Hey, UknownHero here and welcome to another chapter of Senran Persona! So…Persona 5X was revealed and announced and I can promise you this…we have no idea what to do with it, but it will be referenced at some point. Not really into gacha games, but willing to give it a try if it ever comes to the west.
Senran Persona has a TV Tropes page. Check it out and don't be afraid to contribute to it!
Onto the reviews! To Tailsmo4ever: That's…actually a good idea. I don't think we have a real resolution to the whole situation with Murasame so…cool. We'll try and get that in. To hoodini5569: Okay, I'm not exactly…young anymore, but rizz sounds like slang from the 90s. The cringy part of the 90s. To that random Guest that wants smut: No. We are not going to write any outright smut for this fic. Things do get kinda hot and heavy at some points, but that's as far as things go. Someone else can do it, but I am not comfortable working with two other people on such a thing. If you want to, go ahead, you just need to PM us about it.
Anyways, that's it. Time to get through the worst Palace in the game!
Load Game…Start!
Chapter 121: Invaders of the Space Station 1
(9/19, Morning)
(Kunikazu's Space Station of Greed, Facility Passageway)
The Phantom Thieves were now jogging along the passageway as they continued proceeding inside Kunikazu Okumura's Palace, swiping any hidden Treasure they found thanks to the usage of their Third Eye users as well as clearing out areas of Shadows.
Though even as they still did these and more along the way...
BOING! BOING! BOING! BOING!
"They...They keep bouncing..." Yang muttered with a sweatdrop as she glanced back towards their newest member...and her now visible and physical development.
"I think you actually need a bra, Noir..." Panther bluntly stated.
"Eh?" Noir got out in confusion as she looked down her shirt. "But...I do have a bra on. A custom-made one, actually." She soon informed before trying to make a feel on her own breasts...only to realize that something was off. "Wait...huh?" She then got out in puzzlement.
"Is something wrong, Noir?" Widow asked as she glanced at the heiress.
Noir then took the chance to peek under her top, and noticed something that was obviously missing. "M-My compression bra...it's gone!" She exclaimed in a panic. No wonder her nipples felt sensitive for some reason. And...she also felt that her crotch area felt nothing constricting to it. "Ah! And my panties, too!" She then yelped out.
That immediately caused the others to falter with blushes on their faces to that reveal,
"Well...tie them down with bandages because I don't think the guys can last much longer." Queen suggested as she turned to the boys, who were suddenly looking away in the same direction...minus the Leader surprisingly.
"Joker doesn't seem all that bothered." Panther observed aloud as she noticed said person's behavior.
"Been seeing many boobs a lot of times, and we all have no underwear on when we first wore our Thief outfits for the first time." Joker bluntly confessed. "At this point, I'm not even phased by it..." He then revealed.
"That's because Noir has shoved 'em in his face to get a reaction from him." Oracle spoke up. "And I don't even feel like I have underwear under my Thief outfit back at my Palace, which was weird, but I really don't mind. Good thing Joker taught me how to summon some underwear underneath my Thief outfit."
"Aside from that boobs shoving part, I'm serious." Joker stated as he adjusted his red gloves. "Seen a lot of boobs of different sizes, including all of the ones in our group. And I don't mind the no-underwear part." He then pointed out.
"Can we seriously stop talking about boobs and nudity!?" Queen snapped.
"Sorry, Queen." Joker apologized right away. "Oracle's the one who asked, and I answered her question." He then told her.
"It doesn't matter! You all continued the conversation." Queen barked in embarrassment.
"And who started it, exactly?" Joker asked, scanning his surroundings to make sure there are no stray Shadows around.
"Panther." Oracle answered as she popped up her hologram screens, checking the vicinity of the place.
"Because Noir didn't notice it was distracting the team." Panther explained. "I'm even getting distracted by them!" She then confessed with a blush.
"I'd say Yang. She's the one who spoke up first about it." Fox threw in his own two cents.
Yang was about to retort back, but she then thought about it before realizing that she technically was the one who commented first about the newest member's boobs.
"Like Queen said, let's continue debating on the...ahem, boobs subject in a safe room." Mona spoke up, still sporting a blush on his face. "Right now, let's make our infiltration route the Treasure." He then ordered.
"Judging from the size of the Palace, I guess we're gonna be here for a while." Yin assumed as the orangette nodded in agreement.
"We'll switch often in combat." Joker responded. "So we don't burn ourselves out all at once." He then explained.
"Sounds good to me." Yin replied with a nod of agreement.
"We'll try to appreciate the sights while we're at it." Oracle eagerly stated. "It's not every day we travel to outer space." She then stated.
"Let's not get carried away too much, Oracle." Mona responded.
"I know, I know." The hacker simply stated before glancing at everyone. "Hope everyone's ready. Everyone's stats seem to be in order and in good shape after that fight." Oracle added and pointed out.
"Let's find a Safe Room fast." Joker advised everyone. "Noir needs some bra and panties underneath." He then stated.
"C-Can't we find any underwear here in the Palace?" Noir nervously asked anyway.
"Trust me, it's a lot simpler than that." Joker however reassured the new member before they all proceeded.
"Eh?" Noir got out as she sprinted beside the Leader. "What do you mean, Joker?" She soon asked.
"We'll discuss the method once we're in the Safe Room, Noir." Joker stated once again. "For now, please bear with the inside nudity for a moment." He then requested.
"Um, okay." Noir responded with a nod, earning the assurance.
Queen meanwhile got a sigh of relief in instinct for some reason.
After a moment of sprinting, the Thieves arrived at what seemed to be a new area.
Around them were several disc-shaped buildings spaced apart, many of them looking the same other than the height of each one. However, at the center was one that glowed red at the top.
"Alright...what's going on here this time?" Joker stated as he observed their new area.
"Whoa! Look at that!" Mona suddenly called out as he pointed over to the disc at the heart of the station. "I can smell the Treasure over in that direction...it's probably in the building!" He soon revealed in excitement.
"The red one?" Skull guessed.
"Hm, that seems quite far off...it is difficult to ascertain the shortest route there as well." Fox remarked with a thoughtful frown.
"We'll just have to keep going on whatever path we find for the time being...let's go." Queen determined with a fist pump.
"Joker, I'm detecting a Safe Room up ahead." Oracle informed as she pointed her finger towards its direction.
"You all heard her. Come on, let's go." Joker called out to everyone, earning a "Hai!" from most of them.
And Thieves sprinted towards the now found Safe Room, hopefully for Noir to get a wardrobe change this time.
(Facility Passageway Safe Room)
Yin soon opened the door for everyone to go on through before shutting it behind her. "Whew! This looks good." She breathed out.
"This is just a big storage closet..." Yang remarked with a frown.
"Still, it'll work as good as a usual safe room." Mona spoke up as the Thieves all sat down around the table.
"Okay, first off, we are getting your breasts under wraps, Noir." Queen immediately started as she approached the heiress along with the other girls. "It had to be uncomfortable for you running around for this long." She then added in concern.
"Um...it actually hasn't though." Noir innocently confessed. "I actually do not mind it...only if I have a bra on, of course." She then added.
"Until your boobs smack in the face while you're swinging your axe." Queen however pointed out in concern. "They can be a liability. I should know..." She then grumbled under her breath. She has knocked some stuff she has stood close to ever since she had her own minor chest development, courtesy of a certain perverted blonde. "At the very least, we can prevent them from sagging down in the future." She soon stated.
"...I'll just be...standing over there and taking a look over my weapons." Mona informed everyone before going to said area in the Safe Room. "You guys...take your time." He then added while still having a blush on his face.
"I wanna point out that we are in the Metaverse, even better, outer space." Oracle however pointed out to everyone. "I think physics is taking a vacation here. I mean, look at them move..." She then added as her eyes drifted downwards, watching how...hypnotically Noir's actual breasts moved whenever she breathed.
"It's jelly-like..." Panther droned out as well before shaking her head. "Oh my God, I'm turning into a pervert." She then thought in her head in slight disbelief.
"I've actually been wearing my compression bra just to keep my large breasts from perverted eyes away from me whenever I'm in public or at school." Noir informed as she cupped her H-cup breasts. "But...since we are here where I'm not technically in public, I guess it's fine for me to let my actual breasts free from constraints."
"You're going commando!?" Skull freaked out with a hot blush on his face.
"Commando? You mean, like a commander?" Noir repeated and asked.
"Commando means no underwear at all." Joker explained. "Like me." He then added.
Noir immediately blushed scarlet to that reveal. "Oh...I mean, I prefer to have underwear on, but what I mean is that I think I want to wear a bra that is based on my actual cup size and not flattening them in order to hide them." She then informed.
"That sounds...painful." Panther commented, slightly cringing at the thought. "The flattening part." She then added.
"I've gotten used to the slight pain." Noir assured.
"Slight?" The other girls repeated in concern.
"It's more a pinch than anything else." Noir casually explained. "It is custom-made, so I feel alright putting them on a couple of times. Father actually suggested them to me." She then revealed.
"Your father?" Queen repeated in a curious manner. "Huh." She then got out.
"Um...this might be a weird question for me but... how did your father react about your chest?" Panther reluctantly asked.
"Well, I told Asu-cha– I mean, Yin about it already, but...Father didn't mind about it all." Noir responded.
"That's...quite relieving...I think." Serpent started as she simply scratched the back of her head.
"Like magic..." Yang eventually admitted.
"Actually, he appeared as though he was...expecting it..." Noir soon realized after thinking about it.
"Eh?" The other girls got out in confusion.
"Expecting it?" Joker repeated with a raised eyebrow.
Noir in response nodded. "Mm-hmm. He knew that the large chest development would happen to me eventually, so...he prepared for it." She soon explained.
"...Your father's...quite perceptive about it." Fox confessed.
"Uh...does your fiancée know about your...you know?" Mona eventually asked in concern.
"He hasn't." Noir replied with a shake of her head. "I truly doubt he noticed." She then added.
"Oh great...he might be more and more eager to prey on you if he did." Panther remarked in a disgusted and angered tone.
"The faster we get this done, the better." Yin soon stated as the others nodded in agreement.
"Wait, Joker...like me?" Yang suddenly asked as she pointed a finger at Joker, remembering what the Leader said in regards to the no-underwear part. "...Joker, are you saying you haven't had any underwear on this entire time!?"
"Yeah. Since the castle." Joker replied casually. "Didn't I tell you guys?" He then asked.
"Like...period?" Yin got out with a raised eyebrow.
"No, only in the Metaverse." The Leader then clarified.
"Yeah, because that makes it better, Joker." Yang sarcastically got out.
"...Okay, don't tell me you want to see my clothes rip to shreds entirely..." Joker assumed with narrowed eyes.
"Eh!? Hell no!" Yang called out as she frantically shook her head. "I was being sarcastic, Joker." She then revealed.
"Come on. It's okay for girls to appreciate the bodies of their preferred gender." Joker urged as he nudged the girl on the shoulder. "No one here is gonna judge you." He then added.
"...I'm gonna kick you where the sun doesn't shine." Yang deadpanned.
"You can try." Joker stated, earning a look from the tan-skinned female Phantom Thief, though it wasn't all descriptive due to her full-on mask. "No really. Try. I have Personas that negate all physical damage. I kinda wanna test it out in the real world to see if it works." He soon confessed.
"I honestly wanna see your naked body, Joker..." Oracle commented all of a sudden, sounding quite pervy. "Along with the nut kicking, of course." She then added with a chuckle.
"You people need therapists." Serpent sighed out before turning to the orangette. "And one more word like that and your PC is going to be taken away, young lady." She then reminded the hacker with her hands on her hips.
"You're so strict, Big Sis." Oracle pouted. "Come on, it's not like anyone would hear about it except for us here." She then complained.
"Well someone had to reign you in." Serpent countered.
"Hmph!" Oracle huffed with crossed arms as she looked away.
"Again with the sass." Serpent responded in disapproval. "Jeez, what am I going to do with you..." She then muttered.
"Hey, Skull, why are you just sitting there looking at the corner like you're being punished or something?" Mona suddenly observed, prompting the rest of the Thieves to glance at the dyed blonde, who was doing exactly what the not cat had described.
"I'm stayin' out of this shit!" Skull loudly exclaimed, startling the others a bit. "When it comes to girls, whenever I open my mouth, I'm probably gonna get myself punched in the face or whacked at the back of my head, so until shit actually happens, I'm gonna stay here and think about my mom." He soon explained before turning away.
"...Ooookay?" Yang awkwardly got out. "Good...for you, I guess." She then added.
"Does...that happen often?" Noir asked in concern.
"No." Yang answered as she shook her head. "We hit him when he says other dumb stuff too. When it comes to girls, though, it's a lot rarer." She then explained.
"Birthday candles." Serpent chimed in a flat tone.
"We didn't hit him that time." Panther however stated.
"Yeah, it was more of a verbal punch to the face." Yang recalled as the dyed blond grimaced.
"L-Let's get back to important matters." Panther told everyone. "So...Noir, do you wish to have a bra on for your boobs?" She soon asked.
"Yes, please." Noir replied with a nod. "A normal bra would do and not my compression bra this time..." She then informed.
"Try to think of having them. Your desired bra." Joker casually instructed while not eyeing the other girls of the team. "Oh, and don't forget about the panties." He soon added.
"Eh? Oh yes, my panties too. Okay." Noir replied with a nod before closing her eyes, concentrating on having her desired underwear.
Fwoosh!
Something blazed slightly underneath Noir's thief outfit, particularly her chest and crotch area.
"Hm? Oh." Noir got out as she felt that her large breasts were not sagging much anymore while still showing them as well as a comfortable feeling on her crotch. "Oh wow." She then reacted in awe with the feeling.
"So...how does it feel?" Widow asked out.
"Oh, it's quite nice." The heiress replied. "And I have a comfortable pair of panties as well." She then casually added.
"Try...uh, jumping a bit a few times..." Queen reluctantly instructed.
"Okay?" Noir replied, albeit a bit confused, before doing so.
Boing! Boing! Boing!
"Huh, it's not sagging too much anymore." Queen observed aloud. "You do have a proper bra on this time." She then observed aloud.
"But it still bounces..." Panther noted, eyeing the heiress's breasts once more.
"Your chest bounces just as much as Noir's currently, though, Panther..." Fox casually informed her, earning a slight glare from the red latex-wearing Phantom Thief.
"At the very least, she has a proper bra on this time." Widow assured everyone. "That's good enough for the infiltration without some unnecessary distractions." She then added.
"Speak for yourself, Widow." Oracle bluntly reminded her. "Your outfit shows a lot of cleavage." She then described.
"That's...well, I..." Widow only got out before faltering, thinking of that retort.
"Can't blame her for the outfit that was given to her." Mona however reminded.
"I wish I was smaller though..." Widow softly mumbled to herself, glancing down at her prominent chest and cleavage.
"Should we just get tailors that modify outfits for us? I mean, we could definitely pay for it." Noir innocently suggested. "They're, like what, 300 to 15000 yen?" She then assumed.
"No, these outfits are a result of your Will of Rebellions. There's no changing it here in the Metaverse once you obtain it." Mona explained.
"Oh." Noir got out, sounding a little sad.
"But getting a tailor would be a good idea in the real world. Certainly would be cheaper than buying whole new wardrobes." Queen then admitted before pausing. "...Why didn't I think of that earlier?" She then groaned.
"I mean, there are shinobi tailors that can quickly adjust a person's clothing if they become too small on them." Yin revealed.
"You know any?" Joker soon asked.
"Jii-chan does." Yin responded. "They can get the tailoring done for any amount of clothing in a few hours." She then added.
"Holy crap, that's fast!" Panther exclaimed in surprise and disbelief before realizing something. "Wait, why am I surprised? Of course it would be fast. Shinobi tailors..." She then added as she face palmed.
"It does explain how your school uniforms fit you so well." Queen noted. "Can you call your grandfather to get a tailor for me then? I haven't gotten around to replacing my winter uniforms yet, and it would certainly help my budget." She then requested.
Yin in turn nodded. "Hai. I'll request it tonight when we get back." She replied with a smile.
"So, Noir, um, I've been meaning to ask...how long have you been affiliated with shinobi?" Widow asked.
"Hm? Oh, since I was...six? No, wait..." Noir hummed out and tried to recall. "Four...?" She then answered in a somewhat unsure manner.
"That's when you met Ikaruga-chan, right?" Yin guessed.
"Hai. And Kumo-chan soon after." The heiress responded with a nod.
"Kumo-chan? Who's that?" Yang has to ask with a raised eyebrow.
"Another childhood friend of mine." Noir informed before letting out a wistful sigh. "From what I can remember, she was part of a shinobi family as well. But unlike Ika-chan, I haven't seen her since I stopped my shinobi training. I feel so guilty. I can barely even remember her face..." She then confessed in a somber manner.
"Oh." Yang got out in a sympathetic manner. She could only imagine the guilt the girl must be feeling for forgetting a childhood friend.
"So you had shinobi training when you were younger, but your father made you stop?" Queen questioned in a curious manner.
"It was around the time I stopped seeing my childhood friends often...though it was also around that time when my mother passed as well..." Noir sadly answered as she tilted her hat down slightly. "He said that it was only to keep me entertained and active before I entered middle school." She then added.
"O-Oh, I'm...sorry for your loss..." Panther awkwardly got out.
"Don't apologize." Noir responded with a frown. "It was a long time ago. I've long since gotten past such grief. Please don't act like it just happened recently." She then stated.
"Oh." the ash blonde grimaced. "Sorry then." She then apologized.
"It's okay. You just get sick of all that whenever it comes up." Noir sighed. "She was not murdered, nor did she die doing something worthwhile. She died...quietly." She then revealed in a hesitant manner.
"Quietly?" Panther repeated in concern. "Can you...elaborate on that, Noir? I mean, if you don't want to, it's fine." She soon asked.
"It was...an illness..." Noir revealed. "She fought it for a year, but...she lost. She died in her sleep. That's all." She then added with a small shrug.
"I see." Queen whispered before letting out a small laugh. "It's funny...I'm actually jealous. To simply pass peacefully...it's a wonderful end to a story." She then sighed out.
"...Yes. It does." Noir sniffled before coming to the realization and gasped. "Oh! I'm so sorry Queen!" She apologized in a panic.
"O-Oh, it was nothing just..." Queen soon muttered. "I already avenged my father when we took down Kaneshiro and-" She then started before...
SQUISH! SQUISH!
Noir suddenly went over and embraced her fellow Third Year. "Mako-chan, I'm very sorry if I've offended you in any way!" She soon declared in a sympathetic tone.
"Back...snapping...in two..." Queen however squeaked in pain...while also blushing from how soft it was against her own chest. If only her spine wasn't threatening to break like a twig.
"Really flexing your strength, Noir." Yang noted. "Now please stop." She soon requested.
The heiress looked confused for a second before seeing the advisor's pain expression. "Oh! Sorry again!" Noir yelped out and apologized once more.
"I'm...okay. I appreciate the gesture." Queen struggled out as she regained her composure. "Soft...very, very soft..." She thought to herself with a scarlet blush before wincing at her sore back. "Yin, do you mind getting some medicine?" She soon requested.
"Hai, Queen." The Vice Leader responded before rummaging through the duffle bag.
"Okay, after Queen is healed up, I think we've had enough rest." Joker soon decided.
(Facility Passageway)
The Thieves were now continuing their sprint as they proceeded their Palace infiltration once again after their Safe Room timeout.
"Okay, how are you feeling, Noir?" Queen eventually asked. "Your chest feeling better now?" She then questioned in concern.
"Yes, I feel a lot better now with a bra on, Queen." Noir answered with a delighted smile. "It's quite nice to wear an actual bra that can let my chest breathe." She then revealed.
"Heh, showing your true self like a Persona would..." Oracle snarkily commented with a giggle.
"Oracle, stop." Queen sighed.
"You just jelly." The hacker retorted rolled her eyes under her large goggles
"Jelly?" Noir repeated in a curious manner.
"It's nothing, Noir." Queen however assured before eyeing the hacker. "And you, zip it." She then spat out in an irritated manner. 'Serpent, keep her under control." She soon ordered.
"As I've been trying to do." Serpent sighed out.
"And clearly failing." Queen added with an eye roll.
"That's a little harsh." Joker instantly called out on the girl's comment.
