Captain Blues: Time to start the show!

Persona V: Reversing the Wheel of Fate
Chapter Eighty-Seven

[Opening Scene: Shibuya – Okumura Residence (Afternoon)
Theme of Loss: Aoba Park from Persona 2: Innocent Sin (PSP)]

"Alright," Ren said as the Phantom Thieves, minus Ryuji, Hifumi, and Eleonora (whom Hifumi offered to take home), sat in Haru's living room. "Today has been quite the rollercoaster. Hell, the last few days have been…" Ren let out a tired sigh while rubbing his face. "It's just been a rough time. But right now, Ryuji is in the hospital, fighting for his life while the rest of us are dealing with a Yakuza member whom we owe fifty-four million yen and we only have two weeks to get it."

"And that's not even counting the two girls he kidnapped and currently is holding hostage." Ren turned to the deeply defeated Makoto and frowned. He had never seen Makoto look so devastated before. It was completely unnerving to him. "But there are still questions and clarifications that we need so we can fix this. Makoto?"

Makoto remained silent, her head still down.

"Makoto, I get that you were in a precarious situation," Ren gently began. "And I know that you're still processing all that happened. But we need you right now. Please…" Slowly, Makoto lifted her head and compassionate gray eyes met lifeless reddish-brown. "Makoto, you know who we are and what we're here to do. Why didn't you come to us? Why did you handle this all alone?"

"I thought…" Makoto murmured. "…My sister trained me to overcome everything this world would through at me. My reflexes, my strength, my intelligence, my need to remain in control, and even my looks and personality, were all designed and honed to give me the edge against anyone who would stand before me, whether in academics or a fight. No point in hiding from it or denying it. My sister and I had to have that edge because it was just us…But after everything I've been through since we met, Ren, I realized that despite all the training, all the practice Sae put me through, and all of her coaching, I'm still human. I make mistakes like everyone else…"

Makoto took a slow, deep breath and revealed, "'When two weeks pass and the clock hits 6:37 P.M., it will no longer matter if you wake up to your truth or not. I will be coming back, and I will leave you as I left Haru's table…. Shattered.' Those were the words my shadow told me a few days ago."

Everyone let out a sharp gasp.

"Your shadow is going to kill you in two weeks?" Shiho whispered.

"Less than that now," Makoto corrected. "I have less than two weeks until I am to die. I don't know how to stop her and at this point, it sounds like she doesn't care if I find a way or not. I'm marked for death…"

"When did you find out?" Yusuke questioned.

"The night you, Hifumi, and Ren were saved," Makoto answered.

"Makoto. We talked that night on the balcony. Why didn't you tell us?" Ren asked.

"All of you had Mitsuyo's and Madarame's palaces to go through and I..." Makoto drifted off for a moment. "…I thought it was nothing I couldn't handle."

"Where does Kaneshiro fit in all of this?" Mishima asked.

Makoto's shoulders slumped.

"Makoto, we need to know," Ann firmly said. "Because of what happened, two girls are kidnapped, Ryuji is in the hospital, and the rest of us are in his pocket." Makoto balled her hands into fists. "Why did you go after a Yakuza member? Didn't you care about the risk you were taking? The risks you were putting under everyone else?" Makoto closed her eyes. "Or were you just thinking about yourself as usu—"

"Yes!" Makoto snapped. "I was thinking about myself! Is that what you want to hear, Takamaki?! That I was selfish and uncaring? That I put everyone at risk because of my own vengeance and now Eiko, Oribe, and Ryuji's lives are in danger?! Does that satisfy you?!"

"Ann, Makoto, calm down," Ren urged as he shot Ann a pleading look to calm down.

"No! All this time, Takamaki has been needling at me for every little thing since this all began and I'm sick of it!" Makoto exclaimed as she sharply stood up. "You want to know why I did it?! Fine! I did all of this because I wanted to avenge my father's murder by taking down his murderer! I planned everything! Everything to the last detail to get him back on my sister's, and the police's, radar since they couldn't do anything and acted like he owned all of Shibuya! I told Yusuke, Ren, and Hifumi to give his name to start my plan so that when I died, at least I could prove that I wasn't useless! That I wasn't a failure and that I could succeed when no one else could!"

