. His tail curled in thought, eyes flitting from side to side. "From what I can tell, there are three key ruins. The Private Lounge, the Braindance Parlor and… ah! The Runner Den. The Private Lounge is way up there," he gestured to a structure jutting out from the cavern wall. Perched on a small plateau of an outcrop. "It's at the end of a series of smaller caverns. We'll have to climb up a few floors to reach it, though. Those gizmos Badges managed to get for us will help. The Braindance Parlor is lower down, nearer to the lava lake. It looks pretty straightforward to get to. The Runner Den is a little trickier. It's on the far side of the cavern. We'll have to find a way to cross the lake to get to it."

It sounded simple on the surface. It was likely anything but.

They needed to slow down and think about this.

The first chain they removed had caused V considerable distress.

No.

That was a drastic understatement. It actually killed her. Which explained why they were forced out of the Palace so suddenly. As such, they needed to be careful going forward. Lynn didn't want to hurt V any more than necessary. It was concerning that she had to in the first place. So, to minimise risk, there was only one option. "We'll have to split up. Hit all the consoles at once." Although a gasp was shared between her comrades, it seemed they all at least partially understood her reasoning. No one objected. "Hunter, you're with me, we'll head to the Private Lounge. Mona and Fox, I need you to head to the Braindance Parlor. Panther and Skull, you're taking the Runner Den. Keep in contact over comms. When you reach your designated console, dig in and hold position."

A resounding "Yes, Joker!" rippled over her comrades. With the plan set, the operation to save V was officially on.