Queen's eyes soon widened as she realized what she just said. "Sorry, but if anyone mentions boobs again in this Palace again, I'm going to explode." She then growled, her eyes glowing into a dangerous shade of red.
"Can't promise you that." Oracle automatically responded, only to freeze in fear as the advisor looked directly at her with glowing blue eyes. "B-But we'll make a really good effort!" She then promised with a very fearful giggle.
"Queen's at her breaking point already..." Yang muttered with a sweatdrop.
"Do you want a soda to drink, Queen?" Joker asked her. "Or maybe something to eat?" He then added.
"Do not. Try. Joker." Queen slowly got out as she stomped away.
"I was just giving her something to calm down..." Joker sighed, watching the advisor go.
"I'll go after her." Yang offered as she began to follow her best friend.
"...Maybe I got carried away a bit too far..." Oracle solemnly stated to herself, scratching the back of her head.
"You think, Oracle?" Serpent sighed out once more. "You've been really into this sensitive stuff lately, and without restraint." She then noted.
"I've been a shut-in for two years, so this is something like a coping mechanism for me." Oracle responded.
"It seems like you're overcompensating though." Serpent soon assumed. "Like, we appreciate having you act as security and being yourself, but you really need to stop digging up private details and telling us. There are limits to what we are willing to tell each other." She then stated and advised followed by the explanation.
Oracle sighed in slight regret. "Okay, okay, I get it. I need to work on my timing on what I'm going to say to my friends." She then admitted. "But...at least you can appreciate the fact that life was never boring for us anymore...if you get what I mean." She soon added.
"You mean the fact that we could be killed by an enemy Persona-user, the police, or shinobi at any point?" Serpent bluntly reminded.
"Ooookay, I was hoping you guys would ignore that." Oracle sighed in slight defeat this time.
"We really need to take this seriously this time." Fox spoke up. "As much as our abilities have given us the power to do whatever we wish, this is no time for such things." He then added.
"Yeah. You're right. We can relax and joke around after this entire mess is over." Oracle agreed with a nod.
Serpent meanwhile sighed before approaching the orangette and holding her closely into a hug. "Don't worry sweetie, I'll keep you safe..." She then muttered in a soft tone.
Oracle in response nodded as she hugged the white haired woman...with her face between the white haired woman's breasts. Guess being herself has its own interesting things sometimes.
WHAM!
Yang eventually caught up to her friend as she noticed a smoking, fist shaped dent in the wall. "Queen, are you ok?" She soon asked in concern.
"It's just...ughh..." Queen tried to explain herself before groaning. "I think I'm projecting my stress from the Conspiracy to breasts..." She mumbled out.
"Yeah. I don't blame you." Yang sighed as she leaned against the cold metal wall. "To be honest, I'm kinda sick of all this boob talk too. I mean, it comes up every so often with my friends back at Hebijo, but-" She then began.
"Please. Stop." Queen immediately growled.
"Sorry." Yang quickly apologized before letting out a sigh. "...Feels like we wasted a bunch of time just talking then." She then confessed.
"Yeah." Queen replied in agreement.
"So, let's get back on track." Yang responded as she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Noir really needs our help after all." She then reminded.
"Right." Queen replied in agreement as they held hands while heading back to the rest of the group. "You really are a great friend, Yang." She soon confessed in a soft mumble...and a blush on her face. "A really...great...f-friend..." She meanwhile thought to herself as her head began steaming a bit.
"You are too." Yang replied, smiling widely underneath her mask as the two returned to the rest of the group.
"Uh, you ok Queen?" Skull soon asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Um...feeling better?" Panther then asked herself, unsure of what to make of this situation.
"Yeah...yeah." Queen hesitantly responded. "Just...can boobs be off our menu of topics for a while?" She soon requested.
"Sure." Panther replied in complete agreement.
"Good." Queen responded with a nod.
"Still holding Yang's hand." Joker eventually noted. "You planning a tag team or should I let you have a safe room together?" He then joked.
"Huh?" Yang got out in confusion.
Queen meanwhile blushed as she realized what the boy was implying. "I-It's nothing, Joker. Just nothing, alright?" She soon responded as she tried (and failed) to calm herself down while her head was still steaming.
"Uh...you ok Queen?" Yang soon asked as she placed a hand to her head. "You got a fever?" She then questioned in concern, unaware of the brunette becoming more red by the minute.
"Wait...Queen, are you...?" Skull began as he squinted at the Shujin President, his brain beginning to connect the dots but not quite know what the full picture was.
"Huh?" Yang got out in confusion once more to what the dyed blond said.
"You are just letting your imagination run wild, Skull." Queen insisted. "And I am not a pervert, I just have interests in certain sexy body parts!" She then passionately declared.
"Eh?" Yin got out.
"...Excuse me?" Panther responded, trying to confirm what was just said.
Queen instantly knew she had said too much (again) and decided her best course of action was to...act dumb...despite the blush on her face. "E-Erm, what?" She nervously giggled. "I-I didn't hear what you said. What did you say again?" She then stated and asked.
"Yeah...I think it would be best if we just keep this quiet..." Joker murmured.
"Hmm...you two together would make an excellent art piece." Fox confessed, making a frame with his hands.
"Fox!" Widow chided in disapproval.
At that moment, the navigator decided to step forward "Hey, Queen, uh...sorry about that." Oracle apologized with hands held behind her back while rocking her feet back and forth in a slight playful manner.
"You...You don't have to apologize, Oracle." Queen got out with a sigh as she calmed herself down. "I got snapped at something so petty." She then added.
"I'll try not to talk about sensitive stuff too much for now." Oracle tried to assure the advisor...though that was an unconscious lie in itself. Old habits tend to die hard.
"...I appreciate it, Oracle." Queen slowly stated. "Thank you." She then added.
"Is everyone feeling better now?" Joker told everyone, checking everyone's states and seeing if their sanities are still there.
"Yep." Queen responded as everyone else nodded.
"Noir?" Joker then asked.
"Ready for anything." The fluffy haired girl replied with a determined fist pump.
"Okay. Let's get a move on." Joker ordered as the Thieves finally continued their infiltration.
"Well, this is as far as we got before needing to run." Yang informed as they were running through the area.
"That isn't much progress in the grand scheme of things." Fox remarked with a frown. "However, it is better than nothing." He then added.
"This Palace is gonna be a disaster." Panther sighed out.
Suddenly, an ominous feeling went over the Thieves, causing them to shiver. Huh, weird, but they ignored it and continued on, taking out a few Shadows along the way before eventually coming across another door.
"This one isn't opening." Skull got out.
"Noir?" Joker spoke as he turned to the girl in question.
"Already on it." Noir nodded as she stood in front of the door.
However, nothing happened.
"What?" Noir gasped, a rush of panic flowing through her body.
"Let me check." The hacker offered as she used her Persona to scan the door. "As I suspected. This one doesn't use biometric authentication." Oracle eventually revealed.
"Can you hack it instead then?" Yang soon asked.
The navigator shook her head. "It might be hard to open it from here. We'll probably need to look for a server or a terminal if we wanna break through." Oracle replied with a frown.
"A server, huh..." Skull muttered under his breath.
Yang furrowed her brows before activating Third Eye and observed her surroundings.
"I see a vent!" Yang called out as she switched off Third Eye and leapt up to the ledge, with the others following soon after. "Remember, guys first. Don't want you pervs from staring at our asses." She then got out in a threatening manner.
"Cool. Because you get to see ours." Joker remarked with a witty smirk, causing the tan skinned girl to blush heavily.
"Mic drooop." Oracle spat out with a grin.
"Don't rub it in, Navi." Joker responded.
The navigator dramatically gasped. "You take that back, Mr. Key Item." Oracle retorted with clenched fists on her sides.
"Aren't we all pervs in the making already from the beginning? It's just how we go about showing it." Joker casually reminded. "As long as we don't cross the line, we should be fine." He then added.
"Unlike some people." Panther mumbled under her breath. "Okay, now move it or lose it. We don't have all day. Get in the vent." She then ordered.
"Watch your heads." Joker warned as he swiftly got into the vent, with the boys soon following then the girls.
As they continued crawling inside the vents, some of the Thieves started to get more vocal while doing so.
"Kinda expect to have dust in these vents, but...thank God." Oracle stated with a sigh of relief as she crawled. God, her knees were already hurting...
"Careful now..." Widow mumbled.
"Geez, I could really go for some ramen right now." Skull mumbled, still crawling.
"Is this vent smaller or-" Queen struggled out before pausing with a twitching eye. "...Next time I see Katsuragi-san, she is getting my Fist Of Justice." She bluntly declared in annoyance.
"Shinobi." Joker reminded from the front.
"And she'd probably use that opportunity to grope you more and make you bigger like us." Yang then added.
"I thought we stopped talking about boobs." Queen grumbled.
"It's not about boobs, it's about Katsuragi." Yang retorted.
"Everything related to Katsu-nee relates to boobs." Yin pointed out. "...Or anything about girls." She then added.
"Oh, Katsu-chan got to you?" Noir assumed.
"Yes. And no, I won't elaborate." Queen sighed. "And Yang, don't even try. I know you'll say what happened." She soon requested.
"My lips are sealed." Yang responded in reassurance.
"Just pray that you won't have a second groping from her, Queen." Joker called out to her from the front once again. "You're gonna need it." He then added.
"...Right." The advisor responded with a nod...though also shivered in concern.
"Queen, move already!" Oracle ordered. "As much as I like staring at your ass, you're blocking the way!" She then added.
"Why is everything about me attention-grabbing now..." The advisor groaned as she continued squeezing her way through the narrow passage.
The guys (save for Fox) and even some of the girls blushed by that question.
"...Queen's ass is pretty nice. A lot better than Haruka's too." Yang offhandedly thought to herself in an impressed manner as she followed behind her best friend, giving her a full view of it as they all crawled through the vent.
"We're here." Joker announced as he went out of the vent first. "Watch the drop, guys." He then warned as he landed on the floor.
After a minute or two, the rest of the Thieves came through and landed safely on solid ground, some of them needing a little support, such as...
"You know, you guys should go one at a time." Oracle pointed out as she was helped out of the vent and onto the ground by Serpent.
"Oh, for in case an enemy spots us?" Widow assumed.
"No, in case one of you guys fart while in there." Oracle corrected. "Would totally ruin our focus on heists and junk." She then explained.
"Well...thank God we all go before Metaverse trips." Skull got out as he scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"Alright, where are we?" Widow soon asked before looking up, her eyes soon widening as she realized where they were.
"Whoa..." Yin muttered as the Thieves looked around.
"Daaaaang, this place is insane!" Skull got out in awe. The entire room was circular, with only the sides of the place able to be walked on and even then it was cluttered with pipes and metal crates. Above and below them, they couldn't see where the room ended. It also felt both warm and cold at the same time. "All this techy shit's gettin' me pumped!" He then got out in an excited manner.
"What a boyish thing to say..." Panther got out in a flat tone.
"What's with the weird temperature, though?" Yang soon wondered as she rubbed her arms.
"Oh! Think I know! There was a room that felt exactly like this in the office. It's the server room." Noir informed.
"Servers do run pretty hot." Widow muttered.
"Perfect." Joker smirked as the Thieves carefully moved through the server room.
"What are all these machines even for!?" Mona had to ask.
"Probably keeping track of employees, inventory, emails..." Serpent assumed. "An international corporation would need tons of data to keep things running smoothly." She then added.
Eventually, they made it to the other side of the room, but they still weren't sure what they could do next.
"So, Oracle said we should find a server, right?" Yang got out as she looked around the server room. "Which one do we start with? There's way too many here." She then grumbled as she looked upwards. These servers had to go on for miles.
"Don't worry about checking them all." Oracle advised. "I just need access to a terminal and I should be able to open up a bunch of the station to us." She then informed.
"Wait," Serpent spoke up as she frowned. "If you can do that, can't you do anything else? Like getting some robots to escort us directly to the Treasure." She then pointed out.
"Not everything is tied to servers. Plus, if I do too much, I might get traced and the Palace goes on super lock down. Better limit it to just opening doors." Oracle explained as she shook her head.
The Thieves nodded to that before they got to work looking for the terminal the hacker needed. "Does this work, Oracle?" Yin asked as she approached a particular-looking machine embedded in the wall.
"Yep. That looks like a terminal." Oracle confirmed before cracking her fingers. "Mwehehe...watch this." She then got out with a smirk as she approached the terminal and got to work.
"That laugh brings so much hope and fear in me..." Widow couldn't help but remark as the hacker did her magic.
"Boop!" Oracle playfully got out as she pressed the ENTER button. "All right, that should've opened up a buncha doors! I managed to grab a map of the place, too." She then informed as she summoned Necronomicon to download the map before showing it to everyone, taking the form of a hologram.
"Eh?" Yang looked stunned as she stared at the map. "L-Like, the full map?" She then pressed on in an incredulous tone.
"Yeah?" Oracle replied with a nod as she swiped through the map, each page displaying a different part of the Palace.
"It's not, like, partially corrupted and we need a second part, right?" Yang soon assumed as she processed this information.
"No. It's complete. This is even the most recent version of it." Oracle got out before hearing a very strange sound coming from the tan skinned girl. "A-Are you crying, Yang?" She then asked in surprise.
"No! It's...the weird temperature in here getting t-to me!" Yang sobbed as she wiped her eyes.
"This is incredible, Oracle!" Noir praised, ignoring the tan skinned girls happy sobbing. "That means our infiltration deeper into the Palace should be easier, yes?" She then assumed.
"I dunno about that...there are three more areas ahead: the barracks, the factory, and the airlock area..." Oracle listed off as she narrowed her eyes before settling on the page with the map of the airlocks.
"Oh, that's where we got spaced..." Yin idly remembered, finally understanding where their first infiltration ended.
"Wait, what?" Panther got out as everyone stared at the small team in disbelief.
"Oh right, I remember. Yin, Yang, Mona-chan, and I got sucked out of spa-" Noir began to explain, however...
"Noir, please don't explain it to them." Yang however interrupted and advised.
"Eh?" Noir got out in confusion. "Why? All I did was shoot out a window to escape the situation we were in the first time we entered here." She then pointed out as if it wasn't that big of a deal...which it wasn't, considering the freaked out expressions on everyone else's faces.
"Y-You...how the heck did you survive!?" Oracle exclaimed.
"With great difficulty." Mona answered as both the tan skinned girl and the auburn haired girl blushed a little.
"You would have exploded right outside! Or froze to death or...agh!" The navigator then called out in a frantic manner.
"For the sake of our hearts, let's just move on from this..." Joker sighed out.
"Hai..." Yin agreed as everyone nodded.
"So it is actually like outer space outside these Palace walls..." Fox stated to himself, understanding that new fact. "We should be careful on how we tread the Palace. There might be some airlocks similar to those in science fiction movies I've watched before." He then assumed.
"All of that sounds like a lot to deal with..." Joker muttered.
"Yeah, and what're they makin' in that factory? Burgers?" Skull soon questioned. "Wait, almost everyone here are robots..." He then remembered.
"Hey, maybe they're powered by burgers." Yin pointed out before pausing. "Oh, that is terribly unhealthy." She then got out in disgust.
"Actually, I found one other interesting file when I was cracking into the system." Oracle suddenly informed as she typed on her laptop. "It's called Project: Escape to Utopia. There was some kinda blueprint inside too. It looks like whatever they're making for it is ginormous. That factory can't just be for burgers." She then revealed as she closed her laptop.
"It's possible that it is a robot production facility." Widow assumed. "Crippling that could prove useful after we send the calling card." She soon suggested.
"Escape to Utopia...?" Queen muttered with a frown. "What do you think that's supposed to mean?" She then wondered out loud.
"Probably nothing good for us or the outer world." Serpent assumed with a shake of her head. Any sort of plan for a utopia was always doomed from the start.
"Meh, it ain't gonna matter if we can steal the Treasure and make this Palace disappear! Let's hurry!" Skull confidently stated.
"Remember, overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer..." Yang warned before the Thieves made their way out of the server room.
The Thieves soon went through the previously locked door and headed deeper into the Palace, soon coming across something placed in the middle of a room.
"Hey, I think I found an elevator!" Panther called out, noticing it.
"I don't know...there's no buttons here..." Yin however observed aloud.
"It doesn't seem to be completely out of order. Perhaps it's on another floor. Let's try coming back later." Queen suggested. The Leader nodded to that before continuing on past the elevator and towards another door that didn't open for them.
The Vice Leader soon noticed a new machine nearby with a screen flashing a locked icon. "A console this time?" Yin got out with a frown.
Noir didn't even need something to tell her to put her hand on it to try and open the door.
[Access Denied]
"Ugh, it still ain't openin' even with Oracle's tinkerin'!?" Skull complained as he tried to kick the door out of spite. "That bastard really doesn't trust anybody, huh?" He then groaned.
"Skull!" Panther scolded.
The fluffy haired girl however shook her head. "It's all right. Father is clearly guilty of some horrible crimes...that's why we will stop him." Noir assured.
"This wouldn't be as simple as we thought." Fox observed. "It almost feels like a maze the more we try to delve into the Palace." He then remarked.
"Which one of us said this was going to be simple?" Yang questioned as she crossed her arms under her breasts.
"We'll still need to think of a way to get past here." Queen soon reminded. "Can you figure something out, Oracle?" She soon asked the navigator.
"If it's not a normal lock or a biometric one, I think it might use rank-based authentication." The navigator assumed. "Basically, you've gotta be at least at the highest rank possible like a chief director to get through here." She then explained.
"Ah." Serpent and Widow got out in unison.
"Huh. Even these robots have a hierarchy of power." Serpent remarked. "Well, I know what we should do." She then stated.
"Yep." Oracle nodded with a hand on her hip.
"Of course." Queen agreed as well.
"I shall confirm that I do as well." Widow stated in agreement.
"Huh?" Skull got out in a dim tone.
"The higher your pay grade, the more access to the building you get." Queen claimed with a finger on her chin. "All we have to do is swipe a high enough ranking ID, like a chief director, and we'll have access to the entire Palace." She then assumed.
"One problem. We don't know who's the chief director exactly." Mona however informed. "Lots of robots here of different sizes and appearances, and there's only a dozen of us." He then added.
"Right..." Yang agreed. "...But underlings need to report to superiors at some point." She then added.
"So if we find some corporate drones...we can follow them to their bosses." Widow assumed.
"That would be a good idea." Fox agreed with a nod.
"We could also try to eavesdrop at the robots' conversations." Joker added as well. "Gain some important information out of it as well." He then continued.
"Should be a piece of cake then." Serpent proudly claimed.
"Slow and insidious!" Yang repeated in a slightly more forceful manner.
"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry, we got this!" Skull waved off before running off.
The tan skinned girl could only groan before the Thieves followed the dyed blond back to the elevator they had just passed by. However...
"Hold it!" Joker spoke up, hearing something coming from the elevator. "Something's coming." He warned.
"Hide!" Mona whispered as the Thieves backed away and hid. As soon as they did, the elevator opened, revealing several Corporobos just like the ones Cognitive Sugimura had. They instantly exited the elevator and started making their way back to their stations.
"Looks like those robots are just coming back from a meeting..." Joker muttered. "...With their bosses." He then got out in realization.
"We don't follow the robots, we just go where they came from." Yang suggested as she observed the scene.
"Guess we're going down then." Panther got out as they started making their way over to the elevator.
"And according to the map, it's going to the barracks." Oracle informed. "It's the path forward. So let's get going." She then decided.
"Erm, hold on." The advisor spoke up, stopping everyone.
"What is it this time?" Widow asked with a raised eyebrow.
"It doesn't look like we can all fit in the elevator at once." Queen pointed out as she looked at the rather cramped-looking elevator.
"I think we could get everyone down in two trips." Skull guessed. "Or one if we get on each other's shoulders." He then suggested.
"..." Most of the Thieves went silent while looking at the dyed blond.
"Or squeeze in together." Skull then added, oblivious to all the odd looks he was getting.
"Ladies first it is." Joker concluded.
"But there are way more girls here." Yang began before shaking her head. "You know what? First come, first serve. Get in, ladies." She then ordered.
"I just said- that's not what it-" Joker began to point out, only for the tan skinned girl to cover his mouth as she entered the elevator.
"Right. See you guys down there." Panther however replied with a wave as she entered as well.
That also prompted Noir, Oracle, Widow, Queen, Serpent and Yin to enter the elevator as well.
