After escaping the prison, the group quickly made their way back to the hideout. The doors of Leblanc opened and Ichinose was there and clasped her hands together. "Welcome back everyone! How did it go!"
"We made it, somehow." Ren said while rubbing the back of his neck. "We got Futaba, Ann, and Sumire back too!" And that was the biggest plus of them all.
"Marie got to them pretty badly, but they seem okay." Zenkichi said calmly. "With a little bit of rest, I think they'll be back on their feet in no time."
"What a relief." Hifumi sighed and took a seat. "That was far too tense for my liking..."
"So, who's your friend!" Ichinose pointed at Toshiro, who was standing about awkwardly, looking around Leblanc as if he knew the place. "Oh, wait...let me guess...that's Toshiro Kasukabe, the missing politician!"
"Um, yes." Toshiro looked to Ichinose. There were many questions running around in his mind at the moment.
"Let's start with him, actually." Erina placed her hand under her chin. "And I hope for your sake you don't turn out to be our enemy."
Taken aback by Erina's words, Toshiro gasped. "Wha-!? Hang on now! I understand you may be suspicious of me, but imagine how Ifeel! Firstly, what is this place, and who are you people!? No, wait - why is there a cafe here?! And why did you all suddenly change clothes when you stepped inside!?"
"Just question after question with this one..." Akechi groaned.
"No, no. I get it." Zenkichi was probably the one person who could completely relate to Tohsiro's confusion. Although, he would be lying if he said there wasn't some minor amusing seeing another grown adult freaking out about the Metaverse. Made him feel like he wasn't alone.
"Mmmm, how about try and going with the flow?" Erina suggested.
Toshiro, however, was not going to buy that. "This is FAR beyond the flow! In the past half-hour alone, I've witnessed ten incidents where the laws of physics were outright DEFIED! No, eleven, counting..."
Morgana sighed heavily. It didn't sound like Toshiro had any idea what was going on. So he couldn't possibly be their enemy; a reaction like this was far too genuine. "Guess that's a no."
"He is having a mental breakdown." Sophia reported innocently.
"Uggggh, he's so annoying!" Mika groaned.
"Let's...take this from the top..." Ren sighed. The only way to get Toshiro to calm down was to explain the situation to him.
It took Toshiro a few moments, but... "So, let me get this straight. This is a world somehow separate from my own, and it is controlled by a woman named Marie...and you Phantom Thieves have teamed up with the Rebel Corp here to end the tyrannical reign?"
"There you go!" Erina grinned. "You got it!"
"How the hell did I GET that!?" Toshiro barked in confusion. None of this made any sense to him! I know, this has to be a dream! Or perhaps some dystopian organization is experimenting on constructing worlds in directly into people's brains!"
"He's in denial." Hifumi sighed.
"We're not stuck in a dream or an experiment" Morgana was already reaching the limit of his patience. Mika and Akechi already did so and just groaned. "Okay, now it's time for you to answer our questions. Why did Marie have you locked up?"
"Well, that's..." Toshiro was trying to think of a reason, but nothing was coming to mind. In fact...he couldn't remember anything. "I...actually have no idea." The moment he said that, he felt the scrutinizing gaze of everyone in the room. So he had to try and defend himself. "Wha - don't give me that look! I know what you're all thinking, but it's the truth! I just woke up in this world, then those monsters locked me up!"
"...He's telling the truth. Although I doubt you need me to tell you that." Hifumi remarked. Her powers to detect truth and lies did not react to Toshiro.
"Y-You believed me readily...!" Toshiro was glad, but that also felt worrying.
"It's less that I believe you, but I am simply able to tell that you aren't lying. I don't trust you just yet, innocent though you may be."
"O-Oh..." Toshiro deflated.
"What exactly do you remember?" Ichinose questioned.
"My name and that I'm a Diet member." Toshiro explained calmly. "I...know a few more things here and there. But other things that I should know seemed to have escaped me..."
"So you are suffering from amnesia?" Sophia asked. Toshiro nodded in response.
"Then allow me to fill you in on a few things." Zenkichi spoke up. "Hunting you down is my current job as a member of Public Security. There are a lot of people running around looking for you."
