We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Hey, UknownHero here and welcome to the first chapter of 2020. So... December was complicated. Had to go through a family crisis, nothing too major other than... stuff. Going to uni for my bachelor in Game Design and blah blah blah, you don't care, let's take care of some reviews.

Okay, why is everyone here just because of Godzilla... Okay... To PheonixWizard: 1) Yes. 2) No. To Thunder Dragon: If you're looking for this story to eventually have a lemon, that's a no. You're going to get nudity and sexual stuff but actual sex is outside of what I'm and my collab partner are willing to do. However, we have plans for romance between Akira and the shinobi. To Midgardsormr Jr: Valentine's Day... in-story.

Okay, that's it for review let's loot 'em blind!

Load Game... Start!


Chapter 17: Phantoms of the Castle- Day 2


(4/21, Evening)

(Shibuya, Shin Megami Apartment Complex)

"What a day..." Asuka breathed out as she laid down on the futon next to roommate.

"Sis, all we did was lay around, watch TV and gorged ourselves with whatever was in our fridge. We really didn't do much today after we bathed." Homura pointed out. "Honestly, Ann was right. That is kinda fun to do." She then admitted with a smirk.

"Yeah..." Asuka replied. "Ikaruga-chan would be upset at me if she heard that I was lazy today." She then admitted with a giggle.

"Well, she's not here, is she?" Homura reminded as she rubbed her roommate's head in an affectionate manner.

"True, I wonder how she and the others are doing?" Asuka then wondered in a curious manner.

"I'm pretty sure they're fine." Homura reassured. "You seem to wonder about them a lot. Now let's get some sleep. Night Sis." She then added.

"Hai." Asuka replied once more as the two held each other close and closed their eyes, immediately falling asleep as a result.


(4/22, Early Morning)

(Asakusa, Hanzō Shinobi Girls Dorm)

It was a good morning as the Good Shinobi of Hanzō Academy started to get ready for the day.

"OFFERINGS TO THE BREAST GODDESS!"

And Katsuragi loved to start it off with a bang.

BOOM!

...A bang.

BANG!

There we go.

"This is a waking nightmare..." Ikaruga sighed out as she got up. "I know she misses Asuka-san, but this is getting ridiculous..." She then added in a frustrated manner.

"DON'T COME ANY CLOSER KATSURAGI!" Yagyū demanded from another room.

"Oh, what are you going to do? Fu-" Katsuragi countered in a taunting manner, however...

SHINK!

"Thank goodness..." Ikaruga breathed out in relief as her door opened, revealing the white haired girl. It looked like she had just been in a fight.

So, she was half naked.

"Katsuragi has been incapacitated." Yagyū calmly informed as she closed her umbrella while a cold mist came out of the room as well.

"Thank you Yagyū, I appreciate this." Ikaruga sighed out in grateful relief. "Ugh...Everything really fell apart the instant Asuka left, huh?" She soon stated.

"I wouldn't say instant. It is more accurate to say...the day after? Or was it ten seconds before...?" Yagyū replied. Those 24 hours were honestly a blur. All she could remember was boobs...

"Well, no matter. Let's just enjoy this peaceful morning before we head to classes today." Ikaruga stated.

Yagyū nodded in agreement and was about to follow the temporary leader for breakfast, only to notice that the pink haired girl wasn't up yet. "I think we should wake Hibari up before we get breakfast." She soon suggested.

"I'm already up, Yagyū-chan." Hibari yawned out as she approached the two. "Where's Katsu-nee?" She soon asked.

"Over there." Yagyū casually answered, pointing over to the blonde in mention.

Hibari did a double take to check if her eyes were working and...Yep, they were. "Y-Yagyū-chan, did you really have to freeze Katsu-nee in a block of ice like that?" She soon asked.

At the mention of this, the three looked at the blonde, who was encased in a block of ice.

"She'll be fine." Yagyū offhandedly replied.

"But doesn't she need to breathe?" Hibari then asked in concern as she tapped the block of ice.

"I left a small hole near her mouth so she can breath." Yagyū then revealed.

"But what about frostbite?" Hibari then added.

"..." To that, Yagyū said nothing and walked away.

"Y-Yagyū-chan!" Hibari exclaimed as she went off to follow the white haired girl.

The ravenette merely sighed to this as she followed her fellow shinobi. "...Again, a waking nightmare." Ikaruga muttered as she followed her juniors to school after the white haired girl got a new uniform on.


(Shibuya, Shin Megami Apartment Complex)

In contrast, the apartment of the Shinobi/Thieves was peaceful as they cuddled one another in an adorable and sister manner.

However the two also knew they had to get up as their eyes slowly began to open.

"Morning sis." Homura casually greeted. "Yesterday was relaxing..." She got out.

"Hai." Asuka replied in agreement as the two sat up. "How are you feeling?" She then asked.

"About ready to start a revolution." Homura answered with a smirk.

"So you're feeling better?" Asuka soon asked in concern.

Homura only stood up in response. "I'd say so. Let's get ready for school Sis." She then stated.

"Sure thing." Asuka replied as the two headed for the bathroom.

They woke up a little later than usual, so they had clean themselves quickly and prepare a lighter breakfast than usual.

"Hurry up! We can pick up more food on the way to school!" Homura called out as her roommate got her shoes on.

"Ok!" Asuka replied as she fully got her shoes on. "I really hope Akira-kun has notes on yesterday's classes..." She then muttered out in concern before they left the apartment.


(Shibuya, Subway Station)

As the two went down the stairs to the subway, they noticed the ash blonde waiting for the subway as well.

"Ah, morning Ann-chan." Asuka happily greeted with a smile.

The ash blonde in response turned her head to see the two shinobi girls. "Hey, missed you guys at school yesterday." Ann got out. "Did something happen?" She then asked in concern.

"Er...Just an unforeseen circumstance." Homura replied with a blush. "I wasn't feeling well." She vaguely added.

"Oh really? Must've been pretty bad." Ann got out.

"It was." Asuka and Homura replied in perfect unison as they nodded to that.

As a result of hearing this, the ash blonde raised an eyebrow. "You were really in sync just now." Ann informed.

"It's just a coincidence Ann-chan." Asuka and Homura stated once more in unison.

To hearing that bit, the ash blonde blinked to the tan skinned girl's response. "Homura-chan, you just called me Ann-chan like Asuka-chan does usually." Ann then pointed out.

"So what?" Asuka and Homura innocently got out with raised eyebrows.

The ash blonde soon sweatdropped to witnessing this. "Are you two even noticing it?" Ann deadpanned.

The two then tilted their heads to that. "Noticing what?" Asuka and Homura then asked.

This in turn made the ash blonde sweatdrop again. "...Let's just go to school." Ann soon suggested, just as the subway arrived and they got on.


(4/22, Daytime)

(Shujin Academy, Classroom)

Another day, another lesson as the class they had now was history with Inui.

"Let's talk about unification of Japan and the Edo period today." Inui began as he wrote on the chalkboard. "The period was characterized by economic growth, strict social order, isolationist foreign policies, a stable population, no more wars, and popular enjoyment of arts and culture." Inu then explained.

"And look how that turned out." Homura muttered out.

"There were three key figures during that period. Tokugawa Ieyasu, Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Nobunaga tried to unify Japan, Hideyoshi brought an end to the Sengoku period and Tokugawa established the shogunate in Edo." Inui continued. "Unifying Japan is a very difficult task, as you can imagine, and these men needed protection from those who would try and stop them. Among the many protectors was Hittori Hanzō, who served under Tokugawa." He then informed.

"Hanzō?" Asuka thought to hearing that. "Like Jii-chan?" She then added in her head as the teacher searched for someone to answer his next question.

"Akira, tell me, who was Hittori Hanzō?" Inui questioned.

Akira had some cursory knowledge of the Edo period. But he did remember a few things about Hittori Hanzō and that he was a...

A samurai. Er...wait, maybe he was thinking about someone else if he was guessing samurai.

A demon. No, he was sure Hanzō was real. Maybe he spent too much time in the Metaverse...

A ninja. That answer seemed to be the right one, however there was something telling him that it wasn't.

After a bit of deliberation, he came to his answer. "A samurai." Akira answered.

"Eh?" Asuka quietly got out in a curious manner to hearing this.

"Correct. Hittori Hanzō was a samurai. Many sources get that part wrong by claiming that he was a ninja. It was his descendants with their ninjutsu manuals as well as his ancestry in the Iga province that he became a ninja by association." Inui revealed.

This in turn got the attention of the two shinobi girls. "Huh, that's interesting to know..." Asuka and Homura whispered in perfect unison.

"You know, it's quite unfortunate that you can be defined by forces outside your control. You could be a hero in real life, but end up vilified by history. All without giving your side of the story." Inui then informed.

"Like what happened to me..." Homura thought as she narrowed her eyes before glancing at Akira, who looked rather annoyed.

"I wonder if Jii-chan knows about this..." Asuka thought in a curious manner as the other students whispered amongst themselves about how smart the local criminal was.


(4/22, After School)

(Shujin Academy, Classroom)

"Hey, aren't you going to try and get a job again?" Ann asked as she packed up her stuff.

Homura froze as she remembered how well job hunting went the last time. "...I've decided to take a short break from that." She awkwardly and hesitantly replied.

"Well, see you all tomorrow." Ann got out as she got ready to leave.

However just as Asuka was about to wave her good-bye, they all suddenly got messages on the IM.

[TheWildJ0ker: Alleyway. Now.]

Asuka looked at the message before looking towards her roommate and the ash blonde, who nodded as they all had dead serious expressions on their faces.

Time to return to the castle.


(Shujin Academy, Alleyway)

"Hey guys." Asuka greeted as she and her roommate approached the group. Asuka had to dash off to grab their duffel bag full of their gear and items before they had to meet up with everyone, so they were the last ones there.

"Okay, everyone's here Joker." Morgana announced.

"Alright everyone, ready to go?" Akira asked in a serious tone as he took out his phone.

"Yep. Go for it." Ann replied.

"Let's do this." Asuka got out in a determined tone.

"Yeah, it's been four days since the last time we went in." Homura replied in agreement.

"Hurry up, I want to see that bastard cry!" Ryuji declared in determination.

Nodding to that, Akira opened the app. "It's showtime." He declared as he tapped on the app.

[Now entering Kamoshida's Castle of Lust...]


(Kamoshida's Castle of Lust, Castle Gate)

While Yin was passing out everyone's equipment, the Leader approached her. "Hey, Joker." Yin greeted.

"Hey, Yin. Got some new supplies." Joker informed as he reached into his bag and pulled out the items he bought from Takemi. "Careful, I had to go through a lot to even buy this stuff." He then informed.

"Recov-R...Revivadrin...? I never heard of medicine like these before..." Yin muttered out while reading out the names.

"That's because it's all custom made." Joker replied.

"Oh. You made friends with a drug dealer, nice." Yang called out as she made sure her Micro-Uzis were clean and in working order.

Joker could only sigh in response. "She's a doctor. She has a clinic in Yongen." He then corrected.

"Okay Joker. As long as she can supply us with what we need." Yin replied with a nod as she put away the medicine into the duffel.

"I still have to pay for the medicine." Joker reminded as he then looked at the castle. "Time to get more free money." He then thought with a smirk.

"Joker's got that money making gleam in his eyes." Yin pointed out.

"Hey, when your actual jobs and your only source of income is the murder of legends and myths, you have to be...uh..." Joker started, only to trail off. "Um...yeah, this got away from me quick and even with context it's pretty disturbing if you think about it." He then added.

"This entire situation is ridiculous." Panther sighed out.

"Speaking of ridiculous, are you gonna use that Velvet Loli Paradise before we head in?" Yang asked their Leader.

"There is only the two, Yang." Joker sighed out. "And I stopped by the Velvet Room yesterday and did some fusions. I'm good for now. Got something that resists Physical. Yin, Jack Frost is fine." He then informed.

"Oh thank God..." Yin breathed out in relief.

"Alright everyone, let's get to where the Treasure is this time." Joker commanded as he adjusted his gloves. "Everyone all set?" He soon asked.

Yin meanwhile nodded in agreement to that. "Yeah, we've waited a while now and prepared ourselves. We are all ready to go now." She then declared.

Panther in turn nodded in agreement to that. "Yeah, let's get to the Treasure." She replied.

"It's just annoying that we gotta run all the way through again." Yang admitted in an annoyed tone while rubbing the back of her head. "But it's not like we can just teleport back to the last Safe Room we were in..." She then added.

"About that, there is actually a way to do that." Mona then revealed. "I just didn't want to tell you until we got pretty far in." He then added.

This in turn got everyone's attention as the looked at the not cat.

"...Really?" Yang soon asked, blinking to hearing that.

"Open up the Meta Nav." Mona instructed.

"Oh, don't tell me we're walking over there in the real world..." Yang groaned.

"No, I was playing with Joker's phone and noticed...this." Mona informed as he pointed at a new feature on the Nav.

[Please select Safe Room.]

"...What?" Yang got out in confusion.

"Select...Safe Room?" Yin slowly repeated with the same amount of confusion.

"Was that tab always there!?" Panther soon asked in disbelief.

"I don't think so..." Skull replied as he looked at his phone. "Did the Nav update last night or somethin'?" He then asked.

"Looks like it. And it's not even taking a byte of memory." Joker stated.

"From what I can tell, all the previous safe rooms we've secured is on this tab. I'm guessing if we select one of them, we'll just end up there in the blink of an eye!" Mona informed.

"Hold up, are you sayin' we got effin' Fast Travel!?" Skull soon exclaimed in disbelief.

"...Basically." Mona awkwardly replied while kicking the ground slightly.

"They should really put introductory instructions on this..." Joker muttered.

"Well, Mona kinda fills that role already." Yang pointed out.

"Still, now we can warp to any Safe Room we've been to so far..." Yin got out in amazement to the thought.

"Looks like it's one way though and it can only be used once. Establishing shortcuts to the entrance and back is still rather important." Mona informed.

"Then what's the point of having this feature other than just gettin' back to where we were last time?" Skull groaned out.

"Well, being able to just teleport into the middle of a Palace is way too useful. Maybe there's something preventing more uses of the feature." Joker guessed. "Besides, it's a serious time saver. And we need all the time we can get and I'd rather not spend it on areas we've already explored." He then added.

