Chapter 3: Investigating Alice

July 20th, 2017

It was strange being back here after so long. Glancing around the walkway, Ren could easily remember the times they hung out here during the first timeline. How carefree they were back then, completely ignorant of the trap they were all walking into. And how stupid they were at having their hideout be completely in the open.

Seriously, is it any wonder Akechi caught onto them so easily? Shaking his head from the memories, he glances at the Thieves as they gather around the spot. Watching around the surprisingly empty walkway.

"Since when was the walkway this quiet? This never happens." Ryuji comments, glancing down both sides before looking at the trains moving below. "The trains are still runnin', so we're not in any simulated world or anythin'."

"Seriously. I'm reminded of that simulation way too much here." Ann comments, giving out a shake.

"Then let's not waste any time and enter this Jail." Ren comments, taking his phone out. He could see Sophia's little head bouncing around on his screen near the EMMA app. Which was taking up the same spot where the Meta-Nav once made its home. It was eerily comforting for some reason.

"We're short on intel. So anything we can get from this will be helpful." Makoto comments before turning to Sojiro and Kawakami. "This will be your first time crossing over to the Metaverse. Are you ready?"

"I would be lying if I said I was." Kawakami admits before putting on a determined stare. "But, if it's for my students, I would do anything."

"It is the same for me." Sojiro reaffirms. "I am not letting you kids march in there by yourselves. It is time for us adults to do our jobs for once. So, how do we enter?"

"If EMMA works like the Meta-Nav…" Ren mumbles, opening the app. "…there should be a history list I can look through… Ah, found it. Now, all we need is a point of entry."

"The spot we used yesterday has no enemies nearby." Sophia's voice echoes from Ren's phone. "Upon reaching the relevant location, you need only say the Keyword out loud to enter."

"Well, we're already here. Say the word Ren." Akechi comments. Ren nods back at him as he raises his phone to his mouth. Eyes set as he utters the Keyword.

"Wonderland." At Ren's voice, the air around them shifts as their vision is engulfed in lines of red and black. The feeling of flowing through a waterfall rushes over them as they transition over to the Jail. While their surroundings change to the overhanging walkway overlooking Shibuya, flames of blue wash over their vision. As a familiar feeling rests on their bodies.

"We… we crossed over!" Spring shouts, looking at her arms in shock as the Thieves glance once more at their Thief attire.

"Ah… I'd almost forgotten this feeling. This fusion of form and function… Truly magnificent." Fox comments, looking over himself as though he had transformed for the first time.

"Yeah, well, I sure didn't…" Panther remarks, covering her chest. "I'm still skin tight as ever. Not helped that I've grown in my chest area…"

"Ditto…" Violet remarks, patting her exposed legs. "But it feels nice to be wearing this again."

"Hey, look! It's Beauty Thief!" Oracle comments, pointing to Noir, who dramatically points her hand forward as she grasps the brim of her hat.

"My name is Beauty Thief!" She shouts with a beaming smile on her face.

"Not even a minute in, and you kids are acting like you never left." Boss remarks while shaking his head. "Not that it doesn't surprise me."

"Or me." Teach adds with a smile before glancing at the backpack on her back. "I forgot that I had an RPG as my gun…"

"Whoop! I'm back in human form!" Edelweiss cheers, throwing her hands in the air while Queen and Joker let out chuckles.

"I admit, it feels nice to relive the memories now that we are wearing these clothes again." Queen admits to Joker, leaning on one leg. "I didn't realise how much I actually missed this until now."

"Yeah." Joker replies, hands in coat pockets. "Did you text your sister about what we discussed?"

"I did. Athena's reaction was what you would expect, but she still sent us her support. She just won't be able to help since she's on a case at the moment." Queen replies before glancing off the sidewalk towards the 705 building. "Is that…?" Her question draws the eyes of the others as they all stare out across Shibuya. All eyes locked on the 705 building's new look.

"Yep, That's Alice's Palace. Or Jail, according to EMMA." Outlaw replies, leaning back.

"Just what IS that building? This place is bonkers.." Oracle remarks while Shadow glances around.

"Strange. It's just the 705 building that's changed. Yet we're still in our Thief outfits all the way out here. Is this like Kobayakawa's Palace?" She asks, placing a hand on her chin.