"I...I see..." Toshiro folded his hands together. "It was never my intention make everyone worry. But I have no idea how I got here to begin with."
"Allow me to say something." Ichinose chimed in. "However you got here...I know from experience that nobody enters the Metaverse by accident. You're here for a reason."
"That's...not reassuring whatsoever." Toshiro didn't feel better. He felt worse from Ichinose's words! He was here for some purpose he couldn't possibly deduce!? This was awful.
"Starting from the top; you aren't just a Diet member. You're the running candidate for Prime Minster." Zenkichi explained.
"W-Wh? Prime Minister?" Toshiro looked shocked at this news. "I think I would remember something like that! I don't have any interest in that sort of position of power. At least...I don't think I do..." He should've remembered that, but he was drawing a few blanks for some reason.
"Secondly...you're engaged to a woman named Marie." Zenkichi went on.
"What!?" Now this really had Toshiro confused. "That Marie!? Who in their right mind would want to marry that controlling WITCH!?"
"I dunno. You're the one engaged to her." Mika commented. "Freak."
"So you really don't remember any of this at all?" Zenkichi crossed his arms. This was...not what he was expecting. It was hard to question Toshiro for answers if he was missing gaps in his memory.
"Well, no..." Toshiro shook his head. "I mean, I feel like I know Marie, but I would never marry someone like that! I swear!"
Erina looked to the others. A lot of this information needed to be processed. She didn't want to just launch Toshiro into the street, however. "So, guys...what do you think?"
"I think he's a spy." Joker said, although he was clearly sarcastic about it.
"Me!? A SPY?!" Toshiro, however, took extreme offense to this. "That's patently absurd! Could such a cowardly man like me really be a spy!? I'm capable of fleeing any enemy within five seconds! No, THREE seconds - no, TWO seconds!" Out of all the things he could speak so proudly on...it was this
"...We get it, we get it." Morgana rolled his eyes.
"You know, politician man?" Mika looked to Toshiro, refusing to even acknowledge him by name. "When I first saw you, I thought you were the most spineless man I've ever seen. Now, I can say confidently, that you are the most spineless man I will EVER meet."
"Gah-..." Lambasted by a young woman. For some reason, Toshiro felt this in his core. He wasn't going to recover from this one for a while.
"She's right. I've never met a man as cowardly as you. Fascinating!" Ichinose smiled. But this just further pushed Toshiro into agony.
"We can't prove he's with Marie...so I guess we can't throw him out on the street." Morgana surmised.
"That's right!" Toshiro straightened up. "So hurry up and get me out of here! I'm not so foolish as to ask the Phantom Thieves to place their trust in someone like me."
"Er...you know we're the Phantom Thieves?" Hifumi blinked in surprise.
"It wasn't hard to figure out." Toshiro adjusted his tie. "Those insane outfits? They're incredibly recognizable. At first, I thought you were just people dressing up as them, but it's rather clear that you're them. After the mess you've made over the last year? How could I not. Between targeting Masayoshi Shido, striking Akira Konoe directly, not to mention all the other things..."
"Even Toshiro knows who you are? Maybe the Phantom Thieves really are a big deal!" Erina smiled. She was feeling more confident by the second.
"For better or worse, I'd have to agree." Toshiro sighed. "Breaking more laws than one can count, sowing discord through all of society...you may have your contingent of fans fawning over you, but I have nothing but distaste for your style of mayhem. I can't believe you've been a group of children this whole time! And you...you're one of them?" He looked at Zenkichi. How could an officer of Public Security side with the Phantom Thieves so openly!? It felt like a contradiction!
"I'm a Phantom Thief only when it counts." Zenkichi replied. "The world isn't so black and white that what the Phantom Thieves do isn't wrong. But it's also on people like me to ensure that their methods aren't the only way to bring people in. These kids taught me that and more...so I can't look at what they're doing and say it's wrong. Sowing discord? Yeah, that's what they do best...but I've seen for myself where it comes from." Zenkichi's firm answer did surprise Toshiro.
"And you...haven't I seen you on TV? Nobody talks about it much these days...but you were against the Phantom Thieves...and now you're one of them?" Toshiro turned to Akechi. Akechi scoffed in response.
