Phantom Files Book 2: Rise Of The Monarchs

by sithlorde1988

The sequel to Persona 5-The Phantom Files. A few years after Ren returns home, the Phantom Thieves find themselves drawn back into the Metaverse once again out of nowhere after a mysterious app surfaces with the powers to access the Metaverse. Can the Phantom Thieves stop a mysterious new group of individuals called Monarchs? Better summary in chapter 1! BOTH STORY AND EDITS DONE!

2. Enter the Jail! Crew Reunites part 2

A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Persona 5- Rise Of The Monarchs! Don't really have a lot to say in this instance, so let's get on with the disclaimer, yeah?

Disclaimer: I, sithlorde1988, do not own the Persona series in any way, shape, or form (excluding the OC Kusa/Draconis, along with any other OCs that 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 (The latter mainly when it comes to 'spinoff' games like Strikers, Tactica, Phantom X, the 'Arena' games, the 'Dancing' games, and the 'Q' games.) so all credit to them!

That being said, I don't have much else to say, so on with the chapter! Here's chapter 2!

Chapter 2- Mystery of Wonderland! Enter The Jails! The Crew Reunites part 2

(In an unknown part of the Metaverse, with Skull, Violet, Joker, and Mona)

Once the group could see again, they looked around at their surroundings, both Joker and Violet frowning as the latter spoke up.

"Is this supposed to be Shibuya? Seems different than I remember it." Violet said as the group took in the view of the starry sky above and the neon billboards and buildings around them as Skull's eyes closed in a frown as he spoke up.

"I dunno, Violet. Feels like the same old Shibuya to-" Skull said, before he cut himself off as his eyes widened while taking in the sight of Joker, Violet, and Mona's Phantom Thief attire being on them. Skull then spoke up.

"WHOA! What happened to you guys!?" Skull said as Joker and Violet blinked before the latter gasped and spoke up.

"Oh! Joker, look! Our clothes!" Violet said in shock as Joker blinked and spoke up after seeing that his Phantom Thief attire had re-appeared for the first time in a long time.

"Yeah, our Phantom Thief attire is back. Unreal. I wonder why it chose now to re-appear?" Joker said as Mona spoke up.

"Good question, Joker. And Skull, it's not just us. You changed too." Mona said, pointing to Skuil, who looked down and saw that Mona was correct, as his Phantom Thief attire had also re-appeared. Skull spoke up in shock, his eyes still slightly wide.

"Whoa! For real!?" Skull said as Mona frowned and spoke up.

"Hm. It looks like this place is connected to the Metaverse." Mona said as Skull gasped and spoke up.

"Seriously?" Skull said before turning to Joker as he kept speaking.

"Dude, this is a joke, right?" Skull said as Joker smirked and spoke up.

"I dunno, Skull. My code name might be 'Joker', but that doesn't mean I know a joke when I hear one." Joker said before he heard footsteps nearby and gaped slightly as he saw a trio of familiar passerby walking nearby, recognizing the trio as the guys that had stood near him and Violet at the store opening. The brunette young man in the middle spoke up.

"Whoa, check it out." The brunette young man said, pointing upwards as the party going young man spoke up.

"Look." The partygoing young man said as Mona blinked and got Joker and Violet's attention before he spoke up.

"Joker, Violet! Aren't those the guys we saw at 705?" Mona asked as a nearby big-screen came on in a flash of pink and ominous looking eyes, as a pink-haired female was shown on-screen, her yellow eyes wide with excitement as she spoke up, both Joker and Violet shuddering as they saw the larger eyes on either side of the female's head while she spoke.

"Hey, everyone. You love me, don't you?" The pink-haired female said, Violet wincing at the fact that the other female had chosen to use teal eyeliner and teal eyelashes, making her eyes stand out even more. As the pink-haired female spoke up. the trio of guys that Ren and Mona had spotted nodded as the hearty young man spoke up.

"Uh, yeah!" The partygoing young man said as the pink-haired female waggled a finger skeptically and spoke up.

"Oh, yeeeah?" The pink haired girl said as she leaned in to leer at the screen, making Violet wince and shudder as Joker frowned at the sight of the female's yellow eyes narrowing as she spoke up, her smile somehow morphing to what appeared to be a sinister smirk as she kept speaking.

"Then you can give me all your Desires!" The pink-haired female said, as the party-going young man winced and spoke up.

"Huh? What is Alice talking about?" The party-going young man said, making Joker and Violet blink as they realized that the pink-haired female on screen with yellow eyes was likely Alice's Shadow. Not long afterwards, Mona's fur stood up on end as he spoke up.

"JOKER! Look out!" Mona said as Joker turned to see an army of what appeared to be masked policemen marching towards the trio of young men. The three young men protested and made to flee, but all three were quickly grabbed and restrained as one of the masked policemen shoved a hand through the party-going young man's back, having it harmlessly pass through as the policeman's hand came back out moments later, holding an ominous looking pink gem-like object. As Joker and Skull watched, the latter of the two swore and spoke up.

"Whoa, what the hell was that!?" Skull asked as a horrified Violet spoke up.

"Whatever it was? It looked scary! But I think we might be back in the Metaverse!" Violet said as Mona frowned and spoke up.

"Violet's right! But there's no time to question the particulars right now. We'll figure it out later! Violet! Joker! Skull! I hope you're all ready, because I think the only way out is to fight! So let's fight our way out!" Mona said as Joker nodded firmly, ready to fight. Skull and Violet followed suit a moment later as a fight began! At the start, Skull growled and spoke up.

"UGH! For real!? Dammit! Fine, let's do this! We'll take ALL of you on!" Skull said as Violet spoke up uncertainly.

"True, but don't they outnumber us by a lot?" Violet said as Joker smirked and spoke up.

"Good point, but don't forget we not only have the power of Persona, but we also have a Mona-bus. So we can thin the enemy's numbers out easily!" Joker said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Right! Stay sharp, you three! We haven't fought in some time. Just warm up a bit for starters. It'll come back to you soon enough!" Mona said as Joker, Skull, and Violet nodded, hefting their respective melee weapons, which were a knife for Joker, a mace for Skull, and a rapier for Violet, while Mona brandished his scimitar as the four started fighting through the Shadows as Skull spoke up confidently.

"Heh, don't forget who you're talkin' to! I'm the offensive duty champ!" Skull said as Mona smirked and spoke up while cutting through the army of Shadows.

"Really? I thought Crow and Draconis shared that title?" Mona said as Skull spoke up.

"Shuddup!" Skull said as Violet giggled and spoke up.

"Hee hee, I forgot how much fun this can be! Wanna see who can take more Shadows out, Joker!?" Violet said as Joker smirked and spoke up.

"Heh, you're on, beautiful. Loser has to be on bottom next time we fool around?" Joker suggested as Violet blushed but nodded as the two shook hands to seal their bet as the quartet eagerly started letting the Shadows have it. After a bit, Mona spoke up.

"Joker, Violet, Skull! Don't forget that you have more than your weapons to fight with! Use your Personas!" Mona said as Joker nodded with Violet and Skull as they spoke up.

"Right! Let's summon 'em now!" Joker said as Violet, Skull, and Mona nodded as the four spoke up in unison.

"COME, RAOUL!/DANCE, ELLA!/LET 'ER RIP, SAITEN TAISEI!/SHOW YOUR MIGHT, DIEGO!" Joker, Violet, Skull, and Mona said as they summoned their respective Personas. *1*

After a bit, Skull smirked as he spoke up while fighting off a gaggle of Shadows alongside Joker.

"Ah, I see. So it's not just our outfits that came back to us. We got back our respective Personas, too?" Skull asked as Mona spoke up.

"Seems like it. Wait, I'm getting a feeling over there. It's a strong Shadow, I think." Mona said as the group kept using their Personas to carve a path through the enemies as the seemingly endless onslaught of enemies continued. Mona winced and spoke up as he saw more enemies spawn in.

"Crap, reinforcements!? We already have enough problems! If this keeps up much longer, we'll be done for. We should make good use of our surroundings. See anything that could give you the advantage?" Mona asked as Joker noticed some nearby streetlights and grinned, as he got an idea.

"As it so happens? I do. Hey, Violet? How do you feel about pole dancing on these Shadows?" Joker asked as Violet blinked before realizing what he meant and giggling as she spoke up.

"Ah, so you want to try and use some gymnastics maneuvers to overwhelm them? Sounds fun!" Violet said as Joker nodded, before the two dashed to the nearby streetlights, swiftly leaping to the top and spinning down in epic fashion, doing a fancy little spinning attack as they did so, managing to clock massive damage and severely reduce the enemy's numbers. As Joker and Violet had fun with the streetlights, Skull and Mona kept smashing through a gaggle of enemies as Skull spoke up.

"Dude, y'all are WAY too weak! Don't even try steppin' to us again!" Skull said as Mona sighed and spoke up.

"Oh, Skull. You're always so over-confident. But I do agree that these enemies are deceptively weak." Mona said before blinking as he spoke up.

"Hmm? Oh crap! Joker! Violet! Skull! Watch out!" Mona said as even more Shadows spawned in, making Skull frown as he spoke up.

"What the hell? For real!? Even more of 'em!?" Skull said as the group quickly found itself surrounded by enemies as Mona spoke up.

"Dammit, we have no choice! We're getting surrounded fast, you guys! We have no choice! We have to retreat!" Mona said. He then saw a nearby alleyway and spoke up.

"Guys, look! Over there! That alleyway looks like our best bet for an escape route! Let's move it!" Mona said as the quartet wasted no time beating a hasty retreat. Once they were a safe distance away, Skull frowned at Mona and spoke up.

"Okay, what in the hell IS this place?" Skull asked as Joker frowned and spoke up.

"I could be wrong, but I think it's the Metaverse?" Joker said as Mona sighed and spoke up.

"Joker's probably right. In that case, if we're in the Metaverse, then it's a fair bet this could be Alice's Palace." Mona said as Joker, Violet, and Skull's eyes widened as the latter spoke up.

"What!? A Palace!? I thought those were done for, though! I mean, we don't even have the Meta-Nav on our phones anymore!" Skull said as Violet spoke up.

"Good point, Skull. Also, that was way too close back there. And, Joker? I think our bet was a tie." Violet said as Joker nodded agreeably before speaking up.

"It seems so. So neither of us wins, then. Pity." Joker said as Mona spoke up.

"Yes, well, moving on. I don't know what's going on here, but I don't think anything else could explain this. You saw Alice on that screen just like I did. No matter how you look at it, one thing is clear. Even though she looked like Alice, that was her Shadow. We just happened to wander into Alice's Palace using EMMA, somehow. Or at least, that would be the most logical explanation." Mona said as Violet frowned and spoke up.

"Hm. Could Draconis have been right when he told Oracle that the AI is evil!?" Violet asked as Joker spoke up.

"We don't know that for sure yet, beautiful. But I also think that we should keep an open mind to that possibility, if nothing else." Joker said as Skull spoke up.

"Dammit! Whatever it is doesn't change the fact that we're in deep shit right now." Skull said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"I agree, Skull. We need more intel. Let's investigate the area. If this really is a Palace, the distortion has to have a core somewhere in here. We need to find the Treasure. Ohh, I'm even getting a faint whiff of it. If we look around, we may be able to learn what's going on, too. We'll get a better idea of what to do next depending on what we find." Mona said as Joker nodded his agreement as Skull spoke up.

"Ugh, I guess we're doin' this, then." Skull said as Violet spoke up.

"Of course we are, Skull. I don't think Joker's just gonna ignore the return of the Metaverse. That's not who he is." Violet said wisely as the group nodded and decided to keep moving around. After a bit, the camera showed the quartet leaping off a ledge into an open area where the group landed in a kneel. After looking around to ensure the area was clear, the guys exchanged a nod and dashed forward, Violet staying close to Joker as the group rushed forward.

As the group reached the middle of the area, they were blinded by the flash of search lights, making all four of them have to shield their eyes, or close them in Mona's case as he lacked the means to properly shield his eyes. As their vision returned, they saw more Shadows swarming them. Mona blinked at this and swore as he spoke up.

"Crap, no good! It's an ambush!" Mona said as Violet spoke up.

"WHA!? An ambush? Are you serious, Mona?" Violet asked as Skull looked up and cried out.

"LOOK OUT!" Skull said, but his warning would come far too late as a giant net dropped down from above, landing right on top of the group, trapping them in place, after which the quartet struggled vainly to get free as Skull growled and spoke up.

"Ugh! This ain't fair!" Skull said as Violet spoke up.

"Skull's right! But then again, sometimes life isn't fair! But never mind that, you guys! We're trapped!" Violet said as Joker frowned and spoke up.

"Dammit! It's too thick for my knife to cut through!" Joker said, as the Shadows advanced on the group. After that, Violet gasped and spoke up.

"Oh, no! Joker, look out behind you!" Violet said, but Joker could do nothing but turn his head in horror as one of the Shadows raised his baton up and smacked Joker right in the face with it, making him flop down and pass out from the impact, even as both Violet and Mona gasped and spoke up.

"JOKER!" Mona and Violet said, which was the last thing Joker heard before everything went black. Once Joker came to, he found himself being frog-marched by some Shadows, frowning as he saw Mona, Violet, and Skull also being frog-marched. While Mona's arms were bound to his sides, Skull's hands were tied behind his back, and Violet's arms were tied up in front of her as several Shadows were flanking her to prevent her from trying to break free. Joker frowned at this, but before he could do more than that, he felt himself be roughly shoved from behind as one of the Shadows spoke up.

"Keep moving." One of the Shadows said, as the doors in front of the group opened up, revealing one of the gaudiest throne rooms Joker had ever seen. And considering Joker's seen the thrones of the likes of Kamoshida and Kunikazu Okumura, that's saying something. But to make things worse, sitting on the throne was none other than Alice's Shadow! Alice's Shadow giggled as she saw the group marched into her throne room, smirking as she spoke up.

"Oh? Who're these lil' guys?" Alice's Shadow asked as one of the sentry Shadows spoke up.

"Your Majesty, we captured these thieves, but we couldn't seize their Desires. We have instead brought them to you." The sentry Shadow said as Alice scoffed and spoke up.

"Tch! Couldn't seize their Desires? Explain yourselves." Alice sad as she strode forward, eventually coming to a stop in front of Joker, smiling coyly at him as she kept speaking.

"Hmph, not much to look at, are they? But not you, you're different. You look pretty cool. So, what's your name, handsome?" Alice's Shadow said as Violet frowned and spoke up.

"His name is Nunya! Now step away from my boyfriend!" Violet said defiantly as Joker turned to Violet and smiled before he spoke up.

"My girlfriend is correct. My name isn't important right now. Let us go." Joker said firmly. Alice scoffed at this and raised the cane in her right hand and forcefully smacked Joker across the face with it, smiling as she saw Joker grunt in pain before he flopped over onto his side as for the second time that day, Mona and Violet both spoke up in horror.

"JOKER!" Mona and Violet said as the latter glared at Alice and spoke up.

"Really? How dare you strike my boyfriend like that, you ugly skank!? You wait until I get outta these ropes, and you'll see what I think of pushy people like you!" Violet snarled angrily, ignoring the impressed smirks on Mona and Skull's faces, while Joker could only groan in pain as he laid on the ground while Alice smirked coyly at Violet before stepping on Joker, ignoring the angry glare Violet gave her. After registering what both Mona and Violet had said, she smiled slyly and spoke up.

"Ah, I see. So you're Joker, huh? Come now, Joker. You need to answer you properly when your Queen asks you a question." Alice's Shadow said as Violet and Skull both spoke up at the same time.

"QUEEN!?" Violet and Skull said as Violet kept speaking.

"How dare you, you scantily-dressed bitch!? I only know one Queen, and she's a hell of a lot better of a person than you!" Violet snapped as Skull nodded and spoke up.

"Truth, Violet! This chick is big-time disrespecting my girlfriend by claiming to be a Queen." Skull said, before glaring at Alice's Shadow while he kept speaking.

"So quit it, asshole!" Skull said as Alice's Shadow frowned at Violet and Skull as she spoke up.

"Ugh, would the two of you shut your mouths? Or are you looking for punishment too?" Alice's Shadow said as Skull sputtered at this and spoke up.

"What the-!? You shit! Just try it!" Skull said as Violet spoke up defiantly.

