Chapter 6: Castle of Lust/Infiltration Route
April 19th…
On the next morning, Kazumi had Biology class with a young teacher called Mr. Hiruta. He grieved Shiho at the beginning of the lecture and suddenly switched to a lecture about visual illusions:
-"Alright. You, the girl on the fourth column."-he referred to Kazumi.-"Please take a look to this diagram".
Mr. Hiruta showed a diagram on the board. It was about three lines A, B and C intercepted by a rectangle:
-"Which of these lines connects to line A?"-he asked her. Kazumi looked at the diagram very deeply for a second before answering.
-"It's C, sir."-she replied. Hiruta congratulated her before explaining the reason why B was not the correct answer.
-"Wow, Kazumi. Nice going!"-Morgana said to her when she sat down. She smiled at him with pride.
*Kazumi's knowledge increased by 1*
After school, Kazumi received a message from Ryuji:
-"Yo! Wanna hang out today?"
-"I'll be waitin' on the halls if you want to go."
"Give me a sec."-Kazumi replied before putting her phone down.
Before leaving the classroom, she saw Mishima. The boy was all upset on his seat, probably desperate because Kamoshida was going to expel him too. She doubted about approaching him, mostly because of the leak of her record. Maybe after they steal Kamoshida's heart, she could properly talk to him. With that in thought, Kazumi left the classroom to find Ryuji close to the stairs:
-"Oh, Kazumi. So, are we gonna hang out today?"-he asked her a bit excited.
-"Sure. What exactly are we going to do?"-she asked him.
-"Well. I was thinkin' about how fighting shadows makes me tired."-he said with a sleepy expression-"I have been slackin' on my exercise so…"
-"Wanna be my practice partner?"-he asked her.
-"Ok."-she replied with a smile.-"I have been slacking off too since I came to Tokyo."
-"Cool! Let's hit the track, girl!"-Ryuji said happy at her agreement.
They changed on their sports uniform and ran some laps around the courtyard. Suddenly, Ryuji decreased his rhythm and started to breathe heavily. Worried about him, Kazumi advised to take a break. During the break, they started to chat:
-"Do you feel better?"-Kazumi asked.
-"Kinda. This is embarrassing…"-Ryuji said disappointed.-"I'm very oxidized…"
-"It's fine… You don't have to push yourself."-she tried to cheer him up.
-"Don't tell me that. I absolutely have to."-he replied.-"I was...actually was thinkin' about startin' to run again."
-"Uhm?"-Kazumi turned her head slightly to the left in confusion.
-"You know, this place is my secret training spot."-Ryuji mentioned.-"I mean, it was when I was on the track team."
-"Back then, our team was everything that represented this school."-he remembered.-"Until, Kamoshida came. Our coach got fired and that bastard started to treat us like slaves. He was specially after me…"
-"..."-Kazumi just kept listening.
-"He knew I was the only one who will fight back. He was trying to get me angry and even involucred my parents on it."
-"What about your parents?"-she asked.
-"...My mom is the only one I have."-he admitted.-"My father was an alcoholic. He occasionally beated my mom or me up and he just left a day like any other."
-"Ryuji-kun…"-Kazumi said as she felt sad for his story. She didn't have a happy average family either, but at least her mother's depart didn't leave her with a scar like that.
-"It's fine. I don't mind about it too much."-he said with a sort of reassuring smile.-"At least, that's what I thought. Kamoshida discovered it and he told to the whole team. I...I lost it and…"
-"You ended up with a broken leg?"-she added for him.
-"Not only that. He counted that as self defense and made the school disband the track team because of an act of violence."-he added angry.-"The worst part is that everyone on the team turned their backs on me and treated my like a traitor."
-"I can't blame them though. If I didn't do that, the team could have participated on the National finals."-he said with a look of disappointed.
-"Would you go back to the team if they offered it to you?"-Kazumi asked the real question there.
-"Huh? Well, that…"-Ryuji started to doubt.-"I don't know! Don't ask me difficult questions like that! I'm not that brilliant!"
-"Ehehehe."-Kazumi laughed a bit at his dilemma.-"I actually think you are like the sun."
-"Huh?"-Ryuji was surprised to receive a deep compliment like that. Not like he understood it at all.
-"I'll be counting on you, Mr. Sunny."-she said to him with a smile.
-"Don't give me a lame nickname like that."-Ryuji said as he stroke her hair with his hand, leaving it disorganized.-"Cutie… I'll be counting on you too."
-"Stop that!"-Kazumi said a bit angry. Ryuji started to run again and she went after him.
-"At least he has opened up a bit…"-Kazumi thought. The Chariot arcana card got a second star.
