AN: This is the last chapter before the Epilogue. Honestly, this Palace feels a bit short to me, although it makes sense given that I resolved Morgana's arc early and that Urano would rampage after learning about Haru's shitty fiancé.
FF – Thanks Warbird. From what I remember, most of the events of Persona 5 were planned by Igor, who subtly manipulated everyone (supernaturally so in the case of the general public) to make them a reality. Urano's 'deviations' are her unexpected choices that constantly throw his plans out of whack. (Also, I hope you've enjoyed Igor's PoV. Not even gods can understand what's going through Urano/Rozemyne's head!)
AO3 – Thank you reinDank and Super_Big_Mac. Super_Big_Mac, I'd say that he's more like Georgine and Lanzenave's groups – aware of Urano/Rozemyne but severely underestimating her and forced to watch as she ruins their carefully-laid plans, partially by accident/as a side effect of her efforts to protect the people she cares about.
The Spaceport of Greed – Part 3
June 21 – Tuesday
Urano Motosu's PoV
Fully awakening her Persona ended up draining Haru, so we called it a day and exited Okumura's Palace. Futaba, Morgana, and I went home, only to find Dad waiting for us.
"I heard something interesting from one of my regulars today," he said, giving us a displeased frown. "Apparently, a few days ago, he saw a maid entering Leblanc after hours. I told him he must've been mistaken, but then he proved it to me with a photo. So, is there anything either of you would like to tell me about?"
…Oops? I'd paid Kawakami to clean the attic 'hideout' in Leblanc recently, letting her borrow a key to get into the place. I'm guessing that regular saw her then.
"Nnno?" I lied, wincing at how obvious I was. Dad gave me a deadpan look. I sighed. "Yes… I hired her." I paused, then realized what my confession sounded like. "But she was an actual maid! I swear! I just wanted the attic to be clean for when my friends came over!"
Dad sighed and rubbed his temples.
"I figured it was something like that," he said, thankfully believing me. "However, you really need to consider the consequences of your actions. I was able to convince the guy to erase the photo in exchange for some free curry, but he could've easily posted it online and given me a reputation as someone who orders 'those' types of services."
I winced. I hadn't considered that.
"I promise that I'll be more careful in the future," I told him.
Oddly enough, instead of being reassured, Dad sighed again. Futaba also facepalmed, and I could hear Morgana groan in my bag.
"So it's not even a question whether you're going to hire a maid again," said Dad.
Ah.
"Sorry for the trouble. I'm not stopping, though."
"Can you at least tell me why you're so insistent on hiring a maid?" he asked, which was fair.
"She's… a friend of mine," I answered carefully. I wasn't sure how Dad would respond to finding out that my homeroom teacher moonlighted as a maid, nor did I want to betray Kawakami's trust by sharing her secret. "She needs the money really badly but is too stubborn to accept it without earning it."
Dad accepted my story without asking more about my friend's situation. He even gave me advice for having Kawakami enter Leblanc without being noticed, such as using the bathhouse to switch between her maid outfit and casual clothes plus one of the aprons that Futaba and I wore while working. It was a great idea, one I intended to share with Kawakami.
"You're still punished, though," stated Dad afterward. "No reading for the rest of the night."
Bwuh!?
"Nooooo!" I cried, aghast. "How could you be so heartless!?"
"Futaba, can you set up a camera in your sister's room to let me know if she tries disobeying her punishment?"
"You got it, boss," snickered Futaba, clearly enjoying the show. I felt tempted to reveal just how I'd learned about Kawakami's maid job in the first place, but I ultimately resisted the urge.
Although, that wasn't to say I wouldn't be getting back at Futaba – or at Morgana, who was audibly laughing in my bag. I just wouldn't do so by tattling to Dad.
No, I'd be more… creative… with my vengeance.
June 22 – Wednesday
Futaba Sakura's PoV
After school, the Phantom Thieves returned to Okumura Palace. As they made their way through the Palace, Oracle was able to obtain a map of it and the blueprints for something called 'Project: Escape to Utopia.'
