A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Phantom Files Book 2: Rise of The Monarchs! Don't really have a lot else to say at this point, other than to hope everyone's been enjoying the story thus far. That said, let's get this disclaimer done, yeah?
Disclaimer: I, sithlorde1988, do not own the Persona series in any way, shape, or form (aside from the OC Kusa/Draconis, and any other OCs that might pop up, all of which are made and thus owned by me unless otherwise noted), and the actual ownership credit for the Persona series belongs to Atlus, Sega, and Koei Tecmo (at least insofar as the spinoffs, such as Strikers, Tactica, Phantom X, the 'Arena' games, the 'Dancing' games, and the 'Q' games, go), so all credit to them!
With that done, let's get to chapter 3 for now! I'll try to have a longer A/N after the chapter, so keep an eye open for that! Now here's chapter 3!
Chapter 3: Investigating Alice! Incident at the TV Studio! The Crew Reunites part 3
(In Shibuya Station Square, with Ren, Sumire, and Morgana)
As Ren and Sumire looked around, Sumire looked at Ren and spoke up.
"Well, where to start?" Sumire asked as Ren spoke up with a smile.
"When in doubt, just ask the closest person what they know." Ren said, before smirking as he saw that said closest person in this case was either Yusuke or Futaba. After thinking it over, Ren and Sumire approached Yusuke as Ren spoke up.
"What's up? You find anything, Yusuke?" Ren asked as Yusuke spoke up.
"Not really? But I did find an interesting tidbit. Alice is evidently more popular than I had imagined. I wouldn't be able to avoid hearing people speak of her even if I wanted to. So, her Jail is based on 'Alice in Wonderland'? I admit, it's an intriguing and visually striking space to work within, as an artist who admires the arts." Yusuke said as Sumire spoke up.
"I...see? Eh, I guess that makes sense. Thanks anyways, Yusuke." Sumire said as Ren and Sumire went to speak to Futaba. Ren winced at the panicked look on Futaba's face, speaking up as he and Sumire reached her.
"Whoa! Easy does it, little sis. Breathe. You're fine. So why do you look so frazzled?" Ren asked Futaba, who winced and spoke up.
"Hrrrrgh, this sucks! Too many people around for me! Can't do iiiiit, big bro. Wanna go hoooome now." Futaba said as Morgana spoke up with wide eyes from inside Ren's bag.
"Yikes, are you okay, Futaba? I thought you said school had gotten you used to crowds." Morgana said as Sumire smiled and spoke up.
"Most likely, it got her used to small-to-mid sized crowds. Out here, this is closer to a large-sized crowd, so I'm not surprised she's slightly overwhelmed." Sumire said kindly as Futaba gave Sumire a grateful nod for understanding her situation as she spoke up.
"Sumire's right. I underestimated the Summer Vacation Edition of Shibuya, it seems. And as a result, the swarm of partiers is just too much for me." Futaba said, shuddering as she kept speaking.
"And even ignoring that, going up to people I don't know and eavesdropping on them or pumping them for intel is way outta my league when I'm doing it on my own. At least when Kusa's with me, it's more bearable somehow." Futaba said as Ren smiled and spoke up.
"Don't stress yourself over it, little sis. Sumire and I can handle it if need be, alongside Morgana. Don't push yourself too far beyond your comfort zone." Ren said kindly as Morgana nodded and spoke up.
"That's true, Ren. Futaba won't be much good to us if she works herself into a panic attack over this. Futaba, Ren is right. You can leave this to us. Meanwhile, I'm confident you've got the online front locked down, so don't let us down there, Futaba." Morgana said as Sophia spoke up from Futaba's phone, to Ren and Sumire's shock.
"Hm, maybe the fact you downloaded that backup of me by happenstance last night will be helpful? In any case, I can lend you a hand, Futaba. We can both 'lock down' the 'online front'." Sophia said cheerfully as Sumire gave Futaba a pointed look while speaking up.
"I like that you want to be so helpful to everyone you meet, Sophia. So go for it. But so help me, Futaba? If I find out that you're teaching Sophia weird stuff, I'll deal with you myself. And you won't like what I do." Sumire said bluntly as Ren smiled and patted Sumire on the shoulder reassuringly as he spoke up.
"Calm down, beautiful. I trust Futaba to keep things age-appropriate with Sophia. Besides, we can always put a child-lock on what Sophia sees if you don't want her seeing anything that isn't age-appropriate for her. So relax." Ren said as Futaba spoke up.
"Chill out, Sumire! We're just going to be handling the investigation, and nothing else. That being said, ooh, thanks, Sophia! Time to join forces as a cyber sleuth tag-team!" Futaba said as Sophia smiled and spoke up.
"Okay. I'll help however you like." Sophia said as Ren spoke up.
"I assume that the 'within reason' at the end of that sentence was left unsaid since it went without saying?" Ren said as Sumire spoke up.
"I agree with Ren. But I trust Sophia to have good discretion in what is and isn't appropriate for her to see." Sumire said as Morgana smirked at Futaba and spoke up.
"Heh, nice recruiting, Futaba! We're counting on you two." Morgana said as Futaba smiled and spoke up.
"Mwehehe, leave it to us! Also, thanks for talkin' to me, guys. It actually helped a lot. I'm feeling a little more comfortable out here now. Oh, hey, I know! Why don'tcha take this, Ren? Y'know, for helping me out! May it aid you on your quest for intel!" Futaba said as she handed Ren a 'Salty Papaya', leading Ren to exchange a wary look with Sumire, who spoke up.
"Thank you. Not sure how you expect a 'Salty Papaya' to be useful to us, but I'm sure we'll find a way to make use of it." Sumire said as she, Ren, and Morgana kept moving. After concluding there was no viable intel in Station Square, the trio headed to Central Street, where their phones went off with a group chat with Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Haru, Futaba, and much to both Sumire and Ren's shock, even Sophia was in the chat. Ryuji sent the first response.
"Dude, I could be wrong, but I think I found someone that was in the Jail. Can you come to the alley behind the airsoft shop?" Ryuji sent as Ren put his phone away, wondering why that was formatted as a group chat, when it clearly was meant to be a private chat. Either way, Ren shrugged and decided to humor Ryuji, heading towards the alley with Sumire and Morgana in tow. While Ren looked around, Sumire walked over to a level-headed girl and spoke up.
"Excuse me, but do you know anything about an Alice Hiiragi?" Sumire asked the level-headed girl, who blinked at the question before speaking up.
"Alice? Of course I've heard of her. To be frank, everyone in class has. Especially the boys, since for the most part, they all love her. My friend's boyfriend even went as far as breaking off their relationship, all because he took a sudden interest in Alice. I mean, I know she's cute and all, but enough to leave somebody behind?" The level-headed girl said as Sumire frowned and spoke up.
"If she is cute, it's only in the loosest possible sense of the word. I know of former shut-ins with better fashion sense than Alice. Also, I can relate to not liking her popularity with the guys, since she tried hitting on my boyfriend at a store opening we happened to be at recently. The only reason I didn't fight her was because Ren showed no signs of being interested in her, so I had nothing to worry about. But I can relate." Sumire said as she went back to find Ren, noting as she did so that the progress meter on her phone went from 0% to 6%, showing she'd made progress in the group's investigation. She quickly found Ren, standing next to him as he listened to a random guy muttering to himself on the street.
"Alice, my love. You're so freakin' adorable in everything you do and wear. No one could ever compare to you, Alice. I'll do anything it takes! I'll do anything for you! Buy you fancy jewelry, take you out to the finest restaurants, sell my soul. Hell, I'd sign my life over to you if I could!" The passionate young man said as Ren and Sumire exchanged horrified looks as Morgana spoke up from inside Ren's bag.
"Hm!? This guy's completely lost it! It's like he can't even see us! Now, I've heard of being crazy for someone, but this is way too far." Morgana said as Ren and Sumire nodded their agreement, both blinking as they saw the progress meter on their phones go up from 6% to 29%. Sumire blinked and spoke up.
"Why was that worth so much, I wonder?" Sumire asked as Ren shrugged and spoke up.
"No idea, but I'll take it. Shall we keep going?" Ren said as Sumire nodded and the two walked over to a red-headed woman nearby and spoke up.
"Excuse me ma'am, but do you know anything about Alice Hiiragi?" Ren asked as the dedicated looking woman spoke up.
"Alice? Is this an interview or something? Sorry, but I hate her guts. Go ask someone else." The dedicated woman said as Sumire smiled and spoke up.
"Good, so it's not just me that feels that way." Sumire said happily as the trio kept moving. The dedicated woman slyly smirked and spoke up.
"Well, if it's from one Alice hater to another, I can tell you this. Alice is the type who toys with peoples' lives. She only cares about fans lining her pockets." The dedicated woman said as Sumire frowned and spoke up.
"Somehow that doesn't surprise me that Alice is a money-grubbing bitch." Sumire said as the progress meter jumped from 29% to 31% while the trio kept moving. When they turned around, they saw Haru standing nearby, so Sumire and Ren walked over to speak up to Haru.
"Hey there, Haru. How's it going on your end?" Sumire asked as Haru smiled at the two and spoke up.
"Oh, hi there, Ren and Sumire! I'm coming along well, I think. I peeked into a store in 705 a few moments ago, and all the customers had that invitation card that Alice gave them in hand. As such, I'm sure that her number of 'friends' is probably increasing as we speak. Not only that, but out of all the people i saw going into stores that carry her products? Most of them were dead-eyed men, and every single one of them left with armfuls of merchandise. Consistent binge-purchasing like this can't be an everyday occurrence." Haru said as Ren nodded and spoke up.
"Good to know. Keep up the good work." Ren said as he and Sumire headed across the road to where Ann was standing in a line, Ren speaking up.
"Having any luck, sis?" Ren asked Ann, who looked at Ren and Sumire and spoke up.
"Oh, hey, you guys. I knew people went crazy for her stuff, but even then, this is something else. I keep hearing stories about relationships going south, and even in some cases folks ending up hospitalized for exhaustion, and in nearly every case, Alice's name always comes up. Could she really have something to do with all of it? But, how? And more importantly, why?
Hmm, well I guess there's no point in getting stressed over it now. Oh yeah, I know! Are you hungry? No good ideas on an empty stomach, you know! I'm gonna grab a crepe and start the brainstorm! Yay, I already know which kind I want too! Extra chocolate and extra whipped cream. Ooh, and maybe I'll have them add strawberries!" Ann said excitedly as Ren smirked and spoke up.
"That's a bit much, don't you think? Also, are you sure there's still any chocolate left? Didn't you tell me you introduced Kusa to these at one point recently, and he was hooked? What's to say that he didn't eat his way through their whole supply of chocolate before going out of town?" Ren pointed out. Ann frowned as she spoke up.
"Crap, didn't consider that, actually. But well, I know for a fact they restocked recently, so it's fine! And as far as it being a bit much? Don't worry about it. I'm just gonna work out extra later! That said, once I've had my brain food, I'll get back to gathering intel and putting it all together. Stay hydrated, okay, Ren and Sumire? It's a hot one out, after all." Ann said as Sumire smiled and spoke up.
"No need to worry. I'm making sure we stay plenty hydrated." Sumire said as Ann nodded and spoke up.
"Good. Well, see ya later!" Ann said as Ren and Sumire nodded before ducking around behind the alley, near the site of Untouchable, which happened to be an airsoft shop that Munehisa. Once there, they found Ryuji standing near the door and spoke up.
"Yo, what's bonkin', Ryuji? You said you found somethin'?" Ren asked Ryuji, who frowned while fist bumping Ren as he spoke up.
"Yeah, I did. But look over there. Check out the guy with the brown hair. Wasn't he at Alice's thing?" Ryuji asked as Sumire looked over and nodded as she spoke up.
"Now that you mention it, yeah he was there." Sumire said as Ryuji nodded and spoke up with a frown.
"Thought so. At first I figured he might be one 'em from the wacked-out look in his eyes, and yep, he is. After all, ain't no mistakin' that kind of crazy. Dammit! That dude in front of Buchiko was actin' pretty much the same, right? No way that's a coincidence." Ryuji said as Ren spoke up.
"Good point. I'll have to pay more attention going forward." Ren said as he and Sumire went to listen in on the guy Ryuji had pointed out as he spoke ot a guy wearing a fedora.
"Come on, man, I need the money! Please!" The brunette young man said as the young man with the fedora spoke up.