"You would idly throw around the threat of punishment like that, wouldn't you? I've faced down scarier people than you more than once! So bring it if you think you can punish us!" Violet snapped defiantly, ignoring the wide-eyed looks of surprise on Joker and Mona's faces at her almost uncharacteristic display of rage. Alice's Shadow scoffed as she spoke up.

"Ugh, such a mouthy piece of trash! Wow, what a bore. I just stopped caring." Alice's Shadow said before she turned to the Shadows behind the group and kept speaking.

"Get rid of them however. And if you happen to inflict a bit of pain on that red-headed runt in the process, all the better. Besides, I don't want toys that don't do as they're told. Bye-bye, trash!" Alice's Shadow said as Violet bristled at this and spoke up.

"What!? Did you just call me a runt!? How dare you talk down to me like that, you stuck-up bi-!?" Violet said, being cut off mid-swear as the nearest sentry Shadow pulled a lever, opening a trapdoor under the group, who screamed loudly as they fell into the depths below, landing in a pile with a series of muffled cries of 'OOF!' as they landed. When visibility had returned, Mona blinked as he saw Joker sprawled out on top of Skull, who had landed face-down on the ground. Violet giggled, having landed on top of Mona, whose furry ears had tickled her stomach when she landed on him, while he unintentionally broke most of her fall, as Skull groaned and spoke up.

"Ow ow ow ow, that hurt. Hey, yo! You guys okay?" Skull asked as Mona spoke up.

"Yeah, luckily we seem to be all right." Mona said as Joker groaned and spoke up while lightly rubbing his lower back with a wince.

"Ugh, really? Speak for yourself, Mona. I landed on Skull's metal freaking spine, and that thing is a bitch to land on." Joker said as he got to his feet slowly. After both Joker and Skull were on their feet, Skull spoke up.

"Man, holy crap. That was some real shit we just went through, yeah?" Skull said as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed. That was certainly one experience I could have done without. Granted, I did get to see a bit of Violet's feistier side, which I have to admit is surprisingly attractive. Though I didn't think she was prone to swearing like she did back there?" Joker said slyly as Violet blushed prettily in embarrassment before she huffed and spoke up.

"Yes, well, in my defense, that stuck-up cunt smacked you with her cane and then stepped on you while all I could do was watch as she basically asserted dominance on you! Only I get to dominate you like that, Joker! Also, how dare she have the gall to hit on you in front of me!? She's going to be lucky if I don't tear her apart with my bare hands when we get back into that throne room." Violet said angrily as Skull nodded and spoke up.

"Truth! And even worse was that effin' hosebag tryin' to force Joker to submit to her! So that's what she's really like, huh?" Skull asked as Mona sighed and spoke up.

"Ugh. You're not wrong." Mona said as Skull turned to Joker as he spoke up.

"How 'bout you, Joker? She really whacked you good." Skull said as Joker scoffed and spoke up.

"It was nothing. I've gotten hit harder than that multiple times by Mona before in the Metaverse, and even Draconis hits harder than Alice does." Joker said, recalling the time the group had had to chase down Mona and Noir, shortly before the latter formally joined the Phantom Thieves. On that occasion, Mona had tried to run Joker over at least twice, only being stopped when Skull yanked Joker out of harm's way on both instances.

Not long after the second attempt, Mona used a conveniently placed ambush by Draconis, who had also stormed off at the time, to make his escape with Noir, who went by the name 'Beauty Thief' at the time. Fortunately for Joker, he was able to exploit some flaws in Draconis' technique to best him in the battle that followed, even if Draconis' reaction afterwards had been rather interesting, to say the least. Violet smiled and spoke up.

"That's my Joker. You're stronger than some skimpily-dressed bitch who thinks she's a Queen. I had to seriously restrain myself not to cuss her out when she did that, since that's a disrespect of the worst sort to our Queen." Violet said as Skull nodded his agreement and spoke up.

"Truth, Violet! Only my girlfriend is allowed to call herself Queen! Well, that's good that you're not hurt, Joker. At least we have that going for us. But, man. Damn that Alice! Actin' like she's top shit like that! No joke, I'm gonna be so pissed off until we finally get back at her! So, that bein' said, where are we now?" Skull said as the group looked around, seeing that they'd landed in some sort of disposal area, making Mona frown as he spoke up.

"To be honest, it looks like we wound up underground somewhere. Judging from the piles around us, I'd say it's some sort of garbage dump!" Mona said as both Violet and Joker spoke up.

"WHAT!?" Joker and Violet said as Violet kept speaking.

"Are you saying she took us out like the trash?" Violet asked, visibly offended as Joker smiled at Violet and spoke up.

"Joke's on her, though. Aside from maybe Skull's sense of humor, nothing about any of us is trash in any sense of the word. And you, in particular, are not trash. You're perfect, as far as I'm concerned." Joker said comfortingly to Violet, who blushed prettily at hearing Joker compliment her before she smiled as she hugged Joker while speaking up after she sneakily kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you, Joker. That means a lot to me." Violet said as Morgana spoke up.

"Yes, well, as nice as it is that you two are still going strong, for now? I think we should just focus on getting out of here." Mona said as Violet nodded and spoke up.

"Good plan, Mona. Why don't we split into pairs? Let's say you and Skull look around one way, and Joker and I go the other?" Violet said as Mona thought about Violet's idea as Skull spoke up.

"This place is disgusting. Who just dumps people into garbage like that?" Skull said as Violet frowned and spoke up.

"That bitch Alice does, apparently." Violet said as Joker smiled at his girlfriend's adorable indignation as Mona spoke up.

"I agree with Violet's suggestion. Let's split up and look for an exit. Let's try and find a way out as soon as possible. But let's be careful too. We don't know what we'll run into, either. So let's keep an eye on how we're holding up as we press on." Mona said as Joker nodded his agreement and spoke up.

"Got it. Good luck, you two. Let's agree to meet back here after we look around, yeah?" Joker said as Mona and Skull nodded, deciding to look around the area they'd landed in. Joker then turned to Violet and smiled as he spoke up.

"Well then, shall we, milady? Let's say we head that way and look around?" Joker said, pointing to an area further ahead. Violet smiled and nodded as she spoke up.

"Indeed we shall, Joker. Indeed we shall. Lead on." Violet said as Joker nodded and the two started walking off, blinking as they noticed what appeared to be an over-large metallic box nearby. Joker frowned at Violet and spoke up.

"Hm? What's that, I wonder?" Joker asked Violet, who spoke up.

"No clue. Looks to be a metallic cube of sorts." Violet said as Joker spoke up.

"Or at least some sort of container." Joker said as Violet spoke up.

"True. I guess let's check it out?" Violet suggested as Joker nodded and walked forward to look over the cube-shaped object, which lit up as Joker pressed his hand to it to try and get a feel of what the object was made out of. After surrounding the room in an incandescent blue glow for a short time, the cube started breaking down into smaller cubes as it shrank in size, until it was roughly the size of a human being, at which point an even brighter flash of blue obscured everyone's vision as a blank white screen popped up in front of the shrinking cube before text popped up on the screen, which Joker read.

"REBOOTING. SOPHIA Ver1.37. STARTING NEURAL NETWORK NOW. LANGUAGE CHECK-OK. MOTOR CHECK-OK. SENSORY CHECK-OK. VISUAL CHECK-OK. MEMORY CHECK-NONE. MEMORY SYSTEM INITIALIZING. PLEASE WAIT. MEMORY SYSTEM INITIALIZED. ALL SYSTEMS ARE NOW OK. BOOTING UP." Joker read off the screen as another line of text appeared in place of the massive chunk of text he'd just read off.

"WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO BECOME?' Joker read, making him and Violet exchange uncertain looks at that point. After the light faded, Joker was shocked to see that the object that had previously been a giant metallic cube had instead reformed itself into, of all things, the appearance of an adorably cute yet very innocent looking little red-haired girl with piercing icy blue eyes and twin ponytails made out of hearts, of all things. As the little girl, who Joker mentally figured wasn't older than 12, possibly 13, looked around in confusion, she gave off a low groan as she looked around. Once the girl looked around, she eventually blinked and spoke up in a deceptively non-mechanical voice.

"Hm? What is this place?" The girl asked before blinking her icy blue eyes as she noticed Joker and spoke up.

"Oh, oops. I didn't see you there. My apologies. Who are you?" The little girl asked as Violet spoke up for Joker.

"Sorry if we scared you, little one. I'm Violet, and he's Joker. We're Phantom Thieves." Violet said kindly to the little girl, finding herself intrigued by how young and innocent this cube turned human looked. The girl blinked at Violet's explanation as she spoke up.

"Hm? You two are referred to as what's called 'Phantom Thieves'? Understood. Nice to meet you, Joker and Violet. I am Sophia, humanity's companion." The now-named Sophia said as Violet squealed a bit in spite of herself and spoke up.

"It's nice to meet you. That said, you're also entirely too adorable for your own good, Sophia." Violet said, blushing a bit in embarrassment at the amused look Joker gave her, speaking up in a more subdued tone.

"What? She is! She's like that cute little kid you find abandoned that you can't help but want to protect and eventually get close to." Violet said as Joker spoke up.

"I'm not denying that you're right, Violet. But let's not scare Sophia here with any unnecessary gestures too soon, yeah?" Joker said gently to Violet before turning to Sophia and speaking up.

"And as for you, it's nice to meet you as well, Sophia. What are you doing here, anyhow? Can you tell us that?" Joker asked in a slightly concerned tone. Sophia tilted her head cutely to the side at Joker's question and spoke up.

"Nothing. I exist here because I woke up here. Are you human? Do you have a name?" Sophia asked as Violet blinked and spoke up.

"Yes, Joker and I are humans. I'm guessing that you might not be, given what you just said? But don't worry about that for now. To what you asked, he and I both have names. His name is Joker, and my name is Violet, as I said before." Violet said as Sophia nodded and spoke up.

"Ah, I see. 'Joker' and 'Violet', hm? Okay, I memorized those names. Joker, do you know where this place-" Sophia started to ask, but was cut off by Skull speaking up from nearby.

"Hey! I just heard somethiiing, nearby?" Skull said, stopping short as he and Mona blinked on seeing Sophia, Skull speaking up in a wary tone.

"Uh, I mean, that is technically something, or rather someone." Skull said before turning to look at Sophia.

"Soo, who are you?" Skull asked, trying to sound polite. Mona looked at Joker and spoke up.

"What is it, Joker?" Mona asked as Joker frowned slightly and spoke up.

"I think you mean 'who' is it, Mona? And from what Violet and I got out of her, she says she's Sophia, humanity's companion." Joker gently rebuked Mona as Sophia turned to face Mona, her eyes widening at the sight of a talking cat as she spoke up.

"Uhhh, wha?" Sophia said dumbly as Mona blinked at the attention he was getting and spoke up nervously.

"Uh, can I help you?" Mona asked as both Joker and Violet had to keep from laughing at what Sophia said next.

"Are you supposed to be some kind of a raccoon?" Sophia asked as an offended Mona spoke up, making Joker and Violet have a harder time not laughing at his response.

"Oh! Try a cat! Wait, no! DON'T try 'a cat'!" Mona said as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"Dude, make up your mind, would you, Mona?" Skull said in a deadpan tone as Joker and Violet both finally lost it at that and burst out laughing for a bit before getting it under control after seeing the confused look on Sophia's face as Skull spoke up.

"Anyways, back on topic. Who's this? Got a real funky getup on her, if nothing else." Skull said as Joker frowned and spoke up.

"You're one to talk about having a funky getup, Mister Metal Spine! But anyways, as I said before, her name is Sophia, and she claims to be humanity's companion, whatever that means. But more to the point, she emerged from a box I went to investigate. Gave me and Violet a real surprise when she emerged, too. But then I think she gave Violet cuteness overload, given she went into her fangirl mode." Joker said as Violet pouted and spoke up.

"Hey, don't talk about me like I'm not here, Joker! Also, in my defense, Sophia here really is adorable. So I think I'm allowed to be awed by that a bit. And you can't tell me you didn't find it endearing as well, since I saw that smile on your face when Sophia introduced herself." Violet said as Mona smirked and spoke up.

"Heh, get a load of the maternal instincts on Violet. Mayhaps Sophia is going to bring out Joker and Violet's inner parental instincts." Mona joked as Violet and Joker both huffed and spoke up.

"RUDE!" Violet and Joker both said in a mix of embarrassment and annoyance as Joker kept speaking while fixing a wincing Mona with his sternest glare.

"Kindly cease and desist with the teasing remarks, Mona! And for the record, she's not that much younger than us, if I had to guess. I'd say she's about 12 or 13, if we go by her build and appearance. Though the heart-shaped pigtails do make me think maybe 10 to 12 instead." Joker said as Violet spoke up.

"So what if we do find ourselves wanting to protect a precious little bean like her?" Violet said bluntly, making both Skull and Joker turn shocked looks on her as the former spoke up.

"WHAT!? That kid doesn't look like no bean to me." Skull said as Joker spoke up with an understanding look in Skull's direction, turning to glare at Mona again mid-way through his response while he spoke.

"I think it's a figure of speech, Skull. And as for you Mona, do not ever suggest that Violet and I could be like parents to Sophia again. If we decide to consider it, that's one thing. But you don't get to tease us about it, got it!?" Joker said as Mona winced and nodded as Sophia turned to Skull and spoke up.

"Hello. I am Sophia, humanity's companion." Sophia said as Mona turned to Sophia and spoke up.

"I see. Were you dumped down here by that Alice girl, too?" Mona asked as Sophia lowered her head in what Violet assumed was a thinking pose, eventually speaking up after a bit.

"Hmm. Odd. I just learned that I have no memories. So I do not know." Sophia said as Skull gaped and spoke up.

"Wait, hold up. What?" Skull said as Joker smirked and spoke up.

"Seems a bit like how Mona was when we first met him, eh Skull?" Joker joked as Skull spoke up with a grin.

"Truth, man! But I don't think Mona could pull off a dress quite as well as shorty over there." Skull said as Violet winced and spoke up.

"Skull? Don't EVER call her 'shorty' like that again. That is both disrespectful and offensive! Also, I know Joker has said more than once in the past that we respect women and girls in the Phantom Thieves!" Violet said flatly, crossing her arms as she gave Skull a disappointed look, making him wince and speak up.

"Right, sorry. My bad." Skull said as Mona spoke up.

"Hey, you three! Come here for a second." Mona said as he motioned for the others to follow him behind a pile so they were out of Sophia's earshot, leaving her to look around on her own. Once they were out of earshot, Mona looked at Joker and spoke up.

"Who is that, Joker?" Mona said as Violet spoke up.

"You heard what she said before. She's Sophia, humanity's companion. Or at least that's how she introduced herself to Joker and I before." Violet said as Skull spoke up.

"She said she doesn't have any memories, though?" Skull said as Joker spoke up.

"Basically. Long story short, Violet and I saw a giant metallic cube like object nearby, went to investigate it, and when I put my hand on the box to figure out what it was made of, it gave off a freaky light show, shrank down, and booted up into the little girl currently wandering around behind us. Needless to say, I think she stole Violet's heart pretty easily, given how quickly Violet was ready to hug her." Joker said as Violet blushed and spoke up.

"She's so cute, though. She kind of reminded me of that lost and precious little sibling that you want to protect, if that makes sense." Violet said as Mona smirked and spoke up.

"Or perhaps she reminded you of a lost daughter?" Mona said with a smirk as Joker and Violet both spoke up.

"SHUT UP, MONA!" Joker and Violet rebuked the cat in a hushed whisper as Mona nodded and spoke up in shock.

"True. Wait, what did Joker say!? She came out of a giant box!?" Mona said as Skull spoke up.

"Truth, Mona! What kinda crazy shit is that? Way too weird for me, if you ask me." Skull said before wincing at the frown Violet gave him as she spoke up.

"Skull! Don't swear around Sophia until we figure out how old she is! If she's as young as we think, she's still impressionable!" Violet rebuked Skull. Joker smirked and spoke up.

"Heh, yep, definitely protective of her already." Joker said as Mona changed the subject by speaking up.

"She doesn't seem to be a Shadow, though. Or at least that's what I've gathered. She doesn't even seem hostile." Mona said as Violet spoke up.

"Of course she's not hostile! She's just a frightened girl with no memories! Why would someone like that be hostile?" Violet asked in confusion as Skull spoke up.