Tears began to fall from Makoto's eyes as she continued to look at the now ashamed Ann, blood dripping from her fists. "I never wanted them to help. Eiko, Oribe, Eleonora, Ryuji. I was supposed to do it alone. I didn't want anyone else involved and yet before I realized it, I had my own group, ready to bring him down together. But once again, despite all that I said, I was useless. I was useless in helping my father, I was useless when it came to Kamoshida and his countless atrocities, I was useless to my sister, I was useless when Hifumi's shadow kidnapped me, I was useless when Shiho and Mishima saved me from my shadow, I was useless in saving Eiko and Oribe, I was useless in keeping Eleonora safe, and I was useless as Ryuji was beaten in front of me, all while he protected me from Kaneshiro! I was so stupid to think I could be anything more than what I am."

"I agree," Yusuke said, much to the surprise of everyone in the room.

"Yusuke," Mishima gasped.

"You should have easily imagined something like this could happen," Yusuke continued without hesitation.

"Yusuke," Ren said with a stern voice.

"That's not fair," Shiho whispered.

Makoto looked down at the floor and said, "I should have known better. All I wanted to do was be useful. And now look at what I've done. Because of my screw-up, all of us are now that murderer's little ATMs to fill into his bank of debauchery. Not only that, I'm going to cause so much trouble and shame to come Sae's way. She did all of that work raising me to be the best while working hard and getting such a commendable job. I've ruined everything now…My shadow was right, all that I am and all that I'll ever be is Useless…"

Ren and Shiho took a step forward toward her as Ren said, "Makoto, that's not—"

"Beginning Navigation."

[Scene Change: Metaverse – Okumura Residence (?)
Theme of New Palace: To Another World from Persona 5]

With an explosion of their respective elements, Joker, Noir, Mage, Fox, Panther, and Lioness stood in Noir's living room. "What?" Fox breathed as he looked around. "How did we get to the Metaverse?"

"Are we in the Metaverse?" Panther asked. "I mean, we're in H—Noir's living room still."

"We have to be," Mage replied while he tugged at his clothes. "We're in our Metaverse clothing. But I have to say, this is mighty reminiscent of when we were transported into Madarame's palace."

"I agree," Joker said as Lioness moved toward the balcony doors. "Makoto may have just given us the key to Kaneshiro's palace. Hopefully, we'll be able to see what the code was when we find the exit to this place."

"Um, guys," Lioness called out. "You may want to come outside to the balcony."

[Theme of Unknowing Danger: Restlessness from Persona 5]

The thieves walked across Noir's apartment, made their way out onto the balcony beside Lioness, and gasped in shock. "Whoa…" Panther breathed. "The sky is dark green. Like a thunderstorm is about to happen."

Panther then looked down and noticed big blocky gray objects walking on the ground floor. "What are those?"

"No idea," Lioness replied.

"This is all so fascinating," Fox breathed. "I wonder what all this paper is that's floating in the air." Fox snatched a paper that was floating in the air along with all the others and stared at it. "Money…This is money." Fox held the bill up for everyone else to see.

"This is a little scary," Noir admitted. "Why does the outside look like this?"

"This entire distract has warped," Joker revealed. "The distortion is affecting all of Shibuya."

"That's right," Panther realized. "While Madarame and Kamoshida's palaces were distorted, everything looked normal outside. But with Mitsuyo's, the outside was distorted but it was at night so it looked like it was just the night sky there."

"Wait," Lioness spoke. "Do you guys hear that?"

Everyone grew quiet. In the distance, they could hear the sounds of combat. "That doesn't sound good. We need to go," Joker ordered. He then turned to Panther, Lioness, and President. "Panther, Lioness, stay here and watch over President while we're away."

The two girls nodded while Makoto stared at the floor.

"Come on, let's go!" Joker exclaimed.

[Scene Change: Metaverse – Shibuya Streets
Theme of Battle: Last Surprise from Persona 5]

"Stay behind me!" Hifumi ordered as Eleonroa trembled in absolute terror.