They ended up needing the chief director's ID card to advance. Luckily, Oracle's eavesdropping skills gave the Phantom Thieves the intel they needed to identify which employee Cognitions were of higher ranks, and they were eventually able to locate the chief director, defeat him, and claim his ID card.
Throughout the search for the chief director, Oracle diligently fulfilled her role as Navigator, guiding the Phantom Thieves and providing support in combat.
"…So, given all of my contribution points, can I please change back!?" begged Oracle.
Harlequin, angry about the hacker's blatant amusement over the punishment for the maid thing, had brought a maid uniform into the Metaverse and forced Oracle to wear it.
(Where did she even find a maid uniform on such short notice!?)
Oracle had thought about it before, but her sister could be really scary when she got mad.
"Alright," acquiesced Harlequin, a teasing smile on her face. "I think you've been punished enough."
Oracle sighed in relief. Once they located another safe room, she'd be able to change back in private. Like earlier, the others would wait outside of the room, the girls keeping watch over the boys to prevent any peeping or lucky pervert moments.
"And what about me?" asked Mona nervously. Having also laughed at Harlequin, he too had been forced to wear a maid uniform.
(Seriously, how did Harlequin find a mini-outfit that fit Morgana perfectly in under a day!? Especially when most of her time was spent at school!)
"Yeah, you too."
"Thank goodness…" said the not-cat.
Oracle and Mona would certainly think twice before crossing their scary older sister again.
Ryuji Sakamoto's PoV
Skull officially hated the factory section of Okumura's Palace. The employee-bots were ridiculously overworked, the machines broke way too easily (one of them almost crushing Skull and the others), and his bad knee was killing him because of how fast he had to move to get over the crusher things within the thirty-second lunch break!
The whole place sucked so much that, when a swarm of employee-bots attacked the Phantom Thieves, Skull was happy for the chance to vent his frustrations. His relief was only temporary, though, since they soon found themselves before a maze of airlocks that they needed to pass through to reach the Treasure.
(Why did Oracle have to talk about them exploding if it were actual space and not cartoon-logic Metaverse space!? Skull wished that Harlequin would've put the hacker back into the maid outfit for saying something so scary!)
Well, at least Skull didn't have to worry about figuring out the path through the airlock-filled section. That problem was left to the brainiacs – Harlequin, Oracle, and Queen. He and the others only had to worry about fighting any Shadows they came across.
Urano Motosu's PoV
We were able to make it the rest of the way to Okumura's Treasure with no other incidents occurring. Unfortunately, 'no incidents' included finding information on or encountering Black Mask. Heck, we didn't even see so much as a mention of the psychotic breakdown incidents that Queen's sister had linked to Okumura.
Was the information hidden somewhere earlier in the Palace? Did we pass it by without realizing? Igor did say not to rush our infiltration…
"Maybe we should retrace our steps through Palace," I suggested. "We might be able to find something that we overlooked the first time."
"I'm not sure we will," replied Oracle doubtfully. "While you were rampaging through the Palace, I was using Prometheus to scan every inch of the place. If there was any sort of hidden room or easter egg, then I would've spotted it."
I blushed at my sister's words, embarrassed that I'd gotten so focused on destroying Noir's terrible engagement that I hadn't kept much of an eye out for Black Mask.
(At least she'd remembered. Attagirl Futaba!)
"In that case, wouldn't it be better to just squeeze the truth outta the guy?" questioned Skull, clearly talking about Shadow Okumura.
Based on past experience, we would end up fighting the Palace Ruler once we sent out a calling card and came here to steal the Treasure. I would've preferred to try avoiding another boss battle – even if our attempts to escape from Shadow Kamoshida and Shadow Madarame without fighting had failed completely – but Skull had a point.
"But what if it ends up being a repeat of Madarame's Palace?" countered Mona, referring to how the interrogation ended halfway through because of the Palace's collapse. "It's possible that Oracle's scans are being fooled somehow. I think Harlequin is right and we should try double-checking the rest of the Palace."