"Well, let's not look too hard at the gift horse's mouth and just accept it." Mona stated.

"That type of statement is coming up more often than I'm comfortable with..." Yin admitted.

"Um...isn't that gift horse sayin' a little different?" Skull pointed out.

"Let's not argue about sayings and go. I think we're ready." Panther requested.

"Actually, not yet." Mona said. "I have something that might help in our infiltration."

"Well, I do like getting new toys. What do you have, Mona?" Joker asked.

"A new piece of equipment that will massively enhance our mobility." Mona informed as he reached into his fanny pack. "I think you're ready for this." He then added as he pulled out an odd looking device.

"What's that?" Skull got out as the Leader picked it up and examined it.

"It's some kind of gauntlet." Joker answered before pointing it at a nearby wall. Suddenly, a hook attached to a rope shot out of it. "Arm-mounted grappling hook launcher." He then corrected.

"Where the hell did you get that?" Yang asked.

"Created them while Joker was sleeping last night." Mona informed. "Just used some junk and some stuff from the second-hand shop." He then added.

"Really? Are you sure they can handle our weight?" Panther questioned in concern.

Mona in turn nodded to that. "Yup, the Metaverse already makes it so we can pull off feats you can't usually do in the real world, grappling is just one of those feats." He soon explained.

"Are we just gonna ignore that a cat made grappling hooks out of trash?" Skull however remarked in a deadpan tone.

"Well, this is gonna be useful." Joker stated as he rolled up his sleeve and attached the device. "Thanks Mona." He then added.

"You're welcome, Joker." Mona replied with a nod. "I could only make the one though, so please don't damage it."

"I'll take good care of it. Though, what about the others?" Joker then asked.

"They'll get their own soon enough once I have the materials. Just think of it as a test drive before we add it to our set of equipment." Mona answered.

"So I'm a guinea pig?" Joker bluntly guessed.

"Yeah, pretty much." Mona casually replied.

"...Well, as long as I get to try out all the cool stuff first..." Joker muttered out as he adjusted the new piece of equipment.

"You can use the grappling hook to get yourselves to areas you couldn't reach before." Mona explained. "We can even use it to get closer to the top of one of the towers." He then added.

"This could be useful. Though, I'm sure there are other uses..." Joker got out. "Just please don't explode after five uses." He mentally added.

"I think I have a grappling hook of our own in the duffel so we can follow Joker." Yin informed as she checked the bag. "Though, it will be a bit time consuming getting everyone across. We won't leave you alone, Leader." She then added.

"Thank you, Yin. Now then, let's head back in." Joker declared as he scrolled through the list of safe rooms. "Er...East Building Annex, right?" He soon questioned, getting nods of approval from the rest of the group in response. "Okay, here goes nothing." He thought as he tapped the name of the safe room.

Soon the group was enveloped in shadows as the black blob shot into the air and into the depths of the castle.


(East Building Annex Safe Room)

When they arrived at their chosen safe room, Joker, Mona and the two Shinobis landed smoothly. The others...not so much.

"Oof!" Skull grunted out as he landed on his face. "Dammit..." He grumbled in pain.

"Ah!" Panther yelped as she landed perfectly onto a chair. "Oh...I'm not going to get used to that..." She awkwardly admitted.

"Is everyone okay?" Mona asked as he landed on the table.

"Huh, tingly." Yang got out as she rubbed her arms. "Instantly warping feels weird." She then admitted.

"Yeah, not unpleasant but not something I wanna do a lot." Yin agreed with a nod.

"Did anyone leave anything behind?" Joker asked. After checking themselves, the group shook their heads. "Alright. Let the infiltration continue." He declared as they went through the door.


(East Building Annex)

The thieves soon made their way back to the chapel. However, they were stopped by the dozen guards still patrolling the area.

"Hide, hide, hide!" Panther warned through clenched teeth as the thieves dove for cover behind a bench, just as a guard want past them.

"Oh right, this place is crawling with guards." Yang quietly grumbled as she poked her head to study the Shadows' movements. "Guess the King's paranoid that someone will destroy his statue again." She then added.

"...Wanna do it again?" Joker asked.

"Fuck yeah I do." Yang answered with a smile under mask.

"Good, because I have a plan on how to deal with all these guards in one swoop." Joker got out with a smirk before he quietly started to explain his plan to his fellow thieves.

"Ohohoh...~ That sounds awesome!" Skull laughed excitedly.

"And really loud. It's going to increase the Security Level by a lot. You sure want to do that?" Mona asked in concern.

"It beats dealing with all the guards here. I'm into it Joker." Yang spoke up as she turned to the Vice Leader. "You up for it?" She then asked.

"Well...We could probably sneak through them...but this sounds more fun and it pisses the King off. Let's do it." Yin replied with a nod of approval.

"Oh, this is gonna suck..." Panther muttered under her breath as they went off to do their part.

Mona, Skull and Panther were guiding the guards into one place.

Yin and Yang were cutting the statues ankles and were hiding behind it, waiting for the signal.

And Joker...

"Hey assholes!" A voice called out, causing the guards to look up.

It was Joker, on top of the statue's head, with a rebellious smirk on his face as he then brought his fingers to his lips and whistled loudly, confusing the guards greatly as a result.

On cue, Yin and Yang pushed.

And with that the statue fell over...

BOOM! CRASH!

...Crushing all the Shadows and completely ruining the chapel.

The Leader rode the statue down and leapt off it at the last moment, landing in a stylish pose. "Haha! Nice work, everyone!" Joker laughed out. "Let's clean up the leftovers before we fully explore this place." He soon ordered.

"Sure thing!" Yin replied as they went off and did so. "Huh, I feel like I got stronger after that." She soon revealed.

"Yeah. Me too." Yang muttered out.

"Haha! That's awesome!" Skull cheered out.

"The King probably heard that from his golden toilet." Panther got out.

"That worked out perfectly, Joker!" Mona praised with a smirk on his face. "However, we raised the Security Level significantly, so we better watch our backs now." He soon informed.

"Then let's bring it down again." Joker replied as everyone jumped over to his position. "Lead the way, Yin." He soon requested.

"Hai!" The Vice Leader got out with a quick salute before hiding amongst the rubble upon spotting a few guards checking out the damage.

"Shit, the King's gonna be pissed!" One of the Shadow got out while another guard turned to the others.

"Please bring some concubines into the King's chambers. He will need all the help he can get to work out his stress." Guard #9598345 ordered before turning to the ruins of the statue once again. "Damned thieves...We know you're here! Prepare to be punished for your insolence!" It then declared.

"Well, you can certainly try you bastards." Panther quietly muttered out.

"Hey, I bet we can use some of these rocks as a distraction if these guys ain't cooperatin'." Skull suggested as he picked up the smaller pieces of the once glorious statue. "Get them to turn their backs on us so we can ambush 'em."

"Huh. That's actually a really good idea Skull." Mona admitted. "Hope you have a good arm Joker. And don't bother using those rocks to hit guards, you'll only give away our position."

"Wouldn't think of it." Joker replied as he started putting some rocks into his coat. "Alright, we better get to the upper level. Probably safer than here." He then muttered as they began to move between cover, making sure to avoid the guards.

However, they ran into an obstacle in the form of guard out in the open and in the way of their destination.

"Damn, this guy's pretty far away and there's nothing we can use as cover." Skull cursed.

"Hey Joker, think you can grapple yourself towards the enemy and rip their mask off?" Yin then suggested.

"Is the grappling hook that powerful enough to do that?" Joker asked Mona.

"Why are you thinking about physics right now?" Mona pointed out.

"...Alright." Joker got out with a shrug before focusing on the guard, aiming his gauntlet and fired.

And completely missed.

Yang had to resist face palming as the Leader quickly retracted the grappling hook before the guard could notice. However, due to the wonderful condition of subpar intelligence, the guard didn't even hear it.

"Come here!" Joker called out in a low tone as he fired his grappling hook again, hitting the Shadow. He then pulled himself towards it and leapt onto its back. "I'll reveal your true form!" He then declared as he ripped off the mask, revealing two Cavalrymen and two Laconic Warriors.

"We got some Brutal Cavalrymen now! You want to kill it or add it to your arsenal, Joker?" Mona called out.

Joker in response smirked to this question. "Time to recruit some new blood." He replied. "Jack Frost, ravage them with Bufu!" He commanded as he ripped off his mask and snapped his fingers.

"I will end your eternal suffering with a smile, ho!" Jack Frost got out as it shot a snowball into the knight's face, causing him to fall off his host.

"There we go!" Joker cheered out.

"Nice one Joker!" Mona praised. "Now to take down those Laconic Warriors!"

"Yin, you've got this!" Joker called out he high fived and passed the baton over to the Vice Leader.

"I'm on it Joker!" Yin declared as she removed her mask. "Strike them down! Magna!" She commanded as green flames surrounded her, aiming for one of Warriors.

Despite not being weak to Earth, it was so weak that it was flattened by the rock shot at it, killing it.

"Way to go, Yin! My turn!" Panther called out before dashing towards the other Warrior, striking it with her whip before jumping back to the others. "Did some damage, but not enough to kill it!" She informed.

"Allow me." Mona got out as he stepped forward. "Witness my resolve! Zorro, Garu!" He then called out as he summoned his Persona, finishing off the Shadow. "Nyahahaha!" He soon laughed out.

"Alright, Mona! Guess it's my shot now!" Skull declared. "Whip 'em, Persona! Lunge!" He roared as Captain Kidd charged straight at the other Cavalryman, forcing him off his horse. "Get wrecked!" He then commanded with a smirk.

"All enemies down! Hold 'em up!" Yang shouted out as they all took out their guns.

"Hey, the one on the left, let's talk!" Joker demanded as he and the others aimed their guns on the Shadow. "Irritable..." He thought as he narrowed his eyes.

"Ow, ow, ow...What the hell ya doin'...?" The Cavalryman grunted out in pain.

"I just want your power." Joker answered.

"So that's yer move? ...Then I'll guess I'll talk first. I'll decide if I'm gonna help you after." The Cavalryman responded.

"Fair enough. Go ahead." Yin got out as the thieves nodded.

"I was just passin' by, and you roughed me up real bad. Hey, what's yer deal? Somethin' bad happen in yer life or somethin', sonny?" The Cavalryman then informed followed by the question.

Joker's eye twitched a little at that. "Shut up! You're getting on my nerves!" He ordered.

"Man, yer parents must be ashamed ta hear you talkin' that way. You oughta be punished." The Cavalryman then remarked.

"Already am. That's why I'm here" Joker muttered under his breath.

"Y'know, in the human world, I hear that when people meet each other, it's called fate. What kinda fate do you do you think there is in this meetin' between me and you?" The Cavalryman soon got out followed by another question.

"Hey, didn't a Shadow already ask that question?" Panther pointed out.

"Yeah...Bicorn." Joker replied with a nod. "Uh...is there an explanation for that, Mona?" He then asked in a mutter.

"I dunno. Hm...I guess Shadows under a Palace's rule can't think for themselves that much." Mona guessed.

"Eh, good enough. Guess I'll just use the same response I gave Bicorn." Joker replied with a shrug before turning back to the Cavalryman and clearing his throat. "Well, I guess fate brought us together." He then stated.

"Huh, I guess fate's got some kinda role in all sorts of mysteries..." The Shadow laughed. "What a coincidence, my sentiments is exactly-Hey! I can't believe it...I remember now...!" He began before realizing something.

"I think he even had the exact same response as Bicorn..." Yang thought with a sweatdrop.

"I am Berith. There is no need to fear, master of souls...I wholeheartedly pledge my loyalty to you, as your mask." The knight on a horse Shadow revealed as he was absorbed into Joker's mask.

"Welcome to the team, Berith." Joker replied as his eyes returned to their normal color.

"What happened to the accent?" Yin thought with a raised eyebrow.

"That was a quick one, Joker. You're getting better at this." Mona stated.

"I think that was only because we were asked the same question from a different Shadow..." Panther sighed out.

"Hey, let's get a move on before the guards realise one of their buddies are missing." Yang soon suggested.

"Agreed, now let's go!" Yin replied as she took the lead.

The thieves eventually found a stack of crates and a break in the railing, allowing them to get up to the upper floor of the chapel. There was a door nearby, but it was barred up so they had to find another exit to the place.

"Hey, I can see a chest across from where we are." Mona announced.

"Alright! So, how are we gonna get there?" Skull asked.

"We can probably use the archways and supports to get there." Panther muttered out before seeing the two shinobi girls step back, as if they were about to get a running start. "What are you two doing?" She then asked.

"Shortcut." Yang simply replied before dashing and jumping across the gap.

Yin then got out the grappling hook from the duffel bag and quickly created a tightrope across.

The Leader in response smirked to the sight of this. "Nice one, girls." Joker got out before thieves carefully walked on the rope to the other side.

"Y'know, you could've just thrown the hook from where we were." Skull pointed out as he finally made it across the rope.

"Yeah, but..." Yin started, only to trail off as she realized that the dyed blond was right. "Oh..." She awkwardly got out before she sheepishly began rubbing the back of her head and giggled.

"Well, it could be a useful thing we should take note of. The shinobi can cross bigger gaps than us, so they might be able to give us access to places we couldn't get to otherwise." Mona pointed out.

"Alright, I guess that could help out a lot. Just say the word, Joker, and we'll leap across the bigger gaps." Yang stated.

"Thank you. Now let's see that chest." Joker said as he walked up to the treasure chest. He let out a quick sigh of relief upon seeing that the chest had no lock before opening it.

As soon as Joker opened the chest, a pungent smell came out of it, causing everyone to gain disgusted expressions and began gagging as they covered their face.

The two full face masked girls bringing their hands up to under their masks as well.

"Aw gross, what is that?" Panther got out as Joker pulled the Grimy Gear out of the chest.

"It's armor. But it's useless in this state. We're gonna have to clean it once we head back." Mona informed with a grimace on his face. "I think there's a laundromat near Leblanc. We can wash it there...if it can be washed." He then suggested, though was unsure about it.