She didn't know what happened. One moment, she and Hifumi were waiting for Haru's limo driver to pick her up from in front of her apartment building to take her home, the next, they were in this strange world and Hifumi's clothes had changed.

And before she could even get her bearings, two rather tall topless women with purple skin, long flowing black hair, a skull with horns for a tiara, gold forearm braces, a gold belt, and a candy cane striped loincloth attacked them, both of them wielding a pair of swords.

And what capped off all of this strangeness was the walking ATMs that seemingly didn't care for the fight that just started.

"What is going on?!" Eleonroa screamed as Hifumi opened her parasol, just as the two beings swung both sets of their swords, and twisted her parasol, causing a rain of sparks to fly from when the steel met steel.

Eleonora watched as Hifumi rebuffed the four sets of blades before she withdrew the Iaito Iai sword that was concealed within the parasol, twirled it into a reverse grip, and sliced the neck of one of the women.

As the woman fell, dropping her blades to the ground, Hifumi then twisted her body and kicked the other woman in the chest, sending her stagging back, before Hifumi shouted, "Ching Shih: Zan!"

Behind her, the air rippled as if a pebble was dropped onto a surface of water, only for the ripples to freeze and then explode as a rather strange-looking woman walked out from the void with a flintlock pistol already in her hand.

The being lifted the flintlock pistol and fired, causing a gold bullet to slam into the forehead of the purple woman. Eleonora watched in fascination as the woman's skin began to twist as a ripple of golden light flowed against the entirety of the woman's body before she was shredded apart by the vibrations of the bullet.

"Tsumi," Hifumi concluded as she twirled her blade into the air and stabbed through the face of the woman she had attacked before, causing her gurgling to cease before she exploded into an inky-black substance.

[Theme of New Palace: To Another World from Persona 5]

Hifumi turned back to her and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Um…what the hell was all of that?" Eleonora asked without hesitation.

"That? Well, that is a long story," Hifumi smiled.

"Considering your clothes, those women, that strange woman, and the fact you can use a sword, it better be a long story!" Eleonora exclaimed.

Hifumi chuckled.

"Pawn!" a familiar voice called out.

"Pawn?" Eleonora mouthed as Hifumi turned her head and waved at the group of people leaving the building behind them.

"Anyone want to explain how we're here in the Metaverse and why there are walking ATMs everywhere?" Hifumi asked as the group of strangely dressed people walked up to her.

"Somehow, we wound up in the Metaverse," the guy in the domino mask answered.

"Wait…You're Ren aren't you?" Eleonora asked, recognizing the teen's voice.

"Oh boy, at the rate we're going, the whole city is going to be dragged into this place," the electronic-masked teen said with a small giggle.

"Fascinating," the teen in the fox mask spoke with awe in his voice as he caught the ATMs. "Walking ATMs. That must mean this is Kaneshiro's cognition of people. So this is what Kaneshiro considers a 'bank.'"

"Kaneshiro? What does Kaneshiro have to do with any of this?" Eleonora asked.

Hifumi turned to Eleonora and replied, "We'll explain everything later. We promise." Hifumi turned back to Ren and the girl that was beside him. "Noir, Joker, we should get out of this place soon. There's no telling when more Shadows will come."

Ren nodded as Eleonora noticed something floating into view from behind a building."Agreed. Let's get out of—"

"What is that?!" Eleonora screamed as she pointed at it.

[Theme of Unknowing Danger: Restlessness from Persona 5]

The rest of the group turned around and gasped.

"Whoa…is that a UFO?" the shorter male asked with wonder.

"And is it sucking up all the money?" the glass-masked female questioned.

"And why is it coming toward us?" the fox-masked teen asked.

Eleonora watched as the ego stopped right above them but instead of descending or sucking them up, a ramp folded down toward one of the balconies. "What's is going on?"

"Joker," the pink-wearing female whispered with dread. "That's my apartment."

Ren gasped and shouted, "Everyone! We need to move, now!"

Captain Blues: Makoto has finally exploded and we are now going to deal with Panther, Lioness, and Makoto in Kaneshiro's palace. until the next chapter, time to set sail!