"Guys, can't we just let the guys in as well?" Oracle tried to suggest, gesturing towards the boys.
"Yeah, we could go to our destination and save some time." Noir agreed with her.
"You see, it's almost cramped in here, Oracle." Serpent soon stated.
"Almost?" Yang repeated. "I feel like a sardine in here!" She then declared.
"Shouldn't you be used to this since you all take the train to school?" Noir recalled.
"Not with gropers around, of course." Panther responded.
"We're not the types,"Joker replied. "And even if we did, accidentally or not, we would be losing our hands and arms and get amputated right away." He then added.
Skull instinctively shuddered at the statement.
Eventually, all the girls managed to get inside the elevator...
Somehow, as the Leader couldn't help but stare at all the girls squeezing together just to fit in so that the elevator door wouldn't crush any of them.
"You uh...You all okay in there?" Joker asked in concern.
"We're great!" Yang responded, despite visibly struggling for air.
"No we are not, you dumb-" Serpent began to growl, however...
SHUT! Whhhrrllll...
The boys blinked as the elevator slammed shut before working to move the girls up to the Barracks.
"..." The guys were soon silent as they watched it go down.
"Well, at least we can breathe once we enter the elevator." Mona assured with a sigh.
"You know, I might agree with that idea of getting onto one's shoulders, Skull." Fox confessed. "If only the women would agree with the idea." He then added.
"...You know what, let the girls have the elevator first." Joker decided.
"Are you...trying to punish the girls indirectly, Joker?" Mona quietly asked the Leader with a look.
"Maybe, maybe not...you guys want some sodas?" Joker suddenly offered the guys.
"Oh, uh, yes please." Mona awkwardly replied.
"Can I have one as well?" Fox also requested. "If you have some snacks along with you, I would be very much appreciated." He then added.
"Thanks, dude." Skull replied, receiving the soda can from the Leader.
"...Do you have any tuna cans with you, Joker?" Mona suddenly asked as well, feeling a little bit of a craving for something to eat.
Meanwhile, in the elevator ride...
"Ngh...my boobs..." Panther softly grunted to herself, getting pressed against the elevator walls.
"I'm...being crushed!" Oracle's muffled voice came out from the elevator as she raised her hand. She was stuck between Yin and Queen, whose head was steaming from Yang's breasts being on top of her head.
"Okay, maybe this was really a bad idea." Noir admitted, looking clearly uncomfortable. "I think we should have agreed with the idea of sitting on one's shoulders, along with the guys in here with us." She then added.
"Wait, are there not maximum weight limits?" Widow suddenly assumed.
"We are not that heavy togeth-" Yang began to assure before managing to slap her forehead. "This is supposed to lift heavy-ass robots, senpai!" She then called out.
"Wait, is the elevator moving?" Yin questioned in a worried manner.
"Alright, I concede. Some of us just need to-" Widow responded before...
WHIRR! THUD! Beep! Beep!
"...Ah crapbaskets..." Oracle got out as the elevator began to ascend...
At a slightly faster speed.
Back at the bottom floor with the male Thieves, they suddenly heard strange noises (some mechanical, some screaming) coming from the elevator.
"Uh...did something happen to their elevator on the way down?" Skull soon asked.
"...Is that karma or bad luck?" Fox questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Neither if you don't want the girls to murder you." Mona replied in a flat tone.
"Aye." Joker responded with a nod of agreement.
"...At least an enemy didn't-" Skull began before...
SPLASH!
Four guards appeared circling the boys of the group.
"...You and your big mouth Skull!" Mona roared in frustration as the males got their weapons out.
"I was just trying to– ughh, dammit!" Skull began before the battle started. "Give them heeeeck!" He then cried as he whacked his melee weapon on one of the Shadows.
...There was Shadow blood splattered everywhere.
(Barracks)
Many minutes later, the elevator finally arrived at the barracks and opened its doors...allowing the girls within to tumble out of it.
"That was...so much longer than it needed to be!" Serpent panted out as the girls began to pick themselves off the floor.
"Until the end where it just went lightspeed." Yin mumbled as she re-tied her kimono.
"Father does complain about the elevators, but never does anything about them." Noir groaned as she adjusted her hat back into its rightful place.
"First it was stairs, now it's elevators, and I'm pretty sure the next escalator I take will stab me in my sleep." Panther mumbled out in a somewhat crazed manner. "What do all the rulers have against vertical transportation!?" She then rambled in frustration.
Queen's head meanwhile was still steaming slightly from the experience...from how nice and soft it was for her head. "Homura...breasts...velvety...heaven..." She couldn't help but think to herself, her face once more red.
"How do we keep getting into these situations?" Widow however sighed out in annoyance.
"Because this reality is a pervert and hates us." Yang deadpanned. "You haven't killed us yet, Metaverse! What else you got!?" She then called out, shaking her fist at a random wall.
"Hehehehehehehe..." Oracle however giggled out, grinning like an idiot and blushing. "So...much...softness..." She thought to herself.
"Stop giggling like that, Oracle." Queen and Serpent ordered in blunt tones.
"I think it was from a lack of oxygen..." Panther assumed in a worried manner.
"She's smiling like Katsuragi does though." Yang however noted in a deadpan tone.
"Hai..." Yin got out in agreement.
THUD!
At that moment, the orangette collapsed onto the ground with the same smile on her face. "...Yeah, it was the lack of oxygen." Panther confirmed.
"Oracle!" Serpent called out as she helped the orangette back to her feet. "Are you okay? Are you bleeding anywhere?" She then started questioning in concern.
"Ugh...What happened?" Oracle soon groaned.
"You blacked out because of Yin and Queen's chests." Yang sighed out.
"Oh. Sorry about that. It was just...a little overwhelming." Oracle vaguely apologized and explained.
The girls however sweatdropped in response, knowing what the actual reason was.
"Moh..." Yin and Queen muttered at the same time while covering their chests with their arms.
"In any case, it would be best to wait here for now until the boys arrive." Widow soon stated as she dusted herself off.
"Agreed." Yin replied in agreement. "Yang-neechan, you and Queen are at the entrance while Oracle scans the floor for enemies." She then instructed. "Widow, take up a sniping position just to be sure while Serpent watches the elevator with Panther and Noir." She soon added.
"'Kay, Vice Leader." Serpent responded with a quick salute as everyone went into position.
However, half an hour passed by and nothing was happening. The navigator had even finished scanning the entire floor, taking note of enemy patrols and chest locations.
"All the Shadows aren't coming here anytime soon." Oracle reported.
"And it looks like the boys are not either. What is taking them so long? I know the elevator is malfunctioning but not to this extent." Widow muttered with a frown, feeling a little restless.
"Well, it's in use so they should be coming down." Oracle got out. "Unless it's a bunch of Shadows or bots..." She then realized.
"Okay, let me rev up my minigun..." Serpent got out as she pulled out her bullet hose.
"Serpent, put that down." Oracle got out as she shoved it away. "They're fine. I have access to their status at all times with Necronomicon. If they were in danger, I would know." She then assured.
"Can't you check now?" Yin soon questioned.
"Give me a second." Oracle responded, bringing up the digital screen and began typing. "Oooooohhhhh..." She then suddenly got out in realization.
"Eh?" The other girls responded in confusion.
At that moment, the elevator opened...as the boys stumbled out of it before flopping onto the floor, the not cat rolled off the pile and face-planted onto the floor with a squeak. "Y-Yo." Skull greeted in a tired manner.
"Yep, knew we should have just joined them with us in the elevator." Oracle stated, observing the state of the guys.
"Where were you guys?" Yang practically demanded before realizing how messed up the guys looked. "And...where are your shirts?" She then asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Shadows appeared after you left. Pain in the ass resistances. Need Sewing Kits." Joker wheezed out as they got to their feet, showing their bare chests save for the not cat's.
The Vice Leader's eyes widened before opening the duffle bag. "Oh. Here!" Yin got out as she threw over enough kits for all the boys to use.
"Thank you." Joker responded before they all used them. Soon enough, the boys' outfits looked as good as new. "So...how was the elevator ride?" He eventually asked.
"Soft." Oracle immediately answered...only to have her ear pulled on by the white haired woman. "OWOWOWOWO!" She got out in pain.
"It went terribly. Can we please get back to the infiltration now?" Serpent then spoke up.
"Um...why is Queen's nose bleeding?" Noir meanwhile asked in concern.
Queen meanwhile in a dazed state before snapping out of it. "Huh?" She got out before blushing. "Um, I accidentally hit myself in the face...right now...?" She responded, mentally bashing her head against the wall.
"...Ah, I see. Well, here and you should be more careful next time." Noir soon replied as she handed the advisor her handkerchief.
The advisor blinked. "Erm...thanks." Queen then politely thanked the heiress before wiping her nose while the others sweatdropped...and the orangette tried to hold back her laughter before wincing again as the white haired woman tugged on her ear again.
"We should get going." Mona decided while looking around as the others nodded in agreement.
The Thieves then proceeded further until they reached a particular room that split off into three paths, one leading to a room, and two others leading into hallways.
"Are those...holographic plants?" Yang noticed as she looked closely at the holograms. "You can barely see them! What's the point!?" She then complained.
"Aesthetics?" Joker guessed while shrugging his shoulders. "Would make sense. Real plants would actually help the workers here. Get some air and green amongst all this shiny metal." He then added.
"Oppressing the workers, even through something as simple as plants..." Noir mumbled with a frown. "Oh father..." She then added in disappointment, guilt, and sadness.
"So, how're we gonna go lookin' for this chief director thing?" Skull asked ahead.
"I did a scan of the area, but there are multiple large readings around here. They're definitely different from normal robots, so it's prolly one of them." Oracle informed everyone.
"So we'll need to find which one is the real one? But how exactly will we do that?" Panther soon questioned.
The Vice Leader frowned in thought. "Can't you be a little more specific about each reading? There has to be a difference between them that could help us find our target." She soon pressed.
"Sorry, but no." The navigator sighed. "Looks like you're just gonna have to check each one." Oracle soon stated.
"That's going to be a little time-consuming..." Yang muttered with a frown. "Split up to cover more ground?" She soon suggested.
"Sounds logical." Joker responded with a nod.
"Hey! Look!" Noir called out while pointing in a certain direction.
[HURRY! HURRY!] The panicking robot exclaimed.
[GO! WE CAN'T BE LATE!] The rushing robot then screamed as the two sped away.
"...I guess we follow those guys." Joker assumed, the other Thieves nodding in response before quietly following the worried robots.
Eventually, they saw the Corporobos arrive at their destination with several other Corporobos already hard at work. At the head of the room, there was a large, lanky robot in a red suit watching over them. Despite having no face, the Thieves could tell that it was fuming mad at the smaller bots' tardiness.
"Look, in that room!" Panther whispered as the Thieves hid around the corner to avoid being spotted and raise the alarm. "There's a bunch of other ones like them!" She then added.
"By all appearances, that massive red robot must be quite important." Fox guessed.
"True. Even if it isn't a chief director, it might have some intel." Queen assumed.
Joker nodded to that before he and the rest of the Thieves cautiously entered the room.
[HEY! YOU OVER THERE! WHO SAID YOU COULD STOP WORKING!?] The giant red robot barked at his underlings. [IF YOU AREN'T DOING YOUR JOBS, I'M THE ONE WHO GETS CHEWED OUT BY THE SECTION CHIEF, YOU KNOW! AND I AM SICK OF HIM CALLING ME USELESS!] He then shouted out.
Queen flinched at the last word.
"Definitely not our target." Widow whispered.
[EEK! YES, CHIEF CLERK, SIR!] One of the lesser Corporobos responded.
[HE'S GOT A POINT. THE SECTION CHIEF'S CALLED ME USELESS A NUMBER OF TIMES TOO. IT'S LIKE A CATCHPHRASE OF HIS...] A listless employee agreed with his boss.
[SHEESH, I WISH HE WOULDN'T YELL AT US SPECIFICALLY...] A sleepy employee yawned out, despite being a robot.
[WHAT DOES HE EXPECT OUT OF ME CALLING ME USELESS...? IF I WORK ANY HARDER, I WILL BREAK DOWN.] The Listless employee then complained.
"Who this guy is based on sounds like a dick." Joker thought with a frown.
"Bosses shouldn't be yelling at subordinates like that. Nothing good comes out of such words." Widow sighed as she shook her head.
It was at that moment when the large red robot noticed the Thieves. [HM? WHO ARE YOU?] The Corporobo MDL-AM demanded from the Thieves.
"Oh, so now you notice us?" Serpent spoke up as she rolled her eyes.
[GET BACK TO YOUR STATIONS! I'M THE ONE WHO GETS IN TROUBLE IF YOU AREN'T DOING YOUR JOBS, YOU KNOW!] The boss ordered.
"Dude, we don't even work here." Skull complained.
"Skull, would you mind staying focused?" Queen requested before clearing her throat. "Excuse me, we have a matter to discuss with the chief director." She soon informed as politely as possible.
[WHAT? A MATTER WITH THE CHIEF?] The red robot repeated in an incredulous manner.
"Yes. A matter with the chief." Joker responded with a nod.
"It's about-" Yang began, attempting to give a good excuse, however...
[LOW-RANKING GRUNTS LIKE YOU COULDN'T POSSIBLY HAVE BUSINESS THAT IMPORTANT!] The Corporobo MDL-AM insisted with a scoff. [NOW, YOU'RE GOING BACK TO YOUR STATIONS, EVEN IF HAVE TO USE FORCE!] He then demanded as all the other robots turned away from their stations to face the Thieves.
"It seems negotiations have failed." Widow sighed.
"Well, it was worth a try." Queen shrugged before the Thieves pulled out their weapons.
(Cue Too Big to Fail by The Glass Pyramids)
"Sorry, boss, but it looks like we have to put you down!" Yin called out.
[IT'S BECAUSE OF SLACKERS LIKE YOU THAT THE SECTION CHIEF IS SO RUDE TO ME! HE'S ALWAYS CALLING ME USELESS OR UNRELIABLE.] The Corporobo MDL-AM complained. [ISN'T IT UNFAIR THAT I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS TO DEAL WITH THIS ALL THE TIME?] He then got out in frustration.
"Dude, you aren't the only one!" Skull called out.
"You're subjecting your own charges to your own abuse!" Serpent added with a glare. "You're just as bad as the section chief!" She then declared.
[SHUT UP! SHUT UP!] The giant red robot cried out. [IT'S ALL THE SECTION CHIEF'S FAULT!] He then declared.
"Sounds like this guy really doesn't like the section chief. Let's try and pump him for information, Joker!" Oracle advised.
Joker nodded before taking a second to think. "What's the section chief like? From what I can tell, they're probably pretty unpleasant to work with." He asked, looking a little sympathetic for the Chief Clerk.
["INSUFFERABLE" IS PROBABLY THE MOST ACCURATE WORD FOR HIM.] The chief clerk scoffed. [HE HAS THE NERVE TO CALL EVERYONE USELESS DESPITE HIM SLACKING OFF ALL THE TIME!] He then complained.
"Yeah, that's rough buddy." Joker replied, summoning Arsene to pat the giant red robot on the shoulder.
[DAMMIT! IF ONLY THE SECTION CHIEF COULD JUST DISAPPEAR, I'D BECOME A SHOO-IN FOR A PROMOTION...] The Corporobo MDL-AM grumbled.
"He's willing to kill the guy!?" Panther whispered in disbelief.
"Well..." Joker began as he rubbed his chin. "We could make that happen." He offered.
[YOU WHAT!? YOU'LL GET RID OF HIM FOR ME?] The chief clerk got out in a hopeful tone before (seemingly) glaring at the Thieves. [...NO WAIT, YOU'RE LYING! YOU JUST WANT INFORMATION ON THE SECTION CHIEF!] He then denied.
"You're wrong!" Yin countered. "Yes, we do want to get rid of him...by using the info we get out of you." She then blatantly admitted.
"So tell us and give us a way to your boss. We promise you'll get that promotion." Joker soon added.
[...ARGH, DAMMIT! I COULD GET RID OF THE SECTION CHIEF MYSELF WITH MY WIND POWERS!] The chief clerk ranted. [BUT...BUT I'M TOO SCARED TO ACTUALLY DO IT...AGH!] He then groaned.
"Wind powers?" Joker repeated before letting out a chuckle. "Huh. Thanks for telling us." He then thanked the giant red robot.
[HUH?] The chief clerk soon got out before realizing his mistake. [WAIT, I MEAN...I'LL KILL YOU!] He then declared.
"Ah, too late for that. Persona!" Yang remarked before summoning her Persona. "Hientou!" She soon commanded.
FWOOSH! SLASH!
The tan skinned girl's confident smile quickly turned into a frown as Wolverine's ignited claws barely made a scratch in the red robot's armor. "Okay, that didn't work as well as I hoped." Yang groaned. She didn't have to look at the light gray haired girl to know the withering look she was giving her.
"Che..." Wolverine got out in annoyance.
"Resistance to both Fire and Physical. Great." Oracle sighed out.
"Still, we got something out of him, even if it wasn't about the chief director." Serpent soon pointed out. "I'd call that a semi-win. Besides, we can just ask his boss for that info. Nicely." She then added with a smirk.
"He also just told us his skills, so Skull and Yin should probably stay out of this one." Queen advised.
"Hai, Queen." Yin responded with a nod. "Come on, Skull. Let's take care of his workers while they focus on the boss." She then decided.
"Roger that, Vice Leader!" The dyed blond responded before shooting his shotgun into the air. "Hey shitheads! Hope ya saved your work because we're 'bout to eff up some of these machines!" He then announced.
[WHAT!?] One of the lesser Corporobos exclaimed.
[I SPENT MY WEEKEND WORKING ON THAT!] Another screamed. [AFTER THEM!] It then ordered as Yin and Skull ran away.
"Alright, now we can purely focus on the big guy!" Panther got out with a smirk.
"Okay, let's see if you can handle this." Joker got out as he tore off his mask. "Jack Frost, Bufudyne!" He soon commanded as the little appeared by his side.
"Hee ho!" Jack Frost cheered as he wagged his finger.
CRACKLE!
"Damn, he resisted it!" Joker cursed. "Someone else try something!" He then ordered.
"I got it! Psiodyne!" Noir declared as she delivered the attack after ripping off her mask.
WEEEEEEP!
"Eh!?" Noir got out in shock after seeing it wasn't affected at all.
"What is with these resistances!?" Yang exclaimed.
"Crap, he's beginning to retaliate!" Mona warned as everyone braced for the attack.
The chief clerk soon growled as sparks of electricity arc around his body. [ZIONGA!] He then cried out, sending as much energy as he could muster towards his enemies.
"Oh crap!" The not cat exclaimed as a flash of light filled the room.
ZAAAAP!
Mona squeaked as he barely managed to dodge out of the way of the lightning bolt, only getting a slightly singed tail. "Ah! That was way too close!" He got out in relief, but also winced.
"What the hell was that!?" Serpent exclaimed as the navigator scanned the cognition.
"Wait, he doesn't just have Wind. He has every element!" Oracle exclaimed the reveal.
"Aw, that's bullshit!" Skull complained.
"It's expected of a boss though." Joker muttered with a frown. "Guess we're all vulnerable. Skull, Yin, jump back in! We need the back up!" He then called out.
"Give us a second!" Yin called out as she shot off a blue Corporobo's head off. "None of our skills work on these guys, but bullets do! Ammo up. Skull!" She then added before throwing some Reserve Ammo to the dyed blonde.
"Thanks Vice Leader!" Skull got out as he reloaded his shotgun. "EAT EFFIN' SHIT, YA BASTARDS!" He then roared as he started shooting once again.
BLAM BLAM BLAM!
"They're doing fine, Joker! Focus on the main target!" Widow called out.
"Right." Joker responded as an idea came to mind. "Bullets, huh? Then let's try this!" He then decided, taking his gun out.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Joker then crouched down and took aim. "Down Shot!" He declared.
BANG!
"Nice, Joker!" Mona cheered as Joker smirked.
"You stay still! We have itchy trigger fingers!" Serpent warned as the Thieves aimed their guns at the downed cognition.
"Hey, what are you weak to?" Joker asked, not expecting an answer.
[WHAT!?] The chief clerk exclaimed in disbelief. [I WILL NOT WASTE MY BREATH ON YOU! YOU SHALL NEVER KNOW MY WEAKNESS TO NUCLEAR AND ELECTRICITY!] He declared.