"Somehow, I doubt that." Crow remarks, grabbing her attention. "When we were escaping from the sewer where she dumped us, we found several points that were not a part of the sewers itself. That, and the sewers also felt…different as well."

"So, this is what a distorted heart looks like, huh?" Teach asks, her eyes glaring at the castle. "And Kamoshida imagined Shujin as something like that, huh?"

"Yes. Only more grander, gaudier and covered in gold." Joker replies with a huff.

"So we are dealing with a queen ruling a jail from her stronghold… it certainly fits the notion." Fox comments, stroking his chin.

"Yet the buildings around us are untouched. Apart from the random items that you guys saw in the sewer. Maybe her distortion is only focused on the 705 building?" Spring asks, although her gaze did turn to Panther, who had remained silent.

"Yeah. We noticed that, too, when we first came here. Right down there." Skull points out, directing a finger to the crossing down below. "That's where those cop shadows started taking desires out of folks. At least, I think they were desires. It looked like a jewel more than anything."

"Maybe that's how we see our desires as. As a precious jewel?" Violet suggests, although she isn't confident in her answer.

"That was indeed a Desire." Sophia suddenly speaks, drawing all eyes to the girl as she approaches the team. Now in her own Thief attire. "Yo, Phantom Thieves."

"Whoa! You also have a human form here!" Edelweiss shouts before walking up to her. Noting the height difference between them. Since she was the same height as Oracle, she was naturally taller than Sophia.

"Oh. You have a human form, too, Isara?" Sophia asks innocently. "You look amazing." She says with a smile before glancing at the others. "You all changed clothes as well. And you have masks, too."

"How did she get even more cuter?" Teach asks Boss, who shrugs his shoulders.

"You're so cute, Sophia!" Panther remarks, tearing her gaze away from Alice's Jail as she takes in Sophia's costume.

"Yeah! You're adorable!" Violet agrees as Spring and Noir nod vigorously.

"Such a fascinating form you've taken…" Fox comments, already framing her with his fingers. "Such a form has given me more ideas to draw from."

"It's almost like we never stopped being Thieves…" Crow admits to Joker and Queen with a smile as they watch the exchange. The two couldn't help but agree how easy it was to swing right back into the thrill of things. Was it the same for the others?

"I've never seen an outfit like that. Is it okay if I can floof it?" Spring asks with a hopeful expression.

"Floof?" Sophia asks, tilting her head to the side.

"I think she wants to feel the fabric while giving you a hug, Sophia. And to be honest, so do I." Queen tells her with a smile.

"Request denied. I am neither a child nor a pet." Sophia instantly replies, sending Panther, Spring, Noir, Violet, Oracle and Teach into saddened pouts.

"Aww…no floofing…." All of them say at once, much to the amusement of others.

"Well, now that the bit is over, what can you tell us about these Desire's, Sophia." Crow asks gently. "We've heard it said multiple times now and seen the jewels as well. But what exactly are they, and what do they represent?"

"To start, that is the term that the Cop shadows use here. They say things such as 'Seize their Desires!' or 'We must offer these Desires to the Monarch!' and other variations." Sophia explains.

"I'm guessing that 'Monarch' is the Jail term for 'Palace Ruler' this time around." Joker comments, face set.

"But these 'Desires', are they actually made up of the things people desire? Like with the Treasures from Palaces?" Noir asks finger on her cheek. "And…what use would they have for them?"

"And more importantly, does this coincide with all these 'Changes of Heart' that have been on the news recently?" Boss asks, drawing eyes to him. "Before Crow here mentioned it last night, I had seen these random acts happen on the news. At first, I just brushed them off, but if this place is connected to them…"

"Then I have found the answer to my investigation." Crow finishes with a groan. "Why am I still cleaning up the mess from Shido and his lackeys…? But that still leaves the question of what they are actually doing with these Desires."

"Why don't we find the folks who got jumped and ask them?" Skull asks, squatting down on the platform.

"But where could they be? We didn't see them get carted off when we were fighting that army Skull." Outlaw reminds, folding his arms. A deep hum from Queen drew all eyes to her, her gaze locked on the 705 building before turning around to face the others.