*Baton pass unlocked*
On the evening, Kazumi bought some nutrients for the plant of her room, in the Underground Mall. After giving the plant some love, she went downstairs to study on the seat booths of the restaurant.
*Kazumi's kindness and knowledge improved by 2 points*
April 20th - April 27th
Kazumi spent her time wisely by switching between her part-time job, crafting infiltration tools and reading books.
She visited Takeo on April 25th to make a clinical trial. Their experiment was interrupted by a police officer who received a report of illegal activity on his clinic. However, Takeo managed to understand that it was a bait from his superior and Kazumi helped him to sent the policeman off the clinic.
On April 26th, she learnt to make coffee with Sojiro. Her help on the store was interrupted by an old man who made Sojiro stay defensive. She asked her about him but Sojiro changed the theme to teach her the basics.
These actions caused her bonds to be closer to them, and the Death and Hierophant arcanas got a second star.
On the last day of free time, Kazumi spent time with Ryuji, training for a little bit. On the evening, she bought more equipment for the infiltration. Everything was ready for the big day.
April 28th…
The big day was here. After school, the four rebels gathered on the rooftop to start their mission:
-"Sorry if I'm late. I went to the library for another book."-Kazumi mentioned as she reunited with Ryuji and Ann.
-"You have been very busy these days, Kazumi."-Ann commented.-"You were always running here to there. What's all that effort for?"
-"I was taking my time to explore the city and other stuff. I even got enough money as part-timer to get more equipment, just in case."-she replied.
-"Awesome! You're so reliable, girl."-Ryuji said.
-"We shouldn't leave you with all the job…"-Ann felt guilty.-"I know! We'll share a part with you on the next payday!"
-"It's all fine. After all, Morgana said that we can sell all the treasures we find on the Palace in the real world."-Kazumi said.
-"Talking about treasures, remember today's mission. We have only 3 days to find the treasure."-Morgana said as he jumped out of Kazumi's bag.-"I'll explain what we will do after that."
-"Where do you think this treasure is and how do we know if that's his treasure?"-Ann asked.
-"The treasure is probably on the highest part of the Castle. I'm not sure about the second thing but I'll judge that when we find a hint."-Morgana said.
-"So, let's just go around the castle until you detect something, amirite?"-Ryuji said.
-"You can put it that way…"-Morgana said.
-"Are we ready?"-Kazumi took her phone and her companions nodded. She activated the Nav and the space distorted leaving them outside the castle.
Kazumi proceeded to give her partners the weapons and armor she bought. On that, Skull fixed his attention to Ann...or at her sexy suit, better said. Kazumi noticed it:
-"What are you thinking, Skull? Ann's outfit is awesome, isn't it?"-she said to him. The guy gasped at being discovered by her.
-"Y-You have the wrong idea, Ace!"-he exclaimed.-"I was thinking about her codename!"
-"Code names?"-Ann said confused-"Oh...is that why you call yourselves 'Ace' and 'Skull'?"
-"Yup. That's right."-Skull nodded.-"Phantom Thieves are lame if they call themselves by their names doing the job."
-"I'm Mona, Lady Ann! Don't forget about it!"-Morgana mentioned.
-"Ok. So, any ideas about my code name?"-Ann asked to her partners.
-"Judging by your costume…"-Morgana said as he thought about something.
-"Sexy Cat is perfect or maybe Kitty woman?"-Ace exclaimed suddenly-"No...They'll probably confuse you with that woman from the Batguy comic…"
-"No…"-Ann refused deliberately making Ace a bit disappointed.-"Sorry. I just don't think a little cat fits my image."-she apologized to her.
-"How do you want to be called then?"-Skull asked.
-"Panther."-she replied-"A big and ferocious cat. Yeah, I think it's perfect for me."
-"We'll be counting on you then, Panther."-Morgana said in a cheerful tone.
-"I still think Kitty woman was cuter…"-Ace said while drawing circles on the floor like she was depressed.
-"Come on, leader. We have a treasure to hunt!"-Skull said as he was trying to cheer her up.
-"Yes…"-Ace stood up to go with her partners to the ventilation shaft. However, a translucent blue door opened right beside her. She turned around and saw next to it, one of the said 'lawyers' of the Velvet Room. Who was it again? Victor? Or maybe it was Will?
-"The judge wishes to see you, culprit."-the kid said on a quiet voice. Yes, it was definitely Victor.-"Your time will be not wasted."
-"If you say so…"-Ace said before heading inside as she saw that her friends were like stopped in time.