"It might be best if we spent a few days searching for clues before we send out the calling card," suggested Queen. "That way, we can be extra thorough in our investigation."
It was a sensible idea, especially given Igor's advice.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea," disagreed Panther. "Every day we spend looking is another day Noir's fiancé has to do something nasty to her, and as the only one to meet him, I can assure you that he's the sort of guy who'd react to his failure yesterday by trying something again."
"Not to mention the employees who are being mistreated," added Fox. "Is it really okay to delay changing Okumura's heart when it means that people will continue to suffer?"
Those two also had a point. This could be our only chance to learn more about Black Mask, but I also hated the idea of leaving Noir and those poor Okumura Foods employees in such a terrible bind. Urgh, what to do…?
"What if…" I began, trying to think of a compromise. "…We spend the rest of today day and tomorrow looking, but that's it. If we don't find anything, then we'll send the calling card, steal the Treasure, and interrogate Okumura as quickly as possible."
Despite being the one to suggest it, I wasn't completely happy with that idea. It was a gamble to assume that the no-good fiancé wouldn't try anything. Plus, I knew that if we didn't find anything on Black Mask during our search of the Palace, then I would dwell on the possibility that I overlooked something.
However, nobody hated my plan or had any better ideas. We spent the rest of the afternoon searching through Okumura's Palace and coming up empty.
June 23 – Thursday
Haru Okumura's PoV
Haru woke up filled with a nervous energy. After hours of unsuccessfully combing through her father's Palace for information on Black Mask yesterday, she'd gotten up in the middle of the night and placed a calling card in his study. All that remained was for him to discover it.
"Sir Kunikazu Okumura, the great profiteering sinner of greed," read her father as Haru entered the living room, clearly having already found the calling card. "Your success and global fame exist due to the tyranny you rain over your employees. Thus, we have decided to make you confess all your crimes with your own mouth."
For a brief moment, she worried that he was speaking to her. Had he realized that the calling card's presence was her doing and assumed it was fake? Was repeating the lines on the calling card the beginning of a lecture?
However, after he finished reading, her father didn't look at her or speak any words of reproach. He simply stared at the calling card and muttered to himself.
"…I must take care of this before it becomes a problem," he said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. But then, before making a call, he stopped. "No, if I give it over to the police, then he'll find out…"
He who? Could it be Black Mask?
"…The meeting Sugimura arranged is later today," said her father after a pause, having decided on his course of action. "I'll secure his family's support, then report the calling card. Yes… that way, I'll come out on top."
Haru couldn't be certain that her father was referring to Black Mask, but it was obvious that he was involved with someone whom he believed could stop the Phantom Thieves from changing his heart. What if her father was right?
"I need to let everyone know about this…" whispered Haru, her resolve unshaken by this development. They would simply have to act swiftly and stay on guard against any surprise attacks from Black Mask (or someone else) as they stole her father's Treasure.
(If only they could skip class and change her father's heart before he informed this mystery man about the calling card. Unfortunately, so many students – almost all victims of the Phantom Thieves' major targets – absent on the same day would draw far too much scrutiny.)
Urano Motosu's PoV
[The SS Utopia will enter its launch sequence from the shipbuilding dock in T-minus forty-five minutes.] announced the spaceport's PA system.
After entering Okumura's Palace, we discovered that 'Project: Escape to Utopia' was a gigantic UFO that would allow Shadow Okumura to 'ascend' to the political world. Apparently, even Okumura Foods itself was nothing but a stepping stone to its CEO.
"Look…" exclaimed Mona, pointing to a floating, glowing, orb-shaped device. "That's it… That's the Treasure!"
Before we could nab it, however, the PA system began transmitting the Palace Ruler's voice.
["Keep your hands off my Treasure, thieves! I won't let you ruin everything I've worked for… not when the SS Utopia is so close to completion!"]
Wait a second… was the Treasure supposed to be part of the UFO? If so, then I'm glad that we'd stopped looking for clues about Black Mask when we did, otherwise Shadow Okumura would've blasted off and taken his Treasure with him.