"Ugh, did someone wipe their ass with that? We are not putting it in with the rest of our crap. It would stink like that thing for weeks. Probably ruin it too." Yang remarked.

"Well, we don't have anywhere else to put it." Panther pointed out.

"Alright..." Joker sighed out as he stuffed the dirty armor into his coat. Surprisingly, it didn't leave a lump. "I was thinking about having someone equip it but that would only leave them vulnerable and dirty." He then admitted.

"Thank you for making the sacrifice, Leader." Mona got out.

"Huh, the stink vanished." Yang then pointed out. "Thank God for that." She soon added in relief.

"Yeah, it would've been bad if the smell gave away our position. Now let's get going. Maybe there's a way out of here on the other side of the room." Joker stated.

The others nodded and got up onto the supports to get across the room.

"Why are there statues of Kamoshida up here?" Skull asked as they walked across the supports, with three more smaller Kamoshida statues underneath them. "I don't think anyone will ever see 'em." He then added.

"Yeah. People usually don't look up." Yang replied. "...I bet the King likes to fu-" She then started, however...

"Do not put that image in my head, Yang." Panther sighed out, interrupting the tan skinned girl.

"Sorry, just thinking out loud." Yang apologized as they jumped off the supports and landed back onto solid ground.

"Hey, look! A treasure chest!" Panther called out as she spotted one right near them.

"Thank you, Panther. Alright, let's see what it's-" Yin started as she started to walk up to the chest, only for a guard to spawn right in front of her. "What the-!?" She exclaimed.

Joker, thinking quickly as the guard started to turn around, jumped in front of the Vice Leader. "GAH!" Joker cried out in pain as the guard slashed his chest.

"Joker!" Yin exclaimed as the Shadow revealed itself to be three Kelpie.

"Dammit, we've been ambushed! Everyone, brace yourselves!" Mona warned before being hit with Garu. "Me-OW!" He then cried out in pain. Despite his resistance, he couldn't take a lot of damage.

"Aw shit, they're summoning another one!" Skull called out as another Kelpie appeared.

"Joker! Get up!" Panther called out as she dodged over an attack before another Kelpie joined the battle.

"Come on, Kaeru, Media!" Yin commanded as Kaeru appeared, healing everyone and giving the Leader enough energy to get back onto his feet.

"STOP SUMMONING SHADOWS YOU FUCKING HALF HORSE DICKS!" Yang shouted out in frustration. "I HATE THESE STUPID THINGS!" She then declared.

"A multiple target spell would be amazing right now." Mona stated.

"Those exist!?" Yin exclaimed.

"Yin, Mona told us that last time we were here!" Panther called out.

"But just because we don't know such a spell doesn't mean we can't improvise..." Joker stated as Arsene appeared behind him, without even touching his mask.

"You shall not fall here! Adverse Resolve!" Arsene's voice echoed.

"Huh!?" Yang exclaimed before suddenly feeling power course through her. "Wh-Whoa...!" She got out in a surprised manner.

"Wait, did Arsene use a spell without a command?" Skull got out in surprise.

"It's an auto-skill! It's a skill that triggers after certain conditions are met! Let's take advantage of it!" Mona informed. "Come on, Skull! They're weak to Electricity so give it your all!"

"Okay, I'll just spam Zio!" Skull called out as he placed his hand on his mask.

"Good idea, just keep an eye on your SP!" Joker warned.

"I hear ya! Captain Kidd!" Skull shouted out as he ripped off his mask, his Persona casting Zio after Zio upon the Kelpie, knocking all to the ground. "That multi-target thing would really be good right now..." He then groaned out as he held onto his knees, feeling a little drained after using a decent chunk of his power.

"That was great, Skull! You turned it around!" Yin praised. "Let's finish them off!" She then ordered.

The dyed blond then smirked as he stood up straight. "Eat shit! ALL-OUT ATTACK!" Skull shouted out as they rushed the Shadows.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! CRACK! SLAM!

"One-liner!" Skull got out as the Shadows all died.

"Seriously Skull?" Yang deadpanned.

"What? I couldn't think of anything better." Skull grumbled out as the Vice Leader approached their Leader.

"I'm so sorry, Joker. Moh, that was so stupid of me. I'm really sorry." Yin quickly apologised as she bowed her head in shame.

"It's okay, Yin. It looked worse than it feels. I'm fine." Joker reassured with a smile.

"Let me heal you a little more just in case. Zorro, Dia!" Mona called out, healing the Leader. "All better?"

"Yeah. Thanks Mona." Joker ranked the cat.

"Hey, we should be thanking you and that weird skill Arsene used. Think you can use it when we're not ambushed?" Yang asked.

"Adverse Resolve only triggers when we're ambushed." Joker informed.

"Well, let's hope we never use that skill again." Mona stated. "We need to be more aware from now on." He then advised.

"Hey, do you think that you can use Third Eye to detect Shadow spawn points?" Yang asked.

Joker however shook his head to that. "I don't think so. I guess even Third Eye has its limits." He replied. "Now let's see what that chest has inside." He declared as he walked up to the chest and opened it.

"Hm. Wood Clappers. Decent find." Mona muttered out.

"Wood...Clappers?" Yang deadpanned. "I don't even know what that is and we almost died for that?" She then got out in disbelief.

"I think its a portable fire alarm...I think...?" Joker awkwardly replied.

"Well, it helps resist burning from what I can tell." Mona informed. "Who hasn't gotten an accessory yet?" He then asked.

"I think everyone except Skull and his Muckle Anklet." Yang answered.

"Muscle Anklet." Yin corrected with a giggle, causing the tan skinned girl to blush underneath her mask.

"I think Joker should use it. He has Jack Frost after all and it would be bad if he got set on fire while Leader's using him." Panther suggested.

"That's sounds reasonable enough." Joker replied with a nod as he equipped the Wood Clappers, replacing his Hip Glasses, which he gave to the Vice Leader for safekeeping. "Alright, let's get going." He then ordered as the Vice Leader.

Nodding to this, the entire group went on to traverse through the Palace.

They made their way into a hallway, where they saw a guard patrolling it. The thieves quickly hid behind chairs. "Ah...do we wanna go into a fight...?" Yang whispered out.

"We got into too many last time, which left us unprepared for that Guard Captain in the chapel. But we do need to get stronger if we want to survive the Palace." Mona muttered out. "Your call Joker. What do you want to do?"

"Hm..." The Leader hummed out as he flashed his Third Eye. The guard came up yellow. "...We need to strengthen our Personas. Plus, we have a Soma to rely on just in case." Joker then informed.

"You're the boss. Let's fuck 'em up!" Yang declared as she leapt onto the guard's back. "I wanna see your true form, asshole!" She then called out as she ripped it off.

"Two Silkies and an Incubus! We can take them easily!" Mona informed as the others leapt into action. "Remember. Fire, Electric and Guns are our best bets!"

"I got it!" Panther called out as she fired her Vector machine gun, hitting the Silkies and missing the male sex demon. "Oh, crap!" She swore out.

"Don't worry, I got it!" Yang spoke up as she fired her Micro-Uzis, hitting the Incubus in the tail. "One down!"

"Nice going, Yang! Keep it up!" Yin cheered out.

"Gurentou, Wolverine!" Yang commanded as she ripped off her mask.

However, the Silky she was aiming for barely dodged Wolverine's claws.

"What!?" Yang exclaimed as her mask reappeared on her face. "Aw, come on!" She got out in frustration as she stomped her foot.

"Shit, here comes the retaliation!" Joker warned as one of the Silkies casted a spell on the not cat, who didn't realise he was the target until it was too late.

"Huh? What...? Why do I feel..." Mona mumbled out before falling to the floor, asleep. "Zzzzz..." He soon snored out.

"Crap! Mona's takin' a cat nap!" Skull shouted out.

"AH! Mona-chan, wake up!" Yin called out while flailing her arms at the sight.

The not cat however remained completely asleep as his head rocked back and forth. "Zzz...Finally, I'm...human..." Mona sleepily mumbled out.

"Aw, that's really sad." Panther got out with a wince.

"But kind of adorable." Joker added. "Nonetheless, you're getting fried! Skull!" He then called out.

"Got it Leader. What's up, Persona! ZIO!" Skull commanded, his Persona knocking down both Silkies. "Took 'em all down!" He declared in a satisfied tone.

"TAKE THEM OUT!" Yin roared out as the conscious Persona-users rushed the Shadows.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! CRACK! SLAM!

"And...finish!" Joker called out as they jumped back.

"What a waste of our time." Skull got out as the Shadows faded.

"Mona-chan, please wake up." Yin begged as she nudged the not cat, hoping to wake him up.

"Zzzz...Lady Ann...Lady Asuka...don't...do that... I'm...too...Zzzz..." Mona however mumbled out.

The tan skinned girl however rolled her eyes to this. "Oh for the love of-" Yang began as then walked over and...

WHACK!

Whacked the not cat atop the head.

"OW! I'M AWAKE!" Mona yelped out.

"Good, you're awake." Yang replied with a nod of approval.

"O-Owww...! You didn't have to hit me that hard!" Mona meanwhile winced out in pain.

"Yeah, that kinda counts as animal abuse." Joker however got out in an awkward manner.

"Aw, you're just overreacting." Yang waved off.

"Yang..." Yin sighed out. "Didn't have to do that." She then chided in disapproval.

This in turn caused the white full face masked girl to wince. "S-Sorry, Yin..." Yang apologized, a blush on her face that she was glad no one else could see it.

"Why are you apologizing to her!?" Panther exclaimed, shocked by the sudden reaction.

"Yin really has Yang wrapped around her finger huh..." Skull muttered out.

Yang's eye however twitched to that remark. "Sorry if I'm apologizing to the first real friend I have..." She grumbled.

"You should be apologizing to Mona, you siscon!" Skull called out.

"I'm not a siscon!" Yang countered in a furious manner. "...Am I?" She however thought in concern to herself as she glanced towards her roommate.

"What's wrong with Yang-nee caring about me? That's not a bad thing." Yin meanwhile innocently thought in confusion.

"Can we please move on? We can save Yang's secret submission to our Vice Leader at a safe room." Panther groaned out.

"It's not really secret..." Skull however remarked.

The tan skinned girl's body meanwhile shivered in a furious manner as she stormed off. "You all are dicks!" Yang called out. "...Save for Yin!" She then added.

"You keep proving it with every word!" Joker pointed out.

"Keep that up and I'll raise training by 10,000 Yen!" Yang countered.

"...Shit." Joker groaned out in depression. "Foot, meet mouth..." He muttered.

"Huh?" Skull got out in confusion.

"Nothing just...stuff. Let's go." Joker sighed out before following the frustrated girl, travelling further into the depths of the Palace.

They went through a door in the northwest (according to the map) and saw that it led to a long hallway with doors on the sides. The thieves proceeded to check every door, just in case there was a safe room or a room they could loot.

"Hey, we got an unlocked door here." Yin informed as she peeked inside. "No guards..." She then revealed.

"Maybe. Stay cautious, Joker. We don't want another surprise attack like last time." Mona got out as they carefully went into the room, slowly inching their way to the chest. However, their fears were thankfully unfounded as the room was empty, no guards in sight or in hiding.

Letting a breath, Joker opened the chest and grabbed what was inside. "Breath Sash..." He muttered as he looked at the accessory.

"It increases your energy. You should probably give it to me. I could use the boost." Mona suggested.

"Here you go then. We need our medic alive after all." Joker replied as he gave the not cat the sash, who equipped it without delay.

"Ah...I already feel better than ever." Mona breathed out.

"We gotta stop by Untouchable some time and buy some accessories..." Yang muttered out.

"Guess we should've bought accessories while we were shopping the other day, huh." Panther got out.

"Oh, maybe we should bring some of our shinobi equipment to see how they work in the Metaverse." Yin suggested.

"We'll test it out eventually. Now let's check the other rooms." Joker got out as they exited the room, going over to the next door.

"I can sense an enemy on the other side of this door." Mona informed.

"It just a dead end room though..." Yin spoke up as she checked the map. "Doesn't look like it's anything special..."

"Well, we won't know until we see. Get ready." Joker ordered as he raised his hand before silently counting down.

The Leader kicked the door open, not giving the guard any time to react as he leapt onto its back.

A quick battle later, the thieves checked the room for anything useful.

"Was there anything in here that it was guarding?" Panther asked.

"I found a pearl in this pot." Yin replied. "But that's about it..."

"Well, that was a wash..." Skull sighed out. "Man, wish we could just assassinate guards without havin' to fight 'em..." He soon grumbled in annoyance.

"I agree. The enemies here aren't giving us much in terms of experience..." Joker replied.

"Hey, unless you figure out how to rip off their mask in such a way they die before the Shadow reveals its true form, we're gonna have to deal with it. Quit yer bitchin'." Yang stated.

"Did...Did you go Kansai for a moment there?" Panther asked.

"...What's Kansai...?" Yang questioned with a blank look on her face.

"The Kansai area of Japan, they talk that way Yang." Mona explained.

"How the fuck do you know!? You don't even know what a bagel looks like!" Yang exclaimed.

"...What's a bagel?" Mona asked.

"See!?" Yang groaned out.

"Hey, I read in my offtime. I don't always hang out in Joker's bag." Mona stated.

"...Why did your mind go to bagels in the first place?" Joker asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, did you find Hope's Bagels? They make the best damn bagels in Tokyo." Skull got out in excitement.

"Can we please stop talking about bagels and keep going?" Panther groaned out.

"Okay. Let's see if there are any more doors we can." Yang muttered as they continued on.

However, Joker noticed a barred door with a chain level next to it.

"Hello." Joker muttered out as he pulled down the chain, causing the bars on the door to lift. "Alright." He then whispered to himself with a fist pump as he opened the door into a familiar area.

"And we're back in the chapel..." Yang sighed out. "At least we have a shortcut back." She then added.

"Hey, they already repaired the statue." Joker noticed. "You have to admit these guys must have a great work ethic." He then added.

"It's more like due to his cognition, we would have to affect the actual gym if we want to do anything permanent here in the castle." Mona briefly explained.

"I-I know. I was being sarcastic." Joker got out before they turned around and continued their way down the hallways. Eventually, they made it to a spiral staircase.

"Um...up or down?" Panther asked.