"..." The group immediately paused as they looked at the now idiot robot.
[...SON OF A BITCH.] The red robot then swore.
The Leader shrugged. Info was info, no matter how easy it was to get it. "Thanks, man. Give him everything you've got!" He then ordered before the Thieves rushed the cognition.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! CRACK! SLASH! SLAP! WHAM! SLASH! CHOP!
"It's not down yet!" Noir called out.
"We're not letting it end here!" Serpent declared, her eyes flashing gold. "Fox, ready for a show stopper!?" She then asked with a smirk.
"It's called a Showtime!" Fox corrected before turning to the Leader. "Joker!"
"Got it!" Joker responded before pulling out the star and holding it up into the air.
"SHOWTIME!"
Suddenly, the cognition was transported into a high class art studio that was absolutely covered in red paint, with Fox right by it as Serpent came in with an easel and canvas. "Ready for a masterpiece?" She asked as she set it down and took out a palette and a paintbrush.
"As ever!" Fox responded with a nod as he unsheathed his katana. "Begin!" He then commanded as he began slashing up the enemy as the white haired woman began painting.
Serpent mirrored Fox's katana slashes with her brush strokes, going and faster as more and more paint was splattered onto the canvas.
"Art is a battle." Fox got out.
"And it can be finished in a single stroke." Serpent finished as they sheathed their weapons before...
SHINK! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
The enemy was sliced into ribbons, laying dead on the floor as Serpent finished her depiction of its demise. Serpent then stood proudly by her painting as she showed it to the artist...which turned out to look as if it was made by a ten year old finger painting that vaguely looked like the artist with a katana.
"You like it?" Serpent asked in an eager manner as the boy reviewed the painting.
"It...needs work." Fox confessed in a blunt manner, causing the white haired woman to drop her head in shame.
DONG!
(End Music)
"You suck at painting, man." Skull teased as he and Yin came back to the group, covered head to toe in black oil.
"Bite me numbskull." Serpent bluntly countered with a pout. "At least it killed the chief clerk." She then added.
"Bastard." Queen grumbled as she kicked its scrapped corpse.
"You should've been the bigger person, and break the cycle of hate." Joker got out with a shake of his head before spotting something on the ground and picking it up.
"Oh, this must be an employee ID card! Let me see!" Noir requested before the Leader handed it over to her. "It says chief clerk on it." She soon informed.
"But we're looking for one that's chief director or higher, yes?" Widow recalled.
"Then let's go and take care of the section chief." Yin suggested. "If we keep working our way up the corporate ladder and get the info we need from them, we'll eventually get to the chief director." She then explained.
"Sounds like a plan." Joker responded with a nod as Noir handed the ID back. "This one should be okay for now. At the very least it'll help us get to some new places." He then stated.
"Then let us use this ID to access those areas now." Fox suggested, causing everyone to nod before leaving the area.
Soon enough, they began heading to the next area when the not cat began to notice something. "I'm detecting a safe room nearby." Mona informed.
"Wanna take a rest, Leader?" Noir asked.
To that, Joker nodded. "Yeah, we could use one." He decided.
"Good idea. I'm betting these next few fights will be tough." Yang responded with a nod before going over and opening the safe room for everyone.
(Barracks Safe Room)
The Thieves shuffled into the safe room and instantly took seats around the place, letting out a breath in relief.
"And safe..." Panther breathed out as she relaxed herself.
"It's still so cold and gray here, but I feel so much more relaxed." Noir confessed as she crossed her legs in a lady-like manner.
"That's because the ruler's influence is lighter here." Mona responded. "I wonder what this place is in the real world..." He then added in a curious manner.
"Probably a storage closet too." Joker assumed. "Except it has office supplies instead of...this stuff." He then added as he looked around.
"I wonder if there's anything in these crates..." Yin soon wondered out loud.
"Well, we could always check. There's no one here to stop us." Queen pointed out. The Vice Leader nodded to that before going over to grab one from the shelves to crack open.
"I don't see any latches..." Yin noted.
"Well, you could probably pry it open." Panther suggested.
SMASH!
"Or punch through it with your insane strength and open it that way, that works too." Oracle awkwardly finished.
"Eh?" Yin got out in surprise and peered inside the crate.
"What did you find?" Joker asked.
The Vice Leader only pulled out a twisted piece of metal and some bits of a broken circuit board. "Just scrap and parts." Yin informed.
"Were you expecting something more exciting?" Fox questioned. "This is just a storage area." He then reminded.
"A little." Yin admitted in a mumble. "I don't know anything about robots, so I don't know what might be valuable here to sell..." She then added with a frown.
"I'll try and help. Got nothing really better to do right now." Oracle offered. "Maybe I can get free RAM cards from this stuff." She then got out in an eager manner as she dived into the crate to start rummaging through it.
"I'm surprised it wasn't burgers or fries or something." Panther admitted.
"Hey, there're a bunch of these crates here. You might not be wrong." Skull pointed out. "Still though, can't believe we're in freaking space. I mean, we've been to castles, museums, and banks and effin' Egypt, but this takes the cake!" He then breathed out in awe.
"Yeah. At least it was all grounded." Panther got out. "Erm, the bank notwithstanding." She quickly added.
"Every Palace seems to be more bizarre than the last..." Fox soon stated.
"Hey, it at least gives us unique opportunities barely anyone else can experience." Serpent stated with a shrug. "If it wasn't for all the things trying to kill us, I'd consider us lucky." She then added.
"Unfortunately, our luck sucks..." Joker groaned. "Who wants to bet we need to go out into space for longer than we can hold our breath?" He then sarcastically suggested.
"What if we need to go to another planet?" Panther meanwhile added to the suggestion. "I do not want to encounter anything like a Facehugger!" She then declared in a panic.
"You don't need to worry about that, Panther." Mona responded. "A planet is too complex, and having two different cognitions of an area isn't possible, at least in the Metaverse. Besides, outside of Mementos, there aren't many Palaces that span more than the world. Someone has to be insanely distorted to do that." He then explained in great detail.
"But it is possible for a Palace to span the world, right?" Noir soon questioned.
"Well...the only limit is one's imagination." Mona spoke up.
"That would be hell to get through in one day..." Queen begrudgingly commented.
"...Facehugger?" Serpent and Yin meanwhile repeated with raised eyebrows as they listened to the discussion in confusion.
Meanwhile, the light gray haired girl took the tan skinned girl to a separate part of the safe room for a personal discussion. "You were hasty again, Yang." Widow sighed. "Remember, keep calm and keep your cool." She then reminded in a teacher-like tone.
Wincing to that, Yang soon took in a deep breath and relaxed herself. "Hai, Widow." She responded, her voice sounding much calmer than before.
"I'll believe it when I see it." Widow responded with a sigh. "You should be able to make good judgements on your own, so I expect you not to have a talk like this again. You are a good fighter, you just have to use everything you have learned so far more efficiently. Including both of your fighting styles." She then stated and instructed.
"Hai...Widow." Yang responded once more with a nod.
"And don't just nod and say hai." The light gray haired girl sighed out. "I'm your friend, an ally and your fellow master in Elegance." Widow then reminded as she lifted up her mask and gently hugged the tan skinned girl after lifting up her mask to see a guilty expression on her face. "And sister in arms." She quietly whispered the reminder.
"...I still have a lot to learn, huh." Yang sighed out in shame.
"Yes, as do I." Widow responded. "But there is no shame in that. It's only when you don't take in those lessons when it becomes a waste." She then stated.
"You're so wise, Widow." Yang sighed out.
"No. I'm not." The light gray haired girl got out as she shook her head. "I've gotten most of my wisdom from my grandfather. I'm just repeating the lessons he taught me to you." Widow soon explained.
"Really wished I could've met him." Yang confessed.
"I do as well." Widow admitted in agreement. "Although, I don't think he would approve of you..." She then mumbled in a sad manner.
Yang also sighed in response to that. "Probably, if he found out." She agreed. "His funeral is soon, right?" She recalled.
"In two days." Widow confirmed.
"Do you really want to go alone?" Yang soon asked before to see the others making small talk or rummaging through crates. "We could come with you." She then offered.
To that, Widow smiled at the offer, but then shook her head. "I appreciate it, but it is more of a personal gathering." She soon replied. "We can visit him later, when we're not so busy worrying about everything else." She then suggested while taking the tan skinned girl's hand into her own.
"...Alright." Yang responded with a nod as they looked at one another. "But remember, we are here for you. I am here for you." She then reminded before getting closer to her ear. "Sister." She quietly whispered for only the other girl to hear.
That immediately delighted the light gray haired girl as she hugged her friend.
Meanwhile, the navigator couldn't help herself as she observed the scene while she was sorting through scrap. "...Make out already you two!" Oracle suddenly called out with cupped hands over her mouth.
"ORACLE!" Serpent exclaimed in disapproval, whirring her head towards the hacker.
"What? It's obviously going somewhere spicy!" Oracle explained herself, sorting the scrap once again.
Yang and Widow meanwhile blushed, but also had offended expressions on their faces. "IT IS NOT LIKE THAT!" They declared at the same time.
"But what was that whole private conversation about?" Oracle then asked with a confident smirk.
"A private discussion between two masters of Elegance." Widow responded as the tan skinned girl nodded in agreement.
"Is that what you call each other instead of girlfriends?" Oracle soon assumed, the smirk never leaving her face.
The duo's eyes immediately twitched as they looked at the white haired woman. "Reign her in please." They soon requested in perfect unison.
"You don't need to tell me." Serpent deadpanned before approaching the hacker and stood in front of her with hands on her hips in an intimidated posture and presence. "Futaba Sakura, why don't we step outside for a second?" She soon suggested.
To that, the orangette paled in fear. "Erm...wait..." She then tried to say. "I'm sorry..." She soon attempted to apologize.
"You should've said that at the first opportunity." Serpent bluntly stated...before shooting her arm and latching her hand onto the hacker's skin tight top.
"AH! Joker! Help me!" Oracle panickingly got out, flailing her arms as she was dragged out of the safe room.
However, the Leader was in the middle of something else. "I dunno, Skull, but Rise has way more staying power. Most idols burn out after five to ten years at best, and Honoka Kōsaka is getting pretty close to that point." He casually commented, ignoring the orangette's cries.
"JOOOOOOOOKER!" The navigator cried out right before the door was shut.
"Huh?" Joker got out, snapping out of his conversation with the dyed blond to see the door shut. "What happened?" He then asked.
"Nothing you should worry about, Leader." Yang and Widow answered almost automatically at the same time.
"Oh. Alright." Joker shrugged before turning back to the dyed blond. "Anyways, as I was saying, I just prefer Rise's music more. It's way less formulaic...Not to mention Widow's her student now and is going to learn everything she knows." He then added and recalled.
"Dude, that sounds kinda biased." The pirate-like Phantom Thief commented. "Ya gotta leave personal feelings at the door. I'd tell Widow if her newest song sucks if I think it is." He then bluntly admitted, causing the ash blonde to face palm.
"WHAT!?" Yang exclaimed with fiery fury. "Take that back right now, Skull!" She then ordered.
"Yang, please settle down." Widow however requested, still holding her hand. "I actually appreciate such criticism. If something does not work, then I should know so it can be rectified. Honesty is important in the idol business." She soon confessed and explained.
"See? Widow agrees with me." Yang stated with crossed arms under her chest.
"However, I expect you to expand your vocabulary." Widow soon requested, an icy and dangerous edge in her tone despite the pleasant smile still on her face. "After all, each song takes a lot of work from many people, including me, so at least appreciate the effort put in." She then suggested.
"I-I will." Skull nervously responded with a salute.
"Thank you." Widow replied. "And thank you for being at my defense, Yang." She then added in a grateful tone with a genuine smile.
"It's just a natural reaction." Yang confessed. "Even I am aware of how hard you are working to do well as an idol." She then admitted.
"Just don't try to do it with random strangers." Widow soon requested.
Yang in response nodded and bowed. "Of course." She replied.
"Didn't I just say not to only nod and respond with a yes?" Widow sighed out, causing the tan skinned girl to wince and drop her head in shame. "There there." She reassured with a head pat and a smile.
At that moment, a satisfied white haired woman returned with a pouty Oracle in tow. "You've given me the same lecture five times already." She then commented with crossed arms and huffed shoulders.
"Well, it clearly hasn't worked the last four other times." Serpent reminded. "Wanna make it six?" She then threatened.
"N-No, I'm good, Big Sis. For the rest of my life." Oracle replied almost nervously and reluctantly, looking away a bit.
"It is all based on your own actions in the end." Serpent soon reminded. "Now, are we ready to go guys?" She soon questioned.
"Just about." Yin responded as she pulled out another valuable piece of tech and placed it into the duffle. "Leader?" She then asked.
"Yep. Let's get going." Joker replied as he gestured everyone to exit the Safe room and continue their infiltration.
(Barracks)
When the Phantom Thieves left the safe room, they moved forward through the hallway until they had to hide from a flaring red Shadow patrolling that was patrolling up and down.
"There's no way we're opening that door without getting spotted." Queen muttered with a frown.
"Looks like we have to take care of that red Shadow first." Joker got out before looking back at the team. "Who wants to take off its mask?"
"Ooh! I do! I do!" Noir eagerly responded as she waved her hand.
"Go ahead." Joker got out with a nod.
Noir pumped her fist before leaping out of cover, approaching the Shadow with no worry. "Excuse me." She soon called out,
[WHAT?] The guard robot got out as it turned around.
CHOP!
Almost instantly, Noir embedded her axe into its neck(?) before dragging to the ground while taking out her weapon to do it again, like a lumberjack trying to chop a fallen log.
CHOP! CHOP! CHOP!
Eventually, Noir decapitated the Shadow, causing it to break apart as it spawned several enemies in its place.
"Well that was...brutal." Joker got out as the Thieves jumped in.
"We got a big boy here!" Yang remarked.
"A Rebellious Elephant and two Black Oozes!" Mona announced.
"Don't use any physical attacks or your guns, it'll just come right back at you!" Queen warned.
"They're all weak to Bless though..." Oracle soon informed as she began to laugh maniacally. "Mwhehehe...instant kill time Big Sis!" She soon cheered in excitement.
"I was expecting more." Joker chuckled before turning to the white haired woman, who was already cracking her knuckles. "Shall you do the honors?" He then suggested.
"Hell. Yes." Serpent responded as she ripped off her mask. "Nobunaga! Mahamaon!" She soon commanded.
SHINE!
"That was easier than expected." Fox muttered.
"You're all coming into your own as phantom thieves. Even you, Noir." Mona got out in an impressed manner. "I'm almost proud." He then added.
"Aw, thanks, Mona-chan!" Noir happily replied, scooping the not cat up and hugged, pressing him in her bust as he blushed.
SQUISH!
"Buh-buh-buh-buh...!" Mona stammered out for the duration of the hug before the heiress let go of him. "Y-Yes, you are welcome!" He squeaked out while standing at attention in a stiff manner.
Joker meanwhile snickered to see this reaction. "And now Mona's being a manwhore too." He thought to himself in amusement at how ironic this was.
"Almost, though?" Yang repeated in confusion.
"A true phantom thief can rob someone without even a hint of their presence." Mona claimed. "Don't worry, you'll all get to that point eventually." He then reassured.
"I think you will too eventually, you rascal." Panther got out with a giggle.
"H-Hey! I keep telling you my capture in the castle was a fluke!" Mona insisted as he flailed his tiny arms.
"There there." Noir meanwhile got out while comforting him with a head rub, causing him to purr in satisfaction.
"Alright, enough teasing. Let's use that ID we grabbed already." Queen got out with a small laugh.
Joker nodded before he approached the door, took out the chief clerk ID and scanned it on the console, causing the once-locked door to open.
"Yes, it opened!" Noir got out with a fist pump.
"Next up is the section chief." Serpent added as she crossed her arms under her breasts. "Hopefully they'll be just as much of a snitch as the last guy." She then added as the team went through.
After taking out some Shadows along the way, they soon came to a similar room as the one they had been before leading to the chief clerk. This time however, they could see two workforces with extremely similar-looking bosses.
"Now we got two light blue ones here..." Mona muttered with a frown.
"Hey...are those two giving orders to the other robots?" Yang muttered."You guys think they might be the chief director or the section chief?" She then asked.
"Prolly the section chief." Oracle deducted. "I'm sensing something big further down. That one's gotta be the chief director." She then informed.
"Ideally, we should secure the ID of the highest-ranking one here." Fox advised.
"Yes...we can't reach the chief director with the ID we have now." Noir added.
"Then let's just beat one of 'em and swipe what we can!" Skull declared as he punched his palm.
"Hold up. The reading's not super clear, but I'm pretty sure only one of them's a section chief..." Oracle warned.
"So only one of them has our key." Panther assumed. "What's the plan?" She soon asked.
"We could just kill them both." Serpent suggested.
"You really need to stop going to murder as the first solution..." Joker deadpanned.
"There's no need to waste energy like that." Queen pointed out. "If we can talk to each one and compare what they say to the intel we have on hand...that way, we might be able to tell which one is the section chief." She then advised.
"Or we split up and take care of them both at the same time without needing to waste time choosing." Yin suggested. "Plus, they both might have info on their superior." She then explained.
"It's up to you, Leader." Mona got out as they all turned to Joker. "Save energy and carefully pick our target, or split up and assault both of them?" He then asked.
Joker closed his eyes as he took a minute to weigh both options. "...Yin?" He soon began.
"Ready, Joker." The Vice Leader assured with a salute, already knowing what the Leader decided.
"Okay. Noir, Mona, Skull, Serpent, Panther. You're with Yin. Everyone else, with me. Oracle, think you can handle supporting two teams?" Joker ordered before asking their navigator.
"I have at least 20 tabs open on my PC at all times. I got this." Oracle stated with confidence.
"Wait, why can't I be with Sis!?" Yang complained.
"Yang, we are literally going to be about fifteen seconds away from each other and Oracle will be keeping track of both our teams." Joker pointed out before putting a hand on her shoulder and leaning close to the tan skinned girl. "Trust her." He then ordered.
"I-I do, but..." Yang murmured, however...
"Yang-neechan," Yin spoke up in a firm tone. "I'll be fine. Go help Joker kick ass." She soon requested as she lifted up her mask, giving her sister a determined smile.
"...Alright." Yang finally relented.
"I think it's sweet though." Noir confessed with a smile. "I wish I had a younger sibling." She soon added.
"Maybe in the next life." Widow stated before the Thieves separated into their teams.
"So, left or right?" Joker asked the Vice Leader as she put down her mask.
"Right." Yin answered with a nod.
"Okay. Remember what the chief clerk said. He's lazy and calls others useless." Joker then reminded the Vice Leader, both wincing as they saw the advisor flinch at the word. "Sorry Queen. Trigger word." He then apologized.
"It's fine." Queen responded in reassurance "Besides, there's an outlet right nearby." She then got out as she cracked her knuckles towards the giant blue robot. "Let's do this, team." She soon declared.
"Right behind you, senpai." Yang responded with a nod.
"Probably ten feet away." Joker added in a nervous manner as they followed the advisor.
With the Vice Leader's group...
They took a moment to heal up a little and prepare for the fight ahead. "Are we ready, Vice Leader?" Serpent soon asked as she stretched her muscles.
"As much as we can be." Yin responded with a nod. "Mona?" She then got out.
"Ready for the execution. Just say the word." Mona replied with a nod.
"Okay, let's beat Joker's team in taking out this cognition first." Yin declared with a smirk.
"Show us what you got, Yin." Serpent soon ordered. "Hold nothing back but also don't be reckless." She then added.
"Never planned on it." Yin responded as she approached the bot.
[WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? GET BACK TO YOUR WORKSTATIONS.] The light blue robot barked. [USELESS EMPLOYEES WILL DISPOSED OF AS SCRAP.] He then threatened.
"Already calling us useless..." Serpent deadpanned.
The Vice Leader, meanwhile, furrowed her brows as she tried to figure out what to say. "Um, sorry to disturb you, sir. We're..." Yin began, however...
"We're the Phantom Thieves and we're gonna kick your ass!" Skull declared.
"Skull!" Panther called out.
"What? He called us useless. That has to be enough evidence right?" Skull soon explained his reasoning. "'Sides, we know his weakness." He then got out in a cocky tone.
"Did it ever occur to you that the weakness only applies to the real section chief? Which we only have a 50/50 chance of getting?" Serpent growled.