(So much for Igor's advice.)
"If you wanna stop us, then come out here and fight like a man!" yelled Skull.
"Hmph," snorted Okumura. "Why would one who shall soon set sail into the political realm dirty his hands dealing with a bunch of small-time thieves? That's what my company's elite soldiers are for!"
(Set sail? That wasn't really all that space-y…)
Bangbangbangbang! Four large, white tubes unexpectedly shot down from the ceiling and slammed onto the ground between us and the Treasure. The tubes then rose back up just as quickly, revealing… four ordinary employee Cognitions?
"Go, my employees! Be the foundation upon which my victory is built!"
Were these really his 'elite soldiers'? Maybe this heist wouldn't be so difficult after all…
As a hardcore bookworm with siblings who are also very trope-savvy, I really should have known better than to tempt fate like that.
The 'elite soldiers' weren't just four employee Cognitions; they were every one of Okumura's Cognitions that we hadn't eliminated while exploring the Palace. Most of the Cognitions were weak, but it was still exhausting to face wave after wave of enemies without any breaks.
(Also, at some point during the fight, the Treasure was moved somewhere else. It didn't take a genius to realized that the UFO piece was now in the Palace Ruler's hands. Not that we needed another reason to fight him.)
By the time Shadow Okumura ran out of enemies to throw at us, we were tired and low on items. I really wasn't looking forward to the boss fight awaiting us.
Giving up wasn't an option, however, so we pressed onward. We found Okumura at the SS Utopia's entrance. When he saw us, he… got on his knees and begged?
"I-I'm sorry!" cried the Palace Ruler. "I've had a change of heart! I'll prove it!"
Bwuh!? How did his heart change!? We didn't even steal his Treasure yet!
"Father…" said Noir sadly.
It suddenly occurred to me that, despite everything he'd done, Noir truly wanted Okumura to become the nice parent that she remembered him being. I walked over to her and put my hand on her shoulder to comfort her.
"Haru, you were always so agreeable," said Shadow Okumura. "Whether it was in school or after, you only ever did as I said… You've become so admirable…"
Huh, I didn't really understand what caused his heart to change, but it seemed genuine.
"Ah yes. Do you remember, Haru…?" continued the Palace Ruler. "You cried your eyes out when my work kept me from attending your first sports day. It was then that you stopped talking back to me. Honestly… you had me worried. Still, you stood up against me and become an independent young woman… Nothing could make a father happier than seeing that!"
"You still remember something that happened so long ago…?" asked Noir. "Back then, you poured your heart into making delicious food. You wanted to bring joy to others… Why did you change…"
It looked like we wouldn't have to fight Shadow Okumura after all. Considering how worn out we were, that was a relief.
"F-forgive me, Haru…" apologized the Palace Ruler. "But I would never last if my Treasure was stolen! Please don't do it, I'm begging you…!"
I was starting to feel guilty about the idea of taking Okumura's Treasure. Would be okay if we just asked him to return to his real self and change?
Side by side, Noir and I approached the still-bowing Shadow Okumura.
"Father…" began Noir. "Let's… let's end it here…"
"Ah… Haru…" he said, raising his head to reveal a soft smile. However, a moment later, his expression twisted into a cruel grin. "You foolish girl."
Shadow Okumura pulled out a remote and pressed a button on it. Behind Haru and I, a barrier rose up around the rest of the Phantom Thieves. Mona was able to react in time and jump over the barrier before it got too high, but the others were trapped.
"What!?"
"Bwuh!?"
"'Overcome failure at any cost, even if it means betraying others'" stated the Palace Ruler coldly. "That is our family motto! The cold reality of kicking people down is part of business! Virtues and sentiments are for losers. What happiness can be found in acting with justice but losing the battle?"
His callous words caused my shock to transform into rage. The bloody carnival was back on!
"What happiness can be found through profit gained by crushing the hearts of others!?" retorted Noir.
"Better that than fail! I'd rather destroy others than wallow in the misery of debt!"
Personally, I'd rather destroy myself than force others to wallow in misery.
