Note: It didn't occur to me until halfway through writing this chapter that I forgot that safe rooms let you fast travel in P5. Chapter 10's been edited with this tidbit in mind.

OK, Akira mused as he rose to his knees, head still smarting. This is happening.

The familiar sound of coattails as he moved drew his attention to himself, revealing he was back in his Phantom Thief attire. That and Mona, currently getting up himself with a groan, was now in his Metaverse form as well.

Akira took in the surrounding area, a sandy white beach bordering a shimmering pink ocean that seemed to end in mist on the horizon. Looking back, Akira gasped at the back-view of the castle, its spires glowing in the light of the setting sun. Between the castle and beach stood a massive garden surrounded by tall Greco-Roman pillars and brimming with a staggering variety of flowers of all shapes, sizes, and hues.

So yep, this was definitely happening.

"It worked."

The distorted voice drew both Thieves' attention to Shadow Steven, who looked more amazed than anything else, and Steven, who remained sitting where he'd fallen, looking up at his other self in silence. Akira could imagine the wide-eyed look the other boy must be sporting right now.

The Cognitive Crystals stood a few feet behind Shadow Steven, sporting expressions of varying satisfaction, even Cognitive Garnet wearing a smirk.

Speaking of whom, Shadow Steven turned to them, still in awe. "It actually worked."

"But of course!" Cognitive Pearl chirped with a far too chipper clap. "You always find a way, after all!"

When the prince refaced his newly captured targets, now sporting a happy smile, Akira shifted into a wary pose, ready for the Shadow to make the first move. Out the corner of his eye, Mona did the same.

The Shadow opened his mouth to address them –

"I actually have a Shadow."

Everyone's attention converged on Steven, who slowly stood up, regarding the other him and then the pastel world around them all in shock.

Joker and Mona gaped in surprise.

"Wait, he already knows about Shadows?" Mona murmured.

Shadow Steven blinked at first, taken back by his Other's question, but then started chuckling, even bending over.

This reaction only caused the real Steven to furrow his brow in confusion. Did he say something funny?

"I'm sorry," Shadow Steven apologized as he wiped away a tear. "When I brought that guy back here, I didn't think I'd end up bringing in you, too! But hey, this is even better! Between the two of us, we'll have everyone squared away in no time!"

At this point, the prince turned away, hand on his chin. "We still have to figure out how to get Connie and the others over here, but I'm sure we can figure something out."

Steven stiffened at the mention of Connie. Had she already been here with that Akira guy too? Part of Steven felt a twinge of jealousy at the revelation, although the realization that his own lookalike had plans for her managed to overshadow that.

"Wait," Steven tried to intercede, hands out to gesture his reflection to pause.

Shadow Steven stared at Steven in wonder for a moment. "Hm? Oh, do you wanna be the one to do it? I don't mind! Just make sure you give me enough time to block their way out so they can't get away this—"

"Wait," Steven tried again, voice rising.

Shadow Steven simply held his hands up, still not getting the hint. "Don't worry! You just gotta keep their attention on you! After that—"

"WAIT!"

Steven's scream echoed throughout the park, everything and everyone going dead-silent as the boy slapped both hands over his mouth, stunned by his own outburst.

Yelling had not been his intention.

For once, Shadow Steven lost his smile, confusion settling in his eyes as he lowered his hands.

Steven, retracting both hands, closed his eyes and took a deep breath to center himself. He needed to focus. Once the boy regained his composure, he addressed the prince with a wary gaze.

"Listen. I don't know how you brought us here, but you're right about one thing: things will be squared away. Because that guy" – he jabbed a finger behind himself at Joker – "will be the one to tell me how."

Then he pointed that same finger at his other self. "If you and…whoever they are" – he regarded the Cognitive Crystals with an extended hand – "wanna help, I don't mind! Just as long as you disappear once we're done. So, what do you say?"

Shadow Steven merely stared back for the longest time, blinking once, even craned his head to share a look with the Cognitive Crystals.

Until he started shaking his head with a smile and chuckle too perfect to pass off as a facsimile, the Cognitive Crystals joining in with their own laughter, jolly and insincere.

Steven couldn't help but feel insulted.

His Shadow's patronizing tone once he settled down did not help either.

"You're obviously confused here. It's fine, I didn't quite get it at first either when I saw Connie with her other self, but now I do!" The Shadow put a hand on his own chest, indicating himself. "You and I want the same thing because we're the same person, which means you clearly agree with everything I've been saying. So…"

He tapered that word off in an encouraging manner as he approached Steven, one hand out in an offer of collaboration. "What do you say?"