"...Oh." Skull could only say.
"Somehow I despise your very existence right now." Mona got out in a flat tone.
"Mona!?" The dyed blond exclaimed.
[THE PHANTOM THIEVES!?] The Corporobo MDL-DM exclaimed in shock. [IN THAT CASE, I'LL TURN YOU ALL IN AND GAIN SOME FAVOR WITH THE HIGHER UPS!] He then declared.
"Guess we have no choice but to fight." Noir got out before hefting her axe from her hand that came out of nowhere. "Let's do this!" She then declared, tipping her hat with her free hand.
"You look way too eager, Noir." Panther deadpanned.
"What? Is it wrong to take pleasure in a job well done?" Noir giggled as she focused on the giant blue robot with a sadistic smile.
(Cue Supporting Me by Fumie Kumatani and Shinobu Shindo)
Yin's team soon pulled out their weapons and faced the cognition head-on.
[HUH? WHO THE HELL...ARE YOU TRYING TO PICK A FIGHT WITH ME!?] The giant blue robot got out in surprise.
"Apparently." Serpent bitterly grumbled.
Suddenly, a holographic Oracle appeared in front of the Thieves, tapping away on screens they couldn't see. It seems that she was busy supporting the other team and their fight. "Okay, one, just reported to Joker's team about your outburst. You're getting a punch, Skull. But they're deciding if they should take the high road or low road." She casually informed.
"Ulp!" Skull gulped in fear.
"Two, it looks like Joker got the lower rank. Which means you're facing the real target." Oracle continued. "Yin, I hope your interrogation skills are up to snuff. Get the info we need out of the section chief!" She then instructed before flickering out.
"Hai, Oracle!" Yin responded with a nod before stepping forward.
[DO YOU HAVE SOME SORT OF BUSINESS WITH ME?] The now identified section chief demanded from the Thieves.
"Actually, we'd like to speak with your chief." Yin requested in a serious manner.
[OH, THE CHIEF...] The Corporobo MDL-DM muttered in response. [IF HE CAN EVEN BE CALLED THAT! HE CAN'T DO A SINGLE THING RIGHT!] He then spat out in anger.
"Well! Sounds to me like he's got some beef with the chief." Oracle remarked, giggling at her little rhyme.
"Do they all just hate each other out of principle or...?" Skull wondered out loud.
"My guess, the hate comes down all the way from the top." Panther assumed.
[ALL HE'S GOT IS HIS RANK! HE WALKS AROUND ALL HIGH AND MIGHTY, BUT HE'S NOT THAT AT ALL!] The section chief continued to complain. [HE DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A CLUE I KNOW HIS WEAKNESS!] He then claimed, instantly getting the Thieves' attention.
"Wow! That's very impressive, sir." Yin emphasized with the section chief.
[I KNOW, RIGHT? GLAD YOU AGREE!] The Corporobo MDL-DM breathed out in relief. [...YOU WANNA HEAR IT? THIS IS HUGE, SO NO TELLING ANYONE, GOT IT?] It then offered.
"We'll take it to the grave." Serpent promised as she mimed crossing her heart.
[THE CHIEF IS WEAK TO PSYCHOKINESIS! NOT EVEN HIS INDUSTRIAL-GRADE PLATING CAN SAVE HIM FROM IT!] The section chief revealed in a proud manner...right before it hit him. [...WAIT, MAYBE I SHOULD'VE KEPT THAT TO MYSELF. SHIT, I JUST TOLD THE PHANTOM THIEVES HIS WEAKNESS. FUCK.] He then cursed his own stupidity.
"Nice! A classic slip of the tongue! I don't think he has any more useful dirt, so let's just mop the floor with him real quick!" Oracle laughed out.
"Hey, watch that mouth!" Mona scolded. "You know what, let's shut it up for you!" He then declared before summoning Zorro to his side.
[AUGH! NO! WAIT, WAIT, WAIT!] The section chief tried to plead loudly in a robotic manner.
"GARUDYNE!" Mona soon declared as his Persona appeared behind him and swished his rapier.
WOOOOOOOOOSH!
[GYAAAAHHHH!] The section chief screamed in pain as Zorro's wind tore the plating off its body with ease.
"WOO HOO! You da the man, Mona!" Skull cheered.
"Praise me later. We still have his subordinates!" Mona pointed out with a smirk.
"Better scrap them now before they cast Recarmdra!" Oracle suggested.
"Right, they're all weak to Wind..." Yin remembered before giggling evilly. "Mona-chan?" She soon got out.
"Heh, they never stood a chance! Magarula!" Mona soon declared as Zorro unleashed another gust of wind around the battlefield.
WOOOOOOOOOSH!
"Amazing, Mona!" Noir praised. "Now don't move, all of you!" She then ordered as the Thieves pulled out their guns and aimed it at the downed robots.
"There's no point in letting them live! Go all-out!" Yin declared.
"Quiver in fear!" The not cat shouted out as the team rushed down the cognitions.
SLASH! CHOP! SLASH! WHAM! SLASH! CRACK
Mona soon landed out a chair, caught a large cigar and put it in his mouth. "Cleanup complete!" He called out as the robots exploded behind him.
KABOOOOOOM!
(End Music)
"Any boss that lets their employees suffer deserves the same thing!" Yin declared as she put away her swords.
"Okay, next time, we don't split up unless we gag Skull before negotiations." Serpent suggested as she glared at the boy.
"Uh...I'm sorry!" Skull whimpered, flinching under the woman's angry gaze.
"Oh, you should be, dumbass." Yang spoke up as Joker's team walked into the room while giving the boy a harsh glare.
"H-Hi, Yang!" Skull squeaked as he pulled on his collar nervously. "How did your fight go?" He soon got out, fearing for his many body parts.
"Fine." Yang bluntly answered before turning to the Vice Leader. "And yours, Sis?" She then asked in a softer tone.
"Swimmingly...despite a slight hiccup." Yin replied with a shrug as she held up the ID in triumph.
"Good." Yang breathed out glad to see that her sister's team successfully obtained the objective. And now...
WHAM!
"GODDAMMIT RYUJI!" Yang roared, her fist smoking after punching the dyed blond right in the face, forcing him to drop onto the ground in pain.
"A-Aaagghhh..." Skull moaned in pain.
"Oooohhh...he even Yamcha'd!" Oracle winced.
Widow meanwhile sighed. "I...will allow it this time." She decided.
"You should be thankful. I had to convince her down from kicking your throat." Joker revealed with a slight wince. The rest of that rage came in the form of Yang simply melting the (relatively) poor enemies into puddles of liquid metal when she went into Noh Style for the battle.
"You really need to think before you speak, Skull..." Mona sighed as he healed the boy.
"I know..." Skull groaned as he picked himself off the ground. "Me and my damn mouth..." He then mumbled to himself.
"At least we got the section chief ID." Joker reminded. "Come on, this should help get us to the chief director." He soon decided.
"He should be the next one up. Let's go." Widow got out with a nod.
"Don't forget to stay conscious of your condition, everyone." Queen advised. "If you're feeling tired, tell us and we'll head to a safe room as soon as possible." She then added.
"Yes, mom." Oracle responded with a nod. She was getting a small cramp from sitting inside Necronomicon for so long.
"Good." Queen responded...before blinking in realization. "Wait what?" She then got out.
"Nothing." Oracle immediately responded somehow nonchalantly before going on ahead.
"Uh...Serpent's giving Queen a weird look..." Noir noticed with a raised eyebrow.
"Huh?" The white haired woman got out, snapping out of her odd stare. "It's nothing! We're wasting daylight lollygagging so get going." She then ordered with a huff.
"Seriously, who says lollygagging these days?" Skull questioned.
"Hey. You heard the woman. Go." Joker spoke up as the rest of the Thieves continued on, heading over to another of the ID locked doors. Joker didn't waste any time and soon got the section chief's ID card scanned.
"Ugh...why is this authentication shit takin' so long?" Skull complained as he impatiently tapped his foot. "Giant ass spaceport and ya can't get this thing to scan faster." He then grumbled in annoyance.
"Space station, and try and learn some patience, Skull." Panther corrected and advised him.
"Take up yoga or meditate. It will do wonders for your attitude and health." Widow advised him as well.
"I ain't that flexible." Skull told them.
"Door's open." Joker announced as he removed the ID card from the console. "Alright, Mr. Chief Director. I hope you fall as easily as your charges. All bark, no bite." He then muttered as the Thieves headed in.
"Hold it, guys." Oracle spoke up, causing everyone to freeze in their tracks instantly. "This room's different. I can't sense anything inside. Probably safe to assume there aren't any high-rank robots in there."
"Well, sounds like there's no point checkin' it out." Skull muttered.
"Not quite. If we don't have any bosses watching, that might just be an opportunity to get something good." Mona suggested with a smirk.
"Good point. Joker, let's sneak by them and listen in on their conversation." Oracle got out before summoning Necronomicon. "I'll amp up their voice to you guys if you're hard of hearing too." She then added.
"Thank you, Oracle." Joker whispered in a grateful manner before the team crouched down and quietly moved into the room.
"They're all so focused on their work..." Panther quietly mumbled. "Even I would notice someone sneaking in like this while on my phone." She then admitted.
"Do you have your livelihood on the line? I don't think they're doing this because they like it..." Serpent whispered with a frown.
"Didn't we hear earlier that one of the bots loves being here despite everything?" Queen reminded with a frown. "This is getting curiouser and curiouser..." She then admitted.
"Shush." Widow got out as they got closer.
[IF I COMPLAIN NEAR THE DIRECTOR, HE'LL SAY "BACK WHEN I WAS YOUNG..."]
"Huh...so we're basically eavesdroppin' on 'em..." Skull muttered.
"It's rather obvious what it is, Skull." Widow got out. "You know, it is quite nice to finally use an actual shinobi skill that doesn't involve violence..." She then admitted.
"Hey, I can eavesdrop too." Oracle said with a grin. "Through the miracle of technology." She then added.
"You've made that perfectly clear with your wiretapping, Oracle." Panther commented with a sigh.
"That? Oh, that was nothing! Someday I'll show you what real wiretapping is. Mwehehe..." Oracle promised before chuckling.
"...You know, I'm suddenly glad you're only doing that for your own amusement and boredom." Yin also commented.
"I-In any case, let's listen to some other conversations." Queen soon advised. "We need to eliminate every variable we can before we start identifying the chief director. We need to know what their boss is like before we attack." She then instructed.
With that, the Thieves continued listening in on the workers. Many of them were simply just excited to be working at Okumura Foods, but some still had their complaints about their bosses and what they found annoying.
"So from all the workers we've heard, the chief director keeps saying these phrases: back when I was young, second down, and best of the best." Widow listed off.
"Okay, I think I'm starting to get a picture of the guy..." Yang muttered. "Should we stay and keep gathering info, or do we have enough to choose who it is?" She soon asked the Leader.
"I think we have enough..." Joker answered with a nod. "Let's go find the bastard." He then commanded as the Thieves left the room.
Soon enough, they spotted another room with more Corporobos and a boss within, however...
"Oh no..." Joker whispered as the Thieves quickly backed out of the room before they were noticed by the hulking mass of metal.
"They're just as big as that asshole Sugimura was...!" Skull quietly exclaimed.
"And I'm detecting two other signatures similar to that one." Oracle revealed.
"Okay, I don't think splitting up is an option here for when we need to take their ID card." Mona got out with a frown. "We can't waste time and energy here. We need to be careful who we think the real chief director is." He soon advised.
"Alright, let's try and find our most likely suspect." Joker soon ordered, with the rest of the Thieves nodding. With that, the team exited the shadows and headed over to the green bot.
"Hello, sir." Yin greeted in a kind manner, getting the attention of the boss.
[HWA-HEM! WHO ARE YOU RASCALS? HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE?] The ginormous green robot coughed out before asking. [WHAT BUSINESS DO YOU HAVE HERE AT OUR BEST OF THE BEST CORPORATION: OKUMURA FOODS!] It then questioned and declared.
"Best of the best, huh...?" Yang repeated with a raised eyebrow.
"Let's talk for a bit." Joker got out, attempting to sound as cordial as possible.
[I DON'T LIKE YOUR TONE, BUT OKAY. SPEAKING WITH YOUNG PEOPLE IS RARE FOR ME.] The large robot stated proudly. [I ALSO ALMOST NEVER INTERACT WITH SUCH LOWLY INDIVIDUALS! GRHAHAHAHAHAHA!] He then laughed at his own little joke.
"Okay, boomer..." Oracle mumbled as she rolled her eyes.
"God, even his laugh grates my nerves." Serpent grumbled.
[WHAT'S THE MATTER? GO ON, LET'S CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION.] The Corporobo MDL-GM got out, waiting for the opportunity to get these underlings to sing his praises.
"Let's discuss the past then." Joker offered. "How did you get to the position you're in now?" He soon asked in a curious manner.
[HOW ADMIRABLE, YOU WISH TO HEAR OF MY SUCCESSES, YES?] The giant green robot chuckled. [EVERYONE WAS HUMBLE LIKE YOU BACK WHEN I WAS YOUNG, BUT YOUTH NOWADAYS...] He then mumbled.
"We're just a bunch of ungrateful shits..." Joker sarcastically muttered under his breath as the giant green robot continued telling the youth of his exploits while simultaneously complaining about them.
"Joker, you think this is the chief director...?" Yin whispered over to the Leader.
The Leader took a second to think. Two out of three wasn't bad, but not perfect. He didn't want to risk getting it wrong and wasting energy on a worthless card, but time was of the essence. Decisions, decisions...
"Only one way to find out." Joker responded before turning to the heiress, who was quietly listening to the robot's long winded ramblings. "Noir! BLAST HIM!" He then ordered.
Noir grinned right before tearing off her mask. "PSIODYNE!" She soon commanded.
(Cue Digital Domination by Takeharu Ishimoto)
[GRRRAAAAHHHH!] The giant green robot screamed as he collapsed from the mental attack. Almost instantly, his subordinates jumped in to support their boss.
"That's a knockdown!" Mona announced. "Now take care of his underlings!" He then called out.
"It's just a bunch of blue guys, they should be easy to destroy!" Oracle added. "Fire and Wind!" She then stated.
"Let me have a turn!" Panther called out.
Joker shrugged in response. "Go for it!" He encouraged, allowing the ash blonde to step forward with a smile on her face.
"Let's do this, Hecate! Maragion!" Panther commanded before she swiftly tore off her mask.
FWOOOOOOSH!
"You're melting them, Panther!" Queen exclaimed in surprise.
"Heh, don't mess with us next time." Panther taunted as she pulled out her submachine gun. "Leader, ready!?" She then called out.
"Ready!" Joker responded with a nod before focusing directly at the melting robots. "Go!" He then declared as the team rushed them down.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! WHAM! CRACK! SLASH! SLAP! WHAM! SLASH! CHOP!
"Only the big guy's up!" Fox called out as the Thieves landed back down on the ground.
"He's super weak though. A bullet should finish him off." Oracle informed.
Joker smirked. "Perfect." He responded as he pulled out his pistol once again.
[YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS! OKUMURA FOODS IS THE BEST OF THE BEST, AND THE SECOND YOU LET YOUR GUARD DOWN, WE WILL END ALL OF YOU!] The chief director ranted, even as he sparked and sputtered.
The Leader scowled at the defeated bot, done with all this bullshit. "So high and mighty, ignorant to the anger of your charges..." Joker spat out as he twirled his pistol around. "Sorry, but the past is the past..." He soon got out before aiming his pistol at the bot.
Click!
"And you're just in the way of our future." The Leader finished before pulling the trigger.
BANG!
(End Music)
As soon as the giant green robot went down, it dropped something. They didn't know where exactly it came from on its person, but it didn't matter as they realized what it was.
"Perfect! We've finally found the chief director's ID card!" Noir cheered as the Leader picked up the ID card off the ground and stylishly flipped it.
"This means we can go in that rank door downstairs now!" Panther added.
"Welp, let's go check it out! Time to make like a banana and split!" Oracle declared with a fist pump.
"We better make like diarrhea and run." Joker chuckled, adding to the antics.
"Dude." Skull got out in disgust.
"We better make like a bread truck and haul buns." Widow spoke up with a joking smile.
"S-Senpai!?" Fox and Yang got out in disbelief.
"We better make like a prom dress and take off." Panther suddenly declared before pausing and blushing. "...I'm so sorry." She soon apologized.
"Stoooooop!" Queen whined out in annoyance while palming her face with both hands.
"Okay, we got a little sidetracked there, sorry." Joker muttered.
"No, keep going. I wanna see how far we can take it along the way back!" Oracle encouraged...before suddenly being picked up and thrown over the white haired woman's shoulder. "Wah! Oh come on Big Sis!" She soon whined in embarrassment and a pout.
"Let's go." Serpent simply ordered as she carried the orangette away. "And you should be glad I didn't just grab you by the ear and drag you away." She then informed.
"...I'll be good..." The hacker grumbled with a sigh.
"Good girl. You'll get a cookie after this." Serpent replied in approval and revealed with a smile.
"You better remember, alright?" Oracle countered with a childish pout.
"Of course." Serpent reassured as she walked ahead of the others.
"Umm...okay...why would she punish Oracle for that?" Skull eventually asked.
"Frustrating Queen?" Yang assumed, looking at the girl in mention, who looked mentally exhausted.
"Queen, do you need to go to a safe room again?" Widow soon offered in concern.
"O-Oh, I didn't realize..." Queen stammered in an apologetic tone. "I didn't think...I'm so sorry. I just want to help Noir as fast as possible..." She then got out and explained with a guilty look on her face.
"We all do." Joker sighed out as he glanced over to the newest member. "I guess you're right, Queen. Can't have too much fun here knowing the stakes this time. Come on, let's get going." He soon ordered as the team left the room, ID card in hand.
Soon enough, they had arrived at the locked door they had ignored earlier to focus on finding the chief director. "Alright, we're here" Oracle stated, dropping off the white-haired Phantom Thief's shoulder. "Keycard time." She then got out.
Joker nodded in response as he summoned the keycard before stylishly flipping it as he approached the console.
"This better work..." Skull grumbled under his breath as the Leader tried the ID card.
[Access Granted.]
"It's opening!" Yin called out as the door opened for them.
"Perfect. We have the employee ID card we were after, so let's head downstairs when we're done here!"
"Oh great, another trip using the elevator." Yang grumbled. "Okay, how about-" She then began.
"We're not doing it in two trips." Serpent deadpanned.
"But the guys-"
"Get over yourself and let's just all go in at the same time." Serpent interrupted, not wanting to deal with this again. "We're gonna be crammed together no matter what, may as well use the more efficient method." She then stated.
"It's going to be difficult for all of us to fit though." Widow pointed out. "How would we all fit?"
The Thieves took a moment to think before someone snapped their fingers, turning their attention to them. "...I have an idea." Skull spoke up with a smirk.
(Facility Passageway)
At the Facility Passageway, two Corporobos, one maroon and one orange, were standing by the elevator, waiting for it to reach their floor. It was strangely late, and they would be surely punished for their uncontrollable tardiness, so one of them decided to make some small talk before they were disposed of.
[...HEY.] The orange one began.
[YEAH?] The maroon Corporobo replied.
[DO YOU EVER WONDER WHY WE'RE HERE-]
CRASH!
The Corporobos were soon rudely interrupted by the sounds of their elevator crashing at their floor.
The elevator doors soon opened to reveal still living but very dazed Phantom Thieves.
"...There was a weight limit." Joker groaned in pain before noticing the two Corporobos standing there, staring at them.
"...Hello." Yin awkwardly greeted...right before pulling out her twin pistols.
[SON OF A-!]
BANG! BANG!
Now with no witnesses, the Thieves climbed out of the wreckage and stumbled onto solid ground.
Once everyone had recovered from that harrowing ordeal, Fox spoke up. "So...how are we taking the elevator next time?" He asked.
"By taking the stairs!" Yang and Queen snapped in response.
"Pretty sure there aren't any." Joker sighed before spotting something. "Serpent, you can stop using your body as a shield for Oracle." He pointed out before giving the orangette, whose head was in between the white haired woman's bust, a flat stare. "...Especially when she enjoys it at this point." He then added in a deadpan tone.
"I-I know. Just...showing her a little affection after that whole thing." Serpent mumbled in a meeker tone while rubbing the girl's head.
