Chapter 9: Don't Say the Scottish Play

{R}

"We'll meet at the couryard," Ren said as soon as he took his seat.

"Oh?" Morgana said, flicking his tail. "Have you made your decision then?"

"Yes. Now keep quiet until then please."

"All right then." The non-feline yawned then took a nap.

Ren stared at the now empty seat in front of him. He felt terrible for Suzui-san jumping off the roof. He could only imagine what it was like for Takamaki right now. Did she also blame herself for it? For refusing Kamoshida and thus enraging the man to go after her best friend? He wished he hadn't been so indecisive. Maybe he could've prevented her attempted suicide if they dealt with him sooner...

The bell rung to signal the end of classes and Ren stuffed Morgana in his bag. He ignored his complaints as he made his way to the courtyard, where Aki and Ryuji were waiting for him. Now, this time, he was more careful when deposited Morgana on the table.

"Ugh. Be more careful when you're handling me next time."

"Never mind that," Ryuji said. "We gotta go to Kamoshida's Palace and kick his ass!"

"We're not beating him up, we're simply going to steal his distorted desires."

Aki grumbled. "Yeah, yeah, whatever! All that matters is that he'll face justice for what he's done."

"So I assume that you will go through with this then? Even with the chance of a mental shutdown?" Morgana said, making sure once again.

Ren was annoyed at the repeated confirmation, but considering they had backed out for a moment, he couldn't blame him.

So he nodded and said, "Yes."

Aki said, "Uh huh. Someone almost died 'cause of him. She won't be the last if this keeps up."

"Yeah, I don't give a rat's ass on what happens to him," Ryuji said.

Ren felt a twinge of worry but he ignored it. Kamoshida lost all sympathy. He shouldn't worry if he lives.

"Good," Morgana said. "First, before we start, we should go somewhere secluded but nearby the school so that no one will see us enter the Palace. We will draw suspicion if they notice."

"There's that alleyway in front of the school," Aki said. "Unless you're lookin' straight at it, I doubt anyone would notice."

"Will that suffice?" Ren said.

"Hmm. You want to do this right now, right?" Morgana said. They all nodded. "Then it will have to do for now."

"All right then, let's go," Aki said, beginning to leave.

Morgana followed her, but then Ryuji stopped and said,

"Oh hey, I almost forgot. Is takin' down a Palace hard?"

That was a good point. Ren almost wished he was the one who asked such an important question.

Especially considering that the non-feline said, "Hmm. I don't know for sure, but it shouldn't be too hard with my skills and our current manpower."

Ren leveled a stern gaze at him.

"You're not sure?" he said.

"You've tried it before, right?" Ryuji said.

And Morgana said, nonchalant tone back again, "When did I ever say that?"

A beat.

"WHAT?!" both Ryuji and Aki said.

With the blond following it up with,

"Were you just pretendin' to know?!"

Before anything more could be done, and before Ren could shake the stupid cat, a now familiar voice said,

"Is it true you're getting expelled?"

And they were all startled to see Takamaki standing nearby.

"Huh? How'd you...?" his sister said.

"Everyone's talking about it..."

That explained things. And it was obvious now who was the culprit this time, their friend mumbling curses at the teacher under his breath.

Aki sighed. "Of course everyone is..."

Their blond friend's expression hardened as he said,

"So you came all this way to tell us that?"

And she said, "If you're going to deal with Kamoshida... Let me in on it."

Ren stared.

Aki stared.

Ryuji reeled.

"I can't just sit by and do nothing after what happened with Shiho!"

Well, it wasn't that surprising but... His sister looked to him with a question in her eyes. He frowned and looked away. ...Even if he did want to bring her, which he felt she deserved, they couldn't exactly do that, especially now that Morgana revealed that he hadn't done this before. Who knew what other dangers there would be and they brought her along? They had gotten lucky in gaining powers and escaping those fights.

So he let Ryuji say,

"This has nothing to do with you. Don't butt your head into this."

Ren was both glad and mad that the faux-punk could say that so easily.

Of course Takamaki said, "But it does! Shiho's my—"

But Ryuji said, "I said don't get in our way!"

Takamaki grunted, upset. When she glanced his way, her eyes were questioning, almost hopeful. It hurt his heart to deepen his frown and deny her request with a shake of his head. It only got worse when that simple gesture seemed to convince her and she left in a huff.

And as a cherry on top, Morgana said, "... That was harsh."

Ren slumped, defeated over the choice but comforted that Aki and Morgana hadn't wanted that either.

Their blond friend though said,

"We can't take somebody like her there."

"Yeah, yeah, we know, Ryuji," Aki said with a sigh. "Don't mean we have to like it."

"I hope she doesn't do anything crazy," Morgana said. "Women can be bolder than men at times."

Well now he was worried about Takamaki even more. In a attempt to distract himself, he said, giving his sister a look,

"That is true."

"Hey! Don't give that look!"

"Then let's hurry up and go deal with Kamoshida already!" Ryuji said. "C'mon."

Their new friend left and Ren could only sigh. He certainly hoped they could steal Kamoshida's desires before Takamaki did something.

If she was anything like Aki in any way, there was no way she would take this quietly.

(A)

Once again, they were at the alleyway in front of the school. Before they activated the MetaNav though, Morgana said,

"Rememeber that once we cross over, we will treat each other like phantom thieves, so I hope you're ready."

"You bet."

"Yes."

Unsurprisingly though, Ryuji said, "Huh? Phantom thieves?"

And, of course, Ren was more than willing to explain.

"Phantom thieves are those who can steal anything," he said with a smirk. "With style."

Akira rolled her eyes but smiled at him.

"Oh? That sounds kinda cool!"

Her brother gasped, affronted, with a hand on his chest. "'Kinda cool'? They are the definition of cool!"

"All right, Mr. Phantom Thief, that's enough," she said. "We have a mission to do."

To his credit, her brother turned sheepish as he adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat.

"Ah yes. I'm sorry."

"Heh, no biggie." Ryuji then took out his phone and said, "So, we just gotta say use that search history thing, right?"

Akira said, "Wait, you have the app too?"

"Oh right. Forgot to tell ya. I got it a couple of days ago."

Akira shared a look with her brother. So what Igor said was true.

Still, she said, "Well yeah, pretty much what you said."