"Well, whatever she is, we still gotta find a way out. Nobody's solving any problems in this dump, that's for sure." Skull said, not seeing Joker and Mona's eyes widen slightly as Sophia walked over at that point, turning to face Skull as she heard him mention solving problems and speaking up.

"Hm? Are you in trouble?" Sophia asked, making Mona, Skull and Joker jump slightly at how easily she'd snuck up on them, while Violet giggled and spoke up.

"Wow, some manly men you three are. You got frightened by a little girl like poor Sophia." Violet said in amusement as both Joker and Mona glared at her in annoyance while Skull spoke up.

"Whoa! When did you get over here?" Skull asked in surprise. Sophia turned to Violet and spoke up.

"Give these three some credit, Violet. I did walk over here rather quietly. But you are right to say I'm not hostile. That said, if you're in trouble, I can help. I am humanity's companion. My purpose is to be helpful to humans." Sophia said as Skull looked at Sophia and spoke up warily.

"Sooo, you wanna help us out?" Skull asked as Sophia smiled and nodded as she spoke up.

"Correct. What is your problem?" Sophia asked as Skull spoke up uncertainly.

"Well, uh, how to put this? We're, uh, we're lost. I guess we're lookin' for a way outta here?" Skull asked as Sophia thought about Skull's request, tapping her cheek in thought cutely as she spoke up.

"Hm, a way out, you say? I wonder. Will reaching the surface solve your problem of 'a way outta here'?" Sophia asked as Mona blinked at the question and spoke up.

"Uhh, yeah, y'know? It would probably solve our problem quite nicely." Mona said as Violet smirked and spoke up.

"Wow. Not only is she adorable, she's super helpful, too? I want one of her, Joker." Violet said as Joker blinked at this and spoke up.

"What, one of Sophia? I'm not sure I'd even know where to go about doing that, since how often do you find little girls who come out of metallic boxes like that?" Joker pointed out as Skull smirked and spoke up, ignoring the wide-eyed look of shock on Violet and Joker's faces at what he said next, along with the confused looks that Sophia and Morgana exchanged with one another.

"Uh-huh. Sure you don't, Joker. And you can't just take your girlfriend to bed and put a Sophia in her, why?" Skull asked teasingly as both Joker and Violet blushed at Skull's suggestion and spoke up.

"SKULL!" Joker and Violet both rebuked Skull as Violet spoke up disapprovingly.

"Hey! No bringing up adult topics around Sophia until we're sure she's old enough for it, Skull. And as she cannot remember anything about herself, I'm going by Joker's estimation that she's between 10 and 13 years old, and thus much too young to be hearing about such things." Violet said as Sophia smiled and spoke up.

"I see. Okay, I've got it. I'm searching for 'a way outta here'." Sophia said as she walked off, leaving a wide-eyed Mona to speak up as he watched her leave.

"Wha-? HEY! Don't go out there alone!" Mona said as Violet spoke up.

"Agreed, Mona! Sophia's not able to handle it on her own out there!" Violet said as Mona turned to Joker and spoke up.

"Ugh, what now, Joker?" Mona asked as Joker spoke up.

"We should follow her. Worst case, we get a good layout of the area if she can't find an exit. Best case, she leads us to the surface. Besides, I agree with Violet that Sophia shouldn't be left to wander off alone." Joker said wisely. Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Right, good point. She might be able to get us out of this dump, after all." Mona said as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"You sure about that? She's still super suspicious to me." Skull said as Joker spoke up.

"Skull, would you rather trust Sophia, or would you rather trust in your own half-assed sense of direction?" Joker asked Skull as Violet spoke up.

"Joker's right! Not to mention, I wouldn't want her wandering around alone out there, just in case that whore Alice gets to her and tries to do who-knows-what to her? That girl's so trusting, she'd probably go along with anything within reason, if she thought it made her a more helpful companion." Violet said as Skull spoke up.

"Fair point. I might not be sure about Sophia, buuut at the same time, I guess we shouldn't ditch her, either. Who knows when she could prove useful?" Skull said as he turned towards the direction Sophia had wandered off in.

"Hey! Hey shorty, you better watch out for Shadows!" Skull said as Violet spoke up.

"SKULL! I told you not to call her that!" Violet said rebukingly. Skull winced, before his eyes widened at something ahead of the group as he spoke up.

"Aw crap, too late!" Skull said as both Joker and Violet spoke up.

"LANGUAGE, SKULL!" Violet and Joker said as Violet kept speaking around a gasp, having seen what Skull saw.

"Oh, no! Is that a Shadow!?" Violet the quartet darted up to where Sophia was as Morgana spoke up.

"Quick! Get behind us, Sophia!" Mona said decisively as Sophia nodded and hid behind the group as they quickly dispatched the small group of Shadows. After the fight, Skull sighed and spoke up, while Joker got a good look at Sophia's attire, which was seemingly little more than an oversized white sweater with small black marks on the chest, and knee-length black leather boots. Joker and Violet exchanged worried looks at the apparent lack of lower-body coverings on Sophia, wondering if she was at least wearing shorts under the sweater, but not wanting to ask as Skull spoke.

"Phew, that was close. We got through that, somehow." Skull said before turning to face Sophia as he spoke up.

"Sophia, right? You hurt or anything?" Skull asked as Sophia shook her head and spoke up.

"Nope, no problems here. But, why was I attacked? Assaulting others without reason is not proper behavior." Sophia asked as Skull winced and spoke up.

"Uh, not exactly sure how to explain it, but those guys are called Shadows." Skull said as Mona spoke up.

"And we're the Phantom Thieves." Mona said as Violet looked at Sophia and spoke up.

"To answer your question from before, my experience tells me that Shadows tend to assault anyone they perceive as a threat indiscriminately. It's quite lucky that we got to you when we did." Violet said as Mona spoke up.

"Violet's right. But back to what I was saying. As Phantom Thieves, we're considered dangerous rebels by the ruler of this place. Or more simply put, we're viewed as intruders they want to eliminate." Mona said as Sophia blinked and spoke up.

"Hm? The Phantom Thieves, you say? Wow, that's really cool." Sophia said, seemingly bouncing up and down in excitement as Violet smiled and spoke up.

"Aww, how cute. She thinks we're cool, you guys." Violet said, a hint of pride slipping into her voice as Joker spoke up.

"Heh, is that pride in your voice, Violet? Careful. Wouldn't want a pretty lady like you to end up distorted, after all." Joker said coyly. Violet blushed at Joker's sly compliment and spoke up.

"Joker! Don't flirt with me in front of Sophia! She might think that's acceptable behavior or something!" Violet said to Joker who nodded his understanding as Skull spoke up.

"Wait, what!? THAT'S what you have to say? Thanks for the compliment, I guess. Nice to hear you're a fan of ours. Anyway, there is a shit-ton of Shadows around here. If you wanna help us, then let's all go together." Skull said as Violet spoke up.

"SKULL! I said no swearing around Sophia!" Violet rebuked Skull. Sophia then spoke up.

"I see. Have no fear, Phantom Thieves. I can find 'a way outta here'. You only need to wait for me." Sophia said as Mona spoke up in surprise.

"Oh? You're actually going to help us out?" Mona asked as Sophia smiled and nodded while she spoke up.

"Correct. After all, I have been helping you this entire time. After all, Joker helped me first. So now, I will be helpful for him. So feel free to use me as needed, Joker." Sophia said as Violet blanched at Sophia's word choice and spoke up.

"Um, let's not take that too literally, though, yeah? After all, not only is she very young, but she's also far too pure and innocent to realize what she's saying." Violet said, as Joker smiled and spoke up.

"Relax, Violet. I wasn't going to take advantage of Sophia. After all, I'd rather not have the wrath of Mama Violet on me." Joker said coyly as Violet huffed and spoke up.

"Hey! Don't tease me like that, Joker. And if I'm Mama Violet, wouldn't that make you Papa Joker?" Violet asked, making Joker, Skull, and Sophia's eyes widen as the latter spoke up.

"Mama Violet? Papa Joker? I don't get it." Sophia said as Joker smirked at Violet and spoke up.

"HA! For all that you were lecturing the rest of us about not giving her ideas, you went and confused her on your own, Violet." Joker said before turning to Sophia and speaking up.

"Don't mind Violet, Sophia. She was just being overprotective of you. As for the terms Mama and Papa, those refer to terms used by a child to describe their mother and father, respectively. But given the fact that you stated before that you have no memory, I don't know if you have parents to speak of or not." Joker said warily as Sophia spoke up.

"Oh. I see. Hm. Understood. I suppose I should refrain from calling you and Violet anything other than Joker and Violet." Sophia said as Skull laughed and spoke up.

"Yeah, that'd probably be for the best. At least for now, anyways. Maybe down the line, things will change and you actually do end up seeing Joker and Violet as a mother and father of sorts, at which point you could probably get away with calling them Mama Violet and Papa Joker. But for now, just call them Violet and Joker, if only so we don't give any of the others heart attacks when we introduce you to them, provided we don't part ways when we get outta here." Skull said before he laughed and kept speaking.

"But you say you want to help? Haha, all right then. You're weird, true, but I guess you really do wanna help." Skull said as Mona turned to Violet and Joker.

"Well, it's your call, Joker. Though I think I can guess what Violet wants us to do." Mona said as Joker spoke up.

"No teasing Violet, Mona. And I happen to agree with her. I say let's do this together. If we happen to wind up getting along in the process, great. If not, at least we'll hopefully be out of this dump." Joker said decisively. Sophia smiled at Joker and spoke up.

"Okay, got it. That sounds nice, Joker." Sophia said before she kept speaking, making both Joker and Violet have to stifle more laughs at what Sophia said next.

"Let's go together, then. Along with the small little talking cat, and the living skeleton." Sophia said as Joker smirked at the adorable yet well-placed roast by Sophia as Skull sputtered and spoke up.

"Wha-? I'm not a skeleton!" Skull said as Mona laughed and spoke up.

"Nyahahaha, Skull's short for Skullington now-uh, wait! Just because I look like this doesn't make me a cat!" Mona said as Joker smiled and spoke up.

"No, it makes you a valued member of this team." Joker said kindly, stifling a laugh as he spoke up again.

"And Sophia? Mona's not a cat. He's actually more like a deformed talking raccoon." Joker said teasingly as Skull actually laughed at this and fist-bumped Joker while speaking up.

"Truth, man!" Skull said as Mona and Violet both spoke up.

"JOKER!" Mona and Violet both rebuked Joker as Violet kept speaking.

"Joker, don't tease Mona in front of Sophia, please." Violet said primly as Skull huffed and spoke up.

"And I'm SKULL! Don't screw it up!" Skull said as Mona huffed and spoke up.

"And I'm MONA, okay? Don't you forget it!" Mona said as Sophie cutely tilted her head to the side in confusion as she spoke up.

"Hm? What has upset you?" Sophia said as Joker sweatdropped and spoke up.

"That's a rather long story that we don't have time for right now, Sophia. Let's just say Mona is very sensitive about being called certain things and end up leaving it at that for now, okay? Once we get out of here, if we have time, Violet and I can try to explain it more to you then." Joker said wisely as Sophia nodded her understanding as Mona spoke up.

"All right, let's be careful as we move out from here. We'd be fine, but we don't want to endanger Sophia. Let's try staying out of sight. Besides, I don't think any of us want to get Violet angry at them if we did endanger Sophia, since we've seen how protective she already is of her." Mona said sagely as Joker nodded his agreement as the now group of five kept moving. After moving around a few corners, Mona stopped the group by speaking up.

"Wait! A Shadow!" Mona said as the camera panned to show a nearby Shadow, at which point, the group ducked behind a nearby wall to avoid being seen. At that point, Skull spoke up.

"Shit, it's still hanging around, isn't it?" Skull said as Violet frowned at Skull and spoke up.

"SKULL! NO SWEARING!" Violet said bluntly. Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Violet's right, Skull. We've got Sophia with us, and I feel like Violet would prefer that she not turn into a foul-mouthed ape like you. So for now, we should just avoid it if we can manage it." Mona said as Sophia blinked and spoke up.

"Hm? Are you saying that that's blocking your way?" Sophia asked as Skull nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah, we can't escape unless we get past here." Skull said as Sophie spoke up, surprising everyone with what she said next.

"Okay, I've got it." Sophia said as she darted off while Skull dumbly spoke up.

"Huh? Got what? Wait, what the hell!?" Skull said as Violet frowned and spoke up.

"Never mind that! Let's get after her!" Violet said as Skull nodded and the group gave chase as Sophia darted off around the corner while Skull called after her.

"Yo, wait up, Sophia!" Skull called before the group gaped at the sight of a Shadow in front of them. As Sophia gasped on getting a better look at the Shadow, it spoke up in confusion.

"Huh? Who are you? Intruders!?" The Shadow said before shifting forms into a trio of pumpkin-headed mages, who cackled as one as they launched a massive torrent of fire at a stunned Sophia, who seemingly could only watch as the attack connected solidly with her as both Joker and Violet spoke up.

"SOPHIA!" Joker and Violet called out in horror as Skull and Mona could only gape in horror at the apparent sight of Sophia being hit by the flame attack, everyone shielding their eyes as a bright flash of flame blinded them.

When they could all see again, the group all blinked in shock as they saw Sophia standing unharmed ahead of them, hiding behind what appeared to be a black and white shield-like object, which separated into boxes as they circled around Sophia, who'd altered her appearance so that she now had a white hood over her head, having her hands get black gloves over them, and her previously twin ponytails had been merged into a singular long ponytail, not unlike the one Violet had, other than Violet's not being made out of hearts nor going down to almost her feet like Sophia's, and the fact that Sophia's new look made her look a bit like a kunoichi.

As Sophia looked at the enemies, she thrust a hand forward, making a yo-yo fly forwards towards the enemies as a giant torrent of light shot out from behind her as the apparent assortment of boxes fired a laser towards the Shadows, hitting each of them and instantly reducing them to black mist, much to the collective shock of the others. As Sophia looked at the spot where the Shadows had been, she smirked and spoke up.

"Don't insult us by calling us intruders! We are, in fact, the Phantom Thieves." Sophie said as Skull spoke up in shock.

"Holy shit! She just beat 'em!" Skull said, and it was a testament to how shocked Violet was by Sophie's transformation that she didn't correct Skull on his swearing. Joker smirked and spoke up.

"Well, well, looks like Sophia's full of surprises, isn't she?" Joker said as Mona gaped and spoke up.

"No kidding! I mean, wha? No way! Are you serious!? Was that a Persona!?" Mona asked as more Shadows spawned in while a sentry spoke up.

"Who the-? What are you doing!?" The sentry asked as Sophie spoke up in an amused tone.

"I am helping the Phantom Thieves. Don't take it personally." Sophia said, as another fight started! As it started, Joker and Violet flanked Sophia, the three of them working together to mow down all the enemies they could reach, while Skull and Mona ran ahead of the trio to charge more of the Shadows. For her part, Sophia ended up showing a surprising amount of expertise in using a pair of dual-wield yo-yos as a weapon, while also demonstrating what appeared to be a similar level of proficiency with Bless skills to what Violet herself had during the battle. After the enemies were all defeated and the battle was over, Sophia smiled and spoke up as her combat mask of a blue and black angry face vanished to reveal her normal face under the hood on her head as she spoke up.

"Okay, we beat them." Sophia said as Skull spoke up.

"Wait, wait, wait, what!? You're so effin' strong! You shoulda told us right away you could fight!" Skull said as Sophia cutely tilted her head to the side a bit in confusion as she spoke up.

"Oh? But you never asked, Skull." Sophia said as Mona gaped and spoke up.

"That's true, but not just that, but your clothes! What in the world did you do!? It's completely different from our own transformations." Mona said as Sophie smiled and spoke up.

"Hm? That's easy. I copied what you do and ended up like this." Sophia said as Joker smirked and spoke up.

"Heh, is that right? Impressive, Sophia. And, at the risk of annoying Violet, I have to say you're lookin' sharp." Joker said. Violet huffed and spoke up.

"You're lucky that you have a good point, and that I know you're just trying to cheer her up, Joker." Violet said as Skull spoke up.

"And dude, that ain't the issue here, but more importantly? Uh, are you some kinda Persona-user?" Skull asked as Sophia cocked her head to the side in confusion as she spoke up.

"Persona?" Sophia asked as Mona spoke up to answer her question.

"We mean the things you were using during the fight. Basically, we mean the boxes flying around you in battle." Mona said as Sophia blinked and spoke up.