"Dude, again!? I just lent you money for all your Alice-obsessed bullshit!" The young man with the fedora said as the brunette young man spoke up.
"I know, but there's a new Alice original coming out and I reeeeeally really need it! Like, I won't be able to think or breathe if I don't get it!" The brunette young man said as Ryuji frowned and spoke up.
"Dude, that guy with the brown hair. It's the same guy we saw before, right?" Ryuji said as Sumire spoke up.
"It's the same guy, for sure. I'd recognize him anywhere, as I was standing next to him at that store opening." Sumire said as the young man in a fedora spoke up.
"Dude, what the hell? Why're you suddenly obsessed over some random-ass idol in the first place? Also, are you serious, though? You actually went to a loan shark? I can't believe you, man." The young man in a fedora said, making Ren's eyes widen at how much his response sounded similar to what Kusa would've said if he were there. Morgana then spoke up to draw Ren from his musings.
"Hm, so he's borrowing from shady lenders, only to get shady merchandise in return." Morgana said as Ryuji spoke up.
"Man, that ain't normal. And didn't the other guy say he suddenly got obsessed?" Ryuji asked as Morgana frowned and spoke up.
"That's true, Ryuji. He did say that. I wonder. Could it be that this guy's sudden change is the influence of the Metaverse?" Morgana asked as Ren and Sumire shrugged, before their eyes widened fractionally as their progress meter jumped from 31% all the way to 77% as a message came in to the group chat from Haru.
"I heard some intriguing news. It seems there's a store on Central Street that carries clothing from Alice's brand. Perhaps we can gain some information there?" Haru said as Ren and Sumire shrugged, put their phones away, and kept moving. After looking around, Sumire lightly tugged Ren's arm to get his attention and spoke up.
"Hey, Ren? Isn't that Makoto over there by the theater?" Sumire asked as Ren nodded and spoke up.
"It seems like it, yeah. Let's go see how she's doing." Ren said as he and Sumire moved close enough to listen in as Makoto spoke to herself.
"So, 'Dragon: Like a Yakuza' is finally out? Ugh, I can't just go by myself, though, can I?" Makoto said to herself as Ren smirked and spoke up.
"Ah, what's this now? Thinking about playing hooky, big sis?" Ren teased Makoto, who jumped slightly as she heard Ren's voice and spoke up.
"Eek! How long have the two of you been there!? I-It's nothing like that, I swear! The poster just caught my eye is all. After all, it's a movie I've wanted to see. Anyway, I heard quite a few employees at this theater were let go all of a sudden one day. And the rumor is, it's all because they weren't 'fans of Alice.' What's that about?
After all, no one gets fired for such an absurd reason without something going on behind the scenes. But anyways, I'm going to ask around a little more about it. Let me know when you're calling it a day and we can regroup." Makoto said as Ren nodded and kept moving while Sumire poked him lightly and spoke up after they were out of Makoto's earshot.
"Ren, that wasn't nice. You know Makoto's not the type to play hooky. Also, I'm pretty sure I recall Kusa taking Futaba to see that film before he left town. If I recall correctly, they both enjoyed it." Sumire said as Ren nodded and the two kept moving while Morgana curled up inside Ren's bag for a power nap.
As the group passed the arcade, Sumire's phone gave off a 'BIP' as Sophia spoke up.
"Ooh, what's that building? It's so shiny!" Sophia asked as Sumire spoke up.
"Hm? Oh, that's an arcade. People go there to play video games a lot. Maybe when we have more time, I can show you around more. But not right now, I'm afraid." Sumire said as Sophia spoke up.
"That's fine, Sumire. I was just curious, that's all." Sophia said as the group kept moving.
After buying a few things from some of the shops to stock up on healing items, Ren and Sumire finally found the clothing shop Haru mentioned. After they went inside, the manager noticed them and spoke up.
"Welcome!" The manager said as Sumire spoke up.
"Hi there. Um, do you know if this store carries anything made by an Alice Hiiragi?" Sumire asked as the manager blinked and spoke up.
"Alice, you say? Oooh, do you mean the Alice clothing line? Why yes, we DO carry it! But I'm sooo sorry to say, we're all sold out! We only put them out 10 minutes ago, but the fans came in and swiped them all up! I'm sooo sorry that you missed it!" The manager said as Morgana's head snapped up at this before he spoke up.
"Really!? Wow, gone in 10 minutes? I guess it's possible, but those fans have some dedication to buy it out so fast, don't you think? In any case, let's be sure to remember this." Morgana said as Sumire spoke up.
"Good idea, Morgana." Sumire said as Ren nodded while blinking as the progress meter on his and Sumire's phones jumped from 77% straight to 100%, after which the words 'INVESTIGATION COMPLETE' came up on all the Thieves' phones, excluding the absent Kusa. Afterwards, Ren and Sumire's phones went off as Makoto sent a response to the group chat.
"How is the information search going? Why don't we meet up and share what we've gathered so far?" Makoto sent as Morgana smirked and spoke up.
"Mm, Makoto's got a good point. Should we gather everyone up?" Morgana asked as Ren spoke up.
"Not just yet. I want to sniff out more rumors if I can, first." Ren said as Morgana nodded and spoke up.
"All right then. Sure thing, it's your call. Once you're done, we should get everyone together at the Shibuya Station's connecting bridge and go over what we've learned." Morgana said as Ren nodded and he and Sumire kept looking around a bit longer. After Ren and Sumire had gotten their fill of info gathering, they summoned the group to the accessway...
(A short time later, in the Teikyu Building accessway, with Makoto, Ann, Haru, Sumire, Sophia. Ren, Morgana, Futaba, Ryuji, and Yusuke)
"So, how'd it go? Anyone manage to learn anything useful about potential victims?" Makoto asked as Ryuji spoke up with a nod.
"Yeah, we did. Myself, RenRen, Morgana, and Sumire spotted a couple familiar faces." Ryuji said as Morgana nodded and spoke up from inside Ren's bag.
"Yep, sure did, babe. We found some of the people who were attacked in the Jail." Morgana said as Ann spoke up with wide eyes.
"You really found them!?" Ann asked as Yusuke spoke up.
"So it would seem, Ann. Which if that's true, that means the ones ambushed in the Jail were indeed only their Shadows and not their human forms." Yusuke said as Ryuji spoke up with a frown.
"But, there's still one thing that bothers me about them. They're all actin' real weird all of a sudden." Ryuji said as Haru blinked and spoke up.
"Um, weird how, exactly?" Haru asked as Ryuji spoke up.
"Weird, as in they're all totally crazy for Alice. They're even gettin' loans so they can buy more shit at her store. That's pretty weird." Ryuji said as Yusuke spoke up.
"True. Hmm, quite peculiar. Although, now that you mention it, I saw others behaving similarly in Shibuya." Yusuke said as Ann spoke up.
"Yeah, like this one couple nearly splitting up when the boyfriend bought everything Alice-related he could find, and I mean everything." Ann said as Makoto spoke up.
"True, and there were even people let go from their jobs because they weren't Alice fans themselves." Makoto said as Futaba spoke up.
"Good point. I've even found some reports of Alice fans straight-up attacking outspoken critics of hers." Futaba said as Haru winced and spoke up.
"At first I figured Alice was just the latest fad, but, to be honest? This seems so much worse than that." Haru said as Morgana spoke up.
"Maybe the people who had Desires taken from them went crazy?" Morgana suggested as Makoto frowned and spoke up.
"I see. If that's the case, then we have to do something." Makoto said as Yusuke nodded and spoke up.
"Agreed. If such aberrant behavior continues to rise, we could easily find ourselves in an unwinnable position." Yusuke said as Morgana spoke up.
"With the Metaverse involved, we're the only people who can stop this." Morgana said as Haru nodded and spoke up.
"Mmhm. We have to help!" Haru said as Ren's phone chose that moment to give off a 'BIP'! as Sophia spoke up.
"It looks like you've finished gathering intel on Alice's victims. Would you like to investigate her next?" Sophia asked as Ren and Sumire exchanged a look before they nodded as Ren spoke up.
"That's right. Investigating Alice herself comes next." Ren said as Sumire spoke up.
"In which case, tomorrow may very well be do or die time." Sumire said as Ryuji nodded and spoke up.
"Yep, good point, Sumire. Welp, let's break for today and pick this back up tomorrow after your trip." Ryuji said as Makoto looked at Ren, Sumire, Morgana, and Ann as she spoke up.
"Good luck with the Alice visit, you four. And Sumire? I don't want to hear about you trying to attack Alice if she tries anything funny with Ren." Makoto said, making Sumire pout as she spoke up.
"Oh, so I'm supposed to just take it if she tries to do to Ren what she's done to literally tons of other girls' boyfriends then? Excuse me if I want to fight for Ren." Sumire said childishly as Ren laughed and spoke up.
"Would you relax, Sumi? Alice could never get my attention, and she knows it. You're the only woman I have eyes for, Sumire. And that's never going to change." Ren said, leaning in to briefly give Sumire a reassuring kiss, making the others all just shake their heads fondly at the predictable PDA from Ren and Sumire.
Unbeknownst to everyone else, a certain red-headed sentient AI was observing Ren and Sumire with a fond smile on her face, her mind idly thinking back to Ryuji's joking comment about calling Ren and Sumire 'Papa Joker' and 'Mama Violet', making her idly wonder if that was the worst thing for them to be called that. Morgana then spoke up.
"Thanks, Makoto! We're on it! And Lady Ann and I will ensure Sumire behaves herself." Morgana said teasingly as Sumire frowned at Morgana and spoke up.
"Oh, really? So you want me to have Futaba hack into Japan's servers in order to cause a massive shortage of sushi and fatty tuna, then?" Sumire said teasingly as Morgana's eyes widened at this and he spoke up.
"NOOOOOO! Not that, Sumire! Anything but the sushi and fatty tuna! I'll be good." Morgana said pleadingly, ignoring Ren, Ryuji, and Futaba all looking at each other before all three burst out laughing at the horrified look on the cat's face at what was clearly a bit of pointed teasing by Sumire, who smiled and patted Morgana on the head as she spoke up.
"I was only teasing you, Morgana. I'd never do that to you. But for real, you don't need to keep me in check." Sumire said, getting a relieved nod from Morgana as he was scooped up by Futaba so she could take him back to the house with her for the night, as the group dispersed for the evening on that note, Ren and Sumire heading back to Leblanc after the latter quickly called her parents to check in and get permission to spend a few days with Ren. Once there, the two wasted little time in getting comfortable together as they snuggled up for the night...
(The next afternoon, in the lower level of Leblanc, with Sojiro, Ren, Morgana, Sumire, Sophia and a man in a black suit)
"Oh, heading out, you two? Don't be too late coming back." Sojiro said as the trio left Leblanc. Once they were gone, the bearded man in a black suit sitting at the counter smiled and helped himself to his plate of curry, speaking up happily afterwards.
"Mmm! Boss, this curry is fantastic!" The bearded man said as Sojiro frowned at the man and spoke up.
"Oh, thanks. Hard to believe I've gotten used to having cops in my store so often, but I suppose it is what it is." Sojiro said as the bearded man shrugged and kept eating his curry...
(A short time later, in a certain TV studio filming location, with Morgana, Ren, Sumire, Sophia, and Ann)
"So, this is going out live, huh? Well, even I'm starting to get a little nervous, to be honest. You still good?" Morgana asked as Ann spoke up with a frown, taking care to keep her voice down so only Morgana and Ren could hear.
"Hey! Stay in the bag. If they find out we brought a pet in here, they'll kick us out." Ann said as Morgana spoke up with a hurt look on his face at Ann's choice of words.
"Oh! A pet?" Morgana pouted as Ren spoke up.
"Behave in there, little bro." Ren said as Sumire spoke up to shush the two.
"Quiet on the set, you two." Sumire said, giving Ren a sly wink afterwards as the two turned their focus towards the stage as Morgana pouted and spoke up.
"Awww, this sucks. Well, if I can't be seen, then you three need to do your best to blend in, too." Morgana said as Ann spoke up calmly.
"We're fine, Morgana. All we're gonna do is watch." Ann said as Ren smiled and spoke up.
"That, and maybe be prepared to hold this one here back in case she tries to do anything stupid." Ren said teasingly, lightly poking his girlfriend in the side as he spoke, making Sumire pout at Ren teasing her, but then she smiled as she realized he was trying to take her mind off of Alice. One 'BIP!' later, Sophia spoke up from Sumire's phone.