"Though that was only after we had accidentally said the keywords for his Palace." Ren reminded them.

"It was...school, castle and Kamoshida, right?"

"Yup."

"Seems useful enough," he said. "Though it's kinda creepy. I mean, did someone make it or something?"

Pretty much.

Meanwhile Ren said, "So you'll activate it then?"

"Sure."

"Then let's go."

"Right! Let's get that effin' Kamoshida!"

With that, the world warped around them, the nausea that used to accompany it gone and the weight of her thief suit returning, almost like a comforting blanket. But just as they turned towards the Palace...

"What is this?!"

They all startled.

"Takamaki?!" Ryuji said for all of them.

Shit.

They jogged out of the alleyway to see that, yes, Takamaki was there and staring at the castle, slack jawed. Well, at least until they came out anyway and her attention turned to them.

"Sakamoto?! Is that you?!" she said. "And...wait, Amamiya-kun?! And your sister too?!"

Akira groaned. "Great, we already messed up on the first go..."

Her brother smiled sheeepishly and, with hands raised in surrender, said, "Guilty as charged."

"What?! What's going on here?! Why do you all look like that?!"

"We should be askin' you that!" Ryuji said. "Why're you here?!"

The natural blonde glared at the faux blond and said, "How should I know?! You're the ones who did...whatever you did on your phones!"

Wait. Their phones? And she had been nearby? Aki facepalmed and groaned again.

"Of course it can bring others nearby with us..."

"A-Ah, I see..." Morgana said, almost as if he awoke from a daze. "That does make sense. If it can bring multiple people, it would have a radius from which it does so."

"For real?" Ryuji said.

"Whoops," Ren said.

Akira facepalmed. Again.

What a mess.

Meanwhile, Takamaki grew frustrated as she looked around.

"Where is here anyway? Isn't this where the school's supposed to be?" she said. "Wait, is this the thing related to Kamoshida?"

Well, all they had to do was fix this.

"Doesn't matter," she said. "You gotta go."

"Yeah, you can't be here," Ryuji said.

She was back to glaring in defiance as she said, "No!"

Akira sighed. Of course.

Morgana pointed out, "The Shadows will find you if you come with us or you make a scene."

Takamaki stared.

Three, two, one...

"No way! It talked!" she said, just as Akira expected. "Oh my god... Is it a monster cat?!"

Morgana looked absolutely crushed as he said, "Monster...?"

Ouch. What a burn.

Of course her brother further derailed the conversation and said, "No, he's a phantom thief cat."

So Akira cleared her throat to get her attention and said, "What he means...is that it's not safe here. You gotta get outta here before we cause a scene."

As she hoped, the "monster cat" was completely forgotten as Takamaki turned to her...with a hard and defiant stare.

"Oh no you don't! I'm not leaving until you guys explain everything!"

Of course. Again. Akira groaned for the third time.

"And...we gotta force her to go..."

"Yeah, looks like it. But...how do we do that?" Ryuji said, surprisingly keeping his voice low.

Akira already knew the answer but Morgana told him for her, saying, "Remember what I said about where I had to leave the Metaverse? It should be the same for the app, assuming it's using the same power as mine."

At the very least Ryuhi had the decency to look embarrassed over not remembering such an obvious fact as he said, "O-Oh, right."

Meanwhile, Ren hummed in agreement, but frowned in hesitancy, which didn't surprise her considering how he acted when they had denied her before. But she had to agree with Ryuji. They has to do this...and now, before she changed her mind.

So she said to the skull masked blond, "So we do this together?"

"Sure."

And then they walked up to her, with Ryuji saying,

"We'll explain everything when it's over!"

"Huh? What're you—hey wait!"

One kerfuffle and several body parts sore from the sturggle later, Akira let out a sigh of relief when she and Ryuji managed to get her out but not step through themselves.

"We should be careful from now on when we use that app," their blond friend said.

Morgana glared in annoyance. "You should've checked before you used it!" he said. "Why do I, the one who's just watching, know more about it than you do?!"

Akira glared back. "Hey! We're not the ones who have teleporting powers like you do, monster cat!"

"I am not a monster! Or a cat! And you should've still checked anyways! What if you had dragged more than just her? We could've been in serious trouble if we had witnesses."

Akira flinched and looked away. She...had nothing to say against that.

Ryuji just said, if a bit sheepish, "S-Shuddup."

Then her brother said, "All right, all right, we get it, Morgana. We were careless. We'll promise to be more careful next time, okay?"

Morgana eyed him and her and Akira could only hope she looked sorry...because she certainly didn't truly feel like apologizing when he had been rather snooty about their MetaNav mistake.

"All right, if you say so," he said.

"Ugh, geez... Still doesn't change the fact that Takamaki found out just as we got started," Ryuji said. "We gotta deal with this fast."

Akira frowned in disbelief at him.

"Do you see how big this castle is? I don't think we're just gonna do this in a couple of days."

"But we got these powers right? It shouldn't take that long."

"Can you please stop tempting fate, Ryuji?"

"Huh? Tempting fate?"

"Anyways...even if Takamaki-san saw us, we should still try to do it as quickly as possible," Ren said, bringing the topic back on track. "Kamoshida is treatening to expel us after all."

"Right..." Akira said.

"Then c'mon, let's go!" Ryuji said, swinging his arm in anticipation.

But just as he took a step to do that, Morgana said,

"Wait, there's one more thing we need to do."

"Oh come on!"

Ren shushed her and Ryuji.

She flinched. "Sorry Big Bro..."

Ryuji was embarrassed as he said, "Ah sorry..." but that left him as he pointed out, "But seriously, what is it now? We gotta go!"

"Not until we can settle on code names for each other," Morgana said, serious.

Code names? Well, as cool as the thought was... "Do we really need them?" Akira said.

"Kamoshida already knows us," her brother said.

The not-cat jumped in frustration as he said, "What kind of a phantom thief doesn't use a code name?!" He cleared his throat and regained his composure. "Besides, even if he does, there's no telling what'll happen to his cognition if you're the ones to say your names and not his Shadow. It's just a precaution."

Okay now Akira felt like an idiot.

So to get her mind off of that, she said, "So I'm assuming you have ideas for that already?"

"He'll be Joker," he said at her brother.

Wait what?