Steven simply stared back at the other him and then the extended hand, before closing his eyes and massaging his temples with a barely restrained groan.

This guy could not be serious, he thought in irritation.

"Listen," he spoke in a tone of waning patience. "I know what you're supposed to be, but there's no need for you to stay if you're not going to help. There's no need for you."

He pointed straight at his Shadow, pointedly ignoring the shock and hurt look on his lookalike.

"You don't have to be me anymore."

Mona suddenly tensed. "Hang on. He wouldn't…"

Akira eyed his feline teammate in concern. What was wrong? Did Morgana know something?

Meanwhile, Shadow Steven twisted his face in sadness. "So…even you think there's no point in us being around anymore."

From behind Steven, Akira and Mona could see the sudden slack in the boy's shoulders as disbelief hit him full force.

When the young Diamond spoke, his voice came out panicked.

"WHAT, NO! I mean there's no point in you! I don't need a Shadow because there's nothing for me to hide!"

"Sure, keep telling yourself that, dude," Cognitive Amethyst drawled with a smirk.

"It's true!" Steven snapped.

"Oh, come now, we all know that's a lie," Cognitive Pearl teasingly replied.

"WELL, IT ISN'T!" Steven shouted as he stomped a foot forward and got right up in his Other's face, startling him (though not the Cognitive Crystals). "I don't need you because nothing is wrong with me!"

By this point, his Shadow's face started to harden. "You really think that?"

"I know that!"

At first silence.

Then Shadow Steven breathed in, long and deep. "I guess we are that much of an idiot, aren't we? Fine, if I shouldn't exist, then that means I'm no part of you either…so why not admit it? Go on."

Steven himself pulled a decisively aggravated smile. "If it'll get it through everyone's heads, sure!"

Mona backed up in alarm. "Steven, wait! Don't—"

"YOU. AREN'T. MEEEEEEH!"

The sudden shift on that last word came from Joker tackling Steven to the ground just in time, toppling him clean into Shadow Steven and knocking him off his feet as well!

Right away, Joker shot back to his feet and produced a smoke bomb from his pocket.

Steven groaned as he lifted his aching face from the ground. "Ugh, what was that for—"

Whatever else Steven intended to say, it wound up lost in the smokescreen Joker created. Now blinded, Steven barely got up before what sounded like a grappling hook going off echoed and a gloved hand grabbed him by the waist.

Next thing the hybrid knew, he found himself launching off and through the air in tow with a yelp, Joker taking him for a ride!

Steven opened his mouth to protest, only to yelp yet again when Joker reached the arc of their leap and released the hook, allowing the pair to soar even further up. The boy in black performed a midair twirl, causing Steven to cling to him, before falling and smoothly touching down in one of the side streets on the opposite side of the castle.

For a hot second, the taller boy's grip on Steven slackened as he gently set him back on his feet, allowing the hybrid time to regather his wits—but only for a moment because immediately after Joker grabbed his hand and dashed into the maze of alleyways among the tents under the guidance of Mona, who'd been clinging to Joker's back throughout the escape.

After a while, they came to a stop in one of those alleyways to catch a breather.

"OK, that should have bought us a little time, " Mona sighed in relief as he detached himself from Joker. "At least enough for us to find a hiding spot."

Joker furrowed his brow in confusion. "Not the exit?"

Mona shook his head. "No, the others are bound to realize we're gone and come looking for us. Plus, there's no telling if the Cognitive Crystals saw us leave the way we did last time. If we tried going back now, it's possible we'd only lead them and Steven's Shadow straight to the team."

Good point, Joker mused as he cupped his chin in one hand.

"That said," Mona continued, crossing his arms, "it would help if we had some way to let the others know our location once they get here…although it would also give away our position to Steven's Shadow and his cronies."

Joker nodded. "Then we better hide for now."

"Agreed. Besides, since we're here anyway, maybe I'll finally have a chance to share what I found during our last infiltration without interruptions."

Before he could continue, Mona noticed Steven, who had propped himself against the wall of a nearby tent and been massaging his temples – and also staring at Mona with huge, disbelieving eyes.

The cat sighed and hung his head, hardly surprised. "Ah right. This. Listen, we'll explain everything we can once we find a place to hide, including why it's a good thing Joker tackled you when he did."

On a tangent, he spared his leader an appraising glance. "Speaking of which, nice job there. How'd you know to do that? I never even explained what rejecting one's Shadow does."

Joker shrugged. "You were freaking out."

Mona smirked. "Heh, quick as whip as usual, Joker." He then took a moment to take in the area. It was a different location than the safe room the gang found before. "Hang tight, I'll see if I can't sniff out a safe room nearby."

