Alright, time to stop procrastinating. Hey, UknownHero here and welcome to another chapter of Senran Persona! I just want everyone to know that JGResidentEvil and I have been working on this story every day.

As in, we have about 759 pages as of July 13, 2019 pre-written, ranging from main story to miscellaneous events like Joker obtaining Mara. That does not include the planning of Original Mementos Requests, a secondary set of Confidants, and all the romance stuff that is expected of all stories in FanFiction.

Don't think we're lazy. We just got super sidetracked.

So... Let's get to the infiltration. Warning... we also got super sidetracked while writing this chapter.

Load Game... Start!


Chapter 14: Phantoms of the Castle- Day 1


(4/18 After School)
(Kamoshida's Castle of Lust, Castle Gate)

The group was ready to go. After taking the weekend to prepare themselves both physically and mentally, they were now ready to infiltrate the castle of the perverted P.E. teacher and face any challenges that were within it.

...

...

...

At least that's what most of the group thought...

"..." Mona was silent, merely glaring at the target of his annoyance.

"Hm..." Yang hummed out.

"Hah..." Yin breathed out.

"Come on, man..." Skull grumbled while tapping his foot impatiently.

"...Does he always space out like that?" Panther soon asked as she pointed to their leader, who was just standing there staring into space.

"No. This is the first time we've ever seen him like this." Mona replied. "He may be weird, but not this weird." He then admitted.

"Aki-Ack! J-Joker isn't weird." Yin defended after correcting herself.

"...Why do I have the feeling that you are either lying to us or yourself Yin?" Yang deadpanned. "I mean, either way, we have to snap our leader out of this weird trance. We have a heart to steal and a timer to beat." She then reminded. "So, who's gonna do it?" She soon asked.

"Why are you asking that? Why don't you do it yourself?" Skull called out.

"Then why aren't you doing it?" Yang however countered,

"I'm just asking why you want one of us to do it." Skull then answered.

"Well, I don't know. I just want someone to fucking get Joker back to Earth so we can go and get this asshole's heart already!" Yang soon declared in annoyance.

"Then why are you two arguing when we could already be snapping him out of it!?" Panther spoke up. "See, Yin's doing it right now while you two were fighting." She then pointed out.

As such, all of the group was now watching as the Vice Leader attempted to get their Leader out of the trance he was in.

"Joker? Joker...?" Yin got out as she snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Hello? Um, we need you right now. Please. Pwetty pwease~?" She then added before shifting into a more cutesy tone.

Yang's eye merely twitched to that attempt.

"Moh...that's not working..." Yin mumbled to herself. "U-Uh...Um...I'll...I'llletyougropeme." She quickly mumbled out before bracing herself.

Still, Joker remained silent.

"I'm sure Joker isn't the type of person to do such a thing." Mona stated. "You should not offer your body under any circumstance. A beautiful lady such as yourself must not be sullied." He then informed with a dreamy expression on his face.

"I-I've been sullied a lot..." Yin however thought as a haunted look appeared on her face before shaking it off. "Okay, what else can I do to snap him out of it...?" She then asked.

"Kick him in his balls Yin!" Yang bluntly suggested.

This immediately surprised the Vice Leader. "Wh-What!? I-I-I can't do that!" Yin declared.

"Well, if he's wasting time like this, he deserves one!" Yang however countered.

"I'm not kicking his balls!" Yin then responded.

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Yang soon questioned, starting to get annoyed over this situation while tapping her foot. "Uh...hey, does anyone have something on their phones that's loud and obnoxious that we can blast into his ear?" She then suggested.

"I think the only app that will work in the Metaverse is the MetaNav so that's out." Panther pointed out as she tapped on the music app on her phone.

"Welp, there's only one sure-fire way to snap him out of it." Skull stated as he pulled out his shotgun.

"Skull! NO!" The others shouted out in unison.

"Don't you dare fire that thing!" Mona growled.

"What? No, I was just gonna use the sound of the gun cocking to get him to react." Skull informed...before turning the safety on, causing the ash blonde to slap it out of his hands.

"Are you some kind of moron Skull!?" Mona and Yang surprisingly asked in unison.

Panther however sighed to this. "Joker's right. We really should have our gun licenses revoked." She admitted.

"Our imaginary gun license." Mona pointed out. "Feel lucky they're model guns in the real world." He then reminded.

"Wait a minute. Mona!" Yin got out as an idea appeared in her head. "Use your slingshot and hit him on the head." She soon suggested.

"Uh...Aren't slingshots just as powerful as guns here?" Panther asked.

The Vice Leader however waved that off. "Well, unlike guns, you can adjust the power of your shots." Yin explained. "Mona-chan, fire away!" She ordered,

"As you wish, Lady Yin." Mona answered in his dream-like state as he fired a pebble he picked up from the ground at the leader.

However, it ricocheted off of the Leader's forehead...hitting Mona.

REPEL!

"WAH! MONA-CHAN!" Yin shouted with worry as she picked up the not cat. "A-Are you ok!?" She then asked in concern.

"H-How...? Can one of his Personas repel Gun attacks...?" Mona moaned out in confusion to this occurrence, though blushed at being held.

"Wait, what did you say about repel? Personas can actually do that!?" Skull exclaimed.

"Yes. Resist, null, drain, repel or reflect." Mona listed off as he recovered. "But still...I don't think any of his Personas can do that. At best, they should be weak to it...Something's going on here..." He then stated in a more serious tone.

"Really? So what do you think is going on?" Panther soon asked in concern and confusion.

"I don't know, but I'd say it would be best if we-" Mona started, only for the tan skinned girl to finally hit her limit.

"Oh for fucks sake...JOKER!" Yang shouted out in annoyance as she grabbed her leader's shoulder.

Suddenly, the tan skinned girl's survival instincts kicked in. Too bad it happened too late.

BBBZZZTTT!

"AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!" Yang screamed in pain before being blasted away from the zoned-out Fool.

If one were like Joker, they would see a young blonde girl in a warden's outfit with a calm expression just sighing as she put away her Disciplinary Baton.

"WAH! YANG!" Yin cried out as she ran over to help the fallen girl. "Are you alright Yang-nee?" She whispered softly so only the tan skinned girl could hear her.

Immediately in reaction to that, the white full face masked girl woke up with an excited smile on her face, even though it was hidden by the mask. "Aw, she looks so cute when she's concerned~" She thought in an excited manner.

"You just got your ass shocked to hell and back and you're obsessing over your little sister." Wolverine deadpanned. "God, you have such a complex." She then added.

The tan skinned girl however narrowed her eyes to the remark. "Wolverine, my own parents were never concerned for me when I was younger and the asshole that ruined my life back in middle school pretended to care." Yang mentally reminded in a blunt manner. "Sorry if I'm gushing over one of the few people that do actually care about me." She then added in her head.

"...You have a point..." Wolverine awkwardly admitted. "Still want you to take care of yourself and live though. Just saying. Self-preservation over adorableness." She then revealed. "You don't want to become a pervert like that Katsuragi girl your roommate mentioned right?" She soon asked.

Yang's eye twitched at that. "You're gonna keep using her as a warning to curb my obsession, huh?" She mentally guessed.

"You just called it an obsession." Wolverine pointed out.

"Wolverine, shut the fuck up." Homura mentally deadpanned.

"Yang?" Yin asked again, causing the tanned skinned girl to snap out of it.

"I-I'm fine. The only thing hurt was my pride. And also my back but mostly pride." Yang muttered out, only confusing her roommate even more.

"Alright, if you can't snap Joker out of it, maybe I can." Skull soon suggested as he walked up to the spaced out leader.

"Skull, that is probably not a good idea..." Panther pointed out.

"Hold on Panther. It could be a fluke." Mona suggested, though couldn't wipe the anticipating smile on his face.

"Hey, I resist Electricity thanks to Captain Kidd so I should be-" Skull then reminded, though those being his last words before lightly touching the Leader on the shoulder.

BBBZZZTTT!

"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Skull screamed in pain before being blasted away from the still zoned-out Fool, slamming into a recently recovered tan skinned girl.

If one were like Joker, they would see a young blonde girl in a warden's outfit with an angry expression just grumbling as she put away her Disciplinary Baton.

"WAH! SKULL!" Yin cried out as she helped the fallen boy and girl get back onto their feet.

"Yeah, I'm just gonna avoid touching him altogether when he's like this." Panther deadpanned.

"Agreed." Mona spoke up with a nod.

"Uuugh..." Yang groaned out. "S-Same here..." She replied in agreement. "The hell was that though?" She meanwhile thought in confusion.

"What the-Are you two alright!?" Joker exclaimed, seeing the dishevelled states of two of their fellow Thieves.

"I'm okay. Just hating my life right now." Yang replied with a groan. "Wait a minute, you snapped out of it!" She got out in realization.

Joker however tilted his head to that. "Out of what?" He then asked.

"You were just standing around, doing nothing but stare into space all of a sudden." Mona revealed.

"Seriously, we have a time limit! And you were just here doing jack shit!" Yang complained.

"Y-You don't see..." Joker started before trailing off as he glanced as the Velvet Room door. "That?" He then asked.

"What? You mean the empty space behind you where you stood and started drooling? Yeah, I can definitely see it." Yang answered in a sarcastic tone.

"Really?" Joker asked before realizing what the white full face masked girl also revealed. "Wait, really?" He got out as he wiped his face.

"Yeah, so mind explainin' to us why you spaced out like that?" Skull asked. "You know, it's kinda hard to tell what you're thinkin' sometimes." He explained while the rest of the team suddenly had flashbacks to all the weird stuff their Leader said throughout the time they've known him. "Er, well, most of the time." He then got out.

"Let's just say he's a man of high caliber and leave it at that." Mona suggested.

The Leader however looked at the group in disbelief. "Wait, so you really don't see the blue jail door and the blue wearing loli guarding it?" Joker clarified as he pointed at apparently empty space.

Justine looked up from her clipboard and waved with a coy smile on her face before going back to it.

"Huh?" Yin innocently asked as she looked to where the leader was pointing, only seeing something glowing blue. "A blue butterfly?" She thought in confusion before shaking her head. "It's gone now." She then added to her thoughts.

"What's wrong, Yin?" Yang asked, causing her roommate to snap out of it.

"Oh uh, nothing. I thought I saw something but...I guess it was all in my head." Yin replied as she rubbed her eyes.

"Okay then, don't go loopy like Joker here." Yang stated.

The Leader's eye however twitched to that. "I'm not...Goddammit, I give up..." Joker sighed out.

"...Should I just say yes to validate your sanity?" Panther asked in a slightly nervous tone.

"No." Joker immediately deadpanned.

"Okay, then no. We can't see it." Panther answered.

"Alright, then you just have to take my word for it." Joker soon started. "Over there is a place called the Velvet Room. I've been there in my dreams. It is place between mind and matter, where a heavenly voice can be heard even when no one is singing. A place of calm and rest, to allow one to regather themselves, strengthening their mind and body." He calmly explained in a serious tone. "A room where...I'm in a prison cell with little children as guards." He then revealed in the same tone.

"...What?" Yang then bluntly asked.

"It's...something about rehabilitation and saving the world from the distortion. It's complicated." Joker replied as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Yeah, okay, cool. What was that about the little children?" Yang asked once more.

"Are you really focusing on that out of everything I just said?" Joker deadpanned before sighing. "Their names are Caroline and Justine, and they're twin little girls...I think. Th-They're not human from what I can tell. They could be a million years old for all I know." He then vaguely explained.

"Okay, from pedophilia to pedophilia. Great answer, Joker." Yang sarcastically replied.

"You're not gonna let me explain myself properly, are you?" Joker groaned out.

"Nope." Yang bluntly answered with a proud smile on her face, though hidden by her mask.

"Yeah, you're not exactly convincing us..." Skull sheepishly admitted.

"Is this just some convoluted way to out yourself as a lolicon?" Yang suddenly asked in a blunt manner. "'Cause I have an acquaintance at my old school that's right up your alley if you are." She then offered in a deadpan tone.

"I'd...rather not." Joker awkwardly declined. "And there is the whole Probably Not Human thing to think about." He then added.

"A loli is still a loli, Joker." Yang stated in a blunt manner.

"They could look like Cthulhu in their true form!" Joker declared before pausing. "Actually, I hope they're not." He soon admitted.

"Still not helping your case." Yang deadpanned.

"The place is a little...unwelcoming anyways. There's something in the air about the Velvet Room that seems...off. Like there's a monster right around the corner." Joker soon revealed. "Like I'm going to get beaten any day now." He then admitted.

"Don't tell me you're a masochist too?" Yang then guessed in the same deadpan tone before sighing. "Jeez Joker, you, Haruka and Mirai would get along great." She soon declared.


(Hebijo Academy)

Within a dark room surrounded by some computers, beakers and smoking chemicals, a single female was in the room sitting down as if she was a queen of sorts as she looked over the monitors, examining what was on the screens while giggling in a seductive satisfaction.

"Ufufufu~ That last experiment was really an enjoyable one~" Haruka admitted in an amused and satisfied tone as she sat in her chair while petting something on her lap.

Said something being Mirai as she laid on the other girl as if she was a cat while enjoying being petted like a cat while her head was being pillowed. "H-Haruka-sama..." She mumbled out, though was still satisfied with where she was as she unintentionally started purring.

"Ufufu~" Haruka giggled out as she kept petting the cat like girl's head. "So many experiments to perform, so little time~" She then declared in delighted amusement while typing on her computer. "Hmm~ So I would need this compound to make so my next experiment can dissolve clothing like that squirrel blood~" She began in a fascinated tone before giggling seductively. "Ufufu~ With this, my next tentacle experiment will be able to render anyone powerless and vulnerable to me~" She soon declared in an excited tone.

"WHO TOUCHED MY BEAN SPROUTS!?" Haruka heard a familiar voice shout out in furious anger.

This in turn caused the mad scientist to lick her lips. "And I know who the test subject of that experiment will be~" Haruka added while sighing in a blissful manner. "With Homura gone for her mission, I have free reign to do whatever I please~ Ufufufufu~" She got out in satisfaction as she kept giggling in excitement.

"...I'm still right here, you know that right Haruka-sama?" Mirai mumbled out, but was soon rendered immobilized by the older girl petting her again.

"I know~! I just want you to know the futility of your actions~" Haruka then cooed out.

"Eh?" Mirai replied in confusion.

"Nothing~!" Haruka sung as she continued petting the girl's head, causing the first year to instinctively purr. "Ufufu~ It's time to continue my lovely experiments~" She then decided in her head.


(Kamoshida's Castle of Lust, Castle Gate)

"...Am I?" Joker asked himself in a hesitant manner before shaking his head. "Wait. Nope. Not now. And I'm 100% sure I'm not either of those things." He soon declared.

"Yeah, go keep telling yourself that." Yang mumbled to herself. "Is there anything else in that sex dungeon? Maybe some bondage play or even a little electrocution?" She then guessed in a sarcastic manner.

"E-Electrocution!?" Yin exclaimed in concern.

"I'm uneasy about the whole electrocution thing too, Yin." Mona admitted.

"That's because you're weak to Electricity." Everyone else thought in unison with a sweatdrop.

"T-They really use electricity to...to..." Yin mumbled out as a blush grew underneath her mask.

"Well, everyone has a kink and that is all we're gonna say on the matter." Joker stated.

"Alright, are there any other Shadows/Personas we should be worried about?" Yang asked. "Because I'm really not looking forward to killing angelic strippers." She then admitted.

The not cat however looked at the tan skinned girl in a surprised manner. "...How do you know about the Angel Shadows?" Mona soon asked.

Suddenly, the conversation stopped dead cold at the mention of that.

"...What...?" Panther got out.

The white full face masked girl's eye twitched. "...Man, humanity is really perverted huh..." Yang mumbled out.

"For real..." Panther got out in agreement.

"Yyyyeeeeaaaahhhh..." Joker awkwardly replied as he just stared at the girls and their outfits.

"Well, it goes all the way back to the first humans whose only care in the world is surviving and breeding. Sex is an integral part of humanity." Mona explained. "A little too integral for some people." He then added.

"Prime example..." Panther reminded as she pointed at the castle.

"Well, Personas who are more lust-inclined are bound to be attracted to this place. Though, it's more like a combination of lustful and medieval Shadows. Let me tell you, there are much more...risque Shadows in the Metaverse." Mona revealed before shuddering. "I pray we don't meet one of them here." He soon declared whough had a small blush on his face.

"Can we stop talking about fetishes please?" Skull begged, feeling really uncomfortable. "I mean, it could represent how Joker views the legal system or the world in general. Run by children or the immature, beating down the powerless for next to no reason other than to flaunt their power." He then suggested.

Suddenly, the conversation stopped dead cold as they all turned their heads towards the skull masked blond, blinking.

"...Dude, what the fuck!?" Yang suddenly exclaimed in disbelief.

"What? I passed first year like all of you!" Skull called out. "Sure, not with flying with colors but still..." He then awkwardly admitted before trailing off at the end.

"Yeah, but...you're Skull." Mona pointed out.

"Oh, shuddup!" Skull yelled out in annoyance. "Can we get back to the fact that Yang knows hyper dangerous lolis, sadists and crazy people!?" He then suggested.

"Okay, I only know one of each! Except the crazy people part, that's basically everyone in my old school." Yang then replied.

"Still, you seriously have a masochist and a loli as friends?" Skull then asked in an unsure manner to the tan skinned girl.

The tan skinned girl in turn rubbed the back of her head to that. "Acquaintances. And well Haruka's actually a sadist that loves treating others like her puppets...and she really loves doing tentacle related experiments..." Yang bluntly replied, though sweatdropped at the mention of the last part. "Mirai though...she would start spraying bullets at everyone with all the guns she has in her pocket space between her legs if you even mention that she's a loli...along with her mini fighter jet that rides on top of at times..." She then added before groaning loudly in a more frustrated manner while dropping her head in shame.

To those revealed, the rest of the group looked at the tan skinned girl in disbelief as they could hardly imagine the more...colorful aspects of the two girls mentioned.

"A fighter jet?" Joker weakly repeated after finally being able to get something out. "Are you kidding me?" He then asked.

"Just don't question it." Yang sighed out.

"Oh I'm questioning it now because that sounds like overkill and expensive." Joker pointed out.

"Don't question it." Yang repeated a little more forcefully this time.

"...H-How...What is your definition of a shinobi these days!?" Skull exclaimed in disbelief to the description of the tan skinned girl's acquaintances.

The tan skinned girl merely shrugged her shoulders. "Hey, anyone can be a shinobi." Yang stated. "Well, at least anyone can be an Evil Shinobi..." She then corrected.

Mona in turn crossed his arms over his chest to that. "Hence why I used the terms Strict Good and Laid Back Evil. Good Shinobis are strict with recruiting while Evil Shinobis will recruit anyone who trains enough..." He then stated. "But like I said, those are just titles in the end." He concluded.

"I'm honestly starting to see that now." Yang then admitted while her roommate nodded in agreement.

"Can we get back to the fact that a ninja can just casually use a fighter jet?" Joker requested.

"Mini fighter jet." Yang bluntly corrected.

"This chick still has a goddamn jet, no matter how goddamn small it is!" Joker pointed out.

"Don't question it!" Yang shouted out.

"But...ack...wait...screw it!" Joker got out in frustration before pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing.

This meanwhile caused the others to sweat drop, though they couldn't blame their Leader.

"I-Is everyone you know-" Panther started to ask.

"Yes." Yang bluntly answered, already knowing and interrupting the oncoming question. "The others being Yomi, who's obsessed with eating only bean sprouts with a side obsession with butts and Hikage, who keeps declaring she has no emotions..." She then revealed. "Thank god they can't hear me here..." She then got out in relief.

"That's because we're in a different dimension." Mona pointed out in a dull tone.

"Exactly." Yang then remarked in the same relieved tone.

At that moment, the rest of the group looked at the black full face masked girl. "...Are you the same Yin?" Joker soon asked in a curious manner.

Yin however shook her head to that. "Mine aren't that bad..." She replied in an innocent manner.

The white full face masked girl gave off a cat like smile, glad that no one was able to see her face due to her mask. "Aw...she's lying to herself~ How cute of her~" Yang mentally cooed out.

"Really? Cause-" Joker then started saying, but...

However Yin then sweatdropped in an awkward manner. "...Though Katsu-nee does love groping me and the other girls as a hobby while Ikaruga-chan's always trying to keep order as our shinobi class representative...and I did just find out from Yang that Yagyū-chan might be in lesbians-ack, er...in love withHibari-chan..." She then admitted while poking her fingers together in a meek manner.

"...This Katsu-nee being the reason you're so...developed?" Panther then asked while glancing down towards the Vice Leader's breasts.

The black full face masked girl merely nodded to that. "Yeah...though Katsu-nee has told me she likes both guys and girls...though I was usually her main target for groping before coming to Shujin..." Yin then revealed while the others minus her roommate blushed.

"...Daaaaamn..." Skull droned out as he just tried to imagine what the Vice Leader had gone through.

Before stopping before he got too hard.

"Why do I simultaneously want to and avoid meeting your friends?" Joker meanwhile mumbled to himself.

Yin then rubbed the back of her head. "Well, I still think you all might like them, they are nice people, though Katsu-nee's really...grabby at times." She awkwardly admitted.

Everyone in turn sweatdropped to that. "Does she have a preference then?" Joker asked.

"As long as you have breasts..." Yin then awkwardly revealed.

Suddenly, all eyes turned to the ash blonde, who reacted by covering her chest.

"Look, I've been objectified for years by this point. If she touches me, I will drag her to the Metaverse and Agi her ass." Panther growled.

"Not if I get to her first~" Yang meanwhile thought in a sickly sweet tone.

The Vice Leader merely sweatdropped to that. "She mainly does it for teasing, but I sometimes wonder about Katsu-nee." Yin then admitted.


(Hanzō Academy)

Within the shadowy and trashed Ninja Room, a shadow crept around in a slow manner that was almost zombie like as they had their hands out as if it wanted to grab something while their eyes gleamed white. The only thing that confirmed it to be human was her long, blonde hair...

"Neheheheheh~ Yagyū-chaaaaaan~ Hibari-chaaaaaan~ What are yoooooou?~?" A lecherous female voice droned out in a stalker like manner with an equally creepy giggle escaping her lips.

Meanwhile, Hibari and Yagyū were hiding within the ceiling, only breathing in the smallest amount of air that they needed to survive.

"Hibari. Don't even move your lips. Katsuragi can detect movement of any kind." Yaygū warned in a whisper. "I'm sure you know the ultimate silent communication technique by now, right?" She then asked.

"Baka mitai, hontou baka ne. Anta shinjiru bakari de. Tsuyoi onna no furi setsunasa no yokaze abiru." Hibari meanwhile sang in her head just to keep herself from freaking out and crying.

"O-O-Oh...H-Hibari...we can't do such a thing right now. B-But we can do so when we are safe." Yagyū then replied, blushing all the while.

"Dame da ne! Dame yo dame na no yo! Anta ga sukide sukisugite!" Hibari kept singing in her head.

"You're right, Hibari. I cannot hide like a coward. I must protect you at all cost. If you see Ikaruga, tell her that I wish Asuka was still here." Yagyū then stated.

"Dore dake tsuyoi osake demo...Yugamanai...omoide ga...baka mitai..." Hibari continued singing.

"Yagyū-chaaaaaaan...Hibari-chaaaaaan...where are yooooooou~?" Katsuragi meanwhile got out in a stalker like tone. "I already caught Ikaruga-chaaaaan~ You really should join meeeeeee toooooo~" She then added with an equally creepy yet excited smile.

Yagyū took in a deep breath before leaping out behind the breast-obsessed girl. "Katsuragi! I cannot allow you to continue this anymore! You miss Asuka, I get that. I miss her too, but you've not only caused us to fear for our lives every day since she left, but also...Well, it's mostly fearing for our lives but you're really running a high risk of getting kicked out if this continues." She soon stated while narrowing her uncovered eye. "Stop now...before I am forced to treat you like an Evil Shinobi and eliminate you." She then ordered in a threatening tone while preparing her umbrella.

The blonde however had a dazed expression on her face before snapping out of it. "...What? Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Katsuragi admitted while analyzing the white haired girl. "Oh hey, did you go up a cup size!?" She soon asked with an excited and giddy grin on her face.

The white haired girl meanwhile groaned to that. "Fuck it. I'm just gonna do the simple solution: Tell Sensei and have him punish you." Yagyū soon decided in a serious manner.

POOF!

"Why can't you arrive like a normal person!?" Yagyū coughed out. "Oh...I'm gonna die from smoke inhalation eventually, I just know it." She groaned out.


(Kamoshida's Castle of Lust, Castle Gate)

Yin merely sighed as she rubbed her head. "Moh, I just know Katsu-nee's planning something when I get back..." She mumbled out.

The Leader soon enough coughed into his fist to get everyone's attention. "Hey, is sexual repression a problem in the Shinobi world?" Joker bluntly asked.

"N-" Yang started to deny only to stop herself. "...Well, now that I think about it, maybe..." She then admitted, though was unsure.

"So this Katsu-nee needs to get laid then?" Skull guessed as two of the girls then looked at him with blunt expressions on their faces. "What? I'm bein' serious here." He then stated.

"By the way Yin describes her, probably." Panther replied as she shrugged.

"Though, I seriously doubt her chances of actually getting another human to interact with her..." Yang muttered under her breath.

The Vice Leader however tilted her head to the ongoing discussion. "...What do you mean by laid?" Yin innocently asked.

The rest of the group merely blushed to that innocent question asked. "Seriously, go out more. I'm begging you." Yang sighed out.

"Eh?" Yin got out in confusion and an adorable tilt of her head.

Mona however jumped up into the air while flailing his arms in annoyance, though had a light blush on his face. "CAN WE PLEASE GET BACK TO THE INFILTRATION WE HAVE BEEN PLANNING FOR WEEKS!?" He soon asked, getting everyone's attention.

"It's been 3 days cat." Yang bluntly reminded.

"DOESN'T MATTER! IT FEELS LIKE WEEKS TO ME! WE ARE BURNING DAYLIGHT!" Mona then declared.

"It's the afternoon." Yang also pointed out. "But you're right. We better get a move on. Every second counts after all." She then admitted in agreement.

"Yeah, this gives me the chance to try out this new power." Joker then admitted as he adjusted his gloves with a confident smirk on his face.

To hearing that however, this caught everyone's attention as they looked at the Leader once more.

"Uh, what was that about a new power?" Yin then asked in concern and curiosity.

Joker merely shrugged his shoulders to that. "Apparently it's called Third Eye." He simply replied.

Yang however raised an eyebrow to that. "Third Eye?" She repeated in the form of a question. "What the hell is that? And more than that, how the hell did you suddenly get a new ability?" She then asked.

"Well... It's like a sixth sense, I guess. Allowing me to see the world in a different light. I got it from our Benefactor that gave us the Metaverse Navigator." Joker answered.

"...From your loli wardens that beat you gave this new ability to you." Yang bluntly retorted while the others sweatdropped to the thought.

"No!" Joker called out. "It's from the Prison Master. A...creepy guy with the long nose and bulging eyes...dressed like a butler." He then awkwardly answered. "If you ever meet, please don't tell him that." He then requested.

"...You're really not making a compelling argument Joker." Yang then remarked.

"Hey, you want proof?" Joker soon offered as he placed a hand on his mask.

"Sure." Yang replied while crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, here's your proof. PERSONA!" Joker declared as his mask vanished in blue flames and suddenly, an unfamiliar purple devil looking Persona appeared.

"SWEET EFFIN' CHRIST! WHAT IS THAT!?" Skull exclaimed in a panicked manner.

"Skull we met one of them before in the castle. I just fused one with Pixie and Jack O'Lantern." Joker explained. "Guys, meet Incubus. Incubus, say hello." He casually stated.

A moment of silence soon passed as the new Persona looked at the rest of the group before...

"So, you fucking one of them?" The new Persona suddenly asked with a perverted smirk on his face.

It was very clear on the Persona's face that he was referring to everyone there.

This immediately made all the female members blush madly to the sudden question.

"WHAT THE HELL!? WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER KAMOSHIDA!" Skull declared in a more angered tone.

Mona however jumped up to that. "Be quiet Skull! We don't want them knowing we're here!" He reminded.

"Can you blame me!?" Skull however retorted in anger.

The Leader however sighed to that. "Okay, enough introductions. See you when we need you." Joker quickly declared as he returned the Persona to his mind. "Urgh...don't make me regret fusing you. As soon as I have enough money, I'm gonna summon Pixie or Jack 'O Lantern back." He mentally grumbled out.

"Don't worry kid. It was just a joke. However if you are-" Incubus replied, but as he was about to continue...

Joker's eye twitched. "Arsene, shut him up." He mentally requested.