"Really?" she said, giving Morgana a questioning look. "Why Joker?"

"Because he'll be our trump card in battle," he said, as if it was obvious.

Her stomach clenched and she frowned.

"What? Trump card? Then what does that make me?" she said, annoyed and hurt.

Apparently her brother was their "ace" even though, according to Igor, they have the same special powers.

It was probably because she was less physically able than him, wasn't it?

But then Morgana said, "Simple. You're Rogue."

Her earlier feelings were replaced with bewilderment.

"Huh? Rogue? Why...?"

"While Joker's our trump card, you're our wild card," he said, still sounding as if it should be obvious. "No one would expect you to do much and so they'll underestimate you."

Akira gave the stupid cat a deadpan stare. "Gee, thanks for the backhanded compliment."

"Well I like them," Ren said, smiling with a hint of devilishness. "Very fitting. Me, the joker, my sister, the RPG class."

Well put in that way, she didn't mind.

She still didn't like the backhanded compliment though.

"Huh. Okay. Then how about me?"

"Hmm...you'll be..." Morgana said, humming in deep contemplative thought. "Thug."

"Hell no!"

Akira and Ren snickered.

"Then what would you want to be called?"

"Well...you named them somethin' that fits 'em so..."

"Blondie?" Joker said.

The blond gave an unamused look. "Ha ha, very funny, Ren."

They snickered again.

"Well other than that, when it comes to me, it's gotta be this mask." He smiled. "I really like it. So can it be somethin' from this?"

"Skull then," Akira said, going simple, though she's surprised Ryuji didn't think of it already.

"Ooh! That sounds awesome!"

"So you like it then?" Ren said, smiling in amusement.

"Yup! I'm Skull!"

"While I'm Rogue," she said.

"And he's Joker," the now christened Skull said.

Said brother though said, "So what'll Morgana be?"

Everyone looked to the not-cat, waiting for him to speak. He just looked back and forth between the three of them, curious.

"What?"

"You don't have a codename for youself?" Akira said, incredulous.

"No."

"You're kidding me right? How come you came up with names for us, but not yourself?"

To her surprise, the phantom thief turned somber as his ears drooped.

"I'm...not sure... I just can't bring myself to think of another name besides my own..."

"Well then..." Akira said, trying to divert the mood away from that. "No Morgan then, that's for sure. A bit too lame for a code name."

"Mask then?" Joker said. "Like Masked Rider. He looks the part."

"Uh, Big Bro? We all have masks," she said to him, unsure if he was joking or not...

"My reasoning still stands."

He wasn't.

Then Skull said, "How 'bout Mona?"

Rogue tilted her head. "Mona?"

Joker snickered. "Like the painting?"

"Huh? Painting? Uh...no? Just thought it's pretty close."

"Gee, real creative."

"Hey! I don't see you comin' up with anythin'!"

"Let's just go with that, if Morgana's fine with it," Joker said.

"Very well. I'm fine with it."

"Now can we go?" Skull said, already sounding tired.

"Yes," Mona said. "Lead the way, Joker!"

Her brother nodded and thus, finally, they made their way inside the castle, going through the vent they went through last time. As soon as they were in though, there was the faint sound of commotion, so they peeked into the foyer and saw King Kamoshida giving orders to tighten security and kill them on sight.

"Well, looks like we're not going this way for now," she said in a whisper.

Of course Skull said, "Can't we just beat the crap out of him and call it a day?"

"Look how many soldiers there are, idiot!" Mona said."I don't want a repeat of last time."

"And we're here to steal something, remember?" Rogue reminded him. "Not beat the crap outta him."

"Oh right..."

"Let's try the other door and hope it's unlocked this time," Joker said.

The door he meant being the one Skull originally thought they would get out through the first time they were here, but it turned out to be locked. This time it wasn't and, after putting his ear against it, the room past it was clear...until they literally entered the same time as a knight did from another door went in.

It stared.

She stared.

The rest stared.

"Wait a second!" the knight said.

But then it spasmed apart when Joker struck its chest. Thankfully, it was easy to get beat since it was just one of those fairies in a purple leotard, but just when Joker was about to give the signal for an All-Out Attack, Mona said,

"Wait, this is the perfect chance to show you!"

Rogue said, "Huh? Show what?"

But then the fairy girl said,

"You're seriously the intruders that King Kamoshida's talking about?"

And of course, Skull easily answered, "You bet we are."

Rogue groaned mentally as the surrounded enemy continued.

"Ugh...this is just the worse... What are you going to do with me?"

Joker frowned, not liking that sentence. Rogue wasn't any better.

But then Mona said, "This is what I mean. Negotiate with her. If we use opportunities like this, we can get plenty of things, like money and items, as well as make sure they keep quiet."

"So...extortion?" Rogue said, flat.

"Hey! Even though they're Shadows like Kamoshida's, these are just fragments from the collective unconscious. They're not actually Shadows of specific people."

Rogue grumbled, still not liking the thought despite the fact that, well, they were trying to steal Kamoshida's Treasure. But it was the somewhat more peaceful option, and from the look on Joker's face, he was going to take it.

"I'll let you go if you give me an item," he said.

"Huh? Really?" the girl said, staring in disbelief.

Joker nodded.

"Uh...sorry... I don't have anything on me..."

"What?!" Mona said. "Uh...then...how about money?"

"Tch... I used it all on that stupid ex-boyfriend of mine before I broke up with him..."

"WHAT?!"

"Uh...is this what's supposed to happen?" Skull said, looking back and forth between everyone.

"Don't think so," she said, flatly pointing out the obvious.

"Ugh...never mind..." Mona said. "Looks like you'll be going to hell then."

Joker also gave him an unamused look. Rogue glared at the cat, annoyed.

"Really?" she said.

"Sorry, but we're in a hurry."

That was true but still.

But then the little Shadow said, "N-No! Wait! Isn't there anything else I can do to let me go?"

Her brother glanced at her and, unfortunately, nothing came to mind, so she gave an apologetic shrug. He sighed minutely but nonetheless smiled in thanks before facing the fairy again.

"Sorry girl, but your word won't cut it," he said with a pained smile. "Guess I'm just gonna have you go to hell, huh?"

To her surprise, the fairy groaned, "Ugh...that was so lame... Was that the best one liner you could come up with?"