Then in a few hops, Mona vanished.

Immediately afterward, a thud drew Joker's attention to Steven, who had just slid down the tent wall to land his rear end on the ground, eyes still wide and trained in the direction Mona had left.

On a whim, Joker walked to the other boy and sat down beside him. "Penny for your thoughts?"

Steven simply looked at Joker as if realizing his existence for the first time. But then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Take me back."

Joker furrowed his brow at him, not sure he heard right.

"Take. Me. Back," Steven repeated, emphasizing each word. "I need to try again."

"Why?"

Steven stared at Joker as if the other boy had lost his mind. "Why? Because if I'm ever going to fix this, that Shadow of mine needs to go away first! Otherwise, how am I supposed to get everyone to let me help them?"

A moment of quiet followed as Joker kept staring back before he finally sighed. "That's not how accepting your Shadow works."

"Why can't it?" Steven countered. "A Shadow's supposed to be the part we hide from everyone else, right? Well, like I told him, I've got nothing to hide so what's the harm in telling him to go?"

Likely a lot judging by Mona's reaction earlier, although Joker already knew trying to convince Steven otherwise would be a waste of breath.

Fortunately, Steven seemed just as eager to change the subject because he started waving his hands. "OK, you know what? Forget about him! Why don't we focus on how to fix what's happening?"

Joker nodded and shifted around to face Steven, who did the same. "We can start by stealing your Treasure."

"My…Treasure?" Steven arched a brow, not following at first. Then he recalled all the documents on Peridot's laptop, more specifically the one on Joker's testimony. "Is that what you need to make someone have a change of heart? Well, that sounds simple enough!"

Joker shook his head. "Not really. It's always well-guarded."

Steven waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, that won't be a problem! I have Gem powers! I can just levitate us inside so we can take it and then float back out."

"Getting to the exit?"

"You can just swing us along like earlier."

"And the Shadows?"

"My powers can handle them," Steven replied with an easy shrug and chuckle.

"Including elemental weaknesses?"

"Not much different from Gems!" Steven easily countered, Ruby and Sapphire coming to mind.

"And debuffs?"

"Please, that's nothing compared to—" Steven paused mid-sentence once he registered the question, confident veneer finally faltering. "Wait, debuffs?"

"Don't forget about status ailments either," a familiar voice added from Steven's left side. "Connie learned that one the hard way."

Joker and Steven turned just in time to notice Mona trotting up to them, face stern. "Remember, you're not dealing with Gems here. Not for the most part anyway. Shadows have abilities you haven't had to contend with, some that could even render your Gem abilities useless."

The feline crossed his arms. "Your own Shadow especially shouldn't be underestimated, considering he has access to the same powers as you, another reason why trying to reject him is a bad idea."

When Steven screwed his face in preparation to retort, Mona beat him to the punch. "Shadows denied by their person assume a stronger form and go berserk, not stopping until they're either weakened…or their person dies."

That last part shut Steven up easily, a lump of fear in his throat at the thought.

"Exactly. Whether you like it or not," Mona continued, "he's a part of you and always will be, and the sooner you can accept that, the better."

Steven found himself cowed, completely at a loss for words.

Joker meanwhile cocked his head, curious. "How do you know, by the way?"

Mona eased up his expression. "Oh, it's one of those things I've always just known – that or Lady Lavenza told me at some point. I never brought it up since that isn't a scenario we ever had to worry about. Well, except with Oracle and her Palace but thankfully things with her never got to that point."

He then pointed down the alleyway, opposite the way the trio had come. "Anyway, I managed to find a safe room nearby. It's across the street, so we'll have to be quick."

Joker nodded before regarding Steven, still deep in rueful thought, and put a hand on his shoulder to get the other boy's attention. "You ready?"

Steven started with a gasp, but quickly remembered himself enough to give a jilted nod back before standing up alongside Joker and following Mona.

When the three boys peered around the corner, the street appeared to be empty, not a patrol in sight.

Emphasis on "appeared".

Joker shared a counseling look with Mona, already not trusting this setup.

"No worries," his feline compatriot assured him with a smug grin. "I happened to come across a tent full of these along the way."

Reaching underneath a nearby kiosk, Mona pulled out two large costumes in the likeness of that cat astronaut mascot from last time.

Steven cocked his head, eyes narrowed in a show of recognition, and pointed at the costumes. "Is that…Cookie Cat?"

Mona examined the suits in wonder. "Huh, so that's the name of this guy. Is he famous in America or something, cuz me and this guy sure never heard of him."