"With pleasure." His Initial Persona answered.

TWACK!

This caused the Leader to sigh as he looked at the rest of the group. "Don't worry everyone, Arsene's punishing Incubus as we speak." Joker soon revealed.

"...I don't know how to feel about that." Panther awkwardly admitted.

"If he can't control his own Personas, then we are fucked." Yang meanwhile thought with a sweatdrop.

"So, uh, believe me now?" Joker asked.

"Well, you were certainly doing something when you spaced out like that." Mona replied. "Though, this whole Velvet Room thing is still rather hard to believe." He then admitted.

"Then you don't have to. Just know that I have a way to create new Personas and improve the ones I already have." Joker replied. "Still gonna get rid Incubus soon though. He knows Curse attacks, however Arsene has that covered so I'm gonna work on fusing something that has an attack we don't have. Like Water or Bless." He then explained.

"Already planning for the future. I'm impressed." Mona approved with a nod.

After getting rid of the blush on her face, though was glad her mask was covering it, the Vice Leader then gave off a thinking position. "Incubus...like the German male dream demon?" Yin then asked. "The male version of a Succubus, the female demons that tries to attract men?" She soon added.

This in turn surprised the rest of the group, even the roommate of the vice leader as they looked at her.

"...How do you know that?" Mona asked in a more curious tone.

"School." Yin casually replied. "I read about them in a book one time. I remember it being back while I was at Hanzō Academy." She then explained.

The ash blonde then twirled one of her pigtails in an awkward manner. "So uh, why him?" Panther asked.

Joker in turn smirked to that. "Know thy enemy. I know what the Incubus Shadows are strong and weak to now." He explained. "They hate guns and light, but are great against Electricity." He then revealed.

This in response caused the not cat to nod in approval. "That's actually really smart Joker. If you can fuse Personas before we meet their Shadow versions, we'll know what to do against them in battle instead of blindly throwing attacks and spells that may or may not work." Mona praised. "A Phantom Thief must always stay one step ahead of the enemy like a shinobi." He then declared.

This meanwhile caused the Vice Leader to smile underneath her mask. "Even more reasons to gain more Personas." Yin declared in agreement.

Joker however narrowed his eyes to that. "There is a limit to how much I can hold though so we might have to head back here occasionally so I can clear up some spots and fuse some more. Who knows, maybe I'll get Gojira eventually." He then remarked in a joking manner with a smirk on his face.

Mona however started sweating a bit to that. "Well...he is part of the public unconsciousness..." He muttered out to himself, though no one heard him.

"So, did you fuse anything else?" Panther asked.

"Well..." Joker then started.

"...Wait, you didn't get rid of Jack Frost did you!?" Yin however interrupted in a concern and panicked manner with watery eyes.

The Leader in turn chuckled to that. "Don't worry, I was only kidding Yin." Joker replied in an amused tone as he summoned the little guy with a quick removal of his mask as said Persona appeared beside him.

Yin then smiled under her mask as she grabbed said Persona and cuddled it into her chest. "Jack Frost-kun~!" She squealed with delight.

"Hee hoo hee bud bud!" The adorable Persona squeaked out.

"Like I'd get rid of him. He's the only Persona I have that knows Ice spells. Gotta have coverage, ya know?" Joker replied, though had a small blush on his face as he felt the softness against his cheek. "Besides, apparently I'm too weak to fuse anything else and I kinda like Arsene and Jack Frost to be on me right now." He then revealed.

"Ok good, cause Jack Frost is sooooo cute~!" Yin delightfully declared as she kept cuddling it like a plushie.

To that, Joker decided not to mention that Jack Frost was not going to be a permanent Persona, unlike Arsene.

"Hee hoo hee!" Jack Frost however squeaked out some more while being cuddled and hugged.

...Okay, there had to be some way to abuse the Velvet Room to his benefit.

Yang meanwhile was smiling at her pleased roommate. "Hehe, maybe I'll get one of those Jack Frost plushies for sis." She thought. "...But would she stop cuddling me to hug the plushie in her sleep?" She soon added to her thoughts in concern.

Mona meanwhile looked on in envy. "Mmm..." He got out.

Yin meanwhile looked down at the not cat. "Hm? Something wrong Mona-chan?" She innocently asked.

"It's so obvious..." Yang meanwhile thought in a deadpan tone, though had a satisfied expression on his face underneath her mask.

"Making friends with Shadows and then fusing them together for stronger Personas. This feels like one of those monster collecting games." Skull remarked in a joking tone.

"Yeah, just with tons more violence and threats." Joker chuckled out. "But seriously, you really don't wanna know how I got Incubus." He then stated in a more serious tone.

"What, since they're prison wardens, they execute the Personas?" Yang then asked in a more joking manner with a smirk under her mask.

The group was only met with silence as a result as they then noticed their Leader sweating a bit.

"...Joker?" Yang asked again, sounding a little more panicked. "Oh hell no! Don't tell me!?" She exclaimed.

"...It's not that bad, actually." Joker admitted.

This slightly relieved the rest of the group. "Oh, so I'm off base then." Yang then stated.

Joker however scratched his cheek awkwardly to that. "No, you got it right but the whole thing is pretty quick and they're just aspects of my personality so they're not technically killed, just...changed, I guess." He then explained.

"...That does not make me feel any better. Or make you look sane." Yang bluntly replied.

"Um...what's the execution exactly?" Yin then asked while cuddling the tiny Persona in her arms like a plushy.

"...Guillotine ..." Joker then awkwardly revealed.

The other members of the group meanwhile looked at their Leader in disbelief.

Yin's body soon enough became pale to that mere image. "...Okay, I admit that Joker is weird." She meekly declared as she kept hold of the Persona.

"I think the correct term is disturbed." Panther spoke up.

"I think the correct term is LET'S GO!" Mona called out.

"Alright, alright. Let's get this fire started." Joker declared as they turned towards the castle as the Leader tightened his gloves.

"Anyway," Skull then started, getting everyone's attention while rubbing his head. "Where do we start?" He then asked.

"Let's head to the most recent safe room we found, the one in the west building." Mona suggested. "That one's pretty close to our usual entrance. It should be a pretty decent starting point." He then explained.

Yin in turn nodded in agreement to that. "Good idea." She replied.

"Then let's head out and find that fucker's Treasure." Yang then declared while cracking her knuckles once more.

"Everyone, let's go." Joker ordered as he adjusted his gloves before heading to the entry point. "Guys first." He then added.

"Thank you for remembering that, Joker." Yin thanked the Leader as the all the guys went into the ventilation shaft. "Moh...Why am I the only one exposed like this...?" She mumbled out in a whiny tone as she crawled into the vent, shoving the duffel bag full of equipment and medicine first.

As Yang followed right behind her roommate, she noticed something, causing her to blush. "...Should I tell sis that she has underwear on now?" She mentally wondered before shaking her head. "Nah, not yet, sis is too adorable." She then mentally decided as she crawled through the shaft. "...and it's her silky green lace pair..." She offhandedly thought to herself.

"Yang, can you please move? I think I can hear you drooling." Panther requested, causing the tan skinned girl to snap out of it and quickly began crawling, thankful that her mask was hiding the hot red blush she had right now.


(Central Hall)

"This place is getting way too familiar." Joker sighed out as he landed on the ground.

"That should be a good thing. A thief should know the place their infiltrating like the back of their hand." Mona stated as he dropped down.

"Let's just get going. I had enough of that bastard getting in our way!" Skull called out as he cracked his knuckles. "I bet we could plow through this Palace like it's nothing!" He then stated.

"Be patient Skull, Rome wasn't built in a day." Joker stated as he opened the door, spotting two urns in front of him. "Hm..." He hummed out as the girls got out of the vent.

"What is it Joker?" Mona asked.

"This might be a good opportunity to test out Third Eye." Joker answered with a smirk.

"Really?" Yin got out in surprise.

"Yeah, watch this." Joker informed, getting everyone's attention as he took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, revealing glowing golden irises. "I can feel it." He soon muttered.

"Whoa..." Skull whispered out in amazement.

"His eyes became gold like when..." Yin started.

"We awakened our Personas..." Yang concluded.

"And wardens from the Velvet Room." Joker mentally added. He then pointed to the two urns that were in the room. "That urn on the left has something in it. The right one is empty." He then whispered.

Panther and Mona then ran up to the two urns, the not cat taking the right and the ash blonde taking the left.

At the same time, they touched the urns, causing them to explode into black smoke. Panther instinctively shielded her face from it before realising there was something in her hand.

"What the..." Panther whispered out as she stared at the bright green crystal in the palm of her hand. She could feel some sort of calming energy emitting from it.

"What the!? That's a Life Stone! That's better than any medicine we can buy!" Mona exclaimed. "Wow, Joker's ability is amazing!" He then declared in excitement.

"Okay, now I'm starting to feel cheated." Yang admitted as the ash blonde gave the Life Stone to her roommate, who threw it into the duffel bag. "We all got the app first, and yet he's the one getting all the cool stuff." She then got out in a slightly envious tone.

"Hot. Cute. Superhuman. Ninjas." Panther slowly deadpanned.

"Well, we were all screwed over in some way so I guess that's compensation...I guess." Yin muttered out.

"You just said I guess twice." Joker pointed out. "Now let's get going. We have a Palace to clear out." He then declared.

"Of it's riches or the Shadows?" Yang asked.

"Both, if we're good enough." Joker replied. "Alright guys, you're under my Direct Command. Make sure to listen to my orders. Yin, go on point." He then added.

"Okay, I'll do my best!" Yin declared as she stepped forward. "To the West Building Safe Room." She then ordered as she walked out of the room.

From there, she spotted the door to the main hall. However, it was closed.

Curious, she tested to see if it was unlocked before barging her shoulder against it.

BAM!

"What the!? The door's locked now!?" Yang exclaimed in disbelief.

"I guess the guards finally wised up. Even just a little." Joker noted. "Probably by the King's orders though, so they're probably still as dumb as rocks." He then remarked.

"Probably for the best. I'm detecting Shadows guarding the entrance." Mona informed. "We have to go and find another way around the castle."

"Well, this door's unlocked so I'd say we go this way." Joker suggested as he opened the door to the room where he first obtained Pixie.

"I swear, if we have to go through that stupid sex dungeon place again..." Panther groaned out as they went through the door and into the West Building.


(West Building 1F)

"I think we're near the barracks so stay low." Yin whispered out as the group went into a crouch, silently making their way down the hall.

When they got to a door, Mona opened it slightly and peeked inside. "Shadows are in the room. Not as many as there was before but still a threat if they manage to gang up on us." He soon informed.

"And of course all the guards are back after the last time we were here..." Yang grumbled out in annoyance before sighing. "Oh well, more practice for us." She then decided.

"That would be a really worrying sentence if the guards here were human." Panther pointed out.

"Well they're not, so they can all fuck themselves." Yang replied in a nonchalant manner. "...Which they probably are considering who runs this place." She then added.

"And...that's another nightmare that is going to haunt me for years." Joker mumbled to himself. "Come on. Let's move." He ordered as he looked at the Vice Leader. "So how do we approach this Yin?" He soon asked.

"Hrm...If we just pick off every Shadow one by one, we're just gonna run out of energy and supplies before we even make it halfway. Let's just try and sneak past them. Only engage when necessary." Yin replied.

"Alright, let's try and get through this without spilling blood." Joker replied in agreement.

It was much easier said than done, due to the lack of decent hiding spots in the room. However, they managed to get pretty far into the room before they encountered a serious obstacle.

Yin stopped everyone as she peeked her head out. "I can a see Shadow in our way. Maybe we should wait until it passes." She revealed followed by the suggestion.

"That's not gonna be easy. Another Shadow might come by soon." Mona warned.

"Urgh... And this guy isn't moving..." Yang muttered out.

"Okay, you guys ready for a quick fight?" Joker asked. The group nodded. "Alright. Panther, get ready."

"Okay, Joker." Panther replied with a nod, before a confused look appeared on her face. "Wait, why do I have to do it?"

"You haven't ambushed a Shadow yet. Think of it as an initiation as a Persona-user." Joker answered. "I'll get it's attention then you go for the kill. Ready?" He then added.

"As I'll ever be, I guess." Panther responded in an uneasy tone.

Joker nodded and signaled for the group to stay where they are while he went off on his own. Taking a deep breath, he stood up and walked out into the open. "Hey, do you know what a philistine is?" He asked.

"Hey!" The guard shouted out.

"Panther! Now!" Joker ordered.

"Alright, should be easy enough." Panther whispered to herself before running up and leaping onto the Shadow's back, interrupting its call to raise the security level. "Uh...Er...D-Die?" She weakly demanded before just sighing and ripping off the mask, kicking off it as she landed next to avain masked Leader.

"We'll work on that later Panther." Joker assured as he pulled out his Rebel Knife.

"Alright, these Shadows are pretty weak! We can finish this fight in a snap!" Mona informed as they stared down the enemy Jack Frost, Pixie, Bicorn and Mandrake.

"Here I go!" Yin shouted out as she pulled out her guns and started firing at the Pixie and the Mandrake. She missed the Mandrake, but managed to down the Pixie. "One down! Joker! Go!" Yin called out as she high-fived her fellow leader.

CLAP!

"Tingly." Joker got out in amusement as he felt the rush of power flowing through him. "PERSONA!" He commanded as he was then surrounded in blue flames. "Bicorn! LUNGE!" He ordered.

To that order, the horse cried out in fury and charged through the Jack Frost, knocking it off its feet.

"Nice! A Critical Hit!" Mona cheered.

"Let's keep it going, Yang!" Joker called out as they high-five.

CLAP!

"Oh, I'm feeling it now!" Yang shouted out excitedly, crimson flames dancing around her. "Wolverine! Gurentou!" She commanded in excitement.

"BURN!" Wolverine roared, her claws glowing.

SLICE! SLICE!

"Finish it off!" Yang shouted out as she high-fived her roommate.

CLAP!

"We're unstoppable!" Yin declared as green fire surrounded her. "Kaeru! Bury them with Magna!" She commanded.

RUMBLE! CRASH!

A boulder was soon thrown at the last enemy and luckily enough, it knocked down the Mandrake.

The Leader then smirked in a satisfied manner. "They're all knocked down, rush them!" Joker soon ordered.

"All-Out Attack!" Yin declared.

To that, the six phantom thieves rushed in and attack all the enemies without mercy.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! WHAM! WHIP!

Yin then landed as she winked with hand above her head and good into her victory pose. "That was easy!" She declared as the Shadows behind faded in black goo and smoke.

"That was a great display of teamwork, everyone!" Mona complimented.

"Alright! I think I got a new move!" Skull revealed. "Apparently it's caused Lunge?" He then stated.

"That's just a simple physical skill like Cleave. With your thick head, you can do some real damage now." Mona informed.

"How is it different from Cleave?" Yang asked.

"Well, Lunge is deals blunt damage and Cleave deals slicing damage." Mona explained.

"Yeah, but how is it different from Cleave?" Yang repeated. "Stabbing, bashing, whatever. All Shadows go down the same." She then reminded.

"Er...because it makes sense...?" Mona awkwardly answered in an unsure manner. "Just be glad that we don't have to deal with what type of melee attack we have to do in order to down an enemy." He then added.

"...Seriously?" Yang soon asked. "Would that have been a thing?" She then added to the questions.

"Don't worry about it and move on." Joker nonchalantly got out as he opened the door. "Now let's get going." He then ordered.

"'Kay, Joker." Skull replied with a quick salute. "...What is a philistine...?" He then mumbled to himself.

"A person who's hostile or indifferent to culture and the arts and or who has no understanding them." Yang replied in a casual manner.

"Oh." Skull got out with a shrug. "The more you know." He then added.

Soon enough, the group made it to the end of the familiar territory they knew as they saw the familiar room.

The Vice Leader soon nodded as she took in a deep breath. "Ok everyone, let's get into the Safe Room." Yin soon ordered as she opened the door.


(West Building 1F Safe Room)

"Whew, made it." Yin got out in relief as everyone filed into the safe room, her closing the door behind her.

"It still feels so odd to be in safe rooms..." Panther admitted. "Like... I'm in a warm, cozy spot where the outside is cold and harsh. It's almost like this place shouldn't exist." She then added.

"By technicality, it really shouldn't." Mona pointed out as he hopped onto the table.

"Well, kick back and take a breather, guys. Because from here on out is uncharted territory. And with that, stronger Shadows." Joker ordered as he kicked a fallen chair up into the air before sitting it on just as it landed on its legs.

"You're getting way too used to this whole thief thing." Skull noted as he took a seat. "Even better than Yin and Yang." He then added.

"I'll take that as a compliment Skull." Joker casually replied.

"Yeah, but you're doing flips like an acrobat while I'm just getting used to how high I can jump." Panther pointed out. "You even did that chair thing without even thinking." She then added.

"It is odd how much of a natural Joker is to being a thief and wielding his Personas." Yin muttered out in a curious tone.

"I guess he's in his natural element in the Metaverse." Yang guessed. "Release the limitations of the real world and he can outdo even the strongest of people." She then explained.

Yin nodded in agreement to that as she then tilted her head. "Now I'm wondering if he'll be like that in a Shinobi Kekkei." She soon got out in a curious tone.

"Probably about the same as he is in here." Panther guessed. "It's like a mini-Palace right? That would mean whatever he can do here, he can do in there." She pointed out.

"I guess that's something to put into the training regiment..." Yang muttered to herself as she took a mental note.

"Okay, then, let's get a grasp of our current situation." Mona suggested as he stood on the table. "And make sure it's about the Palace and our mission. If we go on another tangent, someone is getting Garu'd." He then warned.

"Alright alright, no need for violence." Joker informed. "So, how's everyone doing so far?" He soon asked.

The Vice Leader merely shrugged her shoulders. "I'm doing good Joker." Yin replied.

"We really haven't made a lot of in the Palace, so we're all feeling good. Maybe you should ask us later on when we're deeper in." Yang soon suggested.

"Well, it's important to know everyone's status no matter how early we are." Joker stated. "Nonetheless, I've emptied several vending machines around Shibuya so if you want a soda, just ask." He then offered.

"That seems really unhealthy Joker..." Yin admitted in an awkward manner.

"I'm living off curry and coffee for an entire year. Health is already out the window." Joker stated in a deadpan tone. "The only balance is this and Yang's training." He then mentally added.

"Oh right, sorry." Yin replied, wincing slightly to reminder of his current state.

Joker merely shook his head to that. "It's alright." He replied.

"Hey, we want our Leader to be in tip-top shape at all times. Maybe we can take you out get some healthy stuff to eat." Yang offered.

"Actually, it would be easier just to get him a mini-fridge. They're not that expensive these days." Skull suggested.

"You guys don't have to do that. It's fine." Joker stated.

"Oh, no way. We're gonna try and make your probation as comfortable as possible. By the end of the year, it'll practically be home." Panther declared.

"...Thanks. All of you." Joker replied with a kind smile.

"Even in such dark times, you have friends helping you every step of the way." Mona whispered out. "Let's get going. The sooner we're done here, the sooner we can get that mini-fridge!" He soon declared with enthusiasm.

"For the mini-fridge!" The thieves called out in unison as they left the safe room.


(West Building 1F)

As the Leader started opening the door, he saw a suit of armor standing near the door to the next room. "Shadow, attack when I remove its mask." Joker whispered the ordered.

"We're right behind you." Skull replied with a nod.

"Do it Leader." Yin then requested in anticipation.

Smirking, the Leader then dashed forward and immediately jumped onto the guard's back.

"What the-!?" The Guard Shadow got out in confusion and shock, however...

"I'll reveal your true form!" Joker declared as he ripped off the Shadow's mask, revealing two Silky and a Kelpie.

"Three of them, don't drop your guard just cause we outnumber them!" Mona soon instructed as they all took their weapons out and readied themselves to fight.

"Goin' first! EAT THIS!" Skull shouted out as he dashed towards one of the Silky and swung at it. However, the Shadow dodged it swiftly. "Oh shit!" He swore out, almost tripping as he did so.

"Oh Skull, you're pathetic..." Mona sighed out in a disappointing manner.

"That's...really mean. Like genuinely mean." Yang mentally noted before noticing that the very Silky that the blond just attacked was charging up something. "What the-" She got in confusion.

"Oh no! Watch it!" Mona warned, however it was too late as Silky casted something upon the ash blonde, who couldn't dodge it.

"What the... ZZZZZZ..." Panther mumbled out before falling asleep where she stood.

"Oh no! Panther's asleep!" Mona exclaimed. "The enemy must've used the sleep spell Dormina on her!" He then deducted.

"That has some unfortunate implications if there are Shadows running around with that skill here..." Joker thought.

"ZZZZZZ..." Panther snored out. "Strawberries... on a shortcake..." She soon started mumbling.

"Welp, this can easily be solved." Yang muttered as she rushed over to the sleeping beauty. "WAKE UP!" She then shouted out as she slapped the ash blonde in the face.

SLAP!

"AAHH!" Panther cried out as collapsed on the ground, groaning in pain.

"I should've probably mentioned first that physical attacks deal increased damage to those who are asleep." Mona informed. "Dia!" He ordered his Persona.

The ash blonde immediately felt the effects as she looked at the tan skinned girl. "Thanks for waking me up." Panther got out. "Ow." She winced as she held her cheek.

"There has to be a better way to do that." Yin muttered out before ripping off her mask. "Magna!" She commanded.

RUMBLE! CRASH!

Immediately, a large boulder struck at one of the Silky. She took some damage, but not enough to knock it down.

"PERSONA!" Joker quickly ripped off his mask and summoned Jack Frost. "Freeze them!" He then commanded.

Jack Frost nodded and casted Bufu on Kelpie, who shrugged off the spell.

"Nope! Resisted it!" Joker cursed. "Panther, go for melee!" He ordered.

"Here we go!" Panther called out as she wildly swung her whip around, knocking a Silky off her feet. "Got a lucky shot!" She soon declared.

"Finish it off!" Joker ordered.

"AGI!" Panther called out as Carmen destroyed the fallen Shadow.

The Kelpie growled as it saw an allie die as a dark aura came over it.

"Oh shit, it's doing the thing from last time!" Skull announced.

"Stop that legless horse before it brings in reinforcements!" Mona shouted out.

Yin nodded and acted before anyone else as she ran up to the Mad Marsh Horse and feint with a quick swing of her weapons and went for a kick instead, launching the Shadow skywards.

"Launched the enemy!" Yin declared. "Yang, with me!" She then ordered.

The white full face masked girl nodded to that as the two readied themselves. "Right, time for an Aerial Rave!" Yang replied in confidence and excitement as the two shinobis jumped into the air and began rapidly slashing at the Shadows, leaving only a Silky alive.

"Whoa!" Panther got out in a surprised manner. "They've done this before?" She then asked.

"Yup, it's a basic skill that a shinobi can use after enough training." Mona soon informed.

"Man we gotta learn something like that." Skull got out.

"We already do, the All-Out Attacks." Mona then reminded.

"But unlike All-Out Attacks, they can actually do it in the real world." Joker pointed out before placing a hand on his mask. "Now, enough talk. This is the end! Jack Frost!" He declared as he removed his mask.

"Hee hoo hee!" Jack Frost giggled out in a childish manner after appearing.

"Freeze them with Bufu!" Joker soon commanded as his Persona hit the Troublesome Housemaid. Although she resisted it, she still fell and disappeared into nothing. "That was a waste." He cursed under his breath as the battlefield faded away. "But I can feel even more power course through me." He soon declared as he felt himself getting stronger.

"Me too! Now I'm even more charming!" Mona revealed in excitement.

"Weren't you already charming enough?" Yin then asked in an innocent manner.

"Hey, you can always improve purr-fection." Mona soon declared.

"Purr-fection?" Skull snorted out.

"You have something to say Skull!?" Mona called out.

"Well, we can't exactly take you seriously if you're making cat puns." Panther giggled out.

"Wait what!? That was a cat pun!?" Mona exclaimed. "I thought that was how it was pronounced! Th-That does not mean I'm a cat though! It is only because of the distortions affecting me!" He then declared in denial.

"Bullshit." Skull coughed out.

"But still possible Skull." Yin defended in an innocent manner with a small giggle escaping her lips.

The ash blonde however sweatdropped to this discussion. "Can we please get going now?" Panther meanwhile requested.

"I agree, we got a Treasure to find." Yang then pointed out as she slowly opened the door to the next room. "Looks like a shitty dining room for the soldiers with two guard Shadows in there." She soon informed as she then sniffed the air. "And a kitchen as well, can smell the meat being cooked." She then added.

"Wanna take a guess it's long pig?" Skull spoke up.

"What the hell is long pig?" Yang asked in confusion before shaking her head. "Nevermind, just use Third Eye, Joker." She soon requested.

Nodding to that, Joker stepped forward and scanned the room. "Focus..." He muttered as his Third Eye activated, seeing three golden objects. "Two barrels and a crate have items in them." He calmly informed.

"Got it. Let's sneak past the guards and get the stuff before attacking them." Yin soon ordered.

The group nodded and started making their way through the area. They managed to get themselves a Pearl, a Holey Helmet and a Strange Lantern before attacking the Shadows. It wasn't too hard, however when they got the door to the next room...

"Damn. Guard facing this way." Joker informed as he peeked through the door and into the hallway.

"Another unavoidable fight..." Yang sighed out. "Alright, you guys know the drill. Who wants to do it this time?" She soon asked.

"I'll do it." Skull offered as he took a couple of steps forward.

"Besides Skull." Yang then deadpan while trying to place a hand on the dyed blond's shoulder.

"Too late!" Skull declared as he charged at the door...then tripped. "Shit!" He swore out as all he managed to do was open the door wide open with his face.

"Hm?" The Guard Shadow got out as the door opened, revealing the thieves to him. "..." He said nothing as he looked around.

"..." Everyone remained silent, waiting to see who would act first.

"...Stupid rats." The Guard grumbled to itself as it continued its path of walking back and forth.

Meanwhile, everyone was in disbelief. "These guards...are total idiots..." They thought with a sweatdrop.

"This just goes to show that the Shadows at times reflect the intelligence of the Palace ruler." Mona meanwhile whispered.

"Let's just take it down already." Panther sighed out as she ran up and jumped on its back. "Submit to me!" She demanded as she ripped off its mask.

"WHA!?" The Guard Shadow exclaimed in shock and confusion.

"That one was better Panther!" Joker complimented as they got out their weapons. "Rush it down!" He then ordered.

"You heard him! Finish it quick!" Mona called out.

Luckily, it was only a single Bicorn that came from the Shadow. A quick application of Zio and it went down pretty easily.

"These guys used to be tough..." Skull breathed out while rolling his shoulder.

"I guess we're too strong for these Shadows now?" Yin simply deducted. "I mean, they might have spells that can down us, but now we're killing them before they can act." She then explained.

Mona in turn nodded to that as he crossed his arms over his chest. "That may be true Lady Yin, but as we get deeper into the Palace, the Shadows will get stronger and more formidable." He then revealed.

"Then we keep getting stronger to match them." Joker soon stated. "Take it slow, and we'll get there." He then instructed as he started making his way to the door at the end of the hallway.

The others nodded and followed the Leader, however they stopped when the tan skinned girl noticed something...odd.

"What is it Yang?" Joker soon asked.

The tan skinned girl then approached the focus of her gaze. "Why is there a volleyball here?" Yang bluntly asked as she approached the shelf of books and other wares. "...Kamoshida brand. Of course..." She thought with a sweatdrop.

"Crack it open, Yang. Third Eye says that it has something." Joker informed as his eyes returned to their steel grey color.

"Oh cool, more shit to pawn off." Yang replied as she smashed the volleyball. "What the-!? This stupid broken helmet is bigger than the volleyball!" She declared in confusion.

"Well, the item doesn't materialize until after its been smashed. It's technically empty until someone cracks it open. Like...that cat experiment thing." Mona explained. "What was its name again?" He then mumbled out while trying to remember.

"Schrödinger's Cat?" Joker guessed.

"Yeah. That." Mona replied as he flicked his paw. "Anyways, throw it into the duffel, Yang." He then ordered.

"I should stop applying logic in the Metaverse..." Yang mumbled out as she threw the helmet over to her roommate, who swiftly caught it and placed it in the duffel.

The Leader merely nodded in agreement to that. "That would make sense." Joker replied as he looked at the door. "Now let's go. Yin, take the lead." He soon ordered.

"Hai!" The Vice Leader replied as she stepped forward and took hold of the door before slowly and quietly opening it, everyone else following as a result.


(West Building 2F)

When they went through the door, the first thing they saw was a spiral staircase leading up to the upper floors of the castle. However, most of it had collapsed, only allowing them to go up a floor.