Joker pouted, no doubt not liking the sudden change in mood at his expense. Rogue snickered and Skull was clearly trying, and failing, to hold his back.

But then the fairy sighed. "Though I guess I'm not much better. You know, if this were any other situation, I think we'd get along..."

Rogue didn't think so, but Joker still said, playing along,

"A shame then. It would've been interesting to know you."

For some reason though, that made the fairy jolt and Rogue was afraid she was offended and got a second wind for that offense.

Instead she said, "Wait! Something's different!"

Rogue was about to ask Mona what in the world was going on...but the non-feline in question said,

"What the...?! What's going on?!"

And that blew out her possible source. Though not for long.

"I remember now!" the Shadow said. "I'm not just a minion of Kamoshida! I'm an existence that drifts in the sea of humanity's souls... My real name is...Pixie! From now on, I'll live on inside your heart!"

And...the Pixie turned into a ball of light, then a familiar white mask...

...and then got absorbed by Joker's mask.

Rogue stared.

Skull stared.

Mona stared.

Joker noticed them.

"Um...success?" he said.

"What was that?! What just happened?!" Mona said, jumping in a tizzy.

"Dude, the enemy just got sucked in by Joker's mask! What's that all about?!" Skull said.

"I-I don't know," Mona said, now calmer. "I wasn't expecting that..."

"I doubt any of us were," Rogue said.

"Hey, what's going on?!"

Everyone jumped as another came in, this time separating into those purple goats. Because of that, it had landed quite a few hits on her and Skull and, by god, did it hurt. But thanks to that, Joker had the chance to attack...

"Pixie!"

...with the very thing that was absorbed into the mask.

"What the?!"

The goat screeched, bumping into its comrade, letting her brother follow his lightning zap with another and another for the remaining purple goats, letting them end them all in one fell swoop. They stood, waiting and ready for another fight, but when no more came, they relaxed. Well, more or less.

"Hey Mona, what was up with that?!" Skull said, staring at her brother. "What did Joker do?"

"He sealed the enemy into his mask and made it a Persona..." the non-feline said, though it sounded more like it was him thinking out loud. "Is that even possible? I've never seen anyone pull that off."

"Well, you have amnesia." Rogue was quick to point out.

"But...that's good, right?" her brother said.

"Of course it is! Normally a person can only have one Persona because they only have one heart. If you can have two...no, maybe even more..."

Joker shared a look with her. Was this what Igor was talking about how their Persona powers were "special"? Then if he could do it, maybe...

"Nyaha! Incredible!" Mona said, breaking them from their thoughts. "This will be a huge advantage for us. You should do that as often as possible."

Joker glanced at her again, likely telling her to wait for some kind of cue, so she nodded and he returned it.

"Got it," he said.

Then Mona said, "You better help too, Skull!"

"Hell yeah! We'll hold every last one of 'em up!"

Joker chuckled at the enthusiasm and Rogue couldn't help but smile at that.

"All right, let's go!" she said.

After checking again as well as waiting to be sure that no one was in the hallway, they exited the room. Seeing as one of the nearest path was blocked off by steel bars, they passed it and went further down to find a door that opened to what appeared to be the armory, since there were racks on the walls and ground filled with weapons, though it could've easily been the mess hall since there was long tables with benches. There were a couple of guards in it and, though they managed to surprise attack them, they still got hit plenty of times during the fights, particularly Skull, forcing Joker to use medicine on them. They still managed to beat them, dwindling their numbers to just one purple horned horse, stunned defenseless thanks to both Joker and Skull's lightning.

"I give up! I give up! Geez, give me a break..." it said.

Her brother gave her a look and nodded and she took that as her cue.

So she said, "Join our cause then."

"Huh? Join you? That's why ya left me alive? I don't know..."

"What would convince you then?"

"What are you doing?" Mona said.

The horse just said, not heeding him, "Heh, I don't know. Personally would've preferred we just forgot all of this and got a drink. Hell, I wouldn't mind buyin' you one. Wouldn't you like that too, missy?"

It was subtle, but Rogue knew Joker flinched at the mention of drinks as he hid it with the shift of his footing.

Rogue glared at the stupid horse. "No thanks. I'm underaged." And not exactly a fan of the smell of alcohol, she wanted to add but didn't.

Which was a good thing as the equine said, "Huh? That so? Then let's have some when yer older then."

"Sure, if I can make it."

"Ha! I like that attitude of yers... Kinda reminds me of me... Hey wait a second..." The horse shook its head as if awakening from a daze. "I remember now! I ain't some Shadow from here! I come from that there sea of humans!" It looked to her and said, "Name's Bicorn. No need for honorifics, missy."

And just like with her brother, the enemy glowed and changed into a mask, this time hers, before being absorbed. Rogue took a deep breath in as she felt warmth wash over her and Bicorn's voice within her mind saying,

"By the way, nice meetin' ya, missy. I sure hope we do get to have drinks at some point."

She was jerked from her thoughts as Mona said,

"W-What?! It went to you instead?!"

"Woah! Akira can do it too?!"

"Skull, codenames," Joker said, scowling at his error.

"Oh right. Uh, Rogue, right?"

"Yeah, and yours is Skull, if you didn't hear Joker say it," she said, smirking slightly.

"Yeah yeah! I get it!"

"Still, we have not one, but two people who can use multiple Personas?" Mona said, awed for a moment before he was smug. "Nyaha! This really is my lucky day! I knew you two would be useful."

Her smirk got worse as she said, "Damn straight."

Though she noticed her brother frown deepen at the not-cat's words. Before she could ask about it, Mona's ears perked up and he said,

"Oh no. We got company coming."

And Joker said, "Let's go."

He went for the door on the other end, the rest of them following. And it seemed their phantom thief sensei really was lucky because a safe room was right in front of that exit. They made their way in, closing the door just as the clanging steps of knights passed them by. They sighed in relief and took seats around the small room.

"Seems like there's more Shadows than yesterday," her brother said.

"Yeah...what's up with that?" Skull said, flopped against the table in the middle of the room.

"Well we did piss off Kamoshida last time we were here..." she said to him.

"Hmm, while I do agree with that..." Mona said. "He still seems a little more on guard than I thought he'd be."

Rogue said, "What makes you so sure?"