"Mwhehehehe..." Oracle however perversely giggled with a blush.
"Let us all just...stay here for a moment, heal any injuries, fix any torn clothing we may have before we continue on." Widow decided.
"Right." Noir spoke up with a nod. It was right then she noticed several of the Thieves staring at her. "Hm? Is something the matter?" She soon asked.
"Noir...there's a little...tiny...um..." Panther stammered out as she tried to put it in the nicest way possible.
BOING!
"Top! Your top!" Yang exclaimed in a panic as she glared at the guys. "LOOK AWAY NOW!" She then ordered.
Joker sighed as he did so. "Not the first time I've witnessed this..." He then thought in his head, thinking back to when the newest member slept over at his room.
"Oh shit! Sorry!" Skull yelped as the rest of the males looked away from the topless girl...only for the others to notice the Leader's damaged pants. "Dude, your ass is hanging out!" He then revealed.
"Huh?" Joker got out, no one noticing that the Shujin Student Council President instantly reacted to that info with a scarlet face. "So glad I (and Kawakami) made extra Sewing Kits. Yin."
"Hai, Leader!" The Vice Leader responded as she tossed over the requested item. "And here's one for you, Noir!" She then got out as she did the same for their newest member.
"Thank you." The two responded gratefully before using the items to repair their clothing.
After about ten minutes, the Thieves were back in action and had made their way back to the door which necessitated the entire trip to the barracks.
"We've brought the employee ID from the chief director. Will we be able to pass through now?" Queen wondered out loud.
"Of course! Well...probably." Oracle assured. "Always have to take into account the chance for failure." She quickly added.
"There could be someone directly above the chief director..." Yang muttered with a frown.
The Leader simply shrugged at that. If there was another obstacle in their way, they'll conquer it somehow. "Here goes nothing." Joker got out as he got the ID scanned by the console.
[Access Granted.]
"Hell yeah! Finally!" Skull cheered as the door opened for them.
"Hmmm." Widow suddenly hummed in thought.
"Something wrong?" Joker asked, getting the attention of the others.
"Nothing just...there's still nothing I can see that would cause Okumura to be targeted by the Conspiracy. I doubt it would be for altruistic reasons, anyhow." Widow informed with a frown. "Is he really just a scapegoat...or is there something else going on we're missing here?" She then wondered.
"Something that important might be deeper in. Let's just keep going." Mona assumed before heading through the door, the rest soon following.
(Facility Surroundings)
The Thieves soon found themselves outside the confines of the buildings. Luckily, there was still air to breathe since they were still within the dome of the Space Station.
Joker then mentally winced as he realized that at any moment Okumura could just vacuum out all the oxygen and leave his workers unharmed while they either suffocated or left early. Thankfully, they had been keeping the Security Level low.
"Look, that building is where the Treasure is! We're not far." Mona informed.
"If it's seriously that close, can't we just go from outside? No point goin' through there." Skull soon pointed out.
"Hm...that might be worth a try." Queen agreed with the statement.
"Guys, don't get too excited." Serpent cautioned as she frowned up at the building containing the Treasure. "Just because we can see our objective, doesn't mean we're anywhere close to it." She warned in a sage-like manner.
"She's right," Mona replied in agreement. "We still have a long way to go. Don't relax just yet." He then explained.
"Right." Joker replied with a nod before turning around. "There's a safe room over there. Wanna take a quick break, everyone?" He soon offered.
"I think we're good for now. Let's just get to the other side." Yang answered for the team, who nodded in agreement.
"Um...how are we getting over there from here...?" Yin wondered out loud. There was nothing she could see that would allow them to get to their destination.
"Hmmm..." the navigator hummed out before using her Persona to scan the area. "Hey, look up there." She soon instructed.
The Thieves nodded before looking up to see several UFOs flying above towards somewhere in the palace. "Are those...flying saucers? Like your Persona, Oracle?" Queen questioned.
"Kinda. They're completely automated though. From what I can tell, they're delivery drones." Oracle informed.
"That'll be the day, getting deliveries via drones." Joker remarked in amusement.
"They're pretty heavy-duty too, and it looks like they're heading over to where we're going." The hacker soon added.
"So all we have to do is hitch a ride on it." Yang suggested before reaching over the edge of the platform and looked down. "Oh boy, that's a serious drop..." She then noted.
"Certainly not as survivable as that elevator crash." Fox added.
"Only one way across." Joker muttered before throwing out his grappling hook. It got attached to the drone. "Here we go!" He then declared as he leapt off the platform while the drone started flying away.
WOOSH!
The rest of the Thieves soon saw the Leader being carried away by the drone, allowing them to breathe in relief. "There he goes!" Fox muttered.
"After him!" Widow called out as they all threw out their grappling hooks to attach them to other drones. Soon enough, they were following Joker as they flew around the space station, almost like it was a grand tour.
"WOOHOOOOOO!" Joker yelled in joy, laughing all the while.
"Lookin' cool, Joker!" Mona cheered in excitement.
"Man, I wish I had a grappling hook like you guys..." Oracle lamented...as she flew with them in Necronomicon.
"You can already fly, Oracle!" Skull yelled as he swung around, albeit a bit stiff .
"But it looks so fun!" The navigator got out. "Can I do it at least once?" She then pleaded.
"When you're older, Oracle!" Serpent responded.
"I'm not a kid anymore!" Oracle declared in a childish manner. "And Joker's like, a year older than me...I think."
"Second year in high school. Like Yin, Yang, Skull, Panther and Fox." Joker confirmed. "And a year's big difference. God I know how true that statement is." He then pointed out before mumbling under his breath.
"Hey, we're coming up to the other side!" Panther called out.
"Tuck and roll, everyone!" Queen ordered.
As they detached their grappling hooks off the flying saucer, they braced their fall and did the roll as they landed on the platform.
"All right, we made it!" Skull cheered before looking up at the building they had traveled to. "The Treasure's in here, yeah?" He soon asked.
"Just past this building. We're definitely getting closer." Mona answered with a nod.
"But still nothing indicating why my father is being targeted by the Conspiracy." Noir mumbled out.
"Either there really is nothing...or it's serious enough to hide in the deepest parts of his heart." Mona guessed with a frown. "Either way, we need to keep moving." He then reminded.
"Hai." Yin responded with a nod. "And if it comes down to it, we'll just have to talk to his Shadow." She then added.
"Prolly after beating it out of him." Oracle assumed in a casual manner.
Panther sighed. "Probably." She responded.
"We're approaching the factory, right?" Yang recalled before furrowing her brows. "I wonder what horrors beyond human imagination are in there..." She sarcastically grumbled.
"We'll just have to see. Let's go." Joker responded and ordered as they headed out.
(Export Line)
As soon as they went through the door, they heard the sounds of heavy machinery working. When they arrived at a window, they could see the entire factory floor. The air in there looked like itself had rusted.
"Wow, look at all that. It's so loud, even from here." Oracle stated hearing the sounds. "Well, as expected from a factory." She then added.
"I wonder what they're making?" She then muttered.
"Do you think it's related to that Escape to Utopia thing?" Oracle assumed.
"It's highly likely." Widow answered as she studied the production process.
"Hold on a sec. Ain't the guys in here movin' kinda weird...?" Skull soon questioned as they looked down to see several Corporobos break down before, during, and after completing their tasks.
"They're all breaking down...but no one here cares." Yin muttered in a somber manner.
"...Unfortunately, this is the exact opposite of how you would imagine a utopia to be." Queen lamented.
"No, this is the sacrifice needed to create a utopia." Serpent darkly stated. "A utopia only experienced by the few and undeserving." She then growled.
"These conveyor belts and the positioning of the workers...this is almost identical to the company's bun factory..." Noir soon realized. "I can't believe this." She then mumbled as she shook her head.
"At the very least, this is how Okumura views his workers." Fox concluded. "My apologies for saying so, Noir, but this is truly atrocious." He then apologized.
"Well, it'll all be under control if we can trigger that change of heart in him, yeah? Let's go!" Skull stated as he started to move towards the next area.
However, the heiress stayed for a second and looked down at all the workers. "I simply cannot believe this is how Father views his employees..." Noir whispered in a saddened and shameful manner.
"Noir..." Mona got out in a sympathetic manner.
"Don't worry, Noir. They won't be working like this for much longer." Yang promised as she patted the girl on the shoulder. Noir nodded before following the Thieves down to the factory floor.
"Huh?" Mona suddenly got out as he perked up.
"What is it, Mona?" Joker questioned.
"This scent..." Mona soon began as he sniffed the air. "The Treasure must be right beyond this door!" He informed the team in an excited manner.
"Are you sure?" Yang asked, looking a little skeptical. "In the middle of this factory?" She then added.
"I seriously doubt that, Mona." Serpent countered with her hands on her hips. "People won't hide something so important if the peasants can get their grubby hands on it." She then pointed out.
"Maybe it's being transported through?" Fox guessed.
"We never had a ruler change the location of their Treasure before it was materialized." Yang muttered with a frown. "But then again, we have been tricked before. Even Kamoshida, stupid as he was, got the drop on us." She then recalled.
"It doesn't matter anyways. If Mona's nose is telling him it's through that door, we better follow it. It hasn't steered us wrong yet." Joker replied.
"Is this gonna be another one of them authenti- whatever things?" Skull assumed.
"No, there's no authentication here. Kinda anticlimactic, huh?" Oracle informed with a shrug.
"Nuh-uh, I think I like my climaxes to be a little more subtle." Yin admitted...right before she realized what she said. "I can't. Turn it. Off!" She whined as she covered her face in embarrassment.
Joker sighed, trying not to understand the innuendo too much.
"There there..." Widow got out in a comforting tone.
Panther coughed. "W-Well, the easier, the better, right? Let's go!" She then got out as the Thieves moved towards the door.
Crrrrrkkkk...
However, the shinobi stopped as they looked around in confusion. "Hey, does anyone hear that?" Yin asked.
"What?" Joker responded in concern.
"It's like...?" The Vice Leader was about to describe the sound, however...
CREEEEEEAK!
Instantly, the shinobis looked upwards and their eyes widened. "EVERYONE, GET BACK!" Widow shouted out as the Thieves jumped away.
CRASH!
The Thieves flinched as several tons of metal crashed right where they just were only a second ago. "Holy crap, where's JISHA when you need them!?" Joker exclaimed.
"We almost got crushed!" Panther panted out. Just great. That's another near-death experience to tell her imaginary therapist.
"That freakin' hunk of metal broke way too goddamn easy!" Skull complained.
Yang frowned before attempting to lift the broken arm out of the way, with the rest of the shinobi soon joining her. However, it barely budged even as the girls visibly began to work up a sweat. "Stupid...crappy...alternate reality...!" She struggled out before they all gave up.
Fox soon let out a calming breath. "There is no point in complaining at this point. We will be forced to search for another route." He then advised.
"You're right. Let's find something that will get us past here." Mona responded as the rest of the Thieves nodded.
Queen studied the faulty arms above them. "Hmm, do you think we'd be able to make use of these fragile arms somehow?" She soon questioned in a curious manner.
"Maybe..." Joker responded in a thoughtful manner. "But, just to check, does anyone need to clean themselves?" He soon asked.
No one raised their hands.
"Be honest. No one will judge." Joker insisted. Still, no one did anything. "Okay, good. I saw something as we passed by that looked interesting so let's check that out." He then got out before jogging over to the machine nearby.
"W-What the!? Somethin' came out!" Skull exclaimed.
"Huh...this is the control panel for that robotic arm. It seems we can use this to set it to either 3x, 5x, or 10x normal speed." Fox informed.
Yang soon let out a smirk as an idea formed in her head. "I bet it'd break if it was stuck on 10x speed for a long time." She soon suggested to the Leader in a sly manner.
"I like your thinking, Yang." Joker smirked as he typed on the console. "Let's ramp it up! By ten!" He then declared as he hit the CONFIRM button.
[CHANGING ARM SPEED!]
Suddenly the arm came to life...and instantly died with a sputter, creating a nice little bridge across to the conveyor belt on the other side.
"...That was it!?" Yang exclaimed in disbelief.
"You know, I was expecting that to go a little bit more wild..." Joker admitted, blinking at the pathetic sight.
"It was dead like, instantly." Skull got out, blinking at the sight. "I know it was 10x normal speed, but still...that's weak." He then added.
"That just proves how truly overworked these machines are." Queen confirmed.
"It seems any increase in workload would have led to its collapse..." Fox then stated with a shake of his head.
"Well, at least we have a bridge we can use." Mona meanwhile noted. "It's a wonder this place hasn't fallen apart given all these problems..." He then added.
"Don't worry, we'll make it fall soon enough." Panther assured as the team cautiously went across using the broken arm, before making their way through the factory floor, taking out Shadows along the way.
"Another console, Joker." Queen pointed out. From the looks of it, these consoles were color-coded to the arms they commanded.
"Alright, changing the arm speed." Joker responded as he went to the console.
CRASH!
The group blinked as the arm died and created another bridge across at that exact moment. "...I didn't even touch it yet." The Leader got out in disbelief.
"Yeah, this place is falling apart." Oracle whispered in a blunt and flat tone before making their way across, right over to the door to the next part of the factory.
"Yes! We've gotten much closer!" Noir cheered.
"Yes, after quite the detour..." Queen sighed.
"Still, we're making it through." Widow soon pointed out in relief. "At this pace, we will reach the Treasure before dinner tonight." She then assumed.
"We should loot the room first before we move on, though." Yang suggested.
"I agree." Fox replied with a nod. "I need new art supplies." He then informed the others.
"And weapons, and items, and armor..." Serpent added. "You know, stuff we need to up our chances of living." She then stated.
The young artist looked at the woman owlishly. "...Is there a problem?" Fox soon asked.
"Someone please take his wallet when we're outta here." Skull requested.
"I will, Skull." Widow promised before the Thieves went off to grab as much loot as they could find, eventually ending up finding a chest containing...
"A...Big Bang Burger-branded axe...?" Joker got out in an incredulous manner as he pulled the weapon out of the chest. "Noir..." He then started.
"The blade looks like a burger bun with sesame seeds on it." Yang noted with a sweatdrop.
"Well, it is a better axe." Noir responded as she took the weapon while getting a good feel for it. "And it did resemble my family company." She then added.
"Is this irony or some other thing I'm not thinking of right now?" Yang wondered out loud.
"Hehe, it's like a joke weapon in a video game..." Oracle snickered.
"Joke weapon?" The shinobi girls repeated in puzzlement to the term.
"There is no such thing as a joke weapon." Widow stated in a serious tone. "Anything can be a weapon, even innocuous objects." She then added.
"N-No Widow. In some video games, you can sometimes unlock powerful weapons, but, like, have funny appearances." Oracle explained.
"Funny?" Widow repeated with a raised eyebrow.
"You know, like dango dual blades or frozen tuna." Oracle replied.
"D-Dango dual blades?" Widow got out with a sweatdrop.
"I mean, bikes can be pretty good too." Joker spoke up.
"Well, it's not so funny using one to stab someone's eye out the back of their skulls." Serpent casually pointed out. "Man, that was a weird mission..." She then sighed out with a shake of her head.
"And suddenly this got disturbing." Joker muttered as he decided to end the conversation there so they could continue running through to the next part of the factory.
(Production Line)
The mechanical doors opened, and the Thieves entered what seemed to be a new area for them to explore.
There were conveyor belts transporting large metal parts in an orderly fashion, with robotic arms attached on the sides of the belt, attempting to do something in particular on the said parts.
"There's still more!?" Skull exclaimed. "This factory is freakin' huge!" He then got out in awe.
"Noir, didn't you say this was similar to the company's...bun factory?" Queen recalled.
"Yes. I think...I think this is how my father views it." Noir confirmed with a nod.
"And that means all other places we've seen outside..." Yin began as a horrible realization came to mind.
"...Are all the other factories Okumura Foods owns." Joker concluded. "Are they all like this?" He then questioned, despite already knowing the answer.
"Most likely. Both in the Metaverse and reality." Serpent answered, glaring at the conditions. "If this is all contributing to this Escape to Utopia project, that means that Okumura is preparing for something big." She then deducted.
"And suddenly, him becoming a politician is a lot scarier now." Yang grumbled.
"We better hurry this up." Noir soon stated. "The longer we take, the more employees suffer and the closer my father gets to completing that project." She then reminded.
"Hai." Yin responded with a nod before observing their current environment. "From the looks of it, there's only one more door...we should probably head over there." She soon suggested.
"Hm? This is..." Fox began as they looked at the machinery in sight. "We will not be able to reach it without passing over what appears to be a hydraulic press..." He soon stated.
"And even if we did get over that press, we'd just get messed up by those damn lasers." Skull added with a frown. "We gotta do somethin' about those before we get to the press." He then got out.
"It'll probably be a hassle, but I have a feeling it's our only option." Mona stated. "We need to turn off those infrared lasers and deactivate the hydraulic press. Let's try to find some sort of controls for those." He then instructed.
"Hmmm..." Yin hummed out before turning around to take a good look around the place. "What about that thing?" She soon asked as she pointed over to a control console.
"Ah, these must be the shift controls for the presses. You can select Break, Lunch, or Unpaid Overtime." Fox informed as he studied the console. "Wait...break is an option!?" He then exclaimed in an incredulous tone.
"That's...suspiciously generous given what we've seen." Serpent got out as she frowned.
[NOW CHANGING PRESS SHIFTS!] The Guidance Voice announced, causing the Thieves to flinch.
"One of these options must be good for us..." Widow muttered.
"Let's try giving the workers a break." Joker suggested, glancing at the robots and seeing how they would react to it.
[IT IS NOW BREAK TIME!] The Guidance Voice announced around the factory floor. [LET US REST AND RESTORE OUR WEARY SPIRITS.] It then stated.
"Oh, there's definitely a catch..." Joker groaned, resisting the urge to slam his forehead onto the console.
[BREAK TIME SHALL APPROXIMATELY LAST FIVE SECONDS!] The Guidance Voice soon added.
"WHAT!?" Yin exclaimed with widened eyes as the rest froze, unable to take advantage of the-
[BREAK TIME IS OVER!] The Guidance Voice soon announced before the Thieves could even think of moving. LET US WORK EVEN HARDER TO ACCOUNT FOR OUR TIME WASTED SLACKING OFF!] It then declared.
"HUH!? It's already over!?" Yang responded, stunned by how fast the break went by. "I could barely take a deep breath in that time!" She then exclaimed before pausing. Well, in the short time she worked for Big Bang Burger as a mascot, her breaks definitely felt like it was five seconds.
Serpent's eye meanwhile twitched to this, remaining silent but glaring hatefully at the console.
"Okumura most likely doesn't give his workers a whole lot of break time, if not outright discourages it." Widow assumed as she bit her lip. "This is not how someone should live. People cannot run on 100% all the time!" She then called out, fuming at such horrible conditions.
"Even shinobi get longer breaks..." Yin muttered as the other shinobi girls nodded in agreement.
"..." Noir simply looked down, feeling ashamed.
Sensing the heiress's uncomfortableness on the matter, the Leader decided to move on. "Let's try unpaid overtime then." Joker got out as he set the shift to the option.
[WE ARE CURRENTLY IN A STATE OF CONSTANT UNPAID OVERTIME!] The Guidance Voice informed. [FOR THE GOOD OF THE COMPANY! GLORY TO OUR WONDERFUL PRESIDENT OKUMURA AND HIM ALONE!] It then robotically praised the CEO. The Thieves couldn't help but to draw comparisons to someone saluting a dictator...out of fear.
"Wow, this keeps getting worse with every option." Serpent got out as all the Thieves cringed.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up! What the hell did it mean, constant!?" Skull exclaimed.
"Working unpaid overtime is just how these workers live, so setting it to that changes nothing." Mona sighed as he shook his head.
"What a nightmare..." Oracle whispered in horror.
"..." Noir, again, was shamefully silent.
"There is no benefit to us if nothing changes. We can likely ignore that option entirely." Fox then advised.
"Lunch it is." Joker sighed out as he turned back to the console once again. "Please be more than a couple of seconds..." He then prayed before hitting the confirm button.
[IT IS NOW LUNCHTIME! LET US CONSUME OUR SLOP AND GLEEFULLY REENERGIZE!]The Guidance Voice announced. At this point, the Thieves were getting irritated by its volume and tone. [LUNCHTIME SHALL LAST FOR APPROXIMATELY THIRTY SECONDS! STARTING...NOW!] It then declared.