And that's when they saw a Shadow in the hallway, its back facing them. Yin had to spread her arms out to stop the others from going forward and getting the guard's attention.

"Damn...there's one here too..." Skull quietly swore out.

"Ugh, of course this prick is blocking the way." Yang groaned out. "Come on, let's just ambush it and go." She then suggested.

"Well sure, if you want to go about it the orthodox way. But there's a more stylish route!" Mona informed with a smirk on his face.

"Or, we could just rip its mask off like we've done a dozen times over already." Yang pointed out. "I'd rather be practical than stylish, Mona." She then stated.

"Trust me Lady Yang, this way of ambushing the enemy is both stylish and practical as it will also lower our Security level within a Palace." Mona soon revealed. "See those sofas on the side of the hallway? Hide behind those so you can get closer to the enemy. Once it's in range, jump on it and rip its mask off!" He then explained.

"Whoa...That does sound pretty damn cool..." Skull admitted.

"That's just basic stealth and infiltration." Yang thought with a groan.

"Hey! This isn't a movie!" Panther quietly reminded.

"We're running around in cosplay inside some asshole's head, killing monsters with the physical representation of our psyche. If this isn't a movie, then it's an anime." Joker reminded in a deadpan tone before smirking. "And I am perfectly okay with that." He then admitted as they crouched behind the sofa just as the Shadow turned around.

Focusing on the next sofa closer to the Shadow, Joker leaped there, becoming only a black blur to normal humans.

"When did Joker become that fast?" Skull asked. "He practically teleported over there." He then whispered.

"That was shinobi-like speed." Yin then admitted as her roommate nodded in agreement.

"It's thanks to our rebellious spirits. Our wills can overcome our physical limits." Mona explained. "You can do it too if you believe. But right now, let's destroy this Shadow in style." He then requested.

Joker nodded before leaping onto the Shadow. "Everyone! Go for it!" He called out as he ripped off the mask, revealing the Shadows from within.

"Two Apprentices in a Jug and a Laconic Warrior! They're not strong, but they're new to us, so watch it and find their weakness!" Mona informed as they leapt out of cover.

"You're just making those names up Mona!" Skull called out as he pulled out his pipe.

"Shut it and start swinging and slashing you two! Gurentou!" Yang shouted out as she ripped off her mask with crimson flames dancing around her.

FWOOSH! SLASH!

"AUGH!" The Laconic Warrior got out in pain while falling to the ground.

Mona meanwhile grinned to this. "Nice! A Critical Hit!" He exclaimed.

"Passing it off to you Joker! Take it down!" Yang announced as they high-fived.

CLAP!

Immediately, the Leader felt the rush of power coursing through him. "Thanks! Bicorn, GARU!" Joker commanded.

FWOOSH!

"GAH!" One of the Apprentice in a Jug cried out as it got knocked out.

"Another knock down!" Mona cheered out.

"I'm not done yet! Garu again!" Joker once more commanded.

FWOOSH!

"WHY!?" The other Apprentice screamed out as it fell.

"Another one bites the dust!" Panther announced with a smile.

"All of 'em are down! Stick 'em up!" Yang called out as they aimed their guns at the fallen enemies.

"Your call Joker." Mona soon started. "Both of them are new Shadows, so it might be beneficial in the long run if you convince one 'em to join our side." He then informed.

"Hm...I don't think I have room for them in my soul..." Joker muttered out. "I'll fuse them later. Waste 'em." He then ordered.

"You heard him! All-Out Attack!" Panther shouted out as they rushed at the Shadows.

And in an instant, their enemies were gone.

"I wasn't even tryin' that time!" Skull cheered out. "These guys are starting to feel more like annoyances than threats." He then admitted in a confident manner.

"Guess the Shadows before removing their masks are pretty much dumbasses if they can't see us right behind cover." Yang whispered her remark in amusement.

"Yeah, they are. Still, just don't get too cocky." Joker stated.

"Oh please, I have just enough cock to be aware." Yang remarked...before her eyes widened in dawning horror at what she just said. "W-Wait...that came out wrong! Fuck!" She then exclaimed in embarrassment.

"Real smooth, Yang." Skull chuckled out.

"Oh, shut it, Skull." Yang muttered out as she peeked around the corner. "I see a Shadow, get ready." She ordered while preparing herself. She needed to blow off some steam now.

The two Leaders merely smirked, though the Vice Leader's was hidden by her mask. "Go for it Yang." Joker and Yin offered.

Yang nodded before disappearing in the blink of an eye, reappearing on the Shadow's back. "Take that damn mask off!" She immediately demanded while ripping the mask off.

The fight wasn't very tough and ended rather quickly. It was only a few Pixies, which were quickly dispatched with a few bullets.

"Woohoo! We won!" Yin delightfully cheered. "I feel like I'm getting stronger." She got out.

"My fire is burning brighter and stronger." Yang declared while cracking her knuckles.

"Um... okay then." Panther muttered out with a slightly confused look on her face. "Let's keep going." She soon suggested.

Nodding in agreement to that, the group continued down the hallway, stealing whatever Joker's Third Eye could see before eventually going into a peculiar room.

"Look! There's something in there!" Skull announced as he pointed at the table in the centre of the room. However, they were blocked off by sets of bars.

"I wonder what's on that table since its barred off?" Yin then asked in a curious manner as she got closer to the bars. "Hey Joker, do you think you can find a way in using that Third Eye ability you have?" She soon suggested.

Mona in turn smiled to that. "That's a great idea Lady Yin!" He declared in agreement as he then looked towards the Leader. "Joker, see if you can find a way to get there." He then instructed.

The Leader in response nodded to that suggestion. "Alright. Open your senses, Akira." Joker whispered out as his eyes flashed gold.

The world around him darkened as he spotted glowing blue footprints. The trail was going from chain on their side to another on the other side, and conveniently enough, the levers he had to pull were glowing blue as well.

The Leader soon smirked in a satisfied manner to this result. "Heh, I love this thing." Joker chuckled out. Hopefully, this works in the real world as well.

"You got something Joker?" Yin then asked.

"Yep." Joker answered as he walked around the cage and pulled the chain levers before suddenly, the bars rose.

"Oh yeah! You're the man, Joker!" Skull cheered out.

"Now let's see what it blocking off from us." Yang declared as the group went to the center of the room.

"It's...a map." Yin got out. "This entire room and it's security was all made to protect...a map." She awkwardly and bluntly declared.

"Er...Yeah. That sounds way too complicated just to protect a piece of paper." Skull admitted.

"A pretty beat-up one at that." Yang noted. "Still, it's legible. Take it Yin, we're gonna need it to help with exploring the castle." She then suggested.

"Yes, as Lady Yang as pointed out, a map will allow us to have a better grasp of the Palace's topography. A Phantom Thief will never get far unless they have a map on them." Mona explained. "It'll make securing a route much, much easier." He then declared.

"I'm gonna take a wild guess that not every Palace has a map." Panther guessed.

"Hey, even Shadows can get lost." Mona stated while looking at the map before narrowing his eyes. "Although, it looks like it only shows half of the castle..." He then revealed.

"Because of course it does." Yang muttered out as she rolled her eyes. "We better keep our eyes peeled for the other half then." She soon stated.

"Yeah." Yin replied in agreement. "Now let's go, we got a Treasure to find." She then declared as they continued going through the castle.


(Central Hall)

Eventually, the thieves went through a door, leading them into a rather familiar space.

"Huh, we're back here." Yin got out while recognizing the area as the not cat shut the door behind them. "I guess we're in another area of it." She then added.

"It looks like the upper floor. There's some hanging chandeliers above us." Panther then pointed out.

Yang then looked down. "And there's guards below." She then informed.

"Dude, what the hell..." Skull got out. "I can see one of 'em with red stuff comin' out of it!" He then informed.

"Let's stick to the high ground." Joker suggested as he then looked towards the nearby bookcase. "Over here, we can climb here to the edging." He soon informed.

"Hey, there's an open door on the other side. I guess that's the only way forward." Yin pointed out.

"Let's move." Yang replied as she jumped on the bookcase and onto the beams above, with the rest soon following.

"Keep low and keep your balance. A fall from here would not end well." Mona whispered out.

"Just don't look down." Joker suggested as they walked on the beams.

"Where do we go from here?" Panther asked as she looked around, seeing that there was no beam that spanned the entire room.

"Looks like we're gonna have jump across the chandeliers if we wanna continue." Yang stated.

Yin merely shrugged her shoulders. "Not really a big deal as a shinobi." She casually reminded.

"They look oddly secure though." Joker noted. "Like...they were made to be jumped on if that makes sense." He then added.

"This castle's architecture is seriously confusing..." Panther muttered out as she jumped on the nearest chandelier.

"Kamoshida's head remember?" Yang reminded in a deadpan tone.

"Touche, but still really stupid." Panther replied as they started crossing the room using the chandeliers.

"Eh, just think of it as a platform jumper." Skull then suggested in a casual manner.

"Yeah, but I don't think chandeliers normally handle the weight of four people!" Panther pointed out.

"Ahem, five people remember?" Mona corrected.

The Vice Leader however giggled to that. "You're really light, Mona-chan." Yin stated.

"Both of you, stop arguing about dumb choices in the building of this stupid castle and-" Yang started, only to stop as a Shadow spawned right in front of her. "Ah, what the hell!?" She exclaimed in disbelief.

"Why the hell would someone station a guard here!?" Skull exclaimed as the tan skinned girl dashed towards the Shadow, leaping into the air and onto its back.

"Take that fuckin' mask off!" Yang roared as she ripped off the mask.

"You know, this would've been way more difficult if we actually fought on these platforms." Joker noted as they entered the battlefield.

"It's a Brutal Cavalryman! Careful, it's stronger than all of us!" Mona warned.

"Then throw everything you've got!" Yin called out as she summoned her Persona. "Magna!" She commanded.

RUMBLE! CRASH!

The boulder crashed into the Cavalryman and hurt it, but the Shadow still stood strong and proud.

"Didn't do much!" Yin announced as her mask returned to her face.

"I got this! Jack Frost, freeze its heart!" Joker called out.

"Hee hoo...!" Jack Frost got out in its squeaky tone as it cast the ice spell, creating a snowball and hitting the knight in groin, causing the Shadow the fall off his horse.

"Got it down! All-Out Attack!" Joker ordered.

"How are you gonna feel after this!" Panther called out as they rushed the Shadow.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

"Boom." Joker whispered out as the Shadow exploded into nothing. "Never gets old." He then remarked with a smirk.

WEE WOO! WEE WOO! WEE WOO!

Suddenly, the sound of a siren was heard as it blared through the entire castle.

"Huh!? The hell is that!?" Skull exclaimed.

"Dammit! The Security Level has been raised!" Mona cursed.

"How did that happen!?" Panther asked.

"They must've heard the battle!" Yang soon deducted.

"Let's go!" Yin called out as they all started to run.

"You're not going anywhere!" A Guard Shadow declared as it appeared in front of them, stopping them in their tracks.

"Oh crap! AMBUSH!" Skull shouted out as they were surrounded. "Shit, that's a lot of dudes!" He then exclaimed.

"Bicorn...Incubus...Pixie...two of each." Joker muttered out. "Careful everyone! Let's think this through!" He then ordered.

"Watch it!" Panther shouted out as she dived out of the way of a Zio attack.

However, Skull was too slow to dodge the attack aimed at him. However, it was another Zio so he ended up shrugging it off. "Hah! Dumbass!" He taunted.

A Bicorn growled at this and decided to take revenge. "GARU!" It called out.

"Huh?" Yin got out as she felt a slight breeze under her feet before quickly turning into a small tornado. "AAAAAAHHHHHH!" She then screamed out as she collapsed to the ground.

"YIN!" Yang exclaimed before seeing the Shadows surround the fallen girl. "Huh? What the hell!?" She got out in panicked confusion.

"Oh no! That's really bad! The Shadows have taken Yin hostage!" Mona informed. "We're gonna have to negotiate for her safety!" He then declared.

"What!? Shadows can do that!?" Panther exclaimed.

"Yes. And if we escalate the situation, she could get really hurt or worse." Mona then revealed.

"Grrr..." Yang growled, her trigger fingers twitching.

"Stay calm, Yang. I've got this." Joker ordered as he stepped forward. "At least, I hope I've got this." He mentally added.

"S-Sorry..." Yin apologized, still suffering the effects of the last attack.

"Let's negotiate." Joker offered as he kept up a calm demeanor while everyone else aimed their ranged weapons at the enemy to make sure they wouldn't try anything. However, inside he was worried that he could screw it up. "What can we do to get our friend back?" He demanded.

"Alright, if you want this bitch back, we only need a few things from you." An Incubus soon began.

"Oh... I can't wait to chop your heads off...!" Yang thought.

"Alright, we'll see what we can do. What are your terms?" Joker asked as his trigger finger twitched.

"First, we're gonna need about 500,000 yen, three Somas, about 7/8th of your life and a kiss from the cat." The Incubus then continued.

"...What." Joker got out as his eye twitched.

"Th-That's really unreasonable!" Panther called out.

"And Panther will never touch you!" Mona added.

"Who said anything about the easy pussy?" The Shadow questioned, thoroughly shutting the not cat up and creeping him out.

"...Any time Joker." Skull calmly started as he pumped his shotgun. "Any time." He got out.

"And that's just the start?" Joker thought as his bit his lip. "There's no way we can meet their demands! They might kill Yin." He then added to his thoughts. "Come on, Akira...Think this through..." He then muttered to himself.

Suddenly, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

"What the...?" Joker whispered out as he checked his phone. It said a new contact has been added: The Thieves Guild.

Suddenly, he got a message on the IM. "That...shouldn't be possible." Joker thought as he looked at the message.

[Unknown: This is a gift from the Velvet Room. Across many different universes and different times are Thieves just like you and your allies. Some you may not recognise, others that you know, or people you have yet to meet. Call them and they will come to your aid.]

"Come to my aid..." Joker thought as he looked at the hostage Vice Leader. He didn't think about it and dialed the number.

"Joker? What are you doing?" Skull quietly asked.

"Phoning a friend." Joker replied as he heard someone pick up on the other side.

"The Thieves Guild [UknownHearts] have responded to your call. Please hold."

"Huh?" Joker got out as suddenly a bullet struck the floor near the Vice Leader before the crack of a sniper rifle rang around the area. The Shadows jumped back in surprise, allowing her to get up and run back to the others, who were just as surprised as the Shadows. Joker looked up and saw...something reload their rifle.

"Hmph. Such unworthy opponents to take a lady hostage just to win a futile battle." The Sniper scoffed out. "I hope these Shadows fear the might of the Phantom Thieves now. I hope that bullet will allow you to step closer to the Treasure. Until we meet, Joker." They then declared.

And with that, the Sniper disappeared.

"The Thieves Guild has answered your call. You have [2] calls left."

"Thanks." Joker muttered to himself as he put away his phone. "What kind of weird name is UknownHearts." He meanwhile thought.

This meanwhile confused the others as their Vice Leader returned to the group. "Who the hell was that!?" Yang exclaimed as she looked up at the ceiling.

Joker narrowed his eyes, thinking about the mysterious sniper's words, before shaking his head. "Doesn't matter. Let's show them what happens when you mess with Phantom Thieves! Full Assault!" He soon ordered.

"Joker's flowing with power!" Mona declared. "You heard him!" He then added.

"I ain't showin' mercy!" Skull called out.

"Get in line!" Yang demanded in a menacing tone of voice. "GURENTOU!" She roared as she ripped off her mask in a ferocious manner.

Wolverine appeared and went for a Pixie, instantly destroying it with one swipe of her claws.

"One down! Let's keep it up!" Joker called out as he aimed his pistol and shot the other Pixie before switching Personas. "Come on...give it all you've got, PERSONA!" He got out as he summoned his own Incubus.

"Sorry! Gotta make sure you learn!" Incubus called out as it went up to a Bicron and used Evil Touch on it.

"What? Huh-AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The affected Bicorn screamed in horror.

"Nice! You inflicted the enemy with Fear!" Mona exclaimed.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Yin and Yang asked in confused unison.

"...Exactly what it means?" Mona answered with a shrug. "They'll be too scared to move for a bit, so let's take advantage of it!" He then declared.

This in turn caused the two full face masked girls to smirk the opportunity. "Sounds good to me! Time for payback!" Yin and Yang soon declared in perfect unison.

"Man those two are in sync." Panther soon muttered out.

"For real." Skull replied in agreement.

"Magna!" Yin called out as Kaeru threw a boulder at the enemy.

"Gurentou!" Yang commanded as Wolverine's claws glowed crimson and dashed towards the Shadows.

"Uh...I think they've got this..." Joker stated as they watched the two shinobi destroy each and every Shadow, one by one.

"PAYBACK'S A BITCH MOTHERFUCKERS!" Yin and Yang soon declared in satisfied unison as green and crimson flames swirled around them.

Eventually, after stabbing the Incubus that negotiated with them in the tail multiple times, the battle ended with the two shinobi covered in Shadow goo before it soon vanished.

"Yeah! Victory!" Mona cheered. "You two really went all-out!" He then declared.

"Hell yeah we were!" Yin and Yang replied in agreement and in unison, adrenaline still coursing through them after what had happened as they high fived one another.

"Yeah, we sort of just sat back and watched." Joker awkwardly admitted. "Still, power courses through me." He soon revealed.

"Dude, why do you keep repeating that every time you feel stronger?" Skull asked in confusion.

"Habit." Joker simply replied as the Vice Leader nodded in agreement.

"Then when did it become a habit?" Skull questioned.

"Save it for the Safe Room, Numbskull." Yang stated as she went on ahead.

"It's Skull!" The dyed blond shouted out before quickly following.

As the group jumped across the rest of the chandeliers and through the hallway, the two kunoichis were watching from behind, however...

"Hey, Yin. Are you okay?" Yang suddenly asked as they kept running, the high of destroying the Shadows from before wearing off.

"I'm fine. Sorry for making you worry." Yin apologized. "I'll try and do better next time. It won't happen again." She then reassured.

"You were kidnapped and almost...almost..." Yang however stated, hesitating to finish her sentence for fear that it would fill her mind with nightmares. "If Joker screwed up and the Shadows did something to you, I'd...I'd..." She muttered out, though trailed off at the end, not knowing what to say as she bit her lip under her mask.

"Homu-nee..." Yin thought, already being able to tell that the other girl was concerned for her. "It's ok Yang-nee." She softly replied for only the two to hear.

The white masked girl however shook her head to that. "No, it's not. If I had to talk to them, you would've died. I'm not good enough." Yang self barretted herself.

The black full face masked girl merely placed a hand on her roommate's shoulder as they kept running. "You don't have to be good enough. You just have to be you." Yin however encouraged.

To hearing that, the tan skinned girl couldn't help but smile underneath her mask. "...Hehehe." Yang giggled out. "Got that off a fortune cookie?" She then asked in a joking manner.

"Come on." Yin giggled out as they caught up to the group as they came to a stop at a corner.

"Hey, wanna bet they start dating by the end of the year?" Joker whispered to the blond.

"W-What? No!" Skull called out in response. "Dude, you really shouldn't bet on fr-" He then began, however...

"I'll take that action. I can see it happening, though we've only known them for a week." Panther spoke up. "What's the starting pot?" She then asked.

"For real!? Panther!" Skull blurted out before covering his mouth.

However as the two kunoichis made it up to the rest of the group, they were able to tell that the two had offended expressions on their faces underneath their masks.

"Oi! We heard that Joker." Yang soon deadpanned.

"It's nothing like that you guys." Yin then revealed.

"Yeah. Now..." Joker and Panther thought as they gave each other a look.

"Hey! I know what you're thinking! Our relationship is none of your business! What? Just because we're close after a week that we're in love or some shit! It's perfectly normal for two people to sleep together naked!" Yang shouted before covering her mouth as soon as she blurted out that last word. "Fuck!" She mentally exclaimed.

"Please insert foot into mouth." Wolverine snarked.

Meanwhile, blood spurted out of Mona's non-existent nose and fainted on his feet.

"As...Shinobi! Yeah, our apartment is really cold and we've been trained to share body heat or else we might get sick, so we decided to share and-" Yin began explaining as she flailed her arms in a frantic manner.

"Yin, please stop." Yang begged as her head was bright red, though it was covered by her mask. "I'm gonna go commit seppuku real quick. Be right back." She soon declared in a depressed tone.

The Vice Leader's eyes widen to hearing that. "Yang! No!" Yin shouted out as she tackled her roommate to ground.

CRASH!

"GAH! YIN!" Yang exclaimed as the two crashed to the ground.

"...They're supposed to be shinobis...?" The others thought with a sweatdrop.

"Just...I'm gonna erase that image in fear of what you're gonna do to us and move on." Joker stated. "Starting pot's five thousand." He then whispered to the ash blonde before signalling everyone to start following him as he picked up the dazed not cat.

"OI! WE HEARD THAT! IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" Yin and Yang however declared in angered and offended unison once more as they quickly got up and followed the Leader, who could only laugh as they chased him.

They eventually made it to the other side of the room and landed back on solid ground. "The cognition here is weak..." Mona noticed. "There may be a safe room nearby." He soon informed.

"Alright, let's loot the room the first before we head there." Joker suggested.

"Your greed is getting to you Joker..." Yin warned.

"It's not. Just need to check if there are healing items we can use in the safe room." Joker informed as he turned on Third Eye.

"Hey, there's a treasure chest over here." Panther announced. "It's locked though." She then informed.

"Joker, you made a lockpick last night. You might wanna use it on that." Mona suggested.

"Hm, I only have a few though and whatever's in there might not be worth it." Joker muttered out. "I'll think it over in the safe room."

"Hey, I got Dull Sword out of this thing." Skull called out as he threw it over to the Vice Leader.

"And I got this shield. It's kinda dented up though. Still should be worth something." Yang informed as she passed it over to the Vice Leader as well.

"At this rate we'll fill the duffel bag with loot and equipment." Joker noted as walked up and swiped at a nearby urn, grabbing the item that spawned from it before taking a good look at it. "Oh come on..." He then groaned out.

"What the, what's that doin' in an urn?" Skull questioned as the group looked at the Nude Candle Stand their Leader found. "And uh...why the hell does it look like Panther?" He then asked.

"...Really Skull?" Mona got out in a deadpan tone, though had a blush on his face towards the statue.

"He's right though." Yin admitted in agreement.

Panther meanwhile was shivering as she looked at the statue. "It's...scarily accurate." She noted.

The white full face masked Persona user however was taking in very deep breaths to calm herself down. "...Resisting the urge to kill that pervert..." Yang growled out.

"You know I'm gonna sell this, right?" Joker pointed out.

"Doesn't matter, still wanna kill him..." Yang countered.

"Wanna bet that he has statues for...you know who." Joker asked.

"If he does, I'm gonna melt it to the ground then jam it into his eyes." Panther growled.

"Personally, I'd bash his skull with it then stuff down his throat but your way sounds like fun too." Yang casually stated.

"Break his legs with it and hang him off the school." Skull added with narrow eyes.

"I'd take it and ram it up his-" Yin suddenly began before suddenly coughing, realizing what she was about to say.

"We just got unnecessarily violent there for a second." Mona muttered out. "I guess our hatred runs deeper than we thought, but we shouldn't let it blind us from our goal. If we give into it, we're no better than the person we're trying to stop." He then advised in a serious tone.

"Sorry..." Yin apologized.

"Save your brutality for the Shadows. It's gonna be way more satisfying when we steal his heart." Joker advised.

"Y-Yeah. That's why we're doing it in the first place." Panther awkwardly replied with a nod.

"Well, I'm detecting a Shadow nearby. Let's blow off some steam, mademoiselle." Mona informed.

"Yeah, that sounds good." Panther replied with a nod.

The black full face masked girl then dashed forward and on top of the knight armor wearing Shadow. "Reveal your true self!" Yin ordered as she ripped the mask off.

The ensuing fight wasn't that hard and ended rather quickly, finishing off their enemies with an All-Out Attack.

"Hehe! Losers!" Skull confidentiality remarked.

"Growin' stronger by the minute!" Yin cheered happily as she then felt something from within her. "W-Whoa, I think I got something new..." She then revealed in an amazed tone.

"Sukukaja my dear." Kaeru revealed in a soothing tone.

"Gesundheit." Yin casually replied.

"Hm?" Mona got out. "Something wrong Lady Yin." He then asked in concern.

"I think my Persona just sneezed. She was telling me about a skill I just learned. Suku... something." Yin answered.

Mona's then gained an impressive expression to that. "You mean Sukukaja correct?" He guessed.

"Gesundheit." Yin replied. "Is there, like, a weird disease floating around the Metaverse?" She soon innocently asked in concern.

The not cat however chuckled to that. "No, that's the name of the skill. Sukukaja. It improves someone's evasion when cast for a bit." Mona explained.

"Moh...why can't these skill names be in Japanese..." Yin groaned out.

"Well, there is a system of how spells work and how they're modified. For example, Garu is just a single target Wind spell. However if there is a Ma- in front of it, it now hits all targets." Mona then explained. "It's probably better if you just figure it out yourself however." He soon added.

The Vice Leader merely sighed. "Noted." Yin replied as she rubbed the back of her head, feeling a headache coming on already. "I see an open window up there." She soon pointed upwards.

"Huh?" Joker got out as everyone looked at where the Vice Leader was pointing. "Do you think it leads outside?"

"Well, there's only one way to find out." Yang got out as leaped into the air...

SMASH!

...And smashed through the window.

"You know you could've opened it before you went through it!" Skull called out.

"Too slow! Hey, everyone! Get out of here!" Yang called back.

The thieves looked at each other before shrugging and following the tan skinned girl's lead.


(Castle Gate)

"Hup!" Yin grunted out as she landed on the ground and looked around. "Hey...wait a minute..."

"This is the front entrance." Panther realised as she looked at the recently-smashed window.

"It ain't too much of a fall from there." Skull noted.

"And with our enhanced physical abilities, we can easily jump back up." Mona pointed out.

"Yep! We got another entry point into the castle now!" Yang declared with a smirk under her mask.

"May as well use this chance to visit the Velvet Room..." Joker muttered to himself. "Be right back. It won't be too long, so just talk amongst yourselves." He then ordered.

"Don't worry about us, Joker. We're really good at that." Yang assured as the Leader nodded before walking over to the Velvet Room door as she then smirked. "Enjoy being beaten by your loli guards!" She soon called out in a joking tone.

"I will! Guh! I mean...goddammit." Joker sighed out before spacing out.

The others meanwhile chuckled and giggled to that mistake made by their Leader.

The ash blonde then turned to the tan skinned girl. "You're gonna be doing that all the time now aren't you?" Panther guessed in an amused tone.

"Oh yeah." Yang simply replied.

"He's gonna catch wise eventually." Mona pointed out. "And counter it with his own remarks. He seems to be quite smart. And kind of a smartass." He then added.

The tan skinned girl merely shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah I know, that's why I'll enjoy it while I can." Yang casually replied with a smirk on her face.

"That is so gonna bite you in the ass." Panther then got out.

Yin meanwhile then looked towards where their Leader was as she tilted her head. "...That butterfly again..." She mumbled out in a curious manner to the sight of the blue glowing butterfly as she then walked over to him. "Hmm?" She hummed out as brought her hand out towards the glowing insect.

"Yin! What are you doing!? Don't touch him!" Skull called out.

"I'm not though." Yin called back as the butterfly landed on her hand, her eyes flashing blue for a moment as she then shook it off. "Just seeing if he's alright." She then added, unaware as the butterfly then started flying again before landing on her head and fading away.

"Just get away from him! You could get hurt!" Yang warned in concern, worried for her roommate.

"Ok." Yin replied as she started walking back to the rest of the group before looking back at the Leader of the group. "Hm?" She hummed out once more in a confused manner. "...blue mist and...a door?" She meanwhile thought while squinting her eyes a bit. "Maybe I am going loopy..." She then mumbled out.

"Huh? You say somethin' Yin?" Skull then asked.

"Are you alright Lady Yin?" Mona meanwhile asked in concern.

The black full face masked girl however shook her head to that. "I'm fine. I guess I'm still getting used to being in the Metaverse." Yin replied while rubbing the back of her head in a sheepish manner. "...What was all of that...?" She mentally wondered in a curious manner.

"..." Kaeru meanwhile said nothing to this development as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Are you sure Yin?" Yang asked in concern. "You can always tell me sis." She then whispered for only the two girls to hear.

"Yeah, I'm alright Yang-nee..." Yin whispered back with a nod as she then looked back to where their Leader was, though still seeing the same things as before. "I probably should keep this to myself for now. I feel like it's a Akira-kun thing." She meanwhile thought in a more serious tone.

At that moment however, the black full face masked girl watched as the blue door open as their Leader came back to consciousness, however, then suddenly, two identical looking young girls came out.