Kazumi found herself inside of the Velvet Room with her jail clothes. Igor gave her a welcome greeting and went straight to the topic:
-"I see you have formed bonds with more people on your surroundings."-he said.-"It makes worth the effort of rehabilitating you."
-"Tell me. Why am I the one who must be rehabilitated?"-she asked.
-"...Such question, I'm unable to answer for now."-Igor replied.-"I'll take the topic when the time comes."
-"For today, I'll be presenting the aid we will provide you."-Igor continued.-"You withhold the power of the Wildcard, which makes you be able to retain more than a Persona within you."
-"Yes…?"-Kazumi replied not so sure about it.
-"In order for you to grow stronger, our aid lets you obtain stronger personas from the ones you already have."-Igor said.-"To do it, we'll sentence the Personas you have to an execution."
-"E-Execution!?"-Kazumi gasped in surprise. What kind of cold punishment was that for something that it was alive...and living inside her!?
-"No need to alarm yourself."-Igor calmed her down.-"This execution will just split them from your heart in exchange of calling a new Persona."
-"The Personas you have discarded will be added to this book."-Victor said as he passed it out-"The Persona Compendium. Every since and then you need the aid of Personas you have discarded, refer to this book and pay the fee of their re-connection."
-"I see. So I'll be not separated from them at all…"-Kazumi said in relief.
-"Get your Personas ready, culprit!"-Will said as a screen appeared in front of Kazumi-"It's time to make a test for the Persona Fusion!"
-"Right now!?"-she said surprised.
-"Right now!"-Will affirmed-"Choose the Persona you want to create!"
-"Ehmm…"-Kazumi was indecisive about the aspect. She didn't want to discard her actual Personas but if she could get stronger powers, a sacrifice must be made right?
She noticed a Persona that caught her attention, a green skinned housemaid with a red silk dress. According to the screen, she had Ice powers. Kazumi thought that this was useful as her other Personas were all weak to this affinity:
-"I...nominate Jack-o-lantern and Agathion…"-she said a bit guilty of leaving the most timid ones to suffer.
-"Boys, let's bring the guillotine."-Igor ordered.
-"Roger!"-Will said in a cheerful voice as he brought the instrument which scared Kazumi for real time. Victor transported her selected Personas at the front.
-"I definitely don't want to see this…"-Kazumi said as she covered her eyes from the gruesome punishment. Will let the guillotine fall over the Shadows...or that was what he thought. The sharp blade was stuck, making the fusion unable to continue.
-"Is it over?"-Kazumi asked scared to watch. She heard no response so she looked up...right in the moment where Will and Victor used a big chainsaw to decapitate the heads of her personalities.-"Oh my god…..!"-she exclaimed horrified.
After that, the blue and black blood from her Personas fused together to form a new Persona. But, this wasn't the homemaid Silky. It was a creature with the form of a round white elf with blue jester hat, necklace and boots. His eyes were black and small like beans and he had a big funny smile on his face. He looked at Kazumi and said:
-"He-ho! I'm Jack Frost!"-he was just as cheerful as he looked-"I know I'm just a mask but please take care of me-ho!"-and he was absorbed by Kazumi's thief mask.
She looked at the mask for a few seconds because of her shock. Igor was...in shock too:
-"Oh my, that didn't go as expected…"-Igor mentioned.
-"He was adorable! I'm keeping him!"-Kazumi said with a big smile and bright eyes. Maybe fusing Personas wasn't that bad.
-"N-Now culprit, our business with you is done."-Will said uncomfortable for the result of his first job of fusing Personas.-"Return to your world at once!"
-"Come anytime you are in the need of fusing Personas for stronger ones."-Victor said.
Igor smashed the hammer once on the table:
-"Impressive. So that was the power of the Wildcard."-he said.-"You have demonstrated a great value just now. Allow me to offer you another aid on your thievery task."
-"I'll gladly receive it."-Kazumi said looking up to him. Igor raised his hand and a seal of light appeared. Kazumi's sight was caught by the seal. She blinked and felt something new on them. At that action,the Fool Arcana received a second star.
*Third eye ability unlocked*
-"This will help you as a sixth-sense."-Igor explained-"Hidden treasures, paths, the level of your enemies, you can see them all with this third eye."
-"I appreciate it."-Kazumi said in respect before Victor sent her back to reality.
-"Ace! Hey, Ace!"-she heard the voice of Mona calling her.
-"Oh, everyone. What is it?"-she asked curious at the look everyone was giving her.
-"Don't ask that us."-Panther said while crossing her arms.-"You were spacing out here."
-"Oh yeah, sorry."-she said in apologize.-"Let's go in then, we can't waste time."