"Um, I think he was more of a Delmarva thing. That's what Connie told me – she did a little research on him for funsies after I told her about this ice cream I used to like."

"Used to?" Joker asked as Mona handed him and Steven each a costume.

"It got discontinued a couple years back. I hadn't even learned how to summon my powers yet back then." Steven paused mid-changing when he noticed something off. "Um, Mr. Cat? I think my costume might be a little…tall for me."

Mona rolled his huge eyes. "First off, the name's Mona – or Morgana once we're back in the real world. Second,"—he hopped onto Steven's head as a perch – "you mean our costume, cause unlike us, Joker is conveniently the right size."

Sure enough, when the two shifted their eyes to Joker, the taller boy fit his costume like a glove, as opposed to engulfing the lower half of his face like with Steven. The thief leader merely shrugged his shoulders.

Steven shot an unamused glare up at Mona.

"Hey, it's not my fault all these costumes come in one size! Now c'mon and suit up already before any Shadows come along!"

With a resigned sigh, Steven picked up the costume's head and lifted it up to Mona, who took it and plopped it over them both. Once Joker stepped out into the street, they followed suit. Moving forward wound up taking a few attempts on account of Mona needing to keep the head steady while still clinging tight to Steven, but the two managed.

"You're doing great, Steven," Mona whispered in an encouraging tone. "Just a little further, and we can take a breather."

"How do you figure?"

"Safe rooms are cognitive blind spots that share a link to one another. This link allows us to essentially fast travel between safe rooms we've discovered, including our entrance and exit for this world, but we can't use it right now since something's blocking it. Here's just hoping that cognitive version of Alexandrite doesn't come looking for us again."

Wait, what? Steven thought as he resisted the urge to gulp at that last tidbit. He hurried his pace, sticking close to Joker. He had no desire to relive being chased by an angry multi-armed giant woman, fake or no fake.

Due to being so focused on Joker, however, Steven didn't notice the spear coming for his head.

Lucky for him, Mona did.

"LOOK OUT!"

On the bright side, the cat managed to jerk Steven's head back enough that the spear whiffed. On the not so bright side, the sudden momentum tipped the head backwards enough that it fell to the ground, taking Mona with it.

In that moment, Steven managed to stabilize himself thanks to Joker grabbing his hand and instantly registered not just his disguise's lack of a huge head but the sight of Cognitive Pearl and a whole army of Shadows atop one of the larger tents overlooking the street.

"Oh boy…"

Pearl tsk-tsked, waving a forefinger. "Did you children honestly think we'd let you sneak away again?" She snapped her fingers at the Shadows, who stood at attention immediately. "Guards, go collect them for me, will you?"

Nope! Joker and Steven changed out of their costumes in seconds. After the latter snatched the struggling Mona out of the costume head, the two bolted as hard as they could for the safe room.

Only for Cognitive Garnet to land in their path, gauntlets at the ready!

The boys barely started backing up before the sound of a whip lashing against the ground stopped them cold. A fearful look behind confirmed Cognitive Amethyst blocking the way the trio came.

As if that weren't enough, a splurge of more Shadows blocked off the other end of the street, those at the front taking the shapes of Naiads and Silkies.

The boys were now completely boxed in.

Or rather bubbled in once a familiar pink construct entrapped them.

Right away, Shadow Steven lowered into view, landing directly in front of his quarry – and he had quite the glare on him, to say the least.

Wow, so this is how the receiving end of my glares feels, Steven mused in unease, reminding himself to apologize to Pearl and everyone else he'd recently gotten mad with. He positioned himself in front of Joker and Mona and bared a forearm before himself, ready to summon his shield.

His Shadow narrowed his eyes at the trio, voice dripping with annoyance. "You guys don't like making things easy, do you?"

Despite the situation, Joker smirked, seeing that complaint more as a compliment.

"It's what we do best," Mona replied in a pleased tone.

Steven really wanted to question these two's sanity right now, although a tiny part of him couldn't help but admire their confidence as well.

Apparently, his Shadow thought the same because his angered expression softened into one of wonder. What was the deal with these guys?

"UGH, whatever!" Cognitive Amethyst snarked, her patience at wits' end. "Can we round up these freaks already so we can dump 'em in the dungeon with Rose's ex-toy?"

Ex-toy? Steven mused as he regarded the cognition oddly. Wait, there's no way she's talking about—

"For once, I agree," Cognitive Pearl huffed before clapping her hands. "Guards, if you'd please already?"

All the Shadows gave a resounding "Yes ma'am!" before starting to close in.

Joker and Mona braced themselves, blue flames already forming around them.

Neither of them noticed the way Steven stared at his forearm in shock, as if he'd been expecting something else.