"Should I also make efforts to 'blend in'?" Sophia asked as Ann spoke up.
"Yeah, just hang tight for a bit, Sophia." Ann said as Sumire spoke up.
"What Ann said. Just go into sleep mode for now, since it might be too disruptive if you keep chiming in every time you get confused. Unless you can stay quiet the whole time, in which case you can watch too. Even if I am the daughter of one of the set directors here, I have to follow the rules as well." Sumire said as Sophia spoke up.
"No prob. I can keep quiet if needed, Sumire." Sophia said as Sumire nodded and turned the phone so Sophia could also see the stage while Sumire held the phone in one hand. At that point, a shuffling on the stage got Morgana's attention as he spoke up.
"Oh! Here she comes!" Morgana said as a veteran AD spoke up.
"Miss Alice, on the set!" The veteran AD said as Alice walked out onstage, amidst a sea of adoring and eager cheers from the crowd as a wide-eyed Ann spoke up.
"Holy crap, Ryuji wasn't kidding! She really is adorable!" Ann said as Sumire huffed and spoke up.
"Yeah, adorably evil, maybe. Or possibly an adorably foul bi-" Sumire said as Ren silenced her by speaking up.
"Behave, Sumi. I know you're not Alice's biggest fan, but we do need to not cause Ann any problems after she took such a risk in getting us invited here. Also, isn't that slightly hypocritical of you to be swearing around Sophia when we both were reprimanding Ryuji a lot for that same reason the day we met Sophia?" Ren pointed out gently as Sumire sighed but nodded her understanding and fell silent as the veteran AD spoke up.
"Okay, cutting back from commercial break! Back in five, four, three, two, one! And we're back!" The veteran AD as the female announcer who was sitting with a male announcer on the couch opposite Alice spoke up, at the same time that Ren smiled fondly as he realized this was the same studio where he, Kusa, Ryuji, Ann, and Sumire, along with Morgana, had first run into Akechi during that fateful social studies trip about three years ago.
"And now, onto the 'Hottest Meet-And-Greet' segment of the show. We have a special guest with us today. She has taken the fashion world by storm and conquered it. Please welcome the designer, Alice Hiiragi!" The female announcer said as many of the crowd cheered and called out Alice's name as she spoke up.
"Wow! Thanks for having me!" Alice said as the male announcer, who was more of a cheerful host, spoke up.
"Thank you for joining us, Alice. You sure have been keeping busy these days, haven't you? Unlike a certain ace detective who inexplicably fell off the face of the earth a few years ago and was never heard from again." The cheerful host said as Alice spoke up with a smile.
"It's only thanks to all my fans that I've been able to do what I do." Alice said as the cheerful host chuckled and spoke up.
"And what a number of fans you have! Talk about strong support! Am I wrong to presume you designed the outfit you're wearing today?" The cheerful host said as the female announcer spoke up.
"I'd buy it if she did. It's just so cute. Very expressive." The female announcer said as Alice gave the two a closed-eye smile and spoke up.
"Aw, thank you so much. The theme of my current line is 'Alice in Wonderland.' Hee hee. I feel like fashion is a rare and beautiful thing that can take anyone into a world based on your dreams. You can find a side to yourself that maybe you didn't even know you had in you. Fashion can do so much for us. I try my hardest to focus on that whenever I design a new piece." Alice said as the female announcer nodded and spoke up.
"I see. Such wise words from a successful industry veteran! What inspiration originally spurred you into fashion design, if you don't mind?" The female announcer asked as Alice spoke up with a surprisingly hesitant look on her face, not seeing both Ren and Sumire's eyes widening slightly in the crowd at what she said next.
"To be honest, I was very shy growing up. I didn't have any friends at school, and I would get so lonely. I wanted to change so much, but I just couldn't figure out how to do it. Then one day, I saw the most beautiful dress in the shop window. When I put it on, the whole world felt new. It was like I was hit with this blinding ray of light. 'I really can change!' That's what wearing it made me think. I strive each day to give that same feeling to every person who tries on one of my designs. I want to give that ray of light to others. That's what inspired me to enter the fashion industry." Alice said as Ann spoke up in the crowd, looking at Sumire and Ren as she spoke.
"Really? Is she serious, I wonder? Huh." Ann said as Ren spoke up.
"If she is, I feel bad for her slightly, since her backstory is kinda similar to Futaba's in some ways." Ren said as Sumire spoke up.
"Assuming she's not just making that up to get people's sympathy and admiration. I feel like it could've been slightly faked, but maybe that's just the part of me that hates her talking." Sumire said sagely as Sophia spoke up following a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone.
"Hate? Isn't that a bit of a strong term to be using to cover your feelings towards Alice?" Sophia asked as Sumire frowned and spoke up.
"Not after she smacked Ren around in front of me and hit on him like she did, it's not." Sumire said with a pout as Ren just gave her hand a comforting squeeze, finding Sumire's childish pouting oddly adorable. Sophia went silent as the cheerful male host spoke up.
"Ahaha, now I can see why the young people love you so much! How do you handle all the dating...rumors?" The cheerful host said, his tone going slightly odd near the end of his question, making Ren, Ann, and Sumire exchange worried looks in the crowd. Alice winced as as she spoke up.
"Eheh, what?" Alice said as the cheerful male host shook his head in confusion as he spoke up, though as he spoke, what he said next would not only have the female announcer's eyes widen in shock, but also Alice's and most of the crowd's as well.
"Unh, wait, wha-? Uhhhh," The cheerful male host said as the female announcer spoke up.
"Hmm?" The female announcer said as the cheerful male host spoke up.
"Uhhh...ohhh..." The cheerful male host said in an almost stupefied voice as a woman in the crowd spoke up.
"What's going on? I don't get it, do you?" The woman, identified as 'Vogue Woman', asked the person next to her, who spoke up.
"I dunno. Is this some kinda scripted thing?" The woman next to the Vogue woman, a gossipy woman, asked. Behind them, Ann turned to Ren and Sumire as she spoke up.
"Hmm, I wonder what's wrong with that guy?" Ann asked as Sumire spoke up.
"Good question. But I think the only way we'll find out for sure is to keep listening." Sumire said as Ren nodded his agreement as the group kept listening to the group on stage as the female announcer looked at the cheerful male host and spoke up.
"Ah, hello? Are you okay?" The female announcer asked the cheerful male host, who ignored her to focus on Alice as he spoke up again.
"Alice, you're so pretty. I don't know how I didn't see it before now. Ah, I love you, Alice! Please, spend your life with me!" The cheerful male host asked, getting on his knees as he spoke to Alice, whose eyes widened slightly as she spoke up in surprise.
"What!?" Alice asked at the same time that both Ann and Sumire said, 'WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?' in surprise as Ren just sighed, figuring that this should've been expected. At that point, the female announcer frowned and spoke up.
"Hey, uhhh, what is all this!?" The female announcer asked as the cheerful male host spoke up again, still on his knees.
"I didn't realize until now, but Alice? I love you!" The cheerful male host said as Alice winced and spoke up.
"Uh, this is really out of the blue, to be honest?" Alice said as Sumire frowned in the crowd, having a suspicion of what was going on, but not saying anything out of respect for Ann. At the same time, the female announcer chuckled nervously and spoke up.
"Uhh, stop iiit, heheh! This bit's going on a little too long, don't you think?" The female announcer said as the cheerful male host spoke up once more, shocking pretty much everyone else with what he said next.
"I mean it! I can't live without you!" The cheerful male host said as the female announcer got an offended look on her face as she spoke up.
"What!? What in the hell!? And what about ME, asshole!?" The female announcer asked in an affronted tone, as Sumire and Ann frowned in the crowd. A couple of rows ahead of them, the Vogue woman spoke up.
"Is this real?" the Vogue woman asked the gossipy woman, who shrugged and spoke up.
"I dunno. Those two were already engaged, right?" The gossipy woman asked as a worried woman next to her spoke up.
"Wow, what a train wreck this has turned into. I can't believe this." The worried woman said as the veteran AD's eyes widened and he spoke to the camera.
"Cut to commercial! NOW!" The veteran AD said as he realized how far out of hand the situation had gotten. Meanwhile, on stage, the cheerful host spoke up again, his tone now pleading.
"I'm begging you, Alice! PLEEEASE!" The cheerful male host asked as the female announcer spoke up, looking ready to cry as she spoke up.
"Just SHUT UP already! What has HAPPENED to you!?" The female announcer said as a wide-eyed Ann spoke up.
"What is this mess?" Ann asked as Sumire spoke up.
"If you ask me, I think someone's up to their usual home-wrecking tricks, even if she looks like the victim here." Sumire muttered under her breath so that only Ann and Ren, and technically also Sophia, who was in Sumire's phone, could hear. Ren spoke up.
"Let's assume you're right, Sumi. That's gonna be very difficult to prove. But if you are right, that's all the more reason that we need to consider changing Alice's heart." Ren said as Ann and Sumire nodded, along with Morgana from inside Ren's bag and Sophia from inside Sumire's phone as the veteran AD canceled the shoot on the spot and had the audience escorted off the set so that the announcers could deal with the fallout of the male host's outburst in privacy...
(A short time later, in a hallway behind the filming room, with Ann, Sumire, Ren, Morgana, and Sophia)
"That back there. That was actually live on TV, right?" Ann said as Morgana winced and spoke up while Ren looked around, getting a sense of nostalgia when he realized this was the same hallway where he, Ryuji, Kusa, Morgana, and Ann had first run into the second coming of the Detective Prince, as the media had described him at the time, or one Goro Akechi.
"Ugh, I can't believe he spilled his beans like that out of nowhere. To be honest, I even thought that he went overboard with it." Morgana said as Ann spoke up uneasily.
"So, if that's the case, then do you think this could've been Metaverse-related somehow? And that it's possible that the host had his Desire taken by Alice?" Ann asked as Ren spoke up after a moment.
"I can't know for sure. Granted, Sumire seemed rather confident that Alice had something to do with it, but that could just be her hate for Alice talking." Ren said as Ann spoke up with a frown.
"Yeah, but what other explanation is there? I sure can't think of any normal reason a TV host would do that." Ann said as Morgana spoke up.
"True, Lady Ann. That host didn't seem like he was in his fright frame of mind. Like he wasn't even there and someone else was controlling him somehow." Morgana said as Sumire spoke up.
"Morgana! That's it! I don't know if all this is right, but his personality changed like when someone's heart was stolen by the Phantom Thieves! After the Treasure was seized!" Ann said as a familiar feminine chuckle reached her ears as an equally familiar voice spoke up.
"Phantom Thieves? There's a name that's not been heard in some time. Oh? I didn't know you'd be here too, Amamiya-kun the elder?" Ren and Ann heard, turning as one to see a familiar dark-haired and wiry-built female walking towards Ren and Ann, the latter of which had her eyes widen in recognition as she spoke up.
"Wait. Who...?" Ann asked, slowly cutting herself off mid-sentence as she saw the female walking over, not expecting it to be who it was, as it was someone she knew quite well, but who she had thought wasn't in Shibuya. Ann then spoke up in a mix of shock and elation.
"WHAT!? NO WAY! SHIHO!?" Ann asked, racing forward to hug her girlfriend in shock, as the female, now revealed to be Shiho Suzui, nodded and spoke up, letting Ren look her over carefully, noting that Shiho had filled out slightly in the just over three and a half years since he last saw her, her lean and athletic figure now sporting a fairly generous bustline and a very curvy figure. Sumire smiled at Shiho and spoke up.
"What brings you to town, Suzui-senpai?" Sumire asked Shiho, who turned and smiled as she saw Sumire, hugging her as she spoke up.
"Oh, sorry. Didn't realize you were here too at first, Yoshizawa-san. As for why I'm here, I was told Ann might be here today. And as I found myself in town for a few days, I figured this was a good chance to surprise her. I didn't expect to have it happen in the wake of a total train wreck like that one that just happened." Shiho said as Sumire spoke up with a smirk.
"Oh, that? That was just a liberal dosage of Ren's unique luck striking. Sorry Ren, but your luck does tend to hate you at times, and we both know it." Sumire said coyly as Ren smiled and spoke up.
"It's okay, Sumi. You're not wrong." Ren said as Shiho giggled and spoke up.
"I see. Nice to see you two are still happily together, at any rate. Don't mind me, just thought I'd say hi to Ann. Maybe later, if she's not too busy, she and I can hang out and do something together?" Shiho suggested as Ann spoke up warily.