"The Shadows that would've noticed us earlier? It shouldn't be that quick. It takes much longer for more to replace the ones missing."

"Ugh, then how are we gonna deal with the Treasure like this?" their faux blond friend said.

"Don't be so hasty. It'll die down...eventually."

Of course.

Then Mona said, "Besides, we need to secure an infiltration route first."

"A what?"

"A path to the Treasure. Once we have that, then we can steal it."

"Geez...you say you got no memories, but you still remember this stuff?"

"You have a problem with that?"

"Course I do. You say you got amnesia but can still do this stuff. It's suspicious when you get down to it. Right Ren?" he said, glancing at her brother.

"Codenames, Skull, codenames." Her brother reminded him, miffed he fumbled. But nonetheless he said, "I agree though. Amnesia doesn't work like that."

"That's what you think of me?!" Mona said, the picture of an upset cat.

That was true. But...

"Hey, he said that the Metaverse distorted his memories didn't he?" she said. "If he lost it here, maybe the reason why his amnesia's like this is because that's how most people think it works thanks to shows and stuff."

Joker blinked in realization. "Oh right. That would make sense, especially since this is a mental world..."

"Well I'm glad at least someone believes in me..."

"Still, even if that's true, you'd think he'd remember something, right?" Skull said. "What if we just find out he's some stray cat?"

"What? No! I can't be that. I just...can't..."

"Still, to find the princess in such an odd place..." a voice said.

They jumped and brandished their weapons at the door. The clangs of footsteps echoed as another guard spoke while Mona leaned on the door to eavesdrop.

"I could have sworn we were pursuing the readings of an intruder..."

"It doesn't matter now. We have to take her back to King Kamoshida!"

Rogue barely suppressed a shudder. She didn't like that sound of that. Girls plus him meant bad things. Thankfully, the metal sounds soon faded along with their owners' voices. But as soon as that happened, Mona said,

"I should look into this."

"Huh? Mona? Where—" Joker said, reaching out to Mona...

...who left them.

"—are you going..."

"Aaaand yet another question goes unanswered..." Skull said, thumping his head on the table.

"That's kinda the thing with amnesia charcaters," Rogue said to him.

The thug sighed. "Well I wish it wasn't then..."

Rogue snickered. "You and everyone else who don't like amnesia plotlines."

Joker snickered as well behind his hand.

The bubble burst though when Mona barged and said,

"This is bad! This is bad!"

"Hey, Mona, calm down," her brother said. "What is it?"

"Your friend...Lady Ann..."

They all looked at him with varying expressions of confusion.

"Takamaki?"

"She's been taken by Shadows!"

Rogue froze. Joker was the same. Oh no... Don't tell me...

Of course, Skull just went, "Huh? But we sent her home."

Which was understandable that time, there was a cognitive version of her in the castle, but...

Joker said, "Mona, lead the way. Let's not waste time."

"Right! This way!"

And they ran...sans Skull.

"Hey wait for me!"

{R}

Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!

Igor had told them he would give the app to anyone who could help them, and Takamaki-san most definitely wanted to help. He should've remembered that. If he did, he wouldn't have sent her away. Damn it all!

Before he knew it, Mona had led them back past the armory and where the hallway that had previously been blocked by spikes was, the obstacle gone and the sounds of Takamaki shouting beyond the door at the end. Without breaking his stride, he burst through it...

...and stopped in his tracks.

Oh, the room itself was pretty normal for this castle. Just very, very red. What made him stop was what was in it.

There were girls everywhere, lying on the floor in various seductive positions, clad only in gym shorts. The only reason he didn't look away from their half-bare state was because they looked less like people and more like pink mannequins.

"What the?! This is how he sees the girls on the volleyball team?!" Skull said.

"If it wasn't obvious enough..." Rogue said.

"This is effed up..."

"Tch. Just when I was about to have some fun..." an unfortunately familiar voice said.

Joker turned towards it and gritted his teeth at the sight.

There stood Kamoshida, still mostly bare save his pink underwear and red cape, looking at them with displeasure. Near him were guards of both the steel and gold variety, Cognitive Takamaki who looked as dumb as before...and the real Takamaki, tied very suggestively on a golden x cross.

"You guys?!" she said.

"How many times are you going to keep coming back?" Shadow Kamoshida said.

"As many times we need to, you asshole!" Rogue said, brandishing her daggers.

In that instant, Kamoshida gestured with his hand, fearful until his guards held their swords across Takamaki's neck and his sister stopped in her tracks. Of course the Shadow ruler smiled with smugness.

"Ah ah, one more step and she dies," he said, his tone just as full of it.

Damn it. Joker had hoped he would be too dumb to think of that, but it seems he had overestimated his stupidity.

Rogue growled and backed off, but she still kept her weapons out, glancing his way. He met it briefly before he took note of everyone's positions. He, Rogue, Skull and Mona were about two meters or so from Kamoshida, who had one golden guard and two regular guards close to him, ready to chop off Takamaki's head. Standing to Kamoshida's left was the cognitive version of her, still ditzy and wearing the bare minimum, cat ears atop her hair. There was no way they would be able to handle them all at this distance without Takamaki getting killed instantly...except one way.

He didn't want to though. It would mean using his sister for crying out loud, but when he unconsciously glanced at the writhing mannequin women to their sides and then Rogue again, she noticed it with a flinch. She seemed to have come to the same conclusion as he did because she looked him in the eyes with a nod, silently telling him that she would go along with him. One second longer he held her gaze, but she didn't back down. Well, there was his choice made.

Joker took a deep breath.

He stood straight and took a step forward, giving a slight bow as he said, "Pardon me, your Majesty, but we're actually here to give you a peace offering."

"What?!" Skull said. "What are you—?"

Thankfully Mona said, "Shh Skull! Play along!"

While King Kamoshida raised an eyebrow in intrigue.

"A gift? From a thief?" He scoffed. "Why would a thief such as you give me a gift? Not that there is any you could possibly give me."

Another bow, this time with one hand out and one on his chest.

"That is very true, your Majesty," he said. "But we have realized the error of our ways and wish to show for it. That is why we wish to offer my sister as a gift, if you would have her."

The king perked up and his eyes gleamed. "Your sister?"

Caught him on the bait.

Yet one more bow, but this time gesturing to Rogue, who did a curtsey in synch with him after putting away her daggers.