The other thieves, with Mona excluded, ignored this for the time being. The app resumed their progress on a safe room close to the second floor. The infiltration went smoothly until the third floor where they found a safe room. After a small break where they were checking the map of that floor, Ace found a curious room just at her left:
-"What is it, Ace?"-Mona asked.
-"This room…"-she said as she took out the map.-"It looks like is a very small one. Maybe it has a treasure or something."
-"You think so? Let's check it out!"-Skull said as he opened the door but there was nothing but a big bookcase wall and a seat and table to read.
-"Nothing…"-Panther said.-"Can you see something hidden, Leader?"
-"Let me see…"-Ace entered on the room and inspected it with her third eye. She eventually found something shining on blue.
-"What is this?"-Ace took the item which was a book called "The Slave's Book".
-"It's just a book. The name though…"-Skull said unanimously.
-"Wait! Maybe this book is a clue in a puzzle!"-Mona suggested.-"Let's keep it for now!"
-"Right?"-Ace put the book on her pocket.
After a long walk on the halls with quite different enemies, which allowed Ace to get the masks of Silky and Incubus (the gremlin demon with big cock), they arrived to a sealed door that gave access to the rest of the floor:
-"It looks like this lever needs some kind of key…"-Mona analyzed.
-"A key? We haven't seen anythin' like that here!"-Skull said.
-"Wait. What about the book?"-Panther mentioned-"Didn't you said that it could be a clue of a puzzle? Maybe that's what we need to get the key."
-"Oh! Just like in those adventure movies!"-Ace said excited.-"Nice catch, Kitt- I mean, Panther!"
-"You still are with that, huh…?"-Panther said unanimously.
-"She'll get over it soon."-Skull said.-"The lady of the lame names."
-"Come on! I was always the one who get to name the bunny mascot of my class in middle school!"-she said in her defense.
-"We're not rabbits, Ace…"-Mona commented.
They eventually got to a big library:
-"Let's check each stand, guys."-she ordered.
-"This one has a bunch of information about Kamoshida."-Skull said as he picked up a book of a stand.-"Man, this bastard has the biggest ego I have ever seen…"
-"This one has information about every girl in the school."-Panther said as she picked up a book.-" 'Ann Takamaki: The Beautiful Doll'? What the hell?"-she was disgusted.
-"This one says 'Kazumi Asaka: The Pesky Bitch'."-Morgana mentioned as he took a book from the same shelf.-"What an asshole…"
-"I'll rather have that nomination than be a prey of that pig…"-Kazumi murmured as she took a book of the shelf she was checking.-"This one says: 'Ryuji Sakamoto: The Dumb Ape.'"
-"..."-Skull was pissed off-"Are we all to agree that we hate this guy's guts?"-he mentioned and everyone just nodded.
-"Wait."-Ace said after a thought crossed her mind.-"There's a hole in this book stand…"
-"This one too."-Skull mentioned.
-"This one has a hole as well."-Morgana said.-"Remember the book you took? Maybe it fits in one of this holes!"
-"Let's try it!"-Ace said as she took the book and placed it on the shelf in front of her. The book fitted perfectly like if it was a button.
-"Uhmm...Did something happen?"-Panther asked.
-"Let me check the lever"-Skull said as he head outside.
He came back a short while and mentioned that it was still locked. Mona then said:
-"Doesn't that mean that we need another two books?"
-"Another two? Where do we find them, then?"-Panther said.
-"There's rooms we haven't visited in this floor."-Ace mentioned as she held the map.-"If we can find the right books in those rooms, we could solve this puzzle."
-"In that case, what if we split up?"-Mona suggested.-"That way, we won't waste a lot of time."
-"It's a good idea!"-Ace affirmed-"How do we split then?"
-"Well, if we are going to split...I want to go with Panther!"-Mona said with a happy jump.
-"You don't have to be excited about this."-Panther mentioned less motivated.
-"Way to go, cat."-Skull made fun of Mona.
-"Shut it, you ape."-Mona said angry.-"That means that you and Ace will go together."
-"...! You little…!"-Skull was embarrassed by that phrase.
-"Yes...It'll be me and Skull...again."-Ace didn't seem excited about it. Skull realized that.
-"Actually, I wanna go with Mona. We guys understood each other better."-he said as he approached Kazumi.-"Come on, leader. Show that girl power!"-and pushed her to Panther's side.
-"Wait! I didn't agree to this!"-Mona complained as Skull was dragging him by his handkerchief.
-"...What was that just now?"-Panther said confused by the scene.
-"I have no idea."-Ace replied.-"Let's hurry before more guards come to this floor."