"About those people who were attacked, are you really sure they were human and not Personal Shadows?" She asks, causing the group to pause. "Think about it. If they really are real humans, then that means they are vanishing in the real world. And if they are vanishing…"

"We should have heard something happen. But we haven't…" Shadow finishes, snapping her fingers. "So that would mean the victims you saw were Personal Shadows and not real people."

"For real? How did we miss that?" Skull asks the boys, who all scratch their heads.

"Honestly, I'm puzzled how the thought never crossed my mind as well." Crow admits.

"Well, we did have to fight a large army right after we saw them get their Desire's stolen. We didn't really have time to run over and check." Mona remarks while shrugging his shoulders.

"Does this mean that their 'main selves' are all right?" Sophia asks innocently, tilting her upper body to the side.

"No. The Personal Shadow and the actual self are two sides of the same coin." Mona explains with a hurt look. "If anything happens to the Personal Shadow, the real person is affected. And if the Personal Shadow is killed…the person in real life dies as well." That brought back unneeded memories of Okumura's original death. Even if he was currently doing time in prison now, his original death still haunted their footsteps.

"But what happens when a person's Desire is taken from their shadow? Is it like a change of heart?" Teach asks, hand on hip, while Sophia glances at Teach with a curious expression. Before she could ask, Edelweiss grabs her attention, whispering 'later' in her ear.

"I'm getting a bad feeling from all of this…" Violet remarks, rubbing her arms.

"It is likely that the change of heart epidemic sweeping our country is tied to people having their desires stolen. But why?" Crow hypothesis with a frown. "We need more information. We still have little to go off on."

"If this is a crisis that is being caused by the Metaverse, then that means we should act, right?" Outlaw asks the group. "Isn't that why we became Thieves in the first place? To help others?"

"No one is saying we shouldn't Outlaw." Joker replies, shaking his head. "The problem is that we just know too little. We need to know how exactly this is affecting the real world rather than just drawing lines on a board."

"Then how about we start by looking into Alice's victims?" Shadow asks, folding her arms. "If we can find the ones you saw getting their Desire's stolen, we can see how they are acting in real life."

"I think we should do that… If we make a wrong move here in the cognitive world before understanding anything, we could force someone to have a mental shutdown… even Alice herself…" Panther remarks quietly, glancing back to the 705 building.

"Let's get out of here and start looking for victims." Joker tells the team, glancing at each of them. "The best place to look will be around Shibuya, but it may look suspicious if all of us are looking. If Crow is looking into this, then it might draw the wrong eyes if a large crowd like us go around asking questions."

"I can stake some of us back to Leblanc and wait for the rest of you to return." Boss tells the group as he folds his arms. "I'll make sure to have some food ready for you when you get back as well."

"In that case, this is how we'll split up." Queen speaks up, glancing around. "Joker, Mona, Panther, Spring, Skull, Outlaw and I will investigate Shibuya while the rest of us head back to Leblanc. Once we find anything of note, we'll head back to Leblanc and share what we found."

"Don't do anything reckless, okay?" Teach tells them as the group heads back to reality, splitting off into two groups. Leaving Ren's group behind as they head for Shibuya.

"Okay, what should we look for?" Shiho asks as the group enters the warm sun. Ren and Ann put their shades on instinctively.

"We should start with the rumour mill first. Listen to anything that might sound suspicious. But ideal, we should try and find Alice's victims." Morgana tells them, diving back into Ren's bag to get out of the sun. "Why is it so hot…?"

"We are currently in a heatwave, Morgana. And it is expected to last until September." Sophia responds from Ren's phone, earning a groan from the cat as he slinks farther into Ren's bag. As the team moved on, they so far couldn't hear or see anything wrong in Shibuya Square, so they pressed on towards the Central Street. Until a commotion catches their ears from the street leading to Iwai's Airsoft shop.

"What's going on around there?" Mishima asks as the group moves around the side. Seeing a brunette young man pleading to a fellow young man with a black fedora.

"Come on, man, I need the money! Please!" The man says, grasping his friend's jacket while he tries to calm him down.

"Calm down, man! I just lent you money for all of your Alice-obsessed bullshit!"

"I know, but there is a new Alice original coming out, and I reeeeeally need it! Like, I won't be able to breathe or even think if I don't get it!"