"Down." Joker answered before going down the steps.

"Sweet! A Treasure Chest!" Skull got out as they arrived at the bottom of stairs. "Ah, but it's locked up pretty tight..." He then added as the tan skinned girl cracked her knuckles.

"Stay back, Yang. I'm using one of my lockpicks." Joker informed as he pulled it out.

About a minute later, Joker finally unlocked the chest.

"You're getting faster at that, Joker." Mona complimented as the Leader opened the chest while the others peeked in.

"We found a cutlass?" Yang asked as she pulled it out of the chest. "Huh, a new weapon for you Mona." She then remarked.

The not cat in turn smirk as he was given the new weapon. "Nyahaha! A fine blade for a master thief." Mona boastfully declared as he held the cutlass up with a satisfied gleam in his eyes.

"Okay. You know anyone like that?" Skull asked in a joking manner.

"Hey!" Mona...and Joker got out in an indignant tone.

"Thank you for defending me Joker." Mona then thanked.

"Who said I was?" Joker replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Just equip the stupid sword..." Yang groaned out, not wanting this to turn into yet another long winded conversation.

"A Ryozanpaku Sword." Mona got out as he gave his new weapon a few test swings.

"Hey, almost forgot a pearl in here." Yin informed after taking a second look into the chest before placing it in the duffel. "Now let's go up now."

The others nodded and ran up the stairs, satisfied with their little detour.


(Roof)

The Thieves climbed onwards and upwards on the stairs, feeling ever so closer to the Treasure but knowing they still had a ways to go.

"Well, we're outside again." Yang pointed out as she looked around.

"And it feels just as stuffy than it is inside." Panther added.

"The moon should not be that big..." Joker thought as they arrived on the rooftop.

"Why are all these crates here?" Yin wondered out loud as she looked around the area.

"Yin, I think we should be focusing on that." Skull pointed out as he gestured towards the meaning looking tower.

"Oh! That matches up with the map. There's no doubt that's the tower we're heading for." Mona stated.

"And that's where the Treasure is." Panther added with a smile on her face.

"At the top just like in a video game..." Joker finished.

"Almost there. We just need to find an entrance into that tower." Yang got out as she looked around. "Over there. Right across from us." she then pointed out.

"Really? Because that seems a little easy for this place..." Skull remarked...just as several guards with visible red auras spawned around the area. "Aw, crap..." He soon swore.

"Nice jinxing it, dumbass." Yang grumbled out.

"That's a lot of red Shadows." Joker muttered out. "We'll only be asking for trouble engaging in combat. Stealth or die." He then declared in a serious tone.

"Luckily, all these random crates create perfect hiding spots." Mona stated.

"Seriously, why are all these crates here!?" Yin quietly asked. "It practically makes a maze..." She then added as she looked around before dashing to cover, signalling the others to follow her.

Though as they got further in, they noticed that one of the guards was remaining stationary.

"He's not movin'..." Skull got out with a frown.

Joker dug into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of the Kamoshida statue. "Why don't you check this out." He whispered as he threw the rock a fair distance away, hoping to distract the guards.

"What was that noise!?" One of the guards soon asked as he went over to the source of the sound.

"Okay, now." Joker quietly ordered as they dashed past the guard with ease.

Their hearts were pumping against their chests as they slowly but surely made it to the other side, but stopped when they saw a guard approaching their position. Skull nearly yelped, only for Yang to cover his mouth in time and glare at him.

The thieves held their breaths as a guard walked right past them. If they moved an inch, they were sure they would not survive the ensuing fight.

Those seconds felt like an eternity, but finally, the guard passed by them without even glancing at them.

"...I think I peed my Phantom pants a little." Skull quietly admitted as the tan skinned girl gave him a look of disgust in response.

"So glad they're dumb as rocks..." Panther muttered out.

"Yeah, well, rocks still hurt. Let's move." Joker ordered as they crawled along the set of crates before rolling over to the next set.

"What's in these crates anyways?" Yin wondered quietly as she carefully opened it a little to look inside.

And quickly shut it close.

"Yin, what was that? You're gonna get us caught if act like that." Yang asked in a curious tone.

"N-Nothing. Let's move." Yin stammered out as she dashed off to the next set of crates.

"Okay, now that just makes me curious." Yang thought as she peeked into a crate.

As soon as she saw an eye, she shut it and followed the Vice Leader.

"Goddamn disgusting..." The two shinobi thieves thought in unison.

Eventually, they got past all the guards and made it to the other side of the rooftop.

"Made it." Skull breathed out as Joker went to open the door.

He then slammed his shoulder into it, but the door didn't budge an inch.

"That's a nope." Joker stated with slight annoyance on his face.

"Of course the door's locked." Yang sighed out. "Looks like we're gonna have to find an alternate entrance." She then stated.

"Don't you mean a window?" Joker corrected

"I thought that was implied." Yang replied. "We should probably head to rooftops then." She added as she looked around and saw a stack of crates nearby. She silently went over to it and climbed up the crates, the others following suit as the traveled along the roof.

"Careful, you don't want to fall off here." Mona warned.

"You don't have to tell us tha-OH CRAP!" Skull got out before nearly falling off after a misstep but managed to correct himself in time. "I'm fine! I'm fine." He soon informed the others.

"Real smooth, Skull." Mona muttered to himself. "You need a safety strap?" He then asked.

"I'm fine, keep going." Skull grumbled out.

With that, the thieves continued on, getting closer to the Central Tower...that is, until they hit a slight problem.

"Oh, come on!" Skull cried out upon seeing the obstacle.

Part of the castle roof had collapsed, leaving a giant gap between them and the window into the Central Tower.

"That's...pretty far..." Yang muttered out. "No way we can jump across that."

"I think we can find another way across." Joker got out, activating Third Eye as he looked up to see a blue glowing anchor point in the form of a flagpole on the other side. "There." He whispered out before firing his grappling hook, wrapping it around the pole.

"You think that can hold your weight?" Yin asked in concern.

"Hey, we have no other way across and I'm not letting a thousand feet drop stop us." Joker answered before leaping off the roof.

The thieves tensed as they saw their Leader swing across, but breathed a sigh of relief when he made it across, going through a window and into the tower. Yin then pulled out her own grappling hook and hooked it on the flagpole as well.

"We shouldn't all just grab on and swing. It's a miracle the pole is still holding up." Panther suggested. "We should do it one-by-one."

"Sounds good, Panther." Mona replied with a nod.

"So...who's going first?" The Vice Leader asked.


(Central Tower)

"Hup!" Joker grunted as he landed into a roll. "Nailed it!" He then congratulated himself with a fist pump.

"AAAHHH!" Skull screamed out as he landed next to the leader, face-first. "Damn it." He grumbled out.

"As graceful as a monkey, Skull." Mona sarcastically complimented as he landed on the dyed blond just as Panther went through the window.

"Holy crap, that was scarier than I thought." The ash blond breathed out, placing a hand on her chest to calm herself down.

"WOOHOO!" They heard Yin squeal in excitement as she and the tan skinned girl swung inside.

"...Yang, why are you piggybacking Yin?" Joker asked.

"Because going one at a time was taking too long." Yang answered as the Vice Leader hopped off her back.

"I'm sure there's a hidden meaning to that." Joker mentally deadpanned as the Vice Leader retrieved the grappling hook and put it back into the duffel. After quickly nodding to each other, they went through the door in front of them.

Only to see an extremely weird sight.

The entire area had this sickly purple tint to it all. There were sections of the floor shifting up and down constantly, creating holes and walls, and the atmosphere had gone from stuffy to crushing.

"Holy shit..." Yang got out. "What the hell is up with this area?" She then asked as she looked around.

"The distortions are getting stronger. The Treasure has got to be nearby!" Mona stated.

"If this is how it look here, then the actual Treasure Room should look like an alien world..." Joker muttered out.

"This scenery is making me a bit dizzy." Yin then admitted.

"Stay focused Yin. We need you." Panther got out as she patted the Vice Leader on the back.

"Hai." Yin replied with a nod.

"I feel weird too, Yin. Like...I feel heavier..." Yang groaned out. "I don't think we can use our agility here." She then informed.

The door to the west was barred, so they decided to head south, passing by statues of women's torsos. "Real classy. I'm surprised they're not interactable..." Yang mentally grumbled as they continued on.

When they made it to the next room, parts of the floor rose up, perfect for cover. However, they didn't see any need to use it just yet since they haven't encountered any guards yet.

"Two doors, Yin." Joker got out. "Which one?" He then asked.

"Uh...Let's go for the one on the right." Yin replied as she walked up to it. The others nodded and followed the Vice Leader.

"Huh...What's this...?" Panther asked as they went through the door.

"It looks like an elevator." Yang guessed. "Wanna bet it takes us up to the Throne Room?" She then suggested in annoyance.

"It doesn't look like it goes any higher though." Mona pointed out. "Still, wanna check it out Joker?" He then asked.

"Well, it won't hurt if we take a little detour." Joker got out as they stepped onto the elevator.

Yin then pulled the lever, activating the elevator, sending the thieves down the castle's floors.


(Hidden Room)

"H-Hey...where are we...?" Skull asked as the elevator stopped.

"Is it some sort of secret area?" Yin got out as they stepped off the elevator.

"It's not really a secret if you can take an elevator there..." Joker muttered out. "Not even a key to the thing..." He then mumbled to himself before exploring the area a little.

"Hey, come over here!" Yang called out as she saw an empty elevator shaft.

"Another elevator..." Joker muttered out. It seemed to go to a lower floor from where they are.

"This probably goes down to the dungeons." Yang guessed. "Wanna check where it goes?" She then asked.

"Um...Something's coming up already!" Panther warned as she saw the chains moving. Soon enough, they saw the elevator...carrying a guard.

"Oh come on!" Yang growled in frustration as tackled the guard down and ripped its mask off. "GET THE FUCK OVER HERE!" She soon roared.

"Twilight Prostitutes, inbound!" Mona warned as the Shadows spawned. "New enemies Joker, but we can take 'em easily." He then informed.

"Hope they don't have any brainwashing spells or something." Joker muttered out. "Let's think logically here, what could they be weak to?"

"Well, Incubus was weak to Guns, let's see if its female counterpart has the same!" Mona called out as he fired his slingshot at one of the enemies.

"Aaaahhhh~" One of the Shadows cried out as she was hit in the boobs, knocking her down.

"Yep, that's a weakness!" Mona cheered out.

"Oh, that makes me feel weird..." Panther mumbled out.

"They're like succubuses..." Joker quietly remarked. "Let's see what they can offer." He thought to himself with a smirk.

"Joker! Get your mind out of the gutter!" Yang growled out. "Mona, keep shooting!"

"Right, Yang!" Mona called back as he fired again, downing the other. "Haha! Too easy!"

"All down! Surrender or die!" Yang called out as they aimed their guns at the Shadows. "What's the call, Joker?" She soon asked.

"...Leave nothing!" Joker declared.

"Time for some brutality! All-Out Attack!" Mona shouted out as they rushed the Shadows.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! CRACK! SLAM!

"Cleanup complete!" Mona called out as the thieves landed.

"Cleanup not complete! One of 'em survived!" Skull corrected.

"Looks like it's going to bargain for its life." Yin guessed with a small wince.

"Teacup! TEACUP! I'm sorry! Please let me live!" The Twilight Prostitute begged.

"Teacup?" Yang repeated in confusion.

"Safeword." Joker quietly guessed.

"Your call Joker." Panther got out, ready to do anything for their Leader.

"...You won't die today. But only if you lend me your power." Joker soon ordered.

"R-Really? Wow, you're such a forgiving master...For real, thank you for saving me." The Twilight Prostitute got out before gasping. "Wait...just talking to you...I just remembered!" She soon declared in excitement.

"And what is that?" Joker asked with a smirk.

"I am thou, thou art I. I am Succubus. You want to be with me so much you're making me a mask...? Sure, do whatever your heart desires." The seducing female Shadow replied.

"I will, Succubus." Joker responded with a nod as she was absorbed into his mask. "Hooo...'kay. That's a rush." He then got out as he summoned his newest Persona.

"Ugh...I'm already feeling dread from her..." Yang groaned out.

"Me too, Yang. Me too." Yin admitted as well.

"Wow, these girls...they looks so yummy I want to eat them out-I mean...No, I meant eat them out." Succubus got out. "You sure know how to pick 'em, Trickster." She then encouraged.

"Well...I guess you're a little better than Incubus." Joker muttered to himself.

"No she isn't." Yang deadpanned.

"Bah, I'm only joking. Don't be such a prude." Succubus replied with a pout. "You better use my abilities well. Until you need me, Trickster." The new Persona then got out before returning to Joker's soul.

Yang meanwhile rolled her eyes. "Ignoring the female pervert, what does the new Persona know Joker?" She remarked followed by the question.

To that, the Leader closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment. "She knows...Marin Karin and...Rebellion." Joker informed.

"You got a brainwashing spell from her. That could be useful given the right circumstances." Mona stated with a nod of approval.

"I don't see myself using it often though." Joker admitted. "I don't want to waste energy on a spell if I can just kill the enemy after all." He then added.

Meanwhile, the CEO of a certain company and a door sneezed.

One wondering why she felt insulted, the other feeling annoyed and mentally grumbling about priorities in combat.

"Well, you may never know if it'll come in handy." Mona stated.

"Hey, look! It brought a chest with them." Panther noticed as Yin looked into it.

"A Bead." Yin got out as she placed it into the duffel.

"A full heal to one person. That's pretty rare, Joker. It could save us if our backs are against the wall." Mona explained and advised.

"Where are these things coming from anyways?" Yang asked. "Why would the King even need half the stuff here? I mean, he certainly doesn't need effin' Revival Beads..." She then added.

"It could be a result of the Palace's creation or to fit the cognition. His guards need equipment, medicine and such after all." Mona guessed.

"I don't think Wood Clappers would help guards catch thieves..." Yang deadpanned.

"Well, you may never know when the slaves decide to start burning stuff." Joker got out before turning around to see something at the end of a hallway. It was a little dark, so he quickly flashed Third Eye to see that an entire wall was glowing blue. "Okay...that's interesting." He then started.