-"Yeah, let's…"-Panther followed Ace's lead.
The girls went to another small room and Ace detected another shiny book on that shelf. However, as soon as they approached, a guard came out of nowhere, forcing Ace to ambush it before it ambushed them:
-"Let me see what's beneath the mask!"-Ace exclaimed as she ripped it off, showing the true form of the Shadow. It was three Agathions.
-"Let's go!"-Panther said as she prepared her whip.
-"Arsene!"-Ace changed her current mask.-"Dream Needle!"-Arsene made his wings throw needles towards the Agathion on the front, hurting it and making it go to sleep.
-"Here I go!"-Panther attacked an Agathion with her whip and got a chance to strike it with her SMG, killing the demon on the pot. After that, she sent out Carmen to use Agi against the asleep Agathion, giving it a technical kill.
-"You…!"-the third Agathion used Zio on her.
-"That hurts!"-she complained as she backed off.
-"Silky!"-Ace changed her mask once again and used Dormina, a sleeping skill, on it.
-"Panther! Go for the last one!"-Ace said as Panther used agi against it. Although, he didn't disappear, which forced Ace to use her knife on it to kill it.
-"That was too easy, don't you think?"-Panther said as she went towards her leader.
-"I'll say it was…"-Ace mentioned-"Maybe we need a challenge…"
-"Don't ask for things like that. I swear, we don't need the struggle…"-Ann said serious about it.
-"I'm not joking. Kamoshida might bring very menacing guards against us…"-Ace replied as she took a book called "The Queen Book".-"In that case, we better have such teamwork as now right?"
-"I can't agree more with you."-Panther smiled. Ace smiled back and they went back to the large library.
Meanwhile, Skull and Mona were walking back as they just beated up a guard that appeared after they took "The King Book". Mona was celebrating:
-"Did you see that? It's almost scary how good I am!"-Morgana said in pride.
-"Yes, yes. You just used your toy against one of them though…."-Skull said rounding his eyes.-"I did the job with the ladies!"
-"I was the one who casted the All-Out Attack so the credit goes to me…"-Mona complained-"I wish Lady Ann could have seen that…"
-"What a selfish cat you are…"-Skull said to him. He was angry he took the glory of their teamwork but the whole conversation turned around how he felt about Kazumi's feelings somehow.-"Didn't you notice that Kazumi wanted to go with Ann?"
-"T-That's-!"-Morgana didn't even realize it. He was embarrassed. How could someone so dumb like Ryuji saw that but he didn't?
-"Pretty sure she just wanted to hang out with a girl like her. Us guys have spent a lot of time with her ever since she moved."-Skull added.
-"Wait. Is that why am I doing teams with you!?"-Morgana exclaimed.
-"Pretty much, yeah."-Ryuji said confused by his reaction. The point was clear, right?-"Does that annoy you?"
-"...For being a punk, you don't understand the brother's code."-Mona crossed his little paws.
-"Who did ya call a punk, huh!?"-Ryuji was offended by his comment.
-"You two, could you spend at least 5 seconds without fighting?"-Panther said angry. They didn't realize that they crossed paths with the girls.
-"Lady Ann!"-Mona said embarrassed.-"W-We find the book!"
-"We did as well."-Ace showed it.-"Let's solve the puzzle before someone comes."
Inside the large library, Ann placed the book she had on the stand with books about the girls of the school and Ryuji put the one they found on the stand about Kamoshida. The later stand moved, showing a creepy adoration room with photos of Shiho and Ann.
This freaked out the girls, specially Ann:
-"That bastard...He's just sick…"-Panther commented in anger.-"I can't wait to burn him down."
-"Look at this!"-Mona said as he noticed the table in the hidden room.-"It's the key we were looking for and a map!"
-"Let me see…"-Ace took both maps together and found how they related each to other.-"Now we can see what there is on every floor!"
-"Here!"-Mona pointed at the peak of a very odd-looking building.-"This must be where the treasure is!"
-"Alright! Man, we are so close to victory!"-Skull said excited.
-"Is everyone alright? We might not be able to stop for a little while."-Ace asked worried about her friends.
-"I could use a nap. My energy is so low…"-Morgana said.
-"Same man...We were ambushed just a while ago…"-Skull commented.
-"Good grief…"-Ace said as she took medicine and a coffee flask from her pocket.
-"Here, Mona."-she gave the coffee to Morgana-"It'll be bad if you don't have spiritual power…"
-"Ryuji-kun. You take the medicine."-she gave it to him.-"You look like they beat you up really hard."
-"Thanks…"-he said unsecure. He hasn't took medicine ever since he recovered from his broken leg.