"PERSONA!"

In unison, Satanael and Diego appeared in all their glory, the force of their summoning enough to render the bubble to pieces, much to the shock/horror of everyone else, Steven included because holy stars above, where did those guys come from and why was one of them a demon lord?!

"Steven, get ready!" Joker exclaimed in a commanding tone.

Jolted by the order, Steven went back to forcing his forearm forward and did so with increasing desperation, only for still nothing to happen.

"What are you waiting for?" Mona asked in baffled panic as the shadows kept closing in. "Summon your shield!"

Except Steven wouldn't. He merely stared at his arm before grasping his navel, the part of his body that housed his gemstone.

Before either Joker or Mona could ask further, he looked up at them with eyes full of terror. "I…I can't."

Both Phantom Thieves shot wide disbelieving eyes at him.

Mona shook his head, not sure he just heard right. "What?!"

"I can't. My powers aren't working!"

XXX

Connie sighed in relief as she took up one of the seats in front of the Big Donut, having just returned from the Car Wash alongside Pearl, who offered to go on ahead to the Temple while the girl took a breather from walking back and forth between the wash and town.

The other Phantom Thieves either took seats or stood around her and the table, feeling the same exhaustion.

"Phew," Ann exclaimed from her seat beside Connie, leaning forward on the table by her elbows, face in her hands. "For a small town, that took a lot longer than I thought."

"You're telling me," Connie groaned before pulling out her phone to send a text message to everyone else. Thanks for helping out, you guys.

HO: You're quite welcome, Connie-san!

MN: You're a member of our team now, after all. It's only natural we'd come to your aid.

FS: Besides, it's not like helping around this place was that hard!

("Ugh, speak for yourself," Ryuji griped, hanging his head low in exasperation. "Between havin' to talk with my phone and grinding out Engrish and helping out all at the same time, my brain's totally fried!"

"That's what you get for not paying attention in your English lessons," Makoto admonished.

"Also, should the proper term not be 'Janglish'?" Yusuke asked. "It sounds far more elegant after all."

Haru cocked her head and put a finger to her chin, curious. "I always assumed it was 'Jinglish'."

"Jingle, jangle," Futuba chirped. "What matters is that we helped settle things down around here!"

"Yes," Yusuke agreed with a nod, "which means convincing Steven's family to help us shouldn't be so difficult now.")

Sumire looked around, a frown taking form. Akira-senpai is taking a while to get back, though, isn't he?

AT: He was headed to the beach with Peridot last time I checked. That's where Steven's house is. Maybe they got caught up?

Connie furrowed her brow, uncertain. It's not that far from here, and I don't see any messages from him. Anyone else?

Everyone shared looks and shook their heads no.

That's when Connie, scrolling back up to double check, discovered a bunch of missed texts from Pearl and the other Crystal Gems—and they were all marked from earlier today too. On a whim, she checked her log and noticed several missed calls from them too, the timestamps matching up from when she'd been with either Ann and Spinel or all the Phantom Thieves.

Weird, how did she miss all of them?

Makoto meanwhile hummed, worry settling in. We better check up on things there, just to be safe.

The entire group shared a nod before getting up to depart for the beach.

Or at least they would have had Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst hadn't chosen now to land in front of them out of scenic nowhere, stopping the group in their tracks.

And the trio looked dead serious.

Garnet lifted up her glasses, enough to expose her lower eyes. "We need to talk."

Right away, Connie and Ann shared a nervous glance, well remembering the fusion's wariness of the latter last time they were in each other's proximity.

The mood then shifted when the fusion sighed, pose slacking, her visible eyes softening. Behind her, Pearl and Amethyst likewise lost their intimidation factor in favor of anxiety.

"Your friend has gone missing," Garnet went on to explain. "Steven, too."

"What?!" both Ann and Connie exclaimed in alarm. The other Phantom Thieves tensed in worry at their teammates' reactions.

"Rhodonite tailed me down at the beach to tell me what happened," Pearl exclaimed, hands wringing themselves out of anxiety. "She was far away from them, tending to the victims, when she saw Steven and this other boy disappear."

Ann stiffened. "Disappear? You mean, like, they just vanished?"

"Exactly what I told Rhodonite. Except…she mentioned something strange. I know she's not the type to weave tall tales, but allegedly she saw" – Pearl screwed her face in wonder – "a different Steven for a moment?"

Connie and Ann grew a confused gaze. Another Steven?

Then it hit the two girls, and they shared a single answer that encapsulated the expressions of dread on their faces.

"Oh crap."

XXX

"Oh crap" was underselling the situation.