"Regardless, I shall soon set sail into the political realm," continued Shadow Okumura, using the off-theme metaphor again. "To the upper echelons of the world! To utopia! My name shall be etched in the annals of history!"
Seriously? He caused all of this harm and suffering… just because he wanted to be famous!? So that his name would become one that anybody would recognize, like Johannes Gutenberg or Melvil Dewey!?
I was so furious that I didn't notice Shadow Okumura was still talking until he directed a question (and gun) at me.
"How about you, girl? Don't you want to get out of here alive? Want to board my ship? I'll give you ten seconds to decide. Time is money, after all."
Forget ten! I didn't even need one second to make a decision!
I summoned Kohryu and unleashed a Psycho Force on the sorry excuse for a father standing before me.
However, the attack didn't hit Shadow Okumura. Instead, it was intercepted by the Cognitive version of Noir.
"H-huh!? Me!?" cried Noir.
"My Haru faithfully obeys my orders!" bragged the Palace Ruler. "After all, she's nothing like your charlatan!"
At that point, something in me snapped.
"Psycho Force."
This monster was connected to Black Mask, would betray or abandon anyone if it benefitted him, and had the gall to consider his own daughter nothing more than an obedient doll to be used however he wanted.
"Psycho Force. Psycho Force! PSYCHO FORCE!"
I must've blacked out… because the next thing I knew, Shadow Okumura was on the ground before me, defeated. There was no trace of his repulsive caricature of my friend, and the remote to his barrier trap was broken.
The fight was over. All that remained was to interrogate Shadow Okumura and take his Treasure.
Morgana's PoV
"In the end, I am just one more in a lineage of failures…"
The fight against Cognitive Haru and Shadow Okumura ended up being pretty anticlimactic. Not that Mona was complaining.
"I will contact your fiancé and rescind the marriage offer. This may be the end for Okumura Foods…"
When Harlequin started attacking, he and Noir joined her. Cognitive Haru shielded the Palace Ruler with her body, but it didn't take long for the barrage of Psy and Wind to grind her to pieces. As for Shadow Okumura himself, he fell after taking a single hit.
"Forgive me, Haru…"
With the change of heart set to occur, all that remained was the interrogation.
"You were behind all the breakdowns and mental shutdowns, weren't you?" accused Skull.
The athlete's question was more simplistic than how Mona would've phrased it, but it cut straight to the heart of the matter. They would get confirmation regarding their theory that Okumura was connected with Black Mask?
"I admit, I spend large sums of money to help my company grow, and to crush business competitors…"
Urgh, they didn't have time to listen to Shadow Okumura blabber on! The Palace could start collapsing at any moment! If the Metaverse followed video game logic, then why wasn't there a way to skip over this pointless chunk of dialogue!
"Answer me damnit!" yelled Skull, just as impatient as Mona. "Did you do it or not!?"
"N-not personally!" answered the Palace Ruler, frightened by the athlete. "All I did was make the requests to have them eliminated!"
That caught everyone's attention.
"Requests…!?" exclaimed Mona. The not-cat hadn't necessarily thought that Shadow Madarame lied about Black Mask's existence, but it was still good to confirm that there really was a mysterious criminal in people's Palaces.
(Well, not good, per se…)
Harlequin approached Shadow Okumura and grabbed him by the collar.
"Who did you make the requests from!?" demanded the Phantom Thieves' leader with uncharacteristic aggression.
"It… it was…" began the Palace Ruler.
Mona and the others leaned forward in anticipation.
"Ma—" Fwoom! "—Agggggggh!"
However, Shadow Okumura's response words become screams as a black-red sludge surged up from beneath his feet and began to ooze up his body. Harlequin let go of him, backing away in horror.
The Phantom Thieves could only watch in shock as the Palace Ruler was engulfed by the substance, which shrank and disappeared after devouring him completely.
"Holy shit!" shouted Skull.
"What in the world!?" exclaimed Fox.
"That was horrible!" cried Panther.
"…Father," whispered Noir numbly, possibly in shock.