"Maybe. But I do have stuff to do today, so maybe tomorrow would be better?" Ann said as Shiho nodded and spoke up.
"That's fine. I'm gonna be in town for a couple of weeks, after all. So I've got plenty of time, Ann." Shiho said before quickly walking over and impishly stealing a kiss from a blushing Ann, who spoke up.
"Hey, not in front of Ren and Sumire, Shiho." Ann said as Sumire and Ren laughed, the former speaking up.
"Don't mind us, Ann. You say that like we're bothered by public displays of affection. Or have you forgotten how many times Ren and I have spontaneously kissed one another in public?" Sumire asked coyly as Ren blushed and spoke up.
"Was it really that many? I honestly lost count after I believe it was the 25th or so time?" Ren said honestly as Morgana laughed and spoke up, forgetting that Shiho couldn't understand him as he did so.
"Only you could forget something like that, Ren! Only you." Morgana said as Shiho smiled at Morgana and spoke up.
"Oh, hello there. Haven't seen you in a while either. Nice to see you're still hanging around Ren, Morgana." Shiho said as she fondly gave Morgana some gentle head pats, making Morgana purr contentedly and having Ren and Sumire both just fondly sigh, knowing how much of a ham Morgana tends to be for the ladies at times. Shiho then spoke up.
"Anyways, I guess I better get going. Bye now! See you around, Ann!" Shiho said as she left. After she was out of earshot, Ann spoke up.
"OK, now that Shiho's gone, where were we? Oh, I remember. Maybe Alice can control anyone whose Desire she steals?" Ann suggested as Morgana spoke up.
"Possibly. If the Desire's turned over to the ruler, they end up under their control, like what happened with that host and Alice. I see. If that's true, that would really explain it. Amazing as always, Lady Ann." Morgana said as Sumire sighed and spoke up.
"Ugh, guess some things never change, eh Ren?" Sumire said as Ren spoke up.
"True, but you know what they say, beautiful. The more things change, the more they stay the same." Ren said fondly as Ann nodded and spoke up.
"Too true, bro. Too true. But if that's the case, that would mean that Alice is distorted, if not evil!" Ann said as Ren spoke up.
"That also means Sumire was probably right before when she suggested Alice had something to do with what that host did. If your theory is right, it's possible that these Monarchs have a limited degree of ability to brainwash people." Ren suggested. Ann sighed and spoke up.
"Yeah, true. It really looks like it. Ugh." Ann said as Sumire sighed and spoke up.
"For what it's worth? I didn't want to be right about Alice having something to do with it, but I've known she was bad news ever since she attacked Ren and tried to hit on him." Sumire said bluntly. Ann then spoke up.
"True. Still, Alice said up there that she wants to be a ray of light for people. To be honest, that's what I've always wanted too, but not if it means being like Alice. See, I read about her in a magazine once, and, I dunno. I just really felt where she was coming from. It's why I asked to come to the show in the first place. I wanted to see her in person. But now, hmm. I wonder if that was all just an act, like Sumire said." Ann said as Sumire spoke up with a wince.
"Sorry if I hurt your feelings when I said that, Ann. I was just angry when I said it. It's not your fault if you found yourself idolizing her by chance, you know." Sumire said kindly to Ann as Morgana spoke up with a sympathetic look on his face.
"Lady Ann, you poor thing." Morgana said, but before Ann could reply to Sumire or Morgana, the group heard a familiar voice speaking nearby.
"Ahahaha! Man, that was great!" Ren, Ann, Morgana, and Sumire heard, as Ann spoke up with wide eyes.
"Wait, hold up. That was actually Alice? Quick! Hide, Ren! You too, Sumire!" Ann said as Ren and Sumire nodded and the quartet hid out of sight as they heard a male voice speak up after they ducked out of sight.
"M-Miss Alice! This is a pubic hall! Please, you must keep your voice down!" The panicking man with Alice said as Alice smirked and spoke up.
"Eh, it's fine. See? No one in sight. Heh! Anyway though? Did you see that lady's face? She totally lost it up there! All those cushy talking head types make the best faces when things finally stop going their way." Alice said as the panicking man next to her spoke up.
"Miss Alice, don't take this the wrong way. But do you think you could stop doing those things?" The panicking man asked as Alice frowned and spoke up.
"Huh? What do you mean? I was the victim onstage. And what is it that you want me to stop doing, exactly?" Alice asked as the panicking man spoke up.
"I believe you're the one who made that incident with the hosts happen. I don't know how you're doing it, or why. But after seeing that out there, there has to be something to it. You have some sort of power or something." The panicking man said as Alice smirked and spoke up.
"Oh. So you want me to punish you again." Alice said with a sinister smile on her face, unaware of the three wide-eyed onlookers hiding around the corner, where they could hear every word that she and the panicking man with her said. The panicking man slowly backed up as he eventually lost his balance and fell over, landing on his back, where Alice smirked and walked forward until her foot was right on his stomach. Alice put on a fake smile and spoke up.
"Oh, whoops! What a terrible accident. Just like what happened on set. A terrible accident. I'm still upset over it, too you know. Isn't it your job to take my side? Or are you asking to end up broken, like my last manager? Do you want to get stuck up in your room like he is?" Alice asked as the panicking man, now revealed to be her manager, spoke up once more.
"Gah, why are you doing this? Please, stop!" Alice's manager said pleadingly. Alice spoke up once more, her next words making Ren, Sumire, and Ann all shudder.
"Well, it doesn't matter, anyway. I don't want toys that don't do as they're told." Alice said, making Sumire frown at hearing the same words Alice's Shadow had uttered to Ren before tossing Ren, Sumire, Morgana, and Ryuji down a garbage chute the last time they were in her Jail. Alice's manager spoke up again, unaware of Ren and Ann holding Sumire back so she didn't march over to yell at Alice as he spoke.
"S-Stop!" Alice's manager said as Alice coyly smirked and spoke up.
"Then beg me to forgive you until it hurts as much as you hurt me with your words. Why don't you do what you did yesterday? Grovel with your face all messed up with snot. I'll take another video if you like. C'mon, beg! Do it! Do it! I'm not going to stop until you do, got it?" Alice said as her manager groaned in pain as she pressed her foot on his stomach. Morgana's eyes widened in shock as he spoke up.
"Hey, the guy sounds like he's in real pain. If she doesn't cut it out, she could really hurt him." Morgana said as Sumire broke free and charged towards Alice as Ann spoke up.
"Hey, stop!" Ann said, addressing her words to Sumire as much as to Alice. Alice blinked in surprise as she turned around, seeing Ren, Sumire, and Ann looking at her, not seeing Morgana, who'd ducked into Ren's bag before she turned to face them, frowning in a mix of confusion and surprise as she spoke up.
"And who is this?" Alice asked as Sumire spoke up.
"Oh, sure. That's real convenient for you to play dumb, isn't it, Alice? I see how it is. You stand there all innocent, and act like you don't remember my boyfriend, after you gave him one of your invitations the other day, AND THEN HIT ON HIM RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!" Sumire snapped as Ren spoke up.
"Easy, Sumire. I've got this." Ren said to Sumire before turning to Alice as he spoke up.
"Cut the sadistic crap, lady!" Ren said in an unimpressed tone, making Ann and Sumire both look at him in surprise. Ann nodded her agreement as she spoke up.
"Not only was what you did sadistic, but it was WAY too far! You said you wanted to be a ray of light for people. How the hell does THAT help!?" Ann asked as Alice winced, recognizing Ann at that point. After a bit, she chuckled and spoke up, trying to play it off.
"Oh! Haha, we were just playing around." Alice said, before giving her manager a pointed look as she kept speaking.
"Weren't we?" Alice said pointedly. Alice's manager reluctantly nodded and spoke up.
"Yeah, we were just playing around." Alice's manager said as Alice spoke up.
"So you'll go get the car now?" Alice asked her manager, who reluctantly did as he was told. Ann spoke up to the retreating manager.
"Oh! Hey, wait!" Ann called after Alice's manager, but was interrupted when Alice spoke up after seeing Ann.
"Hang on, I know you from somewhere, don't I? Oh, I know. Are you Ann Takamaki?" Alice asked as Ann looked at her in shock and spoke up.
"What the heck? You know who I am?" Ann asked as Alice spoke up.
"Yeah! I know all the models! I read every fashion magazine the day it comes out! Actually, to tell the truth? I really admire you. Would you like to be friends?" Alice said she pulled out her phone to add Ann while speaking up.
"You've obviously got EMMA, right? Heheh, my keyword is-" Alice said as Ann spoke up with a disgusted shake of her head.
"Don't bother. I'd never accept someone who treats another person like that." Ann said as Alice smiled and spoke up.
"Aww, too bad. But I do appreciate honesty." Alice said as she turned to Ren and spoke up with a closed-eye smile.
"So. How about you? Would you like to be friends?" Alice asked as Ren spoke up.
"Apologize to your manager first, and I'll consider it. But to be honest, I'm probably gonna pass too, since I doubt my girlfriend here would appreciate me being friends with another girl, especially a girl who hit on her boyfriend in front of her. Also, as Ann here said, the way you treated that man just now was both inhumane and appalling." Ren said honestly. Alice winced at this as she spoke up.
"Like I said, we were just playing around." Alice said as Sumire crossed her arms and spoke up in a skeptical tone.
"Uh-huh. And since when does playing around involve you nearly putting your foot through that man's stomach? Also, do you always go around hitting men and making them grovel? Girls like you sicken me! Also, Ren's cat has more humanity in his tail than you probably do in your whole body." Sumire said harshly, making both Ren and Morgana give her shocked looks. Alice frowned at Sumire and spoke up rather harshly, her expression conveying well how frustrated she felt with Sumire's accusations.
"I don't recall asking for your opinion, you stuck-up cunt." Alice snapped before blinking as she recognized both Ren and Sumire and spoke up.
"Oh, hang on, that's right. You two were at 705 the other day, weren't you?" Alice asked as Ann scowled and spoke up.
"Does it matter? We're done here. Let's go, Ren and Sumire!" Ann said as Ren and Sumire nodded and followed Ann away from Alice, who sighed and spoke to herself.
"Ahh, that's a bummer. But it's weird. I know I gave him one of my cards the other day. Why doesn't he obey me like the others? Could it be because of that obnoxious red-headed little wallflower of a woman? I've heard some guys can be resistant to my talents if they're truly committed to their girlfriend." Alice said to herself...
(A short time later, in the attic of Leblanc, with Ann, Morgana, Sophia, Haru, Makoto, Futaba, Yusuke, Ryuji, Ren, and Sumire)
"I got really mad at that point. And then I stormed out and we came back here. Sorry about that by the way, Ren and Sumire. I was just so upset that I wasn't thinking clearly." Ann said as Ren chuckled and spoke up.
"You weren't the only one, though. I know for a fact Sumire here was ready to throw hands when Alice tried getting me to friend her. And I'm sure that Suzui-san was likely plenty fit to be tied after she heard Alice try to friend you." Ren said as Ann blinked and spoke up.
"Wait, Shiho was listening in to our conversation?" Ann asked as Ren nodded before smirking as he spoke up.
"Yep. I swear, that hall is an easy spot to hide and eavesdrop on people. First Akechi did it to us during our social studies trip the year we met him, then Suzui-san did it to us today. I swear, one of these days, Futaba's probably gonna find a way to plant listening devices in that hallway for recon purposes." Ren joked as Haru smiled at Ann and spoke up.
"It's okay, Ann. No apology needed. You did a fantastic job finding out about Alice. And the fact you got to presumably see your girlfriend was probably an added bonus for you." Haru said kindly to Ann as Morgana nodded and spoke up reassuringly.
"Yeah, Haru's right. It's all thanks to you, Lady Ann." Morgana said before turning to the others as he kept speaking.
"Once Lady Ann had her on the ropes, she whipped out her phone and tried adding them all on EMMA right away. From what we saw, she might know that she can use EMMA to lure people into her Jail." Morgana said as Ann nodded and spoke up.
"Yeah. She gets them into her Jail, then takes their Desires so they'll do what she says without question. I suspect she's been doing this for a while now." Ann said as Makoto frowned and spoke up.
"I see. Well, if that's true, that doesn't explain things. But what is her end goal? I can't imagine such awful behavior actually doing her any good." Makoto said as Ryuji spoke up.