"Dude… Why're you so obsessed over some random idol in the first place? This isn't like you, man. And you also went to a loan shark recently as well… What's gotten into you?"

"He's borrowing from shady people in order to get shady merch in return? This is messed up." Morgana quips as the team ducks behind the corner, out of sight of the two men.

"That ain't normal. And didn't his friend say that he became obsessed all of a sudden? That can't be a coincidence." Ryuji remarks, folding his arms as Ann looks at the ground uncomfortably.

"Out of the way! Let me have that merch!" A voice echoes behind them as the group turns around to see a mad rush on a store behind them. A store selling Alice merchandise.

"What the…?" Outlaw comments as Shiho's mouth hangs open in shock.

"I knew people were going crazy for Alice's merch…but this is just something else…" Ann comments as they watch the crowd of people rush into the store. With them taking out huge bags of merchandise with looks of bliss on their faces.

"We're all sold out! We're sorry, but all Alice Hiiragi stock has been sold out! And in ten minutes, no less!" One of the assistants shouts to the crowd, but it did little to shrink it down.

"Ten minutes!?" Morgana asks in surprise as the team's mouths drop open.

"That is…. Crazy…" Makoto remarks, shaking her head. Ren agrees with her, turning his head to the side as another person walks past them. Moving about in a trance, singing the praises of Alice as though he was a zombie. Bumping into people yet not acknowledging they were even there.

"This is getting out of hand. They don't even register people being around them." Ren comments, watching as the man continues to walk off before a commotion from the theatre grabs their attention. As they see an employee leave the building with a frustrated look on his face before kicking a can on the road.

"What's wrong with him?" Shiho asks worriedly as they approach him.

"I'll try asking." Ann replies before walking up to him. "Is everything alright, sir?" The employee looks at her, anger written on his face as he takes a moment to calm down.

"No. No, nothing is all right." He replies, leaning on the side of the theatre. "I was just 'let go' from my work. All because I don't like Alice. How stupid of a reason is that!? And it's not just me. Some of my friends were also 'let go' for the same reason!" He slams a fist into the wall as Ann jumps back.

"Oh… I'm sorry to hear about that, sir…" Ann replies as she watches the man leave, grumbling away to himself as the group joins her. "He got fired because he didn't like Alice? That's insane…"

"And a completely invalid excuse to let someone go. How can one be so petty to so many people?" Makoto remarks, glancing at the Theatre with disdain. Before a certain movie poster catches her eye. "Dragon: Like a Yakuza' is coming out soon? I've been looking forward to that…"

"I'll get us tickets after this, Makoto." Ren tells her with a grin, earning a blush out of her as Makoto snaps back to reality. "But first, I think we should regroup at Leblanc and share what we have learned." Seeing how there was little else for them to learn, the team heads back to Leblanc, finding even more brainwashed victims on the train. Loudly declaring their love for Alice. It was honestly disturbing how many were seemingly in this trance. Soon, they were back within the safety of LeBlanc's walls, finding everyone waiting for them in Ren's room as they shared what they had found.

"So, you found the victims in reality? Then that means they really were Personal Shadows that were attacked." Haru remarks with a sad look. "And…they were all acting the same way?"

"Yeah. Completely fanatical." Mishima replies, shaking his head. "It was…scary in a way. Seeing how crazy they were going."

"You said they were buying loans from shady practices to buy more of her merchandise, correct? Things are more dire than we imagined them to be…" Akechi remarks with a concerned frown.

"We even saw an employee getting let go from the cinema just because he didn't like Alice. And several of his friends have also met the same fate." Makoto adds, shaking her head.

"Good kami…what is going on?" Sojiro asks, scratching the back of his head.

"While you guys were doing the ground scouting, I did some online surfing. And I've found a similar pattern online." Futaba remarks, holding one leg up. "It's crazy. They were even going so far as to outright assaulting critics of her. It's stupid."

"This isn't a fashion trend as we always assumed. It's much worse than that." Sumire voices, glancing out the window. "How did we let this slip under us?"

"Regardless of how we missed this, we are the only one who can stop it. We must take action." Makoto voices, glancing around the room.

"Agreed. If such abhorrent behaviour continues to rise, we could easily find ourselves in an unwinnable position." Yusuke comments, placing a hand on his chin. "But… we are still missing something."