"Hm? What is it?" Panther asked as they followed the Leader over the large painting. It depicted the King in all his glory, laughing maniacally.

"What the hell is this?" Skull growled out.

"What the heck...? This is disgusting..." Panther got out with a frown at the painting.

"Either way...it's kind of strange that this would be a dead end." Mona pointed out.

"It is odd to have such a large painting cover an entire wall at the end of a hallway..." Yin muttered out. "Hm...I wonder..." She began in a curious manner as she pushed on it.

"What are you doin' Yin?" Skull meanwhile asked.

Yin ignored the dyed blond as she pushed on the painting.

Suddenly, something gave way and the painting...opened.

"I knew it." Yin got out with a quick fist pump before jumping through the secret entrance.


(Central Hall)

Yin rolled once she landed on the other sider, with the others following close behind her.

"Please let it be the Treasure Room..." Skull whispered to himself.

"It isn't." Mona replied. "This is..." He soon began.

"What the...Isn't this...?" Yin started as she looked around.

"Where it all started. The Central Hall." Joker finished.

"What the- All the way back here!?" Skull exclaimed.

"Skull, quiet down!" Panther chided. "There could be guards!" She then reminded.

"But...I'm not detecting any." Mona informed. "This floor is completely clear of any enemies." He soon stated.

"What? Really?" Yang got out in an incredulous tone. "There's no one here!?" She then asked.

"Yeah. Looks like. Either they're on break or the King's shifting guards to the upper floors to stop us." Joker guessed.

"So this stupid ugly-ass painting was a shortcut to and from the Central Tower." Yang noted as she looked at the familiar scenery before turning back towards the painting/revolving door. "Motherfucker." She then growled out.

"You gotta be kidding me. There was an elevator this whole time..." Skull complained.

"Well, it's not like we would've noticed in the first place." Joker pointed out. "Still would've been nice to know..." He mumbled under his breath.

"Why wasn't this on the map!?" Yin got out as she double checked the map before realizing what she just said. "...It's a secret entrance into a secret room. Of course it wouldn't be recorded on the map." She deadpanned.

"Welp, good time as any to put it down." Mona suggested.

"Have I mentioned how much I hate this fucking place?" Yang groaned out.

"You and everyone else." Panther replied with a nod.

"At least we can fully explore this area now. Thank God the guards stopped patrolling here..." Joker stated. "Split up and start looting. Joker needs a new knife." He soon ordered.

"Leader's really getting into being a thief, huh." Yin muttered out as they separated to loot the area.

Joker went upstairs to lift the bars, allowing them to access previous areas of the castle should they want to visit.

Meanwhile, the others were grabbing everything and anything that wasn't nailed down while searching for any doors they could open.

"Hey, there's a door here I can't open." Mona informed from the west side of the Entrance Hall. "Tried using my lockpicks but no dice." He then added.

"Let me do it." Yang sighed out as she went up and unlocked the door for him. "You don't need lockpicks. It's locked from this side, ya dumb cat." She soon revealed.

"I-I know that. I was testing you, and you did flawlessly Yang." Mona awkwardly praised.

"Ssssuuurrreeee..." Yang muttered out as she rolled her eyes before opening the door. "It's just back where we started." She soon informed.

"Hey, Joker! Got something!" Panther called out as the Leader came down stairs. "Found it in a chest on the left of the stairs." She explained as she gave him the item.

"Revival Bead! Yes!" Joker cheered as he pumped his fist.

"Joker, you get this one. We can't let our Leader fall and we used up all our Revival Beads with that stupid Archangel thing." Yang suggested.

"Yeah. We don't wanna rely on Izanagi Picaro to get us out of situations like that." Yin stated in agreement as the Leader put on the bracelet of beads.

"Anything else?" Joker soon asked.

"I got some loot we could sell." Yin replied as she showed the team what she got.

"And another Bead." Skull added as he tossed it over to the Vice Leader.

"There's so much useful stuff down here." Yang got out. "And we could've left it all behind. Kinda forgot we didn't get a chance to really explore this place." She then added.

"Hey, since we're back at the bottom and we can easily get back to where we were, wanna use the Velvet Room?" Yin asked.

"Hm...no, I think I'm good for now at least." Joker replied after a bit of thought. "Let's get back to where we came. This was a nice detour but we're burning daylight." He then advised.

Nodding in agreement to this, the group as a whole dashed back deeper into the Palace.


(Central Tower)

The elevator eventually arrived back at the level they were at, the thieves stepping off just as they arrived.

"Back to the infiltration." Yin muttered out as they left the elevator room and went for the other door.

"Hold up, I can detect a Shadow on the other side. It's pretty close to the door." Mona warned. "We better do this right, or else we're screwed." He then advised.

"Don't worry, we can do this." Joker replied in a confident manner as he opened the door. They saw the guard, their back thankfully facing them. Though, sections of the floor rose up as soon as they stepped in.

"Enemy up ahead." Mona informed.

"I can see that Mona." Yang deadpanned before leaping onto its back just as Joker activated Third Eye.

"Wait, DON'T!" Joker called out, but it was too late as Yang ripped off its mask.

"Oh no." Yin whispered out as she saw the Shadow spawn, revealing...a Heavenly Punisher.

"OH SHIT!" Skull exclaimed in shock.

"Fuck, it's that Guard Captain thing that almost killed us!" Yang swore out. "Are they just regular guards up here!?" She then asked.

"Correct. And they're really strong, people! A single mistake can be lethal!" Mona warned.

"Let's hope they have a weakness this time." Joker got out as he ripped off his mask. "Arsene, Eiha!" He soon commanded as his Persona struck the still changing Shadow.

"AAARRRGGGHHHH!" The Archangel cried in pain as it collapsed.

"Huh. It actually worked this time." Panther muttered to herself.

"It's down! As expected of our trump card!" Mona praised with a smirk on his face as everyone aimed their guns at the fallen enemy. "I don't think it'll be willing to talk." He then added.

"Just kill it, Joker! Don't even give it a chance!" Yang growled out.

"Alright. You're finished! ALL-OUT ATTACK!" Joker ordered as they rushed the down Archangel. "The show's over." He calmly declared while adjusting his glove with the rebellious smirk on his face.

"...Well, that was almost a disaster." Yang breathed out in relief.

"We...We better let Joker check the level of our enemies before we take them out." Mona panted out.

"Agree...despite fighting stronger ones gives us more of a reward." Joker replied. In satisfaction.

"Sorry, but I'd rather not die over more money." Panther groaned out. "I mean, we're just starting out here..." She then added.

"Sorry." Joker apologized. "Just overestimated our power a little." He then added.

"That's okay. Summoning our Personas is a pretty awesome experience." Yang admitted.

"So true." Yin replied with a nod of agreement.

"Well, keep your eyes on the prize, the Treasure. We're not here to make money, we're here to-Hey! Treasure chest!" Mona started, only to interrupt himself over spotting a gold locked chest nearby. "Openitopenitopenit!" He all but demanded in excitement.

"Okay, Mona. As long as you realize your hypocrisy." Yang quipped out.

"Yang!" Yin however chided in disapproval.

"He's not paying attention." Panther deadpanned as the Leader opened the chest with the not cat on his shoulder watching eagerly.

"Balm of Life and a Pearl." Joker got out.

"Haha! That's amazing! A Balm of Life can revive someone back to their full strength!" Mona informed. "Better than Revival Beads." He then added.

"Yeah, but they activate the instant we're wiped out. We're gonna need someone to apply that." Yang pointed out as the Vice Leader placed it away.

"Well, I'm the medic of the team and I consider myself decently fast. I bet I can get up before you even fall." Mona stated.

"But what if you need to be revived?" Panther asked.

"Then it's Lady Yin's. If she falls, then it's Yang. Then Panther. Then Joker. Then Skull."

"Why am I last?" Skull had to ask.

"Because you're slowest out of all of us." Mona answered. "In more ways than speed." He then added.

The dyed blond in response winced to that remark. "...Eh. You got a point." Skull admitted.

"...You...You didn't get the insult did you?" Yang awkwardly guessed.

"Nah, I did." Skull replied. "Let's just keep goin'." He then got out.

"Alright." Joker got with a nod before they went through into the next room, where they saw another guard. Not really feeling up to it, the Leader decided to let the guard be and sneak into the next room.

"How many ass statues does that asshole need?" Yang grumbled out quietly in annoyance.

"To keep having his sick perversions that girls want to look as his own ass?" Joker guessed in a blunt manner.

"Joker, those are female asses. They're not his ass." Yang pointed out. "...I hope to God that they aren't his own ass." She then muttered.

"Can we stop talking about that bastard's ass and kill that guard up ahead!" Panther snapped in frustration before running up to it and ripping its mask off. "Stay focused!" She then commanded.

"Sorry again." Joker apologized as they took out their weapons.

"It's a Menacing Owlman! It's about on our level, so don't underestimate it!" Mona warned.

"We won't! Dance, Carmen!" Panther got out as she summoned her Persona. "Agi!" She commanded.

FWOOSH!

"That was amazing, Panther! Knocked it down in one shot!" Mona praised as they raised their weapons at the Shadow. "Okay, you wanna recruit it Joker?" He soon asked.

"...Eh, I'll try fusing it later. I can't hold any more Personas." Joker got out. "Finish him." He ordered.

"You heard him! Go All-Out!" Yin shouted out as they rushed the Shadow.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! CRACK! SLAM!

"A beautiful rose has thorns!" Panther declared while striking a pose as the Shadow exploded behind the team.

"We're one-shotting these guys like it's nothing!" Yin cheered out.

"Yeah, we're getting better at this every fight." Yang got out.

"I'm startin' to get worried about your back, Panther." Skull got out. "You keep bendin' it like it like a...bendy...type...thingy." He then awkwardly added.

"No worries, I pose like that at my part time job as a model." Panther reassured without any worry.

"I've seen your photos. You do not." Skull countered. "All that strain on your back's gonna catch up to you in a few years, ya know." He then pointed out.

"Ok you two, enough of that." Yang ordered while rolling her eyes. "You complain to us about talking about asses, but here you are talking about your spine." She then added.

"What was the bendy type thing he was talking about?" Yin meanwhile asked.

"Don't know. Uh...maybe a...okay, we actually have to think about this. What bends like Panther's spine?" Joker muttered out. "Why can't I think of anything bendy right now?" He then asked.

"We can think about it later." Yin decided. "We can think a lot clearer once we're in a safe room." She then added.

"I agree." Joker replied with a nod. "Let's get going then. I do not want to forget this conversation." He then admitted as they continued on.

"Hey, I can see a chest behind that gate." Panther informed. "How are we gonna get it?"

"Take the stairs." Yang deadpanned as she pointed over to the small amount of steps nearby. "We can just go around it." She pointed out.

"Random gates for no reason at all. This place is getting more and more distorted." Joker muttered out as they started to go up said steps.

However, they stopped upon seeing a guard patrolling around. "Shit, it's one of those red glowy Shadows." Skull got out as the thieves hid and looked for another way around the guard.

However, Yang spotted something strange about the room. "Okay, what the fuck? Why is there a door all the way up there!?" She quietly got out as she spotted a door high up on the wall. There was no way anyone was going to get there without a ladder and they certainly haven't come across any.

"Let's just get the chests first before we figure out how to get up there." Joker ordered as he jumped over to some cover to get to the first chest they saw and opened it, trying his hardest to not make a sound.

"Relax Gel." Joker got out as he tossed over to the Vice Leader.

"Treats Rage, Despair, Brainwash, Fear and Confusion." Mona soon informed. "Yang's getting another chest. It's over there on the west side of this floor."

"Yeah, next to a set of stairs according to the map." Yin added as she pulled it out to double-check. "Maybe this is outdated..." She then deducted.

"I'm back." Yang whispered out as she dashed back to the others. "Here, check it out." She then informed as she showed what she found.

"Baptismal Water...? Why is there something so holy in a place like this?" Panther asked in confusion as their Leader looked at the ingredients label.

"Made of sonically tuned water, rosewater, grain alcohol, sea salt, colloidal silver, therapeutic grade oils of: rosemary, juniper and lavender; a unique and complex blend of gem elixirs, including but not limited to: black tourmaline, lapis lazuli, ruby, labradorite, bloodstone, aqua aura, black onyx, garnet, pyrite and nuummite; reiki, sound waves, moonlight, female ejaculate, chakra, moonlight and reiki charged crystals..." Joker read out. "Wait, isn't this for psychic vampire repellent...?" He soon asked.

"Why would you know that?" Yang asked in confusion as the Leader tossed the bottle over to the Vice Leader.

"I know a lot of things." Joker simply replied. "So, what does it do in the Metaverse other than repel vampires and terrible movies?" He then asked.

"It nullifies all stat buffs. Best used on our enemies." Mona informed.

"This might be useful then..." Joker muttered out as the Vice Leader took it out of his hands and put it in the duffel bag.

"The duffel bag's getting pretty full..." Yin informed as she shuffled around all the items and loot. "Skull, do you have any other bags we can use? Preferably ones with dividers and other pockets?" She soon asked.

"Nope. Sorry." Skull replied with a shake of his head.

The Vice Leader in turn sighed in response. "Note for the future, buy a duffel bag with multiple compartments." Yin muttered.

"Why does it have to be a duffel bag? Buy one of those camping backpacks if you want more room and pockets." Panther suggested.

"Nah, too bulky. A duffel bag is small enough to not impede us but big enough to fit all our crap in it." Yang pointed out. "I'm actually surprised about the amount of crap we do have in it. We have crappy swords, crappy shields, crappy helmets..." She started before listing off the items they got.

"At least the metals are somewhat valuable." Joker pointed out before looking up at the door to the next room. "Okay, now let's focus on getting up there. There are no anchor points so our grappling hooks aren't going to be much use."

"I mean, there's no sign of destruction. Maybe there's a lever of some kind that creates the stairs." Panther guessed as Yang snuck her way over to where the stairs were supposed to be.

"I mean, I guess this is just more securittttyyyyy...!" Yang started, only to scream as she suddenly lifted off the ground.

"The stairs just appeared out of nowhere!" Panther got out in surprise.

"That's a little freaky, but I'm not complainin'." Skull admitted.