-"How are you feeling, Panther?"-Ace asked to her. She just smiled as she didn't really need the care.
-"..."-Ace waited silently until her partners recovered themselves. Ann noticed she was a bit distant.
-"What's the matter, Ace?"-she asked her.
-"Uh? Nothing…"-she replied embarrassed as she was thinking something inappropriate before.
-"Ace. You have been really absent minded!"-Morgana butted in their conversation.-"As leader, you should not be keeping a secret from us right now!"
-"Leave her alone. It must be personal, dumb cat."-Skull went to her defense.
-"It's fine."-Ace replied with a smile.-"I was just thinking about the future… What happens if we succeed? What happens if we don't change his heart?"
-"...Will we forget about all of this and go back to being complete strangers?"-she murmured.
-"Kazumi…"-Skull said worried. So far, she was dragged into their problem because of them and her kindness. After this, she will probably be lonely and framed as the rumored transfer student again.
-"What are you saying!?"-Morgana exclaimed.-"We're not going to forget anything! You guys have to keep your promise to me!"
-"So, that's what you were worried about."-Ann said completely ignoring Morgana's out of place comment.-"On my side, I don't plan to forget about you and what we are doing now. More than grateful, I hope we can stick around as friends from now on."
-"I won't leave your side either, Kazumi! Even after I go back to being a human!"-Morgana said to her.-"Who knows? Maybe I am your type…"
-"Like that will happen..."-Skull made fun of him while he approached to Ace.-"Don't think you can get rid of me so easily, Cutie. We're pals from the very start!"
-"Everyone…"-Ace was surprised by their support.
-"Thank you."-Ace said with a smile as she felt that her relationships with them will grow stronger soon.
After their break, they arrived to a kind of praying room with a big statue of Shadow Kamoshida holding a volleyball:
-"This place is humongous…"-Mona mentioned before they entered in said room.-"Yet, there's no guards…"
-"It's suspicious…"-Panther murmured.
-"Whatever, the treasure is up ahead so why don't we just rush to it."-Skull said without a bit of cautiousness.-"Are you with me, leader?"
-"I am. It's not like we can't escape in case they ambush us."-Ace said.-"Let's run, now."
The four rebels ran towards the other side of the room when a giant sword was thrown towards them. Ace told her team to back off while she saved Mona as he was the one closer to the range of the sword. The sword was drawn back to its owner, a shadow with the form of an angel of red wings with heavy mercenary armor:
-"So you're the ones who tempered with the library."-he said.-"I won't allow you insolents to stain King Kamoshida's sacred room with your dirty hands."
-"That enemy looks way too strong. I don't think we can scape so easily…"-Mona said as the thieves recovered from the sword attack.
-"We'll have to fight it."-Ace said as they went towards him at her signal.
-"Hahaha…"-the angel was surrounded by a rising aura as he laughed.
-"He's trying to do something. We have to guard ourselves in case he tries to attack us!"-Mona advised.
-"Right! Let's stay on guard for now!"-Ace ordered and they hid behind the seats of the praying room.
-"It's useless if you hide!"-the angel charged towards Panther who was hurt when he destroyed the seat where she was hiding. However she was able to stay on her feet.
-"Mona, heal!"-Ace ordered and Morgana used Dia on Panther.
-"Thanks!"-she replied and used her gun on the angel but this didn't make any impact.-"No way…!"
-"Silky!"-Ace changed her mask and tried to use Dormina but it didn't make an effect.-"Tch. Skull, power up!"
-"Roger that!"-he said as he used Tarukaja, a skill to increase his attack power. The angel charged up again.
-"He's coming! We have to guard!"-Mona said, but Ace thought otherwise.
-"Mona, use your wind power. Panther, lower his attack."-she ordered as the angel was hurt by Garu and Carmen used Tarunda on him.
-"Arsene!"-she changed her mask again and used Eiga on him, hitting his weak point.-"Forget about the hold up! We have to keep attacking while he's down!"
-"Then, let's go Captain!"-Skull said as he made his Persona use a physical attack.
-"Ugh. Perish, you sinners!"-the angel said enraged as he recovered and hit Ace with his giant sword, leaving her on a very low status.
-"Ace!"-her partners worried about her but she just stood up trying to recover her battle pose.
-"I'm fine. We're almost there!"-she said as she saw the angel charging up again.
-"I see...So this is his only strategy…"-Ace thought.
-"Mona, heal."-at her order, Mona gave her a recovery medicine.
-"Panther, use your fire skill."-she said and Panther used agi on it, causing a burn.