"Well, that's still terrible, but it's better than nothing! GO!" Joker called out as the Thieves soon dashed off, instinctively ducking when they went under the hydraulic presses.
"Skull!" Yin called out in worry as she glanced over to the slowly trailing boy.
"I'm keepin' up! Go GO!" Skull responded as he sped up a little, managing to catch up to the rest of the group in an instant. The Vice Leader couldn't help but smile. He had remarkably improved since the castle. Maybe it was the Metaverse helping him a little, but she could see the former track star starting to shine through.
"Five seconds!" Oracle called out.
"Crap crap crap crap CRAP!" Skull rapidly swore in a panic.
WHAM!
"Made it...!" Joker then declared as he made it to safety, milliseconds before the presses reactivated. "Is...Is everyone present?" He then panted out.
"Yeah. We're all here." Serpent responded with a nod. "Looks like we ran all the way to another panel." She then pointed out as they looked up to see what she was referring to.
"Should we set it to Lunch again?" Panther assumed.
"Yep. All the other options are useless to us because Okumura is a dick." Serpent grumbled before remembering their newest member's relationship with the ruler. "Uh, no offense, Noir." She quickly apologized.
"None taken." Noir assured.
"Hold on, it looks like you can disable the infrared on this too." Widow then noticed.
"Aha! So this room is actually the one with the main console in it. We should prolly disable the infrared before setting it to Lunch." Oracle declared and explained.
"Alright." Joker nodded to that before heading over to the console. "Disabling security...now!" He dramatically declared as he confirmed the action.
[AS A COST-CUTTING MEASURE, WE WILL NOW DISABLE SECURITY IN SOME LOCATIONS.] The Guidance Voice announced. [PLEASE CONTINUE TO MONITOR YOUR OWN WORKSPACE AND NOTIFY THE NEW SECURITY IF YOU HAVE CONCERNS.] It then informed.
"Cost-cutting!?" Serpent roared in anger with a twitching eye.
"They had that pre-recorded?" Joker got out in disbelief.
"Oh, right. Definitely seen a few CEOs do this." Yin remembered. "Like the Shadow of the black company head we fought." She then recalled.
"Ugh, I heard about those on a special online forum dedicated to listing them all. I would not survive for more than half a day." Oracle got out with a wince.
"Yes. A worrying amount of higher-ups choose to endanger their workers rather than pay for their safety." Widow informed with a sigh.
"Yeah. Absolutely terrible, but it makes breaking into places easier." Yang confirmed.
"To think those in charge are just shoving all this stress on employees so things can go pleasantly for themselves..." Fox spat in disgust.
"Well, now we can get over to that hydraulic press, right?" Serpent soon pointed out.
"Right. Setting the time for lunch." Joker got out as he began typing on the console.
However, Oracle was a little more worried about something else the console had said. "New security...?" She quietly repeated with a frown.
"Ah, he probably beefed it up after all the break-ins." Serpent assumed with a shrug. "Now come on, our thirty seconds start..." She then began as she crouched down into a running stance, which several of the others did as well, especially the dyed blond.
"NOW!" Joker announced as he slammed his fist on the CONFIRM button.
"GO GO GO!" Yin ordered as the Thieves made their mad dash under the deactivated presses to the other side.
"Made it!" Skull called out as the Thieves made it past the heavy machinery. At that moment, however, the hydraulic presses reactivated and started crushing right behind him. "WHOA SHIT!" He yelped, jumping away from the thing.
"That...that was way too close for comfort!" Panther panted out.
"Dammit! Why couldn't there be a Slow Spell for us to use!" Oracle whined. "Or time stop! Why don't we have time stop!? Give us something like Za Warudo!" She then added in a rambling manner while flailing her arms.
"Time control would be too powerful for anyone to use for something as mundane as this." Widow pointed out as she shook her head.
"You consider that shit mundane!?" Skull exclaimed.
"You'd be surprised how many traps involve crushing you into paste." Serpent admitted, the other shinobi girls nodding in agreement.
"Oh yes, I recall that bit of training too with Ika-chan and Kumo-chan." Noir recalled in a nostalgic tone.
"...How are you not all dead?" Oracle deadpanned.
"Well, we're here." Yang pointed out as her sister nodded in agreement. The civilian Thieves opened their mouths to say something, but quickly decided against it.
"...I think time got stopped the moment I first got to Tokyo." Joker suddenly stated as he remembered that day.
"Eh?" Yin got out, stunned by the statement.
"What?" Yang meanwhile spoke in confusion.
"Yeah, there was like a big flame in the middle of Scramble Crossing...saw myself smiling in it." Joker soon recalled.
"That...happened to me too." Yang slowly admitted, looking a little freaked out under her mask.
"Yeah, me as well." Yin confessed as well with widened eyes.
"..." The three stared at each other, not really sure how to respond after discovering such a thing.
"...I think that's a conversation saved for another time." Yang soon decided.
"Yeah." The two Leaders replied in agreement as the Thieves continued onto the next area.
(Disposal Line)
"Okay, where are we now?" Joker mumbled to himself while looking around.
"Let me bring up the map for you." Oracle responded as she brought it up from within her Persona. "We're in...the Disposal Line." She then informed.
"Where all the broken workers go to be recycled and sent back to work." Serpent assumed before sighing. "Great. This place is going to be fun." She then sarcastically mumbled.
"There's a safe room nearby." Yin spoke up, feeling the weakness in the distortion herself. "Should we pace ourselves or keep going?" She soon asked.
"We just had a lot of Shadow encounters." Joker replied. "I think we deserve some timeout for now." He then decided.
"Alright. Break time!" Skull got out as he clapped his hands together.
(Disposal Line Safe Room)
"Rest up everyone." Joker sighed out as they entered while he sat himself down.
"Thank God. Time to nap!" Oracle breathed out before realizing something. "Wait, most of this place is all hard. It would be a pain to sleep in here." She then added.
"You could always use someone's lap." Fox suggested.
To that, the orangette perked immediately. "Good idea for once, Inari!" Oracle replied before turning to the white haired woman and went up to her. "Big Sis?" She then got out.
"Hm? What is it?" Serpent asked.
"I could use a nap." Oracle revealed. "Can I uh...sleep on your lap? She then requested.
"Eh? My lap?" Serpent got out and repeated.
"Come on, haven't you seen a lap pillow before?" Oracle however asked.
"Lap pillow? No. Not at all." Serpent replied, a bit confused. "Why would the lap be considered as a pillow?" She soon asked.
"Uh...by me putting my head on it, duh." The navigator answered with an eye roll. "Is that so weird to you or have you never heard of it?" She then questioned.
"No, I've heard of the concept, but..." Serpent began before trailing off. She's seen many people lay their ally's heads on their laps. It's just that it usually happens when they need to utter some last words...or were completely detached from their body and they've completely broken. You know, uncommon occurrences.
"You know what, I'm just gonna rest my head for a bit. Here." Oracle soon decided, resting her head atop the white haired woman's lap.
"Eh?" Serpent only got in slight surprise, witnessing the action.
"Wow, that's soft..." Oracle mumbled as she drifted off to sleep, lightly snoring as a result.
"Thanks?" Serpent responded, a shiver running through her body as she gently began to rub the orangette's head before smiling. "You know, I gotta be honest, I thought she would ask to use my boobs as pillows instead. Imu's done that plenty of times after training in our early days." She soon pointed out and recalled.
"Don't give her ideas." Queen however groaned while pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Too late, but too comfortable to move." Oracle breathed out as she snuggled her head a bit.
BA-DUMP!
"Good girl." Serpent softly praised in approval while continuing to rub the smiling orangette's head.
Yang meanwhile sweatdropped as she watched the interaction. "Mama Miyabi mode, engaged." She thought to herself.
Meanwhile, Panther couldn't help but notice that the chest area of her Thief outfit felt getting a bit tight. "...Did they get bigger or something?" She commented out aloud, cupping her breasts.
"Can't be, busts usually get bigger suddenly if it's shinobi training, though save for rare cases with Mirai, or..." Yang responded before pausing and groaning. "...Eating Big Bang Burgers..." She then got out while facepalming.
That immediately got the fluffy haired girl's attention. "Huh? Big Bang Burgers?" Noir repeated. "What are you talking about, Yang?" She soon asked.
"My friend from Hebijo told me about it. When she was in Tokyo for a bit, she took on the Big Bang Burger challenge and told me that her bust size went up a bit as a result of doing them." Yang revealed and explained.
"Uh, what?" Panther did a double take.
"Our company's burger products...did what to your friend?" Noir got outy as she tried to process this.
"I repeat, it gave her a bigger bust." Yang sighed out in a blunt manner.
"...That's impossible." Noir tried to deny, though also seemed unsure about it. "Eating fast food doesn't mean it will affect certain body proportions like the chest in any way. It's science." She then pointed out before blinking. "...How many times did she attempt it while she was visiting?" She soon asked, looking rather concerned.
"I...think she said about...five or six times? Or maybe it was nine or ten times..." Yang tried to recall.
SHATTER!
"THAT MANY TIMES!?" Panther, Queen and Noir exclaimed in unison.
"She told me she easily beat the first two Challenges, but then kept going back trying to beat the third one." Yang soon remembered.
"So...she took on the Cosmic Tower Burger between three to ten times...and failed those attempts." Joker stated. "...Is she able to walk?" He then asked in concern.
"Haven't seen her in a while. I hope she can." Yang replied. "But since she's a shinobi, she shouldn't be having too much trouble, unless she really screwed up and got, like, I dunno. The rumored truant's size." She then stated.
"The rumored truant?" Queen repeated.
Yang in turn nodded. "Yeah. There were rumors around Hebijo about a truant, something unheard of in a school where failure is not tolerated. They say she locked herself away deep under the school. For what reason, no one knows, but her most defining trait is her cup size." She then explained.
"Really?" Yin asked, blinking to the thought of it
"Really?" Widow repeated, though in a deadpan tone. It had to be a unique kind of pervert to focus on their bust size rather than any other trait.
"...She's a shut-in?" Panther assumed in concern.
"So she's like Oracle then." Fox commented, getting the attention of the orangette.
"What is her cup size?" Skull outright asked out of the blue.
"Skull!" Panther scolded him. "Don't ask that question!" She then demanded.
"Uhh...last I heard, it's around...103? 105? That's a K-cup, right?" Yang tried to recall.
"Don't answer him, Yang!" Panther exclaimed once more before processing what was said. "...Wait, what cup?" She soon asked.
"K." Yang answered once more. "Somewhere between 100 to 110, K-cup." She then added.
"K...cup?" Queen slowly repeated.
"...Eh?" Panther got out as she froze in disbelief at the reveal.
"O-Oh my..." Noir breathed out as she tried to imagine it. That would have been very hard to deal with unless you had a lot of training. Two or three years straight tops.
Joker meanwhile blinked as a certain purple haired girl came to mind that fit that description. "Murasaki-chan?" He thought to himself.
Oracle on the other hand simply didn't say anything. She was not getting an earful from the white haired woman this time. "Heh...S-Rank tits..." She simply thought in her head with a subtle grin.
"...Gotta be Murasaki." Serpent meanwhile thought with a sweatdrop while rubbing the sleeping girl's head on her lap. She recalled her best friend mentioning her sister became bigger despite being an even worse shut-in than the orangette.
And she was not going to let Futaba become like her. Not on her watch.
"Hold on, hold on, hold on..." Panther panicked. "You're telling us...that someone at your school...had that large of a chest?!" She then exclaimed.
"Aw, don't be so shocked. It's just a rumor, nothing more." Yang waved off.
To that however, Serpent simply shook her head. "It's not a mere rumor. If it were, it's only because the staff spread it around to combat the truth. And let me just say, judging from what Imu told me, Murasaki is a worse shut-in than Oracle..." She then revealed, getting the attention of the others.
"So she does exist?" Yang however questioned.
"She's my best friend's younger sister." Serpent answered.
"Hm? Younger sister?" Fox repeated with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes. She's her sister and is younger than her." Serpent deadpanned. "Come on, I thought you were smarter than that, Inari." She then added.
"Not you too..." Fox mumbled with a sigh.
"So you know this truant." Widow muttered with a frown.
"We've met a few times." Serpent stated. "She was already pretty meek to begin with before I was forced into a coma." She soon recalled before sighing. "Though when I got out of it, Imu told me she became a complete shut-in and has been locked away in her room." She then concluded.
That however piqued Oracle's curiosity as she heard the name of someone she met. "Did...something happen to her to make her a shut-in to begin with?" She soon asked, soon gaining the curiosity of the others.
"Not my place to say. It's a family thing." Serpent replied with a sigh as she shook her head. "All I can say is that she went through a lot, and leave it at that." She then informed.
"So she really is like me..." The hacker mumbled out, gripping the woman's suit a bit as she continued to rest her head.
"Wait, you've met her, Oracle?" Serpent exclaimed in slight disbelief, earning an "Mm-hmm" from the hacker. "You...you seriously met her?! When!? How!?" She then questioned in shock while holding her shoulders.
To that, Oracle winced at that expected reaction. "Y-Yeah. In Akihabara. At the end of last month." She awkwardly answered.
"W-Was she with someone?" Serpent soon questioned. "A-A blonde that wears glasses?" She then added.
Oracle in turn shook her head. "No. She was cowering alone when I met her. Then cowering together...w-with me..." She awkwardly replied.
"S-She came to Tokyo...on her own...?" Serpent soon breathed out in realization.
"No wait, she had this...purple bear too." Oracle recalled and corrected.
"...Ah, she brought Bebeby with her." Serpent realized with a sweatdrop. "But why? There's no way she would've left her room on her own accord. She barely even leaves to bathe." She then questioned and stated in concern.
"Ew." Oracle got out with a grimace. "And are you sure about that Big Sis? Last time I video chatted with her, she seemed to be doing well." She then asked and revealed.
"What!? You even got her contact info!?" Serpent exclaimed in shock.
"And her gamer tag so we can play online games together." Oracle added. "Although, she hasn't been online for a while now." She then revealed.
"...That's even more concerning! She loves video games more than anything!" Serpent exclaimed in a panic.
"Eh, she had told me she was working out more, so it's not that big a deal. Watching her work-out is awesome by the way." Oracle replied while waving it off.
This however caused the white haired woman's eye to twitch. "...I really need to call home more often..." Serpent groaned as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Joker, I think we've had enough rest. Can we get going now? I have a phone call to make tonight." She soon decided and requested while explaining the reason.
"Yeah, I think we're good." Joker agreed with a nod. "Come on. Let's see what Okumura does with his refusal." He then stated, getting nods of agreement from the others as they headed out the Safe Room door.
(Disposal Line)
"Back at it." Yang breathed out as she did a few preliminary stretches before leaving the safe room with the rest of the team.
"Hey, look, there's another one of those arm control things." Skull got out as he pointed over to the console.
"Thank you, Skull." Joker responded. "They're probably gonna get repaired the next time we come here, so we better note them down." He then muttered.
"Already been doing it for you, Leader." Oracle informed in a smug tone.
"Thank you, Oracle." Joker then got out with a smile before the Thieves made their way to the console.
[CHANGING ARM SPEED!] The Guidance Voice announced. Not even a second later, the associated arm died to create yet another bridge across.
"Does this announcer thing have to shout it out every time?" Skull grumbled as the Thieves jumped onto the broken arm.
"It's important everyone is kept up to date with everything." Queen confessed as they began sneaking around the patrolling Shadows.
"Except Okumura's pet project." Widow added with a frown. "I thought we'd have some sort of hint about what it is by now, but all I see is horrible workplace practices and a blatant disregard for worker's mental health and well-being." She then confessed and stated.
"Just like anything about why he's being targeted, or even something about the shutdowns." Yang added. "All the other Palace rulers were a lot more open about their lives and views." She then recalled.
"He must be on guard then." Mona assumed. "Whatever he's hiding...it must be in the deepest parts of his Palace. It could even be his Treasure." He then stated.
"Father..." Noir whispered in concern.
"Man, is it me or is this place gettin' way more wild?" Skull soon asked with a raised eyebrow.
"The topography is kinda weird here, but don't worry. It won't be tough for me." Oracle reassured the others.
"If it's so weird, the distortion must be getting stronger." Joker stated. "Definitely going in the right direction to the Treasure." He then added.
"Hm, it looks like components to something are being placed on that conveyor belt..." Fox noticed.
"I seriously wonder what they're making here..." Panther wondered out loud.
"Hey, it's going in the same direction we are. We might learn more as we continue." Mona pointed out.
"Ooooh, maybe they're making a giant robot!" The navigator guessed in an excited manner.
Most of the Thieves soon winced as several bad memories from a few months ago came up. "I suppose I can't begrudge you for dreaming..." Queen muttered.
"...Queen's giving me the cold shoulder." The navigator got out in a saddened manner.
"I can see why." Yang spoke up with a sigh. "For the love of God, I do not want to fight another giant robot! Not again!" She then got out in a somewhat traumatized manner.
"You fought a giant robot before!?" Oracle and Serpent exclaimed at the same time in disbelief.
"Piggytron. At the bank." Joker groaned. "Though it wasn't like an anime or Sentai mecha. Sometimes, I can still feel it running over my body..." He then grumbled, with several of the other Thieves nodding.
"Oh." The white haired woman got out. "Glad I joined you guys after that..." Serpent then admitted.
"Yeah. It would be quite the bout of bad luck if you got bowled over twice in two different Palaces." Widow agreed with a nod.
"Don't. Remind me." Serpent groaned as she rubbed her forehead. "That I am taking with me to the grave." She then stated.
"...Would it be weird to bet you'll get run over a third time?" Yang suddenly questioned.
"Yang!" Widow gasped before blinking. Well, that was hypocritical of her, considering her feelings towards Serpent during the pyramid.
"You know what? I'll take that fucking bet." Serpent declared. "Because I will never get run over again." She then added.
"And that's a jinx." Joker deadpanned.
"Oh, jinx's aren't real." Serpent scoffed. "Seriously though, people still do them?" She then asked.
"We've been jinxed before." Panther admitted with a shrug.
The white haired woman in response blinked as she then looked at the ash blonde"...How long were you unable to talk for?" Serpent soon asked all of a sudden.
"What? No, we mean the other jinx! That playground rule sucked!" Panther ranted in frustration with a stomp of her foot and a pout.
"Guys, the mission?" Queen suddenly spoke up.
The other Thieves flinched. "Right. Sorry, Queen." Joker apologized for the team.
"No, you can keep going. I'm quite interested." Noir admitted.
"Save it for the safe room, guys..." Mona reminded the group.
The Vice Leader looked a little confused at that. "But we were just in one a little bit ago..." She then muttered.
"The next one." The not cat corrected.
"Hey, Joker..." Panther suddenly began as she eyed something in the distance. "There's an elevator over there. Think we can go that way?" She soon suggested.
"Hm, that is how it appears on the map as well. However, with the infrared sensor as it is, we cannot proceed."
"Looks like we can keep going once we stop that press." Mona informed.
Skull, however, was looking somewhere else that had caught his attention. "Wait a moment. Don't you think those robots over there are acting a little strange?" He soon noted, with the others soon following his gaze.
[FOR THE COMPANY! FOR OUR WONDERFUL PRESIDENT OKUMURA!] The lead of the yellow Corporobos began.
[I DO THIS WITH JOY! I DO THIS WITH JOY!] The follower Corporobos responded dutifully.
"That's some real cult shit right there." Oracle remarked in an uncomfortable manner, which the Thieves agreed with.
"They're still respectin' him even though they prolly see coworkers collapse from gettin' overworked..." Skull growled.
"It's a form of mind control." Widow realized. "They've been purposely driven into a state of overadaptation." She then informed.
"Over...what?" Skull repeated in confusion, having never heard of the word before,
"When a person is continually faced with oppression, they come to welcome its presence." Fox explained. "Such psychological trickery is being used here. I...experienced it first-hand for many years." He then added in a somber manner.
"Fox..." Widow whispered as feelings of guilt began to rise within her.
"So these robots exist because Father is aware that he's exploiting his employees..." Noir summarized.
"Yes. We should be careful though. I doubt we'll be able to communicate with these ones. We'll probably go straight into battle when we approach them." Mona assumed. "Joker, I suggest we prepare beforehand!" He then advised.