"Eh?" Yin quietly got out to herself in confusion. "Who are they?" She soon thought.

"Hey Inmate!" One of the twins with the buns started in a rude tone. "You better be sure to obey our Master in regards to Personas." She reminded while holding what appeared to be a baton

"Alright, alright. Don't get your panties in a twist Caroline." Joker grumbled out before being whacked by the baton. "Augh! Right in the butt cheek." He got out in pain.

"There's a lot more from where that came from Inmate." Caroline then remarked.

"I hope you complete this part of your rehabilitation quickly." The other girl got out in a more gentle and softer tone.

Joker however sighed to that. "I'll do what I can Justine." He replied in a mutter while rubbing where he was struck. "Though the others think I'm a masochist lolicon after telling them about you two..." He then grumbled out.

"Aaaahhhh..." Yin quietly squealed out as she looked on in confusion and disbelief. "J-Joker was being serious!?" She meanwhile thought with her mouth gaping underneath her mask.

"How the hell do you fuse a Happy Squirrel Persona anyways...?" Joker grumbled out as he walked back to the group. "So, what have you been talking about while I was away?" He soon asked.

"W-Wait...Was that...Huh!?" Yin sputtered out in even more confusion as she looked at the young looking ash blondes with the eyepatches.

"Hm? What's wrong Yin?" Joker asked.

To that, the Vice Leader quickly dragged the Leader back towards the blue door, though confusing the others to the sudden action. "A-Are...are they Caroline and Justine!?" Yin then asked the Leader in a whisper before glancing down towards the young looking girls.

The Leader however blinked to that "...Excuse me?" He soon asked, not sure if he heard the Vice Leader correctly. "Wait a minute...are you telling me...?" He then started, only to watch as the girl nodded to that. "...Oh boy..." He awkwardly got out as he looked at the two wardens. "So uh...Believe me now?" He then asked to try and lighten the mood.

Yin just nodded dumbly to that as she looked at the two little girls.

However the two wardens took notice of the girl staring intently at them. "Hm?...Can you see us?" Justine soon asked in a curious manner as the two then walked up to the black full face masked girl to examine her. "Strange. She does not have a contract, so she shouldn't be able to see us..." She then added.

"Ugh, just ignore her. One inmate is trouble enough. Besides, she doesn't even have a Wild Card." Caroline stated.

Yin however felt offended to that. "H-Hey! What's with that attitude!?" She then asked.

Justine however sighed to this. "Please excuse Caroline. She is always like this." She politely requested to the girl as her sister merely scoffed. "Though it is curious for someone who is not contracted with our master to be able to see us." She then admitted.

Joker meanwhile adjusted his mask to that. "Then how is Yin able to see you two and the Velvet Room door?" He soon asked. "I mean I'm glad that she's no longer going to think I'm crazy, but this is still strange." He then admitted.

"How should we know Inmate?" Caroline however countered in annoyance. "We don't exactly know the reason why Racks there can see us." She then remarked while pointing her baton at the girl.

"R-Racks!?...Okay, that's not as hurtful as Tits-For-Brains but that still hurts." Yin thought in an offended manner.

The twin with the bun then narrowed her single eye towards the girl. "Listen up Racks, you better make sure to help the Inmate here with his rehabilitation." Caroline ordered as she pointed her baton at the girl in a threatening manner.

This however confused the black full face masked girl. "Rehabili-What?" Yin got out in confusion.

The bun haired twin then smirked to that. "It means-" Caroline started explaining.

"I know what the word means, just what do you mean by that!?" Yin then asked her question in detail, interrupting the rude warden.

WHAM!

However that result in her getting struck in the stomach with the baton. "OMPH!" Yin got out in pain. "W-What was that for!?" She soon asked in confusion to the sudden action.

"Don't interrupt me next time, Racks." Caroline then ordered in a serious tone.

Justine meanwhile sighed to this once more. "I apologize for Caroline's actions." She replied. "Allow me to explain the Inmate's rehabilitation." She then offered.

Yin meanwhile groaned to the fading pain. "T-That would be nice Justine-chan." She meekly replied.

Tap!

"ITA!" Yin yelped out.

"No honorifics, please." Justine politely requested with a light blush on her face after she lightly tapped the clipboard against the girl's head.

The black full face masked girl however rubbed the sore spot on her head to that. "That tap felt like a punch!" Yin thought.

Joker meanwhile sweatdropped to this. "Would you believe me if I told you they haven't beaten me yet?" He soon asked.

"...I don't know if I should answer that." Yin however admitted while still rubbing her head.

Justine then looked towards the girl as she brought her clipboard to her side. "Allow me to properly introduce ourselves, I am Justine and my sister is Caroline. We are wardens of what is known as the Velvet Room, a place in between dream and reality, mind and matter." She soon started.

"O-Ok...Joker already explained some of that to us..." Yin then revealed as the pain faded from her body. "Though we really didn't believe him when he told us, at first." She soon admitted. "Though I definitely do now..." She concluded.

"Correct, usually those who have formed a contract come in contact with the Velvet Room. How you are able to see us and even the door to the Velvet Room itself is beyond us." Justine then admitted.

"Maybe Igor knows something about it..." Joker mumbled to himself. "Maybe I could ask him." He then suggested.

"Hey! Don't refer to our Master in such a casual manner, Inmate!" Caroline however demanded in annoyance.

Yin however tilted her head to that. "Master?" She repeated in the form of a question.

"The master of the Velvet Room I mentioned." Joker explained in a serious tone.

"Correct, our Master was the one who came in contact with this Inmate as a means to determine his future." Justine then revealed.

"His future? What do you mean?" Yin then asked.

"He means to oppose the fate of ruin upon the world." Justine soon answered. "Which is why he needs to be rehabilitated towards freedom." She then added.

"Um...I don't get it." Yin soon admitted. "What does this mean exactly?" She soon asked.

"He has to change the world by becoming an excellent thief, Racks." Caroline bluntly declared.

"...That sounds contradictory." Yin awkwardly pointed out.

This however caused the braided hair warden to tilt her head. "Hm? How so?" Justine questioned in a curious tone.

"Well, you're encouraging him to do illegal things to break out of prison and-ACK!" Yin started explaining before being struck with the baton again. "W-Why!? I-I was just pointing it out!" She got out as she rubbed her stomach again.

"That, Racks, was for doubting our Master." Caroline declared as she held her baton.

Yin however groaned to that. "Please stop calling me Racks." She mumbled out.

"Okay, Tits-For-Brains!" Caroline replied in a smug tone and a smirk on her face.

"On second thought, I'll take Racks..." Yin quickly corrected while the bun haired girl's smirk never left her face in an amusing manner.

Justine however sighed to this. "Once more, I apologize for my sister's actions." She replied.

"Well, you're not stopping her..." Joker quietly muttered out.

"So um...can you please more on what your helping Joker with exactly?" Yin soon requested.

"Of course." Justine replied. "Our duties as wardens to the Inmate are that we help with Persona fusions, improvement and management." She then explained.

"So...is it true that in there, it's a prison for Joker?" Yin soon asked while looking at the Velvet Room door. "...And that you execute his Personas for him to gain new ones?" She then added.

The Leader in turn nodded to that. "Yeah, apparently I'm a prisoner of fate and the reason it's a prison is because of the state of my own heart." Joker soon revealed.

"And do not worry about the executions, they are only the discarding of old personalities for a new one." Justine then revealed. "And we also have a Compendium will allow the Inmate to summon them once more if he wants to, for a price though." She explained.

Yin in response nodded to that. "So, they don't die." She stated before sighing. "That's a relief." She then admitted.

"So...You won't mind if I fuse away Jack Frost?" Joker cautiously asked.

"WAH! Yes I would mind!" Yin exclaimed with a pale face underneath her black full face mask.

"Yep that was the response I was expecting." Joker mumbled out. "I could always just resummon him afterwards." He then suggested.

"I refuse Joker." Yin however declared in a defiant tone while crossing her arms over her chest with a puffed up cheek.

"Even if there's something cuter than Jack Frost?" Joker added.

"Mmmm..." Yin moaned out in the same defiant manner. "Nothing is cuter than Jack Frost." She countered.

"Not even-" Joker once more started.

"No means no Joker!" Yin concluded, interrupting the Leader immediately.

"Hm, I am banning Black Frost from being fused." Justine stated as she started writing on the clipboard.

"Please don't." Joker requested as he looked at the wardens. "Is there a way to keep Jack Frost but not as part of my forces?" He then asked. "Like him being a mascot or a sub Persona if that makes sense?" He soon added.

"That is not in your rights, Inmate." Caroline stated in an annoyed tone.

Joker however sighed to this as he knew this was a difficult situation. "Yin! Use Overwhelming Cuteness on Caroline and Justine!" He suddenly ordered.

This however surprised everyone else present. "Huh?" The twin wardens and the black face masked girl got out in confused unison to the sudden order by the Leader.

(Cue Time to Make History by Shihoko Hirata)

"Inmate, what are you-!" Caroline started in confusion.

Justine however readied herself. "Caroline. This is no longer a negotiation. This is a battle they are challenging us to, and we shall not fall." She declared.

"Wait what!?" Caroline got out in even more confusion to this turn of events. "This wasn't a negotiation to begin with!" She countered.

"Nonetheless, as our relationship with our guest is that of prisoner and warden, we cannot allow him to win." Justine then stated.

"Why am I the only sane one here?" Caroline sighed out. "Okay, fine! Anyways, I can't allow the Inmate to hold something so petty over us." She soon decided.

"Yin! This is for the fate of Jack Frost! As co-leaders, we must fight for what's right, even if it costs us our lives!" Joker declared, deciding not to mention this was somewhat fueled by the soft feeling he liked from the Vice Leader.

"Yes sir!" Yin replied as she prepared herself. "For Jack Frost!" She then declared.

"What is going on though?" Caroline once more asked herself in confusion. "Is it cause of the Happy Squirrel?" She then wondered. "No...It's something more!" She soon realized as her single eye widened in shock.

"Hmm? What do you mean Caroline?" Justine then asked in a confused tone as she looked back at the black full face masked girl. "Is there actually something special about this girl beside the fact that she can see us and the door to the Velvet Room?" She then added to question.

"I'm...not entirely sure." Caroline soon admitted. "But we'll worry about this later, we have to teach them that we are the wardens and they are the inmates, Racks included!" She then declared as she readied her baton.

Yin meanwhile kept the determined expression on her face as she looked at her foes. "Bring it on." She countered.

Joker meanwhile took in a deep breath as he looked at the Vice Leader before looking at the twins. "Well...it's showtime!" He declared while adjusting his gloves.

Meanwhile with the rest of the group...

"You have any idea what's going on over there?" Skull asked.

"I'm not sure, but I'm kinda afraid to find out." Panther stated.

Yang meanwhile looked on in concern as she watched as her roommate got into her battle stance. "What is my precious Yin doing?" She offhandedly thought in concern.

Back with the Leader...

The Vice Leader then took in a deep breath. "From the depths of my soul!" Yin quietly called out, taking off her mask before putting on the cutest face she could muster. "Pweeeeeese~!?" She soon started in a cutesy tone with in incredibly adorable puppy dog eyes and slightly tilting her head.

BANG! BANG!

"URK!" The twin got out as they suddenly winced in pain.

"W-What was that?" Justine asked in confusion, holding her chest.

"How should I know Justine!?" Caroline responded in the same amount of confusion to the sudden pain she received.

Yin however was oblivious to what the twins were talking about.

"Fine...if you're not holding back, we'll actually start trying." Justine replied. Despite her voice sounding dull, they could hear a slight threatening undertone. "Persona." She declared blue fire surrounded her. "Maragi!" She then commanded as a Jack o Lantern appeared by her side.

FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH!

"Incoming!'' Joker commanded with widened eyes as they quickly dove out of the way as two fireballs came at them.

"Eh?" Yin got out as her eyes widened in shock. "T-They can use Personas too!?" She exclaimed in a panic.

"Of course they can use Personas! Why didn't I realize they can use Personas!? Their role is doing stuff with my Personas!" Joker mentally scolded himself.

Caroline meanwhile smirked to that. "Hehe, looks like you underestimated us Inmate, Racks." She remarked in an amused and confidant tone.

Joker however narrowed his eyes to that. "I thought this was just gonna be a fight based on cuteness, but I can work with this." He thought with a smirk.

"Moh! Everyone's always calling me stupid nicknames like that~" Yin then whined as she looked at the twins after getting back to her feet. "Can we just talk this out~?" She soon asked in the same cutesy tone with another tilt of her head.

BANG! BANG!

"GAH!" The twins got out in union pain once more as they held their chests.

"A-Again!? She didn't even attack!" Caroline exclaimed in confusion.

"You can't handle the cuteness, can you?" Joker taunted with a smirk on his face. "Well, eat this! Jack Frost!" He commanded as he removed his mask.

"Hee hoo hee!" The small Persona squeaked out.

"Ravage them!" Joker commanded. "...W-With hugs. Don't Bufu them." He then added to the order.

"Hee hoo hee!" The Persona squeaked out once more as it flew towards the twins, soon embracing the bun haired twin in a hug.

"This. Is so. Stupid." Caroline deadpanned in a muffled tone while the Persona hugged her head.

The braid haired twin however giggled to seeing her twin in her current situation. "I quite like it actually." Justine admitted. "However, this is a futile effort. Begone." She ordered as she brought her clipboard out. However when she was about to hit the Persona off...

WHACK!

The clipboard instead struck the twin as a result of Jack Frost jumping off the bun haired girl at the end, laughing all the while.

"OW! That hurt Justine!" Caroline got out in pain.

Justine however held her head to that. "I know. I felt it." She soon revealed.

"...I'm...not gonna ask about that..." Joker thought while the Persona floated back to his side. "Nice one Jack Frost." He then praised with a smirk on his face.

"No violence, Joker! If we hurt them, we can't convince them!" Yin declared in a concerned manner.

"But they struck each other." Joker bluntly reminded. "Er, well, and herself as well but um..." He then started, but trailed off, not knowing how to word it.

The Vice Leader however shook her head to that. "No redirection! We can only beat them with our wits...and invoking the thoughts of puppies!" She then stated.

"...Ok?" Joker replied in an awkward and confused manner. "Might as well just roll with it." He meanwhile thought to himself.

"So, you have a plan?" Yin soon asked.

"Working on one, but you better give me some time." Joker replied.

"On it!" Yin got out, taking in a deep breath.

"Take this!" Caroline began. "Mabufu!" She declared.

Suddenly, two small icebergs started appearing around the two Leaders.

"AAHH!" Yin screamed out as she dived out of the way. However, the Leader just stood there. "Joker!" She exclaimed in shock and concern.

"I have a resistance to Ice." Joker pointed out...before the small iceberg shot out like a spike and hit him in the groin. "...Nope. Doesn't matter." He squeaked out before flopping onto the ground.

"J-Joker! Media!" Yin called out as the white glow surrounded the two.

"Thank you." Joker groaned out as they got up.

"Oh great, she has Media, just perfect!" Caroline grumbled out in annoyance.

"Do you want to use Megidolaon, then?" Justine asked.

"...Hrm...Nah...Too easy." Caroline replied as she shook her head in a casual manner.

"What the hell is a Megidolaon?" The two leaders thought as sweat ran down their heads in concern and fear.

Quickly shaking off the fear, the Vice Leader regained her determined expression. "Come on! We can do this!" Yin encouraged while removing her mask. "Kaeru! Do something cute!" She soon ordered.

The Vice Leader's Persona meanwhile looked to that. "I do not know any Charm skills." Kaeru pointed out.

"Th-Th-Then...don't...use...skills...?" Yin awkwardly suggested.

Kaeru however could only stare blankly at her other self.

"...You're going to die now." Caroline stated in a serious tone.

"I know." Yin sighed out.

At that moment, both girls were on the attack.

"Maqua!" Caroline declared.

"Mazio!" Justine declared.

"Why!?" Joker growled in frustration as they dived out of the way of the mini-tidal wave coming their way that was then charged with lightning. "I can't rely on Jack Frost, I have to change it up." He thought as he mentally went through his current Personas. "Please tell me you have something, Incubus!" He commanded as he removed his mask and was circled in blue flames.

"Hehe, never knew you were into lolis Trickster." Incubus remarked in amusement.

"...I will fuse you after this." Joker deadpanned. "So, what do you think you can do against them?" He then asked.

"Well, there's always-" Incubus started with a wicked smile on its face.

The Leader's eye however twitched to this. "Already know what you're gonna say. Good-bye!" Joker instantly replied as he dismissed the current Persona. "Fuck it. Arsene! Convince these lovely ladies with your natural charm!" He soon ordered.

On command, the Trickster's starting Persona flew towards the twin wardens.

"My, such mischievous young girls. You should be out playing with others, instead of trapping yourselves in that prison!" Arsene soon stated.

"I am sorry, Arsene. But it is our duty to our Master." Justine apologized swiftly.

"Yeah! Now go back! You can't make us for your words and...handsome looks..." Caroline got out.

"What?" Joker and Arsene got out.

"SHUT UP!" Caroline soon yelled out in a flustered manner.

"It seems that my job here is done. The rest is up to you." Arsene stated before returning into Joker's soul.

"Is that all you have, Trickster?" Justine asked with a slight taunting tone in her voice.

"Couldn't take them down..." Joker growled.

"Follow up!" Yin called out.

"Go for it, Yin!" Joker cheered out as the Vice Leader stepped towards the twins.

"...I don't know what to do." Yin thought as she closed her eyes and looked at her Persona. "Kaeru?" She mentally asked.

"I don't know what to do too, I am supposed to be a lucky frog. Not some cuteness generator." Kaeru calmly informed.

"I-I know, but still..." Yin awkwardly mumbled out.

"...Uh, Yin. You've just been standing there for, like, five minutes." Joker spoke up.

"H-Huh? O-Oh...I've been. . I've been..." Yin stammered out, not sure what to say.

"Discussing something with your Persona?" Joker guessed.

The Vice Leader in turn nodded to that. "Y-Yeah..." Yin awkwardly replied.

"Hah! Aren't you supposed to know how to seduce people? Wow, you kinda suck." Caroline laughed out.

"I expected nothing, but they have somehow managed to deliver even less." Justine quipped.

"Why are you so mean...!?" Yin whined out.

"Shut up Tits-For-Brains." Caroline demanded, causing the Vice Leader's heart to be stabbed in a metaphorical manner.

"Th-That's worse than any other physical pain I ever experienced." Yin thought, tears forming in her eyes.

BANG! BANG!

"Ack! Counter!" Caroline winced, her heart beating faster than normal now to the sight of the tears.

"...Understood." Justine responded, though seemed to be hesitant while looking at the Vice Leader with a small blush on her face. "Caroline, this has gone on too long. Shall we...go All-Out?" She soon suggested.

"What!?" Joker and Yin gasped out.

Caroline in turn smirked to that. "Gladly." She replied as the two jumped into the air.

"Well, this could be bad." Joker got out.

"This is your punishment for disobeying those of the Velvet Room." Caroline declared.

"Face punishment." Justine meanwhile ordered as the two sisters rushed at the two Leaders.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

"AAAAHHHHH!" Yin screamed out.

"Oh, so this how it feels." Joker causally thought as he was beaten.

"Don't get so cocky." The twins soon demanded in serious unison.

"A-Ah..." Yin groaned out from the ground.

"You still alive?" Joker asked as he slowly stood up.

"Y-Yeah." Yin replied while getting to her feet. "W-Who are these people...?" She then muttered out.

"We are your wardens, and you are our inmates." The twins declared in perfect unison. "So bow down to your master!" They then demanded.

"They're holding back massively... I know it..." Joker thought as he glared at the twins.

"We...We...We can't win..." Yin panted out in an exhausted manner.

"Hmph! So you fin-" Caroline started, however...

"But! I will never concede." Yin interrupted. "Just because we have a slim chance of winning this...doesn't mean it's impossible! 1% can mean 100% in the end!" She soon declared.

"...What?" Caroline then got out in confusion.

"I can't give up. That is not something I can physically do." Yin thought in determination. "I have no choice...but to do the impossible." She added to her thoughts in a serious tone.

"...What are you planning?" Kaeru then asked in a concerned manner.

"Something that'll turn the tide...hopefully..." Yin mentally replied as she then gulped in a nervous manner.

Joker then looked at his fellow Leader. "Yin?" He questioned.

"I-I won't give up! This...will be my finale!" Yin declared as a green aura surrounded her.

Back with the rest of the group...

"This radiance...Her cuteness...I can feel it from here!" Yang thought as her eyes widened. "Is Asuka...showing her true form!?" She added to her thoughts in excitement to the mere idea, gaining a giddy expression on her face as a result.

The ash blonde meanwhile sweatdropped as she looked at the tan skinned girl. "...I don't know who I should be more worried about. Them or you." Panther admitted.

"For the love of God, let this end already." Mona groaned out in a antsy tone.

Back with the Leaders...

"Your finale? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Joker asked. "Like, are you gonna go out with a bang or pull off some ultra cute move to finish them." He then added.

"...The second one..." Yin awkwardly replied with a nod as she watched the two wardens walked towards them.

"What can you do, Tits-For-Brains? Do you want us to show you another fraction of our power?" Carolina taunted.

"No, I'm gonna show you all of my power! Here we go! My super secret technique!" Yin called out as she powered up. "WROOOOOOOAH!" She suddenly began to roar as the green aura intensified.

"She's about to do something!" Caroline called out.

"I don't know what but I don't like it. We must stop her." Justine soon suggested.

"Alright, here comes-" Caroline started, however...

BOING! BOING!

Suddenly, the two wardens were suddenly enveloped into a hug as their heads were pressed into the Vice Leader's breasts.

The warden's single eyes widened in shock in confusion to this sudden action. "Soft." The twins unintentionally thought.

"Aw...You two just wanted hugs didn't you~?" Yin cooed out as she rubbed the two warden's backs in a tender manner.

"..." The two wardens meanwhile were motionless and speechless to this.

"L-L-Let go!" Caroline stammered out.

"Nope!" Yin however countered as she tightened her hug.

"...You're...surprisingly warm and comfortable..." Justine commented.

Yin in turn smiled under her mask to hearing that. "And you'll get much more if you concede." She then offered.

"W-Well, that wouldn't be th-What am I doing!? Get away!" Caroline exclaimed as she and her twin sister pulled away from the girl, both of them blushing rather hard.

Joker soon smirked to that. "She struck their weaknesses!" He thought.

"Alright, we're going All-Out!" Yin declared as the two then rushed at the twins. "Wait! We can't hurt them!" She panickingly reminded.

"Who said anything about hurting them? Follow my lead!" Joker commanded as he leaped into the air.

"O-Ok." Yin replied as she followed the Leader and jumped into the air as well.

"PERSONA!" Joker called out as he summoned Arsene, prompting Yin to do the same with Kaeru as they landed. Suddenly, both Joker and Arsene grabbed Yin and Kaeru's hand respectively and started ballroom dancing with them.

Admitting, it was less cute and more stunning.

"Finale!" Joker announced as he twirled Yin around before leaning against each other back-to-back.

"We'll steal your heart!" Joker, Yin, Arsene and Kaeru declared in unison as they pointed finger guns at them and fired.

"AAAAAHHHH!" The twins screamed out as they held their chests. It felt like they were shot straight through the heart with that.

"They are becoming more powerful. We end this." Justine suggested.

"I agree. We will take their hearts!" Caroline declared.

Meanwhile with the rest of the group, they just...stared at their two leaders, who seemed to just be flailing around, shouting nonsense while summon their Personas to do something. "...Hey, remember when you said that you're glad to have them as leaders?" Skull asked.

"Nope. Not at all." Mona replied.

"How long have they been acting like that?" Panther questioned as she checked her phone.

"For the love of...JOKER! YIN! GET YOUR ASSES HERE RIGHT NOW OR I WILL DO IT MYSELF!" Yang shouted out. "...P-Please?" She quietly requested.

"In a minute Yang!" Yin called back in a casual manner.

"Okay, fine." Yang sighed out.

"It's not gonna be a minute." Skull deadpanned.

"I know." Yang groaned out. "Sis, I don't know what you're doing, but you better get it done soon..." She then thought to herself.

Back with the Leaders...

"Keep it up, Yin! SHOW NO MERCY!" Joker cheered on as Yin kept pressing the advantage.

"Had enough Caroline-chan! Justine-chan~?" Yin innocently asked in a cute manner.

BANG! BANG!

"She's relentless!" The twins thought in unison.

"Come on! I have to keep going! I won't let this end until we win!" Yin thought in determination. "Pwease, my wardens, allow us this small freedom!" She soon requested.

BANG! BANG!

Immediately, the twin wardens began to stagger as a result of the request.

"Well...it may not be that bad..." Justine suddenly admitted while lowering her guard slightly.

"Wha!? Justine! D-Don't give in like that!" Caroline exclaimed in shock to how her twin responded.

"I am not. You are Caroline." Justine responded.

"N-No I'm not!" Caroline retorted with the blush still on her face while stomping her foot.

Meanwhile the two Leaders looked on as their opponents were fighting amongst each other and lost concentration on them.

"They're distracted! This is our chance!" Joker called out.

"Let's finish this! Heartbreaker!" Yin soon declared before taking in a deep breath as she unintentionally began sparkling some more. "Its alright Caroline-chan, Justine-chan, I'll forgive you for hurting us if you surrender~ Pweeeease~?" She soon declared in a cutesy tone as her eyes sparkled while she gave off an incredibly adorable expression.

SHIIIIIIIIIINE!

Joker soon smirked to the display as he then noticed the shocked wardens. "She got them." He thought in a satisfied tone.

For the wardens, they took on the full force of their female opponent's attack, not being able to look away from the Vice Leader. "S-SHE'S TOO CCCCCCUUUUUUUTTTTTTTEEEEEEEE...!" Justine and Caroline exclaimed as they futilely shielded themselves from the Vice Leader's radiance.

(Stop Music)

Soon enough, the light faded as the Leader unshielded his eyes. "...What the hell just happened?" Joker slowly asked in confusion as he stared at the shivering and sobbing twins that were down on their knees. "...and did they say what I think they said?" He meanwhile thought to himself.

The Vice Leader tilted her head to that in an innocent manner. "Um, I guess we won..." Yin awkwardly replied as she looked at the two. "So, are you gonna do something about Jack Frost or do I have to convince you again?" She soon asked in a same innocent manner as the two leaders looked at the twins.

"A-Alright!" Caroline and Justine got out in unison while adorable blushes on their faces. "W-We'll allow the Inmate to have that specific Jack Frost as a Sub Persona!" They soon declared.

"A Sub Persona?" Joker repeated in the form of a question.

The twin wardens in response nodded to that. "You equip another Persona, however you do not get its strengths and weaknesses, but you will get their resistances if they have one." Justine then explained.

"..." The two leaders then stared blankly at the twins.

"Basically since you have Jack Frost as a Sub Persona, you have a resistance to Ice now Inmate." Caroline bluntly revealed. "This is applied to all Personas you currently are using. However, it can only give one resistance and you cannot choose if they have more than one. Stronger Personas may even bring something more than a resistance." She then added.

"That...sounds useful honestly." Joker soon admitted. "Can't believe that came out from essentially a more convoluted form of begging." He then added in an awkward manner.

"Oh, don't worry Inmate. You'll need to do more than beg to allow access to more to the Velvet Room from now on." Justine stated as she wrote down "Start daily beating upon next visit" on her clipboard.

"Er... thanks...?" Joker hesitantly got out as an ominous feeling ran down his spine.

"Yes, but he will have access to another to use for fusions." Justine then explained. "...Is that reasonable?" She soon asked.

"Two Jack Frosts? Even better!" Yin cheered out wit stars in her eyes.

The avian masked Persona user meanwhile chuckled to that. "Can't you just turn him into a living plushy or something? Wouldn't that be easier and way more convenient?" Joker soon suggested.

The Vice Leader's eyes instantly widened to that idea. "...Oh my God, please do it." Yin soon begged with starry eyes.

"W-Wait, we can't just-" Caroline started.

"Yin, sparkle harder!" Joker bluntly ordered, interrupting the girl.

The bun haired twin's eye widened to that. "Okay! Okay! Just please stop! Where are those sparkles coming from anyway!?" Caroline begged while also being confused to the reason why they lost.

"I'm not sure, but I'm just gonna assume it's better not to know..." Joker replied.

"I agree, Inmate." Justine admitted. "You will get your... Jack Frost plushie... on a later date. Please ignore that explanation of sub Personas for now." She then added, sounding slightly exasperated.

"Yes! That's how it's done!" Yin cheered out. "Thank you Caroline-chan! Justine-chan!" She happily and innocently replied while hugging the two.