"Here she is, your Majesty," he said.

"It is an...honor to meet you, your Majesty," Rogue said, thankfully hiding most of her distaste.

The king hummed and looked her up and down for bit until he frowned. As Joker hoped, instead of disatisfaction, he gestured with his hand and said,

"Come here, let me see you."

"Yes, your Majesty."

And as Rogue took shy but deliberate steps, Joker eyed Mona and slightly twitched his finger. Mona nodded subtly and tapped Skull before the non-feline mimicked his slow, and hopefully hard to notice, advance towards Kamoshida. Thankfully, one look from Mona to him had Skull realize what they were doing and he copied them.

When Rogue stood before Kamoshida she did another curtsey and said,

"Am I...satisfactory, your Majesty?"

The king hummed again, examining her, and Joker put everything he could into his steps...otherwise he was pretty sure his twitching fingers would be mauling the man by now for looking that way at his sister.

"Take off your hood girl. Don't hide your face from your king," he said.

"Yes your Majesty."

She did as told and pulled it off. But when she did, she hovered her hands over her daggers' pommels and glanced at him. Joker looked at everything around them then met her gaze.

"Now!" he said.

Everything erupted in a dance of chaos.

Rogue took her daggers out to attack Kamoshida. The king screamed and backed away. The regular guards moved to defend him. Skull and Mona moved to intercept them. He took his eyes off of that and on Ann. Ann stared wide-eyed in shock. He readied his own dagger to slice her bindings. And then she screamed.

"Look—!"

"Stop where you are!" the gold knight said before hitting him straight in the gut.

"Argh!"

He thudded on the ground, the sword pushing him away. He ignored the pain and rolled over as the commander swung down. Now that he was close, he tore off its mask to reveal...

...a classical demon on a floating toilet.

If this had been any other situation, Joker would've stared in surprise and cracked a joke.

Instead, he said,

"Persona!"

And Arsène sent shadows as it roared. Unfortunately, it was unfazed by the darkness biting into it and summoned torrents of wind. He stood his ground but Skull wasn't as lucky, the wind twisting his bad leg too quickly for its limit and knocking him down. The toilet demon took advantage and hit him with a tornado of wind again.

"Mona! Heal Skull!" he said, noting with gratitude that at least the other two guards were gone.

"Roger!"

Meanwhile Rogue rushed forward and said,

"Bicorn!"

The equine burst out of flames and neighed before it charged at the toilet demon. Unfortunately, that, too, seemed to do little as it merely flinched from the strike, the Persona fading now that its order was done. Ren gritted his teeth. They needed to find a weakness.

"Pixie!"

The winged girl shocked it but it was the same result. And just like before, it attacked with strong gusts, stressing Skull's leg too much. Mona healed him and he was back on his feet along with the rest of them, but at the rate this was going, they wouldn't be able to defeat it before—

"Try anything funny again and I really will kill her," the king said.

—damn it!

As Joker thought, Kamoshida was holding the sword of his fallen knight and pointing it right at Ann's throat.

Rogue growled.

Skull grumbled.

Mona said, "No! Lady Ann!"

And that was all the floating toilet demon needed to get them all lying face first on the ground.

"Well? What's it going to be?" Kamoshida said, his smugness from earlier returning.

Everyone wasn't pleased with it, that much was clear from their faces, but no one struggled.

Damn it... Joker tried to think of what to do, but unless they could figure out a way to beat the golden guard turned uncleanly demon, they were back to square one. They won't be able to save Takamaki. He won't be able to save Takamaki.

"Ha, I knew I shouldn't have trusted you thieves," Kamoshida said. Then he smirked at Takamaki. "Heh. I bet that you're just like them, aren't you? Coming here to get back at me."

"Gee, no shit Herlock," Rogue said. "Did you really think we were just gonna let what you did slide?!"

The mop head king glanced their way once and huffed.

"What I did? Ah...that..." Then his smirk turned vicious and he looked back at Takamaki. "You know it's your fault that she jumped, you know? Whatever her name is."

Joker froze.

What.

He didn't even...

Takamaki was much the same. "What...?"

The king continued on. "You were so reluctant to throw yourself onto me that I had her take your place."

Takamaki struggled and glared. "You bastard!"

"And not only that, it seems these people came to save you. But now they're going to die for it."

That took the fire out of her, horror and guilt spreading on her face as she said,

"No..."

No no no... Takamaki, no, don't...

The king laughed. Joker clenched his fist.

"Though, I guess I'll let them live long enough to enjoy the dismantlement show, to remind them of my power," he said.

And thus, Takamaki was put in despair, her eyes losing their brightness and her demeanor losing its vibrance.

And of course Kamoshida laughed.

"Ah, there it is. I like that look on your face. Should've been like this from the beginning," he said. Then his perverted smile appeared full force. "Now how should I start? Heh heh... Maybe I'll start with her clothes... Heh heh heh..."

"N-No... Is this..." she said, her voice now guilt laden. "...my punishment for what happened to Shiho...?"

Snap.

"No it's not!" Joker screamed.

"Yeah! Like hell it is!" Rogue added.

Takamaki startled and stared at them. "Huh...?"

"Are you really gonna listen to this guy's bullshit?" his sister said. "After what he did with Shiho? After not even remembering her?"

"It's not your fault, Takamaki," he said, pleading, hoping she would listen. "Please. Don't give in. Please. I..." He nearly choked up. "I want to help you."

It was only a moment, but that moment felt like an eternity as the girl stared at him in disbelief, as if kindness towards her was strange.

But then that moment moved on and Joker's chest soared at seeing her beight eyes burn with determination.

"You're right," she said. "What was I thinking? Letting this asshole manipulate me..."

And then she screamed and struggled and everyone stared and for one moment, one heartstopping and stomach churning moment, Ren thought she was dying.

But then she erupted in flames and broke out of her melted chains. There, he saw it, a red mask over her face.

And she tore it.

"Persona!"

The flames burst around her, making Kamoshida, shout and back off, the demon's toilet pop and send its occupant flying with a screech, and them free to stand.

"W-What are you doing?!" the king said. "A slave like you should—"

"Shut up!" the blonde said.

A whip appeared in her hands and she used it to catch the sword in Kamoshida's. The king squealed and let go and Ann swung the her whip to hurtle the blade straight through her copy.