-"Let me in! I want to participate-he!"-a voice said in Ace's mind.
-"Of course-ho!"-she smiled as she changed her mask-"Jack Frost!"-her partners were surprised at her adorable persona that they never saw before.
-"Go!"-she used his physical attack, Lucky Punch, which landed a critical hit.
-"Alright! Here's our chance for an all-out attack!"-Panther said as they performed it and killed the angel who vanished in a splash of black blood.
-"That was hard…"-Panther said a bit tired and suddenly more enemies appeared which forced them to hid on the columns of the room.
-"Everyone, this way!"-Mona said as he pointed at the other side of the room. They defeated a guard that was guarding a column perfectly climbable and followed the map towards the rooftop of the castle.
After unlocking a treasure chest close to the stairs, Mona suddenly asked:
-"Hey, Ace. What was that Persona from before?"
-"That Persona? You mean, Jack Frost?"-she asked back.
-"That one!"-Panther said.-"I kind of understand that you can have more than one Persona but where did that one came from?"
-"Well…"-Ace tried to look for a reasonable answer without mentioning the Velvet Room.-"It looks like my Personas can fuse when I desire so."
-"F-Fusion!?"-Skull said shocked.
-"Jack Frost was a fusion from two Personas I previously had. Someone on my head said that they will fuse if I wanted to."-she explained. Hopefully that will satisfy their curiosity for now.
-"How come you are so unique?"-Morgana said as he approached to her in admiration.-"I'm glad you are our leader more than ever! No one could take out your place, Joker!"
-"..."-Ace muted as she felt the name was still familiar. Almost like a deja vù.
-"Oh sorry, I forgot we agreed on Ace."-Morgana apologized. He also felt weird about why he called her Joker.
-"No problem. Let's keeping going."-Ace said as she head upstairs.-"We have to cross over the rooftop towards the other tower!".
The rooftop was difficult as high level shadows guarded the route. After that, the high distortion of the castle made difficult the advance towards the throne room so the group had to open a new way where they were ambushed by attractive enemies called Succubus. Interested by the kind of power her struggled with those demon woman, Ace teleported back to the entrance of the Velvet Room and fused Incubus and Pixie to get her own Succubus Persona.
On the final hall, they were forced to fight another guard captain who held the key towards the throne room:
-"This tower leads to King Kamoshida's sacred room. You kids who want to invade it, prepared to be punished."-the guard said as he stood in battle position.
-"What kind of selfish reason is that? The one who needs to be punished here is-"-Ann was interrupted when the guard suddenly revealed his form as a disgusting green slime with the shape of the tip of a penis with a big mouth.
-"KYAAAHHHHH!"-Panther and Ace screamed terrified for such ugly enemy.
-"Hehehehe…"-the ugly slime started to look at Panther. Mona noticed.
-"This is bad! That enemy is coming for Panther!"-Mona said.-"Ace, what are your orders?"
-"G-Go full assault on that thing! I don't care!"-Ace said terrified as she covered her eyes.-"Panther, keep you guard!"
-"You don't have to tell me!"-Panther was freaked out and guarded herself.
-"Guess, the girls are helpless this time…"-Skull murmured.
-"Who are you calling helpless!? I can fight this thing perfectly!"-Panther said angry but then got weird out again.
-"Can we focus on the fight now?"-Mona said interrupting the conversation.
-"Here!"-Ace, still covering her sight, showed up an amulet with the inscription of "Rasentsu" and the whole party's attack power was raised.
-"I won't let you touch Lady Ann!"-Mona said as he attacked with Garu but the slime was slightly affected by it.-"Damn it!"
-"I'll teach you how's done!"-Ryuji said as he smashed the shadow with his hell slugger doing a big damage.
-"Hey,hey, sweetie."-the slime attacked Ann throwing her to the floor under his...body?
-"Uwaah! Get off!"-she screamed.
-"Panther!"-Skull said worried.-"L-Leader, we gotta do something!"
-"I know, I know!"-Ace was even more in distress because Panther was almost being smashed by that thing.
-"Hold there, Panther."-Ace said as she changed her mask-"Succubus!"
-"Marin Karin!"-she order her Persona to use and the persona blew a kiss towards the slime which charmed it and he stepped back from Panther to go towards Ace.
-"What are you doin'!? Now, it's goin' after you!"-Skull exclaimed at his leader.
-"I panicked, ok?"-she exclaimed back.
-"No, no. That's not how you get a man to do things."-Succubus said at Ace and she looked at Skull.
-"Skull-sama. Please, do something~"-Ace said with an attractive voice.-"My dear savior~ "
-"W-Wait...I…"-the boy fell round on her act. He was mad blushing by the fact that his leader was rising her big chest with one of her arms making it even more noticeable and playing around with her hair.