Caroline's blush then deepened to the contact. "D-Don't make this a misunderstanding about this Racks, w-we're only d-doing this for the Inmate's rehabilitation..." She countered in an uneasy manner while struggling to break free.

"Yes, all for the Inmate's rehabilitation." Justine then stated, though the blush never left her face while not even struggling. "However, this will not happen again. Isn't that right, Caroline?" She questioned.

The bun haired twin however stomped her foot to that. "Hey! You crumbled first Justine!" Caroline reminded.

The Leader of the group however smirked to this occurrence. "That's not what your face says." Joker soon thought. "Er, thanks." He then awkwardly got out.

Caroline in response scoffed to that. "Words are meaningless. You can thank us by avoiding ruin." She then ordered.

The Vice Leader then released the two from the hug. "Don't worry, I'll try to help him any way I can." Yin replied with a nod.

The braid haired twin then bowed to that. "Until we meet again, Miss Asuka of the Happy Squirrel." Justine responded in a polite manner.

"Sure thing." Yin replied before realizing what she was called. "Wait, h-how do you know my name!?" She soon exclaimed in confusion.

"Duh, cause we are connected to the Inmate, Racks." Caroline remarked while rolling her single eye in annoyance. "Now get moving for your rehabilitation, Inmate!" She then ordered.

"Moh! Why does everyone make insults due to my chest?" Yin soon whined.

The Leader meanwhile chuckled as he looked at the Vice Leader. "I feel like I understand Asuka a little better. I bet when we hang out next time, our bond will grow stronger!" Joker thought as he pumped his fist.

"Joker, can you bring out Jack Frost?" Yin requested in an innocent manner.

"Sure." Joker answered with a shrug as he summoned the little guy.

Yin squealed at the sight of the Persona and went to her knees. "You're so adorable, Jack Frost." She soon cooed out as she hugged the Persona, with the Leader thoroughly enjoying the contact.

"I once threatened someone to buy something off me or else I committed suicide, ho!"Jack Frost casually revealed, causing the two leaders to freeze. "It was common practice back then, hee hoo." He then added.

The black full face masked girl however tightened her hold on the Persona. "Please never do that again, ok?" Yin soon requested.

"Don't worry, hoo, extortion is where it's at these days." Jack Frost innocently declared as he returned to the Leader's soul.

"...Well, we're already doing that anyway so I'd say that's a win." Joker awkwardly muttered out as they walked back to the group.

"Uh, Joker. For some reason you look a little more charming now." Mona noted as he then watched as the Leader couldn't help but pumped his fist at that. "What happened?" He soon asked.

"The greatest battle to ever happen, Mona." Joker casually replied, earning him even more weird looks.

"So uh... ready to go?" Joker asked.

They were only met with complete and other silence.

"...You think we're crazy, don't you?" Joker deadpanned.

The rest of the group slowly nodded.

Suddenly, Yang stormed up to the leader, grabbing his coat before she started shaking him around. "Why were you talking to air!? Joker! What did you do to Yin!?" She soon shouted out in an accusing manner.

"I-It's nothing Yang, really." Yin awkwardly replied as she looked at the bun haired twin that had a smug grin on her face, causing her to narrow her eyes with a puffed up cheek underneath her mask.

"Then what's with the obvious pout you have underneath your mask?" Yang then asked.

"...I'm not pouting." Yin lied.

"I can tell when you are." Yang responded in a deadpan tone.

"Yang, is me pouting more important than the infiltration?" Yin asked, trying to change the subject.

"Not when you're upset about something." Yang countered in a serious tone while crossing her arms over her chest. "So, what's up? You were mumbling something about your chest earlier." She then stated.

Yin however started sweating. "Well...I guess I'm still upset about the whole no underwear thing..." She awkward admitted.

This turn caused the tan skinned girl to the sigh. "So that's it." Yang thought as she then walked up to her roommate. "Sis, you're actually wearing underwear now." She then revealed in a whisper.

Yin's eyes widen to hearing that as she reached under her skirt to realize a familiar silky feeling, causing her to sigh in relief. "Yay!" She got out with satisfaction. "Wait, why didn't you tell me earlier?" She soon asked in confusion.

And now it was Yang's turn to start sweating. "W-Well, we were busy with the infiltration." She awkwardly replied. "Hey, what are the others doing anyway?" She soon asked to quickly change the discussion.

"Guys?" Yin called out in concern as they saw that the others were staring at them.

"Please let go of me." Joker spoke up.

Yang, upon realizing that she was once more holding onto the leader, soon dropping him unceremoniously to the ground. "Oh fuck, sorry!" She quickly apologized.

The Leader then took in a deep breath to this. "It's not a problem." Joker replied.

Panther then turned around from the guys of the group and slightly opened her outfit as she looked down it before sighing in relief. "Whew, got a bra and panties this time." She mumbled out.

"Still leaves little to the imagination though..." Joker meanwhile thought as he got up. "There is an unusual amount of nudity in your life, huh." He then awkwardly stated.

"Yeah...pretty much..." Yin and Yang replied in unison.

"Well, considering how we fight I guess you could consider it a part of the job description." Yang added.

"Man, and here I thought ninjas were like the ones from a manga or somethin'." Skull then got out while rubbing the back of his had. "Shadow clones, shootin' fireballs out of their mouth, that kind of shit." He then listed off.

"Yeah, well, sometimes I wish it was." Yang groaned out. "And Shadow Clones are unfortunately an extremely high ranking technique while I already use fire in my slash attacks with my swords." She then revealed.

"Can you at least walk on water?" Joker asked in a curious tone.

"Ha, that's easy for me." Yang then declared in a confidant manner before turning to her roommate. "How about you Yin?" She soon asked.

"I slip sometimes." Yin admitted in slight embarrassment. "B-But I do know it pretty well." She then added.

"...We're not teaching you." Yang suddenly deadpanned.

"I wasn't gonna ask about that." Joker replied with a sweatdrop.

"We're also not gonna teach you flight, invisibility, shapeshifting, the summoning of animals, and control over the elements." Yang then added.

"Okay, I was gonna ask about that." Joker then sighed out.

"Joker, it takes years to even learn that stuff and we're not gonna be around for that long. Just focus on what you can do now." Yang then explained. "Now let's get going. We've already wasted enough time being here." She soon reminded.

"Alright, Captain Kidd's itchin' for a fight right now." Skull stated as he pumped his fist while everyone started walking back to the new entryway into the castle.

Suddenly, without anyone noticing, the sash that kept Yin's kimono tied together undid itself.

"Hey, Yin, you still have the ma-" Joker started to ask as he turned around, only to stop and stare, a blush soon forming on his face.

"Hm? Joker?" Yin asked as she tilted her head to the side. "What were you gonna ask me?" She then added.

"I think he was going to ask about the maaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..." Mona started, only to trail off as he turned away while a small leak of blood came out of his nonexistent nose.

"What are you guys looking-oh my God!" Panther started asking before exclaiming in shock as she turned around as well.

"Hey, I thought we were goin'. We're running out of time and holy shit." Skull got out in surprise he quickly averted his gaze.

"Oh for the love of...Why do we keep wasting time!? What are you-SWEET FUCK!" Yang shouted out.

"What's wrong!? Is there something on my face?" Yin asked in panic as she touched her mask.

Yang meanwhile couldn't help but sweatdrop at that.

"Look down." Joker pointed out as he pointed downwards.

"Eh? Why?" Yin once more asked, this time in concern.

"J-Just look down." Panther instructed.

Yin, shrugging her shoulders, looked down.

Suddenly, she realised why everyone was staring at her.

"Uh...Yin...? You're actually kinda missing a bra..." Joker awkwardly pointed out, trying to look away with a blush on his face.

"Wha!?" Yin in response exclaimed in embarassed shock as she covered her chest with her arms. "Moh! Come on!" She soon whined with a blush on her face.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Caroline meanwhile laughed out from the Velvet Room entrance, though only the two Leaders could hear her.

Tap!

That was before her twin tapped her over the head with her clipboard. "Stop being mean to Miss Asuka." Justine ordered in a dead serious tone with her single eye narrowed.

"Ugh, what the hell Justine?" Caroline soon grumbled out in confusion while rubbing the back of her head from the pain. "You got hurt too!" She then reminded.

"A necessary evil." Justine automatically replied as she looked over her clipboard. "It would be wise for you to respect Miss Asuka from now on Caroline." She then advised in a threatening tone with her eye narrowed.

"Ugh, what the hell..." Caroline once more mumbled out in confusion as she just pouted in annoyance.

"Caroline..." Justine got out in a more threatening tone and her eye narrowed. "No more insulting Ms. Asuka." She then demanded.

"Only if you stop hitting me!" Caroline called out. The twins proceeded to argue after that.

Back with the group...

"OI! STOP LOOKING!" Yang shouted out as she stood in front of the boys...her back facing them as she tried to cover their eyes. "The only person who can see her like that is me dammit!" She mentally declared.

She then paused in thought as she realized how creepy that sounded, even in her head.

"...Maybe I should see a therapist." Yang thought, ignoring the fact that the not cat of the group was tilting his head around her to stare at the topless girl, who was trying to hide her genitalia with her kimono.

The ash blonde then started twirling one of her pigtails in an awkward manner. "Well, you have to admit that if you wore a bra, it would ruin your outfit." Panther admitted.

"R-Really?" Yin meekly asked.

"Maybe you should start wearing bandages under there." Yang suggested.

The ash blonde however shook her head to that. "I wouldn't, wearing bandages are unhealthy." Panther however declared.

Yin in turn nodded in agreement. "Yeah! That's what I said!" She replied as she then looked at her roommate. "...Are you wearing bandages in the real world?" She soon asked.

"Urk!" The tan skinned girl got out as she remembered that this time, she went and unintentionally bandaged her chest while her roommate was cooking breakfast. "...No." Yang lied.

The two other girls could help but groan and pinch the bridge of their nose. "We just went shopping..." Panther grumbled out.

Yang in turn pouted to that. "Come on, it's a habit that was given to me by my former family..." She grumbled out.

"Blaming your problems on other people, huh, Homura?" Wolverine sighed out. "I mean, there's always the possibility that you just like wearing bandages without any outside influence whatsoever but okay. That's fine." She then added.

Yang couldn't help but sigh. She could hear the sarcasm dripping from her Persona's voice.

"I mean, there's always the possibility that you just like wearing bandages without any outside influence whatsoever but okay. That's fine." Joker pointed out, unknowingly repeating after the tan skinned girl's Persona.

"..." Yang only stared at the Leader of the group before cocking her guns. "...This isn't a threat. I just forgot to cock my guns." She stated in a deadpan tone.

"That is a lie and you know it." Skull bluntly stated.

"Also I call discrimination. I don't have underwear and I'm sure Skull doesn't have any." Joker declared in a deadpan tone.

"Uh...Nope. I have a pair." Skull pointed out after he did a quick check.

The tan skinned girl then narrowed her eyes to that. "Too much info guys, too much info." Yang remarked in a deadpan tone.

"Then what's the appropriate amount of info?" Joker asked.

"Anything but that!" Yang automatically replied. "God, you are the weirdest person I've ever met. And that is saying something." She then added.

"The correct term is fun." Joker stated. "Now let's help Yin find her sash, she's already cold as it is." He then suggested. Panther and Yang nodded and started looking for the fallen sash.

Eventually, the Vice Leader found her sash and the ash blonde helped her tie it as secure as she could.

"Well Yin," Yang started. "At least it's better than completely nothing underneath." She then awkwardly reassured.

"This feels like it's worse than nothing." Yin whispered out.

"Considering how things are going for us, this probably won't be the worst thing to happen to you this month." Joker pointed out.

"Not if I have anything I can do about it." Yang mentally growled.

"Can we please stop talking about underwear and keep going?" Panther soon asked. "Do I have to be the one who keeps telling everyone to keep on track here?" She then added.

"Sorry, Panther. But it's a marathon, not a race." Joker answered. "We can't rush through and waste all of our energy." He then reminded.

"But Panther is right. We should hurry this up, unless anyone else has a question to ask?" Mona spoke up.

"So beside that, any new Personas Joker?" Skull soon asked.

Joker however sighed to that. "Nope, sorry, didn't have the money or experience for any new ones." He responded. "Though I did register the ones I already have in case I fuse them into any new one so I can then resummon them later." He revealed followed by the explanation. "...Though I still have to pay some Yen if I want to..." He then awkwardly admitted. "Which makes me question what the hell they use the money for..." He then muttered out as he looked at the two wardens.

"That's our secret, Inmate!" Caroline called out in a smug manner.

"Wait, they make you pay real money for that shit!? The hell!?" Skull then asked in disbelief.

"Even in the Metaverse, the economy hates us." Yang deadpanned.

"At least Shadows drop money, however that works." Panther stated. "It could very well be counterfeit money for all we know." She then added.

"Just don't think about it too hard and let's continue our infiltration." Mona deadpanned as the rest nodded, heading back into the castle.


(Central Hall)

Soon, the group re-entered the main hallway of the castle.

The Vice Leader then took in a deep breath to calm herself down. "Ok! Back to adventure!" Yin soon happily declared.

"Don't you mean stealing shit?" Skull pointed out.

"Back to stealing shit!" Yin corrected. "...Its alright for me to swear right?" She then asked in a more innocent manner.

Yang however smirked to that under her mask. "Go nuts." She replied in an approving tone.

Yin in turn smiled happily. "Fuck yeah!" She declared before a giggle escaped her lips. "Guess I'm a bad girl now huh?" She then got out in a joking manner.

The Leader in turn chuckled in amusement. "A bad girl would kick puppies for fun. You're a rebel like the rest of us." Joker stated in an encouraging tone.

The white full face masked girl however narrowed her eyes to that in an offended manner. "Oi, I never kicked puppies." Yang declared in a deadpan tone. "And none of the other girls at Hebijo do either." She then added.

"As far as you know." Skull and Panther mentally added.

"You do kick heads though. Off their shoulders." Joker pointed out. "Also, I wasn't exactly referring to you..." He then added.

"...Blame orders from asshole adults and I never did that myself to anyone." Yang countered. "Admittingly came close though." She then mumbled out.

"...Do I wanna ask?" Skull spoke up.

"No." Yang replied in a deadpan tone instantly.

"Alright. Let's roll." Joker ordered as he started walking off.

"Hey, we still haven't opened this treasure chest yet." Yin pointed out as she pointed towards the glowing chest with a large gold lock on it. "...Anyone have a lockpick?" She then asked.

The Leader soon stepped forward. "I have a few." Joker replied.

SMASH!

"Or, you know, you could just do that." Joker added after the white full face masked Persona user destroyed the chest, lock and all.

"What? Better than wasting the lockpick right?" Yang then asked while also explaining her reason for what she did.

"If you're gonna do that, then we don't need lockpicks." Skull remarked in a deadpan tone.

"Though we should be more quiet if we pull a stunt like that. Do that only as a last resort from now on since it slightly increases the Security Level of the Palace." The not cat advised as he looked at the contents. "Ooh, a Gold Breastplate and an Onyx!" Mona revealed. "We can sell the Onyx for money!" He then declared with yen signs in his eyes.

"Huh, this might be useful..." Joker noted as he studied the Breastplate. "Looks like it's a piece of armor the stronger Shadows use." He then revealed.

"Isn't gold a pretty soft metal? It's kinda worthless as armor..." Yang pointed out.

"It's actually more useful to us as armor, though it looks like only the guys can wear it." Mona then explained.

"Uh, it doesn't look like strong piece of armor." Skull admitted while rubbing the back of his head.

"Uh, guys, it's made out of solid gold. We should just pawn it as soon as we leave the Metaverse." Panther suggested. "I mean we could use the money." She then admitted.

"Same with all the stuff I've been finding with my Third Eye." Joker then pointed out. "It'll all add up in the end." He then explained.

"You know, if someone is exploiting the Metaverse, they're probably filthy rich right now." Yang muttered out. "Look, someone wear it then sell it once we're back in the real world. We'll use the money to buy Kevlar or something on our next trip to Untouchable." She then stated.

"Sounds good." Skull said with a nod. "Leader should wear it though. He needs all the protection, bein' our trump card and all."

"That's very selfless of you, Skull." Mona noted.

"Thanks." Joker replied with a smile. "Don't worry though, I'll make sure to split the cash with everyone." He then reassured. "...Now how the hell do I put this on?" He then awkwardly asked.

FWOOSH!

Suddenly, the piece of armor burst into light blue flames as Joker then suddenly felt that his clothing felt different now. "Huh?" He got out in confusion. "My clothes feel like the armor now." He then revealed.

The rest of the group in turn blinked to that reveal."Really?" Yin asked in a curious manner.

"Yeah, it feels heavier than before." Joker explained as he then looked at the not cat. "Does that always occur?" He soon asked.

"Only if the one who wants to wear it, er, wants to wear it." Mona explained.

"Well that's...convenient." Skull awkwardly admitted. "Wait, then what happened to your real clothes?" He then asked.

"Calm down, you still have your uniforms or whatever clothes you usually wear." Mona started. "Think of it as...your normal clothes also taking on the properties of the pieces of armor you equip." He then explained.

"Like how our Thief Outfits change material to whatever we're wearing when we enter the Metaverse." Joker muttered out. "Okay, then what happens to the old armor?" He then asked.

"It just appears on the ground next to you, ready to sell. Don't worry about it." Mona answered as he then picked up the Dark Undershirt and placed it in the duffel bag.

"But that's my normal shirt." Joker pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's also more money for us. Sell everything you don't need." Mona stated. "Just don't think about it Joker. Some things are better left an unknown." He then informed in a nonchalant yet serious manner.

"But we're gonna be thinking about it now." The majority of the group however thought in unison as they all sweatdropped.

"Just don't think about it. Now come on, let's see if the safe room here will be good enough to plan in." Mona soon suggested as he entered a nearby door, with the others following suit.


(Central Hall Safe Room)

Everyone went into the safe room and had spread out to relax...despite having a 30 minute break prior.

They were feeling rather lazy right now.

"Hey Mona, I've been wonderin' about something." Skull suddenly started, getting everyone's attention. "I know this is crazy and all, but doesn't us getting strong feel like a video game where you grind a lot?" He then asked.

This in turn got the entire group's attention as the looked at the blond.

"And...right back to talking about nothing." Yang groaned out.

"...What?" Yin meanwhile got out, looking rather confused.

"Y-You know, like an RPG?" Skull explained.

"...A rocket launcher...?" Yang slowly got out. "And what's this about grinding!?" She then asked in more confusion.

"...Oh, right. They probably haven't even held a controller in their life." Joker muttered to himself.

"I think I heard Yagyū-chan and Hibari talked about grinding once..." Yin muttered out before blushing. "...But it might be related to something...different now that I think about it after learning the possible truth about Yagyū-chan..." She then added.

This however caused the others to blush. "Not...that type of grinding." Skull deadpanned as he then looked at the tan skinned girl. "How about you? Never played video games?" He guessed.

"...Had a very strict family before being tricked into becoming an Evil Shinobi, so no." Yang soon revealed and answered at the same time.

"I was honestly too busy to play video games. I was mostly training or making sushi with Jii-chan." Yin admitted as she scratched her head. "Though, I do know some things, but it's mostly in passing and overhearing stuff..." She then added.

Mona however sighed to that. "That's the usual lifestyle of a shinobi, using most of their time to study and train in the attempt to place the concept in their heads that they aren't humans and are just weapons." He depressingly revealed while shaking his oversized head.

"Yeah, but all work and no play makes people go...something something." Skull awkwardly admitted. "That was a movie quote, right?" He then asked.

"Doesn't matter. Besides, we came out relatively fine now that we have our Personas." Yang admitted. "Al-All things considering." She awkwardly added.

"Yeah. It's not the end of the world, we're just ignorant about a few things. We have an entire year to learn, so I'm making it count." Yin replied. "So, what are these RPG games?" She then asked in a curious and innocent tone.

"They stand for Role-Playing Game. General mechanics are levelling and growing one's character to however the player wants." Joker then explained.

"Ooooh." Yin got out with a nod as this interested her. "That actually sounds pretty fun. And what's grinding?" She then asked.

"Spending hours of your life killing the same enemy over and over again just for money and experience and wondering what you're doing with your life if you're spending so much time on something you won't touch for years." Panther surprisingly revealed as everyone then looked at her. "What? Girls play video games too." She got out in a slightly offended tone.

"Ah." Joker got out. "You just don't seem like someone who would." He awkwardly admitted.

"Well, you thought wrong. Me and my trusty PS2 have always been friends." Panther proudly declared.

The Leader in turn smirked to that. "Oh, you like the classics then? I'm more into the modern stuff myself though I don't mind going retro." Joker then admitted.

Yin however giggled to that. "I guess all of you will have to give us some recommendations then." She soon suggested.

"I will, though games, especially the hardware, are kinda expensive so you're on your own if you want the consoles. Or better yet, get a PC...Though it is a pain the ass to set up..." Skull then revealed.

"Do you two even have a TV in your apartment?" Panther soon asked.

"Oh, we do." Yin answered. "...Do we?" She then asked her roommate.

"Yeah, though we've been too distracted to use it for anything." Yang replied.

"Well, most people just watch stuff on their computers or phones these days. Or Webflix on anything." Panther explained.

"Well besides my job at LeBlanc, Jii-chan does send me a monthly allowance." Yin soon revealed.

"How much?" Joker asked in a curious manner.

"For LeBlanc or from Jii-chan?" Yin asked back in an innocent manner.

"Well, considering that I know the Boss hasn't even called you yet, I'd say Jii-chan." Joker answered.

"Oh, around five to fifteen thousand yen." Yin replied.

"...That must really suck." Skull replied with a wince.

"Well Jii-chan's already paying for me staying in my apartment building." Yin then revealed.

"But you need to buy food and other stuff just to live. Not to mention the Phantom Thieves Equipment and Supplies Fund." Panther pointed out.

"AKA Money for Joker." Joker fake-coughed out.

"Which is why I decided to get a job at LeBlanc. I knew I would need money to buy food and supplies." Yin then replied. "Though Yang will also need to find a job as well." She then admitted.

The tan skinned girl in response sighed to that. "Yeah, I gotta pay for myself as part of shinobi training, you have to learn to survive on your own in foreign environments." Yang then explained.

"But this isn't a foreign environment. This is in the middle of Tokyo." Skull deadpanned.

"Yeah, it was that secluded..." Yang awkwardly replied. "Luckily I'm pretty adaptive, so I got used to using a modern cell phone easily." She then revealed. "They're so easy to use these days." She soon admitted as her roommate nodded in agreement

"Ah, that's the beauty of ergonomic design." Joker replied with a smirk.

"No idea what that means, but I don't care." Yang countered with a satisfied tone while her roommate nodded in agreement once more.

"But seriously though, there's no way you could've been that out of touch with everything right? I mean you two do know there's an arcade in Shibuya right?" Skull then asked.

The two shinobi however tilted their heads innocently to that. "Arcade?" Yin and Yang slowly repeated in unison.

The two girl's Personas could only sigh to this innocence. "And this is why you two need to go out more." The two Persona stated in perfect unison.

The others could only look on in disbelief at the two girls as they could tell they were serious.

"...You know what a crane game is?" Skull soon asked.

"Uuuuh..." Yin awkwardly got out.

"Do you even know what a gachapon machine is?" Panther then asked.

"That sounds like a disease." Yang bluntly stated.

"Alright, final question. What is Arakure?" Joker soon enough asked.

"...A game...?" Yin and Yang awkwardly answered at the same time.

"...Oh my God." Joker groaned out.

"Yare yare daze..." Mona mumbled out while shaking his oversized head in a disappointed tone.

Joker then looked at the not cat. "Jojo reference? Really?" He got out in an amused tone.

"That was a reference?! Wait, what's Jojo?" Mona soon asked.

Skull's eye twitched. "Oh no! We are not talking about Jojo now! We're talking about Arakure and video games!" He declared as then looked at the two shinobis. "And are you two serious?" He then asked.

The two in response nodded to that. "Yeah. This Arakure thing doesn't seem that big of a deal." Yang replied with a shrug.

"People were robbin' each other just for a copy of Arakure 2! The government had to make a law for entries to never come out on Fridays!" Skull then revealed.

This in turn surprised the two. "R-Really?" Yin asked.

"Actually, that's the last one is a rumor but yeah, people were killing themselves over it. It's not as big as back in the day but it's still big in the public consciousness." Panther then got out.

"...People killed each other over video games..." Yang repeated in disbelief to the mere idea.

"Oh yeah, people have starved, been stabbed, been divorced...Forgotten children for a little too long..." Mona then listed off.

"For games..." Yin and Yang got out in unison.

"But those are the more extreme cases. And it's not restricted to games. There are plenty of crazy people out there." Joker soon revealed. "You wouldn't believe a thing about the waifu wars." He then added.

"Don't talk about the waifu wars, man. Never talk about the waifu wars." Skull got out with a shiver down his spine.

"That or husbando ones..." Panther then added.

The non-shinobi collectively shuddered at the memories.

"Still, it's pretty hard to believe how out of the loop you two are." Skull admitted.

"I really wanted to fulfill my dream of being a great shinobi like Jii-chan." Yin meekly revealed.

Skull however sighed to that. "Nothin' wrong with wanting to fulfill a dream." He admitted.

"My former family secluded us from the outside world...and Hebijo is away from society..." Yang depressingly revealed.

"And that makes a depressing amount of sense." Panther then got out in an awkward yet sympathetic manner.

"And well, not knowing about video games isn't the end of the world, plenty of people don't even know anything past Tetris. But this is a whole other level." Joker awkwardly admitted while rubbing the back of his head. "Like it's less locked out of the loop, and more locked out of society for you two." He then explained.

Mona once more sighed in disappointment. "Like I said, tries to make them weapons and no longer humans." He got out.

"You two really need to get out more besides clothes shopping and eating." Panther admitted.

"S-Sorry?" Yin awkwardly apologized. "I mean I used to get into fights when I was in middle school, but I really couldn't get myself interested into regular stuff." She then admitted.

"Yeah, and for me in middle school...it was when I got tricked by an Evil Shinobi and then kicked out of my family..." Yang meanwhile revealed.

"You had friends at the very least, right?" Panther soon asked in concern.

"Er...Well..." Yin and Yang awkwardly got out in unison.

However, that was all they needed for an answer.

"Seriously!? Yin, you're the friendliest person I've ever met!" Skull exclaimed as the black full face masked girl blushed at the compliment before turning to the white full face masked girl. "And you're...you know, nice to know, Yang. And you mean well." He then awkwardly added.

The tan skinned girl however rolled her eyes to that. "Thanks, jackass." Yang grumbled out in annoyance.

"Well, I have friends now. You guys, my team at Hanzō Academy..." Yin soon revealed as she then looked towards the tan skinned girl with a smile.

"That's because of circumstance. If you spend enough time with each other, or almost die a few times together, you just assume you're friends." Yang pointed out. "Have you ever gone out of your way to make friends?" She then asked.

"Well...you know the rule about not drawing attention to yourself...to keep them safe in case of a shinobi attack." Yin however reminded.

"So basically like a Sentai, Rider or superhero thing?" Joker then stated.

"Yeah. Like that...whatever those are..." Yin replied with a nod.

"Urgh, why am I not surprised...?" Skull groaned out. "How the hell did you think up of Kaito Change anyways...?" He quietly mumbled to himself.

"Oh that?" Yin replied as she heard the skull masked boy. "I honestly don't know myself, it was more like...the words came to me when I thought about it." She soon explained. "Not to mention that kaito means thief." She then added.

"There are benefits and disadvantages of being outside the public consciousness." Mona pointed out. "But this is getting increasingly sad the more we talk about you two." He then admitted.

"Maybe we should get back to what we were talking about before we get too depressed to continue." Panther suggested.

"...What were we talking again?" Skull asked.

"You mentioning our gaining of experience being similar to a video game." Joker answered.

"Yeah, we got super sidetracked on that one, though thanks for all the info for me and Yin." Yang admitted. "So uh, mind explaining?" She soon asked.

"Well, when you defeat a Shadow, some of its essence gets absorbed into your Persona. Once your Persona absorbs enough power, it breaks a sort of barrier within, allowing it to grow stronger or even use new skills. You're not technically learning new skills, it's more like being able to handle new skills. You yourself also get stronger as you use your Persona, bettering your stamina and mental fortitude. Even when attacking without your Persona, they're assisting you. I mean, come on, it's not like you're this strong in reality." Mona explained. "Er, shinobi notwithstanding, of course. I think you're actually weaker." He then awkwardly added.

"...Huh?" Yin and Yang got out in confused unison to that explanation. "Weaker?" They then asked at the same time.

Then they remembered when they were beaten to hell on their first visit to the castle.

"Oh, right..." Yang groaned out.