"Only when the situation calls for it." Akechi replied. After what happened during the Summer, even he was hard pressed to say he wasn't a Phantom Thief...but he still didn't believe he was deserving, or even wanted an official title. But in a situation like this? He was a Phantom Thief.
"Besides, we don't need your approval." Ren commented. "Besides...you hate the youth or something?"
"NOOO!" Toshiro yelped in surprise. "But regardless of the circumstances, I cannot condone children engaging in illegal activities to rail against what they perceive as unjust authority figures!"
"I've heard this from a previous target before." Hifumi idly remarked.
"In my defense, I am not a child! I am an AI!" Sophia chimed happily.
"Gah..." Toshiro just felt lost. He was never going to wrap his head around this. But he felt like there was a target on his back from his words. So he was going to quickly pull back on all of this. "Ah, apologies! Now is probably not the best time for this. I'm sure how you'll react to this, but I'd like to make a proposition. The Phantom Thieves and the Rebel Corp are working together to find a way out of here, correct? That means we share the same goal. How about you let me join you in exchange for my aid?"
"I don't really feel like arguing against it." Morgana shrugged. "What do you think, Erina?"
"I have so many things I could say about it...but it's not worth it at all." Mika wasn't even going to give Toshiro the time of day. Her opinion of him was extremely low.
"All that matters now is if we believe him or not...and I think I'm going to believe him." Erina said with a firm nod. Nobody was going to argue with that.
Toshiro was extremely relieved. Finally, some peace... "Oh, thank you!"
"And if you turn out to be lying, I'll just deal with you like any other traitor!" Erina beamed.
Toshiro realized he may have fallen for something. Now that he committed, he couldn't back out without consequence. Despite her recklessness, Erina did clearly have a brain in there somewhere. "Quite the clever rebel girl, aren't you...?"
"In any case, welcome to the Rebel Corp, Toshiro!" Erina kept her smile.
"Thank you. Worry not, my housekeeping skills with surely come in handy!" Toshiro said with a cool smile.
"...If he's really engaged to Marie, I'm starting to see why." Ichinose stroked her chin.
"Ugh..." Ann groaned. She, Sumire, and Futaba were slowly walking down the stairs. They were awake and feeling the exhaustion from breaking free of Marie's control. The first thing Ann did was walk to Hifumi, hug her, and slump against her. "Sorry, Fumi..."
"It's okay." Hifumi rubbed Ann's back, speaking with a soft whisper. She was just happy that Ann was alright.
"Good morning. How are you all feeling?" Ren asked with a smile. He was also glad to see his friends were ultimately unharmed.
"I feel like my brain is still rebooting..." Futaba groaned. "But...I think I'm alright."
"I feel the same way. I'm still groggy." Sumire was trying her best to shake it off, however. "I'm sorry for what happened..."
"I see you're all functioning again. Good." Akechi nodded. It was strange. Seeing them unharmed and back to normal. Was it strange to say he felt...glad about this...?
"Does anyone have any idea what's going on?" Ann was so out of the loop. She looked over, and actually noticed Zenkichi, Sophia, and Ichinose. Since she had autonomy over herself now, she could actually acknowledge their presence. "Huh!?"
"Hello, Ann, Futaba, and Sumire!" Sophia beamed to her friends. "I'm happy to see you three freed from that awful woman's clutches!"
"Sophia...!" Sumire was surprised, but she knelt down to hug Sophia. It was strange, hugging Sophia while not in her Phantom Thief attire, but she didn't complain about it.
"Hello! How was your nap?" Ichinose tilted her head. "This part of the Metaverse is truly something else, isn't it? Those Legionaries, Marie, that man they picked up from the prison..."
"I have a name..." Toshiro grumbled.
"What are you all doing here...!?" Futaba asked, looking at the three of them.
"Which I could tell you." Zenkichi responded. "But we got sucked in, same as you did. So we're all in this fight together again. I'm glad to see you're all doing well, too." He was pretty worried with how Marie was very willing to push their bodies to the point of breaking.
"Zenkichi-san, Ichinose-san..." Sumire was acknowledging them as well.
"Hey, hey...!" Toshiro whispered to Ren. "Is it still safe to be here!? They could really nasty again!" He was worried the three girls would attack him again. He really didn't want to endure that again!