"I agree." Joker nodded to that before turning to Yin. She nodded as the two Leaders went off to the side to talk and organize their items and equipment, giving the rest of the team some time to themselves.
"...No offense Noir, but Big Bang Burger is really starting to seem more like a black company now..." Yang confessed in concern.
"Oh, so now you realize after seeing workers break down and just shoved away, bosses yelling at their underlings, and the terrible condition of all the machines..." Serpent grumbled as she looked at her kouhai as if she was an idiot.
"I didn't want to say it at first..." Yang admitted.
"Yang, it was useless to spare me from such a thing." Noir got out with a frown as she took her head. "Please, you do not need to sugar-coat these troubles for me. Especially since I've been somewhat aware for a while...just not to this extent." She then reassured.
The tan skinned girl flinched. "...Right. I'm not treating you like you aren't strong enough to face it when you uh...actually do." Yang sighed out while shaking her head shamefully. "I do it with Sis, now I'm doing it with you. I'm sorry." She then apologized.
"It's fine, but you need to learn when we don't need someone to protect us. We're just as strong on our own." Noir replied and advised.
"...Dammit. Protective big sister mode is really getting to me..." Yang mumbled to herself.
"Well, I am older than you so..." Noir giggled. "The gesture is appreciated either way." She then confessed with a smile. "In any case, let us go and end this black company my father made!" She soon declared in a passionate manner.
Yang nodded to that before the Thieves started moving again.
"Another shift console." Fox reported as they began to approach a bunch of hydraulic presses in their way.
"Get ready to sprint." Queen advised as they all began to prepare themselves to run while Joker changed the time to lunch.
[GLORY TO OUR WONDERFUL PRESIDENT OKUMURA AND HIM ALONE! WE SHALL GIVE OUR UTMOST EFFORT FOR HIM! LET US CONSUME OUR SLOP AND GLEEFULLY REENERGIZE!] The Guidance Voice announced.
"HAUL ASS!" Skull shouted out as the Thieves, indeed, hauled ass.
Mona was beginning to tire, so he leapt onto Yin to keep up. However, at that moment, he saw someone beginning to diverge from the group. "Skull, wrong way!" He panickingly called out.
"Huh?" The dyed blond responded in confusion.
SLAM!
"What the shit!?" Skull screamed as he scrambled away from the press that nearly killed him. "Why is that press still workin'!?" He then called out.
"No time! Fifteen seconds!" Oracle shouted out as the white haired woman carried her to safety.
"Aw shit!" Skull swore before catching up to the rest of the team, barely making it before lunchtime ended.
"Whew! What a workout!" Noir panted out, wiping some sweat off her forehead. Despite that, she had a rather happy smile on her face.
"Urgh...I'm getting a stitch from all this running..." Panther moaned in pain. She was glad for the amount of exercise she was getting nowadays because at this point she would be unrecoverably tired for the rest of the day.
Joker quickly looked around before taking a breath. "Okay, let's take a breather for a sec." He breathed out.
"What the hell is this slop they're feeding these guys?" Serpent wondered out loud.
"If they're only allowed to eat slop, then they're probably not getting free food from Big Bang Burger or a discount..." Joker assumed with a frown.
"Maybe what's contained in those giant containers we've been seeing around this place?" Queen guessed as she eyed the objects. They seemed to be filled with a glowing yellow liquid.
The navigator couldn't help but take a quick sniff, and just as quickly regretted such a decision. "Ugh, it smells like...low grade meat and grease..." Oracle got out in disgust.
"Looks more like fuel to me." Panther muttered before blinking. "Wait, where are they getting fuel...?" She soon asked.
"Transported from Earth?" Yin assumed.
"But stations like these have to be self-sufficient. I doubt the ruler would want outside help." Queen pointed out. "It has to be coming from somewhere..." She then muttered, effectively ending the conversation there as the Thieves made their way towards the elevator.
Eventually, the only thing in their way were the yellow Corporobos and their cult-like chanting.
"This will take us to those dangerous employees..." Yin warned with narrowed eyes.
"But we have to do this. I smell the Treasure somewhere past where they are. Brace yourselves!" Mona declared.
The Leader nodded to that. "Let's do this." He then breathed out before jumping down. "Hey, sorry to interrupt your session, but we need to pass through here. Do you mind standing aside, or dying here?" He soon threatened as the rest of the team landed behind him.
[FOR THE COMPANY! FOR OUR WONDERFUL PRESI-] The Corporobo MDL-CHs began chanting, however...
"Yeah, blah blah, go suck Okumura's taint while you're at it!" Serpent interrupted as she flipped the Corporobos off before turning to the heiress. "Sorry, Noir." She then apologized.
"Still none taken." Noir assured.
[ANY WHO APPROACHES THIS PLACE WILL BE CRUSHED! WE SHALL CARRY OUR PRESIDENT'S WILL WITH GLEE!] The yellow Corporobos declared in unison as they got ready for battle.
"Hey, since we're already at the disposal line, we're saving the clean up crew some time." Joker taunted with a smirk before pulling out his knife. "So, let's dance!" He then declared.
(Cue Final Fortress by SEGA SOUND TEAM, Jun Senoue)
"Sorry guys, but we have to put you down!" Skull declared as all the Thieves pulled out their weapons. "Yo, Oracle, give us their shit!" He then called out as Necronomicon loomed above them.
"Ok, these guys are weak to Psychokinesis!" Oracle soon revealed. "Noir is in charge here!" She then added.
Joker nodded to that as everyone but the heiress stepped back. "You think you're up for a solo?" He then questioned their Psychokinesis user.
Noir however giggled as she brought down her axe, embedding it into the floor. "I will be happy to do so~!" She replied, excitement and giddiness practically leaking out of her mouth. "Tempt them, Milady!" She soon commanded.
"May their flesh rend when it does not writhe! Mapsio!" Milady declared as she pointed her fan at the enemies.
WEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
"They're all down! Amazing, Noir!" Mona praised.
"It was nothing." Noir giggled as everyone pulled out their guns. "What shall we do with them, Leader?" She then politely asked.
"No point in thinking about it! Finish them!" Joker ordered as the Thieves rushed the cognitions.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! WHAM! CRACK! SLASH! SLAP! WHAM! SLASH! CHOP!
"And that's how the Phantom Thieves roll!" Skull breathed out with a fist pump as the robots were turned into scrap.
"Only in one move?" Panther got out in surprise.
"Hold up! We got another wave coming! Same yellow robots!" Oracle however informed, just as the robots in mention appeared.
Noir didn't hesitate for a second and resummoned her Persona. "Again, Milady!" She commanded once again.
WEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
Noir smiled as Milady laid waste to their enemies once again...however she soon frowned as she realized some of them managed to escape being scrapped. "Missed a few!" She informed, looking thoroughly upset.
"Pass the baton to Joker, Inari or Widow! These guys are also weak to Ice!" Oracle instructed.
"...Why didn't you use my codename?" Fox questioned, but was left ignored as the fluffy haired girl went over to the light gray haired girl and high-fived her.
CLAP!
"Thank you, Noir!" Widow called out as she readied herself. "Fūma, it's time to act!" She soon commanded as she ripped off her mask. "Mabufudyne!" She then declared while pointing her fan at the enemies.
CRRRRAAACCCCKKKKKLLLLLE!
"Hah! You just killed them all in one swoop!" Yang declared in amazement with a fist pump. "Wait, what's the ice equivalent for swoop?" She then suddenly asked.
"No time! Another wave!" Queen announced as more yellow bots appeared on the battlefield.
"Oh for the love of-!" Yang and Widow exclaimed in annoyed unison.
"Man, these guys are more annoying than strong..." Skull grumbled.
"Yeah..." Yin muttered as she narrowed her eyes. "What skills do these workers have?" She soon asked.
"One moment." Oracle responded as she scanned the cognitions. "What the...? None of these yellow bots have any attack skills!" The navigator soon realized in shock.
"Support units?" Serpent got out with a raised eyebrow.
"...The HR Department for Okumura Foods?" Joker guessed with a shrug.
"Dude, I don't think there's even an HR Department in the real world." Skull deadpanned.
Noir meanwhile gained a more uncomfortable expression to that.
"It's the last wave! Finish them off with style!" Oracle encouraged.
"Still no offensive units though..." Joker noted with a frown.
The heiress pushed down her feelings before focusing back on the battle (if it could even be called that). "Lambs to the slaughter! Milady, finish them!" Noir soon ordered.
WEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
This time, Noir's Persona managed to take down every Corporobo on the battlefield, leaving them vulnerable.
"They're all down!" Noir announced. "On your cue, Leader!" She then got out as she jumped back.
"All-Out Attack!" Joker immediately commanded.
The heiress smirked. "Time to punish them!" Noir declared as they went for the kill.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! WHAM! CRACK! SLASH! SLAP! WHAM! SLASH! CHOP!
Noir smiled as she eloquently sat down and grabbed a dainty cup of coffee. "So much for them." She breathed out before taking a sip.
KABOOM!
(End Music)
"The heck? That was easy as hell..." Skull got out in confusion.
"Palace isn't done yet, Skull." Yang reminded with an eye roll. "You ok Noir? We made you do most of the work this time." She then asked and pointed out in concern.
"I might need a little...refill on SP..." Noir breathed out.
Joker nodded to that before reaching into his coat and tossing a few sodas for the heiress to drink, who in turn chugged each one of them.
Meanwhile, the white haired woman scratched her head through her hair as she looked down at what was left of the bots. "I don't know about you guys, but this felt kinda like...bullying. And this is coming from the daughter of the principal of a school that practically encourages it these days." Serpent admitted in an uncomfortable manner. "There wasn't any effort, they barely even fought back other than throwing more bots at us. They could've at least sent some of the blue bots to help." She then explained and pointed out.
"Well I mean, they're overworked, brainwashed, and forced to go up against an impossible enemy. Of course they wouldn't be able to do anything to us." Mona pointed out. "I hope nobody ever treats me like that after I turn back into a human." He then hoped as a shiver ran down his spine.
"..." Noir silently looked down to the floor as feelings of guilt came over her.
Panther soon noticed the uncomfortable look on the newest member's face. "C-Come on, let's keep going! Don't look so down, Noir!" She then encouraged before running ahead of the rest of the team and towards the elevator they had spotted earlier.
"Noir." Serpent however began. "Be honest. Do you want to leave and pick this up on another day? This is a lot to process in just a few hours..." She then questioned and pointed out in concern.
"...Like I told Yang earlier. I am strong enough to face this." Noir assured with a nod before going after the ash blonde.
"What in the-!?" Panther suddenly exclaimed.
"Panther? What did...you..." Yang began to ask...before seeing the sight that caused the ash blonde to stop talking.
Below them was a giant vat of glowing molten metal, with scrap from the conveyor belts simply dumping them in there. The worst part about it was the occasional screams of still-living workers right before they fell and melted into the mass.
But the color of the vat...it was awfully familiar.
[FUEL ADDITION HAS INCREASED OUTPUT! INCINERATOR OUTPUT HAS INCREASED 270%!] The annoying Guidance Voice informed.
"The employees are being dumped in that incinerator!" Fox got out in horror.
Suddenly, the tan skinned girl sniffed the air. "No...that's not an incinerator." Yang growled, clenching her teeth in rising anger. "They aren't being recycled...they're being used to fuel this entire Palace!" She soon declared.
The heiress' eyes widened as she stared at the glowing vat of fuel, unable to tear her eyes away. "It's...people's lives..." Noir whispered.
"What a waste..." Joker spat out in anger and disgust.
"A waste we contributed to with every bot scrapped." Widow soon realized.
The Vice Leader soon noticed the expression on the heiress's face. It was a cross between horror...and resignation. "Noir...are you okay?" Yin asked in concern.
The fluffy haired girl shook her head. "I'm not..." She soon admitted.
"Huh?" Yin got out in surprise.
The girl clenched his fists and gritted her teeth as she watched more fuel being added. "I'm not going to forgive my father for this!" Noir declared in righteous anger. "I can't believe this is how he sees his workers! Let us go, everyone! We will change his heart, no matter what!" She soon requested and declared in a passionate manner.
"Right! We're with you all the way, Noir!" Mona replied as the rest of the Thieves nodded. Soon enough, they were taking the lift down deeper into the space station.
Their venture through the Palace of Greed wasn't over just yet, and there was still a lot to uncover in the entire Palace itself...
Save Game…Quit!
Joker
Level: 55
Personas: Arsene (Resist: Curse) (Weak: Ice, Bless), Jack Frost (Null: Ice) (Weak: Fire), Werecat (Resists: Curse, Physical) (Weak: Bless, Water), Queen Mab (Null: Fire) (Resist: Electric) (Weak: Wind), Tlaltecuhtli (Resists: Physical) (Drain: Electricity) (Weak: Ice), Raga Naga (Null: Electricity), Mermaid (Resists: Water, Fire) (Weak: Electric, Earth), Koumokuten (Resist: Physical, Bless) (Weak: Ice), Kikuri-Hime (Null: Wind) (Resists: Bless) (Weak: Fire)
Persona Trait: Arsene- Last Stand (Allows use of ambush-only skills after Baton Pass), Jack Frost- Ice Lineage (Chance to halve costs of Ice skills), Werecat- Relief Bloodline (Reduce cost of Support skills by 50%), Queen Mab- Static Electricity (Increases chance of inflicting Shock on downed foes), Tlaltecuhtli- Relentless (Damage that strikes foe weaknesses increases), Raga Naga- Electric Bloodline (Halves costs of Elec skills), Mermaid- Wet Bloodline (Chance to decrease cost of Water skills), Koumokuten- Gluttonmouth (Strengthens own HP recovery by 50%), Kukuri-Hime- Relief Bloodline (Halves costs of Support skills)
Skills: Eiga, Maeiga, Snap, Speed Master, Tetrakarn, Matrakarn, Tarukaja, Bufudyne, Mabufula, Megidola, Ice Break, Baisudi, Rakunda, Freeze Boost, Null Fire, Matarukaja, Marakukaja (X2), Masukukaja, Heat Riser, Debilitate, Matarunda, Marakunda, Masukunda, Megido, Mazionga, Agidyne, Null Ice, Rakukaja, Deathbound, Ziodyne, Elec Break, Tentarafoo, Shock Boost, Makarakarn, Maziodyne, Evade Wind, Aquadyne, Malaques, Media, Assault Dive, Regenerate 2, Revolution, Attack Master, Ice Wall, Enduring Soul, Deadly Fury, Lullaby, Energy Drop, Mediarama, Tetraja, Divine Grace
Accessory: SP Adhesive 3 (Invigorate 3)
Yin
Level: 55
Persona: Kaeru (Resist: Earth, Fire) (Weak: Wind, Gun)
Persona Trait: Path of Light (Gain some HP when using support/healing skills)
Skills: Magnadyne, Mediarahan, Sukukaja, Miracle Punch, Mamagnara, Masukukaja, Earth Boost, Makajamaon, Null Fear, Tetrakarn, Tetraja, Earth Break, Life Aid
Confidant Rank: Rank 9
Accessory: Skanda Belt (Speed Master)
Yang
Level: 55
Persona: Wolverine (Resist: Physical, Gun, Fire, Wind) (Weak: Water, Earth, Bless, Psychokinesis)
Persona Trait: Path of Crimson (Gain some HP when using Physical/Magic skills)
Skills: Agilao, Cleave, Hientou, Regenerate 3, Terror Claw, Triple Down, Swift Strike, Fire Amp, Charge, Riot Gun, Bloodbath, Arms Master, Ghastly Wail, Heat Up
Confidant Rank: Rank 9
Six Sword Style: Self trained since Hebijo, uses her six katanas at once to physically cut down enemies.
Noh Style: After training in the ways of elegance, more akin to her fire element as she uses twin fans to burn her enemies.
Accessory: Tough Belt (Defense Master)
Mona
Level: 54
Persona: Zorro (Resist: Wind) (Weak: Elec)
Persona Trait: Proud Presence (Increases effect of allies' healing skills)
Skills: Garudyne, Diarahan, Patra, Mediarama, Miracle Punch, Magarula, Me Patra, Samarecarm, Wind Break, Wind Boost
Confidant Rank: Rank 8
Accessory: Fish God's Badge (Ali Dance)
Skull
Level: 53
Persona: Seiten Taisei (Null: Elec) (Resist: Fire) (Weak: Wind)
Persona Trait: Raging Temper (Might increase allies' physical attacks by 40%)
Skills: Lunge, Zionga, Tarukaja, Headbutt, Adverse Resolve, Rampage, Mazionga, Bad Beat, Assault Dive, Swift Strike, Shock Boost, Evade Wind, Elec Break, Deathbound, Elec Boost, Megaton Raid
Confidant Rank: Rank 10 (Max)
Accessory: Rakshasa Belt (Attack Master)
Panther
Level: 53
Persona: Hecate (Null: Fire) (Resist: Electric) (Weak: Water)
Persona Trait: Mastery of Magic (May decrease SP cost of allies' magic skills)
Skills: Agidyne, Dia, Dormina, Tarunda, Maragion, Dekaja, Fire Break, Lullaby, Ambient Aid, Fire Boost, Matarunda, Evade Water, Evade Ice, Burn Boost
Confidant Rank: Rank 10 (Max)
Accessory: Crimson Necklace (Fire Amp)
Fox
Level: 53
Persona: Kamu Susano-o (Null: Ice) (Resists: Wind) (Weak: Fire)
Persona Trait: Scoundrel Eyes (High chance to evade Phys attacks for all allies.)
Skills: Bufudyne, Giant Slice, Sukukaja, Vicious Strike, Mabufula, Counterstrike, Rising Slash, Dormin Rush, Speed Master, Tempest Slash, Heat Wave, Evade Fire, Deadly Fury, Masukukaja
Confidant Rank: Rank 10 (Max)
Accessory: Rebellion Anklet (Rebellion)
Widow
Level: 55
Persona: Fūma (Resists: Ice, Water) (Weak: Fire, Curse)
Persona Trait: Dance of Justice (Chance to trigger a Baton Pass for the next ally when hitting a resistance.)
Skills: Bufula, Mabufudyne, Aquadyne, Ice Boost, Water Boost, Dazzler, Makajama, Malaques, Snipe, Dormina, Fortify Spirit, Lullaby, Ailment Boost, Water Break, Cripple
Confidant Rank: Rank 9
Accessory: Clear Crystal Necklace (Water Amp)
Queen
Level: 54
Persona: Johanna (Resist: Nuclear) (Weak: Psychic)
Persona Trait: Gaia Pact (Increase allies' chance of inflicting Burn/Freeze/Shock/Soak by 25%.)
Skills: Freidyne, Mafreila, Vajra Blast, Diarahan, Rakukaja, Makajama, Energy Shower, Flash Bomb, Dekunda, Defense Master, Nuke Break, Nuke Boost, Marakukaja
Confidant Rank: Rank 8
Accessory: White Headband R (Life Surge / Endurance +8)
Serpent
Level: 54
Persona: Nobunaga (Resist: Curse) (Weak: Bless)
Persona Trait: Self-Destructive (Increase cost of skills when health is low)
Skills: Eiga, Maeiga, Kouga, Mamudoon, Mahamaon, Megaton Raid, Heat Wave, Foul Breath, Endure, Ominous Words, Stagnant Air, Evil Touch, Taunt, Survival Trick, Taunt
Confidant Rank: Rank 4
Accessory: Thief Mask (Null Brainwash)
Oracle
Level: 53
Persona: Necronomicon
Persona Trait:Explosive Scheme (All-Out Attacks may defeat all foes and restore 25% HP to all allies)
Skills: Analysis, Subrecover HP, Subrecover SP
Confidant Rank: Rank 3
Accessory: Headphones (High fidelity for real audiophiles.)
Noir
Level: 53
Persona: Milady (Resist: Psychic) (Weak: Nuclear)
Persona Trait: Icy Glare (Decreases allies' chance of being inflicted by ailments by 25%.)
Skills: Psiodyne, Mapsio, Triple Down, Amrita Drop, Fast Heal, Psy Break, Tentarafoo, Tetrakarn, Psy Boost, Makarakarn, Climate Decorum
Accessory: Grand Slam Charm (Apt Pupil)
Whew! Done! More Palace stuff next chapter. And after that…that's a big one coming in the form of Chapter 124, and I hope it's okay.
UknownHero signing off, my friends!