"Mind over matter, then." Yin muttered out. "I...I never felt so weak before I awakened to my Persona..." She then admitted.

The white full face masked girl nodded in agreement to that. "Same here..." Yang stated in a depressed tone as she narrowed her eyes.

"Well, you're stronger both physically and mentally now. And you'll get stronger as we continue being thieves." Mona assured the girls.

"But still, now that I think of it, sometimes growing stronger as a shinobi feels similar in that regard to an RPG game." Yang admitted with her roommate nodding in agreement to that before she began giggling in amusement. "I think Mirai even went and made the joke one time that our Max Level would be Level 50 or something. She joined Hebijo after middle school so she knows more about games." She then revealed.

"Really? Because most RPGs have their max level at ninety-nine or even a hundred." Skull then revealed as the Leader and ash blonde nodded in agreement.

This in turn caused the while full face masked girl to blink to this new information. "...You sure about that?" Yang soon asked in a hesitant manner as the blond nodded to that. "Uh...wow...that's a lot better than fifty." She then got out.

"Fun fact: 100 is more than 50." Joker stated.

"Ack! Oh fuck you!" Yang growled out.

"He's already catching wise Homura." Wolverine remarked in a playful tone.

Yang just ignored her Persona and sighed. "Okay, whatever. Just... Damn. Is being a phantom thief better than being a shinobi?" She soon asked.

"Well, not necessarily. Humanity is special because we're always improving, even in the smallest of aspects. We're not bound by limits, only if you believe you are." Mona informed.

"Besides, shinobi aren't that different from thieves. It's just with less murder and more stealing." Joker stated.

"I beg to differ considering the amount of Shadow blood we spill." Yin pointed out.

"Yeah, and there's also robbery and extortion." Skull added.

The ash blonde soon dropped her head in an exaggerated manner. "Can we please stop before this whole thing causes an existential crisis? I would rather not break down life-or-death situations and fights into video game mechanics and get used to threatening my enemies' lives for stuff." Panther sighed out.

"Actually, I'm kinda alright with that." Joker admitted, getting everyone's attention as a result. "My life is a dating sim now anyways, may as well throw in RPG dungeon crawling. All I need is a rhythm game and I'm all set." He meanwhile thought to himself in amusement.

"That's only because you're weird Joker." Yin stated with a small giggle.

"I think the correct term is fun." Joker joked. "Making the best out of a shitty situation." He then added.

"Well it can't get anymore shit than this!" Yang called out.

"Still though, you should go play some games on your free time." Panther then lectured. "Maybe we can all go to the arcade in Shibuya after taking down Kamoshida." She then suggested.

The two full face masked girls looked at one another for a moment before turning back to the others and nodding to that offer. "We would like that." Yin replied for the both of them.

Joker in turn smirked to that. "Let's open up their world then." He then declared. "After we send Kamoshida's crashing down though. Time to get a move on, I think we've rested enough." He soon stated.

"Okay, let's do this!" Skull called out as they all stood up and walked out the door.


(East Building 2F)

Having exited the safe room, the thieves quickly went to the next, ending up in another section of the castle.

"If the map's right, we still got a long way to go..." Skull groaned out as the Vice Leader checked the map.

"We're not even halfway there." Yin sighed as she put the map away. "Next time something volleyball related happens, I'm spiking Kamoshida in the nuts again." She soon declared.

This in turn surprised the Leader. "Okay, where did that come from?" Joker got out in confusion. "I'm not gonna stop you, but where did it come from?" He then added.

"Well, its 'cause he made his Palace so big and we got so much to traverse now as a result." Yin soon explained.

"Yeah but...eh, fuck it, it's easier to just blame him." Joker muttered out with a shrug.

"Hey, quiet down. Look to the left, there are Shadows here too." Mona warned as everyone crouched down. "Now, you can't just blindly rush into a fight. First you need to ascertain how strong they are." He then advised.

"Um, I don't think you've noticed but they all look the same." Yang deadpanned as her roommate nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, how're we supposed to do that?" Skull asked.

"Well, we'll need to observe the enemy's actions and get some insight into their skills." Mona answered. "It should be possible with the shinobi and Joker." He then added.

"Really? Because I'm not seeing anything." Yin admitted as the Leader's eyes flashed gold.

"Okay..." Joker muttered out. "I think I'm getting used to using Third Eye. I can pick out which Shadows are stronger, weaker or on level with us now." He soon revealed.

"There we go. As expected of our Leader." Mona praised.

"Guess we'll know who to pick fights with." Skull stated.

"It would also be good to not fight the Shadows with a red aura surrounding them." Mona advised. "Those ones are usually stronger than others." He then added.

"What if Joker recruits one of them? Would that help?" Yin then asked.

Mona merely shook his head to that. "Nope. They're too strongly connected to the ruler. We can only kill them." He replied.

"So they would be good for gaining experience, got it." Yang simplified. "Now let's get a move on." She then added as the others nodded in agreement, running down the halls, through a dining hall and all the while looting and taking down Shadows one by one.

Eventually they ended up at a locked door at the end of a wine cellar. "Welp, that's not happening." Joker mumbled under his breath.

"Wait...I can hear a faint breeze blowing in from somewhere...Is there another way through?" Mona spoke up.

This in turn caused the group to split up and look around the room.

A minute later, Yin found something as she climbed up one of the many wine shelves. "Hey, come up here! Another vent over here we can crawl through." Yin informed.

"Nice. Let's get go." Joker ordered as he jumped over to the Vice Leader and crawled into the vent, with the others following suit. Soon, they exited out of the vent and into a secluded room with only one guard with their back towards them protecting a chest.

"The King really needs to stop leaving guards alone." Yang whispered out. "Let's take it down and take what's in that chest." She then added.

"I agree, Lady Yang. Hey Joker, do you think we can ambush it from here?" Mona asked.

Joker nodded before leaping into the air. "From the sky!" Joker called out as he landed on the Shadow. "Show me your true form!" He soon commanded as he ripped off the mask while everyone else jumped down.

"It's just an Incubus!" Skull shouted out. "Take it down, cat!" He then demanded.

"Je ne suis pas un chat!" Mona called out as he pulled out his slingshot. "Eat it!" He declared as he shot the ball bearing, downing the demon.

"When did that cat learn French!?" Yang thought in confusion as her roommate's eyes sparkled at the sheer cuteness the not cat had displayed.

"Alright, asshat! This is a Hold Up!" Skull announced as every aimed their guns at the enemy.

"Joker, what are we doing with him?" Panther asked.

"...I want something rare. Give it up or you eat lead." Joker threatened.

"I'll give ya something rare, ya shitbird." The opposing Incubus replied as he gave them the middle finger, his tail flexing a little too.

"Actually, that seems really common from you." Yang snarked.

"Damn it. This one's not giving up. He's not even responding to your Incubus." Mona informed. "It's not cooperating. You know what to do, Joker." He then reminded.

Joker only nodded. "Leave nothing." He darkly ordered.

"You heard him! All-Out Attack!" Mona shouted out as they dashed towards the Shadow.

"No hard feelings!" Yin called out as they slashed and bashed the Shadow at blinding speeds before stopping to do their poses.

"Mission ac-wait, what?" Mona interrupted himself as soon as the team saw that the enemy had managed to live.

"The hell!? It's still alive!" Yang exclaimed.

"And it's... it's crying...?" Yin realised as she felt something stab her heart.

"Oh, it's surrendering!" Mona informed. "Remember what I said about Shadows not wanting to die? Well, this is another opportunity. Some Shadows just need a little bit more convincing to talk." He then explained with a smirk on his face.

"Uncle! This has gotta be it..." The Shadow got out in a strained tone.

"Oh, you're willing to talk now? Well too late." Joker growled, trying to sound as threatening as possible.

"I'll give ya that rare item you wanted! Just please let me live! I'm surrenderin' here!" The enemy Incubus begged.

This in turn got the Leader's attention, though kept his gun focused on the Shadow. "...Fine. But it better be something good." Joker relented.

"Thank you! Heh, with Incubus with ya, I guess I'll treat you to something special." The enemy Incubus then revealed.

"Better not be anything pervy." Yang then threatened as she had her guns ready.

"I-I promise! Here!" The Incubus said as he tossed over an Odd Morsel.

"Hey! That will heal you and raise your speed and power!" Mona informed. "That's something worthwhile!" He then added.

Joker nodded to that as he threw over the item to the Vice Leader. "Thanks. Now go. And you better make sure we never see you again." He ordered.

"Th-Thank you!" The Incubus responded as it flew off to god-knows-where.

Soon the battle area faded around them as the group took in a breath to relieve themselves.

"Good to know that the Shadows can even surrender, though only after ripping those masks off them." Yang admitted.

"Still, making them beg for their lives... Threatening something that wants to live..." Yin muttered out with a guilty look on her face.

"Remember what I said Yin. It's kill or be killed, there are no heroes in the Metaverse." Mona advised. "You've got nobody but ourselves to look out for. Don't forget about that." He then informed.

"That doesn't make me feel any less guilty though..." Yin mumbled out.

"Close your heart to it." Kaeru however started within the girl's mind. "They are still corruptions of humanity's consciousness. They may have feelings, but they are not alive." She then added in a serious tone.

Yin soon nodded to that as she took in a deep breath. "You're right." She muttered out in a serene tone.

The Leader then looked towards the Vice Leader. "You okay?" Joker asked in concern.

The black full face masked girl simply nodded to that. "Yeah. I am now. Let's go and open that chest." Yin answered.

The Leader in turn nodded to that. "Alright..." Joker replied as he walked up to the chest and cracked it open for everyone to see. It only contained a rather small item.

"Oh, a Muscle Anklet! Wearing it will increase your strength, even though it's not that much." Mona then revealed.

"Every bit helps. Here, wear it." Joker ordered as he gave it to skull masked Persona user.

"Thanks." Skull replied as he took hold of it before it vanished into yellow flames. "Yeah, I'm definitely feeling a little stronger..." He soon revealed as he flexed his muscles a bit with a smirk on his face.

"He could've put on the Anklet physically..." Joker thought with a sweatdrop. "The Metaverse is rather streamlined." He then got out.

"Meh, humanity's inherit want of laziness." Yang stated as she opened the door into the hallway, running over to the locked door from before and opening that as well. After that, the Thieves went through the other door in the hallway and entered the next section of the castle.


(East Building 3F)

After heading up the stairs, they spotted a guard going up and down the hallway, causing the Thieves to hide behind the chairs that sat along the wall.

"Better take care of him now. I don't want another hostage situation..." Yang whispered to the Leader, who nodded in response. After waiting for the guard to wander close to them, Joker sprang into action and got onto the guard's back.

"Show me your true form! Joker ordered as he ripped off the mask.

"We got some Dog-Men! They aren't very powerful, so go for broke!" Mona informed as they faced the three Shadows, with Skull acting first, firing his shotgun and blasting their legs from underneath them.

"Yeah, eat shit!" Skull cheered out as he cocked his gun.

"That was amazing, Skull!" Yin cheered out as they pulled out their guns and aimed it at the downed Shadows.

"Hey, you! Up in front, let's talk!" Joker demanded. "I want your power." He then ordered.

"Are you sure, Joker? It looks rabid..." Mona got out as he stepped back.

"Me not rabid! Me clean!" The Dog Man called out. "You dirty with friend blood!" It then declared.

"I guess he can smell the blood of Shadows on us..." Yang muttered out.

Joker narrowed his eyes and studied the Shadow, trying to figure out its personality. He needed to pick his next few words carefully.

He figured that the Shadow was timid, so he decided to be a little kinder to the Dog Man. "I'm sorry, we'll wash it off as soon as we can." Joker apologized.

"Me glad we reach understanding. Not good smell." The Dog Man replied, looking a little happier. "Hey, the actor John Gielgud believed that of all Shakespeare's characters Hamlet is probably the one most like Shakespeare himself–since, of all Shakespeare's characters, only Hamlet can be imagined to have written all the Shakespearean plays. How good an understanding of Hamlet's character does Gielgud's beliefs reflect?" It soon asked.

"...Cookies." Joker answered with everyone looking severely confused and lost.

"Oh! You don't understand either! Wow, you real dog! Honest." The Dog Man replied happily as he wagged his tail. "Wait... Dog! Remember name. Name Weredog. I am thou, thou art I. Me be mask for you as pay." It soon declared.

And with that, the Shadow was absorbed into Joker's mask.

"Nice!" Joker said with a smirk.

"Another mask to the collection." Yin cheered.

"Weredog..." Joker whispered out before smirking. "Aeon." He then muttered with a gleam in his eyes.

"Hm? You say something?" Yang asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing. Just start planning our next training session." Joker replied before reviewing the new Persona. "...Why does he only know Cleave...?" He then bluntly and mentally asked himself.

"Grr...me sorry," Weredog apologized in the Trickster's head. "Use me to get me stronger." It then informed.

"Noted." Joker replied with a nod before looking towards the other. "Let's go." He then advised.

The rest of the group merely nodded to that.

"Hm?" Yin got out as she picked something off the ground. "A card? Did a Shadow drop this?" she mentally wondered. "Recarm." She quietly read out before pocketing the card. May as well ask about it when they have the chance.

"Hey, let's head back. I think we missed a safe room back." Mona informed. "We've been fighting a lot of Shadows, I think I need a break..." He then revealed.

"Yeah, let's take a breather and relax for a bit." Yin agreed with a nod as they doubled back down the hall to search for the safe room they skipped over.


(East Building 3F Safe Room)

Soon, the Thieves went into the safe room and breathed out in relief. It was as if it was going out into the countryside and breathing in the fresh air.

"Another break room for us!" Yang declared in a satisfied manner while stretching her arms.

"Hell yeah!" Skull cheered in agreement as he sat down near the center table. "Phew...There's seriously tons of enemies 'round here..." He then got out.

"Yeah, maybe we should start avoiding fights. I'm getting pooped..." Panther sighed out.

"Are we even close to halfway?" Yin groaned out as she dumped the duffel bag on the table.

"Sorry to say this but no, I think we're still in the beginning stages." Mona informed. "I don't sense the Treasure anywhere near here."

"You know, you'd think we'd get the second half of the map once we were halfway through this place." Joker muttered out. "So until we find it, we're no way close to there."

"We still have a long way to go, but that's not stopping us!" Yin declared in determination.

"Remember, Lady Yin. We should pace ourselves. Maybe after a safe room or two, we should leave for the day." Mona suggested.

"Hey, how about we check our supplies before we keep going?" Yang then suggested. "Then we can estimate how much longer can we go before we need to resupply." She then explained.

"Well, let's see..." Joker got out as he checked the duffel. "We should have three bottles of painkillers, a dozen TaP Sodas and various other drinks. Er, I got some Fried Bread from the school store. Uh...I also got some Soul Food, something called a Soma and a few Revival Beads in the mail today...Along with my parents' credit card." He listed off, smiling evilly as he mentioned having the credit card.

He was so gonna abuse the shit out of that.

"Really? Be careful with that Joker. You really shouldn't use your parents' credit card or else they might wise up when they see charges for model guns, weapons and armor. You should probably stick to cash for thief stuff." Yang suggested.

"Good thinking. Besides, I don't think Takemi accepts card for what she's giving us." Joker revealed.

"Well, we may as well drink a few of those sodas. They're a lot heavier than all the other stuff." Yin suggested as she passed out a couple of cans.

Nodding to that, Yang took a TaP Soda for herself, opened it and started chugging it down. "Oh...that feels good..." She thought in relief as her body shivered from the carbonated drink. "Man I've been missing out..." She unintentionally got out in a relieved tone.

Joker meanwhile chuckled to that. "Let me guess, your old family had a strict health policy?" He deducted.

The tan skinned girl merely shrugged her shoulders. "Meh, it's just the average Shinobi diet and paranoia. Can't really drink soda often, especially on the field. One burp and you're good as dead." Yang answered in a nonchalant manner.

"Huh, Jii-chan got away with drinking alcohol all the time though and burped a lot." Yin soon revealed in an innocent manner.

"...Did we know your grandfather is a ninja?" Skull asked.

Yin merely shrugged her shoulders. "Ah it's alright, Jii-chan was always pretty easy going on these kind of things, so I don't think he'll mind." She replied in an easy going manner.

"Yet he's still known as the Legendary Shinobi they named an academy after." Yang however remarked in a teasing manner.

"That says a lot about his confidence in his abilities." Mona noted in a impressed manner. "And I'm sure he can back it up when it comes down to it. Which leads to an issue I'd like to discuss: When one of us falls in battle." He then added.

"Well, we have been doing really good, but that's only because we've been mostly fighting Shadows we've already encountered." Joker muttered to himself. "Still, it's inevitable that one of us will be rendered unable to act, so we're gonna have to plan for this." He soon advised.

"Then let's talk about these things." Mona began as he went into the duffel bag and pulled out three wristbands decorated by golden beads.

"The Revival Beads?" Joker asked he took them off the cat.

"Yeah, I've heard of them. It's that stupid superstitious shit people buy to improve their lives without doing anything." Yang explained in a casual manner before reminding herself what world she was in right now. "...Wait a minute..." She then began as her eyes widened in realization.

"Hold on, do Revival Beads actually revive you when you die!?" Skull exclaimed. "Are you for real!?" He soon asked.

"Sort of." Mona responded in a vague manner, confusing the group. "Well, here's the thing everyone. Revival Beads only work if the fallen is wearing one beforehand here in the Metaverse." He then informed. "And we only have three. Which means..." He started, but trailed off at the end.

"We have to figure out who is more important in the group to have one." Joker finished.

"Then obviously Joker should have one. If he falls, we're screwed." Yang stated in a serious tone.

"And we need our healer so Mona-chan should get one." Yin spoke up.

"But that only leaves one for me, Panther, Yang and Yin." Skull pointed out.

"Yeah, we're all basically damage dealers right now." Panther muttered out. "We can only do so much with three skills to our names." She then admitted.

"So it boils down to who'll do the most when the need arises and our backs are against the wall." Yang stated as she crossed her arms underneath her breasts, pushing them up a little.

Joker couldn't help but think it was subconscious seduction tactic.

"...So Joker, who do you think should get the last Revival Bead?" Skull soon asked.

Joker mentally cursed. This was going to be a tough decision that could affect his relationship with the others. He was going to have to think this through, both objectively and subjectively.

He decided to weigh his choices by the awakening of their Persona. Starting from the ones who unlocked theirs with him.

Yin. Asuka Shirokage. Known skills were Media, Sukukaja and Magna. The only Earth user on the team. She could heal the entire team in a pinch. However, it looked like she doesn't excel at anything. A jack of all trades. That could be good or bad depending on the situation.

Yang. Homura Shinkukage. Their best physical attacker. Uniquely wields a Fire/Physical skill. He didn't know how much of an advantage it would be, however it did draw from her stamina and strength which she had plenty of. However, she had a lot of weaknesses and these Shadows were going to take advantage of it as soon as they know about it.

Skull. Ryuji Sakamoto. Their second best physical attacker. Uses Electricity. He didn't have the weaknesses Yang had, but doesn't have her resistances either. And he had slightly better magical ability. Specialist vs. Generalist if it came down to Yang against Skull.

Panther. Ann Takamaki. Essentially their mage. Her element of Fire made her somewhat redundant, but compared to Yang her Agi spell was much more potent. Her physical ability was very poor, but made up for it in her magic and such.

It ultimately came down to who he wanted backing him up when things go wrong, not who he wanted to stay by his side. And that was the key to figuring out who to choose.

The Leader then took in a deep breath as he looked at the rest of the group. "...If things go wrong, I can keep myself up and healed." Joker soon started. "Switch my Persona for whatever situation especially when things go bad. You guys can't...so I'm giving up my Revival Bead and giving both to Panther and Skull." He then decided.

"Wait, you're just giving yours to someone else? You're the most important person here besides Yin." Yang reminded in a dead serious tone.

The Leader in turn nodded to that. "I know, and if things go wrong, then it's my fault and I don't want you guys to fall because of my mistake." Joker explained.

He could feel this display of selflessness and deep thinking improved his Kindness, and improved his relationship with everyone in the room.

"Are you really sure about this?" Mona questioned.

"I have to take responsibility for all my actions, Mona." Joker stated.

"Huh, guess it was a good idea to make you a Leader." Yang soon admitted in an impressed tone before turning to her roommate. "Right Yin?" She then asked.

"Y-Yeah... Responsibility for your actions." Yin mumbled out, though seemed a little distracted.

"Hm?" Yang hummed out in concern to the distracted tone. "You ok?" She soon asked.

"I-It's nothing." Yin replied as she shook her head. "Okay, we've had enough of a break. Let's continue on with this heist." She soon suggested.

"Okay...sure..." Yang muttered out with an unsure tone as they left the safe room.


(East Building 3F)

As soon as they went into the hallway, the group quickly went into the shadows as they saw a guard heading towards them.

"Damn it. We wasted too much time in there. They replaced the guard..." Mona cursed.

"Let's just go around them this time. All this fighting is startin' to get to me..." Skull suggested.

"Yeah, and I'd rather not use up our Revival Beads just in case someone gets a lucky shot." Joker said with a nod as he peeked out. He quickly planned and route through the hallway in his head before signalling to the others to follow him.

Dashing between hiding spots, they were making their way through the area without much trouble, eventually making to an intersection.

Yin quickly pulled out the map to check where they were and to see what's on both paths. "Left side goes to a small room, right is progress." She informed the group.

"Then we go left." Panther spoke up. "I bet there's something in that room we can use."

"Alright, left it is." Joker said as they went down the left hallway, going into the small room after making sure there wasn't a guard hiding out there.

"Huh, reading room? A private study?" Mona got out as they looked around the room.

"There are a lot of books here...but do most of these not have titles on them...?" Yin noticed as she pulled out a book, skimmed through it a little before putting it back.

Yang however knew what it meant and glared at the books. "Goddamn pervert..." She quietly growled out in disgust.

"Hm?" Joker hummed out as he turned his gaze towards a book on a shelf. After activating Third Eye, he saw that it was glowing blue. "That's interesting..." he muttered out.

"Joker? What are you looking at?" Yin asked before turning to where he was looking. "That book?" she guessed as she noticed that there was a book improperly placed on the shelf.

"Yeah. My Third Eye's marking it as something important." Joker explained as the black full face masked girl grabbed it.

"The Slave Book?" Yin read out in confusion. "By slave...it must mean the volleyball team..." She soon deducted.

"We should probably take it for now. It could be useful in the near future." Mona suggested as the Vice Leader nodded and placed the book away. She wasn't curious about what it contained, only knowing that it was probably something she couldn't unread if she did.

"Well, I guess that's it for this room. Let's get back on track." Joker said as they exited the room.

The group continued on, going down the other path before ending up at a barred door.

"I'm going to assume that's progress." Joker stated.

"Hey, this is just like the one we saw before!" Skull pointed out. "If I'm rememberin' right, we just gotta pull this..." He then explained as he walked up the lever and pulled on it. However, it didn't budge. "Huh? The hell, is thing thing broken?"

"Skull, have a little patience will you?" Yang said as she pointed at a round indentation underneath the lever. "Look, there's something missing there."

"Looks like we be able to get anywhere unless we find whatever that fits into that." Mona stated.

"A door that needs some kind of medallion-like key." Yin then deducted while examining the barred up door.

"But where would that be?" Panther asked.

"Well, we know until we look." Joker replied.

"What kind of Biohazard bullshit is this?" Skull groaned out.

This however caught the two shinobis attention. "Bio-what?" Yin and Yang asked in confused unison.

The blond in turn sweatdropped to that. "Not important. Just...who the hell creates these locks!?" Skull exclaimed.

"A perverted P.E teacher with the delusion that he's a king." Yang then reminded.

"Yeah, but he's also an idiot! Locks should not be this complicated!" Skull then countered. "I swear, if we have to solve some crappy-ass puzzle just to get the effin' key..." He soon grumbled out in annoyance.

"Stop grumbling about video game tropes and move on. There's nothing we can do, unless Mona can lockpick this." Joker ordered. "And this probably isn't a tumbler lock." He then added.

"Afterwards, we should really get you some video games to play...if you can handle some of the horror filled ones." Skull then got out with a smirk.

"...Do you remember who you're talking to? I'm sure we can handle it." Yang deadpanned while rolling her eyes.

"Have shinobis dealt with flesh eating zombies before?" Joker then asked in a curious manner.

"..." The two shinobis didn't say anything to that as they narrowed their eyes, the only feature being seen to show they had serious expressions on their faces.

The ash blonde looked at the other girls in disbelief. "...Please don't tell me zombies actually exist?" Panther begged.

Yin however shook her head to that. "Don't worry, it isn't zombies..." She reassured.

"It's...something worse..." Yang then vaguely revealed.

"What the hell could be worse then the dead comin' back as flesh eating monsters or a zombie?" Skull then asked in even more confusion. "I mean, we're fighting demons and shit right now so it really shouldn't be too surprising." He then reminded while rubbing the back of his head.

Yin meanwhile shivered at the thought of those kind of monsters as she then looked at the Leader. "Joker, if it exists as a Persona, please don't get a zombie." She then got out.

"Noted." Joker replied in a casual manner.

The not cat of the group however looked at the two with narrow eyes. "...The Yōma right?" Mona then guessed in his own serious tone.

Immediately, the two shinobi eyes widened in shock with a gasp escaping their mouths while the non-shinobis minus the not cat looked on in confusion.

"Uh...Yōma?" Skull repeated in confusion.

Soon enough, Yang's eye twitched to that guess. "GODDAMMIT! WHO THE FUCK KEEPS REVEALING SHINOBI SHIT!?" She yelled out in a more frustrated tone.

Mona however sighed to that. "Collective unconscious, its everyone. Every single person." He soon reminded. "E-Except us. Personas and such." He then added.

"But it had to start from some fuckface who couldn't keep their mouth shut!" Yang growled out in a more frustrated manner.

"Calm down Yang." Joker ordered as he looked at the tan skinned girl. "So, what are these Yōma that Mona mentioned? You really seemed to react to him knowing about them Yang." He soon asked as this got all the non shinobis attention.

To that, both shinobis were hesitant to reveal one of the darker secrets that only shinobis knew about and that they only knew due to their families telling them about it in secret.

The tan skinned girl then took in a deep breath as she looked at the group. "Monster...actual monsters...outside of the Metaverse..." Yang soon answered in a serious tone. "They are born from the bloodshed that occurs between shinobis..." She then revealed.

This in turn caused the other humans of the group to pale. "Wait what? You mean real monsters!?" Skull then got out in disbelief.

"Y-Yeah, and we're trained to fight them...and each other." Yin explained. "It's sort of like a never-ending cycle." She then stated.

Mona soon crossed his stubby arms over his chest to that in annoyance. "Yeah, and unfortunately most shinobis are too prideful to acknowledge that and just cause more to appear." He then revealed.

The Leader of the group then narrowed his eyes. "And I'm getting the feeling that the Good and Evil will never kiss and make up any time soon." Joker muttered out.

"...They are that stubborn..." Yin and Yang replied in perfect unison.

"So basically, shinobis are dooming the world because both sides are effin' idiots." Skull then declared in a serious tone.

"...Basically..." Yin and Yang replied once more.

This in turn caused the other humans of the group to gulp in a nervous manner to the mere idea.

"Well...shit." Skull groaned out in a nervous manner.

"It gets even worse when some of them don't want to acknowledge the small amount of Human-Yōma hybrids that exists in the world." Mona then stated in a serious tone and narrow eyes.

This immediately caught both shinobis attentions as they looked at the not cat to hearing that. "Wait the what now!?" Yin and Yang got out in shocked confusion.

The Leader however blinked to that as he tried to imagine that. "Wait, does that mean a human and a Yōma..." Joker started before scissoring his fingers together.

"DUDE! NOT THE EFFIN' TIME!" Skull exclaimed with an embarrassed blush.

"Sorry, just curiosity." Joker quickly apologized in a dead serious tone.

The not cat meanwhile ignored the blond's reaction. "Well most Yōma are humanoid...and some of them can talk...and most of the humanoid ones are females..." Mona awkwardly answered with a blush on his face.

"Stop adding shit!" Skull called out. "We don't need to know this right now! Save it for the safe room at least!" He then added.

"Right, we're getting distracted again..." Panther muttered out.

"Hey, conversations like these help us keep our cool. But you're right, we need to stay focused on our goal." Joker reminded.

"..." The two shinobis eyes meanwhile were completely wide and in shock to hear this new information.

"Human..." Yin thought.

"Yōma..." Yang thought.

"Hybrids?" The two shinobis thought in perfect confused unison. "...and some of them have human like intelligence?" They then added to their thoughts.

"Perhaps, but always take information with a grain of salt until you witness it for yourself." Kaeru stated. "Just because they can think doesn't make them monsters." She then advised.