"And...who's that guy whispering to Ren?" Ann tilted her head.
Hifumi gave Toshiro a glare. "Allow me to explain everything to you all. You have missed quite a bit..." And so, Hifumi explained to the three what happened while they were controlled by Marie. At the end of it all, Futaba did not look amused.
"Great. Just another mess we've found ourselves in." Futaba groaned. Could they not have a break for more than a few months!? This was getting a little ridiculous!
"I suppose I'd feel the same way if I were in your shoes..." Erina couldn't fault them for feeling that way. "But I'd really appreciate it if you were willing to lend your help to the Rebel Corps..."
"Of course!" Ann beamed in response.
"We'd be more than happy to help! You helped our friends, so of course we'll help you!" Sumire nodded firmly.
"Really? That's a relief...!" Erina was glad. There was a part of her that was worried, but Ren did tell her things would play out this way. "You three will be a huge boost to our forces! Thank you!"
"The one problem is..." Ann narrowed her eyes at Toshiro.
"I've been filled in one the situation." Toshiro said, taking a pose he thought was cool. "It sounds like you've had a rough time here. Not worse than my own, though."
"Way to make it a competition..." Zenkichi rolled his eyes.
"Are we supposed to trust this guy? He's not exactly someone I can imagine having our backs." Ann mumbled.
"Don't worry! He can run away from any enemy within two seconds." Mika commented while looking over her nails. She was clearly mocking Toshiro from his ever prideful words earlier. Toshiro flinched as his credibility was quickly going down the drain every time she opened her mouth.
"That gives me little confidence." Sumire said with a sweat drop.
"He seems like a pretty big Phantom Thieves hater, too." Futaba looked to Ren, concerned. "Do you really need another politician throwing you under the bus?"
These were all very valid points against Toshiro's character. "Good points...but he doesn't seem all that bad to me."
Meanwhile... "I can't believe that woman would do that! There's no limit to her depravity...mind controlling teenagers, making them wear absurd clothing...Good grief...and to think of what she put on you in particular..." Toshiro looked at Anna and Sumire. "And you two!" He turned to Mika and Hifumi. "You were nearly caught by Marie as well, right? With those outfits..."
"W-What!?" Sumire's eyes went wide. "I-It's just a leotard...!"
"Excuse me!?" Hifumi knew her Phantom Thief attire was inherently revealing in some way, but she did not appreciate Toshiro's comment on the matter!
"Marie WISHES she had fashion sense this good." Mika waved her hand dismissively..
Ann was getting ticked off. Toshiro didn't understand anything and it was irritating her. "Hey, am I allowed to slug this guy? Just once?"
Sumire found herself having to hold back Ann and a mildly irritated Hifumi. It was never easy when one of them got angry. "P-Please don't...!"
"I'm gonna have to stop you right there. Violence against a public official is still illegal, even if we're in this messed up world." Zenkichi was going to have to be the voice of reason.
"Ugh." Ann groaned.
"I think it's time we moved on." Akechi was going to be the one to get the conversation back on track. "We have some momentum on our side, but it's not going to be enough. We have absolutely nothing to go off of, unless the three of you can remember anything from your time in captivity?"
"Let's see..." Erina stroked her chin. "The Rebel Corps primary objective is overthrowing Marie's oppressive regime. While the Phantom Thieves are looking for a way home..."
"Um..." Sumire tapped her chin a few times. "I think I remember something? It's a bit hard to remember, because we were struggling with Marie at the time...but do you remember a door?" She looked to Ann and Futaba.
"K-Kind of?" Ann was thinking hard about this. "She was being a real pain in the ass about us...bt I think I saw a weird looking door in the back of her throne room. It might not be what we're looking for, but..."
"That's something." Hifumi said with a reassuring smile.
"At least we have something to go off of." Ren wouldn't object to that.
"Sounds like going toe-to-toe with Marie is an inevitability at this point." Futuba said.
"It always comes down to a fight." Hifumi pointed out. "But that's fine. I have words for her, with my staff."
"Me too!" Mika chimed in. "I want it to end in a fight this time, I want to drag her around by her split ends!"