"Right. We have to see Alice for ourselves. The only problem is getting near her…" Shiho remarks with a sigh, just as Ann lets out a nervous chuckle.

"About that. I might have a way of doing that…" She remarks, scratching the back of her head. "I had recently asked the modelling agency if I could meet Alice on a TV filming set. To see if I could learn something from her to help my modelling career… And I got permission to see it tomorrow. I had planned to tell you guys yesterday so we could go camping the day after I meet Alice, but…"

"Even so, this gives us an opportunity we can pass up." Akechi remarks. "But something tells me we can't all go see her."

"Yeah. I can only bring four people with me, and I already decided on Ryuji as one of them." She glances at him, the two meeting gazes as Ryuji lets out a sigh.

"Well, of course, I'll go. What sort of partner would I be if I refused." He remarks, leaning forward. "Don't worry. I'll be on my best behaviour."

"We're doomed." Isara quips from on top of the table, prompting Sophia to appear on Ren's phone.

"Why are we doomed, Isara? Is Ryuji not good?"

"It's a joke, Sophia. Not everything needs to be taken at face value." Isara responds to the A.I., while Futaba looks at her with pride.

"Oh. I see. Thank you for that again, Big Sister Isara."

"Big Sister Isara? Someone has grown up." Mishima quips as the team laughs at the model tank. Who was not looking at anyone as she felt embarrassment run through her.

"You don't hear me complaining…" She comments as Ren claps his hands together.

"Anyway. We should decide on who else should go with Ann and Ryuji tomorrow."

"Why not you, me and Yuuki go as well?" Shiho suggests. "All three of us are part of the student council at Shujin. We could frame it as Ann getting new tricks while also us getting ideas for an event at school after the break."

"That could work… How about it, Ann?" Ren comments. Ann hums for a moment, thinking the plan over in her head before nodding back with a grin.

"That should work. I'll let my agency know about who else is coming with me tomorrow and what it's for. Should be able to pass it through without issue."

"If that is all, then let us reconvene tomorrow." Akechi remarks, standing from his spot. "I have a feeling we are about to become really busy…"

July 21st, 2017

"Ready to go, Morgana?" Ren asks as he ties his trainers up.

"Yep. Let's go meet Alice face to face." Morgana replies from inside Ren's bag. With a smirk, Ren picks it up and descends downstairs. Opening up the downstairs door to enter the back of Leblanc. Where to his surprise, there was already a customer eating at the bar. Wearing glasses and shoulder-length hair along with a small chin beard. He was digging into Sojiro's curry like a ravenous beast. So much so that he didn't even notice Ren's appearance.

"Oh, heading out already, Ren?" Sojiro asks as Ren approaches the bar. The man did not even acknowledge his presence.

"Yeah. I'm meeting up with the others before heading out." Ren replies, carefully leaving what they were doing out.

"Don't be out for too long, you hear?" Ren nods at Sojiro before leaving the café. At this point the man finishes his plate of curry.

"Boss, that curry was fantastic!" He remarks, leaving the money on the counter.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. Are you heading out already?"

"Yeah. I have something to take care of, so I need to head out." The man replies before leaving the café and a confused but conserved Sojiro behind. He glances around the area, spying on the figure of Ren as he moves for the station, and a smirk appears on his face. "Now then…let's see what you kids are up to today…"

It was strange to be back here at the TV Studio. The same place they went to for their studies during their second year at Shujin Academy. Not much had changed in that year since they visited, yet their purpose for being there was not.

"So, this is going live on air, right?" Ren asks Ann, with Ryuji on her other side. Shiho was on Ren's left, while Mishima sat on Ryuji's right.

"Yeah." Ann confirms, looking at the two TV hosts. "I'll admit, I'm a bit nervous. Is Morgana still in the bag?" She whispers to Ren, who nods, glancing down at his bag. The front part was opened slightly so Morgana could get a view of the set.

"He is." Ren confirms, looking back up at the set.

"So, all we're gonna do is sit and watch? Doesn't sound too bad." Ryuji remarks, leaning back in his chair.

"Should I also make efforts to blend in?" Sophia asks from Ren's phone.

"Good idea, Sophia. Best stay silent for now." Ren tells her with the A.I. going dark a few seconds later.