Steven could only stare at his hands and then the enclosing Shadows in abject terror.

Joker and Mona stepped backward until they and the hybrid were back-to-back in a huddled formation, eyes never leaving the swarm. The black-clad thief spared Steven a look, and saw only fear in return, the shorter boy seeming on the edge of a breakdown.

That won't do, Joker mused as he gave Steven a small yet genuine smile of confidence. "We're going to get through this."

Steven returned such a stare, his usual optimism falling away in favor of pure disbelief. Did this guy seriously not see the sort of trouble they were in?

As a matter of fact, yes, because Joker suddenly took a running start and jumped high. In midair, he put a hand to his mask, blue flames flying off the moment he did.

"Persona!"

Then with a flourish, he once again brought out his demon lord friend, only this time the multi-winged being shot his gun skyward to unleash pools of red and black energy that bubbled beneath a portion of the monsters and exploded, taking out a good chunk of them while damaging plenty others.

And Steven couldn't help but gape, eyes wide. Seriously, how did that guy just do that without a Gem?!

"STEVEN!" Mona called out.

Steven barely had a chance to look towards Mona before the cat tackled him to the ground. Right then, a chill took over the air and Steven lifted his head just in time to witness a sizable shard of ice pierce the ground where he'd just been standing.

Because of course the monsters get to use powers too, Steven thought bitterly as he hastily got back to his feet, Mona hopping up beside him.

"Focus!" the feline barked in a stern tone before bearing his scimitar at an advancing group of Shadows. "Your family taught you how to fight, right?"

"Not without my powers! Or my shield for that matter!" Steven retorted in a desperate tone. "How am I supposed to—"

"CATCH!"

Joker's voice broke Steven out of his panic long enough for the hybrid to notice the trash lid soaring at him from afar. Steven, despite himself, managed to grab it just in time to deflect an incoming Naiad's tail-whip, surprising it long enough for Mona to summon his Zorro friend and damage the Shadow and its surrounding allies with a strong torrent of wind.

It worked, Steven thought to himself in wonder while Mona joined his side in a single flip.

"Nice one! Stick to close to me and we should find our way out in no time!"

"But what about—"

The cat shot him a confident smirk. "Don't worry about Joker. He's our leader for a reason. Now look sharp!"

Like Steven had a choice?

On the bright side, though, at least he not only had a weapon now but someone covering him as well. What's more, Mona made for a decent and effective ally, fast and nimble with his strikes without straying too far from Steven, allowing the boy to provide cover thanks to the surprisingly durable trash lid.

Seriously, this thing ended up withstanding not just blows but all the ice and water attacks too, much to Steven's amazement! What did they even make their trash cans out of around here?

Unfortunately, even between the two of them and Joker, the Shadows' numbers did not diminish. If anything, there seemed to be even more now.

"Uh, guys?" Steven nervously asked as the pair backed up into Joker. "I know we're doing things on the fly right now, but…we do have a plan, right?"

Joker spared him a brief glance. "Keep stalling."

Steven did a double take. "What?!"

"Unfortunately, he's right," Mona explained with a resigned sigh. "The others had to have already noticed we're missing and pieced together what happened…but it'll take time for them to reach us since the safe rooms still don't work. Besides, there's too many Shadows here for us make a clean getaway."

As much as Steven wanted to argue, one look was enough to confirm the cat's point. There were just too many Shadows blocking all exits, and there weren't any tall buildings nearby for Joker to use to his grappling hook on this time.

Not to mention those weird versions of Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst had the perimeter surrounded, weapons still drawn out. Steven wasn't completely sure but a part of him couldn't help but feel those three were getting a kick out of watching them struggle.

"OK," he squeaked out as he bared his shield. "How do we even know they're on their way?"

Without warning, Joker's mask lit up in a brief burst of blue embers. He gasped and put a hand to his face immediately.

His face lifted to reveal a toothy smirk, one that may or may not have given Steven slight chills.

"That's how," Mona explained with a triumphant smile. "Seems the others have been gathering new Personas for you, leader. You know what to do!"

Joker smirked and nodded before placing a hand to his mask.

"JACK O' LANTERN!" the taller boy called out with a flourish, calling forth a pumpkin-headed specter with a flaming lantern. With a wave of the lantern, flames consumed the Silkies and Naiads directly in front of Joker in an instant, causing a mass of pained shrieks as the female Shadows all fell to the floor.

"Now! All-Out Attack!"

Mona gave a serious nod before joining Joker in a brief barrage that cleared out a good deal of the Shadows – and clearing out enough room to reveal Cognitive Pearl beyond the battlefield, rolling her eyes as she raised her hand to snap her fingers and summon even more Shadows.