"I'm not some cheap girl you can toy with, you scumbag!" Takamaki said, her Persona standing tall and proud behind her.

"Oh yeah! You go Takamaki!" Skull said, fist bumping.

"Yeah that's the spirit!" Rogue said.

Joker smirked, proud at seeing her stand up.

"You're the one who stole everything from Shiho... You destroyed her. Now it's your turn!"

However.

"How dare you! I won't allow it!"

They all dodged the barrelling toilet demon, who now stood between them and his king. Takamaki was not pleased about that.

"I won't have you stop me now!" she said. "Let's give 'em hell, Carmen!"

"With pleasure," her Persona said.

The rose dressed woman flourished her skirt and flames followed her will, spinning towards the demon. The demon seemed unaffected, until his toilet popped like a fizzled soda bottle and he was sent flat on the ground.

"All Out Attack!" Joker said.

And everyone except Takamaki obeyed. As he expected, it didn't go down from that strike. But now that they had Takamaki's flames, all Joker had to do was coordinate everyone so that the demon would consistently be dazed from his exploding toilet and before long, one more all out attack finished it off with a scream. With his guard gone, the king stared in horror.

"Oh shit..."

And ran off.

"Wait!" Takamaki said.

But as soon as she took another step, she fell to the ground.

"Takamaki!" he said, kneeling beside her.

He checked to see if she was injured when Skull said,

"Hey! What were you thinkin'?! Why'd you come here?!"

Joker was ready to snap but Rogue did it for him.

"Skull! This ain't the time to be shoutin' at her!"

"Exactly! That is no way to treat a woman!" Mona then stepped closer to Takamaki and said, "Are you all right Lady Ann?"

Joker stared.

"What," he and his sister said.

"Lady Ann...?" the girl in question said, similarly confused. At least until she saw Mona and stared. "What the? What is this thing? Is it alive? How can it talk?" She glanced around her. "And where in the world are we?"

"C-Calm down. Everything will be fine. Don't worry," Mona said.

"How am I supposed to calm down?!" she said as she tried to stand...and saw herself in the process.

"Huh?! What am I wearing!?" she said. "When did I—uuugh! What's with this?!"

She crouched on the ground and tried, in vain, to cover herself up.

Not that he blamed her. She was wearing a very form fitting red suit that left nothing to the imagination, which wasn't helped by it being latex and having an opening on the chest that...showed it off a bit. Or her cat mask and tail. Or the many, many zippers. There were three zippers alone for the front of the suit. So he decided to test and see if his coat could be taken off. To his relief, it could.

"Here," he said as he put it over her.

"Huh? Uh, thanks..."

He smiled and said, "You're welcome."

"Huh, I'm impressed Joker," Mona said.

He looked at him in confusion.

"What for?" he said.

The not-cat just shook his head and said, "Never mind. We don't have time to explain things to her. We need to retreat before the guards come."

"Yeah. We did let Kamoshida get away and all," Rogue said.

Skull groaned. "Aw man... I was gettin' so fired up too... You just had to get in the way..."

He and Rogue glowered at the thug and said,

"Skull..."

"Huh? What? We ain't goin'?"

They both sighed and shook their heads. Never mind.

"Here, let me help you," Joker said as he held and pulled Takamaki up.

"I-It's all right, I can..."

But then his sister said, "No way. You just fell earlier. We're not takin' chances."

"Damn straight," Skull said as he moved to support her other side. "We need to be quick too."

Though Takamaki was reluctant, she still said, "Fine..."

Thankfully it wasn't long before they all made it out, reappearing in the alleyway they started in.

"Thanks..." Takamaki said as soon as he and Ryuji put her down.

"Looks like we made it back," Ryuji said with a brief glance. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so..." She shook her head. "No, wait, I lied. I'm still so confused about this..."

"Don't blame you, a lot happened back there," Aki said.

"True, even though you're safe now," Morgana said. "But we should still keep going."

"Huh? Why?" their faux-blond friend said.

"We stand out too much here. And we still have a lot to tell her."

"Ah yeah, don't want Kamoshida hearin' us," Aki said.

With that agreement, they began to make their way out of the alleyway and down the street. But then something pricked at his consciousness and he looked back. He frowned. Nothing was there except students of Shujin and yet... What had made him turn?

"Big Bro?" Aki said.

He looked back to see his friends worried. Ren shook his head. They needed to get going.

"I'm sorry, I wanted to make sure no one followed us."

His sister didn't look convinced but he went and stuffed Morgana into his bag, the not-cat complaining at the roughness, and led the way, allowing no protest.

(A)

The underground subway probably wasn't the best place to explain about Palaces, the change of heart and Personas and Shadows to Takamaki, but the noise was enough that only they could hear each other at their volume and close enough that they could explain to her sooner, which she most definitely needed. Well mostly she, Ren and Mona did the explaining. Ryuji just answered any questions related to him specifically. When that was done, Takamaki asked for a drink and Ryuji went to get it...without Takamaki mentioning what she'd like. So when he came back soon enough with two choices in his hands and said,

"Which one you want?"

And she said, "Whichever's not carbonated."

Akira wasn't surprised the fake delinquent said,

"Uh... They both are."

Takamaki sighed at the choice.

Luckily for her, her brother said, "I have a spare water bottle if you want." Though maybe not as he added, "It'll have cat fur covering it though."

Mona popped out of Ren's bag and said, "How many times do I have to tell you I'm not a cat!"

"And how many times do we have to tell you that you look like one?" she said.

"Aki... Morgana..." Ren said, giving them both a look.

Akira just raised her hands in surrender while Mona grumbled about being scolded.

"Uh...it's fine, I'll just take this one," Takamaki said as she picked the cola.

"You sure?" Ren said. "I can clean the bottle. I'll need to when I get back anyway."

"Yeah, I'm sure."

While Takamaki drank from it, Ryuji offered the other one. She and Ren shook their heads.

"No thank you. We don't usually drink soft drinks," her brother said.

"Well, except maybe juices but still," she said.

"All right then. Suit yourselves."

"What about me?" Mona said.

Ryuji stared. "Uh...but you're a cat..."

"Do I really have to repeat myself?"

"Yes," she said.