"The more you learn...the more it shatters what you were lead to believe in..." Wolverine soon stated in a wise tone.

The not cat meanwhile looked at the shocked duo's expressions, though was able to understand why. "...We can discuss this another time." Mona then stated in a more serious tone.

The two shinobis could only nod numbly to that suggestion.

"I'd rather not discuss that at all." Panther admitted. "...It's really just making it seem like the shinobis are stubborn idiots..." She then added.

Joker meanwhile groaned as he rubbed his forehead. "Every time damn time. Boner or dangerous secret." He muttered to himself.

Skull however heard what the Leader said and nodded in agreement. "For real." He got out in agreement. "We really gotta stop having conversations outside of safe rooms..." He then suggested.

"We aren't exactly taking this seriously enough, I admit." Joker admitted. "Let's get going. That key medallion thing isn't going to find itself."

With that, they nodded at the Leader and continued on with exploring the area in hopes of finding the key to the door.

"Hey, I can see another one of those small rooms." Yin informed.

"And...a Shadow." Yang added as she cracked her knuckles. "Don't worry, I got this." She then declared.

"Go ahead." Joker said as Yang leaped onto the Shadow's back.

"Take off that fuckin' mask!" Yang demanded while ripping off the mask.

The ensuing fight ended rather quickly. Though the sudden appearance of a Brutal Cavalryman did pressure them a little, they came out victorious and a little stronger too.

"Alright! A new move!" Skull revealed. "Somethin' called Tarukaja." He then got added.

"That allows you to boost someone's attack for a bit." Mona informed.

"I got a new move too!" Panther cheered. "Apparently it's called Dormina." She then revealed.

"Ah, you can send enemies to sleep, making them vulnerable to physical attacks." Mona then told the ash blonde. "However, they will regain their power the longer they sleep so you better act fast." He soon added.

"That could be useful..." Joker noted.

"Doesn't work though. You can only target enemies, not your allies." Yin however informed. "Learned that the hard way..." She then added.

"Okay, let's see what's behind that door." Joker ordered as they went in.

Soon enough, the group entered a room with a large bookcase.

"Another study..." Yin stated as she closed the door behind her.

"And another book..." Joker added as he flashed Third Eye for a second before picking it up. Why was Third Eye marking down these random books as important?

"The King's Book?" Panther read out. "Gee, I wonder who this is about." She sarcastically remarked.

"Well, I'm just going to save us the anger and not open this." Yin stated as she placed the book away while they left the room.

Eventually, they found another study and, wouldn't you know it? Another book that was marked as important by Third Eye!

"The Queen's Book huh?" Skull read out. "Oh God, don't tell me it's full of Ann porn..." He growled out in anger.

"Gimme that!" Panther demanded as she snatched the book out of the male blond's hands and opened it before quickly slamming it shut. "T-THAT DAMN PERVERT!" She screeched in anger.

"It's full of Ann porn." Joker sighed out.

"How dare he!?" Mona growled out in anger.

"Okay, there has to be a hidden camera in the girl's changing room or some hole in there." Yin guessed, though her body was shaking in anger. "Or just some really intense imagination." She then deducted.

"I'm going with the latter..." Yang declared with held back fury.

"I know we should burn this, however, it's probably more useful to us not as ashes." Mona suggested, despite looking ready to tear apart the book with a few Garu spells.

"Alright..." Yin grumbled out as she threw the book carelessly into the duffel bag as the group then left the room and back into the hallway.

Eventually, after wandering around for a few more minutes and dispatching a few more Shadows, they made it to a long hallway where another guard was going up and down, causing them to hide. At the far end of it was a golden chest with a giant padlock on it.

"Hey, there's a chest down the hall." Yin informed. "Wanna go get it before entering any rooms?" She then suggested.

"May as well. I don't want these lockpicks to go to waste." Joker replied. "So no breaking it open Yang, we don't want to raise the Security Level." He then reminded.

"...Fine." Yang begrudgingly replied.

"There there." Yin got out as she rubbed her roommate's back.

"Let's just kill this guy and get it over with." Yang sighed out as Panther ambushed the guard.

After shooting the last surviving Shadow, the group went to the end of the hallway to unlock the chest. Since this was his first time lockpicking, Joker had Mona slowly guide him as he tried to unlock the chest without breaking one of the few precious lockpicks he had.

"And...Got it!" Joker announced after a few minutes, opening the chest in a dramatic fashion.

"A Bead and a Chewing Soul. Nice find." Mona complimented.

"Sweet. It'll keep us going a little longer." Yin replied. "And every SP counts." She then stated.

"Speaking of which, I'm starting to get a headache..." Panther groaned out. "I used Carmen a little too much that last fight." She then added.

"Yeah, I'm finding it harder and harder to summon Wolverine." Yang admitted.

"Looks like our team is starting to run out of steam..." Mona stated. "We should probably start thinking about leaving the Metaverse soon." He soon suggested.

"Don't worry, we'll just ration out our resources." Joker replied as he looked at everyone. "Alright everyone, from now on be mindful. Conserve your SP." He soon instructed.

"Got it. Physical skills only." Skull responded with a nod.

"So Panther, start whipping more and dominate every enemy we encounter from now on." Yang then remarked.

The ash blonde in turn groaned to that. "Ugh, just because I look like a dominatrix doesn't mean I'll be any good!" Panther got out in annoyance. "Come on...why can't my inner self use something other than latex for my outfit...?" She soon lamented.

"So leather?" Joker spoke up.

"...Let's just go." Panther deadpanned before walking off towards the door they had skipped over to grab the treasure chest, the other following soon after.

When they went into the room, they looked around and saw that it was a library, dust particles floating around in the air. It looked like it hadn't been used in a while.

"Whoa, it's so musty..." Panther commented.

"A library, huh? That's definitely fishy." Mona stated.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Skull asked.

"Come on, it's a library in a castle. There has to be some kind of secret mechanism in here. I'm sure the shinobi can vouch for that." Mona answered.

"Yep. It's a requirement for all shinobi academies to have a few secret passageways. There's even one in the Hebijo library." Yang stated. "Of course, I shouldn't have mentioned that and in most circumstances everyone here will be killed but uh...fuck 'em." She then added.

"So, we should probably look around here for a bit. Maybe we'll find a passage that will just let us bypass that barred door all together." Yin suggested as they looked around the room to see if there was something that stuck out.

Joker glanced over the room with Third Eye on before spotting something glowing on one of the shelves. He walked up to it before turning off Third Eye, seeing that it was merely an empty space.

"Hm...Wait a second. The books on this shelf seem familiar." Mona noted.

"Hold on..." Skull mumbled on as he read the spines of the books. "...Mishima...Nakaoka, Takeishi...Holy shit, these're the names of the volleyball team members! Hell, there's even the track team here!" He exclaimed.

"Why do all the titles have their names though?" Yin questioned before her eyes widened. "Hey, there's a book about Skull here!" She soon revealed.

"Ryuji Sakamoto: The Vulgar Ape." Mona read out loud. "Yep, that's definitely Skull." He then declared in a deadpan tone.

"I am way too angry at Kamoshida to be angry at you right now, Cat." Skull growled.

"Looks like there's a book missing here." Panther mumbled out before realisation struck her. "Wait, didn't we find a couple of books earlier?" She then asked.

"Yeah. We did." Yin answered as she took out the three books. "The King, the Queen and the Slave Books. I wonder..." She muttered out as she placed the Slave Book into the empty slot.

Click!

This in turn surprised the rest of the group. "Huh? Did anyone hear that?" Skull soon asked.

The Leader in turn nodded to that. "Yeah. Looks like that one's right." Joker answered. "Come on, there has to be two more of these things. Rule of three, after all." He then stated.

"That another game thing?" Yin asked in a joking tone as a giggle escaped her lips.

"Actually yes." Joker replied in amusement. "Its either, three, five or seven for a number of things needed." He then revealed with a smirk while the other non-shinobis nodded in agreement.

"Ugh, seven sounds like too much." Skull groaned out.

"And thus why it's usually three. Plus we have two more of these books." Joker replied. "Now spread out and start searching. We'll unlock whatever the King is hiding faster that way." He then instructed.

To that, the rest of the group nodded as they spread out for anything out of the ordinary and eventually...

"Hey, there's a missing book here and its contents surrounding it is pissing me off!" Yang announced as she waved a hand towards the group. "This entire shelf is about Ann and all the girls on the volleyball team." She then revealed.

This in turn gained everyone else's attention as the walked over to the white full face masked girl. "Ann Takamaki...Shiho Suzui...Asuka Shirokage and Homura Shinkukage." Joker read out loud.

"OI! We ain't even on the volleyball team!" Yang then got out in annoyance.

"...Asshole..." Yin muttered out in disgust as she shoved the Queen's Book into the slot. "He will pay for this in the end..." She then declared in a dead serious and somewhat vile tone.

Click!

"Two down, one more to go." Joker stated as the others nodded in agreement.

Soon enough, after a few minutes of searching, they eventually found another empty space in one of the shelves..

"There's an empty slot here!" Skull announced. "Let's see...The History of Kamoshida... Tracing Kamoshida's Steps...Kamoshida's Heroism...Kamoshida's Law...?" He read out in confusion.

"Goddammit! This entire fucking shelf is about Kamoshida!" Yin and Yang growled out in perfect unison as the black full face masked girl approached the empty slot and placed the book in.

Click!

Suddenly, a bookshelf moved, revealing a secret room behind it.

"And with that, the secret of the library has been solved." Mona declared as he jumped in the air a bit while flailing his arms.

The male blond of the group however sighed to that. "Just like I said. Biohazard bullshit." Skull mumbled out as they approached the secret room.

However when they got a closer look at the room, they slowly began to pale at the contents in the room.

It could only be described as one of those private, creepy and expensive BDSM rooms. It had candles on the ground, surrounding a wooden X-shaped post with shackles on it. On the walls were various pictures, a collage of nothing but Shiho at various angles...and states of undress.

And on the ground...yeah, that was not red and white paint...

And to their ever mounting horror and disgust, they realised it had just been used.

"O-Oh god..." Yin got out as her face became pale. "S-Shiho-san..." She then muttered as she recognized the girl in all the photos.

"He...He even has photos...from the video..." Yang choked out.

"...Alright, I can't blame you for being pissed before Lady Yang." Mona soon admitted as he looked on in disgust.

"...Search the room. There has to be something here if he went through all that trouble to hide it." Joker ordered in a serious tone. "Panther, do you need to step outside?" He then offered in concern.

The ash blonde however shook her head to that. "N-No. Let's hurry up and then leave." Panther replied while her body shivered in rising anger.

"Alright." Joker replied with a nod as they searched the room.

"...He...will...fuckin'...pay..." Yin slowly growled out with a deadly gleam in her eyes as her body shivered in cold fury.

The Leader however sighed to that as he placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Yin, focus." Joker reminded, the Vice Leader nodding to that as he looked around and used his Third Eye to check for anything important in the room, and to block out all the pictures of Shiho.

Suddenly, he spotted something glowing to his side.

"Here we go." Joker muttered out as he walked up to a nearby bookshelf and picked up the object.

"That looks like...a medal?" Panther got out.

"Well, he was an Olympian back in the day." Skull stated.

"Big fuckin' deal." Yang however remarked as she rolled her eyes. "But I'm guessing this is the key to the lock from earlier." She then deducted.

"Yep. And here's a map. Looks like it's the other half we need." Joker declared as he picked it up and began reading through it. "And from the looks of it...The Treasure is on the top floor...in a treasure room...behind his throne." He then revealed.

SMACK!

As a result, everyone smacked their foreheads to the obviousness of where the Treasure was.

"Told ya he was an idiot!" Skull called out.

"Well, considering there is a part called The Bridge of Death and Spikes and Fuck You on the way to the throne room, it's not going to be easy to get there." Joker stated as he rolled up the map before looking back towards the secret room. "So then...wanna do the honors?" He soon asked the ash blonde of the group in a dead serious tone while holding the medallion and passing the second part of the map to the Vice Leader.

"...Gladly." Panther replied as she brought a hand to her mask. "CARMEN! AGI!" She commanded.

The tan skinned girl then stepped forward with her eyes narrowed in anger and fury. "Right behind you, WOLVERINE! AGI!" Yang roared as she also removed her mask.

FWOOOOOOOOOOSH!

They didn't even look back as the secret room was blown up and charred to bits along with the library. They didn't want to acknowledge that it was all going to come back in just a few short hours.

"...Let's go." Yang and Panther ordered in serious unison as the others nodded in agreement.

Soon enough, the group of thieves made a mad dash down the hallway without looking back, soon arriving at a door to another section of the castle as they quickly went through it.


(East Building Annex)

After causing the destruction of the library, the group had left the area behind just as smoke started rising out of it.

"Now it's really time to go." Mona informed. "Mainly cause the guards will be any moment!" He then explained.

"Agreed." Joker replied as he nodded to that. The Thieves continued through the area.

"Everyone, hold up!" Mona suddenly called out, causing everyone to stop in their tracks. "Something's off about this area." He soon stated in a serious tone.

"Yep. I mean, this place is so big and it has no guards around? I smell a trap." Yang guessed.

"Seems like it now that you mention it." Skull agreed. "But there's no other way forward and the way to the Treasure is definitely through here. We ain't got a choice but to keep goin', trap or not." He pointed out.

"Yeah but here's the thing...I feel like something's coming...something big..." Yang got out in a dead serious tone.

"Yeah. I'm feeling it too." Mona agreed with a nod. "We better be prepared for whatever lies ahead. This could get dangerous." He then advised as he looked down the hall. "I also feel a Safe Room nearby. I think we passed by it." He soon revealed.

"We should head back and prepare then. If you two're right, this might get messy." Joker muttered out. "Let's go and take a break and talk strategy." He soon suggested.

"You're the Boss, Joker." Yin replied as she gave a quick salute before the group headed back to find the Safe Room.

(East Building Annex Safe Room)

"Found it! Get in!" Yin announced as she opened the door into the Safe Room, the rest of her fellow thieves filing in and breathing a sigh of relief.

"Good work, Lady Yin." Mona complimented as he leapt up onto the table.

"It's like entering a room with A/C cranked up on a hot day." Yin breathed out as she took a seat and spread the maps out on the table. "Oh, I didn't know I needed this." She soon admitted.

"Me too. I wanna take a nap but that's probably too relaxed." Joker sighed out as sat next to the Vice Leader to study the map more closely.

"Whew, time to rest a bit." Yang then got out as she sat down.

"Yeah, I'm pooped. We've been using way too many skills." Panther admitted as she sat down next to her.

"Speaking of pooped, I kinda...Uh...Forgot to use the bathroom before coming here..." Skull awkwardly revealed.

"A-Aw, dude! No!" Yang gagged out. "Please tell me there's a bathroom near here." She then begged.

"Of course, the entire castle itself." Yin surprisingly remark in a crude manner, causing everyone to look at her. "What? I mean this is Kamoshida's Palace, what better way to insult him than shitting in his own territory?" She then explained her reason.

"Uh...I guess that's true." Joker admitted. "Skull, just...um...do your business in the corner there." He soon ordered as he pointed at the farthest corner of the room.

"Dude, I'm not gonna shit in the same room where we're supposed to relax and hang out. That's unsanitary, man." Skull called out. "I'm gonna do it outside in the hallway or something." He then decided.

"Well, at least bring some pocket tissues." Joker suggested as he tossed him a pack. "Always be prepared for the unexpected." He then informed.

"Hold on, a Shadow might attack while he's doing his business." Yang pointed out. "Someone has to go out with him and make sure he's safe. Not it." She suggested before declaring she wouldn't be going.

"Not it!" Yin quickly shouted out.

"Not it." Joker got out as he shook his head.

"Not it!" Panther desperately called out.

"Not it!" Skull declared.

"Skull, you're not in this." Mona pointed out...before realizing his mistake. "Hey, wait a minute!" He exclaimed in shock.

"Sorry Mona-chan." Yin soon apologized as she then pet the not cat's oversized head. "Good luck, ok~?" She then encouraged with a cutesy wink.

Mona in turn blushed to that. "I-I'll need more than luck Lady Yin, but I appreciate the thought." He got out as he then looked at the blond of the group. "Come on monkey!" He then ordered.

"Oi! Don't call me a monkey ya damn cat!" Skull demanded in annoyance as the two headed outside of the Safe Room.

"Not a cat!" Mona however declared before the door shut.

"If I can hear them argue through the door, I will cut their tongues off." Yang sighed out.

"We should figure out how to get them to stop fighting." Joker muttered out. "It could affect the team. Plus, I want everyone to be friends here." He then added.

"I think they are friends, but it's more like a comedic thing between Skull and Mona." Yin meanwhile deducted. "I mean Ikaruga-chan and Katsu-nee are sometimes like that back home with the arguing sometimes since they're both third years." She then revealed. "...though it then leads to Katsu-nee teasing and attempted groping towards Ikaruga-chan." She soon added.

"That's a really terrible example." Panther bluntly stated. "But I think I get what you're saying in a way." She then admitted. "Basically like in an anime involving two friends that argue a lot but are still friends, right?" She soon guessed.

"Yeah, and excuse me for sounding like a hypocrite but this isn't anime. Friends don't call each other worthless, especially when they mess up in battle." Joker pointed out. "I'm pretty sure that is not friendly banter." He then added.

"Ok then, maybe we should tell Mona-chan to stop calling Skull a monkey and tell Skull to stop calling Mona-chan a cat." Yin then suggested.

The white full face masked girl however shook her head to that. "That's not good enough. That is an order, not a genuine apology. It's like a teacher telling kids in elementary to apologise to one another. They're forced to say it, and they won't mean it at all." Yang then explained in a serious tone.

"Then what do we do? We can't just let them fight like this." Yin sighed out. "Moh, this is difficult..." She soon admitted.

"Hey, I think I saw something on Webflix where they recorded the abusive crap that someone yells at their partner and then replayed it to them. Maybe that could work...?" Panther suggested.

"That could work...If our other phone apps weren't disabled here and I'm pretty sure we'd only pick up meows from Mona." Joker stated. "Next." He soon ordered.

"Maybe have the two fight it out in a Shinobi Kekkei?" Yin then suggested.

The Leader then shook his head to that. "And risk killing each other? Next." Joker stated.

"Put them through life-threatening situations and they'll eventually appreciate each other?" Yang suggested.

"We're doing that right now." Joker deadpanned.

"Ugh, we should probably avoid the zany schemes they show us on TV back in the day." Panther sighed out. "I really don't get why they hate each other. It's like they just started arguing the second they met each other." She then pointed out.

"...Well, that is true." Yang admitted. "They've called each other idiots for the past several days and it's driving me insane. I'm assuming that they're both responsible for their mutual hatred and I'm leaving it at that." She soon added.

The Leader in turn sighed to that. "Hey, here's an idea. How about they overhear our conversation about how toxic their relationship is and hope they see the errors of their ways." Joker suggested...before opening the door, causing the subjects of their conversation to flop onto the floor. "Isn't that right Skull, Mona?" He then openly asked the two in mention bluntly.

"They were actually listening in on us?" Panther asked with a sweatdrop.

"It looks like it." Yin replied with her own sweatdrop.

"So now they know the brunt of the problem, great." Yang soon sarcastically remarked in annoyance as she and the rest of the group all looked at the blond and not cat. "You get where this is going right you two?" She then questioned in a dead serious tone while glaring at the two.

"He's annoying." Skull stated.

"He's an idiot." Mona deadpanned.

"Shut it, you two!" Yang called out. "We need to work as a team and if you two keep fighting, we will die. At least tone it down and try to get along."

The two looked at each other before groaning. "Argh...Fine. We'll try and put a lid on it." Skull sighed out. "For the team." He then added.

"For the team." Mona repeated. "No hard feelings?" He then asked.

"Admittingly yes, but we'll work on it." Skull admitted.

"As long as I don't have to be near you when you go to the bathroom, I'm good." Mona replied.

"Okay, Phantom Thief lesson number whatever-the-fuck: everyone has to go do their business and shit before we travel to the Metaverse." Yang soon suggested.

"Agreed." The rest of the group replied in unison.

"If we ever get new members, we should write a pamphlet so we don't have to repeat this type of stuff every single time." Joker suggested.

"Yeah, but who's gonna pay for the printing?" Yang asked.

"Really? It's only a couple of yen." Skull answered.

"5,000 monthly." Yang deadpanned.

"I retract that statement." Skull automatically replied.

"Smart move." Yang bluntly responded.

"W-Wait, are we actually planning on printing pamphlets?" Panther asked.

"...No...?" Joker hesitantly answered. "...This got away from us a little." He then added.

"Er...we should start preparing for whatever Mona and Yang sensed." Yin awkwardly suggested.

"Good idea." Mona replied as the Vice Leader dumped the duffel bag onto the table while everything started checking their guns.

"Is everyone good on ammo?" Joker asked as he checked his pistol's magazine.

"I'm pretty good." Yang revealed while placing her Micro-Uzis on the table.

"Still got more than enough shells to blow some heads off." Skull informed as he reloaded his shotgun.

"I used up a drum but I think I'm good..." Panther muttered out.

"I need to hone in my accuracy a little. I keep missing my shots at times..." Yin answered.

"That's because you keep trying to hit two targets at once. At least Lady Yang has the ammo to allow such mistakes." Mona stated as he checked his fanny pack to check how many ball bearings he had left. "You seem to be much more accurate when you're focusing on one enemy though." He then informed.

Yin in turn nodded to that. "I guess that is true." She admitted in agreement. "But that just shows I gotta keep improving as both as a shinobi...and now as a phantom thief." She soon added in a determined tone.

To that determined statement, Mona nodded to that. "Well said Lady Yin, I just know you'll make an excellent phantom thief as well as a shinobi." He encouraged.

"Thanks, Mona-chan. And don't think we've forgotten about helping you out after Kamoshida's gone." Yin replied, petting the not cat's as she then looked at the others. "Right guys?" She then questioned.

"Don't worry, we haven't forgotten." Skull answered. "...It's not gonna kill us, right?" He soon asked.

"Hey, if you can handle this Palace, you can handle anything Mementos can throw at you." Mona replied before purring slightly.

"...Mementos?" The rest of the group thought in confusion to the term the not cat said, also leading to the Vice Leader to stop petting the smallest member of the group.

"Don't worry about it. Worry about now." Mona informed as he pulled out a whetstone and started sharpening his sword.

With that, the group decided to just talk amongst themselves while they did maintenance and plan out their strategies.

"So Yang," Panther started as she looked at the white full face masked girl. "What made you decide to use six swords at once?" She then asked in a curious manner. "I mean it's a pretty crazy sword style." She soon admitted.

"Hmm?" Yang got out as she noticed the ash blonde and the others looking at her. "Oh that? It's something I developed myself." She revealed in a relaxed manner. "I mean after being kicked out of my former family and going down the Evil Shinobi path, it gave me the freedom to choose whatever style I like." She then explained.

"But why don't you just use claws or just a single sword?" Skull asked.

The white full face masked girl then lifted up her mask as she revealed a smirk on her face. "Cause I wanted to surpass Miyamoto Musashi." Yang then answered in a proud manner.

"Uh...Who?" Skull then awkwardly asked.

"Miyamoto Musashi, a well known samurai who was known to take down a hundred foes from just dual wielding two swords." Joker explained while fiddling with his mask.

Yang in turn nodded to that. "Right Joker, I learned about him in middle school and was completely jealous that he was able to take down so many guys that wanted to surpass him. Though with my former strict family, I never really had to chance to dual wield since they were strict single sword users as shinobis." She then revealed.

"Uh, wait, wouldn't it make sense to follow a ninja instead of a samurai...?" Panther pointed out before sighing. "Oh wait, I just remembered the loose definition of what a shinobi is in the modern day." She then muttered out.

Yang in turn nodded to that. "Yeah, when I was kicked out of my house and found by Suzune-sensei, I was given the freedom to use whatever style I wanted without any restrictions, so I went further from Musashi's dual wielding sword style and created my own six sword using style." She then declared in a prideful manner.

"Uh...I think saw someone use your exact same style in anime." Skull soon admitted.

The tan skinned girl then looked at the blond. "...Were they a ninja?" Yang soon asked in concern.

"Hm, don't remember. L-Let me search this up." Skull said before pulling out his phone. "...We don't have internet. Goddammit, I keep forgettin'." He soon grumbled out while rubbing his head.

"And that's why you're the monkey of the group." Mona deadpanned with a sigh.

"What? Oh, I'm sorry, I can't hear you over your constant meows Cat." Skull however remarked.

"Not a cat!" Mona retorted in anger while glaring at the blond, who in turn glared back at him.

"Oh dear God, they are not gonna stop fighting any time soon." Joker mentally sighed as he noticed sparks flying between the two.

"Still though," Yin then started, getting everyone's attention. "That is pretty cool Yang." She soon admitted in a delighted tone as she took out her blades. "My dual wielding style was passed down to me from Jii-chan, and I'm fine with using it like he did. Not to mention that it suits me." She then revealed.

"That it does Lady Yin. It suits you perfectly!" Mona praised in a dreamy tone with a smile on his blushing face.

The tan skinned girl however rolled her eyes to the not cat's reply as she then thought of another matter. "Speaking of weapons, why did everyone else get those specific weapons, you know Joker using a knife, Skull using a pipe and Panther using a whip?" Yang then asked in a curious tone as the all then looked at the not cat.

"Yeah, it's kinda weird we can use weapons we've never touched before until we got our Personas." Joker admitted as he twirled his knife around.

Skull nodded in agreement to that. "Yeah, and why a pipe for me?" He then had to ask in confusion before looking towards the ash blonde. "I mean it makes sense for Panther to use a whip to well..." He then began, but trailed off at the end as he glanced towards her.

The ash blonde in turn blinked in confusion before looking down at herself and blushing in slight embarrassment. "...Ah jeez...Why am I a dominatrix...? I mean, out of all things..." Panther got out with a sweatdrop.

"Well, may as well milk it for all its worth. Have the Shadows bow under your command." Joker then declared in a casual manner.

The tan skinned girl however sweatdropped to that. "And that's sounding a lot like Haruka now." Yang got out with a sweatdrop. "...You're not a sadist right?" She then awkwardly asked.

"No, because I want more Personas." Joker answered.

"Riiiight..." Yang sarcastically replied as she then turned to the ash blonde. "And you Panther?" She then asked.

The ash blonde in response blinked to that. "I-I'm not sure..." Panther awkwardly replied.

"Maybe it's related to your inner self somehow." Yin then suggested in a curious manner.

The ash blonde soon shivered to that idea. "Then my inner self is a bitch." Panther then muttered out.

Skull however sweatdropped to that. "When did this shift to talking about Panther being secretly a dominatrix?" He soon asked.

"When you mentioned Panther's outfit relating to her weapon you pervy monkey." Mona remarked while rolling his eyes.

"That's real funny coming from you." Yang however growled while rolling her eyes. "And I thought you were gonna try and put a lid on it, you guys!" She then reminded.

"Can we get back to what we were talking about, the reason why we can use weapons naturally?" Joker spoke up.

Mona then crossed his arms over his chest in a thinking manner. "Hmm...I guess you can just chalk that up to instincts." He simply answered.

"Instincts." The group bluntly repeated save for the Vice Leader.

"What? It's not like I can explain everything! There are still mysteries in the Metaverse that I don't even know!" Mona soon declared in an offended manner. "Remember, lost memories." He then reminded.

"Well, it wasn't too much of a stretch considering everything else you know." Skull pointed out. "That is some real selective amnesia right there!" He then added.

"Maybe there are some things you can't forget, even if you tried." Joker stated.

"Ugh, don't remind me." Yang groaned out.

"Sorry." Joker quickly apologized with a wince. "Well, I'd say I'm good to go." He informed, changing to subject.

"Yep, I think everyone's ready too. Let's move out." Mona decided as he jumped off the table while everyone else started leaving the room.


(East Building Annex)

As the group exited the Safe Room, they all headed to the door to the next unexplored room.

"Are you ready?" Yin asked in a serious tone as she placed a hand on the door.

"As we'll ever be. Let's do this." Joker replied as everyone else nodded.

"Okay, brace yourselves." Yin instructed as she opened the door.


(East Building Annex, Chapel)

As the Vice Leader lead the group into the room, she quickly shut the door behind them as quiet as possible. "Ok, onto new uncharted territory..." Yin reminded.

"Well, it's technically charted. We have the completed map after all." Joker pointed out.

"I mean for the fact we haven't gotten here yet." Yin explained. "The map only shows the room from a top-down view, not the contents of a room." She then added as she pulled out the map and pointed to where they were.

"Well, from the shape of the room, it kinda looks like a chapel..." Joker started, only to trail off when they looked up.