"Let's move." The two Leaders responded in unison.

"This place is more a funhouse than a castle up here..." Yang thought as the thieves went up the now appeared stairs and through the door, only to be met with more stairs.

"They have freaking elevators. Why can't they use them more..." Skull grumbled to himself as they ran up the steps to a large, semicircular hallway.

Suddenly, a giant wall rose from the floor, blocking the thieves from continuing through the hallway.

"Welp, looks like we're taking the long way." Joker muttered out.

"Aw! That's bullshit!" Skull complained.

"But that all but indicates that we're getting really close to the Treasure. The ruler is actively trying to stop us instead of relying on his guards." Mona informed.

"He can try." Panther got out as she frowned as the thieves turned to see a suspended metal bridge. "I guess that's the long way." She then added.

"It can't be that easy though..." Yang muttered out as they approached the bridge, however...

Joker's instincts screamed at him to stop them.

"Back it up! Back it up!" Joker shouted out as he raised his arms and shoved everyone back, just as huge scythes came down and started swinging. "Whoa! That...That was close." He got out in relief.

"Oh, I nearly had a heart attack..." Panther breathed out as she held her chest.

"This must be the Bridge of Death and Spikes and Fuck You." Yin informed as she pulled out the map.

"Yes. A classic security measure. My tail might be in danger if we try to force our way through..." Mona stated.

"I mean, if we time it right, I'm sure can get across no problem." Skull got out. "But I'm not too confident in my speed n' shit."

"Yeah. I'd get the feeling that we won't make it in one piece if we try." Panther muttered out.

"No wonder it's called the Bridge of Death and Spikes and Fuck You..." Yang deadpanned before she and the Vice Leader started doing some stretches.

"How're we supposed to get past this?" Skull asked as he, Joker, Panther and Mona tried to figure out what to do next.

The Leader put on a thoughtful expression as he racked his brain on their next move. "Well, we'll probably need some sort of key to disable this so we can safely pass through, so we're probably going to have to fight some Guard Captains or you could just do that. That works." Joker started, realizing they were on the other side of The Bridge of Death and Spikes and Fuck You with the two shinobis rubbing their their gloves on their clothes.

"...I love knowin' ninjas." Skull stated with a smile.

Both girls however giggled in sly amusement. "Wait for it~" Yin and Yang playfully advised in unison.

CRASH!

Suddenly, the swinging scythes from the ceiling fell to the spike pit below.

Soon enough, the entire group looked at the full face masked girls as they gave off eye smiles to the destruction.

"Hehe, nice." Joker complimented in a satisfied tone with a smirk on his face.

"Not a problem Joker." Yang casually replied.

"Well, I guess we disarmed the security. Now it's a straight shot to the Treasure!" Mona declared.

"At least the bridge survived." Panther muttered out.

"That's a plus." Yin replied in agreement as they were about to go on their way, only to spot a treasure chest just to the side of the bridge. "Wait, hold up, I got it." She got out as she jumped over and opened the chest. "Soul Drop." She then informed as she placed it in the duffel before jumping back to the others.

"Hey, wait, I see a guard up ahead." Pather whispered out her warning.

"Let's take him out. We need to get stronger." Yang suggested as she cracked her knuckles.

"Yes, but we can easily ignore it and keep going. We gotta save most of our energy for any larger threats." Mona countered.

"Eh, one quick fight won't kill us." Joker replied with a shrug before firing his grappling hook at its back. "GET OVER HERE!" He commanded in a menacing manner before pulling himself towards the Shadow before shooting it the face.

"Mortal Kombat, really Joker?" Skull quipped out.

"What?" Yin and Yang got out in confusion just as the Leader ripped off the guard's mask.

"I-I'll explain later. Fight now!" Skull replied as they took out their weapons. The guard only spawned another Menacing Owlman, which was swiftly dispatched by bullets to the face. Once it was done, they took a quick detour and got another Revival Bead before they continued on by climbing even more stairs and through a door.

"Ugh...I could really use a break..." Panther groaned out as they entered the room. It was semi-circular, with more busts of Kamoshida that seemed to be following them. "So...many...stairs..." She panted.

"I think we passed by a safe room from the first floor of the tower." Mona awkwardly informed. "Wanna go back?" He then asked.

"No, we're too far away from it plus there's all the guards back there. Don't bother." Yang replied.

"Hey, there should be a set of stairs here." Yin informed after pulling out the map. "I guess this is another one of those super secret stairs." She soon deducted after seeing that it wasn't there.

"Correct. Oh, I can smell the Treasure here." Mona got out as he shuddered as they approached where the obvious set of stairs should be.

However, nothing happened.

"Huh?" Skull got out in confusion.

"Hey, why aren't there any stairs appearing?" Yin asked.

"Hmph. You are gravely mistaken if you think stairs will appear for you whenever you'd like." A voice from behind the thieves stated. They turned around just in time to see a Guard Captain spawn, ready to take them on.

"So this guy's stopping them..." Mona got out.

"Looks like we're gonna have to fight this thing. Ready Joker?" Yang asked as she adjusted her gloves.

"I'm always ready." Joker answered as they walked up to the gold armored Shadow. "You better have a damn good reason for getting in our way." The Leader then demanded as he pointed his knife at the enemy.

"This majestic tower penetrating the sky represents the admirable King Kamoshida's most sacred place..." The Guard Captain growled as it thrust its weapon towards the group. "It is nowhere for children like yourselves! Prepare for punishment!" It declared.

"What kind of selfish reasoning is that!?" Panther called out. "The only one who needs to be punished is-" She was then interrupted by the Shadow revealing itself as a Slime-like Shadow...

With its head in the shape of a penis.

"A-AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH...!" The girls screamed in disgust and horror.

"...You know, to be honest, I am surprised we made it this far without seeing phallic imagery." Joker casually admitted.

(Cue Up Up Up! By Shoji Meguro)

"Dude, what the actual hell!?" Skull exclaimed in disgust.

"..." Yang was left speechless at the sight of the Shadow.

"That is a Torn King of Desire. I call this variation Slime Mara." Mona informed.

"It's a variation!?" Panther exclaimed in horror.

"I miss the toilet demon." Yin muttered out. "...Can we please take it down?" She soon requested in a meek manner.

Yang in turn nodded to that. "Yeah, I don't want Yin getting traumatized by this thing..." She admitted in a concerned tone.

"I'm traumatized now!" Skull called out. "Let's kick it's ass! Oh, that's a poor choice of words." He then declared before quickly realizing his mistake.

"A literal dickhead." Joker however got out. "Alright, how many penis puns can I think of before we kill this...thing." He then quipped out with an amused smirk on his face.

"Please don't." Yin quietly begged as she took out her pistols.

"It's cumming!" Mona warned. "I mean, coming! To kill us! Dammit!" He quickly corrected himself while being frustrated at how he worded it.

"Freud, eat your heart out." Joker thought, amused to the phrasing. "This'll be a tough one, people. We have to give it our all and go at it hard!" He then called out.

"Oh dear Lord, he's going to be like this the entire fight isn't he?" Panther groaned out.

"I think it's a coping mechanism." Yang guessed. "And a bad one at that." She then added in disapproval.

"F-From the depths of my soul, Kaeru! M-Magna!" Yin meanwhile stammered out as green flames surrounded her.

"We shall crush all who-Oh sweet butter of God." Kaeru started before taking a good look at the enemy. "Yep, that deserves a rock to the face." She then stated before blasting it with a boulder. However, the slime penis was barely affected.

"No! That's not it!" Yin cried out, really hoping her Earth spells was a weakness.

At that moment, the Shadow began jiggling. "Hm...I can sense the beauty of the princess from you..." The Shadow stated in a lust filled manner.

"It's staring at me. It's staring at me!" Panther got out in disgust and horror.

"Ugh...why does this thing exist!?" Yin soon exclaimed.

"I don't think that's good. I think it's going to violate Panther!" Mona called out.

"Why did you choose the word violate!?" Yang complained. "Fuck it, Wolverine!" She called out as she removed her mask and crimson flames surrounded her. "Kill it with fire! KILL IT FIRE! AGIAGIAGI!" She frantically commanded.

"Gladly!" Wolverine growled out before shooting a fireball at the slime. However, it didn't even flinch as it got hit.

"DAMMIT!" Yang swore out, seeing that killing it with fire wasn't a viable strategy.

"Panther, guard! Skull, hit it with all you've got!" Joker ordered.

"Got it Leader!" The two blonde replied as they did as such, with Skull summoning Captain Kidd.

"Lunge, Captain Kidd!" Skull commanded.

"Hope you like it in the wee cannonballs!" His Persona called out he rammed his ship into the Shadow, causing some slime to splatter around the area.

"Physical is effective! Nice hit, Skull!" Mona praised. "Now cut its head off!" He then called out, causing the boys to wince.

"It doesn't have a head!" Yin pointed out. "It's all slime!" She then declared.

"...It is, but it's shaped like it has one..." Yang mumbled out as the Leader summoned Jack Frost.

"Freeze it!" Yin ordered in a panic.

"You heard her Jack Frost, Bufu!" Joker commanded,

"Blue is my favourite color, ho!" The cute little Persona got out as he casted a snowball at it. It barely did anything, but suddenly ice crystals started to grow on it.

"Frozen, Yin." Joker got out with a smirk.

"Alright!' Yin happily replied as the two Leaders high fived one another.

"Skull! Shock it now for extra damage!" Mona soon ordered.

"Got it! ZIO!" Skull responded as he ripped off his mask. "Captain Kidd!" He soon commanded.

BZZT!

Lightning was cast on the Shadow, though was worryingly unaffected.

"Wait!? Mona, doesn't look like it was that effective." Panther got out.

"What? Oh, crap! It's physical and Nuclear! I was thinking Water and getting soaked as well as the advantage of being Frozen, sorry." Mona replied.

"OH YOU STUPID CAT!" Yang shouted out in anger.

"Such pitiful attacks! I will show you my might! Assault Dive!" The Torn King of Desire called out before...extending towards the Vice Leader.

"OH GOD!" Yin screamed out before getting hit, taking her down. "AAAHHH!" She got out in pain.

"YIN!" Yang called out. However, they had bigger things to worry about as the Shadow took advantage of the thieves' distraction and casted Dia on itself.

"Oh, that's bullshit!" Skull complained.

"Dammit! It knows a healing spell." Mona swore out before summoning his Persona. "Zorro, cast our own Dia on Lady Yin!" He commanded.

"You might fight, my friends!" Zorro called out as he healed the Vice Leader.

"Thanks Mona-chan!" Yin replied as she felt her strength restored a bit.

"This isn't going all that well..." Yang growled out. "But we can do this! Cleave!" She soon commanded.

"Hey, bub! DIE ALREADY!" Wolverine roared out as she slashed at the Shadow, taking a good chunk out of it and causing it to...deflate.

"I-I think I knocked it down." Yang got out as she ran over to Joker. "You're up, Leader!" She called out as she high-fived the boy, giving him a power boost.

Joker smirked as he summoned another Persona to his side. "Beat its meat, Obariyon! Lucky Punch!" Joker commanded.

"PHRASING!" Skull and Panther yelled out.

"What does meat have to do with this!?" Yin exclaimed in confusion.

"GO OUT MORE YIN!" Yang shouted out before pausing. "Actually, stay inside. Shut yourself away from this monstrosity!" She then ordered.

"Wind it up and...!" Obariyon got out as he winded up his fist before thrusting himself forward. Unfortunately, he missed. "Missed! Sorry, Trickster!" He soon apologized.

"That's okay. My fault. Should've went for a different skill." Joker got out with a frown. "Damn, wasted the the Baton Pass." He grumbled to himself.

"It's getting up!" Panther warned as she saw the Shadow become reinvigorated.

"Grrr...! Tarunda!" The slime shouted out.

"Oh, dude, NO!" Skull cried out as the Torn King started spraying its slime everywhere. "WHY!?" He then exclaimed.

"Why not?" Joker replied.

"You are taking this way too calmly..." Yang deadpanned...before getting splashed in the stuff. "SHIT!" She got out.

"Yang!" Yin exclaimed in worry as she saw the white-masked girl get knocked over by the slime.

"What is this slime!?" Yang exclaimed, getting covered in the gunk. "Oh God, SOME OF IT WENT IN MY MOUTH! Ack!" she then screamed in despair before almost throwing up.

"For real!? That doesn't seem physically possible!" Skull shouted out.

"That slime lowered Yang's strength!" Mona exclaimed.

"Someone fix up Yang! And clean her up!" Joker ordered.

"I'll do it! Tarukaja!" Skull called out.

Feeling strength return to her, Yang got back up. "Thanks! Still covered in this shit though!" She replied as she began to wipe it off her body. "God, I need a shower." She soon got out.

"I think we all do." Panther muttered out. "Dance, Carmen! Agi!" She then commanded as she ripped off her mask.

"Ugh. You disgust me." Carmen scoffed out as she casted a fireball, which the Torn King resisted.

"Panther, why would you do that!? We already know that element isn't effective!" Yang called out.

"Sorry, but that's the most damage I can do!" Panther apologized.

"Well it isn't good enough!" Yang growled out as she glared at the slime.

"Hahahaha! Such pitiful tricks will not make me wilt!" The Torn King of Desire declared in a taunting tone.

"Then you should go get that checked out." Joker suggested. "Succubus, I need a Rebellion!" He soon commanded.

"Sure thing~!" Succubus replied as she buffed the Leader.

"My turn! Garu!" Mona declared.

"Dammit! That's all of our spells and we're barely doing anything!" Skull exclaimed.

"That's because it's resistant to all elements he have!" Mona called out.

"Really!? Oh, come on!" Yang growled out.

"Yeah...but it isn't resistant to melee and guns." Joker noticed. "Alright. Mona, Panther, go on support. Yang, Skull, you're on the frontlines. Yin and I will switch roles when necessary." He soon ordered.

"Sounds like a plan. Let's fuck this penis-DAMMIT!" Yang shouted out. "Why can't I speak right now!?" She whined out.

"We all can't speak right now! Just focus on the penis-GAH! Dammit!" Panther suggested. "Slime...Mara...thing! Stop saying the P-word!" She then got out.