"Miss Alice on set!" All eyes turn to the stage as the two hosts get themselves ready as the cameras fall on them. Just as Alice herself takes the stage with a dainty grace, she sits on the guest sofa.

"Wow…she is adorable…" Shiho remarks as Ann's mouth drops open.

"Unlike her shadow…" Mishima remarks as the lights grow dim.

"Cutting back from commercial! Back in five, four, three, two, one…!"

"And now back to our 'Hottest Meet-and-Greet' segment of the show. We have a special guest with us today." The female co-host greets, indicating to Alice. "She has taken the fashion world by storm and conquered it! Please welcome the designer, Alice Hiiragi!" The crow lets out an applause as Alice waves to the crow with a cheery grin.

"Thanks for having me!"

"Thank you for joining us today, Alice." The male co-host greets as the crowd goes silent. "You sure have been keeping busy these past few days, haven't you?"

"It's only thanks to my fans that I've been able to do what I do." Alice replies with a disarming smile at the two hosts.

"And what a number of fans you have! Talk about a strong support."

"It's just so cute. So expressive." The two hosts tell her with smiles of their own, causing Alice to beam on set.

"Thank you so much. The theme of my current line is 'Alice in Wonderland'. I feel like fashion is a rare and beautiful thing that can take anyone into a world built in their dreams. You can find a side of yourself that maybe you didn't even know you had… Fashion can do so much for us. I try my hardest to focus on whenever I design a new piece."

"Such wise words from a successful industry veteran. What inspiration originally spurred you into fashion design, if you don't mind me asking?" At the host's question, Alice's entire demeanour seemingly changed. Her happy look was replaced by one of sadness.

"No, I don't mind. When I was growing up, I was a very shy girl. I didn't have any friends at school… I would get so lonely… I wanted to change so much, but I just couldn't figure out how to do it." She then suddenly brightens up, turning back to the hosts with a renewed smile. "But then, one day, I saw the most beautiful dress through a shop window. When I put it on, I felt the whole world was made anew. It was like I was hit by this ray of blessing light. 'I really can change!' That's what I thought when I wore it. And I strive each and every day to give that feeling to every person who wears my designs. I want to give that ray of light to others! That's what inspired me to enter the fashion industry."

"Really…huh…" Ann whispers to the others. Her eyes fixed on Alice. "If that's true…then why are you doing this then?"

"Now I can see why the young people love you so much." The male co-host remarks, not noticing how his partner's eyes seemingly glazed over. "How do you handle all the dating rumours…" He begins before his own eyes glaze over. The two co-hosts suddenly go quiet, their eye locked on Alice as whispers start to spread through the crowd.

"Alice…I…" The two suddenly speak before standing up and kowtowing to her as one. "I love you!" They both say, shocking the entire crowd as they pledge their lives to her. Even though a person remarked that the two of them were already engaged to each other. The film set quickly cut to a commercial and began filling everyone out of the set.

All the while, Alice's smile never left her face.

"Okay, what the hell happened back there?" Ryuji asks as the group stands in a lone hallway. The same one where they first met Akechi by circumstance.

"That was on Live TV, right? The entire nation would have seen that." Shiho remarks, rubbing her arm nervously."

"I can't believe they spilled the beans like that… even though they were engaged to each other." Morgana comments with a wince on his face.

"So…do you think that the two hosts had their Desire's taken by Alice?" Ann asks with a downtrodden face.

"It's the only explanation." Ren comments, readjusting the sunglasses on his head. "I mean, how else do you explain two people who are engaged to suddenly kowtow in front of someone and pledge their lives to them at the same time?"

"Neither of them were in the right state of mind." Mishima admits, rubbing his neck. "It was… honestly freaky to see it happen in real-time. Like he was being controlled by someone else."

"Wait… Yuuki, that's it!" Ann suddenly exclaims, snapping her fingers. "Their personalities change like when someone's treasure is stolen. Goro is right. This IS Changes of Hearts happening around the country. The only difference is that Alice is controlling the people who she is stealing Desires from!"

"That explains why those Shadow Cops brought us to Alice in the first place. They couldn't steal our Desires and thus put us under her control. So they tried dragging us to her to make us give them up willingly." Ren remarks, folding his arms.