"Oh, that. That was merely a weapon. I needed it to fight." Sophia said as Joker blinked in surprise at Sophia's response while he spoke up.

"That was just a weapon!? I mean, I guess it could be your ranged weapon?" Joker said. Mona frowned and spoke up.

"Seems like a good observation to me, Joker. And, Sophia? I have to ask again. Just what in the world ARE you?" Mona asked as Sophia smiled and spoke up.

"I already told you, Mona. I am Sophia, humanity's companion." Sophia said as Skull spoke up.

"Yeah, we already heard that one." Skull said as Mona frowned and spoke up.

"Hmm, well in any case, there's still just too much we don't know. But we don't have the time to figure it out now, either. Getting out of here needs to be our number one priority." Mona said as Skull spoke up.

"Yeah, good point. We don't need her getting any more attention from the enemy." Skull said as Violet spoke up.

"You say that like she can't protect herself, or failing that, like we can't keep her safe between the four of us." Violet said wisely. Skull spoke up.

"Eh, good point. Hey, let's just have her help us out! Considering what we just saw, I don't think we'll have a problem." Skull said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. We have no idea what's ahead of us. Therefore, I say the more firepower we have, the better." Mona said before turning to Sophia as he kept speaking.

"Can you lend us a hand, Sophia?" Mona said as Sophia bounced up and down in place excitedly as she spoke up.

"Okay, I've got it." Sophia said as Joker smirked and spoke up.

"We appreciate the help, Sophia. But also, you be careful not to push yourself too hard, if only so we don't have Violet worrying herself over you." Joker said as Violet frowned and spoke up.

"Hmph. Excuse me for showing concern for a friend." Violet said in a mock-offended tone, making Mona and Skull smirk as the latter mimicked the sound of a whip with his mouth as Joker frowned and spoke up.

"Oh, shut up, Skull. You say that like Queen doesn't have you just as whipped." Joker pointed out wisely. Sophia smiled at Joker's concern and spoke up.

"Right, I understand. I won't 'push myself too hard'." Sophia asked as Violet blinked and spoke up.

"Why the air quotes?" Violet asked, but was ignored as Skull smirked and spoke up.

"Well, let's move! Lead the way, Shorty!" Skull said as Violet huffed and spoke up.

"Skull, don't call her that! Sophia is no shorty." Violet rebuked Skull as Sophia smiled and spoke up.

"Understood." Sophia said as Mona spoke up.

"Oh, right, almost forgot. Joker, keep track of how you're holding up. Need any healing items?" Mona asked as Joker spoke up.

"Probably not yet, but I'll make it a point to stock up next time I have the chance." Joker said as the group kept moving, navigating through the area carefully as they eventually came to another open area, where a bunch of Shadows jumped out as Mona spoke up.

"Crap! Shadows incoming! A whole load of 'em, too! Guys, get ready! And Joker! There are more ways to target an enemy's weakness than skills alone, remember?" Mona said as Joker spoke up.

"You mean things like Technical attacks, right? I get it." Joker said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"I see. I suppose I can just explain it to Sophia later if she's confused. For now, let's keep moving." Mona said as the group kept moving. After moving around for a while, Mona spoke up after seeing some Shadows.

"Wait, hold on! Shadows ahead! They haven't spotted us yet." Mona said as Sophia spoke up, her combat mask already on.

"Should I 'wipe them out' for you?" Sophia asked, making Ren wince at how much Sophia's innocent question had inexplicably reminded him of Akechi's bloodlust. Mona shook his head and spoke up.

"Not just yet, Sophia. Here's a tip on us Phantom Thieves. We avoid charging headfirst into battle whenever possible. Let's try those stairs for now." Mona said as Sophia nodded her understanding, followed by the rest of the group as Sophia thanked Morgana for his explanation while the group kept moving. After moving up the stairs and picking up an item on the way, Mona spoke up.

"Heh, see that hanging there, Joker? Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Mona asked as Joker smirked and spoke up.

"Ambush from above?" Joker asked as Mona nodded while Joker leapt onto the scaffolding and dropped it down on the enemies, starting a battle. After the fight was over, Sophia hit level 3 and 'Pithos', as the pile of boxes was apparently known, reached level 3 and gained the healing skill 'Dia?'. Sophia smiled as she spoke up. *3*

"I've gained a new skill! I want to try this skill out soon!" Sophia said as 'Pithos' acquired 'Dia?'. At the same time, Mona hit level 2 and Diego gained the skill 'Dia', making Mona smirk as he spoke up.

"Heh, this new skill fits me like a glove!" Mona said as Diego acquired 'Dia'. Afterwards, Sophia smiled and spoke up.

"Yay, we won." Sophia said happily as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"Don't celebrate just yet, Sophia! Aren't we in a dead end?" Skull asked as Sophia shook her head and spoke up.

"No. There's a way across right there." Sophia said, pointing towards a nearby ledge that Joker could leap up onto, looking at the others as she kept speaking.

"If we climb there, we can proceed." Sophia said as Mona spoke up.

"Hm. I guess there's no other option." Mona said as Violet spoke up.

"Doesn't seem like it to me, either. But I trust Sophia to know what she's doing. After all, she's not led us astray yet, has she? I believe in her." Violet said kindly as Sophia smiled and spoke up.

"Thanks, Violet. Praise accepted." Sophia said happily, making Joker smirk at the adorable bonding moment between the two females as the group kept moving. After leaping across some scaffoldings, a bunch of Shadows spawned in as a sentry spoke up.

"I've got eyes on them!" The sentry said as Mona frowned and spoke up.

"Wow, they just don't know when to quit! Let's take them down, Joker!" Mona said wisely as Joker nodded and the fight started! As the group kept mowing through the horde of Shadows, Joker heard Mona spoke up.

"Joker! Your Persona's power is charged! Try using Showtime!" Mona said as Joker blinked and spoke up.

"Wait, what? I thought our Showtimes were a move used by two of us?" Joker said as Mona spoke up.

"Normally, that would be true, but I sense this version of the Metaverse goes by different rules." Mona said as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"Very well, if you say so. I'll try it. SHOWTIME!" Joker said, ripping off his mask as he pointed it at the enemies and spoke up.

"RAOUL! HERE!" Joker said as Raoul nodded and blasted a giant torrent of Curse energy down onto the battlefield, incinerating every Shadow in sight. After the Showtime, one of the Pixies slumped over and turned into a mask, making Mona smirk as he spoke up.

"Ooh, looks like you've got another Persona, Joker! Looks like that power you've got is alive and well!" Mona said as Sophia gave Mona a confused look and spoke up.

"Wait, what? The enemy became a mask? Explain this." Sophia said as Mona spoke up.

"It's simple. Joker has what we call the power of the 'Wild Card'. Simply put, it means that occasionally, he has the ability to seize a defeated Shadow's form and seal its form and power into a mask, turning it into a Persona." Mona said as Sophia did her version of a closed-eye smile behind her combat mask while speaking up, making her eyes resemble up arrows.

"Oh. Interesting." Sophia said excitedly as Joker picked up the mask and got a 'Pixie' Persona for his efforts as the group kept moving. After moving ahead a ways, Mona spoke up.

"Enemy ahead!" Mona said as a fight began. After taking down the 'Dirty Two-Horned Beast' as Joker identified the strong Shadow, Skull hit level 4 and Seiten Taisei gained the Physical skill 'Lunge', making Skull smirk and speak up.

"Hell yeah, a new move!" Skull said as Violet sighed and massaged her forehead before she turned to Sophia and spoke up.

"Don't copy his speech patterns, okay? He uses way too many bad words, Sophia. I don't think he'd listen if I tried to get him to not swear, so just ignore it when he swears around you, okay?" Violet said kindly as Sophia nodded and spoke up.

"Got it. I will do as Skull says, but not speak as he speaks." Sophia said as Violet smiled and lightly patted Sophia on the head while speaking up.

"Good answer. I think you'll be just fine with us." Violet said happily as she walked back over to Joker, not seeing the softening of Sophia's gaze as she spoke to herself while watching Violet walk over to Joker.

"Wow, Violet's so cool. I think I want to be more like her." Sophia said to herself as Mona spoke up while looking at Joker.

"How are you holding up? Make sure you heal yourself when you need it." Mona said as the group kept moving. After a bit, Mona spoke up.

"Oh, you guys! I think that's the exit!" Mona said as Skull spoke up.

"Hell yeah! Let's get our asses outta here!" Skull said as Violet just sighed, grateful for her own foresight in encouraging Sophia not to repeat what she hears Skull saying. After the group got to the surface, Skull spoke up with a sigh.

"Whew, we finally made it out!" Skull said as Mona spoke up.

"True, but this is still the Metaverse, though. Stay on guard." Mona said as Sophia frowned and spoke up.

"Hm? Please wait." Sophia said as Mona turned to Sophia and spoke up.

"What is it, Sophia? Find something?" Mona asked in a mix of concern and curiosity as Sophia looked ahead and frowned as she tried to survey ahead. As the camera panned to look ahead of Sophia, she spoke up.

"Aha, I have found it. 'A way outta here' is nearby." Sophia said as Skull blinked and spoke up.

"For real!? Wait, how'd you figure that out?" Skull asked as Sophia spoke up.

"I suddenly knew it. Like, PHEEW." Sophia said as she imitated an explosion, albeit very poorly and adorably. The others just sweatdropped while Skull spoke up.

"Really? 'Pheew'? Seriously?" Skull said, unintentionally making the same sound that Sophia had. Sophia nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed. The exit is close. Follow me." Sophia said as she darted off ahead of the group before a wide-eyed Mona spoke up.

"Hey, wait! Sophia!" Mona said as Violet spoke up with a concerned frown.

"Wait up, Sophia! Don't run off on your own like that!" Violet said worriedly as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"What is her deal?" Ryuji asked as Joker spoke up.

"I think I know. She's probably trying to prove herself useful for Violet, since I think she's started to look up to her somehow. Possibly it was when Violet took her aside to talk to her?" Joker said with a smirk as Violet spoke up with a wry smile.

"If she looks up to me, I don't mind it at all. After all, better it be me that she looks up to and not Skull the potty mouth." Violet said primly as Mona laughed at that and spoke up with a grin on his face.

"HA! She called you a potty mouth, Skull! I can see some enemy taking that literally! Good thing there's not a skill that turns your mouth into a toilet!" Mona said with a grin as Skull spoke up.

"Shuddup! And focus! Sophia's getting away while you bust my balls!" Skull said as Mona winced and spoke up.

"Ah, right! I don't know if Joker's right or not, but either way we need to move it!" Mona said as the others nodded and the group gave chase to Sophia, eventually following her to a ledge above what appeared to be the '705'. Once there, Mona spoke up.

"Hm? Is this the way out that you mentioned, Sophia?" Mona asked as Sophia nodded and spoke up.

"Yes, this is what I had detected previously." Sophia said as the camera panned to a glowing green portal that seemed almost otherworldly. Skull frowned at it and spoke up.

"Uhh, and it iiis what, exactly?" Skull said as Violet spoke up.

"It seems to be a portal of some sort, but I don't sense any danger from it." Violet said as Sophia nodded and spoke up.

"Violet's right. It's fine. It leads outside." Sophia said as Mona spoke up.

"Leads-? Did you say it leads outside?" Mona asked as Sophia nodded and spoke up, her next words having both Joker and Skull fighting not to laugh as they heard them.

"Right. Everything will get all 'WOWOWOWOW' for a moment, but then you'll be outta here." Sophia said as she made a rather hilarious sound effect with her mouth as she said 'WOWOWOWOW', making Skull frown at Sophia as he spoke up.

"WHAT!? What the hell kinda explanation is that? How do ya know we'll be okay?" Skull said as Sophia turned to Joker and spoke up, ignoring Skull's question.

"Trust me, Joker." Sophia said as Joker thought about it before he spoke up.

"All right. You've been pretty helpful to us thus far. And while I do have my doubts, I don't think you'd lead us into danger. So I believe it's worth the risk to at least try it out. Besides, I doubt that you'd let Violet come to harm, assuming I'm right about you admiring her at least." Joker said as Violet smiled and spoke up.

"That's her business if she admires me or not. But if she does, I don't mind it at all." Violet said kindly as Sophia smiled and spoke up.

"Got it. Violet doesn't mind if I admire her. New information stored." Sophia said before bouncing up and down happily as she registered Joker's words and spoke up.

"Thank you, Joker. I'm glad you're willing to trust me. It means a lot to me." Sophia said happily. Mona frowned and spoke up.

"Hmm. Well, from the looks of it, we've only got one option here." Mona said as he, Skull, Violet, and Joker, made to go into the portal, only to stop short as they realized that Sophia had made no move to follow them. Skull turned around to face Sophia and spoke up.

"Huh? Ain't you comin' too?" Skull asked Sophia, who frowned in confusion as she spoke up.

"I am, huh? What should I do?" Sophia asked as Joker spoke up.

"I wouldn't presume to tell you what to do, Sophia. However, if I can offer some advice? I've found that it's far more dangerous to be in the Metaverse alone than to be in it with a group, so you might be better off if you came back with us. But if you truly don't want to, you don't have to." Joker said kindly. Mona nodded as he spoke up.

"True. Joker's got the right idea, Sophia. This place is crawling with Shadows. Staying here would only end badly for you." Mona said as Sophia frowned and spoke up.

"But, would I even be able to leave with you all? What will happen to me once I leave here?" Sophia asked as Skull spoke up with a frown

"Geez, what's it gonna take?" Skull said, gently grabbing Sophia by the hand and leading her towards the group as Sophia blanched and spoke up.

"Wah! What are you doing?" Sophia asked as Skull spoke up.

"We don't leave folks behind to die. Just get in the damn portal with us." Skull said firmly as Sophia gave a concerned look and spoke up.

"Oh, so you want me to come with you? Oh, um, okay." Sophia said as Violet smiled at her and spoke up.

"It'll be fine, Sophia. Worst case, we can put you up at either my place or Joker's, if that's what you're worried about." Violet said kindly as Sophia smiled and spoke up.

"Thank you, Violet." Sophia said as the group turned to the portal and Skull spoke up.

"Welp, here goes! One, two, THREE!" Skull said as the group walked through the portal and out of the Metaverse...

(Back in the real world, in the Station Square, with Ren, Morgana, Sumire, and Ryuji)

After the group made it back to the Station Square in the real world, Ryuji spoke up warily.

"This is the real world, isn't it? Right?" Ryuji asked as Morgana poked his head out of Ren's bag to look around as he spoke up.

"Yep, looks like we're back all right." Morgana said as a ping went off before EMMA spoke up.

"You have successfully returned from the Jail. Welcome back." EMMA said as Morgana frowned and spoke up.

"Wait, did she say 'Jail'?" Morgana asked as Sumire spoke up.

"I think she did. But we have a more important problem, I think." Sumire said as Ryuji blinked and spoke up.

"Wait, Sumire's right! Hang on, we're missing Sophia! Where'd she go?" Ryuji asked as the group looked around for a bit before frowning as there was no sign of Sophia anywhere. Morgana frowned as he spoke up.

"I don't think I'm seeing her anywhere, which is odd. She was right behind us when we left." Morgana said before Ryuji spoke up, and what he said next made both Sumire and Ren very glad they hadn't been taking drinks, as they would've both done epic spit-takes at what came out of Ryuji's mouth in that moment.

"Hey, Shorty! Get your ass over here!" Ryuji practically shouted, hoping to get Sophia's attention. While that didn't work, he did succeed in getting more than a few weirded out stares from the nearby onlookers as Ren, Sumire, and a wide-eyed Morgana all spoke up.

"RYUJI!" Ren, Sumire, and Morgana all rebuked Ryuji as the latter spoke up.

"Don't yell that in public, idiot!" Morgana said as Sumire frowned and swatted Ryuji lightly on the arm as she spoke up.

"And I already told you not to call Sophia 'Shorty'! I know you know how offensive that term can be to women!" Sumire rebuked Ryuji. Before Ryuji could answer, the group heard Sophia's voice.

"Need something?" Sophia asked as the group blinked and looked around before Morgana spoke up in shock.

"Wait, was that actually Sophia's voice just now!?" Morgana asked as Sumire spoke up.

"I do believe it was." Sumire said as Ryuji spoke up with wide eyes.

"If so, where is she!?" Ryuji asked as Sumire spoke up.