On pure instinct, Steven chucked his makeshift shield with full force, the trash lid soaring far until it clocked Not-Pearl in the head, nearly missing her gemstone and causing her to reel with a startled scream.

"Guys!" Steven called as he caught his shield on the rebound. "What about this way?!"

Joker and Mona paused in their follow-up attacks to regard Steven and then the newly opened path. Joker looked back to Steven with an agreeing smile.

"One step ahead of us, Universe!" Mona praised before taking a flying leap and performing a midair somersault. "TRANSFORM!"

Only for the cat to come back down in the form of a blocky getaway car riddled with funky stickers. Steven barely had a moment to gawk before Joker grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him inside. With great haste, Joker threw the cat-mobile into high gear and they were off, barreling through the few Shadows that dared stand in their way.

Steven could not put his seatbelt on fast enough.

That said, he got it on just in time before Cognitive Garnet landed in the way of the car, forcing Joker to bank hard left to avoid collision.

"WHOA-WHOA-WHOA-WHOA!" Mona cried out as he nearly tipped over on the turn, leaving skid marks along the cobbled ground. Luckily, Joker managed to right his vehicular friend so that all wheels were back on the road.

Steven, who'd been clinging tightly to his seat, spotted something high in the air coming at them fast. Something pink.

"INCOMING!" he shouted, pointing at his incoming Shadow.

The neon prince threw his hands outward to summon a wall of pink hexagons that materialized from behind Mona and at breakneck speed proceeded to extend past, a dome starting to take shape and closing in on the path forward.

Joker grit his teeth and pumped the pedal even harder, determined to reach the shrinking exit.

Things only got more complicated when spears, detached gauntlets, and various debris came flying into their path, forcing Joker to drive around the obstacles.

Steven's grip on the seat only tightened the closer they got. They weren't gonna make it…

VROOM-VROOOM!

Suddenly, ramping off from atop one of the tents came a motorcycle – one that went flying straight for Shadow Steven from behind, barely giving the startled prince time to notice before ramming clean into his back, breaking his concentration and in turn the incomplete dome.

Despite the great height, the motorcycle landed without a scratch and literally hit the ground running up ahead. The rider, a brunette girl in a spiky biker outfit, pulled off a tight U-turn with an Akira Slide for added flair just as Mona passed by, the two vehicles now speeding side by side.

Only then did Steven notice the person clinging to the girl from behind.

"Connie?"

"Steven, are you alright?!"

"Uh…define 'alright'?"

"Joker!" the biker girl called out. "The others are buying us time until we get Steven to the exit!"

"Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl are waiting for us there!" Connie added. "They would have come along except, well—"

"They lost their powers, too?" Steven supplied.

"They lost their powers, too."

Before their chat could continue, another pink hexagon slammed into the road ahead, forcing Joker and Queen to curve around. At that moment, Steven noticed his Shadow's flying form nearing in the rearview mirror.

"Ugh," Mona groaned in between dodges. "This guy doesn't know when to quit! We gotta shake him off!"

Queen huffed as she started eyeing the passing tents. "Then I guess we'll have to take some shortcuts. Follow me!"

With a sharp turn, Queen redirected Agnes to a sizable passageway between two tents, Mona close behind. Fortunately, the vehicular cat managed to squeeze through the space. Barely.

From there, the group looped and zigzagged across the park, taking every twist and turn possible to throw Shadow Steven off course while taking care not to crash.

In time, the huge black entrance gates came into view, not a Shadow in sight.

Steven smiled in desperate relief. It was almost over. This crazy trip was almost over!

Alas, his Shadow landed in front of the gates with a resounding thud, looking somehow bigger, even from faraway – and were those horns growing out of his hair? The seething glare he gave did not sit well either.

"Oh crud," Mona somehow managed to state in his current form. Seriously, Steven wondered, where even was his mouth right now? "Oracle, I know you're busy keeping tabs on the others, but we could use some suggestions here!"

"Sorry," came the staticky voice of the Thieves' navigator out of Mona's radio, "those cognitions were a serious handful! Especially the Garnet one. Her Future Vision is insane!"

Wait, so even those fakes have access to the Gems' powers? Steven thought with a groan. Today just got better and better.

"The others are already en route to help," Oracle continued, "but I don't think that guy's letting us go without a fight."

Joker and Queen shared a determined look. If they had to take arms to leave, then so be it.

The three Phantom Thieves halted their respective vehicles several feet away from Shadow Steven and extricated themselves. Steven nervously followed suit, holding up his trash lid despite knowing how futile doing so was.