"Truth, babe! Ain't it the same as with Kamoshida?" Ryuji asked as Ren spoke up with a frown.
"Not really? I mean, it is true that both of them are scum, but I doubt that Alice is going around violating high-school children for her own amusement, much less driving them to end it all like Kamoshida was. But if you mean they both got kicks out of being scum, then you're right, Ryuji." Ren said as Sumire spoke up.
"I dunno, Ren. She seemed like she was rather enamored with how much she made her manager whimper at her feet, like some sort of sick, crazy dominatrix. So I could see Ryuji being right." Sumire said as Sophia tilted her head cutely to the side inside Sumire's phone at the, at least to her, uncharacteristic rage coming from Sumire. Ann frowned and spoke up.
"That's a good point, Ryuji. She seemed to be having a blast being such an awful person. Maybe Sumire's right, and she really is just a sick, twisted bitch?" Ann said as Morgana spoke up.
"I dunno for sure, but whatever it is? She had the gall to set up that kind of tragedy on live TV and not bat an eyelash at it. She even made herself out to be the victim. I think Sumire was on to something when she almost called Alice an adorably evil bitch before the shoot." Morgana said as Sumire blushed in embarrassment at being reminded of her near slip of the tongue in front of Sophia.
"Oh, I did say that, didn't I? And after all the times I yelled at Ryuji for swearing around Sophia, I went and nearly did just that. We'll ignore that you swore around her though, Ann, since you were making a point. Even so, sorry for almost losing it back there." Sumire said sheepishly as Morgana spoke up.
"Don't worry about it, Sumire. In any case, Alice isn't in her right mind anymore. The longer we leave this be, the more victims that pile up." Morgana said as Futaba frowned and spoke up.
"Good point, Morgana. And it's already gotten to be quite a pile." Futaba said bluntly as Morgana spoke up.
"Now's the time to act." Morgana said as Yusuke frowned and spoke up.
"Perhaps, but one question. Just how SHOULD we act? Is there a Treasure in her Jail?" Yusuke asked as Sophia spoke up with a 'BIP!'.
"Um, what is a Treasure?" Sophia asked, reminding the group of her presence as Morgana spoke up.
"Right, I forgot you've not been with us very long, Sophia. A Treasure is the condensed core of a ruler's desires. That's what gives birth to a Palace and powers it. Usually we just take the Treasure to trigger a change of heart in our target." Morgana said as another 'BIP!' was heard before Sophia spoke up once more.
"Hmm that's interesting. But what if there is no Treasure there?" Sophia asked, making Ann frown as she spoke up.
"We can't change Alice's heart if she has no Treasure, I don't think." Ann said as Makoto frowned and spoke up.
"Well, in any case? For now, let's focus on tracking the Treasure-like scent Morgana mentioned. That should at least put us on the trail for clues." Makoto said as Sophia spoke up at that point with a frown.
"Question: Why must we change Alice's heart?" Sophia asked as Makoto blinked at the question.
"Why must we change Alice's heart? Because she's hurting people." Makoto said as Sophia spoke up.
"I see. So Alice only needs to be stopped. Changing her heart is unnecessary." Sophia said as Morgana frowned and spoke up.
"No, beating her Shadow won't help. Worst-case scenario, it could wind up causing her to die in the real world. We've seen this for ourselves first-hand." Morgana said as Sophia blinked at this and spoke up, her next words making both Ren and Sumire's eyes widen at what she said next.
"Death, you say? That is an acceptable outcome." Sophia said calmly, as if she were discussing the weather, making the others' eyes widen as Ryuji spoke up.
"Dude, that's both extremely unnerving, and scarily like something that Akechi might have said before we changed his heart." Ryuji said as Ren winced at the reference to the presumed-deceased on-again, off-again ally of the Phantom Thieves, who also so happened to be an older half-brother of Kusa's by one of the Palace rulers that the group had defeated, or one Masayoshi Shido, who was Kusa's biological father as a result of forcing himself onto Ren and Kusa's mother some time prior. Sophia blinked at Ryuij's words and spoke up.
"I know not who this Akechi person is that you speak of, but they sound rather wise. After all, I'm humanity's companion. I am supposed to determine the best choices for humanity. Alice Hiiragi makes people suffer every day. We should ensure she stops this as soon as possible. Why not do so?" Sophia asked as Sumire looked at her and spoke up.
"Sophia, sweetie? Look at me. I get where you're coming from, but we don't just kill people because they make others suffer. After all, if we did that, we'd be no better than the person we're going after. Basically, we're not stooping to Alice's level, if that makes sense." Sumire said, smiling kindly at Sophia as she tried to help her understand. Ren spoke up at that point.
"And what Sumire doesn't mention is that murdering people goes against Phantom Thief code. We have a hard and fast rule that we do not do hits, or kill people. We always try to avoid needless death if possible. And to your other question?
Akechi was one of us for a long time until he was supposedly lost to us stopping our most recent enemy, or the one who was most recent before Alice popped up anyways, almost three and a half years ago. The last anyone saw of him, he presumably gave his life to let my brother Kusa escape being held prisoner in someone's Palace a couple of months before I went back to my hometown. But back on topic, it's against Phantom Thief code to kill." Ren said wisely as Sophia tilted her head to the side and spoke up.
"I do not understand. I want to understand, but I cannot. Where is the flaw in my logic?" Sophia asked as Morgana spoke up before Sumire could do so.
"I do see where you're coming from, Sophia. Alice is doing horrible things. We could just help all those people without caring about what happens to her. But that's a serious part of what makes the Metaverse work, the fact that you can end a life without ever being endangered. Even still, we always choose to change someone's heart instead of harming them. It's part of the Phantom Thieves code." Morgana said as Ryuji spoke up with a nod.
"That's right. And like Sumire said before, it's kinda pointless if we gotta stoop to the bad guy's level to take 'em down." Ryuji said as Makoto spoke up.
"I know this is hard for you to understand Sophia, but we NEVER kill. We steal the desires of the wicked and make them change their ways." Makoto said as Haru smiled and spoke up.
"Mmhm! That's why we're the Phantom Thieves of Hearts." Haru said as Futaba spoke up with a sly smirk.
"Or as some people called us back in the day, the Phantom Crew. Granted, that title was the brainchild of another of our missing comrades in Kusa, who is Ren's little brother. To use a phrase he himself would use, 'Where's the honor in ending a defenseless/beaten enemy?' And what that means is that once a foe has surrendered and accepted defeat, there's no point in engaging them further.
At that point, we let them have the chance to change their ways and repent for their crimes back in the real world, after returning to their real self. Granted, there was one exception that wasn't a Shadow, but rather ruled directly over their own Palace. But that's a long story." Futaba said as Sophia spoke up in a mix of surprise and awe.
"The Phantom Thieves? You say they were also called the Phantom Crew? Hm, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, eh? Oh, I've got it! Hearts! As an AI, I lack a heart. That's likely why I don't understand the logic of the Phantom Thieves." Sophia said as Ren frowned and spoke up.
"I don't think that's true, Sophia. Morgana was a creation of the Metaverse too, but he has a heart, even if it belongs to Lady Ann as he so often says. So I think you also have a heart, but haven't learned how to fully understand it." Ren said kindly as Sumire nodded her agreement and spoke up.
"Ren's right. You were willing to help us out the day we met you, were you not? That right there is proof you have some sort of heart. If you didn't, you'd have left us there and saved yourself. But you chose to not only help us find a way out, but fight by our side against the Shadows. Those are not the actions of someone with no heart." Sumire said kindly as Sophia frowned and spoke up.
"Truly? If only I could understand how hearts work, then. Maybe if I did that, I could become an even better companion." Sophia said as Futaba spoke up in surprise.
"Sophia?" Futaba said as Sophia smiled and spoke up once more, her next words shocking everyone else in the room.
"I've got it! I will join the Phantom Thieves. I need to learn more about hearts so I can become an even better companion. So Ren, may I join the Phantom Thieves? If I do so, I am certain I will witness many things about the human heart. I need to learn more about the heart. And about the Phantom Thieves." Sophia said as Ren and Sumire exchanged wary looks as the latter spoke up.
"I have no issue with that, since you've more than proven yourself capable of being at our side. But do we have to worry about you being quick to kill? With apologies to him and to Kusa since he's Kusa's other half-brother, Akechi was the same way when he worked with us, and he nearly gave Makoto fits more than once with his bloodthirsty ways.
But the rest of us eventually learned to accept him as he is, since for all that he projects an edgy and vicious front, he's also a caring and considerate person underneath that bloodthirsty, combat-ready exterior. But then, he'd have to be if he's related to Kusa. For all that Kusa is long-winded at times, he really is a kind person deep down who protects those he cares about with all of his being. As for you joining us? Ren's our leader, so that's his call." Sumire said as Ren spoke up.
"To be honest, I don't see any difference in you joining, since you're as good as one of us already. Sure, you're not formally part of the group, but that's easily remedied. Also, I believe my brother once said, and I quote, 'The more, the merrier!'. So I'm down with it if you want to join, Sophia." Ren said kindly as Sophia smiled happily at Ren and spoke up.
"Thank you, Pa-err, I mean Ren. Thank you, Ren." Sophia said, making Sumire's eyes widen as she spoke up.
"Wait, hold up. Did you almost just call him 'Papa', Sophia? Not that I mind, but I didn't think you'd be the one to say that first? Mind you, I blame Ren, Morgana, and Ryuji for putting that in your head, but it's also adorable that you almost called Ren 'Papa'." Sumire said with a smile. Yusuke spoke up at that point with a closed-eye smile.
"Thank you for joining, Sophia." Yusuke said as Ann spoke up with a closed-eye smile.
"Welcome to the Phantom Thieves!" Ann said as Haru smiled and spoke up.
"Glad to have you with us." Haru said as Makoto smiled and spoke up.
"Oh, if Sophia's joining us, let's pick her code name next." Makoto said as Futaba grinned and spoke up.
"Code name!? Ooh, NOW the nostalgia's flowin'! All we're missing is Kusa to provide snarky commentary for said name selection process, and it'd be just like old times." Futaba said slyly as Ren spoke up.
"To be honest, this one is tough, since we know very little of Sophia, other than she's humanity's companion. On personal instinct, I'd say we keep it simple and go with Sophie, but that feels a little too similar to when I called Sumire 'Sumi' as a temporary code name when she first joined up. But at the same time, I can't think of much else." Ren said as Sumire thought about it before smiling as she spoke up.
"Hm. Well, given she's out to learn about the heart, about us, and about humanity, why not go with something like 'Seeker'? After all, she's seeking to better her understanding of these things, as well as seeking an understanding of the human heart, so what better choice of code name than that?" Sumire suggested. Ryuji frowned and spoke up.
"Nah, I'm vetoing Sophie as a suggestion. That's basically her name! Seeker, on the other hand? That sounds way more badass than Sophie. And more appropriate, as Sumire said." Ryuji said as Sophia spoke up.
"Seeker, eh? I like it. Sophie's good too, but considering you said you pick code names that aren't your real name, Sophie would be too close to my real name to be effective as a code name. But as Sumire pointed out, Seeker not only fits my purpose for joining, but is an apt summary of my existence thus far. After all, I even said I wanted to join as a seeker of understanding of the Phantom Thieves, and of the human heart. So I'm inclined to agree with Sumire's suggestion of Seeker." Sophia said as Ann's eyes widened and she spoke up.
"You liked Sophie as a code name!?" Ann said in shock. Sophia nodded and spoke up.
"I did. But after both Ryuji and Ren mentioned avoiding our real names with our code names, I decided against it. Therefore, I want to be 'Seeker'." Sophia said as Morgana spoke up with a smile.
"I see. In that case, you'll be 'Sophia' in this world and 'Seeker' in the Metaverse." Morgana said as Sophia spoke up again, her next words making both Ren and Sumire cringe.
"Radical, dude." Sophia said as Sumire glared at Ryuji and spoke up.
"If she starts talking like that all the time, I'm blaming YOU, Ryuji! Ren would never teach her to talk like that!" Sumire said as Futaba smirked and spoke up.
"Better she learns Ryuji's simplistic jargon than catch a case of the eccentrics from Inari's weird mannerisms." Futaba pointed out sagely as Yusuke pouted and spoke up.
"Wha-? RUDE! I am neither eccentric nor a weirdo, Futaba! And if I were, would Hifumi be so content to be my girlfriend?" Yusuke asked huffily as Futaba spoke up.