"Her voice sounded rather close, so I don't think she's far away." Sumire said as Sophia spoke up again.

"Correct, Violet. I'm in front of you all, Look down." Sophia said as the group blinked before Sumire pulled out her new phone, which was basically the same model and color as Ren's, and her eyes widened as she saw a familiar head floating around on her phone screen. Ryuji blinked at this and spoke up.

"Hey, Sumire. What's with the floating head?" Ryuji asked as he pressed lightly on the head, which expanded to show the smiling face of Sophia as she spoke up.

"Yo." Sophia said as Ryuji spoke up with wide eyes.

"Whoa! She just popped up!" Ryuji said as Sumire smiled and spoke up.

"So she did. I must say, I'm not that surprised she chose to be inside my phone. Granted, part of me half-expected it to be Ren whose phone she chose to inhabit." Sumire said as Sophia tilted her head in confusion as she spoke up.

"Hm? Oh, did you change your outfits?" Sophia asked as Morgana spoke up with widened eyes.

"Is that really you, Sophia?" Morgana asked as Sophia nodded and spoke up with a smile.

"Yep, I'm really me. But, who are you?" Sophia asked as Morgana spoke up with a smirk.

"I'm still Mona. I just look like a cat in this world." Morgana said as Sophia's eyes widened before she spoke up.

"Mona? You're Mona? I see. So, you really weren't a raccoon." Sophia said, and at that point, both Ren and Sumire had to stifle laughs at this, along with Ryuji. Mona, for his part, pouted and spoke up.

"I already told you that I'm not a raccoon, Sophia." Morgana said as Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"Wait, why're you on her phone now?" Ryuji asked as Sophia spoke up, shocking the others with what she said next.

"Why am I on Violet's phone? That's easy. Because I'm an AI." Sophia said as both Ryuji and Ren spoke up in shock.

"WHAT!?" Ryuji and Ren said in unison as Morgana spoke up with wide eyes.

"An AI!?" Morgana asked as Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"A, uhhh, what? Oh, that's that smart thing, right?" Ryuji asked as Sumire huffed and spoke up.

"Yes, Ryuji! She's an AI! And honestly, I wouldn't have guessed it if she hadn't just told us that. She's awfully adorable for an AI, anyways." Sumire said as Morgana spoke up.

"True. And I know you were listening when Futaba told us all about it, Ryuji. Sophia's an 'Artificial Intelligence'. And I know you know what that means." Morgana said as Ryuji spoke up with wide eyes.

"For real!?" Ryuji asked as Ren spoke up for the first time in a bit.

"Eh, it doesn't really matter if she's an AI or not. She still helped us all out tremendously before, and I thank her for it. That said, I'm glad you're safe, Sophia." Ren said kindly. Sophia smiled and spoke up around a giggle.

"Hee hee. I have Violet's phone to thank for that. After we entered the portal, I was thrown into endless light. When I tracked down Joker and Violet's scents, I ended up here." Sophia said as Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"Wait, their 'scent'? Who're you, freaking Morgana?" Ryuji said as Morgana huffed and spoke up.

"Shuddup! Anyways, so, since she's an AI, she turned into data when she came to this world." Morgana said as Ryuji spoke up with a frown.

"I see. So, does that mean you're livin' in her phone?" Ryuji asked as Sophia nodded and spoke up.

"Pretty much. It is somewhat small, but it's cozy and has everything I need. Care to join me?" Sophia asked as Sumire spoke up.

"Sophia, you do realize we're all humans, aside from Morgana, right? So I don't actually know if it's physically possible for humans to go inside a phone." Sumire said as Ren spoke up with a smug smirk.

"What do you think us going into the Metaverse using the Meta-Nav before is, if not a form of going into a phone?" Ren pointed out calmly as Sumire blushed and nodded before speaking up.

"Touche. Good point, Ren. But even then, I don't know how I feel about Sophia inviting Ryuji to join her inside my phone." Sumire said as Ryuji sighed and spoke up.

"Haha, very funny, Sumire. I don't even have the energy for a comeback right now." Ryuji said as Morgana smiled and spoke up.

"Anyway, it's a big relief knowing you made it out of there safely." Morgana said as Ryuji spoke up with wide eyes.

"Hey, but what about those other people we saw in there? Are they still, well, you know?" Ryuji asked as Morgana spoke up.

"To tell the truth, I don't know, Ryuji. But I seriously doubt normal folks would be able to fight against that." Morgana said as Ren spoke up.

"True. I'm worried about them, too." Ren said honestly as Morgana spoke up with a nod.

"Me too, Ren. But, even so, if we charge in without a plan, we're just going to wind up captured too. This is all so mysterious. A new part of the Metaverse has its own version of the Palace that we access through EMMA, of all things. And on top of that, this place even has a ruler Shadow in it. Odds are, regardless of how it came about, something horrible is happening right now." Morgana said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. Let's head back to Leblanc for now. Besides, I don't remember if Sumire has permission to be with me for more than one night or not." Ren said as Sumire spoke up with a gasp.

"Wha? Oh, crap! You're right! I need to check in with my parents!" Sumire said as Morgana spoke up.

"You're right, Ren. Talking about this here is no good. Let's get to Leblanc. We'll hammer out our course of action with everyone there." Morgana said as Ryuji spoke up.

"Right, and what about her?" Ryuji asked as Sophia frowned and spoke up from inside Sumire's phone.

"It appears I cannot exit this phone. When I came to this world, I connected to the internet and learned a great many things as a result." Sophia asked as a wide-eyed Sumire spoke up.

"Um, what sorts of things exactly!?" Sumire asked in concern as Sophia spoke up.

"A lot of things. We would be here too long if I listed them all right now. But more importantly, my memory is still erased. I also found no means of data recovery. Furthermore, I am stuck here. What should I do next?" Sophia asked as Ren and Sumire exchanged a look before nodding as Joker spoke up.

"No need to worry, Sophia. You helped us out a great deal before, so as far as I'm concerned, you're one of us now. As such, you're coming with us." Ren said kindly as Sumire spoke up.

"He's right. Just stick with us, and you'll be just fine. And with any luck, we might even be able to help you get your memory back eventually." Sumire said kindly, smiling at Sophia, who smiled widely at Ren and Sumire before happily speaking up.

"Thanks, you two. That sounds good." Sophia said gratefully as Morgana spoke up with a smirk.

"Not only that, but her coming with us is the easiest course of action for all involved. Also, introducing Sophia to everyone else'll probably make the explanation easier." Morgana said as Ryuji sighed and spoke up.

"Oh, right. Wonder how THAT's gonna go over with the others? Especially when they hear all the Palace-type shit." Ryuji said as Sophia smiled and spoke up.

"Hmm, you have a potty mouth. You're definitely Skull, all right." Sophia said in amusement, making Ren and Sumire laugh at the shocked look on Ryuji's face. After a moment, Sophia's eyes widened as she registered the implications of what the group had been discussing and spoke up.

"Wait, hold on. Are there more Phantom Thieves?" Sophia asked as Sumire smiled and spoke up with a nod.

"That's right. Counting you, assuming you eventually join the group officially, we currently have a total of 12 members of the Phantom Thieves, so you've only seen a fraction of our full lineup." Sumire said gently to Sophia as Ryuji grinned and spoke up.

"Yeah, Sumire's right. We got ourselves a whole gang, even if one of us is currently out of town on a mission of sorts. One of the others'll probably flip her wig over you, too." Ryuji said as Ren groaned and spoke up.

"Oh, crap. I forgot about Futaba until now. Do we need to put a child lock on your phone so Futaba can't use your phone to try and show Sophia anything inappropriate while we're not looking?" Ren asked Sumire, whose eyes widened in realization as she spoke up.

"I hadn't thought about it until now, but that's probably a good idea, Ren." Sumire said as Sophia blinked and spoke up.

"Flip her wig, you say? Um, okay? Not sure what that means, but if you say so, Skull?" Sophia said uneasily as Sumire spoke up.

"Ignore him. He means well, but he's not the best at explaining things. And when he said one of our friends would flip her wig over you, he was using a figure of speech. Flipping one's wig is another way of saying going crazy or being excited. But I'm sure the others will like you too once you get to meet them. Even Ren's little brother Kusa, once he returns from his task and gets to meet you, will probably like you. Which is saying a lot, considering he's usually pretty leery of AIs for some reason." Sumire said as Sophia smiled widely and spoke up.

"Ah, I see. In that case, that sounds pretty fun." Sophia said as Sumire nodded and smiled as the group headed back to Leblanc...

(A short time later, in the attic of Leblanc, with Ryuji, Ren, Sumire, Makoto, Haru, Ann, Futaba, Yusuke, Morgana, and Sophia)

"Ah, I see. You're saying you entered the Metaverse with Alice Hiiragi's invitation and met a sentient AI named Sophia who is now in Sumire's phone." Yusuke said after Ren and Morgana had finished giving a condensed summary of what they'd been through with Ryuji, Sumire, and Sophia that afternoon. Ryuji frowned at Yusuke's skeptical tone and spoke up.

"Dude, when you put it that way, you make us sound crazy or something." Ryuji said as Sumire spoke up with a wry smirk.

"Us? We might have lived through it, but only Ren and Morgana told the story, so they'd be the ones that this makes sound crazy." Sumire pointed out sagely. Morgana spoke up.

"That's true, Sumire. But regardless of if you believe us or not, I'm telling you guys, it's the truth." Morgana said as Ren spoke up.

"Morgana's right. I know it sounds crazy, but I swear it's true." Ren said sagely. Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Ren's correct. To be honest, I didn't want to believe it myself, but after seeing it first-hand, I'd be hard-pressed not to believe it. And besides, we all know what a cognitive world like that means, after all." Morgana said as Makoto nodded understandingly and spoke up.

"That's okay, you two. We understand. None of us would make up something like this, especially not the part where Alice Hiiragi smacked Ren with her cane and insulted Sumire while stepping on Ren and calling herself a Queen. However, that being said, there's a chance that this Sophia you spoke of may know more than we do about this situation." Makoto said as Sumire spoke up.

"I doubt it, Makoto. She said she has no memories, which I'm inclined to believe her on. Especially considering there's no reason for someone as young looking as she is to lie about that." Sumire said wisely. Makoto blinked before nodding as she spoke up.

"I see. Still, it wouldn't hurt to speak to her and get her side of things anyways. She's still with you, right Sumire? Could we speak with her?" Makoto asked as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah, good idea, Makoto! Let's see if there's anything Sophia can add that could help us figure out what's happening." Morgana said as Sumire spoke up.

"I mean, it does make sense and all, but will she really have anything useful to add? Oh, very well." Sumire said before pulling her phone out as Morgana spoke to it.

"Could you come join us, Sophia?" Morgana asked as Sumire set her phone on a conveniently placed stand that Futaba had brought over on a whim as a familiar 'BIP!' sound came from it and an equally familiar voice spoke up, or at least it was familiar to some of the group.

"Yo, Phantom Thieves." Sophia said cheerfully after appearing on the screen of Sumire's phone as Makoto, Haru, Ann, Futaba, and Yusuke's eyes all widened in surprise as Makoto spoke up.

"Wha-!?" Makoto said in shock as Futaba spoke up in a low voice that was a mix of shocked and excited.

"W-W-W-What is that!?" Futaba asked as Sophia spoke up, seemingly unbothered by Futaba and Makoto's reactions to her presence.

"I am Sophia, humanity's companion." Sophia said politely as Makoto spoke up in shock.

"That's really the AI you guys told us about? I think Ren and Sumire said her name is Sophia?" Makoto said as Sumire spoke up.

"She also just introduced herself as Sophia, Makoto. Or were you listening?" Sumire asked with a very slight frown at Makoto's reaction. Haru spoke up before Makoto had a chance to.

"Wow, I can't believe this is happening right now." Haru said as Sophia cutely tilted her head to the side a bit in confusion as she spoke up, though only Ren and Sumire could really see it, along with Makoto and Ryuji, who were sat next to Sumire and Ren respectively.

"Um, is this some sort of hideout? There seem to be a number of phantom thieves present." Sophia said before randomly humming a tune of sorts. Ann's eyes widened at this as she spoke up.

"Wait, what? She's humming to herself!?" Ann said as Sumire smiled and spoke up.

"Yep. Isn't she just the most adorable thing you've ever seen?" Sumire said as Ren and Futaba both exchanged amused smirks at the rare show of maternal instincts from Sumire as the latter spoke up.

"Heh, now I get why Ren jokingly called you 'Mama Violet' before. And before you react, don't forget that I can hear everything you two say through Ren's phone." Futaba said slyly as Ren spoke up dryly.

"And I know for a fact that Kusa's lectured you more than once about respecting the privacy of others, Futaba." Ren said bluntly as Sumire nodded her agreement. Yusuke cut in before Sumire could add her opinion on Futaba's teasing of her, though.

"What in heaven's name? An actual sentient AI with a humanoid form?" Yusuke asked in surprise. He then gave a closed-eye smile as he kept speaking.

"I have to say that Sumire is right about one thing, though. Such an adorable design on this Sophia. I can feel the charm, the pain, the beauty within!" Yusuke said eagerly as Makoto spoke up in shock.

"Wait, what?" Makoto asked as Sumire frowned at Yusuke and spoke up.

"Hey, hey, slow down! Dial it back there, Yusuke! Sophia might be adorable, but you don't get to use her as an art subject without her consent, and under no circumstances are you going to do the same thing to her that you tried to do to poor Ann." Sumire said firmly yet rebukingly, her protective instincts kicking in. Futaba chuckled and spoke up.

"Mwehehe, get a load of Sumire going full 'mama bear' on Inari! I think Ren was on to something when he called you 'Mama Violet' before! Granted, he said 'Mama Violet' as a joke, but it's the same difference! Although, I seem to recall you responded to that by calling him, and I quote, 'Papa Joker'. Methinks someone secretly wants a family with Ren." Futaba said coyly as both Ren and Sumire blushed in embarrassment at Futaba's teasing, the former glaring at her as he spoke up.

"FUTABA! Behave! Also, Sumire and I are in no rush to be parents, or at least I'm not." Ren said firmly. At that point, Ryuji spoke up to get the conversation back on track.

"Anyways, back on topic. She already introduced herself before, but for those who weren't listening before, this is Sophia." Ryuji said as Sophia smiled and spoke up.

"Nice meeting you." Sophia said as Futaba's jaw dropped slightly as she spoke up.

"Okaaay, I'm sorry, but so cute! Also, an AI with genuine will is just waaay too advanced for me. Maybe Kusa was on to something when he mentioned an AI uprising, even though I'm pretty sure that was just a joke." Futaba said as Ryuji spoke up with a nod.

"Right? We couldn't believe it either at first, or at least most of us couldn't. I think Sumire was pretty quick to believe it, however." Ryuji said as Sumire pouted and spoke up.

"Like you're one to talk, Mister 'Yells out "Get your ass over here, Shorty!" rather loudly in public while looking for Sophia after we got out of the Metaverse at the top of your voice'." Sumire said primly as Ren laughed and spoke up.

"Before anyone asks, there was a good reason for that. But we can explain that later. For now, care to introduce yourselves, those of you who've yet to introduce yourselves to Sophia? Ryuji, Sumire, Morgana, and myself already have done so, albeit with our code names." Ren said. Makoto blinked as she realized what Ren was getting at and nodded while speaking up.

"Ah, yes! That's right, we are meeting for the first time. Nice to meet you, Sophia. I'm Makoto Niijima." Makoto said as Haru spoke up next.

"My name's Haru Okumura. We're both college students, but I also help out with my family's company." Haru said as Ann spoke up next with a closed-eye smile.

"I'm Ann Takamaki. Myself, Ryuji, Yusuke, and Ren all just recently graduated high school and are taking a gap period while deciding where to go to college, and so some of us can wait for their girlfriends to also graduate. In addition, I also do some modeling on the side, too." Ann said as Yusuke spoke up.

"My name is Yusuke Kitagawa. I continuously strive to master the arts as we know them." Yusuke said as Futaba spoke up.

"First rule of hanging with us, Sophia? Learn to tune out Inari. He says interesting stuff on occasion. But for the most part? He just speaks in lame art jargon and random tangents. Anyways, enough about Yusuke, or Inari as I tend to call him. S-So I'm next, huh? I'm Futaba Sakura, and I kinda suck at socializing, b-but I wanna be friends, and stuff, if possible." Futaba said as Sumire giggled and spoke up.