-"I'm going to tear it apart!"-Skull screamed turned up.
-"What the-?"-Panther was surprised at this response...or at least in the part that Kazumi was acting like that.
-"Meow!"-Mona was somehow caught by that act too and attacked the slime without mercy, landing a critical hit.-"Skull!"
-"Leave it to me, Ace!"-Skull high-fived with Morgana being powered up by the Baton Pass effect. He landed a second critical hit leading to a hold up.
-"This is our chance! Let's get him."-Skull said and the others went All-Out Attack on the slime. Ryuji fell on his face on the floor and jumped up holding a rocking pose while the background had a groovy scripting saying: "Freakin' Boring".
As the enemy was defeated, Ace took the keys they needed to get to the throne room and turned towards her partners:
-"Well done, everyone!"-she said with a smile as she was back wearing Arsene's mask.
-"That was nothing…"-Skull said with a big dumb smile as he was blushing embarrassed for receiving a compliment.
-"I didn't do anything though…"-Panther murmured-"Yet, I'm so tired…"
-"Cheer up, Panther. We are almost there!"-Mona said to her with a positive attitude.
-"Let's avoid the enemies for now…"-Ace said as she remembered that they were low on spiritual energy, ammo and medicine.
-"Also, Skull…"-she got the attention of the guy who was still quite stunned.
-"...Yes, Cutie?"
-"Forget everything I just said to you, please."-she said as she hid her embarrassed look under her hat.
-"Wait. That was just…?You were…?"-Skull snapped. It was all a trick and,-"No way!"-he was heartbroken.
*Ryuji's status ailment recovered*
When they finally got to the throne room, the main door was closed so they had to climb over the sexualized sculptures nearby to get through the room by an uncovered window. From their position, they saw Shadow Kamoshida in the inferior floor:
-"Oh shit, it's Kamoshida…"-Skull said and Ace was forced to shut his mouth with her hand.
-"Shhh!"
-"He has a lot of guards down there…"-Panther said.
-"How come you haven't caught those intruders yet!?"-Kamoshida was shouting at his guards.
-"My apologies, your liege!"-the guards apologized.
-"I bet he doesn't know we are here yet. Come on, let's keep moving."-Mona said and they ran towards the end of the room, where there was a big old door.
-"This must be it…"-Ace thought as she pushed the door being careful to not alert the guard at the other side of that floor.
Inside, they found lots of treasures like golden coins and jewels but nothing was more attracting that a big blurry sphere in the middle of the room:
-"This place looks awesome. Holy shit."-Skull said.-"That treasure must be in here."
-"But, what is that thing on the air?"-Panther asked while looking at the blurry sphere.
-"Hehe. It's the treasure. We finally found it."-Mona mentioned happily.
-"Are you sure…? How can we carry it, then?"-Ace asked.
-"Totally. Remember that I mentioned that I would say what to do after we found it?"-Mona replied.
-"Uh-huh…"-Ace nodded.
-"To put it simple, we can't carry it like this because this is not the treasure's true form."-Mona explained.-"We'll need it to take its true form."
-"How do we do that?"-Panther asked.
-"Our target has to be aware that we're going to take its treasure."-Mona replied.-"They have to be aware that their desires are their treasure to begin with."
-"Whaddaya mean?"-Skull asked.-"How are we supposed to do that? Telling them?"
-"Exactly."-Mona said.-"We have to tell them that we'll steal his heart."
-"But, that will totally expose us."-Ace said a bit worried.
-"We won't tell him in person, gosh."-Mona said distressed.-"We have to send the real Kamoshida a calling card. I'll explain the details later, we have to get out of here since our route is already established."
-"Ok."-Ace activated the Nav to teleport them outside of the Castle.
-"That was rough…"-Panther said tired.-"I'm glad we finally get out of that place."
-"Uhm."-Skull nodded.-"By the way, Mona. How does that calling card thing works? Is it like the real Phantom Thieves?"
-"Something like that."-Mona explained.-"I'm only sure that it will make the treasure appear...I think."
-"What's with that answer?"-Skull exclaimed.-"You and your mysterious 'amnesia'..."
-"Huh? I'm saying this for real!"-Mona replied back.
-"Alright, you two. That's enough."-Panther said, stopping their quarrel.
-"Let's go home for today, everyone."-Ace smiled at her partners. They nodded at her reassuring smile. Their leader was still a box full of surprises but if something was for sure about her is that she was truly a good person and a worthy ally, no, a friend.
Take Your Time.