"You mean penis?" Joker replied.

"JOKER!" Skull, Panther, Mona and Yang yelled in unison while the Vice Leader blushed.

"Not sorry." Joker admitted before dodging an Assault Dive. "Don't even try! Obariyon! Snap!" Joker commanded as he took off his mask and snapped his fingers.

SNAP!

"Down!" Joker called out as they saw the Torn King deflate once again. "Everyone, Hold Up!" He soon ordered.

"Don't bother negotiating! It's connection to the King is too strong!" Mona soon informed. "You know what to do!" He then declared.

"All-Out Attack, All-Out Attack, ALL-OUT ATTACK!" Yin frantically shouted out as they rushed the Shadow, slime splattering everywhere.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! CRACK! SLAM!

"Ah! I think I got some of it on me!" Yin exclaimed. "It's wriggling! AAAAHHHH!" She then cried out.

"Damn, not enough." Joker got out with a frown.

"I feel so gross..." Yang groaned out.

"It's still up!" Skull cried out.

"Oh my God, HURRY UP AND DIE ALREADY!" Panther yelled in frustration. The longer she looked at it, the longer it would last in her nightmares.

"It looks stunned though. Just one more push!" Mona informed.

Joker then smirked as he prepared himself, taking his knife out. "First I whip it out!" He began. "Then I thrust it...! With great force!" He continued in a passionate manner as he slashed and stabbed the Shadow. "Every angle...! It penetrates! Until...! With great strength! I...ram it in!" He declared as he then stepped back and did a little dance before he pulled out his gun. "And in the end...we are all satisfied...And you are set free." He added concluded as he pulled the trigger.

BANG!

"The rest...is silence." Joker then calmly concluded as he twirled his gun around before putting it away.

Meanwhile, the others were completely speechless to the display their Leader had performed for them as the Shadow disintegrated.

"Joker...why?" Yin soon asked in a slow tone.

"Why not?" Joker replied. "I'm so getting that as a Persona sooner or later." He calmly declared with a smirk.

"Please don't." Everyone begged in unison, though the females of the group sounding more disgusted by the idea.

That was not going to stop him in the slightest.

"Alright, after yet another memory I'd like to suppress for the rest of my life..." Yang mumbled out as she shook her head. "Let's get going. I can feel we're close to the Treasure." She then admitted.

"I-I'm so done with this place..." Panther got out in a tired manner.

"The most traumatizing thing about this place isn't the slaves, or the King, or the almost dying near constantly, it's the slime penis and Joker's stupid jokes..." Yang mumbled out.

"I'm gonna change the subject and say that I feel stronger now." Yin soon revealed.

"Same here." Panther informed.

"Me as well." Yang also got out. "And I don't feel proud about that." She soon admitted.

"I don't blame ya." Skull remarked. "...Uh...we should get this shit off us before we get goin'." He then suggested.

"Yep, I feel like I'm covered in semen." Joker muttered out as the thieves began to clean themselves up.

"We are never speaking of that fucker ever again." Yang all but demanded in disgust.

"Variations, remember." Mona awkwardly reminded.

The tan skinned girl's eye twitched to that reminder. "Shut up! They don't exist!" She declared in denial.

"Ugh...It smells like...I don't wanna know what it smells like." Panther groaned out.

"Purge that battle from our memories dammit!" Yang once more ordered.

"Only so much we can do about that..." Skull muttered out.

"It...It was so...so big..." Yin got out in a haunted manner, shivering as she held herself. "And...so wet...oh so wet..." She then muttered in a fear filled manner.

"Let's just find a safe room and take a break." Joker breathed out as he took off his coat.

After spending several minutes to clean themselves up, heal and eat a few snacks the Leader brought with him, they went to the secret stairs, which appeared this time. "We could've totally jumped up this if it wasn't for this gravity..." Yang grumbled to herself was they climbed the stairs up to the next room.


(Outside the Throne Room)

"Come on, we're almost there!" Mona got out as they entered the hallway.

"Oh come on..." Joker sighed out upon seeing yet another obstacle in the way...even more stairs.

"The next time we do this, let's pick a place with escalators or somethin'!" Skull called out. "Stupid Kamoshida and all this shit..."

"You have to admit that it's great cardio." Yin stated as they ran up the stairs.

"Ugh...I don't think I would survive running all the way up here if I didn't have Carmen..." Panther groaned out as they arrived at the top of the stairs..

"There's a guard up ahead in front of a big ass door." Skull warned.

"Take it down!" Joker ordered as the ash blonde dashed ahead and leapt onto the guard's back.

"That's why I have to get stronger! Both here and in reality!" Panther finished as she ripped off the Shadow's mask, unleashing its true self from within.

"Three Owlmen! You know what to do!" Mona called out.

"Gun 'em down!" Joker commanded as they spent the last of their ammo on the Shadows before wordlessly going into an All-Out Attack.

"Nice. Didn't even let the enemy react." Mona praised.

"Relax Gel." Joker muttered as he read the label on the bottle before tossing it to Yin.

"I can feel a safe room nearby." Mona informed.

"Oh thank fucking God!" Yang got out in relief. "My sanity could only last so long."

"You still have sanity?" Joker asked before getting punched in the arm as they headed into the safe room.


(Throne Room Safe Room)

"Nice work everyone. Let's take five. Or fifteen. Actually sixty sounds good right now..." Joker soon ordered as he sat down, rubbing his arm before rolling his shoulders.

"We've travelled pretty far in, huh." Panther breathed out. "I feel like we're close." She then added.

"We are. I would like to that I am proud of how everyone has done up to this point. You will make fine thieves." Mona replied in a proud tone.

"Thanks. Glad to know I have other job prospects." Yang sarcastically got out.

"How has your job searching been going, anyways?" Joker had to ask.

"Terribly. Next question." Yang casually answered with a sigh.

"What? Oh come on, it couldn't have been that bad." Panther stated.

"She told one of the managers she called a dick-sucking fart-shiting Knucklehead McSpazatron with a thyroid condition." Mona deadpanned.

"Oi! You didn't need to tell them that Mona!" Yang grumbled out.

"Aw what? That sounds awesome! Dude, you gotta bring me along next time so I can watch." Skull however got out, causing the tan skinned girl's eye to twitch.

"Skull..." Yin chided as he gave the dyed blond a glare.

"Uh, sorry." Skull apologized.

"Well, other than Yang's ability to create rather impressive insults towards random strangers..." Joker got out.

"Hey!"

"Is there anything else we'd like to talk about before we head out?" Yin asked.

"Yes. We need to discuss a certain topic just in case we do end up in such a situation: Facing a powerful Shadow or the Palace's Ruler." Mona spoke up.

"Why?" Joker asked.

"Because of how powerful the distortions are in the Palace's Ruler and certain powerful Shadows, our outfits won't be able to protect us from it for long. They'll be torn to shreds if we're not careful. If the distortions get us unprotected, you might end up like me...or worse." Mona informed. "Long story short, you get stripped down you're as good as dead!" He soon declared.

"...Oh you gotta be fucking kidding me." Yang deadpanned.

"That's why you made me make Sewing Kits along with the Lockpicks?" Joker got out in surprise.

"Bingo Joker." Mona replied with a nod.

"But don't our clothes repair themselves when we leave?" Yin then asked.

"Sewing Kits restore your clothing durability in battle." Mona explained. "Plus, there is a good chance that your genitals will be exposed and we don't want that." He then informed.

The girls immediately covered their chest at the thought.

"Are there any other...side effects?" Joker hesitantly asked.

"Well...due to the distortions, your weaknesses will be worsened and I doubt using healing spells will do much...or anything at all for that matter...I think." Mona replied.

"So the gist of it is, if our outfits are ruined we'll be weaker against attacks and can't heal?" Yang soon asked. "Great, that really makes it sound like Shinobi Tenshins." She then added before her eyes widened as a thought came to her. "...Don't tell me, did me and Yin make it so that concept exists in the Metaverse just because we're shinobi?" She soon guessed.

"..." To that deduction, everyone became quiet almost immediately.

"Your silence says everything we need to know." Joker stated.

"Hold on, Mona doesn't have clothes." Skull pointed out.

"Yes I do! Don't you see my magnificent handkerchief on my neck?" Mona stated as flicked the yellow handkerchief. For some reason, it sparkled despite it being cloth.

"I don't know how to feel about that." Panther muttered out.

"Hold on, does that mean something similar to Frantic Mode works too?" Yin asked.

"Hm...That is a possibility." Mona replied. "The more your true self is revealed, the more powerful your Persona becomes. That is, as long as your Thief Outfit isn't shredded to bits. There's even armor that adds additional benefits the more ruined your clothes become." He soon revealed.

"So strippin' down can be a good thing too?" Skull got out in an incredulous tone as he gave a quick glance to the girls.

"Well, it is one strategy...Risk vs. Reward..." Joker muttered out as he had a thoughtful expression on his face...contrasting the nosebleed he had.

"Hey, you guys have to strip too if you want that strategy to work!" Panther called out.

"I-I never seen a-a b-boy g-go Frantic Mode before..." Yin mumbled to herself with a crimson blush on her face as she attempted to imagine it.

"Well, there's always your grandfather..." Yang pointed out before blinking. "...Aw, dammit..." She then groaned out upon realising she just put the image of Hanzo in a speedo in her head. "Ignore that! Ignore me saying that!" She frantically demanded while flailing her arms.

"Too late." Skull sighed out as everyone cringed at the thought.

"I-I assure you that Jii-chan's body isn't that bad looking." Yin assured before realizing what she just said. "W-Wait...I-I didn't mean it l-like that!" She exclaimed while flailing her arms.

"L-Let's just get back to facing Shadows that can destroy our clothes, please." Joker suggested.

"Y-Yeah. Go on, Mona. Please." Yang practically pleaded.

"O-Okay. Well, there's also the type of damage you should consider. Blunt attacks deal more damage to you but barely affect your clothes, but cutting will do vice versa." Mona then informed. "Ailments can also affect durability. Getting burned, frozen, shocked etc etc." He listed off.

"Can Shadows have clothing too like ours?" Panther then asked.

"I dunno. Probably not considering most Shadows are naked..." Mona replied while shrugging his shoulders.

"I'm pretty sure most of my Personas have clothes." Joker muttered out. "...Succubus, stop stripping in my head or I will fuse you away!" He mentally ordered.

"Aw..." Succubus got out in disappointment.

"Well, if we ever encounter an enemy can lose their clothes, we should change our tactics in order to take advantage of the situation." Mona soon suggested.

"God the Metaverse is so weird and perverted..." Panther groaned out.

"I think this castle getting to us..." Yang mumbled out. "We need to destroy this place ASAP!" She soon declared.

"I agree Lady Yang." Mona replied with a nod. "We've had enough of a break, let's go rob perverted false royalty!" He then declared.


(Outside the Throne Room)

"Okay, now, where do we go from here?" Joker breathed out as he cracked his knuckles.

"I don't know. Maybe this big-ass door leads to somewhere closer to the Treasure." Yang deadpanned as pointed as said big-ass door.

"Um...actually it leads to the Throne Room...and behind the throne is the Treasure Room..." Yin muttered out as she checked the map.

"I was being sarcastic, Yin." Yang coughed out. "...That break was kinda unnecessary, huh?" She then awkwardly asked.

"A little. But I ain't complaining about puttin' my legs up for a while." Skull admitted. "Now let's go! The only thing between us and the Treasure is a couple of doors." He soon reminded.

The Leader nodded at this, went up to the large door and tried to open it. "Hm...Locked." Joker hummed out. "Looks like we need another way in there." He stated in a serious tone.

"Hey, how about up there?" Yin suggested as she pointed up towards an opening.

"Well that's convenient." Skull deadpanned. "Even this statue makes the perfect steps if we use its ass." He then added.

"I was thinking about asking about the ass statues, but then I remembered this is Kamoshida's fucked up head." Yang got out.

"Gotta agree with you on that." Yin replied.

"I'm actually more pissed that these statues aren't pointing the same way." Joker admitted.

"His villainy knows no bounds." Panther deadpanned.

"I know, right?" Joker replied, dismissing the sarcasm, as they used said ass statues to climb up into the opening.


(Throne Room)

Joker landed as silently as he could, his team soon following. He could feel his heart pump against his chest as sweat ran down his face.

"Okay, we're in." Skull got out as he pumped his fist.

"Quiet down, you idiot!" Mona quietly scolded.

"Yeah. Look." Yang informed as the Thieves looked over the railing to see the lower floor. On the throne was the King himself, surrounded by a lot of guards. It seems like they were having a meeting.

"That's why the door was locked..." Joker thought.

Yin put a finger to her mouth to signal that they should keep silent as they listened to the King talking to his minions.

"How have you not captured the intruders yet!?" The King demanded.

"I apologize, my liege!" One of the guards frantically apologized. "We've recently received a report that the Bridge of Death and Spikes and Fuck You has been destroyed!" It then informed.

"Damn it, they're close! All of you are damn worthless!" Shadow Kamoshida soon declared in annoyance.

"We're not close. We're already here." Joker whispered out with a smirk.

"I bet he'd never imagine we're in the same room as him. Come on, let's keep moving while he's yelling at his guards." Mona suggested.

Everyone in response nodded to that suggestion as they snuck their way to the room behind the throne: The Treasure Room.


(Treasure Room)

"Sorry, but we've already won." Joker got out with a smirk as he silently shut the door behind them.

"We made it. We actually made it..." Panther got out in disbelief.

"Yeah, but we're not in the clear yet." Yang reminded.

"There could be a guard in here ready to ambush us." Mona stated. "Just be cautious and stay quiet. The meeting is still in progress and we don't want the King noticing us now." He then warned.

"Yeah but accordin' to the map, this sturdy lookin' door is the only thing between us and Kamoshida's heart." Skull stated.

"Well then, let's head inside." Yin got out as they walked up to the large set of doors.

"No lock..." Joker muttered out as he pushed the door open.

"I guess the King wants easy access to his Treasure. And there's no way dastardly thieves would ever make it this far..." Mona deducted with a smug look on his face.

"This entire Palace reflects his arrogance and intelligence. A lot of the former, not a lot of the latter." Yang remarked.