"You left out the part where you used to be a big-time shut-in until your eventual boyfriend convinced us to help change your heart, after which you proceeded to slowly steal his heart until you and he hooked up at a school dance the same night that myself and Makoto hooked up with Ren and Ryuji. And another thing? I know Kusa's lectured you more than once about being self-deprecating in the past, Futaba!

I seem to recall that the exact words he used on the subject once were, and I quote, 'Dammit, Taba! Just because I occasionally tend to be self-critical does NOT give you an open invitation to do the same! You're an amazing person, and you need to start learning to love yourself more! It's bad enough that I have an older half-brother who constantly blames himself for everything and has a low opinion of himself! I don't want to have a girlfriend who also does that!' Come to think of it, I think he said that not too long before he left on that mission he spoke of. I wonder if it's related to that?" Sumire said as Ren spoke up.

"Knowing Kusa? It probably is. But then again, now that I think about it, I vaguely recall hearing my parents shuffle someone out the back door the day I came home. And I'm nearly positive I heard Mom yelling at Dad to, and I quote, 'Get him out of here! It'd ruin everything if Ren sees him this soon! And we were given very explicit instructions that he doesn't want Ren or his friends to know about him just yet.' I could be crazy, but I think that might have something to do with whatever mission Kusa's on." Ren said with a shrug. Ryuji spoke up.

"Could be, RenRen. That sounds accurate enough. But back on topic? Nah, you did great, Futaba. In fact, I bet you and Sophia'll get along real awesome." Ryuji said as Sophia spoke up before Futaba could reply to Ryuji.

"So you're Makoto, Haru, Ann, Yusuke, and Futaba. I'll remember that. You all have much more normal names than Joker, Mona, Skull, and Violet." Sophia said, her head cocked to the side a bit in confusion. Ryuji winced at this and spoke up.

"Ooh, right, crap. We skipped that part. So, we're the Phantom Thieves, but the names we gave you before? Those aren't our real names." Ryuji said as Morgana spoke up to explain it to Sophia.

"Let me explain. We call each other by code names in the Metaverse so our enemies won't discover our real identities." Morgana said as Sophia blinked at this and spoke up.

"Hm. Code names, you say?" Sophia said as Ryuji spoke up.

"Yep. As for our real names? My name's actually Ryuji Sakamoto. The cat over there's Morgana, and the two lovebirds on either side of you are actually Ren Amamiya and Sumire Yoshizawa. Neither of them are here right now, but we actually have two more members of the Phantom Thieves in Ren's younger half-brother, Kusa Amamiya, and Kusa's other half-brother who has an on-again, off-again working relationship with us is Goro Akechi, our final team member.

However, oddly enough, none of us have seen Akechi since our final battle almost three years ago. We have no proof of this, but the going theory is that he's possibly deceased, since the final enemy we faced hinted that he might have revived both Goro and Kusa as part of RenRen's actualized reality. RenRen is a nickname of sorts that I gave Ren here." Ryuji said as Ren spoke up dryly.

"Very funny, Ryuji. You left out the part where Kusa himself confirmed that he was very much alive. Also, I'm pretty sure that both Kusa and Akechi left big hints that the latter of those two is also alive as well. But if that's true, why hasn't he shown himself in so long?" Ren said as he turned to Sophia and kept speaking.

"But yes, Ryuji is correct. My real name is Ren Amamiya. The one you call Violet is actually my girlfriend, Sumire Yoshizawa." Ren said as Sumire nodded her agreement while leaning into Ren happily as Sophia spoke up.

"Ah, I see. So your real names are Ryuji Sakamoto, Morgana, Ren Amamiya, and Sumire Yoshizawa. And other notable Phantom Thieves include Kusa Amamiya and Goro Akechi. Okay. I'll remember that." Sophia said as Haru spoke up.

"Um, Sophia? So you really are a computer program?" Haru asked as Sophia nodded and spoke up, her next words making both Ren and Sumire's eyes widen in a mix of horror, shock, and disbelief.

"Correct. Would you like to see my source code?" Sophia asked as both Ren and Sumire spoke up.

"SEE YOUR WHAT!?" Ren and Sumire both said in disbelief as the latter kept speaking.

"Are you even old enough for something like that, Sophia? If 'source code' means what I think it does, I'm not sure that's something a girl your age should be offering to show people." Sumire said with a frown as Futaba spoke up excitedly.

"Ooooh, yes yes yes! Show me, show me!" Futaba said as Ren frowned and spoke up.

"She wasn't asking you, Futaba! Also, I don't think I like how excited you sound! Sophia's probably not old enough for that yet! Also, what would Kusa think if he knew you were asking to see that?" Ren rebuked Futaba, who pouted as Sumire nodded her agreement of Ren's response before frowning at what Ryuji said next.

"Take it down a notch, okay? You can see it after we get through these questions." Ryuji said as Sumire spoke up.

"No, she cannot! I'm forbidding it! Sophia, don't be flaunting your source code around willy-nilly like some sort of show girl! Not only are you too young, pure, and innocent for such things, but I truly believe in my heart that you're worth more than that!" Sumire gently rebuked Sophia, who frowned and spoke up.

"Not sure why you reacted like that Sumire, but okay?" Sophia said as Makoto spoke up.

"Anyways, getting back on topic. First off, why were you in the Metaverse?" Makoto asked as Sophia frowned and spoke up.

"To be honest? I do not know because my memory is gone." Sophia said as both Futaba and Makoto's jaws dropped while they spoke up.

"WHAT!?" Futaba and Makoto said as Makoto kept speaking.

"Sophia, could you have the AI version of amnesia or something? That seems difficult to recover from." Makoto said as Futaba spoke up shyly.

"Ahh, if your data just crashed, I could take a look and try restoring it." Futaba said as Sophia shook her head and spoke up.

"No, it is impossible. I have already tried every potential solution." Sophia said as Sumire blinked and spoke up.

"Every potential solution!?" Sumire asked in disbelief as Sophia merely nodded before Futaba spoke up sheepishly.

"Ehhh, yeah. Based on your specs, I guess it's not surprising you already thought of that." Futaba said as Yusuke spoke up.

"Can you recall anything at all, Sophia?" Yusuke asked as Sophia spoke up.

"Not really? The only thing I can somewhat recall is the command I was given at initialization." Sophia said as Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"Really? You don't sound too sure of that." Ryuji said as Sophia spoke up.

"But I am sure of it. I can remember it rather clearly, even. 'Be humanity's companion.' That was the command I was issued. I remember nothing else." Sophia said as Ren spoke up.

"That sounds rough. But don't worry about it, Sophia. I'm sure your memory will eventually return if you stick with us. And it's not like you've got anywhere else to go, since you live in Sumire's phone and all." Ren said as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah, Ren's right. Don't let it bother you too much, Sophia. I was in the exact same situation when I first met these guys." Morgana said kindly as Ren laughed and spoke up.

"Not even slightly true, Morgana. We found Sophia in an underground garbage dump. However, on the other hand, we found you locked up inside a prison cell in the dungeon of Kamoshida's Palace. Also, last I checked, you weren't wearing a dress or twin ponytails when we found you. So you weren't in the EXACT same situation." Ren pointed out wryly as both Ryuji and Futaba laughed at this and the former spoke up while fist-bumping Ren.

"Truth, RenRen! Not to mention Morgana mostly just backseat thieved us through that first run. Granted, like Sophia here, Morgana did have one of us wrapped somewhat around his finger before that first run was over, if I recall Kusa's reaction to Morgana correctly." Ryuji said as Morgana frowned and spoke up.

"First of all, shuddup! Secondly, Kusa didn't instantly go all 'mama bear' on me like Sumire did with Sophia. Also, rather than telling everyone not to swear around me, Kusa swore a lot himself. Also, unlike Kusa, Sophia is still very much pure, innocent, and adorably precious. So there were a lot of differences there." Morgana pointed out as Sophia smiled shyly at Morgana and spoke up.

"Oh? Well, thank you, Morgana. That's sweet of you to say that." Sophia said gratefully, not seeing Ren and Sumire both groan under their breath, wondering if Morgana's simpish tendencies were about to transfer themselves from Ann and/or Haru over to Sophia now. Before either could say anything, Ryuji spoke up.

"I've still got a shit-ton of questions about Sophia, but we have some real work to do first." Ryuji said as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Right, good point, Ryuji. We have to decide what to do about the apparent return of the Metaverse, and about what we saw before." Morgana said as Ann spoke up.

"True. From what you saw, that means Alice Hiiragi has a Palace in Shibuya, right?" Ann asked as Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah, she was callin' her self the queen, bein' all high an' mighty, orderin' Shadows around. All that kinda shit." Ryuji said as Morgana spoke up.

"True. There's no doubt it was the cognitive world, but at the same time? Something about it was awfully different from the Palaces." Morgana said as Futaba spoke up.

"What is it?" Futaba asked as Morgana spoke up.

"Well, real humans were being attacked by Shadows." Morgana said as the others' eyes, excluding Ren, Ryuji, Sophia, and Sumire's, widened at this as Haru spoke up.

"WHAT!? There were people inside the Palace!?" Haru asked as Yusuke spoke up.

"You mean, they had access to the Metaverse Navigator?" Yusuke asked as Makoto spoke up in confusion.

"But that should be impossible! That disappeared for all of us." Makoto said as Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"I know, right? That's where this comes in, babe." Ryuji said as he pulled out his phone and hit a button, making a familiar ping go off as Makoto spoke up in surprise.

"You mean that you were able to travel to the Metaverse because of EMMA?" Makoto asked as Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"Yup. For some reason, this thing worked just like the Meta-Nav did." Ryuji said as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Exactly. We accidentally entered Alice's EMMA keyword and got sent to the Metaverse." Morgana said as Ann's eyes widened and spoke up.

"Wait! If that's true, that means Kusa might've been right all along, and EMMA is dangerous!" Ann said as Futaba spoke up.

"But you can just uninstall it. The Meta-Nav didn't work like that." Futaba said as Ren spoke up.

"Not strictly true, Futaba. I was able to un-install the Meta-Nav at least twice before the group was formed, but it would re-install itself afterwards each time." Ren pointed out. Morgana spoke up.

"Exactly, Ren. Also, there's one more thing that's been bothering me." Morgana said as Sumire spoke up at that point.

"You mean what EMMA said when we got back, don't you?" Sumire asked as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Just so, Sumire. When we got back to this world, EMMA said we returned from 'The Jail'." Morgana said as Makoto spoke up in surprise.

"Jail?" Makoto asked as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Precisely. The only thing we've figured out is that this new place is called a Jail." Morgana said as Ryuji spoke up at that point.

"Right. So, could you guys check out the Palace, or Jail, or whatever it is, with us?" Ryuji asked the others. Yusuke nodded and spoke up.

"Good point. There's no point progressing any further unless we see it with our own eyes." Yusuke said as Ann spoke up.

"I'm also having a hard time buying Alice as the ruler of a Palace." Ann said as Haru spoke up with a smile.

"Are we going to scout it out together? I think the sooner, the better." Haru asked as Makoto spoke up with a worried frown.

"Is it even safe for us to enter, though? What if we all just end up captured?" Makoto asked as Sophia spoke up.

"Not a problem, Makoto. There were no enemies in the vicinity of the exit. It's fine to enter through there." Sophia said as Morgana turned to Ren and spoke up.

"Well, Ren, are we going to head back to that place tomorrow?" Morgana asked as Ren spoke up.

"Yeah, sounds like a plan to me. Provided none of you have plans tomorrow, that is. Wouldn't want to conflict with anyone's schedules or anything." Ren said as Futaba spoke up.

"Right, we've got our mission!" Futaba said as Sumire spoke up.

"Pretty sure none of us have plans, Ren. And even if we did, we all agree that this is more important anyways." Sumire said. Yusuke smiled and spoke up.

"Very well, I look forward to seeing this Jail. What say we meet at the connecting bridge in Shibuya?" Yusuke said as Futaba smirked and spoke up.

"Sure, sure. But firrrrst, I get to see Sophia's source code! You promised, remember?" Futaba said as Sumire frowned and spoke up.

"I said NO, Futaba! She's too young and innocent for that! And no one made any such promise!" Sumire said firmly as Sophia spoke up.

"Is it really that big of a problem, Sumire? Also, I get the feeling she's going to keep whining until I go along with it anyways, so I don't think there's much of a choice here." Sophia said reluctantly as Ren spoke up.

"I don't like it, but she's right. However, I want you to know that Sumire and I reserve the right to stop you if you get too inappropriate while looking at Sophia's code, Futaba! She's still really young, after all!" Ren said firmly as Futaba spoke up.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be good. Ohhhh, this is gonna be the info dump of a lifetime! I promise you won't feel a thing, Sophia! Mweheheheh, this is gonna be good." Futaba said as Sophia looked at Ren uncertainly and spoke up.

"I know what I said before, but are you confident this is wise, Ren?" Sophia asked as Ren spoke up.

"Not really, but I think you were right before when you said Futaba would just keep whining and begging until we allowed it anyways. So let's just get it over with, I guess." Ren said. Ann chuckled nervously and spoke up.

"Hahaha, umm, I guess so? I mean, at least we know she's got computer skills." Ann said as Ryuji groaned and spoke up.

"Aw, maaaan, this blows! THIS is what happens when we get back together? Talk about an ass-busting summer vacation." Ryuji said as Yusuke suddenly gasped, making Ann look at him and speak up.

"Huh? What is it, Yusuke?" Ann asked as Yusuke spoke up.

"What about our life-changing Kyoto excursion? Our barbecue extravaganza?" Yusuke asked as Ann frowned and spoke up.

"Extravaganza? You mean our camping trip?" Ann asked as Haru spoke up.

"I'm sorry Yusuke, but it looks like we'll just have to postpone it." Haru said as Yusuke frowned angrily at this and spoke up, Sumire's eyes widening as she lowered her phone to cover Sophia's virtual ears as she heard what Yusuke said next.

"Damned Metaverse, how dare you deprive me of my fun, you bastard!? I vow to slice you to ribbons, and then see you burn in your own personal hellscape!" Yusuke said angrily as Ryuji winced and spoke up after Sumire fixed Sophia so she could hear again.

"Uh, you can't slice the Metaverse, dude. So don't waste your effort, and just save it for the Shadows." Ryuji said as the meeting dispersed from there, leaving just Ren, Sumire, Morgana, and Futaba in the attic with Sophia in Sumire's phone. Morgana spoke up.

"Man, could today have been any more drama-packed? We really ought to have Futaba poke around in Sophia once we have the time for it." Morgana said as Ren nodded, before walking over to where Futaba was standing, smirking at the sight of Sumire giving Futaba an unimpressed frown as he spoke up.

"What's up, Futaba? How'd it go with Sophia?" Ren asked slyly as Futaba spoke up.

"Haven't started it, yet. Sumire's rather irritated with me for what she views as me taking advantage of Sophia to see her more sensitive details for an info dump. So let me get started on that." Futaba said as Ren nodded before taking a seat with Sumire to wait as Futaba pulled out her laptop and started analyzing Sophia's source code, ignoring the stink eye Sumire was giving her as she worked. Ren saw it, however, and gently took Sumire's hand in his own and gave it a gentle squeeze to try and calm her, speaking up when he saw her give him an inquiring look.

"What? Am I not allowed to cheer up my girlfriend when she seems upset? I know you're not happy about what Futaba is doing. Truth be told? I'm not happy about it, either. But I know we have little to no choice, since she'd probably just keep whining about it until we eventually cave in. Ergo, the way I see it, we're saving ourselves a lot of headaches by just agreeing to it now. Besides, I trust Futaba not to take it too far. So calm down, beautiful. Besides, do you think Sophia wants to see you upset?" Ren said calmly, smiling reassuringly at Sumire, who smiled back and spoke up.

"Yeah, you're right, Ren. But even so, I feel like Sophia shouldn't be exposed to too much inappropriate stuff too soon. After all, it's bad enough most of us had our innocence ripped away from us with what we saw in some of the Palaces we've been through. Off the top of my head, I know that you, Kusa, Ryuji, Ann, and Morgana all were at least slightly scarred by what you saw in Kamoshida's Palace, to say nothing of how much the incident near the end of Shido's Palace probably scarred both Kusa and Akechi-kun.