"…" Harlequin glared a hole in the spot on the floor where Shadow Okumura had been moments before.
"C-could that have been some sort of failsafe set by Black Mask?" guessed Queen, likely trying to distract herself from what she'd just witnessed. "Something that triggered if he tried to reveal Black Mask's identity?"
"Whatever it was, it screamed 'evil'!" cried Oracle, visibly shaking from the scene they'd just witnessed.
…Ruuumble!
Or maybe that was the Palace shaking now that its Ruler was gone.
"Crap!" cursed Mona, pushing away thoughts of the sludge for now. "We can talk later! For now, we've gotta get out of here, pronto!"
Hopefully, the real Okumura would still be in good enough condition to answer their questions.
Goro Akechi's PoV
"The police are lucky to have you," praised the woman interviewing him. "Now, let's hear some questions from our audience."
Goro did his best to keep a smile on his face. He despised dealing with the inane comments of random, insignificant members of the general public, and the fact that this interview was arranged by him only made the detective's rage burn hotter.
Ring-ring-ring!
"Oh, it's mine," said Goro as he pulled out his phone. After seeing the caller ID, he again resisted the urge to scowl. "I apologize for the interruption, but I can't turn off my phone due to my job."
The interviewer and audience were clearly disappointed, though they pretended to be supportive and let him go after a round of applause.
Goro swiftly made his way to the dressing room he'd been given and answered the call in private. Before he could utter the first word of his witty greeting, the man on the other end of the line spoke in an abnormally angry tone.
"Okumura called me minutes ago, telling me that he received a calling card from the Phantom Thieves this morning," spoke Masayoshi Shido hastily yet succinctly. "Eliminate his Shadow. Immediately!"
The sadistic pleasure Goro had been feeling died instantly, killed by the severity of Shido's bad news. Not only had Okumura been central to their plan of dealing with the Phantom Thieves, the CEO also knew damning information about both Goro and Shido.
"Understood," replied the Persona user with no sign of the cheer he'd displayed during the interview.
The Phantom Thieves would NOT ruin his revenge!
"Good. Don't screw this up."
Shido ended the call without waiting for a response (one of his typical power games), allowing Goro to open his MetaNav and select Okumura's Palace as his destination. However…
[The destination has been deleted.]
"…Fuck," cursed the detective, his face paling.
Shido was going to be furious. Heads would roll.
Hopefully, Goro's wouldn't be among them.
AN: Futaba and Morgana's maid uniforms are the DLC outfits. They aren't revealing (just embarrassing), so I figured that making the duo wear them wouldn't be uncharacteristically cruel of Urano.
Kohryu is the Ultimate Person from Sojiro's (AKA a good father's) Confidant. Its highest-level component is Seiryu, which can be fused w/Futsunushi (Ultimate Magician; explained previously) Scathach (appears in Okumura's Palace).
The sludge's appearance is the Holy Grail mud from Fate/Stay Night. It isn't actually the mud, nor do I plan for it to appear again in the story; it just felt visually-striking (for lack of a better description) and on-theme.
Confidants: Morgana (Magician, Rank 10), Igor (Fool, Rank 5), Sojiro Sakura (Hierophant, Rank 10), Ryuji Sakamoto (Chariot, Rank 10), Tae Takemi (Death, Rank 3), Futaba Sakura (Hermit, Rank 10), Makoto Niijima (High Priestess, Rank 10), Shinya Oda (Tower, Rank 1), Caroline and Justine (Strength, Rank 3), Toranosuke Yoshida (Sun, Rank 3), Ann Takamaki (Lovers, Rank 10), Haru Okumura (Empress, Rank 2), Sadayo Kawakami (Temperance, Rank 1), Hifumi Togo (Star, Rank 2), Chihaya Mifune (Fortune, Rank 1), Yuuki Mishima (Moon, Rank 1), Munehisa Iwai (Hanged Man, Rank 2), Goro Akechi (Justice, Rank 1), Yusuke Kitagawa (Emperor, Rank 1).