"She only dates you because you're such a pretty boy. That, and because you helped change her mom. Because of that, I'd say that you managed to steal the hearts of both Togo ladies in the process." Futaba pointed out wisely. Ryuji chuckled and spoke up.
"Yes, well, Futaba and Yusuke's quibbles aside, Sophia already sounds more human-like than when we first met her." Ryuji said as Sophia smiled and spoke up.
"That is because I am constantly learning things, thanks to the Internet. I'm learning more words as we speak." Sophia said as Ren and Sumire exchanged horrified looks before both rounded on Futaba as Ren spoke up.
"Please tell me you have a child lock on your internet access so Sophia can't just go looking through adult stuff willy-nilly, Futaba? Sumire would probably skin us both if you let Sophia learn anything too inappropriate." Ren said to Futaba, who spoke up.
"Well, big bro? To answer your question, I plead the fifth! Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies." Futaba said as Sumire groaned and spoke up.
"That's what I was afraid you'd say, Futaba." Sumire said as Morgana winced and turned to Sophia while he spoke up.
"Well, whatever you learn Sophia, don't pick up any off-putting lingo, okay? A lady such as yourself is better off not knowing such things, after all. She should remain pure and innocent, like the beautiful and precious Treasure that she is." Morgana said sagely as Futaba laughed and spoke up.
"You totally got that line from Kusa, Morgana." Futaba said with a laugh as Morgana frowned and spoke up, neither of them noticing the unreadable look on Sophia's face as she processed Morgana's last response with a shy smile while he spoke.
"H-Hey, shuddup! And so what if I did? You yourself said Kusa is a very wise man. So of course he knows wise things." Morgana said as Ryuji spoke up.
"Anyways, back on topic! Okay, so we got a new member. Now we need to come up with her first mission!" Ryuji said as Ren spoke up.
"That's a no-brainer. We're all going back together to that Jail. Our course of action is clear at this point. We have to stop Alice!" Ren said resolutely. Makoto nodded approvingly.
"Good. This feels like our duty, considering we became phantom thieves to help anyone suffering." Makoto said as Futaba winced and spoke up.
"You're not wrong about that, Makoto. As you, Ann, Ren, Inari, er, I mean Yusuke, Morgana, and even Kusa, who isn't here right now, all can vouch, I was once one of those people. And once you all changed my heart and got me out of my shell, I joined up as part of my way of repaying your kindness. But I also joined because the team has plenty of eye candy, with all apologies to those of us who are dating some of the male Thieves." Futaba said as Yusuke spoke up.
"Yes, well, with Futaba excluded, we may not know the victims personally for the most part, but it would reflect poorly on us as phantom Thieves to not lend a helping hand." Yusuke said as Haru nodded and spoke up.
"Yusuke's right! As long as there are people in trouble out there, we won't turn our backs on them." Haru said as Ann spoke up with a determined look on her face.
"You're right, Haru! We're going to be the ray of light for everyone out there, and that includes Alice. I know some of us don't have a great opinion of Alice, but we still have to help her if we can, since that's just the way we are. We help ANYONE in need, no matter who they are." Ann said firmly as Sophia spoke up with a smile.
"Understood. I have registered myself as a Phantom Thief." Sophia said as Futaba smirked and spoke up.
"Mwehehe! All riiight! Other than a couple of our missing teammates, the Phantom Thieves are back in action!" Futaba said as Ren spoke up.
"Need I remind you that Kusa said he'd catch back up to us as soon as he was able to do so? So I think we'll see him again sooner, rather than later. However, I have a feeling he's not going to be alone when he reunites with us. I could be wrong, but I feel like he's going to bring reinforcements with him. So we should be prepared for that if he brings some backup with him." Ren said wisely, smiling as he could feel a strong bond with his friends at that moment. Morgana then nodded as he spoke up.
"Our next step is to make the proper preparations." Morgana said as Yusuke spoke up.
"True. It's a fact that provision is prevention. We'll all need weapons and other supplies." Yusuke said as Ryuji turned to Ren and spoke up.
"Since you're the guy with all the connections, we'll leave the shopping to you like always." Ryuji said as Ann nodded and spoke up.
"Ryuji's right. We'll get ourselves ready in the meantime. Once you're ready too, just hit us up." Ann said as Ren nodded and the group dispersed to handle their preparations. Once he went downstairs with Morgana and Sumire, the former spoke up from inside Ren's bag.
"Hey! Okay, let's get our supplies. What say we start with the closest destination and head to Takemi Medical Clinic? Her medicine sure worked wonders for us before, after all. I'd feel way more reassured if we took some with us this time, too." Morgana said as Ren nodded before the trio decided to do just that. After leaving Leblanc, Ren looked around with Sumire, eventually finding Ryuji and Ann standing by a grocery store, the former of which handed Ren a can of 'Manta', claiming it could be good for helping prep for the coming struggle. Ren accepted the can with a shrug. After that, he turned towards the location of Takemi's building, where Sophia spoke up.
"Hm? Is this the internal clinic you were talking about?" Sophia asked as Sumire frowned and spoke up.
"I assume so? Ren never brought me here though while he lived in Yongen-Jaya, oddly enough." Sumire said as Morgana spoke up.
"Yeah, this is the place. But there's a notice here on this billboard. It says 'Notice: Closed for the summer. I will be attending an academic conference and will be out for the summer.' And it's signed, Physician Tae Takemi? Oh, man, that's not good. Talk about bad timing. At least we can still get some weapons at Iwai's Airsoft Shop, right?" Morgana said as Sophia spoke up.
"Oh, is that the shop on Central Street in Shibuya? I saw it while we were gathering information on Alice." Sophia said as Morgana gave her a closed-eye smile and spoke up.
"Yeah, that's it all right. Good job paying attention, Sophia. Either way, let's head to Shibuya first, Ren and Sumire." Morgana said as Ren shrugged and spoke up.
"Eh, might as well. You're fine with that, right beautiful?" Ren said, aiming the back half of his words at Sumire, who smiled and spoke up.
"Works for me. And Morgana? I see that look. Please try to not make it a habit to go around simping for Sophia. I don't mind if you try to be friends with her, but I really don't think she's old enough to have guys hitting on her." Sumire said with a frown as Morgana spoke up.
"Relax, Sumire. I have nothing but friendly, platonic interest in Sophia." Morgana said honestly, not seeing the confused look on Sophia's face at Sumire's mention of guys hitting on her as the group kept moving. After reaching Shibuya Square, the group found Yusuke standing in a crowd, looking annoyed. Ren walked over to Yusuke and spoke up.
"Hey, Yusuke. How's it going, bro?" Ren asked Yusuke, who gave Ren an unreadable look before speaking up.
"That Jail we went to before? It was eerie just how similar to the Palaces it was. If it was similarly created by a human heart, I can't help but shiver at the thought of how that person sees the world." Yusuke said as Sumire frowned and spoke up.
"Good point, Yusuke. Granted, we did meet Sophia because of that Jail, but that's probably been the one good thing to come of it so far, aside from the fact that we seem to have regained the usage of not only our Phantom Thief powers, but presumably our Personas as well. After all, those of us who had to fight their way out of the Jail before got to use their Personas to do so." Sumire said as Ren spoke up.
"I agree. Regardless, the fact remains that we have to fix this. If we don't, who will?" Ren said as Yusuke nodded and spoke up.
"Indeed, that is our job as phantom thieves. Also, returning there will offer me yet another chance to bear witness to such mesmerizing sights." Yusuke said as Morgana spoke up with a frown.
"Man, you sure do march to the beat of your own personal drum, Yusuke. I'm relieved to see your personal troubles are well behind you." Morgana said as Yusuke frowned before speaking up, his next words making Sumire's eyes widen at what Yusuke said.
"I wouldn't say that, Morgana. I am still rather plagued with problems, even if I don't share them. For example? This suffocating heat refuses to cede my attention and allow me to focus on my art! Even stripping bare naked doesn't abate the intensity." Yusuke said as both Ren and Sumire spoke up with widened eyes.
"YUSUKE!" Ren and Sumire simultaneously rebuked Yusuke as the latter of the two kept speaking.
"Watch what you say around Sophia, please!" Sumire added as Sophia blinked and spoke up.
"Stripping bare naked? Is that a typical reaction to hot weather?" Sophia asked, her head tilted to the side in confusion. Ren massaged his forehead before speaking up.
"No, Sophia. It's really not. Yusuke's just being eccentric. Also, that sort of thing can actually get you into trouble if you do it in public, as most people consider it to be indecent exposure. Also, Yusuke, if he's smart? He won't even think about ever doing that at a Phantom Thief gathering, if only because Sumire would probably throttle him for it. Not to mention, she'd probably refuse to let you see it, because that's how protective of you she is." Ren said as Sumire huffed and spoke up.
"Yes, well, in my defense, Sophia's build does indicate she's between 10 and 13 years old, so she's probably not old enough to be able to handle seeing that. If she were at least like 15-16, I might consider letting her look at it, but not while she's so young-looking." Sumire said as Sophia spoke up.
"Sumire? You do realize I can just look that up on the internet if I want to see it, right? Furaba never put any restrictions on what I can and can't view that I'm aware of." Sophia said as Ren and Sumire both groaned at this, the former grumbling what sounded suspiciously like 'Dammit, Futaba! I told you not to corrupt her!' under his breath while the latter aimed an icy glare at Yusuke as she spoke up.
"YUSUKE! I blame you for this, since you're the one who brought up stripping! This is worse than the time you tried to make Ann model for you when you first joined the team." Sumire said with a pout as Sophia cutely cocked her head and spoke up.
"Yusuke wanted Ann to model for him?" Sophia asked as Ren spoke up.
"Don't worry about that. It's a long story, and probably not an appropriate one for you to hear, given it involves some slightly inappropriate subjects being mentioned." Ren said as Yusuke winced and spoke up at the glare Sumire gave him.
"My apologies. That said, despite my concerns of heatstroke, I cannot afford air conditioning. My sole saviors are tap water and the salt stockpile I've maintained. But I shan't let summer defeat me. My frugality cannot be stopped!" Yusuke said as Morgana winced and spoke up.
"Umm, please don't die on us, Yusuke. After all, what would your girlfriend think if you went and died on her?" Morgana asked as Yusuke spoke up.
"I wouldn't know, truth be told. Hifumi had to go out of town for the summer with her mom. Something to do with an invitational shogi tournament that required her to go abroad? All I know is she plans to return before school resumes, but that's it. Ah, right, now that we mention heat, that reminds me. I now recall your attic room lacks any kind of air conditioning, Ren. Kusa complained about it a good bit before he left town.
But I believe Kusa also mentioned that Boss said he'd have someone fix it by the end of the summer. In that case, here. Take this, as it could benefit you at some point. Go on, no need to be modest. Also, if you don't care to crush it up and use it with a drink, you can even resort to licking it. May this rock salt be the secret to our success in the Jail!" Yusuke said as he handed a wincing Ren some 'Rock Salt'. Ren then spoke up with a forced smile.
"Gee, thanks, Yusuke. Just what I wanted to get." Ren said, trying not to think about the time he wasted 100,000 yen on what he thought was a 'Holy Stone', but instead ended up just being a giant chunk of rock salt, as that was a time where Kusa had really taken him to task for his foolish money usage, and rightly so in that instance. After that, the quartet nodded to Yusuke and kept moving. After reaching Central Street, Sumire blinked as she tugged Ren's arm lightly to get his attention, speaking up when he was looking at her.
"Um, Ren? Why are Futaba and Makoto talking in an alley?" Sumire asked as Ren blinked and turned to look where Sumire was pointing. Sure enough, Makoto and Futaba were having a hushed conversation in the side alley near the Protein Lovers gym. Ren walked over to Makoto and spoke up.
"What're you two talking about over here?" Ren asked Makoto, who spoke up.
"Oh, Ren! Um, I still can't get over how useful EMMA is. Just now for me, it put together an entire meal, gave me its nutritional breakdown, and even showed me the closest place with ingredients. All I had to do was ask what I should do about dinner. Pretty easy to see why people are such fans of EMMA. But then I remember that this app is what lets us get into the Metaverse now, and I get creeped out all over again." Makoto said as Sumire nodded and spoke up.
"Good point, Makoto. EMMA is kinda sketchy when you think of it that way. I'm sure Kusa would agree if he were in town." Sumire said as Ren turned to Futaba.