And that's saying nothing of how much most of us were shaken by that 'actualization' nonsense Maruki tried to sell us in our last Palace. Lucky for us, Kusa had the foresight to have safeguards in play to not only prevent most of us from forgetting him entirely, but also to keep Maruki's plans from succeeding. That, and lucky that Futaba has a gift for technology." Sumire said happily as she leaned up to steal a kiss from a smirking Ren, who eagerly returned the gesture as he spent a few minutes making out with his girlfriend while Futaba worked on analyzing Sophia. After a bit, Futaba got the couple's attention by speaking up.

"Hmmm, so that's how your source code is, eh Sophia? I see how it is. Wait, WHAT!? But, how? I mean, with this over here, that shouldn't make sense." Futaba said before Sumire's eyes widened at what Futaba said next as she kept speaking.

"Daaaaamn, is that right, Sophia? So that's it, huh? That's what makes you tick?" Futaba said, making Ren and Sumire exchange concerned looks at the outburst from Futaba, before Ren smiled at Sumire and spoke up.

"Eh, what're you gonna do? Seems like Futaba's really gotten into analyzing Sophia over there." Ren said as Sumire nodded and spoke up.

"I agree." Sumire said, smiling as she laid her head on Ren's shoulder while the two sat together on the bed as Morgana spoke up from on the table, as Futaba was sitting on the sofa for the analysis.

"So, what do you think, Futaba? How does Sophia's code look?" Morgana asked as Futaba spoke up.

"Hm? Oh, right, that. Well, her programmer is a genius. No doubt about that. You can figure a person out by their code, and not just their skill level. Their habits, thought processes, even their personalities are there. This code is so advanced that even I can't read it and comprehend it right away. As it is, it'll take me weeks, probably even months, to grasp how Sophia works." Futaba said as Morgana's eyes widened as he spoke up.

"What!? It'll take YOU months? Whew, that's a serious program we've picked up, I think." Morgana said as Sophia blinked and spoke up at that point.

"Hm? I don't understand. Do you mean I'm impressive?" Sophia asked as Futaba smiled and spoke up.

"Yeah, you're impressive! You're some kinda Super-AI! If you ever went public, everyone would call EMMA old hat!" Futaba said as Sophia blinked cutely and spoke up.

"Old hat?" Sophia asked in confusion. Futaba nodded and spoke up.

"When something was popular at one point but stops being popular, it becomes old hat. It's a saying people don't really use anymore." Futaba said as Sumire spoke up while sticking her tongue out playfully at Futaba.

"That's rich, coming from the girl who said it while saying no one says it anymore. Also, that sounded awfully close to you hitting on Sophia, Futaba. You're not still having a bi-curious phase, are you?" Sumire asked warily. Before Futaba could answer, Sophia smiled and spoke up.

"Okay, I got it. You are very knowledgeable, Futaba." Sophia said as Sumire frowned and sweatdropped while she spoke up.

"What that is true, I don't know that hers is always the right sort of knowledge to seek out, Sophia." Sumire said warily. Morgana nodded his agreement and spoke up with his own sweatdrop.

"I have to agree with Sumire on this one, Sophia. That said, don't go teaching her too much weird stuff, okay Futaba?" Morgana said warily. After Futaba nodded her understanding, Morgana kept speaking.

"Anyways, while we're at it, did you see anything about Sophia's past? Her programmer's name, or a company's, maybe?" Morgana asked as Ren spoke up.

"She DID just say this might take her weeks, if not months, to grasp. As such, I'd be surprised if she did actually see anything already." Ren said as Futaba spoke up.

"Ugh, Ren's right. Nothing yet, and most of those leave a signature of some sort in their work, too. So I'm not sure if I can find that out right away or not." Futaba said as Sophia sighed, not entirely thrilled with that answer. Futaba then smiled as she kept speaking.

"Anywaaay, I'm gonna keep crackin' at it from home. I'll let you know once I find anything new." Futaba said as Ren spoke up.

"You've got this, Futaba. That said, don't stay up too late, okay? We might need you up early for infiltrating the Jail." Ren said wisely. Futaba nodded and spoke up with a smile.

"Mm-hm, I get it, big bro. And don't worry, I'll crack it yet!" Futaba said as she put her laptop away and spoke up as she stood up.

"Well, folks, it's time for me to make like a tree!" Futaba said, walking down the stairs to head home after scooping Morgana up into her free arm to take him back with her so Ren and Sumire could have the attic to themselves. After she left, Sophia tilted her head to the side in confusion and spoke up.

"Um, she made like a tree? What does that mean, make like a tree?" Sophia asked as Ren and Sumire both winced at the question as Sumire spoke up.

"It's a figure of speech, Sophia. It means she's leaving. But in all seriousness, Futaba just has quirky ways of speaking. Don't try to read too much into it, okay?" Sumire said kindly as Sophia smiled and nodded before she spoke up.

"I got it. Thank you for the explanation, Sumire. That was very helpful." Sophia said as Ren spoke up kindly.

"You're welcome. That's basically what Sumire is here for, to explain anything you don't get, as long as she's able to do so. Mind you, there will be a few things she might not be able to explain, but I'll try to pick up the slack for her where I can when she can't explain something to you, so don't be shy about asking one of us, okay?" Ren said to Sophia, who smiled happily as she spoke up.

"Okay, Ren. I'll keep that in mind. Thank you!" Sophia said as Sumire smiled and spoke up.

"How adorable. She just thanked you, Ren." Sumire said as Ren spoke up.

"That she did. But that's to be expected." Ren said as Sumire nodded, putting her phone into sleep mode and laying it face-down on the shelf across the room before cuddling up with Ren on the sofa after they got comfortable for the night, smiling as she felt Ren's arms snake around her waist protectively as he cuddled into her. Sumire then spoke up.

"Well, we'd better get to bed if we have an early start tomorrow. Night, Ren. Night, Sophia." Sumire said as a muted call of 'Good night, Ren and Sumire.' was heard from her phone, presumably from Sophia. After that, Ren and Sumire snuggled up and dozed off for the evening...

(At the same time, in the Sakura household, in Futaba's room with Morgana and Futaba)

As Morgana sat on the bed with Futaba, he spoke up.

"Boy, was that a helluva day. I never would've imagined something like this would happen." Morgana said as Futaba smiled and spoke up.

"Heh, I hear you there, buddy. I hear you there. But at least we seem to have gained a potential new ally out of it in Sophia, so it's not all bad, right?" Futaba said. Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Good point. You know, you're almost as much of a standout as Ren is, but that just might mean we're all going to see some trouble again soon." Morgana said as Futaba grinned and spoke up.

"True that. I hope I get to be there the next time Alice tries making a move on Joker, since I bet Sumire's reaction will be both glorious to witness and probably very painful for Alice." Futaba said as Morgana spoke up.

"Good point. Alice, EMMA, this new Metaverse, even Sophia. A mountain of mysteries sure is piling up fast. Well, the Metaverse reappearing may have been a surprise, but even that doesn't compare with Sophia." Morgana said as Futaba nodded before both gave visible starts in shock when a 'BIP' was heard from Futaba's phone and a familiar voice spoke up.

"Did you call for me?" Sophia asked, as both Futaba and Morgana turned to face her while the latter spoke up.

"Uh, we were just talking about how you're a huge mystery. But, wait. If you're here, then does that mean Futaba took the wrong phone home?" Morgana asked as Futaba spoke up.

"Um, I might have? I did just grab a random phone and put it in my pocket, to be fair. That, or I managed to accidentally download a backup of Sophia to my phone while analyzing her. Not sure which, yet." Futaba said as Sophia spoke up. *2*

"If I had to guess, I would say it was probably the latter. I did feel like something was being downloaded while you did that analysis. Also, that's rich that you call me a mystery, Morgana. I find it funny that this is coming from the talking cat." Sophia said as Morgana blinked at that and spoke up.

"Uh, good point, Sophia. I-Hey! Wait, I do't have to take that from some mystery app! By the way, how does some top of the line program lose all its memory, huh? I mean, AI are supposed to be super-smart, right?" Morgana said as Sophia frowned and spoke up while pouting a bit at what Morgana said to her.

"That is both slightly rude, and also inarguably true." Sophia said sadly, making Morgana wince at her tone as he spoke up.

"Aw, don't get TOO down over it, Sophia. You were still really helpful in getting us out of the Metaverse earlier, after all." Morgana said reassuringly as Sophia spoke up.

"Thank you. But even so, I am humanity's companion. If I'm not helpful, then I am useless." Sophia said sadly as Morgana spoke up.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Sophia. At least you remember that much, right?" Morgana said as Sophia spoke up with an unreadable look on her face.

"Right. I think that means it's important." Sophia said as Morgana spoke up.

"But is being helpful all you'll do to become a good companion?" Morgana asked as Sophia blinked and spoke up in confusion.

"Um, is that not how it works? Please explain. How else can one be a companion?" Sophia asked as Futaba winced and gave Morgana a look that seemed to scream 'You caused this with your big mouth, so YOU get to explain it to her! And I get to blame you when and/or if Sumire gets pissed over this!', and as a result, Morgana winced at this and spoke up.

"Huh!? Well, uh, how to put it? Heheh, that's kind of an awkward subject you've brought up. You see, the term 'companion' has several meanings. But for your purposes, I'd say that you want the helpful assistant sort of companion. So, I guess you just have to find a way to understand the human heart?" Morgana said as Sophia blinked and spoke up.

"Hearts?" Sophia asked in confusion as Morgana spoke up.

"R-Right! Then, you'll be able to empathize with other people, and be a good companion to them as a result, I guess." Morgana said uneasily as Sophia frowned and spoke up.

"The human heart, huh?" Sophia said sadly as Morgana winced and spoke up.

"Look, just calm down and try not to let it upset you, Sophia. And just don't worry about it for now! You'll figure it out on your own over time if you stick with us. That said, all you need to do is join us and learn from all the kinds of people we meet! And in exchange, you lend a hand to the Phantom Thieves. So I guess you could call this a deal." Morgana said as Sophia smiled and spoke up happily.

"Okay, I'll do it, Morgana! That is a decent deal. Especially since it should help me become a good companion for humanity." Sophia said as Morgana spoke up.

"Yep, that it should. Of course, that's so long as it's good with our leader, Ren." Morgana said as Futaba smirked and slyly spoke up.

"We can ask him and Sumire tomorrow, but I think they should be fine with that deal, especially since it lets them have Sophia around a lot more often. And I don't know about you, Morgana? But I totally think that Sophia's going to end up bringing out Ren and Sumire's inner parental instincts, if she hasn't already. And this can be good practice for when and if they ever end up having children of their own." Futaba said impishly before turning to Sophia as she spoke up.

"Let's do this together, Sophia!" Futaba said as Sophia smiled and spoke up.

"Okay, I got it. We'll 'do this together'." Sophia said as Morgana smiled and spoke up.

"Okay, this is unofficial for now, but pending Ren's approval, it's a deal. Glad to have you on board, Sophia! That said, we've got plenty of scouting to do tomorrow. We should get some rest." Morgana said as Futaba nodded her agreement before Sophia smiled and spoke up.

"Okay. Good night, Futaba and Morgana." Sophia said as Morgana and Futaba laid down for the night, the former sprawling out cutely across the latter's chest as they dozed off...

(The next afternoon, in the former accessway hideout, with Makoto, Haru, Yusuke, Ann, Sumire, Ren, Sophia, Morgana, Ryuji, and Futaba)

The group ended up deciding to head back to their former hideout in Shibuya to go check out the Jail as a team. After a bit, Morgana popped out of Ren's bag and spoke up.

"Great, everyone's here. We're going to be infiltrating the Jail. Are we ready?" Morgana asked as Yusuke spoke up.

"Heh, we've done this many a time. I can't imagine anyone being fazed by this." Yusuke said as Futaba tried to make her expression a determined one as she spoke up.

"Heh heh, y-y-yeah, bro! Bring it!" Futaba said as Makoto frowned and spoke up.

"Let's not forget, we're very short on intel. Therefore, we need to be very cautious. We'll just scout the general area for this trip." Makoto said as Haru nodded and spoke up.

"Got it. So, we use EMMA to enter, right? Is there anything special we need to do?" Haru asked as Ryuji frowned and spoke up as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Um, nah, we just opened the app and said the right keyword, and then poof, we were there." Ryuji said as Futaba spoke up.

"Ah, I get it. Find the right name in EMMA's search results, then enter the correct keyword on the friend request screen." Futaba said as Ryuji grinned and pumped a fist as he spoke up.

"Yeah, you got it, Futaba! Leave it to the super-hacker to explain this stuff!" Ryuji said as Sumire sighed and spoke up.

"I don't think that had anything to do with hacking, though." Sumire said as Futaba spoke up with a nod.

"You're right, Sumire. It really didn't. And Ryuji? Even you should know how to explain it somewhat. I bet Sophia could give a better explanation than you." Futaba said wryly as Morgana cackled and spoke up.

"Ooh, want me to get you an icepack, Ryuji? Because I'm pretty sure that was an Agidyne-worthy burn you just got." Morgana said as Sophia tilted her head to the side and spoke up.

"An Agidyne-level burn? I don't get it." Sophia said as Sumire sighed and spoke up.

"When Morgana says that Ryuji just got an Agidyne-worthy burn, he means that Futaba gave a really good insult to Ryuji. However, that being said, I would advise that you don't take that as permission for you to engage in such behavior yourself, Sophia. Got it?" Sumire said gently but firmly as Sophia smiled and spoke up.

"I understand, Sumire. I won't follow Morgana's example in this instance." Sophia said as Makoto spoke up.

"Yes, well, in any case, with that settled, all that's left is to choose our point of entry." Makoto said as Sophia spoke up.

"Ah, right. As I recall, I mentioned this before, but there will be no enemies in the area from which we escaped yesterday. Upon reaching the relevant location, you will only need to speak the keyword." Sophia said as Makoto spoke up.

"I see. Well, it seems all that's left is to trust Sophia and see where she leads us." Makoto said as Sumire spoke up.

"I would hope you trust her, Makoto. I know we don't know her that well yet, but I already feel I can trust her." Sumire said as Ryuji pumped a fist and spoke up.

"All right! Then let's do this thing!" Ryuji said as the group activated EMMA and entered the Metaverse...

(Inside the Metaverse, with Fox, Skull, Queen, Oracle, Panther, Noir, Mona, Violet, and Joker)

"Well, did we make it?" Oracle asked as the others looked around before Fox looked at Oracle and gasped, his eyes widening slightly as he spoke up.

"Oh! Oracle, look! Your phantom thief attire!" Fox said as Mona frowned and spoke up.

"Yeah, you too." Mona said dryly as Fox smiled and spoke up.

"Ah, I see. I'd forgotten this feeling. The fusion of form and function, brought together in a beautiful harmony. Truly magnificent." Fox said as Panther smirked and spoke up with a closed-eye smile.

"Look, it's Beauty Thief!" Panther said as Noir smirked and played along with Panther's cue by speaking up with a flourish.

"My name is Beauty Thief!" Noir said as Violet winced and spoke up.

"Wow, you weren't joking before when you said she used to call herself that, were you Joker?" Violet said in surprise. Joker smirked and spoke up.

"Nope, not at all. I was very serious when I said that to you, my dear Violet." Joker said. Queen smirked and spoke up.

"Let's stay focused, yeah? This is no time to fool around here. I admit though, these clothes do bring back some memories." Queen said as Mona spoke up.

"We can reminisce later, Queen. For now, let's take a look at that view." Mona said as the group looked out at the massive area that was visible in the distance. Queen blinked and spoke up.

"So this is the layout of the Jail?" Queen asked as Oracle blinked and spoke up.

"Just what IS that building? This place is bonkers, you guys!" Oracle said as Fox winced and spoke up.

"Yeesh. Nothing escapes the atrocious color scheme of this place, does it?" Fox asked as Violet smiled and spoke up.

"So you agree, Fox? Good! Glad someone else here thinks this color scheme is a bit tacky." Violet said happily. Noir spoke up at that point.

"Anyways, let's get back on topic. So, it looks like that because of someone's cognition, correct?" Noir asked as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Right, Noir. And it's most likely Alice's cognition. The distortion has to be exceptionally strong there for a reason." Mona said as Fox spoke up.

"Ah, I see. So you're saying that's the stronghold of the queen ruling over this Jail. And to be honest, its appearance certainly fits that notion." Fox said as Mona smiled and spoke up.