"Fiddling with our heads and making us follow orders...Hope she's ready for some sweet revenge! Mwhehehehehehe!" Futaba cackled.
"She's going to pay for what she made us do!" Sumire was just as determined, and angry.
"I like this energy!" Ichinose clasped her hands together.
"We will bring Marie down with everything we have!" Sophia added.
Wow. These girls were actually terrifying. Toshiro, however, wanted to pump the breaks on the war they were clearly about to wage. Wait! If reaching the door is our only goal, surely there's no need for full scale combat! If we merely need to cross the threshold, perhaps...just a...a...a flying cross chop, or something!"
"Great, so that settles things!" Erina said, completely ignoring Toshiro's concerns with a wide smile.
"Don't just blow off my concerns with a grin!" Toshiro exclaimed.
"So I was thinking, for our next move...we should rescue the remaining Phantom Thieves. Their power will be monumental to our cause." Erina told the others. Plus, she was certain they wanted their friends back.
"That's a plan i can get behind!" Ren nodded. "But, uh...we don't know where they are right now. Do you?" He looked to Ann, Sumire, and Futaba. But they all had nothing to say.
"Sorry." Sumire shook her head. "After she really got into our heads, she sent us all in separate directions. I couldn't tell you where she sent the others, though..."
"I have my scouts working on that as we speak." Erina assured everyone. "So when they get back, we should have word on the whereabouts of your friends. So for now, everyone should take the chance to rest and regain your strength."
With the conversations at hand, Toshiro realized that they truly intended to fight their way through this situation. He took a seat, letting out a quiet sigh. "Are you really going to go to war with them? Have you considered a path without violence? Perhaps we could talk to them and come to an agreement."
Erina sighed at Toshiro's words. "Do you really think they'd be willing to listen to us? If it were that easy, I would've done it already."
"Read the room." Mika rolled her eyes. "You think that woman knows the meaning of a peaceful conversation?"
"Mmm..." Toshiro thought for a moment. He really did want to avoid conflict... "Well, what if I gave it a shot? I'm not half bad at handling negotiations, you know. It's my job as a Diet member."
"I bet you can convince yourself how quickly you want to run away!" Now Ichinose was poking fun at him.
"I can do more than that!" Toshiro said in defense of himself.
"In all seriousness, there are some people that can't be reasoned with." Zenkichi responded seriously. "Usually people in power. People like Marie, who want to control everything around them."
"..." Toshiro fell silent for a bit. That...wasn't wrong. He remembered what Shido was guilty of, and what Owada was guilty of as well. They were in power, and likely tried to control everything with their mysterious methods...
"Will you take a walk with me? i want to step outside for a moment and show you something." Erina said. "I want to you all to see the state of this country and how we're being treated with your own eyes."
"I was wondering about that too. It'd help us learn as much as possible." Futaba nodded.
"It would even help us learn how to help out!" Ann said enthusiastically.
"I'd like to stretch my legs properly, too." Sumire said. She really wanted to get out there and do some good. She felt horrible about her performance thus far, and really felt the need to make it up to everyone for all the trouble she caused.
As they started to head out, Ren felt his phone ring. "Huh?" He forgot he was in the Metaverse for a second, since phone usually don't work in that fashion. But he answered the call and held his phone up to his hear. "Hello?"
"Hello, Trickster." It was Lavenza. Even though the Velvet Room door was just a few feet away, she was far too occupied to walk out herself. '"Thank you for answering. This is Lavenza calling. You must be surprised, but considering the unusual circumstances, this is the only way I can communicate with you. I have made use of your smart telephone to speak. First, I apologize for the wait. Preparations are finally complete on this end." And then, there were were some strange noises in the background.
"Uh..." Ren paused.
"Ah, not again! Take...that...you!" And then, the sounds were followed by bashing and other crashing noises. "Ahem! Please come to the Velvet Room. I have something I wish to share with you." And with that, the call ended.
"I have...no idea what's going on. But if Miss Lavenza is calling, we should probably go see her, huh?" Morgana suggested.
"Yeah," Ren nodded in agreement. Whatever Lavenza had in store for them...he hoped it would help them turn the tide in the battles that were to come.