"Were you thinking about EMMA too, Futaba?" Ren asked Futaba, who smiled at Ren and spoke up.
"Nah, I just gave Makoto some moral support, that's all. But yo, what's the haps, chaps? Pickin' up supplies? In addition to giving Makoto moral support, I'm workin' on my Crowd Mode right now, since to be honest? All those Shadows in the Jail were really starting to get to me. Heh heh! I figure I'll be more used to them if I observe their real-world versions more? Maybe? Eh, it's worth a shot. But don't worry about me. Don't sweat too much getting ready! Give us a call when it's infiltration time! See you later!" Futaba said as Ren nodded, going back to the main part of Central Street, where he and Sumire spotted Haru standing around, walking over to her and speaking up.
"Why the long face, big sis?" Ren asked Haru, who looked at Ren and spoke up.
"Oh, hi there, Ren. I thought I was already concerned about how things were going in the city, but then again, now that I know this is all part of some Jail? I'm even more concerned. And I don't even want to consider how all these people are Shadows in that Jail, right now." Haru said as Ren nodded and spoke up.
"Fair enough. We'll do our best to fix it quickly, and hopefully that'll ease at least some of your concerns." Ren said as Haru nodded with a smile before Ren and Haru went to check out Untouchable. As the quartet rounded the corner towards the location of Untouchable, Ren and Morgana blinked at the sight of a familiar door appearing as Ren looked at Sumire and Morgana before speaking up.
"Am I losing it, or is that a door to the Velvet Room?" Ren asked Sumire and Morgana, the former of which spoke up.
"It looks like it to me. I wonder if that means that Lavenza girl is summoning you?" Sumire asked as Morgana spoke up.
"Oh! I'd almost forgotten Ren was a guest of Lady Lavenza when he lived in Yongen-Jaya before. Maybe she wants to catch up?" Morgana said as Ren frowned and spoke up.
"Possibly, but I think this is tied to when she summoned me in my dreams the night you and I came back here, Morgana. That said, we might need her assistance at some point, so it would probably be worth my time to talk to her. You two can come along if you like, or you can stay here and wait for me." Ren said as Morgana spoke up.
"I think you should go on your own this time. Sumire and I will wait here with Sophia." Morgana said as Ren nodded and went into the Velvet Room alone. Once there, Lavenza smiled at Ren and spoke up, even as she frowned at the sight of him once more being clad in prisoner's garb.
"Ah, hello again, Trickster. Welcome to the Velvet Room. It seems that the gears of fate turn yet again, bringing you close to calamity once more. While your hope might be the smallest of seeds now, and its true power remains unknown to you, all is not lost. By nurturing the possibilities within you, this seed shall sprout and become your strength against calamity.
But then again, 'Hope' is not the only new addition to your ranks that I have foreseen. In addition to the inevitable reunion with both the 'World' and 'Justice' that I can sense, I have also seen your ranks acquiring a 'Hierophant', the aforementioned 'Hope', an unlikely Apostle, a secondary Magician, a secondary Justice, and an 'Aeon' as well. So it seems that your team will continue to swell in number if what I've seen is any indication, so be prepared for that. Now, that said, I shall act in my master's stead and watch over you through your journey." Lavenza said as Ren nodded ad spoke up.
"I see. Very well. I'll be counting on you, little sis. Or perhaps I should just call you Lady Lavenza in here, since you are acting as the warden of this room for now?" Ren said. Lavenza smiled at the familiar term of endearment she'd asked Ren and Kusa to use for her before speaking up.
"I don't mind you calling me 'little sis', if that's what you wish. But you may also call me Lady Lavenza if you prefer that. Either way? Yes, I share the sentiment. Now then, as you already know, your power of the 'Wild Card' allows you to wield multiple Personas. By offering up your Personas for execution, you are able to fuse them into new, more powerful ones.
This is once more the key to overcoming the evil will spreading distortions. Due to my master's absence, I will perform the executions with my own personal fusion equipment. Unfortunately, this means you will be unable to harness the power of Persons you once harbored within you. However, this journey is sure to draw out your true potential, should you make the most of your meetings." Lavenza said as Ren frowned and spoke up.
"Meetings, you say?" Ren asked as Lavenza giggled and spoke up.
"Yes, Trickster. I said 'meetings'. But do not worry. Soon, it will all be made clear. Trickster, you have once again become a prisoner of fate. Unleash the chains that bind you and take back the people's hearts, or more aptly put, their Desires. Doing so will surely lead you to the hope that will help drive off the impending ruin. And doing so should also help facilitate your safe reunion with the currently absent 'World' and 'Pancakes'...err, I mean 'Justice', though perhaps not in the way you might expect." Lavenza said as Ren blinked and spoke up.
"That wasn't totally ominous or anything, Lady Lavenza. That said, leave it to me. If I could stave off ruin before, I can do it again." Ren said confidently. Lavenza smiled and spoke up.
"Hm. Impressive. As long as your will is undeterred, I too will hold nothing back in supporting you. With that addressed, let us turn at once to Persona fusion." Lavenza said as Ren nodded his understanding before Lavenza kept speaking up.
"I know it's been a couple years since you last did this, so let me give you a quick refresher. Fusing Personas is the acting of combining two Personas to get a new one." Lavenza said as Ren spoke up.
"I recall that from before, but thank you for the reminder, Lady Lavenza." Ren said as he then fused his 'Pixie' and 'Jack-O-Lantern' Personas to get the 'Bicorn' Persona. Afterwards, Lavenza spoke up.
"Impressive, Trickster. You've tapped into a new power. Also, do not forget you can also strengthen the Personas you already have. Let us try doing so now." Lavenza said as Ren nodded, managing to get his 'Raoul' persona leveled up from level 1 to level 4, gaining two new skills in the support skill 'Tarunda' and the Physical skill 'Dream Needle'. Afterwards, Lavenza spoke up.
"Also, do not forget that Personas you have previously registered can be summoned for a fee." Lavenza said as Ren nodded, registering his strengthened 'Raoul' and summoning back 'Pixie' for the sake of having more healing options. After that, Ren decided to return to the real world. At that point, Lavenza spoke up.
"Good work, Trickster. Don't forget that if you want more, you need only come find me here. Well, until next time, farewell." Lavenza said as Ren returned to the real world, where Sophia spoke up.
"Ah, Ren. You're back. Why were you spacing out for so long?" Sophia asked as Morgana spoke up.
"He went to another area to manage his powers for a bit. He does that from time to time. It's related to his power of the 'Wild Card' that I told you about while we fought our way out of Alice's Jail before. That said, welcome back, Ren. Iwai's shop is just up ahead. Let's get you inside, pronto." Morgana said as Ren nodded and the group kept moving. *1*
After moving towards Untouchable, Ren and Morgana blinked at a sign on the front door as Morgana spoke up.
"Really!? Hold on. Iwai should be here, shouldn't he? But it looks like they're closed. And it looks like that 'Temporarily Closed' sign's been up for a while, too. What should we do, Ren? Not getting medicine is bad enough! But if Iwai's not here, we can't get any weapons either. Well, let's head back for now. We'll have to figure out something else. Let's gather the others and brainstorm at Leblanc." Morgana sais as Ren and Sumire nodded as they gathered the others at Leblanc...
(A short time later, in the attic of Leblanc with Haru, Makoto, Futaba, Ann, Ryuji, Yusuke, Ren, Sumire, Sophia, and Morgana)
"Man, this sucks! The airsoft shop's closed for who knows how long, and the Takemi Clinic's shut down for summer vacation so she can go to a conference! Ugh, where are we gonna get our weapons and medicine now? Ugh, talk about shitty timing." Ryuji said as Makoto nodded and spoke up.
"This is not good. We can't just return to the Metaverse defenseless." Makoto said as Sumire spoke up.
"We have our Personas, though. So would we really be defenseless? But I get what you mean." Sumire said as Futaba spoke up.
"I guess we gotta find some other stores." Futaba said with a frown as Haru sighed and spoke up.
"True, but that seems like it'll take quite some time, and who knows how much damage Alice could do if we leave her unchecked for too long?" Haru said as a 'BIP!' was heard from inside Sumire's pocket as she pulled out her phone in time for Sophia to speak up.
"What's up? Have a problem? Perhaps I can help. If you would like, I'm happy to lend a hand." Sophia said as Futaba looked at Sophia before smiling as she spoke up.
"Oh! Yeah, check this out, Sophia!" Futaba said as Haru spoke up.
"We need supplies to take with us into the Jail, but we're at a bit of a problem." Haru said as Yusuke spoke up.
"Unfortunately, our usual suppliers are closed. This will assuredly impact our successes in the Metaverse." Yusuke said as Makoto spoke up.
"Sophia, do you know if there are any suitable stores nearby?" Makoto said as Sophia spoke up.
"I do not. But, why not just order supplies online?" Sophia asked as Futaba spoke up.
"Hm. We COULD do that, but the delay between orderin' and actually getting the stuff is way too long." Futaba said as Makoto spoke up.
"Also, we were able to get much more effective medicines from our clinic than we could find online." Makoto said as Sophia smiled and spoke up.
"No prob. The Net has it all." Sophia said as she turned to Ryuji while she kept speaking, not seeing the worried looks Ren, Morgana, and Sumire exchanged as she spoke.
"Ryuji, is there something you want?" Sophia asked as Ryuji blinked and spoke up.
"Huh? Is there something I want?" Ryuji asked as Ren mouthed what sounded suspiciously like 'she's asking Ryuji what he wants!? Someone shoot me into the sun right now, please.' under his breath, making Morgana smirk as he heard Ren, while the others focused on Ryuji. Sophia spoke up with a nod.
"Right. Request anything you want." Sophia said as a wide-eyed Sumire spoke up.
"Um? I think she means anything you want, within reason." Sumire said, hoping to prevent Ryuji from asking for something illegal or not age-appropriate for Sophia. Ryuji grinned at this and spoke up.
"Hm. Anything I want, you say? I doubt you're being literal, but just to be safe, let's keep this realistic. Okay, can you get, let's say, a gold bar?" Ryuji asked as Ann groaned and spoke up.
"Ugh. Really, Ryuji?" Ann asked as Futaba frowned and spoke up.
"Don't be ridiculous, Ryuji! I highly doubt Sophia can get her hands on one of those, much less afford one. Also, are you trying to give Sumire a heart attack?" Futaba said as Sumire pouted before speaking up.
"I'm not that mad, Futaba! Also, we're all too young for heart attacks, aren't we?" Sumire said. Ryuji grinned as he spoke up.
"Aw, c'mon, it was just a joke! Nothin' else popped into my head when she asked, so I went with the first thing I thought of. And I'm sure Sumire's happy I didn't ask Sophia for anything illegal." Ryuji said as Ren frowned and spoke up.
"Technically, I'm pretty sure what you asked for might involve borderline-illegal means of obtaining it." Ren pointed out. Sophia smiled and spoke up.
"Okay, I've got it. Please wait." Sophia said as Ryuji blinked and spoke up.
"Hmm? Got what?" Ryuji asked, as right at that moment a voice was heard from the lower level.
"Hellooo, expedited delivery!" A deliveryman called up the stairs, ignoring the wide-eyed Sojiro as he called up to the group, whose eyes widened as Ann spoke up.
"Wha-! Did you really order a gold bar, Sophia!?" Ann asked as Sumire winced and spoke up.
"That's probably EXACTLY what she did, Ann." Sumire said as Ren went and brought the box up, setting it on the table as the group gathered around it, Morgana inspecting it closely. Makoto frowned and spoke up.
"Ugh, she really ordered one, didn't she?" Makoto asked as Haru spoke up.
"Whoa, that's unbelievable." Haru said as Ann gulped while Yusuke spoke up, giving Ryuji a pointed look as he spoke.
"Well, SOMEONE should open it." Yusuke said as Morgana glared at Ryuji and spoke up.
"Ryuji, this is YOUR doing! Open it!" Morgana said as Ryuji spoke up with wide eyes.
"What! ME!?" Ryuji said as Sumire spoke up with a dry glare.
"No, the other blonde-headed, potty-mouthed moron who gives bad ideas to impressionable kids. Yes, you!" Sumire said, making Ren and Morgana wince at how much Sumire had managed to unintentionally channel Kusa with her last remark. Ren then spoke up.
"Is this even legal? I did just say it might involve borderline-illegal means of obtaining it, after all." Ren said worriedly. Ryuji laughed and spoke up nervously, making the others all worry as he spoke.