"Well said, Fox. Still, the buildings around here still look pretty normal, though. Looks like that place over there has a limited range of distortion. The first time we came here, we entered by the Crossing down there. And that's where we saw a group of cop Shadows taking stuff out of people's chests." Mona said as Violet winced and spoke up with a shudder.

"Eww! Please don't remind me of that, Mona. I almost had nightmares over that last night. Luckily, I have Joker here to keep my dreams sweet and pleasant. Hee hee." Violet said coyly as Joker smirked and snaked an arm proudly around his girlfriend's waist as Skull smirked and spoke up.

"Hell yeah, Joker! That's how you stake your claim to your lady. Oh, but you mean that jewel we saw, Mona? Actually, the hell was up with that?" Skull asked, but instead of Mona, another voice answered his question.

"A jewel, you say? That may have been a Desire." Sophia said as she walked into view, already in her kunoichi form. As she saw the shocked looks on most of the group, she smirked and kept speaking.

"Yo, Phantom Thieves." Sophia said as Oracle's eyes got huge and she spoke up.

"Aaaaah! Sophia!? Holy crap, an actual AI in human form! I think Draconis was right, and the AIs are going to rise up against humans!" Oracle said in shock. Violet frowned at Oracle and spoke up.

"First of all, that's totally rude, Oracle! Secondly, Sophia's too cute and innocent to want to rise up against anyone, except for maybe Skull and Mona if they keep trying to corrupt her." Violet said, shooting the named Thieves an unimpressed glare, making them both wince. But before she could keep lighting into them, Noir spoke up with a smile.

"Wow, you're so cute, Sophia!" Noir said as Fox spoke up, though when he spoke, both Joker and Violet winced at what came out of his mouth.

"Such a fascinating form you've taken, Sophia. I can't stop staring at the beautifully curved lines." Fox said as Violet frowned and spoke up.

"Hey! No hitting on Sophia, Fox! She's only like 12 or so! She's not old enough for you." Violet said huffily as Joker spoke up.

"And besides, I thought you were still dating Togo-san anyways? So you have no reason to even be interested in Sophia." Joker said firmly, giving Fox a look that promised a very awkward conversation if he kept hitting on Sophia. Panther then spoke up before Fox could do more than wince at Joker's tone.

"I've never seen an outfit like that, Sophia! Can I try floofing it?" Panther asked as Sophia cutely tilted her head to the side in confusion and spoke up.

"Floofing?" Sophia asked as Queen winced and spoke up.

"Err, I think she wants to get a feel for the fabric of your clothes while hugging you, Sophia." Queen said as Sophia shook her head and spoke up.

"Request denied. I am neither a child nor a pet." Sophia said as Violet spoke up.

"While you're not wrong about not being a child, you're also not an adult yet, either, strictly speaking. So I hope you'll forgive me if I tend to treat you like a child without meaning to occasionally." Violet said gently as Panther pouted and spoke up.

"Aww, so mean. No floofing for me." Panther said as she pouted while Oracle smirked and spoke up.

"Cheer up, Panther. I'm sure that Mona will let you floof him if you ask him nicely." Oracle said teasingly as Mona's eyes widened at this and he spoke up.

"Wait, WHAAAA!?" Mona said as Panther turned hopeful eyes onto Mona and spoke up.

"Really!? You'll let me floof you, Mona? I bet you'd be real soft and cuddly to floof." Panther said as Mona blushed a bit and spoke up.

"W-Well, I mean, I'm not against it. But is it really fair to Lady Suzui to be floofing you behind her back?" Mona asked uneasily as Panther frowned and spoke up.

"Good point." Panther said as Fox spoke up, his words once again making both Joker and Violet wince.

"By the by, how DOES age work for an AI?" Fox asked as Violet gave Fox a wary glare as she spoke up.

"Do Joker and I even WANT to know why you need to know the answer to that, Fox? Because I have a hard time picturing, much less believing, that there's any good reason for you to wonder about something like Sophia's age." Violet said warily as Joker nodded his agreement, but Mona cut in before Joker could add his opinion in.

"Not now, you guys! Sophia, tell us more about the Desire you mentioned." Mona said as Sophia spoke up.

"I got it. That is the term used by Shadows here. They say things such as, 'Seize their Desires!' and, 'We must offer these Desires to the Monarch!' So, based on their language and behavior, I speculate the aforementioned 'jewel' was in fact a Desire." Sophia said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Hm. That does make a lot of sense, Sophia. And when we saw Alice here, she mentioned Desires too. So if Alice is the 'Monarch', then she really is the Ruler of this Jail." Mona said as Noir frowned and spoke up.

"But these 'Desires' we're talking about. Are they actually made up of the things people desire?" Noir asked as Queen frowned and spoke up.

"Good question, Noir. Still, I have to admit to being confused. Seizing 'Desires', of all things, is very unusual. And what use would they even have for those?" Queen asked as Skull spoke up.

"Good question, babe. I agree with Queen's logic. Also, finding out what happened to the folks who got themselves jumped could tell us something." Skull said as Fox spoke up.

"True, but where could those victims be now? I don't see a place from here where they may be being held captive." Fox said as Mona shook his head and spoke up.

"I don't know, Fox. Maybe they're being held somewhere else." Mona said as Queen frowned and spoke up.

"Say, about those people you witnessed being attacked yesterday. Are you guys sure they were humans?" Queen asked as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"Whaddya mean, babe?" Skull asked as Queen spoke up.

"W-Well, couldn't they have been Shadows or something? If there are humans getting captured and imprisoned in this Jail right now, then wouldn't there be a huge commotion in our world? Groups of people going missing, out of the blue?" Queen said as Oracle nodded and spoke up.

"Ah, yes. Now there's a point if I've ever heard one, Queen. And before you ask, I haven't heard a peep about that online." Oracle said as Noir frowned and spoke up.

"So, does that mean no one is actually disappearing from reality?" Noir asked as Mona's eyes widened in realization and he spoke up.

"Wait, then that would mean-! Ohh, I see what's going on here. Those people we saw weren't actually people, but rather cognitive echoes of their Shadows." Mona said. Sophia blinked at this and spoke up.

"Um, what are Shadows, exactly?" Sophia asked as Mona spoke up.

"Good question, Sophia. A shadow's the parts of you suppressed within your subconscious mind. It's basically just your other self." Mona said as Sophia blinked and spoke up.

"Oh, I see. Does that mean their main selves are all right?" Sophia asked as Mona shook his head and spoke up.

"No, not at all. You see, the Shadow of a person and their true self are like two sides of the same coin." Mona said as Fox spoke up.

"Right. So if a Desire is taken from someone's Shadow, what happens to the person in reality?" Fox asked as Oracle spoke up with a wince.

"No clue, but I gotta say. To be honest? I'm getting a bad vibe from all this." Oracle said as Mona frowned and spoke up.

"Same here. But I wonder. Are they trying to influence reality by doing something to the Shadows?" Mona asked as Fox frowned and spoke up.

"Good point, Mona. Then how are we to act? This sounds like a crisis, so shouldn't we rescue the victims right away?" Fox asked as Mona shook his head and spoke up.

"No, that was just speculation. After all, we've only witnessed the cognitive world's side of things. Until we find out how all this is affecting the real world, we only know half of what's going on. I'd say the first thing we need to do, therefore, is to investigate Alice and her victims." Mona said as Panther nodded and spoke up with a frown.

"That's true, Mona. And not only that, if we make the wrong move in the cognitive world, there's a chance the ruler could have a shutdown in the real world too." Panther said as Queen nodded and spoke up.

"Right. We need to get the story straight before we make any real moves, or we'll just be doing damage." Queen said as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"Right. I think our first order of business should be to look into Alice's victims. Once we've ascertained how, if at all, this is affecting them in the real world, then we can look into Alice herself. Because, to be honest with all of you? The more I hear of this situation, the more I think we might have to bring the Phantom Thieves out of our unofficial retirement, since this sounds like another case of a heart in need of changing." Joker said decisively as Violet nodded and spoke up.

"I agree with Joker. Looking into the victims is probably the best place to start." Violet said. Skull frowned and spoke up.

"I mean, we can try, you two. But let's be honest here. Do ya really think we can just stumble on 'em like that?" Skull said as Noir spoke up.

"Hm. Maybe if we look into people who have changed recently, we could get some leads?" Noir suggested as Mona spoke up.

"Perhaps. But what say we get into that once we're outta here?" Mona said as Sophia spoke up.

"Okay, let's get out of here." Sophia said as Panther winced and spoke up.

"Gah, fine." Panther said as the group left the Metaverse...

(Back in the real world, with Yusuke, Makoto, Haru, Futaba, Ann, Ryuji, Sumire, Morgana, Ren, and Sophia)

"Well, we've confirmed the presence of the Jail. Next, we look into Alice and any potential victims." Morgana said as Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"And how do we do that? Look into what?" Ryuji asked as Futaba spoke up.

"Basically, we start by going through the usual rumor mills, lookin' for anything about Alice. Gossip about her being abusive, or other messed up stuff." Futaba said as Makoto spoke up.

"Good idea, Futaba. Let's gather any intel that we can, both online and on the streets." Makoto said as Futaba smirked and spoke up.

"Heh. In that case, I've got the web-crawling covered!" Futaba said as Yusuke spoke up.

"True, but I believe that if we're ever to gain conclusive proof of any rumors, I believe we'll need direct access to her at some point in the near future." Yusuke said as Haru spoke up.

"Good point, Yusuke. But I have to say, getting direct access to a pop star sounds awfully tough to pull off." Haru said as Ann winced and groaned before she spoke up.

"Umm, about that, you guys? I may get to meet Alice tomorrow?" Ann said as the others all gave her shocked looks as Ryuji spoke up.

"Wha-for real!? How?" Ryuji said as Ann frowned and spoke up.

"Well, I had asked the modeling company's president if I could meet her sometime. I heard she'd be on a TV show filming nearby, so I asked if I could visit the set. I was hoping to learn from her by watching her in action, but if the rumors are true, I'm not sure if that'd be the best idea. However, I gave up on it after making plans with you guys. But, I might be able to get the ball rolling again in time if I start soon and beg enough, maybe." Ann said as Yusuke spoke up in surprise.

"Truly? The timing's nothing short of kismet, Ann." Yusuke said as Morgana spoke up.

"Yeah! Way to go, Lady Ann!" Morgana said as Ann spoke up.

"Yes, I know I'm great. But I'm not making any promises about it. And there's no way we'd get to approach her, either. Plus, our full group's just too big. The most I could even ask to bring is one more person, MAYBE two more if I'm lucky." Ann said as everyone else's eyes turned to a suddenly wincing Ren and Sumire, who both exchanged looks that communicated their mutual understanding that they'd likely just been volunteered to go with Ann. Futaba then spoke up.

"Welp! That settles that. We're counting on the two of ya, Ren and Sumire!" Futaba said as Ryuji grinned at Sumire and spoke up.

"Give Alice shit when you see her so you can get some evidence out of her, Sumire. But try not to kick her ass yet for what she did to Ren. Save that for when and if we have to fight her Shadow, yeah?" Ryuji said as Ren spoke up.

"How exactly is Sumire supposed to give Alice shit, Ryuji?" Ren asked as Sumire slyly grinned and spoke up.

"Don't worry about that, Ren. I have a plan already. Oooh, I cannot wait to get some measure of revenge on that prissy bitch." Sumire said eagerly as Ann frowned at Sumire and spoke up.

"Hey! You better not be thinking of trying anything funny, Sumire! I'm the one who'll suffer for it!" Ann said as Morgana spoke up.

"I think I'll tag along. We'll be fine so long as no one sees me. Plus, this way I can help keep Sumire's impulse to attack Alice in check. But for today? Let's focus on her potential victims." Morgana said as the group nodded and left the hideout to gather intel.

(In the Station Square of Shibuya, with Ren, Sumire and Morgana)

"Let's go! Looks like everyone's out gathering intel already, you two. Let's not fall behind!" Morgana said as Ren and Sumire nodded before they started the process of gathering information on Alice...

END OF CHAPTER

A/N: And there we go, another chapter done and dusted! I know we're not in the first Jail quite yet, but we should be close to it. If not the next chapter, then for sure the chapter after next will be the proper start of the infiltration of the first Jail. Next chapter, if I had to guess, will probably be the investigation of both Alice's victims and Alice herself, and possibly the induction of the first of several new Phantom Thieves being added in for this story (YES, I said several. You read that right.) I have plans for more Phantom Thieves than just the two that join in Strikers to be added. Though I won't say just yet exactly WHO I have in mind.

But as far as I know, the first of the two I have in mind is someone who, as far as I know, has never been written in a Persona fanfic as a Phantom Thief before, so it'll be interesting to see how people receive his inclusion as a Phantom Thief. Feel free to correct me in the reviews if I'm wrong about there not being an instance of Sojiro being a Phantom Thief in a Persona fanfic, though I'm pretty sure I'm right that he's not been written as such in a Persona fanfic before.

As far as the other one goes, nothing is set in stone as yet, so I'm still open to suggestions there. So feel free to suggest people to join the Phantom Thieves in reviews, or even in PMs if you don't want to make your suggestion in a review. However, keep in mind that I reserve the right to veto any suggestions that I either don't agree with or don't feel that I can make work believably in the story while doing the character in question justice.

And as a upfront rule of thumb, unless I decide otherwise, such characters as Hifumi, Mika, or probably even Yoshida aren't going to be accepted as options as I've see the first two used in other stories as Phantom Thieves and I'd rather not be using stuff from other people's fanfiction stories if I can avoid it, since I'm not one to use people's work without their permission, since I respect my fellow fanfiction writers.

And I mainly say this since that's not fair to them to have other people use their work without their permission or consent. As for the third person I listed? I just feel like there's not a good way to work Yoshida, or Broshida as some YouTubers I watch refer to him, into the plot. That said, I'm sorry to anyone who was about to suggest those three, but don't bother as they more than likely won't be chosen.

Also, keep in mind I have to be able to believably work them into the plot without making it seem like I'm lampooning the story more than I've already done to allow for Sumire's presence in the story, along with the other two 'Royal' characters that were in Phantom Files as Phantom Thieves. But feel free to either PM or review with your suggestions, and I'll give them due consideration. I look forward to seeing what you have to say.

Having said all that, thanks as always to all who support this story, along with my other stories. As always, feel free to leave a review (or PM me if you don't feel like leaving a review, but reviews are preferred) with your thoughts/feedback/suggestions/input/constructive criticism on the story, as I enjoy hearing from the readers to see what they have to say.

And feel free to keep on supporting this story, and any of my other stories, as I appreciate the support! Until next chapter, sithlorde1988 out!

NOTES

*1* - YES, before anyone mentions it, I didn't take the typical 'power down' route for the characters' Personas. What I instead did was give each of the Phantom Thieves the Persona they had as of the end of The Phantom Files as their starting Persona, meaning those with Tier 3 Personas got said Tier 3 Personas, and those who only reached Tier 2 got their Tier 2 Personas. As for Sophia and *REDACTED*, since canon Strikers doesn't really feature evolved Personas, they only get Tier 1 forms. Probably the same for the other extra Phantom Thieves I add in. So just bear that in mind.

*2* - Speaking of liberties I took with the story? For the purposes of this story, Futaba managed to figure out how to download a backup of Sophia on her phone, which is how Sophia was able to be involved in the scene with Futaba and Morgana near the middle of this chapter. I figured it was a less messy explanation than whatever 'accidental phone swap' type shenanigans would be needed to pull off Futaba having taken the wrong phone home, since I'm not sure if it's in character for her to make that sort of mistake or not. Feel free to correct me in reviews or by PM if I'm wrong about it being out of character for her to make a mistake like grabbing the wrong phone.

*3* - Unlike most characters, Sophia doesn't come with a Persona when she first joins the Phantom Thieves. Instead, she uses a Persona-esque defensive weapon called 'Pithos' to fight in battle. However, it learns a healthy mix of Bless, Support, Healing, and possibly a Physical move or two, not unlike Violet's learnset in Persona 5 Royal. However, unlike Sophia, Violet's only learned healing skill is 'Diarahan', as far as I know. So, basically, the question mark at the end of most of Pithos' learned skills is to emphasize how uncertain her skill gains can be, and may also be a teaser to other things that happen later in canon Strikers. Just figured I'd put that out there.