With no more passengers inside, Mona reverted to his normal form with a cartoonish poof while Agnes dissipated in a flurry of flames.

Shadow Steven merely sighed, long and deeply, and pointed a finger at the group. "You guys don't know when to admit you're beat, do you?"

Mona smirked.

"Like I said" – at that moment, the other Phantom Thieves had caught up, dropping down stylishly out of scenic nowhere and forming a protective circle alongside Joker, Connie and Queen around Steven – "it's what we do best."

Queen looked over her shoulder. "Steven, four of our team will engage your Shadow while our reserve members keep watch over you. We can't risk taking you to the exit right now since we may need to switch out party members."

"Besides," Fox added, "it would be wise to supply you with protection in case the Cognitive Crystals make their way here."

Steven narrowed his eyes. "Wait, why would you guys need to switch out?" Then he registered Queen's words in full and gasped. "Hang on, you're not seriously going to fight him, are you? Me? The other me—you know who I mean!"

He shot his eyes to Connie, whose determination in her eyes as she stared back at him could not be mistaken, even behind that flowery mask.

"I…He's got the powers of a Diamond," he murmured, not out of arrogance but out of a need to warn. He couldn't bear the thought of seeing all of these people, let alone Connie, getting hurt for his sake.

"We know what you mean, Steven-san," a redheaded girl in a black jacket and leotard assured him with a calm smile. "We simply refuse to back down is all."

But why?

Speechless, Steven took in all these people regarding his Shadow with ready battle stances. They'd been here before with Connie, so they had to have been at least aware of what he (or in this case his Shadow) could do.

Except these guys were aware yet intended to push back regardless.

And Steven could tell nothing he could say or do would dissuade any of them (not that he could do much anyway).

Besides, from what research he could glean from Peridot's research as well as that brief battle alongside Joker and Mona, it wasn't as if these guys were ordinary humans themselves.

So, with a resigned sigh, Steven threw his hands up and hung his head with closed eyes. "OK. I give."

"Perfect!" Oracle cheered before proceeding to push the taller boy off to the side so that he'd be clear of the incoming fight. "This way if you please!"

"What?!" Shadow Steven exclaimed before raising his hand to summon a wall to impede the pair – only to get startled out of doing so by a bullet flying past his head.

Joker, gun still raised, wagged a reproachful finger, smirking.

"Sorry to disappoint ya, Your Majesty," Skull teased, "but your fight's with us!"

"It's about time someone finally got through to you!" Panther added with a flair of her whip.

Shadow Steven shook his head, rubbing his temples with a groan. "Seriously, why can't you guys listen to reason?!" His eyes shifted to Connie, eyes shimmering with hurt. "I'd at least expect you to know better than this, Connie!"

"I do," she replied in a tone so matter of fact that took the prince by surprise. "Otherwise, I wouldn't be here. Oh, and by the way" – a smirk took form – "the name's Knight in this world."

A whole round of surprised looks came her way. Steven in particular gasped at the word.

"Knight?" Queen asked, curious. "Is that your codename?"

Despite the situation, Connie blushed upon realization. "Right, sorry. I was supposed to run it by you guys first, wasn't I? It's just that since you guys use codenames, I've been mulling over what mine would be ever since I joined up."

"Ever since you teamed up or since you got your Persona?" Mona asked in a joking tone. Even after the little time they'd spent together, the cat could imagine her playing around with names in her head.

"Oh hush! And for your information, it's been ever since that fight with my Shadow. Believe it or not, real-life knights were more like mercenaries than any kind of heroes – they swore loyalties to no one. But my loyalties are to my own beliefs – and I believe we've got what it takes to save everyone."

Skull huffed in amusement. "Heh, couldn't have put it better myself."

Panther gave a nod of approval as well. "Knight, huh? I like it."

"It does rather fit her, considering the form of her Persona," Fox agreed with a chuckle.

"It certainly does!"

"Hell yeah!"

"Welcome board, Knight," Joker greeted.

Connie – no, Knight – smiled at everyone's approval.

"So what?" Everyone's attention drew to Shadow Steven, the one who'd spoken. The prince bore an even more hurt frown. "You really are just leaving me then?"

Knight shook her head, eyes defiant yet soulful. "The opposite, actually. You still matter, but so does everyone else. I'll still take the risk to save all of you, but I'll also make damn sure I'll be there in the end. We're going to get our happy ending, Steven"— she drew her blade – "even if it means going through you."

Indeed, the other Phantom Thieves followed suit.

And Steven, standing beside one of the benches alongside Oracle, bit his bottom lip in concern.

I really hope you guys know what you're doing.