"But that means Alice is guilty." Shiho remarks, looking at Ann. "But didn't she say she wanted to be a ray of light for people?"

"Yeah. And that's what I want to be as well." Ann comments, swinging one leg behind the other. "I read about her in a magazine once, and… I just really felt where she was coming from. It's why I asked to come see her in the first place. But now…"

"Hey…don't let it get you down." Ryuji soothes, throwing an arm around her. "Even if Alice herself is not who she is, you can still move forward to be what she claims to be, right? You and Shiho both." Ann looked at her boyfriend, grateful for the words, but just as she was about to respond, laughter from down the hall grabbed all of their attention.

"Man, that was great!" Alice shouts as she prances down the hall. The group quickly moved behind a corner wall just as Alice turned down the hall they were in. Quickly followed by a secretary.

"M-Miss Alice! Please keep your voice down. This is a public hall. You might expose yourself to the wrong people."

"Eh, it's fine." Alice replies, stopping halfway as she turns back to the man. "See, no one in sight. Anyway, did you see the look on both of their faces? They were totally into me. And the crowd's reaction as well! They totally lost it!" She lets out a giggle at the fallout, even as the man tries to quieten her down.

"Miss Alice…Do you think you could stop doing these things?"

"Huh? What do you mean? I was the victim on stage." She asks, a disappointed frown on her features. "What is it you want me to stop doing?" The man takes a small back step, fixing his tie as a few drips of seat fall down his head.

"I…I don't know how you are doing this or why… But, after seeing this…there has to be something. You…"

"Oho…so you want to be punished again?" She asks, the frown replaced by a seductive smirk. The man jumps back, falling over his legs as Alice slowly walks up to him. Before putting her foot on his chest with some minor force. "Oh, whoops. What a terrible accident. Just like what happened on set, a terrible accident. I'm still upset about it, you know. Isn't it your job to take my side? Or are you going to end up broken like my last manager? Do you want to end up in your room, stuck up like him?" She puts some more pressure on his chest, taking enjoyment in the struggling man under her. "Well, it doesn't matter, anyway. I don't want toys that don't do as they're told. Why don't you do what you did yesterday? Grovel until your face is all messed up and covered in snot? I'll take another video of it for good measure. C'mon, beg! Do it! Do it! I'm not going to let up until you do, got it?"

"Stop!" Ann shouts as she sprints round the corner, the others close behind. Alice, taken aback by the sudden intrusion, lifts her foot off the man's chest before turning around to face them. Giving her manager time to stand up while giving the group a look of thanks.

"Who are you?" Alice asks, tilting her head at them.

"It doesn't matter. What you are doing is way too far!" Ann shouts, anger on her face. "You said you wanted to be a ray of light for people. How the hell does THAT help!?" Alice, with a look of shock written cleanly on her face, locks eyes with Ann before letting out an airy laugh.

"Oh, that? We were just playing around. Weren't we?" Her manager weekly replies, not meeting her gaze as he heads back to the car. Leaving them alone with Alice as she looks at Ann one more time. Just as realisation sets in. "Hang on, aren't you Ann Takamaki?"

"Huh?" Ann asks, taken aback by how she knows her. And not just her but the rest of the group were stunned at how she knew her name. "You know who I am?"

"Yeah!" Alice replies with a grin and a fist pump. "I know all the models! I read fashion magazines the day they come out! Actually…I really admire you. Would you like to be friends?" She brings her phone out, the EMMA app already open. "You obviously have EMMA, right? My keyword is—"

"No thanks." Ann replies, shaking her head. "Sorry, but I don't want to be friends with people who treat others lower than themselves."

"That's too bad…" She replies. "How about your friends…Wait…" Her eyes suddenly widen as she sees Ren, Ryuji and Mishima standing with Ann and Shiho.

"Sorry. But none of us are interested." Ren replies, turning around to leave.

"Come on, Yuuki, let's go." Shiho grasps his hand as the two walk way intertwined as Ryuji throws an arm around Ann. The two leave after the others as Alice looks on in befuddlement.

"How… I know I got him with one of my cards…so why doesn't he or the other two obey me? How are they immune?"

Forgot to add this last chapter. New Confidant Rank.

Sophia: Hope (Rank 1)