Thankfully by then Takamaki had taken a good gulp of her drink and Ren said,

"Feeling better?"

The natural blonde nodded and said, "Yeah. I am."

And Mona said, "That's good to hear, Lady Ann."

"Lady Ann" was startled at his words again but said, "Uh...Morgana right?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Wow, I...really am talking to a cat. This feels so strange..." Aki worried she'd get scolded by the not-cat but then Takamaki said, "Oh wait, you said you're not a cat, right? Sorry."

And Mona said, in a suspiciously gentlemanly tone, "It's fine. It's only natural you're confused. Demanding that you understand all of this right after you went through is asking too much."

She and Ren shared a flat look.

If his huge crush wasn't obvious before, it was now.

"Yeah, I honestly still can't believe it... What happened...and this power... Persona..."

"That's your will of rebellion, Lady Ann. With it you can fight in the other world."

"So if what you're saying is true, that means we can change Kamoshida's heart?"

"According to Morgana, yes," Ren said.

"It's pretty much our only option with the volleyball team keeping quiet and us bein' 'delinquents'," she said.

"Then let me help. I want him to pay for what he did to Shiho," the natural blonde said, a fire burning in her eyes.

"Takamaki..." her brother said, a bit worried.

"He's just going on like nothing happened, even after what he did... I can't forgive him."

She really was making her case.

Akira and her brother shared another look as Ryuji said,

"Wait, did you just say 'let me help'?"

"Don't act like I'm gonna drag you down! You saw me earlier. I can fight too!"

She and Ren nodded and then he said,

"We would be glad to have you."

"Huh?" both blondes said.

Akira smirked behind her mask while Ren smiled.

"I said you can help. You'll be a great member," he said.

"I agree as well," Mona of course said. "Any extra manpower is always good."

Ryuji grumbled, still not on board.

So of course Mona also said, "Don't worry, I'll protect her."

Oh Akira was sure he would, which was both a good and bad thing in its own way.

But she did want to convince their new friend so she said, "And we need fire spells anyway. Big Bro and I don't have any yet."

And to add the cherry on top, Ren said, "Yes. We would've been finished if she hadn't awakened."

"Rgh... Fine..." Ryuji finally said.

Takamaki smiled and said, "Thanks you guys."

She and her brother returned it.

"You're welcome."

"No problem."

"Well I hope we get along." Takamaki's smile turned into determination as she said, "I'm going to make Kamoshida pay for what he did."

Once again Akira and Ren shared her look with a nod.

Then it happened.

The world froze and a serene voice said,

I am thou, thou art I. Thou hast acquired a new vow. It shall be the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity. With the birth of the Lovers Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power.

Then it faded and the world marched on.

"Just let me know when you're heading back in...oh wait! We don't have each other's info."

"Oh yeah," Aki said and pulled out her phone in tandem with her brother.

"So number and chat ID?" he said.

"Uh huh."

Contacts were shared between all of them, sans Mona, and with that, Takamaki had officially joined.

"I'll be counting on you then," she said afterwards. "You too, Morgana."

"The pleasure's all mine, Lady Ann."

Oh Akira figured as much.

"Will you be all right heading home?" her brother said.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm tired but I can make it," Takamaki said.

"Okay then..." He paused. "Then can you tell us you made it back fine?"

The blonde stared in surprise before she smiled and said, "Sure."

Then she finally left.

With Mona going on and on about her wonderful qualities. Which Akira giggled over.

"Dude," Ryuji said, offput by the display.

Ren chuckled along with her before he said,

"Well we should be going now. We don't want to upset our caretaker."

Oh right. Mr. Grumpy Chef.

"Yeah we should..." she said.

"All right, see you dudes. We'll meet up tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Wait...where we gonna meet?"

Now that was a thought.

And Mona added to it as he said, "Well we should pick somewhere that we can use as our secret hideout to discuss such things."

The faux-blond smiled. "A hideout huh? I like the sound of that."

"Where would that be though?" Aki said. "We need it to be close to the school, don't we?"

"The school's rooftop should do it then for the time being," Mona said. "Nobody seems to go there. It should work for our secret hideout."

"All right then, school rooftop it is!" Ryuji said.

"We'll tell Takamaki to go there when we get together then," Ren said.

"'Kay then, I'll go for real this time."

"Bye Ryuji!"

"Good-bye Ryuji!"

"See ya guys!"

That left one last person to say farewell.

"See you tomorrow then, Morgana?" Ren said.

"Well..."

"Well what?" Akira said, curious.

"I can't contact you from inside the Palace so I'll stay in this world. But...I need someone to take care of me," he said. Then he grinned as best as a cat could. "I personally nominate you to be my caretaker! You should be honored."

"What."

"I thought you said you're not a cat!"

"I'm not! But I don't exactly have a home to go back to or a way to get food."

Okay when he put it like that it made more sense and Akira felt bad for not even thinking of where he'd be staying. He still had amnesia after all. It wasn't as if he was going to remember where he lived and he probably wouldn't have been able to stay long should any neighbors notice the owner was gone.

Akira sighed and said, "Okay fine. Let's go then."

"No, not fine," Ren said.

"Huh?"

"Aki... What if his cat fur triggers an allergy? Then your asthma's going to be triggered too."

"But I'm not a cat!"

"Yeah Big Bro. It can't be that bad," she said. "We've been hanging with him this whole time with plenty of chances for the fur to get up my nose and I didn't have any reaction, right?"

Her brother opened his mouth to protest, but it sputtered down into a grumble and a sigh.

"No."

"Then it should be fine."

Ren sighed again. "All right, we'll let him stay," he said. "On two conditions."

"Huh? Conditions...?" Mona said.

Her brother turned his head to give the strongest glare he could give and said,

"One, you can stay in our room but you clean yourself outside. Two, you let me bathe you every other day, got it? If you don't agree or break these and Aki has one attack because of you, you're stuck outside. Got it?"

Mona tensed and Akira actually heard him gulp before he said,

"R-Right. I got it loud and clear."

With that, all of Ren's hostility left him with a third sigh.

"Good. Now let's finally get home."

"Got you, Big Bro."

Author's Notes: The chapter title comes from the superstition that saying the name of the play, MacBeth, when you don't need to while inside a theater would lead to disaster. So instead they would call it the Scottish Play or the Bard's Play.