The first thing they saw was the giant statue of the King in all his splendor, overlooking the rows of pews with a large stained glass window behind its head.

"That asshole..." Skull growled out in disgust to the sight.

At that moment, reality warped around them as they soon saw a familiar scenery.

"The gym?" Yin soon asked in confusion as she looked around.

"Oh, I get it... The gym's some kinda holy place for him." Skull growled out.

"And of course the fuckin' chapel is the gym..." Yang growled out as well with narrow eyes. "It's like he thinks of himself as a god after taking the volleyball team to nationals..." She soon declared.

"It does make sense though." Yin then admitted, though was still disgusted.

"Did Shujin even win nationals?" Joker asked.

The skull masked Persona user merely snorted in amusement to that question. "Pfft...! Nope! We lost hard! Heard it was brutal." Skull answered. "But I guess getting there was enough." He then added.

To hearing that reveal, the two kunoichis looked at the blond in disbelief. "...Are you fuckin' kidding me?" Yin and Yang asked in deadpan unison.

Skull merely nodded to that. "Yeah. 3 to... somethin'. I forgot what the actual score was but let's just say it was really, really not good." He replied as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I can't believe he can think like that..." Panther muttered out as they walked towards the statue. "Especially after what he did to Shiho..." She then added in an angered and disgusted tone.

"Don't remind me." Yang spoke up as she winced at remembering.

The blond meanwhile began grinding his teeth to the sight of the statue. "God, that bastard makes me so freakin' sick!" Skull shouted out as he clenched his fists. "Just you wait, Kamoshida...!" He then declared in a defiant manner.

"Skull, quiet down. You're going to-" Mona started, only to be interrupted.

"I see...So you're the ones who set fire to the library." A mysterious and distorted voice stated as the group looked around to find the source. "It seems my time waiting here has paid off..." It then declared.

"Show yourself." Joker demanded in a calm voice as they got out their weapons.

At that moment, a gold armored Guard Captain did just that, appearing in front of the thieves. "Just as that ape there said, this place is a holy ground for our great King Kamoshida." He then revealed.

"Seriously! Why am I being compared to an ape by everyone!?" Skull growled while preparing his pipe.

"It is preposterous for miscreants like yourselves to come waltzing in like this." The Guard Captain soon declared in disgust.

"Oh, drop that act of civility! If you wanna stop us, then shut up and fight 'cause we aren't going to show mercy!" Yang however countered as she readied herself to fight.

"Very well." The Guard Captain responded as he revealed his true form, a Heavenly Punisher ready to strike down those who defy the god behind him. "You will pay for foolishly defying King Kamoshida... with your lives!" It declared as it also readied itself to fight.

"Wow, another death threat. Like we haven't heard that before." Joker sarcastically countered. "Don't die too quickly. We'll show you even a god can bleed." He then added as he readied his knife.

(Cue I Gotta Turn It On by Shinya Ogura)

Immediately, the battlefield formed around the group as they faced the Guard Captain.

"Seriously? An armored angel?" Yang grumbled out in annoyance as she readied her blades.

"This is gonna be a tough one!" Skull admitted.

"Be careful! This Shadow is stronger than any other we've faced so far!" Mona informed in a cautious tone.

"At least it isn't a demon on a toilet again..." Panther mumbled under her breath.

"Everyone! On my Direct Command!" Joker ordered.

"Sure thing Leader!" Yin replied.

However, at that moment, the Heavenly Punisher readied its blade while a red glow began surrounding it.

"Oh shit, what is it doing!?" Skull shouted out as they all saw this display.

"That's not good! The next attack is going to be a big one! Everyone guard!" Mona warned before covering his head.

To that, everyone raised their arms and braced themselves.

"Oh shit!" Skull exclaimed as he realized the Shadow was aiming at him. He couldn't dodge out of the way and took the Cleave, breaking him out of his guard and tossing him onto the floor. "Argh...!" He got out in pain.

"Skull! Are you alright!?" Yin called out in concern.

Meanwhile, Joker cursed as the dyed blond had sustained a lot of damage even when guarding. While it was way better than him being knocked out instantly, he was going to have to think through this fight a lot more if he wanted everyone to come out of it alive.

"Mona, give Skull a Dia! Yang, go for the throat!" Joker commanded.

"Yes sir!" Yang growled out as she removed her mask "Wolverine! Gurentou!" She commanded.

Wolverine appeared and slashed at the large Shadow, however he merely shrugged off the blow.

"Fuck! He resisted it!" Yang growled out.

"Fire isn't working on him! Try something different!" Mona informed in a panicked manner.

"Dammit! Captain Kidd! ZIO!" Skull commanded as he ripped off his mask, with Captain Kidd unleashing a lightning bolt upon the Heavenly Punisher. Unfortunately, it shook it off without much of a problem.

"Welp, that did barely anything at all..." Yang grumbled out.

"Dammit!" Skull cursed as the Shadow charged once again. "Oh shit, it's charging again!" He then warned.

"Brace yourselves!" Yin called out as they guarded.

This time however, the Shadow aimed for the ash blonde and slammed his sword on her.

"GGGGGAAAAAHHHHHH!" Panther screamed in pain as she collapsed.

However, before she hit the floor, her Revival Beads shattered. A rush of energy ran through her body as she caught herself and stood back up. "Wh-Whoa..." Panther got out as some of her injuries healed.

"Panther! You okay!?" Skull called out in concern. "Damn, Panther wasn't even that hurt before we came here." He then got out.

"I-I'm alright." Panther winced out.

"We need a new approach..." Joker thought with a frown. "Come on Arsene, RAVAGE HIM! Eiha!" He commanded as summoned Arsene, creating a swirl of dark energy around the guard. Again, it shook it off. "What!?" He exclaimed in shock.

"What the!? I know for certain that these guys have an Electric and Curse weakness!" Mona got out in frustration.

"Yin! Slice its heels! Mona, what the hell does that mean?" Joker called out as the Vice Leader tried to attack with her blades, which didn't do a lot as well.

"Joker, this is really bad! This Shadow doesn't have any weaknesses we can abuse!" Mona informed in a serious yet concerned tone.

"Fuck! That's frustrating as hell!" Yang declared in annoyance. "It keeps powering itself up then attacking!" She then added.

"Predictable, but nonetheless with the potential to instantly down us." Yin admitted in a serious tone. "We need a different approach!" She soon stated.

The Leader then narrowed his eyes as he began thinking up of a plan. "Hm...Panther! Dormina! Skull, cast Tarukaja on Yang!" Joker commanded.

"Got it!" Skull and Panther replied as they summoned their Personas and did as they were told.

"Okay, now that's a pick-me-up." Yang breathed as she felt her strength increase. Meanwhile, Panther hit their enemy with Dormina, which caused the Heavenly Punisher to look drowsy for second before shaking it off and glaring at the Thieves.

"Shoot, it didn't work!" Panther cursed.

"Stronger Shadows have a higher resistance to ailments, so I'm not surprised." Mona stated noticing that the guard was powering up. "Everyone! Guard up!" He then called.

"SSSSHHHHIIIIITTTT!" Skull yelled out as everyone braced themselves.

This time, the Shadow went for Mona.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Mona screamed out as he was crushed by the Punisher's sword. As the Revival Beads around his neck crumbled into dust, he was flattened by the sword a second time.

"MONA-CHAN!" Yin cried out.

"The hell!? That stupid thing destroyed Mona twice in a row!" Skull exclaimed.

"And used up his Revival Bead." Joker cursed. "This is not looking good." He then muttered.

"I-I can't fight like this..." Mona groaned out as he pulled himself up before disappearing. "I'll provide support from the sidelines, but that's all I can do." He regretfully informed from a distance.

"One ally down. But it doesn't stop us!" Yin shouted out. "This is for Mona!" She then declared.

"Yin! Stop!" Joker commanded, causing the Vice Leader to look at him. "You're our healer now, keep yourself up and focus on support! Everyone else will take care of damage!" He then ordered.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine afterwards." Mona called out. "Just focus on the enemy!" He then added.

"...Dammit!" Yin cursed. "Okay, but I get the last blow!" She soon requested.

"Okay, sure, just follow my orders!" Joker replied before staring down the Shadow. "Alright, no more Mr. Nice Joker. PERSONA!" He then declared as he ripped off his mask once more, summoning Weredog. "There's no point in using spells, go for pure physical! CLEAVE!" He soon remarked.

Weredog howled as he charged at the enemy slashing at it as hard as he could. Despite getting through the Archangel's armor, it still stood strong. However, he looked really annoyed.

"Hrn...! That's it! I am done wasting my time with such riff-raff! You shall all perish in one blow!" The Guard Captain soon declared as it then got into a stance.

"Who says riff-raff these days?" Panther thought before seeing the Heavenly Punisher charge up. "Alright guys, he's going for another charged-up Cleave!" She informed as she prepared herself.

However, Mona's eyes widened as he realized that the Archangel's next attack was not going to be Cleave. "Oh no! That's not Cleave! It's about to use Varja Blast!" He soon warned, but it was too late.

"Shit! Switching Personas!" Joker called out in response.

"Vagina what!?" Skull managed to get out before everyone was blasted away.

Joker stood his ground as Incubus helped him survive the blast. However, the others weren't so lucky. Skull blown onto his back. Yang slumped on her feet, feeling dead tired after guarding against the attack. Yin and Panther was blown off their feet and into a wall, knocking them out.

"NO! Joker! Yin and Panther are down! And Skull and Yang aren't looking too hot either!" Mona informed in a panicked tone to the situation.

"D-Dammit...!" Skull managed to get out as he struggled to move, only to fall to the ground once more.

"Y-Yin...!" Yang called out with concern and panic in her voice. "Dammit, this asshole needs to die!" She then declared in a strained tone.

"Working on that, Yang." Joker replied, trying to remain calm despite the situation. "Both of you use some medicine. I'm still good so I'll draw his attention." He soon ordered.

"Joker, you're not doing well too. If you go down, we're dead." Yang reminded.

"Don't worry about me, worry about yourself. Now get yourself healed so you can help me kill this Shadow." Joker commanded as he dashed towards the Heavenly Punisher. "Arsene, ravage him! Eiha!" He soon ordered as he removed his mask.

The Heavenly Punisher didn't even flinch as dark energy swirled around him, barely affecting him. "Your ability to continue this fight is commendable, yet foolish! You will all die here!"

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." Joker taunted, hiding the fact that he was slightly panicking. "Dammit, I need backup here...I'm not dealing enough damage on my own..." He soon thought. "Why did I fuse Pixie!? She was the only Persona I had with Dia!" He then mentally ranted for his own blunder.

"J-Joker! Watch it!" Skull shouted out, snapping Joker out of his thoughts as he barely dodged a Cleave.

"Stop moving, idiot!" Yang got out as she applied the medicine on the dyed blond, having already applied medicine to herself. "Ugh, fine! Good enough! Get up! Joker's getting killed out there!" She then ordered.

"Alright, alright! Goddammit, my leg still feels funny." Skull got out as Yang helped him to his feet. "Captain Kidd, LUNGE!" He commanded as his Persona attacked the Shadow. It seemed to do some damage to him but wasn't toppling over any time soon.

"Why did you use Lunge!? I just got done healing you!" Yang called out.

"Skull does more damage with physical attacks! He might be an idiot, but at least he knows his-WATCH OUT!" Mona started to explain, only to see the Arcangel's mighty sword coming for them and...

CRUNCH!

...Destroying their chances for survival.

"No...I can't...die..." Yang managed to get out before finally unconsciousness overcame her, taking her out for the count.

"No! No no no no no! Joker, everyone is down!" Mona shouted out.

"I know that, Mona!" Joker called out as he swiftly dodged several attacks. "Come on, Akira! Think!" He thought, sweat dripping down his face.

They were out of Revival Beads, and he was almost out of energy. He was frantically overlooking every Persona he had, but he was frankly turning out blank.

"I can't beat this guy by myself..." Joker whispered out. "What the hell do I do!?" He then added in his head in rising panic.

"Calm down." A deep yet calming voice echoed within the Leader's mind.

"Huh?" Joker gasped out as he looked around, wondering where the voice came from.

"The power of the past has heeded your call. The truth must not fade into the fog of obscurity, it must be brought into the light. Do not hesitate, and open your eyes can call forth my power for your own." It then stated.

"The hell...?" Joker whispered out before shaking his head. "Okay...whatever you say! Just help us survive this!" He then requested.

"I am thou...Thou art I! My power is yours, now unleash your truth upon the world!" The now booming voice then echoed within the Trickster's mind.

Suddenly, a card appeared in his hand. At first it looked like a standard Fool Tarot card engulfed in blue flames before it started to flicker and glitch, transforming it into a black and red Le Mat card engulfed in red and black flames.

"...A-A card?" Mona got out in confusion as he then winced in pain.

"Let's make history...Izanagi Picaro!" Joker declared as he crushed the red card with a smile on his face.

FWOOOOOOOOOSH!

"Wh-Whoa...!" Mona gasped as the Leader's new Persona appeared behind him, wielding a naginata proudly. It reminded him of a delinquent for some reason.

"This...is power...!" Joker got out with a mad smile on his face. "Izanagi Picaro...Let's see what you can do!" He then declared.

"W-What is that...? Where did he get a Persona like that...?" Mona whispered out in awe before narrowing his eyes. "...And why is it wearing the Shujin uniform's style?" He then asked in confusion.

"Hey, do you think a King face a real God?" Joker soon taunted.

"The only god here is King Kamoshida! DIE!" The Guard Captain demanded as it prepared itself for another swing of its sword.

"Right back at cha!" Joker countered as Izanagi Picaro caught the Archangel's sword. "ZIONGA!" He commanded, barely flinching at the heavy drain of power as the new Persona shocked the Archangel to hell.

"G-GAH...!" The Guard Captain got out in pain.

"CROSS SLASH!" Joker commanded, feeling a ton of his stamina be drained as Izanagi Picaro used his naginata to nearly slice the Shadow in half. However, Joker had to go to his knees to rest a little bit.

"Joker! Are you okay!? Looks like the last attack drained you!" Mona called out. "Even with such a powerful Persona, you won't last long at this rate!" He then added.

"I figured as much." Joker grunted out. "I only have one more attack in me...I need everyone back on their feet." The Leader soon narrowed his eyes as he realized something. "But Izanagi Picaro doesn't know any healing spells. What do I do?" Joker thought in an antsy manner.

Suddenly, he heard someone moaning and groaning as they tried to get up.

"J-Joker..." Yin moaned out, struggling to her feet before collapsing once more. However, on the ground next to her was a card.

Without thinking, Joker picked it up. "Recarm." He read out loud.

Mona's eyes in turn widened to hearing that. "R-Recarm!? That's the revival spell that can bring back anyone from being unconsciousness!" He informed.

Joker's eyes widened before glancing at Izanagi Picaro. With determination in his eyes, he crushed the Skill Card, absorbing it for the Persona to learn before grabbing the Soul Food and scarfed it down in seconds. Suddenly, a shock of energy filled his entire being as his eyes glowed blue for a second before looking at his opponent.

Joker in response smirked.

"Izanagi Picaro! RECARM! RECARM! RECARM! RECARM! RECARM!" Joker declared, feeling massive amounts of energy being drained from him as the strange Persona raised its naginata.

Immediately, a large white field appeared over the other Phantom Thieves as they basked in the light, all of them also reopening their eyes as they struggled to move.

"Whoa...I thought we were dead..." Skull got out as he stood up.

"Alright! That's our Joker!" Mona cheered out as he rushed back onto the battlefield.

"Urgh...I still feel like I got hit by a truck..." Panther groaned out as she readjusted her jaw.

"Come on come on come on!" Yang growled out as she got up, ready for some revenge.

"Ah..." Yin moaned out as she felt energy flow through her veins. "...No...I won't fall...I still have a promise...!" She managed to get out as Kaeru appeared behind her in green flames. "Kamoshida still has to pay!" She then declared.

"That's what I like hearing!" Joker cheered out. "Hold nothing back! FULL ASSAULT!" He ordered.

"ATTACK!" Yin and Mona also ordered with their weapons out and at the ready.

"Grr...I will not fall to such unworthy heathens!" The Heavenly Punisher declared, despite how weak it sounded and looked. "The power of the King is at my side!" It then added to its declaration in a proud manner.

"God this guy's pathetic..." Panther muttered as she took out her gun.

"Power means nothing when you're dead." Yang got out. "Finish him off!" She then ordered.

"This is the end! No mercy!" Joker declared as they rushed the Shadow with everything they had. "Arsene!" He soon called out, swapping back to initial Persona.

"Kaeru!" Yin followed suit.

"Wolverine!" Yang continued.

"Zorro!" Mona got out with his cutlass ready.

"Captain Kidd!" Skull continued with his pipe ready.

"Carmen!" Panther concluded as she cracked the ground with her whip.

The Persona-users proceeded to thrash the Shadow around, hitting it with everything they had until the Guard Captain finally fell to the ground

"Just one last push! ALL-OUT ATTACK!" Joker commanded as they all disappeared. Suddenly, multiple slashes appeared on the Shadow.

"NO!" The Heavenly Punisher screamed out.

BOOM!

"Yes." Joker breathed out. "Power courses through me!" He then declared.

"Now I'm even more charming!" Mona got out.

"Gettin' stronger!" Skull revealed.

"Don't think I'm stopping now!" Yin got out in satisfaction.

"Nice! My fire keeps burning!" Yang declared.

"Hehe! Leveled up!" Panther cheered. "...Okay, now I'm starting to see why Skull is finding this weird." She then muttered out in realization.

"Yosh! We took it down!" Yin declared before taking in a deep breath. "We barely pulled it off though..." She then admitted.

"Yeah. Didn't realise those things could be so tough..." Skull breathed out.

"Never...underestimate the enemy..." Yang muttered as she narrowed her eyes. "It'll only get tougher from here on." She then added.

"Yes. It looks like the King is making a concentrated effort to stop us now." Mona stated in agreement.

"Well we are a threat to him." Yin reminded. "And for good reason." She then added.

"I think that means we're close to the Treasure. He's going to going all out from now on." Panther groaned out.

However at that moment...

SPLASH! SPLASH! SLASH!

Multiple guards formed in the room all at once. The Thieves' hearts stopped simultaneously before they hid behind the pillars.

"Crap...More of 'em..." Skull growled out.

"What should we do? Head back?" Panther asked.

"No. The Treasure is definitely up ahead, and there has to be a path to it somewhere." Mona stated. "Let's look around, Joker!" He then declared.

"We could...or we could run because we have definitely been spotted and I'm not feeling too hot right now." Joker pointed out.

"INTRUDERS! HALT!" One of the guards called out.

"...I vote for a tactical retreat." Yang deadpanned.

"I second that. RUN!" Yin shouted out as the Thieves ran away as the Shadows attacked.


(East Building Annex Safe Room)

SLAM!

"I hate this fucking castle." Yang thought after she gently opened the safe room door with a dive kick. "GET YOUR FUCKING ASSES IN HERE!" She soon shouted out as everyone dove in landing in a heap just before she slammed the door shut, barricading it with the table and chairs in the room. "Whew. That was a thing." She then admitted.

"That was not just a thing!" Skull called out.

"Ow..." Panther groaned out.

"Wait, where's Mona-chan!?" Yin exclaimed as she frantically looked around.

"Underneath you." A muffled voice coming from between Yin's breasts answered.

"Eeep!" Yin yelped out as she hopped off the not cat. "A-Are you alright Mona-chan!?" She soon asked in concern.

"Apart from seeing heaven, I'm fine." Mona replied in a slight daze. "So...soft..." He meanwhile mumbled out in satisfaction.

"...Really? Really!? Not even a clue?!" Yang called out.

"What?" Yin got out in confusion.

"...So, is everyone alright?" Yang asked, changing the subject.

"Well, all things considered, I'd say that went rather smoothly." Joker replied, trying to lighten up the situation.

"...I hate you." Yang deadpanned as everyone else sweatdropped.

"In all seriousness, I'm just glad everyone is-AAARRRRGGGGGHHHH!" Joker screamed out before collapsing onto the floor.

Somewhere in his head, he could hear Caroline shouting at him. "THAT'S WHY WE DON'T LET YOU FUSE STRONGER PERSONAS, BAKA!" She loudly declared in an annoyed tone.

He didn't know where that last baka came from, but he had bigger worries.

"HOLY SHIT!" Skull exclaimed as he helped him sit up and winced as he saw foam coming out of the Fool's mouth. "Oh shit, he's effin' dying! Mona!" He declared in a panicked manner.

"Skull! Step aside!" Mona ordered as he studied the fallen boy. "Hm. That's what I thought it was." He soon stated.

"What is it, Mona?" Yin asked. "Please don't tell us he's..." She then started in concern.

"Joker's fine. However, he drained all his stamina and SP using that odd Persona. It was too much for him to handle." Mona explained. "We need to leave. Joker can't go on like this. Even a Soma won't get him back into fighting shape. The only way to fix it is to return to the real world and let him get some sleep." He then revealed.

"Good idea. We're all pretty beat so we definitely need the break anyways." Yin replied in agreement. "Still, look on the bright side, at least we only had one near-death experience on this visit." She then added in encouragement.

"That is not encouraging." Panther bluntly stated to the Vice Leader.

"Alright, up you go." Yang got out she picked up the leader, carrying him on her back. "Now...how the hell do we get out of here?" She then asked. "The outside is crawling with Shadows and I can't fight while carrying him. And I'm not gonna leave him somewhere." She then reminded.

"Well, there is always...the shinobi way..." Yin pointed out as her roommate nodded in agreement as they then looked at the ash blonde.

"...Goddammit." Panther swore out, having an idea of what the Vice Leader was thinking.

"Here's the plan." Yin and Yang began as the group gathered around.


(Chapel)

"Okay. On my mark." Yin commanded as her roommate gave her a nod in confirmation, while the others waited in the shadows, waiting for the signal. "Three. Two. One." She counted down.

"GO!" The two Shinobi/Thieves shouted out in unison as they ran out into the open.

"There they are! Kill them!" One of the guards ordered as every Shadow in the room charged at them.

However, the two were swiftly dodging the hulking masses. Sliding under them, flipping over them and tricking them into slamming into each other.

Once they reached their objective, they gave each other a quick nod and summoned their weapons.

"NOW!" Yin called out as she and her roommate sliced the King's statue in the Achilles' Heel, causing it to tip backwards and hit the stained glass window, creating a hole and several cracks.

"That's our cue! Go!" Mona ordered out as the blond made sure their Leader was secure on his back before they all broke into sprints.

Dodging past the guards and leaping over the pews, all the active Phantom Thieves managed to run up the statue like a ramp before leaping off it to make their grand exit.

CRASH! SHATTER!

They all smashed through the weakened glass, turning around in mid-air to wave the Shadows goodbye in their own way.

"Chu~!" Panther was blowing them a kiss.

"Ha! Effin' lame!" Skull remarked as he threw up Devil horns.

"I bid you adieu!" Mona called out as he threw a rose at them.

"See ya assholes!" Yang got out as she was flipping them off.

Yin, however, she had her phone out. "Later~!" She concluded with a wink as she pressed the Metaverse Navigator app.

[Returning to the real world...]


(Shujin Academy, Alleyway)

As the group returned to the real world, their clothes had returned to their Shujin Academy uniforms as they all took in deep breaths save for Morgana, who was leaning on their Leader's shoulder as he looked at the rest of the group.

"Woohoo, that was awesome! A successful escape!" Asuka declared in excitement while pumping a fist.

"So the Shinobi way is causing mass hysteria and destruction?" Akira asked while using the blond for support.

"Actually, it was using the window as an exit but I had to give it a little flair. I mean we are Thieves." Asuka giggled out before giving off an adorable wink.

"And that was so much fun honestly." Ann admitted. "Although, we do have to add another near-death experience for today." She sheepishly added.

"Man, Kamoshida and his guards are probably so pissed at us." Ryuji admitted as the adrenaline of the escape was still running through his blood. "But that was so worth it!" He then declared with a smirk.

"Ryuji is right about the King being angry at us. Something tells me it's Security Level is gonna stay at a high percentage for a while." Morgana soon stated.

"Well, we aren't going there for a while anyway. By the time we come back, I bet it will be back to normal." Akira got out as he stopped using the blond as support and stand on his own two legs. However, he stumbled forward a little, causing the as the ash blonde and Vice Leader to catch him just in case he fell.

"You okay, Akira-kun? You don't need one of us to walk you home?" Asuka asked as the glasses-wearing boy held his head.

"No, I think I'm fine. Just a massive headache." Akira groaned out. "I'm sure it'll go away by tomorrow. Hopefully." He then added.

"Well, we better not push ourselves. We still have a good two weeks before the meeting." Ryuji suggested.

"Yeah. We should spend some time resupplying and buying some new stuff. That last asshole was a pain." Homura got out with a nod.

"It looks like it's getting late anyways. We all better head home." Ann sighed out.

"Alright, we made some great progress in the Palace. I'd say we're over halfway to the Treasure." Morgana declared from in the Leader's bag. "I'm proud of all of you, so everyone get some much needed rest and get ready for our next infiltration." He then informed.

"Uh, I guess see ya tomorrow then. Hope you feel better Akira." Ryuji go out as he walked off.

"Well, until next time." Asuka replied as she tightly held her bag.

"Yep, see ya." Akira responded with a wave.

"Better get to sleep, Akira. We don't want any trouble now, do we?" Morgana suggested with slight threatening tone.

"You know, I always feel like you're making me sleep at gunpoint ever since you moved in..." Akira stated, the conversation sure to continue as they headed home.

"I have to hurry and visit Shiho before visiting hours are over." Ann revealed she hugged the two girls. "See ya tomorrow!" She then called out as she ran off.

"Well, I guess you could call this another day." Homura remarked. "Let's go home. Maybe we can pick up some food on the way home." She then suggested.

"If you're getting dinner, I guess I'll get the bath ready Homu-nee." Asuka meanwhile offered with a smile while taking the other girl's hand.

"Hehe, wouldn't miss it for the world." Homura giggled out as they walked away from the school.

After saying their goodbyes, the group went their separate ways in order to rest up and prepare.

But they promised to come back to the Palace with a vengeance.

"Count on it." The Phantom Thieves thought in determined unison.


Save Game... Quit!

(Persona Tracking)

Joker

Level: 10

Personas: Arsene (Resist: Curse) (Weak: Ice, Bless), Jack Frost (Block: Ice) (Weak: Fire), Bicorn (Resist: Curse) (Weak: Elec), Incubus (Resist: Elec) (Weak: Gun, Bless), Weredog (Resist: Fire, Ice) (Weak: Gun, Elec), Izanagi Picaro (Block: Elec, Curse) (Weak: Wind)

Skills: Eiha (X2), Cleave (X2), Sukunda, Dream Needle, Adverse Resolve, Bufu, Ice Break, Baisudi, Lunge, Tarunda, Garu, Ice Wall, Apt Pupil, Life Drain, Evil Touch, Agi, Tarunda, Dodge Curse, Rakukaja (X2), Cross Slash, Zionga, Recarm

Yin

Level: 10

Persona: Kaeru (Resist: Earth, Fire) (Weak: Wind, Gun)

Skills: Magna, Media, Sukukaja

Confidant Rank: Rank 2

Yang

Level: 10

Persona: Wolverine (Resist: Physical, Gun, Fire, Wind) (Weak: Water, Earth, Bless, Psychokinesis)

Skills: Agi, Cleave, Gurentou

Confidant Rank: Rank 2

Mona

Level: 10

Persona: Zorro (Resist: Wind) (Weak: Elec)

Skills: Garu, Dia, Patra

Confidant Rank: Rank 1

Skull

Level: 10

Persona: Captain Kidd (Resist: Elec) (Weak: Wind, Earth)

Skills: Lunge, Zio, Tarukaja

Confidant Rank: Rank 1

Panther

Level: 10

Persona: Carmen (Resist: Fire) (Weak: Ice, Water)

Skill: Agi, Dia, Dormina

Confidant Rank: Rank 1

(Persona Analysis)

Persona: Weredog
Arcana: L' Eon (Aeon)
Origins: Fiction (Date Unknown)
Stat Spread: Decent Strength and Endurance, low everything else.
Skills: Cleave, Rakukaja.
Resists: Fire, Ice.
Weak: Gun, Electric
Description: Weredogs are therianthropic humans that appear mostly in fictional materials from around the world. The weredog is thought to be the latest take on the wide range of were-creatures seen through recent history. They are closely related to the original werewolves in their ability to take the form of a canine, however it is generally that of a domestic dog. They're not often seen in folklore, but are generally considered the least violent of all the were-creatures.

45,000 words this chapter. 183,473 words ready to be put into chapters. We are not giving up on this.

UknownHero signing off, my friends!