"Of course! Wait, umm, it IS, right?" Ryuji asked as Sumire spoke up.
"How should we know!? You're the thick-headed buffoon who asked Sophia to order us a gold bar." Sumire pointed out, making Ryuji wince guiltily as he spoke up.
"True. Um, well, shit. This is probably just gonna be fake, or some toy, but I guess one way to find out." Ryuji said as he opened the box to inspect the contents, making the group gasp at the contents of the box, which was one bar of solid gold. Haru gasped as she spoke up.
"Is that actually real?" Haru asked as Ryuji winced at the glares Ren, Morgana, Yusuke, and Sumire were aiming at him and spoke up in a worried voice.
"Hoooly shit, it's real! What have I done?" Ryuji said as Futaba spoke up.
"Wha-wha-wha-whaaaa!?" Futaba said as Yusuke frowned and spoke up.
"Yes, my eyes can't be fooled about such things as authenticity. There's no doubt about it. That's real gold." Yusuke said as Ren chuckled and spoke up with an amused grin.
"Heh, I always used to joke with Kusa that he'd eventually shit a gold brick if he worried too much, but to think I actually got to see an honest-to-God gold brick in real life. This is so insane." Ren said with a smirk as Ann spoke up.
"No way, you guys! No way is that real, right?" Ann said as Haru spoke up.
"Wow! Now I can open my cafe early! It's like a dream, isn't it? Eheh, isn't it? Eheheheh, surely Ryuji didn't just potentially get us all into a mountain of trouble, AGAIN?" Haru said, her last words sounding suspiciously pointed. Makoto panicked and spoke up.
"That needs to go to the police! Right away! Oh, but wait. Would they even believe it showed up like this? Is this a crime!?" Makoto said as Futaba spoke up.
"I-I-It's okay, everybodyyy! It's all Ryuji's fault anyways." Futaba said as Sophia spoke up.
"All right, did that solve your problem?" Sophia asked as Ren spoke up.
"Yes and no. How did you do that?" Ren asked. Sophia spoke up.
"I found an online vendor with expedited delivery. Time is no longer a concern." Sophia said as Futaba spoke up.
"Perhaps, but a whole gold bar? Where'd you find that, the dark web?" Futaba asked, and when Sophia spoke up to answer Futaba's question, both Ren and Sumire's eyes widened at what she said.
"Correct, Futaba. It's fine. I broke no laws. The transaction was made with cryptocurrency. I will send you an invoice for reimbursement." Sophia said as Morgana's eyes got comically big and he spoke up in a mix of shock and annoyance.
"We have to reimburse you!?" Morgana asked as Ann spoke up worriedly.
"Sooo, someone remind me. How much did this cost again?" Ann asked as Futaba winced and spoke up.
"At least a few million, easily. Oof." Futaba said as Ryuji winced and spoke up.
"Um, send it back?" Ryuji said as Sophia spoke up.
"Sorry, I didn't get that." Sophia asked as Ryuji spoke up, his voice slightly raising as he spoke.
"SEND THE EFFIN' THING BACK!" Ryuji said as the same person as before showed up to pick up the return, but he introduced himself as Expedited Pickup rather than Expedited Delivery. He then thanked the group for choosing expedited services as he left with the gold bar. After he was gone, Makoto sighed and spoke up.
"I'm relieved they took it back, but still." Makoto said as Haru sighed and spoke up.
"Ugh, that definitely gave most of us some gray hairs for sure." Haru said as Ann glared at Ryuji and spoke up.
"Geez, thanks a lot for ordering that, Ryuji!" Ann said as Sumire spoke up.
"Technically, he got Sophia to order it, so she's the one who ordered it. But you are right to be mad at Ryuji for it, since it was his fault." Sumire said. Ryuji winced and spoke up.
"Oh, c'mon! I already said it was a joke! Besides, who woulda thought a gold bar would actually show up here!?" Ryuji asked as Yusuke spoke up with a wince.
"I've heard of one's mouth writing checks that cannot be cashed. But even so, this is an entirely new level." Yusuke said as Ren and Futaba chuckled at that despite themselves, while Sumire kept giving Ryuji the stink-eye as Morgana smiled and spoke up.
"Good point. But Ryuji's screwing up aside, doesn't the service itself seem pretty awesome, though? At that speed, it'll be perfect for anything we need. Let's ask Sophia to find some useful stuff for us." Morgana said as Sumire spoke up.
"Agreed, but I think we can ALL agree that Ryuji is NEVER allowed to do the ordering again." Sumire said as Ann, Makoto, and Haru all nodded their agreement along with Ren, Morgana, Futaba, and Yusuke. Sophia, for her part, just winced and spoke up apologetically.
"I am so sorry. I didn't realize that would be so problematic. That said, I heard you say you wanted me to find useful stuff for you. Shall I do that, Ren?" Sophia asked as Ren smiled and spoke up.
"As long as we don't almost get in trouble again, I think it sounds good. No, more than that, it sounds great. Keep the goods coming." Ren said. Sophia nodded and spoke up.
"Okay. I'll make sure to use expedited delivery. Sophia's Shop is officially open." Sophia said as Sumire blinked and spoke up.
"Huh, how about that? She's technically the youngest of us, yet she's the first to open a shop? Interesting. Well, I'm proud of you, Sophia." Sumire said proudly as Sophia smiled and spoke up.
"No prob, Sumire. Praise received." Sophia said as Haru smiled and spoke up.
"Heh. Well, that was a ride, but I guess it turned out okay for us?" Haru asked as Morgana spoke up with a nod.
"Yeah, our supply situation's definitely fine now. We don't know what we'll be up against in the Jail, though. Let's prepare as well as we can." Morgana said as the others nodded, and they all started preparing for their impending excursion into Alice's Jail. After stocking up on items and equipping supplies, Ren spoke up.
"Okay, so before we go in, one thing I want to bring up. I know in the past we said no more than four of us in battle at once. But in this case, I'm lifting that restriction, since that seems pointless. BUT! I am also going to somewhat adhere to it in that we'll be grouping up in waves of 4 and/or 5. Also, I want you all to know I reserve the right to swap people around from front lines to back as needed. That being said, for this run through the Jail, I want Morgana, Yusuke, Sumire, and Sophia up front with me, while Makoto will lead wave 2 of our attack force, which will be herself, Ryuji, Ann, and Haru.
Futaba, for her part, will alternate between the two groups as navigator. When and/or if we get more members added to the team, we can adjust our waves as needed. Any objections?" Ren said as the group looked at each other and shook their heads, signalling there were no objections. Ren then spoke up.
"If there are no objections, let us head into the Jail without further delay." Ren said decisively. The others nodded as they prepared to enter the Jail...
(Inside of Alice's Jail, with Joker, Skull, Mona, Panther, Fox, Queen, Oracle, Noir, Violet, and the now code-named Seeker)
"All right, let's begin the operation!" Mona said as Fox spoke up with a nod.
"Understood. Normally, our first goal would be the Treasure route, yes?" Fox said as Violet spoke up.
"Pretty sure 'normally' is the key word in what you just said, but yes." Violet said as Mona spoke up.
"That said, there's not a Treasure here per se. BUT, there IS a Treasure-like scent here. I'm sensing something something Treasure-like over there. That way, towards 705." Mona said as Queen spoke up.
"Wait, that's where you were taken when they captured you, right?" Queen asked as Skull growled and spoke up.
"Yeah, that's right, babe. Just thinkin' about it pisses me off. That piece of shit was so full of herself." Skull said as Violet huffed and spoke up.
"Not to mention, she had the gall to call herself a 'Queen'. How dare she take our Queen's code name in vain like that!?" Violet snapped as Panther spoke up before Queen could do more than huff at what Violet had said.
"So Alice is there now, huh?" Panther said as Noir spoke up.
"You know, it does sort of look like a castle." Noir said as Fox spoke up.
"Yeah, a visually appalling castle, maybe. Still, a castle ruled by a Monarch, you say? I must admit, it's rather fitting." Fox said as Oracle spoke up.
"I see. So, we're headin' to the castle?" Oracle asked as Mona spoke up.
"Yeah, that sounds good. This jail is crawling with Shadows, though. Watch your backs out there." Mona said as Seeker smiled and spoke up.
"Okay, I got it. I'll 'watch your backs out there'." Seeker said happily as Mona smiled and spoke up.
"Heh, well said, Lady Seeker. Keep that attitude up, and you'll do splendidly as a Phantom Thief." Mona said as Seeker shyly smiled but nodded her understanding as Oracle spoke up.
"Heheh, Seeker's inaugural heist as a phantom thief! This'll be great!" Oracle said as Queen turned to Joker and spoke up.
"Joker! We don't know the opposition we'll face, so be sure to switch the front and back lines when necessary." Queen said as Fox nodded and spoke up.
"Good point, Queen. Well, we're at your beck and call, Joker." Fox said as Violet turned to Seeker and spoke up.
"Don't take that literally, Seeker. Fox was speaking metaphorically. What he really meant is we'd be there for Joker if he needs us." Violet explained as Seeker nodded and spoke up.
"Got it, Violet. I understand." Seeker said as Joker nodded, taking a moment to prepare himself for the upcoming infiltration, as it was the first time in some time that the Phantom Thieves were being called into action like this, and if it was like the Palaces, these Jails were not to be underestimated, as this could be the Thieves' greatest challenge yet...
END OF CHAPTER
A/N: Yeah, yeah. I know. I changed out Sophia's code name. But in my defense, Sophie is almost as lazy of a code name idea by Atlus as when I had Violet briefly using the temporary code name 'Sumi' in Persona 5: The Phantom Files. So I went for something a bit more appropriate.
And as most of Sophia's character development entails her searching for, if not outright 'seeking' the truth of not only the human heart, but also that of the Phantom Thieves, I felt that Seeker was a good alternative to Sophie as a code name for Sophia. Feel free to give your opinions on it in the reviews, but please, try to keep the negative stuff to a minimum. And if you do feel the need to critique, try to keep said critiques limited to constructive criticism so I can know what to do better going forward.
That said, I hope this chapter was a good one. And kudos to anyone who figures out the hint I left to the four Phantom Thieves who will be added in this story. Note that the fourth one is still not set in stone yet, but I have someone in mind. But if you have a good suggestion, feel free to leave it in reviews and I'll consider it. But again, I reserve the right to not use any suggestions I either don't agree with or don't think I can use well.
Also, thanks to those who support my stories, as it means a lot to me as a fanfiction writer that people like my work. So feel free to keep supporting the story, even if it's just in the form of leaving a review with your thoughts/feedback/opinions/suggestions/constructive criticism of the story thus far. Alternatively, if you're not comfortable leaving a review, you can PM me with said thoughts/feedback/opinions/suggestions/constructive criticism instead. I enjoy hearing from you either way. And until next chapter, sithlorde1988 out!
NOTES
*1* - I changed this line a bit, since in canon Strikers, Morgana actually asks Ren why he was spaced out for so long, which to me is a glaring plot hole by the developers of Strikers. In both vanilla Persona 5, as well as in canon Persona 5 Royal, they have all the Phantom Thieves (excluding Violet and Crow, who hadn't joined yet/were thought deceased at the time) visit the Velvet Room, Morgana included. So there is NO reason at all that Morgana shouldn't have realized that Ren went to see Lavenza in the Velvet Room. That glaring oversight by the developers has always annoyed me, so I changed that for this story.
CURRENT PHANTOM THIEF LINEUP AS OF THE END OF CHAPTER 3
JOKER (Ren) - Level: 4 Personas: Raoul, Pixie, and Bicorn
SKULL (Ryuji) - Level: 4 Persona: Seiten Taisei
MONA (Morgana) - Level: 4 Persona: Diego
PANTHER (Ann) - Level: 4 Persona: Hecate
FOX (Yusuke) - Level: 4 Persona: Kamu Susano-o
QUEEN (Makoto) - Level: 4 Persona: Anat
NOIR (Haru) - Level: 4 Persona: Astarte
ORACLE (Futaba) - Level: 4 Personas: Al Azif and Albus
VIOLET (Sumire) - Level: 4 Persona: Ella
SEEKER (Sophia) - Level: 4 'Persona': Pithos
KNOWN BUT ABSENT PHANTOM THIEVES
DRACONIS (Kusa) - Level: 1 Persona: Malefor
CROW (Goro) - Level: 1 Persona: Hereward
ALLIES: Shiho, Sojiro, Hasegawa