"Well, let's show him and the world his true self. Shall we?" Joker replied as he bowed and stepped aside. "Ladies first." He soon offered.

"Why thank you, Sir Joker." Yang replied in a posh accent. "Such a gentleman. A modern knight in shining armor." She then added.

"Ah, but a knight in shining armor knows no hardship. And my armor is as filthy as it can be." Joker stated. "Literally, I think the Grimy Gear is staining the insides of my coat." He muttered to himself.

"We seriously gotta get that clean..." Mona got out with a sweatdrop as they all entered the Treasure Room.

Within the room itself, there was mountains and mountains of gold coins and other valuable looking artifacts along with rare gems that royalty would have.

"Whoa, what is this place!? Holy shit!" Skull exclaimed.

"Holy shit this is a lot of gold..." Yang got out as she looked at the gold and other expensive looking trinkets in the room.

"Maybe we should take some on the way out." Joker suggested.

"I'm liking the way you think." Yang then admitted.

"Yeah but uh...where's the Treasure?" Yin asked as they looked around, the only thing of real note was the formless mass of something in the middle of the room. "One of these things have to be Kamoshida's Treasure but which is it...?" She then added.

"Was Kamoshida a carpenter before he was an Olympian?" Joker mentally guessed as they walked towards the mass.

"What is this anyways?" Panther asked as they looked at the cloud. "Is it, like, a fancy light source or something?" She then added.

"Hehe...Nope! That's the Treasure. Everyone, we've found the source of Kamoshida's distorted desires!" Mona proudly announced.

"So this is the Treasure?" Yin asked in a curious manner. "It's...a cloud. We came all this way for a cloud?" She soon deadpanned.

"Erm, I guess this makes sense...?" Joker admitted.

"Um, do we have anything to put that thing in?" Yang asked, with the two blonds shrugging in response.

"Just hold on a second. I was planning on telling you more once we made it this far." Mona informed. "Simply finding the Treasure isn't enough. We'll need to make it materialize before we can steal it." He then revealed.

"WHAT!?" Everyone else exclaimed.

"Oh, come on! I thought we were done with this stupid fucking castle!" Yang groaned out, head in her hands as her roommate patted her back to comfort her.

"Goddammit...You could've said somethin' like that from the start..." Skull sighed out. "Whaddya mean by that...?" He soon enough asked.

"Like Joker said before; Desires is just a concept. It has no physical form by nature." Mona explained. "Hence, we'll first need to make the real person aware that their desires are in fact a Treasure. Once they're conscious that their desires might be stolen, the Treasure will finally show itself." He then revealed.

"But how do we do that?" Panther questioned.

"Does that mean we have shove Kamoshida into the Metaverse or beat the crap out of him? I volunteer if that's the case!" Yin offered.

"N-No! There's no need for violence Lady Yin!" Mona quickly informed before pulling out a drawing from his fanny pack. It looked exactly like how a cat would draw something to the best of their ability "No, we instead warn them. We tell them: We're going to steal your heart." He soon explained.

"Why did you need to draw this...?" Everyone save for the Vice Leader thought with a sweatdrop.

"Wait, so now we have to send a Calling Card in the Real World to make it actually materialize here?" Yang then asked while sneaking some gold into the duffle bag along with the Leader of the group.

"Yep, that's the basic gist of it." Mona replied with a nod.

"Heh, that's totally what a Phantom Thief would do!" Skull then remarked with a smile.

"Yeah. If a shinobi did that, they'd be dead..." Yin muttered out as her roommate nodded in agreement.

"Once we do that, the Treasure will appear, we'll swoop in and steal it from right under his nose!" Mona informed. "...I think." He then awkwardly added.

"You know, every time you add I think, it makes me doubt you more..." Yang mentally deadpanned.

"Sounds like it's worth givin' it a shot!" Skull stated.

"Alright, looks like we have to dedicate another day to this." Joker informed. "And hopefully, it'll be the last day we see this place in our lives." He then concluded.

"Thank God..." Yin and Yang sighed in united relief.

"Well, that's all we can do for the day. Our infiltration route has been established, and all we have to do now is to pump out a calling card and deliver it. Let's end it here." Mona informed.

"Okay! Let's head home." Skull replied as they walked towards the exit. "Ugh, it's going to be a long way back though..." He then admitted.

"Hey do you think the meeting is still going on...? Because if it still is we might be screwed." Joker pointed out.

Suddenly, the group stopped in their tracks...before turning around towards the window in the Treasure Room.

"...I really hate that I'm too lazy to take the stairs." Panther groaned out.

"Well, it's safer than facing the King's army of Shadows." Yang muttered out. "Even if it would be good experience." She mentally added.

"And also send every single guard and more to your location." Wolverine pointed out.

To that, the group then rushed towards the window...

CRASH! SHATTER!

And broke through it as they jumped out of the Treasure Room window.

"Next time, we gotta get some Goho-M!" Mona soon declared as the group free fell out of the castle.

"Goho-What!?" Yin asked in confusion as she brought something out.

"A craftable item that in the Metaverse, allows us to teleport back to the entrance of a Palace!" Mona then revealed. "Though Joker has been lacking on making them!" He soon informed.

"But we need the lockpicks, Mona!" Joker replied.

"How tall is this goddamn castle!?" Skull shouted out as they all kept falling.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine!" Yang reassured.

"Well, it doesn't feel like it's fine!" Panther yelled back. "Please just activate the MetaNav before we hit the ground!" She begged.

"On it." Joker calmly replied as he took his phone out.

[Now exiting Kamoshida's Castle of Lust. Have a nice day.]


(Shujin Academy, Alleyway)

CRASH!

"Ugh..." Everyone save for Morgana groaned out in pain. The not cat was fine because he landed safely on top of the pile.

"Okay, that wasn't the smartest idea." Akira admitted.

"We really gotta stop jumping off shit." Ryuji groaned out.

"Agreed..." Ann got out.

"Oooow..." Asuka whined out in a childish manner before a blush came across her face. "W-Who's grabbing my butt?" She soon meekly asked in an embarrassed tone.

"Sorry..." Homura groaned out as she unintentionally squeezed her roommate's butt. "...Soft..." She mentally got out.

"Katsuragi alarm." Wolverine coughed out in a blunt manner.

Homura in turn blushed to hearing that. "Can we get out of this dogpile?" She soon asked.

To that suggestion, everyone struggled to get out of the pile as they got to their feet.

"Well...we found the Treasure." Homura once more reminded as she dusted herself off. "Thank God. We can end this madness once and for all." She then added in relief.

"We should all head home now. Relax after a successful infiltration and an establishment of our route to the Treasure." Akira suggested.

"We should. Our next meeting should be about when to send the calling card." Morgana stated. "It'll be up to our Leaders to make the call. But remember, the deadline is May 2nd." He then reminded.

"Right," Homura replied. "We have to do it before then, but not too early and not too late." She then stated as she then looked at the Leader. "Akira, it's all on you though when we do it." She soon concluded.

"Yeah, somethin' tells me we're goin' to need a few days to prepare for this." Ryuji admitted. "Actually, I'm feeling a little nervous right now. We're so close to exposing the bastard as the real monster he is!" He then reminded.

"Well, settle down Ryuji. It'll take a few days to resupply so be patient." Homura stated. "Let's go home Asuka." She then suggested.

"Hai, Homura-chan. See you all tomorrow!" Asuka happily said as they walked out of the alleyway.


(4/22, Evening)

(Shibuya, Shin Megami Apartment Complex)

When the two roommates entered their apartment, Asuka dropped the duffel bag on the floor as what they have done finally hit them.

"We made it to the Treasure." Homura got out in a calm tone.

"WOOHOO! WE FINALLY MADE IT TO THE TREASURE HOMU-NEE!" Asuka happily declared in excitement as she hugged her roommate tightly while jumping up and down.

"W-Whoa Sis!" Homura got out as she couldn't help but giggle at her overly happy roommate. "Save that energy for when we actually steal the Treasure from right under the bastard's nose." She then reminded.

To that reminded, Asuka blushed as she released her roommate. "R-Right. It's not over yet." She replied in embarrassment.

Homura in turn blinked to this sudden action. "...I didn't say you had to let go." She soon informed.

Asuka instantly wrapped her arms around her roommate. "We're so close...Just one more push and it'll be over Homu-nee..." She then muttered in anticipation.

"Oh, it's going to be so satisfying when he confesses..." Homura got out. "...But what happens after...?" She soon enough asked.

Asuka simply tighten the hug to the question. "Let's not think about that now Homu-nee..." She muttered in a serious tone.

"Yeah...You're right, Sis. Let's just get some sleep." Homura got out as they ended the hug and moved to the bedroom, stripping down as they did so.

"Not gonna even bother getting into pajamas." The two girls muttered in unison.

"Wait, have we used our pajamas other than the first few days?" Asuka soon asked in a curious manner.

"Don't think so, don't care." Homura replied. "Also like feeling your silky soft skin Sis." She offhandedly added.

"You have soft and smooth skin too, Homu-nee." Asuka complimented.

"Y-You're just saying that!" Homura stammered out before suddenly feeling a heavy weight on her body. "Oh...Metaverse fatigue just hit me..." She groaned out.

"I-I think it just hit me too..." Asuka got out as she slumped. "Ugh...I feel so drained..." She moaned out in an exhausted manner.

"Then we should turn in early. We can have a bath tomorrow." Homura suggested as she rubbed her roommate's head.

"Okay." Asuka breathed out as they collapsed onto the futon, ready to just close their eyes, cuddle up against each other and sleep.

However, they were interrupted by their phones vibrating.

"Goddammit, let us sleep..." Homura grumbled as she and her roommate got their phones from their skirt pockets to check IM.

[Shut7heFUp: You back home yet? I'm pooped...]

[Shut7heFUp: It hit me like a goddamn ton of bricks right when I sat down...]

[FireGirl20: I know, right? After the adrenaline wore off, we were about to go sleep.]

[FireGirl20: Asshole.]

[Sweetkat06: Well, we did go pretty far in.]

[Sweetkat06: I'm glad we found that Treasure thing though.]

[SushiRoll23: Yeah. We're so close!]

[Shut7heFUp: So Kamoshida'll turn a good guy if we steal that, huh...]

[FireGirl20: He will NEVER be a good guy, Ryuji.]

[Shut7heFUp: Yeah. Either way, it's up to you when we send the card, Akira.]

[FireGirl20: All you need to do is call us to the alleyway when it's time, Leader.]

[SushiRoll23: Then it'll be the beginning of the end.]

[TheWildJ0ker: I will. Nice work back there, guys.]

[Sweetkat06: Thanks. Night.]

[Shut7heFUp: Yup. G'night guys.]

[SushiRoll23: Let's do our best tomorrow! Good night!]

[TheWildJ0Ker: Dammit! We forgot to talk about Ann's spine.]

[TheWildJ0ker: Sorry. Good night.]

Both girls briefly sweatdropped to that last comment before they then smiled as they then plugged their phones into the chargers before getting under the covers.

The Vice Leader then hugged the tan skinned girl. "Well, night Homu-nee, see you in the morning." Asuka got out in an adorable tone as she smiled.

To that, Homura rubbed the brunette's head as she smiled back in a soft manner. "Yeah, night Sis." She replied as the two closed their eyes, immediately drifting off to sleep as a result in each other's embrace.


(Persona Tracking)

Joker

Level: 11

Personas: Arsene (Resist: Curse) (Weak: Ice, Bless), Jack Frost (Block: Ice) (Weak: Fire), Obariyon (Resist: Physical) (Weak: Electric), Weredog (Resist: Fire, Ice) (Weak: Gun, Elec), Berith (Null: Gun) (Resist: Fire) (Weak: Ice ), Succubus (Block: Curse) (Resist: Fire) (Weak: Gun, Bless), Izanagi Picaro (Null: Elec, Curse) (Weak: Wind)

Skills: Eiha, Cleave (X3), Sukunda, Dream Needle, Adverse Resolve, Bufu, Ice Break, Baisudi, Tarunda, Snap, Sukunda, Lucky Punch, Resist Fear, Dekaja (X2), Double Fangs, Dodge Fire, Sledgehammer, Rakukaja (X3), Marin Karin, Rebellion, Brainwash Boost, Mudo, Cross Slash, Zionga, Recarm

Yin

Level: 12

Persona: Kaeru (Resist: Earth, Fire) (Weak: Wind, Gun)

Skills: Magna, Media, Sukukaja

Confidant Rank: Rank 3

Yang

Level: 12

Persona: Wolverine (Resist: Physical, Gun, Fire, Wind) (Weak: Water, Earth, Bless, Psychokinesis)

Skills: Agi, Cleave, Gurentou

Confidant Rank: Rank 3

Mona

Level: 12

Persona: Zorro (Resist: Wind) (Weak: Elec)

Skills: Garu, Dia, Patra

Confidant Rank: Rank 1

Skull

Level: 12

Persona: Captain Kidd (Resist: Elec) (Weak: Wind, Earth)

Skills: Lunge, Zio, Tarukaja

Confidant Rank: Rank 1

Panther

Level: 12

Persona: Carmen (Resist: Fire) (Weak: Ice, Water)

Skill: Agi, Dia, Dormina

Confidant Rank: Rank 1


(Persona Analysis)

Spartan (Laconic Warrior)

Arcana: TBA

Weak: None.

Resist: None.

Skills: Cleave, Swift Strike

Description: These warriors are from the city of Sparta, trained at a young age to be soldiers. While Spartans are progressive in some ways such as treating women as equals (as strong men come from strong women) and respecting the elderly (as anyone who could survive to that age must be great), they also had slaves and have committed various other fun atrocities. However, they were also famous for their wit or "laconic phrase". Simply put, they were taught and beaten to be the biggest and best smartasses in history.


Save Game... Quit!

Whew! Done. Sanity... shaky at best. Health... yeah. Oh, I should probably mention this but PLEASE DONATE TO WHATEVER ORGANISATION TO HELP WITH THE AUSTRALIAN BUSHFIRES! I am thankful that I live in the middle of the suburbs and... decently safe from fires but please, people are losing their homes and millions of wildlife are dying or losing their homes. My country is burning to the ground, people!

UknownHero signing off, my friends!